on campus - Article - Manhattan College

Volume Thirty-Two Number One Spring 2006

Calendar
JUNE
2-4 Reunion 2006
13 Environmental Engineering Plumbers Club
14 Hall of Fame Nominations
21 Hall of Fame Selection
JULY
17 Jasper Cup*
28 Day at the Races, Saratoga, N.Y.
AUGUST
7 Construction Industry Golf, Eastchester, N.Y.
17 Day at the Races, Monmouth, N.J.
SEPTEMBER
18 Long Island Golf*
21 President’s Dinner
22-24 Alumni Men’s Retreat*
29 MCLAC Awards Dinner*
OCTOBER
1 Benefactors Brunch
5 Philadelphia Club Networking Reception*
7 Interscholastic Cross Country Meet
7 National Alumni Council Meeting
9 Fall Columbus Day Golf
11 Career Fair – Undergraduate
15 Fall Honors Convocation
18 Tappan Zee Career Dinner*
20 Manhattan Madness*
25 Westchester/Putnam Basketball Preview*
29 Alumni Brunch at Open House*
NOVEMBER
4 Broderick Scholarship Dinner*
10 Fall Engineering Awareness Day
TBD New York City Club*
DECEMBER
2 Hall of Fame Induction
2 National Alumni Council Meeting
9 Christmas Dinner, Sarasota, Fla.
TBD Horan Lecture
*Not confirmed
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Published by the office of college relations,
a division of college advancement
Manhattan College, Riverdale, NY 10471
Lydia E. Gray, director of college relations
Kristen I. Cuppek, editor
Jennifer A. Ernst, writer at large
Melanie A. Farmer, writer at large
Contributors:
Michael Antonaccio
Dorothy Conigliaro
Stephen DeSalvo
Joe Dillon
Tom Gray
Jorie Kontos
School of Ed Makes the Grade
Alumnus Dedicates Room of
Inventions and Life Mementos
Engineering Students
Design Tools for Disabled
Sounding as Smart as You Are:
Alum Endows “Communicating
for Career Success” Program
On Campus
Sports
Advancement
Alumni Events
Alumnotes
Stephen Laruccia
Mary Ellen Malone
Michael McMorrow
Ralph Ventre
Susan Woolhandler
Photographers:
Ben Asen
Josh Cuppek
Marty Heitner
Chris Taggart

Charles Maikish, executive director of the Lower Manhattan Construction
Command Center, accepts the De La Salle Medal from Brother Thomas
Scanlan as Thomas O’Malley ’63, chair of the Manhattan College board of
trustees, and Peter Davoren, dinner chairman and president & CEO of
Turner Construction Co., applaud.
Charles Maikish Receives the
2006 De La Salle Medal
More than 600 friends, colleagues and
associates gathered in the grand ballroom
of the Waldorf=Astoria for the College’s
largest annual fund-raising event. Brother
President Thomas Scanlan presented
the 2006 De La Salle Medal to Charles
J. Maikish, executive director of the
Lower Manhattan Construction Command
Center. The proceeds from the De La Salle
dinner benefit scholarships, academic
programs and library resources.
Of special significance was the
presence of four distinguished De La
Salle medalists. These included 1991
recipient Alfred McNeill, then chairman
and CEO of the Turner Corporation;
1994 recipient Thomas O’Malley ’63,
then chairman & CEO of the Tosco
Corporation and current chairman of the
Manhattan College board of trustees;
2003 recipient Eugene McGrath ’63,
chairman of Con Edison; and last year’s
recipient Sy Sternberg, chairman and
CEO of New York Life Insurance Company.
The De La Salle Medal celebrates
individuals who demonstrate Lasallian
values in action: leadership, public
service and commitment to education.
Jim Ryan ’60, special correspondent,
CBS 2 News This Morning, officiated
as master of ceremonies. He thanked
members of the dinner committee: John
Magliano ’66, chairman & CEO, Syska
Hennessy Group; the Honorable Rudolph
Giuliani ’65, 107th mayor of New York
and chairman and CEO, Giuliani
Partners; Eugene McGrath ’63, chairman,
Con Edison; John Thomann ’87, vice
president & general manager, Turner
Interiors; John Zuccotti, chairman,
Brookfield Properties; and Curt Zegler ’93,
purchasing agent, Turner Construction.
Dinner journal chair John Roth ’70, senior
vice president, group account director,
Lowe Worldwide, was also acknowledged.
John Cahill, secretary and chief of
staff to Governor George Pataki, made a
special presentation in honor of Maikish.
Cahill’s message of appreciation for
Maikish’s leadership set a tone for the
evening in terms of recognition for
commitment to New York at both the
city and state levels.
O’Malley thanked the attendees for
coming together to celebrate the life and
work of Maikish. He introduced Peter
Davoren, dinner chairman and president
& CEO of Turner Construction Co., and
accorded him special recognition for his
time and energy in support of the event.
Davoren emphasized the role Manhattan
graduates have played in building the
physical infrastructure of the city.
Currently, Turner Construction employs
40 Manhattan graduates. And among
the dinner guests were many Manhattan
alumni employed by the city’s most
respected construction and civil
engineering firms, including Turner.
Br. Thomas introduced Maikish and
described his long and distinguished
career overseeing the infrastructure at
economic and cultural institutions
throughout the city, including the Port
Authority, Columbia University and the
World Trade Center. Br. Thomas drew
“the striking parallels between Manhattan
College and the honoree,” including his
possession of “a global gestalt and
respect of others that enables him to
thrive in a multicultural environment.”
He revealed the three-word mantra that
Maikish has adopted for the Construction
Command Center: facilitate (construction),
mitigate (the environmental impact)
and communicate.
As Br. Thomas spoke, a group photo
of Maikish on his first World Trade Center
job — as one of the field engineers
working on the original slurry wall — was
shown. When Maikish took the podium,
he explained how he came to be there.
“Thirty-eight years ago, a young
college senior was sent by Brother Leo,
head of the Manhattan College civil
engineering department, to see the head
of surveys for the Port Authority at the
original World Trade Center construction
site,” he said.
continued on page 5
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School of Ed Makes the Grade
The school of education is gaining
high marks.
In early October, the school was
awarded accreditation for its teacher
preparation program by the Teacher
Education Accreditation Council (TEAC).
With this recognition, all three of
the College’s professional schools —
business, education and engineering —
are nationally accredited. The TEAC
stamp of approval further validates the
quality of Manhattan’s teacher education
program, its comprehensive curriculum
and the committed faculty.
The accreditation notification was
the culmination of much hard work
and enabled the College to meet a
New York State Education Department
regulation that teacher education
programs be accredited.
“This [accreditation] also assures the
public that the College prepares competent,
caring and qualified professional
educators,” says Dr. William Merriman,
dean of the school of education.
To achieve approval, faculty members
from the school of education, as well as
the schools of arts and science, spent
the past three years establishing and
supporting their case. Several members
of the College were involved in the
TEAC accreditation process, including
cooperating teachers, current students
and alumni.
TEAC’s academic audit verified the
accuracy of the evidence provided by
the College that student learning meets
high expectations and that the teacher
preparation program is following processes
that produce quality. The quality of the
evidence and the system that produced
it are key factors in achieving TEAC’s
approval, which was a unanimous one.
Dr. Karen Nicholson, associate professor
of education, wrote the inquiry brief and
was a member of the steering committee.
She says that those involved really stepped
up their efforts to make this happen and
that, overall, it was a wonderful learning
experience. It was a great opportunity,
she adds, to work together with other
faculty members from different schools
and closely examine the curriculum.
In addition, TEAC’s accreditation gives
the school of education another positive
selling point for future students.
“Externally, [the accreditation] verifies
that our program is really a top quality
program,” adds Nicholson, who has been
teaching at the College for more than
10 years. “Parents and students can
feel good about coming to our College
for teacher training.”
The school of education has one of
the largest enrollments on campus
and consists of 18 full-time faculty
members. The teacher preparation
program offers undergraduate and
graduate levels and teacher certification
in one of six areas: childhood education,
dual childhood/special education,
adolescent education, physical education,
five-year childhood/special education
and graduate special education.
Recognized by the Council for Higher
Education Accreditation and by the U.S.
Department of Education, TEAC is a
nonprofit group dedicated to improving
academic degree programs for professional
educators. Its primary work is accrediting
undergraduate and graduate professional
education programs in order to assure
the public about the quality of college
and university programs.

Tech Savvy
School of Ed
The school of education’s partnership
with nearby magnet school In-Tech
Academy has reached a milestone.
In-Tech Academy, a technology-based
public school for grades six through 12,
officially held its grand opening last fall
and celebrated its sixth year in its new
and permanent location in the Kingsbridge
section of the Bronx. Manhattan College
has been involved with the school
since day one and has formed a highly
interactive partnership.
Dr. Corine Fitzpatrick, associate
professor of education, sits on In-Tech’s
leadership board and technology
committee. She has helped put in place
a tutor and mentor program that enables
interested Manhattan students to
provide outreach at the school. Other
faculty members from the school of
education work closely with the teachers
to develop and improve the technology
course offerings, including Sister Remigia
Kushner, professor of education, who has
held a number of technology workshops
and graduate education courses in
technology. The College’s engineering
students support those efforts, and
student teachers and counselors-intraining
are also placed at In-Tech.
The partnership gives education
majors the work experience needed to
become future middle and high school
teachers and provides other Manhattan
students opportunities to serve inner
city students.
Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, Assemblyman
Jeffrey Dinowitz (D-Riverdale) and City Council
Member Oliver Koppell (D-Bronx) attend In-Tech
Academy’s ribbon cutting ceremony in September,
which celebrated the grand opening of its
permanent space.
“In-Tech has become a learning laboratory
for our students,” says Fitzpatrick,
adding that several Manhattan graduates
have since joined the full-time faculty
at In-Tech.
The school of education further benefits
from this partnership by having In-Tech’s
principal, Rose Fairweather-Clunie, as a
member of the College’s arts, education
and science consultors’ board and as a
participant in student-teacher training
endeavors on campus.
The school, which has partnerships
with Apple, Cisco Systems and Microsoft,
opened its doors to its first batch of
sixth-graders in 1999. In-Tech is now up
to grade 11 and is home to approximately
1,000 students. In addition to information
technology, students take courses in
literacy, mathematics, science, humanities
and the arts. The building is equipped
with wireless Internet access, and each
student learns both MAC and PC systems.
The College has helped In-Tech with
grant proposals, is working with Microsoft
in training Manhattan students in needed
technologies to provide service to the
school, and is currently working to create
a more sophisticated robotics program
for the students.
Continued from pg. 3 – 2006
De La Salle Medal
With the warmth and humility that
bespeak great leadership, Maikish
deflected the spotlight and pointed out
that he had not achieved in isolation but
as part of a community. He recognized
the heroism of New York Police
Commissioner Ray Kelly ’63, who was
in attendance, and recalled their close
collaboration during the 1993 attack
upon the World Trade Center.
Maikish spoke of the Command Center’s
staggering mandate: a $22 billion project
within the narrow confines of the World
Trade Center site. He said: “In Lower
Manhattan, we find ourselves again
faced with the daunting challenge of
creating a new tomorrow in the wake of
a devastating past. The fulfillment of
Governor Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg’s
master plan and the restoration of
Lower Manhattan will be the crowning
achievement for many of us in this room.
The enormity of the effort challenges
the very essence of American know-how
and ingenuity.”
Finally, he congratulated Manhattan
College for its role in shaping this knowhow
and ingenuity through the Lasallian
educational principles of going beyond
the role of teacher to touch the heart of
each student.
“We are charged with creating a
tangible legacy and the finished product
stands in tribute to those who dedicate
themselves to developing the great minds
that produce the physical manifestations
of those grand visions,” Maikish said.
Sound on Sound, with bandleader
Peter La Rosa ’69, kept the crowd on
its feet and dancing to old favorites and
new arrangements. The 2006 De La Salle
Medal dinner was the perfect way to
begin the year, with a remembrance of
all that Manhattan College has done for
the people and the city of New York and
a promise that the best is yet to come.
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Peace in the Middle East
Ambassador John T. McCarthy ’61 of the U.S. Foreign Service
discusses the future of Israel and Palestine at the fall Horan Lecture
Retired Ambassador John T. McCarthy
’61 was born and raised in New York City,
but his career with the United States
Foreign Service has taken him around
the world. Tunisia, Lebanon, Belgium,
Pakistan and Thailand are just a few of
the places he’s lived and worked.
During the course of a 33-year career
with the Foreign Service as a consultant
on embassy efficiency and security and
a board member and chairman of
international children’s charity Save the
Children, McCarthy has made himself at
home in any number of foreign cultures.
And it was the liberal arts curriculum
here at the College, he said, that taught
him how.
“I found that I had a great foundation
for understanding where other people
where coming from and how other societies
worked, and [for that], I owe a real debt
of gratitude to Manhattan,” he said.
McCarthy delivered the lecture
Israel and Palestine, What Next? at
the Horan Lecture, held in December
at the University Club in downtown
Manhattan. Speaking before a group of
50 distinguished alumni, guests and
faculty, the retired ambassador spoke
about his experiences serving in the
William Marshall ’67, partner at Zeichner Ellman & Krause, Ambassador
John T. McCarthy ’61, the evening’s guest speaker, and Peter Heller,
professor of government, at the Horan Lecture in December.
Middle East, including carrying on an
official dialogue with Palestinian leader
Yasser Arafat, and gave his thoughts on
what the future might hold for the
embattled region.
McCarthy joined the U.S. Foreign
Service in 1962, only a few months after
his graduation from Manhattan with a
B.A. in history and political science.
He served as the American ambassador
to Lebanon from 1988 to 1990, at the
end of Lebanon’s civil war; as economic
counselor at the American Mission to the
European Union in Brussels, Belgium;
director of the department’s Office of
Investment; deputy assistant secretary
of state for public affairs and the
deputy chief of mission at the embassy
in Islamabad, Pakistan; and senior
inspector in the Office of the Inspector
General. From 1991 to 1994, he served
as ambassador to Tunisia, where he
carried on an official dialogue with
P.L.O. head Arafat. McCarthy also holds
an M.P.A. from Harvard University, and,
in 2000, the College awarded him an
honorary Doctor of Laws degree at its
Fall Honors Convocation.
Addressing the crowd before dinner,
and then fielding questions during
dessert and coffee, McCarthy, who has,
he noted, been a guest at previous
Horan lectures, said that with Israel and
Palestine sharing such a small physical
space, the two countries will eventually
have to find a way to coexist peacefully.
As key players from the old regimes are
replaced by a new generation of younger
leaders, he said, there may be a chance
for “people of good faith” and leaders
“of vision” to help steer the region
toward peace.
“For me, history is individual. It is men
and women who basically make the
difference,” he said.
McCarthy also said that while he sees
a definite role for the United States in
guiding the process, he cautioned that
the U.S. would be naïve to think that it
can make peace in the Middle East.
“The way it seems to work in that
part of the world is that unless the U.S.
president is involved, and is deeply
involved, not enough happens,” he said.
“I don’t mean we can make the peace
in the Middle East. I think that’s wrong.”
He continued, “I think the U.S.
government can facilitate solutions when
the people involved really are ready for
them, but we can’t impose solutions on
people so directly concerned.”
To conclude his lecture, McCarthy said
that, in his experience, the inhabitants
of Israel are looking to live where their
existence as a nation is accepted, and
he believes that there is enough Arab
support for it to eventually happen. With
vision and U.S. leadership, he said, as
well as “lots of luck,” McCarthy thinks
the peace process will continue to move
forward, no matter how slowly.
“It’s hard to remain optimistic about the
Middle East because [peace] seems to
takes so long,” he said. “But nonetheless,
there are enough steps forward to give
you the steps back.”

The Jasper Rx
The father of modern sports medicine is honored
at the Fall Honors Convocation
Brother President Thomas Scanlan, honorary degree recipient William Clancy ’63, and
Executive Vice President and Provost Dr. Weldon Jackson at the Fall Honors Convocation.
William Clancy ’63, M.D., is one
of the preeminent figures in modern
sports medicine. He is an innovator
who changed the way doctors all over
the world practice, and the surgical
techniques he pioneered are used in
virtually all the knee reconstructive
surgeries performed today. And at the
2005 Fall Honors Convocation, Clancy
told Manhattan’s best students that his
resolve to change the field was born
here at the College, on the track — or
rather, while he was off it.
Manhattan’s most inspired students
were honored on Oct. 16 at the Fall
Honors Convocation in the Chapel of
De La Salle and His Brothers. After an
invocation from Brother Robert Berger,
F.S.C., vice president for student life,
and greetings from Thomas McCarthy ’06,
the president of the Pen and Sword
Society, Clancy was presented for the
honorary doctorate of science degree
by Dr. Weldon Jackson, executive vice
president and provost.
As a scholarship track athlete who
suffered more than his fair share of
damage on the track, Clancy spent a
lot of time with the head athletic trainer.
All that time nursing his injuries gave
the future doctor a thought.
“I was pre-med and decided that even
though there was no such field as sports
medicine, that was what I was going to
specialize in, because there was minimal
understanding of these injuries,” Clancy
said. “The rest is sort of history.”
Clancy, a Brooklyn native, now resides
in Carbondale, Colo., with his wife, Kathy.
He is a member of the Orthopaedic
Associates of Aspen and Glenwood and
has spent his career doing even more
than what he vowed to do. He didn’t
just specialize in sports medicine: he
transformed it.
Using techniques developed while a
professor of orthopedic surgery at the
University of Wisconsin in the mid-1970s,
Clancy invented the modern procedure
used to repair the ACL (anterior cruciate)
and PCL (posterior cruciate) knee
ligaments, as well as reconstructions for
both ligaments. He also developed a
posterolateral knee ligament procedure.
Clancy was chief of orthopedic surgery
and head team physician at the U.S.
Naval Academy and has been the U.S.
orthopedic surgeon for three Olympic
Games, including the “miracle” goldmedal-winning
men’s hockey team at
Lake Placid, N.Y., in 1980. He served
as the medical director of the U.S. Nordic
ski team for 10 years and has been
co-medical director for the PGA tour for
the past five years. The father of three
has published more than 100 articles
on surgical procedures for the neck, hip,
shoulder, thigh and Achilles tendon and
has been a visiting professor at universities
in Switzerland, Sweden, Japan and France.
Clancy told inductees that the key to
success was to stay current, by reading
up and taking seminars in their fields;
by specializing; and by thinking out of
the box.
“You need to question in your mind the
old, traditional way and the new
current thinking,” he said. “In essence,
take nothing for granted.”
At the end of the day, he said, success
is about making the right choices.
“My message to you is really questions,”
he said. “At age 65, do you wish to be
able to look back on your life and say
that I am at peace with myself? Am I
proud of what I have done with my life?”
Following Clancy’s response, the 136
inductees were presented by the deans of
the schools of arts, science, engineering,
education and business, and received
their certificates and keys from Brother
Thomas Scanlan and Jackson.
Epsilon Sigma Pi is Manhattan’s
oldest college-wide honor society. It was
founded in 1933 to serve as a medium
of recognition for talented students, as
well as to “promote and foster cultural
and intellectual pursuits” on campus.
Students who achieved a scholastic index
of at least 3.5 in their first six semesters
at the College, without incurring any
academic failures in the same period,
are inducted during the fall ceremony.
After congratulatory remarks from
Br. Thomas, inductees and their friends
and families celebrated at a reception
in Dante’s Den.
Engineering student Margarita Calbitaza ’06 receives her
certificate from Brother Thomas Scanlan, as she is inducted
into Epsilon Sigma Pi, the College’s oldest honor society.
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Brother Thomas Scanlan and Dr.
Charles Covino ’50 stand inside
the Covino Room, which is filled
with its namesake’s mementos,
photos and artifacts.
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Alumnus Dedicates Room of Inventions and Life Mementos
The College has recently opened the
Covino Room in the O’Malley Library
that displays one alum’s impressive
career and world travels.
Dr. Charles P. Covino ’50, founder of
General Magnaplate Corp., has donated
to the College a number of his career
achievements and life mementos. Located
on the second floor of the Mary Alice
and Thomas O’Malley Library, the Covino
Room is filled with articles, photos,
artifacts and milestones that tell the
story of Dr. Covino: inventor and world
traveler. The dedication ceremony, held
January 22 in the Covino Room, paid
tribute to a dedicated alumnus, devoted
family man and true inventor.
In his welcome remarks, Brother
President Thomas Scanlan underscored
Covino’s long list of accomplishments
and touted the many hats he wore in
life — athlete, entrepreneur, equestrian,
international inventor, pilot, scientist
and war veteran. The College is grateful,
he said, to receive such a wonderful gift.
“This room is an outstanding example
of alumni achievement and will be a
learning lab for future students,” Br.
Thomas said.
Visitors of the Covino Room are surrounded
by several, beautifully displayed
artifacts, including newspaper articles of
Magnaplate’s triumphs, sculptures and
souvenirs from around the world, models
of numerous inventions, and endless
trophies, awards and honors that Covino
has received throughout the years.
Covino, more affectionately known as
Doc, spent his life striving to improve the
quality of others’ lives through knowledge
of metallurgy, plastics and chemistry.
With his wife, Sylvia, a college educator
by profession and his true inspiration,
Covino built an impressive career.
He founded General Magnaplate
in 1952 as a nondestructive testing
laboratory based in Hoboken, N.J.
General Magnaplate, now led by his
daughter Candida C. Aversenti, a
College trustee, revolutionized the
industry’s attitude toward metals and
metal parts by developing a range of
“synergistic” coatings that combine
the advantages of anodizing, plating
and low friction engineering polymers
or other dry lubricants.
Working closely with one of his largest
clients, NASA, Covino created a wide
variety of coatings for both ferrous and
non-ferrous metals. As a result, every
American space vehicle since NASA’s
inception has included thousands of
individual parts coated by Magnaplate.
Some of these parts are also on display
in the Covino Room. Magnaplate’s
products have been recognized worldwide
for their outstanding performance. The
most noteworthy honor occurred when
the company’s HI-T-LUBE coating was
cited in The Guinness Book of World
Records as “the most slippery solid in
the world.”
Aversenti, along with her father,
was instrumental in decorating the
Covino Room. Addressing a room filled
with family, friends and Magnaplate
colleagues, she said the Covino Room
is a permanent home for the artifacts
her parents collected during a lifetime
of travel and serves as a dedication to
the achievements of her father.
“It’s rare for one individual to display
talent in so many areas,” said Aversenti
at the ceremony. “This room is a testament
to my father’s drive and determination
and will be an inspiration for all students
who use this room for studying.”
Covino has worked alongside some of
the world’s most powerful leaders. He has
collaborated with Admiral Rickover on
the Nautilus and Thresher submarines,
NASA head Wernher Von Braun on
pioneering and upgrading NASA’s quality
control program and Edward Teller on
the hydrogen bomb. In addition, he served
A family affair: Dr. Charles Covino ’50 with his
daughter, Candida C. Aversenti, a College trustee
who was helpful in designing the Covino Room,
and his wife, Sylvia.
his country during World War II. While
stationed in Japan, under the leadership
of General MacArthur, Covino fostered
an alliance between American and
Japanese students and civilians, which
resulted in introducing a joined track
and field event in 1945. After the war,
his continuing efforts and negotiation
skills lead to Japan’s participation in the
1952 Olympic Games.
In his remarks at the dedication
ceremony, the well-traveled scientist said
he hopes visitors and future students of
the College may find inspiration in the
Covino Room.
In a later interview, he reiterated this
point and said, “I would like everyone
to see what I have accomplished in my
short life and take away a feeling that
they can do the same if they apply their
skills with the feeling that the rewards can
be large or small but always beneficial
to his or her fellow mankind.”
Covino’s life is a dedication to
perseverance, mental energy and
the stubbornness to succeed where
others have failed. General Magnaplate
continues his legacy of innovation and
problem solving.
Prior to Manhattan College, Covino
attended the University of Alabama’s
school of engineering. After the war,
he enrolled in the College and earned
his degree in 1950 from the school of
business, which was followed by graduate
study at New York University. Covino holds
more than 112 patents and numerous
honors and awards, including an honorary
doctorate degree from Manhattan College.

