QUADANGLES
ALUMNI MAGAZINE | WINTER 2011–2012 Volume 19, No. 2
Touching the Past in Israel Seniors Abbie Casavant and Becky Wrightson on site in URI’s Israel Coast Exploration Project
The smart Value is the one that leads to big Results. Like a job at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
The Wall Street Journal’s SmartMoney magazine ranked URI 1st in New England and 13th in the U.S. for return on educational investment. Lauren Houle ’10 accepted a job offer from Yale-New Haven Hospital even before graduation. uri.edu
QUADANGLES
DEPARTMENTS
FEATURES
PRESIDENT’s View 3
10 From the Middle of Nowhere to the Boston Big Time… Right Through Kingston By Justin Martin ’95 Former Rams offensive lineman Andy Gresh ’97 is a big player in New England’s sports media landscape
UP FRONT 4 News and views
PRESS BOX 8
ALUMNI CHAPTERS 28 Upcoming events and contacts
CLASS ACTS 30 News from your classmates, photo wrap-ups, and alumni profiles
BACK PAGE 40 Getting Ripped with Tony Horton
INSIDE BACK COVER Century Walk
Alumni Magazine | winter 2011–2012 | Volume 19, No.2
BACK COVER The Big Chill 2012
Read Listen Watch QuadAngles Online uri.edu/quadangles
12
10
COMING OUT FOR CHANGE By John Pantalone ’71 A student-made film represents a University-wide commitment to support students struggling with their sexual identity
14 LANGUAGES + ANOTHER DISCiPlINE = GREAT JOBS By Jan Wenzel ’87 URI has found that pairing a language with another academic program creates major opportunities for students both here and abroad 18 TOUCHING THE PAST IN ISRAEL By Bethany Vaccaro ’06 Summer course based in Israel allows URI students to combine land exploration with underwater archaeology
12
14
20 HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SIXTH ANNUAL DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS 24 HELPING CHILDREN GRIEVE By Jan Wenzel ’87 One out of five American kids will have a parent die by the time they graduate from high school; what do you say to a child who has lost a loved one?
18
WEB EXTRAS: URI.EDU/QUADANGLES
COVER: Courtesy William H. Krieger; Inside Front Cover by Joe Giblin/Giblin & company Photography; Contents: URI Sports INformation; Screen still from “It Gets Better at URI: coming out for change,” student filmmakers; istockphotos.com; Courtesy William H. Krieger; NORA LEWIS
20
WEBVIEW
Share Your Big Moments. CLASSPICS
A photo album for Rhody alumni milestones—wedding, births, special gatherings
Go to uri.edu/publications/classpics The ideas and opinions expressed in QUADANGLES do not necessarily reflect those of the Alumni Association, the editor, or the University. QUAD ANGLES is published four times a year for alumni and friends of the University of Rhode Island; standard postage paid at East Greenville, Penn. QUAD ANGLES is printed at Brown Printing, East Greenville, Penn., and is recyclable. URI is an equal opportunity employer committed to the principles of affirmative action.
2 QUAD ANGLES WINTER 2011–2012 | uri.edu/quadangles
QUADANGLES QUADANGLES is a publication of the University of Rhode Island Alumni Association, Division of University Advancement, 73 Upper College Road, Kingston, RI 02881. p: 401.874.2242. Vice President for University Advancement Robert M. Beagle Executive Editor Michele A. Nota ’87, M.S. ’06 Editorial Committee Shane Donaldson ’99 Dave Lavallee ’79, M.P.A. ’87 Liz Prager O'Brien ’83 Managing Editor Vida-Wynne Griffin ’67, M.A. ’72 Associate Editor Barbara Caron, Online Edition Jan Wenzel ’87 Art Director Kim Robertson Interim Director of Publications Russell Kolton Director of Communications & Marketing Linda A. Acciardo ’77 Contributing Editors Gigi Edwards, Online Edition Mary Ann Mazzone, Class Acts Nicki Toler, Alumni Online & Chapters Contributing Designers Johnson Ma Bo Pickard Verna Thurber Photographer Nora Lewis Alumni Relations Staff Chris DiSano, Specialist Robert Ferrell ’07, Program Assistant Michelle Fontes-Barros ’96, M.A. ’11 Assistant Director Kathleen Gianquitti ’71, M.S. ’82, Assistant Director Shana Greene ’95, M.S.’97, Assistant Director Lisa Harrison ’89, Executive Assistant Sarah Lobdell ’96, Associate Director Kate Serafini ’08, Specialist Gina Simonelli ’01, M.S.’03, Assistant Director Alumni Association Executive Board Joseph M. Confessore ’96, President Donald P. Sullivan ’71, Past President Louise H. Thorson, M.B.A. ’85, Vice President Raymond L. Watson, M.C.P. ’05, Vice President Ronald P. Joseph ’67, Treasurer Councilors-at-Large William M. Dolan III ’81 Allison E. Field ’95 John Finan ’80 Kelly J. Nevins ’90, M.A. ’02 Kathleen P. O’Donnell ’90 Edwin R. Pacheco ’05 Gregory S. Perry ’88 Benjamin W. Tuthill ’04 Christos S. Xenophontos ’84, M.S. ’85 Representatives Arts and Sciences: Jerome H. Kritz ’76 Business Administration: Jordan Kanter ’99, M.S.’00 Feinstein College of Continuing Education: Edward Bozzi Jr. ’68 Engineering: Daniel G. Lowney ’75 Environment and Life Sciences: Catherine N. Weaver ’82, B.L.A. ’96 Human Science and Services: Christine S. Pelton ’84 Nursing: Denise A. Coppa ’72, Ph.D. ’02 Pharmacy: Henrique Pedro ’76 Faculty Senate: Andrea L. Yates ’94, Ph.D. ’06 Student Senate: David Coates ’12 Student Alumni Association: Anthony Aiudi ’14 URI Foundation: Thomas J. Silvia ’83
PRESIDENT’SVIEW In these very difficult economic times, hope sometimes appears to be in short supply. All too frequently, our political system, which Americans have traditionally viewed as the best in the world, seems incapable of dealing with the challenges we face. Anger, fear, and cynicism seem abundant. We are saturated with depressing or alarming messages: Our communities are threatened, our public schools are failing, higher education—heretofore the best path to a higher standard of living—is increasingly difficult to afford for those who need it most. Where can hope be found? Remarkably, as this issue of QUAD ANGLES illustrates, inspiration and hope can be found in seemingly unlikely places. There are few groups in our nation as stigmatized, ostracized, belittled, and threatened as those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered. The University of Rhode Island is committed to changing this in our community and is committed to building a community here where everyone is welcomed, affirmed, and supported. It is one of our highest priorities, but we have quite a way to go. Nevertheless, a group of students came together at the Women’s
Center at URI and created hope and inspired the entire University. They raised thousands of dollars and devoted countless hours to plan and produce the video It Gets Better at URI: Coming Out for Change. It has been called a “simple message of hope”—and it is. But it is also a profound and inspirational response to a national problem: The prevalence of depression and suicide among LGBT young people. The young women who produced this video wanted to share the message that it can, and does, get better. The University of Rhode Island will be a better university, a stronger community, and a better environment for all its members as a result of their efforts. I am extremely proud of them and everyone at URI who shared their vision for hope and contributed their own story, or their support, to this project. As is evident in this issue, a lot of things are getting better at the University of Rhode Island. We need to be a better university for the sake of our students, the state, our nation, and even the world. Our alumni, friends, and supporters are partners with us in this important endeavor. —David M. Dooley
President Dooley addresses the audience and then chats with attendees at the premiere of It Gets Better at URI: Coming Out for Change, which was held in Edwards Hall on October 5.
Nora Lewis
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 3
news&views
Man of the Future Inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil pulled back the curtain to a future filled with transformative technologies such as a three-dimensional printer that can print a violin with good sound quality. His talk, given in a packed Edwards Auditorium, was the inaugural lecture of this fall’s Honors Colloquium, Are You Ready for the Future? Kurzweil envisions that plans for solar panels or house parts could be emailed to individuals who would then print the products on these printers. Human life will be extended because biology has become part of information technology, thanks to the unlocking of the human genome. Kurzweil said the creation of microscopic blood cells that could be sent through the bloodstream to destroy pathogens and disease at the cellular level and organ replacements are around the corner. Kurzweil foresees a merger of the human brain with artificial intelligence in 20 to 30 years.
Students Texting Instead of Sleeping College students keep strange hours, but a new study shows that technology is waking them up at night, according to a study by URI assistant professors Sue K. Adams and Tiffani S. Kisler in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies. The two professors head two ongoing studies that examine the impact of technology use on physical and mental health and interpersonal relationships in college students. Adams and Kisler found texting and cell phone use is affecting important aspects of students’ physical health. In their study of 236 college juniors and seniors, 47 percent reported that they were awakened by text messages to which they responded before falling back asleep. They also reported that 40 percent of the students answered phone calls during sleep time. Students who use such technology throughout the night were averaging as much as 44 minutes of lost sleep per week. This pattern of sleep interruption showed indicators of other serious issues for students, particularly poor sleep quality, depression, and anxiety.
“At first glance 44 minutes doesn’t seem like much, but combined with the fact that college students are the most sleep deprived population across all age groups, the implications are significant,” Adams said. “More often than not, the interruptions caused by texting come within the first few hours of sleep, which is the most important time for restorative sleep. If students are constantly interrupting their sleep cycle, they place themselves at risk for sleep debt, which can impact multiple areas of their lives, including academic performance.”
No Impact Man Makes Impact on Campus Author Colin Beavan convinced his Manhattan-based family to abandon their high consumption Fifth Avenue lifestyle and try to live a year while making no net environmental impact. The result was No Impact Man, which was selected as the Common Reading book for freshmen this year. Beavan visited the Kingston Campus in September to help kickoff a semester-long series of lectures, activities, and film screenings designed to raise awareness of and interest in sustainability issues.
4 QUAD ANGLES WINTER 2011–2012 | uri.edu/quadangles
The University has recently completed a Climate Action Plan, an evolving document that will guide URI to climate neutrality, meaning no net greenhouse gas emissions. By 2050, the University aims to reduce its 2005 emissions levels 50 percent, according to Robert A. Weygand, vice president for administration and finance and chair of the President’s Council on Sustainability. For more information about sustainability activities on campus go to uri.edu/ sustainability. MICHAEL SALERNO, JOE GIBLIN
Pharmacists Making House Calls The days of doctors making house calls have gone, but thanks to a one-year $98,000 Center for the Technology and Aging grant, URI pharmacists are visiting patients recently discharged from hospitals to double check their medications. “The pharmacist can help avert problems,” said Pharmacy Professor Stephen Kogut, who oversees the grant. “Too many patients end up back in hospitals, especially elderly patients.” The U.S. has an 18 percent rate of hospital readmissions within 30 days of discharge; as many as 76 percent of these readmissions are preventable, according to Medicare data. If these unnecessary readmissions were avoided, an estimated $25 billion could be saved annually. Studies show that medication problems occur frequently after hospitalization, with about half of patients experiencing drug therapy duplication, drug interactions, or other types of medication problems after discharge. Pharmacists can make sure that new medications prescribed in the hospital are compatible with the ones prescribed by the patient’s usual doctors and also review over-the-counter medications that the patient may be taking. Additionally, pharmacists are specifically trained to look for an important medication that may have been inadvertently omitted and would also know if a better formulation of a prescribed medication is available, Kogut said.
Photos courtesy of Sandy Quaglieri
Grad Students Help Save Lives in Peru Cervical cancer is the leading cause of death of women in Peru, where only 30 percent of women get Pap smear screenings. CerviCusco, a non-profit Peruvian agency, is committed to increasing that percentage. Barbara Klitz ‘76, clinical professor and director of the Cytopathology Program offered at URI’s Feinstein Providence Campus, volunteered at the clinic during the summer of 2010. That experience inspired Klitz to create the first summer abroad course, Special Problems in Clinical Lab Science. Last August, graduate students Robert Mathis ’10 of Pawtucket, Ashlee Taylor ’10 of North Kingtown, Carolyn Thompson ’05 of Hopkinton, Daniel
Attoh of Pawtucket, and Stephanie Ruszcyk of Danville, N. H., screened more than 400 pap smears and found a number of atypical smears. Even though it wasn’t part of their six-credit course, which completed their degree, the students happily volunteered to screen an extra day to help with the clinic’s workload. Sandy Quaglieri ’73 of North Kingstown, who has 30 years experience as a cytotechnologist, served as clinical instructor. To prepare for the trip, she studied Spanish for a year. In addition to the screenings, the class gained an historical perspective by reading Kim MacQuarrie’s book, The Last Days of the Incas. “Some of those stories were fresh in our minds,” says Quaglieri. “We were amazed at the gentleness of the Peruvian people.”
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 5
Meet URI Foundation President Michael J. Smith Michael J. Smith, the new URI Foundation president, rolled up his sleeves this December to lead the fundraising and endowment management operations at the University. He’s more than up to the task. His 20-year career in higher education philanthropy includes three major campaigns at institutions in Kansas that netted a total of more than $800 million. He developed and implemented a comprehensive development program at Kansas State University that increased annual gifts from $21 million to more than $100 million. “I was impressed by all of the people I met throughout the interview and selection
process and energized by the transformative goals that have been set by President Dooley,” said Smith. “From the Foundation Executive Board and staff, to the administration, Alumni Association, academic deans, athletics, and beyond, it was obvious to me that everyone shares a passion for this University and an understanding of the great potential it has. “The role of private philanthropy at URI is becoming increasingly important, and I look forward to doing what I can to help build and increase opportunities that will enhance URI’s profile and competitiveness.”
