Castleton Magazine - Spring 2012

Spring 2012

magazine

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Castleton Celebrates 225 Years

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1958

2010

225 Years! So much to highlight, showcase and celebrate, and thanks to the diligence and dedication of our incredible staff, this issue of Castleton magazine reflects some recent, and not so recent, accomplishments as it also foreshadows this significant celebration at our beloved college.

I continue to marvel at the quality of this magazine, a home-grown product of a talented team.

In this issue you will find an update on Project 2012, the latest chapter in our venture over the past decade resulting in an investment of $70 million in the infrastructure of our campus, providing modern improvements on behalf of current and future students.

We are very excited about the new look of our beautiful campus.

Also in this issue we say farewell to Academic Dean Joe Mark, who has given so much to Castleton for so many years, and who retains institutional knowledge of our history and traditions. We will miss Joe. We also welcome new Academic Dean Tony Peffer, who has emerged as an impressive leader since he joined us five years ago. The transition will be very smooth.

You will also note the inauguration of our new Castleton Polling Institute, Vermont’s first public opinion research enterprise that has already captured headlines not only throughout our state but substantial notice across the nation. In addition to providing new paid-research opportunities for students and faculty, the Institute will continue our efforts to place Castleton prominently on the national map. We are on our way.

Finally, one cannot help but look back upon this past year with a sense of unbridled joy and pride in our students, appreciation of our exceptional staff and faculty, and unmitigated hope for our college and our future.

On behalf of Castleton, your kindness and support are appreciated and cherished.

Respectfully yours, Dave Wolk

Polling Institute director Rich Clark

5 Spring 2012

www.castleton.edu

Project 2012: Facilities Barn, New Residence, Pavilion, Tennis Courts.............. 3 New Academic Dean Tony Peffer.................................................... 4

6

The Castleton Polling Institute Receives National Attention...... 5 Professor Fleche Puts the American Civil War in a Global Perspective...................................................................... 6 Sports................................................................................................... 7 The Academic Stewardship of Joe Mark...................................... 10 A Preview of the History of Castleton........................................... 12

7

Class Notes........................................................................................ 19 Mystery Writer Mike Bove................................................................. 20 Guitar Hero Darren O’Neill............................................................. 21 Annemarie Vaccaro, Author of a Timely Book on LGBT Youth............ 24 Shakespearean Director Lauren Martin.......................................................26

A Letter from the Alumni Association.......................................... 29 Athletic Hall of Fame: Frank Bellavia and Tony Higgins........... 30 Science Professors Receive Research Grants................................ 32 Freshman goalie Paula Stephens

32

Science professor Andy Vermilyea

On the cover: The view at the top is the work of artist James Hope, a Castleton Seminary graduate and teacher. At the bottom are Castleton students through the years.

The Castleton Medical College, November 1855

12

Castleton Magazine 1

e d i t o r ’s l e t t e r The more things change I may be the only person at Castleton to feel sentimental about the destruction of the old cinderblock Physical Plant building located at what used to be the southern edge of campus.

Back when I was younger and the building was new, it served as classrooms and the campus center. I took an evening course there, Professor Theodore Steele’s History of the English Language. It was a difficult class, intelligently taught, and I continue to have an interest in the subject. Perhaps someday I’ll be prepared for the final exam. Maybe you feel the same about a course you enjoyed.

I was teaching in a rural school then, and each year I brought my class of 7th and 8th graders to Castleton for most of a day. One time we saw an excellent production of The Fantasticks put on by the Theatre Arts Department. Today, through a program called Arts Reach, Castleton shares cultural events with area kids. The Theatre Arts Department flourishes.

On my long ago field trips, we ate lunch in the snack bar, which was located in the back of the building where Physical Plant staff would later maintain the college’s fleet of vehicles. We were made welcome across campus. My students watched the college students and imagined that they too could attend. Today there are many programs that bring kids to campus for that very reason.

We’d go by the domed greenhouse, a magical place filled with plants from far away. That greenhouse is gone now, but the new greenhouse is becoming magical once again.

The campus is growing and changing. Physical Plant (now called Facilities) is in a new building that looks like a barn. A new residence hall will open in the summer. By September there will be new tennis and basketball courts and an open-air pavilion that will serve as a gateway to Spartan Stadium.

But important things stay the same. Students receive a good education and the college strives to serve the community. Castleton remains a welcoming place as it was 30-some years ago — as it was when you were here.

This issue of the magazine is devoted to the history of Castleton on our 225th anniversary. History is certainly about change, but it is also about those unbroken threads that tie the years together.

Ennis Duling (802) 468-1239 ennis.duling@castleton.edu

2 Spring 2012

A d m i n i st r at i o n President: David S. Wolk Academic Dean: Joseph T. Mark Dean of Students: Dennis Proulx ’87 Dean of Administration: Scott Dikeman Dean of Enrollment: Maurice Ouimet Dean of Education: Honorée Fleming Dean of Undergraduate Studies: Tony Peffer Director of Human Resources: Lyn Sawyer ’11 Director of Development and Alumni Relations: George P. McGurl Executive Director of Grants and Research: Colleen M. Klatt Communications Director: Ennis Duling Director of Annual Fund: Liz Garside ’04 Associate Director of Development and Alumni Relations: Vy Swenson Associate Director of Communications: Jane Foley Communications Assistant: Kate Richards Publication Design: David Carlson Carlson & Company, Inc. Middlebury, VT

A l u m n i B oa r d President: Raymond Sevigny ’68 & ’90 raya7e@gmail.com Vice-President: Stephanie Cleveland Blackwood ’92 stephanie.blackwood@castleton.edu Secretary: Mary Carley Quinn ’60 gquinn@snet.net Treasurer: Gary Quinn ’60 gquinn@snet.net Frank Bellavia ’73 frankbellavia@prodigy.net Art Benedict ’60 Jean Britt ’82 britt@sover.net Jane Marcell Cross ’56 Sue Orzell Farrell ’69 susan.farrell@castleton.edu Leonard Hendee ’84 Ceil Hunt ’11 ceil.hunt@castleton.edu Toni Russell Lobdell ’71 Tonilobdell@yahoo.com Sheila Shannan Nichols ’69 & ’74 Timothy Politis ’68 tpolitis@maine.rr.com Brenda Seely ’68 bgseely@maine.rr.com Alumni Office Woodruff Hall Castleton State College Castleton, Vermont 05735 (802) 468-1240 AlumniOffice@castleton.edu www.castleton.edu Printed on recycled paper with soy-based inks

An architect’s drawing of the new pavilion

Project 2012 completes a decade of investments

A

series of linked projects totaling about $13 million are nearing completion.

New Hall, a 162-bed residence overlooking the athletic fields, will open in the early summer. New Hall is a three-floor corridor-style building with the Conference and Events Office on the first floor. With solar panels on the roof, it is designed to achieve LEED Gold Certification.

The Facilities Barn off South Street is complete, and staff moved in at the end of November. The new building has more room in the trade shops, space for organized storage, a library where manuals and blueprints of campus buildings are available, offices for administrative staff in one location off the lobby, a secure yard with fences and an electronic gate, and a break room with a beautiful view looking toward the heart of the campus.

Efficiency Vermont has told Director of Facilities Chuck Lavoie that the new building is the most energy efficient facilities building in Vermont.

The old Physical Plant building was demolished in the late winter to be replaced by a beautiful pavilion and gateway to Spartan Stadium. The pavil-

162-bed New Hall

Efficiency Vermont has told Director of Facilities Chuck Lavoie that the new building is the most energy efficient facilities building in Vermont.

The Facilities Barn

ion can play host to many mid-size events and with the addition of a tent can welcome larger groups.

And yet to come are new tennis and basketball courts located by the Facilities Barn.

Project 2012 completes a decade of investments in the campus, which total $70 million, allowing Castleton to remain attractive for current and prospective students for many years to come.

Castleton Magazine 3

campus news

New Academic Dean Tony Peffer Dean of Undergraduate Studies Tony Peffer is being promoted to the position of Academic Dean following Joe Mark’s retirement in the summer.

Peffer sees Castleton as being at an exciting time in its history. “We’re at a point where we’ve achieved a dream. Now what are we going to dream? How do we keep the great stuff we have and dream a bigger dream?”

President Wolk told the Rutland Herald, “He really embraces the small college with a big heart idea. We knew he was the right person for the job.”

Peffer came to Castleton as associate academic dean in 2007. “One thing that struck me then was how immediately at home I felt here,” he says. “There is more positive energy at Castleton than any place I have

Tony Peffer

ever worked. Driving in the parking lot, I always have a sense of being glad to be here.”

In a distinguished academic

career, he taught at the University of Chicago, Lakeland College, and Ohio University Eastern where he served as dean of the campus. His Ph.D. is from Carnegie Mellon in history concentrating in Asian-American studies. His book If They Don’t Bring Their Women Here: Chinese Female Immigration before Exclusion (University of Illinois Press) was a pioneering work on the subject.

Originally from northeast Kentucky, Peffer graduated from Morehead University before earning master’s degrees at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary and San Francisco State.

He has edited the Journal of Asian American Studies and is editor of the Journal of Assessment and Institutional Effectiveness.

Before and throughout his academic career, he has served as a pastor and is now part-time pastor of a church in Wallingford.

Reaccreditation study and visit After more than two years of preparation by many members of the campus community, a reaccreditation team from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) visited campus in November.

The visitors met with self-study subcommittees, campus departments, representatives of bargaining units, officers of the Student Government Association, the President’s Cabinet, and other key individuals.

The three-day visit concluded with a summary of the committee’s findings, presented before a large audience in the Campus Center. As part of a far-ranging, positive briefing, team chair President Mary Grant of the Massachusetts College of the Liberal Arts said, “You are indeed the small college with a big heart.”

The visitors found that Castleton was student-centered and applauded the college’s “commitment to students who

were discovering their own potentials.”

Throughout the summary, Grant recommended a data-driven approach to planning and a multi-year planning process. The visitors saw a need for improved dining facilities and increased classroom space.

She concluded her summary of the visitors’ findings by joking, “We are all thinking about applying for a job at Castleton or trying out for one of the athletic teams.”

Sodexo becomes Castleton’s food service provider Castleton is in the process of changing food service vendors from Aramark to Sodexo. Aramark has served students in Huden Dining Hall for 26 years.

The decision was based on the input from students, faculty, staff and administration. Sodexo was chosen based on both financial and qualitative reasons.

In informing the campus commu4 Spring 2012

nity, Dean of Administration Scott Dikeman wrote, “Sodexo’s proposal includes a commitment to buying local products, following sustainable practices, providing complete nutri-

tional information, and enhancing the quality and selection of the dining options.”

Over the next year and a half, Sodexo will make $1.2 million in improvements to Huden Dining Hall.

Most employees working in Castleton’s dining services will continue as part of the Sodexo team.

campus news

Castleton establishes Polling Institute

T

he Castleton Polling Institute burst on the Vermont and the national scene with the release of its first poll, February 27.

Among other results, the Castleton Poll found, “With a little more than a week to go before Super Tuesday, a poll of registered voters in Vermont finds that those who are likely to vote in the March 6th Republican presidential primary favor former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney to his rivals.”

The poll also found that Vermont registered voters favored President Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential race. In head-to-head contests against the Republican candidates, Obama leads Mitt Romney by 26 percentage points, Rick Santorum by 28, Ron Paul by 30, and Newt Gingrich by 42.

