SPRING 2014

The Dalai Lama Returns to Hunter Page 3

In This Issue: HUNTER AWARDS HONORARY DEGREE TO DALAI LAMA The Dalai Lama Comes addressed an audience of 600 — Chinese Americans, to Hunter 3 The President’s Perspective Tibetan Americans, scholars, artists, professionals, Photo: John Abbott Hunter Moves in with and others interested in China — about “Finding Weill Cornell 4 n a speech at the White House on January 9, President Obama called Hunter College “one of the best colleges in the Common Ground: Ethics in China.” country” (page 9). The articles in this edition of At Hunter showcase just a few of the people, programs, and projects Discussing the background of the Tibetan leader’s Theatre Department Ithat are capturing the attention of our city and nation and affirming the president’s high praise. visit, Hunter professor Peter Kwong (see article below), Gets a New Home 6 To begin with, Hunter’s expansion continues at a record pace. On pages 4-5, you can read about our newest said the Office of Tibet in New York had suggested that campus addition, the 4th floor of Weill Cornell Medical College’s new Belfer Hunter host the meetings so that “young people, Turning Public Scandal Research Building. Like all of our recent and forthcoming building projects especially young people of Chinese descent, might into Onstage Drama 7 – such as our $45 million privately funded library renovation and our joint come to understand what the Dalai Lama stands for.” venture with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to construct a spec- Professor Kwong accepted the suggestion enthu- Ike Reconsidered 8 tacular science and health-professions building on 74th Street – the Belfer siastically, he said, because of what he knew from his President Obama’s Shout- Building is about far more than increasing the size of the campus. In this case,  (l to r) Nessa Geffen ’11, Peter Geffen, Howard Rubenstein, Bobbie Frankfort, Patricia Demisch ’69, previous meetings with the Dalai Lama. Out to Hunter College 9 the added space will rapidly enhance Hunter’s partnership with Weill Cornell Wolfgang Demisch and Dean David Steiner congratulate the Dalai Lama on his honorary degree. “A lot of people are surprised to hear a religious and our critical role in bringing urgent, practical, “bench-to-bedside” medical leader say he doesn’t care whether you’re Christian Emily Braun on Building research and health care to New Yorkers. is Holiness the Dalai Lama, making his second honors include the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize, said that or Muslim,” Kwong said. “He is not about ‘my side a Great Art Collection 10 The arts at Hunter are growing as fast as the sciences. In addition to the  Students enjoying the visit to Hunter, received the honorary degree all those awards “do not make me more or less a per- extraordinary new home for our Studio Art MFA program at 205 Hudson newly renovated 3rd floor Hof Doctor of Humane Letters in recognition of son; I am simply this little monk.” But, he added, they Happenings at Hunter 12 Street in Tribeca, our Department of Theatre will finally have its own of Hunter’s main library his humanitarian work and to celebrate his lifelong are “expressions of recognition of my little service to Why Humans Live freestanding home right around the corner from the main campus, thanks to a $15 million gift from Hunter dedication to promoting peace around the world. He humanity, which gives me encouragement.” trustee and Theatre Advisory Board chair Patty Baker ’82 and her husband, Jay. The 26,000-square-foot building told a cheering audience of 2,000 — students, faculty, His commitment, he continued, “is to a promotion So Long 14 on East 67th Street that the Bakers have enabled us to purchase will provide essential new rehearsal, classroom, staff, alumni, and community leaders — that “all reli- of not hurting others, not bullying others, not cheat- Focusing a Lens and performance space (page 6). We have no doubt that it will pave the way for more theatrical projects like gions have the same potential to build inner peace and ing others, not exploiting others — because you have on Brooklyn 14 The Weiner Monologues, which was entirely written, directed, produced, designed, and performed by Hunter harmony in society” and that his “number one commit- a sense of their being.” Enlarging on his belief that students and faculty and which landed off-off-Broadway for a sold-out run (page 7). ment” was to “educate people that the ultimate source compassion and concern can bring about great practi- NYC’s Bikers are Hunter nurtures extraordinary artists among its students, alumni, and faculty alike — such as opera diva and of happiness is not money, not power, but compassion, cal changes in the world, he said, “We can bridge the Getting Better 15 Kennedy Center honoree Martina Arroyo (page 17) and award-winning filmmaker Kelly Anderson (page 14). But tolerance, and forgiveness.” gap between the Tibetan and the Chinese by making the College is an arts mecca not only because of our artists. There are also our art scholars and historians. A prime Presenting the honorary degree to the Dalai Lama, it