Bloomsburg WINTER 2018 T H E U N I V E R S I T Y Success! It’s Personal campaign raises record $62 million. Page 8. ALSO INSIDE Keeping the Trust Marc Steckel brings pragmatic leadership style to FDIC. Page 14. Balancing Act Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania Nancy Vasta juggles career, family and service to BU. Page 18. BLOOMU.EDU M A G A Z I N E Bloomsburg: The University Magazine From the President President Bashar Hanna congratulates a graduate at December commencement. AS I SAT DOWN TO WRITE my first letter for Bloomsburg: The University Magazine, I reflected on my first seven months as president of Bloomsburg University and couldn’t believe how quickly the time has passed. It seems like only yesterday I was walking into Carver Hall to meet the staff and begin this incredible journey, one that started 40 years ago, as a child coming to the U.S. and not speaking a single word of English. In August, I joined the the Orientation Workshop Leaders (OWLS) and many others to welcome our largest fall freshman class and their parents to campus and the BU family. That was followed in October by the grand finale of the It’s Personal capital campaign that will impact our university for decades, while in December I participated in my first graduation ceremonies as president. In between, I have met many warm and wonderful people who have made me feel so welcome. I have interacted with alumni, faculty, staff and students along with leaders of the local community, including government and industry leaders, and the one common denominator is they all share the same feeling, a love for BU and a desire to take it to an even higher level. As you read this issue of our award-winning magazine, you’ll see stories highlighting the incredible alumni, students, faculty and staff that make BU such a great place and who give back with their time, talent and treasure. We highlight dedicated people like trustee Nancy Vasta who gives back to BU in so many ways. Also, read about Marc Steckel who serves on the BU Alumni Board and Foundation Board and returns to campus regularly to work with students through Professional U, and about two students, Bethany Noll and Derek Berger. Bethany, a doctoral candidate, has already made an impact with her work bringing the gift of hearing to children around the world, while Derek has landed a job with the NSA months before his graduation. I am honored to be part of the BU family. We have so much to build upon and so much yet to accomplish. Over the coming months, I will continue to meet and talk with as many individuals as is possible. Together we will be stronger in our pursuit of excellence. Until then, GO HUSKIES! FEATURES it personal 08 Making Celebrating an ambitious capital campaign. It’s Personal far exceeded anyone’s expectations, but more importantly has shaped the BU student experience for years to come. PHOTO: BRETT SIMPSON p. 08 Winter 2018 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA IS A MEMBER OF THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION Cynthia D. Shapira David M. Maser Harold C. Shields Sen. Ryan P. Aument Rep. Matthew E. Baker Audrey F. Bronson Sarah Galbally Rep. Michael K. Hanna Shaina Marie Hilsey Donald E. Houser Jr. Barbara McIlvaine Smith Marian D. Moskowitz Thomas S. Muller Secretary, Pedro A. Rivera Sen. Judith L. Schwank Samuel H. Smith Brian Swatt Neil R. Weaver Governor Tom Wolf ON THE WEB Bloomsburg University Council of Trustees Patrick Wilson ’91, Chair Judge Mary Jane Bowes, Vice Chair Nancy Vasta ’97/’98M, Secretary Ramona H. Alley Robert Dampman Ph.D. ’65 Edward G. Edwards ’73 Brian D. O’Donnell O.D.’87M Charles E. Schlegel Jr. ’60 John Thomas Secretary John E. Wetzel ’98 President, Bloomsburg University Bashar W. Hanna Co-Editors Eric Foster Tom McGuire Designer William Wiist Interim Sports Information Director Dave Leisering COVER PHOTO: Brett Simpson Keeping the Trust 18 Balancing Act Marc Steckel ’93 makes a big impact at the FDIC and gives his time and talent back to Bloomsburg students. Trustee Nancy Vasta ’97/’99M juggles a family and a fast-paced career, but enjoys coming back to her alma mater where she has led initiatives to benefit others. Bloomsburg: The University Magazine is published three times a year for alumni, students’ families and friends of the university. Bonus content and back issues may be found at bloomu.edu/magazine. Marketing/Communications Coordinator Irene Johnson Address comments and questions to: Bloomsburg: The University Magazine Waller Administration Building 400 East Second Street Bloomsburg, PA 17815-1301 Communications Assistants Maggie Farrer '18 Megan Hawbecker ’18 Hannah Miller ’18 www.BLOOMU.EDU 14 Briheem Adger overcame many obstacles to obtain his BU degree. An emergency scholarship fund helped him clear his final hurdle. 03 Around the Quad 06 Focus on Students 22 Focus on Faculty 24 Husky Notes 32 On the Hill 34 Over the Shoulder 36 Calendar of Events Tabl e o f Con ten ts Interim Chancellor, State Systemof Higher Education Karen M. Whitney The Power of a Second Chance Departments Boenell Kline ’17 shared her story at the It’s Personal campaign finale in October. Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Board of Governors 12 Email address: magazine@bloomu.edu Visit Bloomsburg University on the Web at bloomu.edu. HUSKY NOTES SPORTS UPDATES ALUMNI INFO, MORE TM Bloomsburg University is an AA/EEO institution and is accessible to disabled persons. Bloomsburg University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, or veteran status in its programs and activities as required by Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and other applicable statutes and University policies. © Bloomsburg University 2018 WINTER 2018 1 Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania unleash your inner husky PHOTO: ERIC FOSTER BU GOSPEL CHOIR members Filomena Alves, Iris Chase and Rianna Daughtry sing at BU’s Fall Gospel-Rama held in Carver Hall in November. The choir will schedule another concert in spring semester. 2 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania around THE quad PHOTO: ERIC FOSTER From left: John Huckans, associate professor of physics, students Rachel Yenney and Zhipeng Li, and physics professor Ju Xin in BU’s UltraCold Laboratory. Exploring quantum physics in Paris and at BU TO THE NON-PHYSICIST, the laboratory at Université Paris 13 in Paris would be right at home in a science fiction film. The worktable is overwhelmed by machined metal, tubes, wires, and lasers beaming through prisms and lenses. But for Rachel Yenney, a December physics graduate from Collegeville, it was familiar setup. Bloomsburg has been building a similar apparatus in a project directed by physics professors John Huckans and Ju Xin. The science underlying the laboratories at BU and Paris is staggeringly complex. An apparatus consisting of custom machined aluminum chambers, lasers tuned to specific wavelengths, powerful magnets and liquid nitrogen cooling lines are the physical manifestation of that complexity. When all parts of the apparatus work in concert, investigators can observe how microscopic particles behave. Huckans says that about 40 students have been involved in the project over six years, gaining hands-on experience in several areas of physics, including optics, electronics, mechanics, and quantum mechanics. “The opportunity as an undergraduate to work with an apparatus that is normally found only at Research 1 institutions, tended by teams of graduate students and postdocs, is extremely rare,” says Huckans. “BU helped prepare me for this experience in many different ways. The diversity on campus and in my classes taught me to appreciate and understand many different cultures,” says Yenney, who plans on pursuing a graduate degree in civil engineering. “Most importantly, my work with professor Huckans prepared me so well for the work I was doing at Université Paris 13.”l WINTER 2018 3 Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania PHOTO: ERIC FOSTER around THE quad Dancing to make a difference THE BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY Dance Ensemble held its first dance marathon in November. The afternoon-long event raised $5,378 for the Children’s Miracle Network at Geisinger to benefit the Janet Weis Children’s Hospital. Professors awarded National Geographic Society grant TWO BU PROFESSORS were awarded a National Geographic Society grant to continue their investigation of water management practices at the Classic Maya (250-900 CE) city of El Perú-Waka’ in Petén, Guatemala. Matthew Ricker, assistant professor of environmental, geographical and geological sciences, and Damien Marken, instructor of anthropology, received a $25,300 grant for their research “Living with water: Classic Maya pond management at El Perú-Waka’.” They are investigating how Classic Maya peoples created and cultivated water resources in their tropical environment. They are using archaeology and soil science to understand how the ancient Maya managed surface water systems. They will be part of the international multi-institutional Waka' Archaeological Project (PAW), which has been investigating this capital of 4 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Classic Maya civilization since 2003 with permission from the Guatemalan government’s Institution of History and Anthropology. The Bloomsburg team's research is based on the idea that the Maya living in El Perú-Waka’ needed to construct landscapes specifically to capture and distribute water due to the scarcity of potable rivers or lakes in that area, which are not adequate for the high settlement density of 6,000 people living within less than a square kilometer. Their research also suggests that the Classic Maya not only collected rainwater to drink but created “living ponds” where contaminants were filtered by plant and animal life. Accompanied by Bloomsburg students, this will be Ricker’s third year at the site, and the 13th year for Marken, who is also a PAW co-director. Ricker Marken Playground pops up on campus PHOTO: ERIC FOSTER COMMUNITY CHILDREN and parents took over the Student Recreation Center in November at BU’s Pop-Up Adventure Playground. The free event featured repurposed materials such as recyclable items, household wares, and natural materials. The event was organized by Michael Patte, professor of teaching and learning, and a leading expert on “playwork,” the theory and practice of maintaining spaces for children to play in a way that is freely chosen, directed and intrinsically motivated by the children. Bloomsburg University recently instituted a minor in playwork, the first of its kind in the U.S. Shown at the event are Seol Go and her son Shane Oh. BU business honor society recognized THE CAMPUS CHAPTER of Beta Gamma Sigma, the business honor society, has earned highest honors from its national organization. The highest honors distinction allows the BU chapter to submit nominations for multiple society-wide awards and gives one free registration to a BU member to attend the Global Leadership Summit. BU Magazine honored New certificate in game design THE 2017 ISSUES OF Bloomsburg, The University Magazine, won the Gold Award in the 2017 Marcom Awards, administered and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals. Over the past decade, BU publications have won seven gold and three platinum Marcom Awards. Approximately 15 percent of entries won platinum awards and 20 percent of entries gold awards. BU IS OFFERING a new five-course, 15-credit graduate Instructional Game Design certificate. The certificate provides students with specialized knowledge to develop interactive learning games or add "gamification" to existing instructional content. The certificate is for individuals who already have some experience in the field of instructional technology but seek a specialized track of courses focusing on instructional game design and development. Trustees approve out-of-state tuition scholarship THE COUNCIL OF TRUSTEES has approved a new "Good Neighbor" program that will invest more than $1.7 million over four years in a renewable out-of-state tuition scholarship program. The investment is projected to increase enrollment by yielding almost 80 additional high-quality out-of-state students annually. The Trustees were responding to a plan that seeks to develop an out-ofstate enrollment plan that provides for student access while ensuring student quality. It is similar to the successful scholarship program for Pennsylvania residents established last academic year known as the Academic Success scholarship. That program awards 60 renewal scholarships to high academic achieving in-state students. WINTER 2018 5 Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania PHOTO: JAIME NORTH Focus ON Students Digital forensics major lands NSA job DEREK BERGER KNEW as early as ninth grade that a future in digital forensics was possible. Today, that future isn’t just possible — it’s happening. Berger, a senior digital forensics major, is BU's first Department of Defense Information Assurance scholar, a program which will land him a full-time job when he graduates this spring. This opportunity — sponsored by the DoD and executed by the NSA — was made possible through BU’s recent designation as a National Center of Academic Excellence (CAE) in Cyber Defense Education. "This scholarship opportunity came from the hard work and dedication my professor, Diane 6 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Barrett, has towards the (digital forensics) students,” says Berger. To receive the CAE designation, the digital forensics program had to meet stringent criteria regarding curriculum, faculty and research, and BU had to show a commitment to information assurance practices and education. Jointly sponsored by the NSA and the Department of Homeland Security, CAE programs reduce vulnerability in the national information infrastructure by promoting higher education and research in information assurance by producing a growing number of professionals with information assurance expertise in various disciplines. “Starting from no knowledge of digital forensics, I’ve grown immensely in the field in four short years,” Berger says. “This program is designed exceptionally well in getting you on your feet and starting from the basics of computers and forensics.” Since coming to Bloomsburg, Berger chose to also major in Arabic to become a better candidate for a government agency. “Arabic has made me open my eyes to the world around us culturally and linguistically,” says Berger. “Without this study, I believe it would have lowered the chances of me receiving a federal job.” l – Hannah Miller ’18, Communications Assistant The gift of hearing BETHANY NOLL, a third-year student in the clinical doctorate of audiology program, has put her knowledge and training to good use in helping Third World countries. First fitted with hearing aids when she was 4, Noll understands what it’s like to be a child who wears hearing aids. “It helps me interact with patients. I have a personal perspective related to them,” she says. Noll began her charitable work two years ago in Haiti and has made several trips to Guatemala and Zambia. “I became involved with Entheos Audiology Cooperative through my boss at A&E Audiology,” Noll said. “I began working for her in 2012. She invited me to go with her in 2015 to Haiti. Since that first trip, I have been hooked.” “This trip captured my heart,” Noll said. “I saw some of the most impoverished areas in Haiti. I fit a middle-aged woman with hearing aids in both ears. She told us she believes she lost her hearing during the earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010.” In Haiti Noll also fit her first child with hearing aids. “He had profound hearing loss. When we fit him with bilateral hearing aids a smile lit up his face. He rushed over to his friends to show off his new hearing aids.” Later that year, she continued her service in Zambia. There she fitted hearing aids for a 4-year-old girl, Sylvia, whose family was having trouble paying for her schooling. Noll made it her mission to help find a solution, traveled to the school and met the founder. He agreed to sponsor Sylvia to go to his school and receive a proper education. On a 2017 trip to Panajachel, Guatemala, Noll met a 16-year-old girl, Esmerelda, who she had fitted with hearing aids the previous year. “The hearing aids had helped her tremendously, but her ear molds were deteriorating,” says Noll. “She told us how she was planning to go to school to become a teacher the following year. We wanted to fit her with new hearing aids that are a receiver in the ear style so it does not require an ear mold. We didn't have hearing aids that were suitable for her hearing loss.” In that moment, Noll and her boss decided to take Noll’s hearing aids off her ears to reprogram them for Esmerelda. “My hearing aids at that time were considered one of the top-of-the-line hearing aids in the United States, and we gave them to Esmerelda,” says Noll. Noll said she hopes to travel to Zambia or India this year. “I’m looking to help at the nonprofit audiology clinic that my boss has started in Lancaster County while I’m still in graduate school,” Noll said. l – Megan Hawbecker ’18, Communications Assistant WINTER 2018 7 Making it Personal It’s Personal Campaign transforms the university By Jaime North and Thomas Schaeffer 8 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA PHOTOS: BRETT SIMPSON BU president Bashar Hanna thanks former BU president David Soltz for his campaign leadership. One person can make a difference. And when it becomes personal, it leads to a big difference. A difference of more than 2,800 students having new scholarships. A difference of nearly 11,000 students having career development opportunities to help them land that first job. A difference of nearly 20,000 donors and volunteers having a new sense of engagement and school pride. An unprecedented transformation. This fall, Bloomsburg University celebrated the conclusion of its most successful capital campaign ever, It’s Personal. The seven-year campaign raised more than $62 million for new scholarships, new faculty professorships and fellowships, and new learning opportunities for each student to receive career experience every year until graduation. “When the Council of Trustees selected me to serve as president of Bloomsburg in 2008, they assigned me the task and priority of putting the infrastructure in place that would allow us to begin building a culture of philanthropy,” says former BU President David Soltz. The assignment couldn’t have been timelier. A shift in demographics in the state and a sharp drop in the number of college- aged students meant that the competition to attract new students would soon increase immensely. After extensive research and planning, in 2010 Soltz, in collaboration with Council of Trustees, university administrators and the Bloomsburg University Foundation Board, launched It’s Personal: The Campaign for Bloomsburg University. ••• But the campaign was always about more than money. It was about people. “This campaign was our opportunity to engage alumni and friends and ask them to be more than just donors,” says Erik Evans, vice president for university advancement. “Our goal was to create a philanthropic culture where they would be valued as partners who would invest in our students and faculty and contribute to the continued growth and success of the university.” “It’s Personal grew very quickly and organically into much more than a campaign name or slogan,” Evans adds. “By connecting our supporters with their own passions at Bloomsburg, we created exactly the types of partnerships we were hoping for. CONTINUES ON NEXT PAGE WINTER 2018 9 That inspired donors to make gifts that were not only strategic to our continued success, but that were also personally meaningful to them.” At the time of the public campaign launch on Oct. 16, 2015, contributions already received from more than 14,800 donors had raised nearly $37 million. The It’s Personal theme served as both a framework for the stories that inspired alumni and friends to give back, and a guiding principle to focus the campaign on four specific areas — academic and athletic scholarships; recruitment, support and retention of outstanding faculty; professional experiences for students; and emerging opportunities for the university. ••• By early November 2016, the university had already exceeded its initial goal by more than $10 million. This success led to the campaign officially closing six months earlier than anticipated to coincide with Soltz’s retirement in June 2016. On Oct. 6, 2017, the BU community of donors, alumni, faculty and staff celebrated the milestone and the impact it will have on the future of the university. The evening culminated with a fireworks display that served as both a celebration of the campaign’s success and the kickoff to the weekend’s Homecoming festivities. “Seven years ago, when Dr. Soltz and Bloomsburg University began to build their vision for what they thought this effort could accomplish, these were the results we were hoping for,” says Duane Greenly, chair of the It’s Personal campaign. “I always had faith that we would reach our goal, but it is hard for me to express how proud I am to be a part of the Bloomsburg University community and to see how we have come together to turn this dream into a reality.” For BU President Bashar W. Hanna, the success of the campaign represents an opportunity to build on a solid foundation. “The success of the campaign is an extraordinary milestone, but we won’t stop here,” says Hanna. “These are challenging times in higher education, but Bloomsburg is well positioned to meet those challenges. I look forward to taking the next steps together with the Bloomsburg University community as we build on the positive momentum and energy created with this campaign.” l From left: BU president Bashar Hanna, campaign cabinet members Steph Pettit, Mike Boguski, Pat Mica, chair Duane Greenly, Terry Zeigler, Ed Breiner, Nick Giuffre and former BU president David Soltz. Not shown are cabinet members Barbara Hudock, Drew Hostetter, Susan McDowell and the late Joseph Mowad. 10 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA PHOTOS: BRETT SIMPSON The celebratory evening featured performances by the Huskies Marching Band and Concert Choir. Choir members and campaign chair, Duane Greenly, announced the final campaign total by holding up numbers. Impact By The Numbers $62,075,064 raised over seven years. 17,860 individual donors have made a total of 71,929 11 New Professional Experience Grants gifts through the It’s Personal campaign. in support of Professional U, providing every student with one professional experience each year until graduation. 9 3 New Endowed Professorships and Fellowships supporting recruitment, retention and recognition of outstanding faculty devoted to student success. 3 1 • Danny Hale Field • The Burt Reese Tennis Center • Steph Pettit Stadium New Academic and Athletic Scholarships totaling more than $26 million A total of 439 scholarships now support the commitment to admit students from all backgrounds based on academic ability, not ability to pay. 2 New Institutes • Zeigler Institute for Professional Development • McDowell Institute for Teacher Excellence in Positive Behavior Support • Confer Radio Talent Institute New Named Athletic Facilities 137 New Location in the Community The Greenly Center, home to the Bloomsburg University Foundation in downtown Bloomsburg New Centers for Experiential Learning • Giuffre Center for Supply Chain Management • Benner-Hudock Center for Financial Analysis and... 1 Newly Named College: Zeigler College of Business Read and see more stories about the impact of the It’s Personal campaign at itspersonal.bloomu.edu. WINTER 2018 11 The Power of a Second Chance PHOTO: ERIC FOSTER By Thomas Schaeffer IN THE FALL OF 2016, Briheem Adger got the news every future graduate wants to hear. Just one semester shy of graduation, he had already been offered a full-time position at Enterprise Rent-ACar based on his excellent performance as an intern. And then he got bad news. The salary from his internship wasn’t enough for him to pay for spring semester. His financial aid had run out and he couldn’t borrow additional funds. His job offer was contingent upon graduating. Five years earlier, this story might have ended there, another instance of a degree almost completed and a young person’s career path derailed. But this story doesn’t follow that path. Adger’s fellow students in the Community Government Association had established the It’s Personal Emergency Scholarship Fund in 2016 for this type of situation. Adger applied for an Emergency Scholarship and he, like 54 other students, received the support he needed. He was able to finish his career at BU and begin his new career at Enterprise. “I almost gave up. I was so frustrated. I needed something to go right and it did.” 12 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Adger says. “I felt like every time I took two steps forward to better myself, I kept getting pushed back. But I kept working hard and thanks to people who gave of themselves to help someone they didn’t know, I made it to the finish line.” Adger had already overcome a host of obstacles on his road to a degree. As a high Thanks to people who gave of themselves to help someone they didn’t know, I made it to the finish line. – Briheem Adger school student in Downingtown, he sat in his living room with his mother during a visit from a guidance counselor, who advised that he shouldn’t pursue college because he “probably wouldn’t do well” because of his scores on an aptitude test. Adger was a good student, so the advice surprised him and shook his confidence. But he didn’t let this deter him from his goal of becoming the first member of his family to graduate from college. His father, a longtime custodian in the West Chester School District, and his mother, a data entry clerk for the Chester County Health Department, always stressed the importance of education to their son. “I knew I wanted to go to college, and I did well in high school,” Adger says. “My dad was always telling me that education was the most important thing, and stressing that he wanted me to take advantage of my opportunities to make a better life for myself.” Positive feedback from friends and a visit to campus steered Adger to BU, and he enrolled as a summer freshman in the ACT 101 program in 2011. But the next two years were rocky — a strong semester followed by a weak semester. A failed introductory writing class in his sophomore year pushed his GPA below a 2.0. He wouldn’t be able to return to Bloomsburg for his junior year. “When I got that letter saying I couldn’t come back, it was like I was sitting in my living room all over again, listening to them tell my mom that I ‘probably wouldn’t do well in college,’” says Adger. “So I said ‘no, I am going back to Bloomsburg, that’s where I started and that’s where I’m going to finish.’ I was not going to let that man define my story.” With a renewed sense of purpose, he enrolled at Luzerne County Community College and improved his GPA to return to Bloomsburg. “I received a call, and they told me that I was accepted back to Bloomsburg, but I would have to take the writing course again,” Adger says. “I thought I would never escape that class, but they set me up with an academic coach, Dr. Robert Wislock, who helped me immensely, and I completed the course.” This time around, Adger was determined to take full advantage of all the resources available to him. He engaged with Toni Barrile, Assistant Director of TRiO Student Support Services, and pushed himself to become the student he knew he could be. “Briheem came to TRiO Student Support Services on a weekly basis,” says Barrile. “We mapped out his goals and his classes he needed to take for each of his remaining semesters and what grades he wanted to achieve in each of his classes.” With his newfound focus and his commitment to doing everything he could to succeed, Adger set a goal of reaching a 3.0 GPA to get back to the academic level he had achieved in high school. “I never did reach that goal, but it kept me hungry,” says Adger. “I kept pushing myself to reach it, and I knew that I was never going to get there by sitting on the couch playing video games or hanging out with my friends.” Barrile went on to work with Adger, tutoring him and offering help in areas where she knew just a quick push would get him over the hump. “He was the kind of student that you couldn’t help but root for,” Barrile adds. “He was committed to doing his best, so you always wanted to do what you could to help him. “I will be forever grateful to Bloomsburg University for not giving up on me,” says Adger, “and for giving me a second chance, thanks to the support from the Trio Upward Bound office and the scholarship I received.” l Thomas Schaeffer is communications coordinator for the BU Foundation. Digging for Experience WHEN ISABEL MISKE ’17 found herself as the only American in a group of 10 students preparing to sleep on the floor of an underground museum in Italy, she wasn’t sure what she had gotten herself into, but she knew she was up to the challenge. An anthropology major from Pottsville, Miske was at the beginning of the biggest adventure of her life — an archaeological field school in Abruzzo, Italy. It was a trip she had dreamed of, but never thought would happen. After completing an internship in her junior year at The Hershey Story museum. Miske was convinced that she wanted to work in the field of museum study. She met with her adviser, anthropology professor Deanne Wymer, and asked about the next step toward achieving her goal. “I was glad she was excited about this potential career, but I told her this was a very competitive field and if she were really serious about it, she would have to get out of the classroom and get some hands-on experience that goes beyond the course work.” Wymer says. “The beautiful thing about Isabel was, once I told her about the opportunities available to her, she took the initiative.” Miske worked with Wymer to complete her application and was accepted to the field school, but now she faced another dilemma — she had no way to pay for the trip. Miske also applied for a Professional Experience Grant (PEG), provided by donors through Bloomsburg’s Professional U initiative that helps students supplement the costs of real-world experiential learning opportunities. Thanks to funding from the PEG, Miske was able to attend the field school in the summer of 2017, with the cost of her flight and most of the tuition covered. Over four weeks, she and nine other students from Ireland, Canada, Bulgaria, Argentina, Australia, and Italy lived, slept, worked and learned together in two large rooms of a museum in the remote countryside of Italy. The field school was split between two dig sites where Miske and her counterparts unearthed prehistoric and ancient Roman artifacts. They awoke each day at 5 a.m. and worked in the blazing sun in the morning, while the afternoon was spent hearing lectures from University of Pisa professors or cleaning the artifacts they discovered. “I had no idea how much work goes into digging and moving the rocks and dirt with pick axes and shovels to get to the artifacts,” says Miske. “It was empowering to leave the country knowing what I’m capable of achieving if I work hard enough.” l WINTER 2018 13 PHOTO: GORDON WENZEL/IMPRESSIONS Marc Steckel, vice president of the BU Alumni Association, talks with students at a luncheon sponsored by the Alumni Association. 14 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Keeping the Trust Marc Steckel brings a pragmatic leadership style to the FDIC and shares his experience with BU students By KELLEY FREUND GROWING UP in Slatington, a town of 5,000 in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, Marc Steckel ’93 recalls being a bit wild and giving his parents ulcers. Two decades later as a leader at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), Steckel helped protect residents of small towns like Slatington from financial ruin as the Great Recession of 2007-2009 tore through communities. “As long as deposits are under the insurance limit, a person is guaranteed their money if a bank fails. $250,000 is a lot to most people,” says Steckel. “And when you give them that satisfaction that they’re going to get their money, it’s great to be able to do that for people.” The scope of the 18-month crisis was vast, large enough to strain the resources of even the FDIC. The pragmatic problem-solving skills of Steckel — described by a colleague as the antithesis of an ivory-tower bureaucrat — played a role as the FDIC worked to ensure that the needed financial resources were in place by working with banks and having them prepay their insurance to pay current losses while avoiding the use of taxpayer funding. Credit his blue-collar upbringing. Credit his experience at Bloomsburg University. Either way, Steckel has worked his way up the FDIC ladder over the course of 24 years, and kept his alma mater in his heart. Steckel chose Bloomsburg because the campus was far enough from home, but close enough that he didn’t have to get on an airplane. It was a good fit for his family financially as well. BU offered him a Mitrani Scholarship, which allowed Steckel to get through college without needing a student loan. “But there was also a performance component,” says Steckel, who was in the Scholars Program (now Honors Program) and was a Tau Kappa Epsilon brother. “I was effectively guaranteed the money the following year if I maintained a 3.5 GPA in the current year. It kept me focused.” He had worked for a year to save up money before coming to Bloomsburg, so when he arrived, Steckel adopted a workday view of school. “School to me was 9 to 5,” he says. “During the day I was typically in the library if I wasn’t in class.” Steckel’s courses taught him critical thinking skills, including a 400-level finance class that he remembers as a special challenge. “The professor would randomly pick a student, and that student was on stage for the whole class. You didn’t know if it was going to be you, so you had to come prepared. The pressure of not knowing what the questions were going to be, to have a deep understanding of what you were talking about, and having to defend yourself in front of someone who’s a smart questioner, it was a worthwhile experience. It was probably the closest thing to what real life in the workplace is like.” Those skills prepared him well for his career. In the fall of Steckel’s senior year, the FDIC came to recruit on CONTINUES ON NEXT PAGE WINTER 2018 15 As an adult, I’ve come to understand the mandate of BU and how transformative it can be. PHOTO: ERIC FOSTER – Marc Steckel Marc Steckel talks with students in BU’s Honors Program. Steckel joined the students on a trip to Poland in December. campus — he joined the organization in June 1993 as a bank examiner in Harrisburg, traveling to banks across central Pennsylvania. Since then he has worked his way up, serving in different roles for the FDIC across the country and gaining a broad understanding of the organization. Throughout the financial crisis, the FDIC resolved over 500 failed banks (in contrast to just seven from 2003 to 2006), and while these were typically smaller, community banks, there was a need to address issues related to large institutions as well. In 2011, a new group was established to focus on that, with Steckel at the helm as deputy director of complex financial institutions in Washington, D.C. “In my job, I deal with fascinating public policy issues. I absolutely love it,” Steckel says. “And I like the FDIC’s mission. Regular working people can put their life savings in a bank and not 16 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA have to worry if they’re going to get their money back.” Sean Cassidy ’87, a colleague at the FDIC, says Steckel is seen as an inspiring leader. “In addition to taking on the new responsibilities, he went on a road show to ensure others in the division understood the mission of this new branch, including the challenges ahead,” Cassidy says. “Marc is well respected, values relationships and connects well with people at all levels of the corporation.” Much of Steckel’s success comes from his ability as a great communicator. Not only is he very personable, Cassidy says, but he also has a talent for explaining complex topics to ensure everyone, whether they are executives, managers or staff, has a clear understanding of the content. Once established with a successful career, Steckel said he and his wife, Diane, were in a place financially where they could start being charitable. They began to donate to some organizations, but felt something was missing. “It felt like we weren’t having the best impact,” Steckel says. “People come and ask you for $100 or $500. You write the check, and then you’re not quite sure what happens with it. You can do that all day long, and maybe you give away a good bit of money, but we weren’t sure what the lasting impact of any of it was.” They became more strategic with their donations. Since the Mitrani Scholarship had played a pivotal role in his career, Steckel wanted to repay that kindness. “As an adult, I’ve come to understand the mandate of BU and how transformative it can be. If I had not gone to Bloom, and not gotten PHOTO: BRETT SIMPSON Diane and Marc Steckel with their scholarship recipient Clarissa Hoke ’17. the financial assistance, I might have ended up in another career, maybe a less-impactful one,” says Steckel. “I realize how important BU was for me and I want that for the students now.” The Steckels began directing money to scholarships for students in the Honors Program. And that was the beginning. Steckel went from coming back to campus periodically for a homecoming to becoming a key member of BU’s alumni community. He has been an active alumni network leader for the Washington, D.C. region, hosting Bloomsburg students for internships and for a Husky Career road trip to the FDIC. Now serving as vice president of the Bloomsburg University Alumni Association, he also comes to campus to work with students through the school’s Professional U initiative. “That was a catalyst for getting to know a lot more people,” says Steckel. “It was fun to be able to connect back to the university as an adult. There are lots of interesting things to learn, getting to know the organization, learning the reasons behind the decisions that are made — as a student I didn’t have a window on this side of the university.” Steckel received the William T. Derricott ’66 Volunteer of the Year Award last April in recognition for his volunteer activities in 2016. “I was actually a little embarrassed,” he says. “I’m not doing it for the recognition — I’m doing it because the interactions are rewarding. I enjoy being able to help students.” One of the key themes Steckel stresses when he speaks with students is recognizing that success comes from both situational awareness — recognizing the problems that need to be solved — and self-awareness — what you can bring to the situation to help solve it. “You can be a leader or you can be a boss. If you want to lead people somewhere, it’s an act of faith. There must be a sense of trust that you’re taking them somewhere they want to go,” he says. “I’ve never had a bad reception from students,” says Steckel. “Every time I speak with students they are so grateful, they’re engaging, and they ask great questions. To say, ‘Hey, I was just like you a few years ago …’ I think a lot of students connect to that, and they seek advice.” Steckel says a common theme throughout all his volunteer activities is that he never knew there was a need for alumni to give time to the university. But he now recognizes how essential alumni are to the Bloomsburg experience for students. “I think it’s important for alumni like Marc to give back to the university so that students can learn from their experiences and expertise,” says Barbara Romano, president of the BU Alumni Association. “If we can bridge the gap for one student and make them feel more comfortable as they begin their journey after Bloomsburg, then I consider that a success.” Many Bloomsburg students come from working-class roots, like Steckel, and he says it’s one of the unique things about his alma mater. “There’s a pragmatism that comes with that, the recognition that this is not esoteric stuff that we’re working on, that things need to get done,” he says. It’s the same attitude that his parents instilled in him, the same concept his Bloomsburg experience reinforced, and it’s how he tries to lead his team at the FDIC. Asking questions, getting things accomplished. No B.S. “I don’t know what the opposite of wonkish-ness is,” Steckel jokes, “but Bloomsburg graduates tend to not be wonks. We try to understand something, then figure out what to do. But then actually being able to get things done is key.” l Kelley Freund is a freelance writer based in Virginia. WINTER 2018 17 PHOTO: ERIC FOSTER Balancing act By WILLIE COLÓN Nancy Vasta juggles family, career, and giving back to Bloomsburg NANCY VASTA LEADS the busy, fastpaced life of a highly successful corporate executive. But inside beats a small-town heart, and it’s Bloomsburg that gave it a pulse. “When I think about Bloomsburg University, I think about the camaraderie and the balance of academics, having fun, and being in a relaxing environment,” says Vasta, ’97/’99M , vice president of Consumer Health Engagement at Cigna. “To this day I love small towns because of the experience I had at Bloomsburg University. 