1949
Dr. George Holden, ’49, (music ed.) retired from Northern Illinois University in 1986, and from his private practice in psychology in 1987. He directed choirs, bands and a bell choir at a senior center in Denton, Texas, from 1988 until 1999. Holden now lives in Manhattan, takes classes at the New School, and is enjoying New York City.
1956
Fr. William “Bill” Persia, ’56, CSC, (music ed.) has moved from North Dartmouth, Mass., to Dade City, Fla., to assist with the Spanish apostolate as parochial vicar at St. Rita Catholic Church.
1969
Brian J. O’Donnell, ’69, (history) of Watkins Glen, N.Y., retired in 2003 after 35 years in public education. Since 2004 he has been supervisor of student teachers and an adjunct professor of education at Elmira College.
Roberta Guaspari, ’69, (music ed.) led 26 violin students from the Opus 118 Harlem School of Music in a performance during the Presidential Inaugural Ball in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 18. Ms. Guaspari, co-founder and artistic director of Opus 118, and her students, performed for 2,000 guests at the Historical Society of Washington, one of the festivities celebrating the swearing-in of President Barack . Opus 118 provides classical music training for 250 underserved children in the East Harlem (N.Y.) area as well as 100 students in its after-school program, and was the subject of “Music of the Heart,” a 1999 feature film starring Meryl Streep in the Academy Award-nominated role of Roberta.
1970
Paul Nawrocki, ’70, (English) employed a unique job search strategy, use of a sandwich board reading “Almost Homeless,” to seek work on the streets of Manhattan. The efforts of the former toy-industry executive garnered attention from Business Week and CNN. He and Louise (Contella), ’72, (theatre) live in Beacon, N.Y., and have a daughter, Lila.
Linda (Stradley) Staiger, ’70, (music ed.) is retired from Alfred Almond (N.Y.) Central School, but continues to be busy with music activities.
1971
David R. Cooper, ’71, (math./sec. ed.) is in his 38th year of teaching mathematics at Herrick High School in New Hyde Park, N.Y.
Alexander DuBrow, ’71, (psych.) of Haymarket, Va., was inducted into the Cambridge Who’s Who Executive, Professional and Entrepreneurial Registry. He specializes in providing strategic advice to management in the aerospace and defense industries. He formerly worked for Booz Allen, Accenture, Eastman Kodak and Johnson & Johnson, and for years owned his own consulting business, Avonis, Inc. Alexander also founded US Sage, Inc., for the Sage Group plc. of England, one of the largest PC software companies in the world. In 2008 he received a Patent Award for an RFID Standards-Agnostic Middleware capable of being embedded in a microchip for readers.
Onaje Allan Gumbs, ’71, (music ed.) appeared in a “Post Turkey Day Jazz Celebration” at Sweet Rhythm in New York City in November 2008.
William J. Pendziwiatr, ’71, (music ed.) will be on the spring ballot for president of the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA), the state’s chapter of the Music Educators National Conference (MENC). He has already served as one of 12 district presidents and received the PMEA Citation of Excellence in 2002. William was band director at Crestwood High School from 1984 until 2005.
1972
Regional storyteller Dennis Collins, ’72, (social studies/sec. ed.) performed at the Storytelling Cabaret during the Fredonia Storytelling Festival in October 2008 at the 1891 Fredonia Opera House.
Louise (Contella) Nawrocki, ’72, (theatre) see 1970.
Dr. Mary Evelyn Tucker, ’72, (English) gave the 20th annual Martin Lecture in Religion at Wheaton College in September 2008. Dr. Tucker is a senior lecturer and scholar at the Yale School of Environmental and Forestry Studies, and the Yale Divinity School.
1973
Karen (Townsend) Almdale, ’73, (speech and hear. hand.) just started her third year as the special educator in the fifth and sixth grade academy at Pinedale (Wyom.) Middle School. She and her husband, Scott, have a 10-acre mini-ranch and enjoy horseback riding, being in the Wind River Mountains, and traveling the short distance to Jackson Hole for a night out.
Barbara Byrnes-Lenarcic, ’73, (psych.) a self-employed freelance arts writer, received the Cile Bach Award in March 2008 from the Denver (Colo.) Art Museum for outstanding volunteer commitment and leadership. She’s been a docent at the museum since 1995.
