fall12 alumni herald

16|Stony Acres celebrates 50 years 24|Alumni go ‘Undercover’in this issue

Alumni HeraldEast Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania

Fall 2012 Volume 23, No. 3

Building partnerships, making plans Marcia G. Welsh, Ph.D. takes the lead at ESU

Page 4

Dear Friends,

I am honored to serve as the 13th president of East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania. Since my arrival in July, I’ve received a warm welcome from students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of the university. Many have shared great stories about where ESU has been, and others have imparted their thoughts on a vision for the future of this great institution.

And in every conversation I’ve had, one thing is certain – there is a great affinity for this university.

My challenge now, and in the coming months, is to continue this dialogue. We have alumni who are very proud of their alma mater and who want ESU to continue to be a source of pride. We have community leaders who want to have a solid relationship with us, seeing us as partners and an economic engine for the Pocono region. As I noted in my first address to faculty and staff, I want ESU to be THE BEST university in the state system! I’ll need your help to get us there.

In this issue of the Alumni Herald, you’ll read about initiatives that have helped to keep us growing:

n ESU’s first Extended Learning Center, which opened in the Lehigh Valley in Bethlehem.

n Four ESU students attended the national political conventions this summer, sending reflections and comments from the convention floors via blogs.

n Monroe Hall has been transformed from a residence hall to a new instructional space.

n ESU signed PASSHE’s first commercial licensing agreement of faculty/student research, and a website company plan earned another student a $10,000 development award.

n Two new degree programs were announced, both aimed at preparing students for careers in an ever-changing global economy.

To continue our success, we need you – our alumni - to stay connected and committed. Whether it’s considering a pledge during Phonathon season, supporting legislation such as the Higher Education Modernization Act that will enable ESU to develop professional doctoral programs as well as allow faculty and staff to be more entrepreneurial, or helping ESU build valuable relationships, such as internships and scholarships, for our students – you can make a difference!

I hope to meet many of you at university events and, more importantly, I look forward to advancing ESU, together. There will always be challenges to face, but if we are diligent, respectful of each other (and a little creative), we can continue to provide a first-rate educational experience for our next generation of proud ESU alumni.

Sincerely,

Marcia G. Welsh, Ph.D. President

ESU Alumni Herald

Join WarriorsNation, your alumni online community, at esualumni.org

Notice of Nondiscrimination

East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin,

religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or veteran’s status in its programs and activities in

accordance with applicable federal and state laws and regulations.

The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding this policy:

Director of Diversity/Ombudsperson 200 Prospect Street

115 Reibman Building East Stroudsburg, PA 18301

(570) 422-3656

Marcia G. Welsh, Ph.D. University President

Frank Falso President and CEO ESU Foundation

Editor Caryn Wilkie

Design and Production Office of University Relations

Photography Shane M. Izykowski

Phil SteinVIP Studios

Bob Weidner

Contributors

Alice Roche CodyBGA Studios

Brooke DonovanBrenda E. Friday, Ph.D.

James L. JohnsonGreg Knowlden M’04

Margie PetersonCollette Ryder ’96

Paul Scheuch ’71 M’77Sheree B. Watson

Caryn Wilkie

Alumni HeraldThe Alumni Herald is the official publication for

East Stroudsburg University’s alumni and is published three times a year.

Please address all correspondence to:

Office of Alumni Engagement East Stroudsburg University Foundation

200 Prospect St.East Stroudsburg, PA 18301

(570) 422-3530 (800) 775-8975

Fax: (570) 422-3301

Email: [email protected]: www.esualumni.org/herald

Opening Remarks

CAMPUS COMMUNITY WELCOMES DR. WELSH — Page 4Cover photo by Philip Stein

Follow Dr. Welsh on twitter.com @ PresidentWelsh

Fall 2012 Table of Contents 1

Join WarriorsNation, your alumni online community, at esualumni.orgJoin WarriorsNation, your alumni online community, at esualumni.org

ESU FoundationHenry A. Ahnert, Jr. Alumni Center(800) 775-8975 www.esufoundation.org

Frank FalsoPresident and Chief Executive Officer

Betty RussoVice President for Development/COO

Brooke DonovanAssistant Director of Alumni Engagement

Janis RussoAdministrative Support Specialist

Greg WilsonSenior Director of Individual Giving

Michele SablerMajor/Planned Gifts Officer

Ryan BaumullerMajor/Planned Gifts Officer

Cassandra ClevelandMajor/Planned Gifts Officer

Angela BeersDirector of Corporate and Foundation Relations

Belinda DiazDirector of Information Systems

Matt SmithProspect Research Analyst

Caryn WilkieCommunications Manager

Robin OpperleeAssistant Director of the Annual Fund

Sara CosgroveAssistant Director of the Annual Fund/Phonathon

Melissa BurkeFinance and Accounting Manager

Michelle Ljubicich ’05Website and Special Projects Manager

Wendy DickinsonGift Processor and Donor Records Specialist

Laurie Schaller ’10Executive Assistant and ScholarshipFunds Administrator

Nancy BoyerSupport Specialist/Development Programs

Board of DirectorsJames R. Barchiesi ’05

PresidentCollette L. Ryder ’96

Vice PresidentAnne M. Morton ’96

SecretaryMark J. Mecca ’96

Immediate Past President

Richard A. Bellis ’82Jack P. Childs III ’67

David J. Comiciotto ’91Edward J. Curvey ’63Joseph B. Fite III ’76

Kelly J. Fox ’94Lynn F. Hauth ’08

Dr. William J. Horvath ’70 M’79Frank E. Johnson ’74

Dr. Mark W. Kandel ’82Deborah A. Kulick ’80Gail A. Kulick ’88 M’89

Marcus S. Lingenfelter ’95Johanna Mazlo ’91

Christie M. Mendez ’98

Shirley A. Merring ’57Edward Myers ’94 M’96

Tina L. Nixon ’89Anthony F. Pasqua ’00Bernard A. Peruso ’91

Dr. Ronald W. Prann ’84 Ritchey J. Ricci ’65 M’72

Thomas L. Sabetta, Jr. ’09Paul A. Scheuch, Jr. ’71 M’77

Paul E. Shemansky ’96 M’01 M’04Candice S. Sierzega ’10 Ronald D. Steckel ’71

Richard D. Vroman ’67Christopher S. Yeager ’74 M’81

Lawrence A. Zaccaro ’77

Emeriti

Eugenia S. Eden ’72 M’76Bryan L. Hill ’71

Phyllis M. Kirschner ’63 Dr. Frank M. Pullo ’73 M’76

Dr. Faye Soderberg ’58Virginia Sten ’71

John E. Woodling ’68 M’76

FeaturesAlumni Association helps you connect ........................................11Grad student, ESU market Lyme disease home test kit ..............15New programs respond to a changing world ........................ 20-21Alumni reaching Olympic-level success................................. 22-23 ESU grads go “Undercover” .................................................. 24-25

Cover StoryNEW FACE: The campus and local communities welcome ESU president Dr. Marcia G. Welsh, who challenges all to help the university become the best it can be.

4

NEW SPACE: Ann Millett with speech and pathology students in one of the new class-rooms in the renovated Monroe Hall, just one of the recent and future projects on campus.

13

OLD PLACE: The unique 119-acre student-owned recreation area known as Stony Acres turns 50, and those who were there in 1962 share memories.

16

DepartmentsESU Foundation | MailBag ................. 2-3ESU News .............................12-15, 19-21Alumni in the News ......................... 22-25Alumni Events .................................26-28Class Notes .....................................28-31

Marriages | Births ............................... 32In Memoriam ....................................... 32Giving Opportunities ..... inside back cover

Bob Weidner

ESU Alumni HeraldESU Foundation2


The onset of fall is such a vibrant time on campus. From our vantage point here at the Henry A. Ahnert, Jr. Alumni Center, we see the spectacular new residence halls bustling with activity, students coming and going to classes, and in the air there’s a sense of anticipation as young men and women make new friends and tackle exciting new challenges in their lives.

I always feel honored to watch a new academic year unfold!

It’s also a wonderful honor to welcome Marcia G. Welsh, Ph.D., East Stroudsburg University’s 13th president, to campus. Dr. Welsh has already endeared herself to the ESU community and embraces every opportunity to connect with alumni, supporters and friends of the university. I invite you to enjoy the cover story of this issue which features Dr. Welsh, providing you a glimpse into her world as she lays the groundwork for what lies ahead for this fine university.

This issue also features a write-up about the Alumni Association’s new board members. On June 30, 14 new members were sworn in to serve on the volunteer advisory board, including a new president of the board, James R. Barchiesi ’05 who succeeds Mark J. Mecca ’96. I’d like to extend a warm welcome to them and offer my sincere thanks to Mark and the entire board membership for their selfless service to their alma mater. In all you do, your commitment to ESU shines as an example!

With fall comes the Office of Alumni Engagement’s busiest season and we hope you were able to make the trip to ESU to reconnect with dear friends during Homecoming 2012, which took place right around the time this edition of the Alumni

Herald went to press. Look for photos and write-ups on the festivities on the WarriorsNation website and on the Alumni Association’s Facebook page.

Today, I’d like you to take a moment to recall your fondest times spent at ESU. For most of us, our college days were joyous and full of discovery. As 7,353 students kick off a new year, I ask you to keep them in your thoughts as they, too, embark on their own personal journey of discovery.

I also ask you to embrace a culture of gratitude for the education and experiences provided to you during your time spent on campus. When

one of our energetic student callers connects with you during this fall’s Phonathon, please consider making a gift to the ESU Foundation Annual Fund. Just as your camaraderie, sentiments, and well-wishes have an impact on ESU’s students, so does your generous philanthropic support!

Sincerely,

Frank Falso

President and CEO ESU Foundation

President and CEO: Falls brings warm welcomes, alumni

Fall 2012 ESU Foundation 3

Join WarriorsNation, your alumni online community, at esualumni.org Join WarriorsNation, your alumni online community, at esualumni.org

n Campus ConstructionI lived in Hawthorn Hall

and during my sophomore year (September 1992) two of my friends were killed [struck by a vehicle] walking to a frat party. A tree was planted and a plaque put out in front of the dorm because we all lived there on the 4th floor. Please tell me the plaque is somewhere and not under rubble.

Kimberly Braido Drennan ’95

Editor’s Note: The plaque was safely removed and will be added to a memorial area adjacent to the Carlyon Pavilion and Whitenight Field.

This area is also where the Jenna Vatalaro memorial has been moved to. The area is peaceful and beautifully landscaped. We heard from many of you about your memories in Hawthorn Hall. Many of you were sad to see the building come down, but amazed by the new construction on campus.

Check out the photo gallery on our Facebook page at facebook.com/ESUAA.

n Alumni EventsI was wondering why you don’t

offer trips other than sports events all the time? We so enjoyed going with the group to New York City for plays. A trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Longwood Gardens, our state Capitol or the national archives in Harrisburg or Gettysburg would be great.

There is such a variety that are day trips from the campus. Please balance out the sports events with cultural and historical trips.

Bonnie Ahnert Rudeski ’67

Editor’s Note: The Office of Alumni Engagement works hard to provide a variety of events. We have regularly hosted the Radio City Christmas Spectacular bus trip and have also made trips to museums in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia.

