SPRING 2015

Wynton Marsalis Jazz Legend Delivers Commencement Address

In This Issue: Eleanor Clift: Cool at the White House, Hunter Alumni at the Hunter at The White House White House 3 The President’s Perspective Tearful at Hunter Photo: John Abbott NYC’s Premier MFA in he arts have always played a large and exciting role in the life of our College, and as this issue of At Hunter Creative Writing Program 4 describes, they are flourishing today through our outstanding undergraduate and MFA programs, Hertog Gift Enhances exhibitions and performances, and visits to our campus by many of the nation’s foremost artists. Hunter’s Writing MFA 5 T The speaker at our 209th commencement, at Radio City Music Hall, was the great Wynton Marsalis, Alumnus Phil Klay’s 2014 whose renown in the music world is so universal that cities in France and Spain have actually erected statues National Book Award 6 of him. We presented him with both the President’s Medal and a work by one of the stars of our MFA in Mayor Names 4 Alumni Studio Art, Sharon Madanes (MFA ’14), which celebrates the instrument that has made him so famous, to Top Posts 7 the trumpet (photo at right). It was a delightful example of two art forms coming together on a Hunter stage. Students Win America’s Some of the other well-known guests who have appeared Most Prestigious recently on campus were here for Homecomings — they’re Scholarships 8 not only outstanding artists, but also Hunter alums! Among Faculty Making News, them was the late Bel Kaufman ’34, author of the best-  President Barack Obama awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to physicist leanor Clift is a Washington journalist selling , in one of her last public Mildred Dresselhaus (HCHS ’47, HC ’51) . Changing the World 10 Up the Down Staircase who has parried with presidents in the Happenings at Hunter 12 appearances. Another was Dascha n the East Room on November 24, Mildred Dresselhaus (HCHS ’47, HC ’51) received the Presidential Medal EWhite House Press Room and tangled Polanco ’08, star of Netflix’s of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. Dresselhaus, a professor emerita of physics and electrical with pundits on TV’s The McLaughlin All-Class Homecoming 14 Orange is the New Black (photo Iengineering at MIT, is one of the world’s most eminent research scientists. Her discoveries have significantly Group. Clift has also written authoritatively deepened the understanding of condensed matter systems and the atomic properties of carbon, leading to about the Iran-Contra scandal, a polarized Hunter’s Chinese at left). And yet another was the major advances in electronics and materials research. Congress, the presidential election process, Flagship Program 16 multitalented Arlene Alda ’54, “Her influence is all around us, in the cars we drive, the energy we generate, the electronic devices that and the still-unequal role of women in our Arts Across the whose new book, Just Kids from the Bronx, has received glowing reviews. power our lives,” President Obama said. “When she arrived at MIT in 1960, only 4 percent of students were democracy — all difficult, daunting subjects. Curriculum 17 Arts Across the Curriculum is one of the most successful of the innovative women. Today almost half are — a new generation walking the path that Millie blazed.” But last spring, when she took the stage at Hunter’s 209th Commencement, Clift was programs we’ve introduced into the undergraduate and graduate experience An “All In” Commitment overwhelmed by emotion. to East Harlem 18 ( page 17). It brings the study of the arts into what seem to be completely unrelated classes like astronomy “Hunter wanted to confer an honorary doctorate on me, and I needed to find the New Hall of Famers 18 and chemistry and religion. The goal is to awaken students to connections they never realized before and make them aware of the dazzling possibilities that await them in the arts capital of the nation. words to properly convey how honored I felt,” Elevating Teacher Training she wrote later in The Daily Beast, where her Our MFA in Creative Writing Program continues to win praise and national recognition for the quality of its in City Schools 19 columns appear regularly. “Looking out at programs, its prize-winning faculty – and its prize-winning graduates. Just last November, Phil Klay (MFA ’11), won the sea of students in caps and gowns, I saw Class Notes 20 the prestigious National Book Award for Fiction for Redeployment, his collection of stories about Iraq (pages 4-6). the 21st-century version of myself, sons and Remembering Speaking of award winners, Hunter undergraduates and alumni continue to capture many of the nation’s daughters of immigrants and newcomers to America from every corner of the world.” 21 most coveted prizes. As you’ll see on pages 8-9, they are winning Fulbrights, Goldwater Scholarships, She continued, “When I stepped to the In Memoriam 23 National Science Foundation grants and, for the first time in the College’s history, one of the only 18 Luce podium to speak, I thought I had my emo- Scholarships awarded nationally. tions under control. But telling my family’s Meet Foundation One measure of a school’s greatness is where its graduates go in life and what they achieve. By that story brought tears to my eyes, and it took Board Member me several seconds before I could continue.” standard, it’s clear Hunter has emerged as one of the nation’s foremost public colleges. Sheila L. Birnbaum 24 n February 4, Rishi Singh (BA ’05, BS ’13) (third from right) and five other “Dreamers” met with President In Clift’s moving and funny speech to the I hope you enjoy reading these wonderful stories about all the changes and achievements at your Obama in the Oval Office. Named for the not-yet-passed Dream Act of 2011, the Dreamers are educated, Class of 2014, she reflected on her own years alma mater. Please keep in touch with all that is happening by visiting our website (www.hunter.cuny.edu). Ohighly motivated students and graduates who came to the U.S. as children — and have sought a route to as a Hunter student. Although she noted And I hope you’ll come back to campus soon for one of our many great programs or events, all of which can permanent legal status. Singh, who majored in psychology and accounting at Hunter, currently works for DRUM — that she had left before earning an under- South Asian Organizing Center, an advocacy group in his home borough of Queens. graduate degree, she said she always took be found on our online calendar (www.hunter.cuny.edu/calendar). Thank you for all that you do to make Protected by a 2012 executive order signed by Obama that limited deportations, Singh recounted to the assem- great pride in her association with Hunter. the extraordinary institution that it is. bled White House journalists that he was only 10 when his parents brought him to the U.S. from Trinidad. He only Now, as her column soon after Com- realized he was undocumented when faced with the request for a Social Security number on college applications. mencement so aptly expressed, Clift has He told NBC News that the goal of those who met with the president is to let people “come out of the shadows and “A College Degree Worth the Wait.” www.hunter.cuny.edu @HunterPresident instagram.com/hunterpresident live and work in dignity.”

2 3 Hunter’s MFA in Creative Writing: A Program Nurtures a New Generation of Great American Authors

get to know our students really well.” Because Hunter is in the nation’s liter- Creative Writing Program, asks literary stars — ary capital, that community of teachers including Joyce Carol Oates, Jonathan Franzen and and students is fluid and ever-expanding, Richard Ford, to name a few — to serve as mentors to with an array of distinguished visitors. the students, who in turn work as research assistants Faculty members regularly welcome other on the authors’ latest projects. renowned authors to their classrooms, Alex Gilvarry (MFA ’09) was paired with Gary not only to teach and answer questions Shteyngart to help research Shteyngart’s novel Super about the craft and life of a writer, but also Sad True Love Story. “His book gets into the question to engage in one-on-one conversation  Maria Venegas (MFA ’09) of eternal life,” said Gilvary, “and it culminates in a

©JAshley Gilbertson ©JAshley with students. began writing Bulletproof thrilling ferry chase on Staten Island, so I researched Documentary filmmaker and fiction Vest, her harrowing memoir, the science of trying to live forever and drove with Mr. writer Sadia Shepard (MFA ’15) noted that while studying at Hunter.  Salman Rushdie with Susan Hertog ’65. In addition Shteyngart around the northern tip of Staten Island, Hunter’s faculty is actively engaged in to delivering a Distinguished Writers Series lecture, where he took photographs and noted details.” Gilvarry teaching, which stood out as she compared novel “written in the finest Southern Rushdie served as a mentor to Hertog Fellow clearly gained a great deal from the experience: he was various MFA programs. “There really was Gothic tradition [by] a 29-year-old Vanessa Manko (MFA ’08). named to the National Book Foundation’s “5 Under no question,” she said. “The idea that writ- Chinese-American from Queens who 35” list for his novel From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy ers like Peter Carey, Colum McCann and has never set foot in Mississippi.” The Hertogs: Lifting the Combatant. “To this day, it was the Claire Messud would be accessible to me Cheng acknowledged that he came Creative Writing Program best job I ever had,” he said. was tremendously exciting.” to Hunter with no thought of writing Vanessa Manko Amy Jo Burns (MFA ’11) said that a sprawling historical novel filled with to New Heights (MFA ’08) was when she set out to write a memoir the life and language of an unfamiliar paired with ac- about growing up in the Pennsylvania region and era. But at Hunter, he said he extraordinary generosity of Susan Hertog ’65 and her claimed novelist Rust Belt, she “fell in love” with the “that was the atmosphere created for us.” husband, Roger, has had a transformative impact on Hunter’s Salman Rushdie as MFA program’s methodology — and Cheng explained, “Among the TMFA in Creative Writing Program, now considered the most he gathered material was excited by both “the opportunity to students ourselves, there was a shared competitive in . Their $1 million gift has allowed for The Enchantress work for two years straight with Kathryn understanding of what was at stake — Hunter to recruit and retain world-class faculty and develop unique of Florence. She Harrison and Louise DeSalvo and the the idea that each of us wanted to do programs like the Distinguished Writers Series (see page 6). researched daily  Vanessa Manko’s own knowledge that Hunter brings other something that hadn’t been done before. Their gift also makes possible the Hertog Fellowship, a signa- life in Renaissance book, The Invention of wonderful writers to the room.” During For two years, you were surrounded by ture element of the program and one of the major attractions for Florence, from food Exile, was released in 2014. her first year alone, she said, those visit- amazing people, and you wanted to bring MFA applicants. The fellowship provides select students with a to architecture to 15th- ing authors included two of her favorites, the best of yourself into that classroom.” stipend and the once-in-a-lifetime chance to work as research century philosophy. “The Hertog Fellowship taught me Jonathan Safran Foer and Nicole Krauss. assistants to some of the best known authors in the world. about writing in ways that no amount of coursework When Burns’s memoir, Cinderland, The Hertog Fellowship stems from Mrs. Hertog’s conviction that could,” Manko said. She took the lessons to heart when ©Joyce Ravid ©Joyce ©Basso Cannarsa was published last fall by Beacon Press, careful research is the foundation of good writing, whether fiction or writing The Invention of Exile, her novel based on the life  (From top, left to right) Hunter College MFA in Creative Writing faculty: Peter Carey, Tom Sleigh, Colum McCann, praised its “compel- non-fiction. And, as a graduate of Columbia’s MFA in Creative Writing of her immigrant grandfather, steeping herself in places Claire Messud, Catherine Barnett, Nicole Krauss, Kathryn Harrison, Alexandra Styron, Saïd Sayrafiezadeh. ling” depiction of growing up in a dying Program and the author of two critically acclaimed biographies,Anne and times she’d never known. town — portraying football games, Morrow Lindbergh: Her Life and Dangerous Ambition: Rebecca From these Hertog Fellows to the acclaimed faculty ou can’t teach people to the rigorous two-year program — poet, who runs the program alongside homecoming and summers at the pool West and Dorothy Thompson, Mrs. Hertog is keenly aware of the to the literary icons of the Distinguished Writers be artists,” says Peter now ranked the most competitive in Carey, speaks to its success. “My as “not quaint but stifling and ominous.” need for writing students to develop their research skills. Series, the Hertogs’ commitment has been nothing “YCarey, a two-time winner New York City — ranges from 600 colleagues are deeply committed to While Burns was writing about her Peter Carey, acclaimed author and director of the MFA in short of transformative. of the Booker Prize. “But you can select to 800 each year, with an acceptance being serious teachers, and that’s hometown, Bill Cheng (MFA ’10) set his talented, ambitious, hardworking rate of a little over two percent. Pro- inspiring to me, as it is to their book Southern Cross the Dog in a place people whose gifts you can develop.” spective students apply to one of three students,” said Sleigh, a frequent he’d never seen. Cheng had always loved Take the Hertog Challenge: The Australian novelist should know. genres — poetry, fiction, or memoir — contributor to and win- the blues, and inspired by the MFA pro- Susan and Roger Hertog have renewed their commitment to Hunter’s MFA in Creative Writing He is executive director of Hunter’s and first- and second-year students ner of the 2008 Kingsley Tufts Poetry gram’s exhilarating environment, wrote  Bill Cheng (MFA ’10) says the with a $500,000 Challenge Grant. Please help us meet the challenge. Every dollar you contribute MFA in Creative Writing Program, work side-by-side in workshop, craft Award, a major literary prize. Another an ambitious, deeply meaningful work challenging, supportive envi- will be matched by the Hertogs’ generous grant, helping support the next generation of great writers. which has developed over the last and literature courses, culminating in an “huge, huge plus,” he noted, is the about an African-American boy growing ronment at Hunter inspired him Support Hunter’s MFA in Creative Writing Program decade into the premier training intensive thesis project that, for many, program’s intimate size. “With so up in the Mississippi Delta of the 1920s. to write a sprawling, ambitious ground for great American authors. becomes the basis for their first book. few students, everyone gets a careful, A New York Times book review novel set in a region and era he Please visit: https://community.hunter.cuny.edu/creativewriting The number of applicants to Tom Sleigh, the director and senior close reading of their work, and we marveled at this remarkable debut had never personally known.

