OSWEGO Alumni Magazine Spring 2020 by Oswego Alumni Association

OSWEGO ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT OSWEGO n VOL. 46, NO. 1 n SPRING 2020

The Green Issue

#TogetherOz

ON OUR CAMPUS

What could be greener than the Laker Turf Field? The Laker Turf Field Stadium opened for use in fall 2015. Located adjacent to Romney Field House, off of Route 104, the stadium includes a state-of-the-art, multi-sport turf field that hosts home matches for men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s soccer and field hockey. The stands, located on the west side of the field, have a seating capacity of 1,000 persons and a 480-square-foot press box for the media. Four light fixtures were also installed, which allows for teams to host night games.

OSWEGO Alumni Magazine

Spring 2020: Vol. 46, No. 1 Publisher Laura Pavlus Kelly ’09

Photographer Jim Russell ’83

Editor Margaret D. Spillett

In Memoriam Lisa Potter

Designer Jennifer Broderick Contributing Writers Dresden Engle ’88 (37) Linda Loomis ’90 M’97 (28-29, Back Cover) Office of Communication and Marketing John Savage ’66 (56) Contributing Photographers Megan Briggs ’19 (12) Janelle Brooke Photography Inc. (24) Jeremy Daniel (28-29) Tatianna Davis (52) Jim Gemza ’70 (18) Kyle Hurley ’21 (26, 38-39) James Kearns (On Our Campus) Eileen Moran The Palladium-Times/OswegoCountyNewsNow.com (13, 41) Nancy J. Parisi Social Documentation Photography (23) Ken Stone ’74 (33) Interns Gabriele Candela ’22 Christopher Darby ’21 Molly Williamson ’20 Samantha Zerbinos ’20

6 4

President’s Column

CAMPUS CURRENTS

5 College Community Responds to COVID-19 Pandemic 6

Rankings Round-Up

Creative and Scholarly Activities

10 $1 Million Gift Establishes SRC Inc. Endowed Professor of Engineering

OSWEGO ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT OSWEGO n VOL. 46, NO. 1 n SPRING 2020

12 Media Summit Looks Back on 15 Years of Public Trust in the News 13 Student’s Winning LaunchIt Product Supports Beauty, Social Causes 14 Upskilling Event Provides Students with Professional ‘Extras’

The Green Issue

#TogetherOz

On the cover: The Green Issue highlights some engaging Laker alumni and stories that are loosely themed around “green”—from a fresh food delivery service to an environmental attorney to a Wall Street hedge fund executive to sustainability initiatives on the Oswego campus, these stories show what it means to be certified 100-percent Oswego green!

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Office of Alumni Engagement King Alumni Hall, Oswego, N.Y. 13126 Phone: 315-312-2258 Email: alumni@oswego.edu Website: alumni.oswego.edu

f facebook.com/oswegoalumni I @oswegoalumni t @oswegoalumni OSWEGO is published two times a year by the Oswego Alumni Association Inc., King Alumni Hall, State University of New York at Oswego, Oswego, N.Y. 13126. It is distributed free of charge to alumni, friends, faculty, staff and families of current students, with support from The Fund for Oswego. Published online version only, June 2020.

24 16

FEATURES

52 33

CLASS NOTES

16 Supporting Green: Path Forward Campaign Provides

36 Marketing Green: Wendy Cobrda ’87 Surrounds Herself with Girl Scout Green

18 Going Green: College Celebrates 50th Earth Day,

Green Greeks

Homecoming 2019 Wrap Up

Students with Scholarship Support

Renews Commitment to Sustainability

23 Defending Green: Daniel Spitzer ’79 Litigates Environmental Cases to Protect Communities

42 Weddings

24 Earning Green: Doreen Mochrie ’85 Paves the Way

26 Delivering Green: Carl Chappell ’09 Brings Locally

49 Unearthing Green: Chelsey Hipkens ’13

for Others on Wall Street

Grown Produce to Customers’ Doorsteps

Putting Green: Scott Baker M’08 CAS’13

Combines Teaching with Golf Course Ownership Discovers Archeological Treasures in Ireland

27 Serving Greene: Kathy Pullen Greene ’92 Runs Sub

52 Broadcasting ‘Boy Green’: Paul Esden Jr. ’15 Hosts Sports Radio Talk Show

28 Being Greene: Tamar Greene ’09 Makes Broadway

In Memoriam

30 ‘Pedaling’ Green: Megan Cree Sollecito ’77

Back Cover

Professor Roger Hinrichs

Shop, The Mix to Satisfy Oswego Community Debut in ‘Hamilton’

Operates a Garden, Landscaping Center in CNY

Faculty Hall of Fame: Emeritus Physics

31 Centering on Green: Artist and Yoga Instructor Christine Tisa ’73 Discusses the Color Green

Protecting Green: Lisa Smith ’87 Volunteers as

Outdoor Educator and Park Patroller

Have news to share? Send us your news! We want to hear about your new job, promotion, marriage, babies, visits with Oswego alumni or even just a change in your address. Submissions received between Jan. 1-June 30 will run in our fall issue, and between July 1-Dec. 31 in our spring issue.

ONLINE EXCLUSIVES magazine.oswego.edu

See exclusive content, including additional photos, multi-media stories and extended versions of some of the stories in this issue.

To submit your class note, email alumni@oswego.edu, call 315-312-2258 or complete the class note form online at alumni.oswego.edu. You can also mail submissions to the OSWEGO Alumni Magazine, King Alumni Hall, Oswego, N.Y. 13126. Please note: Class notes included in the magazine come from a variety of sources, such as alumni submissions, news releases, social media posts and news media reports.

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From the President Since mid-March, we have witnessed the incredible resiliency of the human spirit, rising in triumph over trauma, even as the nation has marked a terrifying and sorrowful milestone of loss due to COVID-19. Our students had the tenacity and resilience necessary to continue their path forward and our faculty and staff led with tremendous resourcefulness and great compassion in implementing an unprecedented and rapid change to remote teaching and learning. And you—our alumni and donors—have supported the college Student Emergency Fund to provide our students with immediate aid to meet the unanticipated expenses and needs that arose. Many of you also transitioned your in-person classroom presentations and mentoring of students into virtual connections via Zoom calls and digital media. It is through your absolutely amazing understanding and your unwavering support for our students that I am certain we will continue to adapt and, as a community, move Oswego Forward with resiliency and purpose. More recently, we have come together amidst civil unrest and protesting that is taking place in cities around the globe with renewed vigor to channel our pain and outrage into anti-racist action and other forms of positive change. In these trying times, we have called on individuals to take action for the collective good—and in our work to end inequity and the chasms of racism and injustice that divide and defeat us. And many of you have answered the call with resilience and heartwarming support, for which I express my deep gratitude. Generously, on June 13, members of the Oswego College Foundation Board of Directors, led by Digital Hyve founder and CEO Jeff Knauss ’07, stepped forward to offer financial support and assistance so that we could to create a Black Lives Matter mural in front of Sheldon Hall to show our solidarity with a student demonstration on June 14, celebrating Black Liberation Day. Their support, and that of the many alumni who volunteered to paint the mural, shows how our college rallies to stand up for every member of our community and to help all members feel like their voice is important and heard. And so we move forward with the digital publication of this magazine, which was hours away from printing in March when we made the difficult decision to pause production. The dramatically altered spring semester of 2020 has successfully drawn to a close and ended with traditional rituals and a sense of promise for the future; seniors have virtually celebrated Torchlight and Graduation, and the warmer weather lifts our spirits as we work to slowly emerge and re-start our communities. We hope you find inspiration and hope in the stories of our amazing alumni—who are certified “100% Oswego green” through their actions and success. They are a sampling of what it means to be green—Laker green. I encourage you to share your stories online using #TogetherOz. I wish you a thoroughly enjoyable and productive summer. Please stay safe and take care.

Deborah F. Stanley, president

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STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT OSWEGO Deborah F. Stanley, President Scott R. Furlong, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Nicholas Lyons, Vice President for Administration and Finance Mary Gibbons Canale ’81, Vice President for Development and Alumni Engagement Jerri Howland, Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management

OSWEGO ALUMNI ASSOCIATION INC.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Dana Segall Murphy ’99, President Amy Vanderlyke Dygert ’01, First Vice President Kathleen Smits Evans ’84, Second Vice President Lisa Marceau Schnorr ’87, Past President Laura Pavlus Kelly ’09, Executive Director Edgar Ames ’68 Paul Austin ’92 Marc Beck ’93 Paul Brennan ’93* Harry Bronson ’82 Kevin Bryans ’89 Austin Byrd ’10 Michael Byrne ’79* Mary Gibbons Canale ’81** Keith Chamberlain ’87* Raelynn Cooter ’77 Emmanuel Cruz ’09 Justin Dobrow ’17 Dresden Engle ’88 Thaina Gonzalez ’92 Phillip Grome ’89 Lisa Sferrazza Hutchison ’77 Jennifer Warner Janes ’91 La-Dana Renee Jenkins ’94 Rufaro Matombo ’12 Steve Messina ’91* Trudy Perkins ’93 Cathleen Richards ’09 Mark Salmon ’93 Dan Scaia ’68 Tucker Sholtes ’15 Jeffrey Sorensen ’92 Yvonne Spicer ’84 M’85 Deborah F. Stanley** Benita Zahn ’76 * At large

** Ex officio

OSWEGO COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC. BOARD OF DIRECTORS Mary Gibbons Canale ’81, President Michael Durney ’83, Chair Rose Cardamone Crane ’81, Vice Chair Nicholas Lyons, Treasurer Doreen Mochrie ’85, Secretary Mark Baum ’81 Louis A. Borrelli Jr. ’77 Kathy Bower ’85 Bill Burns ’83 Joseph F. Coughlin ’82 Dianora De Marco ’14 M’15 Steve Doran ’82 Bob Garrett ’83 Jack James ’62 Matt Jenal ’78 Jeff Knauss ’07 Gordon Lenz ’58 Peter McCarthy ’82 Robert Moritz ’85 Colleen Murphy ’77 Suzanne Castrigno Sack ’84 Thomas Schneider Jennifer Shropshire ’86 William Spinelli ’84 Deborah F. Stanley Mark Tryniski ’85 Joe Yacura ’74

Campus Currents

Editor’s Note: The production of this issue of OSWEGO Alumni

Magazine was paused in mid-March, days away from its expected publication and distribution to the college community, due to COVID-19. We have kept the magazine content as close to its original version as possible. We hope these stories provide you a brief respite from your day-to-day worries and transform any negative feelings that might be overshadowing your life into positivity and optimism about your SUNY Oswego community.

For the most up-to-date information regarding the campus response to COVID-19 or plans for the fall, please visit oswego. edu/covid19 or read your monthly Lake E-ffect newsletter. We expect to have comprehensive coverage of the spring semester and activities from throughout summer and fall in our Fall 2020 issue.

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COLLEGE COMMUNITY RESPONDS TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC Just as students were preparing to leave for Spring Break, SUNY Oswego—following the guidance of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, SUNY administration and public health officials—announced that classes would be suspending all in-person classes and moving into a distance learning format. As the number of cases and deaths rose sharply in New York, it became clear that classes would not be resuming in person for the remainder of the semester. Lakers’ athletics seasons came to a halt. Alumni-In-Residence visits, guest lectures and important annual

events such as Quest, Torchlight, Commencement and Reunion were postponed, canceled or held virtually. The Alumni and Development Office adapted its programs to continue to support networking and relationship-building (such as connecting students with alumni virtually). Online presentations by alumni such as PwC Global Chairman Bob Moritz ’85 and President of Corporate Coaching International Dr. Lois Frankel ’73 drew hundreds of alumni, students and college employees. Other alumni also connected with smaller groups of students in classes and in one-on-one mentoring sessions. Please email alumni@oswego.edu if you are interested in making virtual connections with Oswego students this summer or fall.

STUDENT EMERGENCY FUND

As the health pandemic caused an unprecedented financial fallout—with millions of Americans filing for unemployment and many businesses forced to shutter or slow down—SUNY Oswego reminded alumni and students of its outstanding suite of online resources and tools that are available to all of our alumni and students at no cost at oswego.edu/career-services. Many students lost campus jobs, summer internships and employment opportunities, or experienced unanticipated financial expenses such as travel, food, housing, computers, internet access and telecommunications service. The college community responded by donating to the Student Emergency Fund to provide immediate support to students in need. Gifts can be made online at alumni.oswego.edu/emergencyfund.

Serving the Greater Good Do you have a story that highlights a positive during this unsettling time? Are you a first responder or health care worker who has stepped up to help society? Do you know of SUNY Oswego alumni who have used their expertise to help others—maybe providing tips on how to teach effectively online, sharing ways to ease stress, making masks or protective gear or offering financial advice during stock market

turmoil? Or maybe you helped deliver groceries or medicine to the most vulnerable populations, organized weekly virtual social hours with your Laker pals or hosted free online yoga sessions. We want to hear how Lakers have found ways to give back amid the coronavirus pandemic. Send your stories to alumni@oswego.edu or share them on our Facebook page Morgan Rumpf ’17 sews (facebook.com/oswegoalumni), cloth masks. using #TogetherOz.

Oswego Forward With safety as the top priority, planning is underway for fall. College leadership has been planning for a few different scenarios, focusing on every detail to drastically reduce the health risks of being together for all of our students, faculty, staff and visitors. Embedded in the college plans will also be the flexibility and adaptability to use several modalities of instruction (online and face-to-face instruction) should the college need to pivot at some point during the semester. For the latest information, visit the college website at oswego.edu/covid19.

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Rankings Round-Up Online MBA Ranked #1 Among Public Colleges in NYS SUNY Oswego’s online MBA continues its place as the highest -ranked public school offering in New York state and among the nation’s top online master of business administration programs in U.S. News & World Report’s 2020 “Best Online Degree Programs: MBA.” SUNY Oswego, tied for 54th place overall, was one of only two public schools in New York state to crack the list’s top 100 online graduate business programs. Oswego was ranked third in the state overall.

SUNY Oswego Recognized in Princeton Review 2019 Guide to Green Colleges A range of efforts throughout the campus community helped SUNY Oswego repeat an environmentally friendly designation, appearing in the 10th edition of “The Princeton Review’s Guide to 413 Green Colleges.” The college’s Office of Sustainability coordinates many activities to raise awareness and support green initiatives, including a Sustainability Week in October that included a pop-up thrift store, information tables and interactive events. The company chose Oswego and the other schools for its “green guide” based on data from a survey of hundreds of four-year colleges concerning the schools’ commitments to the environment and sustainability. More than 25 data points were weighted in the tallies for Princeton Review’s Green Rating scores. For more information on SUNY Oswego’s green efforts, visit oswego.edu/sustainability.

Find the Founder! In the Fall 2019 issue, the Sheldon statue can be found in the top left section of the photo of Naomi Rodriguez Jose ’18 on page 11. Grand prize winner of a College Store gift certificate and a Sheldon Hall print is Patricia Kulie ’79. Winning Sheldon Hall prints are Howard Edelstein ’64, Lauren Attinelly ’87, Takashi Ohseki ’88, David Beard ’95 and Erin Cummings ’12. A tiny replica of the Sheldon statue, pictured here, is hidden somewhere in this issue. Find the Founder and send us a letter or email with the location and page number, your name, class year and address. We will draw one entry at random from all the correct answers and the winner will receive a $25 gift certificate to the College Store and a print of Sheldon Hall. Send your entry by Sept. 1, 2020, to Find the Founder, King Alumni Hall, 300 Washington Blvd., Oswego, N.Y., 13126, or email to findthefounder@oswego.edu.

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Oswego’s online MBA program also picked up a high ranking from business-school website Poets and Quants, rising to #18 among such offerings in the United States in that listing. Oswego—the first comprehensive college in the SUNY system to offer an MBA degree, starting in 1997—has increased the options students have for specializing within their graduate business studies, offering MBA programs in health services administration, management and public accounting. The college also offers a variety of graduate programs and five-year options that combine an MBA with such bachelor’s degrees as broadcasting, psychology and public accounting. MBA delivery options include classroom-based in Oswego and/ or at SUNY Oswego’s Syracuse campus or blended classroom -online programs, as well as the online MBA. For more information on Oswego’s MBA programs, visit oswego. edu/mba or email mba@oswego.edu.

SUNY Oswego Ranked Among Top Ten Public Schools in North by U.S. News SUNY Oswego continues to be ranked in the top half of the top tier by U.S. News and World Report’s 2020 Top Regional Universities in the North, according to the publication released last fall. A total of 126 public, private and proprietary regional universities made the top tier. Of public institutions on the list, SUNY Oswego is eighth, tied with two others. SUNY Oswego continued its strong position on the important Best Value Schools rankings. The college also kept its place on the A+ for B Students and Best for Veterans lists, while also adding placements on lists for Top Performers for Social Mobility and Top Undergraduate Business Programs (overall).

Counseling Services Center Earns International Accreditation The Counseling Services Center recently earned prestigious recognition through accreditation from the International Accreditation of Counseling Services, confirming that Oswego’s services meet the highest standards and validating the center’s professional excellence. Specifically, Oswego was recognized for its upper administration support, its strong and diverse staff, excellent outreach efforts and individual counseling. For more information about the Counseling Services Center resources and programs, visit oswego. edu/counseling-services.

Campus Currents ‘Black Panther,’ ‘Avengers’ Actor Delivers Keynote at MLK Celebration

SUNY Oswego Earns Prestigious Carnegie Community Engagement Classification SUNY Oswego was recently named one of just 119 U.S. colleges and universities to receive the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification, an elective designation that indicates institutional commitment to community engagement. Carnegie recognized the college for its many service activities, such as its alternative break programs. One of only four SUNY institutions with this designation, Oswego first earned the classification in 2010, making this the second consecutive time the Carnegie Foundation has renewed the continuing honor.

Theatre Department Wins Two Awards at Regional Festival Students and faculty from the SUNY Oswego theatre department won two awards at the regional Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) in College Park, Maryland, in January. The student team of Anna Chichester ’20, Kiersten Mickle ’20 (above left), Daniel Monahan ’19, Brian Monahan ’19, Autumn Pollock ’20 and Ryan Benson Smith ’19, with faculty supervisor Toby Malone (above right), won Outstanding Achievement in Collaborative Dramaturgy for “Fun Home Dramaturgy: Welcome to Our House on Maple Avenue.”

The college’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration on Feb. 5 featured noteworthy actor Winston Duke (left) as keynote speaker. He discussed the night’s theme, “Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community.” The conversation, moderated by Oswego Prof. Mya Brown (above right), covered such issues as physical appearance and assumptions, access to opportunity and progress made since Dr. King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Duke recently made his feature film debut in the box-office smash Black Panther and can be seen in Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War. Duke played the fan-favorite character M’Baku, leader of the Jabari Tribe, and quoted by Vanity Fair as “indelible” in the role. Duke also starred in the Jordan Peele horror movie Us. He headlined the celebration that also featured performances, musical numbers and readings by SUNY Oswego students.

High Ranking for International Opportunities SUNY Oswego students, as well as international students who come to campus, gain life-changing experiences through international opportunities. The college’s efforts were recently recognized with a 12th-place national ranking for master’s universities in the most recent Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange. The annual report from the Institute of International Education and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs is a comprehensive information resource on international students and scholars studying or teaching at higher education institutions in the United States, and U.S. students studying abroad for academic credit at their home colleges or universities. For more information on studying abroad, visit oswego.edu/international.

In addition, Amanda Gydesen ’20 earned a KCACTF Dramaturgy Note Award for “’The Fantasticks’ Program Note.”

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Creative and Scholarly Activities Faculty Member Publishes Breakthrough Research on Bird Migration Daniel Baldassarre (below), a current SUNY Oswego biological science faculty member, recently published research that found the phainopepla is only the third kind of bird with a particular and peculiar migration pattern: Phainopepla nest in one area, migrate and then nest again.

Phainopepla—a long and slender songbird with dark feathers, shaggy crest and red eyes—can be seen in southwestern United States. Scientists had known that populations of phainopepla breed in the desert in spring and in the woodlands in the summer, but that these were the same birds following an unusual migration pattern had never been proven before Baldassarre’s work. “What I contributed was new data collection by trying to directly track the birds,” Baldassarre said. This involved capturing them, then marking and equipping them with a small GPS tracker that weighs only a gram. The tracking data was only available by collecting and downloading the information, so he would have to catch what he hoped were returning birds and retrieve details on their travels. “Seeing the GPS tracks for the first time was amazing, but the biggest thrill for me was re-sighting the first tagged bird that returned to the capture site,” Baldassarre said. “We were a bit unsure how likely they were to come back to the same spot, so to see that a tagged bird had returned was an exhilarating moment.” Published in The Auk: Ornithological Advances—a peer-reviewed, international journal of ornithology published by the American Ornithological Society—the research was picked up by several scientific media outlets, including that of the National Audubon Society.

Student-Faculty Team Publishes Study on Invasive Species The work of four SUNY Oswego student researchers and a faculty member tracking and potentially combatting an invasive fruit fly recently earned publication in the Zoological Science section of PeerJ, an open access, peer-reviewed journal. Assistant Professor Peter Newell in the department of biological sciences led the study, titled “The microbiota of Drosophila suzukii influences the larval development of Drosophila melanogaster,” which spanned two years and included contributions from four undergraduate students: Gabrielle Solomon ’18 (below), Hiruni Dodangoda ’21, Rita Ntim-Gyakari ’20 and Tylea McCarthy-Walker ’20.

“The two species compete for habitat, and the microbiome may be an important dimension of this interaction,” Newell said. “By gaining a better understanding of interactions between species, this research may help control populations of D. suzukii, which are having a negative impact on fruit growers in New York state and beyond.” The research was also supported by the Rice Creek Associates, the Possibility Scholars program and the Office of Research and Individualized Student Experiences, which receives support from The Fund for Oswego.

Solomon (left) trapped and identified Drosophila suzukii, an invasive species of fruit fly that has been damaging fruit crops throughout North America. When she caught her first specimens at Rice Creek Field Station, it was the first reported sighting in Oswego County. From there the research moved into the lab, where Solomon sampled and analyzed the microorganisms associated with the insects. The students tested whether the microbes from D. suzukii had an impact on the growth and development of the common fruit fly, D. melanogaster.

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From left: Hiruni Dodangoda ’21, Rita Ntim-Gyakari ’20 and Tylea McCarthy-Walker ’20.

Campus Currents Faculty Member’s Book Wins Prestigious Popular Culture Award Slantwise Moves: Games, Literature and Social Invention in Nineteenth-Century America, a book by English and creative writing faculty member Douglas Guerra (right), won the Popular Culture Association’s Ray and Pat Browne Award for Best Reference/Primary Source Work. The book takes a popular board game of the era, such as Milton Bradley’s first breakout hit, The Checkered Game of Life, and correlates it with a significant book, such as Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, which is best known for “Song of Myself.” Bradley and Whitman, for example, use similar techniques of centering the playing piece or character as an avatar for something else. “Whitman is doing something like what Milton Bradley’s Checkered Game of Life is doing,” Guerra said. “But Bradley’s game might give us a better idea of how to read Whitman, by imagining what people were doing with media like books in interpersonal settings—how people used leisure artifacts to create social feelings.

“Books and games are not that distant,” Guerra added. “They were produced in the same print shops and used by the same people, and studying them can tell

you about regular behaviors in a society. A game tells you not just what people thought, but what they must have been doing.”

