Hofstra Magazine - Fall 2013

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INSIDE: Relief and Resilience – Stories from the Storm WRHU Students Make Playoff Run with NY Islanders | STEM Education Alumni Profiles | Debate 2012

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Features 6 Stories from the Storm 10 WRHU 12 Studio Helps Children Learn the ABCs of STEM

President Stuart Rabinowitz Vice President for University Relations and Publisher Melissa Kane Connolly ’89 Assistant Vice President for University Relations and Executive Editor Karla Schuster Director of Public Relations and Editor Ginny Ehrlich-Greenberg ’90 Executive Director of Design and Production Francis A. Rizzo III ’99 Creative Director Kelvin Fonville Manager of Editorial Services Linda Merklin University Photographer Zachary Lane Graphic Artist Denise Sarian Contributors Brian Bohl ’08, ‘10 Neena Samuel Dina Santorelli ’90, ’09 Leonard Skoros Adrienne Stoller Colin P. Sullivan ‘09 Carole Trottere Rebecca VanderMeulen Contributing Photographers Brian Ballweg ’77 Steve DiMaio Kathy Kmonicek Phil Marino John McKeith Janette Pellegrini ’98 Cameron Potts ‘14 Stephanie Warren University Archivist Geri Solomon

Please send address changes and class notes to: Alumni@hofstra.edu.

Visit us at hofstra.edu.

Click on Alumni and Friends.

14 Breaking New Ground 15 Coming Full Circle 18 Second to None 20 Florida Sinkholes 24 The Dish on Ian Knauer

Fall 2013 Events Calendar Hofstra University Museum presents Arnold Newman: Luminaries of the Twentieth Century in Art, Politics and Culture Through December 13 Emily Lowe Gallery 516-463-5672; hofstra.edu/museum Hofstra University Museum presents Land of the Rising Sun: Art of Japan Through February 2, 2014 David Filderman Gallery 516-463-5672; hofstra.edu/museum

Nick Colleluori Men’s Lacrosse Golf Outing Huntington Crescent Club Monday, October 21, Noon 516-463-6144; gohofstra.com Yale Strom & Hot Pstromi Klezmer Concert Sunday, October 27, 7 p.m.

The Helene Fortunoff Theater 516-463-5669; hofstra.edu/culture Great Writers, Great Readings presents Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author Jennifer Egan Monday, November 4, 7 p.m.

Guthart Theater 516-463-5410; hofstra.edu/gwgr

26 Catch a Rising Star: Becky Paine 28 School of Communication Named 30 Hofstra Athletics • Visit hofstra.edu/events for details.

Kalikow Center presents What Does John F. Kennedy’s Call to Public Service Mean for American Youth Today?

Featuring Howard B. Dean III and Edward J. Rollins, Peter S. Kalikow Center Senior Presidential Fellows, and Scott D. Reich, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP Thursday, November 7, 9:35 a.m.

Student Center Theater 516-463-5669; hofstra.edu/culture Hofstra Cultural Center presents From the Emancipation Proclamation to the Election of Barack Obama and the Death of Trayvon Martin A two-day conference to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington Thursday and Friday, November 7 and 8 516-463-5669; hofstra.edu/culture

New York City Alumni Holiday Party Monday, December 9, 6 p.m.

Club 101, New York City 516-463-6636; hofstra.edu/alumni

Hofstra Magazine is published once each year by Hofstra University. Our goal is to provide the Hofstra community with exciting and informative news about Hofstra University and its alumni, students, faculty and staff.

Hofstra University is committed to extending equal opportunity to all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national or ethnic origin, physical or mental disability, marital or veteran status in employment and in the conduct and operation of Hofstra University’s educational programs and activities, including admissions, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs. For more information, visit hofstra.edu/EOE.

A Letter From

President Stuart Rabinowitz

Dear Friends,

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ith this new edition of the Hofstra Magazine, we turn to some of the most compelling stories of the 2012-2013 academic year. We look at how one of our dedicated professors worked in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. We read about our students’ amazing learning experiences and how alumni returned to campus as working professionals during the 2012 presidential debate. Other stories investigate the mystery of sinkholes, the promise of STEM education, and the thrill of student radio broadcasters going through a playoff run with the New York Islanders.

At events – and to friends, colleagues and Hofstra supporters – I often say that the best promotion for a university such as Hofstra is the success of our alumni. This year’s magazine tells great stories about some of our most successful alumni and, most important, their continued relationship with Hofstra. Michael Seiman brings his entrepreneurial spirit to the School of Engineering and Applied Science through the CPX competition. I recently announced that the School of Communication would be named for a distinguished and generous alumnus, Lawrence Herbert, the founder of the Pantone color matching system.

There are many other stories about alumni and student achievement in the pages of this magazine, and there are countless stories that illustrate the greatness of the Hofstra community. In our annual magazine, we can share only a few. But as I travel from alumni events to student awards ceremonies, from orientation sessions to parent receptions, I hear stories of achievement and success, lifelong friendships and connections, and adventures and opportunities.

In the past year at Hofstra, we’ve broken ground on a new medical school facility and finished extensive upgrades to the School of Engineering and Applied Science. We’ve continued to renovate the residence halls and student recreational facilities. And we’ve launched new graduate programs in the sciences, health and communications. We’re continually changing to improve our campus and enhance the value of your degree.

If you haven’t come home to Hofstra recently, I encourage you to connect with your Hofstra friends, faculty and colleagues. Our community is increasing global and diverse, yet we share the bond that cannot be broken – that of our Hofstra experience and education, of our shared “Pride and Purpose.” Whether you are faculty or family, alumnus or friend, we invite you to get more involved with the University. Join us for an event or volunteer through the Alumni Association or Parent Council.

I hope to see you on campus.

Sincerely,

Stuart Rabinowitz

2012 Financial Report c Components of Revenue 2011-2012

Net Tuition & Fees 70.4%

Sales & Services of Educ. Depts. 0.7% Shared Services 1.6% Other Sources 2.0% Contributions 5.1% Government Grants & Contracts 2.4% Return – Endowment Available for Spending 3.3% Return – Endowment Other 2.4% Return – Operations 1.5% Auxiliary Enterprises 10.6%

Instruction 47.3%

Components of Expenditures 2011-2012 v

Research 0.9% Public Service 3.2% Academic Support 6.4%

Auxiliary Enterprises 11.8%

Student Services 12.7%

Here’s why: v Alumni support is measured by U.S. News & World Report and has a direct impact on the University’s ranking. Participation is critical.

Our goal is to increase alumni participation each year. v Hofstra remains a university largely reliant on tuition. Your support and the growth of our endowment allows Hofstra to undertake new initiatives to maintain its excellent reputation. v Your gift provides for student scholarships, faculty support and program initiatives, and overall operations at Hofstra. v Your investment in Hofstra will allow the University to reach its annual and long-term goals.

We need your help — every gift makes a difference!

Total Institutional Support 17.7%

Components of Endowment Support 2011-2012

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Hofstra University relies on the generosity and philanthropic support of alumni and friends.

This investment in the University is critical to Hofstra’s long-term success.

Other Institutional Support 1.7% Technology & Executive Office 0.9% Telecommunications 4.0% Printing, Mail Room & Public Safety 2.3% Supply Services 0.4% Public Relations 2.2% Legal & Human Resources 1.8% Development 1.4% Insurance 1.1% Finance & Audit 1.9%

Funding for Scholarships 84.5% Endowed Scholarships 39.4%

Unrestricted 45.1% (Earmarked for Scholarships)

Business Development Center 1.4% Other 4.4% Endowed Chairs 4.8% Endowed Professorships 4.9%

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Financial Report 2012 Hofstra’s financial strength reflects increased fundraising activities, strong endowment growth, strengthened operating margins, and enhanced control over expenses, particularly relating to health care and post-retirement benefits. Financial resources have increased by 279 percent during the last nine years, and Hofstra continues to enjoy debt ratings in the A category from both Moody’s and Standard & Poors.

c Endowment Investment Market Value

Hofstra University endowment investments grew to $318 million by 2012, increasing by 217 percent in the last 10 years. The University has set its sights on an endowment goal of $500 million to provide enhanced scholarships to better compete with institutions with significantly larger endowments.

Tuition Scholarships and Fellowships v A larger endowment gives Hofstra the edge it needs to attract and retain the most highly qualified students by providing a greater number of scholarships. The University continues to make the growth of tuition scholarships a top priority. During the past eight years, the University has increased scholarship funding by 154 percent to just over $87 million.

