Foundations Fall 2010

Foundations ROBERT

MORRIS

UNIVERSITY

MAGAZINE

>

FALL

2010

The Big Ticket ANDY TOOLE TAKES THE COACH’S REINS COURTSIDE

KEN GARGARO TAKES COLONIAL THEATRE ON THE ROAD

p. 32

p. 22

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

Actuarial Science Risky Business p. 16

FALL/ 10

Foundations

DEPARTMENTS DDEEAARR AAL LUUMMNNI I AANNDD F FRRI IEENNDDSS, ,

I Ilove loveuniversity universitytraditions traditions— —the therituals, rituals,the theevents, events,the thestories storiesthat thatcarry carryon onfrom fromyear yeartoto year and bind together each generation of students.

Those traditions, which engender year and bind together each generation of students. Those traditions, which engendersuch suchdevotion devotion to toour ouralma almamater, mater,make makeususfeel feela apart partofofsomething somethingbigger biggerthan thanourselves. ourselves.

But Butas asmuch muchwe welove loveour ourtraditions, traditions,they theycarry carryaarisk. risk.Held Heldtoo tootightly, tightly,they theyrender renderus usslow slowtotoadapt adapttoto changing circumstances.

Sometimes colleges and universities allow tradition to shackle them to changing circumstances. Sometimes colleges and universities allow tradition to shackle them to outdated outdated that nomatch longer match the institution’s need and courage and wisdom towhen practicespractices that no longer the institution’s mission. mission.

We needWe courage wisdom to discern discern when it is time to hold on and when it is time to let go. it is time to hold on and when it is time to let go.

That’s That’sthe thechoice choiceRMU RMUconfronted confrontedwhen whenwe wedecided decidedtotoput putthe thePittsburgh PittsburghCenter, Center,the thebuilding building we we have owned at 600 Fifth Ave. in downtown Pittsburgh since 1959, up for sale.

While have owned at 600 Fifth Ave. in downtown Pittsburgh since 1959, up for sale. While thethe university university on to the purchase Oliver Kaufmann estate became — whichthe became Moon—campus — went on towent purchase Oliverthe Kaufmann estate — which Moon the campus three years three years later, Pittsburgh remained a focal point of the school for many more years.

Downtown later, Pittsburgh remained a focal point of the school for many more years. Downtown Pittsburgh had Pittsburgh had been the institutions since founding in 1921, andof I know many of you been the institutions home since its home founding inits 1921, and I know many you completed your degree at completed your degree at the downtown campus. the downtown campus.

Now NowRMU’s RMU’scenter centerofofgravity gravityhas hasshifted shiftedtotothe theMoon Mooncampus. campus.That Thatprocess processaccelerated acceleratedduring duringthe themost most recent recent decade, but the change has been ongoing for three decades; enrollment at the downtown campus has decade, but the change has been ongoing for three decades; enrollment at the downtown campus has declined declined steadily since the early 1980s.

As a result, in 2001 RMU stopped offering most undergraduate steadily since the early 1980s. As a result, in 2001 RMU stopped offering most undergraduate programs at the programs the Pittsburgh Center.

Today we 30 usepercent only about 30 building. percent of that building.

PittsburghatCenter.

Today we use only about of that Meanwhile, Meanwhile,we weare areexperiencing experiencingtremendous tremendousgrowth growthininMoon.

Moon.As AsI Iwrite writethis, this,we wemake makeplans plansfor for approximately 900 new freshmen this fall — breaking last year’s record of 720.

An astounding approximately 900 new freshmen this fall — breaking last year’s record of 720. An astounding1,500 1,500 students students aretoasking tocampus live on campus about more weincan in our residence have space are asking live on — about— 200 more200 than we than can fit ourfitresidence halls. Wehalls. haveWe reserved reserved space for students in local hotels, and for the fall of 2011 we plan to build a new apartment-style for students in local hotels, and for the fall of 2011 we plan to build a new apartment-style residence hall to residence hall to192 accommodate accommodate students. 190 students.

The Theresources resourcesnecessary necessarytotomaintain maintainthe thePittsburgh PittsburghCenter Centerare aremuch muchbetter betterspent spentenhancing enhancingthe theMoon Moon campus. campus.

Of course, we will keep our connection to the city.

We plan to lease space at satellite in Of course, we will keep our connection to the city. We plan to lease space at satellite locationslocations in downtown downtown Pittsburgh and the southern and eastern suburbs.

Those decisions will be market-driven, based Pittsburgh and the southern and eastern suburbs. Those decisions will be market-driven, based on the needs of on needs and nontraditional students who will be served at those locations. thethe graduate of the graduate and nontraditional students who will be served at those locations.

At Moon, we plan to use the proceeds that will be generated by the Pittsburgh Center to build a facility for our At Moon, weprograms, plan to use the proceeds willthe bedowntown generated by the Pittsburgh to build facilityarts for media arts which currentlythat utilize building.

AlreadyCenter we have a newamedia our media arts programs, which currently utilize the downtown building.

Already we have a new media house on campus, which you can read about on page 20. arts house on campus, which you can read about on page 20.

We also plan to strengthen our commitment to nontraditional students with eight new wholly online degree We also planboth to strengthen our undergraduate, commitment to which nontraditional students with eight new wholly online degree programs, graduate and will allow working adults greater flexibility to earn their programs, both graduate and undergraduate, which will allow working adults greater flexibility to earn degree while balancing the demands of job and family. We have a long tradition of serving students like these, their balancing the demands of jobhow and they family.

Wetheir havedegree, a longRobert tradition of serving and degree it is onewhile we intend to continue.

No matter earn Morris will bestudents their alma like these, and it is one we intend to continue.

No matter how they earn their degree, Robert Morris will be mater nonetheless. Just like it will always be yours. their alma mater nonetheless. Just like it will always be yours.

Sincerely, Sincerely,

G R E G O R Y G . D E L L’ O M O , P H . D .

G R E G O R Y G . D E L L’ O M O , P H . D .

PRESIDENT PRESIDENT

FALL SPORTS PREVIEW

02 < CAMPUS REPORT

> 26 CLASS NOTES 33 < UPCOMING EVENTS

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CREDITS EDITOR Mark Houser CONTRIBUTORS Valentine J. Brkich, Robert Isenberg Johnathan Potts, Bonnie Pfister

The House that Robert Built . .12 Before the White House, George Washington lived in Robert Morris's Philadelphia mansion. A museum opening this fall also will focus on the slaves who lived there.

ART DIRECTOR/DESIGNER Amy Joy PHOTOGRAPHY/ILLUSTRATIONS Front Cover: Michael Williams ‘08 Donor Report Cover: Terry Clark Other Photos: American Antiquarian Society, iStockphoto, Joe Appel, Valentine J. Brkich, Glenn Brooks, Jason Cohen, Kevin Cooke, Ferris Crane, Art Dickenson, Aubrey Divito ‘08, Edward Fox Photography, Mitch Kramer ‘08, Paul Lorie, Shelley Lipton, Michael Williams ‘08

Risky Business . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Low stress, high pay – some say actuaries have the best job of all. As a recognized Center of Actuarial Excellence, RMU has one of the best degree programs in America.

PRINTING RR Donnelley Hoechstetter Plant

Giving the Gift of Opportunity . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

FOUNDATIONS ONLINE Douglas A. Derda

Mark Mishler '82 rose from modest origins to become a corporate president and CEO. Thanks to two new scholarships named after his parents, more students can follow in his footsteps.

Foundations (ISSN 1934-5690) is published three times a year by the Office of Public Relations and Marketing in conjunction with the Office of Institutional Advancement and mailed free of charge to alumni, donors, trustees, faculty, staff and friends of Robert Morris University. The opinions expressed in the magazine do not necessarily reflect the official policies of Robert Morris University.

Contributions to Class Notes and address changes may be sent to: Office of Alumni Relations Robert Morris University 6001 University Boulevard Moon Township, PA 15108-1189 Phone: (412) 397-2586 Fax: (412) 397-2142 E-mail: rmualum@rmu.edu It is the policy of Robert Morris University to provide equal opportunity in all educational programs and activities, admission of students and conditions of employment for all qualified individuals regardless of race, color, sex, religion, age, disability, national origin and/or sexual preference.

Design Gets its Due . . . . . . . . 20 The new Snee-Reinhardt Charitable Foundation House for Media Arts brings the campus a singular space for design work and display, and an apartment for visiting artists.

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> A Promise Made, A Promise Kept Thanks to a $600,000 state grant, RMU has opened the Veterans Education and Training Service Center, which provides enrollment and academic advising as well as other transition services to students who are military veterans. The VETS Center is located in the newly renovated Jefferson Center.

Last year, RMU became one of the first private universities in the nation to announce that service members who qualify for educational benefits under the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill would be able to earn their degree free of charge at the university. Approximately 175 veterans have enrolled at RMU under the G.I. Bill.

“Not only did we promise to enroll veterans, but we pledged to provide them with the support and services they need to transition to campus life and, in many cases, to their post-military careers. With the dedication of the Veterans Education and Training Service Center, we make good on that pledge,” said RMU President Greg Dell’Omo, Ph.D. The state grant came to RMU thanks to the efforts of Pennsylvania Lt. Gov Joe Scarnati, state Sen. John Pippy, and state Rep. Mark Mustio.

Pippy and Mustio spoke at the opening of the VETS Center in June.

"There are over 400,000 veterans in Western Pennsylvania, most of them returning from active duty," Pippy said. "Thousands of young men and women are coming home to benefits as a result of the G.I. Bill. This will provide the opportunity for them to further their degrees."

> And the Winner Is Three RMU-TV television shows were recently honored by the 31st Annual Telly Awards.

“Colonial SportsCenter,” a sports highlight show produced by students Josh Elsass, Ed Albert, and Chris Baginski; “RMU-Live,” a campus newscast produced by Baginski and Albert; and “Campus Stories,” an in-depth interview talk show produced by Clark Cairns ‘10, each received a Bronze People’s Telly Award. The Telly Awards honor outstanding local, regional, and cable TV commercials and programs; the finest video and film productions; and Web commercials, videos, and films.

