West Chester University Magazine, Summer 2014

s u mmer 2 014

West Chester University magazine

The Spymaster Jack Devine’62

On the cover

Contents 2 | University News 12 | Sports 14 | Cover Story 18 | Class Notes 22 | Chapter News 28 | Distinguished Alumni Award Nomination Form 30 | WCUAA Board of Directors Nomination Form

Jack Devine’62, author of Good Hunting: An American Spymaster’s Story

sum m e r

2 014

President Greg R. Weisenstein

Vice President for Advancement and Sponsored Research Mark Pavlovich

Editor, Executive Director Communications

West Chester University Council of Trustees

The West Chester University Foundation Board of Trustees

Barry C. Dozor ’71 Thomas A. Fillippo ’69 (chair) Christopher Franklin’87 Jonathan Ireland ’95, M’03 Christopher A. Lewis J. Adam Matlawski ’80 (vice chair) Marian D. Moskowitz Eli Silberman Christine Costello ’04 (secretary) Robert M. Tomlinson ’70

Officers Keith Beale ’77 (president) John N. Nickolas ’90 (vice president) Christopher J. DiGiuseppe ’89 (treasurer) Sandra F. Mather ’64, ’68 (secretary) Richard Przywara (executive director)

Pam Sheridan

Design and Layout JoAnne Mottola CORRECTION In the last issue of the magazine (p. 28. winter/spring 2014), there was an error at the start of the article on fraternities and sororities, referring to WCU as West Chester State Teacher’s College in 1967. In fact, West Chester was renamed West Chester State College in 1960.

Trustees Frank Branca ’70 Matthew Bricketto, ex officio Millie C. Cassidy Deborah J. Chase, ’76 Kate Cipriano ’00 Thomas A. Fillippo ’69 (Council of Trustees representative) Cheryl Fulginiti ’80 David A. Gansky ’88 Carol Gersbach ’70 John A. Gontarz Maury Hoberman David P. Holveck ’68

Kathleen Leidheiser Donald E. Leisey ’59 Emily Jane Lemole Donald R. McIlvain Thomas E. Mills, IV ’81 Mark P. Mixner, ex officio H. Viscount Nelson ’61 Michael O’Rourke John R. Panichello ’83 Mark G. Pavlovich, ex officio Paula D. Shaffner ’80 John Stoddart ’93-’99 MBA Christine Warren ’90 ’99 Greg R. Weisenstein, ex officio

West Chester University Alumni Association President Rick Loughery ’06, M’10

Vice President Kerry Acker ’05

Treasurer Michael DePrisco ’92, M’95

Secretary Andrea Murray ’07, M’12

Immediate Past President Jeffrey Stein ’91

Directors

Emeriti

E-mail Addresses

Kerry Acker ’05 Thomas J. Ciaccio ’91, M’03 Michael DePrisco ’92, M’95 Sara Franco ’86 Bill Friedmann M’09 Dean Gentekos ’07 Jamie W. Goncharoff, Esq. ’82 Heidi Hawkins ’07 Matt Holliday ’09 Melanie Holwood ’08, M’10 Jonathan Long ’03 Rick Loughery ’06, M’10 Robert Malone ’08 Maria Milkowski ’09 Christy Nau ’06 Andrea Pavone ’07, M’12 Amy Miller-Spavlik ’90, M’92 Jeffrey Stein ’91 Denise Bauman Trigo ’98

Carmen Evans Culp ’52, M’64 Janice Weir Etshied ’50 (deceased) Karl Helicher ’72, M’82, M’87 Richard D. Merion ’59, M’69 John F. Murphy ’43 (deceased) Luther B. Sowers ’49

For Class Notes and other alumnirelated information, e-mail Diane Everett at alumni@wcupa.edu. Letters to the editor can be sent to: psheridan@wcupa.edu or Pam Sheridan, Director of Public Relations and Marketing and Editor of the West Chester University Magazine.

The West Chester University Magazine is published three times a year for the alumni, families, students and friends of West Chester University of Pennsylvania.

We welcome letters concerning magazine content or issues pertaining to the University. Letters must be signed and kept to one typed page. Please include address and daytime phone number. We reserve the right to edit. Send correspondence to: Editor, The WCU Magazine, West Chester University, West Chester PA 19383

West Chester University of Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution.

WEST CHESTER UNIVERSITY

s u m m er 2 014

|

1

university news

Commencement 2014 A key advisor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Bayard Rustin, was awarded an honorary Doctor of Public Service, posthumously, during this year’s undergraduate commencement. Walter Naegle, Rustin’s partner from 1977 until Rustin’s death in 1987,

accepted the degree during the University’s morning ceremonies on May 10.

Undergraduates in the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Visual and Performing Arts were awarded their degrees during the morning ceremony, while undergraduates in the Colleges of Business and Public Affairs, Education and Health Sciences were scheduled to be awarded their degrees in the afternoon.

High winds and rain forced the University to discontinue the ceremony with approximately 355 students from the College of Business and Public Affairs yet to receive their degrees. A second ceremony was scheduled the following Thursday in Hollinger Field House to complete the distribution of the degrees.

Alumna and Brigadier General of the Pennsylvania National Guard, Carol Eggert’87, was this year’s undergraduate commencement speaker. In her remarks, she shared three of life’s lessons and the experiences that led her to those discoveries: what she learned from her life’s journey and the destination. “As you move through life, focus on the journey, be open to and prepared for where it takes you, choose to give back,” and she added, “you will find that your journey will bring rich rewards, indeed.”

A second West Chester graduate spoke at the graduate student ceremony on May 12. Claudia Hellebush’77, M’93, the president and CEO Claudia Hellebush ’77, M’93 of United Way of Chester County, spoke to the students about her career at non-profit organizations. “There is a pressing need for talented Carol Eggert ’87 people to become engaged,” she said. “There are tremendous rewards and a large return on the investment in society.

“What will you do beyond your office walls? … What will you do to fill your heart?

There are those who help others and there are those who lament the fact that they did not.”

She recalled that during her time with Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Chester County from 1981 to 1995, she realized that “2,000 volunteers means 2,000 kids got a better shot at life.”

2 West Chester University

WCU’s Graduate Program in Public Administration Awarded Prestigious Accreditation

At United Way, Hellebush is credited with transitioning the United Way of Chester County as a fundraising operation to a fullservice, community-development organization with services and initiatives in education, financial independence, and health.

This year’s recipient of the President’s Medallion for Service was Mille C. Cassidy, a generous supporter of scholarships for students in financial need, as well as for those requiring additional academic assistance to ensure a successful college experience.

In addition to nearly four decades of experience as a pension fund adviser specializing in real estate investments and in the development of residential communities, Millie Cassidy serves on the West Chester University Foundation Board of Trustees and the board’s student housing committee, which she has chaired. She has played a key role in the development, financing and construction of the University’s new student housing facilities, and she has supported numerous other campus projects, including the Madeleine Wing Adler Theatre, the Business and Public Affairs Center, and the Sandra F. Pritchard Mather Planetarium renovation.

West Chester University recently earned international accreditation for its graduate program in Public Administration from the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration (NASPAA), the global standard in public service education.

West Chester is one of only five universities in Pennsylvania to be awarded this prestigious accreditation, the others being Penn State, Carnegie Mellon, the University of Pittsburgh and Villanova.

To earn NASPAA accreditation, a program must undergo a meticulous internal assessment and rigorous peer review process to meet the organization’s requirements and mission. In addition to emphasizing outcomes assessment, NASPAA-accredited programs distinguish themselves through their emphasis on public service values, including accountability, transparency and acting ethically.

Jeffrey Osgood, chair of the University’s Department of Public Policy and Administration, as well as director of its graduate program in Public Administration, oversaw the five-year process. He notes that “… this external validation of the quality of West Chester’s MPA program, its students and faculty, places the University in an elite group of institutions that have committed themselves to the ideal of public service.”

In addition to enhancing their general management and administrative skills, professionals enrolled in West Chester’s Master of Public Administration program can opt to develop specific expertise in either human resource management or nonprofit administration. Those in the general MPA degree program can also acquire a graduate certificate in such fields as urban and regional planning.

s u m m er 2 014

| 3

university news

ACTIVE SCHOLARS, ENGAGED STUDENTS Turnout and participation at this year’s Research Day was one of the largest in recent years. Over 400

Research Day keynote speaker James Hansen, one of the country’s top researchers in climatology

4 West Chester University

members of the campus community crowded around posters, table displays and videos arranged throughout Sykes’ ballrooms to view examples of student and faculty research being conducted at the University.

All five colleges were represented at this year’s program with topics ranging from book history, Google glasses, and home schooling, to the chemistry of beer, texting and teen driving, and post-industrial careers in the age of outsourcing. For the eleventh year, individuals and teams of students were presented with monetary awards based on the originality, impact and quality of their projects. Research by this year’s recipients included the economic instability, family chaos and cortisol levels for economically disadvantaged children; the pathogenesis of Haemophilus influenzae LicB in vivo; a chamber opera in one act; and a cross national study of determinants of education spending.

“Research Day celebrates the University’s scholarly and creative projects and demonstrates that active scholars make for better courses and more involved, engaged students,” notes Research Day Committee chair and associate professor of English, Eleanor Shevlin.

A highlight of the day’s program was a talk by one of the top researchers in climatology and former director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, James Hansen.

Having focused nearly 40 years of research on the Earth’s climate, especially man-made climate change, Hansen has testified before congressional committees to help raise broad awareness of the issue. In recognition of his advocacy regarding the threat of gobal warming, he was presented the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences’ Award for Scientific Freedom and Responsibility. His talk at Research Day was entitled,“ Tenant Farming to White House Arrests: A Scientific Perspective on the Unfolding Climate Crisis.”

A nd

the

B eat G oes O n

(L to r): Henry Pearlberg, Jack Hontz, Jeff Shaull, Joanne Haley, John Shankweiler, Kara Suarez, James McLaughlin, Steve Fischer and Aubree Pacifico Windish.

When the Strath Haven High School marching band rolls up to a football game, they can be as overpowering as the team itself.

Thirteen, count ‘em, thirteen buses unload 415 boisterous kids and their sousaphones, flags, pompoms and drum kits - the biggest, rowdiest high school marching band in Pennsylvania. They’re 35 percent of the high school student body in a K-thru-12 program where more than half of the students are involved in music programs, and none of it would be possible without the music department at West Chester University.

The story begins three decades and change ago, with Jack Hontz and Henry Pearlberg, a pair of WCU music majors who lived in Tyson Hall and marched in the University’s band. Like their fathers, who also graduated from WCU, the friends planned to pursue music education careers, and when they graduated in ’82, they landed one-year teaching contracts in separate schools.

The following year, Hontz was recruited by the Wallingford-Swarthmore school district in Delaware County, PA., to develop a marching band. He accepted with the condition that the school hire a music director for the middle school as well. Not surprisingly, Hontz had a candidate in mind – his old buddy, Henry Pearlberg.