That increase is reflected in the changing makeup of the student body. The fall 2012 average SAT score for first-year students was 1169, up more than 100 points from fall 2000. Our first-time freshman high school GPA rose to 3.48 in fall 2012, compared with just 2.80 in fall 2000. Selectivity — the number of students accepted to Hofstra as a percentage of all those who apply — was 59 percent this year, compared to 80 percent in 2000.

The percentage of students in the top 10 percent of their high school classes was 25 percent this year, compared to 12 percent nine years ago. The percentage of first-year students from out of New York state was 48 percent, compared to 32 percent in 2000.

Millions of Dollars 100

During the last eight years, the University has increased its scholarship funding by 154 percent.

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As of August 31,

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Stories Storm from the

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Mary Anne Trasciatti

It’s a perfect summer Friday in Long Beach, N.Y. — all big waves and blinding sun.

On days like this, it’s easy to forget the night that Superstorm Sandy ravaged this barrier-island city – which is exactly what Mary Anne Trasciatti has spent much of the last year trying to prevent.

Dr. Trasciatti, who has lived in Long Beach for more than a dozen years and is a professor of rhetoric and women’s studies at Hofstra, is compiling an oral history of Sandy’s impact on the city, collecting the personal stories of survivors on film.

She views the project, which will eventually be housed in Hofstra’s historical archives, as a vital part of the city’s recovery efforts. Besides technical support, the University is providing funding, through the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University, for translators for some of the interviews.

Nearly a year later, Mary Anne Trasciatti is still listening, although she now conducts many of her interviews at the main branch of the public library, where officials have offered her use of a room on the second floor.

“I think this project is really important because having a record of everyone’s personal stories from the storm will be incredibly valuable for the history of Long Beach,” said Gordon Tepper, the city’s director of communications.

“ ... I understand how people need to frame their experiences and how important it is to historically document those experiences ... ”

“I’m not a contractor, I can’t rip out insulation, and I can’t offer legal advice, but as an academic I understand how people need to frame their experiences and how important it is to historically document those experiences,” Trasciatti said. “I can take my background and my interest in historical research and use it to help my community.”

It began in December 2012 with a simple flier posted on telephone poles all over town: “Everyone has a story. What’s yours?” Every Saturday for months, Trasciatti and a graduate documentary film student at Hofstra, TIannah Bruce, set up shop at Gentle Brew Coffee Roasters on East Park Avenue and listened.

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“ I went to the door and the ocean had already breached the dunes and was rushing up the block ... ” The idea of preserving history through personal narratives appealed to Mike Fiore, a high school English teacher who heard about Trasciatti’s project and offered to help.

He also felt a need to tell his own story. Sitting in a folding chair one afternoon in July, Fiore stared into the camera and began.

“I went to the door and the ocean had already breached the dunes and was rushing up the block – that was the moment I realized we probably had made a grave, grave error in staying,” he said.

One afternoon in July, four women sat together to talk about Project 11561, the new grassroots community group they launched, about their own experiences with Superstorm Sandy, and about a friendship forged by a shared sense of purpose.

Jessie Farrell, who lives near the bay, evacuated for Hurricane Irene in 2011 but stayed for Sandy.

“I remember the sound of all the car alarms going off,” she said, her voice catching. “The water kept coming up and up and it stopped literally at the front door and began to recede. But then I looked to my left and the canals were on fire.” It is the first time she has talked about that night in months, and the emotion sneaked up on her. “Wow. You don’t realize how much it still gets to you.”

Jackie Wilkinson lives on the west end, about 10 homes from the ocean. She evacuated.

“Coming back the next day, I was so afraid,” she said. “There were power lines everywhere, boats everywhere, cars everywhere ... I personally had a lot of survivor’s guilt about evacuating.”

Even after more than 50 interviews, Trasciatti tears up along with her subjects. With each story she hears, Trasciatti processes her own feelings about the storm, and her decision to stay.

“It’s a lot harder than I thought it would be,” she said. “It’s a lot of emotional work.”

And, after stories about her work appeared in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, people from all over the metropolitan area reached out to her with their tales of Sandy.

A man from New Jersey sent her a long letter detailing his story. A woman from Long Beach sent a poem every day for weeks.

“People,” she said, “want someone to remember for them.”

For more information about the Long Beach Oral History project, go to longbeachsandy.org.

The four Long Beach women who founded the community group called Project 11561 in the wake of Superstorm Sandy tell their stories.

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Lending a Hand After the Superstorm In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, the Hofstra community came together in efforts designed not only to help the campus community, but also to assist those in neighboring towns and cities hard hit by the storm.

Hofstra faculty, staff and students assisted efforts in Long Beach, Freeport, the Rockaways, Island Park and Staten Island by running supply, food, book and blood drives.

A blood drive with Long Island Blood Services, originally scheduled for October 30 and canceled because of the storm, was rescheduled to November 7.

Approximately 375 donors registered and more than 350 pints of blood were collected. The Hofstra community worked together to encourage people to donate blood in response to the great need in New York and on Long Island after the storm.

The weekend after Superstorm Sandy, more than 200 students went into the communities that surround Hofstra University to help with the cleanup. The student volunteers worked on homeowners’ properties, rid areas of debris, and distributed food and water to people who were in need. The students also delivered care packages to elderly residents who didn’t have heat in their homes. The relief effort was led by two compassionate students, Ji Yeon Hyun and Tabatha Flores, with the help of Anita Ellis ’88, ’90, director of the Office of Off-Campus Living and Commuting Student Services.

Frank G. Zarb School of Business students volunteered to be part of the Nassau County Economic Recovery Task Force, an initiative aimed at the micro- and macroeconomic issues resulting from the storm. Zarb students contacted numerous local businesses to inform them of important resources available to assist in their recovery. “It was such a gratifying experience to speak to local businesses and feel like we helped make a difference in their lives,” said Steven Medard, a Zarb student majoring in finance and marketing.

In addition to the weekend cleanup, several donation centers were set up across campus to collect, organize and label goods being donated. On November 9, a Hofstra bus filled with relief supplies took administrators and students to Long Beach. Efforts to collect supplies continued throughout the month.

Hofstra’s student chapter of ASCD (the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) in the School of Education presented a check for $1,800 in May to an East Rockaway elementary school to replace books destroyed by Superstorm Sandy. “Books are our most precious resource in the school,” said Nicole Facchini, president of the Hofstra ASCD chapter, “so it seemed appropriate to raise money to help restock the school library.” Money was raised through a sale of Hofstra sweatshirts and flash drive bracelets.

On November 9, administrators and students took a Hofstra bus filled with relief supplies took to Long Beach.

Efforts to collect supplies continued throughout the month.

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n u R f f o s r e Play d n a l s I Y N e h t With Kevin Dexter was 4 years old the first time he went to a New York Islanders home opener with his father. For the next 16 years, they never missed an opening game together.

But when the Islanders took the ice for the team’s 41st home opener at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in January, Dexter, now 21 and a Hofstra senior, was in the radio booth, doing color commentary for the game.

And his dad, Michael, was home in Levittown, N.Y., listening to Kevin work the game on WRHU-88.7 FM, Hofstra’s student-run radio station, which has been the Islanders’ flagship station since 2010.

“We never miss listening to a game when Kevin is on the radio,” Michael Dexter said. His son has done color commentary for almost 60 Islander games in the last two seasons alongside play-by-play announcer Chris King. “We huddle around any device that we can get WRHU on. It’s an extremely proud moment for us.”

And this year, for the first time since 2007, the Islanders earned a playoff spot.

(The team was eliminated in game six by the Pittsburgh Penguins.)

It was a dream come true, not only for a young team that finished at the bottom of its division and conference last year, but also for Kevin Dexter and other aspiring sports journalists at WRHU, who never imagined they’d get such coveted assignments as students.

Kevin Dexter

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Clockwise from top left: Sam Little ’13 interviewing NY Islanders forward Michael Grabner; Mark Prussian ’14 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum; Julian Coltre ’15 interviewing NY Islanders defenseman Matt Carkner Along with Dexter’s work in the booth, Hofstra juniors Rob Joyce and Michael Sullivan reported from the Islanders’ and Penguins’ locker rooms, respectively, when the playoff made its way back to the Coliseum for games three and four.

In the week leading up to the first playoff game, the students, all broadcast journalism majors, were busy putting together charts of player and team stats, researching interesting storylines and doing ice-side interviews with players such as star center John Tavares.

became the it , 0 1 0 2 in rs nde cast games New York Isla d e a th ro h b it to w d N re partne IN THE NATIO NCHISE. N When WRHU IO T A T S IO D FRA

RTS GE RA ONLY COLLE for a PROFESSIONAL SPO The clips were used for color commentary and intermission interviews they produced for each broadcast. One of the key questions they asked players: What is this moment like for you?

