The Women’s Advancement Initiative / University of Hartford / 2019

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85 Years of Sisterhood THE WOMEN’S ADVANCEMENT INITIATIVE uniquely positions women for success through education and leadership programs, research and scholarship opportunities, and career connections and experiences, which open minds and open doors. This distinctive program is built on the heritage of Hartford College for Women and is supported and sustained by a community of women and men who believe that advancing the potential of women is a personal and collective priority.

I NI T I AT I V E A DVA N C E M E N T WO M E N ’ S TH E facebook.com/ womensadvancement

Celebrating Hartford College for Women and 85 years of educating women in Hartford.

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Destined for Success LEAD alumna Destiny Kirk ’19 takes professional literacy to the next level.

DE PA R TM E N TS

M A N AGING E D ITO R Glandina Morris ’04

08 PROGRAM PROFILE

CO N T RIBUTING WRITE RS Theresa Sullivan Barger Margaret (Gretchen) Hathaway A’69 (HCW)

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D E SI GN Lilly Pereira ’02 A R T DIRECTIO N Paula Ribeiro E D I TO RIAL ASS ISTANCE Jonathan Easterbrook ’87, M’90 P H OTO GRAP H Y Kaeli Baker ’19 Photography Nicole Bedard Photography Ellissa Cibelli ’18 Harford College for Women Collection (ARCH). University of Hartford Archives and Special Collections.

IRIS Photography Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections.

Amy Sommers Photography P R O F E SS IO NAL STAFF Amy Jaffe Barzach Sara Cerruto M’18 Glandina Morris ’04 H A R TFO RD.E D U/ WO M ENSADVANCEM ENT

CO N TACT U S : 200 Bloomfield Avenue, GSU327 West Hartford, CT 06117 womenadv@hartford.edu 860.768.5961

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B OA R D OF F I CERS Pearl Douglas Chair (2019–present) Kate Farrow Stoddard A’72 (HCW) Chair (2013—19) Kelly Daly Treasurer Caryn Christensen Secretary B OA RD OF DI R ECTORS Tokunbo Akinbajo Tricia Brunton Debbie Javit A’83 (HCW) Barry Lastra Karen Gibbs Orefice A’65 (HCW) Molly O’Shea Polk Karen Reich Dr. Katrina Turner Bill Webster Dr. Lisa Weisinger-Roland FOU NDI N G B OA RD CHA I R Lucille Nickerson

1 4 I M PAC T 1 5 A N N UA L R E W I N D 1 6 H CW A LU MN A P R O F I L E

DEA R A LU MN A E, PA R EN TS, A N D FR I EN DS, One of the most moving traditions I have witnessed in my time on The Women’s Advancement Initiative’s Board of Directors is the annual “crossing the bridge” ceremony. First-year students in our LEAD program say goodbye to their families and take literal steps across the bridge towards their futures. Not only does it signify change, it literally creates new beginnings and opens the students’ eyes to new possibilities. It is also surrendering to the call to independence, to stepping out of their comfort zone, and to advancing their potential. Poignant events like this happen many times in our lives when we are invited to say “yes” to what is calling to us.

It’s my pleasure to say “yes” as I begin my new role as chair of the Board of Directors of The Women’s Advancement Initiative. Eager to continue the mission of advancing women’s potential in the Hartford College for Women (HCW) tradition, I feel honored and privileged to serve. As I begin my tenure, I want to thank Kate Farrow Stoddard A’72 (HCW) for her five years of service as Board chair. Kate, you left an incredible legacy. Thank you, too, to the former chairs, our very supportive past and present board members, and to our extraordinary professional staff. You all answered the call.

I see myself in these young women. I can only imagine what my college journey would have looked like had I been equipped with the tools of self-confidence, resiliency, leadership, and practical life skills that each will learn about in LEAD. I have seen these young women grow and evolve–from shy, soft-spoken young ladies with immense potential, gingerly walking across the bridge, to graduating seniors armed with the LEAD experience and training, ready to take on the world.

These young women are the driving force behind the work that we do every day.

None of this would be possible without the vision, values, and legacy of HCW; without the insight and hard work of our founders, board members, volunteers, and staff; without our collaboration with the University of Hartford’s exceptional faculty and staff; and without the support of many generous alumnae and friends.

Experience this for yourself. I invite you to join us at events and programs. And let’s continue to answer the call; to support and encourage today’s female students, faculty, and staff in the HCW tradition.

PEA R L DOU GLAS Chair, The Women’s Advancement Initiative Board of Directors Proudly Continuing the Legacy of Hartford College for Women womenadv@hartford.edu

3 / SUCCESS STORY / ALUMNI

IN MEMORY

PROFILE

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H ON O RI N G A LIFE

Miriam “Mims” Butterworth Lifetime champion of peace, justice, and women’s education

Miriam “Mims” Butterworth—historian, educator, activist, parent—was born in Hartford, Conn. on April 14, 1918. She died in Bloomfield, Conn., on July 9, 2019, just a few miles from her childhood home, but traveled the world from Germany in 1938, to the World Conference on Women in China in 1995. She served as chair of the CT Public Utilities Control Authority (PUCA), on the West Hartford Town Council, and was acting president of Hartford College for Women (HCW) from 1979 to 1980. In her later years, she authored several books on history and social causes.

Her memoir Just Say Yes was originally published in 2005.

Her husband of 50 years, Oliver Butterworth, died in 1990. Mims is survived by Michael and Carol Hastings Butterworth of Tolland, Conn.; Tim Butterworth and Kay Kloppenburg of Chesterfield, N.H.; Dan Butterworth and Beverly Blood, of Pascoag, R.I.; Kate Butterworth Valdez and Steve Thornton of West Hartford, Conn.; nine grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren, and two former exchange students and their families.

In addition to serving as president of HCW, Mims was actively involved with The Women’s Advancement Initiative. She worked with Dorothy Goodwin Scholars and student/ faculty teams to expand her original research on Beyond Manifest

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Destiny: U.S. Expansion in the 20th Century to include the development of updated maps and a teacher’s guide, and worked with a student filmmaker to develop a documentary about her life.

