Connections Spring 2013

Connections Spring 2013

IN THIS ISSUE 2 Sounds Like Troy

History: Russell Sage College’s Meneely Bell

4 Facebook’s Diane

O’Brien Murphy ’98

8 RSCAA Event Photos

and Class Notes

Volume 16 • Number 1

From Dean Sharon Robinson, Ph.D. Association’s annual conference with Jim Flosdorf, chair of the RSC English department, for a position being vacated by Jud Emerson — who didn’t want to retire, but was compelled to do so by a law no longer in force. Jim asked me if I knew that Russell

The fall 2012 semester flew by in a blur of activity. King Peggy, whose book was summer reading for first year students, was greeted — appropriately — as royalty when she spoke at our Founder’s Convocation in September.

The Theatre Institute at Sage staged three critically-acclaimed productions: War of the Worlds, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Willy Wonka the Musical. (And I got to check off another item on my bucket list by playing the role of Grandma Josephine in Willy Wonka — my first stage appearance since my second grade play, and an experience that gave me real insight into how very hard our theatre students, and their professors, work Russell Sage Dean Sharon Robinson as Grandma Josephine in the Theatre at their craft.) The Sage Institute’s production of Willy Wonka the Musical.

Votes project brought Sage was a women’s college — and I said that senatorial debates to campus; we rang the was, in fact, the reason I wanted to teach bell on the Science Hall roof as part of Bells there. A member of the last all-women class at Across America in honor of Constitution Vassar College, I knew the power of women’s Day; the Sage Climate Crisis Educational education, and was eager to be part of a colCenter presented 24 Hours of Reality: The lege with values I so passionately supported.

Dirty Weather Report; we welcomed two new I should note that my passion was somewhat students as part of the Initiative to Educate after the fact; like so many of you, I didn’t Afghan Women as well as six visiting students attend a women’s college because I thought from the Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade; single-sex education was valuable, but I guest speakers across the curriculum enriched learned through experience how valuable it our students’ classroom experiences; and we was. all watched as our library was emptied of its

My first year at RSC was rough, because contents, book by book, in preparation for Jud Emerson was clearly irreplaceable. I count the renovation enabled by Lucile Rosenfeld among my treasured possessions his copies Shea’s generous bequest. of Middle English texts, with his carefully

But a busy first semester isn’t the only reawritten marginal notes. I wish I’d had more son I’ve waited till the 11th hour to write this time to talk with him. And while retirement is column. This is my last opportunity to write a choice for me, I understand more deeply his to you in my role as dean of Russell Sage Colreluctance to leave the College. My long-time lege — the first of many difficult good-byes. colleague, Kevin Stoner, has said of Russell As some of you know, and as I’ve told my colSage that magic happens here, and I couldn’t leagues since fall 2011, I will retire at the end agree more.

It’s kind of indescribable — but of this academic year, after 35 years at RSC you know it if you’ve been here.

It’s been my — 25 years teaching medieval literature and honor and my pleasure to share that experilinguistics, 10 as dean. I couldn’t have asked ence with all of you — to be part of the magic for a more satisfying and rewarding career. that is Russell Sage College.

In December 1977, I had an interview in Chicago at the Modern Language

Connections

Published by The Sage Colleges Office of Communications & PR

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING

Shannon Ballard Gorman EDITOR

Elizabeth Gallagher ART DIRECTOR

Sarah Statham SGS ’08 CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Elizabeth Gallagher Joely Johnson Mork SGS ’08 CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Tamara Hansen Sandra Sweeney Manny Matt Milless Kris Qua THE SAGE COLLEGES OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS & PR

65 1st Street Troy, NY 12180 Tel: (518) 244-2246 Fax: (518) 244-6716 E-mail: connections@sage.edu www.sage.edu

“To Be, To Know, To Do” our motto for nearly 100 years

Mission Statement The mission and purpose of The Sage Colleges is to provide the individual student with the opportunity and means to develop and advance personally and professionally, and thus to be successful in achieving life goals; to contribute to the larger society a group of diverse, thoughtful and competent citizen-leaders who continue to be engaged in the pursuit of lifelong learning; and to translate learning into action and application, recognizing the obligation of educated persons to lead and to serve their communities.

president’s page IN THE COMMUNITY

President Scrimshaw and Allan Stern — pictured with Troy Mayor Lou Rosamilia and his wife, Peg — donned themed attire for Troy’s annual Victorian Stroll in December.

ON CAMPUS

President Scrimshaw with Nursing Department Chair Glenda Kelman, Ph.D.; Leslie Nicoll, Ph.D., MBA, RN, ’77; Executive Director of the American Nurses Credentialing Center Karen Drenkard, Ph.D., RN, NEA-BC, FAAN ’80; and Assistant Professor of Nursing Kathleen Kelly, Ph.D., at a gala luncheon celebrating 90 years of nursing education, in November.

SAGE REMEMBERS DOCTORAL CANDIDATE DAWN HOCHSPRUNG It was with shock and sadness that we learned of a Sage connection to the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. The school principal, who was killed in the shooting, was a doctoral candidate at Sage’s Esteves School of Education.

In response to the outpouring of grief and generosity that followed this tragic event, Sage created the Dawn Hochsprung Memorial Fund. Through discussions with Dawn’s colleagues in the doctoral program and her family members, we decided that the most appropriate and impactful way to honor Dawn’s life and legacy is to establish a center in the Esteves School of Education, to be called the Dawn Hochsprung Center for the Promotion of Mental Health and School Safety.

IN THE NEWS In October, President Scrimshaw attended the Institutes of Medicine annual meeting in Washington, D.C., on the topic of educating the health workforce in the 21st century. The meeting was based on a special report, published by The Lancet and prepared by the independent Commission on Education of Health Professionals for the 21st Century, of which President Scrimshaw is a member.

The idea for a center was born out of a desire to honor Dawn and to do what we can to prevent something like this from happening again. Safety is about more than locking doors. It is about teaching self-respect and respect for others. It is about ensuring that those who need mental health support receive it.

In December, President Scrimshaw testified before the State Assembly Committee on Higher Education on behalf of the independent colleges in New York state. Her commentary on the rising cost of higher education was covered by media outlets across the state.

It makes sense for Sage to become a national leader in this area by integrating our education programs with our programs in Creative Arts Therapy, Counseling and Community Psychology, Law and Society, Public Policy and Civic Engagement, the Theatre Institute’s programs on bullying, and our Academy for Character Education.

President Scrimshaw is providing commentary on matters of personal, regional and global significance to The Huffington Post.

Visit HuffingtonPost.com/susan-c-scrimshaw.

Dawn will be further honored with the conferral of her Ed.D. with her cohort in May 2015. If you would like to contribute to the Dawn Hochsprung Memorial Fund, please visit Sage.edu/HonorDawn.

The magnitude of this tragedy transcends individuals and yet they cannot be forgotten. Dawn was a remarkable individual whose life and dedicated work deserves to be celebrated. As we connect in reflection, may we find solace in one another and in our special Sage community.

— Susan C. Scrimshaw President, The Sage Colleges

Spring 2013 | Connections 1

SAGE’S MENEELY BELL: SOUNDS LIKE TROY HISTORY

By Joely Johnson Mork SGS ’08

hat’s 73 years old, weighs 379 pounds, “sings” in the key of E, and lives on the roof of Russell Sage College’s Science Hall? The item in question is a massive metal bell gifted to the school by the outgoing seniors of 1940. And this is not just your everyday bell: Crafted by the well-known Troy company, the Meneely Bell Foundry, Sage’s bell is a part of history, both Troy’s and the world’s.

company, the original Meneely Bell Foundry, also in West Troy/Watervliet. In 1879, relatives of his created a second Meneely bell company, located at 22 River Street in Troy, just north of the RSC campus.

History of an Industry Troy is known for many industries, including textiles (such as shirt collars), steel, and iron. This area is also the birthplace of American bell crafting. In 1808, the nation’s first bell foundry was started in West Troy (now known as Watervliet). Andrew Meneely, the son of immigrants to New York from Northern Ireland, apprenticed there.

In 1826, he went on to establish his own

2 Connections | Spring 2013

The “blotter” or ledger entry for the RSC Meneely bell reads: “One 350 lb. bell + c.p.m.,” meaning one bell weighing 350 pounds plus complete mountings. The arithmetic in the left margin shows the total weight of the bell and mountings equaling 379 pounds. At the bottom of the page, the line reading “Via: Buehler’s truck” tells how the bell was delivered from 22 River Street to the RSC campus.

Meneely bells went on to gain national and global renown for their craftsmanship and clarity of tone. Nearly every church bell in Troy is a Meneely bell, and other Meneely bells ring, or have rung, all over the world.

Bells manufactured in Watervliet or Troy have sounded for the funerals of President Franklin Roosevelt and President John Kennedy, and rang at President Lyndon Johnson’s inauguration. The 1876 replacement for the Liberty Bell, which still hangs in the bell tower of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, is a Meneely bell. Other Meneely bells are installed at Cornell University, the Metropolitan Life building in Manhattan, and the West Point military academy. Bells made by the Meneelys can also be seen and heard in Canada, the Czech Republic, and Taiwan.

“The Sage bell was cast in the same location that created the famed Women’s Suf-

frage Liberty Bell in 1915,” said P. Thomas Carroll, executive director of the Hudson Mohawk Industrial Gateway and Burden Iron Works Museum in Troy and resident bell historian. “That bell was cast to help the campaign to get women the right to vote and is today on display at Valley Forge.” The original Troy Meneely foundry spot is now an empty lot, just north of the Old Brick Furniture Company and across from the former Levonian Brothers, Inc. “We have hopes of placing a historical marker there,” said Carroll.

Ultimately, the Meneely companies manufactured approximately 65,000 bells. Both Meneely foundries closed in 1952; the oncethriving industry had fallen victim to metal shortages as well as the increasing popularity of modern electronic bells and chimes.

Why a Bell?

A heavy, metal bell might seem like a strange class gift to today’s students, but in 1940, it was extremely common for institutions of higher learning to have bells like Sage’s Meneely specimen. “Pretty much if you Google the name of any college or university and also add the word ‘bell’ to your search, you’ve got a very good chance of getting a hit,” said Carroll.

Betty Cummings ’40, age 94, remembers that her class “wanted to do something special for the school at that time.” Her nephew, Beaman Cummings, escorted Betty to her 70th Reunion in 2010, and he recalls the bell being sounded for the gathered group of alumnae. “It was very important and meaningful to the class to hear it ring,” he said.

The bell was mentioned in a short article that appeared on page 3 of the May 31, 1940 (vol. XVII, no. 28) edition of RSC’s college

These wooden “sweeps” were used to create the inside and outside molds for the RSC Meneely bell.

The “350” indicates the size (weight) of the bell they were used for. The long, narrow “core” sweep was used to shape the mold for the interior of the bell. The wider, shorter “cope” sweep was used to make the mold for the outside of the bell, which resembles the mostly concave, curved portion of that sweep.

newspaper, The Quill. The headline was, “Betty Bitzer Presents Bell as Senior Gift,” and the text read: President [James L.] Meader, it is my very great privilege to present to you on behalf of the Class of 1940 the bell whose sound we have all just heard. It is our desire that this bell will be rung for such all-college functions as Chapel and Commencement. The thought has occurred to us that the classes that follow ours, may, perhaps, be interested in presenting additional bells so that, eventually, there may ring out a carillon over the campus of this college we all love.

Ironically, for an object specifically crafted to create loud sounds, the Sage bell was deemed an irritating nuisance at some point.

Some unknown Sage administrator silenced the bell by removing the clapper (the metal striking implement that is suspended inside a hanging bell). A hard rubber hammer is now used to sound the bell on special occasions.

Sage’s bell is not the only one to be tampered with. “There is a tradition at Princeton that, if the bell in Nassau Hall doesn’t ring, the students don’t have to attend class,” said Carroll. “So of course there have been all kinds of capers by the students to steal the clapper or to otherwise silence the bell.

Sometime around a century ago, Princeton ordered a number of clappers from the Meneelys so they would have a reserve set, just in case.”

The Bell Still Tolls The Sage bell remains in use on the campus today, explained Dean Sharon Robinson.

“During Rally Week, on Sweater Night [an event when first-year students receive and wear their class sweaters for the first time], upperclasswomen lead students in a kind of parade through campus, ending outside Science Hall,” she said. On the roof of the building, the two Overalls (seniors selected as Rally leaders) ring the bell. The loud ringing sets off a period of singing of traditional Rally songs. The Overalls lead the group from the roof, with everyone else singing on the sidewalk and street in front of Science Hall.

In 2012, RSC students rang the bell as part of the “Bells Across America” ceremony that marks Constitution Day.

This short article appeared in the May 31, 1940 (vol. XVII, no. 28) edition of The Quill.

Do You Know About the Bell?

