Spr12 Alumni Herald

East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania

Alumni Herald Spring 2012

Volume 23, No. 2

A CAMPUS TRANSFORMED Dr. Dillman’s presidency Page 4

in this issue

10|The new age of residence halls 14|Graduate College marks 50

ESU Alumni Herald

Opening Remarks Dear Friends,

My time at ESU is now nearing an end, and in all humility, if there is one word that best describes the tremendous progress the university has seen in recent years, it is teamwork. It is only by working together that the community has been able to take such significant strides forward and bring such important transition to the campus.

As I prepare to leave the presidency I am confident that East Stroudsburg University will continue to thrive and to build on its inherent strengths. Clearly among those strengths which cannot be overemphasized, are you, our alumni. In all sincerity, I have continued to be inspired by the 40,000 ESU alumni in all walks of life throughout the world. So much of what the university has been able to achieve during my tenure here would not have been possible without your support.

I feel privileged to have been chosen as ESU’s 12th president in 1996 and to have been given the task to chart a strategic vision for the university’s future. We have come a long way, and undoubtedly there will always still be a long way to go.

I want to take this opportunity to thank you for that. ESU is an academically sound and forward-thinking institution, and one that is proud of its heritage. I believe that ESU has always been equipped to rise to its challenges. Perhaps now more than ever, the university is prepared to adapt to the inevitable tides of challenge and change which may be more formidable than ever. Firmly embedded in the historic fabric of this institution are its substance, its excellence and its mission, all of which made it possible for me to focus, throughout my 16-year tenure as president, on what truly matters: to always remain aware of what is in the best interest of our students now and for their futures.

The university is fortunate to have an experienced academic leader coming on board as its new president. I know I join the entire campus community in wishing Dr. Marcia Welsh well as she steps in to take ESU on the next leg of its journey. (See story on Page 9.) As I say farewell, I look forward to continuing to hear from and about the hundreds of alumni whom I’ve come to know over the years. Sincerely,

Robert J. Dillman, President A LOOK BACK AT THE DILLMAN YEARS — Page 4

Alumni Herald The Alumni Herald is the official publication for East Stroudsburg University’s alumni and is published three times a year. Please address all correspondence to: Office of Alumni Engagement East Stroudsburg University Foundation 200 Prospect St. East Stroudsburg, PA 18301 (570) 422-3530 (800) 775-8975 Fax: (570) 422-3301 E-Mail: alumni@esufoundation.org Web site: www.esualumni.org

Robert J. Dillman, Ph.D. University President Frank Falso President and CEO ESU Foundation Editor Mike Saraka Director of Alumni Engagement Design and Production Office of University Relations Photography Phil Bomzer Daniel Freel Phil Stein Bob Weidner

Contributors

Notice of Nondiscrimination

Alice Roche Cody BGA Studios Mary Davis Brooke Donovan Frank Falso Brenda E. Friday, Ph.D. Caryn Goebel Greg Knowlden M’04 Kayley LeFaiver Nancy McCann Margaret Peterson Betty Russo Mike Saraka Sheree B. Watson Dr. Marilyn Wells M’87 M’91

East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or veteran’s status in its programs and activities in accordance with applicable federal and state laws and regulations. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding this policy: Director of Diversity/Ombudsperson 200 Prospect Street 115 Reibman Building East Stroudsburg, PA 18301 (570) 422-3656

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Spring 2012

Table of Contents

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ESU Foundation Henry A. Ahnert, Jr. Alumni Center (800) 775-8975 www.esufoundation.org Frank Falso

President and Chief Executive Officer

Betty Russo

Vice President for Development

Mike Saraka

Director of Alumni Engagement

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Story

Student involvement and campus transformation are among the legacies of Dr. Robert Dillman, whose accomplishments over a 16-year tenure as president of East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania are recalled on the occasion of his retirement.

On the cover: Dr. Robert and Roseann Dillman (Photo by Phil Stein)

Brooke Donovan

Assistant Director of Alumni Engagement

Janis Russo

Campus living takes a turn for the better as new Hawthorn and Hemlock suites open.

Administrative Support Specialist

Greg Wilson

Major/Planned Gifts Officer

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Michele Sabler

Major/Planned Gifts Officer

Ryan Baumuller

Major/Planned Gifts Officer

Cassandra Cleveland

Major/Planned Gifts Officer

Angela Beers

Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations

Belinda Diaz

Director of Information Systems

Matt Smith

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Prospect Research Analyst

Caryn Goebel

Communications Manager

Bill Gusler

Assistant Director of the Annual Fund

Ayla Siemon

Assistant Director of the Annual Fund/Phonathon

Christine Prince Senior Accountant

Michelle Ljubicich ’05

Special Events/Web Manager

Wendy Dickinson

Gift Processor and Donor Records Specialist

Laurie Schaller ’10

Executive Assistant and Scholarship Funds Administrator

Marion Weidman

Administrative Assistant to the Vice President

Chris Morris-Ernest Bookkeeper

Nancy Boyer

Support Specialist/Development Program

Board of Directors Mark J. Mecca ’96 President James T. “Rocky” Rogers ’85 Vice President Anne M. Morton ’96 Secretary

Graduate College celebrates a milestone of 50 years, as graduates recall ESU’s post-graduate beginnings

Features

MailBag: Office of Alumni Engagement welcomes your thoughts...3 After 22 years, another PSAC basketball title . ...........................20 2013 travel opportunities: Book now! .......................................26 Artistic alumnus credits ESU for business sense........................ 30 Departments

Opening Remarks........... inside front cover In Memoriam........................................ 32 Class Notes........................................... 29

James R. Barchiesi ’05 Kevin C. Broadhurst ’99 David J. Comiciotto ’91 Edward J. Curvey ’63 Kelly Oswald Fox ’94 Lynn F. Hauth ’08 Dr. William J. Horvath ’70 M’79 Gail A. Kulick ’88 M’89 Jesse W. Landon ’81 Marcus S. Lingenfelter ’95 Ted E. Martz ’47 Christie Everett Mendez ’98 Shirley Neas Merring ’57

Births....................................................... 32 Marriages................................................. 32 Giving opportunities.........inside back cover

Charles J. Morton ’64 M’66 James B. Nesbitt Jr. ’74 Brian A. Pedone ’05 Bernard A. Peruso ’91 Ritchey J. Ricci ’65 M’72 Michael J. Romano Jr. ’74 M’79 M’83 Collette Ryder ’96 Paul A. Scheuch ’71 M’77 Paul E. Shemansky ’96 M’01 M’04 Richard D. Vroman ’67 Christopher S. Yeager ’74 M’81 Lawrence A. Zaccaro ’77

Emeriti Eugenia S. Eden ’72 M’76 Bryan L. Hill ’71 Phyllis M. Kirschner ’63 Dr. Frank Michael Pullo ’73 M’76 Dr. Faye Dallmeyer Soderberg ’58 Virginia Hauserman Sten ’71 John E. Woodling ’68 M’76

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ESU Alumni Herald

ESU Foundation

President and CEO:

Farewells and Firsts It is with mixed emotions I write this issue’s column for the Alumni Herald. I am happy for a friend who is retiring and will begin to enjoy the fruits of his labor following a very successful career in higher education. Yet I am saddened because that same friend will be leaving us at East Stroudsburg University. I am talking, of course, about Dr. Robert J. Dillman, a man whose name is synonymous with Warrior pride and ESU spirit. It has been my distinct pleasure to serve Dr. Dillman as the president and CEO of the ESU Foundation. Although I have been in this role a relatively short time, I have witnessed a transformation take place on campus. Some of these highlights: n The state-of-the-art Warren E. ’55 and Sandra Hoeffner Science and Technology Center. n The new Hemlock and Hawthorn residence halls which opened in January, providing 969 students with spacious suites, improved security, recreation facilities and other amenities. n ESU’s economic impact on Monroe County, which reached more than $210 million in 2011, and $334 million in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. n The growth of student enrollment, which increased to nearly 7,400 in fall 2011. n The Sustainability Commission, which initiated several environmentally responsible activities on campus and in the region. n Completion of the first comprehensive capital campaign, which raised more than $21.5 million. n Partnership with the Marine Science Consortium Center, which includes affiliation with NASA’s new Wallops Island Flight Facility in Virginia.

This list represents just a few of the tremendous accomplishments Dr. Dillman helped guide through his leadership and mentorship. I will miss our discussions, his counsel and his visionary thinking and I wish him and his wonderful wife Roseann much happiness as they begin this new chapter in their life. As you may have also noticed, this publication marks the first time that the Foundation and ESU have developed an online-only issue of the Alumni Herald. This was not just for economic reasons. Our shift in distribution represents a desire to develop “best practices” when it comes to our publications and communications. Almost 60 percent of our alumni graduated from ESU in 1990 or later. This demographic, more than any other age group, obtains their news and information from online sources more than printed newspapers or magazines. The Alumni Herald needs to embrace that trend, and I think you will find digital delivery only enhances this quality publication of which the alumni can be proud. As we begin this new chapter in the history of ESU, rest assured the Foundation will continue to be good stewards of your contributions, and will work harder so that the university can continue to grow both financially and academically. Sincerely,

Frank Falso President and CEO | ESU Foundation

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Spring 2012

MailBag

ESU Basketball

Thank you and congratulations to the men’s basketball team. I watched the ESU vs. West Chester game last month at West Chester and saw them lose a close game, but this was the one that counted. I am a very proud ESU alum! Ken Benner ’62 While we couldn’t make it from South Bend, Ind., for the basketball championship celebration in Koehler Fieldhouse, please pass on our congratulations (my wife Sandy is a 1964 ESU grad) to Coach Wilson, his coaching staff and the entire Warrior men’s team on their PSAC championship. We wish them the very best of luck in the rest of the playoffs. Go Warriors! Bill Lewis ’63

Athletic Hall of Fame

I was just informed that the 1962 men’s soccer team has been selected for induction into the Hall of Fame. Gerry Cosover ’63 called and asked if I was going to attend. I had not heard about the induction — I am sure my contact

What ESU alumni are saying about the school, the events and the issues

Let us know what you think! alumni@esufoundation.org Office of Alumni Engagement, Henry A. Ahnert, Jr. Alumni Center 200 Prospect St. East Stroudsburg, PA 18301 Attn: MailBag Please include your address and telephone number. Letters may be edited for clarity or space. information is very old. At any rate, I am not able to attend but I am honored that the team has been selected for induction. We were a special group of individuals who under the guidance of Coach Eiler were able to accomplish something that few are able to claim: a national championship. I look back fondly

Office of Alumni Engagement on those days and will hold them dear to my heart forever. I thank you again and wish ESU continued success. Lee C. Ely ’65

Alumni Events

Thanks for a great evening at Margaritaville (Orlando) last week! Leah Dean ’69

Alumni Herald

Just a quick note — I attended your graduate school from 1988-92 and know virtually no undergraduates. The Alumni Herald focuses almost exclusively on undergrads. I would think that since you have a large number of graduate students, M.A., M.Ed. etc., you may wish to consider a section that is devoted to the folks who received their master’s from ESU. Just a thought. Robert Callard M’92 Editor’s Note: You will notice a feature in this issue regarding the 50th anniversary of the ESU Graduate College. I hope you enjoy.

