JWU Magazine Fall 2016

JW

Integrative Learning Talent Advancement Program

craft breweries JWU alumni turn liquid into gold

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2016

CONTENTS

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Josh Mersfelder ’14 with his dog Ella

FALL 2016

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FEATURES

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LIQUID ASSETS

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As JWU debuts a craft brewing curriculum, we toast alumni who are turning liquid into gold.

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MAPPING THE TERRAIN The launch of Integrative Learning heralds an innovative curriculum focused on interdisciplinary topics.

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SCHOOL OF LIFE The Talent Advancement Program hands North Miami students the requisite tools for epic success.

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CONSENT IS JWU creates a user-friendly way to recognize signs of sexual assault and relationship violence — and simplifies where to go for help.

DEPARTMENTS 02 04 08 30 32

From the Chancellor Campus News Athletics Resource Development Class Notes

www.jwu.edu

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FROM THE CHANCELLOR

Senior Vice President of Communications DOUG WHITING

Director of Design & Editorial Services BRIAN MURPHY

Editor

DENISE DOWLING

Designer

GAIL SOLOMON

Contributors

AJ BRODERICK ’09 JENNIFER BROUILLARD MIKE COHEA

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RYAN CROWLEY TIM ELFRINK JULIA S. EMLEN KARLI EVANS JORDAN FICKESS VANESSA E. GARCIA DARLENA GOODWIN ROBYN HANKERSON MELINDA HILL FRANCHESCA KIESLING ’17 JEFF KENNEDY HOLLI KEYSER RACHEL LACAILLE

HE GOOD LIFE: It’s what we all want. As alumni, we know that a JWU education is the way to

get it. But the Good Life doesn’t have to be a dream of a far-too-distant future. We’re helping our students learn how to live the lives they want today.

Charlotte Campus students are experiencing The Good Life — through a course of the same name — as they explore how to find meaning and purpose in life. It’s a selection within our integrative learning series, part of the new Arts & Sciences Core Experience that supports our mission of providing an exceptional education that inspires professional success and lifelong personal and intellectual growth. Professor Mark Peres conceived the course and writes about the evolution of the Arts & Sciences Core Experience to stay current with best practices and prepare for external accreditation assessment. Phenomenon-based teaching represents a move away from subjects and toward interdisciplinary topics that faculty design around areas of passion and inquiry.

Some of the classes students can choose from include The Atomic Age, History of Science, Things That Go, The Legal Imagination, City as Text, and Economics of Sin. These courses represent a new way of engaging students and enhancing learning.

North Miami Campus first-year students are also discovering how they can achieve the Good Life — through our Talent Advancement Program, a unique approach to helping those identified as at risk of dropping out. Many are the first in their families to attend college and experience a culture shock after leaving home. As they learn time management and decision-making skills via the personal development course, and bond with other TAP students through on- and offcampus activities, their self-esteem is bolstered and their JWU experience is enriched. The program has been so successful that we are hoping to launch it at other JWU campuses in the future.

Many believe that no Good Life is complete without an appreciation for craft beer and brewing.

This fall, JWU offers craft brewing courses with plans to debut an official minor and certificate program in the fall of 2017. The curriculum provides the entrepreneurial foundation and technical know-how to become a brewmaster, found a brewery and innovate a brand of beers. Our alumni are at the forefront of this industry’s tremendous growth — one is even growing his own hops!

How do you celebrate the Good Life? I encourage you to share your thoughts with us at jwumagazine@jwu.edu.

MELINDA LAW JOE MAGENNIS DUNCAN MAXWELL ’18 LISA PELOSI MARK PERES ED PEREIRA CHRIS PLANO ’93, ’95 JEANNE RYAN ELIZABETH SCANLON ’97 M.S. STEPHEN SMITH MARY SWARD DAMARIS R. TEIXEIRA LAUREN TKACS AMY VUCCI NEIL WEBB MIRIAM S. WEINSTEIN ’08 MBA KEVIN WESLEY

JWU Magazine is published four times a year including a special supplement for recent graduates. Photos (black and white or color prints), high-resolution digital images and news can be sent to JWU Magazine, 8 Abbott Park Place, Providence, RI, 02903 or emailed to jwumagazine@jwu.edu.

Selection and publication of entries are at the editor’s discretion. JWU Magazine is produced by University Communications in cooperation with Resource Development and Alumni Relations.

Chancellor JOHN J. BOWEN ’77

Providence Campus President and Chief Operating Officer MIM L. RUNEY, LP.D.

Regional Campus Presidents

Chancellor John J. Bowen ’77

LARRY RICE, ED.D., ’90, NORTH MIAMI RICHARD WISCOTT, PH.D., DENVER ROBERT C. MOCK JR., ED.D., CHARLOTTE

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YOUR REUNION IS COMING UP! REGISTER AT

ALUMNI.JWU.EDU click on “events”

PROVIDENCE All-Class Reunion, April 28–30, 2017 NORTH MIAMI Homecoming, February 3–4, 2017 CHARLOTTE All-Class Reunion, April 28–30, 2017 CHARLESTON All-Class Reunion, February 24–25, 2017 If you missed the Denver Homecoming in October, don’t despair — there will be another one next year!

CAMPUS NEWS CHEFS EXPLORE RHODE ISLAND’S SEAFOOD BETWEEN LUNCH and dinner

Chancellor John J. Bowen ’77 with Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo

GRAND OPENING OF THE JOHN J. BOWEN CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND INNOVATION

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n‌ September 1, the Providence Campus officially opened the John J. Bowen Center for Science and Innovation — the first building constructed on the Interstate 195 land in downtown Providence.

University leadership was joined by Rhode Island Governor Gina M. Raimondo and Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza at the ceremony. A robotic arm, created by students in the university’s robotics engineering and technology program, cut a double helix patterned ribbon to commemorate the occasion.

The center houses the university’s School of Engineering & Design and the John Hazen White College of Arts & Sciences’ biology program. It was named in recognition of Chancellor John J. Bowen’s many contributions to the university, which include leading strategic efforts to elevate the quality and prominence of experiential education and working tirelessly to secure the university’s financial future through fundraising. He was instrumental in acquiring the land for the new $42 million, 71,000-square-foot building and will continue, as chancellor of the university, to lead and advocate for Johnson & Wales as it begins a new chapter in science and innovation.

The center offers labs for innovation, robotics, drawing, network engineering and Computer Aided Design (CAD), as well as a design center for students in the School of Engineering & Design. It also offers biology, physics, chemistry and anatomy labs for students in the biology program. The first floor houses Red Mango, Campus Dining’s newest establishment, which offers juice, smoothies and nonfat frozen yogurt. ~ Ryan Crowley

service, during Restaurant Week in Providence no less, nine of Rhode Island’s consummate chefs were invited to “Rhode Island’s Seafood Chef’s Table.” Led by the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation (CFRF) and JWU, it was held at Hope & Main, a unique culinary business incubator housed in a 100-year-old former school in Warren, Rhode Derek Wagner ’99 inspects a sea robin while Matt Varga ’05 looks on.

Island. The objective: to get better acquainted with Rhode Island’s plentiful, but lesser-known seafood species.

Among the group: Derek Wagner ’99 (Nick’s on Broadway), Matt Varga ’05 (Gracie’s), Ben Mayhew ’10 (Garde de la Mer) and Aaron Thorpe ’01 (Cook & Dagger). Guided by JWU faculty chefs Matthew Britt and Rob Lucier, they had an hour to eviscerate, create, taste and assess butterfish, dogfish, American eel, scup, monkfish, and striped sea robin, a few of the species fresh from the ocean.

Anna Malek Mercer, Ph.D., executive director of CFRF, told the chefs, “Your skills are critical to bringing these species to the consumer.” The plated results are certain to make that a reality. ~ Miriam S. Weinstein ’08 MBA

ON JULY 1, THE JWU PROVIDENCE CAMPUS became the first institution of higher education in Rhode Island to be tobacco-free campuswide.

During a campus celebration that included “cold turkey” sandwiches, President and Chief Operating Officer Mim L. Runey, LP.D., was presented a citation from the governor by Rhode Island Department of Health Director Dr. Nicole Alexander Scott. – Ryan Crowley

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FASHION WEEK TAKES CENTER STAGE WHILE DESIGNERS prepared

Thiago Rodrigues ’19

“ STUDENTS STORE IT” AWARDED FIRST PLACE IN SHARKFEST

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hiago Rodrigues ’19 was awarded a $5,000 stipend for his business venture Students Store It, a warehousing concept that can store student belongings for a summer or longer, with pick-up and delivery available. The prize was presented as part of the 5th Annual “SharkFest” entrepreneurship competition. Students from all four JWU campuses gathered in Providence to pitch their business ideas to a panel of judges from the business community.

The competition, which was developed by the university’s Entrepreneurship Center, gives students the chance to network with industry professionals who can help turn their business concepts into reality. The North Miami Campus has a long history of entrepreneurial students and alumni, and launched a B.S.B.A. degree in Entrepreneurship this fall.

~ Robyn Hankerson

JWU GOES PET-FRIENDLY JWU NMI RECENTLY BECAME ONE OF THE ONLY higher

education institutions in South Florida to allow students to have pets in a residence hall. Arch Creek residence hall has been designated pet friendly, offering students the opportunity to bring their furry friends to live with them on campus. The excitement surrounding this novelty instantly engaged students to apply for housing in the residence hall. ~ Robyn Hankerson

to launch their new looks for the season and models got ready to walk the runway during New York Fashion Week, the same kind of energy invigorated North Miami Campus fashion students as they planned the debut of their own Fashion Week.

Designed as a way to help students gain industry experience, Fashion Week featured various events. NMI held a screening and discussion of “True Cost,” a documentary on clothing, its makers and the impact the fashion industry has on the world. Students also launched a pop-up shop, which challenged them to run a boutique and be responsible for all aspects of merchandising, sales, promotions, customer service and inventory. The highlight of the week was the Forces in Fashion runway show. Produced by members of the student organization Clutch in conjunction with sports/entertainment/event management students, the showcase featured JWU students modeling creations by other students and local designers for a nearly sold-out audience at one of Miami’s hot spots, the Newport Beachside Hotel.

“Having to be a stage manager and run a show myself helped me learn what it really takes to put on a fashion show,” said Anna Zarrella ’16, a JWU School of Business fashion merchandising & retailing major. “Many of the skills we learn in class, like merchandising and pricing, helped us to style the models, price items and set up our pop-up shop.” ~ Robyn Hankerson

Crystal Jacques ’17 and Oliver

IRON CHEF CHALLENGE: WINNER TAKES ALL LaNeicia Anderson ’19 won JWU’s Iron Chef Challenge (sponsored by Hampton Creek and Chartwells), landing a trip to San Francisco.