Saving Endangered Gibbons
It’s a long way from Professor Jim Loy’s biological anthropology class, but Julia Ruppell ’04 is in Laos, her seventh trip to Southeast Asia. She’s conducting research on the white-cheeked crested gibbon, one of the world’s most understudied and endangered mammals. A Fulbright scholarship will help fund her project.
6 QUAD ANGLES WINTER 2011–2012 | uri.edu/quadangles
Her study involves not only helping the gibbons, but engaging with local residents and students to teach them about global conservation. She is shown here with her Lao research team field (from left) Tsing, Souliya, Dua, Somphet, and Suree. “Because Laos is so mountainous and isolated, there are a lot of areas where gibbons survive. However, industrialization and development have created rapid changes in recent years, causing widespread habitat fragmentation for the gibbons,” she says. Ruppell’s research is part of her doctoral dissertation in biology at Portland State University where she earned a master’s degree in biological anthropology. “Gibbons are one of the few primates to sing,” says one of the ape’s biggest fans. “An adult male and female live together with their offspring in a territory they defend by singing. The male sings for several minutes, then the female chimes in with a great call of notes that become louder and increase in sirenlike frequency.”
courtesy of Kansas State; courtesy of Julia Ruppell
Happy 50th Political Science This fall, more than 100 alumni, faculty, students, and friends gathered to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Department of Political Science. U.S. Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) was on hand to mark the milestone. His talk, “The Place of the U.S. in the New Global Order,” was followed by a questionand -answer session. Poli-sci, which now enrolls about 2,000 undergraduates and 150 graduate students annually, has achieved much in just 50 years. Department highlights: • Six faculty members received URI Foundation Teaching Excellence Awards, a faculty member received a URI Foundation Research Excellence Award, and a staff member received a URI Foundation Staff Excellence Award. • Conversion in 2009 to an innovative four-credit curriculum for deeper learning; • The founding in 1994 of the John Hazen White Sr. Center for Ethics and Public Service, which offers ethics workshops for public officials as well as other programs in ethics and public service. • The founding of the Mentor/Tutor Internship in 1998, which enrolls more than 150 trained interns annually. MTI students
Facts About URI’s Undergraduates Number of Students: 11,586 Sex Ratio: 55 percent female; 45 percent male. Where U.S. Students Come From: Forty-three states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico; after Rhode Island, the top states represented are Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York. Where International Students Come From: Fifty-four countries; the top countries are South Korea, China, India, Germany, Japan, and Great Britain. Price Tag: Rhode Islanders pay $11,366 for tuition and fees; out -of –state students pay $27,454. Room and board is not based on geography—everyone pays $10,432. Most Popular Majors: Nursing, psychology, and communication studies.
Left to right: Gerry Tyler, Joanne Walsh, Sharon Woodsmansee, Al Killilea.
assist the Rhode Island Family Literacy Initiative as well as high school students in more than 25 schools at risk of dropping out. • Dedication in 2003 of a Pre-Law Home Conference Room and Pre-law Classroom where students interested in legal careers can gather, study, and get advice. In addition to these highlights, in 2004 Professor Al Killilea played an instrumental role in URI being named one of three Truman Foundation Honor Institutions. Kill-
ilea served as URI’s Truman Scholarship campus committee chair for 20 years. Seven of URI’s 12 Truman Scholarship winners were political science majors. The anniversary event also celebrated the careers of Killilea, who will retire in June 2012, and Professor Gerry Tyler, who retired in June 2011. Both educators were praised by their former students for impressing upon them the importance every citizen has in this country’s affairs.
Putting the Tech in Textiles If your vision of a fashion designer is someone holding a sketchpad, you need a different image. “Design is not about how well you can draw,” says Susan Hannel, associate professor of textiles, fashion merchandising, and design. “It’s about the ability to recognize and create good design. That ability can be taught. With the technology and equipment here at URI, students are able to realize their designs and ideas, regardless of their artistic ability.” Apparel magazine has named Hannel its All Star Educator of the Year, in part for her efforts to improve technology in URI’s apparel lab and bring it up to industry standards so that students are prepared for fabulous careers. According to Apparel, under Hannel’s guidance, the apparel lab was transformed from a “sea of home sewing machines to a true-to-life production floor, replete with industrial machines and sergers, profesnora lewis, Michael Salerno
sional steam irons, industry-standard dress forms, and professional worktables.” Hannel was able to achieve that transformation with the help of two Champlin Foundations grants and with equipment donations from Lectra, a worldwide textiles industry leader in integrated technology solutions. In addition to teaching apparel classes, supervising internships, and winning grants, Hannel also leads students on fashionable study tours to London and Paris. UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 7
PRESSBOX URI Hosting NCAA Women’s Basketball Regional The road to the Final Four in women’s basketball runs through Kingston, as URI’s Ryan Center is hosting the 2012 NCAA Women’s Basketball East Regional. Four of the country’s top teams will converge at the Ryan Center on Sunday, March 25 for Sweet Sixteen play. The winners of the two games will then meet on Tuesday, March 27 for a spot in the Final Four. “We are thrilled to have been chosen to host the 2012 NCAA East Regional Women’s Basketball Championship,” said URI Director of Athletics Thorr Bjorn. “I know it is going to provide a tremendous benefit, not only to URI athletics, but the entire University and State of Rhode Island, for that matter. We are looking forward to putting on a first class event and ask all of our alumni and fans to come out and see some great basketball.” Tickets for all sessions are $50 for adults, $35 for youths and students, and $40 each for groups of 20 or more, and may be purchased at the Ryan Center Box Office. Orders may also be placed over the phone at 401.874.7297 or via the Web through GoRhody.com.
Feit-Melnick Inducted Women’s track & field/cross country head coach Laurie Feit-Melnick was inducted into the New Agenda: Northeast Hall of Fame on Nov. 6. The New Agenda: Northeast promotes the advancement and recognizes the achievements of girls and women in sports throughout New England.
8 QUAD ANGLES WINTER 2011–2012 | uri.edu/quadangles
Women’s Track and Field Coach Laurie Feit-Melnick, center, with, left to right, Mary Pratt, a founder of New Agenda: Northeast Hall of Fame, and Marcia Crooks, chair of the New Agenda: Northeast Hall of Fame.
At URI, Feit-Melnick has been named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year nine times and Rhode Island women’s Coach of the Year four times.
Courtesy of URI Athletics Department
Passmore Runs for a Cure Women’s Basketball Director of Operations Chris Passmore ran the Baltimore Running Festival’s Half Marathon Oct. 15 to raise funds and awareness for a friend suffering from brain cancer. He completed the 13-mile run in two hours and 16 minutes. “Even better than finishing the race was running with my wife Christine and our best friends and their family to show our support and fight against cancer while also achieving an individual milestone,” Passmore said.
Andrew Reigstad
Reigstad, Janes Named to 2011 USTFCCCA All-Academic Team
William Janes
William Janes and Andrew Reigstad were named to the 2011 United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Division I Track & Field All-Academic team. A business major, Reigstad won the 2011 Atlantic 10 indoor heptathlon with a conference championship and school record of 4888 points. Janes, a kinesiology major, was the runner-up in the hammer throw at the 2011 Atlantic 10 outdoor championship.
Teammate remembers Joey Ciancola Rhody baseball senior Mike Le Bel is writing a season-long blog for CollegeBaseballDaily. com. Here is an excerpt from his November entry.
On October 27, 2011, the University of Rhode Island baseball team lost a teammate and a brother, Joseph Paul Ciancola. I want to start by saying that, on behalf of the Rhody baseball team, our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Ciancola family. Although under the most unfortunate of circumstances, I recently had the pleasure of meeting Joey’s family, and I now know where he got his smile, strength, and love. Michele Ciancola, Joey’s mother, has been an incredible inspiration to all of us throughout this difficult time. Her strength is unmatched. Talking with my teammates over the past week has made me realize just how special and how much of a privilege it is to play college baseball. To be able to step on that field and play a game we all share a passion for while building friendships that will last a lifetime off the field has been the best experience of my life. The Rhody baseball team is a family. Joey was a big part of that, and he will be forever. Each day Joe would walk into the locker room with a big smile on his face, no matter what the circumstance. He was the type of kid that just wanted to make other people happy, make them laugh, and have a good time. On the field, Joey was a competitor. He worked harder than anyone else. When Joe took the mound, he just had this presence about him—he was calm and confident and knew he would get the job done. To read the rest of Le Bel’s entry, please visitcollegebaseballdaily.com/tag/2012cbd-journal-with-mike-le-bel/ UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 9
From the middle of Nowhere to the Boston Big Time... right through Kingston “I want to do as much as I can all the time, and let’s face it, it’s fun. Half my life, I talk about football. My old man was a coal miner. I talk for a living. That’s very different.” Andy Gresh
Video | uri.edu/quadangles
Andy on air.
Andy Gresh ’97, a former offensive lineman for the Rams, spent the first 16 years of his life in Carmichaels, Pa., a tiny town of 530 people as smack in the middle of nowhere as one can get. “Real back woods” is how he describes it. During those formative years, Gresh watched his father head off every day to work in a coalmine near town. “I know this: my old man worked for a living,” says Gresh. “I do a lot of different things in my business considered ‘work.’ I bust my hump—that comes from him. He did physical labor. I was smart enough to take the marketable skills I had and turn them into a profession. I think part of him is amazed—I think both my parents are amazed—that their son talks on the radio, talks sports, and makes good dough doing it.” It is that work ethic, colleagues say, combined with the ability to juggle a half dozen media jobs and bring a unique style of enthusiasm to each one, that has pushed the self-described “dumb kid from small town western Pennsylvania” to the top of New England’s sports media landscape. “He doesn’t say ‘no,’” says former NFL quarterback Scott Zolak, Gresh’s radio partner for most of the past 10 years. “He knows how to work.”
10 QUAD ANGLES WINTER 2011–2012 | uri.edu/quadangles
And work Gresh does. Pick a day, pick an hour, and Gresh is somewhere debating, dissecting, writing (he’s the author of The Great Book of Boston Sports Lists), reporting, working. If it’s a Sunday morning, he’s at Gillette stadium in Foxborough, Mass., as part of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Patriots Radio Network’s pre-game and post-game coverage. If it’s a Monday evening, he’s appearing as guest and sometimes host of Comcast Sports Net New England’s Sports Tonight television show. If it’s a Thursday evening, he’s at WPRI-12 in Providence where he serves as the station’s football analyst. If it’s a Saturday afternoon, he’s somewhere in the Northeast serving as color commentator for televised Colonial Athletic Association football games. And if it is any weekday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., he’s inside CBS Boston’s radio station, his booming voice on the airwaves at 98.5 The Sports Hub, arguing with callers and providing equal time to entertain and aggravate listeners with his bombastic opinions. “With Andy, there’s never a dull moment, no mellow days,” says Zolak. “I think he’s successful because he’s so passionate, he brings a unique perspective, and he works hard.”
Andy Gresh on the field with the Rams during his playing days at URI.
That passion and work ethic were apparent to his journalism professors at URI. “Andy was one of the hardest working and most determined students I’ve ever had,” said Professor Linda Levin. “He wanted so much to be a sports commentator. He was passionate to succeed, so I’m not surprised that he did.” Journalism Professor Barbara Luebke often shares stories of Gresh’s commitment with current students. “One clear memory I have of Andy relates to a summer internship he did with WFAN in New York. I recall how determined he was to intern there because he was convinced that he wanted a career in sports radio. He secured the internship entirely on his own, and twice a week, I believe, he took the train into Manhattan from Westerly in order to put in his hours. Most weeks I would hear about guests he met and calls he screened. I recall talking with him at the end of the internship, and in that distinct Andy voice he recounted what a terrific time he had, how it was worth every sacrifice to do the internship, how he was more driven than ever to do radio.”
COURTESY OF URI SPORTS INFORMATION OFFICE
To this day, that internship at WFAN is the coolest thing Gresh says he’s ever done in sports talk radio. “The best piece of advice I got from the whole Journalism Department at URI, whether it was Barbara Luebke or Tony Silvia or David DeHoyas, or Linda Levin, is that they all told me to do internships.” Three days a week during the summer of 1995, Gresh worked side by side with radio professionals he’d grown up listening to. He worked with Mike and the Mad Dog (Chris Russo) on Mondays from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., and on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Then he was off until Saturday, when he was on the overnight shift from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday morning. On weekdays he took the train twice a week from Rhode Island to New York. On the weekend, he stayed at the home of his best friend, Nelson Martinez ’98, in Newark, N.J. Gresh has the same drive and determination today as he did during his days as an intern, and it’s paid dividends for him and his colleagues at 98.5 The Sports Hub, now the top sports radio station in New England, according to the latest Arbitron ratings.
The Gresh and Zo Show’s audience is double that of rival station WEEI-850, according to those same ratings, but Gresh says he cannot and will not allow himself to relax: “I always felt that with the right management and the right opportunity, Zolak and I would be able to do great things. But it’s just the beginning, and you can die in this business really quickly. So I don’t worry about what other people do; I worry about what we do. Personally, I think we’re pretty good at what we do, but if we don’t prove it every day, our butts are going to be on the street.” He knows that aspect of the job all too well. Gresh has been fired three times: “You really haven’t lived in the business until you’ve been fired. It’s sobering.” He beats on, undeterred by the fickle nature of the business of talk radio. The uncertainty of it all doesn’t strike fear in him, but fuels him to work harder to stay on top. “I want to do as much as I can all the time, and let’s face it, it’s fun. Half my life, I talk about football. My old man was a coal miner. I talk for a living. That’s very different.” By Justin Martin ’95
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 11
Coming Out for
Change “I’ve advised student organizations for many years, and I’ve seen students do some amazing things,” said Human Development and Family Studies Professor Annemarie Vaccaro. “But this is the biggest thing I’ve ever seen students do.”
