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Our Man at the State House Senate President Stan Rosenberg ’77

ALSO INSIDE: Heart and Music | A Voice from the Distant Front | Minimum Wage Debate Located in the heart of the picturesque Stay in UMass Amherst Campus, the Heart Hotel UMass blends the of the excitement of campus life Campus with a tranquil, countryside escape making it the ideal destination for your next trip to the Pioneer Valley. Whether you’re staying for business or leisure, Hotel UMass has first-class accommodations and services tailored to your needs. Voted #1 Hotel in Amherst by TripAdvisor, book your room today!

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Departments Features Inbox ...... 3 Our Man at the State House Around the Pond ...... 4 18 Senate President Stan Rosenberg has Office Hours ...... 12 strong ties to UMass Amherst. Sports Minutes ...... 14 Research Notebook ...... 16 UMass People ...... 36 24 Heart and Music Bookmarks ...... 42 Department of Theater connects creative neurons in A New Brain. Back in the Day ...... 45 In Memoriam ...... 46 32 A Voice from the Distant Front ZIP/Postcode ...... 48 Robert Chapon, the first collegiate casualty of World War I. JOHN SOLEM Wearing his “focus hat,” MFA student James Horban sings out lighting cues during the tech stage of the musical A New Brain. 26

On the Cover Stan Rosenberg at the State

House on Beacon Hill, Boston. 20%

Photo by John Solem. SFI-00993

Read UMass Amherst magazine online at www.umassmag.com. Squares-Print ad.07.as.pdf 1 1/22/15 10:14 AM

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2 umass amherst Amherst In Box

FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF THE FLAGSHIP CAMPUS Naiads Forever and affecting dopamine production just Vol. 19 | No. 2 | Spring 2015 like a narcotic). It was great to see the Naiads in your fall If a computer addict invests 40-plus

Executive Editor issue. Actually, back in 1949, when I ar- hours a week in a “fun addiction” that Robert Lindquist rived on campus, Miss [Ruth J.] Totman, is 40 hours not spent on school work, Mary [Nutting] Harmon, and Maida volunteering, working, spending time Managing Editor Riggs ’36 comprised the entire Women’s with family, and otherwise engaged in a Patricia Sullivan Phys. Ed. Department. healthful lifestyle. I suggest finding the Editorial Staff Mary Harmon, a recent BU grad, engineers who use their computing skills Elizabeth Adams ’74, Judith Cameron ’75 started the club and taught us all the to enable better medicine, safer trans- Andrea Comerford ’16, Laura Marjorie Miller tricks and stunts of synchronized portation, etc. and celebrate them! John Sippel swimming. Those were the days when Laura Fitch Art Director it was a requirement for graduation that Amherst, Massachusetts Matt Jasiorkowski everyone pass a beginner swimming Designer test, so the pool was in constant use. I Jack Cavacco ’82 worked there for four years and formed More Campus Love Chief Photographer Naiads and Junior Naiads from the girls John Solem who tried out. There was a lot of interest After reading “Love in the Lounge” (Fall since Esther Williams, a Hollywood star, 2014) I felt compelled to write and share popularized the sport. our story. I transferred into UMass in the We put on two or three shows a year fall of 2002 and lived on the 11th floor of UMass Amherst Magazine and learned to do all the costuming and John Adams tower. My future wife, Nicole 101 University Drive synchronization to current instrumental (D’Amour) Pelletier ’06, lived on the 16th Slobody Building, Suite C1 Amherst, MA 01002-2385 music. Every year we went on the road floor. After a few months of batting eyes 413-545-0123 with at least one themed show and trav- on the elevators as we came and went [email protected] eled around to New England schools from the building, she broke the ice when UMassMag.com with our routines. she noticed that my jacket said “Andover.” We made many good friends in the She informed me she was from Middle- Address Changes: Naiads and it would be fun to see the ton, only two towns away back on the Records Office club revived. North Shore. We started dating shortly Memorial Hall, UMass Amherst Amherst, MA 01003 Elinor (Gannon) Lowe ’53 after, and never stopped. Roughly a year 413-545-4721 Clinton, Massachusetts and a half after graduation, with tickets [email protected] in hand to the UMass vs. BC basket- UMass Amherst magazine is published three times ball game at the , I took a year by UMass Amherst, the flagship campus of No Fun in Addiction Nicole back out to Amherst. We grabbed the University of Massachusetts system. an early dinner in downtown Amherst Copyright © 2015 by the University of Massachusetts I read “Fable Makers: Meet the artists and I asked if she wanted to take a walk Amherst. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole and engineers behind your screens” around campus to visit some of our old or in part without permission is prohibited. (Fall 2014) with particular interest as haunts. While undergrads we would I had just finished readingHooked on often meet at People’s Market between Games: The Lure and Cost of Video classes, buy a bagel and sit by the campus University of Massachusetts Game and Internet Addiction, by Andrew pond. So as we strolled around the pond Amherst P. Doan and Brooke Strickland. Your headed toward the Campus Center I Chancellor article makes several light references to dropped to one knee. I was so nervous I Kumble R. Subbaswamy addiction, without any recognition that don’t remember a word I said—all that I addiction is a serious disorder that can remember is she said Yes. Vice Chancellor, University Relations ruin lives. Addiction is a costly social In May we’ll have been married five John Kennedy ’86 issue not a trivial adjective to be coupled years, and we are hard at work raising with “fun.” our future UMass students. Vice Chancellor, Development and Alumni Relations The evidence is now coming in that Nick Pelletier ’06 Michael A. Leto computer games are physically addictive North Andover, Massachusetts (feeding the reward center in the brain Assistant Vice Chancellor, Alumni Relations JC Schnabl Please send your letters to: [email protected]. Letters may be edited for clarity and length.

spring 2015 3 Around the Pond KEITH TOFFLING ’05, ’12G ’05, KEITH TOFFLING

4 umass amherst Chocolate 101

Students sample the world’s best chocolate.

ASTRY CHEF and Bake Shop Manager PSimon Stevenson bakes for 30,000 peo- ple a day in the UMass bake shop below the Hampshire Dining Commons. A few times a year, he takes an afternoon to instruct 15 lucky students on what he’s learned about chocolate in more than 20 years as a pastry chef and through advanced European train- ing in cooking with chocolate. In a recent session of Chocolate 101, students learned how chocolate goes from pod to bean to chocolate liquor to bar. They tasted 12 different chocolates to educate their palates, including the variety that has been judged the world’s best—Felchlin Maracaibo Grand Cru, made in Switzer- land from Venezuelan beans. The students made chocolate lava cake and ended the class wrist-deep in chocolate as they dipped strawberries and rolled truffles. Students learned that vanilla brings out the natural flavor of chocolate; that dark chocolate must be exactly 90 degrees to temper properly; that a white “bloom” on old chocolate occurs when the fat separates; that water is chocolate’s greatest enemy. Chef Stevenson demonstrated how to blend chocolate and hot cream in small, slow circles to make a velvety smooth ganache. Stevenson, whose own enjoyment of chocolate is as noticeable as the Union Jack of his native Britain that he wears on the sleeve of his white jacket, wraps up the class with instructions on how to eat a truffle. “Remember that so much of tasting is about contrasts, “ he says. “Do not nibble. Pop the whole truffle in your mouth. The dryness of the cocoa powder coating is al- most shocking. Then crack cleanly through the hard shell to the sweet ganache center. It’s incredibly creamy as it dissolves on your tongue. Notice the interplay of flavors—cof- fee, caramel, fruit, floral, burnt, nutty.” As Stevenson says, “This is why people get excited about chocolate.” —Patricia Sullivan

spring 2015 5 Around the Pond

Onions and Outreach

How Mass Aggie helped Slavic farmers.

OLKA MUSIC played a rollicking part of the Precent 100th birthday party held on campus to celebrate UMass Extension and the national founding of the Cooperative Extension Service. The polka tunes were a fitting accompaniment to the event because just over a century ago Massachusetts Agricultural College invited Con- necticut River Valley farmers of Polish descent and their families to campus to learn about such topics as growing onions, raising dairy animals, UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES and canning. The 1912 Polish American Farmers’ Day program.

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF THE POCUMTUCK VALLEY MEMORIAL MEMORIAL OF THE POCUMTUCK VALLEY COURTESY PHOTOGRAPH MASSACHUSETTS. DEERFIELD, MEMORIAL HALL MUSEUM, ASSOCIATION, The outreach was especially significant be- An early 20th century cause UMass Extension was the first institution Day for the centennial celebration. onion shovel. to educate immigrant farmers in their own lan- “These families did yeoman’s work that boost- guage, says John Skibiski ’54. Skibiski grew in- ed the economy of the region,” says Skibiski. “The terested in the connection between Polish immi- help they received from Extension was essential.” grants and Mass Aggie after coming upon a 1903 Skibiski notes that 96 farmers attended the first newspaper story about his grandfather, an onion Polish American Farmers’ Day in 1911. dealer, while doing genealogical research. He put One hundred years later, families of Polish together an exhibit on Polish American Farmers’ descent continue to grow onions and other crops

Study Paws

HEN MIDTERMS and Wfinals loom, more than 1,000 dog-loving students regularly line up outside the Student Union Ballroom to pet dogs from the Bright Spot Therapy Program. “It reminds them of the dogs they left back at home and provides a moment of stress reduction,” says April McNally ’97, ’01G, who oversees the team of peer health educators who sponsor the visits. JOHN SOLEM

6 umass amherst in the River Valley while UMass Ex- valuable skills that will benefit them after gradu- tension, part of the Center for Agriculture, Food, ation. “Through the leadership position, I’ve and the Environment, carries on its work with gained public speaking skill and a really healthy immigrant farmers, now mostly from Latino, sense of confidence,” says Tripp. Portuguese, and Asian backgrounds. The work Parella agrees with Tripp when it comes to is essential to its mission to extend knowledge, the self-esteem gained. “I admit I don’t have a flat change lives, and strengthen communities. stomach but I am so confident now that I don’t The Smith-Lever Act, which created a national mind showing it. Before I was very self-conscious system of outreach education around agricultural about my body, but now that’s not even a thing I and related topics, was signed into law in 1914. think about anymore.” Parella attributes much of —Patricia Sullivan her ability to talk to and connect with others to the self-assurance found through belly dance. Members of the club use traditional belly dance props including swords, silk veils, fabric wings, masks, and zills, which are finger cymbals. Belly Dance Club The students learned to use these props from self-taught belly dancers Perlin and Barzvi. Thrives The uniqueness of the club has drawn invita- tions for its dancers to perform at up to 20 ven- There’s a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on. ues a semester, ranging from football tailgates to

HE HARMONY of Egyptian Tstreet-style music and the jan- gle of hip shakers—scarves drip- ping with gold coins and wrapped around the waist—fills the room as about 50 students warm up for the regular late Monday night meeting of the UMass Belly Dance Club. The bond among the crowd in the Recreation Center is evi- dent as students laugh and teach one another new moves. It wasn’t always this way. Four years ago, Bekah Perlin ’12 and Jaclyn Bar- zvi ’14 created UBDC and were its only two members. Three years ago, other students starting tak- ing interest, including President Elizabeth Tripp ’16. The club is now one of the largest on campus, with more than 150 members, both male and female. “The goal is to have a safe space to dance where body image is at the forefront,” says Tripp. “It is so important that everyone feels safe, and everyone feels comfortable showing their the student farmers market. The club also hosts Elizabeth Tripp b e l ly.” an all-day event for student belly dancing clubs (center) and Vincenza Club Vice President Vincenza Parella ’15 first from all over the East Coast, including Boston Parella (in yellow) saw Perlin and Barzvi perform in a campus talent University, Stony Brook, Harvard, and Rutgers. at Belly Dance Club show. To Parella, the way the duo’s bodies moved Although belly dancing practice at 10:15 on practice. was so powerful that she couldn’t help but be Monday nights may sound inconvenient to some, drawn in by their poise. according to Tripp, “It makes Monday go from Confidence is a core focus of the club. Tripp the worst day of the week to the best day.”

ANDREA COMERFORD ’16 ANDREA COMERFORD and Parella both believe that they have gained —Andrea Comerford ’16

spring 2015 7 Around the Pond

New Home for Stockbridge School

A bright space for bright agricultural minds.

HE STOCKBRIDGE School of Agriculture Thas been growing and diversifying in recent years. It now offers four bachelor’s degrees as well as six associate’s degrees. And today, with its cen- tennial around the corner, Stockbridge has a new home in the recently renovated Paige Laboratory building. The building has been transformed into mod- ern research and administrative facilities, includ- JOHN SOLEM ing nine new labs where Stockbridge faculty, such Graduate student Le Yue prepares a nutrient solution for the hydro- as Baoshan Xing, professor of environmental and ponic culture of soybeans to investigate the toxicity of nanoparticles on soil chemistry, will continue the UMass legacy of agricultural plants in the lab of Professor Baoshan Xing. cutting-edge agricultural research. “We’re look- ing at what happens to nanoparticles when they get in the soil,” explains Xing. In another new lab, Stockbridge Associate Professor Frank Mangan ’86, ’91G, ’98PhD and his colleagues serve up their own version of san- cocho, a traditional Caribbean stew made with vegetables from the ethnic crops program at the UMass research farm. In room 320, the work of Professor Om Par- kash includes metabolic engineering of oil seed crops such as Crambe abyssinica, Camelina sativa and Brassica juncea to increase their oil yields so they can be used as efficient biofuels. “The Navy Save the Date has flown jets using a mix of traditional jet fuel and biofuel from camelina,” says Parkash. UMass gives so much: a world-class education, Stockbridge students and administrators are opportunities for personal and professional growth, lasting equally as pleased with the new headquarters, friendships and memories. You can show your appreciation which offer plenty of space for offices and stu- for all UMass gives by taking part in the third annual dent services. Upgrades to mechanical, plumb- UMassGives on April 29 and April 30. UMassGives is ing, and electrical systems will reduce the Paige a 36-hour on-line giving campaign during which UMass Lab’s annual energy costs by 35 percent. Amherst alumni, parents, students, and friends inspire and Designed to support current research while encourage each other to support their favorite areas fostering new research initiatives, Paige Labora- of campus in a burst of generosity. tory is also meant to serve as a recruiting tool for new faculty. Last year more than 1,700 people made gifts during A portrait of Levi Stockbridge, for whom the UMassGives, resulting in over $112,000 in support for school was named in 1918, overlooks a lobby campus programs. To take part, make a gift anytime from meeting area where students gather near a liv- noon April 29 through midnight April 30 at ing wall of plants. Stockbridge, a Hadley farmer, www.umass.edu/give. Mark your calendars to professor of agriculture, and fifth president of be a part of the excitement! Massachusetts Agricultural College, was an active researcher who surely would be impressed by the modernized building and the current work at the Stockbridge School of Agriculture.

