quinnipiac magazine fall 2013

PLUSHIS HEART'S

CONTENT

MAXIMUM EXPOSURE

GOOD SPORTS

DYNAMIC DUO MARKS 15 YEARS ON AIR

FALL 2013

Senior Jillian Haney, a freshman orien-tation leader, enjoys a surprise sere-nade from fellow orientation leaderswho offered their rendition of “You’veLost That Loving Feeling” in the CarlHansen Student Center during anearly June orientation session. It istradition for male leaders to sing totheir female counterparts. Photo by Mark Stanczak

TUNE UP TIME!

FALL 2013 | QUINNIPIAC MAGAZINE | 1

CONTENTSFEATURES

VICE PRESIDENT FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRSLynn Mosher Bushnell

DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS & DESIGNThea A. Moritz

EDITORJanet Waldman, MS ’09

ASSISTANT EDITORAlejandra Navarro

SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNERCynthia Greco

COPY EDITORDonna Pintek

MANAGER OF PHOTOGRAPHIC SERVICESMark Stanczak

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERSChristopher Beauchamp, Susan Farley,John Hassett, Robert Lisak

CONTRIBUTORSClaire Hall, Rhea Hirshman, Natalie Missakian, John Pettit, MS ’99, Mark Silvestrini

DESIGN CONSULTATIONB&G Design Studios

Quinnipiac Magazine is published by theOffice of Public Affairs of Quinnipiac Univer-sity for alumni, parents and friends of theUniversity.

Postmaster: Send address changes toOffice of Development & Alumni Affairs,Quinnipiac University, AH-DVP, 275 MountCarmel Avenue, Hamden, CT 06518-1908.

Quinnipiac University admits students ofany race, color, creed, gender, age, sexualorientation, national or ethnic origin, anddisability status to all the rights, privileges,programs and activities generally accordedor made available to students at the school.Quinnipiac University does not discriminatein these areas in the administration of itseducational policies, scholarship and loanprograms, and athletic and other school-administered programs.

© 2013 Quinnipiac UniversityVisit us at www.quinnipiac.eduwww.facebook.com/quinnipiacuniversityFollow us on Twitter @QuinnipiacUinstagram.com/quinnipiacupinterest.com/quinnipiacu

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2 NEWS ON QClasses Begin at Medical School/Grads Urgedto Make a Mistake/Golden Retriever a StressBuster/Alcohol & Famine Explored/StudentsDig into the Past

8 Q&ATim Morris ’03, a paraplegic who injured hisspinal cord in a car accident in 2007, took ona grueling Tough Mudder competition withthe help of 63 friends, many of them QUalumni.

10 Q SPORTSOne way or another, the women’s ice hockeyteam will be at the Frozen Four in March.Quinnipiac is hosting the NCAA competitionfor the first time.

12 ZOOM INProvisions of the federal health care actrequire doctors and lawyers to collaborate;alumna helps to create senior-friendly emer-gency room at MidState Medical Center;Reunion 2013 draws hundreds of old friendstogether on campus.

18 PICTURE THISGraduates huddle for parting shots.

34 Q ALUMNICatch up with news about fellow alumni withclass notes and profiles on Tim Beach ’90,David Rusate ’79, Melanie Schnoll Begun, JD’94, and Peter Zeidel ’66. Also, find out who’sgetting a Distinguished Alumni Award at Home-coming in November and when the School ofLaw is moving to the North Haven Campus.

45–47 GOOD TIMES/BEGINNINGSSee who came out for alumni golf tourna-ments, alumni games and stadium trips. This issue, we feature two pages of weddingand baby photos you shared. Submit yours atwww.quinnipiac.edu/submitclassnote.

48 ONE LAST THINGPhysician assistant Maria Perez, MHS ’04,returned to her old Bridgeport, Conn., neigh-borhood to practice primary care at OptimusHealth Care Center, where she sometimes seesformer elementary school classmates andtheir children.

20His Heart’s ContentThe Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine received its first donation to the anatomicalgift program from a retired educator who wanted to help medical students understand thecomplexities of the human body.

24Good Sports After All These YearsThe dynamic duo of Bill Mecca and Bill Schweizer look back on almost 15 colorful yearscalling the plays for Bobcats ice hockey and basketball.

30Maximum ExposureHeriberto “Eddy” Cordero ’04, MAT ’05, a vice principal at a New Haven high school,builds partnerships with Quinnipiac and other universities to provide high school studentswith college experiences, paving the way for a smoother transition.

DEPARTMENTS

ON THE COVER: Bill Schweizer, left, and Bill Mecca are poised for another busy season as the Bobcats teams (sans icehockey) transition to the MAAC. Photo by Christopher Beauchamp

uinnipiacMAGAZ I N E

Fall 2013VOLUME 22 | NUMBER 2

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NEWS ON

Quinnipiac’s Frank H. NetterMD School of Medicinemarked its historic openingwith an inaugural WhiteCoat Ceremony on Aug. 16.

Donning a white coat and with stetho-scope in hand—symbols of the connectionbetween the physician and patient—the 60medical students began a four-year jour-ney that will take them from medicalcourses to medical centers.

“It represents a starting line,” saidEdward Kobayashi, a medical studentfrom San Francisco. “It’s incredibly excit-ing and humbling at the same time.”

The ceremony, which concluded withthe students reciting the HippocraticOath, emphasized the importance of com-passionate care for patients as well asworking with and learning from fellow

Students Begin New JourneyWhite Coat Ceremony emphasizes the responsibilities and gifts of profession

Reciting the Hippocratic Oath at the WhiteCoat Ceremony, from left: Casey Rosenthal,Tamar Stokelman and Erin White, all first-year medical students from California.

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professionals in the health care team. Dr. Bruce Koeppen, founding dean of

the medical school and vice president forhealth affairs, said that even though stu-dents are not yet doctors, he advised themto consider themselves members of themedical profession and accept the respon-sibilities and expectations of the field.

“While our faculty can help you learnand master the skills of being a physician,the task of becoming a professional fallssquarely on your shoulders,” he said.

Keynote speaker Dr. Jessica Israeldescribed some of the experiences the stu-dents will likely encounter—from holdinga newborn baby to spending a harrowingnight at a sick patient’s bedside.

“Life isn’t all perfect and pretty; some-times it’s messy and beautiful all at thesame time,” said Israel, chief of geriatrics

and palliative medicine and medical direc-tor of the Inpatient Hospice Unit at Mon-mouth Medical Center in Long Branch,N.J. “You are going to learn a lot about disease and cures, but you’re going to learna lot about yourself.”

Israel only wore her white coat for twoweeks, but explained that her experiencesin the field have created a “virtual coat” shewears every day. Patients were some of herbest teachers, she said. “Take what theyteach you about medicine and about your-self and weave it into the fabric of yourcoat,” Israel said. “The coat you’re gettingtoday will be with you the rest of your life.”

Quinnipiac President John L. Laheysaid, “We might be the newest medicalschool in the country, but we will be oneof the finest, I can assure you, in theyears ahead.”

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Take risks and permit yourself to make at least one mistake in pursuit of your dreams.That was the advice offered May 19 to graduates in the University’s Schools of Communi-cations, Health Sciences and Nursing by Josh Elliott, above right, news anchor of “GoodMorning America” and the speaker at the afternoon Commencement ceremony.

He said, “Mistakes are now how you will learn.” He noted that graduates of all three of those schools have chosen to go into the business of being right. “Whether you’re goingto work every day in a TV newsroom or a research lab, a PR department or a hospital,you will be bound by the need to not be wrong, ever.”

Before that reality sets in, Elliott recommended that they depart from the world ofdoing what’s expected of them to pause and take a risk, perhaps see the world, as he did after his own graduation—a decision his parents lamented, but one he has neverregretted.

At the morning ceremony, Jessica Jackley, co-founder of the microlending websiteKIVA, encouraged College of Arts and Sciences and School of Business graduates todevote their lives to serving others. “Life gets really, really good not just when you are living a fulfilling, creative, entrepreneurial life, but when we can live this way together. I believe that you will fall in love, as I have, with work that helps other people thrive andreach their potential, too,” Jackley said.

During that ceremony, James W. McGlothlin, chairman and CEO of The United Company, also was presented with an honorary degree. The University awarded a total of 1,510 undergraduate degrees.

The weekend before, 747 graduates received degrees at the morning Graduate Com-mencement ceremony. Speaker Denise D’Ascenzo, weekday anchor at WFSB-TV, coun-seled them to trust their instincts and overcome their personal fears, both in their livesand their careers. Later that day, 149 degree candidates in the School of Law listened to atalk by Dennis G. Eveleigh, Connecticut Supreme Court associate justice, who advisedthem to conduct themselves with honesty and integrity, saying: “You have nothing if youdo not have a good reputation.”

Be True to Selves, Graduates Urged

NEW EDUCATION DEAN

Kevin Basmadjian was appointed dean ofthe School of Education in April after serv-ing as interim dean. He played an integralrole in helping to craft the Learning Para-digm initiative, collaborating with depart-ments across the University. He joined Quinnipiac in 2004 and was an associateprofessor and director of the master of artsin teaching program. He has an MAT in Eng-lish education from Wayne State Universityand a PhD in teaching, curriculum and edu-cational policy from Michigan State.

PET PROJECTEASES STRESS

A long-haired visitor with a golden touchlent a hand—more accurately, a paw—tostudents undergoing the stress of finalexams in May.

Donna Latella, an occupational therapyprofessor, brought Aubry, a 3-year-old thera-py dog, to the North Haven Campus to helpstudents. Latella and the golden retrieverare certified through Pet Partners, an organ-ization dedicated to animal-assisted activi-ties and therapy.

“We know pets make us happy and feelgood in general,” said Latella. “However, thesensory interaction with the dog throughtouch, unconditional affection and the

human animalbond is a powerfultool. We hope toshow it has a posi-tive impact onrelieving stresslevels and offeringcomfort to partici-pants.”

As part of acapstone project,OT students

Briana Ardolino, Melanie Haversat, NicoleMaiorino and Amanda Silberzahn checkedthe blood pressures, heart rates, respiratoryrates and stress levels of those studentswho visited Aubry. Early results indicatedreduced levels after students spent just fiveminutes with Aubry.

Students were given the opportunity totalk to and pet the dog. “It was magical,”said Marianna DiMaggio, a physical therapygraduate student. “I love animals. Aubryreminded me of my dog from home, whichmade me more relaxed… It’s just what Ineeded as finals week began.”


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The theory that a sober Ireland is a free Ireland was explored in a May pro-gram about the legacies of the GreatHunger and presented by Ireland’sGreat Hunger Museum at QuinnipiacUniversity.

Christine Kinealy, professor of historyand Irish studies, gave an overview ofthe cultural and political legacies ofBritish rule and then introduced GarrettO’Connor, a psychiatrist and formerpresident and CEO of the Betty FordInstitute. O’Connor, a recovering alco-holic who has been sober 36 years,detailed reasons why he thinks drinkinghas been ingrained in the Irish culture.

When the British and others invadedIreland from the 12th century onward,land was seized from the Irish, a people the British labeled as “barbarous,” according toKinealy.

“The land was not theirs to take, but they took it anyway and took it by savage force,”O’Connor said. He described the Irish as a primitive society. “They didn’t have gun poweror much recourse.”

Building stills to make poteen (moonshine) gave the Irish a weapon of resistance againsttheir invaders, O’Connor explained. “Poteen stills were a cultural remission for poverty andsuffering…there were thousands of them.

“Families would drink it, sell it, and it would improve the family’s state of life and econo-my while undermining it at the same time, but it was something they could do, and it gavethem a sense of mastery over their oppressors,” he said.

As the Irish emigrated to America, so did the cultural stereotype of them as “lazy andstupid drunks,” O’Connor noted. He believes the Irish suffered from a “malignant shame”brought on by low self-esteem, self-misperceptions of cultural inferiority and suppressionof feelings stemming from their treatment before and during the Famine years.

Legacies of Great Hunger Discussed

SOME 1,859MEMBERS OFTHE CLASS OF2017 VISITEDCAMPUS THISSUMMER TOSOCIALIZE,EXPLORE THECAMPUSES,TALK OVERCOURSES ANDTRY OUT CAM-PUS LIVING.

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FAMINE STUDIESKINEALY HEADS INSTITUTE

Christine Kinealy, a world-renownedauthority on Ireland’s Great Hunger,has been appointed a professor of his-tory and Irish studies and will direct thenewly created Ireland’s Great HungerInstitute at Quinnipiac. The institutewill serve as a scholarly resource forthe study of the Great Hunger. She also will organize academic confer-ences and undertake research. Kinealyhas written more than a dozen bookson the Great Hunger, including “ThisGreat Calamity: The Irish Famine1845–52,” which was named the IrishPost Book of Year in 1995.

FIRST AND FOREMOST‘GET IT RIGHT’

CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelleywishes the media would concern itself

with beingright ratherthan first.

In a speechfollowing hisbeing pre-sented withthe 20thannualSchool ofCommunica-

tions’ Fred Friendly First AmendmentAward in May, Pelley said, “Neverbefore in history has more informationbeen available to more people, but atthe same time, never before has morebad information been available to morepeople,” referencing the plethora ofcontent available on the Web.

“Twitter and Facebook are not jour-nalism; they are gossip,” he said. Citingthe Newtown shootings story as anexample, he said journalists are gettingthe big stories wrong, over and overagain. “I reported that Nancy Lanza wasa teacher at the school and that herson had attacked her classroom. It wasa hell of a story, but it was dead wrong…so I’ll take the first arrow,” he said.

Pelley quoted Friendly as saying: “If you are the first, no one will everremember; if you are wrong, no onewill ever forget.”

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Internationally renowned finance experts provided insight on pressing issues in the invest-ment industry at Quinnipiac’s annual Global Asset Management Education (G.A.M.E.) IIIForum in New York City in April.

More than 1,000 participants from 118 universities, representing 33 countries, 44 statesand the District of Columbia attended. Among more than 128 speakers and panelists were Guy Adami, managing director of Drakon Capital and contributor to CNBC’s “FastMoney”; Abby Joseph Cohen, senior investment strategist and president of the GlobalMarkets Institute at Goldman Sachs; and Richard Peach, senior vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The global economy, alternative assets and corporate governance were among the topicsdiscussed. Cohen raised concerns about repercussions of educational disparity on con-sumption, the economy and job growth. “We have never seen in the history of moderndata as big a divergence as we have right now between those who are well educated andthose who are poorly educated in terms of the unemployment rate.”

Peach noted the recent sequester has hurt job growth. “Never before have we attemptedthis amount of fiscal tightening when the unemployment rate was this high,” he said.

G.A.M.E. III Explores Arduous Financial Issues

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DOCUMENTARIES WIN INTERNATIONAL HONORS

Professor Becky Abbott and Tim Malloy, for-mer School of Communications Profession-al-in-Residence, won a 2013 Boston/NewEngland Regional Emmy Award for theirdocumentary, “Aeromedical.” The two co-directed the film, which tells the story of thelife-and-death struggles that take place inthe skies above Europe on aeromedicalevacuation missions. Bradley O’Connor ’12,associate producer and cameraman, wasincluded on the Emmy nomination.

Quinnipiac’s film, “Justice is a BlackWoman: The Life and Work of ConstanceBaker Motley,” was named Best Documen-tary Feature at the St. Tropez InternationalFilm Festival in France in May. Michael Calia,director of the Ed McMahon Mass Commu-nications Center, produced the film, whichalso was honored at the 34th Annual TellyAwards and Offshoot Film Fest.

CHINA AT TURNING POINT

Jonathan Spence, an experton Chinese civilization andprofessor emeritus at Yale,highlighted three emergingtrends in that country at theResurgent China in the 21stCentury symposium in April.

