WAYS TO STAY IN TOUCH
EMAIL US: CONALUMNI@PSU.EDU
WELCOME MARK TONIATTI PROGRAM HOST WORDS OF GRATITUDE COLLEGE OF NURSING STUDENTS DEAN’S MESSAGE LAURIE BADZEK Dean and Professor FACULTY IMPACT MARIE BOLTZ Elouise Ross Eberly and Robert Eberly Chair and Professor of Nursing SCHOLARSHIP IMPACT ALYSSA TYGH BSN student A GREATER PENN STATE FOR 21ST CENTURY EXCELLENCE GAIL LATIMER Chair, Dean’s Advisory and Development Council PROGRAM IMPACT DONNA FICK Elouise Ross Eberly Professor of Nursing Director, Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence WORDS OF GRATITUDE COLLEGE OF NURSING STUDENTS
BIOS MARK TONIATTI Mark Toniatti graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1973 and in 1976 received his MBA from Widener University. In 1973, he started working for Towers Perrin Forster & Crosby, an international human resources and financial services consulting firm. In 1979, he was selected to be a member of a small team of five to open their Pittsburgh office. In 1985, Toniatti became a partner of the firm and, from 1989 until retirement, served as the firm's Global Actuarial Valuation Director, responsible for coordinating actuarial operations for over 50 offices worldwide. In 2010, after 37 years at the firm, Toniatti retired, built a home in State College, and began volunteering for Penn State. Toniatti is currently Chairmen of Penn State's Stewardship Committee, President of the All-Sports Museum Advisory Committee, member of the boards for Student Affairs and Undergraduate Studies and Major Gifts for Athletics. He is also the current President of the State College Quarterback Club, and board member for the Friends of Penn State Men’s Hockey. In addition, he leads a seminar on “How to Evaluate Your Job Offer” for students getting ready to enter the job market. Toniatti has been married for more than 47 years to his wife, Anne; the couple has three children, two of whom are Penn State graduates, and four grandchildren. Mark and Anne Toniatti are friends and donors of the College of Nursing, establishing the William and Marjorie Mosteller Trustee Scholarship in Nursing in 2010, in honor of Anne's parents.
LAURIE BADZEK Laurie Badzek, Professor and Dean of Penn State’s College of Nursing is a nurse, attorney, and educator, who specializes in genomics education and competency, health care ethics and law, nursing practice, and ethical decision making. Dean Badzek served as the director of the American Nurses Association (ANA) Center for Ethics and Human Rights, an organization addressing complex ethical and human rights issues confronting nurses for nearly 20 years, stepping down in 2017. A champion for improving health care through nursing policy, practice and education, Badzek, in 2001 and 2015, shepherded the revision of the ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses, a document used by nurses to guide professional decisions and conduct. In 2017, she collaborated with colleagues in the development of an online educational toolkit from the National Human Genome Research Institute and is currently helping establish a global nursing alliance, G2NA. Both initiatives are intended to educate nursing professionals on how to integrate genomic information into practice. Badzek previously served at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington as Director of the School of Nursing and at West Virginia University, where she is an emeritus professor. Laurie is a member of multiple organizations and a fellow with several organizations including the National Academies of Practice, AACN Wharton Leadership Program, and the American Academy of Nursing. She is a recipient of national and international awards, most recently, the ANA’s 2020 Leadership in Ethics Award.