Know a great teacher? The Alumni Association seeks nominations for the annual Great Teacher Award, which since 1960 has been presented to the faculty member who has demonstrated superior teaching ability and extraordinary commitments to students.

Criteria for nomination n Active or retired n At least 10 years’ teaching experience at ESU n Does NOT have to be an ESU graduate n Distinguished by reaching the highest level of

accomplishment in the classroom n Highest standards of integrity and character that positively reflect and enhance the prestige of East Stroudsburg University Nominations for the Great Teacher Award are solicited from ESU students, alumni, faculty, staff and professional colleagues. Current members of the ESU Alumni Association Board of Directors and Alumni Awards Committee may not be considered for this award. Winners must be present to accept the award at the Annual ESU Alumni Awards Banquet on Friday, October 5.

Nomination procedures Submit a letter of nomination (no more than 500 words) for the faculty member you feel should receive the Great Teacher Award. The deadline for nominations is June 30, 2012. Newspaper articles, clippings, photographs and additional materials may also be submitted as part of the nomination packet. Please do not send originals as they will not be returned.

Send materials to: Director of Alumni Engagement Henry A. Ahnert, Jr. Alumni Center 200 Prospect Street East Stroudsburg, PA 18301 Fax: (570) 422-3301 E-mail: alumni@esufoundation.org NOTE: The record of nominees not selected for the award will be maintained and continued to be considered for five years, after which the teacher may be re-nominated.

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Cover Story

The Dillman Presidency 1996–2012

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By Alice Roche Cody He always listened to concerns of the students; he’s not just hearing us, he’s listening to us.

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Richard Hennessy ’12 President of the Student Senate, 2011-2012

The president chats with students in front of the new Warren E. ’55 and Sandra Hoeffner Science and Technology Center.

Photos by Phil Stein

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A tenure that leaves ESU forever transformed

s Robert Dillman, president of East Stroudsburg University, weaves his way through the bustling Science and Technology Center on campus, he greets students, professors and the cleaning crew alike, becoming more energized and animated with each encounter. First he spots a student who is enrolled in his class, a seminar he teaches based on Stephen R. Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. “Remember the second quadrant!” he says with a broad smile, referring to items on one’s to-do list that are important but not critical. “Your class is great – I wish I took it 20 years ago,” says Eileen Porte, who also serves as a professional tutor at ESU. The two chat briefly and he moves on. Soon, three maintenance workers fixing a door greet him enthusiastically. “Are you keeping the place OK?” asks Dillman, and they nod reassuringly. “We’re trying,” replies one. Upstairs he runs into Anastasia Atanasoff, a student who worked in his office one summer. He asks about her future plans, recalling her triple major: computer science, computer security and applied math. “I’ll be graduating next spring,” she says and he wishes her well. On the way back downstairs, Dillman recognizes a passing student as the young man who sat in the front row at a recent talk he gave to minority students. Warm hellos are shared. As evident in these brief exchanges, not only is Dillman a people-person with a phenomenal memory, he is a man who truly loves his job. Yet come June, he will retire after serving 16 years as president, a tenure that leaves ESU forever transformed and many admirers in his wake.

“It’s like he’s high-fiving the team as he walks around campus,” says Dr. R. Sam Niedbala ’82, an ESU donor and fundraiser. “His energy and enthusiasm are contagious – it’s part of his leadership asset.” Dillman’s skill as a leader is what brought Niedbala and his wife, Linda-Lee Troiani His energy and enthusiasm Niedbala ’83, back into are contagious — it’s part the fold. The pair had not been involved with of his leadership asset. the university since their R. Sam Niedbala ’82 student days. After getting to know Dillman and his wife, Roseann, the Niedbalas contributed the naming gift for the auditorium at the Warren E. ’55 and Sandra Hoeffner Science and Technology Center, which opened four years ago. The Niedbalas also chaired ESU’s first Comprehensive Campaign. “Dr. Dillman had a vision,” says Sam Niedbala. “Under the new paradigm, the school is not one where you only spend four years. Now you come back and make it better for future generations.” In line with this, Dillman was instrumental in the completion of the building of the Henry A. Ahnert, Jr. Alumni Center so visiting alumni could gather in an updated headquarters.

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Dr. Dillman leads a discussion at a President’s Council meeting with, from left, vice presidents Dr. Victoria L. Sanders, Dr. Van Reidhead and Mary Frances Postupack M’93.

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He wanted to provide a platform for students to achieve at the same level that other universities are offering. Linda-Lee Troiani Niedbala ’83

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As a scientist and an entrepreneur, Niedbala is particularly impressed with the partnerships that Dillman has forged with businesses. The Research and Economic Development division, for example, focuses on entrepreneurial innovation, applied research and workforce training and was cited by the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education as a “best practice model.” The award-winning Business Accelerator program creates high-tech jobs and its research efforts generated more than $14 million in grant funding for the university over the past five years. It was Dillman’s vision for the students that resonated with Linda-Lee Niedbala. “Dr. Dillman communicated clearly to the students that he had confidence in them and a firm belief that they could be competitive with the best in the country,” she says. “Through the physical campus, he wanted to provide a platform for students to achieve at the same high level that other universities are offering.” The 124,000-square-foot Warren E. ’55 and Sandra Hoeffner Science and Technology Center is one aspect of that platform. Modeled after the center at Williams College, it provides numerous lounges with comfortable chairs and couches for students to gather and work together on projects. It also houses the McMunn Planetarium and will soon open a wildlife museum. In addition, Linda-Lee Niedbala cites the new allweather track and synthetic turf at the Eiler-Martin Stadium, which helped boost the school’s sports program and foster that Warrior pride. He also was instrumental in supporting the Mattioli Recreation Center, the renovation of DeNike and Abeloff Performing Arts Center, the renovation of ZimbarLiljenstein building into an academic and enrollment services center, the new admission center and the development of a new day care center.

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Not one to brag, Dillman doesn’t dwell on his accomplishments. Others, however, are quick to fill in the gaps. L. Patrick Ross ’66, chairman of the Council of Trustees, has served on the council the same number of years Dillman has been president. “He had a vision for the university – not just the bricks and mortar, but academically as well,” says Ross. “The less money you have, the more difficult it is to make improvements. With the state budget cuts and proposed cuts, it has been a challenge to everyone on campus. Despite this, he and his team have transformed the university. He’s leaving it in much, much better shape than when he came here.” Ross recounts a long list of positive campus changes over the past 16 years, such as adding acreage from 160 to 256; increasing faculty from 611 to 731;

He and his team have transformed the university. L. Patrick Ross ’66 Chairman, Council of Trustees

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growing enrollment from 5,552 to nearly 7,400 and improving aesthetics through new sidewalks, crosswalks and signs. In January, two new suitestyle residence halls opened with two more buildings in the works, he adds. On the academic side, Ross notes that Dillman and his team reorganized three separate schools into four new colleges, which allows for a clear division of academic departments among the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Business and Management, the College of Education and the College of Health Sciences. In addition, he credits Dillman with helping to save the Marine Science Consortium and forge a partnership with NASA’s Wallops Island (Va.) Flight Facility. He initiated the first undergraduate program in Computer Security in the nation, the major in Art and Design, Chemical and Biotechnology degree programs, and the joint doctoral program with Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Yet in the face of these accomplishments, what seems to impress Ross the most is Dillman’s compassion. “What he does that a lot of people don’t know about, is he visits the sick and elderly,” says Ross. “There’s a woman who worked at the college who has multiple sclerosis and he’s visited her every week for the past 12 years.” Dillman makes these visits and others quietly, telling no one.

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rust is the bond that senior Richard Hennessy ’12, president of the Student Senate, has built with Dillman during the four years they’ve worked together through student government. “He always listened to concerns of the students; he’s not just hearing us, he’s listening to us,” says Hennessy. “It’s refreshing to have an advocate for the students.” Left: The president checks out construction of the University Ridge Apartments. Above: Dr. Dillman meets with Student Senate President Richard Hennessy ’12, left, and Regan Zimmerman ’13, Cassandra Emanuelli ’13 and Efia King ’14. Right: The president visits the renovated Zimbar-Liljenstein Hall with Dr. Bobby Fleischman.

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Left: Dr. Dillman stays in touch with students by teaching a class. Below: The president in the Niedbala Auditorium of the new Science and Technology Center.

ESU, he continued teaching. When asked about his legacy at this Pennsylvania campus, Dillman laughs and scrunches his face. “I never thought of my legacy,” he says. “I was always honest and straightforward. I tried to do my best for the students we served. I wanted to give our students the same opportunities that exist at more known, prestigious universities. That is why I wanted to build facilities, to give the faculty and students the best to compete and enjoy.” Last year, for example, Dillman supported a Student Senate initiative, the Grade Process Policy. Now students receive grades approximately three days after finals, instead of having to wait three weeks. Even in tough times, Dillman remains accessible to the students. Last year, when state budget cuts precipitated larger class sizes, Dillman held a forum for students to vent their frustrations. “He stood up to a crowd of 900 people to hear their concerns,” says Hennessy. “When push comes to shove, engagement with the students is what really counts.” Students also learned to count on their president regularly attending their football games, jazz concerts and plays and could find him most mornings at 5 a.m. working out at the Recreation Center.

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During retirement, Robert and Roseann Dillman will live a half-mile from the beach in Delaware. He hopes to stay involved in higher education, perhaps as a consultant, and enjoy the ocean with the couple’s four children and nine grandchildren. Of course, he knows he will miss the ESU students most of all. “Our students are solid; they work hard and rub nickels together to be here,” he says. “I tried to help make great students into first-class citizens and give them a platform to work and succeed in their personal and professional lives. It is why I got into higher education: to convey information and transform people’s lives. I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to help them be successful.”

or someone so comfortable in the midst of campus life, it’s ironic that Dillman never planned on a career in higher education. The son of a roofer and garment worker, Dillman grew up in Brooklyn and Queens. His older brother was the first in his family to attend college and Dillman followed suit at the State University of New York at New Paltz. After a master’s in geology I tried to do my best and geography from Penn State, he earned for the students we served. a Ph.D. in geography from Clark University in Worcester, Mass. While serving as a Dr. Robert Dillman professor, researcher and Earth Science and ESU President 1996‑2012 Geography department chair at Bridgewater State University, he was asked to become vice president. Soon Dillman became acting president. Next, he moved to Fairmont State University in West Virginia, where he was president for eight years. Throughout his administrative career, including at

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A look back at the Dillman years East Stroudsburg University highlights during Dr. Robert Dillman’s presidency, 1996-2012.

GROWTH A record enrollment and significant academic growth each year.

ACADEMICS New academic enrichment programs to promote student success: n 15 new degree programs

in 10 years n Smart classrooms and computer technology in the curriculum n Reciprocal relationships with other national and international universities n Northeast Wildlife DNA Laboratory

FACULTY RECOGNITION Annual programs to highlight ESU faculty accomplishments, including the University Authors Reception and the Distinguished Professors Award.

