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Spring 2016 Vol. 10 | No. 2 The Magazine for Alumni and Friends of The State University of New York at Potsdam P E O P L E

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The magazine for alumni and friends of the State University of New York at Potsdam

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  • Spring 2016 Vol. 10 | No. 2

    The Magazine for Alumni and Friends of The State University of New York at Potsdam

    P E O P L E

  • snapshot

    Alumni CelebrationThe Alumni Asso-ciation was founded in 1873. This beauti-ful program from the reunion of 1894 celebrated the 25th anniversary of the dedication of the Pots-dam Normal School building. The structure pictured here was the first hall built after the St. Lawrence Academy was chosen to become a Normal School in 1866, and was demol-ished to make way for a larger facility (now Clarksons Snell Hall) in 1919.

  • w w w . p o t s d a m . e d u / p e o p l e 1

    Profiles

    Dimitri Pittas 99Antonio Peraza 76The Professor Rutley EffectThe Class of 1919

    DepartmentsNews & Notes 4Reunion Announcements 14Mini Reunions 16Class Notes 24In Their Own Words 29

    Happy Birthday, SUNY Potsdam!

    18

    On the cover:Formerly known as Raymond Hall after the instutions founder Benjamin F. Raymond, today Satterlee Hall and its clocktower are more than just bricks and mortar. Since 1952, SUNY Potsdams old main represents Potsdam like no other landmark, and has been the icon most loved on everything from memorabilia to social media. 14 Reunion 2016 Registration information and

    complete schedule of events.

    www.potsdam.edu/alumni/reunion

    Were Social

    www.potsdam.edu/getsocial

  • PRESIDENTS letterCH

    RIST

    OPHE

    R LEN

    NEY P

    HOTO

    200 years of alumni and friends. What a rich history and tradition we all share!

    Since our founding in 1816, a lot has changed: How we go about providing an education to students on a day-to-day basis; what our campus looks like; how students live, work and study, and the ways in which we communicate both across campus and with our alumni and friends.

    But what hasnt changed is our commitment to providing a quality educational experience, in and out of the classroom, for each and every student. Our pioneering efforts in teacher educa-tion has brought us to the advent of our third century, where we are now recognized as a leader in the liberal arts and sciences, creativity across all disciplines, applied learning and teaching excellence.

    And as we celebrate this special point in our history, it is you, our alumni and friends, that have made this possible. As members of the SUNY Potsdam family, each and every one of you has played a role in shaping the Potsdam Experience for the generations of students to come. Through times of peace and prosperity, through times of strife and challenge, you have remained loyal to your alma mater. Through your impact, first as creative students, and then as engaged and generous alumni, you are the very fabric of Potsdam.

    As we enter Potsdams third century, we also conclude the Colleges most successful fundraising campaign in our history the Take the Lead Campaign. Exceeding several goals set along the way, you, our faithful alumni and friends, have given nearly $33 million to help ensure that the next 200 years will be as successful as the first 200. Thank you!

    So together, lets pause for just a moment and reflect upon SUNY Potsdams amazing history, and the role each of us has played. We are now, and forever, linked as members of the Potsdam family. What a proud tradition we all share.

    Kristin Esterberg, Ph.D.President

    MANAGING EDITORS

    Deborah Dudley, Assistant Vice President

    Alexandra Jacobs Wilke, Director of Public Relations

    ALUMNI & DEVELOPMENT

    Mona Ouimet Vroman 85, Director of Alumni Relations

    Emily Hutchison, Director of Development

    CONTRIBUTORS

    David T. Britt 73, Director of Business Planning & Analysis

    Dan Bronson 03, Sports Information Director

    Christa Carroll, Director of Annual Giving

    Kathryn Deuel, Associate Director of Regional Alumni Relations & Engagement

    Gerald Ghidiu 73

    Nancy Griffin (Hon. 08), Development Officer

    Jason Ladouceur 94, Director of Planned Giving

    Sarah Maneely 07, Assistant Director of Research and Donor Relations

    Ellen Nesbitt, Assistant Director of Annual Giving

    Sherry Allen Paradis 00, Director of Donor Relations & the Campaign

    Dan Roet 76

    Donna Planty, Project Manager & Production Artist

    Ellen Rick 18

    Laura Stevenson (Hon. 07), Alumni & Donor Relations

    Vicki Templeton-Cornell, Vice President for College Advancement

    WEB MANAGER

    Mindy Thompson, Director of Web Communications

    DESIGN & ART DIRECTION

    J. P. Manke, Graphic Designer & Production Artist

    POTSDAM PEOPLE STAFF AND CONTRIBUTORS

    SPRING 2016 Vol . 10 | No. 2

    Alumni Relations

    44 Pierrepont Ave. | Potsdam, NY 13676

    (315) 267-2120

    www.potsdam.edu2 P O T S D A M P E O P L E S P R I N G 2 0 1 6

  • THEN & now

    POTSDAM PEOPLE STAFF AND CONTRIBUTORS

    w w w . p o t s d a m . e d u / p e o p l e 3

    The more things change, the more they stay the same. If academics are the heart and student life is the soul of a campus, then the radio station is the pulse. The Inter College Radio Network and Northern Twin Colleges were founded in 1947, and jointly owned by SUNY Potsdam and Clarkson. WRPS was formed at SUNY Potsdam in 1967. The station broadcast rock music, campus events, guest speakers and athletic events. In the 1980s, WRPS became an FM cable station, and later changed its call letters to WAIH-FM.

    (Source: The State University of New York at Potsdam, Campus History Series, Arcadia Publishing. By Jane M. Subramanian 72 & Virginia Rose Cayey 60)

    1980s 2016

  • 4 P O T S D A M P E O P L E S P R I N G 2 0 1 6

    CAMPUS news & notes

    Looki

    ng to the Future

    1816 2016

    Celebrate with Us!Weve exceeded goal, but the funs not over yet! The Take the Lead Campaign will close this summer and after we tally our final numbers, we have a hunch that well have even more to celebrate. So, mark your calendars for Friday, September 30, when SUNY Potsdam will celebrate the successful completion of the campaign and also the start of our first academic year in our third century!

    Our Donors Took the Challenge!Last March, SUNY Potsdam announced our Third Century Challenge, increasing our Take the Lead Campaign goal from $27 million to $32 million. And our donors accepted the challenge in a big way.

    We exceeded goal! We cant think of a better way to celebrate our bicentennial year than to an-nounce that the campaign has just surpassed its goal. With a few months left to go, the campaign has now raised $32.8 million in donations and pledges.

    Thank you! The gift that tipped the campaign past its goal was received from Anna Collins 67 and Susan Morrison, Hon. 16, who provided a leadership gift commitment to fund a scholarship in their name. Join us in thanking Anna, Sue and the many donors who have taken the lead for Potsdam. With gifts to scholarships, program support, new facilities and equipment, our donors are making a difference.

    Help us be #1 in SUNY! SUNY Potsdam is second among our SUNY peers for campaign success. Lets be #1. The cam-paign ends on June 30, 2016, and as we celebrate our bicentennial, we see no reason to slow down. Our students still need you, so lets see how far this energy and excitement can take us... and them!

  • w w w . p o t s d a m . e d u / p e o p l e 5

    CAMPUS news & notes

    You helped us exceed all of our priorities!

    5 P O T S D A M P E O P L E S P R I N G 2 0 1 5

    $32.8 M*

    $27 M

    GOAL $32M

    Third Century Challenge:$32 Million

    Challenge Goal #1: Increase overall goal to $32 millionWe did it! $32.8 million raised so far!

    Giving by Campaign PrioritiesAcademic Excellence $11,212,408 (102%)Scholarships $8,048,639 (100%)Annual Fund $7,992,698 (100%)Transformational Student Experiences $5,057,481 (101%)And 38% of all gifts raised are for the arts!

    Challenge Goal #3: Increase unrestricted giving$8 million has been committed to the Colleges greatest needs. These dollars are for current use by the College and are among the most critical raised.

    Challenge Goal #2: Gain 2,016 new donorsIn this final phase, 1,665 new donors have made a gift to the campaign. Only 351 left! Will you be counted?

    *as of printing

    A Closer Look at the Third Century Challenge

    1,665 NEW DONORS

    351 DONORS NEEDED

  • 6 P O T S D A M P E O P L E S P R I N G 2 0 1 6

    CAMPUS news & notes

    NEW INITIATIVES

    SUNY Potsdam Unveils Interdisciplinary Baccalaureate Program in Exercise ScienceSUNY Potsdams Department of Community Health has been approved to offer a new Bachelor of Science degree in exercise science, begin-ning in 2015. The exercise science major focuses on the scientific and applied study of the human body, including prevention of injury and performance. Using an interdisciplinary approach, students will learn the research behind and the application of sound exercise and physiology principles. Dr. Kathleen ORourke, chair of the Department of Com-munity Health said, The new exercise science major, combined with the masters degree program in community health approved last year, will provide an educated workforce in St. Lawrence County and beyond to address some of our regions most pressing health concerns.

    COLLEGE NEWS

    Blueline Magazine Releases New VolumeBlueline Magazine has released its 36th volume, which is published an-nually by the Department of English and Communication at SUNY Potsdam. Blueline is a literary magazine dedicated to the spirit of the Adirondacks celebrating the Adirondacks by featuring poetry, fiction and nonfiction from regional and national writers. This years issue includes new fiction by Matthew J. Spireng, poetry by Linda Batt and Maurice Kenny, as well as nonfiction by April Jo Murphy and Neal Burdick. The issue also features photography by Ron Nolland and painting by Judith Utter. Copies of Blueline can be purchased at the SUNY Potsdam College Store, the St. Lawrence University Bookstore, TAUNY, or by contacting [email protected].

    DEVELOPMENT & AWARDS

    Two Professors Named to Distinguished Faculty Ranks Crane School of Music Professor Dr. Carleen Graham was named a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor, while anthropology Professor Dr. Karen Johnson-Weiner was named a SUNY Distinguished Service Professor by the State University of New York Board of Trustees. Since the programs inception in 1963, SUNY has appointed 1,023 faculty to the distinguished ranks.