It’s a question the students could have asked themselves.

production and engineering. “Our students take great pride in the quantity and major market quality of these broadcasts on Radio Hofstra University,” says John Mullen, the station’s operations manager.

Initial reaction to the arrangement was mixed, especially among diehards who were not familiar with WRHU’s programming.

“We all saw the buildup coming,” said Rob Joyce of Coventry, CT, one of the station’s three color analysts during the regular season. “Once we realized the team would make it in, it was a pretty cool feeling to know that there are people who work 20 or 30 years to get to the point that we were at in college, covering a professional playoff.”

“We experienced backlash on social media that first year,” said Joyce, 20. “People would say this is a joke. But as soon as people listened, they realized we’re not just a bunch of college kids messing around on air. We work as professionals.

We do our homework. We know the team as well as anyone else would.”

When WRHU partnered with the New York Islanders in 2010, it became the only college radio station in the nation to broadcast games for a professional sports franchise. More than 20 students work on each live broadcast as on-air color analysts and sideline and locker room reporters, and behind the scenes in

“When our students at WRHU were faced with the challenge of producing these Islanders games, they proved themselves with skills and smarts that would rival what you’d find in any other broadcast in the league,” says Evan Cornog, dean of the School of Communication, who grew up in Illinois listening on the radio to the

Chicago Blackhawks of the Bobby Hull/ Stan Mikita era. “WRHU has been the flagship station of the Islanders for three years now. We have enjoyed witnessing the team’s success this year, and we’re glad our students shared in that success.”

Rob Joyce, like Kevin Dexter, grew up with a love of sports. Joyce wanted to be a play-by-play announcer since the age of 7, having had a firsthand look at the profession all his life: his father, Bob Joyce, is the voice of the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team and a former radio producer for the Hartford Whalers (now Carolina Hurricanes) hockey team.

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MATHEMATICS

ENGINEERING

TECHNOLOGY

SCIENCE

S T E M

Studio Helps Children Learn the

of S-T-E-M s C AB

During a sunny April morning at Hagedorn Hall, home of Hofstra University’s School of Education, fourth graders from nearby California Avenue Elementary School in

Uniondale are taking notes while their classmates run and jump rope. Inside is a flurry of activity as children, their teachers, Hofstra students and their professors all work together to play out a number of different scenarios.

These include stations where the children learn the skills of:

q Architects designing a mall. q Cardiologists experimenting with heart rate and pulse before and following physical activity. q Food scientists noting changes in popcorn kernels – before and after the popping. q Linguists coming up with names for pretend dinosaur species, using root words, prefixes and suffixes. q Museum curators classifying a display of natural specimens and determining what it means to be “alive.”

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he children get a chance to try out these jobs, and many others, at Hofstra’s 3-year-old STEM Studio.

Each activity encourages them to measure, analyze, discover, research, talk about and listen to each other’s thinking. The California Avenue School fourth graders visit Hofstra eight times a year. The STEM Studio also hosts visits from elementary schools in Freeport, Roosevelt, Plainedge, Herricks and Hempstead, which keeps the studio very busy.

Each time the children visit, they work with the same Hofstra students and faculty members, so as each semester goes on they feel more comfortable, build bonds and more readily share their creative thinking. STEM, an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, has long been important to K-12 education. The goal is to spark children’s interest in these subjects by showing the wide range of applications and connections they have to everyday activity and information, and to each other.

Elementary Education. STEM Studio master teacher and Hofstra doctoral candidate Julia Caliendo is studying the role of the studio approach in teacher preparation. The STEM Studio is sponsored by Hofstra’s Office of the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, the School of Education and IDEAS (The Institute for the Development of Education in the Advanced Sciences). The Motorola Solutions Foundation has underwritten the class visits to Hofstra.

Dr. Jacqueline Grennon Brooks, Hofstra professor of teaching, literacy and leadership and director of the STEM Studio, says, “There is a lot of research that shows us that real learning cannot be measured by one Olympic-style event, such as a state exam. We offer problem-based learning and environments in which children solve STEM-based problems.

The byproduct of this work is the children’s success on the state exam. But, most important, we are teaching transferable skills that apply to the many domains of the children’s lives.”

While the children see their regular visits to Hofstra as fun field trips, each of the tasks in which they engage strengthens She continues, “We like to think of the STEM Studio as an intellectual skills that are tested by the New York state everyday classroom. We want our classrooms to be assessment program. The STEM Studio serves as a clinical challenging environments in which learning to read, write, practice site for undergraduate and graduate students of speak and listen, and learning to compute, and learning to be a Hofstra’s School of Education. The STEM Studio complements neighbor and a friend and a peer are all one and the same, and the undergraduate STEM major for elementary education all integrated into the life of the classroom.” students, while extending the clinical experience of preservice teachers of all undergraduate Nicole Osovski, a STEM major at Hofstra, education majors. It also enhances is one of the students who works regularly “I feel like we’re helping them research opportunities within the with the visiting elementary school grow, not just as students, Master of Arts Program in STEM students. “It’s been awesome working but as human beings. with these kids,” Osovski says. “It’s really I get to know their personalities gratifying to work with them, because and how each student thinks. you open their eyes to new opportunities I want them to be able to take and a new way of learning. It’s more hands-on than classroom structure.” learning into their own hands

when they leave here. I want to help guide them.”

– Nicole Osovski, STEM major

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“The continued expansion of our School of Medicine underscores the incredible progress that North Shore-LIJ and Hofstra University have achieved in helping to revolutionize medical education over the past five years.”

– Michael J. Dowling, President and CEO of the North Shore-LIJ Health System

(L-R) Hempstead Councilwoman Dorothy Goosby, Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray, North Shore-LIJ Health System President and CEO Michael Dowling, Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine Dean Lawrence Smith and Hofstra University President Stuart Rabinowitz.

Breaking New Ground

The Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine is undergoing a 65,000-square-foot expansion that will more than double its size by January 2015.

The medical school, created to help ease the predicted national shortage of physicians, has changed the way doctors are trained with an innovative curriculum that fully integrates academic and clinical experiences from the very beginning of a student’s medical education.

The school opened in 2008, becoming the first new medical school in the New York metropolitan area in more than 35 years. It has grown from 40 students to 180, and this year received 5,500 applicants for just 80 openings.

“Three years ago, we stood together in this building to celebrate the beginning of a new era – the opening of the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine,” Hofstra President Stuart Rabinowitz said at a groundbreaking ceremony in June. “Now, as we break ground on this new addition, we celebrate how far we’ve come – together – toward our goal of training a new generation of doctors who will improve health care on Long Island and in New York state for decades to come.”

The new, two-story HLW International-designed building will be connected to the current building with a two-story lobby/atrium space. The first floor will feature a 241-person auditorium; a 7,000-square-foot Structure Lab; a large, divisible multipurpose room with the capacity to seat 90 people; and a large events space, as part of the entry lobby.

The second floor will include the dean’s suite; a faculty suite and offices; and 12 additional small-group classrooms.

Corridors are extra wide, with student collaborative zones and study areas that follow a “Main Street” concept and natural light brought to the center of the building through a large skylight.

“It’s a tremendous feeling to stand here today and proclaim that we need more room to fully carry out our mission,” said founding Dean Dr. Lawrence G. Smith. “We began with a very important mission in this historic facility that once housed the New York Jets, and now we are making history once again as we continue to grow, innovate and more fully serve the national need.”

“The continued expansion of our School of Medicine underscores the incredible progress that North Shore-LIJ and Hofstra University have achieved in helping to revolutionize medical education over the past five years,” said Michael J. Dowling, president and CEO of the North Shore-LIJ Health System.

The estimated cost of the project is $35.9 million, $14.5 million of which is provided through $25 million in New York State Economic Development Corporation grants.

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Coming Full Circle

By Dina Santorelli ’90, ’09

Thousands of members of the media and public officials from around the world descended on the Hofstra campus in the days leading up to the second presidential debate on October 16, 2012.

For several, the debate was a homecoming, as they returned to their alma mater, walking the same halls and quads they had as students – this time as working professionals.

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Jaime Bell, BA, 1999 Jaime Ball never thought she’d be in the news business.

“I thought I wanted to be a producer and work in the control room for an entertainment or variety show,” said Ball, who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in video/television and a minor in speech and rhetorical studies. An internship at Fox News put her on a slightly different path.