The poll and the Castleton Polling Institute captured the attention of Vermont’s media with major coverage on television, in print, and on the radio. National media outlets including ABC-News, NBC-News, The New Republic magazine, and the website Real Clear Politics were all interested in the Castleton Poll. Chris Matthews on Hardball mentioned the poll several times on the air, citing Castleton.

Previously, there was no polling center in Vermont, and scientific surveys of Vermont opinion were done by out-ofstate organizations, if at all. Castleton first considered establishing a polling institute nearly a decade ago, but concluded that the time was not right.

President Dave Wolk says the polling institute is “a dream come true.” “We want to serve Vermont and Vermonters while engaging students and faculty in research on public policy. It will make learning come alive.”

Director of the Castleton Polling Institute Rich Clark comes to Castleton

Director Rich Clark supervises the calling center.

“We want to serve Vermont and Vermonters while engaging students and faculty in research on public policy.

It will make learning come alive.”

— President Dave Wolk from the University of Georgia where he directed the Survey Research Institute. At Castleton, he divides his time between the new polling institute and teaching political science. His presence on the faculty has allowed Castleton to move forward on creating a Political Science major.

Clark says, “The Castleton Polling Institute will be a place where students learn the science and art of polling and survey research methodology, and it will be a resource for scholars, policy makers, community groups, and businesses who need to learn what the public thinks on a given set of issues.”

“The institute’s vision is simply to be the most authoritative resource for understanding public opinion in Vermont. We want to bring public opinion to the discussion around policy issues.”

The Polling Institute is housed in the Stafford Academic Center in space that was previously used by Vermont

Interactive Television. In the calling center, there are 16 computer-assisted telephone interviewing stations.

When asked by the media if he uses professional callers, Clark says, “Students are as educated as professional interviewers. They are paid for their work and we create a professional environment for them to work in.”

Both Director Clark and President Wolk stress that the Polling Institute is “open for business.” In addition to benefitting Castleton students and Vermonters, and gaining the college positive publicity, the institute will bring in revenue to support its own operation and the college.

The institute can survey policy preferences, customer satisfaction, and the economic climate; assess an organization’s image in the general public and evaluate its services and programs; collect behavioral data; and measure public opinion. Vermont media, government agencies, nonprofits, communities, and businesses are all likely clients.

Castleton Magazine 5

campus news

The Civil War as part of global events History professor Andre Fleche has written a book about the Civil War, placing that most American conflict in an international context. The Revolution of 1861: The American Civil War in the Age of Nationalist Conflict is published by the University of North Carolina Press-Chapel Hill.

Fleche writes, “Our understanding of the Civil War has much to gain from a broader outlook. Much of the American public, and many scholars, Andre Fleche except for a few recent exceptions, continue to hold a parochial nationalist movements, particularly vision of Civil War history, one most the Italian Risorgimento. widely disseminated by such works as “In order to understand the comKen Burns’s popular television docu- plex ideological issues raised by mentary The Civil War.” the Civil War, historians must look He argues that Americans, both in at events on the other side of the the North and the South, saw their Atlantic, just as mid-nineteenth-centustruggle as part of global events, espe- ry Americans did,” Fleche writes. cially the revolutionary fervor of 1848.

Fleche is a graduate of Syracuse One newspaper editor quoted in the University who earned his Ph.D. in hisbook summed up his view of the war: tory at the University of Virginia. At UVA “This is the American 1848.” Men who he was advised by Gary W. Gallagher, a had participated in those briefly suc- noted Civil War scholar and prolific cessful European upheavals, helped writer and editor of books about the shape the American struggle. Forty- war. “He taught me much about history eighters, they were called, and they and scholarship, and raised my aspirarallied in great numbers to defend tions in countless ways,” Fleche writes in liberty and the Union. his acknowledgements.

In the South, where Confederates While a graduate student, Fleche believed that they were the true inher- was part of the Valley of the Shadow itors of the American Revolution of project, which offers an online archive 1776, people looked to European of men and women in Augusta

County, Virginia, and Franklin County, Pennsylvania, during the war. (Google “Valley of the Shadow.”)

Fleche came to Castleton in 2006. He enjoys teaching in small classes and knowing students personally, both their interests and their struggles.

“It’s exciting to get undergraduate students involved in research,” he says.

Under his guidance, Castleton students have created the beginnings of an archive about the town during the war. (Google “Conscripting Castleton.”) First, students transcribed the town’s handwritten draft roster, which was purchased by the library.

More recently, students have been studying Vermont Civil War service records to construct a detailed spreadsheet of men who served from Castleton. Over time, a full portrait of the town during the war will be available online.

Fleche enjoys teaching about the Civil War, of course, but has wide interests. For three years, he has been teaching the capstone Senior Research Seminar, which concludes in May with all-day student presentations on topics from around the world and throughout history. It is a course in which students are historians and work together with him on their research and senior thesis. It is a challenging course for them and rewarding for him.

A well-deserved honor

Linda Olson and VSC Board of Trustees chair Gary Moore.

6 Spring 2012

Sociology professor Linda Olson was honored as a VSC Faculty Fellow at a Board of Trustees meeting in October.

In introducing Professor Olson, President Wolk said she is a faculty member who challenges students to achieve academically and to become better people. “She advocates for students in the classroom and in their lives.” He said that the college’s

CHANGE initiative would never have happened without Olson’s efforts.

Dean Joe Mark said, “She contributes to this college by speaking truth to power.”

In her remarks, Professor Olson recognized students who are involved in the CHANGE initiative as Peer Advocates for CHANGE, many of whom attended the event.

campus news

Men’s and women’s NAC Champions

Connor O’Brien

Winter Sports 2011-12 Men’s and Women’s Basketball The men’s and women’s basketball teams each enjoyed historic seasons, culminating in North Atlantic Conference championships and berths in the NCAA National Tournament for both teams.

A 22-6 record set a new high-water mark for season wins for the women and leaves head coach (and NAC coach of the year) Tim Barrett ’92 with 199 career wins, making him the winningest coach in Castleton history. Castleton earned the top seed in the NAC Tournament with a 16-2 regular-season mark and breezed past the competition in the tournament for their third NAC title and second trip to the NCAA’s. Senior forward Vanessa Powers

Vanessa Powers of Marshfield, Vt., was All-Conference first team; NAC tournament MVP; and a participant in the New England Women’s Basketball Association Senior Classic.

The Castleton men went 19-10 and earned a first-ever NAC title with a 102-76 win over Colby-Sawyer. The Spartans made their second appearance in the NCAA National Tournament, using a high-pressure defense and fast-paced offense. Castleton ranked second in the country in scoring, averaging 92.8 points per game, and also ranked in the top-10 in three-pointers per game. Junior forward Mark Comstock of Rutland became the first Spartan to be named NAC Player of the Year and was also the tournament MVP. Head coach Paul Culpo earned his second Coach of the Year award in three seasons.

(Winter Sports continues on page 8) Mark Comstock

Castleton Magazine 7

campus news

Fall Sports 2011 Women’s Soccer

Lindsey Gullett

Men’s Ice Hockey Castleton was once again among the nation’s elite throughout the season, remaining among the top-10 in the national rankings from start to finish. The Spartans were ranked as high as third and finished the season at 19-7-2, earning their first-ever trip to the ECAC East finals where they fell to top-ranked Norwich. Assistant coach Terry Moran was honored by the American Hockey Coaches Association with the John “Snooks” Kelly Founders Award for his contributions to the sport. Senior captain Lindsey Gullett of Wawanesa, Manitoba, was nominated for the Hockey Humanitarian award, and Nick Lazorko of Rockwall, Texas, is a semifinalist for the Joe Concannon award, given to the best NCAA D-II/III American-born college hockey player in New England.

Women’s Ice Hockey First-year head coach Bill Bowes led the Spartans to new heights, setting a program record for wins in a season and earning ECAC East Coach of the Year honors. The Spartans advanced to the ECAC East Tournament Semifinals for the first time. Castleton continues to impress off the ice as well, donating more than $8,000 to the Breast Care Program at Rutland Regional Medical Center through the third “Pink the Rink” event. To date, the Spartans have donated more than $21,000.

Men’s and Women’s Skiing The Spartan ski teams raced in the ultra-competitive ECSC MacConnell Division and placed six racers on the All-Division post-season teams. The Spartan men finished second in the division and won the USCSA Eastern Regional Championship for the first time, advancing to the USCSA National Championships for the fifth-straight season. The women narrowly missed a trip to the regionals, but senior Michelle Podnecky of Bridgewater, Vt. earned the skier-cross national title for the second time.

8 Spring 2012

The women’s soccer team won a second-straight NAC Championship and a program-record 17 games. The Spartans went unbeaten in conference play, giving up just one goal while leading the NAC in scoring. They captured three of the four forward spots on the NAC first-team and had five players honored as all-conference. Seniors Maria Arnot of Milford, N.Y., and Hilary Cooke of Marlborough, Ct., were both first-team selections, along with the most prolific scorer in school history, Courtney Chadburn of North Clarendon, Vt. She is a four-time NAC Player of the Year and finished her career as the program’s all-time leading scorer. In addition, she earned numerous awards including ECAC New England Player of the Year, NSCAA Division III All-New England Third Team, and CoSIDA Division III Academic All-America of the Year.

Field Hockey The Spartans were the class of the NAC during the 2011 regular season, finishing a perfect 9-0 and leading the league in scoring. The team fell in the conference semifinals but still finished with a solid 12-8 record. Six different players received conference recognition, led by sophomore Rachel Preusser of Craryville, N.Y., who was honored as Courtney Chadburn

campus news

Brandon Boyle (#10) leads the team on to the field.

NAC Player of the Year and was a Longstretch/National Field Hockey Coaches Association All New England First Team selection. Freshman Kristy Pinkham of Brandon, Vt., was named NAC Rookie of the Year.

Men’s Soccer The men’s soccer team had another impressive season, reaching the NAC Championship and losing just one NAC regular season game. Despite the loss, Castleton was invited to play in the ECAC Tournament and reached the semifinals before falling to Albertus Magnus and concluding the season with a 13-7-2 record. Nick Johnas of Niskayuna, N.Y., was the NAC Defensive Player of the Year and first-team selection. Trevor Kotrady of North Clarendon, Vt., was named to the first team after scoring 14 goals for the conference’s top offense.

Trevor Kotrady

Football Castleton played its way to a 4-6 record in 2011, including a 3-4 record in the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference. The Spartan offense was once again lethal, ranking 12th in the nation in passing offense and also leading the league in scoring and total offense. Nine different players were named first or second team all-conference, led by wide receiver Brandon Boyle of Springfield, Vt., quarterback Shane Brozowski of Rensselaer, N.Y., offensive lineman Phil Hall of East Montpelier, and tight end Adam Farmer of South Burlington. Boyle was also named to the NEFW All-New England Team, the D3football.com All-East Region Third Team and was a BSN Third Team All-America selection.

(Fall Sports continues on page 31)

Rachel Preusser

Castleton Magazine 9

The Academic Stewardship of Joe Mark

by Ennis Duling

F

or 32 years Joe Mark dealt with the big issues that confronted Castleton — and on walks across campus paused to pick up litter.