MLK BREAKFAST Started the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Breakfast for the campus and local community.

LEGISLATIVE CONNECTION Established the annual Legislative Fellow program, inviting a different Pennsylvania state legislator every year to take part in ESU campus and student life.

MARINE SCIENCE Partnered with the Marine Science Consortium Center, including an affiliation with NASA’s Wallops Island Flight Facility. ESU became the lead MSC member among seven sister PASSHE universities.

RENOVATIONS Major campus renovation projects: n Zimbar-Liljenstein Hall n Monroe Hall n Eiler-Martin Stadium n Reibman Administration Building n DeNike Center for Human Services

CONSTRUCTION Several new buildings: n The Warren E. ’55 and Sandra Hoeffner Science and Technology Center n The Mattioli Recreation Center n The Henry A. Ahnert, Jr. Alumni Center

n University Ridge student housing n ESU’s Center for Innovation n New student housing suites n New Keystone Center approved

(Completion date 2018)

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT Established the Division of Research and Economic Development and its Business Accelerator Program to benefit ESU and the Pocono region.

CAPITAL CAMPAIGN Completed first comprehensive capital campaign, “Today’s Dream, Tomorrow’s Reality,” raising more than $21.5 million.

URBAN PARTNERSHIP Built a partnership with the Prince Hall School, an urban kindergarten through fifth-grade public school in Philadelphia. ESU now provides two scholarships each year to Prince Hall’s brightest graduates upon finishing high school.

SUSTAINABILITY Developed a university-wide Sustainability Commission to share ideas on incorporating environmental issues into educational curriculums.

New president starts July 1 Dr. Marcia G. Welsh, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Towson University, will serve as the 13th president of East Stroudsburg University beginning July 1. Her appointment was announced April 5 by the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) Board of Governors at the conclusion of a national search. Dr. Welsh was named provost of Towson University in 2009, and served as interim president for nine months during 2011. As provost, she has overseen academic programs in six undergraduate colleges, the Honors College and University Libraries.

“Dr. Welsh has a wide array of experiences that caused her to stand out among an impressive collection of candidates for the ESU presidency,” said PASSHE Chancellor Dr. John C. Cavanaugh. “It is an honor and a privilege to be selected as the next president of East Stroudsburg University,” she said. “I look forward to working closely with the ESU community, both on campus and off, to build upon the tremendous legacy of the university.” ◆ ESU’s new president will be featured in the next edition of the Alumni Herald. Dr. Marcia G. Welsh

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Phil Stein photos

The changing lifestyle of campus living By Caryn Goebel

Renamed Hawthorn Suites and Hemlock Suites, the $74 million residential complex houses 969 students It reads like a listing for a high-end apartment: in a style of campus living now becoming the norm in state of the art electronic security, Wi-Fi throughout higher education, said Dr. Robert Moses, ESU’s director the building, private bedrooms and baths, carpeting, of Residence Life and Housing. kitchenettes, laundry and lounge facilities on every “Housing is an important piece of the floor, personal control of your own thermostat, university experience,” said Moses. “In geothermal and “green” technologies, and spacious, our market studies and focus groups it was airy and sun-lit rooms. said again and again that students want ESU’s recently opened Hawthorn and Hemlock privacy. They are used to having their own suites are a long way from what most graduates recall bedrooms and private baths at home and of “roughing it” while living in campus housing. Like they would like that option when they are many colleges and universities across the country, away at school.” ESU is following a trend in providing students with an The first housing project in the core of option in living arrangements that offer more privacy, Dr. Robert Moses campus since the early 1970s, construction of Hemlock space and amenities. On the way out are the cramped and Hawthorn suites provides students with the option rooms with cinder block walls and shared bathrooms at of living alone, or with up to four students in a suite, the end of the hall! with no more than two sharing one bathroom. Welcome A more than two-year construction project on additions also include bright, sunlight-filled lounges, the northwest corner of Smith and Normal streets laundry facilities, and a kitchen and computer lab on wrapped up in January, when many residents of the nearly every floor. A 15,000-square-foot fitness center aging Hemlock and Hawthorn halls (built in the late annex is housed on the ground floor of Hawthorn Suites 1970s) packed up and moved to the new sprawling brick while Hemlock Suites is now home to the 7,000-squareand glass structures known for the longest time among foot University Police Station. the campus community as simply “Building A” and “Building B.”

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SERVING BODY, MIND AND SPIRIT Left: Students gather in the new Hemlock Suites lounge. Below: Computer labs are available on nearly every floor of the new Hawthorn and Hemlock suites. Right: A 15,000-square-foot fitness center annex is housed on the ground floor of Hawthorn Suites.

Once the transition is complete and the PASSHE Board of Governors approves university plans, the old Hawthorn and Hemlock halls and the small yellow house that once served as the campus police station will be demolished, said Moses. ESU’s spacious suite-style residential halls not only give students more comfort and more options in their living arrangements, but the completion of Phase I begins to alleviate a troublesome housing shortage in recent years that has had students temporarily tripled up in rooms designed for two. In the past, student lounges were also converted to accommodate six students in what Residence Life employees affectionately call “six packs,” said Moses. “In the fall of 2011 we were at 104 percent capacity,” Moses said. “Now we are at 98 percent full, although generally in the spring we are usually less than 100 percent given transfers, graduates, and those students who don’t return for the second semester.” Come fall, keeping ESU’s residence hall capacity of 2,408 at 100 percent is the ideal, with the opening of Hemlock and Hawthorn suites increasing 2012 housing capacity by more than 100 students.

Changing with the times Students and faculty from the Victorian era would certainly be stunned with the changes in lifestyle for students today. In 1893, when East Stroudsburg

State Normal School opened its doors, Old Stroud, then referred to as the “Main Building,” housed only female students. Men were forced to live in town. Formality was prevalent as the ladies were required to dress for dinner and always remain under strict adult supervision. Clusters of male/female students who gathered in classroom hallways were quickly dispersed and social events were heavily chaperoned, according to the book Pride and Promise, A Centennial History of East Stroudsburg University. Campus housing is truly reflective of the changes in our society and culture, said Moses, who left SUNY at Albany, The State University of New York, in 1976 to become ESU’s assistant dean of students. Before Moses’ arrival, ESU was feeling the angst of students who challenged then President Darrell Holmes to allow co-ed residence halls. Rallies and marches in protest stirred things up and in 1976, ESU’s student body finally got its wish. Co-ed residence halls were eventually followed by 24-hour visitation privileges on the weekends. When he arrived at ESU, sitting at the top of Moses’ “to do” list was to lay the groundwork and implement the co-ed residence halls. “For ESU, this was radical and really the students were wonderful about it and open to the diversity,”

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Stroud Hall | 1893 and 1967 The original Stroud Hall at East Stroudsburg Normal School, left, had classrooms, all-female dormitories, dining rooms and faculty apartments. It cost $66,000 to build. Old Stroud was demolished in 1967 and replaced by the new Stroud Hall, above.

said Moses. “It was more difficult for the administration to accept but I think that had a lot to do with the age difference and how those generations were brought up.” Forty years later, co-ed residence halls certainly aren’t the prevalent issue. Today, keeping pace with students’ desires in living accommodations and keeping housing at full capacity has universities across the country relooking at their long-term plans, according to James Baumann, director of communications of the Association of College and University Housing Officers International. “Universities are looking to provide a level of housing comparable to the features found off-campus such as private bedrooms and no group bathrooms. In many cases, these types of residence halls are geared to upper class students that could be looking to move off campus,” Baumann said. In 2010, 30 percent of new construction at universities and colleges across the country consisted of apartment-style spaces while another 30 percent included the building of super-suites, according to a 2010 association survey. At the same time, creating all this privacy can shut students off from the community aspects of the college experience, Baumann said, an issue Moses and his team of resident directors and advisers focus on through programs and activities offered to residents. During planning stages of the new suites, an ESU Residence Life delegation hit the road to find out what other campuses were incorporating into the construction of their new residence halls. Trips to the University of Maryland and the Penn State Altoona campus revealed swimming pools and other amenities to lure students to attend their schools.

The group also traveled to the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) and California University of Pennsylvania (CUP), PASSHE sister schools. At IUP, the team saw the end result of a four-year, $245 million Residential Revival project which replaced 11 aging residence halls with eight modern suite buildings. As a result of their new buildings, California University doubled its room rates, going from empty buildings to a waiting list, said Moses. While ESU has no trouble filling its residence halls, the ‘build it and they will come’ philosophy for its new suites seems to be working. Even with increased room rates for the new residence halls, the most exclusive new suites in Hemlock and Hawthorn were the first to be occupied, Moses said. Traditional room rates are $2,256 per semester compared to the new suites ranging from $3,245 to $4,326 per semester. It’s those fees that will pay off the bond debt used to finance the project. “We are very fortunate as we already had heavy student interest in the new suite-style halls,” Moses said. “But it’s very important we continue to offer the traditional style housing for those students who cannot afford the suites.”

Moving day

It was a chilly January morning when a scene typical of late August at ESU unfolded in front of the new Hemlock and Hawthorn suites. Parents showed up to help out as students found their new home away from home in either the suites, or one of the traditional-style rooms. While the two-year construction phase seemed to drag, move-in was quickly paced, said Kelly Weaber ’97, resident director of Hawthorn Suites. “Once we got the go that it was ready, we were full-speed ahead. I’m only now catching my breath,” said Weaber, a community health education major

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Feature Story

Shawnee Hall | 1950 The oldest residence hall still in use, it houses 227 students with genders divided by floor. Rumored to be haunted, Shawnee has been the center of paranormal studies by ghost hunters.

Lenape Hall | 1972 Lenape opened in 1972 and allows male and female students to live in rooms side by side, not on alternate floors as in other halls. Alumni have fond memories of an area they knew as “Lenape Beach,” where they relaxed and sunbathed. That area no longer exists.

from Mount Gretna, Pa. Weaber, along with Hemlock Suites Resident Director Patrick Monaghan and a staff of resident advisers, worked day and night to ensure students were comfortably transitioned to their new residence halls. “The move went smoothly,” Weaber said, adding that students were so excited with their new surroundings they overlooked some of the little hiccups along the way. “As soon as they found their rooms, they oriented themselves quickly. For many of our students, the suites provide the luxuries of having your own apartment but with the known entity of living on campus.” Chad Richardson, a senior business management major from East Stroudsburg, is enjoying his new private room in Hemlock Suites, having moved out of the old Hemlock that was beginning to show its age. “I have to say, having carpet under your feet, and being able to adjust your own heat is great,” Richardson said. Even better, he admits, is the fact that the suites are reserved for upper class students which makes the

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Hemlock Suites | 2012 With Hawthorn Suites, houses 969 male and female students. The first new student housing buildings in more than 40 years opened in January and feature private bathrooms, kitchenettes and other modern campus amenities.

environment generally quieter. “What I love most of all … the privacy,” Richardson said. Space and amenities also found their way to the new University Police Station where student worker Bill Devlin has worked for nearly two years. The sophomore health and physical education major from Beverly, N.J., answers phones, dispatches officers and assists with campus parking issues. The department moved during Spring Break and now enjoys offices for officers and a state-ofthe-art dispatch system. “This is definitely for the better,” Devlin said, noting the old house where the campus police station resided had charm and character, but for a growing school like ESU, the improvements are needed and welcome.