We hear your requests and are working to provide a bus trip to a museum or show this spring.

n Online version of the Alumni Herald

I loved the Alumni Herald online! I might have done better had there been some directions so I had one page with print that was readable! I suffered through the whole paper, THEN, did some “clicking” here and there and found it page by page with BIG print! Whooohoooo! Can’t wait for the spring copy to arrive on my computer!

Louise Dunkelberger Hawk ’55

Editor’s Note: We heard from several alumni who were unfamiliar with Issuu, the online technology that hosts our Alumni Herald editions. We’ve devised a set of helpful tips for viewing the online issues. Look for these tips to be available on WarriorsNation and in the emails accompanying the digital versions of the Alumni Herald.

n AdvocacyEditor’s Note: Each year, the Office

of Alumni Engagement provides ESU alumni with an update on legislature regarding the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). The discussion around proposed budget cuts to PASSHE schools, with other cuts in the budget, was a highly debated topic:

I understand your concerns surrounding fiscal responsibility and would be one of the first to testify to the quality of education that I received from ESU. However, we are at a juncture in this country where some entitlements are going to have to be cut or ‘people have to tighten their belts.’ I am not a resident of Pennsylvania so therefore have no vote or representative.

I will state at this moment in history I have been concerned in the liberal policies of some of the professors in their teaching or indoctrinating some of these vulnerable youths rather than teaching them critical thinking to help them formulate intelligent decisions regarding standing for the values that made this nation the best in the world. Personal politics and opinions should not be a part of their presentations.

Betty Lloyd DeAngelis ’60

With all due respect, I agree with the governor. Budget cuts are necessary in order for the state to remain viable. One cannot spend more money than one has. You cannot do it in your personal life without serious consequences and the same applies to local, state and federal governments.

The future will be bleaker for graduates if there is a financially crippled state. U.S. citizens and businesses can only be taxed so much and then the well runs dry (see Greece). So I recommend that you prepare to deal with the fiscal realities of today’s environment. One last thing, elections have consequences. You may want to let your undergrads know that when they go to the polls this November.

George D. Krall ’72

Let us know what you think!

[email protected]

Office of Alumni Engagement, Henry A. Ahnert, Jr. Alumni Center

200 Prospect St. East Stroudsburg, PA 18301

Attn: MailBag

Please include your name and contact information. Letters may be edited for clarity or space.

MailBagWhat ESU alumni are saying about

the school, the events and the issues


ESU Alumni HeraldCover Story4

Shane M. Izykow

ski

We must find out what makes us unique, where to put money to define the institution.

Dr. Marcia G. Welsh, new ESU president

’

‘ Strength, style and substance

Fall 2012 Cover Story 5

NEW FACE ON CAMPUS

Opposite: Marcia G. Welsh, Ph.D., at her first Freshman Convocation as president of ESU.

Left: Dr. Welsh strolls the campus with Colleen Rupp ’14, left, and Myia Woodson ’14.

Philip Stein

In academia, she moved up through the ranks to become provost and then interim president of Towson University in Maryland. As ESU becomes acquainted with its new leader, former colleagues have nothing but praise for Dr. Welsh, describing her as intellectual, sharp, efficient, charismatic, effective and fun – with a passion for fashion, particularly footwear.

“My advice – tell your faculty and staff to keep an eye on her outfits, especially her heels,” says Matthew Durington, associate professor of anthropology at Towson. “You have one of the most fashion-forward

presidents.” True to form, on a recent day, shortly

after Dr. Welsh moved into the president’s residence on campus, she donned a skirt and blazer in beige earth tones, accompanied by 4-inch high, neon-bright chartreuse heels. Clearly, Dr. Welsh carries her own sense of style to the job, a position she’s aspired to in an academic career that started more than three decades ago as an assistant professor of anatomy.

Yet be clear: her playful, expressive side in signature heels by no means detracts from the seriousness of how she approaches her role at ESU.

As Marcia G. Welsh, Ph.D., begins her tenure as the first female president of East Stroudsburg University, she brings her own

distinct brand with experience as a scientist, researcher, educator and administrator.

By Alice Roche Cody

Strength, style and substance



WELCOME TO ESU

Right: Sharing a laugh with Vice President for Finance and

Administration Richard Staneski and Vice President for Enrollment Manage-ment Victoria Sanders, D.Ed., during a

weekly senior leadership meeting.

Opposite page: Dr. Welsh and her husband, Lou Terracio, Ph.D.,

sport Warrior red and black on Move In Weekend.

“I’m finally getting the chance to help move a university into the future. I’ve always been helping to implement someone else’s vision,” she says.

“The vision and mission of the university come from the people here – including me – and it’s my job to help mold that and make it real. Our students deserve an outstanding institution. I want to inspire people and push them to be the best. I hope to challenge everyone so we can step up and help ESU go to the next level.”

As she sees it, to succeed in the competitive market for students within the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), ESU must define its strengths and commit capital to build upon them. “We need to develop a vision that allows us to be a distinct PASSHE school: What makes ESU special?” she asks.

“We need to make ourselves stand out. First, we need to talk of our strengths. Which is the one we build on? Cyber security? Hotel management? Science? Art? Or is it going back to our own history of teacher education? We need to find out what makes us unique, where to put money to define the

institution.” Surely the search committee that unanimously

endorsed Dr. Welsh as the 13th president of ESU, after a rigorous national search, was confident that she could position the university strategically.

“She is someone who can bring everyone together on campus and move us forward,” says Council of Trustees Chair L. Patrick Ross ’67, and search committee member. “The focus for us is to keep a good product at a reasonable price, attract good students and give a good education.”

Trustee Harry Lee, who chaired the presidential search committee, concurs.

“We felt we needed a calming effect at the university,” he says. “She’s the perfect fit. She’s the right person at the right time.”

Making connectionsIn just a few months at ESU, Dr. Welsh has

already made connections and reached out to many university factions, including faculty, student groups, department heads and athletic coaches.

‘Vision and mission come from the people here’

She can bring everyone together on campus and move us forward.

L. Patrick Ross ’67,chair, Council of Trustees

’‘ Philip Stein



‘Vision and mission come from the people here’

She listens and she asks the rightquestions.

Dr. Victoria Sanders,vice president for

enrollment management

’‘

Dr. Doreen Tobin, vice president for student affairs, is particularly impressed that Dr. Welsh came to the ice cream social for resident assistants and talked with the group about their important role. She also attended Dr. Tobin’s departmental staff meeting to solicit input on what’s working and what’s not.

“She wants to look at everything with a fresh pair of eyes and see how well we’re doing our job in terms of customer service for the students and one another,” says Dr. Tobin. “She’s a proponent of students getting a full educational opportunity, and she’ll do everything in her power to ensure that students have an excellent educational experience – both inside and outside the classroom.”

As part of the university leadership team, Dr. Victoria Sanders, vice president for enrollment management, has met frequently with Dr. Welsh and watched her methodically gather information about ESU.

“She listens and she asks the right questions,” says Dr. Sanders. “She’s concerned about serving the diverse student population that exists, including veterans, adult learners and transfer students. She expects the faculty and administration to have students as the first priority.”

Dr. Welsh’s track record while at Towson proves that she’s also willing to stand up for faculty and staff.

Two weeks after she arrived there, Dr. Durington met with the new provost to discuss a faculty promotion inequity issue, and she informed him that she’d already taken care of the problem.

“She’s proactive – she saw policies she thought were inequitable and addressed them immediately,” he says.“Sometimes administration and faculty are on different sides of the table; it’s a given. But Dr. Welsh was always willing to listen to everyone’s voice.”

The establishment of a flat promotion rate was a boon to the faculty and sent the message that all work is valued, not just professors on the higher side of the pay scale, he says.

Statewide influenceYet Dr. Welsh’s most notable accomplishment

was a new family caregiver policy at Towson, which was adopted throughout the Maryland educational system. “Towson was the little comprehensive university that could, and for us to be influencing discussion at the system level was profound,” says Dr. Durington.

Dr. Welsh’s ability to quickly cut to the heart of an issue and evaluate appropriate alternatives comes from her training as a scientist. “I’m collaborative, I collect data,” she says. “I like to work with others and come to the best solution. I’m not a one-woman show. I don’t make decisions in a vacuum.”

Bob Weidner



MAKING PLANS Dr. Welsh confers with Miguel Barbosa, her interim chief of staff.

It was the promise of being mentored by Dr. Welsh that led Toyia Younger to accept her position as assistant provost at Towson.

“If she says she’s going to do something, she puts her mind to it and gets the resources and does it,” says Dr. Younger, who marvels at Dr. Welsh’s work ethic. “She’s the first on campus in the morning and the last to leave and the one to send an email in the middle of the night.”

Dr. Welsh’s tenaciousness was evident in forming an off-site campus at Harford Community College, which took years.

When mentoring women, Dr. Welsh coaches them to not rely on serendipity. “I tell women that they need to think and strategize,” she says. “Women establish careers in different ways than men. The demands on their time are different. I didn’t have children until I had tenure. We’d go to

parent-teacher conferences, and I’d always be the oldest mother.”

Married for 15 years to Lou Terracio, Ph.D., vice dean for research at New York University’s College of Dentistry, Dr. Welsh raised her children, daughter Mallory and son Matthew, with Dr. Terracio’s son, Nate. The blended family enjoys frequent Trivial Pursuit challenges and family vacations filled with scuba diving. Welsh and Terracio plan to alternate weekends in the city and the Poconos.

Dr. Welsh’s parents owned a small grocery store in western Nebraska, and her mother provided a fitting example of juggling family and career. On Dr. Welsh’s 16th birthday, her mother graduated college, fulfilling a long-time goal of becoming a teacher. The young woman had few other professional role models.

“I had no mentors – I grew up in a town of 500 and the only people with college degrees were the teachers, the pharmacist, the dentist and the physician,” she says. Her senior year, the family

moved to Greeley, Colo. After graduation, she attended Colorado State University, accompanied by her parents’ dream that she become a doctor.

“I wanted to focus on the arts, sketching and design classes, but my parents wouldn’t pay tuition for me to be an artist,” she says. After earning a degree in physical science, she served as a graduate assistant while earning a master’s in anatomy. At the University of Texas Health Science Center, she received a doctorate in anatomy and learned to study cells with an electron microscope, which became her creative outlet.

Dr. Welsh moved on to the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, where her 23-year career included professor, associate provost and dean of the Graduate School. In 2001, she was named senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at Adelphi University. Seven years later, she became provost at Towson and served as interim vice president for nine months last year.

The importance of partnershipsDr. Welsh is adept at forming partnerships

outside the university.“The community leaders felt they could get

on the phone and talk directly with the university

‘I’m not a one-woman show.’

She’s the right person at the right time.