personal; building personal-level friendships can The Lives of Animals 15 example is Professor Emily Braun, the curator behind Leonard Lauder’s Cubist collection, worth an estimated $1 Tibet’s head of state and spiritual leader, Hunter make it possible to discuss difficult situations.” billion, that he recently donated to the Met (page 10). And as we enter the next golden age of the arts at Hunter, president Jennifer J. Raab noted, “Your teachings Three Hunter students took part in the presenta- In Gerontology, Hunter  The Dalai Lama offers warm wishes to who better to inspire our newest graduates than former Hunter students Holland Cotter, chief New York Times art on ethics, nonviolence, religious harmony, and peace tion ceremony: David Ma, a psychology major born Hunter students (l to r) Victoria Lassen, Takes the Lead 16 critic, and Anne Pasternak, president and artistic director of Creative Time, New York’s leading commissioner and have made you one of the most revered figures in in Shanghai, who founded Hunter’s Entrepreneur Rigzin Kundo, David Ma and Bianca Malhotra Alumna Martina Arroyo: presenter of public arts projects (page 11)? the world today. Club; Rigzin Kundo, a psychology major planning to Hunter is flourishing in more corners of the city than ever before. In particular, we have become central to life “What you teach is near and dear to us at Hunter become a nurse, born in Nepal to parents from Tibet; versus your side.’ His message is about undermining Diva and Kennedy in East Harlem, where the Silberman School of Social Work works closely with grassroots organizations and with College,” she added, “because our motto is Mihi Cura and Bianca Malhotra, a student in Hunter’s Macaulay people’s rigidity, people’s unthinking attachment to Center Honoree 17 the Schools of Nursing, Education, Public Health and Arts and Sciences, as well as centers and institutions across Futuri — ‘The care of the future is mine’ — and the Honors College who plans to earn a law degree and is their own country, their own religion. This is a very Hunter Hall of Fame 18 the Hunter campus, to improve the health and welfare of the local community. In this At Hunter, we also focus on insights you give the world are very much about the the daughter of immigrants from India. disarming message, suggesting that people not think their vital contributions to supporting New York’s rapidly growing aging community, a dedication and success care of the future.” Earlier that day the Dalai Lama, who first visited in terms of abstractions but in terms of connections Class Notes 20 they share with our Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging (page 16). In his response, the Dalai Lama, whose many Hunter in 2010, spoke at the Kaye Playhouse. There he between individuals.” The reputation of Roosevelt House as a world-class think tank continues to grow. Its classes in public policy and In Memoriam 23 human rights are in great demand with students, and its public programs, like the fascinating conference on Presi- Meet Foundation Board dent Eisenhower (page 8), are attracting packed houses. Roosevelt House has also expanded to include the Institute Scholar AND Activist PETER KWONG Brings Dalai Lama to Hunter Member Don Capoccia 24 for Education Policy, led by School of Education Dean David Steiner and destined to become a national leader in K-20 education (page 16). Nearly every day, top scholars, authors, educators, activists, and policy leaders visit Roosevelt eter Kwong, the principal organizer of the Dalai organize a forum at Hunter where the Dalai Lama could House, as well as classrooms and gathering spaces across Hunter; a small handful are included in these pages. Lama’s two visits to Hunter, is a Distinguished meet with Chinese-American academics and others Perhaps no one inspired our students and the community as much as the Dalai Lama, now a two-time visitor and PProfessor of Asian American Studies and Urban interested in the China-Tibet issue. In 2011, following a recipient of a Hunter College honorary doctorate (page 3). As an example of all that we at Hunter strive to impart Affairs and Planning at Hunter. He is a pioneer in both the extraordinary success of that forum, the Tibetan to our students — a commitment to active citizenship, brave leadership, universal tolerance, and the simple notion fields, a leading scholar of immigration, and an award- government invited Kwong and his wife, the historian of giving back — he is a powerful symbol of the Hunter motto, Mihi Cura Futuri (“The Care of the Future Is Mine”), winning journalist and filmmaker. Dusanka Miscevic, and three other people to a private and the perfect person to adorn our cover. Because of Professor Kwong’s widely praised writing meeting with the Dalai Lama in India to discuss Tibet- on Chinese Americans and Chinese-Tibetan relations, China relations, Indo-Tibetan relations, and a wide as well as his human rights and social justice activism, range of philosophical and religious questions. The www.hunter.cuny.edu Follow me on Twitter @HunterPresident the Office of Tibet in New York asked him to help second forum at Hunter grew out of that audience.

