The Boro Magazine Fall 2021

“The power of a bold idea uttered publicly in defiance of dominant opinion cannot be easily measured. Those special people who speak out in such a way as to shake up not only the self-assurance of their enemies, but the complacency of their friends, are precious catalysts for change.”

—Howard Zinn, author, historian and playwright

Womer

Ruane

Kleck

A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

Greetings, Fighting Scots.

I am writing as we embark on a new journey, one that presents tremendous opportunity and some inevitable challenges as Edinboro, Clarion and California Universities continue on the path to becoming one institution.

On July 14, the Board of Governors (BOG) for Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education voted unanimously to approve the Western and Northeastern integration plans, clearing the way for our three sister institutions in the West to become one. The historic vote to approve the integrations was a vote of confidence in the 1,000+ people who developed the first phase of the plan and are poised to usher it into the implementation phase.

Centered always on student success, our shared vision is to expand affordable, high-quality educational opportunities for our students, to grow as we serve new student populations, and to meet economic and workforce needs across the Commonwealth. The vote in support of integration will ensure that our campuses remain open, vibrant and focused on student success long into the future.

Our three universities in Western Pennsylvania all have rich and proud traditions that go back more than 150 years. We will honor those proud histories, while planning for the future as one university. While different in some ways, our sister institutions have much in common. Strong and resilient, we are in the business of transforming lives.

By making high-quality higher education accessible, we help students to find their passions and go on to serve the greater good in our regions, the Commonwealth and the broader world. Nurtured by our wonderful faculty and shaped by the lakes, rivers, rolling hills and wide-open green spaces of Western Pennsylvania, our students go on to achieve great things.

Continuing our collaborative and comprehensive approach to implementation will allow us to build a more nimble, sustainable and student-centered university. Together we will build a strong, secure future for public higher education in Pennsylvania.

To our loyal alumni, donors and friends, rest assured that each campus’s foundation and alumni association will continue to connect classmates with their beloved alma mater. Your continued support and commitment will help us move forward and become stronger as we approach this new chapter in Edinboro’s history.

“The Catalysts” is a fitting theme for this issue of The Boro. As we move toward becoming a single entity, our three sister campuses – individually and collectively – will continue to serve as catalysts for change in our communities and in our students’ lives. As they have for generations, our graduates, in turn, will become catalysts, spurring change and growth in their communities near and far.

Through all of the changes, we will remain…

Boro Proud!

Dr. Dale Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson Interim President

FORGING AHEAD...

On July 14, the Board of Governors (BOG) for Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education unanimously approved the integration of California, Clarion and Edinboro Universities in Western Pennsylvania and Bloomsburg, Lock Haven and Mansfield in the Northeastern region of the state. The BOG’s action was a vote of confidence in the 1,000+ people who developed the first phase of the plan and were poised to usher it into the implementation phase, which is already under way. Following is some information on the Western integration and what it means.

• Formal integration will occur in summer 2022 with the first students entering the new university in Western Pennsylvania in fall 2022 and the curriculum being finalized by August 2024.

• The 18-0 vote was a resounding endorsement and a tremendous vote of confidence in the work of more than 1,000 faculty, staff, students, trustees, alumni and other volunteers who have brought us to this point.

• This was a historic vote, representing the most profound reimagining of public higher education in Pennsylvania since the State System was founded in 1983.

• While the three sister institutions will integrate, they will retain their campus traditions and location names. Information on the name of the new Western university is forthcoming in the near future.

• The BOG appointed Dr. Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson as interim president of California University, effective at midnight on July 25. She will retain her positions as interim president of Edinboro and president of Clarion. Dr. Bashar Hanna has been named interim president of Mansfield University in addition to his positions as interim president of Lock Haven and president of Bloomsburg. Drs. Pehrsson and Hanna will serve in these roles until permanent presidents are selected for the integrated universities, according to the BOG’s policy for presidential appointments, which requires the involvement of students, faculty, staff, alumni, trustees and others in the process.

• Key to supporting the integration efforts is the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s commitment of $200 million over four years that will be used to invest in student success initiatives, reduce current debt loads, and support faculty and staff training and transition.

• The chief development officers at Edinboro, Clarion and Cal U will serve as campus administrators at their respective locations, participating in events, both internal and external, when Dr. Dale cannot be present.

• The Western Integration’s governance and leadership team approved an initial organizational structure for the new university that consists of seven high-level functional areas:

o Academic Affairs

o Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

o Finance and Administration

o Institutional Effectiveness and Student Affairs

o Strategic Enrollment Management

o University Advancement

o Virtual and Global Education

• Faculty members provided input on a new structure for our academic colleges and departments. That input was incorporated into a final document that was shared with all faculty and staff on Aug. 2. See page 4 for an overview of that structure.

• The academic programs approved for the new university’s program array will be aligned with the academic structure.

Integrations are made possible by Act 50 of 2020, which received near unanimous support in the state Legislature and Governor’s Office. It lays out a process, including ongoing, quarterly consultation with elected officials, by which the State System can restructure itself for the benefit of students, to improve financial sustainability, and to continue to serve its regions with educational opportunities and as major employers.

Art English

History, Philosophy, and Modern Languages

Performing Arts

Biology Chemistry

Geosciences

Mathematics

Applied Engineering, Technology, & Physics

Educational Leadership & School Psychology

Early Childhood & Elementary Education

Middle & Secondary Education Special Education

Counseling

Criminal Justice

Military Science – ROTC

Psychology

Social Work

Sociology, Political Science, & Law

Communication & Journalism

Computer Science & Information Systems

Finance, Accounting, & Economics

Library & Information Sciences

Management & Marketing

Allied Health

Communication Sciences & Disorders

Exercise and Sports Science

Nursing

From Edinboro to Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Washington, Minneapolis, Lebanon and Sierra Leone –Fighting Scots fuel change.

They raise their hands, raise spirits and raise up others. When there’s a story to tell, they put pen to paper and make pencils powerful. They give back to their communities, and – even in the face of adversity –they never, ever give in.

Whether teaching children in impoverished countries, creating after-school programs for at-risk youths or providing life-changing opportunities to Edinboro students, the individuals on the following pages are relentless in the pursuit of progress.

We invite you to read their stories.

Building Diversity

CEO OF VIBRANT PITTSBURGH WORKS TO ATTRACT, RETAIN AND ELEVATE AN INCLUSIVE WORKFORCE

By John Altdorfer

Sabrina Saunders Mosby, ’03, wants you to fall in love with Pittsburgh. She wants you to live, work and play in the city she calls home. Most of all she wants you to stay in Pittsburgh— whether you were born there or settled down along its three rivers.

As the president and CEO of Vibrant Pittsburgh, Saunders strives to carry out the organization’s mission “to build a thriving and inclusive Pittsburgh region by attracting, retaining and elevating a diversity of talent.”

She is reaching out to just about everyone to create a new kind of Pittsburgh workforce and community. That’s a big challenge, especially since Saunders describes herself as a “loner” who didn’t reach out to anyone during her first two years at Edinboro

“Up to the start of my junior year, I went home every weekend or visited my aunt in Erie to do laundry,” she said. “I didn’t go to parties. I didn’t socialize. I was at school for one reason —to get an education.”

Despite her focus on academics, Saunders’ ultimate success seemed uncertain.

“I initially majored in business finance, but I couldn’t pass quantitative analysis,” she said. “So, I switched to communications, the one area that accepted most of my credits.”

That’s when everything changed.

“I took a PR course, and we were watching a documentary about George Stephanopoulos and speechwriting for Bill Clinton. That’s when I said, ‘That’s what I want to do.’ Once I figured out what I wanted to do with my life, I became more engaged on campus.”

That surge of engagement helped earn her a place on the Department of Communications Wall of Fame in Compton Hall.

Within a year of graduating, Saunders was talking to students at a Pittsburgh high school about her ambition to be a speechwriter.

Afterward, another speaker introduced himself, and together they laid out a plan to achieve her goal.

The first step was volunteering on a local political campaign. After the campaign she got a call for an interview to work with U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle.

“Actually, I never interviewed for any job I ever had,” she said. “I got them by building relationships.”

Those strong ties helped her land positions in the mayor’s office, the Pittsburgh chapter of the Urban League and Strong Women, Strong Girls—her first leadership position.

Charlotte, N.C., to start a streetwear fashion and sneaker company. His company—the Whitaker Group— now has locations in several cities, including Houston, Washington, D.C., and Pittsburgh.

“We have to work harder than ever to change that perception, to increase diversity so that people like James don’t leave Pittsburgh,” Saunders said.

Instead of platitudes from politicians, the push for diversity needs measurable actions to ensure that everyone is treated fairly and equally, she said.

Companies and organizations frequently congratulate themselves for hiring a person based on race, gender or physical and developmental capabilities, Saunders said. Too often, those people are the “first and only” to be hired for some time. And in many cases, diversity hires don’t move into the upper reaches of leadership.

Vibrant Pittsburgh is ready to bring about a change in the way businesses view and achieve diversity, she said.

Today, as the leader of Vibrant Pittsburgh, Saunders is building relationships with businesses, colleges, community groups and other organizations to improve and expand the diversity of Pittsburgh’s workforce and overall population.

She understands that the task is big, especially regarding people of color.

“I’m a Pittsburgher, born and bred,” she said. “But I know a number of people of color who have moved on to other cities for opportunities they did not believe they could achieve in this region.”

One is her former math tutor at Edinboro, James Whitner, ’01. After graduating, Whitner moved to

“In the past, Vibrant Pittsburgh has been an accountability partner with businesses,” she explained. “But the future of diversity in the region requires business leaders to take the lead in this work. They need to hold themselves accountable so that Vibrant Pittsburgh becomes an inclusion partner. We are developing systems on our own to help change the narrative as it relates to Pittsburgh being a welcoming place—and a destination of choice—for diverse backgrounds.”

While Saunders welcomes every incremental step in increasing diversity across the business community, she said the real celebration will come when the “first and only” labels are no longer needed or relevant. When that happens, she said, people will not only fall in love with Pittsburgh, but they’ll stay there.

A Win for the Negro Leagues

By Kristin Brockett

When it comes to upholding his family legacy, Sean Gibson, ’95, is swinging for the fences.

The 52-year-old Pittsburgh native is the great-grandson of Negro Leagues baseball legend Josh Gibson and the executive director of the slugger’s eponymous foundation, which provides educational support and recreational programming to hundreds of atrisk youths.

Sean’s passion for the work is driven by his commitment to raising the profile of Negro Leagues baseball and a desire to give back to his old neighborhood. He grew up in the inner-city projects on the west side of Pittsburgh, one of two children raised by a single mother.

“Where I grew up was rough,” said Gibson, a 1987 graduate of Langley High School. “My grandfather, Josh Jr., always told me, ‘All you have in your life is your last name. Make the best of it.’ And that’s what I’m trying to do.”

Despite his lineage, Sean preferred the basketball court over the baseball diamond. He played one season at NCAA Division I Robert Morris University before transferring to Edinboro in 1989. In his three remaining years of eligibility, Gibson put up 869 points—earning a spot in Edinboro’s record books.

“I always knew I was going to go to college,” he said. “Basketball was my ticket to get there.”