Harry Lee,ESU trustee’

‘

Philip Stein



Key elements to focus onn Create a culture of positive leadership -

whether a member of ESU’s faculty, staff or administration, you must be a positive role model for our students;

n Develop a shared mission, and a clear view of what we (members of the ESU campus community) want an ESU graduate to be;

n Challenge students to be engaged, while ensuring we have the services students need to succeed at ESU;

n Determine which academic programs are strong, and which should be strong in order to meet the needs of our region;

n Determine how ESU can best develop professional doctoral programs as well as allow faculty and staff to be more entrepreneurial based on the recent passing of the Higher Education Modernization Act;

n Consider ways to redesign classes to improve student learning, especially in those considered to be ESU’s gatekeeper classes that students must pass to advance in their major; and

n Improve communication throughout campus and with the local community to best tell the story of our students and their success.

In her remarks, Dr. Welsh said she sees great potential and an incredibly promising future for ESU if we work together toward a common vision.

She continues to reach out to learn more about ESU from our constituents. She has sent out a survey to all faculty, staff and administrators asking for their thoughts on ESU; she’s met with presidents from other colleges and universities in Northeastern Pennsylvania to get a sense of what can be done to develop partnerships to provide students with the best academic outcome; and she continues to meet with community leaders to understand economic development in the region.

When asked how she sees ESU among the other institutions in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, Dr. Welsh replied, “I have talked with my many PASSHE colleagues from around the state and, to be honest, I’m very competitive.”

“I don’t want ESU to be just a PASSHE institution; I want ESU to be the best PASSHE institution.”

Under her leadership, there’s no doubt ESU will get there.

During her first address to the faculty and staff on September 4, Dr. Welsh delivered her initial plan to create and nurture relationships and build community, both within and beyond the campus.

She shared her personal vision for the institution, and hopes to incorporate what she learns from her interaction with others – students, faculty, staff, alumni, administrators, community members and friends – in the development of a common direction and sense of community, something required if ESU is to achieve excellence.

She wants to look at everything with a fresh pair of eyes.

Dr. Doreen Tobin,vice president

for student affairs

’‘

DISTINGUISHED Dr. Welsh, left, with 2012 Distinguished Professor Award recipients Robert McKenzie, Ph.D. and Frank M. Pullo ’73 M’76, Ed.D. At right is Nancy Van Arsdale, Ph.D., English professor and president of the ESU Chapter of the Association of Pennsyl-vania State College and University Faculties.

Bob Weidner



provost,” says Ray Lorion, dean, College of Education at Towson. Students worked in preschool and after-school programs in a Baltimore inner-city neighborhood and at Port Discovery, a children’s museum.

“There’s not a wall that separates us from the community,” says Dr. Welsh. “I want to get to know the people who help make us tick. Even the people who don’t like us, I want to know how we can become better partners.”

She already has met with several community leaders, including Sharon Laverdure M’86, East Stroudsburg area school district superintendent.

“The resounding message that Dr. Welsh gave was the importance of the community connection and how to make that work,” she says. “The most wonderful thing about her is that she was absorbing all the information I could give her in order to be informed and make the right decisions.”

There is plenty to do on campus, especially with pressing budget issues, Dr. Welsh says.

“We need to rethink how we teach courses and use technology in ways that haven’t

been used before. We have to use our greatest resource, the faculty, more effectively,” she says, adding that larger class sizes may be necessary.

All about the studentsDeveloping a strong sense of philanthropy

is crucial. “We can’t sit back and wait for someone to give us money, and we can’t keep raising tuition. We need to give our students the very best at an affordable price. It’s a major challenge.”

Frank Falso, president and CEO of the ESU Foundation, has attended many meetings alongside Dr. Welsh with donors and friends of the university.

“She has a good understanding of the need to build a culture of gratitude and philanthropy,” he says. “She reminds us daily that we’re here because of the students; all of our actions and services should be geared to that end. Whether we’re talking about parking issues or summer school, it’s all about the students. She brings it back to the student-driven model every time.”

SURPRISE HELPER The new president lends

a hand to students arriving at Lenape Hall on

Move In Weekend in August.

‘We need to give our students the very best at an affordable price.’

She reminds us daily that we’re here because of the students.

Frank Falso,president and CEO,

ESU Foundation

’‘

Bob Weidner


Fall 2012 Alumni Association 11


By Collette Ryder ’96

It is hard to believe that another summer is over and fall is here. This year brings East Stroudsburg University a new president; one who brings a new energy and is excited about taking our university to the next level. The selection of Dr. Marcia Welsh is a historic one as well, as she is our first female university president.

Around this time of year, alumni are reminded of when we moved in and started a new year at ESU. It’s an experience you never forget and it creates a unique bond between you and your classmates. As alumni we look to find ways to engage with the new students as well as other alumni. It is our greatest reward to ensure we keep our ESU family connected to the university long after we have graduated.

What do you know about the ESU Alumni Association (ESUAA) and its board? We are YOU! The 34 members of the board of directors vary in age and experience, bringing a well-rounded perspective to the progress of our alma mater. You will not find a more passionate group of individuals connected with ESU!

No matter where you are in your relationship with ESU, a network is ready to support you. Whether it’s career connections, university connections, or just finding a long-lost friend, we are ready to help. We connect with alumni in many ways to make sure that what brought you to ESU, and what you gained during your time here, is carried forward so the image of our school is what others see outside the university.

We need your help. Whether you are a current student, alumni, or someone who is thinking of attending, your voice is the most critical piece of the alumni association mission. We are here to advocate for the alumni and to protect our memories of the school we hold dear. We welcome your suggestions, your direct involvement in making our school be the best it can be, and any other support you can provide to the university.

Board of Directors Annual RetreatIn June, our ESUAA board held its annual retreat,

a great time to honor retiring members and welcome those new to the association. This year we recognized six outgoing directors and inducted 14 new directors. The board also inaugurated the following officers:

n President James Barchiesi ’05n Vice President Collette Ryder ’96n Secretary Anne Morton ’96

Mark Mecca ’96 was recognized as the outgoing president and will remain attached to the board as immediate past-president for one year.

As part of its retreat, the ESUAA focuses on identifying those things that matter most to our alumni. When budgets are tight, jobs are difficult to find, or classmates are looking for that connection they had back in the day, this is when we need our network to help.

In addition to orienting new directors to the board, this year’s retreat was focused on our strategic plan to develop specific objectives to carry us through the next few years. Each of our committees has been tasked with developing one or two strategies to help accomplish these objectives.

While the entire board meets once every three months, the committees meet in the interim to work on assigned tasks, forward identified initiatives, and communicate with the other committees. The board also works closely with the ESU Foundation in its mission of support to the university.

Do not hesitate to contact any one of the directors to help with opportunities to connect. Our email address is [email protected]. Tell us what is important to you, and allow us to help you connect with others.

One last piece of advice: Don’t forget to “call home” once in a while and stay in touch. Family and close friends, like those of us here at ESU, are an important piece of your network.

Front row, from left: Joe Fite ’76, Dave Comiciotto ’91, Collette Ryder ’96, Chris Yeager ’74 M’81. Second row: Jack Childs ’67, Debbie Kulick ’80, Anne Morton ’96, Mark Mecca ’96. Third row: Rich Bellis ’82, Candice Sierzega ’10, Ben Peruso ’91, Ron Steckle ’71. Fourth row: Kelly Fox ’94, Johanna Ma-zlo ’91, James Barchiesi ’05. Fifth row: Gail Kulick ’88 M’89, Ron Prann ’84. Back row: Ed Myers ’94 M’95, Tina Nixon ’89, Thomas Sabetta, Jr. ’09.

Alumni Association Board of Directors

Ready for a new year


ESU Alumni HeraldESU News


ESU opened the Lehigh Valley Extended Learning Center in August to serve students seeking to complete their undergraduate degrees or pursue graduate education.

ESU’s Lehigh Valley Center, at 60 W. Broad St., Bethlehem, began offering undergraduate degree completion programs in computer security and public health in October.

In January, the center will launch an undergraduate degree program in hotel, restaurant and tourism management, and a graduate degree program in reading with reading specialist certification. Courses will be offered at convenient times for working adults, and programs will be added in the coming months.

More than 100 people attended the May opening of the Sterling Strauser Gallery, which features work of the acclaimed self-taught artist who lived and painted in East Stroudsburg from 1928 until his death in 1995.

ESU was chosen as the new home for 114 Strauser paintings collected by Grey and Linda Carter of McClean, Va., ardent art dealers and collectors. After meeting Strauser in 1964, Grey began buying and selling his art to acquire a collection.

Strauser and his wife, Dorothy, an artist in her own right, lived on Analomink Street near the campus. As collectors and promoters of other self-taught artists, they were a major artistic influence in the Poconos.

Part of the Strauser collection is on display in a temporary gallery at ESU’s Innovation Center. The paintings will get a permanent home when the new Keystone Center opens, projected for 2015.

◆ For information on the Sterling Strauser Gallery, call (570) 422-7920.

Attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the official opening

of ESU’s Lehigh Valley Center are, from left: Christopher Thomford,

president, Moravian College; Mark Erickson, president of

Northampton Community College; ESU Council of Trustees members

Marcus Lingenfelter ’95, Bruno Klaus, Nancy Perretta and Robert Willever ’75; Dr. Marcia G. Welsh, president of ESU; John Callahan, mayor of Bethlehem; Ryan Dunn, Dunn Twiggar Company; Dr. Van

Reidhead, provost and vice president for academic affairs; Dr. Marilyn Wells M’87 M’91,

vice provost and graduate dean; Jennifer Serowick, director of

extended learning; Jeff Jones, director of admissions, and

Walt Lukow, associate director of admissions.

ESU extends learning to Lehigh Valley

An appreciative crowd came to campus for the opening of the Sterling Strauser Gallery, which features many important examples of the self-taught East Stroudsburg artist’s unique painting style.

Sterling Strauser collection finds new home at ESU

Grey Carter, art donor

12

Bob Weidner

Bob Weidner

ESU News 13


OLD SPACE The old Hawthorn residence hall, built in 1966, came down this summer, making way for another new residential suites building.

ESU continues its chain reaction of construction, as familiar buildings get renovated and others come down with new ones rising in their place. The long-term master plan is a major reshuffling to consolidate the campus in a more efficient way.

n The most recent change is Monroe Hall, which reopened in August as new academic space, housing the Speech-Language Pathology and Communication Studies departments. Two computer laboratories, four classrooms, a 68-seat auditorium and office space are now housed there.

Built as a dormitory in 1941, Monroe Hall became temporary office space in 2005 when it was too expensive to retrofit it with the safety systems mandated for a residence.

n Also on the construction agenda are a two-level parking deck behind Dansbury Commons and a parking lot behind Zimbar-Liljenstein Hall.

n The heart of the campus plan is an area for student services anchored by a new 269,000-square foot Keystone Center, with a new library, bookstore and university center and space for the information technology and hotel, restaurant and tourism programs. This project, now in the design phase, will be the largest building on campus, and is expected to be completed in 2018.

n The old Hawthorn Hall was razed this summer and old Hemlock Hall will be taken down this fall. More than 600 dressers, desks, beds and other furniture from these buildings have been donated to charitable organizations in the area and around the world.

With the University Police moving to space in Hemlock Suites, the old yellow brick police station

across from Koehler Fieldhouse was also torn down.

Planning has begun for a third new home for students, which will be in the same style as the first two residence suites. The new $52 million building will rise on the site of the old police station and the old Hawthorn and Hemlock halls, completing a quad with the new Hemlock Suites.

