Fall 2025 Hofstra Magazine

Eastern Wisdom

In July, Executive MBA and Online MBA students in the Frank G. Zarb School of Business traveled to Japan as part of their Global Practicum.

The program allows students to study and learn in an international business environment. Visiting Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo, they toured global companies and production facilities and met with executives. They also took part in numerous cultural immersion opportunities, such as visiting Osaka Castle, seen here, originally constructed in the 16th century.

Photos by Brittany McGowan ’20; MBA, ’26

FEATURES

The Business of Science

PAGE 24

Hofstra University and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, two of the region’s top research facilities, team up and trade notes in a new crosscampus, interdisciplinary initiative.

PAGE 29

Forensic linguistics is a little-known field having a big impact on the legal world. The discipline’s only graduate program in the U.S. is at Hofstra — all thanks to a founding member of Sha Na Na.

A Symbol of Change

PAGE 34

Change is inevitable, but can also be invigorating, inspiring, and inviting. Those adjectives describe Hofstra’s new branding, which honors tradition and embraces the future.

PAGE 40

In 2025, the popular Hofstra LA program was extended from one week to an entire semester. The change gave students months to immerse themselves in the world of media and entertainment.

Artwork by Bianca Santaromana ’26

Photo by Matteo Bracco

President’s Letter

Dear Hofstra University Alumni and Friends,

Welcome to the fall 2025 issue of Hofstra Magazine!

The cover story showcases Hofstra’s refreshed brand identity, which was introduced to the community last spring. Anchored by a new logo that reimagines the familiar “H,” the shield doubles as both an open book, symbolizing continuous learning, and a tulip, reflecting Hofstra’s Dutch heritage and a spirit of renewal. Supporting the vision and momentum of the Hofstra 100 strategic plan, the new brand conveys the University’s energy and commitment to progress. Our story provides a behind-the-scenes look at the rebranding process and its significance for Hofstra’s future.

With new partnerships and unique initiatives, Hofstra continues to innovate in order to grow and strengthen our academic programs. The Frank G. Zarb School of Business partnered with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory to create the Bioscience Business Innovation Program, which brings PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers from Cold Spring Harbor to campus to learn how to transform their discoveries and new technology into startup businesses.

Faculty in Hofstra’s master’s program in forensic linguistics, the only program of its kind in the country, work with students to analyze language in legal and other settings. Using illustrations taken from an array of lawsuits on which Hofstra faculty have consulted, this interdisciplinary program prepares graduates for careers in a growing and evolving field.

This year marked the launch of the Hofstra LA Semester. Students in the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication had the opportunity to live, work, and study in Hollywood while tapping into career development resources, networking with industry leaders, and learning from members of Hofstra’s alumni community. With additional alumni engagement, we are looking forward to creating similar programs focused on other disciplines.

This edition of Hofstra Magazine is filled with inspiring stories, key milestones, and alumni achievements we are proud to share. I urge you stay connected with your alma mater, engage with fellow alumni and friends, and share your news with us at hofstra.edu/alumni

Sincerely,

Susan Poser President

President Dr. Susan Poser

Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

Dr. Charles Riordan

Interim Vice President for Development and Alumni Affairs

Dr. Jean Peden Christodoulou

Vice President for Marketing and Communications

Terry Coniglio

Assistant Vice President for Creative Services

Francis A. Rizzo III

Managing Editor

Andrew Sheldon

Creative Director

Kelvin Fonville

Editorial Director

Linda Merklin

University Photographer Matteo Bracco

Senior Business Manager

Jessica Ramos

Contributors

Lindsey Angioletti

Stephanie Flynn

Heidi J. Goldenberg

Stephen Gorchov

Ginny Greenberg

Nick Kapatos

Andy Kissoon

Brittany McGowan

Michael O’Connor

Amy Reich

Len Skoros

Cover

ARTWORK Ruth Becker

PHOTO Matteo Bracco

DESIGN Kelvin Fonville

Spanning Campus

2025Commencement Speakers

M eet Hofstra University’s distinguished s pring 2025 commencement speakers.

JAMES D’ADDARIO, BA, ’71; LHD, ’25

Chairman and Chief Innovation Officer, D’Addario & Company, Inc.

Undergraduate Ceremony I

James D’Addario is chairman and chief innovation officer of D’Addario & Company, Inc., one of the world’s leading designers and manufacturers of musical instrument accessories. He previously served as the company’s CEO, spearheading the business’s remarkable growth from five employees and $500,000 in annual sales to 1,200 employees and $200 million in sales.

As chief innovation officer, D’Addario is responsible for driving innovation throughout the enterprise, particularly in product development and the engineering of the company’s vast portfolio of accessory products. As chairman of the board of directors, D’Addario helps lead stockholders and board members in shaping the company’s vision and mission.

D’Addario graduated from Hofstra in 1971 with a BA in Music. Two years later, he and his wife, Janet, founded the eponymous company. James D’Addario received a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, at Hofstra’s spring undergraduate commencement ceremony.

HEATHER COHEN, BA, ’98

President, The Weiss Agency

President, Hofstra University Alumni Organization

Undergraduate Ceremony II

Heather Cohen is president of The Weiss Agency, a leading broadcast talent agency that represents and cultivates the careers of many of the industry’s top local and syndicated personalities. Prior to joining The Weiss Agency, Cohen served as vice president of programming at Greenstone Media, LLC, and was the assistant program director for New York’s iconic WOR Radio, overseeing the station’s local and national on-air content, programs, and production. She also served as the executive producer for The Joan Hamburg Show.

Cohen graduated with a BA in Audio/Radio and Rhetorical Studies. She currently serves as president of the executive board of Hofstra University’s Alumni Organization and has previously served as both vice president for programs and vice president for services. She is also a member of The Lawrence Herbert School of Communication Dean’s Advisory Board and former president of the school’s alumni association. Cohen recently completed her term on the board of directors of the Hofstra George M. Estabrook Alumni Association.

JOHN C. WILLIAMS, PHD; LHD, ’25

President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of New York Graduate Ceremony

John C. Williams is president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In this role, he serves as the vice chair and a permanent voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee. Before joining the New York Fed in 2018, Williams was president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, having assumed that role in 2011. Prior to that appointment, he was the director of research for the San Francisco Fed, which he joined in 2002.

Williams began his career in 1994 as an economist with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. In addition, he served as a senior economist in the White House Council of Economic Advisers and lecturer at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. Williams holds a PhD in Economics from Stanford University, an MS from the London School of Economics, and an AB from the University of California at Berkeley. He received a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, at Hofstra’s spring graduate commencement ceremony.

THE HONORABLE ROWAN D. WILSON, JD; LLD, ’25

Chief Judge of the State of New York and the New York Court of Appeals Maurice A. Deane School of Law Ceremony

The Honorable Rowan D. Wilson, chief judge of the State of New York and the New York Court of Appeals, earned his AB from Harvard College in 1981 and his JD from Harvard Law School in 1984. He was admitted to the bar of the State of California and later to the bar of the State of New York. From 1984 to 1986, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable James R. Browning, chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, based in San Francisco.

In 1986, he joined the firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York City as an associate and was named a partner in 1991. His practice encompassed a wide variety of matters, including antitrust; intellectual property; securities and common-law fraud; contract, labor, and employment; civil rights; and First Amendment issues. While in private practice, he served on the boards of several charitable and not-for-profit organizations and handled numerous pro bono matters. In 2017, he was nominated and confirmed to serve as an associate judge of the Court of Appeals. Two years ago, Judge Wilson was elevated to chief judge of the Court of Appeals and the State of New York.

Judge Rowan Wilson received a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law’s spring commencement ceremony.

WAYNE RILEY, MD; LHD, ’25

President,

SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University

Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell Ceremony

Wayne Riley, MD, is the 17th president of the State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Health Sciences University and professor of medicine and health policy management. He is an academic primary care general internist with more than 25 years of executive management and leadership experience in academic medicine, healthcare management, government, and advocacy. Before joining Downstate, Riley held professorships at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management. For six years, he served as the 10th president, CEO, and professor of medicine at Meharry Medical College.

Riley earned his Doctor of Medicine from the Morehouse School of Medicine; Master of Public Health in Health Systems Management from the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine; Master of Business Administration from Rice University’s Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business; and Bachelor of Arts from Yale University. He received a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, at the Zucker School of Medicine’s spring commencement ceremony.

Spanning Campus

New Leaders

Hofstra names three new vice presidents and the next dean of the Hofstra Northwell School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies.

JASON KING, JD

Senior Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel

In May, Hofstra announced the appointment of Jason King as senior vice president for legal affairs and general counsel.

King, who assumed the role in June following Jennifer Mone’s 15 years of service to Hofstra, previously served as associate vice president of strategic risk management and chief legal officer at The University of Texas at San Antonio, where he oversaw institutional risk and provided legal counsel to university leadership. Prior to this position, King served as chief compliance and ethics officer for The University of Texas System Administration, where he held various roles from 2012 to 2023, and notably led the development

and execution of a system-wide research compliance strategy that safeguarded a $3.5 billion research portfolio from foreign influence and misconduct.

“Joining Hofstra is a tremendous honor,” King said. “I’m committed to providing legal guidance to the University while supporting its pursuit of excellence and inclusivity in higher education.”

Early in King’s career, he was an associate at Akers & Boulware-Wells, LLP and assistant general counsel for the Texas Ethics Commission. He holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and a JD from Baylor University School of Law.

KRISTY LOEWENSTEIN, PHD, RN

Dean of the Hofstra Northwell School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies

Hofstra’s newest dean is a familiar face. Kristy Loewenstein, who has served as interim dean of the Hofstra Northwell School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies since 2024, was appointed dean in August. Under her leadership, the school celebrated the graduation of its first class of undergraduate nursing majors this past spring, while also advancing faculty research and scholarship and expanding interdisciplinary education.

A seasoned clinician and educator, Loewenstein has more than two decades of leadership experience within Northwell Health, where she most recently served as deputy chief nursing officer at South Oaks

Hospital. Prior to that, Loewenstein spent more than 20 years as a registered nurse at Zucker Hillside Hospital.

“I am privilaged to lead a school that combines state-of-the-art facilities, a deeply committed faculty, and a student body dedicated to service,” Loewenstein said.

Loewenstein holds a PhD in Nursing from the Medical University of South Carolina and an MS and BS in Nursing from Stony Brook University. She is certified in Nursing Professional Development (NPD-BC), Nursing Executive Advanced (NEA-BC), and as a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP-BC).

TIMOTHY DOYLE, MBA

Senior Vice President for Financial Affairs and Treasurer

Timothy Doyle, formerly the senior vice president for finance and administration at the University of Scranton, joined Hofstra University as senior vice president for financial affairs and treasurer in June. He took over the role after Cathy Hennessy left the University.

In addition to leading the development of the University’s annual budget and financial and management reporting, Doyle will oversee the Division of Facilities and Operations. He previously served as chief operating officer for the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C., where he was responsible for Carnegie’s administrative operations, which included facilities planning.

“Hofstra’s values and vision deeply resonate with me,” Doyle said. “Over the years, I’ve worked at the intersection of financial strategy and facilities planning, building systems that promote responsible budgeting and support longterm growth. I’m excited to bring that work here.”

Previously, Doyle was president and chief operating officer for Breakthrough T1D, a global leader in type 1 diabetes research. Earlier, Doyle held senior leadership roles at Harvard University. He began his career as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army. Doyle holds a BS from Boston College and an executive MBA from Suffolk University.

JEAN PEDEN CHRISTODOULOU, EDD ’19

Vice President for Administration and Chief of Staff

Jean Peden Christodoulou joined Hofstra in 2014 as assistant vice president for student affairs and advanced to senior associate vice president for student affairs, a position she held from 2018 to 2022.

For the past three years, Peden Christodoulou served as senior advisor and chief of staff to the president. In this role, she provided strategic guidance, oversaw key initiatives, and managed the operations of the Office of the President. A driving force behind Hofstra 100, the University’s 10-year strategic plan, Peden Christodoulou previously led key student-focused efforts, including Hofstra’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

ALAN KELLY

In May, Peden Christodoulou was promoted to vice president for administration and chief of staff. “It is an incredible honor,” she said. “Hofstra’s dedication to innovation and student achievement is truly inspiring, and I am committed to furthering its mission.”