Maxine Davis, ’73, (music ed.) has been teaching the Feldenkrais Method and voice since 1991 at the 92nd St. Y in New York City, at Chautauqua Institution in the summers, and privately. She has created a website, www.maxinedavis.net and was interviewed for four articles appearing in Classical Singer magazine in October 2008 through January.
1974
Jill (Rosen) Berusch, ’74, (elem. ed./early child.) is still teaching in Gwinnett County, Ga., and would like to hear from classmates.
Susan (Hollowell) Hardy, ’74, (English/sec. ed.) of Fredonia, N.Y., is serving her first term as president of the Brocton Central School Board of Education. She reports that the Brocton and Fredonia school districts are engaged in a centralization study – one of only two such studies in the state.
Mary McDonnell, ’74, (theatre) guest-starred in November and December 2008 on “Grey’s Anatomy” on ABC-TV. She portrayed heart surgeon, Dr. Virginia Dixon, who suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome.
Dr. Gennaro (Jerry) Vito, ’74, (history) has been named a Distinguished University Scholar at the University of Louisville (Ky.). He is a professor in its Department of Justice Administration and also serves as a faculty member in the Administrative Officers’ Course at the Southern Police Institute, vice chair and graduate program coordinator. Vito has been principal or co-principal investigator on over 40 research grant projects, the author of 70 professional, refereed journal articles, and the co-author of nine textbooks in criminal justice and criminology.
1975
Dr. Hannes Leetaru, ’75, (geology) was a guest speaker for SUNY Fredonia geosciences students in October 2008 with his talk, “Our Energy Future: Wind, Bio-Fuels, Water, Solar, Nuclear and Coal.”
1976
Emma (Sharp) McFayden, ’76, (elem. ed.) was one of 20 Western New Yorkers honored in October 2008 at the 36th annual Black Achievers in Industry Awards. She and her husband, Keith, ’77, (bus. admin.) celebrated 30 years of marriage on Nov. 1, 2008. Emma is also a member of the Fredonia Alumni Association Board of Directors.
Dr. Deborah (Anders) Silverman, ’76, ’79, (music ed., English) of Hamburg, N.Y., was elected as a Director-at Large to the national board of the Public Relations Society of America.
Steven Wickmark, ’76, (sociology, pol. sci.) was named Chautauqua County’s new commissioner of Social Services by County Executive Greg Edwards. He is administering the county’s Temporary Assistance, Medical Assistance, and Children and Family Services programs. Prior to relocating back to Western New York, Steven was director of Field Operations for the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, Children’s Administration.
1977
Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) District Superintendent Robert Guiffreda,’77, ’83, ’93, (elem. ed., math. 7-12, and school admin./super.) and Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce president and Manufacturers Association of the Southern Tier Executive Director Todd Tranum, ’94, (pol. sci.) were panelists at the first of four forums in, “The Lundine Series,” which focused on county school consolidation and was held at SUNY Fredonia in December 2008. Observer Publisher John D’Agostino, ’92, (English) served as moderator of the forum, sponsored by the university’s Center for Rural Regional Development and Governance, the chamber of commerce, and the manufacturers association, and based on the recommendations in the report of the Lundine Commission headed by former New York State Lieutenant Governor Stan Lundine.
A musical work composed by Roland Martin, ’77, (music ed.) “A Rose Beside the Water,” a song cycle based on poems by Pablo Neruda, was performed by the Buffalo Chamber Players during its October 2008 concert.
Christina Rausa, ’77, (theatre) of Fredonia, N.Y., gave a preview performance of her one-person show, “The Belle of Amherst” at the Intermezzo Coffee House in Fredonia, N.Y., followed by a performance at the Buffalo Seminary as a benefit for Buffalo’s Shakespeare in the (Delaware) Park summer series.
1981
Dr. Thomas Erdmann, ’81, (music ed.) teaches trumpet and jazz studies at Elon (N.C.) University and is director of the Elon University Symphony Orchestra. He has published over
70 articles, over 200 reviews of compact discs, books and music; is the author of two books, and is on the staff of JazzReview.Com and the jazz editor of the International Trumpet Guild Journal.