Her “Just Say Yes” philosophy is one of the major tenets of The Women’s Advancement Initiative’s Leadership Education and Development (LEAD) program, inspiring today’s female students to “just say yes” to life’s opportunities and challenges. In 2018, The Women’s Advancement Initiative enjoyed working with the Butterworth family to plan a celebration in honor of Mims’ 100th birthday. This included the planting and dedication of the “Just Say Yes” tree in the HCW Garden in the center of the University of Hartford campus.

We thank Mims for her lifelong commitment to women’s education and for making a difference. If you would like to extend your condolences to the Butterworth Family, please email womenadv@hartford. edu or send cards to The Women’s Advancement Initiative, University of Hartford, 200 Bloomfield Avenue, GSU 327, West Hartford, CT 06117.

Mims wanted others to: Vote.

Organize to get other people to vote.

Work to make the United States a better democracy. In her honor, please consider supporting these and other important causes.

FUND

The Miriam and Oliver Butterworth & Family LEAD Program Endowed Fund The Miriam and Oliver Butterworth & Family LEAD Program Endowed Fund celebrates their family’s meaningful history with Hartford College for Women and The Women’s Advancement Initiative. This generous gift will provide programmatic support for the LEAD program. Gifts to the Miriam and Oliver Butterworth & Family LEAD Program Endowed Fund are welcomed and appreciated. Make a gift in memory of Mims Butterworth online at hartford.edu/ give/WAI (please reference Butterworth Endowed Fund), or by mail to The Women’s Advancement Initiative, 200 Bloomfield Avenue, GSU 327, West Hartford, CT 06117.

Watch the Just Say Yes Documentary In spring 2018, The Women’s Advancement Initiative’s Dorothy Goodwin Scholar Taylor Ugrinow, and videographer Kyle Conti, documented the amazing life and legacy of Mims Butterworth.

The Just Say Yes documentary, created in collaboration with University of Hartford faculty mentor Susan Cardillo, is a remarkable tribute to an extraordinary woman. Watch it on YouTube (search “Just Say Yes: Mims Butterworth Documentary”).

UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD / 2019

02 / ANNIVERSARY

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Y E ARS OF EDUCATING

WO M E N IN HARTFORD

To view the full gallery of photos from the 85th celebration, visit flickr.com/photos/ womenadv

UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD / 2019

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Celebrating and Continuing the Legacy of Hartford College for Women

85

Years of Sisterhood

Large photo: Reunion attendees: Monica Skaradowski Meinzer, Robin Gross Klemm, Deborah Levine, Gretchen Hathaway, Sofia Sequenzia, and Joann Cohen Oser. Above: HCW Class of 1969 Committee: Monica Meinzer and Gretchen Hathaway proudly hold the HCW logo. Top right: Gretchen Hathaway and Polly Darnell were featured in the 1969 Highlander yearbook.

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On June 8, Hartford College for Women (HCW) reconnected women across decades. The sisterhood across time came together to celebrate the Mount Holyoke in Hartford “noble experiment” that grew into a dynamic community focused on academic achievement and the professional and personal success of women. To celebrate HCW and 85 years of educating women in Hartford, more than 100 HCW alumnae, leaders, faculty, staff, and friends joined The Women’s Advancement Initiative, LEAD students, and the Office of Alumni Engagement to enjoy a beautiful sun-filled day of reflection and community.

The Class of 1969 began the day with a brunch to celebrate their 50th reunion.

As attendees introduced themselves and described how HCW impacted their personal and professional paths, you could feel their sense of gratitude that HCW provided them with such a strong foundation for success and a meaningful life.

Next, the all-class reunion started with a trip down memory lane. HCW alumnae traveled from as far away as 3,000 miles to enjoy the festivities and see a fine display of HCW archives. Laura Johnson’s silver tea set, faculty photos, spring festival books, Highlander yearbooks, and Hartford Junior College for Girls building signage were among the treasures on display.

After spending time with the archives and catching up with old classmates, attendees were invited to hear a special presentation on “Why Women’s Leadership Matters.” The presentation celebrated the HCW history of women’s leadership, highlighting Laura Johnson and other HCW leaders.

The lecture was presented by Valerie Fleming Lewis A’62 (HCW), assistant director and then director of admissions at HCW from 1970 to 1984, commissioner of higher education for the State of Connecticut from 2000 to 2008, and past

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<< Reunited: The HCW Class of 1969

chair of the Board of Directors of The Women’s Advancement Initiative.

A special feature in the center of the University of Hartford’s campus is the HCW Garden. Attendees toured the HCW Garden, which includes HCW tribute plaques, the Maiden Flight sculpture (also known as Spirit of St. Louis) that was originally installed in honor of HCW’s 40th anniversary, Japanese maple trees, the “Just Say Yes” plaque in honor of Mims Butterworth, benches in acorn court, and beautiful flowers and plants that highlight the legacy of HCW and is a gathering place for today’s students.

“This was a truly wonderful, memorable, delightful, nostalgic, and fun 85th anniversary celebration,” said Rebecca Friedman Danchak A’70 (HCW).

“Butterworth Hall looks glorious!”

The day culminated with a reception at Butterworth Hall. One classroom at Butterworth Hall, lovingly put together

by HCW alumna Martha Ferris O’Neal A’66 (HCW), was outlined with tables dedicated to each decade. Each table included yearbooks, memorabilia, and a poster display. As attendees walked around Butterworth Hall, you couldn’t

Amid the celebration of the 85th anniversary of Hartford College for Women’s founding, a small but significant gathering took place. Six members of the Class of 1969 came together for our 50th reunion. Our first encounter with our classmates was ebullience, almost giddy. Here we were—as vibrant and eager as we remembered each other—and we had a lovely, leisurely luncheon over which to tell our stories. As each of us spun out the threads we had followed, we marveled at the meaningful, bold work each of us had done—and continue to do. The vitality in the room was palpable as we listened to each other and admired the paths of service and creativity each had taken, rooted in our time at HCW. Curiosity, commitment, and humor shone in the faces around the table. There was plenty of reminiscing, too. We recovered memories—of our professors who challenged and delighted us; of the plays we acted, the music we sang, the words we memorized; the fun we had together; the turmoil of the society that surrounded us.

Just as inspiring were the young women who accompanied us through the experience.

Current participants in The Women’s Advancement Initiative’s LEAD program were there, listening to us and sharing their own stories with poise and eloquence. As the day went on, we felt more and more appreciative of the way the University of Hartford has carried the mission of HCW into the present. The HCW legacy has been lovingly preserved and The Women’s Advancement Initiative dynamically continues the vital work of supporting women’s development.