Peden Christodoulou has also been serving as interim senior vice president for development and alumni affairs during a national search to fill the position. Before joining Hofstra, Peden Christodoulou was assistant dean and director of undergraduate colleges at Stony Brook University. She holds a BA and MA from Stony Brook and an EdD in Educational and Policy Leadership from Hofstra.

CATHY HENNESSY

Spanning Campus

A Galvanizing Evening

The Hofstra community comes together for a night of recognition, fundraising, and celebration.

Hofstra’s biggest night of the year was another roaring success. On May 1, the University held its 29th Annual Gala at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex, bringing together alumni, faculty, staff, trustees, and friends of the University for an evening of celebration and purpose. This signature event raised more than $1 million to support student scholarships.

This year’s Gala honored Donald M. Schaeffer, JD, CPA, member (2015-2019) and chair (2019-2025) of the Hofstra University Board of Trustees, for his exemplary leadership, philanthropy, and service to the University. “Don Schaeffer’s love for Hofstra is not just something he talks about,” said Hofstra President Susan Poser. “He gives of himself to Hofstra in every way — with his time, his deep knowledge of law and business, and through his own philanthropy and inspiring other donors to support Hofstra.”

Schaeffer and his wife, Joan, have supported a range of academic and artistic initiatives at Hofstra. They established several named fellowships and scholarships that have enabled students to pursue transformative research and creative work. Their generosity has also enriched campus life through meaningful investments in facilities and performance spaces.

“I have loved my many years at Hofstra and in particular my years on the Board and serving the University as its chair,” Schaeffer said. “Part of it was the lesson I learned from my parents — that giving of yourself to worthwhile causes is among the best feelings you’ll ever experience.”

In the Eye of the Beholder

Hofstra faculty members share the beauty found in their fields at the 2025 Presidential Symposium.

Students, scholars, and community members filled the Guthart Cultural Center Theater in September for the University’s fifth annual Presidential Symposium, The Beauty of….

Across four days and more than a dozen panels, representatives from each of Hofstra’s schools and colleges discussed the beauty they have found within their disciplines. Faculty in the Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, for example, discussed the necessity of creativity during uncertain times in its interdisciplinary panel, The Beauty of Chaos. Other panels included The

Beauty of Archives, presented by the Joan and Donald E. Axinn Library, and the Frank G. Zarb School of Business’ The Beauty of Trade

The symposium’s keynote address was given by sculptor, author, and scholar Janet Echelman. During her presentation, Radical Softness: The Responsive Art of Janet Echelman, the famed artist discussed the interdisciplinary impact of her work. The symposium also included Hofstra President Susan Poser’s State of the University address, which highlighted achievements from the previous year and plans for the future.

Faculty Feats

Hofstra professors celebrated countless accomplishments in 2025. Here are three faculty members who achieved notable success this year, inside the classroom and out.

Alafair Burke, JD Professor of Law, Maurice A. Deane School of Law

One of the summer’s most talked-about television shows came straight from the mind — and pen — of Hofstra Law Professor Alafair Burke

Amazon Prime’s The Better Sister stars Emmy nominees Elizabeth Banks and Jessica Biel as estranged sisters forced to mend fences after a mysterious tragedy. The limited series is an adaptation of Burke’s 2019 novel of the same name. Burke is a tenured professor at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law, where she teaches criminal law and procedure.

The Stanford Law School graduate joined Hofstra in 2001, two years before the release of her debut novel, Judgment Calls. Since then, the New York Times bestselling author has written 15 additional books, including The Note, released earlier this year. Burke’s literary work has garnered praise from the likes of The Boston Globe and The Washington Post. She previously served as president of Mystery Writers of America, becoming the first woman of color to hold the position.

Stacey Rosen, MD Professor of Cardiology, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell

On July 1, Dr. Stacey Rosen, professor of cardiology at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/ Northwell, officially began her one-year term as volunteer president of the American Heart Association (AHA), the nation’s largest volunteer-driven organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. In her new role, Rosen will serve as the AHA’s lead volunteer scientific and medical officer.

A practicing cardiologist for more than three decades, Rosen is a leading expert in women’s cardiovascular health. She is currently Northwell Health’s senior vice president of women’s health and executive director of Northwell’s Katz Institute for Women’s Health.

Rosen is a longtime AHA volunteer. She received the 2018 AHA Women in Cardiology Mentoring Award and was named the 2021 AHA Physician of the Year, the organization’s highest honor, given annually to a physician for outstanding accomplishments in the field of cardiovascular disease.

Alan Singer, PhD Professor of Teaching, Learning, and Technology, School of Education

In June, Dr. Alan Singer (left), professor of teaching, learning, and technology in Hofstra’s School of Education, received the Presidential Award from the Long Island Council for the Social Studies (LICSS). The award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated leadership, expertise, and dedication to promoting excellence in social studies education on Long Island.

Just a few weeks earlier, Singer was named the School of Education’s Teacher of the Year for the third time. Since joining the Hofstra faculty in 1990, Singer has earned numerous recognitions, including the 2016 New York Distinguished Social Studies Educator Award.

Singer’s impact was evident at the LICSS ceremony, as one of his former students was a fellow award recipient. Dr. Dean Bacigalupo, BA, ’93; MSEd, ’02; CAS, ’05; EdD, ’13 won LICSS’s Outstanding Middle School Social Studies Teacher Award. He has taught middle school social studies for the past 25 years.

B acigalupo, who is also an adjunct professor at Hofstra, gave credit to his mentor-turned-colleague. “Thank you for awakening in me a passion for social studies that extends far beyond facts and dates, reaching into the heart of civic responsibility and critical inquiry.”

Ninety Years of Chronicle -ing

Hofstra’s only independent student-run newspaper celebrates milestone anniversary.

H ofstra first opened its doors in September 1935. The very next month, a dedicated group of about a dozen students published the inaugural issue of the University’s first student newspaper.

Ninety years later, The Hofstra Chronicle remains the only independent student-run newspaper on campus. While the publication has evolved, its mission has gone unchanged. “Our main goal is to give a voice to the voiceless and make sure that no community, club, or team is left unrepresented,” said secretary Gianna Costanzo ’27

Today, the newspaper consists of news, sports, opinion, arts and entertainment, and features. The staff is comprised of section editors, along with copyediting, multimedia, and social media teams. “There is the obvious cohort of aspiring journalists writing to gain experience and build their portfolios,” said managing editor Ryan Monke ’26, “but students of other disciplines come to The Chronicle to share their opinions. Different Hofstra students advocate for different things, The Chronicle allows everyone to do so through a professional channel.”

The outlet launched a newly renovated website last fall, and, earlier this year, it won six Press Club of Long Island Media Awards (in total, Hofstra students, faculty, and staff took home 42 Media Awards) and two Fair Media Council Folio Awards.

A Colorful Guy

A lumnus Lawrence Herbert screens his new biopic, T he Pantone Guy.

One of Hofstra University’s most generous and successful benefactors, Lawrence Herbert ’51, visited campus in April to give students, faculty, and staff an advance screening of his new biopic, The Pantone Guy The event was held in Studio A at The Lawrence Herbert School of Communication, which the University named in his honor in 2013.

Herbert is the former chairman and chief executive officer of Pantone Inc., where he invented the Pantone Matching System, which became the global standard for communication of color in printing, graphic arts, paint, and other industries. The captivating documentary details Herbert’s life growing up in Depression-era Brooklyn and his early years navigating the print and manufacturing industries.

“Attending Hofstra, working hard, and taking all the courses that I did provided me with the confidence and the tools I needed later in life to develop and present my ideas,” Herbert said during a post-screening conversation with Mark Lukasiewicz, dean of the Herbert School.

H erbert served as vice chair of Hofstra’s Board of Trustees from 1982 to 1986. In 1989, he received an honorary doctorate from the University.

PA Pride

Hofstra’s physician assistant studies program solidifies its position as a national leader.

A pair of recent milestones has put Hofstra’s physician assistant studies program in the national spotlight. Earlier this year, the December 2024 graduating class achieved an impressive 97% first-time pass rate on the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE), topping the national average of 92%. This gave the program a five-year, first-time PANCE pass rate average of 97.6%, exceeding the national average.

The sustained excellence vaulted the program up to No. 35 in U.S. News & World Report ’s 2025 ranking of the best PA programs in the country. Hofstra tied for the highest-ranking in New York state.

“ These milestones are a testament to the dedication of our faculty, the hard work of our students, and the support of our clinical partners,” said Dr. Scott Gould, chair and program director of physician assistant studies. “We are proud to see our graduates excel and our program receive national recognition.”

In the Community

Barriers to the “Suburban Dream”

Hofstra partners with advocacy nonprofit to study language challenges facing local A sian American population.

Asian Americans on Long Island face significant and potentially life-threatening obstacles to essential services, according to the results of a study released earlier this year by The National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University (NCSS) and the Asian American Institute for Research and Engagement (AAIRE).

“Asian American Language Accessibility Assessment” is a first-ofits-kind study, supported by nearly two years of data acquisition and analysis. Research revealed that, due to language barriers, Asian Americans face increased discrimination, voting difficulties, and trouble accessing emergency healthcare and legal assistance, among other challenges.

“ This partnership, between an impactful Asian organization and a respected academic center, is an example of the increasing need

to understand the diverse communities that are becoming more and more influential and an important part of our suburban life,” said Lawrence Levy, executive dean of the NCSS. “As part of Hofstra’s expanding emphasis on working with the communities beyond campus, doing so can help make the ‘suburban dreams’ of our Asian neighbors a reality, as well as boost our economy and social cohesion.”

“Long Island’s Asian population has grown exponentially over the past decade, yet there’s never been a comprehensive study of the challenges they face,” said Farrah Mozawalla ’98; MSEd ’03, CEO of AAIRE and a Hofstra alumna. “Our research sheds light on the urgent need for targeted solutions.”

KEY FINDINGS

→ Perceived discrimination based on ethnicity, religion, accent, and English language proficiency is prevalent within the Asian community. The most common reported form of discrimination is based on ethnicity, with 77.8% of respondents stating that they sometimes face discrimination due to their nationality.

→ L anguage barriers are more pronounced in essential services than in everyday activities. The data reveals that emergency healthcare, police/fire services, and legal assistance are the most-affected areas, with more than half of respondents reporting difficulties due to language barriers. This is followed by challenges to access to educational services, including schools and child care, experienced by 43.1% of respondents.

→ O ver half of Asian respondents, 51.8%, reported that their ability to vote was directly affected by language barriers. An additional 19.1% did not face a personal barrier but reported that language barriers inhibited a family member’s understanding of elections and the voting process.

(L to R): D eborah Tinnirello, s enior assistant dean of administration, National Center for Suburban Studies (NCSS); F arrah Mozawalla ’98; MSEd ’03, CEO, Asian American Institute for Research and Engagement; Lawrence Levy, executive dean, NCSS; Prof. C hristopher W. Niedt, a cademic director, NCSS.

TBuilding Leaders and Bolstering Community

Honors College Service Leader Program allows incoming students to develop leadership skills while strengthening Hofstra’s community ties.

wo dozen first-year students entering the Stuart and Nancy Rabinowitz Honors College (RHC) wasted no time immersing themselves in the Hofstra experience by participating in the school’s Service Leader Program. Now in its second year, the program allows RHC students to develop leadership skills and learn about the greater Hofstra and Long Island communities by completing a variety of service projects with local nonprofit organizations.

“Our goals are threefold,” RHC Dean Warren Frisina said. “First, we want our students to build the confidence to step forward as leaders on campus — especially, though not exclusively, in community service. Second, we aim to strengthen our partnerships with neighborhood organizations by working on projects that meaningfully advance their missions. Finally, we hope this experience helps students make a smooth and inspiring transition from high school to college.”

After two days of guided reading and reflection on service work, incoming students were placed into five-person teams, each led by a steering committee member. They then spent three days volunteering with local partners, providing research, outreach, and direct service, all with the aim of helping the organizations reach their objectives.

The steering committee worked with RHC leadership, including Dean Frisina, Senior Associate Dean Tomeka Robinson, and Associate Dean Lauren Burignat-Kozol, to select this year’s partner organizations and program itinerary. For the second year in a row, RHC collaborated with the Interfaith Nutrition Network and the disability rights organization Downstate New York ADAPT. New in 2025 were service opportunities with NY Fresh Rx, the Uniondale Library, Nassau University Medical Center, and a multiple-site sustainability project.

