Alumni Accomplishments
Having recently sent us a picture of a church named for St. Lawrence
in Utah, Barbara Miller “BJ” Fontaine ’65 has
now located two more for us in the Cotswolds region of England. St.
Lawrence Church stands near Ha-Penny Bridge, Lechlade, while St. Lawrence’s
Church is in Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire. The sharp-eyed
who are also aware of the five-hour time difference will note that
the latter church was getting a Service of Thanksgiving under way at
the very moment at which St. Lawrence University began its Commencement
exercises on May 16, 2004.
Two retired teachers were honored by the St. Lawrence Area Retired
Teachers Association at its meeting in Canton in June. Receiving “Apple
for the Teacher” awards for loyalty to their community and to
education were Ruth Johnston Chisholm ’55, M’62,
left, and Mary Gleason Colton ’60,
M’65. Chisholm had a 30-year career in Canton, teaching
middle and high school sciences and math, while Colton taught social
studies in Potsdam and later in Canton.
Dennis P. Ryan ’86 was recently named executive
deputy commissioner of the New York State Department of Labor. He is
pictured delivering the keynote address at the Memorial Day 2004 Commemorative
Service at the Veterans Memorials on the Harriman State Office Campus
in Albany. Ryan is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the
department, which is the primary agent for job creation and economic
growth and workforce development in the state. He was previously with
the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal, where he was acting
commissioner for eight months. He has also represented Governor George
Pataki in Washington, D.C., and worked for U.S. Rep Rick Lazio. He
and his wife, Robyn, and their three children live in Delmar, N.Y.
Dr. Edward Attarian ’52 has been honored with a gift of $1
million from H. Wayne and Marti Huizenga, via the Huizenga Family Foundation,
to the Cleveland Clinic Florida Weston in Dr. Attarian's name, for
the Attarian-Huizenga Department of Executive and International Health.
Dr. Attarian retired from medical practice at the clinic on December
31, 2003 ; he had been chair of that department. Pictured at announcement
ceremonies are, from left, Wayne and Marti Huizenga and Mary Lou Cole
Attarian ’52 and Ed Attarian. The gift will be applied to a chair
in Dr. Attarian’s name in the department, and for cancer research.
In announcing the gift, Huizenga acknowledged the care he had received
from Dr. Attarian, who said later, “My entire professional career
started with my scholarship at SLU, and I have always been very grateful
for that. I have been very proud of the University and all the help
they gave me.”
Leadership Buffalo (N.Y.) has named Mary Jo Faucher Hunt ’76,
left, executive director, effective in October 2004. She is pictured
with Tony Colucci III ’80, president of the
board of the 17-year-old leadership training group.
Hunt is a past president of the Junior League of Buffalo, and serves
as co-chair of the 2004 campaign for the United Way of Buffalo and
Erie County with her husband, St. Lawrence Trustee Peter ’75,
a real estate executive. She also has firsthand knowledge with Leadership
Buffalo, having been part of the effort that created the organization
and graduated from its centerpiece training program in 1990. She previously
served on its board.
Leadership Buffalo is best known for the "class experience" program
that Hunt and more than 800 other people have completed: a series of
sessions over the course of a year that expose class members to a range
of community issues, from law enforcement to education. The organization
also runs programs for young people and for executives new to the Buffalo
region.
Colucci said Hunt is good at both leading and lending a hand to community
activities to make sure they succeed. “She's a player-coach,” he
said.
A psychology and government major at St. Lawrence, Hunt earned a master's
degree in elementary education with a specialty in urban education
at SUNY Buffalo and taught in the Buffalo Public Schools; she has also
held other education-related positions. She and her husband are the
parents of four children, including Emily ’04.
Donald
David ’77 , professor and coordinator
of the award-winning design, technology and stage management program
at Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio, was named the first recipient
of the Outstanding Teacher Award in the College of Liberal Arts last
spring. To be chosen by an outside selection committee from among more
than 100 tenured liberal arts faculty “is an honor and it’s
humbling,” he told a Dayton Daily News reporter. Professor
David teaches scenic technology and design, designs the sets for campus
productions and sometimes plays supporting roles on stage. He holds an
MFA in theater design, technology and stage management from the University
of Utah . According to the newspaper article, while at St. Lawrence David
spotted a call for Noble Center (now Gulick) Theatre scenery builders, “and
that was that.” “I remember fondly the hours spent building
scenery in that shop behind the theatre,” he says. “It was
my time doing theatre at SLU that led me to where I am now. And after
25 years teaching, I still love what I do and wouldn't change anything.”
Patrick Farmer ’74 , a two-time national coach of the
year honoree, has been hired as the second women's soccer head coach in Syracuse
University program history. Most recently he was head coach at Tennessee Tech
and prior to that at Ithaca College and Penn State; he developed winning programs
at each (in 15 seasons, he compiled a 242-68-31 record). In 2003 he was tied
for ninth in winning percentage for NCAA women’s soccer coaches in all
divisions. In 2001 he was head coach for the professional New York Power in the
Women’s United Soccer Association, finishing third after the play-off semifinals.
From 1976 through 1987 he was women’s soccer coach (capturing six league
titles and three sectional championships) and ski coach at the Town of Webb (Old
Forge) Schools, in his hometown. Farmer was named the 1989 National Soccer Coaches
Association of America (NSCAA) Division III National Coach of the Year. In 1990
and 1991, his Ithaca College team won the Division III national championship.