Engineering Students
Design Tools for Disabled
Mechanical engineering students are using their design skills
to help people who need it the most.
The students in the senior mechanical engineering design
course this past December presented their own customized
tools to residents at the Brandywine Campus of Elant Nursing
Homes in Briarcliff, N.Y. Combining textbook knowledge and
real-life challenges, the students designed and built several
mechanical devices to assist Brandywine residents, most of
whom are physically challenged.
Twenty-three students in the fall semester worked on group
projects that aim to improve the everyday lives of Brandywine
residents. Student projects included a custom-made computer
workstation with adjustable legs for those in wheelchairs or
who are bedridden, a remote control equipped with extra large
buttons for residents with limited dexterity, a watering device
for the greenhouse on the property that enables residents to
water their plants with one touch of a button and several
gardening tools that are lightweight but efficient.
Dr. Zella Kahn-Jetter, professor of mechanical engineering,
says the Brandywine partnership provides engineering students
with a chance to combine their coursework with a service
component — an opportunity, she says, that underscores the
College’s Lasallian mission.
“By working with the residents at Brandywine, the students
gain a sense of responsibility and of knowing the importance to
be able to help other people,” Kahn-Jetter says. “And, from an
engineering point of view and personal development point of
view, they gain a sense of self confidence in their work and a
sense of accomplishment.”
The course, which is a requirement for mechanical engineering
majors and partially funded by the Lasallian Action Committee,
is a unique learning opportunity. Students get the chance to
create designs on their own from start to finish with customers
already lined up to use their finished products. A Brandywine
representative gives the class a wish list and a tour of the nursing
Women Engineers in Full Force
A newly established all-girls camp at
the College is aiming to change the face
of the engineering field.
The chemical engineering department
last summer held its first Female
Opportunities to Revolutionize Chemical
Engineering (FORCE) Program, a camp
geared for high school girls entering
their junior and senior years with strong
math and science skills. The program’s
mission is to increase the awareness of
young girls about the possibility of a
career in chemical engineering.
FORCE is the brainchild of Dr. Ann
Marie Flynn, assistant professor of
chemical engineering, and Dr. Nada
Assaf-Anid, department chair, who both
wanted to create anything but your
typical academic camp. When developing
the schedule, Flynn made a conscious
decision to present a holistic image of
chemical engineers and to help eliminate
the girls’ misconceptions of what an
engineer is supposed to be and how it
would play out as a chosen profession.
Students Stephen LePorisz ’06 and Kristen Smith ’06, with instructor
Dr. Zella Kahn-Jetter (center), demonstrate their adjustable computer
workstation to Brandywine residents. The mechanical computer desk
moves up and down with a simple push of a button.
home facilities. Students, who work in small groups, present and
donate their completed projects to the residents at Brandywine
as a finale to the course.
The entire process, from design to production, is exactly what
senior Kristen Smith enjoyed the most. Kristen, who helped
design and build the adjustable computer table, says it was
exciting to see the positive reaction from the residents once
they were presented with the new tools.
“It was important for us to actually see our projects being
put to use,” she says. “[The course] allowed us to get firsthand
experience of a design process but also how to communicate
our ideas and accomplishments to peers and clients.”
“This course really does bring out the best in them,”
Kahn-Jetter adds. “From the learning perspective, it is
an overall great experience.”
The partnership between the College and Brandywine began in
1990. The design course was originally funded by the National
Science Foundation under the guidance of Dr. Daniel Haines,
professor of mechanical engineering. Kahn-Jetter has taught the
course for the past six years and oversees the student group
projects and designs. The course is typically tied to a nursing
home or medical facility partnership. Student projects in the past
have included a device to steady the legs of adults with cerebral
palsy, specialized toys for children with disabilities and a series
of gardening tools to assist individuals with multiple sclerosis.
FORCE allows young girls to explore
engineering through hands-on experiments,
team-based projects and industrial field
trips. Part of their days were spent visiting
engineering plants, and the rest of the
time, they were doing lab work and
attending lectures. During their visit to
Kraft Foods, the students learned about
the chemical engineering behind Kool-Aid,
and at Clairol, they were exposed to ways
in which chemical engineers produce
shampoo, conditioner and hair-color
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Continued from pg. 9 – Women Engineers in Full Force
The campers of the Female Opportunities to Revolutionize Chemical Engineering (FORCE) Program on their first field trip to Kraft Foods.
products. They also learned the engineering
behind lip gloss and lip plumper at
Cosmetic Essence, which designs the line
of makeup for retailer Victoria’s Secret.
“They spent part of their day as a day
in the life of an engineering student and
the other part on what they can do as an
engineer,” Flynn says.
Flynn found that high school girls don’t
typically think of engineering as a field to
pursue, which is one of the main purposes
of the FORCE program: to introduce
them to the possibilities of one. And
while there has been progress in the
typically male-dominated field, there’s
still a shortage of women in the industry.
“It is really important for girls to see
what engineering is about and all the
interesting and fun parts of it,” says
Victoria Scala, who attended FORCE
before entering her senior year of high
school. “It was important to see how
much women can do in [engineering]
and especially how respected they are
in the field.”
Victoria will be a civil engineering major
at the College in the fall. Following the
footsteps of many Jaspers in her family,
including her father, Anthony J. Scala
’74, president at Lowy & Donnath, Inc.
and a College trustee, and older brothers,
Anthony Scala III ’03 and Christopher
Scala ’05, Victoria says FORCE also
helped her decide which field in
engineering to pursue.
“Although I realized chemical
engineering might not be for me,
[FORCE] fully convinced me that
engineering was the place for me
and got rid of any of my fears and
misconceptions,” Victoria adds.
Seventeen girls attended FORCE last
summer. The attendees were mostly local
students from all-girl high schools who
have strong GPAs and are active at their
schools. And, if they were not considering
engineering as a career, they were, at
least, interested in the idea.
By the time their four days were up, the
students were sad to say their goodbyes.
Since then, they’ve stayed in touch, and
a few have even offered to serve as camp
counselors for this year’s upcoming
program. Most participants also have
suggested extending the camp to include
an overnight stay on campus. And five
out of the nine seniors that attended
the camp already have applied for
early decision to study engineering
at the College.
Indeed, FORCE worked its magic,
and not only on the high school campers
who attended.
Recent graduate Natalie Ivezaj ’05,
who served as a FORCE camp counselor
and majored in chemical engineering, says
her experience in the program reiterated
to her how important it is to provide high
schoolers career guidance and inspiration.
“Young people need direction and they
need someone to dedicate their time to
them,” she says. Marguerite Mohan ’04,
a top student who helped raise funds
for the Brother Conrad Timothy Burris
Endowment in chemical engineering,
also participated as a camp counselor
in FORCE’s first year.
The high school girls were very much
interested in their personal stories
as college students and as women in
engineering. Ivezaj and Mohan both
served as sources of inspiration.
“It was important to express to them
that engineering is not easy but so
rewarding,” says Ivezaj, who plans to
participate again in this year’s camp.
“They gained a sense of accomplishment
after every field trip, every lab experiment
and every lecture. FORCE really helped
to show them that they are each very
capable of becoming an engineer.”
The students attended the camp free
of charge, largely due to scholarships
provided by Manhattan alumni, the
chemical engineering department and the
American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
In its first year, FORCE received funding
from Manhattan College, CDI Engineering
Solutions, Infineum USA, Kraft Foods
and Pfizer. Scholarship funding was also
provided by engineering alumnus Robert
Altomare ’72, research principal at
Kraft Foods, Martin Considine ’70,
vice president of technology at Peabody
Energy, and Daniel O’Shea ’68 B.S.,
’69 M.S., who is a retired senior vice
president at Pfizer.
The second annual FORCE summer
camp is slated for this June. Brochures
were distributed to a larger group of high
schools in the Northeast region, and
applications are being accepted through
May. For more details about FORCE,
please contact the chemical engineering
department at (718) 862-7185 or visit
www.manhattan.edu/chemical.

Student Teachers Take on
Tsunami-Torn Sri Lanka
For several education majors, a unique service trip to Sri
Lanka reaffirmed their commitment to become future teachers.
“Before traveling to Sri Lanka, I knew I wanted to teach,”
Melissa Crespo ’06 says. “Now having been there, I am
convinced that teaching is what I am supposed to do.”
During winter break, 12 students from the school of education,
arts and engineering, led by Dr. William Merriman, dean of the
school of education, traveled to Sri Lanka to teach English,
science and math at fellow Lasallian school St. Benedict’s in
Colombo. St. Benedict’s teaches students from grades 1 to 13,
which is equivalent to kindergarten through 12th grade in the
United States. Dr. Peter McCarthy, assistant professor of education,
and Father Jim Cerbone, director of campus ministry, also
accompanied the students.
Merriman says the trip to Sri Lanka combined the College’s
academic and social action missions by teaching and sharing
its knowledge with the students and faculty at St. Benedict’s.
Manhattan students spent three weeks in Sri Lanka teaching
and running classes and after-school programs for the students,
which ranged anywhere from conversing in English to playing
games of basketball or cricket. They also led workshops for
faculty members on teaching techniques, including teacher
training, leadership, counseling and educational technology.
When school wasn’t in session, students were encouraged to
explore the country and its culture. On a weekend trip south
to Kataragama, they came across a festival during Duruthu
Full Moon Poya Day, a Buddhist holiday celebrated in Sri Lanka.
Celebrants, including the elephants at the festival, wore colorful
costumes and decorations. Some students opted for weekend
Kataragama, Sri Lanka
fishing trips in the Indian Ocean. Another highlight was a one-hour
session with the American ambassador to Sri Lanka, The Honorable
Jeffrey Lunstead, at the American Embassy in Colombo.
Michael Lepetit ’06 has taught English before but says this
was an entirely different experience. He describes the students
as extremely grateful and enthusiastic and says that for most of
them, learning English wasn’t just another language to perfect
but a tool for survival.
“I taught for a different purpose in Sri Lanka,” Lepetit says.
“We were teaching people who really need English to advance
in life.”
Most of the people of Sri Lanka suffer from poverty and live
in a country struggling with political unrest and a battered
economy. Shortly before the students arrived in January, a
string of attacks on troops reignited fears of another civil war.
Sri Lanka put an end in 2002 to a violent civil war that
spanned more than two decades. And more recently, after the
tsunami hit the area in December 2004, Sri Lanka lost more
than 30,000 lives, and the natural disaster displaced more
than 440,000 people.
Although the country is undergoing difficult times, Manhattan
students enthusiastically immersed themselves in the culture
and took away with them a positive experience and, for some,
a different outlook on life.
“The experience taught me an invaluable lesson, which is to
be thankful for what I have,” Crespo says. “Going to Sri Lanka
really reinforced this perspective because people there have so
little compared to us, but they value everything. They do not
take anything for granted, especially education.”
A Lot of Love
Manhattan College students, led by Cristin Piccirilli ’06,
strengthened the bond between St. Augustine School and the
College by revitalizing a 3,300 square-foot lot and turning it
into a safe haven for children. Through a grant of $2,800
from the Home Depot and with the help of Victor Schneider
from the College’s physical plant, in September 2005, the
St. Augustine Peace Garden opened as a result of the hard
work of Manhattan students, faculty and alumni.
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Sounding as Smart as You Are:
Alum Endows “Communicating for Career Success” Program
“All of us have to interact with people,”
Peter E. Dans ’57, M.D., says. “And I
think communication skills are essential,
no matter what we do.”
Dans, an associate professor of medicine
and public health at Johns Hopkins
University, is living proof of how far
communication skills can take you. After
graduating from Manhattan, he went on
to graduate from Columbia University
College of Physicians and Surgeons,
founded an adult walk-in clinic and a
sexually transmitted disease clinic in
Dr. Peter E. Dans ’57 received an honorary Doctor of
Science degree at the Fall Honors Convocation in 2003.
Denver and a migrant health clinic in Fort
Lupton, Colo., now the hub of nine rural
community health centers, and was
awarded a Robert Wood Johnson health
policy fellowship in the U.S. Senate.
He is also the author or co-author of
more than 100 scientific articles, book
chapters and other works of medical
literature, and was awarded an honorary
doctorate of science at Manhattan College’s
Fall Honors Convocation in 2003.
In fact, it was at Fall Honors that Dans
started thinking about the importance
of good communication skills. Knowing
firsthand how important professional
appearance and comportment would be
in the world the honored seniors would
be entering after graduation, he saw an
opportunity to help prepare them for it.
Not long after his visit to campus, he
endowed the “Communicating for Career
Success” program, a three-part series
of seminars designed to help students
present themselves in a professional
way. The first session was held in the
spring of 2005, with the two following
segments in the fall of the same year.
A repeat of the series was scheduled
for March 27, April 3 and April 10.
The series, held in the Academy Room
in Leo Engineering, is a continuation
and expansion of the “How to Give a
Presentation” seminar that had been a
requirement of the center for career
development’s mentor program for the
past four years. All three segments of both
series were presented by motivational
professional Susan Murphy of New Jerseybased
Murphy Motivation, who had
delivered “How to Give a Presentation.”
The first segment of the series, which
was open to all students, as well as the
businesspeople and professionals involved
in the mentor program, was titled “How
to Present Yourself and Your Ideas.”
The session covered formal presentation
skills, body language and speaking
succinctly. Public speaking generally
“scares people,” Murphy says but is
often inevitable in professional life.
The strategies covered in the session
are ones that will come in handy not
just in students’ professional lives but
anytime they are dealing with people.
“I always tell attendees, ‘It’s just how
to look and sound as smart as you are,’”
Murphy says. “It’s how you handle your
body, so it doesn’t get in the way of
your mind.”
The second part of the series covered
building relationships with co-workers,
employers, friends and acquaintances, and
the third built on the skills developed in
the first two sessions, as well as general
manners, physical appearance and dress.
The series have been well received by
participants. According to Doris Pechman,
assistant director of the center for career
development, students enrolling in the
sessions listed many reasons for attending
the series, including to prepare themselves
for the job search and interview process,
to overcome their shyness and be able to
speak in public, to develop confidence,
and to learn to present themselves in a
professional way. And from all accounts,
the series has left them feeling more
confident about all of those things.
“I was particularly inspired by the
enthusiasm and participation of the
student participants,” Murphy says. By
the end of the seminars, she says, “the
progress was remarkable — they made eye
contact, shook hands, said thank you.”
Dans says he would like to see the
program “built up so it reaches more
students,” and the center for career
development would like to see it happen.
While the original endowment provided
for only the first two sets of series, the
center for career development is hoping
to continue to offer the program to
students in the coming years.
After all, the lessons in the seminar
go beyond just professional success.
As Dans said, communicating well is a
skill used in every aspect of life.
Murphy agrees. Learning how to
effectively relate to other people, she
says, is “vital for success and happiness.”

The Mentor Program:
A Window to the Working World
With a new faculty advisor in place, the mentor program is
growing by leaps and bounds.
Choosing what to do with your life is a huge decision, and for
a lot of students, it’s one fraught with guesswork. What does a
chemical engineer really do all day? What’s it like working at a
public relations firm? What can you do with a degree in English?
With so much on the line, getting a window into a future career
is invaluable — as is making a potential contact in the field you
want to pursue. It’s no surprise, then, that the center for career
development’s mentor program has been growing steadily since
its inception in the 1998-1999 school year. In fact, last year
the program grew by almost 35 percent. At this year’s kick-off
dinner, held in February in Smith Auditorium, 270 were in
attendance, including students, mentors and faculty and staff.
The mentor program pairs interested Jaspers with mentors in
their fields. After a kick-off mentor/mentee dinner, mentors and
mentees arrange a program for the semester that works for both
of them. In future meetings, mentees might go on site visits,
sit in on meetings, have lunch with the mentor or shadow him
or her at work.
They also have the opportunity to listen to lectures from
professionals who have something to share with both the
mentors and mentees.
Christopher Ward, managing director of the American Contractors
Association, was the featured speaker at this year’s mentor
dinner. He has served as commissioner of the Environmental
Protection Agency of New York City and as an adjunct professor
at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia
University, among other roles. During his lecture, Career Paths:
Core Elements and Personal Growth, Ward used examples from
his own career to describe how challenges in the workplace can
be opportunities for personal development.
With so many options open to participants — and so many
advantages to participating — the program’s growth is no
surprise to Brother Ralph Bucci, F.S.C., the center for career
development’s mentor program coordinator, a position created
this year.
“An important reason for increase, I believe, is that students
want more information about careers and career options.
They are not always sure what a major may prepare them to
do,” Bucci says. “A connection with someone already in the
career can help them clarify their thinking, either, ‘Yes, I want
to continue in this direction,’ or ‘No, this isn’t what I thought it
may have been.’ They want to explore possibilities.”
The program draws students from the schools of engineering
(historically the most populous group, this year the school of
engineering saw 80 student participants matched with mentors
from 30 different companies), business, arts and science, and
mentors from more than 80 companies who are willing to share
their time and experience with students.
From left to right: Ray Finnegan ’70, project director/consultant for Parsons
Brinckerhoff; speaker Chris Ward, managing director of the American
Contractors Association; Andrea Giorgi-Bocker ’80, an engineer for the Port
Authority; and honorary Jasper Frank Lombardi, chief engineer for the
Port Authority, at the mentor dinner.
“We’ve seen significant growth in the number of alums who
enjoy participating, and non-alums who hear about the program
from colleagues or from recruiting on campus who think the
program is a good idea, and who find participating rewarding
for themselves and their companies,” he says.
Bucci, who joined the center for career development in August,
came to Manhattan with more than 30 years of education in
experience behind him. He was most recently the dean of the
class of 2005 at La Salle Academy in Providence, R.I. Prior to that,
he had honed his career-development skills as the coordinator
of academic advising for the junior and senior classes at Salve
Regina University in Newport, R.I., where he helped his students
determine and finalize their academic plans. At Salve Regina,
he was an assistant professor of art, gallery director and president
of the faculty senate, too. He was also for several years the
director of the art in public places program for the Rhode
Island State Council on the Arts.
According to Marjorie Apel, director of the center for career
development, having Bucci on staff to concentrate on and
direct the mentor program has been a major factor in its growth
and success.
“Having Br. Ralph here has really helped because having someone
who can focus on the program, which is really detailed-oriented,
is really important,” Apel says.
For his part, Bucci has settled into his role.
“I enjoy meeting students to help them clarify their intentions
with the program,” he said. “The program is in a very good
position right now. We’ve had significant growth this year, and
we’ve balanced student interest and mentor recruitment.”
As the program enters a new year, Bucci says, it will be looking
to encourage mentors and students to maintain contact throughout
the semester, recruit alumni and friends of the College to serve
as new mentors, and increase student interest and participation.
In the meantime, he’s focusing his energy on helping as many
Jaspers as possible explore the possibilities for their future.
“We hope to grow the program to include anyone who wants
to participate,” Bucci says.
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Opportunities Galore at Career Fair 2005
Draddy Gymnasium was transformed
into a job marketplace that included
booths, banners, brochures, professionals
and students. The offices of career
development and alumni relations hosted
Manhattan College’s annual Career Fair
this past October, where more than 110
companies, universities, law enforcement
divisions and nonprofit agencies gathered
to meet with and speak to interested
students about job opportunities,
internships or co-op positions.
“With such a large number of companies
attending, students had a wide array of
industries to broaden their possibilities for
employment,” says Marjorie Apel, director
of the center for career development.
“How many people get to network with
over 100 companies in one day!”
The Career Fair is an excellent way for
students to meet potential employers,
have their résumés read and reviewed,
arrange for job interviews or realize the
scope of opportunities that await them
after graduation from Manhattan. Pace
University Law and Columbia University
Law, along with other higher education
institutions, were on hand to expound
Student volunteers in one of the ruined homes
they gutted while volunteering in New Orleans.
upon the value of continuing education.
A student could explore the possibility
of a career with the NYPD, Merrill Lynch,
Turner Construction or Con Edison, while
learning more about positions within a
company, protocol, interview etiquette
or proper dress code.
The Career Fair is brought together
through the hard work of those offices
on campus but also through the efforts
of alumni volunteers. Ken Kelly ’54 is
one of the many volunteers who personally
call more than 500 companies to invite
Roseanne Forde, from New York Life Insurance, and Sarah Veitch ’06,
a student in the school of business, meet at the Career Fair in October.
After enjoying the holidays with family,
Manhattan students spent part of their
winter breaks assisting in Hurricane
Katrina relief efforts.
Ten students in January traveled to
New Orleans to volunteer with Operation
Helping Hands, created by the Archdiocese
of New Orleans for Katrina relief. The
students spent seven days gutting
ruined homes and completely stripping
them down to the studs and beams.
More than 100,000 homes in New
Orleans experienced damage from the
hurricane, some worse than others.
“We worked on four houses in seven
days, which doesn’t seem like a lot,
but it’s definitely progress,” says Frank
Gizzo ’03, graduate assistant in campus
ministry and social action and the team
leader of the trip. Like many of the
students that participated in the trip,
Gizzo also was interested in witnessing
the devastation firsthand.
them to participate in the event. The
Alumni Society provided a booth that
offered personalized business cards that
were produced on the spot for current
Manhattan students and added a polished
touch when a student met a potential
employer. Manhattan College is dedicated
to the preparedness of its students, and
the Career Fair is an excellent venue for
them to experience that first contact
with the professional community while
viewing some of the many choices that
lie ahead.
Joining Hands in Katrina Relief
“Block after block for miles and miles
in certain sections of New Orleans, you’d
see garbage piled up, ruined homes, cars
overturned and boats in the middle of the
street,” Gizzo adds. It was a completely
different experience being there in person,
he says, especially after visiting the Ninth
Ward, which suffered the most damage.
“I was awestruck,” Gizzo says.
“Everything is leveled, no exaggeration.
All of the homes are gone. There’s just
debris left.”
Kinah Ventura-Rosas, coordinator in
campus ministry and social action, says
the purpose of these service-learning
trips has always been to encourage the
students to give back to the community
and expose them to different, unique
experiences. In the past, student
volunteers traveled to Honduras, where
they helped build homes in some of
the poorest communities, and to Texas,

Building Homes for
Humanity
Manhattan College is strengthening its
ties to Habitat for Humanity.
Led by the campus ministry and social
action department, volunteers from the
College — from students to administrators
to alumni — have helped build three
homes as part of its partnership with
Habitat for Humanity. Participants from
the College volunteer for Habitat six
times during the academic year, and so
far, most of the homes are being built
in low-income neighborhoods in nearby
Yonkers, N.Y.
In the coming years, campus ministry
hopes to organize fund-raisers for Habitat
and increase the number of its student
volunteers. Another goal is to work with
Habitat to oversee the construction of
one home built solely by Manhattan
College volunteers from start to finish.
Normally, the same volunteer group does
not get to work on one home. The
Manhattan College-themed home would
extend also as a team-building day for
the College community.
where they served as camp counselors
to chronically ill children.
During the trip, students presented a
check in the amount of $4,500 to fellow
Lasallian institution De La Salle High
School. The money will benefit Christian
Brothers Conference and its hurricane
relief efforts. Most of the funds stemmed
from the student-led event, “Big Easy,”
which was held on campus last fall. The
“Big Easy” fund-raiser was a tribute to
the city that included live Jazz music
and traditional New Orleans treats.
Another group of 10 students traveled
back to New Orleans as part of Operation
Helping Hands during spring break.
“All of the students who I spoke to
that went to New Orleans said it was
life changing to see the devastation
firsthand and to meet the families
firsthand,” Ventura-Rosas says. “A lot
of people they came in contact with
Jasper volunteers get down and dirty building houses in Yonkers, N.Y.
Campus ministry oversees a number of
volunteer activities for the College, and
Habitat always gets a positive turnout,
says Kinah Ventura-Rosas, coordinator
of campus ministry.
“It’s a nice time frame for a volunteer
— you spend one day with Habitat,
and you know you’re going to make a
difference,” she says.
Working with Habitat and helping
families achieve homeownership,
Ventura-Rosas says, underscores the
College’s Lasallian mission to serve
its community.
Lois Harr (center), director of campus ministry, holds up a presentation check
with students on the eve of their departure to the hurricane-ravished city.
were surprised that the students would
give up their time, their winter break,
to volunteer down there, and it was
affirming for students to see how much
impact they really had.”
For Gizzo, the trip helped him gain a
different perspective on life, especially
after speaking to family members who
Campus ministry’s relationship
with Habitat for Humanity is with its
Westchester County branch. Down the
road, volunteers hope to pitch in at
other surrounding areas as well.
Habitat for Humanity’s mission is to
work in partnership with low-income
families to build decent homes they
can afford to buy. The organization aims
to help break the cycle of poverty and
hopelessness. By the end of 2005,
Habitat placed more than one million
people worldwide in decent, affordable
Habitat for Humanity houses.
have lost everything and have been
forced to uproot their lives.
“There are always going to be people
out there that are not as fortunate as
you are,” says Gizzo, whose experience
forced him to realize what a lucky life
he led. “I came back here with a renewed
sense of appreciation.”
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Seafaring Alum Finds Inspiration Abroad:
A Personal Account by Ben Gwynne ’05
September 2004. I am in Nha Trang, Vietnam, which was the site of a U.S. military beach during the Vietnam
War. Since then, it has been a popular tourist destination because of its beautiful beaches. While there, we
took a day trip to Monkey Island. Monkeys roam free on the island, and it was safe for us to feed them food
out of our hands (really cool!). We also had the option to be lifted up by an elephant for the price of $1.
I was heading home toward the 242nd
street train station in October 2003 when
I bumped into my friend Crystal. What
happened to be a chance encounter,
ended up changing the direction of my
life to this day. I was a junior at the
time and was set to apply for a program
spending a semester of my senior year
interning in Washington, D.C. Being a
government major, it was an excellent
opportunity for me. In Crystal’s hand
was an application for Semester at Sea,
a study abroad program with which I was
unfamiliar. Crystal told me about it briefly:
it was just students from across the
United States who travel around the world
for a semester on a ship, stopping in 10
countries and taking classes in between.
The quick description was enough to
delay mailing in my application for
Washington, D.C. — just another day.
I went home to look up Semester at Sea
on the Internet, and I was immediately
captivated. I spent hours researching
the program online, looking into the
countries it traveled to, what I could do
when I visited, and the unique courses
offered on the ship. It was then that I
decided I would no longer be venturing to
Washington, D.C., but instead, in August
2004, I would depart on a ship with
650 college students making a voyage
around the world. I knew a trip like this
would impact my life, but I was unaware
that it would change it so quickly.
The Semester at Sea program opened
my eyes to the rest of the world. I had
never been happier and, each day, looked
forward to sharing my experiences with
my friends, family and faculty back home.
I frequently e-mailed them stories about
the places I went, people I had met,
and sent pictures of sites I had seen.
Upon my return, I was notified by Nancy
Cave, the study abroad advisor, that I
had been awarded a $1,250 scholarship,
which is given to a student who “excels
in the study abroad experience.” Being
awarded for an experience that changed
my life is an honor I will never forget.
The scholarship I received was a credit
to what I put into my experience abroad,
so I decided I had to use it toward
another trip that would take me to new
lands. I used my new funds to support
a backpacking trip to Europe after
graduation in May 2005, and the journey
was just beginning.
A good friend I met while studying
abroad encouraged me to apply to
graduate school in England. I took her
advice and found out in a matter of
weeks that I had been accepted into
several schools. Soon after, I made the
decision to attend the University of
Exeter that fall to earn my master’s
degree in public administration and
public policy, where I am very happy at
this moment. All of those travels took
place in less than a year, and they all
happened because of that day I bumped
into Crystal. She will never understand
the importance of that chance meeting,
but I will be forever grateful.
I do realize that I have been blessed
with opportunities few will ever have, but
I take solace in the fact that even fewer
take advantage of those opportunities
when they have the chance. In 2003,
I had no idea that a year later I would be
spending a semester on a boat traveling
around the world, the recipient of a
scholarship, or attending graduate
school in England.
These decisions helped bring me
closer to the College community, without
which I have no idea what my experiences
at Manhattan would have been like, and
also helped me become more in touch
with myself. Semester at Sea calls its
program a “voyage of discovery,” and I
think, for me, it still continues to this
day. The destinations I have been to and
the choices I have made in the past two
years may seem random, but I think they
all make sense. When everything ends,
I am sure it will feel like something I was
supposed to be doing all along. Only time
will tell, and who knows where life will
bring me when I complete my graduate
program in England — we will see come
September 2006.
September 2004. I am on a
Sampan boat ride in Aberdeen
Harbor in Hong Kong. Houseboats,
floating restaurants and fishermen
fill these waters. Taking a tour of
the city this way is very popular
and offers excellent views of the
city. The drivers are friendly and
give you these cool hats to wear,
if you want — and with some
American charm, allow you to
drive the boat.