When the WCU duo arrived at their new positions, there was, Hontz recalls diplomatically, “plenty of room for growth.” The music

program consisted of a dozen students in a concert band. “We started knocking on doors and making phone calls.” Hontz recalls, “Anybody who mentioned the word ‘band’, we tried to sell them on joining us. Our first meeting, four students showed up. By the start of the season, we had thirty-five involved.”

Hontz and Pearlberg didn’t just recruit musicians, they kept working their WCU connection as well. In 1984, the school district opened the new Strath Haven High School, and soon after, another WCU grad, John Shankweiler, joined the district as vocal director. Since then, six more WCU alumni have come on board: Steve Fischer, Aubree Pacifico Windish, James McLaughlin, Jeff Shaull, Kara Suarez and Joanne Haley, who earned her music education certification from the university.

A music staff populated by Golden Rams is no surprise to Hontz. “West Chester University was a tremendous opportunity for all of us,” he explains. “The music program provided us with an excellent education, and we’ve all stayed in touch with our professors there.”

Hontz lives in the borough and his son Jack – a music major - attends the University.

They attend concert performances and football games on the campus on a regular basis.

Pearlberg stresses the same themes. “The band and the program were perfect for me and I know so many people who blossomed at West Chester,” he recalls. “I got a great educa-

tion there and I’ve stayed in touch with the program.”

Both men stress the team effort needed to make their music program such a success.

“We begin encouraging students to join in on the first day they are connected with the school district,” Pearlberg says. “Every level is designed to encourage continued involvement at the next level.” Hontz cites supportive administrators, enthusiastic students, and a community that promotes arts education as essential ingredients to the district’s musical accomplishments. “All of the people in our program work together, which is not something you see at every school district,” he says. “There are an amazing number of people whose efforts make this possible.”

Every school year at Strath Haven, the cycle repeats itself as all of the pieces of the musical puzzle come together. The jazz band tweaks their solos before the big show, and the choral ensemble blends the traditional with the trendy. At the football game, the brass section fires up the crowd with “Seven Nation Army” and the flag team kicks up their heels in a long line of school colors. When the seniors move on, they look back fondly at the teachers who encouraged their love of music. Meanwhile, their teachers look back at their years at WCU, thinking the same thing.

Ed Lordan, Professor of Communcation Studies

s u m m er 2 014

| 5

university news

Exploring Form & Narrative One example of the enduring appeal of poetry is in the longevity of West Chester University’s Poetry Conference which this year, celebrated its 20th anniversary. The nation’s largest all-poetry writ-

ing conference, it is unique for the workshops it offers in traditional poetic craft, while providing a national forum to discuss major trends in contemporary poetry.

This June, poets from across the country converged on West Chester’s campus for three days of workshops, panel discussions and performances. U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Tretheway was the keynote speaker and participated in a town meeting with conference co-founder and former head of the National Endowment for the Humanities Dana Gioia. In addition to an evening reading by Tretheway, the public was invited Seated (l to r): Kim Bridgford, Director of the Poetry Center; Bean Haskell, Myong Cha to more free readings by such literary leaders as Son Haiku Award runner up; Iris N. Spencer, for whom the award series is named; Susan Gioia, David Mason, Poet Laureate of Colorado; McLean, Donald Justice Poetry Prize winner.

Molly Peacock, whose works are widely antholoStanding (l to r): Kyle Spencer; Brian Thomas, Iris N. Spencer Undergraduate Poetry Award gized; Mary Jo Salter, the author of seven books winner; Elliot Davidson, Poetry Out Loud First Place Winner for Pennsylvania; Kean of poetry; and MacArthur Fellow A. E. Stallings, Spencer; Clo Gibson, wife of Stephen Gibson; Stephen Gibson, Donald Justice Poetry Prize winner. among others.

During the opening day of the conference, the president of Manhattan College, Brennan O’Donnell was presented with the 2014 Robert Fitzgerald Award in Prosody. An active scholar, his teaching and research interests focus mainly on poetry, particularly on the British Romantic period.

On the last evening of the conference, Grammy Award winning jazz vocalist and pianist Diane Schuur performed in the Madeleine Wing Adler Theatre. A longtime disciple of Dinah Washington and other legendary jazz singers of the 1940s and ‘50s, Schuur has performed with Stan Getz, B.B. King, Maynard Ferguson, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder and Quincy Jones.

Recognizing Talent From Across the Country Aspiring young poets were recognized again this year through the generosity of Kean W. Spencer, a successful businessman and benefactor of the arts, his brother Kyle Spencer, and their sisters, who established the Iris N. Spencer Poetry Awards in honor of their mother, Iris N. Spencer. The first and second prizes went to Brian Thomas of Ursinus College and Bard College student Robert Isaf, respectively. Yoon Hyuk Park from the University of Wisconsin-Madison won first prize in the Myong Cha Son Haiku Award competition, while Bean Haskell from The (1) New School for Public Engagement won second prize.

Two poets were selected for the Donald Justice Poetry Prize, named in honor of a distinguished American poet and made possible by the Iris N. Spencer Poetry Prizes. As part of their prize, winners Stephen Gibson of West Palm Beach, Fla. and Susan McLean of Iowa City, Iowa, will have their manuscripts published by Story Line Press.

(2) 6 West Chester University

BUILDING GLOBAL CONNECTIONS A new award was presented this year to Monica Zoe Cruz Rios from the University of Central Florida. Named in honor of Rhina P. Espaillat, the award celebrates original poems by undergraduates in Spanish and translations of Spanish poems into English. In addition, the first-place winner of Pennsylvania’s “Poetry Out Loud,” Elliot Davidson recited from memory the poem that won him the state title.

(3)

(4)

(5) (1) Poetry Center picnic (2) Concert by jazz vocalist and pianist Diane Schuur (3) Philip Horn, executive director of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, presenting Kim Bridgford with greetings and congratulations from the Governor and First Lady of the State to the “…West Chester Poetry Center on the 20th anniversary of its renowned poetry conference.” (4) Conference co-founder and former head of the National Endowment for the Humanities Dana Gioia with keynote speaker U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Tretheway (5) One of several conference workshops and seminars

In just two years, the number of West Chester University students participating in international programs has more than doubled.

Part of the reason is the centralization of study abroad opportunities under the University’s Center for International Programs (CIP), which manages the University’s study abroad experiences in more than 50 countries, from short-term programs over winter term, spring break or summer sessions to semester and year-long programs. Some experiences focus on full immersion; others offer courses conducted in English; some programs feature internships and service-learning opportunities. In addition, several more institutions in other countries have signed memoranda of understanding with WCU, resulting in more opportunities for students to study abroad and for students from other countries to study at West Chester.

This year, West Chester also joined 240 other U.S. colleges and universities committed to increasing study abroad as signatories to the Institute for International Education (IIE) Generation Study Abroad initiative. IIE, whose flagship program is The Fulbright Program, is investing $2 million in the initiative and seeking funding for scholarships and grants.

Peter Loedel, the Interim Director and Assistant Vice President for International Programs, reports that the Center has seen the largest number of students ever participating in the summer study abroad programs this year. Loedel joined the Honors College director and 27 students this summer in South Africa continuing a research and service learning project supporting HIV/AIDS orphans. After travelling nearly two weeks with 27 students in South Africa, “ the increased understanding of global issues among the students, as well as new perspectives on how to solve problems both domestic and international, was very apparent,” says Loedel.

Travel for learning, service, global awareness Some of the University’s longest-running international programs have been built upon relationships with Guizhou University in China; the Amazon Center for Environmental Education and Research (ACEER); and between the Honors College and community service organizations in South Africa. Thanks to a partnership between West Chester and Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica in Heredia, Costa Rica, study abroad programs to that country have expanded to include winter term study.

Beginning in 2013, nursing professors Marcia Welsh and Christine Marconi organized a winter session in South Africa where WCU students assist in orphanages for children with HIV/AIDS. For several years, special education professors Claire Verden and Corinne Murphy have trained special education teachers at the School for Exceptional Learners on Eleuthera in the Bahamas, while overseeingWCU students completing their student teaching requirement there. continued on p. 8 s u m m er 2 014

| 7

university news

Peter Loedel (holding WCU banner) with Honors College director and students in South Africa

Faculty in the Department of Languages and Cultures also have arranged for experiences abroad for their students. This past winter break, West Chester students explored Cuba with Gloria Hernandez, who is originally from Cuba, while Marcos Campillo-Fenoll conducted a summer program for WCU students at Universidad del Centro Educativo Latinoamericano, a private higher education institution in Rosario, Argentina. Summer studies also have taken place in London, including a course on “Media in London” conducted by communication studies professor Ed Lordan and “Modern Physics in London” taught by physics professor Matthew Waite.

Kinesiologist Karin Volkwein-Caplan developed an International Summer School of Sport Science with colleagues at WCU and 11 universities from around the world, which allowed students to study in Kassel, Germany last year and in Trinidad and Tobago this past spring.

Student Exchanges The University has a long history of both sending students abroad and hosting international students on campus. Beginning this fall, semester and year-long exchange programs will allow WCU Jeffery Conradi students to pay the University’s tuition while studying overseas. This coming year, two Japanese students from Hosei University will study biology at WCU while two West Chester students will study at Hosei University in Japan. WCU will also host two students from the University of Kassel in central Germany.

In addition to traditional student exchanges, West Chester has a relationship with the American College of Norway (ACN), which attracts international students who begin their degrees overseas to complete their undergraduate programs at West Chester. At the same time, West Chester students have the option of studying at ACN during summer, fall and spring semesters. Three WCU students spent this summer, studying human rights and environmental policy there.

New Perspectives Michael Eisinger had studied abroad in Europe but chose the University’s first study abroad program to Rwanda in part because it was the 20-year anniversary of that country’s genocide. This summer, the Holocaust and Genocide Studies graduate student traveled for 19 days with five other WCU students and two faculty members, psychologist Aaron Rundus and historian Brenda Gaydosh.

Meeting and talking with the people who had experienced genocide and visiting places where major historical events took place gave Eisinger a new perspective on the course content he’s absorbed as a student.

Study Abroad Increasingly Popular Jeff Conradi, Project Director of the Center and the primary campus contact for all study abroad, including faculty-led, affiliate and exchange programs, noted that in 2011-12, 150 West Chester students enrolled in study abroad and international programs. In 2012-13, that number rose to 250 students. This year, 340 students have participated in some type of international program. continued from p. 7

8 West Chester University

First WCU study abroad group in Rwanda

Two Generations Share College Experience Grandchildren put a twinkle in the eyes of many grandparents. This

year, both generations learned about twinkling stars while seated side- by-side in one of seven courses offered during the fifth annual Grandparents University at West Chester University.

Grandparents University is an opportunity for family members to learn alongside one another. For three days and two nights, participants live in a University residence hall, share meals in the main dining hall, attend classes taught by University faculty, explore campus, and enjoy evening entertainment and activities.

Grandparents and their grandchildren are able to choose five courses developed by University departments especially for this program. This year, subjects included meteorology, flight class, making your own newscast, physics and astronomy, engineering, a ropes course, and hospital administration.

One of the most popular courses is “Create Your Own Newscast,” where both younger and older participants can be a TV news program’s interviewer, anchor, camera operator, and producer. Designed by Communication Studies

Associate Professor Michael Boyle, the course offers a behindthe-scenes glimpse of what it takes to produce a TV program.