Areas to watch areChina’s growing investment in Africa, itsdesire to develop technological skills, and its pursuit of sea power in recent years,according to Spence.

Garvey Young ’12, MBA ’13, aformer Quinnipiac basketballcaptain, plans to create a web-site with digital media to intro-duce athletes and recruitingcoaches. It’s an idea that’salready won him a $5,000prize. Young’s business planfor his interactive website,Draftspot, took first prize in

the Quinnipiac University Busi-ness Competition in April.

Coaches are good at recruit-ing talent, Young explains.“Athletes who have the talentsometimes don’t have the plat-form to display their skills tothe coaches.”

Draftspot would provide anonline space for athletes to

showcase their talentin videos and newsarticles as well asacademic achieve-ments. Plus, it’s away for coaches tocontact players.

Young aims toraise $100,000 tolaunch the businessin January 2014, and is alreadyspeaking with investors.

This fall he is set to play bas-ketball in Europe for the FIBAInternational Basketball Asso-

ciation, but will con-tinue to work on his business remotely.He has already beenglobetrotting thissummer, spendingthree weeks in Ghanaas a soccer coach at aChristian school andorphanage.

“I was able to create somestrong bonds in a short amountof time,” said Young, who grewup playing soccer. “I was like abig brother and it felt great.”

SCORING BUSINESS PLANMBA GRADUATE PLANS TO CONNECT COACHES AND PLAYERS

Guy Adami, managingdirector of DrakonCapital and contribu-tor to CNBC’s “FastMoney,” answers stu-dent questions at theG.A.M.E. III Forum.

Garvey Young


Sophomore Justine Tynan and Lauren Tosti ’13 spent much of their summer siftingthrough dirt, looking for pieces of history.

They, along with Julia Giblin, assistant professor of anthropology, were on a team thatconducted research through the Bronze Age Körös Off-tell Archaeology (BAKOTA) proj-ect. They surveyed and excavated an archaeological site in Békés County, Hungary, tolearn more about social organization, trade and mobility during the Bronze Age of EasternHungary. The field study group uncovered 39 cremation urns on farmland that was once acemetery. The group also studied bones, teeth and other artifacts, including what might bepart of a bronze bracelet.

“We were actually getting to touch things that were thousands of years old,” said Tosti.“You can’t get that from a textbook. Something as simple as a little pottery shard made foran eye-opening moment.”

Tosti, who spent four weeks in Hungary, was largely responsible for measuring the loca-tion and elevation of points during excavation. She also snapped photographs that will beused to make a 3-D model of the cemetery. Tynan, who spent six weeks on the project,served as a lab manager, weighing, counting and registering artifacts.

“Being there with people who are professionals and getting real experience was amaz-ing,” Tynan said. “It was actually surreal touching people who were alive thousands ofyears ago and unearthing their stories.”

To participate in the BAKOTA project, Tosti received aid from Quinnipiac’s CentralEuropean Institute. Tynan received a student research support grant from the College ofArts and Sciences.

Professor and Students UnearthArtifacts from Bronze Age

From left, Justine Tynan and Lauren Tostiuncovered artifacts, some thousands ofyears old, in Hungary as part of the BronzeAge Körös Off-tell Archaeology project.

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AETER-NODELEC-Quinnipiac hosted “Coming to

America: A Forum on Immigra-tion” in April. Panelists dis-cussed issues surrounding thethen-proposed immigrationreform bill, explored some of

the challenges immigrantsface, and shared personal sto-ries. “There are 11 millionundocumented people living inthe U.S., and I wanted to bringawareness that this could be

anyone, a roommate, a friend,a friend’s parents, but we don’ttalk about it because we live inthe shadows. We live in fear ofbeing deported from the onlyplace many of us know ashome,” said Alba Ortega ’13, aSchool of Nursing graduateand forum organizer. She

shared her own experiencesbeing part of a family wherenot all members are U.S. citi-zens. Panelists included stu-dents, as well as members ofthe Connecticut Students for aDream. “We had a good crowd,deep conversation and a lot ofemotion,” Ortega said.

IMMIGRATION FORUMSTUDENTS RAISE AWARENESS

HUNGARIAN TIES GROW

Chris Ball, the István Széchenyi Chair inInternational Economics at Quinnipiac, hasbeen named honorary consul of Hungary forConnecticut. Ball is the first to hold thisdiplomatic appointment in the state. H.E.György Szapáry, the Hungarian ambassadorto the U.S., will conduct the inaugurationceremony in September.

The Quinnipiac institute that works tobuild relationships between the U.S. andCentral European nations changed its namefrom István Széchenyi Institute to the Cen-tral European Institute recently. The insti-tute also has established an official board

with prominent mem-bers, including NancyBrinker, founder ofSusan G. Komen for theCure, and Péter Küllői,founder of the Serious-Fun Camp in Hungary.

Each year, the institutewill host an art exhibitfrom Central Europe.This year’s exhibit, “Art

as Ambassador: Hungarian Masterpiecesfrom the Nancy G. Brinker and Christian L.Sauska Collections,” will be on display fromSept. 27–Oct. 19 at Southport Galleries, 330 Pequot Ave., Southport, Conn.

NEW ADMINISTRATOR

In August, Paul Tiyambe Zeleza came onboard as the new vice president for academ-ic affairs, succeeding Mark Thompson, whohas been promoted to executive vice presi-dent and provost. Zeleza previously was thedean of the College of Liberal Arts and presi-dential professor of history and AfricanAmerican studies at Loyola Marymount University. He is an honorary professor atthe University of Cape Town.


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If a loved one with a cat allergy stands betweenyou and your feline, there’s hope in a vaccinecalled Circassia, according to Norbert Herzog, aprofessor in the Frank H. Netter MD School ofMedicine. He explained why in a recent episodeof “Medical Discovery News,” the syndicatedradio show he produces with David W. Niesel ’75.The show airs at 6:40 a.m. Tuesdays on Quinnipiac’s AM 1220 WQUN.

The duo reported on research that shows Circassia significantly eased symptoms, such asrunny nose and watery eyes, in clinical trials.Those are allergic reactions to cat dander, whichare microscopic pieces of dead skin that carry a protein called Fel d 1. Cats secrete itonto their skin, and from there it gets on furniture, clothing and in the air.

Normally the body treats this protein like any of the millions of antigens or foreignmatter entering our bodies. Either there’s no threat or the antigen is removed withoutus being aware of it. But some immune systems overreact by making too muchimmunoglobulin E—an antibody that triggers a release of histamines.

One effect of histamines is to relax capillaries, which expands them, allowing bloodfluids and antibodies to pass through. That’s why people with cat allergies suffer arunny nose and watery eyes. The body reacts by sending antibodies there to wash itaway. The new vaccine stops the immune system from reacting by incorporating piecesfrom the cat protein. Introducing Fel d 1 this way shifts the immune response so thebody does not see the protein as a threat. If this vaccine and a few others in the worksare approved, Herzog says they’ll be the “cat’s meow!”

JULY’S HEATWAVE WAS THEPERFECT TIMEFOR FACILITIESWORKERS TOTACKLE THEIRANNUALREPAINTING OFTHE BOBCATLOGO UNDERFRESH ICE AT THE TD BANK SPORTS CENTER.

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KIDS EXPOSEDTO TECH CAREERSSarah Berke, assistant professor ofbiology, reached deep into a brownpaper bag, promising Pond Hill Ele-mentary School third-graders inWallingford, Conn., that it containedan amazing piece of technology. Shethen pulled out a green crayon.

“Technologies are objects or some-thing created to make our lives easi-er,” Berke explained. “We hope thatthe students learn that technology ismore than their iPad, iPhone or TV.”Berke represented Quinnipiac’s Bris-tol-Myers Squibb Center for ScienceTeaching and Learning at the school’sSTEM Day in June. STEM stands forscience, technology, engineering andmath. Justin Kile, associate deanof engineering, also attended. “Theultimate goal is to keep them interest-ed in STEM-type fields,” he said.

OFF THE PRESSA book titled, “The Techno-HumanShell: A Jump in the Evolutionary Gap”(Sunbury Press),by adjunct lawprofessor JosephCarvalko, focus-es on advancesin medical tech-nology thatwould allow theimplanting ofmodern micro-computers withInternet-likecommunica-tions. As their size spirals downward,their use will extend lifetimes; enhanceintellects, and control technology outside the body.

Lara Dotson-Renta, assistant deanof career development, has written“Immigration, Popular Culture, andthe Re-Routing of European MuslimIdentity (Palgrave MacMillan). Explor-ing literature, film and hip-hop createdby Arab and Muslim immigrants, herbook traces the ways in which Spainhas become an axis by which new“European Islamic” identities areforged and contested.

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Yearning to Say, Hello Kitty?

Q. What do you remember of the accident? A. I wasn’t wearing my seatbelt. It was rain-ing and wet. I hit a curb and rolled my jeep. Icame out the moon roof, and the jeep rolledover me. I sustained a T4 spinal injury, assevere as it can get without my spinal cordbeing severed. In six years, I never took anydiagnosis as a permanent situation. I reallybelieve you can do or be whatever you wantas long as you are willing to work for it. Partof my goal is to get on my feet. Since thattime I have been able to stand a little bit. Ican crawl for hours. It’s good stuff. My ulti-mate goal is a full-length Ironman triathlon.

Q. Has anyone tried to deter you?A. When I was in rehab, the head nurse toldmy father I was wasting my time and moneywith what I was planning to accomplish, andI should get used to living my life in a wheel-chair. I don’t like using negativity as a moti-vator, but I remember it. I really focus on the positive and surround myself with goodpeople; people who support me.

Q. How have friends and family helped you?A. Having a spinal cord injury is an emotion-al roller coaster. A lot of people go intosevere depression. I’ve never had that

because of my Quinnipiac friends—JeffSmall ’03, Chris Massie ’03, Fred Spadacci-no ’03, Austin Ashe ’03 and so many others.I couldn’t have asked for better blood broth-ers. Spinal cord injuries are not cheap. Theyall have helped raise a great deal of money.Before I was even out of the hospital, Austinstarted doing fundraising events and Chrisorganized the Tough Mudder fundraising,which raised $12,000.

Q. What made you decide to do the Boston Tough Mudder?A. My life is more about motivating and pro-viding hope and help for people who aregoing through difficulties in their lives. Mygoal was to use the Tough Mudder and a few other future physical activities to helppeople realize that they can conquer thingsthat may appear unattainable—if they wantit bad enough. We had one of the largestteams—63 people were part of Team GRIND, which stands for “Get Ready It’s a New Day.”

Q. Did you train some of your team members?A. I’m a certified strength and conditioningspecialist and, in addition to my BA in com-munications, I have an MS in kinesiology-pedagogy from The University of New

Hampshire. I was working with some of theguys—Jeff and Chris—on their conditioningto prepare for the obstacles.

Q. How challenging was the Tough Mudder?A. I figured out the best ways to help memaneuver up and around obstacles after Ihad studied the events. A group of about 15friends stuck with me the entire time. Thefirst two miles were tough. It was difficult tomaneuver through the rough terrain thathad 6-8 inches of mud. Even to get to thestarting line we had to climb up GunstockMountain. On mile two, my wheel broke. It was 2.5 miles into it and 90 degrees.Cameron Smith ’03 created a tow hinge.The team members would rotate every 45 seconds pulling me along.

Q. Did you think about giving up?A. Never. The cutoff was 7:30 p.m., and itwas already 6 p.m. They weren’t going totake us off the course because we weren’tgoing to get off the course, so they reroutedus. I crawled to the finish with my friendscheering. It was very special to me. Theysacrificed their experience to make sure Imade it through.

Q. What’s your next adventure? A. My biggest adventure has been workingwith NextStep Fitness to create a neurologi-cal recovery and wellness facility to treatpeople with partial to full paralysis, bothphysically and emotionally. My next adven-ture is in October, when I will hand-cycle theMarine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C.,raising money for the Christopher & DanaReeve Foundation, fighting for a cure forspinal cord injuries.—Alejandra Navarro


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Mudder No Match for Team GRINDTim Morris ’03 completed what some athletes haven’t even attempted: a Tough Mudder competition in June. Morris, a paraplegic who injured his spinal cord in a near-fatal car accidentin 2007, finished the grueling, 12-mile obstacle course without using his legs, but he had the help of many hands—63 pairs to be exact. Many were QU alumni.

QHow did the accident change your life?

A I’m not the same person at all. I was 26 and I had life in thepalm of my hand, and I didn’t realize it. I think a lot of people

are like that. Then losing it all gave me an incredible amount ofperspective.

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Tim Morris ’03 competedin a Tough Mudder competition to help people realize they canconquer things that mayappear unattainable.


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One way or another, theQuinnipiac women’s icehockey team will be at theFrozen Four this March. TheBobcats hope it’s on skates.

Quinnipiac will host the 2014 NCAAWomen’s Ice Hockey ChampionshipMarch 21–23 at the High Point SolutionsArena at the TD Bank Sports Center.

“We told the team that we can be thereparticipating or we can be there showingpeople to their seats,” Head Coach RickSeeley said. “It’s a dream for every team,”he added, noting that the team hasreached the semifinals of its conferencetournament twice.

There is already a blueprint for nationalsuccess. The men’s ice hockey team,ranked No. 1 for most of the winter,advanced to the Frozen Four last season,losing to Yale in the national title game.

“We’re pretty close friends with themen’s team,” junior goalie Chelsea Ladensaid. “We’re together in the weight room,and we see each other every day. They toldus what a great experience they had at theFrozen Four.”

Quinnipiac Athletic Director JackMcDonald said 2012–13 was a banner yearfor Bobcats athletics. In addition to themen’s ice hockey success, the women’s bas-ketball team made the NCAA Tourna-ment, women’s rugby played in the FinalFour, acrobatics and tumbling competedin the national championship, and themen’s soccer and women’s cross countryteam copped conference titles.

“And to be hosting an NCAA FrozenFour or Final Four in any Division I sportis just phenomenal,” McDonald said. “Fourof the best teams in the world will be herein Hamden.”

Seeley is entering his sixth season withthe Bobcats. The team has averaged 20

wins over the last four winters and wasnationally ranked last season. “When wetook over the program, there wasn’t a lotof success in the bank,” he said. “Each year,we’ve just chipped away and added moreand more talent.”

Seeley graduated six seniors in May,while Erica Uden Johansson will miss theupcoming season to train for the SwedishOlympics. She plans to return for her sen-ior year in 2014–15.

The Bobcats return senior leading scorerKelly Babstock as well as junior forwardNicole Kosta, who endured an injury-plagued sophomore campaign. “Clearly,Kelly has led us in scoring, by a wide mar-gin, for her first three years here,” Seeleysaid, adding: “She and Kosta could be scarytogether. If Nicole can stay healthy, it’s hardto imagine how good she could be.”

He noted that defensemen Kristen Tam-berg and Cydney Roesler, as well as for-ward Nicole Connery adjusted quickly intheir freshman seasons and were top per-formers most of last season. Quinnipiac’sroster will be bolstered by the addition ofseven freshman recruits, including transferShiann Darkangelo, Syracuse University’stop forward the past two seasons.

“It was a thrill watching the men’s team.Obviously, for our kids, it was encouragingto see a season like that, and realize it isattainable. We have the same resourcesand opportunities they have. We just haveto commit ourselves to it.”

Babstock, who tallied 28 goals and 27assists en route to All-ECAC and NewEngland Division I All-Star Team honors,said hosting the championship gives theBobcats something to shoot for.