Under the tutelage of Greg Walcavich, who served as head basketball coach from 1989 until his retirement in 2013, Gibson formed lifelong friendships as a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. But the journey wasn’t without setbacks.

“I actually flunked out of Edinboro,” he admitted. “I had no idea what I was going to do, and I was terrified to tell my mom. After walking around campus for a few hours, I went into Walcavich’s office, and he said, ‘Listen, go to CCAC and get your grades up. We’ll bring you back.’”

A semester at CCAC’s Boyce Campus was just what he needed to get back on track.

“The experience made me a better person. It taught me not to take things for granted and showed me how to overcome obstacles,” Gibson said. “Coach Walcavich gave me a second chance. I owed him a lot because he could have just given up on me.”

After graduation, Sean planned to pursue a career in law enforcement. But Josh Gibson Jr., who played baseball for the Homestead Grays—like his dad —from 1949-1950. and founded the Josh Gibson Foundation as a youth baseball program in 1994, urged him to take the reins.

Once involved, Sean established partnerships with Pittsburgh’s Public Schools, the City of Pittsburgh Parks and Recreation and the University of Pittsburgh, introducing a STEAM-focused curriculum, after-school programming, scholarships and mentoring opportunities.

BASEBALL LEGEND’S GREATGRANDSON CARRIES ON LEGACY OF PROMOTING MINORITY PRO TEAMS, HELPING AT-RISK YOUTHS

“My grandfather’s main goal was to keep his father’s memory alive, along with the other great Negro Leaguers in Pittsburgh history,” Gibson said of Jr., who died in 2004. “I wish he were here to see how much his vision—his dream—has grown. We still have a long way to go. The work is never truly done, but I hope that I’ve made him proud.”

Josh Gibson, widely regarded as the best power hitter of all time and an impenetrable force behind home plate, clobbered nearly 800 home runs in an outstanding career cut short by his untimely death at age 35. Having endured the injustices of segregation and without ever experiencing a society where “America’s pastime” was open to all Americans, he passed away as the result of a brain tumor on Jan. 20, 1947—less than three months before Jackie Robinson was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers.

In October 2020, the Baseball Writers’ Association voted to remove the name

of former Major League Baseball

Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis from the National and American League MVP awards due to his role in upholding baseball’s color line. Sean was thrilled to learn that “Big Josh” was one of three people being considered to replace him.

He sprang into action, notifying the foundation’s board of directors and launching the #JGMVP20 movement. T-shirts, bobbleheads, baseball cards, murals, hashtags, interviews, op-eds, an endorsement by the Pittsburgh Pirates and, most recently, a role in Amazon Prime Video’s “A League of Their Own” television series followed.

“If I’m going to do something, I’m giving it 100%,” said Gibson, who was recognized for his service to the community and dedication to Pittsburgh youths through Edinboro’s Martin Luther King Jr. Award in 2019. “I told the board, ‘We just found ourselves in a race. Let’s go ahead and win it.’”

Two months later, Major League Baseball

voted to officially incorporate Negro Leagues statistics in its record books, meaning Josh Gibson’s 1943 .466 batting average could eventually unseat Hugh Duffy’s as the official major league record. For Sean, the progress is bigger than his great-grandfather.

“Satchel Paige. Cool Papa Bell. Ron Teasley. It’s about the 3,400 men from the Negro Leagues who were denied the opportunity to play in the majors,” he said. “Our families always considered them major leaguers anyway, but now, so does Major League Baseball.”

Sean, now the Gibson family patriarch, still finds counsel in the words of his grandfather.

“He taught me that if you do everything you’re supposed to do, the chips will fall your way,” he said. “He was definitely right.”

Learn more about the Josh Gibson Foundation at joshgibson.org, and visit jg20mvp.com to sign the #JG20MVP petition.

Behind The News

EDITOR, PHOTOJOURNALIST TAPS INTO MULTIPLE PLATFORMS TO DELIVER STORIES WITH IMPACT

By John Altdorfer

Maybe that’s why Sarah Glover, M ’07, said goodbye to her job on the East Coast on a Friday and started a new one in the Midwest the following Monday.

Less than 48 hours after she stepped into the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) newsroom in mid-April as the managing editor, two big stories broke.

Walter Mondale died at 93. The native Minnesotan served as U.S. senator, vice president to Jimmy Carter and ambassador to Japan. Hours later, a jury convicted former Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin of the murder of George Floyd.

“Being in the newsroom that week was important to me,” said Glover, “even though most people were still working remotely.”

Floyd’s death pushed people to talk about bias and prejudice in a different and more meaningful way, especially in the news industry, Glover said.

“Most editors and news leaders are not people of color,” she said. “I know I’m unique as a Black woman leading a news organization. But that shouldn’t be a big deal. What should matter is that I’m a qualified journalist with multiplatform experience who can transform an organization to become a more effective news and information vehicle in the community.”

As she works for more diversity in the newsroom, including for the disabled and LGBTQ+ communities, Glover brought about one noticeable and lasting change.

You can’t put the news on hold. Especially when there’s always more than a story or two to tell.

Though many journalists pushed news organizations for decades to capitalize the “b” when referring to Black people, Glover met with The Associated Press last year to explain why the change was necessary. She pointed out that Black carries the same weight as Asian or European, denoting a place of origin for many people whose true heritage will never be known.

Glover started out in the industry at a really young age. At age 9, she begged her father to call the Erie Times-News for a job as a papergirl. Once he hung up, her father broke the bad news. You needed to be 10.

Glover’s dream deflated like a punctured bike tire. Then she got an idea. Her older brother could sign up for the route, and she’d do the work. For five years, Glover pedaled papers with her brothers across her neighborhood, seven days a week. With the money she saved from her paper route and later working at Little Caesar’s Pizza, she bought her first SLR camera kit from the JCPenney catalog. After taking photography classes in high school, she earned a photojournalism degree from Syracuse University.

While working as a photographer for The Philadelphia Inquirer, she also freelanced for The Washington Post, Jet magazine and General Motors. During that time, she dusted off and revised her working thesis document for a master’s degree in Communications Studies that she started at Edinboro a decade prior.

“The instructors were supportive and gave students room to explore,” she said, reflecting on her time as a student on Edinboro’s campus. “There was no ‘my way or the highway’

attitude. They were interested in what you were thinking and helping you develop your skills.”

Just as important was one classmate, Paul Pecunas, who used an augmentative communication device because of a voice impairment. Glover remembers him using that device to speak out for people with disabilities. His determination pushed her to be a better storyteller for people living with disabilities or facing generational, racial and gender biases.

Then the industry changed.

The internet drained advertising dollars from newspapers, and readers stopped buying them because they were getting the news online for free.

“Like so many in the industry, I didn’t foresee that it would be evolving so rapidly,” Glover said. “I realized that to survive and maintain the capacity to do daily journalism, you have to change constantly.”

Changing meant jumping into the web and broadcast journalism.

Moving to TV, she worked as the social media editor for NBC owned television stations in Philadelphia. The role led to Glover managing social media strategy for 12 NBC stations nationwide while being based in the greater New York City area and providing support for 35plus Telemundo local stations. After nine years, she focused on a new challenge in an old medium — radio.

At MPR, she works with more than 70 journalists and manages a team of about 40 reporters, editors, and visual and digital journalists. She’s responsible for editorial decisions and planning over multiple news platforms.

After nearly 10 years at The Inquirer, Glover was transferred to the Philadelphia Daily News and worked on the “Tainted Justice” series, which won a Pulitzer Prize for exposing abuse among the city’s narcotics police.

“I really saw myself being a photojournalist at a newspaper for 40 years,” she said.

When not working with her newsroom staff to inform local communities about the latest news they need to know, she’s working on her MBA part-time at Temple University Fox School of Business and putting together diversity and inclusion recommendations for the media industry via her 2021 Nieman Visiting Fellowship at Harvard University.

“I’m happy to be able to lean in to tell stories that have an impact on a local, regional and national level,” Glover said. “That’s how I envision success as a journalist.”

“I’m happy to be able to lean in to tell stories that have an impact on a local, regional and national level. That’s how I envision success as a journalist.”

Creating a United EDINBORO

DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION INITIATIVES GAIN MOMENTUM AT EDINBORO AND ACROSS THE SYSTEM

By Angela Burrows

Terrence Mitchell, Ph.D., did not set out to do diversity work, but his collective experience as a peer counselor for African-American students while in graduate school, assistant director of minority student services at the University of Oklahoma, and director of student activities at San Francisco State University prepared him well.

Mitchell has served as Edinboro University’s chief diversity and inclusion officer since January 2019. In August 2020, he added another role to his portfolio – special assistant to the president for diversity at Slippery Rock University. After filling both roles for 11 months, he has been fully devoted to Edinboro since July 1.

An Oklahoma native and the son of two teachers, who were also activists, Mitchell planned for a journalism career while an undergraduate at the University of Central Oklahoma but later shifted course. He landed his first chief diversity officer role in 2014 at the State University of New York at Oneonta, where he spent four and a half years before being appointed at Edinboro.

His parents were his role models as he was growing up. “My mom, especially, always preferred working with students who were poor. She cared about the kids and eventually helped create the Oklahoma City Head Start program,” he said. Later, a high school history teacher encouraged him to become an activist focused on correcting injustices. His undergraduate experience was on a primarily white campus, and while the campus promoted diversity and was friendly, the same was not true of the community that surrounded it, so there was sometimes tension between the campus and the broader community.

Diversity and inclusion work has changed since Mitchell was a college student, and many of the changes have been for the better. “There are more people to help with the work, and diversity, equity and inclusion leaders now hold cabinet-level positions at colleges and universities, which reflects the importance of the role.” At the same time, he noted, today’s students from underrepresented groups face many of the same problems as their predecessors.

Edinboro has had a history of good diversity work, but there remains much to do, said Mitchell. “At one time, the University had a critical mass of students of color, and the students felt supported. Between 2010 and 2019, we lost that critical mass,” Mitchell said, noting that diversity work involves all underrepresented populations, including members of the LGBTQ+ community, those with disabilities, and members of faith traditions that are in the minority on some campuses or regions of the country.

It helps, he noted, that Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education is prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts across its 14 campuses and is establishing accountability measures. “Collaborating as a System, we can take best practices from one campus and scale them so that students across the System benefit.”

The System hired Denise Pearson, Ph.D., as its first vice chancellor and chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer in August 2020. Immediately prior to joining the State System, Pearson served as vice president for academic affairs and equity initiatives for the State Higher Education Executive Officers. The first in her family to graduate from college –

and high school – Pearson has a commitment to civil rights and social action. She was attracted to the State System because from its highest levels, there is support for DEI and a recognition that although progress has been made, there’s more to be done.

“Our job is to ensure that all students flourish and are not hindered by race, gender, abilities or sexual orientation,” said Pearson. “Although there’s much to be done, the System is trending in the right direction. Leadership is essential to the work.”

In addition to support from the Board of Governors and the chancellor, Pearson applauded the commitment of Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson, Ed.D., “Dr. Dale,” Edinboro and Cal U’s interim president and president of Clarion University.

“This work is about the students and giving them what they need. Dr. Dale is clearly a leader committed to DEI and to doing it right. She understands the importance of the work and its complexities and sees it as a moral imperative.”

