Bryant Connection - Winter 2013

Upcoming Alumni Events Check out the Bryant alumni website at http://alumniconnect.bryant.edu.

You’ll find connections to many events and activities including innovative social networking features.

Here are some examples: Friday, March 15 Handel and Haydn Society: Beethoven Symphony No. 7 Boston Symphony Hall Pre-Reception 6:00PM • Performance 8:00PM Friday, March 15 FL RAN RED SOX SPRING TRAINING CAMP BBQ & GAME jetBlue Park – Fort Meyers FL BBQ 5:00 – 7:00PM • Game 7:05PM Wednesday, March 27 NY RAN Soho Wine Tasting & Networking Reception Eyeball – 187 Lafayette St. New York

2013 Reunion @ Homecoming Friday, October 11– Sunday, October 13

Men’s Basketball Scores Record Turnaround As the 2012/2013 basketball season winds down and the thrill of March Madness approaches, it’s a good time to acknowledge the phenomenon of this year’s Bryant men’s basketball team.

In 2008, head coach Tim O’Shea had some very compelling personal reasons for accepting the position at Bryant. He also had a five-year plan for success. It was a rocky beginning but this has been an outstanding year. In fact, in the past 40 years of NCAA Division I basketball, there has never been a turnaround from one season to the next as great as that achieved by this team.

Five years ago, O’Shea was head coach at highly visible Ohio University where his team played in a 13,000-seat stadium and was winning 20 or more games each season. In contrast, Bryant was just beginning the transition from Division II to Division I and would not be eligible for post-season play for five years.

O’Shea had confidence in himself and his plan to have the team competitive by his fifth year, the team’s first of playoff eligibility. But doubt certainly plagued him when, in his first four seasons, his team’s overall record was 20-99, averaging nearly 25 losses each year. “When I took the job, I don’t know if I really knew what I was getting into,” O’Shea said. “They were really good kids and they played hard, but I quickly found out the talent gap between Division II and Division I was enormous.”

Building a college athletic program depends on recruitment for both short- and long-term.

Established programs traditionally recruit top notch players from high school ranks. But O’Shea knew Bryant’s transition situation and lack of reputation would block this path. So his recruitment strategy focused on transfers, foreign players, and the occasional overlooked high school player.

Alumni-Admission Connection

The Character of Success Bryant University Office of Admission 1150 Douglas Pike Smithfield RI 02917 Phone: 401-232-6100 Toll Free: 800-622-7001 admission@bryant.edu admission.bryant.edu

After four years of struggling, O’Shea and his players were feeling cautiously optimistic in the fall of 2012. The start was not auspicious with the Bulldogs losing the first two games of their season, to Indiana and Providence by a combined 76 points. Their turnaround started with wins over New Hampshire and Brown but their confidence got its biggest boost with a 56-54 win over Boston College in late November. And they continued winning, ending the season on Saturday, March 2, with an overall record of 19-10, 12-6 in the conference, placing them in a three-way tie for second place in the NEC. At this writing, the entire Bryant community is anticipating the team’s first post season playoff in the 32nd NEC Tournament quarterfinals with home court advantage over Mount St. Mary on Wednesday, March 6 at 7:00 p.m.

Learn more at http://www.bryantbulldogs.com/sports/mbkb/index.

EXCITING NEWS! At press time, NEC officials announced: “The Jim Phelan Coach of the Year goes to Tim O'Shea, who has engineered the greatest turnaround in NCAA history.”

The Bryant Connection is published three times a year by Judy Famiglietti for the AlumniAdmission Connection members of Bryant University. Send comments on this newsletter or Alumni-Admission Connection activity to Rebecca Eriksen, Senior Assistant Director for Events and Volunteers, Bryant University Office of Admission, 1150 Douglas Pike, Smithfield, RI 02917, 401-232-6957, 800-6227001, or reriksen@bryant.edu.

Thanks to You!

Volume 13, Issue 1, Winter 2013 Call for Volunteers!

AAC Phone Calling Campaign We are looking for AAC members to connect with admitted, prospective students in their area to provide information to help them make their final college decisions.

We’ll send you information on about 10 students and ask you to phone between April 1 and April 14.