“All of us definitely want to be there. Weall know it’s going to be here, and everyonewants to be there. No one needs to tell us.We just know.”—John Pettit

NEW SCOREBOARDSFEATURE REPLAYS

Missed that goal while you reached for yourdrink? Won’t be a problem this year at theTD Bank Sports Center, where spectacularnew scoreboards will greet fans. The Univer-sity partnered with ANC Sports Enterprisesto install and operate HD center-hung score-boards in both the basketball and ice hockeyarenas. The new scoreboards are composedof four squarely arranged video boards, 16.5feet wide by 9.5 feet high. Video streaming,animation and replays will contribute to anincredible viewing experience, according toAthletic Director Jack McDonald.

HALL OF FAME TAPS3 BASKETBALL STARS

In June, the New England Basketball Hall of Fame inducted three members from themen’s basketball program into the Class of2013. Guards James Johnson ’12 and RobMonroe ’05, and Head Coach Tom Moorewere recognized.

Johnson, a two-time All-NEC representa-tive, wrapped up a remarkable career withthe Bobcats in 2012. In his final season, hefinished with 22 points in the NEC quarterfi-nals to become the University’s Division Iscoring leader, surpassing the previousmark set by Monroe in 2005 (1,685). John-son went on to amass 1,729 points andclimb to No. 7 on the all-time scoring list.Monroe ranked among the top 50 in fourmajor NCAA Division I categories: fourth inscoring (22.7 points/game); 14th in assists(6.5/game); 27th in free-throw percentage(.859); and 45th in three-pointers/game(2.8). He received several prestigiousawards including the New Haven Tap OffClub’s Male Athlete of the Year and Quinnipiac Athlete of the Year.

Moore has transitioned the basketballprogram into a perennial power in the NEC.He guided the Bobcats to an average of 20wins over the past four seasons, includingtwo 20-plus-win campaigns in 2010 and2011. He has amassed a 108–81 overallrecord. Under Moore’s tutelage, the Bobcatsmade three straight national postseasonappearances (NIT, CIT, CBI) from 2009–11.He was named the Jim Phelan NortheastConference Coach of the Year in 2019.

O SPORTS

Frozen Four Headed HereWomen’s ice hockey championship happeningon Quinnipiac ice in March

SPRING 2013 | QUINNIPIAC MAGAZINE | 11

Current senior Shelby Wignallgoes after the puck in a December 2012 game against Princeton.


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Describing the nation’s currenthealth care system as dys-functional, Dr. Andrew Mor-ris-Singer offered a prescrip-tion: Focus on the centrality

of primary care and encourage an innova-tive, team-based approach to deliver it.

“Our existing payment systems rewardvolume, not value,” Morris-Singer noted,“while current scope of practice laws pre-vent members of the care team from oper-ating at the top of their training. Patient-provider interactions are often confined to15-minute encounters that leave neitherpatient nor provider satisfied.”

Morris-Singer, president and co-founderof Primary Care Progress, a Boston-areainterprofessional network whose missionis the transformation of primary care,spoke last April at a symposium titled Primary Care and the Law.

The program was co-sponsored byQuinnipiac’s Schools of Health Sciences,Nursing, Medicine and Law, as well as theQuinnipiac Health Law Journal and theCenter for Interprofessional HealthcareEducation.

Health care and legal professionals fromwithin and outside the University exploredthe implications of the Patient Protectionand Affordable Care Act of 2010.

While several provisions of the healthcare act have been implemented over thepast three years, most of it goes into effectnext year.

Because the 900 pages of statutory textleave many details of implementation tothe states and various federal agencies,thousands of pages of both state and feder-al regulations are currently being written.

“There is no doubt that creating, inter-preting and implementing the regulationsrelated to the act will be a significant areaof legal practice over the next severalyears,” says Jennifer Herbst, assistant

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Laying Down the Law Doctors and lawyers collaborate to interpret affordable care act By Rhea Hirshman

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professor of law and one of the sympo-sium’s organizers.

The federal act vastly increases boththe number of people with insurance cov-erage and incentives for a more extensiveand better-integrated system of primaryhealth care.

This latter feature is significant, Morris-Singer explained, because pri-mary care has long been marginalized,with vastly more resources directedtoward specialty care.

In addition to showing how his networkuses a grassroots organizational model toboth deliver care in its own communityand transform the way that care is deliv-ered nationwide, Morris-Singer proposedtwo solutions to increase the availabilityof primary care practitioners: changes inmedical reimbursement policies andgreater accountability from institutions of graduate medical education.

In the day’s first panel—“What is Primary Care and What Should it Do?—practitioners across legal and health careprofessions discussed how medicine,nursing, occupational and physical thera-py, and law define and generally under-stand primary care, and how each of theprofessions sees itself working in light ofthe health care act.

Various panelists pointed out that thetraditional notion of primary care is thatit is delivered to individual patients inphysicians’ offices. However, that defini-tion no longer reflects reality. Primarycare also might be defined as a range ofservices (e.g. vaccinations, wellnessexams), or by the locations of theprovider-patient interaction, or by theperceptions of patients.

Dr. Anthony Ardolito, executive deanat Quinnipiac’s Frank H. Netter MDSchool of Medicine, and Catherine Meri-ano ’86, MHS ’91, JD ’00, professor ofoccupational therapy, served as panelmoderators.

Other QU participants were DennisBrown, clinical assistant professor ofphysician assistant studies; Diane Cooper,a second-year law student at QU; KimHartmann ’76, MHS ’82, interim dean ofthe School of Health Sciences; and LynnPrice, associate professor of nursing.

With many people already receiving

primary care from non-physician clini-cians in settings such as homes, outpa-tient clinics, hospitals and rehabilitationfacilities, the health care act providesstatutory recognition to the full range ofhealth care professions.

Herbst notes that cross-professionalconversations are essential to determinehow best to use finite resources to meetthe growing need for primary care thatwill occur because of the health care act.

One option for meeting that need lies in technology. More than 40,000mobile medical and patient-cliniciancommunications applications are cur-rently available.

A panel composed of a software engi-neer, an attorney and two health care pro-fessionals raised the following questions:How can technologies improve the deliv-ery of primary health care, especially inrelation to chronic care management orrural practices? Are these technologieslikely to increase or diminish the digitaldivide in patient populations with limitedconnectivity or computer literacy? Howmight apps and mobile consultation affecta provider’s exposure to liability?

And with the Federal CommunicationsCommission governing bandwidth, theFood and Drug Administration regulat-ing medical devices and the FederalTrade Commission responsible for truthin advertising, where will regulatoryjurisdiction lie, they wondered.

The day’s final panel discussed innova-tions in managing increasing demand for health care services, including com-munity health centers; clinics run bymedical school students; and integratinglegal practitioners into medical practices.

Herbst notes, “There are social deter-minants of health that cannot be treatedby medicine, but that the law canaddress,” such as convincing a landlord to clean up mold or provide an air-condi-tioner, or obtaining restraining orders indomestic violence situations.

“The law has far more of an impact onhealth and health care than many peoplerealize,” Herbst says.

“This symposium is the beginning ofmany more conversations that will berequired in response to the upcomingchanges in our health care systems.”


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Obama Nominates Meyerfor Federal Judgeship

Law ProfessorJeffrey Meyer isheaded to con-firmation hear-ings this fallafter PresidentObama nomi-nated him for an open seat inthe U.S. District

Court for the District of Connecticut. If confirmed, he would replace JudgeMark Kravitz, who died last year.

“I am very honored and flattered and if confirmed, I will work very hardto justify the confidence that the presi-dent and senators have placed in me,”said Meyer.

Before coming to Quinnipiac in2006, Meyer served as senior counselto the Independent Inquiry Committeeinto the United Nations’ Oil-for-FoodProgram in Iraq from 2004–05.

Ruling favors alumnusIn his second year of law school, Daniel Erwin, JD ’11, was assigned acase with the Defense Appellate Clinicat Quinnipiac. Together with ElizabethInkster, visiting clinical instructor onassignment from the Office of the Public Defender, they wrote the briefsand argued the case on behalf of aclient convicted of a drug crime beforethe Connecticut Appellate Court inOctober 2010.

That court affirmed the convictions,but the Connecticut Supreme Courtrecently reversed them, in part, on further appeal.

“Exercising its supervisory power,the Supreme Court instructed thelower courts to follow the ruling in theRutledge [U.S. Supreme Court] case,”Erwin said.

“Basically, if you are convicted oftwo crimes on one action—such aspossession with intent to sell—oneconviction will be vacated rather thanmerged as it had been under previousstate law. It does not lessen your sen-tence, but you will have fewer convic-tions on your record, and you will havean easier time integrating into societyafter serving it,” he explained.


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Under a brilliant sun, hun-dreds of alumni and theirfamilies and friends returnedto Quinnipiac in June forReunion 2013. They partici-

pated in events, both traditional and new,including the Golden Bobcats Dinner forthe reunion classes from 1963 and prior;Reunion at the Ratt; Dance Party in theDorm; May Weekend Remembered; analumni baseball game; Milestone DinnerDance and more.

The best part is always reconnectingwith old friends. Many took the opportu-nity to see the changes that have takenplace on campus, such as the renovatedCarl Hansen Student Center. For a secondyear, about 100 alumni slept in the resi-dence halls for the weekend, reliving the full college experience.

Reunion2013Alumni came together oneweekend to dance, dine, playgames and reminisce aboutthe memorable moments oftheir years at Quinnipiac.

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Kasey Keegan ’03,Diana Cunha ’03and Felicity Melillo ’03 sporttheir Bobcat gold-framed sunglasses.

Clockwise: Christine “Rocky” LaVallee ’03, MAT ’04, Molly (Harrington) Evans ’03, Alison(Jaquith) DeLong ’03 and Jen Monaco ’01 relaxon the quad. Abdul Staten ’01 and Jessica Staten ’03. Pat McGrath ’70 and Tina McGrath,MHS ’89, enjoy the Dance Party in the Dormevent.


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Above: Patricia O’Leary-Eiermann ’03 broughtScrappy Doo to the festivities. At right, HeadBaseball Coach Dan Gooley ’70 with Brien Magee ’05, Sal Puccio ’02 and Charles D’Elia ’02,MS ’04. Below, friends from the Class of 2008celebrated their fifth-year reunion.

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Luis Diaz, 73, came to the emer-gency room complaining ofchest pain. Before a doctorexamined him, a nurse at Mid-State Medical Center asked him

some routine questions and learned hewas having trouble doing chores at home.

“He said he was trying to clean hishouse the other day and barely had thestrength to hold the mop,” said NurseManager Camila Rubino, who translatedDiaz’s answers from Spanish. “He said hehad a stroke in the past, which causedsome physical limitations on his left side.”She set up a consultation with a socialworker to see if there were any servicesthat could help.

In a traditional ER, Diaz’s difficultygetting along at home might have beenmissed. But Diaz had come to one of asmall but growing number of senior-friendly emergency departments in thecountry—and one of only two in Con-necticut—where staff is specially trainedto deal with the unique needs of olderadults.

Safety Net for SeniorsAlumna helps create ER that caters to aging populationBy Natalie Missakian

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The goal is to not only treat the medicalproblem that brought the patient to theER, but also to address the psychologicaland social issues that can coincide withaging and make the patient more likely toreturn, said Dana Garvey ’03, a registerednurse who led the multidisciplinary com-mittee that brought the changes to Mid-State, one of the clinical partners of thenew Frank H. Netter MD School of Medi-cine at Quinnipiac.

Since the program launched in May,nurses at the Meriden, Conn., hospitalconduct a six-question screening on everypatient 65 or older who visits the ER.This includes questions about the

patient’s living arrangements, their med-ications and whether they are therebecause of a fall—which could be a redflag that the patient cannot safely returnhome. The staff also looks for signs ofdementia and checks for harmful druginteractions.

The answers Diaz provided about hishome situation—he lived alone in a sec-ond-floor apartment—were enough for anurse to probe further. Depending on thevisit with the social worker, Diaz could beconnected with a home health aide or toprograms like Meals on Wheels.

“He needs that extra little bit of help,and having that extra little bit of help will

Dana Garvey ’03, a regis-tered nurse at MidStateMedical Center in Meri-den, Conn., led the com-mittee that created a senior-friendly ER program.

hopefully prevent him from having thatcatastrophic fall or that medical mix-upthat will send him back here,” said Gar-vey. Pam Cruz ’07, manager of marketingand community relations at MidState,said it is especially important thatpatients are transitioned home with theresources they need.

Nationwide, seniors accounted for morethan 19 million emergency room visits in2010, according to the Centers for DiseaseControl. As more baby boomers turn 65and more seek care in the ER, it makessense for hospitals to address their uniqueneeds, said Lynne Hodgson, professor ofsociology and director of the gerontologyprogram. She sees the trend toward geri-atric ERs as no different from specializedpediatric wings.

“I am a baby boomer myself, and wehave changed everything as we’ve movedthrough our life stages. We are going tohave to change hospitalization,” saidHodgson.

Hodgson said a trip to the emergencyroom can be especially frightening anddisorienting for seniors, who may havedeficits in vision, hearing and mobility.

“The ER has a lot going on, there arelots of lights, and things are happeningquickly. Their glasses are taken off theirface, they may not have their teeth in ifthis happened while they were sleeping,and they may not have their hearing aids,”Hodgson explained.

She said one of the reasons why ERshave turned to the idea of specialized geri-atrics is to reduce the risk of delirium.

Garvey said patients 65 and up com-prise 60 percent of MidState’s emergencyroom visits, so the hospital decided toincorporate changes within the existingER instead of opening a separate geri-atric wing.

The hospital has tried to make the ERcalmer and more comfortable with thick-er mattresses and heated blankets, softerlighting and safety features like handrailsand non-slip floors. Older patients alsoare brought an activity cart so they cando puzzles while they wait, Garvey said.

Jean Lange, dean of the School of Nurs-ing and an expert in geriatric nursing,said it is crucial to assess how an olderpatient is faring “physically, mentally and

spiritually” when they come to the ER.But she said many practicing nurses werenever taught how because the research isso new.

“The average nurse in Connecticut isaround 48 or 49 years old,” she said. “Peo-ple just coming out of nursing school inthat last five years have received that train-ing, but many of the people in practicehave not.”

MidState’s program is already making adifference. Garvey recalled one patientwho was taking 29 different prescriptionmedications, a startling number even forseniors. When the pharmacy consultationuncovered three potentially harmful inter-actions, she put the primary care doctoron “high alert.”

Garvey said often, older people seemultiple doctors and use more than onepharmacy, so coordination of care is diffi-cult. Because the ER has social workers,physical and occupational therapists,pharmacists and doctors on site, it is eas-ier to “see the big picture,” she said.

“And sometimes we’re that safety netbecause we’re the only place that patientis ever going to go (for care),” Garveysaid. “If we were to drop the ball, therewould really be nobody else.”


“The goal is to notonly treat the med-ical problem thatbrought the patientto the ER, but also toaddress the psycho-logical and socialissues that can coincide with agingand make thepatient more likely to return.”—Dana Garvey ’03

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Students Learn to DiscloseMedical Errors as TeamHealth professions students learnedhow to collaborate in disclosing anerror to a patient and family memberand make a plan to correct it. Theinterprofessional exercise last springinvolved students from programsincluding athletic training, cardiovascu-lar perfusion, diagnostic imaging, nurs-ing, occupational therapy, physicaltherapy and physician assistant.

They faced a scenario involving aninjured BMX bike rider (a patient simu-lation mannequin) and a parent, playedby a medical actor. Each team encoun-tered medical errors related to theirrespective fields, such as administeringthe wrong prescription or applying thewrong physical therapy treatment.

“We work as a team. We must allacknowledge our personal role andacknowledge the error,” says Cory A.Boyd, associate professor of nursing.“We are trying to teach our studentsthat they need to do this disclosure ina blame-free way.”