The System is the whole of its 14 campuses, Pearson said, echoing Mitchell’s statement that as a System there’s an opportunity to take the best of what is happening across the 14 campuses and expand them.

“We’re at a pivotal moment. We have an opportunity here. My role is to be a convener and to serve as a catalyst to scale the best of the work that’s being done.”

Mitchell said he’s excited about the gathering momentum around DEI. “The ability to standardize best practices across the System is exciting. It will benefit our students, faculty, staff and the communities we serve. That’s a great thing.”

“Our job is to ensure that all students flourish and are not hindered by race, gender, abilities or sexual orientation.”

Dr. Denise Pearson, vice chancellor and chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer, Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education

Third World calls THE

DESPITE POVERTY, VIOLENCE AND DISASTER, THESE STUDENTS ARE HUNGRY TO LEARN. AND THAT’S HIS REWARD.

By Christopher LaFuria

When Dr. George Richards walked into his classroom on the first day of teaching in Africa, he could immediately see the coarse maturity in the faces of the students sitting before him. He quickly found this maturity was the result of experiences no one should ever have to endure.

These weren’t students with common academic and family backstories. Nearly half of the students in this class at the University of Sierra Leone had been forcefully conscripted to serve as child soldiers. They had also witnessed the Ebola pandemic and devastating mudslides.

Richards, an Edinboro University criminal justice professor with a penchant for international academic service, learned from other faculty at the University of Sierra Leone that many of the students no doubt had family members and friends killed during the 11-year civil war.

“What can I possibly give them?”

Richards asked himself that day in July 2019. “They have seen and experienced things that I can’t even fathom. But they are sitting in a classroom – trying to learn and trying to carve out a future. And it’s not going to be easy.”

Throughout his academic service beyond Edinboro, Richards has taught in places where students have to overcome significant odds and persevere through incredible loss. Poverty. Hunger. Violence. These are tragically commonplace.

His service as a lecturer with Professors Without Borders and as a Fulbright specialist took him to both Sierra Leone and India in 2019, where he taught undergraduate and graduate students who could only dream about escaping.

“There was poverty like you can’t believe,” said Richards, who has taught at Edinboro since 2004 after completing his Ph.D. in Public Administration and Urban Studies from the University of Akron. “It was an eye-opener for me, and my worldview has not been the same since.”

In India, Richards was overwhelmed by the conditions he witnessed in the slums of Ahmedabad, Chennai, Delhi and Hyderabad.

He was particularly moved by conditions in refugee camps in Delhi and Hyderabad built for the Rohingya fleeing Myanmar. All necessities of life were scarce and some, like medical care, were non-existent. But it was the

collective resourcefulness of graduate students at University of Madras in Chennai, India, that gave him hope that things could get better.

He learned that some students at the university could only find affordable housing an hour outside of the city –with up to eight living in small, cramped quarters. Each morning, these students crowded around textbooks, as none could individually afford the books.

“Ten or eleven students would go in together to purchase one book,” Richards explained. “Then they would take turns reading it to each other while they were taking the train to class.”

Despite witnessing abject poverty, devastating hunger, and an overall aura of hopelessness at times, Richards said he found inspiration from each student he worked with.

“Like many students from Third World countries, those students in India and Sierra Leone – the reason I have enjoyed my time with them so much is because they’re hungry,” he said. “They want it.”

“With human trafficking, we have absolutely no idea how extensive it is,” he said. “We know it occurs and with frequency. But we don’t have a clear idea on how much is perpetrated.”

While in Sierra Leone, he was approached by the directors of two orphanages in Freetown to join their boards. Earlier this year, he was asked by the Charity for Hope children’s home in Wakiso, Uganda, and now serves on its board as well.

“My role within these organizations is helping to raise funds, advising on curricula, and promoting through social media,” he said. “Being included in this type of service has been one of the great honors of my career.”

At Edinboro, Richards has garnered some of the highest honors for faculty members the institution awards: Educator of the Year in 2010, Advisor of the Year in 2017 and – most recently –Scholar of the Year in 2021.

“There’s a lot of people here at Edinboro that deserve these,” Richards said of his most recent award, given to the tenured professor who demonstrates outstanding excellence in scholarly research. “I’ve never been to a place – anywhere, any campus – as student-centered as Edinboro.”

As a criminal justice professor at Edinboro and as a lecturer on the international circuit, Richards hopes to provide transformational experiences for all students – the type that he was afforded as a college student.

As an international criminology lecturer – most notably with the Department of Criminology at the University of Madras – Richards teaches courses on topics his students might experience firsthand. In April 2021, Richards presented “Policing Human Trafficking” for Professors Without Borders Online.

Two key components of his human trafficking lecture – forced labor and sex trafficking – are also fears that correlate to the powerlessness associated with poverty. With this experience and his research regarding enforcement efforts in the U.S. and the European Union, Richards aspires to inform the next generation of international criminal justice workers.

Richards grew up in the small farming community of Mt. Washington, Ky. When his father wasn’t working for the International Harvester factory in Louisville, he sharecropped.

As a boy, he thought that would be his future as well. However, thanks to one memorable high school teacher, a path to college opened for him.

He found his calling in the very first class of his college career at Berea College in the classroom of Dr. D. Warren Lambert.

“The way he lectured and the way students paid attention to him, he was just a wonderful professor,” Richards said of his soon-to-be mentor and role model. “That’s when I decided that this is what I wanted to do with my life. And now I’m here. And I’m grateful.”

“I’ve never been to a place –anywhere, any campus –as studentcentered as Edinboro.”

with his students: G3M.

It isn’t a secret code, mnemonic device or even a reference to the Mitsubishi twin-engine bomber utilized by the Imperial Japanese Navy in WWII; it’s his office number.

Prior to handing out the syllabus, the assistant professor of digital filmmaking guides his classes down Doucette Hall’s fluorescent-lit hallway, past Bruce Gallery and into his ground-level office. He uses the first-day ritual to set the stage for a semester of open dialogue, creativity and collaboration.

“Studies show that first-generation students and students from rural areas have a much harder time coming to faculty offices than students from urban areas,” said Fuller, an Asheville, N.C., native who has taught at the college level since 1991. “I want my students to know that they belong here – in my office – talking about their next great idea.”

Harnessing the Power of

The award-winning filmmaker knows what it takes to find success in the industry, and he’s committed to helping students build a career-ready portfolio of polished, and often nationally recognized, projects. Students are required to submit their final coursework to multiple film festivals at the conclusion of the semester.

“Without that, they are just making movies. They haven’t formulated a thought about distribution, marketing or how they can get themselves in front of an employer,” said Fuller, who has supervised more than 60 award-winning student projects during his 31-year teaching tenure. “Those are lines on their resumes that employers want to see.”

Fuller, whose hundreds of professional accolades include one silver and four bronze Telly Awards, three silver Davey Awards and an Emmy, also employs the top-performing students through his production company, Full Circle Media. The student-employees gain hands-

AWARD-WINNING FILMMAKER SETS THE STAGE FOR STUDENT SUCCESS THROUGH ‘REEL’-WORLD EXPERIENCE

By Kristin Brockett

on experience in research, sound recording, videography and postproduction.

“Brian is constantly looking for ways to better the program and his students’ experiences overall, whether it’s coming up with creative ways for us to learn to work together as a crew or improving the equipment room and editing suite,” said Megan Ciafre, a 2019 graduate of the Film & Video program and production coordinator for R. Frank Media in Erie, Pa. “He truly cares about his students and wants to see them succeed.”

He shares his most recent recognition, a Silver Telly Award for “ART100 Videoscape,” with thensophomore Delaney Gatenby. Designed to be projection-mapped onto irregular building exteriors in four synchronized panels, the film features rhythmically curated images of graphic design, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, painting, prints, photographs, jewelry, wood furniture, film and animation.

Founded in 1979, the annual Telly Awards showcase the best work of some of the most respected advertising agencies, television stations, production companies and publishers from around the world. This year alone, they received more than 12,000 entries from all 50 states and five continents.

“Apprenticeships like Delaney’s have been the model of arts instruction for centuries – because they work,” he said. “I could go and make movies alone, but I don’t want to. I’m not in it for that. I’m here to empower students and to teach them the character values it takes to be successful. It’s important they understand that the kind of person they are goes with the skills they need to learn.”

Beyond the classroom, he invites his students a few times each semester to catch a movie at a nearby theater. After the films, they discuss camera angles, lighting and composition at a local restaurant.

“That kind of connection changes everything,” said Fuller, recalling his own mentee-mentor relationships as a student at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. “I wouldn’t be the type of teacher that I am without Dr. John Lee Jellicorse. I wouldn’t be the type of filmmaker that I am without Emily Edwards. And I wouldn’t be the kind of scholar that I am without Mike Frierson.”

“Mentorship matters,” he continued. “It’s about the person on the inside of the ‘I know it’ circle reaching out to somebody outside of the ‘I know it’ circle and saying, ‘This is the way in. These are our code words, our secret language. You may have called it a clothespin all your life, but in the industry, we call it a C-47. Now you call it that, too.’”

A self-described “drama nerd,” Fuller took an interest in film in high school when he recognized that the medium had the power to change people’s opinions. But even back then, it was

impossible to separate his roles as an artist and an educator.

“My interest in the medium wasn’t just about making movies; it was that I was going to help others do it,” Fuller said. “I always knew that I was going to be teaching somebody about my discipline, whether they were sitting in a classroom or on a chair in my living room.”

Three decades later, Fuller is exactly where he wants to be – at Edinboro, a place committed to helping students reach their fullest potential. It’s here, situated on the northern edge of his beloved Appalachian Mountains, that he sees the greatest potential to open doors for the next generation of filmmakers.

“Winning an Emmy is great. But honestly, I shine brighter and walk further off the ground when a former student calls and tells me about an award they’ve won,” he said. “I’m way more proud of my kids. Those are the best moments, hands down.”

CLASS OF 2021

Spring 2021 graduates were honored at an outdoor recognition event on Saturday, May 8. Despite grey cloudy skies and a chill in the air, Sox Harrison Stadium was filled with warmth and excitement as we celebrated the newest members of Edinboro University’s proud alumni network.

CONGRATULATIONS, FIGHTING SCOTS! MAY YOUR TARTAN NEVER FADE.

Senior year of high school looked a little different for Kyle Hurysz.

While most of his 17- and 18-year-old classmates walked through the Maple Hill High School hallways, listened to lectures and studied for midterm exams, the recent Edinboro University grad was 10 miles away in Albany, N.Y., interning with state politicians.

Hurysz, a native of Castleton-on-Hudson and a 2021 summa cum laude graduate of Edinboro, spent three hours in the morning learning English, politics and law with 11 students from the region. This cadre would then branch off to discover the inner workings of New York state policy.

As part of the New Visions Law & Government, a careerexploration field study program hosted by the Capital Region Board of Cooperative Education Services, these seniors completed their academic requirements and, like Hurysz, interned with members of the New York State Assembly.

This expanded learning opportunity allowed Hurysz to dive deeply into potential career fields while also confirming his passion for public service and economics.

