SUMMER

2016

FIRST STEPS

RECENT GRADUATES
SET CAREERS IN MOTION

The California University of Pennsylvania Magazine

CAL U REVIEW
SUMMER 2016 • VOL. 44 - NO. 2
The Cal U Review is published by the Offices of Marketing and University
Relations and is distributed free. Third class postage paid at California.

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Just as every journey begins with a single step, every career begins with
that first “real” job.
I remember my earliest days as a second-grade teacher, the fulfillment of a
lifelong dream. I had no idea where my career in education would take me, of
course, but I was thrilled to be on my way.
Our recent graduates feel that same excitement as they launch their
careers. And our entire Cal U community can take pride in their achievements.
A survey of nearly 4,300 graduates from the classes of 2010-2015 shows
that 99 percent are either employed, continuing their education or serving in
the military. Of those who are employed, two-thirds have found work related
to their field of study.

CHANCELLOR

Frank T. Brogan

BOARD OF GOVERNORS

Cynthia D. Shapira, chair
David M. Maser, vice chair; chair,
Academic and Student Affairs
Aaron A. Walton, vice chair; chair,
Human Resources
Sen. Ryan P. Aument
Rep. Matthew E. Baker
Audrey F. Bronson
Sarah Galbally, governor's designee
Rep. Michael K. Hanna

Ronald G. Henry, chair, Finance,
Administration and Facilities
Jonathan B. Mack, chair, Audit
Daniel P. Meuser
Guido M. Pichini
Secretary of Education Pedro A. Rivera
Sen. Judy Schwank
Harold C. Shields
Governor Tom Wolf
Five vacancies

CALIFORNIA UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

Geraldine M. Jones, University President
Dr. Bruce Barnhart, acting provost and vice president for Academic Affairs
Robert Thorn, vice president for Administration and Finance
Dr. Nancy Pinardi, vice president for Student Affairs

COUNCIL OF TRUSTEES

Lawrence Maggi ’79, chair
Annette Ganassi, vice chair
Roberta M. Betza
Sarah R. Cassin ’97
James T. Davis ‘73
Sean T. Logue
Michele M. Mandell ’69

Robert Miner Jr. ’78
Thomas Uram
Aaron Walton ‘68
Claudia J. Pehowic,
student trustee/secretary
Frank T. Brogan, chancellor,
ex-officio

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS

4,287

GRADUATES FROM
THE CLASSES OF
2010-2015

Jesse G. Hereda ’04, president
Ashely (Baird) Roth ’10, ’12, vice president
Dante Morelli ’02, secretary
Justin Binion ’11, treasurer
Lynne Stout ’94, immediate past president
Colleen (Murphy) Arnowitz ’75, ’97
Alisha Carter ’06, ’11
Robert Crall ’10, ’12
Shelly (Fetchen) DiCesaro ’94
Brian Fernandes ’99, ’00

64%

Work Related
to Field of Study

19%

Work Non-Related
to Field of Study

15%

Continuing Education

LIFETIME HONORARY MEMBERS

1%

Military

EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS

1%

Not Employed/
Seeking Employement

Paul Gentile ’62
Anthony Lazzaro ’55

Geraldine (Johns) Jones ’72, ’80
Anthony Mauro ’92, ’93
William R. Flinn II ‘68

Mindi (D’Auria) Fisher ’07
Brendan Garay ’15
David Gwyer ’65
Erica McDill ’92
Melissa McKean ’07
Marc Quann ‘88
Bryan (Tolle) Schuerman ’09, ’16
Tim Susick ’76, ’78
Judy (Durko) Zilkowski ’77, ’83

Michael Napolitano ’68
George Novak ’55

Barbara Hess
Leslie (Berdar) Fleenor ’08

SAI BOARD OF DIRECTORS

For students and families who are selecting a college, those outcomes
validate the decision to choose Cal U. Our University is providing students
with a solid academic foundation and the skills that employers are seeking.
In this edition of the Review, we introduce you to a few of our successful
young alumni.
What do they have in common? Even this early in their careers, they can
look back to an inspiring class, a supportive professor, an amazing internship
or another Cal U experience that nudged them one step closer to success.
If California University made a difference in your life, do let us know. Post a
comment on our Facebook page. Send us a Milestones update. Or visit
the Kara Alumni House during our Homecoming celebration in October.
Whether you are new to the workforce, established in your profession or
retired after a job well done, we’re eager to hear from you. Your achievements
are an important measure of our University’s success.
With warm wishes,

Ellen Mari Boyle, undergraduate
Hope Cox, ’00, ’01, alumna
Justin DiPerna, undergraduate
Jonathan Hershey, undergraduate
Shaina Hilsey, undergraduate
Ryan Jerico, ’09, alumnus
Maura O’Brien, undergraduate

Marc Roncone ’03, alumnus
Ashley Roth ’10, ’12, alumna
Leah Seader, undergraduate
Rachel Simmons, undergraduate
Graduate student vacancy
Alumni vacancy

EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS

Dr. Nancy Pinardi ’94, ’96, ’98, vice president for Student Affairs
Leigh Ann Lincoln, chief financial officer, Student Association Inc.
Larry Sebek ’90, ‘94, associate vice president for Student Affairs

FOUNDATION FOR CALIFORNIA UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

William R. Flinn II ’68, president
Harry E. Serene ’65, vice president
Annette M. Kaleita ’55, secretary
Armand E. Balsano ’74, treasurer
William R. Booker ’74
Therese J. Gass ‘77
Chelsea Gump
Jesse G. Hereda ’04
Reginald A. Long ’81

Lawrence Maggi ’79
Michael Napolitano ’68
Frederick A. Retsch ’62
Anthony J. Saludis
Linda H. Serene ’64
William G. Stough
Lynne Stout ’94
Steven P. Stout ’85
Donald J. Thompson

EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS

Geraldine M. Jones ’72, ‘80, University president
Anthony Mauro ’92, ’93, associate vice president
for Development and Alumni Relations

Geraldine M. Jones
President, California University of Pennsylvania

EDITOR

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Christine Kindl

Greg Sofranko
Kristin Locurto
Kelly Tunney
Aaron McGregor
Don Wright

WRITERS

Wendy Mackall
Jeff Bender
Bruce Wald ’85

facebook.com/CalUofPA
linkedin.com/edu/school?id=19227
@CalUofPA
@CalUofPA

PAGE 4
As the race for the White House heats
up, Courtney Cochran ’12, ’13 is using
her degrees in political science and legal
studies to promote thoughtful political
engagement among college students.

DEPARTMENTS

FEATURES

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

10–11

CAMPUS CLIPS

12–15



ALUMNI CALENDAR

20–21

SPORTS ROUNDUP

26–27

MILESTONES29–33

6
8

ONLINE ‘REVIEW’
OFFERS EXTRAS

9

Recalculating ...

Two recent graduates follow unplanned
routes to careers in the world of finance.

Utility player

At USA TODAY, a graphic designer puts
both words and images to work.

An office at PNC Park

A diehard sports fan creates game-day
memories for Pittsburgh Pirates fans.

The Cal U Review has a new
online presence.
Visit calu.edu/review to read
featured stories — many with
bonus photos or video — on your
laptop, tablet or smartphone.
The new online format makes it
easy to share articles on social
media. You can view or download
the print edition, read back issues,
submit a news item for Milestones,
update your mailing address or
send us a message, too.
The print edition of your University
magazine will continue to arrive
by mail three times a year. But
we also invite you to explore (and
share!) the Cal U Review online.

17
25

Edible education

Students harvest hands-on experience when
they plant 42 fruit trees at SAI Farm.

Tackling a dream

An alumna takes her love of football onto the
field as a player with the Pittsburgh Passion.

A NOTE TO OUR READERS
The Cal U Review is published three times a year to keep you updated with alumni news and
information from all four Colleges at California University. Both the current edition and back
issues, along with Cal U Review “extras,” are available online at calu.edu/review.
To stay updated, alumni may send their email address to alumni@calu.edu.
Email Milestones items to revieweditor@calu.edu.
SUMMER 2016 CAL U REVIEW 3
n

CAMPAIGNS
TO THE CAPITAL

Graduates enjoy careers
in the world of politics

B

y the time Courtney Cochran ’12, ’13 left Cal U, she had earned degrees
in political science and legal studies, attended a national political
convention, worked as a campaign intern and a get-out-the-vote
volunteer, and networked with political staffers from Ohio to Washington, D.C.
“I had a sense of how things ran even before I graduated,” Cochran says. So
in 2014, when the Arizona Democratic Party offered her a job as a field organizer
for the hotly contested 2nd Congressional District race, she headed west.
“It was stressful work, 18-hour days, but I expected that,” Cochran says. “I
was the only female organizer in Tucson, working with five young men. Basically,
we built an organization of volunteers who went door to door and ran a phone
bank” on behalf of incumbent U.S. Rep. Ron Barber.
On Election Day, the vote was so close that it triggered the first congressional
recount in Arizona history.
“At 7 a.m. on the day after the election, I was back in the recorder’s office to
watch the ballots being counted,” Cochran recalls.
It took six weeks before Barber’s opponent, Republican Martha McSally, was
declared the winner by fewer than 170 votes.
Cochran was disappointed, but she didn’t give up on politics. As a contentious
presidential campaign unfolds, the Oil City native is back in Pennsylvania and
working full time to engage college students in the election process.

4 CAL U REVIEW SUMMER 2016
n

She’s a regional organizer for the Campus
Election Engagement Project, a nonpartisan
initiative that encourages America’s 20 million
college students to register, educate themselves
about candidates and issues, volunteer for
campaigns, and go to the polls.

At his office in the state Capitol,
Jerry Morris '09 writes detailed
research memorandums and
drafts legislation.

Election engagement

Cochran works with various universities
as a “personalized coach” who can develop
election engagement strategies, help with
planning or pass along CEEP resources.
At one university she established a federal
work-study position that ran a successful
voter registration drive, produced an electionthemed video and used social media to urge
students to register and cast their ballots.
At Cal U, Cochran introduced
students from Penn State New Kensington
to Cal Campaign Consultants, a student-led
group that works on political campaigns.
She’s collaborating with political science
professor Dr. Melanie Blumberg to have Cal U
officially designated a Voter Friendly Campus.
And she is working with the campus
chapter of the American Democracy
Project to organize the University’s annual
Constitution Day event in September. It will
feature students who attended this summer’s
Democratic and Republican conventions — an
experience Cochran recalls from 2012, when
she and eight other Cal U students were
convention volunteers.
“With CEEP, my job is to do whatever it
takes to make election engagement a priority
on campuses,” Cochran says. “I’m happy to
be doing something I really believe in.”
Blumberg points to numerous Cal U
alumni who have found similar satisfaction.
She keeps in touch with town managers and
mayors, campaign staffers, state officials and
federal employees. All are former students.
“The political science majors continue to
do great things in local, state and national
politics,” Blumberg says. “It’s gratifying to
watch their careers develop.”
Jerry Morris ’09 found his niche with
the Democratic Caucus in the state House
of Representatives, where he is a research
manager in the Law and Justice Unit of the
Legislative Policy and Research Office.
House members call on the office to
write detailed research memorandums and
constituent response letters. If he isn’t doing
the research and writing himself, Morris
assigns the work to an associate, then
proofreads and fact-checks each page.
He also meets with lawmakers and drafts
legislation that may go before the Liquor
Control or Judiciary committees. The latter,
which addresses issues ranging from crime
and firearms to child custody laws, is the
busiest House committee.
“It turns out that I’m good at analysis,” he
says. “I can see the repercussions of changing
a single word.”

Making connections

Decisions reverberate, too. Looking
back, Morris sees the impact of THIS, The
Harrisburg Internship Semester. Sponsored
by the State System of Higher Education,
the program brought him to the state capital
during his junior year at Cal U.
A political science major with a minor
in psychology, he already had spent two
summers working in the district office of
former state Rep. Bill DeWeese, who was then
the majority leader. As a THIS intern, Morris
honed his research and writing skills under the
guidance of Audrey Powell, policy director in
DeWeese’s Harrisburg office.
Just as important, the young man from
Masontown, Pa., began networking.
“Internships are so important,” he says.
“The more connections you make, the easier
it is to find a job after you graduate. That’s
true in almost any field, not just in politics. You
need to have that experience on your resume.”
Morris returned to Harrisburg not long
after graduation. There was a hiring freeze
in the House, but he accepted a short-term
internship. Two months later, he was hired
as a research associate. In 2013 he moved
to his current position — at 25, one of the
youngest research associates ever promoted
to manager.
“There is so much involved in law and
justice; there’s something new every day.
I enjoy my job, the work we do and the
members we serve. You never know what the
future is, especially in politics, but I have no
plans to leave the caucus.”
Although their career paths differ, Morris
and Cochran agree that politics matters.
“People overlook how much state politics
affects their everyday lives,” Morris says.