Looking ahead

Bob Weidner

The bulldozers and backhoes that dominated the area for two years are now gone. Immature landscaping is beginning to take to its new environment and students are comfortably settled in their new homes. But ESU is far from done with its housing improvements. Phase IIA will begin with the construction of another suite-style building that will include space for a new Student Health Center, Counseling and Psychological Services Center and an office for Student Conduct and Community Standards, currently housed in the FlaglerMetzgar Center. The project should be completed in the next few years. Farther out, should housing demand and market studies deem a fourth building is warranted, and the financing is feasible, ESU will pursue Phase IIB, said Moses, completing the overall vision of the area now called University Grove. University Chief of Police Robin Olson with student worker Ashley McKenna ’13, a biology major, at the front desk in the new University Police Station in Hemlock Suites.

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ESU Alumni Herald

Feature Story

Graduate College Success at 50 S

itting in the photo album room in the home of James McIntyre M’64, you begin to get a sense of the ripple effect that East Stroudsburg University’s Graduate College and its professors have had. They sent master’s graduates like McIntyre out into the world with a new level of knowledge and confidence and a degree that opened doors. McIntyre, James McIntyre M’64 in turn, taught and coached thousands

of young people from grade school through Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. The evidence of the lives he touched is in the photos, clippings and athletic Hall of Fame plaques he has among the memorabilia. “Many of my athletes still come around or write me letters that they were successful because of me,” McIntyre said. “That’s why you do it, it’s not the money.” It is stories like McIntyre’s and those of more than 7,000 fellow alumni that the Graduate College is celebrating this year as it marks its 50th anniversary. These days, ESU’s Graduate College typically has enrollments of more than a thousand students each

semester coming from 20 some states and around 10 countries to study in more than 20 graduate degree programs. That’s a long way from its roots in the early 1960s when LeRoy J. Koehler, president of then-East Stroudsburg State College, asked Dr. Frank Sills, chairman of the health and physical education department, to create a graduate program. In the summer of 1962, the college started offering classes towards master of education degrees in biology, general science, and health and physical education. Graduate tuition was $20 per credit for a semester, or about $360 a year. Room and board were $17

1959

1962

1964

◆ Dr. Frank Sills arrives

◆ First classes leading to master of education (M.Ed.) degrees in Biology, General Science, and Health and Physical Education, at what is now East Stroudsburg State College

◆ Dr. Eugene E. Stish

on campus of State Teacher’s College at East Stroudsburg; President LeRoy Koehler asks him to organize a graduate program

becomes first dean of Graduate School ◆ First master’s degree candidates graduate ✚ M.Ed. degrees in History and Political Science

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Feature Story

Frank Sills

Founder and pioneer

Stories by Margaret Peterson

a week and the activities fee was 50 cents a week. Though it was a fledgling enterprise, classes were rigorous, early graduates say. “I think from the get-go they were going to prove their endeavor and make it a worthwhile program,” said Kaye Shearer ’62 M’70. Shearer of Chambersburg recalls defending her master’s thesis about the effects of weight training on swimmers before a panel of professors. “That was before computers, so you did everything by the book and through the book,” she said. She went on to teach at the nowdefunct Scotland School for Veterans’ Children where she also coached and became the assistant principal and athletic director before retiring in 1996. For his master’s thesis, Dr. Jay Continued on Page 16

When then-East Stroudsburg University President Frank Sills had a heart attack in 1970, he wasn’t about to let the cardiologists confine him to bed rest for the prescribed 21 days. From his own pioneering research in sports medicine, he believed exercise was key to recovery and he started walking the hospital halls soon after – a regimen that is now normal for heart patients. “He was so advanced in that area in sports medicine and rehab medicine,” said his son, F. Eric Sills, who has a doctorate in exercise physiology and has worked in cardiac rehab. “Once dad finished his rehab based on his own prescription, the cardiologist started to consult with dad on developing cardiac rehab programs for his other patients.” Taking charge and being on the cutting edge were second nature to Frank Sills. When he arrived on campus in 1959 – fresh from a teaching position at the University of Iowa – Sills developed ESU’s first Human Performance Lab with equipment that measured how a body reacts under various types of exercise for the Physical Education department. It was that vision and creative drive that ESU President LeRoy J. Koehler tapped in the early 1960s when he gave Sills the task of creating the Graduate College. There are athletes who go into physical education because they want to stay in sports, said Charlie Chronister ’63 M’64, who went on to coach basketball and teach at

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Bloomsburg University for 31 years. But Sills wasn’t like that. “He was a scientist,” Chronister said. “He was very progressive in so many things. He was way ahead of a lot of people.” Sills was perhaps best remembered for steering ESU through the turbulent late 1960s when campuses around the nation were rocked with protests over the Vietnam War, civil rights and other issues. Despite opposition, Sills Dr. Frank Sills oversaw efforts to recruit black students from Philadelphia high schools to what was at the time an overwhelmingly white campus. In 1970, he hired Louis Murdock, ESU’s first black faculty member, and welcomed a freshman class that included an unprecedented 45 African-Americans, according to the Pocono Record. Sills also led the restructuring of academic departments in a way that helped set the stage for the college to become a university. Following his heart attack, Sills returned to teaching and retired in 1977. He died in 2007 at 92. His legacy lives in people like James McIntyre M’64, who said Sills motivated him to earn the master’s degree that got him his dream job teaching and coaching wrestling at Kutztown University. “Frank Sills was a terrific guy,” McIntyre said. “He was a real friend of students.” 

1965

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1967

1973-74

1975

◆ 138 students

◆ 12 graduate assistants appointed

✚ M.Ed. degree in Elementary Education

✚ Master of Arts (M.A.) degrees in History and Political Science ✚ Master of Science (M.S.) degrees in Biology and Physical Education ✚ Reading Specialist certification

◆ Dr. James Reed

enrolled

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becomes dean

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‘

Feature Story

Eugene Stish

First dean, enthusiastic educator Back in the 1960s and early 70s when the graduate school was in its infancy, Dr. Eugene E. Stish, had the unenviable task of persuading college faculty who were already teaching five undergraduate courses a semester to substitute a graduate course for one of them with no extra pay. That Stish, the Graduate College’s first dean, was able to convince professors to add to their workloads was a testament to his powers of persuasion and passion for education, according to Dr. Harrison Hartman, who taught economics at ESU at the time. Dr. Eugene Stish “He did it with such finesse, you didn’t know he was using you and then when you did know you didn’t mind because it was for a good cause,” Hartman said. “He was student-oriented.” A friend of Hartman’s still talks about how Stish helped her work her course load around family responsibilities so she could get a master’s degree and return to teaching. Dr. Joseph Callahan ’70 M’73 who recently retired as a chancellor of Montana State University-Northern, said Stish was instrumental in his earning graduate degrees and going to work in higher education. “His enthusiasm for education was contagious,” Callahan recalled. “He influenced me to want to take

pride in giving back so I was able to go on in Higher Ed administration.” Stish, who had been a test pilot and fighter pilot during World War II and later flew gliders, was known as a Renaissance man with a sense of adventure and a love of philosophy. Dolly Sobrinsky started at the graduate school as an administrative assistant when Stish became the first dean and said she loved working with him. “He discussed things with us and asked our opinions,” she said. In 1975, Stish decided to give up the position as dean and go back to teaching in the physical education and health department. Dr. Frank Michael Pullo, who worked with Stish for the next 10 years until Stish retired, said he was a great storyteller. “He had a presence,” said Pullo, professor and chairman of the sport management department. “We all liked him because he had this wealth of life knowledge … he had done so many things.” Hartman agreed. “He was a real scholar but not an ivory tower type,” he said. “He was a force. If he thought something was right, he would stay with it. If you got in a meeting with him and wanted to take him on, he would take you down with logic and with facts.” Stish retired from ESU in 1987 and he and his wife, Margaret Stish, ESU professor of elementary education, operated North Star Aerosports, a sailplane flight school, at East Stroudsburg Airport. He died in 1996. “Gene always got everybody thinking,” Pullo says — a fitting epitaph for the man who loved philosophy and education. 

ESU Alumni Herald

You need your brilliant sc people who can build tea strategically develop an o

Dr. Marilyn Wells M’87 M’91, vice provo on the new professional scien Continued from Page 15 Kirkpatrick, ’62 M’64, studied the potential effects to the deer population if a dam was built on the Delaware River for the then-proposed Tocks Island National Recreation Area. The dam was never built, which was good because it would have done immense damage to wildlife, he said. One of Kirkpatrick’s advisers was biology professor Frank Buser, who could be very tough. “Frank was actually one of the best college professors I had at any level,” he said. “He just worked the living hell out of you.” Dennis Yaremchuk ’64 M’65 recalled George Gessner, a physics professor, could be both demanding and a bit theatrical in class. “He once wrote a problem on the blackboard and he took a matchbox cover and wrote the answer on it and walked out,” Yaremchuk said. “We took two to three hours to do it.” In 1964, Sills, who had previously taught at University of Iowa, recruited one of his former students and Iowa colleague, Dr. Eugene E. Stish, to become the Graduate College’s first dean. When Stish took the reins, Dolly Sobrinsky joined him in the offices at LaRue Hall as the Graduate College’s administrative assistant. Over the next couple of decades, the school grew “by leaps and bounds,” Sobrinsky said.

1978

1980

1983-84

✚ M.Ed. degrees in Secondary Education and Reading ◆ Principal certification

◆ Dr. Richard Prince

◆ ESSC becomes

becomes dean

East Stroudsburg University ◆ Dr. Larry Hapke named dean

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✚ M.S. degree in Physical Education – Cardiac Rehabilitation and Primary Prevention ✚ M.S. degree in Health Education

Spring 2012

cientists, but you also need ams, manage projects and organization.

