Foundations Winter 2016

BUILDING MOMENTUM RMU WELCOMES 8TH PRESIDENT CHRISTOPHER HOWARD P. 12

ONIAL L O C 18 HIS SEE TUPLE ON P. CO

DEAR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS,

I believe in the power of great stories, and I bet that you do, too.

Remember as a child how you were transfixed by the stories your parents read to you out loud. Think of the joy that you experience doing the same for the children in your lives. Even as children, we recognize in others and ourselves the virtues and the flaws we share with the characters in our favorite stories, and as adults, the stories that resonate the most are the ones that mirror our own experiences.

Robert Morris University is a great story, and that is what drew me here. It is a story of growth and transformation, of entrepreneurship and reinvention. It is the story of a business school that became a junior college… that became a four-year college… that became a university. It is a story of an institution that made its home in a great American city and that has contributed mightily to that city’s rich history.

Even our name is a testament to the power of great stories: the story of a man who sailed at the age of 13 to the New World, where he built a fortune that financed a revolution.

Of course, the Robert Morris story is your story, the story of women and men who live great lives and build great things thanks to what they learn and experience at RMU. This year’s Heritage Award winner, Morgan O’Brien ‘82 M’85 (page 16), is one of those great RMU stories. In fact, he’s practically the archetype.

The son of Irish immigrants, Morgan worked while commuting to our former downtown campus, where he met his wife, Kathy Flavin O’Brien, a 1981 Robert Morris graduate.

Morgan first became a CEO at the age of 41, and grateful for what he has achieved, he works tirelessly to make his hometown a better place, as president and CEO of Peoples Natural Gas and as chair of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development. He and Kathy now live in downtown Pittsburgh, and while they never strayed from their hometown, their story has taken them a long way from where they started.

Morgan is part of the Pittsburgh story, another great story and another reason I wanted to become the president of Robert Morris University. Pittsburgh’s story provides many lessons for the rest of the nation, not the least of which is this: The most difficult issues of our time will not be solved by one sector alone.

Government, private enterprise, and nonprofit institutions large and small all have an important role to play. Which means that every one of us has an important role to play in changing the lives of our neighbors and our communities for the better.

That’s Morgan’s story. That’s the Pittsburgh story. I think you’ll find that it is my story, and it is certainly the RMU story. I can’t wait for us to write the next chapter together.

Sincerely,

DR. CHRISTOPHER B. HOWARD PRESIDENT

WINTER} 16

Foundations

DEPARTMENTS

Double Trouble p. 10

02 CAMPUS REPORT 20 UP CLOSE & PERSONAL 22 CLASS NOTES 33 UPCOMING EVENTS

The Karwackis rule the lacrosse field.

CREDITS EDITOR Mark Houser CONTRIBUTORS Joe Bendel, Kimberly Burger Capozzi, Michelle Emanuele ‘14, Xavier Hickman, Jonathan Potts M’11, Dennis Roddy ART DIRECTOR Amy Joy PHOTOGRAPHY/ILLUSTRATIONS Front Cover: Michael Will ‘08 Back Cover: Cory Pitkavish Other Photos/Illustrations: Joe Appel, Jason Cohn, Bill Cotter, Currie FitzHugh Photography, Glory Days Photography, Denny Harsh, iStock, Mitch Kramer ‘08, Kelsey Mahoney, Michael Will ‘08 PRINTING Heeter Direct FOUNDATIONS ONLINE RMU.EDU/FOUNDATIONS Alan Buehler ‘13 M’15 Foundations (ISSN 1934-5690) is published twice 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) 397-6464 Fax: (412) 397-5871 Email: 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.

Remembering a Hero . . . . . . . . 6 A portrait in Wheatley Center pays tribute to a beloved professor and mentor whose legacy includes the Black Male Leadership Development Institute and Uzuri Think Tank.

Sports Preview . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Tournament time is approaching, so turn to our sports section to find out more about the big games and learn which athletes are winning accolades as they carry the Colonials to victory.

Helping His Hometown . . . . 16 The son of Irish immigrants, Morgan O’Brien ‘82 M’05 knows hard work is the key to the American Dream.

The busy executive and community leader strives to provide everyone with a chance to achieve.

Dream Team . . . . . . . . . . . 18 For Valentine’s Day, the story of a Colonial Couple who met on campus, and wound up with three kids, three dogs, and a house in suburban D.C.

10 Questions . . . . . . . . 32 Trustee emerita and former professor Pat Rooney recalls how her students used to wonder what kind of car the wife of the Steelers president drove to work.

CAMPUS REPORT > High Honors

Indeed

With more than 500 chapters internationally, Beta Gamma Sigma serves business programs accredited by AACSB International — The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. The Beta Gamma Sigma chapter at RMU has been consistently growing, inducting almost 100 new members last year alone, and now has approximately 500 student and faculty members. In April the chapter unveiled a monument outside the School of Business Building.

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

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

> TELL US WHAT YOU THINK. RATE THIS MAGAZINE AT RMU.EDU/SURVEY.

Beta Gamma Sigma, an international honors society for business students, has awarded its RMU chapter with the status of high honors for the most recent academic year, recognizing its academic excellence and rising stature on campus.

> Never Forget Students and faculty at the Oral History Center are interviewing veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to document their combat experiences — including some students who are themselves veterans of those two conflicts.

“A typical oral history project doesn’t have participants from the event it documents actively engaged in the project,” said Joshua Caskey, a senior history major whose 12 years as a U.S. Marine included two tours of duty in Iraq.

History professor John McCarthy is overseeing the project, which will become a searchable digital archive that will provide historians and the general public with a firsthand account of America’s post-9/11 conflicts.

The project has received financial support from the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Go to RMU.EDU/IAVP to volunteer to be interviewed or to refer a veteran who might be interested.

> A Dream Come True

At this fall’s Town Hall meeting for faculty and staff, Interim President David Jamison presented the University Distinguished Achievement Awards to four members of the RMU staff for exceptional accomplishments during the 2014-15 fiscal year. Winners received a $1,000 check and a marble book keepsake, and their names are engraved on a plaque with all previous winners. This year’s recipients were (pictured left to right): Marci Razete, guest services coordinator at the RMU Island Sports Center Kimberly Smith ‘15, access services assistant at the University Library Mary Gerard M’05, assistant director of alumni affairs Beth Miller, assistant director of the Career Center

> Changing Lives One Gift at a Time The Association of Fundraising Professionals in Western Pennsylvania named Jay Carson its 2015 Outstanding Fundraising Executive, recognizing the senior vice president of institutional advancement as a catalyst for positive change with a commitment to philanthropy.

Carson has led a transformation of the university’s culture of philanthropy, and under his leadership the university raised over $41 million in a comprehensive capital campaign that assisted in building new buildings for the School of Business, the School of Communications and Information Systems, and the School of Nursing and Health Sciences. President’s Council donors — those who give at least $1,000 each year to RMU — currently number 445, up from 74 when Carson came to the university 10 years ago.

> CARSON

> FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @RMU FOR THE MOST UP-TO-DATE NEWS.

> Take a Bow

The first international Fulbright Scholar to enroll at RMU, Ahmed Alsahli of Libya, is earning a master’s degree in information systems management. “I did my homework and Robert Morris appeared to be one of the best universities in this field.” said Alsahli, who is from Tripoli and has 14 years of IT experience, most recently for the United Nations Development Program in Libya.

After he completes his master’s program, Alsahli hopes to return to work at the UN, which continues to help Libya recover from its civil war. “Getting the Fulbright Scholarship was a dream come true, and something I will cherish for the rest of my life,” he says. The U.S. Department of State awards Fulbright scholarships to allow international scholars to study in the United States as well as sending American scholars to study overseas.

> His Win Streak Continues In January the NCAA bestowed its Silver Anniversary Award on President Christopher Howard. The prestigious recognition was given this year to six distinguished former student-athletes on the 25th anniversary of their college athletic careers. As a running back at Air Force, Howard averaged 4 yards per carry and scored 5 touchdowns, was part of the team that upset Ohio State in the 1990 Liberty Bowl his senior year, and received the Campbell Trophy, known as the “academic Heisman.”

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

> Rankings,

Rankings, and More Rankings RMU leapt 30 spots in the latest U.S. News and World Report rankings, climbing to No. 66 in the list of Top Regional Universities North. In its best showing on the list in the university’s history, RMU improved in 14 of the 16 criteria the magazine uses to rank colleges and universities and held steady in the other two categories. U.S. News and World Report also included the School of Engineering, Mathematics and Science and the School of Business among the nation’s best undergraduate programs in their respective categories.

> Nursing an Ambition Suzan Kardong-Edgren, professor of nursing at Robert Morris University, became the first RMU faculty member to be selected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, one of the highest achievements in the field.