It Gets Better at URI: Coming Out for Change is a student-made film with candid interviews from URI students, faculty members, and staff.
Video | uri.edu/quadangles
She is talking about It Gets Better at URI: Coming Out for Change, a studentmade film that represents both a minor miracle and a University-wide commitment to support students struggling with their sexual identity. The miracle is the story behind how the film was made; the effect of the film on campus and beyond has already been felt. Late in the spring 2011 semester, five members of the LBTQ Women’s Group, which meets weekly on campus, decided to make a small film as URI’s contribution to the national effort known as “It Gets Better.” The movement, which offers support for young people, was started after some highly publicized suicides that resulted from harrassment and bullying of gay students. The five—graduate students Jen Kaye and Kim McGuiness, sophomore Portia Burnette, senior Christina Kinney, and junior Dana Speesler—had no experience in filmmaking, and they were thinking, “we could maybe use our cell phones to shoot some video and post it online.”
12 QUAD ANGLES Winter 2011–2012 | uri.edu/quadangles
Problem number one: It was final exam week. Most students would vacate campus in a matter of days, and many faculty would be less available. With help from Vaccaro, clinical counselor Holly Nichols, and Carolyn Sovet, a student life staff member, the five students sent emails and delivered flyers to academic departments. Within days they had heard from over 80 people who wanted to be interviewed, and they received money from faculty, staff, administrators, and some academic programs to underwrite the film. “What it showed us,” Nichols said, “is that this campus is filled with supportive people who understand the struggles that gay students face, and they want to help in whatever way they can.” When the students began working with filmmaker Robert Rose last summer, they had commitments for interviews from more than two dozen students and 60 faculty, staff, and administrators—far more than they ever anticipated. They worked with Rose all summer recording interviews and editing, ending up with almost 30 hours of film that they had to distill down to about one hour. The result is a candid, sometimes surprising, sometimes inspirational, and often emotional record of testimony from students, faculty members, and URI staff, several of whom came out publicly about their homosexuality for the first time. Leslie Williams, director of student conduct and community affairs, gave perhaps the most emotional interview as she talked about her mother, who, when Williams was in high school, had encouraged her to accept the fact that she was gay. Years later her mother committed suicide. “I appreciate the students making the effort that they did,” Williams said. “I wanted to get the message to students about the finality of suicide and to assure others on campus— students and staff—that they are not alone and they can find support.”
Screen Stills, student filmmakers; NORA LEWIS
President David Dooley, Provost Donald DeHayes, vice presidents, deans of various colleges, and Athletic Director Thorr Bjorn all made cameos of support in the film. Since the October 5 premier in Edwards Auditorium, the group has sold 100 copies, Dooley has ordered 30 for various offices, and many student organizations and academic departments have asked for a screening. The film is scheduled to air on public television in Rhode Island this winter, and Rhode Island College has requested a screening. Assistant Athletic Director Gina Sperry was key to the Athletic Department’s remarkable involvement with the film. More than half the audience at the premier was composed of athletes who were required to attend. Athletics Director Bjorn was the first University official to respond to the students’ call for support; in the film he talked about how his views changed when his sister revealed that she is a lesbian. His support for the project helped inspire Sperry to make her own revelation. “The athletics staff community is a small group across the country,” Sperry said. “There is always fear that you could lose your job or not find another. Homophobia is deeply embedded in the athletic community, so it was scary for me to come out. I’ve really been heartened by the response. Some folks have said that if they had known I was gay, they would have come out to their teams long ago. “Afterwards student-athletes and coaches thanked me. I was very nervous watching the film with them, but I felt great about it when they said later, ‘it takes a lot of courage.’ The most important thing, though, is that this will show students that there are people here who will support them and help them when they are struggling.”
That is the film’s main objective. “When I was in high school, I wish I had had something like this,” said Kinney, a marine affairs major, who first brought the film idea to her friends in the women’s group. “We started this as an effort to support people,” McGuiness added, “then it turned into forming allies and giving them a chance to help.” Burnette noted that many of the film’s participants wanted to counter last year’s negative publicity about the University: “People felt they were being labeled as non-supportive, and they saw that they needed to be public with their support.” Dean Lynn McKinney of the College of Human Science and Services wanted to participate because, he said, suicides have
continued to occur among gay students nationwide: “I wanted to do something to help. The atmosphere here on campus is much better than it used to be. Kathryn Friedman, the University’s interim vice president for diversity, has brought a new level of comfort for gay faculty, staff, and students.” The vanguard of five students all said they had no idea the project would become as big or as significant as it has. “We never expected the kind of response we got,” Kaye said, echoing Speesler’s sentiment that the project became much bigger than they anticipated. “It surprised me that there were professors who were willing to be allies,” she said. “It has been an amazing learning experience.” By John Pantalone ’71
LBTQ Women’s Group members Christina Kinney, Jen Kaye, Kim McGuiness, and Portia Burnette lead a discussion on It Gets Better at URI at the film’s premier in Edwards Auditorium on Oct. 5.
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 13
Languages + Another Discipline = Great Jobs The University found pairing a language and cultural studies expanded students’ knowledge and chances to work in global companies in the U.S. and around the world.
No matter how you say it, URI is BIG in languages. “I believe that we have one of the largest language programs in the country,” says Norbert Hedderich, chair of URI’s Department of Modern and Classical Language and Literatures. About 3,600 students take a language class each semester or about 28 percent of the undergraduate population. Spanish with 1,247 students, French with 598 students, German with 359 students, and Italian with 492 were the most popular this fall. Chinese with 188 students is a new major that’s getting lots of traction. For years, language courses languished at URI with a small number of majors. So what made the difference? The University found pairing a language and cultural studies with another academic program gave students the opportunity to study and/or intern in a different country with a different culture. That experience expanded students’ knowledge and chances to work in global companies in the U.S. and around the world. “When potential employers see that an applicant has taken the risk to live, study, and work abroad for a whole year and has developed high level proficiency in a foreign language as well as valuable cross cultural skills, they want to hire them,” said Sigrid Berka, executive director of URI’s International Engineering Program, which
14 QUAD ANGLES Winter 2011–2012 | uri.edu/quadangles
combines an engineering degree with a bachelor‘s degree in either German, French, Spanish, or Chinese. IEP boasts a nearly 100 percent placement rate. “Globally operating employers view those skills acquired in one country as transferable to any country,” says Berka. “As far as I know, we still are one of the largest French programs in the country, and I would even go so far as to say that we are one of the most dynamic,” says Professor Karen de Bruin, who directs URI’s French program. “Many traditional French programs, plagued with low numbers of majors, are fighting for survival. Because we highly encourage double/triple majoring, our unofficial major count last year was 172, our biggest yet.” De Bruin notes that students can and do combine French with engineering, textiles, international business, marine affairs, forensic science, film media, and more. “The other reason why we are so dynamic is because we aim to provide experiential learning opportunities in French for as many of our majors as possible. This fall, for example, President Dooley signed a bilateral exchange agreement with Mod’Spe, a Parisian fashion marketing and merchandising school,” says de Bruin, noting that other exchanges for other disciplines are in the works in France and Canada.
Pharmacy and French Computer Engineering and Chinese
“Due to the multinational nature of Intel, I certainly feel that my knowledge of Mandarin and the Chinese culture makes me a more valuable employee.”
Joseph Hackman ‘11 is thrilled with his new job as a software engineer at Intel Oregon, a global center of semiconductor research and manufacturing. “The job is fantastic. Everyone I work with is absolutely brilliant, and I get to know things about the industry outsiders won’t for years.” Hackman studied computer engineering and Chinese in URI’s unique 5-year International Engineering Program. While at URI, he studied in China at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou and at Qingdao University in Qingdao. He completed an internship at HengTian, a software services company, where he communicated solely in Chinese. He delayed his graduation so that he would be the first student to complete the requirements for URI’s newly approved Chinese major. Intel offered Hackman the job before he completed his studies. “Due to the multinational nature of Intel, I certainly feel that my knowledge of Mandarin and the Chinese culture makes me a more valuable employee, and it certainly didn’t hurt my chances landing the job.” Hackman has a lifelong interest in Japan, and during his year in China, he traveled to Japan several times. Chinese, he says, breaks down barriers to learning Korean and Japanese: “I would certainly recommend language study to students. Language study and study abroad are huge parts of personal and professional development, and they are both areas where URI is in the top tier.”
iStockphoto.com; Courtesy Joseph Hackman; courtesy Ashley Pincins
Ashley Pincins ‘11 found a place to channel her energy and empathy for others when she enrolled in the College of Pharmacy’s six-year Pharm D. program. To give her brain a change from all the science courses, she took several French courses. She had enjoyed an intensive French program at her high school. With her French fluency, Pincins completed two of her required six pharmacy rotations in French hospitals. The rotations were coordinated by the School of Pharmacy, University of Rennes. “Practicing pharmacy in France gave me an invaluable perspective on the differences and similarities between professional practices in two different countries,” says the 24-year-old. Because of her hectic schedule, Pincins was a few courses shy of earning her bachelor’s in French, but she says her knowledge of the language is a plus. “In the face of globalization and a limited job market, learning a language makes a college graduate more marketable to prospective employers. Even the pharmacy market is much more competitive than when the class of 2011 entered as freshmen. I have had three separate employment offers since graduation, and I attribute that in part to my language skills. “When a person invests the time to learn a language, that commitment suggests a set of skills and values that employers would be happy to have. My French-speaking ability was discussed at every job interview.” Pincins is employed at a community health center in Maine that serves uninsured patients with limited resources.
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 15
Fashion and Italian
Global Business Management and Spanish “I feel strongly that this set me apart from other candidates.”
Alina Zolotnitskaya ‘09 spent two weeks in Costa Rica with her Needham High School Spanish class. “It not only sparked my love of Spanish, but also my passion for travel,” she says. “I got to see an amazing country and do things I never imagined like hiking through a rain forest. What really inspired me, however, was my ability to communicate with my host family who spoke no English.” While attending URI, Zolotnitskaya participated in the Salamanca, Spain summer program and studied in Seville for a semester. “I fell in love with Spain,” she says, explaining that after graduation she taught English in Malaga, Spain for 10 months. During job interviews after she returned, every interviewer wanted to know about her experiences abroad. “I feel strongly that this set me apart from other candidates,” says the alumna who was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and speaks fluent Russian. Zolotnitskaya is now an analyst for Jones Lang LaSalle in Chicago, where she develops communication processes and provides data integrity management and training to support real estate managers. Although she’s not currently using Spanish on the job, she chose that global firm for its international opportunities and hopes to work abroad in the next few years. Any advice for current students? “While going abroad can be a scary experience that takes you out of your comfort zone, the experiences you will have are invaluable.”
16 QUAD ANGLES Winter 2011–2012 | uri.edu/quadangles
Every fashionista would love to have Ashley Sayers’ job. The 2010 alumna is an assistant buyer of women’s shoes for Gucci America, Inc., New York City. Growing up in Northern New Jersey, Sayers always had an interest in the fashion industry. When deciding on a college, she applied to URI because its Department of Textiles, Fashion Merchandising, and Design had a great reputation. Her fashion classes gave her the chance to explore the multiple career avenues the industry has to offer. The major requires students to take a language course. “I did not start studying or speaking Italian until my sophomore year,” she says. “I ended up taking it as a double major.” Italy, of course, is one of the leading countries in fashion design and fashion is an important part of that country’s cultural life. Gucci is one of the leading fashion houses in that country. To prepare for her future career, Sayers studied at the University of Richmond in London during the fall of her junior year and at the University of Richmond in Rome during the spring semester of her senior year. Before landing her current job, she was a buying intern at Gucci. Today, her job description includes jetting to Italy where she easily feels right at home speaking fluent Italian with colleagues or striking up a conversation with a cab driver.
Courtesy Alina Zolotnitskaya; istockphoto.com
Many people in the world can speak three languages. “It’s only unique for an American, and this should not be the case in a global economy.”
Oceans Away Growing up in Framingham, Mass., Matthew “Matt” Zimmerman ‘01 thought about studying engineering in college, but he never thought about also majoring in German or French. Yet today the vice president of engineering and co-founder of FarSounder often communicates in those languages while traveling the world visiting customers, training dealers, or participating in trade shows. “When I speak the local language, I’m able to get around better and make better connections,” says the graduate of URI’s International Engineering Program who spent five months studying in Orleans, France, and then moved to Germany to complete a six-month internship with SAP in Karlsruhe. While a student, he also worked on sonar technology with Ocean Engineering Professor James Miller. Before Zimmerman graduated, he and Miller commercialized their work and co-founded FarSounder in Warwick, R.I. The result was 3D Forward Looking Sonar to improve of navigational safety for surface vessels by helping them avoid obstacles. Today, the company designs, manufactures, and markets 3D sonar systems with a variety of applications in the commercial, recreational, defense, and homeland security markets worldwide. “We’ve become the de facto standard in these technologies and continue to grow and create new products,” Zimmerman says with some understandable pride, noting the company hires a number of URI graduates and student interns. He doesn’t find his linguistic skills extraordinary. In fact, he says, many people in the world can speak three languages. “It’s only unique for an American, and this should not be the case in a global economy.
