Manhattan Magazine Fall 2006

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Fall 2006

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Number Two

11/13/06

Volume Thirty-Two

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Calendar

Reunion Weekend

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Young Lasallian Represents Manhattan at

DECEMBER 2 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony 2 National Alumni Council Meeting 9 Christmas Dinner, Gulf Coast Club, Sarasota, Fla.

International Conference 10

Summer Internships

JANUARY 10 Treasure Coast Club Luncheon Meeting, Port St. Lucie, Fla. 20 Class of ’06 Yearbook Party 24 De La Salle Medal Dinner

2006

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Are Hot Options for Students 25

Ten To Be Inducted into the

Athletic Hall of Fame

FEBRUARY 23 Phys. Ed. Distinguished Service Awards & Phi Epsilon Kappa Induction Ceremony 24 Treasure Coast Club Golf & Reception – Hobe Sound, Fla. 25 Jaspers of Georgia Annual Brunch TBD Alumni Family Day

MARCH 1-5 7 10 11 14 15 16 16 17 17 28 TBD

MAAC Tournament – Bridgeport, Conn.

Teacher Recruiting Fair National Alumni Council Meeting S.W. Florida Club Luncheon, Bonita Springs, Fla. Guidance Counselors Dinner St. Patrick’s Day Luncheon – Long Island, N.Y. St. Patrick’s Day Luncheon – Washington, D.C. Gulf Coast Club Reception & Luncheon, Sarasota, Fla. St. Patrick’s Day Parade – New York City St Patrick’s Day Parade – Naples, Fla. Accepted Students Day Engineering Awareness Day for Women

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On Campus

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Sports

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Advancement

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Alumni Events

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Alumnotes

APRIL 4 Accepted Students Day 19 Not-for-Profit/Public Service Job Fair, Smith Auditorium 20 Alumni/Student Golf, Van Cortlandt Park TBD NYC Club Reception

MAY 4 5 7 9 17

Stoics Dinner General Meeting-Alumni Society Jasper Open Golf Block M Dinner Spring Honors Convocation – Gunn Medal Presentation 20 Undergraduate Commencement 23 Spring (Graduate) Commencement

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Published by the office of college relations, a division of college advancement Manhattan College, Riverdale, NY 10471 Lydia E. Gray, director of college relations Kristen I. Cuppek, editor Rose Spaziani, assistant editor Contributors: Michael Antonaccio Patrice Athanasidy Stephen DeSalvo Joe Dillon Melanie A. Farmer Tom Gray Fahima Israt

Stephen Laruccia Mary Ellen Malone Michael McMorrow Scott Silversten Chris Stogel Ralph Ventre Susan Woolhandler

Photographers: Ben Asen Josh Cuppek Marty Heitner Chris Taggart

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Invests

in Two New Trustees

Two leaders in the banking industry are the latest executives to join Manhattan College’s distinguished board of trustees.

Newly elected board members Peter M. Musumeci Jr. ’72 and Michael J. Paliotta ’87 were appointed in June. They are the most recent additions to an exceptional group of board members, led by chairman Thomas D. O’Malley ’63.

Fidelity Investment’s Vice Chairman and COO Will Receive the

Michael J. Paliotta ’87

Paliotta is a managing director of Credit Suisse in New York City. After earning his bachelor’s degree in business administration, he joined Argus Investments, where he was responsible for managing real estate and trading ventures.

Peter M. Musumeci Jr. ’72

Musumeci, who served as dinner chairman of the 2005 De La Salle Medal Dinner, is currently the executive vice president/senior credit officer of the Commerce Bank in Cherry Hill, N.J. He joined the bank one year after its 1973 opening.

In his present role, Musumeci is responsible for the credit quality of Commerce’s loan portfolio, and he has been instrumental in ensuring Commerce has one of the lowest risk models in the industry. Commerce Bank has 400 branches throughout metro New York, metro Philadelphia, metro Washington, D.C., and southeast Florida, and assets exceeding $42 billion.

Musumeci earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Manhattan College and is a member of the Manhattan College Financial Services Advisory Council. He is also on the board of the Center for Family Services and the Children’s Healthcare Foundation of South Jersey, and serves as a trustee and is a member of the finance committee of his parish, St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in Marlton, N.J.

After leaving Argus in 1989, he went to New York University’s Stern School of Business and joined Neuberger Berman’s institutional equity sales group. He earned his M.B.A. in finance in 1992.

Paliotta joined Credit Suisse First Boston in 2000 and currently is responsible for managing the firm’s institutional markets equity business. In addition to maintaining relationships with investment and hedge fund managers, he is active in the firm’s recruiting program, serves on the bank’s equity valuation committee and is the former chairman of the vice president promotion committee.

One of five members of his family to attend Manhattan College, Paliotta has been a generous supporter of the College’s annual giving and Sesquicentennial Capital Campaign, as well as an active participant in alumni events. He helped organize his class’ 10-year reunion in 1997, is a member of the Financial Services Advisory Council for the school of business and serves as an advisor to the dean in the recruitment of highly qualified students.

Paliotta and his wife, Trish ’87, reside in Westport, Conn., with their children Michael (13), Daniel (11), Kate (7) and Will (3).

2007 De La Salle Medal Robert L. Reynolds, vice chairman and chief operating officer of Fidelity Investments will receive the 2007 De La Salle Medal at Manhattan’s annual dinner on Wednesday evening, January 24.

Serving in the capacity of dinner chair will be Brady Dougan, chief executive officer, investment banking, Credit Suisse. The black-tie dinner, which this year will be held at Cipriani at 42nd Street, has become a major event on corporate and social calendars throughout the metropolitan region.

Robert L. Reynolds

The De La Salle Medal Dinner, which began in 1977, remains the top fundraising event for the College and has honored executives and corporations who exemplify the principles of excellence, corporate leadership and service to society.

Former honorees include: Sy Sternberg, continued on page 5

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REUNION WEEKEND

2006

The class of 1956 celebrated its 50th anniversary at Reunion Weekend, held June 2- 4, while the class of 1981 celebrated its 25th anniversary. All classes with years ending in “1” or “6” were feted, too. They, in turn, honored the College with anniversary class gifts totaling more than $666,000.

The heavy rainstorm hardly daunted returning alums. Once on board the Atlantica, the weather was forgotten as more than 190 old friends and classmates dined and danced. Back on campus, members of the class of 1981 attended a dinner dance in Smith Auditorium.

Joe Ferraro ’88, director of development, spoke about their record-breaking support of alma mater and congratulated the class on reaching a milestone that leads to their golden jubilee in 2031. Chairpersons of the class of 1981 reunion committee, Clare Cunniffe, College board member, and fellow classmate John LeClerq, presented Brother President Thomas Scanlan with an anniversary class gift fund check of more than $143,000, which represented gifts and pledges received during fiscal year 2006. Jasper alums then received their silver medals.

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On Saturday, the golden jubilee luncheon was held in Thomas Hall. Br. Thomas addressed the class of 1956 with a historical perspective and recalled the world in which they grew up: no color television, computers or cell phones.

The committee for the class of ’56 was recognized for its service to the College.

Members included Jim Reilly and George Bumiller, who served as co-chairs of the committee; Arthur R. DeSimone, who edited the class newsletter; Bob La Blanc, who took charge of fundraising; and Larry Boland, who organized telephone contacts. A check for $458,164 was presented to Br. Thomas. He then presented Jaspers from the class of 1956 with gold medals to commemorate their 50th anniversary.

Meanwhile, the traditional outdoor picnic was moved to Plato’s Cave, as the skies remained ominous all afternoon.

A magician kept the children entertained as alums took the opportunity to catch up with old friends.

At 5 p.m., members of the classes of ’56 and ’81 formed a procession into the Eucharistic celebration held in the Chapel of De La Salle and His Brothers.

The traditional al fresco dinner was moved into Thomas Hall, which was lavishly decorated for the gala buffet. Dinner and the Venetian hour were followed by hours of dancing.

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Graduates applaud each other during the 164th Commencement exercises.

A World of Opportunity: The

Class of 2006

One of the largest graduating classes in years gathered on May 21 for the 164th Manhattan College Commencement ceremony. Close to 800 students received bachelor’s degrees in all 40 majors in the schools of arts, science, engineering, education and business.

The celebration began with a Baccalaureate Mass at 10:00 a.m., followed by brunch on the Quad.

Then, family and friends gathered in Draddy Gymnasium for the graduation ceremony.

Optimism, new adventures and global awareness were just a few themes that warmed the class of 2006 on a cool and cloudy graduation day. Brother President Thomas Scanlan awarded John M. Fahey Jr. ’73 an honorary doctorate degree in education.

Fahey, an engineering graduate of Manhattan College, is president and chief executive officer of the National Geographic Society.

He first joined the company in 1996 and created a cable channel that airs in 27 languages and reaches more than 285 million homes worldwide.

Fahey also revitalized the company’s magazines, increased their international appeal and launched new titles. Prior to National Geographic, he was chairman, president and CEO of Time Life Inc. Advertising Age recently featured Fahey on its list of the top 100 marketers.

A vibrant speaker, Fahey engaged graduates with light humor and colorful stories, including his trip to Serengeti, a national park and reserve in Kenya.

“You, in effect, have a chance to receive many degrees over the course of your life,” he said. “You don’t always get a diploma. You don’t always get a robe. The degrees come from your life experiences.”

Fahey imparted graduates with a sense of personal and global responsibility.

“Keep the idealism that I’m sure you still have — follow the instincts

Honorary degree recipient John M. Fahey Jr. ’73 addresses the class of 2006 at Commencement.

of your heart — think beyond the short term — and live your life as an example of caring about the place you’re leaving for your children and their children,” he said.

Brandy Luther ’06, who was awarded a bachelor’s degree in English from the school of arts, delivered the valedictory address. Luther is a member of the Epsilon Sigma Pi, Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Tau Delta honor societies, and was awarded The Joseph L. McGoldrick Medal for English and World Literature. She also was a member of the women’s soccer team.

Luther encouraged fellow graduates to approach their new careers and lifestyles with energy and positive attitudes.

“We are the real world, as we choose to construct it,” she said.

“And it is our refusal to abandon the optimistic views, we hold today, which will allow us not only to survive it, but change it, enjoy it, believe in it.”

Br. Thomas congratulated the graduates amid cheers and applause from the overflowing crowd of friends and family. Following the ceremony, all in attendance streamed into Walsh Plaza, where the music of the Manhattan College Bagpipers awaited them. The Bagpipers played their drums and pipes as the crowd reveled in the excitement of the day’s activities and headed to a celebratory reception under the tents on the Quad.

2007 De La Salle Medal

Continued from pg. 3 –

president and chief executive officer, New York Life Insurance Company; Rudolph W. Giuliani ’65, former mayor of the City of New York; Eugene McGrath ’63, former chairman and chief executive officer, Con Edison; Robert Catell, chairman and chief executive officer, Keyspan; and IBM Corporation.

In addition to serving as vice chairman and chief operating officer of Fidelity Investments, the largest mutual fund company in the United States, the No. 1 provider of workplace retirement savings plans and a leading online brokerage firm, Reynolds is the head of the Fidelity management committee and a member of the board of directors of FMR Corp. He also serves as a trustee for the Fidelity family of mutual funds and serves on the board of Fidelity Investments Canada Limited.

Reynolds received a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration with a major in finance from West Virginia University in 1974. He serves on the board of directors for the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, the American Ireland Fund, the Concord (Mass.)

Museum, the West Virginia University Foundation, Inc., and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. He is a member of the National Innovation Initiative, Council on Competitiveness, and the Financial Services Forum. Reynolds also serves as president of the Commercial Club of Boston. He was the recipient of the 2003 Boston College President’s Medal of Excellence and awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for contributions to America’s retirement services industry

by PlanSponsor magazine in 2005.

Proceeds from the dinner provide discretionary resources for the College, a critical factor in these challenging times. Funds are applied to a wide variety of needs, particularly our academic and cocurricular programs, scholarship assistance, upgrading of facilities and equipment, and library resources.

For additional information about this gala event and how you or your company might participate, please call Christine Stogel, director of corporate/foundation relations, at (718) 862-7837 or e-mail chris.stogel@manhattan.edu or dlsdinner@manhattan.edu. manhattan.edu

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Lifelong Learners: The 164th Spring Commencement Students, family and friends filled the Chapel of De La Salle and His Brothers to celebrate the 164th Spring (Graduate) Commencement ceremony on Wednesday evening, May 24. In total, 250 graduate and professional diplomas were awarded to students in the graduate schools of education and engineering, as well as in the Undergraduate Adult Degree Completion Program.

Brigid Higgins ’94, an educator and philanthropist, received an honorary doctorate degree in education. She devoted a significant part of her career to teaching children at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Ronald McDonald House. Higgins congratulated the graduates and advised them to “enjoy the adventure of new experiences.”

“Even if we believe our destinations are clear, there are many roads to that destination, and sometimes the detours change our lives in unexpected ways and make us wiser,” Higgins said.

Marisabel Dolan, who received a master’s degree in chemical engineering, delivered the valedictory address. In addition to her affiliation with Sigma Xi, the prestigious scientific research society, she is a member of Omega Chi Epsilon, the national honor society for chemical engineering. Dolan praised the graduates for their hard work.

“Let the lessons you learned here, inside and outside the classroom, help you in your future plans…Show the same devotion you have shown here,” Dolan said. “You know that you have the ability, potential and perseverance to achieve anything that you desire.”

Once diplomas were presented to all students, Brother President Thomas Scanlan extolled the graduates for their accomplishments. The Jasper community continued its celebration at a reception in Dante’s Den after the ceremony.

Brother President Thomas Scanlan congratulates valedictorian Brandi Luther ’06 as she accepts an award at the Spring Honors Convocation.

Jasper Scholars Have Night To Shine Dedication, perseverance, long exams and late nights paid off for Manhattan College’s brightest stars. The class of 2006 saw its hard work rewarded at the annual Spring Honors Convocation in the Chapel of De La Salle and His Brothers on Thursday, May 18. More than 200 students received recognition from 34 honor societies, and faculty granted 49 medals and prizes to students for their academic achievement.

The ceremony began with an invocation from Brother Robert Berger, vice president for student life, and greetings from Dr. Weldon Jackson, executive vice president and provost.

Dr. John Barry Ryan, professor of religious studies, addressed the audience of faculty, students and guests.

Ryan emphasized the importance of high academic achievement as vital to college life and the future world.

“You have shown this great promise at the level of higher education,” he said.

“And at this level, we can see more clearly the possibilities open to you.

We are thrilled by your energy, your vibrancy, your curiosity, your creativity and your desire to succeed.”

Trustee Brother Frank Byrne, honorary degree recipient Brigid Higgins ’94 and Brother President Thomas Scanlan at Spring Commencement.

As a teenager, Higgins came to the United States from Ireland. She taught in both New York state and Dublin before her own pivotal diagnosis with cancer in 1989. Her treatment was a success, and Higgins embarked on a new career path: teaching children with cancer in the hospital. In 1994, Higgins earned an M.A. in education from Manhattan College.

She also served as union representative to the United Federation of Teachers (UFT).

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Valedictorian Marisabel Dolan ’06 addresses fellow graduates at the Spring (Graduate) Commencement ceremony in May.

After Ryan’s address, faculty moderators of the national, international and academic honor societies distinguished their student members. The evening culminated in the distribution of medals and prizes for academic and general distinction.

All five schools granted honors to bright seniors devoted to academic excellence and service.

The ceremony closed with Jackson’s warm congratulations to the student achievers. Afterward, students and guests celebrated at a reception in Dante’s Den.

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MANHATTAN POLITICIAN Discusses Demographics at Spring Horan Lecture

During this tenure, she administered an office expense and capital budget of more than $240 million dollars, proposed budget priorities to the mayor in preparation of the city’s annual executive budget, reviewed and recommended major land use decisions, and proposed sites for city facilities within the borough. In addition, she monitored and modified the delivery of city services, and developed strategic plans for the borough, which included the rebuilding and revitalization of Lower Manhattan post-Sept. 11.

Lecturer C. Virginia Fields and Brother Thomas Scanlan at the John J. Horan Lecture in April.

It’s not every New Yorker who gets the chance to visit all of the city’s neighborhoods or talk to people in every borough. But when that New Yorker was a candidate for mayor in 2005, one might expect that she saw a great deal of the Big Apple and its residents.

C. Virginia Fields, former president of the Borough of Manhattan, discussed The Changing Urban Demographics: Is New York City Meeting the Challenge? at the John J. Horan Endowed Lecture Series at the University Club in midtown Manhattan this past April.

Standing in front of Jaspers and faculty interested in politics, immigration and New York City, Fields said she wouldn’t have had the opportunity to travel throughout the city if she hadn’t been running for mayor. And although she was out there stumping for political office, Fields became interested in demographics.

“I was struck by the number of immigrant communities,” she said.

“They migrate to cities in clusters — I saw that being repeated.”

Noting that nearly 32 percent of the city’s foreign population is coming from Latin America, followed by Asia, Fields noticed that many of these community clusters have racial and ethnic lines.

For example, Washington Heights, in upper Manhattan, she said, is home to primarily foreign-born residents and has the largest amount of Dominicans outside of Santo Domingo.

What concerns Fields is that many of the newer immigrant communities are becoming segregated. “How do we as a city respond?” she asked.

New York City is very different from the last census, Fields said, as 36 percent of the population is foreign-born. She explained that the city’s challenges are just getting started.

“I spent the last 16 years in office and fully recognize the need for New York City to take action now,” she said.

Fields came to New York in 1971 to pursue a career in social work. She served as an administrator of social services for the Children’s Aid Society; supervisor of social services for the city’s work release program; and field consultant to the National Board of the YWCA. In 1989, Fields became the first African-American woman elected to the City Council from Manhattan and served two four-year terms, during which she created affordable housing, revitalized schools, fostered economic growth, improved public safety, and preserved programs for young people and seniors.

In 1997, she was elected to the position of Manhattan Borough president and served two four-year terms. As chief executive for the 1.5 million residents of Manhattan, Fields built a record of success in education, economic development, affordable housing, health care and advocacy for seniors.

As she discussed immigration trends in tandem with affordable housing, education, health care and unemployment, Fields said that we must take steps to provide for those already here and those coming every day.

“We do quite a bit of planning, but we’re short on implementation,” she said.

“The best way for us to implement is to have greater awareness; an open and honest dialogue; and to work to address current and existing needs.”

In conclusion, Fields explained how her experience has inspired her to want to do more.

“It’s up to us, and I am hopeful,” she said. “Let’s get started.”

Dr. Corine Fitzpatrick, associate professor of education, C. Virginia Fields, former Manhattan Borough president, and Dr. Thelma Baxter, assistant professor of education, at the Horan Lecture.

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U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Criticizes Self-Appointed Catholic College Censor Manhattan College would like to share with you an editorial that appeared in the March 27, 2006 issue of America.