In another course taught by a former senior technical fellow for Boeing’s helicopter division, Raymond Drago, Grandparents University “students” were introduced to the science of flight, eventually building their own helicopters and planes. Astrophysicist Robert Thornton, who also incorporates hands-on experiments and activities into his course, helped participants understand the relative positions of the objects in our solar system, how comets form, and velocity by way of an egg drop.

Through a ropes course, grandparents and their grandchildren also experienced team building, and those who enrolled in the meteorology course learned, among other things, how severe storms form.

For information on Grandparents University 2015, contact Mary Braz (mbraz@wcupa.edu), the West Chester Communications Studies professor who brought to campus the idea of an entertaining, educational sleep-over “camp” where grandparents and grandchildren could build memories as they learn alongside one another.

s u m m er 2 014

| 9

university news

Printed or E-Book?

Children who use e-readers don’t necessarily use the same reading skills they would if they had a printed book in their hands, West Chester

literacy expert Heather Schugar says. In fact, the animations and other interactive content in an e-book can be distractions that interfere with young readers’ comprehension.

Schugar, an associate education professor, and her husband Jordan Schugar, a West Chester University instructor of English, have researched digital literacy in various age students for a number of years. With Carol Smith, also a WCU associate education professor, they conducted studies in which they compared the comprehension, accuracy and fluency of students who used printed books versus those who used e-books. Comprehension was significantly lower for those reading e-books.

Associate Professor of Education, Heather Schugar In a small group of middle school students they used as their most recent sample, the Schugars noticed that those who had e-books were more motivated to read, but they retained less of the information presented. “Their ability to answer questions wasn’t quite as strong when they were reading interactive e-books.”

While students may prefer the latest technology over print, e-book publishers could improve students’ reading skills by incorporating interactive features that support and enhance meaning and help readers better understand content to keep reading engaging, but make it less game-like. Jordan Schugar notes that, from the way they design e-books, “a lot of people doing publishing don’t really understand the reading process. Publishers can make their e-books more functional, with more cognitive elements and less gimmicky stuff” to enhance literacy and comprehension.

The Schugars believe e-books have a place for a range of students in bringing complex learning experiences to life. They plan additional research projects working with local schools to help teachers give their students effective e-reading strategies. Said Heather, “Teachers need more strategies for teaching kids to use what they know about reading in an e-book environment.”

MURI Grant Funds Research on Underwater Propulsion Morphobiologist Frank Fish is part of a team of academic researchers whose project on underwater propulsion is being funded through the

Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) program, administered by the Department of Defense.

Over the next five years, the team will receive $1.5 million per year to investigate the hydrodynamics of nontraditional propulsion, a topic solicited by the Office of Naval Research. Entitled, “Bio-inspired Flexible Propulsors for Fast, Efficient Swimming: What Physics Are We Missing,?” the team’s project was one of only 24 research Professor of Biology, Frank Fish projects out of 361 proposals accepted for this year’s MURI grants.

“We’re looking at fast swimmers with flexible flukes – dolphins, whales, tuna and trout – to explore the possibility of a system that could replace propellers for underwater propulsion,” Fish explains. “What are the performance differences between a narrow, rigid tail fin like the tuna’s and the flexible fin of a dolphin? What are the tradeoffs in quietness, efficiency, thrust production?”

Fish joins team leader Hilary Bart-Smith from the University of Virginia, as well as researchers from Harvard, Princeton and Lehigh universities. Undergraduate and graduate students from each of the schools also will be involved in this cutting edge research.

10 West Chester University

In his ongoing research, Fish has been investigating the flexibility of dolphin flukes and whether the dolphin actively or passively controls the flexibility. He will conduct some research in the Liquid Life Lab on campus, but his research will also take place at such sites as the National Aquarium in Baltimore, the University of California-Santa Cruz, which has two former Navy dolphins, and the Cook Islands in the South Pacific, where there is a renowned whale sanctuary.

Another of Fish’s research projects has been examining how dogs actually move their limbs while “dog paddling.” He filmed eight breeds, from Yorkies to Newfoundlands, focusing an underwater camera on their legs and found that the dog paddle is unique across all breeds. The gait is an important transition that links marine mammals – whales, dolphins, porpoises – to their ancestors, says Fish.

It shows that the first marine mammals must have used all four legs as they transitioned from land to water.

Fish said he plans to continue the dog paddle studies, using a special channel called a flume to precisely calculate and then compare how much energy a dog uses when swimming as opposed to running.

Can Zoo-Kept Gorillas Teach Us About Human Behavior?

At the Philadelphia Zoo this spring, primatologist Rebecca Chancellor’s psychology and anthropology students observed gorilla behavior in relation to the crowds that visit their indoor enclosure. Do larger crowds seem

to create more aggression in the gorillas? How does the presence of children affect their behavior? Why does one ape engage in play behavior with the crowd: Is it because of the ape’s age? sex? personality?

With only plate glass to separate them, the gorillas and zoo guests eye one another. The students watch the interactions and collect data to analyze and test hypotheses. There are many researchers studying chimpanzees, but only a few who study gorillas. The data may help the zoo manage the welfare of their great apes.

Chancellor’s interest in collaborating with the zoo’s conservation and education office arose from her role as principal investigator of the Gishwati Primate Research Program in Rwanda, where she has studied an isolated population of chimpanzees since 2008.

She arranged WCU’s first study trip to Rwanda this Assistant Professor of Anthropology/Sociology and Psychology summer for anthropology, psychology and history students, in conjunction with two other faculty members. Six students went this year to learn about primate behavior and communication with biological psychologist Aaron Rundus and to study the country’s history – in particular the 20th anniversary year of the country’s genocide -- with Brenda Gaydosh. Students spent several days in the country, observing primates’ feeding and social behavior, learning of Rwanda’s civil unrest by visiting several genocide memorials, and visiting small villages as well as Nyungwe & Volcanoes National Parks.

As a primatologist, Chancellor has spent much of the past few years in Africa. Her research in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda has focused on multiple primate species’ feeding, ranging and social behavior. Chancellor has also worked on understanding the genetic relatedness of the Gishwati chimpanzee population in collaboration with the Max Planck Institute, and on examining the prevalence of viruses in the population in collaboration with the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

She is currently collaborating with colleagues from Emory University to examine the prevalence of parasites within the chimpanzee population, and with the Max Planck Institute to understand chimpanzee behavior variability across their species range. In addition, she’s studying how ecology influences chimpanzees’ social behavior, for example, when their favorite food is not available, what happens to the chimpanzees’ grooming relationships. She believes this research will give her insights into understanding the evolution of and making hypotheses about human behaviors, An anthropologically trained primatologist, Chancellor specializes in behavioral ecology, particularly of Old World primates, with multiple primate species, both free-ranging and captive.

s u m m e r 2 014

| 11

SPORTS

WEST CHESTER SOFTBALL FINISHES 2014 RANKED 6TH IN FINAL POLL West Chester University’s storybook softball season came to an end at the 2014 NCAA Division II Softball Championships this past May. However, that

group of 23 student-athletes left an indelible mark on the school’s program, giving future teams lofty benchmarks to achieve.

The Golden Rams finished sixth in the final National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association (NFCA) poll. West Chester appeared in the national rankings just once during the regular season, checking in at No. 23 on April 9. By the next poll, one week later, the Golden Rams had dropped out and never entered the polls again until its lateseason run to the championships turned some heads.

West Chester’s spot at No. 6 marks the highest ranking in school history since the NFCA began ranking Division II institutions in 1995, and it is the first time that the Golden Rams have cracked the Top 10 nationally. As West Chester head coach Diane Lokey and the rest of her 23 girls would say, it is just another thing to check off the list.

“All season, we have been saying, ‘Check it off the list,’ whenever we reached a new milestone,” Lokey commented while in Salem, Va. “Well, we came down here for the first time, and I told them , ‘Let’s start a new list.’”

Some of those milestones that the team had been “checking off the list” included: a PSAC East Division title, a 40-win season, a regional championship, a final eight appearance and a win at the softball championships.

For a program, which had suffered through a losing season in 13 of its previous 15 years before Lokey stepped on campus in 2004, the softball championships seemed to be an unattainable goal.

However, the 11-year mentor of the Golden Rams took a second-division club in a highly competitive softball conference and made the unattainable suddenly a reality.

The Magnificent Seven

How does such a transformation take place? With a senior class of seven ladies that leave the program in much better shape than they found it in 2011.

That group authored the best four-year record in school history (141-87), became the first class to earn runner-up status in the Pennsylvania State 12 West Chester University

Senior members of West Chester’s softball squad hoist the 2014 NCAA Atlantic Regional trophy in the air following the team’s 3-1 victory over West Virginia Wesleyan at home on May 18.

Athletic Conference (PSAC) postseason tournament (2011) and now added an NCAA Atlantic Regional championship to its resume.

You will find the names: Kelly Anderson, Kim Begley, Megan Kelly, Kim Murl, Jill Murray, J.P Norris and Jess Schuck at the top of nearly every offensive category in the record book – both career and single-season – while Murl turned into one of the school’s top pitchers of all-time. Add in junior catcher, Erin Quense, who entered West Chester with the “Magnificent Seven” but red-shirted a season, and the accomplishments become even more impressive.

“I think it is rare that you see a group this large stay together for all four years,” Lokey said. “But, I think they really bonded as a group and helped each other through the tough times. I couldn’t be happier for this group of seniors.”

Combined, those seven seniors hold eight career school records and another nine single-season marks to go along with the team records of wins – both in a single season (40) and a career (141) – and games played in a single-season (64) and career (228). Norris played in 224 of a possible 228 games during her four-year career, starting every game at shortstop from the time she set foot on campus. Kelly appeared in 223 career games, starting in the outfield since her freshman season as well. Schuck, Murray and Anderson list three, four and five on the school’s all-time list for games played. They all appeared in over 210 contests.

By contrast, before this fab five, only one former WCU softball player had ever played in 200 career games (Erin MacNamee – 201 from 2008-11).

Coach Lokey knows that this class is the class by which all others will be measured. She also knows that a group like these young women do not come along too often. These seniors leave their underclassmen with much greater goals to accomplish. But, for the softball team’s Class of 2014: Mission accomplished.

Check list complete.

West Chester Football Receiving Plenty of Attention Fresh off a 13-2 campaign that saw them reach the NCAA DII national semifinals, West Chester University’s football program received quite a bit of attention in the

preseason college football preview magazines this past spring.

West Chester was ranked sixth by The Sporting News in their college football preview edition while the Golden Rams came in at eighth by Lindy’s Sports. Additionally, a pair of Golden Rams also received preseason All-America accolades by the same two publications.

Defensively, senior MLB Ronell Williams was named to The Sporting News’ D2 AllAmerica team. Williams, who was an AFCA All-America pick following his sophomore season in 2012, led the Golden Rams in tackles for the third consecutive year with 110 stops, including 9.5 for a loss. He registered 3.5 sacks, intercepted two passes, broke up three others and was credited with four QB hurries. The 6-1, 230 lbs. middle linebacker was an honorable mention All-America pick by Don Hansen’s Football Gazette at the end of last year as well as the ECAC defensive player of the year.

