39 minute read
Donors support the future
Donor support helps Bryant finish strong
In a uniquely challenging year, the Bryant community came together as one, united in resilience and generosity as donors supported Bryant in record breaking ways. Nearly 6,100 alumni, students, parents, faculty, staff and friends contributed more than $7,150,000 during the fiscal year, including a record 475 donors who gave at the Bryant Leadership Council ($1,000+) level. These gifts enabled Bryant to move forward, helping to minimize program disruption, maintaining health and safety, retaining academic excellence and ensuring that the Bryant student experience remained vibrant and accessible.
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And, in a year like no other, October 28, 2020 was a day like no other. Bryant Giving Day brought the Bryant community together in pride, spirit and philanthropy as never before. In 24 hours, the event raised a record $1,058,977 from a record 2,303 donors — an increase of 850 donors from the previous year. Challenge gifts from generous Bryant Game Changers — Board of Trustees Chairman David ’85 & Terry Beirne, Michael ’67 & Karen Fisher, Bryant Trustee Joe ’80 and Kathi (Jurewicz) Puishys ’81, and several anonymous donors — helped create excitement and inspired unprecedented participation. “One million dollars is a stunning accomplishment,” said David Wegrzyn ’86, P’23, Vice President for University Advancement “It was humbling to see the power of our community on Bryant Giving Day.”
Support for the Be Bryant Strong educational experience for campaign was a critical part of this Bryant students. The success throughout the year, with event rallied support contributions providing vital resources for the Bryant during the rapid shift COVID-19 Fund, to remote and hybrid which received gifts learning and then from more than during the carefully 600 donors totaling coordinated campus nearly $460,000, reopening in providing flexibility January 2021. for allocating additional Thanks, in part, to tuition aid and enabling more than 1,536 Bryant to offer scholarships to gifts totaling over students facing unexpected $615,000, Bryant was pandemic-related financial hardships. able to make critical “Contributions to the COVID-19 Fund investments in rapid, helped provide struggling students on-site COVID-19 testing, with the opportunity to enroll at or remote learning technology, continue their education at Bryant,” campus-wide health and safety, and said Ed Magro, Executive Director of additional tuition aid for students. Development at Bryant. “These These investments made gifts changed lives.” Bryant one of the few Last month marked higher education the return of the institutions in the President’s Cup Golf region to offer Tournament, with continuity for renewed support in-person learning anchored by a while providing a $25,000 gift from campus experience Trustee Daniel ‘03 with robust and and Tanya Rice, varied co-curricular matching all in-event activities. Underwritten contributions and by their generous gift, the winning auction bids. This opening of the Marion ’81 and year’s sold-out event at Newport Frank Hauck ’81, P’08 Ice Rink Country Club welcomed additional in early 2021 was one of several participants through a new Virtual Golf enhancements to outdoor and Clinic, expanding the participation distanced recreational programming of the tournament now in its 17th year. that helped keep students healthy Thanks to support from presenting and united the campus community. sponsor Amica Insurance, successful
Bryant pride was on display at live and silent auctions, and more the We Are Bryant Virtual Race, a than 130 participants, the tournament new event begun in 2020 and one raised more than $265,000 for the of the ways the Bryant community President’s Scholarship Fund, quickly mobilized in flexible and expanding access to Bryant through creative ways to ensure a top-tier tuition aid for top-performing students. Strengthened by a second $25,000 donor participation gift challenge from Daniel ’03 and Tanya Rice the coordinated outreach of our Finish Strong
TOTAL GIFTS campaign pushed the total number of & PLEDGES donors to the goal of $7,156,634 6,100, with many alumni inspired to make their first gift to Bryant. In coordination with President Gittell’s first Presidential appeal in May, Bryant Trustee Joe Puishys ’80 and Kathi (Jurewicz) Puishys ’81 made a generous $50,000 gift to match fiscal-year-end contributions from other Bryant donors, dollar for dollar. Along with critical unrestricted dollars, these gifts increased overall donor giving A record participation. Nora Marzocchi, Director of the Bryant Fund, believes 926 the significant increase in parents giving, in particular, was a reflection of overall satisfaction with Bryant’s GIFTS FROM institution-wide efforts to ensure that student families students could return to the classroom despite the challenges of reopening the campus. “Families were grateful to know their students could safely learn and be part of all Bryant has to offer,” she said. “We all worked together to ensure that students could make the most of their Bryant experience.” Support from corporate partners and foundations continued to increase, highlighted by a $1.26 million gift from the Hassenfeld Family Foundation to continue Bryant’s Hassenfeld Institute for Public Leadership, and a $200,000 gift from the Roddy Foundation to launch the new Center For Health continues on page 10
A record 475 Bryant Leadership Council -level donors
AAA Northeast’s partnership with Bryant is an investment in the future
With its recent participation in several Bryant programs and events, AAA Northeast continues to expand its engagement with Bryant in a collaborative partnership that benefits both organizations. The top-down investment in Bryant, led by President and CEO John Galvin ’91MBA, has allowed AAA Northeast to partner with the University in a unique way that has helped them to support University priorities while they identify and recruit Bryant graduates who can bring innovative ideas to their organization.