PA Meets Heroes at WorkMumbi Ngugi, MHS ’12, considers herjob an honor. As a physician assistanton a U.S. Air Force base, she treatsactive service members and their fami-lies. “That’s the coolest part of the job…listening to heroic stories of sacrificeand love for the country,” she said.

As an under-graduate, Ngugivolunteered at alocal hospitalwhere she dis-covered her pas-sion for medi-cine. She earneda businessdegree from the

U.S. International University in Kenya.After graduating from QU, she beganwork in the family medicine clinic atMaxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery,Ala. Ngugi completed officer trainingschool and then began seeing patients.

“In my role, I get to sharpen my skillsin pediatrics, treat the relativelyhealthy age 18–40 population, and alsowork with internal medicine patientstreating chronic illnesses,” she said.


PARTING SHOTUndergraduate Commencement gavethis circle of friends from the Collegeof Arts and Sciences and School ofBusiness a chance to not only rejoice in their accomplishments but to huddlefor one more group picture on the quadas they bid goodbye to Quinnipiac andeach other and prepare to meet thefuture head on.

Photograph by John Hassett

PICTURE THIS


Retired educator first to donate

body to medical school so

that others may learn

BY ALEJANDRA NAVARRO

HIS

HEART’SCONTENT

ILLUSTRATION BY ANNA PARINI

In his office, tucked behind a large, walk-in freezer and beside a workroom ofstainless steel cabinets, sinks, and a table, Jim Casso made an index card forRex Harkness of Ashford, Conn. He has written hundreds of these cards, butthis was the first time since Casso became director of the anatomical gift pro-gram at the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine, which welcomed its

first class in August. Casso oversees body donations as well as the new 54-table anatomy lab in the

Center for Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences. The card includes a few personal details about Harkness: his age, 76; his occupa-

tion, professor emeritus of mathematics at Eastern Connecticut State University;that he was married with four children and nine grandchildren; and the cause of hisdeath—cardiopulmonary arrest.

The card does not list the one final detail of his life that placed him in Casso’scapable hands: he donated his body to the School of Medicine, and he was the firstperson to do so.

As the first donor, Harkness’s unexpected but peaceful death on April 20 in away marked the birth of the school’s anatomical gift program. His gift, the threeadditional that have been made since and those to come, play a critical role in theeducation of future physicians, as well as other health care professionals, helpingstudents to understand the complex anatomy of the human body.

While Bilodeau is impressed by the new technology and conven-iences in the lab, he appreciates having access to classrooms wherehe can hold discussions before and after the dissections. Spacewasn’t always available at Yale, where Quinnipiac previously heldanatomy courses.

“You really can’t teach this course effectively without these teach-ing spaces,” he said.

CHANGING ATTITUDES

Until the anatomical donation program receives more gifts,the University has purchased bodies for the first wave ofclasses.

Casso is working to get the word out about Quinnipiac’s bodydonation program and hopes to receive about 50 bodies annually.

“It’s getting more acceptable now to have a cremation and hold amemorial service afterward,” Casso explained. Even 10 years ago, itwas unheard of to have a service if the body wasn’t present, he said.After the body is used in the lab, Quinnipiac pays for the transporta-tion and cremation costs and returns the ashes to the family.

Gifting a body for education or science also has become a moreattractive alternative for families, particularly as the price of afuneral increases, Casso said. The National Funeral Directors Asso-ciation estimates that funerals cost about $6,500, but depending onthe services, it could be thousands more.

The most challenging aspect of his job is when he can’t accept adonation, usually because of a health issue. For example, peoplewho suffered from edema retain water, which dilutes formaldehydeand makes it challenging to preserve a body. Even if he knows hecannot accept a body, he makes the trip to tell the family in person.

“It’s hard to tell someone,” he said. “They are trying to give mea gift, a very valuable gift. They are giving up a funeral, they aregiving up the ceremonial part of the grieving process, and I’m say-ing no thanks.” Most families understand and are very gracious,he said.

LESSONS IN GRIEF

Casso understands the plight of grieving families, havingworked with them for more than four decades, first at funer-al homes and then as the director of the anatomical donation

program at UConn and now Quinnipiac. Today, Casso manages the donations, transports, embalms and

maintains the bodies, and helps families fill out forms, such as vet-


“Rex Harkness was a teacher andthrough this donation, he is still ableto teach. It overshadows the sad-ness a little bit. Mrs. Harkness andpeople like her realize this gift bene-fits a lot of people.”—Jim Casso

Academically, the index cards provide information that couldshow the correlation between the way a person lived and the effectson the body. It’s also a brief introduction to the person who madethe donation.

“It’s so easy to disconnect this person’s life from the body becausewe don’t want to see ourselves like that,” said Casso in a warm tonethat contrasts sharply with his chilly, stainless-steel surroundings. “Ithink it puts the student at ease knowing that this person wanted tobe a donor.”

And he hopes knowing the person makes students appreciate thegift. Helping students was the reason Harkness wanted to make thedonation.

“Of course, I’ll miss him, but we lived a very charmed life and wealways took care of our bodies,” said Sue Harkness, who was mar-ried to Rex for more than five decades. “We wanted to give our bod-ies to medical science. I’m even more thrilled because he’s con-tributing to a new school of medicine.”

The Harknesses read about the anatomical gift program in theHartford Courant and, as the parents of a pediatrician, wereimpressed with the School of Medicine’s goal to increase the num-ber of primary care physicians. They have friends who have signedup to be donors at other universities, but the couple thought theestablished programs at UConn and Yale get enough donations.

“Learning that he was the first made me very happy,” said Hark-ness. “I’ve been telling everyone, Rex got accepted to medicalschool—and he’s the first in his class.”

This type of donation could bring comfort to a grieving family, saidCasso, who has been in the mortuary profession for more than 40 yearsand previously ran UConn’s anatomical gift program for 20 years.

“Rex Harkness was a teacher and through this donation, he is stillable to teach. It overshadows the sadness a little bit,” explainedCasso. “Mrs. Harkness and people like her realize this gift benefits alot of people.”

THE BENEFACTORS

T he body donations will benefit more than the first class of 60students in the School of Medicine. Several School of HealthScience programs began using the new anatomy lab during

the summer. On one June morning, a class of pathologists’ assistant students,

donning white plastic aprons and blue gloves, filed into one sectionof the anatomy lab. Steven Bilodeau, adjunct professor in the pathol-ogists’ assistant program, plugged in his laptop. His presentationappeared on the monitors hovering above the dissection tables.Cameras in the lab also enable professors to record the sessions.

The students divided into teams of four around a table. In eachteam, one student flipped through the presentation on the touch-screen monitor. Another student opened the rounded stainless-steelcover on the table and unzipped the white body bag, while othersadjusted the body. In unison, each group referenced the monitorbefore every meticulous incision.

“You see and learn so much more using your own hands,” saidCassie Murray, a first-year pathologists’ assistant student. Someclasses use computer simulations, and Murray has had an anatomyclass that used pigs. She said it is especially important for patholo-gists’ assistants to compare normal and abnormal human tissue.

erans’ benefits, the death certificate and newspaper notices.“Because I am a funeral director, I help them with all of the thingsa funeral home would,” Casso said. “Often, family members call mejust to talk.”

He always makes time to listen. He recalled one distressed widowwho wanted to see her husband, who was already in his care. In aneffort to dissuade her, Casso explained, “‘You don’t want to remem-ber him like that. Why don’t you come over and we’ll have lunch.Bring me a rose and I’ll put it with him.’ We had lunch, I put the roseon his cover, and she was OK with that.

“We try to accommodate people because it’s so stressful. It’s a dif-ficult time,” said Casso. “If you can do something that helps them,why not do it? Obviously there was something missing. They need-ed to do this before they could let go.”

Casso was 16 when he began working in a funeral home washingcars. Being around death bothered him at first.

“It changes the way you look at life,” he explained. “It’s like read-ing a book. When you look at the last page and see how it endsbefore you’re supposed to, it takes away from the story.”

He received a certificate from mortuary school in New York andcompleted a bachelor’s degree in biology from Central ConnecticutState University. Working in several funeral homes across the state,Casso gained experience in every aspect of the business, fromembalming to arranging the services. The funeral home business,however, is very much a family business, and he wasn’t part of afamily. Running a body donation program at a university was idealfor his expertise. Last year, he couldn’t pass up the opportunity tojoin Quinnipiac and build a program from scratch in a new, modernfacility and be part of the team to launch the medical school.

Even today, Casso drives everywhere in a van that carries all of theequipment and supplies he would need, should he get a call toretrieve a donation. “People don’t like to wait in that situation.”

If Casso wasn’t so prepared, Quinnipiac’s first donation may nothave happened.

When Harkness died on a Saturday afternoon, his widow wasn’tsure whom to contact. The Quinnipiac donation form—filled outand signed—was still sitting on her kitchen table. Casso was in theprocess of setting up his Quinnipiac office. Still, the call made itsway to Casso.

“I am grateful Jim Casso was working that day,” said Harkness.She had found her lifeless husband on his favorite chair in his “mancave.” She calls her time with Rex a “lifelong love affair” that spannednearly six decades—a five-year courtship followed by 53 years ofmarriage. Strong and fit with curly blond hair and blue eyes, heresembled Charlton Heston, according to his daughters. He playedcollege football, built four houses, including his own, and, even inretirement, he chopped wood on their Ashford, Conn., property.

He also was in the middle stage of dementia. Although his deathwas sudden, it saved him from suffering with the disease. “He livedhis life just the way he wanted and he died just the way he wantedto,” Harkness said.

“When we get his ashes back, we’ll have a service and we’llsprinkle them in his beloved woods,” Harkness explained. “Mychildren used to say, ‘If everyone lived like you and dad, we would-n’t have global warming.’ I can joke and say this donation is theultimate recycling.”

In a more serious tone she added, “Most of our close friendsthink it’s a wonderful idea. I hope we’re setting a trend.”


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James Casso in the anatomylab at the Frank H. NetterMD School of Medicine. To learn more about theAnatomical Gift Program,please contact him at 203-582-6587 or [email protected].


GOOD

DYNAMIC DUO OF BILL MECCA & BILL SCHWEIZER

MARKING 15 YEARS TOGETHER ON THE AIR

BY JANET WALDMANPHOTOGRAPHY BY

CHRISTOPHER BEAUCHAMP

SPORTS

And when the Bobcats are up by a substantial amount of points,“Mecca really gets going and it’s like a Vegas act,” Pacelli adds witha chuckle. During half time, spectators in TD Bank sometimes aretreated to Mecca’s version of the “Cupid Shuffle.” Head phones off,he trots onto center court, where mascot Boomer is waiting.Together, they show off their moves.

Mecca, senior associate athletic director, is effusive with praise forhis partner’s skills behind the microphone. “Schweiz (Mecca’s nick-name for him) describes the action as it happens, not afterward.When there is a pass from the point to the wing, it happens simul-taneously with his voice—and that’s a lost art,” Mecca says.

Turning to Schweizer, he says, “To be honest, anybody can call agame, but everyone can’t do it the way you do it. Your way allowsan analyst like myself to get in when I’m supposed to and outwhen I’m supposed before clapping and other background noisedrown me out.”

Schweizer honed this skill when doing play-by-play for UConnbasketball games on the radio in the late 70s and early 80s. Fanstold him they’d watch the action on TV, but turn down the soundand turn up their radios to listen to him. “That’s when I figured outthat I couldn’t be behind the play if people were listening to me andwatching at the same time. I had to be on top of what I was doing.”

PREAMBLE TO PARTNERSHIP

Schweizer played baseball at Iona and dreamed of amajor league career, but a back injury derailed thatplan. The English major was hired as a sportswriter,and later took a 15-week broadcasting course. Hebegan doing news at smaller stations and after nine

years, was hired by Lou Adler at CBS NewsRadio. Adler laterbecame a QU professor in the School of Communications.

Schweizer did the morning drive sports at WCBS-FM weekdaysand Channel 8 sports on weekends, in addition to calling UConnbasketball and at one time, New Haven Ravens baseball. He beganteaching a course in radio production at Quinnipiac in 1995 and hasbeen here since. In addition to the games, Schweizer serves as a


“Their chemistry never lets you forget you are listening to a game.You get the perfect balance of gameaction from Schweizer—his pacingand ability to draw mental picturesare second to none—and Mecca, the ex-coach, can tell you what this coachand those players are thinking.” —Paul Pacelli

he Bobcats men’s basketball team is struggling.Rebounds and baskets are scarce.

“If you find yourself in a hole, the best thing todo is stop digging,” declares Bill Mecca, survey-ing the battle on the court this February night.

His broadcast partner, Bill Schweizer, nods ashe continues to describe the action.

“When you’re struggling, you’ve got to stopand let it go, step out and play free and easy,”Mecca explains. He weaves his comments into

Schweizer’s game narrative, the two working to deliver a seamlesstapestry for their AM 1220 WQUN audience with Schweizer serv-ing as the listeners’ eyes and Mecca their imagination—black andwhite with splashes of color.

The guys who serve as the voice of Bobcats basketball and icehockey are marking their 15th year together this fall—longer thanmany marriages. The chemistry is still fresh despite the broadcastseason running 14 games longer than usual this past spring owingto the women’s basketball team reaching the first round of theNCAA Tournament, and the men’s ice hockey team proceeding tothe Frozen Four and the national title game in Pittsburgh.

And more excitement is on tap for 2014, when QU hosts theWomen’s Frozen Four on March 21–23 at the High Point SolutionsArena at TD Bank Sports Center.

“We have fun, so it doesn’t seem like work,” says Schweizer. As most of the University’s teams transition from the Northeast

Conference to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference this fall (icehockey remains in ECAC Hockey), there are new basketball play-ers and coaches to research. Teams in the conference are Canisius,Fairfield, Manhattan, Marist, Monmouth, Rider, Saint Peter’s,Siena and the alma maters of both Schweizer and Mecca—Ionaand Niagara, respectively.

“It should be interesting,” Schweizer says, flashing a smile.Another thing that makes him grin is Mecca’s habit of sprin-

kling “pearls of wisdom,” as Schweizer terms them, throughouttheir broadcasts, pregame and postgame shows. Schweizer neverknows what metaphor his partner will employ next. Mecca hascompared a lack of movement on the basketball court to a “mid-dle school dance where everybody stands and nobody dances.”

After a second-half explosion in a women’s basketball win, Meccasaid, “It was like watching Superstorm Nemo. You went to bed witheight inches of snow, and you woke up to 40 inches on the ground….”

Following a tough men’s basketball loss, Mecca declared: “Asyou look at some of the best movies ever made, I think you findout that not every love story has a happy ending. Sometimes thehero dies.”

The more comfortable they became with each other, the morethe “crazy stuff started coming out,” Schweizer says. “We don’t tryto play ‘can you top this one.’ If one of us comes out with a linethat’s off the wall or humorous, we go with it. We have fun doingit, so hopefully people have fun listening to it.”

“Listeners may picture two guys sitting in the stands, engagingin light-hearted banter, yet the broadcast is very professional, verydynamic,” says Paul Pacelli, production assistant at WQUN andfill-in play-by-play announcer for the hockey and basketballbroadcasts.

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Bill Mecca, left, andBill Schweizer horsearound on LenderCourt at the TDBank Sports Center.

media coordinator and teaches courses in Sports Reporting (under-graduate) and Performing and Producing Live Events on Radio(graduate).

Mecca came to QU in 1978 after graduating from Niagara, wherehe played college basketball. He is one of the people alumni remem-ber most. In addition to his administrative duties, he founded andcoordinates the annual Bill Mecca Roundball Golf Tournament forthe benefit of athletics. He was inducted into QU’s Athletic Hall ofFame in 2009 and this year, the Quinnipiac Alumni Associationdubbed him an honorary alumnus.

