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Eastern Presents Alumni Awards at Gala Dinner
Eastern Connecticut State University presented distinguished awards to three alumni, a retired professor, and a friend of the University at the President’s Leadership Dinner Gala, held March 26 at the Bushnell Center for Performing Arts in Hartford.
(left to right) President Elsa Núñez, Madeline Bernstein; Charles Campbell;
RoseAnne Bilodeau; Kenneth DeLisa, vice president for institutional
advancement; and Margaret C. Toner. Not pictured is Jacqueline Abbott.
RoseAnne D. Bilodeau ’70 and Colonel Charles A. Campbell ’83 were honored with Distinguished Alumni Awards; Margaret C. Toner ’42 received Eastern’s Distinguished Service Award; and Hermann Beckert “Friends of the University” Awards were presented to Professor Emerita Jacqueline Abbott and Madeline Bernstein, a longtime friend of Eastern.
“More than 25,000 Eastern alumni across the globe are living testimony to the value of Eastern’s liberal arts education,” said Kenneth J. DeLisa, vice president for institutional advancement. “We are so very proud of the many important contributions they are making to their communities, their families, and their place of work.”
During her own remarks, President Elsa M. Núñez thanked those present for their philanthropic support, noting that most of the financial donations given to the University go directly towards student scholarships.
In 1993, RoseAnne Bilodeau founded New Britain’s Pathways/Sendaros Center to impact teen pregnancy rates among impoverished youth in the city. The program focuses on six areas: academic support; career preparation; family life and sex education; recreation and sports; healthcare; and self-esteem development.
Charles Campbell, a decorated soldier from Middletown, served in the Vietnam War and the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. He assisted General David Petraeus in helping construct Iraqi Prime Minister Nori Maliki’s National Operations Center. In 2003, he was chosen to be one of seven liaison officers to help with Secretary Tom Ridge’s Department of Homeland Security Emergency Operations Center.
Margaret Toner ’42 holds a master’s degree and a doctorate from Columbia University. She taught for several years in Stamford, later serving as a principal and then as an assistant superintendent for eight years in the Stamford public school system. Toner also served as an adjunct professor at Fairfield University. In April 2007, Toner spoke on behalf of Eastern alumni at President Elsa Núñez’s inauguration. Last November, she notified Eastern that she had included the university in her will and established the Dr. Margaret C. Toner Endowed Scholarship.
Jacqueline Abbott taught in the School of Educational and Professional Studies at Eastern for 31 years, retiring in 1997. She is an emerita professor and a President’s Legacy Society donor. She has earmarked a portion of her estate for the Abbott Endowed Scholarship Fund to benefit nontraditional students aspiring to be teachers.
The second Hermann Beckert Friends of the University Award recipient was Madeline Bernstein. Bernstein’s professional career was that of a registered nurse, and while not an alumna of Eastern, she has been a steadfast supporter of the University’s Theatre program. Following the untimely death of her son John J. Delmonte, Jr. ’73 in 1991, Bernstein had wanted to provide an enduring memorial in his memory. In 1993, she gave Delmonte’s music collection of more than 300 opera, musical comedy, and libretto recordings to Eastern. In 1997, Bernstein founded the John J. Delmonte, Jr. Endowed Scholarship in memory of her son.
Eastern Hosts Town Hall Meeting on Education
On the evening of March 31, more than 180 people – area and regional residents, public school officials, teachers, town officials, and business owners – gathered in the Betty R. Tipton Room of the Student Center and participated in a town hall meeting to discuss the role education must play in Connecticut’s economic future. Titled “Education Now. Prosperity Tomorrow. Growing Connecticut’s Future,” the meeting was one in a series of four meetings on all four Connecticut State University System campuses. It was sponsored by a statewide coalition of more than 20 state agencies and organizations and the Connecticut State University System.
Panelists included Diane Randall, director of the Partnership for Strong Communities; Chandler Howard, president and CEO of Liberty Bank; Sally Boske, vice president of the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education; and New London Superintendent of Schools Christopher Clouet. Former veteran broadcaster Ann Baldwin moderated the panel discussion.
The audience explored numerous educational issues, including the high school dropout rate; the disparity between high income and low income college graduation rates; the lack of basic skills of many college graduates; internships; bilingual education; community involvement; and financial resources for public education. Eastern student Noel McAvoy, a senior majoring in business information systems, makes a point.