8 umass amherst Governor Baker Visits

OON AFTER his election as Sgovernor of Massachusetts, made his first trip to the UMass Amherst campus. He met with campus leaders, toured the new Life Sciences Laboratories and met with faculty, and then joined in a student discussion about the Integrated Concentration in Science (iCons) program. He also took a selfie with Patrice Charlot, a senior from Brockton, who is a recipient of a scholarship Baker established several years ago in honor of his grandfather. JOHN SOLEM

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spring 2015 9 Around the Pond

While the Piketty lecture drew a big crowd, students were most excited about a campus ap- Piketty/Piper/Poet/ pearance by Laverne Cox, transgender rights activist and star of the Netflix seriesOrange is the Pamuk New Black. Cox discussed her own story, identity, and community at a packed Fine Arts Center in A wealth of visitors came to campus in September. the fall. Orange is the New Black was the popular Common Read for the start of the academic year, CONOMICS IS NOT just for economists,” and its author, Smith alumna Piper Kerman, “EThomas Piketty has said, and the size spoke about her book at the Campus Center Au- of the crowd at his October talk in the Student ditorium in October. Union Ballroom affirmed this. Other notable visitors to campus in the fall French economist Piketty, the French economist who wrote the semester included U.S. Poet Laureate Charles Thomas Piketty scholarly 696-page best-seller Capital in the Twen- Wright, a guest of the Master of Fine Arts for discussed income ty-first Century came to campus to deliver the an- Poets and Writers Program as part of its Visiting inequality during his nual Philip Gamble Memorial Lecture sponsored Writers Series. Novelist Orhan Pamuk, recipi- UMass visit. by the Department of Economics. He smoothly ent of the 2006 Nobel Prize in literature, deliv- summarized the themes of his work on wealth ered the 2014 Troy Lecture on campus. Matt concentrations and distribution over the past Golombek ’78G, ’81PhD, senior research scien- 250 years. Piketty’s book caused an international tist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, was honored sensation with his argument that the rate of capi- by the Department of Geosciences as this year’s tal return in developed countries is persistently distinguished alumnus. He has led or been heav- greater than the rate of economic growth, and ily involved in the selection of every successful that this will cause wealth inequality to increase in Mars landing site during the past 20 years. the future. To address this problem, he proposes redistribution through a global tax on wealth. Donor Spotlight ENGINEERING, SPORT MANAGEMENT, PERFORMING SHAKESPEARE, All in the Hong Family. MUSIC AND TECHNOLOGY, SUMMER FORENSIC CHEMISTRY AND ROTHERS Jerry Hong ’93 and Jason Hong MANY MORE. Bhave established the Frances and Chou-Chu Hong Graduate Fellowship in Veterinary and Animal Sciences in honor of their parents. pre-college Chou-Chu Hong, ’71G, ’73PhD, one of the world’s top experts on the care of research ani- mals, earned his PhD at UMass Amherst in vet- erinary and animal sciences. He helped establish Taiwan’s Center for Toxicity and Preclinical Sci- ences and served as the director of Taiwan's Na- tional Laboratory Animal Breeding and Research Center. A faculty member of National Taiwan University and the Academia Sinica, he was also President of the Chinese Society of Laboratory Animal Sciences and a member of Taiwan's De- velopment Center for Biotechnology. Offering a wide range of courses for high school students. The endowed fund will also honor Frances These courses will make you think.They will also give you Hong for supporting the family and for help- a chance to try out various fields before having to decide ing her children to pursue successful careers in on a major when you get to college. Lots of activities and finance and computer science. Frances Hong left S.A.T. prep included. her career as a teacher in Taiwan to join her hus- WWW.UMASS.EDU SUMMER band during his studies in Amherst and later re- / turned to school to earn a degree in accounting.

10 umass amherst JAMES DAIGLE JAMES Celebrated for public service, back row: honoree Earl W. Stafford, student scholarship recipient Samya Stumo, Legacy Award honoree Bill Swanson, and student scholarship recipient Caylee Clarke. Front row: Chancellor Kumble R. Subbaswamy and honoree Cynthia Shepard Perry.

Cynthia Shepard Perry served with distinc- tion as ambassador to Sierra Leone from 1986 Salute to Service to 1989 and as ambassador to the Republic of Burundi from 1989 to 1993. She was the first UMass Amherst honors three for civic woman to earn her doctorate from the College of engagement and public service. Education’s Center for International Education program and was awarded an honorary degree N NOVEMBER UMass Amherst hosted the for her international work focusing on critical Ithird annual Salute to Service Awards at the human need. Boston Harbor Hotel and recognized three out- In 2002 Earl W. Stafford created the Stafford standing individuals for their contributions to Foundation, a faith-based, non-profit organiza- civic engagement and public service: William tion that provides support and assistance to the H. Swanson, former chairman and CEO of Ray- underserved and the socially and economically theon; Ambassador Cynthia Shepard Perry ’72 distressed in order to help them to become self- EdD, ’88H, honorary consul general of Rwanda; reliant. A graduate of the Isenberg School, he and Earl W. Stafford ’76, chairman and CEO of continues that mission today locally and abroad the Stafford Foundation and CEO of the Went- through the philanthropic efforts of the People’s worth Group, LLC. Inaugural Project, the Doing Good program, and During Swanson’s decade-long tenure as CEO, The Stafford Centre Orphanage in Burkina Faso, Raytheon’s sales grew 26 percent and its stock Africa. price tripled. He also strengthened Raytheon’s In addition, two students, Caylee Clarke culture with a focus on core company values, ’15 and Samya Stumo ’15, were presented with ethics, diversity and the customer, while trans- scholarships from the Salute to Service Scholar- forming the company’s community engagement ship Fund established to honor and support the by championing corporate responsibility, STEM talents and aspirations of students in pursuing education, and armed services support. and realizing their public service goals.

spring 2015 11 Office Hours

There’s a lot of heated public debate over the effect on the economy of raising the minimum $10.10 Per Hour? wage. Some say it will lead to rampant job loss, others say it will help end income inequality. Do Arindrajit Dube is a leading voice in the minimum wage economists have the answer? debate. Twenty-five years ago there were few states or cities with minimum wages different than RINDRAJIT DUBE, associate professor of economics, has the federal minimum wage and so this was dif- been studying low-wage work, including the topic of mini- ficult to study; you can’t put people in a lab and mum wage, for more than a decade. President Obama has pay some less than others. But when the federal cited Dube’s research as he pushes to increase the federal minimum wage became stagnant beginning in minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 per hour and Dube’s the late 1980s, states and cities began to step in workA was in the forefront in November when voters in four states approved and raise their minimum in response. This cre- measures to raise the minimum wage. ated a natural experiment where for the first time economists could compare wage differences in neighboring places. Taking this approach be- yond individual case studies, my colleagues and “The federal minimum I looked at 504 border counties in 316 distinct wage has failed to pairs straddling state borders with different keep pace with either minimum wages over a 17-year period. the cost of living or the median wage in What did you discover about minimum wage the labor market,” and job loss? says Arin Dube. What we found went against the simplest eco- nomic theory that says when the price of some- thing rises, demand for that thing falls. Whether you look at a low-wage sector like restaurants or retail or a low-wage workforce like teens, when the minimum wage went up there was no reduc- tion in jobs.

Then why are we still hearing predictions of massive job loss following an increase in mini- mum wage? Any time you have better data you hope it informs public policy, but I’m not sure if it always does! Most economists, even those who are fairly pessimistic, agree that the job loss is somewhere between zero and something small.

What else did the research reveal? In follow-up work, we found a sharp reduc- tion in turnover; workers tend to stick around longer when these jobs pay better. This means employers spend less on replacing workers, with a resulting rise in productivity.

What about the effect on prices? There’s evidence that prices in low-wage sectors like fast food tend to rise somewhat fol- lowing a minimum wage increase. But since low-wage sectors are a relatively small part of the economy, the impact on the overall inflation rate is extremely small. JOHN SOLEM

12 umass amherst What happens to family income? analyzing the impact in cities like Seattle and San Family income rises at the bottom when the Francisco, where they will be raising the mini- minimum wage goes up, lowering the poverty mum wage to $15 an hour over the next three to rate. A 10 percent increase in minimum wage five years. Other cities are following suit. These reduces poverty by about 2 percent. There’s also wage hikes take us to a place we haven’t been be- evidence that there’s less use of food stamps fore in this country, and opens up the possibility when minimum wage goes up. of new economic risks and opportunities.

How about the impact on wage inequality? So what action do you recommend? There’s good evidence that the stagnant mini- Most Americans seem mum wage at the federal level contributed to the to support a robust mini- wage gap between the bottom and the middle of mum wage because they the distribution. So, raising the federal minimum see it as being fair. It has “I was surprised by wage to a sensible level could play an impor- an important but lim- tant, but limited, role in reducing overall wage ited role in helping raise the moderately inequality. incomes of the poorest families, and in reducing large effect of Were any of your results unexpected? inequality. At the same the minimum wage I was surprised by the moderately large effect time, we should not ex- of the minimum wage on the poverty rate. There pect a minimum wage to on the poverty rate.” hasn’t been as much work in this area as there has solve all our problems. We been on the impact on jobs, and even this limited should think about the evidence had not been systematically analyzed. minimum wage not by So it turns out that most of the research was tell- itself but as part of a port- ing us a clearer story than we realized about how folio of policy that includes the earned income raising the minimum wage raises family incomes tax credit, food stamps, and a progressive income at the bottom. tax system.

What kind of research still needs to be done? Did you ever work for minimum wage? We don’t know what happens when we in- My first job at age 16 was at a McDonald’s in crease the minimum wage much higher than the Seattle, which today has the highest minimum federal level. There is exciting work to be done wage in the land. I earned maybe $3.80 an hour.

Workers’ 2013 Dollars per Hour Hourly Wages 12 Actual Projected and the Federal 25th Percentile of Workers’ Wages Minimum Wage 10 $10.10 Option FEBRUARY 2013 DATA $9.00 FROM THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE 8 10th Percentile of Option Workers’ Wages Current Law 6 Federal Minimum Wage

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spring 2015 13 Sports Minutes

lot of new resources into the campus and all that was going on was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.” Coaching is truly a family affair for McMahon and Serpone. They attend each other’s games and practices when they can, and support and critique each other with a coach’s understand- ing of what the other person is going through, especially after a tough game. Their schedules are crazy, but “we understand each other and have flexibility to do what we have to do,” she says. Serpone is also involved with a leadership development program at Amherst College for student athletes and McMahon is quick to take advantage of his skills. “His ability to motivate is a huge strength,” she says. “Sometimes your own players might tune you out, so I bring him in just to have a different energetic voice. He will do pregame talks or exercises with them just to get Angela McMahon and John Serpone at home with them going a little bit.” their three-year-old daughter, Lily, and 18-month- As if coaching their respective sports locally old son, Tyson. wasn’t enough, McMahon (head coach) and

JOHN SOLEM Serpone (assistant coach) will be heading up the newly formed Italian National Women’s Lacrosse team, with an eye toward the 2017 World Cup tournament in England and ultimately the 2024 Viva l’Italia Olympics, which may be held in Boston. “Lacrosse is an up-and-coming sport in- Women’s lacrosse coach Angela McMahon ternationally, but it isn’t an Olympic sport yet,” takes her hustle overseas. says McMahon. “Many countries are building programs, and getting involved in Italy is a part HEN ANGELA MCMAHON was named coach of of trying to grow the game there. There are just a the UMass women’s lacrosse team in 2010, it was a few teams right now, but the sport needs to grow.” coming home of sorts for her. Originally from Weston, McMahon made her first trip to Italy in Sep- Mass., she began her collegiate lacrosse career here as a tember to meet people and scout locations for freshman and was associate head coach for the Minute- practices and events. She will return in June to womenW in 2007 and 2008. After two years as head coach at the University prepare for the European Championship tourna- of Connecticut, coming back to UMass, says McMahon, “was a good move, ment in August. both professionally and personally.” It was a good move for women’s lacrosse Serpone went for a week in December with 25 at UMass Amherst as well. American players, selected from a summer try- Professionally you couldn’t ask for much more. In her relatively short out of Italian American players, to work with the time leading the women’s lacrosse team she has reached levels of success Italians for practice and training. The team will some coaches take years to achieve. She has built the program into one of the ultimately include Italian citizens and those who top programs in the A-10 and in New England, and her 72-10 record is the have at least one grandparent born in Italy. third winningest NCAA program during that time span. She is a three-time “We are literally building a program—equip- A-10 coach of the year and has guided the Minutewomen to four A-10 tour- ment, fund raising, everything you can imagine nament titles and four NCAA tournament appearances. to start a program,” says McMahon. “Add to that “I am fortunate that we have had some really great players while I have the challenges of language barriers and cultural been here,” she says. “But it isn’t just the great players; it is our MO as well. differences. But fortunately there are some very We have a blue-collar mindset and are all about hard work—outworking motivated people there who are taking care of and outhustling anyone we play against. That is our thing. The kids buy into things like organizing games and practices when it and it has worked.” we aren’t there.” On the personal side, UMass was an ideal choice for McMahon. “My hus- “It is going to be fun,” says McMahon, who band [Justin Serpone] is the men’s soccer coach at Amherst College, and we hopes the hard work philosophy that has been wanted to start a family,” she says. “We now live in Hadley, just five minutes her trademark at UMass will be equally success- away, and have two kids. To come here at that time when they were putting a ful at the international level. —Robert Lindquist

14 umass amherst THOM KENDALL ’93 THOM KENDALL Star student-athletes, from left: Rachel Hilliard, Rebekka Sverrisdottir, Lauren Allymohamed, Blake Frohnapfel, and Josh Schwartz.

Top Tweets @UMassFH Gowan closed out his the first round….Junior Boat took silver in the The 2014 campaign career in style with a co-captain Rebekka Head of the Charles, of the marked the 40th sea- 2nd-place finish at the Sverrisdottir was while several boats Season son for UMass field IC4A Championships to named to the Atlantic combined for nine gold hockey, the most suc- lead the Minutemen…. 10 All-Conference medals at the Head @UMassFootball cessful field hockey In women’s cross coun- First Team after lead- of the Fish Regatta…. The return of Head program in the his- try, Rachel Hilliard ing the defense to six UMass started off the Coach Mark Whipple tory of the Atlantic 10…. closed out her senior shutouts….The Minute- fall at the Head of brought back a high- UMass finished the year year with a slew of women earned NSCAA the Oklahoma, where octane offense to 11-10 overall and 7-1 in awards: UMass Scholar- Academic recognition the Maroon & White UMass, which was one the A-10 with a berth to Athlete, Academic for a team grade point scooped up five gold of the top offensive the A-10 Championship All-Atlantic 10, and A-10 average of 3.33 in 2013- and two silver medals. teams in the country.… Game…the Minutewom- All-Conference….The 14…. Working Overtime! In year three as an FBS en won seven straight Minutewomen took 6th Nine of the 18 games @UMassTennis team, UMass was just to close out the A-10 at the A-10 Champion- needed extra time to The tennis team also 23 points away from schedule and win the ships with Hilliard’s 7th- be decided with eight had a successful fall being bowl eligible in league’s regular-season place finish alongside games reaching double with strong showings in 2014….UMass improved title.…Lauren Allymo- Carly Zinner (21st) overtime….Junior Jack- tournament play and its average points per hamed concluded her and Heather MacLean ie Bruno led UMass a 1-0 record in dual- game from 11.7 in 2013 terrific career as an (22nd). with six goals and 12 match action….Doubles to 27.3 in 2014—one NFHCA All-American points; the Minute- pair Carol Benito and of the nation’s top and the A-10 Defensive @UMassMensSoccer women will return all of Ana Yrazusta Acosta turnarounds….Six Player of the Year… For the 2nd straight its top point scorers for earned a No. 10 ranking Minutemen earned Melanie Kreusch was year, Josh Schwartz the 2015 season. in the Northeast Region All-MAC honors, led the A-10 Rookie of earned Academic All- by the ITA….Six Minute- by first-teamersBlake the Year after leading American honors—the @UMassRowing women had winning Frohnapfel, Tajae UMass in points with 24 first time in program The Minutewomen had records in singles play, Sharpe, Jean Sifrin, and goals with 10….Six history for a player a successful fall after led by Anna Woosley and Jovan Santos- Minutewomen earned to do so….Schwartz reaching the NCAA (10-3) and Chanel Knox….At 16,088 fans Atlantic 10 honors with was also a three-time Championships in the Glasper (8-2). per game, UMass set Lauren Allymohamed, Academic All-District spring….The Club 8+ an all-time attendance Melanie Kreusch, and pick and was the UMass record for a season and Sam Carlino earning Fall Scholar-Athlete…. ranked 5th overall in first-team honors. Senior defender Matt the MAC for average Keys was named to the attendance….UMass @UMass_XC_TF A-10 All-Conference will return 19 of 22 In men’s cross country, Second Team and Josh starters in 2015—one Ben Groleau earned Schwartz earned All- of the highest totals in All-Conference by Academic honors. the country next year…. placing 15th overall…. Despite being picked The men finished 7th @UMassWSoccer in the preseason poll at the A-10 Champion- The Minutewomen to finish last, UMass ships, 16th at the NCAA earned their sixth ended 2014 ranked Regionals, and 8th at straight A-10 Tourna- Chanel Glasper stands 5th in the MAC East the IC4A Champion- ment berth, but fell to out in singles.

Division…. ships.…Patrick Mc- No. 1 seed La Salle in JON CRISPIN

fall 2014 15 Research Notebook

Solar Detectives

Stalking elusive neutrinos from the Sun.