Academic dean for most of that time, he has been dean of students, interim president, dean of the college, interim chief academic officer of the Vermont State Colleges, and leader of untold numbers of special projects and community efforts.

This summer the man with the distinguished beard and characteristic bow tie is retiring. He and his wife Nancy, who after 24 years is retiring as principal of Mettawee Community School, will be traveling and seeing a lot more of their four grandchildren. Joe looks forward to more time to read, bike, and kayak. He may study Spanish.

Mark was 33 when he came to Castleton in the summer of 1980. His experience in higher education had been at private institutions: bachelor’s degree at St. Peter’s College, Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Rochester, professor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and dean of students at Pitzer College in California. Friends were surprised when he took a job at a small, underfunded state college, and he told them that he planned to stay at Castleton three to five years. Today he likes to tell prospective students and their parents how a “stepping stone” became his life’s work and his family’s home.

The early 1980s under the presidency of Tom Meier was a time of rapid change and controversy. Mark directed the college’s successful efforts to improve the campus experience and life in the residence halls — and as a result, increase retention. “We worked extremely hard to do that,” he recalls, “but we also had a lot of fun.”

People remember the fun. Al Whitcomb ’84, a residence director then and now a professor of statistics and research methods at Mount Ida College, remembers a skit in Huden Dining Hall in which Mark and director of student activities Victoria Angis played the parents of a new college student. “Emulating an Archie Bunkeresque father sitting in his recliner, newspaper and cigar in 10 Spring 2012

hand, Joe lit the cigar and began puffing away. Before long, the cigar was burning a hole through the newspaper; Victoria and Joe were adlibbing; and everyone — new students, their parents, and the Castleton community — was roaring with laughter.”

In 1984 Mark became academic dean and took on a new set of challenges. Dean of Education Honorée Fleming, who has worked with Mark for 10 years, says, “Joe’s visionary and scrupulous stewardship of academic affairs has been the contemporary foundation of Castleton’s specialness,” she says.

Mark was a first-generation college student himself and was always the champion of students who were the first in their families to attend college. “He has a unique gift of seeing the diamond in the rough in students, as he did in me, and as he has done for countless other students,“ recalls Andrea McManus ’86, a core faculty member at the New England Culinary Institute.

Mark often joined students for lunch in Huden. “After introducing himself to me, he asked me to call him Joe, and then spent the next 30 minutes getting to know me,” says Justin Garrett ’11, now teaching in Baltimore. “When I left the dining hall, I said to myself, ‘Did the college’s Academic Dean really just eat lunch with me?’”

“Joe is the person faculty and students can talk to when they want to test ideas, find answers to vexing questions, or get help with professional or personal problems,” says English professor John Gillen, now in his 42nd year at Castleton. “He is part authority figure but larger part mentor and friend.”

Mark has been a powerful voice for student involvement in the community, through civic engagement, especially service-learning courses in which a meaningful project in the community is part of the academic work. He leads Castleton students and faculty to national meetings of the American Democracy Project where they have been star presenters. Psychology professor Terry Bergen, whose students share their behavioral management skills with area schools, says this is possible because of Mark’s “unflagging support.” “These oppor-

Joe and Nancy Mark with Liberty in 1985

Joe Mark leads faculty and students to a conference in Washington, D.C.

“Joe is the person faculty and students can talk to when they want to test ideas, find answers to vexing questions, or get help with professional or personal problems. He is part authority figure but larger part mentor and friend.” — English professor John Gillen tunities have led many students to graduate training and employment in the area of applied behavioral analysis.”

Mark has been in the forefront of technology and a proponent of innovative teaching that engages students.

At commencement, he is the administrator who presents the graduates to the president, reading some four hundred names as if each one was the most important of the day.

He oversaw Castleton’s recent reaccreditation process through the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. Professor Lillian Jackson, whose social work students have benefitted from Mark’s emphasis on service-learning, says, “You know if he’s involved it will be done very well, thoroughly, on time, and with a professional presentation, either verbal or written. His shepherding us through NEASC was impressive.”

History professor Jonathan Spiro believes that Mark combines vision, attention to nitty-gritty details, and an interest in intellectual matters. “He regularly drops by my office to chat, and the conversation usually begins with an overview of the state of higher education in America, and then morphs into some budgetary matter, and then concludes with a stimulating discussion of a history book he has just read.”

“Joe is Castleton,” says Rita Geno, long-time administrative assistant in the Dean’s Office. “He sleeps, eats, and breathes Castleton.”

Without knowing it, friends and colleagues competed in suggesting whimsical metaphors that capture Mark’s personality and his approach to his job.

Candace Thierry ’78, who worked at Castleton for 17 years in positions of increasing responsibility, says,

“Working with Joe was like working with Terry Gross, Bill Gates, and Lance Armstrong: he had read every book, was always looking for innovation, and could do it all while biking the peaks of Vermont.” The-peaks-of-Vermont is a reference to the arduous summer bike trips that Mark took with colleagues from other VSC colleges. They called their rides the Mature Guys’ Tour de Gaps.

Victoria Angis, now assistant dean for campus life, compares him to a tugboat. “Tugboats are famed for being agile, for changing course quickly, for pushing big, lumbering liners to open water. Sometimes the water is uncharted and choppy, but the tugboat gets the slow-moving vessel there safely.”

And Castleton mathematics professor Abbess Rajia, who shares his enthusiasm and expertise with children and teachers at Mettawee Community School, offers a formula for both Joe and Nancy: MARK = ƒ(Mentor + Advocate + Respectful + Kind).

When he was interviewed by The Castleton Spartan, Mark took the opportunity to remind students of the values that make the college special. “So what am I most proud of? One is that we’ve preserved the culture on campus where we treat each other with respect.”

He says, “I’m proud of the emergent civic engagement mission, but I’d like to see civic engagement so ubiquitous that it’s virtually impossible for a student not to encounter it.”

He is especially proud to have contributed to Castleton’s recognition of its mission. “Castleton is diverse, but the college is securely committed to serving a certain type of student. There is pride in serving students who haven’t blossomed yet.”

Castleton Magazine 11

Castleton: 1787-2012 W Seven writers are now completing a history of Castleton from its founding in 1787 as the Rutland County Grammar School, through its years as an academy, a normal school, and a teachers college, to the last decade of exciting growth.

The book, as yet unnamed, will be a centerpiece for the celebration of Castleton’s 225th anniversary next fall.

Although their research continues, the seven writers and editor Tony Peffer have provided a glimpse of the story they are telling.

T ony P effer ,

editor

An Introduction: 225 Years and Still Going Strong Editor Tony Peffer is dean of undergraduate studies and soon to be the college’s academic dean. His Ph.D. is from Carnegie Mellon University in history. He has edited the Journal of Asian American Studies and is currently editor of the Journal of Assessment and Institutional Effectiveness. He came to Castleton in 2007 after serving as associate dean of the campus at Ohio University Eastern.

hen President Wolk asked me to edit the 225-year history of Castleton State College, recognition of my unworthiness mingled in equal measure with gratitude at the honor. Castleton’s story — a gripping tale of struggle and triumph full of characters worth knowing — belongs to an adoptive family that has shown great kindness to my loved ones and me since our arrival here in 2007. I find myself at times overwhelmed by a depth of obligation to do them justice in its telling. In this endeavor, I am collaborating with colleagues who together have produced Pulitzer Prizes, an Emmy Award, and more published work than I can begin to count. Surrounded by such accomplished partners, perhaps I’m better suited to serve as the project’s research assistant or proofreader.

The better I understand this college’s past two-anda-quarter centuries, the less my very real inadequacies for the task seem to matter. Planted by newly arrived settlers pursuing a vision beyond the reach of their resources, Castleton has reinvented itself in numerous and profound ways across the generations; it has persevered to achieve a level of success and significance exceeding what even the dreamers of 1787 could have imagined. Such a legacy should no doubt be entrusted to an editor of bestsellers, to a native son or daughter.

Though I can almost hear their concerns, voiced but characteristically omitted from the official minutes, I somehow think the founders might approve of me as the editor of their history — they were always willing to take a chance.

Looking east on Main Street in the early 1890s

12 Spring 2012

The Old Seminary building about 1900

R on P owers

Born with the USA, 1787-1867 Ron Powers is Writer in Residence at Castleton and is married to Honorée Fleming, Ph.D., the Dean of Education. Among his 14 books are Mark Twain: A Life, a finalist for the 2005 National Book Critics Circle Award in biography; the No. 1 bestseller Flags of Our Fathers, written with James Bradley and adapted as a film in 2002 by Clint Eastwood; and True Compass, in which he collaborated with Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

Ron is a winner of the 1973 Pulitzer Prize in criticism and a 1985 Emmy for his commentaries on “CBS News Sunday Morning” with Charles Kuralt.

I wish I could have been there.

That thought returned to me again and again as I pored over half-forgotten archives documenting the formative years of Castleton and its sturdy little academy: years that coincided with the formation of America itself and with a visionary dream of learning that would come to define the best of what the new Republic was about.

I wish I could have been there to look into the resilient eyes of those settlers who forged 150 miles north from Salisbury, Connecticut, in 1767, to begin carving a village out of forest. I wish I could have been there

to see the Revolutionary War come right down Main Street, en route to Fort Ticonderoga, I wish I could have been present as patriots turned their energies from war-making to the making of an academy that would nourish community, enlightenment, and public service. I wish I could have entered those various, ever-enlarging venues of the evolving school, and looked around. And listened, and smelled.

I wish I could have mingled with those young people in broadcloth and sturdy shoes who passed through the academy, bearing the hopes of their agrarian families.

And the half-daunted, half-ecstatic young women for whom Castleton offered access to a world of learning almost unheard-of for their gender.

I’d like to have overheard their memorized recitations and relished their right-angled Yankee cadences. Gone picnicking with them on springtime mountainsides; and yes, prowled through woods after midnight with the enterprising young grave-robbers from the medical college.

And I wish I could have stood among the townspeople waving flags and kerchiefs as the crowded transport trains left the depot and began their long chug southward toward the Civil War. I think about those trains every time I walk along the Rail Trail, looking at the same line of mountains they observed from their windows.

None of these wishes of mine can come true, of course. But researching and writing this initial epoch of Castleton’s history has put me as close to time-travel as it is possible to conceive.

Castleton Magazine 13

Harriet Haskell

Abel Leavenworth

E nnis D uling

The Leavenworths and the State Normal School, 1867-1920 Ennis Duling is Castleton’s communications director and editor of this magazine. A former reporter and editor at Ski Racing magazine, his short stories have been published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and Twilight Zone. History articles have appeared in The Civil War Times, Cobblestone, and most recently Vermont History. He is completing a book about Vermont during the American Revolution.

Philip Leavenworth

cast aside equipment and clothing until finally, as he wrote, “my panting breast was bared to breeze.”

During Abel’s years, Castleton provided women and a few men with a practical education. Today we talk about transforming lives. Abel might have invented the concept.

Philip didn’t want to be a teacher or to own a poorly supported school, but he returned from Yale when Abel suffered a stroke and devoted his life to Castleton.

Students loved his unhurried manner, inspiring smile, and hearty laugh. There was about him, wrote a friend, “an atmosphere both gentle and luminous, not unlike morning mist shot through with sunlight.”