Sue Lichtenberg, ’81, (music ed.) plans to retire after 25 very successful years of teaching music. Currently, Sue is the band director at Marlboro (N.Y.) High School and prior to that was band director at New Paltz Middle School. She adds, “It has been a great ride and SUNY Fredonia gave me the tools that I needed to make my career what I wanted it to be.” She would love to hear from old friends at lichts@aol.com.
1982
Patricia D. (Bowen) Barger, ’82, (elem. ed./early child.) of Westfield, N.Y., has been a co-owner and manager of Barger Farms grape farm for 29 years and a substitute teacher.
1983
A group of 1983 SUNY Fredonia graduates celebrated its 25th year reunion at Da Tommaso restaurant in New York City including Mary Hoffman (bus. admin.), Fran (McAniff) Ricci (commun.), Teresa Zugger (applied music), Cari Pokrassa (commun.) and Gail (Mechlowitz) Stocks (bus. admin.).
Robert Kerr, ’83, (biology) is president of Kerr Environmental Services Corp. of Virginia Beach, Va.
Alumnus B.J. Smith Jr., ’83, (special studies) met at Penn Yan, N.Y., in July 2008 with Michael Senyk, ’96, (biology) along the Five Hundred Miles Across New York bicycle ride to benefit the Double H Ranch, a camp in Lake Luzerne, N.Y., for critically ill children. B.J. served as a resident assistant at Eisenhower Hall at SUNY Fredonia from 1982 to 1983 and Michael was a graduate residence director of Chautauqua Hall from 1982 to 1984.
1984
Adam Barone, ’84, (commun.) is managing director and Michael Marinelli,’85, (commun.), one of two lead mixers, of the new audio post house Sonic Union, launched recently in Manhattan’s Union Square. The two met at SUNY Fredonia while working on WNYF projects in the basement of Jewett Hall. Adam noted, “Both of us were interested in audio for television, took different paths for many years, and wound up working together to open Sonic Union.” The new company was featured in articles in Screen Magazine and Post, a technology website.
Originally suitemates in Fall 1980, a group of friends have had a reunion every three years since leaving SUNY Fredonia in 1984. Distance, they say, is never an issue. In July 2008 they met in Rochester, N.Y., and include Lisa (D’Anna) Johnson (speech and hear. hand.), Adrienne (Norris) Petty (elem. ed.), Francesca (Falbo) Raycraft (elem. ed.), Jeannine (Chriest) Thornton, Teresa (Bauer) Brown (psych.), Lynn (Napolitano) Vasquez, and Jody (Moskowitz) Rowe (sociology).
Ronald E. Perison, ’84, (pol. sci., coop. engineer.) of Laurel, Md., became Space Department assistant group supervisor at Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Lab in 2007 after retiring from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
1985
Sue (LaWall), ’86, (bus. admin.) and Tony Cortese, ’85, (psych.) report from their home in Holland, Mich., that Tony was promoted to senior vice president overseeing human resources, safety, security and the environmental department at Herman Miller, Inc. Sue has started a business hand dyeing fabric for quilters.
Michael Marinelli,’85, (commun.) see 1984.
Numa Saisselin, ’85, (music ed.) has been the CEO of the Count Basie Theatre, a 1,500-seat historic theater in Red Bank, N.J., since 2002. He is also a board member of the League of Historic American Theatres, and the producer of the Jersey Shore Rock-N-Roll Revue.
Matthew Weidman, ’85, (bus. admin.) completed the New York City Marathon in November 2008 with his wife, Kimberly, in less than four hours. They live in Guilford, Conn., with their three young children.
1986
Connie “CJ” (Sawyer) Druzbik, ’86, (English/sec. ed.) was promoted to client account manager for First Niagara Risk Management’s Benefits Consulting Division in Buffalo, N.Y. She lives in Orchard Park with her husband, Paul, and they have two sons, Jake, 14, and Sam, 10. She would love to hear from old friends at cjdruzbik@hotmail.com.
Richard Vallari, ’86, (account.) became a licensed CPA in the State of Nevada in November 2008 and received his Certified Mortgage Instructor (CMI) designation in September 2008. He is a tax supervisor for Stewart Archibald Barney, LLP of Las Vegas, Nev.