N INTERNATIONAL team that includes ADepartment of Physics faculty Andrea Pocar and Laura Cadonati and Keith Otis ’07, ’14PhD, has directly detected neutrinos from the Sun’s core for the first time. Pushing the limits of the Borexino instru- ment, the most sensitive neutrino detector on Earth, the team was able to detect the “keystone” proton-proton fusion process happening at the perennial ice, of which this sheet may have been Sun’s core, a reaction responsible for 99 percent a remnant, once covered much of the central and of its power. This is the process that creates the western Arctic Ocean. light and energy the Sun sends to Earth. Using new numerical models that are able Scientists have never seen neutrinos from a to simulate oceanographic phenomena such as fundamental solar reaction. These particles are coastal currents, Condron intends to discern so small that they tend to pass through matter whether the melting of paleocrystic ice may have virtually unaffected, which makes them difficult produced a fresh water flow that triggered cli- to detect and distinguish from trace nuclear de- mate cooling episodes such as the Younger Dryas, cays of ordinary materials. a global cold snap that began about 11,500 years The Borexino, deep beneath Italy’s Apennine ago and lasted approximately 1,300 years. Mountains, detects solar neutrinos as they inter- Could melting Arctic ice actually supply act with the electrons of an ultra-pure organic enough fresh water to contribute to climate liquid scintillator at the center of a large sphere disruption? Condron’s research will illuminate NASA/SDO surrounded by 1,000 tons of water. Its great depth changes in the Arctic hydrological cycle and and onion-like protective layers maintain the core global climate, helping increase understanding “We have glimpsed as the most radiation-free medium on the planet. of the mechanisms behind sea ice formation, the Sun’s soul,” says Detecting solar neutrinos, the only particles and suggesting how ice will change as the Arctic physicist Andrea to escape the core of the Sun unaffected, gives climate warms. Pocar. scientists a direct understanding of the processes at the hot, dense, dynamic heart of our home star. Teen Binges Bad Ancient Ice for Brain

Ice from the past may foretell the Early alcohol exposure might alter future. development.

N THE late nineteenth century, a British polar HE DANGERS of beer pong could be much Iexpedition north of Ellesmere Island in the Tgreater—and longer lasting—than we think, Canadian Arctic encountered a sheet of ice 60 according to a study by Heather N. Richardson of feet thick. And now the National Science Founda- the Department of Psychological and Brain Sci- tion has awarded climate modeler Alan Condron ences and her colleagues. ’03G and his team from the Department of Results of a study using a rodent model of Geosciences a three-year grant to study what this adolescent drinking indicate that binge drinking ancient ice might teach us about global climate. can have lasting effects on brain pathways that Because sea ice is usually 13 feet thick at most, are still developing during adolescence. “Adverse the Victorian explorers who discovered the mas- effects of this physical damage can persist long sive sheet dubbed it “paleocrystic,” or ancient after adolescent drinking ends,” Richardson says. ice. Evidence suggests a very thick, immobile, “The brains of adolescent rats appear to be sensi-

16 umass amherst tive to episodic alcohol exposure. These early experiences with alcohol can physically alter brain structure, which may ultimately lead to Ah-Choo! impairments in brain function in adulthood.” Climate change could make you sneeze.

F YOU’RE allergic to PCBs and Infant Igrass pollen, your symp- toms are likely to get a lot Development worse as carbon dioxide levels in the air increase in coming years. Exposure can interfere with thyroid Researchers grew Timothy grass in hormone action in pregnant women. a lab and exposed it to varying levels of car- bon dioxide and ozone to measure how climate OST PEOPLE have been exposed to low change will affect pollen production. They found Mlevels of PCBs. Although PCBs (polychlori- that elevated levels of carbon dioxide increased nated biphenyls) were banned in the U.S. in 1979, the amount of grass pollen by approximately 50 they are still released into the environment from percent per flower. If that isn’t enough to make disposal sites or from products, such as paints your eyes itch, they also found that more plants and adhesives, manufactured before the ban. flowered in response to the elevated carbon diox- A new study led by R. Thomas Zoeller, De- ide, boosting pollen production by a whopping partment of Biology, provides the strongest evi- 200 percent. dence to date that endocrine-disrupting chemi- Environmental health scientist Christine Rog- cals, including PCBs, can interfere with thyroid ers of the School of Public Health and Health hormone action in pregnant women and may Sciences led the study. She collaborated with travel across the placenta to affect the fetus. colleagues in the Department of Environmental “They may be having a real impact on infants’ Conservation, including postdoctoral researcher brain development,” Zoeller says. Jennifer Albertine ’03, ’13PhD.

Kamikaze Geoscience

LASTICS—rocks made from other ground-up rocks— and the metal strontium gave Jon Woodruff of the C Department of Geosciences clues about ancient kamikaze winds that legend says saved Japan from an invasion of Kublai Khan’s massive Mongol fleet in the 13th century. Woodruff analyzed sediment core samples from Japan’s Lake Daija to uncover evidence that suggests that typhoons were more common in western Japan during Kublai Khan’s time than they are today. His team also found that the two largest historic storms, called kamikaze, or “divine wind,” occurred at the time consistent with the story that typhoon winds twice destroyed the invading Mongol ships. The twin kamikazes, says Woodruff, “may provide one of the earliest historical cases for the shaping of a major geopolitical boundary by an increased probability of extreme weather due to changing atmospheric and oceanic conditions.”

fall 2014 17 Our Man at the State House Stan Rosenberg ’77 is President

By Judith B. Cameron Photos by John Solem

HEN THE Northampton Democratic dential offices on two floors at the State House. Now, as Senate party faithful gathered in the fall to celebrate Stanley Rosen- president, he commands a $10 million budget and staff of 70. Wberg ’77, their beloved state senator, neighbor, and friend, as the He will also play a central role in crafting the $36 billion state Democrat of the Year, they sat in darkness—a power outage had budget. “You don’t expect to have this position and that it has hit the city’s downtown. The pragmatic and enthusiastic crowd come is both humbling and exciting,” says Rosenberg. quickly gathered candles and flashlights and speakers were po- litely told to raise their voices because the sound system was as dead as the lights at the Smith College conference center. Mr. President Soon Rosenberg was threading his way through the jammed room of well-wishers to accept yet another honor in his 28- IGHTEEN MONTHS before his election to Senate president, year career as an elected public official. As his hands braced Ereplacing of Plymouth, Rosenberg had the podium, the lights—almost magically—came on. Celestial garnered enough votes to confirm his ascendancy. Many say that connections or luck for the man who was soon to ascend to Rosenberg won support through his fairness, transparency, and presidency of the State Senate, one of the three most powerful promise for egalitarianism versus rule with an iron fist. “My style positions in Massachusetts government? and approach is to build coalitions and enhance other people’s For the Rosenberg fans in the room who over the decades ability to do their best,” he says. His colleagues would agree and have nurtured this son of the foster care system with wise coun- add to their list of compliments Rosenberg’s problem-solving sel and encouragement, the symbolism of the moment was not skills and bi-partisan political nature. Harriette L. Chandler, lost. “I just saw how you made the lights turn on,” quipped Maura Democratic state senator from Worcester, who nominated Healey, now Massachusetts Attorney General. “I am going to tell Rosenberg for the presidency, says Rosenberg’s pledge for everyone on Beacon Hill and they will be quaking in their boots.” shared leadership will make the Senate more productive. “I am It wasn’t quaking but long and loud applause that greeted hoping his guidance, wisdom, and experience will lead us to new Rosenberg at the State House on January 7. It took the Senate, heights,” says Chandler, who was appointed majority leader by in a festive mood, a full six minutes for the roll call vote elect- Rosenberg. UMass Amherst Chancellor Kumble R. Subbaswamy ing the 65-year-old Amherst Democrat the 93rd president of believes the Rosenberg Senate presidency will build trust in the Massachusetts Senate. He is the first openly gay Jewish man government. “We all understand that you can’t be completely as well as the first western Massachusetts senator in 40 years to idealist. Pragmatism has an important role to play. And not control the gavel. As he steadily rose in the leadership ranks, he everyone can balance dedication to the greater good and the was thwarted twice in the quest to occupy the suite of presi- nitty-gritty work but Stan excels at that,” says Subbaswamy.

18 umass amherst spring 2015 19 On his first day on the job, Rosenberg, also known as a work- horse and for scrupulously starting and ending meetings on time, made his first assignment to the 39 Massachusetts sena- tors. He called on them to attend a series of public forums in eight different regions for the sole purpose of hearing the con- cerns and priorities of Massachusetts residents. “Ours will be a Senate that will seek to set new standards for openness and transparency, for collegiality with each other and for engage- ment with the people of the Commonwealth,” Rosenberg said in his acceptance speech. Even before his formal election Rosen- berg had made good on his intention to be transparent and in- clusive. In the past, economic briefings after statewide elections were held for those in powerful positions. But under Rosenberg, all senators were invited to learn critical information that will affect their deliberations. “Why shouldn’t we all hear the same information at the same time from these experts to inform our thinking and decision making?” asks Rosenberg.

Stan Rosenberg’s UMass Days Path to Presidency OSENBERG’S PATH to the Senate presidency was neither Rswift nor conventional. He became a foster child as a pre- 1973: Created the Arts Extension Service at UMass schooler, lived with a foster family in Malden, and moved with Amherst (photo above). them to Revere as a teenager. After graduating from high school, he went off on his own to Amherst. A self-supporting college stu- 1986: Elected to the State House of Representatives, dent, he drove a hot dog cart at one point to earn money. It took serving the district that includes Amherst, Northamp- him 10 years to earn his bachelor’s degree in arts administration ton, Pelham, Granby, and Belchertown. and community development, as he took semesters off to work. “The guy is really a testament to the public sector and its support 1991: Elected to the State Senate, serving the Hamp- systems,” says Jerome Mileur, emeritus professor of political sci- shire-Franklin District, which includes 17 communities ence at UMass Amherst and an early advisor to Rosenberg. in Franklin County, six in Hampshire County, and one in Unlike the many well-heeled attorneys who become law- Worcester County. makers, Rosenberg entered politics after working in the Divi- sion of Continuing Education at UMass Amherst as a commu- Other leadership positions: Senate majority leader, nity organizer for the arts. Without a driver’s license or car he president pro tempore, assistant majority leader, and traversed the state by bus to build an arts extension service and chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee. lay the foundation for what is now recognized as the creative economy. “He had a wealth of ideas and got things done. I wish 2015: Elected Senate president. I had had ten more like Stan,” recalls William Venman, founding director of the UMass Amherst continuing education program, who hired Rosenberg as a program developer. Rosenberg says his experiences at UMass Amherst—from playing tuba in the marching band, to academics, to being be- friended by faculty and staff—were essential to his professional and personal development. He says he is grateful to far more people from the flagship campus than he can name. As a faithful alumnus, Rosenberg wants to keep UMass affordable and acces- sible. “Public higher education is still a great bargain. We have to move back toward the direction of higher state appropriations and lower student debt,” he says.

Entering the Political World

HILE WORKING at UMass Amherst, Rosenberg’s suc- Wcess at building coalitions, inspiring community activ- ism, and developing successful programs and policies caught the attention of local movers and shakers. They suggested Rosenberg enter the political arena. But it was serendipity that

20 umass amherst connected Rosenberg with his mentor, Amherst resident John and when Olver went to Congress, Rosenberg was elected to the Olver ’14Hon, now retired but then a state representative. The State Senate where he is now the longest serving senator. two met while working on the 1980 presidential campaign of Journalism Professor Ralph Whitehead was another early the late U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy ’69Hon. After Kennedy’s Rosenberg champion. He says Rosenberg’s reputation as a policy failed bid, the two Amherst men got together and following a wonk is well deserved. “He can engage in an impromptu public conversation of all things political and philosophical, Olver of- policy colloquium over a couple of bowls of soup,” says White- fered Rosenberg a staff job. Olver would go on to win election head. He says that Rosenberg was just as savvy at gaining support to the State Senate and in 1991 to the U.S. House of Representa- from diverse blocks of voters, especially in his early years of seek- tives. “People got to know him and knew that he could be relied ing elected office. Exhaustive in his search for votes, Rosenberg on to protect them,” says Olver, who calls Rosenberg his “po- knocked on thousands of doors, attended innumerable picnics, litical son.” When Olver moved into the State Senate in 1987, and marched in countless parades. And the day after a victorious Rosenberg won election to the State House of Representatives, campaign—even the later ones that were uncontested—Rosen-

Senator Rosenberg swears in Charlie Baker as governor of Massachusetts, while Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo (left) looks on.

The Common Good

S A COMMONWEALTH, Massachusetts was founded for the His vision for the senate presidency—which is limited to an Acommon good—a reality Stan Rosenberg understands very eight-year term with election every two years—is also shaped well. In his January 7 inauguration speech as Senate president, by dedication to the Commonwealth and shared prosperity. He Rosenberg told a packed Senate chamber that his life illustrates elaborated in his speech: “If we were to put the right policies the good that comes from investments in those who have little. and resources in place we can make sure every child born is “If it were not for the Commonwealth, I would have had nothing,” given the support he or she needs, from prenatal care to early Rosenberg said, “Collectively, you put clothes on my back, food in childhood education to quality schools and higher education my mouth, and a roof over my head. You provided me with quality opportunities free of crushing debt, we could transform the schools and helped me go to the university for which I am forever Commonwealth in a generation. In a quarter century, we could grateful—the University of Massachusetts Amherst.” dramatically diminish many of the problems that saddle both Rosenberg says his life work can be summed up by efforts to individuals and the Commonwealth as whole: chronic unemploy- create common good. “That is how I see it. Everything I try to do ment, workforce shortages, and lack of opportunity. In their by example or word and deed is to try to communicate that we place: a generation of fully employed, prosperous young people, are all in this together and we support each other, knowing the imbued with a sense of opportunity and possibility. A generation

AP PHOTO/ELISE AMENDOLA AP PHOTO/ELISE community will be there for us,” he explains. sharing in our collective prosperity.”

spring 2015 21 berg would stand at the Bridge connecting ing a law that banned tires from landfills. His legislative strate- Hadley and Northampton waving at drivers while holding a sign gies have been credited with preserving the rights of same-sex that read T h an k Yo u . “My thinking was that I went out there day couples to marry: In 2003, he led an effort to prevent opponents after day campaigning and the day after it didn’t feel right to not of gay marriage from taking action that would have overturned be out there saying thank you,” Rosenberg explains. a court decision that made Massachusetts the first state in the country to permit same-sex marriages. He says he applied the theme of social and economic justice Achievements to his work in 2000 and again in 2010 on the prickly issue of re- districting political districts based on population changes, long LEGISLATOR for nearly three decades, Rosenberg has used as an opportunity for gerrymandering. As Senate chair of Asolid credentials as a progressive devoted to social and the redistricting committees, Rosenberg’s work has been widely economic justice. “I try to ensure that everybody has an oppor- lauded by members of both political parties for being fair and tunity to share in the American dream, share in the prosperity, transparent. In 2010, Massachusetts needed to cut a congres- and that everyone has an equal place in society,” he says. As a sional district. The district held by Rosenberg’s political mentor, freshman state representative, he immediately went to work to Olver, was eliminated and a district in which racial minorities create a better life for children in foster care. He joined three are the majority was created. Three new such minority-majori- other legislators—all former foster children—to establish the ty districts have been established. “We adhered to the rules and Foster Kid Caucus, which advocated for the passage of 28 laws ended up with an outcome that was intended by the rules— designed to improve the experiences of children in the foster equal opportunity,” recalls Rosenberg. ’98Hon, the care system. One of the laws provides for tuition payment for Amherst Democrat who was elected to fill Rosenberg’s House foster children to attend a public college or university. An early seat when he moved to the Senate in 1991, has another perspec- environmentalist, one of Rosenberg’s first “big issues” was pass- tive for Rosenberg’s brand of politics. “People trust Stan. They don’t think he will flatter you then bad mouth you. You can count on what he is telling you,” notes Story.

Mr. UMass Amherst

OSENBERG’S MONIKER—Mr. RUMass Amherst—is richly de- served. The invisible hand of Rosen- berg is in all corners of his alma mater. Specifically, his imprint has been on all higher education bond bills used for new construction and major reno- vations in the last three decades. “That is something I am particularly proud of,” says Rosenberg. Now, as Senate president, Rosen- berg’s influence on campus is even more substantial. He believes that what is in the best interest of UMass dove- tails with the best interest of the state. “The good news for higher education is the recognition across all sectors that jobs today require a better edu- cated workforce,” explains Rosenberg. He often exercises his influence by bringing together stakeholders. That was the case when plans were ad- vancing for a new Integrated Design Building that will house the Depart- ment of Architecture, the Depart-

Rosenberg and Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy, at left at the State House, have formed a close relationship.