18 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA “I’ve always lived close to Philadelphia, and sometimes you don’t realize the pace and stress when you’re in it,” she adds. “To be able to extract yourself from that and be in a place that’s so conducive to focusing — I long for that.” Vasta seems to have learned her smalltown, life-balancing lessons well. In addition to juggling family and career, this magna cum laude graduate shares her time and talents generously with the university that she says prepared her well for the demands of the corporate world. She has recruited Bloomsburg grads for Cigna and enthusiastically participated in a variety of fundraising efforts. She also has served on the Zeigler College of Business Advisory Board and, since 2009, Bloomsburg’s Council of Trustees. “Bloomsburg has given me so much,” Vasta says, “that I feel honored to have the opportunity to give back.” ••• “Fresh off the boat” is how Vasta laughingly refers to her Sicilian-born parents. Growing up in Bucks County, family and community were of prime Nancy Vasta at a meeting of the Council of Trustees, above, and with her husband Mike Reynolds '99 and son Jack before a commencement ceremony. importance. Education also was highly valued, and like many Bloomsburg alumni, Vasta was the first in her family to graduate from college — at least, in the U.S. “For my generation, there was a sense of pride in going to college,” she says. Vasta transferred to Bloomsburg after two years at the University of Pittsburgh. It was a decision spurred by several reasons, including romance. “My boyfriend at the time — now my husband, Mike Reynolds ’99 — was also at Bloomsburg. So that had something to do with it,” Vasta says. She adds that Bloomsburg roots run deep in her husband’s family: Mike’s great-greatgrandmother graduated from Bloomsburg, as did both of his parents, Pete ’70 and Mary ’70, and his sister, Caroline ’06. Vasta had also decided she wanted to teach. Among the benefits of pursuing a teaching degree at Bloomsburg was the lower cost, she says. “And it was good for me to be in a smaller environment with more access to professors,” Vasta adds. “They know you by name.” Ultimately, she decided that teaching wasn’t a good fit. But Vasta has a curious mind, broad interests, and a lot of energy. She graduated with a major in secondary education and history, and a minor in computer science. Those varied interests and experiences found a perfect outlet in BU’s instructional technology master’s program. The program, which focuses on the creation of web-based instruction, fused her background in education and technology into one. In ways she could not have predicted, it would set the stage for her career and the many ways she would give back to Bloomsburg. ••• Chip Peters, ’93/’95M , says he knew Vasta would be a corporate star from the moment he saw her. Peters was part of the Corporate Advisory Council that evaluated the final project of Vasta’s graduate school cohort. “She was the most polished — the absolute standout,” says Peters, who worked for Cigna at the time. He remembers turning to another Cigna colleague and saying, “She’s the one we’re getting.” “It’s like when you see the person you know you’re going to marry,” Peters adds. The company wined and dined her, he remembers, until Vasta accepted a position at Cigna’s office in Connecticut. She’s been with Cigna ever since. “Because of the Bloomsburg connection, I was endorsed and mentored at Cigna,” Vasta says. “That setting, that network, was unique to Bloomsburg and the way that program was structured.” The program and her many experiences at Bloomsburg also prepared her for the different roles she was to play at Cigna. Vasta explains that she’s held several positions in different areas within the global health services company. Her focus is now is on redefining the healthcare experience for Cigna customers to improve health and save money. It’s clear that Peters’ first impression of Vasta was on the nose. But as he got to know her better as a co-worker and friend, Peters was equally impressed by her genuine desire to support others. “She’s always willing to go the extra mile for a friend,” Peters says. “She’s someone you can rely on.” Vasta is also someone who values paying it forward, something she’s been doing for well over a decade. “When I started with Cigna, there was more work than people,” Vasta says. “So I was told, ‘You’re doing a great job. Go find more like you at Bloomsburg!’” WINTER 2018 19 Nancy Vasta with student scholarship recipient Jaime Carroll. And for several years after she graduated, Vasta, like Chip Peters and other Bloomsburg alumni before them, was a member of the Corporate Advisory Council that evaluated the informational technology master’s candidates’ final projects. That role evolved, and Vasta was soon helping to recruit Bloomsburg grads from other disciplines — accounting and nursing grads, for example. Her connections and networking continued, and former Bloomsburg Trustee Lee Davis, a longtime family friend who knew both Vasta and her husband as they grew up, recommended Vasta for the Council of Trustees. “She was the right fit for the trustees,” Davis recalls. “I was always impressed with her love of Bloomsburg and how it changed her life, but she’s also pragmatic. And she has a wonderful personality. She engages with people; she’s a good listener. “If she spends enough time on the Council of Trustees, she will be a significant factor at Bloomsburg for the next several decades,” Davis predicts. And Davis notes that Vasta sees the big picture in any situation. For Bloomsburg, that means understanding the necessity of raising money given relatively flat state funding. “She’s a conversationalist, endearing, passionate, enthusiastic,” says Erik Evans, BU’s vice president for university advancement. “And when she touches something, she’s all in.” Her role as the first chair of the Henry Carver Fund, BU's annual fund, is a case in 20 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA point. Evans notes that with her business skills, Vasta helped develop the marketing plan that grew the Carver Fund from $450,000 to $1.6 million over a seven-year period. “She modeled for others the ways that you could volunteer with passion and energy — how you can be involved with your alma mater in a way that’s rewarding personally and can have a huge impact on the university,” Evans says. “As Henry Carver helped lay the foundation for Carver Hall, Nancy helped lay the foundation for the $62 million It’s Personal campaign as the first Henry Carver Fund chair,” he adds. Vasta also took the title of the It’s Personal campaign to heart. In 2013, she and her husband established the Mary L. Reynolds scholarship in memory of Mike’s mother, a Bloomsburg alumna and elementary school teacher who lost her battle with breast cancer in 2012. “We gave the scholarship to my fatherin-law as a Christmas present,” Vasta says. As a scholarship recipient herself, Vasta says she understands the impact it can have on a student’s life. At the same time, she and her family are also supporting the university’s mission. The scholarship is for elementary education students, preferably from a rural background and with financial need. Various family members now regularly contribute to it. “It has become a good way to honor and recognize Mary,” Vasta says. ••• How does Vasta find enough hours in the day to juggle her various responsibilities? A flexible work environment helps as does a supportive family. And her close ties to Bloomsburg play a part as well. As Vasta explains, Bloomsburg is the one place where the major threads of her life can come together. “When I go to Bloomsburg, I get rejuvenated,” Vasta says. “It brings me back to the small-town atmosphere I want to be living in. And I turn it into quality family time.” For example, while she won’t take her 9-year-old son, Jack, to a business meeting in Texas, she often does take him to Bloomsburg. “When I go to a trustees meeting, it’s not odd for my mom, son, husband or some combination of the three to come with me,” Vasta says. “For my mom, in some small way, it’s like she’s experiencing higher education.” Her remarkable and seemingly effortless balancing act has not gone unnoticed. “What’s amazing to me is that she can balance so many things — an incredible career, a beautiful family, her volunteer roles — and take each seriously and invest in Bloomsburg in so many ways,” Erik Evans says. “It’s inspiring.” l Willie Colón is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia. Vasta with instructional technology faculty, from left, Mary Nicholson, Karl Kapp and Helmut Doll. Duane and Sue Greenly with BU President Bashar Hanna, left. Greenlys establish grants to support student science research A NEW ENDOWED GIFT from Bloomsburg University Foundation board member Duane Greenly ’72 and his wife Sue Greenly ’72 will support experiential learning opportunities for students in the College of Science and Technology. The $575,000 gift will provide Professional Experience Grants (PEGs) to help fund outside-the-classroom opportunities for students to work with faculty members on research collaborations. The gift is consistent with the university’s Professional U focus, which is to provide high-impact practices, integrating student academic experience with professional experience in “real world” settings. Duane Greenly, who served as chair of the Bloomsburg University’s recently-concluded It’s Personal campaign, and Sue both graduated from Bloomsburg in 1972; Duane with a degree in chemistry and Sue in special education. “The commitment we made to support the university throughout the It’s Personal campaign was important to us because our gift was very personal,” Greenly says. “We thought for a long time about how we could take this next step with our support to help sustain one of the campaign priorities, which was to create more hands-on experiences for BU students.” The couple's history of support for BU extends back to 1991 with their first gift to the Henry Carver Fund and includes significant contributions, including the establishment of the Greenly Center in downtown Bloomsburg along with the Duane and Sue Greenly Scholarship. “Sue and Duane’s continued support and their recognition of the importance of experiential learning as an integral part of a BU education is inspiring,” said BU President Bashar W. Hanna. “This extraordinary gift will expand experiential learning opportunities for our science and technology students ensuring success in their chosen discipline after graduation.” WINTER 2018 21 Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania PHOTO: : ERIC FOSTER Focus ON Faculty Robin Drogan interacts with children at Danville School District’s Liberty Valley Intermediate School. An educator for every child ROBIN DROGAN found her career path as a special educator when she was 16 and working as a camp counselor in Maryland. Her inspiration was a fellow camper. “The camp supported children with disabilities. The children with disabilities were included with their peers and participated in all activities," recalls Drogan. “I was paired with a child named Jay. He taught me so much about appreciating life and working hard. The experience allowed me to think openly and creatively, to foster independence for Jay, and encourage him to believe that he could do it all.” For Drogan, that camp experience was transformational. “There was never a question that I had chosen the right path.” She became a special educator, 22 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA working in Maryland and Pennsylvania for 15 years and earning her master’s degree in special education at BU in 2008. Before joining BU’s faculty in 2013, her experience ranged from teaching individuals with disabilities from preschool to adults. “My area of concentration initially was supporting individuals with complex instructional needs who are affected significantly by a disability. I broadened my area of interest to include students who display significant challenging behavior.” Today, the assistant professor of exceptionality programs shares her wisdom with a new generation of teachers, both in the classroom and as a supervisor for students participating in the Danville Professional Development School practicum experience (BU has similar practicums in other districts). “The six-credit practicum experience is unique,” says Drogan. “The standards are high.” BU students are paired with a cooperating teacher as support for two days each week at the school in the fall semester and with whom they will student teach in the spring. The continuation from practicum to student teaching increases both rigor and depth of the field experiences. “The rapport that the teacher has with the students is critical to understanding the learner,” says Drogan. “Children learn differently. Teachers need to understand what motivates each student and use data to make educational decisions.” The other half of being a great teacher is planning. “To truly meet the needs of all learners, teachers need to be intentional about their teaching. Planning the lesson is as important as teaching the lesson. Each time you teach, you learn from the students and you use what you learn to shape the next lesson,” says Drogan. “For example, a student may need a personal connection to the material to write a paragraph,” says Drogan. “A picture of a positive or negative event that actually occurred helped this student to give information in her sentences. But instead of providing a picture as a prompt for just this student, the teacher could provide pictures for all of the students and plan to include the student based on learning strengths.” “All children can learn,” says Drogan. “For me, working with students with diverse learning needs is about the presumption of competence. It is our job as teachers to find the most successful, research-based, strategies to support that learning.” — Eric Foster A Legacy of Family GREG VIOLA ’71 will always hold Bloomsburg University close to his heart. Family trips taken to BU with his wife Barbara would eventually lead to both of their children, Gregory ’93, and Gina ’98, choosing Bloomsburg for their undergraduate degrees. That’s why, when Greg, a loyal donor since 1982, was approached with the idea of creating a scholarship through a planned gift in his will to the Bloomsburg University Foundation, he was intrigued by the idea. “What many of my classmates don’t realize is that when we went to school here, tuition was minimal at a state school,” says Greg. “That funding from the state has decreased drastically over the years.” For Greg, a retired educator and technology consultant in Sarasota, Fla., this was the perfect opportunity to increase his support and create a legacy for his family at BU. “We were in a position where we had the means to create the scholarship and it really didn’t take a lot,” Greg says. “It was easy to spread it out and to grow it over the years.” And it wasn’t long before the Violas would have the opportunity to grow their scholarship. A few months after it was established, Greg’s son, Gregory, learned about the gift and asked how he could contribute too. Gregory, a retired US Coast Guard lieutenant commander and accountant/consultant who also met his wife Stephanie ’93 at BU, is helping to grow the endowment of the scholarship by making an annual gift each year. “As soon as I found out about the scholarship, I wanted to be a part of it,” Gregory says. “Bloomsburg has always taken care of its students. I know it has done a lot for our family, so I’m glad we can help as a family to continue that tradition.” “Bloomsburg has played such an important role in our family and has given us so many memories,” Greg added. “Including the university in our will and creating a scholarship for students who will come here in the future seemed like the best way for us to honor those memories.” To learn more about how you can create your own legacy at BU, visit giving.bloomu.edu/plannedgiving WINTER 2018 23 Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania husky notes FULL THROTTLE Gwen Wiscount with a student in Kenya. In 2017, Wiscount climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise funds for a school in Kenya. Bloomsburg alumna takes all-out approach to career and life GWEN WISCOUNT doesn’t believe in half measures. When she goes after something, she goes after it all the way. At age 23, Wiscount ’09, a business administration and marketing major, managed a $2 million business for a multimillion-dollar environmental packaging company. At age 27, she co-founded a sales and marketing company and was named partner at age 28. And now at age 31, Wiscount’s firm is generating $6 million dollars in revenue and recently made its first acquisition. Her success is no surprise to those that know her. “I’m not even a little surprised. She’s a superstar,” says Steph Pettit ’89, president of the Tampa-based Clean Earth Systems, Inc. and Wiscount’s employer for four years. “She’s very well-defined in who she wants to be and how she goes about it. She’s extremely bright, articulate, and driven.” And while launching a company in the fall of 2014, she trained for, and completed, the Chicago Marathon. In 2017, Wiscount received Bloomsburg University’s 24 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA By SUSAN FIELD Maroon and Gold Excellence Award. The award recognizes young alumni who have made significant achievements in their professions, to Bloomsburg University, the alumni association, or humanity, and has demonstrated the potential for further contributions. Wiscount’s company, FullFunnel, is a sales and marketing advisory firm that helps businesses increase sales and income. “We started the company to provide organizations access to top sales and marketing talent, but without the cost and risk they typically face when hiring these revenue-generating roles. FullFunnel is different from a traditional consulting firm in that we work with you, as an extension of your team to execute and optimize the programs over time,” says Wiscount, who is based in the Boston area and oversees six companies within her portfolio. A Pine Grove native, Wiscount approaches her professional career in the same way she did her student career: with great ambition. At BU, Wiscount excelled at academics, was in a sorority, student government, worked at the football office and was a cheerleader. “I learned how to juggle my academics with my extracurriculars because I wanted to do it all, and do well,” Wiscount says. Wiscount also credits her experience with Pettit’s Clean Earth Systems Inc., as building a foundation for her career today. Wiscount met Pettit, a member of the 1985 Huskies football team and the namesake of the university’s soccer/field hockey/ lacrosse stadium, through alumni football events. As the company’s northeast regional sales manager, Wiscount managed a $2 million territory spanning 11 states. “For me to be in the position I am now, where I consult C-level executives of multimillion dollar companies, having that exposure early on in my career allowed me to be better at this stage in the game," Wiscount says. Despite her booming career, Wiscount finds time to be active in a Boston-based charity called Flying Kites. One of the organization’s goals is to provide students with access to high-quality education. Flying Kites recently built a primary school and home for at-risk and orphaned children in the Aberdares Mountains of Kenya. In early 2017, Wiscount traveled to Kenya to work with the non-profit — and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise funds for the school. Upon winning the Maroon and Gold Excellence Award, Wiscount was excited to return to BU to share not only how happy she was with her education and how it helped to launch her career, but also to share more about her experience in Kenya. “Being there, meeting the kids firsthand, and seeing the positive impact that Flying Kites has had and how it’s shifted their lives is unimaginable,” Wiscount says. “It makes you realize that being a little more generous can give a child an opportunity to change their life’s path. Giving back to humanity is so important me.” l Susan Field ’11/’12M is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia. PHOTO: ERIC FOSTER Recognizing Service Retired? Not Really JIM POMFRET retired a decade ago (in 2008) as a professor and chair of BU’s department of mathematical and digital sciences. But you wouldn’t know it based on how often he’s on campus. On most days during the academic year, Pomfret is working as executive director of the BU-based Global Awareness Society and tutoring high school students taking classes at BU. Pomfret came to Bloomsburg in 1972. The Boston native had done missile-related research in the corporate world and taught in the SUNY (State University of New York) system, South Carolina, New Mexico and Oklahoma. “Bloomsburg students have a work ethic that not everyone has,” says Pomfret. “And there are a lot of first-generation students.” Bloomsburg has become part of the Pomfret family tradition. His son, Jim '95, graduated from BU with a degree in anthropology; his daughter, Deborah '87, graduated with a degree in Spanish. His wife, Penny, is active in the community as a preschool teacher. “Students are capable of more than they think they are. They need to be pushed," says Pomfret. Pomfret had a push of his own in 1991 when he took his first big international trip to China for eight weeks to lecture on using computers to teach math. The experience was transformative and many other trips, both as part of BU courses and through the Global Awareness Society, followed. Since then the Pomfrets are still helping give students the “push” they need by funding a scholarship that enables a student to study abroad. “Students are going to work in an international environment,” says Pomfret. “Even if they work for a firm in Allentown or Harrisburg, they are going to work with people internationally.” — Eric Foster WINTER 2018 25 Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania husky notes ’50s Irene Zielinski McCarthy ’57 taught Spanish and English before raising four children, three of whom are teachers. ’60s James McCarthy ’60 was inducted into the Jackson School District, Jackson, NJ. Alumni Hall of Fame. ’70s Alan E. Jones ’75 retired as a colonel from the Army Medical Service Corps. ’80s Rebecca Funk Campbell ’83 was named president of The Walt Disney Company Europe, Middle East and Africa. Campbell was the president of ABC Owned Television Station Group and ABC Daytime, responsible for the company's eight local TV stations and their digital assets in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Raleigh-Durham and Fresno. In addition, Campbell also oversees ABC National Television Sales, and ABC Daytime. Campbell is on the board of the Broadcasters Foundation of America, Girls Inc., and serves on the board of directors of Broadcast Music, Inc. Edward Schicatano ’86 is a professor of psychology at Wilkes University, WilkesBarre. Schicatano is the co-director of the NeuroTraining and Research Center at Wilkes and is the coordinator of the psychology degree program, as well as the head of the neuroscience program. 26 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Barry Hamp ’88 MBA, has been named executive director of Beebe Healthcare’s Oncology Service Line at Tunnell Cancer Center, Rehoboth Beach, Del. Hamp previously served as the interim director of Oncology Services at Northern Arizona Healthcare. ’90s Carl Risch ’92 is assistant secretary of state for consular affairs in the U.S. Department of State. Risch heads an agency that employs more than 12,000 and is in charge of approving passports to Americans and visas to foreigners. He previously served as acting chief of staff in the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizen and Immigration Service. Risch and his wife, Wendy Taylor Risch, have two daughters, Anneka and Ilse. Crystal Reustle Patil ’93 is the associate dean for academic affairs in the Honors College at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Patil was an associate professor of anthropology in the College of Nursing at UIC. She is a global health researcher who focuses on health disparities and has conducted projects in several African countries and in the United States. Keith Bailey ’94 is dean of online learning and continuing professional education at West Virginia University. Bailey was the director of the Office of Online Learning at the University of Georgia. Scott Ungemach ’95 is a chiropractor for De Jesus Family Chiropractic, Sugarloaf Township. He has provided chiropractic care in the area for 18 years. Andrew Dunning ’96 is senior vice president and general manager of Digitas Health in San Francisco. Robert Walton ’96 is chief zoning administrator in Fauquiers, Va. Walton previously served as assistant chief of zoning. He and his wife, Barbara, have two children and live in Bealeton, Va. Christie VanHorn Livengood ’97 is executive director of Lancaster Dollars for Higher Learning. Livengood was director of operations for the Power Packs Project. Aimee Johnson Metrick ’98 received the Communicate Award from The Washington, D.C. and Baltimore Chapter of Women in Cable Telecommunications for her work as vice president of communications for Comcast's Beltway Region. Laurie Tarantola Notari ’98 is vice president of Baltimore Life, Westminster, Md. Notari previously served as assistant vice president of human resources at Euler Hermes North America, where she was the administrator of human relations of approximately 450 employees. She is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management and the Chesapeake Human Resources Association. Desiree Anderson ’99 was named to the Council of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants for a twoyear term. She is a supervisor with Jones Kohanski & Co. PC in Sugarloaf Township. ’00s Nafeez Amin ’01, president of Sherpa Prep, a Washington, D.C.-based test preparation company, has co-authored a series of textbooks geared towards helping people with the quantitative portion of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Angela Runciman ’03 received a Graduate Student Excellence in Teaching Award from Binghamton University. Runciman is a Ph.D. candidate in comparative literature. Jake Miller ’05 received the Pennsylvania Teacher of Excellence award. He is a seventhgrade social studies teacher in the Cumberland Valley School District. He is the author of the website theeducatorsroom.com and a former community columnist for the Harrisburg Patriot-News. Jared Owens ’06 has opened Owens Audiology and Hearing Aid Center in Shamokin. Owens is a doctor of audiology with a Certificate of Clinical Competency through the American Speech and Hearing Association. Mark Strunk ’10 is assistant vice president of PNC Bank for northeastern Pennsylvania. Darrin Doran ’11 received a doctor of osteopathic medicine degree from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Doran is continuing his medical training in family medicine at Geisinger Wyoming Valley, Wilkes-Barre. Sean Duffy ’12 is an investment analyst with Conrad Siegel Actuaries, Susquehanna Township. Duffy supports the defined contribution and defined benefit investment team. Kelsey Gallagher ’12 is girls basketball coach at Emmaus High School in the East Penn School District. Crystal McCaffrey Meinert ’08 is director of human resources GWC Warranty, Wilkes-Barre. Meinert spent four years with CVS Health in a variety of roles, including successful tenures as an HR consultant, HR manager and senior HR adviser. Alison Myers ’08 is a legal assistant with Vinsko & Associates PC, Wilkes-Barre. Her past experience includes call center operator at Martz Group and social media coordinator at EnergyBits. Cara Bolton Sarubin ’09 is director of content marketing for Altitude Marketing, Emmaus. Sarubin designs marketing plans for clients. ’10s Justin Shirk ’13 was the 2017 Indoor Football League’s championship game MVP for the Arizona Rattlers. Shirk registered 1.5 sacks and a tipped pass in Arizona's 50-41 win over the Sioux Falls Storm in the 2017 United Bowl. Seth Lewis ’14 is a technology consultant in the sales department of DOCEO Office Solutions. Lewis provides office solutions to customers in the Maryland market. Shelby Pealer ’14 is curriculum and instruction specialist at Spectrum Center Schools and Programs, Inglewood, Calif. Jackie Eddy ’14 is associate director of communications for the Patriot League Division I athletic conference. At BU she spent nearly two years working in the sports information department. Danielle Empson ’15 is director of schoolbased behavior health in the McDowell Institute at Bloomsburg University. Jessica Byra ’16 is an associate at Boyer & Ritter CPAs and Consultants, Camp Hill. Charles Evans ’16 is an associate at Boyer & Ritter CPAs and Consultants, Camp Hill. Rachel Hillibush Seitzinger ’16/MSN is a nurse practitioner at St. Luke's Family Medicine in Coaldale and St. Luke's Primary Care Nesquehoning. Santino Stancato ’16 is the athletics digital content coordinator for Temple University Athletics. Previously Stancato was the marketing manager for the Brooklyn Cyclones (New York Mets SS-Affiliate) and a marketing assistant at Marshall University. Olivia Best ’17 is a graduate student in Villanova University’s Master of Science in Experimental Psychology Program. She is research assistant in the Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience of Behavior Laboratory and project director of a personality and eating attitudes study. Best is also a psychiatric technician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Nicholas Wolfgang ’17 is an associate at Valley National Financial Advisors, Bethlehem. Hudock family honored with philanthropy award Barbara Benner Hudock ’75 and the Hudock family of Williamsport received the Philanthropist of the Year award in October from the Central Pennsylvania Chapter of The Association of Fundraising Professionals as part of the group's 2017 National Philanthropy Awards (NPD). National Philanthropy Day recognizes the contributions of volunteers, professionals, community and business leaders, who are active in the philanthropic community. The Philanthropist of the Year award honors an individual or family with a proven record of exceptional generosity who, through direct financial support, demonstrates outstanding civic and charitable responsibility, and whose generosity encourages others to take philanthropic roles in the community. The Hudock Capital Group and the Hudock family have donated more than $3.8 million to their community. Firm owners Barbara Hudock and her son Michael, as well as their spouses, Mike Sr. and Lyneah, have championed the importance of cutting-edge health care and the healing power of the arts. WINTER 2018 27 Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania husky notes the line up Class of ’69 meets up in D.C. Six alumnae from the class of '69 met for a mini reunion in Washington D.C. in October. Shown from left are, back row: Glenanne (Zeigenfuse) Farley, Chris (Gruss) Ketz, Nancy (Strauss) Boos, Boby (Cramer) Huffard. Front row: Cathy (Owen) Raggio, and Nancy (Geiger) Smith. Nursing Legacy Cheri Rinehart ’79 and her daughter Amber Le Cadre ’06 were panelists for the College of Science and Technology Career Day in October. Rinehart is the president and chief executive officer of The Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers. Le Cadre is a registered nurse with UPMC Pinnacle. 