Alumni Happenings

Network News

ARIZONA ALUMNI NETWORK -- From Michelle Ackerman-Glicksman '97: The Arizona Alumni Network hosted its first event, a Diamondbacks vs. Mets game, Aug. 10. Despite it being 114 degrees that day (one of the hottest all summer!), about 25 Binghamton alumni and friends gathered to cheer on their favorite team.ÊThey all received pins, pens and magnets donated by the Alumni Association. The event was co-hosted with the Arizona Alumni Network of Oswego -- so together, there were quite a lot of SUNY representatives in the crowd.

Post-game, some Binghamton grads gathered for a drink and conversation. More events are planned for the future.

ALUMNI ADMISSIONS VOLUNTEERS -- From Paul Levine '02, assistant director of admissions and coordinator, Alumni Admissions Volunteers: This year's turnout was the largest ever for the Alumni Admissions Volunteer (AAV) dinner reception held at the U.S. Trust Company in Manhattan Sept. 16. Alumni attended from as far away as Connecticut and as far back as the Class of 1963. Some of those present included Leah Dixon '97, MPA '99, former assistant director of Undergraduate Admissions, who is now a volunteer herself, and Jerry McLain '59, former associate director of the Admissions Office, Binghamton's first director of alumni affairs and development and founder of the Alumni Admissions Volunteer Committee. Although McLain plans to retire soon, he will continue to do some programs for us in the future.

On behalf of our director, Cheryl Brown '74, '88, I would like to extend my thanks to all of you who helped us with this event, and thanks once again to Jerry for all his work on behalf of Binghamton University and its alumni. We are grateful for your continued support and all the help you continue to provide us with at college fairs and programs!

Forrest Greenslade '63 calls himself a change artist, because he has reinvented himself several times. A former molecular biologist, Forrest conducted basic and clinical research at the Atomic Energy Commission and in the pharmaceutical industry. He then transformed himself into a manager and executive, holding leadership positions at Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and The Population Council. Most recently, he served as president of Ipas, an international women's health organization.

Forrest then evolved into a writer. He captured his experiences in his book, The Simple-Minded Manager: Cutting Through Your Work-Life Chaos (Intercare21st Publishing, 2000). After honing his speaking skills through Toastmasters International, he earned the title Distinguished Toastmaster. In 2001, he was named North Carolina's Toastmaster of the Year.

Recently, Forrest underwent yet another metamorphosis and became a sculptor. He creates whimsical creatures he calls Forrest Dwellers that he insists bring good luck to the garden. You can view his work at www.forrestgreenslade.com.

In a sense Forrest has come full-circle back to his first love, biology. "People I worked with at Harpur and Tulane will get a kick out of my frogs, because I worked with real frogs and frog eggs at both places," he said. At Tulane University, where Forrest earned his MS and PhD in biology and specialized in the then-newly emerging field of molecular biology, he did work on nucleic acid synthesis in early development of frog embryos. At Harpur, Forrest earned his BS in biology and worked on nucleic acid synthesis in frog eggs as a research assistant to Professor William Battin.
TOP

Maria Pendolino '04 (left) and Robert Swan '04 with President DeFleur (Clockwise from top) Exemplary Student Award candidates Maria Pendolino '04, an English and theater major; Robert Swan '04, a biochemistry major; Kenneth Weiss '05, a mathematics and computer science major; Jennifer Kwok '04, a management major; and Ravi Gupta '05, a science and public policy major. Not pictured: Lindsey Krecko '04, a psychobiology major

Exemplary student named After parading through campus in electric golf carts as part of Homecoming's Brain Train parade Oct. 11, the six finalists for the Exemplary Student Award gathered on stage at Baxter's Village Luau on the Peace Quad, where the award winners were announced. The grand prize went to Maria Pendolino '04, an English and theater major. She received a $2,175 scholarship -- the equivalent of full tuition for one semester -- and a plaque. Robert Swan '04, second-place winner, received a $500 University Bookstore gift certificate and Lindsey Krecko '04 and Ravi Gupta '05, who tied for third place, each received a $250 bookstore gift certificate. Pendolino, who is Senior Class Council president, is a member of Phi Eta Sigma and Golden Key international honor societies and secretary of the newly formed BU chapter of the Sigma Tau Delta English honor society. She has also been a resident assistant and active with the Student Association, College-in-the-Woods and Dickinson community governments. A young woman who is serious about theater, Pendolino was a cast member in the fall 2003 Cider Mill Playhouse production of Agatha Christie's A Murder Is Announced and has served on the executive board of Dickinson Community Players. Last year, she helped to coordinate and direct a benefit production of Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues, an effort that raised more than $2,000 to help support Southern Tier women through the YWCA of Binghamton. Pendolino is also the recipient of the Alexander Rae Baldwin Memorial Scholarship, the Joseph L. Cohen Memorial Scholarship and the New York Lottery Leaders of Tomorrow Scholarship. "It was a difficult choice," said Rose Frierman, senior associate director of Alumni and Parent Relations, who served as one of the judges for the competition. "Every one of these students is amazing and is doing wonderful things." The competition, coordinated by the Homecoming committee, honors academic achievement, University involvement and knowledge of campus history, and is sponsored by the BU Alumni Association and the BU Foundation.   TOP

Call for connoisseurs

Are you the person your friends know to call when they have a question about wine? Fashion? Nutrition? Gourmet food? Exercise? Energy usage? Adolescent behavior? Interior design? Gardening? Travel? Saving the planet? The Binghamton Alumni Journal is looking for alumni experts in these and other areas for an "Ask the Experts" story we're researching for an upcoming issue. So write and let us know about your area of expertise! We'll contact you for your response to one of our questions.