2 • R M U . E D U / F O U N D AT I O N S

> BAG DESIGN

BY ALYSSA KOBYLSKI

> Yeah, We Do Art Too Fifteen students in the media arts program were honored for their submissions to the Graphic Arts Association’s annual "Neographics – The Power of Print Communications" contest. The winners, who competed against others in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey, were all students in RMU’s Introduction to Graphic Design and Graphic Design Studio II classes taught by Ferris Crane, M.F.A., associate professor.

Alyssa Kobylski and Neil Shaffer won Best of Category: Student. Justin Lotz, Tyler Donovan, Andrew Mortimer, Beau Pappaterra, Jocelyn Wilson, Adam Lombardi, Debra Ostrander, Kari Crusan, Cassie Weinzierl, Ashley Slifko, Nicol Sabol, Anthony McElhinney, and Jeanine Sandora received Franklin Awards of Excellence.

> Extra! Extra!

A team of three RMU students won the Pittsburgh region’s first foundation-sponsored journalism competition. The contest was funded and coordinated by The Heinz Endowments as part of its sponsorship of the annual Women’s Health & the Environment Conference. The conference had more than 2,000 attendees in March at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

> SEE THIS MAGAZINE AND EXTRA FEATURES AT WWW.RMU.EDU/FOUNDATIONS

CAMPUS REPORT

> RMU Students Nab Engineering Scholarships...

Again Manufacturing engineering students Brendan Mathers, a junior, and Nikki Rodgers, a senior, have received scholarships from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers Education Foundation. Mathers received a $2,500 scholarship and Rodgers received $2,000.

Since 2007, six RMU students have received scholarships from this nationally competitive program, and some, including Mathers, have received more than one.

In addition, Chris Chavez, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering, has received a 2-year, $10,000 scholarship from the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering.

In the contest, three-person teams from six local universities each had to produce a range of media reports, including a written news story, a two-minute video report, and digital photography. Communication majors Aimee Morgan, Maria Satira, and Kevin Williams were each awarded an Apple iPad, the first-place prize.

“The judges noted in particular the students' news sense as the lone group that found a great human interest story from a cancer survivor, and the fact that they located—and took a picture of —a cancer support center she referenced in her interview,” said Andrea Frantz, Ph.D., associate professor of communication.

recycle this magazine Give it to a neighbor who’s in high school and help spread the word about RMU.

R O B E R T M O R R I S U N I V E R S I T Y F O U N D AT I O N S • 3

RMU's chapter of the American Marketing Association was recognized as one of the Most Outstanding Collegiate Chapters for the 2009-10 academic year at the AMA’s 32nd Annual International Collegiate Conference this spring in New Orleans.

The AMA, which supports the practice, teaching, and study of marketing worldwide, presented RMU’s chapter with awards for Outstanding Small School, Outstanding Chapter Planning, Outstanding Professional Development, and Outstanding Community Service. Together, these honors enabled RMU to be recognized as one of the Most Outstanding Small School Chapters and put it on the AMA’s list of Top 20 Collegiate Chapters.

“The recognitions achieved at the conference demonstrate the outstanding leadership qualities of our students,” said Jill Maher, Ph.D., professor of marketing and advisor to RMU’s AMA chapter.

“They are a perfect representation of the caliber of students here in the School of Business at RMU.”

> By the Book The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education has extended the accreditation for RMU's nursing degree programs.

Accreditation for the bachelor's and master's nursing programs was extended until 2020, and the accreditation for the doctor of nursing practice program was extended until 2015.

Each program met all the commission's accreditation standards.

4 • R M U . E D U / F O U N D AT I O N S

> FOLLOW US ON TWITTER #RMUNEWS FOR THE MOST UP-TO-DATE NEWS

> It Doesn’t Get Any Better than “Best”

> There He Goes Again Lee Folk, who graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in nursing, won this year's Presidential Transformational Award, the university’s highest undergraduate honor.

The award is given annually to a graduating student who has been transformed by his or her experience at RMU and has also contributed to the transformation of the university in a meaningful way. Folk traveled twice to Nicaragua with the nursing program, and his stunning photography and stirring dispatches from that nation brought to life RMU's work to improve the lives of poor families there.

> Sing It Proud Robert Morris University has a new melody for its alma mater, and we bet you know the tune.

Penned in 1857 as "Annie Lisle," the melody of RMU's new song was first adopted by Cornell University students as “Far Above Cayuga's Waters.”

It's now sung at many universities, including Syracuse, Vanderbilt, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Kansas, Missouri, and Indiana.

> Global Perspective

“Our goal was to create an alma mater that everyone could sing,” said RMU band director Elizabeth Heath Charles, who also updated the lyrics

by Joellen Sharp. “School spirit is at an all-time high, and I look forward to future university ceremonies where everyone will be singing ‘Hail to Thee, Dear Robert Morris.’”

Over the summer His Excellency Le Cong Phung, ambassador to the United States from

VIDEO CONTEST>> Go to Foundations Online to hear the new RMU alma mater. Then create your own and send a link to foundations@rmu.edu. It can be a mashup remix, or you performing it, solo or with your friends.

Prizes and fame await the best entries!

> A Thank You Note

> Engineering Solutions

After watching their daughter, Brianne McLaughlin, compete in the Winter Olympics, the nursing major’s parents got another big surprise. A fundraiser organized by Clearview Federal Credit Union sent them a check for $3,330 to help defray their travel costs.

Engineering students in a manufacturing operations course collaborated with Microsonic Inc., one of the country’s leading manufacturers of custom ear molds for hearing aids, on a project to reduce the company's production time and save money. The students developed a prototype design for a 50-tine tubing carousel to simplify and accelerate the production of the ear mold tubes.

Students also advised Microsonic on other modifications to its production and packaging processes, greatly reducing the company's production time.

Vietnam, paid a visit to RMU to discuss educational opportunities and partnerships for Pittsburgh-area universities and Vietnamese colleges and universities.

Phung met with several RMU Many RMU faculty, staff, students, and friends donated to Clearview’s McLaughlin travel fund. In a note to the university, Brianne’s mom, Susan, wrote: "Thank you for always supporting Brianne and being her biggest fans. She has been in good hands since she made the decision five years ago to become a Colonial.”

leaders including Provost David Jamison, J.D.; Ida Mansourian, executive director of international programs; and Jay Carson, vice president for institutional advancement. Also in attendance at the July meeting were other Vietnamese officials as well as representatives from

> > ARE YOU A FRIEND OF ROBERT? Name: Robert Morris Email: foundations@rmu.edu

the University of Pittsburgh, Washington & Jefferson College, and the Community College of Allegheny County. The visit was coordinated by the organization GlobalPittsburgh.

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> For Service

Above & Beyond “LEONARD’S PHOTOGRAPHS HAVE

RMU Provost David Jamison, J.D., was one of only 25 chief academic officers nationwide selected to participate in a seminar on "Leadership for the 21st Century for Chief Academic Officers” in July in Annapolis, Md. This highly competitive leadership development program is offered by the Council of Independent Colleges, a national association of more than 600 independent liberal arts colleges and universities, and the American Academic Leadership Institute, which provides leadership identification and development programs for higher education.

> Milwaukee’s Best (Book) The Milwaukee County Historical Society named a book by John McCarthy, Ph.D., assistant professor of history, the best book-length contribution to Milwaukee historiography in 2009. McCarthy’s Making Milwaukee Mightier: Planning and the Politics of Growth, 1910-1960 was published by Northern Illinois University Press.

> Under New Management Len Asimow, Ph.D., professor of mathematics and actuarial science, has been named head of the department of mathematics.

RMU has named Maria V. Kalevitch, Ph.D., the dean of its School of Engineering, Mathematics and Science. Kalevitch has been the interim dean of the school since last year, when she replaced Winston Erevelles.

Kalevitch, a professor of science, has been on the RMU faculty since 2002. > KALEVITCH

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> SEE THIS MAGAZINE AND EXTRA FEATURES AT WWW.RMU.EDU/FOUNDATIONS

> Leading the Way

Heather Pinson, Ph.D., a assistant professor of communication, has written her first book, The Jazz Image: Seeing Music through Herman Leonard's Photography.

Leonard, 86, took some of the most iconic photos of jazz's golden age during the 1940s and 1950s, and has been a photographer of celebrities ranging from Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando to Bono and Bill Clinton.

Pinson writes that Leonard’s photographs of jazz legends such as Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis are so ingrained in our consciousness that those pictures are what we think about when we think about jazz. She describes Leonard as a groundbreaking photographer who humanized his subjects at a time when they were struggling offstage for equality and civil liberty.

“Leonard’s photographs have become as necessary in the definition of jazz as the music itself,” writes Pinson.

The Jazz Image was published the University Press of Mississippi.

Pinson knows a thing or two about music. After training as a classical violinist at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala., she studied jazz and music history at Louisiana State University. She earned a doctorate in interdisciplinary arts at Ohio University.

> Simply Outstanding The Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Society for Materials honored Priya Manohar, Ph.D., a assistant professor of engineering, as an Outstanding Member for 2009-10. The award recognizes exceptional service over and above the normal expected participation and assistance to the chapter.

Andrea Frantz, Ph.D., associate professor of communication, has been named head of the department of communication.

Robert Skovira, Ph.D., university professor of computer and information systems, has been named head of the department of computer and information systems.

BECOME AS NECESSARY IN THE DEFINITION OF JAZZ AS THE MUSIC ITSELF.”

> Portrait of the Artist

At this year’s graduate commencement ceremony, RMU recognized the service of two long-time professors who retired and joined the ranks of the university’s emeritus faculty.

Jon A. Shank, Ed.D., professor of education, retired after 44 years of service to RMU. He served as chair of the secretarial and office administration departments from 1971 to 1977, acting dean of business programs in 1977, dean of the former School of Communication Arts and Sciences from 1977 to 1991, then dean of the former School of Applied Sciences and Education from 1991 to 1998. Shank earned his Ed.D. and M.Ed. from the University of Pittsburgh and his B.S. from the University of Cincinnati, all in business education.