In these 35 years, he’s coached basketball, golf, tennis, taught

physical education courses, and served as interim athletic directorbefore current athletic director Jack McDonald was hired.

Schweizer began broadcasting QU games in 1998, when the Uni-versity went Division I. Students were recruited to assist him on air,but most found the task intimidating. Meanwhile, Mecca had hungup his coach’s clipboard during the transition from Division II to I.Although he enjoyed coaching and thought he had a talent for moti-vating athletes, “That thought went by the wayside when I lost 13games my first season. I decided I didn’t want my livelihood tied to18- and 19-year-olds,” he says.

Mecca moved into the role of assistant athletic director, and JoeDeSantis was hired to coach. McDonald suggested Mecca as a goodbroadcast partner for Schweizer: After all, he was the former bas-ketball coach and had “personality.”

At first, Mecca was uncomfortable with the concept of second-guessing the new coach on the air. And, he had no broadcastingexperience. “We basically pulled him kicking and screaming to thebroadcast table and tied him to the chair,” Schweizer says.

“But I was blessed because Billy is the best,” Mecca replies. “Ididn’t learn from Joe Schmo, I learned from Bill Schweizer. Hetaught me the ropes.”

“I told him, ‘When the ball’s in play, it’s my microphone,’”Schweizer relates, adding, “Timeouts are his, or when a ball goes outof bounds or a basket is scored.”

Besides doing games, the duo also co-hosts “Bobcats Unleashed,”a twice-yearly video series highlighting QU athletics that is pro-duced by Quinnipiac and broadcast on NESN and SNY. The serieshas received three Emmy nominations.

Mecca labels his analysis basketball for dummies. “I want them tobe able to sit there and understand why andhow it happened. My challenge every game isto put Schweitz in a position so when I lookover, there is a smile on his face and we get tothe next broadcast.”

“It’s a show, and we feed off the interactionbetween us,” Schweizer says. They consider


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Top left: Justin Rutty ’12 fist bumps Mecca andSchweizer during a basketball game. Left: Meccarocks “The Cupid Shuffle” with Boomer. Above: At the Roundball Golf Tournament, from left:Eric Grgurich, MS ’13; Eric Kruse; Keith Woodward’88, MBA ’92; and Bill Mecca.

each game an opportunity to be better than the last. A real chal-lenge comes when a game is bad, according to Schweizer. “Whenthe Bobcats are making mistakes—not playing well—we need toknow how to get people to still listen and enjoy it without bashingthe team.”

And there can be a fine line between describing the action andcheering on the team. But Mecca cautions, “You are listening to usbecause you are a fan of Quinnipiac. If you are not a fan, then listento some other station.”

A coach’s feathers may ruffle occasionally from a commentmade during a broadcast, but Tom Moore, head men’s basketballcoach, is unperturbed. “You really can’t let that stuff bother you,”he says.

Moore points to Schweizer’s and Mecca’s “great rapport” on andoff the air as the key to their success and longevity. “There is amutual respect and friendship between them that comes acrossclearly. They have great chemistry, a passion for Quinnipiac Uni-versity, and an enthusiasm for college sports that has been thedriving force for them over the last 15 years.”

Anne Balogh ’52 is an enthusiastic fan of both basketball and hockey and attends most home games with her friend, DickReilly ’58. Balogh is president of the Alumni Association’s Larsonchapter and a member of both QU’s Athletics Advisory Board andits Athletics Council.

For away games, they depend on the WQUN online broadcasts.“Those guys are really into the game,” she says, noting that she miss-es hearing them while sitting in the stands. “Sometimes they arevery philosophical—especially Mecca—and sometimes he’s this sideof exactly right, but he’s clever,” she adds.

Another plus, she says, is that they don’t criticize players. “Every-body has an off day once in a while,” she notes.

PREGAME PREP

Unbenownst to listeners, Schweizer prepares for eachbroadcast—more than 100 games in the regular sea-son alone—by familiarizing himself with every oppos-ing team, interviewing coaches before games, anddropping into practices occasionally. Besides radio,

they do several TV games each year.“People don’t realize that we do a half-hour radio pregame show,

a 20-minute-plus postgame show, as well as the game. We arefocused for three hours. Preparation, for me, is the absolute key. Ineed to know the players on the court and the players on the ice,which can be difficult because they all look the same with theirmasks.”

Mecca gets to know the athletes by attending practices and get-ting a sense of what is happening on a day-to-day basis. “I can sharethat without violating the coach’s creed of whatever happens in thegym stays in the gym,” he says.

TV is a whole different animal, Schweizer says. They do about sixor seven basketball games on NESN, and SNY, and the occasionalFox 61. For hockey, Mecca exits the booth to serve as a sidelinereporter.

Bob Tipson, assistant athletic director for compliance, joins thebroadcast for many games, adding his wisdom as a former assistant


basketball coach at Quinnipiac. “It’s much more challenging whenthere are three of us, but it works—we don’t step on each other,”Schweizer says.

“Sometimes Tip and Mecca get going on something, and I haveto remind them there is a game going on,” Schweizer exclaims witha laugh.

Joining the MAAC represents a step-up in competition for manyof QU’s teams. “The women’s basketball team will give Marist com-petition, and there is no reason why the men’s team can’t be suc-cessful,” Schweizer says.

“And it gives our coaches the opportunity to recruit a quality ofstudent-athlete that we haven’t seen before,” Mecca points out. Headds: “In the past, we were getting either highly skilled or highlywilled players. Some were very good but they need that self-moti-vating thing that makes them great.”

Besides the historic hockey season, two games remain vivid inSchweizer’s mind, both men’s basketball. The first, in 2002, cameafter the men’s team, coached by Joe DeSantis, finished seventh inthe regular season to qualify for the conference playoffs.

“First, they beat No. 2 Wagner on Wagner’s home turf 87–78 andthen No. 3 seed UMBC 75–72 to advance to the championshipgame at Central Connecticut on ESPN2. The gym was buzzing—itwas packed 90 minutes before the game. The crowd was chanting,the atmosphere charged. It went down to the final minute, withthree points separating the teams. And we lost 78–71.”

The second game was in March 2010—the NEC regular seasonchampionship against Robert Morris, with Tom Moore at the helm.“The volume in TD Bank was turned way up—it was what collegesports is supposed to be like. When we lost [52–50], Mecca hadtears in his eyes. That night is what you dream about. Hockey has itevery time Yale comes to play,” Schweizer recalls.

Mecca’s best season with the basketball team was in 1992–93,when he led it to a 16–13 mark and a berth in the championshipgame. But he says his best years at QU unfolded after he stoppedcoaching.

“There was a greater calling for me. This opportunity to be part ofthe broadcast has opened up another world. Looking on the brightside, as always, he says: I am undefeated as an analyst.”

“The volume in the TD BankSports Center was turned wayup—it was what college sports issupposed to be like. When we lost[52–50], Mecca had tears in hiseyes. That night is what you dreamabout. Hockey has it every timeYale comes to play.”—Bill Schweizer


eriberto “Eddy” Cordero ’04, MAT ’05, was not a serioushigh school student, but the bright, self-described class

joker always managed to learn enough to get good grades.He landed in the top 10 percent of his class at Lyman Hall

High School in Wallingford, Conn., and received Quinnipiac’sBRAMS Scholarship, which paid for his undergraduate tuition.Despite its bucolic landscape—a contrast to the New Haven neigh-borhood where he grew up—his first semester at Quinnipiac wasno walk in the park. He bombed the first test in every class.

“I thought I was ready,” says Cordero. He quickly concluded, “Ifthis is what I honestly want to do for the rest of my life, then man, Ineed to learn this. I’m going to be teaching it.”

After finding better ways to study, he had no problem earning abachelor’s degree in science and a master’s in teaching from Quin-nipiac, and later a sixth-year certificate from Southern ConnecticutState University. Now a vice principal at Hill Regional Career HighSchool in New Haven, Cordero keeps that first lesson in mind as hebuilds partnerships with universities to give his students collegeexperience while still in high school. His goal is to help them makea smoother, more successful transition. In 2012, he collaboratedwith QU Professor Gloria Holmes, his former mentor, to have hisstudents take courses at Quinnipiac through the School of Educa-tion’s Partnership for Accelerated Learning.

“If you can put them in a college class, you can tell them, ‘This iswhat we’ve been trying to get you ready for. Yes, you’re a top-levelstudent here in high school, but now you’re going to be sitting in thisrigorous and demanding class with other top stu-dents,’” says Cordero. At Career High School, whichspecializes in business and science/health careers,about 95 percent of its graduates enroll in college.

The School of Education started the Partner-ship for Accelerated Learning in 2008, workingwith New Haven Academy, and has expanded toinclude Career High School. Students can take upto four courses for free and earn credit that willcount toward high school and college require-ments. Saving on tuition was one of the most com-pelling reasons to apply for the program, say bothMaissane Taroua and Tenzin Chogkey, who wereselected to be Career High School’s first partici-pants. The two took a philosophy course with Pro-

fessor Ben Page, which alleviated some of their concerns aboutbeing able to balance coursework and other responsibilities.

“Quinnipiac had many resources and people I could talk toabout the class, and even about my homework,” says Taroua, whoplans to be a doctor and work in global health. “The professor andthe other students were so nice. I liked the class so much.”

In the spring, 30 Career High School students applied for 12spots. “We’re hoping to establish a pipeline to Quinnipiac, but we’renot making that a precondition for them taking these courses,” saysHolmes, program director. Cordero enjoyed teaching so much, hespent many more than his required 20 observational hours atCareer High School. With the shortage of teachers in science, hewas hired to teach full time at Wilbur Cross High School in NewHaven during his student-teaching year but stayed for five yearsuntil returning to Career for his current position.

In the school corridor, students greet Cordero with high-fivesand handshakes. He stops to listen to a student’s recent athletic tri-umphs, as well as another who is frustrated with an incident thathas her marching to the main office. “They know I’ll drop every-thing to get them on the right path.”

From his first year of teaching, he knew he wanted to become anadministrator. “I realized I could only have so much of an impactwithin the four walls of my classroom. That is my passion: tryingto reach kids,” he says.

He identifies with many of his students, a racially diverse groupthat comes from low- to mid-income households in both New

Haven and the surrounding communities. After asecond stray bullet flew through his family’s NewHaven home just a few blocks from Career HighSchool, his parents, both originally from PuertoRico, moved the family to Wallingford. With onlya few students of color in his new school, heencountered people who made assumptionsabout who he was and what he was capable ofdoing. He never held it against them, reasoningthat they hadn’t been exposed to diversity.

“These challenges can be excuses to hold youback or you can use them to push you forward.My brother and I used them as opportunities,”Cordero says. “My whole life, all I wanted to dowas to break down those stereotypes.”

MAXIMUMEXPOSURE

“We know they aregoing to graduate.We got that. Weneed to get themwell prepared toget all the waythrough collegeand finish strong.”— Heriberto Cordero

H

Partnership introduces high school students to college work, hoping to front-load academic success

BY ALEJANDRA NAVARRO

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Eddy Cordero ’04, MAT ’05, chats withTenzin Chogkey, center, and MaissaneTaroua, the first from Hill RegionalCareer High School to take classes atQU through the Partnership for Accelerated Learning program.

James W. McGlothlin, chairmanand CEO of The United Co., hasconducted deals with well-researched business plans and acadre of lawyers, but he also has

found fortune relying on gut reaction,hand-written contracts and handshakes.

Sometimes, success depends on luck,McGlothlin explained to business studentsin the spring course, CEO Lessons in Lead-ership. Still, he assured students that theyhave much knowledge to acquire on theroad to success. “I’m here to keep you frommaking some of the mistakes we all tend tomake,” he said in a presentation layeredwith honesty and humor.

McGlothlin was one of four businessexecutives to lecture in the new course,which was created and taught by SusanMcTiernan, associate professor of manage-ment and associate dean for graduate pro-grams in the School of Business.

The other business leaders were RobertCastrignano, principal of Sandler O’Neill& Partners in New York; David Darst, amanaging director at Morgan Stanley;

“You cannot be aneffective leaderunless you areinformed.” —Robert Castrignano

LEADINGFOUR EXECUTIVES SHARE PIVOTAL EXPERIENCES THAT HELPED THEM REACH THE TOP By ALEJANDRA NAVARRO

“Motivation may resultfrom financial reward butalmost always occurs as aresult of praise.” —James McGlothlin

32 |

and William Weldon ’71, former CEO ofJohnson & Johnson. Each spent a timeleading the class and sharing the businessexperiences—both the triumphs and chal-lenges—they encountered as they navigat-ed their way into leadership positions.Darst, McGlothlin and Weldon are mem-bers of the University’s Business LeaderHall of Fame. Weldon and McGlothlinalso have received honorary degrees atCommencements.

The lessons resonated with Akash Bud-hani, who is majoring in both computer sci-ence and finance with a minor in econom-ics. “All four speakers had somethinginteresting to say,” said Budhani. “Onething was clear: Failure is part of life. Wethink these leaders who have these bigexecutive roles are perfect. Each one ofthem explained to us that they have failedat one point in their lives. Whoever keepspressing forward will succeed.”

McGlothlin took students through thepeaks and valleys of his storied 43-yearcareer that began with the purchase of theUnited Coal Company, and the decisionsthat grew the small-town coal mining busi-ness into one of the largest privately ownedU.S. companies.

Each business leader gave insight into hisrespective field and presented advice, fromfinding a good mentor to reading every-thing and being knowledgeable beyondyour field.

“Some of my best advice is ABC ––AlwaysBe Closing,” said Darst in an interactive andcaptivating presentation. “Lots of peoplecan put together elaborate presentations,but you still have to close the deal.” Heshowed a clip from the film “GlengarryGlen Ross” to make his point.

McGlothlin explained the intricacies ofentrepreneurship, which he said shouldcome with a Surgeon General’s Warning:“Entrepreneurship may result in addedstress, high risk and if you are successful atit, it is very habit-forming.”

He presented his list of 15 practical “busi-ness commandments” including: “Safetyfirst, environment next; Happy workers aresuccessful workers; and Ship it today, wemight lose the order tomorrow.” McGloth-lin also offered his own interpretation ofsuccess for the students. A supporter ofeducation and the arts, he explained,“You’re not successful just making moneyfor yourself.”

Students were most interested in inter-acting with executives and hearing the per-sonal stories behind these lessons was mostinteresting. In teams, students researchedone of the four guests, and then had anopportunity to meet with him out of class.

Budhani was impressed that weeks intoCastrignano’s retirement from GoldmanSachs, he joined a nearly devastated San-dler O’Neill. The boutique investment firmhad been housed on the 104th floor of theWorld Trade Center’s Tower 2 and lost 66 ofits 171 employees on 9/11. With Castrig-nano’s help, the firm has become moreprosperous than before the tragedy.

“The mere fact that he came back to WallStreet after 9/11 says a lot about him. Itshows he genuinely loves the finance indus-try and he wants to see the economy dowell,” said Budhani.

Executives urged students to lookbeyond the numbers of business. Account-

ing major Josh Improta recalled Castrig-nano asking the students, “What is themost important currency in the world?”Some students said China’s yuan, otherpeople said the dollar, Improta said.

“Relationships” was the answer Castrig-nano was seeking.

Weldon explained Johnson & Johnson’scredo of putting patients and employeesahead of shareholders. “If you take care ofthe first two and do it really well, the share-holders will get a fair return on their invest-ment,” he said.

Weldon’s story inspired Improta, who isinterested in entrepreneurship. “You don’tnecessarily need to know what you want todo, but whatever you decide, you just needto do it well.”