But Philip and Castleton ended up in a nasty, freefor-all with the state superintendent of education, who labeled the school inadequate in every way. He was wrong: Castleton changed the lives of the rural women and men who came here. Student-written publications reveal young people who were intelligent, witty, and on the path to being good teachers. In a simpler time, they wrote about sleigh rides to Fair Haven, the trolley that came down Main Street, and (as one young man put it) “a fair blonde, who mixes up fudge in the most splendiferous manner to gain our affections.”

For me Leavenworth really meant a classroom building. Sure, I’d seen photos of Abel and son Philip Leavenworth. Abel was the one with the white beard and military bearing even in old age. Philip — trimmed mustache and wire rim glasses — looked as if he might be stern and exacting. They Normal School students with Principal Philip Leavenworth, 1894 were principals and “owners” of the State Normal School at Castleton for 30 years, a curious arrangement.

So I was suspicious of the Leavenworths, but came to admire them.

Abel, a captain in the 9th Vermont during the Civil War, was a genuine hero, but at times laughable in his intensity. In a mad rush, he led the first Yankee infantry into Richmond at the war’s end. He 14 Spring 2012

Commuter Club officers, 1925

M arjorie R yerson :

The Woodruff Years, 1920 - 40 Marjorie Ryerson is a professor, photographer, poet, editor and journalist. She taught writing and photography at Castleton State College from 1991 until 2005, and was named Vermont State Colleges Faculty Fellow in 20002001. Her books include Water Music (www.water-music. org), Companions for the Passage; Stories of the Intimate Privilege of Accompanying the Dying, and the forthcoming Illuminating the Darkness: Life Stories of the Blind. She won the 2005 international Harry E. Schlenz Medal for public education about water quality.

I initially thought that writing about a twenty-year time span would be a relatively clear-cut task. I did not anticipate just how complex and dramatic those years would turn out to be, or how fascinating.

In 1920, Castleton Normal School was educating an almost exclusively female student body. Those graduates would then become teachers for the state’s rural schools. But in 1920, both Castleton and Johnson Normal Schools faced unqualified and permanent closure. The story of the fight for survival of those two schools is dramatic. As I dug into the story, I found myself trying to unearth what had really happened then for both schools.

Historical records conflict with each other. Published reports differ. So I began to attempt original research for a time period 90 years old, hoping to get at the “truth” — a challenging pursuit when writing history. I Art teacher Marcella Jackson reached out to multiple uni- and Caroline Woodruff versities for help. I spent hours in the State Library in Montpelier, reading old State Education Board Biennial Reports. I leaned on Castleton’s wonderful archivist, Karen Sanborn. I made numerous calls to state dailies, to major libraries, and to places like the National Education Association in Washington. I spent days up to my eyebrows in ancient scraps of paper in the college archives — enthralled.

I learned how Castleton and Johnson survived that critical year due to the dedicated work of school alumni and citizens in both villages. Even after Castleton reopened in 1921, survival was far from guaranteed.

Dinner at Miss Woodruff’s table

Castleton’s journey forward was greatly aided by its dynamic new administrator, Caroline Salome Woodruff. Yet from 1921 on, the school and Woodruff battled almost every imaginable obstacle for survival, including a massive fire that destroyed the core of the school in 1924.

But Woodruff’s fierce determination and strength, and the students’ and alumni’s belief in both Woodruff and Castleton, not only kept the school alive but brought it to a level of national prominence by the time Woodruff retired in 1940.

The charred remains of the Old Seminary building, January 1924

Castleton Magazine 15

A ndre F leche :

World War Two and the 50s, 1940 -1960 Andre M. Fleche is an assistant professor of history at Castleton. He is a writer and a teacher of American history, with a long-standing interest in World War Two and the Civil War eras. His work has been published by the New York Times and the journal Civil War History.

His first book, The Revolution of 1861, was just published by the University of North Carolina Press.

The World War Two years at Castleton were filled with serious purposes and personal sacrifices. Some students from that era might remember air raid drills in Leavenworth and Woodruff halls. Others helped to plant the victory garden at Glenbrook or harvest apples to feed the home front. Many of them went to war with the army, the navy, the WACs and the WAVES, and many more served the nation by educating young citizens through their chosen profession, teaching.

But during the 1940s and the 1950s that followed, there was also time for frivolity and fun. Students at Castleton looked forward each year to tobogganing, skating, and skiing at the annual Winter Carnival and crowning the king and queen of the Snowflake Ball.

During the 1950s, some of them, swept by the mania for “nightclubbing,” transformed the college dining room into the “Black Cat Night Club,” with performances by the “Tom Cats,” the “Alley Cats,” the “Copy Cats,” and the “Kittenettes.”

Many of the students of the era must also have been excited by the many important “firsts” they witnessed at Castleton. The class of ’48 was the first to graduate as students of “Castleton Teachers College.” By the mid1950s, Castleton students were calling themselves the

President Richard Dundas

16 Spring 2012

Students harvest apples as part of the war effort

“Spartans” and rooting for the men’s varsity basketball, baseball, and cross country teams. The “Spartanettes” led the cheers, assisted in some years by a band and corps of majorettes. And on warm spring days, many residents of the new Ellis Hall enjoyed taking some sun on the patio behind the dorm.

The 1940s and the 1950s at Castleton were marked by great excitement, challenges, and change. But through it all, everyone on campus demonstrated that “Castleton is a college with a heart,” as the slogan went in those days. I’m excited to share their stories with you.

A nthony M arro :

The Dundas Years, 1957-1969 Anthony Marro attended Castleton for two years (19601962) before transferring to UVM. In his career as a newspaper reporter and editor, he worked for the Rutland Herald, Newsday, Newsweek, and the New York Times. He retired as editor of Newsday in 2003. He is co-author of Philip Hoff: How Red Turned Blue in the Green Mountain State, published this year by the University Press of New England and Castleton.

When Richard Dundas arrived to assume the presidency of Castleton Teacher’s College in October 1957, there was no inauguration as such. Instead, a State Department of Education official drove down from Montpelier, had the staff round up what students and faculty it could on short notice and herd them into the small auditorium in the basement of Woodruff Hall, and introduced Dundas as the new president. Dundas had no prepared speech. “I just told them that it was a lovely place and I was happy to be there, and that I wanted to keep all the old traditions in place,” he recalled many years later. “That kept them from running me out of town on the first day.”

When his successor, Harold Abel, was inaugurated thirteen years later, there were three days of festivities.

The inaugural procession itself included robed delegates from 66 colleges, including Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Bennington and Sarah Lawrence.

Dundas, who had left after a falling out with the head of the state colleges, wasn’t there. But his legacy could be seen by everyone at the ceremony, from the many new buildings constructed during his tenure to the fact that Castleton had been transformed from an unaccredited teachers college into a robust State College that also was offering a liberal arts education and a nursing program. There had been just 256 students and 15 full-time faculty when Dundas arrived, and only one of the faculty had a Ph.D. The school catalog had listed a mere 67 courses. During his last year as president, there were more than 1,000 students and they could choose from more than 283 course offerings, from Art through Zoology. There were 71 full-time faculty, 20 of them with doctorates.

“Dundas was a God-damned genius,” said Arthur Crowley, who was among a group of Rutland business and political leaders who lobbied aggressively to improve the school. “He had only peanuts — he had no resources at all — but inch by inch he moved the school towards accreditation and once that happened he made the school grow.”

The “Spartons” baseball team of 1951

The Old Leavenworth Hall fire, December 15, 1971

C hris

boettcher :

Years of Controversy, 1970 -1989 Chris Boettcher is a fourth-year faculty member in the English Department. He specializes in teaching Castleton’s general education curriculum in English. His research interests include intellectual history and representations of ancient civilization in modern literature. On his first day of work at Castleton, English Department Chair Denny Shramek took him to see the Ancient Vermont Exhibit, and he has been hooked on the mystery ever since.

If you stop to look at the “Ancient Vermont” exhibit tucked away on the second floor of Castleton’s library, you will find a real-life adventure story waiting to happen.

The exhibit documents the work of Castleton anthropology professor Warren Cook and others who investigated stone chambers, possibly very ancient stone chambers, found at remote sites in the hills of Vermont.

Cook organized a conference on the subject in 1977, and the event drew scholars from around the world.

Predictably, though, it also drew controversy. Debates over the site and the meaning of the find were battled long after the conference. They included a particularly acerbic exchange on the editorial pages of the Rutland Herald.

Professor Warren Cook The “Ancient Vermont” controversy was one of a number of contentions at Castleton in the 1970s, signal events that directly shaped the Castleton we know today. Professor Cook’s work was a quest for origins, and a search for where we come from is usually a quest to better know who we are.

For me, the discussions of the time uncover some of the salient questions: Is the character of Castleton shaped by our buildings? By the kind of campus and the environs we inhabit? By the visions of strong presidents and chancellors?

By the programs and curriculum we adopt? By the communities we share? By the dynamic and dedicated people who work here? By the engagement or non-engagement of its students?

My research has shown me that in many ways the questions with which Castleton contended in the 1970s and 1980s, questions that resonate throughout Castleton’s history, are still with us today.

Castleton Magazine 17

The new Campus Center opened in the fall of 2009.

B urnham H olmes :

The Nineties and the Aughts Burnham Holmes began his publishing career at Random House as Toni Morrison’s assistant. Over 25 years he was an editor at several publishers, a freelance writer, and a writing teacher at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. He has written 16 books, most recently One Shining Moment for Harper Collins. An actor in 20 plays, he has now turned his hand to writing plays, one of which won the 2011 Nor’Eastern Playwriting Contest.

He has taught at Castleton since 1996.

You catch a tour of the Castleton campus with prospective families and listen to the student guide.

“As nice as our facilities are,” says the guide, “it’s not about the campus.”

“So, what is it about?” asks one of the high-schoolers.

“People,” says the tour guide. “It’s all about the people.”

And that’s what I’ve found writing and researching the last 20 years of Castleton’s history. Castleton is easy to enjoy. There’s no need to soften your resistance. You can fall in love with the place in only one visit. Just ask the

guides. “I wouldn’t mind going here myself,” more than one parent has been heard to remark.

Among students above the 18-to-22 age range, nontraditional students or “non-trads” as they are sometimes called, Castleton ranks high. It’s also right up there with “first gens” or the first family members who go to college. Yes, Castleton is for “non-trads,” “first gens,” and everyone in between.

You find yourself walking along the sidewalk outside the library and glance down. Set into the concrete at spaced intervals are engraved slabs of marble. As if they were historical documents, you walk along and read each one: Rutland County Grammar School, 1787-1828 Vermont Classical High School, 1828-1830 Castleton Seminary, 1830-1876 State Normal School at Castleton, 1876-1920 Castleton Normal School, 1921-1947 Castleton Teachers College, 1947-1962 Castleton State College, 1962-present day You are amazed Castleton has witnessed so much history.

In fact, it is the 18th oldest school of higher learning in the country. Your next stop is the library. Inside you find emblazoned on the far wall the college’s coat of arms: an open book, three deer, and 1787 ­ — the year the United States Constitution was adopted. Castleton has quite a long and illustrious history. The events of the last two decades have proved equally dramatic, full of discovery and surprise.

Spartan Stadium; the campus under construction in 2009; and the 2011 flood that came with Irene.