Planned gifts can increase your income

Are you concerned about how little income you receive from your investments? Consider making a planned gift to Binghamton University. In most instances, you may transfer your cash or stock tax-free, plus receive increased annual payments and an immediate charitable income tax deduction. Best of all, you'll be making a substantial investment in the future of Binghamton University.

• INCREASED INCOME
• TAX-FREE TRANSFER
• CHARITABLE INCOME TAX DEDUCTION
• SUPPORT FOR BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY'S FUTURE

Interested? Visit our website at www.binghamton.gift-planning.org/gifts.html or contact Susan D. Thomas, JD, Director of Planned Giving, Binghamton University Foundation, PO Box 6005, Binghamton, New York 13902-6005, via e-mail at sdthomas@binghamton.edu or by phone at 607-777-4712.

New Decker dean connects with alumni

A series of "Meet the Dean" receptions for Southern Tier and New York City alumni to meet the new dean of the Decker School of Nursing, Sarah H. Gueldner, DSN, FAAN, took place in October and November. Binghamton University's Alumni Association and the Decker School of Nursing coordinated the events in conjunction with Lourdes Hospital, Robert Packer Hospital, United Health Services and the Visiting Nurses Society of New York. Staffs of host agencies were also invited to attend.

Gueldner expressed appreciation and celebration of the work between the clinical agencies and the Decker School. She spoke of a 78 percent increase in undergraduate applications for fall 2003, the largest undergraduate class in the history of the Decker School, as well as research initiatives and updates on Decker's programs. Among highlights was the announcement of a $1 million program expansion grant acquired in summer 2003 that will increase baccalaureate accelerated track enrollment over the next three years. She also thanked agencies for their support of Decker's involvement with the Empire Promise program which introduces economically disadvantaged youths to the nursing profession.

Gueldner invited attendees to visit the Decker School and expressed the school's desire to form Southern Tier and New York City Decker alumni groups. Interested volunteers may contact the alumni office via e-mail at alumni@binghamton.edu or by calling 607-777-2431.

-- Jennie Orton

TOP

Alumni Authors Karel Kurst-Swanger has published a book she co-wrote, Violence in the Home: Multidisciplinary Perspectives (Oxford University Press, 2003). Carl J. Crawford has published Embracing the Family: Achieving a Loving Balance in Family Dynamics (SterlingHouse Publishers, Inc., 2003). Susanne Bleiberg-Seperson '68, PhD has published Elder Care and Service Learning: A Handbook (Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc., 2002), a book she co-edited with Carol Hegeman of the Foundation for Long Term Care, Albany. Molly Peacock '69 has published Cornucopia: New and Selected Poems (Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc., 2003). Stephen Corey '70, MA '73 has published There is No Finished World (White Pine Press, 2003), his 10th published collection of poems. Paul S. Herrnson '81 has published War Stories from Capitol Hill (Prentice Hall, 2003), co-written with Colton Campbell. Thomas M. Kocik '87 has published The Reform of the Reform? (Ignatius Press, 2003), a critique of 20th-century liturgical changes in Roman Catholicism. Judson L. Jeffries, MPP '90 has published Urban America and Its Police: From the Postcolonial Era Through the Turbulent 1960's (University Press of Colorado, 2003), co-written with Harlan D. Hahn. RobertÊS.ÊSwiatek '72 has published Don't Bet on It (Infinity Publishing, 2003), a novel about the national lottery, and Tick Tock, Don't Stop: A Manual for Workaholics (Infinity Publishing, 2003). Evan Selinger '96 has published Chasing Technoscience: Matrix for Materiality (Indiana University Press, 2003), a book he co-edited with Don Ihde. Cindy Schwarz '80 has published Tales from the Subatomic Zoo (Small World Books, 2002), a collection of stories and poems about subatomic particles written by her students at Vassar College. TOP

Alumni Association Awards

Four alumni and a friend of the University were honored as recipients of Alumni Association awards at the Excellence Awards Dinner held on campus Oct. 21. They included:

Edward Weisband Award

Clyde Ikeda '73, MD, was honored as the recipient of the 2002 Edward Weisband Distinguished Alumnus Award for Public Service or Contributions to Public Affairs.

Ikeda, who graduated from Harpur College with outstanding academic honors in English, earned his MD from New York Medical College in 1979 and went on to became a board-certified plastic surgeon. Specializing in burns and wounds, Ikeda has been the volunteer director for San Francisco's Bothin Burn Center since 1992. He also established the Wound Clinic and volunteered as its director.