As a corporate partner of the Design Thinking Process course at Bryant, company executives served as mentors throughout the semester to six student teams who used design thinking principles to help AAA Northeast attract and retain younger members. At the end of the semester, top executives from AAA Northeast served as judges as the student teams presented their final projects, evaluating the teams on their use of innovative, human-centered solutions to expand AAA’s reach to young adults and utilizing newly proposed web-based tools and social
media engagement strategies.
A generous contribution from AAA Northeast provided prize money to be shared among the top three student teams, but the judges were so impressed by the quality of the presentations that Galvin announced the awarding of additional prize money to be split among the remaining three teams, saying “it was inspiring to see how each team approached this challenge. They all did a fantastic job, and we’re grateful for their hard work and creativity.”
AAA Northeast has previously Science program, working with faculty to provide students with real business problems and opportunities to explore big data sets and develop the skills needed to manage, interpret and gain insights in the analytics and big data lifecycle — from problem definition through data acquisition to the presentation of results. AAA Northeast
We’re proud to support Bryant, and we’re excited about the future of our partnership.
AAA NORTHEAST PRESIDENT AND CEO JOHN GALVIN ’91MBA sponsored Bryant’s IDEA (Innovation and Design Experience for All) program, part of Bryant’s immersive and uniquely integrated First-Year Gateway Experience, which advances design thinking, curiosity, critical thinking and the creativity needed to solve real-world problems. For the past four years, the organization has also been active in Bryant’s Data continues on page 11
CVS Health sponsors new Design Thinking Summer Challenge
SELECT GROUP OF STUDENTS TACKLE A REAL-WORLD CHALLENGE FOR MAJOR HEALTH CARE CLIENT
Anew Design-thinking Summer Challenge has launched this summer from Bryant’s new Center for Health and Behavioral Sciences (CHBS). The mission of the CHBS is to educate and train the next generation of leaders who are dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of others.
Sponsor and client company CVS Health has presented a select group of students with the opportunity to apply their classroom knowledge to a new, human-centered design challenge related to consumer health.
The six students participating in this new summer internship program have all gone through the Innovation and Design Experience for All (IDEA) program — initially as first-year students, and then later five of them as mentors — where they learned and practiced a framework, tools and approaches for innovative problem solving. Now they are undertaking an applied project in a professional setting. CHBS, points out how the model demonstrates the value of a Bryant education, helping students to be real-world ready by providing them with meaningful pre-professional experiences. “It’s very valuable when they get first-hand understanding on not a hypothetical problem, but an actual challenge that a company is addressing internally.”
Working remotely, the students are scattered around the country this summer and working at other jobs, but are collaborating virtually as a team and with partners at CVS.
STUDENT PARTICIPANTS INCLUDE:
Cathryn Johnson ’22 Alexa Kelley ‘22 Jenna Knight ’22 Angela LeBel ’22 Willa Norman ’22 Emma McGovern ’23
INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM TACKLES DESIGN CHALLENGE IN SIX WEEKS Guided by Psychology Professor Allison Butler, Ph.D., students participating in the new program also have access to executive mentors from CVS Health to help coach them through the process. Though not a for-credit program, the new six-week internship is modeled on PSY 440, The Design Thinking Process course, an advanced, 14-week interdisciplinary course during which Allison Butler, Ph.D. students solve a pressing, human-centered challenge for a corporate client, according to Butler, who co-teaches the class.
Butler, also a Faculty Fellow in the The students — who represent an array of different majors in business, arts & sciences and health science — bring a rich variety of perspectives and represent what the best design-thinking professionals do as diverse, cross-functional teams, Butler says. CHBS Director Kirsten Hokeness, Ph.D., who is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Science and Technology, notes how the interdisciplinary nature of the team and the project aligns with the Center’s mission to foster collaborative solutions to complex problems. “The challenges of the ongoing global pandemic have highlighted the critical need for multi-disciplinary approaches to identifying and solving problems in the health sector,” she says, adding “this program is an excellent example of how Kirsten Hokeness, Ph.D. Bryant students are doing that, while also applying what they’ve learned to become global citizens committed to improving the lives of others.” STUDENTS APPLY DESIGN-THINKING SKILLS Angela LeBel ’22, who majors in Team and Project Management and minors in Psychology and Communication, completed both IDEA and the PSY/MGT 440 course. She says she became interested immediately when she heard about the opportunity.
She adds that concentrating on thoroughly defining the problem first, before jumping to solutions, is a discipline that has opened new ways of thinking for her. “My design-thinking training has really inspired me to think more creatively in my other classes and in the rest of my life, too.”
Emma McGovern ’23, who double majors in Biology and Psychology, plans to pursue a career in health care, and is excited about working in a professional context at this stage of her college experience. Working with the CVS Health executives has been rewarding, she says.
“This program is such a great opportunity,” she says. “I’m able to apply the design-thinking skills to help CVS solve an important health care challenge, and I’m getting to work with highly knowledgeable and experienced people.” CLIENT CVS HEALTH A LONGSTANDING BRYANT PARTNER AND SPONSOR CVS Health, which has partnered several times with Bryant on various projects, has been growing their own human-centered design practices for a number of years, according to Matt Rainone, Director of Creative and Innovation Strategy. He is working directly with Bryant students on this new summer program.
CVS Health sees these interaction points with the University as not only an opportunity to help further evolve the mindset of their own organization, but also as a way to cultivate a talent pipeline, he adds.