Kardong-Edgren is the director of the RMU Regional Research and Innovation in Simulation Education (RISE) Center and one of the nation’s leading experts in health care simulation and instruction. She is editor-in-chief of Clinical Simulation in Nursing and vice president of research for the International Nursing Association of Clinical Simulation and Learning.

> Start with Art The Princeton Review named RMU one of the 225 “Best Colleges in the Northeast” for 2016. Rankings include results from student surveys about coursework, extracurricular activities, administration, the student body, and personal well-being.

Adjunct media arts faculty member Matthew Conboy launched “Start with Art: Pittsburgh,” an effort to bring original artwork by local artists and photographers to 3,000 newborn babies in Pittsburgh and their families.

Twelve artists and six photographers are participating in the project, including Christine Holtz, professor of media arts, and John Lawson, professor of English, who created written and audio descriptions of the art to allow people with visual impairments to enjoy the pieces.

The program was nominated for the Mayor’s Award for Public Art and received grants from the Crusade of Art, the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.

> Honors and Recognition Adjunct faculty member Tess Barry was one of six poets named on the shortlist for the 2015 Manchester Poetry Prize, a prestigious international award that draws thousands of entrants from across the globe. Barry teaches literature and creative writing at RMU. 4 • R M U . E D U / F O U N D AT I O N S

Samantha Monda, assistant professor of psychology, was named by the United States Olympic Committee as a qualified sport psychology and mental training specialist in the USOC Sport Psychology Registry.

> MONDA

Robert Skovira was named Computer Educator of the Year by the International Association for Computer Information Systems. The award recognizes outstanding achievements in research and education in the field of information systems, both nationally and internationally. Skovira has been teaching at RMU for more than 20 years.

A book by Daniel Short, associate professor of environmental science, restores credit to a pioneering Pittsburgh industrial designer for an iconic New York structure. Unisphere: Symbol of the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair documents how Peter Muller-Munk, a German immigrant who moved to Pittsburgh after working for several years in New York City, designed the iconic enormous globe, often seen as a background in movies, TV, and music videos. The Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh is featuring the works of Muller-Munk at an exhibition, “Silver to Steel: The Modern Designs of Peter Muller-Munk,” through March 14.

> > FIND US ON FACEBOOK Page: RMU Alumni URL: facebook.com/RMUalumni

Maria Kalevitch, dean of the School of Engineering, Mathematics and Science, has been selected for Leadership Pittsburgh, a program for established leaders in the Pittsburgh region to hone their skills.

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

> Talk About Global Perspective

Sushil Acharya, director of research and grants, was awarded the honorary title of Distinguished Adjunct Professor by the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand, from which he earned his doctoral degree in engineering, computer science, and information management. Acharya is a professor of software engineering.

> Research Report Elizabeth Stork, associate professor of organizational leadership, presented a paper in Barcelona in October for the International Leadership Association’s international conference. The paper was “Conformity to Gender Stereotypes in Women Leaders: Damned If You Don’t.”

Stork also published “Leadership Graduate Degree Program Descriptions: A Review and Analysis of Value Propositions” in the Journal of Leadership Studies. She co-authored the paper with A.J. Grant, university professor of organizational leadership, and Lubomir Darmo of the University of Economics in Bratislava, Slovakia.

The American Society for Engineering Education has accepted for publication a paper proposed

by Maria Kalevitch, dean of the School of Engineering, Mathematics and Science, and Priya Manohar, associate professor of engineering. The paper will examine the impact of the school’s regular “research conversations,” during which faculty present their research to their peers and discuss the findings.

Yasmin Purohit, chief diversity and inclusion officer and professor of human resources management, received a 2015 Leadership Excellence Award for education from the Pittsburgh Leadership Conference.

The award distinguishes executives for their achievement in education, corporate, legal, or medical fields.

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 • 5

REMEMBERING A HERO Rex Crawley, a popular and influential communication professor and mentor and champion of educational success for black males, has been memorialized with a portrait in Wheatley Center near his former office.

Friends, family, and former students came to the November unveiling to celebrate the memory of Crawley, who died of cancer in 2013 at the age of 49. Interim President David Jamison praised Crawley for his commitment to helping young black students succeed through the Black Male Leadership Development Institute he founded, a yearlong program for high school students, and through RMU’s Uzuri Think Tank.

“Few of us will leave such a profound personal and professional legacy as Rex created,” Jamison said. “He was committed to maintaining the highest academic standards, while also nurturing students toward success. His conduct stands as a model of behavior for all of us.”

Crawley’s last doctoral student, Chester Thompson D’13, reflected on the short yet powerful influence Crawley had on him.

“In this journey called life, there are people who come into your life for a reason and for a season,” said Thompson, the co-director of BMLDI and a university advisor and adjunct professor. “Rex, quite frankly, for me was both.”

Daria Crawley, associate professor of management, spoke of her deceased husband’s hopes for his young sons, Xavier and Vaughan, and other black children.

“It is important for them to be here, for in order for them to become a dean, a president, an engineer, or a CEO, they have to start out here. They have to come around and be around you, and know this is part of their life.”

WRITTEN BY XAVIER HICKMAN PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOE APPEL

6

7

THE

BIGG AME

It’s cold outside, but things are heating up on the RMU sports scene. Big games and potentially bigger moments await as the postseason fast approaches.

MEN’S NEC TOURNAMENT MARCH 2, 5, 8 WOMEN’S NEC TOURNAMENT MARCH 6, 9, 13

MEN’S ATLANTIC HOCKEY TOURNAMENT MARCH 4-19 WOMEN’S COLLEGE HOCKEY AMERICA TOURNAMENT FEB. 26-MARCH 6

MEN VS. ST. JOSEPH’S SAT., APRIL 23, 1 P.M.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PLAYOFF PREVIEW This is the final hurrah for Sal Buscaglia, retiring after 13 years as coach and more than 200 victories. Buscaglia took a struggling program — his first team finished 3-24 — and transformed it into a bona fide contender that reached the NCAA Tournament in 2007, 2008, and 2014. The current edition could add a fourth berth with talented sharpshooters Anna Niki Stamolamprou and Ashley Ravelli.

SOFTBALL A legion of lively bats returns for the 2015 NEC regular-season champs. Junior Jordan Gurganus (.384) and seniors Ashley Gerhart (.351) and Kristen Gabelt (.343) finished first, third and sixth in the NEC in batting average, and Gabelt tied for third with 9 homers.

THE BIG GAME APRIL 10 VS. CENTRAL CONN. ST. Let’s play two. This doubleheader pits the defending NEC regular-season champion Colonials against tournament champ CCSU.

DOUBLE HEADER VS. CENTRAL

CONNECTICUT STATE SUN., APRIL 10 NOON & 2 P.M.

MEN’S LACROSSE Eric Rankel is one of only two players in program history to be named All-NEC first-team three times.

The senior midfielder, along with returning leading scorer Luke Laszkiewicz, looks to lead a turnaround.

THE BIG GAME APRIL 23 VS. ST. JOSEPH'S

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St. Joe’s is the defending regular-season champion and features junior Mike Rastivo, who led the NEC in goals and points in 2015.

STARS TO WATCH

MEN’S BASKETBALL PLAYOFF PREVIEW A year after his team captured the NEC Tournament title and won an NCAA Tournament game for only the second time in program history, coach Andy Toole hopes the playoff magic can return for the Colonials, who have had a disappointing regular season. Junior point guard Kavon Stewart, a team leader who performed well last postseason, will look to play a prominent role in Toole’s plans.

ICE HOCKEY PLAYOFF PREVIEW Both the men’s and women’s teams are winning this season, earning votes in the national Top 20 polls. Now they set their sights on their conference tournaments, with the NCAA Tournament beckoning.

#11 RODNEY PRYOR MEN’S BASKETBALL The Colonials’ leading scorer in 2014-15, Pryor averaged 21.5 points in two NCAA Tournament games, including 23 against eventual national champion Duke.

#14 ASHLEY RAVELLI WOMEN’S BASKETBALL This senior combo-guard sets the tone in the backcourt by creating shots for teammates or by scoring from long range (41 3-pointers in 2014-15).

#16 GREG GIBSON MEN'S HOCKEY The senior forward was Hockey Commissioners Association Player of the Month in October after earning a point or more in each of the first six games.

THE FINISHER

2.14 The Colonials ranked second in the NEC at 9.50 goals per game in 2015, and Luke Laszkiewicz provided the punch.

PLAYER

GOALS/GAME

1. MIKE RASTIVO, ST. JOE'S 2. LUKE LASZKIEWICZ, RMU 3. ALEX LOVE, HOBART

2.53 2.14 2.00

9

DOUBLE TROUBLE When she enters the draw circle — lacrosse’s version of the face-off — Jessica Karwacki might as well wear a super-sized target on her RMU lacrosse jersey.