MARIE BOLTZ Dr. Marie Boltz is the Elouise Ross Eberly and Robert Eberly Chair and Professor at Penn State University (PSU) College of Nursing. She is a geriatric nurse practitioner with extensive, cross-setting clinical and administrative experience. She has also taught at all university levels (undergraduate, master’s, DNP, PhD). Boltz’s areas of research include cross-setting interventions to promote functional health in older adults, the efficacy of informal and formal carers, and translational dementia research, funded by NIH and multiple foundations. Boltz also has extensive administrative experience in the development of innovative geriatric models of care. She has served on interdisciplinary national workgroups and is a consultant to the Office of Inspector General and Department of Justice on quality of care in all settings. Recent leadership roles include her work with the Penn State Center for Geriatric Nursing Excellence, board member of the National Hartford Center for Gerontological Nursing Excellence (NHCGNE), and board member for the Gerontological Society of America. She serves as an editorial board member and reviewer for several academic journals, section editor for the Society of Behavioral Medicine, and as editor of Evidence-Based Geriatric Nursing Protocols for Best Practice and Dementia Care: An Evidence-Based Approach. Boltz’s expertise and commitment to gerontology have yielded numerous publications, national and international presentations, and invitations to serve on national research review panels, mentorship teams, and interdisciplinary research projects. Boltz’s scholarship has been recognized with writing awards, teaching awards, and research awards, including the ANCC Styles Credentialing Scholar Award, the Claire Fagin Fellowship, and the ENRS Geriatric Practice Research Award, and the Doris Schwartz Gerontological Nursing Research Award (awarded by the Gerontological Society of America). Boltz is a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and the Gerontological Society of America.
ALYSSA TYGH Alyssa Tygh is a junior Bachelor of Science in Nursing student from Las Vegas, Nevada. She is the 2020-2021 recipient of the Laurie Badzek and William Kobylarczyk Scholarship and the C. Amelia Copenhaver Zewan Trustee Scholarship. Tygh currently serves as the Vice-President for the Hershey chapter of the Student Nurses' Association at Penn State, the President for the Student Nurses’ Association of Pennsylvania, and recently served on the National Student Nurses’ Association resolutions committee. In the future, she hopes to attend graduate school for nursing administration or health policy and administration, and one day serve in Congress.
GAIL E. LATIMER Gail Latimer is a former hospital chief executive officer and nurse executive with more than 30 years of experience in health care. Latimer served as vice president and chief nursing officer of Siemens Healthcare prior to retirement. An accomplished author and speaker, Latimer has established a reputation as a respected thought leader. She is a past board member of the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE), the 2019 recipient of its prestigious AONE Lifetime Achievement Award, a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and the American Academy of Nursing, as well as a Johnson & Johnson Fellow from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Latimer also has been a trustee of the MedicAlert Foundation since 2012. Latimer holds an adjunct faculty appointment in the College of Nursing, for which she also chairs the Dean’s Advisory and Development Council. In 2006, the college presented her with the Shirley Novosel Distinguished Nursing Alumni Award for alumni who exemplify the spirit of nursing and the college’s ideals and philosophy. In 2009, she received the Alumni Fellow Award, the most prestigious award given by the Penn State Alumni Association. The Gail E. Latimer Trustee Scholarship in the College of Nursing was established in 2014. The Penn State Board of Trustee awarded Latimer with the Distinguished Alumna Award in 2019. Latimer is a life member of the Penn State Alumni Association. A resident of Oakmont, Pennsylvania, she received her master’s degree in nursing administration from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
DONNA M. FICK Dr. Donna Marie Fick is the Elouise Ross Eberly Endowed Professor of Nursing at The Pennsylvania State University College of Nursing, and Director of the Penn State Center for Geriatric Nursing Excellence. Her research and practice has focused on two critical issues in older adults, inappropriate medication use and delirium superimposed on dementia (DSD). She is a member of the interdisciplinary panel for the American Geriatrics Society Beers Criteria for inappropriate medication use in older adults, the American Geriatrics Society Board and the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Forum on Aging, Disability and Independence. She has co-chaired the Beers Criteria for medication use for the past 20 years. This criterion for drugs to avoid in older adults is widely used in practice, is incorporated into the electronic record for health systems and has been cited over 3,000 times. She also serves as a faculty and advisory member on the national movement Creating an Age-Friendly Health System Initiative with the John A. Hartford Foundation and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Fick is currently co-leading a Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) project on Age-Friendly Care with Dr. Judy Hupcey focusing on the 4 M’s of age-friendly care, medication, mentation, mobility and what matters to the older person. She is actively involved as a leader and an expert in age-friendly care and mentation and medication use on this project lecturing both nationally and internationally on this topic. Delirium occurs in over a third of older adults with COVID-19. During the past year, she has done multiple invited lectures and training for staff caring for older adults with COVID-19 on best practices for delirium screening and management, including the rights of persons with disabilities during a pandemic. Fick has completed, as principal investigator, two 5-year NIH funded randomized intervention trials on delirium superimposed on dementia. She is in the final year of an RO1 grant funded by the NIA to further test the cost effectiveness of a rapid delirium screen she co-developed as a two-step detection process. The UB-2 delirium screen can be done in less than 40 seconds with high sensitivity. Fick widely disseminates her work through over 150 publications, national media coverage, and presentations. She has been Editor of the Journal of Gerontological Nursing since 2011 and is board certified as a Gerontological Clinical Nurse Specialist through 2024.