Farmer was hired to start the women's soccer program at Penn State in 1994. By
his second season, he had pushed the Nittany Lions into the NCAA Division I Tournament.
Penn State reached the national quarterfinals for the first of three consecutive
campaigns in 1998 and then, in 1999, advanced to the semifinals. Farmer was the
NSCAA Division I Coach of the Year that season. He has served as a member of
the Region I Olympic Development Program Staff for 15 years, including the last
11 as a senior staff member with head or assistant coaching assignments.
The National Rifle Association (NRA) has announced that Special Projects Manager Joe
Kerper ’00 has won a second-place award in the “Good
Shots, Great Stories” contest conducted by the National Shooting Sports
Foundation. Kerper won in the category “Outdoor Magazines over 50,000” circulation
for his story “Hunting in Good Company” in the January 2004 issue
of American Hunter. The story focused on the NRA’s Youth Hunter
Education Challenge.
Kerper is in his fourth year with the NRA and until recently held the position
of senior communications specialist. He has worked as a newspaper reporter,
photographer and federal park ranger. “It’s a great honor to be
recognized for writing about introducing more young people to the hunting and
shooting sports,” commented Kerper.
“Joe Kerper’s writing ability has been evident to us for years,” said
Craig D. Sandler, the NRA’s executive director of general operations. “This
is a well-deserved award, and it’s gratifying to see him earn the recognition.”
Michael N. O'Keefe ’75 has been named president and
CEO of Evangelical Community Hospital, Lewisburg , Pa. He has been a member
of the hospital's administration for 13 years, first serving as vice president
of operations and then as the hospital's first executive vice president and
COO. A government major and member of the football and track teams at St. Lawrence,
O’Keefe
earned his MPA from American University and began his career in healthcare administration
in 1977 at Community-General Hospital in Syracuse , N.Y. He is a member of the
American College of Healthcare Executives and serves locally on boards of directors
of Swineford National Bank and Union-Snyder Habitat for Humanity. He is also
a division chair of the Campaign for Downtown Lewisburg. He and his wife, Gail,
are the parents of three grown daughters: Molly, Erin and Kerry.
Terry
Surles ’66 has been appointed vice president
for the Electricity Innovation Institute, a non-profit research and development
organization affiliated with the Electric Power Research Institute in Palo
Alto , Cal. Surles has more than 30 years of experience in analyzing and studying
energy and environmental issues. He served most recently as program manager
of the Public Interest Energy Research Program and as assistant director for
science and technology for the California Energy Commission. He spent most
of his prior career in the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Laboratory
system, most recently at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he was
associate director for energy programs. Previously
he spent 19 years at Argonne National Laboratory, where his most recent position
was general manager for environmental programs. In 1997–1998, California
Gov. Pete Wilson named Surles deputy secretary for science and technology at
the California Environmental Protection Agency. There, he enhanced the state’s
technology certification program, the first of its kind in the United States
, which received several awards for governmental innovation. He holds a doctorate
in analytical chemistry from Michigan State . The media relations manager at
the Electric Power Research Institute is Christine Hopf-Lovette ’63.
A
year ago, Wayne Morgan ’73 became the head men’s
basketball coach at Iowa State after pictures of his predecessor partying in
apartment after a lost game were published. According to the ISU Web site, “Iowa
State (20-13) ended its 2003-04 season as one of the hottest teams in the nation,
advancing to the NIT Final Four in New York City...much of the credit should
go to first-year head coach Wayne
Morgan, who inherited a program in turmoil last May [2003]...Morgan kept
the Cyclones improving throughout the season, recording the second-best win
total for an ISU first-year head coach.”
Sue Engle ’97 has been appointed a leadership gifts
officer at SUNY Cortland. Her duties as an officer are to "increase the
college's support and endowment through gifts from alumni, parents and friends." Previously,
she was an assistant director of development at the Media Research Center in
Alexandria , Va. While there she served as executive secretary to the Board
of Trustees and was presented with a 2002 Presidential Award as the Outstanding
Employee. Before that, she was a government relations assistant with the Automotive
Service Industry Association in Washington , D.C. A member of KDS who took
part in the Washington semester, she lives in Cazenovia , N.Y.
Morgan “Mo” Cassara ’97 is
the new head men’s basketball coach at Clark University in Worcester,
Mass. Cassara, who was an assistant coach at the University of Dayton, a Division
I program, in 2003-04, was head coach at Worcester Academy for four seasons;
he was 89-20 at Worcester, culminating in the New England Prep School championship
in his final year. He also has collegiate coaching experience at The Citadel
and Washington & Lee.
He helped Dayton to an NCAA Tournament appearance last year, but said his background
is Division III, including a four-year career as a player at St. Lawrence.
Carolyn Waszkiewicz ’00 was recently named office manager
for Faster-Form Corporation, the parent company to multiple divisions serving
the wholesale and retail floral industry, the retail giftware industry and
original equipment manufacturers. She serves in a supervisory capacity and
is responsible for human relations, ERISA and Affirmative Action compliance,
Total Quality Management procedures, accounting, payroll and purchasing for
10 Faster-Form divisions. Faster-Form is a domestic manufacturer of floral
supplies, giftware, displays, preserved bridal bouquets and preserved sympathy
floral arrangements.
Carolyn has over two years of managerial experience with Faster-Form, which
is headquartered in New Hartford, N.Y. She has an MBA from the University of
Miami. After graduating from St. Lawrence, she was a traveling consultant for
Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity, visiting over 30 KKG chapters nationwide during
2000-01 to provide assistance in chapter organization and programming.