“We’re always trying to evangelize human-centered design at CVS,” he says. “And when executives come into these meetings, they often comment that it’s one of the most fun parts of their day. They’re impressed and inspired by this next generation of design thinkers.” THE BEST OF A BRYANT EDUCATION The design challenge the students are working on focuses on how to creatively empower consumers to take proactive control of and be advocates for their own health.
The work product will be high-level, professional deliverables, Butler says. That the students will have an opportunity to practice and apply the methodology — not for course credit, but to solve a challenge for a client — is tremendous pre-professional experience for them and highlights Bryant’s focus on collaborative learning through team projects and presentations, she adds.
“It represents the best of a Bryant education,” Butler says. “It’s interdisciplinary, it’s real-world focused, it’s authentic, it’s important and meaningful work and it’s training students in cutting-edge, design-thinking skills.”
2021 President’s Cup Golf Tournament
The President’s Cup Golf Tournament was back at Newport Country Club last month, with nearly 130 participants gathering for a day of golf and a reception in support of the President’s Scholarship Fund. With the generous support of alumni and friends, presenting sponsor Amica Insurance, and more than a dozen additional sponsors, the event raised more than $265,000 to provide critical tuition aid to Bryant students. After a year’s postponement, Bryant alumni and friends were eager to renew the signature Bryant event, now in its 17th year, and registration sold out a month in advance. For the first time, the event included a Virtual Golf Clinic hosted by Bryant Varsity Men’s Golf Coach Charlie Blanchard. At the event’s reception, live, silent and online auctions offered the chance to bid on sports tickets, exclusive golf outings and other prizes, with a generous matching gift from Trustee Daniel Rice ’03 and his wife Tanya, matching every winning bid dollar for dollar. Tournament Committee Chair David Olney ’82 says he looks forward to the event every year and is proud to lend his support. “It’s a great feeling to know that the money we raised will make a big difference in the lives of many Bryant students,” he says. “It’s a win-win.”
Pictured left to right; David C. Wegrzyn ’86, P’23, Vice President of University Advancement, Bryant President Ross Gittell, Ph.D., and President’s Cup Tournament Committee Chair David Olney ’82.
Planning your Bryant legacy
Let us help you craft a legacy gift strategy that provides for you and your family while supporting Bryant
By Ed Magro, Executive Director of Development
If you’re concerned about outliving your assets in retirement, supplementing your retirement income or ensuring other Ed Magro family members Executive Director of Development have sufficient income during their lifetimes, you’re not alone. Many Bryant alumni who feel the same way find that a life income plan through a charitable remainder trust is an
attractive estate planning option.
With a charitable reminder trust, you (or other beneficiaries, if you choose) receive regular income for life or for a period of up to 20 years. At the end of the trust term, the balance in the trust supports Bryant and our mission. You can fund a charitable trust with cash, but by funding your trust with long-term appreciated assets, you will receive several additional benefits, including: • Eliminate up-front capital gains tax. • You may also increase your lifetime income as compared to the yield on the contributed assets. There are two types of trusts that work this way: Charitable Remainder Annuity Trusts (CRATs) and Charitable Remainder Unitrusts (CRUTs). While both allow you to receive an income tax charitable deduction, there are small but important differences.
With a Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust:
• You will receive a regular, fixed income based on a percentage of the trust’s initial assets. • You may not make additional contributions to the trust.
With a Charitable Remainder Unitrust:
• You will receive a regular income, but the amount you will receive is a set percentage of the then-current value of the unitrust, recalculated annually. • You may make additional contributions to the trust.
The best way to get started is to consult an expert — set up a time to meet with your estate planning attorney to ensure that a charitable remainder trust is the right tool to achieve your personal financial and philanthropic goals.
When you’re ready, schedule a time to meet with us to discuss how your generosity can impact Bryant. We can partner with you and your estate planning attorney as you take the next steps.
Please note: this information is not intended as legal or tax advice. For such advice, please consult an attorney or tax advisor.
a confidential, no-obligation consultation.
SUPPORT BRYANT STUDENTS WITH THE LEGACY GIFT THAT IS RIGHT FOR YOU
Did you know that there are several ways you can support Bryant and provide additional financial security for yourself and those who depend on you? When you are ready to discuss your estate plan, let us help you create a legacy gift that allows you to leverage your assets to benefit your family, while also supporting the school that has been such an important part of your life and success.
For a confidential conversation, contact Ed Magro, Executive Director of Development, at 401.232.6528 or emagro@bryant.edu, or for more information visit plannedgiving.bryant.edu and start building your Bryant legacy today.
For Jackvony, giving back is a responsibility that lasts forever
As he looks back on his long and distinguished career in law and public service, Bernard A. Jackvony
’67 recalls his decision to attend Bryant as a young transfer student. He had chosen to pursue a degree in accounting, and on his first day he met with then Dean Nelson Gulski ’26 about
transferring credits. Jackvony says he regards Gulski (who would later become Bryant’s President) with tremendous respect, and the two would later develop a warm friendship, but Jackvony laughs as he recalls that it began with a disagreement.
He didn’t understand why he would only be given credit for one semester of accounting after a full year at his previous school. “Dean Gulski told me ‘They don’t teach accounting like we teach accounting,’” he said. “And he was right.”