The editorial is in response to a memorandum sent by the former chair of the Bishops and Presidents Committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop John G. Vlazny, in January 2006.

Measuring Catholic Identity The publication in 1990 of the apostolic constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae has been the inspiration for continuing conversation within the Catholic higher education community in the United States. The leadership of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities and its member institutions have explored ways to deepen and enrich the distinctively Catholic religious and intellectual traditions that identify the more than 200 Catholic institutions of higher education. Ex Corde Ecclesiae itself was the product of a continuing conversation that began with the circulation in 1985 of a preliminary draft and culminated in an international conference held at the Vatican in April 1989. After the publication of the final text in 1990, similar consultation among bishops and college and university presidents led to the development of regional norms for the application of the apostolic constitution to the United States.

Recognizing the value of such conversations, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has established a standing committee of bishops and presidents that meets twice a year to discuss issues that relate to Catholic higher education in the United States.

In a memorandum dated Jan. 30, 2006, the retiring chair of the committee, Archbishop John G. Vlazny of Portland, Ore., spoke for the entire committee in writing to those U.S. bishops who are identified as “ecclesiastical advisors” to the Cardinal Newman Society. The society purports to measure the actual state of Catholic colleges and universities in the United States. The Bishops and Presidents Committee “has regularly monitored the publications and positions

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of the Cardinal Newman Society,” Archbishop Vlazny notes, “and has found them often aggressive, inaccurate, or lacking in balance.” The archbishop urges the ecclesiastical advisors to look more closely at the methods of the society, which the committee has found to be “often objectionable in substance and in tone,” misrepresenting the Catholic colleges and universities in the United States that it criticizes.

What have been the methods of the Cardinal Newman Society that the Bishops and Presidents Committee find so objectionable? The Cardinal Newman Society keeps a close watch on how Catholic campuses observe the society’s self-defined and rather narrow view of what constitutes Catholic orthodoxy.

Their litmus tests include: whether any campus group has sponsored a presentation of “The Vagina Monologues”; whether any politician who does not favor criminalizing abortion is invited to speak at a campus event; whether the institution has sponsored a support group for gay and lesbian students; and, most recently, whether faculty or staff at a Catholic institution supported John Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate in the 2004 elections.

In pursuit of its skewed view of orthodox Catholicism, the Cardinal Newman Society has been reckless in its caricature of opposing viewpoints, misrepresenting the positions of those with whom they disagree. Even sadder, however, is the assumption behind their watchdog tactics.

The test of a Catholic institution implicit in those tactics is a negative one.

The authenticity of an institution’s Catholic identity can be judged, as the Newman Society sees it, merely by what it does not do: no feminist drama, no unapproved speakers, no heterodox honorees, no support for homosexuals and no backing of left-leaning candidates.

THE APPLICATION OF SUCH NEGATIVE LITMUS TESTS distorts and diminishes the importance of the Catholic identity and mission of a college or university.

The vitality of life on a Catholic campus

should be measured far more by the positive initiatives the institution takes than by the narrow boundaries it observes.

The Catholic intellectual and religious tradition should be the source of programs and projects on Catholic campuses that other colleges and universities would have neither the interest nor the resources to promote.

Furthermore, a Catholic institution, confident in the strength of its traditions, will not retreat from the challenge of engaging competing ideas in the dialogue that is at the heart of a lively university culture. Many Catholic institutions have established programs and events that promote the dialogue between Catholic tradition and contemporary culture, between faith and science, that Ex Corde Ecclesiae identified as central to the mission of Catholic institutions.

Happily the Bishops and Presidents Committee understands the importance of this mission.

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Young Lasallian Represents Manhattan at

International Conference

on campus

Paul Avvento ’07 encountered a life-changing surprise when he clicked open his e-mail on a winter day back in December 2005. A message from Brother Thomas Lackey, F.S.C., auxiliary visitor, New York district, and College trustee, announced that Avvento had been selected to represent Manhattan College at the International Symposium of Young Lasallians in Rome, Italy, from July 25-31. He was one of just nine delegates chosen from students at Lasallian colleges and universities across the nation to represent the United States-Toronto region.

“I cannot properly put into words how the conference has affected me,” says Avvento, a secondary education major and elected student body president. “To say that it has changed my life would be an understatement. After seeing all of the great things that young Lasallians are doing around the world, I have been inspired to follow them and serve the poor.”

The first International Symposium of Young Lasallians convened in 2002 in Quebec, Canada. This year’s symposium brought together nearly 150 young Lasallians in the age range of 16-35 from all across the world. Participants reflected on their Lasallian identity, shared experiences and discussed the challenges they face in implementing their mission.

Avvento is active in the College’s student government and campus ministry. He was a tutor at Resurrection School in Harlem, N.Y., and helped to run a summer program there in July 2005 before the school closed down.

At the conference, Avvento was especially inspired by a young Lasallian from Australia who spoke about his work for a youth program in Melbourne.

“You could tell by his face that he loved helping out and knew that he was doing the right thing,” Avvento says. “That is what truly made a lasting impression on me.”

The symposium’s topic was “Mission Possible: A Shared Dream.” Avvento says each day of the conference opened and closed with a prayer. He describes the symposium as a series of presentations by professionals or young Lasallians followed by discussions in English, French and Spanish language groups.

In Avvento’s group, there were two U.S. representatives, as well as delegates from England, Thailand, Malta, Malaysia and South Africa.

“What exactly is a young Lasallian?” Avvento asks, recalling themes of discussion. “Do you have to be in a Lasallian school to be considered a young Lasallian?”

He says these questions shed light on opportunities for Lasallian students upon graduation, as well as ways for people to help out internationally. Such opportunities include exchange

Paul Avvento ’07 (back, center) with fellow young Lasallians at the International Symposium in Rome, Italy.

programs where students volunteer in a foreign country as tutors, youth ministers, teachers or counselors. The participants also discussed the need for better communication among various districts and regions.

“This conference has proved to me that the Lasallian spirit is very much alive and very important for people of the 21st century,” Avvento says. “Even though our world is chaotic and hate is so prevalent, seeing all of these different people together praying, eating, dancing and laughing is proof that we do not have to allow our differences to continue to divide us.”

Lasallian delegates participated in planned excursions in Rome and surrounding towns. Avvento says his favorite excursion was a daylong retreat in Assisi.

“At the end of the night, we had a private prayer service around the tomb of St. Francis, which was one of the most powerful experiences I ever had,” he says.

Since returning home from Rome, Avvento wrote a proposal to several administrators at the College to explore initiatives that he learned about at the conference. Among his suggestions, he emphasized the importance of recruiting more Lasallian volunteers, strengthening the relationships between Lasallian schools and expanding options for international volunteer work on campus.

“After leaving the conference, I feel more confident to continue doing all of the things that I have been doing in terms of faith, service and hopeful direction,” Avvento says.

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Summer Internships Are Hot Options for Students The lazy days of summer are just a cliché for Manhattan College students who take advantage of summer break to build their résumés and prepare for future careers. For some, they have spent the past months networking with College alumni to land prestigious internships. As students forego sandy beaches and exotic adventures in place of summer internships, they encounter exciting opportunities in industries such as politics, business and marketing.

This past summer, Dominick Mach ’07 and Walter Mullon ’07 interned at Sen. Charles Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) office in New York City. Both students handled constituent inquiries and problems, as well as more mundane office duties, such as answering phone calls, filing and data entry.

She emphasizes the importance of relationships that students build at internships and says that internships are all about the effort and enthusiasm that students bring to them.

“Daisy does a good job of organizing different excursions to famous New York City landmarks, such as private tours of the New York Stock Exchange and several New York City museums,” Mach says.

The Schumer interns also played in a softball game against Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s interns and won 9-3.

Walter Mullon ’07

“A soldier can run into a lot of problems, both home and away, when called to duty,” Mullon says. “Problems ranging from financial difficulties to medical care can present themselves once he has been discharged. Many of these problems are addressed and resolved, which gives me gratification to know that I was able to be of some help.”

Manhattan College alumni are often on site to offer students a helping hand.

In Schumer’s office, Daisy Rodriguez ’01, the community outreach coordinator, plans activities for interns and acts as their support person to make the transition to the workplace a smooth one.

Dominic Mach ’07 and Sen. Charles Schumer

Mach, a government and peace studies major, learned how health care and social security issues are handled.

“My day usually consisted of reading constituents’ letters and figuring out which federal agency could best help the person with the problem,” he says.

Mullon, a psychology major who plans to attend law school, helped with issues related to the military, veterans affairs, U.S. Postal Service, Department of Transportation and Federal Emergency Management Agency. He says he learned a lot, especially about the needs of soldiers in the Army.

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“I honestly believe that an internship can bring clarity about a field of interest,” Rodriguez says. While at Manhattan College, Rodriguez spent a summer as an intern at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute in Washington, D.C.

At Ernst and Young (E&Y), Stacey Guardino ’90, the executive director of business risk services, leads recruiting efforts for college students. She is involved in the College’s accounting society, Beta Alpha Psi, and the mentor program.

“I really valued my education at Manhattan College,” Guardino says.

“The students are very hardworking.

I enjoy seeing them have a great experience. From an Ernst and Young perspective, they assimilate quite well.”

David Glanville ’07 first made contact with Guardino through the accounting society in spring 2005. He networked with Guardino and eventually interviewed for an internship last spring when she was on campus. When Glanville was offered an internship, he was thrilled to have the opportunity to work at a major, global firm.

“Stacey makes sure everything goes well,” Glanville says. “She’s eager to have feedback and to know how our internships are going.”

From left to right: Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Daisy Rodriguez ’01, community outreach coordinator for Sen. Schumer, and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.)

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Glanville spent the summer as an intern in business risk services at E&Y. He values his opportunity at the company and says his hands-on experience has taught him a lot about teamwork and developing audit procedure skills.

“You’re there to ask a lot of questions and learn,” he says.

In August, at the end of his internship, Glanville spent four days at the international intern leadership conference in Orlando, Fla., courtesy of E&Y. The interns were even treated to a Disney World trip.

Glanville already has been offered a full-time position at E&Y upon graduation.

He is excited about his future prospects and mentions the mentor program as another great resource for students looking to establish professional contacts.

Prior to his internship, Glanville was paired with alumnus Tom Yurcisin ’97, coincidentally a senior manager at E&Y, through the mentor program.

“I highly recommend the program,” Glanville says. “You get to know individuals, and they can help with your future goals. I’ve had a positive experience.”

Although working with alumni is an ideal way for students to network and build career relationships, not all students find alumni at their internships. Melissa Pauls ’06, who majored in marketing, says she enjoyed her paid internship for the nonprofit organization Hudson River

Park Trust, a partnership between the state and New York City. The Trust oversees design, construction and operation of the 550-acre Hudson River Park.

Pauls first heard about the internship in an e-mail posting from the Center for Career Development. The listing sparked her interest, and she sent in her résumé.

She was contacted back by the Trust, interviewed and was offered the internship.

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“I set up and marketed all of the free events for Hudson River Park,” Pauls says. Such events included concerts and movies. “I learned that guerrilla marketing is probably one of the best ways to get people to learn about your events,” she adds.

Pauls spent some days walking or driving around the city to spread the word about upcoming park events. Although she admits that the work could be exhausting, and rejection hard to take, her internship was ultimately rewarding.

“The fun, interesting perks were meeting new people and interacting with the talent for all the different shows,” Pauls says. “I really enjoy talking with people and meeting the bands and felt privileged to get to do so with this job.”

When student interns return to campus for the upcoming school year, they have a sense of accomplishment, handy skills and a Rolodex of new contacts. Their internships are one more stepping stone in the search for future dream jobs.

Melissa Pauls ’06 (far right) with coworkers at Hudson River Park

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Relay for Life: Congregating for a Cause

A Closer Look at Zapatista Women in Mexico Women in one of Mexico’s poorest areas are taking a stand against repression, making money and leading local communities — all in a day’s work.

Their challenges were addressed by Gabriela Martinez López, a Mexican sociologist and researcher, in the spring lecture Zapatista Women Confronting Globalization: Cultural Resistance, Fair Trade and Human Rights in Chiapas, Mexico, sponsored by the departments of modern foreign languages and history in March.

Leslie Oddo ’09 (second from right) and local cancer survivors lead the first lap of the Relay for Life at Manhattan College.

“Cancer doesn’t sleep, so we won’t either” was the motto of 600 Jaspers who gathered in Draddy Gymnasium for the third annual Relay for Life (RFL) in April.

The 12-hour event, which featured the powerful testimonies of cancer survivors and a variety of activities and performances, went from dusk until dawn and raised nearly $40,000. RFL is sponsored by the American Cancer Society to honor cancer survivors and remember those who have lost their lives to the disease.

On campus, it was organized by Kinah Ventura-Rosas, former social action coordinator and head of the relay committee, and RFL co-chairs Alicia Johnston ’06 and Mark Sheeran ’06.

“I am here because you are all beautiful people, and you deserve a good life,” said Arthur Powers, a lung cancer survivor for the past nine years. “I won’t ask you to stop smoking. I’m begging you to.”

Powers lit a candle as a symbol of hope.

He and other survivors walked the first lap of the relay in step to the Brendan Nelson Band performing U2’s Walk On. Throughout the evening, students played in tournaments for dodgeball, basketball, ping-pong and twister.

They also participated in kickboxing and hip-hop classes.

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The Manhattan College Steppers and the Jasper Dancers delivered high-spirited performances. The Steppers wore black outfits adorned with a large, pink ribbon in support of the fight against cancer.

“I know many people who are survivors of breast cancer,” says stepper Jessica Vasquez ’06, who attended RFL for the second time. “The relay increases awareness and brings everyone together for a really good cause.”

Dan Hannon ’07 raised $2,734.50 in donations, the largest individual amount of money for the second year in a row.

He relayed to celebrate the memory of his mother, Patti Hannon, who lost her battle with breast cancer last January.

“Take advantage of your friends,” Hannon advises to those dealing with cancer. “They are a lot more important than you would think.”

Lorraine’s Army collected $3,539.50, the largest amount of donations for a team.

RFL is organized more than a year in advance and, Sheeran says, naturally evokes the Lasallian traditions and values embraced on campus.

“An event like this is what it is all about,” Sheeran says. “Giving back and, in this case, a good life.”

Coverage of Zapatista communities in Mexico is a timely issue for Manhattan College’s campus.

“Mexicans are the fastest-growing immigrant group in New York City,” says Dr. Julie Pycior, professor of history. “Manhattan College’s identity is deeply rooted in the New York City immigrant experience.”

This fall, Pycior is teaching the course Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. She hosted a panel on immigrant labor issues for the Peace and Justice Studies Association Conference at Manhattan College in October.

Emily O’Neill, the alternative economy program coordinator for the Mexico Solidarity Network, translated Martinez López’s words into English. The Mexican Solidarity Network, founded in 1998 by Tom Hansen, represents the Mujeres Por La Dignidad cooperative, a group of more than 700 women who weave handicrafts. The network tackles issues related to the U.S.–Mexico relationship.

Martinez López discussed the events that helped to create Zapatista cooperatives, or organized indigenous groups. She also emphasized the role of women in leading these communities.

In 1994, the same year of NAFTA, the Zapatista uprising clashed with the Mexican military. The initial uprising lasted for 11 days until the Mexican government agreed to sit down with the Zapatistas and negotiate peace. Today, the Mexican military continues to wage a low intensity war and abuse human rights in Zapatista communities. Women are one of the key groups poised to resist oppression.

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Peace Studies In a post-lecture interview, O’Neill reinforced Martinez López’s main points.

According to O’Neill, NAFTA made it difficult for farmers to make a living and compete against subsidized business.

“Over three million farmers have been forced to sell their farms,” she says.

The Zapatistas formed cooperatives and declared themselves independent of the Mexican government. The cooperative system serves as an alternative to capitalism. The cooperatives ensure that the Zapatistas earn fair wages for their work. The women weave and sell “artisania” or handcrafts.

“Money goes toward building schools, clinics, women’s health care,” O’Neill says.

“They’ve created their own economies.”

She also pointed out that “the Zapatista organization is completely horizontal.”

Leaders rotate so that everyone has a voice in local issues. Women often hold these leadership positions.

Despite the success of the cooperatives, the Zapatistas continue to face challenges.

O’Neill says “the right to live with dignity” underlies their abuse. “Chiapas is one of the richest states in Mexico (in terms of natural resources), and its people are the poorest,” she says. More specifically, “People lack basic amenities like running water and sewage [disposal].”

Both Martinez López and the Mexican Solidarity Network have significant experience with the Zapatistas. Since 1997, Martinez López has interacted extensively with Zapatistas in Chiapas, Mexico. She works at the Center for Political Analysis and Social and Economic Research (CAPISE) in Chiapas where she studies collective rights of indigenous communities, liberation theology, fair trade, women’s rights and cooperatives, and militarization.

The lecture was part of a nationwide tour that traveled to college campuses and community events in Canada, the East Coast and Midwest.

O’Neill notes the importance of “making our government more accountable for things going on in the world. She urges people to “live daily and live consciously.”

Launches Film Festival

The war in Iraq, terrorism in Peru and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict made their way to Manhattan College’s campus — on the big screen that is — with the advent of the peace studies program’s month-long Human Rights Watch (HRW) Traveling Film Festival. From February 28-March 27, recent films tackling tough human rights issues were viewed in Smith Auditorium. The menu of selections included two documentaries, Occupation: Dreamland and State of Fear, as well as the fictional foreign film Private.

“These are all great films that don’t get as much distribution as they should,” says Dr. Margaret Groarke, director of the peace studies program. Groarke organized the film festival to present important world issues to students in a creative way.

“Occupation Dreamland got a lot of attention from students,” Groarke says.

“It’s a firsthand look at soldiers in Iraq and discusses why they joined the Army and how they were recruited. It’s a very moving film to watch these men talk of their experience in Iraq.”

The film, which came out in 2005, won the Truer than Fiction prize at this year’s Independent Spirit Awards.

State of Fear transports viewers through Peru’s rugged landscape.

The film examines what happens when Peru’s ex-President Alberto Fujimori, the head of a democratically elected government, uses absolute power to defeat the Maoist guerrilla cult Shining Path. Violence and corruption lead to the unraveling of democracy. Groarke says the film emphasizes issues that concern Americans as the United States confronts terrorism. Some important questions raised by the film are “how much power do you give government to fight terror and what does the government do with it,” Groarke says.

The last film of the series, Private, tells the compelling story of a Palestinian family whose home is taken over by the Israeli army because the house is an ideal outpost for military operations.

The Palestinian family members are not terrorists and must try to get along with their new Israeli housemates.