Then we ask you to return the call records to us.

We’ll even give you a pre-paid envelope.

It’s easy to sign up!

By March 18, send the mailing address and email address you wish us to use for this program to

Judy Famiglietti at jfamigli@bryant.edu

Sesquicentennial Launch On January 31, the Bryant community gathered in the Rotunda to launch the 150th anniversary of the University’s founding. We were joined by a host of dignitaries including Governor Lincoln Chafee and Congressman David Cicilline, the University Board of Trustees, and others.

President Machtley recalled, “our beginning and our legacy of innovative education that anticipates the future in a changing world.” He noted there are nearly 4,500 accredited colleges and universities in the U.S. but only 178 – less than four percent – have attained the distinction of their 150th anniversary.

Check online for more exciting celebration events.

“Black Out the Chace” at last Thursday’s game against rival Robert Morris.

4

A Newsletter for Members of the Alumni-Admission Connection

For the Fall 2012 semester, our members really stepped up to the plate and helped in quite a few different ways. It seems as though each year when we look back at the busy fall recruiting season, we are amazed and gratified at your responses to our requests for help.

During the summer months, as our counselors plan their fall travel schedules, they realize the impossibility of being in two places at once. This is when we reach out to a number of AAC members to cover fall college fairs when no one from our staff is available. Thanks so much to the following for telling the Bryant story to dozens of young people in a single evening (some of you several times)!

Nick Cianci ’07 Steven Cowen ’69 Kim Didrikson ’01 Kristen Fricione ’08 Mark Giganti ’88 Michael Gurevich ’96 Mike Motschwiller ’88

Pratik Parikh ’11 Sarah Richelson ’11 Mary Sheehan ’11 Kristen Soule ’09 Mitch Terk ’09 Jay Weinberg ’85 Phil Weiss ’99

This fall, we held four Bryant 101 information sessions. Each one featured at least one alumnus who talked about the role Bryant has played in their life: Lauren Martin ’08, Adam Muccino ’07, Emily Murphy ’11, and Christina DeMaio Thompson ’05 were our featured speakers.

In early December, we presented our fifth Bulldog Challenge, a high school case competition for area high school students. More than 60 students from nine schools participated in this day-long event. One school brought four teams! Our two alumni judges were Tracie Moore ’99 and Raymond Mills ’04.

Later that same weekend, 15 guidance counselors from outside New England arrived for a multi-day visit to learn about Bryant and the wonderful things that are happening here for our students. They came from 11 states, spanning east, west and south coasts, and several in between.

Tarang Patel ’07 and Kaitlin Sidorsky ’10 met with them and talked about their experiences both at Bryant and since their graduation.

During the entire semester, prospective students have requested alumni interviews in their areas – this year at a greater rate than ever. Thank you to those who volunteered to meet their requests: Amanda Howe ’04 Carly Lavin ’05 Jim Magee ’88

Steve Manocchio ’01 Emily Murphy ’11 Dave Suaviso ’96

We wish there were a better way to let you know how much we appreciate your willingness to share your time and experience. You help us extend our reach and better deliver Bryant’s message. You are truly the GOLD in the Black and Gold! Thank you!

1

Bryant’s Gateway Curriculum Inaugural IDEA Brainstorming…personal cognitive style…collaboration…real world problems…creative solutions…rapid prototyping! All of these were components of Bryant’s inaugural Innovation Design Experience for All (IDEA) program. On January 21, three days before the return of upperclassmen, 746 first-year students returned to campus to participate in this unique learning opportunity. Waiting to mentor them were more than 100 faculty, staff, alumni, and upperclassmen.

To begin the 72-hour marathon, students were divided into 155 teams and challenged to develop solutions to 31 problems faced by 31 companies and organizations throughout Rhode Island. For example, how might a hotel redesign its lobby to improve customer satisfaction? What can supermarkets do to promote healthy eating without denting profits? How can the level of U.S. citizens’ civic and political knowledge be increased?

How should a college library be designed to meet the needs of 21st century students? How can playgrounds be designed to encourage and stimulate kids’ creativity? How can customer satisfaction be increased at restaurant drive-thrus?