“As a 17-year-old high school senior, I had been exposed to real-life politics – but I knew intellectually and philosophically that I was interested in economics as well,” he said. “When I started studying economics at Edinboro, I realized it was more of a substantive field, as opposed to a qualifier for something else.”

This grit and tenacity for learning endured through high school graduation to Edinboro, where Hurysz made the conscious decision not to slow down, despite having to overcome the common challenges of a teenager as well as a physical disability.

Hurysz was born with cerebral palsy, a condition that has limited his range of motion through abnormally tightened muscle structures. This disability has made walking nearly impossible and has impacted his fine and gross motor skills.

“As a result, some aspects of education throughout college and my entire life have been somewhat difficult,” he said. “But I don’t have any visual impairments or mental or emotional impairments, so I’d consider myself – in that regard – somewhat unscathed.”

To adapt, Hurysz uses a motorized wheelchair for mobility and relies on his iPad for daily work such as typing papers, reading class assignments and signing documents. But Hurysz, true to form, doesn’t want his friends and colleagues to view

his experiences as anything overtly inspirational.

“Most people with disabilities – myself included – haven’t had to overcome anything, because we never had it easy,” he explained. “In order to overcome an obstacle, there has to be an obstacle in place to impede your otherwise easy progress. But it’s never been easy.”

Hurysz also credits his parents, Ken and Patricia Hurysz, and his brother, Owen, for their continued support through his disability and enduring the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

Through his perseverance and support system – and laser focus on the field of economics, Hurysz graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Economics, a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a focus in Legal Studies and minors in Mathematics, Applied Mathematics and Data Analytics.

“When we talk broadly about economics, we’re simply talking about decision-making. It’s how to allocate resources in the face of scarcity,” he said. “Economics is good for me because there are so many things to keep my interest, and they’re all beneficial to society at large.”

Despite the full course load, Hurysz started his legacy of service by dedicating his second semester of college as the vice president of the Student Government Association and later serving on Edinboro’s Council of Trustees.

“As a freshman, I was becoming fully ingrained in the University and its culture,” he said. “And to be a little trite, the rest is history. I became involved at the beginning, and that involvement helped me persist.”

Upon graduation from Edinboro, Hurysz also earned a diploma from the Edinboro University Honors College and was named the Outstanding Departmental Graduate for Business and Economics.

His outstanding work at Edinboro and his commitment to education landed Hurysz at the master’s degree level at Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences –a school that boasts just an 18% acceptance rate and alumni such as economist Milton Friedman and scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson.

“The prestige of Columbia and the professors that add to this prestige really drew me in,” said Hurysz, who will be just a two-hour train ride away from where he grew up. “I’m excited about being in the city – being in New York in one of the premier commercial hubs of the world. And being closer to home makes things so much easier.”

Making a Mark Through leadership

INTERNATIONAL STUDENT EXPLORES HIS POTENTIAL AND ABILITIES THROUGH KEY POSITIONS

Most students would see serving food on campus as a means to an end — just a part-time job to earn some spending money.

But not Majd Al Halaby, ’21.

“I was the only person who got excited when I’d go there, interacting with students, and this was an eyeopening experience,” said the former Student Government Association president.

As a sophomore, he started out mopping floors but gradually took on more shifts and tasks.

This set the Lebanon native on the path to serve students — not just sandwiches, but also their interests and needs through the SGA.

“I always thought that the experience and the opportunity of having a

By Stacey Federoff

student government was something that students should treasure, should take value in,” he said. “I didn’t see the same opportunities back home.”

Al Halaby first came to the United States in 2016 as part of a yearlong international student exchange program with host parents Michael and Diane Legeza of Conneaut, Ohio, when he played on the high school soccer team and helped start an environmental club.

“He’s always been a really hard worker,” Michael Legeza said.

When the year was over, Al Halaby promised he’d be back.

“Most of the kids have said something like that at one time or another, but that he followed through with it was amazing to me,” said Diane Legeza, who herself took classes at

Edinboro in the late ’70s.

It wasn’t just the proximity to Ohio and the international relations program that drew him to become a Fighting Scot, but the feeling he got once he visited campus.

“There was something about Edinboro that clicked, and I don’t know what it was,” Al Halaby said. “I think this was the best decision I’ve made in the 21 years that I’m alive.”

First serving as director of public relations, he was elected SGA president in November 2020.

“I think my proudest moments were whenever I was able to bring all the talents of my executive boards together into one action plan,” he said.

His favorite American food is sloppy joes, but his wardrobe was anything

but: He took to wearing a shirt and tie most days on campus, especially once he was elected.

“I looked at it as: I am a representative of the students,” he said. “They deserve to be dressed up for, or they deserve to have somebody at least look professional.”

Rachel Scofield, executive staff assistant in the President’s office, said he worked well with both the student groups and University leadership.

“Being SGA president comes with a great deal of responsibility. Majd seemed to take this in stride,” she said.

Kyle Hurysz, ’21, who served as student representative on the Council of Trustees, called Al Halaby “profoundly professional.”

The pair worked together as part of

the university integration process with Clarion and California. For months, they talked on the phone at least three times per week, focusing on its impact on students.

“We always had some good-natured back-and-forth. But, at the end of the day, we always, always knew that it was important for us to be united, and we always were,” Hurysz said.

Al Halaby said he understood the importance of serving as a liaison between the four integration committees and the student body.

“Although there was a lot of analytical reasoning and objective assessments and crunching the numbers, there was in each and every single one of these committees a belief in student success and empowerment,”

he said, adding that he felt lucky to be a part of it. “It was also an opportunity for us to reimagine what we would like to see in a university that is actively working toward student success.”

After earning his political science degree, he returned to Lebanon for the first time in three years and is looking forward to an internship in the fall before graduate school.

Al Halaby said he owes a debt of gratitude to the University.

“Edinboro has provided me with this opportunity to explore my potential and my abilities,” he said. “I could not have imagined my experience would be the way it was, even if I had the chance to go back and plan it event by event.”

“Edinboro has provided me with this opportunity to explore my potential and my abilities. I could not have imagined my experience would be the way it was, even if I had the chance to go back and plan it event by event.”

By Alex Womer

Members of the 1970 Lambert Bowl-winning Edinboro State College Fighting Scots football team look forward to celebrating the 50-year anniversary of their historic season.

In November 1970, The New York Times chronicled their anxiety as they prepared to get onto the football field and take on California State College of Pennsylvania.

For head coach Bill McDonald, who played linebacker at the University of Cincinnati, rain was a concern as game time drew near.

He took the helm for the Scots in 1969, introducing the trendy veer-option attack, which required tough running backs and a better-than-competent quarterback.

The role of field general was held ably by a transfer from Iowa Wesleyan College, Joe Sanford.

Prior to playing for the Youngstown Hardhats, coaching for Edinboro, trying out for the Buffalo Bills, and signing with Green Bay, Sanford occupied the backfield with fullback Bob Mengerink.

Edinboro was led to a PSAC championship by a strong rushing attack featuring multiple tailbacks who were injured as season end approached.

When the skies cleared and McDonald was relieved to arrive at a mostly dry football field, Mengerink was tasked with the bulk of the backfield’s responsibility.

The 1970 season resulted in a 9-1 record which, at the time, was the fifth-most wins in the history of Edinboro State College.

The team also enjoyed seeing themselves atop the weekly rankings multiple times across the campaign.

Now that COVID-19 looms less large in advance of 2021 Homecoming festivities, the team will be celebrated as initially planned for 2020.

And when they convene, there will be plenty to celebrate.

FAMILY AFFAIR

LOVE OF FIGHTING SCOTS A TWO-GENERATION LEGACY FOR HEAD SOFTBALL COACH

By Alex Womer

For head softball coach Dan Gierlak, Edinboro University and family are synonymous.

It started in the late 1970s when his older brother, Tom, chose to attend Edinboro State College to play football for then head coach Bill McDonald.

“I was recruited by a bunch of different schools, but my brother Tom went here. He was a football player— a wide receiver—and I was a defensive back,” he said.

Dan arrived next as a freshman in the fall of 1979, followed by his younger brother, David, also a wide receiver.

“He turned out to be pretty good, too. Tom Herman recruited all three of us, along with Denny Creehan and Bill McDonald, the head coach,” Dan said.

“My dad asked me when I was 18 years old what I wanted to do when I grew up, and I told him I’m going to be a health and physical education major and my plan was to coach college football.”

While he has taught thousands of student-athletes the games of softball and football, coaching was always his goal.

“That was because the people with the greatest amount of influence on my life were the coaches I had,” he said.

After leaving the area briefly to play semi-professional football in Chicago, Dan returned to take a position with Edinboro football as an assistant coach.

From that point, Edinboro was home.

Athletic director Jim McDonald took a liking to Dan and kept him in mind as a candidate for future head coaching positions.

“(Jim’s) goal was to get the coaches to be full-time coaches and not professors, like Doug Watts, who I had in class,” he said of Edinboro’s legendary cross-country coach.

“I had played a little bit of fast-pitch and modified. Jim knew that, but he also wanted me to know that I would always have a job if I was willing to coach two sports.”

With experience playing baseball and softball growing up, and with Stan Swank needing to focus more closely on women’s basketball, Dan was tapped for a position he has now held for decades.

“This has been home for a long time for me. Originally, I am from Buffalo, but this is home. It is home for my kids, and that’s the way it has always been.”

Dan met his wife, Amy, at Edinboro. They have three children who grew up on school grounds.

“Amy went here and played softball here. She was an outfielder and pitcher,” he said. “She is also a heck of a golfer. We started playing golf together, and things just took off from there.”

Alex Gierlak was the first of their children to commit to Edinboro. She played softball for her dad.

“With Alex, we always introduced ourselves to the rest of the team. She told me, ‘Dad, don’t embarrass me,’ When she introduced herself,

she explained she was from General McLane and a nursing major and then she said, ‘Yes, that is my dad,’ and pointed to me. That’s a moment I’ll always remember.”

Joey Gierlak has become a vital asset to the Edinboro softball team, serving as assistant coach.

“From high school to making a catch in the last minute of the ballgame against Harborcreek, to watch him compete still or as a hitting coach with our team—it’s things like that which are always enjoyable,” Dan said.

Lauren Gierlak graduated earlier this year, garnering All-PSAC accolades for her performance in center field in her final season.

“There are so many memories with Lauren. We are thankful she was able to come back after the COVID year and get her MBA. The first game of the year she hit a home run, and man, you could tell by the sound of it that thing was gone,” Dan said, smiling at the memory.

For Dan, family extends beyond those mentioned as he approaches season 33 as one of campus’s most beloved figures.

“There is a lot of loyalty. Those who gave me my start made sure that I was taken care of,” he said. “That is what Edinboro has—outstanding people that will go out of their way to help you. Not just at the University but also in the town.”

HALL OF

Faler, whose career spanned 2006-2010, departed Edinboro women’s basketball as the program’s leading scorer with 1,924 points. She was named the 2009-2010 Nancy Acker Award winner as the Senior Female Athlete of the Year. Faler was a three-time All-PSAC West honoree, earning first-team recognition in both her sophomore and senior seasons. As a senior, she was a Women’s Division II Bulletin honorable mention All-American. Faler graduated holding the career record in free throws made with 640.