28 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA reunions, networking and special events Sixties-era wrestlers hold picnic Shown from left, front row: Mike Smith ’69, Ron Russo ’70, Tom Vargo ’67, Joe Gerst ’68, Steve Peters ’68 (on ground) Keith Taylor ’71 and John Stutzman ’70. Second row: Frank Yartz ’69, Bob Bartoletti ’70, Wayne Heim ’69. Back row: Bill Paule ’65, Jim Rolley ’67, Doug Grady ’72, Wayne Smythe ’71, Mike Cunningham ’69, John Weiss ’71, Ed Ladamus ’66, Rich Lepley ’70, Joe Bordell ’72, Jim Owen ’70, Carl Poff ’79, assistant coach Russ Hughes and head coach Marcus Gordan. Husky Road trip to Vanguard A Husky Career Road Trip visited Vanguard Financial Services in October. Shown are 12 BU students from the accounting, economics and finance departments, with Jonathan Ohn, chair of the finance department and two alumni, Brad Ungard ’13 and Michael Baranowski ’97. Alumni who participated in the visit included: Kimberly Laudenberger ’98, Ian Kennedy ’13, B. Scott Hendershott ’15, James Fazio ’16, Kyle Defelice ’10, Austin Pfeiffer ’15 and Wade Cooper ’17. While at Vanguard the students had an opportunity to meet the founder of Vanguard, John C. Bogle. More than 100 BU alumni are employed by Vanguard today. IN MEMORIAM Trustee Dr. Joseph Mowad COUNCIL OF TRUSTEES MEMBER Dr. Joseph Mowad of Danville passed away Nov. 7, 2017. Dr. Mowad was appointed to the Council of Trustees in November 1994, and served for more than 23 years. He is survived by his wife, Josephine, and daughters, Dr. Christen Mowad and Nicole MowadNasser and their families. In 2008 he was named an Honorary Alumnus of Bloomsburg University by the school’s Alumni Association. Dr. Mowad was senior vice president of Geisinger Health System and director emeritus of the urology department at Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, where he had worked since 1968. l Foundation Board member Victoria Mihalik VICTORIA LOEFFLER MIHALIK, a longtime member of the Bloomsburg University Foundation Board, died Dec. 5, 2017, at the age of 69. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Mihalik attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and lived in the Bloomsburg area since 1972. Mihalik served on the foundation board since 1993, serving as chair for two and a half terms and was instrumental in hiring full-time foundation staff. She was director of the Bloomburg YMCA Preschool, where she taught for more than 40 years. She is survived by her husband John (Jack) Mihalik; son Dennis Mihalik; grandchildren Donovan Mihalik, Deidre Mihalik and Derek Mihalik and three great-grandchildren. She is also survived by sisters Karen Loeffler, Christine Findlan and Laurie Assadi. l Liberal Arts Symposium brings graduates to campus The College of Liberal Arts held a symposium for students featuring alumni speakers in October. Art Department panelists were from left: Brock Dent ’08, Professor Ron Lambert, Erik Pedersen ’13 and Martin Wixted ’79. Theatre Department panelists were from left: Abbi Parker ’10, Titus O’Neil ’17, Phil Czekner ’13, Maggie Korell ’16, Liz Nugent ’12, Zach Knoll ’05, Rebecca Kestle ’14, and professor Karen Anselm. History Department panelists were from left: professors Jeff Long, Jennifer Oast and Jeffrey Davis, Rachel Grim ’05, Andrea O’Neill ’06, Elizabeth Kaminski ’04, Michelle Geczy ’94, Christina Zamon ’99, and professors William Hudon and Lisa Stallbaumer-Beishline. WINTER 2018 29 Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania husky notes the line up Volleyball club alumnae meet up reunions, networking and special events A group of former Club Volleyball players met in May to catch up. Shown left are: Allie (Lucik) Bauer, Meghan (Nairn) Pettine, Ellen Miller, Laura (Shawaryn) Perkins, Susan Kim, Katie (Labenberg) Kluge, Justine (Miller) Biechler, Alana Cassidy, Danielle (Cooper) Rosado, Amy (Wolfgang) Keener and Nicki (Heiland) Miller. Tri Sigma 1980 alumnae gather Tri Sigma sisters and 1980 alumnae gathered in San Antonio, Texas, in May 2017 for their annual reunion. Shown from left are: Terry Mizdol Giordano (S.C.), Marianne Deska Braithwaite (Pa.), Nancy Whitman Peterson (Col.), Mindy McMaster (N.C.), Jill Laylon Confair (Pa.), Annie Silvonek Dempsey (N.Y.) and Sue Kingeter Puderbach (N.J.). Class of ’67 holds reunion The class of 1967 held a reunion at Homecoming in October. Attendees included: Diane (Brzowski) Davis, Marcia (Earnhart) Bryan, Carol (Cox) Chamberlain, Eileen (Albertson) Chapman, Janet (Space) Curcio, Hedy Davis, Laroy (Lee) Davis, Brenda (Harleman) Dorshimer, Kerry Fetter, Alexandra Fitzpatrick, Michael Fitzpatrick, Thomas Fowles, Carole Gerhard-Hostetter, John Hatton, Susan Hicks, Joan (Van Durick) Jordan, Pat (Zelner) Kaczmarek, Phillip Landers, Robert Logue, Ruth (Oberdorf ) Lunger, Gerald McBride, Michael Mehle, Alana (Matter) Remley, Angelica Sacco, Harry Saxton, Joan (Heiser) Shirk, Ray Shirk, Laird Shively, William Jack Shope Linda (Vansaders) Stirling, Regis Stirling, Betty Swartz-Fetter, Pat (Szymanek) Mica, James Walsh, James (Feimster) Walters, John Wise, Frank Gilotti, Kathleen (Shanoski) Mulligan. To learn more about regional alumni networks, visit bloomualumni.com 30 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA VITAL STATISTICS Births Obituaries M. Raphael Vantine ’73 and husband, John ’73, a granddaughter, Makena, April 13, 2016 M. Raphael Vantine ’73 and husband, John ’73, a granddaughter, Camila Inez, April 13, 2016 Melissa Snyder Wolf ’01 and husband, Mark ’06, a son, Maddox James, Aug. 31, 2017 Peter S. Umlauf ’03 and wife, Marie, a daughter, Malia, Sept. 17, 2017 Sheila Zilinski Hughes ’04/’06M and husband, John, a daughter, Reese Emilee, Aug. 2, 2017 Katie Hershour McMahon ’04 and husband, Brian ‘02, a son, Patrick Joseph and daughter, Elizabeth Rose, July 11, 2017 Michael Espinosa ‘06 and wife, Ashleigh, a daughter, Kadence Lynn, Dec. 11, 2016 Karalyn Eifler ’06 and husband, Norman ’06, a son, Ethan Oliver, Nov. 1, 2017 Christopher Shaffer ’06 and wife, Nancy, a daughter, Julianna Reese, Sept. 7, 2016 Christine Whitehead Litsch ’07 and husband, Erik ’04, a son, Henry Robert, March 18, 2017 Heather Krohn ’09, a son, Grayson William, 8-14-17 Emily Kowalski Moffat’10 and husband, Steven ’08, a daughter, Reagan Jann, Sept. 19, 2017 Emily Schwartz ’09 and husband, Harry ’02/’10M, a son, Cooper Joseph, May 4, 2017 Brittany Costa Fritz ’10 and husband, Dereck ’10, a son, Lawson Michael, Jan. 14, 2017 Marion Defrain Danowsky ’33 Edna Zehner Long ’42 Nancy Berlew Lyhne ’45 Grace Funk Crawford ’49 Stanley Semic ’49 Shirley Boughner Treon ’49 John Carl ’50 Alice Smolski Peterson ’50 Ronald Steinbach ’54 Hope Horne Cunfer ’55 George Derk ’55 Mildred Ertel Lay ’56 Donald Hare ’57 Alice Swartz Ludwick ’57 Isaiah McCloskey ’57 William Hand ’58 Marjorie A. Corrao Myers ’58 Joseph Thiroway ’58 Alton Pellman ’59 Joseph Devaney ’60 Albert Francis ’60 Gary Makuch ’61 H. Claude Rhodes ’61 Gail Sorce Timbrell ’62 Robert Hartman ’63 Joan Stackhouse Bankus ’65 Lawrence Splitt ’66 Daniel Wolfe ’66 Carol Campbell Logue ’67 David Keefer ’68 James Carter ’69 Ronald Rupert ’69 Timothy Knecht ’70 Robert Marquette ’70 James Valania ’70 Barbara Hershey Myer ’71 Brenda Stoneback Shoemaker ’71 Rita Strohl ’71 Michael Bickhart ’72 Michael Poremsky ’72 Ronald Woodring ’72 Marcella Fallon ’73 Marriages Carol Vance Wary ’60 and Robert Edwards, Feb. 4, 2014 Ryan Yarmel ’01 and Joell Martinelli, Aug. 6, 2016 Steven Herman ’02 and Elizabeth Reagan, June 11, 2017 SuAnn Ritter ’02 and Michael Hoffman, Nov. 19, 2016 Benjamin Riley ’03 and Lisa Goldman, March 8, 2012 Anthony Tini ’03 and Danielle Kravitz, Oct. 14, 2017 Anysia Ensslen ’05 and Christopher Boggs, May 20, 2017 Jerrod Ferrence ’05 and Ariel Yordy, Sept. 1, 2017 Michael Espinosa ‘06 and Ashleigh Wetzel, June 13, 2015 Kathryn Guenther ’06 and Craig Vagell, Jr., July 27, 2017 Christopher Shaffer ’06 and Nancy Kruger, Nov. 28, 2015 Sandra Dinnella ’07 and Joseph Starkey ’07, Nov. 3, 2017 Christine Whitehead ’07 and Erik Litsch ’04, May 28, 2017 Meghan Nairn ’09 and John Pettine ’12, Sept. 2, 2017 Nathan Glose’09/11 and JadeLee Strella, Nov. 10, 2017 Amanda Lockard ’10 and Kenneth Schetroma, Aug. 12, 2017 Karie Yefko ’11 and Jared Lukowski, June 24, 2017 Caitlin Harrison ’12 and Michael Ossont Erin Johnson ’12 and Stephen Rittle, June 17, 2017 Zachary Edwards ’13 and Lindsey Schadler, Sept. 30, 2017 Jennifer Kurtz ’13 and Patrick Norton, Sept. 17, 2017 Lauren McLain ’13 and Stephen Franchak, June 20, 2017 Klarese Donnelly ’14 and Andrew Rector ’15, Aug. 26, 2017 Danielle Rieland ’15 and Nicholas Constantino, March 18, 2017 Sandra Fuhrman Northrup ’73 Ralph Snyder ’73 Robert McNamara ’74 Milton Morse ’74 Joseph Piccolo ’74 Carl Bilotta ’75 Wayne Brokenshire ’77 Peggy Markey Knaub ’77 Mary Evelyn Clune Kuprevich ’78 Joanne McCurdy ’79 Shirley Ann Newell Smith ’79 Patricia Campbell Emanuel ’80 Audrey Smith Hibbs ’81 Karen Schick Rampulla ’81 Jo Ann Highland Haggerty ’83 Scott Alan Flinchbaugh ’85 Roger Gatti ’85 Bryan Snyder ’85 Scott Wilcox ’86 Kim B. Rook Kuhn ’87 Laurie Powell Skillman ’88 Kristen Turner ’88 Cynthia Donlan ’93 Jeffrey Frey ’93 Christopher Lazur ’93 Lori Mutchler Crowder ’96 Daniel Grim ’96 Kimberlee Kullman Pisarek ’97 Sharon Sylvester ’98 Steven Thompson ’99 Paul Hauspurg ’01 Kristy Ryczak ’01 Clayton William Nungesser ’05 David Nowicki ’07 Joseph Mowad ’08 Michael Phillips ’10 Nikitah Maczuga Farver ’13 Hitoshi Sato (Faculty) Nancy Coulmas (Faculty) Robert “Bob” Reeder (Faculty) Joseph Mowad (Trustee) Victoria Loeffler Mihalik (Foundation) The Alumni Association celebrated Homecoming under tents on the Academic Quad in October. Send information to: magazine@bloomu.edu Bloomsburg: The University Magazine • Waller Administration Building • 400 East Second Street • Bloomsburg, PA 17815-1301 WINTER 2018 31 ON THE HILL sports FOR UP-TO-DATE SCORES AND COVERAGE, GO ONLINE BUHUSKIES.COM Doing more through the Army THERE’S AN OLD Army recruiting slogan — “In the Army, we do more before 9 a.m. than most people do all day.” That’s why Ali McKay, a field hockey player and Army ROTC member, starts her day at 5 a.m. She’s got a lot to do. This past fall, McKay was sworn into the Army. She participates with the Army ROTC at the university and is also a starter at forward. Coming from a military background, McKay always knew that she wanted to serve her country. “My grandfather was in the Army, my brother just switched from the Navy to the Army, and my dad was in the Army. My dad told me about the opportunities for nursing in the Army, so I applied for the scholarship and was accepted,” says McKay. The 5 a.m. alarm allows McKay enough time to be ready for ROTC workouts, also known as PT (physical training) from 6 to 7 a.m. The PT usually consists of push-ups, sit ups and running exercises. Following PT she will get a quick bite to eat and then head to field hockey practice from 9 to 11 a.m. three days a week, with class starting at 11 a.m. “My day starts earlier when we go on rucks ranging from three to 14 miles,” McKay says. “A ruck is when you are carrying a 32 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA 35 pound backpack and jog/walk the required the distance in a certain amount of time.” “I balance my responsibilities by planning my schedule and dividing my time,” says the sophomore from Dover, Del. “Nursing is a difficult major but the topics interest me and my professors are very supportive. I enjoy learning and it makes it easier to find time to study for a subject I like.” For McKay, her time playing for the nationally ranked field hockey team is the relaxing part of her day. “I use field hockey as a stress reliever and I love going to practice, getting a good workout and spending time with my teammates,” says McKay. “ROTC helps me train for a future career in the military and it just really excites me. The timeline of events can sometimes seem overwhelming but I just take each day at a time and do my best and focus on whatever I'm doing at the moment.” “It helps me with time management a lot. I know I can't stay up until 2 a.m. knowing I have to be up at 5 a.m., so it motivates me to get all my work done.” l Soccer coach Payne retires HEAD MEN’S SOCCER COACH Paul Payne announced his retirement following the 2017 season and departed as the all-time winningest coach in school history. In his 19 seasons at the helm of the Huskies’ men’s soccer team, Payne amassed an overall record of 146-174-32. Payne has led the Huskies to seven PSAC playoff berths, PSAC Championship appearances in 2011 and 2014, an NCAA playoff berth in 2014. He coached four Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-Americans in Bryce Shaffer (twice; 2011 and 2012) and Josh Smith (twice; 2015 and 2016) as well as 2014 Daktronics All-American Matt Zima. Overall, Payne coached 34 All-PSAC honorees, 22 All-Region selections, and two PSAC East Freshmen of the Year. He was twice named the PSAC Coach of the Year. In 2009, Payne created the national “Red Card Cancer” program which is designed to raise awareness of and money for cancer research. All gifts to Red Card Cancer benefit research, teaching and patient care at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. l HALL OF FAME THE 36TH ANNUAL Athletic Hall of Fame dinner and induction ceremony was held in October in the Kehr Union Ballroom. The first women’s soccer coach in program history, Chuck Laudermilch, was inducted as part of the Hall of Fame Class of 2017. The other five inductees were former athletes — Michele Baylor Kane ’00 (women’s lacrosse), Kathy Frick ’90 (field hockey/women’s lacrosse), Eric Jonassen ’91 (football), Ralph Moerschbacher ’70 (swimming), and Michelle Wolyniec ’00 (women’s cross country/track and field). Frick also was the head coach of the women’s lacrosse team for six seasons. The induction of six individuals brings the number of members in the Bloomsburg University Athletic Hall of Fame to 175. To make a nomination for the Hall of Fame, visit buhuskies.com and click on the traditions tab at the top of the page. l Foran named head strength and conditioning coach ANDREW FORAN is the Huskies’ new head strength and conditioning coach. Foran joins Bloomsburg after serving as the strength and conditioning coach at Albright College. He is a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and he holds a certification from the national USA Weightlifting (USAW) organization. Foran also owns a certification in Reflexive Performance Reset (RPR). Foran, a native of Warminster, is a 2013 graduate of Shippensburg University and also earned his master’s degree from East Stroudsburg University in 2014. l Bloomsburg awarded NCAA Choices Grant BLOOMSBURG was awarded an NCAA Choices Grant to educate students about the risks of misusing alcohol. Through the support of the NCAA Foundation and Anheuser-Busch Company Inc., Bloomsburg is one of 13 schools nationwide to receive the threeyear, $30,000 grant. The NCAA Choices program provides funding for NCAA member institutions and conferences to integrate athletics departments into campus-wide efforts to reduce alcohol abuse. The focus of the grant will be to reduce the prevalence of underage drinking; reduce the academic consequences of alcohol use; reduce experiences of sexual misconduct, harassment or violence due to alcohol use. l WINTER 2018 33 over THE shoulder The Haas family in 1930. The Haas years: An era of transformation Francis Haas in 1930. by Robert Dunkelberger TWO ANNIVERSARIES IN 2017 commemorated the connection between Bloomsburg University and former president Francis B. Haas. One was 90 years since his hiring as principal of the newly designated Bloomsburg State Teachers College and the other 50 years since the dedication of the building named in his honor. Haas is best remembered for guiding the college through the Great Depression, serving 18 years as state superintendent of public instruction, and devoting his entire life to education. Francis Buchman Haas was born June 6, 1884, in Philadelphia and earned a teaching degree from the Philadelphia School of Pedagogy in 34 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA 1906. He spent the next 14 years in the public schools, receiving a bachelor’s degree from Temple University in 1913. Haas began working in the State Department of Public Instruction in 1920, earned his M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1922 and a Doctor of Pedagogy from Temple in 1925. That year he was appointed state superintendent. Two years later, January of 1927, another superintendent was named, and just three months later, when the Bloomsburg State Normal School was looking for a new principal, Haas was the unanimous choice. He was praised in the Morning Press newspaper as possessing, to a high degree, “the combination of professional, administrative, and executive skill of which great educators are made.” For the next 12 years, Haas broadened and expanded Bloomsburg’s physical campus, academic curriculum, and relationship with the town. The new training school, Ben Franklin Hall, was dedicated in 1930, along with a laundry building (Simon Hall). Later construction came from federal money financed by New Deal programs: a recreation field that opened in 1936, tennis courts, and in 1939 Centennial Gymnasium, Navy Hall, and a shop building. During his tenure, the teachers college started to develop specialties BU president Harvey Andruss speaking at the dedication of Haas Center in 1967. The Haas Center construction site in 1966. in education. The first was a commercial department founded in 1930 under Harvey A. Andruss. It offered a four-year course for training teachers to educate students intent on a career in business and was the forerunner of the College of Business. Five years later, Haas added the second new program, special education, which developed into the current Department of Exceptionality Programs. For community outreach, Haas inaugurated the Rotary-KiwanisCollege night dinners, held yearly to bring community leaders to campus. Alumni became more involved thanks to the annual Homecoming celebrations begun in 1928. The largest single event to bring the college, alumni, and community together was the 1939 Centennial Celebration, commemorating 100 years since the college’s founding. Haas resigned as president in August 1939 when he was reappointed state superintendent. He was missed at Bloomsburg because of the respect he had won and his ability as an organizer and builder. Francis Haas died Feb. 28, 1966, at the age of 81. But the building that would honor his legacy was already under construction. As early as 1930, Haas dreamed of a much larger campus, one that would include a separate auditorium to replace the one in Carver Hall. With state funding approved, construction began in July 1965 and finished in August 1967. The college now had a $1.2 million facility with a seating capacity of nearly 2,000. Haas Auditorium was dedicated Oct. 12, 1967, when Dr. Andruss announced the building would bear the name of the former president. Within four years, it became the Francis B. Haas Center for the Arts, recognizing the center’s role in promoting art, music, and theatre. Since then, several renovations have occurred in Haas. In the mid-1980s, an acoustic shell and a new sound system were placed in the auditorium, paid for with a donation by Marco and Louise Mitrani, for whom the hall was named. The stage and lighting were renovated at that time and the seating replaced in 1996. The latest major work on the Haas Center, completed in 2008, was a $7.9 million project that provided an addition to house the music program and renovations to the interior. For 50 years, the Haas Center for the Arts has acknowledged the place that art and the performing arts have in society, named for an individual who helped to shape Bloomsburg University for the better. l Haas Center construction nearing completion in 1967. WINTER 2018 35 calendar Academic Calendar SPRING 2018 Classes Begin Monday, Jan. 22 Spring Break Begins Monday, March 12 Classes Resume Monday, March 19 Mid-Term Tuesday, March 20 Classes End Friday, May 4 Mary Anne Mitchell Haas Gallery of Art March 22 – May 3 Reception and Gallery Talk: Thursday, March 22, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Spring 2018 Senior Exit Show The Gallery at Greenly Center April 24 – May 11 Reception: Tuesday, April 24, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Celebrity Artist Series Undergraduate Commencement Saturday, May 12 Events in the 2016-2017 Celebrity Artist Series season will be presented in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall, and Carver Hall, Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium. For more information and to order tickets, call the box office at 570-389-4409 or visit cas.buzz. Programs and dates are subject to change. Alumni Events The Berlin Philharmonic Piano Quartet Saturday, Feb. 10, 7:30 p.m. Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall Finals Begin Monday, May 7 Graduate Commencement Friday, May 11 Visit bloomualumni.com for details on these and additional events or to register for Homecoming events. For information, contact Alumni Affairs at 800-526-0254 or alum@bloomu.edu. Dublin Irish Dance Friday, March 2, 7:30 p.m. Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall Philadelphia Area Alumni Social Wednesday, March 7, 6 – 8 p.m. General Warren, Philadelphia Area The Cashore Marionettes Friday, April 6, 7:30 p.m. Carver Hall, Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium Art Exhibitions Mostly Monday Film Series Exhibitions in the Haas Gallery of Art and The Gallery at Greenly Center, 50 E. Main St., Bloomsburg, are open to the public free of charge. For more information, gallery hours and reception times, visit departments. bloomu.edu/art. Lauren Kalman Haas Gallery of Art Feb. 8 – March 9 Reception and Gallery Talk: Thursday, Feb. 8, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Maria Lux and Katrina Majkut The Gallery at Greenly Center March 8 – April 19 Reception: Thursday, March 8, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. 36 Independent film series that brings quality films, directors and cinematographers to Bloomsburg University. Each documentary is screened at 7 p.m. in Carver Hall, Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium. Admission: $3.50 in advance/$4 at the door. For more information and tickets, call the box office at 570-389-4409 or visit cas.buzz. Little Stones Wednesday, Feb. 14 Big Sonia Monday, March 26 Ghost Town to Havana Monday, April 9 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Activities and Events Concerts Listed events are open to the public and free of charge. For information and additional events, see bloomu. edu/music-events or call 570-3894286. All programs, dates, times and locations are subject to change. Jazz Concert Thursday, April 12, 7:30 p.m. Carver Hall, Gross Auditorium University Concert Band Spring Concert Wednesday, April 25, 7:30 p.m. Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall Faculty Recital Thursday, Feb. 1, 7:30 p.m. Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall Percussion Ensemble Thursday, April 26, 7:30 p.m. Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall Student Recital Sunday, Feb. 4, 2:30 p.m. Carver Hall, Gross Auditorium University-Community Orchestra Concert Saturday, April 28, 7:30 p.m Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall Masterclass: Friday, April 27, 7 p.m. Haas 166. Student Honors Recital Thursday, Feb. 8, 7 p.m. Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall Guest Recital Wednesday, Feb. 14, 7:30 p.m. Carver Hall, Gross Auditorium Knoebel’s Grove “Pops” Concert Sunday, April 29 2 p.m. - Concert Band 5 p.m. - Jazz Band Student Recital Thursday, Feb. 15, 7:30 p.m. Carver Hall, Gross Auditorium Guitar Ensemble Tuesday, May 1, 7:30 p.m. Carver Hall, Gross Auditorium Student Recital Friday, Feb. 16, at 7:30 p.m. Carver Hall, Gross Auditorium Piano Studio Recital Wednesday, May 2, 7:30 p.m. Carver Hall, Gross Auditorium University-Community Orchestra Sunday, Feb. 25, 2:30 p.m. Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall Young Artists’ Recital Saturday, May 5, 3 p.m. Carver Hall, Gross Auditorium Faculty Recital Tuesday, March 6, 7:30 p.m. Carver Hall, Gross Auditorium Other Events Voice Studio Recital Wednesday, March 28, 7:30 p.m. Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall Machinal Wednesday, Feb. 21 – Sunday, Feb. 25 Alvina Krause Theatre, 226 Center St. Student Jr. Recital Wednesday, April 4, 7:30 p.m. Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church, Main and Iron St. 8th Annual Dance Minor Concert Sunday, April 22 & Monday, April 23 Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall Women’s Choral Ensemble Thursday, April 5, 7:30 p.m. Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall Special Events Husky Singers Friday, April 6, 7:30 p.m. Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall BU Concert Choir Saturday, April 7, 7:30 p.m. Carver Hall, Gross Auditorium Student Jr. Recital Wednesday, April 11, 7:30 p.m. Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church, Main and Iron Streets. Siblings and Children Weekend Friday to Sunday, April 13 – 15 Renaissance Jamboree Saturday, April 28 For the latest information on upcoming events, check the Bloomsburg University website bloomu.edu. Come Visit Our New Location In Soltz Hall! BU gear for whatever the weather! BLOOMUSTORE.COM THE UNIVERSITY STORE 400 East Second Street Bloomsburg, PA 17815 General Information: 570-389-4175 Customer Service: 570-389-4180 bustore@bloomu.edu OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK. SEE BLOOMUSTORE.COM FOR THIS WEEK’S HOURS AND TO SHOP ONLINE. NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID BURLINGTON, UTICA, NY VT PERMIT NO.19 32 PERMIT NO. 1011050113 Office of Marketing and Communications 400 East Second Street Bloomsburg, PA 17815-1301 MIX Paper from responsible sources fsc.org FSC® C022085 CHOOSE A HIGHER DEGREE Bloomsburg University’s leadership-focused MBA program includes an optional experiential learning component culminating in a climb of the highest peak in the Northeastern U.S., Mount Washington in New Hampshire. In addition to Bloomsburg’s campus, the program is offered in Philadelaphia with a convenient hybrid online and in-person format. Learn about this and BU’s other graduate programs at bloomu.edu/gradschool A NOTE TO PARENTS If this issue of Bloomsburg: The University Magazine is addressed to a daughter or son who has established a separate residence, please notify us of that new address by sending an email to: magazine@bloomu.edu WANT TO UNSUBSCRIBE? If you no longer wish to receive the print edition of the magazine, please notify us by sending an email to: magazine@bloomu.edu RECEIVING DUPLICATE COPIES? If you are receiving more than one copy of Bloomsburg: The University Magazine, please forward the mailing label panel from each issue you receive to: Bloomsburg: The University Magazine Waller Administration Building 400 East Second Street Bloomsburg, PA 17815-1301 Bloomsburg SPRING 2018 T H E U N I V E R S I T Y M A G A Z I N E Bloomsburg Family Values The Inauguration of President Bashar Hanna. Page 10. ALSO INSIDE Commitment to Connect Juli Miller ’92 enjoys giving back and connecting to students. Page 14. A Passion for Mystery Alumna Lisa Regan ’02/M’05 uncovers a career as a mystery writer. Page 18. Bloomsburg: The University Magazine From the President MY BU FAMILY. As I near the end of my first year serving as the 19th president of this wonderful institution, I am reminded daily what makes Bloomsburg University such a special place. It’s the people. Each day I see how the hard work of our faculty and staff helps transform the lives of our students. More than a third of our incoming freshmen are first-generation college students. And we’re honored that such a large percentage of students from families without experience at universities have chosen BU to help them achieve more in their lives through education. Our alumni are active partners in that mission as they engage with the campus and share their time and expertise with current students. Like a pack of Huskies, we’re unified in a common mission and purpose. As a leader, that’s inspiring. In this issue of Bloomsburg: The University Magazine, we share the many accomplishments of the BU family. You’ll read President Bashar Hanna about our student-athletes, working through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, to grant a wish to a little girl who has brain cancer and the inspirational story of how a simple hello from baseball player Austin Edgette to a boy who has autism led to a lasting friendship. You’ll read how Juli Miller credits BU as her pathway to an avenue of opportunity and how she, in turn, gives back to the less fortunate through Operation Smile. This issue also features mystery novelist Lisa Regan, who recently signed a three-book deal for a detective series, and former BU Council of Trustees and Foundation board member John Dorin, former long-time mayor Montoursville, who was honored by the city. Also read about Ronn Cort, the COO of Sekisui SPI. Though not a graduate of BU, Cort is a frequent visitor to campus, where he has shared his business insights with students and has hired many BU graduates. We close the issue with a retrospective about the various homes of BU’s library and how Andruss Library has adapted to new technology to become a place where students learn, collaborate and relax as well as find knowledge. The next year and a half will be a busy time in the life of this university. We will embark on a comprehensive branding campaign that will lead to a new a strategic plan as well as conduct searches for several key leadership positions on campus. Together we will continue to grow this university and impact the world in ways we may not have ever imagined! GO HUSKIES! FEATURES Family Values 10 Bloomsburg The inauguration of President Bashar Hanna 14 Commitment to Connect 18 A Passion for Mystery PHOTO: ERIC FOSTER 22 24 p. 10 BU ROTC students prepare to carry the flags into the inauguration ceremony for Dr. Bashar Hanna. celebrated family, both personal and university, and what can be accomplished by working together. Juli Miller ’92 enjoys giving back and connecting to students. The Johnson & Johnson VP credits her BU experience for developing her skills in leadership and caring. Alumna Lisa Regan ’02/M’05 has turned her love of reading and hobby of writing into a career as an author. Regan takes every advantage of spare minutes in her day to put words on paper. Learning Locally, Working Globally When Sekisui president and COO Ronn Cort connected with BU several years ago, he found graduates who came ready to work at his growing global enterprise. Husky at Heart Husky dad John Dorin found an affinity to the university his three children attended. Seeing what BU could be inspired Dorin to help resurrect the foundation and serve on its board and the Council of Trustees for many years. DEPARTMENTS 02 Unleash Your Inner Husky Spring 2018 04 Around the Quad 08 Focus on Students 20 Focus on Faculty 26 Husky Notes 30 On the Hill 34 Then and Now 36 Calendar of Events Table of Contents BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA IS A MEMBER OF THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Board of Governors Interim Chancellor, State System of Higher Education Karen M. Whitney Cynthia D. Shapira David M. Maser Harold C. Shields Sen. Ryan P. Aument Audrey F. Bronson Sarah Galbally Molly E. Gallagher Rep. Michael K. Hanna Shaina Marie Hilsey Donald E. Houser Jr. Barbara McIlvaine Smith Marian D. Moskowitz Thomas S. Muller Secretary, Pedro A. Rivera Sen. Judith L. Schwank Samuel H. Smith Brian H. Swatt Neil R. Weaver Governor Tom Wolf Bloomsburg University Council of Trustees Patrick Wilson ’91, Chair Judge Mary Jane Bowes, Vice Chair Nancy Vasta ’97/’98M, Secretary Ramona H. Alley Robert Dampman Ph.D. ’65 Edward G. Edwards ’73 Brian D. O’Donnell O.D.’87M Charles E. Schlegel Jr. ’60 John Thomas Secretary John E. Wetzel ’98 President, Bloomsburg University Bashar W. Hanna Executive Editor Jennifer Umberger Co-Editors Eric Foster Tom McGuire Designer Kerry Lord Interim Sports Information Director Dave Leisering Marketing/Communications Coordinator Irene Johnson Communications Assistants Maggie Farrer '18 Megan Hawbecker ’18 Hannah Miller ’18 Bloomsburg: The University Magazine is published three times a year for alumni, students’ families and friends of the university. Bonus content and back issues may be found at bloomu.edu/magazine. Address comments and questions to: Bloomsburg: The University Magazine Waller Administration Building 400 East Second Street Bloomsburg, PA 17815-1301 Email address: magazine@bloomu.edu Visit Bloomsburg University on the Web at bloomu.edu. ON THE WEB www.BLOOMU.EDU COVER PHOTO: Eric Foster HUSKY NOTES SPORTS UPDATES ALUMNI INFO, MORE TM Bloomsburg University is an AA/EEO institution and is accessible to disabled persons. Bloomsburg University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, or veteran status in its programs and activities as required by Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and other applicable statutes and University policies. © Bloomsburg University 2018 unleash your inner husky PHOTOS: JAIME NORTH Six-year old Rose Adams takes a raft ride across the Nelson Field House pool with Shikellamy High School student Rubie Natal, dressed as Ariel, the “Little Mermaid.” Below, Rose’s father Brandon Adams carries her into Nelson Field House, where she was guided by BU student Siena Cerra to the pool for her raft ride. Opposite page, Rose was greeted by a court of Disney princesses and princes, including Shikellamy High School student Destiny Lopez as Moana, who sang the song “How Far Will I Go” from the film. 22 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA A Wish Made True WHAT DO YOU GET when you combine the dreams of a little girl with the determination, hard work and imagination of student-athletes? You get a Make-A-Wish reveal like no other. Life hasn’t been fair to 6-year-old Rose Adams of Bloomsburg. Diagnosed with brain cancer a year ago, Rose survived surgery to remove the tumor as well as chemotherapy. A big fan of the Disney movie Moana, her dream has been to meet the princess. That’s when the Bloomsburg University Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and adviser Courtney Noll got to work to make Rose’s dream come true. BU studentathletes raised more than $5,000 (the amount required to grant a wish) and, working with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, brought Rose’s wish to life. In one of the most elaborate reveals Make-A-Wish has ever seen, one that took months of planning, the Huskies took Rose on a guided tour of the upper campus athletic facilities meeting various Disney princesses along the way. A stop at the Nelson Pool included a boat ride, followed by a walk through the field house decorated in a Hawaiian theme. When Rose reached the field house gym floor, she was met by members of SAAC, hundreds of BU student-athletes and her classmates from school and learned she and her family would be going to Hawaii to meet her favorite princess in person. The wish reveal was extra special for the Huskies student-athletes since Make-A-Wish president and CEO David Williams ’81 is a BU graduate and former member of the men’s tennis team. Williams was impressed by the video he saw of the event. “This is an awesome story,” Williams wrote in an email. “It makes me proud to be a Husky.” SPRING 2018 3 around THE quad STUDENTS came together to raise nearly $25,000 for this year’s Wish Upon a Cure Relay for Life event. Students from fraternities, sororities, clubs and organizations raised money by charging fees to participate in activities or buy food. The walk also featured the Survivors Lap with members of the community participating. State System Unveils New Suite at Center City Site BU HAS A NEW PRESENCE in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education academic and classroom suite at 701 Market Street. Philadelphia Mayor James F. Kenney was among several key officials and special invited guests who spoke at the April public debut of the newly expanded and renovated University Center. The new suite features additional high-tech classrooms, videoconference capabilities, collaboration rooms, faculty offices, 44 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA a computer lab, a student lounge and a student success center. State System universities at the center have been serving adult learners since 2012. BU president Bashar Hanna spoke at the event along with BU student Alena Mialanich, majoring in the BASTL (Bachelor of Applied Science in Technical Leadership) program. Mialanich, a native of Belarus, shared how she had started her college education at age 30 at Community College of Philadelphia, where she graduated with highest honors in architecture and construction management. Mialanich expects to complete her degree this year. Employed by Albert Taus and Associates, Architects, of Philadelphia, she plans to continue her career in architecture and construction, focusing on green building design. “I believe that BASTL program equipped me with all the necessary skills for a leadership role in the field of sustainable building.” PHOTOS: JAIME NORTH Walking For A Cure Second Chance Program Featured in CHRONICLE of HIGHER EDUCATION BU’S PARTICIPATION in the U.S. Department of Education pilot program offering a chance for education through Pell grants to incarcerated students was recently featured in The Chronicle of Higher Education. Writer Kelly Field looked