ALUMNI CONNECTION SPRING 2010 Bill's Bulletin The Alumni Connection is published two times n 2007, I joined more than 600 other per year by the Holyoke Community College educators in signing the American Alumni Office, Holyoke, Massachusetts, and is College & University Presidents' distributed without charge to alumni and friends I of HCC. Third-class postage is paid at Springfield, Climate Commitment, a document that Massachusetts. commits member institutions to the achievement of an 80 percent reduction Editor: JoAnne L. Rome in greenhouse gases by mid-century. I invite you to read the text at Contributors: www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org/ Joanna Brown, Joyce Desorcy '88, Gloria Lomax '75, Kathleen Moore, about/commitment. It is a blueprint for and JoAnne L. Rome action, which HCC is embracing. Design: Peter Hutchins, Litmus Designs It’s a tough time to make changes. Over the past few years, our state funding has Class Notes: News from alumni should be addressed to the been slashed by more than $4 million. Alumni Office, Holyoke Community College, But, by using American Recovery and 303 Homestead Avenue, Holyoke, MA 01040 or Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds, HCC has via email to [email protected]. been able to make one-time investments Letters: that will have long-term benefits for the Readers are invited to submit letters and stories HCC President William F. Messner environment and our financial health, concerning HCC and its alumni. Contact the including: alumni director by phone (413) 552-2253 or email: [email protected] (put “HCC Alumni Connection” in • Approximately $1 million to replace 40-year-old cooling towers with energy-efficient the subject line). towers that operate on 50% less horsepower. Class Notes/Change of Address: • More than $90,000 in energy efficient lighting. Please submit the reply form on page 15, or call • A major upgrade of the HCC website to enable it to serve as the primary repository the Alumni Office (413) 552-2704. for information that has traditionally been printed and mailed. 2009-2010 Alumni Council: President Gloria G. Lomax ‘75 Some of you may have heard of the Holyoke Community College Foundation, Inc. First Vice President Roadway project. The goals of the project are to increase safety and reduce congestion Gertrude E. Monson ‘97 on Homestead Avenue by creating a new entrance on Westfield Rd/Route 202. Secretary Marsha Ryan ‘70 Alumni Council Members: The foundation is working closely with the Natural Heritage and Endangered Joanna Brown, ex officio Species Program (NHESP), Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Holyoke Angela M. Belisle, R.N. ‘77 Conservation Commission (ConComm), and the City of Holyoke to produce an Laura L. Brennan ‘79 environmentally sensitive design that protects adjacent woodlands and vernal pools. Carol Bright ‘75 Dawn R. Bryden ‘89 Carrie Buckner ‘77 In addition to a commitment to green practices, HCC now offers both Sustainability Cleveland Burton '86 Studies degree options and green workforce training opportunities. As you read this Eddie Corbin ‘68 edition of the Alumni Connection, I think you’ll see that HCC’s commitment to this Geraldo Cotton ‘06 issue didn’t begin yesterday—and stretches far into a future that will be made better by Geoff Croteau ‘99 our efforts today. Margaret DeJesus ‘90 Joyce D. Desorcy ‘88 Serena Fuller '77 I want to close by announcing a program beginning fall 2010 that will enable HCC Gail Indyk '85 students, staff, and alumni to earn a BA from Elms College, while fulfilling the majority Diane Lessard '06 of their degree requirements at HCC. There is a long history of collaboration between Elizabeth A. Murphy ‘74 Elms and HCC, and we look forward to working together to provide a quality education Mark Olier ‘05 that is convenient and affordable. Shawn Robinson ‘05 James Sheehan ‘74 Sincerely, Rhonda Soto ‘97 Nancy Spagnoli '83 Karen Thompson-Brown ‘04 Vandelyn T. Wright ’83 William F. Messner Alumni Connection 2 Spring 2010 Letter from the Alumni Relations Director Dear alumni, find out how efficient it is. Substantial his issue focuses on the theme rebates are available this year for of sustainability. In the 40 years Energy Star rated furnaces and central Tsince the first Earth Day in April air conditioning. Inexpensive rope caulk 1970, many welcome changes have or weather stripping around windows taken place. Until the "bottle bill" was and doors and foam gaskets behind passed in 1982, I always had to side- electrical outlet plates will also reduce step broken glass on the shoulders of heating costs. Finally, be sure to check the road. These days, I rarely see broken your furnace filter monthly. glass on the roadside, as more people • Lighting accounts for 15% of average recycle glass bottles, paper, cardboard, utilities costs. Replace high-energy metal, and plastic. halogen or incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs, which use Other