“I happened to just fall into getting my internship at Fox News,” she said. “I’m not a news junkie at all, and being in this business forces you to be just that. So I feel more intelligent working where I do, because I wouldn’t be paying attention to presidential campaigns and elections the way I have been, because now I’m in the middle of the news all the time.”

Ball interned with Fox News twice before graduating from Hofstra. I found out the day that we had our graduation ceremony that I was hired at Fox,” she said. From there, Ball worked her way up and was promoted after a few years to unit manager and then to production manager, her current position, in 2005.

“I really was prepared through Hofstra for the whole communications business,” Ball said. “They (faculty) were very good about rotating the students between positions so you had a chance to do everything. You were the director for a show, and you were the audio operator. And you did camera and you edited.

So knowing what our crew does, and what it takes to get that job done, has helped me to be a better production manager.”

Ball returned came to the Hofstra campus in 2008, when she worked the Obama-McCain debate. She served as the liaison, as she does now, among all the Fox News crew, producers and engineers. She marveled at all the additions and renovations to campus since 2008. “I didn’t dorm here, so the north side of campus is very new to me,” Ball said. “But The Lawrence Herbert School of Communication is so much different. It’s really nice to see the upgrades that have been done. Everything is HD now. It’s amazing.

Chief Taiwo Allimi, BA, 1975 When Chief Taiwo Allimi graduated from Hofstra’s School of Communication with a major in radio and television and a minor in political science, his plan was to return to Nigeria and work on changing broadcasting and media there to operate “the way I have seen media work in the United States and the way I had been trained by Hofstra University,” he says.

Allimi went to work for the National Youth Service Corps of the Nigerian Television Authority. In a year, he became a highly respected television personality, because, he said, “I put everything that I learned at Hofstra University to work.”

In 1980 Allimi was invited to help establish a television station for Niger State in Nigeria, and he ran that station for five years, after which another state government in Nigeria appointed him state commissioner. “I was responsible for information, social welfare, youth sports and culture,” said Allimi, who held that office for four years.

Later, Allimi was appointed the director general of Voice of Nigeria, the external radio broadcasting network for Nigeria, which he ran from 2000 to 2004. In 2003 he established the Nigerian Elections Debate Group and, over the past 10 years, he 16

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has been working with the organization to host presidential and gubernatorial debates.

In October Allimi came to Hofstra at the invitation of the Commission on Presidential Debates and the National Democratic Institute to observe the presidential debate and participate in a series of debate-related activities. “We exchange ideas and experiences of various countries that we can then take back to help in the continuation in the organization of presidential debates in Nigeria and our respective countries,” he said.

Having been absent from the Hofstra campus for more than 35 years, Allimi was overwhelmed by how much the University has grown in size and mission. “What I have seen on the campus since I arrived has been what I would describe as a revolutionary transformation,” Allimi said. “It is really, really satisfying and encouraging ... that I came a distance to see the development that has taken place not just in terms of physical structures, but in terms of expansion of the academic life at Hofstra University.”

Geoff Hoffmann, BS, 1997 For Geoff Hoffmann, who graduated with a Bachelor of Science in communications, with a specialization in television production, an internship with WNBC-TV “opened doors for me.”

doing,” he said. “If you’re doing a show in the studio, it’s ‘how do you light it?’ ‘how do you block it?’ ‘what’s the rhythm of the show?’ ‘who do you work with?’ As directors, we put our little mark on it. It’s really an empowering position.”

Thanks to that experience, Hoffmann was able to step into a role as a desk assistant at the station immediately following graduation.

From there, he went to work at NY1 before moving over to MSNBC, where he has been on staff for the last 11 years.

And it’s especially satisfying to create programming that helps put his alma mater on the map. The president’s performance in the first debate at the University of Denver created an even bigger buzz around the Hofstra debate, he said. “I feel like this is really amped up and raised the profile for Hofstra University, which is great to see as an alumnus,” Hoffman said. “My wife, Andrea, is an alumnus as well. She graduated in 1995. So the two of us watching this are, like, ‘This is great! Go, Hofstra!’”

Hoffmann, a senior director for MSNBC, said he was drawn to the field because each day brings a new challenge, and a new creative opportunity. “Though we do the same thing, in essence, on a daily basis, we’re able to create different scenarios with what we’re

Adam Mancini, BS, 2003 A little more than a decade ago, Adam Mancini was living on campus and preparing for a career in television. This past October, he was preparing a stage for Chris Matthews and other MSNBC on-air personalities who would be broadcasting live from Hofstra in the hours before and after the presidential debate.

Mancini works as an MSNBC director for several of the network’s dayside programs, including Jansing & Co. and NewsNation with Tamron Hall. He also directs special projects and assignments. A dual major in television and business, Mancini was working in television before he graduated. “I started interning for News 12 New Jersey and got hired freelance at the end of my internship, so my senior year I was working in the business as well as finishing up my education,” Mancini said. “Three months before graduation, they offered me a staff position there. I used a vacation day to attend my graduation.”

Mancini worked at several News 12 stations before joining MSNBC as a freelancer four and a half years ago. He was hired permanently about two years ago.

“It was great to walk into The Lawrence Herbert School of Communication and see that the University is still investing in the infrastructure,” Mancini said. “This is a tough program, compared to others, because you need that infrastructure and that technology to work with and be hands on. It’s great to see that they’re still putting money into the technology to make sure that Hofstra students are ahead of the game.

“The core faculty have been here for a long time,” Mancini said.

“They still work in the business and know what they’re doing and make sure the people who leave Hofstra have that experience. And I think that today, when we look at the interns we get, our best interns have been Hofstra students.”

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: e n o N o t Second , ber 16, 2012 to c O n o a tr on Hofs All eyes were hosted the y it rs e iv n U en when the ebate betwe d l a ti n e id s r second pre a and forme m a b O k c ra y.

President Ba Mitt Romne r o rn e v o G tts Massachuse

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The selection of Hofstra as a debate site by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) made the University one of only two schools to host back-to-back presidential debates. The first was October 15, 2008, between then-Senator Obama and Senator John McCain. The 2008 debate was the first to be held in New York state since 1960 and the first ever at a New York college.

Even with the experience of hosting the 2008 debate, doing it a second time presented new challenges and exciting opportunities.

The 2012 debate was in the town hall format, which required a different production plan, and included more than 20 citizen participants who asked the questions. It also required heightened security because, unlike 2008, a sitting president was participating. And finally, the University had the honor of hosting a contingent of foreign leaders who were studying the U.S. debate process.

However, one thing remained unchanged: The debate provided an outstanding learning experience for Hofstra students. More than 350 of them volunteered to work on the debate in various capacities – from working with the media to assisting with hospitality, credentialing, technical services and transportation.

Pride, Politics and Policy In addition, more than 2,500 local K-12 students spent time on the Hofstra campus for debate-related programs, including a series of events titled Expressions of Democracy, presented on October 15.

There were a variety of debate simulcasts around campus for Hofstra students, faculty and staff, and viewing parties were held at the Mack Student Center’s Main Dining Room, Hof USA and the Netherlands CafÊ. There were also community viewing simulcasts at the John Cranford Adams Playhouse and The Helene Fortunoff Theater at Monroe Lecture Center.

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What Lies Beneath Hofstra Professor’s Book on

Florida Sinkholes

First of Its Kind

While preparing a lecture for his next class one late-February morning, Professor Robert Brinkmann found himself sidetracked by a flurry of emails with troubling subject lines:

ars into Sinkhole Florida Man Disappe khole Victim in S h ac e R to y Tr s w Rescue Cre an in Bed M s ill K le o kh in S e iv ss Ma “I was absolutely horrified,” said Dr. Brinkmann, Hofstra professor of geology, environment, and sustainability, recalling the moment he learned of a 20-foot-deep sinkhole that swallowed a Florida man alive. “My colleagues knew of my research on sinkholes in that region and wanted my take on the incident. All I could express was shock; it was a true tragedy.”

Suddenly, Dr. Brinkmann’s past five years of sinkhole studies took on new urgency, as a panicked public clamored for credible information about this relatively unknown phenomenon.

Dr. Brinkmann’s book Florida Sinkholes: Science and Policy (University of Florida Press) is the first of its kind about sinkholes.

The book is written for the general public to promote better understanding of the facts and allay fear about these natural depressions.

“As a geologist and non-native resident of Florida, I was interested in the state’s topography and found very little information out there, so I conducted my own investigations,” explained Dr. Brinkmann, who is also Hofstra’s director of sustainability studies.

“Because sinkholes are very common in this region,” he said, “I think it’s worthwhile to educate Floridians and those interested in nature and science about how the terrain contributes to sinkhole formation, how to address growing voids and resulting property damage, as well as to examine current policy for dealing with them.”