Offensively, senior C Derek Schatz was named to Lindy’s Sports’ D2 All-America secondteam squad. Schatz, who was also a Don Hansen’s Football Gazette honorable mention selection at the end of last year, helped pave the way for RB Rondell White to shatter nearly every rushing and all-purpose record in the school record book. The Golden Rams averaged 186.5 rushing yards per game and 461.5 total yards of offense per contest last season. West Chester ranked fifth in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) in both categories. The 6-3, 285 lbs. senior, who originally transferred from Villanova University after his Senior Center, Derek Schatz, was named a prefreshman season, will once again anchor the Golden Rams’ offensive line. season, second team All-American by Lindy’s Lindy’s Sports also listed West Chester’s Homecoming contest against Shippensburg on Sports College Football Preview.

Oct. 18 as one of five “Big Ones” in Division II this coming fall.

The Golden Rams open their 2014 campaign, the 93rd season of intercollegiate football, on Saturday Sept. 6 at New Haven. West Chester’s home opener is slated for the following Saturday, Sept. 13 at 12 p.m. against Mercyhurst on Hall of Fame Day inside John A. Farrell Stadium.

Bloomsburg appeared 17th in The Sporting News’ Top 25 preseason poll while East Stroudsburg listed at 24th. The Huskies were also ranked 23rd by Lindy’s Sports. They were the only other PSAC schools to appear in either preseason Top 25 poll.

WCU Home Football Game Schedule Saturday, September 13, 12 p.m. vs. Mercyhurst University Saturday, September 27, 6 p.m. vs. Millersville University FAMILY NIGHT

Saturday, October 18, 2 p.m. vs. Shippensburg University HOMECOMING Saturday, November 1, 12 p.m. vs. Cheyney University

Saturday, October 4, 12 p.m. vs. Lock Haven University Tickets to home games start at $8 for general admission. For other fall sport schedules, please visit: www.wcupagoldenrams.com.

2014 WCU Home Football Game Tailgating Competition

When was the last time you returned to campus for a Golden Rams football game? You have five chances this season to catch a game, and that means you have five chances to win the WCU Alumni Association’s Best Tailgate Competition. Each week members of the Outreach Committee will walk through the stadium parking lots and select the best tailgate* taking place. Winners will receive prize packs and their names will be announced during the game. We hope to see you at a home football game this season! GO RAMS! * See the WCU Athletic Department website for the official Tailgating Policy s u m m er 2014 | 13

cover story

THE SPYMASTER Jack Devine’62 Until near the end of his retirement from the agency in 1999, only Jack Devine’s closest colleagues and his immediate family knew about his clandestine life.

When the Delaware County native graduated from West Chester State Teachers College in 1962 and later earned a master’s at Villanova, his plans were to be a high school teacher. And, for his first five years out of college, that’s what he did: teaching for two years at a high school in Drexel Hill, Pa. and then serving as head of the social studies department at another school in Sharon Hill.

At one point, he considered pursuing a Ph.D., when, his wife, Pat, gave him a book that changed his career path altogether. Entitled, The Invisible Government, Revealed, it was a controversial look at government agencies such as the CIA that were involved in intelligence gathering and secret operations around the world.

“Ever since college, I was very intrigued by foreign affairs and international relations” says Devine. “I was taught by some great faculty in history and foreign affairs at West Chester, and they had a lasting influence on my interest in that regard.”

Shortly thereafter, he joined the CIA. 14 West Chester University

s u m m er 2014 | 15

cover story

Devine at the start of his book tour, attending a reception and book signing in Philadelphia’s Union League

Now, 47 years later, the one-time high school teacher has written his own book on the agency. Published by Sarah Crichton Books, Good Hunting: An American Spymaster’s Story is a memoir of Devine’s three decades at the CIA in a career that would take him around the world, serving under six presidents with postings to Chile, Argentina, Rome, and others the CIA has not authorized him to identify. “I used the term ‘good hunting’ because that’s the way we used to sign our cables,” says Devine. “It’s a reference to intelligence gathering – hunting for information that might be helpful to our government.”

During his tenure with the agency, Devine oversaw the planning and execution of countless projects in virtually all areas of intelligence, including analysis, operations, technology and management. As Deputy Director of the CIA’s operations outside the U.S., he supervised thousands of American employees conducting highly sensitive operations.

Devine’s first overseas assignment was to Santiago, Chile in August 1971.

“It was the Cold War, and the Nixon administration saw that country’s government under Salvador Allende as a communist penetration into the southern part of the US,” says Devine.

Against the agency’s recommendations, the President ordered covert support for a coup in 1971 which failed. While CIA was instructed immediately thereafter to cease the coup plotting, it continued to support the political and media opposition which contributed in 1973 to the overthrow of Allende and years of retribution and military rule under Chilean Army General Augusto Pinochet. In a special package in the July/August issue of Foreign Affairs entitled, “What Really Happened: Solving the Cold War’s Cold Cases,” Devine writes about the U.S. experience in Chile in the early 1970s, which “…offered a number of lessons about how to carry out good covert actions and how to avoid bad ones.

16 West Chester University

“Some of those lessons have been learned, but too many have not,” says Devine. “This poses a problem for the United States as it leaves behind an era defined by major military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq and enters a new period, in which covert operations will become more crucial in places such as Iran, Pakistan, Syria, and Ukraine.”

In the late 1980s, Devine headed the CIA’s Afghan Task Force, which successfully countered Soviet aggression in that region. It was the largest covert operation of the Cold War, organized to provide advisory and equipment support to the Afghan mujahedeen rebels in their struggle against the Russians.

One such operation required herding thousands of mules with Stinger missiles strapped to their backs through steep mountain passes. For his accomplishment during the Afghan campaign, Devine was awarded the CIA’s Meritorious Officer Award.

Devine admits the U.S. also learned some valuable lessons from Russia’s experience in a country referred to at times as the “graveyard of empires.” “The U.S. should not get bogged down trying to build a nation state,” he says. “However, we live in a very turbulent world, and we still are going to need to maintain our legal influence in places like Afghanistan and Yemen without having to put troops on the ground.”

In the 1990s, Devine was chief of the Latin American Division and head of the Counternarcotics Center, which was responsible for coordinating and building close cooperation between all major U.S. and foreign law enforcement agencies, tracking worldwide narcotics and crime organizations. During that period, he oversaw the operation that captured the Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar in 1993.

In his memoir, Devine gives examples of what he calls “the art of covert action,” the espionage or spying aspect of his career. “I’m

an advocate of covert action,” he says. “In light of the world in which we live, there is a definite need to have the CIA working below the radar with Special Forces.”

He cautions, however, against a view often portrayed in films, that there is a rogue aspect to the CIA. “Films like Charlie Wilson’s War make for good movies, but not good history,” says Devine, noting that in all of his involvement with the CIA, he knows of no single case in which the President had not authorized CIA activities. “The President,” he stresses, “has to sign what’s called a ‘finding’ for the use of covert action. An agency can’t go out on its own and support opposition groups nor undermine individuals or groups.

“For the last decade of my career, I had a lawyer at my elbow just to make sure everything was within the letter of the law.”

Devine has written a number of opinion pieces and articles in major national publications, including The Washington Post, The Financial Times and the World Policy Journal, and has appeared on major networks including, the History and Discovery channels, and PBS. In reaction to Edward Snowden’s actions and the issue of privacy versus national security, Devine recently wrote an article for the May 13 issue of Politico, in which he describes Snowden as “the kind of guy I used to recruit in Russia.” He points to an era when the importance of protecting sensitive information was unquestioned, and warns that “…with the threat of terrorism today, guarding valuable intelligence is even more critical.”

While not wanting to diminish the importance of keeping a line between domestic and foreign intelligence, Devine believes that with the explosion of technology, “…the government and private sector will continue to struggle with how best to exploit the information available for the purposes of defense and security, while steering clear of unnecessary intrusions into our private lives.”

As for Snowden, Devine believes he has done a great deal of damage to our national security interests. “I feel that if he had issues there was a way to deal with them.”

Having known Aldrich Ames, the former CIA counterintelligence officer convicted of spying in 1994, Devine sees similarities between Snowden and Aldrich. “Most people who defect tend to be quite smart; they have huge egos even if they don’t appear to, and they tend to be lazy,” claims Devine. “They think they are smarter than everyone else, but they see the world passing by and become resentful – just the kind of person we would recruit, as did the Russians.”

Devine, who retired from the CIA in 1999, was awarded the agency’s Distinguished Intelligence Medal, as well as several other meritorious awards. A year later, he was back in the intelligence business as co-founder of the Arkin Group, a private sector intelligence company with assignments in every region of the globe.

“Whether it’s in China, Russia, Spain or Mexico City, many U.S. companies or financial institutions interested in investments overseas need to know in advance, for example, the people with whom they’re going to invest, the company’s reputation, and if there are legal issues to address,” explains Devine. “Most of our work is international, and a big part is about providing information.”

An example of one of the firm’s overseas investigations involved a California company interested in investing in South Africa’s wine industry. The company called on the Arkin Group to provide them insight into the political and economic environment in which they would be operating. Besides knowing how the wine industry is administered in South Africa, the company had questions as to whether it was free of corruption, and if, as foreigners, they would be allowed to invest in a winery. Eventually, they sought the Arkin Group’s advice on legal issues, real estate and eventually security.

“Information is far more accessible in the U.S. than abroad. But even in the U.S.,” he adds, “information about an individual’s reputation in an industry, how that person is viewed by competitors and employees isn’t as readily available. It requires artful elicitation” – something he certainly learned in the CIA. In June, Devine began an 11-city book tour on Good Hunting in the wake of reviews such as the one by Boston Globe correspondent Jennifer Latson, who lauded the memoir as”… engaging and studded with insights and opinions that are thoughtful…”, and, according to journalist Bob Woodward, “… which add immeasurably to the public understanding of the espionage culture – the good and the bad.”

s u m m er 2014 | 17

cla ss notes

A Message from the Alumni Director

1940s

Tom Hickman ’47 was recently inducted into the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame. Hickman excelled at track and soccer while at WCU.

1950s

Retired WCU music professor James Wells ’54 was featured in an article about Music in the Parks, a program that he founded in 1981. The festival is now held at more than 40 amusement parks across the country and hosts more than 220,000 students annually.

named one of the 50 most influential people in sports officiating.

Members of the Class of 1964 enjoyed dinner in Ocean Village, Ft. Pierce, Florida this April. Pictured: front row, (l to r): Sharon Wirag, Emily Shappell, Collette Schweizer, Chris Johnson, and Nancy Sanders; back row, (l to r): Bob Wirag ’64, Dick Shappell ’64, Albert Schweizer ’64, Bob Johnson ’63, and Roger Sanders ’64.

Spencer Henry ’64, who played football for WCU, will be inducted into the Manheim Central (PA) High School Hall of Fame.

