From diploma to paycheck:
alumni at BU

John Hagan '82, MS '85, senior programmer/analyst in the Computing Services Department, received his bachelor's in geological sciences from Harpur College and his master's in systems science from the Watson School. After graduation, he received job offers from both Singer Link and BU. He chose BU because he liked the academic environment. "The Singer Link salary offer was substantially higher, but the more relaxed atmosphere of Binghamton University and the flexibility of the job appealed to me," he said.

"I'm also the son of a former faculty member, in addition to being an alumnus and an employee," Hagan noted. Through his father, English Professor John H. Hagan, who taught at BU from 1964 to 1991, Hagan has been connected with Binghamton University since his family moved to the area in the mid-1960s.

"I remember accompanying my father to campus in the late '60s and early '70s," he said. "At that time, there were just a few buildings here. I've seen the physical appearance of this campus change drastically over the years."

Hagan's job includes assisting faculty members, some of them professors from whom he's taken classes. "At first it felt a little strange, but I soon got used to it," he said. "Occasionally, my geology adviser comes to me for assistance, and it's nice to be able to reciprocate for all the support he gave me during my undergraduate education." Hagan and his wife live in Endwell.

David Skyrca '85, art director in University Communications and Marketing (and designer for Binghamton Alumni Journal), received his degree in studio art and was awarded Highest Departmental Honors in Graphic Design upon graduation from Harpur. He lived at home as a student, but used to take his friends to the dining hall and "Shut Up and Dance" parties, art gallery openings and the Campus Pub. "It was a blast," he said.

During his student internship designing posters for the Harpur Film Society, Skyrca got to know people in the Publications Office -- then-director Roberta Scheer '64 and designer Sue Trieling Dunshee '82 -- who became familiar with him and his work, and offered him a part-time job following graduation that segued into a full-time design position. "I saw this job as a great opportunity to learn and grow," he said. "I was still taking classes, and I had the run of the design and screen-printing studios and the darkroom. My professors still gave me advice and encouraged me. When the computer revolutionized the design profession, it was like getting paid for being a student."

Now, he said, "it's an exciting time to be working here. I'm thrilled to see the new facilities, and the move to Division I athletics, the first capital campaign, the expansion and growth of the research division. I feel like I've been a part of it -- from being a student to actively contributing to and participating in the University's growth. It's pretty gratifying. I'm lucky and proud to be here."

Benji DeMotte, MBA '02, head coach of the men's and women's swimming and diving teams in Health, Physical Education and Athletics, received his MBA in arts administration from the School of Management. A four-year veteran of Syracuse University's swim team whose undergraduate degree is in exercise physiology, DeMotte began working at BU as a swim coach in 1995 and has held his present position since 1998.

"It's a really exciting time to be here, as the whole school is experiencing so much growth," he said. "The athletic department in particular has gone through the amazing transition from Division III to I in the last five years." He also values the time he spends working with student athletes. "Society can really get down on our younger generation, but I disagree," he said. "The people I work with are dynamic, exciting and generally good people. I am very optimistic for the future."

Why the degree in arts administration? "I wanted a degree that would enhance my current career," he said. In terms of administration, there are many similarities between smaller college sports (swimming, track, tennis, etc.) and the art world, he noted. "For example, both need to have very healthy development offices that are faced with generating funds from individuals. Do we position ourselves as entertainment? Charity? We have all the same questions that administrators in the arts have."

DeMotte "married within my major," as he put it -- his wife is Laura Yehle DeMotte '89, MBA '02, who works in human resources at Endicott Interconnect Technologies, formerly a division of IBM. They live in Vestal.

Darryl Wood, MBA/MA '78, house operations director, Anderson Center for the Arts, earned a joint degree from the School of Management and from Harpur, in finance and American history, respectively. He lived in Dickinson Community for his first year of graduate school, when he met the person who would become his wife, Toby Wollin, MBA '78. "She was on an opposing co-rec softball team," he said.

From the beginning, Wood was impressed by how much people at BU care about students. That made him want to stay; at graduation, when he was offered a job at what became the Decker School of Nursing, he took it. He stayed there until 1989, when he became house operations director of the Anderson Center, where he oversees everything that happens in the audience area of the theater and assists with backstage support for the artists -- with help from more than 100 students and community volunteers who constitute the ArtsCorps.

He enjoys the intellectual stimulation of working on a university campus. "Students are challenged by the academics and professionals here to work harder," he said. "In turn, those students challenge us to be better." Wood is also an active member of both the Professional Employees Council and United University Professions, the union that represents academics and professionals on campus.

"I recently attempted to explain to one of my children what I really do here," he said. "The best I could do was to say that I am here to assist people in succeeding -- whether that is through my actual job duties or my volunteer activities on campus. I just want to help people be their best."

Wood and his wife live in Whitney Point and have three children: Laura, 21, Carolyn, 18, and Jonathan, 15.

Tanya R. Robinson '89, MASS '01, assistant director of academic programs for Off Campus College, received her BA from Harpur College in English literature and, later, her master's in applied social science from SEHD. As an undergraduate, she lived on campus in College-in-the-Woods, then in Newing. "A friend of mine since junior high was my roommate," she said. After graduation, Robinson moved around frequently, because her husband was in the military. She worked in human service organizations and was director of programs for the Broome County Urban League before coming to work at BU in 2000.

"Off Campus College has the most dedicated staff I've ever had the pleasure to work alongside," said Robinson. "I enjoy learning from the students -- BU has some of the most curious students I've ever known. The more I interact with them, the more I learn about cultures and different political views. It is wonderful!