Faculty Collaborate for Book on Capital Punishment in Movies

New Book Looks at ‘Costs of Connection’ for Personal Data Online

Political science professor Helen Knowles (above) spearheaded the development of Lights! Camera! Execution!: Cinematic Portrayals of Capital Punishment (Lexington Books, 2019), which pulled the expertise of co-authors criminal justice professor Jaclyn Schildkraut and political science emeritus professor Bruce Altschuler.

From invasive social platforms to data breaches, daily headlines paint a cautionary tale of information on the internet, which is explored in depth in a new book, Costs of Connection (Stanford University Press, 2019), co-authored by Ulises Mejias (above) of SUNY Oswego’s communication studies faculty and Nick Couldrey of the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Each chapter focuses on a particular cinematic portrayal of the death penalty in the United States, including such films as The Green Mile, Monster’s Ball, Thin Blue Line, Dead Man Walking and Murder in Coweta County. Beyond the issue of the death penalty, the book discusses how Hollywood approaches controversial legal and moral issues. The team of authors believe that the book will be ideal for both undergraduate and graduate college courses. Shanika Scarborough M’20, who is pursuing her master’s in graphic design and digital media from Oswego, created the cover.

“There is a new kind of colonial land grab going on, but it’s not for territory or resources; it’s for our data,” Mejias said. “Our social lives are being quantified and converted into data for the benefit of a few, and we argue in this book that this constitutes a new kind of ‘data colonialism.’” The book represents “a response to a growing uneasiness about what happens when practically everything we do is captured by digital networks, nothing is excluded and social life becomes a direct input to capitalism,” he said.

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$1 Million Gift from SRC Inc. Establishes Endowed Professorship in Engineering SUNY Oswego’s engineering program received a $1 million gift from SRC Inc., a Syracuse-based research and development company, to establish an endowed professorship, strengthening the internationally accredited engineering program. The gift will help the college attract and retain world-class faculty and will infuse additional resources for research, community outreach and new opportunities between the college and a major employer of engineering graduates in the region. Officials from SRC Inc. and SUNY Oswego announced the historic gift on Nov. 26 during a ceremony at the Richard S. Shineman Center for Science, Engineering and Innovation on the college’s main campus in Oswego. “SRC’s support for an endowed professorship at SUNY Oswego exhibits the organization’s confidence in our engineering program and its commitment to programmatic growth, improvement and success,” said college President Deborah F. Stanley. “Their support is testament to our shared interest in advancing the field and educating forward-thinking engineers. The college community is grateful for SRC’s investment, and for continuing our partnership that will propel our region and society in the future.”

Paul Tremont, SRC CEO, said, “SRC’s mission is to help keep America and its allies safe and strong. To continue to be successful, we need engineers who understand technology and how to apply critical thinking. We believe the endowed professorship will attract the brightest minds to CNY, which will help us grow a strong workforce for the future. We’re excited to expand our partnership with SUNY Oswego and appreciate President Stanley’s support.” The funds from the endowment will provide resources for a competitive faculty salary, world-class research facilities, student assistants, conference support and other incentives that provide the margin of excellence to retain top talent. The college plans to have the endowed professorship in place in the near future. SUNY Oswego’s engineering programs in electrical and computer engineering and software engineering received accreditation in August 2019 from ABET, the global accreditor of college and university programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering and engineering technology. Approximately 170 students are enrolled in engineering programs at Oswego, and 20 fulltime faculty teach in the programs.

Mathematics and computer science double major Ka Ying Chan ’22 of New York City demonstrates sensor technologies at the news conference.

This new investment is the latest in a long-standing relationship between the college and SRC Inc. • I n 2014, SUNY Oswego began delivering a customized MBA program on-site at SRC Inc. for a cohort of 21 employees who graduated in June 2017. A second cohort of SRC employees began their MBA studies in fall 2018. This unique partnership is empowering SRC’s technical experts to develop an equally powerful business acumen at their place of employment, making it more convenient for busy professionals to expand their skillset and expertise. • T his most recent donation builds on a previous $100,000 gift in 2016 to establish an endowed scholarship for business students (two $1,000 scholarships awarded annually) and an endowed scholarship for engineering students (two $1,000 scholarships awarded annually). • M embers of SRC’s leadership team also share their expertise on the SUNY Oswego School of Business Advisory Board and the Engineering Advisory Board.

From left at a Nov. 26 news conference are Mary Gibbons Canale ’81, SUNY Oswego vice president for development and alumni engagement; Kevin Hair, president, SRC Inc.; SUNY Oswego President Deborah F. Stanley; Paul Tremont, chief executive officer, SRC Inc.; Jim Holland ’82, executive vice president, enterprise services, SRC Inc.; and Joe Lauko, senior vice president of electronic warfare and services, SRC Inc.

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“As a public institution in a global society, SUNY Oswego opens our doors to an increasingly diverse and talented group of students who are committed to improving themselves and the world in which they live,” Stanley said. “SRC’s philanthropy supports our vision and puts countless possibilities within reach for our SUNY Oswego students pursuing degrees in engineering.”

Campus Currents

College Endowment Continues to Be a National Leader in Generating Returns stands at 10.1 percent, which is better than the 8.4 percent NACUBO and peer group average and the 9-percent returns of our aspirational peers.

Oswego College Foundation’s endowment investment returns have exceeded the national average for 13 years straight, and for 16 of the past 17 years, according to the latest data released Jan. 30 by the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO). The results are based on data gathered from 774 participating U.S. colleges and universities from July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2019 (fiscal year 2019).

“Our Investment Committee is doing remarkable work on behalf of our endowment,” said College President Deborah F. Stanley. “This dedicated group of alumni volunteers and college supporters has consistently achieved record returns for our college— which, in turn, benefits our wonderfully talented students and campus members. Just as our small, caring community along the shores of Lake Ontario nurtures tremendous outcomes from our students and alumni, so, too, does this diligent work of the Investment Committee secure the long-term fiscal success of the institution.”

SUNY Oswego’s returns during 2019 were 7.5 percent, or 2.2 percentage points higher than the national average of 5.3 percent. Oswego’s investments also outperformed our peer group of colleges and universities with endowments of $25 million to $50 million (who earned 5.5 percent) as well as our aspirational peer group of universities with endowments larger than $1 billion (who earned 5.9%).

During fiscal year 2019, the Oswego endowment assets grew from $37.4 million to $41.8 million, almost 12 percent. Total fundraising reached more than $6 million, including $2.6 million in planned gifts. The successful fundraising enabled the Oswego College Foundation to provide $3.3 million to the college to support SUNY Oswego students, departments and programs. These funds come from both endowed dollars, as well as our annual restricted fundraising dollars.

As of Jan. 31, the Oswego College Foundation endowment was valued at more than $45 million, nearly double the $22.7 million it was at just five years ago. The strong long-term endowment investment results and its steady growth allow spending rates to be maintained at 5 percent and still cover the current 2 to 2.5 percent inflation rates. That translates to consistent funding for our more than 600 privately funded scholarship recipients and the nearly 600 endowed and unendowed funds managed by the Oswego College Foundation, and more money being returned to campus to support academic pursuits and operational expenses.

“We are moving the dial on our mission to build meaningful relationships with donors to our college and foster philanthropic support,” President Stanley said. “The growth of the endowment augments the resources needed to raise SUNY Oswego to—in the words of college founder Edward Austin Sheldon—its ‘highest degree of usefulness,’ in perpetuity.”

SUNY Oswego’s endowment also outperformed the national average as well as our peers and aspirational peers when looked at over the past 10 years. The college’s 10-year rate of return

10.1%

YEARS

STRAIGHT

$ 3.3M to support students, departments and programs.

Oswego 10-year rate of return– better than peers and NACUBO

Oswego College Foundation’s endowment investment returns have exceeded the national average for 13 years straight.

Student Filmmakers Share Their Creative Ideas in PitchNY Program SUNY Oswego students (from left) Nicole Demartino ’21, Ryan Maguire ’22 and Richard Bethea ’20 were three of only 50 students from colleges in New York selected from around 200 applicants for the prestigious PitchNY program in November in New York City. The two-day program, co-sponsored by the Governor’s Office of Motion Picture and Television Development, NBCUniversal and the Tribeca Film Institute, provided unforgettable and invaluable experience in networking and how to pitch entertainment executives, as each student got to present their ideas multiple times, as well as participate in behind-the-scenes tours and networking events.

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Media Summit Looks Back on 15 Years of Public Trust in the News

2019 Media Summit speakers included: (from left) Kendis Gibson ’94, weekend anchor for MSNBC; Doug Schneider, a reporter for the USA Today Network in Wisconsin; Sharon Friedlander Newman ’79, a senior producer for MSNBC; Jennifer Williams, senior foreign editor for online news source Vox; and Cristina Domingues, an anchor and reporter for Spectrum News in Rochester, N.Y.

Schneider was among the panelists for the summit, which also included Sharon Friedlander Newman ’79, a senior producer for MSNBC; Cristina Domingues, an anchor and reporter for Spectrum News in Rochester, N.Y.; and Jennifer Williams, senior foreign editor for online news source Vox.

The 15th annual Dr. Lewis B. O’Donnell Media Summit featured a nod to the past—and a view to the future—on the topic of public trust in the media. On Oct. 23, a panel of media professionals gathered on the stage of Waterman Theatre in Tyler Hall to reflect on past public perceptions of the media—captured in video segments from the 2005 Media Summit that were shared with the audience—and equate them to today’s perceptions. A crucial difference between media in 2005 and media today is the influx of social media and other non-traditional methods of sharing news. Regardless of the method of delivery of the news, legitimate journalism still rises above the fray and trustworthy journalists still exist, panelists agreed. “There are reputable sources with knowledgeable reporters,” said Doug Schneider, a reporter for the USA Today Network in Wisconsin. “Someone who can’t do it right doesn’t do it for very long. Your reputation as a journalist is your currency in the realm.”

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Kendis Gibson ’94, weekend anchor for MSNBC, served as the moderator for the event at his alma mater. He is also a past panelist for the Media Summit. Many questions posed during the 2019 summit were prefaced by video clips of the 2005 summit, which was moderated by media analyst and author Ken Auletta ’63. In the 2005 discussion titled “Why Don’t We Trust the News Media? How Can the News Media Recover Public Trust?” panelists discussed the corporate takeover of media, expansion of competing news outlets, structural problems associated with the movement from newspapers to television and the image of the media as a liberal interest group. The first year’s panelists included Ben Bradlee, legendary editor of the Washington Post during Watergate; Tom Rosenstiel, director of Columbia University’s Project for Excellence in Journalism; Kimberley A. Strassel, a senior editorial page writer for the Wall Street Journal; and David Folkenflik, who covers media for National Public Radio. In the 2019 summit, panelists agreed that journalists continue to grapple with the same issues and more.

“The question of trust is something that just makes us work to be better,” said Newman, who started her media career in SUNY Oswego’s WOCR and WRVO studios and today works for The 11th Hour with Brian Williams. Scrutiny leads to self-policing in the field, and “in real journalism, journalists don’t make up facts and sources,” she said. “It just doesn’t happen in legitimate journalism.” Following the summit, students were welcomed to a career connector session in the Tyler Hall Art Gallery. Anja Godlewski-Dykes ’15, Jillian Meisenzahl ’14 (above left), Justin Berrios ’15, Leah Landry ’11, Matthew Bishop ’14, Marissa Sarbak ’15 and Rufaro Matombo ’12 shared their career paths and networked with students seeking roles in the media industry. The Media Summit was founded in 2005 by Louis A. Borrelli Jr. ’77. In 2007, Al Roker ’76 became a co-sponsor of the event, which was renamed in memory of their beloved professor, the late Dr. Lewis B. O’Donnell.

Campus Currents

Studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Winning LaunchIt Product Supports Beauty, Social Causes For Ramatoulaye Sy â&#x20AC;&#x2122;22, a finance major from Senegal and the 2019 winner of SUNY Oswegoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s LaunchIt student startup competition, her business is about helping people look and feel good, while also doing good. AfroRock, an all-natural lotion to protect and maintain the hair and scalp, evolved out of Syâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own needs and also looks to fund educational initiatives back in Senegal. For winning LaunchIt, organized by the collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Enactus student club and School of Business, Sy won $2,000 and an opportunity to advance to future regional competitions. The second-place idea, the friendship and events app Ice Breakers, earned $1,000, with $500 going to thirdplace entrants The Shipwreck, a proposed burger-based eatery. Sy earned a scholarship to come to America as a teen to study and play basketball at Masters School in Dobbs Ferry. For her, adjusting to a new culture, strengthening her English skills and excelling in the classroom and on the hardwood took precedence. Unable to find the products to maintain her hair they way she did back home, she ended up shaving her head at one point.

As her hair regrew, she found that creating a combination of oils and shea butter allowed the kind of hair treatment she desired. Sy eventually learned she wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t alone in the challenge of finding a product that could help with specific hair needs, particularly for Africans and African-Americans. She eventually set up the @afrorock_official Instagram account, which has around 11,700 followers and has influenced Sy following through on her entrepreneurial dream. She sold out her first stock in 24 hours, and currently fills about 100 to 150 orders every two weeks, seeing continuing growth potential.

Sy was particularly encouraged by one of her marketing teachers, Ernest Perfetti, who suggested working on an in-class marketing plan, and later encouraged her to enter the competition.

Social Benefits The product gets assembled back in Senegal and uses shea butter from the area. Sy said she had the opportunity to do

Seen on Social Facebook facebook.com/oswegoalumni

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the end of an Oswego era as we say goodbye to Huey, Dewey, Louie and Frank.

đ&#x;&#x2DC;đ&#x;&#x2019;&#x161;đ&#x;&#x2019;&#x203A;đ&#x;&#x2019;&#x201D;

Photo by Elliot Weld @OswegoAlumni

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Scott Furlong (left) and School of Business Dean Prabakar Kothandaraman (right) congratulate Ramatoulaye Sy â&#x20AC;&#x2122;22 of Senegal, for winning the 2019 LaunchIt student startup competition with her product AfroRock, an all-natural hair product.

@OswegoAlumni

both cheaper elsewhere, but she wanted the project to have a positive impact on where she came fromâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and has seen that people would pay for the quality product that delivers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I wanted to be a social entrepreneur,â&#x20AC;? Sy said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was important to me that this could create job opportunities for a challenged region.â&#x20AC;? She is launching a campaign where a portion of all AfroRock lotion sales will help buy school supplies in Senegal. But Sy dreams bigger, planning to add a line of clothing that will generate funds to help renovate schools in the African nation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Winning the competition is really helping out on the marketing side,â&#x20AC;? Sy said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The fact that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re getting recognition outside of Senegal, and especially in the United States, shows the product must be doing something right.â&#x20AC;? A third-team all-conference forward for the Laker womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s basketball team her freshman year, Sy continues to star in her sophomore year. Her advice for potential entrepreneurs is to not let fear of failure block them from reaching their goals. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My biggest advice to young entrepreneurs is to not be scared to fail,â&#x20AC;? Sy said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Put your ideas into action. If it works, explore it. If it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work, try something else. If you fail, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just part of the process.â&#x20AC;?

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Upskilling presenters and moderators included: (from left) Rick Buck ’05 M’10, Oliver Medonza ’16 M’18, Janette Hausler ’89, Jeff Knauss ’07, President Deborah F. Stanley, Mark Lobel ’85, Dianora De Marco ’14 M’15, Pranay Chapagain M’15 M’20 and Ursula Wilkinson.

Upskilling Event Provides Students with the Professional ‘Extras’ to Enhance Their Skill Sets For college students, it can be hard to recognize that the decisions they make now can have an amplified impact on their future. But to help emphasize that point, Dianora De Marco ’14 M’15, a manager in Ernst & Young’s financial accounting advisory services practice in New York City and a member of the Oswego College Foundation Board of Directors, shared an analogy in her keynote address at Upskilling in a Digital World in the Shineman Center for Science, Engineering and Innovation on Oct. 30. “In air navigation, there is a 1 in 60 rule,” she said. “This is a rule of thumb which says, if you are a pilot and you are one degree off course at take-off, for every 60 miles you fly, you will miss your target by one mile.” During a cross-country flight, that can mean the flight lands 50 miles away from its intended destination. “This principle can be applied in the context of your own life,” she said. “You are on your own course, with your own destination. And you are the pilot calibrating the trajectory of your life.” Students need to be responsible for implementing their own course corrections to land where they want to be in life, she said. She also credited the students in attendance for taking the first step toward ensuring they are on the path to success. Digital upskilling—staying upto-date on the latest emerging technologies and their applications in whatever the profession—will be vital to everyone.

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“If you continue to prioritize your digital skillset, by the time you graduate, you’ll be in a better position to land that first job and differentiate yourself at that job,” De Marco told students. In her opening remarks, College President Deborah F. Stanley explained that the upskilling event stemmed from a discussion at the College Foundation spring 2019 board meeting. “We embraced their idea and we brought it to life through today’s event, which allows us to provide you—our students—with additional learning opportunities that will help you expand your skill sets,” President Stanley said. “Gaining these upskilling aptitudes, in addition to earning your SUNY Oswego degree, will help prepare you for the workplace in a way the business and technology sectors understand and need.” Following De Marco’s remarks, event emcee Jeff Knauss ’07, CEO/ co-founder of The Digital Hyve and Oswego College Foundation Board of Directors member, invited students to attend one of three tracks (see sidebar). Attendees were encouraged to take advantage of the college’s subscription to online learning modules and earn badges and certifications through LinkedIn Learning. They were also invited to get a professional portrait taken in Career Services’ LinkedIn Photo Studio, which was set up and available during a reception immediately following the sessions.

DATA ANALYTICS/TABLEAU, featuring speaker Oliver Medonza ’16 M’18 (above), UX Researcher at Edward Jones, and facilitated by Pranay Chapagain M’15 M’20, web application developer at SUNY Oswego

ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION (RPA)/ UIPATH, featuring speaker Janette Hausler ’89 (above), global vice president of Partner Marketing at UiPath, and facilitated by Rick Buck ’05 M’10, director of digital services at SUNY Oswego

CYBERSECURITY/COMPTIA, featuring speaker Mark Lobel ’85 (above), principal at PwC, and facilitated by Ursula Wilkinson, information security analyst at SUNY Oswego

Campus Currents

ALUMNI Awards ★ PROGRAM

Oswego Alumni Association Award Recipients Named The Oswego Alumni Association (OAA) will honor seven notable alumni with a 2020 Alumni Award for their exceptional contributions and accomplishments. The awards program recognizes individuals for their contributions but also elevates that individual as a model for students and other alumni, who total more than 87,000 worldwide. The Distinguished Alumnus Award—the association’s most prestigious award—recognizes those who have achieved national or international recognition in their field. This year’s recipients are: • Dr. Frederick Bieber ’72, a medical geneticist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a member of the Faculty of Medicine at Harvard University, and a consultant at the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Children’s Hospital Boston. • Tamar Greene ’09, an equity actor currently playing the role of George Washington in the Broadway musical Hamilton. Honoring alumni who have demonstrated a lifetime of both professional and civic leadership, the Lifetime Award of Merit will be presented to: • Barry Gliner ’84, director of Post Production at Discovery Inc., a current member of School of Communication, Media and the Arts Advisory Board and longtime alumni volunteer, who mentors graduates on career development.

Recognizing alumni who have had a significant impact on the college, OAA and/ or SUNY Oswego students, the Alumni Impact Award will be given to: • Jerry Esposito ’70, a longtime alumni volunteer, former OAA Board Member and leader of the Beta Tau Epsilon efforts to establish the Beta Tau Epsilon Service Scholarship. • Bob Garrett ’83, New York Office managing partner at KPMG LLP, a current member of the Oswego College Foundation Board and longtime alumni volunteer, who mentors students and alumni on career development and hosts alumni events in New York City. Receiving the Community Service Award for outstanding achievement in service to others is: • Linda Townsend ’74, a teacher in the Port Byron Central School District with an impressively extensive list of community service leadership and experience, including Wreaths Across America, Hometown Heroes Celebration, Vietnam

Veterans The Wall that Heals Exhibit, former Cayuga County Legislator, and former Auburn/Cayuga Community College Alumni Association Board of Directors Member. The GOLD Award is presented to Graduates Of the Last Decade (GOLD) alumni who achieved career success and demonstrated significant volunteer service to their communities and/or the Oswego Alumni Association Inc. or the college. This award will be presented to: • Quindell Williams ’11, currently a fulltime teacher within the Syracuse City School District, following an eight-year career as a photojournalist at CNY Central in Syracuse, during which he earned two Emmy Awards for his work. He is also a former GOLD Leadership Council member and frequent Alumni-In-Residence participant. To learn more about the awards program or to nominate yourself or another alum, visit alumni.oswego.edu/alumniawards.

College Works to Reaffirm Middle States Accreditation In fall 2019, SUNY Oswego began a highly engaging two-year process of preparing to reaffirm its national accreditation with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) through a Self-Study evaluation that will conclude in the 2021-2022 academic year. SUNY Oswego’s accreditation was last reaffirmed and commended by MSCHE in November 2017 after the college’s successful completion of the Periodic Review Report. SUNY Oswego has been accredited by MSCHE since 1950. Currently over 70 SUNY Oswego faculty and staff, including many of whom are also alumni, are serving on the college’s Self-Study steering committee and MSCHE Standards-aligned subcommittees. For more information on our process and progress, please visit oswego.edu/ middlestates.

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Supporting Green The Path Forward campaign provides students with vital scholarship support

Jose Angel Reyes Munoz ’22 and his wife, Viktorija Andra Reyes ’14 M’15, listed all their household and family expenses with their four children, examined all sources of income and recognized that they needed another source of income. Otherwise, one of two things would happen: They would fall behind on their bills or Jose could no longer continue toward his goal of earning a college degree and becoming a science teacher.

Didem Demir ’20 of Istanbul, Turkey, dreamed of attending a college in America, and thanks to her strong academic record in high school, she earned academic scholarships that enabled her to enroll at SUNY Oswego to study marketing. Then in 2018, Turkey experienced a currency and debt crisis that had the Turkish Lira plunging in value, reaching record lows against the U.S. dollar. Financing her education suddenly became a pressing issue for her and her family.

100+

The Path FORWARD Thankfully, all three students received privately funded scholarships from the Oswego College Foundation that helped keep their life’s trajectory on course and ensured that they could take advantage of all the opportunities afforded by a SUNY Oswego education. In November 2019, SUNY Oswego President Deborah F. Stanley announced a new college-wide priority, The Path Forward, to help provide more scholarship support to Lakers like Jose, Didem and Keith. The campaign seeks to double the number of privately funded, need-based scholarships available for students from 220 to 440 by June 30, 2021. To date, a total of more than 100 new scholarships have been created in this campaign. “I continue to be impressed with the way our loyal alumni rally around the college to address an articulated need for support,” said Michael Durney ‘83, chair of the Oswego College Foundation. “For many of us, SUNY Oswego created a pathway to our successful careers, and we continually hear how grateful our alumni are for their Oswego education. Whenever possible, they express that gratitude by supporting the college and our current students. On behalf of the foundation, I thank them for their generosity and leadership in paving the way for the next generation.”

As a double major in human resource management and sociology, Keith Loh ’20 kept a full academic course load and tried to get involved in as many activities as he could. But with two campus jobs with Auxiliary Services and Campus Life, he didn’t have as much time for the extracurricular experiences as he would have liked.