    DEVELOPMENT & AWARDS

    Two Professors Win Walker Research FellowshipIn May, nine area professors were named the winners of the T. Urling and Mabel Walker Research Fellowship Programs for 2015, two of whom come from SUNY Potsdam. Robert Ewy, an assistant professor of biology, was awarded $5,000 for a project on Developing and Promoting Sus-tainability in the North Country. Working with Raymond Bowdish, a university instruction specialist in the biology department, Ewys research emphasis will focus on renewable energy production and indoor food production. Associate professor of chemistry Clifford S. Rossiter also re-ceived $5,000 for his study Treatment of Bovine Mastitis with Essential Oils, which expounds upon research that was funded by a past Walker Fellowship in 2012. Bovine Mastitis is considered the most costly disease of dairy cows for North Country farmers, but organic farmers cannot use antibiotics to treat these bacterial infections. This research ultimately aims to create a new formulation that will allow farmers to treat bacterial infec-tions in dairy cows while still adhering to organic regulations.

    COLLEGE NEWS

    Professors, Museum Officials Discover Civil War Training CampSUNY Potsdam professors and museum officials found a Civil War train-ing camp in the village of Potsdam, after an old map mentioned one and a survey revealed what could be artifacts. The discovery was confirmed by SUNY Potsdam anthropology professors Hadley Kruczek-Aaron and Timothy C. Messner, along with the Potsdam Public Museum Board President Jan A. Wojcik, after surveying a mowed area west of Meadow East Apartments with sophisticated metal detectors nsity were consistent with bullets, buttons and belt buckles, according to Wojcik. The training camp included a mess hall, infirmary, barracks and two wells. Those who trained at Camp Union came from Potsdam, Stockholm, Canton and other North Country villages, and were collectively known as the 92nd New York State Volunteers.

    DEVELOPMENT & AWARDS

    SUNY Potsdam CSTEP Programs Awarded $2.8 Million in GrantsThe New York State Department of Education recently awarded two grants totaling more than $2.8 million to support SUNY Potsdams Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program, as well as the North Country Science and Technology Entry Program, over the next five years. For more than 25 years, SUNY Potsdams NCSTEP and CSTEP programs have served local middle school, high school and college students, with the goal of increasing the number of low-income and underrepresented minority students pursuing majors and careers in STEM fields and the licensed professions. SUNY Potsdams CSTEP will now be able to increase program enrollment by 35 percent for the new funding cycle.

    COLLEGE NEWS

    SUNY Potsdam Expands Center for Diversity

    On February 24, SUNY Potsdam celebrated the grand opening of the Colleges expanded Center for Diversity. SUNY Chief Diversity Officer and Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Dr. Carlos Medina traveled to Potsdam to speak at the ceremony and join in the festivities. The word that comes to mind as I look around this room is engagement. This is a space where we can come together, culturally, socially and academically, Medina said. We are doing as much work as we can to make SUNY a place where we can all thrive. SUNY Potsdams Center for Diversity includes the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP), the North Country Science and Technology Entry Program (NCSTEP) and Native American Affairs, including the Native American Teaching Initiative. The Center for Diver-sity also supports student groups, including the Black Student Alliance, SOCA LOCA, the Gender and Sexuality Alliance, the Potsdam Associa-tion for Native Americans, Voices of Victory, the Bear Witness Step Team and Team NV.

  • w w w . p o t s d a m . e d u / p e o p l e 7

    CAMPUS news & notes

    NEW INITIATIVES

    SUNY Potsdam Partners with NYSARC ArtistsThe performers of St. Lawrence NYSARCs community arts program has a new home in SUNY Potsdams Performing Arts Center, thanks to a new partnership with the College. With the help of theatre and dance professor Jay W. Pecora, SLNYSARC now has permission to use studio space in the Performing Arts Center twice a week for dance and drama classes for the entire 2015-16 academic year. Pecora said that the partner-ship is important for SUNY Potsdam students because it helps them prepare for jobs that involve working with the developmentally disabled, and also allows them to see what theatre can do. The College is commit-ted to the partnership going forward, planning to assign student interns to work with NYSARC, and to explore how to incorporate the work of SLNYSARC performers into classes.

    DEVELOPMENT & AWARDS

    Seismic Station Dedicated to Geology Professor EmeritusIn November 2015, Colton-Pierrepont Central School held a dedica-tion ceremony to celebrate the completion of their new modern seismic station and to honor Professor Emeritus Dr. Frank Revetta Hon. 05 for his contribution to earthquake science in the greater Potsdam region. The seismic station, named the Frank Revetta Observatory, Potsdam, N.Y., with station code PTNY, operates on a renewable energy source - solar panels. The station sends data via digital radio to the lab at SUNY Potsdam and receives accurate location and time from the GPS, via its antenna mounted on the pole. It will contribute to mitigate hazards from earthquakes in the region by providing useful ground motion data to engineers to build safer structure and facilities like bridges, tunnels and gas mains.

    COLLEGE NEWS

    Education Program Receives AccreditationSUNY Potsdam recently was reaccredited for seven years, under the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education standards. NCATEs performance-based accreditation system for teacher prepara-tion ensures that teacher candidates are prepared to make a difference in Pre-K-to-12 student learning. The review team particularly commended SUNY Potsdams School of Education and Professional Studies for its pursuit of excellence and for recruiting exceptional student candidates, building collaborative relationships with schools and offering a com-plete spectrum of continuous improvement activities. Teacher education at Potsdam traces its history back to the Colleges foundation as St. Lawrence Academy in 1816, making SUNY Potsdams teacher education programs the oldest in the SUNY system.

    ALUMNI NEWS

    Alumni of Delta Lambda Nu DonateAlumni of the Delta Lambda Nu sorority at SUNY Potsdam donated more than 100 thermal totes to fam ilies in the pediatric and neonatal intensive care units at the Bernard & Millie

    Duker Childrens Hospital at Albany Medical Center in August 2015. The totes contained items such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, body wash and shampooitems families may forget when leaving home in a medi-cal emergency.

    ALUMNI NEWS

    Alumni Present at Journey Into Literacy Bicentennial ConferenceSeveral alumni returned to campus to present at SUNY Potsdams Bicen-tennial Conference titled Journey Into Literacy in November.Hosted by the Colleges Literacy Education Department , the conference drew more than 120 teachers, administrators, education students and college faculty. Keynote speaker for the conference was Donalyn Miller, nationally renowned author of The Book Whisperer: Creating a Class-room Where Readers Flourish.

    Alumni presenting at the conference included Dr. Pa-tricia Ruggiano Schmidt 65, retired professor from LeMoyne University, who presented on LEAP for Learning: Teach-ers Take the Risk to Communicate and Connect, and Dr. Esther

    Tedeschi Fusco 63, Hofstra University professor and former classroom teacher and elementary school principal, who presented on Brain Re-search and its Application to Instruction. Other alumni who presented included Dr. Rick Bates 78, 91 & 96, retired SUNY professor and blues artist; Faith Bish 03, 04 & 10 and Mary Hoffman Russell 06 & 08, Jefferson Elementary School in Mas-sena; Holly McQueen 10 & 12, secondary literacy and social studies at Canton Central School; Jennifer Hutchins 01 and Carly Walbridge 13 & 14, Salmon River Middle School STEM team; Bill Gotsch 01, fifth grade teacher at Madrid-Waddington Central School; Elizabeth Ringer 13 & 14, first grade teacher at Montgomery County Public School, Virginia, and Ronnie Diederich 07 & 08, literacy specialist at Norwood-Norfolk Central School.

    Pictured at the Journey Into Literacy Conference were presenters Dr. Esther Tedeschi 63 (left) and Dr. Patricia Ruggiano Schmidt 65 (right),with Tina Wilson Bush 89, who served as conference co-chair, with Carolyn Stone 98.

    COLLEGE NEWS

    Anthropology Professor, Students Make Canoe Using Ancient MethodsIn August 2015, Assistant Profes-sor of Archaeology Timothy Messner and nine of his an-thropology students created a dugout canoe using ancient techniques. This task was part of a four-week summer course in experi-mental archaeology, which gave students a chance to make and use Stone Age tools helping them understand how real artifacts look when excavated at an archaeo-logical dig site. Messner and the students created the dugout by burning and scraping out the core of a 16-foot log of white pine in team rota-tions, spending 17 days and approximately 90 hours on the task. They then moved it into position for the launch, which took place at Lehman Park, using a simple log-rolling method, receiving help from Akwesasne Archaeology Field School students and their moderator, Francis Scardera.

    Photo Credit Jason Hunter

  • 8 P O T S D A M P E O P L E S P R I N G 2 0 1 6

    COLLEGE NEWS

    Amati Named State PaleontologistIn June 2015, the New York State Board of Regents appointed Lisa Amati, former associate professor in the SUNY Potsdam Department of Geology, as the state paleontologist. She will be responsible for curating the State Museums paleontology collection, conducting paleontologi-cal field and laboratory research, overseeing the development of research grants and participating in the development of public and educational programs. Amatis research is focused on the states paleontology with a concentration on the ecology and evolution of 450 million-year-old trilobites.

    STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

    SUNY Potsdam Students Help Maintain Bodies of WaterThis summer, two SUNY Potsdam students served as watershed stewards with the Adirondack Watershed Institute, a Paul Smiths College-led initiative to keep lakes, ponds and other waterways free of invasive spe-cies. Jeffrey Goolden 15, an environmental studies major, and Jennifer Ryan 18 a biology and environmental studies major were stationed at boat launches across the Adirondacks,. They conducted inspections of boats entering and leaving the water and operated boat-washing stations to remove any invasive species and convey the importance of clean boats, clean gear and clean waters to boaters.