Retrospective Art
Exhibit Celebrates
New York City
A recent art exhibit held at the College
celebrated one artist’s innovative work and
paid homage to some of New York City’s
finest landmarks.
In memory of Will Servin, late co-president of the Riverdale
Art Association and well-known Soho artist, Manhattan College
hosted a retrospective exhibition of his work in digital imaging.
Known for his uses of color and texture in geometric and
kaleidoscopic designs of New York sights, Servin’s art also
explores ethereal treatments of the human body, creating a
range of work that earned him recognition in many venues.
The Art of Will: A Will Servin Retrospective, sponsored by the
Riverdale Art Association and the College, was first on display
in the O’Malley Library from December 1 to 30. The exhibit
reopened in February and was on display until March 1.
Pieces in the exhibit included a pictorial view of several
New York City landmarks and structures, such as the Statue of
Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge and Times Square. Some of these
photographs were captured while Will piloted a Cessna aircraft
with his twin brother, Manuel Servin, also an artist. Using computer
imaging techniques, Servin turned the photographs into unique
compositions that combined the raw photographs with vibrant
colors and a modern technique. Servin’s one-of-a-kind artwork
garnered him attention as artist of the month in Digital Imaging
magazine, as creator of the T-shirt logo for the first International
Backgammon Server (having won first place in the international
competition), and as artist of the month in The Art on the Street
Project in Soho, among others.
Manuel says his brother’s motivation and inspiration came
from his constant love for creative work and the arts.
Art Series Depicts Images from Holocaust
The College’s Holocaust Resource
Center showcased in the fall a collection
of Holocaust works of art by artist
Marty J. Kalb. The exhibit, which was
on display in the lobby of O’Malley
Library, included 20 charcoal-on-paper
pieces of actual documented events
and original contemporary photographs.
Each image represents a unique event
based on the factual and emotional
tragedy of the Holocaust.
Kalb, who is professor of fine arts
at Ohio Wesleyan University, says his
Holocaust Series confronts the viewer
with some of the worst instances of
torture and suffering. The exhibit featured
the piece Treblinka (right), which
presents a mass grave of bodies at the
Polish extermination camp. Another
work, Expulsion, reveals two naked,
emaciated individuals being cast away,
and in the piece Killing Four Jews, the
viewer is forced to stand alongside the
executioner to witness the imminent
murder of four innocent people who
hold hands in terror.
“He was what I would call a fearless designer and colorist
and had an unlimited [amount of] creativity,” Manuel says.
“Every time he would start a project, he did many variations of
it. In his latest digital creation years, he would just sit down in
front of his computer and create piece after piece.”
He would often have so many ideas that led into another,
Manuel adds.
Servin’s artwork has been described by art critics as
“eye-popping” and “instructive.” To his brother, Manuel,
“he was definitely a pioneer in digital art.”
In the latter years of his life, Servin was creating new images
of New York and printing his images on aluminum plates using
different printers. He also was working on special, heavyweight
translucent papers and playing with the use of adding light to
his pieces.
Servin studied visual arts and graphic design in Mexico, where
he spent his childhood. He attended the National Autonomous
University of Mexico at the School for Fine Arts’ branch in
downtown Mexico City, where legendary artist Diego Rivera
studied. Servin, who also worked with watercolor, spent several
years as a flight attendant and earned his private pilot and
airline dispatcher licenses. It was around this time that the
artist traveled the world and visited numerous art museums,
where he learned to appreciate art, as well as create it.
continued on page 18
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ROTC Takes on the NYSE
Manhattan College’s Air Force ROTC cadets participated in
Veterans Day activities throughout the city. In addition to
marching in the parade and visiting the Bronx Veterans
Hospital, the group rang the bell at the New York Stock
Exchange on Nov. 11 to commemorate the 87th anniversary
of Veterans Day.
Among the members of the armed forces gathered at the
bell are Air Force Assistant Vice Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Arthur
J. Lichte ’71 (center), Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force
Gerald R. Murray (center left), and Manhattan College’s
AFROTC Detachment 560 Cadet Wing Commander Marie
Tracy (third from the right).
A Sculpture Says a Thousand Words
The Manhattan Holocaust Resource
Center works with students, professors
and the surrounding community to
study the phenomena and prevention
of genocide. Under the direction of
Dr. Frederick Schweitzer, the Center
brings noted historians, who often
present groundbreaking research, to
speak on campus.
These lectures are distinguished by
the audience response, and comments
frequently come from people who have
firsthand knowledge of the events
described. In November, a presentation
by Dr. Claudia Koonz on How Racism
Became Respectable: An Exploration
of Nazi Public Culture was applauded
and critiqued by former diplomats,
German-Jewish refugees and World War
II veterans, as well as Riverdale religious
leaders and members of the College.
Koonz detailed how Nazi propaganda
was shaped toward winning over the
professional classes of Germany and how
When asked why Kalb chose to depict
such disturbing graphic images in this
collection, he says that in the world we
live in, where visual imagery dominates,
“people believe what they see more
readily than what they read.”
“I want the viewer to have no doubts
regarding the factual aspects of what
is depicted,” Kalb adds. “I want the
shocking quality of these works to raise
a question as to why the full facts of
these atrocities have been glossed over.
I want people to ask what is happening
now that we do not see.”
the advent of the latest technology at the
time, radio, was used to build first the
illusion and then the reality of consensus.
The Rosenthal family — Leslie, a
psychotherapist, Renee, an artist, and
Alice, their daughter — are long-standing
residents of the Riverdale/Kingsbridge
area and regularly attend such lectures
at the College. In appreciation, they
presented to Manhattan one of Renee’s
sculptures commemorating the victims
of the Holocaust. Entitled We Remember,
it depicts the flame of life and memory
in a set of six clay candles. A motherdaughter
effort, as Alice fashioned the
fragile stained glass flames atop each
candle, Renee chose the motif of candles
because they are spiritual artifacts
common to many religions. The proportions
and grouping of the candles suggest the
different generations of the victims, an
evocative abstract of the human family. For
Renee, the cylindrical shapes also recall
the chimneys of the Nazi death camps.
Through creative and aesthetic means,
Kalb’s artwork compels the viewer to
consider actual historical events in hopes
of increasing an intellectual and emotional
awareness. He hopes that viewers,
particularly students who may have visited
the exhibit, take away with them a
personal connection to the images and
not solely the historical significance.
Kalb joined the Ohio Wesleyan faculty
in 1967 after earning his Master of
Arts from the University of California at
Berkeley. Previously, he taught art at the
University of Kentucky. His paintings
We Remember
Continued from pg. 17 – Art Series Depicts Images from Holocaust
Schweitzer spoke of the power of the
art to give expression to the overwhelming
horror of genocide.
“Words are limiting, but art can convey
some sense of the suffering and loss that
verbalizing cannot,” he says.
The piece is on permanent display in
the Rodriguez Room of Miguel Hall.
and drawings are included in many
public and private collections in the
United States and abroad.
Kalb’s exhibit at the College ran from
November 2 to November 24 and kicked
off the Holocaust Resource Center’s
visiting scholar program.
The Center was established in 1996
to promote Catholic-Jewish dialogue and
to educate people about the Holocaust
and its significance in the present.

Faculty and Staff Accomplishments
Dr. Deborah Adams, Dr. Jeff Cherubini, Dr. Tedd Keating,
Dr. Shawn Ladda and Dr. Lisa Toscano of the physical education
department presented “Connections and Collaborations: Happily
Serving Our Constituents and the Community” at the National
Association of Kinesiology and Physical Education in Higher
Education Conference. The annual conference was held on
January 6 in San Diego, Calif.
Dr. Deborah Adams, assistant professor of physical education,
Dr. Tedd Keating, assistant professor of physical education, and
seven students from the department of physical education and
human performance presented “Ancient Tools for the Modern
Physical Educator” at the New York State Association for Health,
Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Conference. In addition,
Adams served on the southeastern zone of the conference’s
organizing committee. The conference was held on Nov. 11 in
Rochester, N.Y.
Prof. Mike Ayers, visiting professor of sociology, will release in
February his second anthology entitled, Cybersounds: Essays on
Virtual Music Culture. It is the first collection of research and
theory that explores the clash between music and cyberspace.
Dr. Robert J. Farrauto, adjunct professor of chemical engineering
at Manhattan College and 1964 alumnus, has received the 2005
Catalysis and Reaction Engineering Practice Award from the
American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). Sponsored
by pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co., Inc., this award recognizes
individuals who have made pioneering contributions to the
industrial practice of catalysis and chemical reaction engineering.
The award was presented to Farrauto during AIChE’s annual
meeting in October.
Farrauto, who currently teaches a course at Columbia University’s
earth and environmental engineering department, is a research
fellow at Engelhard, a surface and materials company based in
Iselin, N.J. He leads a research team of 15 scientists and engineers
and develops advanced automobile emission control catalysts and
catalysts for the chemical industry. His team has commercialized
20 new fuel-processing catalyst/adsorbent technologies and, with
his research work, has helped generate more than $300 million
in revenues for the company.
The chemical engineer earned his bachelor’s degree in
chemistry from Manhattan and went on to complete his doctorate
in chemistry from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1968.
In 2002, he received the award for excellence in precious metal
catalysis sponsored by the International Precious Metal Institute.
Farrauto is also the 1998 recipient of the Canadian Catalysis
Foundation Lectureship Award.
The AIChE is a professional association of more than 40,000
members, which provides leadership in advancing the chemical
engineering profession. The 94-year-old group fosters and
disseminates chemical engineering knowledge, supports the
professional and personal growth of its members and applies the
expertise of its members to address societal needs worldwide.
Dr. Pamela Chasek, assistant professor of government and
director of the international studies program, has co-written
the fourth edition of Global Environmental Politics, which was
released by Westview Press in January. Manhattan alumni and
international studies graduates Nicole Pollio ’05 and Blair
Lampe ’05 contributed to the book. The new edition includes
a revised chapter on improving compliance with international
environmental regimes and a new section on the environment
within the larger context of sustainable development.
Br. Henry Chaya, associate professor of electrical engineering,
who taught at Bethlehem University three years ago, has since
returned to Bethlehem for the summer sessions.
Dr. Jeff Cherubini, Dr. Shawn Ladda and Dr. Lisa Toscano from
the department of physical education and human performance
have written articles published in The Berkshire Encyclopedia of
World Sport. The articles included an examination of motivation
(Cherubini), endurance (Toscano) and the history of diving (Ladda).
Dr. Ann Marie Flynn, assistant professor of chemical engineering,
and chemical engineering students Nicole Austin, Sean Helak
and Jarrod Manzer presented a paper entitled “Teaching Teachers
to Teach Green Engineering” at the International Conference on
Green and Sustainable Chemistry and the Ninth Annual Green
Chemistry and Engineering Conference in Washington, D.C.,
last June. The work was so well received that the students were
invited by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to tour its
facility in Washington and to contribute to the development of
its green engineering education programs. The group also was
invited to present an updated version of their research at the
upcoming spring American Institute of Chemical Engineers
National Meeting in Orlando, Fla., scheduled for April.
Dr. Charles Geisst, professor of economics and finance, was
recently featured in the Australian Financial Review. His book,
Deals of the Century: Wall Street, Mergers & the Making of
Modern America, was included in the magazine’s list of the
Best 101 Books of 2005.
Dr. Margaret Groarke, assistant professor of government and
director of the peace studies program, has been re-elected to a
second term on the board of directors of the Peace and Justice
Studies Association. She was elected to the executive committee.
Joanne Habenicht, instructor in radiological and health
professions, has been appointed to the Board of the New York
State Department of Health Bureau of Radiological Health for a
three-year term. The board meets several times a year to review
rules and regulations that govern radiographers and radiation
therapists and to review infractions committed by a radiographer
or therapist and take appropriate action.
Dr. Richard Heist, dean of the school of engineering, and
Richard Schneider, academic advisor, presented a paper on the
Bronx Engineering and Technology Academy (BETA) and the
Manhattan School of Engineering at the American Society for
Engineering Education Mid-Atlantic Conference held at Stony
Brook State University of New York.
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Continued from pg. 19 – Faculty and Staff Accomplishments
Dr. Tedd Keating, assistant professor of physical education, has
published “Effective Reinforcement Techniques in Elementary
Physical Education: The Key to Behavior Management” in The
Physical Educator, the scholarly journal of Phi Epsilon Kappa Honor
Fraternity for the movement sciences. He co-wrote the article
with Dr. J. Carl Bennett, former chair of the physical education
department, and Dr. John Downing, former faculty member.
Dr. Elizabeth Kosky, professor of education, has received a
five-year grant from the New York State Education Department,
titled Teacher Leader Quality Partnership Connections, in the
amount of $975,000. The grant enables teachers to become
better qualified by receiving master’s degrees at Manhattan in
special education.
Sr. Remegia Kushner, professor of education, has received a
three-year grant from the New York City Department of Education
in the amount of $750,000 through U.S. Department of Education
funding to train school building leaders in non-public schools.
Dr. Shawn Ladda, associate professor of physical education,
Dr. Lisa Toscano, assistant professor of physical education and
10 students from the department of physical education and
human performance presented “Squaring to the Rap,” a
presentation on teaching square dance using rap music at the
Southeastern Zone of New York State Association for Health,
Physical Education, Recreation and Dance one-day conference
on Nov. 8 at White Plains High School.
Bernadette Lopez-Fitzsimmons, associate librarian, has recently
published the article “Handling Ongoing Changes in Information
Technology in Technical Services: Creating a Librarian-Staff IT
Training Initiative” in TechKNOW, a quarterly review of ideas
published by the technical services division of the Ohio Library
Council. Lopez-Fitzsimmons also served as co-moderator of the
Endeavor Webex Training Session held at Fordham University.
Lopez-Fitzsimmons and Nicholas Taylor, assistant librarian, have
published the article “Online Newsletters in Academic Libraries”
in Catholic Library World (September 2005).
Dr. Zella Moore, assistant professor of psychology, has
published the co-written text “Clinical Sports Psychology,”
which was released in November by Human Kinetics Publishers.
She has published a co-authored article entitled “Using a Case
Formulation Approach in Sport Psychology Consulting” in the
peer-reviewed journal The Sport Psychologist.
Dr. Mohammad Naraghi, professor of mechanical engineering,
presented the paper “VBA/Excel: An Alternative Computer
Programming Tool for Engineering Freshman” at the International
Mechanical Engineering Congress held in Orlando, Fla., in November.
He also chaired a technical session on mechanical engineering
education at the same conference.
Dr. Mark A. Pottinger, assistant professor of music and chair
of fine arts, presented a lecture in February based on 19th
century French historiography and its connection to the Parisian
stage. He delivered the lecture at Washington University in
St. Louis. He also has been appointed to serve a three-year term
on the National Committee for Cultural Diversity of the American
Musicological Society, the governing academic society for
professional musicologists in the United States.
Dr. Ann Marie Flynn, assistant professor of chemical engineering,
was the recipient of the Joseph J. Martin Best Paper Award at
the annual conference of the American Society for Engineering
Education (ASEE) held in Portland, Ore., in June 2005, for her
paper “The Greening of Chemical Engineering Students.” The
Joseph J. Martin Award is presented to the most outstanding
chemical engineering division paper presented and published in
the conference proceedings, in a chemical engineering division
session at the ASEE annual conference. The award will be presented
to Flynn at the chemical engineering division banquet at the 2006
ASEE annual conference in Chicago in June. The ASEE annual
conference provides a forum for more than 3,500 leaders in the
field, including professors, deans, instructors and students, to
present their research, exchange ideas and interact with colleagues.
Nearly all U.S. engineering colleges are ASEE members.
Dr. Edward Proffitt, retired professor of English, has published
his second volume of poems, Ecce Homo. He is currently working
on an autobiography and novel.
Dr. Julie Pycior, professor of history, presented The Rita Cassella
Jones Lecture Series inaugural lecture on Nov. 3 at Fordham
University. The lecture was titled The Gospel of Dorothy Day and
The Friendship House Movement of Catherine De Hueck Doherty.
Laura Redruello, assistant professor of Spanish, was a panel
member for “Cuba from Within” held at Yale University. She
presented her paper “New Spaces for Deviations: Culture and
the Special Period in Cuba.”
Dr. Robert Sharp, associate professor of civil and environmental
engineering and the Donald J. O’Connor Endowed Faculty Fellow,
was a speaker at the symposium “The Hudson River: Achieving
Zero Discharge” held on September 29 at Pace University Law
School. Sharp presented “The Challenges of Zero Discharge:
Can It Be Achieved?” He also has published a research paper
titled “Visualization and Characterization of Dynamic Patterns of
Flow, Growth and Activity of Vibrio Fischeri Biofilms Growing in
Porous Media” in the latest issue of the peer-reviewed journal,
Water Science and Technology. The paper, co-written by Margo
Adgie ’04 (M.S.), describes results from her graduate research,
which was funded by the Hazardous Materials Managers
Institute (HMMI) and the National Science Foundation.
Dr. Harry Stein, adjunct assistant professor of history, has
been selected by the College Board to read American history
advanced placement examination papers at Trinity University in
San Antonio, Texas, from June 2 to June 8.
Dr. Evriclea Voudouri-Maniati, associate professor of electrical
engineering, presented a seminar, “Radar and Sonar Systems:
Robust Signal Processing Techniques,” to a joint meeting of the
Women in Engineering (WIE) Society and the Communications
Society of IEEE. The seminar was held on February 15 in New York.

A Sweet Cawing from the Old Crows
For the 16th consecutive year, the
Association of Old Crows (AOC) recognized
a Manhattan College engineering student
with a prestigious scholarship. Christopher
Barsi ’06, a senior electrical engineering
major, joins fellow Jaspers who have won
more than $37,000 in scholarships from
the AOC. Christopher, a Yonkers, N.Y.,
resident, competed with students from
some of the finest engineering schools
in the metro area to win a scholarship
award for $3,000. A dinner to honor
the winners took place in November in
Long Island, N.Y.
Author Robert Sullivan engaged
the College in November in a witty,
entertaining discussion about garbage,
the environment and rats.
Sullivan is the author of Rats:
Observations on the History and
Habitat of the City’s Most Unwanted
Inhabitants, The Meadowlands and A
Whale Hunt. Often described as a nature
writer, Sullivan was quick to say that he
fell into nature writing and is constantly
questioning traditional perceptions of
the environment and nature. In a not
so straightforward lecture, sponsored
by the international studies program,
that answered the question: What Is the
Environment Anyway?, Sullivan discussed
how he tackles nature writing and what
he discovered about the environment
along the way.
For Sullivan, writing about nature
is not to just quietly observe beautiful
scenery and then write about it. It is
more about truly immersing oneself in
any type of environment whether it is a
beautiful piece of land surrounded by
mountains and pretty streams, or if it is
an urban area riddled with garbage and
smoke stacks.
“You have to look at things that are
not exciting, sometimes you’ll see that
there’s excitement there,” he said.
A nonprofit professional group, the
AOC promotes careers in the defense
industry and awards scholarships to
worthy computer or electrical engineering
students. The Empire Chapter, which
awards up to three scholarships to area
students in their junior or senior years,
considers students who are residents of
New York City, Westchester, Nassau or
Suffolk counties.
For nearly four decades, the AOC
has been a leading and knowledgeable
organization that promotes the
Making Sense of Nature and the Environment
In his book The Meadowlands, Sullivan
observes the “nature” and “environment”
of a garbage-filled area. He actually
paddled his way numerous times through
the dirty waters of the Meadowlands and
wrote about it, describing the area as
filled with “streams” of garbage and “hills”
of trash. He joked about how easy it was
to use the language of a nature writer to
describe what is essentially a swamp
and not much to do about nature.
But that was Sullivan’s main point —
that the environment is so much more
than hiking beautiful trails or sitting
peacefully on a picturesque campsite.
One could also hike the Meadowlands
and gain insightful observations on
nature and the environment, he said.
“Instead of exploring mountains, I’d
go to New Jersey and do an exploration
by canoe of the Meadowlands,” said
Sullivan, adding jokingly that most people
thought he was nuts. He said though the
area had been abused, there was still
something special about it. A highlight
was meeting and interviewing the people
of the area who really knew the layout
and the history behind the place.
He used the same technique in his
latest book, Rats, where he devotes one
year to a lower Manhattan alley and
observes the city’s most unwanted
advancement of electronic defense
development. It is comprised of more
than 100 corporate participants with
more than 14,000 members and is
committed to trying to help Congress
and the Department of Defense create
a policy that will provide more defense
for the dollar using the technologies of
Electronic Warfare, a force multiplier
that can do more with less.
creatures. He observed the patterns and
lifestyle of rats, and he also interviewed
many people linked to the creatures,
such as exterminators, civic activists and
garbage men. His book continuously
examines the environment of rats and
then makes many comparisons between
rats and humankind. He said that the
book, though classified also as nature
writing, is secretly about humans and
cities and reveals that the many habits
of rats mirror those of human beings.
Sullivan provided a different kind of
discussion on the environment, insightful
and funny. It’s not just observing nature’s
beauty, he said, but it could be where
you live, the Meadowlands, or observing
rats in the city.
His career into nature writing has
taken many twists and turns. He has
written about the environment but in
the process examines it more deeply,
sometimes even looking to his own
personal journey for inspiration. Sullivan,
a recipient of a National Endowment for
the Arts creative writing fellowship, is a
contributing editor to Vogue and writer
for The New Yorker.
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Award-Winning Journalist and Author
Revisits 1962 Integration at Ole Miss
Paul Hendrickson, veteran journalist,
educator and author, discussed his
award-winning book Sons of Mississippi:
A Story of Race and Its Legacy at the
College in November. Published in 2002,
Sons of Mississippi won the 2003
National Book Critics Circle Award and
the 2003 Chicago Tribune Heartland
Prize for excellent nonfiction. The book
was read by many students in their
required freshman writing course.
Sons of Mississippi explores the lingering
aspects of the racism surrounding the
1962 integration of the University of
Mississippi by civil rights activist James
Meredith. Meredith is best known as the
first African-American student of the
university, after he risked his life by
successfully applying the laws of
integration at the institution. In his
book, Hendrickson explores perhaps
the most famous photo of that time,
which appeared in the ’60s on the
cover of Life magazine. In the infamous
photograph, seven white Mississippi
lawyers gathered to stop Meredith from
integrating the school. One of the men
in the photo is swinging a billy club.
More than 30 years later, Hendrickson
set out to discover who these men
were, what happened to them after the
photograph was taken and how attitudes
about race shaped the way they lived
their lives.
Discussing the Downfall of the Soviet Union
Award-winning author and historian Dr. Stephen F. Cohen
discussed the fall of the Soviet Union in an insightful lecture
delivered this past October as part of the College’s annual
lecture series on European history. The Costello Lecture Series
is named in honor of Brother Casmir Gabriel Costello, longtime
professor of history who also chaired the history department
and served as dean of the College.
In his address, Cohen, professor of Russian studies and history
at New York University, examined why the Soviet Union came
to an end. To end the Soviet Union was inevitable, but there is
no consensus at all on why it happened, said Cohen, who also
questioned whether it is fair to document the state’s end as a
“collapse.” In fact, it was not all that dramatic, he said.
During the lecture, Cohen coursed through some of the widely
used explanations behind the Soviet Union’s downfall. Some
scholars say all empires have to come to an end at some point.
But “the Soviet Union was never empire-like,” he said. Cohen
also mentioned that some feel it was due to a troubled economy
but could never find a single, scholarly economist who would
support this reasoning. He underscored this point by stating
that an economic crisis does not automatically mean a country’s
entire political system will crumble.
“For instance, the U.S. Depression did not put an end
to the United States’ political system,” he said. “It simply
doesn’t happen.”
Hendrickson, a prizewinning feature
writer for the Washington Post for more
than 20 years, now teaches nonfiction
writing at the University of Pennsylvania.
He is the author of Seminary: A Search,
Looking for the Light: The Hidden Life
and Art of Marion Post Wolcott (a finalist
for the National Book Critics Circle
Award) and The Living and the Dead:
Robert McNamara and Five Lives of a
Lost War (a finalist for the National
Book Award).
Cohen concluded by attributing the Soviet Union’s demise,
though an important and complex piece of history, to a simple
explanation. Boris Yeltsin at the time had a different motivating
factor: to gain complete power. He simply wanted to remove
himself from Mikhail Gorbachev’s rule. In order to do this, said
Cohen, Yeltsin had to leave the party and rid himself of Gorbachev’s
power forever. The historic end was rather peaceful, he said.
A professor emeritus at Princeton University, Cohen has
published numerous books and articles on Soviet history,
including the award-winning Bukharin and the Soviet Revolution:
A Political Biography, 1888-1938. In addition to his successful
academic career, he has worked as a journalist and television
commentator on Soviet issues and post-Soviet affairs. He is the
recipient of two John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowships,
the Rockefeller Foundation Humanitarian Fellowship and the
Newspaper Guild Page One Award for Column Writing.
The Costello Lecture Series is underwritten by one of his many
grateful students, Roger Goebel, professor of law and director of
the Center on European Union Law at Fordham University.