Do you have memories of the Sage Meneely bell? We would love to find out exactly where the bell was first installed on campus, and how it made its way to the roof of Science Hall 20 years later. We are also interested in which Sage official removed the clapper, and when. If you would like to share any information or memories you may have about the school’s historic Meneely bell, please contact the Sage Communications office at communications@sage.edu.

Spring 2013 | Connections 3

alumna profile

A Friend at Facebook: Diane O’Brien Murphy ’98 “I’m passionate about getting girls and women to pursue careers in technology,” said Diane Murphy, joking that, “It may be weird since I have a B.A. in English.”

It’s precisely that degree in English — and the personal attention in small classes that characterizes her alma mater — that primed Murphy for her career at revolutionary technology companies, including eBay, PayPal and now Facebook, where she is a member of the User Experience and Design team within the engineering department.

What attracted you to Russell Sage for college?

I grew up Lancaster, Mass., and my high school guidance counselor was Diane Haarmann ’70. She encouraged me to consider Russell Sage. I fell in love the minute I stepped on campus.

Did you move to California immediately after graduating from RSC? I moved to Boston after graduating and worked at a couple of startups. From there, I moved to Manhattan, where I was a web editor at an ad agency. My now-husband is an animator for DreamWorks, and Silicon Valley was the

right move for what I wanted out of a career. I moved out here and was hired at PayPal. I understand that you also worked at eBay prior to joining Facebook. Would you tell me a little bit about your positions at eBay and PayPal?

At eBay and PayPal, I was also part of the User Experience and Design teams, made of up of designers, researchers and writers — or what we’re called now, content strategists. I helped design features and tools on the site, and wrote text associated with those features.

How long have you been with Facebook? What attracted you to your position there?

I joined Facebook in March 2012. I was attracted to the culture, the pace and the overall idea of social networking. The opportunity to work on something with an audience of one billion was also exciting.

How is a content strategist like a traditional job title, like writer or editor — and how is it different?

Content strategy includes writing and editing. But it also includes site governance, information architecture and user-testing. I write, and I’m heavily involved in the design process. But my goal is the same as any writer’s or editor’s: making sure what I write makes sense to the people who use Facebook.

I’ve read a bit about your social resolution project, which helps Facebook users manage uncomfortable situations that can arise on Facebook. Would you tell me more about that?

This is such a neat project — I’m really proud of it.

4 Connections | Spring 2013

Less than a year ago, if someone posted a photo on Facebook that you objected to, you could report the offending content to Facebook. But Facebook is really a platform for free speech. As long as a photo doesn’t violate Facebook’s Community Standards, the only way to have a photo removed is to ask the person who posted it.

That’s a potentially uncomfortable conversation for many people, so Facebook set out to design a tool that would make it easier. We carefully built this, keeping in mind that we were dealing with sensitive issues.

We reached out to psychologists who are experts in real-life conflict resolution to help us craft the right kind of language for the tool. It’s the first time Facebook partnered with the academic community on a design project. They encouraged us to design and write with emotion-filled language, to help the people dealing with the issue to work it out with each other.

Today, if you select “Report/Remove Tag” from the “Options” menu of a photo that someone else has posted on Facebook, a series of prompts helps distinguish photos that violate Facebook’s Community Standards from photos that someone objects to for a more nuanced reason (For example, maybe it’s a picture of your children at a birthday party, that another parent posted without your permission.) The “Report/Remove” tool offers the user a series of options, including suggested language for messaging the person who posted the photo, and asking him or her to remove it.

We started with photos, but we want to apply this to other areas and audiences of Facebook. I’m working with psychologists from Yale and Columbia on tools and content that will help kids who are being bullied on Facebook.

When you were a student at Russell Sage, Facebook and PayPal weren’t invented yet, and eBay was brand new.

How did your “traditional” English degree prepare you for work at these technology-driven companies?

The English program at Russell Sage was very comprehensive. I took a lot of writing classes, including journalism, which helped prepare me for the writing part of my job, but I also took a linguistics class, which turned out to be a huge help since I’ve worked for global companies where content needs to be translated.

The small classes and collaborative environment at Russell Sage affected how I work. I was never in a

Spring 2013 | Connections 5

lecture hall with hundreds of students where I could hide. I was in small classes and I was expected not only to show up, but to contribute. Whether you’re talking about British Lit or Web Design, it’s the same in the field I work in — I work with small teams and I’m expected to be a team player and contribute.

I took Statistics to get my math requirement out of the way, but my professor saw my interest in computers and technology and encouraged me to take classes outside my major. That wouldn’t happen at very many schools, and without that computer science foundation, I wouldn’t be on this career path.

How has working for Facebook changed or reinforced your own use of the site?

I’ve gone beyond using Facebook just to keep in touch with friends. Facebook is a great tool to become involved in causes. The shooting in Newtown, Conn., really had an effect on me, as I’m sure it did on everyone.

I’ve joined certain Facebook groups so I can be part of communities that support tighter gun control. I’m also able to subscribe to politicians’ pages to see what their take is on gun control, mental health and other topics related to the tragedy.

Now that I work there, I’m really proud of Facebook and how it has changed so many people’s lives for the better. I feel like I’m a part of history. Facebook’s mission is to make the world more open and connected, and I truly believe it does.

Are there any parts of your work that you think would surprise the general public?

I think what may be surprising is how much we really care about the people who use Facebook — essentially, our customers. When a change happens on Facebook that you don’t like, we hear you and genuinely take that feedback into consideration. Mark Zuckerberg meets with teams to discuss design and content every week — he cares so much about Facebook, and the people who use it.

I am familiar with the book The Boy Kings, which claimed a “boys club” atmosphere existed at Facebook in the early years. Have you found your workplace to be welcoming and inclusive?

I’m technically part of the engineering department at Facebook, which is very male-dominated, so, yes, most of my co-workers are men. And yes, technology in general is still dominated by men. But no, I don’t feel as though Facebook is a boys club. I’m treated as an equal.

I’m passionate about — and it may be weird since I have a B.A. in English — getting girls and women to pursue careers in technology. I work closely with the Bay Area Girl Geek dinners and other organizations that encourage women in technology.

I do have female role models at Facebook. The director of design, Kate Aronowitz, is also a mom, so I look up to her for handling being a mom with such an important job. But I also have role models at work who are male. My role models, whether male or female, are parents who successfully handle work and parenting, or people who are passionate about what they do, or people who have genuine respect and compassion for their coworkers.

I’ve read Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg’s comments about leaving work every day at 5:30 to spend time with her family, yet she has also been quoted as saying “There’s no such thing as work-life balance.

There’s work, and there’s life, and there’s no balance.” Have you been able to balance your career and personal goals?

The most important things in my life are, and always will be, my boys, Jake and Will, and my husband.

Balancing career and personal goals is tough, but I’m lucky to work for a company that really does encourage such balance. At night, the phone and laptop are put away when I’m with my boys. And I love to run. I made it a point to set aside time for running, and I just ran my first half-marathon!

6 Connections | Spring 2013

Alumnae Association Helen Rodriguez Burmaster ’78

Now that I have finally settled into my new home and community, I thought I would venture out to meet people beyond my immediate neighbors, so I volunteer with a local elementary school and joined a book club. More recently, I joined a discussion group on contemporary issues. The contemporary issues group functions much like a book club; topics are selected, and the facilitator comes prepared with questions to promote discussion. The job of facilitator rotates among the group members, and it was my turn to be facilitator, so I headed to our library in Haines City, Fla., to select books and periodicals to “read up,” and generate the questions for discussion.

The new library is in stark contrast to the old one, which resembled a high school library rather than a community library. I was astounded at the increase in the number of people at the library during a mid-morning, particularly those using the new computer workstations. There was a café, and dedicated spaces for reading and studying, much more conducive to what the community needs in a library. I thought of the RSC library in Troy, and how it too had remained somewhat unchanged for well over 50 years. Then I thought further, what other things have changed since I was a student.

I am sure you have heard by now that Sage, using funds from Lucile Shea’s bequest, is renovating and modernizing the library to be a living and learning resource that the entire Sage community will use, much like my new and modern community library in Florida. Then there is the student center, located during my days as a student in the John Paine building, and now located in McKinstry. The John Paine building not only housed the student center and offices, but housed the Rathskeller and yes, the infamous dance studio. All of those have given way to a high-tech business incubator, which gives students internships and advantages in future employment. So much more has changed, with the forward thinking of our alma mater’s administration and support of alumnae like you and me, and all benefitting the students of today.

Come see for yourself what is different and new, and how the students of today are being equipped for jobs of the future, and how current traditions are solidly connected to sister classes in the past. For the classes ending in “3” and “8” (including my class of 1978, celebrating our 35th), Reunion will be on May 31, June 1-2, 2013.

There are also regional groups popping up all over the country. Participate and meet fellow alumnae. Hear what is going on. Refer a student.

In closing, I would be remiss without sending my prayers, love and support to our alumnae, students, families and friends in Newtown, Conn.

Best Regards,

Helen Rodriguez Burmaster ’78

Alumnae Relations Office (518) 244- 2242 rscalum@sage.edu

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED Join the Sage Partners Program and help Russell Sage recruit talented applicants!

Alumnae who volunteer for the Office of Admission spread the word about Russell Sage College’s tradition of excellence, by visiting high schools and college fairs in their area, hosting receptions for local students accepted to Russell Sage and more.

We rely on a network of volunteers around the country! For more information on how you can participate, contact the Sage Partners Program Director George Tiggle at (518) 244-2450 or tigglg@sage.edu. If you have volunteered in the past, thank you for your continued commitment to Sage.

Spring 2013 | Connections 7

Northern California

The Northern California chapter of the Russell Sage College Alumnae Association hosted lunch and a tour of San Francisco’s Treasure Island in November. Mimi Manning ’69 conducted the tour, and shared the history of the island.

Alumnae enjoy lunch on Treasure Island.

Southern Connecticut

Jean Radtke, Eileen Ilberman, Lynn Abraham, Sue Wilber and Jackie Love, all members of the Class of 1973.

The annual fall luncheon hosted by the Southern Connecticut chapter of the RSCAA always attracts a crowd.

Karin “Brownie” LaBanca ’94, Ronnye Shamam ’64 and Barry Ilberman.

Ronnye Shamam and Barry Ilberman are members of The Sage Colleges Board of Trustees.

Troy, New York

Recent graduates had fun at a pub crawl in downtown Troy.

Becca Beeman ’09 and Tess Carstensen ’12 at a holiday party for RSCAA volunteers.

8 Connections | Spring 2013

Alumnae and Sage’s advancement office members at the holiday party.

Florida

President Scrimshaw met with alumnae at events throughout Florida in January.

Carol Winston ’50 and Joan Dick ’52 in Boca Raton.

President Scrimshaw with Christine Burke ’74 (left) and Jane Linker Schwartz ’48 in Naples.

Dana Sprott ’82, Roberta Shane ’50 and Joy Silverstein ’52 in Boca Raton.

RSCAA President Helen Burmaster ’78, Patricia Sizemore ’71 and Susan Hawley ’71 in St. Pete Beach.

Elaine SchoenGood ’48 and Alice Katz ’48 in Naples.

The RSCAA is hosting exciting events in Boston, Philadelphia and New York’s Capital District, this spring and summer.

Visit Sage.edu/alumni/ rsc/events for details.

John Iwanicki, Nancy Sohlberg ’50, Annie Paulhus Iwanicki ’86 and John Bean in St. Pete Beach.

Olivia Haynes ’63, Vice President of Advancement Melissa Komora and Irvin and Linda Feins ’64 in St. Pete Beach.

Visit Sage.edu/alumni/rsc to see more photos.

Spring 2013 | Connections 9

RSC Class Notes

1939

I was informed of the passing of Elisabeth “Betty” Boltwood Bliss in November. Betty was a commuter too, and we hung out in Thompson House where we made our daytime home on campus. The family of Doris McCarren Ernest let us know of her passing, in June. We also have lost Marion Hubbard Cook, as reported in the In Memoriam section in the last Connections. It is always sad for me to have to report a death in the “family,” but such long lives are always a blessing. We wish the remainder of us more happy and healthy days and years.

For my own classmates, I paddle along at my own slower gait and wish you all well. See you at our 100th anniversary!

Polly “Pauline” Soper Minehan 671 Lakeside Circle #323 Pompano Beach, FL 33060 954-783-7733 polly@mycelery.com

1940

The alumnae office learned that Jeanne Butler Jarret died in February. She will be missed. Earlier in the year, I received an email with beautiful pictures of Jeanne from Donna Rose Hall French ’71, who visited Jeanne at her residence in East Greenbush, NY. Please email, write or call with news. I would love to hear from you. Just remember to speak loudly; it is hard for me to hear sometimes.

Elizabeth “Betty” Cummings 6 Church Street West Boylston, MA 01583-1603 508-835-3774 beamancummings@charter.net

1941

Polly Minehan ’39 wrote about the passing of Virginia Holt Fitzgibbons. We would like to send our deepest sympathy to her family.