’

ost and dean of the Graduate College, nce master’s degrees being developed

The biggest gains came between 1985 and 1991, when enrollments grew from 370 students to 852 after several new degree programs were added. One of those students was Dr. Marilyn J. (Karaffa) Wells M’87 M’91, now ESU’s vice provost and Graduate College dean. Dr. Wells earned her bachelor’s degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1980, and began her career as a manager in the restaurant industry. In the mid-1980s, she started taking graduate classes at ESU and went on to earn both a master of science in health education and a Dr. Marilyn Wells M’87 M’91 master of public health, completing an internship at the Pennsylvania Department of Health where she worked on Three Mile Island Nuclear Health Research. It was two of her health professors who first suggested she might not want to stop there. “My life was forever changed by Dr. Bill Livingood

Feature Story and Dr. Carol Underwood saying, ‘Have you ever thought about going on for a doctorate?’” Wells recalls. After graduating from ESU she went on to earn her Ph.D. in health education from Southern Illinois University – Carbondale in 1989. Nearly three decades later, and after holding posts in academia, government, and business and industry, she returned to ESU when she became vice provost and graduate dean in 2008. ESU’s roots as a teacher’s college extend to the Graduate College. About 70 percent of the Graduate College alumni work in education with another 11 percent in health care and about 6 percent in business. Wells said the Graduate College is taking part in a Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) initiative, funded by The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, to develop “professional science master’s” degrees for careers in high-technology fields that require in-depth scientific knowledge combined with workplace skills highly valued by employers, such as business, communications, and regulatory affairs. “Employers need people who can lead and manage an organization,” Wells said. “You need your brilliant scientists but you also need people who can build teams, manage projects, and strategically develop an organization.” Although the master of education degrees are still in high demand, ESU has added degree programs that

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Alicia Marinelli M’07, marketing services manager for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs baseball team in Allentown.

reflect the changing times. Alicia Marinelli M’07 earned her master of science in sport management which enabled her to land a position as marketing services manager for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, a minor league baseball team in Allentown. Far from the ivory tower stereotype of graduate school, ESU’s sport management program was big on practical experience, Marinelli said. A professor would assign students to run an event and they would have to find the sponsors, do the advertising, gather community support and troubleshoot any problems that arose. “You’re working with your costudents and you’re basically working through it,” she said. “The teacher isn’t step-by-step walking you through the process, holding your hand.” With the help of an ESU professor and fellow students, Marinelli got an internship at Madison Square Garden. A great recommendation from her boss at the New York Knicks helped Continued on Page 18

1984-85

1986-87

1988-89

1997

✚ M.S. degree in Computer Science ✚ M.Ed. degree in Special Education

✚ M.S. degree in Health Education – Community Health Education

✚ Superintendent certification ✚ M.S. degree in Cardiac Rehabilitation and Exercise Science ✚ M.S. degree in Physical Education – Sport Management

✚ M.S. degree in Speech Language Pathology

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18

ESU Alumni Herald

Feature Story Continued from Page 17 her land the IronPigs position. “I believe my networking and experience at East Stroudsburg have led me directly to this job,” she said. Graduate schools nationally have seen their student populations go from a majority-male to majorityfemale over the last half century. In 1971, about 70 percent of graduate school students were men, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. By 2010, about 54 percent of people with

master’s degrees were women. Brittany Anthony ’10 M’12, 23, plans to join those ranks this year. Anthony is interning at MTV in New York City where she’s using her studies for a master of education in instructional technology to teach employees how to create web sites and use other technology. Anthony earned her bachelor’s degree in communication studies and English at ESU thanks to a Prince

Hall scholarship and is currently a Frederick Douglass Institute graduate assistant, which has her working with current and future Prince Hall scholars. She hopes her MTV internship will lead to a permanent position there but ultimately wants to own her own public relations firm. She credits Dr. Beth Sockman, graduate coordinator for instructional technology, with opening her eyes to the opportunities presented by her

Dr. Jay Kirkpatrick ’62 M’64 M.Ed. Biology at ESU started wildlife career

Some jobs are just natural conversation-starters. Dr. Jay Kirkpatrick’s work in birth control for wild horses, elephants and other large mammals has taken him around the world – in addition to making him a hit at parties. “Do you know how Dr. Jay Kirkpatrick ’62 M’64 many jokes I’ve had to endure about figuring out how to put condoms on elephants?” said Kirkpatrick. In all seriousness, his work has saved the lives of plenty of pachyderms, as well as horses and other animals. “We’re managing elephants in 14 game parks in South Africa,” Kirkpatrick said. “They used to shoot between 300-800 elephants a year just to keep the population in check.” His nonprofit group, The Science and Conservation Center in Billings, Mont., has also used contraceptive vaccines to control wild horse populations on Assateague Island in Maryland, as well numerous spots out West. The group works with zoos seeking to curb overpopulation. “It has taken me around the world,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed every bit of it.”

It’s a career that he says was made possible by the bachelor’s and master’s degrees he earned at ESU. They enabled Kirkpatrick to go on for his PhD in reproductive physiology at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. He and his wife, Kathie, moved to Montana 42 years ago, where he taught biology at Montana State University and was dean of the College of Arts and Sciences before leaving to start The Science and Conservation Center in 1993. The son of a wallpaper hanger, Kirkpatrick was the first member of his family to go to college – a trait he shared with the majority of his classmates, he said. “At that time in my life I didn’t have the resources and [ESU] afforded me the opportunity to take that next step,” he said. “It made higher education accessible and affordable.” 

2000

2001

2002

2004

2005

◆ Dr. James Fagan

✚ First doctoral program: Doctor of Education (D.Ed.) Administration and Leadership Studies, in collaboration with Indiana University of Pennsylvania

✚ M.S. degree in Physical Education – Exercise Science ✚ M.Ed. degree in Instructional Technology

✚ M.S. degree in Clinical Exercise Physiology ✚ M.S. degree in Exercise Science ✚ M.S. degree in Management Leadership ✚ M.S. degree in Sport Management

◆ Enrollment

named dean

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reaches a record 1,197 students

Spring 2012

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master’s program. “My program was more hands-on and I learn better that way,” Anthony said. “In my desktop publishing class, the first day we created a flier. We made brochures, we created advertisements for the newspaper.” Today she is working and training others in an online universe that her counterparts 50 years ago never envisioned. And on the evening of May 11,

Anthony will walk across the stage at the LeRoy J. Koehler Fieldhouse, shake hands with university leaders, take part in the traditional “hooding” of master’s graduates and accept the cover for her diploma. When she does, she will be walking in the footsteps of the likes of Kirkpatrick and Wells, Marinelli and McIntyre and thousands of others. And so the ripple effect continues.  Brittany Anthony ’10 M’12

Charlie Chronister ’63 M’64

ESU launched his long coaching career After earning his bachelor’s degree at ESU, Charlie Chronister had plans to head to University of Colorado for graduate school. Then Dr. Frank Sills altered his path. Chronister recalls: “He said ‘If you’re going to graduate school, why don’t you do it here?” And that’s how Chronister started taking the first master’s degree classes at ESU. That degree gave him an edge that helped him land his first college coaching and teaching job at Gettysburg College when he was just 24 years old. From there, he made the jump to Bloomsburg University in 1971 where he taught and coached men’s basketball for 31 years. By the time he retired in 2002, he had won the most games of any men’s basketball coach in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. Much of the credit he gave to Burt Reese ’63, his roommate at ESU, who convinced Bloomsburg University’s administration to hire Chronister and was his assistant basketball coach. Charlie Chronister ’63 M’64

Over his career, Chronister coached three AllAmericans. Several of his players went on to coach in high school or college. Chronister learned a lot about excellence and hard work from people like Frank Sills. He recalls how Sills made him rewrite parts of his master’s thesis – on the state of health education in Pennsylvania public schools – several times. Chronister later presented his findings at a conference in Pittsburgh. “That was all Dr. Sills,” said Chronister from his home in Wesley Chapel, Fla. “He wanted East Stroudsburg out there. I feel very fortunate to have known him.” Another mentor was the late John Eiler, ESU physical education professor, coach and athletic director. Former students and players have described the soft-spoken Eiler as a father figure who engendered great respect while teaching important life lessons. “John Eiler had a tremendous influence on anyone who went through there,” he said. Chronister counts himself lucky to have had such professors and been part of a pioneering master’s degree class. “Talk about being in the right place at the right time in the right era,” he said. 

2007

2008

2012

✚ M.S. degree in Athletic Training – hybrid

◆ Dr. Marilyn Wells appointed vice provost and dean, becoming the first female graduate dean at East Stroudsburg University ◆ Graduate School becomes Graduate College ✚ M.S. degree in Information Security — degree program online

◆ The Graduate College celebrates its 50th Anniversary, with more than 7,000 alumni

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ESU Alumni Herald

Warrior Spirit

Head coach Sal Mentesana, second from left, assistant coach Jeff Wilson ’86 M’92 (far right) and the 1990 PSAC title-winning team — the only conference champions until this year.

Warri

The day after ESU won the 1990 PSAC men’s basketball championship – the program’s first and only title until this season – Pocono Record sports editor Tom DeSchriver envisioned the team returning to campus 25 years later to be honored for their achievement. FIVE MEMBERS of that 1990 team, which had an improbable run to the PSAC title including two overtime wins, had an early look at the reunion in a locker room at West Chester on March 3 after the Warriors’ 2012 team joined the 1990 squad as PSAC champions with a 90-85 win over the Golden Rams. Lamarr Alston ’92, Stan Brown ’91, Evan Engle ’95, Todd Painton ’93 and Lonnie White represented the 1990 team, which also included stars Jonathan Roberts ’91, the late Ed Urie ’93, Jacques Armand ’90, Keith Fisher ’91 and Mike DelGrosso ’92, to induct the latest Warriors into their fraternity. Current starters Terrance King, the PSAC Tournament MVP, Duane Johnson, Whis Grant and seniors Eric Bryan and Russell Graham III have more in common with that club than just their championship pedigree. The parallels are striking, beginning with the bench. ESU

10th-year head coach Jeff Wilson ’86 M’92 was a 26-year old assistant under Sal Mentesana, who took the Warriors from a three-win season the year before his arrival to the PSAC title in his third year at the helm. Wilson later followed Mentesana to Division I Lehigh before returning to Koehler Fieldhouse in 2002. Implementing a 94-foot style to rebuild the program, ESU was in the PSAC Tournament in his fourth year, the NCAA Tournament with a school-record 24 wins in his eighth and earned its second PSAC title and third NCAA Tournament appearance this winter. The 1990 Warriors were 17-12 before their PSAC Tournament run.

They were 8-8 in early January after returning from a trip to Hawaii, where they were 1-5 against several top Division II programs, before going 13-5 to finish the season in the NCAA Tournament. The 2012 Warriors were 17-11 entering the PSAC Tournament and trailed at halftime in all three of their games, winning 99-91 (OT) at Kutztown and 66-58 vs. Mercyhurst before edging West Chester in the final. Much of the credit for their resiliency can go to a tough early season schedule, when they were 6-5 on December 9 but fell to three of the top teams in the region by a total of 13 points.

cha

The comeback kids – the first No. 4 seed to win a PSAC title since 1991 – were down at least seven points in every game.

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Spring 2012

Warrior Spirit

Phil Bomzer photos Left: The 2011-12 men’s basketball team during Fan Appreciation Night, with ESU President Robert Dillman at right. Below: Senior forward Eric Bryan pulls down a rebound during the Warriors’ regular season win over West Chester on January 28.

iors basketball

amps again! Join WarriorsNation, your alumni online community, at esualumni.org

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ESU Alumni Herald

Warrior Spirit

Left: Senior point guard Russell Graham III had career highs of 19 points and nine assists in ESU’s PSAC quarterfinal win at Kutztown. Opposite page, top: Head coach Jeff Wilson ’86 M’92 presents the net to the Warriors’ fans after the PSAC championship game at West Chester. Opposite page, bottom: Junior forward Terrance King, the PSAC Tournament MVP, drives for two of his career-high 32 points at Kutztown in the PSAC quarterfinals.