That first afternoon, students boarded buses and fanned out across the state to conduct field research for their projects. By 5:00 p.m. on the third day, they were presenting solutions to a panel of judges in hopes of being among the winning teams.

Basic to the program is the concept that creativity is not genetic; it can be taught and nurtured.

During the grueling three days, A possible new traffic pattern for a local mall. students were introduced to design thinking, a process of observation, brainstorming, and rapid prototyping used by some of today’s most innovative companies.

Students learned about their personal work styles, team dynamics, how to gather information, formulate questions and develop hypotheses – and plenty about trial and error. In his introduction to the program, Michael Roberto, D.B.A., director of Bryant’s Center for Program Innovation, and member of the IDEA development team, told students, “You have to be willing to fail.” Brainstorming can conjure some crazy ideas but often leads to true innovation. “We never judged anyone’s idea, and that allowed us to gather really good ideas,” recalled Kristen McCarthy, a member of the student center team.

Ambassador Angle Also core to the program is learning to work in teams of diverse strangers.

Teams were deliberately constructed to include varying cognitive styles, based on the results of Myers-Briggs evaluations given earlier to each student. Workshops helped them understand the variety of cognitive styles and how a team can benefit from the incongruent styles of its members. Casey Jones and Alec Cabral, were two members of a team imagining how a brick and mortar video game store might effectively compete with Amazon.com and other electronic purchase options. Cabral was the blue-sky thinker, always offering another One proposal for a playground to idea. The team, filled with mostly let’sstimulate kids’ creativity. get-this-done personalities, appreciated his creativity and he appreciated their being able to signal when it was time to turn that creativity into action.

“We worked well with one another and were able to play off each other’s strengths,” said Jones.

On IDEA’s opening day, President Ronald K. Machtley told the students that this experience offers a different way of teaching, one developed “to help you understand how to use design thinking in your life. We hope that when you go out as an employee and leader and reflect back on these next 72 hours, you can say ‘I learned something which transformed my life.’ ” And it’s evident they did just that. By the end of the three days, many students agreed they had been transformed in some way. Pat Curran, a member of a team tasked with redesigning gas stations to increase revenue and customer satisfaction, found himself somewhere between exhausted and exhilarated as the judges began their critiques on the final evening.

“The Bryant IDEA was a great program,” he said. “I know I will use much of what I learned – from working in teams, to thinking and encouraging wild ideas and deferring judgment – throughout the rest of my life.”

And participant John Logan blogged, “Honestly, from personal experience, this program was an inspiration for many teachers, visitors, and students (like myself). As a participant, I truly believed I learned much more valuable information compared to an ‘average’ academic classroom setting. To create an innovative, practical design for a real life issue–while only having a few days– far surpasses studying vocabulary words, memorizing information, and reading textbooks in terms of ‘learning.’ This unique program has taught me to work with others in a more efficient manner, create innovation for the 21st century, and realize that it's acceptable to have new, but wild visions for the future....”

Born to be at Bryant!

Nominate a Future Bryant Bulldog We already know you are a proud member of the Bryant community! So do you know someone who might enjoy joining our community too? Here is your chance to nominate someone who, in your opinion, is just born to be at Bryant!

Jake Meehan Class of 2013 Major: Finance Minor: Economics

As an incoming Bryant student, Jake Meehan thought the idea that he could give a campus tour was laughable. He didn’t believe he had the communication skills to do it. Now, just prior to the beginning of his last semester at Bryant, he shakes his head at his naiveté.

Becoming a Student Ambassador and learning to give those tours was just the beginning of his transition.

He credits several other important experiences with giving him the confidence and skill to achieve his goals.

During his sophomore year, Jake participated in Sophomore International Experience (SIE), travelling to Germany and Greece. He regards that trip as a trial for his Study Abroad semester in Rome in the spring of his junior year. He feels international travel and study made him aware of the world outside Nashua, NH (his hometown) and Smithfield, RI in ways that are important for both academic and personal growth. He believes his international experiences have opened doors and put the world in better perspective for him.

The Office of Admission has kicked off this new program to make sure the entire Bryant community has a convenient way to tell us about students who are potential Bryant Bulldogs.