The prize included a tour of Hampton Creek’s Mission HQ and recipe development with their Michelinstarred chefs. www.jwu.edu

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CAMPUS NEWS JWU DENVER “KICKS BUTTS” OFF CAMPUS

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n spite of grey and overcast skies, Denver students, staff, alumni and even Wildcat Willie gathered outside Centennial Hall July 1 to celebrate the universitywide transition to a 100 percent tobacco-free campus. (North Miami and Charlotte campuses enacted the policy last year; Providence and Denver followed this year.) The “No Butts About It” event also provided an opportunity to clean up cigarette butts and litter throughout campus.

“This is a major step forward for the campus and Johnson & Wales as an institution,” said Denver Campus President Richard Wiscott, Ph.D. “I’m personally committed to creating a healthy campus environment and will promote a healthy mind, a healthy body, and a healthy soul and spirit so that all of us can get the most of our Johnson & Wales experience.”

Worldwide, it is estimated that 1.69 billion pounds of cigarette butts end up as waste each year. Nonbiodegradable and toxic, cigarette butts remain in the environment and can leach toxic chemicals, including nicotine, formaldehyde and arsenic into water and soil for years.

As the formalities came to a close, volunteers teamed up to focus on areas where littering had been the most egregious. In total, six bags of garbage were collected, and a bucket was filled to the brim with cigarette butts that once littered the campus.

~ Duncan Maxwell ’18

JWU volunteers clean up cigarette butts around campus during the “No Butts About It” event for a tobacco-free university.

Photos by Amy Vucci

ACADEMIC PROGRAM EXPANSION THE DENVER CAMPUS ACADEMIC PORTFOLIO continues to

expand, with new undergraduate and graduate programs offered for the 2016–17 academic year and beyond.

The university’s rapidly expanding hybrid (in-class and online) MBA program will now offer five concentrations at the Denver Campus. In addition to a traditional MBA as well as concentrations in Human Resources Management, Nonprofit Management and Hospitality, an MBA with a concentration in Operations & Supply Chain Management will be offered in 2017.

Beginning this fall, the School of Business within the College of Management will offer bachelor’s degrees in Marketing as well as Entrepreneurship. The College of Arts & Sciences will offer a bachelor’s degree in English: Writing and Literature this fall. In 2017-18, the college will also debut bachelor’s degrees in Sociology and Health Sciences, an integrative, multidisciplinary approach to prepare students for careers in health and wellness. ~ Holli Keyser

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YOUNG FOODIES AT CULINARY CAMPS This summer, kids had the opportunity to explore their gastronomic curiosities through JWU Denver’s youth culinary camps. Held for the first time on campus, aspiring young chefs learned basic culinary skills, the origins of food, how to reduce waste and how to prepare cultural dishes from around the world.

Photo by Amy Vucci

PRESIDENT MOCK TAKES THE HELM

Aaliyah Mitchell ’19

GOING PUBLIC: THE WHAT I BE PROJECT

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nationwide project by photographer Steve Rosenfield allowed students and staff to discuss their deepest insecurity and share it with the public during the What I Be Project last spring. The endeavor started as a social experiment that has gained national attention concerning empowerment and honesty.

Amber Jolly, assistant director of student involvement & leadership, said, “I’m in awe of the bravery displayed by the students and staff who participated in this project as they talked about issues related to body image, race/ethnicity, mental health, sexual assault and more.”

Nearly 35 people sat for a 45-minute intimate discussion, then had their pictures taken in hopes of opening up communication on campus and helping everyone to accept diversity. After discussing their deepest insecurities, participants were encouraged to create power statements that their insecurity does not define them.

~ Melinda Law

COUNSELING COLLABORATION COUNSELING SERVICES hosted a day-long retreat to promote a

spirit of collaboration with area college counseling centers while supporting continuing education for staff. Representatives from Central Piedmont Community College, Queens University of Charlotte, Wingate University and JWU attended workshops focused on students with ADHD or autism, as well as supporting students in recovery. The college and university counselors are involved in the daily promotion of health, safety and resiliency of students. Stacie MacArthur, director of counseling services, says it’s advantageous to glean information from fellow counselors: Everyone learns how to better assist students with challenges that may occur during college, while helping to promote greater wellness in the student population. ~ Melinda Law

Jon Strayhorn

Steve Rosenfield

ROBERT C. MOCK JR., ED.D. was installed

earlier this year as the second president of the Charlotte Campus. Members of the senior administration, university trustees and key business and education leaders joined the celebration. Early on, Mock knew a diverse education would help him reach his initial goal of becoming CEO of a Fortune 500 company — a reframed goal that eventually led to higher education: First, as associate dean in the college of professional studies at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, associate vice provost at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, then vice president of student affairs at the University of Kentucky and now president of JWU Charlotte. “The strength of our academic program offerings are key elements in both our historical and future enrollment plans ,” says Mock. “Community engagement has been very important to me; my goal is to grow this institution by strengthening student life and growing our academic programs.”

~ Melinda Law

SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY THERE WERE AN ASTONISHING 500-plus interviews for

students wanting internships or jobs during the Hospitality & Food Service Spring Expo. More than 100 vendors were represented at the annual event hosted by Experiential Education & Career Services to benefit culinary, hospitality and foodservice students. Tarun Malik, Ed.D., vice president and dean of academics, said, “While this event was in progress, the College of Culinary Arts created forums for students to interact with recent alumni and vendors, as well as to view product demonstrations. The variety of employers and opportunities keeps getting better each year.”

Representatives included Compass Group USA, The Peabody Memphis, Walt Disney World, the Carolina Panthers and Omni Hotels and Resorts. ~ Melinda Law

ATHLETICS The Consummate Professional

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BY AJ BRODERICK ’09

As Peter French ’16 goes pro, he reflects on how perspective was everything during his last collegiate season.

olf teaches us about life and life teaches us about golf. In a tumultuous game in which triumph and agony are never too far apart, it is easy to forget that it is still just a game. For Peter French ’16, newfound perspective on the game he loves proved how much more he loves life itself — and how intertwined both can be.

In December 2015, French was on the North Miami Campus preparing for his South Beach Amateur and Patriot All-America tournaments when he received a call that immediately took his mind off golf. After having what he felt was a subpar fall season and fighting the expectation to prove himself in a couple of big amateur events, his perspective shifted when he learned that his father had been rushed to the hospital that day and later diagnosed with cancer.

“It was tough,” he says. “I didn’t know what to do; I just wanted to be at home with him.” After undergoing relentless procedures, testing and best case results given the circumstances, French decided to stay and play in South Beach before withdrawing from the Patriot All-America and flying to Boston to be with his family.

“I don’t think there was a right thing to do at the time, but I know he wanted me to play, and

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with live scoring and everything at the South Beach, I thought it would give him something to look forward to,” says French.

Mike French is no stranger to following his son on the golf course. Since he was a toddler, his father carted Peter to junior golf tournaments all over the map, relishing every opportunity to carry the bag.

Mike French recalls how “Peter started hitting balls before he could walk with plastic ‘Little Tykes’ clubs. Before I knew it, he was at the range every day, just whack whack whack, ball after ball. He loved to spend hours putting on the practice green until dark, even as a child.”

The secret to his son’s success, according to Mike French, is his competitive experience: “The U.S. Challenge Cup was huge for Peter.

He loved the competition and traveling to new places, experiencing tournament play early on and not being afraid of competition has given him a drive to succeed at all costs.”

“My father taught me a lot about how to play the game,” says Peter. “He taught me how to grind and how important the putter was to my game. He also taught me how to act and the importance of a work ethic. My parents did everything they could for me to chase my dream.”

With his health improving last spring and a relentless desire to watch his son compete, it wasn’t long before Mike French returned to the links, where he gave a brilliant rendition of the team mascot, Wildcat Willie, during the Primm Battle in Las Vegas and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National Championship in Illinois. Since his son became a Wildcat back in September 2012, Mike French joined the squad with Peter. He was seen lurking, running, sometimes even fist pumping through golf courses all over the country — scorecard, sandwiches and positive vibes in hand.

“Knowing he was at home battling cancer fueled me like crazy,” says Peter. “If he was fighting at home, I needed to be fighting on and off the course. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to be the best that I can be because I know that’s exactly what he wants.” In golf, success can be contingent on the relationship between the present and the big picture. “I always wanted to win and wanted the team to win,” he notes. “My father’s situation helped me stay hungry but patient no matter what; I knew that’s what my father would tell me, too.” As he completed the final chapter of a decorated

career at JWU, the alumnus continued to wear “Chowie,” his father’s nickname, on the back of his hat as “a reminder to never quit and never lose sight of having fun and enjoying life. My dad hasn’t entirely grown up, but in a great way; he’s full of energy and life.”

There is no doubt French was enjoying life as he racked up a number of accolades his senior year. Already a three-time collegiate champion as he entered his final spring, French got off to an inspired start, finishing first twice, second, and thirteenth in his first four tournaments.

His play led the Wildcats to the top spot in the nation in March, the first time JWU sat atop the NAIA poll since 2006.

Over the next 10 weeks, French continued to put himself in contention before winning the individual title at the 2016 Sun Conference Championship, being named Sun Conference Player of the Year for the second consecutive year, and placing eighth at the NAIA National Championship. The following week, French would be named the recipient of the Jack Nicklaus Award, presented by Barbasol as the NAIA National Player of the Year.

“After being a finalist last year and coming up short it was definitely one of my biggest goals

Peter French ’16

Peter and Mike French

this year,” says Peter. “To earn it with a lot of hard work feels really good; it’s a dream come true and an absolute honor to have someone like Jack Nicklaus sponsor and present the award. I’m grateful to Mr. Nicklaus, the GCAA and Barbasol for the opportunity.”

French spent his first summer as a college graduate at his hometown Franklin Country Club, in Franklin, Massachusetts, having just qualified for his third and final U.S. Amateur Championship in July before embarking on a professional golf career this fall. With his father completing his final round of treatment and officially in remission, French reflects on dealing with the impact of his father’s health, impending graduation, course expectations and chasing goals like the Arnold Palmer Cup and Jack Nicklaus Award.

“It was difficult at times but I had a good support system,” says Mike. “I just tried to stay focused on what I could control. It was really exciting and a huge honor to be considered for these awards throughout the season, but my focus was on doing everything I could to play my best golf in the moment and enjoy it — for myself and the team.” He would do just that, ultimately leading the Wildcats to six team

championships, that coveted number one ranking, their second consecutive Sun Conference Championship and a fifth-place finish at the 65th NAIA National Championship.

Life and golf offer similar lessons and require compatible qualities for success. Unfortunately, they both present the most gut-wrenching reminders that neither should be taken for granted and that attitude is everything. Though it didn’t seem like it when the phone rang back in December 2015, perhaps perspective and grit were the catalysts needed to produce an exciting finale to a college golf career that included six wins, 15 Top-5’s, 26 Top-10’s, three All-American honors, two Sun Conference Player of the Year awards and culminated with a congratulatory handshake from Jack Nicklaus at The Memorial Tournament in Ohio. For Mike French, Peter French and the Wildcats of JWU, grit is one thing that you can always count on.