Regardless of the project they worked on, the Service Leader Program proved beneficial to the new Hofstra students. “By the end of the week, the sense of camaraderie was remarkable, and all of the students were incredibly confident in their ability to do meaningful work in support of their communities both on and off campus,” said steering committee member Devin Peters ’27. “I loved being able to see firsthand the impact that our service work had, not only on the surrounding community but also on the first-year students.”

State of the Arts

Where Style Meets Substance

D r. Rhonda Garelick leads the new Institute for Public Humanities and the Arts, where the humanities intersect with other areas of study.

One of Hofstra’s recent interdisciplinary initiatives is the Institute for Public Humanities and the Arts, which was established during the 2024-2025 academic year. Through creative programming and collaborations between Hofstra’s colleges, schools, and programs, the institute will showcase ways in which the humanities and the arts are relevant to other academic fields.

Leading the office is founding director Dr. Rhonda Garelick, a scholar and author who pens the “Face Forward” column for The New York Times’ Style section. Garelick also serves as Hofstra’s John Cranford Adams Distinguished Professor of Literature. Previously, she was the dean of the School of Art and Design History and Theory at Parsons School of Design. She has also held faculty positions at Southern Methodist University; the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she was founding director of the Interdisciplinary Arts Symposium; New York University; Princeton; and Connecticut College. She earned her BA and PhD in French and Comparative Literature at Yale University.

G arelick is responsible for developing a diverse range of programs at Hofstra, including lectures by visiting scholars, workshops, symposia, and off-campus excursions. We spoke with Garelick about her career and vision for the newly established institute.

What drew you to Hofstra?

I’m a New Yorker, born and raised. When this opportunity arose, the idea of working at an institution like Hofstra, in my home area with such a diverse campus, was very appealing.

What I really prize about Hofstra is that it is full of strivers, students who are hungry, students from all over, from every kind of background, and a huge number of first-generation college students.

It’s been a joy to be back in the New York City area in such a creative position. One of the pillars of President Poser’s new strategic plan is interdisciplinary learning, and it’s an honor for me to help shepherd that forward.

How do you balance your academic work with your work at the Times and other media outlets?

My interests are interdisciplinary and very hybrid. I have always enjoyed talking about books and literature, but I also love talking about fashion and makeup and trends and style. I never saw that as

less important or distinct, really, from the kind of thinking you need to do to study the arts. To me, it’s all human culture.

I have been fortunate to find a way to write in a more accessible way for the general public, but it is deeply informed by, not separate from, my scholarly interests.

What is your vision for the Institute for Public Humanities and the Arts?

My intention is to amplify the fascinating work that Hofstra scholars do in the arts and humanities and show how it connects with the urgent matters of our time, such as immigration, elections, fascism, gender issues, and climate change. This year, our special focus is on supporting faculty and advancing their work.

How do you challenge the notion that degrees in the liberal arts are professionally limiting?

The liberal arts are a ticket to employment, not an impediment. Employers want liberal arts degrees. They want college graduates who can write, who can think, who can reason, who have critical judgment.

It’s a very antiquated notion that you just prepare for one thing, you do that one thing, and then you die. That’s not very exciting. It’s also not practical. Most people have nine or 10 jobs during their lifetime. Instead of preparing for a specific, narrow career, it’s better to get an education that will set you up for lifelong thinking and learning.

I’ve found that a liberal arts education transforms students into the best citizens, the best employees, and the most well-rounded adults. I always advise parents to let their kids study all the wonderful liberal arts topics they want. It will only enhance their futures.

Inclusivity on Display

Hofstra’s Museum of Art celebrates the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The Hofstra University Museum of Art presented a special spring-summer exhibition honoring the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). EVERY body, EVERY mind examined the country’s progress in creating greater accessibility for those with disabilities and explored the societal barriers that still exist.

Signed into law in 1990, the ADA helped reverse the country’s centuries-long history of discrimination against individuals with disabilities. Advocates continue to fight for greater visibility and accessibility in the hope of creating a more just and inclusive society for every body and every mind.

Hofstra has a long and distinguished history of supporting the disability rights movement. Harold E. Yuker (1924-1997), former Hofstra provost and dean of faculties and distinguished professor of psychology, was born with cerebral palsy and led efforts to make the campus’s public facilities “barrier free,” adding ramps and wider doorways. The Hofstra Archives provided documents and photographs showcasing the vital connections among University leadership, educational visionaries, and political figures who activated change both on campus and on a national level.

Visitors to the exhibition learned about the contributions of Dr. Yuker; Dr. Frank Bowe; Paul Hearne ’71; JD, ’74; and Dr. Henry Viscardi Jr., all powerhouse figures with Hofstra connections who championed the rights of people with disabilities. Artwork from the Museum’s permanent collection explored themes of accessibility, representation, and inclusion.

The exhibition also included three murals depicting legendary disability rights heroes, created by students from the Henry Viscardi School, a local school serving children with physical disabilities. “We are thrilled to showcase our students’ work,” said Dr. Chris Rosa, president and CEO of The Viscardi Center and president of the Henry Viscardi School. “EVERY body, EVERY mind is just the latest in a long line of collaborations between Hofstra and Viscardi that amplify the history, culture, and opportunities of people with disabilities.”

“EVERY body, EVERY mind affirms the Museum’s commitment to serving the community with socially responsible exhibits and programs that include as many voices in the conversation as possible,” said Sasha Giordano, director of the Hofstra Museum of Art and exhibition curator.

G enerous financial support for this exhibition was provided by Dan Bastian, vice president and co-founder of Progressive Orthotics and Prosthetics Inc.

The Pride

welcomE Hall

to the

Meet the newest members of the Hofstra Athletics Hall of Fame.

The Hofstra University Department of Athletics inducted six new members into the Athletics Hall of Fame at the annual Hofstra Pride Athletics Hall of Fame and Golf Outing in June.

The Class of 2025 inductees are Kimberly Hillier ’07 (women’s lacrosse), Robert McKeon ’53 (extraordinary service to Hofstra Athletics), Mike Miller ’95 (baseball), Michael Todd ’07 (men’s soccer), Kelsie Wills ’15 (volleyball), and Colonel E. David Woycik Jr. ’77; JD, ’80 (extraordinary service to Hofstra Athletics).

”These six individuals are tremendous representatives of Hofstra University and Hofstra Athletics,” said Rick Cole Jr., Hofstra vice president and director of athletics. ”The class has four decorated studentathletes who rank among the best to have ever competed, and two of our most loyal supporters, both Hofstra alumni, who have achieved great success in their chosen fields.”

ABRAHAM LONGOSIWA ’26

Men’s Track & Field

KIMBERLY HILLIER Women’s Lacrosse

TODD Men’s Soccer 2003-2006

WILLS Volleyball 2011-2014

STUDENT-ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT

A runner from Kenya and a lacrosse player from Long Island both had record-breaking seasons in 2025.

• Named Men’s Outstanding Performer at the CAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship after first-place finishes in the 10,000m and 5,000m races

• Broke his own CAA Championship meet record in the men’s 10,000m race with a time of 28:33.48

• Earned his eighth All-CAA accolade, the most in Hofstra Athletics history

• Named All-CAA First Team and CAA Attacker of the Year

• Finished second and fifth in Division I in points/game (6.60) and goals/game (4.13), respectively

• Her 6.60 points/ game average in 2025 set a new CAA record and is the 11th-best in the history of NCAA Division I lacrosse

ROBERT McKEON

MIKE MILLER Baseball

MICHAEL

KELSIE

COLONEL E. DAVID WOYCIK JR. Extraordinary Service to Hofstra Athletics

NIKKI MENNELLA ’26 Women’s Lacrosse

Hofstra’s Big Week

in the

Former Pride baseball and softball student-athletes make it to the major leagues.

On Sunday, August 3, the Miami Marlins traded former Hofstra All-American pitcher John Rooney to the Houston Astros. Rooney, a 2018 third-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers, was immediately added to Houston’s major league roster for his new team’s series finale against the Boston Red Sox.

Rooney did not see any game action during his initial call-up, but made his big league debut a few weeks later on August 24. The southpaw became the first Hofstra baseball player to reach the major leagues since Ken Singleton, who debuted in 1970. Only two other former Pride players have played at the highest level of professional baseball: Don Taussig and Brant Alyea. The next to join that club could be Dylan Palmer, who was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in July after a junior season that saw him bat .400 and record a school-record seven triples.

A nother milestone event bookended the Pride’s big week in the big leagues. On Saturday, August 9, former Hofstra softball player Jen Pawol became the first female umpire to call a regular-season game in Major League Baseball history. Pawol umpired three games in the five-game series between the Miami Marlins and the Atlanta Braves in Atlanta, Georgia. She worked both ends of Saturday’s doubleheader and was behind home plate for the series finale on Sunday.

The New Jersey native was a three-time allconference selection and two-time all-region honoree while playing for Hofstra from 1996 to 1998. She began umpiring during the tailend of her Hofstra career and has steadily climbed the ranks ever since. Pawol has been working at the Triple-A level of Minor League Baseball since 2023 and was an MLB Spring Training umpire the past two years.

JOHN ROONEY

DYLAN PALMER

JEN PAWOL

Have Dream, Will Travel

Hofstra

alumnus gives

underrepresented

students the transformative gift of studying abroad.

By Stephanie Flynn

FFor many students, studying abroad is a dream that often feels out of reach. Thanks to Rondell Wescott ’03, however, that dream became reality for Lexmia Ozuna ’25 and several other students last year. In 2023, Wescott gifted his alma mater $100,000 to fund the Rondell J. Wescott Annual Award for Herbert School Study Away Programs. The award, given annually to one or more diverse students from The Lawrence Herbert School of Communication, opens doors for those with traditionally underrepresented backgrounds by making international education more accessible.

Ozuna described her semester in Rome as “a highlight of my time at Hofstra,” adding that it had always been a dream of hers. “When I found out I was selected to receive the study abroad award, I felt so fortunate and honored,” she said. “It not only helped ease the financial burden, but it also gave me the confidence to fully immerse myself in the experience,” she said. “I hope to give back in the same way one day.”

Since earning his bachelor’s degree in television/video production from the Herbert School, Wescott has built a 22-year career that includes roles at top creative agencies like Grey, Havas, and Google. He is currently vice president and executive producer at the healthcare marketing agency ConcentricLife. Despite his global professional success, he never traveled abroad during college. “Growing up in Philly, my family never had the means to get passports and travel internationally. So, my first time on an international trip, I was probably 25.”

(L

to R): Howard “Aubyn” Wright ’26, Tiana Howell ’26, Rondell Wescott ’03, Lexmia Ozuna ’25, Karoline Otavolo ’25

to Herbert School Dean Mark Lukasiewicz, encouraging greater representation — an exchange that led directly to the creation of the award.

Wescott, who also serves as the Hofstra Alumni Organization’s vice president for programs, established the international study opportunity to help students from underrepresented communities overcome financial barriers. The need is clear. According to NAFSA: Association of International Educators, Black students comprise 12.5% of U.S. college enrollment but only 5.9% of study abroad participants; Hispanic/Latino(a) students are also underrepresented at 12.2%, compared to representing 20.3% of U.S. college enrollment.

“Just hearing [the students’] gratitude, that was everything. Seeing that direct impact was an incredible moment.”

The inspiration for the fund came when students visited Google as part of a Hofstra in NYC study away program. While hosting the students at the tech giant’s offices, Wescott couldn’t help but notice the group’s lack of diversity. “It would’ve been good if other students of color could see a Black person who had risen through the ranks of Google and been successful,” Wescott said. Moved by the experience, he followed up with a group photo and an email

The benefits of studying abroad go beyond cultural enrichment. According to the Consortium for the Analysis of Student Success through International Education (CASSIE), students from underrepresented backgrounds who study abroad graduate at higher rates and with higher GPAs than underrepresented students who do not travel abroad. Ozuna graduated summa cum laude in May 2025.

In addition to the study abroad award, Wescott has established an endowed scholarship at Hofstra to provide financial support for underrepresented students in the Herbert School. For him, the true reward lies not in recognition, but in impact. “As long as they can benefit from what I’m giving, that’s enough.”

Through both gifts, the Hofstra alumnus hopes to leave a legacy that continues to open doors and inspire others to take bold steps they may never have imagined possible. Wescott experienced the impact of his generosity firsthand while vacationing in Rome in 2024, where he met Ozuna and several other students he supported. “We sat down, took photos, and they gave me a small gift,” he recalled. “Just hearing their gratitude, that was everything. Seeing that direct impact was an incredible moment.”

The Virtual Weather Man

A Hofstra professor’s simulated storms are helping to save real lives.