1942

Marie Schumann Andrews published her book in November. Nothing Lasts Forever is a love story that takes place post-WWII to the present. It is available at Amazon.com.

Eleanor Jordan Mason 6 Sunrise Drive Morris Plains, NJ 07950 973-538-7626 eleanormason@optimum.net

1943 Jeanne Butler Jarret (center), Jeanne’s daughter and Donna Rose Hall French ’71 (right). Jeanne passed away in February.

I received a call from one of our classmates about two months ago, but I could not answer and it went to voicemail. When I listened to the recording, I could not make out the name or the number.

Please call again so we can catch up!

10 Connections | Spring 2013

Sadly three more classmates have passed on in 2012: Dorothy Lang Turchick in January, Elizabeth Caughran in July and June Price in May. The class extends its sympathy to their families and friends.

On a happier note, I received a surprise telephone call from Esther Romweber Davidson. She was looking forward to seeing her family over the holidays, including those coming from Germany.

Unfortunately, Esther will be unable to attend Reunion #70,

but she sends best wishes to all of us.

Let’s forget the high birthday number and plan on another trip to Troy this spring to celebrate all our years. I hope to see a lot of you then!

Muriel L. Wilhelm 78 Sproul Hill Road Bristol, ME 04539-3211 207-563-3122

1944

Muriel Van Zandt Lichtenwalner 350 Main Street East Greenville, PA 18041-1302 610-323-8602 muriel@netcarrier.com

1945

Please send updates to connections@sage.edu.

1946

To start with the sad news: Elizabeth Hunt Russell and Delphine Murray Osborne passed away recently. We send our deep sympathy to their families.

Doris Cox Powell ’45 (“D.P.” or “Coxie” to me) and her family hosted their annual Christmas caroling party in December. Always a gala time.

I’ve been invited to be on the executive committee of the Boston Author’s Group, a society started in the late 1880s.

We review Boston area books and award an annual prize.

Voilà. C’est tout. What’s new with you?

Vera Cohen Lee 15 Claremont Street Newton, MA 02458 617-965-1768 leev@bc.edu

1947

Sylvia Saarnijoki 24 Holly House Court #4A Litchfield, CT 06759-3640 860-567-5271 ssaarnijoki@webtv.net

1948

Please send updates to connections@sage.edu.

1949

Barbara Tyrell Kelly’s book, Growing Up In Lake Placid, contains chapters about Russell Sage during the four years after WWII ended. I am sure alumnae from that era will remember and laugh about our rules, the Men’s Division, freshman dorm first meeting, Tea Dances with the RPI Serenaders, phys-ed camp at Lake Luzerne and more. Contact Barbara at lpskater@roadrunner.com, 89 Greenwood St., Lake Placid, NY, 12946, or (518) 302-5043.

Never, ever could I have dreamed of what happened in Newtown. Then, Marjorie Schwartz Lewis and Betty Weisner confirmed what we had suspected. The principal of Sandy Hook, Dawn Hochsprung, had the same name as our classmate, Marian Hochsprung Barney, and was married to Marian’s nephew.

Marian, your classmates, send our condolences to you, your family and indeed to all those touched by this tragedy.

Other sad news is the death of Carolyn Lomas Balsam last October. Our class sends its sympathy to her family and friends.

Betty Weisner is into tai chi and bridge and recently celebrated her 85th birthday.

Marjorie Schwartz Lewis writes in response to my request for news, “Do you care that four huge raccoons ate my two pumpkin pies cooling on the porch before 25 assorted folk were coming for Thanksgiving dinner?” She is also a star on YouTube. Check out “If we don’t go digital” at YouTube.com/CrandellTheatre.

Harriet Blank Lapkin visited a daughter last summer and also saw Ruth Norby Hensley, who lives in a lovely home, full

RSC Class Notes of Scandinavian art, in Highlands Ranch, near Denver. In November, Harriet attended a meeting of the Northern California Chapter of the Alumnae Association.

Elizabeth “Jay” Lee Warren 46 West 25th Avenue Spokane, WA 99203 509-838-2769 billandjay@hotmail.com

1950

Marie Corrado was inducted into Sage’s Athletics Hall of Fame in February. A retired high school athletic director and past president of the Association of Women in Physical Education, she was extremely involved with implementing Title IX athletic programs for high school girls in Nassau County (NY) and throughout New York state and has authored several physical education curriculum guides.

Marie often attends Sage’s games, especially when the Gators play downstate, and has connected Sage’s coaching staff with high school coaches and administrators on Long Island.

Sage’s home softball dugout is named for her, in gratitude for her gift toward the Neff Center and the Robison Softball complex.

Diane Bault DeMille attended a Boston alumnae event with Patricia Newmark McCue ’52. They visited the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA, and had a delicious lunch at the Hawthorne Hotel with the group. They had a lovely time!

Jane Wardwell Roberts PO Box 151 Fitzwilliam, NH 03447-0151 603-585-6612 jwroberts1776@aol.com

1951

It is with deep sympathy that I inform you that we have lost two dear classmates recently.

Suzanne Foley Joncas and

Phyllis Younger Goldstein passed away in September.

Both Suzanne and Phyllis will be missed.

Do keep in touch! I would be very happy to report any information that you send me.

Let me know what you all have been doing.

I had a pacemaker implanted in September so I did not get up to our villa on Sugar Mountain in Banner Elk, NC this year. I missed the changing leaves.

Florence “Flossie” Hinkle Frommer 3892 NW 59th Street Coconut Creek, FL 33073-4109 828-898-7597 EFFrommer@aol.com

1952

The Golden Horseshoes of 1952 had a wonderful Reunion in June, but I have had little news since then. We all need to get on board and not neglect communicating between Reunions.

I received notice from Sage and from Betty Christensen Jolly that Renee Ledoux Holmes passed away in October. Betty sent a copy of the obituary, which appeared in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.

Renee had been a French teacher in Ligonier, PA. Her husband passed away in 1981.

She is survived by two children and their spouses and five grandchildren. The first two words below her yearbook picture are “aristocratic charm.”

Renee will be missed by many who knew her.

Please keep in touch, everyone. We need to keep our “daisy chain” unbroken!

Mary Ellen Falter Davie 119 Thorncliff Road Spencerport, NY 14559-2129 585-352-3923 rpdavie@rochester.rr.com

1953

Remember that 2013 is our 60th Reunion year! Mark your

calendar for May 31 through June 2 and make plans to come to Troy to celebrate.

I’ve had an exciting December. My middle daughter talked me into going to India with her. She heads an operation in Bangalore and goes there often. I was concerned my old body couldn’t take the long plane ride (19 hours from Delhi to New York and then a couple of hours to Chicago and I still wasn’t home!) I surprised myself and did fine.

I enjoyed every minute of it. I could have sat all day and just stared at the Taj Mahal. It was absolutely magnificent.

I got home on December 9 and had less than a week before our oldest daughter’s graduation. She is the first in the family to earn a doctorate.

We had a celebration with her two sisters, her brothers-in-law and her cousin from Toronto.

Her high school friends from Hawaii sent her leis. It was a special time for our family.

For our 58th wedding anniversary on December 27 we went to Orlando to visit Harry Potter’s World and see an NBA game with our youngest daughter’s family.

When I wrote an email asking for news, I mentioned my trip to India and got a nice response from Joan LaFrenier Porcelli. She visited India several years ago. Before she retired, she was a travel coordinator and had the opportunity to do a great deal of traveling.

As she put it, she “grew wings after Sage and kept flapping them for 40 years.” I liked the way she said that.

Cecil Waldman Goldstein called last September when she got her Connections. She lives in Delray Beach near her daughter and three grandchildren. She and her husband have no complaints. She goes to exercise class. He goes out with the men a couple of times a week so she won’t drive him crazy. They take the grand-

children out for dinner every Sunday. They went up north last April. She was wearing heels, slid off a step and broke a blood vessel. It is healing now.

Later that month I got a call from Jean Twiss RileyHarris. She wanted to update me on Ginny Emmons Wall.

Ginny had an operation for obstruction of her bowel. She developed a hernia and before she could have that operated on she got one of those mean infections. She finally got that cleared up, had the operation and now she sprained her ankle. She needs cheering up.

Jean’s husband was cleaning out their garden in Vermont this fall and got into something that landed him in the hospital for six days. They are not sure what caused his body to react so violently, but after a dose of antibodies, steroids and the kitchen sink, he is feeling better.

In a later message, Jean wrote that they met Rosemarie Adinolfi Hamilton and her husband in Las Vegas and had a ball. The Hamiltons know all the great places to go! After Las Vegas, they went to Palm Springs, to the Hamilton’s new condo for a week. Jean wrote, “It is so lovely there ­— to wake up and look out at those beautiful mountains, and still enjoy the warmth of the desert — perfection! What a good time we had! And we’ll get together again at Reunion!”

Rosemarie wrote that her husband loved India and went many times when he was working. One time Rosemarie went with him for four weeks.

The Hamiltons’ daughter has moved to Palm Springs plus they have two grandchildren nearby.

This has been a difficult year for Martha Klahn Shangraw, as her husband, Skip, was diagnosed with a brain tumor in April and struggled for eight months. He passed away in

Spring 2013 | Connections 11

RSC Class Notes December. At his memorial service, Martha was surprised to look up and see her former Sage roommate Charlotte Silver Leary, who had come from Shelburne, VT, to Glens Falls to be there. Charlotte had introduced Martha to Skip and it meant so much to Martha for her to be there.

On the lighter side, Martha said that they have a fourth generation pharmacist in the family. Her granddaughter graduated from Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in May with a doctorate in Pharmacy. Martha is also looking forward to our Reunion!

For the second year in a row, Charlotte Leary and Ray will not be going to Florida.

Charlotte was one of the members of our annual Sage lunch bunch on the west coast and we will miss her. Like many of the rest of us, the Learys did quite a bit of traveling in their younger days, but she thinks their travel days are now behind them.

Nancy Philips Wood had a total knee replacement. She came back to Penick Village for her rehab. She took her 20 Medicare days in the skilled care unit so she could get physical therapy twice a day.

Everyone couldn’t get over how quickly she recovered. She thinks she did so well because she has gone to Curves for seven years to keep flexible.

Then Nancy had the flu shot, and you guessed it, she picked up a different strain. On top of that she got bronchitis, so she is now recuperating from a double whammy. When she emailed, she was feeling better.

She definitely had cabin fever.

At the end of October, Charles and Nancy became greatgrandparents to a little boy named Emilio. Emilio’s father — the Woods’ grandson — is on his second tour in Afghanistan and his wife is at their home base in Italy.

12 Connections | Spring 2013

Doris Rogers Rothman traveled to New Jersey to see her daughter and to spend a week with her grandson who was visiting from California.

Because of her back, Doris has trouble getting around. On the more adventurous outings, the family took turns pushing Doris in a wheelchair. The easier days she managed to get around on her own. They took in Six Flags, a water park and a baseball game.

Joan Crummey Firra also responds to my emails. Besides still working as a physical therapist, Joan sings in the church choir and plays in the bell choir. In her spare time she is gathering interviews from her research participants for a new paper on the effectiveness of exercise and electrical stimulation on incontinence. Joan wants to team up with someone who wants to see Antarctica as much as she does.

Any takers? She is planning on coming to our Reunion.

In my last column I wrote that Jeannette Kendrick Shirley Terry had died in July. Her husband sent me her obituary and some pictures of her family. Shirley was known for her sense of humor and passion for life even as she endured cancer and post-polio syndrome. She is survived by her husband of 59 years, two sons, one daughter-in-law, five grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

Judy Spain Taber is excited about our Reunion. Judy still has her hand in the business world with Taber Consulting, a human resources outfit.

She does just enough to leave plenty of time to play and travel. She has hung her own skates up and now judges ice dancing. Occasionally she teaches an MBA course. Her grandchild has been launched in a criminal justice career.

Judy hopes to see any and all who find themselves in Florida in February, as we gather for lunch and conversation.

In July, I spoke with Ailyn Terada. I received her Christmas card in June with pictures of her two collies with Santa Claus. Since then, one of her collies died at the age of 13.

Ailyn has another collie and two cats. She lives in the country and can’t drive because of an eye condition. She has to depend on friends and she says two of her best drivers are now in assisted living themselves.

She has a ride to orchestra practice which she can count on. She also manages to get to band rehearsals. This June she had six concerts. She is thinking about moving, but dreads going through all the papers she has collected over the years from her teaching. In May she went to New York for her high school reunion.

Rodney Pallang emailed me to tell me that Ana “Josie” Almanza Pallang passed away in April 2012. Does anyone have any stories to share about Josie?

It is always good to hear from Nan Schmalz Nelson who lives on the West Coast now. She became a greatgrandmother in August. The family lives 20 minutes from Nan’s retirement home so she gets to see the baby often.

I laughed at Mackie Serata Epstein’s response to my email when I mentioned that I had fallen over a large root and banged up my elbow, sprained my thumb, and cut my hand.

