Hofstra Magazine - Year in Review 2015-16

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2015-2016 INSIDE: Joe Morton Turned Loose | Debate 2016 | Zarb at 50

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Front cover image: Architectural rendering of new Zarb School building.

Features 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

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Assistant Vice President for Creative Services Francis A. Rizzo III ’99 Creative Director Kelvin Fonville Editorial Director Linda Merklin

Zarb @ 50

University Photographer Jonathan Heisler

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Remembering Dr. James M. Shuart

Graphic Artists Denise Sarian Nicole Lombino

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Contributors Marilou Giammona ‘01 Stephen A. Gorchov Ginny Greenberg ‘90 Neena Samuel Carley P. Weinstein Contributing Photographers Brian Ballweg Diego Berruecos Stephen Gorchov Kathy Kmonicek Kenny Lombardi Phil Marino Chuck Myers David Pokress David Saffran MiLB (Minor League Baseball) University Archivist Geri Solomon Facebook “f ” Logo

facebook.com/Hofstra twitter.com/HofstraU linkedin.com/edu/hofstra instagram.com/hofstrau flickr/HofstraUniversity youtube.com/HofstraUniversity

Ruling Class – Hofstra Launches

Peter S. Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy and International Affairs

Well-Healed

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Facebook “f ” Logo

CMYK / .eps

Turned Loose

featuring alumnus Joe Morton

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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.

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Features

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A Year of Firsts

featuring Dr. Valeria Luiselli Assistant Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures

Around the Horn

featuring alumnus Chris Vaccaro

Three-Peat

34 36 28 32 44 51 38 41 High-Tech

Women’s Work

Clown Prince

Miked Up at WRHU

featuring Matthew Lish ’19

Research and Relief featuring alumnus Marissa Espinoza

Social@Hofstra Jumpstart

Sports

Keeping the Faith

For the latest news about Hofstra, go to news.hofstra.edu

| President’s Letter Hofstra

See page 4.

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A Letter From

President Stuart Rabinowitz

Dear Friends, Just a few weeks before this issue of Hofstra Magazine was complete, the Commission on Presidential Debates announced that Hofstra University will have the honor of hosting the first presidential debate on September 26, 2016. We will soon become the first university ever to host presidential debates in three consecutive election cycles.

Much has changed in the eight years since Hofstra first hosted a presidential debate — on our campus, in our nation and around the world. But our goal in serving as a debate host remains the same: engaging our students and the community in the democratic process and promoting constructive discourse about critical policy issues.

So as we prepare to host the first presidential debate of the 2016 general election, we also take a look back in photos at the history made on our campus at the debates in 2008 and 2012.

This issue also is full of stories about exciting new programs and facilities, and about the contributions our faculty, students and alumni are making in our region and across the globe.

You’ll learn about our newest school, the Peter S. Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy and International Affairs, and a new, interdisciplinary undergraduate program in public policy and public service that will begin this fall.

You’ll read about plans for new buildings for the Frank G. Zarb School of Business and the School of Engineering and Applied Science. The Zarb School, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, has set a course for the future that focuses on expanding experiential learning programs, from a student-managed investment fund to a dual-degree program with a Chinese university.

The work of our faculty continues to inspire our students, and reminds us that great teaching and scholarship are at the core of everything we do. Among their varied stories and accomplishments: Professor Valeria Luiselli, winner of a Los Angeles Times Book Prize, whose work as a local court translator for immigrant children motivated her students to form a new club to mentor Latino youngsters.

In these pages, Emmy Award-winning actor and drama alumnus Joe Morton reflects on his career, while Fulbright scholar Marissa Espinoza ’15 recounts her deeply emotional year in earthquake-ravaged Ecuador. You’ll also get a look inside the offices of Topps Digital, where Editor-in-Chief Chris Vaccaro ’07 produces some of the world’s most popular sports and entertainment apps with a team that includes eight Hofstra alumni.

Finally, we remember and honor President James Shuart, who died earlier this year and whose contributions transformed Hofstra University and helped it grow from a regional university into an institution of international reputation and reach.

The stories in this magazine reflect the diversity of Hofstra, but they share one fundamental truth: Hofstra’s story is your story, unfolding and evolving with every passing year and every new challenge. Hofstra will always be your home, and we encourage you to visit campus and reconnect with your university family.

Sincerely,

Stuart Rabinowitz President, Hofstra University

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Hofstra University Spring 2016 Commencement

UPCOMING ALUMNI EVENTS • For information, call 516-463-6636 or email alumni@hofstra.edu.

Hofstra Pride Club Golf Outing

Fall Festival 2016

Monday, September 19, 2016, at 10 a.m.

The Seawane Club, Hewlett Harbor, NY Register online at: hofstra.edu/PrideGolfClassic

Saturday, October 8, 2016 North Campus Register online at: hofstra.edu/AlumniDay

Annual Alumni Awards Dinner Thursday, September 22, 2016, at 6:30 p.m.

The Garden City Hotel, Garden City, NY Register online at: hofstra.edu/AlumniAwardsDinner

NYC Alumni Holiday Party Monday, December 12, 2016, 6-8 p.m.

Club 101, New York, NY

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2015 Financial Report c Components of Revenue 2014-2015

Net Tuition & Fees 73.2%

Sales & Services of Educ. Depts. 0.7% Shared Services 1.3% Other Sources, net of Investment Losses 1.2% Contributions 6.3%

Government Grants & Contracts 6.0% Auxiliary Enterprises 11.3%

Instruction 49.8%

Components of Expenditures 2014-2015 v

Research 0.8% Public Service 2.6% Academic Support 6.1%

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.

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 allow 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!

Auxiliary Enterprises 11.1%

Student Services 13.2%

Other Institutional Support 1.4% Technology & Executive Office 0.9% Telecommunications 3.7% Public Safety 2.5% Legal & Human Resources 1.0% Public Relations 2.4% Insurance 1.3% Development 1.3% Finance & Audit 1.9%

Total Institutional Support 16.4%

Scholarships 57.7%

c Endowment Market Value August 31, 2015

Facilities 18.9%

Other 5.0% Centers & Lectures 3.7% Medical School Support* 1.6% Law School Support* 4.3% Endowed Professorships 3.6% Endowed Chairs 5.2% *Excludes endowments specifically designated for scholarships, chairs and professorships.

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2015 Financial Report 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 198 percent during the last 10 years, and Hofstra continues to enjoy debt ratings in the A category from both Moody’s and Standard & Poors.

Growth of Endowment in Support of Scholarships

Tuition Scholarships and Fellowships

ofstra University endowment investments grew H to $410 million by 2015, increasing by 313 percent since 2000. The University’s fundraising goals are aimed at providing enhanced scholarship funding to better compete with institutions with significantly larger endowments.

The University continues to make the growth of tuition scholarships a top priority. During the past 10 years, the University has increased scholarship funding by 192 percent to just over $116 million. The increase in scholarships is reflected in the changing makeup of the student body:

Millions of Dollars 500 450

410 400 350 300 250 200 150

Fall 2015

Average SAT score* (first-year students)

1061

1178

Average high school GPA (first-time freshmen)

2.80

3.62

Top 10% high school class (first-time freshmen)

12%

27%

Selectivity (acceptance rate as percentage of all applicants)

80%

61%

First-year students from outside NYS

32%

49%

*Critical Reading and Math

100 50 0

Fall 2000

STUDENT TESTIMONIALS 1935

1974

1984

It’s not easy for an international student to remain on campus year-round. To have this chance to stay on campus to do research and get paid – I am very grateful for this opportunity. This fellowship is giving me a chance to do what I love to do. It’s inspiring.

— Laura (Yixuan) Xiong ‘18

Biochemistry Major International student from China

1994

2004

2015

The financial help Hofstra provided allowed me to concentrate less on tuition and more on college life. Being able to be involved heavily in classes and extracurricular activities, like being the general manager of the Hofstra Entertainment Access Television network and content creator for the Herbert School 360 website, has given me a leg up as I pursue a career in digital media.

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EXPANDING at HOME and ABROAD

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“ Fifty years is an important milestone, and milestones represent a vital opportunity for reflection in a world that is more complex, more uncertain and moving faster than ever before.

We’re becoming more and more hands-on to give our students the chance to experience business while they’re learning business.”

— Dean Herman A. Berliner

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ZARB

The future of the Frank G. Zarb School of Business can be found on easels that greet visitors to the school’s administrative offices in Weller Hall. There, architectural renderings depict a sleek, new structure flooded with light from floor-to-ceiling windows.

The future can also be found nearly 7,000 miles away, on the northeast coast of China. There, Zarb students spent some of their summer interning at a multinational corporation as part of a new dual-degree program with one of that country’s top-ranked universities.

The Zarb School celebrated its 50th anniversary during the 2015-16 year, marking that milestone with an ambitious plan for the future: a new, $25 million building and a slate of new international, entrepreneurship and research programs that expand experiential learning opportunities and better prepare students for the global marketplace.

“Fifty years is an important milestone, and milestones represent a vital opportunity for reflection in a world that is more complex, more uncertain and moving faster than ever before,” said Dean Herman A. Berliner. “We’re becoming more and more hands-on to give our students the chance to experience business while they’re learning business.”

The cornerstone of these efforts is the plan for a new building to replace and expand Weller Hall, home to Zarb School faculty and administrative offices. The new structure will house not only offices, but also a new Center for Entrepreneurship startup incubator and a new market research behavioral science lab.

The airy, 50,000-square-foot building will also include several collaborative study and meeting spaces, and be connected via a glass-enclosed elevated walkway to C.V. Starr Hall, the Zarb

THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS EDUCATION AT THE ZARB SCHOOL

t $25 million building – projected opening in fall 2018 t $100,000 student-managed investment fund, run through a special finance class – fall 2016

t Dual-degree and international internship program with Dongbei University of Finance and Economics in China – launched in spring 2016

t Market research behavioral science lab – projected opening in fall 2018

ARB Following a symposium in Manhattan, the Zarb School invited several distinguished alumni back to campus for a conversation about their careers.

Among the alumni speakers was trustee Debra Sandler (above), president and CEO of La Grenade Group LLC and former president of Mars Chocolate North America.

Hofstra trustee Frank Zarb (above right), an alumnus of the first class of the school that would one day bear his name, was among the speakers at a symposium on the future of business education that the Zarb School held in March 2016 to commemorate its 50th anniversary.