By Xander Peters

IIt is not uncommon for a scientist to become fully immersed in their research. Dr. Jase Bernhardt takes that to another level, literally — or should we say, virtually.

Bernhardt is an associate professor of geology, environment, and sustainability at Hofstra University. He also directs the department’s MA in Sustainability program. His courses and research focus on climate change and meteorology. And that work is helping save lives.

The Cornell graduate joined Hofstra in 2016 after earning an MS and a PhD from Penn State University. It wasn’t long before he realized the potential of technologies like the Oculus headset to help with his work on severe-weather risk communication.

Since then, Bernhardt has explored how virtual reality (VR) can aid severe-weather warning communication. Using VR headsets, participants experience simulated dangerous weather events.

Bernhardt’s first simulation? A hurricane’s storm surge. “I can describe it,” Bernhardt said. “We can show people on YouTube or in pictures. But putting someone in a fully immersive VR experience with surround sound — that’s a great way to show what a hurricane looks like.” In the simulation, VR participants scan a room filled with a TV and furniture. But as they stand in the simulated suburban home, participants realize they are unable to move — they are stuck. Then, the water rises.

Hurricanes were just the start — the VR technology can simulate other dangerous weather conditions. In July, New York Governor Kathy Hochul cited Bernhardt’s research during a press conference addressing safety at state beaches. Specifically, she highlighted the Long Island Region of NY State Parks’ purchase of two VR headsets loaded with Bernhardt’s rip current simulation, which allows children to physically feel a rip current pull.

With colder months in our forecast, Bernhardt will refocus his work on a different meteorological hazard: snow squalls. Supported by a National Safety Council $100,000 Road to Zero Community Traffic Safety Grant, the simulation mirrors what it’s like to drive through a sudden heavy snowstorm. According to Bernhardt, the next time participants of any of these simulations find themselves in severe weather’s way, “they have a muscle memory, the knowledge, of what to do.”

“Putting someone in a fully immersive VR experience with surround sound — that’s a great way to show what a hurricane looks like.”

Bernhardt recalled how some participants panicked and ripped off their headsets. “That’s kind of the point,” he explained. “When we, as meteorologists, issue warnings for life-threatening flooding coming in from a hurricane, if we really want people to take it seriously, showing them through VR helps demonstrate what happens if they don’t leave.”

Bernhardt’s work has been featured in peerreviewed publications, as well as media outlets like The Washington Post, Reuters, and The Weather Channel. He is quick to credit all the assistance he has received. His VR research is currently funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the New York Sea Grant. He also received insight from his peers at the National Weather Service.

Equally important has been the help from community organizations, some of which adopted the technology, and Bernhardt’s undergraduate students: computer science majors who built simulations through coding; social science majors who surveyed communities about simulations; and bilingual students and language majors, some of whom are translating simulations and surveys into Spanish to reach a broader public. The community collaboration, Bernhardt said, helps create “equitable access to lifesaving weather technology.” Perhaps more important, he added, “it shows it has some potential power to change people’s minds.”

Far From Moot

Hofstra Law’s Moot Court Board

teaches — and demonstrates — the value of practical training.

By Sally Parker Portraits

DDuring the regional finals of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) National Appellate Advocacy Competition last spring, Jacob Shaffer, JD ’26 was presenting an oral argument when the judge asked him a question he had never considered. “I just had to answer,” he recalled. “I couldn’t say, ‘Your honor, I have no idea.’ You have to answer on the spot. Moot court is an opportunity to think on your feet, and I really like that about it.”

Shaffer, a third-year student at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law, is president of the Moot Court Board, a studentrun organization focused on the development of students’ written and oral appellate advocacy skills. The group, consisting of a nine-person executive board and roughly 70 staff members, is one of the school’s three legal advocacy groups, along with the Dispute Resolution Society and the Trial Advocacy Association.

Every year, the trio of organizations creates a single common legal problem for intramural competitions — and there’s a buzz around the school when the competitions near. Close to 100 students turned out for the Moot Court Board’s most recent tournament in March, said Barbara Barron, professor of skills and the organization’s faculty advisor.

them questions to see what they know because when judges ask you questions in oral argument in real life, it’s because they actually want to know the answer,” she said.

The internal competitions are fertile training for the more challenging interscholastic events against law students from across the country. The amount of preparation can be massive, Barron noted, so students first take the Advanced Competition Skills course for an immersion in brief-writing. Each team of two or three jumps into deep research and writing to file a brief in the competition, independent of professors and coaches. “They have to do that all on their own and produce a brief worthy of United States Supreme Court consideration,” Barron said. “It’s very stressful.” Teams then spend weeks practicing oral advocacy with a coach. The preparation often pays off, as it did for Shaffer last spring at the ABA competition. Despite the judge’s surprise question, Shaffer and teammates Tedeschi and Quintin Burian, JD ’26 were named regional finalists.

“You have to answer on the spot. Moot court is an opportunity to think on your feet, and I really like that about it.”

Moot Court’s most powerful benefit, according to Shaffer, is next-level confidence. “No matter what kind of law you end up practicing, you need to be confident that you are able to do the work. Moot Court is a really great test of that.”

In the months leading up to the competition, senior board members help first-year students prepare oral arguments. They also conduct practice rounds and serve as judges in preliminary rounds. “Oral argument is all about confidence and preparation,” said Marissa Tedeschi, JD ’26, vice president of the Moot Court’s executive board. Tedeschi, who finished in the top 10 for oral advocacy at the ABA competition’s regional finals, also serves as an intramural coach and judge. She enjoys mentoring younger students and watching them become stronger litigators. “You ask

Board members do not need to look far for confirmation — Moot Court alumni are heavily involved in the organization’s efforts. They serve as intramural judges, conduct mock interviews with members, and some, like Hofstra Law Special Professors Sheila Ballato, JD ’12 and Adam Kahn, JD ’13, coach interscholastic teams. “Hofstra Law was really important to [the alumni] when they were here,” Tedeschi said. “For students, seeing people who followed the path you are on and are doing great is always helpful.”

(L to R) Front: Jacob Shaffer, JD ’26; Marissa Tedeschi, JD ’26

Back: Artemis Orkulas, JD ’26; Taylor Carney, JD ’26; Kevin McGarvey, JD ’26; Marisa Marzolini, JD ’26; David Smolowitz, JD ’26; Niaz Najafi, JD ’26; Kate Dargan, JD ‘26

The of

BUSINESS SCIENCE

A new interdisciplinary partnership between the Frank G. Zarb School of Business and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory teaches scientists how to take their innovations out of the lab and into the marketplace.

By Robert Lerose ’81

Cold Spring Harbor L aboratory

Founded in 1890, Cold Spring Harbor L aboratory (CSHL) is a world-renowned research and education institution known for groundbreaking work in biomedicine. Eight scientists who have worked at CSHL have earned the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.

Photo: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Across the landscape of higher ed, “business” and “science” typically occupy distant silos separated by a mountain of untapped potential. A new interdisciplinary program from two of the region’s top scholarly institutions is changing that.

Last fall, Hofstra University launched the Bioscience Business Innovation Program (BBIP), formed in partnership with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) to help students turn scientific research into business opportunities. PhD and postdoctoral scientists from CSHL were teamed with business, law, and medical students from Hofstra. Working collaboratively, the groups developed strategies for bringing each scientific innovation to market.

The genesis of this collaboration, the first of its kind in our region, began with high-level talks between Bruce Stillman, president and CEO of CSHL; Andrew Whiteley, the lab’s vice president of business development and technology transfer; Hofstra President Susan Poser; and Janet Lenaghan, dean of the Zarb School. All parties were united in finding a way to equip scientists with the entrepreneurial and business skills necessary to succeed outside the laboratory.

The program at Hofstra’s Zarb School of Business is a powerful example of how the University leverages interdisciplinary collaboration to drive innovation. “By bringing together scientists from CSHL with MBA, law, and medical students who serve as end users, the initiative creates a dynamic space where students collaborate and learn what’s required to bring a vision to market,” Lenaghan said.

This strategic partnership was something new for CSHL. The lab had relationships with other academic centers, but those typically centered around scientific goals, such as

inviting medical students to the lab to finish their PhDs. Focusing exclusively on the business aspects of scientific research was a first. “We wanted to design a program that would appeal to young people who have ideas to move into the industrial environment and provide them with a compressed MBA-type schedule,” Whiteley said.

To turn such a comprehensive and ambitious plan into reality involved many people, starting with the faculty. Professors drawn from the Zarb School shared expertise and specialized knowledge essential for aspiring entrepreneurs, exposing the CSHL scientists to topics such as information systems, business analytics, finance, marketing, and accounting. The program designers also assembled a distinguished group of speakers who could provide perspective based on their personal experiences and be candid about their setbacks. “We wanted people who had a spirit of teaching and a passion for wanting to convey what it is they do, and also were willing to share their struggles and some of the mistakes they made,” said Erick Hunt, director of the Zarb School’s Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and manager of the BBIP.

Speakers came from companies such as early-stage venture capital firm RCV Frontline; intellectual property law firm Carter, DeLuca & Farrell LLP; Northwell Health; and Brookhaven National Laboratory. Neil Smith, a senior advisor for McKinsey & Company, conducted a spirited back-and-forth session on the power of leverage, which electrified the

Left: Yujia Li, CSHL postdoc research fellow

Right: Stephen Staklinski, CSHL PhD candidate

scientists and Hofstra students alike. “It became apparent to me how smart these kids are and how quickly they got what I was trying to explain,” Smith said.

Finding the CSHL scientists who would benefit most from the program was the next step. Whiteley said that they looked for researchers who had been working at the lab for three or four years and might be ready to make the transition to the industrial sector. In summer 2024, Stillman met with some of the doctoral students to introduce the BBIP and explain the benefits of acquiring business skills and acumen that would help them thrive in commercial ventures. Candidates had to complete an online questionnaire and submit a statement explaining why they wanted to join the program, what they were working on, and why they wanted to know how to commercialize it.

Because the program would require a large investment of time that would take them away from their lab activities and research, the scientists also had to obtain permission from their principal investigators (the professors who oversaw their work at the

Stephen Staklinski, a PhD candidate in computational biology, gained a clearer understanding of who the end user of a product is. As a scientist, he was focused on curing diseases and helping the patient. “But a lot of times, from a business perspective, you’re not selling the drug therapy to a patient,” he said. “You have middlemen and other parties you have to convince that your drug can help the people they serve.”

The spring session put this newly acquired knowledge to a practical test. Carefully selected

Erick Hunt, director of the Zarb School’s Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and manager of the BBIP, welcomes CSHL scientists to Hofstra’s campus.

“A lot of times, from a business perspective, you’re not selling the drug therapy to a patient. You have middlemen and other parties you have to convince that your drug can help the people they serve.”

lab). Faculty from the Zarb School ultimately selected 10 CSHL students for the pilot program, with one student dropping out after the first half because of scheduling conflicts.

The program debuted in fall 2024 and consisted of two separate but complementary sections, each with a different focus and methodology. The fall session was a crash course on the fundamentals of entrepreneurism and business.

Over a five-day period in October, students attended classes and lectures focusing on “ideas as scientists we never ran into,” said Yujia Li, a postdoc research fellow at CSHL. Lectures were also presented during lunch and dinner breaks. “The sessions were really, really intense,” Li recalled. “There were things we learned that we didn’t know we needed, such as managing supply chains, budgeting capital markets, and navigating regulatory challenges.”

business, law, and medical students from Hofstra were invited to participate in the program. Each scientist was teamed with a group of Hofstra students, based on the skills and expertise needed for each project. They received guidance from their teammates on everything from crafting an effective pitch deck to social media marketing to public speaking. At the end of the week, the scientists pitched the commercial potential of their product, service, or innovation to a panel of venture capitalists.

Samantha Storms ’19; MBA, ’25 was assigned to a team with Staklinski, fellow CSHL scientist Yong Lin, and Hofstra Law student Nicholas Haselton, JD ’26. Their product was a diagnostic process in which samples from different cancerous tumors could be collected and analyzed to look for common characteristics that could help determine the best treatment. The interdisciplinary team worked collaboratively, recognizing the unique knowledge and experience that each individual brought to the team. “We all had very different personalities,” Storms said. “But we were working on a shared goal and how we could contribute to make the best product that we could.”

Janet Lenaghan, dean of the Zarb School, hands a BBIP participant their Certificate of Completion.