Understanding the WTO
David Runnalls, president of the
International Institute for Sustainable
Development, gave an interesting and
uncomplicated explanation of the World
Trade Organization (WTO) and its role in
a lecture delivered on campus in October.
Runnalls, who also gave highlights
of what to expect from the December
ministerial meeting in Hong Kong, spent
time discussing the WTO’s origin, power,
missteps and milestones, a group he
describes as “a mysterious organization.”
In his lecture, sponsored by the
College’s international studies program,
Runnalls explained that the WTO is
one of the most powerful international
organizations. Although it struggled
in its infancy to fine-tune its internal
structure, the group has been successful
in fueling growth in trade since World
War II and continues to monitor and
improve the way international trade is
being conducted. The WTO promotes
peace and makes sure that trade is
handled well among the diverse
participants with which it deals.
“The WTO system encourages good
government,” said Runnalls.
He spent time discussing one of the
two most pivotal moments in the WTO’s
history, which were the Uruguay Round
and the 1999 ministerial meeting in
Seattle. The Uruguay Round was held in
Geneva and served as the place where the
WTO became a permanent organization
and adopted its United Nations-style
structure. It also, he said, set in place
the rules and regulations for trading more
than just goods but also services, such as
intellectual property rights, broadcasting,
banking and telecommunications. The
WTO calls the meeting a groundbreaking
negotiation and probably the largest
negotiation of any kind in history.
The other most notable moment for the
WTO was the infamous 1999 ministerial
meeting in Seattle. Riots took place and
people were trashing retail chains, such
as Starbucks and Gap. It was a disaster,
said Runnalls, but it did send a strong
signal to the WTO to redefine the ways
in which it traditionally handles
international trade, especially in its
dealings with developing countries.
Developing countries, at the time,
did not have much participation in
world trade.
At the time of his lecture, the next
ministerial meeting was set for December
to be held in Hong Kong and was a
highly anticipated one. Runnalls shared
what he thought would be key matters
discussed at those talks. In Hong Kong,
the focus would surround both the growing
trade powers of China and India. The
shift in power will change the way trade
will be handled in the future, he said.
There also, he noted, would be further
discussion on linking trade policy to
social policy or labor issues and more
on developing countries. In fact, one
major piece of news announced at the
December meeting was the addition
of Tonga to its membership, another
positive sign that the WTO is working
to add smaller economies to its group.
As president of the International
Institute for Sustainable Development,
Runnalls helps advance and improve policy
recommendations on international trade
and investments, economic policy, climate
change and natural resources. He also
serves as co-chair of the China Council
Task Force on WTO and Environment.
He was a member of the federal
External Advisory Committee on Smart
Regulation (EACSR) and the Advisory
Committee on Partnerships to the
Minister for International Cooperation.
Runnalls, an occasional writer and
broadcaster, has served as environment
columnist for the CBS radio program As it
Happens and was a member of Discovery
Channel’s regular environment panel.
manhattan.edu
on campus
23

24 manhattan.edu
Armenian Scholar Addresses Genocide
In February, the Holocaust Resource Center hosted a lecture
by Dr. Peter Balakian, the Donald M. and Constance H. Rebar
Chair in Humanities at Colgate University. Balakian spoke about
The Armenian Genocide of 1915 and America’s Response as
part of the Center’s lecture series. He has received numerous
awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a National
Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and an Ellis Island Medal of
Honor. His book, The Burning Tigris: the Armenian Genocide and
America’s Response, received the 2005 Raphael Lemkin prize.
Balakian descends from a family of Armenian scholars. His
great-uncle Gregor Balakian wrote a two-volume account of the
Armenian genocide, as an eyewitness who escaped the massacre
of intellectuals that took place on April 24, 1915. This date has
become a day of remembrance for Armenians around the world.
He reminded the crowded auditorium that Armenia had been
a favorite 19th century destination of American missionaries,
who considered it a biblical land of the ancient Christians.
Mount Ararat, an Armenian landmark, is believed to be the
landing place of Noah’s ark.
The Americans protested vehemently against the brutality
meted out to the Armenians, as the Ottoman Empire descended
into violent collapse, he noted. Balakian referred to the U.S.
Rockin’ Speaker
Manhattan students were treated to a
woman’s inside view of the world of rock
’n’ roll when Joy Askew spoke about
Women in Rock in February. Askew is
one of the few female musicians to find
steady employment in what is considered
by many to be a boys’ club and has
worked with rock legends, such as Peter
Gabriel, Joe Jackson, Quincy Jones and
the Rolling Stones.
A native of Newcastle, England, Askew
knew she “loved music and couldn’t
bear to be without it.” This passion
carried her through jazz studies at a
local college, on to London and eventually
to New York City. British composer and
post-punk rock star Joe Jackson gave
her a first big break.
Askew was invited to speak by her
longtime friend John Kruth, a professor
in the fine arts department who has
been teaching the popular course
History of Rock and Roll for a year and
a half. She gave a frank and realistic
picture of what it takes to make a living
in popular music, he says. Women must
be very dedicated in order to succeed
for they face a race against time in
the form of ageism, as well as gender
discrimination, according to Kruth.
“In any other field, Joy Askew would
be widely known for the way years of
high-level experience have honed her
immense singing and writing talents,
but experience does not count for much
in the youth-driven rock world,” he says.
Askew occasionally sings with Kruth’s
band, Reckless Optimism. Otherwise,
she performs frequently at London and
New York City venues.
National Archives, which contain more than 4,000 pages of
documents about these events that were recorded by American
consuls, missionaries and journalists. He explained how America
was just emerging from its own civil war and was ready to look
beyond its own borders. Huge town hall meetings were convened,
most notably at Boston’s Fanueil Hall in 1894. More than
$100 million dollars in relief funds was raised in the United States
which at the turn of the 20th century was a substantial sum.
For the first time, the American Red Cross, led by Clara Barton,
went abroad to aid the Armenian refugees. Balakian’s research
revealed how news coverage kept the Americans well-informed.
Every 2.2 days, the New York Times ran an article on the Armenian
situation. The world was swept up into World War I, which
effectively destroyed the Ottoman Empire. According to Balakian,
two-thirds of the Armenian people died during this period.
Balakian then challenged the present-day inhabitants of
Anatolia to come to terms with the full scope of their national
history. These painful events still retain their sting even as
more recent conflicts among different groups engulf the area.
Reverend Sahog Kaishian, visiting scholar of the Westchester
Armenian Community, gave a closing benediction. He prayed
for peace and echoed the words of Balakian, “let us make
human rights a priority.”

Volume 4, Number 1 Spring 2006

A2
Sesquicentennial Capital Campaign
Reaches $120 Million
Just three years ago, 750 alumni and guests of Manhattan
College gathered in the Grand Ballroom of The Waldorf=Astoria
in New York City in honor of the 2003 De La Salle medalist Gene
McGrath ’63, chairman and CEO of Con Edison, and to officially
launch the $150 million Sesquicentennial Capital Campaign. Fifty
million dollars had been committed at that juncture, during the
“quiet phase” of the fund-raising effort.
A campaign kickoff is a familiar and much-practiced ceremonial
forum. It generally includes an elegant dinner, the announcement
of pace-setting gifts and speeches of earnest and eloquent
commitment by campaign leaders.
From a pecuniary perspective, to do better than other campaigns
seems an apt aspirational statement for this campaign, considering
the goal of $150 million is three times Ascend Manhattan, the
College’s previous drive.
But while dollars are the language that capital campaigns speak,
the only language in which they can be understood is the language
of consequences. The Sesquicentennial Capital Campaign clearly
intends to be consequential: endowed chairs, student scholarship
endowment, a new student residence, technology and faculty
development funds. The end result will be a faculty that is larger,
stronger, more productive and more influential in its academic
disciplines; a student body that is singularly talented and diverse;
and a College that is a regional model in offering opportunities for
undergraduate students to develop reverence, wisdom and faith,
as well as specialized knowledge.
Advancing Manhattan
$150,000,000
$140,000,000
$130,000,000
$120,000,000
$110,000,000
$100,000,000
$90,000,000
$80,000,000
$70,000,000
$60,000,000
$50,000,000
$40,000,000
$30,000,000
$20,000,000
$10,000,000
Since that cold January night in 2003, the Sesquicentennial Capital
Campaign has demonstrated remarkable growth and resiliency.
The total stands at $120 million, as we begin the home stretch.
In commenting on the current status and the plans to conclude
the campaign by mid-2007, Mike McMorrow ’64, executive
director, said: “Thanks to an ever-growing list of generous donors,
we are rapidly approaching our final goal. But we still have a
distance to go. Toward that end, in the coming months every
Jasper will be given the opportunity to play some part in building
a better Manhattan.”
As part of a campaign volunteer training session recently, a
younger alumnus directed the following question to McMorrow:
“What is my part in this campaign?”
McMorrow responded: “You may be part of the fund-raising
effort in any (or all) of several ways. You may be among those
who: help make the campaign a success in your area or within
your class by assisting in arranging a campaign-related event;
call on others to ask for a contribution; interest a corporation
or foundation in Manhattan’s programs and needs; give careful
consideration to your own gift.”
In concluding his remarks, McMorrow said, “We very much
hope that you will take part in the campaign. We need you, your
help, advice and participation.”
GOAL: 150,000,000
06/01/2002 06/01/2003 06/01/2004 06/01/2005 12/31/2005 04/01/2006 Goal

East Hill Tower II
Instead of traveling 40 minutes to Yorktown Heights, Tom
McCarthy ’06 ends his day in Horan Hall, which he calls home
nine months out of the year. McCarthy is among the many students
who live close enough to commute to campus everyday but decided
instead to enroll as a resident. In fact, McCarthy never considered
the possibility of becoming a commuter student.
“I knew I’d be better served as a resident,” McCarthy says.
“Part of the college experience is that you have to live there.”
McCarthy speaks for his generation; college is a residential
experience. Living in an organic, learning community is an essential
element of undergraduate life in the 21st century.
Manhattan is not the only school that has experienced a shift
from local commuter students to residents, but, according to
William Bisset, vice president for enrollment management at the
College, it is one of the first.
“Students that are coming from 300 miles away or three miles
away all want to live on campus,” Bisset says.
In 2002, McCarthy’s freshman year, 74 percent of the students
enrolled as residents. Two years later, 80 percent of freshmen
requested housing.
In order to keep up with the trend toward college residency,
Manhattan College is planning to build East Hill Tower II, a near
twin to Horan Hall. It is estimated to cost $30 million. Funds for
the project are being secured through the Sesquicentennial Capital
Campaign, which is directed by Mike McMorrow ’64 and assisted
by Stephen Laruccia ’67.
“Manhattan is not choosing resident students over commuting
students,” McMorrow says. “We are responding to the reality of
a national trend. The world of secondary education is highly
competitive, and we have to maintain our momentum.”
Despite the greater costs, parents and their children have very
good reasons for choosing residence over commuting. Lifelong bonds
of friendship are created when students live and learn together.
East Hill Tower II will be a state-of-the-art facility providing
beautiful, technologically connected and safe accommodations
for some 570 students. The design is nearly the mirror image of
Horan Hall. Its completion will establish a residential complex
overlooking Van Cortlandt Park for approximately 1,300 students.
This new residence will enhance an already lively, caring
environment, where a diverse student body has become one of our
greatest assets. This diversity is one of the most significant changes
at the College in 25 years. It is a decisive advantage in preparing
young people for the global marketplace.
More students in residence will necessitate an expansion in
student activities, including those oriented toward community
service and mission. More activities must be planned for nights
and on weekends. There will be increased opportunities for the
College to encourage moral growth and spiritual values. A multistory
parking lot is being planned, and food services will be enlarged.
Attractive residential options are part of continuing to attract a
high quality student body. East Hill Tower II is critical because it
will allow the majority of the undergraduate student body to live
together in a modern, comfortable environment.
continued on page A8
A3

A4
Ambassador Charles A. Gargano
Endowed Scholarship Outreach Program
Ambassador Charles Gargano ’79 was the featured speaker at the 2005
Endowed Scholarship Outreach Program reception, an event that bears his name.
Now celebrating its 10th year, the Ambassador Charles A. Gargano Endowed
Scholarship Outreach Program continues to provide opportunities for deserving
young New Yorkers, so they can enjoy the benefits of a Lasallian education at
Manhattan. Throughout the decade, these annual receptions have raised more
than half a million dollars for student financial aid.
The event brought together benefactors and recipients of the scholarship outreach
program. Held at the Mutual of America building, the guests were surrounded by
the glittering skyline of the city in winter. Approximately 90 people attended, and
more than $100,000 was raised for scholarships.
DMJM+Harris, the highly regarded engineering firm, and Mutual of America,
the insurance giant, co-sponsored the event. Fred Werner ’75, executive vice president
and chief operating officer of DMJM+Harris, welcomed guests and thanked Thomas
Moran ’74, president and CEO of Mutual of America Life Insurance, former trustee
of Manhattan College and his co-organizer of the reception. Werner congratulated
the College on its regular contributions of talented personnel to DMJM+Harris,
which employs a significant number of alumni. He recalled highlights of Gargano’s
extraordinary career: his two terms as ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago under
the Reagan and first Bush administrations; his tenures as chairman and commissioner
of Empire State Development; and vice chairman of the Port Authority of New
York and New Jersey. Gargano presided over some of New York State’s largest
construction and engineering projects, such as the J.F.K. air train, Queens West
and the Hudson River Expansion.
Brother Thomas Scanlan with scholarship recipients
Lisa Martusciello ’06, Danielle Rispoli ’07 and Danielle
Nicols ’06 and Thomas Moran ’74, president and CEO
of Mutual of America Life Insurance, at the Ambassador
Charles A. Gargano Endowed Scholarship Outreach
Program reception.
Advancing Manhattan
Ambassador Charles Gargano ’79 addresses the crowd
at the scholarship event that bears his name.
In return, Gargano spoke of his affection for the College.
“There is a warmth and comfort that comes from being part of Manhattan,
as well as an immense pride,” he said. “What a special place it is! Located in the
greatest, most vibrant, most important city in the world, the breathtakingly beautiful
Riverdale campus is one of those places where you can take a deep breath, think
and appreciate what it means to be part of such an extraordinary institution.”
Three scholarship recipients were on hand to greet their benefactors: Lisa
Martusciello ’06, a civil engineering student from Brooklyn; Danielle Rispoli ’07,
a math major from Brooklyn; and Danielle Nicols ’06, an accounting major from
Staten Island. John Jude Cuccurullo ’06, a business major from Brooklyn, was
unable to attend.
The Ambassador Charles A. Gargano Endowed Scholarship has become one of
Manhattan’s most prestigious awards. The College always is pleased to award a
scholarship to a Brooklyn student in honor of Gargano’s “home” borough, but all
New York City students are eligible.

New York Life Insurance
Luncheon Hosted
It is axiomatic that the personal approach works best in
development and fund-raising work. Alumnus and trustee
Patrick Boyle ’75, who is also executive vice president, New York
Life Investment Management, decided to apply this approach
with his colleagues in a corporate environment. On October 18,
he hosted a luncheon for his fellow executives at the New York
Life Insurance Company home office in New York City.
In attendance were: Michael Gallo ’76, senior vice president and
chief of staff; Andrew Hajducek ’75, first vice president, corporate
information department; Robert Hynes ’75, vice president, agency;
Charles Lynch ’76, first vice president, corporate Internet; James
McNicholas ’70, director, guaranteed products; Mark Pfaff ’80,
senior vice president, Northeastern agencies; and Denise Spillane ’84,
director, MacKay Shields. Representing the College were Michael
McMorrow ’64, executive director, Sesquicentennial Capital
Campaign, and Stephen Laruccia ’67, director of major gifts.
As Boyle stated from the outset, the purpose of the luncheon
was to provide an update on Manhattan College’s Sesquicentennial
Capital Campaign and to discuss a special project of the Financial
Services Advisory Council (FSAC) — an endowed chair in the
school of business.
“The FSAC’s goal to raise funds for an endowed chair in business
is something I feel strongly about, and I wanted my colleagues to
hear about it firsthand,” Boyle said.
During the luncheon, the group received a recap of capital campaign
progress. McMorrow announced that gifts and pledges now total
in excess of $103 million (at press time, the total was $120 million)
toward the objective of $150 million. He went on to speak about
the FSAC and its work in securing funding for an endowed chair
for the school of business, which so far has raised $1.3 million
toward the needed $1.5 million. He asked the alumni guests to
consider supporting this vital project.
New York Life Insurance luncheon attendees, from left to right: Mark Pfaff ’80,
Andrew Hajducek ’75, Robert Hynes ’75, Charles Lynch ’76, Michael Gallo ’76,
Denise Spillane ’84, James McNicholas ’70 and Patrick Boyle ’75.
Laruccia spoke about the campaign’s focus on endowment:
half of the overall objective, $75 million, has been earmarked for
endowed chairs and endowed student scholarships. Endowment
is the most fundamental need of all because it supports so many
aspects of the Manhattan College educational experience and
provides a steady stream of income to meet those needs.
McMorrow expressed a hope that this luncheon would serve as
a prototype encouraging more involvement on the part of senior
executives in gathering their colleagues in a corporate environment.
“Patrick has hit upon a very effective means of getting the word
out about our campaign,” McMorrow said.
At the Financial Services Advisory Council Board meeting in January, members
gathered to discuss the Sesquicentennial Capital Campaign challenge. Pictured
here, from left to right, are: (standing) William Marshall ’67, James Kosch ’77,
Peter Musumeci ’72, Kenneth Rathgeber ’70, Stephen Laruccia ’67, Michael
Passarella ’63 and Robert Cappiello ’58; (seated) Patrick Boyle ’75, Kathleen
Kearns ’79, William Dooley ’75, Michael McMorrow ’64 and Brother Robert Berger.
A5

A6
North Carolina Alumni Gather for a
Special Reception
On a cool and pleasant October evening at the Prestonwood
Country Club in Cary, N.C., some 29 Manhattan College alumni
and guests gathered together. Eight alumni joined forces to co-host
and underwrite this gala reception: Dennis Burns ’67, Denis Gray
’70, Joseph McEvoy ’69, Kenneth ’88 and Christine ’89 Peeples,
John Skvarla ’70, Conrad Weiden ’80 and Robert Wertis ’54.
A diverse group, the alumni came from all over central North
Carolina, ranging from the class of 1948 to 1989 and representing
the schools of arts, business, engineering and science. Other alumni
in attendance included: Stephen Arella ’71, Anthony Concia ’67,
Raymond Davis ’66, Ronald Duffy ’69, Donald Lauria ’56,
William Leonard ’48, Kenneth Lewis ’72, Thomas Lindgren ’78,
Terence McNamara ’59, Donald Mooney ’58 and Charles Scott ’56.
Burns welcomed the attendees, stressed their common experience
as a special group of alumni and introduced the guests from
Manhattan College. He acknowledged Skvarla for making all the
reception arrangements and supplying the raffle prize, a membership
initiation fee for the Whispering Pines Country Club in Pinehurst.
He also emphasized how important these receptions are in learning
more about Manhattan, its mission, accomplishments and current
capital campaign. Burns added that this was the first reception and
indicated that the committee intends to make this an annual affair.
Dr. John Wilcox, vice president for mission, spoke about the
College’s Lasallian mission and Catholic identity. He underscored
the three focuses of the mission: concern for social justice, religious
education, and the dignity and value of the teaching profession.
The Lasallian mission is alive and vibrant at Manhattan College
and at Christian Brothers’ institutions throughout the world in
North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa
and Australia. He highlighted the challenges of providing religious
education for an increasingly diverse student body and how
Manhattan works to instill in its students ethical values. For more
information, interested parties may access the Christian Brothers
Web site at www.lasalle.org.
Dr. Stephen Laruccia, director of major gifts, reported on the
progress of the Sesquicentennial Capital Campaign, the most
ambitious and successful fund-raising campaign in the College’s
history. The campaign has raised in new gifts and pledges more
than $103 million (at press time, the total was $120 million)
toward its overall objective of $150 million. Fifty percent of
the campaign goal is earmarked for endowment, which includes
endowed chairs for each of the five schools and endowed student
scholarships. He attributed the success, thus far, to the alumni
who have been more generous than at any other time.
Advancing Manhattan
Reception co-hosts and guests, from left to right: Dennis Burns ’67,
Pamela Weiden, John Skvarla ’70, Christine Peeples ’89, Joseph
McEvoy ’69, Kenneth Peeples ’88, Conrad Weiden ’80, Dorothy Wertis,
Robert Wertis ’54 and Melanie Wilson.
In the course of the campaign, the College has received 22 gifts
of $1 million or more from individuals, groups, corporations and
foundations. Cash commitments and deferred gifts from alumni at
the reception and in the area total $207,000.
Volunteers play an active role in the campaign. Nearly 100
volunteers from the Campaign Committee, the Financial Services
Advisory Council, the Major Gifts Committee and numerous other
groups are currently identifying and soliciting fellow graduates.
The campaign is advancing Manhattan College’s strategic plan,
Manhattan 2025, which aims to establish the College as the premier
Catholic college in New York and complete the transformation of
Manhattan to a widely recognized and respected college, a regional
college with outreach to Boston, Washington, D.C., and the Great
Lakes, and a residential college, where currently about 75 percent
of its students reside on campus.
Dennis Burns ’67 Dr. John Wilcox,
vice president for mission

John E. Skvarla III ’70
loyal alumnus, attorney,
entrepreneur and author
Ask John Skvarla ’70 why he has been so helpful and supportive of Manhattan’s
activities in North Carolina, and he will tell you because he is proud of the College
but even more enthusiastic about the untapped potential for the institution.
Throughout the years, John has attended and brought guests to NCAA games in
which Manhattan has played in North Carolina (notably against Florida, Wake
Forest and North Carolina State); hosted golf outings for alumni and guests from
the College; underwritten the Jasper Open with generous golf packages; and, in
October, co-hosted with Dennis Burns ’67, Ken ’88 and Christine ’89 Peeples,
Denis Gray ’70, Joseph McEvoy ’69, Conrad Weiden ’80 and Robert Wertis ’54,
a reception for Manhattan alumni at the Prestonwood Country Club in Cary, N.C.
That reception afforded alumni an opportunity to hear about the College’s Lasallian
mission and its capital campaign to raise $150 million (see full story).
John is the son of Manhattan alumnus, John E. Skvarla Jr. ’44 and graduated
from the College in 1970 with a degree in economics. He went on to secure his law
degree from the University of North Carolina in 1973. After a dozen years as a
practicing attorney, John now buys, operates (and occasionally sells) companies.
He is currently president and COO of Restoration Systems, a company based in
Raleigh that provides mitigation credit and turn-key mitigation for impacted wetlands.
Previously, he has operated and sold a cargo airline, an equipment manufacturing
company and even two golf courses. John was also CEO of Pro-Active Therapy,
Inc., which owned and operated 75 physical therapy centers in North Carolina,
South Carolina and Virginia. While at Pro-Active, he published The People’s
Prescription for What Really Ails America’s Health Care System, a study on the
history and reformation of America’s health care. Having conducted more than
300 TV and radio interviews on the topic, John was a voice in the 1994-1995
debate on the Clinton health care reformation proposal.
A resident of Pinehurst, N.C., John and his wife, Elizabeth (CMSV ’70), are very
active in their community. Elizabeth serves on the UNC Neuroscience Advisory
Board, Sandhills Community College Foundation Board and The Carolina Ballet
Board. They have two grown children, Matt and Kate. As a hobby, John and Liz
play golf and collect antique cars.
John is also a loyal supporter of his alma mater. He is a leadership donor to the
College’s capital campaign and the newest member of the Covenant Society with a
bequest. His best advice to the College is, “Let alumni know that Manhattan is
behind some of its competitor schools in endowment, and that alumni support is
vital to bridge that gap.”
Elizabeth and John Skvarla ’70
A7