Ikeda served on the board of directors for San Francisco's St. Vincent de Paul Society, which helps the homeless, substance abusers, and abused women and children. During his tenure he was instrumental in starting a 24-bed clinic at the Osmand Substance Abuse Center. In recognition of his contributions to his community, San Francisco's then-Mayor Willie Brown proclaimed Nov. 9, 2001, to be Clyde Ikeda, MD, Day.

In addition to treating hundreds of indigent burn and wound victims in the Bay Area, for the last 15 years Ikeda has led medical teams to Guatemala to perform charitable surgery for thousands of Mayan Indians at the Hospital de la Familia in Nuevo Progresso, 170 miles north of Guatemala City. He has also served as their medical director since 2000.

"I assure you there is nothing more gratifying than returning a baby whose cleft lip we have repaired to his mother," Ikeda wrote, in reference to his involvement with the Hospital de la Familia in the summer 1997 issue of the Binghamton Alumni Journal. "Her smile radiates. And she speaks softly one word: ÔGracias.Ô"

Glenn G. Bartle Award

Martin Triano '76 was named recipient of the Glenn G. Bartle Distinguished Alumnus Award, which recognizes and honors a graduate who has distinguished himself or herself since graduating and serves as a memorial to Dr. Glenn G. Bartle, first president of Harpur College.

Triano, a distinguished attorney in San Francisco, began his relationship with the Alumni Association in 1990 as chair of the Bay Area Alumni Club. In 1993 he received the Alumni Program Development Award. In 1994 he was elected to the Alumni Association Board of Directors and served as president from 1999 to 2002. Focusing on the issue of alumni networking, Triano cultivated relationships with employers on the West Coast to encourage them to hire Binghamton students as interns and for permanent jobs, as well as assisting in the pursuit of grants and research funds. A founding member of the Harpur College Alumni National Law Advisory Council, he helped to establish internships and a scholarship program for Binghamton's pre-law students and to provide a networking opportunity for alumni in the legal profession.

Triano also served as a leadership gift volunteer for the Binghamton University Foundation and ex officio on the steering committee of the "Believe in Binghamton" campaign, hosted fundraising events and, as a donor, established a scholarship for California students. The Alumni Association's third long-range plan was created under his tenure; he established a liaison committee with the Career Development Center and the schools of the University to explore ways of engaging alumni in providing internships and job opportunities for new graduates; and he established a presence for the Alumni Association at the schools' Commencement recognition ceremonies. In many ways, he has helped set the stage for BU to continue to enrich the lives of deserving and talented students going forward into the world.

Special Recognition Award

Paula A. Brightwell '97 and Gary C. Meltzer '85 were named recipients of the Alumni Association Special Recognition Award for their efforts to enhance the University through the Alumni Association.

Brightwell, executive assistant and product manager for Benamy International/Houseworks Ltd. in Atlanta, has served as alumni network coordinator for the Atlanta area for more than four years, planning several events each year, including socials, receptions around sporting events and educational programming. As co-coordinator of Atlanta's SUNY Alumni Network, Brightwell brings area alumni of all SUNY institutions together on a regular basis.

She also consults with fellow network coordinators on ways to serve alumni better and has repeatedly demonstrated efforts to enhance the University through the Alumni Association and the Division of External Affairs. Meltzer, a CPA and assurance and business advisory services partner for PricewaterhouseCoopers in the Investment Industry Services Group in New York, is the driving force behind the School of Management's PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Honors Program, which offers exceptional students a challenging expansion of their studies in the form of written and oral communications projects and extensive interactions with faculty and each other. In addition, he is involved in recruiting efforts for the program and, most recently, the creation of the PwC Minority Recruitment Initiative.

Meltzer is also an active and long-time member of SOM's Metro Advisory Board. Meltzer and his wife, Rina Ross Meltzer '85, hosted the third and fourth SOM golf tournaments, the school's largest annual fundraiser, which provides a four-year, full-tuition scholarship for an SOM freshman. His continued involvement and support has created many benefits for the School of Management and opportunities for its students to achieve their aspirations.

Distinguished Service Award

Burton I. "Bud" Koffman was named recipient of the Distinguished Service Award, given in recognition of a person whose life and significant achievements serve as examples of the University's aspirations for its students.

Koffman, president of K6, Inc. in Vestal, is a graduate of the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and was a standout player in Ivy League football. He enjoys a family connection to the University, as his wife, Ruthanne Koffman '82, MA '84, received her bachelor's and master's degrees from the School of Education and Human Development.

Koffman is a long-time member of the Harpur Forum and a founding member of this key University-community group. He participated in the feasibility study for Binghamton's first comprehensive gifts campaign, "Believe in Binghamton"; was a member of the School of Management Advisory Board; and serves as a judge for the Student Business Plan Competition in the School of Management's Entrepreneurship Program. He has also established an endowed fellowship in the School of Management. Koffman is a long-time member of the Binghamton University Athletic Club and a member of the steering committee for "Building the Legacy," the fundraising campaign for the Events Center and University athletics programs. Known for his business acumen, Koffman willingly shares his experiences with Binghamton students aspiring to achieve corporate success.