We want to hear about high school juniors - friends, relatives, neighbors, the paperboy, the babysitter, etc. - who may want to learn more about Bryant!

We are looking for bright, enthusiastic, and well rounded students who might become active members of our community.

Your Born to Be candidate need not be interested in Bryant already. In fact, the student may not have even heard of us before! However, by providing us with their information, you are giving us the opportunity to introduce Bryant University to the student and hopefully peak their interest. And don’t worry…by no means is your candidate required to complete an application upon being nominated.

Tell us about your candidate by emailing our admission staff at admission@bryant.edu with the student’s name and address – be sure to include an email address if you have it. Then, put “Born to be at Bryant” in the subject line. We will enter his or her name into our database and the student will begin to receive information in the mail about Bryant’s programs and admission requirements.

If you have questions about this program, feel free to give us a call at 800622-7001 or email us at admission@bryant.edu and a member of our staff will be happy to talk with you about it.

Also, since his sophomore year, Jake has been a Resident Assistant which he credits with developing many interpersonal and leadership skills. In addition to being a full-time job in itself, he says the job has taught him how to take control of sometimes difficult situations.

Bryant’s internship program through the Amica Center for Career Education provided another key to Jake’s development. Between his sophomore and junior years, he interned at Fidelity in an operational role. Then following his junior year, he earned a summer internship at Travelers in Hartford CT during which he performed a financial accounting role, primarily in property and casualty insurance.

As a result of that internship, Jake was invited to apply and interview for a full-time position with Travelers upon graduation. After a grueling interview process during which he was asked many technical financial questions and prior to his return to school in the fall, he received an offer to participate in the company’s three-year rotational training program. Jake has accepted this position and is especially looking forward to having three different job experiences in a relatively short time and to the opportunity to work in London for a year.

IDEA Cohort 16 at work on their project to improve the grocery shopping experience for parents with young children.

AAC member Steve Berman (first row, far left) shared his years of experience in the grocery store industry with the team as an alumni mentor.

2

You’ve come a long way, Jake!

The cake made especially for Bryant’s Sesquicentennial Launch by a pastry chef flown in by Sodexo.

3

Bryant’s Gateway Curriculum Inaugural IDEA Brainstorming…personal cognitive style…collaboration…real world problems…creative solutions…rapid prototyping! All of these were components of Bryant’s inaugural Innovation Design Experience for All (IDEA) program. On January 21, three days before the return of upperclassmen, 746 first-year students returned to campus to participate in this unique learning opportunity. Waiting to mentor them were more than 100 faculty, staff, alumni, and upperclassmen.

To begin the 72-hour marathon, students were divided into 155 teams and challenged to develop solutions to 31 problems faced by 31 companies and organizations throughout Rhode Island. For example, how might a hotel redesign its lobby to improve customer satisfaction? What can supermarkets do to promote healthy eating without denting profits? How can the level of U.S. citizens’ civic and political knowledge be increased?

How should a college library be designed to meet the needs of 21st century students? How can playgrounds be designed to encourage and stimulate kids’ creativity? How can customer satisfaction be increased at restaurant drive-thrus?

That first afternoon, students boarded buses and fanned out across the state to conduct field research for their projects. By 5:00 p.m. on the third day, they were presenting solutions to a panel of judges in hopes of being among the winning teams.

Basic to the program is the concept that creativity is not genetic; it can be taught and nurtured.

During the grueling three days, A possible new traffic pattern for a local mall. students were introduced to design thinking, a process of observation, brainstorming, and rapid prototyping used by some of today’s most innovative companies.

Students learned about their personal work styles, team dynamics, how to gather information, formulate questions and develop hypotheses – and plenty about trial and error. In his introduction to the program, Michael Roberto, D.B.A., director of Bryant’s Center for Program Innovation, and member of the IDEA development team, told students, “You have to be willing to fail.” Brainstorming can conjure some crazy ideas but often leads to true innovation. “We never judged anyone’s idea, and that allowed us to gather really good ideas,” recalled Kristen McCarthy, a member of the student center team.

Ambassador Angle Also core to the program is learning to work in teams of diverse strangers.