    DEVELOPMENT & AWARDS

    TRiO Program Awards SUNY Potsdam $1.5MThe U.S. Department of Education awarded $1.5 million to SUNY Pots-dam through the federal TRiO program, which will be disbursed over the next five years. The Student Support Services program provides oppor-tunities for academic development, offers assistance with basic college requirements and motivates students toward the successful completion of their post-secondary education. TRiO Student Support Services has been offered at the College since 1984 and serves more than 200 participants each academic year. TRiO includes eight programs targeted to serve and assist low-income individuals, first-generation college students and individuals with disabilities with the progression through the academic pipeline, from middle school to post-baccalaureate programs.

    THE BEST GIFT TO POTSDAM

    Gifts to the Annual Fund for Potsdam are a wonderful way to help the Colleges greatest needs. They allow Potsdam flexibility to seize compelling opportunities for our students. They can be made in memory or honor of someone special.

    potsdam.edu/giving

    COLLEGE NEWS

    SUNY Potsdam Dining Services Tops in StatePotsdam Auxiliary and College Educational Services is proud to an-nounce that SUNY Potsdam has once again been ranked number one in the SUNY system for dining services. The 2015 SUNY Student Opinion Survey again found that Potsdam was the top campus for student satis-faction with dining services. The SOS project collects information and opinions every three years and uses the information to assess and study quality of life issues on SUNY campuses.

    Check out the SUNY Potsdam alumni Facebook page.Be sure to like us at:www.facebook.com/BearAlumni

    We also have the following alumni related pages for you to like: The Crane School of Music Alumni Group SUNY Potsdam Albany Region Alumni Chapter SUNY Potsdam Boston Regional Alumni Chapter SUNY Potsdam Syracuse Alumni Chapter SUNY Potsdam Alumni Group

    ALUMNI NEWS

    Omega Delta Phi Alumni Association Gives Back Omega Delta Phis Alumni Associa-tion gave back to the community with a school sup-plies drive for A.A. Kingston Middle School in Pots-dam. The sisters donated a wide variety of much needed supplies including binders, notebooks, pens,

    pencils, highlighters, rulers and pencil boxes making back to school time a little easier for the students and families.

    DEVELOPMENT & AWARDS

    Geology Faculty, Students Present at National ConferenceIn October, five faculty members from the Geology Department took 11 students to the Geological So-ciety of America National Confer-ence in Baltimore, Md. Two SUNY Potsdam seniors, Kate Grisi 16 and Robert Stachowiak 16, presented their re-search during the five-day confer-ence. Stachowiak presented his re-search, River Terraces Indicate Paleo Glacial Lake Level Changes, Colton, N.Y., and Grisi received an award for the best poster, for her research titled Carbon and Sulfur Geochemistry of Possible Marine Zones within the Pennsylvanian Joggins Formation, Nova Scotia, Can-ada. Conference attendees included Associate Professor Michael Rygel, Assistant Professor Dylan Blumentritt, Associate Professor Christopher Kelson, Adjunct Instructor Kate Shervais, department Secretary Roberta Greene 09, and students.

    Pictured left to right are Thomas Hobbs 17, Robert Sta-chowiak 16, Jason Kryszak 17, Instructor Kate Shervais, Amanda Blackburn 16, Stacia Jeroulis 16, Nicholas Avgerinos 16 and Benedict Pucilowski 16. Attendees not pictured include Lucas Peters18, Judy Norkus16 and Brianna Hill16 . This trip was made possible by a gift from geology alumnus William Lilley 74.

  • w w w . p o t s d a m . e d u / p e o p l e 9

    Three Bears named to All-SUNYAC TeamMens soccer players Ben Firlit 18, Alex Griffith 16 and Matthew Wagner 18 were named to the All-State University of New York Athletic Conference third team. Firlit, scored seven goals in the Bears first eight contests, finished second on the team in scoring with eight goals for 16 points, while starting all 19 games. The senior forward, who served as a team captain, finished his career ranked third on Potsdams all-time scor-ing list with 22 goals and three assists for 47 points in 73 games. Griffith, a senior defender, was first team all-conference last season. He overcame early season injuries to start 16 games. Griffith, who also served as a team captain, scored two game-winning goals. He played in 62 career games for the Bears with 50 starts. Wagners sophomore campaign was a break-out year. The defender started all 19 games and finished third in scoring with three goals and three assists for nine points.

    Womens Lacrosse Named 2015 IWLCA Academic Honor SquadThe SUNY Potsdam womens lacrosse team was named an Intercollegiate Womens Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Academic Honor Squad for the 2015 season after posting a cumulative grade point average

    of 3.0 or better during the 2014-15 school year. It is the second time the team has earned

    the honor in the past four years. In the last two seasons, the Bears have placed 23 total players on either the SUNYAC All-Academic team or the Commissioners List.

    Two Mens Hockey Players Named to National Team of the WeekA day after collecting SUNYAC Goalie and Player of the Week hon-ors, SUNY Potsdam mens hockey players Brendan McMenimen 18 and Dylan Vander Esch 18 were honored by D3hockey.com. The duo earned a spot on the first team of the websites National Team of the Week.

    Bears Hold Alumni Weekend & Hall of Fame Inductions SUNY Potsdam Athlet-ics hosted its 2015 Bears Alumni Weekend and Hall of Fame Inductions in Oc-tober 2015. The weekend featured alumni games in lacrosse, softball, hockey and basketball. Inducted into the of Class of 2015, All-American wreslter Mark Nourse, mens basketball player Christian Turner 05, and womens lacrosse player Alisha Schaad-Waite 08 join the other 130 members of the Bears Hall of Fame.

    Seamans Earns All-SUNYAC HonorsWomens soccer player Olivia Seamans 19 of Bolton Landing, N.Y., was named to the All-State University of New York Athletic Conferences third team. Seamans scored five goals and recorded three assists for 13 points during her freshman campaign. She started in all 18 games and tied a program record with three goals at Bard in September.

    Bears Capture Second Potsdam College Cup Title

    Midfielder Brooke Falsion 18 and forward Morgan Robbins 18 each scored to lift SUNY Potsdam womens soccer team to a 2-0 victory over New England College in September. The win gave the Bears their second Potsdam College Cup title in four years. Midfielder Rylie Murray 19 was named to the all-tournament team and goalie Val Driscoll 18 was the 2015 Potsdam College Cup Tournament MVP.

    potsdam.edu/athletics

    ATHLETICS news & notes

    SUNY Potsdam Replaces Turf FieldIn Fall of 2015, SUNY Potsdams 14-year-old turf field received a much-needed upgrade. The home of the Bears mens and womens soccer and lacrosse teams got brand new A-Turf Titan artificial turf. The new turf will help reduce injuries and their severity, especially concussions from surface impact. It remains unaffected by heavy use, plays perfectly in all weather conditions, requires minimal upkeep and is long lasting.

  • 1 0 P O T S D A M P E O P L E S P R I N G 2 0 1 6

    99By Alexandra Jacobs Wilke

    Returning to SUNY Potsdam brings back a flood of memories for 1999 Crane School of Music graduate Dimitri Pittas.

    The spot where he first kissed that girl. Hik-ing to Allens Falls. The moment he fell in love with opera (listening to a CD his vocal instructor Dr. Robert Loewen had lent him). The big deci-sion to switch his major from music education to performance in his senior year.

    And quite vividly, the time that he dropped everything (even taking a semester off from the Pointercounts and Phi Mu Alpha) to prepare for his first starring role, as Rodolfo in La Bohme, for a Crane Opera Ensemble production.

    Even now, with over 75 performances [as Rodolfo] under my belt, sometimes onstage I can still feel myself as I was as a nervous 22-year-old, he said.

    More than anything, though, Pittas remem-bers the silence.

    Theres such a beauty to Potsdam and the connection to nature, that allows you to just be in the music and not worry about the external, he said. Its just quiet here, so you can hear things in a much different way, and I really love that.

    Pittas was back at his alma mater once again to lead a masterclass and present a recitaltak-ing time out of a busy performance schedule that brings him to opera stages and concert halls around the globe. He credits his experience both in music education and performance at Crane for shaping him as a musician and a communi-cator.

    It formed me and not only the kind of artist that I am, but the ambassador that I am of music, Pittas said.

    Most recently, he earned rave reviews for his turn as Cassio in the Metropolitan Opera production of Otello. He also played Michele in the world premiere of Two Women for San Francisco Opera last year. This season, he also sang the role of Alfred in Die Fledermaus at Japans Saito Kinen Festival and performed in concert with the Baltimore and Scotland sym-phony orchestras.

    After graduating from Crane, Pittas completed his masters degree at the McGill Conservatory of Music in Montreal. He earned a place in the highly respected Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, and went on to make his Met debut in 2005. Pittas still recalls that audition in front of Met conductor Maestro James Levine like it was yesterday. A piano was rolled onto the set of Madama Butterfly, and

    the maestro took his seat in the grand hall.I was standing in a 4,000-seat house that is

    just gilded gold, and this man, this myth, this legend, is 20 rows back, listening to me. It was amazing. It was surreal. It was fight or flight at that moment, so I gave every ounce that I could into it, Pittas remembered.

    Since then, he has gone on to stack up ac-colade after accolade. He earned first prize in the Elardo International and the Licia Albanese/Puccini Foundation competitions, and won the coveted Richard Tucker, George London and Sullivan Foundation grants.

    That continued success seems all the more incredible, given that Pittas is a cancer survivor, with half a lung and a diaphragm that doesnt fully function on one side. He was first diagnosed with cancer while he was on his honeymoon in Tahiti with his wife, the multitalented performer Leah Edwards.

    It was a big lasso, a big boomerang, from that point of release, of finding out that you have cancer. Suddenly, everything you thought you had in your crosshairs is gone and your path changes from then on, he said.

    Overcoming cancer has taught Pittas to live and work in the moment.