Joseph Motta ’57 was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame’s Delaware County Chapter in March 2002, the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame’s AllenRogowicz Chapter in October 2008, and the Pottsville High School Sports Hall of Fame in June 2014.

Summer is just about over – can you believe it?

Since you last heard from me in April we celebrated Alumni Weekend, where hundreds of alumni came back to campus to participate in events and activities that included the 1st Annual Ram Run 5K, the Distinguished Alumni Awards Dinner, the Class of 1959’s 55th reunion, the Ram Pride Day of Service, and much more. Pictures from some of these events are featured within this issue of the magazine. Since Alumni Weekend, we’ve hosted alumni events at the beach, in ballparks, and in a few bars, too. With fall just around the corner, you know what that means – Homecoming will be here before you know it! Come home to WCU for Homecoming from October 1719! The schedule of events is featured in this issue of the magazine as well as online: www.wcualumni.org.

We’re looking for alumni to get involved with the brand new WCUShadows program, which is a oneday internship experience for students that is hosted

by WCU alumni at their place of employment. If you’re interested in learning more about this opportunity or participating, please let the Alumni Office know by emailing: alumni@wcupa.edu or visiting www.wcualumni.org.

Have you liked us on Facebook yet, or connected with fellow WCU alumni and friends via the Alumni Association’s LinkedIn site? Are you following us on Instagram, or re-pinning us on Pinterest? Be sure to check out these social media sites as well as our new online photo gallery (Flickr) where you’ll find thousands of great photos from events and activities.

Last, but not least, take a look at the back cover of this magazine – it’s where you’ll find information on upcoming alumni events scheduled throughout the rest of the year. Even more event info is listed online: www.wcualumni.org.

Hope to see you soon!

Tracey Dukert ’06 Director of Alumni Relations

18 West Chester University

George E. Allen ’58 published a memoir, I Was Not Asked: An African American Educator from Philadelphia Spreads His Love for Music, which looks back at his teaching career and describes his passion for the importance of music education.

Freda Stade Richard ’58 and Jean Flaherty ’04 participated in the D-Day 70th Memorial Wind Band under Col. Arnald Gabriel in concerts in Paris and on Omaha Beach on June 6, 2014.

Jim Williams ’59 recently traveled to Europe to participate and be the guest speaker in the 51st Anniversary Gala of Theta Lambda Chapter, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity which was held at Ramstein Officers Club on the Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany. Williams is one of the founding members of the chapter that was chartered at Frankfurt University in Germany in 1963.

1960s

Richard Branton ’60 was presented with the West Chester University Alumni Association’s 2014 Distinguished Alumni Award on April 26.

Ed Rush ’64 will be honored by the Bloomsburg University Alumni Association as an honorary alumnus for his achievements as an official for the NBA. Rush has also been

WCU diving coach Ronn Jenkins ’65 was inducted into the 2014 Pennsylvania Swimming Hall of Fame.

1970s

Evelyn Swensson M’72 will release My Serendipitous Life with Music in winter 2014.

A fun, anecdote-filled narrative about her remarkable life with music, the book is filled with photo collages that capture the excitement her operas created for hundreds of performers and for the thousands of people who have seen them.

Kathy Davis ’73 was presented with the West Chester University Alumni Association’s 2014 Distinguished Alumni Award on April 26.

Carl Cohen ’74 retired after teaching astronomy 36 years in the School District of Philadelphia. Cohen is currently a volunteer at The Franklin Institute and can be seen in a television commercial promoting the new Karabots wing of the institute.

Constance Kordell ’75 recently graduated from Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, earning a Master of Science (Astronomy) degree.

Dennis Murphy ’75 was the first Vietnam veteran to serve as the Grand Marshall of the Radnor (PA) Memorial Day Parade this year.

Virginia “Ginny” Hofmann ’76 is retiring as the girl’s lacrosse coach at Germantown Academy, a position she has held since 1980.

Frank Noppenberger ’76 has announced he will be retiring as the East Brunswick Athletic Director.

Tony Sparano ’76, Principal of Candlebrook Elementary in Upper Merion, has been named Pennsylvania’s 2014 National Distinguished Principal.

Timothy Cwiek ’77 recently received a Sigma Delta Chi award for investigative journalism, given by The Society of Professional Journalists. Cwiek is a reporter for the Philadelphia Gay News and received the award for coverage of an unsolved murder. Cwiek accepted the award at a dinner held at the National Press Club on June 20 in Washington, D.C. Sharon Sanders Carter ’78 was the Lindback Distinguished Teacher Awardee for 2014.

She retired in June after 30 years with the School District of Philadelphia.

Theresa Dunbar ’78, an outstanding softball and basketball player at WCU, will be inducted into the Delaware County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.

Kathleen Brewer-Smyth ’79 was presented with the 2013 ARN Doctorate-Prepared Researcher Role Award by the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses. This award recognizes a rehabilitation nurse who is committed to the advancement of rehabilitation nursing through research.

Sherry Fox ’79 was named Manager of Communications at the National PACE Association in Alexandria, VA. Steve Gilbert ’79 was named CEO of Communities in Schools of Jacksonville, FL. For the past seven years, he was the COO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Florida. He also served as a head college football coach for 19 years at Jacksonville University and Ursinus College.

Gerard Sweeney ’79 was presented with the 2014 Ellipse Award, given for Excellence in Lifetime Leadership for Infrastructure in the Public Service Environment.

1980s

Assistant Director of International Studies, Angela Howard’96, M’09 visited with Jorge Leon’81, Managing Executive Officer at Aozora Bank, LTD, his wife, Louanne’81, and their son, Alexander, at the Izakaya Pub in Ginza, Japan, The Leons currently live in Tokyo and Howard was there as part of the International Education Administrator’s Fulbright program.

Bryan Rambo ’80 has been hired as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Dynax Corporation.

Denise Stewart ’80 has been named the 2014 Woman of Character, Courage, and Commitment by the Delaware County Women’s Commission. Stewart is a lifelong advocate for senior residents in Delaware County.

Geno Auriemma ’81 led the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team to the national championship, winning the NCAA title.

Antoinette Rath ’81 will be honored as one of the 2014 Outstanding Women of Burlington County by the county’s Advisory Council on Women. Rath is superintendent of Mount Laurel School and has been instrumental in helping girls in her district excel in science.

Joe Konschnik ’82 was a featured speaker at the 2014 American Council of Independent Laboratories’ annual Policies and Practices Conference.

Paula Sammarone Turocy ’82 was inducted into the 2014 NATA Hall of Fame.

Nicole Melander ’83 was appointed to Senior Vice President of Digital Strategy at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, a provider of pre-K to 12th grade educational materials.

J. Paul Helvy ’84, an attorney with the law firm of McNees, Wallace & Nurick, LLC, has been appointed chair of the Family Law Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association.

Robert Kinzler ’84 is the Director of University Ministry and Service at La Salle University.

George McClay M’84 has been named Morrisville Borough’s Police Chief.

Matthew L. Valent ’84 has accepted the position of organist and choir director at Zion’s United Church of Christ in Pottstown, PA. Larry Bacon ’85 has been hired by LiteFoods, Inc, to prepare an array of products for US launch.

Lane Groff ’86, a realtor with Weichert Realtors in West Chester (PA) and in Ocean City (NJ), was recognized at Weichert’s 2013 awards ceremony held March 6 as a member of the Million Dollar Club and Million Dollar Sales Club. Lane can be reached at Lane@weichert.com.

Michael McArdle M’86 was named Director of Financial Aid for the Office of Catholic Education for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Joseph Walsh ’86 has joined Epic Litho as director of sales.

Brigadier General Carol Eggert ’87 was the commencement speaker at both undergraduate commencement ceremonies held at West Chester University this May. The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce’s 2014 Non-Profit Organization of the Year award was presented to Bringing Hope Home. Founded by Paul Isenberg ’87, the organization raises money to help families pay bills while they are supporting a loved one who is fighting cancer.

Lauren Lieberman ’87 was presented with the West Chester University Alumni Association’s 2014 Distinguished Alumni Award on April 26.

Bill Tyson ’87 has been named to the Rose Tree Media School Board.

Berklee College of Music in Boston has named Lee Whitmore ’87 as its Vice President for Education Outreach and Social Entrepreneurship.

s u m m e r 2 014

| 19

cla ss notes Judith Griffith ’88 has been named Compliance Director for Bell Associates of Greenwich, CT. Steven Reynolds ’88 was named Chief Technology Officer at Harris Broadcast of Denver, CO. Dave Anderson ’89 was recently elected to the Georgetown Town Council in Georgetown, DE. Kathy Cramer Butler ’89 M’95 was recently named CCSD1 Teacher of the Year for 2014 in Wyoming.

Elizabeth Fackler Jones M’89 retired to Washington in 2012. Jones lives near Olympic National Park on the Olympic Peninsula, and enjoys spending time visiting her five children and family.

John Lee ’89 has been named vice president of sales at Cope Plastics.

Scott Sterling ’89 has been named to the Berwick (PA) Hospital Center staff.

1990s Andrew Hausman ’90 was promoted to the

rank of Lieutenant for the Allentown (PA) Police Department during a ceremony in January. He is currently assigned to the patrol division as a platoon commander. Andy has also been a member of the department’s Crisis Negotiation Team since 2007 and has served with Allentown for 23 years.

Joseph Yeager ’90 M’96 has been appointed to the Occupational Advisory Committee for the Visual Communications Program for the Central Montco Technical High School, focusing mainly on the social media aspects of the curriculum.

Randy Warren M’92, CIO of Warren Financial, was featured on “After the Bell” on FOX Business. Warren discussed the outlook for the financial markets and provided insight on whether or not individual investors might be returning to stocks.

Michael Brune ’93, who is the Executive Director of the Sierra Club, has been named the 2014 Hillary Laureate by the Hillary Institute of International Leadership.

20 West Chester University

Heather Buffington M’93 will be inducted into the Harmonia Music Club’s 2014 Lebanon County Music Hall of Fame for making a significant contribution to music in the community.

Lori Meixell ’93 has been promoted to Vice President of National Penn Bancshares Commercial Lending Group.

Scott Heino ’94 has been named Superintendent of the Chesterfield (NJ) Regional School District.

Joan-Marie Stiglich ’94 has been named Chief Content Officer at SLACK Incorporated.

Public Service Award. This award is the highest honor given to those outside of naval service.

Evan Breisblatt ’97 was named Head Football Coach at Phoenixville Area High School.

Frances Curtis ’97 has been named program manager at Apex Companies.

Leah Ferguson ’98 will reelase her new novel, All The Difference, in 2015.

Seth Roberts ’98 published the 7th edition of his book, Barron’s AP European History.

Roberts was the author of the 5th, 6th, and 7th editions.

2000s

Joel Hain ’00 was named principal of Boiling Spring High School.

Joseph Capone ’95 was recently named executive director and business manager for the non-profit, Friends of Washington Crossing Park.

Corey Sigle ’00 has been named director of athletics and activities at Coatesville Area Senior High School.

Michael Jones M’95 has been awarded a Fulbright grant to spend 2015 teaching and researching in Bucharest, Romania.