“Jobs, energy, property taxes — decisions
about those issues can depend on the
makeup of the state House and Senate.”
Thinking back to a hard-fought election,
Cochran sets partisanship aside.
“I don’t care who someone votes for, as
long as they do their due diligence,” she says.
“I know for certain that one vote really can
make a difference.”
By Christine Kindl, communications director at Cal U

POLITICALLY ACTIVE
Among the Cal U students involved
in political activities this summer are:
laudia Pehowic, an intern at the
C
Republican National Convention in
Cleveland, Ohio, and Kirra Lent, an
intern at the Democratic National
Convention in Philadelphia, Pa.
Pehowic also serves on Cal U’s
Council of Trustees.
llen “Mari” Boyle, Pennsylvania’s
E
student delegate at CollegeDebate16.
Delegates from all 50 states met at
Dominican University of California
to plan social media strategies
and campus discussions aimed at
expanding conversations
among young voters.
To learn more about
their experiences,
search for “Campaign
Trail” at www.calu.edu.

SUMMER 2016 CAL U REVIEW 5
n

Kembia Munsanje:
‘I learned to see my place
in the bigger picture.’

Two young alumni take
unplanned routes to success

S

ometimes the route to that “first
real job” follows a straight line. More
often it’s a winding road — one that
led 2015 graduates Kembia Munsanje and
Coby Detar to unexpected destinations.
Munsanje came to California University
as an aspiring corporate lawyer. Detar
thought she’d teach elementary school.
Today, both are working in the world of
finance. And both credit Cal U with pointing
them toward careers they never imagined.

Derivative settlements

Munsanje is a credit derivatives analyst
in operations in the the Salt Lake City office
of investment banking giant Goldman
Sachs. In a high-rise building in Utah’s
capital, he analyzes complex financial data
and interacts daily with institutional clients
from around the world.
“I started in foreign exchange
derivatives and now I’m working with

6 CAL U REVIEW SUMMER 2016
n

credit derivatives,” he says. “Goldman
Sachs is a company where they look to
find the best fit for your skill set. They are
always giving you a new challenge and
ample opportunity to learn. I like that.”
Munsanje arrived at Cal U ready for a
challenge. He found a mentor in history
and political science professor Dr. Joseph
Heim, and he wasted no time in seeking
a job-shadowing opportunity through the
Career and Professional Development
Center.
The center connected him with Morgan
Lewis & Bockius, a Philadelphia law firm,
where he got an overview of corporate
law and the firm’s business and finance
departments.
He was stymied in his quest for a
summer internship — law firms typically
hire law school students rather than
undergraduates — but intrigued by the
world of mergers and acquisitions.

“Then I came across this field called
investment banking,” he says. “After that,
everything started to fall into place.”
In 2013, his sophomore year at Cal U,
Munsanje attended the Morgan Stanley
Early Insights program. He was a “top 50
recruit,” he says proudly — and the only
public university student in the class.
A J.P. Morgan Launching Leaders event
followed. Then came a Goldman Sachs Salt
Lake City Diversity Symposium. His path
was becoming clearer.
“At these events you hear from top
leaders in the field,” Munsanje explains.
Along with other potential recruits, he
gained a better understanding of the
investment banking industry. And he
learned about career opportunities
in specialties such as public finance,
asset management and investment
management.
“It helped me to narrow the focus
of what I wanted to do,” he says. “I was
able to see myself among the best in the
country, and I began building relationships
that continue today.”
Looking back, Munsanje sees how
Cal U helped to launch his career. His
political science major gave him a broad
world view; an economics minor added
business and analytical skills.
He tested those skills during a 2014
internship with SEI Investments Co.,
in Oaks, Pa. He developed leadership
abilities as president of the Collegiate
Entrepreneurs Organization (CEO Club)
and, notably, as the student member of
California University’s Council of Trustees.
“At Goldman Sachs, I can see how
my day-to-day role affects the entire firm,”
he says. “I felt the same way as a trustee.
I had the opportunity to make change, and
I learned to see my place in the
bigger picture.
“Coming to Cal U was the best decision
I ever made. I found people there who
pushed me further than I knew I could go.”

Client communications

Not long after graduation, Detar
found her way to a very different type
of financial services provider. She’s
the communications manager at The

I never thought
I’d be working for a
financial planning firm.
But the biggest thing
I’ve learned is that if
you don’t take a chance,
you’ll never know what
might happen.
COBY DETAR ’15

SecondHalf Coach, a small firm in Latrobe,
Pa., that specializes in asset management
and retirement planning.
“I create events that help us get to know
our clients and build relationships with
prospective clients,” she explains.
She also contributes to the firm’s
website, manages its social media
accounts, helps to edit its quarterly
magazine, and develops branding and
marketing initiatives.
“From day to day, my job is never the
same. That’s my favorite part.”
A work-study position in Cal U’s Office
of University Relations prompted Detar
to change her major from elementary
education to communication studies,
with a concentration in public relations.
Her classwork has proven its value,
she says. “It’s the courses I didn’t expect
I’d ever use — like graphic design and
journalism — that I now rely on nearly
every day. I just asked for a copy of
(Adobe) Photoshop® for the office. And
being able to research and write well are
100 percent necessary for this job.”
Beyond the basics, Detar credits
her Greek Life experience with building
essential recruitment, networking and
leadership skills. A Delta Zeta sister, she
was the Cal U chapter’s vice president
of membership, and president of the
University’s Panhellenic Council, which
governs five sorority chapters.
“The leadership opportunities I had as
an undergraduate were some of the best

parts of my college experience,” she says.
“Now I can go to an event and set up
a table for our company — that’s
something I’ve done a hundred times. I
know how to organize it and make it look
good. Being able to talk to people and tell
them, nicely, why our business is better
than others … well, that’s just the same as
telling young women why one sorority may
suit them better than another.
“I know how to talk to prospects so
they want to become clients.”
Greek Life also played a role for
entrepreneur William Urbanik ’01, a financial
adviser and co-owner of The SecondHalf
Coach. A member of Theta Xi fraternity,
Urbanik was president of the Interfraternity
Council during his time on campus.
“I’ve stated a thousand times that my
fraternity was the first business I ever
ran,” he says. “So when I first saw Coby’s
resume, I knew what to expect.”
When she decided to become a
communications professional, Detar
anticipated working for a large corporation.
But in a small business where you know all
your colleagues, she’s found that it’s easy
to pitch new ideas and pick up new skills.
“I never thought I’d be working for a
financial planning firm,” she says. “But
the biggest thing I’ve learned is that if you
don’t take a chance, you’ll never know what
might happen.”
By Christine Kindl, communications director at Cal U

SUMMER 2016 CAL U REVIEW 7
n

Utility player

Communication skills run the gamut from writing to graphic design

T

he thing Steve Pearson ’10 liked best
about the storm-chase trip he went
on as a meteorology major wasn’t the
thunder or the lightning or the wind.
It was producing a video about the annual
hands-on learning excursion.
“I ended up talking to (communications
professor) Dr. Susan Jasko about it,” he says,
recalling a crossroads in his college career.
“She said, ‘Why don’t you come down to my
office and we’ll talk about a communication
studies major?’
“From then on I was hooked. It was a
much better situation for me. Majoring in
communication studies fit my personality.”
Pearson, now a graphic designer for the
marketing team at USA TODAY, came back
to Cal U this spring to share his story with
communications and design majors.
He says he likes Cal U’s recently
reconfigured Department of Communication,
Design and Culture, which blends verbal
and visual skills, noting that his position at
USA Today requires skills in graphic design,
photography, written communication and
video production.

8 CAL U REVIEW SUMMER 2016
n

“Words are a great way to convey a
message, but images do that just as much,”
he says. “Having a sense of design is huge,
because the way the workforce is, they’re hiring
fewer people to do more. You have to be willing
to learn other skills and take on other projects.”
Pearson’s career trajectory reflects a
willingness to do just that.
“Creative writing was the skill I
needed to get an internship at Markowitz
Communications in Pittsburgh, which led to
a full-time job there. Even though it’s more of
a public relations firm, we did do some adagency types of jobs. I was exposed to project
management, design, doing voiceovers,
shooting videos and commercials. You name
it, I was part of it.”
That led to a job at Smith Brothers, an
advertising agency also based in Pittsburgh.
As a content creator, Pearson used his design
and visual skills to manage social media
accounts for brands such as Nestlé.
Today, he’s a self-described “jack of
all trades” for USA TODAY. “I’m like that
utility guy who knows how to do this, that
and the other thing. It has always been my

bread and butter.”
One memorable project was for the
newspaper’s “Back to the Future” edition.
An issue of USA TODAY dated Oct. 22, 2015,
has a bit part in the well-known time-travel
film, which stars Michael J. Fox.
Last year Pearson was involved in the
award-winning “Back to the Future” issue of
the newspaper, from concept to design to
execution. It was a smashing success, the
only edition in the 34-year history of USA
TODAY to sell out.
Speaking of the future, Pearson had some
encouraging words for current students:
“I’ve worked with people who came
from schools everybody knows — the Pratt
Institute, Penn State, Georgetown — and I
think it’s important for people to understand
that I’m there, too. The opportunities I was
given (at Cal U) were just as good as those at
any other school.
“As long as you’re willing to make
those jumps and believe in yourself, you’ll
be successful.”
By Wendy Mackall, assistant
communications director at Cal U

PNC PARK
AN OFFICE AT

Sports fan turns a family
passion into a career

M

ike Mendolia ’12 remembers attending professional
sporting events with his father. Now he is helping
others build those same game-day memories.
As an account manager for group sales and hospitality for
the Pittsburgh Pirates, Mendolia is responsible for creating
memorable personal and business outings, entertaining
customers, and helping business clients enjoy all that PNC
Park has to offer.
“I have a lot of great memories of attending professional
sporting events at Yankee Stadium in New York, Camden
Yards in Baltimore and many of the venues in Philadelphia
with my father,” Mendolia says.
“Hobbies come and go, but this has turned into a true,
lifelong passion that I have been able to share with my family.”
With his love of ballpark amenities and cheering for
the home team, Mendolia thought the professional sports
industry would be a natural fit. So he enrolled in the sport
management studies program at Cal U.
The Harrisburg, Pa., native added a second major in
business administration and threw himself into campus
activities including the Racquetball Club and SGA, the
Student Government Association.
As a Student Ambassador, he led campus tours for
prospective students and their families. He also had the
opportunity to make presentations at sport management
conferences across the United States.
The combination of his education and his co-curricular
experiences gave him a competitive advantage in the job
market, Mendolia says.
“Going to a school like Cal U gave me opportunities to
get involved with a variety of groups on campus. Being the
financial secretary for SGA and a tour guide on campus really
helped me to develop budgeting and sales skills. These are
factors that employers were looking for.”
After graduating from Cal U, Mendolia interned with the
Philadelphia Flyers hockey team. Then he took a job with
the Seattle Mariners baseball operation before returning to
Pittsburgh.
As a member of the Pirates organization, Mendolia has
established roots in the City of Champions, where he can
continue the family tradition and take his son to professional
sporting events.
“It has been a crazy experience,” he says. “I love what I do,
I have a baseball stadium for an office, and now I get to take
my own son to games.
“It doesn’t get much better.”
By Jeff Bender, assistant director for digital communications at Cal U
SUMMER 2016 CAL U REVIEW 9
n

ALUMNI S P O T L I G H T

A HALF-CENTURY OF

SERVICE
W

hen the fire alarm sounds in
California, Pa., Jon Bittner ’68
is likely to answer the call —
just as he has for the past 50 years.
“When the siren blows, something kicks
in automatically. You just respond and do
what’s needed,” says Bittner, who marked
his 50th anniversary with the California
Volunteer Fire Department this spring.
A longtime borough resident, he is
the department’s current safety officer
and a past assistant chief. Nearly 20
years ago he helped to start a student
membership program that recruits Cal U
students as volunteers.
“We’ve gotten some fine young
volunteers out of that program, such as
(Cal U’s director of sports clubs) Jamison
Roth ’04 and Andy Egut ’08, who are both
California residents and work in the area.
“One of the reasons they wanted
to stay in the area, I believe, was their
connection to the fire department, which
makes us feel good.”

10 CAL U REVIEW SUMMER 2016
n

As a boy in the early 1950s,
Bittner attended the Noss elementary
school on the campus of California State
Teachers College.
He returned to earn his bachelor’s
degree in elementary education, then
spent more than 37 years as a teacher
in the California Area School District’s
elementary and middle schools.
His ties to the community also include
longtime service as a member and past
president of California Borough Council.
“I enjoy serving California and the
community,” Bittner says. “California’s
been very good to me, so I think I have a
little bit of a debt to pay back. Through
public service I think I’m able to do that.”
Tom Hartley Jr., the borough’s
fire chief since 1981, believes Bittner is
the only member of the department to
have reached the half-century mark as
a member.
“Jon Bittner did not just pass through
this community, school district and fire

California’s been
very good to me, so
I think I have a little
bit of a debt to pay
back. Through public
service I think I’m
able to do that.
JON BITTNER ’68

department,” says Hartley, who retired
from Cal U in 2013 after more than 40
years as a maintenance repairman.
“He has been a main contributor,
especially in training and guiding our young
firefighters. To this day I depend on Jon a
lot. He’s a longtime good friend.”
By Bruce Wald ’85, information writer at Cal U

ROLE MODEL FOR LEARNING

N

urses seem fearless. Amid the rush
of an emergency department or the
pressure of an intensive care unit,
they appear calm and sure of themselves.
But registered nurse Kathleen Jasek
’10, ’12 admits she was less than confident
when she thought about going to college.
“I was scared,” acknowledges Jasek,
who is closer to the end of her career than
the beginning. “But I also know that UPMC
wants its nurses to have their degrees.”
And so, after accepting a position as
director of care management for UPMC
McKeesport, she headed back to school.
Jasek earned her bachelor’s degree in
nursing at age 57, and two years later
completed her Master of Science in
Nursing through Cal U Global Online.
A conversation with Dr. Mary O’Connor,
a professor of nursing at Cal U and
coordinator of the 100 percent online MSN
and MSN-MBA programs, eased her mind.