“Catastrophic sinkholes do occasionally emerge and take lives,” Dr. Brinkmann added, “but studies over time reveal that it’s rare.

These voids are typically slow growing and often evolve with distinct red flags. What occurred in Tampa is incomprehensible.”

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“Like an hourglass, materials and anything above will simply funnel in, forming sinkholes that can be miles wide and very deep, as I account in the book; however, it’s uncommon.”

Sinkhole science The study of sinkhole evolution requires careful examination of growth, changes and shifts in the earth’s physical environment. “My research focuses primarily on urban and suburban sustainability. These studies can help city planners and builders assess land quality for development, for example,” said Dr. Brinkmann. “I’m among the few investigators in the country who examine karst topography, the basis for sinkholes.”

Karst topography varies from rolling hills dotted with sinkholes, caves, underground streams and springs, to jagged hills and pinnacle karst found in the tropics. These distinctive landscapes form in humid, tropical regions with plentiful rainfall where bedrock consists of carbonate-rich rock that is easily dissolved, such as limestone. Ten percent of the world is made up of karst terrain, including portions of states like Georgia, Texas, Alabama, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Florida – the only U.S. territory comprising a landscape that is entirely karst.

“Florida’s platform of limestone, created by the remains of tiny sea creatures over thousands of years, is like a sponge,” described Dr. Brinkmann. “It is extremely porous and honeycombed with underground cavities and tunnels that fill with water, contributing to a soft terrain that changes and shifts easily.”

Natural sinkholes occur when acidic rainwater seeps down through surface soil and sediment, eventually reaching soluble or carbonate rock (limestone) beneath. It is a process in which the water gradually dissolves the rock, enlarging its natural fissures and joints, and creating cavities beneath.

As the process continues over hundreds of years, the loose ceiling of soil and sand is softened and washed into these cracks and voids. Depending on the thickness of the top layer and how close the void beneath is to the surface, the land may sustain its own weight and whatever is built on top.

But there will come a day, Dr. Brinkmann said, when the surface layer will collapse.

“Like an hourglass, materials and anything above will simply funnel in, forming sinkholes that can be miles wide and very deep, as I account in the book; however, it’s uncommon,” he said. “Most are relatively small, some a few feet across and a foot deep. The Tampa incident is far from what we typically see.”

Signs and symptoms Is it possible to detect and prevent a developing sinkhole?

In his book, Dr. Brinkmann discusses telltale signs such as doors or windows that no longer close properly, sloping floors, concave driveways, sagging trees and fences, changes in drainage, and rainwater collecting in unlikely places. Cracked walls and foundations are also a calling card. Of course, many of these visible problems can be fixed and small sinkholes filled in with grout or concrete, but it can come at a steep price.

“In Florida, it used to be that all homeowners received insurance coverage for sinkholes; now it’s an option and many residents considered high-risk by insurers are often denied,” stated Dr. Brinkmann, who was denied coverage for his Florida home. “Sinkholes are a fact of life in Florida.

Prevention, repair and recovery costs for homeowners can be devastating.”

Compounding the sinkhole problem is global warming, climate changes, and extreme weather patterns, particularly long droughts and persistent rain that can accelerate sinkhole formation. Also factor in man-made pollutants, waste, fertilizers, pesticides and activities such as groundwater pumping, and we can expect to see more sinkholes in karst regions like Florida – as well as contamination of drinking water via existing sinkholes.

“As we work on sinkhole detection and prevention, it’s also very important to protect existing sinkholes from pollution,” emphasized Dr. Brinkmann, “and we can do this by making sure sinkholes do not become convenient sites for dumping trash and other contaminants.”

He concluded, “Just the mention of ‘sinkhole’ terrifies people, especially given an intensely publicized fatality, but I believe research and education is the best way to calm our fears of the unknown.”

Florida Sinkholes: Science and Policy was published in July 2013.

For more information about Dr. Brinkmann and his work, please visit hofstra.edu/sustainability.

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(L-R) Computer science students Shashank Sanjay and Michael Moskie, who won first place and $50,000 in the Hofstra-CPX Entrepreneurship Competition, with CPX Interactive CEO and founder Michael Seiman ‘01 and Hofstra President Stuart Rabinowitz.

From Dorm Room to Board Room:

Hofstra-CPX

When Michael Seiman graduated from Hofstra University in 2001, he had more than a diploma to show for his work. He was the CEO of a company he had founded while he was still in school.

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That company, CPX Interactive, has since grown into a Fortune 500 digital advertising enterprise with global reach and a CEO who wants to pay forward his success to a new generation of Hofstra students. With that in mind, CPX sponsored an entrepreneurship challenge in which students competed for up to $75,000 – awarded as a single prize or split among several teams, depending on the quality of submissions.

“Growing up on Long Island and attending Hofstra University are both key elements that helped make me what I am today,” Seiman said.

“My own sense of entrepreneurship was honed by these experiences, and it is truly my honor to be able to give back in this way and show students how they can be in control of their own destiny.”

“ What I’ve learned is that as a student, it’s important to make yourself visible and your passions known – you can’t let fear block you from trying.”

— Michael Seiman Rising to the Challenge Beginning in January 2013, student-innovators from the School of Engineering and Applied Science and other disciplines formed teams and submitted ideas for business plans. Student progress was evaluated and monitored over six months. The contest culminated in a presentation of final concepts and business plans to a select panel of judges in April. The judging committee consisted of Hofstra University faculty and administrators, and CPX officials.

“Entrepreneurship has always been the key to a thriving economy, leading to growing companies, employment and innovation,” said Dr. Simon Ben-Avi, dean of Hofstra’s School of Engineering and Applied Science and a competition judge. “In today’s sputtering economic climate, this kind of creativity is more necessary than ever. We are delighted to host this competition and to hone our students’ skills as innovators and future leaders.”

A total of 11 projects were presented for competition.

Based on market research, necessity was the mother of invention for these creative ventures, from revamping an existing product or concept in the consumer market to simplifying present technology used in daily business – the focus was on improving present-day efficiency and ingenuity.

Win or Lose: Defining Success On April 25 Hofstra University announced the winners of the Hofstra-CPX Entrepreneurship Competition during an informal gathering at Hofstra Hall.

Hofstra President Stuart Rabinowitz told the competitors, “It’s a privilege to be president while you’re students here at Hofstra. Your accomplishments are truly remarkable.”

Taking first place and a prize of $50,000 was a team of computer science majors, junior Shashank Sanjay and sophomore Michael Moskie, who developed a low-cost 3-D printer that is able to create useful tools and small structures for immediate application, such as a screw for a door hinge.

Adding to the device’s fascination factor, it was assembled using materials created by another 3-D printer that the duo built prior to the competition.

“I thought we had a good chance of winning, but there were so many great submissions,” Sanjay said. “Managing school, activities, and the competition was tough, but we made it happen because Moskie and I worked well as team – we’re excited about the future.”

Another computer science student, junior Alexander Rosenberg, won second place and $25,000 for his project “EMR (Electronic Medical Record) Advantage” – an innovative system for creating better communication of health care records between providers. His work began shortly after taking a class on entrepreneurship at Hofstra, which helped him connect with a cardiologist at North Shore-LIJ Health System who was building a streamlined electronic medical record system. The busy doctor and innovator sought a student in computer technology to help take his concept to the next level.

Rosenberg, who hopes to bring his project to reality at North Shore-LIJ and hospitals worldwide, said, “The opportunity has provided me with more clarity about the future; it gave me direction. What I’ve learned is that as a student, it’s important to make yourself visible and your passions known – you can’t let fear block you from trying.”

And, as all the teams learned, the real value of the competition came during the months of hard work, problem solving, teamwork and determination. “The experience, win or lose, will serve them well,” Ben-Avi said.

“Please don’t give up your creativity or your tenacity, and always be the person who says, ‘I’ll do it,’” Dr. Ben-Avi urged the competitors. “It’s a conviction that’s central to entrepreneurship.”

Editor’s Note: Michael Seiman has agreed to make the Hofstra-CPX Entrepreneurship Competition an annual contest, and he’s increased the prize money for the 2013-14 competition to $100,000.

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The Dish on Ian Knauer

by Rebecca VanderMeulen

When Ian Knauer ‘99 was a first-year student living in Suffolk Hall, he and a few friends had a weekly tradition they called “Big Night.” The guys would take turns cooking in the common kitchen, and spend hours talking over the shared meal. “These nights would go until 6 in the morning,” Knauer recalled. “Every single week it would be the thing we would look forward to.”

“Cooking is easy,” Knauer said.