About half of the 500 beds in the new residence will be filled by students now living in the University Apartments on Smith Street, which is the next building slated to be taken off-line and eventually demolished.

“The apartments are arguably in the worst shape of any of our housing,” said Richard Staneski, vice president for finance and administration. The apartments, constructed cheaply as “off campus” housing by a private developer in 1970, were purchased by the university in 1987.

The new residence building will also house the offices of Health and Counseling Services, Student Conduct, Commuter Student services, and Alcohol, Tobacco, and other Drugs. These offices have outgrown the Flagler-Metzgar building on Normal Street, which is also slated for demolition.

n A fourth new 500-bed residence is tentatively planned to be built someday near the University Apartments site, to form a quad with Hawthorn Suites.

CAMPUSA

changing

NEW SPACE Dr. Andrea McClanahan, chair of the communication studies department,

teaches a class in the new 68-seat Monroe Hall auditorium.

Bob Weidner

ESU Alumni HeraldESU News14


Bob Weidner

By James L. JohnsonFor many of us, tax time means gritted

teeth, slogging through forms, and juggling different tax rates. And afterward? Forget it until next April. Jonathan Weber ’14 though, frustrated as anyone, decided to take action.

Just 18 and filing for the first time, Weber went toe-to-toe with state and federal tax regulations, and then decided to make the process easier for others. As a freshman, he created his first website – a free portal of easy-to-understand information on filing taxes.

Weber has worked his way from freelance Web developer to business owner, and boasts almost a quarter million visits to his websites every week. Now a 21-year-old junior and a double major in computer sciences/computer security, Weber finds himself on the cusp of taking some major strides in the business world.

Weber entered the annual PASSHE [Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education] Business Plan Competition with a plan for a Web startup. He took first place, winning $10,000 to support business development, and a year’s office space in the Business Accelerator Program in the ESU Innovation Center. He also received a Greater Pocono Chamber of Commerce Bizzy Award as one of three ESU Innovators of the Year.

His company, eDentified, is a powerful people search engine. Weber developed proprietary search algorithms that can create a full profile of an individual’s Internet identity by using a single piece of information — like an email or username. His program links pieces of information until it finds the true identities behind an online persona. And again, this newest venture aims to help others with practical information.

The $10,000 certainly helps, but what truly excites Weber is his office and connecting with the CEOs and entrepreneurs he meets.

Before winning the competition, Weber wasn’t aware of the Business Accelerator program, and now he is passionate about getting the word out. “I know there are many other students who have ideas like me,” says Weber. “And the ESU Innovation Center and Business Accelerator program provide great opportunities for people in just about every field.”

Given his energy and feel for what people need, as well as his new student interns and office, Weber will no doubt learn much and succeed often. “College is about far more than just classes,” said Weber. “The experiences and opportunities I’ve found at ESU go above and beyond anything I had expected.”

The Webs of success

From left: State Rep. Michael Carroll; Nancy Perretta, Council of Trustees; Dr. Patricia Pietrobon, Sanofi Pasteur; state Rep. Mario Scavello; L. Patrick Ross ’67, Council of Trustees; Jonathan Weber ’14; Dr. Robert Dillman, former ESU president; Gerald Ephault, formerly with Ben Franklin Technology Partners/NEPA; Mary Frances Postupack ’63, vice president, ESU Economic Development and Re-search Support; Melissa Shaw M’11, Northeast Wildlife DNA lab; R. Chadwick Paul Jr., Ben Franklin Technology Partners/NEPA; state Sen. John Blake; Robert Phillips, Pocono Mountains Chamber of Commerce; Charles Leonard, Pocono Mountains Economic Development Council; and Kenneth O’Krepkie, Ben Franklin Technology Partners/NEPA .

The ESU Innovation Center opened May 4, home to the Research and Economic Development division, Northeast Wildlife DNA Laboratory, computer labs, conference facilities, Business Accelerator and wet labs.

Construction of the $11.25 million building was supported by $2.5 million from the state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program; $1.2 million from the U.S. Economic Development Administration; $75,000 from the Appalachian Regional Commission; $1.45 million from Monroe County’s share of state gaming revenue, $281,000 from the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education; $198,000 from the U.S. Department of Education, and more than $60,000 in legislative support.

The 51,000-square-foot center was built by the ESU Center for Research and Economic Development in partnership with the university, on 4.4 acres at Route 447 and Brown Street, east of the main campus.

Jonathan Weber ’14

VIP Studios


Fall 2012 ESU News 15


In 2010, graduate student Melissa Shaw M’11 was researching ticks and disease at the university’s Northeast Wildlife DNA lab. Periodically, she and other students would be asked to test ticks brought in by community residents for Lyme disease, which is prevalent in the Pocono region.

Shaw and faculty mentor Dr. Jane Huffman, distinguished professor of biology, came up with the idea to develop a tick-testing kit that would be available to the general public. Shaw developed a business plan and her vision won first place in ESU’s Student Business Plan Competition.

After many months of work with the staff of ESU’s division of Research and Economic Development, ESU signed a non-exclusive license agreement in April with Garrett Hewitt International LLC to commercialize Lyme-Aid, a kit for the general public to use to send suspicious ticks in to ESU’s Wildlife DNA Lab to determine whether or not a tick is a carrier of Lyme disease.

ESU licensed the trademark and negotiated a license fee in addition to a running royalty per unit, as Garret Hewitt identifies retailers to purchase and sell the product beginning this fall.

The intention is to have Lyme-Aid kits on sale in more than 20 states by this spring, so anyone can find out if a tick they’ve discovered

on themselves or a pet might be a carrier for Lyme disease, before symptoms appear.

Each kit contains a patented tick remover, an alcohol wipe, a specimen

bag, labels, a tick/Lyme test form and a pre-

addressed envelope. Kits will include instructions on how to remove ticks and how to prepare each specimen for mailing to ESU’s lab.

Once a specimen arrives on campus, staff will test the tick using a fast and accurate molecular test that identifies the DNA of the Lyme-causing pathogen, and then quickly respond by email or phone to the person who sent in the specimen. The suggested retail cost of each kit will be $5.99, and the fee for testing each tick is $39.95.

Store locations and a website for kit orders will be announced this fall. Kits will be sold in a water-resistant plastic case that can be kept handy in a backpack, medicine cabinet or auto, or in fishing, camping, hunting and hiking gear.

Shaw said the kits can help doctors and veterinarians provide prompt treatment before symptoms appear or become severe. Results of the testing are quick and 99.9 percent accurate, she says. The kits can also prevent unnecessary treatment as help avoid side effects associated with antibiotic treatment.

Early detection of Lyme disease is important. Some symptoms may include paralysis of the face muscles; abnormal muscle movement; memory disorders; pain or swelling of joints; muscle weakness; nerve damage; heart palpitations; speech problems and sleep disorders.

Symptoms can be severe and persist for months or years after initial infection, and if left untreated, the disease can spread to the brain, heart and joints.

Lyme disease has also been reported in dogs, who experience symptoms similar to humans. In places where the disease is endemic, 41 percent or more of dogs have been reported to be infected.

◆ For more information about Lyme-Aid, contact (570) 422-7885 or lymeaidkit.com.

Melissa Shaw M’11, one of the newest tenants in the ESU Innovation Center’s Business Accelerator, with a prototype of the Lyme-Aid kit she helped develop.

Grad student, ESU market home kit for Lyme disease

ESU Alumni HeraldFeature Story16

By Margie PetersonSince its founding 50 years ago, Stony Acres

recreation area has inspired students who sought to get away and those who wanted to come together. No one understood those not-contradictory impulses better than the late founder of Stony Acres, Helen Brown ’37.

It was Brown, a health and physical education professor, who envisioned a recreation facility that would belong to the students, where they could enjoy the outdoors and each other.

Using money from the campus Women’s Recreation Association, Brown worked with department colleague Dr. Frank Sills to buy a 119-acre farm in Marshalls Creek about 10 miles from campus for $15,000. The Women’s Association asked the Men’s Recreation Association to join with them and the groups created a governing board that took on the task of fixing the dilapidated farmhouse and overgrown land where no one had lived for 18 years.

In her book “Ramblin’ On,” Brown acknowledged the uniqueness of the endeavor: “The Board incorporated Stony Acres in the name of all students attending the college. … As far as we knew, this was the only off-campus recreation area purchased, paid for, developed and administered by the students. No college or state money was used for this project.”

With the help of audiovisual professor Earl Slutter, Brown and a large cadre of students did major renovations on the farmhouse, blazed hiking trails, and got a contractor to help create a 1½-acre pond.

One of the most important things Brown did to ensure long-term sustainability was to build in a funding source, arranging for profits from vending machines and the washing machines and dryers in

the dormitories to benefit Stony Acres. Today Stony Acres is partially funded through student fees. In the early 1980s, ESU established a $2 per semester Stony Acres fee that is now $8 per semester per student.

College students have used Stony Acres for outdoor recreation year-round from the start, but other groups have benefited as well. In the mid-1960s, James McIntyre M’64 became the first director of a summer camp for children, including some with disabilities,

Stony Acres 50at


Fall 2012 Feature Story 17

that the college ran in conjunction with the Scranton School District.

Large tent platforms were set up for the campers, and activities ranged from arts and crafts to archery, canoeing on the pond, swimming on campus, camp fires and field trips to Phillies games, McIntyre recalls. “They loved it,” he said.

Stony Acres eventually built cabins and in 1982, added the Challenge Course that included a ropes course and later a climbing tower. In 1984, the center opened Helen G. Brown Lodge, honoring the facility’s founder, who retired in 1975.

These additions attracted many more students and university groups. They still came for picnics, hiking, canoeing, snowshoeing, skating and cross-country skiing. But the Challenge Course and lodge drew classes and organizations as well as outside groups for team-building exercises and leadership training. ESU science students continue to use the grounds for studies of wildlife and environmental issues.

In 2000, Stony Acres built a new caretakers residence to replace the old farmhouse. Developing the activities and

running the Challenge Course and lodge, which can sleep 60, became a full-time job and in the mid-’80s Madeline Constantine ’79 M’92 went from Stony Acres caretaker to program director. Today she runs the center with her husband, Chuck Constantine ’80 M’95, who is the caretaker and co-director of the Challenge Course.

They also operate “Quest,” a 3½-day outdoor adventure orientation program that has become a great way for freshmen and transfer students to make friends.

In 2005, Stony Acres was recognized by the Mid-Atlantic Region of the Association of Experiential Education as the “Organization of the Year.”

Those who see the vibrant bonding experiences and outdoor adventures at Stony Acres believe Helen Brown would be pleased with the fruits of her dream.

“Student response to Stony Acres was almost unbelievable,” Brown wrote. “In working, planning and creating new buildings and areas they learned to love the area and were very proud of their achievements.”

A stand of sugar maple trees, named “Helen’s Grove,” was planted in Brown's memory in 2009 after she died at age 92.

Top: First caretaker Dick Mohler speaks at the 50th anniversary celebration about Stony Acres’ early days. Seated from left are Dr. Angela Vaulter, associate profes-sor of recreation and leisure services management; ESU President Dr. Marcia G. Welsh; community health major Courtney Besecker; Program director Madeline Constantine ’79 M’92, and Fredric Moses, executive director of the Student Activity Association, Inc.