The day ended with a reception for alumnae from the 1950s to the 2000s at the HCW campus, now a training center for Montessori teachers.

This brought more chances to share memories and to celebrate the lasting impact of HCW on our lives. Most moving was the presence of Mims Butterworth—and I do mean presence. Mims was enjoying conversations with HCW students from decades past and filling Butterworth Hall with her valiant spirit only weeks before her death.

— Margaret (Gretchen) Hathaway A’69 (HCW)

help but notice their smiles as they reminisced about fond memories, shared stories, and connected with today’s LEAD students who proudly continue and celebrate the legacy of Hartford College for Women.

“What an extraordinary day of smiling and laughter,” commented Jacqueline Bartell Bassos A’82 (HCW).

“I am impressed by The Women’s Advancement Initiative and the young women included in keeping the spirit of HCW alive.”

CELEBRATE HCW A special thank you to the Celebrate HCW Committee and LEAD student volunteers for their support, planning, and outreach that made this wonderful celebration possible.

Celebrate HCW Committee Kim Barberi ’99, ’02 (HCW) Jacqueline Bassos ’82 (HCW) Claire Bergin ’03 (HCW) Helen Daley Giunta ’76 (HCW) Patricia Katz Goldstein ’59 (HCW) Gretchen Hathaway ’69 (HCW) Helen “Bimmie” Barber Herget ’61 (HCW) Grace Jacobs ’50 (HCW) Gretchen Levitz-Kimball ’84 (HCW) Valerie Fleming Lewis ’62 (HCW) Patricia McKinley ’72 (HCW) Monica Meinzer ’69 (HCW) Karen Van Heusen Norton ’65 (HCW) Martha Ferris O’Neal ’66 (HCW) Karen Gibbs Orefice ’65 (HCW) Ilena Solomon Rosenstein ’02 (HCW) Marilyn Hunter Ross ’56 (HCW) Kate Farrow Stoddard ’72 (HCW) Jan Cassells Sweet ’65 (HCW) Lynn Thibodeau ’91 (HCW) Student Volunteers Emma Brown ’22 (LEAD) Kelly Chen-Ruan ’21 (LEAD) Courtney Cummings ’21 (LEAD) Ashley DeFreitas ’20 (LEAD) Dayna Dinnall ’22 (LEAD) Brayden Ransom ’20 (LEAD)

HCW 85TH ANNIVERSARY BOOK Do you remember? Mother-Daughter Tea? Bridge games? Candlelight Ball? Mountain Day? Favorite professors? Jazz at the Simsbury House? 85 Years of Memories features wonderful historical photos and memories; celebrates HCW leaders, faculty, staff, and students; and captures each decade.

The new edition also features a gallery of photos from the June 8 celebration.

View these memories and more in your own limited edition of the commemorative book. Available for $85. To order, email womenadv@hartford.edu by January 15 with your full name, email, and phone number.

UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD / 2019

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DEST IN Y K IR K ’1 9

Destined for Success “ LEAD motivated Destiny and seconded her goals.”

Linda Kirk, Destiny’s mom

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While attending a campaign event with her mom, Destiny Kirk ’19 went up to a district judge and introduced herself.

After the judge invited Destiny to submit her résumé, she went home, wrote a cover letter, and immediately sent it along with her résumé.

STUDENT PROFILE

This level of assertiveness was new for Destiny, says Linda Kirk, her mother. Before joining The Women’s Advancement Initiative’s LEAD program, Linda Kirk says, her daughter was shy and laid back.

“Joining LEAD, she realized she can actually go out there and sell herself, instead of waiting,” Linda Kirk says.

“LEAD motivated her and seconded her goals. LEAD gave her a push.”

Destiny arrived on campus with ambition, a strong work ethic and a desire to fulfill her parents’ dreams for her. Her parents, immigrants from Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago, did not have the chance to go to college. They worked hard to encourage Destiny and her younger brother to get a good education and to keep them safe while growing up in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn.

Her first year on campus, Destiny joined an organization known as Strong Independent Sisters (S.I.S.), and would later become its vice president for two years. S.I.S. is a group of young women who believe that the best way to advocate for other young women is to first educate, then to serve. During her time as vice president, Destiny created an event to connect students to professionals in their prospective fields. This event is known as “The Tea Party” and is now held annually.

She joined the LEAD program her sophomore year, and immediately appreciated being around other young women focused on reaching their goals.

“My experience in LEAD has helped me get to where I am today. It brought out the skills and characteristics that I didn’t want to show to anybody,” she says. Instead of being around students who told her not to bother attending a career fair, her LEAD peers and mentors encouraged her to “Say Yes to Opportunity,” one of the founding LEAD principles (inspired by Mims Butterworth).

“ My experience in LEAD has helped me get where I am today.”

When classmates or others on campus pressured her to skip chances to learn and grow, she discussed it with the LEAD director, who encouraged her to ignore the naysayers. The director taught her that she might get turned down, but most failures provide a chance to learn.

“I feel like that’s the overarching theme of LEAD,” Destiny says. “After they help you discover your strengths and perfect your skills, they want you to find opportunities and pursue them because what do you have to be scared of?”

While still in college, Destiny interned with Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Molloy, U.S. Representative Elizabeth Esty (D-CT), and Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Ingrid Joseph.

After graduating and moving back to Brooklyn, she launched Destined for Success, a nonprofit that seeks to teach inner city high school students college readiness and professional literacy skills. The organization teaches many of the strategic skills she learned through LEAD, such as public speaking, résumé writing, and dressing for professional settings.

Destiny earned her bachelor’s degrees in Politics and Government and International Studies. She plans to start graduate school in January 2020, studying public administration while working full time. She intends to run for office eventually, but first she wants to learn about the people she’ll be serving. So, she is working as a case manager at a transitional

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SPONSORSHIP

Sponsor a LEAD Student Program Gifts to the LEAD program provide unique educational opportunities for undergraduate female students to experience a life-changing professional development and personal enrichment program. For a donation of $2,000, you can sponsor a student’s participation in this transformative program.