1987
William Haus, ’87, (bus. admin., econ.) has been named a member of the board of directors of China Valves Technology, Inc., a leading valve manufacturer in the People’s Republic of China. William is a Chartered Financial Analyst and earned his M.B.A. from Boston University. He is CEO and director of CS China Acquisition Corp., a NASDAQ OTCBB listed Special Purpose Acquisition Corporation.
1988
Sue Mohnkern, ’88, (art) is director of music at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Erie, Pa.
Julie (Winters) Raplee, ’88, ’89, (speech and hear. hand., speech path.)
has been named chairperson of the Communication Studies department at St. Joseph’s College in Patchogue, Long Island. She lives in Manorville, Long Island, with her husband, Edward, ’89, (bus. admin.) and their son, Matt, 12, and daughter, Brooke, 9.
Daniel Vinton, CIA, CFE, ’88, (bus. admin.) of Charlotte, N.C., is an audit manager for Hungerford Vinton, LLC. With the company since 2001, Dan specializes in recovery audits in which he has recovered several millions of dollars for his clients. He and his wife, Laura, have two sons, Kyle and Andrew.
1989
Edward Raplee, ’89, (bus. admin.) see 1988.
1990
A family connection to the Parmount Vantage movie, “Defiance,” released on Jan. 16, was reported by Brendon Rennert, ’90, (bus. admin.). Brendon’s grandfather is Tuvia Bielski, portrayed by Daniel Craig in the movie, which is based on a true story of Brendon’s grandparents’ survival of the Holocaust and the Bielski brothers’ efforts to help save Jews in Belarus by fleeing with them to forested lands and coordinating resistance efforts against the Nazis. Brendon is a major account executive with Qwest in Tampa, Fla., and also works with the Florida Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg, Fla., which has put together the traveling exhibit, “Courage and Compassion: The Legacy of the Bielski Brothers.”
Fr. Gerard Gentleman, ’90, (theatre arts) is a priest of the Diocese of Rockville Centre (N.Y.), ordained in 1997. He is the chaplain of Holy Trinity Diocesan High School in Hicksville, N.Y., and the chaplain of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, Catholic Committee on Scouting for Boy and Girl Scouts.
Christopher Springer, ’90, (theatre) and Todd Giglio’s, ’90, (acting) indie full-length feature, “Drawing With Chalk,” was released around the end of the year, with a possible screening to come at SUNY Fredonia.
1991
Timothy Delgado, ’91, (math./sec. ed.) is customer operations manager for Tops Supermarket in Cortland, N.Y., and would like to hear from old friends.
Julie “Jules” Macaluso, ’91, (commun.) lives in San Francisco, Calif., and is business manager at NextLight Renewable Power, LLC, a utility-scale renewable energy development firm. She is also completing her M.B.A. in sustainable management at the Presidio School of Management.
On the Department of Theatre and Dance blog, “TADA!” it was noted that Chris May, ’91, (theatre) reported that six SUNY Fredonia alumni electricians and a scenic artist now work at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City, and John Rooney, ’04, (theater prod. and design) has “moved up” to become one of the Met’s two board operators.
David Payne, CASAC, ’91, (English/sec. ed.) has been named program director at the Horizon Village Recovery Center. He will provide clinical and operational oversight of the organization’s outpatient clinic in Batavia, N.Y. He joined Horizon Health Services in 2007.
Thomas M. Tette, CPA, ’91, (account.) a partner with Daly Sirianni & Co. CPAs, LLP, of Victor, N.Y., was recognized by the Rochester Business Journal as one of the city’s “Forty Under 40.”
1992
John D’Agostino, ’92, (English) see 1977.
Steve Matthews, ’93, (commun.) works for Wegmans.
Rohan Patrick, ’92, (art) has returned to the area as co-owner/manager of the historic White Inn in Fredonia, N.Y.
Mike Thornton, ’92, (commun.) was promoted to vice president of the Philadelphia Phantoms, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers. He had been director of Public Relations for the Phantoms since 2005. He resides in West Chester, N.Y., with his family.
Gary Vellam, ’92, (art) worked with members of the Fredonia (N.Y.) Potter’s Co-op and SUNY Fredonia students, faculty, and staff to create bowls for a fundraising project to benefit the Friendly Kitchen in Dunkirk, N.Y., in an effort coordinated by Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus Marvin Bjurlin.