“When I passed my test to be an
accredited care manager, I said to my
husband, ‘That’s pretty good for my age; I
think I’ll go back to school!’” Jasek says.
“Then I met Dr. O’Connor, and she
assured me I could do it.”
As care management director, Jasek
supervises registered nurses and social
workers as they coordinate patients’
care from hospital admission through
discharge and beyond.
Recently, she was honored with the
2016 UPMC McKeesport Legacy of
Nursing Award, given to leaders and
innovators who are positive role models.
In 2007, she received the UPMC Health
System Award for Commitment and
Excellence in Service.
Outside of work, she started a ministry
at Christ the Light of the World Parish in
Duquesne, Pa., that provides support for
families with loved ones in the hospital.

Kathleen Jasek ’10, ’12

“Knowledge is the key to success,”
Jasek says. “You need to learn every day.
“Health care is still changing, and if you
aren’t changing, you may as well get off the
ship. You have to go with the flow.”
By Wendy Mackall, assistant
communications director at Cal U

GEM OF A JOB

S

ometimes, it takes finding the right setting in order to
really shine.
Jamie Porter ’11 has found hers as a bench jeweler for
MarBill Diamonds and Jewelry, in Belle Vernon, Pa.
“We’re like the doctors of jewelry,” she says. “Mainly, we do
repairs. Bring me those broken chains in your jewelry box; I’ll fix
them. I also do stone setting — I can take a diamond from an old
ring and set it in a new one.”
As an art major at Cal U, Porter enjoyed graphic design,
painting, sculpting and art history. But she found her focus in a
jewelry-making class taught by professor James Bové.
“When I took that class, I knew it,” she says. “I knew that’s
what I wanted to do.”
She began her career with David I. Helfers Inc., a Pittsburgh
jeweler. There she learned how to polish, finish, cast and solder.
Wanting to expand her skills as a jeweler, Porter contacted
Michael Horrell at MarBill. Horrell’s dad, William Jr., is a 1975
graduate of Cal U and owns the company with his wife, Linda.
“I wasn’t familiar with stone setting, which is a major part of
being a bench jeweler, but Michael brought me in for a bench test,”
she says. “He said I had potential and gave me the opportunity to
attend the New Approach School for Jewelers in Franklin, Tenn.
“Michael has continued to train me, and I’m a sponge,
absorbing as much as I can.”

Jamie Porter '11

She has even shared some of what she knows with Bové’s
class, which came to the store to see a bench jeweler in action.
“We showed them what we do on a daily basis, and it was a
great opportunity to show them this is something they can be,”
Porter says.
“(Bové’s) class inspired me, and this was a chance to say, ‘Look
at what Jamie does; you could do it, too.’”
By Wendy Mackall, assistant
communications director at Cal U

SUMMER 2016 CAL U REVIEW 11
n

CAMPUS C L I P S

PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION
SCHEDULED FOR OCT. 14

P

lans are under way for the inauguration of
Geraldine M. Jones ’72, ’80 as president
of California University of Pennsylvania.
The inauguration ceremony, as well as a
celebration for the University community, will
be held Oct. 14 on campus.
Lawrence Maggi ’79, chair of the
University’s Council of Trustees, will
preside at the formal ceremony, which is
open to all students, faculty, staff, alumni
and University friends. It begins at 2 p.m.
in Steele Hall Mainstage Theatre, with
Chancellor Frank T. Brogan and other
dignitaries from Pennsylvania’s State
System of Higher Education in attendance.
Cal U’s nationwide presidential search
concluded April 7, 2016, when the Board of
Governors for the State System unanimously
selected Jones as California’s seventh
president. A former faculty member,
department chair, dean and provost at her
alma mater, she served as the University’s
interim president for nearly four years.
For details, visit www.calu.edu.

Study abroad takes
students to Cuba
Six Cal U students and four faculty
members spent their spring break
exploring Cuba.
History professor Dr. Sean Madden,
director of Cal U’s international studies
program, organized the trip through
Education First College Study Tours, which
facilitates academic travel programs
around the world.
The group arrived in Havana just days
before President Obama visited Cuba, the
first time a U.S. president had traveled to
the island since 1928. While the president’s
trip addressed international relations, the
Cal U visit had a people-to-people focus.
“It was set up as a student-centered
trip to provide a cultural and study-abroad
experience,” Madden says. “It wasn’t a
government or political trip. The idea
was to connect American students with
Cuban citizens.”

12 CAL U REVIEW SUMMER 2016
n

“This was such a unique opportunity,”
says Brynna Sherony, an international studies
major. “You get away from stereotypes and
your perceptions change when you actually
go places instead of just reading about them.”
Madden’s next spring break trip, set for
March 2017 and linked to a three-credit
multicultural course, will take students,
employees and community members to
study “The Holocaust in Europe.”
For details, email madden@calu.edu.

Global Online cuts costs
for military veterans
Cal U is trimming the cost of higher
education for military veterans and
their families.
Beginning with the Fall 2016 semester,
tuition costs will be discounted for
veterans of all U.S. military branches,
as well as their spouses and eligible
dependents, when they enroll in Cal U
Global Online, the University’s Internetbased learning community.

Undergraduates seeking an associate
or bachelor’s degree through Global Online
will pay a reduced rate of $250 per credit.
Master’s degree students will pay $399 per
credit, or 90 percent of the in-state rate, no
matter where they reside.
The discount for veterans mirrors
the reduced tuition rate for active-duty
military members that Cal U first offered
in summer 2014. Since its inception,
the program for active-duty military has
increased online enrollment by service
members and their families by more than
80 percent.
Cal U Global Online offers more than
40 career-focused associate, bachelor’s
and master’s degree programs. Online
delivery makes Global Online a convenient
option for students who are combining
higher education with family or career
responsibilities.
To learn more, visit www.calu.edu/go,
email calugo@calu.edu, or call 724-938-5958
or 866-595-6348.

Professors certified
as Estill Voice teachers
Dr. Michele Pagen,
co-chair of the
Department of
Music and Theatre,
has become a
certified master
teacher for Estill
Voice Training,
which provides vocal training for singers,
actors, public speakers and others who
wish to preserve vocal health and make
the most of their voices.
Pagen joins Brian Eisiminger, a faculty
member in the department’s theater
program, as the second Estill master teacher
on campus. Because of their certification,
Cal U now is recognized as an Estill
Educational Affiliate, joining a select group
of colleges and universities worldwide.
The theater program uses the Estill model
as the vocal foundation for all student actors,
singers and non-singers alike. As a result,
these performers can use their voices to
create characters for the stage and to deliver
consistent, high quality performances. Cal U
also has hosted Estill Level I and II courses
each summer since 2007.
Learn more at http://estillvoice.com/
pages/california-university-of-pennsylvania

“India’s population is so large that
universities there simply don’t have the
capacity to enroll tens of thousands of young
people who are seeking higher education,”
explains Elizabeth “Bessy” Bennellick, Cal U’s
director of International Programming.
“This partnership provides a clear
pathway for students from the Ryan
schools in India to further their education
in the United States.”

At annual conference,
research ‘opens doors’
With its theme of “Bridging Across
Disciplines,” the University’s second annual
Strike a Spark conference showcased the
research, scholarship, creative activity and
application of some 150 Cal U students.
They took over the Convocation Center,
using presentations, performances, posters
and other displays to summarize their
research, explain their academic work and
demonstrate the connections between
subject areas.
Keynote speaker Patrick Mullen, of the
University of Pittsburgh, described research
as “curiosity that drives explanation.”
“To conduct research as an undergraduate
is to leave the door open and take that step
into the unknown,” he said.

Student Zach Sullenberger discusses his
research project with Dr. Min Li during a
Strke a Spark poster session.

Conference organizer Dr. Gregg
Gould, director of Cal U’s Center for
Undergraduate Research, said he believes
it’s the faculty’s obligation to lead students
through that open door.
“By the time they emerge (from
college), students need to be setting
forth into new areas, teaching themselves
something new and making a contribution
to their discipline.
“As a faculty member, it’s inspiring
and gratifying to see our students going
through that.”

‘Hub’ aims to attract
students from India
Cal U is one of six State System
universities participating as a full partner
in the Pennsylvania Global Education and
Business Hub, an initiative to promote
Pennsylvania colleges to students and
their families in India.
Representatives of more than 20 public
and private schools in Pennsylvania, along
with the 130-school Ryan International
Group of Institutions in Mumbai, India,
signed an international partnership
agreement April 29 in Harrisburg.
Penn Hub already has established
centers in Mumbai and Bangalore to
introduce universities, including Cal U,
to potential students.

Celebrated Women
Women’s studies director Dr. Marta McClintock-Comeaux (left) and University President
Geraldine M. Jones (right) recognize the spring 2016 Women of the Year: student honoree
Rhonda Alford ’16, who earned a degree in social work; staff honoree Rhonda Gifford, director
of the Career and Professional Development Center; and faculty honoree Dr. Kimberly
Woznack, of the Chemistry and Physics Department. The trio accepted the awards at the
annual Celebration of Women dinner, which recognizes individuals and groups that support
women on campus.

SUMMER 2016 CAL U REVIEW 13
n

CAMPUS C L I P S

Water, please
California Borough resident Ashley McIntosh and son Preston, 2, pick up a free case of
bottled water with the help of Michael Miles, assistant chief of the California University Police
Department. Cal U, which is part of a regional emergency response network, received the water
from the state Department of Human Services and made it available to community residents
and organizations May 4 at Roadman Park. The exercise allowed the state agency to rotate its
emergency water supply and provided a hands-on test of the University’s distribution protocols.
Student volunteers helped to distribute the water to more than 200 California-area households.

Tech firm founder speaks
at Honors Convocation
David D. Gustovich ’83 addressed
nearly 400 of the University’s most
outstanding scholars at Cal U’s 2016
Honors Convocation.
Gustovich is the founder of IQity
Solutions, which provides cloud-based
software solutions to help manufacturers
manage their production operations more
profitably through integrated scheduling,
as well as operations, supply chain and
quality management capabilities. The firm
recently was acquired by NetSuite Inc.

David D. Gustovich ’83
addresses Presidential
Scholars.

“Our software is used by companies
that make the things you and I eat and
buy,” Gustovich told the Presidential
Scholars. “But my journey started right
here, just as yours did, at California
University.”
University President Geraldine M. Jones
also addressed the select group of students.
In addition to meeting other requirements,
undergraduate Presidential Scholars must
maintain a grade-point average of 3.25 or
higher, and graduate students must have a
GPA of 3.75 or higher.
“Watch your thoughts, for they become
your words,” Gustovich advised the students.
“Watch your words, for they become
your actions. Watch your actions, for they
become your habits. Watch your habits, for
they become your character. And watch
your character, for it becomes
your reputation.”

Credits in Arabic
transfer from Defense
language school
Students who have earned an associate
degree in Modern Standard Arabic at
the Defense Language Institute Foreign
Language Center in Monterey, Calif., now

14 CAL U REVIEW SUMMER 2016
n

can transfer 45 academic credits toward a
bachelor’s degree in Arabic Language and
Culture at Cal U.
This is the first time the Defense
Language Institute has signed an
agreement with an accredited university to
accept the transfer of 45 academic credits
for a foreign language program.
Cal U’s Arabic program is offered
through Global Online, the University’s
Internet-based learning community.
Because there is no residency
requirement, the program is a convenient
and affordable option for working
professionals, including Department of
Defense personnel, military members and
other institute graduates who are actively
pursuing a career.
Currently, 26 Defense Language
Institute graduates are enrolled in
Cal U Global Online, and nine others
have graduated from Cal U.
Cal U Global Online offers bachelor’s,
master’s and doctoral degrees, as well as
certification, certificate and professional
licensure programs. For details, visit
www.calu.edu/go.