Her advice was to heal fast and to keep my eyes wide open so it wouldn’t happen again.

She said she had nothing to share which she added, “could be a good thing at our ages.”

Her grandson is a senior here in Indiana and I am hoping that Mackie comes out to his graduation.

Audrey DeSmidt Benson went to Maine with her three girls. She planned to attend a shower for her first greatgranddaughter the day after she wrote me. In September,

she was going to Stockbridge at the lake for a month.

Audrey plans to be in Siesta Key for February. Last year we got together, but this winter I am not going to Florida until March. She ended her note by saying another grandson was being married next July.

I caught Elsie Hayner Shudt at the end of a busy day. It was Sunday night and she had had company all day. She lives next door to her daughter and family and the kids had been swimming in the pool. She had taken her hearing aids out and had her feet up. This is a difficult time for her because her husband, who had a career as a lawyer, is in a nursing home.

Marlene Fulton Merrick, one of the gals who came to Sage our senior year because her college closed down, lives on Marco Island. Her husband died about 10 years ago and she has a live-in friend. He had his friends and she had her friends so now they have a large circle of friends to play cards with and attend other social events.

Margit Wolf Lowenstein lives in San Mateo, Calif., in an assisted living facility. She has two sons, two daughters and seven grandchildren. Both the daughters live in California. One of her sons is moving to Colorado from Ohio and her younger son’s family lives in Israel, where Margit has visited many times. Margit neglected to renew her driver’s license so she has to take the test to get another one.

I didn’t see Liz Greene Hafler this summer. Got a kick out of her description of her activities though: She keeps busy with an age-approved sport of keyboarding, both on the computer and the piano.

She also did a lot of reading and mentioned a few books I hadn’t read, including People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks.

I have lost track of Ann Pa-

RSC Class Notes lumbo Toohey—does anyone know her whereabouts?

I received an email from Nancy Wright Anderson’s daughter telling me that her mother had died peacefully in September 2012. She and her husband were married 60 years and had three children and seven grandchildren.

Nancy was active in her community and was the first woman to head the Greater Gardner United Way Campaign. She enjoyed gardening and was a talented seamstress and homemaker.

Patricia Walker Mulholland 1013 Sassafrass Circle Bloomington, IN 47408 812-334-2457 jmulholl@indiana.edu

1954

I heard from Barbara Pease, who lives in a lovely home in Pearl River, NY. She is the scholarship chairperson of the Morning Music Club and is on the board of the Rockland Symphony Orchestra.

I see Arlene Ginsberg Berliner and her husband often.

They just came back from Spain and are planning a 32day cruise to South America.

They own a beautiful apartment in New York City and a wonderful home in East Hampton. Life is good and I am happy for them.

I see Nancy Miller Slurzberg periodically. Len and I treated her to dinner for her birthday.

She is now on a trip to Italy and I am sure I will hear all about it when she returns.

Len and I travelled to Puerto Vallarta in February, but this year we will join the “old folks” in Florida. We live in Edgewater, NJ and have an apartment that overlooks the Hudson River and the skyline of New York City. We are happy and have been married to each other for 58 years.

It is with deep sadness that I inform you of the death of Helen Emple Honig.

Leila Berkowitz Schwartz 1504 Daibes Court Edgewater NJ 07020 201-917-3835 leilen@aol.com

1955

Kay Brooks Blick 40D Forest Drive Springfield, NJ 07081-1126 973-376-6091 kblickkidzpax@comcast.net

1956

Elaine “Lonnie” Foster Perry received an award for distinguished service in the arts from a regional theatre in Rhode Island. Lonnie taught at Rhode Island College’s Department of Theater until 1995 and has also directed theatrical productions at Syracuse University and the Kennedy Center. She wrote that she served as “surrogate grandmother” to Lois Hunter Alterman’s grandson during his years at Brown.

He graduated with honors recently.

Christine Collard Devereaux traveled to Manitoba this past summer and was awed by the whales and polar bears.

Sadly, before her trip both her mother-in-law (age 103) and her brother passed away.

Carol Davis Winston 35 Dunbar Road Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418 561 625 5910 carwins@comcast.net

1957

Irma Wilhelm 43 Young Road Augusta, ME 04330 207-622-9344 ijwilhelm@aol.com

1958

Millicent Clayton Hull 1332 Atterberry Road Sequim, WA 98382 360-504-1149 MMCH21@juno.com Dorothy Muller Frost 230 Lake Drive North Bennington, VT 05257

802-442-2997 dotsyfrost@yahoo.com Diann Allan Billing 46 Mallard Drive Hackettstown, NJ 07840-2836 973-962-4648 dbilling@verizon.net

1959

Karolyn Wentzel Nealon 3310 Longbow Drive Pittsburgh, PA 15235-5135 412-824-2558 jhnealon@verizon.net

1960

Judi Guernsey Laurence and her husband have moved to Florida. Her new address is 2016 SW Danforth Circle, Palm City, FL, 34990. Judy and I have stayed in touch with our Sage little sister, Sheryl Ebeoglu who also lives in Florida.

Marjorie Kipp Hansen and husband have also moved.

Marjorie’s new address is 810 Old Country Road, Wenham, MA, 01984. While visiting Massachusetts, I had lunch with “old” roommates Marjorie and Jane Macri Dempsey.

I started my 15th year giving tours at the Washington National Cathedral here in DC. It is a magnificent Gothic cathedral with outstanding stained glass windows. The cathedral is a terrific place to visit when you travel to the area, so give a call and I will see to it that you get a very special tour.

What are the rest of you Golden Horseshoes doing?

Any exciting adventures? New addresses? Outstanding projects? Let me know what you are up to!

anniversary in Russia when they met Dana Rebmann ’60 and her husband! It was a great reunion of Sage girls, in Russia, 51 years after graduating.

Sondra Finch Roberts is recuperating after knee surgery.

Janet Griessel Griffin’s husband passed away in 2012.

Our thoughts are with her and her family.

Linda Nee 10201 Grosvenor Place Apt. 1413 North Bethesda, MD 20852 301-493-6533 Nee.linda@aol.com Sandra Houck Tiedemann 272 Patrice Terrace Williamsville, NY 14221-3922 716-632-6756 sjtstitches@aol.com

1962

Elaine Cohen Freedman 96 Brookline Avenue Albany NY 12203 elainefreedman@verizon.net Carolyn Cogan Garter 13657 Whippet Way West Delray Beach FL 33484-1569 561-498-3093 ccggrandma@yahoo.com

Peggy Crosby Stotz 1006 Kimberwicke Road McLean, VA 22102 703-734-8932 pstotz@aol.com

1961

Esta Margolis Patman wrote that she and Richard were celebrating their 50th wedding

Spring 2013 | Connections 13

RSC Class Notes

1963 and 1964: Olivia Ludwig Haynes ’63, Linda Schwarzwald Feins ’64 and Jean Hunt Evoy ’63 at the Sarasota County Butterfly Club in Florida in October.

1963

You probably have not started packing for our 50th Reunion, but I sincerely hope you’ll be there!

Pam Beemer Abeling has experienced major life changes after her husband had a stroke three years ago. He is doing well, but they have moved to Asheville, NC, and Pam appears to be her usual upbeat self, volunteering in a fitness program for girls in the local elementary school. She would love to hear from classmates: Her address is 3301 Legacy Oaks Place, Asheville, NC 28803.

Ginger McCann Giammattei continues to be nurse administrator of a medical clinic in Lebanon, PA, and volunteers as parish nurse for her church.

Our town and valley continue to recover from the effects of Hurricane Irene, with many homes still unoccupied and/or in disrepair. Certainly we empathize and sympathize with those whose lives were affected by Hurricane Sandy.

It’s been a busy, but gratifying year. A younger friend loves to ask, “How’s that retirement thing going?”

Sara Derrick Norberg 33 Christian Avenue #112 Concord, NH 03301-6128 mikeandsaranorberg@yahoo.com Arlene Given Price 5845 State Route 30 Schohaire, NY 12157 518-295-7302 AGP1941@midtel.net

14 Connections | Spring 2013

1964

Barbara Bell (left) and Ellen MacHaffie Rocco (right).

What a delightful afternoon I spent talking on the phone and emailing our classmates.

Everyone is looking forward to our 50th Reunion and living life to its fullest.

After a delightful phone conversation with Barbara Bell, who lives in Pittsfield, MA, she graciously summarized her news in an email: “I retired in 2001 after 35 years of teaching. Now I enjoy being a Florida snowbird with my companion of 27 years…

Both of us taught in Pittsfield High School (MA). Chuck taught European AP History and I taught AP US History (thanks to the Uptons!) I am on the board of the Berkshire Historical Society at Herman Melville’s Arrowhead (where he wrote Moby Dick), volunteer in the archives there, and produce a page for the weekly newspaper called “Pittsfield’s Past.” I meet in Albany, from time to time, with Bonnie

Lee Karsten Wasson, and have been meeting with Ellen MacHaffie Rocco of Orlando, FL, each spring…Sue Bogart Denley and her husband joined us in past years for lunch in Tampa and Celebration, FL! This past December, as Chuck and I drove back to Massachusetts for family Christmas gatherings, we stopped in Smyrna, GA, to visit Sue Bogart Denley and Walter Denley...They are very proud of their daughter’s success in business and their three grandchildren. I even crocheted a green and white Christmas scarf for Sue, the most loyal Sageite of our group.”

Elizabeth “Betsy” Fineburg retired after 35 years in education and lives in Yardley, PA. She is a member of the Bucks County Community College Board of Trustees.

Helen Drew has joined the ranks of the 50th Reunion class agents. She suggests that we plan for our 50th Reunion.

2014 will be here sooner than you think.

Joan Coxon Morgan-Augenstein of Bowling Green, OH, is active in the National Alliance of Mental Illness and president of its local affiliate. She and her husband enjoy golfing.

Joan took early retirement after a career in the counseling center at Bowling Green State University.

I enjoyed the Boston alumnae chapter’s gathering at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA, for a tour followed by a delicious lunch and conversation at the Hawthorne Hotel. What a day!

Carol Adler Loewith wrote, “I’d like to share with you a totally Sage experience that I just had. Prior to starting a bus tour of Savannah and Charleston, my husband, Bud, and I detoured from our home in Surprise, AZ, to visit longtime buddies Sharon Kaplan ’65 and Jeff Nadelson (RPI ’63) in Florida. Upon starting our tour, as we were making

new friends, we learned that we were traveling with Andrea Berson ’62 and Howard Leib (RPI ’55). The coincidence was so much fun that I emailed my cousin, Suzi Baylin Feldhuhn ’63, who happened to be in Albany attending her husband, Bob’s (RPI ’62), 50th reunion. She told me that at the reunion, she’d met a couple who live in our community in Arizona — Arlene Vogel ’64 and Steve Mirer (RPI ’62).

Small world!”

Our condolences to the family and friends of Mary Lou Dinan Catalano, who passed away in 2009. Her son told me that her husband died two weeks after she did.

It is not too early to start writing your biographical piece for our 50th Reunion. Let’s hear from you!

Shari Taylor Grove 32 Shepard Street #31 Cambridge, MA 02138-1518 617-576-1302 sharigrove@gmail.com

1965

Audubon New York presented Gini Kurtz Stowe (pictured, right, with another honoree) with its highest honor, the Thomas W. Keesee, Jr. Conservation Award. Gini is a founding teacher of Audubon New York’s For the Birds! program, which connects youth in New York City public schools to nature. Through her efforts, For the Birds! now reaches schools throughout the state. Gini is vice chair of Audubon New York and an advocate for Audubon’s Forestry and International Alliances programs.

RSC Class Notes Iris Schoen lives near Fort Lauderdale, FL. She practices family law and her husband, an RPI grad, practices plastic surgery. They have twin grandsons who live nearby. Her younger daughter and husband live near Chicago. Iris is in touch with Alan and Elaine Coplin, who live nearby, and she occasionally sees Sharon Kaplan Nadelson, another Blue Angel in Florida.

In January, Doris Fischman Roth was looking forward to lunch with President Scrimshaw and Allan Stern in Boca Raton, FL. She writes, “Sandy and I will be in San Diego at the end of January, attending my aunt’s 90th birthday and visiting friends in Carlsbad.

I am thrilled that Sandy has recovered from a tennis accident in May which resulted in paralysis on the left side of his body after a bump on the head. My advice is to never take a ‘bump’ on the head lightly.”

Grace Hilt Mack worked again this year from April to August for a company that supplies the plants, trees and shrubs for Lowe’s. She writes that the work is physically challenging but it is rewarding to be outside enjoying the great weather. She is planning a trip to Peru with her sister and to Yellowstone in August with her husband.

When Karen Wurstlin Williams was back east this fall, she and husband had lunch with Anne Dippold Kiely and her husband. Anne had enjoyed lunch with Mimi Buchakjian Sobo the previous week.

