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2020 S UM M ER / M AGA ZI N E H ART F O RD O F UNI V E RS I T Y facebook.com/ UniversityofHartford
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H, UNIVERSIT Y OF HARTFORD MAGAZINE Office of Marketing and Communication, 200 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford, CT 06117 editor@hartford.edu O N T H E C OV E R : You Are Loved, part of a public service art project for Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner. breakfastxlunchxdinner.com/psa COVER ILLUSTRATION BY LINDALUZ CARRILLO ’16
Thank you, health-care personnel, first responders, and workers in a wide range of service fields. We appreciate you.
The University is especially grateful for our current students and employees, alumni, partners, and friends who have worked tirelessly in recent months to ensure the safety of our campus and communities across the country and world.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!
Lindaluz Carrillo ’16 is a first generation Afro Peruvian raised in Hartford Conn. She is an artist and graphic designer. Carrillo uses typography, textile patterns, and graffiti elements to share her life experiences and values. She reflects on topics such as self love, growth, resilience, and standing in your truth. Her work serves as a message to speak your mind with honesty, and without fear. Embrace your story. “THERE IS A FIRE OF ANGER THAT BURNS WITH INTENSITY, A DEEP DESIRE
FOR CHANGE AND ENDLESS GRIEVING. HOPE MAY NOT BE ENOUGH BUT IT IS A STARTING POINT.”
F E ATU R E S
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Inspired-20
The UHart community responds to COVID-19.
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Hopeful and Resilient
Personal reflections on the quest for social justice.
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Game On
Kathy Behrens ’85 leads NBA’s community outreach. Coretta Scott King is one of many recognizable names to have visited the UHart campus.
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Enjoying Life
Alumni build prominent niche careers.
Her illustrations on the cover and on page 24 are reflections of the crises facing our nation, now and throughout our history. The cover illustration, You Are Loved, is part of a public service art project by Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, a community venture building studio based in Hartford. A 1/1 edition print is being sold online through BLD, with all proceeds going to support the Hartford Mutual Aid Fund. Lindaluz Carrillo ’16
CONTENTS / VOL. 02 / ISSUE 02
Jayden Rameikas ’22, Juli Dajci ’21, and Olaleye Onikuyide ’20 met with Chief Justice Richard A. Robinson when the Connecticut Supreme Court came to campus.
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“Our players will embrace those chances to give back and contribute.”
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DE PA R TM E N TS 0 2 O B S E R VAT I O N S Message from President Woodward
3 6 H AW K N AT I O N Inside athletics
0 4 YO U R V I E WS Readers speak out
40 MIXED MEDIA Books, movies, and music
05 UNOTES News from campus
41 WORDS OF WISDOM Expert advice
1 4 H AW K ’ S E Y E V I E W The big picture
42 ALUMNI NOTES News for and about alumni
16 FIRST CLASS Spotlight on faculty
56 LOOKING BACK From the archives
0 2 / O B S E R VAT I O N S / M E S S AG E
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Some Positive News Amid the Challenges Dear Friends,
Gregory S. Woodward
“ This period of rightsizing and stabilizing the University, and doing so in the midst of a world crisis, calls for an unusual combination of ingenuity and creativity.”
Here, much to your surprise, is a set of positive messages from me to you, because the reality is that we could all use some. The University is ready to open for the fall semester. It won’t look or feel quite the same, but we are prepared to do our very best in a tough situation. The campus team has come together in amazing ways to make this happen—safety and health efforts and precautions; new seating and spacing floor plans; creative course delivery models and pedagogies; rigid but reasonable residence hall protocols and dining options; face-to-face, online, and blended learning—we will have it all. More than 1,300 first-year students will join us this fall; an incredible number in this crazy year and a secure vote of confidence in the education and experience that UHart has to offer. After two years of intense work on creating a more diverse and inclusive campus, with much progress, the recent national reawakening to the discrimination towards people of color that plagues our world has challenged us to do more and to do better. The President’s Task Force on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I), staff and students, the executive director of DE&I, and the Office of Student Engagement and Inclusion have all plunged into the powerful and critical work ahead with new and expanded plans for events, education, engagement, reflection, dialogue, and change. We are all in this together and I am fully dedicated to help foster our campus as a model for our community of understanding, equity, tolerance, and social justice. The future of the University is strong. Applications topped 13,000 for this fall. Our retention of first- to second-year students is on the rise, highlighted by an increase of over 10 percent for students of color.
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Our new academic building is on schedule to open in the fall of 2021 with a beautiful array of state-of-the-art teaching and learning spaces for health professions, engineering, and technology. This expansion holds much of the promise of a sustainable institution in partnership with the traditions of excellence we cherish in our ongoing programs and colleges. The physical campus is changing and looking better every day with new fire pits, seating areas, gardens, residence hall renovations, and refreshed academic spaces. We could not have anticipated anything as disruptive as the COVID-19 pandemic—especially so instantaneous in effect. While the negative financial implications for us—and all universities—are disturbing, the strength of our institution to be flexible during challenging and evolving times is a great asset. This period of rightsizing and stabilizing the University, and doing so in the midst of a world crisis, calls for an unusual combination of individual, programmatic, and school/college/division ingenuity and creativity inside of a centralized system that needs to be more coordinated, better controlled, and more precisely orchestrated and strategic than, perhaps, ever before. I close with more positive news: we have created a budget that with a somewhat smallish investment, put in context of the losses, will allow us to work to a balanced, end-of-year budget for the coming year. Much of this ability comes from the generosity of our friends, and I thank you on behalf of our students for your inspiring support. As we used to say in my day, keep the faith! Humans are tough and smart. We will figure it out and education is the key to this and to our collective future. The University of Hartford is up for the challenge, the fight, and the joy. H
UHart faculty and staff helped me find my voice and define my own philosophy. From dedicated professors to the Office of Student Success and the staff at Lincoln Theater, they guided me on the path to where I am now, teaching young children how to develop their voices. That’s why I give to the UHart Impact Fund— to empower the leaders of tomorrow, today.” Brianna Tribble-Bryant ’20 Early Childhood Education
EMPOWER EVERY STUDENT Consider your next gift to the UHart Impact Fund today.
HARTFORD.EDU/GIVE
04 / YOUR VIEWS / LETTERS
We Want to Hear from You! H welcomes comments and thoughts from readers and alumni, and while we can’t print or personally respond to each letter or email, we promise that we do read and appreciate them. Comments published on this page express the views of the writers and not the University of Hartford or staff of H. Letters and emails are edited for clarity, space, and UHart style. MAIL : H Editor, Office of Marketing and Communication,
200 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford, CT 06117 EMAIL: editor@hartford.edu
As alumni director from 1969 to 1978, I had the distinct pleasure to create an event that honored two alumni (Edgar Brisson ’59 and Bob Breeding ’59) who were the project leaders at Hamilton Standard for the spacesuit. I was prompted to write after seeing the article on alum Lenny Masiello ’69 (page 27, fall 2019 issue). That spacesuit is what saved the life of alumnus Jack Swigert (M’67) on the Apollo 13 Mission. It was his last defense for air before the landing back on earth. So it is that Edgar Brisson and Bob Breeding saved the life of fellow alumnus Jack Swigert. I met Swigert at an event we held for him 10 days after his return to earth. Seeing Masiello in the suit is yet another praiseworthy thing. These are great reminders for our graduates about the successes of University of Hartford alumni. —Peter Hunter ’69 (A&S), former director of alumni relations In the article, “Teaching with Passion” (page 14, fall 2019 issue), it states you either “survived Charles Canedy and proceeded on in the business school or you changed majors.” I did not “survive”
Charles Canedy. I did proceed to write an Amazon best-selling book on marketing and co-found one of the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. I’ll admit, I was angry at Professor Canedy. While I have gone on to be successful in business and in marketing, I suppose I still feel knots in my stomach when I think of him. On September 11, 2001, I drove to the University of Hartford to attend my classes in music and business. That morning, I heard the grave news that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. I told Canedy what had happened. His response was simply, “take your seat.” The following 90 minutes were torture. I could not concentrate as I worried about what had happened and who was impacted. My mom had flown into the airport in Boston the morning before. I had family and friends working and living in New York—family and friends I had left just two weeks earlier where I had spent the summer interning at Blue Note Records (where I passed through the World Trade Center daily). I was angry at Charles Canedy and never returned to his class nor spoke to him again. I convinced my advisor, Irene
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O’Connor, to allow me to do an independent study in music and marketing, an internship at Snow Sound. A decision that has, without doubt, led me to where I am today. We all have our September 11 stories. Ebony Campbell’s story (page 34 of the same issue) is far more traumatic than mine. All the individuals who lost loved ones experienced more pain than I could ever imagine. This is just my story. My life was forever changed because of the decision Professor Canedy made that morning. I wonder if, when Professor Canedy thinks about how he first learned of 9/11, he remembers me. If he could do it over again, would he change how he reacted to me? That certainly wouldn’t have changed what happened that morning, but it may have changed the direction of my life, a direction for which I am forever grateful. —Rachel Mele ’03 (Hartt) Thank you for publishing Observations/Message from the President (page 2, fall 2019 issue). I read this column in every issue. I am not a UHart alum but have a relative who earned a master’s degree from UHart and subsequently earned a PhD.
Moreover, Dr. Gregory S. Woodward is a native of West Hartford and a Hall High School graduate. I grew up in West Hartford and am still intimately connected to the town and New England. In the words of Dr. Woodward, he is “grateful to lead this special institution … and determined to continue to enhance and deliver the UHart educational experience to our incredible students. … Together, through the great contributions of so many of you, we are going to continue to increase access to a UHart education …” Notice the emphasis is on “we” and “together.” This is the hallmark of a great leader. —James A. Johnson, Esq.
F O R T H E RECO RD The University of Hartford’s annual award for excellence in teaching is named for Roy E. Larsen. The last name was spelled incorrectly on page 15 of the fall 2019 issue. Deborah Rice ’70 (ENHP), included in the “We Remember” section on page 54 of the winter 2019 issue, resided in Marlborough, Conn. The listed town was incorrect.
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Celebrated poet Nikki Giovanni (far right), a leader of the Black Arts movement of the 1960s and ’70s, was the featured guest at the University’s winter observance of Martin Luther King and his dream of equality and justice for all. She joined UHart’s gospel choir as they sang “We Shall Overcome.” See Words of Wisdom, p. 41
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Freedom to play
Water Strider Student’s invention gives children with cerebral palsy freedom in the pool
Like most four-year-olds, JR Ellis loves to play in the pool. But because he has cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that affects his muscle control, the only way he could safely enjoy the water was in his parents’ arms. Now, thanks to an innovative device called the Water Strider, JR is able to play in the pool independently during a test of the product. The Water Strider was designed and built by Josh Breighner ’20, a student in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program, as part of a research project with College of Education, Nursing and Health Professions faculty members Sandra Saavedra, associate professor of physical therapy, and Donna Snowdon, assistant professor of physical therapy. “From a parent’s perspective, this is a game changer,” says Sara Ellis, JR’s mother. “When your child has a disability and can’t use typical water toys, you can’t just go to the store and find something that works. The Water Strider is incredible because it gives JR independence, which is something he doesn’t have a lot of. He just lit up when he used it.” The Water Strider has been such a success that Breighner and the University have filed a patent application for it. Breighner hopes to locate a company that will help develop the device to make it commercially available in the future.
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Saavedra studies development of trunk control in children who are non-ambulatory with a special focus on children, with cerebral palsy. As part of her research, she examines how adaptive devices can help children participate more fully in the classroom and in recreational activities. Commercially available pool toys don’t provide enough support to children who can’t hold their heads above water. For this project, Breighner and Saavedra wanted to develop a device that would provide enough trunk support to keep a child upright in the water and allow more autonomy and independence. “Children who aren’t able to walk don’t get to learn how their body works in space because they can’t control gravity,” Saavedra says. “But in the pool, this device gives them the ability to be upright and explore what their bodies can do.” Breighner designed the Water Strider with common materials such as PVC pipes, pool noodles, and pool skimmers. For children with more severe cerebral palsy who need extra support, he added a headrest and tray support made from foam kickboards. The Water Strider also includes a neoprene vest with Velcro to firmly hold the child in place.
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Far left: For children who need extra support, a head rest and tray can be attached to the Water Strider for added stability. Left: Sandra Saavedra (left), associate professor of physical therapy, with Josh Breighner ’20
Striking results
Breighner and his research team tested the Water Strider with eight children using the pool at the nearby Mandell Jewish Community Center in West Hartford in the spring and summer of 2019. The results were striking. Children with milder cerebral palsy were able to kick and propel themselves around the pool, and children with more severe cerebral palsy were able to stay upright and engage with their parents and other children in the pool. “The kids could spend half an hour in the pool and not be exhausted. It was a huge difference,” he says. “There hasn’t been any family in the study that hasn’t wanted one,” Saavedra adds. “JR’s mother also asked Josh to design a support for the bathtub.” Breighner said the process of developing the Water Strider moved quickly, from testing a preliminary design in his bathtub to working with children in the pool in only a few months. Adding the work of the patent application was an additional challenge. “But seeing the kids enjoying it makes it all worthwhile,” he says. Saavedra adds, “Giving a child who has no independent ability in the pool that freedom is a really rewarding experience.” Breighner, a May 2020 graduate, says, “My long-term goal is that you walk into an aquatic therapy facility and see the Water Strider. It can be used for so many populations—children with cerebral palsy or adults with spinal cord injuries. This can help even more people enjoy being in the water.”
Women’s Advancement Initiative LEAD students volunteering at Give Kids the World Village in Orlando, Florida.
Spanning the Globe
This past winter break, UHart students traveled far and wide to research, study, and serve. While many are refueling between semesters or simply recovering from the hectic holiday season during the first half of January, groups of University of Hartford students find this time perfect to travel to conduct research, to learn about different cultures, or to engage in community service. Researching and Studying Abroad Katharine Owens, associate professor of politics, economics, and international studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, brought several of her students to India to help her research marine debris and its impact on the world’s oceans. The group spent 10 days in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala, collecting and cataloging debris, making a report for local policymakers, and creating an instructional video of cleanup methods. This was a return trip to India for Owens, who recently spent six months in the country thanks to a Fulbright-Nehru grant to study marine debris. Owens also collaborated with teachers from across India for a training workshop on engaging students in marine debris collection.
Learning About Polynesian Culture Students enrolled in the Hillyer College Honors Program spent Winterterm studying Polynesian history, culture, religion, and art at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa. As part of this annual trip, the students visited historic sites, including Iolani Palace (the only royal residence in America), the Byodo-In Temple, and the Bishop Museum. The Hawaii trip is a hallmark of Hillyer’s Honors Program, which is specifically designed for students with high academic achievements. Serving the Community Members of The Women’s Advancement Initiative volunteered at Give Kids the World Village, a resort in Orlando, Fla., that provides free vacations to children with life-threatening illnesses. The students spent a week at the resort doing everything from serving ice cream to reading bedtime stories to the kids. This trip is an annual tradition for The Women Advancement’s LEAD (Leadership Education and Development) program. It provides students with the tools, training, and community to successfully navigate the journey to and through college to life and careers.
SUMMER 2020
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BRIE FS
The University of Hartford is introducing new academic programs in fields with strong career outlooks, including robotics, exercise science, nursing, and business analytics. These majors join a list of growing programs designed to meet the needs of future innovators, makers, and leaders. Robotics puts students in an intellectually stimulating and project-based environment, learning to program and operate robots and autonomous vehicles. Exercise Science is the study of the bodily movements that contribute to human fitness, holistic wellness, and longevity. The direct-entry Bachelor of Science in Nursing program offers small class sizes, clinical placements at leading hospitals, and simulation labs. Students will gain eligibility to sit for the national exam for licensure as a registered nurse. Business Analytics and Managerial Economics gives students a strong understanding of the fundamentals of analytics. In addition, a new minor has been introduced in data science, an emerging field that has numerous applications in many career areas. The University of Hartford’s Barney School of Business is one of the nation’s most outstanding business schools in 2020, according to The Princeton Review. The education services company profiles the school in its listing of the “Best Business Schools for 2020.” Rob Franek, The Princeton Review’s editor in chief, explains that the uniqueness of the “Best Business Schools” designation “is that we take into account the opinions of students attending the schools about their campus and classroom experiences. For our 2020 list, we surveyed more than 20,700 students at 248 business schools.” Among the quotes included from Barney
Opening Doors New Scholarship Initiatives for State Residents, Future Engineers Pratt & Whitney Scholars
Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies (UTX), has gifted $100,000 to a scholarship program for students in the University of Hartford’s mechanical engineering program in the College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture (CETA). The scholarship program aims to foster diversity and inclusion in the field of engineering. Six sophomores and juniors were initially awarded $10,000 scholarships and named Pratt & Whitney Scholars. The remaining scholarship funds will be used for scholarships in future academic years. Scholarship recipients can be sophomores, juniors, or seniors and must be declared mechanical engineering majors. Students are nominated by mechanical engineering faculty and Hisham Alnajjar, dean of CETA, and the final recipients are reviewed and selected by UHart and Pratt & Whitney.