Jackvony remains grateful for his experience as a Bryant undergraduate student and recently decided to designate Bryant as a beneficiary of his charitable remainder trust. “Along with my family and my wife, there are a few special institutions that have shaped my outlook on life that had a powerful impact on me,” he says, “and Bryant was one of them.”
After his first year at Bryant and a brief internship at IBM, Jackvony decided to shift his focus toward a career in law. Soon after he graduated in 1967, he married his wife Sharon (’87MBA) and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, joining a program that allowed him to attend law school and become an officer in the Judge Advocate General Division, where he served until 1973. After his military service, he accepted a job with a firm in Florida where he specialized in tax law, estates and trusts — areas where his background in accounting proved to be an asset.
It was then that he reconnected with Bryant, starting a South Florida alumni group and later serving on the Board of Trustees for nine years. He remembers being impressed by Bryant’s then-new campus and the expansion of its educational mission. “On the East Side of Providence, Bryant was a very good business
school, but always in the shadow of Brown University,” he says. “But, in Smithfield, Bryant has become a world-class institution, and its reputation continues to climb.” Before the pandemic, he was a regular campus visitor, and he says he is always impressed with Bryant’s students. “Bryant is doing a wonderful job preparing them for future success.” In early 1997, Jackvony was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island by Governor Lincoln Almond after Bernard Jackvony ’67 Lieutenant Governor Robert Weygand was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Jackvony held the office until early 1999. He has also served as chairman of the Rhode Island Republican Party, and he continues to practice law in Florida and Rhode Island. Education can be expensive, but an investment in learning pays lifelong dividends. BERNIE JACKVONY ‘67 BENEFACTOR OF THE SHARON AND BERNARD JACKVONY SCHOLARSHIP FUND Jackvony says that he and his wife Sharon — who died in 2005 — always tried to support educational institutions that were making an impact on students during their formative years. After working as a teacher at the former Kenyon Street School in Providence, Sharon later earned her MBA in accounting from Bryant in 1987. The Jackvonys’ charitable remainder trust designates Bryant as one of the educational institutions most meaningful to both of them and, upon maturity, it will create the Sharon and Bernard Jackvony Scholarship Fund. “Bryant provided me with tools to make a good living, and I am grateful,” Jackvony said. “Education can be expensive, but an investment in learning pays lifelong dividends.” He believes that the two things of lasting value that parents can give to their children are love and education. “So much of what we achieve comes from education,” he said, “Our responsibility to make education available lasts forever.”
Nearly 40 brothers of Phi Sigma Nu/Delta Kappa Epsilon
met to play golf in June. Gifts from their outing will add more than $10,000 to their endowed scholarship at Bryant.
The Reunion@Home virtual scavenger hunt took us all back in time!
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LINKEDIN Bryant University Alumni Association (Group) 1979 MICHAEL M. TIKOIAN ’79, CPA has been named managing partner of Piccerelli, Gilstein & Company, LLP (PG&Co). Tikoian will oversee the firm’s management including setting organizational and strategic goals, COVID and other human relations guidance, technology and day-to-day activities and operations.
1990 LENORE UDDYBACK FORTSON ’90 published a book of poetry Fresh Courage to Believe. Each piece seeks to remind readers how their unique experiences can serve to strengthen their resolve to overcome difficulties, and how those experiences collectively represent the total of their life’s journey, reflecting key elements of God’s ultimate plan for their lives.
1985 VICTORIA (ATAMIAN) WATERMAN ’85 was recently honored by the Worcester Business Journal as one of the Power 50 most influential people in the central Massachusetts economy.
1995 DEJONGH WELLS ’95 was awarded the key to the City of Worcester, MA, by the mayor, for two of his achievements: establishing Future Focus Media, an organization that teaches videography to young people, and for representing sneaker culture through his brand marketing company Obsessive Sneaker Disorder.
1998 APRYLLE WALLACE ’98MBA currently serves as the Vice President of Human Resources for The Greater Boston Food Bank. She was recently selected to be a co-chair of Feeding America’s Human Resource Council, representing the 200 food bank members in the Feeding America national network.
1999 SARA (PARKER) ENLOW ’99 has joined the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago as a board member. Enlow is Vice President and Chief of Staff to the CEO at CDW Corporation. Prior to her tenure at CDW, she worked at Takeda for nearly seven years, serving in multiple leadership roles. Enlow also served as a Principal at Vantage Partners, helping companies manage through complex changes.
2000 ERICKA (HAGENAARS) AYLES ’00 has been elected Partner of Brookwood Financial Partners, LLC in Beverly, MA. Brookwood is an internationally recognized private equity real estate investment firm. Ericka is a Managing Director and the Chief Financial Officer for Brookwood and Chief Financial Officer of Yesway. In 2021, Ayles was recognized as a Woman of the Year in the annual Convenience Store News “Top Women in Convenience” awards program.
2001 STEPHEN ROTHWELL ’01 was recently appointed to the Board of Directors for Christopher’s Haven, a Boston-based non-profit with a mission to operate furnished temporary apartments and a community recreation area for families of children being treated for cancer at nearby hospitals. Stephen is currently the Co-Founder, President and CEO of Inspired Technology and Communications, based in Easton, MA.
2008 CAITLIN HANSEN ’08, was recently featured in an episode of The Saint Leo 360° Podcast. At Bryant, Hansen was a member of the women’s lacrosse team and worked as an assistant for the team and in admissions post-graduation. She is currently the Head Women’s Lacrosse Coach for St. Leo University.