The town meetings are being broadcast by Connecticut Public Broadcasting (CPTV). The final televised product, “Today’s Children in Tomorrow’s World: Town Meeting,” was aired on April 24. Jennifer Boyd, Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker, will produce a supplementary hour-long television special to be shown in mid-June.
On April 23, at 3 p.m., University Hour presented pianist Julia Muench in the Paul E. Johnson, Sr. Community Conference Room of the J. Eugene Smith Library. Muench provided musical accompaniment to a slide show produced on the Guatemalan Children’s Project. This project was the work of the late Hanley Denning, a Maine native who spent nine years in Guatemala City working with the 6,000 people who live in and near the city dump. At 7 p.m., local middle and high school students, as well as James Dina of the Performing Arts Department, joined Muench for a free concert in the Student Center Theatre.
Latin American Distinguished Service Awards
Art professor Imna Arroyo, social work major Julisa de los Santos ’08, and community activist Yolanda Negrón received Latin American Distinguished Service Awards on April 16 in the Paul E. Johnson Sr. Community Conference Room. Bobby González, multicultural speaker and poet, gave the keynote address. “I am proud of my heritages, Latino, African, and Indian,” he said. González shared with the audience lessons learned from his parents — “to respect all people and acknowledge the dignity of work.”
Eastern Celebrates Earth Month
Eastern Connecticut State University’s energy-conscious campus is continuing its observance of Earth Week, which evolved this year into an entire month of activities. From April 12–25, the university hosted a series of events and lectures around campus to raise public awareness of biofuels, global warming and many other energy-related issues.
On April 24 at 11 a.m., a renewable energy demonstration took place under Student Center tents.
On April 12 at 10 a.m., the Earth Day Three-Mile Trail Run and Earth Semester Challenge was held at Mansfield Hollow State Park. Johnny Kelley, an Olympic runner and Boston Marathon winner, was on hand for the beginning of the race.
On April 16 at 3 p.m., University Hour Speaker Richard Parnas, director of the University of Connecticut Biofuel Consortium, will lectured on biofuels in the Student Center Theatre.
On April 19, Eastern students “Hit The Streets” in a day-long effort to clean up litter in the community.
On April 21 at 7 p.m., Fred Loxsom, Eastern’s endowed chair of sustainable energy studies, discussed the science of global warming, the threat of global climate change, and what the people can do about it.
On April 22 at 2 p.m., a tree planting and awards ceremony took place outside of the Student Center. Mary Curran, associate professor of geography, gave a lecture on the environmental implications of scientific endeavors, drawing from her own research on environmental issues in Montana and Kentucky.
Also on April 24 at 7 p.m., Mark Rodgers, communications director for the Massachusetts-based Cape Wind Associates, described the “Cape Wind Project” and explain its current legal status.
Peter Dane Joins Institutional Advancement Staff
Peter K. Dane is the new associate director of institutional advancement at Eastern. His previous position was as development officer for the Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association. During Dane’s nearly five years at the association, the organization completed a capital campaign for a $4.5 million Alumni Center at the academy and built the building, which now houses the association’s nine-person staff. The organization also doubled its endowment from just over $10 million to more than $20 million during that period.
Dane has a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Lehigh University and a master’s degree in American Studies from the University of Southern California. Dane lives in Colchester and volunteers with the Colchester Land Trust.
Mike Kowalczuk on NBC’s Today Show
On March 17, Bursar Mike Kowalcuk and his pet Irish Terrier appeared on NBC’s “Today” show as part of a St. Patrick’s Day segment about dog breeds originating in Ireland. Mike is a board member and past president of the Irish Terrier Club of America, and has been raising and showing Irish terriers for 10 years. The television event attracted media from Japan and Russia. Mike’s terrier “cu-Wussteria’s Inner Light” (“Wuss” for short) was a hit on the show.
Fifty-five faculty, staff and students are working to help implement Eastern’s new Strategic Plan, recently approved by the CSUS Board of Trustees. Professor Maggie Martin, who President Núñez has asked to guide the process, says that with other volunteers and members of existing committees, more than 100 people are working directly on the implementation process. Ongoing updates of the implementation process an be viewed by visiting
http://www.easternct.edu/COFE/Strategic_Planning/Page 1
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