4 5

Seeking the Best, Mayor Taps 4 from Hunter MFA in Creative Writing continued Phil Klay (MFA ’11) Wins National unning a city — especially one the American Planning Association, Silver The Distinguished Writers Series: size of New York — takes lots of was awarded the 2014 Designers Guild Book Award for Stories Honed at Hunter Public Lectures, Personal Attention Rbrains, talent and ingenuity. So Award for his “innovative urban design it was no surprise that when Mayor and planning” as the chief planning and Bill de Blasio needed to fill key positions, development officer for Raleigh, N.C. he called upon Hunter graduates “Hunter was central to my becoming Mitchell J. Silver (MUP ’93), Cynthia an innovator, creative thinker and urban López ’89, Donna Corrado (DSW ’13) planner,” said Silver, who recalled in particu- and Tom Finkelpearl (MFA ’83). As lar the dedicated faculty, engaged student citizens who live the Hunter motto, body and stimulating course work. Mihi Cura Futuri — the care of the future López, who earned a bachelor’s is mine — they answered the call. degree in communications from Hunter, The appointment of these alumni as was chosen to head the Mayor’s Office  (From left) CUNY board member Wellington Chen and NYC Department commissioners of Parks & Recreation, of Media & Entertainment. Over the for the Aging Commissioner Donna Corrado (DSW ’13) at a 2015 Chinese Media & Entertainment, Aging and course of her career, Lopez has made New Year event celebrating the Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging Cultural Affairs is just the latest example it a priority to promote the work of with Professor Elizabeth Capezuti, the William Randolph Hearst of Hunter’s commitment to educating filmmakers from traditionally under- Foundation Chair in Gerontology, and Gail C. McCain, the Joan Hansen public servants focused on strengthening represented groups. As commissioner, Grabe Dean of Hunter’s School of Nursing. New York City. It is also an example of she is building upon the city’s legacy  In December, Stephen Colbert chose Klay (MFA ’11) for The Colbert Report’s final interview.  (Clockwise from top) Toni Morrison, Colm Toibin, how Hunter’s diverse programs of as a film and television hub, while also Finkelpearl, who received an MFA Just as he has always been an advo- Wallace Shawn, Margaret Atwood study provide a pipeline for students building a more inclusive entertainment in studio art from Hunter, was named cate of unhindered access to world-class hen Phil Klay was named a National the faculty, and Klay — named a Hertog Fellow — and graduates to effect real change in industry and expanding educational commissioner of the Department art, a commitment he demonstrated Book Award finalist in 2014 forRe - was allowed to develop his research skills ne of the richest components of Hunter’s MFA in Creative ways as varied as their passions. and training opportunities. of Cultural Affairs after serving for in his time at the Queens Museum, Wdeployment, his collection of stories alongside the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Writing Program is the Distinguished Writers Series, “So many people whom I admire, who 12 years as the president and executive Finkelpearl says he will always be a about the Iraq war, he spoke of the guidance he’d Richard Ford. Owhich brings the world’s most influential and well- were able to truly change New York City received from the faculty in Hunter’s MFA in “Hunter’s MFA is incredible,” Klay said. “One of regarded poets, memoirists and fiction writers to the College. for the better, came out of Hunter,” said Creative Writing Program, citing in particular the critical things for me was the other students. Funded by a generous gift from Susan ’65 and Roger López. “I wanted the chance to do the same.” Colum McCann and Peter Carey. These are the people I still trust to read my work,” Hertog, the series is a unique opportunity for MFA students to Reflecting on her time at Hunter, “As a vet, you feel like you can talk about war he added, mentioning fellow graduates and study with literary icons like Toni Morrison, Salman Rushdie, López added, “I’ve always considered to civilians — and who are they to criticize you? published authors Bill Cheng (Southern Cross and Wallace Shawn, who visit the MFA classes to discuss their myself the beneficiary of the best Well, in the case of Colum and Peter, they’re really the Dog) and Christopher Robinson (War of work and creative process and offer advice about finding public education that New York City brilliant writers who know when you’re not being the Encyclopaedists). agents and getting published. Each writer also gives a public has to offer. It was the professors, truthful,” Klay said. While at Hunter, Klay wrote and rewrote a lecture, reading from their latest work and engaging in a researchers and mentors at Hunter Klay earned his bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth, powerful story that begins with a pet owner’s discussion with the audience. who worked so tirelessly to help instill where he was mentored by acclaimed poet — plainspoken admission that he and his squad Having these wonderful authors on campus has led to in me the fundamental principles of and future Hunter faculty member — Tom Sleigh. purposely killed dogs as well as people in Iraq. the creation of the Distinguished Living Writers course for public service.” When Sleigh learned that Klay was joining the The literary magazine Granta accepted the undergraduate students through the Arts Across the Curriculum Corrado, who trained under Hunter’s Marine Corps and heading to story in 2011, the year Klay graduated. program (see page 17). The course is centered around the work social work faculty, was chosen to lead Iraq, he urged him to read It caught the attention of publishing houses, of the writers on campus that semester and taught by an MFA  Mitchell Silver (MUP ’93), Com- the Department for the Aging. She Hemingway, Tolstoy, Babel including Penguin, which published Klay’s entire student. The undergraduates attend the public lectures, and the missioner of Parks & Recreation worked for Catholic Charities Neigh-  Thomas Finkelpearl (MFA ’83),  Cynthia López ’89, Commissioner and Celine. “He figured if I collection, Redeployment, in 2014. The New York writers visit their classrooms to talk candidly about their work. borhood Services for over two decades Commissioner of Cultural Affairs of Media & Entertainment was going to war, I should Times’ Michiko Kakutani praised the author’s “This course is life-changing for undergraduates, many of Silver, who earned his master’s before being appointed commissioner. be learning from some of “keen awareness of language and storytelling whom have never met a writer before, let alone had someone degree in urban planning from Hunter, "My graduate studies at the School director of the Queens Museum. strong proponent of unhindered access the most brilliant minds craft,” and The Times named Redeployment one like Margaret Atwood come into their classroom,” said Gabriel was tapped to lead the Department of of Social Work not only broadened “I will always be grateful to Hunter to higher education by keeping student to ever write about of the 10 Best Books of the Year. In November, it Kruis MFA ’13, who taught the course. Parks & Recreation. After spending his my knowledge base of older adults, for the high-quality education that I costs as low as possible. it,” Klay recalled. won the National Book Award for Fiction. “The great part about the Distinguished Living Writers career advocating for the expansion administration and organizational received, and also for its low cost,” As alumni, these leaders are at once When Klay returned, After a year of accomplishment and accolades, class is that it creates a classroom experience that can’t be of parks and open space as a means development, it also established me said Finkelpearl at a ceremony an inspiration to students and testimony he felt compelled to write Klay continues to write full time. And he still duplicated, since it’s tailored to the writers that come to of achieving sustainable, healthy and as a content expert in the aging and honoring the commissioners, where to the power of a Hunter education. about his experience and those of his returns to Hunter to visit the very classrooms school that semester,” said Sarah Jackson ’17, who as an livable cities, Silver is bringing that disabilities arena,” Corrado said. he recalled earning a master’s in four As commissioners, they exemplify fellow soldiers. And at Hunter, he found a rich, where he grew as a writer. The difference? Rede- undergraduate had the opportunity to talk with Colm Toibin, same holistic approach to New York “These lessons inform my work every years while working a couple of days Hunter’s shared belief in bettering creative environment. Sleigh had already joined ployment is now likely to be assigned reading. author of The Testament of Mary. City's parks. A former president of the day in my role as commissioner.” a week and sharing a loft with friends. the communities around us.