Courtesy Matthew Zimmermerman
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 17
Touching the Past in Israel
“A
URI students combine land exploration with underwater archaeology
shuttle picked us up every morning at 6:30 a.m. and dropped us off at a banana planation. A quick hike through the banana trees and we were at our site,” senior Abbie Casavant remembers. “It didn’t look like much at first—just a big, open, dusty construction site.” Casavant, a senior majoring in history and anthropology and minoring in underwater archaeology, was near Haifa, Israel, in July 2011, one of 12 undergraduates to participate in the pilot year of URI’s Israel Coast Exploration Project, an 8-credit summer program coordinated by William Krieger, assistant professor of philosophy, and Bridget Buxton, assistant professor of history. The three-week long summer program is an innovative combination of underwater and on-land archaeology. Although only in its first year, it was the third largest international program at URI last summer. “Underwater digs and terrestrial digs are generally kept very separate,” explains Krieger. “We want to move the field
18 QUAD ANGLES Winter 2011–12 | uri.edu/quadangles
forward in a way that is explicitly integrative and theoretically based.” Archaeologists usually train through field schools, but none of the schools in Israel have included underwater components. “This was a single project working on one question,” says Krieger. “We want to understand a coastal city in its entirety as it relates to the surrounding cities and the region as it was in antiquity. Much of this may currently be underwater. We want to get a full picture, instead of just a few separate snapshots.” For its first year, the coordinators selected two nearby sites on the northern coast of Israel for the underwater and terrestrial components. Students could choose to focus on either the land or water component. “But everyone digs,” explains Krieger, “There are many things that an archeologist does that an underwater specialist doesn’t. We wanted everyone to have a full training.” “We started digging at around 7:30 a.m. after setting up our tents and getting our tools out,” explains Casavant. Becky Wrightson, a senior art history major, explains that the shade tents were a neces sity due to the high temperatures and humidity. “We would spend the next few hours digging with pick-axes and smaller shovels.
Visit rg ogy.o haeol and c r a o s akk photo to see from the ge foota trip. 2011
of a Hellenistic warship. We worked in That’s our ultimate prize.” groups in separate To earn their credits, areas within the the students were also overall dig site,” she given a full immersion into remembers. “We would the history of Israel systematically clear the through a series of daily dirt away, keeping the lectures and tours. “Our level of the square even. program partner in Israel, We would keep records of Jacob Sharvit, is the head what we were doing and of the underwater unit of what we were finding. We the IAA,” says Krieger. made sure to take mea“With Jacob, we went surements and drawings behind the yellow tape at of the site before and Seniors Abbie Casavant and Becky Wrightson on nearly every site. We after digging every day. site in URI’s Israel Coast Exploration Project. always got the backstage We also had buckets set tour! We went to the IAA up collecting pieces of research and storage facilties, which is something pottery, glass, and whatever other out of Indiana Jones. It was stunning!” artifacts we found.” “Visiting the IAA storehouse,” remembers “Working all day in the heat was tough!” Casavant, “where almost all of the artifacts found says Casavant. “At the end of the day, we were in Israel are catalogued and stored, left me covered in dirt from head to toe—caked in our speechless.” Buxton agrees, “Krieger and I both hair, ears, and noses.” have worked in Israel before and we’d never seen Meanwhile, every day the weather permitted, any of this stuff for ourselves.” Buxton was heading into the water. “I ended up Both Krieger and Buxton enthusiastically antictaking one student for our first year,” she explains, ipate how the Israel Coast Exploration Project will as students already have to be certified to dive grow and expand over the coming years. Its debut when they come to the program. “Next year, we was generously supported by alumni Eric Roiter ’70 will take more underwater students as we expand and Marc ’69 and Claire Perlman ’73. The coordithe program. But we need to keep the numbers nators continue to look for support as they chart small enough so that I can always be in the water the course for next summer. “There is no question with them.” that this is going to be a strong flagship program The underwater work revolved primarily around for URI,” says Krieger. “We can offer immersion in testing some new tools. “We were using a SyQuest stratabox, a kind of underwater sensing technology, an international setting, experiential learning in the humanities, undergraduate research—it is to look for shipwrecks that are 1-2 meters under possible to do all this. We’re hoping to take up to the sand. All we really wanted for our first season 20 students next time.” was proof of concept. The easiest way to prove that Judging by the reaction of the 2011 particiwe could find what we were looking for with this pants, students will surely keep coming. “There’s equipment was to actually find something.” no better classroom than the field,” affirms CasaThe underwater component proved to be quite vant. And the rewards are worth all the backaches successful. “We made some discoveries of shipand dust. “The thought that this pottery shard in wrecks in Akko harbor that should resolve the my hand hasn’t been touched in almost two thouquestion of the location of a lost ship from Naposand years,” says Wrightson, “is just amazing.” leon’s siege of Acre in 1799,” says Buxton. But the For information about season 2 of the underreal passion of the program, she affirms, is for water/terrestrial field school, slated to hit the Hellenistic archaeology. “There’s evidence that the ground (and water) in June 2012, contact William very oldest seafaring trading ships in the world Krieger at krieger@mail.uri.edu or Bridget Buxton will be found off the coast of Israel. We have inforat babuxton@mail.uri.edu. mation through the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) about the original find spot of the bronze ram By Bethany Vaccaro ’06
Photos Courtesy William H. Krieger
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 19
The Sixth Annual Distinguished Achievement Awards
Video | uri.edu/quadangles
President David M. Dooley, center, with President’s Award recipients, left to right, Vincent A. Sarni ’49, Hon. ’85; Alfred J. Verrecchia ’67, M.B.A. ’72, Hon. ’04; Sybil Putnam Seitzinger, Ph.D. ’82; and Richard E. Beaupre ’62, Hon. ’03.
T
hree renowned business executives and the leader of an international agency studying the consequences of global warming were recipients of the University of Rhode Island’s 2011 President’s Awards.
In addition, 26 leaders in diverse fields were honored by the University’s colleges and graduate school with Deans’ Awards. Held on Saturday evening, October 22 at the Westin Providence, the awards honor alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of the University who have brought distinction to themselves and the University through their professional achievements, outstanding leadership, and community service.
20 QUAD ANGLES WINTER 2011–2012
PHOTOS BY NORA LEWIS AND JOE GIBLIN AND MICHAEL SALERNO
2011 Deans’ Award Recipients
Left to right: Ibrahim Abdul-Matin ’99; Anthony Estrella ’93; Dean Winnie Brownell; Michele Edelman ’01.
Left to right: Cleveland Kurts, retired faculty member and administrator; Thomas Deller ’77, M.C.P. ’79; Vice Provost for Urban Programs John McCray; Rosemary Esparza, widow of faculty member and DAA honoree Francisco Esparza.
Left to right: Leonard Reinhart ’77; Dean Mark Higgins; Russell Jeffrey ’81; Sandra Parrillo, M.B.A. ’93. UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 21
Left to right: Karina Edmonds ’92; James Cafone ’88, M.S. ’90; Brian Slobodow ’90; Dean Ray Wright.
Left to right: Autumn Oczkowski, Ph.D ’09; Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Keith Killingbeck; Aaron Tillman, Ph.D. ’09; Dean Nasser Zawia. 22 QUAD ANGLES WINTER 2011–2012
Left to right: Reesa Levy ’70; Dean Lynn McKinney; Anna Cano-Morales ’91.
Left to right: James Zachos, Ph.D. ’89; Stephen Greenlee, M.S. ’82; Autumn Oczkowski, Ph.D ’09; Sybil Seitzinger, Ph.D. ’82; Christopher Reddy, Ph.D. ’89. Left to right: Gregory Stone, M.M.A. ’89; Dean John Kirby; Jonathan Bailey ’79.
Left to right: Elaine Riley ’68; Dean Dayle Joseph; Lynda Joseph ’64.
Left to right: François Menard, Ph.D. ’88; Norman Campbell ’57; Dean Ron Jordan, Anthony Masso ’63. UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 23
24 QUAD ANGLES Winter 2011–2012 | uri.edu/quadangles
Helping Children Grieve
What do you say to a child who has lost a loved one? Probably nothing. “It’s the elephant in the room,” says Carolyn Hames, associate professor of nursing, who focuses on grief and loss in children and adolescents. “Adults want to protect children and not expose them to painful events. It’s the single biggest error. The result is we disenfranchise children. When there’s a death in the family, kids learn their family’s cultural norms for grief and mourning by observing adults. Adults are their role models; when they don’t talk about the loss it compounds the children’s belief that things must be really bad. So bad, that it’s unmentionable. That which is unmentionable is unmanageable. Death becomes frightening to them, and they don’t ask questions.” One out of five American kids will have a parent die by the time they graduate from high school. Many more experience other significant types of loss. “It is very possible that a significant amount of high risk behavior, acting out, school failures, and juvenile delinquency are triggered by childhood and teen losses that are not recognized or grief that is not supported,” said Hames. Children grieve differently than adults, and they mourn differently depending on their age, according to Hames. “Grief is limited by a child’s developmental stage,” says the expert. “Children understand death, loss, and grief only to the extent of their capacity at a given point in time. As they mature, they reprocess the loss with expanded insight and understanding. So, in effect, they re-grieve.”
NORA LEWIS
Developmental stages in children, says Hames, generally fall into four categories: Toddlers: Egocentric, “Daddy died so who will read my book?” Pre-Schoolers: Begin feeling empathy and guilt, “Mommy died because I didn’t eat my peas.” School Aged: Understand permanence, that things don’t reverse themselves, emerging fears and curiosity, “A bad thing has happened to my family so I need to be tough.” Teenagers: Who am I? Has need to fit in, does not want to be different, will pretend just to be normal, “I’m fine. I don’t need any help.”
Although there is very little literature on the subject, Hames believes that babies grieve. “If they are old enough to attach, they are old enough to grieve,” says Hames, whose early professional experiences with death as a pediatric nurse at Children’s Hospital Boston compelled her to want to help families deal with loss after they walked out of the hospital doors.
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 25
Grieving Styles Everyone grieves differently, but there are two distinct styles of grieving: • Intuitive Grieving: An intuitive griever is someone who is reflective and shares thoughts and emotions with others. • Instrumental Grieving: An instrumental griever is someone who releases grief by doing and thinking. Reactions are more physical, like laying stones to create a memorial walk. One style is not better than the other. “Personalities and styles of grief should be recognized and honored,” says Hames, noting that grieving styles can clash among family members and unintentionally create roadblocks to healing. For example, an intuitive child would not thrive in a family environment where no one talks about the deceased and where all pictures of the deceased have been removed. Or the teenager who vents his anger and feeling of loss through sports and comes home to a mother who continually asks him: How do you feel? Husbands and wives can and do clash in styles, which can create conflict. Secondary Loss A primary loss is followed by other losses, referred to as secondary loss. For instance, one spouse dies. The couple always took a summer vacation with another couple. However, the next summer, the widow doesn’t get invited to go along. Children also experience secondary loss. For example, if a father dies, it might mean that the family home has to be sold. The move might require the child to go to a different school. Family income is cut in half. Mom may have to work or work longer hours. These are compound losses—loss of friends, loss of the familiar, and loss of time with the surviving parent.
Funerals and Wakes Should adults bring children to wakes and funerals? “If the child is old enough to go on a family picnic, the child is old enough to attend a family funeral,” says Hames. “However, the child needs to be prepared. If a child is going out on Halloween night for the first time, adults typically explain what will happen and what to expect. The same should be true for funeral rituals. After the explanation of what will happen, I firmly believe that a child should be given a choice whether or not to attend. “So many teachable moments get lost when there’s no discussion. I know an 11-year-old child whose dad died. The Irish wake and the funeral that followed involved a lot of stories and laughter about the deceased. Misunderstanding these cultural rituals, the child grew angry, mad that people were making fun of his dad.” So what do you say to a child who has lost a loved one? “Have the guts to mention the deceased,” advises Hames. ”That gives the child permission to talk, lets him or her know you are willing to have a conversation, and honors the memory of the loved one. The best way to start the conversation is to share a memory. One of the things children fear most is that they—and others—will forget their loved one.” By Jan Wenzel ’87
26 QUAD ANGLES Winter 2011–2012 | uri.edu/quadangles
Healing Time at FRIENDS Way Kaitlyn Bouchard was 11 when she lost her father. Matthew Banno served with the U.S. Marines in Iraq and was exposed to death on and off the battlefield. Both URI students have been able to use their experiences by helping children and adolescents cope with loss. They do that by participating at FRIENDS Way, a children’s bereavement center, in Warwick, R.I., which Carolyn Hames co-founded in 2000. FRIENDS Way is a safe place for children and adolescents age 3 to 19 to explore and express their feelings. Trained volunteer facilitators help normalize the grief process through age appropriate creative activities. Children and their caregivers meet with FRIENDS Way staff and volunteers, some of whom are licensed c linicians, every other week through the school year. The organization also runs a weekend camp in July. No fees are charged. The non-profit relies on community involvement and donor support. For more information, go to friendsway.org.
Picturing Grief
A Special Person
Kaitlyn Bouchard was 11 and about to complete sixth grade at Hopkins Hill elementary school in Coventry when her dad died unexpectedly. She desperately missed spending every other weekend with him. No more parading down the streets with matching sweatshirts, no more Sunday breakfasts at the local diner, no more midnight runs for tasty snacks, and no more gorgeous Valentine’s Day bouquets from him. She also missed his lessons about values and life: Education is important, say no to drugs—he quit smoking and regretted ever starting. He often told her “life is short.” Little did she know how short his would be. “I’m an only child, and my mother had remarried a year before my dad passed away, so I often felt alone in my grief,” she says. “I didn’t have anyone else who was going through the same loss. “ Kaitlyn’s transition to middle school was rough for her emotionally and academically. “I don’t know what I would have done without FRIENDS Way,” says the senior film/media and art double major. She attended her first meeting the fall after her father’s death. “It helped me open up to others who were dealing with the same loss. A lot of people came and went, but I stayed to help others by sharing my story,” she says. She told that story in a music video called Father’s Day, which faculty members noted when they awarded her the Joyal Film Award in Film/Media Production for overall quality of her production work. In the video, Kaitlyn explores her loss. Her young cousin, Railey, plays Kaitlyn as a child. Railey was born a few months after Kaitlyn’s dad died. The song “Father’s Day” by Kaitlyn’s favorite band, Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers, plays throughout the video. Kaitlyn contacted the band and made arrangements to show the video to the members when they came to Newport for a show. “We huddled around my laptop and watched; I was so nervous,” said Kaitlyn. “They all loved it. Stephen Kellogg actually cried on my laptop while watching it. I couldn’t believe it. They told me that they wanted to release it as their official video for the song, and they gave me verbal permission to submit it to film festivals.” The film can be viewed at vimeo.com/28584411.