“If I can spread the word, that’s something I’ll feel really good about.”

I

t didn’t matter what he made for dinner. Food was the excuse to connect. Growing up in Allentown, Pa., and spending weekends laboring at his family’s Colonial-era farm 40 miles northwest of Philadelphia, Ian Knauer grew to love watching how food brought people together.

After a detour into work as a stockbroker, he landed a job testing recipes at Gourmet magazine. His memoir/ cookbook The Farm was released in April. And his TV show, also called The Farm, is set to debut on PBS stations across the country in fall 2013.

Knauer’s inspiration is that 40-acre plot of rolling Pennsylvania countryside that has belonged to his family for nearly three centuries. Knauer’s aunts and uncles jokingly call it “the sweatshop on the hill.” As a boy he’d chop wood and mow the lawn under the watchful eye of his grandfather, Daniel, who died in 2010.

Daniel Knauer also taught his grandson about the pleasure of freshly picked strawberries and how to raise honeybees.

The Farm is dedicated to him.

At Hofstra, Knauer took calculus and discovered he had an affinity for numbers. He’d always liked languages, so he majored in international business.

After graduation he became a stockbroker. He loved the work, but not the lifestyle. He left his job at Fidelity Investments in 2000.

Meanwhile, Gustavo Moraes ’99, one of his suitemates from Suffolk Hall, was working on a master’s degree in film at Columbia University. Moraes had a job babysitting a boy after school. He asked Knauer to fill in for him while he took time off to visit his native Brazil. “Ian was a good person,” said Moraes, now a filmmaker in Rio de Janeiro. “He liked kids, and he had an interesting perspective on life.”

To Knauer’s surprise, Ruth Reichl, editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine, was the mother of the boy Knauer would be watching. “She had this wall of cookbooks,” Knauer said. After Reichl’s son went to bed each night, Knauer would pore over the books, falling asleep with his nose in the recipes.

After his babysitting stint ended, Reichl hired Knauer to work in Gourmet’s test kitchen.

Different episodes focus on specific components. There is a dairy episode, a beer episode and a pig roast episode. In the honey episode, Knauer prepares chipotle honey-glazed baby back ribs, sweet potatoes with honey-shallot lemon dressing, carrots with a honey glaze, and honey walnut cake for dessert.

“I’ve always called it a cinematic journey through your taste buds,” says Kevin Rhoades, executive producer of Rocket Surgery Entertainment, which is filming The Farm.

Knauer soon discovered one of the perks of working in the kitchens at Gourmet: the opportunity to take classes at Knauer and the production company are cooking schools around the world – bankrolling the show on their own, with an opportunity Knauer took advantage help from sponsors. After it airs on PBS, of in California, Hong Kong, Mexico, they hope to sell The Farm to another and England, among many other places.

TV network.

Knauer rose quickly through the kitchen ranks, and eventually was in a position to invent his own recipes. When Gourmet Chicken with a Ton stopped publishing in 2009, of Garlic (serves 4 to 6) he returned to the farm and 2 heads roasted ga rlic came up with the idea for the 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, pl cookbook. us 2 large fresh thym The Farm contains 150 recipes organized by the season when they are best enjoyed. The 233-page book also describes the farm, with its beehives and gardens bursting with peppers, peaches, herbs and tomatoes. Knauer splits his time between there and his home in New Hope, Pa., 70 miles southwest of Manhattan.

His TV show is expected to appear on PBS in fall 2013.

Knauer calls The Farm “the New Yorker of food shows.” He’ll show viewers how he makes delectable meals with fresh, local foods, and how they can do the same.

e sprigs 1 tablespoon ex tra-virgin olive oil 1¼ teaspoons ko sher salt 1¼ teaspoons bl ack pepper 1 (3½-pound) ch icken ½ lemon 2 heads garlic, ha lved

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees, with a rack in the Peel and mash th middle. e roasted garlic to gether with the th leaves, oil and ¼ yme teaspoon each sa lt and pepper.

Rinse the chicken and pat it dr y. Be ing careful not to the skin, start at tear the large cavity an d gently run your between the skin fingers and the meat to loo sen the skin. Push roasted garlic mi xture under the sk the in, including aroun thighs and drum d the sticks, and massag e the skin from the outside to spread the garlic evenly.

Squeeze the lem on half over the ch icken, then season chicken inside an the d out with the re maining 1 teaspo salt and pepper. on each Place the halved garlic heads, lem and thyme sprigs on half, in the cavity and loosely tie the leg together with kit s chen string.

Roast the chicken until it is golden and the skin pulls from the base an away d the drumsticks, about 50 minute Transfer the chick s. en to a cutting bo ard 15 minutes before and let it rest for carving and servi ng.

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Becky Paine, Class of 2007, is marketing director at New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW), an off-Broadway organization that mounts full productions of four plays a year and also uses its resources and facilities to cultivate new talent and to present workshops of developing plays and musicals. Rent, Once and Peter and the Starcatcher are among NYTW’s success stories, having first premiered at the organization’s theater on East 4th Street in Manhattan, before becoming critical and commercial Broadway hits.

Paine, originally from Pennsylvania, majored in public relations and minored in music at Hofstra.

Like many Hofstra alumni, Paine found her internship experiences to be extremely valuable. “Suzanne Berman [associate professor of public relations] helped me get an internship at Jazz at Lincoln Center, my first experience in the nonprofit sector,” Paine said. “She is really well connected in the cultural world in New York City and was a wonderful mentor. And Ellen Frisina [also associate professor of public relations) spent a lot of time helping me figure out what I wanted to do and what avenues to take.”

Catch a Rising Star

After completing the internship at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Paine was eager to find an opportunity in theater. “I really have a passion for the performing arts. I knew I wanted to stay in nonprofit.” She landed an internship with NYTW in spring of 2007. She was assigned to help NYTW launch a group of young patrons called the 4th Street Bar Association, and work on the group’s first gala event.

NYTW’s Becky Paine Puts the Spotlight

on Young Playwrights and Theatergoers

Months later, the woman who had supervised Paine’s internship was promoted to director of marketing for NYTW. She asked Paine, who by then had graduated from Hofstra and was working for a technology firm, to come back and be her assistant.

“We are a small staff here. We rely so heavily on our interns,” Paine says. She advises current students applying for internships to look for organizations like NYTW that “will let you get your hands dirty as opposed to simply observing.

I think nonprofits sometimes are the best places for that because they often need help the most. I would always advocate for an internship with a nonprofit – even if your goal is to eventually work for a corporate entity.”

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“ I see myself still working in the nonprofit sector. I’m really in love with the passion all my colleagues bring to the table and how everyone unites behind a common goal.”

As the marketing director for NYTW, Paine’s responsibilities are to oversee single ticket sales and the organization’s membership program. “We are a subscription-based theater, so half of what I do is try to get people to invest in our entire season and see our four main stage shows.”

Paine is also proud to have a hand – since her intern days – in cultivating NYTW’s young patrons program. “Theater audiences do tend to skew older. I’m so proud that we take the time and effort to build relationships with people in their 20s and 30s. We plan post-show receptions for them and the cast members, and we usually do one large gala per year.” The young patrons program has grown to more than 50 members and raised $16,000 for NYTW this past season.

During her six years with NYTW, Paine has had the opportunity to see and promote many workshops and productions. When asked to name her favorites, she says Peter and the Starcatcher has a special place in her heart. The play, which was on Broadway until the start of 2013, imagines the backstory of Peter Pan. “It came out around the same time as the hoopla for Spider-Man was going on.

I think we were doing a show that was just as inventive and beautiful, without all that money behind it. It is theater at its best.”

When asked where she sees herself in 10 years, Paine said: “I have an interest in the bigger picture, which may someday be a general manager or managing director position. I see myself still working in the nonprofit sector. I’m really in love with the passion all my colleagues bring to the table and how everyone unites behind a common goal.”

More information about New York Theatre Workshop may be found at NYTW.org.

Hofstra University

Department of Drama and Dance

H

Fall 2013 Performances Gypsy

Friday, October 18-Sunday, October 27 Book by Arthur Laurents. Music by Jule Styne.

Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Directed by James J. Kolb.

A musical about “the ultimate show business mother,” set backstage on the vaudeville and burlesque circuits of the 1920s and ’30s. Filled with an array of wonderful songs and considered by many critics to be one of the greatest musicals of all time.

Showtimes: Friday, October 18 and 25, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, October 19 and 26, at 8 p.m.; Sunday, October 20 and 27, at 2 p.m.