Your LEAD student sponsorship: • Provides 13 annual interactive leadership training and practical life-skills workshops • Connects your student(s) to a network of peers and mentors who inspire them to pursue opportunities and persevere through challenges • Creates an opportunity for your student(s) to attend professional conferences and a leadership retreat • Helps your student(s) secure transportation to internships and interviews, and participate in community service trips You can impact a young woman’s life in a simple yet powerful way. If you are interested in sponsoring a LEAD student, please contact Amy Jaffe Barzach at 860.768.5471 or barzach@hartford.edu.

housing organization, the Center for Urban Community Services in New York City, serving people with mental illness, HIV, or AIDS who were formerly homeless.

Through her internships, she says, she’s observed many elected officials “making laws for communities that they’ve never engaged with. You can’t make the right decision for something you don’t know about,” she says.

In the meantime, she’s helping people like her who may not have had the family support that propelled her to dream big. And she’s paying it forward with the lessons learned through LEAD.

UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD / 2019

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T E ACHI N G + MENTORS HIP

Discovering Her Strength to Lead

Mala Matacin, PhD Associate Professor of Psychology Laura Johnson Leader Associate Dean, Hartford College for Women

Mala Matacin clearly recalls that spring day when she looked at her colleagues and said, “I don’t consider myself a leader.” She had shared her confession with some of the female faculty and staff in the first cohort of The Women’s Advancement Initiative’s Laura Johnson Leaders program. Each woman in the inaugural cohort of this innovative leadership development program helped to shape it. Learning about authentic leadership in this program helped Mala see herself as a leader.

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Mala joined the University of Hartford as a faculty member in the Psychology Department in 1995.

From 2001 to 2003, she served as an associate dean of Hartford College for Women (HCW). She also served as director of the undergraduate program in psychology, and later as co-chair of the Psychology Department at the University of Hartford. When she was in the Laura Johnson Leaders program in 2008, she was an accomplished woman who was still discovering her strengths.

As Mala considers her pathway to leadership, she remembers her post-doctoral fellowship in behavioral and preventative medicine at Brown University School of Medicine, where she examined gender differences in stress reactivity. Likewise, her teaching shifted to more interdisciplinary and intersectional perspectives. She approaches mentorship– especially with female students–with the belief that it makes a difference in the world. Women can impact each other’s lives when they support and honor one another.

“My students are my true joy,” says Mala. “Each day, they show me that what happens in the classroom matters and is meaningful. Teaching is not just about a grade. It is about the journey ahead and the mentoring relationship we have with one another.”

Early in her career, Mala connected with Jane Barstow, Marcia Moen, Sherry Buckberrough, Sharon Shepela, and other faculty members at HCW. It was only a natural leap to start teaching at HCW, where Mala would eventually serve as an associate dean.

From 2002 to 2003, she taught Stress and Stress Management; and Women, Weight, and Worry at HCW. For the first time in her career, she was working with non-traditional students.

“At HCW, my class was full of working women who were deeply committed to their education and careers,” commented Mala. “They had a level of

PROGRAM PROFILE

Laura Johnson Leaders is a leadership program for female faculty and staff focused on building community and professional development. Since 2008, there have been 112 participants, and more than 17 percent have gone on to advanced leadership roles. dedication that made me a better professor. I loved the experience.”

Over a 30-year period, Laura Johnson served as the third dean and then the first president of HCW. She established it as a place for “women who wanted to learn and teachers who loved to teach.” In 1960, she developed the Laura Johnson Scholars program for displaced homemakers and working women limited in their careers due to lack of training and confidence. She was known for seeing the strength and potential in students.

In 2008, Mala was experiencing firsthand how Laura Johnson’s HCW legacy continues through The Women’s Advancement Initiative. The Laura Johnson Leaders program succeeds in not only building leadership and professional development, but also in fostering greater community on campus. Participants in the program benefit from an innovative leadership training program, networking, engagement in leadership and personal development projects, and exposure to higher-level decision making within the University and beyond.

“The program taught me to see that authentic leadership allowed different ways of leading. I not only had strengths but the potential to lead in a way that was genuine to me and I sought out other leadership opportunities.”

When Mala co-chaired the Psychology Department, one of her responsibilities was to help manage finances. She remembers how the Laura Johnson Leaders session on financial management helped her understand the University’s finances, thereby providing a better foundation to do the job.

“That first Laura Johnson Leaders cohort was all about helping us understand our strengths and building community,” recalls Mala. “We formed common bonds and even after the program was over, we had reunions on and off campus. I made connections with others who were interested in advancing their careers. We supported each other.

I aspire to offer that same level of support to others.”

In September, Mala traveled to Croatia to present at the European Health Psychology Conference, where she talked about her work using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a model for teaching about gender equality. She met with scholars there to create a study abroad opportunity for students interested in international research partnerships.

She also continues her life’s work of teaching and mentoring as the founder and faculty advisor for Women for Change, a campus organization whose aim is to provide a space for education,

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RESEARCH

Faculty Fellowships Since 2016, The Women’s Advancement Initiative’s Board of Directors has awarded Faculty Fellowships to full-time female faculty at the University of Hartford who have demonstrated exemplary commitment to advancing their discipline in teaching, scholarship, mentoring of female students, and/or engagement in profession. Each awardee receives an honorarium which may be used for research, travel, or professional development.

This year, the Early Career award was presented to Susan Cardillo, PhD, assistant professor of digital media and journalism in the College of Arts and Sciences, for her student-focused documentary that raises awareness about the issues related to unstructured cell phone use in schools and the creation of a Digital Wellness Plan in collaboration with public schools, police departments, and local government offices.

Mary Gannotti, PhD, professor of physical therapy at the College of Education, Nursing and Health Professions, received the Mid-to-Late Career award. Her project will investigate interventions that are easy, fun, and can improve balance among individuals with cerebral palsy.

Her research includes collaborations with international experts, biomedical engineers, and special trainings with after-school exercise programs developed through a transition academy.

open dialogue, and support in regard to social justice issues related to gender.

“The Women’s Advancement Initiative has greatly impacted me personally and professionally,” she said. “The organization helped us launch Women for Change so we could provide programming for students. After completing the Laura Johnson Leaders program and receiving additional support from colleagues, family, friends, students, and other remarkable women, I can undoubtedly say, “Yes. I am a leader!”

UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD / 2019

10 / DONOR PROFILE

G I V I N G B AC K

Champions of Education and Goodwill Lucille Nickerson and Ralph Zegarelli Enhancing Educational Opportunities for Students

Lucille Nickerson and her husband, Ralph Zegarelli, are enthusiastic supporters of The Women’s Advancement Initiative and, in particular, its Leadership Education and Development (LEAD) program for undergraduate women at the University of Hartford.

Their enthusiasm is born of a passion for education and a firm conviction that “education is the key to lifelong opportunity.” With a combined total of 40 years of formal education, their views are grounded in their own experience.

Lucille earned an undergraduate degree in biology and a master’s degree in physiology before deciding to continue her studies by earning a law degree.

Along the way, she worked as a lab assistant and later a computer-programmer analyst. Her law degree ultimately led to a successful career as corporate counsel and business executive at Aetna, Inc. Of her non-linear career path, Lucille says, “Learning new things is exhilarating, and finding the ways in which the elements of my background worked together to refine my thinking and my skill sets was both surprising and satisfying.”

With an undergraduate degree in mathematics and a master’s degree in computer science, Ralph’s career included a number of increasingly important positions as an IT manager at CIGNA. During that time, he was also a dedicated adjunct professor in engineering at the University of Hartford; in retirement, he was a professor in the computer science department, and today, he is a professor emeritus.

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Lucille and Ralph enjoy spending time with their sponsored students on and off campus.

Since their respective retirements from the corporate world, both Lucille and Ralph have dedicated their energies and their philanthropy to enhancing educational opportunity for underserved students. This included their combined efforts to resuscitate and subsequently manage a scholarship program for students from low-income households in Connecticut.

Lucille’s interest in education motivated her to accept an invitation to join the Board of Trustees of Hartford College for Women (HCW) in 2000.

HCW affiliated with the University of Hartford in 1991. At the time, the College was struggling financially. It

ultimately ceased to be a degree-granting institution in 2003. Sharing with others a deep sense of loss, Lucille worked on various teams, each with the mission of finding a way to capture the best of the HCW experience and make it available to women at the University of Hartford. “I was convinced that the qualities that made HCW special could endure and flourish and that the best of HCW transcended its physical facility,” Lucille says.

When Lucille was asked to become the founding chair of the Board of Directors for what is now known as The Women’s Advancement Initiative, she was eager to accept the challenge of

DONOR PROFILE

creating a program that would honor the legacy of HCW and continue its strong tradition of empowering women to reach their full potential.

The early years focused on grants to faculty for projects that advanced women’s education and leadership.

But as Lucille describes it, “There was something missing. We had not succeeded in replicating the HCW experience for undergraduate female students.” Intensive strategic analysis resulted in the creation of the LEAD program, which helps female students build confidence, leadership, and professional skills. “This program took flight and has achieved success beyond our wildest dreams,” Lucille says.

“When I interview HCW alumnae and LEAD students, they describe their experience in almost identical terms. It is enormously gratifying.”

Her involvement with HCW and then with The Women’s Advancement Initiative caused Lucille to become ever more engaged with the University community. She was invited to join the University’s Board of Regents in 2006. After serving as vice chair, she was elected as the first woman chair in 2013. Lucille held this role for five years.

From the beginning, Lucille and Ralph made a commitment to support The Women’s Advancement Initiative and its LEAD program.

The couple sponsors five LEAD students each year. “Sponsors provide financial support to offset the costs of the LEAD program, which is free for the students. Sponsors can do more than that, depending on their time and geography. We enjoy hosting the students at our home where they can relax and have fun at a make-your-own pizza gathering or baking and decorating holiday cookies,” Lucille says.

“You meet them when they are firstyear students. You can see how shy they are,” Ralph says. The young women thank Lucille and Ralph for their

Ways to Give

STUDENT SUPPORT

GIVE ONLINE Click on “Make a Gift” at hartford.edu/womensadvancement

LUCILLE NICKERSON AND RALPH ZEGARELLI’S SPONSORED STUDENTS

MAIL A GIFT Send a check in the enclosed envelope.

Josephine Garcia ’20 Home State: New Jersey Major: Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

SUPPORT THE ANNUAL FUND Unrestricted annual gifts provide essential support for daily operations of The Women’s Advancement Initiative’s programs, including LEAD, Dorothy Goodwin Scholars, and Laura Johnson Leaders.

DONATE TO THE LEAD PROGRAM Gifts to the LEAD program provide unique educational opportunities for undergraduate students to experience a life-changing professional development and personal enrichment program. You can make a donation of any size, or for a donation of $2,000 you can sponsor a student’s participation in LEAD for one academic year and receive updates from the student(s) you sponsor.

CONSIDER A MAJOR GIFT To discuss major gifts or alternative options—including directing a gift from a donor-advised fund, retirement assets, or real estate—please contact Erin Pollard at 860.768.2401 or epollard@hartford.edu.

MENTOR A STUDENT There is nothing more energizing than making a difference in the lives of young women. Share your career and life experiences with students–in person or on the phone. Enjoy lunch with students. Hire a student as an intern.

Or, host a student at your workplace for a few hours or a few days as part of the Express to Success job-shadowing program. To learn more, call 860.768.5961 or email womenadv@ hartford.edu.

support and learn from them about how they navigated their careers.

Ralph says he appreciates students sending notes about how they’re

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Justice Gaston ’20 Home State: Maine Major: Criminal Justice and Psychology Sydney Lyncook ’20 Home State: New York Major: Health Science Michaela Mueller ’20 Home State: New York Major: Civil Engineering Courtney Cummings ’21 Home State: New York Major: Biology

doing. “If these five LEAD students are this outstanding,” he says, “the other LEAD students must be as well.”

When Lucille had major surgery, their students sent cards offering encouragement, Lucille says. One student, Courtney Cummings, learned the importance of cards from Lucille and Ralph. When Courtney had surgery last year, she found a card waiting for her when returning home from the hospital. “It made my recovery a lot better because I had support from them,” she says.

Courtney is grateful not only for their financial support for LEAD, but also for the example Lucille has set as a professional woman. “She shows me what’s possible when we put our minds to something,” Courtney says. “This is what inspires me. You can be successful and you can be kind.”

UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD / 2019

12 / DONOR REPORT

JULY 1, 2018, TO JUNE 30, 2019

THE WOMEN’S ADVANCEMENT INITIATIVE

Donor Report

Thanks to the support of so many generous donors, and friends, The Women’s Advancement Initiative is able to make a significant difference in the lives of today’s women. Donations of all sizes are welcomed and appreciated. We honor and thank you for helping us advance women’s potential in the Hartford College for Women tradition. $2,500+

Bobbi McNeil ’94

Lois Fisher-Dietzel

Marilyn Hunter Ross A’56 (HCW)

Hinda N. Fisher Irrevocable Trust

Schwab Charitable Fund

Barry N. Lastra

Susan Rafferty Williams M’78 and Eliot P. Williams

Lucille M. Nickerson and Ralph Zegarelli Karen Gibbs Orefice A’65 (HCW) and Jerry A. Orefice ’66 Karen and Marc A. Reich

$500–$999 Nancy Kinsley Barrrett A’51 (HCW) and Thomas R. Barrett

$250–$499

Paul J. Krause ’13

Kathleen Behrens ’85 and Gerald A. O’Reilly

Barbara Cook Langner A’72 (HCW)

Marjory J. and Adam S. Blinderman P’20 Rosanne Druckman A’68 (HCW) and Larry Scherzer

Irene M. Oleksiw A’71 (HCW) Gail Sparrell Pease A’65 (HCW) and Thomas E. Pease

Debra A. Palmer M’82 Sandra Peterson Workplace Success Group $100-$249

Joan M. Pritchard A’74 (HCW)

Karen H. Kellerman and Peter Arakas

Dorothy M. Schwobel A’52 (HCW) Sofia Sequenzia A’69 (HCW)

Dr. Jane M. Barstow and Norman Barstow M’77

Rita Alberici Shesler A’66 (HCW) and Albert T. Shesler

Joanne E. Beers A’72 (HCW) and Earl C. Cree II

Kristiana T. Spaulding A’90

Tricia Brunton Eleanor Caplan

Dr. Lisa Weisinger-Roland and Phillip Y. Roland

Lisa Christensen Petersen A’76 (HCW)

Esther Scheinblum Yeck A’70 (HCW) Dr. Ying Yu

Nancy A. Brennan

Kate Farrow Stoddard A’72 (HCW)

Joyce C. and Harold C. Buckingham Jr.

Barbara A. Close A’93 Margaret Curtis Cornely A’72 (HCW)

Dr. Susan Cardillo

Susan Landers Fenniman A’64 (HCW) and John D. Fenniman

Deanna and Tokunbo Akinbajo

Karen Berner Flowers A’68 (HCW)

Kay Kloppenburg and Timothy Butterworth

Nancy Greenwald, J.D.

Miriam B. Butterworth

Hartford Foundation for Public Giving

Kelly J. Daly ’14

Marcia L. and John W. Hincks

Margaret Pearl Douglas and Dr. Montgomery B. Douglas ’83 Enterprise Holdings Foundation

Perry Daniels Huntington A’71 (HCW), ’73, and Gregory Huntington

Dr. Elizabeth Ivey and Robert L. Klein

Amy Jaffe-Barzach P’21 and Peter I. Barzach P’21

Linda W. and John Fiske

Karen A. Kelleher

Dr. Grace E. Jacobs A’50 (HCW)

Judith R. Kunisch

Debra M. Javit A’83 (HCW)

Dr. Kathleen McGrory

Annamarie Lavieri A’65 (HCW) and Albert C. Gunther

Molly O. and Ryan Polk

Dr. Louise Earle Loomis M’78

Marcy Bufithis Webster ’02 and William A. Webster II

Patricia A. McKinley A’72 (HCW)

Dr. Katrina Turner

Webster Bank

T H E W O M E N ’ S A D VA N C E M E N T I N I T I AT I V E

Marie Castagno Pezzlo A’63 (HCW) and Frank Pezzlo Karishma Pinto ’17

Judith Kohanski Christie A’62 (HCW) and Dr. Leonard G. Christie, Jr.

Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund

Lisa and Edward F. McPhee P’17

Glandina Morris ’04

Barrett Family Foundation

$1,000–$2,499

Priscilla Ransom Marks A’68 (HCW) and Kenneth Marks

Marjorie and David Estridge

Karin A. Stahl M’73 and William K. Stahl Janet Cassells Sweet A’65 (HCW)

Joyce Ramos Lemega A’65 (HCW) and John W. Lemega

Patricia C. Furnivall Sandra Nowicki Garick A’62 (HCW) and Bruce S. Garick Carol Stern Gendel A’67 (HCW) Helen Daley Giunta A’76 (HCW), ’79, and Joseph A. Giunta Elizabeth Leigh Bradley and Dr. David H. Goldenberg A’73, ’76, M’76

Vita Vaccaro-Casey

Up to $99 Arielle A. C. Accédé ’17 Christianah O. Alli ’19 Teresa P. Anello A’85 (HCW) and Salvatore T. Anello Corinne Ansbro ’18 Alyssa J. Barzach Michael P. Barzach Jacqueline Bartell Bassos A’82 (HCW) Charity Bates P’19 Melanie Bazer A’89 (HCW) Claire L. Bergin C’03 (HCW)

Patricia Katz Goldstein A’59 (HCW) and Arnold Goldstein

Dana Eckstein Berkowitz ’13 and Ross Berkowitz

Beverly P. and Arnold C. Greenberg Hon. ’89

Caylor Beverly

M. Joyal Guertin Gutis A’71 (HCW) and Mark P. Gutis Helen Barber Herget A’61 (HCW) and Joseph F. Herget Janice Zaleski Klein A’70 (HCW) and David M. Klein

Kaitlin R. Bosetti ’17, M’19 Dr. Dianne M. Bridgeman P’20 and John R. Bridgeman P’20 Teresa A. Cardona ’19 Rosanne Casale-Daigneault A’66 (HCW) and Brian M. Daigneault

DONOR REPORT

THANK Nadine Cedro Sara Cerruto M’18 Shannon Cerruto Cynthia Chaffee A’56 (HCW) Dr. Caryn Christensen Israel J. Coger ’20 Heather J. Corbett and Todd Bamford Natalie M. Cruz ’19 Eileen C. Daly A’80 (HCW) and Shawn W. Daly

YOU

Catharine Durdan Howell A’65 (HCW), ’74

Michaela A. Mueller ’19

Lynne J. Thoren A’69 (HCW)

Elida A. Mullarkey

Jeralyn Thrower ’19

Denise Amidon Jacobson A’71 (HCW) and Walter Jacobson Jr.