220 Scholarships

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Scholarships

Learn more at oswego.edu/pathforward

Tracing Paths Back to Oswego “The only way I could afford college was through Pell Grants and student loans,” said Jim Triandiflou ’88, retired CEO of Relias Learning in Cary, N.C., and a benefactor of the newly created James Triandilou ’88 Scholarships. “In my company we hire many new college grads who have tens of thousands of dollars in loans. This financial burden is stressful and also makes it harder for kids to do things that contribute to independence and happiness. The Path Forward campaign helps those with the greatest need go to college with less stress and begin their aftercollege life free to chase their dreams!” Jim attributes much of his own success to his foundational experiences and education at SUNY Oswego. (continued on next page)

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“My friends (4th floor Oneida!), family (my sister Lynn [Triandiflou Franey ’89] went to Oz with me) and career (thank you, Professor Molinari) all sprung out of my time at Oswego,” he said. “Being part of the Student Association was a confidence-building experience. I left Oz with confidence to take chances and compete with kids from ‘the best’ schools. Thirty years later I’ve lived a life beyond my wildest dreams. I’ve been so fortunate and it’s a blessing to be able to help others.” Wes Brown ’68, professor emeritus of English at Rutgers University, decided to establish a scholarship to pay tribute to the profound role SUNY Oswego had in shaping his life’s path as well as to ensure that others can reap the same benefits.

He traces his 30-plus years as a successful educator and author to many formative experiences at Oswego during a tumultuous time in the country. During college, he attended a lecture by two Civil Rights activists and ended up using that connection to work on voter registration in Mississippi in the summer of 1965. That experience fueled his own passion to write and create change in the country. He also grew from interactions with many of his professors with whom he remained close for years after his graduation. “College is a time where you challenge others’ perceptions and are challenged in return,” he said. “That push and pull is as it should be, and helps you develop. You are never too old to learn or too young to teach. Oswego taught me that. I hope that my scholarship makes it possible for other students who might not otherwise have had the opportunity, to embark on an adventure of learning.”

Dr. Douglas ’75 M’87 and Susan Pierce Lohnas ’74 heeded the call when they heard that students at their alma mater were at risk of dropping out of school due to financial situations. They established an endowed scholarship to support Oswego students with financial need. “Looking back, it is hard to imagine what our lives would have been like without SUNY Oswego,” Douglas said. “We are small-town people. Living with a diverse population, opening our minds through a solid education and meeting each other have shaped the path we have enjoyed for almost 50 years so far. We want others to have that same opportunity.”

Continuing on the Path when they came up with their own idea. I love helping people and I love teaching. There is no better way to combine my passions than becoming a teacher.” Because of the additional funds Didem received as the recipient of the Curtis M. Pearsall ’75 Scholarship, she, too, was able to remain in college. She graduated in May summa cum laude and plans to apply to graduate school to earn an MBA. Jose said the Jack C. James ’62 (above left) Scholarship he received enabled him to stay in school and he will make the most of the opportunity afforded him. “This is the first time I ever received a scholarship, so being selected for one is very encouraging and has motivated me to work harder,” Jose said. “I don’t want to let the donor down and I want him to feel proud of me and what I will accomplish.” Jose has big plans for his own future, and as the first in his family to go to college, he is paving the way for his four children to follow in his footsteps. “I have a passion for teaching the world about our planet, and I am good at it,” he said. “I love the look on kids’ faces when they realize they understood a concept or

“The scholarship was a significant help to me during a very unusual circumstance based on an unexpected financial problem,” she said. “Without that support, I wouldn’t have been able to complete my degree; therefore, I am grateful to the donor for making an investment in my future career.” Keith said being the recipient of the KeyBank Scholarship eased his financial burdens and freed up some time to focus more on his education and developing his relationships. “Coming to SUNY Oswego has been like a dream, and it truly is—and will be—the best four years of my life,” he said. “I have come to meet many great and amazing people, some of whom I believe will be lifelong friends.”

And for many, it’s the relationships forged at Oswego that leave a lasting impression—that campus members carry with them as they venture on paths away from Oswego’s lakeshores. “SUNY Oswego is such an engaging campus,” said Bridget Curran ’92, a scholarship benefactor and inspection manual coordinator with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. “There is always someone who is willing to help with your education—professors who have study hours, tutors who make themselves available and are able to share their knowledge, or roommates and dorm mates who encourage success. Relationships that revolve around SUNY Oswego seem to stand the test of time. Wonderful memories from my time at Oswego, both as a student and as an alumna attendee of Oswego events, encourage me to give back to a wonderful institution.”

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Solar Panels —Rice Creek Field Station

YEARS EARTH DAY

Going Green

SUNY Oswego Makes Great Strides in Sustainability Since the First Earth Day Celebration 50 Years Ago Fifty years ago on April 22, art major Ken Froebig ’72 and childhood education major Greg Loan ’72 helped lead SUNY Oswego’s participation in the country’s first Earth Day celebration. Joining other college students across the country in protest of “gas-guzzling” automobiles, they decided to bury a 1960 Chrysler DeSoto in front of Culkin Hall after filling the donated car with litter collected from around Oswego. Burying the car was only one of many events during the first weeklong celebration that raised awareness of environmental issues. During the first Earth Week in 1970, stories in the Oswegonian reported that Oswego students presented a “fast-paced stage play” that combined environmental readings with dramatic lighting, staging and sound effects. Students decorated Poucher Hall with displays about pollution and the need to clean up the water and air, including artwork depicting the Statue of Liberty wearing a gas mask.

“Hot topics” of the day included thermal pollution, oil pollution, pesticides and over-population. “We were young and idealistic, and we felt like the environment was being overlooked because of the war in Vietnam,” Ken said. “We were just starting to learn about things like pesticides from books like Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. Burying the car was an act of symbolism and consciousness. Looking back now, we know that it was perhaps one of the worst things we could do—putting those toxins in the ground.” These nascent acts of environmentalism planted a seed of consciousness in people like Ken—who as a college student also canoed with Greg on a Crusade for

The students attended numerous panels with elected officials, scientists and scholars; hosted a city-wide neighborhood clean-up and organized an environmental conference for area high school students. Photos by Jim Gemza ’70

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Cleaner Water from Oswego back home to New York City to encourage people to limit their gasoline consumption. Today, Ken runs the Tipi Village Retreat in the Mohawk Valley in Oregon, and maintains his passion for environmental activism. Greg went on to work for the Oswego County Conservation Corps and just retired from Utica National Insurance Company, where he worked in worker protection and property safety. While, in retrospect, some of the college students’ actions—not just on the Oswego campus, but across the country—may now appear ill-advised, their intentions to raise awareness about pollution and environmental conservation helped to establish the topics as part of the national dialogue.

Members of the SUNY Oswego college community gathered Sept. 20, 2019, for a Climate Strike rally.

Oswego’s Green Legacy Carries On Flash ahead nearly 50 years. It’s a sunny Friday in September 2019 on the SUNY Oswego campus. Students have gathered for a “Climate Strike” rally, coordinated worldwide by 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg to raise awareness of climate change ahead of the Sept. 23 United Nations Climate Action Summit.

“You must become the action generation,” she continued. “You must become the generation that doesn’t leave it on the Quad when the event is over. Take it home. Talk to parents and neighbors. Take it to your residence halls. Talk to your roommate. Everyone has a stake in this fight.”

The Oswego students and protesters carried cardboard signs with such messages as “THE OCEANS R Rising & SO ARE WE,” “There is no Plan(et) B,” “Our house is on fire,” and “Skip a straw, save a turtle.” They chanted, “No more corporate greed. Renewable energy is what we need.” Anthropology major and rally co-organizer Chelsie M. Scott ’20 was thrilled with the turnout at the rally, and the participants’ energy fueled her remarks. “SUNY Oswego, it is time we make our voices heard and demand immediate action against climate change,” Chelsie said. “For too long we have sat idly by waiting for legislation to realize the immediate impact climate change is having on our people, our wildlife, our earth. We will no longer talk about the change we wish to see. We will take to the streets, with our fists held high, screaming at the top of our lungs, demanding change.”

Stanley shared with the students that in 2007 she signed the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, pledging to lower Oswego’s emissions and become carbon neutral by 2050. College President Deborah F. Stanley (above) stood among the students, employees and community members who had gathered for the rally, and she took in the scene. “I am here to listen, to absorb, but I am really here to get in my gut your energy, your understanding, your perspective,” Stanley told those gathered. “You inherit this world. It is yours from this day forward. It belongs to you—your generation and the generations that come after you. We need you.

“We need your conscience, as well … to help point out ways that we were not being vigilant and we were not taking things into account,” President Stanley said. “We needed to change, and we changed. And we will continue to change as time goes on.” Since the 2007 Climate Commitment pledge, the college has instituted many changes and developed environmental standards that have guided institutional decision-making.

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With the opening of the Shineman Center for Science, Engineering and Innovation in 2013, the college replaced the old “energy hog” Snygg Hall with the energy efficient Shineman Center, home to the state’s largest geothermal well that provides green energy to the 230,000-square-foot academic building. Other recent construction projects—the School of Education’s Wilber Hall, the School of Communication, Media and the Arts’ Tyler Hall and Hewitt Hall, and Scales and Waterbury residence halls— also meet the LEED Gold certification.

Nationally Recognized for Green Initiatives For more than a decade, SUNY Oswego has shown great initiative in being a careful steward of its natural and fiscal resources. The college committed to putting its physical resources, capital assets and technological capabilities to their highest utility.

“We envision a future where intentional learners with clear understanding of the interdependencies of social, economic and environmental challenges invent a better world and are prepared to address the root causes of societal issues,” President Stanley said.

In 2009, the college created its first Climate Action Plan, which set a new direction for the college and outlined five steps for the college to pursue to reduce its carbon footprint. Oswego updated the plan in 2012 after creating an Environmental Sustainability Roadmap in 2011 and conducting a Transportation Survey in 2010.

Since 2007, all new construction on campus has met or exceeded the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Gold standards—an effort to partner with a national association to advance sustainable living. The certification signifies that the college considered energy, carbon and waste reduction when making decisions during the design, construction and operation of the projects, according to Mitch Fields, associate vice president for facilities services.

The current plan set out to ensure that all our students are fully prepared for the future with the intellectual capacity, skills and access to technologies that enable them to innovate and adapt in an equitable, ethical and sustainable way.

Scales Hall— LEED Gold Certified

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In 2011, the college achieved the LEED Gold rating on its 68-unit townhouse student housing complex, The Village.

The Village—LEED Gold Certified

With the demolition of Snygg Hall in 2014, SUNY Oswego has been “rightsized,” meaning that it has full utilization of all college buildings and can preserve the green space on campus. “Once a building is constructed, it needs to be heated and maintained even if the spaces aren’t in use,” Mitch said. “Or think of it this way: If your vehicle couldn’t be turned off and would be using fuel 24/7, would you want to be driving a tractor trailer or a more fuel efficient small sedan? And wouldn’t you want to get the most use out of that running vehicle—maybe share it with others so that the running vehicle was in use as much as possible? That’s what we mean about right-sizing. We want enough classrooms to meet our needs, but not have a lot of spaces that aren’t being used for large portions of time.” In 2018, the college announced “Clean Water for All,” its first-ever, campus-wide Grand Challenges project. Spanning two years, the project pulls together students, faculty, alumni and community members to work on multidisciplinary research, creative activities and service initiatives that are designed to advance the com-

Tyler Hall—LEED Gold Certified

“ SUNY Oswego is one college absolutely overflowing with sustainability. ” ~ Princeton Review’s Guide to 413 Green Colleges

mon good and contribute at the highest levels of theory and application to find solutions to the major societal challenge of ensuring clean water for all.

Committed Citizens

Also in 2018, Facilities Services and Campus Technology Services completed a data center renovation that reduced the size of the facility and modernized the power and cooling systems to drastically reduce power needs. More than 90 percent of the campus servers were virtualized, reducing power needs and simplifying the management of the systems.

During the Climate Strike rally last fall, student organizer Chelsie opened her remarks to her peers by quoting one of her favorite people, American anthropologist Margaret Mead:

The college is currently creating a comprehensive Clean Energy Roadmap with the help of New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and engineering firm O’Brien and Gere. SUNY Oswego is part of the N.Y. Higher Education Large-Scale Renewable Energy consortium, made up of 16 SUNY campuses and four private colleges that are using their collective purchasing power to develop new renewable projects by contracting renewable energy at scale. The goal is to expand this group to include all 64 SUNY campuses and become carbon neutral by 2040. SUNY campuses have already reduced their carbon footprint from 1.02 million metric tons in 1990 to 770,000 metric tons in 2017, decreasing its greenhouse emissions by nearly 25 percent, at the same time as increasing the system’s total square footage by 50 percent, according to a Sept. 23, 2019, SUNY blog post. While these large-scale changes lead to equally significant results, the Oswego campus community has also worked to empower every person to make small changes that can collectively transform the campus. (See page 22 for some of these initiatives.) SUNY Oswego has repeatedly been listed among the nation’s most environmentally responsible colleges by Princeton Review. In the most recent edition released in fall 2019 of the “Princeton Review’s Guide to 413 Green Colleges,” the publication states: “SUNY Oswego is one college absolutely overflowing with sustainability.” Because of its policies and strategic investment in sustainable resources, SUNY Oswego has established a culture of environmentalism, which is embraced by its campus members, particularly its students.

Changing the World

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Climate Strike rally co-organizers Lauren Fitzgerald ’21 (left) and Chelsie M. Scott ’20

“If I wasn’t fighting for a better world every day, I would be doing him a disservice,” Chelsie said. “He and everyone deserve a clean planet full of love.”

Chelsie said for weeks after the rally in September, she heard from classmates about the changes that they were making in their lives and how the Climate Strike motivated them.

That is a message that President Stanley also shared in her remarks to students at the rally last fall.

“My hope was that it would inspire others and bring positive change, and I can tell you that it has,” she said. “I had people buying metal straws or going to a thrift store for the first time, getting reusable bags, anything you can think of.”

“You must use your vote, you must use your mind and you must be active in this endeavor,” she said. “And never let it lag. I feel so grateful to all of you, who have decided to commit to bringing climate change action to real action in our lifetime. Because we don’t have another chance. There’s one world and this is the world we need to save.”

She said while she had always loved being outdoors and got into recycling earlier than some, she said it is her 6-year-old son who now motivates her activism.

SUNY Oswego’s Carbon Footprint 35,000 30,000

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Sustainability Studies Minor SUNY Oswego offers a 21-credit interdisciplinary minor in sustainability studies that encompasses the interactions of social policy, social equity, scientific principles and environmental stewardship. Students learn to think creatively, critically and systemically to understand and address complex issues from a comprehensive perspective.

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Small Actions, Big Impacts The college’s Sustainability Office manages dozens of projects, public awareness campaigns and events relating to a wide range of issues that address the triple bottom line approach to sustainability: meaning that the projects consider the economic, social and environmental implications of people’s actions, said Kate Spector M’10, manager of the Sustainability Office. (See below for details about these projects.)

Kate’s philosophy on sustainability is that everyone can and must change their behaviors day-to-day to preserve the environment. For example, Kate recognized that she was burning through dry erase markers in a past role as a teacher. “I was finding I was throwing away a marker at the end of every lecture,” she said. “I thought to myself, ‘Wow, this is an incredible amount of waste. How can it be segued into something positive?’”

Kate works with a team of student interns to create a visible presence on campus and highlight ways in which every person can be more sustainable. She also serves on the college’s Campus Environment Advisory Council and the Sustainability Minor Committee, and her office partners with such other campus groups as the President’s Group on Sustainability in Dining Centers.

From there, she learned about a recycling program. A conversation with Prof. [Dan] Tryon ’89 on campus led to technology education students creating boxes for campus classrooms to collect the used-up markers for recycling. “We submit them to the TerraCycle program, which breaks them down into their components,” Kate said. “The plastic parts get shredded and eventually put back on the market to be used to create new goods. I really enjoy making note of how resources are used, not used, or misused, and how they can be positively redirected. Really to solve a lot of these problems, we need to have a cultural change. Any way we can incite our awareness will be a catalyst for that change.”

Her office oversees a number of public awareness programs for the campus community such as Perk Up, Tap In and the Bike Share programs (see related graphics), and she organizes such annual occurrences as Sustainability Week in the fall and Earth Week in the spring.

Perk Up

Pictured from left are Kate Spector M’10, manager of the Sustainability Office, with interns Spencer Johnson ’20, Linden Merrill ’21 and Nicole Barry ’20. They organized the Clozet sale Jan. 30-Feb.1, making 1,800 pounds of donated goods available for bargain prices and raising $1,600 to purchase trees for planting.

Sustainability in Dining Services—Replaced paper with plastic or washable containers whenever possible.

Piano Refurbishing—Refurbished existing Steinway pianos for Music Department instead of purchasing new ones.

Repurposing Scrap Metal— Faculty used reclaimed and recycled scrap iron for use in the Annual Oswego Iron Pour art demonstration.

University Tickets —e-ticketing software that reduced the number of printed paper tickets on campus by over 20,000.

Fleet of 75 bikes available for use by campus members

• 2,947 purchases made with reusable mug*

• 25,158 miles on bikes instead of car**

• 26 reusable coffee cups refilled each day over 113 days*

• Reducing CO2 emissions as much as 10 metric tons since fall 2016**

*SOURCE: Auxiliary Services (8/26-12/21/19)

Other Green Initiatives Leave Green—Rummage sale for students at semester’s end to donate any items that they no longer want or use.

In partnership with Cupanion, program reduces waste by utilizing refillable coffee cups

Recycling

Tap In

In 2018-19 academic year, SUNY Oswego recycled 2,881.5 tons of waste**

In partnership with Cupanion, program reduces waste by utilizing refillable water bottles

• 605 tons of single or dual stream (paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, metal)** • 7 tons of clean construction and demolition debris** • 2,268 tons of cars/truck batteries**

LakerPrint—Streamlined printing system that greatly reduced paper use.

• 1.5 tons of motor oil**

• ~4,000 water bottles distributed during summer Orientation 2019** • 1 million 20-ounce reusable bottles filled at water stations, potentially eliminating 1 million plastic water bottles**

**Source for all info below: SUNY Oswego Sustainability Office

7 Simple Ways to Help the Environment 5. S ave electricity. Turn off lights, unplug 2. Print as little as necessary. appliances, regulate your thermostat when 3. Recycle. you’re not home, use 4. U se reusable beverage energy efficient bulbs. containers. 1. Use reusable bags.

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6. Save water. Don’t run water while brushing your teeth, use only the amount of water needed to wash and rinse dishes, use liquid flush on dual flush toilets when possible, capture and redirect rainwater for outdoor use.

7. A void taking cars or carpool when possible. Walk, bike, skateboard or carpool, and group errands together to streamline the number of trips.

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Defending Green

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In 2007, the Town of Ellicottville in Western New York denied a permit to the Laidlaw Energy Group, which sought to modify a former natural gas cogeneration plant into a less environmentally friendly wood-burning one. Working on behalf of the town was attorney Daniel Spitzer ’79, a partner with Hodgson Russ in Buffalo, N.Y. He assisted the Town Planning Board in conducting the environmental impact review. The board denied the permit because the review indicated that converting the plant from natural gas to wood-burning fuel would pose “significant adverse and immitigable environmental risks.” In response, the New York City-based energy company filed a $10 million lawsuit in U.S. District Court to have the town’s ruling overturned. However, Dan successfully defended against that lawsuit, with the federal court dismissing the case in an October 2011 ruling. The town’s decision to deny the permit prevailed— both in federal court and in a companion case in state court—and the community was saved from exposure to potentially damaging pollution. “The municipality didn’t think it was the right decision for them to move forward in allowing the company to change to a fuel that would be more hazardous to the environment and their community, and we were able to successfully litigate to deny that change,” said Dan, who earned a Juris Doctorate, magna cum laude from the University at Buffalo School of Law in 1993. The Ellicottville case, one of many in Dan’s legal victories throughout his career, addresses a theme throughout his legal work. He seeks to preserve the environment while also pursuing the best interest of the communities and their citizens. “There’s a common misconception that being green is costly or can have a negative impact on the economy,” he said. “But these pursuits can significantly save taxpayers money and create job opportunities.” For example, he has helped communities convert contaminated brownfields into community solar projects that alleviate the tax burden for residents of the community. “Many of these projects are built on former landfills, so in essence, we’re turning a liability into a revenue-generating source for the community,” said Dan, who was a business administration

major at Oswego. “These projects also produce tax payments or payment in lieu of taxes to reduce taxpayers’ burdens.” He has seen these projects reduce taxpayers’ electric bills by 10 percent. Dan gained intimate knowledge of municipal law and practice before he became a lawyer. He was the first finance director for the newly incorporated Bullhead City in Arizona, and in that role, he was involved in drafting all of the city’s inaugural codes and laws. Today, he co-leads his firm’s Renewable Energy Practice and his legal expertise includes cleantech, green building, land use, sustainable development, real property tax assessment and eminent domain. Another part of his practice is spent providing legal support for green energy companies in the European Union establishing themselves in America. This work draws on the knowledge and experience gained through his master’s degree in sustainable development at the University of London. Of course, he said, his SUNY Oswego experience also set him on course for his current career path. It was along the lakeshores of Oswego where his passion for the environment deepened and he expanded his love of the outdoors through such activities as cross-country skiing, camping and hiking. “I had a wonderful experience at Oswego, and I truly enjoyed being Upstate,” said the Long Island native. “My business and accounting education at Oswego really laid the foundation for all that I’ve done, particularly now as I am working with European Union companies. It has really opened doors for me in the law by knowing how companies work.” Ultimately, his goal is to combine all of his experience and knowledge to “enable communities to move toward a sustainable future for our children while mitigating challenges that a decarbonized economy presents,” he said.

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“This didn’t exist when I was a young professional,” she said. “I had to figure it out on my own. I had very few women mentors.” So how did the wife and mother of two navigate the “boys club” and the aggressive, fast-paced, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. workday of Wall Street? A combination of early life experiences backed by an incredible family support system, she said.

Set Up to Succeed

Throughout her career, Doreen Mochrie ’85 blazed a path down Wall Street and continues to do so for those who hope to follow in her footsteps. She is passionate about supporting eager, yet disenfranchised, talent to have a chance to work on Wall Street. For example, she and her husband, Chris Tuohy ’81, a Wall Street veteran turned high school guidance counselor, donated $100,000 to the Student Investment Club at SUNY Oswego in 2015 so that Lakers could manage and invest real money before they graduate. “Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of Oswego graduates on Wall Street, and we thought it was important that graduates of Oswego at least have a level playing field,” she said. “We felt that we needed to contribute additional monies to the investment club, so that the kids who were interested in investing at Oswego would have the same experience that other kids from some of the private schools have. Then they’d at least have similar experiences when competing for those jobs.”

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Earning Green

As the youngest of six (four minutes younger than her twin brother) in the small Adirondack town of Broadalbin, N.Y., Doreen pushed herself to compete with her older siblings in whatever the task—riding bikes, playing basketball or soccer, winning at board games.

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As the only woman partner at the hedge funds where she worked, she is also acutely aware of the dramatic gender gap within asset management. In fact, fewer than one in five hedge fund professionals are women, and only 11 percent of senior level professionals are women, according to a 2019 report by online financial database Preqin. So she also carves out time to support young women who hope to enter or remain in finance and investment management careers. Doreen is an angel supporter of 100 Women in Finance and has served as the senior practitioner events contact for the organization, which is a global network of women professionals in the finance and alternative investment industries. She also serves on the advisory board for the not-for-profit, Girls Who Invest, which seeks to have 30 percent of the world’s capital invested by women by 2030. She co-founded a women’s networking group called #moretogo for senior women in the asset management business.