Location: John Cranford Adams Playhouse, South Campus Tickets: $15; $12 senior citizen (over 65) or matriculated non-Hofstra student with ID

Cloud Nine Friday, November 8-Sunday, November 17

By Caryl Churchill. Directed by Chris Dippel.

Challenging conventional notions of gender, race and sexual identity, this time-shifting comedy takes us on a journey from Victorian-era colonial Africa to urban London of the late 1970s to explore the nature of oppression, repression, and expression.

Showtimes: Friday, November 8 and 15, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, November 9 and 16, at 8 p.m.; Sunday, November 10 and 17, at 2 p.m.; and Thursday, November 14, at 8 p.m.

Location: Black Box Theater, New Academic Building, South Campus Tickets: $10; $8 senior citizen (over 65) or matriculated non-Hofstra student with ID

Fall Dance Concert • Thursday-Sunday, November 21-24 Featuring Hofstra faculty choreographers and guest artists. Showtimes: Thursday-Saturday, November 21-23, at 8 p.m.; Sunday, November 24, at 2 p.m. Location: John Cranford Adams Playhouse, South Campus Tickets: $12; $10 senior citizen (over 65) or matriculated non-Hofstra student with ID. Tickets may be purchased online at Tickets.com or at the John Cranford Adams Playhouse Box Office, 516-463-6644, Monday through Friday, 11:15 a.m.-3:45 p.m.

If available, tickets may also be purchased at the door, starting 90 minutes before each performance.

School of Communication Named for

Lawrence Herbert ’51 Inventor of Pantone Ž

In August 2013 Hofstra President Stuart Rabinowitz announced the naming of the School of Communication for distinguished Hofstra alumnus Lawrence Herbert, inventor of the Pantone color matching system, to honor his generous support of the University and his revolutionary impact on print and design.

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Herbert is a man who has achieved remarkable success, “Larry and has never forgotten where he came from. ... He has shown a

deep commitment to Hofstra as a benefactor, a volunteer and a trustee, and his life sets an example for all our students about how hard work and entrepreneurial spirit can change the world.

“

– Hofstra President Stuart Rabinowitz A former member and officer of the Hofstra University Board of Trustees, Lawrence Herbert is an innovator, entrepreneur and philanthropist who was the driving creative force behind the color matching system that is the international standard in hundreds of industries, among them printing, publishing, graphic arts, film and video.

The Lawrence Herbert Foundation recently made a multimillion-dollar commitment, one of the most significant in Hofstra’s history, to support the University and the School of Communication. An academic convocation to celebrate the naming of the school after Herbert will be held on October 30.

“Early on in my career, I had people who believed in me and helped me get started.

It’s important that I carry on that tradition of giving back and support causes and organizations that I believe in,” Herbert said. “Hofstra gave me a great foundation, and I want to pay that forward to the next generation of students.”

Herbert’s focus and work ethic defined his student experience at Hofstra, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in biology and chemistry in 1951, while working full time and commuting from Brooklyn. That same determination propelled him from a post as a temporary color matcher at Pantone to owner, chairman and chief executive officer of the company in just six years. Pantone quickly grew into a global brand, with facilities in the United States, Great Britain, Germany, Hong Kong and China.

“Larry Herbert is a man who has achieved remarkable success, and has never forgotten where he came from,” said Hofstra President Stuart Rabinowitz. “He has shown a deep commitment to Hofstra as a benefactor, a volunteer and a trustee, and his life sets an example for all our students about how hard work and entrepreneurial spirit can change the world.”

Besides his service as vice chairman of the Hofstra Board of Trustees from 1982 to 1986, Herbert has received numerous honors from Hofstra, including an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters and the establishment of the Lawrence Herbert Distinguished Professorship. This past May Herbert was the honoree at the 17th Annual Hofstra Gala.

Herbert and his wife, Michele, are involved in many causes and organizations, and he also been honored by the New Jersey Advertising Hall of Fame and Britain’s Institute of Printing.

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New Coach on the Court Joe Mihalich, who guided the Niagara University men’s basketball team to five postseason appearances since 2003-04, was named the 12th head coach in the history of the Hofstra University Men’s Basketball program on April 10, 2013.

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Q : What has been the reception from the Hofstra community?

A: “The people have been fantastic. Every

Coach Mihalich recently sat down for a Q-and-A as he prepares for his first season at the helm of the Hofstra men’s basketball team.

time I’ve met someone, they’ve seemed excited about the program and the University, and that makes you feel good. It motivates you. I was pretty sure Hofstra wanted a winner on that basketball court before I came here, and after being around the people here, I know they want that. It makes you want to keep working harder and harder to bring that excitement here.”

Q: What has impressed you most about Hofstra University?

A: “I can’t begin to tell you how impressed I have been with the incredible academic opportunities available for students here at Hofstra. It motivates you because everyone knows this is an outstanding academic University and a very special community in so many ways.”

Q: How has the Hofstra Pride Club helped connect the program with fans, students and alumni?

A : A daily priority is to include people – talk to them and get them interested in the program. Through the Hofstra Pride Club, we can reach a lot of people who care deeply about the program and provide their generous support. Their support is vital in allowing our program, and the other Hofstra athletic teams, to compete and win at the highest level.

Q: How important was it to bring in your entire coaching staff?

A : The continuity is nice, but the most important thing is that they are very good coaches. They are good people, and having that familiarity is a plus. Everything is new; we have eight new players and five returning players who need to get used to a new staff, so having all the coaches on the same page is crucial.

Q: With Speedy Claxton returning to the program, how do you envision his role?

A : It’s so exciting to have him around. You say ‘Hofstra Basketball,’ and you might as well say ‘Speedy Claxton.’ He can do so many things and has a wealth of knowledge, which will be of great benefit to our coaching staff. As just one example, at a team camp, we were just talking about ball screens. As a ball-handler, he talked about what he hated seeing a defense do to guard him. It gets the attention of the players to listen to someone who has that NBA experience.

Just his presence will be great for our program.

Q: You’ve already added seven new players. How important was the roster flexibility to shape the team in the mold that you want?

A: The fact that it was basically a blank canvas and you could go out and get the guys you needed was good; it was just hard to do it. The timing of the year was tough. We didn’t get here until the middle of April. Reaching out and getting those high-quality guys was difficult, but I’m really excited about the players we have coming in.

Q: What are your impressions of the returning players?

A : I’m very proud of them. They’ve been the bedrock on which to build the program. They are high-character and hardworking guys and good basketball players. They bought into the program right away. One of the biggest things coaches have to do is communicate. With these student-athletes, it’s been great to pick their brains. It’s been open dialogue instead of monologues. I want to hear what they have to say, and they’ve shared opinions.

Q: How much do you enjoy the teaching aspect of the job?

A : I was talking about it with Speedy, and about coaching in general. We were talking about coaches who get upset. My big thing is, when you get upset, point the finger at yourself first. Could you have taught that better? Do the players understand? Did you rush through it when you explained how to guard against a ball screen, for example? It’s the core of what we do: teach, lead and mentor.

Q: You graduated with a degree in mathematics.

How often do you get to incorporate those skills while coaching?

A : I use it every possession, because three is more than two and I just love that three-point shot [he said with a laugh].

There’s always geometry involved. Spacing is so important.

Phil Jackson used to have the triangle offense. It does come into play.

Q: What’s been your impression of Hofstra’s athletic facilities?

A: They are fantastic. In my world, when you talk about what’s a good job, it all starts with who is the athletic director and who is the president. Jeff Hathaway and President Stuart Rabinowitz are terrific. They are at the highest level you can be in their profession. Because of those two people, it’s clear Hofstra wants to win. The facilities are great, and it fits in with what I’ve come to know about the school as a whole.

Every time I turn around, I learn something new about Hofstra University.

Q: What is your approach to scheduling nonconference games?

A : The way we look at nonconference games can change every year. You have to see what your team needs for that year. If you’ve just won a championship and you have all your starters back, you need to really take it to another level and try and make some national news. Our situation this year is a little different. What we want to do is help our team grow and get better before conference play and give them different experiences in that regard.

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At the Top of Their Game – And Their Class At every college, academics and athletics should be mutually beneficial and have a positive impact on the campus community.

There is no better example of that than here at Hofstra, where women’s basketball forward Shante Evans, softball ace Olivia Galati and baseball starter Joe Burg consistently demonstrated how a studentathlete can enhance a college campus and how success as a player can parallel academic achievement.