They trailed by seven at Kutztown, 11 vs. Mercyhurst and 10 at West Chester before storming back to move on. Both teams were seconds away from elimination before advancing, the 1990 team in the semifinals against Slippery Rock and this year’s team in the quarterfinals at Kutztown. Keith Fisher hit a jumper with under 10 seconds left for the win over the Rock 22 years ago. And Terrance King began a run that rivals anything in program history with an offensive rebound, putback and three-point play with 6.2 seconds left to force overtime after the Golden Bears took an 83-80 lead with 22 seconds left. The free throw gave King a 10-for11 night from the line and a careerhigh 27 points. He proceeded to score ESU’s first five points in OT to finish with 32 points and 10 rebounds to put the Warriors into the PSAC Final Four for the third straight year. Against Mercyhurst, the Lakers slowed ESU and led 33-25 at halftime. But the Warriors responded with a 19-2 run to start the second half, keyed by seven points from Bryan, and never relinquished their lead to reach the final for the second time. In the title game, West Chester put the Warriors down early again as they trailed 21-11 eight minutes in on a floor where they faced an 18-4 deficit exactly two weeks earlier, when WCU won 71-65.

And just as they did all week, Wilson’s team came back. An 8-0 run gave the Warriors a 59-56 lead with 13 minutes left, and after West Chester made it 75-all at the 4:24 mark, they put together another 8-0 stretch to win the championship. That burst, capped by an offensive rebound and emphatic dunk, sealed Tournament MVP honors for King, the second team AllPSAC East selection and 2010 PSAC East Freshman of the Year. King had 67 points and 34 rebounds in the tournament, similar numbers to the 64 points and 39 boards from Jonathan Roberts – arguably one of the top five players in PSAC history – in 1990. King’s averages of 22.3 points and 11.3 rebounds were almost identical to Roberts’ average of 21.9 points and 11.4 rebounds over the final three years of his career, when he was the three-time PSAC East Player of the Year and a two-time All-American. The rest of the team stepped up in supporting roles. Johnson, ESU’s first team AllPSAC East forward, averaged 13.3 points and 6.7 rebounds and played lock-down defense on each team’s top scorer. A state champion in 2009 at Penn Wood, the versatile Johnson had three strong all-around games and produced an impressive baseline drive and dunk that energized the Warriors and their hundreds of fans in the second half of the title game. Graham, who was second team All-PSAC East, returned from missing all but seven games last year due to

injury to have an exceptional season at point guard, scoring 12.6 points per game and ranking second in the PSAC in assists. The transfer from Division I New Hampshire had 167 assists this season, sixth-most in school history. Bryan, ESU’s lone four-year senior, had his first career doubledouble with 10 points and 10 rebounds on the same floor where he suffered an injury on February 18 that forced him to miss his Senior Day game. Two weeks later, he played 33 minutes in the title game and finished his career tied for third in school history with 113 career games played. Grant, the lone under-classman in the starting lineup, was the first freshman to lead ESU in scoring on a postseason team in school history and ranks second alltime among Warriors freshmen with 431 points (13.9 per game). The standout guard has won a championship in three straight seasons, helping Plymouth-Whitemarsh to a state title in 2010 and St. Thomas More (Conn.) to the national prep title in 2011. Freshman guard Matt Tobin, the Warriors’ top bench scorer with 8.1 points per game, was a junior in high school at Hopatcong (N.J.) when

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Spring 2012

Warrior Spirit

he watched his brother Mike lead ESU to the NCAA Tournament and its school record-setting 24 wins in 2010. Two years later, he hit 35 three-pointers as a key contributor to the Warriors’ title run. The rest of the bench included two imports from Detroit in Gerald Bridges Jr. and Blair Ramsey, high school teammates at University of Detroit Jesuit. Bridges, a shooting guard his first two seasons, was a primary backup in the frontcourt this year while knocking down 41 threepointers in addition to his work on the glass. Ramsey missed most of the fall semester due to injury but returned to play in 20 games behind Graham at the point. Freshman Lamont Tillery also played key minutes at both forward spots. Other contributors included redshirt sophomore forward Dan Clapp, redshirt freshman guard Muhamadou Kaba, sophomore forward Zechariah Runkle, redshirt junior guard Matt Labick and freshman center Kevin Anema.

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ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME Call for Inductions East Stroudsburg University is accepting nominations of student-athletes, teams and individuals with meritorious service to the university for its Athletic Hall of Fame class of 2012. The nominating deadline for this year’s class is Friday, June 15. Led by the experience of Bryan, Johnson and King – who all set a school record in the NCAA Tournament with their ninth career postseason game – the Warriors had a season that will be long remembered by the ESU basketball faithful. And some day, they will be the teammates who gather to greet a future Warriors team in a gym somewhere in Pennsylvania after winning another PSAC championship. 

Criteria for nomination n Student-athletes who are

nominated must be at least 10 years removed from their athletic career and made significant contributions and/or demonstrated athletic excellence at ESU. n Teams that have achieved significant accomplishments have been inducted into the Hall of Fame during each of the past eight years. n Nominations will also be accepted for coaches and other individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the athletic department during their time at ESU.

To nominate n Complete and return

the form located at the “Hall of Fame” link under “Inside ESU Athletics” at esuwarriors.com. NOTE: Candidates who have been nominated in the past but have not been inducted will continue to be included in the list of individuals that is reviewed by the Hall of Fame Committee.

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ESU Alumni Herald

Warrior Spirit

Stony Acres

Association and then incorporated in the will host a 50-year name of all students, anniversary celebraStony Acres is a offtion open to all ESU campus recreation site alumni, students, staff, for outdoor and leisure faculty and friends on adventures. The site September 15. includes a lake, hiking The event starts trails, lodge and six at 1:30 p.m. with rustic cabins. a ceremony at the Stony Acres is 119-acre studentopen dawn to dusk for Students explore the high ropes course at Stony Acres in this ESU file photo. owned recreation students, staff, faculty, area, followed by a day of food and activities, including and alumni to enjoy hiking, canoeing, fishing, disc golf, live music, a fishing tournament, climbing tower, ropes a picnic or just enjoying the peaceful setting. course, volleyball, horseshoes and bocce. A barbecue will Overnight reservations are available.  be offered later in the day, followed by a campfire with s’mores. SAVE THE DATES This year also marks the 30th year for the challenge Facilitator Reunion June 2 course, a series of outdoor objectives that require group 50th Anniversary September 15 problem-solving. Elements of the course are constructed ESU alumni are invited to celebrate 50 years from cables stretched between trees, suspended tires, of outdoor adventures. and logs or ropes. Through the years, Stony Acres has certified many www.esu.edu/stonyacres students and alumni as facilitators on the challenge RSVP to Madeline Constantine course, and a facilitator reunion is planned for June 2. mconstantine@esu.edu Purchased in 1962 by the Women’s Recreation

Coach Hutchinson wins Award of Merit

Bob Weidner

FULL OF RESOLVE Veteran football coach Dennis Douds, left, receives a resolution from L. Patrick Ross ’66, chairman of the ESU Council of Trustees, after setting the National Collegiate Athletic Association record for most games coached in the university’s division. Calling Douds a “true asset to East Stroudsburg University and the community in which he lives,” the council extended the coach its appreciation and congratulations.

Jan Mitten Hutchinson ’71 M ’79, a 2008 inductee to the ESU Athletic Hall of Fame, will receive the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Award of Merit. Hutchinson compiled 1,806 wins as field hockey and softball coach at Bloomsburg University before retiring in 2010. The PSAC Award of Merit is the conference’s highest honor, and is given for outstanding accomplishments or services that bring exceptional recognition to the conference. Hutchinson was the field hockey coach at Bloomsburg for 32 seasons and softball coach for 33 seasons. She is a member of both the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and National Field Hockey Coaches Association Halls of Fame. As the field hockey coach, she posted winning records in 31 of her 32 seasons and a career record of 591-75-20, winning 16 national championships and 16 PSAC titles. As the softball coach, she compiled a record of 1,215-288-2 and made a record 28 consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament. She ranks first on the all-time Division II wins list and sixth on the all-division wins list. She guided the Huskies to the 1982 AIAW national title, two NCAA national runner-up finishes and advanced to the NCAA championships round nine times. Her teams won 15 PSAC softball championships. 

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Spring 2012

Alumni News

25

East Stroudsburg University

Legacy Family Brunch & Pinning Ceremony This event is held annually recognition of the ESU Legacy families inmake the choice

to continue family that tradition by more ESU Legacy families.aFamilies have had attending ESU. Held annually, the Legacy Family Brunch recognizes those families sively invited to join us for a brunch buffet and who have had more than one generation pinning ceremony. graduate from ESU and invites them exclusively to join us for a brunch buffet Legacy families make the choice to continue a and pinning ceremony.

than one generation graduate from ESU are exclu-

Sunday, September 23, 2012 10 a.m. – 12 noon The Keystone Room

family tradition by attending ESU. If you are part

If you are part of an ESU Legacy family, please let us know so we can note your wespecial can note your in special status inand our records status our records send you an invitation and send you an invitationtotothis this event. event. Contact of an ESU Legacy family, please let us know so

Office of Alumni Engagement theContact Office ofthe Alumni Engagement at (800) 775-8975 at (800) 775-8975 orsubmission you may submit or submit a Legacy family form at a Legacy family submission form at www.esualumni.org/legacyform.

www.esualumni.org/legacyform.

Save the

Date! Join WarriorsNation, your alumni online community, at esualumni.org

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Alumni News

Plans are under way for several exciting destinations in 2013 for the PASSHE Alumni and Friends Travel Program, which is open to all Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education alumni, retirees, faculty, staff and friends. There are two travel partners for 2013: Grand Circle Travel and Cruisin’ Inc./Main Line Vacations. Grand Circle is planning the April French River Cruise (1-800-866-3275); while the other five programs are being handled by Cruisin’ Inc./Main Line Vacations (www. alumnivacations.com or 1-800-506-7447). All pricing below is per person, based on double occupancy.

n Jan. 21-Feb. 11 —

2013 Travel Schedule

Bali to Bangkok and Beyond Cruise 21-day cruise in Southeast Asia, featuring Angkor Wat, Singapore, Vietnam and Cambodia. Prices start at $4,995 plus air travel, including three nights in Bali (precruise) and three nights post-cruise in Bangkok, several excursions and more. n April 29-May 11— France River Cruise

n June — Germany

Land trip including three days in Marburg to celebrate 50th anniversary of the PASSHE Philipps-Universität Marburg Study Abroad Program. More details to come. n August 16-24 — San Francisco and Wine Country Delights A Trafalgar eight-day land tour. $2,079 plus air.