Seth Finn, Ph.D., professor of communication, retired after 15 years at RMU. Known for constantly refining and extending his course syllabi, he converted one into a textbook, Broadcast Writing as a Liberal Art. As Faculty Federation executive vice president from 2001 to 2005 and president from 2006 to 2009, Finn was instrumental in negotiating two bargaining agreements on behalf of his colleagues while maintaining a constructive and open dialogue with the president and provost.

Finn earned his Ph.D. in communication theory and research and M.A. in broadcasting and film from Stanford University, and his B.A. magna cum laude from Brown University.

> Like a Good Neighbor Ann Jabro, Ph.D., university professor of communication, received a Communitas Award from the Association of Marketing and Communications Professionals for excellence in community service. Jabro was nominated for the award by the Rev. Sam Jampetro, director of the Coraopolis Community Development Corporation. Jabro has taught undergraduate and graduate courses centering on community renewal, civic marketing and emergency communications in Coraopolis.

R O B E R T M O R R I S U N I V E R S I T Y F O U N D AT I O N S • 7

THE

BIGG AME

COLONIAL STARS

BASKETBALL

FOOTBALL

New coach Andy Toole’s two-time NEC champs, with dazzling guard Karon Abraham, will be facing some hungry opponents this year, especially Mount St. Mary’s and Quinnipiac. The Colonials have their sights set high, after almost knocking off Villanova in overtime in the first round of March Madness.

Robert Morris closed out the 2009 season with a five-game winning streak. Can they keep improving under legendary coach Joe Walton? In the balance for the first time: a chance for an automatic NCAA FCS playoff bid.

SOCCER DOUBLE HE ADE

THE BIG GAME: NOV. 19 VS. DUQUESNE

THE BIG GAME: OCT. 30 VS. DUQUESNE

R

An early crosstown rivalry matchup that could set the tone for the Colonials’ season. RMU will look to snap a three‐game losing streak against the Dukes after Abraham almost catapulted Robert Morris to a come‐from‐behind win last season.

This looks to be a showdown between two explosive running backs. Myles Russ eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing for the second straight season in 2009, while the Dukes’ Larry McCoy rushed for eight touchdowns.

WOMEN VS. SAINT FRANCIS (PA) SUN., SEPT. 26 , NOON MEN VS. CANISIUS SUN., SEPT. 26 , 2:30 P.M.

ALEX DIMICHELE 109 tackles

SWISH

ROWING HEAD OF THE OHIO REGATTA SAT., OCT. 9, ALL DAY AT THE POINT

DEE-FENSE

The Colonials had the NEC’s stingiest defense in average yards allowed per game.

RMU HOCKEY SHOWCASE SUN., OCT. 17 CONSOL ENERGY CENTER

VS. LONG ISLAND

SAT., OCT. 23 , 1 P.M.

FOOTBALL DUQUESNE SAT., OCT. 30, NOON

VS.

BASKETBALL MEN VS. DUQUESNE FRI., NOV. 19, 7 P.M. 8

The Colonials had the highest of shooting accuracy against NEC opponents.

YPG

276.3

HOCKEY

VOLLEYBALL

46.3

%

> RUSS

2. BRYANT 3. C. CONN. STATE LEAGUE AVERAGE

WOMEN’S SOCCER Robert Morris tied a single-season school record for victories in 2009 and will climb the ladder in the Northeast Conference.

Goalie Jessica Olin is back after setting a school record with seven shutouts her freshman season.

THE BIG GAME: SEPT. 26 DOUBLEHEADER Miss the World Cup already? Bring your enthusiasm to this doubleheader on soccer alumni weekend.

> ABRAHAM

2. FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 44.8 3. QUINNIPIAC 44.5 LEAGUE AVERAGE 42.6

287.4 298.1 330.3

MEN’S SOCCER RMU wants to improve on its middle-of-the-pack standing last year. Senior midfielder Neil Shaffer leads a young group looking to get back into championship contention. > OLIN Free cookout between games.

First 50 fans get a Colonials soccer scarf.

VOLLEYBALL The Colonials are one of the league’s strongest teams, with All-NEC First Teamer Amanda Graham back for another run. But can new coach Dale Starr get them past six-time champs Long Island?

> JOIN THE NEW ATHLETIC BOOSTERS – CALL (412) 397-4484

We pick some of the big games this season. And we give you the inside skinny.

So while you’re cheering for the Colonials, you also can show off your sports smarts to your friends and family in the stands. Make an afternoon of it!

MYLES RUSS 5.0 yds./carry

KARON ABRAHAM 13.6 ppg GARY WALLACE 38.6% for 3-pointers

AYANA DAVIS 9 goals, 9 assists JESSICA OLIN .795 save % TOBA BOLAJI 0.91 goals against avg NEIL SHAFFER 20 shots on goal, 7 points

ALYSSA BENNET 8.57 assists/set CORINNE MOSER 3.39 digs/game STATS, SCHEDULES AND MORE AT RMUCOLONIALS.COM.

ROWING > GRAHAM

THE BIG GAME: OCT. 23 VS. LONG ISLAND Robert Morris and Long Island have combined for the last 11 NEC Tournament titles, and the Colonials will look to secure home‐court advantage in the 2010 NEC Tournament in an effort to dethrone the defending champions.

THE BIG GAME: OCT. 9 HEAD OF THE OHIO REGATTA The Head of the Ohio draws hundreds to the Point each autumn. Before the chill sets in, make a weekend visit to the riverfront and cheer on the Colonials. With six returning seniors, they’re a strong contender for gold in both the 4+ and 8+ open events.

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> VISIT FOUNDATIONS ONLINE TO SEE

For a petite woman, business major Sereen Askari packs a frightening punch—and her reverse roundhouse kick is pretty special too.

The sophomore from Moon Township is one of the most talented karate athletes in the country. The firstdegree black belt took first place in July at the national junior championships in Greenville, S.C., in the lightweight class (under 60 kg./132 lbs.) for females ages 18-20.

That earned Askari a place on the U.S. junior team for the Junior Pan-American Championships in Montreal in August.

It wasn’t the first international tournament for Askari, who hopes one day to compete in the Olympics.

If she does, she will have to wait until 2020; karate is recognized and sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee, but lost to golf and rugby in a close vote last year to decide what new sports to add in 2016.

HOW SEREEN DID AT THE PAN-AMERICAN JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS.

LICKING HER CHOPS

Askari has been competing since she was seven. She trains at the Pennsylvania Shotokan Karate Club, the Sewickley dojo of U.S. team coach Dustin Baldis, who studied sport management at RMU. Her mom is a Colonial too—Kelly Askari is majoring in organizational studies.

WRITTEN BY MARK HOUSER PHOTO BY SHELLEY LIPTON

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R O B E R T M O R R I S U N I V E R S I T Y F O U N D AT I O N S • 1 1

The ouse that Robert Built

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most unmercifully, both in the Public Prints, private conversations, and even in the streets; and yesterday I was nearly engaged in a serious quarrel with one of them,” he wrote. “However, I don’t mind all they can do, and if I carry the point, I will, like a good Christian, forgive them all.”

his fall, President Barack Obama is expected to dedicate the new President’s House memorial in Philadelphia, which was briefly the nation’s capital and home to President George Washington. The nation’s first president lived there in a house given to him by his friend, Robert Morris – a house where both men kept slaves.

That America’s first black president will dedicate a museum to this particular piece of U.S. history is an irony not lost on the project’s champions, who have been dogged by controversy in their 10-year effort to open a memorial to the old executive mansion. It’s the story of a nation that continues to come to terms with slavery. For RMU, it’s a reminder of our own part in helping America keep its promise of equal opportunity for all.

*****

He risked his fortune and his life to support the American Revolution. He offered his own ships to fight British frigates, and personally made sure the men who crossed the Delaware with Washington had food, blankets, and bonuses. He signed the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution.

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rmu.edu/foundations

He did carry the point. And in a gesture of magnanimity, Morris offered his own Market Street mansion to his old friend and frequent houseguest, George Washington. The president was delighted.

“It is, I believe, the best single house in the city,” wrote Washington.

Still, Robert Morris’s sterling record as a patriot was of little interest to New Yorkers in 1790. In Manhattan, the Financier of the Revolution was Public Enemy No. 1.

Why? As they saw it, Morris stole their capital. The wealthy merchant who became one of Pennsylvania’s first senators brokered a deal to move the new government out of New York City to Philadelphia. There it would remain for 10 years, until workers built a new federal seat on the Potomac.

Enraged New Yorkers savaged Morris. In one political cartoon, the devil uses prostitutes to lure him away to Philadelphia: “Come along Bobby, here’s the girls.” In another, Morris blindly steers the ship of state towards doom in the shoals as another devil calls, “This way, Bobby.” A third cartoon shows a thinly disguised moneygrubber calling himself “Robert Coffer,” clutching a bag of coins and tugging reluctant congressmen out of New York by their noses.

Morris lamented the vitriol in a letter to his wife that summer.

“They lay all the blame of this measure on me, and abuse me

*****

In 2000, crews excavating at Independence National Historical Park for an expansion of the Liberty Bell pavilion discovered the foundations of the old house, which had long ago been razed. But along with the old architectural remains, a new and uncomfortable truth was unearthed, one that has launched a ferocious debate about the purposes of history and memorial.

Scholars soon confirmed that also living in the mansion with Washington and the First Lady were nine slaves. What’s more, personal letters show the man who “could not tell a lie” actively conspired with a key aide to deceive his slaves, making sure they stayed unaware of Pennsylvania’s gradual abolition law, which freed any non-Pennsylvanian’s slave who

Robert Morris University Foundations

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lived within the commonwealth for more than six consecutive months. Washington went so far as to rotate his slaves periodically back to his Virginia estate at Mount Vernon to dodge the rule.