AJ Broderick ’09 is the head golf coach and director of golf management at the North Miami Campus.

www.jwu.edu

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LIQUID ASSETS

As JWU launches a craft brewing curriculum this fall, graduates thriving in the industry prove that small-scale beer is big business.

By Jeanne Ryan | Photography by Mike Cohea

COUPLE OF MONTHS BACK,

Josh Mersfelder ’14 went truck shopping. He returned home with a charcoal-colored puppy instead, and promptly named her after an Australian hops variety.

Mersfelder recounts his story seated on a stool in his brewery’s tap room, gazing fondly at Ella as she smiles back, wagging her tail.

The anecdote reflects Mersfelder’s own journey, which led from his first love of cars to his discovery of hops — and the joy of beer making.

As a teenager, he took on kitchen jobs to support his auto obsession.

Continuing to JWU, Mersfelder developed a new passion, which brought him back home to upstate New York, where he is director of brewing operations at craft brewery Local 315, tucked into farmland west of Syracuse in a town called Camillus.

“It’s kind of surreal,” Mersfelder muses, holding a pint of his Retribution Double IPA and surveying the room. Bartenders pull from 16 handles to pour beers, sours and cider for visitors who have driven the back road off Interstate 90 in search of a cold custom-made brew on a hot summer’s day. “I told the owner I’d just be here to pick weeds and feed the pigs.” But after sharing his home brews — created using methods learned at JWU — Mersfelder got a call: “You can quit your job,” owner Dan Mathews said. “And start full time tomorrow.”

That was spring 2015. The brewery has taken off since day one, when the line snaked out the door and down to the goat house, and the bartenders couldn’t pour the beers fast enough. “It was like Woodstock,” says Mathews.

Nowadays, Local 315 has a comfortably packed taproom that overflows onto a spacious porch, where enthusiasts lounge in Adirondack chairs that overlook fields and forest. To the side is a beer garden, where area musicians play on a small wooden stage.

Out front, food trucks rumble into the parking lot.

The wholesale side has taken off too, growing to more than 30 accounts in the first year. “I just locked down Cheesecake Factory,” Mersfelder shares. When the call to set up that account came, Mersfelder thought it was a wrong number. “This is Local 315,” he clarified, certain that the rep was looking for the mammoth Budweiser brewery the next town over, run by beer giant Anheuser Busch InBev. There was no mistake: Restaurant management wanted to make a local push.

Small-scale beers are now very big business. According to the national Brewers’ Association (BA), while total sales of beer dipped last year, craft breweries — defined by the BA as small, independent beer makers using traditional techniques — made a significant gain, with sales revenue growing by 16 percent to $22.3 billion, to comprise more than 12 percent of the nation’s overall beer market.

JWU has responded to student interest by creating a craft brewing curriculum, which kicked off at the Charlotte, Denver and Providence campuses this fall. A minor in craft brewing and a certificate in professional brewing will be available in fall 2017.

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Josh Mersfelder ’14

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR JENNIFER PEREIRA

was hired in 2003 as a wine specialist. But after her arrival at Providence, she was drawn to beer, which was given a lab day during freshman year. At that time, she thought, “They only have one day of beer. This has got to change.”

She created the JbreW Student Brewing Club. Hosting its inaugural Ocean State Homebrew Competition in spring 2011, the club saw 180 entries. JbreWers earned medals and — more importantly — the judges’ rave reviews for their success in organizing the event. “The club was really the only way to get experience and network in the industry,” says Pereira.

This past spring’s 500 entries included homebrews from as far afield as Oregon and California. Also last year, Pereira and students launched Providence’s official brewing team, the Wet Willies, which gives students increased access to off-campus competitions.

Academically, the university’s planned four-course brewing minor builds on its Brewing Arts class, which, says Pereira, “is really popular. Students work in teams and brew batches of beer at home.”

But student brewers, faculty emphasize, do not have an “Animal House” chug-a-lug sensibility. When Associate Professor CharLee Puckett asks his Denver students whether they’d pay the same money to get three craft beers or a mass-produced six-pack, the choice is unanimous: the smaller amount of craft. Pereira concurs:

“These kids have grown up in a world where there’s always been a huge supply of craft. They have taste. They care about the local economy and where their food comes from. They understand that craft beer is a really important part of the business.”

The catalyst for today’s market? “You can thank Jimmy Carter,” says Pereira. In 1978, the president approved lifting restrictions on home brewing, and ushered in a re-education of beer drinkers. At that time, says Puckett, “It was whatever was cheapest and recognized.”

Echoes Pereira, “Buying beer back then was like shopping for white paint.” Nor did overseas’ suds assuage that lack, she adds: “Most of the imports were spoiled by the time we got them.”

With the door opened for homebrewers, craft beer’s frontiersmen got to work. Now-legends such as Sam Adams founder Jim Koch shouldered the burden, carrying his brew door-to-door to bars and restaurants across Boston. “Look at how much they had to go through,” Puckett observes. “Now, people are willing to experiment.”

CHARLOTTE GRAD TARA GOULET ’06

was looking to do just that after she and her husband Chris relocated to the Queen City. Settling in, there was one thing they couldn’t find: “We were buying six-packs of craft beer that had been shipped from the West Coast.”

So Chris Goulet harnessed his MBA and wrote a business plan.

For additional investors, they turned to friends: a core group in well-paid corporate jobs who wanted to invest in something they believed in. Then the couple and their brewmaster, Charlotte grad Conor Robinson ’10, started learning from breweries across the state.

In December 2011, the Goulets and their friends opened Birdsong Brewing Company, on North Davidson Street in the Queen City. In a year, they were turning a profit, and, not long after, they could barely keep up with demand. By early 2014, they were running out of space.

Today, the expanded Birdsong Brewing Company sits a mile down the road. With triple the capacity, the business has more than doubled its wholesale accounts to over 500 – and forecasts reaching as many as 1,200.

“Timing was a part of it,” Goulet says of their rapid success. “Charlotte was so lacking in small craft breweries.” Shortly before Birdsong opened, so did NoDa Brewing. “Right next door to us. We fed off of one another.

If you’re making good beer and we’re making good beer, then that’s good for everybody. People are looking for small, local and craft — and they want to try something new all the time.”

“A rising tide raises all ships,” notes Charlotte Associate Professor Alistair Williams, who taught Robinson.

Birdsong, says Williams, was buoyed by a wave generated in the state’s capital in 2005, when, after a two-year battle, the “Pop the Cap” legislation passed, more than doubling beer’s allowed alcohol content to 15 percent. Currently, a fight is underway to increase craft brewers’ ability to self-distribute. “The economy of North Carolina is being shaped by these legislative changes,” observes Williams, who is studying the economic impact of craft breweries. “A lot of our graduates are getting positions in craft brewing — and not just in production. I can only see that continuing.”

Favorable laws have converged with demand. “Beer is part of a trend where people are looking for local products,” says Pereira.

“Back in the ’90s brewers had to explain what a craft brewery was to the banks. Now I think the business world has more understanding.”

Puckett agrees: “I can approach a bank with a business plan and point to all these other successes. The possibilities are limitless as long as you do the work.”

“Limitless” craft-brew possibilities and increasing market share have corporate beer makers pivoting. “We’re scared because y’all don’t like our product,” Puckett recalls one bigwig saying. “They can’t beat ’em,” he observes. “They can’t join ’em.”

They can, however, buy them — and leverage popular brands.

“When your owner is a multinational corporation,” explains Williams, “you no longer fit into the craft brewing category. For the craft brewing side, it’s a bad thing because it confuses the market.

Consumers think they are buying a genuine craft beer.”

Conor Robinson ’10

Tara Goulet ’06

on this page: Scenes from Fawn Crossing hops farm in upstate New York 14

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is head brewer at 10 Barrel Brewing Company’s outpost in Portland, Oregon. She came on board in 2014, leaving Oregon’s Pelican Brewery for the chance to build out a new location for the popular craft beer maker, headquartered in Bend. A week after accepting the job, she heard the news: AB (Anheuser-Busch) InBev had bought 10 Barrel. “What the hell does this mean?” she thought. “Should I be mad? Will I be fired? I decided, ‘What do I have to lose? And what could I gain from this: all the education and the ability to use really hard-to-get and expensive ingredients.’ ” Recently back from a glamping trip at the company’s Elk Mountain Farm in Idaho, Burnside describes sleeping amidst the hops and dining at a long table set between the rows, tasting beers with brewers from other formerly independent InBev labels.

And in the Portland brewery: “So far, I have complete control. That’s been very surprising.” The result? “I can’t keep up with demand. We are the busiest 10 Barrel location.”

Burnside credits her culinary degree for providing a strong foundation: “Beer is cooking. I use the kitchen all the time.” Her recent coconut pale ale incorporated “a quick infusion” with hot wort (unfermented pre-beer) passed through a strainer with toasted and untoasted coconut. “Everyone is raving about it.”

As the industry has grown — since 2013, at a rate of almost two new craft breweries a day, according to the Brewers’ Association — so has the competition and the pressure. “No one knows where the ceiling is,” says Birdsong’s Robinson, “but the need to stand out is bigger.

What makes one brewery’s beer different than the one across the street or across town? It’s very hard to constantly innovate and stay true to where you were originally.” He credits his creative brew crew with helping him keep up: “Just like any artist, I can’t always come up with some new beer every week.”

Birdsong’s expansion gives Robinson and his team room to create seasonal and limited-edition brews, while at the same time allowing for ramp-up of its regular line and lab space for rigorous testing, which underscores a reality perhaps obscured by the title “brewmaster.” “It’s not like being a celebrity chef,” warns Pereira. “It’s 90 percent cleaning, five percent accounting and five percent brewing.”

But for the passionate ones, that five percent is enough. Water, malted grains, hops and yeast come in many more hues than that plain old “white paint,” Pereira says, pointing to variations such as oyster stout and bacon beer. “There’s really no limit to what you can put in — with beer, all bets are off.”

Back at Local 315, Mersfelder, who took Pereira’s brewing class, describes the lengths he went to for his maple imperial stout, including substituting water with sap from a nearby farm’s trees.

His quest is to use local ingredients, like the rhubarb for his Strawberry Rhubarb Blonde Ale, sourced from neighboring fields: “It tastes like a strawberry rhubarb pie.

Photo by Jeff Kennedy, ijkproductions.com

DENVER GRAD WHITNEY BURNSIDE ’10

Whitney Burnside ’10

“My heart is in this company,” says Mersfelder. “I love every second because of what we’re trying to do for the local farmers and ourselves.”