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“We are thrilled that Pratt & Whitney is offering such a generous scholarship to University of Hartford students, and that they will have the excellent opportunity to make connections with the world-class engineering team at Pratt & Whitney,” Alnajjar says. As part of the scholarship program, the recipients will have the opportunity to network with Pratt & Whitney executives and potential hiring managers. They are encouraged to apply for internships and full-time employment opportunities. “Pratt & Whitney’s diverse workforce is a key driver of innovation and critical to our continued success,” says Chris Kmetz, vice president of engineering, module centers, Pratt & Whitney. “We are excited to offer scholarships to high-potential University of Hartford students to support the next generation of young professionals in STEM careers.”
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Connecticut Pledge Scholarship
The University of Hartford is becoming more affordable for lower-income Connecticut students. Starting this fall, the new Connecticut Pledge Scholarship will be available for qualifying first-year students who are from the state. The scholarship is worth $12,000 over four years. The University is committed to contributing to the state’s economic growth by making higher education accessible and preparing the next generation of innovators, makers, and creative thinkers. Connecticut is home to more than 30,000 alumni, the highest number of any fouryear private institution in the state. They work in diverse fields including business, engineering, health care, and the arts. Collaborations with local companies, agencies, and nonprofits give students hands-on training in the fields they love, while creating a pipeline of qualified potential employees. “We are making an important investment in the future of our region by helping talented students attend UHart to receive an exceptional private college education,” says Katherine Deacon, UHart’s director of financial aid. “We greatly raise the probability that these students will remain in the state to enter the workforce—and contribute to the local economy—upon graduation.” The Connecticut Pledge Scholarship can be combined with the University’s other scholarships for academic merit, program-specific interests, and artistic talent and performance.
“ We are making an important investment in the future of our region.”
Sound Pioneer Internationally renowned artist Meredith Monk performs, works with students The University of Hartford celebrated Meredith Monk, widely recognized as one of the most unique and influential artists of our time, during a series of events, including a performance, workshops, lectures, a film retrospective, and an art exhibition this past fall. Monk, who is a composer, singer, director, choreographer, and filmmaker, visited Hartford last November as part of the Richard P. Garmany Chamber Music Series. Monk is a pioneer in what is known as “extended vocal technique” and “interdisciplinary performance.” Her groundbreaking exploration of the voice as an instrument—as an eloquent language in and of itself—expands the boundaries of musical composition, creating landscapes of sound that unearth feelings, energies, and memories for which there are no words. Celebrated internationally, Monk’s work has been presented at major venues throughout the world. Monk’s visit was made possible by the Richard P. Garmany Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.
Meredith Monk was awarded an honorary Doctor of Musical Arts degree.
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School students: “Classes are small enough that you are able to network and have established communication with your professor and classmates, but large enough for a diverse discussion.” Another student commented, “The Barney School also frequently invites alumni to return to campus to discuss their career trajectory with current students. Most importantly, the University does a fantastic job of partnering with all types of businesses—from large corporations to small nonprofits and government organizations.” The University of Hartford’s new partnership with Hartford HealthCare (HHC) was celebrated on Feb. 12 with Hartford HealthCare Game night at the Sports Center. UHart President Gregory Woodward, HHC President and CEO Jeffrey Flaks, and HHC physical therapist and rehab site supervisor Latasha Raineault ’08, D’10 spoke of the valuable partnership at halftime of the Hawks’ men’s basketball game versus Albany. “This partnership with Hartford HealthCare is built on our shared vision of excellence in service and education,” Woodward said, in explaining the significance in unifying all health-care needs on campus. Raineault, who was an outstanding track and field athlete at UHart, commented, “This collaboration provides so many opportunities to students, faculty members, athletes, and the entire University community. From clinical experiences and a potential career path to individualized patient care and enhanced performance by our athletes, we are embarking on a special journey. It’s a great day to be a Hawk.” Hartford HealthCare operates the University’s Student Health Services Center and provides non-emergency after-hours care through a phone line staffed by registered nurses.
—KATHERINE DEACON
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All Rise Connecticut Supreme Court brings experiential learning to campus
“Court is now in session,” resounded through Lincoln Theater on a fall day as a Connecticut Supreme Court bailiff banged his gavel and the state’s seven supreme court justices sat down in a replicated courtroom to hear oral arguments on two appellate cases. Dozens of students, faculty, staff, and community members attended and took advantage of the opportunity to observe and learn about how our judicial process works. Chief Justice Richard A. Robinson says that’s exactly the reason for the program called “On Circuit” that takes court sessions to campuses in the state. “College students are fantastic,” Robinson said. “They are like sponges when it comes to learning. We come to a college campus so they can actually see us, how we do things, and how our system works.
That is vitally important because some of the problems we face today are because people don’t understand our government, they don’t understand our courts, and they don’t understand their roles in our society. We need to get out and help educate people in what we do and how we do it.” In his welcoming remarks to the Supreme Court justices and audience, University of Hartford President Gregory S. Woodward said, “This is a special day when our University values statement comes to life. Today, our hard-working students and interested citizens are invited to witness a process that is driven by integrity, respect, and a strength of community.” Students in the University’s prelaw advising program were among those in attendance and were invited to meet and talk with the justices before court began. The event was affirming for many, including Gabriella Silva ’20, an international studies and economics major, who was appreciative that “the justices
I spoke with were very encouraging of my goals and provided advice that I know will help me in my future career. Sitting in the oral arguments and listening to the interpretations of statutes reminded me of the beauty of law and further confirmed my decision to go to law school.” Olaleye Onikuyide ’20, a double major in economics and politics & government, said, “It was a lot of fun discussing the cases and their salient points with fellow pre-law students during the recesses. We also had an impromptu discussion outside the theater after the event before we went our separate ways for the day.” The justices heard arguments in two criminal cases. For each case, a defense attorney and a prosecutor had 30 minutes to present to the seven justices who peppered them with questions throughout. There was a 20-minute question-and-answer period between the attorneys and attendees following each case without the justices present.
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Where Dreams Begin
FAC E BOOK
UHart is excited to launch a new scholarship program to help our 2020 graduates navigate the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020 Forward Scholarship will provide up to half tuition to all qualifying members of the UHart Class of 2020 to earn master’s degrees. Learn more at https://bit.ly/2020-forward #UHart #UHartInspires
“ They say we really smile with our eyes. We’re seeing how true that is.” Professor of Communication ROBERT DURAN in a recent op-ed piece for the Hartford Courant that was published worldwide, including publications in Qatar and New Zealand. It addresses why wearing face coverings in public is redefining the way we communicate.
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Our first #UHartBound photo contest is over! We have selected three winners—Congratulations to Melissa Mandel, Yarissa Rivera, and Devon Featherstone! We will be reaching out to you so you can get your #UHart swag! We can’t wait to welcome you! #UHart #decisionday #igotin
Barney School of Business hosts annual business plan competition
A longstanding competition that has become a signature event on campus attracted 30 students from various disciplines—and with equally diverse entrepreneurial ideas. The Barney School of Business hosted its 17th annual University of Hartford Business Plan Competition this past winter. Open to undergraduate and graduate students across the University, the contest awards $6,000 in prize money, earmarked to help the students get their business plans off the ground. This year’s participants, which included student-athletes and international students, represented the Barney School of Business, Hartford Art School, College of Arts and Sciences, and College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture. “This event has allowed hundreds of students to pursue and showcase their amazing business ideas and provides a valuable channel to enrich students’ learning experience and to invigorate campus life,” said Amy Zeng, former dean of the Barney School of Business. Judges for the competition included UHart alumni who participated in previous competitions, leading professors, and established Connecticut entrepreneurs. James Slayton ’20, an entrepreneurial studies major who has been a standout goalkeeper for Hawks’ men’s soccer the past four years, won first place in the undergraduate business plan competition. His idea revolved around Coach 4U Training, an online business matching soccer coaches and players. Barney School MBA student Matthew Murray won first place in the graduate business plan competition for Blue Maple Marketing, a provider of marketing services for small businesses. Two students tied to win a oneminute business pitch competition: Sacha Chouraqui ’20, a marketing major, for a parking space sharing app idea; and mechanical engineering major Scott Stephenson ’22, who presented plans for a homemade bread business. Alumni Choice awards went to Slayton and MBA student Valerie Moffatt, who formed a business plan for NextGen Training Partners, focused on corporate training.
James Slayton ’20 won top honors in the undergraduate competition.
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Beyond Books The campus library adapts and thrives under its energetic leader
Randi Ashton-Pritting (M’98, D’03) was ahead of the curve. She knew that the library she started working at in 1980—a time when even the sound of a whisper would be met with an evil eye by other patrons—in no way resembled the gathering place that a 21st-century campus library needed to be. So, in her true cheerleader style, Ashton-Pritting starting presenting and selling new ideas to consolidate and energize UHart’s library system, today known as Harrison Libraries. The number of physical print books circulating will never be what it was in the 1980s, but with a technology-rich classroom, full version of the popular Starbucks eatery, and offerings ranging from lunchtime concerts to pet therapy, the library today is attracting students and community members in eye-opening fashion: before the COVID-19 pandemic shifted the library to a virtual environment in March, Harrison Libraries was on pace to see 450,000 visits this past academic year. Honored by UHart this year for 40 years of service, Ashton-Pritting explains that it was fate that forged her career as a librarian. After stints in retail, banking, inventory control, and even running her own business making dolls, she interviewed at the University at a time when you did not apply for any specific job; the employer determined possible matches. Ashton-Pritting was told to interview for a job as library stacks coordinator. She wound up in that job and has climbed every step of the librarian ladder over the ensuing four
decades: cataloguing, interlibrary loan, reference, periodicals, head of acquisitions, assistant director, interim director, and director. Back when she started at UHart, Ashton-Pritting never envisioned that working in a library would be a longterm venture. “I thought this was a transition to give me a couple of years to figure out what I wanted to do,” she recalls. Instead, during those couple of years, she discovered how much she loved working with students in a university setting. Ashton-Pritting has carried her enthusiasm for what the library can bring others out into the larger community, where she’s advised public schools in the city of Hartford. Her outreach has extended far beyond the local area. Upon becoming aware that students at the Fort Hood Native American
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School in North Dakota did not even have a dictionary to access, AshtonPritting contacted librarians throughout Connecticut. In short order, hundreds of dictionaries were sent to the school. Not only did every classroom receive one—students could take a dictionary home as needed. Ashton-Pritting has orchestrated an even more powerful outreach over the past eight years, working with American Friends for Kenya to ship boxes of crayons to youngsters in Africa. Ashton-Pritting treasured the photos she received as well as the positive comments of how much the kids loved their “sticks” (Kenyans do not have a word comparable to crayon). In fact, the crayons were so popular that each child only could be given one initially. Yet, Ashton-Pritting learned how even one crayon can be a life changer.
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MORE THAN A LIBRARY From miniature golf course to wedding chapel, the library has given new meaning to the term multipurpose. [1] President Emeritus Walter Harrison lines up a putt on one of 18 holes designed through the stacks and nooks of the library during Community Day 2009. [2] Recently retired Assistant Dean of University Studies Karen Sullivan (M’08), pictured with husband Keith Campagna, had a storybook wedding ceremony and reception in the library a decade ago.
Students today can check out everything from tablets and laptops to prayer rugs. No one could understand why one of the children in Kenya kept using a black crayon to fill in her paper. It was soon discovered that the child was a victim of abuse and was using the black crayon to express the danger she was feeling. A simple crayon was able to inform authorities that a
child needed help. “It brings tears to my eyes every time I think about it,” Ashton-Pritting shares. She now donates 1,000 boxes of crayons annually, a significant increase from the 100 boxes she sent over the first year. Her staunch advocacy of the library’s evolving role has been recognized on a statewide level where she’s received multiple honors, including receiving the Connecticut Library Association’s most prestigious award— Connecticut’s Outstanding Librarian of the Year—in 2012. Ashton-Pritting considers lending out, as she puts it, “anything you can slap a barcode on.” Students today can check out everything from tablets and laptops to prayer rugs. As she looked around one February afternoon and saw Starbucks bustling with activity, and collaboration carousels filled with students, Ashton-Pritting fully realized that she’s been successful at silencing those who said the demise of print books would render libraries obsolete. She’s quick to point out that those at the University of Hartford were not among those naysayers. “None of the transformation would have taken place if the University administration did not recognize the importance of their libraries and value what the staff of Harrison Libraries brings to the educational experience of our students,” she says.
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Randi Ashton-Pritting (M’98, D’03)
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THE
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a new academic building for advanced engineering and health professions
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The University of Hartford is building a 60,000square-foot academic building in the center of campus, which is scheduled to be completed by the 2021–22 academic year. The building will house new, specialized, technology-rich facilities for in-demand programs in the College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture and the College of Education, Nursing and Health Professions.
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SPOTLIGHT
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From Hollywood to Hartford School of Communication’s Susan Cardillo shares compelling past with students University of Hartford Assistant Professor of Communication Susan Cardillo had just started working as a production assistant on the set of the Hollywood movie A Month of Sundays, starring Rod Steiger, in 2001. “I’m standing next to the production manager and the executive producer walks up to him and punches him in the face. He says, ‘get off my set, you’re fired.’ Then he turns to me and says, ‘you’re the new production manager.’” Having no experience, Cardillo later found out her “promotion” was due to the fact the production manager was having an affair with the executive producer’s wife. A self-proclaimed “Jersey Girl,” Cardillo went to the University of Arizona on a baton twirling scholarship, majoring in theatre and television production. After graduation, she was looking for acting jobs in New York City when she saw a job posting for a flight attendant. After working for five years in
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the airline industry, Cardillo took a corporate buyout that included free travel anywhere in the world for the next five years. From New Jersey to Arizona: Cardillo That’s when she attended the University of Arizona on a baton twirling scholarship to study theatre decided to move to and television production. Los Angeles. She did sitcom work in the mid-to-late 80s, playing a gym teacher on a TV pilot called (appropriately) Faculty, and appearing on the show Down the Shore. Because acting wasn’t steady work, Cardillo waitressed at a restaurant across from Universal Studios. Among her customers was a film crew who invited her to join their team as a production assistant on A Month of Sundays. Cardillo worked out of her tiny L.A. apartment and a little office off Laurel Canyon Boulevard securing contracts and scouting locations. “It was a great way to learn, but there was
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nothing glamorous about it,” she recalls. Her boss was Suzanne DeLaurentiis (yes that DeLaurentiis) and since their first names sounded alike, Cardillo had to change her name at work to “Delilah” so people didn’t get the two of them confused. “I worked for a ruthless woman who knew what she was doing,” Cardillo explains, “and I knew I didn’t want to be mean to people. I didn’t want to stay in the business too long.” When Cardillo’s husband, a Spanish teacher, wanted to move to Florida in 2003, they flew there for a weekend and wound up buying a house. After the move, with no idea of what she was going to do, Cardillo applied for and got a TV production teaching position at T. Dewitt Taylor Middle-High School in Pierson, Florida, a position she held for eight years. “I got lucky with the first class of kids I got,” she says. “The most popular kid spread it around the school that I was the coolest teacher. Everybody started taking my class and it became a reward elective. If you did well, you were allowed to take the TV class.” The school also had a beautiful theater that no one was using, so Cardillo asked if she could teach drama. She built the Taylor Academy of Arts and Technology, where the students could do video and stage work together. “I’m still very close to almost every kid I taught,” she says. “One of my students just got engaged and she wants me to officiate at her wedding!” Every day, Cardillo says, she pushed higher education with her students. She thought if they were doing it, that she should set the example, too. “I started a master’s program at age 50, and finished both a master’s and doctorate online in five years.” In 2016, Cardillo joined UHart’s School of Communication in the College of Arts and Sciences where she teaches courses that include advanced video production and The Studio, where students are taught the art of digital storytelling. “What’s significant now in advertising is telling a story about someone using a product in a quick and exciting way,” Cardillo says. “It’s fast moving and more like you would see on social media.”