6 7 An Award-Winning Record

students have received National Science ogy and a minor in biology, is studying Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research neuroscience at Harvard. Benjamin Fellowships. They include Aaron Dolor ’12, Ruisch ’13, who graduated from the From who developed a proposal to study the Thomas Hunter Honors Program with electrical charges of fat cells — research majors in psychology and German and he hopes will increase the effectiveness a minor in media studies, is currently of HIV and cancer drugs. And it was no studying social psychology at Cornell. Luce to And Alexander Teachey ’15 is majoring in physics at Hunter with a minor in Fulbright math. Last summer, Teachey studied giant molecular clouds in the Milky Way at New Mexico’s National Radio As- to Goldwater tronomy Observatory. In his graduate work at Columbia, he will use that data and More, to complete a major analysis of tens of millions of stars. Hunter Students Win the Nation’s

Top Academic  Eddie Grinman ’14, a Fulbright recipient, is in Japan conducting neuro-  Kristina Navrazina ’14, a scientific research. Goldwater winner, is now studying cancer biology in Prizes ing assistant in Turkey, where she also to the younger generation. Then there a leading MD-PhD program. hopes to start a community theater group. is Maggie Slavin (MSEd ’15), who will Hugo Genes ’15 will be working with spend her Fulbright year in Jordan as an surprise that Barukh Rohde ’14 — with a anthropologists at the Federal Univer- English Teaching Assistant while volun- triple major in biology-bioinformatics, sity of Santa Catarina in Brazil, helping teering in the areas of youth develop- chemistry and statistics, and a double  Audrey Stienon ’14, Hunter’s first Luce Scholar, with nourishing brain food for her work at a leading Indonesian think tank. the Xavante indigenous community ment and refugee empowerment. minor in psychology and economics — to document and pass down customs In the past three years 12 Hunter won the NSF Fellowship last year. With f the true mark of a great college is This past year, Audrey Stienon ’14 bureaucracy, lack of infrastructure, Kriefall studies the behavior and his NSF grant, Rohde seeks to kill a  Aaron Dolor ’12 won an NSF the kind of citizens it sends into the became the first student from Hunter, managing resource extraction, dealing neurophysiology of weakly electric fish. disease-carrying insect that is ravaging Fellowship for his proposal Iworld — where they go and what they and CUNY, to win a Luce Scholarship. with environmental challenges — yet And Zach Gershon ’16 — who works in citrus crops. Three other NSF Fellows outlining innovative research do — then Hunter is excelling, and in the The Luce program — designed to give it receives very little attention in a biomedical research laboratory at from Hunter last year were Rebecca that could ultimately improve process is solidifying its status as one of future leaders of America a greater the U.S.” Hunter — was recently announced as a DelliCarpini ’13, Yasmin Zakiniaeiz ’13 the effectiveness of drugs for the leading public colleges in the nation. understanding of Asia — provides While the Luce is the high-water 2015 Goldwater winner. “My end goal and Aliona Tsypes ’13. Tsypes, who cancer and HIV. Hunter students in growing numbers its fellows with stipends, intensive mark for scholarships in Asian affairs, is the development of a screening for majored in psychology, is at Binghamton each year are winning many of the coun- language training and professional the nation’s most prestigious prize genetic markers linked to learning dis- University, finding new ways to study These extraordinary students — try’s most prestigious scholarships — placement in Asian countries. Stienon, a for undergraduate scientists is the abilities such as dyslexia and auditory the factors that cause suicide, and whether in Indonesia or Japan, Jordan among them Luce, Fulbright, Goldwater, graduate of Hunter’s Macaulay Honors Barry Goldwater Scholarship, and here, processing disorders,” Gershon said. possibly save lives. or Texas — are practicing Hunter’s and National Science Foundation awards. College, is spending her Luce Scholar Hunter continues to produce winners. As a “Top Producer” of Fulbright Zakiniaeiz is studying the neural motto across the country and around It is a direct reflection of the year working in the economics depart- Kristina Navrazhina ’14 won a recipients, Hunter sends new graduates networks underlying the healthy the world. They may be studying outer College’s commitment to student ment of a major Indonesian think tank. Goldwater Scholarship in 2013 and is all over the world to teach, research and diseased brain at Yale University. space or the human brain or electric success — a commitment that was “I chose to come to Indonesia,” she now an MD-PhD student in the Medical and connect with local communities. And DelliCarpini is studying conserva- fish. They may be preserving an ancient recently strengthened with the estab- said, “because it is facing pretty much Scientists Training Program run jointly by Eddie Grinman ’14, for example, is tion science at the University of Texas culture or millions of dollars in crops. lishment of the Office of Prestigious every developmental challenge you can Weill Cornell Medical College, Rockefeller working with neuroscience researchers at San Antonio; her primary field site And whether their goal is to cure cancer Scholarships and Fellowships, the think of — a large population spread University and Memorial Sloan Kettering at Kurume University in Japan studying will be at the Ranomafana National or cure poverty, the care of the future mission of which is to raise awareness across thousands of islands, ethnic Cancer Center. Nicola Kriefall ’15 — who lorcaserin, a drug recently approved by Park in Madagascar. is firmly in their hands. about selective opportunities and then and religious diversity and tensions, is both a Yalow and a McNulty Scholar at the FDA for the treatment of obesity. This year’s class of NSF winners is guide students through the rigorous transitioning away from a dictator- Hunter — won the Goldwater scholarship One of this year’s winners, Bianca  Nicola Kriefall ’15, a Goldwater Scholar, in Professor Chris Braun’s just as impressive. Dalila Ordonez ’13, application process. ship, rampant corruption, a sprawling in 2014. An aspiring marine biologist, Malhotra ’15, will be an English teach- Hunter Laboratory of Comparative Sensory Performance. who graduated with a major in psychol-

8 9 FACULTY AT HUNTER Tracy Dennis: Making Headlines with an Anti-Anxiety App Gary Mallon: Advancing Child Welfare, at Home and