Matthew “Matt” Banno, a 25-year old Army and Marine Corps veteran, took Carolyn Hames’ honors course, Loss in the Lives of Children and Adolescents, completed its service learning component at FRIENDS Way, got hooked, and became a trained facilitator. “When I first went there, I was kind of nervous. I ended up going along with older teenagers (14 to 18 years old) and taking part in their group,” recalls the biology and psychology double major. “I figured that I would be able to relate to some of their issues as teenagers since high school wasn’t all that long ago for me,” he says. Matt, a Coventry resident, continues to work with the same age group, facilitating discussions. “It’s difficult at times to hear and see a child grieving over a loss, but I have made a certain level of commitment to the kids to be there for them in a supportive and listening way.” Matt shares some of himself during those discussions. “At FRIENDS Way, we refer to the person that the children have lost as their ‘special person.’ When I referred to my special person, it’s Josh. Josh died by suicide a little over a year ago, unable to deal with his experiences in Iraq. I had a hard time dealing with his death; at times I still do. The best resources that I always had, and still do to this day, is fellow marines and soldiers I served with. We understand each other like no third party ever could. I have found that I have been able to apply some of what I have learned when talking to friends and fellow veterans.” Matt plans to pursue a graduate degree in psychology after he leaves URI; “I think my knowledge and experience with bereavement will absolutely fit into those plans. Even if I were not in the mental health field, they would fit into my life in some capacity. Death is something we will all deal with at some point, and I feel confident in my ability to deal with it myself and help others deal with it since beginning my time at FRIENDS Way.”
NORA LEWIS; courtesty of Kaitlyn Bouchard
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 27
ALUMNICHAPTERS
advance.uri.edu/alumni/chapters
Chapter events are open to all alumni, family, and friends of the University. Contact your local chapter rep and join the fun!
Calendar of events Upcoming Events
The Student Alumni Association Chapter held its January 4 New Jersey Chapter alumni are gathering at first official event on October 21 at Casey’s Grill during Homecoming Weekend. the Prudential Center for the Bruins–Devils game. January 12 The Massachusetts Chapter will be at the TD Garden to take in the Canadiens–Bruins game. January 21 The Southwest Florida Gators are holding a luncheon at the Royal Palm Yacht Club. March 6 For details about the Theta Chi Affinity Chapter’s quarterly dinner, contact John Eastman ’62 at jeastman33@gmail.com. March 24 Save the date for the Southwest Florida Gators Chapter annual steak-out in Port Charlotte. Details and registration available soon.
Events Gone By On October 5, a reception hosted by the LGBTIQ2 Alumni and Friends Chapter was held in the Alumni Center following the video premiere of It Gets Better at URI: Coming Out for a Change. The Rhode Island Chapter enjoyed an exclusive reception at Aspire Restaurant before enjoying the hit musical Rock of Ages at the Providence Performing Arts Center on October 6. The Theta Chi Affinity Chapter held its annual homecoming dinner at the University Club on October 21.
The Villages (FL) Chapter held “Italian Night” at the SeaBreeze Recreation Center on November 10. On November 13, The LA Rams Chapter cheered on the Patriots in a reserved viewing room at Earth, Wind, and Flour in Santa Monica. The Houston Rhode Horn and Dallas/Fort Worth Chapters gathered in Austin to cheer on the Rams as URI took on Texas in the Legends Classic Tournament on November 15. The Young Alumni Council and Connecticut Chapter hosted a beer tasting at Cottrell Brewing Company in Pawcatuck on November 18. The Massachusetts Chapter met for a Rhody Rush Hour on November 30 at the Mass Ave Tavern in Boston. The Southwest Florida Gators Chapter welcomed special guest President David M. Dooley to a holiday luncheon at the Boca Royale Country Club on December 3.
ON THE TOWN
The Theta Chi Chapter held its quarterly dinner on December 6 at Chianti’s in East Greenwich.
Rhode Island Chapter members got together at Aspire Restaurant in Providence before taking in Rock of Ages at PPAC on October 6.
THE HEART OF TEXAS Alumni from the Texas Rhode Horns in Houston and the Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter got together in Austin to support the Rams in the URI–Texas game during a men's basketball tournament match-up on November 15. 28 QUAD ANGLES Fall 2011 | uri.edu/quadangles
REGIONAL Chapters
Minnesota
Arizona Rhode Runners
John ’92 & Kristen Turcotte ’95, Saint Louis Park, MN p: 952.285.1148 e: jfturcotte@mindspring.com keturcotte@mindspring.com New Hampshire • White Mountain Rams
Julie Griffin ’99 Scottsdale, AZ p: 480.634.1950 (h) e: Julez99@aol.com California • LA Rams Brett Freitas ‘99, Santa Monica, CA p: 323.833.8011 (h) e: brettfrietas@gmail.com • Northern Greg Passant ’80, Pleasanton, CA p: 925.227.1878 Josh Feinberg ’08, Berkley, CA p: 973.945.0971 (h) 510.563.2205 (w) e: feinberg973@gmail.com • Southern Jeff Bolognese ’02, Oceanside, CA p: 760.945.4560 e: jeff@richmondfinancial.net Colorado Mile High Rams Christy L. Gallese '03 Denver, CO p: 717.856.8525 e: christygallese@gmail.com Connecticut Tara Blumenstock ’96, Wallingford, CT p: 203.294.0246 e: tarabarbara@hotmail.com Janet Sisson ’87, Middletown, CT p: 860.214.7998 e: sissonj@independentdayschool.org Florida • Southeast Robert Tingley ’66, Boca Raton, FL p: 561.350.0332 e: rtingley111@att.net • Southwest Gators Richard Boldt ’64, Naples, FL p: 239.417.0375 e: rboldt854@aol.com • The Villages Al Bateman ’59, The Villages, FL e: acbnaples@aol.com Illinois: Chicago Jimmy De La Zerda ’04, Orland Park e: jimmydlz401@gmail.com Louisiana/Mississippi Dee Canada ’62, Slidell, LA p: 985.643.8801 (h) e: delinac@charter.net Phyllis DelFiore ’68, Slidell, LA p: 985.643.1609 (h) e: feliciadf@hotmail.com Massachusetts Nicholas G. Chigas ’03, Waltham, MA p: 978.505.7161 (h) 781.672.5170 (w) e: nicholas.g.chigas@mssb.com Michigan David Diana ’84, Warren, MI p: 586.268.0048 e: dianad@flash.net
Clarissa M. Uttley ’04, M.S. ’06, Ph.D. ’08, Rumney, NH p: 603.786.5035 (h) 603.535.2915 (w) e: cmuttley@plymouth.edu New Jersey Lauri Pietruszka ’84, West Paterson, NJ p: 973.890.1623 (h) e: lauriann_p@yahoo.com Erica Stuppler ’09, Basking Ridge, NJ p: 908-456-2737 e: estuppler@gmail.com New York • Albany Cindy Ladd Anderson ‘80, Clifton Park, NY p: 518.373.9440 (h) 518.527.4195 (c) e: rhodymom3@gmail.com • Metro John Companario ’93, New York, NY e: john.campanario@gmail.com North Carolina Ed Doughty ’93, Charlotte, NC p: 704.995.9300 (h) 704.331.2219 (w) e: eddoughty@gmail.com
INTERNATIONAL CHAPTERS Germany Braunschweiger Rams Robert John Ellwood ‘06 Braunschweig, Germany p: 0176-7631-1971 e: ellwood@mail.uri.edu
Affinity Chapters Alpha Chi Omega Gamma Sigma Shanon Whitt Horridge '86 Cranston, RI p: 401.383.4657 e: shannyh40@aol.com Chi Phi Douglas Bennet ’77, Providence, RI p: 401.351.3522 (h) e: dbennet@aol.com Community Planning Mike DeLuca ’80, M.C.P. ’88, Narragansett, RI p: 401.789.6888 (h) 401.461.1000, ext. 3137 (w) Continuing Education Joyce Dolbec ’95, Slatersville, RI p: 401.766.2209 (h) John Flaherty ’87, Slatersville, RI p: 401.766.4981 (h) 401.273.5711 x5 (w) e: john.flaherty@cox.net Graduate School of Library and Information Studies Sybil Akins '08 Wakefield, RI p: 401.783.0953 e: sma718@gmail.com
Tom Noyes ’67, Wooster, OH p: 330.345.6516 (h) 330.264.8722 (w) e: noyes.1@osu.edu
Jenna Hecker '09 Providence, RI p: 518.542.7654 (h) 781.769.0200 (w) e: jennahecker@gmail.com Italian
Bill ’74 & Betty ’74 Sepe, Hudson, OH p: 330.650.6715 e: OHRhody@hotmail.com
Alfred Crudale ’91, West Kingston, RI p: 401.783.3081 e: acwvmhs@rinet35.org
Rhode Island
Remo Trivelli, Kingston, RI p: 401.874.2383
Ohio
Allison Field ’95, Providence, RI p: 401.808.9463 e: allison@conderi.com Texas • Dallas/Ft. Worth Cortney ’01 and David Nicolato ‘98, Lantana, TX p: 401.255.5127 (c) e: rhodygrad@gmail.com • Texas Rhode Horns
Lucia Vescera ’96, Lincoln, RI e: lvescera@hotmail.com LGBTIQ2 (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer, and Questioning Alumni and Friends) Marc R. Archambault ‘73, Wakefield, RI p: 401.932.3715 (c) e: marc@randallrealtors.com
Jeffrey A. Ross ’75, Houston p: 713.668.3746 (h) 713.791.9521 (w) e: jross67785@aol.com Washington, D.C./ Baltimore
Gregory C. Waugh ‘07, North Kingstown, RI p: 401.787.3980 (h) e: Gregory.waugh@gmail.com Lambda Chi Alpha
Hank Nardone ’90, Laytonsville, MD p: 301.803.2910 (w) 301.482.1062 (h) e: henryjn@us.ibm.com
Jeffrey Hill ‘00, Shippensburg, PA p: 717.530.0188 e: firemarshal70@hotmail.com
Brina Masi '01, Baltimore, MD p: 401.261.5416 e: brimasi16@gmail.com
Lambda Delta Phi
ROTC
Linda F. Desmond ’68, North Andover, MA p: 978.687.7443 (h) 978.794.3896 (w) e: lfdesmond@comcast.net
William MacKinlay '69 p: 781.608.7335 e: WMacKinlay@TaskForcePro.com Military Instructor Group, Kingston, RI e: urirotcalumni@cox.net www.uri.rotc.alum.org
Martha Smith Patnoad ’68, Wyoming, RI p: 401.539.2180 e: mpatnoad@uri.edu Music Department Alumni
Schmidt Labor Research Center J. Richard Rose M.S. ’06 p: 401.461.2277 (h) e: rrose@mail.uri.edu Sigma Chi
Allison Lacasse ’07, Boston, MA p: 508.971.3527 (h) 978.251.5177 (w) e: allisonlacasse@gmail.com
Mark Trovato ’89, Wakefield, RI p: 401.782.0064 (h) e: mtrovato@riag.state.ri.us www.rhodysig.com Sigma Pi
Nicholas Zammarelli Jr. '97 Coventry, RI p: 401-828-5823 (h) e: nzamm1@verizon.net Phi Gamma Delta Richard Kingsley ‘71, Jamestown, RI p: 401.874.6693 (w) e: kingsley@gso.uri.edu Phi Kappa Psi Joe Hart ’85, Kingston, RI p: 401.783.4852 e: jphart@cox.net www.ribeta.com Phi Mu Delta Jim DeNuccio ‘75, East Greenwich, RI p: 401.884.2993 (w) f: 401.885.2228 (w) Phi Sigma Kappa
George B. Smith ‘66, Venice, FL p: 941.408.9786 e: drgeorgebsmith@verizon.net Student Alumni Association Louis R. Maccarone II ’00, Cranston, RI p: 401.486.7849 e: Louis.maccarone@gmail.com Lindsay Redfern Lazzeri ‘04, Boynton Beach, FL p: 561.735.7811 401.474.6580 (c) e: lindsayredfern@gmail.com Stand Up Against Lyme
David J. Wallace ’76, ‘92, Kenneth Gambone ‘88, New York, NY Exeter, RI p: 917.701.4631 e: dave@teegreensod.com e: Kenneth.gambone@barclayscapital.com Theta Chi Political Science John Eastman ’62, Al Killilea, Kingston, RI North Kingstown, RI p: 401.874.2183 (w) p: 401.295.1956 (h) Physical Therapy Program Alumni e: jeastman33@gmail.com Mike Testa ‘63, Jamestown, RI John McLinden ’93, Wakefield, RI p: 401.423.8918 p: 401.783.7179 (h) e: jtown@cox.net 401.874.5001 (w) e: Elvis1122@aol.com Theta Delta Chi Public Relations Society Eric Lalime ’95 p: 347.739.7345 (h) DeAnna Lynn Englezos ’08, 347.739.7345 (cell) Brooklyn, NY e: eric_lalime@ml.com p: 212.237.0048 (w) e: dlenglezos@gmail.com URI Difference Equations Association Kate Scozzaro ‘10, Fairfield, NJ p: 973.809.5044 (h) Michael A. Radin ‘01, Rochester, NY e: kate.scozzaro@gmail.com p: 585.461.4002 (h) 585.475.7681 (w) RIDOT e: michael.radin@rit.edu Christos Xenophontos ’84, Exeter, RI Writers Affinity Group e: xenophon@dot.ri.gov Jan Wenzel '87, Tiverton, RI Charles St. Martin ’92, Coventry, RI e: cstm@cox.net; cstmartin@dot.ri.gov p: 401.714.6595 (c) 401.874.5190 (w) e: wenzel@ds.uri.edu
Let Us Hear from You! If you are interested in starting a regional or affinity chapter, have ideas for upcoming events, or want to participate in events in your area, please contact Shana Greene at sgreene@advance.uri.edu or 401.874.2218.