Her childhood was infused with friendly competition, voracious reading, academic accomplishments and extracurricular activities ranging from student government to theatre to three varsity sports to national honor society. Most of all, she said her childhood was filled with love, laughter and an instilled, unwavering commitment to what was important in life—her family. She credits her parents and particularly her father, Kenneth, a World War II Purple Heart Navy veteran who worked 30 years for the U.S. Postal Service, for keeping her centered. “He loved openly and easily his entire family,” she said. “He did not leave a conversation without telling you how proud he was of you and how much he loved you. So I try to do that for my kids because it gives you a sense that when you fail that—well, what did you really fail at? You still have everything that’s most important in life—your family. He was also all about the simple things in life— just sharing a meal with somebody, taking the time to spend time with your family and to laugh. Those are the things I try to bring into my house and into my family.” Working with a strong moral compass provided the clarity she needed to pursue clients as an investor relations executive at some of the top hedge funds in the world. “Wall Street doesn’t always attract the best-intentioned people,” she said. “You want to find and work for the people with the highest levels of integrity. That’s

super, super important. Building and maintaining relationships was the most important part of my job.” In the highly competitive and male-dominated world of finance, Doreen often faced unique challenges. She said her birth order as the youngest of six, as well as her knack for talking with people—a skill she fine-tuned as a waitress at Admiral Woolsey’s and bartender at the Cameo during her college years in Oswego— helped her succeed. The biggest challenge was not being excluded from conversations by male counterparts, nor was it the career decisions made without her because of a boss’s assumptions about her role as a new mother, nor was it being penalized for focusing on work during the workday rather than spending time building internal relationships with coworkers around the water cooler or on the golf course. Those challenges got her frustrated occasionally, but the biggest challenge that she struggled to come to terms with, was the schedule. “This is definitely not a 9 to 5 job,” she said. “So when you’re a Type A person, you try to do everything well in your life—be the best mother, be the best wife, be great at work. Work is just so all-consuming, but I didn’t want my children and Chris to suffer. That was the biggest challenge.”

Focused on Family The work-life imbalance came to a head early on in Doreen and Chris’s family development, as both worked demanding jobs on Wall Street and struggled to find the time needed to care for and parent their young daughters. “We just couldn’t have two people working at that intensity,” Doreen said. “Our kids were just more important to us, so Chris ended up taking a step back in his career. He left the workplace for a couple of years when our kids were little and then he went back to school to become a high school guidance counselor. He is an amazing father and husband, who has supported me every inch of the way.” His family lives close to them and also provided support that enabled Doreen to maintain her demanding career. “You always think that you’re not doing the right thing,” she said. “You have selfdoubt and criticism. I didn’t always get

to have dinner with my kids every day, but we made sure on the weekends that I wasn’t jet-setting. The weekends were when we sat down and caught up with what was going on in each other’s lives.” Throughout her career, Doreen has always made time for her family and her friends. In fact, she maintains close relationships with a group of 16 Oswego alumnae who met each other on the fifth floor of Seneca Hall as freshmen in 1982. Various configurations of that group have gotten together every year since graduation for their “ChickFest” gatherings or to celebrate each other’s life milestones—birthdays, weddings, children’s births, christenings, graduations or promotions. “Doreen keeps up her connections with a very diverse group of people and is always organizing outings or hosting gatherings at her house,” said Gail Healy Burns ’85, who has known Doreen for nearly four decades. “She takes the time to talk to people and is a genuine friend. Success hasn’t changed who she is. She’s still a great girl, outgoing and fun to be around. She’s a wonderful mother to her two girls. She seems to be able to do everything— and effortlessly.” It was in her role as a mother that Doreen first met her neighbor and now good friend, Jacqueline “Jackie” Keenan Rush ’92. “She and Chris were coming to pick up their daughter, Molly, from a playdate with our daughter at our house,” Jackie said. “I noticed her Upstate accent and told her that my husband, Jack (John ’91), and I met at a small college Upstate. She asked where and I told her Oswego. We couldn’t believe it!” They quickly connected over their common Oswego experiences—both lived in Seneca Hall, watched the sunsets on Lake Ontario and survived the cold winters. “We did the same things, just at different times, and we immediately forged a bond,” Jackie said. “I trust her implicitly, and she’s always my first call when I need to talk through a parenting question or a work issue. She’s confident, hard-working, gracious, kind, and we just feel comfortable around her, Chris and their daughters.” The two families have vacationed together and their families get together for a hike every Thanksgiving morning, Jackie said.

“They have a tight bond with their children, who are both just lovely girls themselves,” she said. “They are a very close family.” Doreen also makes time for her favorite charities, including the Oswego College Foundation, having served on its board since 2011 and currently volunteers as secretary and a member of the Investment, Governance and Executive committees. Bill Burns ’83, senior vice president and financial advisor at Morgan Stanley, was recruited to the board in 2016 by Doreen, who has been friends with him and his wife, Gail ’85, for more than 30 years. While Bill describes Doreen as “very warm, family-oriented, caring—a beautiful person all-around” in her personal relationships, he said her professional persona is “competitive as hell.” “When you get her in a boardroom, she’s not someone to be pushed around,” he said. “She’s formidable—as powerful as any executive you’ll ever meet. She’s very, very smart. She’s always well-prepared and is highly respected.” After retiring in 2019 from Olympus Peak Asset Management, a firm she co-founded with Todd Westhus, Doreen has plans to travel for fun with Chris and some of her Oswego friends. She also plans to continue mentoring young women who want to pursue a career in finance and asset management. “I’ve enjoyed doing the work and now I really enjoy giving back to the asset management community in a different way,” she said. “I hope I’ve made an impact on some of these people who worked for me over the years—in giving back and helping them to navigate their careers.”

Doreen’s Advice 7 Characteristics Needed to Succeed on Wall Street 1. Competitiveness. 2. Strong work ethic. 3. Willing to travel. 4. Commitment to continuous learning. 5. Strong skills in mathematics, statistics, probability, finance and history. 6. Integrity. 7. Relationship building and people skills.

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In April 2019, he left SpinCar to pursue his company full time. He now partners with 25 farms, and he and his staff deliver produce from his warehouse in North Syracuse to a growing customer base year-round. “Overall the market is clamoring for solutions,” he said. Companies like Wegmans, Walmart and other grocers and chains hire a third party to deliver the goods for them and the customer pays extra for delivery, he said. “We’re cutting out the middle man,” Carl said. “During the summer season, we deliver farm to doorstep in 48 hours, and even in winter, 75 percent of our produce comes from local farms and greenhouses.”

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Delivering

The company supplements locally grown food items with produce from food distributors to offer produce that is out of season or unavailable locally.

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As a physics major, Carl Chappell ’09 enrolled at SUNY Oswego because of its equipment and reputation. But soon after his college career started, he launched a textbook resale business that led him to change his major to finance. “I’ve always had an entrepreneurial streak,” said Carl, who was a first-generation college student. “I figured the finance major would be more practical for whatever my future holds.” His textbook resale company quickly grew from serving students at SUNY Oswego to students at 25 colleges across the state with 50 student workers, and the business became a lucrative job for him for the first three years after graduation.

The company sends out a weekly email to subscribers with a list of items included in that week’s box, as well as recipes that can be made from the ingredients. Customers can sign up for weekly or biweekly deliveries and can customize their box before each delivery. Carl said he has plans to expand his company to serve the Rochester and Buffalo regions soon. In the meantime, he said he is focused on improving his customers’ experience. That’s why he said he makes a point of going out on deliveries himself. “I want to be out there talking to the customers,” he said. “You can never rest on your laurels.” He thinks that is particularly true for entrepreneurs and people who run their own businesses. He said witnessing opportunities drying up for people during the country’s economic recession in late 2000s fueled his belief in making his own opportunities. “I believe the best way to make a living is to work for yourself,” Carl said. “I’m not afraid of chasing a big dream.”

“In 2012, we saw the writing on the wall with the book rental industry hurting the secondary market,” he said. “So I started to wind down the business.” He shifted gears and became the eighth employee hired at SpinCar, a Syracuse-based startup whose subscription-based software enables auto dealers to display 360-degree images of their inventory online. He gained experience handling the accounting, finance, legal, human resources and facilities management at the company—which grew to now more than 85 employees. Meanwhile, in January 2018, the Canastota, N.Y., native started a new side enterprise of his own that sprung from his years of working on his now parents-in-law’s farm. The new company mixes his long-standing passion for farming and working with his hands with his business acumen. Adopting the subscription-based model, Carl launched Off the Muck Market, a delivery service of locally grown farm products to a four-county region in Central New York. Initially, he worked with three mid-sized farms to help those farmers find a new market for their goods while providing a seasonal home delivery service to make life easier for customers who range from busy soccer moms to homebound elderly or sick or those who just want to eat locally grown fresh produce.

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Why People Subscribe: Convenience, Customization, Quality, Community and Sustainability. Source: offthemuck.com

For three generations, the Greene family has operated the Oswego Sub Shop on West Bridge Street, satisfying the munchies of college students and Oswego residents at all hours of the day and night for 51 years. For more than 20 years, Greene’s Ale House—located across the street from the Sub Shop—quenched the thirst of the same community members. Then in 2019, Bill Jr. and Katherine Pullen Greene ’92 transformed that property into a nutrition club called The Mix. The couple replaced the bar’s dark wooden bar and barstools, the dim lighting accented by neon signs, with light wood, crisp white walls with bright green accents, lots of natural light and soft seating. The Mix opened on March 10, 2019—24 years to the day of when the couple had opened Greene’s Ale House. However, instead of consuming beer or liquor and maybe a dozen chicken wings, members of The Mix can customize their own meal replacement shake from dozens of flavor combinations, sip on an energizing tea with a soothing aloe shot or pop a protein ball into their mouths. “The Mix is a nutrition club for everyone,” said Kathy, who owns and operates The Mix, Oswego Sub Shop and Greene Rental Properties with her husband. “We provide healthy meal options to our community, free body composition testing and personal wellness coaches who can help with health and nutrition goals.” The idea for the shop came from her husband and her son, Billy, who came across a similar business, Slim Possible, in Rhode Island where Billy was attending a summer lacrosse camp. “Each shake is packed with protein as well as lots of vitamins and minerals, which made it the perfect breakfast for Billy to get through the intense days on the field,” Kathy said. “They drank shakes once and sometimes twice a day. We realized that we had a great opportunity and location to promote health and wellness in the community with The Mix.” Each shake has on average 24 grams of protein, 21 vitamins and minerals, 15-18 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 9 grams of sugar derived from fruit and approximately 250 calories.

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They call the store, a nutrition club, and the customers, members, because they want to make clear that customers who order anything have full access to the complimentary wellness profile. That entails a one-on-one appointment with a wellness coach who discusses health goals, obtains weight and measurements and creates a customized fitness and nutrition plan. For Kathy, an Oswego native who studied business administration at SUNY Oswego, this latest venture is yet another way to support and serve her community. After working as a retail manager in a clothing store and as a credit anaylst with Dunn and Bradstreet in Syracuse, she said she is proud to join her husband and his family in their businesses in Oswego. In addition to sponsoring numerous youth, adult and collegiate teams and organizations, she and her husband’s three Oswego-based businesses employ dozens of community members and serve thousands of customers each year. But she said she hopes their biggest contribution is the creation of the next generation of Greenes. “We are striving to raise three independent, hard-working children who have character and the desire to make our community a better place,” she said. “They started giving back to their community by working and volunteering at early ages. Our goal is to have them be bigger contributors than we are.”

Kathy (far left) with the dedicated team of Oswego Sub Shop employees and their most famous customer, Al Roker ‘76.

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From the Jan. 5 closing of Hamilton in Chicago, where Tamar Greene ’09 played George Washington for the previous 17 months, the tenor had less than two weeks to take the role to Broadway, where Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Pulitzer Prize winner has played for five years. Tamar said he felt emotional leaving the cast at CIBC Theatre, where Mayor Lori Lightfoot declared the last day of the run Hamilton Day in Chicago. She said the show had been a “remarkable gift” and praised the cast for performing for 31,000 public school students and generating $400 million in box office sales. “We came together,” Tamar said, “to … make a difference. [The cast] led with passion for furthering arts education, getting people to rock the vote and raising funds for serious health issues. What Hamilton has done in Chicago is extremely special, and I am honored to have been part of its legacy.”

Tamar Greene ’09 makes Broadway debut in ‘Hamilton’

While Hamilton marks his Broadway debut, Tamar said his breakthrough show was Porgy and Bess. That role grew out of a 2013 New York City audition with Telsey & Company Casting. He didn’t get a role in Motown, the show he tried out for, but he did get a callback for Porgy and Bess and was cast as a fisherman in the first national tour. “I learned so much about the audition process and the musical theater industry from that experience,” Tamar said. “That’s when I earned my Equity card before I even knew what an Equity card was.” When Tamar saw the hip-hop-infused Hamilton in previews in July 2015, he decided he had to be part of it. “As a kid from the Caribbean, I grew up knowing the struggle of an immigrant family and what it means to be part of America,” Tamar said. “All the while I was watching Hamilton, I was thinking: This musical would show my family why I must do what I do.” A series of auditions and callbacks with Telsey for various Hamilton roles stretched over two years without results. Persever-

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ance triumphed in 2018, however, when Tamar was cast as America’s Revolutionary War hero and first president. “It all clicked,” he said. “I feel patriarchal toward my many younger siblings, and because of that, I found I relate to Washington. That strong association came through in the audition.” As a freshman at SUNY Oswego, Tamar studied classical and jazz piano in the studio of Robert Auler. Friends who heard him sing stepped in and changed his future, introducing him to voice professor Todd Graber.

in Oswego Jazz Ensemble, and was a member of the music honorary fraternity, Mu Beta Psi. He’s been featured in a Kenekt concert and recently connected with and performed for Oswego students via a Zoom call, while Broadway remains shut down, due to COVID-19. When Brodway re-opens, fans will find him find him on stage convincing Alexander Hamilton to be his “right-hand man,” warning him “history has its eyes on you,”

and explaining why he won’t run for president again, instead seeking “a moment in the shade, at home in this nation we’ve made, one last time.” When Tamar received the call telling him he was cast in what he sees as his dream role, he was vacationing in Australia. “After hearing so many times that they wanted me, but I wasn’t quite right for any open roles, I finally felt my moment had arrived.”

“One day some students told me that I should hear Tamar sing,” Todd recalled. “I invited him to my studio, where we explored his lower range since he was singing bass in choir. I then had him vocalize higher—and then higher. He went up to a high B-flat without much effort, surprising us both. I looked at him and said, ‘you are no bass!’” Taking lessons with Todd, Tamar landed the role of Dancairo in Oswego Opera Company’s Carmen, while his professor played his cohort, Remendado. “Tamar’s voice is amazing—large, clear, expressive, musical and beautiful,” Todd said. “Broadway will always have a place for ‘legit’ voices, and his is that! Honestly, I thought he’d have a good chance in opera, but it didn’t surprise me when he began getting cast in non-operatic shows.” From Oswego, Tamar returned to his hometown of Rochester, N.Y., where his first job, with Blackboard Online Learning, reflected his computer information systems major, and his hobby—appearing in local theater—connected him to his major in music. He soon followed his talent to Eastman School of Music at University of Rochester, where he honed his stage versatility performing opera, musical theater, Motown and solo work while he earned a master’s degree in vocal performance. Among his long list of credits, Tamar counts the North American premiere of Love Never Dies, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s sequel to Phantom of the Opera; Charlie in New York Philharmonic’s Showboat at Lincoln Center, and Crab Man in the Spoleto Festival’s Porgy and Bess. Tamar said he’s proud to be a member of the big Oswego family and treasures his campus experiences. He sang in several ensembles, played piano and sang solos

FUN FACTS ABOUT TAMAR GREENE • Offered a chance to see Hamilton during the early off-Broadway run, he turned down a free ticket because he was busy.

• His seat was in front of that held by Vice President Joe Biden.

• A few months later, when the buzz about this new sensation grew, he contacted the friend who was working on the show to ask if the offer was still viable. It wasn’t!

• Following graduation from Oswego, Tamar ran the gamut of musical gigs. He taught piano lessons, performed at weddings and parties, sang in a group that did a lot of Motown music, and starred in The Wiz, Little Shop of Horrors and other regional theater productions.

• In July 2015, Tamar won a lottery to purchase a ticket and saw Hamilton for the first time.

• He was also the lead singer in Bitchin’ Kitchen, a Funk band that has opened for John Legend.

2020 Alumni Award Winner Tamar Greene ’09 was selected to receive the 2020 Oswego Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumnus Award, the highest recognition awarded by the association.

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As the co-owner of Sollecito Landscaping Nursery in Syracuse, Megan Cree Sollecito ’77 peddles her skills as a certified landscape professional to custom design beautiful yards for her customers—some of whom she met as a student at SUNY Oswego. “The people I met 46 years ago are still some of my closest friends,” said Megan, who has run the 6-acre garden center on Howlett Hill Road with her husband, Jim, for more than four decades. “I am grateful to those who’ve shopped at our garden center or hired our company for their own Central New York homes.” The couple prides itself on developing landscapes that utilize local, sustainable flora that will thrive in Central New York soils and sometimes extreme weather conditions. They are known for their many varieties of panicle hydrangea, which she said “are some of the easiest flowering shrubs for the longest-lasting blooms.” “We make it easy to have a green thumb,” Megan said. “We are a boutique shop, small enough to cater to each customer’s goals and considerations. We help beginners get started. Seasoned gardeners appreciate that we stay current with the newest plants, science and trends.” Megan and Jim, a graduate of Cornell University’s ornamental horticulture program, post helpful videos with tips for gardeners on their YouTube channel, and Jim hosts podcasts for WRVO, a local National Public Radio affiliate based at SUNY Oswego. Megan said that she has always been a “big fan of nature” and that having grown up in the 1960s and ’70s, she was a true “groovy, flower child.” At Oswego, the English major was very much a liberal arts enthusiast, having taken courses in such English classics as Shakespeare, Chaucer and Milton, as well as French and Spanish language, music and theater. She was frequently found in Tyler Hall performing in a range of student productions or portraying a cast of characters, including a turtle, a pirate, a cheerleader and a mermaid, in fellow students’ projects. She is also a proud sister of the Pi Delta Chi sorority.

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“A senior seminar and an Alumni Office internship reinforced how to apply my studies outside the classroom,” she said. “This all helped me became a better post-grad student, achieving my certification as a Lifetime Senior Certified Nursery and Landscape Professional.” Today, she visits campus regularly, often visiting a spot that holds particular importance to her—a tree near Funnelle Hall that Megan and Jim donated in memory of a friend and classmate, Tom “Jake” Jacobsen ’77, who died in 2000 while hiking in Grenada. Classmates will likely remember Megan on her bicycle, which she rode to class and all over town. Bikes still figure prominently in her life, as they have become one of her company’s themes in their displays. “It represents fun, freedom and fresh air,” Megan said. “We paint them bright colors, turning old, un-rideable bikes into a garden whimsy or a trellis.”

For Christine Tisa ’73, the color green plays a central role in her life. “Green is the middle between yellow (a warm color) and blue (a cool color),” said Christine, owner of Tisa Gallery in Clayton, N.Y. “It can be either warm or cool. If there’s too much yellow, the green becomes fiery like lime green. When more blue is added, the green transforms to coolness. It can bring the feeling of comfort and repose.” As an artist, she has studied the color theory of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Waldorf schools, who said: “Color is the soul of nature … and when we experience color, we participate in this soul.” “[Green] is in the middle of the color wheel, so it can represent balance and harmony,” Christine said. As a certified Kripalu Yoga instructor at her art studio and at River Yoga along the St. Lawrence in Clayton, Christine said green represents the heart chakra (energy center) within the body. The green chakra encompasses the mid-section of the body, including the heart, as well as the arms and hands. “This is how we receive and deliver love—through the heart and hands,” she said. “The heart chakra is associated with balance, calmness and serenity. In yoga, through breath work, meditation and asanas (posture movement), one works to keep all of these chakras open and not blocked.” She credits her study abroad experience at Pisa University in Pisa, Italy, during her sophomore year at SUNY Oswego for igniting her passion for art and exploring other cultures. At Oswego, she majored in elementary education and psychology, and became a teacher after graduation. As a Laker, she served as president of Alpha Delta Eta sorority and remembers fondly

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working on community service projects with her sisters. She went on to earn a master’s in arts education from Syracuse University and then an MFA in painting from Rochester Institute of Technology. “I was taught to start with the colors, make them move on the canvas and then create what your image becomes,” she said. She taught art in the Alexandria (N.Y.) Central School District and then Utica (N.Y.) City School District until her retirement in 2013. She has studied in Italy, England and Mexico, and has taught in Spain, Costa Rica and Croatia. She absorbs as much as she can from these different cultures and will reflect their unique aesthetic into her artwork, including Mandalas, a geometric figure with roots in Hindu and Buddhism that ties into her yoga practice. Often the classes she teaches today combine her passion for yoga, art and culture. Because much of her artistic work focuses on nature and landscapes, green figures prominently in her painting. “Green is the image of the living—meaning plant life and earthly life,” she said. “Green, when overworked, can turn downward and muddy, instead of fresh and life-giving.” Just as colors, and in particular the color green, can evolve with the mixture or layering of another color, so too individuals can develop their spiritual selves by adding in meditation or letting go of tension and stresses that no longer serve them. “Color is one of the elements of art, and for me, that has become a life endeavor,” Christine said.

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Lisa Smith ’87 is making the most of her retirement. After 27 years of service, she retired from the Colorado Springs Fire Department as a firefighter and a paramedic after a distinguished career, which included being part of the team that fought the largest fire in Colorado’s history and helping to set the world record for the fastest women’s relay in the Firefighter Combat Challenge in 2009. She is the first African American woman to achieve a standard retirement with that department. But before retiring from firefighting, the U.S. Army veteran started working toward a new goal—a second career as an outdoor enthusiast. The Oswego zoology major enrolled in an associate’s degree in both outdoor education and park ranger technology—which she is now putting to good use as a volunteer outdoor educator and park patroller. She is also using the extra time that comes with retirement to hike, backpack, camp (even in winter), rock climb and snowshoe in the Rocky Mountains. “You can take the girl out of the Upstate New York snow belt, but snow and winter sports are in her blood,” she said.

REUNION 2020 UPDATE In light of the coronavirus pandemic, we regret to inform you that Reunion Weekend 2020 was canceled. A special website was created in honor of the Class of 1970, whose members are inducted into the Golden Anniversary Society, marking 50 years since their college graduation. Check out a slideshow of photos, and updates from classmates at alumni.oswego.edu/1970. Please visit the Reunion website to get the latest updates on how we will be celebrating with all of you—in particular our milestone anniversary classes and groups: alumni.oswego.edu/ reunion. In the meantime, please share your updates with us virtually at: alumni.oswego.edu/classnote.

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Class Notes

From The Archive This photo was submitted by Ken Stone ’74 and was taken in September 1972 from atop of the newly installed 700-foot-tall smokestack at the energy plant looking west toward campus. Stone said that at the time Niagara Mohawk and Stone & Webster Engineering were converting the steam station from coal to oil. See more photos at magazine.oswego.edu.