Shannon M. Mumley M’17

Caya Tull ’21

Netanya N. Nhatavong ’19

Nina Vazquez ’19

Chelsea Nieves ’19

W. George Viering

Emily R. Noel A’77, (HCW) M’86 and Timothy J. Sullivan Jr.

Cynthia A. Vileno A’82 (HCW) and Jonathan H. Meigs

Karen Van Heusen Norton A’66 (HCW)

Alan M. Weinstein M’91

Astrid E. Jarvis ’86 Ta’Tiana M. Jenkins ’19 Tonya M. and Carl Jenkins P’19 Noemi Jiminian ’17 Eleta Jones and David S. Thompson

Madison J. Norwich ’16

Amy Span Wergeles and Fred Wergeles

Jade Journigan ’19

Jessica T. Obey ’19

Theresa J. DeFreitas ’18

Stephanie S. Kallicharan A’19

Kellie B. Oppenheimer ’19

Thomas F. and Dr. Mary W. Du Quette

Judith Hall Kane A’64 (HCW)

Cindy A. and Craig M. Oppenheimer ’79, P’19, P’21

Rachel P. Williams ’19

Erin and Steven Ernst P’21

Caroline Karabeinikoff

Shanell Farmer ’18

Dr. Alexandra Wojcechowsky Karriker A’63 (HCW) and Robert J. Karriker

Maria T. Orefice ’72 and David Lundberg

Every attempt has been made to record and honor gifts from our donors accurately. If you note any errors, please accept our most sincere apology and contact us at womenadv@hartford.edu or call 860.768.5961 so that we can correct our records.

Kimberly Muller Farrington A’81 (HCW) and David L. Farrington

Breanna F. Karabeinikoff ’19

Joann Cohen Oser A’69 (HCW) and James Oser

Barbara M. and Robert A. Keller

Sarah Passafaro Marissa Paz ’19

Susan M. Filupeit A’67 (HCW)

Jane Kim Donino and Francis J. Donino

Casey M. Fish

Destiny J. Kirk ’19

Karolina Pilip ’19

Susan S. Fitzgerald

Courtney E. Krepps ’19

Renata and Kazimierz Pilip P’19

Alexandra L. Francisco ’19

Kochava R. Krieger ’17

Dr. Kristamarie A. Pratt

Kate W. Galambos A’68 (HCW)

Kathleen M. Lapan A’76 (HCW)

Brian Glowiak ’08

Anna and Wing C. Lau P’16

Dr. Maria J. Qadri ’09 and Thomas G. Barker

Simone Green ’19

Shirley Leong M’03

Valerie L. S. Remy ’19

Genesis A. Guzman ’19

Amy J. and Michael D. Lewis P’22

Helandra Hall ’16

Sydney K. Lewis ’22

Lindsey W. and Jonathan G. Richman P’17

Shannon L. Hammer A’19

Dr. Yingcui Lily Li and Jason Zhong

Alicia Farrell Favata ’09 and Sam P. Favata ’08

Sarah Hamze Briana N. Hardware ’19 Ruth E. Harlow A’67 (HCW) Michelle Guillet Helmin ’85, M’94, and David A. Helmin ’84 Marguerite C. Hennessey A’87 (HCW) Kylee R. Heyerdahl Sara A. Hohenthal A’19 Dr. Kate D. Hohenthal M’94, D’10, P’21, and Carl A. Hohenthal P’21 Dr. Jane Horvath Emily Hourihan

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Sharon Lindquist Skelley ’75 and Thomas Skelley

Frances H. Petros

Christine R. Rigodon ’19 Cynthia B. Robotham A’71 (HCW) and Gerald R. Robotham Annery A. Romero P’21

Henry Link

Kristen R. Rosado ’19

Matthew Lyga

Dr. Karen M. Rosen D’10 and Edward Rosen

Linda Kautz Macy A’70 (HCW) and Terrence W. Macy

Sandra L. Saavedra

Ronchelle S. Marshall ’21

Paola Sacchetti

Linda J. McDowell

Jennifer L. Sanborn and Matthew P. Burch

Tatyana S. Mckelvey ’19 Donna A. Menhart M’89, P’16, P’19, and Joseph R. Menhart P’16, P’19 Sandra W. Morgan

Zaria R. Santos ’19 Joan Fink Sittard A’81, ’83, and Paul A. Sittard ’85

Mary Birtles White A’64 (HCW) and William R. White

Donations can be directed to the: • Annual Fund • LEAD (Leadership Education and Development Program) for undergraduate female students • HCW Legacy Fund, which supports The Women’s Advancement Initiative’s programs for today’s women, HCW 50th Reunions, and HCW Alumnae Events/ Receptions • Miriam and Oliver Butterworth & Family LEAD Program Endowed Fund

Ann P. Steele

UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD / 2019

14 / IMPACT

LIFE-CHANGING IMPACT Each year, The Women’s Advancement Initiative’s programs have a significant impact on the lives of students, faculty, and staff at the University of Hartford and beyond. We are proud that the legacy of Hartford College for Women is alive and flourishing.

T H E W O M E N ’ S A D VA N C E M E N T I N I T I AT I V E

100+

LEAD students each year are provided with tools and training to navigate their college journey through leadership education, career connections and resources, and resilience and opportunity coaching.

100% of the 2016–19 LEAD cohorts have donated to support programming for future LEAD students.

56

interactive leadership and professional development workshops are given annually to provide students with pragmatic life-skills coaching, career preparation, and a network of peers and professionals who inspire them to pursue opportunities and persevere through challenges.

65

Dorothy Goodwin Scholars have engaged in innovative research or developed creative projects with faculty mentors thanks to a generous bequest from Dorothy Goodwin.

112

Laura Johnson Leaders have participated in this leadership program for female faculty and staff focused on building community and professional development.

17 / SUCCESS STORY / ALUMNI

ANNUAL REWIND / 15

PROFILE

2 01 9

Events Jonathan’s Dream, an inclusive playground for children of all abilities, celebrated the one-year anniversary of its rebuild.

LEAD students volunteered to welcome families, paint kindness rocks, and use their creativity for face painting.