This is the passion sparked as a result of his early love for cars, when Mersfelder started down a culinary path as he washed dishes in local kitchens to pay for the restoration of his 1973 Chevrolet Nova Super Sport.

During his senior year, working with his landlord on a 1967 GTO, he pondered, “What the hell am I doing with my life?” He was given the age-old advice to do what made him happy. “That’s when I switched everything with Jennifer Pereira and [Associate Professor] Michael Sabitoni. In the last 10 weeks of my four years is when I decided what I wanted to do.”

In the tap room, leading explorers through a beer flight that incorporates Local 315-farmed hops — “our terroir, our taste” — he reflects: “It’s kind of unbelievable how it all worked out. It’s been a very rewarding, unforeseen journey.”

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on this page: Scenes from Birdsong Brewery in Charlotte, North Carolina

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on this page: Scenes from Local 315 Brewery and Fawn Crossing hops farm in upstate New York

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Mapping the Terrain The Arts & Sciences Core Task Force had a mission: Create a new curriculum model that would elevate best practices and cross-pollinate interdisciplinary topics. The result?

The launch of Integrative Learning, a series of innovative courses that hone critical thinking skills — and even prepare students for professions that don’t yet exist.

BY MARK PERES, J.D. Illustrations by Neil Webb

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“Welcome to The Good Life.

Most courses at JWU focus on how to work. This course will focus on how to live. How do we manage the complexity of living? How do we compose a life of meaning and purpose? We will consider a series of strategies so we might live good and satisfying lives in rapidly changing times.

Imagine a kaleidoscope that we turn to answer questions about living. We will tumble bits of philosophy, science, business, literature and psychology and see new colors and patterns. Along the way we will consider old ideas and new ones that will challenge what we might believe is true.

We will begin by exploring the human condition. We will compare and contrast what the great Western philosophers say about our existence. We will explore the paradox of happiness, then pivot to what business might teach us about risk and reward. We will shift to examining how ways of thinking shape our experiences and how we come to understand. We will read excerpts from novels about the American dream, learn about the power of habits and reflect on our own grit and resilience. We will see our own light and shadows.

These are uncommon and often uncomfortable topics for deep discovery. But we will do it together.

When we look at life squarely, we free ourselves to act bravely. I’m excited to be on this journey with you.”

t

hose are the words with which I begin teaching The Good Life, one of many new integrative learning courses at the heart of a new general education curriculum called the JWU Arts & Sciences Core Experience.

Every few years, academic programs undergo an internal review to stay current with best practices and to prepare for external accreditation assessment. In the spring of 2010, an internal program review of the Arts & Sciences made three core recommendations: first, define a philosophy and value for general education within the overall student experience; second, establish a coherent and relevant core curriculum, integrating with major requirements; and third, increase the level of academic challenge by linking courses in progressive sequence toward development of higher order thinking skills. These were not minor adjustments. The recommendations essentially called for a complete reappraisal of general education at Johnson & Wales University.

At the same time that these recommendations were released, the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) published “Raising the Bar: Employers’ Views on College Learning in the Wake of the Economic Downturn” (Jan. 2010). The report validated what many academics already suspected: Employers value in-depth technical knowledge in a field with a strong combination of critical thinking and communication skills. Routine cognitive and manual skills are not enough. Employers are demanding ever-increasing higher order skills from all their employees. Think of the top of the pyramid of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning (a hierarchical model used by educators to classify learning objectives from lower order to higher order skills). At the top end, learners have the ability

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to analyze connections between ideas, evaluate standards and conclusions, and create original and valuable work.

On the higher education spectrum, Johnson & Wales University was in the enviable position of offering what technical institutions on one end and liberal arts colleges on the other end struggled to produce: graduates with experiential knowledge in a profession who offered a refined set of higher order skills. JWU was strategically positioned to deliver the workforce of the 21st century, but administrators recognized the university would need to raise its game to meet that promise.

These were not minor adjustments.

The recommendations essentially called for a complete reappraisal of general education.

The then-provost of the university, Veera Gaul, Ph.D., took a decisive step: form a ninja task force (that’s my phrase) to propose a new curriculum model that would meet the challenge of the A&S program review recommendations and the AAC&U report. During the 2010–11 academic year, administrators formed The A&S Core Task Force, comprised of 12 arts and sciences educators from the four campuses: Christine Thompson, Ph.D. (associate dean of A&S), Maureen Farrell, Ph.D., (humanities), Laura Galligan, Ph.D. (science) and Eileen Medeiros, Ph.D. (English) from Providence; Michelle Garcia, Ed.D. (associate dean of academic affairs), Carol Koris (English) and Martha Sacks, Ph.D. (director of the center for academic support) from

North Miami; Kreg Abshire, Ph.D. (English), Richard Wiscott, Ph.D. (then vice president and dean of academic affairs, now Campus President) and Tom Fitzpatrick (mathematics) from Denver; and David Jewell, D.H.Sc., (science) and me (humanities) from Charlotte. At our first meeting, Gaul charged us to ‘Think big and dream big.’

The A&S Core Task Force met from spring 2011 to summer 2012. Under the guidance of co-chairs Christine Thompson and Kreg Abshire, we examined the bricks and mortar of general education at JWU and proposed a whole new design. We started with big questions: Who (or what) is an educated person? What are the skills, knowledge and habits of mind needed by every JWU graduate? What is the underlying philosophy and purpose of general education at an institution focused on preparing graduates for professional careers? The discussions were invigorating and clarifying.

The big questions then informed the specifics of curriculum design. The Task Force considered the AAC&U’s Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP) outcomes, researched general education programs from other universities, and debated prerequisites, rubrics, elective choices and credit hours. We traveled to each JWU campus and formed subcommittees of faculty and students to inform our work.

Meanwhile, the university launched a review of its mission statement and essential learning outcomes that sometimes paused and at other times accelerated our timeline. At the heart of our effort was proposing an A&S curriculum that would have interlocking coherence and serve the major programs.

This is what we proposed: additional credit hours for an outcomes-based, sequential, progressive-learning model; balance between major domains of knowledge (arts and humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and math); thematic and dialogue-driven first-year composition and communication courses; refinement of elective and major program requirements; and a focus on integrative learning at the sophomore and senior levels.

The big questions informed the specifics of curriculum design.

This is what we got: the same number of credit hours; greater balance across domains of knowledge with additional math/science electives; English courses that would continue to focus on writing instruction with English faculty encouraged to consider interdisciplinary themes and readers to enhance content and discourse; restructuring of elective and major program credits; and the launch of an exciting new set of Integrative Learning (ILS) classes that faculty could design around areas of passion and inquiry.

The ILS courses were a breakthrough. ILS courses are designed to synthesize connections between disciplinary silos and contexts. They pose big interdisciplinary questions. They ask students to transfer knowledge between domains and apply skills from one situation to another.

Students are challenged to produce original capstone work.

The university bravely committed to launching the new A&S Core Experience by September 2014, a two-year turnaround, kicking off a mad dash of administrative and curriculum work. New ILS courses at the 2000 and 4000

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level needed proposing, curriculum review, scheduling and teaching for all 14,000-plus undergraduate students across four campuses. At full rollout by 2017, the university anticipates delivering more than 100 sections of ILS2000 and ILS4000 courses per year.

As a member of the faculty, I’m privileged to help our students prepare for the world we know and for scenarios we can barely predict.

ILS offerings include: The Atomic Age; History of Science; Things That Go Bump in the Night; The Legal Imagination; The XX Factor; City as Text; Economics of Sin; Explorations in Symmetry; and Visual Literacy and the Sociology of Perception. These are a whole new breed of courses at JWU. The full roll-out of dozens of entirely new A&S ILS courses is happening as existing major programs across the university are undergoing reviews of their own, new academic disciplines are being launched, new technologies are being introduced into the classroom, faculty teaching loads are being adjusted, and new staff, professors and senior administrators are on the scene. Meanwhile, a universitywide accreditation review is imminent, as is a new five-year strategic plan; all as student needs, demographics and regulatory and business demands are shifting.

JWU is managing change across the enterprise at an unprecedented pace.

The skills needed by JWU administrators and professors to manage complexity are the very ones that the A&S curriculum seek to build: creative thinking, cooperation,

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emotional intelligence and discipline depth. The university is investing in the very professional and liberal arts capacities in the classrooms it needs to lead.

Students at JWU are a cross-section of America who aspire to make more of their lives. As a member of the faculty, I’m in the privileged position to help them prepare for the world we know and for scenarios we can barely predict.

One way to do so is through academic rigor founded on a deep awareness of how much we don’t know. Integrative learning courses allow faculty to pose questions that do not have neat answers.

Integrated learning courses are changing the life of the university. JWU has long offered education toward a narrow end, helping students to launch specific careers with a tailored set of skills, but it is now also in the business of preparing students for professions that don’t yet exist. This requires that students develop creative problem-solving and leadership skills that are enriched by interdisciplinary insight. We are about the business of helping students live good lives.

“We have raised questions in this course about how to live,” I tell my students near the end of the course. “These questions are vital and timeless. The final journal assignment asks you to reflect on what you have learned. What key ideas made an impression? How has your understanding of ‘the good life’ been confirmed or changed? What actions are you likely to take to fully realize who you are?”

Mark Peres, J.D., is a professor in the College of Arts & Sciences at the Charlotte Campus.

The Good Life:

A Student Perspective “Follow your dreams” is a message full of hope for the future. We all know it. It is one of the many messages we do not even process anymore because listening to it is equivalent to opening a door or turning on the lights as you enter a room. Movies push it, our parents support it, and teachers strive for you to have it. Everyone wants to follow their dreams. That is until the dreams become too hard to realize or cruelly disappoint because we have not deeply considered all the elements of a good life.

My parents began talking about me attending boarding school when I was two years old. When I was 13, I chose a beautiful private school in a small New England cow town.

We had the creamery down the street and the coveted college counselors. From freshman year I knew I had to take Calculus and pass Spanish 3 Honors to even be considered for the elite colleges my boarding school (and my mother) wanted for me. But as soon as the college process came, all of a sudden the idea of another liberal arts school with brick libraries and fountains in the middle of campus no longer appealed. I had no desire to sit in a traditional classroom. I needed to explore my passion for food while on my feet and in an intelligent way.

I chose Johnson & Wales University because it is an experiential learning college — meaning learning is professionally focused. We are not going to discuss how to julienne an onion properly, we will actually julienne an onion and see. This approach not only takes place in culinary labs, but in academic courses as well. JWU offers academic courses that are active and complement the demanding world of culinary arts.