2 3 A NEW ERA FOR HUNTER AS SCIENTISTS MOVE INTO WEILL CORNELL BUILDING

 Hunter physics professor Y.C Chen has The worked with Weill Cornell researchers on better imaging techniques for partnership examining the human eye. Photo: Carlos Rene Perez between a top public“ college Where the Science Is Going to Take Us and an Ivy League p A rendering of Hunter’s new state-of-the-art labs in the Belfer Building hat breakthroughs will emerge from university is some- Hunter’s name on the same building as Weill Cornell’s captured by the phrase “bench to bedside”— taking the the Belfer Building once Hunter thing that rarely, traces back to 2007, when Hunter’s School of Nursing findings from a laboratory study and applying them to Wscientists begin working with their and the Gene Center became part of the Weill Cornell- the treatment of a patient. counterparts from Weill Cornell Medical Col- if ever, happens. led Clinical and Translational Science Center (CTSC), This goal-oriented approach to scientific research lege? Based on the work that is already going on a grand partnership that brings together a vast array is fundamental to the new partnerships Hunter is through the Clinical and Translational Science of educational, medical, and scientific institutions on forging with great neighboring institutions like Weill Center (CTSC), the forecast is promising. Manhattan’s East Side. The CTSC has been so success- Cornell Medical College and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Consider the breakthrough that a partnership ful that the National Institutes of Health has cited it as Cancer Center. It is an approach full of promise for the between Hunter physics professor Y.C. Chen and a model for public-private research and has funded it shared goal of improving human health. Weill Cornell ophthalmologist Ronald H. Silverman — President Jennifer J. Raab with nearly $100 million through 2017. has produced. By combining Chen’s expertise in As the CTSC was emerging as a major research lasers with Silverman’s knowledge of ultrasound, p (l to r) Sanford I. Weill, chair of the Board of Overseers of Weill Cornell Medical College, this type has great potential for being integrated with organization, the ties between Hunter and Weill Cor- they developed a noninvasive device that vastly Dr. Laurie H. Glimscher, dean of Weill Cornell, and Hunter President Jennifer J. Raab unlock work at Weill Cornell and Memorial. Biologists” see nell were growing closer, ultimately leading to Hunter’s improves imaging of the human eye. With it, the doors of the new Belfer Building. Belfer as a place to explore the mechanisms of me- purchase of the floor in Belfer. It is a transaction both doctors will be able to detect early signs of macular tastasis in solid organ cancers — a common cause of schools warmly embrace. President Raab calls it “the degeneration, tumors, and other danger signals. n what is a truly transformative moment for the Col- Weill Cornell. Once there, they will collaborate with cancer-related deaths. Hunter biophysicists are inter- physical expression of the long-standing relationship Consider, too, the exciting possibilities of an lege, a group of Hunter scientists is preparing to leave their Weill Cornell counterparts in taking on some of ested in advancing the technologies and applications between our two institutions.” app that psychology professor Tracy Dennis and Ioutdated labs in a building that dates back to 1939 and the world’s most daunting health challenges, includ- of biomedical imaging for the early detection and Dr. Laurie H. Glimcher, the Stephen and Suzanne her research team have developed to help preg- move into a state-of-the-art medical research center. ing cancer, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegen- treatment of demyelination diseases or degenerative Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College, also nant women relieve childbirth anxieties. Or the Scheduled to take place toward the end of this year, erative diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. disorders of the nervous system, such as glaucoma. expressed her enthusiasm, saying, “We are thrilled work that Anita Nirenberg, the William Randolph the move into the science center, built by Weill Cornell “Touring the laboratory space at Belfer with science The Belfer Building has inspired people to think big to have Hunter College share this facility and to have Hearst Professor of Clinical Nursing, is doing to Medical College, is a major step forward in Hunter’s faculty from biology, neuroscience, medical laboratory and across boundaries. This has led Hunter scientists our scientists continue to collaborate on biomedi- develop a wearable device for medication man- drive to become one of the nation’s foremost scientific sciences, chemistry, and physics, I found the sense of to call for strategic hires in computer science, quanti- cal research. Research in the building’s open-design p The Belfer Building at 413 East 69th Street agement in elderly patients with chronic pain. research institutions. possibility and excitement palpable,” said Hunter’s tative biology, and bioinformatics in order to analyze space will encourage cross-disciplinary collaborations Nursing professor Judith Aponte is increasing This historic advance will also mark a milestone in provost, Vita Rabinowitz. “Our faculty could see how the big data sets that are emerging from the College’s between some of New York City’s top scientists.” the visibility of Hispanic nurses and improving the American higher education — the coming together of Belfer will provide the platform for collaborations research. Hunter