22 umass amherst ment of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, and Five from the building construction technology program. Users of the building wanted to employ sustainable advanced wood tech- UMass Amherst nology for the main structural support systems of the four- Join Massachusetts story facility rather than use the standard steel and concrete construction that was originally planned. The building, they Legislature reasoned, would be a tremendous opportunity to be innovative and reduce the campus carbon footprint. The UMass Amherst professors turned to their friend, , who broached the IVE UMASS AMHERST ALUMNI were newly elected to matter with Rosenberg in the parking lot of The Stables Res- Ftwo-year terms in the Massachusetts legislature in the taurant on Route 9, at one of Rosenberg’s customary breakfasts Nov. 4 elections, bringing to 19 the number of alumni in the with friends. Massachusetts House and Senate. “He had his iPad out and was doing things on it and I am thinking he isn’t even paying attention to me. But what he was doing was he was writing emails to the chairman of the build- ’03G, D-Somerville ing authority,” recalls Olver. In the end, all parties agreed the worked to extend the Green Line to Integrated Design Building could be constructed with the in- Route 16, keep the Mystic River clean novative wood technology. and thriving, and preserve affordable Furthermore, Rosenberg arranged to get a $3 million ear- housing. Previously she was a senior mark in a bond bill as a contingency should construction costs policy analyst at Community Catalyst, exceed original amounts. “He was always willing to look at or a national nonprofit group working to consider all sides on an issue and very often was able to pull peo- improve the U.S. health care system. ple together by the fact that he was listening carefully,” says Olver. UMass Amherst Chancellor Subbaswamy, now in his third ’04, D-Boston, was year as head of the flagship campus, says Rosenberg quickly born in Cape Verde, immigrated to Bos- emerged as a key ally in the first days of his tenure. In fact, Sub- ton at 15 and graduated first in his class at baswamy traveled to Boston even before he officially signed his Madison Park High. He received his law contract to meet with Rosenberg, the first Massachusetts gov- degree from Howard University School of ernment official to welcome him to the state. “Thoughtful is a Law. As an assistant district attorney, he word that is frequently applied to him. And it is well deserved,” worked to keep guns off the streets and says the chancellor, “He is not someone who just simply ac- prosecute the most serious offenders. cepts what you say. He will ask you tough questions and you need to be prepared with your homework.” They have become Michael Day ’96, D-Stoneham earned confidants. “He has always been someone I can call on and say, his bachelor’s degree from UMass Am- ‘Hey Stan, help me out here. Am I thinking this right?’” explains herst in political science before earning Subbaswamy. his law degree from Georgetown Univer- sity. Day worked for nearly 10 years as a trial attorney with Mintz Levin in Boston The Private Side and served as a special assistant district attorney in Middlesex County. VER THE YEARS, Rosenberg has developed a tight circle Oof friends from his district who know a more private side Carole Fiola ’82, D-Fall River was a of the political leader. He has condos in both Amherst and Bos- realtor prior to her election, and from ton that he shares with his partner, Bryon Hefner. Rosenberg 2001 to 2011 was an elected member frequently visits the Pioneer Valley home of Frieda Howards of the Governor’s Council, one of eight ’76G, ’84G and her late husband, Irving Howards, a UMass members who provided advice and Amherst political science professor, to stretch out on the couch consent for judicial, clerk magistrate, for television watching or to cook one of Rosenberg’s famous appellate tax board, and other gourmet meals. The Howards first met Rosenberg when he was appointees nominated by the governor. a staff member in Olver’s office but drew closer when Rosenberg became ill several years ago and the couple welcomed him to Carlos Gonzalez ’03, D-Springfield, is recuperate in their home. Occasional visits turned into weekly founder and CEO of the Massachusetts Sunday night meals and holiday gatherings. “He would wash Latino Chamber of Commerce. Prior to dishes and bring recipes. He just fit in,” says Frieda Howards. that, he was CEO of Nueva Esperanza, And, like a family member, Rosenberg willingly engages in do- Inc., a community development agency, mestic chores and regularly checks in with his 90-year-old friend, a legislative aide in the Springfield especially after her knee replacement surgery. “He would come by Mayor’s Office, and general manager of Sunday night and make sure the trash was taken to the curbside,” WSPR 1270 Spanish Radio. she says, “I don’t think of him as one of the most powerful politi- cians in the state but as the guy who cares about people.”

spring 2015 23 HeartHeart and and Music Music HeartHeart and Music and Music HeartHeart and and Heart Music Music and Music Connecting Creative Neurons in A New Brain

By Laura Marjorie Miller Photos by John Solem and Jon Crispin

UNDER BLARING white lights, director Glenn Proud paces the black box of the Curtain Theater like a cage, tossing a red kickball from hand to hand to channel his energy. It is the first night of auditions. Proud is preparing to direct A New Brain, with music and lyrics by William Finn and book by Finn and James Lapine. The semiautobiographical show dramatizes Finn’s diagnosis, surgery, and recovery from a circulatory blockage that is an analogue to the creative blockage the New York composer experienced in his life. The show will be Proud’s MFA thesis, and the first musical he has ever directed. JON CRISPIN 24 umass amherst HeartHeart and and Music Music Heart and Music

The ensemble surrounds Ben Finn as Gordon for one of A New Brain’s show-stopping numbers.

spring 2015 25 At this point, the form of the musical is latent, encoded in phy, costumes, line readings appear, and either persist or are sub- the DNA of the script and the score, waiting to be revealed. In sumed if they are not viable. Deciding what an art form is going the summer between seasons, Proud and faculty in the Depart- to be is as much about deciding what it is not going to be: the doc- ment of Theater assigned all the production’s technical aspects: tor evolves from a sadistic torturer to a more benign Broadway musical direction, scenic design, carpentry, costuming, and aficionado. The waitress is on roller skates in an early version of sound. But it is casting that will determine how the musical the restaurant scene but that concept is 86ed after it proves too feels, sounds, and looks. accident-prone. At first the main character, Gordon, is standing Witnessing the evolution of a musical is like being present at on the MRI bed with his boyfriend, Roger, as though it were a the unfolding of a universe. From very simple forms, structures sailboat, and then he is isolated on the bed by himself. Once the become more elaborate, specialized, diversified, and complex. spiral staircase is installed, all of the choreography alters. A time lapse of two months in the Curtain would look some- Elements of dances are added, scrapped, discarded, and fall thing like this: first a black box, bare. A piano appears, and then away, like life forms going extinct. “And They’re Off,” a number the cast, singing through the musical, in a ring around it, like in which Gordon recounts his parents fighting at a racetrack, angels singing before the creation of the world. At that point, the morphs more than any other, sometimes even during one drama exists only in song. Then the spiral, A New Brain’s domi- rehearsal. Some parts of its choreography will never be seen by nant scenic motif, is chalked in on the floor. Then choreography anyone other than the cast and crew present at that particular begins. The actors soften toward each other, adding nuances to rehearsal. They are swapped out for new solutions to tell the their interactions as they better understand their lines, gently story. At first, the ensemble, divided into men and women, melding into the same universe. Proud urges them forward: “I mimes the parts of Gordon’s parents on opposite sides of the want full embodiment! You have to fully commit to it!” stage. Eventually that interpretation evolves out to emphasize The songs begin to flow along with the story, from start to Ben Finn’s acting in the main role. At first he is in his hospital finish, cohering and spinning like the spiral on the floor. The bed, then more mobile, in a wheelchair. The song’s energetic band appears in the mezzanine: woodwinds, horn, cello, and climax, in which the ensemble vaults over hospital walkers in orbit around Gordon, always remains intact, but everything else changes. Nothing is fixed until it is performed, and not even then! At dress rehearsal, makeup appears, too bright at first, then is muted. The band’s music first overwhelms the singing, but then is toned down. In a dream sequence, Roger wears a sailor hat, and then he doesn’t. Lighting director James Horban’s cues create environments and moods: the white-lightning-bolt of “Get UP!” for the hospital nurse’s wake-up call; a hellish alliga- tor-green miasma for Gordon’s tyrannical boss, Mr. Bungee; blood-clot red with piped-in fog as Gordon lingers in a coma. On opening night, all the layers align to a polished perfection and express outward to the audience. By the time the production reaches closing night, players and the crew have mas- tered the material. Their confidence gives them room to riff, improvising in-character lines and adding flourishes. Now the energy has become so big and boisterous that it rips at the seams,

JOHN SOLEM suggesting yet another level of evolution. A New Brain closes to a standing ovation from a sold- Witnessing the evolution of a musical is like out house. Proud, who has been lying on his bel- ly observing the performance through the high- being present at the unfolding of a universe. tension grid above the stage, leaps to his feet in relief, triumph, and joy. Immediately after the last performance, the drums. The blocking, dancing, and singing shift to accommo- cast moves to the purple lobby outside the theater for a toast. date the timing of the music. Elements of costuming begin to Meanwhile, inside, the crew is striking the set. Gone nova, the appear: a bowler hat, a doctor’s coat, a rain slicker. The arms musical begins to collapse. It reached the limits of its existence, of the spiral are painted in, fading out beautifully toward the and now is taken apart, collapsing quietly in on itself, back to an stage’s borders. Stage crew begins to buzz around the edges. empty black box. The big, colorful, messy chaotic energy of many more people Often we think of the creative process, the anxiety of cre- expands to fill the box. ation, as conjuring something out of nothing. But what if it is Like illustrations on a timeline of geological ages, choreogra- really creating something out of everything?

26 umass amherst Senior Peter Vaiknoras wells up with emotion after the final cue on closing night. JOHN SOLEM

Peter Vaiknoras and Michael Smith, Stage Managers

TAGE MANAGING is one of the most powerful and influential jobs that no one ever sees: “What’s Srewarding about it is that it is thankless,” says senior Peter Vaiknoras. He and sophomore Mike Smith are the nexus for information flow between all the artistic and technical aspects ofA New Brain. The stage managers’ responsibilities include everything from scheduling, reporting on all rehearsals—“Legal pads and pencils are a stage manager’s best friend,” chuckles Smith—and dosing performers with “Miracle Beverage,” a honey-lemon-ginger brew from Esselon Café, to stoke their immunity and protect voices during a chilly, rainy autumn. During the performances, Smith was in charge of the deck, or stage area, and Vaiknoras commanded all the sound and lighting cues through the Curtain Theater’s high-tension grid—up, in a traditional theater, where the ropes would be. “Learning the ropes,” Smith and Vaiknoras say, is a naval term that transitioned to theater when sailors would make some money in vaudeville between voyages. There is efficiency to managing a theater production that is akin to the way a ship is run: “It brings a dynamic to what you are doing,” says Smith. “Everyone does their part on a ship.” Because they can’t be everywhere at once, stage managers become experts at delegating. The goal of a stage manager is to make sure all of the elements of a production are synched to run seamlessly, with no glitches to break the illusion or jar the audience out of their suspension of disbelief. “If no one thinks about us,” says Vaiknoras, “we’ve done our job perfectly.”

spring 2015 27 Chris Hynds and Erin Mabee, Costume Designers

OW DO TWO undergraduates get the hefty responsibility of Hcostuming a high-profile entry in the Department of Theater’s seasonal slate? “If you express interest and show you’re committed, you will get a chance,” says Erin Mabee, half of the costume design team for A New Brain. “The faculty wants to see who is capable of handling it, who will continue with it.” Mabee and her working partner Chris Hynds describe their creative process: first reading the script, then listening to the music and “letting it simmer.” Then they began pulling images to convey the mood and essence of the music, creating collagic “mood boards” that are like visual poems evoking each character, and presenting them to the production design team. Audiences may be only subconsciously aware of the visual world costuming creates, but every decision by the costuming department is significant. Colors have to show up against the stage, and interrelate with the costumes of other characters in the scene, so designers attend rehearsals to take note of which Erin Mabee and Chris Hynds present their characters are on stage at any one time and how they interact. costume sketches at an early production Color implies relationships: all the characters in the hospital wear meeting. Their designs accommodate purple, so they are coded to relate to one another, which means both dream versions and real versions of that other characters don’t wear purple. various characters.

“At first we were like, ‘Let’s just go wild!’” says Hynds. “We had JOHN SOLEM a carnival hospital, and the nurses in weird vinyl outfits. Then we had to rein it in. But it’s easier to start big and get small. We were lucky to have the same crazy ideas.” Adds Mabee, “It’s a skill to have a mind that is crazy and wild.” JOHN SOLEM

“I look like my dad,” says cast member Evyn Newton at his costume fitting. A New Brain is set in the early 1990s.

28 umass amherst Stacie St. Louis, Scenic Designer

FTER BRAINSTORMING adjectives to go with each scene in A New ABrain, set designer Stacie St. Louis envisioned a galactic, synaptic spi- ral to be painted on the floor of the Curtain Theater, with one of its arms becoming a spiral staircase swirling up to the mezzanine. The design, St. Louis’s capstone project in the Commonwealth Honors College, illustrated the structure of Gordon’s psyche, allowing his dream life to flow in and out of waking reality: for example, a dream version of Mr. Bungee, Gordon’s tyrannical boss, regularly would descend from the “mezz” to torment him. Choreography and blocking gave a sense of constant move- ment orbiting the main character. The spiral staircase was such a critical part of the staging that it almost became a character in its own right. St. Louis excels at drafting, so she was able to calculate measurements and proportions for the precise number of stairs and turns needed to travel from mezzanine to floor. Yet when she debuted her model of the stage at a production design meeting, a conundrum revealed itself: actors would come out from the staircase facing the back wall and have to pivot to face the audience, losing time and effect. After seemingly endless hours being stumped for a solution, St. Louis and her colleagues had an “ah-ha!” moment, realizing they could drop the top platform of the staircase one step down off the mezzanine and eliminate the railing at the bottom so actors could walk right out on stage. JON CRISPIN The spiral served as a diagram for the action, with Gordon at the hub. “The acting and dancing bring the spiral to life,” says St. Louis. “They lift it up from the ground.”

spring 2015 29 Melissa Cleary, Choreographer

JUST HAD a magic moment!” exclaims Melissa Cleary ’10, springing from her perch to “Iintroduce a new combination of foot, head, and hand movements to the ensemble. There are many moments of inspiration choreographing A New Brain. Cleary prepares intensely at home, searching her own dance vocabulary, watching YouTube videos, blocking out the numbers with Stratego pieces. She even brainstorms in her car on the way to rehearsals. Yet seeing those numbers played out in real space and time is a whole different animal: it can be a confrontation with reality, but also can reveal a new set of possibilities. The style of dance for A New Brain is presentational, jazzy, musical-theater dance straight from the age of Fosse—but also includes a hypnotic tango and a slain-in-the-spirit gospel-style revival. Cleary urges cast members to perform at the highest energy level available—“I want you to play to the worst seat in the house. Right now you’re at 5—bring it up to 11!”—and also involve their emotions. “Don’t be timid!,” she exhorts during a rehearsal of “Heart and Music.” “When you were running in a circle, you were smiling, and that was coming from a real place.” She watches as the ensemble repeats the steps with added confidence and lands the ending perfectly. “It started as a song but now it’s actually a number,” she says with satisfaction, as they have crossed an invisible yet tangible energy threshold. “Emotion and storytelling are carried in dancing,” insists Cleary. “Movement is important for people’s understanding.”