2010 JAMIE (FISHMAN) VAN IDERSTINE ’10 has been honored in this year’s MM+M Under 40 for her work at Cyan Health. MM+M’s 40 Under 40 Program celebrates the accomplishments of young talent working in and around medical marketing.
2013 ISLINDY MERIUS ’13 and DEIDRE (FRASER) OSEI ’10, ’11MBA have launched Local Culture Box, a company that focuses on Black-owned businesses to build awareness and generational wealth within different communities. They launched their venture with help from retired Professor Sandra Enos.
2015 BAILEY CORNELL ’15 Global Marketing Objective Lead at Google, recently published “Major Underdog: From the Shelter to the White House” a children’s book about Major Biden, the first rescue dog to live in the White House. Cornell’s book has been featured on The Rhode Show on WPRI.
Class notes are online. To read more and submit your own, please visit alumni.bryant.edu/
classnotes or email us your news at alumni@bryant.edu. We
will continue to print a few in each issue of Engage.
IN MEMORIAM
ROBERT HAIGH ’70 April 4, 2021 RICHARD MALTEZOS ’70 January 5, 2021 WILLIAM VALENTINE ’70 November 6, 2020 ALICE (CARNEVALE) SHARKEY ’70 September 23, 2020 RONALD BRIAND ’70 September 17, 2020 ALAN WOLFE ’70 September 7, 2020 THOMAS DUFFY ’71 September 7, 2020 DAVID GOLD ’71 August 27, 2020 LEONARD HODGKINSON ’70 July 14, 2020 We remember these alumni from the Classes of 1970 and 1971 who have passed away since their last Bryant Reunions.
JOHN TILLEY ’70 May 1, 2020 RICHARD FONTAINE ’71MBA March 20, 2020 JON WOOD ’71 February 26, 2020 MICHAEL COLETTA ’71 January 15, 2020 SUSAN MAYNARD ’70 November 26, 2019 ROBERT DONNELLY ’71 October 27, 2019 MARYLEE (KOIS) SKWIRZ ’70 September 25, 2019 C. HERBERT CARLSON ’71 September 22, 2019 KATHLEEN (NEGRELLI) MEYER ’70 July 20, 2019 CRAIG FLEMING ’70 June 25, 2019 MICHAEL NAUGHTON ’70 March 24, 2019 MICHAEL IZZO ’71 November 28, 2018 RONALD CARLIN ’71 November 20, 2018 CAROL (DEVAUDREUIL) CHURCH ’71 November 12, 2018 GEORGE VACCA ’70 November 11, 2018 NOEL DONABEDIAN ’70 August 31, 2018 ROBERT BEATTIE ’71 June 24, 2018 RICHARD CAREY ’71 May 18, 2018 JOHN STEVENS ’70 March 30, 2018 LAWRENCE MCMANUS ’71 January 17, 2018 RICHARD HAGAN ’71 December 31, 2017 JOHN D’AMICO ’71 December 19, 2017 JAMES FECTEAU ’70 October 5, 2017 THOMAS POPE ’70 July 29, 2017 WILFRED LEBLANC ’70 July 27, 2017 THOMAS MERCIER ’71 July 21, 2017 STEVEN GURMAN ’70 July 19, 2017 NEAL POIRIER ’70 June 28, 2017 ANTHONY VINCI ’70 June 12, 2017 PATRICK DESIMONE ’70, ’74MBA July 13, 2016 JEFFREY RUSSELL ’70 May 15, 2016 J. EDWARD SHEA ’70, ’74MBA April 10, 2016 DAN KOOJOOLIAN ’70 March 29, 2016 PAULINE (GILBERT) TERWILLIGER ’70 January 8, 2016 JOSEPH KALINOWSKI ’71 November 12, 2015 PAUL SMITH ’70 November 8, 2015
NIRBHAY KUMAR ’97: A world of connections
When Nirbhay Kumar ’97 arrived at Bryant’s campus in 1994, it was something of a culture shock. He and his parents had selected Bryant, sight unseen, from Bombay, India. But the opportunity to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, live near relatives in the Boston area and receive a merit scholarship all prompted the decision.
Kumar was surprised to find many international students among his classmates, and recognized several friends from school in India. He quickly acclimated to campus life and earned his degree in three years by attending winter and summer sessions. investment services to the Bank’s global client base.
Kumar’s most valuable experience came during his involvement in the founding of crypto-technology trading company AlphaPoint. “I learned more in those 14 months than I did in the previous 18 years,” he recalls. “Working in a start-up forces you to do things you cannot do at large company, where you work in silos. Everyone does everything in a startup. You see first-hand the connectivity between marketing, product, finance, HR, technology, sales and raising capital. If you can do it early in your career, you see the world as a set of connections and will always think that way going forward.”
In 2019, Kumar joined the Bryant Alumnifire network. He mentors students, was a guest speaker for the
Kumar’s career path stretched his education and skills in ways he never imagined. “As things have changed so dramatically over the last 25 years — primarily due to technology — much of my original career trajectory plans became irrelevant,” he observes.