Teams were deliberately constructed to include varying cognitive styles, based on the results of Myers-Briggs evaluations given earlier to each student. Workshops helped them understand the variety of cognitive styles and how a team can benefit from the incongruent styles of its members. Casey Jones and Alec Cabral, were two members of a team imagining how a brick and mortar video game store might effectively compete with Amazon.com and other electronic purchase options. Cabral was the blue-sky thinker, always offering another One proposal for a playground to idea. The team, filled with mostly let’sstimulate kids’ creativity. get-this-done personalities, appreciated his creativity and he appreciated their being able to signal when it was time to turn that creativity into action.

“We worked well with one another and were able to play off each other’s strengths,” said Jones.

On IDEA’s opening day, President Ronald K. Machtley told the students that this experience offers a different way of teaching, one developed “to help you understand how to use design thinking in your life. We hope that when you go out as an employee and leader and reflect back on these next 72 hours, you can say ‘I learned something which transformed my life.’ ” And it’s evident they did just that. By the end of the three days, many students agreed they had been transformed in some way. Pat Curran, a member of a team tasked with redesigning gas stations to increase revenue and customer satisfaction, found himself somewhere between exhausted and exhilarated as the judges began their critiques on the final evening.

“The Bryant IDEA was a great program,” he said. “I know I will use much of what I learned – from working in teams, to thinking and encouraging wild ideas and deferring judgment – throughout the rest of my life.”

And participant John Logan blogged, “Honestly, from personal experience, this program was an inspiration for many teachers, visitors, and students (like myself). As a participant, I truly believed I learned much more valuable information compared to an ‘average’ academic classroom setting. To create an innovative, practical design for a real life issue–while only having a few days– far surpasses studying vocabulary words, memorizing information, and reading textbooks in terms of ‘learning.’ This unique program has taught me to work with others in a more efficient manner, create innovation for the 21st century, and realize that it's acceptable to have new, but wild visions for the future....”

Born to be at Bryant!

Nominate a Future Bryant Bulldog We already know you are a proud member of the Bryant community! So do you know someone who might enjoy joining our community too? Here is your chance to nominate someone who, in your opinion, is just born to be at Bryant!

Jake Meehan Class of 2013 Major: Finance Minor: Economics

As an incoming Bryant student, Jake Meehan thought the idea that he could give a campus tour was laughable. He didn’t believe he had the communication skills to do it. Now, just prior to the beginning of his last semester at Bryant, he shakes his head at his naiveté.

Becoming a Student Ambassador and learning to give those tours was just the beginning of his transition.

He credits several other important experiences with giving him the confidence and skill to achieve his goals.

During his sophomore year, Jake participated in Sophomore International Experience (SIE), travelling to Germany and Greece. He regards that trip as a trial for his Study Abroad semester in Rome in the spring of his junior year. He feels international travel and study made him aware of the world outside Nashua, NH (his hometown) and Smithfield, RI in ways that are important for both academic and personal growth. He believes his international experiences have opened doors and put the world in better perspective for him.

The Office of Admission has kicked off this new program to make sure the entire Bryant community has a convenient way to tell us about students who are potential Bryant Bulldogs.

We want to hear about high school juniors - friends, relatives, neighbors, the paperboy, the babysitter, etc. - who may want to learn more about Bryant!

We are looking for bright, enthusiastic, and well rounded students who might become active members of our community.

Your Born to Be candidate need not be interested in Bryant already. In fact, the student may not have even heard of us before! However, by providing us with their information, you are giving us the opportunity to introduce Bryant University to the student and hopefully peak their interest. And don’t worry…by no means is your candidate required to complete an application upon being nominated.

Tell us about your candidate by emailing our admission staff at admission@bryant.edu with the student’s name and address – be sure to include an email address if you have it. Then, put “Born to be at Bryant” in the subject line. We will enter his or her name into our database and the student will begin to receive information in the mail about Bryant’s programs and admission requirements.

If you have questions about this program, feel free to give us a call at 800622-7001 or email us at admission@bryant.edu and a member of our staff will be happy to talk with you about it.

Also, since his sophomore year, Jake has been a Resident Assistant which he credits with developing many interpersonal and leadership skills. In addition to being a full-time job in itself, he says the job has taught him how to take control of sometimes difficult situations.