at the program that aims to reduce the rate of recidivism. Second Chance Pell enrolls about 7,000 prisoners across the country. BU enrolls 25 Pell-eligible students in the program, now in its third semester focusing on the State Correctional Institution-Muncy and State Correctional Institution-Mahanoy. Most participating prisoners are scheduled for release within the next five years. “This initiative has the potential to change the trajectory for the life of numerous inmates and their families and communities,” said Pennsylvania Secretary of Corrections John Wetzel when the program was announced in June 2016. Wetzel graduated from BU in 1998 and serves on its Council of Trustees. Umberger Named Associate VP for Marketing and Communications JENNIFER UMBERGER comes to BU after serving as the director of university marketing at Kutztown University since 2012. She created a comprehensive marketing and advertising program and led the institutional market research and brand development projects. She has received numerous higher education marketing advertising awards for her work as well as CUPRAP, ADDY and People’s Choice awards. Before AMELIA GARBISCH, assistant professor of music (shown in center), Kutztown, she worked in undergraduate spent five days in April teaching elementary music education pedagogy in recruitment at Albion (Mich.) College Shanghai and Hangzhou, China. While there, the Chinese equivalent of and Franklin (Ind.) College solutionClassical Billboard magazine covered her visit for both print and television based sales in the furniture industry, stories. Garbisch’s student-centered methodology is in contrast to traditional and commercial real estate marketing, Chinese teacher-centered classrooms. China is one of the world's largest public relations and branding. markets for classical music, instruments and instruction, and she has been invited to return to teach there next year. BU Music Professor Gets Media Attention in China SPRING 2018 5 One of the BIGGEST Big Events PHOTOS: JAIME NORTH WITH ROUGHLY 2,000 student volunteers tackling more than 225 job sites in Bloomsburg, the ninth annual CGA Big Event became one of the largest yet. Sponsored by the CGA, the single-day community service event gives students the opportunity to say “thank you” to local residents by putting words into action. BU Nursing Program Links With LCCC Borland Appointed BU AND LUZERNE COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE signed an agreement that will help LCCC nursing graduates transfer to Bloomsburg University to complete their bachelor’s degree. LCCC graduates will be guaranteed admission into BU’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.) online degree program with third year ( junior) status. BU has similar agreements for nursing with Reading Area Community College and Westmoreland County Community College. Byrum Named to Public Relations Accreditation Board KRISTIE BYRUM, assistant professor of mass communications, has been appointed to serve a two-year term on the University Accreditation Board (UAB), representing the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). Byrum is a PSRA Fellow and accredited public relations (APR) professional. The UAB oversees the accredi- 6 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA tation programs and its direction within the PSRA and other participating organizations. The group sets policies, evaluates examination content, conceptualizes new accreditations products and develops marketing strategies and materials. Since the program began in 1964, more than 6,000 members have earned the APR distinction. to Toxicology Board MICHAEL BORLAND, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry and Education Fellow of the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, was recently appointed to a three-year term on the Society of Toxicology Undergraduate Education Subcommittee. The subcommittee works to increase awareness of the toxicology field to undergraduates and educators, to promote the integration of toxicology principles into undergraduate science curriculums, and to inspire and recruit undergraduate students to join the field of toxicology. Care Totes for Children in Foster Care and Children Who are Seriously Ill PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR Mary Katherine Duncan, the students in her Positive Psychology course, and members of the Psychology Association supervised by psychology professor Jennifer Johnson, assembled 150 tote bags for children in foster care and children who are seriously ill. Each tote contained a collection of children’s picture books, a blanket, a plush stuffed Husky, colored pencils, and a Life Book assembled by her students. Based on a model of human virtues and character strengths, the Life Books contain affirmation quotes and spaces for children to tell their own stories. Last year, her Developmental Psychopathology class assembled 100 tote bags for children in Columbia County’s foster care program. BU’s Good Work initiative is designed to encourage students to reflect upon what it means to do good work in academia and in their prospective professions. Duncan used funds awarded to her as Fred and Joan Miller Distinguished Professor of Good Work to purchase items for the totes. Above: Students assemble Life Books to be included in tote bags for children taken into foster care. Right: Paul Price ’11 (special education), a family resource specialist for Kids Peace foster care program, accepts several sample totes from psychology professor Mary Katherine Waibel-Duncan in her Positive Psychology course. EGGS Faculty Member Co-Coordinator of State Geography Bee DARYL WENNER, instructor of environmental, geographical and geological sciences, was a co-coordinator for the Pennsylvania State Geography Bee through the National Geographic Society. In April, more than 100 students tested their geographic knowledge at the Pennsylvania State Geography Bee championship held in the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg. Wenner’s involvement in geography bees spans nearly 20 years, including eight years at the Tennessee event before coming to Pennsylvania. SPRING 2018 7 Focus ON Students CATCHING BUSINESS Success By Eric Foster A YEAR AFTER WINNING two business competitions, Nathaniel Treichler’s The Fly Crate, a subscription service for fly fisherman to purchase flies, is going strong, with more than 3,000 customers and is on track for more than $100,000 in sales this year. Artist Tyra Berta ’18 and business In 2017 Treichler, a founder Nathaniel Treichler. Berta has hand lettered the senior management major Sleazygreetings logo on her IPad. from Northampton, won both the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education’s Student Business Plan Competition and BU’s inaugural Husky Dog Pound entrepreneurship competition. This year, Treichler again won first place and the $5,000 prize in BU’s Husky Dog Pound competition, sponsored by the Zeigler College of Business. “Some people play video games,” says Treichler. “I play business — it’s my hobby.” His new business venture — an edgy and irreverent online greeting card company Sleazy Greetings — 8 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA launches its website (sleazygreetings.com) in June. For the new venture, Treichler has partnered with Tyra Berta, a senior BU art studio major from Jessup, who specializes in whimsical lettering and illustration. While a love for the outdoors and fishing spawned his first business, the origins of Treichler’s new venture are similarly personal. “For my family’s birthdays I make cards that tease them and they love the cards,” he says. Berta brings a passion for traditional calligraphy. “I’ve always been a traditional artist and I grew up with calligraphy kits,” she says. “I still take all my class notes in cursive.” His experience at BU and in the Husky Dog Pound helped Treichler unleash his inner entrepreneur. “Standing up in front of all the judges and presenting an idea you’ve worked so hard on is, honestly, nervewracking, but oddly thrilling,” he says. “Once you put your all into something and a successful entrepreneur tells you it’s a great idea, you feel like you hit it big.” Foster Care Mentor By Hannah Miller ’18 Wanda Tarvin has a passion for helping children in foster care because she knows what they are going through. “These are the things I went through and as a foster alumna, and I want to help them,” Tarvin says. “Sometimes you need someone who has been there, done that, rather than hearing someone tell you what you need without them ever being in your shoes.” Tarvin ’18, a senior social work major pursuing minors in psychology and aging studies and gerontology, has been researching foster youth since her sophomore year. She presented her research at the Eastern Sociological Society Annual Meeting and the Pennsylvania Sociological Society Annual Meeting. Tarvin’s interest in foster youth led led her to be a crew leader this summer in the Anchor Program, a oneweek opportunity for foster youth ages 15-18 to live on campus and see what attending college is like. Participants stay in the residence halls, eat on campus and attend workshops on subjects ranging from art to digital forensics. “We want them to see college as a realistic goal,” Tarvin says. “We want them to think about what they want to do for the rest of their lives, not think they can only get a job at a fast-food restaurant. The purpose of the Anchor Program is to feel at home at BU. They will know someone when they get here.” Tarvin is continuing her work with foster youth after graduation as a teacher’s aid for an afterschool program in Philadelphia. Wanda Tarvin, front, far right, with other student mentors for BU’s summer 2017 Anchor Program. “When I came here, I didn’t know anyone, but there are people who care. You can create another family here.” PHOTO: ERIC FOSTER – WANDA TARVIN ’18 SPRING 2018 9 PHOTOS: JUNG WI Bloomsburg Family Values The INAUGURATION of BASHAR W. HANNA By Tom McGuire ashar W. Hanna knows firsthand that a strong family can accomplish great things working together. That came through loud and clear at his inauguration as the 19th president of Bloomsburg University in April. Since first visiting campus in April 2017, Hanna has spoken often of family — both the university family and his personal family. And family was a tangible reality at the inauguration, held Friday, April 27, in Haas Center for the Arts’ Mitrani Hall. With Hanna’s 84-year old mother, wife and two children, six sisters, numerous cousins, nieces and nephews in attendance, the strong bond of this family filled nearly three rows of seats at Mitrani Hall. 10 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Representatives from the Board of Governors, BU Council of Trustees, Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and Bloomsburg University Foundation brought greetings centered on working with the new president to advance the mission of the university. From the podium, Hanna noted he did not feel qualified to walk in the footsteps of the giants who have guided this institution from its humble beginnings in 1839. Many things have changed. What began as an academy serving the residents of the town and county now educates students from 27 states and 33 countries. And some things have not changed, such as Bloomsburg’s mission. Hanna pointed out how BU Left: President Hanna with his wife Deanna and children Christian and Lauren. Right: Hanna with his sisters and mother Rahmeh. continues to serve the first-generation college student back with some predicting our extinction. Maybe we need to look no further than the mascot of this with more than 35 percent of our incoming freshmen fine institution, the Husky. Why the Husky? It was each year being the first in their families to attend selected by the student body of Bloomsburg in 1933 college. Hanna also touched on the challenges higher education to be the mascot because of its fine, noble qualities of being a hard worker, graceful under pressure and is facing today: public perceptions, state funding, having the ability to work well in a team.” accountability and affordability. “But with the noble Husky that excels at working in a team — the symbol MR. JOAR DAHN, CGA President, Student Greetings of the institution — leading the way, good things will “One thing that Dr. Hanna and I have in common is that happen,” he said. “We need to come together as a pack we are both immigrants. I remember sharing my story of Huskies, unified in the common mission of serving about how I had a hard time in elementary school because our commonwealth and beyond I could not speak English. I was that to the next generation of citizens foreign kid who did not know how to who will go out and impact the Bashar never settles for average— order his lunch or answer whatever world in ways we may never have he pushes himself and others to grow question was being asked. He shared imagined.” a story very similar and that became and change, and he understands Anne Zayaitz, provost of Kutztown motivation for me. If an immigrant and values detail and heritage.” University who worked with Hanna who could not speak English at one for several years, talked about — Anne Zayaitz, Kutztown University provost point in his life, like myself, could how family helped shape the new become the president of this wonderful president’s character. institution, that reassured me that I can indeed be “With strong family support and the opportunities anything I wanted to be in America.” of education, Bashar’s personality and leadership DR. ERIC HAWRELAK, Faculty Greetings developed into an individual who is authentic, “The most important principle on this campus is shared who will listen, who will give praise, who inspires, governance. We all have a common direction and sense and who sometimes won’t take no for an answer and of community, and we can reach a goal more quickly will move forward when others might hesitate, with and easily if we utilize our collective energy, enthusiasm, deliberate action. Bashar never settles for average — he and initiative. Please, keep the faculty enfranchised, pushes himself and others to grow and change, and he part of the decision process, as we face every challenge. understands and values detail and heritage.” We believe your leadership will be based on inspiration “So how do we face, deal with and overcome the and collaboration. We also believe your legacy will be fact that higher education today has a target on its SPRING 2018 11 determined by your ability to connect your vision with the purpose of others, to lead by reason and the gift of cooperation. The faculty believe we are all in this academic journey together.” MRS. DIANN SHAMBURG, Staff Greetings “As our university community continues to grow larger and stronger, our shared priorities should focus on supporting our students at multiple levels (morally, emotionally and spiritually) as they move forward to becoming a productive and contributing citizens in an increasingly complex global environment. This solid partnership provides the varied services that our employees effectively deliver on a daily basis to ensure our university achieves a high level of excellence.” MRS. BARBARA ROMANO on behalf of the alumni “Today, on behalf of all BU alumni, and with their full support, I officially welcome you to our alma mater. The vitality of Bloomsburg University is our shared responsibility and, as such, we stand committed to growing it together. Best wishes to you, President Hanna, as you officially begin your tenure as the 19th president of Bloomsburg University. Welcome to the BU family and this ‘friendly college on the hill’.” MR. DUANE GREENLY, Bloomsburg University Foundation “I would like to join in congratulating Dr. Hanna on his appointment as president of Bloomsburg University — we are so glad to have both Bashar and his wife, Deanna, join our community. I would also like to welcome all our distinguished guests and visitors today. As Chairman of the Bloomsburg University Foundation, it is a pleasure for me to officially welcome Dr. Hanna as our new partner at the university.” JUDGE MARY JANE BOWES, Council of Trustees “There is a strong commitment and dedication at this campus to teaching, learning, leading, cooperation, collaboration and serving others. We know your vision and goals for the university embrace those ideals. You have the full support of the Council of Trustees as you take the helm of this wonderful university.” MS. CYNTHIA SHAPIRA, chairperson of the Board of Governors “With President Hanna at the helm, we are confident Bloomsburg University will thrive and will build upon its strong foundation with new, innovative programs that meet the evolving needs of students and employers across the commonwealth.” PHOTOS: JUNG WI The inauguration platform party. 12 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA President Hanna with Anne Zayaitz, provost at Kutztown University and a former colleague. President Hanna with James H. McCormick, who served as Bloomsburg’s 13th president and as the first chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education DR. ANNE ZAYAITZ, provost, Kutztown University “With strong family support and the opportunities of education, Bashar’s personality and leadership developed into an individual who is authentic, who will listen, who will give praise, who inspires, and who sometimes won’t take no for an answer and will move forward when others might hesitate. Bashar never settles for average — he pushes himself and others to grow and change, and he understands and values detail and heritage. I have had the privilege of getting to know his family. I met Deanna, Christian, and Lauren. As you may know, he has six sisters. It took me a long time to keep this information straight. But eventually, as I learned everyone’s name I learned that his six sisters—Nadia, Nina, Ida, Nahla, Nayla, and Bushra — all had a favorite brother: Bashar. I had the honor of meeting his parents — his father Wajih, whom the grandchildren called Jido, and his beautiful mother, Rahmeh, who is known to her grandchildren as Tayta. PRESIDENT'S REMARKS “For an immigrant who spoke no English at the age of 10 to have been selected as the 19th president of this wonderful institution is both a tremendous honor and a formidable responsibility, a responsibility that I do not take lightly and something that I strive to get better at every day. And with “Our previous presidents have included both local individuals as well as natives of England and Germany. And today, we can add a native of Syria to that list. Our past presidents have served for as little as three months (so I’m already not last in length of service) to as long as 30 years (I promise you that I will not be here in 2047).” “We have seen the first and only woman president in Jessica Kozloff, as well as the first chancellor of the Pennsylvania System of Higher Education come from Bloomsburg. (Dr. James McCormick, who served as BU's 13th president from 1973 to 1983.) And I am now the second Temple University graduate to serve as president — joining Francis Haas (honored with the naming of this building). And much like Temple, which was founded as a night school to serve first-generation students, BU is still a place that takes pride in this noble mission where over 35 percent of our freshmen each year are the first in their families to attend college.” Editor’s note: On May 6, 2018, Dr. Hanna’s mother, Rahmeh Khouly Hanna, passed away surrounded by her seven children and their families. BU faculty and administrators prepare for the ceremony. PHOTOS: ERIC FOSTER The Leading Tones, BU’s a cappella ensemble, performs at the inauguration ceremony. the steadfast support of my BU family, we will face every challenge head-on as, we together, propel this wonderful institution to greater heights.” SPRING 2018 13 PHOTOS: GORDON WENZEL/IMPRESSIONS Ctoommitment Connect 14 14 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Juli Miller ’92 helps new generations of Huskies make the transition to life after Bloomsburg By Willie Colón A ctions speak volumes about a person’s true nature. A story about Juli Miller ’92 reveals much about this successful business executive. “When we were at Bloomsburg, a sorority sister was diagnosed with cancer, and Juli took charge of the whole thing,” recalls Kirsten Singley ’92, one of Miller’s Alpha Sigma Tau sisters. “She led the effort to raise money for her treatment. Juli is very kind and puts others before her. Even when she’s had tough times, it’s always, ‘What can I do for someone else.’” Juli Miller talks with a student at a luncheon sponsored by the Alumni Association. This is just one example among many that displays Miller’s generosity and caring instincts. Lucky for Bloomsburg, some of the newest examples include the ways that she’s making time to share her hard-earned insights with new generations of Huskies, despite a full schedule. “I want to provide opportunities for today’s students that I got from Bloomsburg,” says Miller, a vice president at Johnson & Johnson and member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors. “And I get a lot of fulfillment by helping others.” One thing becomes very clear in conversation with Miller and those who know her well: she likes people, and people like her back. “Everybody knows Juli,” Singley says. “She’s like the mayor.” Another of Miller’s sorority sisters, Kerri Donald Sears ’92, adds: “I don’t think she’ll like this word, but I’ve always thought of her as a dynamo. She has a great interest and involvement in so many things.” That’s no exaggeration. In addition to her family — husband Christian, and their two children, Natalie and Brandon — and demanding career, Miller volunteers for an array of groups and causes. “She’s always Even when she’s had tough involved in something,” Singley times, it’s always, ‘What can agrees. “I feel like she should have a cape. She’s like Wonder I do for someone else.’ Woman.” — Kirsten Singley ’92 Her employer, Johnson & Johnson, offers many service opportunities, which Miller takes advantage of as often as she can. She’s active with the company’s women’s leadership group and the Open and Out LGBTQA Ally group. She’s also the executive sponsor of a resource group for employees of Middle Eastern descent, and has volunteered with Operation Smile, which provides free medical procedures for children with cleft palates and ties to Johnson & Johnson. SPRING 2018 15 “Johnson & Johnson lives its community service, which has been important to me from the time I was in the Girl Scouts through what I do today,” Miller says. For the past five years, her volunteer activities have included work with the Alumni Association. Miller says she had drifted away from Bloomsburg until an alumni event reconnected her with the university. That connection only grew stronger thanks to Sears, a past president of the Alumni Association Board of Directors. “Kerri is a huge Bloomsburg philanthropist and so excited about it,” Miller says. That excitement was infectious. When Sears encouraged her to apply for the board, and after giving it consideration, Miller went for it. “It wasn’t a hard sell, but Juli is always very thoughtful about making a commitment,” Sears says. “She doesn’t want to let anyone down, and anything she does, she does 100 percent.” For Miller, the clincher came when she learned about newer university initiatives that resonated with her. “I was inspired by how far Bloomsburg had come, especially in developing young professionals,” she says. That inspiration has led to participation in activities organized by the Alumni Association as well as the Zeigler Institute for Professional Development and Professional U — activities that connect students with alumni. “One thing I’ve learned about the Bloomsburg of today is that Professional U provides opportunities for people like me to help students get ahead,” Miller says. “I encourage other alumni to get involved — get involved with Professional U, supporting with your time, talent or treasure.” Miller also enjoys mentoring students, especially those she feels have the spark and talent to reach for and achieve their goals. They give me as much as But Miller I give them — probably more. doesn’t see herself as an Their stories are inspiring, all-knowing and they’ve touched me. guru. “I — Juli Miller ’92 approach every conversation as a two-way street,” she says. “Yes, I can impart some wisdom, but it’s a conversation. I like to know where people come from and find points of relatability.” That approach sounds familiar to Sears. “She’s a very caring person, a strong listener — she gets to know people for who they are, not just on a superficial level,” 16 16 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Juli Miller and Angela Montano Sears says. “I like to watch the expression on Juli’s face when she’s listening. She’s always so attentive and so in the moment.” Miller is currently walking her talk as a mentor for several young women from Philadelphia — a world removed from Miller’s rural upbringing in Bangor. Yet she says that, like her, these young women were not born into privilege. “While there are things I can offer, I admire learning about their resilience, spirit and tenacity,” Miller says. “They give me as much as I give them — probably more. Their stories are inspiring, and they’ve touched me.” Angela Montano ’19 is one of those young women. She remembers meeting Miller at the Alumni Association’s networking and mentoring event, Day of Dialogue, when she was a sophomore. “Juli and I sat at the same table and we just hit it off. She was so cool, so down-to-earth,” Montano says. “She wanted to know my story instead of just talking about herself.” Montano is a secondary education major who dreams of one day opening a charter school that provides young students of color with the educational role models she didn’t have in high school. “When I told Juli my dream, her eyes opened wide. She said, ‘You have to do this!’” Montano remembers. “To get that from someone who doesn’t know you is really beautiful.” The key to understanding Miller boils down to one word: acceptance. “I have an Afro, wear big hoop earrings — I just am who I am,” Montano says. “And when Juli sees me, it’s with arms wide open.” To be sure, “accepting” is one word that describes freshman shell. “They taught me a lot about relating to Miller. Caring and thoughtful are two more. Then people, service, and fundraising,” Miller says. there’s determined — because there’s no doubt that Those sisterly bonds remain strong today, and periodic Miller is determined. “girls’ weekends” with a group of her AST sisters have Miller describes her hometown of Bangor as a tight-knit, become a fixture in Miller’s life. “She just puts up with all blue-collar community. And when she was growing up, of us,” Singley says. “She’s sort of the den mother. We ask, going to college was by no means a given. However, ‘Are you JV or varsity?’ And she says, ‘I’m JV, strictly JV.’” Miller says she never doubted what would come after It’s a comment that points to another aspect of Miller’s high school. “I always knew I’d go to college, but I grew personality. “You’d never know that she’s a vice president up in a less-than-rich family,” she says. at Johnson & Johnson,” Singley says. Bloomsburg offered an attractive “She’s very humble about what she I have an Afro, wear big hoop does.” combination of affordability plus academic rigor, but the gregarious Add another word to the list you earrings — I just am who I am. and popular teen had to cope with can use to describe Juli Miller. And when Juli sees me, it’s the growing pains familiar to many Miller recently gave a ZED talk — college freshmen. “In high school, a Bloomsburg riff on the popular with arms wide open. I’d been a big fish in a small pond,” TED talks — about the need to — Angela Montano ’19 she says. “Now I became a small adapt to and understand change. fish in a big pond. It was a tough The audience included Miller’s adjustment.” daughter Natalie, a freshman at Bloomsburg. Miller Over the course of her four years at Bloomsburg, says that while her daughter had more options than Miller says she benefited from internship opportunities, she did, Natalie still chose Bloomsburg. “She said, ‘You as well as the encouragement and mentorship of her had such a great experience. I want that’,” Miller says. work-study bosses and professors. “My professors gave “She’s in a totally different field, but she already has a me the professional acumen which is foundational to commitment to service and to Bloomsburg.” who I am today,” Miller notes. Miller’s own commitment to Bloomsburg shows no One fond memory in particular left an enduring sign of waning. But how does she fit so much into her impression. Miller says that her work-study boss at the schedule? Refreshingly, Miller isn’t afraid to admit that College of Business was a tactful administrative assistant it’s not easy. “You can’t have it all. You do have to make who had a deft touch with people. “She handled people trade-offs,” she says. “The giving back piece can be a lot with grace, dignity and wit. And she was very direct, at times, and I always prioritize my family.” which I loved,” Miller says. “She also showed me how to But she insists that giving back to Bloomsburg will be a working mom in a professional setting.” continue even after her tenure on the Alumni Association Miller also credits Alpha Sigma Tau with providing board ends in another year. “It’s not a one-time event,” leadership opportunities that helped pull her out of her Miller says. “It’s a journey and a passion of mine.” Willie Colón is freelance writer based in Philadelphia. Juli Miller with children helped by Operation Smile, an organization she volunteers with that provides free medical procedures for children with cleft palates. SPRING 2018 17 Alumna Lisa Regan ’02/M’05 has turned her love of reading and hobby of writing into a career as an author. Regan takes every advantage of spare minutes in her day to put words on paper. A Passion for Mystery By Kelley Freund A t an age when many other girls would ask for dolls, makeup or video games, 11-year-old Lisa Regan’s parents bought her a typewriter. A passionate reader and writer, Regan already had binders of stories and poems. Inspired by the mysteries she had seen on “Scooby-Doo” and the Nancy Drew books she devoured, the pre-teen sat down to write a full-length mystery novel. Today, Regan ’02/M’05 is an award-winning novelist with her eighth book due out this summer. Bloomsburg played a key role in both nurturing her love for writing and laying the foundation for her success. Regan chose Bloomsburg because of its proximity to friends in the area. She attended for a semester before withdrawing due to health issues, but came back several years later. When she returned, Regan wanted to take as many courses as possible with Danny Robinson, an influential English professor from her first semester, but it turns out he wasn’t the only professor who would have an impact on her writing career. 18 18 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA “I didn’t have a course that I didn’t like. All the a rural Pennsylvania town. The town is fictional, but Regan incorporated aspects of the small communities professors were so passionate,” she says. “Bloomsburg is a hidden gem. You’re challenged, and you’re exposed she lived in (including Bloomsburg) and traveled to when she was a nursing assistant. to all the enthusiasm and knowledge in people who In the series’ first book, Vanishing Girls, Quinn is on really want to launch you into the next stratosphere.” suspension from the police department when a teenage Regan considered being a teacher and even went on girl goes missing. Quinn starts her own investigation to earn her master’s in curriculum and instruction and uncovers the town’s dark secrets. at BU. But while she loved the The book was released in January, education program, the passion of her with the next two in the series undergraduate literature professors You can’t wait for the time coming out in April and August. inspired an excitement for reading to write. I write in every nook Regan finds she creates better and writing, and it was in these classes and cranny during my day with a little bit of chaos, writing that she felt most in her element. Her from a love seat in her living room heart was with writing, so Regan set that I can find. while her dog sits on the other out to work on her novel. — Lisa Regan ’02/M’05 side, her 10-year-old daughter She wrote Finding Claire Fletcher is doing art projects, and her while working as a nursing assistant. husband is watching the Military Channel. She keeps a Regan would work a double shift, get home at 8 a.m., notebook in her purse so she can jot down ideas while write furiously until noon, sleep a few hours and then waiting at the doctor’s office or standing in line at the go back to work and do it all over again. During the post office. “When you have a busy life, you can’t wait overnight shift, she kept little scraps of paper in her for the time to write,” says Regan, who also works as a scrubs pocket, and if she had any down time, she could be found scribbling the book’s next scene. On her days off, paralegal. “You have to adapt. I write in every nook and cranny during my day that I can find.” Regan wrote for 16 hours at a time. Writing a manuscript can be easier than getting it Being an author is not always glamorous, says Regan. published, however. Although Finding Claire Fletcher And of course there are the rejections and bad reviews received positive feedback from agents and publishers, that every writer deals with, and sometimes, as Regan it took Regan four years to find an agent and she was puts it, it seems like madness to continue. then turned down by two dozen publishers before a But she wouldn’t trade the opportunity to create for small press gave her a shot. anything. “For me, the creative outlet is the best part,” In 2013, the eFestival of Words Best of the Independent Regan says. “You sit down at the page and the sky is the eBook Awards named Finding Claire Fletcher the runnerlimit. You get to go wherever your mind wants to take you.” up in Best Novel and reached number one on Amazon’s Kelley Freund is a freelance writer based in Virginia “kidnapping crime fiction list.” Her second novel, Kill for You, was the 2014 winner for Best Twist. For Regan, putting together these mysteries in a way that doesn’t reveal things too quickly for readers is so challenging that it’s stimulating — especially in a way that other genres aren’t for her. Early on, Regan took a stab at literary fiction and romance. “What I found was that no matter what I was trying to write, I was always injecting more suspenseful elements into it,” she says. “I couldn’t write a story unless there was a crime taking place.” In May of last year, Regan was offered a three-book contract for her Josie Quinn series, which revolves around a female detective in SPRING 2018 19 Focus ON Faculty BUILDING a Better Soybean By Eric Foster Professor George Davis, center, with student Jerome Betz, left, and alumnus Brendon Juengst, check on the health of Arabidopsis plants, which they are using to develop ways to make plants able to thrive in poor soil. 20 20 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA PHOTOS: ERIC FOSTER WHEN MOST PEOPLE THINK of genetically modified plants, they think of plants modified to thrive when used with pesticides, or tomatoes designed to last longer on supermarket shelves. George Davis, BU professor of biological and allied health sciences, is working to modify plants so they are more nutritious and able to grow in poor alkaline soil. Aware of the controversy around genetically modified plants, Davis points to two numbers. The first, “815 million, the number of hungry people in the world,” says Davis. “And 2 billion, the number of people in the world suffering from iron deficiency, anemia.” The soil in sub-Saharan Africa, in particular, is very alkaline, which makes it difficult to grow crops rich in iron, explains Davis. The alkalinity of the soils binds iron so most plants can’t absorb it. Grasses, however, are an exception, as they secrete molecules that are strong enough to break the iron’s bond with the alkaline soil. Davis, assisted by graduate student Jerome Betz ’17/’19M and former student Brendon Juengst ’15, now a doctoral student in plant molecular biology at Penn State, is developing a way to insert specific proteins from grasses into other types of plants. “Few students have completed the trajectory from student to colleague as quickly as Betz and Jeungst have,” says Davis. “The goal of the research is to help feed people without enough iron in their diet,” says Betz. “If we can engineer soybeans so they grow in alkaline soil, that will have a big impact.” The impact will also be felt in the U.S. For example, in North Dakota, soybean yields are reduced by 30 percent due to alkaline soils. In addition