Melissa Cleary blocks out the choreography for an early version of “And They’re Off.” JOHN SOLEM

30 umass amherst Jordan Reed, Actress

HEN JORDAN REED, a sophomore in Wtheater and political science, read the script for A New Brain she knew immediately which part she wanted: Lisa, the homeless woman who serves as the show’s Greek chorus, a sympathetic trickster who both provokes and counsels Gordon and his boyfriend, Roger. Director Proud and the production team had an unconventional approach to the character, want- ing her to be played as a young person. That choice “re-invigorated” the portrayal of the part Reed won, bringing a whole new set of questions both for her to develop and for the audience to ponder: “It makes you wonder about her back story,” says the actress. “What happened in her life that got her to this point? It challenges a stereotype. Maybe something happened to her that she can’t go home.” Reed, who is pursuing her Multicultural The- ater Certificate, poured her sociological aware- ness of Lisa into the character’s songs, such as “Change”: Pennies or nickels or dimes/ We live in perilous times…. “She’s talking about way more than money,” says Reed. She played Lisa as an awakened outsider (“Her gears are always turn- ing.”) who is highly intelligent but also outside the other characters’ sense of the normal: Using an iPad, Jordan Reed “There is a certain ideal of happiness to her that and fellow cast members a lot of people would find hard to accept.” discuss the playback of a rehearsal. JOHN SOLEM

Amy Altadonna, Sound Designer

SOUND DESIGNER weaves a tapestry of sound that runs through a production, connecting the whole piece of theater on a A“brain-stem level” from beginning to end. Altadonna, a lecturer in sound design and technology, does this by equalizing and mixing, manipulating and reverberating, adding and subtracting sonic elements. Sound is coordinated with lighting during “tech,” the weekend before the show’s premiere, which Altadonna describes as “where you are pushed to the limit and have to do your most creative work and problem solving.” Altadonna mixes the reinforcement of voices to help compensate for moments when actors have their backs turned to a por- tion of the audience, and also to help a soloist’s voice stay above the sound of the ensemble and the band. Intelligible parts “bounce around right where comprehension is most crucial,” she explains, but sometimes there are even deeper layers of sound occurring of which you are barely aware. Sound cues synch up with events occurring onstage and can initiate flows of action. Effects such as a 1990s cell phone ring and doctor’s pager beep give historical credibility to the production. “The play is going to reveal to me what it needs to make it come alive,” says Altadonna. “Everything that happens must seem totally natural, to live and breathe in three dimensions in the same space as the actors.” The placement of speakers is of utmost importance, for example: “Where is the sound coming from? The same space we are looking? Or somewhere else?” In other words, she says, “How can I activate all the molecules in this space and create a sonic landscape?”

spring 2015 31 A Voice LIBRARY OF CONGRESS LIBRARY

Above, Robert Chapon as a soldier in France. At right, Chapon’s beloved older sister, Lucette. Opposite, Chapon at age 16. UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES Robert Chapon, Class of 1914, headed for the Western Front 100 years ago and became the first collegiate casualty of The Great War. from the Distant Front By Wesley Blixt ’98G

HE SUMMER of 1914 was, termined to return to his native France. by all accounts, lush, By August 20, as German troops raced lovely and promising in west across Belgium, Bob Chapon was Amherst. aboard a ship bound for Cherbourg. Massachusetts In September, as France, England, Agricultural College Belgium, and Germany began their (MAC) was thriving “Race to the Sea,” the frenzied con- underT President Kenyon Butter- struction of the parallel trenches field and the roster of faculty and that would become the Western students was well populated with Front, Bob Chapon became one of names that would later grace the more than one million new members buildings of UMass Amherst. Curry of l’Armee de Terre Francaise. By No- Hicks had recently started creating vember, he was a sharpshooter, about a far-reaching athletic program. The to be deployed as a member of the 2nd class of 1914 included the likes of future Army infantry to the northeastern prov- university benefactor Murray D. Lincoln ince of Lorraine. On the front, the Germans and math whiz Carl Allen. had not yet begun using gas. Back in Amherst, That fine summer, just over 100 years ago, the radiant leaves were falling and a new aca- the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Fer- demic year was under way. dinand in the city of Sarajevo on June 28 was of little By early December, Chapon was on the front with his note. It took a back seat to the weather in local news reports. rifle, several kilometers southeast of the fortifications at Verdun. For one member of the Class of 1914, however, the news had On December 30, 1914, he was shot in the head and killed dur- a far more ominous ring. Robert Henri “Bob” Chapon didn’t ing trench battle just east of the village of St. Remy de Colonne. hang around Amherst that summer. On June 28, he was deep Twenty-year-old Robert Henri Chapon—a former member in the Maine woods with a hunting rifle that, in his hands, was of the Class of 1914 at Massachusetts Agricultural College in especially lethal. He turned 20 on June 30, just as violence was Amherst, a member of the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity, a well erupting in the Balkans. He emerged from the woods to the still liked buyer of women’s gloves for Filene’s Department Store, muted news that Europe had begun to invoke the treaties, codi- an occasional denizen of the Back Bay, and a dead-shot with a cils, and prejudices that had been lying around for decades like hunting rifle—became the first soldier from an American col- so much dusty hardware—hardware that was about to be reas- lege or university to be killed in the First World War. sembled into the deadly machine that became The Great War. It would be nearly another three years before the U.S. entered By late July, when the first shots were fired, Chapon was -de the war. Chapon’s trench, the front itself, had hardly budged.

spring 2015 33 Y THE TIME the armistice was signed in November 1918, The young sharpshooter who emerged from the woods that Bmore than 10 million combatants had died, as well as more summer day in 1914 to find impending world chaos continues than seven million civilians. More than 100 years after the first to defy a simple narrative. While resulting mystery continues to shots, Chapon’s death might easily be represented by just anoth- withhold some elements of Chapon’s life, however, it may also er locally interesting name on the plaque that graces Memorial have a lot to say about immigration, class, and the early days of Hall, listing the 51 Mass Aggie men who died in the epic Great America’s wartime isolation. War battles whose names are, in turn, engraved on the build- One narrative, suggested by public records and news ac- ing’s cornices: St. Mihiel, Aisne Marne, and Meuse Argonne. counts, is full of apparent contradictions. It could be called the But not if Ed Klekowski, professor emeritus of biology and “immigrant boy narrative.” adjunct professor of history at UMass Amherst, can help it. Not Bob Chapon arrived in Boston from France in 1909 at the by a long shot. Leaning close over a German battle map from tender age of 15 aboard the S.S. Potsdam, and joined his sister 1914, Klekowski traces the capillaries of roads and trenches just Lucile (called Lucette) who was a year older and taught French outside St. Remy. The delicacy of the lines, the shading of the at Wellesley College. Bob worked at Filene’s where he became an topography, the typography of the shifting place names—all assistant buyer of women’s gloves, before heading off to Mass these things can disguise the violence that took place there. Aggie to study business and eventually heeding the siren call “German maps are the best,” says Klekowski softly. “Right of patriotism. here . . . what the French maps call Les Éparges, and what the That version of the story is true in some of its contours. But Germans called Combres. It’s all the same hill. Right not all. Part of the mystery is that Robert Chapon is here, where it goes into the woods. That’s where not mentioned among the graduating members Robert was killed.” of the MAC class of 1914. There is no men- For Klekowski, however, those spidery The young tion of him in any yearbook, other than lines also envelop a mystery—many being listed as a freshman in 1912. He mysteries perhaps, each connected to sharpshooter who is not listed as attending any of the so- the unchronicled story of one of the cial events attended by the likes, say, 10 million who died. emerged from the woods of Murray D. Lincoln, who died in In one sense, this is familiar ter- 1966 and for whom the UMass Am- rain for Klekowski and his wife, that summer day in 1914 herst Campus Center is named; or Libby Klekowski ’91. Together they classmate Carl M. Allen, who died in have written two books: Eyewitnesses to find impending world 1999 at the age of 108 after receiving to The Great War: American Writers, chaos continues to defy the French National Legion of Honor Reporters, and Soldiers in France, 1914- for his war efforts testing gas masks 1918 and, most recently, Americans in a simple narrative. and analyzing unexploded German artil- Occupied Belgium, 1914-1918: Accounts of lery shells. Filene’s immediately eulogized the War from Journalists, Tourists, and Medical Chapon; but except for a brief mention in 1915, Staff. Along with UMass videographer Elizabeth it wasn’t until 1917, when the U.S. has already en- Wilda ’93, they produced the PBS documentary “Model T’s tered the war, that the Massachusetts Collegian noted: to War: American Ambulances on the Western Front 1914-1918.” One of the first Aggie men to meet death was Robert Henri The Klekowskis and Wilda have spent months exploring les Chapon of the class of 1914. Chapon left college to join the colors tranchées, the trenches that remain in the woods there. They of France and do his bit for democracy. . . For three weeks he was have come to feel an enduring intimacy with the terrain, and battling against the Teutons when on Dec. 30, 1914, he was killed. with the souls who fought, suffered, and died there. He was yet young in years for he had only just passed his twentieth The Klekowskis are most interested not in the stories of birthday. He was a member of the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity. generals and battles, but of ordinary individuals, those told In 1919, MAC President Kenyon Butterfield wrote to a Dr. by soldiers, farmers, workers, and families, and those told by Hayward Stetson of Bangor, Maine, to ask for particulars re- the many volunteers, visionaries, altruists, and reporters who garding Chapon’s death. By return mail, he received a form gravitated to the front. Ed Klekowski notes that among the first tersely indicating that Chapon had been shot in the head and American troops were local boys from the “Yankee Division,” a buried at St. Remy. National Guard division whose mission pretty much followed Bob Chapon’s route into the woods near St. Remy. “Hell, they might have walked right over him and not even NTERVIEWS WITH family members indicate that there is a known it,” said Klekowski. Isecond narrative, one that is far more nuanced and compli- Klekowski’s centennial mission is to now breathe life into cated—and perhaps even more complex. those people whose bodies paved the way of battle. To give them According to Chapon’s American niece (and Lucette’s voice again. daughter), Denise Hyde Wood, who wrote an essay titled “Sto- ries of Our French Family” in 2000, Bob and Lucette actually lived for six years in Oceanside, California, north of San Diego, O BREATHE LIFE into Bob Chapon proves to be more dif- from the ages of eight and nine to ages 14 and 15, respectively. Tficult than it might seem, even for a university that can most The family described by Wood is happy, adventuresome, opti- justifiably claim him as an alumnus, and even with sophisticat- mistic, well educated and cosmopolitan. She writes: ed research tools at its disposal. In 1902, coming home after lunch at his club, Grandpère

34 umass amherst Chapon enthusiastically told his wife, “Denise, California is the who runs a highly respected gallery in Rockland, Maine. They all promised land and we should move there!” “But, Henri, [she re- remained close to the Chapon side of the family, said Kinneally. plied] we don’t speak English.” “Yes, but the children do [he said].” “My grandmother was always so sad when she talked about Denise Hyde Wood died in 2010 in Pennsylvania after spend- Bobby,” said Kinneally recently. “They all were. It was a shadow ing much of her adult life in France working for the controversial that hung over them.” Robert Chapon is buried in a family plot organization Moral Re-Armament (MRA), and eventually be- in Montmartre, in Paris, not in the trenches, and not in St. Remy coming Dean of Women at MRA’s Mackinac College in Michigan. as Stetson indicated. Bob, it seems—far from being a homesick little immigrant “Later, Grandmère said to her family that she was glad Bob boy—had been back in France for only a year before he re- had not had to live through more years of such hell,” Denise turned to the U.S. in 1909, fluent, happy and determined to Wood wrote in her family memoir. succeed. He did so in the company of the same Dr. Hayward Kinneally said the UMass Amherst connection was a sur- Stetson to whom MAC’s Butterfield later wrote, and who lived prise to her. Her great-grandfather Henry Dwight Hyde had in Bangor. Stetson remains a mystery, except that he appears to been born in Southwick and—despite the family’s later connec- have had some diplomatic role and died in Washington, D.C. in tion to Harvard—had remained fiercely loyal to his alma mater, 1930 at the age of 73. Having just returned to the U.S. with Stet- Amherst College. Bobby’s connection with Amherst may have son in 1909, Chapon went directly to Bangor, where he hunted come from his in-laws, via Lucette, she speculated. and fished and is shown as having enrolled for the two subse- So, what drew Bob Chapon back to the U.S. at such a young quent summers in summer classes at the University of Maine. age? What drew him to Mass Aggie? What spark of patriotism Records show that he was also enrolled at various times in the was strong enough to compel him to abandon his successful new YMCA grammar school in Boston and Boston University. life in a new country in order to defend the country of his birth? It was Bob, and not Lucette, who arrived first in Boston. They While these questions are intriguing, the only truly impor- are listed as living together on Commonwealth Avenue in the tant thing for those of us observing the centennial of The Great Back Bay. Photographs show smiling, extremely good-looking War—or observing any war at any time—is the very act of ask- siblings. Both of them, notes Wood, knew how to ride a horse ing questions about the men and women whose names appear bareback . . . American-style. in relief on bronze plaques or are chiseled into stone, but who Chapon appears to have been extremely well liked and well otherwise remain mute. respected at Filene’s. Just two weeks after he was killed, a tribute Whether we see them as heroes or as victims, asking the ques- appeared in The Echo, Filene’s employee publication. tions and parsing the competing narratives may be the best way to Bob held a pretty warm place in the hearts of those who know honor those who may have offered to serve, but who surely did not him in the store and in the short time he was at Filene’s made ask to die and be left forever, forgotten in their trenches. friends left and right. His rapid progress gave every assurance that That may be the only way to breathe life back into Robert he was destined to hold an important place in the business world. Henri Chapon of the class of 1914 of Massachusetts Agricul- When Bob came around to say goodbye, all of us felt that we had tural College, who came out of the Maine woods 100 years ago, lost a good friend and coworker, but nearly all, it is safe to say, held and returned to France to defend his country. the soldier’s opinion that he at least would not be the one to be shot. Perhaps his colleagues at Filene’s simply had it right when it And now! Well, Bob’s gone and there’s a big hole left some- comes to solving the mystery of Bob Chapon: wheres down deep inside each and every one of us that is only Rich in all that was noble and manly; deeply beloved by those filled by the recollection that Bob was a dandy young chap, the who knew him well; highly respected by all who ever came in con- kind we should have liked to have had always, and that he did his tact with his magnetic personality, who at the call to arms, prompt- duty as he saw it, and died for his country. ly and fearlessly hastened to the support of his father land. Heads There is, or was, a bronze memorial plaque honoring Chapon uncovered to Robert Chapon the friend, the hero, the MAN. and three others just inside the Washington Street entrance of the Filene’s building, near Summer Street. Contributing greatly to this story were UMass Amherst refer- Lucette, for her part, opened a world that included Paris and ence librarian Melinda McIntosh, and Cynthia Denise Hyde the rest of Europe to her children, Denise and Dwight Hyde, and Kinneally of Rockland, Maine, grandniece of Robert Henri to her grandchildren, including Cynthia Denise Hyde Kinneally, Chapon.

spring 2015 35 UMass People

a free year’s worth of marketing services from an advertising agency. Even without such help, Revolutionary production of the muffins has risen from a few hundred a month to as many as seven thousand. Now, Merzbacher says, “I want to make them Breadstuff a national product that people associate with Philadelphia.” In Philadelphia, Peter Merzbacher ’11 makes the It’s been a heady entrepreneurial ride for this biggest mark on breakfast since cream cheese. BDIC alum, whose major dealt with the relation- ship between cities, globalization, sustainability, HE ENGLISH have always disavowed the English muffin. and agriculture, and who founded and directed Now Peter Merzbacher has artfully tweaked the breakfast clas- a community garden in Springfield where he sic and—shades of 1776—is determined to see it become as taught inner-city teenagers to farm. In the Philly closely identified with Philadelphia as sourdough is with San Muffin his idealism lives on, but the customers Francisco or the bagel is with New York. line up less in solidarity with Merzbacher’s social TMerzbacher categorizes his Philly Muffins as a bagel-muffin-ciabatta consciousness than for the joy of sampling a su- hybrid. They come in traditional bagel variants—white, wheat, cinnamon- perb product. —John Sippel raisin, and “everything”—but are square, have no hole in the middle, lean more to Thomas’s than bagels in texture, and are rife with crowd- pleasing, butter-swathing nooks and crannies. Philly Breads, the company Merzbacher Muffin Man Merzbacher founded last year, produces a variety of clas- bakes with local grains. sic loaves, including sourdoughs, sweet-onion focaccia, baguettes, and bagels, all much es- teemed. “No bread maker in Philadelphia,” one enthusiast avers, “can touch the quality, heart, and soul put into Philly Bread’s offerings.” Even in that field, however, the Philly Muf- fins are the attention-grabbers. In June they prevailed over 28 other area products to win