Bryant’s internship program through the Amica Center for Career Education provided another key to Jake’s development. Between his sophomore and junior years, he interned at Fidelity in an operational role. Then following his junior year, he earned a summer internship at Travelers in Hartford CT during which he performed a financial accounting role, primarily in property and casualty insurance.

As a result of that internship, Jake was invited to apply and interview for a full-time position with Travelers upon graduation. After a grueling interview process during which he was asked many technical financial questions and prior to his return to school in the fall, he received an offer to participate in the company’s three-year rotational training program. Jake has accepted this position and is especially looking forward to having three different job experiences in a relatively short time and to the opportunity to work in London for a year.

IDEA Cohort 16 at work on their project to improve the grocery shopping experience for parents with young children.

AAC member Steve Berman (first row, far left) shared his years of experience in the grocery store industry with the team as an alumni mentor.

2

You’ve come a long way, Jake!

The cake made especially for Bryant’s Sesquicentennial Launch by a pastry chef flown in by Sodexo.

3

Upcoming Alumni Events Check out the Bryant alumni website at http://alumniconnect.bryant.edu.

You’ll find connections to many events and activities including innovative social networking features.

Here are some examples: Friday, March 15 Handel and Haydn Society: Beethoven Symphony No. 7 Boston Symphony Hall Pre-Reception 6:00PM • Performance 8:00PM Friday, March 15 FL RAN RED SOX SPRING TRAINING CAMP BBQ & GAME jetBlue Park – Fort Meyers FL BBQ 5:00 – 7:00PM • Game 7:05PM Wednesday, March 27 NY RAN Soho Wine Tasting & Networking Reception Eyeball – 187 Lafayette St. New York

2013 Reunion @ Homecoming Friday, October 11– Sunday, October 13

Men’s Basketball Scores Record Turnaround As the 2012/2013 basketball season winds down and the thrill of March Madness approaches, it’s a good time to acknowledge the phenomenon of this year’s Bryant men’s basketball team.

In 2008, head coach Tim O’Shea had some very compelling personal reasons for accepting the position at Bryant. He also had a five-year plan for success. It was a rocky beginning but this has been an outstanding year. In fact, in the past 40 years of NCAA Division I basketball, there has never been a turnaround from one season to the next as great as that achieved by this team.

Five years ago, O’Shea was head coach at highly visible Ohio University where his team played in a 13,000-seat stadium and was winning 20 or more games each season. In contrast, Bryant was just beginning the transition from Division II to Division I and would not be eligible for post-season play for five years.

O’Shea had confidence in himself and his plan to have the team competitive by his fifth year, the team’s first of playoff eligibility. But doubt certainly plagued him when, in his first four seasons, his team’s overall record was 20-99, averaging nearly 25 losses each year. “When I took the job, I don’t know if I really knew what I was getting into,” O’Shea said. “They were really good kids and they played hard, but I quickly found out the talent gap between Division II and Division I was enormous.”

Building a college athletic program depends on recruitment for both short- and long-term.

Established programs traditionally recruit top notch players from high school ranks. But O’Shea knew Bryant’s transition situation and lack of reputation would block this path. So his recruitment strategy focused on transfers, foreign players, and the occasional overlooked high school player.

Alumni-Admission Connection

The Character of Success Bryant University Office of Admission 1150 Douglas Pike Smithfield RI 02917 Phone: 401-232-6100 Toll Free: 800-622-7001 admission@bryant.edu admission.bryant.edu

After four years of struggling, O’Shea and his players were feeling cautiously optimistic in the fall of 2012. The start was not auspicious with the Bulldogs losing the first two games of their season, to Indiana and Providence by a combined 76 points. Their turnaround started with wins over New Hampshire and Brown but their confidence got its biggest boost with a 56-54 win over Boston College in late November. And they continued winning, ending the season on Saturday, March 2, with an overall record of 19-10, 12-6 in the conference, placing them in a three-way tie for second place in the NEC. At this writing, the entire Bryant community is anticipating the team’s first post season playoff in the 32nd NEC Tournament quarterfinals with home court advantage over Mount St. Mary on Wednesday, March 6 at 7:00 p.m.