Left: The late Helen Brown ’37, founder of Stony Acres, with caretaker Dick Mohler.

Bottom, from left: The barn, cabins, building the lodge, early challenge course, canoers on the pond, Maddy Constantine on the ropes course, students on the Chal-lenge Course. CARETAKERS, THEN AND NOW — Page 18


Bob Weidner

18


When Maddy Constantine ’79 M’92, started as Stony Acres caretaker in 1982, the Web was still something spun by spiders, Apple was a fruit, phones had cords and Tweeting was for birds.

Now program director, Maddy and her husband, caretaker Chuck Constantine ’80 M’95, show new generations of students how to exercise more than their texting thumbs. “We just created a new shirt that says, “Get unplugged at Stony Acres,” Maddy said.

The couple enjoy seeing students abandon their cell phones to take on the climbing tower and ropes course for team-building exercises. Before school starts each fall, freshmen and transfer students experience a 3½-day Quest program, a great bonding experience. “We have people who meet and become best friends,” Chuck said.

Maddy took the caretaker’s job in 1982, just three years after graduating with an environmental studies degree. “It was still a rustic place, it wasn’t used a lot.”

But the ropes course and new lodge were added soon after, and the center got busier. Maddy became program director and Chuck, who was hired as a maintenance worker in 1989, later took over as caretaker and co-director of the Challenge Course. They live on the site with their daughter Kaitlin, 18, and son Kevin, 13.

The couple have watched students who weren’t outdoorsy do a 180-degree turn. One such student, Robert Reale ’01 now owns an indoor climbing gym and runs adventure camps for kids. Other students, indulge their lifelong love of nature at Stony Acres. Gary Gimbert ’95 worked with the Constantines as an undergraduate and now is the regional director of land stewardship for the Natural Lands Trust, which manages 40 nature preserves.

“It’s very rewarding that they come through Stony Acres and go on to use the knowledge and experience they gained to make it part of their professional life,” Maddy said.

When Dick Mohler talks about what Stony Acres was like at its birth, it sounds more like 1862 than 1962. No running water, no telephone or electricity at the rustic farmhouse. It took a pioneer spirit to see the possibilities.

“It was really rough,” said Mohler, Stony Acres’ first caretaker. “There were a couple of sheds on the place, and the house hadn’t been lived in for 18 years.”

Audiovisual professor Earl Slutter, a skilled carpenter and electrician, showed the young people how to do the renovations themselves. “I learned so much from him,” Mohler said. “He taught me how to solder copper pipes. We rigged up running water, we put in a shower, and a sink. The water was coming from a spring. We put on a porch around the place. We put on a new roof.”

When tools started disappearing overnight, Mohler offered to live at the site to watch things, and he got paid $30 a month. The thefts stopped, but he faced some unwelcome roommates: bats in the house.

“They were swooping down on me,” he said. “I was killing them with a badminton racket. I killed 48 of them before we got the place fumigated. I didn’t know how good they were for the environment.”

Mohler took in two homeless beagles, and soon after was awakened one night by barking. The pot-bellied stove had malfunctioned and a wall caught fire — “The flames were shooting up aside of my bed.” Without a phone to call the fire department, he knocked down the blaze with buckets of water, then drove for help from nearby students.

“We saved the place,” he said. “I named the dogs Smoky and Burnie.”

Another time he was working with Slutter when the professor almost walked into a copperhead snake. Mohler got his shotgun and killed it.

Mohler left to take another job in 1964, and then became a teacher in Berks County. But he has fond memories of the students and of Stony Acres founder Helen Brown, whom he described as a visionary.

“She’d be very proud of what they’ve done out there today. She wanted something for the kids.”

ESU Alumni HeraldFeature Story18


First caretaker Dick Mohler speaks at the 50th Anniversary celebra-tion in September.

Stony Acres’ current caretaker couple: Chuck Constantine ’80 M’95 and Maddy Constantine ’79 M’92.

Stony Acres caretakersThen ... and Now

Bob Weidner

Bob Weidner

Join WarriorsNation, your alumni online community, at esualumni.orgJoin WarriorsNation, your alumni online community, at esualumni.org

Fall 2012

By James L. JohnsonTom Fail ’11 knows that blogging

from the floor of the Democratic National Convention won’t make him a candidate for Time Magazine’s Person of the Year. But he is humbled, thrilled and honored to have been given the opportunity to do it.

Fail was one of four ESU students selected to report on the national conventions this summer in a program hosted by The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars.

Fail and Salvatore Marino ’13 covered the Democratic Convention, while Amy Majani ’14 and Evan D’Aversa ’14 wrote from the Republican Convention.

Now that the conventions are over, these four are writing research papers and will participate in a university-wide forum on October 22 to share their adventures as political bloggers.

Dr. Kimberly S. Adams, an associate professor of political science and ESU campus liaison to The Washington Center, was instrumental in bringing the program to campus.

The conventions illustrate

the intricate details involved in selecting a president, Adams says, and exposure to the process enhances understanding of course materials.“It adds to their knowledge of the subject matter,” she explains, “and allows for meaningful dialogue in class discussions.”

Majani can relate. Born and raised in Kenya, she moved to America two years ago to pursue a political science degree. “Understanding the election process, to me, is imperative in my general understanding of American politics,” she noted in her blog. “This convention is a foundation for me to do so.”

Marino has been interested in politics as long as he can remember, and gets irked when people complain about government but are ignorant of the most basic facts about it. Members of a democratic society need to know how their government operates, he says, noting that it is one reason he applied to the program.

“Any opportunity to educate myself and others on the processes of government is one worth taking.”

Education Conventions

Right: Amy Majani ’14 at the last night of the Republican National Convention.

Middle, at the Democratic National Con-vention: Salvatore Mario with state Rep. Patricia Cotham of North Carolina, and

Tom Fail ’11 (right) with former Pennsyl-vania Congressman Patrick Murphy.

Below: Evan D’Aversa ’14, who spent two days at the Republican National

Convention as a CNN stand-in.

ESU News 19


ESU Alumni HeraldESU News20


By Margie PetersonUnited States exports to

China hit $104 billion last year, a 542 percent increase over the past decade. This fall, ESU is giving students the opportunity to acquire key skills to tap into those markets by offering a minor in Chinese language and culture.

The new minor is an extension of the ties with ESU’s sister schools in China: Shenyang Normal University and Shanghai Normal University, bonds which have grown stronger with many student and faculty exchanges.

“What we’re trying to do is give our students opportunities

to go to China and learn Chinese here,” said Dr. Peter Hawkes, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “The ESU faculty is so enthusiastic about the exchanges. We’ve developed personal connections.”

Last May, Katherine Ackerman ’13 got a jump start on the new minor when she

won first place in a Chinese language proficiency competition for foreign students. Ackerman earned a scholarship from the Chinese government to study at Shenyang, and in August represented the United States in the final round of the international language proficiency competition in Beijing.

While she did not win, Ackerman was chosen to give a short speech on behalf of all 100 competitors at the opening ceremony. She was on national television, and met many famous directors and news reporters.

She was in China both before and after taking Chinese at ESU. “Not only was life easier and more convenient after taking the courses, but the circle of people I was able to communicate with greatly

broadened,” said Ackerman, whose Chinese name is Huang Xiaomao.

The U.S. government has identified Chinese as a critical language for defense and trade purposes, and job availability is steadily rising. Ackerman is eyeing a career in business or in translation and interpretation, making her a prime recruit for

either American or Chinese companies.

Student interest in learning Chinese has grown, with class enrollments increasing 50 percent in the last year. That demand helped ESU win approval for a Chinese minor from the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, only the second of the 14 PASSHE schools to do so.

Hawkes sees the new program as a great advantage to students majoring in business management, history, political science, environmental studies, and communication studies.

The university is well positioned to develop the new minor, with proximity to international markets and government agencies in New York and Philadelphia, says Dr. Marilyn J. Wells M’87 M’91, vice provost and dean of the Graduate College. Students will be required to take at least six 3-credit courses. Four of them will be in the Chinese language and two in Chinese culture.

“While the language is key, gaining an understanding and appreciation for Chinese culture will help students in large and small ways,” said Wells, who traveled to China in 2008.

For example, in America business cards are often exchanged at the end of a meeting then quickly put away.

“In China, that would be an intolerable insult,” Wells said. “Business cards are exchanged at the beginning of a meeting, and you receive the card with two hands and take time to show respect to your Chinese colleague.”

中國語言和文化* Chinese language and culture

Katherine Ackerman ’13 in traditional dress.

New minor recognizes China’s role in global economy*


Fall 2012 ESU News 21


By Margie Peterson

Not that long ago, if you wanted to gauge coastline erosion or find where the watersheds were, it was a long slog through stacks of maps and pages of data. Then geotechnology — using the hottest computer and satellite technology — revolutionized the field of geography.

This fall East Stroudsburg University is offering a new Professional Science Master’s degree that teaches graduate students how to use those tools in the fast-growing field of environmental science while they learn skills that prepare them for leadership positions in industry or government.

“The programs are developed closely with the input of an employer advisory board because we need to know what they need,” said Dr. Marilyn J. Wells M’87 M’91, vice provost and dean of the Graduate College. “These master’s degree graduates will be ready to go from Day One.”

ESU is part of a growing trend. In 2008, only 58 institutions offered PSMs — today 124 do. The growth is due in part to the Alfred P. Sloan

Foundation, which

established a grant program to create them. Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) received a $50,000 grant to develop at least five new programs across the state.

ESU was the second PASSHE school to receive national PSM Affiliation and to be included on the national listing of programs at www.sciencemasters.com.

“The program will provide a unique opportunity for students to apply geotechnology to solve environmental issues,” said Dr. Shixiong Hu, ESU geography professor. “It will also train the students with professional skills they need in career development.”

Chad Crane, who graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in geology, decided to pursue the new master’s degree after taking courses from Dr. Hu and doing a brief stint at NASA’s Wallops Island Flight Facility in Virginia, which partners with ESU through the Marine Science Consortium.

Crane also did volunteer work using geographic information systems (GIS) to map the Brodhead Watershed and chart stream temperatures in Monroe County.

Both experiences left him wanting to learn more about geotechnology and how computers

and satellites are used to map everything from shoreline erosion to flood

plain boundaries to population shifts.

“It’s a fascinating thing,” Crane said. “I like doing the mapping, but

I really want to get into planning and public

policy.”

PSM students will learn field data collection, laboratory analysis and environmental modeling — skills that businesses and agencies are looking for — in addition to the broader tools needed by policymakers.

Students will graduate with a master of science in general science with applications of Geographic Information Systems/Remote Sensing to Environmental Science. They will be required to take 36 credits in courses such as Applied Geographic Information Science, Introduction to Remote Sensing, and public budgeting and finance, communications, and organizational strategy.

Instead of a thesis, the program typically requires students to complete a collaborative research project, as well as an internship with a business, government or nonprofit organization. ESU expects to make use of its senior membership in the Marine Science Consortium, with its affiliations with Wallops Island and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

A master’s of general science was one of the first graduate degrees the university offered when the Graduate College launched its first programs in 1962.