Michelle Filling-Brown ’02 received tenure and earned promotion to Associate Professor of English at Cabrini College in Radnor, PA. She also received the 2014 Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching.

D.W. Raleigh M’95 will release his first novel, Shiloh’s True Nature, this summer.

Ryan Mellow ’96 joined the Protection Bureau as a senior security consultant.

Scott Reid ’96, a member of Cozen O’Connor’s Litigation Department and former chair of the firm’s Diversity Committee, was honored by the Barristers’ Association of Philadelphia with the 2014 J. Austin Norris Award on May 17. The J. Austin Norris Award recognizes an attorney who has demonstrated distinguished service to the Barristers’, the legal profession, and the community at large.

Betsy Schmid ’96, the Aerospace Industries Association’s new Vice President for National Security and Acquisition Policy, received the U.S. Navy’s Distinguished

Michael Christopher Tabakin ’02 was presented with the West Chester University Alumni Association’s 2014 Distinguished Alumni Award on April 26.

George (Tony) Davis M’03 recently joined KSA Engineers of Longview, Texas.

Bryna Makowka ’04 currently serves as the Associate Publisher of GENLUX, a luxurious fashion and philanthropy magazine headquartered in Beverly Hills, CA. Ryan Mollet ’04 helped rescue a woman and her family from a small SUV after it was driven into a lake in Montgomery Village, MD. Nicholas Parise ’04 has joined PNC Wealth Management as Vice President and Senior Relationship Manager.

Alyssa Garie ’05 has joined Cipperman Compliance Services as a manager.

James Liberi ’05 has been appointed to Senior Vice President of Sales and Strategy for vWise Inc., an internet app developer.

Kimberly Knorr ’06 displayed her painted 2D and 3D works at the Galer Estate Winery Pop-Up Artist Show in March.

Jackie Beach ’07 has been named Human Resources Manager at ParenteBeard. She joins ParenteBeard from UniTek Global Services, where she served as Human Resources Manager.

Kevin O’Neill ’07 was inducted into the Aston Sports Hall of Fame for football.

Stockard Simon ’08 was hired as Visual Designer by Mad*Pow, a design agency focused on improving the experiences people have with technology, organizations, and each other.

Ruben Whaley ’08 has been named Wellness and Sports Director at the Bradford Family YMCA (PA).

Blair Dameron ’09 was named head women’s softball coach at Valley Forge Christian College.

Felicia Franklin ’09 was awarded the favorite teacher award from the Bensalem Barnes & Noble after being nominated by a former student.

Kristin Anderson M’10 joined the WKYC news team in Cleveland, Ohio. She reports the 6:00 p.m. and the 7:00 p.m. news.

Air Force Reserve Airman 1st Class Joshua D. Fellman ’11 graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas.

Amy Festa ’11 has been hired by Middle States U.S. Tennis Association as their marketing and communications coordinator.

Lauren Russo ’11 recently earned a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Duke University, and was the recipient of the prestigious Helen Kaiser Award/Scholarship which recognizes a student who most displays an appreciation and respect for diversity in life and physical therapy.

Christina Randolph ’12 attended the Yale Medical and Dental Education Program while a student at WCU. Following graduation, Randolph started the MPH program at WCU and was a graduate assistant at the Frederick Douglas Institute. She was recruited by the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine in Ohio and has been accepted into their medical school.

Clinita Randolph ’12 earned a master’s from the University of Delaware following graduation at WCU. Randolph has been accepted into several Ph.D. programs, and decided to attend Jefferson in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology.

Cara Travis ’12 has been hired by Clapp Communications of Baltimore as a Junior Account Executive.

Alfred Hyamo Bedell, Jr. ’13, owner and CEO of Thermigate, LLC, won first place in the WCU Graduate and Alumni Track for the 2nd Annual West Chester University Business Idea Pitch. Thermigate, LLC is a social enterprise that is developing renewable energy systems for subsistence farmers in developing countries like Liberia and Togo.

Their system will provide irrigation for crops, a freezer for food conservation, a solar cooker to eliminate carbon emissions, and free electricity for devices like phones and computers. The company will be hosting a crowd funding campaign on Indiegogo.com to raise funds for their humanitarian projects.

Ambreelinne Ortman ’13 has been named assistant basketball coach for Washington College in Chestertown, MD. Veronica Pistoia M’13 is among the first 50 Woodrow Wilson New Jersey Teaching Fellows, announced by Governor Chris Christie.

Justin Sochovka ’14 was hired as an on-air guest specialist at QVC. WCU students and alumni participated in the 4th Anti-Defamation League Walk Against Hate. Pictured left to right: Robert Battista (current graduate student), Ryan Woodward ’13, Patricia Norman ’13, Dorothy Steiger ’14, and Pamela McMahon ’14. WCU students also donating and/or participating but not pictured were Dale Mervine (current student), Hilary Bentman ’11, and Rick Salvi M’13.

On Saturday, April 19, the Brothers of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc., Kappa Gamma Chapter held their annual chapter anniversary celebration at the WCU Alumni House as the final event of Kappa Week 2014.

The brothers gathered with spouses, parents, and children to share memories and renew fraternal bonds. The annual cookout featured more than 75 chapter alumni and West Chester alumni from the more than 34 years of the chapter’s excellence, ranging from the chapters founding and charter classes to the newest initiates. Many members of the WCU Alumni Association and Black & Latino Greek Council alumni also attended the event.

F uture A lumni Christopher Brown ’08 and Meghan Brown welcomed John Michael “Jack” Brown on May 5.

Former WCU catcher Bobby Stumpo ’10 is working as the Phillies bullpen catcher. s u m m e r 2 014

| 21

al umni chap ter news

ABBÉ SOCIETY ALUMNAE CHAPTER

Visit our website http://abbesocietyalumnae.wordpress.com/ or find us on Facebook by searching Abbé Society Alumnae to stay up-to-date with upcoming meetings and volunteer opportunities.

ALUMNI DANCE CHAPTER

The Alumni Dance Chapter is presently preparing for its seventh Winter Dance Festival, “Raising the Barre”. As in the past both performances will be held in Asplundh Concert Hall and proceeds will benefit the Barbara J. Lappano Dance Scholarship. As of this date scholarships have been given to five aspiring dance students. Dates for the concerts are Jan 24 at 8PM and Jan 25 at 2PM. Tickets can be purchased at the door or by calling 610-436-2266 after Dec 1. In addition to our concert the chapter hopes to sponsor a bus trip to a NYC musical sometime in late 2014 or early 2015. If you are interested in joining our chapter contact our associate treasurer Sara Pyfer Rupert: sarapyfer.adc@gmail.com.

BALTIMORE-METRO ALUMNI CHAPTER Tony Pinder, Frank and Nancy Metzger participated in the Glen Burnie High School’s “Steps for Hope” suicide prevention and anti-bullying walk on May 17th. BMAC facilitated an EMS unit for the walk which was good as a young man needed to be transported to the hospital before the walk was complete. WCUAA provided a donation to the Glen Burnie Volunteer Fire Company. BMAC is planning a downtown Baltimore Happy Hour sometime in June and more collegial opportunities as they present themselves.

BAND ALUMNI CHAPTER

Homecoming is Saturday, October 18th.

Major and exciting changes are coming for the Homecoming Alumni Band! Please email Andrea Hahn or Rachael Smolinsky at wcupabaa@gmail.com to receive information about joining the 2014 Homecoming Alumni Band. You can also visit the Facebook page “WCU Bands Alumni Association” for more information.

22 West Chester University

BLACK ALUMNI CHAPTER

IIn 1965, the Black Alumni Chapter (BAC) was established to keep black alumni connected with West Chester University. The chapter continues to do so by extending reconnection opportunities to current black students and alum through networking events. Save-the-Date: Saturday, October 18 for our Annual Homecoming Social at the new Alumni House! Learn more about the WCU BAC via Facebook: WCU BAC.

CHESTER COUNTY CHAPTER

At the meeting held on June 18th, the following officers were elected: President - Joe Kienle, Vice-president - Toril Johannessen, Treasurer - Gordon Jefferes. The chapter is working with the Dance Chapter, the Delaware County Chapter, and the Law Chapter in planning social functions/get-togethers. Please note that we welcome all area alumni to our events, whether they live in Chester County or not. Check the Alumni website for upcoming events. Also, we are planning on using email blasts for updates.

COMMUNICATION ALUMNI NETWORK

For the latest happenings and how YOU can get involved, send us an email (WCUcomalumnet@gmail.com), find us on LinkedIn (WCU Communication Alumni Network), and friend us on Facebook!

DELAWARE COUNTY CHAPTER The Delaware County Chapter will again have a WCU Alumni Day at Linvilla Orchards on Sept. 28 from 10 a.m. to noon.

We will have tickets in November for a Media Theatre show, either the Addams Family or Les Miserables. We will have a Happy Hour in late November with a food collection. Nancy Baulis will continue as President and Mike Willard as Vice-President. Nancy can be reached at 610-543-2117 or nbaulis@verizon.net.

FLORIDA GULF COAST RAMS AND SNOWBIRDS CLUB

Interested in getting involved with the club? Email the WCU Alumni Office: alumni@wcupa.edu

FRIARS SOCIETY ALUMNI CHAPTER

The Friars’ Society is proud of the hard work made by the undergraduates this past year, and celebrate the new members inducted in April. On September 12th, the FSAA will gather for their annual Phillies game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. For more information, please contact Kerry Acker (kerryacker@gmail. com).

GRADUATE STUDENT ALUMNI CHAPTER

The Graduate Student Alumni Chapter was established this year to help graduate alumni connect through social and professional networking events. If you are an alumni of a WCU graduate program and would like to get involved in making these events a success, we would love to have you! We are also looking to highlight exceptional graduate alumni who would be willing to tell their story and be featured

by WCU Grad Studies, and possibly speak about their professional experience. Please email Robert Marco (rmarco@wcupa. edu) in the Office of Graduate Studies for more information and to get involved.

Greater Seattle Area Chapter

The Greater Seattle Area Chapter will be hosting a picnic in one of Seattle’s scenic parks on Sunday July 27th. Other upcoming chapter events include attending a Mariners game and happy hours. Seattle area residents interested in joining the Chapter are encouraged to email Brett Cooper at BrettAustinCooper@gmail. com.

HONORS COLLEGE ALUMNI CHAPTER

The Honors Alumni Chapter was officially established in May of 2014. We are committed to engaging alumni of the Honors College by inviting them back to the University to participate in social and service events on campus. It is our hope that Honors Alumni may network with each other as well as provide valuable insights to the current students. Our kickoff event as an official Alumni Chapter is in

the early planning stages, but we know that it will involve food and fun during the early fall semester. Be on the lookout for more information about this event as the details are finalized!

INTERNATIONAL MILITARY ALUMNI CHAPTER (IMAC)

The IMAC major project continues to be scholarship support of the 300 veterans and the 60 ROTC cadets. The most recent is a $1000 annual award from the US Marine Corp League in Downingtown which will be presented for the first time this fall.

Your assistance is needed. Please consider sponsoring a one-time scholarship in honor of a loved one veteran as low as $500. For details contact Dick Merion “59 at 610-692-1760.