Learn more at http://www.bryantbulldogs.com/sports/mbkb/index.

EXCITING NEWS! At press time, NEC officials announced: “The Jim Phelan Coach of the Year goes to Tim O'Shea, who has engineered the greatest turnaround in NCAA history.”

The Bryant Connection is published three times a year by Judy Famiglietti for the AlumniAdmission Connection members of Bryant University. Send comments on this newsletter or Alumni-Admission Connection activity to Rebecca Eriksen, Senior Assistant Director for Events and Volunteers, Bryant University Office of Admission, 1150 Douglas Pike, Smithfield, RI 02917, 401-232-6957, 800-6227001, or reriksen@bryant.edu.

Thanks to You!

Volume 13, Issue 1, Winter 2013 Call for Volunteers!

AAC Phone Calling Campaign We are looking for AAC members to connect with admitted, prospective students in their area to provide information to help them make their final college decisions.

We’ll send you information on about 10 students and ask you to phone between April 1 and April 14.

Then we ask you to return the call records to us.

We’ll even give you a pre-paid envelope.

It’s easy to sign up!

By March 18, send the mailing address and email address you wish us to use for this program to

Judy Famiglietti at jfamigli@bryant.edu

Sesquicentennial Launch On January 31, the Bryant community gathered in the Rotunda to launch the 150th anniversary of the University’s founding. We were joined by a host of dignitaries including Governor Lincoln Chafee and Congressman David Cicilline, the University Board of Trustees, and others.

President Machtley recalled, “our beginning and our legacy of innovative education that anticipates the future in a changing world.” He noted there are nearly 4,500 accredited colleges and universities in the U.S. but only 178 – less than four percent – have attained the distinction of their 150th anniversary.

Check online for more exciting celebration events.

“Black Out the Chace” at last Thursday’s game against rival Robert Morris.

4

A Newsletter for Members of the Alumni-Admission Connection

For the Fall 2012 semester, our members really stepped up to the plate and helped in quite a few different ways. It seems as though each year when we look back at the busy fall recruiting season, we are amazed and gratified at your responses to our requests for help.

During the summer months, as our counselors plan their fall travel schedules, they realize the impossibility of being in two places at once. This is when we reach out to a number of AAC members to cover fall college fairs when no one from our staff is available. Thanks so much to the following for telling the Bryant story to dozens of young people in a single evening (some of you several times)!

Nick Cianci ’07 Steven Cowen ’69 Kim Didrikson ’01 Kristen Fricione ’08 Mark Giganti ’88 Michael Gurevich ’96 Mike Motschwiller ’88

Pratik Parikh ’11 Sarah Richelson ’11 Mary Sheehan ’11 Kristen Soule ’09 Mitch Terk ’09 Jay Weinberg ’85 Phil Weiss ’99

This fall, we held four Bryant 101 information sessions. Each one featured at least one alumnus who talked about the role Bryant has played in their life: Lauren Martin ’08, Adam Muccino ’07, Emily Murphy ’11, and Christina DeMaio Thompson ’05 were our featured speakers.

In early December, we presented our fifth Bulldog Challenge, a high school case competition for area high school students. More than 60 students from nine schools participated in this day-long event. One school brought four teams! Our two alumni judges were Tracie Moore ’99 and Raymond Mills ’04.

Later that same weekend, 15 guidance counselors from outside New England arrived for a multi-day visit to learn about Bryant and the wonderful things that are happening here for our students. They came from 11 states, spanning east, west and south coasts, and several in between.

Tarang Patel ’07 and Kaitlin Sidorsky ’10 met with them and talked about their experiences both at Bryant and since their graduation.

During the entire semester, prospective students have requested alumni interviews in their areas – this year at a greater rate than ever. Thank you to those who volunteered to meet their requests: Amanda Howe ’04 Carly Lavin ’05 Jim Magee ’88

Steve Manocchio ’01 Emily Murphy ’11 Dave Suaviso ’96

We wish there were a better way to let you know how much we appreciate your willingness to share your time and experience. You help us extend our reach and better deliver Bryant’s message. You are truly the GOLD in the Black and Gold! Thank you!

1