Ken and his industrial arts classmates took a class field trip to the power station to learn about the plant’s operation and “how the smokestack was constructed using a continuously poured concrete form process.” Ken rode in a metal cage elevator to the top of the smokestack. He said: “I found the cage cramped with three aboard. The swaying ride up inside this huge concrete tube was eerily quiet but exhilarating. It was a crisp, clear, sunny fall day. On top you stood on wooden planks battling a stiff breeze. The view was breathtaking. You could see 35 miles to the horizon.” Do you have a favorite photo from your college days that you’d like featured in an alumni communication? Send the photo and a description, along with your name and class year, to alumni@oswego.edu; or King Alumni Hall, Oswego, N.Y. 13126.

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1970s

SUBMITTING A CLASS NOTE To submit your class note, email alumni@oswego.edu, call 315-312-2258 or complete the class note form online at alumni.oswego.edu. You can also mail submissions to the OSWEGO Alumni Magazine, King Alumni Hall, Oswego, N.Y. 13126.

1950s

1960s

Doreen Henley Manning ’51 lives in Rush, N.Y. In 1950, she married Harold Manning ’51, who is a World War II veteran and U.S.

Margaret (Peg) Garno McKinstry ’65 of Oswego is the office manager for the Oswego County Republican Committee. She is active in Leadership Oswego County and the Oswego County Historical Society. Daniel Teed ’68 of Watkins Glen, N.Y., is a retired industrial arts teacher for Watkins Glen Central School. He is chairman of Schuyler County Farm Protection Committee. John Burke ’69 of Clayton, N.Y., is Chancellor Emeritus for Penn State Behrend College in Erie, Pa.

Navy Seabee. She shared that the couple loved their campus housing in Splinter Village during their time in Oswego.

Sharon Lyons Santoro ’69 of Fulton, N.Y., is active in community organizations and enjoys traveling throughout the United States.

Georgene “Georgie” Megas Bramley ’70 of Wilmington, N.C., has been teaching education classes and supervising student teachers part-time at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington for the last 13 years. She met her husband, Dave Bramley ’70, her freshman year at Oswego. The couple will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on Aug. 15, 2020. Richard Melzer ’71 retired after 40 years teaching history at the University of New Mexico-Valencia campus. Ellen Hughes ’72 is the president of the Waterloo (N.Y.) Board of Education. She was first elected to the nine-member board in 2015 and re-elected in 2018. Bill Roberts ’72 was identified by the compensation, culture and career monitoring website Comparably, as among the top-ranked CEOs for diversity, based on ratings from a pool of ethnically diverse employees. He is president and chief executive officer and serves as vice chair of the

Build Your Legacy “ When I entered the 500-student

Oswego Normal School in fall 1941, I had no idea of the impact it would make on my life.

“ Our support of Oswego is ded-

icated to student scholarships. We are interested in helping kids get through school and acquire lifetime skills, particularly in light of higher cost of education.”

Dave Parker ’47, and his wife, Jane, are members of the Sheldon Legacy Society, in recognition of their commitment to leave SUNY Oswego in their estate plans.

– Dave Parker ’47

Become a member of the Sheldon Legacy Society by including Oswego in your will and help strengthen the perpetual bridge from the past to the future. Learn more at alumni.oswego.edu/plannedgiving, or email sheldonlegacy@oswego.edu.

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Class Notes board for GEICO in Chevy Chase, Md. In December 2019, he announced his intentions to retire in December 2020 after 35 years of service with the insurer. Richard Cobello ’73 of Greenfield Center, N.Y., is chief information security officer for Schenectady County. Charles “Chuck” Durante ’73 of The Villages, Fla., and Fayetteville, N.Y., received the 2019 Distinguished Part-Time Faculty Award at Lake Sumter State College in Leesburg, Fla., where he teaches courses on business computer applications. He holds an MBA from Syracuse University. Don Purce ’73 of Cutler Bay, Fla., recalls living in Oswego, N.Y., as a child and attending kindergarten in the Campus School while his father, Charles “Chuck” Purce ’56, was taking classes toward his bachelor’s degree. Don notes that he graduated twice from Oswego—once in 1956 from kindergarten and then again with his bachelor’s in history in 1973. His father became a teacher in Hornell, N.Y. Today Don is chief executive officer of PsychSolutions Inc., a children’s mental health and substance abuse agency, in Miami, Fla. Arthur Salisch ’74 of Princeton Junction, N.J., is an account director for The Nielsen Company in New York City. John Piper ’75 of Charlottesville, Va., is president and managing partner for Mutual Choices Consulting. Renée L. Kavanagh Susman ’75 is 2019’s Nassau BOCES School Librarian of the Year. She met her husband, Harvey ’76, at Oswego; they have been married for 43 years. Ken Allis ’77 of Pelham, N.H., is president of Resource Office Furniture in Salem, N.H.

to humanitarian service. In 2017, Steve, who is the past president and a member of the Fulton Lions for more than 35 years, received the Lions’ prestigious Robert J. Uplinger Award, which honors outstanding Lions who perform exemplary service to the club, district or community. He owns Steve Chirello Advertising in Fulton, N.Y.

David Allen ’82 of Highland Falls, N.Y., is an athletic trainer for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He has been selected as an athletic trainer and massage therapist to Team USA’s Track & Field Team at the XVIII Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. Andrew Chiappinelli ’82, Ph.D., of Easton, Pa., retired after a 33-year career as an elementary school guidance counselor in New Hampshire and Pennsylvania. In retirement, he works in the maintenance and groundskeeping department for St. Francis Retreat House in Easton.

Brian Moran ’77 (above) of Ashburn, Va., retired from 40 years of public service with the federal government. He served overseas on three continents and visited dozens of countries. His hobbies include historical research and presentations, writing, travel and photography. Sharon Kelly ’78 of Lowville, N.Y., retired from her position as a special education teacher for the South Lewis School District in Turin, N.Y. Peter VanWart ’78 moved to Stanley, N.C., in 2019. David Braun ’79 of Gilbert, Ariz., is an attorney. David Griswold ’79 of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is a shipping manager for Q Link Wireless in Dania, Fla.

1980s Philip Catalano ’80 of Manlius, N.Y., is controller for Keuka College in Keuka Park, N.Y. Betty Meyer Fuller ’80 of Schenectady, N.Y., is an investigator for the New York Justice Center. Steven Hastings ’81 of Columbia, S.C., is vice president of claims for Seibels. Steven was previously senior vice president of claims at Sedgwick in Orlando and claims director at Fireman’s Fund Insurance. He also has experience working at Nationwide Insurance and Aetna Life and Casualty.

Steve Chirello ’77 (above right) received a Melvin Jones Fellowship, the highest form of Lions International’s recognition to acknowledge an individual’s dedication

benefits, health insurance and Medicare supplements. She spent 27 years as vice president of finance with Lehman Brothers and Oppenheimer Management.

Dave Parisi ’82 of Harrisburg, N.C., received the Robotics Educations Competition Foundations 2019 Inspiration All Star Award and was inducted into its STEM Hall of Fame at the VEX Robotics World Championships in Louisville, Ky., in 2019. Dave has entered his 18th year teaching technology education and coaching (Wrestling/Robotics) for Jay M. Robinson High School in Cabarrus County, North Carolina. His VEX Robotics team, 5139 A-E, has represented North Carolina at the World Championships for the past six years. Dave initiated the VEX competitive platform in North Carolina six years ago and currently oversees five high school teams and four elementary and middle school VEX IQ community teams. He is also the co-director of Cabarrus County Schools VEX program. Dave sought and received a district-wide grant from the REC Foundation and implemented competitive robotics in all 35 (elementary through high) schools throughout the county. Michelle Klinger Wellner ’82 of Weston, Fla., is director of product development and category management for Spohn Global in Tamarac, Fla. Randy Zeigler ’82 of Oswego is a private wealth advisor for Ameriprise Financial Services. Mary Claire Helmer ’83 is a board member for the Morrisville (N.Y.) College Foundation. She is a reading teacher in the Troy (N.Y.) City School District, where she has served for more than 20 years.

Robin Dworkin Yenk ’81 of Morganville, N.J., is chief executive officer of RMJ Benefits Group, which specializes in employee

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Mary Ellen Kaier ’83 of Syracuse, N.Y., is executive director at Meals on Wheels of Eastern Onondaga County Inc. She has more than 30 years of experience in business development and financial management. Previously, she worked in the healthcare and insurance industries. John Young ’83 of Kirkville, N.Y., is director of facilities for the East Syracuse-Minoa Central School District, where he has worked for 24 years. Geoff Dunn ’84 of Dryden, N.Y., is the community preparedness coordinator for Tompkins County Department of Emergency Response. Previously, he was with the county’s Department of Recycling and Materials Management. Dawn Armanini Herman ’84 of Fairport, N.Y., is director of the college restoration program at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

As the chief marketing and revenue officer for Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways, Wendy Cobrda ’87 knows well the importance of green.

only can they dream, but they can realize their wildest hopes and dreams by learning new skills and sharing their insights and experiences with others.”

“Those who live the life of Girl Scouts— living lives of purpose, being go-getters, innovators, risk-takers and leaders—are often called ‘Greenbloods,’” Wendy said.

For Wendy, she found that sense of teamwork and comradery in the friends she made at SUNY Oswego.

In addition to being the logo color of the 108-year-old national girls’ leadership development organization, green figures prominently in the youth members’ uniforms, badges and materials. But many people associate green with the most popular cookie flavor of the organization’s annual fundraiser—Thin Mints. The round mint-flavored cookie coated in chocolate represents 25 percent of the 200 million boxes of Girl Scout cookies sold nationwide every year. Wendy leads the team that manages marketing, public relations, product sales, retail sales, data and analytics for the 26 counties that make up the Girl Scouts of NYPENN Council. “It’s a great role for me because I work on big picture strategy for our council as well as on national movement committees,” Wendy said. “My focus is on telling the ever-evolving Girl Scout story. Our mission is to fuel female ambition—to let girls know that not

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“I stay in touch with a core group of friends whose lives have become intertwined with mine,” said Wendy, a communication major who was active with WOCR radio and campus media as a student. “We continue to support each other through life’s twists and turns and advise each other on career matters. The best part is that we all want to see each other succeed and go out of our way to help each other.” She said that she is a “greenblood” in many aspects of her life—from her friendships with her Oswego Lakers to her former position at a market research consultancy called Earthsense, which discovered that many people “buy green not just to save the planet but to improve our health, save money and support businesses that are aligned with our core values.” “I live close to Green Lakes State Park and spend a lot of time walking our greyhound, Ozzie, enjoying the trees and the green-hued water,” Wendy said. “It’s one of my favorite places to grab a sleeve of Thin Mints and picnic.”

Bob Pagano ’84 of Boston, Mass., is CEO and president of Watts Water Technologies Inc. in North Andover, Mass. The leading global manufacturer of plumbing, heating, and water quality products and solutions was recently named among America’s Most Responsible Companies by Newsweek and research firm Statista. Daniel Vickery ’84 of Columbia, Tenn., is a retired technology education instructor for the Ballston Spa (N.Y.) Middle School. Michael Buckley ’85 of Manhattan Beach, Calif., is chief executive officer of True Religion Apparel Inc. Reporting to the company’s Board of Directors, he is responsible for developing and implementing the future vision and roadmap for True Religion. He previously served as CEO of Differential Brands Group and Robert Graham Designs. Robin C. Goldstone Garcia ’85 is executive director of the Alvin A. Dubin Alzheimer’s Resource Center in Fort Myers, Fla. Previously she served as deputy director of Florida’s Division of Blind Services, was executive director of Lighthouse of Collier and has more than 20 years of business experience in financial services, contracts, human resources and operations. Christopher Rock ’85 of Waterford, N.Y., is on the procurement team for General Electric Company in Schenectady, N.Y. Marjorie Murphy Consiglio ’86 of Yardley, Pa., is a human resources manager for Novecare GBU in Princeton, N.J.

Class Notes John DellaContrada ’86 is vice president for university communications at the University at Buffalo. Prior to that, he was UB’s associate vice president for media relations and stakeholder communications. Scott Higginbotham ’86 is director of operations at Erie Materials in Syracuse, N.Y. Previously, he has served as corporate operations manager, operations manager and inside sales representative since joining the company in 1988. He and his wife, Tracy Chamberlain Higginbotham ’86, live in Warners, N.Y., and have two sons. Susan Speirs ’86 is chief school administrator for the Dennis (N.J.) Township School District. Previously, she spent 18 years as principal, first at Seaview and then at Belhaven schools. John Mollica ’87 of Martinsburg, West Va., is a physician. Joseph Noviello ’87 of Summit, N.J., is managing director of dealerweb technology for Tradeweb in New York City.

Glenn Richmond ’87 of Scarsdale, N.Y., is senior internal audit manager for Protiviti in New York City. Lewis Rosenberg ’88 of Bensalem, Pa., is an IT manager for NAVUG Mars Fishcare North America Inc. in Chalfont, Pa. David M. DeVillers ’89 of Columbus, Ohio, was appointed by U.S. President Donald J. Trump to serve as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. While serving as an Assistant United States Attorney, David led numerous organized crime task forces involving the FBI, ATF, DEA and IRS. He has twice served as a Legal Advisor with the Department of Justice’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development Assistance and Training—in Tbilisi, Georgia, from 2010 to 2012 and in Bucharest, Romania, and Sofia, Bulgaria, in 2018. He is the recipient of the Oswego Alumni Association’s 2019 Distinguished Alumnus Award. Gary Paricio ’89 of Columbus, Texas, is an IT manager and project manager assistant for Theut Company, a commercial glazing contractor.

1990s Mark Hartell ’90 of Abingdon, Md., is the medical director for the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Chemical and Biological Defense. He works to ensure the integration of Department of Defense efforts related to science and technology, advanced development, and test and evaluation of the Chemical and Biological Defense Program. Richard Knaul ’90 of Auburn, N.Y., is a councilman for the Town of Owasco. Ron Throop ’90 of Oswego had his paintings featured in an exhibition, entitled “Roy Lichtenstein in Oswego: 1957 - 1960,” in SUNY Oswego’s Wilber/Park corridor in fall 2019. He received a CNY Arts Decentralization Grant to paint Roy’s brief teaching appointment at Oswego and help support a scholarship for an Oswego County high school student who intends to major in studio art or art history and will attend SUNY Oswego in fall 2020.

GREEN GREEKS Fraternities and sororities at SUNY Oswego pledge to earn their letters as well as their colors. Among the colors crossing campus, a handful of the college’s Greek organizations celebrate green as one of their key colors. The oldest of Oswego’s Green Greeks is Arethusa Eta, the local Oswego chapter of Sigma Gamma Phi sorority which was founded at Oswego in 1925 and celebrates its 95th anniversary in 2020. The sorority ceased to be active at Oswego in 1980. The name, Arethusa, comes from a Greek legend about a nymph who is turned into an underground stream and emerged as a fresh water foundation. Its colors are: navy blue, representing strong will and trust; kelly green, signifying the forest and the

DSF

sea; and white, indicating the clear, pure water of the fountain. The second oldest is Sigma Gamma, which became a local Oswego fraternity in 1947. Gamma’s colors are green, gold and white. According to the fraternity, green stands for youth and hope; gold for strength and endurance; and white for faith and purity. Two sororities that started on campus in the 1980s have green in their palettes — local sorority Omicron Xi and national sorority Alpha Epsilon Phi. Omicron sisters proudly wear the colors of sea green, white and medium blue. These colors were chosen to reflect what the sorority stands for: harmony and strength in eternal sisterhood.

The colors worn by AEPhi sisters are kelly green and white — colors chosen by the founders at Barnard College more than a century ago to represent growth and fellowship, respectively. The colors mirror the sorority flower, the lily of the valley, selected for its simple beauty. The brothers of national fraternity Delta Sigma Phi sport nile green and carnation white. The fraternity’s flower is the white carnation, chosen as the fraternity’s official flower because it contains the organization’s colors and is sturdy, able to grow in almost any climate.

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HOMECOMING 2019 WRAP UP Laker prid e!

The SUNY Oswego Homecoming Weekend brought alumni together on Oct. 4 and Oct. 5 at various locations around campus and the city of Oswego. Here are a few highlights.

Green and Gold SUNY Oswego family members on campus and around the country showed their Laker pride by wearing our school colors on Green and Gold Day on Friday, Oct. 4. They shared their photos on social media using #Oswegopride.

During the brunch, close to 100 SUNY Oswego student scholarship recipients had the opportunity to interact informally with the 82 donors. These benefactors are among the generous group of supporters who have established 500 privately funded scholarships at the college.

Scholars Brunch

College Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Scott Furlong and Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Dr. Jerri Howland thanked the donors for their support of the students and higher education.

Expressions of gratitude and stories of Oswego flowed freely between student scholarship recipients and donors during the annual Scholars Brunch on Oct. 5 in Sheldon Hall Ballroom. The 200 attendees were welcomed by Mary Gibbons Canale ’81, vice president for development and alumni engagement, who introduced the event emcee, Oswego College Foundation board member and scholarship benefactor Mark Baum ’81. Baum explained the role of the College Foundation in managing the private donations that support Oswego and provided some context for the growth of the endowment.

Angel Tyler ’21 and benefactor and Professor Emeritus Leon Carapetyan.

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Angel Tyler ’21, a music major with a concentration in vocal performance and the recipient of the Carapetyan Voice Scholarship, spoke on behalf of all the student scholarship recipients and thanked all of the donors. The Scholars Brunch was made possible through a generous gift from Bond, Schoeneck and King and a grant from SUNY Oswego’s Auxiliary Services.

Communication Studies Alumni Reunion The highlight of the triennial Communication Studies Reunion was a dinner in the Marano Campus Center that brought together the alumni with current students and faculty. The event included remarks by Joshua Holfoth ’20 M’21, the general manager of WTOP-TV 10 and a broadcasting and mass communication major; Jessica Reeher, event organizer and Communication Studies Department chair; Lou Borrelli ’77, an Oswego College Foundation board member and the founder of the Dr. Lewis B. O’Donnell Media Summit; and Frank DiGioia ’78, a member of the School of Communication, Media and the Arts Advisory Board and benefactor for a new scholarship at Oswego in honor of former dean Fritz Messere ’71 M’76. Following dinner, Laura Pavlus Kelly ’09, executive director of the Oswego Alumni Association, presented three-time Emmy Award winning producer Cameron Jones ’09 with the association’s Graduates Of the Last Decade Award, which honors re-

Oswego Alumni Association’s Graduate Of the Last Decade Award winner Cameron Jones ’09 (second from left) with alumni and friends who attended the Communication Studies dinner at which Cameron was recognized.

Class Notes

Kirt Hall ’76 in Sa shared his Gree rasota, Fla., n and Gold ph oto.

cent graduates who have achieved career success and demonstrated significant volunteer service to their community and college. Dean Dr. Julie Pretzat provided an update on all the latest happenings in the school, including renovating Hewitt Hall to be the home of the Communication Studies Department. She introduced the keynote speaker, Michelle Garcia ’06, then deputy editor of news and ideas at VICE Media. Garcia’s remarks, which she directed at the students in the room, shared some hard learned lessons from throughout her 20s and the realizations she has discovered as she enters her 30s.

The 2019 Hall of Fame inductees included: Tom McFall ’90, men’s ice hockey; Mark Howard ’84, wrestling; Erin Hanlon ’03, volleyball; and Gary Bartemus ’76, swimming and diving team. Inductee Susan McWilliams ’04 M’08, track and field and cross country, was unable to attend.

Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Five alumni officially joined the ranks of 120 other accomplished individuals who have been voted into the State University of New York at Oswego’s Athletic Hall of Fame, forever solidifying themselves in the college’s athletic history. Four of the five were recognized at the 2019 Hall of Fame dinner and induction on Oct. 5 in the Sheldon Hall ballroom.

The following alumni will be inducted as the Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2020: • Tenkoran Agyeman ’07 (Wrestling) • J amie Clough Driffill ’00 (Women’s Basketball) • Scott Ferguson ’06 (Men’s Lacrosse) • Jill Reimer Halpin ’97 (Women’s Diving) • John (“Jack”) Michalec ’68 (Men’s Soccer/Baseball) • Derek Popovich ’04 (Men’s Soccer) • Pat Wittekind ’85 (Wrestling)

Alumni, student and faculty attendees after the Communication Studies Reunion Dinner in the Marano Campus Center.

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AIR

quotes

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Don’t try to take on the world all by yourself. Instead, SURROUND YOURSELF WITH A SUPPORT SYSTEM and collaborators. Great things can happen when diverse groups of thinkers come together.

”

Chuck Alford ’92 relocated to Charleston, S.C., where his wife, former SUNY Oswego School of Business Professor Dr. Susan Wright, has accepted a faculty position at The Citadel, South Carolina’s Military College. Chuck accepted the position of training and development director with the Continuing Education division of Trident Technical College. James Cormier ’92 of Portland, Ore., is senior attorney for Cosgrave Vergeer Kester LLP. Scot Gaffney ’92 of Parkland, Fla., is eastern regional manager for PlumpJack and CADE wineries and a Certified Specialist of Wine by the Society of Wine Educators. He is also an accomplished musician known for playing his saxophone at dinners. He has traveled extensively through wine country in Italy, Spain, Portugal and California. He is married with two children. Joseph McQueen ’92 of Scotia, N.Y., is director of human resources for Schenectady County. Jill Consor Beck ’93 is director at PwC Labs in Seattle, Wash. Tarshel Beards ’94 is the Black Unity Center director at San Francisco State University.

— Dr. Todd Pagano ‘96, professor of chemistry and associate dean for teaching and scholarship excellence at Rochester Institute of Technology

Kelly Molesworth Tiscornia ’90 of Salem, Ore., is a counselor for the Salem-Keizer School District.

Michelle Bowers ’94 is the publisher of The Auburn Citizen newspaper. Previously, she was advertising director for Downtown Digital Group at the Watertown-based Johnson Newspaper Corp. She also serves as president of the New York Newspapers Advertising and Marketing Executives. Steven Hammes ’94 of Albany, N.Y., is an automotive critic for Drive Time Productions.

Michael Daigle ’91 is an attorney at Crosson & Richetti Family Law firm in Allentown, Pa. He previously served as Pro Se Law Clerk for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He has more than 20 years of state and federal court experience, having worked on a variety of criminal and civil matters. He earned a J.D. from Widener University School of Law.

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Mark Quintana ’94 (above) of Pembroke Pines, Fla., is vice president of Cognia, the world’s largest education community that currently has membership with 36,000 schools, districts and other education institutions serving 25 million students and 5 million teachers within the United States and 84 additional countries. He and his wife, Laura, married initially on June 17, 2005, in a non-denominational civil ceremony in Maui, Hawaii. On June 15, 2019, they married in their Catholic Church in the suburbs of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. They are pictured here with their daughters Maricel (age 11) and Paola (age 8), whom each performed readings at the ceremony. Jerrell Robinson ’94 of Rockville Center, N.Y., is the Educational Opportunity

Loyal Lakers

Emilio Dorcely ’91 is chief executive officer for Urban Edge, a community development nonprofit that aims to strengthen communities and families in the Boston neighborhoods of Jamaica Plain and Roxbury. Carla Speranza ’91 of Lockport, N.Y., is a technology incident manager for M&T Bank in Amherst, N.Y.