“People know who you are,” she says, “and they’re not afraid to come after you any way they can.”

This senior mid-major All-American has absorbed flying elbows, bone-rattling shoulder shots, and unwelcome whacks, and one opponent even attempted to collapse her knee. “I get clobbered in there. It can be dangerous. But I guess they’re willing to try anything to beat me.”

Try? Yes. Succeed? Not often. Karwacki’s 537 career draw controls is already the most in NCAA Division I history, and she has the entire 2016 season to add to her tally. “Nobody’s better,” says coach Katy Phillips. “From the day she got here, you could see she had something special.”

And you should see her twin sister play. Corey Karwacki has a team-best 69 goals and 105 points the past two seasons, and thanks to her scoring prowess and Jessica’s draw control dominance, the Colonials are reaching unprecedented heights. The program posted back-to-back winning seasons and NEC tournaments in 2014 and 2015, a first in its 11-year history. Last year they were the ninth-highest scoring team in the nation (13.9 goals per game) and a record five players earned All-NEC honors, including the Karwacki twins. In their senior year, they say they aim to make it to the NCAA Tournament.

Jessica and Corey are Dean’s List students who each major in business marketing. Jessica, a talented artist, is eyeing a master’s in graphic design; Corey in the medical field. The confidence exuded by the sisters was forged in Sparks, Md., under the watchful eye of their parents, Karen and Rodger.

The duo were encouraged to challenge each other, to compete and, most important, to do it in lockstep. Lacrosse came naturally — Dad played at Towson University, and Maryland is a hotbed for the sport. Afternoon outings in the Karwackis’ expansive backyard often morphed into epic training sessions for Jessica and Corey.

Neither twin invokes the term telepathy in describing their connection on the lacrosse field, yet each acknowledges an acute awareness. “We call it a sister-sister thing,” Jessica says. “We’ve always had that closeness.”

It is no coincidence that Phillips, the program’s only coach since its inception, aligns Corey to the right of Jessica for each draw. This often leads to a quick pass that sends the speedy Corey – two inches shorter than her sister at 5 foot 7 – off to the races. In some scenarios, Jessica breaks free from the physicality of the draw circle and joins Corey on the attack. It is a reminder of those days in the backyard. And it often spells trouble for an opposing goalkeeper.

“Nothing better than when I pass back to Jess and she scores,” Corey says.

“Sometimes things just work out perfectly for us.” For the women’s lacrosse program, too.

WRITTEN BY JOE BENDEL | PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL WILL ‘08 10

> JESSICA (LEFT) AND COREY KARWACKI (RIGHT)

11

BUILDING MOMENTUM On Tuesday morning when a surprise visitor pops into an Intermediate Accounting class, some of the students are understandably shy.

So as he winds his way around the room, asking each student where he or she comes from, President Christopher Howard spurs them on with encouragement.

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“All the cool people are from Ridgway,” he tells one young woman from a lumber town in the remote northern section of Pennsylvania.

When another student murmurs that he’s not from anywhere interesting — he grew up just a few minutes from campus — Howard turns it up another notch. “Don’t be shy about Moon Township,” he says, his voice rising. “Cool things are happening in Moon Township! Especially here at Robert Morris.”

The arrival of RMU’s eighth president is one of those things that Moon Township, not to mention the entire Pittsburgh region, can get excited about. Howard is a distinguished educator, a Rhodes scholar, a decorated veteran, and according to a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial published the day after his selection was announced, “a star” whose appointment is “a win for the school and evidence of its increasing national stature.”

In six years as president of Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, a historic all-male liberal arts institution and one of the oldest colleges in the nation (Patrick Henry was an original trustee), Howard chalked up a string of successes, presiding over growing enrollment and retention rates, increased alumni donations including the biggest gift in the school’s history, and individual achievements such as the first Truman and Goldwater scholars in 20 years. He came to Hampden-Sydney from the University of Oklahoma, where he was vice president for leadership and strategic initiatives and director of the honors college leadership center.

With a career that is a study in forward momentum, the former helicopter pilot explains that it was that same quality that put Robert Morris on his radar. “You can’t manufacture momentum. Institutions either have it or they don’t, and RMU has it,” he says. “Whether it be the athletics program, the capital infrastructure that is being built, the quality of

graduates that are coming out and doing well in the workforce, the Gallup study (showing RMU alumni work and life success compared to the average U.S. college graduate) — it makes for a compelling sense that the school just has energy, you know? I’d much rather be going to a university that has created that than have to come up with it out of thin air.”

Speaking to faculty and staff at a recent town hall-style meeting on campus, Howard laid out the general outlines of what he expects to bring to the university. Along with the typical qualities expected of a new executive — a fresh perspective, the willingness to ask potentially difficult questions, an opportunity to unite the campus community behind key goals, and a desire to advocate and spread the word to the wider community — he also made a point of mentioning the “buzz” that his appointment has already shown it can garner.

“I keep coming back to his ability to utilize the media to advance our goals,” said R. Josh Fogle M’10, a treasury management officer and vice president at PNC in downtown Pittsburgh. Fogle, a Virginia native, graduated from Hampden-Sydney College before coming to Pittsburgh for his banking career and his M.B.A., so he has seen Howard in action. “He was in the news speaking about Hampden-Sydney all the time,” Fogle says, “and he’ll be able to do the same for Robert Morris but have an even bigger effect, not only because of the size of the school but also because of Pittsburgh and what Pittsburgh’s all about, its renaissance.”

Howard also won over students and alumni alike, Fogle says, through his clear appreciation and respect for the 240-year-old college’s history and traditions. It seems an approach Howard

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 3

is likely to repeat at Robert Morris. At the end of his first Colonials basketball game, he and his wife, Barbara Noble Howard, joined the cheerleaders, drill team, and mascot on the court to sway along to the pep band’s rendition of RMU’s alma mater. At Howard’s request, the university has changed the music callers to the university hear when they are on hold to the alma mater.

Richard Harshman ‘78 is well acquainted with essential qualities of leadership — he holds three chairman’s titles: of the specialty metals company ATI, where he is also president and CEO; of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, which guides regional growth strategies in southwestern Pennsylvania; and of the RMU Board of Trustees, for whom Harshman led the presidential search committee. He says Howard’s ability to build on existing traditions while broadening their appeal and relevance to current students is a perfect fit for the demands of his new job.

“He expressed early insights on how RMU’s distinctive culture and core values can foster an even stronger common bond between students and graduates of different eras and demographics,” says Harshman.

Howard was raised in Plano, Texas, by parents with high expectations. Both had graduated at the top of their class, and met in college. Howard was born while his father was serving in Vietnam as an Army combat engineer, earning the Bronze Star — an achievement the son would one day equal for service in Afghanistan.

Howard and his older brother both played football for Plano High School, and sports “closed a racial chasm” for the black

teens in a predominantly white area. His senior year, Howard recalls, the team was an uninspiring 2-2 and in peril of losing a third game when the coach called his number for a run straight up the middle. It was a “lesson in agency, in thinking that you can control your destiny,” Howard remembers. It worked. He scored a touchdown, which led to several more; after finishing off that opponent, Plano went undefeated the rest of the season and won a state championship. His athletic feats continued at Air Force Academy, where Howard won the Campbell Trophy, known as the “academic Heisman.”

Max Robertson, a senior left tackle and team captain for the Colonials, got a chance to meet Howard in private with the other football captains. “I think he’s really good for Robert Morris,” says Robertson, a management major. “He’s a successful student athlete himself, so he’ll be able to relate to students as well as athletes. He’s definitely a motivation and inspiration to any student athlete.”

Howard’s leadership skills blossomed at the Air Force Academy, where he was elected class president three years in a row. He was chosen as a Rhodes scholar, and studied at Oxford in the early ‘90s, writing his doctoral dissertation on Congress’s role in deploying the military. The transition from a military college to an international institution was an eyeopener.

“You realize for the first time that people have different values than you do, and you have to justify and defend why you see the world in a different way,” Howard says. “It was the first time I heard people speak of America in a disparaging way, and it reaffirmed my desire to serve.” He did so after his studies at Oxford, as a helicopter pilot and then an intelligence officer in Bosnia, then in Africa as Air Force Reserve attaché to Liberia. In 2003, he was recalled to duty during the war in Afghanistan, where he was a senior intelligence official at Bagram Air Base.

Howard met his future wife, then a nursing student, during a visit to South Africa. They have two sons, Cohen and Joshua, both now college students. The Howards pay tribute to Barbara’s heritage through their charity, the Impact Young Lives Foundation, which brings

>> GO TO RMU.EDU/PRESIDENT FOR

1 4 • R M U . E D U / F O U N D AT I O N S

promising college students from South Africa to the United States on study tours to meet with members of Congress and leaders of businesses and nonprofits.