“We need to treat everybodywith dignity and respect.There are no little people.”—David Darst

“You must be willing to make toughdecisions to preserve your dignityand ethics.”—Bill Weldon ’71

byEXAMPLE


1966

Ann (Crowder) Herrick’s youngadult novel, “The Perfect Guy,”has been released as an ebook.She lives in Eugene, OR.

1976

Jess Kravitz of Scottsdale, AZ, is a certified financial planner. Heis president and managing part-ner at Securus Financial Group.He and his wife, Virginia, havetwo sons, Jacob and Jordan.

1981

David Nelson of Baltimore hasbeen named chief operatingofficer of xG Health Solutions.He also serves as a vice chair-

man of Quinnipiac University’sBoard of Trustees.

1984

Steven Angeletti is senior vicepresident/regional vice presi-dent of commercial lending forTD Bank. He is also on the advi-sory board for the School ofBusiness. He lives in Wallingford,CT, with his wife, Donna, andtheir five children. Their son,Nicholas, graduated from QUwith a BS in accounting in 2010.

Donald Desiderato joined NewYork Life as the senior managingdirector and chief technologyofficer in the investments group.He is also a member of theinvestment group’s senior

leadership team. He lives inBurlington, CT, with his wife and two children.

1986

Louis Gherlone of Orange, CT, is the president/owner of LouisGherlone Excavating, which wasestablished in 1986. The com-pany has 65 full-time employ-ees. Louis is also a managingpartner of Spring Street Recy-cling of West Haven, CT.

1992

Paul Vardoulakis of Wethers-field, CT, is owner and founderof Norwich Financial, an inde-pendent financial services andinvestment firm with offices in

Norwich and Chester, CT. Hereceived Connecticut Maga-zine’s FIVE STAR Wealth Man-ager award three years in a row.He lives in Wethersfield with hiswife, Anthia, and their two chil-dren, Adrianna and Demetri.

1995

Richard Pagliara was promot-ed to partner at RadiologyRegional Center in Naples, FL.He recently was appointedpresident of the Collier CountyMedical Society, is currently thechairman of the Collier CountyFlorida Medical Association del-egation, and is a founding boardmember of the Collier CountyMedical Society Foundation.


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ALUMNI

At Reunion 2013, from left:Alison (Romsey) Dahl ’93,Meghan (O’Neil) Bohner ’93,Cindy (Dormer) Lalonde ’93,Sheila O’Connor-Kirchner ’93,Pamela (Pape) Sarzen ’93, andMarika (Kallas) Chasse ’93.

O ALUMNI

1997

Karen (Dionne) Carlone ’97,MHS ’03, teaches courses inbiology, environmental scienceand chemistry at Old SaybrookHigh School in Old Saybrook, CT.She recently developed a veteri-nary science course. She lives inEssex, CT, with her husband,Gerald, and their children.

2000

Laura (Hummel) Hoffmann ofHowell, NJ, and her husband,Charlie, announce the birth ofLondann Alexis on Feb. 17, 2013.Laura is a middle school sci-ence teacher for the EastBrunswick, NJ, school district.

CariAnn (DeRosa) Palmeseand her husband, Andrew,announce the birth of their firstchild, Grace Maria, born on Feb.21, 2013. The family lives in Flo-ral Park, NY. (See photo p. 47.)

2001

Tracy (Gentes) Costa, MAT ’01,has published “Playing Tyler,” a young adult thriller. She usesthe pen name TL Costa. Shesummarizes the book as fol-lows: “When Tyler MacCandlessgets the opportunity to beta-test a drone piloting game to tryand win a spot in flight school,he takes it. But when the gameseems too real, he teams upwith the game’s designer touncover the truth, questioningeverything he knows aboutmorality, family and fightingfor love in a world at war.”

Patrick Lynch was named GirlsHigh School Basketball All-State Coach of the Year by theNew Haven Register. Patrickcoaches at Ansonia High Schoolin Ansonia, CT. He had a 17–8record last season and has a55–37 career record.

Cherilyn (Champigny) Whiteand James White ’02 of NorthHaven, CT, announce the birth of

a son, Ryan, on April 28, 2013.Ryan was welcomed by hisbrother, Brett, 4. Cheri is anorthodontic assistant at theoffice of Dr. Michael Kim in Ham-den. Jim is a systems integrityanalyst at ESPN in Bristol, CT.

2002

Samuel Lopes of North Dart-mouth, MA, has been namedhead women’s soccer coach atthe University of New Hampshire.

Christopher Neidig ’02, MS ’04, and his wife, Susan(DeSilvis) Neidig ’01, announcethe birth of a son, Landon, onJan. 17, 2013. Chris is a seniorinstructional designer and proj-ect manager for QU Online andteaches in the graduate interac-tive media program. Susan is a paralegal at GesmondePietrosimone & Sgrignari lawfirm in Hamden. The couple livesin Hamden. (See photo p. 47.)

Kelly Sheehan of HamptonBays, NY, is the senior vice pres-ident of BankUnited and teamleader of commercial privatebanking in New York.

Andree (Aucoin) Shepard ofStorrs, CT, earned a bachelor ofscience in nursing from UConnon May 17, 2013. Andree is aregistered nurse in the emer-gency department at WindhamHospital in Willimantic, CT.

2003

Seth Kolbrenner ’03, MS ’05, is an accountant at Kolbrenner &Alexander, LLC in Greenwich, CT.He and his wife, Megan, live inStamford, CT, with their son,George, 2. (See photo p. 47.)

Erica Ann Pelkowski ’03, MAT ’04, and Dennis JamesMagarian ’04 were wed on April6, 2013. The couple plans torenew their vows in April 2014with family and friends as Dennishas been battling leukemia sinceOctober 2012. (See photo p. 46.)

2004

David Apelian, MBA ’04, wasappointed executive vice presi-dent and chief medical officer ofAchillion Pharmaceuticals inNew Haven. He received his MDfrom the University of Medicineand Dentistry of New Jersey andalso earned a PhD in biochem-istry from Rutgers University. He is in charge of the clinicaldevelopment of Achillion’s port-folio of compounds to treat HCV.

Dana Coseglio ’04, MAT ’06,and Gregory Doucette ’04,

MPT ’06, were wed on July 10,2011. They announce the birthof a son, Alexander Gregory, onMarch 10, 2013. Katie (Doyle)Mangano ’05, MPT ’07, servedas matron of honor and ReneeEscaravage ’04 was a brides-maid. Dana’s bachelorette partyincluded a scavenger hunt onthe Mount Carmel Campus. (See photos pgs. 46 and 47.)

Diane (Gillen) Nicolelli ofMeriden, CT, is working at Aetnain Hartford as a usability con-sultant for IT/marketing.


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DIAM EXPETENDA

SEPTEMBER 19New York City Career Connec-tions Networking Event, 6–8 p.m., New York Yacht Club,New York City.

SEPTEMBER 27–OCTOBER 19Art as Ambassador: HungarianMasterpieces from the NancyG. Brinker & Christian L. Sauska Collections, SouthportGalleries, Tues.–Sat., 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Admission is free.

SEPTEMBER 28Get Acquainted Open Houseat the Center for Medicine,Nursing and Health Sciences, 2–4 p.m., North Haven Campus,370 Bassett Road.

SEPTEMBER 28Athletics Alumni Games, checkevents calendar for details.

OCTOBER 8Hartford Law Alumni Reception,6–8 p.m., Mark Twain House,Hartford.

OCTOBER 25–27Parents & Family Weekend

OCTOBER 28Lecture by Steven Brill,11 a.m., auditorium of the Center for Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, NorthHaven Campus.

NOVEMBER 4Lecture by Dr. Eric Kandel, 7 p.m., auditorium of the Centerfor Medicine, Nursing and HealthSciences, North Haven Campus.

NOVEMBER 9Men’s ice hockey vs. Yale gamewatches, various locations.

NOVEMBER 16Homecoming 2013Featuring men’s ice hockey vs.Dartmouth College and pregamereception and the 2013 Distin-guished Alumni Awards luncheon.

NOVEMBER 20New Haven Law Alumni Reception, 6–8 p.m., NewHaven Lawn Club.

NOVEMBER 22Business Leader Hall of Fame,6 p.m., Metropolitan Club, New York City. $500 per person.

MAKE PLANS WITH US

Visit www.quinnipiac.edu/events or call 203-582-8610 or toll free 877-582-1929.


2005

Victor Abdy and Gina Somma’05 were wed in 2010. Theyannounce the birth of their firstbaby, Johnna Emily, on Dec. 27,2012. Victor and Gina met at QU as undergraduates in 2003.They are the owners of TheMadison Dog Resort & Spa inWaldwick, NJ. Gina also doesfreelance work for the Associat-ed Press and Bloomberg TV.(See photo p. 47.)

Sandra Bitschan married NickCarrano on June 16, 2012. Kelli-Ann (Lesco) Choun ’05 servedas matron of honor. Sean Choun’05, MBA ’06, was the best man.Gina D’Agostino ’05, ElizabethSoares ’05, Robyn Conlon ’05and Laurie (Johnson) Beamon’05 were bridesmaids. MarkPiech ’03, JD ’06, and TomHaggerty served as grooms-men. The family lives in Walling-ford, CT. (See photo p. 46.)

Cara Costantini-Parker andJason Parker ’05 announce the

birth of a son, Chase Avard, onJan. 27, 2013, in Naples, FL.

Allison DePaola ’05, JD ’08,became a partner in the new lawpractice of Floman DePaola inOrange, CT, where she lives.

Matthew Pilcer and AmandaPardo ’06 were married onSept. 10, 2011, in New Jersey.They live in Dallas. Heather Tsinzo ’06, MAT ’07, of Duxbury,MA, served as maid of honor.

Dale Bagley Stewart and herhusband, Scott ’05, welcomed ason, Connor John, born on March20, 2013. Dale is vice president,commercial loan officer at TDBank. The family lives in Madi-son, CT. (See photo p. 47.)

2006

Rick Hancock, MS ’06, joinedthe Atlanta Journal-Constitutionas editor of the newspaper’spaid digital products. He lives in Bloomfield, CT.

Fabio LoNero of Newington, CT,a producer at WTNH Channel 8News, lost 81 pounds in the lastyear. His story was featured onNews 8 by friend and medicalreporter Jocelyn Maminta.

Tom Mangano ’06, MHS ’08,and Katie (Doyle) Mangano ’05,MPT ’07, announce the birth of ason, Bodie Vincent, on Dec. 17,2012. Tom is an orthopedic physi-cian assistant and Katie is aninpatient physical therapist. Bothwork at the St. Raphael’s Cam-pus of Yale New Haven Hospital.The family lives in Southington,CT. (See photo p. 47.)

Holly Pullano wed TimothyLaPrade on Oct. 20, 2012, at theSaybrook Point Inn, Old Say-brook, CT. She is manager ofmarketing and business develop-ment for Banton ConstructionCo. in North Haven. The couplelives in Madison, CT. (See photop. 46.)

Eric Reizis is a financial adviserat Morgan Stanley in Short Hills,NJ. He lives in Jersey City, NJ.

2007

Kerri E. Accettella married Glen R. Roesch on Feb. 2, 2013,in Pensacola Beach, FL. Kerri is aphysician assistant at Children’sHospital of the King’s Daughtersin the general surgery depart-ment. The couple lives in Norfolk, VA. (See photo p. 47.)

Erin Sullivan ’07, MAT ’08, andCody VanCise were married onFeb. 8, 2013, in Boston, wherethey live.

2008

Thomas Fritz marriedMackenzie Streit on Oct. 272012. Tom is director of MichiganState University’s North

Engagement Center and part ofthe Neighborhoods initiative,which focuses on increasingretention, persistence and academic success for students.The couple lives in Mason, MI.(See photo p. 46.)

2009

Mario Bencivenga ’09, MOT ’11,has been working as an activeduty occupational therapist forthe U.S. Navy since April 2011,serving in the Medical ServiceCorps. He is the division officerfor the physical/occupationaltherapy department at the Naval hospital in Jacksonville,FL. Mario was promoted tolieutenant in 2012.

Christina Giani ’09, MAT ’10, of Stamford, CT, marriedPatrick Kelly in October 2012.Christina works for the Stam-ford public school system. (See photo p. 46.)

2010

Mark Bouchard is manager of CATI operations at theQuinnipiac Poll in Hamden. He lives in Berlin, CT.

Erin Kilcullen ’10, MOT ’12,married Tim Wells ’11 on Sept. 29, 2012. Erin is an occupational therapist atCooperative EducationalServices in Trumbull, CT. Tim is attending the New YorkBotanical Garden School ofHorticulture. They live inShelton, CT.

Joseph Shust of EastBrunswick, NJ, was namededitor of The Hunterdon Review.He was formerly a staff writerand has been covering thecommunities covered by thenewspaper for the past year.

ALUMNIO

The Central European Institute presents

Art as Ambassador: Hungarian Masterpiecesfrom the Nancy G. Brinker and Christian L. Sauska Collections

September 27–October 19Southport Galleries330 Pequot Ave., Southport, CT 203-292-6124

Hours: Tues.–Sat., 11 a.m.–5 p.m.Free admission

www.quinnipiac.edu203-582-8737

József Rippl-Rónai (1861–1927): Homage to Monsieur Bing (Portrait of a Lady in Brown Dress)

CLASS NOTES ARE JUST A CLICK AWAY!WWW.QUINNIPIAC.EDU/SUBMITCLASSNOTE


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2011

Casey Farricielli of Milford, CT,opened her own fitness studio,Couture Fitness, in Milford.

Dimitar Totkov Naydenovmarried Luciana Ruzzier ’12on April 13, 2013, in Wethers -field, CT. The couple met atQuinnipiac. Dimitar’s twin sister,Iva Naydenov ’11, MBA ’12, and Mark Bouchard ’10 were in the wedding party. Dimitar is a research assistant at theMaryland Department of MentalHealth and Hygiene. Luciana is

a sales and service specialist at Bank of America. (See photop. 46.)

2012

Eric Grabowski of RenaissanceFarm in Burlington, CT, hasreceived the SBA YoungEntrepreneur of the Year Award.Renaissance Farm is committedto sustainable agriculture bypracticing organic techniqueswhile providing quality plants,produce and flowers. Eric livesin Wallingford, CT.

and the perspectiveI am able to takeaway from thatgroup is very valu-able,” Rusate said.

He worked in Sin-gapore and HongKong for anothercompany beforejoining GE 20 yearsago. Rusate handlesall the currency andcommodity exposurefor GE in one roleand mitigates cur-rency risk and/orgeopolitical sover-eign risk in another.

When Rusate is not keeping pace withworld events and their ripple effect onmarkets, he plays golf and hikes with hisfamily. He also enjoys traveling and vol-unteering. Through GE he has volun-teered for Habitat for Humanity and acommunity soup kitchen in Stamford.

Rusate serves on the School of BusinessAdvisory Board, mentors three QuinnipiacUniversity students, and serves on the

David Rusate ’79 chose Quin-nipiac years ago because ofits business school reputa-tion and proximity to hisHamden home. Little did he

know it would open up the world to him.Rusate switched his major from

accounting to international business afterthe department founder, Vasant Nadkarni,PhD, introduced students to the conceptof globalization more than a decade beforeit came to fruition. That forethought gaveRusate an uncharted path to blaze that ledto a career on the world economic stage.

Rusate, who lives in Southbury, Conn.,travels the world as managing director offoreign exchange and commodities for GECorporate Treasury. He is treasurer of GE’spower and water division as well. He sitson the New York Federal Reserve’s foreignexchange subcommittee, which comprisesa small group of banks, hedge funds andcorporate entities like GE and Microsoft.