36 umass amherst rite of passage on the rise among Weinberger’s female clients. The Big D Weinberger notes that the social stigma of divorce has diminished, and the anxiety of a long Happily married Bari Zell Weinberger drawn-out process is lessened by alternatives ’94 knows all about divorce. such as mediation that allow parties to settle peaceably out of court. S MANAGING partner of the largest family Bari and Aaron met as undergraduates on a Alaw firm in New Jersey, Bari Zell Weinberger ride to UMass from New Jersey and married in has a wide perspective on the tectonic shifts in 1998. Working in family law, says Weinberger, the contempo- “You become very aware of what makes a part- rary landscape of nership work, whether it is a business or a marital divorce. partnership. We see couples at one of the most Weinberger difficult times in their lives, which helps to put owns Weinberger things in perspective. For example, I don’t flip out Law Group and if Aaron’s home office is a mess!” runs it with her —Laura Marjorie Miller husband, Aaron Weinberger ’94, serving as the firm’s executive director. The law Fighting Ebola in group opened at the height of the West Africa recession, yet has Bari Zell Weinberger grown in six years Peace Corps volunteer Jessica He ’13 to 22 attorneys combats the virus with education. and four offices. Weinberger writes about the trends she observes in modern divorce for The MPTY RICE sacks will be vital teaching tools Huffington Post. Efor Peace Corps volunteer Jessica He ’13 as One rising factor is social media. Weinberger’s she works to keep Ebola out of the The Gambia, firm has seen a huge spike in divorce filings based to the north of outbreaks in Guinea, Sierra Le- on infidelity once people began establishing one, and Liberia. Jessica He is working extracurricular emotional relationships online. A graduate of the School of Public Health and to help stop the “Facebook has certainly created constant busi- Health Sciences, He began her two-year Peace spread of Ebola ness for us,” says Weinberger. “Families dissolve Corps service providing malaria education in and malaria. because of it. People will sacrifice long-term, real relationships for these on-line connections which can actually be very fleeting.” Not only is social media a temptation, it can also serve as evidence in court. “People are not as secretive as they think,” says Weinberger. Friends in common will often take a screen shot of a post that looks suspicious and pass it on. “Once it’s out there,” says Weinberger, “it has been exposed and the damage has been done. I tell my clients to stop all social media activity while the divorce is in process, or at least check with me before post- ing anything.” The post-recession economy has created new complexities in the field of divorce, such as di- vorced couples who continue living together out of economic necessity, or people who have been downsized or whose small business is struggling having to renegotiate their court-ordered pay- ments. Others are fun: divorce parties are a new

spring 2015 37 UMass People

the remote Upper River Region of The Gambia, country director for Zambia. He earned both a one of the world’s smallest and least developed master’s degree in public health and a bachelor’s countries. She collaborates with the local people degree in nursing at UMass Amherst. to spread knowledge of the malaria parasite, the —Patricia Sullivan vector of the disease, medical treatment, and pre- ventative measures. Using those same public health methods, He and a community health nurse are now trekking to 18 villages in the bush to provide Ebola sensi- Native Brew tization. “The majority of the people in these vil- lages cannot read or write,” she says. “Therefore Worcester brewery celebrates local they are unable to fully decipher posters about character. Ebola. And many cannot speak the language in which Ebola information is being communicated OPS FROM Northfield. Malt from Hadley. through the radio.” HPumpkins from South Hadley: Wormtown He has designed an anti-Ebola curriculum Brewery’s slogan “A piece of Mass in every glass” using songs, skits, and Sharpie drawings on the cheekily communicates that every beer contains waterproof, durable, and readily available plastic at least one ingredient from Massachusetts. rice sacks. “Many villagers may not know what “Wormtown” comes from the title of a long- Ebola is at all,” He says. “We are harping on the defunct punk ’zine that collapsed “Wor(cester)” fact that everyone should go to their local clinic if and “MA.” When Ben Roesch ’01 started brew- they feel sick. Some people do not visit the clinic, ing after graduating with a forestry degree, he thinking they will get better, but that is not the was surprised to find no microbrewery in his case for either malaria or Ebola.” hometown of Worcester. Difficult as the work is, He relishes the chal- Sensing a need, Roesch began a conversation lenge and was pleased to meet two UMass alumni with Tom Oliveri ’88, an entrepreneur who had in The Gambia: fellow Peace Corps volunteer Ja- just folded an ice-cream shop next to his pub. Wormtown brewers son Alley ’11 and Gambian Peace Corps Coun- The two went into business together, converting Ben Roesch (left) try Director Leon Kayego ’95G, ’11. Kayego, who the former shop into a brewery gleaming with and Tom Oliveri. has 20 years of Peace Corps experience, is now giant silver fermentation tanks and bubbling with blow-off buckets. They set out to brew beers that Roesch describes as “flavor- ful but not cloying, hoppy but not bitter, with a clean aftertaste.” With Roesch as the brewmaster, Oliveri runs the business side of the opera- tion and Peppercorn’s, the adjacent pub, which serves only craft beer on draft. Since Wormtown’s founding in 2010, the brew- ery has produced 70 differ- ent beers. A punk, home- brew spirit guides Roesch and Oliveri’s approach to their product: Wormtown’s beers are brewed in small batches of 300 gallons. This scale allows Roesch to ex- periment with everything from sour beers using wild yeast to a chocolate stout fla-

JOHN SOLEM vored with toasted coconut.

38 umass amherst The names of Wormtown’s brews have region- al origins: their top-selling “Be Hoppy” IPA, for instance, is named in honor of Worcester graphic designer Harvey Ball, who famously invented the Smiley Face in the 1960s… but didn’t copyright it. According to Oliveri, the rise of craft beers against a field of mass-produced macro-lagers like Miller and Budweiser comes from consumers’ increasing appreciation of quality, and their pride in knowing that local people create the product. “The beer has a story to tell,” says Roesch. “It’s not just a commodity.” —Laura Marjorie Miller

In Vino Veritas MAILE THIESEN

TJ Howell ’00G says it all in Latin. T.J. Howell ’00G (second from left) leads a lively Latin speaking group.

HERE’S SOMETHING new in the study of Tan ancient language and it’s going down on Thursday nights at the Amherst Brewing Com- pany. A jazz band plays, the after-work crowd Full Circle on the gathers at the bar, and at a long table around the corner a dozen people chat away—in Latin. Shoals The Latin table is part of a national pedagogi- cal movement, explains TJ Howell ’00G, a high Bringing new vision to a historic school Latin teacher in Belchertown, Massachu- ocean lab. setts. Howell has been conversing with graduate students from the small and tight-knit Master’s of ILDLIFE ECOLOGIST Jennifer Seavey Arts in Teaching program of the Department of W’09PhD is the new executive director of Classics weekly for several years. Other local clas- the Shoals Marine Laboratory (SML) on Ap- sics grads often join the table. Speaking in Latin pledore Island in the Isles of Shoals in the Gulf of rather than just reading it helps these students Maine. But she is not the first Seavey in the archi- and teachers internalize and master the language. pelago: generations ago, her forebear made his Without a time machine to whisk students fortune in codfish and gave his name to neigh- back to ancient Rome, there are few opportuni- boring Seavey Island. ties to hear or speak Latin outside the classroom. So did Jenn Seavey think it was fated when And, once graduate students begin teaching, she was invited to lead the laboratory? they are usually the only Latin speakers in their “Oh gosh, yes!” she laughs. schools; there’s no going down the hall to confer SML, a longtime collaboration between with colleagues. Cornell University and the University of New At the pub, much of the conversation is shop- Hampshire, is a residential campus dedicated to talk. Herb Holland ’98G discusses using scenes teaching field research to undergraduates using from Monsters Inc. to stimulate spoken Latin in an observation-based approach. “The classroom his Springfield, Massachusetts, classroom.Al - is the island,” says Seavey. In an era when much lyson Bunch ’14G recalls reaching for the Latin scientific research is based on data and technol- words for tartar sauce. And Howell shares an ogy, the deep value of a 24/7 field ecology site is apropos equivalent for the term “Internet troll.” that you note patterns of change and fluctuation It’s Latin’s longest word, subductisupercilicarptor, in the environment itself, she explains. a creature who nitpicks. The enclosed nature of an island helps stu- Observes Will Roundy ’16G, of Tacoma, dents focus on their independent studies: “For Washington, “You won’t find a table like this in undergraduates, it’s a time of discovery as well as many other places in the country.” self-discovery,” she says. —Patricia Sullivan SML is renowned for its bird research and its

spring 2015 39 UMass People

Seavey, at right, a new, even more collabora- among the rich tive vision for Shoals. Part of communities of an applied conservation class algae—some variet- for students can be creating ies are invasive—on model management plans for Appledore’s coast. neighboring islands and sur- rounding waters. A new sus- tainable fisheries course has students going out on lobster boats. Seavey intends to con- nect the lab with Appledore Island’s history as an art- ists’ colony, with residencies for writers and artists who want to create work on be- half of the ocean. Invoking the concept of consilience popular underwater research diving course, but made popular by biologist E.O. Wilson, she lauds the lab is also a living model of sustainability. The Shoals as an ideal location to create “a real, true 95-acre campus is completely powered by solar interdisciplinary marine science that is going to panels and a wind turbine. Every drop of fresh involve new ways of looking at coastal and ma- Treat yourself to something sweet. water comes from an underground reservoir that rine challenges.” is replenished by rain throughout the year. “The health of the oceans is the health of us,” Seavey, a specialist in coastal ecosystems and says Seavey. “Even if you don’t live on the ocean, Get a UMass License Plate. the effects of climate change, hopes to implement you are affected by it.” —Laura Marjorie Miller

Read and Submit Class Notes at UMassAlumni.com Show your UMass pride

Mervin Avants ’65 Virgin Islands during the 35 years. Based in Dan Hahn ’99 and Patrick Tully ’10 while supporting and his wife, Gail, have summer, and delivers Chantilly, Virginia, Sarah Benson ’02 joined the Macomb moved from Tampa to yachts worldwide during the employee-owned held their wedding County, Michigan, firm scholarships and programs. San Diego to be near the fall and spring. company provides reception at the UMass of Warner Norcross family. “Moving at age test and evaluation, Campus Center Hotel & Judd LLP as an 71 has been a grand David Colella ’75, systems engineering, on November 15. The attorney. adventure!” he writes. managing director of technical and managed couple met on the Order a plate today at The Colonnade Hotel services to government fourth floor lounge of Julia Curran ’12, Claudia Dengler- in Boston’s Back Bay, customers. Webster Hall in 1998 research associate www.massrmv.com Saltzman ’74 retired was inducted into and reconnected in at Takeda Oncology from a 30-year career the Massachusetts Gregory T. Skochko 2012. in Cambridge, as a health and human Restaurant Association’s ’97, of Albany, New Massachusetts, or visit your services executive. Hall of Fame. York, was awarded a Craig Cincotta received the WEST She spends her time fellowship from the ’01 is vice president (Women in the MassDOT RMV branch teaching sailing through Peter L. Smith ’80 New York Foundation for communication Enterprise of Science an American Sailing is the new president for the Arts in at Porch, a new and Technology) Giving Association school in and CEO of American sculpture. Only two Seattle-based home Back Award for women Minnesota during the Systems, where percent of applicants improvement network. who have made a winter, in the British he has worked for receive this award. profound impact on Don’t forget—special society. plate fees are tax-deductible! 40 umass amherst 800.456.UMASS Treat yourself to something sweet. Get a UMass License Plate.

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Don’t forget—special plate fees are tax-deductible! 800.456.UMASSspring 2015 41 Bookmarks

Cornelia Dorgan Independent Publishing Veenendaal ’46, An Platform). Astor’s busi- Argument of Roots ness manager sets the (BlazeVOX). The fourth record straight. collection of poetry by a former teacher of Carl Vigeland ’72G, literature and writing at former faculty, Jonathan UMass Boston. Sternberg (Tricorn). Bi- ography of the conductor Dennis Philip Huber ’53, and teacher. Return to Coronado (La Jolla Press). Love and loss Prabha Sinha ’74G, McNally against the backdrop of ’74PhD, The Power of the Korean War. Sales Analytics (ZS As- ’78 PhD sociates, Inc). Insight and Gerald D. McLellan ’57, strategies from thought On Highway 61: The Bully (iUniverse). leaders. Music, Race and Legal thriller about the inner-workings of a Donna Leon ’75G, My the Evolution of Massachusetts Probate Venice and Other Essays Cultural Freedom and Family Court. (Atlantic Monthly Press).

(Counterpoint Press) MILLMAN SUSANA Over 50 essays on Venice, Paul Theroux ’63, music, men, her family ’88Hon, Mr. Bones: Twen- history, and even her ty Stories (Houghton Mif- time at UMass. HITE AMERICA has always been intrigued and en- flin Harcourt). Theroux ticed—and often terrified—by the allure of black life writes, “The wickedest Jordi Herold and David and black music. Again and again some new strain of episodes of revelation can Sokol ’75, Positively black music has aroused the outrage of cultural conser- have the most innocent Center Street: My 25 Years vatives but won the hearts of young white Americans, beginnings.” at the Iron Horse Music Hall (Levellers Press). who absorbed what they could of it and did their best to emulate and add W David B. Axelrod ’65, The heart of the cultural their mite to it. Dennis McNally’s On Highway 61 argues that over the years Rusting: Ways to Keep renaissance at the legend- those white acolytes took the “moral critique of American society and cul- Living (Taylor & Seale). ary Northampton venue. ture” inherent in black music and expanded it into a wider “countervoice to “These poems are the the materialist mainstream of American thought,” one that sees “the essence closest I can come to David P. Miller ’76, a survival guide,” says The Afterimages Poems of the American idea as centering on the pursuit of freedom.” Axelrod. (Cervena Barva Press). McNally is particularly interested in the cultural and spiritual freedoms One reviewer calls these that led to “a widening of vision, a softening of the heart, and an increase in Dennis W. Magee ’68, poems “a deftly plotted tolerance” and inspired political activism. In tracing America’s pursuit of ’70G, Grasses of The magical spin.” those freedoms and its awareness of the challenges Northeast (University of Massachusetts Press). J.R. Greene ’77, B. V. and contradictions of the black presence in nation- A reference work, class- Brooks’ Pre-Quabbin Art, al life, he goes all the way back to Thoreau’s retreat room textbook, and field Photos, and Postcards to Walden Pond and his support of John Brown, manual. (Highland Press). A look and to Twain’s portrayal of Jim in Huckleberry Finn at the lost world of the Alice Macycove Perdue flooded Quabbin towns. and his love of minstrelsy (white America’s first ’68, In Brooke Astor’s crude attempt to tap into the joy of black music) Court (CreateSpace and spirituals. Thereafter McNally—author of an early biog- raphy of Jack Kerouac and a longtime, all-round Boswell for the Grateful Dead—concentrates on music. Those who like their musical categories Bookmarks includes a selected list traditional, neat, and hermetic may find him a of new works by alumni and faculty disconcerting guide as he merrily traces cross-pollinations among ragtime, jazz, folk music, rural and urban blues, pop music, rhythm and blues, and authors and musicians. To have rock and roll. your book or CD considered, contact As McNally sees it, all of this fructification ultimately led to the vast as- sault on “inherited assumptions about American culture on any number of [email protected]. levels” in the 1960s, a movement he sees as being apotheosized in the early work of Bob Dylan. If some readers might cock an eyebrow at that, no one can deny that On Highway 61 richly expands our appreciation of the dense gumbo of American culture. —John Sippel