Zarb student Tori Matisoff confers with her supervisor during her internship at Pfizer in Dalian, China.

School’s main classroom building.

The building is expected to be complete by fall 2018.

The announcement of the new building came as the Zarb School embarked on a new exchange and dual-degree program with Dongbei University of Finance and Economics in Dalian, China, one of the country’s top 3 business universities.

As part of this program, Zarb students take a five-course, two-semester program taught at Hofstra by two visiting Dongbei professors. In between the two semesters, students complete a summer internship at a multinational corporation in China. When they graduate, students earn a BBA from Hofstra, and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Dongbei University.

The partnership is among just a few such dual-degree programs at U.S. universities.

The first group of 13 Zarb students spent two weeks in language and other cultural immersion classes. They toured the Dalian Commodity Exchange; visited Xinghai Square, the largest city square in the world located on the Dalian’s southern waterfront; and learned basic martial arts as well as how to perform a traditional tea ceremony. Each Zarb student was paired with a Dongbei student, who also helped the group navigate the city.

“ Working in China has helped me understand the difference between the American business culture and the Chinese business culture.”

— Tori Matisoff

International Business Major

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— Anthony Ramdhani

Rising Senior

ZARB

“I’ve always been really intrigued with China and when I heard about this program, I thought – two degrees, one from Hofstra and one from a university in China that’s ranked in the top 3 in my major ... I immediately said, ‘sign me up.‘ ”

“I got my passport three weeks ago. I’ve never been out of the country and I thought China would be a perfect place to start,” said Kevin Kusmierz, a finance and economics major, shortly after arriving in Dalian. “If I’m going to travel for the first time, I might as well go big. This trip has been full of some great surprises.”

The two-week orientation session was followed by a four-week internship, during which the students worked in various roles at the Dalian offices of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.

“I’ve always been really intrigued with China and when I heard about this program, I thought – two degrees, one from Hofstra and one from a university in China that’s ranked in the top 3 in my major – finance,” said rising senior Anthony Ramdhani, who also has a concentration in philosophy. “I immediately said, ‘sign me up.’

Having this experience under my belt will definitely set me apart from hundreds of other job candidates.”

Located in the northeastern port city of Dalian, Dongbei University has an enrollment of about 20,000 students. All courses there are taught in English. It is ranked among the top 3 universities in China for the study of finance and economics.

In addition to their internships, students in the Zarb dual-degree program with Dongbei University in China experienced Chinese culture in other ways, from lessons in traditional martial arts and calligraphy to adventures bungee jumping off the coast of Dalian.

Dalian is a city of about 4 million people just under an hour by air from Beijing. It is a trading and financial center that has attracted international companies such as Microsoft, Nokia, IBM and Intel. It is also home to the Dalian Wanda Group, China’s largest commercial property company and the

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“ I’ve never been out of the country and I thought China would be a perfect place to start. If I’m going to travel for the first time, I might as well go big. This trip has been full of some great surprises.”

— Kevin Kusmierz

ZARB

Finance and Economics Major

world’s largest cinema chain operator. Dalian Wanda’s chairman, Wang Jianlin, is the richest man in China, with a net worth of $30 billion, according to Forbes.

Five students from Dongbei spent the spring 2016 semester at Hofstra, and the two universities are now working on a graduate exchange program as well.

Tori Matisoff, an international business major who had traveled to China before and speaks some Chinese, jumped into her human resources internship at Pfizer, proposing new management team-building activities. “My boss was really excited about my ideas, so I will be leading those activities at an orientation,” Matisoff said during the second week of her internship.

“Working in China has helped me understand the differences between the American business culture and the Chinese business culture,” she said. “Since working here, I can see myself coming back to China and working here after I graduate.”

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Remembering

Dr. James M. Shuart

There are few people who shared a more profound bond with Hofstra University than retired President James Shuart, who died in May. Dr. Shuart loved Hofstra deeply – as a student and student-athlete, an alumnus, an admissions officer, a faculty member, a dean, a vice president and, finally, as its seventh president – a position he held from 1976 to 2001.

Dr. Shuart was the impetus for transforming Hofstra in a multitude of ways – academic programs, physical campus, cultural imprint, scholarship and endowment. He stabilized Hofstra’s finances and helped set the University on a path to national and international recognition.

Under his leadership, enrollment increased; academic offerings and library holdings more than doubled; the athletic program grew to Division I status; new facilities, buildings and wings were constructed that more than doubled the University’s physical space; the School of Communication was founded; and Hofstra became the first private university campus in the nation to be fully accessible to individuals with physical challenges. His support helped the Hofstra Cultural Center thrive and begin its presidential conference series, bringing former Presidents Ford, Carter, Bush (41) and Clinton to campus.

His legacy also can be seen in the tens of thousands of trees and tulips planted during his tenure, an effort that turned the campus into a nationally recognized arboretum.

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Peter Kalikow’s dedication to Hofstra as an alumnus, trustee and benefactor, his embrace of presidential and political history, and his business acumen have been invaluable in guiding the growth of this institution.

’’

— President Stuart Rabinowitz

Hofstra Launches Peter S. Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy and International Affairs Hofstra University has created a new school and degree program designed to train the next generation of public policy leaders, thanks to the generosity of Hofstra trustee and alumnus Peter S. Kalikow, whose longstanding commitment to the University helped build its reputation as a national center for presidential studies.

The Peter S. Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy and International Affairs – which incorporates eight academic departments, several interdisciplinary programs and two academic centers, including the Peter S. Kalikow Center for the Study of the American Presidency – was launched in fall 2015. The new interdisciplinary degree in public policy and public service will be offered beginning in fall 2016. Dr. Meena Bose, director of the Kalikow Center, was named executive dean of the program in public policy and public service at the new school.

“This is a defining moment in Hofstra University’s development as a national center for the study of public policy, and in our mission to prepare students to be engaged leaders with the knowledge, creativity and understanding to meet global and local challenges,” said Hofstra President Stuart Rabinowitz.

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named the University’s Alumnus of the Year in 1988, received Hofstra’s presidential medal in 1999, and was honored at the 13th Annual Hofstra Gala in 2009.

He is president of H.J. Kalikow & Company, LLC, one of New York City’s leading real estate firms; is the former owner and publisher of the New York Post; and is a former chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).

“The naming of a school after an individual is among the highest honors a University can bestow,” President Rabinowitz said. “Peter Kalikow’s dedication to Hofstra as an alumnus, trustee and benefactor, his embrace of presidential and political history, and his business acumen have been invaluable in guiding the growth of this institution.”

In 2006 Kalikow endowed an academic chair in presidential studies and the Peter S. Kalikow Presidential Studies Center.

The center is nationally recognized for its research and scholarship on the nation’s highest office, as well as its senior presidential fellows, former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard B. Dean III and Republican political strategist Edward J. Rollins. The Kalikow Center was a major participant in the activities and programs presented in connection with Hofstra hosting presidential debates in 2008 and 2012.

“In an era of political discord, a strong democracy rests upon the shoulders of an engaged, educated and thoughtful citizenry,” Kalikow said. “This effort will ensure that the BA in Public Policy and Public Service will prepare students for careers in government, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, advocacy groups, and a broad spectrum of endeavors where knowledge of public policy and how it is made is critical.

“Focusing on undergraduates, the school will be truly interdisciplinary – involving programs and courses from throughout the Hofstra campus, including political science, economics, statistics, social justice and human rights.

And for those who do not pursue a career in this arena, courses within the school will simply make them better citizens – citizens capable of understanding important issues facing our nation and citizens better able to participate in the experiment we call democracy,” Kalikow concluded.

Kalikow earned a BS in business administration from Hofstra in 1965 and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws in 1986. He was

The new Kalikow School will comprise eight academic departments: anthropology, economics, global studies and geography, history, philosophy, political science, religion and sociology. It will also house 12 interdisciplinary programs, as well as the Center for Labor and Democracy and the Kalikow Center.

“Mr. Kalikow has a longstanding commitment to politics, public service and Hofstra,” said Dr. Bose. “He’s been active in many of our presidential conferences ... This is a testament to Peter Kalikow’s vision.”

The diverse mix of disciplines housed in the new school will offer students a synthesized academic experience that represents a more expansive approach to the study and practice of public policy.

“Public policy and public service require an understanding of how and where different issues and fields of study intersect,” said Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean Bernard Firestone. “The Kalikow School reflects the world we live in, which is multidisciplinary, collaborative and complex.”

For political science major Forrest Gitlin ’17, who hopes to pursue a career in government and international affairs, the new school opens up exciting possibilities. “It shows that Hofstra is continuing to grow and redefine itself,” he said.

“And seeing my major brought into a new school that’s focusing on what I want to do with my life means a lot.”

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Hofstra drama alumnus and Scandal star Joe Morton spent his summer vacation at off-Broadway’s Westside Theatre, playing comedian turned civil rights activist Dick Gregory in the play Turn Me Loose, co-produced by John Legend. Playing Gregory – whose insight and knowledge inspired celebrities and leaders in the arts, civil rights, politics, economics and nutrition – was a departure for Morton, who has been enjoying accolades since 2013 for his role as the villainous Rowan (“Papa”) Pope on the hit ABC series Scandal. But Morton is no stranger to the stage, and his career has spanned all performance genres – theater, film and television – for more than four decades.

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Morton talked to Hofstra Magazine over the summer about Turn Me Loose, Scandal and Justice League, and he shared advice for drama alumni and students.

Hofstra Magazine: How does it feel to be back in the New York theater scene?

Joe Morton: To be back on the stage and in New York is exquisite. I love walking the streets. I love the atmosphere of the city and the audiences who come to see the show. It is a great feeling to be doing this play, particularly in New York at one of the best off-Broadway theaters – the Westside. It’s been uplifting.

HofMag: What drew you to Turn Me Loose, and why do you think Dick Gregory’s life is one audiences ought to know?

JM: What drew me to the play was Dick Gregory.

We’re talking about the 1960s and times of racial strife.

He was talking about racial healing processes 30-40 years ago that we are involved in today. He was talking about nutrition. He came up with something called the Bahamian diet. He was talking about income disparity, conservatism and corporate greed, and how these things can threaten democracy. He was talking about all these things decades ago, which makes him one of the most prescient human beings on the planet.