A8
William N. Dooley ’75 hosted a president’s dialogue dinner at the American
International Group in October. Pictured are, from left to right: Michael
McMorrow ’64, Peter Krause ’70, Michael Paliotta ’87, Brother Thomas
Scanlan, Tom O’Malley ’63 and William Dooley.
Continued from pg. A3 – East Hill Tower II
“East Hill will enhance student learning and will provide a unique
opportunity for cognitive and personal growth in and out of the
classroom,” McMorrow says. “A residential college performs a civic
mission in emulating and promoting the best in civic responsibility
and interaction among members of a scholarly community.”
The Campaign for East Hill II is underway, and already donors
have responded by funding floors, suites and rooms, which will
be adorned with plaques in their honor. The opportunities for
sponsorship include:
Advancing Manhattan
• Upper Full Floors (includes lounge & public space) - $250,000
• Lower Partial Floors (includes lounge & public space) - $150,000
• Elevators - $75,000
• Suite - $25,000
• Single Room - $10,000
• Plaza Bricks - $1,000
Scholarship funding opportunities are still available through
the Sesquicentennial Capital Campaign. These include:
• Full-Attendance Scholarship - $500,000
• Full Tuition Scholarship - $250,000
• Named Scholarship - $50,000
• General Scholarship Fund - up to $50,000
Please call McMorrow to discuss all aspects of the East Hill
Tower II Campaign, as well as scholarship opportunities.
He can be reached at (718) 862-7542, and Laruccia is available
at (718) 862-7582.
First Brother Timothy Burris
Scholar Selected
Meet Anne Mohan ’09, the first recipient of the Brother
Conrad Timothy Burris Endowed Scholarship. A native of
Brooklyn, Anne is a graduate of Stuyvesant High School.
A superior student, she graduated with a high school GPA
of 95.5, and her SAT scores were 1370.
While at Stuyvesant, she garnered significant academic
distinctions: Certificate of Mastery Level Academic
Performance in Regents Chemistry, Regents Diploma
with Honors, AP Scholar with Honor Award ARISTA
(3 years), Award of Excellence in Biology Laboratory
Work, Certificate of Excellence in Technology Education,
and Chancellor’s Roll of Honor.
A well-rounded student, Anne was an active participant
in high school athletics: captain of the Stuyvesant girls
varsity swimming team (2004), Rookie of the Year
award for Stuyvesant girls varsity swimming team (2001),
and member of the Stuyvesant varsity golf team –
Division Champions.
Additionally, Anne was a member of the Big Sibs
program at Stuyvesant for two years (2003-04), a mentoring
program in which upperclassmen are assigned to a freshman
homeroom to mentor and ease the transition of these
young students into high school life.
Her College distinctions include a Presidential Scholarship,
an Avella Scholarship and membership in the St. La Salle
Honor Society.
The Burris Endowment has been created to provide
scholarship assistance to bright and promising chemical
engineering freshmen. Currently, it has raised more than
$650,000 toward its goal of $1 million. For more information,
please contact Dr. Nada Assaf-Anid, chairperson, department
of chemical engineering, at (718) 862-7420 or e-mail her
at nada.assaf-anid@manhattan.edu.
Anne Mohan ’09

Local Author Waxes Poetic
Tom Sleigh, a New York poet and author, held a poetry reading at the College in
December. Many of his selections came from his newest collection of poetry, Far Side
of the Earth, which was named an Honor Book by the Massachusetts Society for the
Book. The event, sponsored by the Manhattan Magazine and the English department,
allowed students to listen to poems they had been studying in several Liberal
Learning sections.
Sleigh started with Newsreel, a poem set in a Texas drive-in theater during the 1950s.
The poem, heavily inspired by his own childhood, describes a young boy who finds
himself lost in the parking lot. The poem laces together the serene images of Marilyn
Monroe on screen with the overwhelming fear of being lost. Sleigh introduced the poem
by explaining how his parents owned a drive-in movie theater, and his father ran the
projection screen.
The evening concluded with readings from a section of his poetry entitled New York
American Spell, 2001. These poems are Sleigh’s response to what he saw at Ground
Zero in the days immediately following the attacks, and, like much of his other work,
include many classical and Greek allusions. He presented his work in the Alumni Room
of the O’Malley Library, where a display of 9/11 photographs was exhibited.
Breaking the Cycle
Holocaust Center Lecturer Discusses
Her Experiences in Austria
What happens when a teacher asks
her students to confront some of their
most deeply held beliefs about the
world? What happens when she has to
confront her own?
Sondra Perl, a professor at Lehman
College of the City University of New
York, found herself with those very
questions when, teaching adult English
learners in Austria, she asked them to
discuss the Holocaust. Her students, the
descendents of Nazis, rarely thought of
the event. Perl, a Jewish woman, had
been taught all her life to despise the
Nazis and those who had sympathized
with them. She had intended to provoke
her students to examine their beliefs
and assumptions but found that her own
thinking and feelings came under the
microscope as well.
Perl discussed her experiences in her
Austrian classroom in Breaking the
Cycle of Hate: New Dialogues in the
Post-Holocaust Era, a lecture sponsored
by Manhattan’s Holocaust Resource
Center and the dean of arts. Held in
December, Perl’s lecture was based on
her recent book, On Austrian Soil:
Breaking the Cycle of Hate, a Teaching
Memoir. Speaking to a group of Manhattan
students and community members, Perl
discussed the changes her own beliefs
underwent as she taught people she had
always hated, as well as the implications
her experience had for modern Holocaust
studies. After the lecture, she took
questions from the audience.
“The lecture was received by everyone
who attended with genuine enjoyment,”
says Jeff Horn, associate director of the
Holocaust Resource Center.
He noted that the lecture marks a
return visit to the campus for Perl, who
was named the 1996 New York State
Professor of the Year by the Carnegie
Foundation for the Advancement of
Teaching. In September, she gave a
lecture to approximately 70 students
in Horn’s Introduction to History class
on using personal experience to write
and think about history.
The Holocaust Resource Center
recently received a $10,000 grant from
the Lucius N. Littauer Foundation, which
will fund fellowships for four Manhattan
students in the school of education.
During the summer, the selected students
will interview Holocaust survivors in
Riverdale to provide a permanent record
of their experiences.
Honoring
Hispanic
Heritage
On a crisp winter afternoon in
November, students, staff, faculty and
guests gathered in Smith Auditorium for
Manhattan College’s Hispanic heritage
celebration. The day was marked by a
traditional Latin luncheon, music that
made even the most stationary listener
feel like dancing, and an atmosphere
that was fun-filled.
Manhattan College’s advisory committee
on diversity in conjunction with student
activities, academic support services
and Caridad Restaurant joined forces
to sponsor the commemoration of the
special day. This event is designed to
celebrate the Latin community on campus
while introducing Hispanic culture,
delectable fare and diverse views of
such countries as Argentina, Costa Rica,
Ecuador and Panama (just to name a
few) to the entire College community.
The anticipated afternoon began with
the introduction of guest speaker Tyrone
Fripp, human resources director of
Latina magazine. Luis Mendez, assistant
to human resources administrations,
operations and IT, accompanied him.
Fripp was born and raised in the
Bronx, graduated from the High School
of Music and Art, and then earned a
degree in communications from Syracuse
University. He spoke of the journey that
has landed him at Latina, which covers
the best in Latin fashion, beauty and
culture. Fripp spoke proudly as he
elaborated on the many awards that
Latina has earned, including its place
for advertising growth on Advertising Age’s
2004 list of the Top 300 Magazines.
Hispanic Heritage Day was a festive
celebration that left those in attendance
well-informed and well-fed.
manhattan.edu
on campus
25

Jason Wingate ’06
26 manhattan.edu
Men’s Basketball Finishes Season at NIT
The old adage, “What doesn’t kill you,
makes you stronger,” epitomizes the
2005-06 Manhattan men’s basketball
season, which saw the Jaspers overcome
many ups and downs on the way to a
MAAC Regular Season Championship
and a run deep into the NIT. Head coach
Bobby Gonzalez and the team will be
remembered for the numerous memorable
moments and games that brought joy
and pride to the Jasper faithful.
Expectations were high entering the
season, as the Jaspers were selected
second in the MAAC Preseason Poll and
had two players, sophomores CJ Anderson
and Arturo Dubois, named to Preseason
All-MAAC Teams. Joining that talented
duo was fellow sophomore Jeff Xavier,
as well as an extremely experienced
backcourt of senior co-captains Kenny
Minor and Jason Wingate.
The season kicked off with
four formidable opponents
(Seton Hall, George Mason,
Syracuse and Rhode Island),
three of whom received NCAA
berths at the conclusion of the
season. Struggling at times to
find the right chemistry and
identity as a team, Manhattan
dropped its first four games.
But, just as pundits were
about to write them off, the
team came together and ran off
10 straight wins, including
victories over local rivals
Fordham and Iona, with the
road win over the Gaels being
the first for the Jaspers in
nine seasons.
Manhattan’s string of good fortune
seemed to have run its course as the
second semester began and the team’s
top scorer and rebounder, CJ Anderson,
was now lost for the season. Once again,
the anti-Manhattan contingent was
proclaiming the Jaspers’ season to be
lost, as the Green and White lost its
first post-Anderson game in convincing
fashion. Junior center Guy Ngarndi and
Minor each suffered hand injuries at
almost the same time and both players
missed several weeks’ worth of games.
This time could have been the nadir
of the season for Manhattan, but this
team showed the spirit and resilience
that is the trademark of the program,
as the team, down to just eight dressed
players, kept pace with conference
leading Iona in the MAAC standings.
Following a nonconference game versus
Long Beach State, where at halftime
Manhattan welcomed back and honored
the top players from the first 100 seasons
of Jasper men’s basketball, both Ngarndi
and Minor made dramatic returns in time
for the final two games of the regular
season. In the duo’s first game back,
Manhattan downed Fairfield to set up
a showdown with rival Iona in the final
game of the regular season.
The MAAC schedulers must have
been patting themselves on the back
as Showdown Sunday approached. The
game was a televised affair pitting the
top two teams in the conference against
each other, with the Regular Season
Championship and the top-seed in the
MAAC Tournament on the line.
The game, Senior Night for the four
Manhattan seniors, lived up to, and
possibly exceeded, the hype, as it
came down to the final seconds with
Wingate giving Manhattan the lead
for good with just under two minutes
remaining and icing the game with four
clutch free throws down the stretch.
The win earned Manhattan its third
MAAC Regular Season Championship
in the last four years.
Before the MAAC Championships
began, Dubois, Wingate and Xavier were
named to the All-MAAC Second Team,
and Gonzalez was named the 2005-06
The Rock MAAC Coach of the Year.
Unfortunately, the Jaspers’ stay at the
MAAC Tournament was short-lived, as
Manhattan ran into a red-hot Saint
Peter’s team in the semifinals.
But, by virtue of their regular season
championship, the Jaspers’ season was
not over. They received an automatic
berth to the NIT, beginning with just the
second home postseason game in program
history against Fairleigh Dickinson in an
Opening Round Game. Wingate, as he has
done so many times over the course of
his career, came up big for the Jaspers
again. He hit a jumper to give Manhattan
the lead late in the game, as well as two
Kenny Minor ’06
free throws to put the game away and
give the Jaspers their first win in the
NIT since 1992.
The win over FDU propelled Manhattan
into a nationally televised game at
powerhouse and ACC stalwart Maryland
in the NIT First Round. Heading into the
game, Manhattan knew it would take an
inspired effort to pull off the upset, and
that is exactly what happened, as Xavier
became just the fifth Manhattan player
to score 30 or more points in an NIT
game. He poured in a game-high 31
as the Jaspers downed the Terrapins,
87-84, and handed Maryland its third
nonconference home loss in its last 119
games. Foul trouble in the game brought
Manhattan down to five remaining in the
final seconds, with sophomore reserve
Franck Traore coming up with two huge
rebounds and two free throws to help
put the game away.
That victory thrust the Jaspers into
the Second Round and a date with CAA
member Old Dominion. Manhattan’s
magical run came to an end in Norfolk,
Va., as the potential game-winning shot
went in and out in the waning seconds.
The team concluded its season with a
20-11 record and provided Manhattan with
its fourth 20-win season in the last five
seasons, its fifth straight winning season,
and its fourth postseason appearance
(two NCAAs and two NITs) in the past
five years.
The Jaspers will graduate a senior
class that will go down as one of the
winningest classes in the history of the
program but return a talented group
that will look to keep Manhattan College
on the lips of college basketball
prognosticators for years to come.

Bobby Gonzalez Earns MAAC Coach of the Year Honors
Former men’s basketball head coach
Bobby Gonzalez
Women’s Basketball
In each of head coach Myndi Hill’s first two seasons in
Riverdale, the women’s basketball team competed with only
four returning players from the previous season. In 2005-06,
that total doubled. Although there were more of them, the Lady
Jaspers were still the “Baby Jaspers,” as eight of the 11 players
that suited up for Manhattan during the 2005-06 campaign
were either freshmen or sophomores.
Their lack of experience at the Division I level hampered them
at times, but several players gave Lady Jasper fans reason to be
excited for upcoming seasons. After earning MAAC All-Rookie
honors as a freshman, sophomore guard Joann Nwafili continued
to progress and the conference took notice. Nwafili earned
All-MAAC Third Team honors as she led the team in scoring,
rebounding, assists and steals. The sophomore guard started
all 29 of the team’s games, averaging 9.8 points per game,
6.2 rebounds per contest and 3.6 steals per game. She also
came up with 57 steals.
Right behind Nwafili in scoring was fellow sophomore forward
Caitlin Flood. Matching Nwafili’s scoring average of 9.8 points
per game, Flood was part of a Lady Jasper scoring attack, which
had six Lady J’s average at least 5.6 points per game. Flood added
4.0 rebounds per game and was the best free throw shooter on
the squad, nailing 60 of her 71 attempts for an 85-percent clip.
Flood was not the only one doing damage to opponents in
the Manhattan frontcourt. Freshman Kelly Regan emerged as a
powerful force down low and was one of the league’s top rookies.
Regan was in the top five among MAAC freshmen in points,
rebounds, blocks and field goal percentage. Her 48.3 shooting
percentage was the best on the team and her 9.0 points per
game was third amongst Lady Jaspers and the conference’s
rookies. One of Regan’s most memorable moments of the season
was her homecoming to her native region of Western New York.
Manhattan College former men’s
basketball head coach Bobby Gonzalez
has been named The Rock 2006 Metro
Atlantic Athletic Conference Coach of
the Year, which was announced at the
MAAC Awards Ceremony at the Pepsi
Arena in Albany, N.Y.
This season may go down as Gonzalez’s
best coaching job, as he has led the
Jaspers to the MAAC Regular Season
Championship, despite losing the team’s
most talented player after 16 games
and being forced to dress just eight
players for seven games due to injuries
and suspensions.
Gonzalez also coached his 200th
game this season and is moving up the
Manhattan all-time wins list. He compiled
Kelly Regan ’09
a 127-75 career record (62.9%) and an
even better 85-41 (67.5%) mark in MAAC
games, the best winning percentage among
current MAAC coaches and the seventh
best mark in the history of the conference.
In his seventh season with the Jaspers
and overall as a Division I head coach, he
earns the honor after leading Manhattan
to its third regular season title in four years
with an overall record of 18-9, including
an 14-4 MAAC ledger, and earning the
No. 1 seed in the 2006 Citizens Bank
MAAC Basketball Championship.
It is the second time that Gonzalez
has earned this award. He was named
the MAAC Coach of the Year for the
2002-03 season.
On the team’s annual
Buffalo swing, Regan
helped her team to
a season sweep of
Niagara with her first
career double-double,
dropping in 17 points
and securing 10
rebounds. She earned
MAAC Rookie of the
Week honors for her
efforts against the
Purple Eagles, as
well as Buffalo-based
Canisius College.
Another young contributor was sophomore guard Gabrielle
Cottrell. At 8.9 points per game, Cottrell was the team’s fourth
leading scorer and most potent three-point shooter. The sophomore
led the team in three-pointers — making 51 — but shooting
and scoring was not all she had to offer. Like her backcourt mate,
Nwafili, Cottrell provided the Lady J’s with a solid rebounder
from the guard position. She was third on the team at 4.3
boards per contest, including an 11-rebound performance at
home against Niagara. In that Jasper win, Cottrell and Nwafili
combined for 24 rebounds and matched the output of the
entire Purple Eagle team.
In addition to the youngsters, the Lady J’s received contributions
from two lone seniors, guard Lupe Godinez and forward Jennifer
LePinnet. Godinez appeared in all of the team’s 29 games,
starting 23 and averaging 6.6 points per game. LePinnet logged
minutes in 26 games at a rate of 13.1 minutes per games,
scoring 41 points and grabbing 50 boards.
continued page 28
manhattan.edu
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27

28 manhattan.edu
Continued from pg. 27 – Women’s Basketball
In addition to sweeping the season series against conference
opponents Niagara, Fairfield and Rider, Manhattan had notable
wins over rival Fordham University, as well as 2006 Patriot League
Champion Army. The Lady J’s took down Fordham in the Battle
of the Bronx for the second consecutive year behind 12 points
and seven boards from Regan and an 11-point, four-rebound
effort from Cottrell. The 72-65 victory over Army came at
Northern Arizona’s La Quinta Inn and Suites Thanksgiving
Tournament. Flood, who earned All-Tournament Team honors
Women’s Swimming
for her efforts during that weekend, scored 14 points and grabbed
six rebounds. Making her homecoming to Arizona, Godinez was
the team’s leading scorer in the win with 16 points.
Overall, the Lady Jaspers finished 11-18 and 7-11 in MAAC
regular season competition. For the third straight year of the
Hill era, the Lady J’s advanced past the first round of the
MAAC Tournament. This year, they advanced with a 33-point
domination of Rider.
The Manhattan women’s swimming team concluded a memorable season at the MAAC Swimming Championships by breaking a
total of 12 school records on the way to a school record 159 points and an eighth-place finish, the best since the MAAC expanded to
10 member schools in 1997.
Freshman Megan O’Keefe had an electric championship and took part in nine school records. Two of her more memorable races
came in the 100 freestyle and the 100 butterfly. In the 100 butterfly, she became the first Lady Jasper to qualify for an individual
championship final and broke her own school record in both the preliminaries and finals on the way to a sixth-place finish that earned
her Manhattan’s first-ever MAAC medal. She also qualified for the championship final in the 100 freestyle and set a new Manhattan
benchmark by more than two seconds while placing eighth overall.
O’Keefe added a school record in the 200 butterfly, while freshman Susie Mothes (1650 freestyle) and sophomore Maura McGowan
(50 freestyle and 100 freestyle) also set new Manhattan standards. Five relay records were also broken, with junior Sarah Szotak,
junior Courtney Arduini, O’Keefe and McGowan teaming up to set new Lady Jasper marks in the 200 and 400 medley relays. Arduini,
O’Keefe, Szotak and McGowan broke the school record in the 200 freestyle relay, junior Nicole Mason replaced Arduini on the
record-breaking 400 freestyle relay squad, and the quartet of Arduini, Mason, Mothes and McGowan set a new Manhattan standard
in the 800 freestyle relay.
In addition, Arduini, senior Bethany Karbowski, senior Heather Kennedy, sophomore Michelle LaTouche, Mason, McGowan, senior
Lauren Sullivan, Szotak and junior Rachele Testa were each named to the MAAC All-Academic Team.
Manhattan finished the season with a 10-5 record, giving the Lady Jaspers at least 10 wins in each of the last four seasons and
becoming the first Manhattan swim team, men’s or women’s, to accomplish that feat.
Women’s Soccer
The women’s soccer team concluded its season with six wins under first-year head coach
Sean Driscoll, the most for a Lady Jasper team since 2002. The five nonconference wins
by Manhattan were the most since the 1995 season and the most for the Lady J’s since
the MAAC expanded to 10 teams for the 1997 season. In addition, several players received
postseason honors. Senior Suzanne Graham and junior Katie Kuntz were each named to
the All-MAAC Second Team, while freshman Brittany Duhamel was recognized as a MAAC
All-Rookie Team pick.
In addition, 12 Lady Jaspers were selected to the MAAC All-Academic Team: junior
Christine Abrams, sophomore Nicole Conti, sophomore Meghan Dobson, senior Kiera Fox,
sophomore Heather Herrmann, sophomore Courtney Hughes, sophomore Erin Jay, Kuntz,
senior Brandy Luther, senior Cathy Mitchell, senior Jaclyn Pancotti and senior Jennifer
Pychewicz. The team posted a 6-12-2 overall record, but the future looks bright, as the
Lady Jaspers graduate just eight players from a roster of 30.
Katie Kuntz ’07

Men’s Soccer
The men’s soccer team, under the direction of first-year head coach Michael Swanwick, made great strides during the course of the
season, though those improvements did not always show up on the scoreboard. The Jaspers posted a 1-15-3 overall record but put
together a four-match unbeaten streak in the late stages of the season, as the mix of veterans and newcomers began to gel and put
coach Swanwick’s game plan into action. The four-game unbeaten streak, the longest for the Jaspers since the 1999 season, saw
Manhattan defeat Saint Peter’s by a 7-2 count, the most goals by the Jaspers since the 1994 season and the most at home since
1991. The streak also included a draw with Loyola, the second time in the past three years that Manhattan has earned a MAAC point
with the conference’s premier soccer program. When all was said and done, sophomore Javier Escobedo received Second Team All-MAAC
honors, while senior Joe Pumo and sophomore Dan Carr were named to the MAAC All-Academic Team.
Volleyball
After a transition year in 2004, Manhattan volleyball was back among the top teams in the conference in 2005. The Lady Jaspers’
bid to return to postseason play, however, ended in heartbreaking fashion on the final day of the regular season, as Manhattan fell in
five games to eventual MAAC Champion Siena College. Despite the loss, head coach Ray Green’s squad finished the 2005 season at
17-16 overall and 5-4 in MAAC play, which is a nine and a half match improvement from last year’s overall tally.
The core of the squad consisted of four seniors, middle hitter Maggie Pfeifer, outside hitter Megan O’Dorisio, libero Ashley Davis,
and setter Lori Bambauer. During their tenure in Riverdale, the quartet did everything but fail to leave its mark on the program.
After earning First Team All-MAAC honors as a sophomore and junior, Pfeifer captured the MAAC Offensive Player of the Year award
for her efforts during her final campaign. During 2005, she led the MAAC in kills at 4.29 per game, while finishing third in the
league in hitting percentage. She will graduate as one of Manhattan’s best offensive players ever, having amassed 1,556 kills.
Cross Country
Ashley Davis ’06
O’Dorisio was another key offensive force for the Lady J’s, as she was named to the 2005
All-MAAC Second Team. In addition to averaging 4.15 kills per game, she recorded doubledoubles
(double-digit kills and digs in the same match) in 17 of the team’s 33 matches
during 2005. She also joined Manhattan’s 1,000-kill club during a late-season win at Marist.
Davis, who eclipsed the 1,100-dig mark on Senior Day at Draddy, totaled 466 digs in 2005,
which is the second-best performance in Manhattan single season history. Bambauer, who
transferred to Manhattan from Clark State in Ohio after her freshman year, became a regular
among the MAAC’s assist leaders, dishing out 2,911 in her career.
The season also saw some young players emerge into productive competitors. Sophomore
Ashley Watson finished third on the team in digs with 346 and picked up MAAC Defensive
Player of the Week honors back in mid-October. Freshmen Andrea Reiff and Alyssa Getzel
made solid first impressions, too. Reiff recorded more than 130 kills and digs, while, after
breaking into the lineup midway through the season, Getzel dished out 315 assists as a rookie.
Both the Manhattan men’s and women’s cross country squads continued their traditional successes on
the course and in the classroom. Both teams finished in the upper echelon of the conference at the MAAC
Championships and produced a combined eight MAAC All-Academic selections. Senior Tyler Raymond was
responsible for the most impressive individual performance of the season as he captured the IC4A Cross
Country Championship.
With a time of 25:24.6 in the 8K run, Raymond led Manhattan to a fifth-place finish out of 22 teams in
the University Race. At the MAAC meet, Manhattan finished third out of 10 teams in the league. Raymond
(9th overall, 25:24.1), junior Mike Foley (13th overall, 26:23.4), and sophomore Joe McElhoney (16th
overall, 26:31.5) were the Jaspers’ top three runners on the day. Raymond was the first male finisher in
the race who was not a member of the Iona College squad, which held a top five ranking in the nation.
The women’s team ran to a fourth-place finish at the MAAC Championships with the five Lady Jasper scorers
consisting of three seniors, Nicholle Davis, Marissa Olivieri and Caryn Capalbo, as well as two freshmen,
Melissa Trauscht and Ellen Dobbin. Capalbo and Olivieri led the squad at the NCAA Northeast Regional
Championships, too. Capalbo paced the Manhattan squad with a time of 23:42.9, while Olivieri was the
Lady J’s second finisher at 23:50.2.
Capalbo also surpassed high standards in the academic realm, as she joined Davis and senior Ginine
Lucarello as the Lady Jaspers on the MAAC All-Academic squad. On the men’s side, Raymond, McElhoney,
junior Kevin Agnese, junior Chris Breslin and sophomore Anthony Vernaci met the All-Academic requirements.
Mike Foley ’07
manhattan.edu
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29