1993
Colleen (Quigley) Green, ’93, (musical theatre) is directing the Off Broadway Children’s Theatre spring production of “Honk Jr.” A freelance director, voice teacher and drama coach, Colleen had been executive artistic director of the Historic Holly Theatre in Dahlonega, Ga. for seven years, where she created its Holly Children’s Theatre program.
U.S. Army Capt. Ricky Snell, ’93, (bus. admin.) is stationed in Afghanistan. The Educational Development Program staff and Director of Alumni Affairs Patty Feraldi teamed together to send Ricky some SUNY Fredonia items and edible treats to share with his troops as a morale booster.
A group of SUNY Fredonia alumni has been getting together for the last 14 years for a weekend in the Adirondacks. Attendees at the 2008 reunion included Mike Spaulding, ’93 (bus. admin.); Clay Cole, ’94 (elem. ed./gen. sci.); Stacy Darrah, ’94 (commun.); Chad Rainey, ’94 (sound rec. technology); Mike Hohman, ’94 (psych); Keith Butler, ’94 (geology); and Tae (Ciardi) Smith, ’94 (English).
C. Patrick Swick, ’93, (elem. ed.) teaches at Northwestern Middle School in Albion, Pa., and coaches basketball at Penn State Behrend.
Katie White, ’93, (theatre) appeared in a critically-acclaimed production of the 1997 Pulitzer Prize-winning play, “The Rabbit Hole,” at the Alleyway Theatre in Buffalo, N.Y. She went from that immediately to the Buffalo United Artist production of John Patrick Shanley’s “Doubt,” playing the role of Sister James.
1994
W. Keith Chartrand, ’94, (commun.) is sports director for The Villages Daily Sun newspaper, a 42,000 circulation paper published in the area about an hour north of Orlando, Fla. At the 2008 Florida Press Club awards banquet, the Daily Sun sports staff swept all three sports categories: first place in general excellence game stories, column writing and feature writing, the last won by Keith.
Kimberly Moritz, ’94, (elem. ed./curr. and instr.) was named superintendent of Randolph (N.Y.) Central School. Her daughter, Bryana, is a senior at SUNY Fredonia.
Timothy D. Saur, CPA/CMA, ’94, (account.) was recognized by the Rochester Business Journal as one of the city’s “Forty Under 40.” He is COO of Durst Image Technology OS LLC –Durst Phototechnik Ag, of Rochester, N.Y.
Janeen (Stefl) (music therapy) and Gregory Thompson, ’94, (sound rec. technology) reported in from Brooklyn, N.Y. Greg is a freelance audio engineer for ABC-TV and Janeen is director of Volunteers for the Hospice Department of the Visiting Nurse Service of New York. They have two sons, Jonathan, 5, and Liam, 3.
Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce President and Manufacturers Association of the Southern Tier Executive Director Todd Tranum, ’94, (pol. sci.) was selected to serve on the board of directors for the Chamber Alliance of New York State, an affiliate of The Business Council of New York State, and also as a member of the advisory board of SUNY Fredonia’s Center for Rural Regional Development and Governance. See also 1977.
1995
Michelle (Thielmann) Mattheus, ’95, (elem. ed./Spanish) is a special education teacher in Alden (N.Y.)
Dr. Amy (Diegelman) (biology) and John Parente, ’95, (biology) work at the Penn State Altoona campus; Amy as an assistant professor of biochemistry, and John as men’s soccer coach and director of Recreation and Facilities manager. They live in Altoona with their sons, 3-year-old Sam and 3-month-old John.
1996
Ben Conrick, ’96, (English/sec. ed.) is director of Certification and Professional Development at the City on a Hill Charter School in Boston, Mass.
Jeff Lupu, ’96, (psych.) of Oxford, Mich., SUNY Fredonia’s all-time leading scorer in men’s ice hockey, was a guest speaker at the Fredonia Blue Devils’ pre-game meal in December 2008 in Ann Arbor, Mich., prior to the hockey team’s game against the U.S. National Under-18 team.
Michael Senyk, ’96, (biology) see 1983.