42 umass amherst Gayle Lauradunn ’77G, Ann Karus Meeropol Essays, poems, and pho- Practices of the Sabbath in Pakistan by a finalist ’80EdD, Reaching for Air ’84G, ’92EdD, A Male tographs. (White Cloud Press). for the Orange Prize. (Mercury HeartLink). President for Mount Poetry about a child- Holyoke College: The Andrea Werblin ’88, Robin Varnum ’92EdD, Noah Eli Gordon ’99, hood in a landscape full Failed Fight to Maintain Sunday With the Sound Álvar Núñez Cabeza de ’04G, former faculty, of beauty, hardship, and Female Leadership, 1934- Turned Off (Lost Horse Vaca: American Trail- Fifteen Problems (above/ violence. 1937 (McFarland). Mary Press). Poetry about blazer (University of ground press). Illustrated Emma Woolley trans- neuroplasticity, extreme Oklahoma Press). Cabeza chapbook of poems Will Ryan ’81G, Gray’s formed Mount Holyoke landscapes, amateur de Vaca’s account of his about simple misfortunes. Sporting Journal’s Noble into an elite women's pastry-chef adventures, astonishing journey to Birds and Wiley Trout college. A struggle arose and stretch pants. the New World in 1528. Steve Himmer ’99, (Globe Pequot Press). over who would succeed Fram (Ig Publishing). How hunting and fishing her as president. Brett Russell Andrews Heather Greene ’93, Oscar and his partner evolved from subsistence ’89, Teaching Abroad: Whisk(e)y Distilled Alexi are sent on a secret activities to recreation. Holly Robinson ’84G, The People's Republic (Viking Studio). What a mission to the Arctic, Beach Plum Island (NAL of China (Brett Russell whiskey is, how to nose, which brings them into Kelly DuMar ’82, All Trade). A secret rapidly Andrews). Cross-cultural how to start a collection, a mysterious tangle of These Cures (Lit House unravels the very fabric exchanges and teaching and how to enjoy. espionage. Press). Poems that ad- of a family. experiences. dress the questions that Edward O. Wilson Ousmane Power-Greene come from looking back. Glenn Arthur Pierce Trish Crapo ’89G, ’93Hon, The Meaning ’99G, ’06G, ’07PhD, ’85, Naming Rites: A Dune Shack (Collective of Human Existence Against Wind and Tide: Richard Sobel ’82EdD Biographical History of Copies). The author’s (Liveright). What makes The African American and Brett Donham, The North American Team sojourn at the Margo human beings supremely Struggle Against the Politics of Joint University Names (CreateSpace Gelb Shack on Cape Cod, different from all other Colonization Movement and Community Housing Independent Publishing an artist’s residency built species? (NYU Press). Development; Cambridge, Platform). The stories of in the 1940s, now part of Boston, and Beyond 3,000 major league, col- the Cape Cod National Michael O’Neill ’95, The Tamar Carroll ’00, Mo- (Lexington Books). For lege, and semi-pro teams. Seashore. Best Bar Trivia Book Ever bilizing New York: AIDS, community, university, (Adams Media). All you Antipoverty and Feminist and other urban groups. Russell S. Powell ’86, Tim Johnston ’90, need to know for pub Activism (University of Apples of New England: A Descent (Algonquin quiz domination. North Carolina Press). Gillian Conoley ’83G, User's Guide (Country- Books). A well-crafted Carroll, who teaches Peace (Omnidawn). man Press). Practical thriller that has garnered Frances Crowe ’96Hon, history at the Rochester A compassionate and advice on more than 200 multiple rave reviews. Finding My Radical Soul Institute of Technology, coherent plea for con- varieties of apples. (Haleys). Memoir of the examines three intercon- temporary humanity to John Nimmo ’92EdD 95-year-old antiwar and nected case studies. accept the principles of David Rowinski ’86, (with co-authors Louise antinuclear activist. love and nonviolence. The Book of Comple- Derman-Sparks and Dan Chelotti ’01, ’06G, ments (Inkbeans Press). Debbie LeeKeenan), Daniel Hales ’98G, Tem- faculty, Privacy Policy: Joe Gannon ’84, Night A graphic myth about Leading Anti-Bias Early po Maps (Ixnay Press). A The Anthology of Surveil- of the Jaguar (Mino- the delicate balance of Childhood Programs: A multimedia mixture lance Poetics (Black taur Books). A former elements and the dev- Guide to Change ( Teach- of free verse and prose Ocean). An expansive Sandinista guerrilla astation wrought when ers College Press). poetry about music. exploration of the indi- comandante turned cop equilibrium is upset. vidual, information, and investigates a series of Sara Schley ’92G, Secrets Kamila Shamsie ’98G, how we are watched. murders that appear to Jen Payne ’88, Look Up! of the 7th Day: How Ev- A God in Every Stone be political executions. Musings on the Nature eryone Can Find Renewal (Atavist Books). Criti- David Lucander ’06G, of Mindfulness (Three Through the Wisdom and cally acclaimed novel set ’10PhD, For Jobs and Chairs Publishing). Freedom: Selected

spring 2015 43 Bookmarks

Speeches and Writings workers, the workplace is Emily Monosson, Loretta Yarlow (editor), clarinet by Miklós Rózsa, of A. Philip Randolph increasingly unpredict- faculty, Unnatural Du Bois in Our Time in which Johnson steps (University of Massachu- able. Selection: How We Are (University of Massachu- into the spotlight. setts Press). Documents Changing Life, Gene by setts Press). Ten contem- that highlight the life and John J. Clayton, retired Gene (Island Press). porary artists explore the John Bottomley, faculty, work of the labor leader. faculty, Many Seconds How human’s drugs, legacy of Du Bois. tuba, and his brass quin- Into the Future: 10 Sto- pesticides, and pollution tet, Bala Brass, Revealed Andrew Morgan ’06G, ries/Modern Jewish Liter- are putting selection (Beauport Classical). Month of Big Hands ature and Culture ( Texas pressure on all species. Music Works by established and (Natural History Press). Tech University Press). rising, living composers. Much akin to the tattered Stories about questions Marilynne Robinson, Jean Johnson ’96 and diary of a lost soldier, of living, dying, loving, former faculty, Lila: A Steven Osborne, Brahms Ayano Kataoka, faculty, this prose poem is a type and worshipping. Novel (Farrar, Straus and & Rózsa: Clarinet recorded Paul Lansky’s of meditation. Giroux). A loner, Lila, Sonatas (Avie). Brahms' Threads with her percus- Harley Erdman, fac- stumbles upon a small- popular sonatas, paired sion quartet Time Travel- Christopher Vials ulty, “Nobody’s Girl” A town Iowa church after with the rarer sonatas for lers (Bridge Records). ’06PhD, Haunted by comedic play about the hard years roaming the Hitler (University of woman who became the countryside. Massachusetts Press) manager of Northamp- Examines anxieties about ton’s Academy of Music fascism in the United in the 1940s. States and how they have been expressed through Arthur Kinney, faculty, American media. Renaissance Reflections (University of Massa- Luke B. Goebel ’10G, chusetts Press). Topics former faculty, Fourteen that have interested SHOW YOUR Stories, None of Them Are and provoked Kinney Yours: A Novel (Fiction throughout his career. Collective Two). Stories UMASS PRIDE of heartbroken psychedel- Bruce Laurie, retired ic cowboys on the brink. faculty, Rebels in Paradise (University Aimee E. Newell ’10PhD, of Massachusetts A Stitch in Time: The Press). The story Needlework of Aging of Northampton’s Women in Antebellum abolitionists and their America (Ohio University involvement with the Press). Considers how Underground Railroad. middle-class American women experienced the Guenter Lewy, retired aging process. faculty, Outlawing Genocide Denial: The Janelle Cornwell ’11PhD, Dilemmas of Official Michael Johnson ’89 Historical Truth (The and Adam Trott ’03, ’04 University of Utah Press). with Julie Graham ’98, Does outlawing genocide Building Co-operative denial allow governments Power: Stories and to dictate how events Strategies from Worker should be interpreted? Co-operatives in the Valley Charles C. Manz, faculty, (Levellers Press). Share, Don’t Take the Lead: Leadership Les- John Bracey, faculty, sons from 21 Vanguard James Smethurst, fac- Organizations (Informa- ulty, SOS – Calling All tion Age). Black People (University Shop UMass University Store of Massachusetts Press). Gerald McFarland, Key writings from the retired faculty, What for the latest Minutemen gear Black Arts Movement of the Owl Saw (Sunstone the 1960s and 1970s. Press). The second in the Buenaventura series Dan Clawson and Naomi opens with a terrifying UMASS UNIVERSITY STORE Gerstel, faculty, Unequal nightmare that fills Don Time (Russell Sage Foun- Carlos Buenaventura 1 Campus Center Way | shopumass.com dation). For health care with dread.

44 umass amherst Back in the Day

The Hatch Closes Its green vinyl banquettes are a memory.

HE HARD-WORKING Hatch has the “Ed Sullivan Show.” served its last hamburg, 57 years “I stopped to greet some after it opened in the gleaming friends and I Saw Her new Student Union in 1957. The Standing There came on basement cafeteria was named The the jukebox. When the Beatles got to the ‘oooh’ The Hatch was THatchet & Pipe during the Redmen era, with part, every voice in the place spontaneously the social heart of restrooms for “braves” and “squaws,” but from the joined in. I think it was the most unity I ever felt campus in the 1950s start it was known to all as the Hatch. with a group (other than at football games) (above) and 1960s With enrollment booming in the until that time.” (below). late 1950s, card playing was banned Englander’s son, David Eng- in the Hatch during the noon hour lander ’95, recalls the Hatch of to keep tables open. The most three decades later: “In the early popular foods in those days were ’90s, calzones had come into doughnuts and blueberry muf- vogue; but they were five dollars fins for breakfast, and for lunch in town, and more if you wanted three-ounce hamburgers that cost them delivered. The Hatch, a quarter, chocolate brownies, and though, somehow provided ample cake. Lemonade was the top-selling side dishes—fries and roasted pota- drink in warm weather and coffee in toes—at a fraction of the cost.” cold. The Hatch closed for good in September Judith Englander ’65 recalls a scene in the when the expanded Blue Wall eatery opened in Hatch soon after the Beatles 1964 appearance on the Campus Center. —Patricia Sullivan UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES

spring 2015 45 In Memoriam

Gloria (Marchioni) Foley ’49, Henry Mosychuk ’55, Glenn Dorin Zohner ’63PhD, H. Daniel McFarland ’71, 1930s 10/11/2014, Creedmoor, NC 8/28/2014, Dedham 9/18/2014, Waterville, ME 8/1/2014, Plano, TX Milton Baron ’34S, Daniel S. Greenfield ’49, Jerry B. Sherman ’55, Thomas W. Foss Jr. ’64S, Dennis P. Moulton ’71, 9/6/2014, Haslett, MI 7/4/2012, Lake Worth, FL 7/13/2014, Greer, SC 10/26/2014, 8/1/2014, Centerville Randolph P. Morse ’35S, James M. Smith Jr. ’49, Anthony M. Romano ’56, Old Orchard Beach, ME Jacqueline C. (Levesque) 10/19/2014, Brentwood, NH 8/4/2014, West Springfield 10/22/2014, Fitchburg Timothy F. Nevils ’64, Amicone ’72, Louis I. Winokur ’35, Paul D. Stenard ’49, Richard E. Campagnoni ’57, 10/25/2014, Stuart, FL 10/15/2014, Goshen, CT 11/12/2014, Boca Raton, FL 9/21/2014, Wallingford, CT 10/1/2014, Bedford, NH Karen A. Reilly ’64, David E. Bara ’72, Robert E. Couhig ’37, John S. Perlowski ’57, 8/5/2014, Plainville 10/12/2014, South Hadley 5/29/2014, Baton Rouge, LA 10/6/2014, Kennebunk, ME Brien W. Anderson ’65G, Bruce C. Bergendahl ’72, Willard H. Boynton ’38, 1950s Robert L. Perry ’57S, ’71EdD, 11/4/2014, Florence 10/18/2012, Auburn, ME 8/3/2014, 9/10/2014, Rockport Philip R. Hatch ’65, Carole-Ann (Weeman) Monhegan Island, ME Arthur Cory Bardwell ’50, Erik Schutz ’57S, 10/5/2014, Lake Worth, FL Burgess ’72, Elaine (Milkey) Gregory ’38, 10/2/2014, Hatfield 10/11/2014, Sheffield Robert D. Merrifield ’65G, 9/8/2014, Newburyport 8/25/2014, Reston, VA Emerson H. Chandler ’50, William D. Thayer ’57, ’67G, 11/12/2014, Duxbury Quinn P. Centola ’72, Myron H. Kollen ’38G, 9/17/2014, Berlin 10/29/2014, David G. Briggs ’66, 11/7/2014, Watertown 6/21/2014, Vicksburg, MI Irvin Doress ’50G, Mount Vernon, IN 7/26/2014, Redmond, WA Richard J. Duggan ’72, Dorothy (Decatur) Dwyer ’39, 9/8/2014, Wenham Robert L. Larson ’58, James A. Gagnon ’66, 9/3/2012, Enfield, CT 7/31/2014, Needham John A. Rikert ’50, 9/3/2014, Harwichport 9/4/2014, Palm Coast, FL Mabel R. Garis ’72, 10/5/2014, Darien, CT Arthur R. Lowden ’58, Thomas H. Hofmann ’66, 10/17/2014, Amherst Alphonse Strachocki ’50, 8/22/2014, Ipswich 8/4/2014, Hampton, NH Paul J. Gradowski ’72, 9/24/2014, Rockville, MD Bruce B. Dickinson ’59, Emmanuel J. Kolemba ’66, 8/4/2014, Rutland 1940s Gordon O. Williams ’50S, 9/2/2014, Murray, UT 8/5/2014, Florence Eric S. Lundquist ’72, Morris H. Burakoff ’40, 10/12/2014, North Hatfield William F. Knight ’59S, Anthony S. Mahar ’66G, 9/5/2014, Andover 3/6/2013, North Andover Ronald T. York ’50, 8/14/2014, Blue Bell, PA 10/30/2014, Thomas L. May ’72, ’75G, Foster C. Kay ’40, 10/26/2014, Alfons Joseph Korzan ’59, University Place, WA 7/3/2014, Lithia, FL 11/3/2014, Charlotte, NC Altamonte Springs, FL 10/19/2014, Aztec, NM Richard N. Pemble ’66S, Janet (Mitchell) Piateski ’72, Charles A. Powers ’40, Warren J. Alberts ’51, Lawrence D. Sangermano ’59, 8/28/2014, Asbury Park, NJ 7/28/2014, Damascus, MD 10/22/2014, Hyannis Port 11/4/2014, Chestnut Hill 9/9/2014, Cincinnati, OH Browning C. Wharton ’66, William L. Reddy ’72S, Sarah L. (Nielsen) Schenker Winthrop T. Anderson ’51, Stephen E. Swicker ’59, 9/26/2014, Poquoson, VA 11/26/2014, Greenacres, FL ’42, 9/24/2014, Freedom, NH 9/27/2014, Buckland 8/2/2014, Portland, ME Parker J. Winchester ’66, Bruce Bernstein ’73, Marguerite E. Stacy ’42S, John Coolidge Jr. ’51, 9/7/2014, 10/11/2014, Duxbury 8/4/2014, Newburyport 8/13/2013, East Longmeadow Point Pleasant Beach, NJ Timothy F. Bowler ’73S, Esther Jane (Smith) Davis ’43, Henry J. Fellows ’51, 1960s Susan J. Glesmann ’67, 11/6/2014, South Hadley 10/30/2014, West Burke, VT 8/14/2014, Chester, CT 10/11/2014, Conifer, CO Oliver W. Lancaster ’73EdD, John J. Devine ’43S, Harold P. Hatch ’51, Martha (Trask) Appleby ’60, Geoffrey P. Moran ’67G, 3/22/2014, Silver Spring, MD 3/10/2013, Melrose 11/19/2014, Conway 7/22/2011, 9/17/2014, Marion Robert D. Malloch ’73, ’75G, June M. (Kenny) O’Brien ’43, Robert E. Leventhal ’51, New Cumberland, PA Michael F. Sullivan ’67, 2/23/2011, Delmar, NY 8/25/2014, Sudbury 1/10/2013, Alpharetta, GA John K. Brewer ’60, 10/31/2014, Portsmouth, NH Esther M. Morris ’73, Alice K. (Monk) Shepard ’43, Richard J. Quinton ’51, 8/23/2013, W. Norman Vercoe ’67G, 9/11/2014, Greenfield 8/8/2014, Atlantic Beach, FL 6/22/2014, Forest, VA North Kingstown, RI 11/13/2014, Montpelier, VT Joseph S. Nicastro ’73EdD, Norma (Holmberg) Simard Roger B. Thompson ’48S, ’51, Donna (Mitchell) Craig ’60, James A. Doyle ’68G, 11/6/2014, Quincy ’43, 9/29/2014, Auburn, ME 8/11/2014, South Hamilton 8/24/2014, Easthampton 8/3/2014, Quincy Robert A. Plante ’73, William J. Hart Jr. ’44, 47G, Varnum J. Abbott Jr. ’52, Arnold E. Noyes ’60, William W. Frost Jr. ’68, 9/24/2014, Oak Bluffs 7/29/2014, Redding, CT 11/7/2014, Northampton 9/4/2014, West Barnstable 10/25/2014, Plattsburgh, NY George N. Small ’73, Norma (Magidson) Barowsky Gladys M. (Kimball) Cande Richard T. Schadlick ’60, Ellen (Baer) Galvin ’68G, 9/10/2013, Alpharetta, GA ’45, ’74, 8/5/2014, ’50S, ’52, 10/22/2014, Dalton 10/25/2014, North Andover 11/18/2014, Truro Glenn M. Barnhard ’74, Miami Beach, FL Paul D. Duval ’52, ’55G, David S. Wentworth ’60, John P. McCarthy ’68, 10/24/2014, Fairfield, CT Doris (Roberts) Entwisle ’45, 9/14/2014, Sanibel, FL 7/1/2014, Los Angeles, CA 9/1/2014, Cambridge Arnold V. Kendall ’74, 11/12/2013, Towson, MD David A. Sena ’52, Philip G. Cochran ’61, Eleanor N. Garber ’69G, 2/9/2013, Chicago, IL Mary (Petersen) McGill ’46, 8/18/2014, 9/20/2014, Winchendon 1/8/2013, Worcester David P. Lake ’74, 11/14/2014, Jacksonville, FL Colorado Springs, CO Richard T. Fitzgerald ’61, Emily L. Jahn ’69G, 3/29/2014, Charles Nirenberg ’46, ’94H, Emery T. Stokes ’52, 8/1/2014, Venice, FL 8/29/2014, Pittsfield Gilmanton Iron Works, NH 11/11/2014, Suffield, CT 8/2/2014, Freedom, NH Frank F. Galloni ’61, James E. Keurulainen ’69, Leonard K. Lockley ’74EdD, Milton R. Bass ’47, Henry F. Kabat ’53S, 9/25/2014, Westbrook, CT 10/29/2014, Dedham 10/6/2014, Springfield 10/14/2014, Richmond 8/21/2014, Florence Sondra (Cary) Geoffrion ’61, Arthur F. Leuschner ’69, ’71G, Cheryl L. McIntosh ’74, Warren I. Johansson ’47, Gilbert S. Lopes ’53, 8/30/2014, Goleta, CA 9/16/2014, Williamsburg 8/17/2014, Norwood ’55PhD, 11/4/2014, Garden City, SC Guenther H. Ressel ’61, Katherine (Diemand) Passig 8/28/2014, Petersham Roland G. Allenby ’54S, 9/15/2014, Tucson, AZ ’74, 10/4/2014, John C. Papageorge ’47, 5/21/2014, Falmouth Lois A. (Burgess) Alger ’62, 1970s Newington, CT 10/8/2014, Hadley Philip J. Burne ’54, 9/30/2014, Milan, NH Paul E. Reade ’74, Jeannette (Cynarski) Hilyard 9/9/2014, Melrose Kenneth D. Johnson ’62, David B. Gmyrek ’70, 11/3/2014, Braintree ’48, 11/22/2014, Chicopee Frank E. Lamphier ’54S, 10/15/2014, Athens, GA 11/24/2014, Hinsdale Richard H. Smith ’74, Milton M. Kaplan ’48, ’49G, 9/24/2014, Morrisville, VT Kenneth E. Morrell Jr. ’63G, David H. Goff ’70, ’72G, 10/30/2014, Pittsfield 11/21/2014, Longmeadow Joseph R. Rogers ’54, 7/16/2014, 9/30/2014, Brian G. Spratt ’74, 2012, Daniel C. Towse ’48S, 3/11/2014, Amherst Colorado Springs, CO Saint Augustine, FL Whitinsville 6/14/2014, Stoneham Gerald A. Chrusciel ’55, John F. Prior ’63, Floyd W. Peterson ’70G, Donald P. Collins ’75, ’78G, Cornelius Bulman ’49, 11/7/2014, Newtown, CT 4/1/2014, Chicago, IL ’72PhD, 9/16/2014, Holyoke 10/5/2014, Stow, OH Gretchen (Myers) Johnson Carol (Roche) Virostek ’63, 6/30/2014, Berlin, Germany Richard J. Cote ’75, ’55, 8/7/2014, Springfield 9/16/2014, Berlin, CT Anne (Perrone) Buckler ’71, 8/10/2013, Ocala, FL 9/1/2014, Chesterfield, MO Bernard L. Frye ’75, William J. Carty ’71, 8/22/2014, Springfield 10/23/2014, Corolla, NC Christine E. (Bachand) Carl D. Erdmann ’71, Hancock ’75, 2/28/2014, Brighton 8/8/2014, Shrewsbury Read and submit Class Notes at David John Goldin ’71, James J. Jackowski ’75, 8/28/2014, Pelham 9/22/2014, Hatfield UMassAlumni.com Frederick C. Kelley ’71S, Terri Priest ’75, ’77G, 2/10/2014, Shelburne Falls 9/13/2014, Worcester