Working at two Fortune 500 companies — Bristol-Myers Squibb and General Electric — and earning an M.B.A. from Harvard gave Howard a solid grounding in the world of business. That may be particularly applicable to a university like Robert Morris with a firm foundation in business education, but to Howard that background is helpful for leading any institution of higher learning. “The corporate side is the most specific in terms of understanding what success looks like,” he says. “Universities are not corporate businesses per se, but that ability to create, to execute, using best managerial practices, high levels of accountability, a bias toward action, and making sure that you’re lean so that you can create maximum value, that’s a great skill to bring across.”

Howard for now says he is in a listening phase at Robert Morris, and prefers to learn more about the institution and observe how it operates before identifying specific points of focus that will drive his presidency. But he is clear about one thing: “When you’re at a United States service academy, or at an Ivy League university, or a top international university, or you’re at a flagship state university, or a top 100 nationally ranked liberal arts college, you see excellence. And I think that once you’ve seen excellence, you want to see it again and again. … I see those same elements of excellence at RMU, and it’s a question of how do we do it the RMU way?”

“Ultimately every college has to have some university in it and every university has to have some college in it,” he continues. “You know, the big schools want to feel smaller, the small schools want to feel bigger, but you’ve got to provide that baseline foundation education and then you have to connect someway to the workforce. And Robert Morris is well placed to do that.”

Veronica Smiddle was wrapping up a homework assignment in the study lounge of the School of Business Building one recent morning when she suddenly found herself in the middle of a photo shoot with the new president. She came away impressed. “He’s obviously a very accomplished man, but I found that he was really relatable to me as a student too,” said Smiddle, a senior majoring in hospitality and tourism and marketing.

“I told him my plans after graduation, and he was very supportive and gave me some advice to keep networking. …

RMU is a very close community, so it’s important that we have a president who’s very involved and stays active in student life.”

For Harshman, the presidential transition reinforces a pattern he has observed for decades, since his days as a student. “The education that RMU provides, that ‘foundation for success’ as it is called, is more than just words, it’s reality,” he says. “It was reality when I was a student back in the ‘70s under Charlie Sewall, who left the college much better and more successful than when he came. Dr. Ed Nicholson did the same thing in his almost 20 years of leading the university, and Dr. Greg Dell’Omo in his 10 years did the same in terms of taking over the leadership and bringing it to another level.

The board and the whole university community look forward very much to Dr. Chris Howard continuing that tradition of excellence and growth, and I’m very confident that Dr. Howard will do just that.”

WRITTEN BY MARK HOUSER PHOTOGRAPHY BY MITCH KRAMER ‘08 & MICHAEL WILL ‘08

MORE INFORMATION AND THE LATEST NEWS AND VIDEOS.

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 5

>> Go to rmu.edu/Foundations to see a video of O’Brien receiving the Alumni

Helping H Back when Morgan O’Brien ‘82 M’85 was earning his diploma downtown, there wasn’t much to keep him around after class besides the intramural basketball league he ran.

“It was a downtown that, in the evenings, you could roll up the streets and shut the place down,” says O’Brien, the president and CEO of Peoples Gas and a member of the university Board of Trustees. “The last person who came home from work turned out the lights in downtown Pittsburgh.”

Not to say that everything was dreary. For one thing, O’Brien met his future wife at school. But after he and Kathy Flavin O’Brien ‘81 got married in 1983, the Colonial Couple moved to a house in the suburbs to raise their four children.

Today they’re back in the Golden Triangle, in a bright two-story penthouse whose picture windows and balcony overlook splendid views of Mount Washington and the Monongahela River. They take it as a point of hometown pride that all four of their kids, now grown, are city dwellers too.

Pittsburgh Magazine recently put Morgan O’Brien on the cover of its “Pittsburghers of the Year” issue for his 1 6 • R M U . E D U / F O U N D AT I O N S

Heritage Award.

His Hometown considerable accomplishments, both as CEO of two major Pittsburgh corporations — before Peoples he was the top executive at Duquesne Light — and as a powerful advocate of regional growth at the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, where he has spent the past three years as chairman.

Another accolade O’Brien can add to his list is the Robert Morris University 2015 Alumni Heritage Award. Presented at the annual President’s Council dinner at Heinz Field in December, it is the university’s highest award, given in recognition of distinguished achievement that brings honor upon the alumnus and his alma mater.

O’Brien is the son of Irish immigrants, a hard-working kid from a blue-collar family who followed his older brother and sister to Robert Morris. He got a job in a small accounting firm his senior year, then moved to the local office of “Big Six” firm Coopers & Lybrand. Soon, as a new father, he was staying up late to help with the baby while studying for his CPA exam and then a master’s degree in taxation.

He took a job at Duquesne Light as a tax manager in 1991, and rose through the ranks quickly. Ten years later, O’Brien became CEO at the age of 41. In 2010, he took the helm at Peoples Gas. But as far as O’Brien is concerned, his story is not unique. “I look around the room when I’m at a Robert Morris Trustees meeting, and there are a handful of folks who were

downtown with me at that same time, and every one of them had the same background, from blue-collar families,” he says. “That strong work ethic and the preparation that Robert Morris gave them all led to the success that they have had professionally.”

The O’Briens are big basketball fans — remember that intramural league — and Morgan has been actively involved in rounding up support and sponsors to build a new events center on campus. Beyond the impact a first-class facility will have on the sports teams and their ability to recruit top athletes, a new center equipped to host concerts, shows, and other big-ticket events will magnify RMU’s stature in the region by bringing more people onto campus, many for the first time.

“For all the CEOs and executives I see around town with Robert Morris degrees, it’s still a well-kept secret particularly how beautiful the campus is,” O’Brien says. “I remember the first time I went out there, I was shocked at how beautiful it was — I was a successful Robert Morris graduate and didn’t realize how beautiful it was. It struck me that unless you get people in the region to be on that campus, to come to that campus, the university may never be what it ultimately can be.”

WRITTEN BY MARK HOUSER PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL WILL ‘08 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

DREAM TEAM After 26 years of marriage, Stephen Orr ‘87 and Dawn Curletta Orr ‘88 pretty much have the life they dreamed of back when they were college students — three children they love, careers that challenge them, a big, happy home with three dogs to romp in the yard.

It hasn’t always been easy getting there, they say. But even in their college years, balancing classes with school activities and demanding jobs, the Colonial Couple has shown a knack for the commitment and teamwork that can turn youthful dreams into a reality.

Dawn is chief financial officer for WealthEngine, a data analytics technology company based in Bethesda, Md. Stephen is a commercial flooring specialist with J.J. Haines & Co., the country’s largest wholesale flooring distributor, in Glen Burnie, Md. They live in Ashburn, Va., in suburban Washington, D.C.

1 8 • R M U . E D U / F O U N D AT I O N S

“I think that we both had high aspirations. We had a vision of what we wanted in life,” Stephen says. “We both felt we would have our own home in a nice neighborhood. We knew we wanted those things and to live comfortably raising a family together. We also understood we would have to work hard to get to this place.”

Stephen and Dawn grew up a mile from each other, and both graduated from Bethel Park High School, but they only became friends when their college roommates started dating. It’s understandable the future Colonial Couple didn’t notice each other sooner.

While earning his B.S.B.A. in finance, Stephen worked at the family flooring business in Bethel Park and also played on the men’s volleyball team. Dawn kept two part-time jobs as a car dealership accounting assistant and an insurance agency accounting intern. She also held leadership positions in the Phi Beta Lambda business fraternity and Alpha Tau Sigma academic honor society and was a peer tutor.

The Orrs began dating during Dawn’s senior year. Stephen was putting in long hours at the family business, and Dawn traveled home on the weekends to meet him. Dates during that busy time included $1 wing night at the Ground Round, $1 strawberry shortcake from Roy Rogers, playing tennis, and catching movies. After graduating cum laude with a B.S.B.A. in accounting, Dawn went to work at Price Waterhouse in Pittsburgh.

She met firm partner Gary Claus ‘74, outgoing chairman of the RMU Board of Trustees, who became a mentor and later reconnected her with the university.

The Orrs recently joined the President’s Council.

tech-centric city. But Silicon Valley seemed too far. They agreed on Washington, D.C., a hot place for telecom, so Dawn could take a job in 1996 at accounting firm KPMG, working with software and technology clients.

Stephen was rising through the ranks of a Pittsburgh flooring distributor. But he left his job and spent several months caring for their two boys, overseeing the family’s move to northern Virginia. “It was really a very interesting time for us as a couple. I didn’t even know another woman whose husband did that kind of thing,” Dawn says.