Jonathan N. Provoost ’94 is general counsel at Tris Pharma Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company in Monmouth Junction, N.J. He oversees all of the company’s legal functions. He earned a J.D. from Pace University School of Law and an M.B.A. from Lehigh University. He also served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. He is admitted to New York and New Jersey bars and registered with United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Magdalena “Maggie” Rivera ’92 M’06 CAS’07, Loyal Lakers Society member and student involvement coordinator

“I feel that I have received a great education at Oswego and benefited from tremendous support toward completing that education. As an alumna and as a professional staff member, I have been fortunate to be involved with Lakers on many projects. I love working with them; they bring a special energy that makes our environment vibrant. Supporting The Fund for Oswego helps create those opportunities that facilitate the growth of our Lakers and our campus.” Learn more at alumni.oswego.edu/loyallakers.

Class Notes Program (EOP) director for SUNY Old Westbury. In 2019, he completed his doctorate in education degree in executive leadership at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, N.Y. Alfred Tienken ’94 of Syracuse, N.Y., is a sales tax auditor for the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Christine Bosco ’95 of Central Square, N.Y., is director of customer and client support for Simple Admit LLC in Baldwinsville, N.Y. Phillip D. Cady ’95 of Oswego was appointed chief of police and director of homeland security for the City of Oswego. He previously served as the emergency communications manager for Syracuse University and as the Station Commander with the New York State Police – Fulton Barracks. He also served as a New York State trooper and a patrolman for both the cities of Oswego and Fulton. Chad Hoffman ’95 is the chief people officer for Juvo Autism and Behavioral Health Services, operating in California, New Jersey and Massachusetts. Chad resides in Manhattan with his husband, Greg. Donn King ’95 of Rome, N.Y., is a case planner for House of the Good Shepherd in Utica, N.Y. Andrew Miano ‘95 of Tarzana, Calif., is the producer of the award-winning film The Farewell.

fice, where he worked for five years. Presently, Brian is assigned to a Joint Terrorism Task Force at the Utica Resident Agency (Albany Division), where he investigates domestic and international terrorism matters. Brian is also the weapons of mass destruction assistant coordinator and the campus liaison agent for the Utica AOR. He lives in Sauquoit, N.Y., with his two beautiful daughters, Olivia and Alexa. Melinda (Mindy) Johnson ’97 of North Brookfield, N.Y., was named manager of the Clinical Laboratory at the St. Elizabeth Campus of Mohawk Valley Health Systems (MVHS). She previously held the position of clinical laboratory educator at MVHS. She has 18 years of experience in the field of laboratory medicine and is a member of the Clinical Laboratory Managers Association.

Brian Mason Hughes ’97 celebrated his 10th year as a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on April 26, 2019. Following his graduation from the FBI Academy in Quantico in 2009, he was assigned to the Newark, N.J., Field Of-

Raina Reynolds Hinman ’00 of Mexico, N.Y., is high school assistant principal for the Red Creek (N.Y.) Central School District. She and husband, Dexter, have a daughter, Abby. Robert Score ’00 of Salisbury, Md., is a videographer for Salisbury University.

Benjamin Neely ’98 of Lancaster, Pa., is the executive director of the Berks History Center in Reading, Pa. Previously, he was with the Adams County Historical Society. Benjamin has been a museum professional since 2005. He completed his graduate work at Shippensburg University, where he earned a Master of Arts in Applied History. Christy Brower Johnson ’99 of Oswego is an adjunct instructor for Cayuga Community College and a licensed mental health counselor for Integrative Counseling Services.

Steven Wheeler ’99 is creative supervisor for Mower, a Syracuse-based firm he joined in 2014.

Charles Wing ’96 of Largo, Fla., is commercial quality control operator for Ion Television Network in Clearwater, Fla.

Shawn M. Bishop ’00 is vice president of revenue and reimbursement at Rochester Regional Health in Rochester, N.Y., where he has worked since 2008. He previously served there as director of reimbursement. He holds an MBA from Le Moyne College and professional certificates in healthcare leadership and financial accounting from Cornell and Harvard universities, respectively.

Lisa Benzing DuBois ’98 of Fulton, N.Y., is a content manager for Schneider Packaging Equipment Company Inc. in Brewerton, N.Y.

Peter Schultz CAS’99 is principal for Christ the King School, Atlanta, Ga. Previously, he was the principal of the lower school at Holy Spirit Preparatory School in Atlanta.

Jennifer Sklar-Romano ’96 announced the birth of her son, Jack Ethan (above), on July 3, 2019. Jennifer and Jack live in Greenwich, Conn.

2000s

There’s Still Time JUNE 2020 1 7 8 14 15 21 22 28 29

2 3 4 5 6 9 10 11 12 13 16 17 18 19 20 23 24 25 26 27 30

Craig Westbrook ’00 (above) of Volney, N.Y., is the chief of the Fulton (N.Y.) Police Department, where he has worked his way through the ranks since joining the department in 2001. Nicholas Bodnar ’01 of Olivebridge, N.Y., is a technology teacher for Roundout Valley Central Schools in Accord, N.Y.

Don’t miss out on participating in The Fund for Oswego this year! Please make a gift before our fiscal year ends June 30. Help create opportunities for our current and future students. You can make your gift online at alumni. oswego.edu/givenow, or mail to 215 Sheldon Hall, Oswego, N.Y. 13126.

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Weddings

Amy Ray ’11 and Nicholas DeFrancesco ’10 were married on June 2, 2018, in Buffalo, N.Y. Among those in attendance were: Kevin Ford ’09, Kyle Slayton ’08, Anthony Mercadante, Victoria Kulczak ’11, Daniel Stoller, Brian Gerrity ’11, Samantha Holtzman Gerrity ’11, Alyssa Scherer Stoller ’11, Eric Cohen ’11 M’12, Ryan Nytz ’11, Andrew Schlueter ’09, Alicia Crowder ’12, Zachary Griggs ’11 M’12, Brett Deutsch ’12, Eva Constantine Fiorentino ’11, Sarah Orser ’11, Jason Rozenberg ’10, Courteney Walsh ’11, Samantha Bradley Ericksen ’11, Emily Mahaffy ’13, Kyle Martin ’13, Kyle McDonough ’10, Jim Risley ’10, Jake Wegerski ’13, Stephen Schwarz ’11, Anthony Ferrentino ’13, Colleen Erickson ’09, Matthew Harding ’11, Andrew Winter ’12, Victoria Huestis Thomas ’10, Jeffrey Thomas ’11, Daniel Fiorentino ’11, Amanda Brower ’11 M’12, Samantha Silverman, David Greene ’12 M’13, Courtney Gadziala ’12, Meagan Lehman ’12, Agnes Puyraud Aitchison ’11, Kristyn Bermingham Williams ’12, Andrew Williams ’12, Kristen Beaty Connors ’11, Lauren Towle ’12, Daniel Connors ’11, Francis Battaglia ’10, Holly Frey Wintringer ’12, Matthew Wintringer, Lauren Beauchamp Battaglia ’11, Lindsay Ormiston Piccola ’10, Edwin Gonzalez ’12, Nicole Reinhardt ’11, Nicholas Gottlieb ’10, Kyle Abbott ’11, Kaitlyn Miano Clifford ’11, Christopher Goad ’09, Lauren Rice ’11 and Kiernan McMahon ’13.

Stephanie Cronk ’13 and Christopher Porten ’14 were married on July 6, 2019, at the Sinclair of Skaneateles in Skaneateles, N.Y. Alumni in attendance included: (front row, from left) Amanda Carlile ’12, Kristen Darcy ’12, Andrew Crumrine ’15, Michelle Ruskey ’13, Nick Giampaolo ’15, Christopher Porten ’14, Stephanie Cronk Porten ‘13, Matt Festa ’15, Candace Tarana ’14, Jimmy Cordon Jr. ’15 M’16; (back row, from left) Jimmy Riccardi ’11, Amanda Hecox Riccardi ’11, Brianne Borrow Bos ’12, Jon Bos ’13, Tyler Calkin ’14, Mitch Ringwood, Kyle Derosa ’13, Cody Hoose ’15, Mike Galka ’14, Brian Moore ’14 M’15, Matt Palmer ’15, Elizabeth “Sunny” Cuzzacrea ’11 ’13 M’15, Robert Horan ’14, Ashley Bechtold ’13 and Bill Scala ’14. The couple lives in Auburn, N.Y., where Chris is a graphic designer and Steph is a social studies teacher. Kate Nelson ’12 and Daniel Kasperek ’03 were married on Aug. 24, 2019, at Sonnenberg Gardens in Canandaigua, N.Y., followed by the reception at Woodcliff Hotel and Spa in Fairport, N.Y. From front row left are: Kate Nelson ’12; Daniel Kasperek ’03, assistant manager with Auxiliary Services, Melissa Polczak ’13, Kelly Rothwell, Auxiliary Services cook, and Ruth Stevens, director of dining services. From middle row left are: Ian Craig ’02, Stephen McAfee M’16, director of retail dining and catering, Tyler Hilliard ’11 and Sarah Burkey ’05. From top left row are: Traci Provancher Hilliard ’12, Aislinn Leary ’12, Kathleen Deloff, assistant manager with Auxiliary Services, and Sue Hill, production manager. Other Lakers in attendance but not pictured are Brian St. Onge ’02, Eliza Mayo St. Onge ’02, Kathy Flaherty, assistant director of financial aid, and Michael Flaherty, general manager.

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Donna Stites ’78 and Paul Maggio ’78 were married on Feb. 9, 2019, with retired professor and chair of the Theatre Department Mark Cole ’73 (center) officiating.

Kristen Burke ’15 and Tom Stahl ’13 were married on Sept. 20, 2019, at Wood Acres Farm in Terryville, Conn. Among those in attendance were: (front row, from left) Kristen Burke Stahl ’15 and Tom Stahl ’13; (middle row, from left) Brittany Sobles Vezer ’12, Tim Hickey ’17, Kay Forbes, Craig Forbes ’12, Anna Tarantino ’14 and Matt La Barge ’16; (back row, from left) Jon Reid ’13, Eugene Stetz ’13, Scott Vezer ’12, Joe Brinkman ’14, Justine Polonski ’16, Michael Taylor ’16, Sanjeev Kumar ’15 and Joe Chamarro.

Sheila Carroll and Brendon Phillips ’13 were married on Sept. 7, 2019, in Stratton, Vt. Pictured from left are: Taylor Pangman ’14, Blaise Hill ’15, Matthew Bishop ’14, Sheila Phillips, Seamus Lyman ’15, Brendon Phillips ’13, Nick Bagnardi ’12, Kelly Way ’12, Sebastian Edmund ’14, Bryan Ruderman ’15 and Matt Jackson ’14. Brendon works at SUNY Albany and Sheila is a senior account executive at Media Logic. The couple lives in Niskayuna, N.Y.

Bethany Gugino ’12 and William Mehr ’12 M’14 were married on June 29, 2019, on Sunny Slope Farm in Harrisonburg, Va. Joining them in the celebration were Steve Kuhn ’12 M’13, Danielle Meyer ’12 M’13, Caitlin Davies ’12, Patricia “Trish” Steinberg ’13, Sam Allen ’10, Christina Gagliardi ’11 M’13, Catherine “Kitty” Richard Allen ’12, Zach Polin ’13, Gabrielle Mastaglio Gaffga ’13, Mike Sherman ’11, Alison “Allie” McHugh Dunbar ’12, Brendan Gaffga ‘15, Kevin Dunbar ’12, Courtney Hadjeasgari ’14 and Brian Belcher ’12.

Magdalini Georgiadis ’08 M’10 and Daniel Greenwald ’08 were married July 20, 2019, at St. Sophia’s Greek Orthodox Church followed by a reception at Marriott Syracuse Downtown in Syracuse, N.Y. Alumni in attendance were (back row, from left): Joseph Lamariana ’07, Brian Hotchkin ’05, Tom Sharkey ’07, Chris Hiscock ’06, Matias Garcia Jr. ’17; (middle row, from left) Rachel Belair Pierce M’10 M’15, Sarah Percival Saccone ’08, Jordan Perry ’14; (front row, from left) Amy Percival Hunter ’01 M’03, Noel Hunter ’00 M’02, Jessica Durst Allman ’09, Diane Donnelly ’08 and Justine LeVea ’11. Photo by Sarah Heppell Photography.

Marianne Munson ’10 and Aaron Farney were married on Aug. 10, 2019, at the Arbor at the Port in Rochester, N.Y. Picture here are Marianne (center) with her Oswego State Swimming and Diving teammates: (from left) Gregory Donohue ’10 ’13, Leah Matthews Zahradnik ’10, Kelly Williams Falkenstein ’10 and Eric Dlugolecki ’11.

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Wendy Adamkoski ’96 and William Benson ’96 were married on July 20, 2019, in Broadalbin, N.Y. Among those in attendance were: (back row, from left) Kelly Smith Petro ’98, Michael Craner ’95, John Petro ’97, Sheila Burns Tanzman ’97, Michael Tanzman ’96 M’97, Redd Swindells ’75, David Lundgren ’95, Brent Spinner ’97, Patricia Rolland ’95, Shannon Lundgren, Christopher Schiavone ’98 and Erin Trondle Schiavone ’97; (middle row, from left) Heather Mabb Craner ’97, Susan Peters Swindells, Kate DeForest ’96 M’18, Nicholas Boltash ’23, Stacie Bogusz Barrett ’94 and Erin Kramak; and (front row, from left) William Benson ’96 and Wendy Adamkoski Benson ’96.

Grace Beard ’16 and Adam Cesarini ’16 M’18 were married on Aug. 2, 2019, in Verona, N.Y. In attendance were: Danielle Hobb M’18, Sarah Saxton ’16, Shelby Ince ’16, Allison Forsythe ’16, Allison Olivier ’16, Kristin Mayer ’16, Kaitlyn Lipari ’19, Rebecca Dailey ’16, Allison Anthony ’17, Marissa Bacon ’13 M’15, Daniel Vinette ’14, David Royce ’14, Nathan Delaney ’17, Michael Audi ’14, Luke Cavanaugh ’19, Josh Post ’17, Justin Cesarini ’22, Kate Bailie ’16 M’18, Susannah St. Clair ’18, Jordan Lowmark ’16, Madeline Nelson ’18 M’19, Megan Van Vorce ’17, Eden Vail ’18, Domenico “Nico” Angerosa ’17, Kevin Damoah ’18, Tim Hourigan ’16 M’17 and Ryan Dadey ’14 M’17.

Shannon McDermott and Daniel Fallon ’11 M’12 were married on Aug. 30, 2019, at the Tailwater Lodge in Altmar, N.Y. Among those in attendance were: (from left) Mary Beth Uetz ’89, Philip MacLeod ’16, Robert MacLeod ’80, Sharon Speed MacLeod ’83, Rachel Johnston ’14, Jason MacLeod ’12 M’14, Patrick Schrader ’10, Michael Mayo ’11 M’12, Michael Allen ’13, Timothy Rinck ’11, Mary Bergman ’14, Jake Gibbs ’14, Daniel Fallon ’12 (groom), Patrick Earley ’05 M’10, Kevin Gilchriest ’11, Kimberly Sands ’12, Shannon McDermott (bride who attended Oswego from 2008-09), William Scanlon IV ’11, Bryce Oleski ’10 and Trevor Lewis ’10. Shannon is a registered nurse at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse, N.Y., and Daniel is a CPA at a firm in Syracuse, N.Y.

Emily Scheutzow ’12 M’16 and Nate Zera ’12 were married on Sept. 14, 2019, at Old Hickory Farm in Weedsport, N.Y. From left to right are: Nicole Lannie ’12 M’13, Amy Adamchick ’12, Emily Wallace Larche ’11, Colleen Cassna Koss ’12, Richard Koss ’10, Nate Zera ’12, Emily Scheutzow Zera ’12 M’16, Sean Sullivan ‘12, Alyssa Hilton Sullivan ’13, Christopher Cavanaugh ‘13, Mallory Greenseich Cavanaugh ’11 M’18, Brad Kervin ’12 and Stevie Burley ’12.

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Leslie Look ’13 and Rob Nielsen ’10 were married on Sept. 21, 2019, in Vernon, N.Y. From left are: Mark Lenkiewicz ’12, Nicole Pedersen ’12 M’13, Kimberly Allen ’10, Emily Wallace Larche ’11, Katie Labozzetta ’17, Nicole Lannie ’12 M’13, Rich Koss ’10, Colleen Cessna Koss ’12, Bob Behnke ’79, Tyra Johnson Cumber ’95 M’01, Brandi Nielsen Long ’09, Jo Anderson Oliver ’08, Brianna Halk Wiesenthal ’12, Nick Liberati ’10, Mike Wiesenthal ’10, Dan Oliver ’08, Morgan Randazzo ’11 and Pat Conklin ’11.

EGO SW % 100

N GR★E★E ★ OR

Putting Green

Class Notes

GAN

Owning a golf course in Upstate New York has its challenges. Weather, especially along the shores of Lake Ontario, can be unpredictable, and the dramatic swings in temperatures and conditions can limit the number of days that golfers actually want to hit the greens. “We’ve been through the drought, the rain and everything in between,” said Scott Baker M’08 CAS’13, who co-owns Stone Creek Golf Course in Oswego. “Snow can come early, and stay late. We cannot control it, and we continue to focus on improvement regardless of what Mother Nature deals us.” But despite the unique challenges, he and his childhood golf partner, William Weimer, purchased the course, formerly named Griffin’s Greens, in 2016. Their goal for the course is reflected in its motto: Growing the game of golf. “The putting greens are an integral part of the golf course,” he said. “This is why we spend as much time and capital on them daily to produce the best putting surface we can. This includes chemical application, mowing, rolling, watering, aerifying and testing.”

Alice Massimi Crouch ’02 lives in Northern Virginia with her husband, Lee Crouch, and two sons. She is the executive producer at Connecting Vets, and she is working on a master’s in strategic communication at American University. She established a fund at SUNY Oswego to present the annual Outstanding Senior Award. Dom Izzo ’02 of Moorhead, Minn., hosts a radio sports talk show on WDAY’s 970AM, “Hot Mic with Dom Izzo.” Dom also covers North Dakota State football and cohosts WDAY’s “First Down Fridays” show, which covers high school football games in the area and announces WDAY-Xtra’s “Game of the Week.” Andrew Mitchell ’02 of Williamsville, N.Y., is an enrollment agent for Idemia Identity Solutions N.A. in West Seneca, N.Y.

While the physical qualities of the course are important to its success, Scott said the most important part of running a successful business is fulfilling its commitment to customers. “The atmosphere and environment are what make a golf course exceptional,” he said. “Servicing the individuals who support the business is what creates success. Feedback from those who spend time at the course drives our daily operational intent.” In addition to owning the golf course, Scott works as a physical education teacher and golf coach at North Rose-Wolcott Central School District, and he balances his multiple careers with his responsibilities as a husband to Melissa Blanchard Baker M’09 and father to their two children. He said he depends on a great team of people to help run the day-to-day work of keeping the course in shape. His approach to ownership of the course is better characterized as “leadership.” “Leadership, as I learned through my education at Oswego State, is about putting the right people in place to create the product,” Scott said. “I give credit to my partner and our team for the success at Stone Creek.”

Michael Weyrauch ’02 M’04 is the director of Career and Technical Education and Instructional Services at Orleans/Niagara BOCES in Sanborn, N.Y. Before taking over the reins of the two programs, he was the principal at Orleans Career and Technical Education Center in Medina, N.Y. He has been with BOCES for nearly eight years. He and his wife, Jennifer Roberts Weyrauch ’02, live in Corfu, N.Y., with their three daughters. Robert C. Whitaker Jr. ’02 was selected for inclusion in “Upstate New York Super Lawyers” for 2019. He is a partner in the Labor and Employment, Construction and Intellectual Property Practices at Hancock Estabrook in Syracuse, N.Y. He is the chair of the firm’s Labor and Employment Department and leader of the Military Law Practice, and he formerly served as chair

of the firm’s Hiring Committee. He and his wife, Jennifer Meister Whitaker ’01 M’02, live in Camillus, N.Y. Tammy Farrell M’03 CAS’10 is the principal of Groton (N.Y.) Junior-Senior High School. She has been in education for 20 years, having worked as a juvenile justice services alternative education teacher and coordinator, a sixth-grade math and science teacher in the Syracuse City School District, a sixth-grade teacher in the Marcellus Central School District, a director of curriculum, instruction and special programs at the Hannibal Central School District, an independent contractor and school improvement consultant with PLC Associates, and New York State Department of Education outside education expert.

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Sara Coulthart Haag ’03 of Oneida, N.Y., is chief programs officer at the Food Bank of Central New York. Previously, she was a divisional director with Family Services at Liberty Resources.

AIR

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Erin Naughton Collins ’04 of Walpole, Mass., is the administrative director for Professor Michael Porter’s Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness at Harvard Business School.

If I’d gotten that job, I would have either been an assistant forever, or struggling to figure out what else I wanted to do.

”

— Aunree Houston ’00, former vice president of marketing operations at HBO Programming, sharing his hindsight 19 years after not getting a job he thought he wanted

24-Hour CHALLENGE Oct. 24, 2019

THE GOAL: 500 donors in 24 hours THE RESULTS: 780+ people in 24 hours = more than $124,000, including challenge gifts from Rich ’92 M’97 and Diane Kruse Bush ’92 M’99, and Bob Moritz ’85

Thank you for giving #all4Oswego!

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Jamie Stack Leszczynski ’04 of Oswego, is senior director of communications for Oswego Health. Dan Welch M’04 is associate director of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County, where he has worked as an agricultural educator for more than seven years. He and his wife, Margaret Alistair Brown M’04, a teacher at Jamesville-Dewitt (N.Y.) Middle School, live in Nedrow, N.Y. Trisha Botty ’05 is grants manager for the Southwest Florida Community Foundation in Fort Myers, Fla. She previously served as regional director of intergovernmental affairs at the New York State Attorney General’s Office. Trisha also has experience working at a prominent labor organization, where she effectively planned, supported and implemented campaigns and communication strategies that fought for workers rights’ and their families. While working in the Washington, D.C., area, she managed fundraising efforts for a labor association, and worked at a nonprofit as assistant director of consumer education. Cala Glatz ’05 ’09 M’11 of Clymer, N.Y., exhibited her mixed media creations in “The Shape of Things,” an exhibition that

was held in the gallery at Oswego State Downtown in fall 2019. Siobhan Rodrigues ’05 M’20 of Baldwinsville, N.Y., was awarded the SUNY Oswego Impact Scholarship, funded by the college’s Division of Graduate Studies, to lead a seven-session Mindful Movement program at the Children’s Museum of Oswego. Mary Ritter Zielinski ’05 of Herkimer, N.Y., was named assistant vice president of the Mohawk Valley Health System Medical Group in Utica, N.Y. In this role, she provides direction and leadership for the group’s operations, including staffing and resource allocation. She oversees project planning, process improvement and compliance. Heather Wright Howard ’06 of Williamson, N.Y., is a quality manager for KeurigDr. Pepper. Michael J. Jetty ’06 of East Aurora, N.Y., is a tax senior manager at Lougen, Valenti, Bookbinder & Weintraub LLP in Amherst, N.Y. He is a member of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants. Michelle Roberts ’06 of Rochester, N.Y., is president of Novus – Be Known Inc. She was selected to serve on the advisory board of the School of Communication, Media and the Arts for a three-year term. Pamela Smith ’06 CAS’16 of Clay, N.Y., is dean of academics at Syracuse (N.Y.) Academy of Science High School. Most recently, she held the position of dean of students at Syracuse Academy of Science Elementary School. She was a math teacher and a math coach at the school.

All that’s missing is U! O G E W S O S NYMNI AL

We want to hear what’s new with you!