has just hired a rising star in bioin- The CTSC emphasis on interdisciplinary communi- health of highly vulnerable Hispanic populations one of the nation’s most selective universities and across departments and with other institutions, formatics, Dr. Konstantinos Krampis, to complement cation and cooperation seeks to break down barriers through her policy-relevant research and through one of its most diverse public colleges. As President including Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.” the work of the College’s current quantitative scientists, between areas of research, and Hunter nurses are We are courses she developed to educate health care pro- Jennifer J. Raab explained it, “The partnership Faculty tours have already inspired 10 applications, and is building additional capacity in bioinformatics playing an increasingly important role in this process. thrilled to have fessionals about the unique impact of the diabetes between a top public college and an Ivy League representing 20 Hunter researchers, for space at and data analytics. For example, they are working with Weill Cornell epidemic on different Hispanic subgroups. university is something that rarely, if ever, happens. Belfer. In these applications, faculty members were The Belfer Building, with its open floor plan, was medical students to find ways of treating people based Hunter College Hunter faculty are also becoming national Historically there has been a great divide between the encouraged to list their “dream teams” of Hunter designed specifically to encourage this sort of inter- not just on physical symptoms, but also on a better share this facility. leaders in community health — the prevention two, so Hunter and Cornell are serving as pioneers.” and Weill Cornell collaborators. disciplinary teamwork. To further facilitate the understanding of social and cultural factors. This “ and cure of illnesses in low-income neighbor- Weill Cornell’s handsome $650 million Belfer Build- For example, Hunter chemists, who have signifi- exchange of ideas and information, Hunter faculty project has great potential to benefit minority and hoods — thanks to the work being done jointly ing, designed by Ennead Architects, is located on East cant strengths in cancer imaging, detection, and and students will have access to almost all of the foreign-born patients. in East Harlem by the Silberman School of Social 69th Street just a short walk from the main Hunter treatment, wrote of expanding research in exciting 480,000 square-foot building, including the two-story Ultimately, all the research done through the Work and the Schools of Nursing and Urban campus. Hunter scientists will occupy the entire interdisciplinary areas of biochemistry and biophys- atrium, second-floor terrace, and landscaped garden. CTSC has one overriding objective — that the results Public Health. fourth floor, which the College has purchased from ics, especially as they relate to cancer. Research of The extraordinary real estate deal that puts be “translational.” The meaning of that term is best — Weill Cornell Dean Laurie H. Glimscher 4 ” 5 THEATRE AT HUNTER t (l to r) David M. deLeon ’14, The Department of Theatre’s new Devin J. Heater ’14, and Jillian P aTTY BAKER ’82 and Jay Baker Donate home will be named Baker Hall. Stevens ’14 perform a scene In an article about the gift that from The Weiner Monologues. $15 Million to Hunter, Giving the Theatre appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Ms. Baker said the donation was intended app that enables audience members to Department Its Own Building to help the College become a “leading view those infamous photos. school for theatre,” and that the Last fall, after Weiner’s mayoral building, once renovated, would campaign reignited the scandal, the contain “oodles” of rehearsal space. all-Hunter cast and crew of nearly two “Theatre is a discipline that takes dozen brought a fresh staging of the place in space, and to have this show, produced by Professor Bassin, to building will be a game changer for Hunter Theatre Students Turn the the Access Theater on lower Broadway. our department,” said Professor Anthony Weiner Scandal Into High Drama They opened the day after Election Joel Bassin, the chair of the Theatre Day for nine sold-out performances, Department. “In this new space, edipus. Othello. Weiner?” roe — come about? The process began tweets. Slowly, the students began shaping and won praise from the Times, NPR, we’ll be able to realize our dreams.” That was the question in spring 2011, when Hunter students this material into a tale about the fall of a Reuters, and others. The Kennedy Child Study Center, “Oasked by The New York Jonathan Harper Schlieman ’13 and John public figure in a media-saturated age. “From start to finish,The Weiner meanwhile, will move uptown to a Times in its article on The Weiner Mono- Oros ’12 approached Joel Bassin, chair of After the students performed a suc- Monologues was a product of Hunter renovated building in East Harlem. logues — a mock Greek tragedy about the Theatre Department, and asked for cessful reading, Professor Bassin proposed College and none of it would have been In fact, the center will be close to the Anthony Weiner scandal conceived, campus space to run a summer workshop. a fully staged production at the College, possible without the school and depart- Hunter’s Silberman School of written, directed, acted, produced, Meanwhile, the Weiner scandal was which could double as a senior honors proj- ment’s support,” said Schlieman. “The Social Work and School of Urban designed, and launched as an off-off- breaking, producing a flood of