positive changes include: one fifth the energy and last up to ten • Families no longer burn garbage in open times longer. cans in back yards, as many once did. • Water heating accounts for 13% of an • The Connecticut River and many others, average home's utility costs. Run your are much cleaner than in decades past. hot water until it is up to its highest temperature, then fill a glass with it and • More people are reducing their use of test it with a kitchen thermometer. The pesticides and herbicides. Director of Alumni Relations Joanna Brown hot water temperature should be 120 • People are substituting low- degrees, maximum. If it is higher, turn I hope that you will enjoy reading this energy fluorescent for high-energy down the temperature setting on your issue and that you will find these hints incandescent bulbs. hot water heater. Also, install low-flow helpful. showerheads and run only full loads of • Local farmers' markets and community Sincerely, gardens are gaining in popularity. laundry, preferably with cold water. There is still much to be done. How can • Other ways to save energy (there are YOU reduce your carbon footprint and more on the www.energy.gov site): 1) Cover pots when cooking and also help to slow the growth of greenhouse Joanna Brown when storing food in the refrigerator gases? Let me share some suggestions Director of Alumni Relations (uncovered, refrigerated food generates that I have gleaned from websites such (413) 552-2253 moisture, which makes the refrigerator as www.energy.gov, the Department of [email protected] Energy site: compressor work harder). 2) Wash your dishes by hand, or run only a full • Start by having a free home energy dishwasher. 3) Hang out clothes to audit (in Massachusetts, visit www. dry, or in winter, hang them indoors masssave.com to get a free energy to generate needed moisture. 4) Use audit and see videos about money- public transportation, ride-share, walk, saving energy conserving tips, or call or ride a bicycle. 5) If you drive, keep (866) 527-7283. If you live outside of your tires properly inflated and engine Massachusetts, call your local electric, tuned, and combine trips to minimize gas, or utility company. driving. 6) Close blinds and drapes to • Heating and cooling account for 45% minimize heat loss in the winter and of an average home's utility costs. heat gain in the summer. 7) Shut the Installing a programmable thermostat doors and seal off heating and cooling to customize heat settings during ducts to unused rooms. 8) Experiment different time periods will result in a with wearing more layers of clothing 10-15% reduction in heating/cooling and lowering your thermostat in the costs (rebates for programmable winter. In the summer, open a window or thermostats are available in most turn on a fan, rather than running the states). If your furnace is 10 years old or air conditioning. 9) Avoid automatic car- older, consult with your fuel company to starters; an idling car gets zero mpg. Alumni Connection 3 Spring 2010 Getting to Green Green Pioneers continues to tweak her own abode. She ong before “green jobs” were a recently installed a radiant floor heating recognized career track, HCC system that uses water to heat the home. Lalums were staking their claims Another unit recaptures warmed air to to eco-friendly futures—in business, heat the water for her shower. Both government, and the arts. Recently, reduce her dependence on electricity. we asked some of these green pioneers how they turned their love of the “It’s what I love to do,” she says. “And, environment into a sustainable career. in a small way, it does reduce my carbon While their paths were strikingly footprint.” different, all of them share an ability to translate knowledge into action, and A Changing Career passion into purpose. Growing up in Springfield, Tom Orszack ’72, always thought it would be great to Keeping Things Natural get a job “working in the outdoors.” That Heather Ruel in her office at the U.S. Dept. As an HCC student, Eva Thomas, ’73, concept has changed considerably since of Fish and Wildlife never took a science class. Instead, he first arrived at HCC in the winter of the West Springfield native earned an 1970. Associate Degree in Liberal Arts and moved to California where she indulged “At first, I thought I’d become a game in her passions for the outdoors, organic warden,” says the retired Massachusetts gardening, and natural cooking. All of Department of Environmental Protection these interests seem to converge when administrator. “Then I saw how much she bought her first home. they made. I figured there’d have to be another agency where I could do some “When I started remodeling my own good work.” home, I brought it down to the studs, and I began experimenting with all of the Orszack found his launching pad in ways I could recycle and reuse materials,” 1974, when he began working for the says Eva, now an environmental building Springfield Conservation Commission.