Men’s lacrosse head
coach Tim McIntee
30 manhattan.edu
Two Jaspers Will Represent Team Ireland at 2006 World Games
Manhattan head coach Tim McIntee
was with Team Ireland at the 2002 World
Lacrosse Games in Australia, where the Irish
participated in the international event for the
first time in the country’s history. Four years
later, McIntee once again will be on Team
Ireland’s sideline as the offensive coordinator,
but this time he will have another Jasper
there with him. Junior attackman Brian
Murray has made the team’s final cut and
will be in uniform for the 2006 World Games
in London, Ontario.
Murray tried out with more than 125 other
athletes attempting to make the squad, and
he wound up being one of the top 23 players
on the roster. Murray’s selection is not a surprise
to McIntee, who has coached Murray the past
two years at Manhattan.
“Brian’s a great voice on our team and just a true competitor,”
McIntee says. “More than anything, he has a great understanding
for the game.”
Murray, who tallied 12 goals and 12 assists during the 2005
campaign, also has a great understanding of the type of offense
McIntee runs, which should benefit him as Team Ireland begins
preparation for the games at training camp from July 6-12 at
Cornell University.
Volleyball Coach Ray Green
Participates in NCAA YES Clinic
“I’m excited to see Brian on the field with me and honored to
be part of the whole process for a second time,” McIntee says.
“It is just an absolute unbelievable experience to be involved
with the World Games.”
McIntee also sees excitement in the advancement of
Irish lacrosse.
“One of the most rewarding things about the games is to
see the growth of Irish lacrosse and the sport as a whole in the
international community,” McIntee says. “It will be a responsibility
of both Brian and me to spread the game of lacrosse throughout
the world and help it grow.”
Manhattan Volleyball head coach Ray Green is one of only eight coaches nationwide who was selected
to serve as an advisor for the NCAA Youth Education through Sports Clinic (YES). The program was held
on December 17 in San Antonio, Texas, in conjunction with the Division I NCAA Volleyball Championships.
Green, who served at the clinic for the second time in his career, enjoys participating in the event.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the experience the first time around, and I was honored and elated to be a part
of the program again,” Green says.
The program is designed to teach boys and girls the “fun” in fundamentals of sports and life.
The recruitment effort for the clinic heavily involves ethnic minority populations, in addition to those
youth who are underserved in the area of sports participation.
Joining Green at the clinic were Lady Jasper seniors setter Lori Bambauer and libero Ashley Davis.
Under the guidance of Green and the other selected coaches, Bambauer and Davis, along with several
other student-athletes, completed the task of instructing the YES participants. In previous years, a majority
of the instruction came from the coaches, but with this academic year being the 100th anniversary of
the NCAA and the “Year of the Student-Athlete,” the NCAA has increased the instructional involvement
of the student-athletes.
“Not only is this a tremendous opportunity for myself, Ashley and Lori, but it is great that the youth
got a chance to work with and learn from such high-level student-athletes,” Green says.
Brian Murray ’07
Volleyball head coach Ray Green

The Ciba Decade
The 2004-2005 academic year marked the 10th year in
succession that Ciba has awarded scholarships to Manhattan
College environmental engineering students. This recognition
is an enduring example of the commitment and generosity of
the Ciba Specialty Chemicals Foundation to the College.
The College hosted a reception to honor the Foundation and
the three students chosen as the Ciba Environmental scholars
for the 2005-2006 school year. The event highlighted the
synergistic connection between Manhattan College and Ciba
Specialty Chemicals, a model partnership between an educational
institution and a socially responsible corporation.
Dr. Richard Heist, dean of the school of engineering, spoke of the
growing demand for environmental engineers in the professional
community. Only two colleges in New York State offer a B.S. in
environmental engineering, while the job market is expected to
need at least 1,800 environmental engineers a year for the
next 10 years.
Colin Mackay, chairman of the Ciba Foundation, correlated
the civic responsibility of environmental stewardship with good
business practices: a well-managed environment is essential to
maintaining the competitiveness of the United States in today’s
markets. He stressed that environmental problems should be
solved at their source to ensure a high quality of life. Scholarship
support for the environmental engineering program ensures
that bright, qualified young people will be ready to tackle
these problems.
After reviewing a list of the College’s Ciba scholars dating back
to 1997, Heist introduced the first name on that list: Dr. Richard
Carbonaro ’97, now assistant professor of environmental
engineering at Manhattan. This year’s Ciba scholars — Carolina
Calcetero ’07, Christine Esposito ’07 and Marianna Kowalczyk
’07 — were introduced to the assembly along with two from
previous years — Vanessa Kalichman ’04 and Thalia Loor ’06.
John B. Walsh ’48 Makes His Gift a Planned Gift
John B. Walsh ’48 made a distinguished career as an industrialist,
diplomat and professor out of his hobby with ham radios and
his triple majors in civil engineering, electrical engineering and
mathematics from Manhattan College. He has served his country
for more than 17 years in capacities that include assistant to
the president’s science advisor, senior member of the National
Security Council, deputy director of defense research and
engineering for strategic and space systems and deputy for
research to the assistant secretary of the Air Force for research
and development.
Like most Jaspers, the Lasallian values-centered education he
received at Manhattan greatly influenced Walsh’s life. In gratitude
for his education and that of his late brother, Cormac Walsh ’55,
he established a charitable gift annuity at the College. A charitable
gift annuity guarantees a fixed income for life and continued
Dr. Richard Carbonaro ’97, Justine Shanahan ’04, Dr. John Mahony, Thalia
Loor ’06, Vanessa Kalichman ’04 and Colin Mackay, chairman of the Ciba
Foundation, at the reception honoring the Ciba Specialty Chemicals
Foundation and student scholars.
Dr. John Mahony, professor of environmental engineering and
director of its graduate program, spoke of the department’s
history, its origin in the civil engineering department, its 70
years of research primarily focused on the chemistry of water
and its relationship to environmental protection. David Muldoon
’83, regional business manager, Polymer Products, NAFTA,
described what the company needs from today’s graduates: high
levels of writing and speaking skills, problem solving, initiative,
team building, risk taking, leadership and personal development.
Ciba Specialty Chemicals is a leading global company involved
in textiles, plastics, paper, automobiles, buildings, home, personal
care products and much more. With operations in 120 countries
and billions of dollars invested in research, Ciba is dedicated to
fostering scholarship in environmental engineering. The Foundation
is Ciba’s grant-making division. Its mission is to support the
education of the next generation of scientists and business leaders
to meet the next generation of environmental challenges.
support for Manhattan College.
Walsh’s gift will help guarantee
that the same Lasallian values
he appreciated are available
to future generations of
Manhattan students.
A native of Brooklyn, his
career trajectory was heavily
influenced by World War II.
He sped up his high school
education at St. Ann’s
John B. Walsh ’48
Academy to graduate in three
years. At Manhattan, Walsh started an accelerated engineering
program, which had continuous semesters without breaks
(The theory being that one was vulnerable to the draft only
continued on page 32
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32 manhattan.edu
Continued from pg. 31 – John B.
Walsh Planned Gift
between semesters, but, like many others,
he discovered the theory was not valid).
After a stint in the Army, Walsh returned
to the College and graduated in 1948. He
entered Columbia University for graduate
studies and became an instructor after
completing his degree.
In 1951, he helped to establish the
Rome, N.Y., Air Development Center,
where Walsh rose to be technical director
of the Intelligence and Reconnaissance
Division. He returned to Columbia to join
the faculty and became assistant director
of Electronics Research Laboratories, where
he authored three books and met and
married his wife, Marie. In the 1960s,
his illustrious career took him to the White
House and National Security Council.
Walsh moved into diplomacy as the
assistant secretary general of NATO
for defense support in 1977. He was
instrumental in obtaining the agreement
of the 15 NATO nations to undertake
the NATO Airborne Warning and Control
System joint program.
After NATO, Walsh joined the faculty
of the Defense Systems Management
College as professor and dean of the
Executive Institute. He also chaired
several defense science board study
groups and was a member of the
Scientific Advisory Group for Effects
of the Defense Nuclear Agency.
In 1982, Walsh entered the corporate
realm to become vice president and
chief scientist of the Boeing Military
Airplane Company. He later became vice
president for strategic analysis of the
Defense and Space Group, from which
he retired in 1993.
Although he’s now retired, Walsh is as
busy as he’s ever been. He devotes his
energies to consulting, writing, spending
time with Marie and traveling extensively.
The couple has three children, George,
John and Darina.
James Vodola ’69 Honors
Professor William E. Weber
James Vodola ’69
To say that James Vodola ’69 is grateful
to his former professor of accounting,
William E. Weber, is putting the matter
mildly. He attributes success in his life
and career to Weber and, just recently,
has made a major gift in memory of the
late professor to fund scholarships for
students of accounting. Vodola is now
president of his own firm, Partners
Advisory Services Corp. in White Plains,
N.Y., and his specialty is financial
consulting and litigation support. How
he came to this point is an interesting
and inspirational story.
Vodola, who resides with his wife, Judy,
in Elmsford, N.Y., didn’t meet Weber
until he had graduated from Manhattan,
spent four years in the service and
returned to Manhattan to take the
accounting courses required for the CPA
exam. This was the beginning of his real
education, and little did he know that
he had met a man who would become
one of the greatest influences in his life.
As with many accounting professors,
Weber had his own practice and, during
the years, staffed it with his students.
They were his boys, and Vodola relished
the privilege of being one of their number.
For several years following the completion
of his degree, Vodola worked part time
during the tax season with Weber with no
real inclination to become a CPA or get
the “ticket” as the professor would say.
After a couple of years, Vodola joined
him on a full-time basis, and it was
then that the Weber influence took hold.
Recognizing a man who needed a push,
the professor badgered, cajoled and
harassed nonstop.
“No one who ever worked for me
didn’t get the ticket,” he reminded
Vodola daily. Sometimes at 11 p.m.,
he would awaken Jim and ask why he
wasn’t studying for the exam. “You can’t
make any money sleeping,” he would
say over and over again.
Vodola finally got serious, studied
and passed the CPA exam. He still
doesn’t know who was prouder, the
professor or he.
Vodola continued to work for Weber
for about five years until he decided he
needed big-time experience. When he
told Weber of his decision to leave his
practice, Weber immediately picked up
the phone and called upon every Big
Eight connection he had on Vodola’s
behalf. Little did Vodola know at the time,
he already had his big-time experience.
Professor William Weber
Weber loved Manhattan College and
told Vodola so on countless occasions.
He, Dom Maiello, John Anderson, Mike
Maestes and Al Petrocine, in particular,
were some of the most dedicated
professors and the best people Vodola
had the pleasure to meet, and he is
forever grateful to them.
Ask him why he funded scholarships
in the professor’s name for accounting
students, and Vodola will say, “I believe
there are few things that would have
made Bill Weber happier.”
Through his generosity, Vodola is
providing the means for these students to
walk in Weber’s footsteps. He also hopes
that other alumni who have benefited from
the kindness of professors such as Weber
will support scholarship opportunities at
the College. Anyone wishing to make a
gift in memory of Weber should call
Mary Ellen Malone, director of planned
giving, at (718) 862-7976.

Reunion 2006: the Anniversary Class Gift
Alumni reunion weekend is here. This year, Jaspers whose
graduation years end in a 6 and 1 are in the spotlight. The class
of 1956 celebrates its golden jubilee anniversary; the class of
1981 celebrates its silver anniversary; the class of 2006
celebrates its graduation; and all others just plain celebrate
their years at Manhattan College. There will be great people,
a great place, great memories and a chance on June 2–4 to
relive the good times.
Reunion participants will be doing some things for the first
time, such as checking out the view of Van Cortlandt Park from
a dormitory room in Horan Hall, running or walking a lap around
the city’s largest indoor track in Draddy Gymnasium, or relaxing
with the latest periodicals at O’Malley Library, the state-of-the-art,
24-7 literary and technical hub of the campus. Generous
Jaspers, who contributed to anniversary class gifts, have
enabled alma mater to build and expand. Reunion weekend
allows the College to host generous alumni in the new facilities
they helped to create. It’s a special way to thank the people
who keep the legacy of Manhattan alive and fresh for today’s
young men and women.
Manhattan College may change in external ways: up-to-date
technology, modern residence halls, a plant morphology
laboratory/greenhouse on top of the engineering building, etc.,
but the core experience lives on. Throughout all layers of society,
You Are Invited To Become a
Member of the Covenant Society
one can find Manhattan graduates making significant contributions
to society because of their education and the Lasallian Catholic
values imparted by the dedicated brothers and faculty. In gratitude,
they make a contribution back to the anniversary class gift.
George Bumiller and Jim Reilly are the co-chairmen of the
committee for the class of 1956. Trustee Bob La Blanc ’56
also has taken an active and supportive role. The class of 1956
has organized itself into teams by schools to get in touch with
classmates, especially those who have been lost “in the mists
of time.” Business majors phoned business majors, electrical
engineers called electrical engineers. For the first time, this
year’s festivities will include a Saturday morning program of
topical workshops and seminars for all those who are interested.
The goal for all anniversary class gifts is $515,000.
Contributions and matching corporate gifts are already coming
in. Please call Joseph Ferraro at (718) 862-7548 to join with
your friends and colleagues in making this year’s class gift one
of the best ever. The first weekend in June is a great time to
visit the campus no matter in which 6 or 1 you graduated.
The 25th silver anniversary jubilarians will celebrate with a
dinner dance in Smith Auditorium on Friday, June 2. All other
classes are invited to the ever-popular sunset dinner cruise
aboard the Atlantica. Reserve your place today by calling
Grace Feeney at (718) 862-7432.
The Covenant Society
honors alumni and
friends who include
Manhattan College in
their estate plans. These
gifts of future support will
play an extraordinary role in
ensuring Manhattan’s continued commitment to
providing students with a Lasallian education.
Future gifts can be made through wills and
bequests, charitable remainder trusts, gift
annuities, life insurance, retirement plans, and
life estate agreements.
Manhattan College / Office of Planned Giving / 4513 Manhattan College Parkway, Riverdale, NY 10471 / (718) 862-7976
manhattan.edu
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34 manhattan.edu
Annual Fund Becomes
Fund for Manhattan
The Fund for Manhattan evolves from
the Annual Fund, as we continue our
ascent to become the premier Catholic
college of New York City. An internal
audit has indicated that Manhattan
can enlarge its culture of philanthropy
through a new understanding with our
constituents — you — our alumni and
friends. It’s a natural extension of our
historical origins. The College was
founded to bring the gift of education
by the Christian Brothers to deserving
young people. In turn, the beneficiaries
create the next link with the future.
If you went to Manhattan, you received
that gift; you are that link. You are the
living legacy we count upon to sustain
that gift of education. This is the reason
Manhattan College exists today.
Within our student body are many who
are the first in their families to go on to
higher education. Were you one of them?
We can all imagine how much easier it
is to raise funds among a group that was
already well-educated before a son or
daughter attended. Our success says
something different than the success of
other institutions; it speaks about faith
and Catholic social justice. We bear
witness to the sacred mission of the
Christian Brothers.
Currently about one-third of our total
alumni contribute to the well-being of
alma mater. Our goal is to raise that
percentage to 40 percent. Just a small
increase in the participation of our
alumni would reap tremendous benefits
to the College, irrespective of the
amounts of the gifts.
Beginning with our graduating classes,
we are building an understanding of how
our legacy works. We ask our alumni to
support the College whenever they can
throughout the stages of their lives,
throughout the year, as an integral part
of their lifestyle.
By contributing, Jaspers make a
statement to other donors, corporations
and foundations that their Manhattan
education is invaluable. We want to involve
more alumni in the Jasper network, so
we invite your suggestions and comments.
We hope more alumni will become active
in the planning stages of events. We are
creating opportunities and informal
committees that will make it easier to
work with us.
Thanks to the support of Manhattan
alumni, you were able to experience a
solid education with all the resources
you needed. Now that you have been
successful out in the world, remember
the support that helped you get where
you are today. Financial contributions
invigorate the College’s ability to provide
activities, facilities, technology and
services for Jaspers of all income levels.
We do this to honor God in the tradition
of the Christian Brothers and for the
good of society.
Your gifts to the Fund for Manhattan
have a direct impact on the College and
the students who live and learn here.
Through your participation in the Fund
for Manhattan, you are shepherding
critical elements that make the Manhattan
experience possible and building a
bridge to the future. Gifts to the Fund
for Manhattan support:
• Financial aid to our students
• Academic excellence
• Campus ministry and social action
• Student activity programming
• Technology initiatives and improvements
• Mentoring and career services
• Physical plant and infrastructure
operating budgets
Manhattan has a limited number of
alumni, parents and friends on which it
can depend. Every one of you is important
to us. Everyone has a place here and a
way to be a part of the future. We want
to include you in more of our operations.
We have new opportunities for you to
build bridges with us. Call Joe Ferraro at
(718) 862-7548 and get involved.
Gerard Caccappolo ’63
Gerard Caccappolo ’63
Chairs the Fund
for Manhattan
I am pleased to introduce myself to
many of my fellow Jaspers with whom
I am not acquainted. I am honored to
take on the chairmanship of the newly
appointed Fund for Manhattan. The
Fund for Manhattan, which was formerly
the Annual Fund, will be the frontline of
support for the College. Every dollar that
goes into the Fund for Manhattan will be
directly reflected in the annual budget
of Manhattan College. I ask my fellow
Jaspers to take this opportunity to make
a strong beginning with this new vehicle
as we approach the new fiscal year.
I intend to make sure that the College
has everything it needs. I am building a
bridge to the future. Please join me.
Did you know that only 25 percent of
the current U.S. population has a college
degree today? I imagine the percentage was
even smaller when I went to Manhattan in
the early ’60s. With every year that goes
by, I am more grateful for my electrical
engineering degree from Manhattan
College. I studied hard at the time, but
it sure has been worth it. I got in at the
bottom of the telecommunications industry
and saw all the changes, for better or
worse, of the past 40 years. My degree
built a bridge to a wonderful life.
A Manhattan College education is a
bridge to a productive adult life. I want
a new generation of Jaspers to walk safely
across their own bridges. This means
making the College the best it can be.
We alums are the maintenance crew that
keeps the bridges in good repair. That is
why I agreed to take on the stewardship
of the Fund for Manhattan. Let me hear
from you about the ways we can improve
support for the Fund for Manhattan.
Build this bridge with me.

Message from the President of the Alumni Society
The National Alumni Council (NAC)
has expanded on many of the activities
initiated last year.
We have started our chapter revitalization
project by sending questionnaires to
alumni in Bergen County, N.J., Fairfield
County, Conn., Albany, N.Y., and the
Western tier of New York State. Our data
shows a large concentration of alumni
in these areas. Based on the answers to
these queries, we will develop alumni
programs and activities that are pertinent
to each area. Chapter chairpersons have
been selected and will be contacting the
alumni in their regions. Additionally, we
are in the process of expanding our vista
to other areas, and eventually all alumni
will be asked to participate. Our plan is
to make the National Alumni Society a
vehicle that will involve more alumni and
make the College more relevant to them.
Our Black Alumni Club (MCBAC), under
the leadership of Charles Ntamere ’96
and his committee, held its first event,
Family Fest, on Sunday, February 5,
following the Manhattan-Loyola basketball
game. It was highly attended and bodes
well for the future of this new chapter.
On Wednesday, February 22, the Latino
Alumni Club (MCLAC), chaired by Maria
Khury ’77, organized an evening at
the “Repertorio Espanol Theatre.” The
response was excellent, and everyone
enjoyed the show.
Our newly organized Manhattan
Alumnae Club, under the leadership of
Meg Walsh ’79 and Michelle Colamartino
’98, hosted a campus spa event on
Sunday, March 26. There is a great
need for more alumnae participation at
Manhattan, and I invite all of you to
suggest ideas for future events.
In review of some of our other annual
events, the Career Fair in October attracted
more than 600 students. Thanks to Ken
Kelly ’54 and his volunteers for all the
hard work before and during the fair.
Our Alumni Brunch and Open House
on October 30 were attended by 4,000
students, and Ben Benson ’55 did a
great job.
On November 2, the New York City
Alumni Club sponsored a fall networking
reception at Mutual of America in midtown
Manhattan. Russ Schriefer ’80 delivered
a stimulating talk on campaign tactics
and advertising going from the most
recent presidential campaign back to
the Eisenhower years. The Q-and-A
period was especially lively. We had a
full house, which included 20 of our
College seniors. Thanks to the NYC
Club committee for an outstanding job.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly ’63 was
the guest speaker at the Law Enforcement
Club Reception on November 17. On
December 3, we had the Athletic Hall
of Fame induction ceremony, with more
than 120 people in attendance. George
Skau ’59 did all of the organizing. Just
a reminder, Hall of Fame nominations
for 2006 must be in by the end of May.
Jim Smith ’60, NAC President
St. Patrick’s Day activities included our
own parade in New York City, lunches in
Washington, Long Island and Sarasota.
On March 12, Jim Connors ’57 hosted
his annual Southwest Florida Club
reception and, on March 18, Naples,
Fla., had its annual parade. As in past
years, Connors, “the Jasper Mayor of
Naples,” led the Manhattan marchers.
As I have said before, I welcome
new ideas and, of course, we are
looking for chapter leaders and
volunteers for our projects. E-mail
me at nacalumni@manhattan.edu or
Joe Dillon ’62, director of alumni
relations, at joe.dillon@manhattan.edu.
The members of the NAC and all
the great volunteers in New York and
throughout the country spend a lot of
time and effort in order to achieve our
objectives. Grace Feeney and Stephen
DeSalvo are an integral part of the
alumni office. Brother William Batt has
been a valuable addition to the staff
and has spearheaded our reorganization
in Albany and Western New York. Joe
Dillon does a great job and amazingly
gets everything done. To all of you, a
heartfelt thanks. Getting the job done
would not be possible without you.
NYC’s Top Cop Addresses Law Enforcement Club
On November 17, New York City Police
Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly ’63 addressed
more than 50 members of the Law Enforcement
Alumni Club. This annual reception, attended
by alumni with careers in the criminal justice
system and undergraduate students and faculty
from the sociology department of the school
of arts, was held at the J.P. Morgan Chase
reception center.
Kelly reviewed the impact of the September
11, 2001 terrorist attack on the daily operations
of the New York City Police Department. He also
explained some of the policies and procedures
now being followed to protect the city against a
future terrorist attack. A discussion and Q-and-A
session followed his remarks.
alumni events
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36 manhattan.edu
NYC Alums Get Political
More than 100 alumni and guests attended the 2005 fall
networking reception of the New York City Alumni Club held at
Mutual of America in midtown Manhattan.
The guest speaker was Russ Schriefer ’80, founding partner
of the Stevens and Schriefer Group. A successful political
strategist and media consultant, Schriefer served as program
director for the 2004 Republican National Convention and was
a part of the “Maverick” media team that produced all advertising
Eric Glatzl ’98, Karen Fox ’98 and Edward Ruggiero ’97 mingle
at the networking reception held at Mutual of America.
Athletic Hall of Fame
On December 3, the 27th annual Athletic Hall of Fame induction
ceremonies honored eight outstanding alumni hailing from the baseball
diamond, the softball field, the basketball court and the track (including
three members of the legendary 1961 relay team).
Standing, from left to right: Brother Thomas Scanlan; Jim Smith ’60, president of the
alumni society; Cheryl Fetscher on behalf of her deceased father, Kye Courtney ’61;
Michael Burkoski ’59; George Skau ’59, chairman of the alumni athletic hall of fame
committee; Lawrence St. Clair ’61; Donald Mulvihill on behalf of his deceased father-in-law,
Arthur (Artie) Evans ’61; and Robert Byrnes ’68, director of athletics.
Sitting, from left to right: John (Jack) Moran ’50; Cari-Lynn Piotrowski ’92; Jennifer Drum ’95;
and John B. Gorman ’49.
for President George W. Bush in the 2000 and 2004 presidential
elections. He reviewed the history of political advertising from
the 1950s to the present with entertaining videos and anecdotes
of past presidential campaigns. The program included a lively
Q-and-A session, and most of the questions, not surprisingly,
were about recent campaigns.
The NYC Club extends many thanks to Tom Moran ’74,
CEO of Mutual of America, for hosting this semiannual event.
Guest speaker Russ
Schriefer ’80, founding
partner of the Stevens
and Schriefer Group,
discussed political
advertising at the
New York City Club’s
fall reception.
A∑B Gala
Manhattan’s own Alpha Sigma Beta
fraternity will be celebrating its 100-year
anniversary in grand style. A gala dinner
is planned for Saturday, June 3 at the
VIP Club in New Rochelle, N.Y. Tickets
are still available. All current and past
members should contact Mike Hecht at
thehechtfamily@suscom.net or by phone
at (845) 494-0370. You also may visit
the Web site at www.alphasigmabeta.net
for additional details and information
leading up to the centennial celebration.