America’s first president was hardly the only Founding Father who benefited from human bondage. Chattel slavery was the law at the time; those who lived in the Philadelphia house before Washington also kept slaves, Morris included. But now, the ghosts of Washington’s slaves were at the threshold of the Liberty Bell, one of the nation’s most powerful symbols of freedom. Many found it hard to bear “that in the City of Brotherly Love, the center of the abolition movement of this period, in the home of the first president, that freedom and slavery should be joined at the hip,” says UCLA history professor Gary Nash, an expert on the colonial era.

A group of mostly black Philadelphians called the Avenging The Ancestors Coalition demanded that a new museum at the site be devoted not to the familiar story of Washington, but to that of his slaves, as well as the other Africans and their descendants who inhabited early Philadelphia, both slave and free. The National Park Service agreed, promising to give the coalition and other concerned citizens a say in how the site would be presented.

Slowly, the project has proceeded. Workers are almost finished with the new museum next to Independence Hall. The symbolic partial reconstruction follows the footprint of the old house, and will document with text and video reenactments the lives of Washington’s slaves.

Doris Devine Fanelli, chief of cultural resources management for the National Park Service, has worked at the Independence Hall complex for 31 years. To her, the often tempestuous President’s House project is an excellent example of civic engagement. “I have said that any museum, if they ever woke up and found hundreds of people on their doorstep demanding to come in, they’d be delighted,” she says.

Not everyone agrees. Rob Morris, a software designer from suburban Philadelphia and a distant descendant of the house’s former owner, is furious that his ancestor has been swept aside in the retelling. “Everybody knows George Washington’s story, and there isn’t a kid in America who hasn’t heard about slavery,” he says. “But this is the only place to tell Morris’s story, and what is Morris’s story? It is how free market capitalism saved the American Revolution.”

Charles Blockson, a local expert on early African American history who has donated an impressive collection of artifacts to Temple University, is equally furious. He vehemently opposes rebuilding what he calls a “house of bondage.” “There should be a memorial for those enslaved Africans. Just tell the story, and let it go.”

At the center of the public maelstrom is Rosalyn McPherson.

The city’s appointed manager for the President’s House project, McPherson brings what is probably the perfect resume to the job: She started out as a junior high school history teacher, then became a textbook editor, went on to Time Warner to develop a popular history series and later adapted the material for classrooms, then became senior vice president of the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia’s venerable science museum.

And as a black woman who remembers seeing segregated drinking fountains when her family visited relatives in Louisiana, McPherson admits the project has had “a deep personal effect on me.” She says she is eager to see busloads of visiting schoolchildren discover the stories of Hercules and Oney Judge, two presidential slaves who escaped to freedom during Washington’s term in office.

“Our history usually has portrayed African Americans in a passive role, with others doing the emancipating. This exhibit tells the story of the role we played in securing our own freedom,” McPherson says.

Nash, who is one of the project’s chief historians, said Americans should not fear the new museum will wrongly

sully Washington’s reputation or rob him of his rightful place in history.

several of his land speculation deals went bust. Washington eventually had to visit his former host in debtor’s prison.

“My take is that it’s only in a mature democracy that you can look history squarely in the face like this,” he says. “I don’t think we’re kicking Washington out of the pantheon or knocking him off his pedestal. We are saying he was human, he was a man of the age, that he had warts, figuratively speaking. But there’s still plenty of glory to be passed out to Washington, Jefferson, and the other slaveholding Founding Fathers. They accomplished a great deal.”

But even if he is generally unknown to the public, Morris is still recognized by historians as a quintessential figure in the republic’s formation. Morris occupies a prominent place in the most celebrated paintings of America’s founding, including the dome of the Capitol rotunda. His statue stands in Philadelphia at the Second Bank of America, a few blocks from his old house.

Fanelli says she is sure the President’s House will lead Americans to a better understanding of their history. During excavations, the park service set up public bleachers where day after day, people came to watch. “This is really exciting,” Fanelli explains. “They comment to each other, and pretty soon a dialog ensues between people who may have never known each other before. It’s very productive for harmony in our society.”

*****

Despite all the attention garnered by the rebuilding of the President’s House, the man who did the most to get it in Philadelphia in the first place seems destined to linger in relative obscurity. Many people no doubt know Robert Morris’s name best through RMU, which has no real connection to Morris; Richard Khuen, president of the university when it was known as the Pittsburgh School of Accountancy, selected Morris’ name in 1935 because of the founder’s role in financing the American Revolution.

Partly it is Morris’s own bad luck. He eventually sold the house to pay for an enormous marble mansion in Philadelphia. It was a boondoggle almost from the start; Morris quarreled with the architect, Pierre L’Enfant, who was splitting his time between his client’s massive project and the new federal city, which he famously designed. The huge mansion, mocked as “Morris’s Folly,” was never finished. He later lost it, along with nearly everything else he owned, after

That is far more than anyone remembers about Hero. Mostly there is just a notice in a Philadelphia newspaper from 1777.

It is written by a concerned owner who, in the chaos as he and his neighbors prepare to flee the city in the face of the advancing British, has discovered that a valuable piece of his property has gone missing. In that ad, Morris describes his runaway slave: “Plays well on the violin, whistles remarkably well, and has an excellent ear for music.”

Rex Crawley, Ph.D., chairman of the Robert Morris University Council on Institutional Equity and assistant dean of the School of Communications and Information Systems, says it pains him to think his ancestors were treated as less than fully human by the university's namesake. Crawley is the force behind the Black Male Leadership Development Institute, which each summer brings dozens of black high school students to campus, where they learn leadership skills and the value of higher education.

“Robert Morris is not my hero. Hero is my hero,” Crawley says of the escaped slave. “When I close my eyes and envision Robert Morris’s house as a place of bondage, and then think of the RMU campus and the BMLDI as a place of empowerment, there’s that juxtaposition of history, and an ultimate good.

Robert Morris probably never could have imagined that his legacy would include the education and empowerment of African Americans."

WRITTEN BY MARK HOUSER ILLUSTRATION PROVIDED BY AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY

1767,

Workers build the biggest house in Philadelphia for Mary Lawrence Masters, the wealthy widow of a former mayor.

14

*

1775,

New owner Richard Penn, grandson of William Penn, entertains Second Continental Congress delegates in the parlor.

rmu.edu/foundations

1777,

Redcoats occupy Philadelphia; British General William Howe makes the house his headquarters.

1779,

Major General Benedict Arnold, now using the house for his headquarters, begins secretly writing to the British.

1782,

Robert Morris moves in. As superintendent of finance, he raises funds needed to win the Revolutionary War.

1790,

Morris offers the house to George Washington for his executive mansion, as Philadelphia becomes the nation’s capital.

1797,

President John Adams is the first resident of the house who chooses not to own slaves.

1800,

The Adamses move to Washington, D.C., and the house is converted into a hotel.

1832,

The building is torn down and replaced with stores.

>Go to Foundations Online to see more on the President’s House memorial

*

15

When you tell someone you’re an actuary, there’s a good chance you’ll be met with a blank stare. Just ask Katie Dobbs ’02, an actuary at Cherion Inc. in Chicago.

“I always get a confused look from people outside of the profession,” she says.

But with an average starting salary of around $50,000 and glowing ratings by both Jobs Rated Almanac and The Wall Street Journal, both of which call it the number one job to have, based on job security, outlook, level of stress, and compensation, actuary is a term people are becoming more and more familiar with.

Robert Morris University has one of the fastest growing and most respected actuarial science programs in the country. The program began in 2001 with just two students; last fall, 38 freshmen enrolled. Recently, it received national recognition when RMU was designated as a Center of Actuarial Excellence by the Society of Actuaries, an honor shared by only 11 other universities in the United States, among them Temple, St. John’s, and Michigan.

“We are extremely pleased and honored,” says Leonard A. Asimow, Ph.D., professor of actuarial science and mathematics and the founding director of RMU’s actuarial science program.

“When we first started recruitment in 2001, we had no idea that our efforts would culminate in so prestigious an award in just nine years. It means a great deal to us going forward. Not only is this an affirmation of the hard work of many people, but it will provide a foundation for our future growth and development.”

16 • rmu.edu/foundations

Risky Business

Actuaries are experts on risk. Most work in the insurance industry, where they help design health and retirement benefit plans by determining premiums and profit margins, and making recommendations based upon their calculations. For example, they may create an actuarial table to determine life expectancies for a group of people over a period of time, based on current mortality rates. Many also work for human resource consulting firms; however, since most companies deal with some kind of risk, the job opportunities for actuaries in all industries – particularly health care – is steadily growing.

the university’s dormant actuarial science concentration. In the spring of 2001, he recruited Dobbs and Jill Gifford ’02 from Maryville as his first students in RMU’s program, and Asimow followed shortly thereafter.

Together, Maxwell and Asimow designed RMU’s actuarial program to have a strong mathematical foundation, with an emphasis on business and communications skills, and a focus on preparing students for their professional exams.

Several leading national actuarial employers call Pittsburgh home, including Towers Watson, Mercer, Buck Consultants, UPMC, and Highmark. And in the actuarial industry, regionally and beyond, RMU’s graduates are highly sought after.

Dobbs works primarily as a consultant, assessing the risks that her clients’ pension plans are sensitive to, monitoring the future outlook of the plans, and making sure they meet all of the legislative requirements. She credits RMU’s well-rounded curriculum with helping her find success so soon after graduation. “Some schools focus on just the mathematics behind actuarial science,” she says. “But, the actuarial profession is also built on business and communication skills, which RMU supports as well.”

“RMU’s candidates are more prepared for the business world,” says Sarniak. “Our job is really half math, half business. RMU’s students have a strong foundation in business, and because of the internships that are available to them, they get that valuable practical experience, too.” Each year, over the past five years, Highmark has hired at least one RMU graduate for a full-time position, and they always try to get one or two interns as well.

“Actuarial students not only need a strong mathematical aptitude but in general, they need to have very good problem solving skills,” says David G. Hudak, Ph.D., associate professor and the program’s current director. “Our program, tied together with the general curriculum, provides RMU’s actuarial students with a great opportunity to develop these critical skills.”