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 29
CLASSACTS
Read Class Notes Online at advance.uri.edu/quadangles/classnotes Submit Class Notes Online at advance.uri.edu/eservices
ALUMNI DIRECTORY
STAY
CONNECTED
Susan P. Luz, NUR, of North Scituate, R.I., has written and published a book about her nursing career titled Nightingale of Mosul.
`75 Charles Richard Roderick, ENG, of Warwick, R.I., writes: “My wife, Mary, passed away 8/5/11 after a four-year bout with cancer.”
`76
Rhody joins some of URI’s international students for a reception at the Alumni Center.
`43
`67
`70
Morphis Albert Jamiel, ENG, of Warren, R.I.,an active lawyer since 1948 and a retired brigadier general of the U.S. Army and a retired major general of the Rhode Island National Guard, has been inducted into the URI ROTC Hall of Fame. He is serving his 20th year as probate judge for Warren, R.I. and is a former senator and representative in the Rhode Island Assembly. He is an active Mason, a member of the VFW, the American Legion, and the DAV. He is also a master clown for Shriners Masons, raising funds for the Shriners Children’s Hospitals.
Inge B. Corless, A&S, of Boston, Mass., has been inducted into the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International’s Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame.
James S. George, ENG, of Narragansett, R.I., global business manager– cable materials at NEPTCO, Inc., was recently honored as one of the recipients of the 2011 Distinguished Career Awards by The Wire and Cable Manufacturers’ Alliance, Inc.
`68 Jeffrey P. Rosenfeld, A&S, of Bayside, N.Y., had his latest book, UnAssisted Living, published by Random House. The book, written with architect Wid Chapman, celebrates the Boomer quest for ageless homes and communities in later life.
`69
`55
John B. Coduri, A&S, of Westerly, R.I., is one of the authors of Built Francis H. Brown, HS&S, of Hope, from Stone: The Westerly Granite Story. R.I., writes; “My lovely wife, Maud, John retired in 2010 after a 40-year passed away to see Jesus on the YMCA career that included 16 years 27th of August, 2010. Blessings to all as national executive director/CEO of of my classmates! The Lord blessed the Association of YMCA Professionme for 20 years with one of the best als. He currently serves as chair of marriages ever!” the board of trustees of the BabcockSmith House Museum.
READ LISTEN WATCH
QUAD ANGLES ONLINE uri.edu/quadangles
30 QUAD ANGLES WINTER 2011–2012 | URI.EDU/QUADANGLES
`71 Norman M. Schoeler, CELS, of Plantsville, Conn., writes: “I am retired now after 37 years in the field of food service management. With my wife, Ann, I’m out to climb all 48 of the 4,000 foot mountains—30 down and 18 to go. A lot of quality time is spent with my granddaughter, Riley. Life is good!”
`72 Michael A. Covellone, A&S, of Warwick, R.I., director of water supply for the Providence Water Supply Board, has been elected president of the New England Water Works Association, the region’s largest not-for-profit organization of water works professionals. During his 38 years with the Providence Water Supply Board, he has worked as bacteriologist, chief chemist, and superintendent of water quality. He has chaired the State of Rhode Island Board of Certification of Operators of Water Supply Treatment and Distribution Facilities; he has served on the board since 1996.
Kathleen M. Bushy, CBA, of Franklin, Mass., was hired by the Herlihy Insurance Group of Worcester as a salesperson in its Sutton office. She has more than 10 years of experience in insurance sales and services. Jane C. Walker, HS&S, of Monmouth, Ill., is co-author of Trust Not, a book documenting the experiences and challenges of an American military advisor, Cpt. William G. Haneke, during the Vietnam War and his continued commitment to serve veterans and their families.
`77 George S. La Cross, A&S, of Barrington, R.I., an employee of The Providence Journal since 1980, took his love of writing and producing ProJo TV commercials to the next level. He now has a second career as a DVD documentary producer with his business partner, Bill Luca, of Salem, Mass. In August, the pair released their second DVD, Behind The Scenes at Waldameer’s Whacky Shack & Pirate’s Cove. You can see a trailer at youtube.com/watch?v=G0UxUjJ_Eow
`78 Wendy Chapman Bergren, NUR, of North Kingstown, R.I., received the Mary Down Struck Award for Excellence in Nursing at Women & Infant’s Hospital’s 126th Annual Meeting in 2010.
`79 Steven B. Feldman, A&S, of Hankins, N.Y., started Green Demolitions in 2005. The company sells luxury commercial surplus and donated kitchens, appliances, bathroom fixtures, and home decor from houses being either renovated or demolished in Greenwich and New Canaan, Conn.; Scarsdale and Bedford, N.Y.; and beyond. Donation proceeds benefit Recovery Unlimited. Keith S. Lerner, PHM, of Livingston, N.J., writes that following a 30-year career at Johnson & Johnson, Warner Lambert, Pfizer,
NORA LEWIS
Oxfordshire, England June 15–17, 2012 Save the date for a trip to support the URI Women’s Rowing Team as they race in the historic Henley Regatta for the first time in URI’s history. There will be two receptions at the exclusive Leander Club of Henley-on-Thames, England. For more information on supporting the team or travel, please contact Sarah Lobdell at 401.874.2438, or visit advance.uri.edu/alumni/athletics.
and most recently at SVP Global Business Development & Licensing and as commercial head of directto-consumer marketing at Novartis, he has established the global marketing and business development/ licensing/M&A firm of JaMax Business Ventures Consulting, LLC (see JaMaxConsulting.com). Patrick M. McCarthy, A&S, of Bristol, R.I., is the new administrator for the State of Rhode Island’s Office of Energy Resources in Providence. He has previously worked in program management, finance, and administration at several FORTUNE 100 corporations.
`80 Henry Fiore Jr., HS&S, of Westerly, R.I., principal of St. Pius X School and board member at the Prout School in the Diocese of Providence, has recently published his second article for Creative Catechist magazine titled “A Catholic Response to Bullying.” His first article, on ADHD, was “When the Problem is Not Behavior.” He has also presented workshops on autism at the Diocese of Providence Catholic Educators’ Conference and regionally.
`83 Martha J. Sheridan, A&S, of Wakefield, R.I., Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau president
and CEO, has been named secretary/ treasurer of the Destination Marketing Association International board of directors. Karen E. White-Trevino, NUR, of Pace, Fla., has been named senior vice president of patient care services/chief nursing officer for West Florida Healthcare.
Newport Chapter and the Aquidneck Island Land Trust and has extensive fundraising experience. She also serves as a community member of Child & Family’s Institutional Advancement Committee. She has extensive fund raising experience.
`86
Gustavo A. Bisbal, GSO, of Alexandria, Va., a science and policy expert with the United States Department of State who specializes in the world’s oceans and polar regions, has been named director of the Northwest Climate Science Center based at Oregon State University.
Herbert D. Frerichs, A&S, of Timonium, Md., was appointed by Governor O’Malley to the Maryland Economic Development Corporation board of trustees. He is general counsel of Perdue Farms in Salisbury, Md. Jill Rogers Lawlor, A&S, of Warwick, R.I., has been appointed executive director of alumni relations at Wheaton College in Norton, Mass. Ellen L. Madison, A&S, of Westerly, R.I., is one of the authors of Built from Stone: The Westerly Granite Story. Ellen retired after 33 years as an English teacher at Ledyard (Conn.) High School and has operated Woody Hill Bed and Breakfast since 1973. She has visited quarries in Egypt and China and struggled with stones in her gardens.
`89 Sara M. Hiebner, CBA, of North Kingstown, R.I., is vice president, business development for BankNewport. She is a member of NAACP–
`90
`92 James A. Anderson, A&S, of Gainesville, Fla., had his new book, Out of the Shadows: A Structuralist Approach to the Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft, published by Wildside Press, a leading publisher of science fiction and horror criticism. The book is a rewrite of the Ph.D. dissertation he did at URI in 1992. The book is available from Wildside Press and Amazon. Michael I. Miga, ENG, of Franklin, Tenn., an associate professor of biomedical engineering at Vanderbilt University, has been awarded a fiveyear, $3.1 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to enhance image-guided surgery techniques for safely removing liver tumors.
`93 Kimberly K. Ferguson, HS&S, of Jamestown, R.I., has joined Rutland, Mass., based Devereux Massachusetts, a school serving children with special needs, as state representative. Kristin A. Wagner, NUR, of Northville, Mich., was hired by Samaritan Obstetrics and Gynecology in Corvallis as a physician.
`94 Eileen M. Fiore, A&S, of Westerly, R.I., has released her third recording, Light in the Storm, a collaboration with international liturgical recording artist Tom Kendzia. Eileen’s other releases, Quiet Light and Christmas Light, have sold locally as a fundraiser for St. Pius X School and Chicambuso School in Zambia, as well as internationally on I-tunes, Amazon, and Rhapsody. To date 1,400 releases of all the recordings have been sold.
`95 Mari Passananti, A&S, of Boston, Mass., published her debut novel, The Hazards of Hunting While Heartbroken, in July 2011.
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 31
URI Alumni Night at the Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular at Roger Williams Park This was the third year for this boo-tiful, family friendly event.
`96 Greg Silva, CBA, of Cranston, R.I., senior financial consultant at Webster Bank in Rhode Island, has recently been promoted to vice president. Greg helps individuals and businesses grow and protect their assets through a comprehensive array of wealth management, insurance, and retirement planning solutions. He is a chartered financial analyst and a certified retirement counselor. Greg is also a member of the URI Alumni Association Finance Committee.
`99 Jeffrey W. Book, GSO, of Slidell, La., a civilian oceanographer with the U.S. Navy, is one of the 94 recipients of the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers. The award was presented by President Barack Obama.
`01 Nicole M. Estaphan, A&S, of Douglas, Mass., joined the Eyewitness News team as a video journalist in May 2011.
`02 James M. Ladouceur, ENG, of Cranston, R.I., is a process engineer at Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics in Bristol, R.I. He and his wife, Robyn, have two children: Ethan, 4, and Eden, 10. Robyn is the owner of Robyn’s Nest Home Daycare.
`03
Photo Album | uri.edu/quadangles
Joshua S. Blumenthal, A&S, of Natick, Mass., has been named head men’s lacrosse coach and intramurals coordinator at Regis College in Massachusetts. Edward A. Garcia, M.L.S., of Cranston, R.I., has been named technology coordinator at the Cranston Public Library. He joined the library in 2008 and has served as information access librarian. In his new role he will be responsible for planning, implementing, and managing current and emerging technologies throughout the library system. He will also supervise the technical services department and conduct technology training for staff and library patrons.
`04 Julia C. Ruppell, A&S, of Portland, Ore., was awarded a research Fulbright to work with gibbons in Laos over the next year.
`06 Sean T. Cottrell, CBA, of Cranston, R.I., has been promoted to assistant vice president at Starkweather and Shepley Insurance Brokerage, Inc. He will lead the Social Services/Notfor-Profit Practice Group for the firm. Casie Rhodes, HS&S, of West Greenwich, R.I., Special Olympics Rhode Island’s director of sports 32 QUAD ANGLES WINTER 2011–2012 | URI.EDU/QUADANGLES
Mike Salerno
Janis Merluzzo ’69 Janis Merluzzo has been into physical fitness for years, working out with weights, speed walking, and practicing yoga in addition to ballet lessons that she began at age five. As a physical education and health major at URI, Merluzzo studied ballet with Herci and Myles Marsden of the Rhode Island State Ballet. Merluzzo continued ballet classes in New York City and in New Jersey where she taught health education and psychology at Bergen County’s Mahwah High School for 24 years and physical education in grades 3–5 for five years. She was also an adjunct professor in the Department of Health Professions at
Montclair State University. Her current dance athleticism builds on the strength and grace gained in those years of training. Today, she and her dance partner, Daniel Fugazzotto, are national champion ballroom dancers. They routinely practice two to three hours a day—upping that to four to six hours a day before a competition—and take lessons three times a week with their head coach plus occasional lessons with specialty dance coaches. After early retirement and a move to Florida nine years ago, Merluzzo attended weekly open ballroom dances at a local studio; that’s where she met her dance partner. Fugazzotto and Merluzzo soon decided to share private lessons “to share
Tougas’ life centers around growing apples and several other fruits and his family—wife Phyllis and their children, Andre, Nicole, and April, all of whom have roles in the farm’s operation. Tougas, who spent three years as an agricultural extension agent after URI (B.S. in natural resources, M.A. in education) married Phyllis in 1981 and a year later bought the pick-your-own farm. His travels and exposure to other growers convinced Tougas that his customers would like to have more than a bag of fruit when they visited. As a result Tougas Family Farm is a place to have fun, enjoy food, and absorb all the sights and smells of a farming
operation. Children by the thousands descend on his farm via school tours—he estimates 15,000 this fall— and while he and his family host the children, they also hope to start modifying their eating habits—slices of apples rather than candy for example. “Juvenile diabetes is a real problem in this country,” he says, adding that more consumption of fruits and vegetables is part of the solution. The Apple Grower of the Year is not content with traditional methods of growing fruit. Rather he has embraced and is experimenting with high density growing techniques that he witnessed on trips to Europe. He is promoting the
became passionate about them when he was 12 and living with his mother and younger brother Andy in Europe. When he ran out of comic books, he and Andy created their own. While most kids eventually outgrow comics, Cooke, 52, never has. “Comics, put simply, can tell a story as passionately and with as much impact as any prose literature. When composed in expert fashion, the melding of word and visual create a unique experience, one as enriching and vital as any in books, film, painting, music—you name it,” says Cooke. “If you sit down and read Maus or Persepolis or Jimmy Corrigan with an open, critical mind, you might come away quite enlightened as to the experience and the possibilities of the form.”