revelations ect for both Oros, a student in Hunter’s cast and crew are indebted to the faculty Public Health, and discussions are Broadway play by students in Hunter’s that provided the Hunter students with an Macaulay Honors College, and Schlieman, a and staff for their continual encour- already underway about ways the Theatre Department. abundance of “found texts” to work with. Thomas Hunter Honors student. The result agement. Hunter gave us the space to two institutions might collaborate. How did this successful, inspirationally They included extracts from newspaper was The Weiner Monologues, in which the workshop the piece, and they saw us off-kilter production — which includes articles, press conferences, late-night TV found texts are embellished with dance, from our first reading all the way to the a Greek chorus led by Marilyn Mon- monologues, and, of course, transcripts of video, song, and an original smartphone off-off-Broadway premiere.”  Jay Baker and Patty Baker ’82, announcing their gift at the Kennedy Child Study Center. In this hanks to the extraordinary Because the building has housed the programs for Hunter theatre students. Students Lunch With Theatre’s Leading Lights at “Wednesdays at One” generosity of Hunter trustee Patty Kennedy Child Study Center, a school Jay Baker, the longtime president of new space, TBaker ’82 and her husband, Jay, owned by the Archdiocese of New York, Kohl’s, retired after building the com- we’ll be able to realize even Tony Award winners, two Pu- and producers Randy Adams, Sue Frost, Hunter’s Department of Theatre will soon its sale required Vatican approval — if pany into a retail giant. In philanthropic litzer Prize finalists, and a winner and Patty Baker ’82. Baker is a generous have a beautiful new home. The Bakers’ not an actual papal blessing. partnership with his wife, he now de- our dreams. Sof the National Humanities Medal supporter of the Department of Theatre $15 million gift was announced on Patty Baker attended Hunter while votes himself to supporting excellence “ are among the theatre professionals (see opposite page) and chair of Hunter’s January 13 at a meeting of the Hunter working as a flight attendant and at in higher education. who have inspired hundreds of Hunter Theatre Advisory Board, which has College Foundation Board of Trustees. Tiffany & Co. Now a Broadway producer, The Bakers had advised Hunter of students at “Wednesdays at One,” the helped launch and fund this student en- Their gift funds the acquisition and she credits a Hunter theatre course their plan to donate $10 million. But — Hunter professor Joel Bassin highly successful series of lunchtime gagement program and recruit speakers. renovation of a landmarked 19th- for sparking an interest that led to true to their love for great drama, forums that the College has been pre- “Wednesdays at One” also builds on century 26,000-square-foot building a new vocation. She has been a the couple arrived at the trustees’ senting since 2012 to connect Hunter the success of the Floria Lasky Visiting on East 67th Street, right near Hunter’s producer of shows as varied as the meeting with a spectacular new script. ” students with the larger New York Artist Program, funded by the Frederick main campus. The Bakers’ gift was dou- musical Memphis and a revival of After President Raab announced the professional theatre community. Loewe Foundation in honor of the late bly welcome because of how difficult it Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, both multimillion-dollar gift, they raised Speakers have included playwright Hunter alumna ’42 and lawyer who is to acquire real estate on Manhattan’s of which won Tony Awards. Her most their hands and revealed that they John Guare; playwright, actress, and represented many of the most famous Upper East Side. recent show is the musical Beautiful, were increasing the sum by 50 percent. scholar Anna Deavere Smith; director names in the theatre industry. The pro- “This was the kind of opportunity about singer/composer Carole King. Members of the Hunter College and choreographer Jeff Calhoun; casting gram brings distinguished playwrights that comes along once in a lifetime,” Ms. Baker, who is on the Hunter College Foundation, the theatre faculty and director Ilene Starger; actor and direc- and other theatrical professionals said Hunter President Jennifer J. Raab. Foundation Board and is the head of a number of theatre students were tor Roger Rees; producer, company to Hunter for classroom discussions  (l to r) John Guare, Jeff Calhoun, Anna Deavere Smith “We had to take advantage of it, and the the College’s Theatre Advisory Board, present, and the room erupted in manager, and theatre executive Paul and evening events; once here, many Bakers’ wonderful gift allowed us to do that.” is also developing career preparatory cheers and applause. Libin, winner of a 2013 Tony for Lifetime of these guests choose to share their “One huge benefit of the series,” said tor, “is that the students gain a sense of Achievement; representatives from the knowledge and expertise with a wider Hunter professor Barbara Bosch, former the many ways to be involved in theatre. The future site of Hunter’s Theatre Department at 151 East 67th Street was built in 1890 as the Mount Roundabout Theatre, who discussed the audience by participating in “Wednes- chair of the Theatre Department and a Many students have said the ‘Wednes- Sinai Dispensary Building. Since 1987, it has been the home of the Kennedy Child Study Center. u full range of possible theatrical careers; days at One.” frequent “Wednesdays at One” modera- days’ have changed their lives.”