46 umass amherst Stephen E. Ryan ’75, ’79G, Stephen R. Callahan ’78, Donna (Burbank) Timothy W. Medrek ’90, Douglas T. Sayers ’08, 11/11/2014, Brewster 9/11/2014, Bealeton, VA Wertheimer ’83, 9/4/2014, Pepperell 8/7/2014, Haverhill James H. Turk ’75EdD, Nancy A. Gardner ’78, 1/26/2013, South Deerfield Susan R. Southmayd ’90, Wade D. Lavigne ’09G, 6/13/2014, Wilmington, NC 10/2/2014, East Lansing, MI Bruce W. Randall ’84, 8/25/2014, Hollywood, FL 11/21/2014, Deerfield Stephen E. Abbott ’76, John M. Paulding ’78, 9/14/2014, Longmeadow Lisa (Papitto) Joseph ’91, Dawnn Jaffier ’10, 8/23/2014, Summerville, SC 6/28/2013, San Francisco, CA Maurice A. Howe ’85EdD, 8/6/2014, Hopkinton 8/23/2014, Brighton Lillian D. Anthony ’76EdD, John P. Dowling ’79, 8/1/2014, Hadley Ian E. Torres ’91, Lari Ketner ’14, 6/26/2014, Louisville, KY 12/16/2012, Sonya R. Hawkins ’86, 10/31/2014, 10/10/2014, Indianapolis, IN Stephen S. Brody ’76, San Francisco, CA 9/27/2014, Belchertown Fort Lauderdale, FL Hannah B. Frilot ’15, 8/1/2014, Los Gatos, CA Thomas F. Duquette ’79, Michael F. O’Dea ’86, Patrick E. Killay ’96, 7/31/2014, Amherst Don S. Christopher ’76, 8/2/2014, 8/2/2014, Florence 10/4/2014, Athol Connor Graham ’15, 2/3/2014, Ponchatoula, LA Pine Mountain Club, CA Robert W. Wilson ’86, James M. McGee ’96S, ’97, 8/2/2014, Lenox Sandra M. (Zarrella) Devine Patricia W. Sullivan-Mullin 10/1/2014, Enfield, CT 6/27/2014, Stamford, CT ’76, 11/13/2014, Attleboro ’79, 3/3/2013, West Roxbury Leslie K. Arriola ’87G, ’93PhD, Peter T. Rodis ’96G, ’00PhD, Thomas J. Flaherty ’76, Esther M. Thompson ’79, 9/20/2014, Amherst 9/22/2014, Sharon, VT Faculty 10/19/2012, Wakefield 7/4/2013, Compton, CA Anthony L. Bruno ’87G, Christopher M. Pepe ’98, Richard P. Guenette ’76, Lee R. Whitlock ’79, 4/6/2014, Revere 9/28/2014, Franklin Gerard Braunthal, 7/28/2013, Northampton 7/14/2014, Sarasota, FL Eric M. Margid ’87, Paul B. Sibley ’98, ’08G, 10/26/2014, Amherst Ernest F. Jenkins ’76, 5/13/2013, Somerville 10/3/2014, East Longmeadow Richard M. Bunker, 9/10/2014, Westford Charles S. Russell ’85S, ’87, 10/19/2014, Pelham Andrew G. Jowdy ’76, 1980s 10/25/2014, Holyoke Warren I. Johansson ’47, 6/4/2014, Lorene M. Birden ’88G, 2000s ’55PhD, Moultonborough, NH Reuben A. Cohen ’80, ’93PhD, 8/28/2014, Petersham Ann M. McCarte ’76, 8/29/2014, 1/11/2013, Dijon, France Julie L. Cunningham ’03, Robert L. Larson ’58, 9/17/2014, Lexington, KY Sheperdstown, WV Barry A. Kittler ’88, 7/24/2014, Methuen 9/3/2014, Harwich Thomas C. Woodworth ’76, Catherine J. (Demos) Rogers 10/1/2014, Cheshire James W. Foley ’03G, Elizabeth H. Mazzocco, 11/18/2014, Loganville, GA ’80, 7/14/2014, Concord Peter E. Bell ’89, 8/19/2014, Rochester, NH 9/24/2014, Amherst William L. Bullivant ’77, V. Pauline Curry ’81, ’99G, 8/13/2014, Pittsfield William J. O’Donnell ’03, John R. Nambu, 10/29/2014, McCalla, AL 11/16/2014, Westfield Jeffry W. Blanchard ’89, 11/5/2014, Hampden 10/15/2014, Abbie S. (Ullian) Corey ’77, Then T. Liu ’81G, 11/2/2014, Boston Jesse P. Turner ’03, Hermosa Beach, CA 11/15/2014, North Easton 6/15/2013, Campbell, CA Lee-Anne Jackson ’89G, 10/18/2014, Randolph Peter Park, Marshall J. Fine ’77, Stuart A. Pennels ’81, 10/10/2014, Ambler, PA Stephen G. Wortley ’03, 2014, Boulder, CO 8/21/2014, Memphis, TN 9/4/2014, Portland, ME 8/9/2014, Pawtucket, RI Robert A. Shanley, Paul J. Lamy ’77, John T. Zaffiro ’81, Ojae Michal L. Beale ’05, 11/23/2014, Longmeadow 1/13/2013, Westford 8/25/2014, Lexington 1990s 10/15/2014, Philadelphia Ruth A. Smith, Ernest A. McNeill ’77EdD, Brian C. Delaney ’83, Sean J. Bevan ’06, 9/6/2014, Orleans 9/21/2014, Fayetteville, NC 7/14/2014, Scarborough, ME Tamara E. (Cheyette) 2/27/2010, Holyoke W. Norman Vercoe ’67G, Clifford W. Turcotte ’77, Tim Lindop ’83, Cheyette-Cohen ’90, Dylan P. Connelly ’06, 11/13/2014, Montpelier, VT 11/6/2014, Agawam 8/23/2014, Greenfield 11/20/2014, 7/19/2013, Harvard West Hartford, CT JOHN SOLEM

spring 2015 47 POSTCODE 1186: Istanbul, Turkey

bassadorial Scholarship in 2002. I was selected and sent to Moscow State University for one aca- Speak From the demic year where I taught US history and studied Russian. My first lecture as a history instructor in Heart Moscow was a defining moment in tolerance and perspective. I thought my opening remarks were In Russian, Kazakh, Uzbek, and Turkish rational, clear, and devoid of hubris. Choosing what I believed were well-established facts, I set By Dana Abizaid ’95 out to state humbly in one sentence the objective for our course. HOREAU WROTE, “The universe “In this concise history of the is wider than our views of it.” The we will explore the historical events behind lessons I learned in Amherst helped America’s rise as the most militarily and eco- me realize the truth in this. These nomically powerful nation in the world.” were human lessons that tran- A hand immediately went up. I asked the Tscended culture and boundaries and were the young man to state his name and make his com- product of the spirit of tolerance and perspective ment. His name was Victor and he said I had I gained from a diverse student body and faculty. made a mistake. The United States was not the In particular, I clearly remember my first his- most militarily powerful nation in the world. tory course, African American Slavery, freshman “Which nation is?” I asked. Dana Abizaid year with Professor William Strickland. Profes- “Russia.” sor Strickland opened to me a history that was A silence fell over the hall as I took a deep either hidden by or unknown to my high school breath before responding. I told Victor and the teachers. His course inspired me to study other students that difference of opinion, dissent, and important people, stories, and parts of the world the exchange of ideas were vital parts of histori- that are too often neglected. cal study and that our class would be a forum for While working with a host of unique charac- such expression. Nonetheless, I had blundered and ters in Kazakhstan, Russia, China, Tajikistan, Kyr- knew it. Although embarrassed and frustrated by gyzstan, and Turkey over the past 16 years, I have my mistake, I remembered an important lesson I built on what I learned in Professor Strickland’s had learned from my peers at UMass: people are course about respecting others’ views, keeping proud of their nation, culture, language, and tradi- an open mind, and understanding that western tions and not everybody is open to what many solutions are not infallible. Although my work has perceive as the westernization of the world. focused on education, media, I carried this lesson with me to Chinese Agri- and democracy development, cultural University, up into the Pamir Mountains it is the personal relationships in Tajikistan as a National Security Education forged with people from vary- Program Fellow, and into the Kazakh and Kyrgyz ing religious, ethnic, and socio- steppe as regional program officer for Internews economic backgrounds that I Network. I recall it often at the Istanbul Inter- value most. national Community School where I currently My first significant inter- teach history. Our school’s International Bacca- national experience was as a laureate mission statement embodies many of the US Peace Corps volunteer in same values I first encountered at UMass, en- Kazakhstan from 1998 to 2000. couraging “students across the world to become When I came to Amherst in active, compassionate, and lifelong learners who 1991 Kazakhstan was still part understand that other people, with their differ- of the Soviet Union and I imag- ences, can also be right.” ine few faculty or students could This vital and recurring lesson has inspired THOMAS SHEARD have pointed out the Kazakh me to learn Russian, Kazakh, Uzbek, and now Soviet Socialist Republic on a Turkish. A Chinese proverb says, “If you talk to map. Nevertheless, less than a decade later I had a man in a language he understands, that goes finished a two-year tour of service in a southern to his head. If you talk to him in his language, Kazakhstan village, learned Russian, and mar- that goes to his heart.” ried a Kazakh woman. To learn more about the With a little tolerance and some perspective it former Soviet world, I applied for a Rotary Am- is not difficult to speak to people’s hearts.

48 umass amherst University Dancers Soar

Acclaimed choreographer John Heginbotham came to campus in the fall semester to work with the University Dancers on his piece "Manhattan Research," which they performed at Bowker Auditorium in December. JOSHUA SUGIYAMA JOSHUA

Located in the heart of the picturesque Stay in UMass Amherst Campus, the Heart Hotel UMass blends the of the excitement of campus life Campus with a tranquil, countryside escape making it the ideal destination for your next trip to the Pioneer Valley. Whether you’re staying for business or leisure, Hotel UMass has first-class accommodations and services tailored to your needs. Voted #1 Hotel in Amherst by TripAdvisor, book your room today!

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Estate Gift Creates Opportunities

OHN F. O’CONNELL JR. ’69, ’72MBA and his wife, Donna, Jhave made a number of gifts to establish undergraduate scholarships for Norwood High School graduates attending UMass Amherst. John, a native of Norwood, Mass., cites his lasting apprecia- tion for the scholarships he received when he attended UMass Amherst as the primary reason for returning the favor. John says that his experience at UMass Amherst prepared him well for a successful business career. He retired this year as president of a large Dallas-based firm that produced expositions, trade shows, and conventions. John and Donna have also made a very generous planned gift that creates the John F. O’Connell and Margaret P. O’Connell Endowed Memorial Scholarship Fund, named after his parents. “I have done very well and I just wanted to leave behind opportunities, especially for first generation college-bound students from Norwood,” says John. He noted that his $500 annual scholarship back when tuition was $1,200 a year was a “life saver” that made going to college possible. John and Donna now reside in Hawaii.

DAVID L. MOORE

To learn more about giving strategies that best meet your family’s needs, please contact Lawrence A. Osborn, JD, at the UMass Office of Planned Giving: (413) 545-2796 ([email protected]).