    On any given day, your body and your instrument is what it is. And you have the choice of using that instrument and that body to its fullest potential in that moment. And theyre not always going to be fantastic moments, where the stars are aligned and everything is perfect. In fact, those mo-ments happen very rarely, he said. All we can do as artists is to do all of the work that we can and the preparation that we can, and know that when we get out there, all of that is going to pay off.

    Like any Cranie and opera singer, Pittas has a great admiration for his fellow alumnae who have also graduated from the Lindemann Program and gone on to great success, including Rene Fleming 81, Margaret Lattimore 91 and especially Stephanie Blythe 92. He hopes one day to serve as a mentor to other young musicians, offering guidance the way that Blythe has for him.

    The one piece of advice that he offers to Crane students is pretty simple.

    Take your experiences here and allow them to shape who you are mov-ing forward, Pittas said. And especially, just remember the quiet, and remember the music.

    Dimitri Pittas POTSDAM profile

  • Antonio Peraza By Dan Roet 76

    When Antonio (Tony) Peraza won his division at the Veterans World Championship Wrestling Tournament in Athens, Greece, last year, it wasnt simply another medal. For the first time, and at age 61, he had won a gold medal for his country in world competition. He was the first American gold medal winner of the tournament. On his way to the victory podium, Tony felt overcome with pride at seeing the American flag prepared to be raised.

    Peraza was raised by his Mexican-born father and multiracial mother. The third of eight children, Tony and his three brothers and four sisters were raised in a home dominated by a mentally ill mother who would be in and out of health institutions for over 30 years. It was a difficult childhood. One that was filled with the challenges of psychological abuse, poverty and family tragedy.

    Against great odds, Peraza would rise above his challenging circumstances to make a life that was not only motivated by his athleticism and discipline on the wrestling mat, but also marked by a lifelong career nurturing the love of learning in others.

    After he graduated from high school, Perazas top priority was to escape his difficult home life and get an education. During the summer after his freshman year of college, he took on a job as a manual laborer to help feed his family. For three months, he woke each morning at five oclock to bike 44 miles round trip to a farm where he worked 10 hours a day. That same persistence was demonstrated in his approach to school and athletics.

    While at SUNY Potsdam as a biology major, Peraza, who had been a very good, but not an elite, wrestler in high school, became a two-time All-American, winning the NCAA Division III title in 1976, after finishing as a national runner-up the year before. His academic and athletic prowess earned him the 1976 Maxcy-Molnar Award for Excellence. Potsdam had become his safe haven, and he began to believe in future possibilities for himself. In addition to his gold medal at the Veteran Worlds, Peraza also went on to win five U.S. National Championships since graduating from Potsdam, including four in freestyle and one in Greco-Roman. From his own wrestling, as well as his head-coaching days at Ithaca College while taking graduate courses, he knows that the benefits of the sport far out-weigh competition. According to him, helping young people develop their physical skills also helps them develop self-confidence and resil-

    ience, qualities that he knows from experience are necessary for a meaningful life.

    All three of Perazas brothers died tragically in their mid-20s but unlike his brothers, he survived and his triumph over his past struggles gave birth to a future of limitless opportunities for his own three sons. Now married for 28 years, Peraza and his wife Rosemary have made a home for their family where anything is possible. Michael, 23, graduated third in his high school and received his bachelors in biological engineering at Cornell, where he is now a graduate student. Matthew, 19, graduated second in his class and followed in his brothers footsteps; he is now a sophomore at Cornell. The youngest, Anthony, is a junior in high school and ranked first in his class.

    As an educator, Peraza is a strong believer in nourishing the potential of the adolescents with whom he works, whether in the classroom or on the wrestling mat. While Rosemary still teaches high school science, Tony retired after 32 years of teaching, mostly at the same high school he attended. Certified to teach biology, chemistry, general science and earth science, he gave his courses the personal touch, including weekend tutoring before standardized tests, complete with free food. Although the high school the com-munity serves is disadvantaged, Peraza is proud that the overwhelming majority of his students received passing scores on their science Regents.

    Even though he does not teach anymore, Peraza continues to work with young people three nights a week, not wrestling with science facts but with opponents moves. When not coaching young people or training himself for this years Nationals and World Wrestling Tournaments, Peraza can be seen acting at North Forks Shakespeare in the Park and other community theaters. His acting career started on a dare, but he became passionate about it, and today is a stage actor with numerous credits. He and his son Matthew were even on the stage together in Inherit the Wind.

    Athens is 4,922 miles from Perazas native Long Island, N.Y., but in October 2015, nearly 40 years after graduating from SUNY Potsdam and after becoming a husband, father, science teacher and stage actor, he was on the mat yet again, in the 187-pound weight class at the Veteran World Wrestling Championships. His former Potsdam wrestling teammates, including his best friend and 1975 All-American wrestler, Joe Galea 76, were rooting for him again. They had raised the money for Peraza to be able to travel and compete in Athens. In the over-60 division, he faced four world-class wrestlers. Not one was able to score a single point against him.

    Peraza pinned three of his four opponents; his closest match was 10 to 0 against a Kazakhstani wrestler who would go on to win the silver medal.

    Peraza will turn 62 in July. He has become a dedicated husband and father, committed teacher and coach, stage actor, and now world champion wrestler. For most of us, a gold medal in a world competition would have been the biggest victory of our life. For Tony, however, the victory is rooted in a love of teaching and learning, and a life well lived beyond the obstacles of his youth.

    I would like to thank Joe Galea 76 for reconnecting me with Tony after 35 years. This article was written after spending hours on the phone and Facetime with Tony in January 2016. -Dan Roet 76

    Photos from top: Perazas paternal grandmother, Potsdam wrestling days, Peraza with students, 2015 World Champion

    POTSDAM profile

    World Champion at Age 6176

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    POTSDAM profile

    By Gerald Ghidiu 73

    Potsdam was ready for me as a student, but I was not ready for Potsdam. My first two years at Potsdam from 1966 to 1968 resulted in a 1.6 total GPA for that period. Still immature and irresponsible, I attended Potsdam only to avoid the military draft, with no concerns for my future. During the winter break in 1968, I was one of five male students found in a sorority house after 10 p.m. (for a bridge tournament), which at that time was illegal to be in a womans residence at that hour. I was asked by the Dean of Students to submit a 1,000-word essay on improving town and gown relations as a prerequisite to remaining a student at Potsdam (he was not aware of my poor academic standing, as I was already below the minimum GPA) and of course, I refused to write such a paper, since I knew I would be leav-ing and it didnt matter to me if I dropped out, flunked out or was kicked out.

    After leaving Potsdam in May 1968, I was soon classified 1-A (draftable) by the U.S. Selec-tive Service (full-time college attendance was an exemption for the military draft). Not know-ing when I would actually be drafted (could be tomorrow, could be next year), I decided that I may as well get it over with, and volunteered for the draft. Sure enough, I was immediately drafted and entered the U.S. Marine Corps in April 1969. Sent to Vietnam in January 1970, I finally grew up and learned not only about life, but what it meant to have a life, to give it mean-ing. The military service, especially Vietnam, helped me develop self-respect, responsibility and self-confidence.

    While attached to the 1st Marines at Da Nang, I wrote that 1000-word term paper (Im-proving Relations between Town and Gown), sent it with my application for readmission to Potsdam, and was accepted for the 1971 spring semester. I was a biology and secondary edcua-tion major, and enrolled in some tough courses: advanced biology, organic chemistry, genetics and physics, earning a 3.8 GPA my first semester back. One of the first courses I took was general entomology, instructed by biology professor Mary Rutley 60. It was my first formal entomol-ogy contact, and it really captured my interest. I then took an independent study course with Dr. Robert Cerwonka, which involved marking/remarking red-legged grasshoppers, and then with Rutleys help and encouragement, I enrolled in tropical entomology, co-offered by St. Lawrence University, and thus my bonds with the world of insects were forever solidified.

    The Professor Rutley Effect 60

    Graduating from SUNY Potsdam in 1973, and with the assistance and guidance of Professor Rutley and Dr. Cerwonka, I was accepted with a research assistantship into an entomology Ph.D. program at Iowa State Univer-sity no small feat on their part because of my previous grade record: They suggested to my future graduate major professor to base his considerations on my final two years at Potsdam and not my overall GPA (it was very difficult, but I did achieve a final GPA of 2.6, still below the 3.0 needed for grad school). So Professor Rutley had not only given me a second chance at life by helping me become accepted as a grad student, but she led me into a future career of entomology. After a two-year postdoctorate position at the USDA European Corn Borer Laboratory in Ankeny, Iowa, I was appointed to a faculty position with the Department of Entomology at Rutgers the State University of New Jersey, in 1980. Currently retired after 33 years, I still give entomology lectures to local elementary and high schools.

    What is not readily apparent are the interactions Professor Rutley made possible long after I left Potsdam. I met my future wife at an entomological conference in Syracuse, N.Y., in 1981 and we were married in 1982. During my career at Rutgers I served a five-year appointment as director of the Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center, in Bridgeton, N.J., overseeing eight resident faculty; a seven-year appointment as editor for the Journal of Economic Entomology; a 10-year appointment to the Board of the Ag-richemical Association of New Jersey (including one year as President), and being in the field of education, four terms (of three years each) on our local school board. None of these would have happened without my entomology background and experience, which would not have happened without my entomology beginnings at Potsdam under the guidance of Professor Rutley.

    Professor Mary Rutley not only helped me salvage my life, but through her efforts and encouragement, and probably without realizing it, she put me on the path to find both my career (entomology) and my wife (also an entomologist), and to secure my future. My life, my wife, my career, and my future not bad work, Mrs. Mary Rutley, not bad at all and I thank her profoundly for that.