Elizabeth Susman attended Sage’s celebration of 90 years of nursing education in November.

Barbara Schwartz Onish’s house was struck by a 100-year-old oak tree during Hurricane Sandy. They had extensive damage and now have a new roof, 14 new beams, three new rafters, a

new dining room wall, two new ceilings and are awaiting seven new windows. She writes, “Last week I drove to Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, where I had grown up. Two of my childhood friends from the same street accompanied me. We wanted to see how the neighborhood did in the storm.

With great sadness I can report that my childhood home has been condemned. The storm damage was extensive. The house was on the ocean and the ocean did its worst. I am looking forward to a more peaceful year ahead.” Barbara recently left the real estate firm she had been with for 20 years and is now affiliated with William Raveis in Stamford.

Beverly Elander-Dean was feted at a December 7 birthday gathering at her home in Schenectady, NY. Guests included Sage roommate Erica Sufrin-Horn. Bobbie Berson Rich phoned in her best wishes from Connecticut.

Eileen Snow Kelly and her husband are the proud grandparents of an almost 3-year-old granddaughter. She writes, “We have transferred our residence to our permanent home in Mexico — a lakeside village called Ajijic, south of Guadalajara. I sing in a multinational community chorus, Los Cantantes del Lago, and we have recorded several CDs. We keep a condo in Branford, CT, where we spend most of the summer. We retired in 2004 and now travel as much as possible. We spent a month in India in 2007. We chartered sailboats in the British Virgin Islands during the summers of 2007 and 2008 and sailed with two other couples. We spent a month in China and Thailand in 2008. We spent three weeks in Peru in 2009. We went out west to visit the Grand Canyon and other national parks in 2011. We spent a couple of weeks in Russia this year. We’re looking forward to Ecuador and the Galapa-

gos in the spring of 2013 and then Italy and Switzerland in the summer. Retirement life is definitely good!”

Karen Fish Sands-Levine’s newest book, Visionaries Have Wrinkles: Conversations with Wise Women Who Are Reshaping the Future is available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. You can download a free excerpt at Visionaries HaveWrinkles.com.

Carolyn NeJaime-Jeffrey is planning a special small group departure to Cuba from her travel agency in April. She writes, “I can hardly wait. Our dad lived there for 11 years and was friendly with Hemingway. I am fluent in Spanish.

Contact me at viptravel1@ verizon.net.”

Jane Sibley sells her spices, coffees and teas at farmers markets and medieval re-enactment events. Check out her webpage at Auntiearwenspices. com.

I, Bonita “Bonnie” Maxon was busy last May, planning a surprise 70th party for my husband. Because it was taking place at our home, it was even more difficult to keep it a surprise. Our son and his family came from Minnesota and took my husband fishing while the tent was set up. With over 100 people invited, the event went over perfect with weather cooperating. In July, I was privileged to be the delegate for the retired teachers in the Albany area at the American Federation Convention in Detroit. This summer was outstanding weather for living on Dyken Pond but my water skiing was limited because of planter fasciitis in my left foot.

After over a year of going to two doctors and two different physical therapists, I may consider an operation soon.

In September, we took our RV to Prince Edward Island to dig clams, enjoy the fiddle music and attend the International Shellfish Festival. We are now headed to Mazatlan, Mexico,

for a few weeks to enjoy the shrimp capital of the world.

Bonita Maxon 110 East Shore Drive Petersburg, NY 12138 518-658-2873 bamrdk@aol.com

1966

As I write, our house is still recovering after taking a hit from Hurricane Sandy in October. Sandy surged over our sea wall and dumped a foot of water in our first floor. We’ve had major renovations to fix the damage.

I heard from Pat Tinkham Batten that her condo on the New Jersey shore was affected

by Sandy. Her daughter was living in their second-floor unit, which is OK, but there was devastating damage to the lower floors. Pat and her husband live in Hilton Head, SC, near the beach, and are happily retired and volunteering in a number of organizations. Pat would love to hear from anyone who is passing by Hilton Head.

Peggy Lumpkin DeWolf remarried two years ago.

They live in Princeton, NJ, and Southwest Harbor, ME. They retired this past spring and spent many months in Maine. Peggy reads, paints, and teaches ESL in Princeton.

Her daughter lives in Philadelphia and works for the city’s department of health.

Judy Jaffe Walsh and her husband are retired and expecting their fourth grandchild in June. They are planning a trip to France this spring. Judy is active in the Nahant Preservation Trust, which restores and preserves old buildings in Nahant, MA. Rose Milluzzo Pocock wrote that she and her husband had just arrived in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. After a few days there, they get on a 30-day cruise that stops at several spots in Africa and ends up in

Spring 2013 | Connections 15

RSC Class Notes Singapore. They’d planned this trip for a long time, but had to wait until Rose got a knee replacement.

Chris Basalyga Harrington continues to be busy with garden club, church activities, golf and taking a philosophy course. She recently joined the Bayberry Quilters. Chris had lunch with Carol Sweet Morse this past summer. Carol was vacationing in Brewster. She is active with the Hudson Valley Singers and sang with the chorus in several performances.

Our class sends its condolences to Betsy Huebner Braunstein, whose husband died unexpectedly in July while waiting for a kidney transplant. They had planned on a “paired combination,” where Betsy would donate a kidney to someone and her husband would receive a kidney from another person.

Betsy continues to work in her private psychology practice, a combination of therapy and court-appointed custody evaluations. Her son works in a public consulting firm in San Francisco.

Donna Schulman Bender and her husband live in Harwich, MA, on Long Pond, in a home they augmented from its original knotty pine cottage.

They are there year-round, having retired from Wrentham, MA, where they lived for 33 years. Her daughter in the foreign service is off to Naples, Italy, where she will be consular chief as of June. Her younger daughter is a choreographer, dancer, founder and director of Triskelion Arts in Brooklyn, and the creator of Built On Stilts, a summer dance festival in its 17th season on Martha’s Vineyard. Since Donna retired from college teaching in 2009, she has recovered from a heart attack, brain tumor and breast cancer. She would love to hear from classmates.

Joanna Phinney Wallis writes that she’s had a busy

16 Connections | Spring 2013

year playing bridge. She also went on a cruise to Alaska and a cruise from Barcelona to Miami, during which she got to see two of the Canary Islands.

She visited friends in Carlsbad in May, and went on the Dry Creek Wine Tasting weekend in April. She also visited Reno, Napa and San Francisco.

Judy Shor Kronick attended some milestone events this year: a special uncle’s 95th birthday celebration, their grandson’s joyful bar mitzvah, and her 50th high school reunion, where she enjoyed talking with friends and classmates she had not seen in 50 years. It was a pleasure to talk with Judy Ellish Levy ’66 and her husband. One of her classmates, an extremely talented dancer, was Ellen Sinopoli, now a choreographer and dance professor at Russell Sage College!

Hinda Scheinberg Ritigstein enjoys retirement and lives on Long Island. She visits her grandchildren in New Jersey and California. Her recent travels include Cuba and a cruise to South America.

Hinda and her husband enjoy time in Florida each winter.

She stays in touch with Sue Rosenblatt VandeKerkhove.

Helen Denzler Burlazzi has a new grandchild. She has had an ankle replacement, so now she has more fun with all of her grandchildren.

Liz Dodge retired in 2011 and has been hanging her hat in Vermont, her childhood home. She escapes to Myrtle Beach during the winter. She’d love to hear from any of our class who might be in that area.

The RSCAA Connecticut chapter had its annual fall luncheon at the Red Barn in Westport. From the Class of ’66 were Judy Shor Kronick, Charlotte Shaw Tracy, Carol Sweet Morse, Alicia Brady Sarles, Linda Boswell DeWitt and Barbara Towne Patterson.

Judy Shor Kronick 158 Brewster Road Windsor, CT 06095-2624 860-688-6356 judykron@att.net Barbara Towne Patterson 1 Ralsey Road South Stamford, CT 06902 203-324-7259 b.patterson66@yahoo.com

1967

My end of 2012 email to classmates inspired only one classmate to respond. But, that single reply was a wonderful tale from someone from whom we have not heard in several years! How wonderful is that?

Kay Steinkirchner Rock wrote, “After a successful career in corporate sales I retired two years ago and am finding it a great privilege. I am blessed with two beautiful grandchildren with a third on the way and love having time to spend with them. I have also embarked on a long-delayed dream of being a writer. I write a monthly column for a local newspaper called ‘Becoming 65,’ targeting topics of relevance for those going through the retirement transition. I am also very excited to announce I’ve just published my first e-book, Everything I Know About Relationships I Learned Dancing. It’s available on Amazon to preview, borrow for free (for Amazon Prime members) or buy for $0.99 (it’s a really little book). I am already thinking about our 50th Reunion (time flies at our age)!”

Please resolve in 2013 to follow Kay’s lead and email me before the next Connections.

We would love to learn more about our classmates!

Judith Prest Bowden 518-441-5012 judithbowden@yahoo.com Rona McNabola Miller 30 Spottswood Road Glen Rock NJ 07452 201-444-8950 ronamc@verizon.net

1968

Invitations to our 45th Reunion are on the way and online registration will open March 1. Hope to see all of you May 31-June 2!

One of our long lost classmates and fellow French major contacted me in December.

Marcia Arlanian Reinhart lives near Simsbury, CT, about one hour away from me. We can’t wait to get together.

Nancy Schmidt and I had lunch in the fall in my hometown. In October we gathered again at the Red Barn in Westport for the RSCAA fall luncheon, beautifully organized by Karin “Brownie” LaBanca ’94. Our guest speaker was Provost Terry Weiner. It’s always a pleasure to mingle with other alumnae and even some spouses. Each year the number of participants grows — 46 attended this year!

I received a Russell Ferber Foundation newsletter from Dorothy Jordan. The Foundation, created in remembrance of Dorothy’s son who would have been 32 this year, continues to build an endowment fund at the Culinary Institute of America. The Foundation also supports the Russell Ferber Memorial Fund at the Village Community School, providing assistance to children with learning differences.

Contributions may be sent to FJC, 520 8th Avenue 20th Floor, NY, NY, 10018 with checks made payable to FJC/ The Russell Ferber Foundation.

As you can see from my mailing address, I live in Sandy Hook, CT. Thank you all for the prayers and support you’ve shown to the Sandy Hook community during these difficult times. Funds raised at DonorsChoose.org/Newtown will be divided among Newtown teachers for supplies to restart classrooms and for a memorial garden.

RSC Class Notes Marsha Bor Parker 12 Cobblers Mill Road Sandy Hook, CT 06482 203-270-9654 doowopmom50@aol.com

1969

Bobbi Adell Alexander moved to San Francisco in 1982 and never left. Her company, Designwest Graphics, has kept her busy for 30 years. Bobbi is in touch with Mimi Manning and Doreen Bounty.

Heidi Dien Ludwig, leadership development facilitator at New Visions for Public Schools, lives in New York City. Her son graduated from college in 2011 and works in New York City.

Phyllis Litvack Furst and Barry moved to Boca Raton, FL, in May. They are building a new home in Boca West and enjoying golf and bridge. Her son Gregg lives in Bayside, NY, and her daughter lives in Walnut Creek, CA. I heard from many classmates after Tiffany Kominos Corbett’s death. Kathy “KT” Taylor Harvey wrote, “Tiffany was her own person. I imagine there are a lot of former students out there whom she mentored and made a huge difference in their lives. I honor her for that and her courageous battle with cancer. I shall miss her at Reunions and always hold dear the memories of our trip to Nassau during spring break in 1969.” KT retired from nursing in May. She now has time to devote to her antiques business, grandchildren, gardens, home and friends.

I received an email from Nancy Meyer ’71, looking for Linda Noel O’Hara. I was able to connect them and they enjoyed dinner with Alix Gordon and sent a photo. All live in the Boston area.

Terry Wolgang Ragazzini wrote from Wilton, CT, that the last two years have been busy, with knee replacement,

disc surgery, the passing of her mom at age 90, and coaching her high school’s “College Bowl” team in the Washington, DC area. We all remember Terry’s interest in the Jeopardy show as we waited for the dining hall to open each night.

Terry competed on the show many years ago. One son was married this past summer and another son graduated from college in 2011 and has his first patent pending. Her husband’s company was sold and they plan to retire in June and enjoy traveling and visiting friends.

Judy Calucci Tough and Tom are busy with grandchildren, retirement and settling in their new home in Austin, TX. Patricia Hayes Rabin owns Chillingsworth Restaurant in Brewster, MA: divine food, wonderful ambience and a warm welcome from Pat and Nitzy.

2012 was a busy year for Rick and me. We completed our seventh water project in conjunction with Rotary in Guatemala and celebrated with the village as the water was turned on, and filters, latrines and safe stoves made available for each villager. We plan to go back in February for another project in El Pericon. My sister, Doris Fischman Roth ’65, and I traveled to Costa Rica and see one another often as I travel back and forth to Florida, getting our retirement home ready for the future in Fort Lauderdale.