attention on happy faces while ignoring was recently named one of the 10 most- mood and anxiety disorders. “I discuss Around the World negatives ones. Sound whimsical? That’s read articles. the barriers faced by people seeking As a theorist, practitioner and for LGBT adoptive and foster parents. when she was a nine-year-old growing up the point. Personal Zen incorporates a Dennis’s app and her associated effective, yet available and affordable teacher — and now as a fellow in the Mallon not only provides resources in an institution. Abandoned as a baby, type of therapy called attention-bias research have been featured in The treatments, and how mobile mental American Academy of Social Work and and know-how to a wide array of profes- she had never lived with a family before modification training, by shifting , and Personal Zen health tools like Personal Zen may hold Social Welfare — Mallon has established sionals, but as executive director of Mallon became her foster parent. player’s focus from a threatening was praised by CNN as “One of the Best great promise for making prevention himself as one of the top child-welfare the Silberman School of Social Work’s Decades later, well into adulthood, she stimulus, such as an angry face, to a Apps to Train Your Brain.” It has been and intervention treatments available experts in the nation. He is the author National Center for Child Welfare announced to Mallon, “I’d like to be adopted.” non-threatening happy face. downloaded almost 100,000 times. for everyone,” she said of over 24 books and senior editor of Excellence, he is also deeply involved Now, as her legal father, Mallon says his Dennis, director of the Emotions Dennis spoke of the pressing need hen Gary Mallon was 13 years the peer-reviewed journal Child Welfare, as a practitioner. Best known for provid- daughter is a happy, secure woman living obile technology, with its nev- Regulation Lab at Hunter, led a National for this kind of therapeutic mobile game. old, he joined his Catholic and his publications are considered ing technical assistance to children’s in supervised housing in Brooklyn. er-ending barrage of messages, Institutes of Health-funded study on the “There are some excellent, scientifically WYouth Organization peers on required reading by many in the field. services organizations around the Mallon notes that while his profes- Mpings and alerts, is more often effects of Personal Zen. Working with supported treatments for stress and a visit to the Rockland State Psychiatric Mallon recently published the second world after natural disasters strike, sional experience has certainly affected associated with stress and anxiety than a team of mobile-technology experts, anxiety disorders, but they're burden- Hospital and the St. Dominic’s Home edition of his book Child Welfare for the the Center, under Mallon’s leadership, him personally, it’s also true that his with peace and tranquility. By creating a she enlisted 75 participants. Half played some, expensive, stigmatizing and for Children. “We tried to help people in Twenty-first Century: A Handbook of is evolving to include education and personal experience has informed his new app called “Personal Zen,” Tracy Personal Zen, the other half a placebo time-consuming,” she said. need,” Mallon said. “We were compelled Practices, Policies, and Programs, which training programs, technical assistance, work in deep and meaningful ways. “For Dennis, a professor of psychology at game. As they tackled stressful tasks, While Dennis continues to develop the to do something to ease their pain, and is the go-to reference for professionals research and evaluation. the past 40 years, I have dedicated my Hunter, has turned that notion on its head. those who played Personal Zen were app, Personal Zen is serving as a valuable when we could, to advocate for better in the area of services to children, youth, Mallon’s dedication to child welfare life to working with children, youth and Personal Zen’s design is pleasing much less anxious. The study, “Mental classroom tool. She integrates it into treatment and conditions.” and families — from social workers doesn’t end when he leaves the office. families — a wonderful decision I first and its tasks positive, requiring players Health on the Go,” was published in course work, especially when lecturing Mallon, the Julia Lathrop Professor and psychologists to policy-makers Or as he puts it, “I put my money where made way back when I was 13 years to swipe green grass and focus their Clinical Psychological Science, where it about clinical treatment approaches for  Screen shots from Personal Zen of Child Welfare at the Silberman and family court judges. He has written my mouth is.” A foster parent himself, old,” he said. “I’ve never done anything School of Social Work, has since then extensively on social work practices in Mallon has cared for three children, now else, never wanted to, and it has been a dedicated his life and career to the the LGBT community, in particular the all adults. He met one of his children, worthy lifetime commitment.” Steve Greenbaum: World-Class Researcher and Mentor cause of protecting at-risk children. counseling of LGBT youth and advocacy a girl with developmental disabilities, Appointed Jefferson Fellow Tamara Buckley: Telling the Truth about Workplace Diversity what I’ve done all along but at the national research institutions in the world, includ- gives me the most personal satisfaction level,” said Greenbaum, “bringing science ing the Jet Propulsion Lab, where he was is being a good mentor and helping office workers, which in their analysis justice, connecting the dots between your own background influences you, to those who otherwise aren’t involved.” on the team that designed the lithium ion launch careers.” has been the dominant approach in the one’s identity and disparities in health, that self-reflective piece, and being able Part of what he’s doing is organizing batteries for the Mars Rovers. His record in that realm is remarkable. workplace since the 1960s. They argue education and the workplace. to engage a client who was raised in a dif- mentor networks to work with inven- As a measure of his extraordinary re- The third and sixth African-American that silence toward racial and ethnic She has been a Visiting Scholars ferent background, is absolutely crucial.” tors and entrepreneurs on renewable search accomplishments Greenbaum has women to receive a PhD in physics from differences is not constructive. Fellow at the Russell Sage Foundation In her classroom, Buckley helps students energy and clean water projects in the obtained grants totaling over $9 million MIT — out of a historical total of seven — In a two-and-a-half year examination and a National Institutes of Mental integrate these theories with their own teve Greenbaum may be new developing world. dollars from a wide number of agencies, were Greenbaum’s students. One of of a U.S. child welfare agency, they Health Fellow at Hunter’s Center for experiences so they can better navigate the to diplomacy, but this former “An 18-year-old may have found a including the Air Force Office of Scientific them, Gillian Reynolds (MA ’89), is found that open conversations about Community and Urban Health, where she multicultural environment around them. SFulbright Fellow and renowned way to desalinate water, or a few people Research, the Department of Energy and now a senior group leader in electronic race and ethnicity in the workplace — explored how race and gender socializa- These are transformative lessons for the physicist knows a good entrepreneurial may want to start a small company that the Central Intelligence Agency. materials at DuPont, and the other, Sandra the “color cognizance” approach — led tion influence HIV-prevention behaviors graduate students she trains to become idea when he sees one. A member of the develops new products,” Greenbaum What makes Greenbaum truly unique Brown (MA ’94), is a patent attorney who e can say that we no to a more inclusive organization. in a diverse group of college women. counselors at rehabilitation agencies, Hunter faculty for 31 years, Greenbaum said. “They may need to link up with is that he is among the most successful teaches intellectual property protection longer want to look at For Buckley, who is biracial, this work Of the book’s findings, Buckley said, schools and mental-health facilities. As is working this year under the auspices local universities or investors, but they mentors of physics students from at MIT’s Global Startup Lab. Another, “Wrace, but the structures started back in Berkeley, CA. where she “We were surprised that few child they emerge as leaders in their field, Buck- of the State Department as a Jefferson live in a country that doesn’t encourage underrepresented groups in the history Fatima Alleyne ’02, is the first and only and attitudes that are in place are not was born and raised. “I’ve been navigat- welfare workers were talking in any real ley’s students are comfortable broaching Science Fellow, a highly competitive risk-taking.” of this country. He was recognized for African-American woman to earn a PhD color blind,” said Tamara Buckley, a ing questions about identity my whole way about race. And they were almost the topic of race and cultural differences, program in which top-level scientists The Jefferson Fellowship is just the this in 2002, when he won the Presidential in materials science and engineering from professor of counseling and psychology life,” she said. “Who are you? What are all working with families that had helping to create more inclusive organi- provide independent, objective advice latest in a long history of professional Award for Excellence in Science, Math- UC Berkeley. In total, Greenbaum has di- at Hunter’s School of Education. you? That was just part of my develop- backgrounds different from their own. zations and more effective treatment. to the U.S. government in matters of sci- accomplishments for Greenbaum. He ematics, and Engineering Mentoring, rectly supervised the research of 21 PhD In her recent book, The Color Bind: ment growing up.” If a counselor isn’t comfortable talking Buckley is working on a second ence and technology. He serves as senior is a world leader in the field of spectros- bestowed by the White House Office of students and 20 postdoctoral associates. Talking (and Not Talking) about Race Buckley earned her bachelor’s degree about these differences, then it’s hard volume of her book, extending her science advisor in the office that houses copy of battery and fuel cell materials Science and Technology Policy. “It’s tremendously satisfying to see Relations at Work, Buckley and co- from UC Berkeley and her master’s and for the patient to bring it up, which research beyond the workplace to un- the Global Entrepreneurship Program. and a fellow of the American Physical “It means a lot to me,” Greenbaum these students succeed,” said Greenbaum. author, NYU professor Erica Gabrielle doctorate from Columbia. She has spent makes for less effective treatment.” derstand how the colorblind approach “It’s really given me the chance to do Society. He has served at some of the top said. “I love doing the science, but what “It’s like a dream.” Foldy, examine “colorblindness” among her career researching race and social She continued, “Understanding how affects research and teaching.

10 11

Happenings At Hunter

 Jack Rosenthal (r), interim director of Roosevelt House, and Katie Couric with the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund’s Rick  The legendary rock star Sting took the stage at Hunter’s Luftglass and Tisch Distinguished Fellow Thomas Farley (l), Kaye Playhouse for an interview broadcast by Inside the at a screening of the documentary Fed Up. Actors Studio.

 Klara ’54 and Larry Silverstein (r) welcomed CUNY Chancellor James Milliken and his wife, Nana Smith, to Hunter.

 Leon Cooperman ’64, center, and President Jennifer Raab with Sandra and Edward (HCES ’40) Meyer at Roosevelt House.

 Nobel laureate and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman  Professor and Pulitzer Prize winner Karen Hunter interviewing New explored “The Mystery of Austerity” in his talk at Assembly Hall. York Times columnist Charles Blow about Fire Shut Up in My Bones, his memoir of growing up in segregated Louisiana.

 At Hunter’s 209th Commencement, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri addressed a graduating class that included her daughter Lily Exposito ’14.

 Judith Zabar ’54 (r) and Zabar Visiting Artist Laura Owens. The  Judy Zankel ’67 and Norman Benzaquen at the welcome reception Zabar Visiting Artist Program, endowed by Judith and her husband, for CUNY Chancellor James Milliken at Roosevelt House. Stanley, brings leading artists to campus to present a public lecture 12 and work with students in master classes and private tutorials. 13 t Dascha Polanco ’08, star of Netflix’s Orange is the New Black, with Beverly Rosenstein ’43 at Home- coming. Rosenstein joined the Women’s Celebrating Hunter’s Homecoming Army Corps soon after Over 1,200 alumni returned to campus for Hunter’s first all-class Homecoming. Attendees, many with their families, reunited graduating, and while home on leave, sat for with former classmates and had their choice of dozens of events throughout the day, including concerts, games and lectures. the portrait now on display at Roosevelt House. It was painted by Hunter’s Joseph Cummings Chase, the Art Department chair famous for his represen- tations of the military’s high-ranking officers.

u Lee ’61 and Morty Kaufman, who became instant celebrities with their TV ad for Swiffer cleaning products, and their daughter, Myra Allen. Myra helped her parents land the improvisational gig that swept them from their Long Island home to nationwide fame.

p Arlene Alda ’54, award-winning photographer and the author of 19 books — including her latest, Just p Bel Kaufman ’34, devoted alumna and renowned author, came Kids from the Bronx — spent the day entertaining back for one final visit to her beloved alma mater. Kaufman the youngest members of the Hunter community was as charming as ever when she gave her final campus address with readings of her most popular children’s stories. p At a dessert reception hosted by the Thomas Hunter Society, Klara Silverstein ’54 surrounded by (l-r) Waleed Alahari ’14, Simratpal Kaur ’13, Audrey p Rolling Stone contributing editor Anthony DeCurtis ’74 interviewed interviewed President Jennifer Raab about the enormous progress the College Steinon ’14, Amal El bakhar ’11, and Ryan Baxter ’12. Kaufman bestselling author Carol Radziwill ’95 about her new novel, The has made as a result of the generosity of its alumni. passed away in July at the age of 103. Widow’s Guide to Sex and Dating.