LAW ALUMNI CHAPTER

The Law Alumni Chapter invites you to spend an afternoon enjoying food, drinks, networking, and fun on Saturday, September 20 at Barnaby’s of West Chester from 4 pm to 7 pm! Help raise money for the Chapter’s scholarship fund while joining fellow WCU alumni, friends, and community members for an open bar (beer, wine and well drinks), food, and door prizes.

Dress is casual, and proceeds from the event will support the scholarship fund.

Details and registration info is available on the alumni website: www.wcualumni. org. If any alumni in a legal-related field

would like to get involved in the Chapter, email wcu.law.alumni@gmail.com.

LGBTQA ALUMNI CHAPTER

The LGBTQA Alumni Chapter is starting to plan for the 40th Anniversary of the LGBTQA in October 2015. It’s never too early to begin planning a blowout party to celebrate one of the oldest universityrecognized LGBTQA Student Groups in Pennsylvania. Rumor has it that only one other university in Pennsylvania had a recognized group before WCU, so this is an amazing milestone for all of us!

Email contact@wculgbtqaalumni.com if you are interesting in assisting with this event. With this event, we are launching a campaign to raise $40,000 by the 40th Anniversary for our LGBTQA Administrative Fund. Please contact Sarah Botes at the WCU Foundation or Spencer Pyle to request more information or to learn how to pledge or give. We will be contacting all our alums and allies regarding this fundraising goal soon, so keep an eye on your mailbox. As always, stay connected by joining our Facebook page at https:// www.facebook.com/groups/wculgbtqaalumni/.

POLITICAL & GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS ALUMNI CHAPTER

The Political & Government Affairs chapter will host a reception and awards

ceremony on Saturday, October 18th from 6pm to 8pm in the Autograph Library at Philips Memorial building. This event will honor three extraordinary alumni with awards: Alumnus of the Year Thomas Chiomento, Honorable Elected Alumnus Sen. Tommy Tomlinson and Emerging Alumnus Leader Rick Loughery. Please Mark your calendar to join us for this celebration during the 2014 Homecoming Weekend!

Washington, D.C. Chapter

For D.C. area alumni who couldn’t attend Alumni Weekend in April, we hosted a happy hour at Ireland’s Four Courts in Arlington, Virginia, to celebrate our Ram Pride. On Saturday, September 6, we hope you’ll join us at the Nationals game while the Phillies are in town! Follow our social media channels for upcoming ticket information! Follow us on twitter (@WCUAA_DC), find us on Facebook (West Chester University Alumni Association, Washington, D.C. Chapter), or subscribe to our Yahoo listserv (WCUCAPAREA-subscribe@yahoogroups. com).

YORK COUNTY CHAPTER

Please email dlfan@mail.com for information on how you can join the chapter..

WCU in Seatlle 2014 About a dozen WCU alumni and friends gathered at the Microsoft Visitor Center in Seattle, Washington, on April 2 to celebrate

the creation of the brand new Seattle Alumni Chapter. Guests in attendance viewed historical items, interacted with the latest technology Microsoft offers, chatted with WCU President Greg R. Weisenstein, and enjoyed delicious food and drinks.

Members of the Seattle Alumni Chapter posed with a picture taken in 1978 of the 11 original founders of Microsoft.

s u m m e r 2 014

| 23

WCUshadows: Connecting Students & Alumni Are you interested in helping a WCU student plan for their future?

If you answered yes, then you’re invited to participate in WCUShadows! This new program, which is co-sponsored by the Twardowski Career Development Center and the Office of Alumni Relations, provides students with an opportunity to learn about their potential career paths by shadowing alumni. Hosting a job shadow experience provides you with the opportunity to volunteer for your alma mater in a very unique and personal way.

Why is this program important?

Exploring careers is an important part of a student’s professional development, and job shadowing is an excellent way for students to spend “a day in the life” of professionals. Through this program, students can gain insight and information related to job skills, responsibilities, environments, networking, training, and much more. A job-shadowing opportunity helps to provide students with a realistic understanding of the world of employment while guiding them in their career decision-making process.

What does job shadowing mean?

We define job shadowing as a one-day experience for students, that’s hosted by an alumnus at their workplace, during WCU’s winter break in January 2015. This provides a second-year student with an opportunity to be immersed in the host’s daily activities, allowing them to gain a greater understanding of a career field they are interested in pursuing. This is a non-paid learning experience for which students provide their own transportation and housing.

What should you plan for your student?

Activities that expose them to the workplace environment, your workload, and a realistic look into your career, conversations in which you share your expertise and passion for your field, an invitation to attend meetings, tour your workplace, and visit with colleagues and clients, and involvement in your work, which can help them evaluate whether this may be a potential career for them as well as (potentially) add to their professional portfolio.

Why do students participate?

To gain a realistic understanding of and learn more about the daily activities of a specific occupation, to explore career options within their major, or within majors they are highly interested in pursuing, to ask questions, gather information, and seek advice from their host and other experts, and to plan for future courses and internships.

Are you eligible to host a student?

Hosts can be graduates of any class year, as long as they are in a position to assemble an itinerary of experiences for the student that would provide a real-world look into their specific career field. Hosts are sought from a wide variety of industries and geographical locations.

How can you sign-up to host a student at your workplace?

Connect with the WCU Alumni Office know! Call us: 610-436-2813 or send an email to: alumni@wcupa.edu. We look forward to hearing from and working with you!

Co-Sponsored by: Twardowski Career Development Center & Office of Alumni Relations www.wcupa.edu/wcushadows 24 West Chester University

Luther Sowers ’49 (left) has been a member of the York County Alumni Chapter the longest, while Michael Snell ’13 (right) is the Chapter’s newest member.

WCU’S FIRST AND OLDEST CHAPTER Founded nearly 100 years ago, the York County Alumni Chapter is the first and oldest alumni chapter of West Chester University’s Alumni Association.

According to hand-written minutes from the first meeting, it all started on November 27, 1920, when “a group of West Chester graduates and students entertained Dr. S.C. Schmucker at an informal dinner, at which time, at the suggestion of Dr. Schmucker, an esteemed member of the West Chester State Normal School faculty, the organization was effected.”

Since 1920, members of the Chapter have regularly gathered to meet and network with one other, as well as to award scholarships to students from York County who plan to attend West Chester University. Recipients of those scholarships have gone on to graduate from West Chester and become physicians, teachers, attorneys, and, naturally, active members of the York County Alumni Chapter. Current Chapter members range in age from 24 to 88 years old, however stories and experiences shared at meetings help to bridge the age gap and bring everyone together. Meetings are typically held at the home of a member, where banana bread is traditionally offered and the alma mater is always sung.

When asked what the next 94 years will look like, Rick Guinan ’87, president of the Chapter, shared, “we hope to keep this Chapter alive for as long as possible, celebrating and honoring those who have come before us, maintaining traditions, and supporting West Chester’s future and current students who will one day graduate from WCU and fill our shoes as members.

We are a strong network of alumni who value this Chapter and everything it represents, and we agree that this Chapter still has a lot of living left to do, and can do so with help and participation from alumni living in York County.”

If you are interested in learning more about the York County Alumni Chapter or becoming a member, please get in touch with the West Chester University Alumni Office: 610-436-2813 or email: alumni@wcupa.edu.

Golden Rams to Perform at 2015 Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade A special announcement was made in April during intermission at the concert band and wind symphony performance. Members of the band and

audience received news from Macy Parade officials that the Golden Rams Marching Band has been selected to perform in the 2015 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Wesley Whatley, creative director of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and head of the parade’s band selection committee, noted that the Golden Rams were one of only 10 marching bands out of hundreds of high school and college applicants nationwide who were chosen.

Noting that 2015 would be the Golden Rams’ second appearance in the parade, Whatley said that WCU’s selection was based on the band’s “very unique approach that mixes fantastic college level musicianship with a high energy and artistic style.”

“We look forward to proudly representing West Chester University, our alumni, and our community in New York City with the spirit and enthusiasm that could only be displayed by the ‘Incomparable’ Golden Rams Marching Band,” said WCU director of bands Andrew Yozviak.

s u m m e r 2 014

| 25

homecoming 2014

HOMECOMING

2014

26 West Chester University

HOMECOMING 2014 Friday, October 17

Homecoming Kickoff Party 5p.m.-8 p.m.

Homecoming Parade 10 a.m.

Begins at Church St. and Rosedale Ave.

Saturday, October 18

R-Lot Pre-Game Party 11a.m.-12 p.m.

R-Lot of South Campus

Alumni and Foundation Center 202 Carter Drive,West Chester, PA Alumni & Friends Breakfast 8a.m.-10 a.m. (open-house style)

Alumni and Foundation Center

Football Game vs. Shippensburg 2 p.m.

Farrell Stadium

Reunions:Visit wcualumni.org for information on all of the reunions taking place during Homecoming 2014, which include: Black Alumni, Business and Public Affairs Alumni, Communications Alumni, Greek Alumni, Health Sciences Alumni, School of Music Alumni, and the classes of 1964, 1969, 1989, and 2004!

s u m m e r 2 014

| 27

2015 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD NOMINEES SOUGHT The Distinguished Alumni Awards have been presented by the West Chester University Alumni Association (WCUAA) annually since 1963. The WCUAA Awards Committee seeks candidates to be selected and recognized for this prestigious honor at the 2015 Distinguished Alumni Awards dinner, which will be held on May 16, 2015 as part of Alumni Weekend.

The WCUAA Awards Committee is looking for potential recipients who have: • Achieved outstanding recognition in their chosen professions, • Rendered unusual service to a particular segment of society either vocationally or avocationally, • A chieved outstanding recognition or rendered unusual service by volunteering in a non-profit organization, or • Positively influenced large numbers of people throughout a career.

If you would like to nominate a deserving alumnus, please complete and mail the form below to the Alumni Relations Office at WCU. You may also submit a nomination online via: www.wcualumni.org. Nominations will be accepted until September 26, 2014. Upon receipt of a nomination, a packet will be sent to the nominator for completion. Those who are selected as Distinguished Alumni Award recipients must be able to attend the dinner on May 16, 2015.

2015 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD NOMINATION FORM Name of Nominee________________________________________________________________ Class Year____________ Street Address________________________________________________City _______________State _____Zip________ Phone__________________________________________________________________________ Email_______________ Nominated by___________________________________________________________________ Class Year____________ Street Address________________________________________________City _______________State _____Zip________ Phone__________________________________________________________________________ Email_______________ Please mail this form to: WCUAA Awards Committee c/o Alumni Relations Office 202 Carter Drive West Chester, PA 19382 To submit this form electronically, visit: www.wcualumni.org. Nominations will be accepted until September 26, 2014.

28 West Chester University

Jack Murphy 43, A True Gentleman, A Man of Values, A Dear Friend For those alumni who knew Jack Murphy’43, he was the epitome of friendship, and for staffers like Meredith

Sossman, Associate Executive Director and “Becoming More” Campaign Director, he was “WCU to the core.” Up until he passed away this May, Jack remained very close to his classmates and alma mater. In 2009, he endowed a scholarship in honor of his late wife, Norine (“Renee”) to support a student majoring in education at the University with plans to become a certified secondary education teacher. Jack, himself, earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from the-then West Chester State Teacher’s College.