Groarke’s inspiration for the film festival came from the yearly HRW Film Festival that shows dozens of films pertaining to human rights issues and conflict at Lincoln Center in New York City. She chose the three films from the June 2005 roster of selections at the HRW Film Festival. HRW loaned the films to Groarke, so she added “traveling” to the College’s festival name. Groarke also attended seminars held by the NYU faculty resource that presented creative ideas for teaching human rights to students.

The network organizes seminars, scholarin-residencies (i.e. independent research projects) and academic conferences for its 52 member institutions.

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HRW is the largest international human rights organization based in the United States. As a research organization, HRW operates independently of the government. It investigates and reports on human rights issues. In recent years, HRW has conducted investigations in Kosovo and Chechnya. The organization’s annual film festival is meant to educate people about human rights issues.

Groarke followed up the College’s film festival with the screening of another influential film, Battle of Algiers. This time, the event was co-sponsored by the peace studies department and CORE curriculum for the schools of arts and science. The black and white film came out in 1966 and was nominated for three Academy Awards. It traces the bloody Algerian revolution against French occupation. Groarke says that after the movie, “We had a great discussion about violence and nonviolence techniques.”

Groarke looks forward to the second installment of the HRW Traveling Film Festival, scheduled for the spring 2007 semester.

“I hope to give people a chance to talk about these issues — whether it’s a discussion in a classroom or over pizza with friends,” she says.

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Aquinas Lecturer Tackles The environment took center stage at the 2006 Aquinas lecture as professor, author and editor Dr. Roger S. Gottlieb delivered Religion, Politics and Religious Environmentalism: Finding Hope in a Dark Time this past April in the O’Malley Library.

Gottlieb discussed the environment and its close ties to religion and politics. He explained the term ecotheology as a movement that involves the response of religious leaders and followers to environmentalism. Ecotheology is not restricted to one religion; the movement concerns Christians, Jews and Muslims among others.

The government and environmentalists have long warned the public of the dangers of pollution and global warming. Throughout the years, skepticism of science and government has led people to tune out these warnings. For example, Gottlieb points to the use of Zykon B in the gas chambers of concentration camps during World War II as an example of how people have witnessed the use of science as an evil tool. Why should the environment concern us at all?

According to Gottlieb, religion answers this question by tying its response to ethics and morality. In a sense, religion offers a fresh context for people to reevaluate their perception of the environment. For religious followers, morality applies to their everyday lives. Once people make this connection, they can understand how their values apply to environmentalism. If people believe that God created nature, then pollution sullies the essence of God’s creation. Conservation and preservation pay homage to God for the gift of the physical world.

Solidarity Across

“The model of the lecture itself, having a woman from the United States collaborate with an Afghan woman about growing education and awareness is a very

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Gottlieb referred to Pope John Paul II as an example of a religious leader who inspired an interest in the environment among Catholics. The former pope expressed the importance of upholding Catholic values to stop self-destruction and the exploitation of the earth. He proposed limits to corporate ownership and the market.

Gottlieb’s credentials on his lecture’s subject matter are impressive. He teaches philosophy at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. During the past 10 years, Gottlieb has focused on the political, ethical and religious aspects of the environmental crisis and defined the social and normative links between religion and politics. He details his research in This Sacred Earth: Religion, Nature, Environment, which is internationally recognized as the first complete anthology on the topic.

In addition, he has written and edited 11 books and more than 50 articles on a variety of topics that include philosophy, feminism, the Holocaust, environmentalism, religious life and disability. Gottlieb is the editor of six academic book series. He edits book reviews for Social Theory and Practice, a philosophy journal, and he writes a column for Tikkun, a national magazine.

Currently, Gottlieb is working on two upcoming projects: the first complete study of the social and political aspects of religious environmental activism, as well as The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Ecology, a collection of essays by scholars on the link between religion and ecology.

Borders

War and peace, hope and despair, and wealth and poverty are just a few extremes that Melody McNeil and Huma Safi navigated in April for the lecture Rebuilding Afghanistan – Renewing Hope.

On the surface, these two extraordinary women seem as different as night and day; McNeil is an American, and Safi is an Afghan native. In reality, McNeil and Safi share a common mission. Despite the ongoing war in Afghanistan, these women both work with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) to improve education, provide food and create jobs in Afghanistan. CRS and campus ministry, along with the College’s peace studies and international studies programs and Lasallian Collegians, sponsored the lecture.

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powerful symbol,” says Arlene Flaherty, the CRS justice and peace liaison to Catholic colleges and universities. Flaherty, who helped organize the lecture, adds, “They really presented visually the work they’ve done in Afghanistan.”

McNeil and Safi discussed long-term projects in Afghanistan, such as food and education programs. They provided extensive background information about the country and CRS’ role in the relief effort. Safi shared personal details about her life as a devout and proud Muslim woman.

Both speakers also talked about motivating women to resume the more active roles they abandoned when the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan’s government. For instance, CRS’ programs help women to find jobs in food processing and learn how to read and do math.

Poverty is one of the biggest obstacles faced by Afghan people and makes it hard for them to pursue an education.

Statistics compiled by CRS indicate that at least two-thirds of Afghans live on less than $2 per day. CRS builds schools to bridge the knowledge gap.

“Working in solidarity, alongside the people of Afghanistan, we see how much more similar we are than different,” McNeil says, as she explains one of the lecture’s most important messages.

“That we are one human family with the same desire for a safer world filled with dignity, opportunity and a brighter future for our children.”

Before the lecture, students and campus ministry gathered with McNeil and Safi for an informal discussion. Flaherty describes this hour-long afternoon forum as “one of the most wonderful moments”

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Is rock ’n’ roll dead? The legendary musician, author and producer Lenny Kaye set out to answer this question and many others as part of his lecture Three Decades Plus of the Everchanging New York Music Scene in March. The department of fine arts sponsored the event in conjunction with the History of Rock and Roll and Popular Music Journalism classes.

“It was a very enthralling discussion,” says Dr. Mark Pottinger, assistant professor of music and chairperson of the department of fine arts at Manhattan College.

Kaye discussed the pulse of rock ’n’ roll in New York City and traced its history through various music scenes and notable places, such as the famous club CBGB. He also focused on the materials used to transmit music and how the evolution of technology has changed rock ’n’ roll. LPs, cassettes, CDs and now digital media, such as MP3s, are all materials that have impacted the music world.

As hip-hop, Latin and other types of music consume the market, the once cutting-edge genre of rock ’n’ roll seems to have taken a backseat to newer art forms. According to Pottinger, Kaye sees rock ’n’ roll as a music form that is morphing with the help of advanced technology.

“He talked about the great opportunities offered by new technology and the democratizing element that it brings,” Pottinger says.

For instance, Pottinger points to the garage band. He says Kaye emphasized that digital media “lets everyone be an artist” because technology is at each person’s fingertips. “Anyone can put together a CD in their dorm room,” Pottinger says.

of the day. The students brought a selection of food from Safi’s culture, such as stuffed grape leaves, pistachios, cheese and hummus.

“They had a real dialogue,” Flaherty says. “Not just about Huma’s and Melody’s careers but about what motivates them and how students can do what they do.”

Both McNeil and Safi work hands-on to implement CRS programs. McNeil is an agribusiness support program manager.

She’s in charge of an agricultural research project and manages women’s enterprise programs in Afghanistan. Safi is a community-based education project manager. Safi works on early childhood development initiatives in the Afghan provinces of Panjshir, Kapisa and Kabul.

In 1998, CRS began work in Afghanistan and supported local institutions through the International Caritas Network.

Kaye’s versatility as a musician, producer and writer has made him famous in the music world. In the 1970s, he played guitar in the Patti Smith Group and contributed significantly to the origin of punk rock. In 1975, the Patti Smith Group released its famous debut album, Horses. After the group disbanded in the late 1970s, Kaye started his own band, the Lenny Kaye Connection, and moved on to record production. In the 1980s, he co-produced albums for songwriter Suzanne Vega. When the Patti Smith Group staged a comeback in 1996, Kaye returned to the band.

Kaye also has written articles for publications such as Rolling Stone and Village Voice, and co-authored the autobiography of country star Waylon Jennings. In 2005, Random House published Kaye’s book, You Call It Madness, a history of the 1930s music scene that highlights crooners such as Bing Crosby and Russ Columbo.

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Lenny Kaye Rocks Manhattan with Discussion of Music Scene

The History of Rock and Roll and Popular Music Journalism are both courses that were introduced at the College in 2005.

While the History of Rock and Roll is a regular class that introduces students to a variety of factors that influenced the creation of rock ’n’ roll, Popular Music Journalism is a special topics course. It gives students the opportunity to explore the role of a music critic and understand how to evaluate music forms.

The class enables students to listen to a variety of CDs, learn about different musical genres and analyze the use of instruments, production techniques and lyrics. Students write reviews and conduct interviews, among other interesting assignments.

Pottinger says both classes are well liked by students.

By 2002, CRS operated directly and opened offices in Kabul, Kandahar and Herat. It specializes in relief work, rehabilitation and the development of long-term programs.

CRS has three major programs: the agroenterprise support program, water for life, and the community based education project. The agroenterprise support program helps farmers attain higher incomes for their work. In parts of Afghanistan ravaged by droughts, water for life enables people to both manage their water resources and earn a living. The community based education program provides basic education for boys and girls in villages. One example of how CRS creates jobs for people is through cash-for-work programs in which participants are paid to rebuild damaged irrigation canals and roads.

CRS’ relationship with Manhattan College doesn’t end with the Afghanistan lecture.

Flaherty says, “CRS is very aware that both of our institutions share common goals on how to embody Catholic social teaching and how to cultivate a relationship that’s mutually helpful around these goals.”

In July, CRS sent two Manhattan College students to the Catholic conference on AIDS. Upon their return, CRS planned to work with the students and other AIDS advocates on campus to spark discussion and awareness about the disease.

“We want to build communities of solidarity, and these students can do it,” Flaherty says. “Colleges and universities are wonderful venues; these are our future leaders.”

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Visiting Scholar

Discusses Genocide

Two memorable occasions were commemorated on one April night for the Holocaust Resource Center (HRC).

The esteemed scholar, professor and author Dr. Omer Bartov delivered a lecture about war, genocide and the quest for identity to a crowd of students, faculty, local residents and Riverdale’s religious leaders. On the same night, the gathering that packed in Smith Auditorium also celebrated HRC’s 10th anniversary.

Six Manhattan College students performed a candle lighting ceremony to honor the center’s first decade.

In his introductory speech, Dr. Frederick Schweitzer, professor emeritus of history and director of the HRC, described Bartov as a leading authority on World War II and the Holocaust. Schweitzer said: “One may be reminded of Thomas Hobbes saying, ‘Out of our past we make a future,’ but his dictum should be revised to say more accurately, ‘Out of our past as we interpret it, we make a future.’ This is the compelling issue Professor Bartov has explored in his books and many articles.”

Bartov discussed the correlation between the Holocaust and human denial. Decades passed before the Holocaust was viewed as a crucial event. He also spoke of the importance of recognizing and confronting genocides before they start.

Dr. Jeff Horn, associate professor of history and associate director of the HRC, says the lecture “showed how prevalent the attitudes behind Holocaust denial are and how demoralizing the current attitudes are about remembering and preventing further genocides.”

Bartov’s current research focuses on the psychology of intimacy and murder.

More than half the deaths of Jews in World War II took place in their hometowns, often in front of neighbors. In an afternoon

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seminar that preceded his evening lecture, Bartov discussed the impact of the Holocaust on Buczacz and showed slides to accompany his research. At the time of the Holocaust, Buczacz was located in Poland. Today, this town is considered part of Western Ukraine. Buczacz once thrived as a mixed community of Jews, Ukrainians and Poles.

From 1939-45, according to Bartov, the Jewish population of Buczacz was murdered. Bartov’s mother and her parents lived in Buczacz until they departed for Palestine in December of 1935. The family members that stayed behind vanished a few short years later. He delved deeply into the relationships in this one village to understand how people who lived in harmony for so many centuries were moved to horrific violence or total passivity.

Currently, Bartov is the John P. Birkelund distinguished professor of European history and professor of history and German studies at Brown University. He is considered one of the world’s leading authorities on the Holocaust and World War II. Bartov was born in Israel and served in the Yom Kippur War. He attended Tel-Aviv University and eventually earned his doctorate from Oxford University. He has written a number of influential books, such as Germany’s War and the Holocaust: Disputed Histories; Mirrors of Destruction: War, Genocide, and Modern Identity; and The “Jew” in Cinema: From The Golem to Don’t Touch My Holocaust.

“Bartov presented his research in a really interesting way, and he was a very dynamic speaker,” says Liz Harris ’08, a student who attended the lecture.

“It felt great to be part of an audience that extended beyond Manhattan College because the Holocaust is something that needs to be remembered.”

Faculty and Staff Accomplishments Dr. John Ansbro, professor emeritus of philosophy, was selected by the Recognition Board of the International Biographical Centre to receive the Plato Award in July at Oxford University in England.

Dr. Nada Marie Assaf-Anid, associate professor of chemical engineering, recently served on a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Peer Review panel for Research Grants Investigating Environmental and Human Health Effects of Manufactured Nanomaterials.

Assaf-Anid also reviewed several research proposals for the U.S. Department of Defense’s Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program to address the department’s environmental concerns in response to its recent solicitation: “Investigation of CIS-Dichloroethene and Vinyl Chloride Degradation Mechanisms and Environmental Relevance.”

Dr. Walter Baggett, professor of accounting, attended the fifth Global Conference on Business and Economics at New Hall College in England from July 6-8. He presented a paper entitled “The Control Environment: Essential Strategies for Ensuring Ethical Behavior.”

He presented two papers at the Mixed Methods conference at Fitzwilliam College. The first was “A Program To Improve Health Care I.T. Security.”

The second paper, “A Program To Improve Student Academic Integrity,” was a joint effort with his wife Dr. Lillie Shortridge-Baggett, professor of nursing at Pace University. Baggett traveled to Montreal for the Sigma Theta Tau 17th International Research Congress and presented an information technology research study with Christine Malmgreen of the Hudson Valley Hospital in Cortlandt, N.Y., Paula Graham of Phelps Memorial Hospital in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., and Juanita Fernando, a Ph.D. candidate at Monash University in Australia. Finally, he ventured to Washington, D.C., in early August to present “Ethical Behavior by Accounts: Beyond Knowing To Doing the Right Thing” at the 11th Annual Ethics Research Symposium of the American Accounting Association’s Professionalism & Ethics Committee.

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Dr. Joan F. Cammarata, professor of Spanish, has published an article on Cervantes: “The Social Code of DON QUIXOTE: Utopia vs. Meritocracy” in Annali dell’ Universita degli Studi di Napoli “L’Orientale.”

Dr. Joseph Capitani, chair of the chemistry and biochemistry departments, ran the 110th Boston Marathon on April 17.

His time was 3:39:10.

Dr. Richard Carbonaro, assistant professor of environmental engineering, recently authored a paper entitled “Experimental and Modeling Investigation of Metal Release from Metal-Spiked Sediments” in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. He is also co-author of the paper “Dissolution of Amorphous Chromium Hydroxide by Aminocarboxylate Chelating Agents,” which was published in the proceedings of the Environmental Chemistry division at the spring National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Atlanta.

Dr. Anirban De, assistant professor of civil & environmental engineering, presented a paper titled “Modeling of Surface Blast Effects on Underground Structures” (co-authored with Dr. T.F. Zimmie of RPI) at the GeoCongress 2006 conference in Atlanta, organized by the American Society of Civil Engineers. The research report was funded through a Research Opportunity Award from the National Science Foundation.

Dr. Nicholas DeLillo, professor of mathematics and computer science, had his latest book, Data Structures Using Java 5.0, published by Stipes Publishing Co. The book was to be used during the summer session in his Special Topics in Computer Engineering graduate course. DeLillo also has published two papers. “Implementation of Graphs Using java.util, Part One: Fundamental Concepts” was featured in the March 2006 Technical Report of the School of Computer Science and Information Systems, Pace University. Appearing in the April 2006 issue was “Implementation of Graphs Using java.util, Part Two: Weighted Graphs Spanning Trees, and Shortest Paths.”

Dr. Joseph Fahey, professor of religious studies, received a national second-place award in the educational books category from the Catholic Press Association for his book, War and the Christian Conscience.

Dr. Kevin Farley, associate professor of civil & environmental engineering, recently had two chapters published in The Hudson River Estuary, published by Cambridge University Press. The first chapter, “PCBs in the Upper and Tidal Freshwater Hudson River Estuary: The Science Beyond the Dredging Controversy,” was a collaboration by researchers from several universities. The second chapter, “Transport, Fate, and Bioaccumulation of PCBs in the Lower Hudson River,” was co-authored with three of his former research students: James Wands, Darin Damiani and Tom Cooney.

Prof. Robert Kramer, professor of fine arts, recently published an article reviewing the present state of American poetry in the spring issue of Home Planet News.

Dr. Shawn Ladda, chairperson and professor in the department of physical education and human performance, made a presentation entitled “Win-Win Situations: How Collegiate and Scholastic Programs Can Benefit from Working Together” at the National Conference of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance in Salt Lake City, Utah, from April 25-29.

Dr. Christoph Lienert, associate professor in the department of physical education and human performance, also attended the conference in Salt Lake City and made a presentation entitled “Qualitative Assessment of Attitudes.”

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Dr. Claire Nolte, professor and chair of the history department, gave the keynote address at the Seventh Michigan Czech Workshop at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Her talk was entitled From Fraternity to Community: The Role of Voluntary Associations in the Czech National Movement.

Dr. Mark A. Pottinger, assistant professor of music, presented a colloquium at the University of Kentucky, School of Music in April, entitled French Grand Opera and the Art of History.

Dr. Robert Sharp, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, recently published the research paper “Effect of Substrate Concentration on Dual-Species Biofilm Population Densities of Klebsiella Oxytoca and Burkholderia Cepacia in a Porous Media Flow-Through System.” The paper appeared in the January edition of the Wiley Interscience refereed journal Biotechnology and Bioengineering and was co-authored by Manhattan College alum Dr. John Komlos ’97. Sharp also presented the paper “Impacts of Biofilm Development on Reactive Transport in Porous Media Under Variable Flow Regimes” at the International Conference Biofilms II from March 22-25 in Leipzing, Germany. It was co-authored by Jessica Levinson ’06 (M.S.) and Chris Groth ’06. In addition, he presented the paper “Hydraulic and Process Control Approaches for Better Management of Wet Weather Flows” at the 78th annual meeting of the New York Water Environmental Association held at the Marriott Marquis in New York City.

Dr. Gordon Silverman, professor of electrical and computer engineering, was the author of the article “Computers in the Biomedical Laboratory,” which appeared in the Encyclopedia of Medical Devices and Instrumentation. The encyclopedia is a sixvolume set published by Wiley Interscience and edited by Dr. John Webster of the University of Wisconsin. He also was a featured speaker at the Iona College Symposium on Computer Science Series. His lecture was titled All in the Delivery of Health Care.