Chick-fil-A Express
opens at student center
Responding to student requests for a
quick-service restaurant option on campus,
Cal U is welcoming a Chick-fil-A Express.
Beginning this fall, the outlet on the first
level of the Natali Student Center will serve
Chick-fil-A’s famous chicken sandwiches,
chicken nuggets, waffle potato fries, fresh
salads, freshly squeezed lemonade and
other menu items.
Business hours will be 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
Monday through Friday. Community
residents are welcome to drop by. Metered
parking for visitors is available in Lot 17,
immediately behind the student center.
The new Chick-fil-A Express adds
another student-friendly amenity to
Cal U’s student center, which was

re-dedicated in 2015 after a two-year
renovation and expansion.
A news release from AVI Foodsystems
Inc., the University’s dining services
provider, describes Chick-fil-A as “a perfect
complement to the culinary choices on the
Cal U campus.”
The Natali Student Center also houses
the Gold Rush dining hall, where all-youcare-to-eat options include a wide variety
of American and world cuisines; Fresh,
which serves made-to-order wraps and
salads; the Modeco coffee bar; the V-Bar,
a pub-style location serving foods from
around the world; and Fyre, which offers
gourmet burgers, specialty sandwiches
and panini.
Coffee, breakfast and lunch items
also are available at the Sycamore Bistro.
Cal U is one of five universities in
Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher
Education to offer Chick-fil-A on campus.
"It is a name our students recognize,"
says Dr. Nancy Pinardi, vice president
for Student Affairs. "I believe they'll be
pleased to see the new Chick-fil-A Express
at Cal U."

The first-place entries in Region 4 will
advance to the national SPJ competition at
the Excellence in Journalism Conference
Sept. 18-20 in New Orleans, La.

Campus WiFi upgrade
improves online access
When a typical Cal U student moves
in to a residence hall, he or she is likely
to unpack as many as five mobile devices
— a cellphone, a tablet, a laptop and
devices for listening to music or playing
videogames.
A technology upgrade completed
this spring keeps all those digital screens
glowing. Both wireless bandwidth and
signal strength have been boosted, WiFi
access points are more strategically
located, and the number of “hot spots”
among Cal U’s six residence halls has
expanded from 100 to 500.
“Students use D2L (Cal U’s online
learning management system) and
other sites for their coursework, and they
need to be able to connect,” says Robert
Thorn, vice president for Administration
and Finance.
“This project allows us to keep pace with
the technology needs of our students.”

Sport management major Jake Keister does
yardwork during The Big Event.

Students clean up
at The Big Event
About 400 volunteers from more
than 30 student clubs and organizations
turned out to work at 33 community
locations during The Big Event, when
students volunteer to make a difference
for community groups and the University’s
neighbors.
Diane Hasbrouck, director of Cal U’s
Center for Volunteer Programs and
Service Learning, says that Cal U students
collectively worked more than 1,350 hours
at this year’s event.

Student journalism earns
‘Mark of Excellence’
Five pieces produced for the Cal Times,
the University’s student newspaper,
received Mark of Excellence Awards
for student journalism at the annual
Society of Professional Journalists Region
4 Conference, held this spring at the
University of Cincinnati.
The awards recognize the best in
college journalism at schools in Michigan,
Ohio, West Virginia and western
Pennsylvania. The 400 print, broadcast
and online entries in this year’s regional
competition were published in 2015.
First-place honors for in-depth reporting
went to Stetson Provance ’15 and Lauren
Griffith ’16. Photo illustrations earned firstplace awards for junior Matt Palichant and
Janene Dunbar ’16, and finalist recognition
for Connor Marshman ’16.

Patriotic service
Capt. Robert Prah ’06, ’10 (left), director of Veterans Affairs, and University President
Geraldine M. Jones (right) recognize two Cal U students — both senior airmen in the
Pennsylvania National Guard — who returned to campus after deployment with the U.S.
military. The Presidential Medal for Patriotic Service was awarded to Seth D. Ellison, an
industrial technology management major, and Rachael Hough, an Earth sciences major
with a concentration in meteorology. Both students were deployed in support of Operation
Enduring Freedom.

SUMMER 2016 CAL U REVIEW 15
n

teach basic skills
Education students bring kidfriendly technology to classrooms

T

he Bee-Bots have landed. Through
a grant from the Edith L. Trees
Charitable Trust, the Department
of Special Education has acquired several
of the rotund little robots, which are
designed to teach young children skills
such as problem solving, estimation and
sequencing, all in a social setting.

Preschoolers
Jillian Salzman
and Kenny
Tarka use BeeBots to learn
about colors
and shapes.

16 CAL U REVIEW SUMMER 2016
n

Using directional keys, children “program”
the Bee-Bots to move to a desired location on
mats that teach letters, numbers, counting,
geography or other skills.
Ask a child to move the Bee-Bot to the
letter A square on the alphabet mat, for
example, and he or she will practice skills
such as identifying direction, counting the
number of squares the Bee-Bot will move
over, and finding the shortest route.
“I want to be a scientist when I grow
up,” says one 8-year-old who took part in
a Bee-Bots lesson. “They help me learn
about science.”
Special education professor Dr. Kate
Mitchem says the robots help teachersin-training learn to incorporate technology
into their classrooms.
The mini-robots also serve a larger
community purpose.
“Our students volunteered to show
Head Start students, their teachers and
some parents various technologies and
different activities to support learning at

our technology lab (in Keystone Hall).
“There was so much interest on the
part of children, parents and teachers
that I wanted to look for more ways of
engaging young children with technology.”
Now Cal U student teachers can
take the Bee-Bots into schools as part
of their lesson plans.
During the spring semester, the
robots paid a visit to two classrooms
at Dunbar Township Elementary
School, in the Connellsville (Pa.)
Area School District.
Cal U undergraduates, graduate
assistants and education program alumni
all took part in teaching a lesson.
“Not only do Bee-Bots introduce basic
computer programming to young children,”
Mitchem says, “they also provide engaging
and interactive ways to teach and reinforce
school-readiness skills, early reading and
math skills, and creative storytelling.”
By Wendy Mackall, assistant communications
director at Cal U

Environmental sciences major
Eric McRae plants one of 42 fruit
trees at the SAI Farm. The first
fruits may be harvested this fall.

Cem Akin, executive director of the Fruit Tree Planting
Association, explains proper planting techniques.

Jeff Jones, Cal U's first gentleman, works with students
and other volunteers to plant the orchard at SAI Farm.

EDIBLE
education

Students plant fruit trees at SAI Farm

A

n orchard of 42 fruit trees — apples, cherries, peaches,
pears and plums — has taken root at SAI Farm, the
upper-campus property owned and operated by the
Student Association Inc.
SAI staff and student volunteers, including members of the
Horticulture Club, planted the young trees in mid-May and
have tended them through the summer.

Biology major Kurtis Gale
checks a tree's roots.

Dr. Sarah Meiss, of the Department of Biological and
Environmental Sciences, worked for three years to obtain the
trees through a grant from the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation.
The Pittsburgh-based organization works globally to reduce
food insecurity while promoting environmental education.
For Cal U students, who are maintaining the orchard, these
trees provide hands-on lessons in subjects ranging from
botany and soil science to sustainability and community
engagement.
As the fruit trees mature, the harvest will supply fresh fruit
for the Cal U Cupboard campus food pantry and other
community efforts, as well as fundraising opportunities for
the student-led Horticulture Club.
“It’s nice to learn how to plant a tree,” says Kristine Lype, a
Cal U biology major with a chemistry minor. “And there’s
nothing better to give other people than fruit.”

SUMMER 2016 CAL U REVIEW 17
n

Graduates eager to launch their careers

G
Commencement speaker Vanessa
DeSalvo Getz ’93 tells graduates,
‘History has its eyes on you.’

18 CAL U REVIEW SUMMER 2016
n

raduation ceremonies marked an
academic milestone for the Class
of 2016, but nothing could match
the excitement of those students who were
poised to begin a career after walking across
the stage at Cal U’s 182nd Commencement.
Daniel Meighan, who earned bachelor’s
degrees in both computer engineering
technology and Arabic language and
culture, was one step ahead. He’d already
begun working as a scientist with the
Department of Defense in Washington,
D.C., where he interned in 2015.
“I believe Cal U helped open doors
for me,” says Meighan, who was a fouryear Alumni Ambassador and a member
of the Young and Gifted Gospel Choir,
the Black Student Union and Alpha Phi
Alpha fraternity.
“The good mix of academics and people
skills from the different organizations I was

part of helped me learn a lot about my field
and about myself.”
In his role as senior class envoy,
Meighan presented University President
Geraldine M. Jones with a check for nearly
$18,000 contributed by graduating seniors
and their families.
Since the Senior Gift tradition began in
2010, graduating classes have raised more
than $150,000 for an endowed scholarship
that will benefit future Cal U students.

‘Most educated generation’
Commencement speaker Vanessa
DeSalvo Getz ’93 described Meighan
and his fellow graduates as “part of the
most educated generation ever to walk
this planet.”
“We landed on the moon with less
technology than you carry in your pockets
right now,” she told them. “You hold almost

all of the world’s knowledge in the palm of your hand.”
Getz is founder and president of Salvo Strategies,
a public and government affairs firm based in
Pittsburgh, Pa. She has been a strategist, information
analyst and event planner for campaigns from
school boards to the Supreme Court, and she has
raised funds for political candidates and charitable
organizations across the country.
“History has its eyes on you — but here’s the
catch,” she reminded the graduates. “Anything you
write, say or post (online) ends up anywhere at any
time. It defines you as a person and a professional.
So live your life like your biography is being written
by the choices you make.”
In all, President Jones conferred more than 1,200
associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Not all
graduates attended the ceremonies May 6 and 7 in
the Convocation Center.
During her welcoming remarks, President Jones
praised the graduates for their accomplishments,
but she also urged them to look to the future.
“You have important work ahead of you — the
work of building a meaningful life and contributing
as a member of this global society we live in. … It is
up to you as knowledgeable, purposeful and caring
human beings to change lives, reshape communities
and make the word a better place.”
Those words resonated with new graduate
Destine Askew, who served on the Black Student
Union’s executive board while earning her bachelor’s
degree in criminal justice.
“I have plans to be a lawyer, so it was a good
experience to be able to make a difference for
minority groups on campus.”
Bria Jay ’14 also is involved in criminal justice.
She earned a master’s degree in applied criminology
and anticipates a career with the FBI.
“My greatest experience here was an internship
with crime victims at the Washington County
Courthouse,” she recalls. “It really helped me to
become versatile and aware of the different things
that happen in the criminal justice field.”

Focus on the future

At the podium, President Jones acknowledged
Taylor R. Brennan, Morgan Dee Huegel, Ethan Garret
Klersy and Jessica Laguerre-Joseph for earning
bachelor’s degrees while attaining a perfect 4.0
grade-point average. Eleven other students earned
two degrees simultaneously.
She reminded all the graduates to “take in the
moment and savor your success.” But some eager
alumni already were focused on the future.
Among them was John Juran, who held two
part-time jobs while earning his bachelor’s degree in
computer science.
His full-time software development job with
tech company PTC was set to begin one week after
graduation.
“My education definitely prepared me well,” he
said. “Now I’m looking forward to using it.”

Emily Hubbard, a communications disorders
major, wears a decorated cap to the ceremony
for master’s degree candidates.

After the May 7 ceremony,
graduate Michael Comisac,
carries his cousin Jake Hinners.
Following is Michael’s mother,
Maria, and cousin Joseph Hinners.

Ryo Eshleman waves to her family on the way
to her seat as she prepares to receive her
master’s degree in communication disorders.

Kevon Bruce, of Brooklyn, N.Y., waves
to friends in the audience as he collects
his degree in school counseling.

Jean Mervius, an international studies
major from Haiti, joins the procession
to the Convocation Center.

University President Geraldine M. Jones accepts
the senior class gift from envoy Daniel Meighan.

By Bruce Wald ’85, information writer at Cal U

SUMMER 2016 CAL U REVIEW 19
n

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SHOWCASE SUPPORTS
SCHOLARSHIPS
Uncover Cal U’s “Hidden Treasures” when you support
the third annual President’s Showcase, our signature
fundraising event.
Enjoy an elegant reception with hearty hors d’oeuvres
as you explore seldom-seen artworks, books and other
artifacts from the University’s collections. You’ll also meet
Cal U students, each one a “hidden treasure” whose full
potential is just waiting to be discovered.
The reception begins at 5 p.m. Sept. 17 in the Convocation
Center. At 7 p.m. patrons adjourn to Steele Hall Mainstage
Theatre for the annual talent showcase featuring students,
faculty and staff.
Ticket price is $125 per person. Proceeds support scholarships
that help Cal U students complete their degrees.
Sponsorships are available at these levels:
Diamond

nor ’08
Leslie Berdar Fleelations
ni Re
Director of Alum

Gold

Silver

$10,000

$5,000

$2,500

includes 12 tickets
plus sponsorship
recognition

includes 8 tickets
plus sponsorship
recognition

includes 4 tickets
plus sponsorship
recognition

For tickets and sponsorship information, contact Kathy Kuharik
at 724-938-5775 or kuharik@calu.edu.

ALUMNI NEWS

Putting practice

Strong bonds

Walt Sigut ’64 (center left) and Joe LoNigro chat June 20 at the
35th annual Cal U Golf Outing at Southpointe Golf Club near
Canonsburg, Pa. Golfers enjoyed a day of friendly competition
at one of the region’s premier courses and raised scholarship
funds for student-athletes at Cal U.