“The Good Life,” taught by Mark Peres, is a wonderful example of an active learning course. I thought I had mastered what I needed to know about the liberal arts in boarding school, but at JWU I was suddenly pushed to integrate learning new material with critical thinking skills. Discussing different perspectives and ways of knowing was challenging. Tying in elements of music, literature and philosophy was fun and made even discussing the Stoic, Marcus Aurelius, exciting. Being vulnerable with new knowledge and discussing the ways religion changed the way humans see their lives was intense, mind blowing, and for some, like me, life changing. My mind was turned on in an academic classroom just like it had been in my boarding school days. Professor Peres’ class made everyone discuss the true and difficult elements of a good life rather than just the simple message of “follow your dreams.”

Franchesca Kiesling ’17 is a senior in the College of Culinary Arts at the Charlotte Campus.

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By Tim Elfrink Photos by Karli Evans

school of life

Across the nation, approximately 40 percent of freshmen abandon college before earning a degree. JWU’s new Talent Advancement Program identifies those students most at risk of dropping out for an initiative that tips the odds in their favor.

TAP student Abraham Baullosa III ’17 in the North Miami Campus library; his journal, left

r

Rebecca Yearwood-Stinchcomb ’19

North Miami Campus President Larry Rice, Ed.D., ’90

ebecca Yearwood-Stinchcomb’s first real culture shock ‌after moving to Johnson & Wales University’s North Miami Campus hit when she saw the jam-packed buses rolling down Biscayne Boulevard. “I’d never even ridden a bus before. We don’t even have taxis or cabs in my hometown. You just walk everywhere or ride your bike,” says the gregarious 19-year-old native of Mount Dora, a farming town of 12,000 people in central Florida.

That wasn’t the end of Yearwood-Stinchcomb’s bumpy adjustment to her new life in a booming metropolis of 2.6 million. She marveled at the diverse mix of cultures and languages among her classmates. She was dazed by the responsibility of balancing class schedules and meeting assignments. And she missed the simplicity of her hometown.

Given all those challenges, Yearwood-Stinchcomb ’19 might easily have become one of the roughly 40 percent of incoming freshmen nationwide who leave college before earning a degree. But she had an advantage custom-designed to keep students like her on track at Johnson & Wales: the school’s new Talent Advancement Program.

The program, which debuted on the North Miami Campus during the 2015–16 school year, offers an innovative approach to an age-old problem for college administrators: When students come from a dizzying array of backgrounds and with varying degrees of preparation, how can schools create a one-size fits all program to keep them on track?

TAP, as the program is colloquially called, starts by tossing the idea of a uniform approach to such a complex challenge. Instead, it identifies incoming students most at risk of dropping out and then marries a weekly class focused on personal development with campus activities that build an affinity for the JWU experience.

The end goal? Making college work for the students most likely to be challenged by their new campus life.

“We had students with the potential to succeed, but they lacked the confidence,” says Senior Vice President of Administration Marie Bernardo-Sousa, LP.D., ’92, who was instrumental in the endeavor’s genesis. “For example, students might feel overwhelmed by their first failing grade. Through TAP we were able to change that construct to help them realize that failure isn’t fatal to their academic ambitions or goals.”

“TAP does a lot more than just provide a more equal playing field,” says Larry Rice, Ed.D., ’90, president of the North Miami Campus. “TAP allows them to participate in college life in spite of what they may not have had coming in. It allows them to learn very quickly that they can complete college and that they’ve made a good decision by coming here.”

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“ I had to make difficult choices from the start. I wanted to compete in culinary competitions, but I couldn’t dedicate time to practice because I had to work. I thought no one else understood what I was faced with in trying to complete college.” ~ NMI Campus President Larry Rice Rice’s own personal journey played a key role in TAP’s creation. Born and raised in rural South Carolina between Columbia and Spartanburg, Rice was the first in his family to attend college when he enrolled at the JWU Charleston Campus in the late ’80s. He soon realized that his experience as a college student differed greatly from many of his classmates.

“I had a single parent and I was highly dependent on student loans, so I had to work while I was in school to pay those loans,” Rice says.

That meant making hard decisions. While other students dedicated themselves full time to class and drove around town in their own cars, Rice took the bus or sometimes walked an hour and a half to class. He had to balance a job with his studies.

“I had to make difficult choices from the start. I wanted to compete in culinary competitions, but I couldn’t dedicate time to practice because I

Jada Sloan ’18 and Gilbert Cubias ’20

TAP Program Manager Stella Napoles, Psy.D.

had to work,” he says. “I thought no one else understood what I was faced with in trying to complete college.”

Rice persevered, though, graduating and then managing a restaurant in Hilton Head, South Carolina, before moving to Florida to start his own private catering business and later earning bachelor and master’s degrees at Florida International University and a doctorate at Nova Southeastern University. By the time he returned to Johnson & Wales in 1993 as a faculty member, he’d long since realized that his difficult experience was far from unique.

In fact, a high percentage of Johnson & Wales students — particularly at the North Miami Campus — come from nontraditional college backgrounds. Many, like Rice, are the first in their families to attend college.

Many others come from immigrant families. Rice wanted to build a program that helped students celebrate those facts, rather than viewing them as obstacles.

“We knew that for students who are first in their family to go to college, they don’t have that legacy of folks who did it already and can share their stories and their encouragement back home, and who can identify with what they’re going through,” Rice says. “But there’s something to be proud of in being first in your family to go to college. There’s something to be proud of in being African-American, being Hispanic, Dominican, Haitian, Barbadian, or any of the other cultures who come here to be a part of a diverse campus community.”

But how to foster that sense of community while also helping students adjust to the new challenges of college life? Rice and a committee of administrators began meeting in 2014 to try to answer those questions with a new program, which soon became TAP. As they designed the curriculum, Rice knew exactly what he didn’t want it to become. “TAP is not a remediation program,” he says. “And it’s not just one course that’s designed to fit everyone.”

Instead, Rice and his colleagues designed a flexible, holistic program that starts on day one of school and stays with students throughout their time at Johnson & Wales. TAP begins with administrators analyzing the backgrounds of incoming students to find those most likely to benefit based on their academic record and personal story.

“ Students come into the university and even if they’re prepared academically, they’re often unprepared emotionally. This course is all about bridging the academic and emotional perspectives. ~ Stella Napoles During their first term, those students then take a reduced course load and enroll in a TAP-specific class that meets twice a week for two hours at a time. That class hones in on teaching eight principles — from accepting personal responsibility to learning self-management to developing emotional intelligence — that all aim to foster success in the classroom.

The program doesn’t end after that first term; throughout their time at Johnson & Wales, TAP students meet regularly and continue their work.

Once the program was developed, Rice brought on Stella Napoles, Psy.D., a clinical psychologist, to teach the curriculum to the 135 incoming freshmen last fall who met the new TAP criteria. Napoles says TAP made intuitive sense to her once she learned about the concept.

“Students come into the university and even if they’re prepared academically, they’re often unprepared emotionally,” she says. “This course is all about bridging the academic and emotional perspectives. For most, this is their first time away from home and Miami is a big city. This may be the first time they’re dealing with a multicultural perspective.”

Napoles’ class is just the first piece of the TAP puzzle, though. When Rice and his team developed TAP, they didn’t simply want to teach students how to succeed — they also wanted to find a way to make them a part of campus life. So TAP students are also given a series of student

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TAP student Leighton Said ’20 with collage project

Abraham Baullosa III ’17 in baking lab

engagement activities — from field trips around town to culinary events — to meet classmates and grow bonds on campus. Lastly, TAP also directly connects students to faculty members and encourages them to ask for help or stop by for advice whenever they need it.

“I find students have a very difficult time learning to ask for help,” Napoles says. “Society places a lot of that on an individual, that it’s all on your back. But that’s not real life. Sometimes you have to ask for help, and I don’t think many students are prepared for that.”

For the 135 students who constituted JWU’s first-ever TAP class, the program became more than a class — it became a mark of pride.

“We have a student who’s a tour guide and she proudly tells all the new students, ‘I’m in the TAP program,’ ” says Rice. “That to me is incredible.

They get it. They see that TAP is only positive.”

That was certainly the case for Abraham Baullosa III ’17. The baking and pastry student had no doubts about his chosen field (at age five, he dressed up as Emeril Lagasse for Halloween), but he was anxious about the social aspects of college. How would he fit in, especially as a Midwesterner? Would he stay afloat without the support system of friends and family back in Indiana?

“TAP enabled me to get a foundation group of friends and a mentor, plus we were engaged in activities around campus and the community,” says Baullosa. Creating and documenting weekly goals was transformative. “When I’d look at the list later and think, ‘I actually accomplished that goal,’ it boosted my self-esteem. One objective I set is to graduate with a 3.8 GPA or higher. TAP helps me focus on academics because it helps me plan my career; in high school I wasn’t really motivated academically.”

As an orientation leader, Baullosa tells incoming students that TAP addresses individual needs. “I needed self-esteem and confidence while another person might need the program to help him with study skills.

TAP gave me the confidence to be myself and to put myself around people who will accept me.”

TAP was invaluable to Yearwood-Stinchcomb as well. For the central Floridian, an education at Johnson & Wales is the fulfillment of a dream.

When she was twelve, Yearwood-Stinchcomb had already plotted out her life’s course. “I was making banana bread with my grandma and I was like, ‘This is really fun. I really like this.’ Every year, I would make more and more for our family and eventually I said, ‘I’d really like to do this for a living,’ ” she recalls.

But moving to Miami was a big jump from Mount Dora and in hindsight, Yearwood-Stinchcomb admits that “I wasn’t ready.” Luckily, she says, TAP soon gave her the tools to adapt to her new life — particularly its focus on time management.

“I have a whiteboard with my schedule on it that I still use in my room and I have another schedule on my phone,” she says. “We also learned a lot about taking on responsibility, that it’s not the teacher’s fault if you don’t follow through, it’s yours. You can’t blame everyone else for your problems. That’s really stuck with me.”

As Yearwood-Stinchcomb and her classmates move on to their second year, a new batch of freshmen started TAP this fall. Johnson & Wales Charlotte Campus looks to adopt the program in 2018, and Rice says TAP may expand to other campuses in the near future.

“The TAP program has allowed our staff and faculty to put on a different set of lenses where we can see much more clearly the struggle of these students,” says Rice. “We can understand cultural differences at a higher level, we can understand the impact that different socioeconomic backgrounds can have and that being the first in family to attend college can have. What TAP is really doing is empowering these students to succeed in life.” JWU

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MYTH #2

Networking opportunities are hard to find.

Get connected now!

Visit the all-new

ALUMNI.JWU.EDU

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RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT FAMILIES MEMORIALIZE JWU GRADUATES WITH PLANNED GIFTS Planned gifts can often be the best option to remember loved ones who have passed away. Two gifts recently received to support students on the Charlotte Campus are examples of the generosity of close relatives in honoring their loved ones. Familial closeness and their connection to Johnson & Wales University are celebrated by Mavis Pearson in funding the Chef Shane H. Pearson ’97 Memorial Scholarship, named for her son; and Janise Kyle in establishing the Terrence Miller ’09 Memorial Scholarship, named for her nephew.