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In a League of Their Own In 1957, the Manhattan College baseball team played in an NCAA regional game against eventual national runner-up Penn State at the Polo Grounds. The team has had its fair share of ups and downs since then, but the faith that loyal Jasper fans have provided was paid back in 2006, as the Jasper Nine won the program’s first MAAC Championship and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 49 years.

The season began with a glimpse of what was ahead, as the team kicked off the 2006 campaign under first-year head coach Kevin Leighton at No. 15 Tulane. Starter Chris Cody ’06 displayed the composure that would make him the team’s ace, twirling a complete game shutout as Manhattan emerged with a 1-0 upset victory. Despite dropping the next two games, the Jaspers held leads in both contests against the nationally ranked Green Wave.

Despite working three new starters into the lineup, Manhattan began MAAC play with a three-game sweep of Siena.

Cody tossed a shutout in the opener, and Nick Derba ’07 belted a walk-off home run in the finale. The Jaspers finished 17-9 in conference play and earned a program-best No. 2 seed in the MAAC tournament.

The team was rewarded for its stellar regular season with four First Team All-MAAC selections: Cody, Derba, Matt Rizzotti ’08 and John Fitzpatrick ’06.

Cody also was honored as the MAAC Pitcher of the Year.

The MAAC tournament opened with the Jaspers battling the No. 3 seed Rider University Broncs, and Jesse Darcy ’07 turned in his finest performance of the season with a 5-0 shutout. With a spot in the championship round on

Starting and winning pitcher Josh Santerre ’07 (29) leads the charge out of the dugout after the MAAC Championships final out, which gave Manhattan its first MAAC title.

the line, the Le Moyne College Dolphins touched Cody for two early runs. But with the teams locked in a 2-2 eighth-inning tie, Eric Nieto ’08 belted his first career homer. Then Cody took over from there, striking out four of the final six batters to secure the win.

The second MAAC title game appearance in school history for Manhattan turned out to be a rematch with the Dolphins.

This time, however, it was not close.

Josh Santerre ’07 stymied the Le Moyne offense, and the Jaspers rolled to a 7-3 triumph. Nieto was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and was joined on the all-tournament team by Derba, Cody, Fitzpatrick and Dom Lombardi ’07.

After winning the MAAC championship and securing the school’s first NCAA appearance in nearly half a century, the Jaspers became big news throughout New York City. The team was featured in the Journal News, the New York Daily News and the New York Times, as well as on the CBS, NBC, MSG and News 12 networks.

Manhattan was awarded the No. 4 seed in the Lincoln, Neb., regional and was joined by the University of Nebraska, the University of Miami (Florida) and the University of San Francisco.

Facing Nebraska, the regional host and No. 6 national seed, in the opening game at 8,000-seat Haymarket Park, the Jaspers sent Cody to the mound.

With hundreds of Manhattan fans listening to the GoJaspers.com Internet broadcast of the game, Cody watched Rizzotti and Fitzpatrick deliver back-to-back homers in the second inning, staking the left-hander to a 2-0 lead.

Cody allowed just one run en route to his school record ninth complete game

Chris Cody ’06 prepares to deliver a pitch vs. No. 6 Nebraska at the NCAA Regionals, played in Lincoln, Neb. Starting and winning pitcher Cody allowed just one run in a complete game win.

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as the Jaspers shocked the world of college baseball with a 4-1 victory.

The next day, the Jaspers fell to the Miami Hurricanes in a winner’s bracket game before rebounding with a 6-4 win over San Francisco to set up another encounter with the Hurricanes. Nieto’s homer in the fifth provided a 4-3 lead, but the Jaspers could not hold on, and Miami advanced, 10-4.

Despite falling shy of a berth in the Super Regional round, the loss did not spoil the tremendous season. Rizzotti, Nieto, Fitzpatrick and Cody were all named to the All-Region Team by the media, and Cody and Fitzpatrick departed Manhattan as two of the most decorated players in program history.

In June, Cody was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the eighth round of the Major League Baseball draft. At No. 232 overall, it marked the highest a Jasper had been taken since Bob Chlupsa ’67 was taken at No. 105 in 1967 by the St. Louis Cardinals.

Prior to this past season, the 1957 NCAA banner was the only baseball representative hanging in Draddy Gym. It will now hang alongside banners denoting the 2006 MAAC Championship, as well as a banner that reads: 2006 NCAA Regional Finalists.

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Men’s Hoops Has

New Coach In April, Barry Rohrssen was named the 22nd head coach in Manhattan men’s basketball history.

Rohrssen jumped right into his new role by hitting the recruiting trail and putting together a competitive, yet home-game-friendly 2006-07 schedule.

Rohrssen arrives back in his native New York after spending the past seven seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Pittsburgh, Barry Rohrssen including the last two seasons as associate head coach under head coach Jamie Dixon. During the course of the last five seasons at Pittsburgh, Rohrssen was a part of five straight 20-plus win seasons, five straight NCAA appearances, and an overall record of 133-33 (80.1 percent), a number which ranked the Panthers among the nation’s top-five winning percentages during that span. The team was also nearly unbeatable at home, posting a 64-6 all-time record at the four-year old Petersen Events Center (91.4 percent).

“Barry Rohrssen brings years of successful experience to Manhattan College,” says Bob Byrnes, director of athletics.

“People associate Barry with recruiting, but he is much more than a recruiter. I believe Barry certainly knows how to make players better. In short, Barry Rohrssen is a winner that recruits winners and develops winners.”

The Brooklyn, N.Y., native played a vital role in Pittsburgh’s rise to national prominence — the Panthers have won three Big East Regular Season titles and one Big East Tournament title during the past five years — not only through his work on the court but also as the program’s lead recruiter. Many of Rohrssen’s recruits became the foundation for the Panthers’ recent success, as he played a large role in the signings of many Metropolitan

Going the

area prep stars, including Chris Taft (Xaverian), Levance Fields (Xaverian), Carl Krauser (Notre Dame Academy), Ronald Ramon (All Hallows), Keith Benjamin (Mt. Vernon), Mark McCarroll (Christ the King) and Tyrell Biggs (Don Bosco Prep, N.J.). And his recruiting prowess has not gone unnoticed. In a July 2004 article, Dick “Hoops” Weiss of the New York Daily News placed Rohrssen at the top of his list of coaches that are making the biggest recruiting impact in the city and on Long Island.

Not only a tireless recruiter, Rohrssen also has helped develop some of the top talent in the Big East. A Panther received the Big East Most Improved Player Award, including Aaron Gray this past season, four times during his career at Pittsburgh.

Prior to Pittsburgh, Rohrssen spent four seasons (1995-99) at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas as the school’s director of basketball operations. While at UNLV, the program experienced a resurgence as the Runnin’ Rebels captured the 1998 Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship and advanced to postseason play in three of his four years.

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Prior to UNLV, Rohrssen was an assistant basketball coach at his alma mater, St. Francis College (N.Y.), from 1993-95 under head coach Ron Ganulin. He also played for the Terriers from 1981-83 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in business management in 1983.

In addition, Rohrssen has extensive international basketball coaching experience. In both 1991 and 1992, Rohrssen represented the United States at the World Invitational Championships in both Poland and England, respectively.

He also co-coached an American All-Star Team in 1998 that finished 5-0 in Tahiti.

During the summer of 2000, he served as an assistant coach with a U.S. Junior Team that competed at an international tournament in Leon, Spain. Later that summer, Rohrssen helped lead a New York City squad to a gold medal title at the 2000 Empire State Games.

Rohrssen played in the Catholic High School Athletic Association at Xaverian High School in Brooklyn and is a member of the school’s Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame.

Distance Joe Cruz ’07

Three years ago, Joe Cruz ’07 was not even guaranteed a spot on the Manhattan track roster, and Darnell Douglas ’07 was heading to the University of Rhode Island.

In May, both men found themselves competing together in Lawrenceville, N.J., with a MAAC team title on the line. Winning the MAAC Championship has become commonplace for Manhattan men’s track and field during the past decade. Entering this year’s conference meet, the Jaspers had captured eight consecutive MAAC Outdoor Championships. As the Sunday afternoon wore on, the most dominating run the conference has seen in its continued page 20

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Continued from pg. 19 –

Going the Distance

25-year existence was hanging in the balance, but then came the 110 hurdles, sprints and 28 points compliments of Cruz and Douglas.

Three springs ago, right around the time when the Jaspers were solidifying their sixth straight outdoor title, Douglas, who starred at Bethlehem Central High School in the Albany, N.Y., area, had already signed a National Letter of Intent to compete for the University of Rhode Island of the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Cruz, a local product from New York’s LaSalle Academy, did not have that luxury. He was headed to Manhattan College for academics with hopes of making the track team as a walk-on.

“The first time I saw him run, I immediately recognized he had some potential to succeed at this level,” says assistant coach Joe Ryan. “With track athletes though, you sometimes don’t really know exactly what you have until sophomore year.

A lot of times freshman year serves as a learning experience and an adjustment period.”

Cruz’s freshman year was just that, a grueling campaign of conditioning, training and adjusting.

“I worked harder that year than I ever have in my entire life,” Cruz recollects. “I also learned that this is a full-year sport at this level. You can’t take summers off and expect to be even remotely good.”

Once the ensuing winter rolled around, however, Cruz’s hard work began to show up in meets.

“He started to achieve a number of high placings during his sophomore indoor season, and his potential started translating into results,” Ryan says. “His times improved substantially, and he became a lot more consistent.”

By the end of that sophomore year, Cruz was a MAAC Champion in the 110 hurdles as his time of 14.93 seconds edged out Rider’s Randy Nixon by 15 hundredths of a second.

Cruz credits his quick evolution from a walk-on into a conference champ in part to the coaching of Ryan, a long-time Jasper who has guided athletes to success at the NCAA Championships and within the international arena.

While Cruz is quick to give his coach some credit, Ryan points directly to Cruz’s competitive nature.

“Joe has an extremely competitive spirit,” Ryan says.

“By nature, any walk-on athlete competing in Division I has to be very competitive in order to survive. Joe has been one of the most successful walk-ons we’ve had here over the past 10-15 years.”

Walk-on may no longer be the best way to describe Cruz as a Manhattan athlete; the coaching staff granted him an athletic scholarship after his freshman year.

Douglas’ journey to the medal stand at the 2006 MAAC Outdoor Championships was also an unconventional one.

Douglas spent his freshman and sophomore years competing in a different conference and a different state. With the results from his rookie campaign as evidence, the University of Rhode Island appeared to be a great fit for Douglas. By the end of his freshman season, he had earned All-East honors and etched

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his name into the Rhode Island history books as the leadoff man for the Rams’ record-setting 4x400 outdoor relay team, which ran an NCAA Regional qualifying time of 3:09.70 to take second at the 2004 IC4A Championships.

Despite the success, Douglas made the choice to leave Rhode Island for personal matters and return home to the Albany area, where he would be closer to his family. While living in his hometown again, Douglas enrolled in some classes at a local junior college for the fall of 2005.

In hopes of reviving his sprinting career, Douglas remembered hearing about a small D-I school in New York City that his former teammate and fellow member of Bethlehem Central High School’s record-setting 4x400 relay team Doug DeMarco ’07 was currently attending. As Cruz did a couple of years earlier, Douglas contacted the program and expressed his interest.

But Douglas was out of shape, as he had not competed in six months.

“Darnell was not in any kind of competitive shape when he came in here, so we had to spend the indoor season working on that,” Ryan says.

At the MAAC Indoor Championships in mid-February, Douglas managed a third place finish in the 400 meter, but his lack of conditioning became Darnell Douglas ’07 much more evident in his second race of the day. In the 200 meter, Douglas finished a dismal 17th. Although the sprinter was making progress, his inability to complete a successful 200/400 double showed that he was not there yet.

“At times, I needed to remind him to take a step back for a minute,” Ryan says.

As it did for Cruz, the rigorous training program and good use of Ryan’s tutelage would begin to pay off for Douglas, and what better place for a pay-off than Las Vegas. Competing at the UNLV Invite on April Fools’ Day, Douglas’ performance was no joke. He ran his best 200 time as a Jasper to finish second at the meet.

Although Douglas left Vegas on good terms, he had yet to hit the jackpot. At the MAAC Championships on May 7, however, it all came to fruition. With uncertainty about a ninth straight team title looming, the Jaspers needed someone to take over the meet.

Douglas proved to be that person as his titles in the 200 and 400 sprints earned him the MAAC Most Outstanding Male Performer of the Meet for running events award.

“I thought he was ready to have a good day, and he did,” Ryan says. “It’s one thing to expect a good day, and then actually to go out and do it is another.”

As Ryan’s comment implies, the expected doesn’t always occur, but as Cruz and Douglas have shown us, the unexpected sometimes does.

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Women’s Lacrosse The women’s lacrosse team advanced to the MAAC Tournament for the third straight season, falling to eventual champion Le Moyne in the semifinals. But that loss did not detract from a successful season. The Lady Jaspers ended their season with a 7-9 record, 4-3 in MAAC play, but placed four players on All-MAAC Teams. Junior Jenny Carman received First Team All-MAAC honors after scoring 31 goals and adding 15 assists for 46 points, good for second on the team. Fellow junior Ashley Devins was one of three Lady Jaspers named Second Team All-MAAC. The goalkeeper placed second in the MAAC with an 11.35 GAA while stopping 176 shots on the year. Sophomore Alicia Psillos paced Manhattan with 51 points, as her 33 goals and 18 assists placed her second on the team in both categories. Senior Molly Pheterson was the final All-MAAC selection, as she led the team with 35 goals. The senior completed her Manhattan career ranked fourth on the college’s career goals list with 108 and fifth on the career points list with 122. In addition, junior Brenna Tinari broke the school record for assists in a game, handing out seven helpers in the Lady Jaspers’ 19-8 win over Central Connecticut State University.

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Men’s Lacrosse Manhattan men’s lacrosse just missed out on its third consecutive MAAC Tournament appearance, but it certainly was not because of the way the team closed out the season. With a 12-7 victory over Virginia Military Institute in the season finale, the Jaspers completed a three-game winning streak and a perfect 2006 home record. Manhattan played its best lacrosse of the season down the stretch.

The Jaspers started the streak when junior Brian Murray found the back of the net with under three minutes remaining in the contest to propel Manhattan to an 8-7 win at Siena. Murray scored several key goals for Manhattan throughout the season as his 17 tallies in 2006 led the team. The junior attackman, who joined head coach Tim McIntee in representing Team Ireland at the World Lacrosse Games this summer, also led the Jaspers in assists (15) and points (32). Right under Murray in the goal-scoring column was senior Greg Lewis’ 16 tallies. Lewis, who finished with 22 points, ends his Manhattan career as the seventh most prolific goal scorer in program history with 60.

Lewis’ classmate senior Pat Farrelly was the heart of the Jasper defense in 2006. Farrelly, a 2006 Preseason All-MAAC selection, may not have racked up staggering numbers, but he almost always completed the task of locking up the opponents’ top attackmen. Emerging as a defensive force alongside Farrelly was sophomore Corey Dolik, who was a groundball-grabbing machine as he led the team with 59.

Behind Farrelly and Dolik and between the pipes was freshman goalie John Geagan. He took the league by storm, earning MAAC Rookie of the Week Honors on four different occasions. In the final NCAA Statistical Rankings, the net-minder sits atop the nation in save percentage (.653) and seventh in goals against average (6.78). As a team, Manhattan finished 24th in the country in scoring defense, surrendering only 8.46 goals per game. It was an especially tough task to score against the Jaspers at Gaelic Park. In Manhattan’s three home contests of the 2006 campaign, all of which Geagan started in net, opponents managed only 5.33 goals per game.

Patrick Farrelly ’06

Geagan was not the only freshman to contribute to the Green and White. Freshmen attackmen Mark Labelle and Angelo Keith Marrano combined for 16 goals, and each player netted a hat trick of his own at one point during the year.

Women’s Tennis With the emergence of two freshmen into the second and third singles slots, Manhattan women’s tennis continued its growth as a program and showed promise for future seasons. Freshmen Lindsey Keeler and Casey Conklin stepped up to make an immediate impact behind junior Jen Fowler, who proved hard to beat all season long at top singles.

Both Fowler and Keeler boasted individual five-match winning streaks during a two-week period spanning March and April. Fowler also put together another impressive run throughout conference play. After dropping her first MAAC match of the season against Marist, Fowler proceeded to knock off five of the next six conference opponents she faced in the top singles slot. The junior closed out the MAAC Regular Season winning her final three matches.

During Fowler’s personal three-match winning streak, the team picked up two key MAAC victories.

In the first of the two wins, a 4-3 triumph over Loyola, Conklin sealed the deal for the Lady Jaspers on her birthday. After straight-set victories by Fowler and Keeler, Conklin finished off Loyola with the third singles triumph over Meaghan McKenna, 6-2, 6-4. Earlier in the day, Conklin teamed up with Fowler at first doubles for an 8-4 victory that helped Manhattan to the doubles point. Later on, Manhattan won its second straight MAAC match for the first time since 2004 by downing St. Peter’s College 5-2.

Jennifer Fowler ’07

On the season, Manhattan finished 6-12, 2-5 in MAAC play. manhattan.edu

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Men’s Tennis One of the most impressive runs in MAAC athletics during the past few years was kept alive when Manhattan men’s tennis posted a 4-2 win over Marist in the 2006 MAAC Tournament Finals. The win marked Manhattan’s 30 straight triumphs over a MAAC opponent and sealed the Jaspers’ third straight MAAC Championship and NCAA appearances.

More impressively was the way the team accomplished the feat, as it rolled over almost every MAAC opponent. During the MAAC Regular Season, Manhattan dropped only five points combined during the course of the schedule. A 6-1 win over Fairfield and 5-2 victories over Niagara and Marist were the only occasions on which a MAAC team avoided being shutout by Manhattan.

In the first year of his collegiate career, freshman Bogdan Borta looked like a comfortable veteran.

En route to earning MAAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player Honors, Borta was a perfect 10-0 against the conference’s top singles player. Juniors Zoltan Bus and Diego Alvarado and sophomore Peter Czink also accomplished the same feat as their rookie teammate in MAAC play.

In addition to its unprecedented MAAC dominance, the Jaspers picked up some impressive nonconference victories during the spring, including a 7-0 trouncing of Big East member Rutgers in a tune-up for the conference tournament. Manhattan also knocked off Florida Atlantic, St. John’s and Buffalo on the season.

Bogdan Borta ’09

Softball The Lady Jaspers’ softball team posted an impressive 26 wins in 2006, with a 26-24 overall record. The 26 wins are the most since the 1994 team, and Manhattan won more then it lost for the first time since 1995.