Alumnotes
’32 At 96 and in good health, John Geideman
lives in an assisted living home in Mt. Vernon, N.Y.
’41 The Reverend John C. Reynolds celebrated
his 90th birthday last June.
’43 The American Legion of Richmond County
honored Mark Caruselle at a testimonial dinner last
November. He was cited as a guiding force behind
Staten Island’s American Legion and an organizer of
its Veterans’ Organization.
’49 William Underwood is a resident of Port
Richey, Fla.
’51 Officially retired from Georgetown University
Medical Center in 2005, Ed Gehan continues to work
part time as a consultant at the Lombardi
Comprehensive Cancer Center.
’52 Marie and Alois Benya celebrated their 50th
wedding anniversary on a crossing to England on the
Queen Mary II, sailing on November 1 from New York
to Southampton. They reside in Kennebunkport,
Maine…After a 40-year career as a gastroenterologist,
Ramon Joseph, emeritus professor of internal medicine
at the University of Michigan Medical School, has
retired to Arizona. He and his wife have three children
and six grandchildren.
’53 Col. William Lenihan, Esq., read the
Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps message
at the 230th birthday ceremony of the Corps last
November in Norwalk, Conn.
’54 Donald F. Costello was named Distinguished
Lecturer of 2005 by the Association for Computing
Machinery, the largest society for computing
professionals in the world.
’56 Retiree Edward Kelly enjoyed a wonderful
Mediterranean cruise last October. He keeps busy with
volunteer work and keeping in touch with his six children
and 12 grandchildren and feels that “Cathy and I have
been truly blessed!”….Retired from the Federal Aviation
Administration after 40 years of public service,
John Varoli lives with his wife, Frances, in Emerson,
N.J., “enjoying our five children and six grandchildren.”
John works part time as an aviation consultant and
technical expert in legal matters.
’57 The year 2005 was good to James P. Morgan Jr.
He and his wife, Florence, a former “Queen of the Quad”
(1954), celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary, had
their first great grandchild, and Jim published his first
book, Redistribute Values, Not Wealth…For a More
Rewarding Life (www.themagdoc.com).
’58 In 2004, Dr. Robert Klocke retired from
his position as chairman of medicine at the
University of Buffalo.
’59 Yonkers resident Tony Spinella is retired from
the FAA and currently works for the Parsons Corporation.
He is the proud grandfather of four girls and two
boys….Lawyer Frederick L. Sullivan of Holyoke, Mass.,
was named 2006 grand marshal for that city’s St.
Patrick’s Day parade.
’61 Dr. Ronald J. Kraus was appointed chairman
of the board of directors of the New Hampshire Chamber
of Commerce….Salvatore Monte, holder of 29 U.S.
patents, was honored in 2003 by the Society of Plastic
Engineers and received its SPE Fellow Award in
2004….After retiring as director of the Griffiss Air Force
Research Laboratory, Raymond Urtz joined the Griffiss
Local Development Corporation’s board of directors.
’63 According to a NY1/Newsday poll taken last
November, 43 percent of New Yorkers credit Police
Commissioner Raymond Kelly for the drop in the city’s
crime rate….On October 20, 2005, the House of
Representatives recognized the accomplishments and
service of Eugene R. McGrath, the chairman and chief
executive officer of Consolidated Edison. He serves on
the boards of many organizations involved in economic
development, human services, culture and education,
including Manhattan College’s board.
’65 ALM Events, a leading source of management
and professional education for the legal community,
announced that former New York City Mayor Rudolph W.
Giuliani will deliver the keynote address at its May 2006
Corporate Counsel Forum….Stephen Mullery II of
Yorktown Heights, N.Y., writes, “Peggy and I are
anxiously looking forward to welcoming our 15th and
16th grandchildren. We have been blessed abundantly
through the years.”
’66 Frank Boyle of Bradley Beach, N.J., was a
candidate for the town’s borough council. He is a
financial consultant and stockbroker and the father
of three grown children.
’67 Now that he’s a consultant, John Mallanda is
working closer to his home in Marietta, Ga. His daughter
is studying law, and his older and younger sons will
graduate from college and high school, respectively,
in May 2006….On leave from the New York City
Department of Education, James Sherlock is working
full time for the United Federation of Teachers. He is
the father of three children and grandfather of three.
’69 VoIP networks provider StarVox
Communications announced the appointment in
December of Thomas E. Rowley as co-chairman of the
board of directors. The holder of two patents, in 1992 he
had the distinction of being named a Technology Pioneer
by the World Economic Forum….An article in USA Today
traces the steps by which Brooklyn born Joseph Tucci
became CEO of EMC, the data storage giant. He joined
the flourishing company in early 2000 just as the dot-com
crash of 2000 unfolded, and, as described in the article,
“the company lost $508 million in 2001 and basically
fell into despair.” Thanks to his business acumen and
his past experience, Joseph brought the company back
from the brink, streamlining operations to “stop the red
ink.” He began to diversify and subsequently acquired
two management software companies. But, “he’s not
done revamping EMC. The company keeps rolling out
products and plans more acquisitions.” He also became
a new member of President Bush’s Council of Advisors
on Science and Technology.
’70 Dan Carbone, Esq., is engaged to Amy
Carusone. The couple plans to marry this year and to
live in Singer Island, Fla…. A Jasper family update from
Kevin McCourt reads: “I recently accepted a position
with Loop Capital Markets as a senior vice president for
institutional sales. My wife, Deirdre Buckley McCourt
’87, has returned to school to get her master’s in education.
My daughter (’07) is in the Manhattan school of
education and really enjoying herself. My father, John J.
McCourt ’37, will turn 90 in April and is still going
strong. My twin brother Dennis is a commercial loan
officer for Sawyer Savings Bank and continues to live in
our hometown, Marlboro, N.Y. All in all, the McCourt
Jaspers are doing well.”…Sacred Heart Hospital in
Allentown, Pa., has appointed Dr. Frank Sparandero as
vice president for medical affairs….George Hess has
published a novel titled Class Reunion.
’71 Last summer, Lieutenant General Arthur Lichte,
a former operations group commander at Barksdale Air
Force Base, was named assistant vice chief of staff at
Air Force headquarters in Washington, D.C. He entered
continued on page 39
manhattan.edu
alumnotes
e-mail your news to alumnotes@manhattan.edu
37

38 manhattan.edu
Expert Environmentalist Has Global Presence
At any given time, Michael P. Walsh
’66 could be found on a plane to Brazil,
China or Mexico, where he meets with
government officials to solve their
pollution problems. Walsh is readily the
go-to expert on air quality and vehicle
emissions control.
Recently named one of 25 recipients
of the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship,
Walsh is an independent engineer and
policy analyst who has committed his
professional life to improving public
health and the global environment.
Responsible for shaping legislation that
significantly reduced lead emissions
in the United States, he has developed
a reputation for finding effective and
practical solutions to public policy
problems. Because of his expertise in
the area, government agencies around
the world tap Walsh to improve the air
quality in their countries.
As a MacArthur Fellow, he will
receive $500,000 from the John D.
and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
in support of his work and research
during the next five years.
“This is a tremendous honor,” says
Walsh, who just returned from a trip to
Brazil at the time of this interview. He
currently is working closely with Brazil,
China and Mexico on the national and
local levels of government to devise
pollution control programs and emissions
standards. In China, Walsh has been busy
helping to develop a retrofit program
for diesel-fueled buses and trucks and
responding to the pollution problems in
Beijing, especially as it gears up to host
the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Walsh, 62, has created quite a
consulting career for himself in an
area that, he admits, has not yet been
flooded with competition.
“There are a lot of consulting
companies in the vehicle pollution area,
but I don’t know anyone else who does
what I do, which is advise governments,”
he says.
Although these days Walsh is typically
advising foreign governments, he began
his career on U.S. soil.
He attended Manhattan College as
a commuter student, spending several
hours each day riding the subway to and
from Queens and Van Cortlandt Park.
Walsh, who worked on the weekends at
his father’s candy store, was the first
from his family to attend college.
Reflecting back on his college
days, Walsh says he received a solid
engineering education at Manhattan
but more importantly, “a set of core
values that have been invaluable to
me throughout my life.”
“I have been blessed to be able to
make a living and to raise three fine
children while doing work that I consider
important and valuable,” he adds.
Walsh graduated from the College in
1966 with a mechanical engineering
degree and immediately was drafted
into the U.S. Army. Two years later,
he accepted a job at an automotive
research lab in New Jersey. Little
did he know this would be his entry
into a burgeoning career handling
environmental issues.
“It was 1968…and at that time, the
whole environmental movement was just
beginning,” Walsh says. 1968, he says,
also marks the first year the United
States imposed stringent emissions
requirements on cars. Walsh suddenly
found himself in the midst of exciting
change, and the issues surrounding the
environment immediately captivated his
interest. From there, his career blossomed.
In 1970, the City of New York
established a motor vehicle control
laboratory, and Walsh, a native New
Yorker, returned to the city to join its
efforts, which became his introduction
to the government. Four years later, Walsh
joined the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), where he was instrumental
in establishing the first diesel particulate
standard — a major milestone in beginning
the cleaning process of diesel-fueled
vehicles. At the EPA, he worked closely
with many developing countries to
secure pollution control programs.
There have been so many advances
in vehicle pollution control, and Walsh
says it is a great feeling to know that
his involvement had something to do
with the positive results.
Since he left the EPA in 1981, Walsh
has continued to advise governments on
air quality issues and vehicle pollution
matters. In addition to relationships
with Brazil, China and Mexico, Walsh’s
impressive clientele includes the American
Lung Association, the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development
and the United Nations Environment
Program, among others. His publication,
Car Lines, is widely recognized by
governments, manufacturers and
research institutions as a vital resource
for information on emissions control
and trends in regulatory policies.

Continued from pg. 37 – Alumnotes
the service in 1971 as a distinguished graduate of the
ROTC program at Manhattan College….Dr. Daniel
Paulish was promoted to distinguished member of the
technical staff at Siemens Corporate Research in
Princeton, N.J….James Willett was named to a new
position as education and training administrator for
Las Vegas Fire & Rescue.
’72 Gene Bowles is vice president of operations
and technology for Harcourt Assessment in San Antonio.
The company provides assessment instruments and
testing programs for businesses, educators, and human
resource professionals, among others.
’73 In January, Sonoran Energy Inc. of Phoenix
announced the appointment of John S. “Jack” Hodgson
as interim chief financial officer….Joseph Ripp was
named president and chief operating officer for Dendrite
International, a provider of sales, marketing and
compliance software for the global pharmaceutical
industry. Joseph was previously senior vice president of
Time Warner’s Media & Communications Group. He also
serves on a number of boards, including Greenfield
Online, the Ad Council and as a trustee of Manhattan
College….Francis X. Ryan serves as president of the
Point Lookout Civic Association, and his wife, Susan, is
vice president for development of the National Center
for Disabilities Services.
’74 Paul Fitzpatrick has worked for Macy’s for 31
years, having been recruited by the company right after
graduation. He was recently chosen by the Young Men’s
Apparel Association of the Men’s Industry for its annual
AMY Award, which honors leaders in the business.
The organization funds scholarship grants to support
students pursuing careers in the apparel and textiles
fields. Paul currently works at Macy’s West in San
Francisco.
According to an article in the Beacon Journal,
Joe Savage, for more than five decades, “has been
performing a sort of wild, part madman, part messianic
stage show that has included snakes, chain saws,
leopards and tuxedos before surprised and occasionally
shocked audiences around the country.” And he’s still
going strong. “I’ve accomplished something that no
other entertainer has achieved,” Joe said in the article.
“I have the ability to go from Sinatra to Alice Cooper in
an hour and come out in a tuxedo singing Old Black
Magic and end in a leotard with fire and snakes.”
’75 Newlywed Emilio Emini is senior vice
president and chief vaccine development officer at the
International AIDS Vaccine Initiative in New York. Emini
received a doctorate in microbiology and genetics from
Cornell….LaRoi Lawton of Astoria, N.Y., was elected
president of the Library Association of the City University
of New York and is currently assistant professor at Bronx
Community College….Jim McNally is founder and CEO of
TruTouch Technologies of Albuquerque, N.M., developer
of a revolutionary, disruptive testing system that measures
alcohol in people through the use of optical technology.
The company’s vision is to reduce the devastating
impact and costs of alcohol abuse on society through
improved testing techniques.
’78 Dr. Ed Conway Jr., chairman and
pediatrician-in-chief of the Milton and Bernice Stern
Department of Pediatrics at Beth Israel Medical Center,
was elected a fellow of the New York Academy of
Medicine. He writes, “My son Ed III ’03 is a Ph.D.
student in developmental psychology at the Ferkauf
School of Yeshiva University, my daughter Catherine is
pre-med in the class 2007, and my youngest son Tom
is a senior at Fordham Prep.”
’79 Vincent Houston, who takes part in masters
crew races, was one of the rowers who survived when a
30-foot German racing shell capsized last October on
the Harlem River. Two others were injured, and another
man was killed during the accident….Ossining resident
Mark Maiello is a radiation safety officer for Wyeth
Research and has written several articles about
radiation protection. His wife, Jenny, works for the
Department of Homeland Security in New York
City….Raymond Scheer is the Queens County district
attorney deputy bureau chief.
’80 Mark Pfaff’s career at New York Life began in
1985 as an agent. Since that time, he has been promoted
a number of times, winning the President’s Trophy and
earning a 4.0 rating on the company’s GPA system.
In December, Mark was named senior vice president
in charge of the agency department. He and his wife,
Claudia, have three children….Excelsior College in
Albany has named Joseph Porter vice president for
legal and governmental affairs and general counsel. A
graduate of Albany Law School, Joseph previously served
as deputy counsel of the New York State Education
Department….Peter Wolf was appointed vice president
of product management for MobileLime and will lead
the Boston-based company’s overall product strategy.
’81 James Ranger Moore reports that he received
a Ph.D. from Cornell University. He is division director
for epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of
Arizona College of Public Health. Married for 23 years,
he and Patricia have two sons, Brendan (20) and
Connor (16).
’82 Earlier this year, Barbara Moroch was named
editorial director for The Journal News custom publishing
division, headquartered in White Plains, N.Y. She is
responsible for the development of new local and
regional niche magazines. The Journal News is owned by
Gannett Company, one of the largest media companies
in the nation….With extensive experience in the health
care industry, Edmond O’Reilly has been hired as vice
president of the MHA (Managed Health Care) Long Term
Care network….Kevin Ryan is executive vice president
in charge of credit risk review at Key Bank N.A.
headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. Kevin and Maryann
(Carey), class of 1981, reside in Westlake, Ohio.
’83 Bob Maguire is president and CEO of
Advanced Telemanagement Group, a cutting-edge
telecommunications provider founded in 1995.
’86 John Clerkin was promoted to senior vice
president and deputy chief credit officer at Union State
Bank in Orangeburg, N.Y. He lives in Croton-on-Hudson
with his wife and daughter….Last January, John Schanz
joined Comcast Cable as executive vice president for
national engineering and technical operations. He and
his family will relocate to the Philadelphia area.
’87 GE Commercial Financial of Norwalk, Conn.,
has named Robert Raciti to a newly created advisory
position at its global media and communications division.
Robert received a master’s degree from Fordham
and a doctorate in information systems from Nova
Southeastern University.
Joining the ranks of Manhattan College authors is
Steven Rigolosi, whose first novel, Who Gets the Apartment,
has just been published by Ransom Note Press. The
press release calls the book “a novel of suspense in the
tradition of Mary Higgins Clark and James Patterson.”
In addition to his writing, Steven is also director of
market research and development at a Manhattan-based
publisher of scientific books. He is the author of Tools
for Success (Prentice Hall, 2001) and numerous articles
and short stories. After years of living in Manhattan, he
now resides in Northern New Jersey, where he is at work
on future installments of the Tales from the Back Page
series. He is fluent in American Sign Language, which
features prominently in his forthcoming titles.
’88 SourceOne Inc. has hired William Callan as
its senior vice president for its New York offices. The
company is a leading provider of utility management
services….Michael Mastrandrea of Amherst, N.Y., has
earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED) accredited professional certification. He is a
principal and group manager at Buffalo Engineering, P.C.
’89 Cate (Hissiger) Brainard, who completed
the New York City marathon last November, continues
teaching special education in Bethel, Conn., and is
raising her two teenagers, Sarah and Nicholas.
’90 Mellon Investor Services has appointed
John Power as chief administrative officer. His 15 years
of financial management experience includes positions
as chief financial officer of E*Trade financial corporate
services division and as controller and chief of staff at
Bank Julius Baer’s private bank in New York City.
’91 Michelle and Christopher Kalian were expecting
their third child this year.
’92 James Bangert ’48 sends news of his son,
Major Martin Bangert, who is with the U.S. Air Force
stationed in Colorado Springs. He recently attended a
seminar in Anchorage, Alaska, and took a few days of
personal leave “to explore the interior of the state and
advertise Manhattan.”
continued on page 41
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40 manhattan.edu
Energy To Burn
As assistant secretary of energy,
James Rispoli ’68 is helping to clean up America
It’s not every job where final approval
comes after confirmation from the U.S.
Senate. But that was exactly the case for
James Rispoli ’68, who, after retiring from
the Navy’s Civilian Corps of Engineers and
stints in private firms, as well as the U.S.
Department of Energy, was sworn in last
summer as assistant secretary of energy for
environmental management. His rise in
government wasn’t something the Staten
Island native had foreseen back in his days
at Manhattan — or even something he
would have guessed at a few years ago.
Career-wise, it was “not a to-be-expected
progression,” Rispoli says.
In his nine months or so on the job — his
nomination to the position was unanimously
confirmed by the Senate on July 29, 2005,
and he was sworn in on August 10 — Rispoli
has headed a big undertaking: a cleanup of
the department of energy’s nuclear waste
sites, a $6 billion-a-year program targeting
some 20 sites across the United States.
His department’s major missions are treating and safely
disposing of radioactive liquid and solid waste, spent nuclear
fuel and nuclear materials, such as plutonium and uranium;
cleaning up chemically and radioactively contaminated soil
and groundwater; and cleaning out and demolishing facilities,
such as nuclear reactors, large nuclear materials processing
buildings and laboratories. Highly radioactive waste and
materials found during cleanup are disposed of in deep
geologic “repositories.” Less radioactive and chemical wastes
are disposed of in surface landfills.
Rispoli’s work is the legacy of more than 60 years of nuclear
weapons research, development, production and testing in more
than 100 sites across the country. While a small amount of the
existing waste is used-up nuclear reactor fuel, the majority was
generated as part of the development of the country’s nuclear
weapons complex, which dates back to the Manhattan Project
to develop the atomic bomb during World War II.
Areas targeted for cleanup include former Manhattan Project
locations and Cold War development facilities, such as Los
Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, Hanford Site in
Washington state and Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee
(original Manhattan Project sites), as well as Savannah River
Site in South Carolina and Idaho National Laboratory in
southeastern Idaho. The cleanup effort is scheduled to run for
the next few decades, with a total budgeted cost of $145 billion.
To date, many of the smaller sites have been finished, and
approximately 17 more sites are slated to be closed between
now and 2009. The remaining large sites are expected to be
completed by 2035.
Since being sworn in, Rispoli says, the job has been a rewarding
one, but a few challenges have stuck out. A key objective of the
office is performing the job safely — not only for the benefit
of the more than 30,000 workers (many of whom are contract
employees) but also for the environment and surrounding
communities as well. Another is attracting and retaining a
workforce with the necessary experience and scientific skills
to do the technical and complex job.
“It’s not that common a career field,” he says ruefully.
Rispoli credits his own experiences and skills in large part
to Manhattan and especially to his time in its Air Force ROTC,
which awarded him a two-year scholarship to the College.
The two organizations gave him not only a solid education —
“Manhattan gave me a great technical education, a superb
engineering education,” he says — but also the self-confidence
and the discipline that leadership positions require.
“You learn [the self-confidence and leadership ability] in
class and put it in practice as you move your way up,” Rispoli
says, noting that his time in the Arnold Air Society, as well as
the campus chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers,
gave him plenty of opportunities to lead.
“Between Manhattan and the ROTC, I got a really great start
in civil engineering,” he says.
But it’s not just a career that Rispoli credits to his
undergraduate experience.
“If it weren’t for Manhattan,” he says, “I wouldn’t have
discovered the career I spent my life in — and I wouldn’t
have found the person I’ve spent it with.”
Rispoli met his wife, Carol, then a student at Brooklyn
College, at a mixer in Thomas Hall in 1968, and they were
married in 1969. Together they have two children, Joseph and
Christina, who both followed their father into engineering and
have families of their own.
After graduation, the Air Force sent Rispoli for a fully funded
master’s degree in civil engineering at the University of New
Hampshire. Afterward, a career in the Air Force and, six years
later, in the Navy’s Civilian Engineering Corps took the Rispolis
across the country. He estimates that, between the two branches,
they moved 13 times in 26 years. Along the way, he earned a
master’s in business at Central Michigan University. After retiring
from the Navy as a captain in 1995, Rispoli held executive
positions at engineering firms Dames & Moore and Metcalf and
Eddy, which specialize in design, construction management
and environmental engineering.

He joined the Department of Energy
in 1999 and served as the director of
the department’s Office of Engineering
and Construction Management, where
he developed policy for oversight of the
department’s $40 billion portfolio of 125
capital construction projects. It was in
this role that Rispoli was first noticed by
Samuel Bodman, the U.S. secretary of
energy. After a meeting early in Bodman’s
tenure (the secretary took office in the
beginning of 2005) to discuss ways the
department could manage projects better,
Rispoli was asked if he would consent to
having his name forwarded to the White
House as a candidate for the assistant
secretary for environmental management
position. He agreed, and the rest, of
course, is history.
Although the job is challenging, the
passion for leadership and the technical
know-how Rispoli picked up on campus
have served him in great stead — they
are the very qualities he is recognized
for today. As the statement issued by
Energy Secretary Bodman announcing
Rispoli’s swearing-in read, “Jim is a
proven leader with a reputation for
excellence and a record of getting the
job done.”
A Degree of Perseverance
It took more than 50 years, but on May 14, 2005, Stanley Mills ’49 received his master’s
degree in philosophy from St. Louis University (SLU). After graduating from Manhattan,
he enrolled at St. Louis University and had completed all required coursework, and even
chosen a topic for his thesis, when he was transferred to Chicago for work. Through several
moves that took him from Washington, D.C., to New York to Arizona, where he currently
lives, Stanley always regretted not having received the degree he had come so close to
finishing. Thanks to a letter sent to the University by a friend without his knowledge,
the University decided that if Stanley could write a paper to serve as his final thesis,
he would be awarded a master’s degree. A lifelong student of St. Thomas Aquinas,
Stanley chose to write his paper on Aquinas’ Theory of the Human Moral Act — the topic
he had chosen five decades before and for which he still had his original outline and
notes. According to the University archivist’s office, Stanley, who is 85, is the oldest
member of the class of 2005, and one of the oldest — if not the oldest — member
of a St. Louis University graduating class.
Continued from pg. 39 – Alumnotes
’93 Dan Smith is now a licensed professional
engineer and a lead electrical engineer at the firm of
O’Dea, Lynch, Abbattista….Radio personality Robert
Steinberg (aka Bob Stei) will go behind the scenes once
more as he joins the promotions department at CHR
WPST/Trenton-Philadelphia. He will produce the Sunday
night Frank Cerami broadcast, while remaining on the
air at WZZO….Lisa Doherty is engaged to Mark
Potenza. A July 2006 wedding is planned in Long Island.
’94 Mary-Theresa (Redding) Delaney gave birth
to her third child in August. Norah Irene joins big
brothers Sean Patrick (7/00) and Seamus Michael (1/03)
at home in Texas. She is currently training for her third
triathlon in June.
’95 With a B.S. and M.S. in chemical engineering,
Mary Keane was appointed a science teacher at Glen
Ridge High School.
’96 Late last year, LaSalle Institute named Jason
Manning director of institutional advancement. He
previously served as associate dean of admissions at
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Jason received both
his bachelor’s and master’s from Manhattan College,
where he also served for a time as an admissions and
financial aid counselor.
’99 Liz Giardina was diagnosed with Multiple
Sclerosis while she was still in high school, but the
Staten Island native has been working tirelessly to raise
awareness and further research on the illness. She takes
part in the annual bike tour in Manhattan on the Italian
racing bike she won for her fund-raising efforts. MS is a
chronic, unpredictable neurological disease that affects
the central nervous system. Liz considers herself lucky
that she has not become severely disabled, but she
dreads the painful self-administered weekly injection of
Avonex, a drug that battles progression of the disease.
Undeterred, Liz keeps busy with work and spin classes.
’00 Ken Kristensen has passed his qualifying
exams and is now a licensed professional engineer.
He is with the firm of O’Dea, Lynch, Abbattista and
working on projects for the New York State Office of
General Services….Linda Troncoso is in her sixth year
as a history teacher at Hudson Honors Middle School
in New York City. She earned a master’s degree in
education with a bilingual extension from Hunter College.
Linda writes, “I am happy to announce that I am getting
married to Peter Lo, a web designer for the NYC Parks
Department. We are getting married at the College’s
Chapel of De La Salle and His Brothers on July 28, 2006.”
Ilse Gomez and Danica Arias ’99 will be maid of honor
and bridesmaid, respectively.
’01 After receiving his M.B.A. from Adelphi
University, David Mancuso took a job as advertising
manager for Lifestyle Media, Inc.
’02 Kristin Caballero, a graduate of St. John’s
University School of Law, works for the Insurance &
Coverage Litigation Practice Group….Not one of Bronx
Councilman Jimmy Vacca’s staff of four is older than 30,
including his chief of staff, Jeff Lynch, a 26-year-old
native of Throggs Neck. Jeff is not without experience,
though. He worked with the New York Public Interest
Research Group and spent a year as an aide for
Congresswoman Nita Lowey and later worked on
Congressman Joseph Crowley’s staff.
’05 Daryl Palmieri is engaged to Casey Russo of
Linden, N.J., and a wedding date is set for July 2007.
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42 manhattan.edu
Urban Renewal
Kathleen Campbell ’86 turns
Massachusetts’ most polluted industrial
areas into the kinds of places you’d
want to live.
In January, Campbell was named vice
president of CDW Consultants Inc., a
civil and environmental engineering firm
based in Framingham, Mass., where she
directs the company’s environmental
division and serves as the chief of
operations. In her 17 years in the
environmental engineering field — 12
of which have been at CDW — she has
managed a number of hazardous waste
cleanup sites; designing the mechanical
systems to treat the contaminated soil
and groundwater and turning formerly
unusable sites into sought-after properties.
It’s this idea of conservation — not
letting whole areas of our cities and
towns be written off because of previous
pollution — that Campbell finds the
most satisfying.
“The part of engineering I most enjoy
is using it to find more efficient ways of
living with the tools we have,” Campbell
explains. “Within the environmental
field, that might mean that we find ways
to reuse old, abandoned industrial sites
instead of destroying the open spaces
we have left.”
But Campbell didn’t always know that
environmental engineering was where she
wanted to be — or even if she wanted to
be an engineer.
“There were still many obstacles to
women in engineering in the 1980s,
and I expect that most of us [women
now in the field] feel that we became
engineers in spite of those barriers,” she
says. “I was fortunate to have several
high school teachers and my parents
who kept suggesting that path for me,
so I took it.”
After graduating from Manhattan
in 1986 with a B.E. in mechanical
engineering, Campbell took a job
with the New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection, where she
reviewed permits for sewer extensions,
and she says, “quickly discovered”
that government work wasn’t where
she wanted to be. She then worked at
two other consulting firms, designing
large-scale wastewater treatment systems
in the New York City metropolitan area
but chafed at designing the same
mechanical systems again and again.
In 1989, she moved to Massachusetts,
where, looking for a career change, she
“wrangled” her way into the environmental
engineering field through networking
with a volunteer conservation group. At
the time, the field was undergoing major
change and explosive growth.
“I knew right away I was where I wanted
to be,” Campbell says. “It was exciting
to be in the midst of a growing field of
techniques for investigating hazardous
waste releases, evaluating the risks that
the releases could pose to humans and
the environment, and devising methods
to clean the sites to safe levels.”
In 1993, she joined CDW Consultants,
a firm that specializes in civil engineering
and site design, as well as hazardous waste
assessment and mitigation. Campbell
holds a professional engineer license
and is a Licensed Site Professional, a
state-regulated designation meaning
she is charged with guiding hazardous
waste sites through the state-regulated
requirements until the cleanup is
complete. She has worked on state
and federal projects, including: Boston’s
famous Central Artery/Tunnel project, also
known as “the Big Dig”; the Environmental
Protection Agency’s Superfund sites
(abandoned or uncontrolled areas where
hazardous waste is located); and many
Army Corps of Engineer projects.
Campbell cites the cleanup of two
local projects, both covering more than
10 acres, in the cities of Chelsea and
Worcester, Mass., as her favorites.
Both sites, after being contaminated by
heavy industry, were abandoned. Today,
she says, both formerly toxic sites are
in high demand for commercial and
residential redevelopment. In fact,
her Worcester project was awarded
the 2006 Brownfields Award from the
New England Environmental Business
Council, which recognizes “excellence
achieved notwithstanding the social,
economic, technical and institutional
challenges imposed by the reuse of
‘brownfields.’”
With each new technology that is
developed, Campbell says, there are
more possibilities for reclaiming
polluted areas.
“Even 20 years later, this field is still
evolving, and there are new and exciting
technologies being developed every
day,” she says. “What’s really great now
is that the field has advanced to the
point that most contaminated sites are
considered by the business world to be
manageable and, therefore, still valuable,
instead of the blight they once were.”
Campbell says she owes her success in
large part to the real-world training she
got as a student at the College. Calling
herself a “perfectly average student, not
an academic standout,” she says that, in
her opinion, Manhattan graduates students
who are ready to make a difference —
no matter their grades.
“There will always be academically
successful students, and there will
always be many more like myself,” she
says, “who take the knowledge base and
training that Manhattan provides and
become successful engineers in the real
world who build roads and bridges,
deliver clean water and find creative
solutions to cleaning up the environment.