Chemistry alumni gather around University President Geraldine M.
Jones ’72, ’80 at the inaugural Chemistry Department reunion and
social in the Kara Alumni House. Dr. Ali Sezer, of the Department of
Chemistry and Physics, organized the event and kicked off efforts
to support the Student Professional Development Fund, which
will allow chemistry students to give research presentations at
professional events in Pennsylvania and across the country.
For details, email sezer@calu.edu.

20 CAL U REVIEW SUMMER 2016
n

ALUMNI CALENDAR
SEPT

17

FAMILY DAY
AND PRESIDENT’S
SHOWCASE

Cap off your Family Day activities at
the third annual President’s Showcase,
a signature fundraising reception followed
by a dynamic talent showcase. Check
the Cal U website to learn more about
our daylong lineup of free family-friendly
activities, the Family Day football game
at Adamson Stadium, the President’s
Showcase reception, and the talent
showcase at 7:30 p.m. in Steele Hall
Mainstage Theatre. Ticket price for the
talent show is $10; proceeds support
scholarships for Cal U students.

OCT

14

Remember the past and look to the
future as Geraldine M. Jones ’72, ’80
is inaugurated as California’s seventh
president. Alumni from every class are
welcome to attend the ceremony and
campus celebration marking the start of
a new chapter in the University’s history.
Visit www.calu.edu for details of this
campus-wide celebration.

OCT

20
SEPT

29

CAL GALS
SEMI-ANNUAL
LUNCHEON

Share a smile with the Cal Gals, a lively
group of retired teachers, when they get
together for their fall luncheon at noon
in the Kara Alumni House. For more
information or to RSVP, contact Staci
Tedrow in the Office of Alumni Relations
at 724-938-4418 or alumni@calu.edu.

PRESIDENTIAL
INAUGURATION

NOSS LECTURE
SERIES

Hear from awardwinning journalist
Jeanne Marie
Laskas, author
of Concussion.
Based on her
2009 GQ article
about the National
Football League’s
concussion scandal, the book was the
basis for the 2015 Will Smith movie of the
same name. A book-signing follows the
talk at 7 p.m. in the Convocation Center.

OCT

22 HOMECOMING
What’s more fun than a carnival? Cal U’s Homecoming
2016 festivities! Visit campus to reconnect with friends
and see what’s new at your alma mater.
8:30 a.m.

Alumni Board of Directors meeting, Kara Alumni House

10 a.m.–Noon Activities for kids of all ages, throughout campus
10 a.m.

African American Alumni Society meeting, Carter Hall

OCT

21

50th REUNION,
CLASS OF 1966

The Class of 1966 gathers in the Kara
Alumni House for its milestone 50th
reunion. Formal invitations will be sent
for this special event, which includes a
reception with light refreshments at 5 p.m.
and the 1966 Pioneer Reunion and Dinner
at 5:45. After the plated dinner, a special
program honors the Class of 1966. Class
members are admitted free; cost per
guest is $30.

VULCAN HUDDLE
TAILGATES
Visit with friends at
our Vulcan Huddle tailgates before select
home games during the 2016 Cal U football
season. Look for the tent outside Adamson
Stadium two hours before game time on
these dates:
Sept. 17 Cal U vs. Millersville
(Family Day)
OCT. 8

Cal U vs. IUP (Coal Bowl)

OCT. 22 Cal U vs. Gannon.
Check www.calu.edu/alumni for
game times and other details.

Were you part of a Cal U club or
organization, such as band, athletics,
Greek Life or student government?
If so, call your friends and meet us
at Roadman Park for a Homecoming
tailgate starting at 1 p.m.
Reserve space (first come, first
served) and bring a 10’x10’ tent and
your own food and beverages. We’ll
print a sign with your group’s name
to be placed outside your tent.

11 a.m. Picnic on the Patio, refreshments for alumni and friends,
Kara Alumni House

There is no cost, but registration
is required.

Noon

Traditional Homecoming parade, Third Street

1 p.m.

Vulcan Huddle tailgate, Adamson Stadium

3 p.m.

Football kickoff: Cal U vs. Gannon, Adamson Stadium

For details about all Homecoming
activities, contact the Alumni
Relations Office at alumni@calu.edu
or 724-938-4418.

SUMMER 2016 CAL U REVIEW 21
n

2016 ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
AWARDS OF DISTINCTION
JOHN R. GREGG AWARD FOR LOYALTY AND SERVICE

MICHAEL DUDA AWARD FOR ATHLETIC ACHIEVEMENT

Dr. George Crane

Jess Strom ’09

Crane began teaching at California in 1969.
He was chair of the Educational Foundations
Department, developed the counselor education
program and was an associate dean in the College
of Education. Crane served as dean of the School
of Graduate Studies and Research from 1985
until he retired in 2000. He was president of the
Emeriti Faculty Association from 2005-2013.

Strom, head coach for women’s basketball,
has posted a 111-35 overall record, with a
75-25 mark in league play, during the past
five years at Cal U. Strom guided the Vulcans
to PSAC championships in 2015 and 2016, to
NCAA tournament appearances in 2013, 2015
and 2016, and to the 2015 NCAA Division II
National Championship.

C.B. WILSON DISTINGUISHED FACULTY AWARD

W.S. JACKMAN AWARD OF DISTINCTION

Dr. David Argent

Shantey Hill ’01

Argent, a professor in the Department of
Biological and Environmental Sciences, studies
southwestern Pennsylvania’s fish communities
and is a past president of the Pennsylvania
chapter of the American Fisheries Society.
Argent has been awarded more than $1 million
in external funding, which has helped to expand
Cal U’s fisheries program and make summer field
experiences possible for students.

Hill is the assistant vice president and
senior director of athletics and recreation
at St. Joseph’s College in Long Island, N.Y.
Previously, Hill spent more than a decade at
the Post Campus of Long Island University,
where she held athletic administrative roles
including head athletic trainer and director of
sports medicine.

PAVLAK/SHUTSY SPECIAL SERVICE AWARD

PROFESSIONAL EXCELLENCE AWARD

Dr. Caryl Sheffield ’73

Michael Grace ’81

Sheffield began teaching at Cal U in 1991. She
was chair of the Department of Early, Middle
and Special Education from 2002-2012, and an
associate provost from 2012 to 2015, when she
retired. Sheffield was active with the Frederick
Douglass Institute, which established an award
in her name to recognize faculty who exemplify
excellence in teaching and mentoring.

Grace was named president of UPMC Mercy
in August 2015. He previously served as vice
president of operations at UPMC Shadyside,
as executive administrator of the Pediatrics
Department at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
of UPMC, and as administrative services and
physician relations director for the UPMC
Physician Services Division.

YOUNG ALUMNI AWARD

MERITORIOUS AWARD

Cynthia James ’02

Carol Riley ’69

James is an expert in executive leadership
with more than 15 years of nonprofit, federal
government and private sector experience. She is
the president and CEO of YouthPlaces, a nonprofit
organization that provides after-school and outof-school activities, programs and workforce
development at multiple sites in Pittsburgh and
elsewhere in Allegheny County.

Riley concluded her 31-year career in education
as president of the Ohio Elementary Principals
Association. After retiring to Maryland, she
worked for the Maryland Association of
Elementary School Principals. She serves as
associate executive director for professional
learning and outreach for the National
Association of Elementary School Principals.

The Cal U Alumni Association recognized these individuals with its 2016 Awards of Distinction at a ceremony
June 4 in the Convocation Center. The association has presented these awards annually since 1967.

22 CAL U REVIEW SUMMER 2016
n

EXTRAORDINARY
EDUCATORS

FACULTY MEMBERS
RECOGNIZED FOR
EXCELLENCE

Subject matter experts. Talented teachers. Skilled researchers and committed
community members. Faculty who fit those descriptions make a real difference
in the lives of their students and the quality of a Cal U education.
Each year the University President and the Faculty Professional Development Committee
(FPDC) honor outstanding faculty members and recognize them at Commencement.
Presidential award recipients also receive a medallion and a scholarship for
a student in their discipline. FPCD honorees, chosen by faculty committees,
receive a monetary award to be used for professional development.

PRESIDENTIAL AWARDS

FPDC AWARDS

Recipients of the 2016 Presidential
Distinguished Merit Awards are:

Recipients of the 2016 Faculty Professional
Development Committee Merit Awards are:

Dr. Summer Arrigo-Nelson,

an associate professor in the Department
of Biological and Environmental Sciences,
recognized for excellence in research. She
travels regularly to Madagascar to study
the effects of habitat disturbance on forest
regeneration and primate behavior and
ecology. Students participate in her ongoing
research through the Madagascar Field
School program.

Dr. Marta McClintock-Comeaux,

an associate professor in the Department
of History, Politics and Society, honored for
excellence in service. Director of the women’s
studies program and chair of the President’s
Commission for the Status of Women, she
has been instrumental in programming
Women’s History Month events, including
the annual Audrey-Beth Fitch Women’s
Studies Conference.

Dr. Thomas Mueller,

a professor in the Department of Earth
Sciences, recognized for excellence in teaching.
A geographic information systems expert,
he uses GIS in assessing vulnerabilities to
disasters, crime mapping and demographic
analysis. Outside the classroom, he has made
conference presentations and conducted GIS
workshops for community members, his
fellow professors and K-12 educators.

Dr. Paul Hettler,

a professor and chair of the Department of
Business and Economics, honored for service
and service learning. Coordinator of the Faculty
Professional Development Center and a member
of the University-wide General Education
Committee, he also is active with the Strike
a Spark Undergraduate Research Task Force
and advisory boards for the University Honors
Program, American Democracy Project and
Lambda Bridges.

Dr. Leandro Junes,

an assistant professor in the Department of Math,
Computer Science and Information Systems,
recognized for research. He is the founder and
director of undergraduate research groups in
mathematics at Cal U and at Universidad Distrital
Francisco José de Caldas and Universidad de
Antioquia, both in Colombia. The groups produce
publishable research and prepare undergraduates
for graduate school.

Dr. Robert Skwarecki,

a professor in the Department of Communication
Disorders, honored for teaching and learning. A
licensed speech-language pathologist and director
of the Communication Disorders Laboratory, he
is known for his ability to deconstruct difficult
concepts for students and bridge the gap between
theory and clinical practice. He also is a faculty
adviser for undergraduate Honors Program and
graduate-level research projects.

SUMMER 2016 CAL U REVIEW 23
n

Bright Idea
Campus electrician Robert Wadsworth removes
the metal halide bulb from a streetlight in front
of Old Main and replaces it with an energysaving LED fixture. Streetlights across campus
are being converted to use the long-lasting LED
lamps, a grant-funded project expected to save
the University nearly $9,000 per year in energy
costs. Under state Act 129, utility company
West Penn Power will add a financial incentive
for the conversion through its Lighting
Incentive Program. “I’m big on making changes
that can save energy,” says Wadsworth, a Cal U
Facilities Management employee for 29 years.
“Not just here on campus, but everywhere. It’s
good for the University and it’s good for the
environment, too.”

24 CAL U REVIEW SUMMER 2016
n

We’ve played
at some pretty
cool stadiums, but
to be in a college
stadium, especially
my alma mater’s,
was amazing.

SPORTS P R O F I L E

LORRAINE STANEK ’03, ’07

Education alumna plays for the Pittsburgh Passion

L

orraine Stanek ’03, ’07 had her own
Homecoming of sorts on the night of
Cal U’s spring Commencement.
She returned to campus May 7
when the Pittsburgh Passion, two-time
defending champions in the Independent
Women’s Football League, defeated the
IWFL’s Keystone Assault 56-6 at
Adamson Stadium.
Stanek is the Passion’s starting
right tackle.
“We’ve played at some pretty cool
stadiums, but to be in a college stadium,
especially my alma mater’s, was amazing,”
she says.
Stanek, 38, played for the Passion from
2009-2013, sat out for two years, then
returned to the team this season.
After nine years as a teacher, the
Pittsburgh resident now makes her living as
a nanny. But football is … well, her passion.
“I always liked sports growing up, but
(professional) football was not really an
option for girls back then,” says Stanek,
who played softball and powderpuff
football at Bethel Park (Pa.) High School.