Goodman was a four-year starter for the Edinboro football Fighting Scots from 1973-1976 and also threw javelin for the track and field team. In 1976, Goodman was named first-team AllPSAC West and All-NAIA District 18 first team. The 1976 Pittsburgh Press All-Star helped the Scots win the PSAC West championship in 1975 when he centered the offensive line that aided David Green in amassing 1,000 yards rushing.

Hanna joined the Edinboro University Athletic Training staff in 1990 and was promoted to Head Athletic Trainer in 2003, a position he still holds. Prior to joining Edinboro he worked in the Department of Physical Therapy at St. Joseph’s Riverside Hospital in Warren, Ohio. He was certified as an athletic trainer in 1978 and has held positions with John Carroll University and the Youngstown Pride. He served on the athletic training staff for the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, after working numerous times with United States Olympics. Having won a wide array of awards for his talents, Hanna was inducted into the Pennsylvania Athletic Training Hall of Fame in 2014.

Class of 2010

King transferred to Edinboro after wrestling for the University of Oklahoma and nabbed the school’s fourth Division I National Championship.

A three-time national qualifier at 165 pounds, King was named the Eastern Wrestling League and PSAC champion, concluding his career with a 103-16 record. He was inducted into the Southwestern Pennsylvania Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Pennsylvania Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2020. Additionally, King was named to the NWCA All-Academic Team three times.

Liwush was a defender for the Edinboro soccer team from 1999-2002. A starter across 71 contests, she helped the team secure 27 shutouts, including a then school-record eight in 2000. Liwush was a three-time NSCAA All-Northeast Region selection and earned All-PSAC honors three times. She becomes only the second Edinboro soccer player to enter the University’s basketball hall of fame, helping establish the foundation for what Edinboro soccer is today.

Nicodemus played left guard for the Fighting Scots from 19982002, starting all 43 games in his career. He was a three-time All-PSAC West honoree, earning first team accolades as a sophomore, junior and senior. In his final two seasons, he was named an honorable mention All-American by the Football Gazette. Nicodemus helped block for three 1,000-yard rushers in his career.

Samantha (Reimer) Faler Class of 2010

Doug Goodman Class of 1977

Gary Hanna Distinguished Service Award

Jarrod King

Kim Liwush Class of 2003

Brandon Nicodemus Class of 2003

FAME

Harris is the starting quarterback for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League. He is the most decorated quarterback in Edinboro history and winner of the 2010 Sox Harrison Award after going 31-15 in four seasons as starter. He was a two-time Harlon Hill Trophy finalist, a three-time Harlon Hill Trophy Northeast Region finalist and a two-time Football Gazette and D2Football.com honorable mention All-American. The PSAC West Offensive Player of the Year in 2007 and 2008 still holds Edinboro career records for passing yards, completions, touchdown passes and total offense.

Mezler played second and third base for the Fighting Scots softball team from 19931996, earning All-PSAC West honors three times. In her senior season, she was a second-team All-Region selection, hitting .300 for the season. It was a feat the Fort LeBoeuf High School Hall of Famer would achieve all four seasons of her athletic career at Edinboro. A member of Edinboro’s All-Time Softball Team, Mezler also played for the Edinboro women’s basketball team for two years.

UPDATES

Edinboro soccer and volleyball earned two of the highest team GPA totals in the conference, with soccer earning a combined 3.69 and volleyball tallying 3.68.

Outstanding Edinboro distance runner Stefanie Parsons not only earned her degree in Exercise Science, but she also won her third PSAC Championship and advanced to the NCAA DII National Tournament. This spring, she competed in the Canadian trials for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Both men’s and women’s cross-country continued the Boro Family running tradition by capturing PSAC gold once again in the fall of 2020.

Although the football team was unable to compete last fall due to COVID-19, members continued to give back to the community by hosting the Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation Drive.

Despite pool limits due to COVID protocols, seven Fighting Scot swimmers earned AllPSAC honors at the conclusion of the season.

Defeating cross-county rival Mercyhurst in dramatic fashion, Edinboro’s men’s tennis team earned the PSAC Championship.

Ray wrestled for Edinboro in 1985-1986 after transferring to the Fighting Scots from the University of Iowa. Wrestling at 134 pounds, Ray won the Eastern Regional Championship and finished runner-up in the Division II tournament. He finished third overall in the Division I national championship to secure All-American status at both levels. A successful coach following his Edinboro career, he was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 2017.

Stroup helped Edinboro football win the PSAC West cochampionship three times from 2003-2005. The Scots advanced to the Division II playoffs twice during his career, and in 2007 he was named the Sox Harrison Award winner. In addition, the linebacker was a consensus All-American, first-team Associated Press Little All-American honoree, as well as Daktronics second team and honorable mention D2Football.com All-American.

Wrestling once again built on its tradition of success, finishing fifth in the MAC and sending two student-athletes to the NCAA Division I National Tournament in St. Louis.

Women’s basketball hosted a successful food drive, delivering nonperishable food items to the Edinboro Food Pantry.

Sophie DePalma and Kaitlyn Binotto reached milestone marks for lacrosse, as DePalma scored her 100th goal and Binotto saved her 100th shot.

Maura Pasquale earned All-PSAC First Team honors in her first season of college softball, recording the highest batting average of any conference freshman.

Edinboro alum Trevon Jenifer was selected to represent Team USA in Tokyo at the Paralympics, continuing his international wheelchair basketball playing career.

Trevor Harris Class of 2009

Diana Holder Mezler Class of 1996

David Ray Lifetime Achievement Award

Ben Stroup Class of 2007

RECOGNIZING ARTIST BILL CAMPBELL AND THE 2020-2021 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARDEES

By Kristin Brockett

Master potter Bill Campbell, ’74, has graced the Edinboro region with his spectacular porcelain pieces for decades. The talented artist and business owner is nationally known and admired for utilizing rich, vibrant glazes – including his iconic signature blue and a stellar crystalline he calls Flambeaux.

Campbell and his wife, Jane, a jewelry artist he met at Virginia Commonwealth University, founded Campbell Studios in 1979 inside an old powerhouse in downtown Cambridge Springs, Pa. As word spread about his extraordinary, yet functional, creations, the studio blossomed into one of the largest production pottery facilities in the Mid-Atlantic U.S.

“It has been both a growing and learning process,” said Bill, who earned his bachelor’s degree in Art from Edinboro at the age of 36. “And yes, I have made some mistakes along the way, but I have always refused to cut corners in any way that affects the high quality and brilliance of the pottery I produce.”

In 1991, the pair established a storefront – Campbell Pottery – in a majestic, century-old white barn three miles south of Edinboro. The venture began with a small yard sale in a portion of the barn and, cultivated by Jane’s vision, became a three-story premier shopping and gallery venue. Towering among quaint farmlands and seemingly endless cornfields, the property has served as a creative hub for hundreds of regional and national artists – including many Edinboro students, alumni and faculty members.

Bill, now 85 years old, and Jane, 70, announced their retirement in February, concluding their final season on June 30. But just prior to closing the doors, Campbell, who was recognized with an art achievement award in 1993, graciously created a series of plates that will be used to honor the University’s 2020-2021 distinguished alumni award winners this fall.

“My motive in making pottery is not terribly noble,” wrote Campbell in his artist’s statement. “I merely try to cause a little celebration in everyday living.”

Anyone who owns one of his pieces or who has had the pleasure of visiting the Campbell Pottery store will tell you that’s exactly what he’s done. Each one-of-a-kind creation reflects the passion and energy of its creator.

“My motive in making pottery is not terribly noble. I merely try to cause a little celebration in everyday living.”

2020-2021 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARDEES

2020

COLLEGE OF ARTS, HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

Jack Speer | ’81 | Speech Communication

Stephen Heywood | M ’02 | Fine Arts

COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND HEALTH PROFESSIONS

David J. Birchard | ‘81 | Geosciences

Deborah Dixon | ‘73 | Speech, Language and Hearing Disorders

William F. Rothenbach | SPHR ’76 | Psychology

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

Natalie Herath | ’04, M ’08 | Health and Physical Education, Educational Leadership

Kristin Austin | M ‘06 | Counseling, Student Personnel Services

2021

CENTER FOR DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

Sean Gibson | ’95 | Criminal Justice

COLLEGE OF ARTS, HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

Betty Cruz | ‘09 | History, Political Science

COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND HEALTH PROFESSIONS

Jonathan A. Thomas | ’11 | Chemistry/Biochemistry

OFFICE OF THE PROVOST

Patrick J. Santelli | ’62 | Social Studies, Secondary

UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT

Roy E. Shinn, Jr. | ’82 | Communication Sensory Disorder

* Awards will feature a special recognition of William H. Campbell ‘74 (Fine Art) for 30 years of service to the Cambridge Springs and Edinboro communities.

ALUMNI IN THE NEWS

1960s

1963 | Michael A. Fields authored the book “One Grey Night It Happened,” which will be adapted into a movie by Pearson Media Group. Set in the mountains of Central Pennsylvania, the suspense thriller follows two teens who are running from their past. They bond and create a coalition against the political corruption, greed and racism that follow.

1965 | Wallace D. Cady, a ventriloquist, magician and trained Santa performer since 1995, was one of 100 Santas recruited by “How to Save Christmas” to take Zoom calls with children during the 2020 holiday season. The organization was founded to bring joy and hope to children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

1970s

1972 | Glenn J. Koppel and his friend, Mary Alice Koeneke, both retired biologists and avid birdwatchers, have traveled nationally and internationally to observe and document birds. Koppel, who began birding in 1971 as a student at Edinboro, photographs bird species to illustrate articles written by Koeneke. The duo visits Moraine State Park several times a week.

1972 | Samuel I. Moorhead was elected vice president of the Gila County Provisional Community College District Governing Board in Arizona. Moorhead, who holds a master’s degree in Special Education from New Mexico State University, served as a corpsman in the Navy for 14 years and was a commercial driver for Werner Enterprises until retirement in 2007.

1973 | James C. Alexander III retired from Dominion Voting in March 2021. He is looking forward to spending more time with family, including attending his children’s hockey and soccer games, track meets and dance recitals.

1973 | David A. Antognoli of New Castle, Pa., was named to the DICK’S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon 2021 Hall of Fame Class. A runner at Edinboro State College under Coach

Doug Watts, Antognoli won three national titles and was accorded six National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) All-America honors. He completed his career undefeated in dual collegiate cross-country competition, finished eighth at the 1972 U.S. Olympic Track Trials, and was inducted into the Edinboro Athletics Hall of Fame in 1983. At age 50, he set an age group record that still stands at the Richard S. Caliguiri City of Pittsburgh Great Race 10K with a time of 31:56. Antognoli was the track and cross-country coach at Neshannock High School from 1991-2014.

1974 | Retired 1st Lt. Gary F. Cornelius’s latest article for Corrections. com addresses the hiring, training and retention of correctional officers as well as the importance of investing in professional development. He draws from a recent conversation with Edinboro Professor Kevin Courtright and students in the Department of Criminal Justice, Anthropology and Forensic Studies.

1975, M 1977 | Carl E. Goodwill is harnessing his 33 years of experience as a school guidance counselor to help men become supportive fathers. His new blog, “The Dad School,” provides a series of 50 lessons and corresponding worksheets to guide current and future dads. Now retired, Goodwill resides in Pittsburgh with his wife, Monica (Greco) Goodwill, ’75.