“THE PERSONAL INTEREST THAT THE PROFESSORS TOOK IN ME AND MY CAREER CERTAINLY HAS HAD AN IMPACT ON MY FEELINGS OF FONDNESS, OF LOYALTY, AND DESIRE TO SEE THE UNIVERSITY ADVANCE.”

“I don’t think it was a hard decision,” Stephen adds. “Living in Pittsburgh for 32 years and working there, I guess we just realized there was another opportunity for a change in our lifestyle.

Having that time off was definitely, definitely helpful. We picked a wonderful, happy place to live. I wouldn’t second-guess anything that we’ve done.”

It wasn’t long before Stephen rejoined the workforce with a Maryland flooring company. Then in 2001 it was Dawn’s turn to take a break from the corporate world when her company was sold, so she became a math teacher at their sons’ private Christian school. She later resumed work in executive positions and as a consultant, and co-founded a software company. She joined WealthEngine in 2014 as part of a new leadership team.

DAWN CURLETTA ORR ‘88 CFO, WEALTHENGINE

“As we look back at our time at Robert Morris, I particularly can tell you that the personal interest that the professors took in me and my career certainly has had an impact on my feelings of fondness, of loyalty, and desire to see the university advance,” Dawn says.

She credits her studies, along with job experience and hard work, for early promotions and opportunities. In 1993 she made the jump to tech with a position at information systems software company Legent Corp. As the dot-com boom blossomed through the ‘90s, Dawn developed valuable expertise in the fast-paced world of mergers, acquisitions and IPO’s, and the Orrs began to consider a move to a more

The Orrs enjoy their time together as a family, which now means traveling with their daughter Ally to visit Matthew, who is studying at New York University, and Ryan, who is at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Stephen also likes to get in a Pittsburgh Steelers or Penn State football game. They are hoping to visit Italy this year.

But Washington is home. A favorite way to spend a day is taking in the culture and history of the nation’s capital. “I can’t tell you how many times we simply head downtown, walk around the Mall and visit a few monuments or museums, and come home,” Dawn says. “It’s very nice.”

WRITTEN BY KIMBERLY BURGER CAPOZZI PHOTOGRAPHY BY CURRIE FITZHUGH PHOTOGRAPHY

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 9

UP CLOSE FACULTY PROFILE George Semich

The first time George Semich got involved with RMU was not as a professor, but as chairman of the Moon Township board of supervisors, linking the municipality to the institution through local signage and changing Beers School Road to University Boulevard. Semich, an education expert with 31 years of teaching experience, is now in his 16th year as a professor in the School of Education and Social Sciences. Director of the Ph.D. program in instructional management and leadership, he is overseeing creation of a new online doctoral program launching in June.

Semich says the online program will parallel the on-ground program, and online students will be able to attend the on-ground Saturday morning seminars if they wish, to receive feedback on their dissertations face-to-face.

“What makes our program so unique, and why we attract more than people in just the field of education,” he says, “is that it is a general leadership program tied to a school of education that emphasizes areas such as leadership and management, curriculum, and technology.”

“I’m particularly fond of working with the students who I’ve built some very strong relationships with over the years, and I love to see the line of success we’ve had,” he says. One example is a doctoral candidate who co-authored a research paper with Semich. “This student had experienced a lot of difficult situations while serving his country overseas, and when he came back, one of my goals was to help him seek some form of employment.” Semich recommended the student for the position of director of veteran student services at a local state university, and the student got the job.

12 80 • R M U . E D U / F O U N D AT I O N S

AND PERSONAL STUDENT PROFILE

It’s no wonder Carlheim is the 2016 recipient of RMU’s Rising Star Award, given to a senior who displays academic success, individuality, determination, passion, and potential. His list of campus activities includes Interfraternity Council, Phi Delta Theta, College Democrats, Nonprofit Leadership Alliance, and the Student Conduct Board. With four jobs, Carlheim has mastered his time-management skills.

On campus he is a First Year Student Mentor and an intern at Student Life, and off campus he is an intern at Spider Learning, an online education company, while also working at the Sheetz down the road from Robert Morris.

rmu.edu/foundations

Busy as Carlheim is, he added an extra degree of difficulty when he switched majors from actuarial science after realizing he would rather be a professor. “I shadowed someone, and I found out I didn’t want to be stuck in an office. I love the idea of teaching future teachers in the math field,” he says.

A student teacher in his final semester at Avonworth School District, Carlheim plans to pursue graduate school while working as a leadership consultant for Phi Delta Theta.

Hunter Carlheim

As an avid volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, the Salvation Army, American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, Ronald McDonald House, and many more, Hunter Carlheim averages 400 hours of community service annually.

“I’m not picky,” says the senior applied mathematics major. “I’ll pretty much do any kind of community service.” He’s even fluent in sign language and occasionally translates for the hearing impaired.

21

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 • 12 91

PAUL BRAND ‘85 was

>

DEBI RONCZKA LEOPARDI

>

CATHERINE CAPONI

>

>

CLASS NOTES

KIMBERLY TRAUB

‘77 M’82 was promoted to

‘80 was named managing

named executive vice

YOUNG ‘85 was promoted to

senior vice president for

director of the Ambridge

president for Concordia

corporate chief financial

government relations and

Regional Distribution and

Lutheran Ministries in

officer for Concordia Lutheran

external affairs at Education

Manufacturing Center. She

September. He has been

Ministries in September. She

Management Corporation.

has been with the company

leading the account and

previously was the corporate

Cathy has been with EDMC

since 2004 and previously

finance departments for 27

controller. Kim resides in

since 2009.

was the general manager.

years and was formerly chief

Sarver.

financial officer. Paul lives in

JAMES CRUDDEN ‘71 was named to the board of directors for the Retail Confectioners International, an international trade association of the chocolate and confectionery industry. Jim is president of Rosalind Candy Castle in New Brighton.

JOHN C. KOKALES ‘79 M’84 was appointed director of finance and administration for Every Child Inc. He was previously controller for JusticeWorks YouthCare for eight years.

1980s DEBBIE RITTENOUR ‘80 M’00 was appointed senior vice president of Government Programs at Capital BlueCross in Harrisburg. She previously was vice president of Government Markets at Florida Blue. She has more than 25 years of experience, mostly leading Medicare and Medicaid programs.

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

GARY SANDLER ‘82 received the Regional Chapter Award from the Ohio Valley Society of Adolescent Health and Medicine for his dedication and service to adolescent health. He is a transition care coordinator for the division of adolescent and young adult medicine of Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

LANNETTE LIBENGOOD REESE ‘84 has been working as a merchandiser for American Greetings since March. She also enjoys volunteering at the Ross Township Fire Police and also at the Berkeley Hills Fire Company.

FRAN BENKO ‘86 is a tax manager at BDO. She had been with PricewaterhouseCoopers for over 24 years as a tax manager.

VIC GREGOVITS ‘86 is senior vice president and general manager for Home Team Marketing in Cleveland. He also is a senior advisor for business development

Glenshaw.

for Sportsdigita and president of VSG Sports Marketing. Vic is a member of the RMU Board of Trustees.

JENNIFER BRINKER ‘88 is vice president of marketing and product development for Bruster’s Real Ice Cream in Pittsburgh.

>

1970s

KARA MOSTOWY ‘91 M’06

joined the Watson Institute as a chief development officer.

VINCE MORALES ‘88 became vice president for investor relations and treasurer at PPG Industries in May. He has advanced through various finance leadership roles of increasing responsibility since joining PPG in 1985.

TITO LIMA ‘89 was named chief financial officer of NexTier Bank.

Before joining the financial services company, he was executive vice president of finance for National Penn Bancshares.

Most recently she was chief operating officer with Maher Duessel, a regional accounting firm specializing in nonprofit and government audit and tax services. She also was director of development and executive director of The Early Learning Institute.

Kara is a member of the Board of Visitors for the School of Education and Social Sciences.

CLASS NOTES 1990s THOMAS P. ARNOLD ‘92 M’97 was named to the 2015 class of CFO of the Year by Crain’s Cleveland Business. The chief financial officer for Western Reserve Academy, Thomas has worked for more than 20 years helping educational institutions manage their finances for the future. Tom, his wife, TRACIE SWESKY ARNOLD ‘92 M’97, and their son, Griffin, live in Hudson, Ohio.

ALEX LIMA ‘92 was appointed to the Every Child board of directors.

Ales is vice president and market area manager with First National Bank. He lives in Penn Hills.

MICHAEL MCGRAW ‘92 was appointed to the Pennsylvania Bankers Association information technology committee. He is senior vice president of information technology at Mars National Bank.

KEITH PETERKA ‘92 was named partner-in-charge of Marks Paneth LLP’s professional standards group in Manhattan. He lives in Bethlehem, Pa., and previously worked in the professional standards group at CBIZ/Mayer Hoffman McCann PC. JENNIFER HEPPEL M’93 was appointed executive director of the NCAA Division I Patriot League in August. For the past five years she

was an associate commissioner at the Big Ten Conference.