Senior Kiera Fox set the all-time home run record with 30 round-trippers in just three years in Riverdale. Fox also ranks second on the single season RBI list, driving in 55 to pace the team in 2006. In fact, she became the first Lady Jasper since Danielle Yearick ’94 in 1991 to collect 50 hits and 50 RBIs in the same season. One final note on Fox reveals that she graduated ranked fifth on the all-time RBI list and also became a member of the Lady Jaspers’ 100 Hit Club.

She was joined on that list by junior Liz Strein, who became the 15th member of the Manhattan Softball 100 Hit Club this season. As the leadoff batter, Strein’s combination of speed and strength contributed to her team leading 61 hits, a total not reached since the 1993 season.

Senior pitcher Jill Medea has written her name all over the Manhattan record books, as she graduated as the all-time leader in appearances, complete games, innings pitched and strikeouts. Her strikeout total more than doubled the previous record, while also producing the sixth best career ERA. Medea was not the only Lady Jasper to excel in the circle, as junior Liz Pennino set a new program standard for saves in a season, a number that ranked her among the nation’s elite.

Kiera Fox ’06

Another significant offensive force for the Lady Jaspers was rookie Danielle Just. She joined Fox and Strein as the first Manhattan trio to each reach the 50-hit plateau since the 1993 season, and all three were rewarded as All-MAAC performers, as Just was a First Team All-MAAC pick, and Fox and Strein were named to the Second Team. Junior Stefanie Gozdziewski has been outstanding all season in the two spot and led the MAAC and the team in sacrifice bunts, a number that put her among the national leaders. These individual offensive accomplishments carried over to team totals, as the Lady Jaspers set a new program best in sacrifice hits, while posting the second best RBI total, the third best totals in runs scored, hits, total bases and walks, and also producing the fourth best single-season team batting average.

Men’s Golf The golf team completed its season at the MAAC Championships, placing eighth overall but closing out the three-day tournament with its best team round in recent memory. In the third and final round, the Jaspers put up a team score of 310, with all four Manhattan scorers carding rounds under 80. In the final round, junior George Calvi (75) and sophomores James Marchewka (77), Sean Oroho (79) and Chris Vieau (79) all posted rounds under 80, the first time since the 2002 MAAC Championships that Manhattan had four players in the 70s in one round. The Jaspers’ Round 3 team total of 310 was their best team score in a single round since the 2003 MAAC Championships. On the season, the team posted a team record of 10-7.

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Thomas Mauriello

Joins College Advancement

It might not be a true homecoming for Thomas Mauriello, but it’s close enough.

an extremely talented group of individuals within the advancement department,” he adds.

Mauriello, who grew up in Woodlawn, N.Y., has been appointed the new vice president of advancement at Manhattan College. He joins the College from New York Institute of Technology (NYIT), where he served as vice president and chief development officer.

Mauriello brings more than two decades of experience in fundraising and education to Manhattan College. He re-engineered the development and operations at NYIT, engaging a base of 60,000 alumni to dramatically increase giving while expanding alumni chapters to include international locations. He also was responsible for corporate and government outreach.

“Having grown up in Woodlawn, joining the staff of Manhattan College feels like a return home,” Mauriello says. “Throughout my career, I have been in contact with many Jaspers, and I have constantly been impressed by their knowledge and professional dedication. To be given the chance to work toward the future development of this Bronx institution is a challenge I welcome with great pride and enthusiasm.”

In his new role, Mauriello will oversee the College’s advancement office, which also includes the alumni relations and college relations departments. The overall goal of college advancement is to strengthen the College’s education mission through outreach and support.

“I am extremely excited about joining the staff of Manhattan College. I will have the opportunity to work closely with the College’s highly respected administration, in addition to leading

The James K. O’Neill ’90

A proven and effective fundraiser, Mauriello is familiar with all the activities and special events conducted by advancement, and he has built relationships with community leaders, government officials, corporate executives and media representatives.

Prior to joining NYIT in 2003, Mauriello was the vice president for institutional advancement at Mercy College. The Rye Brook, N.Y., resident has also held positions at St. Luke’s LifeWorks, White Plains Hospital, Xavier High School and Fordham University.

advancement

New VP

Mauriello earned his bachelor’s degree in English and his master’s in administration and supervision from Fordham University.

He serves on the board of several local academic institutions and is a founding member of the New York Archdiocese Task Force for Development in Secondary Education.

Scholarship

After his unexpected death in 2000, the family of James K. O’Neill ’90 established a scholarship in his honor. The James K. O’Neill ’90 Scholarship is awarded annually to an engineering student. The first recipient, sophomore Kacey Herkin, is majoring in civil engineering.

The decision to establish a scholarship grew out of the knowledge that James had a deep appreciation for the role Manhattan played in his short life. James and his older brother, Patrick ’88, grew up playing on the campus where their late uncle, Brother David Delahanty, former dean of the school of education, taught for so many years.

He earned two degrees in civil engineering at Manhattan, a B.A. in 1990 and an M.S. in 1994. James was perfectly suited to engineering; he loved hands-on technology and exacting attention to detail. At 17, he rebuilt his first car, a complete restoration of a 1965 Mustang.

Upon becoming engaged, James completed a gut renovation of a Riverdale house as a wedding gift to his beloved wife, Kathleen.

James attended Catholic schools in the New York area, where he also developed an interest in liturgical music. He organized a folk music group and led music at Mass that he had chosen and arranged. One of James’ favorite gigs was their annual show at a home for people with cerebral palsy.

Thanks for Your Support!

Family and friends miss James most of all on Christmas Eve when he hand delivered unique Christmas cards throughout the tristate area. “This tradition brings such joy to my friends,” he wrote. “I find this a peaceful way to welcome Christmas and make myself a better friend.”

James K. O’Neill ’90 with his parents, Margaret and Thomas.

James is honored every fall with the annual JKO Memorial Golf Classic held at the Hamlet Wind Watch Golf and Country Club in Hauppauge, N.Y. This Long Island golf outing raises funds for the James K. O’Neill ’90 Scholarship, which became fully endowed in 2002. During the past five years, it has raised more than $100,000 for the scholarship fund. This year’s event took place on Monday, Sept. 18. For more information about the scholarship or the annual golf outing in honor of James, visit www.jkogolf.org.

Yes, I would like information about: Bequests

Establishing a scholarship

Charitable gift annuities

Other

Charitable remainder trusts

For more information about leaving a bequest or other planned giving opportunities, please call the office of planned giving at (718) 862-7976.

Name ______________________________________________________

When you make a bequest to Manhattan College, you enter into a covenant with your alma mater to benefit future generations of Jaspers.

Address ____________________________________________________

Your legacy can ensure the College’s traditional mission to offer a Lasallian Catholic education.

Year _______________________________________________________

City, State, Zip ______________________________________________ Phone ______________________________________________________ E-mail _____________________________________________________

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Page 24

Message from the President of the

Alumni Society

I am pleased to report that our alumni chapter revitalization program is proceeding very well. Our goal is to make the National Alumni Society a vehicle that will involve more of our graduates and make the College more relevant to them.

During the spring and summer, we had a number of meetings with our chapters. The Bergen County chapter met at the College, and a spirited discussion followed. We are in the process of formulating a new event.

Thanks to the efforts of Brother William Batt ’79, our New York state alumni coordinator, meetings were held in Albany in July directed by Dan Kelleher ’77 and his committee. In August, our Syracuse chapter met under the direction of chairman Dan Fitzgerald ’65. Positive discussions were held and future events will be announced — watch for them in the McKIT and our alumni Web site. In addition, Buffalo chair Tim Lee ’98 will have a meeting in early 2007 with the Buffalo and Rochester alumni.

On July 17 at the Jasper Cup golf outing, Michael McNamara ’60, regional and chapter chairman, addressed a sweltering (the power was off) group, and plans were made for a reception at the MAAC basketball tournament to be held in Bridgeport in March. Earlier events are also under consideration.

We will continue our efforts to organize other areas, including Los Angeles, New England and Philadelphia.

My sincere thanks to all of the alumni that contributed to our efforts — we do need more participation. If any graduate can contribute, please e-mail me at nacalumni@manhattan.edu or Joe Dillon, director of alumni relations, at joe.dillon@manhattan.edu.

In June, our 2006 Athletic Hall of Fame inductees were selected. Congratulations from all of us to Gerard Houlihan ’79 (crew); Eric (Ricky) Marsh ’77 (basketball); John Ogle ’51 (track & field); Wallace Pina ’53 (track); Peter Runge ’90 (basketball); Kathy Solano, coach (women’s basketball); Gina Somma ’96 (basketball); and Joseph (Jo Jo) Walters ’79 (basketball). In addition, the 1956-1957 and the 1994-1995 men’s basketball teams were selected for the Hall of Fame special awards. Many thanks to Hall of Fame President George Skau ’59, newly elected Vice President Lisa Toscano ’79, and the inductees’ sponsors for their diligence and hard work. The induction ceremony will be held on Saturday, Dec. 2, in Smith Auditorium. Teammates, family and friends are encouraged to attend. More details can be found in the current McKIT or on the alumni Web page: www.manhattan.edu/alumni_friends.

We had a great summer: numerous successful golf outings and our “racing specials” in Saratoga and Monmouth. The days were hot, but we all had a good time. September ended with our annual men’s retreat at the Passionist Spiritual Center in Riverdale. As always, it was a rewarding experience for all of the attendees.

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Jim Smith ’60, NAC President

Our fall lineup of activities began with alumni support of the College’s annual Career Fair held in Draddy Gymnasium.

The Oct. 11 career fair was again very well directed by Ken Kelly ’54 and his committee. Our alumnae Pampered Chef reception in October was a great success. Our Alumnae Club has really progressed, and if any of our alumnae are interested in participating, please e-mail Michelle Colamartino ’98 at michelle.colamartino@manhattan.edu. Michelle was a founding member and has done a great job.

November events included the fall networking reception on Nov. 15 at UBS Financial Services in midtown Manhattan. This event was sponsored by the NYC Club, Latino Alumni Club (MCLAC) and Black Alumni Club (MCBAC).

Other new initiatives will include alumni participation in selected student-sponsored events, lectures, service activities, etc. We also will be inviting alumni members to participate as mentors and moderators for specific student clubs and activities.

By doing this, we hope to bring our alumni into closer touch with the College and our student body. Mentor volunteers are needed.

We are interested in having alumni events in additional geographic areas, and we need regional club leaders to chair these events. Please contact Joe Dillon or myself.

I sincerely thank all of the alumni who worked so hard to make our chapter initiative a success. The volunteers who make up the National Alumni Council and all of its affiliates enjoy what they are doing. Our common goal is to give back something to Manhattan College for all that is has done for us. To further build on what is an active, successful alumni program, we need more people who feel as we do. Enjoy the rest of the year!

Jim Smith ’60 NAC President

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Ten To Be Inducted into the

Athletic Hall of Fame

The Manhattan Athletic Hall of Fame will welcome eight outstanding athletes and two men’s basketball teams for their record-setting seasons. The inductees are Gerard Houlihan ’79, crew; Eric (Ricky) Marsh ’77, basketball; John Ogle ’51, track and field; Wallace Pina ’53, track; Peter Runge ’90, basketball; Kathy Solano, basketball coach; Gina Somma ’96, basketball; Joseph (Jo Jo) Walters ’79, basketball; and the men’s basketball teams of 1956-57 and 1994-95.

The annual Hall of Fame dinner will be held on Saturday, Dec. 2 in Smith Auditorium. Tickets are $75. Reservations are necessary. For the convenience of guests, Mass (Sunday liturgy) will be celebrated in the Chapel of De La Salle and His Brothers at 4 p.m.

Gerard J. Houlihan ’79 was known for his spirit as much as his strength inside the crew shell. He led the Jaspers to some of their strongest finishes in crew throughout his four years and continued to win in competitions outside of the College.

Houlihan inspired his team with the courage to continue competition even after a fire destroyed their boathouse. The following spring, he had many victories, including the prestigious Grimaldi Cup Regatta and the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Rowing Championships (MIRA). His victories as a competitor for the New York Athletic Conference (NYAC) contributed to five consecutive U.S. National Team titles, nearly half of the NYAC victories in its 90-year history.

Eric (Ricky) Marsh ’77 transferred to Manhattan College from the University of Nebraska. Jack Powers, his basketball coach, called him “one of the nation’s best point guards” after Marsh helped lead the team out of a losing streak to take eight of the next nine games. One of the sweetest victories came against archrival Fordham with Marsh adding 22 points to the 82-49 win. In just two years, he scored 829 points and became a 1978 NBA draft pick for the Golden State Warriors. He currently holds the record for games a Jasper has played in the NBA (60 games and 851 minutes). Some of his College athletic honors are being named to the All-Metropolitan University Division All-Star Team and three-time ECAC All-Star selection.

John Ogle ’51 was a major contributor to the Jaspers, regaining their track and field powerhouse reputation after World War II. He placed in hammer, shot put (35-pound weight) and discus.

Ogle won 35 medals while he wore the Kelly green: 17 first place, 12 second place, four third place and one fourth and fifth place apiece. He set a meet record for each of three years.

In May 1951, he threw the discus 146 feet 9 3/4 inches to set a meet record at the Mets Outdoor competition. The same year, his career best in discus came in a dual meet at Villanova with a 150-feet-1-inch throw. His best 16-pound shot put went 52 feet 9 inches, and his best 35-pound throw was 57 feet 1/4 inch.

Upon his graduation, all the Ogle bests were also Jasper bests.

Wallace M. Pina ’53 started his Jasper running career undefeated in both freshmen indoor (600 yards) and outdoor (440 yards) competitions. He continued his winning streak throughout his college career and provided the leadoff leg for the one-mile relay team, which was undefeated for three years. Known for his individual and team victories, Pina scored and medaled in every

team meet during his four years at the College. In 1953, he was part of two relay teams that set school records, including the time of 3:12 in Los Angeles, the second fastest time in the nation.

After graduation, he continued to make athletics a part of his life. He coached New Rochelle High School to numerous victories.

Pina also established the department of physical education and the athletic program at Hostos Community College.

Peter Runge ’90 was key to coach Steve Lappas’ turnaround program in men’s basketball. The 6-foot-8-inch power forward brought strength and quiet leadership to the court. He started in 95 of 96 games. Runge was known for his stamina and often played at least 35 minutes per game and put up the numbers to match. By the end of his career, he was the No. 2 scorer on the all-time Jasper list with 1,622 points and 894 boards. In 2006, his numbers still hold up; he ranks fifth place on the scorers list and fourth place for rebounds. Team co-captain Runge is recognized outside of the Manhattan community as a member of the MAAC All-Rookie Team, as well as a two-time All-Met and coSIDA Academic All-American — just to name a few.

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Kathy Solano transferred victory from her coaching career at C.W. Post, where she won the Division II Empire State Championship, to Draddy Gymnasium. As a Jasper coach for nine years, she brought two MAAC Championships (1987 and 1990) to Riverdale and earned the No. 2 spot on the winning percentage list with .533. Known for working both ends of the court, Solano’s teams ranked in the Top 20 for Division I Team Defense. Her players earned many honors, such as 12 on the MAAC All-Regular Season Teams, one All-American and MAAC Player of the Year and nine on the MAAC All-Tournament Teams.

Solano applied her own court experience to coaching with 705 career points and a New York State All-Tournament Team under her belt. From 1978-79, she also played on the New Jersey Gems.

Gina Somma ’96 took leadership to the court right from the beginning. In her freshman year, she led the Lady Jaspers with 73 offensive rebounds and finished second in rebounds (6.3) and blocked shots (21). She earned MAAC Rookie of the Week honors twice. Somma brought the MAAC Tournament Championship back to Draddy as a senior. That season, she was the nation’s third-leading scorer (25.6 points per game) and named MAAC Player of the Week eight times. She set single-season records at the College and scored 768 points, leading the Lady Jaspers in points, rebounds, blocks, steals, field goals, free throws and minutes played. Honored throughout her career, Somma played on the FILA Big Apple Classic All-Tournament Team, the Big Apple Classic All-Tournament Team and the PNC Bank Hawk Classic All-Tournament Team. She ended her career with 1,838 points and 819 rebounds.

Joseph (Jo Jo) Walters ’79 played two years in the Kelly green and was one of 19 Jaspers to be drafted into the NBA (Washington Bullets). Upon graduation, he ranked sixth in scoring for an individual season (22.7), first for a two-year player and fourth in career scoring (20.4). A senior All-American candidate, Walters was known as “Jumping Jo Jo.” Co-captain during his senior year, Walters accrued many honors, such as the All-Met Team both years and First Team N.J.-N.Y. Basketball 7. He was continued on page 26

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Alumnae Group Offers

New Activities Looking for new ways to reunite with former classmates? The alumni office has enhanced its selection of activities for female graduates with the Manhattan Alumnae Club. Alumnae from the classes of 1978-2006 come together to network, renew old friendships and share unique experiences. Some of the group’s successful activities have included a spa day and chef party.

“The formation of the alumnae group is recognition of the fact that Manhattan College is committed to developing an active and involved program,” says Michelle Colamartino ’98, senior associate director for enrollment management operations and chairperson of the club.

“The goal is to cultivate a substantial group of women starting with the class of 1978 that will reconnect with the College and in doing so will further enhance the Lasallian tradition at Manhattan College.”

Young Alumni Club The Young Alumni Club (YAC) is bigger and stronger than ever! It is comprised of all alumni that have graduated in the past 10 years. During the summer, the club ran a trip to Yankee Stadium to watch the Yanks take on the Cleveland Indians. The tickets for this event sold out in less than a week. The Jaspers met before the game at the Dugout Pub and shared some wonderful memories and laughs of their times at Manhattan. Young alumni were represented from the classes of 1998 through 2006. Most recently, YAC held a social event in midtown Manhattan. More than 200 young alumni attended and showed how this is one of our most active and thriving clubs.

Alumni of all ages are welcome to attend these events.

Visit www.manhattan.edu/alumni_friends/youngalumni.php for all young alumni events.

Colamartino reports that alumnae who have participated in recent events are enthusiastic about the group, and they are formulating ideas for upcoming events. She invites alumnae who are interested in joining to e-mail her at michelle.colamartino@manhattan.edu.

Continued from pg. 25 –

Athletic Hall of Fame

selected as “Top Juco transfer in the East” by Eastern Basketball Magazine. In 1979, Walters established the Clemson IPTAY Tournament Scoring Record and the ECAC field goal record against Columbia (18). He earned Jasper bragging rights at Madison Square Garden when he was named MVP for the Fordham versus Manhattan game.

The Men’s Basketball Team of 1956-57 was coached by Hall of Famer Ken Norton. It is the first New York Metropolitan Team to win the ECAC Holiday Festival in Madison Square Garden, earning a United Press ranking of 10th and an Associated Press ranking of 13th. This heralded team features six Hall of Famers: Gerry Paulson ’57, Angelo Lombardo ’57, Jack Powers ’58, Dick Wilbur ’58, Don McGorty ’59 and Mickey Burkoski ’59. Other team members were Thomas (Gary) Cavanagh ’57, John Clegg ’58, Robert Joseph ’58, Ed Malloy ’58, Daniel Martinsen ’57, Robert Murphy ’57 and John O’Connor ’61.