Her film industry experience came in handy last fall when she and Kyle Conti A’18, ’20, a double major in cinema and digital media and journalism, attended the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology’s Sightlines 2019 Film Festival in Melbourne, Australia. There, they presented and discussed their documentary Finding Matilda, which
Cardillo traveled to Lithuania in 2018 to film the documentary Finding Matilda with College of Arts and Sciences students.
was filmed on location in Lithuania. The film tells the story of Matlida Olkin, a college student who was killed along with her family during the Holocaust. The documentary was also a finalist in the Southeast Regional Film Festival in Jacksonville, Florida, and was supposed to compete in the Fiorenzo Serra Film Festival in Sassari, Italy, this spring before the event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Cardillo started working on another documentary with a dozen UHart students titled Smartphones, Dumb Kids? about how cell phone addiction is adversely affecting students’ ability to learn. This project is on hold due to the current health crisis. Cardillo says she’s constantly in touch with people in the business who tell her what qualities they are looking for in her students. “They say to teach your students how to passionately tell a story and how to work with a team to make it happen,” she says. “They want people with innovative ideas and thoughts. They can teach them all the rest.” H
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Flight Attendant to the Stars Susan Cardillo traveled the world as a flight attendant for a private airline based in Los Angeles that had a passenger list that reads like an Oscars after party. She’s flown with Denzel Washington and his wife, Pauletta, to Paris, Robin Williams to San Francisco, Eddie Murphy and his entourage to Miami, Ralph Lauren to the Caribbean, and Chris O’Donnell and Greg Kinnear and the rest of the cast of Batman to South America. But there was one flight where the passengers made the trip unforgettable. Tom Hanks was celebrating his wife Rita Wilson’s birthday, and was flying her and their best friends, comedian Martin Short and his wife, Nancy, to New York City for the weekend. “I get a phone call, and it’s Tom Hanks. He says, so there’s a chef in Beverly Hills who is going to open early for you.” Cardillo met the chef at 6 a.m. at the back door to his fancy restaurant, where they packed containers of Wilson’s favorite foods into Cardillo’s Volkswagen Beetle. Once the plane was in the air and Cardillo was working in the galley minding her own business, she hears Short yell “Cardillo, get over here!” She asked if he needed anything and he said, “No, sit.” He and Hanks were playing a word game that their wives wanted no part of, so Short invited her to play. “Martin stood up and did a whole routine off the top of his head,” she says. “I laughed so hard the next day my stomach muscles hurt.” And what about all that food Cardillo picked up so early in the morning? “They didn’t eat any of it!” she remembers. Sometimes after a flight, Cardillo would pack large platters of leftover lobster, caviar, and filet mignon into her VW Bug, which worked out nicely for her neighbors. “They’d come running, especially if they saw me pull up with the top down!”
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INSPIRED-20 As the COVID-19 pandemic escalated throughout the spring, members of the UHart community used their expertise, skills, creativity, and generosity to lend a helping hand. As our world is witnessing one of the worst global health crises in history, we have been forced to grapple with some hard questions over the past few months: How do we stay safe? How do we deal with a shortage of food and supplies? How do we teach and learn during a pandemic? How do we navigate this new reality? But there’s another important question that many at the University of Hartford found themselves asking:
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WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP?
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The face cover kit contents, including rubber bands, 3D printed face cover support parts, transparency sheets, and instructions for assembly.
Caring for our neighbors is what we do. It’s a mission at the heart of our University, and in a time of uncertainty, UHart faculty, staff, students, and alumni are showcasing their generosity. From donating supplies to spreading positivity, Hawks are stepping up, using their community spirit to make a difference. For Takafumi Asaki ’03, M’04, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering in the College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture (CETA), that community spirit is something he’s very familiar with. As a student at UHart, Asaki not only appreciated the personable atmosphere of a smaller school, but how that environment fostered compassion for the school’s neighbors. With the outbreak of COVID-19, many students and faculty at UHart wanted to help, but wondered what that looked like with stay-at-home orders in place. As for Asaki, he wondered what that would look like. Could they be used to create something for those working on the frontlines? When it became clear that there was a severe shortage of personal protection equipment, he came up with the idea to use 3D printers to produce protective equipment for health professionals in the local area. For Asaki, who is a biomedical engineer and researches safety equipment, the project was a natural fit. Using an open-source design he found on the Internet, he realized that he and a small team could print plastic visors, which could then be paired with transparency sheets. Not only would the face covers be inexpensive, but healthcare workers could assemble the face covers themselves using a three-hole punch.
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When CETA Dean Hisham Alnajjar gave the green light for the project, Asaki assembled a team of seven other CETA faculty members to help print, and one staff member from the dean’s office to order materials. But getting to the printers in the middle of a pandemic was not easy. With the University closed, access to buildings required Public Safety’s permission—and social distancing had to be observed. Over a weekend in early April, Asaki went in to compile all the materials that needed to be distributed, and then the printers were picked up by the faculty on a staggered schedule. Asaki was able to modify the face cover design created by Adafruit Industries to work with the University’s equipment. Twelve UHart 3D printers, as well as four personal ones, were used to print the parts, and with each set
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Fully assembled face cover shield
taking between three and four hours to print, faculty have spent their days, nights, and weekends juggling their teaching responsibilities and printing face covers over the past few months. After the pieces are printed, Asaki collects them for inspection. If there are any misalignments, the face cover is discarded. The ones that pass his inspection are packed up with an IKEA-like instruction sheet and are ready for delivery to healthcare facilities. To assist with the distribution, the CETA team brought in Lynn Baronas, who, as the senior director of strategic partnerships and corporate engagement at the University, interacts with community organizations and corporations on a daily basis. Asaki was intent on reaching out to smaller companies that normally might not
receive such donations, and Baronas helped identify UHart partners who would benefit most. She became a coordinator of sorts, identifying a contact person for each corporation and arranging drop-offs. The former lawyer also worked with the University’s legal department to put a “hold harmless” agreement in place, which reduces the school’s risk when making donations. Since April, the project has produced 175 face covers for UHart’s local partners, including Cigna, Masonicare, and Hebrew Senior Care. While Asaki plays a major role in the project, from modifying the design to packaging and delivering the face covers, he is adamant this is a team effort—and the unique environment at the University of Hartford makes it easy for everyone to come together.
“I think if I didn’t have help from my colleagues, this project would just be me showing up at Saint Francis Hospital with a box and asking them to take it,” Asaki says. “I couldn’t do the legal portion, or the communications part, or find these places to donate to. I worked at other schools before I came to Hartford, and sometimes there’s distance between departments. But here we don’t have those gaps, and everybody was able to coordinate for this project using their own specialties.”
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This Puritan Bennett 840 ventilator was one of three ventilators loaned to Hartford Hospital from the University of Hartford’s respiratory care lab.
UHART STEPS IN
Face cover support parts being 3D printed.
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For Baronas, it has been an inspiring project to be part of. “Not only is the CETA team taking the time to make these face covers, but they really have an interest in making sure they go to the right corporations,” Baronas says. “We see our faculty every day, but to see them in these circumstances, being so genuine about wanting to help folks on the frontline, is a joy.” But this desire to help those in need is not unusual for the University of Hartford. After all, as Baronas points out, this is a school committed to community, and the CETA team are not the only ones stepping in during tough times. Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic came dozens of stories about the people of UHart—from
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students, faculty, and staff to alumni— coming together to make a difference. It was evident on the physical campus, where the University of Hartford provided free, temporary housing to area first responders, medical staff, and other essential workers who played vital
“ We have a good opportunity to set an example for students, and that, to me, is the good part in all of this.” roles in Greater Hartford’s response to the coronavirus. In addition to the face covers, UHart provided other supplies as health-care systems in the state sought out medical items during the pandemic’s peak. University Health Services provided portable thermometers to Hartford Healthcare; and three UHart-owned ventilators, normally used to train respiratory therapy students, were loaned to Hartford Hospital. After learning that there had been an increase in domestic abuse calls to the local police since stay-at-home orders were issued, UHart’s procurement department donated flip phones and chargers to the city’s Interval House to give abuse victims the ability to call for help. And Dining Services sent a catering truck to Foodshare, the regional foodbank, to help feed the homeless. This was in addition to two bins of food that was donated by a group of students who
moved out of residence halls at the end of March. The UHart community is also using a wide range of talents to support those in need. In April, the school’s Entrepreneurial Center and Women’s Communities are opening up in phases Business Center used their staff’s across the country, but the effects of experience to offer a free webinar for the pandemic have proven to be lasting. small businesses looking to navigate This is why Asaki says he and his disaster relief options. As the pandemic CETA colleagues aren’t ready to back worsened food insecurity, Carol Padberg, off just yet. After the initial face cover an associate professor and director of the donations to frontline workers in the interdisciplinary MFA in Hartford Art local community, Asaki wants to focus on School, utilized her gardening skills to those at UHart. Back in April, while on grow produce to add to the food pantry in campus distributing supplies for printing, her front yard. And some staff, like Laurie he noticed the University’s public safety Granstrand, manager of graduate programs for CETA, and Dianne Silliman, human resources service partner, put their sewing talents to use, making masks for the local UHart opened its campus last community. spring to local first responders and Across the medical staff, who were provided with free, temporary housing. country, alumniled companies are making a difference during the pandemic. At the end of officers still hard at work. So in early March, Cigna President and Chief June, he printed 25 face covers to be used Operating Officer David Cordani M’95 by the public safety and housekeeping announced that the insurer would be staffs. Asaki is also working on a design waiving patient cost-sharing for all for a credit-card size “no touch” tool that treatment for COVID-19. Alumnus University of Hartford students can use Frank Hursey A’73, ’77 originally shut when they return to campus. His design the doors to his company, On Site Gas features a hook that can be used to open Systems, Inc., when Connecticut’s doors or push buttons on elevators governor ordered nonessential businesses or keypads. to close. But Hursey opened back up four “I tell my students that anybody can be days later, when the military put in an a volunteer,” Asaki says. “But you have to order for 51 portable oxygen generating continue to volunteer. That can be more systems (POGS). His employees did not challenging, and it takes a lot of time and hesitate to return to work, following energy, but volunteering continuously is CDC social distancing guidelines, to more important than doing it just once. build the POGS for mobile medical So we are not finished yet. We have a good centers that were set up in cities hit opportunity to set an example for stuhard by the virus. dents, and that, to me, is the good part in all of this.” H
A CONTINUED COMMITMENT
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Hopeful Resilient
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As America confronts systematic racial injustice, three members of the University of Hartford community share their personal experiences, reflections, and hopes that the end result—this time—will be a more equitable world for all.
We promised to create a better space for them to grow, to evolve, and to be empowered. That is our mission. Pearl Douglas Many of you read President Woodward’s message to the UHart community (in late spring), coming face to face with the deep-rooted history of racism in these United States— all stemming from the virtual murder of George Floyd, a Black man, by the hands of the police. According to Time magazine, “The nationwide protests on police brutality are now highlighting centuries of racist policies, both explicit and implicit, that have left Black Americans in the dust, physically, emotionally, and economically.” We can pick a 100-year old housing policy like redlining, for instance, as one key driver of racism in this country. Surely, we all know the effects of redlining in this country and in the state of Connecticut. According to Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, “The more time I spend in this office, the more I see the profound consequences of our policy choices on housing, and on development, that have resulted in some of the starkest disparities you’ll find anywhere in the nation.” We can’t fix these systemic problems in The Women’s Advancement Initiative. However, we should create a space for honest conversations about race, America’s history with systemic racism, or our feelings about it, as uncomfortable as it may be. I wrestled with my own feelings of horror, discomfort, frustration, hopelessness, feelings of cynicism and resignation, and then feelings of hope over the last few weeks. And I wondered out loud what my message would be. Then it became clear to me that my sole focus in this position, as chair of Women’s Advancement, is to represent the needs of our students. These are college students in their formative
years, who applied to our Leadership program because we were offering them something more, something attractive; we promised to help mold them, to empower them with the necessary skills to thrive in the real world as leaders. We promised to create a better space for them to grow, to evolve, and to be empowered. That is our mission. And out of respect to them, I am not in favor of a hands-off approach to issues that affect them, political as they may be, like the social, economic, and systemic racism that affects many of our students. Racism is not an event, it’s not an issue, it’s an experience. It is a way of life. Every day. And according to President Woodward, we, as a community, have a responsibility to these students, and to each other, to do better. From the beginning, LEAD (The Women Advancement Initiative’s Leadership Education and Development program) was intended to bring together a diverse group of students to support and empower each other, and we do that. Center for Social Research analysis showed that 57 percent of our LEAD students are minorities—Black, Hispanic, Asian, and multiracial. Our students come from 17 states and three countries. Last fall, the University created Diversity Week, hosted by professional facilitators (of color), which is all about creating a safe space for students to share, encouraging them to be open minded, and teaching them how to have difficult conversations about race in an open forum. Some of these students may not have ever interacted with someone outside their race until they stepped foot on campus. About one-third of our LEAD facilitators are minorities—all in the hopes of having positive representation, one that better reflects the student body. We need to do more. We, as LEAD, together
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Pearl Douglas has served as chair of The Women’s Advancement Initiative’s Board of Directors since July 2019. with the University, should create an ongoing platform, a program, a safe space to keep the dialogue going if we want to be allies in the fight against racism, uncomfortable as it may be. Topics like white privilege need to be discussed. In a recent article, the Huffington Post spoke to educators, activists, therapists, and professors about things that white people say that highlight their privilege without them realizing it. Things like “it’s not my job to fix racism because I’m not a racist.” Or “I don’t see color.” Or “there is no need to worry about the police if you are not doing anything illegal.” Or “get over it, slavery happened a long time ago.” Or maybe, ongoing conversations on disarming microaggression, the most common form of racism that
I personally experience all too often. “Can I touch your hair? You speak good English, you are a credit to your race, you are so articulate, you are beautiful for a Black woman,” or a store owner following me around the store, or the element of surprise when I mention where I live, which is immediately followed by “What do you do? What does your husband do?” Microaggressions in the classroom, on campus, and in the workplace run rampant. These conversations and forums on racism, and even sexism, must be ongoing because these are not random events. These are embedded in the daily lives of our students both on campus and off. It’s going to take a monumental shift to overcome biases and to become aware of our own microaggressions in our interactions with people different from us. We must educate ourselves and, most importantly, practice listening to feel the full level of pain to have understanding. We must educate ourselves to know exactly what we are standing for and why we are standing. Educating ourselves is the key to changing hearts and minds and to begin the process of creating a just system for all through compassion and empathy. The learning and conversations must not stop beyond this moment. And lastly, we cannot be about advancement if we are not on the right side of history with the Black Lives Matter movement or the Me Too movement, for that matter. H
This momentum we have must not go to waste. Brandon Evans ’20 Being a Black man in America, we have been unfairly treated, persecuted, and punished. The foundation of this nation was built on the backs of our ancestors. We are more “American” than any demographic in these United States. Struggle, hardship, and adversity is nothing new to us. We have built up an awareness and thick skin for police brutality. We have uncovered the racism, implicit—and sometimes explicit—bias that is institutional racism. We have seen the effect of it in microaggressions. We have seen the mass incarceration of people of color in our prisons, and how this system is overpopulated at a rate never seen. We have elected a leader who endorses hate speech, bigotry, racism, sexism, and many other examples that do not reflect the freedoms enacted in our constitution. We have economic deterrents and a host of other issues working against us. With all these issues, we must be strong. Privilege runs deep in the roots of America, and these systems were built to protect those H / UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD MAGAZINE
Brandon Evans ’20 (Barney School of Business, accounting major) served as president this past academic year of the campus chapters of the National Black Law Students Association and the NAACP. with privilege. We demand basic needs, not wants. People are in the streets protesting and risking their lives amid a global pandemic because we are tired of being sick and tired. This is a time for radical change.