1997
Andrew Alesso, ’97, (music therapy) continues as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor at Harborcreek Youth Services. He recently was music director and pianist for productions of “My Way – A Tribute to Frank Sinatra” and “Forever Plaid – Plaid Tidings” at the Riverside Inn Theatre, as well as played piano and sang at several schools and churches in Erie, Pa.
Natalie Palermo, ’97, (commun.) lives in Webster, N.Y., and was recently granted tenure as an art teacher in the Webster Central School District. She is currently working on a children’s book for art education.
1998
Dr. Michael Eglin, ’98, (music comp.) recently completed his Ph.D. in Music Composition at the University of California at Santa Barbara and his choral works are published through Santa Barbara Music Publishing. Michael teaches at Santa Barbara City College, as well as serves as director of music/organist at Elmo Presbyterian Church and artistic director for the eight-voice a cappella group, the Adelfos Ensemble. In addition, his works, plus those of Professor Emeritus Donald Bohlen and Carmen Jude Aquila, ’98, (music comp.) were performed at the event, “In Celebration of Emily Dickinson” sponsored by the Northport (N.Y.) Art Coalition in cooperation with the Northport/East Northport Library.
Melissa Kate (Miller), ’98, (musical theatre) of Buffalo, N.Y., has joined “Artfully Aware,” an organization promoting human rights through the arts, and serves as its drama consultant. She also continues to perform a “sultry cabaret blues” act.
1999
Todd D. Bowlus, Esq.,’99, (history) an attorney with Harry S. Cohen and Associates, PC of Pittsburgh, Pa., was selected as a 2008 Pennsylvania Rising Star by Super Lawyers magazine.
Amy Carothers, ’99, (English) moved to New York City following graduation, interned at Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, and has worked at Columbia University Press and HarperCollins Publishers. She switched her career path and for the past four years has been working with Broadway and touring shows at the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, Its Territories and Canada (IATSE) as a Broadway contract manager.
Carolyn Castiglia, ’99, (musical theatre) returned to SUNY Fredonia in October 2008 to perform her stand-up comedy routine in The Spot. She went on the road in October with the Obama Girls of Comedy.
Sarah (Phillips) Eglin, ’99, (music ed.) is children’s music director at El Montecito Presbyterian Church in Santa Barbara, Calif. She has been working extensively as a music director in youth theater for the last eight years and has a private piano studio of 15 students.
Law Tarello, ’99, (theatre) has taken a position at the Rochester (N.Y.) City School for the Arts, teaching theatre to students from seventh to 12th grade.
Tina Zboch-Kelley, ’99, (bus. admin.) of Fredonia, N.Y., is a December 2008 graduate of St. Bonaventure University with a Master of Arts degree in Integrated Marketing Communication.
2000
David Bova, 2000, (tech. prod./costuming) recently designed wigs for the national tour of “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” and has been teaching makeup and hair design in Chicago, Ill. He is also working for Cirque du Soleil’s production of “Wintuk,” and returned to SUNY Fredonia as hair and makeup designer for the Hillman Opera production of “The Magic Flute” in November 2008.
Marcus Goldhaber, 2000, (musical theatre) released his latest CD, “Take Me Anywhere,” in November 2008. He is a singer/songwriter in the New York City club scene specializing in vocal jazz stylings. The CD garnered a terrific review in the January 12 issue of People magazine.
2001
Jermaine Kenner, ’01, (econ.) has started to work on his Ph.D. in General Psychology through Capella University.
Juan J. Vazquez, ’01, (commun.) has been hired as director of Marketing and Public Affairs at the World Trade Center Buffalo Niagara, headquartered in Buffalo, N.Y.
2002
Katherine (Crawford) Beaver, ’02, ’05, (elem. ed., curr. and instr.) teaches fifth grade at Randolph (N.Y.) High School.
Meghanne A. Freivald, ’02, (elem. ed./English, theatre) has been named Alfred (N.Y.) University’s new instructional technologist in the Instructional Technology Services Department. She received her Master of Arts degree in educational theater from New York University. Before joining Alfred, Meghanne was an English as a second language teacher at the Monroe (County, N.Y.) #1 Board of Cooperative Educational Services’ adult education program in Fairport.