“We’re a sounding board for the FederalReserve on how the foreign exchange mar-ket is behaving. Is there normal liquidity?Are we seeing normal pricing? The per-spective I’m able to share with that group

David Rusate ’79

Worldly ViewGE executive keeps eye on the markets

2011Thomas Fisk ’93, ’04

2012Richard Rochefort ’77

2013Cecelia (Ramey) Abraham ’51James Collins ’82Anita Dodson ’94, MOL ’09James Eberg ’06Barbara Esposito ’67John Gilbert ’42

Barbara (Ziplow) Green ’52Blanche (Lewin) Kelley ’40Christopher Kriesel ’96Robert Lampo ’64Elizabeth (Radzevich) Landis ’82Rita (McManus) Lewis ’45Frederick J. Masotta ’58Susan Meshako ’79Anthony Pepe ’56Maurice Simon ’89Robert Turbert ’54Carmel Warner ’48John Zenie, MBA ’98John G. Haggerty, former

biochemistry professor

IN MEMORIAM

steering committee for the University’sinternational business program. InNovember, he will be presented with aDistinguished Alumni Award duringHomecoming.

Ten members of his extended familyhave graduated from Quinnipiac includinghis daughter, Nina Rusate-Perry, whograduated from the nursing program in 2007.—Meg Barone


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since 2007, losing to the Pittsburgh Pen-guins in the first round.

Beach oversees a staff of seven—including fellow Quinnipiac alumna ErinWilley ’09 and Brian Jones ’05—andindirectly supervises a crew of 150 ongame days. He also works closely withKimber Auerbach MS ’06, the Islanders’director of public and media relations.

All three began as interns with theBridgeport Sound Tigers, the minor

He is a man for all seasons.Tim Beach ’90 works fulltime as vice president ofgame operations and eventsfor the New York Islanders.

He also participates on the game-day staffsfor the New York Yankees and New YorkJets on a part-time basis and is the stadiumdirector at Arthur Ashe Stadium for theU.S. Open tennis tournament.

“I’ve had the opportunity to be at a lot ofsports’ center-of-the-universe moments,”said Beach, citing many Islanders playoffgames, Derek Jeter’s 3,000th hit and U.S.Open finals as examples.

Beach, who grew up an Islanders fanon Long Island, earned a bachelor’sdegree in mass communications.

In his junior year, he landed an intern-ship in video operations with the Yan-kees. He still had a semester to go whenthe Yankees offered him a full-time posi-tion as assistant director. “I aligned allmy classes so they were in the morning,”he said. “I would finish my classes and godown to Yankee Stadium right after.”

Beach worked for the Yankees untilaccepting a position as the Islanders’director of game operations in the sum-mer of 1992. He was promoted to vicepresident in 2002.

“We’re responsible for everything thathappens on game night except for theactual game itself,” Beach said, adding, “As any of my Quinnipiac brethren whowork in live TV or theater know, there’scertainly a thrill and a charge that you getfrom being part of something like this.”

One such thrill was the Islanders mak-ing their first NHL playoff appearance

league affiliate of the Islanders.Beach lives in Centerport, N.Y., with

his wife, Linda, and 5-year-old daughter,Annmarie. He finds time to serve onseveral boards, including the School ofCommunications Advisory Board atQuinnipiac.

“It’s definitely a love-what-you-do job,”he said. “There are a lot of weekends andnights in sports. If you love what you do,the hours won’t bother you.”—John Pettit

Tim Beach ’90

His Work’sa TeamEffort Islanders’ VP witnesses memorable moments

Tim Beach ’90 in the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, home of the New York Islanders.


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closures, bankruptcy hearings, litigationsupport and condemnation cases.

Most of these cases do not involve ajury and are heard before a judge or panelof judges. “These judges are experiencedand they all know their stuff,” he said.“That’s why it’s so important that you haveyour facts in order.”

Zeidel did not envision himself as anappraiser during his undergraduate years.In fact, his first job was as an accountant ina CPA firm, but he found it wasn’t for him.

Recently Zeidel endowed a scholarshipThough he is neither anattorney nor a judge, Peter I.Zeidel ’66 may have appearedin more courtrooms thanPerry Mason and Judge Judy

combined.Zeidel, a commercial real estate apprais-

er and property tax consultant, has provid-ed expert testimony in more than 1,000cases over the past 44 years. That testimo-ny has been delivered in commercial prop-erty valuation cases before state tax com-missions, in federal court cases, in variousstate courts, in bankruptcy courts andbefore the Internal Revenue Service.

In all, Zeidel, a resident of Trumbull,Conn., has testified in 42 of the contiguousstates and in Puerto Rico. And through itall, his batting average remains well aboveHall of Fame standards.

“Using the criteria for success that I’veestablished for myself over the years, I’dsay we’ve won about 80 percent of thetime,” he said.

Zeidel enjoys the challenge and intensityof court proceedings. “As I’ve grown older,it’s become the part of the business I enjoymost,” he said. He explained, “In propertyvaluation cases, you are the star witness.It’s your opinion, your assessment, thateveryone wants to hear. Ultimately, if youwin your case, it’s your work, your expert-ise, that has been validated.”

In the earlier stages of his career, heworked for Gulf Western Industries in theproperty tax department of the global con-glomerate. All of the cases in which he tes-tified involved property tax appeals. How-ever, since 1984, when he established hisown commercial real estate appraisal andproperty tax consulting firm, The Valua-tion Group Inc., he has been involved in awider assortment of cases including fore-

at Quinnipiac for a School of Business stu-dent—his way of supporting the universityhe feels greatly influenced his personaland professional development. He and hiswife, Judy, have been making increasinglymore frequent trips to the campus in thepast few years to attend programs andparticipate in alumni events.

“Frankly, I’ve been impressed,” he said.“It’s a great school. Quinnipiac has come along way and done a lot of great things,and I just want to be a part of it.”—MarcSilvestrini

Peter I. Zeidel ’66

For WhatIt’s WorthAppraiser’s property assess-ments are on the money

Commercial real estate appraiser Peter I. Zeidel ’66 outside the Trumbull, Conn., complex thathouses his office.


Joel Moore ’77 and Pamela (Dispoto) Moore ’76DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD After graduation, Joel Moore began his career as an accountantand Pam Dispoto as an occupational therapist. The two met atcollege and were married in September 1978. Joel started hisown accounting/tax practice in Princeton, N.J., in 1983. Bothare avid golfers, but Joel had a dream of building his owncourse, and the couple hired golf architect Tom Fazio to do justthat in 1998. The Ridge at Back Brook in Ringoes, N.J., openedto rave reviews in 2002 and continues to be ranked among thetop private clubs in the country.

For more than a decade, Joel juggled two full-time positions—his practice and the creationand management of The Ridge at Back Brook. He sold the firm in 2012. He served on the NewJersey Golf Course Owners Association board of directors for six years and is currently vicepresident. In addition, he created the NJGCOA Golf PAC and serves as president. He alsoserved on Gov. Chris Christie’s “Red Tape Committee,” where his recommendations regardingtax changes for the golf industry were adopted for New Jersey.

Pam enjoyed a career in health care as a practitioner, administrator, president of the New Jersey Occupational Therapy Association and surveyor for the Commission for Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities before “retiring” in 2000 to devote all of her time to the developmentof the golf course. In 2004, Pam was invited to write a chapter for “Golf Course Architecture: A Worldwide Perspective, Volume III.” Her chapter tells the story of working with Fazio to createhis masterpiece on 300 pristine acres with dramatic elevation changes, streams and woodlands.

Through The Ridge, the Moores support the local Amwell Valley Fire Company, SpecialOlympics, the Red Cross and the Boys and Girls Club. In addition, they host Quinnipiac’s annualPresident’s Cup Golf Championship.

Stella (Boni) Cretella AS ’50, BS ’61, MHS ’77DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD A 1950 graduate of Larson College, Stella (Boni) Cretella earneda BS in medical technology from Quinnipiac in 1961 and a mas-ter’s degree in lab sciences in 1977. Her early career was spent asa staff technologist in the clinical laboratory at Yale-New HavenHospital before advancing to the Yale University School of Medi-cine. She retired in 1997 after 30 years as a research associate inthe internal medicine department’s rheumatology section.

An active public servant in her hometown of West Haven,Conn., Cretella currently chairs the West Haven Housing

Authority and is vice chair of the Board of Finance. She is involved with the Republican TownCommittee, Historical Society and the Land Trust. She also serves as vice chair of the board ofdirectors for the South Central Behavioral Health Network. She previously served on the WestHaven Board of Education, League of Women Voters and Board of Ethics. She is a member ofSigma Delta Epsilon (graduate women in science) and the West Shore Lodge 2832 (Sons andDaughters of Italy in America). Cretella and her husband, Robert, have two grown children.

Joseph Natarelli ’86DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD Joseph Natarelli earned his BS in account-ing from Quinnipiac in 1986. He currentlyserves as partner-in-charge of MarcumLLP’s New Haven office, as well as theNational Construction Industry groupleader. He is a member of Marcum’s man-agement committee and frequently servesas the lead audit engagement partner for avariety of consulting matters.

Natarelli’s accounting training and expert-ise in corporate acquisitions, divestituresand mergers and refinancing has made hima valuable resource on various constructionprojects.

For nearly a decade, he has served as atechnical reviewer for the American Instituteof CPAs’ Audit Risk Alert for ConstructionContractors and the AICPA AccountingGuide—Construction Contractors.

Natarelli serves on the board of directorsfor the Clifford Beers Child Guidance Clinic, is chairman of the Easter Seals GoodwillIndustries Rehabilitation Center, treasurer of the SARAH Endowment Foundation andtreasurer and secretary of Associated Gen-eral Contractors of Connecticut.

He is an instructor and School of Busi-ness Advisory Board member at Quinnipiac,where he also chairs the annual BusinessLeader Hall of Fame event. He and his wife,Sandra, have three children: Nicole, Joeyand Marco.


DISTINGUISHEDALUMNI AWARDS 2013Quinnipiac University will honor six individuals with the Distinguished Alumni Award during an inductionbrunch in November as part of the Homecoming celebration. A Distinguished Service Award and RecentAlumni Award also will be presented during the event. To purchase tickets, contact the Office of Develop-ment and Alumni Affairs at 203-582-8610 or 877-582-1929 (toll-free) or visit www.quinnipiac.edu/events.


Clifford W. Spelke ’77DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD A shipping industry executive for many years, Cliff Spelke has invested in and worked with a wide array of companiesincluding real estate, airports, media technology and otherspecialty entities in the financial services field. He graduatedfrom Quinnipiac in 1977 with a degree in accounting and earneda CPA certificate. While still in college, and immediatelyfollowing, he worked for the Hamden-based accounting firm,T.M. Byxbee Co. From 1979 through 2002, he served in various senior management positions in the ownership and

management of ocean-going liquid and dry bulk vessels. One of his companies, NationalSeatreade, provided the water-borne transportation of liquid waste that became the foundationof the land-based liquid waste disposal programs currently in use in New York City and Nassauand Westchester Counties. Spelke previously served on the Quinnipiac University Board ofTrustees. He currently serves on the board of Impetus Capital, a small, New York City-basedinvestment banking firm. He and his wife, Leslie, have two children: Jenna and Brandon.

Robert P. Mitchell ’73DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD Bob Mitchell is assistant dean for diversity relations and com-munications at Harvard University. He earned his bachelor’sdegree in sociology from Quinnipiac in 1973, then went on toearn an MA in journalism at Syracuse University.

He began his career as a news officer at the University ofPennsylvania before moving to the Philadelphia Office of theMayor. He then served in various public affairs and media rela-tions roles at Hahnemann University, Stevens Institute ofTechnology, Brandeis University, the Museum of Fine Arts in

Boston and Nike. At Quinnipiac, Mitchell has served on the Alumni Association National Board ofGovernors since 1992 and currently is a governor emeritus. He was a member of the University’sboard of trustees from 1994– 2000. He also volunteers on the School of CommunicationsAdvisory Board and chaired its executive committee from 2008–11.

David B. Rusate ’79DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD David Rusate received his BS in international finance fromQuinnipiac in 1979. He spent eight years with Union Carbide invarious international treasury assignments, including HongKong and Singapore. In 1992, he joined the General ElectricCompany, where he has responsibility for foreign exchange and commodity risk management. In addition, he is the globaltreasurer of GE’s largest division, Power & Water. Known as an innovator in the finance industry, Rusate developed theTrade Request System, which won the Euro Finance Treasury

Excellence Award in 2003. In 2006, the natural gas simulator he co-developed won theAlexander Hamilton Award. In June 2007, Treasury & Risk Magazine selected Rusate as one of the 100 most influential people in finance. He is a member of the foreign exchangesubcommittee of the New York Federal Reserve and is a past president of the NationalAssociation of Credit Management. Rusate serves on the Quinnipiac University School ofBusiness Advisory Board and is on the steering committee of the Business Leader Hall of Fame.

Bobby Emamian ’09RECENT ALUMNI AWARD Bobby Emamian studied entrepreneurship,earning his bachelor’s degree fromQuinnipiac in 2009. His entrepreneurial spirit,coupled with his disciplined and competitivenature as a varsity baseball player, allowedhim to make his mark on the business worldearly. He is co-founder and CEO of ProlificInteractive, a mobile design and developmentcompany that strategizes and identifies cre-ative ways of delivering content for cus-tomers. Along with co-founder and collegebaseball teammate Eric Weber ’08, Emamianhas helped Prolific expand nationwide. Prolificutilizes social media, iPhone, iPad or iPodapps and mobile web platforms to helpclients and partners expand their businesses.Since graduating, Emamian has been back toQuinnipiac frequently as a featured speakerat School of Business and Student AlumniAssociation career panel discussions. Heserves as an excellent resource to currentstudents and young alumni interested inlearning about the risks and rewards of entrepreneurship.



O LAW ALUMNI

1987

Deirdre (O’Connor) McGuinnessis managing director of corpo-rate restructuring services atKCC, a Computershare compa-ny. Before this, she was manag-ing director of Wells Fargo Capital Finance in New York.

Thomas P. Parrino of NewCanaan, CT, a partner at Nus-baum & Parrino in Westport, CT,was selected by his peers as2013 Lawyer of the Year in thefield of family law by the BestLawyers in America. He has beenrecognized by Best Lawyerssince 2006. He has been a fami-ly law practitioner for more than25 years, handling high-assetand complex cases.

1995

Kevin O. Finnegan was promot-ed to senior vice president anddeputy general counsel atMassMutual Financial Group in Springfield, MA. He lives inSandy Hook, CT.

2000

William Boltrek has joined Henderson, Franklin, Starnes &Holt as an associate in the firm’stort and insurance litigationpractice area in Fort Myers, FL.

2003

Craig Gianetti joined Day Pit-ney law firm’s New Jersey officeas a partner in the real estate,land use and environmentaldepartment. His practice areasinclude commercial and residen-tial real estate, land use andredevelopment, and construc-tion litigation. Craig also teachesa course at Rutgers University’sCenter for Government Servicesand has been a guest speaker atthe Kislak Real Estate Instituteat Monmouth University. Helives in Scotch Plains, NJ.

2005

Kevin J. O’Donnell of Moun-tainside, NJ, is an associate atKaufman Dolowich & Voluck.

Kristen Zaehringer of Hamdenis an associate in litigation atMurtha Cullina’s Stamfordoffice. She represents clients in the areas of commerciallitigation, professionalmalpractice, labor andemployment and local counselservices.

2007

Lisa (Podolski) Staron ofWethersfield, CT, is an associatein the trusts and estatesdepartment at Murtha Cullina in Hartford. Her practiceincludes estate and taxplanning, estate and trustadministration, charitablegiving and probate litigation.