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History is a great way to predict the future. Throughout my years of education, I have always been fascinated by history— the important moments that changed the trajectory of times and places. The people who made a difference are who we remember. This is a movement bigger than our generation. I see it as a literal fight against the suppressed minorities in any demographic and the majority, who silently remain contributing to upholding power. The wealth in this country is unequal. The racial wealth gap is seven times higher for white Americans than Black
Americans. Disrupting the system, making people in power uncomfortable for not defending and protecting minorities in need of justice, is part of the work of an activist. This momentum we have must not go to waste. Hearing day after day of other police shootings of an unarmed compliant Black person who had his rights stripped and could have been prevented if this person were white is heart breaking. This is our moment to put an end to these issues. I should not feel like my life is in jeopardy whenever I see a police officer. H
Is this the spark we need to finally address the systemic inequities throughout American society? Bilal Sekou Eight minutes and 46 seconds is the length of time it took for George Floyd to die at the hands of four Minneapolis police officers. It is a long time. I have not been able to watch the entire video. It is too painful—because it could easily be me. I am a person of color, a man of African descent. Like most Black people that I know, I have had negative encounters with the police on a number of occasions over the course of my 53 years of life. And, like most Blacks, I am afraid of the police. I grew up poor in a working-class neighborhood in Detroit, but now I am a tenured professor at the University of Hartford and live a somewhat comfortable middleclass life. I have three college degrees, including a PhD in political science from The Ohio State University. I have published articles in journals, presented papers at conferences, given talks at other universities, and been interviewed for my expertise on race and politics by newspaper reporters, on television, and on the radio. I am also the father of a college student. But none of my degrees or other accomplishments will protect me from being stopped by the police or prevent me from possibly having my name added to the growing list of unarmed Black women, men, and children killed by them. Like most Black children, I received the talk. I can hear my mother right now telling me, “If you get stopped by the police, keep quiet, be respectful, and do not do anything that might get you arrested or possibly killed.” Unfortunately, being stopped and arrested is fairly routine for many Black
Bilal Sekou is an associate professor of politics and government. He teaches American National Government, How to Change the World, and Urban Politics. people in America. Dying at hands of the police is a realistic scenario we play out in the back of our minds whenever we encounter an officer, even for something as routine as failing to signal during a right turn. As I watch the nightly demonstrations, looking at the crowds of people of color and whites chanting together that Black Lives Matter, I become hopeful that the growing awareness of the deaths of unarmed Black people will be the spark we need as a country to fully realize our nation’s potential and finally address the systemic inequities throughout American society. I have been contacted by former students who are protesting in the streets. Their actions remind me of the most important lesson I have tried to communicate in all the classes I teach. If we work collectively to transform this country, perhaps we can finally get it to fully address the pandemic of racism and class bias that has plagued our nation since its founding. H SUMMER 2020
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Kathy Behrens ’85 leads pro basketball’s drive for social change While Kathy Behrens ’85 was a multi-sport athlete at the University of Hartford, she never thought her time in sports would go beyond college. But she was wrong. Today, instead of swinging a tennis racket and hitting free throws, she’s helping current and former basketball players make a difference in communities around the world. In almost 20 years with the National Basketball Association (NBA), Behrens has had the chance to travel the globe, see countless games up close, and interact with the game’s greatest stars. H / UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD MAGAZINE
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The job is a dream come true for a girl who grew up playing basketball in the Bronx. Some of Behrens’ earliest memories are playing sports with her large extended family, who lived in the same neighborhood. The sport Behrens liked best was basketball, so she played as often as she could. And a few times a year, her dad would take her to Madison Square Garden to see the New York Knicks—she loved everything about the atmosphere and experience of being at an NBA game. When the time came to look at schools, Behrens knew she wanted to play college sports. Her guidance counselor thought the University of Hartford might be a good fit, and sure enough, during a tour, Behrens fell in love with the campus. She played basketball for two years and tennis for three, before getting involved with student government her junior year. She ran for president as a senior—and as someone who was shy and introverted, it was a move outside her comfort zone. “Athletics had always been a foundation for me,” Behrens explains, “but the chance to get involved in other things and have different experiences, as well as build relationships with people outside of sports, was a huge benefit. Those opportunities helped me grow, and I felt like I left Hartford better prepared for my career because I pushed myself.” Behrens wasn’t even thinking of a career in sports when she left Hartford— she wanted to work in politics. At graduation, she had the opportunity to talk with former Congresswoman Barbara Kennelly, the University’s Commencement speaker in 1985. Kennelly told Behrens if she wanted to enter politics, she should learn how to raise money. Behrens took the advice— her first job out of college was a fundraiser position with the United Way. She would go on to serve in the administration of former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, and was the executive director of the Friends of Cuomo Campaign Committee during the 1994 governor’s race. In 1995, Behrens became the executive director of New York Cares, a nonprofit that mobilizes volunteers to help New York City’s neediest residents.
When the NBA All-Star Game came to New York in 1998, New York Cares partnered with the league, giving Behrens the chance to see the potential of a job with the NBA—an opportunity to combine community building and social impact with her love of basketball. So when the organization recruited her, it was an offer she couldn’t refuse. Behrens began her career with the NBA in September 2000 as vice president of community relations, overseeing all of the league’s public service initiatives, community outreach, and employee volunteer programs. “Now I’ve been with them for almost 20 years, and they can’t get rid of me,” she jokes. In 2009, Behrens was named the executive vice president of social responsibility and player programs for the NBA, before becoming that department’s president in 2015. Her promotion places her among the highest-ranking female executives in sports. But according to Behrens, women in the NBA is nothing new. By the time she had joined the league in 2000, the WNBA had already been launched. There were women in the league office and women who held senior
issues in the United States and around the world. Through partnerships with organizations like the Special Olympics, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, NBA Cares has provided more than 5 million hours of hands-on service; created more than 1,300 places where kids and their families can live, learn, or play; and engaged more than 51 million youth in basketball programs in communities all over the world. Behrens also oversees player marketing and player development programs that help athletes with the transition to the NBA (such as moving to a new city or facing increased demands on their time with practice and playing schedules) and any transitions that players may go through while they’re in the league (getting traded or handling an injury). The program also prepares them for life after their playing days are over. “Professional sports careers are unique,” Behrens says. “They don’t last as long as other careers, and players, like professional athletes in any sport, end up making more money in the early part of their lives. These players have sudden wealth
Creating career opportunities for women is something the NBA has always done, even before people started paying attention to it. But lately, I have loved to see more opportunities for women on the basketball side, as well as on the business side. We currently have 10 former WNBA players who are in assistant coaching positions in the NBA. We’re breaking lots of glass ceilings here. —KATHY BEHRENS positions with the organization’s teams. In her role, Behrens oversees all off-thecourt player activities. This includes the league’s global philanthropy program, NBA Cares, which builds on the NBA’s mission of addressing important social
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and are under a bright spotlight, so we think it’s important to give them all the tools they need to prepare for successful careers representing themselves in the NBA, and then to transition successfully to life off the court.”
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Behrens with Stephen (left) and Dell Curry (right) at an NBA Cares event at NBA All-Star 2016 in Toronto. Photo credit: NBA Photos
UPPING ITS GAME DURING A TIME OF NEED The NBA clearly has shown its adeptness in mobilizing during challenging times.
Behrens spends much of her time in meetings with colleagues, teams, and players, and dealing with hundreds of emails. Since games are played at night, some of that emailing goes on until the West Coast games end. In addition to a few business trips a month for games or meetings in team markets, Behrens usually travels internationally a few times a year; since October, she’s traveled to India, China, and Paris on NBA business. While traveling the world in the name of basketball is a dream gig, the job has its challenges, just like any other. Behrens says people like to focus on the negative when it comes to professional athletes, when the truth is the majority of NBA players are generous and engaged in the community. And sometimes, she has to say “no” to an organization to prioritize where the league can have the most impact. But the rewards more than make up for the challenges. “Every day, our teams and players and my colleagues are making a difference,” Behrens says. “I’ve traveled the world with the NBA, and I’ve seen
the effect that our players can have in all these different communities. I’m always amazed at the power of the platform we have and the good we can do with it.” Behrens lives in Irvington, N.Y., where she says her life revolves around the sporting events of her 12-year-old twins. (Her daughter is a gymnast and plays lacrosse, and her son plays basketball.) She was inducted into the University of Hartford’s Alumni Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014. Behrens currently serves as vice chair on UHart’s Board of Regents as part of its first-ever all-alumni executive board, and is on the board of directors of New York Cares. She is also a trustee of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. But no matter the extracurricular activity, basketball seems to be at the heart of it. “I think that the lessons I’ve learned from succeeding and failing in basketball have stayed with me,” Behrens says. “The values you learn from the game—teamwork, hard work, communication—can always be applied off the court.” H
The league’s response to COVID-19 was swift and powerful. Almost immediately after the pandemic turned off the lights in arenas from coast to coast, the NBA was developing ways to help individuals and communities. Through its NBA Cares program, the league introduced a wide range of programs and initiatives that encompassed mental health support, helping kids stay active and healthy, and even included players and teams donating money to assist arena workers who abruptly found themselves without jobs when the coronavirus took hold. The league’s NBA Together campaign reached out globally with public service announcements from players on health and social distancing as well as an effort aimed to inspire one million acts of kindness big and small. When the call for racial justice and equality sounded later in the spring, the league was able to leverage its NBA Voices initiative. It aims to address social injustice, promote inclusion, amplify voices, and bridge divides in communities. It represents another step in the league’s ongoing work to bring people together and use the game of basketball to demonstrate the importance of equality, diversity, and inclusion. A weekly NBA Together Virtual Roundtable has brought together players, league officials, and community leaders for in-depth discussions on topics including systematic racism, the root causes of health inequality, and keeping the focus on issues of race and SUMMER 020 justice. The full series can be viewed in 2the video section at nba.com.
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From fine wine to travel trailers to fashion design, these alumni have built prominent niche careers. When it comes to careers, there are the familiar and conventional—and then those that are a little more off the beaten path. These University of Hartford alumni established out-of-the-ordinary occupations in very different ways:
Diana Delva ’10, refused to accept being an underserved customer seeking stylish and affordable clothing for taller women. So, she did something about it in the most impactful way possible—she started a clothing line of her own. When Jean-Louis Chave ’90 joined the family wine business, it might have seemed a foregone conclusion simply because the business has been around for 550 years. Today, his father is proud not just because of his son’s success, but because of the advances he built in to ensure the company will be around for a few more centuries. Kristiana Spaulding ’90, the founder of a camper-trailer design firm, traces her decision to a cross-country road trip she took with her family when she was a child. Now, while her family may be a little confused by what she does, they’re also totally on board with its uniqueness.
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Diana Delva ’10 (far left) has created an eye-catching line of clothing for taller women, which was on display (middle and right photos from Nolcha Shows) at New York Fashion Week. Photos courtesy of Diana Delva
Diana Delva ’10 grew tired of endless shopping trips to try on clothing that didn’t fit. Topping 6 feet in height by the age of 14, she struggled to “shop tall.” It only got tougher as time went on and Delva adopted her own sense of style and fashion. Existing clothing options for tall women were basic, expensive, and limited. Out of pure necessity for her and countless other taller women, Delva took matters into her own hands. Following her graduation from UHart’s Barney School of Business, Delva created Chèlbè, a fashionable and affordable clothing line that caters to women 5’ 9” and taller. While a UHart student, Delva interned at the internationally respected design label DSquared2, where she received a valuable introduction into the fashion industry. Little did she imagine that just a few years later, she would be showcasing her own brand at New York Fashion Week while being named a “designer to watch.” Many customers are doing more than watching Delva’s clothing designs today—they are buying. Delva sells direct to consumers through her Chèlbè website, where the focus is on stylish garments at a price point of under $80. A former standout on the Hartford Hawks women’s basketball team who is entering her 10th season playing
professionally overseas, Delva had plenty of opportunities to learn that her teammates had similar struggles finding the same stylish clothing that was readily available for those of regular height. She says teammates would often exchange styling tips and share discoveries of where clothing could be found, but more often than not, Delva and her friends ended up in mainstream stores, forced to opt for plus-sized clothing, the men’s section, or a cropped look. Delva thus founded Chèlbè to help taller women reach new fashion heights. The name comes from a Creole word that means elegant, chic, or luxurious in dress, style, or design. It is a word that Delva’s Haitian mother used frequently when she saw someone who was well dressed. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought mixed results for Chèlbè. On the one hand, Delva has been unable to travel and oversee the manufacturers in other parts of the world who source her fabric. But on the positive side, her sales have risen in recent months as online shopping became, in many cases, the only option for consumers. In addition, one of the larger retailers specializing in clothing for taller women was forced to cease operations, enabling Chèlbè to pick up new customers. “It has been a transition time,” Delva says of recent months surrounding the coronavirus, “and while I started simple, my next step is to adapt to the new scheme of the world and take Chèlbè to the next level.” Delva resists becoming a visible face for the brand she created. Instead, she wants the designs and meaning behind them to be what stand out. “Chèlbè is a lifestyle that can be translated into everything you do,” she says. “I just help dress the part.”
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From the vineyard to the cellars, Jean Louis Chave ’90 watches over one of the world’s most legendary winemaking operations.
Photos courtesy of Jean-Louis Chave
Turning from fine fashion to fine wine, another UHart alum is making a mark. “The documented family history that we have dates back to 1481,” proudly reports Jean-Louis Chave ’90, who runs a Hermitage wine vineyard that produces some of the world’s finest and most sought-after reds and whites. “There is so much tradition here,” he says from his home in the town of Mauves, in southern France. “When you live with that kind of tradition your entire life, you don’t always appreciate it. So it’s good to leave, to go away for a while, and that’s how you start to realize just what you had back home.” With that in mind, Chave asked his father if he could study business instead of wine, and his father agreed. It turned out to be one of the best decisions he could make. First, he studied at a university in France with which the University of Hartford had a credit-transfer agreement, and then he came to the UHart campus for his bachelor’s degree in business administration. After that, Chave went to the University of California, Davis, specifically to study winemaking. He made that choice because, by then, he fully realized the importance of the heritage he had back home. He also realized how the wine business had changed in recent years, what with advances in business finance, logistics, and communications—advancements that would help further fortify and enhance the family tradition.
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Chave oversees several dozen employees at the vineyard in the Tournon countryside. “My father is retired now, so I take care of everything, from the vineyard to the cellars to the office,” he says. “The wine business is about a way of life. It’s a drink that tells you where it comes from. It leads to opportunities to meet amazing people.” With two young teenagers of his own, Chave still thinks a lot about heritage. Like his own father, he will give his children the freedom to make their own choices—but he also does hope that they’ll decide to go into the family business. “It’s more than a heritage,” he admits. “It’s a way of life. It’s a passion.”
While family tradition led Chave to his ultimate career decision, it was a family trip that first inspired Kristiana Spaulding ’90. Spaulding, who grew up in New York’s Westchester County, traveled coast to coast with her parents and two older sisters when she was seven. They visited many historic and magnificent sites, but what she remembers more than anything else are the camper trailers she saw along the way. Spaulding was enamored of the fact that you can take your home with you no matter where you go. “At UHart, Professor Griswold encouraged us to think outside the box when it comes to professional goals,” Spaulding says, referring to recently retired Hillyer College Professor of Sociology Wick Griswold. She took his advice to heart. But before thinking outside the box led her to a life inside a trailer, Spaulding took a gap year after UHart, then enrolled at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. It was only after she left the city that she jumped into trailers full time; she bought her first one in 2000.
After taking a jewelry class in high school, Kristiana Spaulding ’90 made a necklace “Trailer Dream.” It represented a promise to herself that she would have an Airstream one day.