14 15 Hunter’s Chinese Flagship Program: Arts Across the Curriculum: This article is adapted from President Raab’s Huffington Post blog of December 2014. An American Making Art an Integral Part of the Hunter Experience in Tianjin Preparing Students for a Global Future he arts are alive at Hunter as One of the most impressive examples irst Lady Michelle Obama made a languages like Mandarin is imperative. It uates are certified as being professionally never before, and they’re finding a of this is Jill Bargonetti’s course Choreo- critical point recently when she is a matter of respecting the people with proficient in Mandarin, “professional” Thome in some unexpected places. graphing Genomics.” Ftold an audience of American and whom we are increasingly engaged in the being the operative word. In the three That's happening because, thanks to When Bargonetti, a professor of Chinese students at Peking University, new global economy. It’s also a practical years since the program began, enroll- the generous financial support of the biological sciences, wanted to integrate “Studying abroad is about so much more necessity: Communicating with others ment has more than tripled. Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Hunter her early love of dance into her teaching, than improving your own future. It's also can be problematic when it is done en- Public colleges and universities like has launched Arts Across the Curricu- she developed a course that teaches about shaping the future of your coun- tirely through translators –especially if Hunter have a particularly important lum, a program that is breaking down scientific concepts through movement role to play, because the opportunity to the barriers between the arts and other as well as traditional scientific texts. learn Mandarin should be available to disciplines and encouraging students “I get excited about teaching through students from every background, not and faculty to think about learning in multiple lenses and using movement just an elite few. This is a core issue for new and different ways. and sound to articulate cancer biology Hunter, since our students come from “Many of our faculty members are as it relates to genomics,” Bargonetti 150 different countries, most of them eager to link the arts with their specific said. “The creativity and openness of from families of modest means. We’re discipline, be it history, biology or public the students is more easily tapped in making sure to reflect this extraordinary policy,” said Professor Rebecca Connor, this interactive setting.” Similarly, diversity in our Mandarin program.  Hunter Gross ’15 exploring who leads the initiative. “It is deeply psychology professor Tricia Striano the corners and cultures of The in-country component of our gratifying to collaborate with them and created a course combining Japanese  Multimedia artist Alejandro Durán talking to students about his old and new China. program is its keystone. Mastering the help facilitate applying their exciting printmaking and neuroscience. The exhibition at Hunter’s East Harlem Gallery. four tones of the Mandarin language can — it means, be extremely difficult, and so practicing in sary of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes media artist Alejandro Durán, whose when you enter a village, Chinese-speaking surroundings is crucial. of Wrath, Arts Across the Curriculum work is at the crossroads of science, art, ùfollow xiāng the suí local sú customs.” And while the term "student ambassador" “R partnered with the Roosevelt House and public policy. Durán welcomed stu- For Hunter Gross ’15, his favorite Chi- may seem cliché, it contains an important Public Policy Institute — an ideal setting dents from the undergraduate honors  At a luncheon on February 18, international investment banker Emily nese phrase is born out of experience. truth: Students sharing in the daily life of for a conversation on the arts, history programs and from Hunter College High Tong ’76 (fourth from right) spoke to Chinese Flagship students about A student in Hunter’s Macaulay Honors their host country become the familiar, and politics in 20th- and 21st-century School to the East Harlem Gallery where various ways of building bridges to strengthen Chinese-American College and the Chinese Flagship nonthreatening face of their homeland. America. The event brought together he led an in-depth tour of his exhibition business relations. Program, Gross won the prestigious Over time, as hosts and guests rub shoul- a distinguished panel of Steinbeck Washed Up, a work on plastic pollu- Boren Scholarship for his capstone year, tries and of the world we all share.” She they lack real proficiency in English. “Lost ders and cross-cultural relationships are scholars, professors and authors, tion in the world’s oceans and on its which he is spending in Tianjin, China. might have added this: When the study in Translation” is more than a movie title. formed, both sides begin to recognize their including Hunter’s Colum McCann, coastlines. Colored bottles of trash on an “The students in these programs are abroad involves mastering the language, Clearly the U.S. needs to field large shared humanity, and suspicions grounded who discussed the novel’s enduring otherwise pristine coastline makes for befriending their foreign peers and the opportunity for “shaping the future” numbers of Mandarin speakers in such in isolation and ignorance fade away. significance in spurring American striking photography in an art gallery, building connections,” Gross said. increases exponentially. realms as diplomacy, business, law and Hunter expects its growing num- authors to explore social issues. but for these students it also inspired a “That will hopefully strengthen The fact that the First Lady said this in academics to relate effectively — and ber of Flagship graduates to put their And whether it’s the Nobel Prize- deeper and more thoughtful conversa- relations between the U.S. and China.” Beijing is especially significant, because of all compete successfully — with the emerg- knowledge of Mandarin to valuable use. winning neuropsychiatrist Eric Kandel tion about the science and politics of Gross is supplementing a rigorous the foreign languages young Americans need ing world power that is China. In fact, They may become international lawyers discussing his book The Age of Insight: environmental pollution. course of study with an internship in to master, Mandarin Chinese ranks in the America’s future prosperity may depend or software engineers or translators or The Quest to Understand the Uncon- “The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation the Global Strategy and Logistics De- top tier; indeed, it may be first. Consider the in large part on how well we do in the architects. Whatever they do, they will scious in Art, Mind, and Brain, from has allowed us to do something extraor- partment of the local Siemens plant, facts: Economists believe it is only a matter Mandarin-learning business. contribute to the U.S.-China dialogue  (From left) Susan Shillinglaw, director of the Center for Steinbeck Studies, Vienna 1900 to the Present, or renowned dinary at Hunter: to enrich our students’ but often finds the best opportunities of time before China passes the U.S. as the At Hunter, we take this challenge very that is crucial to mutual understanding. with author Jeff Sharlet and Hunter’s Colum McCann at Roosevelt French filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier lives through exposure to the arts in all for learning are in his daily routine. world’s largest economy. More than 875 mil- seriously. We are one of just 11 colleges And, bottom line, a large cohort of House for the 75th anniversary celebration of The Grapes of Wrath. discussing his creative process, the kinds of dynamic and exciting ways,” “By absorbing the culture and lion of China's 1.28 billion people speak Man- and universities designated as a Chinese Mandarin speakers will contribute to fundamental goal is the same: to bring Connor said. “Not only through direct understanding the way people darin, and it is also the language of Taiwan Flagship Center, an initiative of the Na- our national security, helping guide ideas to new courses. My colleagues result was a popular, arts-infused distinguished visiting scholars into interaction with important emerging view the world, you gain knowledge and large Chinese communities throughout tional Security Education Program. The U.S.-Chinese relations away from are creating innovative, arts-infused cognitive-development course. conversation with students and faculty artists like Durán, but also through you couldn’t otherwise,” he said. East Asia. The total number of speakers is program provides four years of intensive confrontation and toward coopera- curricula that will become permanent In addition to developing new arts- whose academic, creative and profes- innovative new courses, interdisciplin- “The Chinese Flagship Program put me over 1 billion – about one-fifth of the planet’s study in Mandarin and includes funding tion. That’s why the program is called additions to Hunter’s course catalogue, integrated science courses, Arts Across sional interests intersect in unexpected ary programs, lecture and performance on a focused path, yet didn’t restrict population – making Mandarin the world’s for two stays in China – a summer trip National Security Education. And that and we are seeing the arts brought into the Curriculum sponsors unique cultural and thought-provoking ways. A perfect series and partnerships with cultural my education,” Gross said. “It’s opened most widely spoken first language. and a final, capstone year studying at a is why it is one of the best and most the student experience in imaginative, events across the campus. When it came example of this is the six-month campus institutions. “ up so many doors and introduced me Yes, English will remain the lingua Chinese university and working as an cost-effective investments America stimulating and truly inspiring ways. time to commemorate the 75th anniver- residency by the Mexican-born multi- to a whole world of possibilities.” franca far into the future. Even so, learning intern with a Chinese organization. Grad- can make in higher education.

16 17

All in East Harlem: New Way to Train Teachers: Embed Them in Schools

Hunter’s Commitment to Its Uptown Neighborhood unter’s School of Education, one from University of Pennsylvania, Grogan of the nation’s top education conducted much of his post-doctoral Harlem, the commitment addresses the the grass-roots level means respond- of Hunter schools and departments are Hprograms, joined with New Visions research at the IBM T.J. Watson Research community's multitude of challenges — ing to the needs of residents and local engaged in All in East Harlem, including for Public Schools in 2009 to launch the Center before working as a scientist at a especially in health, education and the institutions, from community planning Social Work, Urban Public Health, Edu- Urban Teacher Residency (UTR) and Math West Coast technology firm. “Throughout economy — by deploying Hunter’s vast boards to public schools, and health cation, Urban Planning, Art, Geography, and Science Teacher Education Residency all of these endeavors, the most gratify- reserves of knowledge, experience, providers to neighborhood barber shops. and Nursing. To encourage community en- (MASTER) programs. The purpose was ing experiences were those that included and creativity. Out of this collaboration has come a gagement, Hunter has hosted many public to create teacher-training programs that a teaching component,” said Grogan, The program — under the leader- series of partnerships — 65 so far —and programs, including a free film series, integrate graduate course work with who is completing his residency as a ship of Jacqueline Mondros, dean of the their breadth is remarkable. Their mis- discussions on health and social justice intensive, hands-on experience in New 9th-grade geometry teacher at Brooklyn’s Silberman School of Social Work, and sions range from helping senior citizens topics, and heart-health screenings. The York City schools. The result resembles High School of Telecommunication Arts  MASTER resident Joseph Grogan (MSEd ’16) teaching 9th-grade geometry. Joseph Viteritti, chair of the Department who are aging in place with social and College has also created an impressive a medical residency more than a tradi- and Technology. “I was aware of the of Urban Affairs & Planning — rests health services, to helping women who new art gallery in the Silberman Building, tional teacher-training program. burn-out rates for new teachers and In return, graduates commit to four years of on his mentor through the daily ups on two fundamental principles. First, are former prison inmates with issues the first of its kind in East Harlem. “These programs are on the leading edge didn't want to be part of that statistic,” teaching in high-need NYC public schools. and downs of teaching. “What is special the College is bringing every available like substance abuse and mental illness. It is an enormous pool of talent of teacher training,” said David Steiner, the he said. “I felt Hunter’s residency model “This program has provided me with about the program is they support you  East Harlem elementary school resource to bear on these challenges, All In partners with READ East Harlem, dedicated to the vitally important goal of Klara & Larry Silverstein Dean of the School would ensure my long-term success.” endless support from my mentor and fellow through what can be a turbulent process children visit the holiday book with the participation of a broad range a venture with local elementary schools working with the community to strength- of Education, “immersing and mentoring The programs are highly selective, draw- residents and has given me the opportu- of learning how to be a teacher,” he said. drive at Hunter’s Silberman of schools and departments. Second, that offers 2nd-grade teachers advanced en one of New York City’s most storied student-teachers in New York City high ing a wide range of applicants — from recent nity to be part of a community of creative Together, Hunter and New Visions are School of Social Work. Hunter is directly engaged with local training in reading instruction. All In also neighborhoods from the grass roots up. schools, and ensuring they graduate as out- college graduates to professionals looking thinkers with a passion for science and pioneering a new way to train teachers, residents, neighborhood organizations, engages with community-based agen- “All in East Harlem has given us standing teachers serving in those schools.” to change careers. Participants receive math,” said Stefani Santana Ismail (MSEd and the success of this model is clear. oon after Hunter opened its state- and public agencies. Instead of cies, religious groups and Weill Cornell the chance to live our mission every For Joseph Grogan (MSEd ’16), who financial support and tuition and each is ’16), MASTER resident and a 12th-grade Hunter’s UTR and MASTER graduates of-the-art Silberman School of a top-down structure, All In is a grass- Medical College to provide palliative day,” Dean Mondros said. “And with already had an established career in immersed as a resident in a host school marine biology teacher at Pelham Prepa- are teaching far longer than their New SSocial Work Building on East 119th roots program in which the ideas for care for East Harlem’s chronically ill. Hunter fully engaging with the commu- nanotechnology, microfluidics, electron alongside an experienced mentor. Upon ratory Academy High School in the Bronx. York City peers, and in their first full- Street in the heart of the neighborhood neighborhood improvement come More than 150 Hunter students have nity, this comprehensive initiative microscopy and radiation chemistry, completion, participants earn a master’s in UTR resident Michael Kengmana time year, as a group, they are matching known as “El Barrio,” it made a historic from the source — or rather, sources. been placed in internships and field- can serve as a model for others in the the MASTER program was just what he adolescent education and are eligible for the (MSEd ’16), a special education teacher or out-performing the already strong commitment. Known as All in East Tapping into the community at work programs so far. And a broad range city and the nation.” was looking for. After earning his PhD New York State initial teacher certification. at Hillcrest High School in Queens, leans veteran teachers in New Visions schools.