Kimberlee (Scheetz) Sheppard, MT-BC, ’02, (music therapy) is a music therapist at the Partners in Care/Together for Kids program at Hope Hospice and Community Services in Cape Coral, Fla. She was noted in an article printed in the Fort Myers News-Press for her work with a physically and developmentally challenged student whose dream was to perform the national anthem with his high school’s marching band; he realized his dream partly through Kim’s efforts and this past fall played cymbals several times during performances of the anthem with the Ida Baker Bulldogs marching band.
2003
Christina Olson, ’03, (commun.) earned her M.F.A. in creative writing from Minnesota State University, and is now a visiting professor of writing at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Adam Phillips, ’03, (musical theatre) recently released his debut album, “Come Home,” a collection of olde time hymns and gospel songs. He runs a private voice studio, teaches theater at the Montessori Center School, and is the cantor and psalmist at the Old Mission of Santa Barbara, Calif. Adam has also been very active as a soloist in several performance ensembles in the greater Santa Barbara area.
2004
Dan Rohanna, ’04, (econ.) of
Queens, N.Y., has joined the Brooklyn Aces professional ice hockey team as a defenseman.
John Rooney, ’04, (theater prod. and design) see 1991.
2005
Vanessa DeLand, ’05, (criminal justice) has been named an admissions associate at Jamestown (N.Y.) Business College.
Kyle Henning, ’05, (interdis. stud./music bus.) has been accepted into the Peace Corps and left in December 2008 to begin pre-service training as a health and economic development Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia. During his first three months of service, Kyle will live with a host family in Ethiopia to become fully immersed in the country’s language and culture.
Philip Razem, ’05, (English 7-12) is serving in the Peace Corps in Beibei, Chongquing, China.
2006
Michael Brown, ’06, (visual arts/graphic design) of Lake View, N.Y., has been hired by SKM Group, Inc., of Depew, N.Y., as a graphic designer, to serve primarily on the Tops Market account. Before joining SKM, Michael worked at CGI Communications, Inc. in Rochester, N.Y., as a graphic designer.
Jamel Corbett, ’06, (bus. admin.) is working for R.J. Reynolds Co., and living in Albany, N.Y. He earned his master’s degree in Multi-Disciplinary Studies/International Business from Buffalo State College.
Stephen Paratore, ’06, (commun./tv and digtl. film) is finishing up his master’s degree at the American Film Institute (AFI) and will receive his Master of Fine Arts in Producing in May. He is currently producing two thesis films at the school and over the summer of 2008 worked at Scott Rudin Productions and Carol Baum Productions in Los Angeles, Calif.
Lynn J. Wheat, ’06, (theatre prod. and design) began working at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. right out of college and is in her third year of teaching.
2007
Matt Borchard, ’07, (history) is goalkeeper coach of the men’s soccer team at St. John’s University.
Rachel King, ’07, (English, commun./pub. rel.) was the keynote speaker for the November 2008 induction ceremony for the Golden Key International Honour Society’s SUNY Fredonia Chapter. A graduate student at Syracuse University, she is the student member of the Golden Key International Leadership Council.
Shea M. Mathis, ’07, (interdis. studies/environ. sci.) graduated as one of 23 new environmental conservation officers of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. He has been assigned to Queens County, N.Y., and has moved there with Dawn (Shermet) ’05, (interdis. studies./environ. sci.).
Caitlin Mitchell, ’07, (commun./public rel.) is starring on at webtv series, “Temp Life.” The assignment came about as a result of her employment with a New York City public relations firm, CJP.
2008
Steve Metzger, ’08, (child. ed., English) has been hired by the Orchard Park (N.Y.) Central School District as a special education teacher in grades kindergarten through two at Eggert Elementary School.
Patrick Newell, ’08, (social studies/adol. ed.) was named to the Fredonia Alumni Association Board of Directors.
Jared Scott Tesler, ’08, (commun./pub. rel.) of Brighton, N.Y., is a graduate research assistant at the Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College, where he is pursuing a master’s degree in Communication.
Emeritus Notes
Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus Marvin Bjurlin (visual arts and new media) see 1992.
Dr. Donald Bohlen (music) see 1998.
Dr. William Graebner’s (history) book, “Patty’s Got a Gun: Patricia Hearst in 1970s America” (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008) was published in October 2008. The book has been discussed or reviewed in the Atlantic Monthly, the Economist, and Newsday.