Asimow came to RMU from Maryville University in St. Louis, where, as director of the actuarial science program he first met Mark M. Maxwell, Ph.D., a mathematics professor. Maxwell migrated to RMU in 2000 and immediately began to revitalize

The program also offers students many opportunities for paid internships, which usually result in job offers at graduation.

"Without a doubt, my experience and what I learned there allowed me to hit the ground running right out of school," says

“Health care is getting more and more complex and risky,” says Bill Sarniak, a senior markets actuary and vice president at Highmark in Pittsburgh. “That’s where actuaries thrive.”

Ian Laverty ‘06, an actuary at Western & Southern Life in Cincinnati. "From graduation, I was ahead of most of my entry-level peers at my company.”

Allison Freeman ’08 is an actuary at Erie Insurance, where she did an internship in the summer of 2006. She says RMU’s annual Actuarial Career Day was a major selling point for her.

“It helps students get internships and interview experience early in their college careers,” she says. This year’s event is October 1, in Sewall Center, and as many as 20 local and national employers are expected to attend.

Jessica Kachur ’07, is a perfect example of how RMU’s program is built to help its students succeed. The university recruited her in high school because of her strong math skills.

“It really intrigued me,” she says. “I always wanted to be in the math field, but I didn’t necessarily want to be a teacher. This just seemed like the right fit.”

While studying at RMU, Kachur had a paid internship with Mercer Inc., a human resources consulting firm in Pittsburgh.

Mercer hired her following graduation, and today she’s an associate, calculating liabilities for pension plans and determining employer contributions. It’s challenging work, but she says she’s well prepared to meet that challenge. “You have to have a lot of personal determination and commitment, especially when it comes to the exams. But RMU makes sure you know what to expect and how to succeed.”

WRITTEN BY VALENTINE J. BRKICH PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL WILLIAMS ‘08, ART DICKENSON & PAUL LOREI

R o b e r t M o r r i s U n i v e r s i t y F O U N D AT I O N S • 1 7

THE

Giving gift Opportunity Growing up, Mark Mishler ‘82 was convinced he’d have the opportunity to go to college.

He just wasn’t sure how.

Coming from what he refers to as a “humble background,” Mishler’s parents had to work hard to support their five children in their home in Johnstown. His father, who dropped out of high school at 16 and later joined the army, eventually earned his G.E.D. and worked for the postal service. His mother, whom Mishler considers the bedrock of the family, emigrated from Japan in 1951 and worked in a factory stitching shoes. But Mishler never let obstacles stand in the way of his dreams. “I knew I could do whatever I wanted in life,” he says, “and I wanted to go to college.”

Today, he serves as president and chief operating officer of The Warranty Group, the world’s largest provider of extended warranty programs. And he says he owes much of his success to Robert Morris University. “This institution,” he says, “if I wouldn’t have come here… I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

In the summer of 1996, Mishler was serving as a civil engineer in the National Guard for a combat engineer battalion when he went to Guatemala to help build roads and schools. It was a life-changing situation for him. “We were building schools with running water and electricity and giving those people hope so their children could get an education,” he says. “We went in and we carved roads out of mountains.”

WRITTEN BY VALENTINE J. BRKICH PHOTOGRAPHY BY EDWARD FOX PHOTOGRAPHY & GLENN BROOKES

Soon Mishler was recruited to be controller of a small insurance company in upstate New York that was traded on the New York Stock Exchange. He took on every position he could, trying to learn as much as possible, and in 1997, at the age of 38, Mishler achieved his goal of becoming a CFO. Not one to stay satisfied for long, Mishler then reset his goals and began his quest to be the president of a company. He joined The Warranty Group in Chicago in 2002, confident he’d achieve this new goal. “When I walked into that organization, I just looked around and said, ‘I can be the president of this company some day.'” Two years later, he realized that dream.

Through all of his success, Mishler has always held RMU dear to his heart. “What drove me for the rest of my career were the basic building blocks I received here at Robert Morris University,” he says. Now Mishler and his wife, Gina, are giving other RMU students the chance to go to college through two $5,000 scholarships named for his parents.

The Kenneth Mishler and Tokiko Mishler scholarships, both established in 2009, are eligible to qualifying students from Mishler’s hometown of Johnstown.

>> Visit Foundations online to see Mishler’s speech at the RMU Scholarship Luncheon.

18 • rmu.edu/FOUNDATIONS

The first Kenneth Mishler Scholarship went to Matt Varga, a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, the Association of Future Accountants, the honors and cooperative programs, and the rugby club team. The Tokiko Mishler Scholarship went to Marie George, also a member of the National Honor Society of Collegiate Scholars, Student Nurses of Pennsylvania, and the cross-country and track and field teams. “I was more impressed with these two individuals than I am with some of the individuals who have walked through the hallways of my own offices,” says Mishler.

Marie George ‘12

After graduating with an accounting degree, Mishler took a job with an insurance company in Rockwood, Pa., working

his way up from the accounts receivable department. His goal was to one day become the chief financial officer of a public company. “I felt that the only way to do that was to take on every opportunity that came down the road, and even ask for opportunity, because sometimes you’re just not going to have it handed to you; you have to reach out and grab it. And that’s just what I did.”

Matt Varga ‘11

Mishler joined the army after high school, graduating in the top 5 percent of his basic training class and first in his advanced individual training course. With help from the military and financial aid, he enrolled at Cambria-Rowe Business College in Johnstown in 1978, where he earned an associate’s degree in insurance accounting and finance. He soon realized that a two-year degree just wasn’t going to be enough. He chose RMU because of its business program’s strong reputation.

OF

Design gets its

Due

At a university once devoted solely to business studies, in a leafy little ravine named for a bygone era, stands an ultra-modern space for the newest of the arts.

Completed in June, the Snee-Reinhardt Charitable Foundation House for Media Arts gives Robert Morris University a singular space for design — the visual arts that inform our everyday lives. Part of Colonial Village, which includes the Melvin D. Teetz Alumni House and Rooney Visiting Scholar House, the new building features a gallery and workspace for students, faculty, and visiting artists, as well as a sophisticated video screening room.

Jon Radermacher, M.F.A., head of the media arts department in the School of Communications and Information Systems, says he hopes the house will help to build an arts culture on campus that will touch more than just the 175 undergraduates in his department. “Media arts is split in half, with TV/video and photography in Moon, and graphic design and Web design downtown,” Radermacher says. “The media arts house will not only be a space for artists to give master

e for t a plac u b , s e s isplay clas nts to d e d u t s design design ht now ig R . k or make their w help to l il ts w This studen o other ntown.’ t w le o d ib s s m progra nd acce isible a is ‘that v e r o arts m media pus.” e for ain cam m e h t nfidenc o c on f o e e ot ed in th trong v n hous g is a s e e in b d 0 s il a u ,8 hh e1 0 wb The ne sale. Th m, whic a r r o f g isiting o v r w no np sting is ig o s t h e a d h t in e g g th be din g for 16 se will wn buil es seatin ry hou d o t s downto lu c e e in hr y have ce -foot, t orkspa typicall w h s ic t I h square . w h , f nt classes lenty o this mo r most let in p o s artists f r o h t o g d u is t t ar s nch ts, eno studen nts. Fre r e studen o d dios. f u t e r s s or stu n 20 featu a t m h n o t a o r t r r e s o s few n imp t-lit cla space light, a orescen nd wall lu f a , o t natural m d o e p floor e ro y confin . The to nferenc k r o c o a w typicall s t ha studen y for a in floor display can sta o t t The ma is s t r n a e g eo scre a visitin and vid where t n e m t ar is an ap ster. a seme r o t h ig n

The 20-seat ground floor screening room offers a high definition 65-inch screen and is available for any media arts class that needs it. Radermacher says he plans to schedule video game nights on the big screen to attract students from the nearby dorms to the house. “Lots of people are into gaming, but this will give us a chance to talk about the concepts behind the games,” Radermacher says. “Seeing beyond the surface and trying to understand what’s going on behind the scenes — that is what art is all about.”

Construction was made possible by a $200,000 grant from the Snee-Reinhardt Charitable Foundation. Foundation board member Christina Heasley-Treadwell ’91 is an independent communications professional who works in video production, Web design, marketing, and advertising. About eight years ago she began to reconnect with her alma mater. “RMU was applying for a grant at the foundation when I was asked to come out to the campus and take a look at how things have changed and were going to change over a 10-year period,” Heasley-Treadwell says. “In listening to the professors speak about their work and the students’ needs, and knowing about the Colonial Village, I thought it would be nice if the

communications school could have its own building.”

Heasley-Treadwell stresses that she abstained from voting when her board weighed RMU’s proposal against others.

“We as a foundation would like to see the entire student body have more opportunities to experience the arts,” she adds.

“This enhances the campus’s ability to provide a place for focused advance studies in the media arts. It heightens the visibility and the accessibility of the arts on campus,” says Provost David Jamison, J.D., the former dean of the School of Communications and Information Systems.

And not just the physical accessibility, notes Radermacher. “I think for some people the arts are seen as something extra, not essential,” he says. “But the truth is, almost everything around us is touched by art: our clothes, our appliances.

Because of this house, we now have opportunities to present that reality in ways that we didn’t before.”

WRITTEN BY BONNIE PFISTER PHOTOGRAPHY BY VALENTINE J. BRKICH, AUBREY DIVITO ‘08, & MITCH KRAMER ‘08

2 0 • R M U . E D U / F O U N D AT I O N S R O B E R T M O R R I S U N I V E R S I T Y F O U N D AT I O N S • 2 1

Center Stage When robert MorriS UniverSity Won aCColadeS in the Kennedy Center’S College theater feStival thiS year, it probably SUrpriSed a lot of people. bUt not pittSbUrgh City paper draMa CritiC robert iSenberg.

The Colonial Theatre, which brings its show on the road to major venues in Pittsburgh this year, has come a long way from its start as a shoestring operation set in an old barn on campus. But even then the productions were lively and drew decent crowds. The show-space enjoyed 30 years of dramas, comedies, and musicals. “People saw the theater as a destination,” says John Locke ’03, director of student activities and a stage veteran himself.