Waking up to Jim Ryan ’60
Seasoned journalist Jim Ryan ’60 is
helping New Yorkers greet the day as
a recent member of the CBS morning
news team. Ryan, who viewers watched
for many years on FOX 5’s Good Day
New York, is now a special correspondent
for CBS 2 News This Morning.
Before joining CBS, Ryan spent 20
years anchoring Good Day New York,
since the show’s inception in 1988.
A well-respected journalist, Ryan began
his career in journalism at the Associated
Press (AP) and the New York Daily News.
In 1974, he joined WNBC, first as an
executive editor and later as an on-air
reporter. He was with WNBC until 1985,
when he joined Fox 5.
Ryan was ready to make the move
to CBS. Good Day wanted to take the
program in a new direction, says Ryan,
who worked out a deal to retire from
the show. Now he’s reunited with former
colleagues at CBS and is continuing to
have fun in the morning, he says.
Ryan was only 17 when he landed his
first news job with the AP, a job he held
as a full-time student at Manhattan.
While most students were focused on
homework or after-school activities, Ryan
had his eyes set on a career in journalism.
The Bronx native and commuter student
spent his days making it to early morning
classes in Riverdale and evenings at the
AP’s midtown Manhattan newsroom.
Manhattan College’s strength is that
it creates well-rounded, reality-based
engineering graduates who then go on
to improve conditions for humanity.
I’ve always felt that it’s not what you
know, but what you choose to do
with that knowledge that matters,”
Campbell says.
Campbell lives in Massachusetts with
her husband, Dave Sheppard, and their
son, Benjamin Sheppard, 8, whom they
adopted from Ukraine in 2002. And
apart from her career in engineering,
“I stole a lot of time from the AP to
study for Manhattan,” he says jokingly.
As a journalist, Ryan has had the
opportunity to serve as an “eyewitness
to history,” he says. The chance to report
on some of the most memorable moments
in history and the most influential people
through the years has held Ryan’s interest
in the field.
Reflecting on his early days as a young
reporter, Ryan tells the story of how he
met Martin Luther King Jr. King was in
the CBS building having an interview
with legendary broadcaster Walter
Cronkite. Ryan caught up with the civil
rights pioneer as he was exiting the
building. That chance meeting and short
conversation with King turned into
Ryan’s first AP byline.
In journalism, “you have the opportunity
to talk to people who made history and
be there when it happened,” says Ryan,
who still enjoys the excitement of a
newsroom and the unexpected nature
of the job.
Ryan each year hosts the College’s
annual De La Salle Medal Dinner, which
is its most important fund-raising event.
And each time, he doesn’t disappoint
with his clever sense of humor and witty
remarks. For Ryan, one of the most
memorable Manhattan moments, however,
is when he was invited back to campus
she has another passion: the stage. Her
love for the theater world — nourished
at Manhattan with the Manhattan
College Players — stuck with her, and
in 1992, Campbell and her husband
founded Acme Theater Productions, now
based in Maynard, Mass. The group has
won many amateur awards and travels
across the United States and Canada
to perform at festivals.
“It was important to me then, and
continues to be important to me now, to
maintain a creative outlet,” Campbell says.
to deliver the 2001 commencement
address and was awarded an honorary
doctorate degree. It was a great moment
for him to speak to the graduates and
meet the many proud parents.
“That was a very exciting and meaningful
thing for me because I saw myself in
their faces and in their experiences,”
Ryan says. He could tell that for the
students it “was truly a commencement
in their life,” and for Ryan, it was his
proudest moment at Manhattan College.
Jim Ryan ’60 at the 2001
Commencement ceremony.
But whether at work or at play,
Campbell is making a difference —
and the Boston area is a cleaner,
healthier place because of it.
“I feel that my single proudest
accomplishment is that every day my
work matters,” she says. “To the clients
who rely on my advice to make business
decisions, to people who currently live
in these communities and for future
generations who will breathe clean air,
drink clean water, and have a safer,
greener environment to live in tomorrow.”
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44 manhattan.edu
Births
1987 Ann Minogue O’Sullivan &
Tony O’Sullivan
son Kieran Thomas, 4/28/05
1989 Mary & Stephen McGovern
son Patrick Farrell, 8/14/05
1992 Colleen Latimer &
Charlie Caccavo
son Benjamin Michael, 2/05
1993 Kimberly & John Bruzzese
son Ryan Nicholas, 8/31/05
Melissa & Robert Steinberg
daughter Kimberly Annalise,
2/25/06
1994 Mary-Theresa (Redding) Delaney
daughter Norah Irene, 8/05
Marriages
1975 Emilio Emini &
Janet Skidmore, 9/3/05
1997 Maria Kotsialiotis &
Andrea Limongello, 6/25/05
2001 Teresa Andrade &
Timothy Shadi (’00), 10/29/05
Advanced Degrees
1981 Eric Kreuter recently earned a
Ph.D. in psychology from the
Saybrook Graduate School and
Research Center.
2001 Kyongah Hwang obtained her
Master of Business degree in
Health Systems Management
from Fairleigh Dickenson
University in May 2004.
2004 Oona Bustard will receive a
master’s in clinical social work
from NYU in May 2006.
In Memoriam
Manhattan College records with sorrow the deaths of the following alumni:
1929 John J. McLaughlin, M.D.,
8/8/03
1930 Daniel A. O’Connell, 5/12/02
1932 John H. Hett, 5/21/91
1934 John J. Clark, 4/28/97
1936 Daniel E. Costello, 7/30/04
John B. Hayes, 12/12/01
George W. Kiefer, 9/11/05
1938 Francis L. Bannigan, 1/10/06
John J. Bedell, 9/23/05
Albert J. Buckley, 5/2/05
Jay W. Gombar, 8/5/03
1939 Frank W. Hogan, 7/20/05
1940 Dr. Manlio Boverini, 9/15/05
Thomas J. Fleming, 8/24/05
1941 Frank Danna Jr., 11/4/04
Bernard J. Keigher, 4/20/03
William H. Perrott, 6/7/05
1943 Brian J. Armour, 12/20/04
Arthur J. Barnett, M.D., 11/14/05
William Buffa, 2/12/05
Leo W. Geismar Jr., 10/13/05
William J. Roemer, 10/7/05
1944 Philip Abrams, 11/28/05
George A. Alfano, 7/24/04
1945 Rev. William P. Carroll, 8/9/05
1946 Francis J. Nilan, 8/26/05
1947 Alexander J. Castro, 11/3/05
Maurice P. Flynn, 6/16/05
Edward J. Kilmartin, 5/31/03
Frank P. Silverwise, 6/19/05
1948 William F. Brunner, 11/11/03
Americo Campanella, 11/29/05
Harold P. Curran, M.D., 7/6/05
Bernard C. Sissler, 7/14/05
1949 Charles J. Davis, 11/18/05
John J. Foley, 10/23/02
James J. McLinskey, 10/19/05
William J. O’Brien, 12/9/05
Francis A. Watson, 2/5/05
1950 Frank E. Fraser, 11/23/02
Donald J. Hofmann Sr., 3/11/03
James Krebs, 9/29/04
Anthony A. Mastriaco, 1/30/00
Robert K. McDonnell, 10/26/04
Sister Mary Immaculata
McGovern, 2/5/06
Joseph F. O’Keefe, 6/05/03
Timothy J. O’Leary, 8/15/03
John A. Philip, 9/22/05
Thomas J. Quinn, 7/6/05
Thomas P. Rohan, 9/13/05
Russell F. Spring, 8/27/05
1951 Lawrence Minarik, 6/13/05
1952 Robert A. Carty, 8/8/02
Joseph P. Cullen, 6/30/05
John Jurich, 7/2/02
Lawrence A. McKenna, 3/29/03
Father James M. Moyna, 12/2/05
John W. Sheridan, 4/9/04
James C. Tunny, 9/9/05
Nicholas L. Visalli, 3/28/04
James A. Wong, 3/31/03
1953 John M. Hickey, 9/28/05
George F. McCue, 6/25/05
1954 John P. Chiasson, 8/21/05
James P. Moriarty, 2/22/06
Joseph A. Russo, 11/11/05
John R. Sweetman Sr., 12/3/04
1955 Frank A. Lapina, 6/7/04
1956 Dorothy M. Birly, 9/21/05
John M. Brandon, 1/19/06
Henry D. Brennan, 6/1/05
Edgar T. Casterline, 10/6/04
James Colligan, 11/28/05
Roy M. Ferlazzo, 7/11/05
Joseph J. Mackson, 8/18/05
Leonard J. Moore, 5/10/04
William P. O’Hara Sr., 1/7/06
Frank P. Verdon, 6/2/03
1957 Robert Coccodrilli, 4/21/03
Ronald Czajkowski, 2/1/74
Thomas P. Earls, 12/8/03
Nicholas J. Furia, 11/12/02
Edward J. Ghiazza Sr., 11/14/05
Vincent G. McCarthy, 6/29/03
1958 James G. Grant, 9/17/05
Robert W. Hillis, 11/12/04
Robert J. Jones, 10/16/05
Peter J. Rader, 1/22/06
1959 John P. Cooke, 12/26/05
Stephen P. Maresco, 6/8/03
1960 John E. Heveran, 10/10/05
James P. Hunt, 9/28/04
Thomas G. Kelly, 10/1/05
1961 Vincent E. LaFleche, 10/2/05
1962 Hugh E. Cronin, 4/30/05
1963 Edward G. Kelleher, 1/27/01
1964 John B. Hayes Jr., 2/22/01
Col. John A. Leonardo Jr., 8/1/05
1965 James E. Foy, 7/31/05
1967 James Kowalczyk, 10/11/05
1968 Alphonsus (Al) Fennelly, 1/5/05
Richard A. Stratton, 10/31/05

Thomas E. Chambers, retired dean of general studies
Thomas E. Chambers, dean of general
studies at Manhattan College from 1970
to 1988, died on Friday, October 21,
2005. He was 84.
Chambers joined the College in 1965
as associate professor of marketing and
director of the evening division and
summer school, positions he held until his
appointment as dean. Prior to Manhattan,
he was assistant dean in the school of
business at St. John’s University.
Under his leadership as dean of general
studies, a school that was established
for nontraditional students, Chambers
developed what was called the Equitable
Life Midtown Center. The Center was
instituted to cater to adult students who
carried full-time jobs. Additionally, he
created a validation program for underprepared
high school students with college
potential, the cooperative program with
Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital in which
the College provided academic courses
for the associate degree in nursing from
Presbyterian Hospital and the criminal
justice program, and established the
radiological and health sciences program
at the College. Most of these programs
have since been absorbed into the current
five schools at the College.
A former vice chairman, region III, for
the Association for Continuing Higher
Education, Chambers was the recipient
of the Alpha Project Grant, an adult
leadership program for minorities in the
1969 Daniel M. Horan, 7/8/05
Sister Rose McGrale, 8/26/05
1970 Ronald V. Conti, 10/9/05
Raul E. Infante, 5/3/01
Thomas G. Whitesell, 10/21/05
1971 Thomas Josephson, 10/30/02
James A. Meade, 11/18/03
1972 Brother Bernard F. Beleto,
9/13/05
1973 Harold M. Pasternak, 5/10/05
James Surrago, 4/25/03
South Bronx. The grant was funded for
three years, and Manhattan was one of
only seven educational institutions in
New York at the time to receive the award
under the Higher Education Act of 1969.
He held memberships in academic honor
societies such as Delta Mu Delta, Alpha
Sigma Lambda, Pi Sigma Epsilon and
Alpha Kappa Psi.
Before launching a career in higher
education, the Brooklyn native served in
World War II as a lieutenant in the U.S.
Navy. He was a man of many interests
and hobbies, including music, gardening,
painting and carpentry. A talented artist,
Chambers even has had one of his
paintings displayed in the Merchant
Marine Academy Museum. Aside from his
numerous talents, he was consistently
dedicated to his students and to
promoting education.
Of all things, Chambers was first a
teacher, says daughter Joan Chambers.
“He was a vivacious, energetic and
animated speaker who encouraged his
students to question,” she says. “He
could refer you to a book on most every
subject that he had already read.”
His daughter fondly remembers going
to work with Chambers as a child and
that he made her feel important by
including her and her siblings in his
professional life. He wanted to show
them that work could also be fun.
1974 Regina D. Rieth, 9/14/05
Michael E. Vacek, 11/26/05
1977 Dr. Francis J. Colace, 5/1/05
Anthony V. Sarni, 3/12/05
1978 Grace Hirsh, 7/16/05
1981 Cecilia Moran Hayes, 7/18/05
1983 Aileen Reynolds, 9/9/05
He was a man “very committed to his
job and the responsibility of providing
for his family,” says Joan, who is one of
six children. “Manhattan College was a
place he loved and felt comfortable about
who he was and what he was doing.”
Chambers, who moved to Florida after
retiring from the College in 1986, received
his M.B.A. from New York University in
1959. He also held bachelor’s degrees
in business administration from St. John’s
University and in marine science from
U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. Chambers
carried a professional mates license
from the U.S. Coast Guard.
Chambers’ wife, Katherine, predeceased
him. He is survived by six children and
12 grandchildren.
manhattan.edu
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45

46 manhattan.edu
Louis Jones ’54, alumnus and Olympic gold medalist
Louis Jones ’54, Olympic gold medalist
at the 1956 Games in Melbourne,
Australia, who set a world track and
field record that stood for 11 years,
died February 3, 2006. He was 74.
Jones was renowned for his worldclass
accomplishments in the field of
sports and remembered for the quality
of his commitment to his teammates,
family, friends and community.
A star in both football and track at
New Rochelle High School, Jones enrolled
in Manhattan’s school of business in
1950. He had a brilliant athletic career
at the College under the tutelage of
legendary track and field coach George
Eastment. Entering the Army upon
graduation in 1954, Jones continued
his track career. At the Pan Am Games
held in Mexico City in 1955, he set the
world standard of 45.4 seconds for the
400-meter dash. A year later at the U.S.
Olympic trials in Los Angeles, Jones
broke his own record for the 400 with a
45.2. That record would not be broken
until 1966. At the Melbourne Games,
he was a member of United States’
victorious 4x400 relay team.
Retiring from track and field, Jones
earned a master’s degree in education
from Teacher’s College of Columbia
University and began a distinguished
career in both education and public
service. A former director of advisory
services at Manhattan, he held various
posts at public and private schools in
New York City and Westchester County.
According to Dr. Jerome Cashman,
former vice president for student life at
the College, Jones had a connection to
the students and went out of his way to
assist them.
“Lou was always willing and able to
help anyone he came in contact with,”
Cashman says. “He had an extreme
sensitivity to the kinds of problems that
young people would be concerned with
and dedicated himself to their needs.”
Jones moved on to become dean of
students and assistant principal at New
Rochelle High School. He also directed
the Office of Affirmative Action of
Westchester County and was a special
assistant to former Westchester County
executives Alfred DelBello ’56 and
Brother Eugene O’Gara, F.S.C., director of the Brothers Community
Brother Eugene O’Gara, F.S.C., archivist
of the Long Island-New England Province
located at Manhattan College and director
of the Manhattan College Brothers
Community, died on October 18, 2005.
He was 74.
Br. Eugene was born on August 9,
1931, in Lowell, Mass. He was invested
with the religious habit of the Brothers
of the Christian Schools in September of
1950 and made his final profession in
1956. Br. Eugene received his Bachelor
of Arts in the classics from The Catholic
University of America and went on to
earn a Master of Arts in Latin and music
education from Boston College and New
York University, respectively.
Before joining Manhattan College in
2001, Br. Eugene taught at St. Raymond’s
High School in the Bronx from 1993 to
2001. Prior to St. Raymond’s, he taught
at several high schools, including La
Salle Military Academy in Oakdale, N.Y.,
La Salle Academy in New York and Bishop
Loughlin High School in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Br. Eugene, who played the piano and
organ, taught music to his students, as
well as Latin, religion and French.
At Manhattan, Br. Eugene was charged
with the archival material relating to the
Christian Brothers in Long Island and
New England, but he also focused his
research on the early history of the
Christian Brothers and their history in
the New York District.
Brother Luke Salm, archivist and
College trustee emeritus, says Br. Eugene
“was a devoted archivist and very much
interested in the history of the Brothers.”
In his eulogy, Brother David Detje said
Br. Eugene had a desire “to know and
understand the Brothers who went before
him and on whose shoulders he stood.”
Andrew O’Rourke ’40. Jones was a
trustee of St. Catherine African Methodist
Episcopal Zion Church, too.
During his lifetime, he was active
with the Urban League, the NAACP, the
Greenburgh Central 7 School Board, the
Neighborhood Youth Corps, the Boy Scouts
and the Boys Club of New Rochelle.
A resident of New Rochelle, N.Y., at
the time of his death, Jones is survived
by his sons; Louis and Steven; and his
daughter, Carla.
Br. Eugene is survived by two brothers,
James and Robert; and two sisters,
Maureen Winchester and Patricia
Lehman. A wake for Br. Eugene was
held on October 21, 2005, at the
Christian Brothers Center at the College.
The Mass of Christian Burial was held
the following day at the community
chapel of the Christian Brothers Center.

Dr. Leonard O’Connor, retired physics professor
and former chair of radiological and health sciences
Dr. Leonard O’Connor, retired physics
professor and founder of the program in
radiological and health sciences, died
on Sept. 9. He was 82.
A tireless and dedicated professor,
O’Connor joined the College in 1954
as an assistant professor of physics. He
became chair shortly after, the second
one the department had, and began
laying the groundwork for not only the
physics but also the radiological and
health sciences departments.
Dr. Edward Brown, dean of the school
of science, remembers him as a teacher
and later as a colleague. In addition
to O’Connor’s immaculately organized
lectures — an extraordinary level that
Brown hasn’t seen since — Brown notes
that the efforts O’Connor made on the
department’s behalf had a long-lasting
impact. When O’Connor took the helm
of the department, Brown says, it was
during the beginning of the Cold War, and
O’Connor was responsible for getting
much-needed equipment and support
from the National Science Foundation.
“We lived on that equipment, and
it sustained the department for many
years,” Brown says.
In addition to his responsibilities as
physics chair, O’Connor also found the
energy to start a new program at the
College — a program that demonstrated
his foresight. In 1963, he saw the
need for academic training in the
radiological physics area. He left his
chair and put his efforts toward initiating
a federally sponsored evening certificate
program, which became known as the
Radiological Institute.
Building on its momentum, some
liberal arts courses were added and the
program was registered as an Associate
in Applied Science degree in 1969.
The degree was then further expanded
into a Bachelor of Science in radiological
and health sciences in 1972. At this time,
a separate department of radiological
and health sciences was created with
O’Connor as chair. In 1975 and 1978,
two new A.A.S. degree programs were
established in nuclear medicine and
radiation therapy, respectively.
“He added a whole new area of
academic study here at Manhattan
College,” says Lawrence Hough, director
of the department. “At the time, collegiate
programs in X-ray, nuclear medicine and
radiation therapy were becoming the
method by which one could become
trained. He was one of the people at
the forefront of this transition.”
What began as a means to give nuclear
reactor workers at Indian Point academic
coursework in the radiological field,
became a department that includes the
medical radiological fields of nuclear
medicine and radiation therapy, which
is due, in no small part, to O’Connor.
“He formed very good groundwork here
for his successors to build upon,” says
Hough, who will always be grateful to
O’Connor for giving him his opportunity
at the College.
O’Connor, who remained in the physics
department throughout his work with
radiological and health sciences, returned
to solely teaching physics before retiring
from Manhattan in 1993.
“He was all energy and wasn’t deterred
by any challenge,” Brown says.
Born in Philadelphia in 1922, O’Connor
earned his B.S. in 1945, his M.S. in 1951
and Ph.D. in 1954 from The Catholic
University of America. A former Christian
Brother, he also studied at the University
of Rome, while on sabbatical from the
College, and researched ultrasonics. Prior
to Manhattan, he taught at St. Augustine’s
High School in Brooklyn, N.Y., and De
La Salle College in Washington, D.C.
O’Connor was a member of Sigma Xi
and the American Association of Physics
Teachers, as well as a research consultant
for the Office of Naval Research.
He is survived by his wife, Alena;
his children, Anita and Danny; and his
grandson, Collin.
manhattan.edu
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47

Reunion ’06 Festivities
Special Events Slated for 6s and 1s
Friday, June 02
JUNE02
03
04
2006
REUNION
2006
2:00 p.m. Check-in Begins Horan Hall
3:00 p.m. Registration Opens Smith Auditorium
5:30 p.m. Bus Departs Campus for Dinner Cruise Guard Booth
6:30 p.m. Boarding “Atlantica,” Anniversary Dinner Cruise Chelsea Piers
’46,’51,’56,’61,’66,’71,’76,’86,’91,’96 12th Avenue & 23rd Street
7:00 p.m. Class of ’05/’01 Luau Gazebo
7:00 p.m. Class of ’81 Cocktails Smith Auditorium
8:00 p.m. Class of ’81 “New York, New York” Dinner Dance Smith Auditorium
9:00 p.m. Class of ’81 Award Ceremony Smith Auditorium
Saturday, June 03
7:00 a.m. to “Morning After” Horan Hall,
9:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast 7th & 9th floors
10:00 a.m. Registration Desk Opens Smith Auditorium
10:00 a.m. Topic Seminars O’Malley Library
11:00 a.m. Class of 1956 Dante’s Den
Golden Anniversary Luncheon
Brother President to present the jubilarian medals to
’56 members and widows in attendance. Awards also
will be presented to those attending from ’46 and ’51.
12:00 p.m. Prep Awards Luncheon Faculty Dining Room
12:00 p.m. Family Picnic Quadrangle
Reunion Celebration
4:45 p.m. ’56 and ’81 Procession Lineup Quadrangle
5:00 p.m. Eucharistic Celebration Main Chapel
6:00 p.m. Reunion Celebration Quadrangle
Cocktails/Buffet Dinner
Dessert/Dancing
Host, Br. Thomas Scanlan, president
Sunday, June 04
7:00 a.m. “Morning After” Continental Breakfast Horan Hall,
7th & 9th floors
Published by the Office of College Relations
Manhattan College
4513 Manhattan College Parkway
Riverdale, NY 10471
Volume Thirty-Two, Number One
Spring 2006
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