18 Spring 2012

Class Notes Please send your news to share with other Castleton Alumni to: Liz Garside ’04, Director of Annual Fund Castleton State College, Castleton, Vermont 05735, alumnioffice@castleton.edu

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Stowe High School has named its hockey field in honor of Bev Osterberg. She has coached for 44 years and has won 16 Vermont State Championships and more than 500 games. She was inducted into the Castleton Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005.

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Mike Barsalow was inducted into the Vermont Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2008.

He coached from 1966 to 1989 at Fair Haven Union High School. In 23 years of coaching, his teams won 318 games and appeared in four state championship games, winning one title. In 1971 he was Vermont Coach of the Year.

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Barbara Thompson Daniels writes, “In September of 2011 Joanna Garmella and I went on a river cruise on the beautiful Rhine river in Germany. We boarded the ship in Vienna and traveled to Amsterdam.

The scenery was beautiful and we were fortunate to have delightful weather throughout our trip. All of the passengers were friendly and the food was delicious. Our favorite trip by far was a year ago January when we went to South Africa on a safari. Seeing the animals in their own habitat was wonderful. Hopefully, Joanna and I will have many more adventures in the near future. We often chat about our years at Castleton and how lucky we were to receive such a good education, while having so much fun.”

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Four Castleton alumni, Stewart Boyd ’69 (who sent in the news), Wendy Byrne ’71, Laine Lynch Lucenti ’68, and Robert Lucenti ’69 recently spent 15 days touring Ireland. Their travels took them from Dublin south along the coast to a week in Kinsale. Bob and Laine are also new grandparents with the birth of their grandson, Damien Lucenti.

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Karen Oscarson Wright was promoted to senior deputy probation officer for the Mohave County Probation Department in Kingman, Arizona. n Tom Haley was named Vermont Sportswriter of the Year for the eighth time and will receive the honor at a ceremony in June in North Carolina. He and wife Robin have six

children and five grandchildren. His son Evan is a third generation student at Castleton.

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John Cottone was named Dean of the School of Professional Studies at SUNY Cortland. n Michael Delphia writes, “I am manager for Deloitte Consulting and leading a US government (USAID) Hydropower Investment Promotion Project in Tbilisi, Georgia. The intent of the project is to raise interest from foreign investors to develop 400 MW of new hydropower plants and invest approximately $600 million in the projects.

The goal of the project is to improve the standard of living in Georgia by increasing local employment and help provide clean energy for the region.”

As they agreed to forty years ago, alumni Marie Winager Ginter ’70, John Champine ’71, Sharon Stanley Champine ’71, Melody Dean Dimick ’70, Barry Dimick, and Adolf Ginter reunited at Daytona Beach, Florida, for a special 60th birthday celebration.

Castleton Magazine 19

ClassNotesClassNotesClassNotesClassNotes

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Jill Britton Mack was recently asked to testify before a Connecticut legislative review committee in support of an educator majority professional standards board. She writes, “While working as an education adjunct at Castleton, I was on the Vermont Standards Board for Professional Educators as a charter member (1990) and then served as one of two consultants for ten years before I relocated back to my Connecticut roots.

Connecticut is just now considering the formation of a similar board, a position I passionately support to help move the profession forward by permitting

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Mystery writer Mike Bove Mike Bove ’67, who lives in Cottonwood, Arizona, has a lot in common with fictional Bruce DelReno, who lives in an imagined Willowtree, same state.

Both are retired from the U.S. Postal Service, love to play golf, are married to nurses, and own Golden Retrievers.

The biggest difference between the two men may be that DelReno has a knack for finding human remains and then solving the ensuing mystery when the police cannot.

DelReno is the lead character in Mike’s first mystery novel, Willowtree, which is available in print and in a variety of digital formats. Mike is at work on a second Bruce DelReno mystery, tentatively titled Stinger Maguire, about a Willowtree pro golfer and celebrity who is murdered.

“I like to say the good stuff in the book is somewhat autobiographical, and the bad stuff is completely made up,” Mike says.

Leading the list of good stuff is wife Jane Doran Bove ’68. “She is a terrific nurse and provided support for anything I attempted.”

“The Apache friend Ben from the 20 Spring 2012

educators to manage the profession as other similar professions do.”

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Mark Schroeter retired from Vermont State Government in July of 2009 and started working for AmeriCorps nine days later. He writes, “I worked on transitional housing in the Burlington, Vermont, area named Schroeter Place. I co-facilitated the Hoarding Taskforce of Chittenden County which turned out to be a fascinating experience. In August 2010 I started work in Developmental Services at the Howard Center as a program manager and was recently promoted to team lead. Ironic that I started my career working at the Brandon Training

School. Life is good. It is great to see CSC alumni. I love to stop or honk at a car with a CSC decal in the window. May the spirit never die!” n Steve Houghton, assistant headmaster for 24 years at Burr and Burton Academy in Manchester, is retiring in June. He has been at Burr and Burton for 31 years.

He began his career at West Rutland High School.

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Elsie Campbell Faul and Jeff Faul ’78 celebrated their 31st wedding anniversary last year. They have two daughters and one grandchild. Jeff is the President and CEO of Nukem Inc., a nuclear fuel trading company, located in Danbury, Connecticut. Elsie

Mike Bove and the landscape that is home to Willowtree.

book is based loosely on an Indian golfing buddy of mine, though he is not Apache, but just as ornery. The bad guys are made up.”

At Castleton, Mike majored in physical education, was on the track & field team for four years, wrote for The Spartan, and participated in more than a dozen theatre productions, on stage or as part of the crew. “I think my involvement and love of the theater and the spoken word is what has instilled the desire to write into me,” he says.

In addition to writing, Mike has mas-

tered the skills of self-publication and marketing in the digital age. Google “Mike Bove author” or “Bruce DelReno,” and Mike and Bruce top the entries. Willowtree is available for Kindle and Nook, and can be found on amazon.com.

Mike started out writing about golf and with Jane’s encouragement, the story became a mystery shaped by a love and understanding of the game. Mike points out in the foreword to Willowtree, “There is no Mesquite Hills Golf Course, except in my mind. I designed it myself, and hold the course record.” www.mikebove.net

ClassNotesClassNotesClassNotesClassNotes is a volunteer with the American Red Cross in the Bethel office. Jeff is on the Board of Trustees for the Connecticut Chapter of the National MS Society.

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Vincent Fusca wrote, “After 13 years with Dartmouth College directing operations with the Dartmouth Institute, I assumed a new position as Chief of Staff to the CEO, Dartmouth-Hitchcock. My son Vincent returned from a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan, completed his master’s degree at Dartmouth, and was married this past May. My daughter Nicole is engaged to be married this August. n Tom Hughes ’78 and his wife Cheryl now have both of their children in college. Grace is a junior at Gordon College and Stephen is a freshman at Champlain College. Tom has a renewed inter-

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est in the 1776 Hubbardton Military Road that was cut from Orwell to Rutland.

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William Perkins is proud to announce his son and recent graduate, Justin ’11, has joined the Perkins Insurance Agency, a family business, as a financial sales associate.

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Patricia Ryan Allo is the community outreach coordinator at Good Samaritan Medical Center in Massachusetts. n Tammy Matthews Stephenson is an interior designer and is the author of a popular interior design and lifestyle blog called “Nest

by Tamara” where she chronicles happenings in the design industry.

(Just google “Nest by Tamara.”) Last September a consortium of designindustry companies sponsored Tammy to attend and report on the London Design Festival. She also writes about interior design for magazines and

Guitar hero Performances by Darren O’Neill ’90 were included in a recent New York Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibit called Guitar Heroes.

Although Guitar Heroes closed last July, it is still possible to tour the virtual exhibit and with a little searching hear mandolinist and early music specialist Dennis Cinelli accompanied by Darren on historic guitars.

Google “guitar heroes metropolitan” and look for the mandolins made

by Giuseppe Presbler and Angelo Mannello. While you’re at it, watch and listen to fabulous jazz musicians playing instruments made by Italian craftsmen in New York City.

The New York Times called the exhibit “exceptionally interesting” and also praised the website.

Darren’s participation actually

Darren O’Neill

other websites, and in the summer she has a design column in the East Hampton magazine, Dan’s Papers. She and husband Randy have two kids.

Gabby is 16 and Miles is 12. Tammy writes, “Raising a family in New York City is not something we planned, but it evolved after they started at great schools, so we never left. We have enjoyed the busy, culturally rich life, but I do miss Vermont very much!”

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Lee Smith received a master’s degree in management and systems from New York University in January 2010. He is employed by JPMorgan Chase as vice president engineer lead.

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Mark DiGangi was named vice president at TD Wealth Management Group in Burlington where he is responsible for coordinating specialists who provide banking and wealth needs to high net-worth clients throughout Vermont.

took place in 2007 when he and Cinelli recorded music on original instruments for the museum’s audio tour of lutes, mandolins and citterns. Some of that music was incorporated into Guitar Heroes.

In an interview with the museum’s curator of musical instruments, Darren quoted an old Italian saying, In death I sweetly sing. “For many of these instruments when they are taken from the case and the human touch tenderly applied to them, they elicit the sound they were intended to make.”

Darren is head of music and media services at Morris County Library in Whippany, New Jersey, and a visiting specialist in the John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University. As a member of Trio Brioso, he has performed at Carnegie Hall. He and Cinelli are the Nova Segno Duo. Castleton Magazine 21

ClassNotesClassNotesClassNotesClassNotes

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Matthew Esenwine continues to work for Nassau Broadcasting as the production director for their five-station radio group in the Concord, New Hampshire area, and does voiceover work through his MattForrest.com business. Matt also had two poems published independently, and is now a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators and is working towards getting a children’s book of poetry published. n Bill Everly was married to Lisa Perry on October 10, 2009, in Livermore, California. Bill is a financial advisor for Ameriprise Financial in Concord.

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Phillip Modesti is pictured above with alum, Steve Guerrera ’05, they both work for Covidien, Surgical Solutions. Phillip is the director, US Region for professional affairs and

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Phillip Modesti and Steve Guerrera in Zurich.

clinical education and Steve is the finance manager, medical affairs, global business unit. This photo was taken in Zurich, Switzerland during a recent department meeting.

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John Tedesco wrote, “In December 2011, I completed an MBA in managing for sustainability from the Marlboro College Graduate School in Brattleboro. I am currently the safety and environmental manager at Green Mountain Power in Colchester and have worked there for seven years.

Projects I am currently working on include converting a brownfield site to a bright field, or in other words taking

a previously underutilized developed site, remediating contamination and installing solar power generation. I am also actively involved in the construction of the Kingdom Community Wind project in Lowell, Vermont, and the merger between Green Mountain Power and Central Vermont Public Service. My spare time is filled with time outdoors and training for endurance events. I completed the NYC Marathon in November 2011 and am looking forward to several endurance races this coming season. I live in South Hero.”

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Val Almosnino has put his new business on hold in order to fight Acute Promyelitic Leukemia. He was diagnosed in late August 2009 and achieved remission in mid-September 2009. Over the Fall/Winter he underwent chemotherapy to further consolidate the remission. He is looking forward to resuming his business activities on a part-time basis. n William Laramee wrote, “In October of 2010

A Century Ride for Team Fox

Kim and Bill Sherman ’94 have been doing century bicycle rides in support of the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Their sons, Carter and Ryan, ages 10 and 12, have completed the 10 mile course in the New England Parkinson’s Ride and plan to ride 30 miles this September.