6 7 Hunter Student Roger Brown ’16 Makes It All the Way to the White House A Roosevelt House Symposium Explores IKE RECONSIDERED: the Eisenhower Legacy

ke Reconsidered: Lessons of Jennifer J. Raab said that “when we the Eisenhower Legacy for consider how skillfully Eisenhower “Ithe 21st Century ” took an reached across political divides to gain illuminating look back at Dwight D. bipartisan support, it is clear we have Eisenhower’s presidency. Co-sponsored much to learn from this master.” She by Roosevelt House and the Eisenhower went on to note that, as president, Ike Foundation, the two-day conference joined with Democratic congressional featured roundtable discussions leaders to preserve and expand part of by leading historians, journalists, FDR’s New Deal, bringing tens of mil- political scientists, and presidential lions of self-employed Americans into aides on such subjects as presidential the Social Security system. Such leadership, foreign affairs, advances in bipartisanship, and its contrast to  Roger Brown ’16 (top row, third from right, and inset ) at the White House with President Obama science, and civil rights. American politics today, was the focus The overarching aim of the confer- of the evening’s keynote address by n January, President Obama, standing Roger won a lottery that admitted himself expelled,” the president said. go to a school that was challenging. ence, said its organizer, Andrew Polsky, journalist Evan Thomas and the before a small audience in the East him to Harlem’s Promise Academy, a “But the teachers and the staff did not I looked at a myriad of schools but I also acting dean of the College of Arts and ensuing discussion and debate among IRoom of the White House, spoke of pioneering charter school. give up on him. They saw something in wanted to go somewhere affordable. Sciences and professor of political policy experts.  David Eisenhower, grandson of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, poverty in America and his administra- Initially Roger had difficulty at the him. They kept pushing him. Then one “In the end,” he added, “Hunter science, “was to demonstrate the ways On the panel were political scientist addressed the symposium. tion’s determination to help youths demanding school. “He was the class summer when Roger was home visiting provided me that competitiveness I in which Eisenhower’s presidential Jean Edward Smith, author of the 2012 from poor communities get ahead by clown and acting out, and almost got his foster family, he looked around the wanted to challenge me. The professors leadership remained relevant in the book Eisenhower in War and Peace; getting an education. Behind him stood room and realized nobody in that room here are really smart and they’re 21st century.” Eisenhower White House staff member a group of young men and women from had gone to college, nobody in that engaged in incredible research. David Eisenhower, the 34th presi- Stephen Hess, now a senior fellow Harlem, who are in college or on track room had a job. At that moment, Their work is interesting and it’s dent’s only grandson, introduced an emeritus at The Brookings Institution; to go there. something clicked. And Roger decided fun, and you can feel the passion evening program that began with a Hunter alumna Rita Hauser ’54, an The president singled out one he wanted something better for himself emanating from them as they push video of his grandfather’s most famous international lawyer who served in of those young people, 19-year-old Hunter — and for his mom and for his two their research forward.“ speech, his farewell address as presi- the Nixon and George W. Bush Hunter sophomore Roger Brown. He sisters, who looked up to him.” Roger, who is now completing his dent, warning of a critical danger to administrations; and historian began by admiring Brown’s dreadlocks. College From that point on, Roger began to sophomore year, has a GPA of 3.65 in American democracy. Philip Zelikow, who served as “I used to have a haircut like that,” he in New York excel in school. He became part of the his demanding, science-heavy course “In the councils of government, executive director of the 9/11 said. “And maybe, after I’m done with first graduating class at Promise load. He is also working some 15 hours we must guard against the acquisition Commission. Veteran journalist the presidency, I’m going back to that.” [is] one of Academy, then became the first mem- a week as a home health aide. He wants of unwarranted influence, whether Jim Newton, author of Eisenhower: As the laughter died down, the ber of his family to go to college. He to become a neurologist — either as a sought or unsought, by the military- The White House Years, moderated president told the audience: ”I want “the best chose Hunter — which President Obama practicing physician or as a researcher. industrial complex,” the retiring the discussion. you to listen to Roger’s story, because called “one of the best colleges in the It’s a dream he’s had for some years, president said. “The potential for Central to their lively exchange it’s unique and it’s special, but it’s colleges in the country” — where more than one third one that was reinforced as he watched the disastrous rise of misplaced power was a question posed by Zelikow: also representative.” country. of the students are the first in their his late grandmother succumb to exists and will persist.” Those words Could Ike win the Republican Roger, the president noted, was family to attend college. dementia. One day, he says, he’d like became famous not only for their nomination today? The answer? raised partly in foster care, as well As a top student at the Promise to find a way to help others who are prescience, but also for their unlikely Most of the panelists seemed as by his single mom, who held down Academy, Roger could have gone to afflicted by this illness. source: a five-star general who was hopeful that he could, given his two jobs as she struggled to support any number of colleges, but he chose supreme commander of the Allied enormous personal appeal and her family. Then, in the sixth grade, — President Barack Obama Hunter because, he says, “I wanted to forces in Europe during World War II. political skill.  (l to r) Philip Zelikow, Rita Hauser ’54, Stephen Hess, Jean Edward In her welcoming remarks, President Smith, and moderator Jim Newton 8 ” 9