“We are taking a degree program in the sciences in which we’ve had a historical strength, and preparing students for 21st century careers,” Wells said. “It’s building on our legacy.”

“Our students will be well-equipped to lead companies and organizations of any scale.”

Marcia G. Welsh, Ph.D., president of ESU

Learning to find – and lead – the world

ESU Alumni HeraldAlumni in the News22

By Brooke Donovan

Randy Detrick ’00 has known but one way to find success: through tenacious positivity. He grew up in Bushkill and was raised by a single mother, the late Sandra Detrick ’05, whom he credits as the most positive, enthusiastic person in his life. Her influence has helped shape Randy’s life in the business world and on the ski slopes as he competes for a spot on the U.S. Ski Cross team in the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.

Detrick, 36, who spent countless hours on the slopes at Shawnee Mountain as a child, has spent the past five years participating in ski cross, a new sport similar to motocross racing.

A typical ski cross course is designed to have challenging course elements including natural terrain, artificial jumps built to standard specifications, and of course, a path built for speed. Skiers race the course in heats, with the fastest 32 skiers competing in knockout-style series of rounds of four until the winner of the final heat is determined.

“Ski cross is an extremely demanding sport,” says Detrick. “You are exhausted by the end of a heat, and even more so if you’ve done six heats throughout one day.”

National ranking is determined through points earned in competitive events. Detrick, who has ranked as high as sixth place, has competed around the world, most notably the World Cup races in Italy and Canada. Typically only four men from the U.S. are selected to compete in the World Cup.

He also placed third in the South American Cup in Chile. Other competitions include the Junior Olympics and the North American Ski Cross Cup.

He is part of the 2012 U.S. National Ski Cross team, and can be seen competing on the Ski Cross World Cup Circuit. The training and traveling is demanding, but with the support of his wife, Tiffany Evans Detrick ’05 M’09, he believes he has a strong chance of making the team going to Sochi in 2014.

“Tiff is my rock,” Detrick says. “She plans our travel schedule, manages equipment and coordinates everything.”

While most racers have ski techs who handle the equipment, Randy and Tiffany do everything themselves, from the waxing of skis to the timing of Randy’s runs. Even injuries, such as the toenails that fall off from intense training, are dealt with on the home front.

“Sometimes waiting at the bottom of the hill is the scariest part,” says Tiffany. “They are racing at extreme speeds and you never know if it will be a clean run or if someone will get hurt.”

And if Randy’s skiing career didn’t keep the Detricks busy enough, they have also found success in their business, Star Medical Equipment, a leading supplier of home medical equipment in northeast Pennsylvania and northern New Jersey. The company, which Randy started when he was 24, has seen tremendous growth in the wound care sector, and he credits much of his success to work experiences gained while a student at East Stroudsburg University.

“Because of my drive, I was able to live the life I wanted to while at ESU. I never stopped working and never stopped believing in the dream I had for myself,” he says.

Detrick encourages others to never lose hope in the things they are passionate about and to always believe in the dreams they have for themselves. He also finds the time in his busy schedule to appear as a motivational speaker and as a part-time ski coach at Killington Mountain School in Killington, Vt.

Randy Detrick ’00 2014 Olympic hopeful

Tiffany Evans Detrick ’05 M’09 and Randy Detrick ’00, team up to pursue Randy’s Olympic ski cross dreams.

?Join WarriorsNation, your alumni online community, at esualumni.org

Fall 2012


By Margie Peterson

It’s probably safe to say that Matt DeLancey’s garage has received more media attention than some of this year’s Olympians.

That’s because DeLancey ’98 helps train swimming superstar and gold medalist Ryan Lochte on the strength and conditioning equipment DeLancey has set up at his home. Where Lochte goes, TV cameras follow.

“My garage has had five to six different networks in it including one from Japan,” DeLancey said. “There have been visits from Gatorade, Nissan, ESPN, ESPN the Magazine, Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Men’s Journal, the BBC, and a few others that I just cannot remember. It has been pretty hectic.”

A health and physical education major at ESU, DeLancey is assistant director of strength and conditioning for Olympic sports at University of Florida, where he has worked for a decade. He has trained scores of Olympians and more than 700 All-Americans. Gator teams he has worked with have won five NCAA championships and 16 Southeastern Conference Championships.

Along the way he’s learned what separates good athletes from great ones.

“Talent is a misused term,” DeLancey said. “Talent is a combination of skill set, work ethic, physical tolerance, mental tolerance, attention to details, and interest level in being great. A great set of skills is nothing without the rest.”

He’s seen how strength and conditioning contributes to mental outlook. “I can tell you as an athlete gets stronger and fitter, their confidence levels go up.”

So what has it been like to train Lochte? “It’s been fun and rewarding,” DeLancey said. “He’s one of the hardest-working athletes I’ve ever worked with. He’s easy to work with because of his great demeanor and desire to be great.”

DeLancey couldn’t go to London for the Olympics because he was training the Gator volleyball, track and field and swimming and diving teams, using lessons learned at ESU.

DeLancey said the foundation for the work he does now was laid during his freshman year, when he took a kinesiology class from Distinguished Professor of Athletic Training John Thatcher ’69. And Professor of Physical Education Dr. Caroline Kuchinski ’80 M’86 taught him how to organize a physical education lesson plan, which he has modified for agility and speed training of his team athletes.

But lessons from ESU coaches also have served him well throughout his career. He recalls an encounter with assistant football coach Mike Terwilliger. “My freshman year, Coach Twig walks into the study hall and looks at me. He said, ‘Delance, make sure you are a sponge.’ Turns and walks out. I have always tried to absorb as much information as I can since that day.”

Another lesson came from head football coach Denny Douds, who taught him, “when in doubt, grind to get better.”

After graduating in 1998, DeLancey worked as associate head football coach and head strength coach for the weight-lifting team at Carson Long Military Institute in New Bloomfield, Pa., and as a graduate assistant at Northern Illinois University. After interning in 2002 in the strength and conditioning department at the University of Richmond, he began working in the University of Florida strength and conditioning department with the football team and the women’s throwers. In 2005, he was promoted to assistant director of strength and conditioning for Olympic sports.

He is married to Aurymar Rodriguez DeLancey and they live in Gainesville, Fla.

Matt DeLancey ’98 Gold medal trainer

Matt DeLancey ’98, left, with Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte in the training

room set up in DeLancey’s garage.


23

Alumni in the News24

By Brooke DonovanWhen Dan DiZio ’95 and Len

Lehman ’94 met as sophomores, they couldn’t have imagined that 20 years later they’d own a company featured on national television.

On April 27, DiZio, the CEO and co-founder of Philly Pretzel Factory, appeared on CBS’s Emmy award-winning reality show “Undercover Boss,” which follows executives as they leave their corporate offices for a secret mission to examine the inner workings of their companies.

The company, co-founded by DiZio and Lehman in 1998, has grown from a single location in Philadelphia to a booming franchise with more than 120 locations along the East Coast. With sales of 100 million pretzels last year, it is the world’s largest Philly-style pretzel bakery, serving fresh, delicious, hand-twisted soft pretzels daily.

While “Undercover Boss” typically only features companies that gross more than $500 million, the executives at CBS liked the story behind Philly Pretzel Factory and decided to run with it.

So just how do two Phi Sigma Kappa brothers go from living in the fraternity’s “Dungeon” house to a nationally televised show?

It wasn’t always easy.After graduation, DiZio, employed

as a stock broker, and

Lehman,

working as a psychiatric counselor, stayed in touch. They jokingly planned on running a bar because neither was happy with his job. DiZio, who had sold pretzels on Philadelphia street corners when he was a boy, got serious about leaving behind the stockbroker life.

DiZio presented a plan to Lehman to go into the pretzel business. Lehman was sold, thinking he could twist, bake and sell in the morning and make it to the golf course by 10 a.m. every day. After consulting with his wife, Jennifer Mittelman Lehman ’95, he decided there was nothing to lose.

The road to success began with a challenging trip to Florida to pick up the heart of their new business — a prized pretzel-making machine. Stuffed deep inside a garage, the rusty machine almost didn’t make it back to Philadelphia.

“With the condition it was in, we initially walked away from it,” said Lehman. “I’ll never forget how Dan and I were sitting at a stop sign, and almost symbolically, we decided to go back and negotiate the price. We haggled with the guy until 11 p.m. that night!”

The ride home was no easy feat. An old rental truck, the weight of the machine, and blown tires proved to be challenging on the 1,000-mile trip, and they needed to make it back in time for an auction to acquire a mixer.

With the kitchen equipment acquired and a message left for the health department to drop by to approve the venture, the two went to work in rented space on Frankford Avenue in the Mayfair area of Philadelphia. They were fortunate to be located next to Moe’s Deli, which

helped build their customer base. “[On the first day] people were

leaving the deli and stopping by our store to pick up a pretzel,” said DiZio. “When they saw our wholesale prices, they placed big orders and before we knew it, we had a line out the door.”

The two were twisting, baking and selling at a frantic pace to keep up with demand. The word of the fresh, hot-out-of-the-oven pretzels spread quickly to Philadelphians accustomed to traditional hard, plastic-wrapped pretzels.

Philly Pretzel Factory was a hit.“In the beginning, we worked

like dogs,” said DiZio. “Every day we would drive to Sam’s Club, buy hundreds of pounds of flour, load it up ourselves in our own cars, and steal boxes outside of the store to put the pretzel orders in.”

“We were only working five minutes ahead at the time,” said Lehman.“Even when we were working at the counters, it was 102 degrees. It was exhausting.” The pace was so

Twist of fateCollege friends build Pretzel Factory from scratch

Dan DiZio ’95, left, and Len Lehman ’94 haven’t lost their skill at twisting pretzels, although their time these days is spent in the Philly Pretzel Factory corporate office.

ESU Alumni Herald

Dan DiZio ’95, left, and Len Lehman ’94 founded the Philly Pretzel Factory in 1998, and now oversee a franchise empire of more than 120 stores.


demanding that he was ready to walk away after three months.

“He handed me the keys,” said DiZio. “We needed to work smarter for the sake of our quality of life.”

Lehman reconsidered after they were able to hire employees and buy flour from a distributor. A few other friends helped out, and the business began to grow.

In 2004, DiZio and Lehman were approached with the idea of franchising. The first franchise opened in West Chester, and in 2006, the business really took off. They developed an operations manual, hired an IT department, and established back-office procedures.

Several ESU graduates have become franchisees, such as Ron Heil ’94, who owns or has a partnership in 13 stores.

“A lot of our success was attributed to dumb luck,” said DiZio. “We were successful without a business plan and even more successful once we had one in place.”

DiZio and Lehman rarely twist pretzels or lug flour these days, but work in offices above their original location, where they can still smell pretzels baking. DiZio is the face of the company, and so bleached his hair to become the “Undercover Boss” for the TV show. He says the show was a chance for him and Lehman to stay true to who they are and to be strong leaders.

“We founded our company because we wanted work to be fun,” said DiZio. “I thought that because I was the founder of the company, and that I had twisted pretzels, that I would never forget all that. You

don’t want to become that CEO that is out of touch, but I lost perspective.”