The 1956 Holiday Festival indicates the strength of a team that could beat Niagara, Ohio State and Notre Dame to take the first tournament in Jasper history.

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The Men’s Basketball Team of 1994-95 holds the most victories in Jasper basketball history with a record of 26-5. The only MAAC team to ever receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, the Jaspers did not disappoint; they defeated the University of Oklahoma (national rank of 16) in the first round.

Under the coaching leadership of Fran Fraschilla, the Jaspers posted numbers that competed with the best in the country.

These numbers are 25 wins (4th); .862 winning percentage (4th); .383 field goal defense percentage (6th); and 62 points per game for scoring defense (6th). Team members were Luther (Ted) Ellis ’96, Keaton Hyman ’96, Jamal Marshall ’95, Jason Hoover ’97, Heshimu Evans, Kareem Brown ’95, Tarik Thacker ’97, Travis Lyons ’98, Jeronimo Bucero ’97, Justin Phoenix ’96, Kevin O’Keeffe ’95, Steve McDowell ’98 and Jarid Stinson.

Go to www.manhattan.edu/alumni_friends/HOF.php for more information.

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The annual Jasper Open Golf Tournament was held on Monday, May 1 at the Westchester Hills Golf Club in White Plains, N.Y. More than 120 golfers enjoyed the greens followed by a dinner reception with Brother President Thomas Scanlan as guest speaker. Thanks to strong corporate support and sponsorship from many alumni, the event was also a financial success with more than $50,000 raised for the general fund, which provides support for the College’s student athletes.

The Jasper Open is the only fundraising event sponsored by the Alumni Society. All other alumni events, including the annual Reunion Weekend, are held for the benefit of participating alumni and their guests and are priced to break even financially.

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Jasper Open 2006

Fore! Jaspers and friends headed up to White Plains in May to battle it out on the greens for one of the biggest golfing events of the year – the Jasper Open.

New Features & Free Gifts: Jasper Alumni Online Community The Alumni Online Community has continued to grow during the past year. There are more than 3,500 alumni registered, from the class of 1939 through 2006. There have been more than 2,500 online searches, and 750 contacts have been made. As positive as these statistics are, we are looking to double these totals by the end of this year. The online community’s success is based on the number of alumni that are registered and complete their personal profiles with up-to-date information. The more registered users, the more contacts that can be made with fellow alumni.

We are adding new features to the online community. You will be able to post photo galleries, from pictures of your wedding day to the birth of your future Jasper to your family vacations. You will soon have the capability to search the alumni events calendar and to register directly from that site. You will be able to participate in alumni polls and to join select groups, where you can keep in touch with alums in your field or those with similar interests.

As these features become available, we will be launching a new initiative. Alumni T-shirts will be sent to all new registrants, as well as current registrants that visit the site to update their individual pages.

When you recommend other alumni to register, you also will receive a gift from the alumni relations office. So register for the online community, get others to do the same, and keep the online community growing!

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Alumnotes ’31

Albert Commette and his wife, Anita (Nikki), who reside in Port St. Lucie, Fla., recently celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary with their five children, 15 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren.

’56

As part of his consulting business, Paul S. Berger is the owner’s representative for a 320-room Marriott Renaissance hotel, convention and media center, and garage in Glendale, Ariz.…Eugene W. Sweeney, M.D., is a dermatologist in private practice and an associate professor at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. In 2001, he was rated the top dermatologist in the N.Y. metro area by New York magazine. Sweeney is retired from the Navy where he was captain for two tours of active duty. He served the Destroyer Force and was a doctor for the Marines.

’57 The Construction Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers recently bestowed the prestigious title of Master Builder on Joe Van Etten.

He has more than 45 years of experience in construction engineering. After receiving his Bachelor of Civil Engineering, he began his career with the George F. Driscoll Company and later founded Gazetten Contracting, Inc. in 1981. This past summer, Van Etten was honored as founder of the College’s Construction Industry Golf Open at its ninth annual tournament in August.

Jaspers come in threes; the Cundari brothers at Joseph’s graduation in 1936.

From left to right: Dominic F. Cundari ’34, Joseph A. Cundari ’36 and James P. Cundari ’40.

’58 Charles J. Spiegel Jr. opened law offices in Yonkers, N.Y.…Joseph F. Ludford plans to retire by year’s end. He resides in Solomons, Md., on the Chesapeake Bay.

Seven decades later, the brothers are together again. From left to right: Dominic, Joseph and James.

’59 Michael A. Higgins has celebrated 15 years with URS Corporation, where he is principal tunnel engineer (structures) in the Gaithersburg, Md., office.

’61 The ACE (Architects, Contractors and Engineers) Mentor Program, founded by structural engineer and consultant Dr. Charles H. Thornton, flourishes in 77 cities across the nation. ’53 William F. Harrington, executive committee chairman of the White Plains, N.Y., law firm Bleakley Platt & Schmidt, was awarded the 2006 Charles Carroll Award by the Guild of Catholic Lawyers in February 2006. ’54 Eugene C. Radko retired after 11 years as principal of an elementary school in Yonkers, N.Y. His career in education spanned 40 years…Kenneth Santucci and his wife, Colette, renewed their wedding vows at the end of evening mass at St. Bartholomew Catholic Church in Long Beach, Calif., on June 3 to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. Their 16 children, 10 sons and six daughters ranging in age from 26-49, were in attendance, along with 21 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

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’62 Following careers in science and information technology, Dr. James McKie and his wife of 41 years, Barbara, continue to pursue second careers as a sculptor (Jim) and art quilter (Barb).…After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Brian M. Sweeney and his wife, Donna, moved to Santa Cruz, Calif. Donna is vice chancellor of university relations at the University of California-Santa Cruz. Brian continues consulting and investment banking. ’63 Dr. Peter J. Savino was appointed to the Genaera Corporation’s board of directors.…New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly was honored at the 70th annual CYO Club of Champions dinner at the Waldorf=Astoria in Manhattan. Thomas J. Moran ’74, president and chief executive officer of Mutual of America, presided as dinner chairman.…Martin J. Shea’s play In the Tunnel premiered at the American

Globe Theatre on 46th Street in New York City on April 27, 2006.…John Kelly was ordained a permanent deacon in the Archdiocese of New York on June 11, 2005. He recently retired as director of licensing for Entergy Corporation.…Wayne McGrath was appointed director of human resources at Purchase College.…Henry Petroski, the Aleksandar S. Vesic professor of civil engineering and professor of history at Duke University, was elected to the American Philosophical Society. He was also awarded the 2006 Washington Award, one of the most prestigious engineering honors in the country, for his accomplishments in making engineering theory and practice understandable to the general public.

’64 Dr. John J. Yanovitch has celebrated 30 years as a full-time faculty member in the philosophy department at Molloy College. He is the recipient of faculty recognition awards from Molloy College’s class of 2005, as well as its alumni association. Last year, Yanovitch was inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa fraternity at Molloy College.

Yanovitch’s daughter, Melissa Anne, is a freshman majoring in psychology at Mount Holyoke College, for which she received a scholarship to attend.

Ralph R. Nobile ’52 was honored with the James D. Hopkins Lifetime Achievement Award from the Westchester County Bar Association. The award recognizes individuals who lead distinguished careers in public service and enhance the practice of law with their dedication and contributions to the community.

Bronx-born Nobile earned his bachelor’s degree from Manhattan College and attended law school at Fordham University. He was president of his law school class, A.M. division.

In 1960, Nobile formed the firm Nobile, Magarian & DiSalvo, LLP in Bronxville, N.Y., where he has practiced law for 50 years. The firm specializes in areas such as real estate, construction, zoning and personal injury law.

Nobile has served as president of organizations such as the Manhattan College Alumni Club of Westchester County, the Yonkers Lawyers Association and the Westchester County Bar Association.

As a tireless advocate for the public good, Nobile has reached out to the community as a teacher, radio host and fundraiser. He taught law at Seton College in Yonkers, N.Y. For nearly a decade, he hosted the radio show the Westchester Lawyer Speaks on WVOX and WRTN. The Hudson Valley Bank enlisted Nobile to join its business development committee and foundation, which organizes golf tournaments to raise money for the poor.

On the lighter side, Nobile enjoys music and is bandleader of the Dixie Cats, a Dixieland band of the Westchester County Bar Association. Nobile and his wife, Christine, reside in Greenwich, Conn. They have two sons: Richard Lawrence and Vincent Ralph.

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’65 Last year, former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani was named partner as he established the New York branch of the Houston-based law firm now called Bracewell & Giuliani.…John R. Crews was appointed interim dean of graduate studies at the College of St. Elizabeth in the Convent Station section of Morris Township, N.J.…Eugene V. Roth is enjoying retirement in Ossining, N.Y., after teaching for more than 30 years at the High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York City. ’66 John E. Gribbin has been chair of the engineering division at Essex County College in Newark, N.J., since 2001. This fall, he returns to the faculty and will work on the third edition of his text on Hydraulics and Hydrology.

Association’s SAFETEA-LU Reauthorization Task Force.…Joseph M. Makowski is system engineering manager for the Dawn interplanetary space craft that will be launched in 2007 toward the asteroids Vesta and Ceres.

’74 Gabriele F. D’Alleva welcomed her first grandchild, Christian, on March 31, 2006. ’75 Joe DelVecchio was voted “Athletic Director of the Year” in Section I by 80 schools in this group.

’67 Sister Regina S. McAuley has been a board member of Habitat for Humanity in Suffolk County, N.Y., for 15 years.

’76 The Hartsdale Rotary Club honored Dr. Josephine Moffett, a school superintendent in Greenburgh, N.Y., with the Paul Harris Fellowship Award for her outstanding contributions to the community.…Dr. William Tramontano, educator and researcher of biological sciences, was named acting provost and vice president of academic affairs at Lehman College.…Thomas W. Herber is director of advertising finance for TV Guide.

’68 Sister Regina Bechtle co-edited Called and Chosen: Toward a Spirituality for Lay Leaders and the four-volume series Elizabeth Boyley Seton: Collected Writings.…James A. Rispoli was awarded the 2006 Civil Government Award by the American Society of Civil Engineers for his contributions to the engineering profession through public service.

’77 Dr. Stephen Rouhana, a Ford Motor Company engineer who has played a key role in pioneering advanced safety technologies, was elected as a fellow of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).…Robert W. Melia was named assistant superintendent of schools for the 10,000-student Shenendehowa Central School District, north of Albany, N.Y.

’70 Ken Hernandez, dean of workforce development at Houston Community College, was recalled to active duty in Afghanistan.

’78 Gilbert Falasco is county engineer for Currituck County, N.C.…Dr. Joe Webb conducted a printing industry economic outlook webinar sponsored

by Kodak in March.

’71 A decorated colonel, John Keenan retired in July 2003, after an illustrious career in the Marine Corps. ’72

Gerald P. Byrne retired from the U.S. Army Corps after 33 years of service. He was a chief in the construction division. Byrne joined FAI Construction Consultants in February 2006. His youngest son, Steven, is a freshman at Manhattan College this fall.…Robert J. Dennison was named chairman of the N.Y. State Board of Parole.…Army National Guard Brig. Gen. Paul C. Genereux commands the 42nd Infantry / Rainbow Division as the unit starts a new mission.

’73 John C. Taylor’s son Brian Taylor was ordained as a priest on May 13, 2006. During his seminary studies, Brian was an active member of campus ministry at Manhattan College.…Brian M. Kelleher, Esq., retired from the law department of AT&T after 26 years at the company. He is now a solo practitioner specializing in commercial contracts.…Michael P. Gaertner followed his longtime dream and moved to Maui, Hawaii, after 27 years in account management at Grey Worldwide in New York. He is currently sales manager for Prudential Maui Realtors and was awarded Prudential’s Chairman’s Circle Award for 2005.…Paul Yarossi was named co-chair of the American Road & Transportation Builders

’82 Marjorie W. Fein, a principal at an elementary school in New York City for nine years, retired in 2003 after working for more than 30 years as an educator.…The Somers Education Foundation named Michael and Fausta McDermott to its Hall of Fame for their years of dedication as parents in supporting the Somers, N.Y., town and school district.…Two of Donna (McGrail) Zenz and Jonathan Zenz’s children, Eileen and Matthew, have made Spackenkill, N.Y., history. The siblings are the only two students from the same family to graduate as valedictorians from Spackenkill High School. Matthew graduated as valedictorian in 2006 and attends the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. Eileen graduated as valedictorian in 2004 and attends Colgate University.…ECI Telecom appointed Tony Scarfo as executive vice president and general manager of its data networking division, formerly Laurel Networks. ’83 Nancy W. Vetere retired from the U.S. Air Force in 2004. She is currently a pilot for Sprint Nextel flight operations in Dulles, Va. ’84 Assurant, Inc. appointed John Egan vice president of investor relations. ’86 Patrick J. Brennan lives in Las Vegas, Nev., and is the assistant controller of PCR for Perini Building Company, Inc.-Western U.S. Division. Perini was recently awarded the largest, privately funded contract in U.S. history for Project City Center, a $7 billion, 66-acre mixed-use resort.…Pablo V. Lopez recently became an associate at Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers, a leading foundation engineering firm in New York City. ’87

’80 Michael Kaleda was appointed executive vice president of The McKissack Group, a mid-size construction management company based in New York City. The firm specializes in managing construction in an operating railroad environment.…Former federal prosecutor Robert M. Hanna joined Gibbons, Del Deo, Dolan, Griffinger & Vecchione as director and partner of the criminal defense department for the firm’s New York and New Jersey offices. ’81 Anthony J. Enea is president-elect of the Westchester County Bar Association.…Bill Meara’s new book Contra Cross – Insurgency and Tyranny in Central America 1979-1989 was published by the Naval Institute Press and is available on Amazon.com.…Michael T. Slavin teaches computer science at Pembroke Academy in New Hampshire. He resides in Durham, N.H., with his wife, Maura, and his four girls: Eileen, Marina, Siobhán and Danielle.…James Markey has joined Duane Morris LLP as a partner in its intellectual property group in New York.…Captain Timothy J. Fallon retired from the U.S. Air Force after 22 1/2 years of service. He currently resides in California and is employed by Northrop Grumman Corporation as a Global Hawk instructor pilot.

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Edward Betsch resides in Floral Park, N.Y.

’88 J. Scott Gombar directs the construction division, which he started, at Calvin, Giordano & Associates in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Ken Craig ’89, John Roe ’56 and Bill Knowles ’75 attended the Order of Malta, the American Association’s annual international pilgrimage to Lourdes, France. They are standing by the Gave River, which winds through town and passes the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes.

e-mail your news to alumnotes@manhattan.edu

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SEBCON / HEOP Students Carlos Rodriguez ’73 has come a long way as an assistant attorney general in Rochester, N.Y. He remembers himself as one of maybe five Hispanic students at Manhattan College in the late 1960s.

Rodriguez was recruited through the College’s South East Bronx Consortium (SEBCON), a program that he says opened a world of possibilities to him.

Blaze Career Paths

that it was hard to fit in at first. He was part of a small group of minority students, and he commuted to campus for classes, which made it difficult to assimilate fully into college life. Rodriguez’s determination paid off, and before long, he joined a fraternity, tutored students and worked 15 hours a week in the alumni office.

By the time he graduated, Monagas had well above a 3.0 in his accounting major. Since then, he has started insurance agencies in New York and Florida and purchased several pieces of real estate. He believes he would have lacked the business savvy to succeed without his degree.

After graduation, he went to law school at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Rodriguez completed his J.D. in 1976 and has been an assistant attorney general for 25 years.

Monagas says the SEBCON program has helped his family. He learned the importance of a college degree for himself and his children.

Rodriguez is not the only one who benefited from SEBCON and HEOP. José Monagas ’73 also was offered a slot in the program. Unlike Rodriguez, Monagas had been out of high school for a year and was working for the post office when he heard about SEBCON from a friend.

“At the time, I had no idea what college was all about,” Monagas says.

Carlos Rodriguez ’73

“At the time, attending a four-year college like Manhattan College seemed like a dream, not a reality,” Rodriguez says. “I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t have that opportunity.”

In 1968, Brother Aquinas Thomas ’32, professor of psychology, education and forensic science at the College, established SEBCON, which later became the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP). SEBCON gave students from low-income families the chance to attend college by providing educational scholarships and book stipends. The SEBCON program required its students to attend math and English tutoring sessions and summer school prior to enrollment at the College.

He was the first person in his family to attain a college degree.

Monagas recalls the challenges he faced at Manhattan College. At one point, he wanted to quit, but Br. Aquinas convinced him to complete his degree.

“I listened to him, and I stayed,” Monagas says. “He acted like my father and told me I couldn’t leave. I’m glad his encouragement was so strong.”

An economics major, Rodriguez made the dean’s list right away. By sophomore year, he no longer required SEBCON assistance. In place, he earned a full academic scholarship. Rodriguez admits José Monagas ’73

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HEOP students at Manhattan College attend a six-week summer program prior to their freshman year. The summer program consists of two courses for credit in English and psychology, and two noncredit courses in math and philosophy.

Faculty members and peer counselors are present to tutor and help students in the summer. The HEOP staff meets with students once a week, so everyone gets to know each other.

For the next four years of college, the HEOP department continues to provide support staff for students. The College, as well as state and federal aid sources, covers most of a HEOP student’s tuition.

Students also receive stipends for books, lunch and transportation during the year.

However, HEOP students are required to contribute financially to their college bill and often take out loans and find employment to do so.

Marilyn Carter, director of academic support services, works with admissions to recruit students for Manhattan College’s HEOP program at college fairs, information sessions and through networking initiatives.

Rodriguez was still in high school when he started the tutoring. “It was almost like an experiment,” he says.

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Since Rodriguez and Monagas graduated, colleges have become more diversified. In the 1970s, HEOP picked up where SEBCON left off. HEOP was established as a state-funded program at independent colleges and universities in New York. It provides students facing academic and economic obstacles the opportunity to attend college.

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Continued from pg. 29 – “We’ve been very successful,” Carter says. “We have a 95 percent graduation rate.”

Carter understands the importance of familiarizing students with the campus and college life.

“We work to acclimate our students to the campus by introducing them to different people that they need to know during the year,” Carter says. “They are out there more in the community from the Quadrangle, to student activities, to student government.”

Haydee Acosta ’06 is a recent HEOP graduate who immersed herself in campus activities while at the College.

She double majored in sociology and communications. Acosta, a recruiter for Malcolm Pirnie, an environmental engineering company, was part of the mentor program and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE).

Acosta’s membership in SHPE led her to a job. Through SHPE, Acosta found out about upcoming engineering and leadership conferences that she could attend to meet career professionals and learn more about technical industries and trends.