RECIPES
BALSAMIC PEAR & BLUE CHEESE BRUSCHETTA INGREDIENTS 1 fresh baguette loaf 2 Bosc pears cored and thin sliced 6 oz. crumbled blue cheese 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar 2 tablespoons sugar unsalted butter room temperature
DIRECTIONS 1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. 2. Slice off ends of baugette, then cut the rest of the loaf into 1-inch thick pieces — about 24 pieces. Spread butter over one side of each slice. Place bread, buttered side down, in heated skillet. Cook until golden and edges begin to brown. Repeat as needed until all bread is toasted. 3. Turn oven broiler on high. Place toast on a large baking sheet, toasted side up. Top each bread slice with 1 tablespoon of blue cheese. (You could also use sliced blue cheese if you like.) Place baking sheet in oven and broil until cheese begins to soften and melt a bit. Remove from oven. 4. While toasts cool, whisk together balsamic and sugar in a medium saucepan. Cool over medium-high heat until simmering. Reduce heat to medium, stirring often. Cook until reduced by onethird. The reduction will still be on the thin side, but sweetened just enough. 5. Top each toast in a slice of pear, and drizzle with balsamic reduction.
APPLE CRANBERRY MOSCOW INGREDIENTS ice 4 oz. vodka 1/4 cup of cranberry juice 1/2 cup of sparkling apple juice 2 ginger beers fresh cranberries for garnish
DIRECTIONS 1. Fill two large glasses with ice. Add the Vodka and cranberry juice. Add the sparkling apple juice and then fill the rest of the way with the ginger beer. Stir gently to combine and serve immediately. 2. Enjoy the event with a delicious cocktail or mocktail. Pair it with one of our fall appetizers!
HARVEST CHARCUTERIE BOARD INGREDIENTS 8 oz. Italian dry salami sliced 4 oz. uncured Salame di Parma 6 oz. smoked prosciutto 4 oz. sliced prosciutto 8 oz. 1000 day hard gouda cheese 8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese 8 oz. Apricot Cherry Cranberry Goat’s Milk Cheese 4 oz. pepper jack cheese sliced 8 oz. traditional French brie 11 oz. fig butter 5 oz. sweet and spicy pecans 4 oz. pumpkin spice pumpkin seeds 2 Granny Smith apples sliced 2 Honey Crisp apples sliced 1 bunch Concord grapes 1 bunch champagne grapes 6 fresh figs sliced in half 10 oz. Stone Ground Wheat Crackers 2 11 oz. French baguettes sliced 11 oz. naturally flavored candy corn fresh lemon juice as needed DIRECTIONS 1. Assemble on a 20-inch round platter. If assembling ahead of time, brush apples lightly with lemon juice to avoid browning and take the time to arrange the food carefully. 2. Start arranging by placing large items like pumpkins and bowls slightly off center. Then place whole cheeses and grape bunches. Fill with meats, cut cheese and nuts. Keep a color theme in mind when planning your board. 3. Place complimentary flavors close together. For example; brie, figs, prosciutto and french bread should be close together. 4. Replenish the crackers and bread as needed. Slice the bread last and serve the slices close together to keep the bread soft.
AUTUMN HARVEST PUNCH INGREDIENTS 3 cups lemonade 5 cups apple cider 1 cup orange juice 5 cups sparkling water 1/4 cup maple syrup rosemary sprigs 3 apples 1 orange
DIRECTIONS 1. In a tall pitcher, mix the apple cider with the orange juice and lemonade. Set aside. Cut the apples and the oranges and add them to the pitcher. Mix in the maple syrup and add the rosemary sprigs. 2. Cover and take to the refrigerator for 2 hours or until chilled. Add the sparkling water and mix.