Please put our 45th Reunion on your calendar for 2014.

Troy beckons!

gram, Jen is teaching English and civilization at the Krudy School in Budapest, Hungary.

She has an apartment in the northern section of the city called Obuda. Jen would love to hear from friends — especially you teachers! Her email is jjohn25936@aol.com. Better yet — go visit!

With sympathy, I report that Wendy Borchert Hirtle passed away in November 2012, in Barrington, RI. Wendy battled cancer for a year but was never without a smile and a kind word. Our condolences to her husband, four children, five grandchildren, father, brother and sister.

Please email and send some news!

Beverly Miller Sigg 15 Vinson Drive Flemington, NJ 08822 772-539-0120 b2zig@yahoo.com

Friend” and “Those Were the Days” at the memorial service.

1971

The brick unveiling and memorial service for Darryl Besken Hayes and Linda Carmody Roberts took place on September 21 in McKinstry Courtyard on campus. It was a wonderful event and a tribute to our classmates. President Scrimshaw attended and spoke from her heart. Donna Rose Hall French, Debby Crane Bachand, Carol Zandan Patterson and Susan Bloom Jones did readings. Helen Burmaster, president of the Alumnae Association, also attended the service. Afterward, classmates gathered at the Illium Cafe.

Sue Moyle Lynch has accepted a position as director of individual giving and donor engagement at Auburn Theological Seminary, which is affiliated with Union Theological Seminary in Manhattan.

Sue Haines Blase has moved again, this time to Noblesville, IN, which is about 20 minutes

1971: Classmates who attended a memorial service on campus for Darryl Besken Hayes and Linda Carmody Roberts included Mary Mulvihill Pecoraro, Maggie Bodkin, Marie Zullo Deitsch, Donna Rose Hall French, Nancy Meyer, Virginia Lee, Chris Werner Ward, Debby Crane Bachand, Sharon Sochin Radden, Sue Bloom Jones, Gail Slater Brownell, Kathy Olsovsky Oneglia, Lucienne McCormick Walker, Carol Zandan Patterson and Susan Moyle Lynch.

Elin Fischman Lawrence 139 Wyneding Hill Road Manchester, CT 06040 860-643-4560 elawrlaw@sbcglobal.net

1970

I received a great letter from Jen Johnson! Through the Central European Teacher Pro-

1971: Maggie Bodkin (left) and Nancy Meyer (right) played “You’ve Got a

1971: Donna Rose Hall French, Gail from her daughter and Slater Brownell and Debby Crane Bachand on a visit to West Point.

Spring 2013 | Connections 17

RSC Class Notes son-in-law. Another daughter was married in July and lives in Estes Park, CO. Sue is back to work at St. Vincent Hospital as a case manager and also serves as the parish nurse at her church.

Paulette Wong Wilbur is planning to cut back on volunteer work so that she can spend more time on family and personal projects such as sewing and quilting. She and her husband enjoy ballroom dancing lessons a couple of times a week. Their son Jesse and his family recently moved to Chicago; son Jeremy and his family are in California; daughter Melissa received her master’s degree in Early Childhood Education/Special Education and is a teacher at a private preschool in New York City; and son Jason is busy with freelance positions and as the advisor to a high school youth group at their church.

Sally Atkinson Harrelson is the proud “Nana” to twin girls born to her daughter and sonin-law. Sally joins the rest of us who are over the moon about our grandchildren. Barbara Davis Stahley also welcomed a new grandson this year!

Don’t forget: Our 45th Reunion in 2016 is really just around the corner and it will be a wonderful celebration of 100 years of Russell Sage!

Mary Mulvihill Pecoraro 5 Walsh Avenue Stoneham, MA 02180 781-662-8648 mmpec@aol.com

1972

Rosemary Crowley Buja 19 Greenvalley Road Medway, MA 02053-1933 508-533-6120 rbuja@comcast.net Patricia Maiorano Johnson 2433 220th Place, NE Sammamish, WA 98074 425-868-0139 pj2433@comcast.net

Susan Ackerman Hillman 29428 Arlington Way Farmington Hills, MI 48331 248-489-8062 suehillman@aol.com

1973

Clarissa Robaczynski Alimena, Sage Trustee Barry Ilberman, Eileen Mellion Ilberman and Jean Seyfried Radke at the RSCAA Southern Connecticut barbecue in Sandy Hook, hosted by Karin “Brownie” Williams LaBanca ’94.

Holly Dorman ’74 and Sven Englund, husband of the late Alice Englund ’43, were also there.

Our class Reunion in 2013 will be our 40th! Once again our class of blue will “fly high” with lots of fun and camaraderie. Please send class news to me at cvalimena@hotmail. com or to Debbie Tuma at dstuma@yahoo.com.

Deborah Tuma PO Box 2163 Sag Harbor, NY 11963-0110 631-338-5421 dstuma@yahoo.com Clarissa Robaczynski Alimena 47 Mulberry Lane Shelton, CT 06484 cvalimena@hotmail.com

1974

Lynda Chodkowski Flynn 1132 NE 16th Terrace Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304-2321 407-221-6285 lyndaflynn@earthlink.net Donna Zographos Lipresti 7105 Woodrise Court Fairfax Station, VA 22039-2948 703-644-2398 dlipresti@cox.net

1975

Nurse Practitioner Jeanne

18 Connections | Spring 2013

Millett completed the University of Chicago’s Celiac Disease Program preceptorship. Jeanne was one of 29 health care providers in the US chosen to study with the celiac disease professionals leading the program. She hopes to expand care options in upstate New York for patients and families. She is president of Capital Region NP Psychiatric Therapy PLLC and also works in gastroenterology.

I got together with Linda Deis Gaylo and Margaret Zerby Minneman this past summer at Linda’s house in the Poconos and again in January to attend the Princeton/ RPI hockey game with our husbands and children (mine anyway). Linda and Maggie are doing well and we are all still working as dreams of retirement dance in our heads.

I often see Debbie Scott Spurgas. Her son got married in the fall and is planning on attending medical school like his father.

We spent New Year’s Eve with Sharon Wiberley Valiquette and recounted many good times between our friends at RPI and Sage.

I keep up with Marie Bellizzi, Kathy Wiggins Reynolds and Becky Stevens Wellman on Facebook. Speaking of which, I will be glad to accept your friend request and receive news via Facebook.

Please keep your news coming — there are about 300 of you that haven’t sent anything in a long time.

Melanie Punte Puorto 226 Market Street Amsterdam, NY 12010-2524 518-842-0602 mpuorto@nycap.rr.com

1976

Marie Nangeroni 2031 Nott Street Niskayuna, NY 12309 518-669-9937 mnangeroni@hotmail.com

Vilma Zaracostas Russ 41 Ridge Road Cornwall, NY 12518 845-534-2325 vilmaruss@yahoo.com Elizabeth Sciurba 27 Ingersol Road Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 518-695-6405 esciurba@nycap.rr.com Wendy Symmes Mayer 57 Linden Avenue Swampscott, MA 01907 781-581-6235 sage6235@aol.com

1977

Carol Linendol Nosal welcomed her first grandchild.

Ziggy has been traveling and having a great time!

Joanne Salvador lost her dad right after Christmas. Our thoughts are with you, Jo, during this sad time.

Leslie Nicoll was at the celebration marking 90 years of nursing education at Sage in November. She wrote that she was the only representative from the Class of 1977 there, but Sage Big Sister Jeanne Millett ’75 was there.

Have you joined “Russell Sage College 1977” on Facebook yet? There are some great pictures from Reunion. I just added Maggie Baker to the Facebook group. She lives in Washington state and teaches at the University of Washington. Her son recently got married.

Lois Cloud Malenczak 102 Edwards Avenue Sayville, NY 11782 631-563-1966 lcloudpt@aol.com Jill Hastings Mack 39 Rocky Point Drive Bow, NH 03304-4115 603-663-5710 cyberjill@comcast.net Joanne Salvador 2795 NE 15th Street Fort Lauderdale FL 33304 j.m.salvador@att.net

RSC Class Notes

1978

Bonnie Ward Kreutter 5053 Reservoir Road Geneseo, NY 14454 585-243-3076 tkreutte@rochester.rr.com Susan Barnes Seim 370 North Pole Road Melrose, NY 12121 518-663-5323 suebseim@aol.com

1979

Linda Cowell-Jay 3 Crossbow Road Norfolk, MA 02056 508-520-8735 lcowellmd@aol.com

1980

Judy Campisi, senior director at the American Heart Association, received the Association’s Rome Betts Award for her work on the Wall Street Run and Heart Walk. The annual award is presented in memory of the American Heart Association’s executive director from 1949-1968.

Recipients are recognized for leadership, professionalism and dedication to the Heart Association’s mission.

Therese Sutherland Geraci 116 Summer Lake Drive Ridgeland, MS 39157 601-605-4534 tsgeraci@aol.com Maxine Goldsmith 32 Foothills Way Bloomfield, CT 06002 860-242-3862 geemax@comcast.net

1981

Deborah Browne 60 North Maple Street Warsaw, NY 14569-1215 585-786-3490 dlbrowne@frontiernet.net Jill Periard 1425 Broadway Apt. 5 Watervliet, NY 12189-2836 peanutsmom380@aol.com Suzanne Candee Tartaglia 21 Mount Nebo Road

Newtown, CT 06470 203-270-6880 suzanne@candee.org

1984

1982

Poor health has prevented me from doing all I want to do, but I, Joan Traver, do wish to hear from the Sage sisters, especially my Sage Big Sister Theresa Vandenbosch Chase.

Lisa Abatemarco 16 Kippen Court Pinehurst NC 28374 lmra323@embarqmail.com Marcy Anderson 70 County Road 84C Santa Fe NM 87506 505-455-2067 marcyanderson@gmail.com

1985

Deborah Webster McMaster 77 Hollis Street Pepperell, MA 01463 978-433-1947 dwmcmaster77@aol.com

Elizabeth Ashley O’Connor, Kathleen Pacyna Thompson, Wendy Carvalho Krauss, Amy Young and Penny Manly on the Carnival Glory in July.

Patricia Sirois Kuldell 19605 Seymour Court Poolesville, MD 20837-2293 301-349-5342 patrandy@kuldell.com

Happy birthday to those of us Horseshoes that hit the Big 5-0 this year! It’s been fun seeing many of you on Facebook as you celebrate your birthday. I was fortunate to join four of my best Horseshoe friends on a cruise to Canada.

Wendy Carvalho Krauss, Penny Manly, Kathleen Pacyna Thompson, Elizabeth Ashley O’Connor and I boarded the Carnival Glory in July to spend five fabulous days cruising from Boston, to Saint John, New Brunswick and Halifax, Nova Scotia. In true Class of 1984 style, we not only used our demitasse spoons correctly, we left them on the table and didn’t attempt to smuggle them out in the sleeves of our dresses. Emma Willard, Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage and Phyllis Hoyt would be proud! And, having learned a thing or two from Rally Day, we dressed in style for evening meals in the “Golden Dining Room.”

Unfortunately, Penny forgot to pack her famous Rally Turban, but I’m hoping it will show up on a future cruise. It was a perfect way to reconnect with friends and celebrate our milestone birthdays.

Susan Golden 3736 Cumberland Street NW Washington, DC 20016 202-364-5378 smgolden@aol.com

Susan Bird 4322 Kencrest Drive Syracuse, NY 13215-9510 315-673-9635 sbird1@twcny.rr.com

Joan Traver 1 Downey Road Troy, NY 12180-9527 518-279-9946 joanietr@earthlink.net

1983

Next June will be our 30th class Reunion. I hope as many of you as possible will be able to attend. If you have ever experienced a Class of 1983 Red Devil Reunion, you know we have a great time celebrating! If you have never come back, please consider joining us in 2013!

Sharon Spicer 10 Laurel Glen Drive Shelton, CT 06484 203-929-6706 smwspicer@gmail.com Marianne Davies 31 Riverside Drive Branford, CT 06405-3945 203-488-2754 mjdgall@aol.com

Amy Young 29 Howes Street Springfield, MA 01118 413-747-8965 aeyoung84@gmail.com

1986

I, Esther Ellis Denham, don’t have updates from anyone else, so I’ll just pass along a bit about me and my family.

We live near Schenectady, NY. A highlight from 2012 was a driving trip we took across the country in August. We visited national parks, took many hikes, and learned much about our country. We’re still involved in the adventure of home-schooling and my three children are all into music. My oldest is in 11th grade so we are approaching the time of big decisions.

Please contact me, or Allison, so we can include your information in future Connections.

Esther Ellis Denham 616 Ridge Road Scotia, NY 12302 518-393-1264 larrydenham@juno.com Alison Wolf 5 Queens Peak Road Canton, CT 06019 860-693-1180 alisonbarn@yahoo.com

1987

Congratulations to Nadine Meyers Austin’s daughter, who received a full tuition college scholarship.