1975 | Mari K. Eder, a retired major general in the Army and an expert in public relations and strategic communications, writes a series of articles for The War Room, a publication of the U.S. Army War College. The series, titled “The Information Apocalypse,” discusses the rise of misinformation in modern media and its impact on trust in institutions.

1976 | Steven Plyler became lay minister of Bell Memorial Presbyterian Church in Ellwood City, Pa., on March 1. Plyler, who served as interim pastor of the Mount Jackson Presbyterian Church from 2013-2018, retired in February from the Human Services Center in New Castle, Pa., after 31 years.

1977 | Mary E. (Gillespie) Turner was awarded the 2020 Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award in Social Work. Turner earned her Master of Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh and became a licensed social worker in 1996. She has spent two decades offering school- and officebased mental health services, primarily to youths in the Pittsburgh area. She currently works for Mercy Behavioral Health in Pittsburgh. Her husband, James “Tweet” A. Turner, Jr., ‘75, M ‘78, recently authored a children’s book, “How the Cat Got Its Sound,” which is available through Amazon.

1980s

1982 | Fredda D. Maddox is the first African American elected sheriff in Chester County, Pa., and the first African American woman in Pennsylvania to assume a sheriff’s office. Maddox also made history as the first African American female to serve as a Pennsylvania State Trooper in Chester County.

1982 | Lee M. Steadman, director of Erie’s Bloom Collaborative, was awarded Erie Arts and Culture’s Lifetime Achievement Award on Dec. 5, 2020. Steadman has been a professional artist for more than 30 years and a community arts educator for nearly 20. His nature and scientific artwork has appeared in publications by Smithsonian Press and the National Geographic Society.

M 1983 | Emma Lou Buck was recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Educators and awarded the 2021 Humanitarian Award for Lifetime Achievement. Buck, who retired in 1998, was an educator for the Ashtabula Area City School District for nearly 30 years. Vice president of the Ashtabula Area Education Association in the 1970s, she was named Ashtabula County’s Senior Citizen of the Year in 2018.

M 1983 | Mark L. Rosenkrantz, an art educator at David Lawrence Jr. K-8 Center in North Miami, Fla., was named 2020-2021 Teacher of the Year Region Finalist.

M 1984 | Sandra C. O’Brien is serving her first term as Ohio state senator for the 32nd Senate District. A former elementary and collegiate level teacher, O’Brien previously served as Ashtabula County auditor.

M 1985 | Nicole D. Serra had several of her pottery pieces featured in the Washington, Pa., County Arts Council’s 12th Annual Community Art Show. Serra returned to her love for pottery after her 2015 retirement from a career in human resources.

1985 | Barbara J. Heim was featured by USA Today for her extraordinary commitment to teaching. Heim, a teacher at Conneaut Valley Elementary School in Conneautville, Pa., was the first to notice a student’s condition at recess in 2019. He was diagnosed with leukemia shortly afterward. Since then and throughout the pandemic, Heim visited him at his home to deliver the day’s lesson.

1985 | Thomas J. Vredevoogd and his father, Professor Emeritus James H. Vredevoogd, teamed up to produce the children’s book “Scootamapah!,” a story about two small but brave friends who set out to help a bull elephant seal rescue his mate from captivity. James, who authored the 32-page paperback, taught art courses at Edinboro for 32 years and retired to central Florida with his wife, Jeanette, in 1998. Illustrator Thomas holds a BFA from Edinboro and an MFA in painting from Ohio University. He is a multi-instrument musician who plays in a dance band orchestra in Portland, Ore., and runs a preschool in his home and studio.

1987 | Michael Hahesy, an assistant professor in Edinboro’s Health and Physical Education Department, and former Fighting Scots wrestling coach Michael DeAnna established the Robert “Bobby” Kauffman Memorial Scholarship in memory of Robert P. Kauffman, a 1986 NCAA Division II Wrestling National Champion who passed away in November 2020.

R OB R T B. KO CU R

1985, M 1987 | Robert B. Kocur’s second book, “You Had Me at Go to Hell,” will be released this summer. Based loosely on Kocur’s spinal cord injury nearly 40 years ago, the humorous tale follows Rob Madison through the rehab process as he meets addicts, criminals and sociopaths. Madison soon finds himself embroiled in a murder mystery. Kocur, of Erie, Pa., appreciates the help he received from the Beehive partnership with Erie-area colleges, including Edinboro.

1987 | Stacey L. Nogy was named head of the News Division at station KARE 11, based in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Nogy, who has worked in various positions at KARE 11 for nearly 30 years, has received regional Emmy Awards and the prestigious Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Television Political Journalism.

1987 | Jodi L. Titmas and her husband, Mark Titmas, opened The Coffee Caravan in March 2021. The coffee shop is the first in the Lebanon, Ohio, area to prioritize hiring individuals with special needs.

1988 | Thomas Shepherd retired on Dec. 31, 2020, after 15 years as county magistrate for Wetzel County, W.Va. Shepherd also served with the West Virginia Sheriff’s Association for seven years.

1989 | Carla M. Boyd was named human rights and equity officer for the City of Urbana, Ill. Boyd has served Danville Area Community College for 23 years in several positions, most recently as the assistant vice president of Student Services and chief diversity officer. She is working on her Ph.D. in Education Administration and Foundations at Illinois State University.

1990s

M 1990 | Jan A. Feleppa is running for re-election as president of the Crawford Central School District School Board, a role she has held for six years. She retired in 2013 from the Northwest Tri-County Intermediate Unit 5 after 35 years of service.

1990 | The Rev. Dr. Geraldine M. Sawtelle published her second book, “Outside In, Inside Out: Volume II,” in February. After teaching special education for 15 years, Sawtelle earned two doctoral degrees, allowing her to become an ordained metaphysical minister and a life coach in theocentric psychology. She teaches at Inner Haven in Williamsburg, Va., and is a dancer, spiritual counselor, therapeutic massage therapist, speaker and author. She resides in Buckingham, Va.

1990 | Dolores Jimerson recently became tribal health director for the Quileute Tribe in La Push, Wash. She previously served as mental health clinical manager for the Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center. In 2010, Jimerson was selected as the University of Wyoming College of Health Sciences Alumna of the Year for her commitment to diversity in social work based on her national-level work with indigenous tribes.

1988, 1990 | Father William “Bill”

1989 | Dennis R. Frampton, a member and chairman of the Edinboro University Foundation and a member and past chairman of the Edinboro University Council of Trustees, was honored as a co-recipient of the Gov. Raymond P. Shafer Award for Distinguished Community Service in western Crawford County, Pa. Frampton retired as president of C&J Industries in 2016 after starting in the maintenance department at age 18. He is a past chairman of the Meadville Redevelopment Authority, the Precision Manufacturing Institute, and the Meadville-Western Crawford County Chamber of Commerce.

M. Williams was honored by the Archdiocese of Atlanta on March 30, marking his 25th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood. After an extensive career in the Army, Williams graduated from Edinboro and entered St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, Pa. He serves as parochial vicar to the Catholic Church of the Transfiguration in Marietta, Ga.

1992 | Thomas Laughlin was named senior associate at engineering firm Draper Aden Associates, where he has worked for 27 years.

1992 | Dr. Sian Proctor, a geoscientist, explorer, space artist and science communication specialist, was honored by the prestigious Explorer’s Club and appeared in Forbes magazine. Proctor has completed four analog space missions and promotes sustainable food preservation techniques to reduce food waste on Earth. In March, she was selected for SpaceX’s first civilian spaceflight.

1992 | Dr. Tammy A. Baumann became the senior manager of Content and Curriculum Advocacy for NWEA. Baumann has more than 20 years of experience as a math teacher, director at the university level and presenter at national conferences for organizations like the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the Florida Association of District Superintendents.

1993 | Lewis W. Rosselli, head wrestling coach at the University of Oklahoma since 2016, was named 2021 Big 12 Coach of the Year after leading the Sooners to their first conference championship in nearly two decades. Rosselli became the first freshman in Edinboro history to make the NCAA championships in 1989, and AllAmerican honors followed in 1991 and 1993 as well as an appearance on the U.S. Olympic team. He previously spent 10 years as an assistant coach at Ohio State.

1993 | Ebstin F. Simpson, founder of Skyskrappa Productions, and his son, rapper Big Chedda, recorded and produced “Off Top,” a rap tribute to Lebron James. Simpson has recorded and performed under the name Big June the Skyskrappa with artists such

as Slick Rick, Too Short, Whodini and Doug E. Fresh. He also works as a security officer for Akron Public Schools.

1991, M 1993 | Dr. James A. Troha was appointed to the Kish Bank and Kish Bancorp boards of directors in March. Troha has been the president of Juniata College for eight years. He also serves on the boards of Penn Highlands Huntingdon and Huntingdon County Business and Industry, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania. His doctorate degree is from the University of Kansas.

1994 | Mark A. Flanigan, family services coordinator at Imago Dei School in Tucson, Ariz., has worked to promote the school’s THREAD (Together for Hope, Resilience, Empowerment and Development) Project, which employs local refugees and immigrants in a fair-trade sewing cooperative. Between March and September 2020, the workers – many had lost jobs in the service industry due to the pandemic – crafted more than 15,000 cotton facemasks to donate to health workers.

1995 | Gregory Blair, a 22-year veteran of the Metro Nashville Police Department and its current director of training, was named commander of the Madison Precinct in December 2020.

1996 | David C. Filoni, who has been an important part of the Star Wars franchise since his work on the animated “Star Wars: Clone Wars” movie and TV series, lent his efforts to the second season of “The Mandalorian” on Disney+. Filoni wrote and directed the season’s fifth episode, “The Jedi,” and reprised his role as X-Wing pilot Trapper Wolf in the second episode, “The Passenger.”

1996 | Darin T. Foltz is a new co-owner of Riverside Golf Course in Cambridge Springs, Pa. Foltz and his business partners renovated the facility’s dining/ lounge area, ballroom and pro shop.

1996 | Lesley Koble, who has more than 15 years of experience in library services, became the manager of the Mary Jacobs branch of the Somerset County Library System of New Jersey. Her master’s degree is from Clarion University.

1996 | Martin L. Williams has been a leader in the behavioral health field in Cleveland for more than 20 years. As the chief program officer at the Centers of Families and Children, he provides oversight to all behavioral health programs, including case management, counseling and substance use services. As a member of the executive leadership team, he works to develop, design and expand integrated services for adults and children. Additionally, he is a behavioral health consultant and the owner and operator of Williams Family Services, LLC. After attending Edinboro, where he was a three-year starter at cornerback and a member of the 1995 PSAC championship football team, Williams earned a master’s degree from the Mandel School of Applied Social Science at Case Western Reserve University.

2000s

2000 | Amy M. Pfender was one of two finalists for the School Superintendents Association’s Women in School Leadership Award in the Central Office/ Principal category. She was recognized for her accomplishments in developing programs for young women and girls, mentoring female staff members, and leading the student-centered culture within the school district.

M 2000 | Richard J. Nickel exhibited his ceramics work in a show, titled “Exuberant Wisdom,” at the Morin Gallery of the Arts Center in Orange County, Calif. Nickel has taught at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., since 2002.