During World War II, he served aboard a destroyer escort in the Pacific Ocean and was recalled to active duty during the Korean War and served in the Fourth Naval District Intelligence Office at the Philadelphia Naval Base. Later, he became Commanding Officer of the Fourth Naval District Research Intelligence Division. A member of the American Legion, he was a member of the U.S. Naval Reserve for 34 years.

After the war, Jack earned a master’s degree in secondary education and American history from Temple University where he later received a K-12 principal certification. He retired from teaching after 35 years in the Philadelphia School District.

In 1984, Jack and Norine joined the West Chester University Alumni Association as volunteers. Norine was a graduate of Villanova University, but because of her commitment to the WCUAA, she was named an honorary member. Jack served as WCUAA’s board president from 1989 to 1990 and continued as “emeritus.”

“There probably wasn’t a person more dedicated to the University and the Alumni Association,”says WCUAA’s immediate past president Ed Monroe’89. “ Even as he was approaching his 90’s, Jack tried to attend each Finance Committee meeting and regular Board of Directors meeting. It wasn’t an easy task because he could no longer drive, which meant he needed to arrange a ride from his home in Longport. N.J. up to WCU and back. Yet he was there as often as he could be.

“He will be missed.”

“Shortly after I was elected president to the board of directors of the WCU Alumni Association, Jack wrote to me, offering words of wisdom and noting that ‘I am at your service if needed,’” recalls Deb Dreisibach’86.

“Jack continued to write to me over the years, and I also visited him at his home in Longport,” says Dreisbach. “My last visit to Jack was unannounced; he was wearing a WCU vest.”

I n M emoriam 1936 Dorcas Mae Spence 1942 Norman Kelly, Sr. 1942 Carson Herr 1943 John “Jack” Murphy 1944 Elizabeth Arndt Myers 1947 Nate Kendig

1954 Robert Lo Furno 1956 Roderick Stanard 1957 Earl Allebach 1957 Eugene Hinkle 1958 Jack Van Newkirk 1958 Jean Wetherill Burns

1964 Roberta Lorraine DeMito 1965 Patricia Ann Hudsco Hutterer 1966 Louis Buckwalter 1969 Leslie Robotham Landis

Retired Faculty/Staff Doris Rowe Schoel

M arriages

E ngagements

Lauren Saul ’06 to Patrick List

Ashley Walton ’08 to Eric Corsi

Krystal Marshall ’11 Ashley Kennedy ’10 to Bryan Raudonis ’10 to Andrew Royer ’12

Kim McGrath ’00 to Steve Haemmerle ’00

Katie Bircsak ’05 to Phillip Horn

Courtney O’Brien ’09 to John Clark, Jr. ’10

Death Notification Procedure To notify West Chester University of the death of an alumnus or alumna, please contact the Alumni Relations Office via email: alumni@wcupa.edu or via US Mail: 806 S. Church Street, West Chester, PA 19383. The notification must include a copy of the decedent’s obituary from a newspaper or the internet, or, a copy of a letter or email from a family member of the deceased. Please note: death notifications will not be accepted via telephone. s u m m e r 2 014

| 29

NOMINATIONS ARE NOW BEING ACCEPTED

FOR THE WCUAA BOARD OF DIRECTORS The Nominating Committee of the West Chester University Alumni Association (WCUAA) is accepting nominations for candidates who wish to serve on the Association’s Board of Directors for the 2015-2018 term.

Please review the following information prior to submitting your nomination: • Nomination forms must be completed and submitted by September 26, 2014. The form below will also be available online

at www.wcualumni.org.

• There are six elected seats on the WCUAA Board of Directors each year.

• Board members are expected to serve a three-year term.

• The terms of the newly elected members will begin on July 1, 2015.

• There will be a minimum of six (6) and a maximum of twelve (12) candidates on the election ballot.

• Board elections will begin in early 2015 on www.wcualumni.org and ballots will be available in the next issue of the WCU

Alumni Magazine.

• You may nominate yourself to run for the Board of Directors.

• After all nominations are received, nominees will receive a biographical form to complete and a detailed description of du-

ties associated with being a board member. This must be completed in its entirety to finalize the nomination.

• Nominations will be accepted until September 26, 2014.

2015 WCUAA Board of Directors Nomination Form Nominee__________________________________________________________Class Year_________ Street Address_______________________________________________________________________ City_________________________________________State__________________Zip______________ Phone_______________________________________Email__________________________________ Please mail this form to: WCUAA Nominating Committee c/o Alumni Relations Office 202 Carter Drive West Chester, PA 19382 To submit this form electronically, visit: www.wcualumni.org.

Nominations will be accepted until September 26, 2014.

30 West Chester University

alumni weekend 2014 review Members of the Class of 1964 enjoy the Alumni Weekend Kickoff Party at the Veterans Memorial Alumni House.

Hundreds of WCU alumni, students, friends, and family members participated in Alumni Weekend April 25-27. From the farewell party to the Alumni House, to the campus carnival, to the 1st Annual Ram Run 5K, and everything else inbetween – a great time was had by all! Here are just a few of the photos from the special weekend.

Right: John Stoddart ’93, M’99 signs the Alumni Association’s new charter while The Honorable Barry Dozor ’71 (left) and The Honorable Rick Loughery ’06 M’10 (right) watch during the Re-Chartering Ceremony.

Save the Date: Homecoming 2014 will be held October 17-19!

Rammy and friends had a great time at the Campus Carnival and BBQ!

Above: Students, alumni, and community members participated in the first annual Ram Run 5K at South Campus. Below: Dean Gentekos ’07 and Sarah Huskin ’07 enjoy Alumni Weekend activities. s u m m e r 2 014

| 31

WCU HONORS DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI (L to r): The 2014 Distinguished Alumni Awards and the Emerging Leader Award recipients Michael Christopher Tabakin ’02, Lauren J. Lieberman ’87, WCU President Greg Weisenstein, Kathy Davis ’73, Richard G. Branton ’60, and Andrew Wagner ’ 14.

Each spring since 1963, the West Chester University Alumni Association (WCUAA) has hosted the Distinguished Alumni Awards Ceremony. These awards are

presented to WCU graduates who have provided a great service to society, received outstanding acknowledgement in their profession, and positively affected a large number of people. On April 26, the WCUAA honored four outstanding alumni.

Richard Branton ’60 earned a B.S. in mathematics from West Chester, an M.S. in mathematics from the University of Delaware, and a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. For nearly 50 years, he served as a professor, mentor, and confidant to thousands of students at WCU. He helped build strong mathematics undergraduate and graduate programs by starting the applied mathematics, statistics, and computer science areas of study, and in modernizing the math education program, all of which serve as the basis for the current Department of Mathematics. Branton helped initiate a mathematics scholarship fund that awards nearly $26,000 in scholarships each year. He directed the preparations of four successful major accreditation efforts and led a University-wide reorganization plan, which established WCU’s current five-college structure.

Kathy Davis ’73 earned a B.S. in elementary education from West Chester, and an M.A. in art education from Kutztown University.

After teaching for ten years, Davis’s dedication to find joy in her own life and share it with others evolved into a thriving business.

Today, the former teacher turned artist/entrepreneur is the chief visionary of the company that bears her name, and is one of America’s leading designers and the author of multiple books. Davis’s brand promise to “Scatter Joy: Joy through Art, Joy through Living, Joy through Giving” permeates all of her designs and reaches more than 70 million consumers worldwide each year. Nearly 100,000 Kathy Davis greeting cards are sold every day, and over 400 million have been sold since she started her business.

Lauren Lieberman ’87 earned a B.S. in health and physical education from West Chester, an M.S. in adapted physical education

32 West Chester University

from the University of Wisconsin at LaCrosse, and a Ph.D. from Oregon State University. Lieberman currently serves as a distinguished service professor, teaching adapted physical education at The College at Brockport in New York, and previously taught at the Perkins School for the Blind. She founded and runs Camp Abilities, which is a developmental sports camp for children with visual impairments. She helped start 16 Camp Abilities in the U.S. and six in other countries. Most recently, she helped launch the Institute of Movement Studies for Individuals with Visual Impairments.

Michael Christopher Tabakin ’02 earned a B.S. in special education from West Chester and an M.S. in nonprofit management from Eastern University. Tabakin promotes the wellbeing of children and adults living with disabilities through his work for Access Services and as a consultant for Melmark. He also is in the process of founding a nonprofit organization to expand support for people with disabilities living in developing countries. He has written and provided testimony on proposed legislation and regulation, was named the Main Line Chamber of Commerce’s Emerging Leader of the Year, and has published articles on human services and advocacy. Tabakin is an active member of multiple associations and boards, including the National Council for Exceptional Children, the Association of Private Special Education Centers, and Pennsylvania Advocacy and Resources for Autism and Intellectual Disabilities.

Also presented at the event was the first annual Emerging Leader Award, which was given to Andrew Wagner, a business management major and Honors College student who graduated at the May 10 commencement ceremony. Wagner’s extracurricular activities included the Golden Rams Society, Improv Club, Sigma Iota Epsilon (national honorary professional management fraternity), Water Polo Club, College of Business and Public Affairs Advisory Board, and Aid to South Africa event. He also was president and founder of the Purple and Gold Club, a student-led group that promotes school spirit, pride, involvement, and support of other students.

s u m m e r 2 014

| 33

West Chester University West Chester, PA 19383-7401

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE

The West Chester University Magazine is published three times a year for the alumni, friends and family of West Chester University of Pennsylvania by the Office of Public Relations, West Chester University, West Chester, PA 19383-7401.

PAID PERMIT NO. 1274 Southeastern, PA

Postmaster: Send address changes to:

West Chester University Foundation, P.O. Box 541, West Chester, PA 19381

change service requested

Moving?

Help us keep your magazine coming by filling in the address change and sending it to us before you move.

Name _________________________________ Class Year ____________ Address ________________________________________________________ City ____________________________________________________________ State __________________________________ Zip ____________________ Phone __________________________________________________________ E-mail __________________________________________________________ Mail to: West Chester University Foundation, P.O. Box 541, West Chester, PA 19381

UPCOMING WCU ALUMNI & FRIENDS EVENTS September 13 Pre-game Party and the Philadelphia Union vs. New York Red Bulls Soccer Game SEPTEMBER 20

WCU Alumni Night at Jillian’s in Boston

October 17-19 Class of 1964 50th Reunion October 17-19 Homecoming!

September 28 Family Fun Day at Linvilla Orchards

October 23 Halloween Party at Duffers Pub and the Bates Motel

October 2 WCU Alumni Night at Yards Brewing Co.

December 4

October 2 WCU Alumni Night at Lancaster Brewing Co.

December 7 “It’s A Wonderful Life” at the Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre

October 4 ‘Bring Your Own Grog’ Pirate Cruise at the Baltimore Inner Harbor

An Evening with Santa

For a full listing of events and to register, go to: www.wcualumni.org.

www.wcualumni.org

Connect with us