to being important to human nutrition, iron is an important element for plant health. Betz, who transferred to BU from Luzerne County Community College as a junior, was attracted to research opportunities in molecular biology. “At BU, it’s great that students can request to work with faculty on research,” says Betz. Davis has obtained a patent for his method of inserting the beneficial proteins into plants and has already worked on several kinds of plants, including tomatoes. A Legacy of Commitment Dr. Brian Johnson’s commitment to Bloomsburg University began in 1967 when he joined the Department of Geography and Earth Science as a professor of geography and planning. That is where he would stay for the remainder of his career as an educator until he retired in 1999. A lot has changed since then, including the name of the department, which is now the environmental, geographical and geological sciences or EGGS department. However, one thing that remains constant is Johnson’s dedication to his department and its students. “This is where I spent most of my career, and I have very strong positive feelings about BU,” Johnson says. “I’ve built so many great relationships with students and colleagues that I am still in touch with today. That’s why I wanted to give back.” In 2011, Johnson and his wife established the Professor Brian and Marty Johnson Geography and Planning Scholarship. “During my time at BU I encountered several students who struggled financially,” Johnson says. “I had been thinking about establishing a scholarship, and after discussing it with my wife, we felt it was the right time to go ahead with it. When we found we could establish a scholarship and also increase our giving through contributions from my IRA, it really seemed like a great way to show our support to the university.” In addition to his continued involvement on campus as a donor and active member of the BU community, Johnson also kept in touch with a group of retired faculty members who would meet each Tuesday morning. It was through those meetings that Johnson learned of the then deteriorating health of one of his good friends and mentors, the late Dr. John Enman, a fellow retired BU geography professor. Johnson, along with several other members of the EGGS department - past and present - came together to help Dr. Enman, which inspired Enman to include his Bloomsburg University department in his estate plans. To learn more about how you can create your own legacy at BU, visit giving.bloomu.edu/plannedgiving SPRING 2018 21 LEARNING LOCALLY, Working Globally By Tom Schaeffer I don’t have to train them. They come ready to work,” says Ronn Cort, describing the Bloomsburg University students his company has hired since he first visited campus in 2013. Cort, president and COO of Sekisui Polymer Innovations (SPI), LLC, needed employees who understood supply chain management, logistics and how to move their product into the international marketplace. He found that BU graduates were ready to do just that. “It’s easy to make things in a lab or create prototypes,” Cort says. “The hard part is then commercializing that product and figuring out how to distribute it. At Bloomsburg, students are learning how do to that.” SPI is the thermoplastic sheet manufacturing division of Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd., an $11 billion company headquartered in Tokyo. The Bloomsburg plant produces specialty polymers used for components in airline passenger seats and tray tables, trains, and medical devices throughout the world. “If you touch a tray table in any aircraft on any of the commercial airlines flying today, there is an 85 percent chance that the material used for that tray table was made in Bloomsburg,” Cort says. “Our focus is on creating products that will reduce the environmental impact on the next generation as the global population increases and the production of these materials is growing faster than ever before.” Since 2005, Cort, who lives in New Jersey, has been on a mission 22 22 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA to grow global business from the Bloomsburg plant. Before his arrival at SPI, they had little sales outside of the U.S. In 2012, the company netted $32 million in international sales revenue. Following that success, Cort considered leaving to pursue another job offer, but his employers convinced him to stay. “I was ready to leave. I thought I had accomplished all I could here,” Cort says. “That was because I was only seeing profit and not people.” In his first six months as president, that mindset changed. Cort spent all of his time on the production floor, assessing the business, and quickly learned that the answer to how he would grow the company had been there the whole time. “I learned that we had incredibly talented people working here who had brilliant ideas,” Cort says. “They were nearly geniuses, but they didn’t know it.” In 2013, Cort, who had no prior affiliation with Bloomsburg University, was invited by professors John and Christian Grandzol to speak at the Zeigler College of Business. The experience opened his eyes to an abundant resource just a few miles away. “I found students who were working hard to do something meaningful with their lives,” says Cort. “I was blown away by their work ethic and their drive.” Immediately after visiting BU, Cort ensured that SPI was present at events where BU students were learning about potential career opportunities. He also invested in the university through Professional U Cort, far right, speaks on a panel as part of the Zeigler College of Business annual fall Business Conference. PHOTOS: TOM SCHAEFFER Cort with four recent BU grads currently working at SPI. From left: Keara Hozella ’14, communications coordinator, Kyle Keefer ’16, commodity buyer, Blake Iman ’15, aviation business coordinator and Brooke Felker ’16, accounts payable specialist. event sponsorships and increased scholarship donations. Cort has hired four BU graduates since 2015 and currently employs 13 Bloomsburg alumni at SPI in positions ranging from marketing and communications to international purchasing. Blake Iman ’15, a business management graduate from Muncy, began her career in SPI’s customer collaboration department just after graduation thanks to a connection she made during a visit to the Bloomsburg plant for an assignment for her supply chain class. “I’ve been a part of SPI for about two and a half years, starting in customer collaboration and then transitioning into my current position as aviation business coordinator,” says Iman. “It has been an amazing opportunity to come to my office in Bloomsburg every day and work with different people from more than 30 countries. I’ve been to Germany twice for business trips. There is so much to learn every day from that.” Kyle Keefer ’16 also started Brooke Felker ’14, an accounting working at SPI directly after major from Bloomsburg, has been graduation, having been introduced with SPI for just over a year as an to the company as a supply chain accounts payable specialist and management major. Keefer, a Keara Hozella ’14, an English major native of nearby Benton, was often and gender studies minor from Pine intrigued about what they did at the Grove, started with the company in Bloomsburg plant as he drove by on 2017 in the role of communications his way to campus. coordinator. “The first time I ever learned anything “At first I thought maybe we were about Sekisui was when we went there just excited about hiring BU students with our supply because of our chain operations proximity to the After seeing what these class to tour the school,” says facility,” says students have brought to our Cort, “But after Keefer. “I was seeing what company, I would put them up amazed to learn these students against people from any school have brought to that this plant in Bloomsburg our company, I in the country. was shipping would put them — Ronn Cort, president and COO, commercial up against people Sekisui Polymer Innovations, LLC products all over from any school in the world.” the country.” After touring the facility, Keefer “We’re a part of the community,” said that SPI had reached out to BU Cort says. “If we’re not investing in search of applications from supply locally, then we’re not investing in chain management students and he ourselves or our future and that applied right away. Keefer has been would be a big mistake.” with company since he graduated and Tom Schaeffer ’02 is communications manager works as a commodity buyer. for the BU Foundation. SPRING 2018 23 A Husky at Heart J By Tom BySchaeffer Thomas Schaeffer ohn Dorin is not a Bloomsburg University graduate, but he will always be a Husky. Both Bloomsburg University and the BU Foundation recently honored the 81-year-old Taylor native for his 29 years of service to the Bloomsburg community as a chairman of both the Council of Trustees and the Foundation Board of Directors. Through a lifetime of public service, Dorin has inspired members of the various communities he has so loyally served. His most significant contributions were in Montoursville, where he retired in 2017 after a 36-year run as the borough’s mayor. Dorin and his wife, Ann, moved to Montoursville after he graduated from Temple University with a degree in engineering and he took a job with GTE Sylvania Electrical Products, Inc. They fell in love with the small-town lifestyle and Dorin didn’t waste any time connecting to his new community. He quickly became well known among neighbors and business owners and revealed a touch of showmanship — playing the cordovox accordion with three friends in a band, Just Four. In Montoursville, Dorin also discovered an affinity for public service. “When I was at Sylvania, we had several issues in Williamsport that got me thinking about getting more involved in the community,” says Dorin. “A position opened on the borough council in 1977, so I ran for it.” From that moment on, Dorin became the face of the community. From his second term on the borough council, through his nine consecutive terms as mayor, he never lost an election. In addition to serving on a myriad of state councils and committees, he also served as president of the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs. In the 1980s, all three of Dorin’s children were attending Bloomsburg University. Dorin saw potential in what BU could become. “I liked what was happening at the university,” says Dorin. “I knew it could serve as a valuable resource for the members of my own community going forward.” In 1983, soon after becoming mayor of Montoursville, 24 24 BLOOMSBURG BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF OF PENNSYLVANIA PENNSYLVANIA Dorin joined the BU Council of Trustees. A year later, he was elected chairman, a position he held until 1989. As chairman, Dorin helped resurrect the BU Foundation, strengthened town-gown relations and built in-roads with community leaders. After stepping down from the trustees, Dorin joined the Bloomsburg University Foundation Board of Directors, where he served as a director until 2014. His passion for Bloomsburg was as strong as his passion for every other project that he took on, with his loyalty equally as steadfast. Recalling all the boards and organizations he remained involved in throughout his career, he credits his family for helping him to balance it all. “I don’t know how I did all that really,” says Dorin. “I think I even managed to play some golf in there too. The key was that I had a beautiful wife and three great children who were very supportive.” Dorin’s son, Jim, graduated from BU in 1984, followed by his daughter Cynthia ’85 and his youngest daughter, Michelle ’87. “Looking back, I don’t remember a time thinking about my dad being on campus frequently while we were there,” says Michelle. “Though as a young college student, I’m sure that subconsciously, knowing his position did help me make ‘better decisions’ about how I spent my free time.” Loyalty appears to be a Dorin family trait. After graduating from Bloomsburg, Cynthia began teaching in the Southern Fulton School District in Warfordsburg and has worked there for 30 years. Michelle took her first job after BU at Weis Markets and is now the director of sales. Jim, who passed away in 2006 at the age of 44, was a sales manager at WEPCO Material Handling Specialists in Pittston. “Eight years ago, when I found my diploma and had it framed, I realized that my dad’s signature was at the bottom,” Michelle says. “It means more to me today than it did back then, and I look at it every day. It’s a nice reminder for me about my dad’s sacrifices and how much he gave back to the community.” Tom Schaeffer ’02 is communications manager for the BU Foundation. John Dorin’s long service to BU, its students and the larger community is a testimony to his sterling character. His remarkable example of leadership, serving with humility, loyalty and dedication calls on us not only to aspire for improvement but to actively to create better communities. PHOTOS: TOM SCHAEFFER — Jerome Dvorak, executive director, BU Foundation John Dorin in front of the Montoursville municipal building that has been named in his honor. Dorin retired as Montoursville mayor after serving 36 years. SU PR MIM NE G R2 0 20 1 81 8 25 husky notes ’60s Marsha Loeper Hubler ’68 published The Keystone Stables series for kids with Harper Collins/Zondervan from 2004 to 2008. Hubler is a best-selling author with over 220,000 copies of her eight books in print. Dennis Siegmann ’68 retired from teaching and coaching wrestling at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College. Siegmann resides in Sarasota, Fla. ’70s David J. Lee ’75 retired from Susquehanna Community School District after 34.5 years of service. He taught psychology, U.S. government and world history. He and his wife, Susan Nied Lee, reside in Susquehanna. Lisa Mortensen ’75/’76M retired speechlanguage pathologist from Maryland public schools, is the author of the children’s book Aiden Goes to Speech. Allan Weikel ’76 retired as a engineering manager after a 36-year career in the nuclear energy field. ’80s David Bulzoni ’81 is vice president, government banking sales at FNCB Bank, Wilkes-Barre. Bulzoni is responsible for managing and developing local government banking relationships. Previously, he was the business administrator for the city of Scranton and township supervisor in Newton Township. Lisa Dellinger Smithgall ’83 is chief nursing officer of Ballad Health, Kingsport, Tenn. Smithgall was the vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer of Holston Valley Medical Center. She also served as associate vice president of nursing at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, and vice president of women’s and children’s strategic service unit at Mountain States Health Alliance. Charles F. Warner ’83 was acknowledged in the book A Surgeon with Custer at the Little Big Horn: James DeWolf ’s Diary and Letters, 1876. Warner, a collector and evaluator of original 19th century images (daguerreotypes, ambrotypes and tintypes), shared his 26 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA knowledge of these types of early photographs with book editor Todd Harburn. Warner’s private collection of images includes images of Seventh Calvary soldiers in civilian settings and and he discovered an image that was published in the book. Philip Husick ’85 is the publisher of Tioga Publishing Company, Wellsboro, where he oversees four newspapers in Tioga and Potter counties. Husick was formerly with the Elmira Star-Gazette for 18 years, starting as a sales representative and working his way up to become the display manager. Jeffrey Sutherland ’86 is Cape May County, N.J., prosecutor. Sutherland was in private law practice for 27 years in South Jersey, leading The Sutherland Law Firm, P.C., in South Seaville and Linwood since 2006. Annette Lint Jurkowski ’89 is an assistant Bank Secrecy Act compliance officer at Wayne Bank, Honesdale. Jurkowski joined the bank in November of 1997 and most recently served as the BSA/compliance associate. ’90s Michelle Seibert Appel ’90 became president of the Association for Institutional Research (AIR) at the organization’s Forum in Orlando in May. With over 4,000 members from more than 1.800 higher education institutions and organizations across the world, AIR helps higher education institutions use data, information and analysis. Steven Piascik ’90 is partner and chief financial officer of Goalz Restaurant Group, Cheyenne, Wy. Piascik has over 28 years of financial expertise with a focus on complex accounting and tax consulting. He founded PIASCIK, a boutique tax and financial firm. Prior to founding his firm, he served as a senior tax manager for international accounting firm KPMG LLP, where he managed finances for technology and emerging growth companies. Barry Eichner ’92 is the co-editor in chief of Lipgloss + Aftershave, a personal care and lifestyle review site. Eichner began his spa career in 2000, working as vice president for a chain of medical spas. He has been an industry consultant since 2011, specializing in digital media strategy and content creation. He writes for national spa trade publications and is a published editorial photographer and a speaker at various spa industry trade shows. Jason S. Kirsch ’96M is a senior counselor with PRworks in Harrisburg. He brings to the role more than 20 years of strategic public relations and marketing experience and holds the Accredited in Public Relations credential, a mark of distinction in the profession. bank for 11 years. Tammy Rae Benscoter ’97 was promoted to assistant vice president, business solutions specialist at First Columbia Bank & Trust Co., Bloomsburg. She has been with the Heather Laubach Pascual ’98 is executive director of the Danville Area Community Center. She was previously the program director at Chrysler’s employee fitness centers in Newark, Del., Agilent Technologies in Wilmington, Del., and Campbell’s Soup WHQ in Camden, N.J. David A. Bradbury ’99 is a certified alcohol and drug counselor and a certified DUI instructor at Lehigh Valley Health Network. Jason Brubaker ’99 is vice president of worldwide sales at Distribber, Los Angeles. Thomas L. Murray, Jr. ’99 has opened a sex and couples therapy practice in Greensboro, N.C., after 10 years serving as director of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts’ Counseling Center. Murray is a certified AASECT sex therapist and licensed marriage and family therapist in North Carolina and Florida. Jeffrey Witts ’99 is vice president for NBT Bank of Norwich, Vt. Witts has more than 20 years of experience in the banking industry, working in retail banking and as a branch manager. He is the retail training manager for the bank’s branch network with more than 150 locations in six states. ’00s David Marcolla ’00 joined Addison Wolfe Real Estate in New Hope. Tracy Wirth ’00 is commander in the United States Coast Guard. She has been stationed in Honolulu, Hawaii, but will be transferring June 2018 to US Coast Guard Sector North Carolina in Wilmington, N.C. She will take over the duties as response department head where she will be responsible for search and rescue, law enforcement, and environmental response for the entire North Carolina area. Angela Shoffler Charnosky ’01 is the director of the Project Management Office at Geisinger Health System, Danville. 2018 ALUMNI AWARDS HONOREES | The 2018 Alumni Awards honorees were named at a banquet May 5. Shown from left are: BU tennis coach Martin Coyne ’83 (Distinguished Service Award); former Ames True Temper President and CEO (retired) Duane Greenly ’72 (William T. Derricott ’66 Volunteer of the Year Award); Pennsylvania Bar Association Director of Member Services, Elizabeth Swivel ’84 (Distinguished Service Award); family of longtime BU Board of Trustee member, LaRoy “Lee” Davis ’67 (Distinguished Service Award), son Glenn and wife Hedy Davis; President and CEO of the United Way of Columbia County, Adrienne Mael ’08 (Maroon and Gold Excellence Award). Lamar Oglesby ’07 is assistant director of grants and contracts accounting at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Oglesby is responsible for the financial management and post-award administration of Rutgers’ research enterprise. Lamar completed graduate coursework at Temple University in Educational Leadership — Higher Education, while also earning a graduate certificate in Steven Scott ’03 is a marketing instructor at Bloomsburg University. He teaches Principles Institutional Effectiveness. He is a Certified Research Administraor, earning the of Marketing, Advertising Management, and Retail Management. He previously was profession’s only recognized certification an instructor at McCann School of Business. from the Research Administrators Advisory Council. Michael Sapyta ’04 CFP, CLU, is vice Edward Pawlak ’07M has joined the president, Advanced Planning Financial partnership group at The Hartman Agency, Services Monitor Worldwide at Highland Inc., Williamsport. Pawlak is on the Lycoming Capital Brokerage, Inc. in Amman, Jordan. County United Way Board, serving on the Sapyta is a member of the Association for steering committee as well as the chair of Advanced Life Underwriting (AALU), the the Panel III Citizen's Review Board. He Philadelphia Estate Planning Council, and also serves on the Hope Enterprises Board the Financial Planning Association. of Directors. Jamie Longazel ’05, associate professor Alex Lipyanik ’09 is assistant vice president in The John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York (CUNY) lectured and commercial lending officer at QNB Bank in Quakertown. on his current book, Undocumented Fears: Immigration and the Politics of Divide and Megan Smith Tunon ’09M is a council Conquer in Hazleton, Pennsylvania at the member in Etna, Maine. Liberal Arts symposium in October. A native of Hazleton, Longazel earned his Ph.D. at the University of Delaware, where he was the Outstanding Graduate Student, and began his Ashley Roble Carnuccio ’13 is an enrollment specialist for Lackawanna College’s Sunbury career at the University of Dayton. Center. Trisha Grace ’06 is director of development at The Arc of Cumberland & Perry Counties Lauren Ellis ’13 is assistant women’s basketball coach at Colgate University. Foundation, Carlisle. Nicholas James Seier ’01, CPA, CGMA, is a senior manager at CBIZ MHM, LLC. He provides financial, asset securitization and due diligence reviews on collateral/warehouse lines of credit to the financial services community, including private equity firms, hedge funds, and venture capital firms. ’10s She started coaching as an assistant at Widener for the 2013-14 season, then jumped to Salisbury, Md. for two seasons. Paige Ormont ’13 spoke on "Finding the Perfect Job" at BU’s Liberal Arts symposium in October 2017. Ormont was a communications studies major, sociology minor and has been a senior account executive for the Porter Group in Princeton, N.J. Her talk addressed how to write a resume, network, and interviewing techniques. Kacy Allen ’14M is a senior associate at The Siegfried Group, LLP, Atlanta, Ga. Most recently, he was a senior associate at KPMG, Amstelveen, Netherlands. Briana Gallagher Button ’14 is community outreach and social justice programs coordinator at Kings College in Wilkes-Barre. She is responsible for individual and group volunteer efforts, as well as managing the social justice education programs, such as Hunger for Justice Week. Button was a kindergarten teacher from 2015 to 2017 at Rice Elementary School. Michael Bryan ’17 has been accepted to the TAPIF program (Teaching Assistant Program in France). The program is a joint initiative of the French Ministry of National Education, and the cultural services division of the French embassy. A French major at BU, he has been offered a position to teach English in Nantes, France, for one semester. SPRING 2018 27 husky notes the line up MARRIAGES Christopher Peck ’00 & Alicia Youngblut, Nov. 20, 2017 Colleen Logue ’12 & Brent Bull, Sept. 14, 2013 Shawna Beyer ’03 & Dave Latorre ’05/’08M, Jun. 3, 2017 Emily DuBruille ’14 & Aaron Krause, July 28, 2017 Chris Ashcroft ’07 & Valerie Herb, Sept. 30, 2017 Erin Long ’14 & Thomas Machovec ’14, Sept. 24, 2017 Mandie Jordan ’09 & Dustin Brooke Miller ’14 & Adam Blannard ’14, Aug. 25, 2017 Hendricks, Sept. 9, 2017 Erin Long ’14 to Thomas Machovec ’14 Bloomsburg alumni Erin Long, RN ’14 (Ronkonkoma, N.Y., nursing 2014) and Thomas Machovec, CPA ’14 (Dallas, accounting 2014) were married Sept. 24, 2017 on Long Island, N.Y. with fellow alumni in the wedding and in attendance. Shown from left are: David Arnold, James Gould ’14, Jake Ribecky ’14, bride Erin Long ’14, groom Thomas Machovec ’14, Joshua Matz ’17, Geoffrey Matz ’17, and Masy Tincher ’17. Alex Lipyanik ’09 & Gwendolyn Kasey Jones ’15 & Zachary Gilbert ’15, Sept. 9, 2017 Freed, Jun. 6, 2015 Brittney D. Parks ’09 & Andre Angela Lewis ’15 & Garrick M. Robinson ’09, Sept. 8, 2017 Hakanson, Sept. 24, 2017 BIRTHS Marissa Barrett ’99 and husband Eric Harvilicz, a son, Cassius Robert, June 15, 2017 Kelly Waugh Bankes ’05 and husband Drew ’03, a son, Landon Joseph, Oct. 10, 2017 Crystal Litzenbauer Kovacs ’05 and husband Charles ’05, a son, Christian Michael, Mar. 13, 2017 Hayley Mutter Quigley ’05 and husband Zachary ’06, a daughter, Tanner May, Aug. 8, 2017 Jamie Ace Bisbing ’07 and husband Shawn, a daughter, Charlotte Pamela on Sept. 25, 2017 Jessica Corliss Habas ’07 and husband Owen, a daughter, Teagan Olivia, Sept. 5, 2017 Julie Jakubowski Stone ’07 and husband Ragon, triplets, Sawyer, Brooks and Graeme, May 25, 2017 Chris Ashcroft ’14 to Valerie Herb Chris Ashcroft, ’07 was married to Valerie (Herb) Ashcroft on Sept 30, 2017. Bloomsburg alumni at the wedding were, from left, back row: Eric Nolting ’07, Rob Kulak ’05, Bill Heras ’04/’06, Jarryd Bauder ’07, Mark Malcein 07, Matt Green ’07, Tim Flipovits ’08, Gabe Hutchinson ’05, Jon Nemeth ’07. Front row: Caroline Scott ’09, Nicole (Bunting) Bauder ’07, Chris Ashcroft ’07, Valerie Ashcroft, Brittany (Kleiner) Hoask ’10, Rachael (Bennington) Hutchinson ’08, Jackelyn (Featherston) Smith ’08. 28 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Kelly Ziegler Lisachenko ’09 and husband Gregory, a daughter, Anastasia Lee, May 12, 2017 Kristen Bueki Scheier ’11 and husband Michael ’08, a daughter, Noelle Sophia, Nov. 24, 2017 Tara Beck McGuire ’11 and husband Ryan, a son, Brooks Thomas, Sept.1, 2017 Colleen Logue Bull ’12 and husband Brent, a daughter, Taylor Mackenzie, Feb. 4, 2015 and a son, Brendan Matthew, June 16, 2017 Curtis Snowden ’16/’18M and wife Devon, adopted a daughter, Tasha Ann IN MEMORIAM LaRoy G. “Lee” Davis 1967 and an M.A. in economics and sociology from College of New Bloomsburg’s longest-serving Jersey in Trenton in 1972. trustee, LaRoy G. “Lee” Davis, Lee was awarded two Fulbrightage 73, of Feasterville, died Feb. 28, Hays Scholarships to study abroad; at Jefferson-Abington Hospice in in India in 1971 and Egypt in 1974. Warminster. He was a past member of the Raised in Ashland, Lee was a Pennsylvania Council for the Social resident of Feasterville for 45 years. Studies and the World Affairs Council. He served as a teacher at Bensalem Lee was a former legislative aide and High School, retiring in 1999 after education adviser for former state 33 years of service. Sen. H. Craig Lewis, D-6th District, A past member of the Bloomsburg and a former legislative aide for University’s Council of Trustees, former state Rep. Edward Burns, Lee served for 37 years, the second R-18th District. longest serving trustee in the He is survived by his wife Hedy Wolf. He represented BU on the Pennsylvania System of Higher Fuchs Davis, a son Glenn J. Davis Pennsylvania Association of Council Education. First appointed in 1979 and his daughter-in-law Amy, sisters of Trustees. by Gov. Richard Thornburgh, he June Brenneman and Lynn Davis He earned a B.S. in comprehensive served every succeeding governor (Sandra) and grandson Grayson Davis. social sciences from Bloomsburg in including current Gov. Tom OBITUARIES Richard Nolan ’39 Stella Williams Grant ’44 Betty Burnham Rosell ’45 Eileen Falvey McGovern ’46 Dorothy Hornberger Rhodes ’47 Rose Marie Kraiser Schieber ’48 Margaret Suchy Baron ’49 Wayne Von Stetten ’50 Jacob Dailey ’52 George A. Smith, Sr. ’52 Mary Lou Krunkosky ’53 Rudolph Holtzman ’55 Harvey C. Boughner ’56 William Harrell ’57 Donald Hutchinson ’57 Joseph Barros ’58 Wilbur Frable ’59 Mary Pomes Hess ’59 Ruth Davis Ritter ’59 Sylvester Schicatano ’59 Donald Straub ’59 Emma Kovalevich Traher ’59 Daniel Fegley ’60 Michael Wisdo ’61 Gloria Gilbert Boyer ’62 Thomas Foley ’62 Patricia Hetzendorf ’62 Gary Fallon’63 James Diehl ’64 Joan Dahlhausen Fattorini ’64 Richard Greenly ’64 Karen Nespoli Lylo ’64 Robert Wiest ’64 Edward Beck ’65 Mary McCord ’66 Sandra Ryan Olson ’66 LaRoy Davis ’67 Richard Greco ’67 Donna Morgan Rhodes ’67 Barbara Schall James ’69 I. Ray Kline ’69 Michael Smith ’69 David Kozma ’70 Karl Kramer ’70 Kenneth Solomon ’70 K. Vicki Gross Sproesser ’70 Ronald Cianni ’71 David Homa ’71 William Leitzel ’71 Edward Thompson ’71 Marijean Gattelli Vlassenko ’71 Jackie Scheuren-Klees ’72 Martin Kleiner ’73 John Zalesak ’73 Joseph Kempski ’74 Michael Warfel ’74 Mary Goodenow ’75 Mary Bowersox ’76 Patricia Yost Essip ’78 Carole Ackerman ’79 Donna Beaver ’79 Scott Findlay ’79 Thomas Portanova ’79 Marion Smith ’79 Frank Coll ’81 Harold Egli ’82 John Hancock ’83 Barbara Sibson ’83 Harriet Yeager Blank ’84 Mark Bonshak ’86 Diane Alexander Stone Kent ’92 Nancy Anthony ’94 Matthew Fidler ’94 Mary LaCrosse ’94 Ryan Yanoshak ’03 Pamela Collier ’06 David Rute ’07 Jacee Bell ’09 Thomas Lebeau ’12 Derek Day ’16 Curtis Harris ’16 Send information to: magazine@bloomu.edu Bloomsburg: The University Magazine • Waller Administration Building • 400 East Second Street • Bloomsburg, PA 17815-1301 SPRING 2018 29 ON THE HILL sports A Bond Built on Baseball By David Leisering, Interim Sports Information Director Austin Edgette and 9-year-old ThomasJames (TJ) Skinner watch a fireworks display. BASEBALL HEROES DON’T HAVE TO PLAY in the major leagues. Just ask 9-year-old Thomas-James (TJ) Skinner. This story begins in Fayetteville, N.C., in the summer of 2017 when BU outfielder Austin Edgette, Exton, was playing for the Fayetteville Swamp Dogs in the Coastal Plains League. TJ, who lives in nearby Hope Mills, N.C., was at the game for his team’s postseason banquet. It was his first season of playing “regular” baseball. TJ has autism and, until then, had only played Buddy Baseball — a sports program for special needs children. Edgette was the first player TJ noticed at the game because he happened to wear the same number, four, and was also an outfielder. TJ really wanted Edgette to sign his bat. “I told him to go ask and he shook his head no,” says Kathleen Skinner, TJ’s mother. “Speaking to people on his own is a very big hurdle for him.” But a few minutes later TJ returned 30 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA and excitedly told his mother all about Edgette. “After the game, I thanked Austin for taking a few minutes and why it meant so much that TJ had talked to him.” TJ and his mother went to another Swamp Dogs’ game days later and Edgette again made it a point to talk with TJ. The boy was ecstatic. “His mom told me that TJ is often excluded and bullied due to his autism,” says Edgette. “I made it a point to become friends with him because I hate bullying and nobody should be excluded for something they have no control over.” They have become fast friends. Before Swamp Dogs home games, TJ and Edgette play catch and say a prayer. One night the team held a fireworks night. TJ is afraid of loud noises but wanted to face his fears with his friend, so the two of them watched together on the field. “Austin appreciates TJ for who he is. They text and talk on the phone each week,” says Skinner. “Austin wants to see how he is doing in school and his practices. Austin is so supportive and caring that TJ is able to be himself. The friendship helped bring out TJ’s personality.” TJ drew his own Edgette number four jersey to wear to school. That was until Christmas when BU head coach Mike Collins surprised TJ with his very own Edgette jersey and BU hat. In January, TJ and his mother turned the tables and surprised the team by coming to Bloomsburg for the Huskies winter baseball camp. “They couldn’t believe that he would make such a long trip just for baseball camp,” says Skinner. “But, it wasn’t about the camp — it was about learning and playing baseball with his best friend.” Several months later, the Huskies made their spring trip to Wilson, N.C. — a short trip for TJ and his mother. They were at every game, with TJ serving as the team’s bat boy. “I was hoping Coach would ask me since I already had my batting helmet in the van,” jokes TJ, who calls the team his “Husky family.” In turn, the team has dubbed him “the littlest Husky.” “Playing baseball gives me a platform to use for something greater than just the game,” says Edgette. “I help him find purpose, I help him feel special, and in return I get a loving, funny, and great friend.” TJ Skinner with the Huskies in North Carolina during spring break. “I feel completely blessed by their relationship. Austin has reached a part of TJ that, as his mother, I can’t reach,” says Skinner. “Austin has bolstered his confidence, his personality, and his passion. Austin doesn’t allow him to use his autism as an excuse. He gives TJ room to be himself but holds him to the standard that even if he doesn’t succeed, at least he can always say that he gave it his best effort. And, as a parent, that is an important lesson for any child to learn.” “TJ’s relationship with Austin is wonderful, but it’s hardly a surprise,” says Collins. “Our studentathletes love baseball and sharing their passion for the game with kids is very natural for them. We get as much from him as he does from us.” “Our guys understand we are a small part of a greater whole and we have a responsibility to support everyone around us,” says Collins. “When people speak about Huskies baseball, I hope they talk of our victories, but we have failed if that’s all they talk about.” “I really like being best friends with Austin,” says TJ. “He’s nice and funny and is always there for me — even when I’m sad. He helps bring me up. He is my best friend for life.” Austin Edgette and TJ Skinner share a hug after camp. David Leisering is interim sports information director. Austin Edgette and TJ Skinner pray before a Swamp Dogs game. SPRING 2018 31 Bloomsburg Announces Apparel Deal with Under Armour GLOBAL APPAREL MANUFACTURER Under Armour has entered into a five-partnership with BU to be the official outfitter of the Huskies’ 21 NCAA varsity athletic programs. “We have taken significant steps to grow the BU Husky brand and take pride in partnering with the industry leader Under Armour,” says athletics director Michael McFarland. “Our collaborative partnership with Under Armour affiliates us with a successful and powerful leader in athletic apparel. Our student-athletes and staff will benefit greatly from this partnership.” As part of the five-year agreement with options for renewal in subsequent years, Under Armour will provide on-field and training gear for Bloomsburg’s 21 varsity sports. Additionally, Under Armour will outfit members of the athletic department including coaches and staff. Teams are expected to be fully compliant beginning in 2018-19. Wheelan Named Head Men’s Soccer Coach DANNY WHEELAN ’14M has returned to Bloomsburg as the new head men's soccer coach, after four seasons as assistant coach for the women's soccer program at Barry University in Florida. Wheelan replaces Paul Payne, BU’s all-time winningest coach, who retired at the end of the 2018 season. Wheelan served as Payne’s graduate assistant coach in 2012 and 2013 while also serving in the same capacity for the women’s soccer program in 2012. He completed his Master of Business Administration degree from BU in the summer of 2014. 