2002, M 2007 | Dr. Jamie J. Chapman published a case study on the use of Q methodology regarding the interaction of mental health and incarceration. Chapman, who earned her Ph.D. from the University of Akron, is an assistant professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice Studies at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pa.

2002, M 2009 | Robert T. Launer’s Cleveland-based company, BakerBands, collaborated with the Cleveland Clinic to retrofit headbands with buttons that hold facemasks, alleviating the discomfort on the wearer’s ears. BakerBands produces high-quality headbands for athletes, musicians, teams and gyms nationwide.

2004 | Rabecca L. Signoriello’s exhibition, “This Is Work,” was the feature of the first opening at Nutting Gallery at West Liberty University since COVID-19 closures. Signoriello, who specializes in murals, has been the recipient of the Walter Erlebacher Award and an Artist in Residence at Leipzig International Arts Programme in Germany.

2001 | David P. Edwards was named head men’s basketball coach at Crockett High School in Austin, Texas, where he teaches Social Studies.

2001 | Erin K. Wells was named director of the Northwest Regional Office for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). She previously worked for 11 years as the DEP local government liaison for the region and has served as director of the northwest region for the Governor’s Office.

2001 | Carrie-Anne (Leiby) Henry opened a literacy tutoring business, New Journeys in Literacy LLC. Henry has 20 years of experience and specializes in the Orton-Gillingham Multisensory Approach to literacy. She acknowledges the late Dr. Rosemary Omniewski, faculty emeritus, for inspiring and guiding her throughout her time at Edinboro.

2001 | D. K. McDonald was named assistant defensive backs coach for the Philadelphia Eagles in February. McDonald coached Edinboro football from 2004-2006. He has 11 years of experience in collegiate coaching, most recently as the Iowa State assistant safeties coach.

M 2004 | Toni H. Wengerd’s new book, “Giving Hope: A Child’s Journey Through a Pandemic,” was published by Mascot Books in April 2021. The book follows the COVID-19 pandemic through a child’s journal entries and explores how there is always hope, even in difficult times.

2004 | Photographer LaToya Ruby Frazier will release “Flint Is Family in Three Acts,” the result of her five-year collaboration with people in Flint, Mich., dealing with the effects of the contaminated water crisis. In December 2020, Frazier published “The Last Cruze,” a collection of portraits and interviews with autoworkers let go when General Motors closed its plant in Lordstown, Ohio.

2005 | Lorren R. Pallone, a special education teacher and department chair at Dorchester School District 4, created a Special Olympics program to develop and foster acceptance for children with different abilities. The program was recognized as a National Banner School, meeting 10 criteria. The school and program were also named an ESPN Honor School and Hasbro award winner, and Pallone was recognized as a Top 100 Visionaries in Education by the Global Forum for Education and Learning.

2006 | Jennifer A. Wolfram, intensive care unit director at UPMC Hamot in Erie, Pa., received the prestigious Cameos of Caring Award from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. The annual award honors exceptional nurses. As the liaison for Center for Organ Recovery and Education (CORE), Wolfram has created an environment and culture of support. Her efforts to raise awareness led to the highest number of organ donors in the hospital’s history in 2020.

2006, 2008 | Ryan A. Bizarro was sworn in for his fifth term in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in January 2021. In his first term as a member of the House Democratic leadership team, he serves as policy chairman.

2006, M 2008 | Sheena M. Leedham published her book, “The Power of a Note: The fitness journey of a child with autism that began with pen and paper,” in May 2021. The book is an outreach tool for parents, educators and personal trainers to positively introduce fitness and design a strength training program for children with autism to reach their highest potential through movement and health. Leedham specializes in programming for children and adults

with autism. She works with The Ohio State University’s Nisonger Center, ACE! and PLAN programs to educate high school and college students with autism on fitness habits and nutrition.

2006 | Angela O. Euell-McNair announced her candidacy for Erie County Council on Feb. 9, 2021. McNair founded and owns JumpStart Early Learning Center in Erie, Pa., and serves as a member of Gov. Tom Wolf’s African-American Affairs Commission.

2007 | Kevin C. Kantz became morning co-anchor at WLNE, an ABC affiliate in Providence, R.I. Kantz got his start as a weekend sports anchor at WSEE in Erie while a junior at Edinboro. In 2010, he moved to WTAJ, a division of Nexstar Media Group, Inc., in State College, Pa., and became morning co-anchor after a few years in sports.

2008 | Brenton D. Davis announced his candidacy for Erie County executive on Jan. 5, 2021. Davis is the owner of construction firm D. Davis LLC.

2008, M 2012 | Robert J. Ippolito joined Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts as a teacher of Props Creation and Advanced Costume Design. He also teaches Freshman Seminar. He credits his success in helping students to his three Edinboro degrees and a decade of experience in Higher Education Residence Life.

2008, M 2010 | Dr. Robert L. Thornton successfully defended his doctoral dissertation, “Strengths from the margin: Foster care alumni and academic behavioral achievement for baccalaureate degree completion,” at the University of Hartford in December 2020. Soon after, he became the director of the Urban Education Program at Westfield State University, which provides college readiness and support for first-generation college students. A former foster care youth, he was first motivated to do the work by the Frederick Douglass Living Learning Community and the Dr. Gerald P. Jackson Department of Academic Support Services at Edinboro.

2009 | Kelly J. Rensel became head groundskeeper at Shalen Field for the Buffalo Bisons, a Triple-A East affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Rensel, who began his career in Minor League Baseball in 2008, won the Sports Turf Managers Association’s annual Mowing Pattern Contest in 2017 for his design at the 2017 Midwest League All-Star Game.

2009 | LaShae J. Jeffers, a behavioral specialist in Johnstown, Pa., started a group in her local NAACP chapter to bridge the gap between older members and youths. Inspired by the peaceful Black Lives Matter protests and her young son’s responses to the events, Jeffers wanted to facilitate change for children growing up in her community.

2010s

2012 | Kelli J. Hardy’s article for GoHorseShow.com featuring tips from top trainers Missy Thyfault and Seth and Amber Clark was published in January 2021. Hardy teaches high school English at Erie First Christian Academy in Erie, Pa. She shows with her mare, The Pretty Committee, with the American Quarter Horse Association in amateur all-around events.

M 2012 | Danielle J. Cook was named district superintendent for Randolph Academy in Panama, N.Y. In her 15 years as an educator, she has served as secondary principal for Panama Central School and previously as school psychologist for the Panama and Clymer school districts. She lives with her husband and three children in Warren, Pa.

2013 | Samantha J. Howard made history in December 2020 as the first female line officer in the Spartansburg Volunteer Fire Department in Spartansburg, Pa. A substitute teacher in the Union City Area School District, she has served the SVFD for more than six years.

2013 | Adina R. Hilton and Ian George, ‘15, host a biweekly podcast comparing books to their film adaptations. The Pittsburgh couple, currently engaged, met as students at Edinboro. Hilton is a librarian at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and George is a professional graphic designer at Top Hat.

M 2012 | Dr. Tyler J. Titus, Erie School Board president and co-vice chair for the Pennsylvania Commission of LGBTQ+ Affairs, was selected as the Democratic candidate for Erie County Executive. In 2017, Titus became the first openly transgender person to be elected to office in Pennsylvania. Titus is married to Dr. Shradda Prabhu, assistant professor in Edinboro’s Social Work Department, and is the parent of two children.

2011, M 2014 | Dr. Angelica F. Perez-Johnston was named chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer for Community College of Allegheny County in June 2021. A finalist for the 2021 Mena Valdez Award, she previously served as the director of the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access & Social Justice Center at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa.

2014 | Luke T. Huling judged the “Art to Appreciate” exhibit by the Artists League of the Sandhills in June 2021. A ceramic figure sculptor living in North Carolina, he teaches composition, ceramics and 2D art at Sandhills Community College. He has been a resident at the LUX Center for the Arts and Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts.

2014 | Steven A. Paternostro became director of admissions for online engineering and technology degree programs at Trine University in December 2020.

2014 | Sara A. Kuhn is head coach of the Sandpoint Sharks Swim Team in Sandpoint, Idaho. Kuhn swam for the Fighting Scots as a student, and the sport is her passion. Since joining the community-based, competitive swim team, she has set new standards and goals for each age group of athletes.

2015 | Dominic A. Sirianni shared his story for Voices of Academia, an international community of academics who share honest insights on mental health and well-being in academia. His piece, “You Are Worth It,” describes his own journey to mental health while working toward his Ph.D. in Theoretical Chemistry.

2015 | Alexis M. Spina is an artist-inresidence at Pocosin Arts School of Fine Crafts in Columbia, N.C., for 2020-2021. She recently taught at Pocosin Arts 2021 Summer Art Camp. Since 2017, Spina has been an assistant at Lola Brooks’s personal studio. She holds an MFA from the University of Georgia.

2015 | Saxon C. Daugherty was appointed safety press officer for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s northwest region District 1. Daugherty, who resides in Cranberry Township with his wife and daughter, serves as a spokesperson for PennDOT’s transportation safety initiatives in the six-county region of Crawford, Erie, Forest, Mercer, Venango and Warren. He also serves as vice president/secretary of Venango County’s Future Leaders & Entrepreneurial Exchange.

M 2016 | Andrea M. Marsh was hired as the new assistant principal at Washington Middle School in Jamestown, N.Y. She has a Certificate of Advanced Study in K-12 Leadership from the University of Rochester.

2016 | Armani Davis was honored as one of Pittsburgh Business Times’ 30 Under 30 for 2021.

2017 | Maximilian G. Sheppard signed a new two-year deal with the Pittsburgh Thunderbirds American Ultimate Disc League Team in April. Sheppard was selected as 2019 All-Star Game MVP and is one of just five players in UADL history to finish a season with 50 assists and 50 goals. The team is in its sixth season in the league.

Anthony T. Recco, ‘18, and Samuel S. Recco, ‘17, were inducted into Lyndonville High School’s first Athletic Hall of Fame class in May. The brothers made history in high school when both earned state wrestling titles on the same day in 2012. Both went on to wrestle for Edinboro University. Sam Recco became the assistant wrestling coach at Lincoln College in Illinois. He will return to EU in fall 2021 for his master’s degree and to serve as a graduate assistant for the Fighting Scots Wrestling Team. Tony Recco attends the Alaska Law Enforcement Training Academy in Sitka.

Riley J. Wentzler, ‘16, M ‘18, and Felicia D. Barber, ‘18, recently published an article in The Hudson Independent, presenting the stories of the first African-American police officers in Greenburgh, N.Y. Both alumni work as assistant town historians for Greenburgh and are engaged to be married. Wenztler’s interests lie in political science and government, while Barber pursues graphic design.

2018 | Ryan W. Beichner’s new children’s book, “The Adventures of Captain Redcheeks,” was published by Fulton Books in January 2020.

2019 | Kimberly A. Neubauer, SLP, CCC, is a speech-language pathologist in the Cesar Rodney School District in Delaware.