BILL NIELSEN M’93 is senior vice president of sales for FanManager at Raptor Sports Group in Denver.

Previously he was vice president of sports sales for Nielsen Scarborough. Bill lives in Littleton, Colo.

LISA QUINN M’94 was promoted to senior director of content development for the National Basketball Association.

SHANNON VARLEY ‘94 M’97 is director of curriculum, instruction, assessment, and staff development and federal programs coordinator

for Keystone Oaks School District.

She formerly worked for Avonworth School District.

Shannon lives in Whitehall.

DAVID HARPER M’95 was named athletic director for Duquesne University in September. He formerly was associate vice president of university advancement at the University of Dayton, where his duties included overseeing the men’s basketball program.

GARY SHEETS ‘97 joined Larson Design Group’s Cranberry Township office in the newly created role of director of geospatial service, layering (cont.)

“I made a lot of personal and professional connections at Robert Morris, and they’ve enhanced my career opportunities.

Considering what I received, I am pleased to return something to the university each year.”

– TOM MARCHLEN M’08

BE PART OF SOMETHING YOU CAN BELIEVE IN For just $84 a month, President’s Council members are part of something important. They give the gift of opportunity to RMU students. They invest in the future prosperity and growth of our region.

LEAVE YOUR LEGACY AT RMU Think about how Robert Morris changed your life. Then consider how your legacy gift to Robert Morris can change the lives of future students.

Contact Vice President for Development Kim Hammer at (412) 397-6413 or hammerk@rmu.edu to learn how you can leave a legacy through your will or with a planned gift of retirement savings, life insurance, cash, stocks, or other assets.

They change lives.

To find out more about joining the President’s Council, please contact JEN YOUNG at 412-397-5452 or youngj@rmu.edu.

RMU.EDU/LEGACYGIFT

RMU.EDU/JOINPC

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 3

CLASS NOTES WHAT YOU MISSED

HOMECOMING Mark your calendar now for Oct. 8.

PENN TRIP A tour of Yuengling and a game vs. Coach Toole’s old school.

PATRICK W. CAROTHERS

>

>

Here’s a look at a few of the alumni events we’ve featured since the last Foundations.

ERIC HINNEBUSCH ‘98

‘96 was named a Pennsylvania

received an Emmy in

Super Lawyer by Super

September from the National

Lawyers for the third

Academy of Television Arts

consecutive year. Patrick is a

and Sciences for his work as a

partner with Leech Tishman

videographer at WTAE-TV in

and member of the

the continuing coverage of a

bankruptcy and creditors’

stabbing at Franklin Regional

rights and corporate practice

High School. Eric joined

groups, based in Pittsburgh.

WTAE in 2000.

analytical software with interconnected survey and mapping data across a range of architecture, engineering, and construction fields. He is an aerial robotic infrastructure industry advisor for Carnegie Mellon University.

BRUCE WILSON M’97 was named vice president of finance for Comcast’s Keystone region. He has been with Comcast since 2002.

2000s CARLI BIRCKNER ‘00 is a video producer with AirWatch by VMware. An Emmy and Peabody winner, Carli has more than 16 years of experience in the video production and news industries, including editing and producing for CNN and CBS, production management, and teaching. She lives in Kennesaw, Ga.

Class Notes would love to hear from you.

WINE TASTING At the Harvard Yale Princeton Club.

These are just some of the highlights of what has been a very busy Alumni Events calendar in recent months. We see more and more of you each time, but plenty of alumni still haven’t experienced all the fellowship and fun.

Make sure you don’t miss the next big thing. Stay tuned to the alumni events calendar at RMU.EDU/ALUMNI.

2 4 • R M U . E D U / F O U N D AT I O N S

DEREK SCHUSTER ‘98 is director of sales for the Philadelphia Phillies. He has been with the Phillies since 2003.

BRADLEY DOWNS ‘99 was promoted to vice president of marketing for the Baltimore Ravens. He previously worked in fan development.

SHARI PAYNE M’00 is vice president of enrollment at Waynesburg University. She was the former vice president of enrollment management at Shepherd University in West Virginia.

CHRISTOPHER DINGMAN ‘01 was promoted to supervisor at Herbein + Co. in Pittsburgh.

CLASS NOTES

ELISE JACKSON GWOREK M’04 joined First Farmers and Merchants Bank as a business banker in Franklin, Tenn. She previously worked at Bridgehouse Title as a commercial loan agent.

SEAN KOCAN ‘04 was named a principal with HBK CPAs and Consultants in September. He

ERIKA MCCULLOUGH ‘05 M’11 is senior director of market development for VITAS Healthcare in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. She has been with the company since 2009, first working in the Pittsburgh area before relocating to Fort Lauderdale.

>

>

ELISE JAMES-DECRUISE

‘00 M’04 was named a

August. The couple plan to

Leadership in Life Institute,

finalist in Chief Learning

be wed this May. Jessica is an

sponsored by National

Officer magazine’s 2015

IT specialist at Veolia Water

Association of Insurance and

Learning in Practice Awards

Solutions and Technologies in

Financial Advisors. Heidi is

in the innovation category.

Moon Township.

president of her local NAIFA-

The awards recognize

Pinellas chapter and the

excellence in the design

owner and a licensed agent of

and delivery of employee

Bushko Insurance Group in

development programs.

Clearwater, Fla.

Elise is senior director and

ELAINE LUTHER D’05 received the 2015 Business Communicator of the Year Award from the Pittsburgh chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators. She is a professor of business management at Point Park University.

BRIAN GRINNIK ‘06 and Katelyn Metz were married in May. Brian, an amateur hockey player, and Katelyn, a figure skater and coach, were married on the ice at the Beaver County Ice Arena.

Email us at rmualum@rmu.edu. has been with the firm since 2011 and previously was senior manager. Sean resides in Wexford.

HEIDI L. BUSHKO M’01

graduated from the

CLINT MINARIK ‘06 is a commercial loan officer with Farmers Bank Virginia and serves on the board for Junior Achievement of Greater Hampton Roads in Norfolk. Clint is a Marine Corps veteran and a business coach at the Old Dominion Veteran Business Outreach Center.

head of global training for the New Marketing Institute at MediaMath. She and her family live in Englewood, N.J.

LAURA FRANO ‘05 and

Giuseppe Ragozzino were married in August. She is the manager of environmental compliance for Range Resources in Canonsburg.

>

NEIL SULLIVAN M’03 was appointed vice president and director of athletics for the University of Dayton, where he has been since 2006. Neil is also a faculty member, teaching corporate and sport finance and athletic facility management.

Neil and his family live in Waynesville, Ohio.

JESSICA DEBO ‘04 got

engaged to Jeff Mary in

>

SCOTT KOSKOSKI M’02 is chief development officer at Concordia Lutheran Ministries in Mars.

>

BRIAN LANG M’01 joined BDO as a senior manager for business services and outsourcing in the Pittsburgh office. Previously he was senior tax manager with HBK CPAs and Consultants. Brian lives in Cranberry Township.

The couple reside in the

ANGELA STORY MARINO ‘06

East End.

welcomed their fourth child,

JOSH MARINO ‘04 and

Johnathan Charles, into their family last March. Josh is a NATHAN DILORENZO ‘07 is premium sales manager with the Detroit Lions. He previously was premium sales consultant for the San Francisco 49ers.

proposal engineer at Core Furnace Systems and Angela is a mathematics teacher for the Moon Area School District. The Marino family lives in Beaver.

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 5

you’re shaping tomorrow’s leaders.

PNC is proud to support Robert Morris University. Because we know that brighter futures begin in the classroom.

pnc.com

©2015 The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. All rights reserved. PNC Bank, National Association. Member FDIC

CLASS NOTES

JESSICA TOUTSIS ‘07 is a digital marketing manager for RoomMates Décor in York, Pa. RYAN CRUTHERS ‘08 was named the head coach of the Charlotte Rush Elite junior hockey team. He previously was captain and all-time leading scorer for the Reading Royals.

HEATHER MULVANEY ‘08 is director of fan relations at San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer. Since graduating she has worked with the San Francisco 49ers, Legend Sales and Marketing, and Maloof Sports and Entertainment.

Heather lives in San Jose.

>

>

BRIAN BAUR ‘07 and

MELINDA CERMAK ‘07

STACIE CONLEY ‘09 were

and Trevor Bamford were

welcomed their firstborn,

married in July at Rogal

married in June in Jackson,

Paige Lynn, to the family on

Chapel on the RMU campus.

Wyo. Melinda is a senior

in November. Jen works at

Stacie is a third grade teacher

business analyst in customer

Passavant as a CRNP in a

in Clairton School District and

service for Dick’s Sporting

pulmonary and critical

Brian is a partner at

Goods. The couple reside in

care practice.