He’s a man who gave up his career at a point when he was making the most money and when he was at his most famous. He decided to leave that all behind to become completely involved in the civil rights movement of the ’60s. These qualities, altogether, make him a very complicated, very interesting, fascinating individual to play.

HofMag: What has the transition been like for you – moving from an ensemble television series to an intimate theater production? Each also has a very different approach to portraying political themes.

JM: Turn Me Loose is essentially a one-man show, though there is a wonderful actor, John Carlin, who is with me onstage in a variety of small parts. Dick Gregory, obviously, is nothing like Rowan. This is a play about real politics and real things that have to be dealt with, whereas Scandal – that’s all very quasi. Some of it is allegorical, but overall it’s a fictitious view of a political world.

Turn Me Loose is about a real world and a real man who’s still alive. There’s a responsibility to support his truth.

HofMag: Many of our students know you best for your role on Scandal. What’s your approach to Rowan? Do you think he’s a good father?

JM: I think he thinks he’s the best possible father he could be. Whatever he does, he has Olivia’s [Kerry Washington] best interests at heart. His methods may be the kinds of things people find deplorable or shady, but as far as he’s concerned he’s doing everything and anything he can to put his daughter in the kind of situation that will benefit her at all times.

HofMag: Your fans love the emotional monologues you deliver. How do you psych yourself up for these? Are they exhausting?

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{

JM: I’m somewhat emotionally exhausted

after Turn Me Loose, because it’s an hour and a half of being onstage. But doing a monologue on a television show – it’s exciting, it’s fun. But it’s only one scene of many in the show. The preparation is shorter. The hope is that I understand the emotion going in, so that when we start to shoot I can deliver it again and again, building on it each time we take it from a different angle or make whatever adjustments the director wants. They’re very serious monologues, so performing them is probably the closest I’ve been to doing something theatrical and cinematic at the same time.

HofMag: We’ve noticed that you are very active on social media [@JOEtheMORTON].

Is that something you enjoy?

Fans of Joe Morton can watch for him on Scandal when it returns to ABC midseason this fall. Justice League is currently slated for release in late 2017.

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JM: We tweet live during the broadcast of Scandal. There are times when social media feels more like work than fun, but I do enjoy it, and I didn’t really get involved with it until Scandal – when I realized everyone else was tweeting live, I thought I should probably join the club. It’s the closest a television or film actor can get to a direct response from the audience as they are viewing the work.

HofMag: Earlier this spring you played another well-known dad – Cyborg’s father in Batman vs. Superman. Can audiences expect to see more of you in the upcoming Justice League movie?

JM: Yes, Silas Stone will be back in Justice League.

HofMag: There are some parallels, because audiences also know you as the man who created the Terminator in Terminator 2.

JM: I think the role was offered because people know me as the character who created the Terminator, so now I’m creating Cyborg. And that’s great. That’s a great blessing in terms of pathways. In this business you begin to realize one thing sort of leads up to the next. Having done The Brother From Another Planet [1984]

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probably helped me get Terminator 2. And having done Terminator 2 probably helped me get Silas Stone in Justice League.

HofMag: Your career has been enviable – you have had success on stage, television and film – and you have had the opportunity to play all types of characters, heroes, villains, in musicals, science fiction, drama, comedy. To what do you attribute your success and what advice would you offer our current drama students?

JM: When I was at Hofstra, the one thing they were teaching us about was how to make choices. Not only the choices you make in terms of the character you are playing or particular scripts you’re dealing with, but also, do I even want to be part of this story? The tendency for many actors is to audition for anything and everything they can – which may be a way to get started and get your feet wet – but I think the sooner actors can make choices about the kind of work they want to do, the better.

It’s like painters and dancers and novelists.

They all, very early on, decide what kind of work and what trajectory they want to put themselves on. Very often actors leave things up to fate and audition for comedies and dramas and classical and musicals, hoping something will stick, as opposed to deciding, ‘what is it I want to do and how is it I want to start?’

I came out of Hofstra in the late ’60s, when a lot of black actors were working in roles as drug dealers and stereotypical parts.

I made a very clear and very deliberate decision that that wasn’t the kind of work I wanted to do. I could sing, so I was able to do musicals as a way of getting my Equity card and starting my career out that way. Once that peaked, and once I thought, this is no longer what I’m interested in doing and I’ve reached the top of this particular genre of theater, I went back to doing regional theater so I could build a dramatic resume, so I could be taken more seriously as a dramatic actor. I then proceeded from there.

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Meet Dr. Valeria Luiselli

Assistant Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures

A profile in Vogue, a Los Angeles Times Book Prize and inspiring a new student community service club are just a few of the ways Dr. Valeria Luiselli marked her first year in Hofstra’s Department of Romance Languages and Literatures.

Luiselli was awarded the coveted Los Angeles Times Book Prize for fiction in spring 2016 for her second novel, The Story of My Teeth. The award came on the heels of a nomination for a National Book Critics Circle Award (NBCC), making Luiselli the first author of Mexican heritage to receive that recognition for a work of fiction. The Story of My Teeth follows the adventures of Highway, a legendary auctioneer, whose most precious possessions are the teeth of the “notorious infamous” such as Plato, Petrarch and Virginia Woolf.

The Story of My Teeth was praised as one of the best books of 2015 by a litany of highly regarded literary critics from NPR, The Guardian, Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, BuzzFeed, The Huffington Post, and the San Francisco Chronicle. In September 2015 The New York Times praised Luiselli “for the fresh approach she brings to fiction, one that invites participation and reaction, even skepticism — a living, breathing map.”

The significance of having been nominated for the NBCC in fiction was not lost on Luiselli. “Only two other foreign writers, [Roberto] Bolaño and [W.G.] Sebald – two of my literary heroes – have won the prize, so I knew it would be difficult to join them in that constellation. But I think it’s important to note that they won well into the 21st century. The U.S. literary sphere is becoming much more open to what is going on in the world. It is much more integrated, less insular. More books and translations are receiving this kind of attention.”

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The Story of My Teeth was praised as one of the best books of 2015 by a litany of highly regarded literary critics from NPR, The Guardian, Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, BuzzFeed, The Huffington Post, and the San Francisco Chronicle.

When asked about her inspirations, Luiselli, who was born in Mexico City and raised in South Africa, says, “Every novel I write, every book I write is a completely different adventure. There are some overlapping preoccupations, questions and explorations, but every book I’ve written is an entirely different journey. Perhaps a couple of different themes or strings in common would be the question of displacement and how people who are displaced from their original context have to reinvent their identities.”

two human beings,” says Luiselli, whose translator on The Story of My Teeth and Faces in the Crowd was Christina MacSweeney. “Ours has been a relationship of intense collaboration. I think we immediately understood each other when we started working on my first book. I gave her a lot of freedom to start suggesting ways of phrasing my sentences, and she gave me the freedom to rewrite a lot of my work directly into English. I managed to bring what she produced closer to my voice, and we had a very intense exchange.

Luiselli, who is fluent in Spanish and English, and able to communicate ably in five languages, adds, “Another one of my obsessions is translation and multilingualism. I write bilingually, and must – at some point in my work – rewrite into just one language. Similarly, I explore characters who are between languages and have to translate in their everyday life – literally and figuratively.”

“Good translators have a good ear.

They are able to emulate tones and rhythms. As our relationship has become stronger, she was able to bring her English closer to mine. In time, her written English also started influencing the way I write. It’s a very deep relationship in many ways.”

The subject of language and translation in literature is one that Hofstra will tackle this fall, when longtime Hofstra professor and poet Miguel-Angel Zapata and Luiselli’s husband, author Álvaro Enrigue, participate in the Hofstra Cultural Center symposium On the Edge of Creation and Translation (Hispanic-American Writers and Scholars on Translation). Enrigue, like his wife, is an acclaimed author whose fifth novel (and first to be translated into English), Sudden Death, was published in early 2016 to high praise from The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

“The relationship between an author and translator is the relationship between

When her students ask Luiselli for guidance on their own writing, she says, “I am careful because what works for one person may not work for someone else. I prefer to give less prescriptive and intrusive advice.

“The most helpful thing I have heard is to learn how to write with absolute freedom. It’s not that easy to do. You have to be free from the expectations of others, of yourself. You have to free yourself from trying to impress and convince. Free yourself of pretense. Free your writing and then try to create something meaningful.”

And writing is not the only thing she’s helped her students learn. Her stories about her own volunteer work as a local court interpreter for immigrant children

on Long Island led students in her Spanish conversation class to create La TIIA (Teen Immigrant Integration Association), a new student club to mentor local Latino youths in middle and high school.

“That’s where everything started – we got to choose what we wanted to talk about, so long as we as we were talking in Spanish, and we started talking a lot about immigration,” said Amanda Moncado, a rising senior from Elmont, N.Y., double-majoring in education and Spanish.

“From watching documentaries and reading newspaper stories and hearing her experiences – we thought – ‘maybe we could do something,’ ” Moncado said. “But as students we didn’t know what to do. OK, we want to help, but how? There are so many immigrants on Long Island and near Hofstra.

So then we started talking in class – and she asked us, ‘what do you think about starting a club?’ ” Luiselli became the club’s advisor, helping them research and determine exactly who they wanted to help and how. More than anything else, Moncado said, Luiselli served as a sounding board and cheerleader whenever the club founders grew discouraged or overwhelmed.

“Sometimes being a student and starting a club, you think, ‘who’s going to want to join this?’ but she’s super-positive and very motivational. She would always tell us, ‘this is going to be worth it, stick with it.’ She’s 100 percent involved. Without her help, we couldn’t have gotten this far.”

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“I’ve been able to build a staff of people who are hungry and excited, and want to make a difference in a company that has a historic legacy.”

— Chris Vaccaro ’07

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Chris Vaccaro is a manager who knows how to build a winning team: Start with a strong farm system.

Vaccaro’s team is The Topps Digital Company, where he serves as editor-in-chief. His farm system is Hofstra, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 2007.

Tapped to lead the operations and production team of the digital division for the iconic baseball card maker in 2012, Vaccaro has assembled a staff of 18 that includes eight Hofstra alums.

There’s the baseball fanatic, Jon Hanford ’12, and the world-class authority on soccer, Chari Bayanker ’10. Katharine Haggerty ’11, ’16 is a gamer and artist, while Ed Morrone ’08 brings his background as an award-winning journalist with an eye for a good story.