LEAD students participated in an alternative winter break service trip to the Give Kids the World Village in Orlando, Florida, helping children with life-threatening illnesses and their families have hope and create lasting memories.

Dorothy Goodwin Scholars (DGS) presented their innovative research and creative projects at the 2019 annual symposium. The DGS program was established in 2010 thanks to a generous bequest from Dorothy Goodwin.

The LEAD Class of 2019 received their graduation tassels and crossed the bridge for one last time at Closing Circle. The tassels include HCW and LEAD logos and colors, symbolizing their unity.

Dalia Rotman ’22 and Sydney Lewis ’22 join Kathleen McGrory, past president of HCW (1985-1990), at an HCW alumnae reception with complimentary tickets to The Hartt School’s performance of the musical All Shook Up.

The LEAD Class of 2021 participated in mock interviews with eight community professionals.

UHart President Gregory Woodward and Women’s Advancement Board Chair Pearl Douglas join LEAD seniors at the annual President’s House Reception. The students received their own copy of the book How Remarkable Women Lead.

LEAD student Teresa Cardona ’19 is joined by her family at graduation.

Her cap predicts, “The best is yet to come.” Teresa’s participation in LEAD was underwritten by Jan Cassell Sweet A’65 (HCW).

T H E W O M E N ’ S A D VA N C E M E N T I N I T I AT I V E

UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD / 2019

16

/ HCW ALUMNA PROFILE

JAN IC E Z A L ESKI KLEIN A’ 70 (H CW)

A Full-Circle HCW Experience When Janice Klein began her education at Hartford College for Women (HCW), she was 17.

“Hartford College was especially wonderful for me. I had no perception of how empowering it would be for me to attend a school like that,” says Jan, an only child and the first in her immediate family to attend college.

“The classes were small. The professors fostered an environment that encouraged students to engage in class discussions.”

More than anything, Jan says, she gained confidence. “Being part of such a small village where my opinion was valued, where I was noticed, where an interest was taken in me to make sure that I succeeded was just the thing for a girl like me.

“The two-year college didn’t see itself as a junior college, but rather as a transfer school,” she explains.

Professors set the expectation that students would complete their bachelor’s degrees at well-regarded colleges and universities.

The Hartford College students were taught how to think, how to approach a task, and how to work through problems, she says.

Jan appreciated her professors’ respect for students. Her favorite professors were Rudi Haffner (biology) and Chaloner Spencer (music).

Jan hadn’t been exposed to classical music growing up in Newington, Connecticut. In Professor Spencer’s yearlong, two-and-a-half hour class, students listened to and learned about classical music. To prepare for quizzes where students had to listen to part of a musical piece and identify it, she

T H E W O M E N ’ S A D VA N C E M E N T I N I T I AT I V E

and her classmates spent the mornings before class studying together.

“It was probably my favorite class in all four years of college. It made me happy!” she says.

After graduating from Hartford College along with 62 other young women in 1970, Jan transferred to the University of Connecticut, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in English.

She worked for CIGNA for 17 years until shortly before her daughter’s birth.

Meanwhile, Hartford College affiliated with the University of Hartford in 1991.

At the time, educational opportunities had expanded exponentially for women.

Increasingly, female students were electing to enroll in co-ed institutions. This led to financial challenges for women’s

colleges throughout the country. After extensive analysis, and with great reluctance and sorrow, HCW closed in 2003.

Jan and other alumnae worried about what would happen to their beloved alma mater.

“There was a lot of bitterness among so many of us,” she says.

However, in 2008, she received a call from the Office of Alumni Engagement’s Elizabeth Abbe, who said she wanted to talk about Hartford College for Women, not the University of Hartford.

Despite her reluctance, Jan agreed to meet with Elizabeth.

“She said, ‘All I want to do is hear about your experience at Hartford College and put you in touch with your friends who you might have lost touch with,’ ’’ Jan says. When she recalls how Elizabeth helped her find a lost friend, her eyes well up. Thanks to Elizabeth’s efforts, she reunited with her three closest HCW friends soon after that meeting. Elizabeth’s efforts also led to connecting Jan and her classmates with WELFund, which is known today as The Women’s Advancement Initiative, and Jennifer Sanborn, its first director. As one friend in the group faces a serious illness, the others are there to support her.

Jan attended the Celebration of Hartford College for Women and 85 years of educating women in Hartford in June and was so impressed by the whole day, she volunteered to help plan her Class of 1970’s 50th reunion next year.

She enjoyed seeing artifacts representing all the decades of the College’s history. She admired and appreciated the HCW Garden, installed in the heart

of the University of Hartford’s campus.

And she was pleased by the answer a young woman in the LEAD program gave when asked what she knew about HCW. “It seems clear that from the very day they’re accepted into the LEAD program, the history, philosophy, and legacy of HCW are woven into the soul of that program,” she says. “Those three elements of that day made it clear to me that Hartford College is indeed a valued part of the University of Hartford and still alive in the LEAD program and also in the respect the University has for the school.”

“ I had no perception of how empowering it would be for me to attend [Hartford College].”

Since falling in love with the West End of Hartford as an HCW student, Jan has never been far from campus.

She moved to the neighborhood in 1976, and when they married in 1985, Jan and her husband, David, bought a Victorian on Girard Avenue. Since then, Jan has volunteered with the West End’s Noah Webster Elementary School, the West End Civic Association, and Watkinson School. For eight years, she worked as an educator for the Connecticut Historical Society. The Kleins still live in the West End and are passionate Hartford residents and supporters.

200 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford, CT 06117

UP COMING EVENTS

March 8, 2 p.m.

Reception for HCW alumnae and complimentary tickets to The Hartt School’s performance of the musical Chess.

April 2, 5:30 p.m.

Experience The Women’s Advancement Initiative through the eyes of our students, faculty, and staff who benefit from our programs. Explore innovative research and creative projects from Dorothy Goodwin Scholars, Laura Johnson Leaders, Faculty Fellows, and interactive leadership lessons from today’s LEAD students.

May 2, 9:30 a.m.

HCW Class of 1970 50th Reunion.

COVER PHOTOS Front: LEAD alumna Destiny Kirk ’19 Back: HCW group photo from the 1975 Highlander yearbook

Nonprofit Org U.S. Postage PAID University of Hartford