“One night (in 2008) I was out with a
group of friends, and I asked a married guy
where his wife was,” she recalls. “He said
‘football practice,’ and my ears perked up.”
After a successful tryout, Stanek
discovered the difference between
watching and playing football.
“I had followed the Steelers and thought
I knew a lot about football. Then I became
involved (as a player), and I realized I had
no idea of what goes on. There’s a lot more
to it than meets the eye.”
The team begins practicing three
times a week in early January, then scales
back to two weekly practices once the
season starts in April. Passion players also
participate in many community events.
Although she started her football career
as a tight end, Stanek says she’s found her
niche at tackle.
“I love being on the line, because the
four other girls and I practice and work as
a unit. We are in the trenches together and
communicate on every single play.”
Stanek attended two other colleges
before coming to Cal U, where she

earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary
education and a master’s degree in special
education.
Perhaps because she was older, “I
was more open to being a better student
because I really took in the teaching. Going
to Cal U was totally different … because
everybody knew who you were, and the
teachers cared.”
Two other Cal U alumni are on the
Passion’s roster this season: rookie
defensive back Madison Baxter ’15, who
studied sport management, and former
math major Nathan Stephenson ’14, the
team’s assistant offensive coach and
special teams coordinator.
“Lorraine is an amazing woman, a
wonderful role model and an inspiration for
our team,” Stephenson says. “The energy
she brings on a daily basis is incredible.
“She always helps to keep things light.
It’s a reminder that football is a game we
play and coach, first and foremost, because
it’s fun. I am happy to be able to count her
as one of my friends.”
By Bruce Wald ’85, information writer at Cal U

SUMMER 2016 CAL U REVIEW 25
n

SPORTS R O U N D U P

New chapter
begins
for men’s
basketball
A new era in men’s basketball began June 2, when
University President Geraldine M. Jones welcomed
Kent McBride as the Vulcans’ new head coach.
McBride, 33, joins Cal U after guiding the men’s team at
Concord (W.Va.) University, his alma mater, for the past
five seasons.
The Mountain Lions went 22-10 overall last year, won the
Mountain East Conference Tournament title and made their
first NCAA Division II Tournament appearance in 18 years.
Two years ago McBride was named the MEC Coach of the
Year after leading Concord to a 20-8 overall record.
“He focuses first on attitude, on creating a culture of athletic
excellence within a framework of academic success,” President
Jones said at a news conference held to introduce the coach.
“When student-athletes dedicate themselves to giving
their very best, winning on the court will be a byproduct of
that commitment.”

Before starting his coaching career as an assistant at West
Virginia Wesleyan in 2006, McBride was a four-year starting
point guard for Concord. His 6.0 assists-per-game average
ranked 15th nationally during his senior season.
McBride replaces Bill Brown, who coached the Vulcans for 20
years and retired with a program-best 365 career victories.
“Coach Brown established a program that was known across
the conference, the region and the country,” McBride said. “He
helped to create a tradition and a history.
“I don’t look to overcome that but rather stand behind it, continue
it and improve it slowly by doing the right thing every day.”

Softball ends season
ranked 21st in nation

Student-athletes
excel as scholars

Led by pitcher Alex Sagl, Cal U’s softball
team closed out the spring season
ranked 21st in the country, with a 38-6
overall record.

Cal U student-athletes from all
varsity sports compiled a 3.22
cumulative grade-point average
in the Spring 2016 semester.

Sagl became just the second player in
league history to be named PSAC Pitcher
of the Year for four consecutive years.
She earned National Fastpitch Coaches
Association third-team All-American
honors for the third straight year and
finished with a 90-16 career record.

A total of 185 Vulcans earned a
GPA of 3.00 or higher, and 26
had a perfect 4.00.

First baseman Lindsay Reicoff, the
team’s career leader in home runs,
with 51, became a four-time, first-team
all-conference selection — one of nine
Vulcans who earned all-conference honors.

26 CAL U REVIEW SUMMER 2016
n

Alex Sagl

Pitcher and infielder Taylor Robblee was
named the PSAC-West Freshman of the
Year. Head coach Rick Bertagnolli was
named the PSAC West Coach of the Year
for the seventh time in eight years.

Collectively, the Vulcans head into
the 2016-2017 academic year having
compiled a cumulative grade-point
average of 3.10 or higher for 12 of the
past 13 semesters.

Alyssa Savill

runners compete at
naTIONAL championship
Outdoor track and field stars Julie Friend
and Summer Hill raced to All-American
honors at the NCAA National Tournament.
Friend finished seventh in the 3,000-meter
steeplechase and earned first-team AllAmerican status. Hill was named a secondteam All-American after finishing ninth in
the 1,500-meter run.
Both had won PSAC championships in their
respective events. Hill also joined runners
Jaclyn Reinbold, Alex Zanella and Alyson
Pierce as the lead leg on the 4x800-meter
relay team that claimed the conference title.
Zanella earned the 10th league title of
her career when she repeated as outdoor
champion in the 800-meter run.
As a team, the Vulcans finished fourth in
the league standings for the second straight
year, with a program-best 80 total points.

Summer Hill

On the men’s side, a victory by the 4x100meter relay team of Jimmy Wheeler, Joe
Vedilago, Montre Tates and Jae’Len Means
helped the Vulcans equal the team’s
highest-ever finish, sixth place, at the PSAC
Championships.
Means also placed second in the 200-meter
race and third in the 100-meters. Vedilago
finished second in the 400-meter dash.
Overall, the men’s team had 13 entries
score at the conference meet.

Versatile outfielder-pitcher Mick Fennell
was named PSAC-West Athlete of the Year.
He batted .385 while starting all 48 games
this season, chalking up 25 extra-base hits,
22 stolen bases and 57 runs scored. On
the mound he went 5-1 overall, with two
complete games and one shutout.

Mick Fennell

Vulcans third
in Dixon Trophy
Cal U athletics finished third in the
race for the Dixon Trophy, awarded
annually since 1995 to the PSAC
university with the most successful
all-around athletics program.
The winner is determined by calculating
the average of every sport sponsored by
each participating school.
Cal U is one of two PSAC schools to have
achieved third-place or higher finishes
seven times in the past nine years.

In June, Fennell was drafted by the
St. Louis Cardinals.

Kirby Manown

After winning its 10th consecutive
PSAC championship, the women’s
tennis team extended its season by
advancing to the NCAA Tournament
for the 12th year in a row.
The Vulcans reached the third round of
the national tournament and finished
the season with an 18-4 overall record.

Slugger is PSAC-West
Athlete of the Year

The Vulcan baseball team advanced to
the PSAC playoffs for the 15th time in
the past 20 years.

Women’s tennis takes
team, individual honors

Players Kiefer Shaw and Lena Dimmer
were first-team all-conference
selections, and Veronika Mikulis was
named the PSAC Tournament’s Most
Outstanding Player.
Shaw was named the region’s Senior
Player of the Year, and head coach Pablo
Montana earned ITA Atlantic Region
Coach of the Year honors for the 10th
time in 13 years.
Alyssa Savill received the International
Tennis Association’s national Arthur
Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship
Award, which takes into account a
player’s tennis accomplishments,
scholastic achievements and
extracurricular endeavors.

Golf teams reach NCAA regionals
In its 10th consecutive NCAA post-season appearance,
the women’s golf team finished in 10th place at the
NCAA Super Region One Championships.
Carla Maestre, a three-time PSAC Golfer of the Year,
led all Cal U individual golfers, placing 12th at the
regional contest. She missed qualifying for the NCAA
National Championships by just two strokes.
The men’s golf team ended its season in seventh
place at the NCAA Atlantic/East Super Regional.
All-Region players Kirby Manown and Tyler Robinson
were Cal U’s top individual finishers; they tied for
26th place.

SUMMER 2016 CAL U REVIEW 27
n

STILL

going strong
Entertainers draw a crowd
to the Underground Café

W

hen Rob Arment ’01 and Gino
Ornato ’99 performed at the
Underground Café back
in 1996, there was something missing.
An audience.
“Most nights, we were the only ones
there, playing to an empty room,” Ornato
recalls of the open mic nights held on the
lower level of Herron Hall.
Times have changed.
The Underground Café now attracts 100 to
200 people to hear writers, poets, musicians
and comedians perform on Thursdays at the
Natali Student Center. Students take the stage
on open mic nights. On other nights, bands
from the area stop by to play.
The Underground is led by an executive
board that books artists and encourages
collaborations with other campus groups,
such as Greek Life, the Women’s Center
and the Center for Volunteer Programs
and Service Learning.

Rob Arment '01 plays outside the
Underground Café, circa 2000.

28 CAL U REVIEW SUMMER 2016
n

An academic tie has been formed, with
commercial music technology majors receiving
class credit for operating the sound equipment.
But a lot of the performers aren’t music
majors; they simply love music and performing.
“Being a writer, I respect creativity and
different forms of art,” says former executive
board president Jose Negron ’16, a journalism
graduate who neither sings nor plays.
“There is a lot of talent on this campus.”
Some performers have a regional
following. For example, Hear Tonight, an indie
rock group that includes five current or former
Cal U students, has held a CD release party at
the Hard Rock Café in Pittsburgh, Pa., and has
music on several streaming services.
Things were quite different in the
late 1990s, when the musicians regularly
outnumbered the audience members at the
Underground Café. Ornato and Arment,
a guitarist and vocalist, decided to try to
change that.
“Every week we’d make up fliers and put
them in the (student) union or the residence
halls, everywhere we could,” says Arment,
who performed back in the day with a duo
called Poke and a band called String.
Arment and Ornato organized a spring
arts festival in the late ’90s that coincided
with a campus open house and included 10
bands. They collaborated with other student
groups, such as the Black Student Union and
Rainbow Alliance.
Soon they began booking bands from the
Pittsburgh region, including Grand Buffet,
which has toured with groups such as Third
Eye Blind and Girl Talk. And that, say Arment
and Ornato, is when things began to change.
“The Underground was packed
every time they came by,” Arment says.

Still spirited: Former Un
derground
Café supporters Rob Arm
ent '01, Joe
Tarowsky '05, Tom Bar
ry '02
Ipson '02 and Kristine Jad , Chaz
yk Hepner.

This spring, Arment organized an
Underground Café reunion at Jozart Center
for the Arts in California, Pa., a nod to
the off-campus location that serves as a
performance space for students.
In all, about 30 people who played or
regularly attended performances at Cal U
in the late ’90s and early ’00s came to the
reunion.
Arment named Tom Barry ’02, Garret
Clark ’04, Philip “P.J.” Hnatkovich ’02
and an entire crew from Johnson Hall
as instrumental in the growth of the
Underground Café.
“The Underground Café was a place where
we could fit in,” Arment says. “We didn’t
start it, but we came along and happened
to breathe some life into it. And it’s really
awesome that it’s still going on today.”
By Wendy Mackall, assistant
communications director at Cal U

CAL U M I L E S T O N E S
40s
Ronald Lethaby ’49, who majored in education at
Cal U, and Marcia Lethaby live in Erie, Pa.

50s
Audrey Kiger Comport ’56 was thrilled to return
to campus for the Alumni Awards Luncheon and
to celebrate the 60 years since she graduated
from Cal U. She taught primary school in the
state of California for 35 years and was awarded
a Fulbright Scholarship for study in London in
1994-1995. The author of three books on family
genealogy, she attributes many of her successes
to the education she received at the University.

60s
Abraham Allende ’66 is a clergyman in the
Northeastern Ohio Synod of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America. He majored in
education at Cal U, where he was in the choir,
Glee Club and College Players. He and Linda
Gotthardt live in Canton, Ohio.

70s
Susan Carr Luce ’70 lives in Mesquite, Texas.
Karen Webber ’70 is a retired Regis University
administrator. She studied speech pathology
and audiology at Cal U, and she was involved
in student government. Karen lives in
Broomfield, Colo.
Carole Brezovsky Rutt ’71, of Brownsville, Pa.,
is retired after teaching elementary and gifted
children in the Broward and Monroe County
school systems in Florida.
Randy Stevenson ’72, who retired as a drafting
instructor in the Bentworth School District, in
Washington County, Pa., is now a member of
St. George Lodge No. 354 Adult Tamburitzans.
Henrietta Fields Rebish ’72 is retired after
teaching elementary school in the Belle Vernon
(Pa.) Area School District. She is an Avon
independent sales representative. Henrietta
studied education at Cal U and was a member
of the basketball team and the band. She
and Robert Rebish live in Smithton, Pa.
Barry Dallara ’73 is a Bedford County (Pa.)
commissioner. He and Sharon Dallara live
in Alum Bank, Pa.
William Mastropieri ’74 is chief executive
officer for Asian-American Land Investment.
He majored in special education at Cal U. He
and Lei-Jane Chou live in Mansfield, Texas.
David Huber ’74 is a retired supervisor for San
Bernardino County, Calif. He studied English at
Cal U, where he was a member of Theta Xi, Phi
Sigma Pi, the Glee Club and the choir. He and
Donna Huber live in Capistrano Beach, Calif.

John Shosky ’72, of Pittsburgh, Pa., is retired.
John “Jack” Zduriencik ’74, a longtime Major
League Baseball executive, is a contributor on
Root Sports and KDKA-FM (93.7) in Pittsburgh,
Pa. He studied education at Cal U.

Joseph Pointer Jr. ’82 is an information
technology specialist for the Defense
Information Systems Agency. He studied
business administration with an accounting
concentration at Cal U. He and Kimberly Pointer
live in Northfield, Ohio.

Dr. Deborah Shanley ’74 has received the
Charles C. Mackey Jr. Excellence in Service
Leadership Award, which honors an educator
in New York who has demonstrated personal
and professional qualities that exemplify
the highest standards of service leadership
in teacher education. Deborah is dean and
professor in the School of Education at
Brooklyn College. She was recognized for
her teacher education leadership in service to
PreK-12 schools, to teacher candidates and to
her colleagues in the profession. She and her
husband, Ben Benzaia, live in New York, N.Y.