32 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Mortellite Becomes Men’s Basketball All-Time Leading Scorer IT WAS A HISTORIC SEASON for men’s basketball standout Christian Mortellite ’18. On a layup against Kutztown at the Nelson Field House on Jan. 31, he became the program’s all-time leading scorer when he surpassed Mike Ellzy’s 1993–97 record of 1,911 points. Then on Feb. 10, Mortellite became just the eighth player in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) history to record 300 career three-pointers. Finally on Feb. 21, he became just the 12th player in PSAC history to record 2,000 career points. Mortellite finished his career with 2,037 career points — ninth on the PSAC’s all-time scoring list, while his 314 career three-pointers put him in a tie for sixth in league history. Mortellite earned All-PSAC East First Team honors for the third consecutive season, joining Ellzy as the only two players in program history to earn the honor in three straight years. Mortellite departs as the program’s record-holder in eight categories, including most career points (2,037), most points in a season (613), most three-pointers in a season (110), most career three-pointers made (314), most career free throws made (441), most three-point attempts in a season (255), and most career three-point attempts (751). He also broke the school-record for highest career free throw percentage at 88.7% (441-of-497). Coyne Announces Retirement Following 2018-19 Season Marty Coyne, head coach, men’s and women’s tennis HEAD MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TENNIS COACH Marty Coyne ’83 has announced that he will retire from the position after the conclusion of the 2018-19 spring tennis season. Coyne is in his 25th season as the head coach of the men’s program and 23rd season coaching the women’s squad. Between the two programs, Coyne has 561 victories. “I never wanted to stay too long and got to the point where I felt like I was burned out and not willing to give that energy and effort to the teams,” says Coyne. “We are at a point right now where I feel like it is a comfortable spot to turn it over to a new coach.” Coyne has led the BU tennis teams to 29 NCAA Division II Championship appearances, 16 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) team titles, 55 PSAC singles champions, and 21 PSAC doubles champions. He is a 14-time PSAC Coach of the Year award winner and an ITA Regional Coach of the Year recipient four times. A former player at Bloomsburg, Coyne holds the distinction as being the only person to win PSAC titles as both a player and as a coach. He posted a career singles record of 112-29 and is one of only three players in PSAC history to win singles, doubles, and team championships in each of his four seasons. In 1998, Coyne was inducted into the BU Athletic Hall of Fame and then, in 2013, became a member of the United States Tennis Association Middle States Hall of Fame. All-American Honors for Winter Athletes JUNIOR KIRSTEN O’MALLEY of the indoor track and field team earned her first collegiate All-American honor when she finished 10th in the triple jump at the 2018 NCAA Division II Indoor National Championships in March. She became just the second indoor All-American in program history as she joined two-time long jump All-American Kaylee Caruso. O’Malley’s best mark of 12.12 meters at the championships broke her own school record of 12.06 meters she set earlier in the season. Kirsten O’Malley In the pool, redshirt senior Nikki Young ’18 earned a pair of AllAmerican honors at the 2018 NCAA Division II National Championships finishing sixth-place in the 100-yard breaststroke and 12th in the 200-yard breaststroke. Young broke the school record in both events, posting a time of 1:01.58 in the 100 and 2:16.54 in the 200. She wraps up her career as a three-time All-American. On the men’s side, senior Sam Feiser became the program’s first athlete to earn the Athlete of the Nikki Young Meet Award at the 2018 PSAC Championships in February. Competing in seven events he earned seven titles at the conference meet. He went on to participate at the NCAA D-II Championships and earned All-American status as part of the 200-yard freestyle relay team (along with senior Josh Grzech, sophomore Colin Bauer and freshman Collin Hummel) that placed 16th overall. He wraps up his career as an eight-time All-American and a 16-time PSAC champion. Sam Feiser SPRING 2018 33 then AND now The Normal School Library in 1916, still little more than a study hall. Andruss Library: Heart of the University By Robert Dunkelberger later called Waller Hall. The first formal library was filled with standard works of fiction, history and reference books, newspapers, and periodicals. Five years later, the first professionally trained librarian was hired. The library remained in the dormitory for 76 years, expanding as new space became available. It moved to the second floor in 1908 and then back to the first 50 years later, into space formerly occupied by the dining room. Originally little more than a study hall with desks surrounded by books, a 1921 remodel gave it the look of The remodeled Waller Hall Library, 1938 a standard library. Even though its final location in Waller Hall provided WHEN BLOOMSBURG’S SECOND holdings had more than doubled. Harvey A. Andruss Library opened The growth of Bloomsburg’s library seating for more than 100 students and 20 years ago, the new building was collections and spaces is a barometer room for the collections, enrollment projections of 3,000 students by 1970 desperately needed to house more that traces the transformation of meant a separate library building books. Bloomsburg University in its history was desperately needed. Funding The former library, now the in size, mission and technological was provided, and the 1957 master plan Warren Student Services Center, was sophistication. bursting. Designed in the 1960s to Bloomsburg’s library history began placed the building on the baseball diamond and athletic field. hold 200,000 volumes and seat 750 in 1890. The book collections of two That library was built at a cost students, in the ensuing decades both literary societies were merged in a the university’s enrollment and library room on the first floor of the dormitory, of $1.1 million and opened on Sept. 34 34 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA 14, 1966. Featuring a large central reading area in the atrium, the building's size and location were primed to support the research needs of a growing college. Dedicated Oct. 12, 1967, it was named for longtime president Harvey A. Andruss, who called the library “the heart of the college.” As time went by and an aggressive acquisition campaign brought in new materials, study tables in the central reading area began to be replaced with tables holding periodical indexes. In the early 1990s, Andruss Library responded to advances in information technology by providing students and faculty with an automated public catalog and computers which accessed databases through CD-ROMs and the internet. Originally accessible only in the library, eventually research could be conducted from anywhere on campus. The size of the collections, combined with the rapid growth of the college into the 1970s, filled the building, and by the 1980s a new library was imperative. Beginning in 1986, it became the top priority in the university’s capital budget request to the State System, with the project approved for design in 1992. While the state would eventually allocate $7.125 million for the building, the university had to raise nearly $3.5 million. A campaign, A Treasury of Ideas, The dedication of the new Harvey A. Andruss Library, Sept. 11, 1998. launched in 1993 and, Seen here are President Jessica Kozloff, Lt. Governor Mark Schweiker, due to the generosity and Chancellor and former Bloomsburg President James McCormick. of more than 8,000 individuals, the and off campus. The online catalog of goal was reached thousands of e-books, web-accessible within a year. Thanks to the efforts databases with content from more of 1975 Bloomsburg alumnus than 50,000 journal titles, and digitized and Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Mark historical publications from the Schweiker, the state’s share was university and community, is accessible released in the fall of 1995 and from any place with an internet construction began the following connection. spring on the site of the softball field Even as the digital capabilities of near the Waller Administration the library increased, the importance Building. The new library opened of the human element has become on May 26, 1998, with 105,000 greater. square feet, seating for 900, 20 group The new Andruss Library has study rooms, a computer classroom transformed into a place for students for library instruction, nearly 200 to come together and work computers, and room for 400,000 books and other collections, including collaboratively, to grab a cup of coffee, or enjoy one of the library’s the University Archives. Schweiker exhibits of art and artifacts. And was the featured speaker for the for students navigating an ocean dedication Sept. 11, 1998. of global information, the research In the ensuing 20 years, the library has continued to expand its resources skills of an experienced librarian are more important than ever. and make them accessible both on The west side of Andruss Library, with the priceless Tiffany windows, 1972; Right, top: The reading room in 1979, as the collections began to take over study space; Right, bottom: The first computers used to access library databases, 1993. SPRING 2018 35 calendar Activities and Events FALL 2018 ART EXHIBITS CONCERTS Classes Begin Selected Student Show Fall Choral Festival Faculty (Summer Show) Percussion Ensemble Monday, Aug. 27 Labor Day — No Classes Monday, Sept. 3 Reading Day Tuesday, Nov. 20 Thanksgiving Break Wednesday, Nov. 21, through Sunday, Nov. 25 Classes End Friday, Dec. 7 Finals Week Monday, Dec. 10, through Friday, Dec. 14 Graduate Commencement Friday, Dec. 14 Undergraduate Commencement Saturday, Dec. 15 ALUMNI & SPECIAL EVENTS Visit bloomualumni.com for details on these and additional events or to register. For information, contact Alumni Affairs at 800-526-0254 or alum@bloomu.edu. The Gallery at Greenly Center Through July 18 Haas Center Gallery of Art May 31 — Sept. 18 Reception: Sep. 18, 11 a.m. — 2 p.m. Summer/Fall Show — Blaine Cooper The Gallery at Greenly Center July 19 — Sept. 27 Carver Hall, Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium Sunday, Oct. 14, 2:30 p.m. Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall Tuesday, Nov. 6, 7:30 p.m. Wind Ensemble Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall Wednesday, Nov. 14, 7:30 p.m. Charisse Baldoria, piano and voice recital THEATRE Carver Hall, Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium Thursday, Nov. 15, 7:30 p.m. The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde University-Community Orchestra Alvina Krause Theatre Center Street, Bloomsburg Oct. 31 to Nov. 4 Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall Sunday, Nov. 18, 2:30 p.m. Jazz Ensemble Carver Hall, Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium Monday, Nov. 29, 7:30 p.m. Guitar Ensemble Carver Hall, Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium Wednesday, Dec. 5, 7:30 p.m. Alan Poltorak ’17 is a wizard of the piano keyboard and the recording soundboard. The December graduate in music has both played Carnegie Hall in New York City, engineered an album and recently accompanied the BU Jazz Ensemble on their tour of Germany and Czechoslovakia. Read more about his story at bloomu.edu/music. Homecoming Weekend Parents and Family Weekend Friday, Oct. 12, through Sunday, Oct. 14 For the latest information on upcoming events, check the Bloomsburg University website bloomu.edu/events. BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA 36 PHOTO: ERIC FOSTER Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 6 and 7 Wherever summer takes you, take a bit of BU with you. NOW IN STOCK: Insignia totes, cooler bags, beach towels and summer apparel. THE UNIVERSITY STORE OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK. SEE BLOOMUSTORE.COM 400 East Second Street FOR THIS WEEK’S HOURS Bloomsburg, PA 17815 General Information: 570-389-4175 AND TO SHOP ONLINE. Customer Service: 570-389-4180 bustore@bloomu.edu BLOOMUSTORE.COM SPRING 2018 37 1011050113 Office of Marketing and Communications 400 East Second Street Bloomsburg, PA 17815-1301 G R A D U AT E S T U D I E S More than 17 Master's Level Programs 7 Certification Programs Doctoral Programs in Audiology and Nursing Take the next step. BU's graduate programs cover a wide range of disciplines from clinical athletic training to business administration to special education, as well as emerging career fields like instructional technology and community health specialization. LEARN MORE: bloomu.edu/gradschool A NOTE TO PARENTS If this issue of Bloomsburg: The University Magazine is addressed to a daughter or son who has established a separate residence, please notify us of that new address by sending an email to: magazine@bloomu.edu 38 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA WANT TO UNSUBSCRIBE? If you no longer wish to receive the print edition of the magazine, please notify us by sending an email to: magazine@bloomu.edu RECEIVING DUPLICATE COPIES? If you are receiving more than one copy of Bloomsburg: The University Magazine, please forward the mailing label panel from each issue you receive to: Bloomsburg: The University Magazine Waller Administration Building 400 East Second Street Bloomsburg, PA 17815-1301 Bloomsburg FALL 2018 T H E U N I V E R S I T Y Sound of Success Enrique Josephs ’14 has made a career as one of the nation's top voice-over artists. Page 14. ALSO INSIDE Meet the Class of 2022 Generation Z brings a new outlook to Bloomsburg. Page 10. From the Service to Student Three veterans tell their stories of transition into college. Page 20. M A G A Z I N E Bloomsburg: The University Magazine From the President Dear BU Family, As we begin a new academic year, I am excited about what lies ahead for Bloomsburg University and all of you! In my last letter, I mentioned a comprehensive branding initiative that begins this fall for the first time in more than a decade. Today we are facing ever-increasing competition from institutions across our region and the nation. Now is the time for BU to discover and deliver our own brand. When we achieve this, we will define the story and identity of the institution as a whole. To begin this process, we will engage the campus community, alumni and influencers, along with prospective students and families in our target recruitment area in market research. Through this process of confirming who we are and what we do well, we will lay the foundation for a true and authentic brand. (Don’t worry, the Husky and maroon and gold identifiers are not going away.) This comprehensive study and the brand outcome will ultimately help shape our university’s next strategic plan. The coming year will also be the Year of Retention at BU. As an institution, we will redouble our efforts to make sure our students have all the tools and support needed to succeed. Through programs like Professional U, which connects BU students with alumni and employers, and opportunities integrating the academic experience with professional experience, and our growing study abroad initiative, we will ensure that our students graduate and become productive citizens of our world. Only by making sure they are properly prepared can we make that a reality. I hope you enjoy this issue of Bloomsburg: The University Magazine, as we celebrate our students, faculty and alumni who are accomplishing so much here on campus and beyond, and making us all very proud. In the coming weeks, we will also celebrate Homecoming and Parents’ and Family weekends. I hope you can join us and be part of the excitement. As always, thank you for your support and GO HUSKIES! Bashar W. Hanna, President FEATURES the Class of 2022 10 Meet Generation Z students are the largest living 14 Sound of Success 20 From the Service to Student 24 p. 20 generation, 26 percent of the U. S. population. Meet our Gen Z Huskies. This Husky’s dreams come true on a daily basis. The booming voice of Enrique Josephs ’14 has opened doors he never could have imagined. The Office of Military and Veterans Resources plays a big role in welcoming and helping military students or dependents ease into college life. Three students tell their stories of transition. Forging a Path to Success George Antochy ’79 built a career in information technology on strong foundations from BU and the U.S. Army. He comes back to campus regularly to share his experience with students. BU student Julia Nicolov, center, with her mobile public affairs detachment team in Kuwait in 2003. DEPARTMENTS 02 Unleash Your Inner Husky Fall 2018 04 Around the Quad 08 Focus on Students 24 Husky Notes 32 On the Hill 34 Then and Now 36 Calendar of Events Table of Contents BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA IS A MEMBER OF THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Board of Governors Chancellor, State System of Higher Education Daniel Greenstein Cynthia D. Shapira David M. Maser Samuel H. Smith Sen. Ryan P. Aument Audrey F. Bronson Joar Dahn Sarah Galbally Rep. Michael K. Hanna Donald E. Houser Jr. Rodney Kaplan, Jr. Barbara McIlvaine Smith Marian D. Moskowitz Thomas S. Muller Secretary, Pedro A. Rivera Sen. Judith L. Schwank Harold C. Shields Brian H. Swatt Rep. Mike Turzai Neil R. Weaver Governor Tom Wolf Janet L. Yeomans Bloomsburg University Council of Trustees Judge Mary Jane Bowes, Chair Nancy Vasta ’97/’98M, Vice Chair Brian D. O’Donnell O.D.’87M, Secretary Ramona H. Alley Edward G. Edwards ’73 Charles E. Schlegel Jr. ’60 John Thomas Secretary John E. Wetzel ’98 Patrick Wilson ’91 President, Bloomsburg University Bashar W. Hanna Executive Editor Jennifer Umberger Co-Editors Eric Foster Tom McGuire Designer Kerry Lord Sports Information Director Dave Leisering Marketing/Communications Coordinator Irene Johnson Communications Assistant Jenna Fuller ’18 Bloomsburg: The University Magazine is published three times a year for alumni, students’ families and friends of the university. News about Bloomsburg University can be found at bloomu.edu/today. Address comments and questions to: Bloomsburg: The University Magazine Waller Administration Building 400 East Second Street Bloomsburg, PA 17815-1301 Email address: magazine@bloomu.edu Visit Bloomsburg University on the Web at bloomu.edu. ON THE WEB www.BLOOMU.EDU COVER PHOTO: Douglas Benedict HUSKY NOTES SPORTS UPDATES ALUMNI INFO, MORE TM Bloomsburg University is an AA/EEO institution and is accessible to disabled persons. Bloomsburg University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, or veteran status in its programs and activities as required by Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and other applicable statutes and University policies. © Bloomsburg University 2018 unleash your inner husky Iconic Landscapes Serve as Textbook For Field Study By Jaime North It began like any normal college course in a class led by a professor’s lecture. A week later, the class traveled nearly 2,500 miles to spend 12 nights camping under the stars and closely studying some of the country’s most picturesque geological sites. In the end, it was anything but normal. “This was definitely a highlight of my college career,” says Myra Nethery, a senior environmental geoscience major. “I made so many new friends, as well as created great relationships with my professors. If anything, this class has made me more passionate about my major.” EGGS 330 Field Geology brought together 10 students and three department faculty members — Brett McLaurin, Cynthia Venn and John Hintz — after spring graduation for an early summer learning experience. They spent a week on campus learning the basics of camping and setting the stage for their fieldwork. A cross-country flight to Las Vegas was followed by a several hour drive in several rental cars to sites in northern Arizona and southern Utah, which itself was another phase of the learning experience. Students switched cars every few days so they could all spend time with each professor and hear their interpretation of the landscape. 2 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA “Dr. McLaurin and Dr. Venn have a vast knowledge of the geology of the area, and Dr. Hintz was very knowledgeable about Bureau of Land Management land,” says Nethery, who is also pursuing a spatial analysis and GIS minor. Each student researched two topics and prepared posters on those topics for the first week to present to the rest of the class in the field, according to Venn. They also learned to keep field books while they were away from camp, then had both a final exam and a synthesis paper due after they returned. The group visited dozens of geological sites with some of the most memorable views along the north rim of the Grand Canyon, Arches National Park, Horseshoe Bend and slot canyons near Escalante, Utah. “When we were slot canyoning (a slot canyon is significantly deeper than it is wide), we had to hike through very narrow canyon walls which got pretty claustrophobic after a while,” says Nethery. “The class taught me way more than any other semester-long course sitting in a classroom. I saw some of the most iconic geology in the world, learned to interpret different types of landscapes and learned about the geological history of the area, and the ancient civilizations of the Colorado Plateau.” The group explores the Bristlecone Trail in Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. Seated below, from left: Erin Boulger, Myra Nethery, Emily Brodeur and Alison Evans. Standing: Ashley Barebo, professor Cynthia Venn and Meg Ronan. FALL 2018 3 PHOTO CREDIT: Jaime North Campus Hosts Science Adventure Camp NEARLY 1,000 STUDENTS from four schools converged on campus in June for a week of exploring ways to grow their science, technical, engineering and math interests and abilities. The camps, coordinated by BU’s STEM Education Center, also investigated the arts. BU education majors and graduate students led many of the STEM sessions, which included making handmade catapults, balloon shooters and hurricane-proof structures. CGA President Named to Board of Governors JOAR DAHN, PRESIDENT OF BU’S Community Government Association, was confirmed by the state Senate to serve on the Board of Governors of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education, 4 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA the board that oversees the state's 14 public universities. Dahn, a senior political science major, was elected CGA president in April 2017. He is responsible for supervising the CGA-owned University Store, Honeysuckle Student Apartments and the organization’s employees and professional staff. A Board of Governors Scholar, he also serves as the president of the Class of 2019 and the African Student Association at Bloomsburg. As CGA president, Dahn developed the initiative, “Beyond the Fountain,” a day of dialogue among residents of Bloomsburg and students about the issue of racism in the community. He has received numerous awards and honors while a student at Bloomsburg, including the Bloomsburg University Legacy of Leadership award and the International Student Association Award of Excellence. Judge Mary Jane Bowes Named Chair of Council of Trustees JUDGE MARY JANE BOWES has been named chairperson of the BU Council of Trustees. Bowes serves as a judge of the Superior Court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Bowes earned a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and juris doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. Upon graduation, she worked as a judicial law clerk for Chief Justice Henry X. O’Brien of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and Superior Court Judges Harry Montgomery and John P. Hester. She then entered general legal practice before joining the legal department of an environmental remediation firm. A member of the Allegheny County and Pennsylvania Bar Associations, she was named one of Pennsylvania’s Best 50 Women in Business by Gov. Tom Ridge in 1997. She was elected to the Superior Court in 2001 and retained for a second 10-year term in 2011. During her time in office, Bowes has fought to increase the transparency of that court by advocating for online posting and increased publication of its decisions. She serves as the statewide administrative Wiretap Judge, and was appointed by the Supreme Court to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Juvenile Delinquency and the Pennsylvania Appellate Procedural Rules Committee. Active in her community, Bowes has served on the boards of numerous civic and social service organizations, primarily addressing the needs of at-risk children. She is chair of the St. Anthony School for Exceptional Children in Allegheny County, and sits on the board of the University of Pittsburgh Law Alumni Association. Bowes was appointed to the Bloomsburg University Council of Trustees in 2013, and has served on the Student Affairs and the Finance Committees and recently chaired the Presidential Search Committee. Zeigler College Of Business Granted Membership For International Business THE ZEIGLER COLLEGE OF BUSINESS has earned full membership in the Consortium for Undergraduate International Business Education (CUIBE). Established in 2003, CUIBE promotes innovation in international business education. Full members are academic institutions that have demonstrated an ongoing commitment to undergraduate international business education through the development of an academic program (degree, major or concentration). BU earned membership in CUIBE by establishing a Global Business Institute, led by Lam Nguyen, professor of management and international business, to support international programs. In addition, BU launched a new major in international business in collaboration with the College of Liberal Arts with concentrations in economics and policy and globalization. BU also signed agreements with partner institutions in China (Shandong University) and Vietnam (University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City and Foreign Trade University). BU is one of just of three institutions in Pennsylvania with membership in CUIBE and the only one in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. FALL 2018 5 BU To Offer Online Master’s Degree in Information Technology BU WILL OFFER A MASTER OF SCIENCE in Information Technology beginning in Fall 2019. The online program within the Zeigler College of Business responds to the rapid and dynamic technology changes and challenges that businesses encounter. The 30-credit hour program will focus on how information technology affects corporate strategy and operations. Targeted students for the degree program University Chief of Staff Named PETER T. KELLY, J.D. has been named university chief of staff. Kelly comes to BU from St. Thomas University in Miami, where he has served as the law school’s assistant dean for alumni relations as well as the special assistant to the president. As assistant dean, Kelly helped establish the law school’s alumni association, served as the liaison to the law school’s Board of Advisors and its alumni council, and was the Title IX coordinator. After earning his bachelor’s degree in Classics at Cornell University, Kelly lived in Guangzhou, China, where he taught English at Guangdong Peizheng College. He earned his law degree from Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law. He worked as a law clerk at Catholic University’s Office of General Counsel and later served as a legal analyst at the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, Office of Judges Programs, in Washington, D.C. can have a wide variety of academic backgrounds and professional experience. Some technology students may enter into the program to continue their education or update their existing technology skills to gain a rapid competitive advantage to quickly advance from an entry-level to a higher-level information technologyrelated job. Shawver Interim Dean of Zeigler College of Business TODD SHAWVER, current chairperson in the Department of Accounting and Business Law, will serve as interim dean of the Zeigler College of Business for the 2018-19 academic year. Shawver, who has been at BU for seven years, received his Doctorate in Business Administration from Nova Southeastern University, MBA from Plymouth State University, and bachelor's degree from New England College. He brings over 12 years of academic experience to his new role. In addition, he has over 15 years of corporate experience in industries ranging from startup software integration, real estate and a Fortune 500 corporation in the high tech industry. Student Research Honored at Regional Symposium Benjamin Maust, a criminal justice major from Mechanicsburg, was honored for having the best abstract at the 2018 Susquehanna Valley Undergraduate Research Symposium held in August at Bucknell University. Maust’s research, “Fatal Police Shootings in the National Media: An Exploratory Analysis,” was conducted with the mentorship of Bob Moschgat, assistant professor of criminal justice. Maust was also selected to give an oral presentation on his research. 6 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA BU Faculty, Alumna Earn College Personnel Association Awards THREE PEOPLE WITH BU CONNECTIONS won awards from the Pennsylvania College Personnel Association (PCPA) this year for contributions to the organization. Faculty member Mindy Andino, Ed.D., won the Joseph Merkle Award for Outstanding Contribution; Tamika Austin ’14/’16M earned the Outstanding New Professional Award, while Frederick Douglass Fellow Kristin Austin ’02 received the 2018 PCPA Ronald Lunardini Mentoring Award. The trio will be recognized next spring at the American College Personnel Association annual conference in Boston and PASSHE/PCPA student affairs conference. Mindy Andino, Ed.D. Tamika Austin ’14/’16M Kristin Austin ’02 McCormack Named Assistant Vice-President for Student Affairs BU ALUMNUS and longtime employee James McCormack ’90/’93M has been named assistant vice president for Student Affairs for Residence Life and Integrative Learning. McCormack has served BU for more than 30 years in a variety of areas including associate director of residence life and for the last three years, director of student affairs business functions. McCormack holds a bachelor’s degree in business economics and a master’s degree in business administration from BU as well as a master of strategic studies from the United States Army War College. McCormack is also a member of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. Having begun his military career as an infantryman, he now holds the rank of colonel, and is the land component commander for the state. He is now under consideration for promotion to the rank of brigadier general. Associate VP for Student Success Named MARTHA (MARTY) WYGMANS, Ed.D. has been named the new associate vice president for student success. Wygmans comes to Bloomsburg University after serving as the project director for TRiO Programs and executive director of student services at Binghamton University. She oversaw a number of programs at the university, including Student Support Services, Upward Bound, and veterans services. As part of her duties she also wrote the grant proposals which funded Upward Bound and Student Support Services. Wygmans also served on the Board of Directors for the Association for Equality and Excellence in Education. She has also worked at Illinois Valley Community College as director of student support services and at St. Joseph’s College in Indiana as director of counseling and dean of freshmen. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Business and Master of Arts in Agency Counseling and recently earned her Doctor of Education in Higher Education Administration from The George Washington University. FALL 2018 7 Focus ON Students Fueling a Passion for Learning By Tom McGuire History buffs know Oak Ridge National Laboratory esoteric to the non-scientist. (ORNL) in Tennessee as the site where the nuclear “I am predicting structures and properties of bomb was developed through the Manhattan Project. uranium fluoride compounds that have never Today ORNL is synonymous with been observed from a solid atomic energy and cutting-edge theoretical basis,” says Staros. “I do not feel even slightly science. For BU senior chemistry “I use supercomputers for the major Daniel Staros, it was his calculations, which are extremely disadvantaged coming from classroom for a summer internship. huge and computationally Bloomsburg, and my chemistry Staros, from Thompson, was expensive.” In layman’s terms, education could not have prepared his work will provide an one of just 57 interns accepted into the Nuclear Engineering understanding of uranium’s me better for this work,” Science Laboratory Synthesis behavior in solid compounds. This — Daniel Staros ’19 (NESLS) program and one of knowledge is relevant to every only two in the Nuclear Security stage of the nuclear fuel cycle, Advanced Technologies lab at the Oak Ridge National where uranium oxides and fluorides are abundant. Laboratory. He worked daily on projects that are While Staros worked alongside interns from some 8 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA nationally prominent schools like MIT, Harvard and Vanderbilt, he never felt like he was handicapped coming from BU. “I didn't feel even slightly disadvantaged coming from Bloomsburg, and my chemistry education could not have prepared me better for this work,” adds Staros. “Just last summer I did research at Bloomsburg which prepared me for the discipline required for this type of problemsolving. Although I needed to learn multiple new skills while here, the work ethic ingrained in me by the BU chemistry program has kept this from being a problem.” The goal of every internship is to gain knowledge and experience in a particular field, and Staros has taken advantage of the opportunity. “This internship has added to my skill set,” Staros says. “These skills, which include Python, Bash scripting, genetic algorithms, and several others, have useful applications in countless other areas, increasing my professional marketability. The interdisciplinary nature of the lab has allowed me to see many new areas of science and the beneficial aspects of inter-group collaboration.” The knowledge Staros gained at ORNL will lead directly to the next stage of his education. “Becoming a staff scientist in a national lab requires a graduate degree and The University of Tennessee has a joint center with ORNL called the Bredesen Center. I am strongly considering this program for obtaining my Ph.D., with the goal of landing a career in nuclear physics.” Two Students Earn Army ROTC Nursing Awards Alison McKay BU NURSING STUDENTS Alison McKay (Dover, Del.) and Grace Sullivan (Macungie), members of the Army ROTC, both earned top nursing cadet honors at the U.S. Army Cadet Command Advanced Camp this summer in Fort Knox, Ky. Attending camp at different times, both McKay and Sullivan, the youngest members of their regiments, were recognized for stellar leadership and the ability to perform under stress. Advanced Camp is a 31-day training event that is designed to assess a cadet’s proficiency in basic officer leadership tasks. Cadets are evaluated on their ability to lead at the squad and platoon levels, both in garrison and tactical environments. Cadets are also mentally and physically tested during a 12-day consequence driven field training exercise that replicates a combat training center rotation. Successful completion of the Advanced Camp is a prerequisite for commissioning. Grace Sullivan Accounting Students, Alumnus Earn Awards CALEB JACKSON ’17 was honored with the Elijah Watt Sells Award by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. The award is given to candidates who have obtained a cumulative average score of 95.50 across all four sections of the CPA Exam and who have passed all four sections of the examination on their first attempt. Jackson is one of three test takers in Pennsylvania who have received this recognition. Also, BU accounting majors have received scholarships from the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA). Justin Dickerson, Julie Nicolov and Matthew Swales earned $2,000 statewide scholarships, and David Lopatka earned a $1,000 northeastern regional scholarship. In addition, accounting major Victoria Moyer ’18, a Masters of Accountancy student, received a Global Fraud Conference Student Scholarship to attend the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners annual Global Fraud Conference in Las Vegas. FALL 2018 9 Meet the CLASS OF 2022 By Eric Foster they connect nearly constantly, with some studies finding that Generation Z. Born between members of Generation Z check 1996 and 2010, they are a generation their phones, on average, every three minutes. that has grown up in a world more Yet this group can be surprisingly startlingly connected than any old-fashioned. “I equate Generation Z generation before them. That to the silent generation, a boomerang connection has had an effect back to the on how they values of communicate, their greatwhat they value “I equate Generation Z to the grandparents, and even how silent generation, a boomerang but different,” they think. back to the values of their greatsays Bill Faust, Among the senior partner members of grandparents, but different,” and chief Generation — Bill Faust, Ologie strategy officer Z are the at branding approximately and marketing firm Ologie. Faust 1,630 new fall freshmen who has spent much of his career started classes this August and are researching the underlying members of Bloomsburg’s largest motivations of college students. fall freshman class ever. Specializing in higher education, For this connected generation, Ologie has conducted its own studies phones have always been miniature of Generation Z as it began to emerge, computers you can put in your with keen focus on the impact these pocket. They’re digital natives, students will have on the colleges having never known a world that and universities who seek to recruit wasn’t internet connected. And THE GENERATIONS 10 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA them. The firm will partner with BU for three years to refine BU’s marketing messages, branding elements and find new ways to reach potential students. The goal is to come up with clear positioning statements and talking points that will set BU apart from competitors, a consistent system of graphic identifiers, and publications and web content that will guide university communication for the next 15 to 20 years. For Chris Lapos, BU’s director of admissions, Generation Z has already had an effect on how the university communicates with prospective students. “We’re refining and focusing the recruitment process so we communicate with potential students in a more personal way. We’re using more electronic communication and sending more information to prospective students based on what they’re interested in.” “They are the first generation that grew up with digital as the primary means of communications. Online LOST GENERATION G.I. GENERATION SILENT GENERATION The generation that came of age during World War I. Born starting in the early 1900s and ending in the mid-1920s. Born in the mid-to-late 1920s to earlyto-mid 1940s, STEPHANIE SHANNON Bloomsburg, Accounting Online research and word-of-mouth steered Stephanie Shannon to BU’s accounting program over some larger universities where she felt like she “was just a number.” Like about 10 percent of BU students, Shannon is local to the university. “I did a lot of research online and BU has a great accounting program,” says Shannon. “The program also has a lot of connections.” Though a freshman, Shannon comes to BU having already completed an internship and having worked in the family business. “I thought I was going to be in the medical field, but did an internship and found it wasn’t for me. I’m glad I did because I changed my entire path.” MARCOS GONZALEZ Philadelaphia, Business Marcos Gonzalez learned about BU in the most old-fashioned way … a high school visit from a BU admissions counselor. But from that point of a contact, he got a glimpse of BU from the inside out. “I followed all the social media, especially Instagram and Snapchat, to see everything that was going on and what things I wanted to be a part of.” is oxygen to them,” says Faust. “But, the biggest myth is that everything is all digital all the time.” “Millennials (the generation born in the early 1980s to mid-1990s) weren’t purely digital. They grew up when it was hot and shiny, they were constantly experimenting with technology,” says Faust. “Generation Z is looking at their older siblings and cousins and thinking ‘maybe it’s OK to read a book.’ I think there’s a little bit of retrenchment about technology and they are more selective about how they live out loud.” Events outside the digital world have shaped Generation Z profoundly. Since they were in kindergarten, Iraq has always been a place where thousands of U.S. soldiers are deployed. And the economic downturn of 2008 of 2008 cast a shadow over many of their families as they grew up. “They’ve watched the Great Recession that devastated families. They’ve welcomed family members back into the home. They are more communal than previous generations,” says Faust. “They’re driven, but the definition of success is different. It’s not about climbing to the top of the corporate ladder. They don’t trust institutions. The dream job has to do with having a sense of purpose … doing good. They want to make money … they’re not completely altruistic.” Purposeful. Open. Communal. Those are the three words Faust would use to describe Generation Z. BABY BOOMERS GENERATION X MILLENNIALS GENERATION Z Born earlyto mid-1940s to the earlyto-mid-1960s. Born in the mid-1960s to the early 1980s. Born in the early 1980s to the mid-1990s. Born in the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s. FALL 2018 11 visiting family in New York, I drove through Pennsylvania and just fell in love with the area so I started looking for a school in Pennsylvania,” says Dickerson. “While researching the school, I mostly just looked at majors, the volleyball program, and the atmosphere of the campus. My parents SARA DICKERSON were very excited for me to California, Nursing branch out and experience the world. They believed that Distance was no obstacle for going away to school was a California native Sara Dickerson’s very good experience and a choice to attend BU. A little less good idea.” than 10 percent of BU students A campus visit sealed the come from outside Pennsylvania, decision. “The weather, the mostly from New Jersey. Dickerson colors, and the brick buildings chose BU from the other side of the attracted me to BU. The country. “I always knew that I wanted campus was gorgeous and I to go away for school and while just knew it was right for me.” KAMRAN SHAMS South Williamsport, Health Sciences Kamran Shams was looking at private colleges last spring when he learned of BU’s Honors Program. “(Honors director) Dr. (Julie) Vandivere is the reason I came here. I saw a great opportunity,” says Shams, who is one of 86 new students who came into BU’s honors program, Kamran Shams with his mother topping last year’s record of 60. Lisa and brother Kayvan. BU now has 210 students in the honors program. “We come from a small town and all the colleges we applied to were private colleges,” says his mother Lisa Shams, who anticipates keeping connected to her college student. “He’s going to get a nightly text. He doesn’t need to answer it, but I’m going to send it. It will be like saying goodnight.” Sources: Beloit College Mindset List, commscope.com, googleapis.com, Mediakix.com, tech.co., thinkwithgoogle.com 12 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA DEFINING GENERATION Z Today, they represent more than a quarter of the U.S. population and will be a third of the population by 2020. 96% own a smartphone. Most got their first smartphone at age 12. Nearly half are connected online for 10 or more hours a day. One in 10 will check their smartphone in the shower. Amazon.com has always existed. 27% watch TV shows on their smartphone. Just 34% watch TV shows on the TV. The least popular way to communicate is by telephone call (4%). Texting is most popular at 52%. “They’ve witnessed parents working two jobs “Be authentic. Be transparent,” says Faust. “When rather than one. And they’re going ‘I’m not going to many schools do case studies, they pick the best let that happen to me. I’m not going to rely on a big students. For Generation Z, show someone who company,’” says Faust. “This generation is much more struggled. Show real people. Show flaws. They hate community oriented. Their circle of friends is bigger. fake, they hate spin. They don’t want something that Their relationships are different. feels contrived. Generation Z are They have friends they’ve never investigators on the internet. If you “We’re refining and focusing met in person because of social make claims, it better be backed by the recruitment process so we media. They’re socially open, more evidence.” embracing of eclectic community. What will the future communicate with potential students They care less about race, religion hold as Generation Z grows into in a more personal way.” or whether someone is trans or responsibility? — Chris Lapos, Director of Admissions gay.” “I’m super optimistic about And for all of their them,” says Faust. “Their openness, connectedness, “Generation Z tremendously values willingness to accept others … especially gender. They their relationships with their parents,” says Faust. are more willing to accept people for who they are. “More so than other generations. Earlier generations They’ll make sure organizations will have values that didn’t talk about taboo topics with their parents they live.” like this generation.” Keeping it real is critical to marketing and communicating to Generation Z. MIKAYLA LYNCH MILES PLUNKETT Miles Plunkett, second from left, with brother Josh, father John, mother Brenda and sister Lorelei. Royersford, Nursing Massachusetts, Chemistry For Mikayla Lynch, BU was just the right distance from home. Not too close ... and not too far. “While looking at colleges my most important factors were the nursing program had to be great, [there had to be] a good lacrosse program and coach, a nice campus, and the distance from home to be not too far. Bloomsburg had every single item on that list,” says Lynch. “I loved the lacrosse team and Coach Shannon Hertz really sold me on being a Husky.” “Because I wanted to play lacrosse, I first started looking at colleges in my freshman year of high school,” says Lynch. “I learned about BU by looking at Division 2 schools for lacrosse. I first came up my sophomore year of high school for a clinic the lacrosse team was holding.” Massachusetts native Miles Plunkett had one hard rule to adhere to when choosing a college. “He couldn’t be far enough to require a plane ticket. Five hours was the limit,” jokes his mother Brenda Plunkett. A passionate outdoorsman, Miles Plunkett began his college search by checking out online college guides with friends. “I visited with my dad and I loved the size of BU and the distance away from home,” says Plunkett, who is already keen on testing the climbing wall on upper campus. “The tour helped a lot,” says his father, John. An avid ukulele player, Plunkett joked with his parents that all he needed for school was his ukulele. By coincidence, on the campus visit, the first thing they encountered was a student with a ukulele on the quad. FALL 2018 13 THE SOUND OF SUCCESS 14 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA PHOTOS: Douglas Benedict By Tom McGuire Enrique Josephs ’14 was cooling his jets at LAX waiting for a flight. A call came in on his cell from his agent. He made a quick trip to the men's room where he opened up a suitcase on a changing table to reveal his mobile recording studio. Ten minutes later … mission accomplished. Spot recorded and delivered to the client. For a voice-over artist, working in strange locations at all hours of the day and night is part of the business. It’s a career that Josephs, better known to his friends as EJ, never even knew existed if not for a chance meeting at a summer event on campus. It’s already been a meteoric journey for the 26-year old with many big dreams still in his future. Among his credits is work for NFL Films, the History Channel, MLB Network, ESPN and the Emmynominated Harry Connick Jr. television show. Along the way though, there were lots of twists and turns and a bit of luck. Josephs was a highly-recruited football offensive lineman from West Chester. One of his high school teachers, John Adams, the father of a former BU football player Stefan Adams ’10, suggested he give BU a serious look for both its football team and its strong mass communications program. “The late Mr. Adams really influenced me to attend BU,” says Josephs. “I loved playing football and had dreams of becoming a news anchor. He thought Bloomsburg University would be good for me with both a strong football team and mass communications department.” “My early goal was to be a news anchor,” says Josephs. Those dreams of being an on-camera celebrity soon changed. “I realized I liked being behind the scenes as an editor or on the radio more. I could let my personality come through without being worried about the camera.” After his football career ended due to injury, fate would intervene for Josephs when former teammate Franklyn Quiteh ’13 recommended his friend to the BU athletic department for a job as an announcer at the school’s home games. Once the staff heard him on the microphone, Josephs was quickly hired. “Working as a PA announcer taught me how to make adjustments on-thefly in a stressful situation,” Josephs continues. “Initially I was fearful of what people would think of my voice, but I grew into enjoying the interaction I had with the fans as well as still being part of a sport without actually playing.” He got involved with other activities on campus as well. “I started volunteering more for projects the mass comm department was working on with Jason Genovese, now chair of the department, and the instructional media services,” Josephs adds. Editing his work entails many late nights for Josephs. FALL 2018 15 PHOTO: Douglas Benedict “EJ always had the talent, the golden pipes, but you need more than that, and he knew it. He had a work ethic that has already carried him to great heights in the television industry and will continue to do so.” — Jason Genovese, Ph.D. “EJ always had the talent, the golden pipes, but you need more than that, and he knew it,” says Genovese. “He had a work ethic that has already carried him to great heights in the television industry and will continue to do so.” “As a senior, I attended the first Confer Radio Institute held at BU,” says Josephs. “I met Pat Garrett, one of the top voice-over guys. I never knew doing that kind of work could be a career. Pat let us use his equipment to record demos and also told us to keep working and not give up. It was great advice that I never forgot.” But a journey from ‘keep working hard kid’ to NFL Films doesn’t just happen. Along with skill, Josephs needed some luck and a few breaks. By day Josephs was working as a video instructor at the Glen Mills school for troubled youth. By night he was interning for an independent baseball team, the Camden River Sharks, learning as much as he could and getting tips from the announcer Kevin Casey, now the voice of the Philadelphia Union professional soccer team. On a career day at Glen Mills, an engineer from NFL Films was on site and a co-worker of Josephs’ introduced him to the engineer. After a brief conversation, he was asked to send in a demo. “I scrambled that night at home to put something together and quickly sent it in,” Josephs continued. “The company surprised me by calling me in for an interview. It went so well, a few months later I was 16 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA offered a job as a production assistant, ironically just a few days after landing a full-time position with the school.” (He quickly left his job at the school.) Josephs’ big break came just months later when he was tabbed to be the voice of the post-game spot announcing the opportunity to purchase gear and a highlight DVD of the Super Bowl. Later he worked on a highlight film of the Super Bowl, becoming the first seasonal production assistant hired for that role. “I had to sleep at NFL Films multiple nights to meet the deadline,” says Josephs. “The same producers who recorded his demo gave him a shot to do the narration on the Super Bowl 50 highlights. It was huge. They loved it.” Later that year Josephs caught another big break and landed a spot as the voice of the NFL’s Top 100 when the original voice of the show was arrested. “I was working with the show’s Emmy Award-winning producer doing some training. After the original voice-over artist was dropped, the producer hired me to be the new voice that year. We had to re-record two episodes which had aired already and now I am one of three regular voices of the program.” Most recently Josephs did the narration for the History Channel’s summer show “Evel Live,” which was the most-watched live show outside of a sporting event on television in 2018 with more than 3.5 million viewers. “The production company for the show, Nitro Circus, had heard some of my work and asked me to audition,” says Josephs. “A short time after sending in my audition, my agent called me to tell me I got the job.” Of course, that day was also his first day of vacation in Virginia. “I had to call a friend, who called someone he knew, and I landed time in a studio. In all, it took about two hours to record all the narration so I didn’t lose too much of my vacation.” While the profession may seem simple to an outsider, just like an athlete, Josephs has to train, practice and of course take care of his most valuable asset … his voice. “Each week I work with a voice coach because it’s easy to strain the vocal chords if you’re not careful,” says Josephs. “Recently, I went to a concert, but couldn’t scream. I also drink a lot of water, tea with honey, and eat lots of apples. I’ve also stopped drinking milk because lactose creates too much mucus. And, my girlfriend’s grandmother put me on to echinacea and I haven’t been sick in more than three years (knock on wood),” Josephs says laughing. “Originally I was very hard on myself and would critique all my work. I don’t do it as much now. Now I’m just interested in making sure my clients are happy with my work.” So what’s next for the guy who originally was hoping to be a news anchor? “It’s been an amazing few years for me, but I do not want to be complacent,” says Josephs. “I see my future in promos, commercials and narrations. It would be great to be able to do a long-term series for Nat Geo or the Discovery Channel. I’d love to be synonymous with one show.” “Ultimately, the Olympics for voice-over artists are movie trailers. Right now two guys have most of the work in this area. I’m not rushing things; I’ve still got a lot to learn about the industry. But movie trailers is where I hope to one day land.” Despite his growing status in the voice-over world, Josephs still finds time to give back. “I’m mentoring three young men at my church in the voice-over business and recently spent an hour on the phone with an intern from NFL Films answering her questions. For me, it’s about helping others on their journey,” he says. “I learned a lot by trial and error. My goal is to help others achieve their dreams.” Where Josephs’ dream takes him, only time and his voice will say. PHOTO: Douglas Benedict A mobile studio allows Enrique Josephs to record voice-overs on the road. FALL 2018 17 Focus ON Giving My Husky Experience JILLIAN DILLINGER, a native of York, wasn’t always sure where she wanted to attend college, but she did know that wherever she went, she would have to help pay for her education. As she was approaching the end of her senior year in high school, Dillinger learned she was awarded the BU Scholarship for Academic Success, a scholarship provided through donations to the Henry Carver Fund, the annual fund for Bloomsburg University. “I was in such a state of anxiety, but then I received this award, which gave me instant relief,” says Jillian. “I remember just filling with gratitude and I could not wait for my mom to get 18 “My parents work so hard to help me pay for college. Thanks to this gift, that burden is a bit less, and that feels amazing.” home from work to show her, so I drove to her job to show her the letter.” Dillinger, now entering her sophomore year as a psychology major, chose to attend BU because of the school’s psychology department and her interest in pursuing a career in the mental health field. She first became interested in psychology when she started a mental health awareness group at her high school to help fellow students who were struggling. “I am so appreciative and grateful to have received such a generous scholarship. What students choose to do in their high school years is so important for the well-being and outcome of their years in college, and I personally feel as if this scholarship has set a helpful bar to remind myself to keep working hard.” Making the Right Gift A Legacy of Gratitude VICTORIA WYLIE ’11 received a scholarship that gave her the opportunity to succeed when she was a student at Bloomsburg. To pay it forward after she graduated, she wanted to make a gift that represented her own Husky experience, but she wasn't sure of the best way to do that. Wylie found a perfect way to give back that was close to her heart and would have an immediate impact: She supported a book scholarship offered through the Henry Carver Fund to help students who were unable to afford the books they needed. “I came from a family that didn’t have a lot of money,” Wylie says. “So receiving that scholarship was a blessing, which eliminated a lot of the financial burden that purchasing books presented for me during my freshman year.” ARLENE SUPERKO ’45 recognizes BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA and appreciates the positive return on her Bloomsburg University education. “I started to save up some money after many years working as a teacher thanks to my experience at Bloomsburg, so I thought I should do something to give back,” Superko says. In 1982, 37 years into her 55-year career as an educator, she began donating to BU each year and continued well after she retired from the New York school system in 2000. After meeting with a financial adviser while doing some retirement planning, Superko learned she could do even more to support BU. In 2013, Superko secured her own BU legacy by adding Bloomsburg as a beneficiary to her life insurance policy and creating the Arlene Superko ’45 Scholarship to benefit students interested in exploring careers in the fields of math and science. “My hope is that this scholarship will encourage students like my younger self to excel to their fullest potential.” Bloomsburg University Donors Supporting the Husky Experience Thank you to our donors for your generous support to Bloomsburg University. Here are a few highlights of how your gifts made a meaningful impact on our campus and our students: $ 6 . 2 million 4,546 by Alumni, parents, faculty, staff, students and friends who made a gift to Bloomsburg University Overall dollars contributed OUR DONORS HAVE DESIGNATED GIFTS TO Henry Carver Fund 30% 6% 7% Endowed Scholarships 30% Professional Experiences 27% Emerging Opportunities 7% Faculty Support 6% 99.6% 30% 27% 30% of every dollar contributed to the BU Foundation goes to support Bloomsburg University students, programs and initiatives. $2,236,113 Dollars in scholarships and grants that were provided to Bloomsburg University students 35% 86% $1,830,704 Total dollars were raised through the Henry Carver Fund, the annual fund for Bloomsburg University of the Class of 2018 made their first gift to BU 1,337 undergraduate students benefited from scholarships and grants of gifts to annual funds were less than $250 $2,264,205 Total dollars were realized in gifts committed to Bloomsburg University through estate intentions The Bloomsburg University Foundation fiscal year ran from July 1, 2017 — June 30, 2018 Learn More >> giving.bloomu.edu FALL 2018 19 FROM THE SERVICE to Student By Jack Sherzer A sense of duty, a passion to succeed and a can-do attitude. Purpose-driven, mission-oriented and motivated. For the men and women who have served in the military, these traits are as apparent as their uniforms. But when the uniform comes off and veterans find themselves on campus, those same traits can make the transition to college a challenge. “In the military, we’re disciplined and good at time management. But when you get to school, no one is giving you direct oversight,” says Bob Heckrote, adviser for military and undeclared students at Bloomsburg University’s Office of Military and Veterans Resources. “That can be a strange adjustment for military folks. They have to learn to be self-led and self-directed.” A 12-year veteran of the Army National Guard who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and retired in 2015 as a staff sergeant, Heckrote knows firsthand how alone and disconnected military students can feel. They’re often older than other students, and if they’ve deployed in trouble spots, they might feel there’s no way anyone who hasn’t experienced conflict can understand how they feel. From help navigating the complex world of military benefits and academic advising to connecting students with the university’s Student Veterans Association and other organizations, the office is a place where veterans can find others, including office staff, who have walked in their boots. That’s the case for three students from different backgrounds who share a common bond: service to their country. Julie Nicolov in the seat of a military helicopter that landed on campus for Touch a Truck Week last fall. 20 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA PHOTO CREDIT: Jaime North Veterans, including Raul E. Santana (far left), march on campus for Veterans Day. ARMY VETERAN JULIE NICOLOV She was the last person any of her friends or family expected to enlist in the Army. After graduating from Penn State with a bachelor’s degree in English and creative writing in 1999, Julie Nicolov, 41, moved to Selinsgrove. She freelanced for area newspapers and worked in a restaurant. One day she joined her now ex-husband for an appointment at a recruiter’s office. “The recruiter is telling everything to my ex, and then he looks at me and says, ‘What are you doing with your life?’” she recalls. He showed her a brochure depicting two female soldiers rappelling down a mountain captioned, “These soldiers will go anywhere to get the story.” “I signed that day,” says Nicolov. Enlisted as a noncommissioned public affairs officer, she served nearly six years. She deployed twice to Iraq, mostly in Baghdad. She accompanied patrols and wrote stories, and worked with embedded civilian journalists. Though she was never in a firefight, shots were fired at her patrols, and danger was ever-present. Nicolov returned to civilian life in September 2006 and worked as an assistant photography editor at The News-Item in Shamokin. She met her partner, Andy Bendas, and they had a son, Dylan, now 7. She kept the financial books for Bendas’ coal-delivery company as she contemplated the next step in her career. “I had until 2021 to use the benefits through my GI Bill, and I decided to give accounting a try,” says Nicolov, who enrolled at BU in 2016 and will graduate with an accounting degree in December. “Bloomsburg is close to home and has a respected business school, and had more to offer than Harrisburg Area Community College or Penn State.” In 2016, a decade after her military service, Nicolov was still coming to terms with the stress of her service Julie Nicolov sighting a .50 caliber sniper rifle. in Iraq — she always looked for the exits in any room, she woke at night to check the door locks, and would cross the street if she saw something suspicious on the sidewalk. At BU, she encountered veterans with similar wartime experiences, and said “I was accepted right away.” She appreciated the weekly emails Heckrote sent from the Office of Military and Veterans Resources, noting that “It felt like one more person was looking out for me.” She took a work-study position in the office last year, which provided her with a safe space to “work through everything that I hadn’t made peace with.” Veterans, especially those who have been in lifeand-death situations, can have trouble adjusting, Nicolov acknowledges. The key is to make sure your military strengths of punctuality and perseverance work for you. And use your support system, she says. “If you are having trouble, talk to someone,” she continues. “And if you are at BU, talk to someone at the military office. Whatever we can do to help someone succeed at Bloomsburg, we are going to do it.” FALL 2018 21 Bradley Beda (above far left with glasses) with his submarine crewmates. Beda served a decade in the Navy with more than two years at sea. GUARDSMAN RAUL E. SANTANA Before he graduated from Bloomsburg in December 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in communications studies, Raul E. Santana would walk around campus carrying his Army backpack, hoping it would spark conversations with fellow veterans. Santana, 23, joined the Pennsylvania National Guard in 2014, serving on a Paladin howitzer crew. Before attending BU, he earned an associate degree in general studies from Luzerne County Community College. The 23-year-old, who came to Hazleton from the Dominican Republic when he was 16, says friends of the family spoke highly of military service and he also wanted to set a good example for his younger brother. “It was a path to success for me,’’ Santana says of military service. “The values that the military stand for align with what it is to be a man: Honesty. Integrity. Service. Honor.’’ Adjusting to college life was a challenge, and the lack of structure made him uncomfortable at first. “When you’re exposed to military training, you get used to that lifestyle, and it took time to adapt to the life I’m living now,” says Santana, who was an intern for the Student Veterans of America in Washington, D.C. this summer. When he toured Bloomsburg in 2015, he found a family of veterans, which convinced him to enroll and become involved. 22 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA “It helps to have a strong network to help you succeed,” says Santana, who became president of the BU Student Veterans of America chapter and helped lead an effort to find funding for the Town of Bloomsburg’s Fourth of July fireworks display this summer. “I appreciated Bloomsburg University’s military community, and Bob tries to make real connections with the students.” Veterans expand the campus culture in a positive way, says Santana. “We offer a different perspective. We have walked different paths than the traditional students, just as older students can offer a different viewpoint. We all bring something to the table.” NAVY VETERAN BRADLEY BEDA Bradley Beda graduated from the University of Cincinnati College of Business in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in information systems and into the teeth of a looming recession. Unable to find work in his field, the Ohio native worked for his father’s construction company. With few prospects in the civilian world, Beda turned to the Navy. He chose submarine service because he’s not claustrophobic and boot camp for service on subs started right away. “I wanted to go on with the next part of my life, and I was burning out working construction,” said Beda, 38. With his technical background, he went into fire control, which used familiar computer networks. After serving a decade in the Navy — about two and a half years of it at sea — his wife, Megan, whom he met while serving in Connecticut, didn’t want him shipping out anymore. He left the service in 2016. They moved to Danville, and he worked as a maintenance mechanic for Kawneer Co.’s door-manufacturing plant in Bloomsburg. While the plant’s many military veterans helped him with his adjustment to civilian life, working the night shift got old, and he began looking into his GI Bill benefits. “Bloomsburg’s record with accounting is really first-rate,” Beda says. “The people in the Office of Military and Veterans Resources made sure I was able to get my benefits, and made me feel welcome.” An intern at accounting powerhouse Ernst & Young’s Pittsburgh office, Beda will graduate in December with a B.S. in accounting. “The only real adjustment was Bloomsburg’s small class size, and that’s a good adjustment,” he says. “I think the largest class I’ve had was about 30 students, and it’s been nice getting to know the professors.” Though he misses the bond he had with fellow submariners, Beda appreciates BU’s efforts to bring its veterans together. He worked in the military resources office, helping students with GI benefits, class registration and other needs. “One of the biggest issues I’ve seen is when it comes to their studies,” he points out. “In the military, when you are in a school, you are pushed to study and succeed. In college there is nobody to push you but yourself, and some students don’t know how to budget their time. I’ve helped students study — the office provides that kind of support.” “It’s good to find a group that really knows where you come from and what you’ve done. That’s what the military office and everyone working there provide.” A Personal Mission By Jack Sherzer When veterans or military dependents enroll at Bloomsburg University and indicate their service connection, they hear from Bob Heckrote, the adviser for military and undeclared students at Bloomsburg’s Office of Military and Veterans Resources, where his team serves the nearly 400 activeduty personnel, veterans and dependents that are BU students. The office helps military students access their benefits and financial aid and keep on track academically. It also provides “Green Zone Training,” a kind Bob Heckrote, BU Office of Military and Veterans Resources of military 101 class to educate professors, staff and civilian students who haven’t served about the armed forces. When those students walk into the office, they find staffers who also have served their country. “It’s personal to me,” said Heckrote, who deployed to Asadabad, Afghanistan, in 2008 with the Army National Guard and started taking classes at Bloomsburg in 2006 after a tour in Ramadi, Iraq. That was before BU’s military resources office existed. “I came to Bloomsburg right after an intense combat deployment,” he said. “I watched myself and my veteran peers struggle a lot.” After earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology, Heckrote began working at the office when it opened in 2013. He went on to earn a master’s degree in education and counseling, and makes a point of trying to connect with every military-affiliated student. Heckrote is helping create a unique program at Bloomsburg: The Military Academic Credit Review Board, which will determine whether the skills and training experiences that students bring with them from the military qualify for college credit. “For the past three years, we’ve been working on this program to find the right way to give them proper credit for their experiential learning,” he says. “A lot of military education is technical, like welding or engine repair, and wouldn’t help them in their Bloomsburg degree. But within that, you do have some items like leadership and management that may qualify, depending on their major.” FALL 2018 23 George Antochy ’79 and his wife, Laura J. Adolphson ’79 on campus in the 1970s and recently. Forging a Path to Success By Thomas Schaeffer “I believe it’s the foundation you build that sets you on the right path to success and for me, that foundation was Bloomsburg,” says George Antochy ’79, retired Army Reserve colonel and information technology professional. That’s why he jumped at the opportunity to return to campus last year to help students taking part in Career Intensive Boot Camp, a two-and-half-day experience for juniors, seniors and recent graduates that is held twice a year as part of the university’s Professional U initiative. “I’m a strong believer in mentorship,” says Antochy, who now lives in Mansfield, Texas. “And I hope that’s what I’ve been able to do since being asked to come back to Bloomsburg and work with students.” 