Designed by Nikki Wyrembelski

“Going through a program like this can be extremely helpful for scientists because they have brilliant ideas but don’t know how to convey those to a more profitable market — or even make it to market.”

Storms, who earned an MBA in Marketing in May, conducted market research with those in the medical field to learn about biotech tools that would be helpful, and produced the marketing and financial components of the business plan. The team’s work then had to be condensed into a 15-minute presentation for the venture capitalists.

A next-generation immunotherapy effective in managing hardto-treat cancers was the product Hofstra MBA student Brooke Walker ’25 was assigned with her team: graduate student Jed de Ruiter Swain and PhD candidate Javier Anduaga from CSHL; Mikayla Kolahifar, JD ’25, a student at Hofstra’s Maurice A. Deane School of Law; and Nicole Licul ’25, an MBA student at the Zarb School. Because some of the technical language was mystifying to a layperson like Walker, the scientists set up a whiteboard explaining the cancer process and their treatment in simpler terms. This allowed Walker to conduct effective interviews with doctors, surgeons, and others in the medical field.

Walker, who works as associate director of digital communications at the Law School, suggested the group also collect the experiences of people who had cancer themselves. These conversations led to revelations about navigating the healthcare industry. “I got to see more of that side, which I think was very helpful if we’re pitching it and you want to be able to sell it to the consumers,” Walker said. “That’s where I was really able to take the lead.”

The Bioscience Business Innovation Program’s inaugural cohort of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) students pose with members of Hofstra and CSHL leadership.

Li’s interest in business grew after experiencing the difficulty of securing research funding. Her research focuses on how the communication between nerves and cancer cells helps those cells grow — a topic CSHL postdoc research fellow Viet Hang Le is studying. Li and Le teamed up with Hofstra MBA candidate Badrinath Batule ’25 and Hofstra Law student Alex Harris ’25. Batule worked on the business plan, determining the market size, how much funding was needed and what it would be used for, and how much money they expected to make.

Li was impressed with the extensive issues Harris raised, not only in addressing what kind of business entity Li wanted to form (something she had not thought about), but also how one might make the competing needs of science and marketing fit into a practical business strategy. In science, Li said, she was trained to be precise and specific. But she learned that in business the language demands are not as strict, and that making the product sound attractive and understandable to buyers takes precedence.

“Going through a program like this can be extremely helpful for scientists because they have brilliant ideas but don’t know how to convey those to a more profitable market — or even make it to market,” Li said. “I feel more comfortable now trying to get an industry job because I had this experience.”

THE TEXT FILES

The students and faculty of Hofstra’s Forensic Linguistics graduate program — the first and only in the country — are righting wrongs and saving lives one lexical choice at a time.

By Andrew Sheldon

Illustrations by Pete Ryan

At 7:30 am on Monday, August 18, 1969, as the sun’s rays blanketed the acreage of Bethel, New York, for the first time in days, Sha Na Na walked onto the Woodstock stage.

The concert should have ended the night before, were it not for three days of delay-causing torrential rain. When the sun finally appeared Monday morning, there were only two acts left: Sha Na Na and Jimi Hendrix. The doo-wop group was the final obstacle between the audience and Hendrix. The fans who had waited out the rain were ready for the main act.

Despite the unenviable position, when the 12-member group finished its 12-song set, including leader Robert Leonard’s solo of Teen Angel, t hey received a thunderous ovation from the crowd. Later that morning, Hendrix performed his iconic rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner, and Sha Na Na’s immortal place in music history was secured.

The following year, however, Leonard departed the group to continue his academic pursuits. Sha Na Na went on performing for another 50 years with a rotating lineup of members. During that time, Leonard was becoming one of the foremost experts, if not the foremost expert, in his field.

In 2022, Sha Na Na announced it would no longer tour. That same year, their former bandmate delivered testimony that helped save an innocent woman from state execution.

Born into a Spanish-speaking Brooklyn neighborhood, Robert Leonard learned early of the power, complexity, and beauty of language long before he discovered the field devoted to the study of it. That revelation, and his newfound ability to put a name to a passion, arrived when he was a Columbia University student. “Like so many people who are interested in linguistics, I never knew linguistics existed,” Leonard recalled. “Once I found it, I said, ‘Oh my God, this is exactly what I’ve been interested in my entire life.’”

that allowed him to live in Kenya for a year, conducting research for his dissertation on the East African language Swahili.

A decade after Woodstock, in early 1979, Georgetown linguistics professor Roger Shuy was flying from Washington, D.C., to Dallas when his stare became affixed to the stack of papers being rifled through by the man seated next to him. Upon inquiring, Shuy learned his fellow traveler was an attorney poring over the transcript of an undercover recording related to a murder investigation. The lawyer then asked Shuy what he did for a living. His response — “I’m a sociolinguist who analyzes tape recordings of the way people talk” — would lead to Shuy becoming the first linguist to give expert testimony in America.

Leonard graduated a year after Woodstock, departed Sha Na Na, and accepted a fellowship offer from Columbia. “I knew that it would never happen again,” he said. “I wasn’t going to be able to go back in time and say, ‘OK, Columbia, I’m ready.’ I loved performing. I loved my group, but it was time to do something else.”

Through the fellowship, Leonard earned three advanced linguistics degrees. He was also awarded a Fulbright Fellowship

The experience shifted the purview of Shuy’s work from sociolinguistics, the study of the social dimensions of language, to forensic linguistics, the application of the scientific study of language to issues of the law. Shuy helped develop the nascent field and made it common for linguists to provide expert testimony in legal cases. Over 40 years, he consulted on roughly 600 criminal cases and testified more than 50 times, including before Congress and the International Criminal Tribunal.

In 2000, Shuy gave a lecture encouraging the use of linguistics in criminal cases. Leonard, listening attentively from the audience, saw a new career path unveil itself right before his eyes. The pair stayed in touch and forged a working relationship. Shuy convinced Leonard, who had been teaching in some capacity for 20 years, that his skills could be used outside the classroom.

Leonard was steadily building a consulting practice when his office phone rang one day in 2004. On the other end was the Pennsylvania State Police requesting assistance with a murder investigation. A woman had been strangled, and preliminary evidence pointed toward her husband as the assailant. He claimed innocence, however, and theorized the killer to be his wife’s alleged stalker, who had been sending threatening letters to the couple’s home. As the investigation proceeded and the husband remained the primary suspect, the police received another letter. This one exonerated the husband by claiming responsibility for the crime.

On the surface, the letters had noticeable differences in length, composition, and grammar. Leonard, though, noticed some striking similarities, such as the tendency to contract negative phrases (I hadn’t) but not positive ones (I had ). There was also the use of a rare rhetorical device Leonard calls “ironic repetition,” in which the same verb is repeated but in different contexts, such as in Benjamin Franklin’s aphorism, “He that can compose himself, is wiser than he that composes books.”

These clues led Leonard to conclude that the letters were written by the same person. When they were compared to the husband’s known writings, it was determined that he had written all the letters himself. He was arrested and convicted.

In the mid-1990s, FBI agent James R. Fitzgerald brought the field of forensic linguistics into prominence by helping identify one of the country’s most notorious criminals. By analyzing linguistic patterns, syntax, and word choice, the criminal profiler determined that the Unabomber’s manifesto was almost certainly written by Ted Kaczynski. His finding marked the beginning of the end of a 17-year investigation.

Over the preceding years, Fitzgerald had worked on an increasing number of forensic linguistic investigations and earned an MS in linguistics from Georgetown University. Soon, he was the FBI’s linguistics expert. Since most of his colleagues were unfamiliar with the field, Fitzgerald developed a five-day intensive course to share his knowledge with fellow law enforcement officers. He recruited Leonard, with whom he had recently developed a working relationship after receiving a cold email, to be a co-instructor at FBI headquarters in Quantico. When Fitzgerald retired from the FBI in 2007, the course needed a new home. “We agreed Hofstra would be an ideal environment to continue the mission of sharing our combined knowledge of forensic linguistics,” Fitzgerald said, “as well as further promoting it to the U.S. and the world.”

The first intensive course at Hofstra was held in the spring of 2008 and has been taught every year since. It has now expanded with two different intensive courses offered throughout the year, both on campus and virtually. They are open to the public but can be taken by graduate students for credit — and knowledge. “A former FBI agent walked us through the linguistic analyses used in many high-profile cases he had worked on,” Celia Brisson ’26 said of her experience taking the course earlier this year. “I gained a huge amount of insight and experience in a short amount of time.”

The heterogeneous class composition is ideal for Leonard. “I like mixing and matching graduate students, who have theoretical knowledge and are now able to flex their muscles in real cases, side by side with professionals who have career experience and now see that there is a tremendous world out there of linguistics.”

“I may have founded this course at the FBI,” Fitzgerald noted, “but credit goes to Dr. Leonard for preserving it at Hofstra.”

By the late aughts, with the success of the intensive course cemented, Leonard believed it was time for the field to have its own graduate-level academic track. “There were 100 professional linguists working as professors who were teaching courses like Language and the Law all over the country, but there was no unified program,” Leonard said.

He pitched the grad program to the dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, who was intrigued and gave the green light. “[He] said, ‘If you get two students the first year and three the second, I won’t pull the plug immediately,’” Leonard recalled. The program launched in 2010 with a class of more than 20 students.

Students come from a wide range of academic and professional backgrounds. Linguistics majors are joined by students from other disciplines along with interpreters, doctors, detectives, and teachers. “Any field where you’ve looked at language is perfect preparation,” Leonard said.

The program, co-designed by Leonard and Shuy, accounts for disparate experiences with a structure designed to turn students first into linguists, then forensic linguists. “You can’t become a forensic chemist without knowing anything about chemistry,” Leonard remarked.

Students spend the first year mastering the building blocks of linguistics: phonetics, phonology, morphology, and syntax, among others. “I was initially intimidated as I had only taken two linguistics courses previously,” said former graduate fellow Rachel

Seo, MA ’22. “But the professors were really adept at breaking the content down and anchoring concepts to real case examples.”

In year two, each cohort learns to apply the science to legal cases of all kinds, from extortion and murder to defamation and trademark protection. “Every single class matches theoretical rigor with targeted training applying the material to realworld linguistic data,” graduate fellow Christina Colombo ’26 confirmed. “In particular, the internships take practical training to another level, giving students the chance to hone their skills on live casework under the expert guidance of our instructors.”

These internships are often done under the watchful eye of “one of the best linguists” Leonard has ever met.

Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Rights at Hofstra’s Maurice A. Deane School of Law, the Justice Project partners the Law School and Forensic Linguistics program to reanalyze capital cases. Students can also opt to work with Leonard conducting forensic linguistic analyses on his current pro bono cases.

The final option is a research-based internship with Gales, who began her two-year term as president of the International Association for Forensics and Legal Forensics in August. This work focuses on current societal issues rather than criminal cases. A recent project with the American Civil Liberties Union in Montana had students using a variety of linguistic methods to analyze recorded parole board hearings to decipher why Indigenous inmates were being denied parole disproportionately.

Dr. Tammy Gales was also born into a multilingual world that opened her eyes and ears. Growing up in Minneapolis, she was surrounded by speakers of Yiddish, German, Spanish, and Hmong. “It was a very multicultural area, and it just fascinated me,” Gales said. This captivation turned into an academic pursuit. Gales studied German in high school, added Spanish a few years later, and then earned a BA in English with a minor in German from Iowa State University.

She spent the next 15 years earning advanced degrees, collecting stamps and work visas on her passport, and adding a wide range of experiences to an impressive curriculum vitae. Gales held such varied jobs as a foreign language teacher in Greece, literacy instructor on the Navajo Nation, lexicographer in England, and managing editor of an Arizona-based publishing company. This last stop proved instrumental in her entrance into the field of forensic linguistics. When the company’s in-house lawyer was preparing to depart, she trained Gales on the legal aspects of publishing. “I became fascinated by how one tiny clause, or something as simple as a comma, could make all the difference in meaning,” Gales said. “That’s when I realized my passion for language and law.” When the publishing company was sold, the time was right for Gales to earn her PhD.

Not long after, she met Leonard at a conference and accepted his offer to work on cases together. When a job opened at Hofstra in 2012, Leonard persuaded her to interview, and she was hired as assistant professor of linguistics. Gales was also named director of research at the Institute for Forensic Linguistics, Threat Assessment, and Strategic Analysis, the graduate program’s research and special projects arm.