EventuresLive, a multimedia

Pittsburgh.

company in Pittsburgh.

2010s CHAZ KELLEM M’12 is senior director of advocacy for race and gender equity for the YWCA of Greater Pittsburgh.

He was formerly manager of diversity initiatives with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

BRIANNE MCLAUGHLIN BITTLE ‘11 became the first athlete to sign for the Buffalo Beauts, one of four founding teams in the new National Women’s Hockey League. The inaugural season began in October with the Beauts, Boston Pride, Connecticut Whale, and New York Riveters.

LEAH GRABIAK ‘11 was promoted to regional manager for the Western and Southern Financial Group, overseeing 27 offices in Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana.

Leah resides in Greensburg.

>

LAUREN PARKER M’07 received a 2015 Women in Energy Leadership Award from the Pittsburgh Business Times in October. Lauren is a principal at Civil and Environmental Consultants.

JENNIFER ALLERTON

KUNA ‘08 D’12 and Sean Kuna

>

KEVIN LOGUE ‘07 is the assistant principal at Oak Glen High School in New Cumberland, W.V. He began at the school in 2012 as a special education teacher, and before that he taught in the Baldwin Whitehall School District for four years.

Kevin lives in Carnegie.

>

JASON KOEBEDA ‘07 is senior coordinator of facility operations for Major League Baseball. He was previously the ballpark maintenance manager for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

SCOTT MUTSCHLER ‘08

MATTHEW B. SARVER ‘07

was promoted to manager

married Elizabeth Birdsell

at Goff Backa Alfera & Co.

on September 6 at Fellows

in Pittsburgh, where he

Riverside Gardens in

provides auditing services

Youngstown, Ohio. Scott

to clients in nonprofit

is a Project Engineer II at

organizations,

Schroeder Industries,

manufacturing, and

where he works closely

professional services. Matt

with the RMU Engineering

began his career at GBACO

department. Scott is currently

as a tax season intern in 2007

enrolled in the master’s in

and became a certified public

engineering management

accountant in 2009.

program at RMU and a proud President’s Council member.

The newlyweds reside in Hopewell 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 • 2 7

LAUREN ZDUNEK ‘09 is

>

ASHLEY CAIN ‘09 and

>

BRENDAN BERKLEY ‘09

>

>

CLASS NOTES

KYLE MCIVOR ‘10 and

and MADELYN CARROLL

ROSS SICKELER ‘09 were

an associate with Meyer,

ASHLEY WILKINSON ‘11 were

BERKLEY ‘09 are the proud

married in October. Ashley

Unkovic & Scott in Pittsburgh

married in September. Ashley

parents of Vera Rose, born last

is manager of conference and

in the litigation and dispute

graduated summa cum laude

April. Brendan is a visual

facility services at RMU and

resolution group. She was

from Duquesne University

designer and front end web

Ross is a field retail sales

formerly a judicial law clerk

School of Law in 2015 and is

developer with Burke

specialist with W.W. Henry.

for Judge Deborah A.

an associate attorney at

Software and Consulting,

The newlyweds are living

Kunselman in the Beaver

Meyer, Unkovic & Scott. Kyle

while Madelyn is a part-time

in Aliquippa.

County Court of Common

is a site coordinator for DRA

science teacher at Eden

Pleas. Lauren earned a juris

Taggert. The Colonial Couple

Christian Academy and a

doctor from Ohio Northern

reside in Pittsburgh.

varsity field hockey coach at

University in 2013. She

North Allegheny High School.

resides in Beaver.

ABBEY LAPE ‘13 was promoted to campaign execution analyst at The Limited in Columbus, Ohio.

She was formerly events and outreach specialist and PR and events coordinator at The Limited.

The Berkleys live in

>

Coraopolis.

FRANK VIEIRA ‘12 and

DEBRA OSTRANDER ‘13 M’13 were married in May. Frank

EMILY SCHOCK LINNER

‘09 M’11 and her husband,

Moon Community Access

>

>

is a web designer for Television and Deb is a senior

received the University of

multimedia designer at

Virginia’s Leonard W.

Carnegie Mellon University.

Sandridge Outstanding

MARYKATE O’HEAR ‘11

Christopher, welcomed their

Contribution Award for the

new baby girl, Harper Shay,

work she does as a registered

in August. Emily is a digital

nurse in UVA’s neonatal

designer at Dick’s Sporting

intensive care unit. This

Goods. The Linners live in

award honors UVA

Imperial.

employees who have shown exemplary service and commitment to the university.

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

KENNETH LOCKETTE D’13 was promoted to assistant superintendent of Avonworth School District. He was formerly the principal of Avonworth High School. Kenneth lives in Mars.

SARA MEIER ‘11 M’13 is a client relationship associate at Management Science Associates in Pittsburgh. Sara lives in Bloomfield with her fiancé, Ian Paterson.

JAKE LEE ‘14 is a ticket sales associate with the Altoona Curves, the Pittsburgh Pirates AA affiliate. He is also an MLS writer for DraftKings.

ROSALIE FRISCH ‘15 started her career at Enterprise Rent-A-Car as a management trainee.

KODY VAN RENTERGEM M’14 was promoted to assistant coach for the Colonials men’s ice hockey team. He previously was hockey operations coordinator.

SCOTT JACKLIN ‘15 signed with the Elmira Jackals, the ECHL affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres, for the 2015-16 season.

>

EVAN RENWICK ‘14 signed with the Alaska Aces of the ECHL as a defenseman for the 2015-16 season.

TAMMY YOUNG M’14 is chief financial officer of Concordia Visiting Nurses, where she has worked since 2009 as accounting manager and payroll supervisor.

Tammy resides in Saxonburg.

and his wife, Emmie, are the proud parents of Zechariah Matthias Ian, born in November. Alan is a digital RMU. The Buehlers live

>

in Whitehall.

JENNIFER WALBORN ‘12

and Corey McPherson were married on September 19.

>

Jennifer is a project MACKENZIE

joined the Wichita Thunder

‘10 M’11 were married in July

of the ECHL for the 2015-16

in Canandaigua, N.Y.

season, his second full season

Cobina is a consultant

as a pro. He has skated for

with Capital Edge Consulting

the Cincinnati Cyclones and

and Chelsea is a women’s

South Carolina Stingrays

ice hockey assistant coach

and earned a call-up to the

for RMU.

Worcester Sharks of the

ALAN BUEHLER ‘13

marketing specialist at CODY CENCI ‘15 is a HVAC designer for Tower Engineering.

While a student he was a construction engineering intern at Crown Castle.

ANDREW BLAZEK ‘13

and CHELSEA WALKLAND

AHL last season.

>

DAVID APPOLON ‘15 joined his Philadelphia childhood friend, Scoop Jardine, at his Palm Ocean Sports Institute, a school where children from troubled areas can live in a house on-site and train with basketball coaches. David lives in Delray Beach, Fla.

COBINA DELANEY ‘13

>

CLASS NOTES

coordinator at Carnegie

CHAMBERS ‘13 and ROBERT

Mellon University. The

SALTSGIVER ‘13 were married

couple reside in Leechburg

in April in Toledo, Ohio.

with their daughter, Skyler.

> LACROSSE DRAFT PICKS Three Canadian former Colonials were selected in the 2015 National Lacrosse League draft in Toronto, Ontario, in September.

The Toronto Rock picked defenseman LUC MAGNAN ‘15; the Georgia Swarm took defenseman MICHAEL SEIDEL ‘15; and the Calgary Roughnecks chose forward JACOB RUEST ‘15. The National Lacrosse League plays indoor or “box lacrosse” during the winter and spring, with teams in nine cities in the U.S. and Canada. To date, 21 former Colonials have been drafted by teams in the National Lacrosse League and Major League Lacrosse.

> ON THE FAST TRACK Three alumni were named Pittsburgh Business Times Fast Trackers in 2015: JOEL ACIE ‘02, Minority, Women and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise project manager at UPMC; KENYA BOSWELL M’06, president at BNY Mellon Foundation of Southwestern Pennsylvania; and JASON CANNON ‘03, vice president in the Pittsburgh office of CBRE.

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 In Memoriam

RAYMOND J. BECK ‘75 of Monroeville passed away on September 8 at the age of 63. Ray was a health care administrator, most recently the chief administration officer for the Allegheny Health Network.

SARAH SMITH ‘11 and

>

>

ANN DEMAY MATYUF ‘43 of McMurray passed away November 12 at the age of 90.