    PROF

    ESSO

    R MAR

    Y RUT

    LEY C

    IRCA

    1972

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    POTSDAM profile

    The Class of 1919 Not so Normal: A look into Potsdams one and only female classBy Ellen Ricks 18

    1919: almost two decades after the turn of the century, and one year before the roar into the 20s. The worlds first Great War was coming to an uneasy close. Einsteins theory of relativity was tested and confirmed, and a little college in a sleepy upstate town was making history of its own. On the Potsdam Normal Schools semi-centennial year of being a Normal School (a college that trains teachers), a lot of not-so-nor-mal things occurred. The Great War had taken 12 of the schools students. In January, the president of the college died suddenly of illness, and the graduating class itself was composed of 64 students, all women. It was the same year that the United States Congress passed the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote. In this unusual year, the women at Potsdam Normal School proved that life can still go on as normal.

    I suppose the first question that would be on anyones mind when they hear this would probably be, How? How could there be a graduating class comprised solely of women? Well, the long answer would be to tell you about the bullet that killed Franz Ferdinand, but the short answer would be to tell you about the draft, yes, the draft which called our able-bodied men out of the halls of academia and into the trenches. The men being called into war left the women in charge on the homefront. In the 1919 edition of the the Normal School senior yearbook, the editors mentioned the lack of men in their class: To Leon Longale, Frank Roda, Carlton and Nelson Clough, the four junior males, we, who have had no males (this being wartime) do will and bequeath the right to start things(this being a cheeky way of saying you can start some trouble). Since it only took two years to get through college, there

    was a younger class (called juniors) and an older class (seniors), meaning there were only four male students on campus, total. However, this did not stop the girls from getting into all sorts of mischief. There were parties, socials and even a boy or two (if you could find one).

    So who were these 64 women who attended the Potsdam Normal School? They were from the surrounding areas of the North Country, either from the town itself, or from areas like Stockholm, Gouverneur, Brownville and other small villages around the area. This was to be expected, because travel took a very long time and was very expensive back then. The student coming from the longest distance was Atha Hall, nicknamed Alcohol. Hall came from Swanton, Vt. Many of these women were studying to become teachers, since Potsdam Normal School was primarily a teaching college.

    Since social media sites were decades away from being created, the Pioneer yearbook was a way for the girls to share all of their inside jokes with each other. They had pages called shocks, where they write things that would shock them if they did or didnt do it. There was a class poem, and a prophecy page, where the girls predicted each others futures.

    The yearbook also had a voting contest for best of, which was equally as witty and sassy as the rest of the yearbook. There were some typical categories like most popular and class clown, but also more unusual ones, like class fret,always in the wrong and class kicker. These girls truly had a sense of humor all their own, and this was a place where they could have some fun sharing their jokes and stories with each other, without censorship.

    The height of the girls cleverness is with the earlier-mentioned Atha Hall, aka, Alcohol. If that nickname wasnt enough for you, the quote for her is What will she do if the country goes dry?

    The most important thing is that these girls proved that life goes on. Despite wars, deaths, and lack of the second gender on campus, these girls continued to go to school and become educators. I have fun on campus through clubs and amusements. In many ways, we see a lot of todays modern woman in these girls: indepen-dent, unabashed and spirited. In the coming years, with more wars and rights to come, the Class of 1919 proves that under any circum-stance, we must all try to carry on, no matter how normal or un-normal they are.

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    REUNION WEEKEND 2016

    Thursday, July 148 a.m. - 8 p.m.Registration

    4 - 6:30 p.m.Early Bird Gathering Entertainment provided by Alex Vangellow Hon. 14 and sponsored by Jane Morale 80 and Glen Zagorski 87. (cash bar)

    Friday, July 159 a.m. - 7 p.m.Registration

    8:30 - 10:00 a.m.Cupid Breakfast - For All Potsdam-Potsdam and Potsdam-Clarkson Couples.

    9 - 10 a.m.Yoga with Julia

    RapczynskiStart your day the right way with yoga in our beau-tiful campus Labyrinth.

    9:30 - 10:30 a.m.Campus Walking Tour

    10 - 11 a.m.The Crane School of Music History Project Hear research compiled by Robyn Lisuzzo Hosley 77 and Scott P. LaVine 71 and 72. The multi-media history includes oral his-tories, photos and sound clips edited by Gary Galo 73 and 74.

    10:30 - 11:30 a.m.Drumming for Fun

    Presented by Tracy Wanamaker 08, Adjunct Instructor: Special Music Education. No experience necessary!

    11 a.m. - NoonPlanetarium Show

    Presented by Distin-guished Service Professor Emeritus of Geology Dr. Frank Revetta (Hon. 05).

    Noon - 1:30 p.m.Emeriti LuncheonAll are invited to attend and visit with some of their favorite retired professors and a delicious lunch.

    11 a.m. - Noon Tour of The Crane School of Music

    11 a.m. - Noon Tour of Maxcy Hall

    Facilities

    1 - 2:30 p.m.Adventures in Excava-

    tion: SUNY Potsdams Archaeology Field SchoolHear archaeologist and SUNY Potsdam Professor Hadley Kruczek-Aaron de-scribe some of the recent fieldwork carried out by faculty and students. Arti-facts will be on display.

    1:30 - 2:30 p.m.Crane Chorus and

    Crane Symphony Orchestra: Historic Per-formances of the Class of 1966Audio Engineer Emeritus Gary Galo 73 continues his survey of Crane Cho-rus performances given by the class celebrating its 50th Reunion.

    2 - 3 p.m.Making Music Mobile:

    Exploring Apps for Phones and TabletsDiscover fun and useful apps that turn your mobile device into a music pro-duction studio. Presented by Dr. Peter McCoy, as-sociate professor of music education and coordinator of music technology.

    2 - 3 p.m.SUNY Potsdams

    Photographic History Book DiscussionAlumnae Jane Gatta Subramanian 72 and Virginia Rose Cayey 60 who authored this book containing many vintage photographs of the col-leges past.

    2 - 3 p.m.The Potsdam Seismic

    Network and Earthquakes in New York State SeminarPresented by Distin-guished Service Professor Emeritus of Geology Dr. Frank Revetta (Hon. 05).

    2 - 3 p.m.Tour of the Performing Arts Center

    2 - 3:30 p.m. Legacy Campus Tour

    Is your child or fam-ily member considering Potsdam? The Office of Admissions is pleased and honored to provide legacy tours for our multi-gener-ational alumni families.

    2:45 - 4 p.m.Hosmer Hall Tour

    Walk through the hallways of Hosmer Hall and talk about the famous people from the 20th Century who participated in the Spring Festivals instituted by President Fred Crumb and Dean Helen Hosmer. Presented by Dale Zur-brick 68.

    3 - 4:15 p.m.Voices of the Past

    Author of the award-win-ning book, River Views: A History of the 1000 Islands in 3-D, a collection of 19th Century stereoviews.

    3 - 4:15 p.m.Class of 1961 Informal Gathering Please bring your memo-rabilia to share. (cash bar)

    3 - 4:15 p.m.Class of 1966 Informal Gathering Please bring your memo-rabilia to share. (cash bar)

    Bicentennial Reunion Weekend 2016

    Schedule of Events, July 14-17Indicates Bicentennial Academy ClassesAttend three Bicentennial Academy classes, designated with ( ) and receive a BicentennialAcademy Certificate. Class Passports will be located in registration packets for those that sign up for classes. Stamps from class presenter will be required for Academy Certificate.Indicates family activities

    For complete session descriptions, visit:www.potsdam.edu/alumni/reunion

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    Bicentennial Reunion Weekend 2016 4:30 - 6 p.m. Welcome Reception for All Alumni and Friends Help celebrate our athletic history and achievements with coaches, fans, and friends along with Jerry Welsh (Hon. 79), Neil Johnson (Hon. 01), and many others! (cash bar)

    6 - 7:30 p.m.Class of 1966 DinnerDessert will follow at the home of President Kristin Esterberg.

    6 - 8 p.m. Backyard BBQ

    This year includes a tra-ditional picnic menu and la carte items! Catch up with friends, enjoy great food, drinks and a make your own sundae bar. Entertainment provided by Andy VanDuyne 75 and Michael Welch, sponsored by PACES Dining Services. (cash bar)

    10 p.m. - 2 a.m.Double Axel (Maxfields, downtown Potsdam)

    Saturday, July 169 a.m. - 5 p.m.Registration

    8:30 - 9:45 a.m. Annual Bear

    Walk/Run

    9 - 10:30 a.m.Estate and Will

    Planning Seminar and Continental BreakfastPresented by Roger Lin-den, Esq. 74.

    9:15 - 11 a.m.Walking Tour of

    Bayside Cemetery and Its LegendsThis year marks the 150th Anniversary of Potsdams Bayside Cemetery. Dale Zurbrick 68 returns to conduct this popular tour at the local historical site. 10 - 11 a.m.

    Planetarium Show Presented by Distin-guished Service Professor Emeritus of Geology Dr. Frank Revetta (Hon. 05).

    10:30 11:30 a.m.A Seriously Fun

    Journey through 200 Years at PotsdamAttendees will have the chance to learn about Potsdams 200 years of history. Presented by Kim P. Loucks 77 and Carolyn Hirst-Loucks.

    10:30 a.m. - Noon Legacy Campus Tour

    Is your child or fam-ily member considering Potsdam? The Office of Admissions is pleased and honored to provide legacy tours for our multi-gener-ational alumni families.

    10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.Crane Institute of Music Business Alumni BrunchCIMB alumni are invited to brunch with Carol (Kickie) Britt 69, CIMB Executive Director. Join Kickie as she celebrates her retire-ment.

    11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Campus Learning Center Alumni ReceptionDid you attend the Cam-pus Learning Center as a child, student, teach or observe classes or work at the CLC as faculty or staff? Visit Merritt Hall to remi-nisce and share memories of a very special place. Sponsored by the School of Education Alumni As-sociation.

    11:15 a.m.Class of 1966 Photo At Minerva Plaza.

    11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.50-Year Club Luncheon (Classes of 1966 and earlier)The Class of 1966 will be officially inducted into the 50-Year Club during a diploma ceremony.

    11:45 a.m.Greek PhotoPhoto of all Greek alumni will be taken at Minerva Plaza.