Anthony Barra and Tom Verde, both Class of 2012, worked together on New York Islanders broadcasts on WRHU-88.7 FM, Radio Hofstra University. And there’s Mike Salerno ’10, the staff’s veteran alum, and Nick Mazzarella ’16, the rookie who just started in May. “I’ve been able to build a staff of people who are hungry and excited, and want to make a difference in a company that has a historic legacy,” said Vaccaro. “The people I’ve hired weren’t just handed jobs; I just have a great pipeline of people who know outstanding candidates who bring different strengths to the table.”

which began as a humble Brooklyn business that sold chewing gum in 1938 and became a leading maker of childhood favorites Bazooka chewing gum, Ring Pops and Push Pops. The company began to include free trading cards in its gum packets that featured popular TV shows and sports stars, eventually growing into the nation’s No. 1 producer of sports and pop culture collectible trading cards.

Now, thanks to the work of Vaccaro and team, Topps Digital is the company’s fastestgrowing division, producing some of the most popular and top-grossing sports and entertainment trading card apps in the world.

Fans have “opened” more than 425 million card packs and collected more than 3 billion cards across Topps’ digital platforms.

One look at their Lower Manhattan office, and it’s clear that Vaccaro and his staff have a passion for collecting in all forms.

More than 60 boxes of trading cards sit in foot-high stacks along the top of a cabinet in Vaccaro’s office, and framed player posters lean against the window. There are autographed footballs and commemorative baseballs, even a Mets Pez dispenser. Oh – and the bobbleheads. More than 100 of them – on his desk, on the shelves, and along the radiator. And those are just the ones he keeps at the office. The most prized bobbleheads in his collection of more than 500 are at home, including the custom-made bride and groom that topped his wedding cake and was featured on ESPN’s Mike & Mike.

A former editor at the New York Daily News and AOL, Vaccaro initially joined Topps to manage content as the company worked on a reboot of its website. But he was quickly asked to lead its new venture creating mobile apps for digital card collecting. As editor-in-chief, he now oversees an operation that creates, designs, and markets seven trading card apps covering baseball, football, soccer, mixed martial arts, and wrestling, as well as Star Wars and The Walking Dead.

He’s also amassed more than 50,000 baseball cards since age 5, when he first remembers going to card shows and hobby shops with his father in search of Mike Piazza and Cal Ripken Jr. cards and memorabilia.

“It’s been a dream to help a historic company build its new digital team and evolve with technology and media,” he said of Topps,

That’s how Vaccaro got the Hofstra baseball cap signed by New York Yankees color commentator Ken Singleton that sits on his

And like all collectors, the team at Topps Digital is always up for a good trade.

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“ I love working for Chris. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who works as hard as he does, and his ambition is contagious. When he’s fired up about something, I become fired up about it.”

— Nick Mazzarella ’16

shelf. (Singleton played for the Pride and went on to win a World Series with the Baltimore Orioles in 1983.)

Acquired in a trade with Hanford, the cap cost Vaccaro five autographed baseball cards: Vernon Law, Omar Vizquel, Cecil Cooper, George Hendrick and Nick Johnson.

“Penmanship is hard to come by these days, but each of these players had a good-looking signature,” said Hanford, explaining the transaction. “Hendrick [a major league outfielder] in particular has a reputation for being one of the toughest autographs to obtain in person, so I wanted to add these cards to my collection.”

“The signed cap ... was unique and cool for anyone who loves Hofstra history,” he said.

“Sentimentally the trade was pretty even, but objectively speaking, I definitely got the better deal!”

Hanford was a production assistant at MLB.com before he joined Topps last year.

He sits directly across from Salerno, who was hired in 2013. Both are producers for Topps’ baseball app, BUNT. Salerno never knew Vaccaro at Hofstra; the two met when Salerno freelanced for Vaccaro at AOL’s Patch.com.

Bayanker came on board in 2014 to work on KICK, the company’s global soccer app, and Morrone was recruited the following year to work on the football app HUDDLE.

“Ed has a knack for storytelling, and his ability to turn ideas into card sets and themes is top-notch,” Vaccaro said of his former co-sports editor at The Hofstra Chronicle.

Vaccaro met Hanford and Mazzarella when they were students in his class at The Lawrence Herbert School of Communication, where he has taught evening classes for the last six years on advanced news writing and reporting, media ethics, copyediting, and digital media.

Mazzarella is the first Hofstra alum to have worked at Topps as an intern and part-time producer before being offered a full-time job as an associate producer for the just-released wrestling and UFC apps, Topps UFC KNOCKOUT and Topps WWE SLAM. “I didn’t even know app producing was a thing before I became involved with Topps,” Mazzarella said. “I jumped at the opportunity that Chris presented to me, and I’m very appreciative of the fact that I have a job right out of college.”

“I love working for Chris. You’d be hardpressed to find someone who works as hard as he does, and his ambition is contagious. When he’s fired up about something, I become fired up about it,” Mazzarella said. “I can’t imagine there’s a group that’s more fun to be around.

There’s great camaraderie among the team.”

Vaccaro often reminds his students to be prepared and open to new career possibilities, citing his own experience as an example.

From left: Nick Mazzarella ’16; Ed Morrone ’08; Katharine Haggerty ’11, ’16; Mike Salerno ’10; Chris Vaccaro ’07; Anthony Barra ’12; Chari Bayanker ’10; Tom Verde ’12; and Jon Hanford ’12.

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“When Topps launched its first mobile app in 2012, the stars really aligned for me because I was the only one there who really knew content, sports, and baseball cards,” he said. “I was also able to apply my previous experiences in media, and we were able to turn the project into something we could have never expected.”

“If you look at my resume and career trajectory, I have a degree in print journalism, and all I wanted to be at one point was a sports writer,” he said. “I started in newspapers, but then I went to online, and from that I went to mobile, so I always tell my students it’s all about knowledge meeting opportunity at every step of my career.”

Vaccaro chose Hofstra after his freshman English teacher at Sachem High School inspired him to pursue journalism. “I fell in love with writing and telling stories about sports,” he said.

“And I wanted to go to a college that had both a Division I sports program that I could write about and also a strong journalism program.”

His college experience was largely rooted in The Chronicle. “Story budgets, doing layouts, staying late on deadline nights — those are my favorite memories.”

Since the start of his career, Vaccaro has written five books on Long Island sports history (including one about Hofstra athletics), and his byline has appeared in more than 200 media outlets, including ESPN, Sports Illustrated, The Associated Press, Newsday, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. A lifelong New York Islanders hockey fan, he was thrilled when Rolling Stone assigned him to cover the team’s

last game at the Nassau Coliseum, in April 2015. (His 18-month-old son, Hunter, with wife Theresa, is named after famed Rolling Stone writer Hunter S. Thompson.)

Vaccaro is also the president of the Press Club of Long Island (PCLI), and helped found its Long Island Hall of Fame initiative, which honors local journalists.

Under his leadership, PCLI was recognized as a two-time national runner-up for the Society of Professional Journalists’ Chapter of the Year. He also relaunched the Herbert School’s SPJ student chapter, which was dormant for a decade, and is a member of its alumni association executive committee.

“Chris was always one step ahead of me in class,” said Carol Fletcher, associate professor and chair of the Department of Journalism, Media Studies and Public Relations, who taught Vaccaro as an undergraduate. “Even back then, he was incredibly productive, freelancing for a range of magazines, writing books, you name it. He has the same tremendous energy and creativity now, and is much loved by students and has so enriched their experiences here.”

Earlier this year, Vaccaro was named one of Long Island Business News’ “40 Under 40,” a roster of rising local leaders in business, government, education, and the nonprofit sector.

“ I always tell my students it’s all about knowledge meeting opportunity ...”

— Chris Vaccaro

“I’m living and breathing what I love and what I’m teaching my students,” he said. “It doesn’t get any better.”

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T A E P E E THR

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Hofstra University will make history on Monday, September 26, 2016, when we have the honor of hosting the first presidential debate – and becoming the first university to ever host three consecutive presidential debates.

But even before the Commission on Presidential Debates announced in July that Hofstra would be a debate host, the campus community was fully engaged in the 2016 presidential election, one of the most unconventional in modern history.

In February more than 100 students and faculty traveled to New Hampshire for its first-in-the-nation primary. A few months later, during the New York Republican primary campaign, hundreds of students, faculty and community residents attended a town hall at the Student Center with Ohio Gov. John Kasich. This summer, Hofstra students were in full force at the Republican and Democratic Conventions – covering the events as reporters for WRHU-88.7 FM, Radio Hofstra University, or interning as part of a Washington Center seminar.

As excitement builds for this year’s debate, here’s a look back at the 2008 and 2012 presidential debates at Hofstra – as well as how the Hofstra community has participated in the 2016 election so far.

Here’s a look back in photos at some moments from the 2008 and 2012 debates.

For more information, go to hofstra.edu/debate2016.

Join the #HofDebate16 conversation.

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The School of Engineering and Applied Science will get a new building to house its growing enrollment, thanks to a $25 million New York state grant.

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“Our new, state-of-the-art home for the School of Engineering and Applied Science will help address the demand for engineers and computer scientists with advanced skills necessary to transform and sustain the region’s economy for decades to come.”

— Hofstra President Stuart Rabinowitz

Dr. Sina Rabbany, acting dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) since December 2014 and a faculty member since 1990, was appointed to the permanent post in June by President Stuart Rabinowitz, who cited Dr. Rabbany’s success in building the school’s co-op program and Center for Innovation, as well as plans to launch new partnerships with local high schools and double the number of programs recognized by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) by the 2018-19 academic year.

Earlier in the year, the state announced a $25 million grant to help fund a new, 65,000-square-foot building for SEAS as part of its goal to create a research corridor on Long Island. Hofstra will match the state grant. This new facility will help address the demand for highly skilled engineering and computer science professionals by providing students with access to state-of-the-art laboratories and other spaces, including new bioengineering and civil engineering labs, a soils and foundation lab, and a structures and vibrations lab.

The developments come as the school’s enrollment continues to grow. The number of undergraduate students, for example, has increased from 538 in fall 2014 to an estimated 700 this fall.

“Our new, state-of-the-art home for the School of Engineering and Applied Science will help address the demand for engineers and computer scientists with advanced skills necessary to transform and sustain the region’s economy for decades to come,” said Hofstra

President Stuart Rabinowitz. “The $25 million state grant, matched by Hofstra University, will fund a 65,000-square-foot building to accommodate rapidly increasing enrollment, new and expanded programs and our Center for Innovation. We are gratified that the state is supporting the development of a research corridor on Long Island to expand the partnerships between higher education institutions, industry and government that are so critical to building an innovation economy.”