It was a good run, but then the barn burned down, the company’s director retired to Florida without a replacement, and while Locke and the drama club struggled to keep the spark alive in then-new Massey Hall’s 225-seat theater, the spotlights had dimmed considerably.

Enter Ken Gargaro, Ph.D. In 2003, Gargaro directed a production of “Godspell” for the Colonial Theatre. His budget was small and relied on the raw talent of interested undergrads. But Gargaro had a hit on his hands. “It was an overwhelming success,” he says. The house was packed, the student performers were enthusiastic, and the university decided to invest.

2 2 • R M U . E D U / F O U N D AT I O N S

Within two years, Gargaro and his colleague, Barbara BurgessLefebvre, M.F.A., were full-time faculty producing a fourshow season. In the theater industry, musicals are by far the biggest challenge to produce because of the sheer number of people involved. Elaborate costumes and set design tend to rack up expenses and required manpower. And yet, since 2005, Gargaro has spearheaded four shows per academic year, most of which are musicals.

The university curriculum has expanded rapidly, and boasts a full roster of 15 classes, from Intro to Theater to Fundamentals of Acting, Stage Combat, Jazz Dance, and Acting for the Camera. At the moment, theater is offered as a concentration in a communication major. But the concentration has become a magnet; Fall 2010 classes are already booked solid, and about a dozen students are currently declared, triple the numbers from three years ago, Gargaro says.

“It’s amazing,” says Locke, who has collaborated with Gargaro in the past as a production manager. “It’s exponential. This season really has been our biggest accomplishment.”

Gargaro’s presence at RMU has also forged a collaborative relationship between the university and Pittsburgh Musical Theater. This past summer eight RMU students interned for PMT. Unlike many internships, which consist of filing and opening mail, the RMU interns train in singing and tap dance.

Other students have been cast in big-budget PMT shows, performing at the illustrious Byham Theater in downtown Pittsburgh.

In January, RMU’s performance of “Rent” wowed audiences at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival’s MidAtlantic regionals, held at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

The Colonial Theatre production was one of eight finalists picked to perform at the competition, out of 55 universities that entered. “We were definitely the largest production,” Gargaro says. “And we were clearly identified as a very talented group of individuals, especially in a school that is not particularly noted for this kind of activity. People know who we are now.”

This was no accident. In Pittsburgh, “Gargaro” is practically a synonym of “theater education.” He is the founding director of Pittsburgh Musical Theater, a nonprofit acting company and training program in the city’s West End. A legion of teenage students has trained in voice and dance with PMT’s staff, and many have gone on to perform for Broadway, Disney, cruise lines, TV, and film.

What began as an experiment has turned into a campus phenomenon. In due time, Gargaro hopes the university will support a full-fledged B.A. in theater arts. Meanwhile, Colonial Theatre has about 50 active members working in every capacity of live performance — as actors, technicians, stage managers, and house volunteers. They represent a wide range of majors, from nursing to education. “It’s an all-campus activity,” Gargaro says. “We’re building a real theater department.”

WRITTEN BY ROBERT ISENBERG PHOTOGRAPHY BY iSTOCKPHOTO

rMU on toUr

to a n o o S g n i M Co oU! y r a e n r e t a the

RMU's acclaimed players are bringing their shows to the city this season. Be sure to catch a performance!

For tickets and more information, call (412) 397-5454.

the 25th annUal pUtnaM CoUnty Spelling bee Sept. 22-26 Little Victorian Theater 327 S. Main St., West End A musical comedy where audience members compete against some very quirky contestants.

phantoM of the opera October 21-23 Byham Theater 101 Sixth St., Downtown The No. 1 Broadway blockbuster, with its sumptuous score and haunting tale of obsession.

SeUSSiCal March 24-April 3 Byham Theater 101 Sixth St., Downtown Lots of laughs, terrific tunes, and characters you've known since childhood.

the CrUCible April 6-10 New Hazlett Theater 115 Federal St., North Side Arthur Miller's masterpiece, with the Salem witch trials as modern political metaphor.

23

a video crew on location in washington, d.c., shoots Footage For rMu's new "change a liFe" proMotional caMpaign, launching this Fall.

24 â&#x20AC;˘ rmu.ed u/Fo

undation

s

CLASS NOTES

>

ETHEL SAVAGE WOOSTER ’56 and her husband, Dean, reside in Palm Coast, Fla. They have three sons; Dean, Dan, and Charles.

Ethel retired after teaching in the McKeesport Area School District for 24 years.

Retirement has been

especially busy for J. PERRY HAUPT ’55 and his wife, Joyce. The couple have spent nearly two decades as Christian missionaries, mostly in the former Soviet republic of Belarus.

1960s MICHAEL FARRELL ’63, CEO of Somerset Hospital, received the Distinguished Citizen Award from the Penn’s Wood Council Boy Scouts of America in April.

Mike has been with Somerset Hospital since 1966. He lives in Berlin, Pa.

The Haupts, of Bellwood, Pa., have distributed thousands of Bibles and helped to found several churches in Belarus. They also supply medicine and

GERALD TIDD ’68 has been appointed to senior vice president of sales for MidCap Business Credit. Gerald and his wife, Joan, reside in Strongsville, Ohio, and have two sons, Kevin and Jeff.

international journal. Tom is a senior tax attorney with Alcoa.

He and his wife, JUDY BREEDLOVE MARCHLEN M’87, are proud to announce their daughter, Amy, graduated from John Carroll University this spring. The Marchlens live in Pittsburgh.

JOHN J. POILLUCCI ’81 and his wife, Priscilla, celebrated their 25th anniversary on June 15. John works in radiology informatics for West Penn Allegheny Health Systems. John and Priscilla have a daughter, Gwendolyn, and reside in Pittsburgh.

DANA E. AUDO ’82 is the Pennsylvania private banking regional manager for Huntington National Bank. He was formerly with National City Bank. Dana lives in Hampton Township with his family.

LISA MASSIRONI FAULKNER ’82 is client services manager with DiNuzzo Investment Advisors.

She and her husband, Ron, live in New Brighton and have two children, Ashley and Grant.

strategic accounts and global sales at Interstate Hotels & Resorts. He previously served as the global director of worldwide sales. Sean resides in Moon Township.

GREG CONDIO ‘83 is a senior solutions consultant for J.B. Kreider Company, Inc. He previously was the vice president and part owner of Duquesne Litho. Greg and his wife, DIANA NAYLOR CONDIO ’83, live in Collier Township with their two children.

SCOTT BYERS ’87, CEO and president of Diversified Information Technologies in Scranton, serves on the Corporate Leadership Advisory Council of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Scott lives in Roaring Brook Township, Pa.

JOSEPH T. SENKO M’83 was named treasurer of the Brother’s Brother Foundation, a Pittsburgh charity that delivers medicine and textbooks to poor countries. He is with the accounting firm of McKeever, Varga & Senko and resides in Pittsburgh.

vitamins to children and orphans, especially those harmed by the persistent effects of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, which released a radioactive cloud over the region and has been linked to increased rates of thyroid

1970s

Haupts’ work is at www.missionbelarus.com.

1980s L. THOMAS MARCHLEN M’80 wrote an article on U.S. corporate income tax policy published in the March issue of Intertax, an

< JOHN “JACK” KNEE ’58 is featured in a promotion for the Community Hospice of

> MEETING THE AMBASSADOR The 2010 ALUMNI TOUR in Ireland featured many memorable moments, from the cliffs of Moher to the night life of Dublin.

Topping the list had to be a private visit to Phoenix Park, the residence of U.S. Ambassador Dan Rooney and his wife, PATRICIA ROONEY, a university trustee and loyal friend.

Northeast Florida, where he has volunteered for 19 years.

He is a retired CPA and lives in Ponte Vedra, Fla.

2 6 • R M U . E D U / F O U N D AT I O N S

STEPHEN TAMBOLAS '85 has become vice president of supply chain and facilities for the four-hospital Conemaugh Health System in Johnstown. Previously Stephen was president of SSCM5 Inc., a consulting firm specializing in health care supply chain optimization.

EMANUEL ROMANIAS ’83 is the founder and owner of Kangaroo Alley Cigars, which is the only premium cigar brand based in Pittsburgh.

LARRY E. BITTNER ’84 is a commercial lender with S&T Bank in Wexford. He formerly was vice president of business banking and commercial lending for Huntington National Bank.

Larry resides in Beaver.

PATRICIA CROUSE ’76 is a member of the sales and marketing team for Brown’s Graphic Solutions and Garden Spot Ribbons & Awards.

She lives in Mount Joy, Pa.

cancer and other illnesses.

More information on the

>

1950s

CLASS NOTES

Go to Foundations Online to see more photos from the group’s Emerald Isle tour. And keep watching this space to find out about the 2011 Alumni Tour.

KATHI JOBKAR ’84 M’99 gave a speech about the “Secrets of Great Leaders” to more than 100 RMU alumnae and friends at the Women of RMU luncheon in April in downtown Pittsburgh.

Kathi is the manager of strategic sourcing for Allegheny Technologies Inc. She resides in Scott Township.

SEAN MCCURDY ’86 was promoted to vice president for

> GOLDEN GRADS

SHIRLEY LAZORCHAK M’87, associate professor of marketing at California University of Pennsylvania, received the Hugh G. Wales Award for outstanding faculty advisor from the American Marketing Association.

She resides in Canonsburg.

RMU honored the following alumni at the undergraduate commencement in May: Front row from left: KATHRYN STOFFEL CARRIER ’53, THERESA STEZOSKI CORSO ’46, WANDA PREVITALI MAGONE ’43. Back row from left: THOMAS E. SAMUELS ’49, KENNETH L. MENKE ’49, ROBERT J. SHANNON ‘52.

MURRAY COHN ’88 was promoted to vice president of team ticket sales for the National Basketball Association. He previously was the NBA’s senior director of team ticket sales. Murray serves on the advisory board for the RMU sports management program. He and his wife, Betsy, live in Winter Garden, Fla., with their sons, Matthew and Michael.