Cooke credits URI with helping him find and meld his interests in journalism and history with a lifelong hobby. Specifically, his stint as editor “in the grungy, counter-culture offices of The Great Swamp Gazette in the Memorial Union basement, where, with the aid of equally manic cohorts and lots of coffee” the staff pasted together the student alternative publication. Those skills would eventually lead to the creation of COMIC BOOK ARTIST, a magazine Cooke produced between 1998 and 2005. The magazine won five consecutive Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards (the Oscars of the art form) for “Best ComicsRelated Periodical,” sometimes presented by Eisner himself. Cooke and his brother Andy pro-
Gotta Dance!
Maurice “Mo” Tougas ’75, M.S. ’77
Appleman
From his email address, which starts off “appleman,” to his colorful Web site, tougasfarm.com, Mo Tougas is all about apples. And now American Fruit Grower magazine has given him another title—2011 Apple Grower of the Year. Tougas owns a 120-acre Pick Your Own operation, Tougas Family Farm, in Northboro, Mass. His farm is close to the geographic center of New England, a fitting location for a farm that was voted one of the 10 best apple orchards in the country by Woman’s Day magazine.
Jon B. Cooke (at URI 1980 to 1983)
Mad About Comic Books
Although Jon B. Cooke liked to read comics when he was young, he
expenses and have someone to practice with.” Their teacher felt the pair also shared ability, determination, and work ethic and encouraged them to start competing after just six months of lessons. Now the pair hold several national titles in the DanceSport division of USADance and are members of Sarasota’s White Sands Chapter, where Merluzzo is events and publicity chair and incoming president. They compete in four Divisions: American Smooth, American Rhythm, International Standard, and International Latin in two senior age groups. —Sally Adams ’66, M.A. ’68
Video | uri.edu/quadangles
Mo Tougas in his experimental “super spindle” orchard designed to produce fruit, not trees.
techniques through talks, on-site demonstrations and even U-Tube videos. “The whole idea,” he says, “is to grow fruit, not trees.” —Rudi Hempe ’63
duced an award-winning documentary, WILL EISNER: PORTRAIT OF A SEQUENTIAL ARTIST, which debuted at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. Many consider Eisner the most influential person in American comics. Learn more at montillapictures.com. While maintaining a full-time job as art director in advertising and marketing, Cooke’s zeal for comics has never waned. He owns thousands of comics and an almost equal number of magazines, fanzines, and books on the subject. — Jan Wenzel ‘87
UNIVERSITYOF OFRHODE RHODEISLAND 33 ISLAND 33 UNIVERSITY
and training, is channeling her love of sports by creating as many athletic opportunities as she can for young people with intellectual disabilities.
`09
William F. Kelleher ‘98 to Emily J. Allen, on May 22, 2011. Brian M. Neary ‘01 to Robyn Del Ponte, on July 16, 2011.
CLASSPICS Share your big moments.
Pamela S. Freitas, NUR, of Centerville, Mass., bought a house on Cape Cod this past July. She is now a permanent New Englander! Charlsey Gentile, HS&S, of Auburn, Mass., was hired by ERA Key Realty Services to work at the firm’s Oxford, Mass., office.
Briana P. Maguire ‘03 to John Windle, on October 2, 2011.
Daniel P. Lombardi ‘04 to Katharine U. Ryan, on August 27, 2011.
Giselle LaFrance ‘07 to Patrick Mahoney Sr., on September 18, 2011.
`11
Erin Drew ‘05 to Kevin Tuthill ‘04, on September 11, 2010.
Ryan A. Wilson ‘07 to Juliana D. Fraioli, on July 22, 2011.
Joshua J. Bednarczyk ‘05 to Amanda Bagwell, on July 16, 2011.
Ashley E. Gingerella ‘11 to Michael O’Shea, on September 10, 2011.
Kevin N. Colman, A&S, of Cranston, R.I., was hired by Hasbro Children’s Hospital to work in the fundraising and development department. Kevin is working on the major gifts portion of fundraising, as well as planning events. Kelly A. Longworth, NUR, of Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., is a registered nurse at White Plains Hospital Center in White Plains, N.Y. She is working on an ICU step-down unit and completing 12 weeks of orientation. So far, she’s been learning every day and advancing her skills continuously. Kelly does miss URI though!
uri.edu/quadangles
Jonathan W. Richmond ‘03 to Nikki Costa, on July 30, 2011.
Jennifer M. Conley ‘06 to Greg Chapin ‘05, on August 28, 2010.
Births
Megan L. Corbett ‘05 to Robert Longo Jr., on September 4, 2011.
Joyce A. Kittell-Nelson ‘75 and Nathan E. Nelson ‘78, a grandson, Milo Philip Arrigo-Nelson, on July 28, 2011.
Ashleigh T. Evans ‘05 to Matthew D. Cocuzzi ‘05, on August 26, 2011. Alisha M. Hicks ‘05 to Kyle Krupski ‘07, on June 18, 2011.
Weddings
Ashley K. Ross ‘05 to Matthew K. Humburd, on July 29, 2011.
David R. Nordstrom ‘94 to Tracy Nordstrom, on January 8, 2010.
Catherine H. Wilson ‘06 to Benjamin Berneike, on July 22, 2011.
Jessica R. Cipriano ‘97 to Brian J. Reynolds, on June 18, 2011.
Caitlin K. Fair ‘07 to Brian MacDonald ‘09, on August 6, 2011.
Maryellen M. (Brennan) ‘93 and Robert M. Salter ‘93, a son, Jake Thomas, on June 13, 2011. Lisa J. and Robert W. Baker ‘94, a daughter, Caroline Rosemary, on February 28, 2011. Laureen and Lawrence M. Modder ‘94, a daughter, Kaelyn Sarah, on July 15, 2011.
Tracy and David R. Nordstrom ‘94, a daughter, Brynlee Cecilia, on January 11, 2011. Kevin and Jennifer L. Dionne ‘95, a son, on October 7, 2011. Tamara and Brian D. Levine ‘95, a daughter, Amy Elyse, on October 6, 2011. Brian and Jennifer Lakoff Sklar ‘99, a daughter, Amanda Ilyse, on September 6, 2011. Jamie and Jennifer A. Bates ‘02, twins, Connor and Colin, on June 14, 2011. Kerrie L. ‘02 and Kyle Broughton ‘02, a daughter, Emma, on June 1, 2011. Israel Grave and Wendy M. ArcelayGrave ‘03, a son, Benjamin, on March 6, 2011. Kevin O’Connor ‘03 and Michelle Stone ‘04, a daughter, Ashley Brooke, on August 13, 2011.
URI Alumni Association Membership Application Form
Name _______________________________________________________________________
Indicate type of membership:
Partner/Spouse’s Email ______________________________ Class ______________________
Individual @ $35 per year
Home Address ______________________________________ City ______________________
Couple @ $50 per year
State_______________________________________________ Zip ______________________
Golden Grad @ $15 per year
Home Phone__________________________________________________________________
Golden Grad Couple @ $30 per year Check here if you’d like information on regional or affinity chapters.
Email_____________________________________________ Class ______________________ Partner/Spouse’s Name _________________________________________________________
Sign up for Auto Renewal Make checks payable to URI Alumni Association, or charge to: MasterCard VISA AMEX DISCOVER Acct No._____________________________ Exp.Date____________________ Signature________________________________________ Mail to: Membership Program, P.O. Box 1820, Kingston, Rl 02881-2011
34 QUAD ANGLES WINTER 2011–2012 | URI.EDU/QUADANGLES
HOMECOMING 2011
See more photos online: advance.uri.edu/photoalbums/pridenight/2011
Nora Lewis and Michael Salerno
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 35
Matthew N. ‘03 and Patrice (LeTourneau) Rubin ‘03, a daughter, Jillian Justine, on June 21, 2011.
John Thayer ‘49 of Portsmouth, R.I., on October 21, 2011.
Gordon Fairchild ‘62 of Riverside, R.I., on August 20, 2011.
Arnold Silverman ‘71 of Providence, R.I., on January 12, 2011.
Athena Procopion ‘50 of Waterbury, Conn., on October 13, 2011.
Maurice Devine ‘63 of Westerly, R.I., on October 16, 2011.
Anna Sudol Swiski ‘71 of Lincoln, R.I., on August 22, 2011.
Neal Davis ‘51 of Providence, R.I., on September 17, 2011.
Dorothy Gormley ‘64 of Monroe, N.Y., on June 2, 2011.
Neil Young ‘71 of Riverside, R.I., on October 3, 2011.
Beverly Kwasha ‘51 of West Palm Beach, Fla., on September 25, 2011.
Lucille Radlo Chernack ‘65 of Natick, Mass., on October 2, 2011.
James Coppola ‘72 of Warwick, R.I., on September 23, 2011.
Sidney Thompson ‘51 of Suffern, N.Y., on August 07, 2011.
Nancy Gormsen ‘66 of Baldwin, N.Y., on March 10, 2010.
Marjorie DiPretoro ‘72 of Bridgton, Maine, on August 29, 2009.
Russell Adams ‘52 of Richmond, Va., on August 25, 2010.
Edith Calderara ‘67 of Greenville, R.I., on May 10, 2011.
Richard Fasano ‘73 of Madison, Conn., on October 22, 2011.
Arthur Nardone ‘52 of Pawcatuck, Conn., on April 10, 2011.
Robert McClanaghan ‘67 of Narragansett, R.I., on November 1, 2011.
Anne McAreavey ‘73 of Narragansett, R.I., on October 28, 2011.
Barbara Thomas Sammons ‘37 of Wakefield, R.I., on August 23, 2011.
Barbara Wise Ryan ‘52 of Saint Helena, Calif., on June 1, 2011.
James Leblanc ‘68 of Pensacola, Fla., on August 28, 2011.
Murray Snow ‘73 of Barrington, Ill., on July 23, 2010.
Morris Fabricant ‘39 of Delray Beach, Fla., on July 8, 2011.
Louis Mazzucchelli ‘53 of Providence, R.I., on August 30, 2011.
Mary Russo ‘68 of Little Compton, R.I., on October 13, 2011.
Ralph Murphy ‘74 of Holyoke, Mass., on February 18, 2011.
Marie Kroekel ‘39 of Valley Center, Calif., on September 12, 2011.
Edward Murphy ‘53 of Hope Valley, R.I., on July 21, 2011.
Anne Hoxsie ‘69 of Narragansett, R.I., on April 25, 2011.
Mary Manning ‘75 of Warwick, R.I., on September 1, 2011.
George Lyons ‘39 of El Paso, Texas, on September 14, 2011.
Arthur Rathjen ‘53 of Midland, Mich., on August 28, 2011.
Jeffrey Bowie ‘70 of Chepachet, R.I., on October 27, 2011.
Joanna Dorazio ‘76 of Seekonk, Mass., on November 7, 2011.
Marilyn Benson Ruth ‘43 of Warwick, R.I., on July 5, 2011.
Albert Zoubra ‘57 of Yarmouth Port, Mass., on September 26, 2011.
Elizabeth Williams ‘70 of Westerly, R.I., on October 21, 2011.
William Fish ‘77 of Middletown, Conn., on August 15, 2007.
Francis Pierce ‘48 of Rumford, R.I., on October 19, 2011.
Dorothie Edberg ‘59 of East Greenbush, N.Y., on October 26, 2009.
Richard Herman ‘71 of Livingston, N.J., on February 8, 2005.
Reeva Curran ‘79 of Greenville, R.I., on September 22, 2011.
Robert Beall ‘49 of Herndon, Va., on August 23, 2011.
Joseph Casinelli ‘60 of Siesta Key, Fla., on October 7, 2011.
Charles Kinney ‘71 of Lynchburg, Va., on September 30, 2011.
Edward Keegan ‘80 of North Kingstown, R.I., on October 16, 2011.
Carla M. and Bryan C. Forbes ‘04, a son, Colin Daniel, on August 30, 2011. Eric M. and Rebecca J. Stanwood ‘04, a daughter, Claire Alise, on March 23, 2011. Jennifer M. Conley ‘06 and Greg Chapin ‘05, a daughter, Josie, on July 28, 2011. Kaitlin and Kyle J. Wilson ‘05, a daughter, Emily Lourdes, on May 24, 2011.
In Memoriam
Reunite with Your Friends and Classmates
36
When was the last time you made plans to get together with your URI friends? NOW is the time to start planning for a 2012 class or affinity reunion. For instance, Homecoming in October 2012 would be a great time to have a reunion with your classmates! You will need volunteers from your class or group who are willing to help plan, promote, and attend the reunion. If you are interested in working on an event for your class or affinity group and would like to find out more about getting started, please visit the Alumni Web site at advance.uri.edu/alumni/reunions or call the Alumni Relations Office at 401.874.2242. QUAD ANGLES WINTER 2011–2012 | URI.EDU/QUADANGLES
Amy Knowlton with her partner Bill McWeeny.