Terry Allen and I had a wonderful visit this fall in her hometown, Lowville, NY. She recently finished renovating her kitchen and described the experience in an email: “At times the kitchen started to feel

Spring 2013 | Connections 19

RSC Class Notes like the money pit and I was sure buying a whole new house would be cheaper. However, I love the finished project and I could not have given myself a better Christmas present!”

She and I may be spending more time together if my son chooses to attend Clarkson University. Her home is a welcome rest stop on the way to the university. At this time his first choice is the Military Academy at West Point. He is one step closer, having received a congressional nod. My daughter will start her master’s degree at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in September. Terry and I would love to hear from all of you! We hope you are all blessed with good health and happiness in 2013.

Dawn Cope Barilli 239 Old Orange Avenue Walden NY 12586 845-778-1630 dawnbarilli@gmail.com Terry Allen 6550 Number 4 Road Lowville NY 13367-9104 315-376-1906 tballen@twcny.rr.cpm

1988

Simone Awang McDonald 16391 Rusty Rudder Drive Woodbridge, VA 22191 703-763-3353 simone_mcd@yahoo.com Karen Kinsman 837 Fairway Road NW Albuquerque, NM 87107 505-341-0802 kkinsman@unm.edu Joyce Isabelle 69 South Centre Street South Orange, NJ 07079 212-807-0202 joyceisabelle@verizon.net

1989

Marie Tischio Naughton’s daughters are 5 and 4. The girls started school at the same place Marie’s husband went to school which they thought was cool. Marie celebrated her 45th birthday at Disneyland

20 Connections | Spring 2013

where they saw Mitt Romney.

Christine Kosinski Baldwin is coaching her kindergartenaged daughter and six others in cheerleading, which she thinks is quite funny since she never was cheerleader material, “but when your kid wants to do something…” Christine was also a soccer coach in the fall, which she hadn’t played since second grade. She is committee chair of her son’s Cub Scout pack, which essentially means she asks other parents to volunteer for activities. She works full time as a pharmacist at Medco, now part of Express Scripts, and fills in at the local Target pharmacy once in a while.

Suzanne Willis Schenker is on round two of college visits (her oldest is a college sophomore). In September they headed to Boston to look at colleges for her high school junior. They got to visit with former Sage roomie and fellow physical therapist Bethany Ronk Harrington.

Cathy Hunter Gould continues with her voice over work. She did a Target holiday commercial and was the voice of Tawny the cat for five VCA Animal Hospital commercials.

Her son plays hockey and is in third grade. The family spent Thanksgiving in Hawaii.

Max and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary in September by visiting my brother in Marion, MA, and spending time with my triplet nieces and nephew. I continue to travel from our home in Cape Coral to work in New Jersey every other week. It sure makes time fly. I’m trying to sell my house in Ringwood, NJ this year, so if anyone knows anyone…

Beth Gehring 4437 SW 14th Avenue Cape Coral FL 33914 973-251-1138 beth_gehring@hotmail.com

1990

Cynthia Bacon Woellmer 10 McChesney Court Troy, NY 12180 518-274-4004 cwoellmer@gmail.com Nicole Grotolli 277 Shufelt Road Nassau NY 12123 518-598-7781 ngrottoli@gmail.com

Genevieve Cahill was recently promoted to field claims manager at Utica National Insurance Group’s Eastern Regional Office in Utica, NY.

If you haven’t already, please join the class Facebook page, “Russell Sage College – Class of 1990”! It is great hearing from everyone so please drop us a line!

1993

Bethani Childs 35 Hamlet Street Apt. 1 Somerville, MA 02143-1908 617-623-4643 veghead1216@yahoo.com Patricia Coviello 230 Elmwood Road South Salem, NY 10590 914-767-1489 patricia.coviello@pepsi.com

Maria Biernacki-Halse 826 Williams Street Pittsfield, MA 01201 413-445-6230 mjhalse@yahoo.com

Amy Willey PO Box 235 Troy, NH 03465-0235 603-682-9559 Willeyfromtroy@mac.com

Ann McDonald 124 Orton Street Extension Worcester, MA 01604 508-754-8682 ac_mcdonald@hotmail.com

Deborah Bradeen Jacques 6 Lowell Lane Huntington, MA 01050 413-667-3304 jac6PID@comcast.net

1991

Elizabeth Bartolomeo Edwards 472 East K Street Benicia, CA 94510 mlredwards@sbcglobal.net Valerie Priolo McKee 3663 Hosiers Oaks Drive Portsmouth, VA 23703-3470 757-638-3243 bryantvaleriemckee@hotmail.com

1992

Caitlin Morgan Frederick completed the bike leg of a triathlon relay in June and her team came in second place!

She also took a 350-mile bike trip in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan — three Great Lakes in one week!

Cindy Bacon Woellmer, Debbie Bacon Sopchak, Debra Grounds Ziaga and Beth Haiges-Peduto all got together for a weekend at the beach in July.

Beth’s daughter is in college!

Barbara Kaiser Cook 2714 Guyanoga Road Branchport, NY 14418 315-595-8854 barbm2714@yahoo.com

1994

Mieke Coe Ulrop 37 Ontario Street Honeoye Falls, NY 14472 mieke.coe@gmail.com Kelly Donnellan 1123 Midland Boulevard #1 Royal Oak, MI 48073 202-341-2408 filmgrl@gmail.com Hope Gerstel Stuart 22 Windmill Lane Warwick, NY 10990 845-988-5475 hsstuart@warwick.net

RSC Class Notes

1995

Jen Rasimas Bennett’s 3-year-old daughter in a dress that Jen sewed.

It is with great sadness that I inform all of you that Laura Skinner Sparrer passed away in November 2012. She had responded to an email I sent in August and written about her children, a son and twin daughters. She was working as a physical therapist in Lockport, NY. She wrote about how she enjoyed working in the homecare setting rather than the sub acute rehab she used to run. It was so nice to hear from her as we had lost touch after graduation. I urge all of you to reconnect with your old friends — they will be happy to hear from you.

Deb Brownell Foley and her husband traveled to Italy this summer and spent time in Rome and Florence and finished the trip with a friend’s wedding in Tuscany. She is PTO co-president at her children’s elementary school, which is keeping her very busy.

She was also re-elected to a second term as secretary for the RSCAA Board of Directors and wanted to remind us all to maintain a connection to Sage whenever possible and participate in alumnae activities in your area!

Jen Rasimas Bennett completed two half-marathons last winter. She and her family moved to Mt. Pleasant, SC, and are renting out their old home in Charleston. Last year she traveled to Vermont to visit Stacy Troy and Sue DeSantis Ball. This fall she and her husband traveled to Tahiti.

Her latest hobby is sewing clothes for her daughter and niece.

Tara Jorolemon Sheehan and her two children have been busy with school, church and work activities. They enjoyed a trip to Colorado, Wyoming, and South Dakota this summer to see the national parks.

Please send us an update on your life! We’d love to hear from you.

Kate Siegmann Robertson 126 Bushendorf Rd Ravena, NY 12143 rarksr@gmail.com Linda Stroka Riemer 2325 Harrow Road Upper St. Clair, PA 15241 the_riemers@yahoo.com

1996

Elizabeth Leuci Keogh 88-12 151st Avenue Apt 5L Howard Beach, NY 11414 718-843-3910 JohnLiz529@aol.com Michaelynn McClenahan 3012 Wellington Avenue Schenectady, NY 12306 518-469-2788 mikemcc213@aol.com Michelle Lessard Tanguay 48 Chandler St. Loudon, NH 03308 603-753-9897 chellenbillt@hotmail.com

1997

Kasia Prybylo married Paul Noblett in June at St. Andrews Catholic Church in Roanoke, VA. They had a great honeymoon at Sandals in Negril, Jamaica.

Alexis Kuchins Ford moved to Boston in August.

Stacy Witt Hennis is working on growing her physical therapy practice in Palm Springs, CA. She spends lots of time in the pool with patients, and jokes that she is the most tan she has been in her life!

Rachel Acunis Ide made a big jump from teaching kindergarten to grade five when the school year began.

Belinda Rucker Hilton 12 Grant Court Guilderland NY 12084 518-456-5036 bhilton@att.net Jennifer Sennett Glenn 16 Sargent Street Queensbury NY 12804 518-793-8308 je.glenn@roadrunner.com

315-278-5166 sarahrudney@aol.com Laura Kirby 1322 the Alameda Apt 353 San Jose CA 95126 lkirby76@hotmail.com

1999

Kasia Prybylo Noblett 3156 Berry Lane Apt 77 Roanoke, VA 24018 kasiaprybylo@yahoo.com

1998

Charlotte Smith Zenzick reported that Jennifer Besze Gleason and her husband welcomed their second son in August.

Angela Gordon was granted tenure and promoted to associate professor of business administration at The College of Saint Rose, where she is chair of the business administration department. She completed her first 5K in September.

Mary Murphy got married in October. Laura Kirby and Hannah Cleary ’04 were both at the celebration.

I, Catrina, live in Oneonta, NY, and am the manager of an outpatient physical therapy clinic. I have been in touch with Antoinette Nelson Eicholzer and Andrea Evans.

Remember our 15 year Reunion is May 31-June 2, 2013. I have found our senior slide show and have had it converted to DVD. I will have it for viewing during Reunion.

Meghan Maidelis lives in Portland, CT and is a firefighter with the New Haven Fire Department. Contact Meghan at 10 McDonald Drive, Portland, CT, 06480 or u1buddylee@gmail.com.

Catrina McKissick Truesdell 28 West End Avenue Oneonta, NY 13820 607-433-9810 catrinapt1@hotmail.com Sarah Rudney 2049 31st Street Astoria, NY 11105-2507

Gretchen Oppermann Miller’s children Kyra (11) and Lacy (7) and her nephew Thomas (2).

Gretchen Oppermann Miller and her husband celebrated their 11th anniversary in November and their girls celebrated birthdays in December.

After losing her sister-in-law in an accident in June, they are helping her brother raise their nephew. Gretchen works from home and will begin substitute teaching in the spring. This summer her oldest daughter qualified for championships for her swim league. She won her heat in freestyle and was named Most Valuable Player at the end of year banquet.

Gretchen hopes to bring the girls up from Virginia to Troy soon.

Marcella Luna and family baptized their son in September. Jerilyn Conrad Azar and Jason Azar are godparents.

Shannon Ward-Lengel welcomed a son in September and Kathleen Syzdek Brown welcomed a son in October.

Carla Domenico Wasbes welcomed a daughter on December 31, 2012 with six hours to spare! Everyone is healthy and happy.

I, Amy Carlotto Zuckett, started running at the end of July and completed four 5Ks, one five-mile race, and signed up to run a Pittsburgh half-marathon through Team

Spring 2013 | Connections 21

RSC Class Notes in Training. Please visit http:// pages.teamintraining.org/wpa/ pittsbrg13/amycz. I’m so close to reaching my fundraising goal!

Lauren Barry and her husband moved from New Jersey to Quincy, MA, in May. She is working at an outpatient physical therapy clinic in Medfield. They are enjoying exploring the Boston area and living in the same state as Melissa Roller, even though the driving distance from house to house is the same as it was in New Jersey. Oh well! In November, Melissa and Lauren spent a girls’ weekend at Lauren’s new apartment.

I, Melissa Roller, sent my “baby” to kindergarten in the fall. I now have more time to volunteer at the school that my girls attend. I work for a pediatric development center three days a week. My husband is expanding his restaurant and catering ventures in Berkshire County. We often go to Dinosaur Barbecue in Troy (Castaways in our time) and I make sure we drive down First Street and give my girls the two block “this is where Mommy and Auntie Lauren lived...” tour before we head home.

Sara Bowley Pound and her husband welcomed twin daughters, Martha Rose and Madilyn Sage, in August.

Stephany Roy Rozsa hosted a girls’ weekend at her home in West Hartford, CT, in August.

Shannon Ward-Lengel (35 weeks pregnant), Marie Custodero, Kim Webb Nolan, Katie Davis and Jennifer Bertoni attended.

Amy Carlotto Zuckett 515 Hunters Path Road Bridgeville, PA 15017 amy.carlotto2@gmail.com Melissa Fields Roller 700 West Road Richmond, MA 01254 413-698-8078 mjroller@earthlink.net

22 Connections | Spring 2013

2000

Sarah Carroll Aluck 41 Chatsworth Way Clifton Park NY 12065-7257 518-399-8499 sarahliz0410@yahoo.com Cara Desautels Beyor 2145 Plains Road Milton, VT 05468-4378 802-527-1360 desauc16@aol.com Christina Grab Kirkwood 3 Brandon Court Woburn, MA 01801-4167 781-454-9890 grabskifast@yahoo.com

2001

Mindy Howie married Stephen Young in September. Her honor attendants were Sarah Pratt Ciuryla ’03, SarahBeth Douglass Votra ’03 and Shannon Barton Oksman ’04. Russell Sage Dean Sharon Robinson, Lillian De Lawyer ’02 and Debra Neff Warnke ’02 attended the wedding.