24 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Antochy says that although his experience at Bloomsburg became especially helpful when he became a mentor, college wasn’t a sure thing for him growing up. His mother and father emigrated from Germany in the mid-’50s after surviving World War II, and settled in Pennsylvania, raising five boys. Calling himself just an average student in high school, Antochy never was sure that he wanted to go to college. No one else in the family had gone. But a history teacher who graduated from Bloomsburg always spoke highly of his time there. “Since history was the only subject I’d really took an interest in, I guess he made an impression upon me,” he says. Antochy left his decision to a coin flip. “Heads was Bloomsburg and tails was the Navy. It landed on heads and the rest was history.” But it wasn’t quite that simple. He enrolled as a history major with every intention of becoming a social studies teacher, but in his sophomore year he joined the ROTC to help with the costs of going to school, which led him to pursue a bachelor of arts degree in history instead of education. He had no idea this would be the first step toward his career as an IT professional, but the change in majors led to a few courses working with computers. Since it was the mid-1970s, “I didn't know what IT was, nobody did,” says Antochy. “Back then, if you worked in computers, it meant you were wearing a white jacket and working in an air-conditioned room.” As an ROTC scholarship recipient, he was obligated to serve eight years in the Army. On his last assignment Antochy’s military supervisor had a vision that they were going to bring personal computers to the unit level. “He turned to me and said ‘Here’s a box with the parts to build a computer, and the software for an operating system and a word processor,’” Antochy says. “He told me that I had 10 students coming next week, and I had to teach them how to use it and take their computer with them.” Antochy was successful in building the computer and then teaching the students to use it. “The lesson I learned from that experience was that the most important thing you can do is to educate yourself as you go,” he adds. After nearly eight years of active duty, Antochy spent an additional 30 years in the Army Reserve while he also parlayed his BU and military experience into a 28-year career in the IT industry. He spent the first two years at a sales and management position George Antochy as a panelist for a Husky Career Boot Camp, above, and reviewing a student’s resume at a mock interview session. and the next 26 as an IT Specialist with the Federal Aviation Administration. His last assignment was as a manager of a remote office responsible for all the FAA’s administrative personal computers. “What I learned at Bloomsburg and in the military was that you can do anything you want to if you are willing to take direction and respond to constructive criticism,” Antochy says. “And you don’t truly know what you’re capable of until you do it.” That’s the message that he delivered to students when he returned to campus as he stressed that the best way to set the foundation for success was to learn to successfully present themselves and build their own self-confidence. “I was very excited to see so many students participating in these opportunities,” adds Antochy. “They are already laying the first blocks for a solid foundation that will certainly set them on the right path.” George is married to Laura J. Adolphson of Bergenfield, N.J., who also graduated from BU in 1979 with a degree in special education. She recently retired and is enjoying the life of being ‘Gigi’ to their grandsons. They are empty nesters with two daughters and a son. FALL 2018 25 husky notes ’60s Donald Noll ’61 is head football coach of Middletown Area High School. Noll is also a teacher at Feaser Junior High School. He previously served as head football coach at McLean High School in Virginia. Francis Fennell ’68M served as commencement speaker and received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from McDaniel College in Westminster, Md. Fennel is a mathematics education expert and professor emeritus from McDaniel. Stanley Kucharski ’68 is the Scranton Lions Club Man of the Year. Robert Reed ’68 is an adjunct instructor in the Department of Mathematics and Digital Sciences at Bloomsburg University. Reed retired from Shamokin Area High School after 35 1/2 years. Sharon Spry Reed ’69 is an adjunct instructor in the Department of Exceptionality Programs at Bloomsburg University. ’70s Robert Catina ’71M received the 2018 Liberty Bell Award from The Pennsylvania Bar Association Young Lawyers. The award honors individuals for their outstanding community service and for promoting the "blessing of liberty" guaranteed by the Constitution. Catina serves as tipstaff to President Judge Margherita Worthington of the Monroe County Court of Common Pleas. Rita Kelly Cook ’76 retired after a 40-year career in banking technology. She worked for several companies including Citibank, Wells Fargo, and PNC. Allan Weikel ’76 retired as an engineering manager after a 36-year career in the nuclear energy field. Richard F. Jerr, Jr. ’78 retired from Killingly Public Schools after 33 years of service. He was the Special Education Department chair at Killingly High School and the head coach for girls’ track and field. He and his wife, Katherine, live in Killingly, Conn. Lawrence Mussoline ’79 is superintendent of the Haddonfield School District. He recently retired from the Downingtown School District. ’80s Sam Rubbico ’82 is a consultant with Yuhuang Chemical in St. James, La., helping the company with its finances and to secure business loans. Rubbico, a CPA since 1989, was with Shell Oil for over 25 years. He lives in a suburb of Houston, Texas. Lisa Mantineo with Dan Rather and, at right, with the Radio Andy team. Mantineo Makes Mark as NYC Radio Producer Lisa M. Mantineo ’01 has been working in the radio industry in New York City since graduating from BU, and has made some famous connections. She is senior producer for Sirius XM Radio’s Radio Andy channel (102), created by TV personality Andy Cohen, the executive producer. Mantineo works with Cohen twice a week on his live two-hour program. She is also the producer of the weekly radio program Dan Rather’s America, and worked with the legendary 26 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA broadcaster on a special radio event when he sat down with five high school students from Parkland, Fla., to reflect on their “March for Our Lives Event” and the work they have been doing since the shooting tragedy at their school. Mantineo also produces Sandyland, the daily program of actress and comedian Sandra Bernhard. She also worked with Bernhard on a live event with the cast of the TV reboot of “Roseanne.” “Alisa is an excellent writer and performed admirably with her research assignments,” Bowes says. “I am proud to have the opportunity to employ BU grads in my summer program and I have never been anything but delighted with the exceptional level of the work from these high performing students. Alisa exemplifies the tremendous quality of a Bloomsburg University education and the outstanding students who graduate from there.” Petersen credits her professors at BU and an internship at a local law office for preparing her for the rigors of law school. “Professors Neil Strine and Peter Doerschler were great mentors and assisted me getting into law school,” says Petersen. “Also, during my senior year, I spent six months interning at Kreisher and Gregorowicz in Bloomsburg, gaining valuable experience being exposed to different types of law.” After graduating from BU and receiving full scholarship offers to seven law schools, Petersen says working with Judge Bowes this summer helped her in two different ways. “First, my legal writing improved dramatically,” Petersen By Tom McGuire says. “While law school gives students the tools they need to be effective legal writers, you do not truly learn to write until Growing up in the small town of Hunlock Creek never you are on the job. Second, it helped me better understand kept Alisa Petersen ’17 from dreaming big. Those visions Pennsylvania’s appellate procedure, which is much different of being successful led the second-year law student at Penn than trial level courts, especially regarding their scope, State Dickinson Law to a paid summer internship with standard of review, and courtroom proceedings.” Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge and BU Council of One thing Petersen is entirely sure of is that law is the Trustees chairperson Mary Jane Bowes in Pittsburgh. right career path for her. “Interning for Judge Bowes was truly a blessing,” says “Although I am not yet sure what type of law I will want Petersen. “Not only is she a brilliant and influential legal mind, to practice, I am positive that these experiences helped to but she is also kind, funny, and always willing to teach.” assure me that the legal profession is the right career choice Bowes was equally impressed with the work Petersen did for me,” says Petersen. for her this summer. “She may very well end up being on the bench,” says Bowes. COURTING Dreams Charles Warner ’83 was acknowledged in the book A Surgeon with Custer at the Little Big Horn: James DeWolf's Diary and Letters, 1876. Warner, a collector and evaluator of original 19th-century images, shared his knowledge of these early photographs with book editor Todd Harburn. Warner's private collection of images includes images of Seventh Calvary soldiers in civilian settings and he discovered an image that was published in the book. Caroline Muraro ’87 is president of LNP Media Group, Lancaster. Muraro is the first woman to hold that post in the company’s 224-year history. She has spent her career in technology supporting newspaper and magazine publishing and has been a leader in the transition to digital publishing. She will oversee LNP’s circulation, print and digital-client solutions, production and information-technology departments. Daniel Dimm ’89 is director of business development at Strategic Information Group, Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Calif. He has designed, developed and implemented multiple Progress and WebSpeed e-commerce applications across North American and Europe. John Zukus ’89 is vice president at Alliant in Wayne where he provides risk management and insurance to the company's clients throughout the Eastern United States. ’90s Diane Rhine Longenecker ’91 is a commercial relationship officer with Jonestown Bank and Trust, Jonestown. She works with commercial lending clients in the Lebanon Valley area. Mark Jobes ’92 is senior vice president/ chief banking officer at Merchants Bank, Bangor. Jobes was senior vice president of commercial lending at Lafayette Ambassador Bank. He is a graduate of the Leadership Lehigh Valley program, treasurer for the ArtsQuest Board of Directors and is a member of the LVEDC Board of Directors. FALL 2018 27 Pi Kappa Phi Reunion Pi Kappa Phi graduates celebrated their 20th consecutive year reunited in Pond Eddy, N.Y., for two days of camping, horseshoes and canoeing on the Delaware River. This year 26 alumni from 1997 to 2002 attended the event organized by Dan Madara ’99. Attendees included: Mike Krause ’97, Jeremy Landis ’97, Jason Messner ’97, Robert Shoemaker ’97, Paul Archembault ’98, Brian Baldinucci ’98, Dave Decanzio ’99, Tom Lacert ’99, Dan Madara ’99, Dan McIntyre ’99, Shawn O’Keefe ’99, Nick Pagano ’99, Dan Peters ’99, Matt Regn ’99, Joe Symons ’99, Matt Wagner ’99, Joe Wood ’99, Dan Ziegler ’99, Mike Ellis ’00, Dave Marcy ’00, Chris Blankenship ’01, Adam Burghardt ’01, Dan Cincotti ’01, Anthony Jingoli ’01, Mike McLaughlin ’01 and John Motsney ’01. Timothy McMahon ’93 is responsible for the Tuscon territory at Valpak, a cooperative direct mail company. He will serve as an adviser and partner in advancing and partner in advancing the university's strategic plan. Rob Kutchi '94 is a diplomate of The American Board of Radiology, having attained ABR certification in Therapeutic Medical Physics. Jessica Cooper Rinker ’98 has written three books for publication, Gloria Takes a Stand: How Gloria Steinem Listened, Wrote, and Changed the World, Send a Girl: The Brenda Berkman Story, and The Dare Sisters (books 1 and 2). Kathy Baylor Price ’94 is senior district executive of the Community ColumbiaMontour Boy Scout Council. Price is responsible for program development, fundraising, membership recruitment and retention and supervision of the council's camping program at Camp Lavigne. She provides guidance to leaders of the Cub Scout packs, Boy Scout troops, Venture crews, and Explorer posts and clubs in the council, which serves about 1,000 youth members and more than 700 adult volunteers in Columbia and Montour counties, parts of Lower Luzerne County and Riverside in Northumberland County. Cole W. Camplese ’96M is vice president for information technology and chief information officer at Northeastern University in Boston. Camplese was an associate vice president at the University of Chicago. 28 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Jason Brubaker ’99 is vice president of worldwide sales at Distribber, Los Angeles. Jeremy Kipp ’99 is men’s and women’s swimming coach at Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill. Kipp coached at Boise State and as an assistant coach at the University Southern California and California-Santa Barbara. ’00s Michael Bromirski ’00M is superintendent of Hempfield School District, Landisville. Bromirski has 22 years of education experience, 12 of which were at Manheim Township School District. He has served as an elementary school teacher, assistant principal, principal and acting superintendent. Eleanor Vaida Gerhards ’02 was named to the 40 Under 40 list by the Philadelphia Business Journal. Gerhards is a partner in the firm and co-chair of Fox's Franchising, Licensing & Distribution Practice Group in Philadelphia. Gerhards leads a team of more than 40 attorneys in 21 offices who represent franchise and distribution companies in industrial, retail, food, entertainment, service, technology and home-based businesses. Liz Krewson-Ross ’02 is the manager of marketing and social media at the Evergreen Family of Companies in Wyoming. Previously she was the marketing and communications specialist at NiUG International. Jennifer Bushinger ’07 is director of community impact Loveland Center, Venice, Fla. Bushinger has three years of experience in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities and more than 15 years of professional theater experience. She directed 200 productions across the United States, performing in two national tours. Bushinger also taught elementary and middle school children with developmental disabilities in husky notes the line up Jillian Gibson ’12 to Matthew Lorefice ’12 Jillian Gibson ’12 and Matthew Lorefice ’12 celebrated their wedding April 21. Shown from left are, back row: Ryan Olaf, Even Overholt, Joseph Crossin, Clint Clevenstein, Danielle Bowles (Volm), Gina Stillman. Front row: Alyssa Olaf (Kakareka), Amanda Overholt (Welker), Lindsay Kupferschmidt, groom Matthew Lorefice, bride Jillian Lorefice (Gibson), Nikayla Loy, and Alyssa Bartlett. MARRIAGES BIRTHS Todd Garafalo ’02 & Kelly Campbell, April 7, 2018 Jillian Gibson ’12 & Matthew Lorefice ’12, April 21, 2018 Rebecca Hummel ’06/’08M & Eugene Shiu, Nov. 18, 2017 Joseph Ianiero ’13 & Megan Wagner, July 22, 2017 Stefanie Sanders ’04/’05M and husband Keith, a son, Jude August, Aug. 4, 2017 Melissa Mattioli ’06 and husband Bill Reilly, a daughter Olivia Nicole, June 23, 2017 Kerri Sheridan ’06 & Michael Mottola, March 24, 2018 Emily Uetz ’14 & Daniel Staskowski, Oct. 1, 2016 Jake Miller ’05 and wife Devin, a son, Isaiah Daryl, May 4, 2018 Carly Kukish ’07 & Scott Doll, April 2018 Heather Vink ’14 & Daniel Fisher ’14, June 17, 2016 Lauren Kopich Esser ’09 and husband Vincent ’09, a daughter, Brea Elizabeth, April 24, 2018 Amy Ward Morrison ’09 & Timothy Day, April 18, 2018 Katie Kolesar Senycz ‘05 and husband Michael ’03, a daughter, Sloane Patricia, April 30, 2017 Heather Vink Fisher ’14 and husband Daniel ’14, a son, Bennett, March 2, 2017 FALL 2018 29 a therapy program aimed at improving social skills, communication and interpersonal relationships through musical theater. BU graduates separated by 60 years Rachel E. Green ’18, who graduated in anthropology and Arabic, was joined at spring commencement ceremonies by her grandmother Alice Faux Green ’58. Alice Green graduated from Bloomsburg State Teachers College 60 years ago with a degree in secondary mathematics education and retired from the Philadelphia School District. Rachel Green plans to attend graduate school. Rob Cywinski ’08 was honored with a Commendation for Valor from the Department of Corrections for his service. Cywinski as honored for putting himself at risk to protect the life of an officer who had been shot. Jessica Menkin Kontelis ’09 successfully defended her doctoral dissertation in English: Rhetoric and Composition at Texas Christian University in April. In 2011, she earned an M.F.A. in Creative Writing: Fiction at Mills College in Oakland, Calif. ’10s Amy Malecki Lynott ’10 is a senior client services associate with Jacobi Capital Management in Berwyn. She previously worked in client services at a national warehouse firm. Makala Ashmar ’13 is the properties coordinator at the Lehigh Northampton Airport Authority, Allentown. Brian J. Kutz ’13/14M is supervisor and CPA of the Tax Services Group at Boyer & Ritter, Camp Hill. Chad D. Levan ’13/14M is supervisor and CPA at Boyer & Ritter, Camp Hill. Kayla Oxenrider ’13 joined the University of North Florida women’s basketball coaching staff in Jacksonville, Fla. Oxenrider began coaching in 2013 at Albright College and had stints at St. Francis and Austin Peay. Leah Cover ’14 earned several end-ofyear awards from the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League. She earned President’s Club honors for generating more than $600,000 in sales, the Art Ross Award for top group sales revenue and achieved 100 percent Club season ticket sales (coming in at 152 percent). Shea DeNoia ’14/Au.D. is a doctor at Ambrose Hearing Center, Pottsville. Kyle R. Evans ’14M is supervisor in the Business Services, Internal Audit and Government Services groups at Boyer & Ritter, Camp Hill. Jenna Montone ’14 is a social worker in the mental health field at Wernersville State Hospital, Wernersville. Jared Wolfgang ’14 is supervisor and CPA of the Government Services Group at Boyer & Ritter, Camp Hill. Emily J. Griffith ’15/16M is a senior associate in the Forensic, Litigation Support and Consulting Group at Boyer & Ritter, Camp Hill. Scott A. Koman ’15 is supervisor and CPA of the Forensic, Litigation Support and Consulting Group at Boyer & Ritter, Camp Hill. Jake Miller ’15 is assistant sports information director/new media manager at Lees-McRae College, Banner Elk, N.C. Michael Bryan ’17 was accepted into the TAPIF program (Teaching Assistant Program in France). The program is a joint initiative of the French Ministry of National Education, and the cultural services division of the French embassy. He will teach English in Nantes, France, for one semester. Morgan Kerstetter ’17 is the owner of the Catherine Treon School of Dance in Sunbury and Danville. Michael Menapace ’17 is a patrol officer with the Coal Township Police Department. He is scheduled to attend Harrisburg Area Community College Police Academy in June. Brittani Shearer ’17 is a preschool teacher in Kongiganak, Alaska. 30 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA IN MEMORIAM Elbern Alkire, former Foundation Chair Elbern H. “Ed” Alkire Jr. ’95H, age 81 of Allentown, a former director and chair of the Bloomsburg University Foundation Board, died June 2. Alkire was extensively involved in supporting higher education, both at Lafayette College and Bloomsburg University. He won a full tuition merit scholarship to Lafayette College, where he majored in chemical engineering. He was recruited by the General Electric Company to work at the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory in Schenectady, N.Y., where he was involved in the design and testing of power plant systems for nuclear submarines. He also earned a master's degree in chemical engineering from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. Alkire later joined Air Products Company in Allentown as a development engineer. Over the next 33 years, he held technical and management positions of increasing responsibility. In 1975, he was a loaned executive to Pennsylvania serving on the Governor's Review of state government, where he focused on Bloomsburg University. At Bloomsburg, in addition to his service on the Foundation Board, he chaired the advisory board of the College of Business and was a chair and founding member of the advisory council of the department of nursing. The State System of Higher Education awarded him Eberly Medal for Volunteerism and he was an honorary alumnus of BU. He was predeceased by his wife of 54 years, Gratia Greene Alkire. Family survivors include a son, Dr. Ti Alkire of Ithaca and a brother, Dr. Richard C. Alkire and his wife, Melissa Huff. OBITUARIES Frances Riggs Young ’36 Sara Tubbs ’39 J. Richard Zerby ’47 Nadine Tracy ’48 George Gehrig ’49 Robert Burns ’52 Robert Thurston ’52 Wilma Jones Kennedy ’53 Jack Soberick ’53 Delsey Collins ’54 John Johnson ’54 Nancy Tovey Phillips ’54 James Brunn ’57 D. Ron Fox ’58 Robert Poller ’58 Mary Mattern Penny ’59 Lorraine Taylor Thoma ’59 James Bray ’60 Robert Lee Johnstone ’61 Edward Szymczak ’61 Helen Pershing Hoffman ’63 Walter Jacobs ’63 Thomas DeGraziano ’65 Joseph Nutaitis ’65 Russell C. Rudy, Jr. ’68 Kathryn Dehaven ’69 Stanley Wasilewski ’70 Edward Boudman ’71 John Dimhele ’71 John Hollander ’71 Henry Larsen ’71 Henry Nyberg ’71 Karen Sosna Pezzuti Snyder ’73 Shirley Logan Kozerski ’75 Susan Hummel ’76 Mark Foucart ’78 Lynne Elizabeth Miller ’83 David Komara ’84 George Jenkins ’85 Marie Moyer ’85 David Day ’87 Joelane Lindberg ’91 Susan Kutz Egan ’93 Elbern Alkire ’95 Barry Barosky ’96 Rachelle Quick Rivera ’96 Jeremy Grad ’04 Kimberlee Kemp Stout ’04 Stephen Werner ’13 Melanie Powers ’14 Send information to: magazine@bloomu.edu Bloomsburg: The University Magazine • Waller Administration Building • 400 East Second Street • Bloomsburg, PA 17815-1301 FALL 2018 31 ON THE HILL sports A Passion for Helping By Jake Miller ’15 RACHEL YENNEY ’17 has always had a passion for helping others. Combine that with her passion for environmental issues impacting underdeveloped countries, and she finds herself traveling across the country to satisfy both of her interests. Yenney, a four-year member of the women’s soccer team from Collegeville, graduated from BU last December with a bachelor of science in physics and a 3.78 grade point average. She began studying for her master’s degree in civil environmental engineering at Stanford University’s School of Engineering this fall. Yenney chose civil environmental engineering because it combines her two passions. “It is the best combination of my desire for helping others and the environment as well as the engineering and science side of things,” says Yenney. “I’m really excited to see what options this field opens up for me in my future.” “My dream would be to travel to the world and help establish new or improve existing water quality infrastructures in under-developed and developing countries,” says Yenney. “I’d like to spend a year in the Peace Corps helping others who are less fortunate than me.” Adventures are also nothing new for Yenney, who has already seen parts of the world that include Université Paris 13 where she completed a summer internship working in the school’s laboratories. 32 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA “BU helped prepare me for the experience in Paris in many different ways,” said Yenney. The diversity on campus in my classes taught me to appreciate many different cultures.” Yenney also cites her volunteer work as a reason for choosing to study civil environmental engineering. “During my time at Bloomsburg, I participated in a lot of volunteering and service events that instilled in me a desire to help those in need in some capacity in my life,” says Yenney. “I’ve been on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic, a service trip to Jamaica, a volunteer trip for Habitat for Humanity, and have also done a lot of volunteering on campus and in the local community.” Yenney chose Stanford not only for its great academics, but also because her father is originally from Palo Alto, Calif., where Stanford is located. “Having a chance to go to school in the town where my dad grew up was very appealing to me. I love Pennsylvania, but Palo Alto is an absolutely beautiful area and having relatives still living there will help me with the transition of being so far away from home.” Edgette Selected by Giants in MLB Draft BASEBALL STANDOUT Austin Edgette ’18, a native of Exton, was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 33rd round (976th overall) on the final day of the 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft. Edgette became the second player in the last two seasons to be drafted during the MLB amateur draft as Tyler Benson (Montville, N.J.) was taken in 2017 by the San Diego Padres in the 31st round. Edgette joins Benson in the Arizona League and, as of press time, was batting over .300 for the AZL Giants Orange. Benson, meanwhile, plays for the AZL Padres. Edgette earned seven postseason honors after a remarkable 2018 campaign including three All-American nods. He was named Second Team AllAmerican by the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) and earned Third Team AllAmerican honors from both the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). Edgette also claimed First Team All-Region accolades from all three organizations while collecting All-PSAC East First Team honors for the third consecutive season. Edgette finished the 2018 season with a team-leading .436 batting average (72-of-165). He also led the team, or tied for the team lead, in hits (72), triples (2), home runs (7), total bases (113), on-base percentage (.530), slugging percentage (.685), and stolen bases (24). He finished his career as the school’s all-time leader in career hits with 236 passing the mark of 235 set by BU Hall of Famer John Stillo ’98. BU Announces Radio Agreement with Bigfoot Country 106.5 friends can follow Huskies football.” Kristin Cantrell, CEO of Seven Mountains Media, is pleased to see the relationship evolve with BU. “We are excited to expand the relationship we currently enjoy with Bloomsburg University. They are an excellent partner with the National Radio Talent Institute, where we train the next generation of broadcasters every summer.” All broadcasts of BU football during the 2018 season will also be available via Bigfoot Country's online stream at www.thisisbigfootcountry.com. Bigfoot Country 106.5 is centered in Bloomsburg and provides coverage well beyond Columbia County, including Snyder, Union, Lycoming, Northumberland, Dauphin, Lebanon, Sullivan, Montour, Luzerne, Schuylkill, Berks, Wyoming, and Carbon counties. BIGFOOT COUNTRY 106.5 (FM) will broadcast all BU football games during the 2018 season. Bigfoot Country is owned and operated by Seven Mountains Media, LLC, based out of Selinsgrove. In conjunction with the announcement, the longtime broadcast team of Jim Doyle and Andy Ulicny will once again serve as the “Voices of the Huskies.” “We are pleased to partner with Seven Mountains Media to air our football games this fall,” says President Bashar Hanna. “Our new partner has a broad geographic reach that aligns with our recruitment strategies and where many of our alumni reside. This collaboration will ensure that prospective students, alumni, and Hall of Fame Class Announced SEVEN INDIVIDUALS WILL BE INDUCTED as the 37th Athletic Hall of Fame class, bringing the total number of honorees to 182. Members of the Hall of Fame Class of 2018 are former women’s basketball coach Joe Bressi, Susan (Brophy) O’Donnell ’81 (women's swimming), Adam Clay ’05 (men's soccer), Jahri Evans ’07 (football), Megan LaBuda ’02 (women's basketball), Jennifer Lefever ’96 (softball), and Tom Vargo ’66 (wrestling). The induction dinner and ceremony will take place on Friday, Oct. 19, at Nelson Field House. Festivities will begin at 6 p.m. with a cocktail hour followed by the dinner and induction ceremony starting at 7 p.m. For tickets to the dinner or to learn more about this year’s inductees, visit www.buhuskies.com. FALL 2018 33 then AND now Freshman Customs, 1925-1970 By Robert Dunkelberger Faculty member Scott Miller introduces freshmen to the library, 1967. New students coming to Bloomsburg University today receive a thorough orientation to life on campus, providing them with a firm foundation for college. But this was not always the case. When an orientation program started in 1925, it was referred to as Freshman or College Customs and was more a means for upperclassmen to have some fun with the new students. It was what colleges across the country were doing to build unity among members of the incoming class. Although relatively mild, the “Customs” activities could be looked on as a form of hazing. That first year, women were required to tie green ribbons in their hair, wear black stockings but no cosmetics, eat their Friday dinners left-handed with a spoon, and learn the Alma Mater and sing it whenever asked. The men had to wear black hats, socks, and ties every day but Sunday, attend all athletic games, and could not smoke in public, grow a mustache, put their hands in their pockets, or loiter in pool halls. During these early years, firstyear students A woman dressed up for the were required to Kid Party, 1937. participate in an event called a Kid Party, where women wore their hair in pigtails and all wore clothing making them look like children. They would engage in games and dancing and eat cookies, candy, and ice cream. This custom went on until 1946, when it was followed until 1963 by a talent show that showcased the abilities of the freshmen. Freshman Customs were suspended during World War II, but later returned in full force. As described in the student handbook, “College customs are traditional requirements to orient incoming students with the history Women in 1947 showing off their hats made from green crepe paper. 34 BLOOMSBURG BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF OF PENNSYLVANIA PENNSYLVANIA Fun and games in 1967 during Monte Carlo Night. and life of Bloomsburg State Teachers College. Ours is a friendly college and customs are not meant to intimidate or embarrass the student. They are a wholesome, democratic way for freshmen to meet the upperclassmen and faculty.” Examples of what new students had to endure at this time include wearing signs, carrying umbrellas, and wearing sweaters backwards. The climax was the “Green Hat Parade,” where all freshmen women wore hats they had made from green crepe paper. In the early years, men wore a small hat called a dink, usually black, while the women wore maroon and gold armbands. By 1949, all students were required to purchase and wear dinks, which now featured alternating maroon and gold stripes and either a maroon or a gold “B” on the front. Beginning with the fall of 1962, College Customs for freshmen was officially referred to as Orientation. The main purpose for the change, according to Student Affairs, was “to help the student adjust to college life more easily and to develop a wholesome attitude toward the college community life.” As a student-originated venture, it continued to be run by a committee overseen by the Community Government Association. It was essentially only for freshmen coming to campus straight out of high school, and so military veterans, transfer students, and those over 21 were exempt. become mature college students. But even so, some traditions such as wearing dinks and signs with name and hometown, singing college songs, and memorizing cheers, were retained. For new students who did not comply with the rules, a tribunal and jury made up of members of the Orientation Committee passed judgment. Punishment for the guilty consisted primarily of being bombarded with sticky items such as honey, syrup, and shaving cream. Throughout the rest of the decade, Freshmen could, however, retaliate against the Orientation Committee the orientation process gradually changed and was more about getting in similar fashion. While orientation programs have new students acclimated to college continued, the rituals that had their life. By 1967 there were sessions origins in 1925 were enacted for where the freshmen would find out about the library, the bookstore, and one final time in the fall of 1970. meet in small groups with members Anything that seemed to even have the appearance of hazing was of the faculty. Fun events were still eliminated at that time, and since held, such as Monte Carlo Night, where students were given play money then Orientation has focused solely to gamble and enjoy games of chance. on helping each student get the most out of their experience as a student The activities comprising Orientation Week at this time were at Bloomsburg University. developed to prepare freshmen to Women, and a few men, with their umbrellas, 1953. FALL 2018 35 calendar Activities and Events FALL 2018 SPECIAL EVENTS ART EXHIBITS Mid-Term Homecoming Weekend Exhibits in the Haas Gallery of Art and The Gallery at Greenly Center, 50 E. Main St. Bloomsburg, are open to the public free of charge. For more information, gallery hours and reception times, visit departments.bloomu.edu/art. Tuesday, Oct. 16 Reading Day Tuesday, Nov. 20 Thanksgiving Break Wednesday, Nov. 21 through Sunday, Nov. 25 Friday, Oct. 5 through Sunday, Oct. 7 Visit bloomu.edu/homecoming for details on these and additional events or to register. For information, contact Alumni Affairs at 800-526-0254 or alum@bloomu.edu. Parents and Family Weekend Classes End Friday, Oct. 12 through Sunday, Oct. 14 Visit bloomu.edu/parents-family for details. Finals Week Celebrity Artist Series Headline Event: Viva MOMIX! Friday, Dec. 7 Monday, Dec. 10 through Friday, Dec. 14 Graduate Commencement Friday, Dec. 14 Undergraduate Commencement Saturday, Dec. 1, 7 p.m., Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall Blaine Cooper: Images From A Local Soldier In Vietnam The Gallery at Greenly Center July 25 through Oct. 11 Catherine Haggerty: 2018 Cola Alumni Symposium Exhibition Haas Gallery of Art Oct. 4 — Nov. 15 Senior Exit Show For more information and to order tickets call the box office at 570-389-4409 or visit cas.buzz. Programs and dates are subject to change. Haas Gallery of Art Nov. 27 — Dec. 14 Student Theme Show: ‘Identity’ The Gallery at Greenly Center Oct. 18 — Dec. 4 Saturday, Dec. 15 Va: Mayumi Amada & Kirsten Nelson The Gallery at Greenly Centert Dec. 12 — Feb. 14 CONCERTS Listed events are open to the public and free of charge. For information and additional events, see bloomu.edu/musicevents or call 570-389-4284. All programs, dates, times and locations are subject to change. Student Recital Sunday, Sept. 23, 2:30 p.m. Gross Auditorium, Carver Hall Young Person’s Concert Tuesday, Oct. 9, 10 a.m. Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall BU Choirs Fall Choral Festival Sunday, Oct. 14, 2:30 p.m. Gross Auditorium, Carver Hall Octuba Fest Saturday, Oct. 20, at 3 p.m. Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall 36 Student Recital Percussion Ensemble Jazz Ensemble Student Recital Faculty Recital Dr. Charisse Baldoria Guitar Ensemble Saturday, Nov. 10, 2:30 p.m. Gross Auditorium, Carver Hall Wednesday, Dec. 5, at 7:30 p.m. Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall Wind Ensemble “Carols by Candlelight” Wednesday, Oct. 24, 7:30 p.m. First Presbyterian Church, 345 Market St., Bloomsburg Wednesday, Oct. 24, 7:30 p.m. Gross Auditorium, Carver Hall Concerto Competition Friday, Oct. 26, 6:30 p.m. Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall Piano Day Saturday, Oct. 27, 10 a.m. — 3 p.m. Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall Northern Appalachian Wind Symphony Sunday, Oct. 28, TBD Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall Tuesday, Nov. 6, at 7:30 p.m. Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall Wednesday, Nov. 14, 7:30 p.m. Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall Bloomsburg University Community Orchestra Sunday, Nov. 18, 2:30 p.m. Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall Thursday, Nov. 29, 7:30 p.m. Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall Thursday, Dec. 6, and Friday, Dec. 7, at 7:30 p.m First Presbyterian Church, 345 Market St., Bloomsburg. No admission fee but tickets are required. Available at the Mitrani box office (389-4409) Tuba Christmas Saturday, Dec.8, at 7 p.m. Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall ForBLOOMSBURG the latestUNIVERSITY information on upcoming events, check the Bloomsburg University website bloomu.edu/events. OF PENNSYLVANIA Get ready for the cool days of autumn. Pictured: Rachel Miller ’19, a business management major from Catawissa. NOW IN STOCK: Heavyweight cotton knit blankets and other fall favorites. THE UNIVERSITY STORE 400 East Second Street Bloomsburg, PA 17815 General Information: 570-389-4175 Customer Service: 570-389-4180 bustore@bloomu.edu OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK. SEE BLOOMUSTORE.COM FOR THIS WEEK’S HOURS AND TO SHOP ONLINE. BLOOMUSTORE.COM FALL 2018 37 1011050113 Office of Marketing and Communications 400 East Second Street Bloomsburg, PA 17815-1301 CELEBRITY ARTIST SERIES HEADLINE EVENT: Viva MOMIX! SATURDAY, DEC. 1 | 7p.m. Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall Known internationally for presenting work of exceptional inventiveness and physical beauty, MOMIX is a company of dancer-illusionists. Suitable for the entire family, Viva MOMIX! is a compilation of company favorites. For more information and to order tickets call the box office at 570-389-4409 or visit cas.buzz Programs and dates are subject to change. A NOTE TO PARENTS If this issue of Bloomsburg: The University Magazine is addressed to a daughter or son who has established a separate residence, please notify us of that new address by sending an email to: magazine@bloomu.edu 38 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA WANT TO UNSUBSCRIBE? If you no longer wish to receive the print edition of the magazine, please notify us by sending an email to: magazine@bloomu.edu RECEIVING DUPLICATE COPIES? If you are receiving more than one copy of Bloomsburg: The University Magazine, please forward the mailing label panel from each issue you receive to: Bloomsburg: The University Magazine Waller Administration Building 400 East Second Street Bloomsburg, PA 17815-1301