Amy Knowlton, M.M.A. ’97
Entanglement and Other Issues
One thing’s for sure about working with right whales: it’s no boring desk job. Just ask Amy Knowlton of the New England Aquarium. In 1987 Knowlton was conducting an aerial survey for North Atlantic right whales off the Georgia coast when the twin-engine plane ran out of fuel and crashed into the ocean. Her account of her escape and rescue was featured on the PBS science program NOVA (the link to that story is pbs.org/wgbh/nova/escape/ survplane.html). Then there was the time her team was attempting to measure a whale’s blubber using an ultrasound device. North Atlantic right whales weigh about 70 tons and can reach 50 feet in length, and this one didn’t care to be studied. “The whale did a 180o turn and came up under our vessel and slammed it,” she recalled. “I got catapulted off. Luckily I had a float jacket on.” The rewards involved in preserving these great creatures are worth the risks, she says. As a research scientist with the aquarium’s Right Whale Research Project, Knowlton studies one of the world’s most endangered large whale species. Fewer than 500 North Atlantic right whales survive in the coastal waters of North America. Human impact—in the form of vessel strikes and entanglements in fishing gear—accounts for about half of all right whale deaths. Knowlton recently returned from two months on the water in the Bay of Fundy, where each year in late summer her team monitors the right whale population as part of a decades-long study. She started on the project right out of college. Her graduate studies in marine policy at URI helped her to play a role in a successful effort to convince the federal government to place seasonal speed restrictions on ships in the whales’ habitats. Her current focus, the entanglement issue, reflects the enduring struggle between humans and the natural world: “I’m trying to help us coexist.” For more information about right whales and the Right Whale Research Project, go to neaq.org/conservation_and_research/projects/ project_pages/right_whale_research.php.
Jennifer Baker and shelter dog Hunter. For more information see northeastanimalshelter.org/.
Jennifer Baker ’08
Adoption Counselor The world needs more people like Jennifer Baker. Despite the fact that she’s working a full-time job as a property coordinator while simultaneously studying for her master’s degree in nursing from Regis College, she also finds time to be an adoption counselor at the Northeast Animal Shelter. After earning her degree in psychology in 2008, Baker decided to use some of her free time volunteering. She chose the Northeast Animal Shelter, in Salem, Mass., New England’s largest no kill shelter. She started with a couple of hours a week, but it quickly grew into more. “So many people volunteer just to play with animals,” she said. “But I wanted to work. I cleaned cages and walked dogs.” Shelter managers soon asked her to become a part-time adoption counselor. Her psychology degree proved an asset in helping clients pick the dog that’s right for them. All adoptions start with a pre-screen application process, and then the counselor must take many different factors into consideration including the adoptee’s working hours and family conditions such as the presence of young children in the household. “These are rescue dogs so it’s important to make a good placement,” Baker explained. “Sometimes I have to put my conflict resolution skills to work. People will fall in love with a particular animal and don’t always understand that they won’t be able to take that same animal home.” Her love of animals had led Baker to consider becoming a veterinarian: “I was interested in vet school but got discouraged because there are a lot of prerequisites, not a lot of schools to choose from, and really not that many jobs. And I’m very sensitive and didn’t think I would ever be able to help euthanize a dog.” Luckily that is something that never happens at the Northeast Animal Shelter. As the recent recipient of a rescue dog, I can attest that the work Baker is doing is life changing for both dog and owner. —Jennifer Gaul ’89
Marjorie Johnson ’10
Pardon her French
When we speak in our native tongue, we have mannerisms that indicate our gender. Marjorie Johnson ’10 wants to know if those tendencies carry over when individuals learn a second language. Johnson headed to Paris, France, in October to research the topic, thanks to the Walter J. Jensen Fellowship for French Studies. The double major in French and philosophy won the fellowship from the Phi Beta Kappa Society last spring. It’s designed to help educators and researchers improve education in standard French language, literature, and culture and in the study of standard French in the United States. As the country’s lone recipient, Johnson earned a $14,000 stipend that will allow her to pursue her master’s degree at École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (the School for Advanced Study in Social Sciences). “I love the French academic system, because it puts a lot of the planning on the students,” Johnson said. “Students’ success in France is a function of their own motivation and effort.” Johnson’s research thesis is “Des Américains bilingues en France: la transformation de la parole sexualisée,” (“Bilingual Americans in France: The Transformation of Gendered Speech).” Johnson’s parents speak French. Her father, Galen Johnson, is a professor of philosophy at URI and the director of the University’s Center for the Humanities. Her mother, Becky, is a French and Spanish teacher at South Kingstown High School as well as an accomplished violinist. Marjorie Johnson plays the piano and upright bass and is an awardwinning poet. “All of us speak in a way that reflects our gender,” said Johnson, who taught several sections of French at URI last year. “I am fascinated to explore why that is. Is it something that carries over when we learn a second language? Is it a product of how we are raised? I want to know how much of our speaking patterns are determined by the social expectations that surround us.” —Shane Donaldson ’99
—Mark Sullivan UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 37
Returning the Favor
For more information about Career Services for URI alumni, please contact:
Karen Rubano Alumni Career Services 228 Roosevelt Hall 90 Lower College Road Kingston, RI 02881 p. 401.874.9404 f. 401.874.5525 e. krubano@uri.edu w. advance.uri.edu/alumni/careerservices/advisor.htm Karen Rubano
Marie Geary Alumni Career Services 228 Roosevelt Hall 90 Lower College Road Kingston, RI 02881 p. 401.874.9404 f. 401.874.5525 e. mrgeary@uri.edu w. advance.uri.edu/alumni/careerservices/advisor.htm Marie Geary
38 QUAD ANGLES WINTER 2011–2012 | URI.EDU/QUADANGLES
If we are lucky, many of us have been helped by mentors in the course of our careers. In Career Services, we refer to the URI Career Mentor Network as an opportunity for alumni to “Return the Favor.” The Alumni Association and Office of Career Services are committed to encouraging connections between alumni and students—and between fellow URI alumni. Alumni job seekers and career changers, in addition to recent grads, can benefit from their participation in the Network. The URI Career Mentor Network offers alumni the opportunity to share their career knowledge. The Network is hosted by URI Career Services through RHODYNET, an Internet-based program providing information about Career Services events, job listings, and mentoring information. Within RHODYNET, you can create a mentor profile that allows URI students and alumni to contact you with career-related questions. If you are already a mentor and have not recently reviewed your registration form, please go in to RHODYNET to confirm the accuracy of your information. Alumni seeking information about careers, companies, industries, or the employment outlook in different geographic areas will find the URI Career Mentor Network an excellent resource. Mentors look forward to answering questions and sharing their experiences. However the Network is not designed to assist in resume referral or in obtaining job interviews. Visit us online at career.uri.edu/alumni_mentor.shtml for more about the Network.
Alumni are invited to the following events: Summer and Internship Job Fair March 7, 2012, 11a.m.–2 p.m., Memorial Union Spring Career and Job Fair April 4, 2012, 11a.m.–3 p.m., Ryan Center On-campus Interviews February –April 2012 In the works: Green Career Day, spring 2012. Watch for more information! Check your RHODYNET account for details about Career Services events for alumni. For more information, go to career.uri.edu/alumni.shtml or call Career Services at 401.874.9404.
Raymond Michaelis ‘80 of Farmington, Conn., on July 28, 2011.
Gary Mathias ‘86 of Portsmouth, R.I., on November 2, 2011.
Annette Celani Pesaturo ‘83 of Lincoln, R.I., on September 3, 2011.
Judith Lubiner ‘89 of East Greenwich, R.I., on September 3, 2011.
Stuart Stringer ‘83 of New York, N.Y., on May 27, 2011.
Darrell Hazard ‘91 of Accokeek, Md., on August 31, 2011.
Keith Davey ‘85 of West Warwick, R.I., on September 8, 2011.
Bruce Tuthill ‘97 of Riverside, R.I., on March 15, 2010.
John Wills ‘85 of Wakefield, R.I., on September 25, 2011.
Debra Martineau ‘98 of Cranston, R.I., on October 16, 2011.
CLASSnote
READ & WRITE CLASS NOTES ONLINE!
note to: your life. Send your class Let us know what’s new in i Center, mni Association, Alumn Class Acts Editor, URI Alu Kingston, RI 02881-20011 73 Upper College Road, u : classacts@advance.uri.ed Fax: 401.874.5957, Email
line at: Enter your class note on services/classnotes www.advance.uri.edu/e
___ Class ______
_____________________
Name_________________
_____________
_____________________
Address________________
___ Zip _______
_____________ State ___
City ___________________
______________
_____________________
Email Address _________
s
n Check here if new addres
_____________ _____________________ Class note ______________ ______________ _____________________ _____________________ ______________ _____________________ _____________________ ______________ _____________________ _____________________ ______________ _____________________ _____________________ ______________ _____________________ _____________________ ______________ _____________________ _____________________ ______________ _____________________ _____________________ ______________ _____________________ _____________________
In Memoriam Faculty Robert E. “Dr. Bob” Gough ’70, M.S. ’73, Ph.D. ’77, aged 62, professor of horticulture at URI from 1977 through 1988, died on September 14, 2011, at his home in Bozeman, Mont., after a long, valiant battle with cancer. At URI he served as Cooperative Extension specialist of fruit and vegetables for Rhode Island and was the regional Cooperative Extension specialist for highbush blueberries for New England. He loved to write and published over 500 Cooperative Extension bulletins and pamphlets, more than 40 refereed scientific journal articles, and more than 17 horticulture books, the last five of which were coauthored with his wife, Cheryl. His treatise on General Isaac Peace Rodman, which he completed just before his death, is shelved at the Rhode Island Historical Society as well as at the URI library. He was named Fellow of the American Society for Horticultural Science and NACTA Teaching Fellow. He retired in 2009 as associate dean for academic programs in the College of Agriculture, Montana State University. He is survived by his wife, Cheryl Moore-Gough; son Jonathan; daughter Amy; stepsons Andrew Smith and Robert Smith; and stepdaughters Kristin Petersen and Erin Hopkins; and four grandchildren. Earl F. Patric, aged 83, associate dean of the College of Resource Development from 1969 through 1993 and professor emeritus of natural resources science, of Lower Beverly Lake, Ontario, Canada, died on September 10, 2011, in New Hampshire. He was also the former associate director of the Rhode Island Agricultural Experiment Station. He served on numerous regional and national science research and policy planning panels. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. in wildlife biology from the College of Forestry at Syracuse University. He began his career as a field scientist and served as director of the 15,000-acre Huntington Wildlife Forest Biology Research Station from 1952 to 1967. He and his wife, Jeanne, sailed the coastal waters of New England in boats that they either built or repaired. Beside his wife, he is survived by four daughters,
Elizabeth ’75, Kathy, Vicki, and Chris; a son, Will ’79; and eight grandchildren. Memorial donations may be made to the Lower Beverly Lake Association, Box 204, Delta, Ontario, Canada KOE 1GO. Mildred E. Perry, 78, of Kingston, R.I., on October 30, 2011. She will forever be remembered as a staff member at URI. Margaret Irene Scott ’44, age 89, of North Kingstown, R.I. died on October 11 at South County Hospital in Wakefield, R.I. In 1953, she began a 29-year career at URI, serving as admissions counselor and assistant to the dean of students until 1961, when she was appointed assistant dean of students. Beginning in 1973, she coordinated student leaders in the University’s Freshman Orientation Workshop Program, eventually being named assistant dean for student development. She retired in 1982. She served as president of both the Guidance and Personnel Association of Rhode Island and the Rhode Island Association of Women Deans and Counselors. She was a member of the American Personnel and Guidance Association, American College Personnel Association, National Association of Women Deans and Counselors, American Association of University Women, Rhode Island Teachers’ Institute, URI Alumni Association, and the Business and Professional Women’s Club. She is survived by a niece, eight nephews, a grand-nephew, and four grand-nieces. Memorial donations may be made to the URI Foundation, 79 Upper College Road, Kingston, RI 02881 or to Catholic Charities, P.O. Box 17066, Baltimore, MD 212971066.
Classifieds Campus Centered Living Eldred Farm: Energy Star insulated homes, walking distance to URI. Town water & sewer, natural gas heat, underground utilities. Many home styles, options, and lots available starting at $379,000. Adjacent to URI, www.eldredfarm.com. Paul Schurman 401.742.7007.
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 39
BACKPAGE Getting Ripped with Tony Horton Tony Horton, a fitness guru and creator of the world-famous P90X workout program, conducted a community workout in Keaney Gymnasium on September 19. Horton, who attended URI from 1976 through the spring of 1980, has established himself as one of the top fitness experts in the world, thanks to his work with Beachbody, the parent company for P90X. The success of the brand, which has made hundreds of millions of dollars, led to Horton working with U.S. Congress and military branches on specialized fitness programs. In early 2011, Horton released Bring It!, a fitness book that took him on a nationwide promotional tour. Horton, who studied theater and communications at URI, took a weight lifting course here: “I never forgot the way the course was taught, and it’s why with the P90X I show each exercise with three different methods, at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels,” Horton said.
Photo gallery uri.edu/quadangles
40 QUAD ANGLES Winter 2011–12 | uri.edu/quadangles
Photos JOE GIBLIN, Randy Stevenson
Leave your footprint on the Quad
Nora Lewis
The URI Century Walk Order a brick or two today! Alumni Association
advance.uri.edu/alumni/centurywalk
Alumni Center 73 Upper College Road Kingston, RI 02881 USA
Nonprofit Org US Postage Paid Permit No. 937 East Greenville, PA
Alumni Association
URI Alumni Association
Big Chill Weekend 2012 February 10–12
Savor the Spirit! It’s all about scholarships.
Honorary Chair Laureen L. White ’81 President, Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce
Newport • Providence • South County
uri.edu/bigchill