Kim committed to the ride and the fundraising because she had watched her father suffer with Parkinson’s. “It was horrible,” she says. “He passed away in 2004 at age 67 right before his Sox won the World Series.”

She took up cycling because she had to give up knee-pounding activities because of old sports injuries. Five months after knee surgery, she rode a hundred miles after raising $3000. She attended the Team Fox MVP Awards Dinner in New York with Bill, who had 22 Spring 2012

Carter, Ryan, Bill, and Kim Sherman after Bill ran the Boston Marathon.

raised $4000 as a runner in the Boston Marathon. She is looking forward to the 2012 ride and awards night.

She says, “The first time I ever wrote about my father was for a class with

Professor Marjorie Ryerson – and I’ve been trying to tell my story ever since.

For now, cycling will do.”

She welcomes contributions. You can find her on teamfox.com.

ClassNotesClassNotesClassNotesClassNotes I became certified as a fitness trainer. Following certification I launched a new business: Beyond Boundaries Fitness, beyondboundariesfitness.com.

As a law enforcement officer I have always been interested in the relationship between health and wellness and its positive affects on professional success. Following my law enforcement career I intend to pursue this endeavor full time.” n Dayna Begley Leavens and her husband Daniel welcomed a daughter, Cady Rae, in February 2011.

She joins big sister McCall Delaney. All are well and happy at their family run fly fishing business at www.thestoneflyinn.com. n Mark Maxham wrote, “I have been directing The Dan Patrick Show on the 101 Network for DirecTV. I was in the chair for the Charlie Sheen interviews with Dan. I have also been on the road for the SPEED network and have done studio work for FSN and NFL Network.” n Scott McCalla and Karen Edwards McCalla ’96 live in Rutland with their twin seven-yearolds, Maxwell and Emelia. Karen is the librarian at Mill River Union High

School and Scott is the senior analyst of transportation at Casella Waste Systems. n Last spring Emily Sprague achieved tenure as an assistant professor of mathematics at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She earned her Ph.D. in August 2003 from Kent State University.

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Betsy McFeeters Hodgdon completed her Level 1 CrossFit Certification, and although she continues with her day job, she also coaches CrossFit and runs a successful fitness blog called www.crossfitchick. com n Bryan Terzian was promoted to the rank of Captain in the Ridgefield (Connecticut) Police Department with the title of Uniform Division Commander.

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Darren Perron won an Emmy Award for WCAX’s coverage of Mission: Afghanistan. He writes, “We’ve been fortunate since our return to have picked up an Edward

R. Murrow Award, VAB Broadcaster of the Year Award, Adjutant General Gold Coin Award, and now the Emmy for our coverage there.”

97

Mat Parker has taken on a new challenge as director of athletics and program development for the Rockford Public Schools in Illinois after 15 years teaching history and coaching at the middle and high school levels.

98

Brian Bettis wrote, “After graduating in 1998, I quickly joined the Army to test my knowledge of the criminal justice system within the Department of Defense. Throughout my career, I have been stationed in Alaska, Georgia, Missouri, Texas, Alabama, Korea, Iraq, Hawaii, and now Kansas. I have held many leadership positions including Special Reaction Team member, platoon leader, commander, aide-de-camp to the Commanding General, and senior advisor to the Iraqi Army and

Do you know someone who could benefit from a Castleton education?

A next door neighbor? A friend’s son or daughter?

A relative? An employee?

We value our alumni connections.

Give us a name and we’ll send an informative, colorful brochure.

Name________________________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________________________ City______________________________ State___________ Zip__________________ High School______________________________________ Graduation Year_______ Academic Interests_____________________________________________________

Mail to: Office of Admissions Castleton State College Castleton, Vermont 05735

Phone: 800-639-8521 E-mail: info@castleton.edu Castleton Magazine 23

ClassNotesClassNotesClassNotesClassNotes Class of 1998 continued from page 23

Government. Currently I am the director of the Joint Regional Correctional Facility at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

After growing up in a small town in Vermont, it was hard then, and I am sure is still hard now, for my family and friends to fathom the military as an outstanding career. Who would have guessed 14 years ago, that I would now be the director of the largest joint correctional facility in the Department of Defense. I would love to give a shout out to Anne Bartol, Brad Hunt, and Victoria Derosia for being outstanding leaders and professors.” n Thomas “TJ” Brooks and Lisa King Brooks announce the birth of their second child, Natalie Rose, born in January 2012 at Fletcher Allen

94

A timely book about LGBT youth Annemarie Vaccaro ’94 is the co-author of Safe Spaces: Making Schools and Communities Welcoming to LGBT Youth.

The new book, which offers strategies to make homes, schools, and communities more inclusive for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender young people, draws on her research as a faculty member in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Rhode Island. She collaborated with colleagues and friends Gerri August (Rhode Island College) and Megan S. Kennedy (Westfield State University).

“My research is mostly about college students, faculty, and staff,” Annemarie says. “But I was consistently struck by how often LGBT adults would begin to tell me about their childhoods, even when they knew my research was about LGBT issues in higher education.”

“Because I believe in lifespan development, I saw the need for a book that spanned the kindergarten-college 24 Spring 2012

Health Center in Burlington. The Brooks family lives in Vergennes.

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Mark Falango joined Fletcher/ CSI as vice president, technology practice. n Cynthia Ryan has merged her business with that of Ed Rooney and formed Edgeworks Creative, LLC, www.edgeworkscreative.com, a graphic design firm specializing in web, print, search and social media. Cynthia’s existing business had been in operation for more than 10 years. She had a large client base for which she designed print collateral and web sites. Ed’s business of seven years focused on web development, search engine optimization, and Google AdWords account management. After having collaborated on several projects together in 2011,

lives of LGBT youth.” The project had special meaning for Annemarie, who recalls an academic year in which three LGBT students at her college attempted suicide (one died; two survived).

When she suggested the idea to August and Kennedy, they were enthusiastic about the project and agreed that their expertise was complementary.

The three writers returned to their own research for the first-person stories and quotations that provide a real-life narrative of the challenges of growing up.

Then they began a process of individu-

they brought their businesses together in Rochester, Vermont, in August and began working as a team. n Nicholas Strom-Olsen obtained his certified financial planning designation and is an assistant vice president and senior financial consultant of Berkshire Bank.

00

Elsie Gilmore writes, “2011 was an exciting year! I was one of the 1253 arrested in front of the White House while protesting the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. Then I began my Master of Environmental Law & Policy at Vermont Law School in the fall. Plus, I sold my web design business to focus on my degree and my other business, Women With Moxie (www.womenwithmoxie.com).” n Lucas Herring serves as councilp-

al and collaborative writing. The book also provides what the authors call “Action Steps” and “Reflection Points.”

At Castleton Annemarie was an SOS leader, an RA, and a member of the community service organization, all of which “ignited my passion for student affairs.” She recalls the importance of a course on multicultural education taught by Professor Radha Bhaktal.

“That course helped me reflect upon and put into words my desire to be a socially just educator.”

After college Annemarie earned a master’s degree in Student Affairs at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. in higher education administration and master’s in sociology at the University of Denver. Gradually, with success as a teacher, she moved from a career as a student affairs professional into one as a full-time faculty member.

Today she lives in Rhode Island with her partner and two yellow labs. “I love to read, walk my dogs at the beach and travel,” she says.

Safe Spaces is published by ABCCLIO/Praeger. www.safespacesbook.com

ClassNotesClassNotesClassNotesClassNotes erson on the Barre City Council, vice chair on the Barre City School Board, and on the Vermont Granite Museum Board. He recently started working as a business analyst for Vermont Department for Children and Families. n Karen LaRose O’Hara writes, “After working at an alternative school in Barre for children with major emotional and behavioral problems for almost six years, I changed work environments. I’m now working in Plainfield in a residential facility for young adults with mental health problems.”

01

Jackie Gambardella McGowan has established Camp Highlight, an overnight camp in Pennsylvania for children with lesbian, gay, bisexual

or transgender parents. The camp has been successful in its first year, uniting this community, creating a safe space for gay families and providing a fun, recreational program. For more info, visit: www.camphighlight. com n Jake Stearns married Leana Carson in June 2010. He serves in the US Air Force (eight years now) and has been selected to serve in the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. After completing training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia, he’ll be a special agent assigned to a detachment in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Since joining the USAF he has been stationed in Tokyo, Japan; Ramstein, Germany; and Anchorage, Alaska. n Marc Yrsha has joined the Adirondack Trust Company as assis-

tant vice president in the commercial lending department.

02

Brienne Kelly writes, “In May 2009 I completed my master’s degree in Social Work at Simmons College in Boston. In December I passed the MA LCSW exam and am currently employed as a clinical social worker in the Behavioral Health Department of Emerson Hospital in Concord. n Lluvia Mulvaney-Stanak received a Master of Education degree from UVM in May of 2011. n Helen McDonough Strom-Olsen obtained her MS in Health Science and is a candidate for a doctorate of health science from A.T. Still University.

She is a part-time professor of Sports Medicine at Castleton.

Awards Given by the Alumni Association

T

he Alumni Association is searching for outstanding alumni in two categories.

The criteria for both are service to the college, community and/or humanitarian efforts, and professional accomplishments.

Distinguished Alumni Award: Graduated prior to 2002

Dave Perrin ’76

John Stempek ’71, ’75

Leonard Johnson ’45, ’48

Art DeLorenzo ’64

Mike Collins ’61

Richard Richardson ’54

Recent Alumni Award: Graduated in 2002 or later Nomination deadline: June 1, 2012 Check our website at www.alumni.castleton.edu to view profiles of the winners

Outstanding Faculty Award The Alumni Association also gives an annual Outstanding Faculty Award. Past recipients include Ernie Bourgeois, Bob Aborn, John Gillen, Bob Gershon, Paul Albro, Linda Olson, Terry Bergen, Judy Meloy, Susan Farrell, Judy Miller, Peg Richards, Bill Ramage, Mark Fox, and Lisa Pleban.

The award is announced at commencement and will be part of a newsletter in the summer.

Letters of recommendation should be sent to: Tim Politis ’68 1 Milliken Road Scarborough, ME 04074 tpolitis@maine.rr.com Dennis Proulx ’87

Castleton Magazine 25

ClassNotesClassNotesClassNotesClassNotes

06

03

Director and actor Lauren Martin

Lauren Martin ’06, an outstanding actress who appeared in a dozen productions on the Castleton stage, returned in the fall to direct Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale.

After graduation from Castleton, Lauren earned an MFA in Professional Actor Training from the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. Today she lives in New York City and is an Actors’ Equity Association actor, costume designer, and private coach. She is a resident actor and costume designer for the Bama Theatre Company. (www.bamatheatrecompany.org) The Winter’s Tale begins as a tragedy powered by the irrational jealousy of the King of Sicilia and ends as a comedy with true love and reconciliation triumphant.

“I was surprised as to how fast the students took to Shakespeare’s text,” Lauren says. “Once we opened up the OED [Oxford English Dictionary] and looked up every word we didn’t know, we were able to hit the ground running.”

In a change of longstanding policy, the Rutland Herald reviewed the play, calling it “a stylish and well-acted student production” and “fun as well as touching.” The set design by art professor Bill Ramage was praised as “a work of art that would be at home in grand opera.”