Photo credit: Kodi Hadrick
Spaulding founded a company called Silver Trailer, which today customizes and rents out Airstream trailers. In addition, she works with event and production companies that are in the market for customized trailers for special needs. She also offers Airbnb rentals, and even has a line of customized jewelry that reinforces the trailer motif. “Now that Airstream has gained so much in popularity nationwide, my family really appreciates what I’m doing,” Spaulding says. “In fact, they even want to get Airstreams of
their own,” she adds from her base of operations just outside of Las Vegas. That’s one of two places she calls home, the other being in Northern California, from where her husband holds down the fort. Silver Trailer is a oneperson operation, though Spaulding has help from time to time from freelance friends. Still, she seems to do the work of several people at once. In addition to doing the retro-chic customization Photo credit: Kodi Hadrick herself and handling the rental business, Spaulding also writes articles about travel and speaks at various events about the benefits of living small. “I also have a podcast called Home Small Home,” she explains, “based on interviews with friends who are following their own ‘small living’ dreams.” Living, working, and thinking outside the box—whether in the world of small living, tall fashion, or fine wine—has opened up a gigantic world of opportunities for Kristiana Spaulding, Diana Delva, and Jean-Louis Chave. HH
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UP FRONT
Total Package Ryan Lovell’s contributions to Hartford Men’s Lacrosse extend far beyond his on-field skills
Ryan Lovell of Hartford Men’s Lacrosse says the greatest lesson he has learned at the University of Hartford is simple: “the harder you work, the better things turn out.” That philosophy shows in the classroom, where Lovell, a three-time member of the America East Academic Honor Roll while pursuing a demanding major in civil engineering, received a full-time job offer months before graduation. It certainly is evident on the lacrosse field, where he rebounded from both on- and off-field challenges his sophomore year to emerge as a captain and team leader. In a college career that has seen many twists and turns, Lovell, whose senior season was halted only seven games in due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will return in 2020–21. He’ll take advantage of the NCAA’s allowance to provide an extra year of eligibility to those whose spring seasons were cut short, postpone his entry into the working world, and look to put a memorable final chapter on his Hawks’ story. His head coach, Ryan Martin, is among those very happy to have Lovell back for another year. He remembers well the first time he watched Lovell play at a tournament in Massachusetts. “What stood out was how hard he played,” Martin recalls. “I came back from the day sold on his ability, his level
of competitiveness, and was confident that he could be a player at this level.” What is not always easy to determine accurately on the recruiting trail, Martin explains, is one’s character and leadership ability. The skills on the lacrosse side that the coaching staff saw in Lovell all came as advertised to Hartford. Watching his leadership skills and dedication to hard work on display completed the package. “On the field and in the classroom, he’s gotten it done,” Martin says, “taking a really challenging major, balancing Division I lacrosse, being a captain, and going through personal challenges.” To be sure, Lovell’s sophomore year was a trying one from all sides. Not having much success on the lacrosse field, he was then faced with the loss of his father. “A lot of people in Ryan’s shoes may have decided to go back home, quit school, and go in a different direction,” Martin says. “Seeing him stay the course and take such a huge step forward into his junior season is a true testament to the type of person he is.” “I never questioned whether I wanted to keep doing this or not,” Lovell says, “because my team was so special and
helped me so much through a pretty tough time.” In fact, the entire team came by bus to Lovell’s hometown of Wakefield, Mass., to attend his father’s wake. This showing of support from Lovell’s lacrosse family helped him through a difficult summer; his ensuing junior year was clearly a turning point. Lovell, named a captain, collected a team- and career-high 58 ground balls, ranking fifth in the America East with 3.87 per game. He also tallied careerbest numbers in goals, points, and caused turnovers. Lovell carried his momentum into the abbreviated 2020 season, where in week two, he earned his first America East Defensive Player of the Week recognition. His value to the University of Hartford Department of Athletics was further illustrated this past May. Lovell was named to the men’s All-Hawk Team, honoring the top male student-athletes among all sports at Hartford. He also received the Iron Hawk Award in recognition of his performance and leadership in the weight room. High honors and praise for an individual who for many years thought he
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was going to be a hockey player. In fact, Lovell admits it was not until his sophomore year of high school that he realized that lacrosse was his sport and what he wanted to play in college. He chose the University of Hartford for several reasons, highlighted by the ability he would have to both play Division I lacrosse and major in engineering. “The coaching staff was awesome,” Lovell explains, “and my high school coach really wanted this for me.” Another aspect of student-athlete life that Lovell enjoys and values is community service. He immerses himself in the multiple outreach initiatives that the lacrosse program has been involved with in recent years. From toy drives to raising money for cancer research, the program is strongly connected to the local community. Last fall, the team welcomed a Milford, Conn., youngster named Anthony to campus for a fall scrimmage. An in-state youngster who battled a brain tumor when he was just eight months old and endured more than 24 hours of surgery—but who has since been cancer-free for five years— Anthony was on the sideline with the players and was presented with a jersey and stick. It was an exciting and memorable day for Anthony—and for the team. “Guys get excited about events like that, whether it’s going to the children’s medical center or kids like Anthony coming to our game,” Lovell says. “Our players will embrace those chances to give back and contribute in that way. It’s a pretty cool position to be in, to have kids look up to you. You don’t really think of yourself in that way, but it’s amazing to have kids’ eyes light up when they’re around us.” Back on the lacrosse field, Lovell’s final-year objective has shifted back one year due to the coronavirus, but it clearly remains the same. “Our goal is to win the America East tournament,” Lovell states. “Any personal goals come secondary to that.” Spoken like a true team leader.
Malik Ellison enjoyed one of the most decorated seasons in the program’s history, earning America East All-Conference First Team honors and becoming only the second Hawk ever to earn NABC All-District I accolades.
Winning Ways Men’s Basketball Makes Championship Run One will never know if 2019–20 would have been that prized year when the Hartford Hawks men’s basketball team captured the America East title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. It was not the scoreboard—but the COVID19 pandemic—that abruptly halted these dreams. Hours before the team was scheduled to board a bus to Burlington, Vermont, for the America East Conference championship game in March, the official word came down that there would be no title tilt. Yet, the remarkable season that brought the Hawks to that point cannot be undone. Due to graduation losses, Hartford entered this past season without 95 percent of their scoring output from the previous season. Head Coach John Gallagher masterfully crafted a winning recipe, blending incoming freshmen, graduate transfers, and returnees who played sparingly the year before into a team that surprised early—and only got better as the season progressed. After the Hawks upset Northwestern of the Big 10 conference on Dec. 29— the program’s fourth consecutive season with a win over a Power 5 Conference team—it was clear that the word rebuilding could be excluded from the vocabulary when speaking of the 2019–20 Hawks. Instead, the conversation could turn to the realistic possibility of a first-ever conference championship. The leadership and experience of graduate transfers Malik Ellison (St. John’s and Pittsburgh) and Traci Carter (Marquette and LaSalle) proved invaluable. Ellison, named to the All-Conference First Team, was dominant in numerous games during the season, leading the team in both scoring (18.7 points per game) and rebounding (a league-best 9.7 rebounds per game). He scored 20 or more points 10 times during the season, including a 31-point effort at Albany in January. Carter captured both Third Team All-Conference and All-Defensive Team honors. His 83 steals ranked sixth in the nation and he also cracked the national top 50 in total assists (162). Meanwhile, first-year players stepped right into the fire—and didn’t flinch. Moses Flowers was selected to the All-Conference Rookie Team after finishing
SPORTS departmental H / U NTIIC VK EERR: S IHawks T Y Oearn F H3.66 ART F O R D M AGPA G Ain Z spring I N E 2020 semester. / Former track standout Jonas Hampton ’11 finishes eighth at
U.S. Olympic marathon trials.
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the season averaging double digits in scoring (10.4 points per game) while starting 32 games. Fellow freshman Miroslav Stafl started the same number of games, registering averages of 8.8 points and 4.0 rebounds per outing. Returning players who saw few minutes of playing time previously took full advantage of their newfound opportunity. The best illustration of this was sophomore Hunter Marks, who logged just 32 minutes of playing time as a rookie and scored a total of six points. This past season, he started all 33 games, logged a team-high 1,152 minutes (that’s a 3,500-percent increase from the prior year), and scored 357 points (a 5,850-percent increase). After finishing the regular season in third place, the Hawks began the America East playoffs with a home win against UMass Lowell, 89–75. Hartford then went on the road in the semifinals and knocked off second-seeded Stony Brook, 64–58, for the third time this season. The Hawks had earned a trip to the America East championship game, in the unlikeliest of years, for only the second time ever. They would have a chance to meet the top-seeded University of Vermont Catamounts and avenge a heartbreaking one-point loss to the Catamounts a month earlier. Less than 48 hours before tipoff, it became official: the America East Conference announced that its men’s basketball championship game would not be played “to protect the health, safety, and well-being of our student-athletes, coaches, staff, and everyone on our campuses.” This storybook season would not have a final chapter, but would have plenty of highlights. With largely a fresh cast of characters, the Hartford Hawks did not detour from the program’s recent roll. For the first time in their Division I history, the Hawks have recorded a winning record in three consecutive seasons. In addition, Hartford has been a top four seed in the America East playoffs each of the past three seasons.
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TOP HONORS
Thirteen Hawks Named America East Presidential Scholar-Athletes TITLE GAMES
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Teams advanced to conference championship games in 2019–20. Men’s Basketball, Men’s Soccer, Women’s Soccer, and Volleyball.
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Team never played its championship game. Men’s Basketball (COVID-19).
80% of Hartford teams in sports that held playoffs this past year advanced to the league championship game.
RED-TAIL TALK SHOW
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America East Conference announces postponement—not cancellation—of fall sports
The America East Conference has announced that 13 studentathletes from the University of Hartford have been named America East Presidential Scholar-Athletes for their outstanding academic achievements throughout their entire careers. The award recognizes graduating student-athletes who have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.75 or higher as an undergraduate student. The Hawks’ award winners are led by Petr Stepanyants from men’s basketball and Karoline Petersen from women’s soccer, who finished with the highest GPAs among this year’s senior class. Others named are Nicole Etta from volleyball; Lydia Farmer from women’s track and field; Madison Hilimire from softball; Nikola Colovic, who graduated in December, and Garrett Kingman from men’s basketball; Kaila Lozada, Madison Stabile, Sierra Stone, and Skylar Vitiello from women’s soccer; Jackson Olson from baseball; and Jimmy Slayton from men’s soccer. A total of 74 America East student-athletes received the accolade for the 2019–20 season, with Hartford taking the title for the most honorees in the league. The Presidential Scholar-Athlete Award was approved by the America East Board of Presidents in June 2013 and implemented for the 2013–14 academic year. In total, 426 elite student-athletes have been honored as part of the program.
HAW KS HONORED V IRTUALLY The University of Hartford Department of Athletics honored its student-athletes virtually with the 2020 Hawks Choice Awards. Held over the course of four days in early May, each day featured a set of awards that honored the department’s student-athletes and teams via several social media platforms for their performances in the classroom and on the field. On the final day, the department’s major honors for the year were announced. Head men’s soccer coach Tom Poitras received the Ted Stavropoulos Coach of the Year Award after leading the Hawks to the best single-season turnaround in all of Division I and a title-game appearance in the America East Tournament. Jenna Bridges (pictured right) of the volleyball team was named the Female Athlete of the Year. This past season, she became the program’s first two-time America East Player of the Year in addition to becoming the first player in program history to be named an All-American. Bridges continued her record-breaking campaign by setting a new single-season record in hitting percentage in addition to becoming the program’s all-time leader in career blocks and block assists. Wrapping up the 2020 Hawks Choice Awards was the presentation of the Male Athlete of the Year to Terrel Davis of men’s track and field. This past season, he broke three program records, including the America East Indoor Championship meet record in the long jump, en route to becoming the first-ever Hartford track and field athlete to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships.
competition and championships.
SUMMER 2020
40 / MIXED MEDIA / BOOKS,
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JUST RELEASED
An American Interracial Couple’s Exploration of Cuba in the Age of Trump. It is a personal story co-authored with MacLean Gander. Genevieve Monks (D ’96, A&S), a.k.a G.M. Monks, of Fairfield, Calif., released her debut novel titled Iola O. It is a story of resilience, diversity and selfdiscovery—part historical, part licit/illicit love story, part family saga, part feminist and part gay. It has been nominated for the PEN Hemingway Award for Debut Novel.
Rachel Cisto ’15 (A&S) of Weare, N.H., released her first book last year titled Paper Airplanes. It features a collection of poems, some of which stem from her time of UHart. The Courage to Go Forward: The Power of Micro Communities by CIGNA President and CEO David Cordani (M ’95, Barney) of Simsbury, Conn., and Achilles International Founder Dick Traum landed on the USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. The book is a collection of stories that
demonstrate the power and triumph of the human spirit. A Frog Hollow Childhood, A Memoir of Hartford has been authored by Lynn Davis (A ’66, A&S) of Clinton, Conn. The book recreates a nostalgic childhood reminiscence of the 1940s and 1950s for those who lived during the times and introduces the years to those who didn’t. Shanta Lee Gander (M ’07, Barney) of Brattleboro, Vt., has written a book titled Ghosts of Cuba in Black and White:
Arthur G. Sharp ’69 (A&S) added two books to his previously published 17 books in 2019. The anecdote-filled Brothers in Baseball: A History of Family Relationships in Major League Baseball traces conventional and nonconventional “family” relationships, ranging from brothers, fathers and sons, and in-laws to two-career players. Pluviculture and Meterological Mumpsimuses: How to Avert an $11 Trillion Climate Change “Investment” addresses the history of climate change coverage in newspapers and magazines over the past few centuries.
Maxwell Bauman ’11 (A&S), author of Jewish fiction and thrillers, has published his seventh book, the horror novella The Mummy of Canaan. Past editor and secretary of Aerie, UHart’s literary magazine, he currently serves as editorin-chief of Door Is A Jar, an online literary publication of poetry, short fiction, nonfiction, drama, and artwork.
Share your newly released book, CD, or film with the UHart community. Email editor@ hartford.edu.
LISTEN UP
STREAMING
Filmmaker Michael Mongillo ’90 (HAS) of Meriden, Conn., had his most recent release, Diane, a feature-length supernatural mystery, enjoy a limited theatrical run recently. It remains available on many streaming platforms. It was nominated for a Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for best independent film of 2018.
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Vocalist, arranger, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and music educator Orice Jenkins ’16 (Hartt) of East Hartford, Conn., has released Centennial Cole: The Music of Nat King Cole. The album release coincided with his September 2019 appearance as part of the Living Room Series at TheaterWorks in Hartford, Conn.
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Let Your Voice Be Heard Nikki Giovanni gives us all much to think about
Poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator Nikki Giovanni captivated the audience in Lincoln Theater in February with stories, one-liners, and references to celebrity figures. Giovanni, who came to prominence in the 1960s and ’70s as a foundational member of the Black Arts movement that overlapped and continued after the Civil Rights movement in the United States, received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters and participated in a question-and-answer session with UHart students. Giovanni was the featured guest at the University’s annual winter observance of Martin Luther King Jr. and his dream of equality and justice for all. Some of the thoughts she shared: Let Your Voice Be Heard. All I have is my voice and I am not going to let anyone take that away. My generation ended segregation but that does not mean you are living in a nonracist world. America will be what we want it to be, but this is not going to be easy. Keep Believing. Black people were not cowards. Everybody told us “Oh, you’ll never be able to do this or do that,” but we kept believing— we believed in the constitution, we believed in Jesus, and we believed in ourselves; and we kept working and we kept working. Some of it we’ve gotten done and some of it we haven’t.
This Is My Home. One of the things that is so nice is that going back to slavery, we remember. Our African ancestors sold us to our European ancestors who sold us to what would now be our American ancestors. So when people start to talk about what we’ve been through, and people say we’re going back home, I don’t know where home is—because THIS is my home.
Today’s Younger Generation. I feel sorry for your generation (today’s students) because you are involved in things that are incredibly stupid… spending so much time worrying about others you’ve never even heard of. You go back and forth on social media with people you don’t know who are telling you lies about how much fun they are having. If they’re having that much fun, then why are they talking to you? Race vs. Racism. We, in many respects, have cheated you all to say you have to get rid of racism. It’s not racism you have to get rid of…it’s race. Racism is a theory—race is a bad idea… I think it is time that children learn that they are not a race; they are a part of a planet.