Burgundy and Provence to the Cote d’Azur

n Sept. 19-Oct. 1 — Mosaic Masterpiece Cruise

13-day river cruise-tour aboard a private Grand Circle river ship exclusively for American travelers, featuring Paris, Lyon, Avignon, Arles and Nice. DETAILS BELOW.

12-day Oceania cruise. Ports of call include Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Ibiza, Cartagena, Malaga and Seville, Spain; Gibraltar, United Kingdom; Casablanca, Morocco; Lisbon, Portugal. Specially designed Jacques Pepin signature menus, engaging lectures, culinary demonstrations and much more. Prices start at $3,999, includes air.

FEATURED TRIP

Burgundy/Provence River Cruise April 29-May 11, 2013 Join us for this special river cruise-tour, which includes roundtrip air from Philadelphia.

n November — South Africa Information to come.

Accommodations: Seven nights aboard Grand Circle’s M/S Provence or M/S Chardonnay in an outside cabin, three nights in Paris; one night in Nice; 24 meals: 11 breakfasts/six lunches/seven dinners (with complimentary wine at dinner) Eight exclusive, included tours: Paris, Beaune, Macon, Beaujolais, Lyon, Viviers, Avignon, Arles Exclusive events: Market visit, discussions and presentations on French culture and history, a silk scarf-painting demonstration, shipboard cooking demonstration and language lessons, a home-hosted dinner, an American Cemetery visit. Complimentary wireless internet access available onboard in certain areas and more. Call Grand Circle 1-800-866-3275, option 1, service code: G3-24215, trip name: Cruising Burgundy and Provence to the Cote d’Azur/RON. Prices start at $4,195/per person, including air from Philadelphia. Other airport departures are available, call for pricing.

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Cherry Blossom Brunch More than 35 alumni and friends attended a brunch at the Army/Navy Club in Arlington, Va., honoring the service of Dr. Robert Dillman as president of ESU. The attendees included Watson and Jane Bullock ’65; Richard and Rosemarie Cauthers ’52; Jeanne Chambers ’73; Dr. Richard DeSchriver, Meg DeSchriver, James Mason and Jean DeSchriver ’74; David and Elma Yackman Edwards ’68; event hosts Tom ’57 and Jean Leshko ’58; Theresa Liberatore ’88; Jim and Linda Masterson; William R. McFadden ’81; William Moyer ’81; Matthew ’96 and Michelle Stephens; Susan Stroker ’05; Holly Marie Stroker ’09, Frank Stroker and Frank Stroker III; Jim ’84 and Pamela Viola. Also present were Andrea Waldock, legislative director for U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta; Frank Falso, ESU Foundation president and CEO; Mike Saraka, director of alumni engagement, and President Dillman, who was presented with a Capitol flag, a Congressional proclamation, and a framed photograph.

Alumni Events GOLF OUTING Englewood, Fla. Front row, from left: Bob Cetta ’58, Doug McNamee ’67, Marilyn McNamee, Janice Enquist, Judy Talty M’92, Mary Sue Balducci ’60, Louise Hawk ’55, Vivian Morris ’64, Annie Baribeault, John Watson ’51, and Lee Hill ’56. Back row: Betty Murphy ’68, Susan Kizis, Tom Kizis ’70, Joan Merring ’67, Chuck Wieder, Dick Merring ’57, Dick Baribeault.

THE VILLAGES | Florida Above: Barry Greenawald ’70 M’73; Director of Alumni Engagement Mike Saraka; Darlene Greenawald; Sue Cook ’75; Gary Cook; Katie Larnard; Ardell Katzenmoyer ’51; Dr. Bruce Haase ’85 ’02; Barbara Wagner ’71; Charles Wagner; Assistant Director of Alumni Engagement Brooke Donovan; Dick Brewer ’60; Jim Oplinger ’58; Pinky O’Neil ’57.

ALUMNI LUNCHEON | Englewood, Fla. Seated, from left: Craig Leatherman ’58, Jan Cetta, Nancy Lane ’52, Judy Talty M’92, Darleen Schott ’63, Mary Sue Balducci ’60, Pat Hofmann ’57, Louise Hawk ’55, and Joan Merring ’67. Second row: Billy Maiorollo, Carol Tabor, Mike Hill, Peg Gregory, Marilyn McNamee, Ann Forte, Bette Laurenson ’62, Barbara Lutz, Earl Lutz ’55, and Russ DeFrahn. Back row: Bob Cetta ’58, Lee Hill ’56, Betty Murphy ’68, Jack Gregory ’52, Charles Reese, Doug McNamee ’67, Rick Peoples ’70, Bill Forte ’69, John Watson ’51, Ted Laurenson ’62, Dick Merring ’57, Susan Kizis, Tom Kizis ’70, and Chuck Weider.

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ESU Alumni Herald

Alumni News

Student scholarship recipients gather for a group photo following the 2012 Scholarship Luncheon in March.

The Scholarship Luncheon is hosted each spring by the ESU Foundation, and provides an opportunity for student scholarship recipients to meet and thank their scholarship donors in person. This year’s fourth annual event, held on March 25, welcomed more than 200 guests, a record number. Michael D. Mancuso ’97, owner, president and CEO of Figliomeni Drug Stores in Carbondale, presented the keynote speech. He and his family recently created the Mancuso Family Football Endowed Scholarship, and he encouraged others to show their support for ESU through the gift of scholarship. The Lifetime Achievement Recognition Award was presented to Professor Emerita Dr. Mary Jane Wolbers, who from 1963 until 1991 donated her time and talent to creative programs in dance education. Other highlights included a Theater Department

Daniel Freel

The annual event, hosted by the ESU Foundation, gives students the chance to meet and thank those who made their scholarships possible.

performance featuring students Michael Lloret ’15, Shannon Christmann ’12, and Karen Guilliams ’12. Students also dedicated a video to Dr. Robert J. Dillman, who is retiring as university president in June, recognizing his commitment to students and the scholarship program. In his closing remarks, ESU Foundation President and CEO Frank Falso emphasized the Foundation’s commitment to philanthropy by presenting gifts of $250 to the ESU Excellence in Arts Theater Fund and, in honor of President and Mrs. Dillman, $500 to the Dillman/Morris Endowed Scholarship Fund and $500 to the Dillman/Morris Annual Scholarship Fund.

Scholarship information

www.esufoundation.org, Scholarship administrator Laurie Schaller (800) 775-8975

THE PROPER WAY Special thanks to, from left, Gail Kulick ’88 M’89, Chris Yeager ’74 M’81 and Ritchey Ricci ’65 M’72, who volunteered at the annual Etiquette Dinner as table volunteers. At right is Assistant Director of Career Services Jan Hoffman ’97, who presented the event. The Etiquette Dinner is hosted each year to teach students how to make favorable impressions with employers or clients while using proper table manners when dining.

CAREER NETWORKING Alumni Engagement partnered with Career Services to sponsor a Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management Career Day Networking Social in February. Alumni from several fields met with students to discuss job opportunities after graduation. From left are Dr. George Hendry ’98, Harry West ’10, Dr. Carol Miller ’81, Cara Heitczman-Lowenwirth ’04, Sarah Sweeney ’10, Ashley Constable ’08, Scott Higgins ’06, Sandy Haley ’06, Rachel Travers ’03 and Robert Travers ’05.

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Spring 2012

Class Notes

Class Notes 1930s

Alfred Mathieson ’38 is a World War II veteran. He will be 95 years old in July and reports that he is “still kickin’!”

1940s Sarah Metz Jones ’44 has been a teacher for almost 70 years. Although she retired as a full-time teacher in 1987, she continues to work as a substitute teacher for the Pleasant Valley School District, and was featured in the Pocono Record in October. Margaret K. Kauffman Candrick ’45 still tutors in her spare time at her home in Lewisburg, Pa.

1950s Robert Bright ’57 is retired after 54 years of coaching high school athletics, primarily swimming and diving. He was inducted into the Pennsylvania Swimming Hall of Fame in March.

1960s Joan Battle Sarokas ’64 is retired from being a school counselor in Newton County, Ga. She and her husband enjoy the amenities of their retirement community and also enjoy traveling. Sheldon Chamberlain ’63, director of summer and winter technical training camps for the Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Association, was inducted into the Lehigh Valley Soccer Hall of Fame in January.

EDITORIAL NOTE

Gerald “Pateesh” Freedman ’64 won his fourth term as a councilman for the township of Hillside, N.J. He is the head of the Health and Physical Education Department at Essex County College in Newark. Jack Childs ’67 served as chief marshal at the head table for the National Collegiate Athletic Association wrestling championships in March. Childs spent 35 years as the head wrestling coach at Drexel University. Patricia Lee Mignella ’67 is the state recording secretary for the New Jersey State Association of Parliamentarians and a member of National Association of Parliamentarians. Mary Jane Tee O’Merle ’69 M’75 was awarded the Health University Teacher of the Year by the Pennsylvania State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance in November. She is an instructor of health education at ESU.

1970s Ted Fish ’71 is an artist specializing in ceramic sculpture, and living in Colorado. See his work at tedfishart.com.

Please note that “Class Notes” lists the year alumni received their undergraduate degree first followed by their graduate degree if they attended East Stroudsburg University for both. ‘M’ denotes a master’s degree. To submit “Class Notes,” simply contact us at alumni@esufoundation. org or go to esualumni.org/classnotes with your information. You can also call 800-775-8975 or fax us a 570-422-3301. We are happy to publish your information. It is our policy not to publish engagements or pregnancies; however, we publish marriages and births. If you are submitting a photograph electronically with your information please make sure that it is at least 240 dpi. You can submit photos electronically to alumni@esufoundation.org. You may also mail an original photograph but we cannot guarantee that it will be returned. Please note that the editorial staff makes every effort to publish the information given to us by alumni as it is received. Due to space and deadline restrictions we sometimes have to edit or cut the information. Our intent is to publish as much as possible about ESU alumni, but due to the volume of submissions we receive sometimes that is not possible.

Joe Morris ’71 is the president and CEO of the Pennsylvania LIFE Provider Alliance, an association representing providers of Living Independence For the Elderly services, helping the elderly who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid to remain in their homes. Diane Ace Flagler ’72 has retired as a teacher from Orange County Public Schools in Orlando, Fla., and is a breast cancer survivor. Donna LaPointe Longley ’72 has retired as a kindergarten teacher after 38 years with the Northampton Area School District.