“It helped me build networking skills,” she says, in recalling the conference where she made contact with a representative from Malcolm Pirnie.

At Malcolm Pirnie, Acosta leads efforts to recruit students.

“For any recruiting efforts, I’m the backbone behind it,” she says.

Acosta’s experience in the HEOP program gave her a head start in academics. The summer before her freshman year, she attended summer school and received credit for A’s in math and English. She lived on campus that summer and continued to do so for the rest of her time at the College.

“Whenever I came into the HEOP office, the staff always had time for me,” Acosta says. “They were always there to guide me in the right direction.”

Down the line, Acosta envisions starting a mentor program for HEOP students.

“It’s not just about going to school,” she says. “It’s about getting involved in activities and building a connection with the College community.”

Alumnotes

’89 Alexander Tergis is chief of the public services bureau in the city of Stamford, Conn., office of operations.…MaryAnn McCarra-Fitzpatrick’s poetry will appear in a forthcoming issue of MoonLit. She also sells secondhand books on Half.com, moderates a Yahoo message board called MountVernonNewYorkParents and blogs her poetry at http://mccarra-poetry.blogspot.com.

’90 Thomas McNulty, P.E., joined the environmental consulting firm Metcalf & Eddy as vice president. ’91 The family of Joseph F. Holland commemorated a street co-naming in his name on Sept. 9. He was vice president of Carr Futures and died five years ago in the 9/11 World Trade Center attack.…Suzanne Murphy Sullivan was elected to the board of trustees for the Village of Rockville Centre, N.Y., on June 20, 2006.…Paul J. Tobin was appointed executive director of the United Spinal Association.

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’92 Evie E. Tsolomytis teaches elementary school in the Bronx, N.Y. She has been a teacher for 10 years.…Professor Marco Castaldi was honored by the Columbia University Engineering School with the Alumni Association 2006 Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award.…Michael J. Squarzini was promoted to vice president at Thornton-Tomasetti. ’93 Timothy P. Spillane was named chief risk officer for Monster Worldwide, Inc.…Robert E. Steinberg, known to radio listeners as Bob Stei, recently began hosting weekends at rock station WQXA-FM (105.7 The “X”) that serves the Harrisburg-York-Lancaster, Pa., area. ’94 Kristina Grasso is an associate at Maine & Asmus, an intellectual property law firm in Nashua, N.H. ’95 Stephen Hadjiyane, P.E., was named a stockholder at Gannett Fleming, an international planning, design, and construction management firm.…James Reilly joined the law firm Riker Danzig Scherer Hyland & Perretti LLP as an associate in its Trenton, N.J., office. ’98 Timothy Lee is director of admissions at Hilbert College in Hamburg, N.Y.

Haydee Acosta ’06

’00 Timothy Giroux is chief information officer at The Sports Club Company in Los Angeles, Calif. ’01 Michelle Yu’s new novel China Dolls will be published by St. Martin’s Press in February 2007. The novel is co-authored by Blossom Kan and tells the story of three attractive, successful friends trying to navigate the tightrope between their Asian heritage and their modern day existence in New York City.

e-mail your news to alumnotes@manhattan.edu

MC_2006_Fall_21

’05 Robert Costello was selected as a Newton fellow and will complete the secondary mathematics education program at Teachers College to become a math teacher this fall. manhattan.edu

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Bringing the Church

to Migrant Workers

Brother Christopher Posch ’84 is a regular at the racetrack.

He’s not there to gamble or root for his favorite jockey but to provide pastoral services to the Hispanic migrant workers who live and work there.

For the past eight years, Br. Chris and fellow Franciscans from St. Paul’s Church in Wilmington, Del., have been delivering Mass on site once a week at the Delaware Park racetrack for a community of about 700 migrant workers. The workers, who originate from various Latin American countries, sometimes spend years away as laborers at the racetrack, so they can provide for their families back home.

“Half of [the workers] have an annual routine with one employer and some of them are fortunate to go back home to their country of origin, but the other half are employed by someone indefinitely,” says Br. Chris. “Most of the migrant workers are men. The men are single or married, but their wives and children are down south.”

It can be a very lonely place, adds Br. Chris, for the hundreds of workers who operate on a full, seven-day work week.

Br. Chris’ work at the park is rooted in prayer, liturgy and sacraments, but he is quick to point out the social aspect as well. Since most of the workers at Delaware Park don’t know each other and rarely have breaks to socialize, Br. Chris has hosted socials of food and beverages after Mass on Wednesday nights to get people mingling and talking. Sometimes, they will also get together to celebrate independence days of various Latin American countries. Another part of the ministry is educational. Br. Chris has invited guest speakers to the park to discuss immigration, address substance abuse or speak on other issues and topics.

His goal is to one day provide the people of the Delaware Park racetrack a full-time pastoral agent.

As the director of Hispanic ministry at St. Paul’s Church, Br. Chris has been helping parishes and different diocesan to serve the new wave of Hispanic immigrants that have been arriving in the past 10 to 20 years. During the summer months, he spends most of his time reaching out to the community and visiting trailer parks where a lot of migrant workers reside or apartment complexes known for housing a large population of Hispanic immigrants. These are his opportunities to visit with people who haven’t yet discovered the church or have lost ties with the church.

“They’re looking for faith and spirituality, for growth and community,” says Br. Chris, who serves as a recruiter of sorts, as well as a representative to the Hispanic people in the area.

One of his main priorities is to establish Spanish Mass at various parishes to attract more Hispanics to the church. Other goals include providing various workshops in community building, leadership training, religious education and outreach programs geared to the Hispanic community.

“I do it all,” he says with a laugh. “I offer the whole kit and caboodle.”

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Brother Christopher Posch ’84

It has been a successful journey so far. In 1998, when he joined St. Paul’s as Hispanic ministry director, only seven parishes provided Mass in Spanish. Now there are 17 that offer Spanish Mass, he says.

Br. Chris admits he didn’t think priesthood was for him.

In high school, he thought about pursuing the priesthood but still was unsure. It became clearer to him as an undergraduate at Manhattan College.

“A great thing about Manhattan College was the ability to be involved in campus ministry and community outreach service,” says Br. Chris, who was the recipient of the Joseph J. Gunn Alumni Medal in 1984. “It gave me the safe space to hear God’s call. It got me on track so to speak.”

For Br. Chris, the road to the Franciscans would still take another few years.

Immediately after graduation, Br. Chris, who double majored in computer information systems and religious studies — a combination he still finds amusing — worked in computers for a company in Long Island. Although he still wanted to incorporate service and the church into his life, he admits that at the time, he also wanted to earn money. It wasn’t until he began volunteering at a homeless shelter in Long Island and started teaching high school that he began the conversation with the Franciscans and the formation process. He made his solemn profession in 1994 and was later ordained a priest in 1995.

When he isn’t out in the field visiting with the Hispanic community or in the office researching census data and creating strategic plans for area parishes, Br. Chris can be found on the pages of The Dialog, the newspaper of record for the Diocese of Wilmington, Del. He pens a column on Hispanic life and faith that regularly appears in the paper’s opinion page.

Br. Chris wears many hats, indeed, and despite his busy schedule, he is definitely doing what he set out to do — helping people. Manhattan College gave him the chance to really begin thinking about a career in service and the space to determine his true calling. The Christian programs, professors and staff didn’t just teach the facts, he says, but “called me to something more.”

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Judge Brings

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Lasallian Values

Fourteen years have passed since Julio E. Gonzalez Jr. ’92 graduated from Manhattan College, but his experiences at the College continue to inspire and guide him in daily life.

Gonzalez, an accomplished lawyer who was appointed to the Broward County Court by Governor Jeb Bush in March, made history as the first Dominican-American judge to helm a Florida state courthouse.

“It shows that the American dream is still alive and then some,” Gonzalez says.

As a judge, he believes every person that walks into his courthouse should be treated with respect and dignity.

He learned this lesson and many others from his education at Manhattan College.

Gonzalez says the biggest misconception about judges is that they can do whatever they want. He sets the record straight and says judges are bound by oath to follow and interpret the law.

“You’re dealing with the lives of human beings,” Gonzalez says. “This is where my Christian Brothers values kick in.

The law may be clear, but the consequences are never black and white. Being a judge has taught me a lot of humility.”

Gonzalez fondly remembers his mentors from the College. “There were so many people who were so good to me there,” he says.

The summer before his freshman year of college, Gonzalez enrolled in summer school as part of the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP). One of his teachers was Dr. Rentaro Hashimoto, chairperson and associate professor of philosophy.

“Dr. Hashimoto was my first mentor,” Gonzalez says.

“He always had his door open for me.”

Gonzalez also sought guidance from his mentors in the HEOP program. “These people were wonderful people who I could go to, to talk about things,” he says.

His mentors at the College taught him to be fair and respectful.

“They really instilled in me to treat everyone the way I’d like to be treated,” Gonzalez says. “And that stuck with me all my life. I hope to do the same on the bench.”

to the Bench Although he was an education major planning to be a high school teacher, Gonzalez says he got the “political bug” when he became president of HEOP student body and the Hispanic representative for the Multicultural Student Union, now known as the Minority Student Union (MSU). Another one of his mentors, the late Brother James Collins, former director of development and professor of anthropology, encouraged him to apply to law school.

Julio E. Gonzalez Jr. ’92

Gonzalez went to Syracuse University and completed his J.D. in 1995. “Law school brought out an interest in litigation,” he says. His first job out of law school was at the Kings County district attorney’s office in Brooklyn, N.Y. He moved to Florida at the end of 1999 to work for the Miami-Dade County state attorney’s office. Gonzalez had been to Florida before when he was a Jasper on the College’s baseball team. At baseball spring training practice, nine years before his move to the state, Gonzalez says he “fell in love with Florida.”

The transition from attorney to judge was unplanned, Gonzalez says. At the time, he was little known in legal circles. He was also considered very young; he’s only 36 years old.

A circuit court judge, Elijah Williams, suggested that he apply for a judgeship. Gonzalez describes the application process as lengthy and tedious. For the application, he even collected recommendations from adversaries that he faced in trials.

The whole process only took him eight months. Gonzalez says it usually takes people five to 10 years.

According to Gonzalez, 70 lawyers applied for the one judgeship.

The judicial nominating commission, a committee of nine lawyers appointed by Jeb Bush, narrowed the applicants down to a couple of dozen, and then to just six, Gonzalez says.

“I’ve never worked harder,” Gonzalez says. “It’s the greatest job I’ve ever had.”

Advanced Degrees 1968

Vincent J. Petrosino obtained a Ph.D. in education from Temple University on May 18, 2006.

1974

Lt. Col. Joe Bassi is a Ph.D. candidate in the history of science at UC Santa Barbara. He was recently awarded a Guggenheim pre-doctoral fellowship at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., to pursue his studies.

1982

1985

alumnotes

11/13/06

Kevin T. Ryan obtained an M.B.A. from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.

1990

Michael J. Walls graduated from the LL.M. tax program at Georgetown University Law Center on May 21, 2006.

Richard Maher recently earned a master’s degree in real estate finance from NYU.

2000

Jody (Reeves) Steele obtained her master’s degree in public relations and organizational communications from Wayne State University in May 2004.

Dr. Nancy Grey (Anne Marie Gallagher) earned a master’s degree in distance education from the University of Maryland, Graduate School of Technology and Management.

manhattan.edu

e-mail your news to alumnotes@manhattan.edu

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Former Manhattan College Former Manhattan College men’s basketball coach Jack Powers ’58 was honored in June as the 25th recipient of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) / National Invitation Tournament (NIT) Athletics Director Award.

Jack Powers ’58

Powers, who also spent nine years as the College’s athletic director, received the award during the 41st annual convention of the NACDA in New Orleans. He has been the executive director of the NIT since 1988.

Inducted into Manhattan College’s Hall of Fame in 1988, Powers accumulated 1,139 career points and was captain of the men’s basketball team during the 1957-58 season. He was a 1958 draft pick of the Syracuse Nationals of the National Basketball Association.

Powers has been a fixture on the New York City college basketball scene for nearly 40 years. After a brief stint as a high school basketball coach, he returned to Riverdale in 1968 and proceeded to guide the Jaspers to a 142-114 record during the next 10 seasons.

Athletic Director Honored

During Powers’ tenure, Manhattan won the 1973 Executive Councils of the Eastern Athletic Conference (ECAC) Holiday Festival and made four appearances in the NIT despite lacking a true home, as the Jaspers played their home games at Madison Square Garden.

After leaving the court, he took over as Manhattan’s director of athletics in 1980. While in the position, he also served on the NIT Committee and became executive director in 1988 following the retirement of legendary Peter Carlesimo.

“For the past 19 years as the executive director of the NIT, I have had the privilege to present this prestigious award to many giants in the field of athletics administration,” Powers said. “This year, I am honored to join the ranks of these successful administrators who have made a positive impact on many student-athletes.”

He joins fellow former Manhattan College basketball coach and athletic director Ken Norton in receiving the award. Norton, who held the athletic director position for 12 years, was honored in 1987.

Campbell is one of 175 new fellows of the AAAS, a prestigious international society composed of leading scientists, scholars, artists, business people and public leaders. The AAAS includes 4,000 American fellows and 600 foreign honorary members, including more than 170 Nobel laureates and 50 Pulitzer Prize winners.

Campbell serves as the chair and head of the physiology and biophysics department at the University of Iowa’s Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine.

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The NIT has undergone many changes under Powers’ leadership. College basketball’s oldest postseason event (it was first played in 1938), the NIT recently revised a 2002 change that saw the event expand from 32 to 40 schools.

In 2005, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) purchased the NIT tournament from MIBA for $56.5 million to settle an antitrust lawsuit.

In March, the field of schools for the postseason NIT was for the first time chosen by an independent at-large committee, a change that came about when the NIT, L.L.C., took over the tournament reigns. Powers is joined on that committee by several former college coaches, including Basketball Hall of Fame members Dean Smith and C.M. Newton.

Powers has served as a member of the ECAC and the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes in America. He served

Muscular Dystrophy Expert Earns Dr. Kevin Campbell ’73, a renowned muscular dystrophy expert and researcher at the University of Iowa, was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) in April.

as Manhattan’s representative to the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Association (MIBA), which was the sponsoring body of the NIT.

Prestigious Honor

Internationally recognized for his muscular dystrophy research, Campbell has worked to unravel the exact genetic and molecular causes in many forms of muscular dystrophy while discovering new forms of the devastating disease. His findings already have helped to improve the diagnosis of muscular dystrophy and may eventually lead to new treatments.

An author of more than 300 scientific research articles, Campbell also has been a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator since 1989 and is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. He has received numerous honors for his research, including a Scientific Achievement Award from the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Campbell received a bachelor’s degree in physics from Manhattan College and a doctoral degree in biophysics from the University of Rochester. Prior to joining the faculty at Iowa in 1981, he was a postdoctoral fellow in the Banting and Best Department of Medical Research at the University of Toronto.

Also named this year as fellows to the AAAS are former Presidents George H.W. Bush and William Jefferson Clinton, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and Nobel Prize-winning biochemist and Rockefeller University President Sir Paul Nurse.

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Marriages

In Memoriam

Sandra Abbott & Paul S. Berger, 9/23/06

2000

Jody Reeves & Charles Steele, 10/29/05

Births 1966

Filia & Robert Griffith son William Michael Andrew, 6/21/06

Edward D. Love, Esq., 8/24/04 Daniel F. McAuliffe, 11/2/05 Anthony H. Petrazzolo, 5/1/06

1932

George P. Koeck, 12/5/03 Edward P. Ruddy, 12/18/93

1933

Maurice V. Donovan, 3/19/06

1935

George Fitzgibbons, 3/5/06 William A. Kozumplik, 1/16/01 Thomas G. Russell, 10/25/05

1936

Richard W. Costello, 11/28/05 George McInerney, 2/1/83 John J. McQuade, 10/30/05 Thomas R. Turner, 2/26/94

1937

Richard J. Goggin, 11/10/05 Frank J. Tuttle, 2/8/06

1938

James P. Denvir, 7/1/95 Dominic Troisi, 9/10/01

1939

Laura & Tommy Reynolds Jr. son Liam Thomas, 5/1/06

Msgr. Joseph G. Conrad, 3/6/06 Louis M. Esposito, 3/10/04 John P. Rowan, 1/5/03 Maurice D. Stack, 11/3/05

1940

Joy Cappelli & Philip Spiegel ’93 daughter Hope Jayna, 10/25/05

Arthur F. Byrnes, Ph.D., 12/15/05 Edward W. Tooher, 8/25/03

1941

Robert E. Crist, 5/22/03 John J. O’Connor, 5/21/06 Rev. Msgr. Joseph A. O’Connor, 2/10/06 Jerome P. Parnell, 10/13/03

1985

Sandy (O’Connor) Akstulewicz & Jim Akstulewicz son Connor Shanahan

1989

Karie & Joseph Bianchini daughters Ava Marie and Gina Mary, 5/12/06

1990

Jennifer & Patrick Farley daughter Julia, 10/05

1991

Adrienne & Howard Brewer son Anthony Francis, 3/30/06

1992

1930

Laura Harkins Farley & John Farley ’91 daughter Cora Niamh, 9/05

1994

1995

1996 1997

Katie (Appel) Scandalios & Chris Scandalios daughter Corinne Mary, 4/1/06

1942

Michele Macdonald & David Macdonald son Joseph Luke, 8/5/05

Jerome J. Bollo, 11/4/05 Thomas Fitzpatrick, 8/12/06 Joseph P. McCarthy, 5/18/06

1943

John J. Duggan, 4/24/06 Frank A. Kiesecker, 2/27/06

Julie (Shanahan) Brown and Andrew Brown son Liam Michael, 7/9/06

1944

Frank F. Secchia, 3/24/06

1946

Edward Casey, 6/20/03 Jeremiah J. Fitton, 1/27/03

Maureen (Tallon) McCartney & Dennis McCartney son Liam, 2/25/06

1947

George F. Fosket, 11/20/05 Charles A. Reutemann, 8/24/06 John E. Santry, 11/16/00

Kristin (Momrow) Darby daughter Cassidy Elise, 3/17/06

1948

William J. Burns Jr., 10/30/05 Francis A. Cahill, 7/12/99 Christopher N. Carson, 2/6/06 Albert J. Coakley Jr., 9/9/06 Francis R. Jules, 5/31/06 Frederick Katzenberger, 1/1/84 Sister Marie Klunder, 5/19/06 Sister Alice M. O’Connor, 11/18/05 Karl J. Schedler, 10/9/04 Robert J. Schneider, 4/7/95

Lucia (Ferreira) Trivino & Christopher Trivino ’98 daughter Olivia Simone Cini & Herry Alex daughter Abigail Rachel, 4/1/06