NEWEST of Bruce W. alike, and for making quality healthcare James W. general, he worked at the highest level Hunter Hall Fame INDUCTEES Both, BA ’73 available to all, she has taught at Hunter, Davis, BA ’71 of preventive diplomacy. He was chief Bruce W. Both co-chairs the Patient Advocacy Commit- Jim Davis is of mission of U.N. Operations in Cyprus is president of tee of the Community Advisory Board president of the in the 1990s, and after retiring, led United Food at Bellevue, and leads the NYS Nurses national Blue and the Cyprus-American Archeological and Commercial Association delegates assembly. Gray Education Research Institute. Workers Union Local 1500. He represents Society, which runs Civil War tours for over 22,000 supermarket employees in Lucienne injured servicemen and their families, Marcia L. New York and , works with the Carasso- publishes historical books, archives McBroom supermarket industry to promote greater Bulow, photo collections, and funds educational Small, BA ’72 access to nutritious foods in poor neigh- BA ’67 enhancements at historic battlefields. Marcia McBroom borhoods, and advocates for increased Lucienne An accountant with advanced profes- Small is the Joan Hansen Grabe, BSN ’60 Jennifer Caserta, BA ’93 Lila Jentiles Prounis, BA ’48 use of the federal Food Stamp program. Carasso-Bulow sional degrees, he has served Hunter’s founder of the was elected to Alumni Association as director and For Our Children’s Sake Foundation, Joan Hansen Grabe, chair of the Hunter College Foun- Jennifer Caserta is a leader in broadcast media. In Lila Jentiles Prounis was inspired by a Roosevelt dation, exemplifies the Hunter motto,Mihi Cura Futrui, 2004, she was appointed senior vice president for House portrait of Eleanor Roosevelt to pursue public Anne the Society of Maritime Arbitrators in treasurer. which empowers young people to by caring for the future at the United Way, as trustee marketing at the Independent Film Channel, and in service. She became an international broadcaster for Bové, BSN 1980, becoming the world’s first female become global citizens. A pioneering of the Nature Conservancy’s Adirondack Chapter, by 2012 became president and general manager. Under the Voice of America, advised numerous U.N. bodies, ’78, MSN ’85, maritime arbitrator. She is president of Gustave model, actress and teacher, she used her serving on the Independent Care System’s Cancer Advi- her leadership, IFC has created critically acclaimed and served on the NYC Commission on the Status of MSN-ANP ’02 Interactive Dispute Resolution Services/ Feissel, BA ’58 celebrity to create a poster that UNICEF sory Board and at the educational organization A Better original programming including the Emmy award Women. One of the first women elected to the previ- Anne Bové is Interactive Maritime Services, and on Gustave Feissel, and the NYS Department of Health used Chance. After Hurricane Sandy, she supported Hunter winner Portlandia. She has won the National Cable ously all-male Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan Council, president of the Board of Commissioners of Pilots a member of the to promote the benefits of mother’s students who needed money for essentials. She is and Telecommunications Association’s Vanguard she has been its U.N. representative since 1979. She the NYS Nurses Association HHC Execu- of the State of New York. She is also Council on For- milk. She has received UNICEF’s New Award for Young Leadership, and has been named one received the Greek government’s Medal of Free- founding chair of the Advisory Committee to the Hunt- tive Council, representing more than president of the Board of the Shearith eign Relations, York Metro Committee Medallion and of the Most Powerful Women in Cable by the industry dom, and the Recognition Award for Distinguished er School of Nursing, and endowed the Grabe Deanship 8,000 government-employed nurses. A Israel League of the Spanish-Portuguese had a distinguished 35-year career at the the High Schools Teacher of and Grabe Nursing Scholarship. publication Cablefax. Service from the Council of Churches of the City of New York. tireless advocate for nurses and patients Synagogue. United Nations. As assistant secretary- the Year Award.

18 19 Class Notes Remembering

1930s the movement. A winner of a Former Gallaudet University 1970s a hard-fought primary battle in Kevin Law (MS ’84), president Bess Myerson’45 PEN Literary Award, a National president Robert Davila (MA’65) September 2014. of the Long Island Association, Belle Greene ’32 celebrated her Endowment for the Arts Fellowship was a featured speaker in “Sharing Judy Lipschitz Comitto ’72, vice was named by Governor Cuomo 103rd birthday with a belly dancing Award, and a National Education Stories: Deaf Latino Experiences,” president and chief information Gillien Goll (MA ’76) appeared in to the New York State Gaming party in Setauket, NY this January. Association Award, among others, an onstage conversation in officer at Trinitas Regional Medical the Off-Broadway production of Facility Location Board. Since she is the author of more than a American Sign Language hosted Center in Elizabeth, NJ, has been Voices of Swords. She has also 2011, Law has co-chaired the Martha Rosenstock Gold ’36, dozen volumes of poetry as well by the Smithsonian Latino Center, appointed chair of the Jersey Health appeared in the Obie-winning Long Island Regional Economic who recently as children’s books, plays and part of a series of events celebrating Connect Board of Directors. The West & East Village Fragments Development Council. celebrated her other works. the 25th anniversary of the and the solo show Hector. Her TV 100th birthday, Americans with Disabilities Act. Olivia Buery (MSEd ’73) received credits include The Sopranos, Sex "Works on paper" by Carole taught English Having the the Women Celebrating Women & the City and Chappelle’s Show. Seborovski (MFA ’87) were and German at Time of Your John LoFrumento ’66, CEO of Award at a Women’s History Month recently featured at The Nohra Lakewood (NJ) Life: Little the American Society of ceremony in Brooklyn. Lilli Steinberg (MA ’76) is CEO of Haime Gallery. Seborovski is High School Lessons to Live Composers, Authors and Publishers TRI Utility Cost Reductions, a utility represented in the permanent before her By, the latest for the past 17 years, retired in Evan R. Chesler (MA ’73) has been auditing firm. A past board chair collections of the Metropolitan retirement in 1977. Now living at a book by Allen January. LoFrumento first joined appointed chair of the Board of Trust- of the Greater New York Chamber Museum of Art, the Whitney continuing care facility in Columbia, Klein ’59, has the ASCAP executive team as ees of the New York Public Library. of Commerce, Steinberg has been Museum, the Museum of Modern MD, she is on the welcoming been published controller in 1981. Chesler, chair of the law firm Cravath, featured in major publications, Art and the National Gallery of Art. committee and assists with writing by Viva Editions. Klein’s first book, Swaine, & Moore LLP, has been a including USA Today, People and and editing the newsletter. The Healing Power of Humor, is Jeffrey Friedlander ’67, a Library Board member since 2009. Crain’s. Iris Linares ’88 has been appointed approaching its 40th printing. member of the Hunter College associate director of marketing at Beatrice Lumpkin ’39, at the age of Pre-Law Advisory Board and Philip P. Rosenthal ’73 has joined Leticia Martin ’78 has been named the firm Blanca Commercial n the pageant booklet for the 1945 competition, every contestant but 96, issued words of encouragement 1960s second in command at the New NY Orthopedics as CEO. His appoint- director of marketing and commu- Real Estate. one poses seductively in a bathing suit. The exception is Bess Myerson, who had to a crowd of striking steelworkers York City Law Department, has ment follows a long career at Lenox nications for Flagler College in St. Igraduated from Hunter a few months earlier. The Bronx-born daughter of blue-collar in northwest Indiana this past Feb- Longtime Bronx activist Hetty retired after almost 45 years of Hill Hospital, most recently as the Augustine, FL. She was previously Jorge Montepeque (MA ’89), Russian immigrants instead poses proudly in her Hunter commencement cap and gown. ruary: “Stay strong and don’t give up Fox ’62 was interviewed for public service. hospital’s executive director. vice president and creative direc- global editorial director of market Myerson — who would return to Hunter 56 years later, again in cap and gown, to what my generation fought for!” the upcoming documentary tor of Prudential Advertising. reporting for Platts, a provider of receive an honorary doctorate — went on to win the contest, becoming the first, and Decade of Fire, which recounts James Harrison ’67, a history New York State Senator Tony Avella energy, metals, petrochemicals and still only, Jewish Miss America. A music major at Hunter who dreamed of using the 1940s the 1970s, the borough’s most instructor and the chair of the ’74 (D-Queens) 1980s agriculture information, received pageant prize to buy a Steinway and enroll at Juilliard, Myerson wowed the judges in challenging years. Department of Social Sciences at joined his cham- a Lifetime Achievement Award the talent segment with her recital of Gershwin’s “Summertime” on the piano and After 17 years in local government, Portland Community College in ber’s powerful Kristine Bihun ’82 has joined the from Energy Risk Magazine in 2014. Grieg’s Concerto on the flute. including eight years as mayor of Gail Ash ’64 was elected the first Oregon, was profiled in Diverse Is- Independent physicians’ group Middletown Myerson’s triumph over the era’s anti-Semitism was widely remembered when Closter, NJ, Sophie Dittmann Hey- female mayor of the city of sues in Higher Education. Harrison’s Democratic Medical as a registered dietitian- 1990s she died in December at the age of 90. Also remembered were her subsequent mann ’48 decided not to seek reelec- Clermont, Florida. courses focus on the accomplish- Caucus, and nutritionist and certified diabetes careers — in show business and later in public service — beginning when Mayor John tion. Among her accomplishments ments of African Americans. prevailed in educator. She is a lecturer with Linda Lausell Bryant (MSW ’90) Lindsay appointed her New York City’s first commissioner of consumer affairs. She were boosting parks and sports President Obama has appointed the NYS Diabetes Prevention and has been named Katherine and lobbied successfully for some of the nation’s strongest consumer-protection laws: facilities, preserving historical sites, Katherine D. Seelman ’64 to Control Program, which educates Howard Aibel Visiting Assistant for example, comparison shoppers still have Myerson to thank for making New York and helping to broker a shared-fuel the National Council on Disability. t Hoop-La (Park Avenue school nurses, teachers, staff Professor and executive in resi- the first city to require that stores post unit prices for all products on their shelves. pact with the neighboring borough Seelman is associate dean for Paper Chase), 2014. Painted and students. dence at the New York University Betty Reiser ’47, who volunteered with Myerson at SHARE — which provides of Demarest. disability programs at the aluminum and steel, 19' high Silver School of Social Work. support to women diagnosed with breast and ovarian cancer — recalled Myerson at University of Pittsburgh’s School x 17' wide x 24' long. 53rd Robert Sandler (MUP ’82), a real Hunter. “Bess was two years ahead of me,” she said, “but I vividly remember her stat- 1950s of Health and Rehabilitation Street and Park Avenue, estate partner at the law firm Suzanne Jary (’90, MSW ’93) uesque beauty as she walked the hallways in her unassuming manner.” As an ovarian Sciences. New York City. Courtesy Farrell Fritz, has been appointed received the cancer survivor herself, Myerson became a high-profile advocate of early detection. Famed poet Sonia Sanchez ’55, a Galerie Thomas Schulte treasurer of the Farmingdale Mary Warner Myerson always held a special place in her heart for her alma mater, calling leader in the Hunter Professor Richard Gold- and Fine Art Partners, . College Foundation. Award for Ser- Hunter “one of the greatest educational bargains in history.” And when she inscribed Black Arts Move- stein ’65, one of America’s earli- vice to Dance a copy of her biography, Miss America, 1945, to President Jennifer J. Raab, Myerson ment, recently est rock critics, saw his memoir, Internationally acclaimed artist Alice Aycock (MFA ’71) created Park Drawings by David Bailin (MA ’84) from the Dance wrote, “Hunter was my best happening!” co-authored Another Little Piece of My Heart: Avenue Paper Chase, seven large sculptures in aluminum and fiberglass were on display at the University Council of SOS: Calling All My Life of Rock and Revolution in that stretched from 52nd to 66th Streets during 2014. Aycock’s works of Arkansas, Little Rock, in 2014. North Texas We are grateful to Bruce Ratner and Henry Stern, who remembered Myerson with a Black People, the ’60s, published by Bloomsbury are in the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum, and other Bailin is an adjunct professor at for her 20 years of work with the $15,000 donation in her honor to Hunter’s Mother’s Day Scholarship. Ratner and Stern which discusses Publishing. major museums in the U.S., Europe and Japan. the university. worked alongside her in the Koch Administration and considered her a friend and mentor. continued on next page