Now Available to RMU Alumni...

JIM BALLWEG ’89 is the senior director of corporate sponsorships for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League. He formerly was vice president of sales with the San Diego Padres and also has held positions with the Houston Astros and the triple-A Nashville Sounds.

THOMAS K. SKELTON ’89 is CEO of Foundation Radiology Group, a

RMU Pittsburgh Speakers Series

Individual Lecture Tickets!

This year for the first time, alumni who can’t attend all seven lectures at Heinz Hall can purchase pairs of tickets for individual speakers. As always, alumni still get the best deal on season tickets to our great lineup of speakers.

This year’s season will feature Thomas Friedman, of The New York Times, Eat, Pray, Love author Elizabeth Gilbert, Karl Rove vs. Howard Dean and more!

Individual speaker tickets are limited, and sold only in pairs of two. Call the Alumni Office office at (412) 397-2586 and identify yourself as an RMU alum.

Don’t miss the best season yet!

Call (412) 397-2586 now to reserve your tickets.

R O B E R T M O R R I S U N I V E R S I T Y F O U N D AT I O N S • 2 7

CLASS NOTES

CLASS NOTES diagnostic imaging provider in Pittsburgh. He has more than 25 years of experience in health care, most recently as president of technology services for MED3000.

Tom also serves on the board of visitors for the School of Nursing and Health Sciences at RMU.

1990s

> ALUMNI ASSOCIATION EVENTS A busy tailgate party with 125 alumni guests, followed by a thrilling 12-6 Pirates win over the Astros, highlighted an exciting summer for the Alumni Association.

The group also held a speed-networking event at Café Euro in downtown Pittsburgh in August, and luncheons at Wright’s Seafood Inn in Heidelberg and Mad Mex in Cranberry. Much more is to come in the fall.

The Robert Morris University Alumni Association’s mission is to engage alumni in the university community, to herald its legacy, promote its progress, and lay a foundation for the future, while advancing the well-being of its alumni. As a partner, we will provide leadership and support to Robert Morris University as we become one of America’s most distinguished universities.

JACQUELINE A. TRAVISANO ’90 was appointed vice president for business affairs and CFO for St. John’s University in New York City. She joined the institution last year as associate vice president for business affairs. Before that she was vice president for finance and operations at Carlow University in Pittsburgh. Jackie resides in North Babylon, N.Y. MELINDA KLUTKA ROMBOLD ’91 was appointed vice president of human resources for Ansaldo STS USA, the Pittsburgh-based unit of a rail systems control manufacturer headquartered in Genoa, Italy. She is a former vice

president of human resources for Redzone Robotics.

PATRICIA MCGOUGHRAN ’95 is director of business solutions with Feld Entertainment, the parent company of Disney On Ice and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Patty lives in Burke, Va. NICHOLAS P. MATT M’97 is senior vice president with CB Richard Ellis Group, leading the debt and equity financing practice in Pittsburgh. Nicholas resides in North Huntingdon.

DIANE MCCLUNE M’97 is operating director for the Pittsburgh Business Group on Health, a nonprofit coalition of employers advocating for value and quality in health care. She formerly was the regional director of marketing for the American Heart Association, and also has worked on the clinical side of health care as a registered nurse.

Diane and her husband, Robert, reside in Beaver.

HOPE MIELKE VACCARO ’97 is vice president and recruiting manager for PNC Financial Services. She was formerly diversity recruitment manager for the Bank of New York Mellon. Hope and her husband, David, reside in South Park.

2000s DANIEL ESMOND ’00 and his wife, Tonya, are the proud parents of Ryan Thomas, born last September 14. Dan is the director of operations and staff coach for the AFC Lightning soccer club in Atlanta. The Esmonds reside in Senoia, Ga.

MATT HOFFMAN ‘00 and his father, Stan Hoffman, were profiled in a March article in Keystone Edge, a weekly online magazine about high-tech companies and professionals in Pennsylvania. The father-son duo are both software designers – Matt at Concurrent Technologies Corp. and Stan at Babcock Lumber – and both are presidents of their local chapters of the Association of Technology Professionals.

SHELLYN SCALERCIO SHOENTHAL ’00, director of community relations and fundraising for the Mars Home for Youth, was named vice president and sponsorship chair of the Public Relations Society of America’s

Pittsburgh chapter. Shellyn and her husband, DAN SHOENTHAL ’00 M’02, reside in Gibsonia.

SCOTT UMBERGER ’00 M’09 opened Umberger Performance in Robinson Township with his cousin R.J. Umberger, a center for the Columbus Blue Jackets of the NHL. Scott played football and was on the track and field team

for the Colonials, and spent two years as an assistant to RMU strength and conditioning coach Todd Hamer.

HEIDI FREEMAN LEWIS ’03 has been named the Riley Scholar-inResidence in Feminist and Gender Studies at Colorado College in Colorado Springs. She plans to complete her Ph.D. in American (cont.)

< JOSIAH “JOE” WARD ’02 and COURTNEY HAASE WARD ’02 are the proud parents of Henley Rawn, born April 26.

The Wards are both secondary school teachers. They reside in West Chester, Ohio.

ROBERT MORRIS UNIVERSITY PRESENTS

JOIN THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION COUNCIL AND HELP PLAN FUTURE EVENTS. CALL (412) 397-2586 TO FIND OUT HOW.

Class Notes would love to hear from you.

2 8 • R M U . E D U / F O U N D AT I O N S

KENNETH KEEFER ’93 and

>

>

Honor Them With a Book.

BERNARD SAKMAR M’00

ANGELA SECRETI KEEFER ’97

and his wife, Manisha, are the

are the proud parents of

proud parents of Olivianna

Bella Angela, born Dec. 15.

Ria, born March 19. Bernie is

Kenneth is a clinical liaison

controller with DataTech

and Angela is an accountant.

Holdings. The Sakmars

They live in Canonsburg.

live in Charlotte, N.C.

REGISTRATION/SPONSORSHIP DEADLINE MONDAY, SEPT. 13 For more information about registration and sponsorship opportunities, contact the RMU Alumni Relations Office at (412) 397-2586 or rmualum@rmu.edu.

The university library provides the information and knowledge that will help form the intellect of future generations. For your contribution to the Library Fund of $20 or more, RMU will place a customized bookplate in a new book in the collection to honor or memorialize a special person or event of your choosing.

To order your bookplate, download a form at www.rmu.edu/library.

E-mail us at rmualum@rmu.edu.

R O B E R T M O R R I S U N I V E R S I T Y F O U N D AT I O N S • 2 9

CLASS NOTES studies from Purdue University next year. Heidi and her husband, Antonio, have two children, Antonio Jr. and Chase Renee, and operate The Ten Spot Barbershop in Lafayette, Ind. PATRICK PIERSON ’04 joined Florida Gulf Coast University as sports information director in June. He was formerly the sports information director for St.

Bonaventure University, where he worked for six years.

KIMBERLY KOSOVICH RUIZ M’05 is a state and local tax consultant with the SC&H Group in McLean, Va. Kimberly and her husband, Alonso, live in Alexandria, Va. KRISTY TRAUTMANN M’05 was promoted to executive director of the FISA Foundation, where she

CLASS NOTES had been a program officer. The foundation supports nonprofit organizations in southwestern Pennsylvania that focus on women, girls, and people with disabilities. She resides in Murrysville.

ANGELA KOKANOS LAGONIS ’06 received a master’s of arts degree in journalism and mass

< RAYMOND “SMOKE” THOMAS ’00 M’03 and BRITTANY KREBS ’03 were married in Cancun in January. Joining the couple in Mexico were FRED PARKER ’99, THEO OWUSU ’01 M’02 D’10, REGGIE CHAMBER ’02, and TONY DERIGI ‘04. Raymond is a supervisor at Family Links in

communication from Point Park University, where she works in the admissions office. She lives in Pittsburgh with her husband, George.

MELISSA NEMENZ ’06 is an account manager with Brunner.

She lives in Pittsburgh.

BENJAMIN T. PEGG ’06 is an actuary with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington.

Ben was previously an actuarial analyst for the Hartford Life Insurance Company. He resides in Arlington, Va.

Pittsburgh and is pursuing a doctorate of science in information systems and communications at RMU. Brittany owns Krebs AgencyAllstate Insurance in Pittsburgh.

DEANNA GILKEY SCHMUCK M’06 is an instructor with the Bidwell Training Center. She and Eric

RMU HOCKEY SHOWCASE

OCTOBER 15-17

Schmuck were married last year.

They reside in Monroeville.

ERIC WHITE ’06, staff sergeant with the Army Reserve 458th Engineer Battalion, won the annual Best Warrior competition at Camp Smith, N.Y., in April, advancing to the U.S. Army Reserve national competition. The contest included physical fitness, marksmanship, navigation, and a written exam. Eric is a track and field coach at Duquesne University and resides in Dormont.

LEA GUARINO ’06 and MEGAN VENEZIE ’07 were listed among “Pittsburgh’s 50 Finest” by the western Pennsylvania chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

The charity event selects the “most eligible” single men and women in the region, based on their community service and

career success. Lea is business development manager for Big Day Entertainment and owner/DJ of Guarino Group Productions. Megan is a client service analyst with Direct Energy Business. The list also included UPMC Passavant nurse practitioner and part-time nursing professor JENNIFER KEELEY. JAMES G. HOWARD ’07 is an active duty 2nd lieutenant with the U.S. Army. He lives in Sierra Vista, Ariz.

KRISTINA IORIO ’08 is unit marketing director for the Chickfil-A in Robinson. She lives in McKees Rocks.

KILLEEN MARTINEZ ’09 attended the American Massage Therapy Association annual conference in Orlando, Fla. She works for

7 p.m., Iron City Grille at the Holiday Inn.

SATURDAY Reunion Years Breakfast 9:30 a.m. Sewall Center. Classes of ’65, ’70, ’75, ’80, ’85, ’90, ’95, ’00, & ’05.