Hofstra’s School of Engineering and Applied Science offers students opportunities for scholarly research and practical experience through a co-op program. The program, launched in 2015, offers students extended full-time paid work experience at local companies.

Already, more than 100 companies are participating in the program. The Center for Innovation, in which local industries contract with the center to solve technical problems, also provides students with opportunities to put their knowledge and skills into practice.

At the same time, the school has invested more than $11 million on Big Data and robotics labs, and new equipment – resources that are made available to all students, including undergraduates, from the beginning of their studies. In addition, students have opportunities to work with faculty on groundbreaking research.

Among them is Dr. Rabbany, who was founding director of the bioengineering program and is internationally recognized for his innovative research (including several patents) in the areas of cardiovascular dynamics, biosensors, vascular biology, and tissue engineering/ regenerative medicine. His work is also noteworthy for the number of undergraduate researchers he has directed, many of whom have gone on to earn advanced degrees.

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Friday-Sunday, October 7-9 featuring performances

by Gin Blossoms and Prince tribute band, The Purple Xperience

Stay tuned to hofstra.edu/fallfestival for ticket information and updates.

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Creating Conversation

Hofstra welcomes a wide range of speakers and sponsors varied academic symposia and conferences every year.

Marion Nestle

Speakers and performances throughout the 2015-16 year included White House Press Secretary Jay Carney; Wall Street Journal foreign affairs columnist Bret Stephens; New York Federal Reserve Bank President William Dudley; Dr. Marion Nestle, a world-renowned researcher on the science and socioeconomics of food choices; novelist Karen Russell; and Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The University also launched a new public lecture series, Science Night Live, featuring research by some of the top scientists in their fields.

J ay Carney

(second from right)

Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Bret Stephens

William Dudley

Creativity is essential to all disciplines – not just the arts, but education, science, medicine, language and business, too. The question of how to encourage creativity and whether it can be measured and taught were examined during an April 20 symposium, Can We Teach Creativity? Creativity Studies in 2016.

Among the topics: Creating an environment conducive to creativity.

Nurturing creativity in individuals, and in larger workplace and research communities. Analyzing concepts of creativity from the perspectives of experts from several different areas of study.

Highlights of the day included a performance of Tearing Down Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a deconstruction, adaptation and re-activation of scenes from Harriet Beecher Stowe’s iconic 19th century novel, directed by Hofstra Professor Cindy Rosenthal and performed by Hofstra students; a session on creativity in business; a discussion of new media outlets available on the internet and how they present new possibilities to rally civic engagement and community journalism; a music performance by Professor Emeritus Herbert A. Deutsch and Professor Francesca Cassio, the Sardarni Harbans Kaur Chair in Sikh Musicology; and a performance of Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind by the New York Neo-Futurists.

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“ It’s all around me. It’s what I do and who I am.

Whether I’m revising scripts in between classes or sitting on my couch on a Saturday working on a trick, I’m always clowning.”

ClownPrince – Matthew Lish ’19

Fifteen years ago, a father applied greasepaint to his young son’s face and took him to his first juggling show.

And just like that, Matthew Lish was in the family business.

“That was the first time I was really introduced to clowning,” Lish said. “I wanted to juggle immediately after that.”

Now a sophomore mechanical engineering major, Lish has been performing with his father, Bruce, and sister, Jessica, ever since.

The family entertains at pediatric wards and for organizations such as Ronald McDonald House, Autism Speaks, and the Diabetes Research Institute.

This spring, the second-generation clown from Queens, NY, introduced his alter ego, “Phineas” (after Phineas Taylor (P.T.) Barnum) to classmates and professors when he performed I Think, Therefore I Clown at Hofstra.

He took the audience through the evolution of clowning and spoke about the importance of laughter.

“People don’t just love his shows – they love Matt and Phineas, as well. All of the girls were shouting ‘Marry me, Phineas!’” said Dr. Lauren Kozol, assistant dean of Honors College and one of Lish’s professors at Hofstra.

Lish has given his offbeat, nontraditional magic, music and slapstick comedy an intellectual twist. He challenges audiences with a variety of brainteasers and feeds on their confusion.

“Don’t be afraid, and don’t worry about what others think. And finally, don’t forget to practice and showcase what you have to offer.”

– Matthew Lish Take juggling, for example. In I Think, Therefore I Clown, he uses his mathematics background to perform an act on the physics of juggling with “not one, not two, not even five, but THREE razor-sharp knives.”

In “Shakespeare’s Favorite Card Trick” Lish pulls out his deck of cards and performs sleights of hand while reciting a poem written in The Bard’s preferred meter, iambic pentameter: Friends, Romans, countrymen. Lend me your ears.

Alas a single deck of playing cards.

And I do love cards therefore go with me.

All different like the stars in the night sky.

Up there we gaze at their sparkly beauty.

Fifty-two red not blue but backs the same.

Plus two court jesters if you look closely.

“We spend a lot of time focusing on the negatives,” said Lish.

“And as we get older, it becomes more and more rare that we just stop and laugh at something.”

Lish is an Honors College student juggling schoolwork, clowning, running social media for the American Youth Circus Organization, and writing for a column in White Tops, the official Circus Fans Association of America (CFA) magazine.

If that’s not enough, Lish also holds the world record in the Record Holders Republic for juggling three clubs while bouncing on a pogo stick. He was offered a contract in September 2015 to tour with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus but decided to pursue his studies at Hofstra, with the understanding that the offer still stands after graduation.

A talented musician who plays several instruments, including the piano, ukulele, and musical saw, Lish incorporates clowning into everything he does. For him, it’s like breathing.

“It’s all around me. It’s what I do and who I am,” said Lish.

“Whether I’m revising scripts in between classes or sitting on my couch on a Saturday working on a trick, I’m always clowning.”

It is, quite literally, in his DNA. His father, Bruce, aka Dr. Molar Magic, is a dentist by day, but has been clowning since his college days. Lish and his dad are graduates of The New York Goofs, under the direction of the former dean of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College in Sarasota, Florida. They have written and performed three original off-Broadway shows together, and they entertain at hospitals and for charitable organizations with Jessica, aka Pupperdoodle.

Lish counts Harpo Marx, Abbott and Costello, Bill Irwin (aka Mr. Noodle), Penn & Teller, and Tim Minchin among his heroes. Joel Jeske, who wrote and stars in this year’s Big Apple Circus, has served as a special mentor and teacher for Lish, helping to expand his material over the years. Lish’s inspiration, however, doesn’t always come from people. The possibilities are endless in his parents’ garage, which overflows with cool gadgets and props.

Looking toward the future, Lish plans to clown as long as possible, noting that performing will always be a part of his life.

“I’m at my top when I’m on stage,” said Lish. “There’s nothing that makes me happier.”

Eventually he’d like to work as an imagineer in the design and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, combining his passion for spreading laughter with his interest in engineering.

“Take every opportunity to step outside of the everyday parameters that the world sets for you,” he said. “Don’t be afraid, and don’t worry about what others think. And finally, don’t forget to practice and showcase what you have to offer.”

Although you won’t see Lish sitting in class sporting his red nose and striped socks, you can almost always catch him at an Honors College Open Mic Night or performing at an event at Hofstra. You might even spot him in Central Park.

“There is nothing more rewarding for me,” Lish said, “than giving people that raw joy.”

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MIKED UP at WRHU ’’

You guys are good. You don’t fall apart when I give you this stuff. Good job.

’’

— Mike Francesa

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WFAN sports radio host Mike Francesa

broadcast his afternoon drive-time show live from the WRHU-88.7 FM (Radio Hofstra University) studios at The Lawrence Herbert School of Communication earlier this year, with several students working as engineers on the show. Francesa chatted with Hofstra President Stuart Rabinowitz and Men’s Basketball Coach Joe Mihalich. He also interviewed several students, asking them about their career aspirations and challenging them to deliver their best sports commentary, update or home run call. “You guys are good,” Francesa told the students. “You don’t fall apart when I give you this stuff. Good job.”

Francesa was on campus as a featured speaker at the national industry conference Talkers 2016: Bridging the Generations. The event is organized annually by Talkers magazine publisher and Hofstra alumnus Michael Harrison ’71, who presented the Herbert School with a donation to support WRHU and the Student Experience Fund, which helps fund enrichment programs outside the classroom, such as study abroad, research projects, internships, academic conferences, professional events and student organization activities. The gift was made on behalf of Goodphone Communications Inc., the multimedia firm that manages Talkers.

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’’

I heard my landlord yelling for me to come outside, and we all went out into the street with my neighbors.

’’

— Marissa Espinoza ’15

A natural disaster gives one alum’s scholarly work new meaning At first, she thought she was dizzy.

Then, Marissa Espinoza looked up and saw the living room chandelier swaying in her small apartment in Cumbayá, a suburb of Ecuador’s capital city, Quito.

“I heard my landlord yelling for me to come outside,” she said, “and we all went out into the street with my neighbors.”

She would soon learn that a 7.8 magnitude earthquake had struck the western coastal region of the small South American nation that day, killing more than 650 people, injuring 16,500 more, and causing widespread devastation.

Espinoza, a 2015 Hofstra graduate, was in the country on a Fulbright research grant, studying its banking system. Living in a mountain region about 100 miles from the quake’s epicenter, she escaped uninjured, but not unmoved, her experiences bringing a deep emotional resonance to her scholarly work.

Two days after the quake, Espinoza and another Fulbright student joined a relief group on a 10-hour bus ride through stalled traffic and small landslides to head into Tabuga, about 30 minutes south of Pedernales, one of the most damaged areas. There, they unloaded and distributed supplies – water, candles, matches, and toilet paper – late into the night. The next morning, they began again, giving out clothes, shoes, nonperishable food, and other necessities.

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“What really affected me emotionally was seeing the desperation on the faces of these families,” Espinoza said.

“To see them lose what little they had was devastating.”

At Hofstra, she triple majored in economics, political science and psychology and double minored in Spanish and Latin American and Caribbean studies. The combination provided a solid interdisciplinary understanding of how politics, financial markets and public policy intersect and affect the lives of the poor and disadvantaged.

She hopes to go to law school in a few years, after a stint in the U.S. Army Reserves.