Elizabeth Rogers ’82 has been promoted to
executive director of the Observer-Reporter, in
Washington, Pa., with responsibilities for the
editorial departments at the daily newspaper
and the weekly Almanac, which covers
community news in Pittsburgh’s South Hills.

Thomas Clements ’76, of Raleigh, N.C., is retired.
He majored in environmental science at Cal U
and was a member of Sigma Tau Gamma.

Barbara Day ’84 is a new member of the North
Belle Vernon (Pa.) Borough Council. She is a
laboratory director for Excela Health System
and studied medical technology at Cal U.

Albert Hudson ’79 is the new planning
commissioner in Tracy, Calif. He studied
political science at Cal U. A U.S. Army veteran,
he owns a business specializing in residential
and commercial painting projects.
Dr. Stephanie Nickman Triplett ’79 has spent
30 years in private practice in Connellsville, Pa.
In 2012 she was certified by the Audigy Group,
which represents the top 5 percent of the nation’s
audiology practices. She specializes in hearing
evaluation and customized hearing aid fitting.
Carl Minor ’79 works in environmental health and
safety for Chevron Phillips Chemical. He majored
in environmental sciences at Cal U, where he was
involved in fencing, track and volleyball. He and
Pauletta Minor live in Rosenberg, Texas.

80s
Greg Lucas ’81, of Edinboro, Pa., is self-employed
in construction and consulting. He is a former
member of the state House of Representatives
for District 5, in Crawford and Erie counties.

Thierry Barnes ’82 lives with Seri Barnes in
Williamston, S.C. Thierry majored in education
at Cal U, where he was active with the school
newspaper and was a member of the Veterans
Club and Pennsylvania State Education
Association.

Mark Schinzel ’86 is a human resource
specialist for the U.S. Air Force. He majored
in business administration at Cal U and lives
in Converse, Texas.
Melanie Stringhill Patterson ’82, ’88 of
Washington Township, Pa., was a candidate
in Pennsylvania’s 49th Legislative District,
which covers portions of Fayette and
Washington counties. Melanie earned
her bachelor’s degree in education and
her master’s degree as a reading specialist.

90s
Maureen McMenamin Edmiston ’90 is a certified
public accountant for Edmiston & Associates, P.C.
She and James Edmiston live in Irwin, Pa.
Damon Enos ’91 works at Anderson’s Candies,
a family-owned business in Baden, Pa.

Kim Nicholas Megee ’82 works for Verizon.
She studied fine arts at Cal U. She and Richie
Megee live in Bradenton, Fla.

GREEN TEAM
Members of the Cal U Philadelphia
Alumni chapter “go green” this
spring to give back to their city by
participating in a tree planting event
sponsored by the Philly Tree People.
Helping out were Paulette Midgette
’85 (left), Darlene Meekins ’84 (right)
and Valerie Haley ’82 (not pictured).

SUMMER 2016 CAL U REVIEW 29
n

CAL U M I L E S T O N E S
Dana Byers Lewis ’93 is a manager at Financial
Dimensions Inc. She studied business
administration at Cal U. She and Sam Lewis live
in North Huntingdon, Pa.
Anthony Marino ’94 recently penned an original
musical, Tink, which was chosen to be performed
at the New York Musical Festival this summer.
Beth Reifsnyder Weckel ’94 is a teacher for
Berks County (Pa.) Head Start. She studied
speech pathology at Cal U and was a member
of the Speech Pathology Club. She and Michael
Weckel live in Reading, Pa.
Jodi Basile Mima ’94 is a store manager at Rite
Aid in California, Pa. She has two children, Joshua
and Jacob, and is engaged to Scott Downer.
Rebecca Bodnar Barr ’95 works for a bank as an
overdraft protection coordinator. She and Marc
Barr live in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Maj. William Walker ’95, of Fayetteville, N.C.,
retired from the U.S. Army on June 1, 2016, after
more than 20 years of service. He retired as a
psychological operations officer at Fort Bragg, N.C.

Angela Peskie Coldren ’96 is a business
manager at the University of Pittsburgh.
She earned her master’s degree in business
administration from Cal U. She and Richard
Coldren live in New Stanton, Pa.
Veronica Esposita Hordubay ’96 is the new
director of marketing and convention center sales
at SMG-managed Big Sandy Superstore Arena
and Convention Center, in Huntington, W.Va.
Jennifer Gilpin Snipes ’97 studied parks and
recreation management at Cal U, where she
was in the choir and jazz band. She and Jeremy
Snipes live in Mount Morris, Mich.
Don Ammon ’97 recently returned to campus to
discuss screenwriting and filmmaking. He is a
co-writer for the film Summerlings.
Tracey Clement Findling ’97 is a registered nurse.
She studied social work at Cal U. Her husband,
Glenn Findling ’96, is a quality manager for ABB
Inc. He studied business administration at Cal U.
They live in Grimesland, N.C.
Parke Wentling ’97 was running for election as
a state representative from the 17th Legislative
District. The former technology teacher earned
his bachelor’s degree from Cal U. He lives in
Mercer County, Pa.
Marykate Brown Evans ’98 is an operations
officer for Tekla Research Inc. She studied
education at Cal U, where she was a member of
Kappa Delta Pi. She lives in California, Md.
Anthony Mannion ’98 is a social studies and
Spanish teacher for Connections Education. He
and Haley Mannion live in Manhattan, Kan.

LEADERS IN LAVENDER
Janis M. Zivic ’64 was the featured speaker
at Cal U’s third annual Lavender Graduation,
which celebrates the personal and academic
achievements of graduating lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender students and their
allies. Janis has endowed a scholarship for
Cal U undergraduates who are involved in
LGBTQA organizations and provided support
for the Lambda Bridges office, a speaker
series and library services. After addressing
the group, she watched as Sheleta Webb
’89, Cal U’s director of Multicultural Affairs
and Diversity Education, presented the first
Jan Zivic Outstanding LGBTQA Leadership
Award to Priscilla Lupo ’16, one of 10 soonto-be graduates honored at the ceremony.
Lupo, who was involved in Lambda Bridges,
the Rainbow Alliance and the Lambda
Leaders programs, graduated with a
degree in sociology.

30 CAL U REVIEW SUMMER 2016
n

Sonja Simpson ’98, ’99 has been named District
5 deputy director for the Ohio Department
of Transportation. She studied environmental
science and regional planning at Cal U. In
her new role, she supervises construction
management, planning, engineering, highway
management,business and human resources.

00s
Eric Strimel ’00 is an automation engineer for
Rumsey Electric Co. He studied manufacturing
technology at Cal U, where he was a member of
the Acacia Fraternity. He and Jessica Strimel live
in King of Prussia, Pa.
Courtney Close May ’00 is a teacher in the
Bedford (Pa.) School District. An education
major, she and Brad May live in Bedford.
Nicole Ballard ’04, of Pittsburgh, Pa., is an adult
probation supervisor in Allegheny County.
Nicole earned her master’s degree in criminal
justice at Cal U.
Melanie Nagy ’05 works as a corrections
counselor at the State Correctional Institution
at Fayette in Luzerne Township, Pa., where she
is the acting manager of her unit. She studied
criminal justice at Cal U.

ATHENA HONOREE
University President Geraldine M.
Jones ’72, ’80 received the 2016
ATHENA Award presented by the
Washington County (Pa.) Chamber of
Commerce. Recognized internationally,
the award honors women within the
business and civic communities who
exemplify professional excellence,
community service and leadership.
Since its inception in 1982, this
prestigious award has been presented
to more than 6,700 recipients in 500
communities around the world.

William Lamar ’05, of Pittsburgh, Pa., is a
videographer/editor for City Channel Pittsburgh.
He studied communications at Cal U and was
a member of the marching band, concert band,
jazz ensemble, choir and Kappa Kappa Psi.
Virginia Vasko ’05, a science, technology,
engineering and math educator at Bentworth
Middle School, has received the Dr. Howard
Jack Outstanding Public Educator Award from
the Washington County (Pa.) Community
Foundation.
Aaron Whigham ’05 is the new community
relations coordinator for Penn State Greater
Allegheny. He studied business administration
at Cal U.
Tracy Viale Gianakos ’05, of Waterford, Conn.,
is a site supervisor for Connecticut GI. She was
president of Delta Zeta at Cal U.
Heather Escott Caldwell ’06, who studied
sport management at Cal U, is a tutor for
Sylvan Learning. She and Joseph Caldwell
live in Park City, Hawaii.
Leigh Namolek Bryan ’07 is a Realtor for J.S.
Walker Associates Inc. She studied elementary
education at Cal U. She and Jeremy Bryan live in
Morgantown, W.Va.
Richard Crum ’07, who studied political science
at Cal U, works for the U.S. Department of
State. He and Selima Daadouche-Crum live
in Washington, D.C.
Kristen Radovich Brooks ’07 works for Chevron.
She studied business at Cal U and lives in
Farmington, Pa., with Colby Brooks.

Michael Peterson ’08, of South Park, Pa., is a
retired minister. He majored in liberal studies and
also studied business administration at Cal U.
Lia Vaccaro ’08 is co-owner of MIX salad
concept, located in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Jim Stoyle ’08 was a finalist for the head
coaching position at Galion (Ohio) City
Schools. He earned his master’s degree in sport
management from Cal U.
U.S. Army National Guard Spc. Jason Antill ’08
has graduated from basic infantry training at
Fort Jackson, S.C.
Kara Gans-Page ’08 is a social worker for
Fresenius Kidney Care. She earned her Master
of Social Work at Cal U. She lives in Somers
Point, N.J., with Robert Page.
Lou Zadecky ’08, athletic director at Penn State
Fayette, was the guest speaker for the 59th
annual B’nai B’rith Sports Awards luncheon,
which honors local student-athletes. The
luncheon is organized by the Uniontown (Pa.)
Rotary Club.
Demetrus Caldwell ’09, of Natchitoches, La.,
works at Northwestern State University. He
studied sport management at Cal U.
Jay R Wheeler ´82, ´84 retired in May 2016
after working for 31 years with Cal U’s Student
Association Inc. He helped to create Cal U’s
national award-winning CUTV in 1986 and
helped to oversee the transformation of campus
radio station WVCS to WCAL in 2005.

Liz Whoric ’11, a kindergarten teacher in the
Frazier School District in Fayette County, Pa.,
was named the May 2016 Herald-Standard
Excellent Educator. Liz earned her bachelor’s
degree in education at Cal U.
Ryan Skiles ’09, ’11 is senior manager of guest
experience for HMSHost, a provider of food
and beverage services for travelers, with
responsibilities for Canada, Texas, Florida and
New England. Previously, he worked for Burger
King’s corporate office, overseeing 110 restaurants
and supporting eight franchise owners.
Eric Lauver ’12, who earned his master’s degree
in education from Cal U, works for the Trinity
Area School District, near Washington, Pa.
Laurel Marshalek ’12
recently earned her
Doctor of Veterinary
Medicine from the
University of Missouri.
She will be working as a
veterinarian for
Lindquist Veterinary
Care Center in
Kirksville, Mo.
Ashley Bouton ’12 recently co-curated an
exhibition of works by female artists from
Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s permanent
collection. Ashley, who studied art education at
Cal U, is pursuing her Master of Fine Arts at IUP.
Corey Thomas ’13, an industrial technology
major at Cal U, lives in Glenshaw, Pa.

Blayre Holmes ’12 was the keynote speaker at
Cal U’s 2016 Celebration of Women, an annual
event recognizing individuals and groups that
support women on campus. Blayre described her
work as coordinator of GirlGov, a program of the
Pittsburgh-based Women and Girls Foundation
that teaches young women in grades 9-12 about
civics, government, philanthropy, community
involvement, women’s history and leadership.
Samantha Zelenka ’13, of Washington, Pa., is an
environmental scientist for Rettew Associates
Inc. She majored in environmental studies at
Cal U, where she was a member of the Wildlife
Society, Alpha Lambda Delta, National Society
of Leadership and Success, and Beta Beta Beta.
Erik Harris ’13, who played football at Cal U and
in the Canadian Football League before earning
a National Football League contract with the
New Orleans Saints, recently spoke to a group of
children at the Hanover (Pa.) Area YMCA.
David London ’13 has been appointed as
superintendent of the Smethport (Pa.) Area
School District. He received his superintendent’s
letter of eligibility from Cal U.
Carly Zinn ’14 is the new head field hockey coach
and assistant athletic director at Dickinson
College, in Carlisle, Pa. She earned her master’s
degree in exercise science and health promotion
from Cal U.
Elizabeth Smith ’14 is working with experts
at the University of Oklahoma to improve
the forecasting of severe thunderstorms that
develop at night.