After DiZio’s experiences with the show, Philly

Pretzel Factory made some changes to its

management training and incorporated the “rogue” pepperoni pretzel melt into their menu. “The show allowed us to really see

what was happening and to become stronger,” said DiZio.Both men give credit to their

ESU experience.“The summer start program I

attended before my freshman fall helped me tremendously,” Lehman said. “ESU helped me grow into the man I am today. I never accept ‘no’ for myself, and I would encourage recent graduates to do the same. If you believe you can make it, you will.”

DiZio agrees. “I may not have been the strongest

student, but I learned a lot through hard work, relationships, and by doing what worked for me,” said DiZio. “I challenged myself to get out of my comfort zone and it paid off.”

He encourages young alumni to do what works for them and to be willing to go after those dreams that might appear impossible to achieve.

“If it feels right, go with it. So many good ideas and products in business are lost when they are overthought.”

THE BOSS UNDERCOVER Dan DiZio ’95 starred this spring on the CBS-TV reality show “Undercover Boss,” transforming himself (top) into a blond, blue-eyed new employee named “Tom” who learned how to work as mascot Phil E. and how to make pretzels ... although he and partner Len Lehman ’94 made thousands of pretzels by hand when starting up their company, the Philly Pretzel Factory, in 1998.

Watch your CBS station for replays, or see photos and video clips from Season 3, Episode 11 at www.cbs.com/shows/undercover_boss


Alumni in the News 25Fall 2012


Photos courtesy Copyright Entertainment



Alumni Events

From left: Dr. Jane Huffman M’07, William Critchley ’95, Mark Donio ’02, Randy Detrick ’00, Tiffany Evans Detrick ’05 M’09, Crystal Burger Mickalowski ’02 and daughter, Amy Stabler ’02, Jill Shope ’01, James Wenger ’02, Matt Semcheski ’03, Ellen Spencer ’02, Nick Della Fave ’02, Lisa Martines McLemore ’00, and Dr. Bruce Haase ’85.

NatioNals vs. Phillies BaseBallA group of baseball fans gathered on May 6

in Washington, D.C., to watch the Washington Nationals take on the Philadelphia Phillies.

From left: Jim Viola ’84, Kate Hawley ’03, Tom Leshko ’57, John Straffolino ’97,

John’s son, and Jean Leshko ’58.

Not pictured is Collette Ryder ’96,who also attended.

MaRiNe sCieNCe aluMNi ReuNioN

The first ever reunion for Marine Science alumni was held

on Saturday, June 2 at ESU.

Coordinated by Amy Stabler ’02, alumni and their families gathered

at the Warren E. ’55 and Sandra Hoeffner Science and Technology

Center to reminisce about their experiences before socializing over

dinner at Sarah Street Grill in Stroudsburg.

MeN’s laCRosse aluMNi GaMeNearly 25 alumni returned to campus on Saturday, April 28 for the men’s lacrosse alumni game. The current men’s team hosted the alumni for the annual game.

To connect with the alumni lacrosse group, contact Scott Bourdon ’99 at [email protected].

Fall 2012 Alumni in the News 27


aNNual DelCo GatheRiNGA small group of alumni gathered for the annual Delaware County (Delco) event, held at the Riddle Ale House in Media.

From left: William Shields ’69, William Smithson ’76, Ted Szymczak ’78, Berna-dette ’Rossi’ DiPasquale, Chris Ransel ’74, Gaetano DiPasquale ’75, Nick DiGregory ’76 and Brooke Donovan, assistant director of alumni engagement

From left: John Stephens ’67, Matt Stephens ’96, Matty Stephens, Jean Leshko ’58, Barbara Wilson and Jeanne Chambers ’73.

BeaCh Bash 2012A lively group of alumni gathered for the Beach Bash on August 11

at Seacrets in Ocean City, Md. Rain didn’t keep the fun from happening.

From left: Colleen Butler ’08, Monica Leon ’07, Gail Smith ’71,

Jon Smith ’70, Ashlee Gentile ’10, and Jaclyn Clemens.

From left: Kate Hawley ’03, Anthony Liberatori and Theresa Liberatori ’88.

MaRiNe CoRPs eveNiNG PaRaDeIt was the sweltering evening of a record-breaking 104-degree day as alumni and friends gathered to watch the Marine Corps Evening Parade in Washington, D.C., on June 29. The gathering, organized annually by Tom Leshko ’57 (not pictured), ended just before a major windstorm swept through the area, packing gusts of 60-80 miles per hour and producing extensive storm damage in the region.


Nearly 70 golfers enjoyed a round at the Mount Airy Casino and Resort Golf Course during the 23rd Annual East Stroudsburg University Educational Scholarship Golf Classic on August 6. Held in honor of the late Dr. Joseph Mattioli and Dr. Rose Mattioli, long-time event supporters, the event was hosted by the East Stroudsburg University Foundation and benefits the Prince Hall Endowed Scholarship Fund, which helps students from the Prince Hall School in Philadelphia to attend ESU.

The event welcomed new ESU President Dr. Marcia G. Welsh and Morgan Jones ’11, a former Prince Hall Scholar, as guest speakers during the luncheon that followed the morning’s play. The ESU Foundation also honored Wayne Bolt, volunteer tournament committee chair, for his 23 years of service to the event.

Twelve Prince Hall scholars have completed their degrees since the program began, and five are on their way to earning degrees.

The ESU Foundation would like to extend its thanks to the 2012 Golf Committee members: Chairman Wayne Bolt, Dr. Elzar Camper, Dr. Patricia Graham, Eva Haddon, Shawn Munford, Dr. Neal Simpson, Dr. Beth Sockman and John Stanfield Jr.

Many thanks also go out to event volunteers Joanne Eagleson, Jeff Jones, Dr. Pamela Kramer-Ertel, Dr. Mark Kilker, John Lopez, Kizzy Morris, Dr. Tom Tauer and Phillip Anthony ’13.

By Brooke Donovan and Paul scheuch ’71 M’77

A group of 60 ESU alumni, faculty, staff and friends gathered on July 23 for the Alumni Association’s Summer Scramble golf outing at Stonehedge Golf Course in Tunkhannock. The golfers enjoyed a shotgun start, contests, and several skill holes before concluding the day with a steak dinner.

The annual outing dates back to 2005. This year’s event was organized by a volunteer group of alumni: Chairman Paul Scheuch ’71 M’77, Chuck Bierlein ’70, Bill Horvath ’70 M’79, Frank Johnson ’74, Dennis Mooney ’71, Bob Roberts ’71 and Allie Urban ’74.

The committee began planning in January, working to secure hole

sponsorships, arrange prizes and develop the program. This year’s event emphasized not only fun, but the importance of giving back to the university.

Special thanks go out to all who made the day successful, particularly Susquehanna Brewing Company for providing beverages on the course and the Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union and Gibbons Ford for sponsoring skill holes.

The committee will regroup soon to begin planning next summer’s event. Future plans also consider relocating the outing back to the Poconos.

◆ If you are interested in helping with next year’s event, please contact [email protected].

23rd Golf Classic raises funds for Prince Hall Scholarships

Summer Scramble benefitsESU Foundation Annual Fund

From left: Cathy Kennedy Nicholls ’72, Albert Nicholls, Paul Scheuch ’71 M’77 and Nanette Solt Scheuch ’72 take a break during Summer Scramble play.


Fall 2012 Class Notes 29


Class Notes list the year alumni received their undergraduate degree first, followed by their graduate degree if they attended East Stroudsburg University for both. ‘M’ denotes a master’s degree.

To submit Class Notes:

[email protected]

Submit onlineesualumni.org/classnotes

Call (800) 775-8975

Fax (570) 422-3301

It is our policy not to publish engagements or pregnancies; however, we do publish marriages and births.

If you are submitting a photograph electronically with your information, please make sure that it is at least 240 dpi.

You can submit photos electronically or mail an original photograph, but we cannot guarantee that it will be returned.

EDITORIAL NOTE

New JeRsey ’56eRsA group of alumni from the

Class of 1956 and their spouses get together each year

in New Jersey.

Enjoying this year’s event, from left, are Wayne Stevens, Clayton Kern ’56, Dawn Kern,

Beverly Woods Stevens ’56, Angela Bacinelli Cobb ’56 and

Michaeline Wojcikowski ’56.


1940sEleanor Snarski Oravitz ’44 celebrated her 90th birthday on May 2 at a surprise party given by her son, Henry Oravitz ’72. As a junior, Eleanor became the first female student to be elected class president, and she was re-elected class president in her senior year.

Charles Nesbitt ’49, a former ESU wrestling team captain, has served on the Pennsylvania State Athletic Directors Executive Council for 45 years. He is the conference exhibits manager for the Romanoski Chapter of the Pennsylvania Hall of Fame.

1960sJames ’61 and Ellen ’61 Richardson celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on June 23.

Roy E. Pipher ’62 has published a book called “A History of the Movie Theatres in Monroe County, Pa.”

Bill Lewis ’63 retired from the University of Notre Dame on July 31 after an almost 50-year career coaching football

at both the professional and college

level. At the time of his retirement, he was Notre Dame’s athletics community relations manager, but he worked three years as a defensive coach. Previously, he worked nine years as a coach with the Miami Dolphins, which followed 32 years of collegiate level coaching, including three years at ESU.

Warren Slocum ’63 has been teaching Sunday school since retiring. He celebrated his grandson’s third birthday in April.

Dr. G. Richard Lobs ’65 and Donna Lobs ’64 are retired and living in North Carolina near family.

Jim Caverly ’66 M’72, a retired FBI agent, bicycled across America this summer to honor fallen officers and raise awareness

and money for concerns of police survivors. He and his wife, Jeanne Meyer Caverly ’68 M’77, who cheered him on the entire way, celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary on June 24.

1970sJoseph Husser ’74 is a retired school teacher.

Class Notes

ESU Alumni HeraldClass Notes30

Dr. Kenneth Felker ’78 M’84, published the fifth edition of his book “Integrating Technology into Physical Education

and Health.” Health and Physical Education (HPE) department chair at Edinboro University for 15 years, he now serves as HPE curriculum specialist for Learning & Leading with Technology, journal of the International Society for Technology Education. He was honored with the Award for Innovative Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Technology at the International Conference on College Teaching and Learning.

Lynn Lasser ’79 is retired and volunteers for the United Presbyterian Church of Yardville, N.J., as a deacon and secretary. She and her husband, Bob, have been married for 27 years.

1980sRonald Hosko ’80 was named assistant director of the Criminal Investigative Division at FBI Headquarters in July. He began his career with the FBI as a special agent in 1984.

Col. Gary D. Wiest ’81 retired from the U.S. Marine Corps after 31 years of service. He served in many positions of

command throughout the world and received several decorations, including the Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Legion of Merit, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with gold star and the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with two gold stars.

Scott Miller ’88 was elected president of Pocono Heritage Land Trust. He is a partner in the Stroudsburg

accounting firm Riley and Co., and has volunteered with the Marshalls Creek Fire Company since 1981.

1990sBret Comp ’93 was inducted into the McDonald’s Lehigh Valley All-Star Football Classic Hall of Fame in June.

Michael Stracco ’93 was named the 2011-12 Teacher of the Year at Rutherford (N.J.) High School.