With two decades of financial technology experience with Thomson Reuters, Openlink Financial, BlackRock, FIS and AlphaPoint, he is now Head of FinTech & Market Data Sourcing with BNY Mellon. There he helps BNY procure the market data, platforms and applications that are core to providing
“Data Science gives students a much broader view of the business world.” — Nirbhay Kumar ’97
Finance Association and Professor Peter Nigro’s 2020 Summer Workshops, participated in the Virtual Walk Down Wall Street and arranged for BNY Mellon to participate in the Global Supply Chain Practicum. Bryant is now also on BNY Mellon’s recruitment list of preferred universities.
He is excited by Bryant’s Data Science program and would like to see an introductory Data Science course become part of the core curriculum. “Regardless of what students want to do, through data science they see the larger picture,” Kumar explains. “The world is more correlated and different fields are more interdependent than they ever were. Data Science gives students a much broader view of the business world.”
STEM SCHOLARS PROGRAM continued from page 5
and Science,” says Rick Gorvett, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of the Mathematics department, and a principal investigator for the grant and research. “By building on these strengths, we look forward to identifying and working with many talented young people and providing assistance to help them become leaders in their STEM fields.”
A critical aspect of the program will be ongoing faculty research on the effectiveness of planned evidence-based curricular and co-curricular activities on student success. The research will provide further insight into how to best support students in these critical yet demanding fields.
“This grant, and the accompanying research, represents a chance for Bryant to solidify and enhance its position as a leader in STEM recruitment and education,” adds Gorvett.
Working closely with principal investigators Hokeness and Gorvett on program implementation and research are co-investigators Allison Butler, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology and IDEA Program Director; Alicia Lamere, Ph.D., Professor of Mathematics; and Christopher Reid, Ph.D., Professor of Science and Technology. William Zywiak, Ph.D., Lecturer of Mathematics, will serve as grant coordinator, and Irene Glasser, Ph.D., Research Associate in Behavioral and Social Sciences at Brown University, will serve as external evaluator of the program.
Investigators on the grant will research the effectiveness of various strategies to determine which practices are most impactful for student success and will serve as a model for other institutions working to enhance student success in this area.
“Our longstanding commitment to student success in the STEM disciplines and our passion for teaching are the drivers of this effort. We hope to build awareness and attract more students to study these programs at Bryant where they can build their capabilities and confidence as they prepare for career success,” says Hokeness.
Erin Champlin ’85 was offered the opportunity to become Senior Vice President for People Experience at Humana in the midst of a global pandemic. Leading the “next-generation people strategy” for one of the nation’s top health companies was a career step too meaningful to pass up. It leverages Champlin’s more than 35 years of experience in IT, Global Business Services (GBS), Consulting, and Enterprise Transformation and provides another way to express the conviction that fueled her undergraduate studies at Bryant.
“I’ve always believed technology can solve business problems,” explains Champlin. “Bryant was just the right choice for me. It gave me the chance to combine my interest in business and computer information systems to solve problems and I jumped in with both feet”
Following a management consulting internship with Arthur Young — a rare opportunity arranged by a Bryant professor — Champlin was hired by the firm and spent several years as a consultant to several of the region’s leading companies, including John Hancock, Eli Lilly and Mass Mutual.
An assignment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and employment with the home infusion therapy division of Caremark sparked an early interest in health care. After 18 years with EMC, last serving in Chief Information Officer and GBS Leadership roles, Champlin was named Vice President for Global Services and Enterprise Transformation at Johnson & Johnson in 2014. Five years later, she returned to Boston and family and joined Humana in July 2020 as the Senior Vice President of People Experience amidst the pandemic — representing another “high risk/high reward” scenario. With a father who specialized in data processing and a mother who was a nurse, Champlin says it’s not surprising that she “came home” to the healthcare field with her recent career moves.
“Technology is the common thread through all my positions,” she notes.
“Bryant gave me the chance to combine my interest in business and computer information systems to solve problems.” — Erin Champlin ’85
“...and I come back to my learnings at Bryant throughout. My experience as a CIO, leading global business services, integrating acquired companies, using user-centered design thinking — are all experiences that I leverage to help Humana improve health outcomes for those we serve.”
Champlin’s personal and professional bonds to Bryant remain strong. Her son, Connor Champlin ’15, is a Bryant
graduate; as is her sister, Mary Beth (Doherty) Kuzoian ’87; and daughterin-law, Kaitlyn Champlin ’11. “We
feel pretty blessed and connected to the Bryant community,” she notes.
Champlin serves on the Dean’s Council and has long promoted the qualifications of Bryant graduates.
“Bryant listens to businesses about their needs for data science and applied business and technology skills. The University is really smart about preparing students for the business world today and tomorrow.”
DONOR SUPPORT continued from page 6
and Behavioral Science. In a year
when many events were cancelled or held virtually, vital support from loyal corporate sponsors exceeded the annual goal, totaling more than $700,000. Several other leadership gifts allowed Bryant to devote resources to essential programs and services, including a generous gift from Bonnie and Richard Leto ’73 to expand Bryant Counseling Services
to meet an increased need from students while supporting their overall well-being and academic success. A gift of $60,000 was received in memory of Bryant alumnus David Gold ’71 to create an endowed fund to support Bryant’s growing Hillel program. Through a crowdfunding effort, $55,000 was raised to create an endowed fund that will fund programming at the Intercultural Center, strengthening efforts to promote and ensure diversity, equity and inclusion at Bryant.