Most students complete their required internships through the Institute. This is where they evolve from students to professionals. “The program prioritizes hands-on practice in all its classes,” Colombo said. “But the internships provide a totally immersive casework experience initially intimidating yet ultimately thrilling and enormously instructive.”

The Institute offers three internship options, including working for the Hofstra Forensic Linguistics Justice Project. Headed by Leonard and Eric M. Freedman, the Siggi B. Wilzig

Based on Gales’ previous experiences on the Navajo Nation and the group’s subsequent research, they hypothesized that linguistic differences in the ways in which cultures express remorse, a requirement for the granting of parole, were affecting the disproportionate rates of release. In many Native American cultures, there is an emphasis on action over apology — correcting a mistake with a tangible act and repairing any damage between community members rather than simply saying, “I’m sorry.” “The Navajo, for example, do not even have a direct translation of the word for ‘sorry,’” Gales added.

The students presented their findings to the ACLU. In addition to other changes, Montana now requires all parole board members to receive educational training on Indigenous culture.

“I became fascinated by how one tiny clause, or something as simple as a comma, could make all the difference in meaning.”

Hofstra’s MA Forensic Linguistics program remains the only one in the country. “The faculty expertise, resources provided, and practical training through internships make this program unique and worthwhile,” Brisson said.

The true signifier of the program’s excellence, however, is class after class of career-ready graduates. “The most successful forensic linguists will have both experience and education in the field,” Fitzgerald explained. “In this view, Hofstra is at the top of the academic forensic linguistics world.”

Hofstra’s forensic linguistics students are so well versed in both theory and practice by the time they graduate that many have gone on to earn positions under Leonard as adjunct faculty members or linguistic consultants. Seo, for example, is now operations manager at Leonard’s consulting firm. She demonstrated her training and skill during her graduate internship, for which she worked on a death penalty case that made national headlines.

In 2007, Melissa Lucio’s 2-year-old daughter died after accidentally falling down the stairs. Prosecutors, however, believed it was a case of child abuse and charged Lucio with murder. She was found guilty the following year and sentenced to death.

Lucio’s execution was scheduled for April 2022. In the months leading up to it, attorneys from the Innocence Project who had taken on the case were compiling expert testimony for her appeal. One of the claims put forth was that Lucio’s confession — in which, after hours of questioning, she agreed to being “responsible” for what happened — was coerced. To prove this, the defense called the Hofstra Justice Project.

With just 19 days to work, Leonard assembled a team comprised of Gales, Seo, and adjunct professor (and program graduate) Dr. Juliane Ford, MA ’15 to conduct a detailed analysis of the interrogations of Lucio and her husband, Robert Alvarez.

“Broadly, our task was to examine the transcripts for whether there were any differences between how the officers questioned Ms. Lucio versus Mr. Alvarez,” explained Seo. More specifically, the Hofstra team was determining if the interrogations could be classified as information-gathering interviews or accusatory interrogations. The results were clear.

“The vast majority of questions directed at Ms. Lucio were accusatory, with accusations of abuse and neglect toward her children,” Seo said. “In Mr. Alvarez’s case, questions were mostly information-gathering and were couched in camaraderie and sympathy.”

Police used other interrogation tactics on Lucio that were not employed on Alvarez. Many of the questions asked of Lucio were forced choice (“Either you’re a coldblooded killer, or it was an accident” ) and based on gender stereotypes that exploited her role as a mother (“If you’re such a good mother, you need to stand up for her right now and tell us exactly what happened.” )

The most damning evidence of gender bias, however, may have been what wasn’t said. During Alvarez’s interrogation, police interrupted him just once. Lucio was interrupted 71 times while trying to answer questions or defend herself. As Seo said, “Ms. Lucio denied any hand in her daughter’s death 100 times, but her answers were always swept away by the revolving team of questioners.”

Based on these findings and others, the group concluded Lucio’s interrogation was accusatory, aimed solely at coercing a confession rather than obtaining information on the child’s death.

Leonard’s report was filed alongside other expert and legal opinions in a writ of habeas corpus. After reviewing the new evidence, a judge granted Lucio a stay of execution on April 25, 2022 — two days before she was scheduled to be executed.

As of October 2025, Lucio remains on death row, where she has been for the last 17 years.

Hofstra’s exciting new branding honors tradition and signals a promising future.

Since 1937, Hofstra has grown from a one-building institution with several hundred students to one boasting 13 schools and colleges, spread out over a 240-acre campus that is home to 10,000 students from across the country and around the world.

L ast fall, Hofstra President Susan Poser introduced the community to Hofstra 100, the 10-year strategic plan that will guide the University to its centennial. The plan outlines how the University will build upon the institutional strengths developed and cultivated over the previous 90 years to propel Hofstra to unprecedented heights.

To match the boldness and dynamism of Hofstra 100, the University wanted a bold brand identity that would honor Hofstra’s past and present, compete with peer schools with an eye toward a bright future.

MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE

Branding is far more than just logos and colors. It constitutes everything consumers perceive, understand, experience, and remember about a product, service, or institution. Strong branding tells a story, one that establishes an identity, defines values, and highlights distinguishing features. In a competitive sector such as higher education, where students can choose from thousands of universities, differentiation is paramount. “We needed not just a new look and feel, but a new way to tell our story,” said Terry Coniglio, Hofstra’s vice president for marketing and communications. “One that better describes this incredible upward trajectory Hofstra is on — that’s the impetus for this evolved brand.”

HOFSTRA’S CULTURAL ESSENCE

T he scale, scope, and singularity of a complete Hofstra rebrand would require outside expertise. MBLM, a global branding agency that has worked with companies and organizations such as the National Football League, American Airlines, and the United Nations, was chosen to work alongside Hofstra’s Division of Marketing and Communications (MarComm).

“Branding intuitions are some of the most complex and nuanced marketing challenges,” said Mario Natarelli, managing partner at MBLM. “Great brands always reflect great cultures, and the key to this is understanding and articulating that culture’s core essence.”

B elieving that no community knows Hofstra better than its own, the MarComm team began the rebranding process with a large-scale brand perception study. “We wanted to understand what our internal and external communities were thinking about Hofstra,” Coniglio said. “We wanted our decisions rooted in data and research, not just what we felt.”

Simultaneously, MBLM went to school educating themselves on the University’s past, present, and future. This encompassed a wide range of methodologies, including quantitative research, interviews, focus groups, web and social analytics, and campus tours.

“For our work to resonate, we undertake an exhaustive process of observing, listening, absorbing existing materials, and interviewing all the key stakeholders,” Natarelli said. “It also involves an almost archaeological pursuit and appreciation of the institution’s history. From its founding to the present, we study the phases of the brand’s evolution over time.”

From this research and Hofstra’s brand study, the teams distilled Hofstra’s unique and defining characteristics: the rich history; pride of belonging; breadth and quality of academic offerings; diverse student community; unique location; and natural, architectural, and sculptural treasures within campus.

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ATHLETICS

T he Hofstra Athletics Department is also getting a new look, one that amplifies the passion and drive that define the Pride. While aligned with the primary Hofstra brand, this extension is tailored specifically for Hofstra’s 17 NCAA Division I teams.

T he updated logo features the profiles of Kate and Willie with their eyes set straight ahead. The sleek, stylized design in Hofstra’s signature blue and gold reflects a contemporary aesthetic while honoring the tradition and spirit of the University’s athletic heritage.

SHAPING AN ICON

The centerpiece of Hofstra’s rebrand is the new, modernized logo. The shield shaped emblem features a bold, blue stylized “H” framed by curved gold elements. More than just a monogram, the new logo embodies the University by incorporating symbols that represent Hofstra’s storied past and bright future. “This mark reflects not just who we are, but where we want to go,” Hofstra President Susan Poser said.

C reating the logo was no easy task. MBLM presented roughly 200 different options, which were whittled down to five before two were chosen to workshop. “We did focus groups with those designs, and they weren’t landing enough with our audience,” Coniglio said. “I have always felt that this is not mine, this is Hofstra’s, and I wasn’t ever going to put anything out there that didn’t feel right for the Hofstra community.”

The team took the feedback and continued to evolve the work. “The process uncovered the gem that I think really encapsulates everything that is Hofstra,” Coniglio said. The final design is both simple and layered with many positive attributes and inspirations.

History and Distinction

Heraldic Shield

Tradition and Strength

Monogram

Knowledge and Guidance

O pen Book Repository of Wisdom

Mark of Legacy Torch

Tulip Emblem of Renewal

G uiding Beacon

W ings

A mbition and Potential

TAKE THE GLYPH QUIZ

Foundational to the University’s new visual branding are the glyphs. A family of unique yet cohesive symbols represent key aspects of Hofstra’s heritage, vibrant history, and distinctive environment. “ These are our DNA — no one else can copy them,” said Terry Coniglio, Hofstra’s vice president for marketing and communications. “They’re distinct to who we are and our collective experience.” Together, they serve as visual pillars of the brand, enhancing Hofstra’s story and reinforcing the brand in memorable and meaningful ways.

“ They also act as a bit of a scavenger hunt to find or recall where these items or landmarks are on campus. Some are obvious, like the Unispan, others are more subtle.”

HOFSTRA — THEN, NOW, AND TOMORROW

Hofstra’s refreshed branding honors the traditions that have shaped the University over the last 90 years, while simultaneously highlighting the bright future it’s building every day. It showcases the University’s forward-thinking mission with a fresh, cohesive aesthetic and momentumbuilding promise.

Hofstra’s new brand was unveiled at two events last spring. The first reveal was at the 29th annual Hofstra Gala on May 1. “Tonight is the culmination of an initiative to refresh the Hofstra brand to represent the future of the University,” said President Poser, who also credited MBLM. “They listened to our students, faculty, staff, and alumni, understood our dreams for Hofstra’s future, and turned that into a magnificent brand.”

Students got their first look a few days later during the “Be the Spark, Leave Your Mark” event. The celebration, which took place at the Sondra and David S. Mack Student Center, included giveaways, a photo booth, a sticker wall, and exclusive branded T-shirts, all to commemorate this milestone in Hofstra’s history.

The dynamic new branding is elevating the University’s website and admission materials and will continue to spread around campus over the coming months, enriching every aspect of the Hofstra experience. “We are also working on a major signage project,” Coniglio said. ”Over the academic year, you’re going to see all new signs and wayfinding on campus.”

“For institutions going through a rebranding,” Natarelli said, “think of it not as a change of symbol but as a symbol of change.”

Hofstra HOLLY

The Lawrence Herbert School of Communication expands “Hofstra LA,” giving students a semester to live and work in the world’s media and entertainment mecca.

By Danna Lorch

Illustrations by Elly Walton

Goes WOOD

Some people wait years for their first red carpet appearance. For Richie Castronova ’26, it was just a matter of weeks. In February, the television/film major donned a black tuxedo and headed to the 31st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles, where he rubbed shoulders with industry giants whose work he admired and respected. Castronova was not there as a guest, though — he was there to work, having just recently begun an internship with the company producing the awards show.

“It was my first big production, and I was a research intern for the awards show, just a month after getting to LA,” Castronova said. “I got to compile tons of information for Kristen Bell’s opening monologue, so it was a surreal feeling to see it blowing up on social media afterwards, knowing that I got to contribute to it.”

Just a few weeks after landing in Hollywood, he had already reached the stars.

In January, Castronova and 15 of his undergraduate classmates from The Lawrence Herbert School of Communication headed to the West Coast as the first cohort of Hofstra LA Semester. The program acts as a real-life launchpad for those who want to build careers in fields such as screenwriting, television production, broadcast journalism, public relations, or filmmaking. During the semester-long experience, students live in Los Angeles while taking industry-specific classes, completing internships within their areas of professional interest, and learning about the media landscape with the help of the University’s tight-knit alumni community.

Castronova spent the semester interning with the global entertainment company Silent House. The work opportunity came about through Hofstra alumnus Mark Bracco ’92, who serves as president of Silent House Productions, plays a guiding role on the Herbert School’s Dean’s Advisory Board, and has been instrumental in getting Hofstra LA up and running. Silent House produces larger-than-life events and immersive content, like the “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” concert film, and was named one of the 20 most creative companies in the world by GQ magazine.

Giving students access to impactful opportunities like this was the motivation to extend Hofstra LA from its previous 10-day January visit format to the new semesterlong program. “We previously brought 20 students to LA each year, and it was wildly popular, but what it lacked was the opportunity for students to really experience working in LA,” said Herbert School Associate Dean Adria Marlowe, who has served as Hofstra LA program director since its inception in 2015. “We felt that that it was really important for students to make more long-term connections and take classes out there to enhance their experience and to bring more visibility to Hofstra on the West Coast.”