"I also carry a great deal of pride about being a BU alumna," Robinson added, "and that makes me very conscientious about my performance at work. After all, I am a product of BU." Robinson is also "the proud mother of three beautiful, well-mannered and energetic young men, Antoine, 15, Darius, 12, and Damian, 9." She and her family live in Binghamton.

Patrick McManamon '93, MPA '98, Lieutenant, New York State University Police, Binghamton, who is in charge of the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift, received his BA in applied social science from SEHD and his master's in public administration with an emphasis on organizational policy from Harpur. As a student, he and his friend Valeri I. Vassiliev, a Russian student who is now an English professor in Russia, did a poll of all international students on their feelings about the police in their native countries vs. the BU campus police. "The results were very interesting," said McManamon, who hopes to pursue a PhD and study the relationship among students, campus crime and alcohol.

Before working at BU, McManamon worked in corrections for the Broome County Sheriff's Department. He enjoys law enforcement and he enjoys working with students; here, he said, he gets to do both. "Being an alumnus, I feel like this place is more than a place to go to work. I care about people and try to provide a service. And in this job, as in any job at this University, the first criterion is caring about students."

Since McManamon's daughter is a freshman in the Decker School of Nursing, he now has a parent's perspective regarding students. "I look at worried parents in a different way," he said. McManamon's wife, Linda, works in the Harpur Dean's Office. "Contact her if you want to get the real scoop on me," he joked.

Michael McGoff '69, MA '72, PhD '80, vice provost for Academic Affairs, is a former associate dean of the Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science, where he worked for 18 years before joining the Provost's staff in 2000. He received all his degrees in English, from Harpur, but also studied computer science and anthropology. As a doctoral student, he focused on onomastics, the study of names within language. He was among the first to use computing in onomastic research and worked at the School of Advanced Technology, where he was involved in the creation of the computer science program. "Working in the School of Advanced Technology from the time it started in 1967 was especially exciting because I was Ôin on the ground floor' of designing and implementing programs in computer science, general systems theory and applied mathematics," he said.

"The words that come to mind when I think of this University are excellence, history, people, camaraderie, hard work and pride," said McGoff, who celebrated his 35th year of working on campus Aug. 26. "I have always felt I am a part of a strong team of people who are working toward a common set of goals. I am proud to work here and sincerely enjoy coming in every day!"

Linda P. MacKenzie, MS '86, CERT Family Nurse Practitioner, director of the University Health Service, a graduate of Decker, was the patient/family services coordinator for the Hospice at Lourdes Hospital before coming to work here. "I enjoy the energy and intellectual curiosity of the students," she said. "They ask questions and keep one sharp." She also appreciates the University environment for providing contact with other professionals with different areas of expertise.

A common thread in her experience here, both as a student and now as an employee, she noted, is the respect for each person as an individual. "As nursing professionals, we have long been taught to treat each person as a whole being -- physical, emotional and spiritual needs. On campus, this expands to the appreciation for difference and diversity that each person contributes," she said.

MacKenzie lives in Endwell with her significant other. She has one daughter, three sons and a 9-year-old granddaughter. Her youngest son is a senior at BU.

"All four of the professional employees in the Office of International Student and Scholar Services are proud alumni of BU," said Badger. (From left) Maria Sabatino, MA '01, assistant director, who earned her MA in Italian; Karen Keefe-Guzikowski '74, MASS '01, international student adviser, who earned her BA in English and creative writing and her MA in social science; Diane Sliwinski, MPA '98, special programs coordinator; and Badger

Ellen Badger '74, director of International Student and Scholar Services and former assistant director of admissions (1974-86), received her BA from Harpur College in English literature. She lived on campus throughout her college years -- first in Dickinson Community, then in College-in-the-Woods -- and has worked on campus since graduation. What is it that she likes so much about BU? "The excitement and intellectual stimulation of working on a college campus," she said. "The opportunity to work with and get to know a terrific population of students. I find the variety of things I do as part of my job and the challenges those create very stimulating. I enjoy the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues who are enthusiastic and creative about what they do. I never stop learning here.

"BU demands and rewards high achievement," she added, noting it as something that's reflected not only in students' performance, but also in the work done by BU faculty and staff.

Jim Carpenter, MAT '70, EdD '02, coordinator of the School of Education and Human Development's MAT program, and Tim Cooper, MST '72, curriculum specialist for SEHD's Teaching American History grant program, have taught in the Union-Endicott and Johnson City public schools, respectively, for over 30 years. They returned to SEHD and BU to pursue new careers last fall.

Carpenter

In his new position, Cooper develops curricula for summer workshops in the teaching of American history for local teachers. "As Jim and I begin new careers, we are still giving back to our first careers and our love of teaching by returning to the university where we both earned advanced degrees," said Cooper, who works with Professor Tom Dublin at the Center for the Teaching of American History. "It's been a very nice experience to return to campus and revisit academic beliefs and views." Cooper likes the fact that his work keeps him in close contact with local schools and teachers and enjoys the role he's playing in strengthening SEHD's role as a valuable resource for them.

Cooper

"I have always enjoyed this campus and have never really lost touch with it," said Carpenter, who has served as an adjunct at SEHD since 1988, and worked regularly with student-teaching interns from BU when he taught in the Union-Endicott School District. He also served on the Dean's Advisory Council for several years.

"When I decided to pursue a career change as I neared the completion of my doctorate, I interviewed at other campuses and had another offer," he said. "I wanted to stay here." Why? Carpenter wanted to join a faculty and staff he described as "extremely friendly and helpful," and he enjoys the "familiarity here that may not exist at some larger universities." Moreover, he noted, "I have seen the growth and the changes, and yet the University has held constant to its reputation for excellence."