Despite an interrupted fall season and many stops and starts to varsity schedules, Bryant Athletics received the loyal support of a record 1,547 donors who donated a record $904,060 in support of the Black & Gold. Earlier this year, Bryant received its first-ever planned gift to support Athletics from longtime volleyball coach Theresa Garlacy in recognition the Bryant community that welcomed her 27 years ago and has been such an important part of her life ever since. “Bryant has given me so much joy,” she said. “I’m giving back to a truly special community.”
We are grateful to the thousands of donors from throughout the Bryant global community who stepped up this year — with enthusiasm, empathy, and generosity — sustaining and strengthening Bryant with the power of philanthropy.
KING CHAN ’82: Sticking to the plan
King Chan ’82 knew what he wanted to do from a young age. Impressed by his parents’ accountant, who had a nice house and a new car every two years, Chan decided early that he wanted to be an accountant, too. His parents, who had immigrated from Hong Kong, owned a dry-cleaning business in Providence, RI, and hoped their son would go into medicine.
But Chan had made up his mind. “When I pick a plan, I usually stick to it,” he says. When it came time to enroll in college, Bryant was the obvious choice for its nearby location, and the strong reputation of its accounting program.
One thing he wishes he’d learned more about in school, he says, is human psychology. “Academics and the real world are different,” he chuckles. Even in a field like accounting, which seems logical and straightforward, he says, “you meet all kinds of people with all kinds of idiosyncrasies and issues.”
But he learned to listen closely to understand how to meet his clients’ true needs and recommend the right strategies. His philosophy stresses honesty, integrity and professionalism.
His firm, Chan & Company, based in the Los Angeles area, focuses largely on the real estate industry. Though many of his clients are local to the Southern California region, they work with clients from all over, including a number of overseas companies and U.S. companies expanding abroad.
Early in his career he worked for Big Four firms, but now he prefers that his own company, started in 2015, remain small so that he can be hands-on and closely control the operations and quality.
“I want to have fun, I want to work with the type of clients I prefer and I want to do it in a small firm where we can provide the best possible service,” he adds. His advice? “Success is finding something that you enjoy doing.”
“Success is finding something that you enjoy doing.” — King Chan ’82
Having invested heavily in IT and related security in an effort to reduce the amount of paper they needed to generate and store, Chan was well positioned to go remote when COVID hit. Though business remained strong, he says cash flow suffered because of the financial pressures his clients experienced.
Accounting is usually the last function to get any love or attention, he jokes.
“But the most rewarding thing about my profession is that when I do a good job, I can tell by the way my client reacts. The icing on the cake is when I send a bill for my services and they pay it — that’s a wonderful feeling!”
PHILANTHROPY UPDATE continued from page 1
aid from our COVID-19 Fund helped turn their dream of a Bryant education into a reality.
We have shown that we are a resilient community, an institution built on innovation and determination, and our students know that whatever challenges the future may bring, we will stand together and support one another. I am especially proud of our Advancement Team and the hard work they did to reach out and build connections in our alumni network at a critical time. Despite the cancellation of so many beloved events and traditions, Bulldogs from all over the world embraced new ways to step up for Bryant when we needed them most, motivated by the irrepressible Bryant spirit. As so many of our most generous philanthropic leaders made major contributions that challenged and inspired us all to participate, it has been reaffirming to see the extraordinary generosity of our community. Finishing our fiscal year on June 30, we received broadly increased annual participation, with contributions from nearly 6,100 donors, totaling more than $7,150,000. These are much more than statistics; they are a testament to the power of philanthropy to transform lives.
As we continue efforts to return to normal, we bring this momentum — the energy that our donors helped create — with us to ensure that Bryant leads the way as new opportunities emerge for our graduates, our students, and our institution. Together, we will leverage the lessons of the past year to become stronger and more efficient, while retaining the resilience and compassion that was so important to our success. We spent a year six feet apart, but our community became closer than ever. “Be Bryant Strong” is an idea that will inspire us long after our memory of this past year fades. As we get to work building the future at Bryant, I am grateful to be part of this amazing and generous community, and I am excited to see what we can accomplish together.
David C. Wegrzyn
’86, P’23 Vice President for University Advancement
50 YEARS IN SMITHFIELD continued from page 1
around the dorms were a different story, however, he says. Those areas were seeded, and became mud pits every time it rained.
We’re sure there are many stories out there from Bryant’s early days in Smithfield. When and how the Archway arrived from the old campus, good times spent at The Library and Rathskeller bars, and many more.
Valenti remembers playing guitar with Russel Francis ’73 for a few
bucks at The Library, and he thinks a beer at the Rathskeller was about 25 cents. The yearbook boasted that the bar even had a color TV!
We would love to have your stories and see pictures from those early days. You can email them to us at alumni@bryant.edu, or post them
on the Alumni Association Facebook page. #BryantAlumni
We’ll be back in force for Homecoming on Saturday, October 2. There will be live music and a celebration of how far Bryant has come in 50 years. We hope you can join us for a trip down memory lane.
1972 YEARBOOK DEDICATION In September, 1971, Bryant College realized the culmination of a dream and began active operation on the new Smithfield campus. Students saw a modern academic unistructure, plus dormitories, athletic fields, a well-equipped gymnasium and vast parking facilities. All saw the same completed campus, but few realized what had transpired since the dream began with the Tupper estate.