Gregory McHugh, JD/MBA ’07,of Oakland, NJ, attended theNAAG Supreme Court Fellowsprogram in Washington, D.C.,for the spring term. He is a deputy attorney general in the banking, insurance andinsurance fraud section of theNew Jersey Office of theAttorney General.

2008

Allison M. DePaola, BS ’05, JD ’08, of Orange, CT, became apartner in Floman DePaola inOrange, CT, where she lives.

2009

Frank Ganz of Waterbury, CT,and Matthew Wiley ’09, ofBethany, CT, have establishedthe law practice of Wiley Ganz.The firm in North Haven, CT,focuses on wealth planning.

2010

Danielle Robinson Briand ofEaston, CT, and Darren Pruslow’11 of Bridgeport, CT, have openeda firm, Briand and Pruslow, inBridgeport, CT. The “low bono”firm focuses on clients who can’tafford regular legal fees, yet aren’tpoor enough for free legal aid.

2012

Brian Young of Monroe, CT, is a founding partner of TheLaw Firm of Jijon-Caamano and Young in Trumbull, CT.

Dear FellowAlumni:I am privileged to have beenelected president of theQuinnipiac University School ofLaw Alumni Association. Nowcould not be a better time to be a School of Law alumnus.With our move to a state-of-artfacility at the North HavenCampus on the horizon, the School of Law is poised forcontinued success, innovation and growth. The AlumniAssociation is a vibrant and dynamic organization committedto strengthening the bond between the School of Law and itsdistinguished alumni. I believe we are well positioned tostrongly influence the University's future. As the practice oflaw becomes increasingly more global, our goal is to keep youinvolved with the School of Law wherever life’s path takes you. I hope you will take full advantage of the great programs andevents that the Alumni Association sponsors and organizes.

I sincerely look forward to working with you.Joseph “Jay” Arcata III, JD ’05

Scholarship Established

Former dean Brad Saxton was surprised with good news at areception following a June Dean’s Council meeting. TheDean Brad Saxton 2L Endowed Scholarship was announced.

The scholarship was established by friends and colleagues as atribute to Saxton’s service to the school and the greater legal com-munity. It will provide financial aid to second-year law students.Saxton said he was thrilled to have his name associated with thescholarship and told theassembly of council mem-bers, law alumni associa-tion executive board mem-bers, faculty and staff thathe was delighted to bereturning to teaching andwriting as a member of theSchool of Law faculty. Sax-ton also was recognized inJune with the Pat SappernAward for supporting aninitiative that provides legal support for victims of domestic violence.

Tim Fisher, left, incoming dean of theUConn School of Law, with Brad Saxtonat the scholarship reception.


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“I would love young attorneys going intomy field to learn this life lesson: You arenot there to produce a document—that isnot the value a lawyer brings. You need tobe the client’s trusted adviser. The docu-ment is the byproduct the client signs.Good attorneys spend most of their timegetting to know what makes their clientstick and only then draft a plan.”

She cited the case of a client in Arizonawith terminal cancer who created a pri-vate foundation for the welfare of ani-mals. “We, her family and board knowexactly what she wants, having sataround the table discussing it with her.After she passes, we can make informeddecisions,” she says.

Early in her career, MelanieSchnoll Begun, JD ’94, learnedthat when drafting wills andtrusts, clients needed to beclear about their intentions

with family. Poor planning can result inunintended consequences.

“Don’t keep estate plans a secret,” saysSchnoll Begun, managing director of phi-lanthropy management at Morgan Stan-ley, where she has been able to apply thatknowledge to the firm’s ultra high networth clients, helping them develop areasof focus for their philanthropy.

Schnoll Begun has witnessed anger anddisappointment firsthand when estateplans are disclosed and children learnthere are other beneficiaries besidesthem, such as a charity or familyfoundation. A parent’s well-intentionedphilanthropic legacy can turn into alitigious nightmare or even prompt achild to question a parent’s love.

“Philanthropy should be the glue thatkeeps families together and helps themrealize how they can transform theircommunity and even the world,” she says.

After graduation, Schnoll Begun land-ed an internship at a New York law firmthat hired her as a trust and estate attor-ney. “I realized as a young attorney that10 percent of my role was as counsel and90 percent as psychiatrist,” she says.

Four years later, she was recruited bySmith Barney (now Morgan Stanley afterseveral mergers and joint ventures). Shehas worked in the New York City office ashead of philanthropy management, advis-ing donors, foundations, family officesand nonprofit organizations for morethan 17 years.

She explained that a good financialplanner knows a client’s goals, aspirations,family dynamics and the role wealth playsin the process and works in consort with alawyer to implement a client’s wishes.

Melanie Schnoll Begun, JD ’94

The Art of Giving Alumna helps Morgan Stanley clients with philanthropy

Melanie Schnoll Begun, JD ’94, enjoyssome free time at the Inwood BeachClub in New York.

Schnoll Begun’s team also handlesinstitutional philanthropy, helping toevaluate fund-raising campaigns fororganizations. One new client providespediatric hospice care. “One of myresponsibilities is to help the director ofdevelopment make more effective asks.She will present her pitch to us, and wewill lovingly rip her apart and equally aslovingly put her back together. Throughthis role-play exercise, her cultivationskills will improve,” she explains.

Schnoll Begun and her husband,Richard, live in New York City with their two young sons, Ryder and Hawke.In her spare time, she serves on theexecutive board of the NYC chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes ResearchFoundation and is the outgoingpresident. She also is a member of the advisory boards of Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center and GrameenAmerica.—Janet Waldman


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Brown is excited. “The opportunities forinterdisciplinary work and study are phe-nomenal. I’m a big believer that lawyers ofthe future need to understand their clients’businesses. How better to appreciate whata health care client is going through thanto be educated about the intersection oflaw and medicine alongside health carestudents?”

And the interdisciplinary potential isnot limited to health care fields, she said.“Students interested in family law mightbenefit from taking a social work class inthe new MSW program that began thisfall. Future policy makers at the law schoolalso might work with graduate students inthe School of Education.”

The opportunity to design and constructa building “from scratch” appealed toeveryone, said Edwin Wilkes, associatevice president and dean of law admissions.“The new building will better accommo-date the new legal pedagogy as it incorpo-rates advanced technology into teachingand learning,” he said.

Wilkes noted that the law school

There is more than one way tooutgrow a building, as theSchool of Law is learning.Although fewer studentsattend the law school today

than in 1995, when the building opened,the school’s programs have changed suffi-ciently that its existing space is no longer aperfect fit.

For example, one of the school’s innova-tive classes teaches future lawyers how touse multimedia skills to create strongerpresentations in the courtroom, but backwhen the current school was built, no onecould have envisioned the needs of Profes-sor Neal Feigenson’s Visual Persuasion inthe Law course. Flexible classroom space,room to store video equipment and facili-ties for editing film are poorly suited forthe confines of a traditional lecture hall.

All that will change in August 2014,when the School of Law relocates to atechnologically sophisticated building onthe University’s North Haven Campus.The new building will contain more spacefor student organizations, mediation prac-tice rooms, legal clinics and classroomsdesigned to facilitate collaboration andsmall group discussion as well as lectureand Socratic dialogue.

In addition, the new courtroom will beconfigured to enable students to show dia-grams, animations and other evidence viavideo. The addition of a separate mocktrial room will enable students to practicein a mock courtroom setting.

“Legal education in the 21st centuryfocuses on collaboration and problem solv-ing as well as legal doctrine and theory,”said Dean Jennifer Gerarda Brown, “andour new facility reflects those educationalvalues.”

Located adjacent to the new Frank H.Netter MD School of Medicine, whichopened in August, and the graduate pro-grams in the Schools of Health Sciences,Nursing and Education, the law schoolwill take full advantage of opportunitiesfor collaboration with other professions.

enrollment is smaller by design. “Ourintention was to improve selectivity andallow students to receive more personalattention from our faculty.”

Although devised with an emphasis onthe future, the new school will reflect itsproud and accomplished past with mem-orabilia from previous classes showcased.Alumni will be encouraged to visit often.

“After we settle in, we’re planning tohave ‘housewarmings’ for our alumni,”Brown said. “We hope they will partici-pate in conferences, appear as guestspeakers, mentor our students and returnto socialize with their professors andclassmates. We want our alumni to feelit’s still their law school, too.”

For Joseph J. Arcata III, JD ’05, thechange is welcome. “Everyone’s excitedabout the new dawn for the law school.”

“The fact that the University is invest-ing so much in the law school is testa-ment to its growing national reputation,”said Arcata, president of the School of Law Alumni Association.—ClaireLaFleur Hall

School of Law moving in 2014

A rendering of the courtroom in the new School of Law.

LAW ALUMNIO


GOOD TIMES

ALUMNI CONNECTAT VARIETY OF RECENT EVENTS

1. Christopher Keddy ’03 has organizedan informal golf tournament with fellowalumni for the last 10 years.

2. Nicholas Kallis ’12, center, with hisparents John and Patty at the 3rd annualQU Day at the New York Yankees.

3. Bob Moore ’83, left, and David Farrell ’83 at the President’s Cup GolfTournament at the Ridge at BackBrook, Ringoes, N.J., in June.

4. Marilyn Gerard ’52, left, with EmmaAntonio ’36, who celebrated her 77threunion.

5. Luretha Tolson, JD ’02, with TomMcCabe, JD ’02, at April’s School ofLaw alumni reception in Fairfield.

6. Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd, who playedwith the Boston Red Sox from 1982–89,with Paul Casale ’93, his wife, Susan,and their children—Mia, Tripp andSophia.

7. Jay Rotell ’93 and his daughter, Jessica ’15, at the 50th annual AlumniChampionship Golf Tournament in July at Brooklawn Country Club,Fairfield, Conn. Jay was the alumnichampion. Jessica is a member of the QU women’s golf team.

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BEGINNINGS

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CONGRATULATIONS!1. Erica Ann Pelkowski ’03, MAT ’04,and Dennis James Magarian ’04 werewed on April 6, 2013.

2. Dimitar Totkov Naydenov ’11 marriedLuciana Ruzzier ’12 on April 13, 2013, in Wethersfield, Conn.

3. Thomas Fritz ’08 and MackenzieStreit were married on Oct. 27, 2012.

4. Holly Pullano ’06 and TimothyLaPrade were wed on Oct. 20, 2012, in Old Saybrook, Conn.

5. Sandra Bitschan ’05 married Nick Carrano on June 16, 2012. Kelli-Ann(Lesco) Choun ’05 served as matron ofhonor. Sean Choun ’05, MBA ’06, was thebest man. Gina (Koscica) D’Agostino ’05, Elizabeth Soares ’05, Robyn Conlon ’05and Laurie (Johnson) Beamon ’05 werebridesmaids. Mark Piech ’03, JD ’06, andTom Haggerty served as groomsmen.

6. Kerri E. Accettella ’07 married GlenR. Roesch on Feb. 2, 2013, in PensacolaBeach, Fla.

7. Christina Giani ’09, MAT ’10, marriedPatrick Kelly in October 2012.

8. Dana Coseglio ’04, MAT ’06, marriedGregory Doucette ’04, MPT ’06, on July10, 2011, at Addison Park in Aberdeen,N.J. Katie (Doyle) Mangano ’05, MPT ’07,served as matron of honor and ReneeEscaravage ’04 was a bridesmaid.


BEGINNINGS

ALL IN THE FAMILY 1. George Kolbrenner, 2-year-old son of Seth Kolbrenner ’03, MS ’05 and his wife, Megan.

2. Johnna Emily Abdy, born Dec 27,2012, is the daughter of Victor ’05and Gina (Somma) Abdy ’05.

3. Gregory Doucette ’04, MPT ’06, and Dana (Coseglio) Doucette ’04, MAT ’06, at Reunion 2013 with theirson, Alexander Gregory, born March 10,2013.

4. Grace Maria Palmese sports herQuinnipiac colors, She was born Feb. 21, 2013, and is the daughter ofCariAnn (DeRosa) Palmese ’00 and her husband, Andrew.

5. Landon Neidig, shown with Boomer, born Jan. 17, 2013, is the son of Christopher Neidig ’02, MS ’04,and Susan (DeSilvis) Neidig ’01.

6. Tom Mangano ’06, MHS ’08, andKatie (Doyle) Mangano ’05, MPT ’07,with their son, Bodie Vincent Mangano,born Dec. 17, 2012.

7. Bobcats fans Dale (Bagley) Stewart ’05 and Connor John, born March 20, 2013. His father isScott Stewart ’05.

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Even as a young girl sitting in aclassroom at Roosevelt Schoolin Bridgeport, Conn., I knew Iwanted to help people. TodayI’m doing just that as a physi-

cian assistant. For the past eight years Ihave been practicing at Optimus HealthCare Center—right across the street frommy former elementary school. I have pro-vided care for former classmates and insome cases, their children.

After participating in Harding HighSchool’s health magnet program and grad-uating with a BS in biology and a premedconcentration from Connecticut College, I enrolled in Quinnipiac’s physician assis-tant program. It was challenging, but itprepared me for the work I do today. ThePA program also stressed the importanceand value of giving back to the communityand serving the underserved.

I felt it was my social responsibility tohelp my community and be a role model. I can relate to many of my patients, notonly because I grew up in the same neigh-borhood, but also because of my back-ground and upbringing. Raised by a singlemother caring for three children, I alsoknew what it felt like to struggle financial-ly. I knew I could better serve the commu-nity as someone who understood the wayculture influences how a patient views hisor her disease and the way the diseaseneeds to be managed.

I recall one very pivotal moment duringmy training that opened my eyes to theneed for Latinos in the health care field.During my emergency room rotation inthe PA program, a Spanish-speakingpatient had to have emergency surgery. He refused vehemently, stating his distrustfor doctors. As a translator, I helped putthe patient at ease, explaining in Spanishthat this was a matter of life or death. Thepatient ultimately consented to the surgi-cal intervention that saved his life.

It is very rewarding to help people who

might be excluded from receiving optimalmedical care due to a language barrier.

The patients I serve come from allwalks of life and include people who arehomeless, illiterate, undocumented, unin-sured or underinsured. As primary careproviders, we take into account educa-tional, social and financial barriers tocare. We help our patients by using any

available resources we can find.In the world of medicine, the large

number of patients who need to be seenand the time constraints at communityhealth centers can be daunting. Whilechallenging, primary care is very fulfilling.Every day I strive to educate my patientsand build trust. Seeing a smile on the faceof a patient is my biggest reward.


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PA Finds Primary Care Challenging but FulfillingMaria Perez, MHS ’04, returns to familiar streets to help her former neighborhood stay healthy.

ONE LAST THING

Why leave a bequest to someone

you’ve never met?Because your bequest can have an impact on the lives of

countless future generations of Quinnipiac University students.

You may never meet the students who benefit from your bequest, but your generosity will

continue to provide the opportunity of a Quinnipiac University education to so many.

After taking care of your family and other loved ones, consider the lasting effects of a bequest to

Quinnipiac. Careful planning can provide you with the peace of mind that you have thoughtfully

arranged your affairs to benefit the people and organizations most important to you.

To discuss your plans for Quinnipiac in confidence, please contact: Steve Greaves, director of gift

planning, at 203-582-3995 or [email protected].

275 Mount Carmel AvenueHamden, CT 06518-1908

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

Nonprofit Org.

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Burlington, VT

Permit No. 151

SCHOOL OF MEDICINE CONDUCTSFIRST WHITE COAT CEREMONYSee story page 2

Kim Hartmann, left,interim dean of theSchool of HealthSciences, congratulatesChristina Ryu uponreceiving her white coat,while Jean Lange, deanof the School of Nursing,right, robes studentLindsey Scierka.

quinnipiac magazine fall 2013

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