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ESU Alumni Herald

Class Notes

Bob Weidner

An artist and Thomas Mann ’70 returned to campus this spring, displaying the creativity and entrepreneurship that have let him be a self-employed artist for more than 40 years. He credits his alma mater for his success — he creates jewelry and sculptures, manages a gallery and retail shop, and has authored books and educational DVDs. As a freshman, he was recruited by the gymnastics team. He bounced through several majors, from physical education to philosophy, finally landing in what was then theater arts, eventually becoming the second graduate from the new department. “East Stroudsburg was the perfect incubator for all of my business entrepreneurial interests,” says Mann. “In the summer of 1968, I opened my first jewelry business down on Crystal Street called the Golden Owl, where I did silversmithing during the day. But at night I was doing acting and set building at the Cherry Lane Opera House Theatre, where Professor Rob Howell was the director.” For the next five summers he had a jewelry shop at the Jersey shore. “Whatever I was doing at school, whatever classes I was taking seemed to complement the entrepreneurial experience I was building,” he says. “Since 1970 when I graduated from college, I have been selfemployed.” He sees certain classes as pivotal to his growth, citing theater classes with Howell and Jay Brennan as very important. “All of my philosophy classes I enjoyed tremendously, and music classes too. I had a really great college experience.” Mann has called New Orleans home since 1977, when he first exhibited his jewelry at the city’s Jazz & Heritage Festival.

self-made Mann Mann, part of the American contemporary craft movement, makes wearable objects in what he describes as “techno-romantic” art — a juxtaposing of “contemporary technology and construction techniques with historical romantic imagery,” like hearts or hands. In February, Mann came back to ESU with his traveling art exhibit, “Storm Cycle,” a series of wall panels about the human experience of Hurricane Katrina. The show has toured 14 museums since opening in 2005, and has been featured on the PBS series, “Craft in America.” “To see an artist’s view of the event — of someone who lived in the place where the tragedy happened — is very eye-opening,” says Joni Oye-Benintende, chair of ESU’s art department. “All of the pieces had stories posted with them so you could understand, because they were assemblages of debris that he found after the storm.” He also presented a two-day workshop, “Design for Survival – Entrepreneurial Thinking and Tactics for Artists,” designed to help artists with the business side of their trade. About 200 people attended. “There’s a very practical side to making your art work for you,” Oye-Benintende said. “And you are not going to lose any part of yourself by learning about the business end of art and design.” Mann recently published Metal Artist’s Workbench: Demystifying the Jeweler’s Saw, in which he describes his tools as extensions of his hands: “They are showing signs of wear now but they still obey the heart that was sent here to make objects of meaning and beauty for those that can see them. I feel a true sense of mission, a real sense of purpose; a sincere obligation to pursue this artistic path. It is what I am here for.”  Story by Nancy McCann

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Spring 2012

Class Notes

Richard Regetta ’72 has retired from Citigroup as a senior auditor after 37 years with the company. He and his wife live in Morgantown, Pa., and have three children and one grandchild.

ESU, where she has been teaching for 20 years.

Sherry Salway Black ’74 was appointed by Barack Obama to the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability in November. She is director of the Partnership for Tribal Governance at the National Congress of American Indians.

Joann Judge ’84 was named Adapted Physical Education Teacher of the Year by the Pennsylvania State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance in November. She is a nationally certified adapted physical education teacher, and is working on a doctoral degree at the University of Virginia.

Dr. Thad Midas ’74 is celebrating 30 years of independent psychology practice in Lehighton. The Rev. Ken Forbes ’75 M’77 has been the pastor of Dunmore Presbyterian Church since October 2009.

1980s Dr. Caroline Patterson Kuchinski ’80 M’84 was named Physical Education University Teacher of the Year by the Pennsylvania State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance in November. She is a professor of health and physical education at

Harry Hiestand ’83 was hired as the offensive line coach for the University of Notre Dame in January.

1990s Juliana Tuttle Repasky M’90 is retired and working as a volunteer in Stephen Ministries, a program of lay pastoral counseling and caregiving. Mary Fran Rubano Flood ’92 joined the Salveston Stetson Group, an executive search firm, in Radnor, Pa., as a search consultant in November. Patrick Senft ’93 and Danyne Deirocini Senft ’94 celebrated their 12-year anniversary in July. Patrick is an education administrator at the

Bancroft School in Haddonfield, N.J., and Danyne is a part-time nurse for Cooper Institute in Marlton, N.J. They reside in Medford Lakes, N.J., and are involved with their three sons’ activities. Danielle Vergnetti Burrier ’95 M’00 was featured in the Scranton, Pa., Times-Tribune as a “Northeast Woman” for her work in the field of speech pathology. She works for Allied Services in Scranton. Connie Krawz M’95 was selected as the 2011-12 teacher of the year for Wallkill Valley Regional High School in Hamburg, N.J. Melissa L. Smith ’95 M’99 was appointed principal of Muhlenberg Elementary School in Allentown, Pa., effective July 2, 2012. Robert McCauley ’97 is a physician practice leader with the Lehigh Valley Health Network, and lives in the Lehigh Valley with his wife and two sons. Quantella Anderson-Noto ’98 was named chair of the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Jennifer Ramos ’99 M’03 was appointed principal of Washington Elementary School in Allentown, Pa., effective July 2, 2012.

Entrepreneur jumps into ‘Shark Tank’ DJ Mastronardo ’05 and his brothers were featured on “Shark Tank,” an ABC-TV reality show which matches start-up companies in search of investors with a panel of self-made multimillionaires. The four Mastronardos own Nardo’s Naturals, a three-year-old skin-care product company based in St. Petersburg Beach, Fla. Their business plan was selected for the show, which aired March 9 and led to a partnership with real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran. “We four brothers were so thrilled to introduce a ‘big sister’ into the mix, it’s going to be an exciting journey!” says DJ, oldest of the four. According to a story in the Tampa Bay Times, the company started when DJ, a devotee of coconut oil, talked it up as a skin moisturizer to his brothers. They mixed coconut oil with shea butter and aloe vera in a kitchen and came up with a product they could sell. “Because it’s an organic line, we didn’t have to finagle with chemistry or chemicals or preservatives,” DJ said. The brothers started the From left: KJ, Danny, DJ and Kyle Mastronardo. company with $6,000, and have since expanded their line. 

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Class Notes | Marriages | Births | In Memoriam Erin Carter Taylor ’99 of was named a RE/MAX Select Realty’s top real estate agent in Cranberry Township, Pa.

2000s Jenny Jimenez ’02 teaches psychology at Northampton Community College and works with special needs children as a behavior specialist for Access Services. Bianca Huggins ’04 earned a master of science degree in psychology from Walden University in August and is pursuing a doctoral degree in counseling psychology. Kathy Pendleton ’06 is a technical writer at Sanofi Pasteur. Danielle O’Brien ’09, of Philadelphia, was awarded a master of science degree in counseling and clinical health psychology by Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Alyson Procopio ’09 was named the New Jersey Herald girls volleyball Coach of the Year.

2010s Clarissa A. Gallo ’10 is finishing a master’s degree in speech language pathology.

In Memoriam Marion E. Beierle ’27 Jeanne A. Casula ’33 Hugh B. Altemose ’36 Hayes B. Warner ’37 Elston J. Arnt ’40 Catherine M. O’Hare McDonald ’41 Harriet Wieland Mayer ’42 Dr. Betty Collins Henrie ’44 Dorothy Schultz ’47

Jason Oszvart ’11 is a strength and conditioning coach at Villanova University.

Marriages

Karen Pieretti ’77 married Maj. Kevin Wooley on June 25, 2011 on Lake Lanier Islands, Ga. The couple is stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C., and split their time between North Carolina, Georgia and Montana. Kim Romascavage ’79 married Leon Martin on December 12, 2011. The couple live in Laurel, Mont. Uriel Borders Varga ’00 and Heath Stephens ’01 were married October 22, 2011 in Livonia, Mich. Heath is a federal employee and Uriel is the executive director of a non-profit mental health clinic. The couple live in Grosse Pointe, Mich. Jessica McIlwee ’02 married Stephen Zayac on June 25, 2011 in Scranton, where Jessica is a teacher. Karen L. Gower ’07 married Karl Aho on December 17, 2011. Attending were Kathy Gower ’03 and Kim Lilge Rogusky ’07. The couple lives in Waco, Texas.

George W. Deiter ’48 Robert Klenk ’50 Anne K. McCafferty Gosnay ’52 Lewis G. Nichols ’52 Dr. Carol Sue Underwood ’58 (retired faculty) Joan A. Lozo Skutka ’60 Mary Lozo Yeakel ’70 Elizabeth A. Saylor Castelgrant ’72 Robert E. Neely ’75

Cayce Neyhard ’09 married Mark Voitek on June 25, 2011. Attending were Monica Demshick ’09 and Carolyn Jablonowski ’09. The couple live in Forty Fort.

Births

Christine Laquidara ’83 M’89 announces the birth of twin sons, Cooper and Jackson, on August 10, 2011. Todd Mead ’94 and his wife, Lori, announce the birth of daughter Lia Loren on August 31, 2011. Dr. Dana Hysock Witham ’96 and her husband, Scott, announce the birth of son Owen Christopher Witham on April 7, 2011. Heather Hill Miller ’95 and JonErick Miller ’00 welcomed their daughter, Madison Susan Miller, into the world on June 5, 2011. Adam Quinones ’00 and his wife Jennifer announce the birth of their daughter, Lila Grace, on May 25, 2011. Kristina DeLorenzo Garzio ’04 and Greg Garzio ’94 announce the birth of daughter Braelyn on July 4, 2011. Elizabeth Simon-Achuff ’07 announces the birth of son Brenner Simon Belcastro on December 8, 2011.

Candy J. Stephani ’77 Matthew I. Bottos ’82 Todd N. VanBodegom-Smith ’86 Francis T. Delia ’94 Gena R. Rych ’07 Dr. William J. Burt (retired faculty) Robert E. Brookmeyer (friend) Chereen Nawrocki (student) Lauren V. Lindblad (student) Dr. Joseph “Doc” Mattioli (friend)

Join WarriorsNation, your alumni online community, at esualumni.org

Turning Grief

Into Giving

Sheldon at age 4.

Patricia J. Snyder with her son, Sheldon, during a visit to ESU.

Sheldon in his twenties.

In January 1999, Patricia J. Snyder faced the unthinkable for any parent. She lost her 36-year old son, Sheldon, in a workplace shooting. Coping with his death gave rise to thoughts of all the joys in his life, including the passion he had for education, computer science and the time he spent as an undergraduate student at East Stroudsburg University. Creating an everlasting memory in Sheldon’s name so that other students in that field of study can reach their highest potential seemed the natural thing to do. In May 1999, four months after his death, Patricia established the Sheldon J. Snyder ’86 Memorial Endowed Scholarship. And in October 2010, Patricia notified the ESU Foundation she wanted to do more, sharing the news that she had made a bequest on behalf of Sheldon’s scholarship in her will. Sheldon’s passion for learning lives on through the hundreds of students his scholarship benefits.

Please consider making the ESU Foundation part of your estate plans. Contact the ESU Foundation at plannedgiving@esufoundation.org or (570) 422-3333.

East Stroudsburg University Foundation Henry A. Ahnert, Jr. Alumni Center 200 Prospect Street East Stroudsburg, PA 18301-2999

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Save the Date:

HOMECOMING 2012 ESU: Blast from the Past

The schedule is shaping up for a weekend full of events. Don’t miss out on the awards banquet, reunions, fireworks, parade, tailgate, and more!

October 5-6, 2012

Visit www.esualumni.org/homecoming for more information about the weekend, reserving tailgating spots, and other events as the schedule takes shape. Join WarriorsNation, your alumni online community, at esualumni.org