10s
Steve Middleton ’10 has been named director
of the athletic training education program
at William Woods University in Fulton, Mo.
He currently teaches classes in anatomy
and physiology, orthopedic assessment, and
therapeutic interventions. He recently was
promoted from instructor to assistant professor.
Skye Sankey ’11 is a personal trainer/coach
at South Tampa YMCA. She studied sport
management at Cal U, where she was a pole
vaulter for the track and field team, and a
member of the Bodybuilding and Fitness Club.
Randis Doster ’11, of Eighty Four, Pa., is a lab
technician. At Cal U, Randis majored in art with
a minor in women’s studies. He was a Peer
Mentor and also was active in marching band,
Anime Club, History Club, Art Club, So Just Act
Now and the Women’s Center.
Michael Lukas ’11 works in sales for PLI.
He studied business administration with a
concentration in human resources at Cal U. He
and Jennifer Papini live in Belle Vernon, Pa.
Jareem Dowling ’11 is an assistant coach for
the Arkansas State University men’s basketball
team. Jareem earned his master’s degree in
sport management from Cal U.

SOLEMN CEREMONY
Sgt. 1st Class Jesse Maund ’11 (left), of Cal U’s ROTC office, and Iraq War veteran Robert
Milhoan, a Cal U student, join Veterans Affairs director Capt. Robert Prah ’06, ’10 at Arlington
National Cemetery in Virginia. At a public ceremony the sergeant and the student-veteran placed
a wreath bearing California University’s name at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The marble
monument overlooking Washington, D.C., honors unknown Americans who died in World War I,
World War II, and the Korean and Vietnam wars.

SUMMER 2016 CAL U REVIEW 31
n

CAL U M I L E S T O N E S
Gino Iorfida ’16 is an information technology
analyst for Eaton Corp. He studied computer
information systems at Cal U. Gino and Nicole
Iorfida live in Oakdale, Pa.
Talaya Allen ’16 is an air traffic controller for the
U.S. Army. She earned her degree in exercise
science and health promotion from Cal U and
lives in Clarksville, Tenn.
Michael Reese ’16, of New Stanton, Pa., is in the
U.S. Army. He majored in parks and recreation
management at Cal U, where he was active with
the men’s rugby team, the Powerlifting Club and
the Parks and Recreation Society.

ENGAGEMENTS
30 YEARS FOR CUTV
CUTV, Cal U’s award-winning cable TV station, marked its 30th anniversary this year. The
station is owned and operated by SAI, the Student Association Inc., and based in the Natali
Student Center. Over the years the station has received more than two dozen Telly Awards for
its news, documentary and sports coverage. CUTV broadcasts to roughly 100,000 households
in southwestern Pennsylvania. Programming also is available online at http://cutv.calu.edu.

Chelsey Saler ’13, ’16 and Carlyle Meekins ’10
are engaged. Chelsey studied chemistry and
education at Cal U. Carlyle earned his degree
in biological and environmental studies with a
concentration in fisheries and wildlife biology.
He works for Shoener Environmental. They are
planning a May 2017 wedding.

Clarissa Enslin ’14, a graduate research assistant
at Idaho State University, successfully defended
her master’s thesis to earn her degree in geology
with an emphasis in environmental geosciences.
Her work focused on exploring the impacts of
precipitation changes on water storage. Clarissa
was an All-American swimmer at Cal U.

He earned his degree in exercise science and
sport studies.

Joan Beyer ’13 and Joseph O’Brien are engaged.
Joan is a personal trainer in Moosic, Pa. She
studied exercise science and health promotion
at Cal U. The couple are planning an October
2016 wedding.

Kevon Bruce ’16, of Brooklyn, N.Y., is a school
counselor for Talbot County (N.Y.) Public
Schools. He earned his master’s degree in
education and school counseling from Cal U.

David Whipkey ’90 and Christine Brottish are
planning a wedding for June 2018. David is
president of Whipkey Enterprises. He studied
business administration at Cal U.

Tiffany Brzezinsky-Nix ’14, who earned her
superintendent’s letter of eligibility from Cal U,
is the new superintendent of the Leechburg (Pa.)
Area School District.

Daniel Hart ’16 is a member of the Pennsylvania
National Guard. He studied technology
education at Cal U and lives in DuBois, Pa.

Bethany Costa ’11 and Joshua Bible are engaged
to be married in August 2018. Bethany, who
studied criminal justice, and Joshua both work
for Liberty Mutual, in New Castle, Pa.

Jordan Brooks ’14 is an actor/director at the
Missoula (Mont.) Children’s Theatre.
David “Pug” Fuhrman ’15 is the new athletic
director/facilities coordinator at Bradford (Pa.)
Area High School. He has a master’s degree in
intercollegiate athletic administration from Cal U.
Chris Wilson ’14, ’15 has been named head
women’s soccer coach at Alvernia University, in
Reading, Pa. He earned his bachelor’s degree in
sport management and his master’s degree in
exercise science from Cal U.
Kimberly Couch ’16 works for Little Kids Play
Care and lives in Dravosburg, Pa. At Cal U she
majored in liberal studies with a minor in music;
she was in the marching and concert bands, as
well as the choir.
Donjuneata Biggs Weir ’16 is a registered nurse
who works for the Elizabeth Forward School
District. She earned her Bachelor of Science in
Nursing from Cal U. She and Jeffrey Weir live in
Jefferson Hills, Pa.
Derek Dathe ’16, of Franklin Square, N.Y., is a
physical therapist assistant for Professional PT.

32 CAL U REVIEW SUMMER 2016
n

Kelly Halinka ’16, of Monessen, Pa., earned her
Master of Social Work from Cal U and works for
Southwestern Pa. Human Services.
Melissa Neifert ’16, of Mechanicsburg, Pa.,
works for Babineau Opticians. She studied
business administration with a marketing
concentration at Cal U, where she was in the
Honors College, Alpha Lambda Delta and the
women’s soccer team.
Ella Hixenbaugh ’16, of Belle Vernon, Pa.,
is an executive assistant for Bombardier
Transportation. She majored in business
administration.

WEDDINGS
Kayla Succop ’13 and Lance Tarleton were
married Sept. 26, 2015. Kayla is a coordinator
with Amedisys Hospice of Pennsylvania.
Colby Hershberger ’14 and Amanda Stillings
were planning a July 2016, wedding. Colby, who
majored in commercial music technology, works
for Best of Times Professional DJ Services in
Lansdale, Pa.

IN PRINT
Pearl Mitchell, an administrative assistant in the
Department of Childhood Education and an associate
pastor with New Beginning Full Gospel Church in
Uniontown, Pa., is the author of The Best and the Worst,
a personal account of her faith-based journey. The book
is available at amazon.com and pearlmitchell.org.

REMEMBRANCES
Nicole Caringola ’12 and Matthew Lubawski
were planning a July 2016 wedding. Nicole
earned her master’s degree in elementary and
special education at Cal U and is a special
education teacher in the Albert Gallatin Area
School District, Uniontown, Pa.
Anna Girod ’11 and Matthew Bianco ’11 were
planning to be married in June 2016. Anna is a
service coordinator for Life Pittsburgh. Matthew
is beginning a podiatric medicine residency at
Summa Hospital in Akron, Ohio.
Nicole Sheranek ’03 and Luke Skaflen were
planning to be married in July 2016 at the
University of Denver. Nicole, who studied
communications at Cal U, is a national account
manager in Denver, Colo. Luke works in the
aviation industry.

BIRTHS

J.C. ’97 and Millie Rodriguez ’99, ’10 are
proud to announce the birth of their son,
Chase Rodriguez, on Jan. 24, 2016. This is
the couple’s second child.

IN MEMORIAM

Jonathan and Kayla Richie, of Morgantown,
W.Va., recently celebrated the birth of their son,
August Lane Richie, on Jan. 5, 2016. Jonathan
is a graphic communications technology major
and works at Morgantown Printing and Binding.

Gregory Davis ’13 and Elizabeth Davis ’15, of
Pleasant Hills, Pa., welcomed their first child,
Nathaniel Joseph, on Jan. 5, 2016. He weighed
8 pounds, 4 ounces and was 20 inches long.

Diane L. “Tootie” Wingard Allison ’74
Twyla J. Balaban ’72
Jerry D. Bailey*
Charles Berty ’63
Carol Clark Biemel ’70
Joann J. Bontrager ’62
John “Chooch” Chuhran ’75
Marie Curcio Konek Colantoni,*
a former library worker at Cal U
Paul A. Corless ’65
Giuliana “Gulz” Balsamo Dennis ’07
Richard N. DiMascio ’80, ’03
Ruth Stanton Edmunds ’39
Marian K. Fresch ’49
Wendel B. Gower ’56
Lois Green Hawe ’47
Charles W. Holet ’40
Lois Parkinson Jones ’51
Kenneth J. Kulak ’63
Charles G. “Chuck” McCrerey ’61
Monna K. McFadyen ’52
Rev. Regis J. Meenihan ’66
Bradley A. Moore ’63
David E. Neil ’74
Beryl Nicklas ’43
Suanne Nixdorf ’96
Carl Novak*
Evalyne McCormick Ramsden ’43
John R. Ross ’59
Deborah Rita Venersky Swaney ’71
Linda Lee Gilpin Thomas ’92
George “Fossil” Tzan ’65
Sgt. Sean McGregor Vanderwal ’13
Angela R. Woods ’00
*No class year available or on file

Betty Jean
Roberts Roadman
’67, wife of the
late Dr. George
H. Roadman ’41,
Cal U’s fourth
president (19681977), died March
30, 2016, in
Virginia Beach,
Va. Betty, who was 95, earned her degree in
elementary education from California State
College and taught in Brownsville, Pa., and
Virginia Beach. She was a substitute teacher
in Virginia Beach into her 80s. She is
survived by three children, George W. ’68,
Emmilou ’71 and John ’74, as well as seven
grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
Emeritus professor
John Swearingen
’38, a longtime
resident of
Brownsville, Pa.,
died May 16,
2016, at age 102.
He retired in 1975
after teaching
for 20 years in
Cal U’s Department of Industrial Arts.
He was the department’s second chair,
following the late Dr. Shriver L. Coover, and
served in 1972 as president of the Industrial
Arts Association of Pennsylvania. John and
his late wife, Virginia, were married for 42
years and had two children, Robert ’74,
and Sandra ’71. John had been an active
member of the University’s Emeriti Faculty
Association since it was founded in 1980.
Dr. Regis J.
Serinko, emeritus
professor in the
Department
of Biology and
Environmental
Sciences, died
March 15, 2016,
at age 93. He
instituted Cal U’s
mortuary science program in conjunction
with the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary
Science. He was acting dean of the faculty
and academic affairs from 1968-1970 and
executive assistant to the President until
he returned to the classroom in 1975. From
1982-1984 he was president of the California
chapter of APSCUF, the union representing
faculty. He wrote two books, Cal U: The
People’s College in the Monongahela Valley,
which chronicled the school’s history, and
Freedom’s Heroes: The Military Heritage of
Rostraver. He received the Cal U Alumni
Association’s C.B. Wilson Distinguished
Service Award and the Foundation for
Cal U’s Dixonian Award. He retired from
the University in 1985.

SUMMER 2016 CAL U REVIEW 33
n

PLANNED G I V I N G

SAVE TAXES AS YOU
SUPPORT CAL U
If you are 70½ years old or older, you can take advantage of
a simple way to benefit California University of Pennsylvania
and receive tax benefits in return. It’s known as the IRA
charitable rollover.
This law no longer has an expiration date, so you are free to
make annual gifts to the Foundation for California University
of Pennsylvania from your Individual Retirement Account this
year and well into the future.
You can give up to $100,000 from your IRA directly
to a qualified charity such as the Foundation for Cal U
without having to pay income taxes on the money.
Why consider this gift?
our gift will be put to use today, so you can see
Y
the difference your donation is making.
ou pay no income taxes on the gift. The transfer
Y
generates neither taxable income nor a tax deduction, so
you benefit even if you do not itemize your deductions.
you have not yet taken your required minimum
If
distribution for the year, your IRA charitable rollover
gift can satisfy all or part of that requirement.
It is wise to consult with a tax professional if you are
considering a charitable gift under the extended law.
If you have questions, please contact Tony Mauro ’92, ’93
at mauro@calu.edu or 724-938-1653.

Send your Milestones news or address changes by email to alumni@calu.edu, by fax to 724-938-5932, or by mail to
Office of Alumni Relations, California University of Pennsylvania, 250 University Ave., Box 89, California, PA 15419.

Information will be published as space
and deadlines allow. Please indicate on
another sheet what activities or sports you
participated in while you were a student.
We welcome high-resolution electronic
photographs. Please email images to
revieweditor@calu.edu; put the words
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email, and be sure to tell us your name, year
of graduation and the identity of everyone
in the picture. Please do not send computer
printouts or low-resolution digital photos, as
they will not reproduce well in this magazine.
Stay connected to the Cal U Alumni
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personal ID number is on this magazine’s
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Graduation Day
Preschool students from the on-campus Learning and Language Center prepare for their graduation ceremonies. The students entertained
the audience with a song and received their diplomas from University President Geraldine M. Jones. Among those moving on to elementary
school are (from left) Isadora Toliver, Ella Valentino, Delanee Watson, Jillian Salzman, Bridghid Garland and Samuel Woznack.