    12:15 - 1:45 p.m.Bicentennial Block Party This celebration will feature a lunch buffet, entertainment, games and activities. All organizations are encouraged to deco-rate a table (ie, Greeks, Campus Life, Athletics, etc.) Prizes will be given.Entertainment sponsored in part by Omega Delta Phi Sorority. (cash bar)

    1 p.m.Crane Band Alumni Luncheon

    1 - 2:30 p.m.Mens Alumni Basketball Game

    1:30 - 3:30 p.m.Choral Reading

    Featuring octavos, known to all, conducted by Dale Zurbrick 68, and a short major work conducted by Peter Bagley 57.

    2 p.m. The Alumni Bicentennial Time Capsule Burial Join the Alumni Board for the burial of the time capsule which contains a selection of items curated by alumni as a celebration of SUNY Potsdams past, present and future.

    2:45 - 3:45 p.m.Tour of the Performing Arts Center

    2:30 - 4 p.m.Potsdam Bears Athletics Alumni, Friends, and Fans Reception

    4 - 6 p.m.Gala Reception, Donor Recognition and Silent AuctionPresident Kristin Ester-berg invites all alumni and friends to celebrate their return to Potsdam with a gala reception and silent auction to help celebrate our Bicentennial and enjoy the company of SUNY Potsdams past Alumni Award Recipients.

    6 - 8 p.m.Class Dinner and Alumni Award PresentationsJoin us at the biggest event of the weekend. Tables will be reserved for classes and mini-reunions. The Alumni Association Meeting will also occur during dinner. (Annual Alumni Association busi-ness will be conducted, including election of 2016-17 officers.)

    8:30 p.m.Crane Alumni Band Concert Hosted by Dr. Brian Doyle, Director of Bands, including special guest conductor Dr. Anthony Maiello.

    10 p.m. - 2 a.m.Double Axel (Maxfields, downtown Potsdam)

    Sunday, July 178:30 a.m. - 11 a.m.Farewell Breakfast (featuring an omelet station)

    REUNION WEEKEND 2016

    While Youre Here Visit Maxcy Hall - Facilities will be open and free of charge to registered Reunion attendees Shop at the College Store Take a self-guided tour of the Mary E. English Commons Enjoy the Potsdam Village Summer Festival potsdamchamber.com

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    Save the date, and lets celebrate! SUNY Potsdams 200th Celebration, July 14-17

    Bicentennial Reunion Weekend 2016REUNION WEEKEND 2016

    Athletics Bicentennial Celebration Campus Learning Center Reunion Campus Life Reunion Crane School of Music Alumni Band Reunion Delta Kappa Theta Fraternity 60th Anniversary Omega Delta Phi Sorority 55th Anniversary Past Alumni Association Award Recipients Reunion Phi Kappa Pi Sorority 110th Anniversary

    All Greek Alumni Events Bicentennial Block Party, Saturday, 12:15 - 1:45 p.m. Attend and decorate your table with your organizations memorabilia compete for prizes. Greek Alumni sponsored food drive drop off points: Reunion Registration area and residence halls/Townhouses. Donations will be donated to the campus student food pantry and the Potsdam community food pantry. All Greek Group Photo in Minerva Plaza at 11:45 a.m. Greek Good Neighbor Stroll/Open House on Elm Street. Friday 2 - 4 p.m. All alumni and friends welcome. Contact Donnalyn Shuster 78 for more information at [email protected].

    Campus Life AlumniAlumni of Campus Life groups and organiza-tions are invited to attend Reunion Weekend and gather at the Bicentennial Block Party on Saturday afternoon. Decorate your table with your groups memorabilia and com-pete for prizes. For example, Campus Life student staff (previously known as Student Involvement and Leadership), Emerging Leaders, Orientation Leaders, RAs, Peer Counselors (previously known as Wellness Advocates).

    CPS ScheduleCommunity Performance Series summer musical production Mary PoppinsCall the CPS Box Office for tickets and information at (315) 267-2277 or purchase tickets online at http://www.potsdam.edu/newsandevents/012116cpssummermusicalannounce.cfmPerformances are as follows: Thursday, July 14 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 15 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 16 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

    MINI-REUNIONS AND HIGHLIGHTS

    Omega Delta Phi Alumni Association 55th Reunion

    Wednesday, July 13 Early arrivals, informal gatherings for dinner, casual group activity and dinner on your own Weekend-long activities (scavenger hunt, school supply drive) begin

    Thursday, July 14 12:30 p.m.: Arrivals, song recording session #3, campus activities Chat and craft girls night In

    Friday, July 15 Deliver school supplies. Campus activities, All Greek Gathering (TBA)

    Saturday, July 16 Campus activities 9:30 - 11:00 a.m.: ODPAA Annual Meeting - BSU 204 - The Forum 11:45 a.m.: Greek group photo, Omega group photo - Minerva Plaza 12:15 - 1:45 p.m.: Bicentennial Block Party on campus 4 p.m.: Unity time at the house 6 p.m.: Annual Omega Banquet Knowles MPR

    Sunday, July 17 10 a.m.: Farewell breakfast - (TBD)

    Phi Kappa Pi Alumni Week-end Schedule Celebrating 110 years of Sisterhood!Thursday, July 14 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.: Work session at 58 Elm St. 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.: Phi Kappa Pi Alumnae Association Annual Meeting

    Friday, July 15 3 - 6 p.m.: Registration at 58 Elm Street 4 p.m.: Recording session rehearsal 6:30 - 8 p.m.: Welcome home dinner at 58 Elm St.Saturday, July 16 10 a.m.: Alumnae Association Meeting, Kellas Hall 101 12:30 p.m.: Recording session 3 - 7 p.m.: Phi K Picnic, 110 years of Sisterhood at 58 Elm St.

    Sunday, July 17 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.: Breakfast at 58 Elm Street and Song Session

    Inaugural Crane Alumni Band Weekend Any alumni who performed in one or more of the Crane Bands are invited. Hosted by Brian K. Doyle, current Di-rector of Bands at Crane, the weekend will feature several special guests, including guest conductor Anthony Maiello, Crane faculty member from 1972-86. Rehearsals on Friday and Saturday will culminate in a perfor-mance on Saturday evening at 8:30 p.m. in Hosmer Hall. As part on an on-going History of Crane Bands project, we will be putting an open call out for media (stories, pictures, recordings) you might wish to share in support of this project. Project highlights to-date will be displayed during the weekend.

    Crane Alumni Band Schedule:Friday, July 15 3 - 5 p.m. Meet and Greet Mixer 4:30 - 6 p.m. Meet fellow alumni at the Reunion Weekend Welcome Recep-tion 5 - 6:50 p.m. Dinner on your own, or register for the Friday night BBQ 7 - 10 p.m. Alumni Band rehearsal

    Saturday, July 16 8:30 - 9:50 a.m. Informal coffee with conductors and Crane faculty 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Alumni Band re-hearsal 1 p.m. Lunch with Crane faculty and conductors 2:30 p.m. Sectional breakouts - topics/events TBA 8 p.m. Ensemble picture on Hosmer stage 8:30 p.m. Inaugural Crane Alumni Band concert Post-Concert Reception

    Polo shirts with the official Alumni Band logo must be pre-ordered ($25) as part of registration, and should be worn for the group picture and concert on Saturday.

    Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Cranebands. For more information, or to submit stories, photos, and/or recordings, please con-tact Brian K. Doyle: [email protected].

    For complete session descriptions, visit:www.potsdam.edu/alumni/reunion

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    Save the date, and lets celebrate! SUNY Potsdams 200th Celebration, July 14-17

    Bicentennial Reunion Weekend 2016REUNION WEEKEND 2016

    Reunion CommitteesReunion committees are hard at work encouraging classmates to attend Reunion Weekend. Committee members want to remind everyone that there is still time to contribute to your class gift. Join your class in celebrating your time at Potsdam and your successes that followed. For committee lists and fundraising progress, visit www.potsdam.edu/alumni/reunion.

    Faculty EmeritiEmeriti are welcome to attend the emeriti luncheon on Friday afternoon at no charge. Fee applies to spouses and guests only.

    SPECIAL INFORMATION

    Minerva AwardRobert E. Margevich 79

    Distinguished Service AwardAmy J. Kellogg 99Donald L. Lougheed, Hon. 54Kathryn Kofoed Lougheed 54

    Rising Star AwardLaura L. Mooney 06

    Honorary Lifetime AwardSusan L. MorrisonVicki L. Templeton-Cornell

    St. Lawrence Academy MedalJean Lemieux Pottle 68

    Helen M. Hosmer Excellence in Music Teaching AwardCynthia Anderson Ripley 73

    ALUMNI AWARDS

    SUNY Potsdam is proud to acknowledge the achievements, dedica-tion and service of this years Bicentennial Alumni Award recipients.

    IRA Charitable Rollover is Here to Stay!Recently I made a gift to SUNY Potsdam using funds that I was required to take from my individual retire-ment account (IRA). I simply instructed my IRA administrator to send the amount I specified directly to the Potsdam College Foundation. The transfer enabled me to satisfy my annual required minimum distribution (RMD).

    For me, this was a win-win situation as the transaction provided meaningful financial support to Potsdam, while also helping me to avoid paying additional taxes. I am so pleased Congress and President Obama finally passed legislation making the IRA Charitable Rollover permanent. From here forward, I can look to my IRA as smart way to make a meaningful gift to SUNY Potsdam.

    Individuals 70.5 years of age and older can join Gary and many others by making a gift from their IRA that qualifies as an IRA Charitable Rollover. For more information visit: www.potsdam.edu/giftplan or contact Jason N. Ladouceur 94, director of planned giving, at 315-267-2123 or [email protected].

    Dr. Gary C. Jaquay 67 Benjamin F. Raymond Society Member At Liberty Mutual, we are

    proud to be partnering with the SUNY Potsdam Alumni Association

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  • 1 8 P O T S D A M P E O P L E S P R I N G 2 0 1 6

  • 1 8 1 6 : S t . Law r e n c e Acad emy . . .on th i s twenty f i f th day o f March in the yea r one thousand e ight hundred and s i x t een . . .