Aunt Janise Makes Gift in Nephew Terrence Miller’s Memory Terrence Miller ’09 passed away in August 2015. At the time of his death he worked in the Office of Student Life at Northern Virginia Community College in Sterling, Virginia. Last fall, Terrence’s aunt, Janise Kyle, established a memorial scholarship on the Charlotte Campus where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in Sports/ Entertainment/Event Management. In conversations with Chris Plano ’93, ’95 M.S., alumni Terrence Miller ’09 relations manager on the Charlotte Campus, she expressed a desire to “make the scholarship last.” Eventually, Kyle decided to set aside part of her estate for the university to support the scholarship, which provides aid to a hospitality student in Charlotte.

According to Plano, “Terrence was a loyal alumnus and it is fitting that he be remembered in this way. We are grateful to Janise Kyle for her generosity and kindness on behalf of her nephew.”

Mavis Pearson Remembers Her Son, Chef Shane H. Pearson ’97 In March 2015, Mavis Pearson established a scholarship in memory of her son, chef instructor Shane H. Pearson ’97, who died in December 2014. Recently, she decided to extend the scholarship with a planned gift designated for the fund. The choice to make this gift was easy because she and her son discussed it during his illness. His father, Tom, was a career chief master sergeant in the U.S. Air Force and Shane H. Pearson ’97 his mother continues to support the U.S. military. Mavis recalls that much of her son’s cooking skills were learned from her through her Mississippi recipes for corn bread and biscuits, among other items. When she was ill, however, she relied on Shane to devise a diet for her that was delicious and nourishing, but avoided ingredients that caused her distress. “Shane was born in Japan and during our years in the Pacific, he absorbed the culinary culture and flavors of Asia and in turn taught our household helpers how to prepare our American favorites,” she recalls. “Shane carried that skill into his teaching and always stressed the importance of learning the fundamentals of cooking as essential to becoming a chef.” Educated on JWU’s Charleston Campus, Shane taught international cuisine on the Charlotte Campus and was proud to have worked with a group of chefs to review plans for the kitchens on the new campus.

~ Darlena Goodwin and Chris Plano ’93, ’95 M.S.

VITAMIX PLEDGES KITCHEN EQUIPMENT FOR FOUR CAMPUSES VITAMIX, which has donated professional-grade

kitchen equipment to Johnson & Wales University for more than a decade, recently pledged to provide nearly 180 of its blenders, along with hundreds of accompanying tools, containers, accessories and free Vitamix technical support, to enhance the training of culinary arts students across the four campuses. This gift demonstrates the company’s Jodi Berg, CEO and increased effort beyond restaurant and home President of Vitamix equipment sales to support professional culinary education. JWU is one of the pilot schools identified through Vitamix’s culinary outreach program to receive blenders and accessories that will change the way students learn kitchen skills.

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“We are proud and pleased to donate this equipment to Johnson & Wales University, a highly regarded university with a premier culinary curriculum,” says Jodi Berg, CEO and president of Vitamix. “We know from our research that more chefs in the U.S. prefer our blenders to any others so we want to ensure the culinary professionals of tomorrow have access to the equipment during their training to best prepare them for their careers.”

Vitamix, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, is a family-owned company founded in 1921 as The Natural Food Institute by William Grover Barnard.

Barnard traveled the country selling modern kitchen products and teaching his customers about the relationship between nutrition and health. ~ Randy Rosenthal

JWU FUND’S NEWLY INAUGURATED LEADERSHIP CIRCLE RECOGNIZES OUR MOST GENEROUS DONORS

T

he JWU Fund has launched the Leadership Circle to honor donors who make contributions of $1,000 to $25,000 in a single year to support the highest priorities of the university. The Leadership Circle also welcomes new graduates as associate members when they make successive gifts of $100 in their first year as alumni, $200 the second year, until their 10th post-graduate year when they become full-fledged members of the Leadership Circle. Benefits of membership in the Leadership Circle include insider briefings on campus news, early registration for special university events and invitations to activities on campus.

Over the seven-year lifetime of the JWU Fund the number of donors who are giving at higher levels has increased each consecutive year.

“It’s time to say thank you in a substantive way to those who are playing a vital role in ensuring that our students and faculty have the resources they need to succeed,” says Ann-Marie Reddy, director of the annual fund. The JWU Fund provides current-use dollars for a range of important initiatives, including financial aid, study abroad, internships and general priorities of significance.

The university already recognizes donors of gifts of $100 or more to athletics on each campus with the Wildcat Circle. Corporate sponsors who support the university also receive recognition for their contributions. The new Leadership Circle will recognize individuals who accept the challenge of supporting the highest priorities of the university annually.

Rudy Poindexter ’02 is pleased to be a new member of the Leadership Circle: “I owe so much to JWU that it is only fitting that I give back to help the current generation have the invaluable education and life experience that are part of being a member of the JWU family.”

Leadership Circle members will be invited to a special reception at Homecomings and All-Class Reunions held on each campus: Providence, April 29 – May 1, 2017; Charlotte, April 29 – May 1, 2017; North Miami, January 27 – 28, 2017; Denver, TBA. Make your gift to the JWU Fund to join the Leadership Circle by calling Ann-Marie Reddy at 401-598-2184. You can register for reunions at alumni.jwu.edu.

Shoot for the moon.

Call 401-598-2185 or visit jwu.edu/leadershipcircle to learn how you can be a part of something big.

Excerpt from a JWU Leadership Circle ad

~ Ann-Marie Reddy

ALL IN THE FAMILY:

Several years ago, the Paget family faced a conundrum: How could they afford tuition for three children in college simultaneously? Thanks to scholarships and other financial aid from the JWU Fund, (left to right in photo) Alex ’16, Keira ’18, and Paul ’19 have all been able to attend Johnson & Wales. As Phonathon participants, Keira and Paul give back with their enthusiasm for the supportive community they’ve found at JWU.

www.jwu.edu

31

CLASS NOTES DAVID VANDERPOEL PVD

1

SOUTH HADLEY, MASSACHUSETTS

David is the chef for Genesis Healthcare in Hadley.

PETER MATRA PVD

ANDREW WOLFE PVD

Peter is the resident district manager at Citi Field, home of the New York Mets, in Flushing, New York.

OCEANSIDE, NEW YORK

After many years in hotel management, Andrew shifted careers to become a sales representative of restaurant supplies and equipment in and around the New York City area.

He recently incorporated as president of his own company, Wolfepack Sales and Supplies, and will continue to build his relationships and expand representation of factories in this field.

1990 1973

1985

JOHN CSUKOR NOR

DONALD SHEAFF PVD

[1] MARK THOMAS PVD

BLUE BELL, PENNSYLVANIA

FORT MYERS, FLORIDA

Donald is a contractor and the owner of D.E. Sheaff.

Mark recently opened the Clam Shack restaurant in Sanibel; the concept is based on his Rhode Island heritage.

John presented “Latitude Adjustment” and “Menu Development: Translating Top Trends” at the National Restaurant Association Show 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. John is president and CMO of KOR Food Innovation in Richmond.

1979 MICHAEL SIRIANNI PVD LONG BRANCH, NEW JERSEY

Michael is the principal and director of the Culinary Educational Center in the Monmouth County Vocational School District.

1980 VINCENT RAZZANO PVD NORTH BABYLON, NEW YORK

Vincent is the sous chef at the Rockaway Hunting Club in Lawrence.

1983 JAMES DOUGHERTY PVD WAKE FOREST, NORTH CAROLINA

James is the banquet captain at the Raleigh Marriott Crabtree Valley.

32

Fall 2016

1986 JOSEPH CHIOVERA PVD LEWISVILLE, TEXAS

Joe is president of emerging markets and innovation and design for Buddy’s Kitchen Inc. in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

1988 LISA FOSTER PVD CUMBERLAND, RHODE ISLAND

Lisa is the principal talent acquisition strategies at Calculus of Talent in West Hartford, Connecticut.

JAMES GRIFFIN ’92 MS PVD FRANKLIN, MASSACHUSETTS

Jim participated in a panel discussion entitled “Farm & Wild: The Great Fish Fight” at the National Restaurant Association Show 2016. Jim is an associate professor at the Johnson & Wales School of Hospitality.

1994

MECHANICSVILLE, VIRGINIA

1993 ROBERT CASPER PVD PLAINVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS

Bob is a health officer for the towns of West Bridgewater and North Attleboro.

KARL GUGGENMOS ’02 MBA

CHS

CRANSTON, RHODE ISLAND

Karl presented “Brat Pack,” a Foodamental Studio demonstration at the National Restaurant Association Show 2016. Karl is senior business advisor to Snapchef and owner of Culinary Solutions International.

TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON, NEW JERSEY

1995 GEARY WILSON PVD MARLBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS

Geary is the regional director of operartions for Chartwells in Boston.

ROBERT BLASI PVD NEW YORK, NEW YORK

Robert is the new vice president of human resources for The Madison Square Garden Company based in New York City.

He will have oversight of all HR functions for the Madison Square Garden Arena, Radio City, Beacon Theater, Chicago Theater and the Forum in Los Angeles, California. Additionally, Robert continues as an adjunct instructor at New York University (NYU) in the Human Resources & Hospitality graduate program.

1996 SUZANNE BAGNERA ’98 MBA PVD NORTH READING, MASSACHUSETTS

Suzanne received the 2015 Lamp of Knowledge Award for Outstanding U.S. Educator at the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education Summer Conference in Dallas, Texas.

KERRY PORTER PVD EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY

Kerry is the CEO of KSPORT Inc., a sports marketing company in Newark.

1998

2003

AMANDA SILVIA PVD

MAYUKH CHATTERJEE MBA PVD

WARWICK, RHODE ISLAND

Amanda is the senior resort sales manager at Foxwoods Casino Resort in Mashantucket, Connecticut.

JOSH SWANK PVD

MELROSE, MASSACHUSETTS

Mayukh is director of revenue management at The InterContinental Boston.

DEANNE WOFFORD PVD

PEORIA, ILLINOIS

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

Josh has invented and designed a personal protection app called Virtual Halo for the iPhone and Apple Watch that debuted in July on the App Store.

Deanne is a senior implementation consultant for Oracle Hospitality in Chicago.

2004

JOHN O’NEIL AND RON IAFRATE graduated from the Providence Campus in 1983.

2000

VIKRAM MALHOTRA MBA

Dennis Labossiere ’79. After graduation Ron would help John and Dennis at the catering

ADITYA CHUGH MBA PVD

MELROSE, MASSACHUSETTS

MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY

Adi is the vice president of sales strategy at Medidata Solutions in New York City.

KAMIL SARJI ’04 MBA PVD WOONSOCKET, RHODE ISLAND

Kamil is the founder and CEO of Support Visions in Woonsocket.

