Dear Alumni and Friends: This issue of PURCHASE magazine highlights “Image Makers.” The advent of digital camera technology and services such as Instagram have made many of us (including me) amateur photographers, but Purchase’s photography program gives students the solid background in the conceptual and technical aspects of the fine art of photography, and our alumni are trailblazing the field. The magazine also highlights Purchase as the center of a global village. Our faculty, students, and alumni work across the world making connections, conducting research, teaching, learning from other cultures, studying abroad, and performing. Take some time this year to visit the campus, attend one of the Alumni Association’s events, and be sure to join us on Facebook, Twitter (@purchasealumni ), or LinkedIn. There are so many ways to get reconnected and network with your fellow alumni. Help us to grow our online communities and share in our common experiences as Purchase alumni. Many of our endeavors, and the important initiatives of student scholarships and faculty development, are supported with the generosity of fellow alumni through the Purchase Fund. If you have already given a gift to this year’s fund, I thank you for your contribution. If you have never given, I encourage you to join me as a donor to the Purchase Fund. Every little bit counts. To find out more about the fund, go http://www.purchase.edu/ giving/ and click on “Purchase Fund.” You can even give online.
ALUMNI 1976
Larry Isaacs, MD (biology), was appointed an assistant clinical professor of surgery at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine for 2013–16.
Jeff Salkin
Jeff Salkin (sociology) is back in the Northeast after a decade-long sojourn in Georgia. He now serves as the rabbi at Temple Beth Am in Bayonne, NJ, and spends most of his time lecturing around the country and writing. His most recent book is The Gods Are Broken! The Hidden Legacy of Abraham, published by Jewish Lights. Salkin blogs at jewishjournal.com/martini_judaism.
Donald Margulies (visual arts) is having two major New York play revivals in the 2013–14 season: The Model Apartment at Primary Stages in September and Dinner with Friends at the Roundabout in January. His latest play, The Country House, will have its world premiere at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles next June before opening on Broadway at Manhattan Theatre Club’s Friedman Theatre during the 2014–15 season.
1977
Robert Daraio (design tech) is running for a second term as a member of the board of trustees in the Village of Ossining, NY. After 33 years as a broadcast television engineer, he became a local representative at the Newspaper Guild of New York in 2012. Daraio graduated with an MA from the CUNY Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies in 2011, and is a U.S. Coast Guard licensed master of near-coastal 50-ton vessels.
Please stay in touch by sending professional and personal news for “Alumni in Action,” as well as updated addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses, to alumni@purchase.edu. Do you have any suggestions about how we can better connect with your fellow alumni? Let us know. I look forward to hearing from you and am honored to serve as your president.
in Action
Paul Feldstein
Robert Daraio
Paul Feldstein (literature) is a literary agent and publishing consultant based in Northern Ireland. In addition to representing writers, he consults for a variety of clients, including Barnes & Noble NOOK UK. Feldstein moved to Ireland in 2007 with his Irish wife Susan, who is also his partner in the agency. Susan represents writers and does ghostwriting and editing for a wide range of clients. The Feldstein Agency can be reached at thefeldsteinagency.co.uk.
1978
Jeffrey S. Putman, ‘96 President, Purchase College Alumni Association, Inc. jeffrey.putman@purchase.edu
Recently, one of Putman’s photos was selected by a panel of judges as a winner of the #LoveNYC Instagram Contest from the City of New York, representing the Bronx. The photo will be displayed in a digital exhibition at the New York Public Library, as well as on the City of New York’s official social media outlets. In addition, Putman, along with the four other winners, will serve as official City of New York Instagram photo ambassadors.
Justine Blau (literature) has just published a memoir, Scattered, her vivid account of growing up chronically homeless in 1960s-era Manhattan with her delusional mother and her two older brothers. She finds unlikely salvation through the relationships she builds in the tumult of a Westchester group home for children. Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild, described Scattered as “deeply compelling.” The book, published by Hand Whistle Press, is available from Amazon. com in paperback and on Kindle. The first chapter is available at justinehopeblau.com. Terri Kinney (psychology) received her PhD from Yale University in 1986. She did addiction neurobiology research at Yale Medical School until 2006, when she moved to Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. In January 2013, Kinney became a professor of psychology at the University of Houston; she says she hopes to find outstanding graduate students. She is married and has two children. Her daughter graduated from college and recently married, and her son began college this fall.
Peter Kurz
Peter Kurz (political science) enjoyed an illustrious college career as the catcher for the Purchase Burnouts softball team. He was recently elected the president of the Israel Association of Baseball and led the Israeli national team to second place in the World Baseball Classic qualifiers. In his spare time, Kurz works as the vice president for marketing and exports for Merhav, a manufacturer of bath and kitchen products in Israel. He holds an MBA and reports that he has three wonderful grown children and a loving wife. P U R C HA S E | 2 5