    2 0 1 6 : Th e S t a t e Un i v e r s i t y o f N ew Y o r k a t Po t s d am Happy 200 th Bir thday, SUNY Potsdam. www.po t sdam.edu /200

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  • The place that binds us. There are many who have embodied the philosophies of the Potsdam experience throughout our history. Dr. Thomas B. Stowell served as principal of Potsdam Normal from 1889-1909. He was a well-known scientist and progressive admin-istrator. Stowell was one of the first in higher education to view student life as an integral part of the educational process and recognized the force of the teachers personality on the lives and ambitions of stiudents. He advocated for new programs in the sciences, vocational training and physical education in the public schools and also understood the value of an institutions alumni. He stated:

    Theres a School in Old St. Lawrence SUNY Potsdam has had many names. Founded in 1816 as St. Lawrence Academy, in the next century the institution transitioned to a Normal School and then Potsdam State Teachers College, before being adopted into the State University of New York system in the mid-twentieth century. Our roots will be forever linked to old St. Lawrence.

    I want you alumni to recognize my appreciation of what you have done to make this school great. Our greatness is your greatness.

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    Warming up our voicesIn the music of SUNY Potsdam, there is something for everyone. This selection of music from our archives represents drinking songs and alumni rallying cries. The classic Scottish tune Annie Laurie is based on a poem by William Douglas. It was Julia Cranes favorite song. Later, Helen Hosmer picked up the tradition. The Crane Chorus would sing Annie Laurie in every warm-up.

    Miss Cranes singing of Annie Laurie is a memory and a tradition treasured by many generations of Potsdam students. 100th Commencement celebration program, June 9, 1934.

    Sung to the tune of The Battle Hymn of the Republic

    Sung to the tune of My Country Tis of Thee

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    Join us for our Bicentennial Reunion Back to the vales of old St. Lawrence, fondly we turn. Where still the fires of Alma Mater ever brightly, brightly burn.

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    CLASS notes

    1940sSophia (Constantikes) Guidi 47 currently re-sides in Marco Island, FL, and recently celebrated her 90th birthday. She still continues to use her musical skills that she learned from the old Potsdam State Teachers College. She directed two choirs and until just recently she played the trumpet in the New Hori-zons Band.

    1950sStephen Gitto Sr. 52 dropped out of high school to enlist in the service during World War II. Gitto went to the EuropeanTheater, travel-ing all over Europe, on RMS Queen Elizabeth. After the war, he went back to high school in Fort Edward. Because of the G.I. Bill, he was able to go to college. He spent an additional three sum-mers obtaining a masters degree.

    Lois Annette Hesser 52 recently celebrated her 85th birthday. She is still teaching private students and is looking forward to Reunion 2016.

    Gloria (Baz) Misnick 55 resides in Corning, NY, where she is the national director and national welfare officer of Catholic War Veterans Auxiliary.

    Valerie (Johnson) Waage 57 enjoys being a deacon and singing with the choir in her growing church and feels truly blessed.

    In June 2015, James Mullen 59 was inducted into the Burnt Hills- Ballston Lake Hall Class of 2015 Hall of Fame for his achievements in high school soccer and basketball.

    Geraldine Gerri (Moore) Pugliese 59 and her husband cele-brated their 51st wedding anniversary in July 2015.

    1960sGail (Hawthorne) Boh-ling 60 returned to Pots-dam with her husband, who was the speaker for the 60th anniversary of the Potsdam Volunteer Rescue Squad, where he was one of the original members.

    Lynne Noel 63 authored a book, The Grammie Guide, which is selling well and has won wide acclaim. She and her husband, Bruce, traveled to Panama, France and Canada this year and are enjoying a busy life.

    In 2014, Joan (Thaler) Dobbie 67 interviewed residents of Parishville, NY, for a video in honor of Parishvilles 200th birthday celebration, which is available online and for purchase in the Parishville Museum.

    Lee Crandall 69 completed a seven-year appointment as depart-ment chair and returned to a regular faculty posi-tion in the Department of Public Health Sciences at Clemson University in Clemson, SC.

    1970sCarol (Millard) DiLallo 70 resides in Clifton Park, NY. When she attended SUNY Potsdam, she be-longed to Omega Delta Phi. Carol volunteers for many church commit-tees, a local food pantry, and is a representative to the teacher association and is a retired education associate.

    Nancy Evans 70, a professor in the student affairs program at Iowa State University, received the Lifetime Achievement Award from ACPA-Col-lege Student Educators International, at the 2015 National Convention in Tampa, FL.

    Clarkson University Research Professor Dana (Malloy) Barry 71, se-nior technical writer/edi-tor at Clarksons Center for Advanced Materials Processing, won her 20th consecutive award for publication excellence, the APEX 2015 Award.

    Rick Carter 71 retired after 29 years as professor of finance at Iowa State University. While at ISU he published in a number of top-ranked academic journals and was a highly cited researcher in the field of financial econom-ics. Carter and his wife, Elizabeth, are originally from Auburn, NY, and are now living in Newport, OR.

    Rose OKeefe 71 is a local historian with a spe-cial interest in the Fred-erick Douglass familys years in Rochester, NY, from 1847-1872. OKeefe has written five books including her latest, Spe-cial Delivery: From One Stop to Another on the Underground Railroad.

    Bruce Rodgers 71 was honored as a Cultural Champion for his work at the Hermitage Artist Retreat.

    Donna (Rogers) Winters 71 of Garden, MI, began penning novels in 1982 and is an award-winning author of over 20 books in print. Her most recent book, Saving Mossy Point: In the Fifty-First State of Superior, was published in 2015.

    Since retiring from the U.S. Coast Guard Band in 2001, James Conover 72 has been working as a church choir director and vocal soloist.

    Flossie Mitchell 72 was the force behind the Utica College Young (Scholars) Program for 11 years. She officially retired in 2015 and she walks away holding special bonds that she has cre-ated with the students.

    Howard Champlain 73 retired in 2015 after 41 years with the Social Security Administration. Cheryl (Hinman) Cham-plain 74 retired in 2014 after over 25 years with Vestal Eye Care.

    Richard C. Sperry 74 re-ceived a Ph.D. in technol-ogy management from Portland State Univer-sity in 2014. He teaches project management at the university and is con-ducting research on the effects of Oregon wildfire policies on stakehold-ers. He is also president and principal of Sperry Management Consulting Corp.

    G. Scott Verity 74 was a guest conductor at NMEA Division I West Chorus Tilles Center LIU Post Campus in Brookville, NY.

    Mariangela Risucci 75 retired in 2012 as an administrator at SUNY Cortland.

    Salvatore Signorelli 50 recently met with Crane School of Music Dean Michael Sitton at String Instruments, Ltd., a full-service string shop in Rochester, which Signorelli founded in 1968 and has been the sole owner and operator of ever since. Signorelli is the 2015 recipient of the Eastman Luminary Award, which recognizes individuals who have given extraordinary service to music and the arts at the community and national levels, and whose dedication and achievements set an example for Eastman School of Music students and alumni.

    Presidents ClubThe Presidents Club is a distinctive giving society

    that recognizes alumni and friends who give $1,000 or more during the fiscal year (July 1 to

    June 30). Learn more and/or join today by contacting the Donor Relations Office at

    (315) 267-2855 or by emailing [email protected].

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    CLASS notes

    Glenn Albin 78 lives in Tappan, NY, and started working at Nyack Hospi-tal as a registered nurse in 2012. After leaving SUNY Potsdam and Clarkson, he had a 30 plus year career with NYS. He is also certi-fied paramedic.

    Salvatore Cania 79 and his wife Lisa, of Hannawa Falls, NY, have estab-lished the Cania Family Endowment in support of programs presented

    by Community Perfor-mance Series, in honor of the organizations 25th anniversary. This fund will be used to sponsor an annual music concert and programming with students. Sal worked at Crane for 20 years, before serving first at St. Law-rence University and now at Clarkson University. Their children, Sal III and Emily, grew up in Pots-dam and enjoyed access to high-quality perform-ing arts activities.

    Michael Danis 78 retired as the fine arts director of the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Central School District in June 2015.

    1980sRich Campbell 80 was recently awarded the Ruth Boshkoff Com-position Prize by the Organization of Ameri-can Kodaly Educators. OAKE commissioned him to compose a new work, The Wind, which premiered in March 2016 with the National Childrens Choir in Long Beach, CA.

    Steve Constantino 80 is the superintendent of the Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools in Virginia. He came to WJCC in 2010 from Cobb County schools in Georgia, where he served in the executive admin-istration. He also served as principal of Stonewall Jackson High School in Manassas, VA, from 1995 to 2003, and was a professor of education at George Mason University.

    Kathleen DaBoll-Lavoie, 80 has been named the new dean of the School of Education at Nazareth College. DaBoll-Lavoie currently is the co-chair of the New York State Professional Standards and Practices Board, the convener of the Teacher Education Advisory Group to the New York State Commissioner of Education and is immedi-ate past president of the New York Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.

    Rose Rivezzi 80 has three years experience as a Pots-dam Town Council member and was

    previously the president of the Potsdam Food Co-op Board of Directors.

    Brent Campbell 81 is retiring after teaching instrumental music for 34 years at Vincent Massey High School in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. He will continue as direc-tor of the Brandon Jazz Festival, Canadas largest educational jazz festival that annually hosts over 165 groups every March. He also owns the Bran-don School of Dance and plans to race in a trans-Atlantic sail sometime in the next few years.

    Jeffrey Peskowitz 81 is the new profile series and metal composite mate-rial product manager at CENTRIA, a developer and manufacturer of architec-tural metal wall and roof systems.

    John 74 and Ann (Mar-tin) Carvill 82 reside in Potsdam, NY, where Ann has spent 13 years with the Potsdam Central School Board of Educa-tion and is very active in local government.