2019 | Chanakarn Semachai, Tyler Podomik,’19, and Austin Wieland, M’15, along with Edinboro Art faculty members Chuck Johnson, Linda Cordell and Sue Amendolara and current MFA student Whitney Timbrook, were invited to showcase their work in “Crafts in the Air,” a virtual exhibition hosted by Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand.

2019 | Walter C. Fletcher, an AllAmerican running back during his time at Edinboro, signed a contract with Edmonton in the Canadian Football League.

M 2019 | Jessica Dore, writer, social worker and tarot card teacher, combines her passions for therapy and tarot card readings to help people. Dore posts regular tarot card readings on social media and connects them to therapy tips for making changes in your life.

2020s

2020 | Mark T. Tarabula’s sculptural and functional works were displayed in a solo exhibition at the Saratoga Clay Arts Center’s Schacht Gallery in June and July. As the 2020-2021 Artist-inResidence at the New York center, Tarabula explores conditions of the human body, concepts of sexuality, and the connection between surface and form in this collection.

2020 | Michaela J. Barnes, whose #2 jersey was retired last year, was hired as assistant coach for women’s basketball at John Carroll University in January 2021.

M 2020 | Natasha Gamble was promoted to director of community development for the United Way of Northern New York. She has been with the organization since 2018.

2021 | Bailey E. Thompson was hired in May as community and economic development director for Forest County, Pa.

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IN MEMORIAM

Mrs. Julana (Hannold) Hanson | ‘49 | Youngsville, PA

Mr. Donald A. DiPlacido | ‘50 | Erie, PA

Mrs. Norma J. (Lalley) Kay | ’50 | Greensboro, NC

Dr. Robert E. Pletcher | ‘50 | Nashville, TN

Mr. Hugh A. Pompeani | ‘51 | Erie, PA

Mrs. Barbara A. (Wetherhold) Traugh | ‘51 | Indiana, PA

Mr. Charles E. Lodge | ‘52 | Pittsburgh, PA

Rev. Donald G. Edmunds, Sr. | ‘53 | Pittsburgh, PA

Mr. John Hricz | ‘53 | Erie, PA

Mrs. Marian L. | (Rockwood) Eighmy | ‘55 | Fort Mill, SC

Mr. Carmelo J. Palazzo | ‘56 | Newark, DE

Mr. Charles R. Valone | ‘56 | Zebulon, NC

Mrs. Shirley (Stanton) Hitchcock | ‘57 | Russell, PA

Dr. Dorothea M. Taylor | ’58 | Willow, AK

Mr. Bernard A. Twardowski | ‘58 | Fruita, CO

Mr. William Peiffley | ‘59 | Saegertown, PA

Ms. Michalene (Fetsko) Tomko | ‘59 | Johnstown, PA

Mr. David W. Beltram | ‘60 | Baytown, TX

Mr. Stephen C. Hazlewood, Sr. | ‘60 | Mesa, AZ

Mrs. Peggy S. (Barnes) Miller | ‘60 | Columbus, OH

Mr. E. Keith Oviatt | ‘60 | Pittsfield, PA

Mr. John H. Sechriest | ‘60 | Warren, PA

Mr. Ralph E. Simmerman | ‘62 | Centerville, PA

Mr. William F. Smith | ‘62 | Saint Marys, PA

Mr. Richard G. Fagley | ‘63 | New Bethlehem, PA

Mr. Donald Kozy | ‘63 | Waterford, PA

Ms. Barbara J. Lendick | ‘63 | Ellwood City, PA

Mrs. Elaine E. Nejman | ‘63 | North East, PA

Ms. Michele (Cosmark) Bula | ‘64 | Erie, PA

Mrs. Florence W. Gillette | ‘64 | Linesville, PA

Mrs. Helene E. (Meissel) Weed | ‘64 | Hamilton, OH

Mr. Robert C. Wainwright | ‘65 | Erie, PA

Mr. Eugene Chieffo | ‘66 | Oakmont, PA

Mr. Frank J. Coppola | ‘66 | Meadville, PA

Mr. John R. Fees | ‘66 | Girard, PA

Mr. Douglas Isaac | ‘66 | Pittsburgh, PA

Mr. David E. Lyons | ‘66 | McKnight, PA

Mr. James E. Becker, Jr. | ‘67 | Corry, PA

Mr. Joseph E. Summerville | ‘67 | Everett, PA

Mr. James L. Halligan | ‘68 | Newark, DE

Mr. Joseph A. Leone | ‘68 | Erie, PA

Ms. Mary E. (Means) Neumeister | ‘68 | Highland Park, IL

Mrs. Roberta I. (Mason) Stewart | ‘68 | Warren, PA

Mrs. Patricia (Eckard) Magdik | ‘69 | Edinboro, PA

Ms. Pamela R. Mesick | ‘69 | Uniontown, PA

Mr. Thomas G. Smith | ‘69 | Waldorf, MD

Mrs. Jill P. (Poole) Knox | ‘70 | Oceanside, CA

Dr. Michael “Mick” J. Manafo | ‘70 | Erie, PA

Mr. John “Jack” W. Stover | ‘70 | Cape Coral, FL

Mr. Mark A. Stuyvesant | ‘70 | Cranesville, PA

Mr. Raymond A. Derda | ‘71 | Brookfield, OH

Sister Mary A. Menz | ‘71 | Erie, PA

Dr. Joyce Ann Miller | ‘71 | Erie, PA

Mr. James P. Nairn | ‘71 | Beaver, PA

Ms. Elise D. Nick | ‘71 | Erie, PA

Ms. Mary P. (Petrus) Salchak | ‘71 | Latrobe, PA

Mrs. Mary Shewan | ‘71 | Venice, FL

Mrs. Valerie M. (Henneous) Beall | ‘72 | Grant, AL

Mr. Torry A. Buck | ‘72 | Cleveland Heights, OH

Mrs. Ruth A. (Mackey) Laughner | ‘72 | Olney, MD

Ms. Muriel (Thomas) Dockstader | ‘73 | W. Lafayette, IN

Mrs. Lisa A. (Ivey) Lobel | ‘73 | Boca Raton, FL

Mr. James S. Loeffler | ‘73 | Virginia Beach, VA

Mr. Edward W. Meeks, Jr. | ‘73 | Pittsburgh, PA

Mrs. Aimee (Doucette) Rodak | ‘73 | Edinboro, PA

Mr. John H. Stormer, Jr. | ‘73 | Ashville, NY

With deepest sympathy to the family and friends of the following alumni who have passed away.

IN MEMORIAM

Mrs. Rebecca A. Bookhamer | ‘74 | Edinboro, PA

Mr. Mark J. Record | ‘74 | Berlin, MD

Ms. Mary C. Plank | ‘75 | Irwin, PA

Mr. Warren O. Young | ‘75 | Wildwood, FL

Mr. Richard Gillespie | ‘76 | Harrisburg, PA

Mrs. Beverly I. (Ross) McClung | ‘76 | Kennett Square, PA

Ms. Janette Metzler | ‘76 | Waterford, PA

Mrs. Joan M. (Page) Moore | ‘76 | Erie, PA

Mrs. Averyl F. (Smock) Parker | ‘76 | Jacksonville, FL

Mrs. Georgia L. (Botinovch) Hill | ‘77 | Erie, PA

Mr. Robert A. Hladio | ‘77 | Ambridge, PA

Mrs. Robin L. Jacobs-Slack | ‘77 | Lexington, NC

Mr. Douglas J. Cahill | ‘78 | Irwin, PA

Ms. Arlyn I. Edelstein | ‘79 | Johnstown, PA

Mr. Frederick R. Haines, Jr. | ‘79 | Sharpsville, PA

Mrs. Marjorie (Sanger) Hinchman | ‘79 | Erie, PA

Mrs. Constance B. (Bartholomew) Waxman ‘79 | Pepper Pike, OH

Dr. James W. Bolton | ‘81 | Edinboro, PA

Mr. Anthony D. DeMarco | ‘82 | Erie, PA

Mr. Darryl Jamison | ‘82 | Erie, PA

Mr. Thomas R. Thompson | ‘82 | Conneaut Lake, PA

Mr. David L. Weber | ‘82 | Titusville, PA

Mrs. Geraldine M. (Peck) Jerome | ‘83 | Jefferson, OH

Mr. Daniel M. Metro | ‘84 | Pittsburgh, PA

Mrs. Ronda M. (Nickerson) Buchmeier | ‘85 | Cheshire, CT

Mr. Nathan E. Everhart | ‘85 | Edinboro, PA

Ms. Karen M. Green | ‘85 | Erie, PA

Mr. Michael D. Monday | ‘85 | Butler, PA

Mr. Gary M. Parkin | ‘85 | Cambridge Springs, PA

Ms. Regina A. (Crisci) Pude | ‘85 | Salisbury, MD

Mr. Mark C. Dennen | ‘86 | Erie, PA

Ms. Dianne T. Bernard | ‘87 | Erie, PA

Mrs. Peggy J. Griffin | ‘87 | McKean, PA

With deepest sympathy to the family and friends of the following alumni who have passed away.

Mrs. Margaret V. (Van Houten) Walker | ‘87 | Edinboro, PA

Mr. Peter J. Kappas | ‘88 | Baden, PA

Mr. Frederick J. Mazurik | ‘88 | Meadville, PA

Mr. Randy J. Glessner | ‘89 | Glen Allen, VA

Mr. Jeffrey G. Hanson | ‘90 | Renfrew, PA

Mrs. Tracy A. (Keefe) Simpson | ‘90 | Erie, PA

Ms. Kathleen A. (Mcelhinny) Pulling ‘91 | Cambridge Springs, PA

Ms. Janet F. Svenson | ‘91 | Jefferson, OH

Ms. Paula L. Fetterolf | ‘93 | Cranesville, PA

Ms. Nicole L. Font | ‘93 | Warren, PA

Mr. Terry L. Rea | ‘93 | Girard, PA

Ms. Mary “Patti” P. Middendorf | ‘94 | Bethesda, MD

Mrs. Cynthia L. (Damcott) Gabriel | ‘95 | Sherman, NY

Mrs. Mary Anne (Seybert) Shay | ‘96 | Conneaut Lake, PA

Mr. Kenneth Lund | ‘98 | McKean, PA

Ms. Angel E. Morris | ‘98 | Pittsburgh, PA

Ms. Emily K. Biancardi | ‘99 | Erie, PA

Ms. Janet (Robb) Gallup | ‘99 | Greencastle, PA

Mrs. Stephanie L. Krayeski | ‘99 | Erie, PA

Mr. Jason E. Durbin | ‘00 | Aliquippa, PA

Mr. Corey J. Haugh | ‘00 | Greer, SC

Mr. Joseph H. Sarria | ‘01 | Saint Johns, FL

Mrs. Debra I. Marr | ‘04 | Inverness, FL

Mr. Eric J. Patterson | ‘05 | Mesa, AZ

Mr. John C. Reno | ‘06 | Mentor, OH

Ms. Barbara L. (Winkelblech) Taylor | ‘06 | Connellsville, PA

Mr. Edwin S. Morrison | ‘07 | Cambridge Springs, PA

Mr. Don Fleming | ‘08 | Edinboro, PA

Ms. Maritza Hernandez | ‘13 | Manassas, VA

Ms. Shannen L. Patton | ‘19 | Brockway, PA

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