Peggy Berger ’94 underwent a kidney transplant in April. Her son donated the kidney for the six-way exchange, which was very successful.

olD hats footBall BaCK fRoM the ’90sA group of “Old Hats” — early 1990s football alumni and friends — gathers each year to reminisce and watch the ESU spring football game. This year the group celebrated the 20th anniversary of the 1991 PSAC East championship football team.

Kneeling, from left: Mike Santella ’94, Ed Myers ’94 M’96, Ramon Leak ’94, Frank Lupin ’62, Doug Leonzi ’94, Dennis McWhite ’02, Jake Hlavac ’94, Roger Straub ’94, Dave Hahn ’95.

Standing, from left: Todd Boggess ’97 M’02, Don Fureman ’94, Rob Mikulski M’93, Bob Boden ’95, Ron Hannis ’94, Marc Scotti ’94, Jay Callaghan ’93, Bob Swift ’95, Matt Giarretta ’95, Coach Denny Douds, Scott Higgins ’06, Ray Yakavonis ’81 M’88, Steven Stuttle ’96, Matt Gifford ’94, Desmond Hussey ’94, Mike Kuhns ’95, Greg Garzio ’94, Kevin Price ’93, Mike Terwilliger ’78 and Tom Ferguson.

Attendees not pictured: Bret Comp ’93, Joe Ruedt, John Catalano ’94 and Mike McClelland ’97.


Fall 2012 Class Notes 31


Kimberly Razzano ’94 helped to organize the Capital to Capitol ONE Ride, a 150-mile bicycle ride to raise awareness about childhood obesity. She is president of the Pennsylvania State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance and a professor at ESU.

Dr. Gregory A. Taranto M’96 was selected as the 2012 Pennsylvania Middle Level Principal of the Year by the

Pennsylvania Association of Elementary and Secondary Principals. Taranto is principal of Canonsburg Middle School.

2000sBenjamin Brenneman ’01 M’06 was named East Stroudsburg School District’s new athletic director.

Marci Logan ’02 earned a master’s degree in management from Wilmington University in May.

Barry Krammes ’04 finished 10th in the javelin at the 2012 U.S. Olympic trials. Krammes teaches at East Stroudsburg South High School.

Daniel Cullen ’06 was named the 2011-12 New Jersey Council for Exceptional Children teacher of the year. He was

also selected to represent Warren Hills Regional School District as a candidate for the 2011-12 Warren County teacher of the year and New Jersey teacher of the year for his work with middle level students.

Francisco Pacheco ’06 was hired by the Perrigo Company pharmaceutical manufacturer in April as the

employee relations representative for the human resources team.

Melissa Weidler ’06 was named the Middle Atlantic Conference women’s outdoor track and field coach of the year

in May. She also earned indoor track and field coach of the year honors in February while coaching the Lebanon Valley College team to its first indoor championship.

Evan Prall ’07 and Jim Terwilliger ’07 hosted the third annual Air Raid Academy football camp in June at Pleasant Valley High School. All proceeds were donated to cystic fibrosis research.

Justin Scott ’07 M’08 was named head basketball coach at Arcadia University in Philadelphia. He had been the

assistant coach and the athletic department’s academic coordinator for the last two seasons.

Debra Celentano ’08 earned her master’s degree in special education from Drexel University.

Anthony Ross ’08 was named head basketball coach at Penn State-Lehigh Valley after serving two years as an assistant coach at Moravian College.

Kelly Dries ’08 earned her master’s degree in counseling from Towson University in May.

Taryn Stettler ’08 earned her master’s degree in business management from DeSales University in January. She is a controller with DSM Nutritional Products in Belvidere, N.J.

Harold Fairclough M’09 was inducted into the McDonald’s Lehigh Valley All-Star Football Classic Hall of Fame in June.

Jason Grigg ’09 graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.

Renee Schwartz ’09 received a graduate assistantship at Gwynedd-Mercy College and is pursuing her master’s degree in counseling.

2010sConor Gillis ’10 is a district representative for Congresswoman Nan Hayworth in Goshen, N.Y.

Toric Robinson ’10 signed a professional soccer contract with the Dayton (Ohio) Dutch Lions, a professional team in the United Soccer League.

Jordan Sonka ’10 joined the Upper Saucon Police Department as an officer in July. He graduated from the Allentown Police Academy in 2011.

Tiffany Keiba Bragg-Best ’12 (pictured) and Clarissa Gallo ’10 M’12 received ESU’s Shirley Chisholm Award

for Excellence in Learning, Sensitivity to Social Issues and Commitment to Activism in May.

James Burke ’12 and Richard Hennessy ’12 were awarded ESU University Leadership Awards at spring commencement for their leadership and service.

Liz Matthews ’12 began work with AmeriCorps in August. She was an orientation staff assistant with ESU immediately after graduation in May.

Maure Perrymond ’12 was awarded the Herbert Weber Cardiac Rehabilitation Scholarship by The Association of Pennsylvania State Colleges and University Retired Faculties. She is a graduate student in the exercise physiology program at ESU.

Baron Vanderburg ’12 was appointed to the Easton Area School District board of directors.


ESU Alumni HeraldClass Notes | Marriages | Births | In Memoriam32


aluMNiAlfred H. Mathieson ’38Anna Miller Hixson ’40Elizabeth M. Putt Weber ’41Lois Kraft Fritz ’43Helen Buschmann Hagen ’48Annetta H. Reber ’48Dr. William D. Denton ’49Paul L. Barndt ’50Stephen A. Miklos ’50Dorothy M. Lott Goodwin ’51Henry C. Prichard ’51Clifton W. Liddicoat ’53Jean R. Edinger ’54Dr. Ted M. Shanoski ’55Dr. Henry Fremount ’56 M’64 (Retired faculty)Salvatore V. LaDuca ’56Eugene H. Perry ’57 M’66Roger D. Acker ’58Janet Orth Richards ’58 M’69Mildred Birosik Nemeth ’59Ronald J. Slutter ’60Joseph J. DeVivo ’61Charles M. Swartz ’61Natalie B. Kohn Ziegler ’61John D. Jones ’63Ellen Lehamn Nixon ’63Elizabeth Schwartz Miller ’64Arthur N. Weisbrode ’64Ronald J. Hoyda ’65Sally Eshelman Ketter ’65Jon M. McHale ’65Betty J. Kercher Hoffman ’69Bonnie Randall Stoddart ’69Robert F. Peters ’70Dr. William S. Peters ’71Cheryl Kolodski Jackson ’73Sharon Laska Schroeder ’74Kathleen A. Fedastion ’75John McCormick ’77Lewis E. Halley Jr. M’78Margaret Wells Zywicki ’78 M’83Susan Vanderslice Brong M’83Margaret Rowland Ciglinsky ’86Stephen R. Johnson ’87Michael J. Saks ’93Edward G. Jones ’94Carol A. Schlageter ’96Ross S. Yanco M’96Joseph T. Enkulenko ’03

faCultyDr. Peter Roche de CoppensDr. Lucy Stanovick

staffRichard KrajnakBertha LaBarThelma MaxwellThelma Ockershausen

fRieNDsClifford CramerRobert E. DoneyCalvin S. DouglasEdward V. ErmShirley PerryDale F. TaylorJean Terwilliger

Mervin heller Jr. ’69Mervin Heller Jr., a 1990 inductee to the ESU Athletic Hall of Fame and former president, chairman and chief executive of the U.S. Tennis Association, died August 21.

He was a member of Alpha Chi Rho fraternity and Stroud Courier sports editor, created the sports information director position and founded the Varsity “S” club. He once held the school record for career wins in singles and doubles tennis, and was awarded the Alumni Association’s Helen G. Brown Award in 2010.

An attorney for 30 years, he was a former chair of the Greater Reading Chamber of Commerce and Industry, served on the boards of several nonprofits and was chair of the Berks County Republican Party.

MarriagesJeremy Young ’96 and Catherine Merli ’06 (daughter of head women’s track and field coach Christopher Merli) married on June 30.

Shannon Gally ’07 and James Dillman, son of former ESU President

Dr. Robert Dillman, were married April 21. In attendance were Kate LaRosa ’08, Katie Zelem ’08, Bethany Le Blanc Pritchard ’07, Karen Mellone ’07, Kara Landau Yannotti ’07, Kim Redvanly ’07, Kimberly Netwall DiMatteo ’07, Maria Vermont ’08, and Dr. Andrea McClanahan.

Elise Clifford ’09 and Ryan Collins ’09 married June 25, 2011, and live in Scranton. The bride was given away by her father, Richard Clifford ’75. In attendance were Ed Lavell ’76, Allan Hetkowski ’76, Connie Capozza Hetowski ’76, Susan Hall Struckus ’80, Melissa Felter ’09, Lori Pilosi ’86, Bert Gentilezza ’84, Bill Biles ’09, Lauren Brousseau ’11, Alyssa Dekalb Bayer ’10, Michael Bayer ’08, Lindsay Chermak Powers ’09, Caitland Hawk ’07 and Brian Malone ’09.

BirthsBilly Abramson ’88 and his wife, Colette, have a daughter, Sophia Mirabella, born January 24. Sophia joins big brother Charlie. The

Abramsons reside in Los Angeles.

Amy Kowalczyk Foley ’01 and her husband, Christopher, announced the birth of a daughter, Gabriella Rae. She was born April 30 and joined big sister Elise at home in Lakeland, Fla.

Justin Potts M’07 and Caroline Potts M’06 report the birth of daughter Quinn Ruby Potts on April 16.

In MemoriamDr. Dennis D. Bell

Dr. Dennis D. Bell, university president from 1980 to 1986, passed away on August 28.

He oversaw the transition from East Stroudsburg State College to East Stroudsburg University, and saw the addition of several programs, including the bachelor of science degree in management.

He was active in the Monroe County United Way, the Pocono Mountains Chamber of Commerce, the Pocono Family YMCA, the Stroudsburg Rotary Club, the Commission for the Universities, the Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Universities, the PASSHE Commission of Presidents, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference board and many national educational associations.

Dr. Bell is survived by his wife of 41 years, Carnetta B. Bell, a daughter, a son and their families. Memorials may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, www.woundedwarriorproject.org.


When Nichole Kamann completes her East Stroudsburg Universitydegree in the spring of 2013, she hopes to make a difference in a

high school English classroom using the many new theories andmethods taught to her generation of future educators.

Reaching that goal hasn’t been easy. The daughter of a singlemother, Nichole recognized she needed to help pay for hercollege education, working year-round to defray tuitionand book costs. Her achievements in academics earnedher scholarship assistance through the East StroudsburgUniversity Foundation – help she is grateful to have received.

InvestTalented and eager students just like Nichole need YOUR

help in reaching their academic goals. Support the ESU Foundation Annual Fund to provide annualscholarships to deserving students.

Please mail your gift by using the attached envelope or online atwww.esufoundation.org/givenow. For personal assistance, call (800) 775-8975.

Imaginehaving a positive influence

Inspireyoung people to do more

Impactsomeone’s life forever

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East Stroudsburg University Foundation Henry A. Ahnert, Jr. Alumni Center200 Prospect StreetEast Stroudsburg, PA 18301-2999


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