Brunch is free; please call to reserve.

RMU vs. University of Albany Noon. A last-second RMU field goal broke Albany’s 12-game win streak last year.

The Great Danes are sure to have revenge on their minds.

3 0 • R M U . E D U / F O U N D AT I O N S

5th Quarter Wind down after the game under the alumni tent with live music provided by Frank Vieria & Metro Mix. To make your reservations, call (412) 397-2586 or rmu.edu/alumni.

GLENN SCHAEFER ’49 of McMurray died March 30 at the age of 85. He was a World War II veteran and a retired CPA and CFO of Hankison Corp. in Canonsburg. He is survived by his wife, MARIAN LAMBERT SCHAEFER ’49, and three children.

DALE E. GOULD JR. M’10 received the Meritorious Service Medal for his 21 years as an Army reservist.

He retired as a major last year, most recently having served as executive officer of the 301st Regional Support Group, based in Butler. Dale is a computer application coordinator for Eaton Corp., and he lives in Cranberry with his wife, Lorie, and their sons, Zachary and Gavin.

In Memoriam LINDA E. GENTILE ’42 of Bridgeville died March 17 at the age of 86. She was a member of the Italian Sons and Daughters for more than 40 years, serving as financial secretary. Linda was a retired

ROBERT MOUL ’57 of Gibsonia died April 30. Bob was a Korean War veteran.

JAMES R. DRENNING ’68 of Apollo died February 11 at the age of 62.

CHARLES “CHUCK” VAN RYN, retired member of the marketing faculty, died March 29 at the age of 67. Chuck taught marketing for many years at the university and was well known for his sense of humor and his rapport with his students and his colleagues.

< ASHLEY HENNEMUTH ’10 has accepted a full-time nursing

CONSOL ENERGY CENTER

position with UPMC

WOMEN VS NORTHEASTERN, NOON CLUB VS PITT, 3 P.M. MEN VS AIR FORCE, 6 P.M. Three games for one ticket—plus see the new home of the Penguins!

FOR HOCKEY TICKETS, CALL (800) 745-3000.

ADAM RAVENSTAHL ’07 won a special election in May to fill the remainder of former Pa. State Rep. Don Walko's term in the 20th District. He also won the Democratic primary and will run for the next full term in November.

Adam is a business analyst with UPMC and resides in Pittsburgh; his brother is Mayor Luke Ravenstahl.

>

Homecoming Happy Hour

For only $5, get hot dogs, hamburgers, pop, and a raffle ticket for the postgame prize drawing. Register by Oct. 1.

Kids 12 and under eat free.

2010s

SUNDAY OCTOBER 17 >

FRIDAY

bookkeeper for the former Bridgeville Auto Sales.

Five lucky alums won RMU tailgate chairs for sending us Class Notes updates with photo. Send your update to rmualum@rmu.edu for a chance to win an RMU soccer scarf.

HOMECOMING WEEKEND ‘10 Alumni Tailgate & Picnic

Massage Therapy Professionals in Pittsburgh.

Presbyterian in the neuro

LAURA GAWRYLA ’07 is a

communications coordinator

ICU department where

for Carlow University. She

she did her transitions for

lives in Pittsburgh.

her nursing studies.

< BILL MCKEOWN ’04 and RACHEL PACSI MCKEOWN ’05 are the proud parents of Liam McKeown, born January 20. Rachel is business development specialist at Clearview Federal Credit Union in Moon Township, and Bill is a sales representative for Philips Respironics in Murrysville. The family resides in Harmony Township.

R O B E R T M O R R I S U N I V E R S I T Y F O U N D AT I O N S • 3 1

i T h w l b Andy Toole, who turns 30 this month, is the youngest head coach in NCAA Division I men's basketball. Yet when it comes to basketball, this guy's been around the block. Toole spent three seasons as Mike Rice’s top assistant, helping guide the Colonials to three straight postseason appearances before taking the top job in May when Rice left for Rutgers.

The Red Bank, N.J., native was a four-year starter in Division I, first for Elon University and then the University of Pennsylvania. The Quakers made the NCAA tournament both years he played. Toole was a three-point specialist, sinking 212 in his career, and he was picked for the All-Ivy League and All-Big Five teams while at Penn.

HOW BIG DO YOU THINK THE MEN’S BASKETBALL PROGRAM CAN GET? If the past three years are any indication, there are few limits to how high this program can reach. I think the next step is having a few sellouts at the Sewall Center this season. Our players work extremely hard and play an exciting style that deserves to be recognized with fan support.

YOU WERE AN ACCOMPLISHED BASKETBALL PLAYER. WHAT OTHER SPORTS DO YOU ENJOY PLAYING? I have the golfing bug. I really enjoy the challenge of getting better at the game. I also like to play tennis, even though I am not good at it.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS GOING TO BE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN TRANSITIONING FROM ASSISTANT TO HEAD COACH? The biggest transition is getting used to telling people “no” more often.

Although, I think our players will tell you I did a pretty good job of doing that as an assistant.

WHAT DID YOUR FAMILY SAY WHEN THEY FIRST HEARD THE BIG NEWS? They were all very excited for me, and they all attended the press conference. My father, who is a huge supporter, has called me maybe 400 times a day since I have been hired. My family is pretty good at keeping me humble and grounded, so when I go home I am sure my mom will still tell me to take out the garbage.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO IN YOUR FREE TIME? What free time?

When I do find a moment or two, I enjoy spending time with my girlfriend, as well as my friends and family. And I'm a huge fan of reality television.

Upcoming Events

the choice RMU confronted when we decided to put the Pittsburgh Center, the building we owned at 600 Fifth Ave. in downtown Pittsburgh since 1959, up for sale. While the university on to purchase the Oliver Kaufmann estate — which became the Moon campus — three years Pittsburgh remained a focal point of the school for many more years. Downtown Pittsburgh had

>

SEPTEMBER

18 Alumni Association

>

OCTOBER

21 Basketball:

17 Pittsburgh Speakers

5 RMU Career Expo

Meet the Colonials Sewall Center, 8-11 p.m.

Series Ben Carson, neurosurgeon from inner-city Detroit, Rogal Chapel, TBA Heinz Hall, 8 p.m.

Council meeting Sewall Center, 9:30 a.m.

Sewall Center, 12:30-4:30 p.m.

21 Wendell Freeland

12 Sam Patti

Tuskeegee Airman and civil rights activist Rogal Chapel, Noon

Founder of La Prima Espresso Italian culture in Pittsburgh Rogal Chapel, Noon

22 Colonial Theatre

13 Pittsburgh Speakers

presents: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Through Sept. 26 Little Victorian Theater, West End

30 Colonial Golf Classic TBA Women of RMU luncheon, Downtown

Series New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman Heinz Hall, 8 p.m.

15-17 Homecoming Weekend. For a complete list of events visit rmu.edu/homecoming

21 Colonial Theatre presents: Phantom of the Opera Through Oct. 23 Byham Theater, Downtown >

19 Men's basketball vs. Duquesne Alumni reception

NOVEMBER

3 Pittsburgh Speakers Series Eat, Pray, Love author Elizabeth Gilbert Heinz Hall, 8 p.m.

10 Ida Mansourian Exec. Dir. of RMU International Programs "From Iran to Pittsburgh" Rogal Chapel, Noon

ON THE ROAD

>

Stay tuned for info about upcoming alumni get-togethers in Washington, Philadelphia, New York, Cleveland, Harrisburg, and Erie. And we'll be at road basketball games this fall vs.

Kent State, WVU, and Arizona.

FOR MORE INFORMATION on these and other upcoming events, contact the Office of Alumni Relations at (412) 397-2586 or rmualum@rmu.edu.

IF YOU COULD PICK FIVE ALL-TIME PLAYERS FOR YOUR OWN DREAM TEAM, WHO WOULD THEY BE? Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Tim Duncan, and Bill Russell. I would be a player/coach and would accept the sixth man role.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE TELEVISION SHOW? Growing up my favorite show was "Saved By the Bell." Today I think my favorite show is "The Biggest Loser," again with that reality television.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE GROWING UP IN RED BANK, N.J.? Growing up in Red Bank was really no different than growing up anywhere else. I could ride my bike to the beach in the summer, which was great. But I spent most of the time playing basketball or any other sport I could.

alumniNEWS

HOW IS YOUR COACHING STYLE DIFFERENT THAN THAT OF MIKE RICE? I am not sure I'll be able to yell as much as Coach Rice; he was gifted in that regard. But I think we share a lot of commonalities in the way we believe the game should be played.

ces that no longer match the institution’s mission. We need courage and wisdom to discern when me to hold on and when it is time to let go.

NAME __________________________________________________________________ YEAR OF GRADUATION __________________ PREVIOUS/ MAIDEN NAME ______________________________________________________________________________________ ADDRESS ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ CITY/STATE/ZIP ________________________________________________________________________________________________ HOME PHONE __________________________________________ WORK PHONE __________________________________________ E-MAIL ADDRESS ______________________________________________________________________________________________ PROFESSION/POSITION __________________________________________________________________________________________ EMPLOYER NAME ______________________________________________________________________________________________

BEING A FORMER POLITICAL SCIENCE MAJOR, DO YOU HAVE ANY POLITICAL ASPIRATIONS FOR THE FUTURE? I do not. There is enough politicking in being a basketball coach that I can get my fill right where I am. I majored in political science because I found it interesting, but I knew coaching would be my career.

ADDRESS ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ CITY/STATE/ZIP ________________________________________________________________________________________________ SPOUSE’S NAME ______________________________________________________________________________________________ CHILDREN’S NAMES AND AGES __________________________________________________________________________________ NEWS ITEM __________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

MAIL THIS COMPLETED FORM TO: Office of Alumni Relations, Robert Morris University, 6001 University Boulevard, Moon Township, PA 15108-1189. Or, send your news via e-mail rmualum@rmu.edu or fax (412) 397-2142.

R O B E R T M O R R I S U N I V E R S I T Y F O U N D AT I O N S • 3 3