NICHOLAS SHEWCZYK ‘11

DANIEL BRAUN ‘12 got

and ALEXANDRIA ANTONACCI

married last May. Sarah

‘12 were married in October,

is the events manager at the

in Wilkes-Barre. Alex is a

Marcellus Shale Coalition and

franchise communications

Dan is a CPA with Schneider

and marketing coordinator

Downs. The Colonial Couple

with GNC and Nick is an

met in Concord and now

analyst with KMPG. The

reside in the South Hills.

Shewczyks live in Pittsburgh.

CLIFF BARTON ‘48 of Pleasant Hills passed away on August 21 at the age of 86. He was a banker for 30 years and was also a president, CEO, and chairman of Three Rivers Bank.

ELIZABETH B. MALONEY ‘85 of Willis, Mich., passed away on April 24 at the age of 75. She is the mother of alumna DENISE M. CONNOLLY ‘85.

EUGENE A. CASASANTA ‘70 of Moon Township passed away on April 11 at the age of 68. He was a retired investment advisor.

RONALD SUHAYDA ‘86 of Baden passed away on June 2 at the age of 68. He is survived by his wife, Libby, and sons JEFF SUHAYDA ‘94 and DAVE SUHAYDA ‘94 M’07. Ron retired from RMU after 27 years of working in academic services.

MINERVA MAIERS ‘74 of Bellevue passed away on July 1 at the age of 98.

MEGAN JOHNSON ‘15 is a graphic designer at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort and a freelance graphic designer at Silver Tail Media.

>

LEAD

MICHAEL HURLEY ‘10

and SARAH WALSH ‘12 were

JEFF JONES ‘15 signed with the Florida Everblades as a forward for the 2015-16 season.

The Everblades are the ECHL affiliate for the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning.

married on October 3. Sarah is financial aid counselor at RMU and Mike is a credit analyst for Bayer.

LUCKY JONES ‘15 plays for Liege Basket, a team in the top division of Belgian pro basketball.

The Colonial Couple live in Moon Township.

CODY WYDO ‘15 signed with the Wheeling Nailers for the 2015-16 season. He joined the Nailers at the end of the 2014-15 season, scoring a goal and an assist in his professional debut.

+

CHANGE

+

INSPIRE

+

LOOKING FOR ALUMNI TO HELP US EMPOWER WOMEN STUDENTS: BECOME A MENTOR. LEAD A WORKSHOP. SERVE ON A PANEL.

LEARN MORE AT RMU.EDU/WOMENLEAD

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

EMPOWER

CLASS NOTES

MICHAEL R. TONEY ‘03 M’06 of New Kensington passed away on July 19 at the age of 63.

He worked for Paychex in Greentree as an HR specialist.

DAVID A. PAGE passed

>

SHEILA WOODLAND-MCCLAIN M’90 of Carnegie passed away on May 29 at the age of 55. She is survived by her husband, Scott, and daughters Abigail and Amanda. She was a business analyst at PNC Bank in Pittsburgh and her passion in life was China, where her two adopted daughters were born.

MATTHEW NORRELL ‘00 of Pendleton, Ind., passed away on October 31 at the age of 47. He was a paint specialist at BASF International for over 20 years.

>

ANDREW D. MIZERAK ‘89 of Mt. Lebanon passed away on July 26 at the age of 48. He was a certified insurance adjuster and president of his family-owned business, Mizerak Adjusting.

MIDGE MCPHAIL

away on August 24 at the

passed away on September 26

age of 81. He was a former

after battling a chronic illness.

business professor at

Midge was the head rowing

RMU and taught strategic

coach for the Colonials and a

management and business

role model who placed a high

policy for many years

priority on teaching her

at the university.

athletes to be strong, independent women who would succeed in life.

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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 • 3 1

10Questionswith Pat Rooney

When Patricia Regan was growing up on Pittsburgh’s North Side, she knew a young man whose father had recently purchased an unlikely business: the local football team. Pat and Dan Rooney eventually married, raised a family, and watched as Art Rooney’s legacy to his son propelled them to the national spotlight and eventually the U.S. Embassy in Ireland. For Pat, the journey also ran through Robert Morris University, where she taught for years as adjunct faculty in communication and still serves as a Trustee emerita after years on the board.

Your parents immigrated from Ireland.

What was their experience? They were from Cloontia, the same village in County Mayo. My father always really missed his hometown. He belonged to the All Ireland Club in Oakland, where they had the music and the dancing on weekends. My mother adjusted much better than my father. She was just a really strong woman. She raised 10 of us and probably 20 more in the neighborhood.

1

4

Did the students treat you differently because you are a Rooney? They wanted to go out into the parking lot and see what kind of car I drove. They thought perhaps I had a chauffeur or a huge Cadillac or something.

I told them, “It’s a green Chevy.”

7

Do Irish people get American football?

A lot of the Dubliners are more into the sport, although I’d have to say my relatives out in the west really understand it, maybe because of us. All of them seem not to care for the stopping and starting: first down, second down, measuring, time-outs.

32

Interviewed by Dennis Roddy

What would you tell people who wonder if a college degree is worth it? My father was a construction worker. He had a certain set of skills. Certainly we have to have those people. But I think there’s a side to being in a classroom, learning to get along, learning to listen to other people’s opinions. I think there’s a togetherness there and there’s a mindset there that will never go away. I always told my own students and my children and my grandchildren: a college degree is something no one will ever take away from you.

5

When you were living in Ireland, an RMU Alumni Tour visited you at the ambassador’s residence.

What memories do you have of that? A most enjoyable time.

Walking around the grounds and gardens was a cultural experience for all. Lots of tea and cakes were served by the kind staff who look after all who pass through. The highlight was a local husband and wife who told magical stories and played lively accordion music.

10

2

What was your experience teaching at Robert Morris? I loved my students because number one, they were freshmen, so coming off being seniors in high school they were now lowly freshmen again. So they really paid attention.

The Rooney family has long been active in the case of peace in Northern Ireland.

Why is that? I don’t get involved in the politics, but I think personally it would be like standing up for America. This country is so beloved to its native sons that they’re very interested in what goes on in Ireland and they want things to be right.

9

3

You taught writing. Reading all those student essays, what stuck with you? I found some very intimate things they would write about. For instance, a sister or sibling with cerebral palsy and how it affected their families, and what responsibilities they had, and what love they had. They would write about afterschool jobs, working in the car wash.

They would turn it into a humorous kind of piece. Areas where they lived that were being developed and taking away streams and forests.

Really insightful kinds of kids.

6

The Rooney Visiting Scholars Program brings professors from abroad each semester to live in the Rooney House. How did it start? I had some conversations with the president and his people about how we could go about bringing a global presence to the school community. We have had 31 scholars living and teaching at RMU, and I have enjoyed meeting them and am awed by their talents.

8

What is your favorite place to get away in Ireland? In West Cork, Kathleen O’Sullivan’s Seaview House, which looks over Bantry Bay. There’s always a warm, caring Irish welcome there. The food is fresh and varied, with desserts and pots of fresh tea, and gorgeous fresh flowers from the garden every day.

Upcoming Events >

MARCH

>

16 Former CIA Director and Defense Sec. Leon Panetta Pittsburgh Speakers Series Heinz Hall, 8 p.m.

29 Tech Whiz

Rivers Casino, 5:30 p.m.

TBD Highmark

Alumni Luncheon >

14 Colonial Theatre presents “Romeo and Juliet” Massey Theater, 7:30 p.m.

Through April 17 (Sunday at 2 p.m.)

6 Graduate

18 Dedication of Scaife Hall School of Nursing and Health Sciences 8 a.m.

15 RMU Alumni Tour

19 PNC Alumni Luncheon

APRIL

6 Humorist Dave Barry

Pittsburgh Speakers Series Heinz Hall, 8 p.m.

MAY

21 Women of RMU Karen Larrimer Omni William Penn, 11:30 a.m.

Commencement

YOU DECIDE

7 Undergraduate Commencement

WHAT DO YOU LIKE?

Western Canada Through May 23

WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?

16 Joe Walton

HELP US MAKE YOUR ALUMNI MAGAZINE BETTER.

Celebrity Golf Classic Beaver Valley Golf Club Call 412-397-4395

TAKE THE READERSHIP SURVEY AT

RMU.EDU/SURVEY

FOR MORE INFORMATION on these and other upcoming events, visit the Events page at RMU.EDU/ALUMNI.

2016 Alumni Tour

WESTERN

CANADA May 15 – 25

Enjoy a spectacular visit to Vancouver and the Canadian Rockies with your hosts, RMU President Chris Howard and Barbara Howard, on the Sixth Annual Alumni Tour.

To find out more, contact Jay Carson at (412) 397-6404 or carsonj@rmu.edu.

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage

PAID Pittsburgh, PA Permit No. 280 Robert Morris University 6001 University Boulevard Moon Township, PA 15108-1189 RMU.EDU

LITTLE PLANET | BY CORY PITKAVISH | MEDIA ARTS STUDENT