To expand the program, Marlowe and her team leveraged existing partnerships with studios, stations, and creatives in Los Angeles and circled back to Hofstra’s LA-based alumni network. “Our alumni are integral to the success of the LA program,” Marlowe said. “They not only support student experiences like internships, networking opportunities, and mentoring, but they also support the financial aspect of students being able to participate.”

The University also hired local industry experts as adjunct instructors to teach courses that would directly inform the students’ internship experiences. This marked the first time Hofstra has offered its own full semester academic program to students beyond the New York campus.

Students applied to be part of the initial cohort, and those who were accepted had access to resources and guidance as they searched for internship opportunities. Need-based financial support was also available for eligible students. Housing was provided on Emerson College’s LA campus, but students were tasked with finding their own way to work each day, an experience that simulated real life as a young professional commuting in a city notorious for its tangle of freeways and traffic jams.

Herbert School alumna Kristen V. Carter ’06, who has built a name for herself in LA as an award-winning executive producer and served as a guest speaker for all 10 years of the January program, was tapped to be Hofstra LA site director. The Newark, New Jersey, native majored in television production and still remembers the grit, persistence, and entrepreneurial acumen it took to break into the LA entertainment scene as a young alumna nearly two decades ago. She didn’t arrive in Southern California with any connections, but the portfolio she put together at Hofstra gave her the confidence to go out and make them for herself.

“My professors at Hofstra treated us like young colleagues, and I think that played a big part in my success and in landing opportunities right out of school,” Carter shared. At just 21, she became head writer for a television show, an accomplishment that gave her the experience and confidence to climb the production ranks steadily. More recently, Carter was both showrunner and executive producer for the PBS concert special GOSPEL Live! Presented by Henry Louis Gates Jr., which featured performances by noted artists like John Legend.

Getting the chance to mentor Hofstra students was a full circle moment for Carter, who taught Innovations in the Entertainment Industry, a required course in which students reported back on their internship experiences and worked to gain career confidence and clarity in a group setting.

“The semester gives the students an opportunity to soak in all that’s at their disposal in terms of the networking experience, the internship experience, and then the mentorship as well,” Carter said. “They can apply it to their own lives during those four months they’re here.”

Lauren Lee ’27 knew from an early age that she wanted to go into journalism to become a storyteller, and chose Hofstra after learning that it played host to three U.S. presidential debates. “Something that drew me to Hofstra was how much hands-on experience students get here right away,” Lee said. “I tried to get involved in as many things as possible during my first semesters here, whether it was reporting for Hofstra Today or producing a weekly show for the school’s radio station, WRHU.”

When Lee heard about Hofstra LA, she was immediately all-in. Herbert School Dean Mark Lukasiewicz connected her with the Disneyowned local news channel KABC TV, where she secured an internship at the news assignment desk. “My team was constantly monitoring emails, press releases, and police scanners,” Lee explained. “If there was a story to be told, we were going to be the first to know about it. There are many moving parts in a newsroom, and this was such a great way to learn about them. I’m more excited for a future as a broadcast journalist now that I’ve seen it in action.”

Through their time in LA, they start to understand how many people are involved in creating, managing, packaging, and distributing content.”

Though Castronova started the semester with plans to work in television production, his internship shifted his passion toward the business side of the entertainment industry. Upon returning to Hofstra, Castronova changed his major from Television and Film to Television and Business. “My time in LA taught me that there’s so many more layers to this industry than just production,” he said. “There’s public relations, there’s management, there’s representation — and those all excite me. I never would have even thought that I could be capable of doing anything like this because it all seemed so out of reach prior to this experience.” Lukasiewicz saw the students grow in confidence and skill over the semester in ways that reinforce what the Herbert School stands for: “One of the things that makes Hofstra different is that we are hands-on from day one,” he said. “Whether it’s writing a script, producing a show, filming a documentary, or working on a podcast – from the minute students get here, they’re getting their hands dirty creating content.”

The Hofstra LA Semester is set to expand with its second cohort in spring 2026 and is actively looking for alumni to get involved as guest speakers and mentors, or to offer internships. For more information, visit hofstra.edu/communication or contact LAsemester@hofstra.edu

Lee learned to juggle the job along with three days of classes a week, while also carving out time to network with guest speakers and Hofstra alumni at events geared toward orienting program participants to the community and industry. Lukasiewicz said the breadth of speakers and experiences was intentional. “This program opens students’ eyes to how vast this industry is and how many different roles exist. Many students come out of high school saying they want to be involved in this space, but they actually only know about a handful of the roles, like screenwriter, director, actor.

California Dreamin’

Hofstra LA Semester

ALUMNI Visions

This summer, Hofstra University teamed up with Pictor Gallery in Manhattan to celebrate some of its alumni artists. Visions & Echoes, a group exhibition that ran from August 26 to September 6, allowed multigenerational alumni to showcase their work in a fine art gallery located within New York’s iconic Chelsea art district.

Two dozen former Hofstra students, ranging from the Classes of 1973 to 2025, had their work selected for display. Collectively, the pieces encompassed a wide range of mediums, perspectives, and creative approaches. “It’s wonderful that we can bring together alumni artists in a show that highlights the depth of talent and creative vision of our fellow alumni across the decades,” said artist Denise Jones Adler ’81 “We hope this will be the first of many.”

The exhibition, which will become an annual event, kicked off with an opening night reception that included remarks from Hofstra President Susan Poser and Sasha Giordano, director of the Hofstra University Museum of Art.

PARTICIPATING ALUMNI ARTISTS

Denise Jones Adler ’81 • Hayley Blomquist ’18 • Dorothy Brodesser ’81

Annemarie Busche ’21 • Gabriel Cordero ’22 • Kat Deiner ’15 • Rainer DeLalio ’25

B art Edelman ’73; MA, ’74 • Kelly Elkowitz ’23 • Carrie Gordon ’82

Skye Hilton ’05 • Beauvoire Jean-Charles ’25 • Victoria Jenkins ’19

Daniel Jones ’15 • Ryan Ketterer ’25 • Karen L. Kirshner, MBA, ’91

Matt Mahler ’05 • Ally Montana ’23 • Hillary Serota Needle ’89

Stephen Pike ’24 • Michelle Sakhai ’04 • Kathryn Kaufman Seay ’82

G arren Small ’72; JD, ’78 • Kiarra Williams ’19; MA, ’22

2025 ALUMNI AWARDS DINNER HONOREES

ALUMNUS OF THE YEAR

Shawn Henry ’87; MS Executive Advisor CrowdStrike

Michael Lai ’20 Co-Founder and CEO Famous Media Group

YOUNG ALUMNI

Jo Norris ’16; MA Co-Founder and CEO Carbon Reform

ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Laurence Charney ’69; MBA Retired Partner, EY Member, Zarb School of Business Dean’s Advisory Board

Sandra Lindsay, MBA, ’16; DHSc; RN Vice President, Public Health Advocacy Northwell Health

Isma H. Chaudhry, MPH, ’15; MD Associate Director Metropolitan Center for Sleep Medicine

Lourdes Paredes ’93; JD Managing Director, Americas Head of Financial Crimes Prevention, and Wealth Management Chief AML Officer, UBS

HONORARY ALUMNUS

Jeffrey L. Abrams, Esq.

Daphne Jackson Hornbuckle ’86 IT Manager – North Texas Region Spectrum

Jo Sharon ’98 Co-CEO Magical Elves Inc.

PRIDE Reconnect with the

JOIN US AT AN ALUMNI EVENT

NYC HOLIDAY PARTY

December 9

• WINTER HOMECOMING

February 6 & 7

• HOFSTRA DAY OF GIVING

February 26

• WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

March 5

• HOFSTRA IN LA RECEPTION

March 22

• BLACK/HISPANIC ALUMNI ASSOCIATION SCHOLARSHIP DINNER

April 11

• HEMPSTEAD FOR HOFSTRA/ HOFSTRA FOR HEMPSTEAD SCHOLARSHIP DINNER

April 16

• HOFSTRA GALA

May 7

Class Notes

1971

Kenneth Druck (BA) of Del Mar, CA, recently had his article “The Wholeness That Emerges From Brokenness” published in Psychology Today

1973

Michael Beckerman (BA, Music) of Brooklyn, NY, was recently appointed dean of the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.

Jonathan Moreno (BA, Psychology; LHD, ’98) of Washington, D.C., wrote a book titled Absolutely Essential: Bioethics and the Rules-Based International Order, which was published in September 2025 by MIT Press.

1976

Ann Parry (MSEd, Reading) of Merrick, NY, was recently named the first-place winner in the Press Club of Long Island Media Awards’ Blog category, for her photo blog FromLongIsland.com.

1983

IRA BIRNS

(BBA, Accounting) of Southwest Ranches, FL, was recently promoted to president at World Kinect Corporation.

Sean McGowan (BA, English/French) of Blauvelt, NY, went on to earn an MBA from Harvard Business School, which helped launch a four-decade career as an equity analyst on Wall Street. McGowan is a father of three and stepfather to two, with four grandchildren. He has been a longtime supporter of Hofstra’s Summer in Nice program, which he credits with changing

his life and helping him achieve fluency in French. He and his wife, Heidi, recently sold their home in Southampton, NY, and purchased an apartment in Tourrettes, a village in the south of France about an hour west of Nice. As they transition into retirement, they look forward to spending more time there. Though primarily based in New York, they also spent nine years living in Laguna Beach, CA, before returning to the East Coast.

1986

CRAIG SIMON

(BA, Political Science) of Melville, NY, was recently appointed managing director of Risk Strategies’ National Private Equity Practice.

PAUL L. DAMATO (JD) of Saint James, NY, was recently elected District Court judge of the Town of Smithtown’s 4th District Court.

Thomas Stiehle (BS, Mechanical Engineering) of Williamsburg, VA, was recently promoted to the position of executive vice president and chief operating officer at HII, the nation’s largest military shipbuilder.

1988

Lisa Cairns (BA, French) of Marietta, SC, recently relocated to South Carolina. After 24 years with NF Smith, she continues to serve as the company’s vice president of learning and development, now working full time from home. Before transitioning to the corporate world in 2001, she was a professor of linguistics.

Donald Johann (MS, Computer Science) of Little Rock, AR, is a professor at the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). He recently co-authored his fifth Nature publication, “Augmenting precision medicine via targeted RNA-Seq detection of expressed mutations” (npj Precision Oncology), which explores how RNA-seq can reveal clinically significant mutations missed by DNA-seq. He also published his 12th paper on liquid biopsy, “Recommended Clinical Context and Patient Context Data Elements for Liquid Biopsy Data Submitted to Data Repositories and Data Commons,” in Clinical and Translational Science Additionally, he led the successful NIH S10 Shared Instrument Grant that brought the Illumina NovaSeq X-Plus, the most advanced commercial NGS platform, to the UAMS Genomics Core Facility in March 2025.

1989

PAMELA AGNONE

(MBA, Banking and Finance) of Massapequa Park, NY, was recently appointed president and CEO of the United Nations Federal Credit Union.

Rachel Evans (BFA, Theater Arts) of New Brunswick, NJ, is chair of the Department of Theatre at Kean University (and uses what she learned at Hofstra every day!).

1990

Elaine Anton-Lotuglio (BA, Creative Studies) of Saratoga Springs, NY, is currently pursuing a doctorate at the University at Albany’s School of Social Welfare. In June 2025, she published College Student-Athlete Suicide: A Systematic Review in the Archives of Suicide Research. In April 2025, she received the Health Research, Inc. David Axelrod Award for Excellence in Scholarship at the University at Albany Showcase. The award recognized her research study, Family Perspectives: A Qualitative Examination of the Spring 2022 Suicides of College Student-Athletes, which explored suicide risk factors. The study drew on the experiences of bereaved families to highlight gaps in support systems and opportunities for change to improve mental health responses in college athletics.

Lisa Montanaro (BA, Political Science; Psychology; Speech Communication) is the author of Everything We Thought Was True, released in January 2025 by Red Adept Publishing.

Nicole Nunag (BA, Liberal Arts) of New York, NY, was recently appointed managing director and private client advisor at Bank of America Private Bank in New York City.

1992

Christopher R. Cooper (BBA, Management) of Blaine, WA, was recently appointed interim CEO of GoldHaven Resources Corporation.