1998

Alina Cisowska-Layden & William Layden daughter Emily, 4/11/06

2000

Katherine (Foster) Strang & Nathan Strang son William Thomas, 1/10/06

1949

Robert A. Fennell, 7/7/06 Francis Fuerst, 3/12/06 Roger Lamour, 3/3/06 Charles S. Maneri, 1/25/06 Sister John William Wanstall, 6/13/06

1950

John F. Bates, 6/9/05 Alfonse Cornetta, 6/4/06 David B. Hobbs, 3/31/06 John Linhardt, 2/13/06 Frank M. McGuire, 3/23/06 Joseph F. O’Neill, 12/14/05 John J. Pierce, 11/30/05 Louis J. Regnier, 3/16/06 Joseph C. Sullivan, 6/26/06

1951

Patrick J. Corrigan, 11/5/05 Joseph F. Depace, 6/20/05 Robert G. Freese, 5/17/06 James M. Kennelly Jr., 1/18/06 George Kiessling, 8/17/06 Albert C. Markert Jr., 5/21/06 Thomas J. McCambley, 3/26/06 John M. Morena, 12/13/04 Henry A. Nieminski, 3/19/06 Edward T. Veale, 4/13/06

1952

John F. Hennelly, 8/24/06 George W. Martin, 3/9/06 Raymond A. Rollinson, 12/31/05

1953

John J. Giblin, 3/6/06 George J. Ketterer Jr., 4/23/06 Alfred G. Kohlman, 4/20/06 Frank M. Maheno, 3/30/05 John P. Tobin, 5/8/06

1954

Ronald E. DeMilia, 1/13/06 Robert E. Diflo, 4/4/06 Joseph F. Giacalone, 4/4/05 Leonard J. Kuskowski, 6/10/06 Sister Josephine Raymond, 3/23/06 Angelo J. Scarchilli, 8/30/02 George H. Will, 3/16/02

1955

Harold F. Bailey, 5/5/06 Martin J. Costello, 9/15/97 Richard J. Zodda, 3/9/04

1956

Sister Noel Dwyer, 5/20/06

1957

Frank H. Carson Jr., 12/17/03 Bartholomew E. Codd, 5/1/06 Francis Joseph Coyle, 3/26/06

1958

John J. Filardi, 10/7/04 Alfred T. Kinzig, 11/18/05 John R. Schauerman, 12/14/98 Mathias V. Tiffert, 11/5/00

1959

John K. Kilroy, 1/23/06 Vincent J. Lamphier, 11/7/05 James K. Picciano, 3/12/06

1960

David T. Gavan, 1/16/06 Daniel F. Guthrie, 3/28/06 Brother Daniel O’Brien, F.S.C., 12/19/05

1961

Robert Hendrickson, 11/11/05 Howard A. McManus Jr., 9/28/03 James J. Murray, 6/18/06

e-mail your news to alumnotes@manhattan.edu

1956

alumnotes

Manhattan College records with sorrow the deaths of the following alumni:

continued on page 36

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Dr. Wolodymyr Stojko, professor emeritus of history and former director of Eastern European studies Wolodymyr Stojko, professor emeritus of history and former director of Eastern European studies at Manhattan College, died on May 4, 2006. He was 79.

A dedicated professor beloved by faculty and students alike, Stojko’s teaching career at Manhattan College spanned 30 years. He accepted a position at the College in 1963 as history instructor.

He was later promoted to professor and director and expanded his department’s course offerings in Eastern European and Russian history. He taught classes such as Russia in Asia, The Cold War and After, and Russian Intellectual History.

Dr. Frederick Schweitzer, professor emeritus of history and director of the Holocaust Resource Center, remembers Stojko as a wonderful colleague and a popular professor who was admired by his students.

“He taught us, me at least, that our grasp of European history was defective and incomplete unless it included the vast areas east of the Oder River,” Schweitzer says. “This was ratified for that generation of students by his leadership as the director of Eastern European studies.” The Oder is the second longest river in Poland. It starts in the Czech Republic and flows through Poland, forming the northern boundary between Germany and Poland.

Visiting assistant professor Joseph Castora ’68 is one such student who took Stojko’s Russian history course and later became his co-worker in the College’s history department.

Continued from pg. 35 –

Stojko often taught four distinct classes per term to give students a variety of course choices. He also commuted nearly two hours to work on public transportation from his home in New Brunswick, N.J. “He had an extraordinary workload from semester to semester,” says George Kirsch, professor of history, who remembers his former colleague as “bright, dedicated and someone who went out of his way to make me feel comfortable.”

In addition to his work at Manhattan College, Stojko edited the Ukrainian Quarterly for more than 10 years. This publication is the only English language academic journal with a focus on Ukraine.

Stojko was also president of the Ukrainian Free University Foundation. Originated in Prague and now based in Munich, the Ukrainian Free University was created as an underground institution when Ukraine was colonized. The foundation supports the university and also provides grants for native Ukrainian academicians to publish their work.

In the United States, Stojko settled in New York City. He attended City College of New York, where he earned his B.A. and later attended NYU for his Ph.D. He went on to accept an instructor position at Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Roksolana Stojko-Lozynskyj fondly remembers her father as an idealist, a romantic by the 19th century definition, and a generous and kind gentleman.

Stojko retired from Manhattan College in 1993 and won a Fulbright scholarship to return to Ukraine to research and teach for one year.

Born in Ukraine and partly schooled in Salzburg, Austria, Stojko came to the United States in 1949 as a displaced

Stojko is survived by his wife, Myroslava; his daughters Oksana and Roksolana; and his grandchildren.

In Memoriam

Richard L. DeJulio, 2/2/06 Frank J. Ruotolo, 5/16/03 Daniel B. Sullivan, 12/3/05

1967

William J. Ghent, 1/16/06 Sister Mary Kateri Hudson, 5/3/06

1963

John J. Barrett Jr., 7/3/06 Edward R. Marzec, 5/26/06

1968

Sister Barbara Berbusse, 6/2/03

1969

M. Thomasina Doran, 3/23/06 Michael J. Sweeney, 6/17/06

1970

Sister Maria B. Conlin, 5/24/05 William G. Salomone, 4/12/06

1973

Thomas J. Duffy, 5/17/04

1974

Martin J. Marano, 3/30/06

Peter Gaffney, 3/24/06 Carl Gisolfi, 6/3/00

1965

Robert Lesnick, 6/16/06

1966

Paul F. Fryer, 2/8/06 Matthew Kissane, 9/17/99

manhattan.edu

person. Before his arrival in New York, Stojko resisted German occupation in his native Ukraine, was captured and mistreated by Nazi officials and worked as a slave laborer in Austria until the end of World War II.

“What needs to be underscored about my father is his absolute dedication to integrity in all aspects of his life whether in scholarly life, personal life or his sense of duty to the community,” Stojko-Lozynskyj says. “He was a truly remarkable man.”

1962

1964

36

“The example of his teaching was inspiring,” Castora says. “He was always very helpful to younger professors. His favorite phrase of encouragement was ‘keep punching.’”

1975

Madeline B. Schwarz, 10/27/99 Harold Seymour, 7/12/01

1976

Anthony Jablonski, 8/6/06

1979

Paul Alesio, 2/20/06 M. Josephine Cole, 2/10/06

1982

Mary E. Lynch, Ph.D., 7/30/06

1984

Michael P. Kislow, 2/3/06

1998

Thomas F. Sheridan, 6/3/06

2001

Christian Milin, 7/4/06

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Dr. Mary Emeline Lynch, associate professor emeritus of biology and former

Lynch blazed an impressive trail of accomplishment as the first woman dean in Manhattan College’s then 123-year history. She joined the College’s faculty in 1967 as an assistant professor in both the biology department and nuclear medicine program in the Radiological Institute. Less than a decade later, Lynch originated the role of assistant dean of the school of general studies and would eventually become acting dean in 1986.

“She was energetic and always looking for a new challenge,” says Dr. Edward Brown, dean of the school of science and physics professor.

Lynch approached new challenges with dedication and grace. In 1976, the year she was appointed assistant dean of the school of general studies, Lynch also was raising nine children and pursuing her fourth academic degree — a master’s in media studies. She went on to earn a total of five academic degrees in fields as diverse as science, communications and business.

Her husband, William F. Lynch Jr. ’42 (B.A.) and ’44 (B.S.), remembers her passion for life.

patrol attire and matching folded cap.

“If we had a formal affair, she showed up in uniform.”

In the 1970s, Lynch pioneered the College’s audio-tutorial laboratory in biology. This multimedia approach to teaching fascinated her. She nurtured the tutorials from a small experimental project to a large and popular program.

Lynch secured a grant to develop her principles of biology course and redesign the biology laboratories with study carrels and tape recorders for audio-tutorial learning.

Lynch also volunteered as a dispatcher for the South Salem fire department, the same New York town where she lived with her family.

Sister Kathleen Tracey, chair of the biology department at the College of Mount Saint Vincent, vividly remembers her former colleague. At the time, Sr. Kathleen was director of the Mount and Manhattan cooperative program.

“Mary was very much into technology before everyone else was,” Sr. Kathleen says.

She remembers that Lynch worked tirelessly to equip labs and organize campus lectures.

“Her most outstanding feature was her loyalty,” Sr. Kathleen says. “She was the most generous individual.”

Lynch published many papers on biology and audio-tutorial learning.

She received prestigious awards and honors, such as her 1973 appointment as U.S. delegate to the first International Congress on Technology Assessment in The Hague. Lynch was a member of organizations such as the New York Academy of Sciences and the International Oceanographic Foundation. She served as president of the Manhattan College chapter of Sigma Xi, the scientific research and honor society.

In addition to her accomplishments in science, Lynch achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel and honorary chaplain in the civil air patrol, an extension of the U.S. Air Force. She directed the civil air patrol’s Northeast region staff college.

In the early 1990s, Lynch was named director of the higher education opportunity program. She would eventually retire in 1993.

Born in Lynn, Mass., in 1925, Lynch was the daughter of a naval captain.

Her father’s occupation took the family across the United States to live in a variety of cities.

She earned her B.S. in biology in 1946 from the College of New Rochelle.

Lynch went on to complete both her M.S. (1947) and Ph.D. (1952) in biology from Fordham University. She also earned an M.A. (1977) in media studies from the New School and an M.B.A. (1982) from Manhattan College.

Lynch met her husband in 1943 at a combined glee club concert for Manhattan College and the College of New Rochelle at the Waldorf=Astoria. From that point, the couple had nine children, seven of whom graduated from Manhattan.

As a young girl, Lynch’s daughter Angela Guerriero ’85 says she looked forward to visiting the campus with her mom.

“For birthdays, it was a special treat,” Guerriero says, referring to how she used to accompany her mom to the biology department and watch her at work.

“It was a big thrill for us.”

Guerriero admires her mother’s determination and illustrious career.

“She was very loving and caring and always encouraged us to do our best,” Guerriero says. “She was also always there for us.”

Lynch is survived by her husband; nine children; 12 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

e-mail your news to alumnotes@manhattan.edu

Dr. Mary Emeline Lynch ’82, associate professor emeritus of biology and former acting dean of the school of general studies, died on July 30. She was 81.

“She said many years ago that time is very important; don’t waste it,” he says.

“She did so much with her life.”

alumnotes

acting dean of the school of general studies

“She often walked around campus in uniform,” Sr. Kathleen adds, as she describes Lynch’s blue civil air

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Thomas J. Fitzpatrick ’42, former trustee and president of the alumni society Thomas J. Fitzpatrick ’42, a pioneering executive in the field of scientific market research, whose professional career was matched if not eclipsed by his distinctive devotion to alma mater, died on August 12.

Serving as president of the Manhattan College Alumni Society from 1973 until 1975, when he was named to the College’s board of trustees, Fitzpatrick was engaged with virtually every alumni-led initiative at the College for nearly 40 years. In the 1960s, he took on various leadership roles in Manhattan’s alumni annual giving program, which was twice awarded the coveted U.S. Steel Award for outstanding accomplishment. Later he served as secretary and then vice president of the Alumni Society, prior to being tapped to lead the oldest Catholic college or university alumni organization in the United States.

Fitzpatrick would also self-assign projects when he felt the need. In the early 1970s, much discussion was being held about a new athletic facility for the College. Using his marketing research talents, Fitzpatrick polled many fellow alumni about the idea of a new facility and would they support such an effort financially. In 1979, the College dedicated

the Draddy Gymnasium, which at the time was the largest indoor collegiate athletic facility in New York City.

Fitzpatrick’s devotion to Manhattan was a natural outgrowth of his personal sense of duty and integrity. Having earned an M.B.A. from Baruch College, Fitzpatrick took up teaching at the college level, in addition to his professional responsibilities as an executive at the marketing research firm, Sherwood and O’Brien, from which he retired as president. He was appointed to the faculties at both Manhattan College and at the Southampton campus of Long Island University. Passing along to his students the rudiments of marketing research, Fitzpatrick would always point out that the key to success in this fierily competitive field was to always be at the cutting-edge and to never compromise ethical standards.

For his extraordinary devotion to Manhattan, the Alumni Society presented Fitzpatrick with its most coveted award, the Alumni Medal of Honor, in 1977.

“Tom was an outstanding example of ‘America’s Greatest Generation,’ said his longtime friend, former Alumni Society President and Trustee Emeritus John

Brother Charles A. Reutemann,

Paluszek ’55 in his eulogy. “No matter who you are, if Tom touched you and touched your life, you were made a better person.”

A longtime Little Neck, N.Y., resident, Fitzpatrick was predeceased by his wife, Margaret. He is survived by five daughters: Mary Anne, Nancy, Margaret, Catherine and Jean, as well as 18 grandchildren.

His daughter Mary Anne is married to John Caughey ’71, and they have sent three of their children to Manhattan: John Jr. ’02, Jeannine ’04 and Christine ’09, all students of the school of arts.

former assistant professor of philosophy and dean of the school of arts and science Brother Charles A. Reutemann ’47, F.S.C., former assistant professor of philosophy and dean of the school of arts and science at Manhattan College died on August 24, 2006. He was 86.

Br. Charles joined the College in 1953 as an assistant professor of philosophy and served as dean of the school of arts and science from 1959-1962.

As dean, Br. Charles initiated the College’s application process to Phi Beta Kappa, the national honor society for liberal arts colleges, of which he was a member. More than a decade later,

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Manhattan’s Upsilon chapter was awarded.

While at Manhattan College, he also worked to establish the first on-campus program for religious vocations.

Following his deanship, Br. Charles was appointed to direct the retreat facility at the Sangre de Cristo Center in Santa Fe, N.M., a spiritual organization founded by the De La Salle Christian Brothers.

He would eventually become director and serve the center for close to 16 years. During his tenure, he was invited to lecture internationally in such places as Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan.

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Monsignor Victor J. Pospishil,

former associate professor of religious studies

Ordained into priesthood in Djakovo on June 16, 1940, Pospishil served as an Army chaplain in World War II at parishes in Yugoslavia and Austria. He immigrated to the United States in May 1950 and joined the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Archdiocese, later serving in parishes in Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. He was appointed as privy papal chamberlain, with the title of Monsignor, in 1960 by Pope John XXIII.

Monsignor Victor J. Pospishil, an authority on canon law and former associate professor of religious studies at Manhattan College, died on February 16 in Old Bridge, N.J. He was 91.

Pospishil was born on February 4, 1915 in Vienna, Austria. He attended the University of Vienna and the Theological Academy and Seminary in Djakovo, Croatia, and earned a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and doctorate degree in Canon Law from Papal Gregorian University and Papal Institute for Eastern Ecclesiastical Studies. His doctoral thesis, “The Patriarch in the Serbian Orthodox Church,” was published in Austria.

A controversial advocate for divorced Catholics, Pospishil in 1967 wrote a book in favor of the reform of the laws that prevent them from receiving the sacraments. It was printed in Great Britain and later translated into French and Spanish.

From 1966 to 1976, Pospishil was a member of the faculty of Manhattan College in what later became the department of religious studies.

Brother Luke Salm, F.S.C., who currently works in the College’s archives office, was chairman of the theology department during Pospishil’s tenure in Riverdale.

“He brought a different theological tradition to our courses,” Br. Luke said.

“He had very advanced views. He added a very different element to our theology courses, and his contribution led to the

“He was very adventurous,” says Br. Kevin Hargadon, F.S.C., retired professor emeritus of psychology.

perspectives to prayer and meditation.

His published books of daily prayers, called Let’s Pray, were inspired by his journeys.

From 1969-1972, Br. Kevin traveled with Br. Charles as part of a team of lecturers that conducted workshops around the world. The men lectured about spiritual and psychological matters.

In 1981, Br. Charles earned his degree in spiritual direction from the Weston School of Theology in Cambridge, Mass.

He returned to Manhattan College as an advocate for religious vocations. Br. Charles offered spiritual direction, first in his cottage at the West Hill campus and later on the main campus in Memorial Hall.

“On his trips, he visited Hindus and Buddhists,” Br. Kevin says. “When he came back from his travels, he incorporated these techniques into the center’s program.”

Br. Kevin says Br. Charles explored new approaches to spiritual development from the Far East. He applied these

Born in Troy, N.Y., Br. Charles joined the Christian Brothers in 1937. He graduated from De La Salle College of The Catholic University of America in 1942 with a bachelor’s degree in English

development of the department into what the department of religious studies has become today.”

Pospishil wrote more than 50 books and articles, mostly concerning Eastern Catholic Church law, and was named in 1992 to head the revision committee responsible for adapting the laws of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the United States to conform to the new Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches approved by the Vatican.

Pospishil was a member of the Canon Law Society of America and in 1995 received the organization’s Role of Law Award. The highest honor given by the Canon Law Society of America, the award is granted in recognition of the quality of one’s research and writings.

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In 2001, Pospishil published an autobiography entitled Final Tally: A Report on the Unremarkable Life of a Catholic Priest in the Twentieth Century. It included writings on several subjects, including the ordination of women and the status of divorced and remarried Catholics.

Pospishil is survived by his sister-in-law, Josephine Pospishil of Matawan, N.J.; his nieces, Josephine Hartfield of Jensen Beach, Fla., and Maria Johanna Connolly of Old Bridge, N.J.; three grandnieces and a grandnephew; and great-grand nephews and a great-grand niece.

and earned membership to Phi Beta Kappa. He received a master’s degree in English from Manhattan College and returned to The Catholic University of America for his doctorate in philosophy.

Br. Charles taught at St. Cecilia Elementary School and St. Augustine High School in Brooklyn, N.Y., prior to his arrival at the College. His accomplishments are widely recognized. Br. Charles was awarded the National Brotherhood Award by the National Association of Religious Brothers and is listed in the Catholic Who’s Who in America and Dictionary of International Biography.

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It was an exciting season for the baseball team as the Jaspers won the program’s first MAAC Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 49 years.

Published by the Office of College Relations Manhattan College 4513 Manhattan College Parkway Riverdale, NY 10471 Volume Thirty-Two, Number Two Fall 2006

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