“I thoroughly enjoyed directing!” Lauren says. “It was such a great experience and a perfect example of hard work and creative collaboration from all artistic sides. I look forward to keeping an artistic relationship with Castleton.”

Theatre Department chair Harry McEnerny says, “I wanted to show Castleton students what it’s possible to do and the kind of work you need to commit yourself to. Lauren brought such exuberance to the role. She’s only going to get better and better.”

Before returning to New York, Lauren gave a guest lecture to theatre students on Shakespeare and the Elizabethan Age, including comments on the recent film Anonymous, which argues that someone other than the man from Stratford wrote the plays. (Lauren says that she is a loyal Shakespearean.)

Back in New York, she is auditioning for shows as an actor or director.

“Whatever it is I am doing, as long as it has something to do with the theatre, I am happy. But directing really struck a chord with me. I found it to be wonderfully satisfying. At the end of it all, it was so great to have had that script in my daily routine for over five months. I miss it.”

26 Spring 2012

Brent Fraser graduated from Norwich University in June 2011 with an MBA in organizational leadership. He works for the Visiting Nurse and Hospice of Vermont and New Hampshire and in October 2011 was promoted to the benefits and recruitment administrator. He writes, “My wife Jessice Fraser ’01 and I are expecting our first child in June 2012.” n Last May Cynthia Kilic-Murray received her teaching certification through the Castleton ACT II program and is a Vermont licensed educator in secondary social studies. She is working on a special education endorsement through Castleton and plans on graduating in spring 2013 with a master’s in education. She was elected the vice chair of the Rutland County Democratic Committee. n Brienne Klaassen writes, “After graduation, I began working at Mount Ida College as the administrative assistant for financial aid. A year-and-a-half later I was promoted to financial aid counselor, then in the spring of 2011, I was promoted to assistant director! I enjoy working in higher education and I think it stems from doing work-study at Castleton for the assistant dean of campus life!”

04

Sara Larson Borkowski and husband Mark welcomed Tinsley Corrine into their family in April 2011. n Melissa Disorda writes, “I have been working with the ImproveCareNow Network, www.improvecarenow.org, since 2006. When we started we had only eight Pediatric IBD centers involved and now we have just under 40, including one international center. My degree in sociology has been a vital asset to my ability to help guide this Network as it grows.” n Danielle Sullivan Grotton and husband David will be serving in Chile as missionaries for two to three years with an organization called Mission to the World. Their focus will be the

ClassNotesClassNotesClassNotesClassNotes differently enabled community, their families and the community-at-large (schools, social agencies, vocational service centers, etc). You can keep up with them via their blog: http://grottonsinchile.blogspot.com. n Bianca Rotmil McKeen and husband Jason welcomed a son Kipten Philip, who was born in May 2011. Colette Rotmil ’07 is his maternal grandmother and was present for his birth. Kipten joins his big sister Keira and all are doing well.

05

Audra Grady is a certified yoga teacher registered with Yoga Alliance and the Kripalu Yoga Teacher Alliance.

She is building a network of yoga teachers to bring yoga to the workplace. n John Wright writes, “I have worked at PEGTV in Rutland managing the Government Station (Ch. 21) since 2007 and I started a web devel-

opment business called Common Wealth Web Solutions (www.cwws. org) in 2011 n Justin Souza is a Rutland City police officer.

06

Adam McIntosh was recently promoted to manager of safety and security at Rutland Regional Medical Center.

07

Margaret Brooks and Adam White ’06 were married in the fall of 2010. They live in Arlington Virginia, where Maggy is an elementary school counselor and Adam works for the Army. n Ariel Delaney was recently accepted to the Heller School for Social Policy and Managment at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. Ariel received a Returned Peace Corps

Volunteer Scholarship to obtain a dual MA in Sustainable International Development; Coexistence and Conflict. n Last September Katie Frey graduated from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a MS in Recreation, Sport, and Tourism. n Jeremy Gibbons is the director of admissions at Southern Vermont College and has been selected to participate in the Enrollment Leadership Academy, a new professional development program formed by the New England Regional Office of the College Board. In May 2010, he received the Outstanding Service Award at Southern Vermont College. n Amber Vrooman is engaged to Sam Ducharme; their wedding is planned for October. She is an administrative assistant and bookkeeper for CATCH Neighborhood Housing in Concord. n David Stebbins and wife

in memory 1933

1951

1966

1982

Ruth Martin

Lois Hathaway Sarah Congdon Smith Elsie Miller Yotch

Jane Domine Sirotnak

Jolene Whitcomb Austin

1970

1991

1937 Doris Williams Higgins

1939 Yvonne Lang Troy

1940

1955 Maila Suojanen Mayhew

1958

Elizabeth Corliss

Carl Rice

1944

1959

Jane Bueche Evans

Eleanor Toth Anderson

1945

1960

Juanita Fifield Raymond

Robert “Pete” Burroughs

1946

1962

Judith Grassette Marcy Robert Nowak

Nancy Gottlick Heller Gregory Kreis

1972

1998

June Bentley

1973 Thomas Stanley

1975 Glenna Reed

1977

Marion Preston Chapman

Marlene Booth Bedard

Andrew Brown Robert Marcoux

1947

1963

1978

Florence Sherman Beebe

Frank Zakrzewski

1948

1964

1979

Joreen Waine Johnson

Paul Snizek

Eileen Perry Callahan

1949

1965

1981

Ann Norton Turcotte

Ardis Stevens Smith

Claire McKenna

Faye Cross Lillie

Robert Knox

1999 Catherine Paul Marsh

Community Joe Cannon, Physical Plant director, 1983-1988 Dagny Jensen, administrative assistant, Physical Plant, 1974-1985 Paul Opel, part-time music faculty, 2002-2010 Audrey Reed, assistant director of financial aid, 1980-2005 Castleton Magazine 27

ClassNotesClassNotesClassNotesClassNotes Class of 2007 continued from page 27

Jessica were married in July 2011 in Kitty Hawk on the Outer Banks. David is currently in his final semester at Columbia University obtaining his master's degree in international security policy, and his wife Jessica is a 6th grade elementary school teacher in the Bronx. They hope to return to D.C. where they will resume employment opportunities at the end of June. n John Carlson and Bethany Guetti ’07 are to be wed October 20.

her marriage to Kyle Kelly ’10 in August 2011 in York Beach, Maine.

She writes, “We are happy to say that we met in our first year seminar under Dr. Tom Rutkowski. Many professors and other alumni were in attendance with us as well.” n Joseph Ransmeier graduated from the University of Montana Law School in May 2011.

He was recently hired by the Brown Law Firm in Billings.

08

Courtney Gosselin and Michael Lee Anderson ’09 are engaged; an October 2012 wedding is planned at Castle Hill Resort and Spa at Okemo Mountain. n Jake Richards is engaged to Katie Jean Satre; a September 2012 wedding is planned. n Matthew Wiskoski was hired as a staff accountant for McCormack, Guyette & Associates, PC, in Rutland and is studying for the CPA exam, which he plans on passing by spring 2013. n Sara Bauer wrote, “Robert Scanlon and I are engaged and anticipate a July 2013 wedding in Vermont. We actually met our freshman year and have been dating ever since. n Katie Miller was promoted after a year as supervisor to manager of a day program for adults with developmental disabilities in Chester, Connecticut. n Jessica

Candice Church writes, “After I graduated from Castleton I entered the Ph.D. program at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Last spring I successfully passed my qualifying exam, earning my Master of Science in Medical Sciences. Since then, I have been working on my Ph.D. thesis researching novel HIV therapeutics. My research also uses gene therapy of T lymphocytes to broaden our understanding of how the human immune system responds to HIV infection.” n Rich Frank was the lead author in a 2010 article in the Journal of Nursing Law: “Assisted suicide: Washington v. Glucksberg.

Patient autonomy v. cultural Mores in physician assisted suicide.” n Angela Russell Kelly is pleased to announce

09

Miles Souza is an emergency room nurse at Rutland Regional Medical Center. n Katherine Cleary and Daniel Hollander are to be wed in August 2013. n Jaime Oliver and Ryan Acosta are getting married on August 25 in Plantsville, Connecticut.

10

Jeffrey Giegler writes, “In November 2011, I started my new position as premium services concierge director for TPW Property Management. I am based out of our Stratton Mountain Vermont Portfolio where TPW is introducing these new services and building it up at Stratton Mountain Resort. In the next few years I will be directing and promoting these services in TPW Properties all through the State of Vermont, New Hampshire Lake Regions and Delaware Beach Regions.” n Heather Huntington Johnson and her husband Rick ’10 welcomed Alexis Ruby on January 25, 2011.

11

Rebekah Burke and Adam Falco ’12 are to be wed in June. n Amanda Harris and Benjamin Stockwell are engaged to be married in October.

marriages

Angela Russell ’08 & Kyle Kelly ’10

28 Spring 2012

Bill Everly ’89 and Lisa Perry

Kurt Hunt ’07 & Jenny Cooper

Jake Stearns ’01 & Leana Carson Julie Lapham ’03 & Thomas Hunt

Christopher Spear ’07 & Jennifer Manning ’08

Kristen Collette ’04 & John Raup

Dave Stebbins ’07 & Jenny Leatherman

Courtney Heath '05 & Scott Frost

Kimberly Allen ’08 & Cameron Shrum

Tyrell Boudreau ’06 & Erynn Hale

Danielle Clark ’08 & William E. Fitzpatrick

Casey Wedge ’06 & Alyssa Boyle

Angela Russell ’08 & Kyle Kelly ’10

Cristiana Bach-Sartorello ’07 & John Richardson

Kandi Ann Clark ’09 & David Marlow

Margaret Brooks ’07 & Adam White ’06

Kayla Gallipo ’11 & Matt Desabrais

Krysta Hoxsie ’07 & Eric Laroche

Jessica Miles ’09 & Justin Souza ’05

Greetings from the Castleton Alumni Association

E

ven though I have been a Castleton graduate for less than a year, I have been given the privilege of working on the Alumni Association Board of Directors. As Castleton alumni, we are a vital part of its history, a 225-year history. Celebrations will soon begin! The Alumni Association is planning some special 225th year events for the 2012 Homecoming Family Weekend. We hope you will jump on board and join us under the Alumni Tent on September 22, 2012 and catch up with your former classmates.

The Alumni Association has been quite active this year on campus.

I’d like to share the work of the Student Activities Committee. The goal of this committee is to become involved with the Castleton student community. A Freshmen Welcome was held in the fall in combination with a luncheon at the home of President Dave Wolk. In December, a Senior Social was held for the December 2011 and May 2012 graduates.

This event featured a time for the Alumni to meet with students and talk about their hopes for life after graduation. It was a great time to share and compare our Castleton experiences. The seniors attending really appreciated the door prizes, which included a Kindle Fire and gas cards.

The field hockey team prepares to wash your car.

Seniors at the Senior Social in December.

Save the Date!

The Alumni Association is probably best known for its annual scholarships and awards. Although you know that one way you can support those efforts is with your financial donations to the scholarship fund and alumni association, it is not the only way you can give. We also need alumni to nominate friends and classmates for Outstanding Alumni Awards.

Castleton graduates are actively displaying Spartan Pride across the country.