Q&A with Emily Braun Holland Cotter (MA ’88) Accepts Honorary Hunter Doctorate

Distinguished Professor of y time at Hunter was the and after donning his doctoral hood at Art History at Hunter most stimulating time the commencement, he credited his “MI had at any school,” Hunter professors for contributing Emily Braun was in the news recently when Holland Cotter told the graduating class greatly to his global outlook. of January 2014. “For the first time in my Cotter made special mention of one the art collector she has advised for 27 years, life, I was a good student because I was recently retired professor, Ülkü Bates, Leonard A. Lauder, gave the Metropolitan enjoying being one.” calling her a wonderful teacher whose Museum a collection of 79 Cubist paintings, Cotter, co-chief art critic at The New slides of mosques and textiles piqued his York Times and winner of the 2009 interest in Islamic art. He noted that the drawings, and sculptures — a gift, according to Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, received a final slide in one of her presentations newspaper reports, worth more than $1 billion. master’s in art history from Hunter in was a snapshot of an older man and  Leonard A. Lauder and Emily Braun 1988. He received his undergraduate woman sitting side-by-side on a couch degree from Harvard and earned a in an Istanbul apartment. hat’s an eye-catching sum. focuses on the so-called four essential was an undergraduate and a master’s co-curating the special exhibition second master’s, in South Asian art, “ ‘This is my mother and father,’ ” Cotter Tell us about your role in Cubists – Picasso, Braque, Léger, and student here, and I was her professor. of his works at the Met in the fall from Columbia. He was at the 208th recalled Bates telling her class. “Every time Tassembling this world- Gris. They’re called that because in the About 15 years ago Leonard told me that and working on the catalog, and, Hunter Commencement to receive an I’ve written for The New York Times, I’ve class collection. years before World War I they invented we needed someone to be curator of his oh yes, you have a family. How honorary doctorate of humane letters. thought of my teacher and her parents.” Before I talk about that, I want to point new pictorial forms on a level far beyond postcard collection, which consists of do you manage it all? Before joining The Times in 1992, Predicting that today’s graduates out that this figure was not verified in any anyone else, and so Leonard focused on tens of thousands of works and is quite (Laughing) I drink a lot of coffee. Cotter worked for a number of would also benefit endlessly from their way. It’s nice that it opens eyes, but what them. What’s especially important is something. I told him I had just the per- Teaching is the main event, of course. influential magazines, including experience at Hunter, he advised should impress people is that someone that all the great Modern art collections son, and of course that was Lynda. She’s As for the rest, I have assistants who Art in America and Art News. He is every member of the class, “Be a global who has spent 35 years building this of the past have been dispersed, so it’s worked with him ever since. help me in my work with Leonard, celebrated for introducing Western citizen. It’s the only way to go. I learned  Holland Cotter (MA ’88), co-chief art critic of The New York Times and collection wanted to ensure it ended up wonderful that these works were brought Another example is Anna Jozefacka, and the catalog was well along when audiences to contemporary Asian art, that here.” former Hunter graduate student, accepts his degree. in the right hands and is accessible to the together and will be kept together. who came from Poland to get her un- we started because of the documenta- public. Putting a figure on the collection is dergraduate degree in art history at tion that’s been done over the years. How does your work with not representative of its true value, which Hunter and is now an adjunct profes- Life is full, but it’s manageable. Mr. Lauder dovetail with your cannot be measured in dollars. The fact sor. She works with me managing and work at Hunter? What advice do you give that someone could bring such pictures researching the Lauder collection – she’s One of the great things about working students who want careers Anne Pasternak, High Art together in a single collection is unmatch- an extraordinary researcher. And then with someone who is not only a collector, in the field of art? able, and you can’t put a price on that. there’s a current Hunter student, Luise but also a philanthropist and a historian, I tell them the best preparation is the Democratizer, Receives