    In 2014, Patrick Keleher 82 retired from the New

    York State Police after 26 years at the rank of senior investigator. During his career, he received a Superintendents Com-mendation, the William V. McDonagh Award and five Troop Commanders Commendations. Recent-ly, Keleher took a position as an inspector with the New York State Univer-sity Police and is also an adjunct instructor of criminal justice at Clinton Community College.

    After seven years with the Potsdam Central School District and a total of 31 years as an educator in St. Lawrence County, Larry Jenne 83 retired from public education and his position as principal at Lawrence Avenue Elementary in July 2015.

    James Jim McCargar 83 is the recipient of the Student Senate Faculty Excellence Award from Baldwin Wallace Univer-sity. He is a professor of chemistry and associate dean of the School of Natural Sciences, Math-ematics and Computing.

    New Endowments

    The brothers of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and Sigma Tau Psi are well on their way to endowing scholar-ships in the name of their fraternities. The Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Scholarship fund drive is led by Jordan Walker 11, while fundraising for the Sigma Tau Psi Scholarship is led by Jim Brewer 71, Don Fiesinger 66, Ted Holynski 68, Harry Richards 68 and Chuck Sparnecht 71. Greek alumni are also invited to contribute to a collective endowment fund in support of Greek Life on campus. An anony-mous Greek alumni donor has pledged $10,000 as a seed grant to get the endowment started.

    The alumnae of Alpha Delta Kappa have estab-lished the Alpha and Friends Fund in support of the Rebecca V. Sheard Literacy Center on campus, which offers an after-school program for SUNY Potsdam education students to mentor local school children. An anonymous Greek Alumni donor is matching gifts to the fund.

    Mary Ann Mango Flatt 69 and her husband Dean are endowing the Mango-Flatt Family Endowment for Music Education Research, to provide financial support for Crane School of Music faculty and stu-dents to conduct research on topics, issues, questions or problems related to pre-college music education, and to present their findings to audiences on the regional, national and international level.

    William Lilley 74 and his wife Judy have created the Otto and Grace Lilley Endowment, designated for geology student travel. He and Judy have named the fund in memory of Bills parents, who sacrificed a great deal to help Bill achieve a college education, and who helped many others during their lifetime. Since 2003, Bill has been principal investigator and president of his own company, Ecoinvestigation Inc., specializing in analysis of former industrial, nuclear and spill sites for law firms, consultants and insur-ance companies. Recently, Judy began working as a school physiologist for Lincoln County Schools in Newport, OR.

    For more information on any of these endowments, please contact Nancy Griffin, College Advancement, at [email protected].

    Lisa Vroman 79 performed with the Oregon Symphony in October 2015 and met up with two fellow alumni who perform with the symphony, Zachariah Galatis 08 (assistant principal flute and piccolo) and David Bamonte 84 (assistant principal trumpet).

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    Karen (Dutton) Billing-sley 84 resides with her husband, Lance 83, in Kerrville, TX, and is cur-rently a middle school choir director. Karen has been teaching for 30 years and has moved a few times, enabling her to have taught in every area of her Crane training: general music, orchestra, choir and band. They have two children pursu-ing music careers. Their son is the third genera-tion of music educators.

    Elizabeth (Myler) Moore 84 was named deputy director for the Division of Research and Col-lections at the Virginia Museum of Natural His-tory. She was also named Professional Archae-ologist of the Year by the Archaeological Society of Virginia, in recognition of her archaeological research, promotion of historic preservation efforts and her continued mentorship of students throughout Virginia.

    Tammy (Canfield) Cur-ren 89 was promoted to vice president of informa-tion systems for Kennedy Health in Cherry Hill, NJ. She and her husband, Brian, reside in Marlton, NJ.

    1990sVanessa Breault Mulvey 90 was appointed to the faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music in 2015. She is a member of the Entrepre-neurial Music Depart-ment and will be teach-ing body mapping in the Conservatory Division.

    Kenneth Schenk 90 has been teaching music since 1991, and is cur-rently teaching elemen-tary music in the Lake George Central School District. He continues to perform as a baritone soloist in the Northeast. Ken has been a frequent conductor at all levels for the Washington County Area Music Teachers Association Choral Festivals.

    Jude L. Kiah 91 resides in Cincinnati, OH, with his wife Renee Turck 92. He is employed by Xavier University as the assis-tant vice president and his wife is employed as a music director at South-eastern School District. Jude also completed his Ph.D. in 2015.

    In October 2015, tenor Dimiti Pittas 99 and Greek soprano Lydia Zervanos 10 returned to their alma mater as part of the Crane Alumni Concert Series. Pit-tas, a graduate of the Metropolitan Operas Lindemann Young Artist Development Program,

    has ap-peared on leading op-era stages throughout North America and Europe, including the Met. Zervanos is a singer and cellist with the

    Neukllner Oper and in 2013 joined the Greek National Opera.

    2000sRaymond V. Depew 01, was a student of English Professor Maurice Kenny, and also wrote for the college newspaper. He recently published a book series, called Don-bridge.

    Maria D. (Conger) Morrison 04 was recently chosen by the NYS Womens Inc., St. Lawrence Chapter, as the 2015 Woman of the Year for St. Lawrence County. Morrison currently serves as the program manager for literacy of Northern NY, in addition to teach-ing high school English classes and adult literacy classes.

    Jon 05 and Jessie (Wells) Sequin 05 met in Potsdam and lived in Nantucket, MA, where they worked with top chefs, before deciding to make Lake Placid, NY, their home. They now have two businesses, Smoking Cork, and Stouts and Stogies.

    Justin A. Glodich 08 had an article featured in the December 2015 issue of Choral Journal, a publication of the American Choral Direc-tors Association. The article was titled Vocal Percussion in Contempo-rary Choral Music and featured information that was presented at his standing-room-only ses-sion at the 2015 National ACDA Conference in Salt Lake City.

    David Joseph Cotter 08 has become the director of education programs at the Redhouse Arts Center, where he over-sees a teaching staff of 29 teaching artists and three administrators.

    2010sBrittany (James) Robischon 10 resides in Morrisonville, NY, with her husband Matt. Brittany presented at the

    SUNY CDO conference in Corning, NY, and started a position in August as senior academic advisor in the Department of Continuing Professional Studies at Champlain College in Burlington, VT.

    2nd Lt. Daniel Aceti 13 graduated from the specialized undergradu-ate pilot training class at Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma. He currently serves as a student pilot with the 14th Student Squadron, at Columbus Air Force Base in Missis-sippi.

    Kaitlin Marie Flack 14 resides in Moscow, ID, and is working as human resources and operations supervisor at the Uni-versity of Idaho College of Natural Resources. In May 2015, Army ROTC Gold Knight Battalion Cadet Joseph Locci 15 was commissioned and received gold bars.

    CLASS notes

    How to include us in your will (sample bequest language)I give, devise and bequeath (specific dollar amount, percentage of estate, and/or residual beneficiary) to the Potsdam College Foundation, Inc., federal tax ID#23-7088021, for its general purposes.

    * Specific named endowments, schools, departments, etc. may also be listed as designations.

    For more information, visit the Collegesestate and gift planning page at

    www.potsdam.edu/giftplan or contact Jason Ladouceur 94,

    director of planned giving, at (315) 267-2123 or

    [email protected]

    As you plan your future, invest in Potsdams

    SUNY Potsdam College Council member Molly Clough 92 was recently honored with the 2015 National TRiO Achievers Award at the Council for Opportunity in Education Conference in Atlanta, GA. President Kristin Esterberg and Director of TRiO Student Support Services Mark Millward 09 & 10 joined her as she accepted the award. Clough is a law partner at Carrothers and Clough PLLC, and a dedicated advocate for local charities.

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    MARRIAGES

    Chantal Wood 10 mar-ried Kyle Briant on Asso-

    ciation Island on July 18, 2015. The couple took a one-

    week honeymoon to Bar Harbor, MN, and they reside in Woodville.

    On May 16, 2015, Chris-topher Curley 12 mar-ried Lindsey Ferguson. The couple resides in Raleigh, NC, with their dog, Boomer.

    Lacey Skeldon 13 and Troy Vaughan were mar-ried August 28, 2015, on Smathers Beach in Key West, FL. The couple en-joyed a five-day honey-moon on Carnival Victory with fam-ily and friends. The couple resides in Hermon, NY.

    On June 6, 2015, Britney Livingston 14 mar-ried Patrick Lawton at the Wesleyan Church in Lisbon, NY. The couple honeymooned in the Pocono Mountains and resides in Lisbon.

    bBIRTHS

    Dr. Mary Ann DeMario 97 and her husband, Chris, welcomed a son, Zachary Chase, on March 30, 2015.

    Robert J. Soricelli 06 & 10 and his wife Tiffany (Conn) Soricelli 06 & 10 were delighted to welcome their first daughter, Juniper Lea, on October 8, 2015.

    Justin A. Glodich 08 and his wife Nicole, were proud to announce the birth of their son, Brody, on October 14, 2015.

    bIN MEMORIAM

    Evelyn Holt Seeber 30 December 13, 2006

    Evangeline (Prittie) Rorke 34May 28, 2015

    Mildred (Frary) Hazen 34 May 12, 2015

    Gerald P. Normile 35 June 10, 2015

    Kathryn M. (McCabe) Hall 36 July 15, 2015

    June Louise (Carton) Kennedy39October 24, 2015

    Katherine (Walling) W. Moomey 39 November 4, 2014

    Mollie L. (Damon) Bangs 40 September 5, 2015

    Leonard R. Lambert 40 June 7, 2015

    Dorothy M. (Newton) Dolch 41Date not provided

    Dorothy (Kirtland) Arnold 43 September 2009

    Roy A. Edelfelt 43 July 7, 2015

    Mary C. (Jebo) Hannahs 43May 20, 2015

    Betty (Norton) Smith 44 July 13, 2015

    Mae E. (King) Schneeberge