SHARI BOTWIN

(BA, Psychology) of Narberth, PA, recently published a new book titled Silence to Strength and was featured in an article produced by her graduate program at Rutgers University titled “Graduate Overcomes Her Past to Support Sexual Abuse Survivors as a Therapist and Advocate.”

(BA, Political Science) of Woodbridge, VA, was recently appointed deputy associate general counsel, Public Health and Science Branch, in the Office of General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

(BBA, Management) of Ashburn, VA, was recently named senior vice president, director of business banking at John Marshall Bank.

ANDREA TSOUKALAS CURTO (BA, English) of Cutchogue, NY, a Land Use & Zoning partner at Forchelli Deegan Terrana LLP, was recently appointed an affiliate board member of the Commercial Industrial Brokers Society of Long Island and co-chair of the CIBS W [Women’s] Committee.

Robert Wolanski (BBA, Banking and Finance) of Dix Hills, NY, was recently promoted to head of institutional sales at the Washington, D.C.-based F/m Investments.

PATRICIA MANTOAN

JOHN ASHKAR

1998

Heather Cohen (BA, Audio/Radio) of Melville, NY, was recently named to the 2025 board of directors at the Library of American Broadcasting Foundation.

Kelly Walles (BA, English) of Oyster Bay, NY, was recently named director of development for the Grenville Baker Boys & Girls Club.

2002

2007

2000 2001

The Honorable Siela Bynoe (BA, Psychology) of Westbury, NY, was recently elected a New York state senator.

ANTHONY TERRANOVA

(BA, Liberal Arts) of Tinton Falls, NJ, recently joined American Global as head of claims for North America.

RANDELL HANSEN

(BBA, Management) of Sacramento, CA, completed the Tokyo Marathon in March 2025 in 3:22:56, earning the Abbott World Marathon Majors Six Star Medal and running as a charity participant for NPO Sodateage. According to Abbott and its Six Star Finisher stats, over 22,000 runners worldwide have now completed all six major marathons.

2003

April Francis Taylor (BA, History; MA, Secondary Education/Social Studies, ’07; Advanced Certificate in Educational Leadership: School Building/District Leadership, ’15) of Central Islip, NY, was recently appointed acting president by the board of directors of ERASE Racism. April is a dedicated advocate for equity, educational justice, and systemic change, with teaching and administrative experience in both Nassau and Suffolk.

Keith Piro (BBA, Marketing) of Massapequa, NY, was recently included in Marquis Who’s Who

2004

James N. Cohen (BA, Video/Television; MA, Comparative Arts and Culture, ’10) of Weston, CT, was awarded tenure and promotion to associate professor at CUNY Queens College. His book Critical Internet Literacies: Reconsidering Creativity, Content, and Safety Online was published by Routledge in January 2025.

Peter DiMarinis (BBA, Management) of White Plains, NY, was recently included in Marquis Who’s Who as a distinguished attorney focused on workers’ compensation law.

2006

Jaime Shannon (BA, Dance) of New York, NY, founded her own dance company, Kilowatt Dance Theater. Last summer, the dancers were invited to perform at the Gold Coast Dance Festival (Glen Cove), Dance City Festival (NYC), and Amelia Island Dance Festival (Florida).

BECKY KAMOWITZ

(BA, Public Relations) of Brooklyn, NY, was recently promoted to executive director at the Skin Cancer Foundation.

Matt Rogers (BS, Exercise Specialist) of Williston Park, NY, recently started working for Rallye Motor Company in Roslyn, NY. He previously worked for five years as an executive recruiter in financial services at Northwestern Mutual.

2008

Kimberly T. Smith (BS, Community Health) of Freeport, NY, was promoted to assistant director of quality improvement and organizational development at CenterLight Healthcare PACE in February 2025. Kimberly joined CenterLight in 2022, bringing 17 years of managed healthcare experience and a focus on quality improvement, data-driven decision-making, and staff development. She recently earned her Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) credential and now oversees strategic quality initiatives and education operations.

2009

Vincent A. Chiofolo (BBA, Marketing) of Massapequa Park, NY, serves as senior vice president at Dash Solutions, which was named to Fortune’s list of America’s Most Innovative Companies in 2025. He was also reelected president of the Incentive & Engagement Solution Providers, a strategic industry group within the Incentive Marketing Association.

Joshua Sankowski (BA, Political Science) of Rochester, NY, was named to the Jewish Family Services of Rochester board of directors.

2010

Jason Curreri (BA, English) of Ridgewood, NJ, was recently promoted to managing counsel for cyber and professional liability at Chubb.

Neli Kharbedia (BBA, Legal Studies in Business; JD, ’16) of Fanwood, NJ, was recently selected for inclusion in Marquis Who’s Who

2011

Robert Blenderman (MBA, Quality Management) of Williston Park, NY, was recently appointed president of Greenwich Hospital and executive vice president of Yale New Haven Health.

Trevor Wolfe (BBA, International Business) of Brooklyn, NY, recently rejoined The Zero Proof, the leading U.S. retailer and importer of premium adult nonalcoholic beverages, as chief commercial officer. Based in Atlanta, the company was co-founded by Trevor and fellow entrepreneur Sean Goldsmith in 2019 and has quickly become a category leader in the $1.8 billion U.S. nonalcoholic beverage market. Trevor returns to The Zero Proof following his role as director of product management at Mailchimp.

2012

Yuliya Semenovych (BBA, Marketing) of Whitehall, PA, founded Elixir Health and Wellness, a first-of-its-kind wellness and biohacking center, in Bethlehem, PA, in 2023. In June 2025 she received the Chamber of Commerce 2025 Excellent Emerging Business Award, which recognizes organizations and individuals who exemplify outstanding business practices through their commitment, mission, community involvement, and leadership.

2014

Gerard Anglade (BBA, Legal Studies in Business) of Parkland, FL, was recently selected for inclusion in Marquis Who’s Who

MATTHEW BARRY

(BBA, Accounting; MS, Taxation, ’15) of Holtsville, NY, recently joined NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. as director of investor relations.

2015

Nixa S. Blevins (BA, Public Relations) of Ft. Worth, TX, recently relocated from the Washington, D.C., area to Ft. Worth, TX. She loved her time at Hofstra and looks forward to connecting with fellow alumni.

2016

Rachel Durant (BA, Psychology, Public Relations) of Westborough, MA, was promoted to vice president of Inkhouse in early July 2025. At Inkhouse, she sits at the intersection of content marketing and traditional PR to help clients tell compelling stories to their key audiences on the right channels to establish authority, build trust, and inspire action.

AKSHAT JAIN

(MPH, Public Health) of Redlands, CA, was recently honored with the prestigious 2025 Medical Provider of the Year by the Hemophilia Foundation of Southern California.

2017

Cortney Danielle Moore (BA, Journalism/ Fine Arts) of Miami, FL, was recently honored with a 2025 Communicator Award of Distinction in the Food & Beverage category for her video feature Jimmy Butler on BIGFACE, spotlighting the NBA star’s first brick-and-mortar coffee shop in Miami.

2019

MATTHEW KALLICHARRAN

(BS, Applied Physics) of West Hempstead, NY, was included in Marquis Who’s Who Top Engineers in 2024. He began his career as an applications engineer in 2023 with Ferric Corporation, a power electronics company based in New York City.

Sarah Robbins (BA, English and Religion) of Brooklyn, NY, began her career at Abrams Books as an editorial assistant and later became an assistant editor. In 2022, she reached out to TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney about writing a book, which became Paper Doll: Notes From a Late Bloomer (Sarah Robbins, editor). Despite delays and challenges, the book was published with a two-color interior and illustrations. Now an associate editor at Abrams, she is proud to share that Paper Doll is a New York Times bestseller.

2022

Angelina Ioppolo (BS, Health Science; MHA, Health Administration, ’23) of Newfoundland, PA, was recently named administrator of Mather Hospital’s Transitional Care Unit.

KARISSA HOUGH

(BS, Biology) of Lehighton, PA, recently accepted a one-year position as a wildlife technician with the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

LINDA LONGMIRE

Linda Longmire, Hofstra professor of global studies and geography, hosted a mini-reunion at her New York City apartment in April, with Hofstra alumni from the European Odyssey study abroad program. Attendees included Tarek Elkattan (Long Island), Hannah Skahill (Boston), Josh Ettinger (Brussels, Belgium), Amber Sass (New York City), Thomas DiBlasi (Long Island), and Michael Dickerson (Boston). Ettinger earned his PhD from Oxford University and DiBlasi earned his PhD from Hofstra. Longmire had the honor of officiating Ettinger’s wedding in Oxford last summer, as well as Skahill and Dickerson’s wedding in Boston. Elkattan met his wife, Alexandra Triolo, during the European Odyssey.

In Memoriam

Arthur Yanuchi ’53

Edward J. Smits ’55

Leona Borden ’56

Marie Corrado ’56

Mikayla Woss (BS, Accounting), of West Islip, NY, was promoted to Treasury Analyst I at Veeco Instruments after five years with the company, including three on the treasury team. She is currently pursuing an MS in Accounting at Hofstra University and plans to become a CPA.

August 16.

Michael I. Romanov ’56

Charles W. Rudiger ’56, ’58, ’63

Lawrence Magilligan ’58

Edwin F. Browne ’59

Daniel Hanlon ’59

Paul Hubbell ’59

Josephine Terrell ’59

Abraham Bernstein ’60

Charles Cutler ’62

Barry Elkin ’62

Agnes Goudie ’62

Dorothy Tucci ’62

Frank L. Maraviglia ’63

Paul Burroughs ’64

Laurie Goldstein ’65

Edward Macnair ’65

John Millett ’65

Frank O’Lear ’65

Stephen Orens ’65

Richard Smith ’65, ’71

Frank Lipson ’66

Dianne Blau ’67

Myrtle Forte ’67

Melanie Freese ’67, ’69

Anson Rabinbach ’67

John J. Altiere ’68

Steven Howard ’68

Richard M. Hlatki ’69

James C. Murphy ’69

Bena Racine ’69

Bonnie DeLuca ’70

Thomas Furst ’70

Patricia Fusco ’70

Thomas S. Leanos ’70

Evelyn Spina ’70

William Armstrong ’71

Marsha Garay ’71

Michael McDonough ’72

PAUL ROMANO

Kenneth A. Gurin ’73

Eva Deutchman ’74

Gary Weller ’74

Reverend Geoffrey Imperatore ’75

James J. Sanders ’75

Charles P. Zipperlen ’75

Kurt Jaeger ’76

Edward Zebrowski ’76

Donna Marie Desantis ’81

Brad D. Silver ’82

Marilyn Louise Digiovanna ’83

Emilio Mercado ’85

Joanne C. Stein ’85

Michelle Krach ’86

Carolyn Brent ’89

Louretta Dragonetti ’92

Adam Fisher ’99

Timothy Gilmartin ’99

Naomi Arad ’03

Kabir J. Lawal ’22

The Hofstra community lost a valued member in September with the passing of Paul Romano ’11; MBA ’14, senior director for facilities and administrative services. “Paul was a wonderful colleague and a dedicated manager,” Hofstra President Susan Poser said. “He touched so many with his professionalism, kindness, and loyalty, and he will be dearly missed.”

Romano, 64, began his career at Hofstra in 2001 as an assistant trades supervisor and advanced through several roles. From 2017 to 2024, he served as director of physical plant. In September 2024, he was named senior director and served as a member of President Poser’s Cabinet and senior administration.

The brothers of the XI PSI CHAPTER OF ALPHA PHI ALPHA FRATERNITY INC. honored 45 years of brotherhood, scholarship, and service on

MAKE YOUR GIFT TODAY

Do you remember that moment in class when inspiration struck? Or that time when your idea came to life and you began to see what you were capable of? Hofstra was more than a place to study; it was the place where your journey began.

Now you can help create that same opportunity for today’s students.

YOUR GIFT TO THE FUND FOR HOFSTRA SUPPORTS:

• Scholarships that open doors

• Academic programs that challenge and inspire

• Interdisciplinary experiences that prepare students to lead

When you give, you do more than support Hofstra. You help students discover their potential.

You celebrate your own accomplishments by making someone else’s aspirations possible.

Hempstead, New York 11549

Issue No. 5 | Fall 2025

After a summer of renovations, the main dining room in the Mack Student Center officially reopened on September 2, the first day of fall classes. The upgrades include a tech-forward checkout, digital jukebox, marketplace with salad bar and grab-and-go items, and new furniture and seating arrangements.