Submit a Class Note at www.hunter.cuny.edu/alumni Submit a Class Note at www.hunter.cuny.edu/alumni

20 21 Class Notes continued Hunter Remembers national not-for-profit organization Edward Short ’93 has been appointed presented at the Galerija Vartai in Kristine Alpi (MPH ’03), director of the The New York Transit Museum The Center for Public Leadership at Naomi Greenstein Shor, ’33 • Bel Kaufman, ’34 • Hilda Kraus, ’35 • Grace Fenell Career Transition For Dancers. executive director of the Tomor- Vilnius, Lithuania, in November and William R. Kenan, Jr., Library of Veteri- exhibition Railroad Landscapes: Harvard’s Kennedy School named Messiah, ’35 • Winifred L. Norman, ’35 • Ruth Marie Steffens Giebfried, ’36 She had served as a counselor and row’s Hope Foundation, which December. Bareikus, a New York- nary Medicine and adjunct assistant Photographs, by John Sanderson ’08, Xevion Baptiste ’11 one of ten inau- • Grace Calif Kay, ’36 • Sylvia Canner Sladon, ’36 • Emma Manieri Liddy, ’37 director of client services for the provides scholarships for students based Lithuanian artist, has also professor of population health and traced the tracks of the Long Island gural Sheila C. Johnson Leadership • Arline Levy Mazonson, ’37 • Eileen Moran Reilly, ’37 • Jeannette Charlotte Klein Wasserman, ’37 Harriet Brown Bryer, ’38 Mabel E. Genz Jacobi, ’38 organization while in New York and in Long Island Catholic schools. had solo exhibitions in New York pathobiology at North Carolina State Rail Road and Metro-North through Fellows. The fellows were selected • • • Josephine Propp Laitman, ’38 Lillian Perlmutter Rubin, ’38 Helen Samuels continues to conduct workshops City, Copenhagen and Berlin. University, was inducted as an honorary the natural and built environments for their outstanding potential and • • Schectman, ’38 • Lillian C. Garber Smilkstein, ’38 • Dorothy S. Bauer Stepak, ’38 across the U.S. from her home Carrie Wilkens ’93 was quoted in a member of Phi Zeta, the veterinary of New York, capturing beauty dedication to working in under- • Alice M. Stoll, ’38 • Anna Boxer Bloom, ’39 • Doris Holtoner Paul, ’39 • Miriam base in Texas. July 3, 2014, New York Times article Dina Honour ’97 won Paste maga- honor society, in 2014. and desolation in the landscape. served communities. Baptiste is Kovner Ringo, ’39 • Viola Metz Smith, ’39 • Helen Hoffman Zeldin, ’39 • Julia on a new way to combat alcohol- zine’s 2014 summer writing contest pursuing a master of public policy Martina Austin, ’40 • Joanna Bamonte, ’40 • Winifred Danwitz, ’40 • Florence Cynthia Roznoy (MA ’90), curator ism and binge drinking in young for “An Otherwise Ordinary Day,” Timothy Alexander Guzman ’04 is Alex Gilvarry (MFA ’09) was degree at the Kennedy School. Goldstein Friedman, ’40 • Frances Ellen Wilcox Koutnik, ’40 • Shirley Dushkind of the Mattatuck Museum, par- people. Wilkins is co-founder of the about her father’s passing. An Ameri- a guest contributor to the journal named to the National Book Kraus, ’40 • Florence Kaiser Sharff, ’40 • Gladys Friton Shelton, ’40 • Gladys Wein- ticipated in the September panel Center for Motivation and Change can writer living in Copenhagen, Before It’s News. Foundation’s “5 Under 35” list. Chris Weikel (MFA ’12) won The gold Singer, ’40 • Irene Brook Dickman, ’41 • Mary Julia Jane Fennelly Duffy, ’41 • discussion “The Federal Arts in Manhattan. Honour recently had a story selected Gilvarry is the author of From National New Play Network’s Stella George, ’41 • Doris M. Hering, ’41 • Cynthia Rodstrom Kinsella, ’41 • Vera Project in Connecticut, Then for publication in Precipice, Volume 3. Vanessa Rauschenberger (MUP ’04) the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy 2014 Smith Prize for “Word from Cohen Kramer, ’41 • Blanche Topliozky Livingstone, ’41 • Dorothy Fuhr Banker, and Now” at the Oliver Wolcott Maureen Baksh-Griffin ’94 has been has been named one of the Top 40 Combatant, published by Viking/ Kampala,” conceived in reaction 42 • Lydia Posner Brown, ’42 • Rita Indrieri Conefry, ’42 • Mildred J. Adler Goldin, ’42 Goldie Nass Natkins, ’42 Sylvia Nazdin, ’42 Ruth Kushner Rozner, ’42 Library in Litchfield, CT. promoted to assistant professor at Late last year, the renowned Under 40 by Mass Transit Magazine. in 2012. His work to Uganda’s law making homosex- • • • • Grace M. Chu Dong, ’43 Helene Moskowitz Flapan, ’43 Hilda Fisher Marx, ’43 Cleveland State Community College. artist and commercial illustrator She is planning manager at the Gold has appeared in The Nation, uality punishable by life imprison- • • • Eileen A. Moynihan O’Connell, ’43 • Sylvia Silken, ’43 • Sylvia Salitsky Washton, A “TASK party”, a spontaneous She joined the Nursing/Health and Edel Rodríguez (MFA’98) returned Coast Transit District in . Vogue, and The Boston Globe ment. The $5,000 prize is granted ’43 • Florence Beller Berken, ’44 • Marion Schwartz Cohn, ’44 • Thea De Bellis, group-art event developed by Wellness division in 2012. to his native Cuba for the first time and been broadcast on NPR’s All annually to a proposal for a play ’44 • Ruby Wallace Dee, ’44 • Mary Meeks deWolfe, ’44 • Muriel Rubin Fleischer, Oliver Herring (MFA ’91), was since his family left on the 1980 Devin Katayama ’05 has joined WFPL Things Considered. He teaches dramatizing pressing issues. ’44 • Florence Friedman, ’44 • Marcia Halpern Gutcho, ’44 • Mary Vidovich covered in the September 7, 2014, Chrystal Kornegay ’95 has been Mariel Boatlift. He was honored radio, Kentucky’s NPR news station, fiction at and Kuvacic, ’44 • Elaine Kuhn Osterweil, ’44 • Margretta Lasch Wagner, ’44 • Elinor New York Times. The event in appointed un- with a solo exhibition at Casa de as a general assignment reporter, and Manhattanville College. Paul Hesse (MUP ’13) has Ann Krause Zegers, ’44 • Shirley Ruth Sobelman Beaton, ’45 • Millicent Penny Madison Square Park celebrated dersecretary of las Américas, a leading cultural won public radio’s Daniel Schorr Jour- joined the staff of Hudson Bigelow, ’45 • Beatrice Sillman Frish, ’45 • Virginia J. Shaw Lane, ’45 • Florence the 200th anniversary of the the Massachu- institution. nalism Prize for “At-Risk,” his explora- Liz Moore ’09 Valley Pattern for Progress as Preiman, ’45 • Helen Kunschinan Valentine, ’45 • Josephine Acocella Demarest, naming of Madison Square. setts Department tion of child poverty, homelessness won the Ameri- a senior research planner ’46 • Marilyn Greenlick Drier, ’46 • Rosemarie J. McCulloch Hughes, ’46 • Doris of Housing and 2000s and truancy in Louisville. can Academy focusing on the revitalization Woehrlin Johannessen, ’46 • Catherine M. Martini, ’46 • Ruth Peichert Rosenberg, ’46 Josephine Macy Atlass, ’47 Fay Weinberg Binen, ’47 Rhoda Wiesenberg The National Association of Community in Rome Prize in of the region’s urban centers. • • • Brownstein, ’47 Theodora Christon, ’47 Arline Feinstein Corin, ’47 Beatrice Hispanic Nurses presented its Development. Amy Herman (MA ’00) is president of Lauren Ross (MA ’06) has been named Literature, award- • • • Nathanson Eisman, ’47 • Shirley Thau Perles, ’47 • Marie Rousseau Peters, ’47 2014 Nurse of the Year Award to She was formerly president and The Art of Perception, which trains curator of Virginia Commonwealth ed to individuals Jennifer Jade Yeung ’13 is a • Betty Bojan Schoenhaut, ’47 • Audrey Inez Clark, ’48 • Sally-Anne Branower Yolanda Nitti (BSN ’91) on Oct. 17, CEO of Urban Edge, which works professionals to enhance their ob- University’s newly established Institute who represent the highest standards production assistant in W.W. Milgrim, ’48 • Josephine Marion Casaccio Perrell, ’48 • Elizabeth Schmeltzer, ’48 2014, in Washington, D.C. The award to develop and sustain stable servation and communication skills for Contemporary Art, scheduled to of excellence in the arts and humani- Norton’s college department. • Victoria Marmo Wagner, ’48 • Evelyn Papalexis Bales, ’49 • Judith A. Fleischman is given annually to a nurse who housing and diverse communities by analyzing works of art. She has open in 2016. Ross was formerly the ties. Recipients are provided with a Beroza, ’49 • Ann Norton Gwynn, ’49 • Natalie Robinson Krauss, ’49 • Virginia has developed a creative and in Roxbury, Jamaica Plain and provided training for the NYC Police Nancy E. Meinig Curator of Modern fellowship in Rome. “The Adventures of Dorrit Little, ” Remington Olney, ’49 • Emma Radtke, ’49 • Elizabeth T. Bednarik, ’50 • Elise Wol- innovative program, intervention surrounding neighborhoods. Department, the FBI, the Department and Contemporary Art at the Philbrook by artist Monica Johnson (MFA ’14), lenweber Kramer, ’50 • Muriel Marketto Landry, ’50 • Enid Ruth Hammer Roller, or strategy. of Justice and the Secret Service. Museum of Art in Tulsa, OK. Corinne Vidulich ’09 was featured in was published in Women’s Study ’50 • Claire Archambault, ’51 • Gloria C. Doyle, ’51 • Hertha Fischer, ’51 • Clara Dan Kaufman ’96, a Brooklyn writer a July 31, 2014, New York Times article Quarterly. It tells the story of a Walke Hall, ’51 • Roland N. Karlen, ’51 • Rose Marion McDermott Koch, ’52 • Karen Remy (MSW ’91) was named who grew up in Wisconsin, was the A performance/installation by Yelena Akhtiorskaya’s ’07 debut about American students attending student debtor in the U.S. today. Ruth Peltz Rubens, ’52 • Gertrude Garbers Smith, ’52 • Sheila Connolly Barry, ’53 Yolanda Gallo Bibbo, ’54 Joan A. Christie, ’54 Paula Joan Gerbrick Schivone, chief program officer at Turning author of an opinion piece in the Quintin Rivera-Toro (BFA’01) was pre- novel, Panic in a Suitcase (Riverhead medical school in the Caribbean. The title is a reworking of Charles • • • ’54 Dorothy H. Barth, ’55 Alfreda R. Jackson Henry, ’55 Carol E. Burnett, ’56 Point, a community organization New York Times Sunday Review sented at the Bottle Rocket Gallery Books), has received critical praise in Vidulich, who was a valedictorian of Dickens’s serial novel Little Dorrit, • • • • Otto Mond, ’56 • Marion I. Levey Baer, ’57 • Janice Helander Sayre, ’57 • Theresa that provides education, health critical of a proposed $l.5 billion in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Rivera- , The Huffington her Hunter graduating class, is now about a child born into an English Susann Brockenauer Demay, ’58 • Margaret E. Hetherington, ’58 • Rosaline Con- and social services to high-needs Wisconsin iron ore mine. Toro’s presentations examine the Post, and the at St. George’s University Medical debtor’s prison. Johnson completed nolly Kaminski, ’58 • Rose Cannistraci Erwin, ’59 • Leon I. Glovsky, ’59 • Gerald Har- Brooklyn residents. history, culture and politics of the LA Times, and on NPR radio. School in Grenada. Dorrit Little in Hunter’s Integrated rigan, ’60 • Frances Hartman, ’60 • Roy H. Johnson, ’60 • Lorraine L. Ballard, ’62 • Pauline Yun (MFA ’96) had her first environments in which he works. Media Arts MFA Program. Margaret McCrane Crapo, ’62 • Ann Earley Walsh, ’62 • Laurel D. Theise Gouveia, Elias Rodriguez ’92 writes a column solo exhibition in Philip Tamberino (MA ’07), a music 2010s ’63 • Paul E. Wistrom, ’63 • Ronald Book, ’64 • Donald R. Johnson, ’64 • Howard for the Environmental Protec- New York at the A new musical, Shida, by Jeannette education graduate Danny Ramos ’14 won a Math for Dobkin, ’65 • Greta Selkowe Fertik, ’65 • Richard Holena, ’66 • Susan Volpert tion Agency’s New York City blog, NY Public Library, Bayardelle ’02 was presented at of Hunter’s School Ariana Rabinovicz (MS ’10) has America Fellow- Stein, ’66 • Ernesto Butcher, ’67 • Leon Frankel, ’67 • Linda Lou Miner Hoffman, “Greening the Apple.” Rodriguez Riverside Branch. the American of Education, had his been honored by the International ship to pursue ’67 • Frances F. Eng, ’68 • Diane T. Rotondi, ’68 • Gertrud Taussig Wolfner, ’68 • serves as EPA Region 2’s bilingual Pauline Yun: Repertory first book, Uke Can Nurses Association as a Worldwide a master’s in Steven M. Sietz, ’69 • Rita Spector, ’70 • Mitzi Weinstein Ettinger, ’71 • Marion S. Faller, ’71 Carol Jean McCulloch Lanagan, ’72 Richard N. Burke, ’73 Calvin L. public information officer, and was Improvisations, Theater in Do It! Developing Leader in Healthcare. She is a board- adolescent • • • Eddy, ’74 Jane Cohler Supino, ’75 Mary Howley, ’76 Alan B. Taylor, ’76 Eva formerly a researcher at Time, Inc. 24 paintings, Cambridge, MA, Your School Ukulele certified family nurse practitioner math education • • • • S. Cantwell, ’79 • Judith C. Herz, ’79 • Martin D. McLee, ’79 • John Allen Uhrich, celebrated French joie de vivre, Mother in November. Program, published and transplant coordinator in an at City College. Fellowship ’79 • Georgia A. Peachey, ’80 • Pamela E. Burthwright, ’81 • John L. Klebanoff, Jennifer Caserta ’93, president Nature, and the spirit of improvisation. Bayardelle in the fall. He spoke on the same outpatient liver and kidney trans- winners make a four-year com- ’86 • Gloria Sondheim, ’86 • Jose Hernandez, ’87 • Janie Mae Ferguson Lowe, and general manager of IFC, has wrote the text subject at the National Association plant clinic affiliated with NYU mitment to teach in the New ’88 • Mary Theresa D’Attilio, ’89 • Michael Doran, ’90 • Susan C. Ribner, ’91 • been named to Variety’s “Power Echo Conditioner, a solo exhibition and music, and plays a half-dozen for Music Education’s National Langone Medical Center. York City schools, grades 7-12. Ruth Jones Sammis, ’91 • Stephen M. O’Brien, ’93 • Arden J. White, ’93 • Yolanda of Women: New York Impact List.” by Aidas Bareikis (BFA ’97) was roles in her one-woman show. In-Service Conference in Nashville. “Yolie” Simon, ’97 • Christine Marie Normoyle, ’99 • Carmen Bliss, ’09