Submit your class note online at alumni.oswego.edu; email us at alumni@oswego.edu; call us at 315-312-2258; or send it to King Alumni Hall, SUNY Oswego, Oswego, N.Y. 13126.

Class Notes Jennifer Beach Brillante ’07 of Lee Center, N.Y., is vice president of business development at C & D Advertising in Utica, N.Y. She was named to CNY Business Journal’s 40 Under Forty for 2019. Jeff Knauss ’07 is the co-founder of the Digital Hyve in Syracuse, N.Y., which ranked 563rd in the 2019 Inc. 5000’s list of the fastest-growing private companies nationwide, its second consecutive year to receive the award. The digital marketing agency includes 52 full-time employees with offices in Rochester and Syracuse. Thuc Phan ’07 of Syracuse, N.Y., was one of 228 educators from across the state to be accepted into the New York State Master Teacher Program—a professional network of high performing K-12 STEM (science, technology/computer science, engineering or mathematics) educators. He is a computer science and technology teacher at Cazenovia High School. Eric Romano ’07 M’09 of Gloversville, N.Y., is principal of R.J. McNulty Academy for International Studies and Literacy Magnet School in Amsterdam, N.Y. He also worked as a special education teacher at Fonda-Fultonville (N.Y.) Central School District for eight years and an assistant principal at Marie Curie Institute of Engineering and Communications for two years. Elizabeth Stoddard M’07 CAS’16 of Fulton, N.Y., is Volney (N.Y.) Elementary School principal. She has been in the educational field for 18 years. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and biology from SUNY Potsdam. Daryl Freeman Ward ’07 of Mauldin, S.C., is an accountant for Concentrix in Greenville, S.C. Matt Jerauld ’08 of Round Lake, N.Y., is training to run in the New York City Marathon, raising money for the Alzheimer’s Association in honor of his grandmother. Nick Perioli ’08 of Liverpool, N.Y., is director of player development and head coach of the American Basketball Association’s Syracuse Stallions in Syracuse, N.Y. Nick has spent time both as a player, head coach and assistant coach in the Faroe Islands (2018), Denmark (2014-2018), El Salvador (2016), Dominican Republic (2015), Germany (2009) and the Buffalo 716ers (2015-2016). He is the all-time leader in career assists and career steals in his four years at Oswego.

Get Your Greens Kale Smoothie 2 cups kale leaves ¾ cup vanilla almond milk 1 medium banana ¼ cup plain greek yogurt

¼ cup pineapple 2 T. peanut butter 2 t. honey Blend all together, yields 2 servings.

Foodie and healthy-eater extraordinaire Dale Keida M’07 shared his favorite green smoothie recipe for this edition of OSWEGO Alumni Magazine. When not trying out new recipes, he is a technology education teacher at Camillus (N.Y.) Middle School, where he also serves as the advisor to the Technology Club and the Yearbook. He was inducted into the Town of Camillus/ West Genesee Community Hall of Fame in 2016 for his involvement with the Camillus Youth Basketball Association.

Julie Swanson ’08 of New York City is director of communications and compliance for the Church of the Epiphany Day School in Manhattan. Jessica Durst Allman ’09 of Syracuse, N.Y., is an administrative specialist for Syracuse University. Robin Frost ’09 founded Red Quill Law, a Virginia-based legal practice specializing in privacy, healthcare compliance, technology and intellectual property law. She had been with Iatric Systems and has degrees from SUNY Oswego, Old Dominion University and the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Law. Kendall Hanley ’09 of Minneapolis, Minn., is one of 96 officials who participated in the 2019 NHL Exposure Combine, and was selected to officiate in 2019 rookie tournaments. Kendall is entering her 12th season of officiating and is a licensed linesman with the IIHF, NCAA women’s hockey (Divisions I and III) and the National Women’s Hockey League. She is also entering her fourth season as a linesman in USA Hockey’s Officiating

Development Program, where she has officiated in the USHL, NAHL and NA3HL junior hockey leagues. She played Division III varsity hockey for Elmira College from 2005-07 and SUNY Oswego from 200709 while completing a Bachelor of Science in zoology. Kevin Randall ’09 of Brewerton, N.Y., is the chief financial officer for Crouse Health, where he has worked since 2013. Kayla Valvo Rena ’09 is assistant project manager for Covey CS in Utica, N.Y. Gina Wentworth ’09 played the role of Annie Oakley in the Oswego Players’ production of Annie Get Your Gun. Gina is a longtime performer around Central New York. After taking a brief pause from the stage to pursue a career in nursing, she stepped back into the limelight this year appearing as Miriam Leftkowitz in the Oswego Players’ recent production of Safe Haven. She has performed with the all-female vocal ensemble Concinnity at the Sterling Renaissance Festival and the Dickens Festival in Skaneateles, N.Y.

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ALUMNI BOOKSHELF Mark Allen Baker ’79

Lou Paduano ’04

Between the Ropes at Madison Square Garden: The History of an Iconic Boxing Ring, 1925-2007

Promethean

McFarland and Company, 2019. Inside Madison Square Garden, the City Ring was the altar of pugilism from 1925 until 2007. Hosting countless championship fights, historic main events and memorable undercards, it was center stage of boxing history. This book examines the boxing ring from a historical yet sociological perspective. Eric Lindquist ’84

A Place Called Home Bandcamp, 2019. Inspired by memories of people and places growing up in Western NY, Lindquist released his first solo record album featuring 11 tracks that were recorded in Southern California and produced by Andrew Goldring. His emotive song lyrics complement the 70s-style rock, reminiscent of Tom Petty, Neil Young and the Eagles. The album is available for purchase by digital download on iTunes, Amazon and Google Play, and can be streamed on Spotify.

We celebrate and share the success of Oswego alumni authors, illustrators and recording artists, who may ask their publisher/distributor to send a copy of the work to the Oswego Alumni Office to be considered for this column and our website, where cover photos of all works in this column will be displayed.

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Lou Paduano ’04

Hammer and Anvil Eleven Ten Publishing, 2019. Soriya has worked her entire life to become the Greystone—protector of her city, Portents, against the growing shadows of myth and legend. All her efforts are in jeopardy when she is struck down by the destructive power of the Minotaur. The secrets of Soriya’s training are revealed in the first adventure of this new Greystone trilogy. Tom ’06 and Ariana Cuadrado Sylvester ’06

Lifestyle Builders: Build Your Business, Quit Your Job, and Live Your Ideal Lifestyle

Michael Oshins ’87

Morgan James Publishing, 2019.

Beware of People Who Have More Than Three Bumper Stickers on Their Car and Other Fatherly Advice for Your Teenage Daughter

This book is a practical and entertaining guide to living a better life and building a business to support it. This couple overcame the obstacles of building three businesses with one spouse still in a 9-to5 job and working together as a married couple while raising two young kids. They say they have cracked the code and developed a framework on how to successfully do business and life together.

Michael B. Oshins, 2019. As a father of two teenage girls, Oshins has written this book as a life manual for them to read and learn some things about society. In it, he documents his best, unfiltered and sometimes objectionable advice for his daughters and other teens—not as a psychologist or a counselor but just as a father. To see all book covers, please visit magazine.oswego.edu.

Eleven Ten Publishing, 2019. In the second book in the DSA series, Ben Riley and Morgan Dunleavy discover a dead body and a growing conspiracy during their hunt for a lead from the Bellbrook affair. They must learn to trust each other or they may become the next victims of an elusive pyrokenetic.

Lou Paduano ’04

The Clearing Eleven Ten Publishing, 2019. Seven thousand people in a four-mile radius of Bellbrook, Ohio, disappeared overnight. A dead zone remains, no outgoing signals emanate from the ghost town. Ben Riley, the latest recruit to the Department of Special Assignments (DSA), must find out what happened to the residents. This is the first in a sci-fi conspiracy series by the author of the urban fantasy series, Greystone.

Derrick Smith ’09 M’14 (writing as Derrick Smythe)

The Other Magic Dorean Press, 2019. Smith, a social studies teacher in Altmar-Parish-Williamstown in N.Y., introduces readers to his epic fantasy series set in the world of Doréa. The first book in the Passage to Dawn series, it tells the tale of darkness stirring in a world that is ill-equipped to confront it. The birth of a prophesied king whose foretold conquests will not benefit all people, and a priestess and a slave tap into magical forces to evade capture at the hands of the Empire’s most potent wielders.

Class Notes

Alison Clarke ’10 of East Syracuse, N.Y., is an underwriting associate for the Hanover Insurance Group in North Syracuse, N.Y. Ryan Morrell M’10 is director of the PROSperity mental health program in Auburn, N.Y. He is responsible for direct oversight of six staff and monitoring of all operations for the agency’s Personalized Recovery Oriented Services (PROS) program. He was previously the director of Criminal and Family Court Programs at Cayuga Counseling Services Inc. Matthew Slimowicz ’10 of Vestal, N.Y., is a senior assembler for Lockheed Martin in Owego. Katrina Antonucci ’11 of Hilliard, Ohio, is an aviation tax analyst for Satcom Direct in Upper Arlington, Ohio. Maria Martusewicz BonDurant ’11 M’15 of Syracuse, N.Y., is a project manager at Day Automation in East Syracuse, N.Y. She previously served as a project manager at Annese, a ConvergeOne company in Syracuse. She was named to CNY Business Journal’s 40 Under Forty for 2019. Alissa Theleman Clark ’11 of Rochester, N.Y., is the graduate education program director for the Greene Center for Career Education and Connections at the University of Rochester. Marc Copani ’11 M’13 CAS’15 transitioned from his assistant principalship at G. Ray Bodley High School to the new principal at Fulton (N.Y.) Junior High School. The former WWE professional wrestler also has spent time in the high school weight room helping the wrestling team. Steven DiMarzo ’11 M’15 of Clifton Park, N.Y., is the owner and clinical director for Second Nature Counseling in Schenectady. He also holds an MBA from Le Moyne College.

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Jason Checkla ’10 of Queensbury, N.Y., is regional director for Cost Control Associates, overseeing New York and New England. Previously, he served as marketing coordinator and energy specialist at RISE Engineering. He also worked as a morning show host and digital media manager for the Regional Radio Group for stations in New York’s Warren, Washington and Saratoga counties.

2010s

For many Americans, the word Ireland conjures up images of an emerald isle with grassy hillsides, four-leaf clovers, leprechauns and all things green. “On average, they get about 285 days of rain per year, so that green color is well earned!” said Chelsey Hipkens ’13, who had the opportunity to spend some time in Ireland’s countryside during a study abroad trip and then pursuing a graduate degree in archaeological excavation from the University College Cork. “Ireland was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I enjoyed immensely,” Chelsey said. During her time in Ireland, the history major excavated several sites, including her favorite, a 19th-century house in a remote section of Ireland in Keem Bay on Achill Island. Through a very slow and deliberate process, she and her classmates unearthed centimeterby-centimeter the living area of the former home of English Capt. Charles Boycott, after whom the term boycott was named. They found all sorts of tools, broken pieces of pottery and, perhaps, the most interesting discovery, some children’s toys. “According to historical records, he was not a parent, so this means that it is likely other people stayed with him at the house,” she said. Much like her down time at Oswego which she spent along Lake Ontario, she spent her free time along the shores of Keem Bay. In addition to the green landscape, she said she admires Ireland for its green living. “They are great at recycling and reusing, and they just tend to have a lot less waste than we do,” Chelsey said. “When we excavated sites there, we were always careful to minimize our footprint on the earth.”

district attorney in the Cayuga County District Attorney’s office in Auburn, N.Y. “For me, it’s the little things like walking to work or taking public transportation, recycling or reusing an empty container,” said Chelsey, who will graduate with a J.D. from Southern Illinois School of Law this year and hopes to return to Auburn to work full time as an assistant district attorney after passing the New York State Bar Exam. Looking to her future, she said she found a way to tie her passion for archaeology and law together. “There’s a field called cultural heritage law that is a combination of property, international and art law,” she said. “I spent last summer in Siena, Italy, studying it at their law school. Afterwards I worked for a firm in NYC that does work for HARP (the Holocaust Art Restoration Project), which seeks to return art to families who had their property stolen during the Holocaust.” Regardless of where her career takes her, she said she will return to Ireland again soon and throughout her life to stay connected to the people and the land that she came to love. “They’ve never met a stranger,” she said.

Today, she said she tries to incorporate a similar philosophy in her day-to-day living as a legal extern/acting assistant

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A group of Oswego alumni got together for a small reunion and BBQ at the Oswego home of Gabriela Santos ’15 in July 2019. In attendance were Kevin McCarthy ‘82, Zack Saccocio ‘15, Gregory Rabideau ‘15, Matthew Sheffer ‘15, Griffen Sheridan ‘15, Jake Baxter ‘16, Michael Ryan ‘15, David Russell ‘15, Gabriela Santos ‘15, Nicole Nolan ‘15, Caroline McGuire ‘15 and Julie McCarthy ‘15. (Submitted by Gabriela Santos ‘15).

EVENTS While planning for these events continues, please check the online events calendar for the most up-to-date information. June 24 Alumni Concert Series* June 29 Virtual Yoga Session* July 20-30

Lifelong Learning Summer Session*

Oct. TBD Founder’s Day Celebration* Oct. 1-2

Giving Challenge**

Oct. 2

Green and Gold Day*

Oct. 2

Oswego Alumni Association Board of Directors Meeting*

Oct. 2

Oswego College Foundation Board of Directors Meeting**

Oct. 21

Election-Themed Alumni Event*

Oct. 28

Dr. Lewis B. O’Donnell Media Summit**

* Alumni and Parent Relations, 315-312-2258 ** University Development, 315-312-3003

alumni.oswego.edu

Student • Alumni

CONNECTIONS Volunteer to connect with current and prospective students by visiting alumni.oswego.edu/volunteer.

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Marko Nobles ’89, Hayward L. Alfred Jr. ’94, Yvette Pabon ’95 and Matt Lewis ’94 reconnected with each other during a Feb. 21 after-work happy hour, organized by Oswego Alumni Association Board Member Thaina Gonzalez ‘92 and Eli Garcia ’98, at Brown Sugar in New York City.

Tom Grover ’11 is a D.A.R.E. officer for the Oswego City Police Department and also the Oswego junior varsity boys’ lacrosse head coach and the varsity girls’ volleyball team head coach. Christine Haltof ’11 of Penfield, N.Y., is a digital marketing specialist for Monro Inc. in Rochester, N.Y. Myia Knapp Hill ’11 of Oswego is the fund development director of the Child Advocacy Center of Oswego County. She previously worked at the CNY Community Foundation in Syracuse and most recently as development manager with the Oswego Health Foundation. David Ingber ’11, Ph.D., is faculty specialist in the biology department at the University of Scranton. He previously was a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Delaware, has conducted presentations at a variety of venues and co-authored several journal publications. He earned a doctorate in entomology and wildlife ecology from the University of Delaware, and a master’s degree in entomology from Iowa State University in Ames. Melissa Ortiz ’11 is the assistant art director at the Martin Group in Rochester, N.Y. She previously worked at Wegmans, including doing package design within the Marketing Department. Christopher J. Spilka ’11 of Utica, N.Y., is retreat house director for Christ the King Retreat and Conference Center in Syracuse, N.Y. He is the first lay Retreat House director. Previously, he was an events manager at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, N.Y.

Anne Walter ’11 is the branch administrator for Erie Materials in Auburn, N.Y. Ashley Grimes ’12 of Syracuse, N.Y., is a teacher in the Syracuse City School District. Audrey Ash ’13 of Fort Meade, Md., joined the U.S. Navy in August 2018. She completed the Russian basic course at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, Calif., and received a degree in Russian language. Elizabeth Canfield ’13 of Fulton, N.Y., was appointed executive assistant to Fulton Mayor Deana Michaels. She will support the day-to-day operations of the mayor’s office by working closely with all departments within the city, providing support to the common council, attending community events and coordinating various city meetings and initiatives. Joshua M. Louis ’13 of Newport, N.Y., is an academic support center specialist in English and writing at Herkimer County Community College. He previously served in a variety of positions at the college, including peer tutor mentor, advisement specialist and adjunct instructor. He has a master’s degree in English and creative writing from Southern New Hampshire University. Colin McNamara ’13 of Amsterdam, N.Y., is a staff attorney for the American Humanist Association’s Appignani Humanist Legal Center. Kathryne Davis ’14 of Bethlehem, Ga., is a staff writer and office manager for Brenau University in Gainesville, Ga.

Class Notes

Oswego Matters Greetings, Laker family! It’s safe to say the spring of 2020 didn’t turn out how anyone, including your alma mater, thought it might. Here in the Alumni and Development Office, we made tough decisions to cancel or postpone events, reschedule alumni-student interactions and determine how to best move forward in a “new normal” of social distancing and virtual engagement. Above all, the health and well-being of our campus and alumni communities remained top of mind. Our staff continues to stand ready to assist you with whatever we can – including providing some uplifting content to read between the often anxiety-inducing news with which we’ve all been inundated. We hope you’ve found respite in the stories here of some of our green-blooded Lakers ... As you’ve read in this “Green” issue, many alumni who were on campus in 1970 remember a car being buried in front of Culkin Hall as one of the classic Oswego memories of their time. But you didn’t have to be here for the first Earth Day to have your own version of a story that sends you into an Oswego flashback – and, in my position, I am lucky enough to hear so many of those recollections. I’ve listened to alumni reminisce about

Jeremy Long ’14 of Baldwinsville, N.Y., is digital associate producer for Spectrum News. Previously, he was based in Charlotte, N.C., where he was ESPNU project production assistant and an associate producer with Perform Group. Erin Molloy ’14 of Rochester, N.Y., is an associate account executive for Mirror Show Management. Erin was previously with Fidelis Care Health Insurance as a retention services advocate in Fairport, N.Y. John Mongiello ’14 of Stamford, Conn., is a production assistant for WWE. Jessica White ’14 of Meridian, N.Y., is marketing and imaging administrator for JGB Enterprises in Liverpool, N.Y.

the installation of Splinter Village; groovin’ to Bruce Springsteen in Laker Hall; savoring a brew at Buckland’s on the day they closed their doors; and celebrating the last day of spring classes with the first-ever OzFest. While decades separate those who remember each event, the same Laker spirit and love shines as a unifying trait between all of the narrators. Some good news? Alumni don’t have to be green with envy of the Lakers who still have an undergrad status ahead of them. You can connect with students throughout the year to share your wisdom (and stories!)—which is a great way to give back to your alma mater through your time and talents, as these green learners begin to blossom. Volunteer for the Alumni Sharing Knowledge (ASK) program to connect and offer advice to students virtually; sign up as an Alumni-Admissions Ambassador to encourage prospective students to commit to attending Oswego; or host students for internships, co-ops or site-visits at your organization to give them some insight on your industry and a foot in the door (literally!). Of course, you also have the opportunity to compare memories with fellow alumni at events year-round...even while social-distancing! Join alumni and friends for many virtual activities and opportunities – including webinars, the new Oswego Alumni Podcast series, digital celebrations, virtual panels and more. (We’re giving you

Karl Backhaus ’15 of Troy, N.Y., is a museum scientist for The New York State Museum in Albany, N.Y. Justin Costello ’15 of Madison, Tenn., works at Eventbrite, handling sales operations for the company’s music team. Kris Gardner ’15 of Baldwinsville, N.Y., is a customer service/purchasing coordinator at Gear Motions’ Nixon Gear Division in Syracuse, N.Y. Most recently, he was a contract administrator for government contracts. He also has experience in warehouse operations management and as a machine/heavy equipment operator at Novelis in Oswego, N.Y.

the green light to “un-mute” yourself and join in on our virtual conversations!) Only the future will tell what our current students will look back on as their classic Oswego memories. However, we can assuredly say that they’ll each recall the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, and how the “norm” of campus, and the surrounding world, was so drastically altered. Though, while years-worth of experiences divide all of our stories, the Laker pride and support surrounding each is, without a doubt, evergreen (and gold). #TogetherOz

Laura Pavlus Kelly ’09 Executive Director Oswego Alumni Association

Stephanie Gonzales ’15 of Syracuse, N.Y., is a manager for Catholic Charities of Onondaga County and is pursuing a master’s degree in social work at Syracuse University. Dan Gross ’15 is a music reporter and a digital content reporter at News 8 WROCTV in Rochester, N.Y. Jay Hassey ’15 M’16, CPA, is a senior associate at the Siegfried Group LLP in Boston, Mass. Previously, he was a senior assurance associate at PwC. Jonathan Krupa ’15 of Syracuse, N.Y., is a paralegal for the City of Syracuse. Jonathan holds a Graduate Certificate of Study for Paralegal Studies from Duke University.

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Kerry McSweeney ’15 M’16 is audit senior at Dannible & McKee LLP in Syracuse, N.Y. She is a certified public accountant in New York State and a member of the AICPA and the NYSSCPA. Francesca Mesiti ’15 is talent acquisition manager at Excelsior College in Albany, N.Y. Kelsey Mirabito ’15 is fitness and wellness director for the Rye, N.Y., YMCA. She holds a Master of Science in Community Health from SUNY Cortland. She also holds several certifications, including health education specialist, personal trainer and yoga instructor. Kiana Racha ’15 of Warners, N.Y., is the public relations specialist for CiTi BOCES in Phoenix, N.Y. Previously she was a news producer for Spectrum News. Shelby Godfrey Reeves M’15 of Memphis, N.Y., is a member of the healthcare tax exempt team at The Bonadio Group in Syracuse, N.Y.

Paul “Boy Green” Esden Jr. ’15 broadcasts his sports talk radio show on Cumulus Media’s The Score 1260.

For Paul Esden Jr. ’15, green is much more than his favorite color. It’s prominently featured in his professional radio persona as co-host “Boy Green” of Cumulus Media’s sports talk morning show, “The Manchild Show with Boy Green,” which airs 10 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday and as host of “Drive Time Sports” from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday on The Score 1260. He received the nickname from his cohost and SUNY Oswego adjunct broadcasting professor, Jim “The Manchild” Lerch, after Lerch’s original co-host, longtime sports columnist for Syracuse. com, Bud Poliquin, retired in 2017. “When you join radio, you have to get a nickname; it’s some sort of weird ritual,” Paul explained. “But you can’t give yourself a nickname because that’s against the rules.” As the self-proclaimed biggest New York Jets fan on the planet with family ties to the home of the Boston Celtics and, of course, as a Laker alumnus, Paul needed to have a name that included green somehow.

“At first, I hated it, but then I accepted it as part of my brand,” said Paul, a broadcasting and mass communication major who honed his craft at SUNY Oswego’s WNYO and as an intern at ESPN Radio in Syracuse. “I’ve met people locally who recognize me at the grocery store, and the coolest moment was when I was at MetLife Stadium for a Syracuse vs. Notre Dame game and someone recognized me as ‘Boy Green.’ So without that nickname, I don’t think I would’ve blown up the way that I have.” Today, green has become his signature color. Paul wears one of his 40-plus green sports jerseys, 25 green hats, socks, shoes or even underwear every day. In fact, even his Pikachu Pokemon tattoo on his right arm is wearing a “Gang Green” snapback. “I didn’t pick my teams based on the colors of their jersey, but it feels like destiny that multiple of my favorite teams just happen to have that color,” he said. “I love the color so much, and it’s become a part of my identity/brand.”