Megan Betrus MacDonald and her husband welcomed a son in 2011. They live in Franklin, MA. Liz Winn Bracken and her husband welcomed a son in 2012.

Marissa Squicciarini Tarkington and her husband and son welcomed a baby girl in 2012. Marissa teaches high school English in Westchester.

Sarah Oudekerk Roy and her husband welcomed their first child, a son, in 2012.

Sarah works for the Vermont Department of Health in Rutland, doing substance abuse prevention.

I, Michelle Fage, started my own wedding and event planning business, Paradise Planning, on St. John in the US Virgin Islands. I also assist with planning vacations.

Come on down and visit, Blue Angels!

Michelle Fage PO Box 37 St. John, VI 00831 310-968-3789 michelle.m.fage@gmail.com

2002

Melissa Callaghan 110A Derby Street Newton, MA 02452 508-735-0344 coachcallaghan@yahoo.com

2003

Roni Schneider became an aunt in August. She is so excited.

Elizabeth T. Gray lives at 739 Baptist Corner Rd, Ashfield, MA, 01330.

Kendra Pulsifer-Griep recently moved to 122 Western Ave, Studio 207 Lowell, MA, 01851.

Elizabeth Keating 810 Hudson River Road Mechanicville, NY 12118 518-664-4226 keatie@sage.edu Elizabeth Stilan Willis 16 Pinewood Drive Schenectady, NY 12302 518-399-2329 estilan@hotmail.com Jessica Letizia-O’Brien 207 Ingleside Avenue Catonsville, MD 21228 410-747-2858 jessica.letizia@gmail.com

2004

Julia Hillje Dardia 1 Orient Way #504 Rutherford, NJ 07070 518-527-3314 juliahilljedardia@gmail.com Heather Nadeau 243 Tolend Road Dover NH 03820-5502 207-730-0461 nadeah@sage.edu Julia Stevens 5-9 West Main St. Apt. 10 Norwich, NY 13815 518-257-2407 julia33747@yahoo.com

2005

In August Xiomara Arrieta married Christopher Nichols in New York City.

Jessica Gertler and her husband welcomed their second son and Kerianne Clark Silver and Lauren Ross Collins both welcomed daughters in 2012.

Lauren Ross Collins 227 Valley View Dr. Wallkill, NY 12589 845-851-8311 rossboss23@yahoo.com Rebecca Mazurowski Hammond 37 Apogee Circle San Pedro, CA 90732 413-335-4643 beckymazo2001@yahoo.com Kerianne Clark Silver 20 Ivy Court Clifton Park, NY 12065 518-280-6509 kerianne.silver@gmail.com

2006

Christina Powers 47 Carmel Avenue Staten Island, NY 10314 718-494-9389 christina.g.powers@gmail.com

Julia Stevens married Jonathan Bogardus in October. Pictured, from left to right: Catie Ryan Canavan, Alyssa Townsend Arlen, Janet Stevens Laytham ’88 (sister of the bride), Sara Harding Simon, Julia Stevens Bogardus, Julia Hillje Dardia, Hannah Cleary, Lindsey Iles Clarke and Jenna Nielsen Grant.

2007

RSC Class Notes Danielle Drahos Basore 31 Byram Road, Apt. A Greenwich, CT 06830 610-334-6976 danielleabasore@gmail.com Sybil Wojcio 1101 N Calvert Street Baltimore MD 21202 845-853-6036 agentfoxy@msn.com

Charlotte Hays Hanley and her husband welcomed their first daughter, Annabelle Elizabeth, in August.

Jennifer Harris 144 Pawling Avenue Troy, NY 12180 518-275-2263 jenniferdabeyharris@gmail.com Angela Puorto 164 River Street Apt A Troy NY 12180 518-842-0602 apuorto@gmail.com

2008

Amanda Lowery Andrews 248 Turnpike Road Apt 2 New Ipswich, NH 03071 amandasandrews@gmail.com Kristina Smeragulio 1170 Bull Hill Road Gilboa, NY 12076 518-827-7098 frootloops111986@yahoo.com Pamela Mintzer 89 Highland Road Stamford CT 06902 mintzp.ot@gmail.com

2009

Daniela Puorto graduated with her master’s in childhood education from Sage’s Esteves School of Education in December.

Kimberly Bice married Vincent Herzog in August.

Melissa McConville has finished her Master of Science in Information Systems at the University at Albany and will become a school library media specialist.

Danielle Basore has started her doctorate in Biochemistry/ Biophysics at RPI. Her address is: 59 Brunswick Ave, 2nd Floor, Troy, NY, 12180.

Daniela Puorto 226 Market Street Amsterdam, NY 12010 518-842-0602 puortd@sage.edu

2010

Melissa Haggerty moved to California and is a clerk at Qualcomm. She has also begun training with the hope of completing a half-marathon in 2013 and a marathon in 2014.

Erin Menzer 76 7th Street Auburn ME 04210 erin.menzer@gmail.com Veronica Nunes 21 Lochview Drive Windsor, CT 06095 860-977-3397 roniev4@yahoo.com Brittany Wood 306 Sunset Avenue Rensselaer, NY 12144 518-322-6634 brittanywood06@gmail.com

2011

Ivanna Ramos 38 Malling Drive Rochester, NY 14621 585-342-8590 ivannar@gmail.com Amanda Spring PO Box 292 Ravena, NY 12143 518-756-8255 sprina@sage.edu

2012

Hillary Brown 34 Atkinson Street Rochester NY 14608 brown.hillaryc@gmail.com

In Memoriam 1934

1950

Ellen Wright Kelly 1/1/2008

Norma Tilley Cunningham 5/6/2012

1936

Ann Colton Gut 11/22/2012

1938

Suzanne Foley Joncas 9/8/2012

Roberta Drew Davies 9/28/2012 Almira Coulter Bourcier 5/11/2012 Elizabeth Randall Tetter 10/4/2012

1939

Olga Jeppie Wilmot 3/13/2012 Elisabeth Boltwood Bliss 11/29/2012

1941

Mary Cady Cantwell 11/5/2012

1942

1951

Phyllis Younger Goldstein 9/16/2012 Marguerite Clapp Hull 10/31/2012

1952

Jessie Armstead Marshall 9/16/2011 Renee Ledoux Holmes 10/31/2012

1953

Nancy Wright Anderson 9/1/2012

Jean Sorensen LeLoup 10/26/2012

Ana Almanza Pallang 4/14/2012

1943

Jeannette Shirley Terry 7/3/2012

1944

Helen Emple Honig 9/16/2012

Barbara Manchester Robinson 11/2/2012 Doris Cahill Kantor 9/3/2012 Harriet Weis Groover 4/9/2010 Betsy Cady Millington 2/4/2012 Virginia Spangle Hemphill 11/24/2012

1954

1959

Donna Ross Irish 11/18/2012

1962

Patricia DiCocca Ruzzo 9/21/2012

1970

1945

Wendy Borchert Hirtle 11/16/2012

1946

Kathleen Hickey Burrell 8/21/2012

Elizabeth Hunt Russell 11/30/2012

Susan Simpson Larose 9/24/2012

Frances Dunn Bishop 7/20/2012 Delphine Murray Osborne 9/27/2012

1948

1971

1981

1982

Grace Southworth Bihr 2/21/2012

Dianne Kinal Thompson 6/17/2012

Marion Jones McIntyre 8/19/2012

Kathryn Prividera 10/29/2012

1949

Carolyn Lomas Balsam 10/14/2012

1995

Laura Skinner Sparrer 11/21/2012

1999

Danielle St. Hilaire Donato 10/27/2012

Spring 2013 | Connections 23

athletics news For the latest updates, visit SageGators.com.

Athletics Department Honors Alumnae The Sage Colleges inducted Caitlin “C.J.” Ostrowski ’06 and Marie Corrado ’50 into its Athletics Hall of Fame in February.

Ostrowski, a former softball and volleyball player, was recognized with an ECAC Merit Medal and the NYSWCAA Scholar-Athlete Award while she an athlete at Russell Sage. She set several Sage volleyball records, many of which still stand.

Corrado, a retired high school athletics director and past president of the Association of Women in Physical Education, was extremely involved with implementing Title IX athletic programs for high school girls in Nassau County (N.Y.) and throughout New York state and has authored several physical education curriculum guides. She attends Sage’s games downstate, and has connected Sage’s coaching staff with high school coaches and administrators on Long Island. Sage’s home softball dugout is named for her, in gratitude for her gift toward the Neff Center and the Robison Softball complex.

Outdoor Track and Field Added to Varsity Program Sage will add outdoor track and field to its athletics roster in the 2013-2014 academic year, said Director of Athletics Dani Drews. “Track and field is a natural extension of our new and quite accomplished cross-country program. Under the guidance of [current cross-country coach] Jim Bowles as head coach, I have no doubt about the future success of our track and field student-athletes.”

With the addition of the new team, which will begin competition in spring 2014, Sage will sponsor 15 varsity athletic programs within the NCAA’s Division III and the Skyline Conference.

Sophomore Basketball Player Breaks Career Block Record Basketball player Amie Jefferson ’15 broke Sage’s women’s basketball career block record earlier this season, with 99 blocks in less than two years of varsity play. The previous record of 65 was set by Kelly Murphy ’05 between 1999 and 2002.

Jefferson ranks nationally with her 1.88 blocks per game average and 8.1 rebounds per game average. She has a team-best 36 blocked shots with 6.7 points per game average. She has been the team’s top rebounder 10 times this season and was one of two players to start every game for the Gators this year.

24 Connections | Spring 2013

Basketball standout Amie Jefferson in action.

faculty accolades

For the latest faculty accomplishments, visit Sage.edu/spotlight.

Kate Kagan, Ph.D., assistant professor of Spanish, published the textbook America Latina: Unidad en diversidad in 2012. The book, combining history with Latin American literature, is a comprehensive, didactic and modern resource about the cultural richness of the Hispanic world. She also taught a workshop “Teaching Languages in 21st century: Integrating Technology and Films” for the New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers.

Shealeen Meaney, Ph.D., assistant professor of English, presented at three conferences: Intercultural Horizons presentation in October 2012: “G/ Local General Education at The Sage Colleges: Civic Engagement in the WORLD”; National Women’s Studies Association presentation in November 2012: “Feminist Classrooms Unbound”; and MLA Presentation in January 2013: “Literary Studies, Feminist Theory, and the Public Humanities.”

Tonya Moutray, assistant professor of English, spent time at the Community of St. Mary’s in Greenwich, N.Y., to complete work on her book manuscript, Refugee Nuns and the French Revolution. A small Episcopal community, the sisters in Greenwich raise cashmere goats, combing them in the spring to lift out the fine undercoat, spin the delicate thread, and knit snow-soft sweaters, gloves and shawls.

When Professor Moutray visited the community more than six years ago, an antique spinning wheel had been donated to them and was in need of repairs. Not one sister knew how to use it. This time, four sisters knitted during tea-time as Mother Miriam spun cashmere fluff into thread at the wheel. Although there were 14 sisters at the convent in 2007, only seven remain, most of them elderly.

Sustaining a religious community is not an easy feat, as Moutray’s research asserts.

David Salomon, Ph.D., associate professor of English, has been invited to serve as an editor for The Shakespeare Standard, a website devoted to all things Shakespeare.

He has also had reviews published in The Sixteenth Century Journal and the Journal of the American Academy of Religion.

Barbara Thompson, OTD, LCSW, OTR/L, associate professor of occupational therapy, contributed two chapters, “Mindfulness Training” and “The Commemorative Flag,” to Techniques of Grief Therapy: Creative Strategies for Counseling the Bereaved, published by Routledge.

Spring 2013 | Connections 25

Non-profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID

65 1st Street Troy, NY 12180

Permit No. 314 Albany, NY

Please help Sage’s continuing investment in excellence.

For nearly 100 years, Russell Sage students have benefited from the generosity of alumnae. It’s a tradition upon which all other traditions at Sage depend. Gifts from grateful alumnae enable Sage to remain excellent, relevant and engaged.

Office of Institutional Advancement 65 1st Street, Troy, N.Y. 12180 (800) 898-8452

SAGE.EDU/GIVING

RSCAA ACCEPTING AWARD NOMINATIONS May 31, June 1-2 • Russell Sage College Campus Sage.edu/alumni/rsc/reunion

Highlights: Sagettes Concert • Massages, Zumba and Pilates • Tours of campus and historic Troy • Reunion Book Club discussion of Hope: A Tragedy by Shalom Auslander • Class dinners, the Parade of Classes, friendly competitions for decorating class lounges and much more!

The RSCAA Nominating and Awards Committee is accepting nominations for the Crockett Medal, the Woman of Influence award, and the Marion Hughes Reuss ’45 award.

Please visit Sage.edu/alumni/rsc/awards for

award criteria and submit your nomination to rscalum@sage.edu.