And now we are here, living and learning because of all those people — the dreamers, benefactors, planners and builders — who transformed a country farm into a center of academic excellence.
It is only appropriate, therefore, that we dedicate this yearbook to everyone who in any way has helped to make the dream a reality.
SAVE THE DATE!
Join us this year on Bryant Giving Day, Wednesday, October 20, 2021.
givingday.bryant.edu
AAA PARTNERSHIP WITH BRYANT continued from page 6
was also a returning sponsor of the recent 24th annual Bryant Women’s Summit, the largest and longest-running conference for women in Rhode Island and the region.
AAA Northeast represents six million members in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, New Hampshire and New York and is one of the largest AAA clubs in North America, providing advocacy on behalf of its members and all motorists. Galvin has personally led the company’s continued engagement with Bryant, visiting campus to address student groups and serving on the College of Business Dean’s Council.
“Bryant has an unmatched reputation of hands-on experiential learning, and our partnership has provided us with access to innovative ideas, industry best-practice and a pipeline of new talent that can continually help us renew and expand the ways we serve our members,” says Galvin. “We’re proud to support Bryant, and we’re excited about the future of our partnership.”
To learn more about the Corporate Partnership Program at Bryant, contact Robin Richardson, Senior Director, Corporate & Foundation Relations at 401.232.6250.
PARTNERSHIPS
Request your banner today
If your wedding is coming up, don’t forget to request a Bryant banner. Take a photo of your wedding party with it and we’ll post your photo here in Engage. Email us at alumni@bryant.edu to request yours today.
ADDITIONS
Kristen (Aucoin) Larsen ’10 and her husband Chris, welcomed their first child, a daughter, Scarlett Blaire, on August 10, 2020.
Lisa (Tramontozzi) Hockenberry ’05 and her husband Nathaniel, welcomed their first child, a son, Nathaniel Christopher Jr., on November 14, 2020.*
Send your birth announcement to alumni@bryant.edu.
*Corrected from April 2021 edition
This June, Jack Judge ’78 organized the fourth Bryant Hockey Golf Invitational at Glocester Country Club, in Rhode Island. Forty former classmates and players from the 1974-1980 hockey and basketball teams played in memory of four classmates who had attended all their previous golf outings, Coach Bob Reall, Dan Mazzulla ’84, Ray Fogarty ’79 and Bob Wareham ’75. More than 20 alumni from the Class of 1990 got together this summer in Newport, Rhode Island for a fun filled weekend including a booze cruise organized by Diane (Didi) Anderson Blase and Sheri Rosenberg. Gathered left to right: Greg Doyle ’90, Bruce Morrison ’90, Beverly Steiger, Scott Steiger ’90, Brian Hart ’91, Bill Driscoll ’90, Karen (Russo) Cavanaugh ’90, Meg (O’Duggan) Sisco ’90; Sheri Rosenberg ’90; Bill Richardson ’91, Behind the pole: Heather (Little) Brown ’90, Mark Losolfo ’90, Tony Sisco ’90, Howie Mason ’90, Mary (Gregory) Seewald ’90, Marjorie (Graham) Winchenbach ’90, Ceroi Mello ’90, Kneeling in front: Didi (Anderson) Blase ’90, Michele (Giumetti) Edwards ’90.
ONLINE BUSINESS DIRECTORY
Do you operate an alumni-owned business? Advertise at alumni.bryant.edu/services today!
stay in touch
For questions, updates, story ideas, and to send photos of you and other Bryant alumni, contact us at alumni@bryant.edu or call 401.232.6040.
Join Bryant’s secure online community at alumni.bryant.edu, where you can update your info, submit class notes, find classmates, volunteer for AlumniFire, learn about events and programs, and access exclusive Bryant alumni resources. Find us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter by searching “Bryant Alumni.”
EVENT CALENDAR
SEPTEMBER
Football at URI
September 4, TBA Kingston, RI
Shawn Nassaney ’98 Memorial Race
September 11, 9 AM Beirne Stadium
September 11, Noon On campus
Tau Epison Phi Reunion
September 11, 4 PM On campus
Football vs. Sacred Heart
September 11, 7 PM Smithfield, RI
Football vs. Akron
September 18, TBA Akron, OH
Football vs. Marist
September 25, TBA Poughkeepsie, NY
OCTOBER
Celebrating Bryant Champions Dinner
October 1, 6 PM On campus
Homecoming
October 2, all day
Football vs. Brown
October 2, 4 PM Smithfield, RI
Football vs. Duquesne
October 9, 12 noon Pittsburgh, PA
Family & Friends Weekend at Bryant
October 15-17
Football vs. Wagner
October 23 TBA Staten Island, NY
NEW EVENTS ARE ADDED FREQUENTLY
Check alumni.
bryant.edu/events
for the most up-to-date calendar and to register for events.
engage staff
editor-in-chief Robin Torbron Warde P’17
managing editor Sarah Garnsey
editors/writers Kathleen Brown Jenna Buraczenski Cecilia Cooper Jessica Dang ’16 Denise Kelley Stephen Kostrzewa Jeffrey Stupakevich Pat Vieira
project specialist Leslie Bucci ’77
archway society (loyal guard) liaison Donna Harris P’03