Dr. Samantha Grogan Vasbinder ’15 works at align sports chiropractic and Health Center in Black Lick, Pa. She is a 2019 graduate of New York Chiropractic College, where she obtained her doctoral degree in chiropractic. Kara Vormwald ’15 of Henderson Harbor, N.Y., is the marketing specialist for Stickley Furniture. Previously, she was a producer/host of an afternoon talk show with WBNG. Alexsander M. Yousuf ’15 M’16, CPA, of Pennellville, N.Y., was promoted to senior associate at Fust Charles Chambers LLP in Syracuse, N.Y. He joined the firm in 2016. Tracey Garland ’16 of Syracuse, N.Y., is a geologist at D&B Engineers and Architects, headquartered in Woodbury, N.Y. Previously she oversaw health and safety, administration and quality control for Ontario Specialty Contracting in Buffalo, N.Y. Kathryn Piazza M’16 of Syracuse, N.Y., was selected to be 1 of 95 women scientists in the world to join the largest ever all-female expedition to Antarctica as a part of the Homeward Bound Projects, a professional development program, focusing on leadership and uniquely designed for women in science. Satish Ramanarayanan M’16 relocated to Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada. Robert Reeves M’16 is audit senior at Dannible & McKee LLP in Syracuse, N.Y.

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Class Notes Prior to joining the firm, Robert worked as a senior accountant at Brookline Development Company LLC. He is a certified public accountant in New York State and a member of the AICPA and the NYSSCPA. Katherine R. Regin ’16 M’17 was promoted to senior associate at Fust Charles Chambers LLP in Syracuse, N.Y. She joined the firm in 2017.

for the college’s Registrar’s Office.

Morgan Pickreign ’18 of Pennellville, N.Y., is a child protective caseworker for the Oswego County Department of Social Services.

Anna Paradiso ’17 of Atlanta, Ga., is a preschool teacher for Bright Horizons.

Ashley Trevor ’18 of Ilion, N.Y., is admissions assistant for Herkimer County Community College. Ashley most recently worked as an intern at GPO Federal Credit Union in New Hartford.

Brianna “Breezy” Sloth ’17 of Canandaigua, N.Y., is the new morning show co-host for WPXY-FM in Rochester, N.Y. She joined 98 PXY as an intern for the station’s morning show in 2017. Following her graduation from SUNY Oswego, she assumed various roles for the station, including promotions and programming as 98 PXY’s night show host, morning show fill-in host, and morning and evening drive traffic reporter.

Jake Vanderbroek ’18 is sports director at WBKB-TV, a CBS/Fox/MyNetworkTV/ ABC-affiliated television station in Alpena, Mich. At Oswego, he worked at WTOP-10 TV, where he learned everything about broadcasting from producing to writing to reporting. Jake also spent time interning for the sports department at WSYR-TV. When Jake isn’t covering sports stories, he enjoys playing golf and chess.

Danielle Sheppard Szabo ’17 of Marcellus, N.Y., is the economic development specialist at Cayuga Economic Development Agency. She works to retain and expand existing businesses, as well as to attract new businesses to expand or relocate to Cayuga County.

Faizon Zaman ’18 of Champaign, Ill., is a lexical programmer for WolframAlpha LLC.

Noelle White ’16 of Brewerton, N.Y., was named Miss Rodeo NY 2019.

Bianca Fernandez ’18 is a research technician for Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

Neomie Arevalo ’19 of Floral Park, N.Y., is a media coordinator for Amnet in New York City. Sarah Henry ’19 of Orangeburg, N.Y., is a media relations associate for Golin.

Jessica Kisluk ’19 of Alden, N.Y., is a reporter for Fox 40 in New York’s southern tier region. Kelsey Kotas ’19 is an associate sales manager at JAS Recruitment in Syracuse, N.Y. Kennedy Langlois M’19 CAS’19 of Charlotte, N.C., is the school psychologist for the Fort Mill (S.C.) School District.

Deirdre Leo ’18 of Wappingers Falls, N.Y., is pursuing an M.S. degree in Mental Health Counseling at the University at Albany. She also works in student affairs

quotes

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Everyone has their own personal vision of what ‘SUCCESS’ looks like.

It will change as life changes — because that’s what life does. Achieving goals that end up changing is not failure. IT’S LEARNING AND IT’S NECESSARY TO GROW.

”

Elizabeth Anderson ’19 of Johnstown, N.Y., is an account executive for Nexstar Media Group in Albany, N.Y.

Carly Hewitt M’19 of Syracuse, N.Y., is a school counselor at Randall Middle School in the Cortland (N.Y.) Enlarged School District.

Theodore Johnson ’18 M’19 (above right) received a SUNY Oswego grant from the college’s new Impact Scholars program to develop an augmented reality project for Oswego’s historic Fort Ontario.

AIR

Alexander Masterson ’18 of Bayville, N.Y., is market research coordinator for FirstService Residential in New York City.

Kevin Mercado ’19 of Bronx, N.Y., is a program specialist for BronxWorks social services. He is also an apprentice in digital marketing for COOP, an organization that helps graduates overcome underemployment by providing workshops and certifications to prepare participants for digital marketing careers.

— Molly Matott ‘15, former meteorologist at CNY Central and now a math teacher at Onondaga-Cortland-Madison Counties BOCES, in her December 2019 Commencement Eve address to graduates and their families

Gabrielle Miller ’19 is a Realtor associate at Christie’s International Real Estate Northern New Jersey’s Mahwah, N.J., office. Chelsey Moore M’19 is the public relations director for ARC of Herkimer, N.Y. Previously, she was an assignment manager, producer, anchor and reporter at WKTV NewsChannel 2 in Utica, N.Y. Nicole Schroeder ’19 of Mastic, N.Y., is pursuing a master’s degree in athletic training at East Stroudsburg University, where she also works as a graduate assistant. Abby Shaw ’19 is a content development team member for ABC Creative Group in Syracuse, N.Y. Carly Violante ’19 is a digital marketing coordinator for WCNY in Syracuse, N.Y.

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In Memoriam

Stanley Shaut ’40 of San Diego, Calif., Jan. 8, 2019.

Margaret Koseluk Gimbel ’53 of Maineville, Ohio, Nov. 27, 2019.

Arlene Glasier Smith ’59 of Liverpool, N.Y., Sept. 29, 2019.

Mary Miller Smith ’40 of Oswego, Dec. 7, 2019.

Alice Gorthey Kowalski ’53 of Fairport, N.Y., Oct. 7, 2019.

Judith Kaiser Canzoneri ’60 of Seaford, N.Y., Dec. 15, 2019.

Francis Hyde ’42 of Asheville, N.C., Sept. 18, 2019.

Catherine Higgins Mitchell ’53 of Canyon Lake, Texas, Nov. 19, 2019.

Carolyn Guyle Hiler ’60 of Mexico, N.Y., Dec. 11, 2019.

Barbara Stern Strauss ’42 of Scarsdale, N.Y., Oct. 21, 2019.

Constance Shannon Rice ’53 of North Syracuse, N.Y., July 21, 2019.

Margaret Richardson Masters ’60 of Baldwinsville, N.Y., July 8, 2019.

Ann Cloonan Arata ’47 of Hyde Park, N.Y., Nov. 6, 2019.

Kenvyn Richards ’53 M’63 of Oswego, Aug. 26, 2019.

Charles “Pete” James ’61 of Verona, N.Y., July 25, 2019.

Florence Cox Venema ’47 of Hammondsport, N.Y., Nov. 19, 2019.

Paul Tyner ’53 of Glenville, N.Y., Sept. 22, 2019.

Frederick Lampman ’61 of Rome, N.Y., Nov. 15, 2019.

Norma Clark Parry ’48 of Tupper Lake, N.Y., Nov. 28, 2019.

Margery Klock Connell ’54 of Auburn, N.Y., Sept. 18, 2019.

Edward VanAmerongen ’61 of Colonie, N.Y., Dec. 22, 2019.

Robert Babcock ’49 of Ithaca, N.Y., July 11, 2019.

Gerald DiCesare ’54 of Wayne, Pa., Oct. 24, 2019.

John Wheeler ’61 M’67 of Cadysville, N.Y., Jan. 7, 2019.

Jane Penpeck Holdridge ’49 of Rome, N.Y., Sept. 23, 2018.

Joseph Donovan ’54 of Oswego, Nov. 15, 2019.

Phyllis Lee Ormiston ’62 of Stamford, N.Y., Oct. 31, 2019.

Theresa Izzo ’49 of Brookville, N.Y., Feb. 21, 2017.

Gretchen Ernst Saker ’54 of Howell, N.J., Nov. 19, 2019.

Beverly “Bonnie” Brown Wilkins ’62 of Lexington, Mass., Sept. 10, 2019.

Herman Koenig ’49 of Clarksville, Del., Sept. 11, 2019.

Lawrence Marrish ’56 of Ancramdale, N.Y., July 31, 2019.

Gail Eule Dorr ’63 of Geneseo, N.Y., Aug. 14, 2019.

Priscilla Deans Wilkinson ’49 of Linwood, N.J., Aug. 12, 2017.

Merton Randolph Burritt ’57 of Schroon, N.Y., Aug. 13, 2019.

Rita Karl ’63 of Surprise, Ariz., Nov. 22, 2018.

Shirley Coe DeLyser ’50 of Palmyra, N.Y., Feb. 12, 2019.

John Proud ’57 of Mexico, N.Y., Nov. 19, 2019.

Stanley Syvertsen ’63 of Oneonta, N.Y., Dec. 28, 2019.

Melvin Blieberg ’51 of Williamstown, Mass., July 2, 2019.

John VanOrder ’57 of Clayton, N.Y., Aug. 9, 2019.

Rosamond Cerio Bennati ’65 of Sherrill, N.Y., July 17, 2019.

Philip Fragale ’51 of East Syracuse, N.Y., Dec. 24, 2019.

Dorothy Lahue Walker ’57 of Camden, N.Y., Oct. 11, 2019.

John Carman ’65 of Nassau, N.Y., July 5, 2019.

John Kieffer ’51 of Brantingham, N.Y., Aug. 31, 2019.

Dominick Argona ’58 of Sebastian, Fla., May 13, 2019.

Mary Connolly Ciappa M’65 CAS’76 of Oswego, Aug. 1, 2019.

Richard Nostrant ’51 of Albany, Ohio, Oct. 8, 2019.

William Daskiewich ’58 of Boonville, N.Y., Nov. 30, 2019.

Mary Theresa Sweeney Hume ’65 of Honeoye Falls, N.Y., Sept. 20, 2019.

Mary Dutcher Regan ’51 of Oswego, Oct. 7, 2019.

Ann Marsden Hollop ’58 of Plattsburgh, N.Y., Dec. 1, 2018.

Bruce Konkowski ’65 of Norwood, N.Y., Aug. 24, 2019.

Kenneth Upcraft ’51 of Roseburg, Ore., Oct. 19, 2019.

Claude Merrill ’58 of Coupeville, Wash., Oct. 9, 2019.

Margaret Donahue Guyer Burke ’66 of Charlotte, N.C., Oct. 25, 2019.

Ruth Mezger Henderson ’52 of Baldwinsville, N.Y., Dec. 5, 2019.

Salvatore Palazzolo ’58 of East Northport, N.Y., Dec. 29, 2018.

Karen Walter Gerrard ’66 of Holland Patent, N.Y., Oct. 13, 2019.

Myriam Siegel Burda ’53 of Vancouver, Wash., June 22, 2019.

Nancy Trafton Waldron ’58 of Whitesboro, N.Y., July 28, 2019.

George Loures ’66 of Franklin Square, N.Y., Feb. 25, 2019.

Elizabeth Kelly Denton ’53 of Orlando, Fla., Oct. 13, 2019.

Harry Desens ’59 M’63 CAS’73 of Jackson, Tenn., Aug. 20, 2019.

Marcus Bennett ’67 of Glenfield, N.Y., Nov. 11, 2019.

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Darlene Case Poormon ’68 of Fayette, N.Y., Nov. 12, 2019.

Robert Hamilla ’79 of Mahwah, N.J., Sept. 25, 2019.

Jeffrey Armstrong ’00 of Carthage, N.Y., July 13, 2019.

Judy Wells ’68 of Carthage, N.Y., Aug. 17, 2018.

Richard Sagehorn ’79 of Freeport, N.Y., May 9, 2019.

Kathleen LeBlanc Carr ’01 of Pulaski, N.Y., Dec. 13, 2019.

Donald Strotman ’69 of Wading River, N.Y., Sept. 1, 2019.

Gerard Lux ’80 of Charlotte, N.C., Aug. 1, 2019.

Marcia Livingston Folger ’02 of Watertown, N.Y., Oct. 6, 2019.

Robert Terry Young ’69 M’73 of Quogue, N.Y., Sept. 15, 2019.

James Martin M’80 of Syracuse, N.Y., June 24, 2019.

Aaron Thorpe ’05 of Oswego, Dec. 12, 2019.

Robert Michael ’70 of Hudson, N.Y., Sept. 18, 2019.

Margaret McKenney Williams ’80 of Fulton, N.Y., Nov. 22, 2019.

Jacob Gardner ’09 M’11 of Oswego, Sept. 3, 2019.

Charles Popipero ’70 of Clearwater, Fla., Oct. 9, 2019.

Donald Cloonan ’83 M’91 of Oswego, Nov. 9, 2019.

David Goyette ’09 of Scotia, N.Y., Dec. 28, 2019.

Dorothy “Cris” Edgerton Schauss ’70 of Ocala, Fla., Dec. 20, 2019.

James Esposito ’83 of Wantagh, N.Y., Sept. 6, 2019.

Daisy Ruiz ’14 of Oswego, Aug. 17, 2019.

Elizabeth Schilling Sheldon ’70 of Camillus, N.Y., Dec. 3, 2019.

Christopher Anzalone ’84 of Mount Airy, Md., Oct. 3, 2019.

Gregory Sullivan M’15 of Hartsdale, N.Y., Oct. 20, 2019.

Sandra Antley Herrick ’71 of Aiken, S.C., Sept. 3, 2017.

Alfred Genovese ’85 of Hyde Park, N.Y., Nov. 21, 2019.

Richard Mayer, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics, October 2019.

Mark “Morris” DeRegis ’72 of Los Angeles, Calif., Sept. 13, 2019.

Kevin McBath ’86 of Waddington, N.Y., Dec. 3, 2019.

Harold Nash, Professor Emeritus of Education, Aug. 3, 2019.

Sharman Oram Fitchett ’72 of Stuart, Fla., Sept. 13, 2017.

Jeffrey Cicora ’88 of Baldwinsville, N.Y., Aug. 10, 2019.

Virginia Pratt, Associate Professor Emerita of History, Sept. 11, 2019.

Alan Glogowski ’72 of Herkimer, N.Y., Nov. 17, 2019.

Andrew Marsjanik ’88 of Hannawa Falls, N.Y., Sept. 13, 2019.

Frank Bakos ’73 of Maryville, Tenn., Nov. 2, 2019.

Ruth Genagon Toth M’88 of Baldwinsville, N.Y., July 10, 2019.

Charles Davis ’74 of Erieville, N.Y., July 16, 2019.

Mark Stanley ’90 of Baldwinsville, N.Y., Aug. 4, 2019.

Mary Ann Burmingham Fraser ’74 of Mattydale, N.Y., Nov. 13, 2019.

Edward Demm ’93 of Oswego, July 1, 2019.

Robert Freeman ’74 of Camillus, N.Y., Nov. 22, 2019.

James Hoffman ’93 of Akron, Pa., Aug. 27, 2019.

Thomas Houck ’74 of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Oct. 27, 2019.

Jennie McCoy Maneeley M’93 of Watertown, N.Y., Nov. 22, 2019.

Elaine Gill Moore ’75 of Venice, Fla., April 4, 2019.

Margaret Hartnett Foody M’94 of Aiken, S.C., Oct. 14, 2019.

Alan Olivenstein ’77 of Murrysville, Pa., July 6, 2018.

Anna Kozel Roy M’94 of Oswego, July 28, 2019.

Mary Alice O’Mara ’77 of Oswego, Dec. 4, 2019.

Teresa Grabler ’95 of Roanoke, Va., Jan. 23, 2019.

John Robinson ’77 of Baldwinsville, N.Y., Oct. 27, 2019.

Susan Sprague ’95 of Watertown, N.Y., Sept. 5, 2019.

Mary Patricia Saile Scott ’77 of Fairport, N.Y., Oct. 2018.

Tara Gardner ’96 M’03 of Mannsville, N.Y., Dec. 22, 2019.

To read a longer form obituary or to submit a remembrance, please visit magazine.oswego.edu.

SUBMITTING AN OBITUARY We will share the news of a SUNY Oswego community member’s death when we receive the information from a family member, friend or another source in the form of a previously published notice, typically from a newspaper or funeral home. Please send such notices to the Office of Alumni Relations c/o In Memoriam, SUNY Oswego, Oswego, N.Y. 13126; or email alumni@ oswego.edu.

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Blue + Gold = Forever Green This is a story of bad behavior, rebirth and redemption, Oswego style. It features improbable alumni: the Beta brothers, who in the 1960s were known mostly for outrageous behavior—a likely prospect when a brother was within sight of a beer keg, which was often. Their redemption is the first Greek-sponsored scholarship at Oswego: The Beta Tau Epsilon Scholarship, now endowed at $145,000, growing fast, and annually awarding up to $4,000 to an especially deserving Greek student.

Bad Behavior The prelude to this remarkable contribution is littered with trouble. The mid-century brothers had fun, fun, fun, alternating between anxiety over landing on social probation (again), and the very behavior that caused concern. One year it was a party gone too far; the next, a repeat. Among the brothers were athletes, campus leaders and scholars; there was more there than toga parties, but that was definitely the image.

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While skating this thin edge, an event in October 1966—a frat house fire—led to the end of Beta…everyone thought. Flames and smoke took almost everything (those precious class notes!). The brothers held a “Fire Sale!” party, helpful coeds laundered what could be saved, brothers living in apartments opened their doors, the Inter-Greek Council helped and fraternity events convened in local halls. By 1968 a new house was built; it needed 40 residents to cover the mortgage. They didn’t make it, the house was lost and the fraternity faded away. Beta was dead.

Bemoaning isn’t the style of Jerry Esposito ’70. Reflecting on the influence of Oswego State and Beta in his life led him to the 2006 Reunion, where a large group of brothers gathered for a dinner organized by George Anderson ’65. The evening’s renewed sense of brotherhood inspired Espo and, with the help of Ken Klein ’67, Ken Garno ’67 and Les Flinn ’67, he found and linked 300 brothers. The now-reborn fraternity is active, regularly exchanging updates on reunions, other events, news and photos of brothers in BTE garb around the world.

Rebirth

Redemption

Meanwhile, brothers graduated and mostly became teachers, many for long careers. Others moved into law, public service, business and entrepreneurship—all the varied paths Oswego grads discover. They struggled, grew, prospered. Friends stayed in touch, got together, wondered how others were doing and bemoaned Beta’s demise.

Today, instead of a house, Beta has a scholarship. Sprung from a Mike Andolina ’67 idea, it became a mission to which Esposito has given his all since 2016. As he crafted and championed it, the scholarship seeks to ensure Beta Tau Epsilon lives on through its contribution to the college. The $145,000 Beta endowment is one of the largest and fastest growing, and has served as a model for others. The Bad Boys of Beta are back, are giving back and are up for whatever party you might suggest. l —John Savage ’66

John Savage ’66, Ph.D., was an English major, a Buckland’s bartender and, amazingly, an Oswego Alumni Association Distinguished Alumnus in 1981. He lives in Bethesda, Md., with his wife, Shannon Rafferty Savage ’67.

A photo of some of the “Beta Boys” taken during Reunion 2019

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To see more Beta brother photos in an extended online version, please visit magazine.oswego.edu.

Freshmen Beanie

OSWEGO OBJECT

Graduates from the 1940s through the 1970s will no doubt remember this green treasure. Every first-year student on campus was required to wear this beanie every day (except Sundays) as well as answer questions posed to them by upperclassmen, and learn and sing the alma mater, football songs and school cheers within two weeks of arriving on campus. “In 1955 freshmen were required to ‘wear the original caps given to them...attend all social functions of the school; not smoke on campus; obey all commands of upperclassmen; tip their caps to upperclassmen and say hello first; not keep their hands in their pockets at any time… keep off the grass; not wear athletic or class insignia from prep schools; meet on the front steps every Wednesday noon; and, above all, be a good sport.’” — excerpt from the book, SUNY College at Oswego: A Second Century Unfolds, by Dorothy Rogers

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KING ALUMNI HALL OSWEGO, N.Y. 13126 If OSWEGO is addressed to a son or daughter who has graduated and no longer maintains a permanent address at your home, please clip the address label and return it with the correct address to the Oswego Alumni Association, SUNY Oswego, Oswego, N.Y. 13126, or email the updated address to alumni@oswego.edu

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Faculty –HALL OF FAME– Roger Hinrichs, Ph.D.

Ontario fish, and tree rings as indicators of environmental pollution over time. I was most gratified whenever our students gained recognition and presented talks on these studies, which happened many times.”

From his retirement home in Seattle, Roger Hinrichs, Ph.D., reflects positively on his 23 years as a professor in the SUNY Oswego physics department. He joined the faculty in 1972 with a B.S. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a doctorate from the University of Washington. Focusing his research and teaching on matters of energy, Hinrichs is the principal author of seven books, including a free resource foundational textbook, College Physics. He said he is working on a sixth edition of a book that grew from his Oswego experience, Energy: Its Use and The Environment, co-written with Merlin Kleinbach, Ph.D. “Energy was a natural topic of study because Oswego is one of the major centers for energy production in the country,” he said. Working with other departments across campus, physics faculty members created a course called “Energy and the Environment” and developed the Institute in Energy Education. In partnership with the New York Power Authority, the work of the institute reached more than 1 million students and 600 teachers. Hinrichs and his colleagues developed novel techniques in applied nuclear physics, using a Van de Graff particle accelerator, and he was recognized several times through the Award of Excellence in Research and Sponsored Programs initiative, culminating with a Gold Award in 2002, three years before his early retirement.

SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor Alok Kumar, Ph.D., who was appointed in 1992 while Hinrichs traveled to Oman as a Fulbright Fellow, said he felt fortunate as a new professor to have Hinrichs as a mentor. “His passion for preserving the environment led him to offer teacher workshops that attracted support from national as well as local agencies,” Kumar said. “As a result of his contributions to energy education, Roger received an award from New York Governor Mario Cuomo. In addition to being a sincere and successful scholar, Roger loved helping students. He taught them life lessons as well as physics.” Hinrichs said his intent was to teach the practical applications of his discipline. “We explored topics that students could relate to,” Hinrichs said, “such as those addressing human heart disease and metal concentration, air pollution from wood burning stoves, element concentrations in Lake

Expanding his research to the international level, Hinrichs was recognized by the College of North Atlantic Qatar for developing a practical framework for curriculum alignment in grades K-12 in Qatar. His retirement from Oswego only meant he changed venues, moving on to teach with the Cornell Medical College in that Western Asia land. During his four years there, he taught physics and helped teachers with pedagogy and content. “All this was traceable back to ideas developed in Oswego, with emphasis on inquiry-guided instruction and appropriate assessment tools,” he said. “When we were making such rapid advances in the study of environmental influences of energy production, I was especially grateful for an administration that supported and encouraged our research,” Hinrichs said. “Those were wonderful days professionally and personally. My wife, Jeanne, and I raised our four children by that Great Lake, and we will always be grateful for the many ways people of the college and the city supported us.” Now, Hinrichs continues to write, teach part time at a community college, mentor Chinese scholars conducting research at the University of Washington and examine current research on his long-time interest in energy and the environment.