Evans, who majored in history, is a three-time Associated Press Honorable Mention All-America selection and walked in the University’s December 2012 commencement. Galati, who majored in physical education, was named a Second Team All-American in the spring (one season after earning first team honors) and participated with six of her teammates in a private graduation ceremony with Hofstra University President Stuart Rabinowitz and other distinguished University leaders. Burg, who became just the second-ever Hofstra student to be a Rhodes Scholarship finalist, tied for the Hofstra lead in wins in 2013.

The Lindenhurst, Ill., native began a Ph.D. program at Stanford University in August.

“ The coaches helped me grow as a person. I came in as 17-year old freshman, and they worked to improve my game. The best part was knowing I could talk to them about life and not just basketball.”

— Shante Evans

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Evans, Galati and Burg all credit a collaborative effort among the coaches, faculty, University and Department of Athletics support staff in helping them find success both as scholars and athletes.

“The discipline we had as a team and the work ethic that was instilled in us by the coaches taught me what to do, and how to do it right,” Galati said. “We learned not to take shortcuts. My coaches taught us not just about the game, but about life.”

Alumni support allows the University to make tangible improvements, while creating a shared sense of community.

Thanks in large part to generous contributions from Hofstra Pride Club members, the University installed lights at the Hofstra Softball Stadium and renovated the grandstand at baseball’s University Field. But alumni involvement extends beyond the brick-and-mortar structures. The shared sense of community serves to encourage recent graduates to stay involved as they begin the next phase of their careers.

Hofstra Athletics

“ Now that I’m an alumnus, hopefully I can follow the lead of others before me and support the new classes going forward.”

— Joe Burg

“I would love to give back to the program and help out in any way they need,” Burg said. “You become a lifelong fan of Hofstra sports and you want to follow the example the alumni have set.”

Evans said seeing Hofstra Vice President and Director of Athletics Jeffrey A. Hathaway at games was just one example of the support from the administration. After finishing her career as the Pride’s all-time scoring and rebounding leader, Evans also credited the coaching staff with modeling her as an athlete and a person over the last four years.

“As a student-athlete, you want to know your school is supporting you through the wins and losses,” Evans said. “The coaches helped me grow as a person. I came in as 17-year old freshman, and they worked to improve my game. The best part was knowing I could talk to them about life and not just basketball. I thank them for putting me in position to step up and lead the team.”

Galati and Burg, a physics and mathematics major, both earned First Team Academic All-American honors this past season, which marks the third time that Hofstra has produced two first team selections in the same year. Despite the time constraints imposed by playing a Division I sport, Galati said the support from the faculty helped her flourish academically.

“I loved the closeness of the teachers and students because of the small class sizes,” Galati said. “I knew if I ever needed anything, I could just call and they wouldn’t hesitate to offer their assistance.”

Spending their entire collegiate careers at Hofstra has made all three student-athletes a part of a long tradition, which is something each said is a valuable connection.

“It was great to know that we were playing for something bigger than just our team,” said Burg, who will be concentrating his postgraduate work in applied physics and nanoscience. “Now that I’m an alumnus, hopefully I can follow the lead of others before me and support the new classes going forward.”

“ The discipline we had as a team and the work ethic that was instilled in us by the coaches taught me what to do, and how to do it right ... We learned not to take shortcuts.

My coaches taught us not just about the game, but about life.”

— Olivia Galati

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Hofstra Athletics

Weidman takes UFC by Storm Former two-time Hofstra Wrestling All-American Chris Weidman defeated mixed martial arts (MMA) legend and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva in Las Vegas, NV, on July 6 to cap off what many have called a real-life “Rocky Balboa story.”

Chris Weidman, a 2007 graduate of Hofstra who compiled a 51-21 record during his two seasons, has made a name for himself in his four years as a professional fighter. The Baldwin, NY, native entered the title fight with a record of 9-0, but had not fought in more than a year due to a torn labrum suffered during training for a previous fight. During this time Weidman and his family had to deal with the effects of Superstorm Sandy, which caused extensive damage to their home. In the weeks following the storm, Weidman and his wife, Marivi, organized a clothing drive at St. Peter’s Church for those in greater need, while tending to the task of fixing their own flood-damaged dwelling.

learned previously. The wrestling program made me mentally and physically stronger, and that has obviously played a big role in me being successful in mixed martial arts.”

Yet despite his long layoff and relative inexperience, Weidman’s confidence level was high going into the fight against Silva (33-5), who had won 17 consecutive bouts dating back to 2006.

“This has been my goal and I felt it was my time,” he said. But he admitted to a bit of disbelief as the magnitude of his accomplishment sunk in seconds after his knockout win. “When I knocked him out, I said to myself, ‘Are you kidding me?’ It was just a surreal feeling. Then I got really excited. It has been a lot of hard work with some setbacks along the way. But to accomplish your goal after a lot of adversity over the years makes it an even better victory.”

Since becoming champion on that first Saturday in July, Weidman has been going nonstop. As the new face of UFC and MMA, he had a steady stream of media appearances culminating in having July 17, 2013, declared “Chris Weidman Day” by Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano. Weidman realizes that the relative anonymity of being the challenger is gone now that he is champion, but the married father of two young children hasn’t let his increased popularity interfere with what is truly important to him. “I am looking forward to things slowing down a bit so I can relax and spend time with my family,” Weidman said.

Weidman credited his experience at Hofstra for helping him achieve success as a professional fighter. “Wrestling at Hofstra has been huge for my career,” he said. “I have wrestled nearly all my life, but competing at Hofstra really built on what I had

The downtime won’t last long, as a much-anticipated rematch between Weidman and Silva will take place December 28, 2013, in Las Vegas. UFC President Dana White has called the bout “the biggest fight in UFC history.”

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Another factor that has driven Weidman in his professional career is his status as a four-time All-American (two at Hofstra, two at Nassau Community College). While he is extremely proud of this achievement, he was not satisfied with his performances.

“In my mind I should have been a four-time National Champion.

I feel that I beat myself at Nationals, and that is what motivated me to step up my game when I got to MMA.”

Department of Music

Fall 2013/Winter 2014 Concerts Unless otherwise noted, please call the Hofstra Box Office for tickets and more information at 516-463-6644, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m.-3:45 p.m.

Tickets are also sold at the door and online at Tickets.com.

Current students, faculty and staff may receive up to two free tickets upon presentation of a current HofstraCard.

Hofstra Chorale and Chamber Choir* David Fryling, director An eclectic selection of choral music.

Date/Time: Friday, November 15, 7:30 p.m.

Location: Cathedral of the Incarnation, 50 Cathedral Avenue, Garden City, NY Tickets: $10 general admission; $8 senior citizen (over 65) or matriculated non-Hofstra student with ID *For tickets and information, please call 516-463-5497.

Hofstra Jazz Ensemble

David Lalama, director Bass-ically Yours The annual Peter B. Clark Memorial Scholarship Fund concert featuring internationally renowned Jazz bassist Noriko Ueda.

Date/Time: Sunday, November 24, 7 p.m.

Location: The Helene Fortunoff Theater, Monroe Lecture Center, California Avenue, South Campus Tickets: $10 general admission; $8 senior citizen (over 65) or matriculated non-Hofstra student with ID

Hofstra Symphony Orchestra

Date/Time: Saturday, December 7, 8 p.m.

Location: John Cranford Adams Playhouse, South Campus Tickets: $10 general admission; $8 senior citizen (over 65) or matriculated non-Hofstra student with ID Tickets on sale beginning November 5.

Hofstra University Choir and Hofstra String Orchestra

Cindy Bell, director Date/Time: Tuesday, December 10, 8 p.m.

Location: John Cranford Adams Playhouse, South Campus Tickets: $10 general admission; $8 senior citizen (over 65) or matriculated non-Hofstra student with ID Tickets on sale beginning November 12.

Hofstra Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band

Peter Boonshaft, director Date/Time: Saturday, December 14, 8 p.m.

Location: John Cranford Adams Playhouse, South Campus Tickets: $10 general admission; $8 senior citizen (over 65) or matriculated non-Hofstra student with ID Tickets on sale beginning November 12.

Hofstra Opera Theater

Isabel Milenski, artistic director Dates/Times: Friday, January 31, 2014, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, February 1, 2014, 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, February 2, 2014, 3 p.m.

Location: John Cranford Adams Playhouse, South Campus Tickets: $15 general admission; $12 senior citizen (over 65) or matriculated non-Hofstra student with ID Tickets on sale beginning January 7.

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The Department of Music has many student recitals scheduled for the fall 2013 semester.

For more information, please contact the Hofstra Music Department at 516-463-5490 or visit hofstra.edu/music.

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Hempstead, New York 11549 Vol. 25 No. 1 • The Year in Review 2012-2013

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Hofstra University

Breaking New Ground

See page 14.