22 23 NON-PROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID Hunter College of The City University of New York Hunter College and the Alumni Association of Hunter College Foundation Inc. 695 Park Avenue • New York, NY 10065

Foundation Board Member SHEILA L. BIRNBAUM (’60, MA ’62)

she decided her future must be in the law. my most influential years and picked Selected multiple times by The National up many of the skills I use every day,” Law Journal as “one of the 100 most out- said Birnbaum, who continues to pay standing members of the legal profession,” it forward to the next generation of Birnbaum graduated from NYU Law aspiring lawyers at Hunter. Through her heila Lubetsky Birnbaum’s (’60, School before arriving at Skadden Arps, participation in the Hunter Pre-Law Pro- MA ’62) journey to becoming one one of New York City’s top white-shoe gram’s Lunch with a Lawyer and Moot Sof the nation’s most successful firms, where she practiced for 33 years. Court, she is able to impart her wisdom, attorneys began on Hunter’s former Bronx She has successfully argued three cases insight, and advice directly to students. campus. Her path to the law was inspired before the Supreme Court, and serves “I am so pleased to be able to help Hunter by a female instructor in a Private Law as “Special Master” of the September 11th students explore professional opportunities course, a broad — and in Birnbaum’s Victim Compensation Fund. She is cur- and consider their career paths,” she said. presented with the first Hunter College opinion, fascinating — overview of rently a partner with the trial law firm “I have had a chance to see these future Distinguished Alumni Lawyer Awards. criminal law, property law and torts. of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. attorneys in action and it’s clear that When Birnbaum, a member of the “I was hooked,” she said. “It was clear Like many Hunter students, Birnbaum they will have successful futures.” Hunter Hall of Fame, was awarded an to me that I wanted to go to law school.” was the first in her family to attend col- Birnbaum and fellow Hunter College honorary doctorate of law at Hunter’s After graduating cum laude and Phi lege. Her younger sister, Norma Lubetsky Foundation Board member Christopher 199th commencement in 2009, she de- Beta Kappa, the Bronx-born Birnbaum Friedman (’63, MA ’67), followed in her Seeger ’87 were instrumental in devel- clared, “It’s time we rededicate ourselves taught fourth grade in her native footsteps, also earning her bachelor’s and oping the Pre-Law Program’s first benefit, to public education and public service.” borough. While teaching, she traveled to master’s degrees from Hunter. In honor Concussion Litigation and Its Effects on As a member of the Hunter College Hunter’s Manhattan campus for night of her late sister, Birnbaum funded the the Future of Contact Sports. They not only Foundation Board and the Pre-Law school where she earned a master’s in Norma Lubetsky Friedman Scholarship helped orchestrate this seminal event, Advisory Board, she lives up to that history. Further inspired by an Interna- for poetry students in Hunter’s MFA in but also engaged in a lively debate as declaration daily, not only by helping guide tional Law course and her participation Creative Writing Program. part of a distinguished legal panel. That the overall direction of the program, but in a Mock World Court exercise, “Hunter is where I spent some of evening, Birnbaum and Seeger were also by being an active participant.