2001 REINALDO BONILLA PVD UNIONDALE, NEW YORK

Reinaldo is a salesperson for Charles Rutenberg Realty in Plainville.

MICHELLE EDDINS PVD CRANSTON, RHODE ISLAND

Michelle is the global supply chain manager at Hasbro in Pawtucket.

2002 NISHANT DIXIT MBA

PVD

GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA

Nishant is the owner of Opal Hotels in Burlington.

PVD

Vikram is the guest services manager at the Westin Copley Boston.

business. Jon and Ron stayed in touch through social media. In June, John traveled to New Orleans on business and stopped in to see Ron at his restaurant Chef Ron’s Gumbo Stop. It had been at least 20 years since the pair had seen each other.

2005 ROGER HARVEY PVD/DEN CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

Roger, an RDN, CEC and CRC, has accepted a position as senior regional executive chef for Chartwells School Dining Services K–12.

MATTHEW MEINECKE PVD BRIGHTON, MASSACHUSETTS

Matthew is the executive chef at West on Centre, part of the Eat Drink Laugh Restaurant Group in Boston.

KYLE TYSVAER PVD RIVERSIDE, RHODE ISLAND

Kyle is the CEO of Steal My Wedding Day, an online brokerage for exchanging wedding packages.

2006 SAM STACHON CLT HICKORY, NORTH CAROLINA

PVD Providence NMI North Miami DEN Denver CLT Charlotte CHS Charleston NOR Norfolk VAIL Vail International ONL Online

John later owned Jenny’s Caterers in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, with fellow alumnus

Sam is the executive chef of Highland Avenue Restaurant in Hickory.

LODGING DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION CONFERENCE

Three proud Johnson & Wales alumni from the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB) LEFT TO RIGHT: Walden Agustin ’95, senior national accounts director, PHLCVB Julie Coker-Graham ’89, president and CEO, PHLCVB Greg DeShields ’80 executive director, PHLDiversity

JUSTINE WILSON PVD BROOKLYN, NEW YORK

Justine is a residential supervisor at The Young Adult Institute in New York. www.jwu.edu

33

CLASS NOTES 2

3

Olivier Jenson ’08, second from left, with colleagues

2007

2008

2009

[4] IAIN CHISHOLM DEN

[2] SARAH CIRELLI PVD

LUVENA CAMPBELL CLT

MARY ADAMCYK PVD

BELMAR, NEW JERSEY

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS

In June, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society honored Sarah as Woman of the Year under a national program designed to raise awareness and funding for blood cancer research around the world. During a 10-week campaign, Sarah assembled a team to help her raise more than $40,000 on behalf of her father, Len Cirelli, who is six years into his battle with lymphoma. Sarah has also accepted the role of director of marketing at The Video Corporation of America.

Luvena is a high school culinary and hospitality teacher for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system.

Mary is a corporate chef at Sysco Boston LLC in Plympton.

[3] OLIVIER JENSEN DEN

Mark is a project manager and property manager for PWB Management Corp. in the Bronx.

Iain is the head chef and owner of Americatus. He also opened Colorado Taco Co., a pick-up/ delivery operation specializing in breakfast burritos and doughnuts; it is part of the Americatus kitchen.

JOSE RESENDEZ NMI

NAHANT, MASSACHUSETTS

MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA

Jose has been promoted to account supervisor at Omnicom’s FleishmanHillard public relations firm in Miami.

ONALASKA, WISCONSIN

Olivier is the general manager of Home2 Suites by Hilton La Crosse in La Crosse.

ASTORIA, NEW YORK

Lyslie is the assistant retail manager at MAC Cosmetics in Natick, Massachusetts.

KATHRYN MENIO PVD Kathryn is the director of rooms and guest services at the Hilton Boston Logan Airport.

JAMAR PHARR CLT CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

Ben is the head chef at Nellie’s Southern Kitchen in Belmont.

PAUL KOSTANDIN PVD HENRICO, VIRGINIA

Paul is a chef at the The Blue Goat in Richmond.

RUMFORD, RHODE ISLAND

BENJAMIN SHOLITON CLT

Fall 2016

MARK BOURBEAU PVD

LYSLIE MEDEIROS PVD

Jamar is a franchise owner of Community Fitness Solutions in Charlotte.

34

DENVER, COLORADO

4

5

EVAN LEMOINE ’10 MBA

PVD

VERNON ROCKVILLE, CONNECTICUT

Evan is the supervisor of operational audit at the Aix Group in Windsor.

BRITTANY ORLANDINI CLT VINELAND, NEW JERSEY

Brittany has accepted a three-year teaching position in Qatar.

[5] DAVID SQUILLANTE PVD DOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Urged by his grandmother to apply, David appeared on an episode of Food Network’s “Cutthroat Kitchen” on August 10, where he finished second.

6

2011

LOGAN MCCOY ’13 MBA CLT

[6] ELI COX DEN

Logan presented a “No Bones About It” Foodamental Studio session at the National Restaurant Association Show 2016. Logan is director of culinary and business manager at KOR Food Innovation in Richmond.

DENVER, COLORADO

Eli has opened a second location of his Berkeley Supply store in Denver.

[7] JOEL KALINOWSKI PVD MIDDLETOWN, CONNECTICUT

Joel is the founder and chief strategist of Blatant Expressions, based in Middletown. Joel was also recently recognized as one of Hartford Business Journal’s 40 Under 40.

BRUCE FLORIO CLT

EMMA KRESGE PVD

EVAN GURNICK PVD ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA

Evan is hotel operations manager at MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland.

CHRISTOPHER SOTO CLT

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

Khakali is a consultant with Capco in New York City.

WINDSOR, CONNECTICUT

Nikki is a personal stylist and style associate representing J.Hilburn menswear.

SYDNEY WOLF PVD BLOOMINGTON, MINNESOTA

Sydney is an event sales manager with Metro Connections in Burnsville.

SARAH WYMAN PVD PASSAIC, NEW JERSEY

Sarah owns SJWeddings & Events in Clifton.

UNIONTOWN, OHIO

2010 Bruce is a chef at Jack Beagle’s in the NoDa district of Charlotte.

KHAKALI OLENJA PVD

NICOLE TARBELL PVD

CHELSEA KERN CLT Chelsea is an account manager and sales representative with Empire Distributors-NC Inc. in Charlotte, North Carolina.

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

7

NEWTON, NEW JERSEY

Emma is the conference services manager at Crystal Springs Resort in Hamburg.

JOSEPH LINCOLN PVD DORCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS

Joseph is the corporate and travel industry sales manager for the Langham Hotel in Boston.

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

Christopher is the brand developer for Stomp, Chomp and Roll in Charlotte. www.jwu.edu

35

CLASS NOTES 8

10

MARRIAGES 2006 [8] WESLEY FEIST DEN and Danielle (Stoner) Feist May 14, 2016

TOP ROW, left to right: Kuda Mudzi ’06, Kari (Rude) Robertson ’06, Natalie (Thompson) Schwab ’06 MIDDLE ROW, left to right: Joshua Casto ’06, Angel (Montez) Hepp ’06, Marthina “Dukes” Maduka ’06, David Scherzer, Tova (Schwartz) Scherzer ’06, John T. Rogers ’06, Jessica (Spencer) Ross ’07, Mike Ross ’07

[9] NATALIE SCHWAB DEN WESTMINSTER, COLORADO

and Patrick Schwab September 19, 2015

FRONT ROW, left to right: Wesley Feist ’06 and Danielle (Stoner) Feist

9

2013 [10] WESLEY SWEENEY PVD AND JOY LIU ’12 PVD July 1, 2016

36

Fall 2016

2012

2013

DOUGLAS CUDDEBACK PVD

ALISON SAFARCYK PVD

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

ADRIANA BRIONES PVD

SARAH AUSTIN CLT

SPRINGFIELD, NEW JERSEY

CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA

Adriana is a leadership development associate of regional and small business solutions at Met Life in Bridgewater.

Sarah is the assistant general manager of The Darling Oyster Bar in Charleston.

Douglas is the art director at Duffy & Shanley in Providence.

Alison is the chef at Reno’s in Chicago.

HARRISON GINSBERG PVD

ALEXANDRIA SAROVICH

GREGG DENTON PVD

PVD

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS

Gregg is the owner of Reno’s in Chicago.

TRAVIS GARRETT CLT CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

Travis is the executive chef at River Bleu Steak & Fish in Charlotte.

SHAUN LA GALA PVD CLIFTON, NEW JERSEY

Shaun is the food and beverage manager at the New York Marriott Downtown.

HENRY JOSEPH LANGEVIN

PVD

KIMBERLY-ANNE BRENNAN NEW YORK, NEW YORK

Kimberly is a client service representative with Silverstein Properties in New York.

MICHAEL CALVERT PVD NEW YORK, NEW YORK

Michael is the front desk manager at the New York Marriott Marquis.

JAKE CAMPBELL DEN AURORA, COLORADO

Jake defended his master’s thesis at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, where he was awarded the Criminal Justice Masters Student of the Year.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

PVD

Harrison is head bartender at The Dead Rabbit and Black Tail at Pier A in New York City.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

HANNAH HEYER PVD

Alexandria is the manager and sommelier at The Florentine in Chicago.

TAYLOR SPARROW CLT

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

Hannah is assistant front office manager at The Peninsula Hotel in New York.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

Taylor is an event manager with Marcus Evans in Chicago.

KELLIE VEHLIES NMI

AARON LAMPKIN DEN

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

DENVER, COLORADO

Aaron has just been promoted to manager of membership services for the Colorado Avalanche.

Kellie is studying for her Master of Public Administration at Suffolk University.

BRANDON MATTHEWS CLT CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

Brandon is a representative for Advocations in Charlotte.

MARLBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS

“Joe” is the business manager at Promethean Solutions in Marlborough.

ALEXIS MCMAHON PVD

BIRTHS

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

Alexis is the pastry chef at the University Club of Chicago.

ASHLEY PACZOWSKI PVD

2009

NIANTIC, CONNECTICUT

Ashley is a baker with Lillian’s Cake Creations in Niantic.

[11] SARAH (BRIGGS) BRENNAN PVD and Chris Reily

ASHLEY PIERRE PVD BROOKLYN, NEW YORK

2011-12

Ashley is a guest services supervisor at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn.

12

[12] WILLIAM CHASE ’12 CLT AND KELSEY CHASE ’11 CLT Riley Elizabeth

JARRETT STOLL DEN KENOSHA, WISCONSIN

Jarrett is a clinical oncology dietitian at the Cancer Treatment Center of America in Zion, Illinois.

11

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

Elizabeth is a program associate with the Greater New York Hospital Association.