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ALUMNI NOTES Mimi Gonzalez (A’15, ’17, M’18) organized a peaceful but powerful protest in West Hartford on June 2. A diverse crowd estimated at 2,000 joined together to demand social justice. Gonzalez is a recent graduate of the Obama Foundation Leadership Corps. PHOTO BY RONNI NEWTON, WE-HA.COM
ALUMNI NOTES / NEWS
“Resilience is best understood as a characteristic of communities rather than individuals. Resilience isn’t personal grit; it’s the capacity of a neighborhood or community to respond, mitigate, and adapt to crisis. Some communities are destroyed by tragedy and disaster. Others spring back. Here’s what makes the difference.”—Daniel Aldrich, The Washington Post, Dec. 9, 2015
D EA R A LUM N I CO MMU NI T Y,
Our world is being redefined by our experiences as we navigate our daily lives during a pandemic and witness mass demonstrations demanding an end to systemic racism. Despite the tragedy and anxiety brought on by events, so many people around the globe, and right here in our University of Hartford family, are actively and creatively working to spread hope, love, and support. We are learning that it is not only the physical campus that offers reminders of how exceptional the University of Hartford is for so many people. It is also the virtual alumni gatherings, the outpouring of support for the Class of 2020, and the far-reaching impact of acts of kindness from alumni near and far. I am grateful that we have the chance to reimagine the way we connect with each other, thanks to technology. I am proud to be part of a community that teaches the science, innovation, and critical thinking that will help us overcome challenges, and the fine art and music that sustain and unite us through difficult times. I look forward to creating more spaces for alumni to reminisce and reconnect. I welcome your stories, your questions, and your willingness to get involved—you can reach out to me directly at ctrinh@hartford.edu. Caitlin Trinh Senior Director of Alumni Engagement FOLLOW THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION: facebook.com/UHartfordAlumni Instagram.com/UHartAlumni twitter.com/UHartfordAlumni
DE GR E E K E Y A Associate Degree AD Artist Diploma C Sixth-Year Certificate D Doctorate GPD Graduate Professional Diploma M Master’s Degree No letter designation before a year indicates a bachelor’s degree (or last year attended). P indicates the parent of a student or alumna/us. indicates photo.
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Contribute a Note! The University of Hartford alumni network is vast, with a diverse community of over 88,000 strong throughout the U.S. and around the globe. UHart alumni are making their marks everywhere—in the arts, in business, in STEM, as professional athletes, and more—and have incredible stories to tell. You were once students, and now you’re alumni for life. Keep those bonds strong and stay connected. Class notes are posted throughout the year online. Notes submitted between January and November 2019 are included in this issue. M AI L : Class Notes Editor, Office of Alumni Engagement,
200 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford, CT 06117 ONL I N E : hartford.edu/submit-note
1963
Jon Ryan (Barney) of Coronado, Calif.,
was recently recognized as the USS Midway Museum Volunteer of the Year. He has amassed over 8,000 volunteer hours the last 11 years.
1966
Lynn Davis (A A&S) of Clinton, Conn.,
see recently published book, p. 40.
1967
Walter Bailey (HAS) of Detroit,
Mich., received the 2019 African & African American Achievement Award from the International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit at a February gala celebrating Black History Month. The award recognizes the achievements of those who make a difference in the Detroit community.
1968
The short story “Anna in the Night,” penned by John Mueter (Hartt) of Kansas City, Mo., has been published in the anthology The Corona Book of Ghost Stories. The story is one of 16 chosen from over 850 submissions. In addition, his poetry collection, Forgotten Voices of Anundur, was published in the online journal The Bombay Literary Magazine.
1969
Jim Purnell (A Hillyer, P’02) of Vernon,
Conn., has retired from the bench after 19 years as Judge of Probate for the Ellington, Conn., Probate District. He will continue as a part-time attorney in Vernon and Bloomfield. Purnell will also
remain on the executive committee of the National College of Probate Judges. Arthur Sharp (A&S) of Sun City Center, Fla., see recently released books, p. 40.
1972
Michael Crystal (A&S) of Wilton,
Connecticut, received the Marquis Who’s Who Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his career longevity and excellence in the field of human resources and organizational development.
1973
Bill McDougal (HAS) of Lebanon,
Conn., was named an Arts Hero by the Connecticut Office of the Arts. He was recognized for drawing caricatures at the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center the past 22 years. He accepted the honor at a ceremony on May 1.
1974
Richard L. Clarke (M Hartt) of Vernon,
Conn., is in his 18th year as music director of the Hartford Sängerbund, one the oldest German singing societies in the United States. The Sängerbund has had a continuous, unbroken tradition of German cultural singing since its founding in 1858.
1977
Professional conductor, composer, playwright, actor, arts advocate, and educator David L. Katz (Hartt, AD’84 Hartt, M’89 Hartt) of Danbury, Conn., was selected as the Hartt School Alumni Award winner in 2019. In part, he was recognized for creating and sustaining
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FROM
The American Prize national nonprofit competitions in the performing arts. [6]
Stephen (Barney) and Lori Wilcox ’79 (ENHP) of Allen, Texas, celebrated 40
years of marriage this past September 15. They met at UHart and worked in the student cafeteria together.
1978
Steve Curylo (Hartt) of Chicopee,
Mass., sang the role of Germont in La Traviata with Panopera, a company in Northampton, Mass. He regularly sings recitals and concerts in the Springfield, Mass., area.
1979
Marvin Kelly (Barney) of Austin, Texas,
was profiled by the CPU Society on its website in celebration of the organization’s 75th anniversary. He is executive director of the Texas Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association. The CPU Society is a nonprofit membership association that supports risk management and insurance professionals.
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Lori Wilcox (ENHP). See Stephen
Wilcox, 1977
1981
The art of Marya Triandafellos (HAS) of New York, N.Y., was featured in the show Chroma 2.0 that ran for two weeks at the Artfront Galleries in Newark, N.J., in April. It featured four pieces of her artwork, 24-inch squares printed on archival HD metal that “floated” off the wall.
1982
Steve Brown (A’80 Ward, Ward) of
Bloomfield, Conn., celebrated 37 years of employment with the Hewlett-Packard Enterprise in June 2019. The prestigious Legal 500 recommended Rivkin Radler Partner Michael A. Troisi (A&S) of Plainview, N.Y., in the “industry focus: insurance advice to insurers” category. He handles a wide range of first-party and property insurance issues. Before Rivkin Radler, Troisi was a prosecutor in the Kings County District Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, N.Y.
1983
UHY Advisors, Inc. and UHY LLP announced the promotion of Shelly Romano (Barney) of Columbia, Md., to principal. She has 35 years of experience providing accounting and tax services to a variety of clients, including auto dealerships, commercial real estate partnerships, manufacturing and distribution companies, and family-owned businesses.
Event-in-a-Box
Interested in planning an alumni event in your area? We want to help. Event-ina-Box will provide you with… • The assistance of a UHart Alumni Engagement staff liaison • Communications support to handle email invitations and social media • Event registration support • SWAG items To learn more, log on to hartford.edu/EventBox.
1985
After undertaking a six-month research and exploration process to learn more about the climate crisis, Mark Smith (A&S) of Hoboken, N.J., is sharing his findings on climateherolife. org. He speaks to the many tools and resources he discovered in the course of his research to better understand the issue at hand.
1986
Artist Mark Dion (HAS, Hon.’02) of Copake, N.Y., was recognized by The
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John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation as one of its 2019 fellows in the field of fine arts. The distinction was appointed on the basis of prior achievement and exceptional promise. He also opened an exhibition of eight outdoor works at the Storm King Sculpture Center in New Windsor, N.Y., in May. It is the first exhibition to unite Dion’s signature folly works into a major survey.
1988
Judith McElhone (HAS, M’94 HAS) of
Torrington, Conn., executive director of the Five Points Gallery in Torrington, Conn., was named an “Arts Hero” by the Connecticut Office of the Arts for her extraordinary work in the arts in the State. The honorees were celebrated at Infinity Music Hall in Hartford in May. [8] After a career working in some of the most prominent libraries in the world, including Harvard Library and the New York Public Library, Matthew Sheehy (Hartt) of Ashland, Mass., is now the Brandeis National Committee University Librarian at Brandeis University.
1989
John Houlihan (A&S) of Studio City,
Calif., is senior vice president at Fox Music in Los Angeles. He oversees the score and source music for many films as well as in-house music supervision and soundtrack production/music marketing. Houlihan worked on the music for the Oscar-winning film Bohemian Rhapsody. Ken Kadet (A&S) of Minnetonka, Minn., is now director of global communications at Entrust Datacard in Minneapolis, Minn. Entrust is a leader in technology for trusted identify and secure transactions. Previously, he was director of public relations with the company. The Augusta Chronicle profiled Lauri Orth (Hartt) of Evans, Ga., and her efforts in developing the Rocket Recorder, a supplemental workbook that contains music pieces that help students learn to read music while engaging them with space themes and pictures from the NASA website. Her use of STEM to teach music was the focus of the article.
ALUMNI NOTES / NEWS
1990
Jeffrey Astrachan (A&S) of York, Pa.,
was sworn in as a police chaplain with the New York City Police Department. He is the first Jewish chaplain to serve in the department’s history. Lauren Bernofsky (Hartt) of Bloomington, Ind., was composer in residence at the 2019 Sound Waves Festival at Texas A&M Corpus Christi. Additionally, her trumpet concerto was performed by John Rommel with the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra, directed by Charlies Latshaw. Bernofsky’s young-audience opera Mooch the Magnificent was performed more than 20 times during the 2019–20 season by Reimagining Opera for Kids. [12] Steven Chase (M Barney) of Middleburg, Va., was named executive director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Conservation Training Center. NCTC provides training to more than 12,000 conservation professionals each year. Chase has worked with the FWS for 29 years. Michael Mongillo (HAS) of Meriden, Conn., see recently released film, p. 40.
1991
Andrew Golden (A’88 Hillyer, A&S, M’95)
of New Canaan, Conn., principal/owner of the ARG Group, PLLC, announced the expansion of his private practice in New Canaan, Conn., to a new office in Stamford, Conn. He has over 23 years of experience in the field of psychology and psychotherapy and has been in private practice the past 11 years.
1992
Sidney A. Murray (A’89 Hillyer, A&S)
of New Bedford, Mass., graduated from the Reserve Basic Academy in Massachusetts. Also a graduate of the Massachusetts School of Law, he is with the litigation unit of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
1993
The Ellis Island Honors Society (EIHS) awarded composer Peter Boyer (M Hartt), (D’95 Hartt) of Altadena, Calif., a 2019 Ellis Island Medal of Honor in May. The Medals are presented annually to a select group whose accomplishments in
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their field and inspired service to the nation are cause for celebration. EIHS cited his work Ellis Island: The Dream of America. Debra Volz (Hartt) of Kenilworth, N.J., is celebrating her 20th anniversary in the marketing department at the Performing Arts Center in Newark, N.J. Currently the senior director of creative services, she leads a design and production team in the creation of thousands of marketing and sales projects for about 400 events each season. [4]
1995
David Cordani (M Barney) of
Simsbury, Conn., see recently published book, p. 40.
1996
B E I N TH E S POTLIG HT Alumni Spotlights, regular features on the University’s Alumni Association website, highlight alumni who are impacting the world in meaningful and interesting ways. Have a story to tell? Access Spotlights at hartford.edu/ alumni-spotlights.
Genevieve Monks (D A&S), a.k.a G.M.
Monks, of Fairfield, Calif., see recently published book, p. 40.
2000
Season-one winner on The Voice and recording artist Javier Colon (Hartt) of West Hartford, Conn., sang the national anthem at the January 2019 inauguration of Connecticut governor Ned Lamont.
2002
MedTech Association, a membership-based trade association for the bioscience and medical technology industry in New York State, has appointed Jeffrey Champagne (HAS, M’06 Barney) of Acton, Mass., as vice chair of its board of directors. He is the director of business development at MPR Associates. Chistopher Davis (Barney) of Van Nuys, Calif., is vice president for television at Echo Lake Entertainment. The company recently sold a show to Hulu about Catherine the Great. It will star actress Elle Fanning, whom they manage, and a full season of episodes have been ordered. Ian Quinn (Hartt) of Tallahassee, Fla., has been promoted to associate professor of organ and coordinator of sacred music at Florida State University. His recent recordings have included the complete organ sonatas of Paul Hindemith at Pacific Lutheran University for Guild Records and Haydn
Organ concertos with Jonathan Cohen for Chandos Records.
2003
Chad Austein (A&S) of Monmouth
Junction, N.J., was appointed chief enrollment management officer at Yeshiva University. Prior to that, he served in an enrollment management role at Kean University (N.J.). Mike Feldman (Hartt) of Los Angeles, Calif., is the owner of Studio43, a recording studio in Los Angeles. He also plays keyboards in his wife’s band, the Evangenitals. The band was featured on a cruise for Melissa Etheredge fans where they performed along with the artist. Deena Kimiatek (ENHP, M’05 ENHP) of Jersey City, N.J., participated in a special segment that appeared on The Today Show this spring. She was a treating physical therapist during the piece, which focued on postpartum women’s health and pelvic floor issues. Deanna works as a PT at 5 Point Physical Therapy in New York.
2004
Longtime Berlin (Conn.) High School Teacher David Bosso (M ENHP) of Berlin, Conn., was inducted into the National Teachers’ Hall of Fame for his contribution to statewide policy, mentorship of younger teachers, and sharing
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5 Bokani Mtengi ’04 6 David L. Katz ’77 7 Elisa Haveles ’10 8 Judith McElhone ’88 9 Scott Bakal ’07 10 Jonathan C. Silver ’08 11 Sam Ekwurtzel ’06 12 L auren Bernofsky ’90
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his experiences from around the globe with students. A social studies teacher, he was one of five recognized from across the country. Bokani Mtengi (CETA) of Pitsane, Botswana, returned to her home country to work as an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Telecommunications Engineering at Botswana International University of Science and Technology. [5]
2005
Kyle Rodri (Hartt) of West Hollywood,
Calif., is the creative advertising director at The Walt Disney Studios. He is responsible for development, creation and execution of creative A/V marketing materials for theatrically released live-action Disney films & Disney+ Originals. Rodri has been with The Walt Disney Studios since December 2009.
2006
Emily Cervone (A&S) of North
Weymouth, Mass., was awarded the 2019 Saul Gilman Award (sales rep of the year) by the New England Independent Booksellers Association. The award was decided by booksellers from around the region. She currently works for Chronicle Books as the New England independent bookseller representative. Renderings, the work of artist Sam Ekwurtzel (HAS) of Granby, Conn., was exhibited at the Simone Subal Gallery in New York City this past fall, and was reviewed in the highly respected Artforum magazine. [11]
2007
Scott Bakal (M HAS) of West Roxbury,
Mass., was commissioned by the United States State Department to create the 2019 Earth Day poster “Preserve the Earth.” It was sent to United States embassies around the world to use for their environmental programs. This year’s focus was on pollinators. [9] Brian Cutino (Barney, A&S) of Windsor, Conn., was elected board chairperson of the nonprofit InterCommunity, Inc., based in East Hartford, Conn. He has worked at The Hartford since 2007 and is currently an IT delivery manager. He has experience in project management, HR
management, technology consulting, and financial management. Joshua Feldman (A&S) of Fanwood, N.J., has joined Pearl Capital as a relationship manager after spending more than four years working for Fora Financial. Shanta Lee Gander (M Barney) of Brattleboro, Vt., see recently published book, p. 40 Artforum International, a highly regarded art magazine, included the work of Sam McKinnis (HAS) of Kensington, Conn., in an inside article on his art by Gary Indiana and with a piece of his artwork featured on its cover. The cover art, titled Star Bangled Banner, was an image of Whitney Houston.
2008
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University of Hartford New Alumni Book Club Are you a book lover who would like to participate in a book club with other alumni? Do you have ideas or recommendations for books or genres? We want to hear from you! To share your thoughts or learn more, e-mail the alumni engagement office at alumni@ hartford.edu.