Do you know a graduate who has given exemplary service to the college, their community, and have exhibited a high level of achievement in their professional field? If so, please visit the Castleton website to see the list of criteria and download a nomination form. Nominations deadline is June 1, 2012. Letters of recommendation should be sent to: Timothy J. Politis ’68 Outstanding Alumni Committee Chair 1 Milliken Road, Scarborough, Maine 04074 tpolitis@maine.rr.com

Homecoming Family Weekend September 21 – 23, 2012

To learn more about the Alumni Association please check us out online at the Castleton website. There you can learn more about the awards, purchase an alumni hat, and see what some of our alumni are doing. The Alumni Association would love to hear from you and how your Castleton experience has impacted your life. You can write us here at the college or e-mail us at alumnioffice@castleton.edu.

Ceil Hunt ’11

Exciting new things are happening at Castleton. We have a website just for you.

Visit: www.alumni.castleton.edu If you have any trouble logging in or any questions, please e-mail: alumnioffice@castleton.edu We look forward to seeing you online.

Castleton Magazine 29

alumni news

The 2011 Castleton Athletic Hall of Fame

A

s part of Homecoming/Family Weekend, September 24, two outstanding Spartan athletes – Anthony “Tony” Higgins ’98 and Frank Bellavia ’73 – were inducted into the Castleton Athletic Hall of Fame.

Anthony “Tony” Higgins ’98 Systems Administrator Champlain Water District Graniteville, Vermont When Tony Higgins arrived at Castleton as a freshman, he was, in his own words, a “skinny, six-seven, still growing, local kid.”

In an article on the induction in the Rutland Herald, sports writer and Hall of Famer Tom Haley put it this way: “Tony Higgins was a pretty good basketball player at West Rutland High School.

Nothing more, nothing less. He was tall, but extremely thin. But then he got to Castleton State College and the transformation under coach Dave Blake was dramatic.”

“Tony became one of the most imposing figures to grace the hardwood of Glenbrook Gymnasium,” said presenter Tim Barrett ’93, now head women’s basketball coach and at the time assistant men’s coach.

Barrett quoted Matt Dempsey ’84, Castleton Hall of Famer and then coach of powerful archrival Green Mountain College. “He told me Tony progressed more than any player he could remember from 8th grade to his senior year.” Higgins still holds the record for career blocks and blocks in a season. He scored 1,220 points in his career, 10th all-time. He is fourth in rebounding and is one of only six men to achieve 1000 career points and 600 rebounds. He was team MVP twice and in his senior year led the Spartans – undefeated in the Mayflower Conference – to the NAIA National Tournament in Idaho.

Higgins thanked coaches Dave 30 Spring 2012

Frank Bellavia ’73

Anthony “Tony” Higgins ’98

Blake, Dave Kingsman, and Barrett for their dedication in helping him become a force to be reckoned with on the basketball court.

where the team practiced in the early season. “I experienced culture shock coming from Long Island to Vermont,” he remembers.

From a hotbed of lacrosse, Bellavia came to a campus that was only beginning to learn the game. Bellavia and his teammates from Long Island recruited soccer players in the residence halls and helped coaches and referees figure out a new sport.

The game was in transition from

Frank Bellavia ’73 Owner of Bellavia Auto Group Babylon, New York As a student Frank Bellavia helped build a men’s lacrosse team from the ground up, sometimes up from the asphalt of the commuter parking lot

Presenter Doug Knipple ’74, Frank Bellavia, Tony Higgins, and presenter Tim Barrett

alumni news wooden to plastic sticks, and sometimes the plastic heads would snap in the cold. It was often late in the spring before the Castleton fields were playable.

But despite these hardships, the team became a regional contender, playing a mix of new teams and programs from elite private colleges with established lacrosse traditions. They

Fall Sports 2011

beat Albany State and Plymouth State and in 1973 in the ECAC Championship, they played a strong game against Bowdoin College.

Frank was the leading scorer for four-straight years and three-time captain. He started every game for four seasons and as a senior received the prestigious Robert “Rocky” Mezzetta Award. As a member of the 1973

team, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003.

As co-chairman of the National Buick/GMC Dealer Council, Bellavia served on the committee that helped design and name the Buick Lacrosse.

At the 2011 ceremony, he was introduced by his high school basketball coach Frank Taplin and Castleton teammate Doug Knipple ’74.

(continued from page 9)

Golf The Spartans faced tough competition in the NAC Championships this year, but still played their way to a third-place finish in 2011 for first-year head coach Bill Bowes. Freshman Brian Fitzgerald of Shelton, Ct., was the team’s most consistent player this season after finishing as one of the team’s top two scorers in five of their seven tournaments during the fall.

Volleyball With just four players returning from the 2010 season, first-year head coach Mary Kate Scardillo faced a challenge in 2011. The young Spartan squad finished the year with a 1-19 mark, but showed improvement as the season progressed.

Women’s Tennis The Spartans went 13-4 this fall and captured their third-consecutive NEAC East Division Championship behind a trio of seniors. Michelle Podnecky of Bridgewater, Vt., Kate Bucci of Wakefield, R.I., and Brittany Racine of Leicester, Vt., owned the top three positions as Castleton played its way to a 7-1 conference record and withstood a late rally from Colby-Sawyer to clinch the division championship with a 5-4 victory.

Bucci and Racine were named first team all-conference along with Podnecky, who was the NEAC East Player of the Year for the third-straight season. Castleton plays the NEAC West Division Champion this spring.

Cross Country Both the Castleton men’s and women’s teams ran to third-place finishes at the North Atlantic Conference Championships with three different runners earning all-conference recognition. Mariah Eilers of Moretown, Vt., and Shannon Park of Castleton were both first-team honorees on the women’s side, while Nohea King of Essex, Vt., was named to the second-team for the men.

Follow all of Castleton’s teams on the web: www.castleton.edu/athletics Schedules, results, rosters, photos, links to conference sites, and more.

Castleton Magazine 31

T

Faculty VGN research

hree Castleton science professors — Deborah Alongi, Justin Carlstrom, and Andy Vermilyea — have each been awarded $25,000 research grants from the Vermont Genetics Network, which is part of the National Center for Research Resources for Biomedical Research. VGN is located at the University of Vermont, which is the lead institution for the state. All three faculty members involve students in their research.

Biology professor Deborah Alongi is studying a small flowering plant in the mustard family with the scientific name of Arabidopsis lyrata, which is a sister species to Arabidopsis thaliana, the first plant whose genome was sequenced.

Alongi is growing A. lyrata from Norway, Ireland, Massachusetts, and North Carolina in the Castleton greenhouse and studying the plants at a genetic level to see how subspecies from warm and cold locations adapt when confronted with new conditions. Unlike animals, which can move when faced with a changing environment, plants need other ways of surviving. Under new conditions, alternate genes or alleles may be expressed, leading to visible changes in the plant.

To use technical vocabulary, Alongi is planning “an investigation of the genetic basis of environmentally regulated physiological plasticity.” Or to put what may at first glance seem to be an esoteric study in terms that can be readily understood: “With climate change, can plants adapt rapidly enough?”

After her doctorate at Idaho State University, Alongi first studied adaptability in A. lyrata on a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Sheffield in England. At Castleton she has already had two previous VGN pilot project awards.

Last summer Alongi, artist and art professor Marna Grove, and students Crystal Golding, Darren Colomb, and Keith Lavoie traveled to Spiterstulen, Norway, and Leitrim, Ireland, to study A. lyrata in the field and to gather leaves for DNA analysis and seeds to grow plants in Castleton. (The Irish A. lyrata was uncooperative and did not flower and produce seeds.)

This summer Alongi hopes to collect A. lyrata seeds from Plech, Germany as another example of a population from a warmer locale. Student Deidre Esposito will 32 Spring 2012

Deborah Alongi and A. lyrata in the new greenhouse

assist with the research into the coming year. Through contacts that Professor Andy Vermilyea has at the University of Alaska Southeast, Alongi also hopes to acquire seeds from the North American subspecies that grows near glaciers.

Exercise science professor Justin Carlstrom is studying quercetin, a plant-based flavonoid that can be found in many foods, including red wine and cranberries.

Quercetin has been studied in recent years as an antiinflammatory and antioxidant that may protect against a range of diseases.

Carlstrom is looking at the effect of quercetin on aerobic capacity and fat utilization, especially under hypoxic conditions, such as high altitude, in which there is insufficient oxygen in the blood. He is trying to determine if quercetin increases maximum aerobic capacity (VO2max) and has a positive effect on blood flow and oxygen delivery at altitude.

He says he is in the middle, perhaps even a little cynical on the question. “Some studies that seem to be well designed show an increase in aerobic capacity, but there are others that show no difference,” he says. Too many studies are funded by the dietary supplement industry.

“I think it comes down to this — if you can get it in your diet, that’s the best thing to do.”

To study the question, Carlstrom will be working with 14 moderately trained men recruited on campus and in the Rutland area. They will perform cycling trials on

grants involve students

Justin Carlstrom in the exercise science lab in the Jeffords Center

Student Kaitlin Hayes and Andy Vermilyea in the Castleton River

an electronically-braked cycle ergometer and be subject to numerous physiological tests. Other trials will take place under hypoxic conditions created by a hypoxic gas generator. Half the subjects will then take quercetin for two weeks, and half a placebo, before the same trials and tests are performed again.

Carlstrom is considering doing a similar study with unfit subjects, who, he suspects, may respond differently to quercetin than his in-shape subjects.

In addition to exercising in the study, a Castleton student will be deeply involved in the quercetin research for much of the year. Currently, students are conducting research on the effect of caffeine and sodium citrate on athletes.

Before coming to Castleton in 2009, Carlstrom was a physiologist for the U.S. Ski Team in Utah, working with the Nordic teams. His doctorate was earned at the University of Utah.

is exposed to sunlight, the presence of organic matter, nitrate, or iron could speed up the process. If so, natural chemical factors may limit the BPA concentration in the aquatic environment, which would be good news.

“BPA has been measured in environmental samples from many different areas around the world,” Vermilyea says. “Now we’re trying to answer the question what happens after it goes into streams and rivers.”

Vermilyea will be studying surface water samples from four landscape types: wetland, agricultural, conifer forest, and deciduous forest. In the laboratory in the Jeffords Center, BPA will be added to the natural water samples, which will then be subjected to artificial sunlight. The degeneration of BPA can then be measured.

A student will be involved in the project all next year.

“Student participation is most important,” Vermilyea says. “I want to use my background in photochemistry to teach things they don’t learn in class. Then they can extrapolate to new ideas.”

This year senior Kaitlin Hayes has been working with Vermilyea to measure flow and nutrient concentrations in the Castleton River, which is a short walk from campus.

Vermilyea, who is completing his first year at Castleton, earned his Ph.D. in geochemistry at the Colorado School of Mines. He has been a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Alaska Southeast, studying glaciated and non-glaciated watersheds and how climate change may affect nutrient processing in the Gulf of Alaska.

Andy Vermilyea, a professor of analytical and environmental chemistry, is researching bisphenol A (BPA), the organic compound in plastic bottles and many other products that has been in the news in recent years as a potential health threat, especially to young children. It is estimated that BPA can be found at detectable levels in more than 90 percent of humans in the U.S. and Europe.

Specifically, Vermilyea is investigating the photodegeneration of BPA in natural aquatic environments.

Although the decay of BPA can be slow in pure water that

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“We Both Reached for the Gun” from the March 2012 production of Chicago

Photo by Wyatt Aloisio