“I’d like to work in some combination of economics and law and make the playing field more equal. For a child born into poverty in South America, it doesn’t matter how smart he is, how lucky he is; he’ll never have the same opportunities as those of us in the U.S.,” she says. “Being poor in the United States is so different from being poor anywhere else in the world, and I want to help those who can’t help themselves, especially families in South America.”

Espinoza was drawn to Ecuador for reasons academic and personal.

She wanted to fill a gap in academic research about the economy of a nation that she said is “often understudied and forgotten about.” Ecuador also happens to be where her father, Patricio, was born and raised until he came to the United States in his early 20s.

“He doesn’t talk much about his upbringing,” she said, “but he always emphasizes to be grateful for what me and my brother have, to appreciate everything and not be wasteful of what we have. He tried his hardest to give us everything we wanted as kids, which I think is because he didn’t have that himself.”

Meena Bose, PhD, executive dean of the public policy and public service program at the Peter S. Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy and International Affairs, was one of several professors in the Political Science and Economics departments who helped her brainstorm and fine-tune her Fulbright study/ research grant project proposal.

“Graduate study in economics in Ecuador will prepare Marissa for a career in financial policymaking, both domestic and international,” Bose wrote in her recommendation, “and she will apply what she learns to promote public policies that improve people’s lives.”

With strong competition from some 70 students who apply each year to study in Ecuador, Espinoza was one of only eight to win a spot among U.S. students.

During her eight months there, she studied the level of confidence Ecuadorians have in their banking system and how that has affected capital markets development, under the mentorship of her sponsor, Dr. Pedro Romero, an economist at La Universidad de San Francisco de Quito, a private liberal arts university. She lived and traveled on her own, finding time to go whitewater rafting on the Amazon River and ride a horse up the side of an active volcano overlooking the capital city.

She was about a month away from returning to the United States when the April 16 earthquake hit. Her experience helping in the relief efforts left a lasting mark. “The time I spent volunteering after the earthquake was more meaningful than anything else I did while I was in Ecuador, and I think more meaningful than any volunteer work I’ve ever done in my life,” she said. “You see the impact you’re making. You feel the gratitude from the families.

I felt like I had a true purpose in life.”

“One of the hardest things I didn’t quite ever adjust to in Ecuador was facing the poverty every single day — and I lived in the city, whereas the poverty is just so much worse in the rural areas,” Espinoza said. “Now that I’m back home, I think I feel a greater sense of gratitude than I’ve ever felt. It’s one thing to know how people live in other parts of the world, but it’s another to live it with them. Actually being there made me know exactly what that means.”

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Dr. Mary Anne Trasciatti Leads the Effort to Build a Memorial to the Victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire 38

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When Mary Anne Trasciatti first learned that New York state would fund a memorial to the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, she was, uncharacteristically, speechless.

“I struggled to find the words to express my emotions,” said Trasciatti, a professor of rhetoric and women’s studies at Hofstra and president of the Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition, describing her reaction to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s announcement of a $1.5 million grant to fund the memorial project.

The Remember the Triangle Coalition, formed in 2002, is a nonprofit group that is working on a permanent memorial on the Greenwich Village site of the historic fire, which killed 146 garment workers, most of them immigrant women, more than a century ago.

On March 25, 1911, a fast-moving fire raced through the upper floors of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory on Washington Place, trapping workers on upper floors, behind doors locked by managers to prevent theft. The factory building had only one fire escape, which collapsed during the blaze, and firefighters’ ladders reached only to the sixth floor of the 10-story building.

The Triangle Fire, which was the deadliest workplace disaster in the United States for almost a century, ushered in historic worker and fire safety reforms. Yet the lives of the women who perished remained largely unknown, except for one day each year when advocates, family members and firefighters gather at the building carrying shirtwaists bearing the names of the victims to commemorate the fire’s anniversary.

The Triangle Fire memorial will feature steel panels etched with the victims’ names installed on the building, which is now owned by New York University. NYU supports the memorial at the site. The total cost of the memorial will be an estimated $2.4 million.

“Creating a memorial that names women who worked hard and struggled and whose lives were lost, especially in this city where there are so few memorials to women, especially immigrant women, it’s a really big deal,” Trasciatti said.

Trasciatti led a panel discussion and exhibition at Hofstra earlier this year to commemorate the fire’s 105th anniversary. But for her, the effort is more than academic.

“My mom was a garment worker, and I remember her telling me she knew that she and the other women in the factory were safe because of Triangle,” she said. “Also, it’s a part of my history as an Italian American, a woman and a New Yorker.”

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SOCIAL@HOFSTRA

SOCIAL@HOFSTRA From the annual #dayinthepride to #HUTweetTreat (delivering free coffee to students around campus) to the men’s basketball team joining the #RunningManChallenge, Hofstra Pride was buzzing on social media this year. Hofstra University celebrated its second annual Day in the Pride on October 27, 2015. Students, faculty, staff, administrators, parents and alumni across the globe participated, documenting the everyday and extraordinary things that happen during a single 24-hour period.

Members of the Hofstra community showed us what they were up to with their ”Prides” (the people they share their time, interests and lives with, from their friends and families to their teammates and classmates) every Monday, using #MyPrideMonday.

The photo series #HumansofHofstra gave the world a unique view of the people who make up the Hofstra Pride, as did #HUOffice Hours – short videos featuring faculty and staff discussing their research or revealing hidden talents. For a look at Humans of Hofstra, visit Hofstra University on Facebook; and for HU Office Hours, check out Hofstra University on YouTube. All features can also be found at news.hofstra.edu.

For more information about Hofstra’s social campaigns, go to hofstra.edu/social.

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Hofstra’s new Center for Entrepreneurship injected fresh energy into the University’s startup culture this year, launching a slate of innovative programs, including Shark Tank-style competitions; mentoring by entrepreneurs; and a revamped Hofstra-CPXi Venture Challenge that drew the largest number of entries ever.

In its first year of operation, the center, under the leadership of Executive Dean Mark Lesko (former executive director of Accelerate Long Island), created a dynamic, integrated network of faculty and industry leaders to increase students’ opportunities for firsthand experience in entrepreneurship.

The center focuses on multidisciplinary entrepreneurship support and education, leveraging the research and entrepreneurial activities at the University’s 14 schools, including the Maurice A. Deane School of Law, Frank G. Zarb School of Business, Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine, and School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Chief among the center’s programs launched this year: opening its space, called the ideaHUb; sponsoring several Shark Tank-style pitch competitions (called Lion’s Dens); and creating an Entrepreneurs-inResidence program that brought to campus six serial entrepreneurs as mentors for students to help them develop their ideas into successful companies. The center also expanded the University’s entrepreneurship curriculum and created other business incubator programs.

“The entrepreneurs-in-residence helped us so much,” said Anthony Avgi, a rising sophomore biology major who was on the winning undergraduate team in the 2016 Hofstra-CPXi Venture Challenge. The team won $15,000 for its proposal for a staring-contest mobile app called Look. “They gave us pointers on our presentation and our business plan. They spent so much time with us.

We learned so much.”

The Hofstra-CPXi Venture Challenge, sponsored by Hofstra alumnus and trustee Mike Seiman, the founder and CEO of CPXi, drew 57 entries in 2016 – the most since the contest was launched. Students competed for a total of $42,000 in seed money for their ventures.

“These students really brought it,” Lesko said of the Venture Challenge. “The quality and the number of entries, the amount of effort these students put in, the level of professionalism – I would literally match it against any entrepreneur on Long Island.”

In the fall, the center plans another entrepreneurship competition – this one open to college students across the New York metropolitan region. The Hofstra-CPXi College Startup Challenge on Nov. 4, 2016, will offer a total of $50,000 in prize money for the best undergraduate business plans.

The impact of the entrepreneurs-in-residence was felt almost immediately. They kept regular office hours on campus, led interactive workshops on topics such as preparing a pitch, and coached students who entered the Hofstra-CPXi Venture Challenge.

For more information about the Center for Entrepreneurship, please visit hofstra.edu/entrepreneurship.

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We congratulate the following faculty for the KARA ALAIMO

SIMON DOUBLEDAY

Assistant Professor of Journalism, Media Studies, and Public Relations

Professor of History

Pitch, Tweet, or Engage on the Street: How to Practice Global Public Relations and Strategic Communication Routledge, August 1, 2016

ELFREDA BLUE Associate Professor of Specialized Programs in Education

S(student) E(environment) T(task) and T(technology) for 21st Century Learners (with co-editor Sarah McPherson) Nova Science Publishers, 2015

The Wise King: A Christian Prince, Muslim Spain, and the Birth of the Renaissance Basic Books, 2015

ERIC M. FREEDMAN Professor of Law

JENNIFER A. GUNDLACH Clinical Professor of Law

KEVIN MCELROY Associate Professor of Legal Research and Writing

ANDREW I. SCHEPARD Professor of Law

Vice Provost for Scholarship and Engagement and Associate Dean of Graduate Studies

Putting Legal Doctrine Into Practical Context: A Case File for Civil Advocacy Courses, Sachs v. Jefferson Institute of Technology

Introduction to Sustainability

Wolters Kluwer, 2015

ROBERT BRINKMANN

Wiley-Blackwell, 2016

ALAFAIR S. BURKE Professor of Law

The Ex

Professor of Law

Regulation of Tax Practice (2d. Ed) (with Michael B. Lang)

HarperCollins Publishers, 2016

Carolina Academic Press, 2016

JULIE BYRNE

GEORGE GIULIANI

Associate Professor of Religion and Monsignor Thomas Hartman Chair in Catholic Studies

The Other Catholics: Remaking America’s Largest Religion Columbia University Press, 2016

PELLEGRINO D’ACIERNO Professor of Comparative Literature and Languages

The Fat Man Arpeggios Guernica Editions, 2015

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LINDA GALLER

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Associate Professor of Specialized Programs in Education

The Classroom Teacher’s Behavior Management Toolbox (1st ed.) (with R. Pierangelo) Information Age Publishing, 2016

publication of their work: ROBERT GUTTMANN

We recognize the following faculty for their leadership appointments:

Professor of Economics

Finance-Led Capitalism: Shadow Banking, Re-Regulation, and the Future of Global Markets

MARGARET ABRAHAM

Palgrave Macmillan US, 2016

President, International Sociological Association (2014-2018)

PHILLIS LEVIN Professor of English and Poet in Residence

Mr. Memory & Other Poems

Professor of Sociology

MÓNICA BYRNE-JIMÉNEZ

Penguin Random House, 2016

Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

VALERIA LUISELLI

President, University Council for Educational Administration

Assistant Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures

The Story of My Teeth Coffee House Press, 2015

JULIA MARKUS Professor of English and Director of Undergraduate Creative Writing

Lady Byron and Her Daughters

MARY ANNE DUMAS Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Nurse Practitioner Programs; Director, Nurse Practitioner Programs; and Professor of Graduate Nursing

Commissioner, American Nurses Credentialing Center Accreditation Commission

W.W. Norton & Company, 2015

MARK MCEVOY Associate Professor of Philosophy

An Historical Introduction to the Philosophy of Mathematics: A Reader (with co-editor Russell Marcus) Bloomsbury Publishing, Spring 2016

DANIEL SCIARRA Professor of Counseling and Mental Health Professions

Difficult Students and Disruptive Behavior in the Classroom: Teacher Responses That Work (with V. Austin) Norton Books in Education, 2016

CHRISTOPHER ELIOT Associate Professor of Philosophy

Executive Editor, Philosophy and Theory in Biology

TOMEKA ROBINSON Associate Professor and Director of Forensics in the Department of Rhetoric

President-elect, Pi Kappa Delta National Honorary Society, the nation’s oldest collegiate debate organization

SUSAN YOHN Professor of History

President, Berkshire Conference of Women Historians

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Hofstra Athletics The Hofstra University basketball programs had great success in 2015-16.