After a 20-year career in nursing leadership, Teresa Calendrillo Fuller (M ENHP) of Riverton, Conn., was promoted to vice president, patient care services at Hartford Healthcare, Charlotte Hungerford Hospital in Torrington, Conn. She had previously worked in a number of nursing leadership and quality leadership positions in the same organization. Jonathan C. Silver (CETA) of Bnei Brak, Israel, joined with other volunteers to plant trees for a new forest in memory of Amiad Yisrael Ish-Ron. Amiad was born to his mother who was shot during a terrorist attack and rendered in critical condition. While the baby did not survive, the mother did and was at the plantings. [10]
the firm’s growth besides managing traffic and ITS projects. Greg Newbold (M HAS) of Salt Lake City, Utah, illustrated the children’s book If Monet Painted a Monster. It is the third book in the popular children’s art series that explores how 16 famous artists might have painted a monster. The others in the series so far are If Picasso Painted a Snowman and If DiVinci Painted a Dinosaur.
2009
2010
Christopher Bruno (Barney) of
Hoboken, N.J., director of strategic products for Aon’s cyber solution’s group, hosted a video distributed on ocial media promoting the benefits of the company’s most recent product, CyQu, a cyber security assessment tool. He has been with Aon for two years, and was with the Deluxe and NCR corporations before that. Burak Konuk (M Barney, M CETA)
of Tampa, Fla., is now senior traffic and ITS engineer with Kisinger Campo & Associates. In his new position, he will participate in strategic planning and business development activities to support achievement of
Elisa Haveles (M Hartt) of Manchester, Conn., presented a session at the Connecticut Music Educators Association in-service conference in April titled Developing an Elementary Choral Music Program for All Singers. She has taught in the Coventry and Manchester public schools. [7] The law firm Halloran and Sage has added Kelly Wall (A&S) of Hartford, Conn. to its Hartford office. She practices insurance defense, and focuses primarily on personal injury, motor vehicle accidents, and premises matters. Wall majored in international studies while at UHart.
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Roommates While college roommates often lose contact through the years for many reasons, most notably career, family, and geographical distance, there are many friendships formed on campus decades ago that continue strong today. In each issue, H will tell the story of onetime roommates who have never lost touch. You’d be hard pressed to find a more successful group of friends than Barney School of Business alumni Hemant Apte (M ’91), Shashank Laud (M ’91, M ’92), Tushar Pradhan (M ’92), and Girish Rishi (M ’92). All four MBA recipients have become established business leaders. Apte is CEO of 3Gen Consulting; Laud serves as head of strategic and emerging market solutions for Tata Consultancy Services; Pradhan is chief investment officer at HSBC Asset Management; and Rishi is CEO of Blue Yonder, a supply chain and retail management provider. Yet their collective résumés don’t show their early struggles, or the bond that formed during their time as college students in India— and strengthened during their years at the University of Hartford. Apte and Laud arrived at UHart first. The following year, when Pradhan and Rishi were considering where to earn advanced degrees in the United States, their decision was made easier knowing they had friends on campus who were having a good experience. “In India, we went to a big college, but we knew each other,” says Rishi. “Then as it happens with immigrants, we coalesced together in a new place.” “Hemant and Shashank were very instrumental in getting us settled,” explains Pradhan. “They housed us until we found our own apartment and coached us in the ways of the U.S.—getting drivers’ licenses, buying cars, telling us how to get work and how to support ourselves financially.” Apte, Laud, Pradhan, and Rishi all belonged to affluent families back home, but they were unable to receive financial
help because India was a closed economy at the time. They supported themselves with part-time jobs on campus while taking full-time graduate course loads. They supported each other by sharing meals, studying together, and recommending what classes to take. They also had help from others at UHart. “The welcoming attitude of staff and faculty at the Barney School and the University of Hartford was a major part in my progress,” says Pradhan. “It was a strange land, much colder than my native India, and with strange customs. Accepting the sudden responsibility of being in charge of one’s own life was a major task. As we grew, I realized that this was a great adventure and the formative parts of this journey clearly were thanks to UHart.” From Arizona to India, the four went their separate ways after earning their MBAs. They are all busy with their successful careers, but they still find time to connect. Conversations over WhatsApp have replaced talking over meals in their apartments. And amidst reminiscing about their time as young people, they talk about their own children. “We were teenagers, striving young immigrants,” says Rishi. “We made our living different ways and went different places. But we know each other’s kids and have attended each other’s weddings. I recently celebrated a milestone birthday, and the three friends came to my party. Trust, empathy, and fun keep us together.” Pradhan agrees. “The warmth of friendships made here were very critical in my achievements so far in life, and I am thankful.”
Far left: Tushar Pradhan (M ’92); center: Girish Rishi (M ’92); second from right: Hemant Apte (M ’91)
2011
Michael Goemans (ENHP, M’13 ENHP) of New Britain, Conn., and Sean O’Donovan ’14 (A&S) of East Hartford,
Conn., have new roles at the University in the newly formed Division of Student Success. Goemans, formerly a certification officer in ENHP, is an assistant director. He will also lead the Student Success Collaborative. O’Donovan, formerly the office coordinator in the Center for Reading and Writing, is a first-year advisor and success coach. Artist Corey Pane (HAS) of West Hartford, Conn., was recognized in local media for painting a mural celebrating the life of Grammy-nominated rapper Nipsey Hussle, who was killed this spring. The mural appears on a wall at Heaven Skate Park in Hartford. Pane is also known for painting cleats for NFL players (see spring 2018 issue of H).
2012
Jim Mello (D ENHP) of Steubenville,
Ohio, executive director of institutional effectiveness at Franciscan University, was part of a panel discussion at the annual meeting of the North East Association for Institutional Research held in November 2018. The panel was titled Data-Informed Decision Making: Challenges, Strategies and Lessons Learned.
2013
Illustrator Dave Szalay (M HAS) of Richfield, Ohio, earned 14 ADDY awards at the AAF-Akron annual American Advertising Awards held in February. After a decades-long career in advertising and graphic design, he has focused on illustration in recent years. Szalay illustrated the children’s book The Superlative A. Lincoln earlier this year. [1]
2014
A musician, composer, and teacher, John DelVento (Hartt) of Rockville, Conn., has provided musical content for a variety of films, TV shows, advertising campaigns, video games, educational literature, and world music. Recently, he composed music featured in The Bachelor
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as well as a beer commercial that premiered during the Super Bowl. Sean O’Donovan (A&S). See Michael Goemans, 2011
2015
Saxophonist Mike Casey (Hartt) of Storrs, Conn., was interviewed in an article on musically.com on the growth of jazz as a streaming option. He was also quoted on the same subject on Forbes.com. The artist released his second album, Stay Surprising Live at the Side Door. Rachel Cisto (A&S) of Weare, N.H., see recently published book, p. 40. Ashley Croce (Hartt) of Peabody Mass., was an assistant director on the production A Period Piece that also featured Dominique Rose ’18 (Hartt) of West Suffield, Conn., as one of its principal characters. The play was a celebration of female empowerment and was staged at Matthew Corozine Studio Theatre in New York last summer. It was produced by The Shrill Collective of which Croce is a co-founder. [2]
Katie Luke (Hartt) of New York, N.Y., was the recipient of the Syracuse Area Live Theater (SALT) award for Best Actress in a Musical for playing the lead in the musical Newsies at the Cortland Repertory Theatre.
2016
Orice Jenkins (Hartt) of East Hartford,
Conn., see recently released album, p. 40. [3]
Alexa Keener (Barney, M’18 Barney)
of Torrington, Conn., was part of the 43rd class of Quest, a program for high-performing mid-career professionals. The 10-month program provides training on advanced leadership practices and is supported by Leadership Greater Hartford. She is an HR consultant at Aetna.
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artistic director. He made his official debut as director at MSOC’s final concert of the 2018–19 season. Bennett Szames (Barney) of Cincinnati, Ohio, has joined Mitchell & Ness, a sports clothing company located in Philadelphia, as an apparel production assistant.
2018
Catherine Gleason (A&S) of West
Suffield, Conn., is teaching English in South Korea at an all-boys middle school. She is chronicling the experience on her blog, catherineinkorea.home. Dominique Rose (Hartt). See Ashley Croce, 2015
! 50 2017
The Manchester Symphony and Chorale in Manchester, Conn., appointed Luca Antonucci (M Hartt) of Watertown, Mass., as its orchestra
C EL EBRAT IN G T HE GOL DE N HAWKS C L ASS OF 1970
SUMMER 2020
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AND
BABIES
PROUD TO BE A HAWK I’m ing grow a to be
HAWK
Getting married? Having a baby? Show your UHart pride by requesting a UHart pennant or onesie for your future Hawk at hartford.edu/uhart-gear. We’ll help you celebrate by sharing your news as a Class Note—online and in a future issue of H.
We Congratulate & Welcome... W EDDI N GS Brian Tilley ’08 (Barney) and Emily Reynolds of West Hartford, Conn. were married April 27, 2019, at St. Alphonsus Liguori Church in Pittsford, Vt. The reception was held at Mountain Top Inn and Resort in Crittenden, Vt. Tilley is a former lacrosse player at Hartford, and is currently an admission representative at a local vocational school. [1] Abigail Winter Weiner ’10 (A&S) and Larissa Weiner ’11 (A&S) of Attleboro, Mass., were married April 14, 2019, at their temple in Sharon, Mass. Abigail is working in IT at Brown University, while Larissa is at home taking care of their son. [2] Hannah Abbruzzese ’11 (HAS) and Robert Machuga ’11 (HAS) of Astoria, N.Y., were married July 13, 2019, at the Swan Club in Roslyn, N.Y. The bride works as a product development manager for Anne Klein, while the groom is a senior graphic designer with the National Football League. [3] Jenna Daly ’12 (CETA) and Jasmine Dumas ’12 (CETA) of Glastonbury, Conn., were married in their home on September 22, 2018. Jasmine is a senior data scientist at Fastly, while Jenna is a freelance data scientist and engineer. Nine UHart alumni and staff were among the guests at the wedding. [4] Christopher Roggi ’12 (University Studies) and Michelle Stockman ’12 (Hartt) of New York, N.Y., were married May 4, 2019, at St. Luke the Evangelist Parish—Holy Angels Church in Plaistow, N.H. The reception was held at Birch Wood Vineyards in Derry, N.H. Michelle is freelancing with NYC orchestras, teaching private flute and working at a human services nonprofit called Good Shepherd Services. Christopher is a software engineer at Mirror. [5] Sabrina Amaral ’13 (A&S) and Frank Piechotta ’13 (Barney) of Norwalk, Conn., were married May 18 in Lisbon, Portugal. There were 27
alumni in attendance. Frank manages the Advertising Client Services department at Altice USA, while Sabrina is an embryologist. [6] Amanda Beaulieu (C’14 ENHP, ’14 ENHP) and Brenden DiSanto ’14 (ENHP) of Bristol, Conn., were married Aug. 10, 2019, at The Riverhouse at Goodspeed Station in Hamden, Conn. They met in high school and attended UHart together enrolling in the RT program. Amanda performs ultrasounds at Central Connecticut Ob/GYN, while Brenden performs CT scans for UConn Health. [7] Eric Floum ’13 (Barney) and Erika Ferrucci ’14 (ENHP) of Clinton, Mass., were married May 25, 2019, at The Starting Gate at GreatHorse in Hampden, Mass. The bride teaches in Upton, Mass., while the groom is working at Education First in Cambridge, Mass. [8] Kristen Powell ’14 (Hartt), M’16 (Hartt) and Kevin Zheng ’15 (CETA) of Colchester, Conn., were married at the Rock Island Lake Club in Sparta, N.J., on Oct. 13, 2019. Kristen is a freelance bassoonist while Kevin is a senior engineer at General Dynamic Electric Boat. [9] Samantha Cormier ’15 (Barney), M’18 (Barney) and Christopher Camasso of West Hartford, Conn., were married June 13, 2019, in Southington, Conn. The bride works in finance at The Travelers. [10] HATCHLING S Brian Wood ’95 (Barney) and his wife, Raquel, of Bristol, Conn., welcomed their first child, Hudson William Wood, on February 19, 2019. Brian is a former UHart baseball player and has worked at ESPN the past 22 years. He is the manager of the stats and information group (SIG). [11] Jamie Rogers ’96 (Barney) of Chestnut Hill, Mass., welcomed a boy, Matthew Ray Rogers, on July 20, 2018.