Brittany Leigh Photography

ELIZABETH WILSON PVD

www.jwu.edu

37

CLASS NOTES 2014 [13] NICK ARCURI DEN COLLIERVILLE, TENNESSEE

Nick is the head nutritionist for the Memphis Grizzlies and one of only two registered dietitians in the NBA. Nick was recently featured in an April 5 article for Memphis magazine entitled “The Balancing Act: A Professional Athlete’s Diet.”

The article discusses his long road to the NBA, which includes time learning classic culinary techniques at the French Culinary Institute (now the International Culinary Center) and a culinary nutrition degree at JWU Denver.

After high-profile stints at Scarpetta in Miami Beach, Emeril’s at the Loews Hotel and Nobu at the Shore Club Hotel, he completed a dietetic internship with the Denver Broncos, which provided the foundation for his sports nutrition business, CUSTOMFIT. Before joining the Grizzlies, he served as the nutritionist to the St. Louis Rams.

He names JWU Denver’s Chef Adam Sacks as a mentor.

JACOB BRIERE CLT BROOKLYN, NEW YORK

Jacob is the culinary development chef at Chobani in New York City.

ASHLEIGH EASTERLING

CLT

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

Ashleigh is the owner of The Green Bunny, Charlotte’s first meal prep restaurant.

EMILY HEWETT CLT NEW YORK, NEW YORK

Emily is the events chef for Chobani in New York City.

NOBLE HOPKINS PVD UNION CITY, NEW JERSEY

Noble is the chef de partie at Maison Kayser in New York.

NATE KEENEY PVD NORTHAMPTON, PENNSYLVANIA

Nate has been promoted to regional manager of online marketing and engagement for The American Diabetes Association.

38

Fall 2016

13 GENA NARDELLI PVD BROOKLYN, NEW YORK

Gena is the back office manager for Grand Cafe in Astoria.

ALEXANDRA O’NEIL PVD LINCOLN, RHODE ISLAND

Alexandra is an account executive at Hill Holliday in Boston, Massachusetts.

[14] AARTHI SAMPATH PVD NEW YORK, NEW YORK

Earlier this year, Aarthi, the chef de cuisine of Michelin-starred Junoon Restaurant in Manhattan, won Food Network’s competitionbased reality show “Chopped.”

Aarthi dreamed of being on the show while watching it at JWU and credits the university’s coaching and exposure as being instrumental to her win.

ASHLEE SAUNDERS PVD FANWOOD, NEW JERSEY

Ashlee is a hospitality administrator and executive assistant at One World Observatory at the World Trade Center in New York City.

SHANNON YELMINI CLT JOHNS ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA

Shannon is a pastry chef at The Ocean Course Golf Resort on Kiawah Island.

14

2015

MATTHEW PAETZOLD CLT

REBECCA FARLEY PVD

Matt is the owner of Sal’s Roadside Eatery Food Truck in Charlotte.

ROCKY POINT, NEW YORK

Rebecca is an administrative assistant to the chief technology officer at Municipal Credit Union in New York.

KILEY FRALEY DEN DENVER, COLORADO

Kiley is the chef de cuisine at Chop Shop Casual Urban Eatery in Denver.

TERRENCE GAGALA PVD CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

Terrence is the dining services manager at The Chicago Yacht Club.

ELIZABETH GARD PVD AUSTIN, TEXAS

Elizabeth is the banquet captain at Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa in Austin.

LAUREN HADNOT-FELKER

PVD

DENVER, COLORADO

Lauren is an assistant administrator at Chartwells Dining for the JWU Denver Campus.

JENNIFER OJITO PVD TARRYTOWN, NEW YORK

Jennifer is the beverage purchasing manager at Abigail Kirsch Catering in Tarrytown.

WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

ABBY SMITH PVD LOCKPORT, ILLINOIS

Abby is a baker at Miss Joan’s Cupcakes in Naperville.

KATE ZEZULA DEN COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO

Katie is the front desk agent at the Denver Airport Marriott at Gateway Park. She will also receive her MBA from JWU Denver this fall.

2016 PRESTON SHAPIRO MBA

DEN

CASTLE ROCK, COLORADO

Preston is the new account coordinator at Destination Services in Colorado.

EMILY ZAJICEK MBA DEN DENVER, COLORADO

Emily is the Colorado ProStart Programs Manager for the Colorado Restaurant Association Education Foundation.

IN MEMORIAM ALUMNI

ROBERT K. JENKINS JR. ’89 June 4, 2016

JOHN H. HUBERT ’55 February 29, 2016

GREG A. PORTER ’90 May 12, 2016

RAYMOND H. DESTEFANIS ’58 April 22, 2016

BRUCE E. VANASSE ’90 January 16, 2012

THOMAS ALLEN ’62 February 2, 2015

BRIAN J. PETER ’91 May 6, 2011

ARTHUR M. BRENNER JR. ’70 April 16, 2014

CARLA Y. DEVRIEZE ’93 May 16, 2016

DAVID F. BATES ’75 June 15, 2016

JAY G. FULD ’93 March 18, 2016

THOMAS V. IANNITTI ’75 April 17, 2016

CHAD W. KENNEDY ’99 May 5, 2016

ROBERT S. CALORE ’76 November 3, 2013

JOHN KACALA, CEC, ’00 April 8, 2016

EDMUND CARLEY ’76 January 11, 2016

JORDAN FINLEY ’01 June 24, 2016

ANTHONY CIACCIARELLI ’76 September 22, 2010

STEVEN SAINT AUBIN ’01 January 19, 2014

RICHARD E. MORIN ’76 April 28, 2016

JEREMY BENTLEY ’02 February 26, 2015

LOUIS E. COTE ’77 April 5, 2016

PATRICK PANTOZZI ’02 August 2, 2016

LEONARD COSTA ’78 January 15, 2016

LORENZO D. MOORE ’04 July 15, 2012

LEONA E. SPIESMAN ’78 April 28, 2016

STEVEN M. CZEKALSKI ’05 June 26, 2016

JOHN K. PEREIRA ’79 December 26, 2014

SCOTT MATTSON ’06 August 7, 2016

JOHN SKELLY ’79 March 3, 2016

AMANDA L. SWINK ’09 July 6, 2016

EUGENE G. THORNBERG ’79 June 26, 2016

DENZEL D. THORNTON ’13 June 16, 2016

ALPHONSA A. COOK ’80 March 12, 2014

BENJAMIN DUFRANE ’15 July 31, 2016

MARY-JO M. MIRANDA ’80 April 21, 2016

FACULTY, STAFF AND FRIENDS

NORA B. MOORE ’83 May 27, 2013 SHERYL M. O’LOUGHLIN ’85 May 10, 2016

RICHARD J. BRENNAN SR. ’89 HON. March 14, 2015

JAMES J. ROGERS ’85 November 18, 2015

WILLIAM GALLAGHER ’95 HON. May 19, 2016

SANDY COHEN ’89 April 8, 2016

MARY ANN HAGUE August 29, 2016

CHANCELLOR EMERITUS MORRIS GAEBE (1920 – 2016) The Johnson & Wales University community is deeply saddened by the passing of Morris Gaebe ’98 Hon., JWU trustee emeritus and chancellor emeritus.

“Mo,” a longtime resident of Barrington, Rhode Island, died on October 8 at the age of 96.

A Transformational Leader If Miss Johnson and Miss Wales firmly established JWU’s legacy of entrepreneurship, then Morris Gaebe laid the groundwork for JWU as an institution. According to Chancellor John J. Bowen ’77, Gaebe’s “students first” mantra continues to guide his successors, and all of us today.

Relocating across the country to purchase a business school and form an untested business partnership takes a big leap of faith. Gaebe’s ability to trust his instincts and take smart risks characterized his long, distinguished career at Johnson & Wales — first as co-director with Edward Triangolo, then as president (1969-1989) and finally chancellor.

By broadening the curricula, achieving accreditation and formalizing the leadership structure, they turned a fledgling school into a bonafide establishment.

“Gaebe laid the groundwork for the institution that exists today,” noted John Yena ’06 Hon., chairman of the board emeritus and former university president. “He helped create the prospect for JWU to become a driving force in Providence’s Renaissance.”

Life Dedicated to Service Outside of JWU’s walls, Gaebe was a dedicated family man and equally devoted civic leader.

For 66 years, he was the husband of Audrey Klee Gaebe, until her death in 2008. He guided the formation of the character of his four sons, who, like him, were all Eagle Scouts.

The Gaebe name can be found throughout JWU’s four campuses on buildings, greenspaces, scholarships and history. The radiance of the man we knew and revered will continue to illuminate JWU’s journey.

Memorial donations in lieu of flowers can be made to the Gaebe Eagle Scout Scholarship Fund at Johnson & Wales University, 8 Abbott Park Place, Providence, RI, 02903, or to St. John’s Episcopal Church, 191 County Road, Barrington, RI, 02806. www.jwu.edu

39

!

?

THIS ISN’T RIGHT.

STOP. THINK. TALK.

If your partner can’t give consent for any reason, indicates they want to stop, or says no — stop. It’s as simple as that. If something has happened that has you feeling uneasy (or worse), help and support are available.

If you feel like you are getting mixed signals, are unsure of what the other person wants, or if your partner stops or is not responsive — stop, think and talk about next steps. It’s as simple as that.

= ON THE SAME PAGE. If everyone comes to a voluntary decision about what is happening — keep communicating. If someone changes their mind — stop. It’s as simple as that.

40

Fall 2016

Consent Is As institutions strive to meet mandates to educate students about sexual assault and relationship violence, Johnson & Wales has heeded the call and led the pack. Since 2012, students have learned about these topics through the university’s “Consent Is” campaign — a mix of posters and postcard-sized pages listing on- and off-campus resources and signs for identifying sexual assault and relationship violence.

“Ensuring that our JWU community is aware of these issues and resources is at the heart of the ‘Consent Is’ campaign; it is not just to ‘check the box’,” says Korina Ramsland Short, director of the Gender Equity Center.

The center began by reevaluating its four-year-old approach. Before, the material was all on paper. As part of the new campaign, most of the resources on the posters and sheets were transferred to the JWU website for ease of access. Instead of a postcard-sized piece of paper, students are provided with a campus-specific, credit-card-sized wallet card that includes the most important resources to contact in case of an emergency, along with the URL of the newly created Consent Is webpages. Accompanying these are bold-print posters, each with a thought-provoking call to action and campus-specific URLs. “The refreshed campaign aims to reinforce what students already know and take it to the next level,” says Ramsland Short. “It also puts the information right in their hands — or, rather, a click away on their smart phones.”

~ Rachel Lacaille

Shoot for the moon.

Call 401-598-2185 or visit jwu.edu/leadershipcircle to learn how you can be a part of something big.

The JWU Fund Leadership Circle

NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE

8 Abbott Park Place, Providence, RI 02903

PAID JOHNSON & WALES UNIVERSITY

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

Josh Mersfelder ’14 (also front cover) Photos by Mike Cohea