Both teams advanced to the postseason, the only Colonial Athletic Association institution to have its men’s and women’s teams compete in postseason play.

P O HO AMS E R D

The women’s team posted a 25-9 record, one win shy of the school record for wins, and advanced to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament Quarterfinals. It was Hofstra’s ninth season overall of posting at least 20 wins, and the second in as many years. The Hofstra men posted a 24-10 record, won the CAA regular season championship and earned an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament.

The Pride’s 24 wins tied for the second-most in the Division I era (since 1972-73).

c Hofstra advanced to the WNIT Quarterfinals for the second

time in program history with a 65-57 win over Virginia; the Pride also made it to the WNIT Quarterfinals in 2007. Hofstra advanced to the quarterfinals with wins over Harvard, at Villanova and Virginia.

z

z Hofstra, tipping off against CAA rival College of Charleston, was 14-1 at home in 2015-16.

The 14 wins tied the program record for home wins set by the 1978-79 squad.

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Women’s Basketball Coach Krista Kilburn-Steveskey (left, with Assistant Coach Denise King) won her 163rd career game in a 58-49 victory over Delaware on January 3, 2016.

The win moved her to the top of Hofstra Women’s Basketball’s career victory list.

Coach Kilburn-Steveskey now has 178 victories in 10 seasons at Hofstra.

Hofstra Athletics v The Pride celebrates in the locker

room following an 82-77 win over Florida State at the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Brian Bernardi led four players in double figures with 24 points. The win was Hofstra’s first over Florida State and just the fifth win against a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference.

v Joe Mihalich picked up the 300th victory of his career in an 84-80 win at La Salle on December 2, 2015.

Coach Mihalich, a 1978 graduate of La Salle, had spent 17 seasons as an assistant coach for the Explorers. He is now 319-250 in his 19 seasons as a collegiate head coach.

z Sophomore Rokas Gustys emerged as one of the preeminent big men in college basketball in 2015-16.

The 6-9 forward averaged a double-double with 13.5 points and 13 rebounds per game, leading the CAA and ranking second in the nation in rebounding. He had 22 double-doubles on the season and set a CAA Championship record with 23 rebounds in the championship game against UNCW. Gustys, who set the Hofstra single season record (Division I era) with 442 rebounds, earned All-CAA, All-NABC District and All-Met accolades.

v Sophomore forward Ashunae Durant followed up her 2014-15 Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Year Award by earning second team All-CAA accolades in 2015-16. Durant averaged 11.4 points and a team-best 8.9 rebounds per game. Durant also was named to the All-Met Second Team by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association.

z Senior guard Juan’ya Green played just

two seasons at Hofstra, but had an incredible year that saw him earn Associated Press Honorable Mention All-America, CAA Player of the Year, All-NABC District, All-ECAC and All-Met accolades.

He averaged 17.8 points and 7.1 assists per game, one of just four players in the nation to average 17 points and seven assists. He closed his career with a combined 2,317 points between Hofstra and Niagara. His 1,186 Hofstra points rank 22nd all-time and his 463 career assists place him sixth on the all-time list. His 243 assists in 2015-16 is a program record.

v Hofstra returned to Madison Square Garden for the first time in six seasons and recorded an 86-80 win over Appalachian State in the Aeropostale Holiday Festival. The win was Hofstra’s first at the World’s Most Famous Arena since 2006 and improved the Pride’s record to 10-9 all-time at the Garden.

z Darius Faulk, wearing Hofstra’s special pink uniforms for breast cancer awareness, enjoyed her best season at Hofstra as the senior guard and averaged 9.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and a team-best 5.2 assists and 1.9 steals per game. Faulk earned All-CAA Defensive Team honors for her fine play.

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TWIN BILL Men’s and Women’s Soccer Make NCAA Runs

Junior forward Joseph Holland

Hofstra’s soccer programs have experienced their share of success through the years, and the 2015 Pride season saw both squads advance to the second round of their NCAA Tournaments.

The two teams, which have been among the Pride’s strongest programs recently, also share a unique history: Women’s Soccer Head Coach Simon Riddiough played for Men’s Soccer Head Coach Richard Nuttall as a Hofstra undergraduate student-athlete from 1990 to 1994.

Since 2004 the two programs have combined for nine NCAA Tournament appearances, with each feeding off the other’s success as they strive for CAA championships and NCAA appearances.

“The success of our program in 2015 was thoroughly enjoyable,” Riddiough said. “The fact that the men’s team

had similar success made the season even better.

Obviously Richard and I have a special bond and a great friendship that goes back more than 25 years, and as an alum of the program, I revel in any success that they achieve.”

For Nuttall, the season was all the more satisfying because he shared the success with Riddiough.

“Seeing Simon build the women’s program into what it has become makes me incredibly proud as his former coach and as a friend and colleague,” Nuttall said. “I think that having both teams successful is a benefit for all of our programs here at Hofstra and for soccer on Long Island as a whole.”

Hofstra was one of only 10 schools to have both soccer programs appear in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

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Richard Nuttall

Hofstra Athletics Hofstra was one of 14 schools to have both soccer programs earn berths in the NCAA Tournament.

The similarities don’t end there. Each squad was led on the pitch by dynamic superstars (Leah Galton and Joseph Holland) who posted remarkable seasons that culminated with both winning Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year honors and earning All-America accolades.

Despite being picked third in the CAA preseason coaches poll, the Pride men got off to a quick start to the 2015 campaign, winning its first four contests of the season, including a season-opening 2-1 victory over #15 Syracuse.

In fact, Hofstra got off to a 6-1 start. The Pride opened conference play and added its second win against a ranked team with a 2-1 victory over #24 UNCW, sending a message to the CAA and the nation that Hofstra was a force to be reckoned with in 2015.

The Pride women, meanwhile, began the season at the Penn State Invitational, where they faced two of the top teams in the nation. The Pride was tested, dropping one-goal contests to nationally ranked Penn State (#6) and Rutgers (#24). (The Nittany Lions went on to capture the national title, while Rutgers advanced to the College Cup before falling in the national semifinals to Penn State.) After those losses, Hofstra won five straight games and eight out of nine.

Simon Riddiough

season CAA crown, and was the program’s first win over a top-10 program since defeating then-#7 Old Dominion in 2005.

Coach Nuttall’s squad rode that wave to a tremendous showing in the CAA Championship, not allowing a goal in consecutive 2-0 victories over James Madison and Delaware to capture the CAA crown. That showing led to Hofstra hosting a firstround home game in the NCAA Tournament, where the Pride defeated Lehigh for its third-ever NCAA Tournament victory.

Riddiough’s crew suffered a heartbreaking doubleovertime loss to eventual CAA Champion James Madison in the semifinals. But the team’s outstanding season was rewarded with an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history.

Just like the men’s team, the Pride women reached the second round for the third time in their history, marking another milestone of shared success and history.

“The camaraderie between our programs starts with the coaches,” Nuttall said, “but extends to the student-athletes on both teams. I think that they are each other’s biggest fans.”

Conference play proved pivotal for both teams.

On the women’s side, the Pride suffered just one defeat during its conference slate, going 7-1-1 in CAA regular season play. The team earned the right to host the conference tournament, a feat the men soon matched.

The men’s team won its first five CAA games, and after suffering a 1-0 loss to Charleston, the Pride defeated #10 Elon for arguably the biggest statement win of the season.

That victory ultimately helped Hofstra capture the regular

Senior forward Leah Galton

CLASS ACTS During the 2015-16 year, Hofstra student-athletes: t Earned a record 3.26 GPA t 13 of 17 teams scored a perfect 1000 on the NCAA Academic Progress Rate t Participated in 47 community service projects, logging more than 3,100 hours of service t Earned the Division of Student Affairs Good Neighbor Award H Ho o ff ss tt rr a a

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Hofstra Athletics

STEPPING UP TO THE P LATE Former Hofstra softball student-athlete Jen Pawol made history in June when she became the first female umpire in the Gulf Coast League (GCL) since 1978, and the first female umpire in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) since 2007. She is only the seventh woman to ever umpire in a Major League Baseball-affiliated league.

Pawol, who caught for Hofstra from 1996 to 1998, made her minor league debut in Dunedin, FL, working behind the plate for the GCL Blue Jays-GCL Tigers game. She was selected in 2015 to attend the MiLB Advanced Course, where top candidates from the Umpire Training Academy qualify for further training. Her performance in this course led to her assignment to the Gulf Coast League.

A three-time all-conference selection, Pawol was an infielder who played 161 games for the Pride, batting .332 for her career. During her career, Hofstra posted a combined 110-51 record and went 33-3 in North Atlantic/America East Conference play.

She took some time recently to reflect on her place in history, opportunities for women in sports and her second career as an artist and photographer — a passion she has pursued since she majored in painting as an undergraduate student at Hofstra.