Jamie is working in finance and in practice with her father at Wells Fargo Advisors in Waltham. Mass. [12] Lillianna Pereira ’02 (HAS) and her husband, Robert, of Leverett, Mass., welcomed their first child, Lucia Wren Piotrowski, on August 12, 2019. [13] Ben Yin ’04 (Barney, University Studies) and his wife, Rumi Yin, welcomed a boy, Justin Aikumi Yin, on Aug. 13, 2019. Ben is a member of the Barney School Board of Visitors and works in U.S. Enterprise and Strategy Solutions at Cigna. [14] Latasha Raineault ’08 (ENHP), D’10 (ENHP) and Jordan Raineault of West Hartford, Conn., welcomed their second child, Sydney Hayes Raineault, on January, 27, 2019. She joins her big sister, Maya. Latasha, a former student-athlete at UHart, is the site director at the Hartford Hospital Rehabilitation Network. Jordan is a school counselor working for the Manchester Public Schools. [15] Mallory Duncan ’09 (A&S) of Stewart Manor, N.Y., announced the birth of her son, Daniel Grayson Zgaljardic, on May 8, 2019. [16] John Jaramillo (M’09 A&S, M’15 Barney) and his wife, Jennifer, of Plainville, Conn., welcomed their second son, Jonah Alvaro Jaramillo, on March 2 , 2019. John is a leadership coach and development consultant. [17] Abigail ’10 (A&S) and Larissa Weiner ’11 (A&S) of Attleboro, Mass., announced the birth of twins Ezra Jacob and Jeremy Michael Weiner on May 18, 2019. Unfortunately, Jeremy passed after 34 minutes. His survivor twin spent 94 days in the NICU before coming home. [18] Nicole Knauth ’11 (A&S) and her husband, Pat Knauth ’13 (Barney), of Seymour, Conn, welcome their second child, a girl, Kinsley Jane Knauth, on Aug. 11, 2019. She joins her big sister, Skylar, in the Knauth family. Nicole is
an operating room registered nurse at Bridgeport Hospital, while Pat works in reinsurance solutions at AON. [19] Warren Lane ’11 (Barney) and his wife, Lauren, of Millis, Mass., welcomed their first child, Charlotte Grace Lane, on May 21, 2019. A former UHart student-athlete, Warren is a research analyst with the firm IDC in Framingham, Mass. [20] Lindsay Nunamacher ’11 (ENHP), D’14 (ENHP) and her husband, Rory Nunamacher ’13 (Barney), of West Hartford, Conn., welcomed a boy, Noah Donald Nunamacher, on July 11, 2019. Lindsay is a PT for Hartford Healthcare while Rory works in sales for Tennant Company. [21] Ashley (C’13, C’14, ’14 ENHP) and Stephen ’13 (CETA) Burke of Wethersfield, Conn., announced the birth of their son, Jack Burke, on May 19, 2019. Ashley works as an ultrasonographer at Hartford Hospital, and as the clinical instructor for the SONO program at UHart. Stephen works for the State of Connecticut as a project manager in construction services. [22]
See more class notes and photos online at hartford.edu/class-notes
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We Remember... 1940s Elizabeth Rockwell Allen A’45 (HCW), M’71 (HCW) Bloomfield, Conn., 4.20.2019 Nancy Goldenthal Max A’45 (HCW) Delray Beach, Fla., 4.9.2019 Katherine Popko Dossin A’46 (Barney) North Andover, Mass., 2.23.2019 Eleanor J. Hamm ’47 (Hartt) Camp Hill, Pa., 3.11.2019 Ralph F. Beyea Jr. C’48, AD’49 (HAS) Hartford, Conn., 3.15.2019 Mary Jane Converse ’49 (HAS) West Hartford, Conn., 3.31.2019 1950s Benedict U. Feole A’48, ’50 (Barney) Pittsboro, N.C., 1.18.2019 Joan Z. Mandell A’50 (Barney) Simsbury, Conn., 11.29.2019 Geraldine F. Shea A’50 (Barney) Wethersfield, Conn., 10.24.2019 Jennie Vincenzo A’50 (Hillyer) Manchester, Conn., 7.4.2019 Joan O’Toole Cook A’51, P’83 (Barney) West Hartford, Conn., 5.22.2019 Evelyn Muller Dahl A’51 (HCW) Colonia, N.J., 1.12.2019 Barbara Bair Kosty A’52 (HCW) Henderson, Nev., 5.4.2019 James F. Argiro AD’53 (HAS) Meriden, Conn., 6.19.2019 Elsie Cocco Easterbrook ’53 (Hartt) Seabrook Island, S.C., 7.13.2019 Robert A. Flaxman ’53 (Hillyer) Boca Raton, Fla., 7.18.2019 Marie A. Le Van M’53 (ENHP) Meriden, Conn., 8.2019 Thomas M. Murphy A’51, ’53 (Hillyer) Glastonbury, Conn., 2.27.2019 Raymond H. Tanguay ’53 (Hartt) Suffield, Conn., 2.11.2019 Joseph J. Briganti M’55 (Hillyer) Jensen Beach, Fla., 6.22.2019 Joseph W. Busky M’55 (Hillyer) Manchester, Conn., 2.3.2019 Helen T. Molloy M’55 (ENHP) West Hartford, Conn., 3.2.2019 Lois Ryder Reed A’55 (HCW) Springfield, Mass., 4.18.2019
Jack H. Vining Sr. ’55, P’82 (Hillyer) Columbia, Conn., 2.2.2019 Patrick J. Duffy C’56 (WARD) Danbury, Conn., 2.28.2019 Ross Epstein ’56 (Hartt) Vero Beach, Fla., 3.29.2019 Morgan S. Hill A’52, ’56 (Barney) Avon, Conn., 2.4.2019 Elizabeth M. Mayo M’57 (ENHP) Farmington, Conn., 3.13.2019 Frederick C. Schneider M’57, C’59 (ENHP) Hartford, Conn., 6.29.2019 Anne English Travaglini A’57 (HCW) (HCW) Marlborough, Conn., 12.23.2019 Francis X. Vasile M’57 (ENHP) Southington, Conn., 7.27.2019 Robert Brooks M’58, C’60 (ENHP) Pembroke Pines, Fla., 2.16.2019 Teresa M. DiBenedetto M’58 (ENHP) Hartford, Conn., 2.17.2019 Lee Weinstein M’58 (ENHP) Aurora, Ill., 6.5.2019 John J. Mastrandrea A’59 (Barney) West Hartford, Conn., 10.10.2019
James A. Farrow ’65 (A&S) Windsor, Conn., 1.28.2019
James A. Stidfole M’70 (A&S) New London, Conn., 1.2.2019
Loretta Blake Fish (ENHP) Williamsburg, Va., 3.5.2019
John A. Wolkowski ’70 (Barney) Jewett City, Conn., 2.7.2019
Carl R. Venditto C’65 (ENHP) Southington, Conn., 4.15.2019 Anthony R. DiPaola ’66 (Barney) Shelton, Conn., 1.19.2019 Robert L. Ellis ’66 (A&S) Magnolia, Texas, 6.24.2019 Dominic Fulco Jr. ’66, P’81 (Barney) West Hartford, Conn., 10.20.2019
Stephen D. Wenrich ’78 (Hartt) Bellingham, Wash., 3.18.2019
Marjorie W. Ellis M’71 (ENHP) Winsted, Conn., 3.14.2019
Florence Ransom Schroeter ’79 (A&S) East Hartford, Conn., 3.19.2019
Joseph F. Mulready Jr. M’71 (Hartt) West Hartford, Conn., 4.2.2019 Richard Whinnem Jr. ’71 (Barney) Newington, Conn., 12.21.2019
Michael F. Gelinas M’66 (ENHP) Longmeadow, Mass., 7.12.2019
Ellen M. Holmes ’72 (Barney) Glastonbury, Conn., 10.28.2019
Michael R. Koplowitz ’67 (Barney) Farmington, Conn., 1.26.2019
John H. Pearson Jr. ’72 (A&S) Wells, Maine, 4.7.2019
Charles B. Weis Jr. ’67 (Barney) South Windsor, Conn., 3.24.2019
Edward G. Stupcenski A’70, ’72 (Barney) Manchester, Conn., 10.4.2019
Leroy E. Dyer C’68 (ENHP) Middletown, Conn., 7.19.2019
Anthony T. Mauro ’73 (CETA) Chester, Va., 1.24.2019
Martha Hunt Littlefield ’68 (ENHP) Billings, Mont., 3.17.2019
Salvatore N. Fulco M’74 (Barney) Larchmont, N.Y., 12.11.2019
Dr. Roger A. Loiseau M’68 (ENHP) West Haven, Conn., 3.16.2019
Charles Kepner Jr. C’74 (ENHP) Mystic, Conn., 12.22.2019 Peter M. Ragaisis II A’74 (WARD) Burlington, Conn., 9.5.2019
Carl J. Ruggiero A’59 (A&S) East Hartford, Conn., 11.2.2019 John W. Bliss A’58, ’60 (A&S) East Hampton, Conn., 5.5.2019
John W. Spaeth III ’68 (Barney) Middletown, Conn., 4.15.2019
Joseph P. Caliendo Jr. ’75 (Barney) Windsor, Conn., 1.19.2019
1960s Joseph J. Mucciaro Jr. ’60 (A&S) New Britain, Conn., 5.28.2019
Elisabeth Sheldon Aschman M’69 (ENHP) Wakefield, R.I., 8.8.2019
Mary J. Crosson A’75 (HCW), P’80, ’81 (HCW) Bloomfield, Conn., 11.30.2019
Barry M. Weinbaum ’60 (A&S) New London, Conn., 7.13.2019
Joseph Degrandi ’69, M’73, C’86 (A&S) Hartford, Conn., 5.9.2019
John W. Helm A’49, M’75 (Barney) West Hartford, Conn., 4.7.2019
Ronald T. Miecznikowski M’61 (ENHP) Bristol, Conn., 10.22.2019
Robert D. Herdling ’69, M’74 (Barney) Montpelier, Vt., 10.9.2019
Cecilia Stevens Calhoun ’76 (HAS) Bloomfield, Conn., 1.4.2019
Daniel V. Orza Sr. ’61 (Hartt) Okla. City, Okla., 2.6.2019
1970s Eileen N. Cooney ’70 (ENHP) Groton, Conn., 12.18.2019
Roberta S. Cosby ’76 (Barney) Bloomfield, Conn., 9.14.2019
Joseph E. Interlandi ’62 (CETA) Newington, Conn., 6.5.2019 Catherine M. Kernan A’60, ’62 (ENHP) Rockville, Conn., 9.18.2019 Alice Seamon Vale ’62 (ENHP) South Windsor, Conn., 7.24.2019 Louise Nichol Clarke M’64 (ENHP) Rocky Hill, Conn., 5.13.2019
Rosalind Bobrow Hahn ’70 (ENHP) West Hartford, Conn., 5.26.2019 Paul Rowean ’70, M’74 (Barney) Portland, Conn., 7.3.2019 Anne Sherrerd Scanlon M’70 (ENHP) East Granby, Conn., 10.19.2019 Jeanne N. Spencer M’70 (ENHP) South Windsor, Conn., 3.31.2019
THE MAGAZINE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD
Nicholas Torneo ’78 (A&S) Cromwell, Conn., 9.21.2019
Mary E. Donahue A’71 (HCW) Manchester, Conn., 10.19.2019
Anna-Marie A. Michaels M’68 (ENHP) Kensington, Conn., 1.12.2019
Dr. Alexander M. Rudewicz A’58, ’61 (A&S) Leesburg, Fla., 10.6.2019
Brian J. Mahoney A’75, ’78 (Barney) Glastonbury, Conn., 7.6.2019
Charlene Fox Foley ’76 (ENHP) Rocky Hill, Conn., 2.3.2019 Charles H. Lounsbury III M’77 (Barney) Danielson, Conn., 3.18.2019 John A. Lutocka Jr. ’77 (Barney) Largo, Fla., 3.31.2019 Elizabeth Brad Noel C’77, P’86 (ENHP) Bloomfield, Conn., 1.23.2019 Paul J. Giangrave C’78 (ENHP) Old Lyme, Conn., 6.7.2019
1980s Walter R. Derouin M’80 (Barney) Southington, Conn., 11.16.2019 Kathryn L. McNulty ’80 (Hartt) Cromwell, Conn., 6.28.2019 Carol Griswold Stenman M’80 (ENHP) Glastonbury, Conn., 5.19.2019 Trevor M. French ’82 (A&S) East Granby, Conn., 2.12.2019 Donald R. Young ’82, M’84 (Barney) Cantonment, Fla., 6.11.2019 Gwendolyn D. Smith Iloani M’83 (Barney) Farmington, Conn., 12.31.2019 Craig Viturale A’82, ’84 (WARD) Manchester, Conn., 10.6.2019 Deborah B. Tait M’85 (HAS) Montpelier, Vt., 2.8.2019 Kenneth W. Crawford ’86 (Barney) Wethersfield, Conn., 2.5.2019 Margaret R. Philbin A’89 (Hillyer) Moorestown, N.J., 5.24.2019 1990s Tara C. Wash. ’95, M’08 (Barney) Hartford, Conn., 10.11.2019 Omar M. Morrison ’96 (Barney) Hartford, Conn., 2.11.2019 John L. Halsell ’97 (Barney) Bloomfield, N.J., 4.25.2019 Woodney L. Christophe ’99 (CETA) Clifton, N.J., 2.28.2019 2010s Tami D. Fagan D’15 (ENHP) Manchester, Conn., 10.5.2019 Ebony L. Claxton ’16 (A&S) Stratford, Conn., 9.2.2019 Kyle Wucherpfennig ’18 (Barney) Glastonbury, Conn., 1.2.2019
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ALUMNI EVENTS
Alumni events at local breweries continue to be a fun way for former classmates and new friends to connect, including during this event at Milford Point Brewing in Milford, Conn.
The Anchor Award is the most prestigious honor presented by the University of Hartford Alumni Association. Eight accomplished individuals were honored this past fall at the 2019 Anchors Awards celebration held during Hawktober Weekend. The recipients were (from left): Barbara (Hartt) and Leib ’76 (Barney), M’81 (Barney) Lurie of Troy, Ohio; Dartray Belk ’07 (A&S) of Saint Albans, N.Y.; Maria Tackett D’10 (ENHP) of East Hampton, Conn.; DeLois Lindsey M’88 (ENHP), P’04, P’13 of Torrington, Conn.; Papa Asante ’11 (CETA) of New Rochelle, N.Y.; Janet Arms ’81 (Hartt) of Ardsley, N.Y.; and Christiana Lang ’12 (A&S) of Frederick, Md.
The annual UHart Legacy Family Ice Cream Social, welcoming incoming students who have alumni relatives, took place last fall at the Hawk’s Nest. Seventeen families were represented, including the family of Helen Newman ’23 (lower left).
Alumni show off their UHart pride during an event at the Labyrinth Brewing Company in Manchester, Conn. Alumni fans enjoyed a variety of professional baseball games last season, including at the home stadiums of the Hartford Yard Goats, Washington Nationals, New York Yankees, and Houston Astros.
Alumni gathered in Hartford, New York City, and Boston on the eve of the 2020 Founders Day Challenge to kick off UHart’s annual day of giving.
UPDATE YOUR INFORMATION
Have you recently moved, gotten married, or have a new job? Have you updated your email or other contact information? Don’t miss out on the latest UHart news or event information! Contact us at hartford.edu/ update-information.
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UHart and the Alumni Association sponsor events and programs in Greater Hartford and across the country. Grow professionally, be social, and give back to the community while reuniting with classmates and fellow alumni. To learn more, visit hartford. edu/alumni-events.
SUMMER 2020
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W E L C O M E T O T H E U H A R T A L U M N I F A M I LY Welcome to the alumni community, a family of more than 88,000 Hawks finding commonalities in their educational experiences at UHart and strength in shared values. We are proud of you—and excited for you. We want to stay connected, and to offer up the outstanding resources of our great alumni community to you. Visit alumni.hartford.edu to begin exploring alumni resources like:
hartford.edu/justforfun Our Brain Breaks web page featuring fun content like Spotify playlists and recipes, especially curated for you by fellow Hawks.
hartford.edu/alumnievents Connect with fellow alumni in person or virtually for social events, professional development, or to volunteer.
hartford.edu/class-notes Share updates and accomplishments through our Alumni Class Notes collections so we can celebrate with you as we showcase the prideful moments of our community.
Keep in touch. Follow us on social media and update your contact information. UHartfordAlumni
@UHartfordAlumni
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T H E H AW K N E T W O R K S TAY C O N N E C T E D University of Hartford alumni are connecting virtually, learning from each other and strengthening the Hawk network. From career webinars to engaging discussions and lectures, we are covering relevant topics and bringing together talented alumni from a variety of industries and backgrounds.
“ We are proud of the work you’ve done and we’re looking forward to the impact you’ll continue to make on the world. Welcome to the UHart Alumni Family!” MAUREEN LEATHERS ’05 (BARNEY), PRESIDENT, UHART ALUMNI BOARD OF DIRECTORS
“ Being able to speak with other professionals from UHart is affirming that our alumni base is a great resource for networking in the most diverse fields. The webinars make it really easy to connect with people from across the country in a meaningful way.”
“ Fly high. Fly together. Because we need you more than ever.” DAVID DAYE ’06 (BARNEY), MEMBER, UHART ALUMNI BOARD OF DIRECTORS
EBONY WRIGHT-CAMPBELL A’02 (HILLYER), ’04 (A&S), MEMBER, UHART ALUMNI BOARD OF DIRECTORS
SUMMER 2020
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Ten years after husband Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, Coretta Scott King was invited to campus. Her Nov. 10, 1978, speech was titled “Human Rights and the Challenge of the Future.” →
Some of the most recognizable names from the political, entertainment, and business world have visited the UHart campus through the decades. Here’s just a sampling...
↑ On April 18, 2013, Barack Obama became the only sitting United States president to visit the University of Hartford campus.
→ Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos discussed his company’s meteoric rise in Lincoln Theater on Oct. 19, 2000. Things only got bigger and better for Amazon— Bezos has been named the world’s richest individual three years running by Forbes.
↓ The crew from Saturday Night Live entertained during Homecoming 1990. Left to right: Chris Rock, Dana Carvey, and Mike Myers.
→ Howie Mandel had the Lincoln Theater crowd roaring with laughter during an Oct. 18, 1993, show.
THE BOSS WAS HERE
On April 27, 1974, a then relatively unknown Bruce Springsteen performed at the University of Hartford. At the time, he had only one album to his name—Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. The concert, held in UHart’s old gymnasium that was home to the Hawks prior to the opening of the Sports Center in 1990, was a late addition to Springsteen’s tour schedule.
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University of Hartford Magazine is published twice each year for alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and friends.
Vice President for Marketing and Enrollment M O L LY P O L K Editor J O N AT H A N E A S T E R B R O O K ’ 87, M ’ 9 0 Design KRISTINA K ARLSON ’ 14 KEVIN SEPE ’99 L I L LY P E R E I R A ’ 02 aldeia.design Art Direction PAU L A R I B E I R O Contributors L I N DA L U Z C A R R I L LO ’ 1 6 M A RY D I L E O ’ 8 4 M E AG A N FA Z I O M ’ 1 6 STEPHANIE FENGLER KELLEY FREUND M A RY I N G A R R A P ’ 2 0 , P ’ 2 2 JIM KEENER P ’16, P ’21 MILDRED MCNEILL JOEL SAMBERG S A L LY WA N G Photography R AC H E L B O N A PA R T E ’ 1 9 JOSH BREIGHNER ’20 JULIE CHEN A N TO N I O E S P O S I TO JEFF FELDMANN CALEY HENNESSEY ’21 DA N I E L L A B E L L E S T E V E M C L AU G H L I N J O N AT H A N O L S O N
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Thank you, health-care personnel, first responders, and workers in a wide range of service fields. We appreciate you.
The University is especially grateful for our current students and employees, alumni, partners, and friends who have worked tirelessly in recent months to ensure the safety of our campus and communities across the country and world.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!
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