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Hofstra Athletics Who was the first person you called/told when you found out you were named an umpire in MiLB? The first person I called after receiving my invite into MiLB was John Kurnat, my mentor from the Colonial [Athletic Association] as well as 20 years in the Big Ten. John is a threetime Women’s College World Series NCAA Division I umpire and a career-long baseball umpire. We prepared extensively on a variety of topics, discussing improving every day, professionalism, game management, gender, size, hustle and conditioning that would help me train to be successful during the tryout process. John has mentored many young men and women into success umpiring within the Big Ten and into the NCAA Division I postseason. I am very grateful for the investment of time he has dedicated toward my umpire training and development. He absolutely deserved to hear the good news first!

Why do you think it’s been so long since there’s been a female MiLB umpire?

The past 10 years have been extremely prolific for women’s softball, women’s sports in general and women working in men’s sports. Women have had a lot of new choices, and perhaps umpiring hasn’t been as “attractive” when compared to all of the other new, less risky opportunities. Women’s softball has absolutely exploded with job growth for coaching, athletic training and administration positions. Also, consider the additional new career choices for all of women’s sports such as marketing, equipment, and uniform industries. Then expand this to the efforts by men’s sports administrations to include women for career positions on their staffs.

There are a lot of new work opportunities!

From my personal experience within the Major League Baseball Umpire Camp tryouts, the MiLB Umpire Training Academy, the MiLB Advanced Course and now as a current MiLB professional umpire, I can say

with a 200 percent certainty that professional baseball has also been an active participant in this prolific 10-year period attracting women for career positions in baseball. When you ask specifically about umpiring, we need to step back and remember that umpiring is only fun if you love it. In general, most people (men and women) do not love it. There are not a lot of people out there who willingly choose to sign up for a career that involves the possibility of being hit by a 90+mph baseball, or traveling away from home for six months at a time, or taking on the athletic challenge of physically running on the huge baseball diamond day after day no matter that the weather, learn all of the rules and mechanics, and get all of the calls right. It takes a certain personality to want to umpire. It also takes good timing for job openings. It is very risky to go down this career path, because no one knows if they will become good enough or if a position will open for promotion before they pass their prime.

For the past three years, I have been offering beginner youth umpire training classes to help speed up the numbers process by attracting women and girls into umpiring. My classes introduce umpiring both baseball and softball to girls and boys early enough in a way that makes umpiring fun and achievable.

Personally, I wish I had been introduced to umpiring while I was in college or high school. The umpire drills we do are fun and interactive. I help them with uniforms and find them plate equipment. Often, I am at the field with the new umpires as they pull their new shirts and pants right out of the wrappers from the manufacturer. We take the time to teach the basic rules and mechanics weeks before games begin. I am dedicated to exposing girls and boys to umpiring to find as many potential future umpires as possible.

Describe what you were thinking as you got ready for that first game.

I was enjoying the experience of my first day as a professional umpire. The Blue Jays were the home team, and their umpire locker room was the biggest I had ever seen dedicated to umpires.

There were six huge lockers, a full double bath room, two full showers, table and chairs, laundry, towels, all kinds of sports soaps, shaving creams, hair gels, mouth washes, mirrors, sinks, refrigerator, and plenty of space for stretching out to warm up. We had everything we needed to prepare mentally and physically for the game.

Did the first batter, or the catcher, acknowledge you and the somewhat historic nature of your first game, or was it just business as usual?

We did take a commemorative photograph that included my partner, Scott Molloy, and both head coaches from the Blue Jays and Tigers. Aside from that special moment at the plate meeting, we got right into business as usual. The pitcher threw his eight warm-up pitches, the catcher threw the last one down to second base, I swept the plate, got into position as did the batter, and yelled “Play!”

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How did playing at Hofstra prepare you for what you’re doing now?

What was your first call – do you remember the location of the pitch (down and in, high and tight?)?

What did the batter do?

First pitch of the game was a ball. The batter struck out looking, which made my first big call a called strikeout!

Did you anticipate the attention/press, or was that a surprise? Did you feel any additional pressure as a result of it?

We did prepare for attention and press. Professional baseball values and protects their tradition more than any other sport. The history of baseball is a passion for many writers. So I did expect people to become enthusiastic as the season started. Whenever something unique occurs to add to the history of baseball, much is usually written about that event. I didn’t feel any pressure, more so anticipation and excitement because of all of the training leading up to the start of my professional career.

Did you allow yourself to celebrate the accomplishment after the game, or was it just one step in a journey?

It felt great to get off to a good start. The most significant moment occurred after the game. Jeff Lantz, MiLB senior director of communications, came in and asked me to sign baseballs. He then went on to say that “stickers of authenticity” would be placed on them. I understood at that moment the magnitude of the day, and that it had forever changed my life. I am so excited to embark on the great challenge to pursue a long journey in professional baseball.

What was the craziest play you’ve ever made the call on?

Triple play during my very first game umpiring one-man!

How did you end up umpiring?

I chose to transition into umpiring as I finished up my playing career.

Umpiring became the next challenge for me to channel my drive into.

What’s harder: playing or umpiring?

Umpiring is by far much harder than playing. I used to obsess about hitting well over .300 during my season to be considered a “good” hitter. As an umpire, to be considered “good,” I have to get every single call correct game after game. Umpires have to bat .1000 every time they take the field.

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Competing for [retired] Head Coach Bill Edwards is directly significant to my success now on the professional baseball field, and as a dual business owner and art educator. Bill Edwards expected and cultivated all of the women on his teams to be independent thinkers and to become self-made. He encouraged all of the women to think for themselves, to make split second decisions on the field, to allow their individual talent to express itself, and to make our Hofstra Softball team stronger. Hofstra Softball became Hofstra Softball because Bill Edwards empowered every woman who earned a Dutch uniform to build the reputation of the program one play, one hit, one run, one win at a time.

Young women especially need to be encouraged to think for themselves and act on their ambition. Too often I see girls being scolded for independent thinking on plays. If a catcher sees an opportunity to pick off a runner, and has the arm to do it, that aggressive nature needs to be cultivated rather than squashed because of a fear of failure.

Decision-making skills are vital to umpiring. A strong umpire will do well if they can think for themselves. A weak umpire will continue to doubt themselves when pressure from fans, coaches or players arises in response to a call. As a woman, I believe that strong decision-making is necessary to become successful in all areas of life, from buying a car, to buying a house, or building a career.

Who were your mentors at Hofstra?

I had three mentors during my playing career at Hofstra: Head Coach Bill Edwards and the Aigotti twins, Chrissy and Lora.

Did you have any family or friends at your first game?

My family and friends were not able to attend the first game, although some do plan to visit during the season. They have been texting, calling and emailing me like crazy!

Anything else you want to add?

My major at Hofstra was fine arts: painting. I continue to make artwork as a professional photographer and artist with my own studio (www.pawolpictures.com). I am using the art education I received at Hofstra University. The paintings I have been making over the years are of the strike zone of games I umpire or watch live. I went on to earn an MFA in painting from Hunter College in New York City, 2005.

I also pursued an art education teaching career, having earned my K-12 NYS Teaching Certification in 2008. After all of this excitement with professional baseball, I am looking forward to returning to my home where I operate a second business called Evolve. I train baseball and softball players to prepare for the college recruiting process, as well as encourage them to become well-rounded student-athletes in the arts, umpiring, and local community.

Keeping the

Celebrating the 2016 Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize Recipients Her work engages with the challenges of religious pluralism in an inter-religious American society that has witnessed the growth of Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jain, and Zoroastrian communities. Her most recent book is India: A Sacred Geography.

Pardeep Kaleka

Diana Eck, PhD

Two organizations dedicated to promoting tolerance and religious understanding through education, research and leadership training were recognized with Hofstra University’s 2016 Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize.

The Pluralism Project at Harvard University, created in 1991, was inspired by the increasing religious diversity of the United States, diversity that its founder and director, Diana Eck, PhD, a professor of religious studies at Harvard, saw in her classes.

Serve2Unite, a Milwaukee-based organization that focuses on youth and community outreach, was forged from tragedy, created by Pardeep Kaleka and the Sikh community after Kaleka’s father and five others were killed in a shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, in 2012.

“These two organizations use education and dialogue to promote tolerance, compassion and religious understanding. Now more than ever, I can think of no work that is more important,” said Hofstra President Stuart Rabinowitz. “Their unwavering commitment is a testament to the principles Guru Nanak represents.”

Dr. Eck and Mr. Kaleka came to campus on April 18, 2016, and participated in a panel discussion titled “Healing Hate: Taking the Challenge of Religious Pluralism.” They spent time meeting with students and explaining their research and work with the community. Later that evening, they and their organizations were honored with a reception at The Garden City Hotel.

Dr. Eck is professor of comparative religion and Indian studies, Fredric Wertham Professor of Law and Psychiatry in Society in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and director of The Pluralism Project at Harvard University (pluralism.org).

“I am humbled and honored to be able to accept this on behalf of The Pluralism Project,” Eck said. “A prize offered in the name of Guru Nanak is a very special honor indeed.

I am also very pleased that we will be sharing the prize with Serve2Unite.”

Mr. Kaleka, a former Milwaukee police officer, is the eldest son of Satwant Singh Kaleka – the president of the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, who, along with five others, was shot and killed by a white supremacist in 2012 in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Pardeep Kaleka, now a teacher, co-founded Serve2Unite (serve2unite.org) to fight hate and violence with encounter and education.

“We at Serve2Unite are extremely honored and humbled by the award,” Kaleka said. “Serve2Unite was founded upon the same ideology that Guru Nanak established the Sikh religion upon: equality for all, regardless of caste, class, color, creed or culture. Our mission is to carry this torch of justice forward in utter defiance of fear, ignorance and hatred; to cultivate courage, wisdom, love and human kinship on our earth.”

The $50,000 Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize is bestowed every two years to recognize significant work to increase interfaith understanding.

The Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize was established in 2006 by Ishar Bindra and family and named for the founder of the Sikh religion. It is meant to encourage understanding of various religions and encourage cooperation between faith communities. Guru Nanak believed that all humans are equal, regardless of color, ethnicity, nationality or gender.

Tejinder Bindra, a member of the University’s Board of Trustees, has said of the Interfaith Prize: “The awardees may or may not be Sikh and may represent any of the multitudes of faiths or, for that matter, even no particular faith at all. It is their dedication that brings humankind to their shared destiny, common purpose and roots that they honor.”

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