Mahler, who is finishing her MA with me How did you become his is that he appreciates the educational thorough study of art history. You have and is helping to document the Lauder advisor and what advice do value of his collection. He’s always been to learn how to study objects, how to Hunter’s Highest Art Degree works. I think these are wonderful sto- you give him? generous in lending pictures to exhibi- research their historical context, and ries, because the learning continues, the of public art projects around the great teacher,” Pasternak said, “it opens up It started in 1987, right after I got back tions. He’s always invited scholars to look how to conserve them. And I tell them to mentoring continues, and several careers globe. Her collaborators have been the doors to you that you could never imagine. from 18 months of research in Italy for my at them. And he’s always encouraged me follow their passion. You need to know have developed because of this collection. leading artists of our time, including Professor Braun was that to me.“ dissertation. He was looking for a curator to use them in teaching, so I’ve been able your field well, and to do that you must Christo, David Byrne, Marina Abramovic, Pasternak began producing and I was recommended to him. Over time to conduct seminars on both Cubism and All this must be very satisfying read a lot, study a lot and, above all, and Julian Schnabel. One of Pasternak’s ambitious projects from her loft in the relationship grew beyond my manag- research methods based on his collection. for you personally as well as bring enthusiasm to your work. most celebrated projects was Tribute lower Manhattan. She had few material ing the collection into an advisory role, Students get to see the works firsthand professionally. in Light, the twin beacons that rose resources, but was motivated by a vision and so we’ve worked together to achieve as they become experts in the field of For any art historian, the opportunity not from Ground Zero in the dark months of bringing great art to urban spaces. his aim of assembling this museum-qual- provenance. They learn that these are only to do one’s own academic work, but following 9/11, and Key to the City, an She continued to pursue her vision after ity collection. When it comes to buying, material objects that have lives of their to have hands-on contact with works of  Anne Pasternak, left, with her mentor, art historian Emily Braun interactive, multi-borough, scavenger- joining Creative Time, and during her though, he has his own eye — he knows own, and we’ve brought in conserva- art, is fantastic. So often in our field it’s hunt-like project created by Hunter two decades there has led the way in what he is doing. As an art historian my tors to talk about the technical material bifurcated. You have people in academia, tanding on the stage of Radio 207th Commencement. She emphasized studio art professor Paul Ramírez Jonas, changing the face and scope of public role is to research the pictures and give aspects of the pictures. and you have people in the museums. City Music Hall, accepting her everyone’s role in this process when she who is on the board of Creative Time. art. From the Coney Island boardwalk to him background on them. Furthermore, Leonard has hired The ability to combine the two is enriching in the classroom and creates Shonorary doctorate in fine arts told the graduating class, “Your creative After studying art history as an the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, What’s in the collection that Hunter students and graduates to extra opportunities for the students. from Hunter, Anne Pasternak described contributions, deliberate or not, are undergraduate at the University of Pasternak has enabled those who live went to the Met? work on his collection. One is my art and culture as an integral part of shaping our culture.” Massachusetts, Pasternak came to the and work outside the traditional art It is probably the finest collection of esteemed colleague, Lynda Klich, You teach, you mentor students, everyday life and social progress. Pasternak, president and artistic graduate program in art history at Hunter. scene to view and experience innovative, Cubist works ever in private hands. It who is now a Hunter professor. She you advise Mr. Lauder, you’re “Culture is essential to shaping public director of the nonprofit Creative Time, There, she studied with Professor Emily moving, and provocative works that help sentiment,” Pasternak said at Hunter’s has won acclaim as a pioneering director Braun (see page 10). “When you have a transform how people view their world. Fernand Léger, Composition (The Typographer), 1917-18, Oil on canvas, 981/4”x 72¼”, Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Collection u

10 11

Happenings At Hunter

 (l to r) Colum McCann, distinguished lecturer in the MFA in Creative Writing Program, signs copies of his novel TransAtlantic for Gabriel Byrne  Writing Center benefactor Lisa Schiff (l) celebrates with and Loretta Brennan Glucksman after a reading at The Kaye Playhouse. best-selling crime novelist Linda Fairstein, the guest  Soprano Renée Fleming and Damian Woetzel, director of the The reading was part of the program’s Distinguished Writers Series. of honor at the Center’s anniversary dinner. Aspen Institute Arts Program, discuss the importance of bringing the arts to underserved communities and the powerful role At Hunter’s commencement at Radio City Music Hall, CNN  music can play in education and public life. anchor Wolf Blitzer receives the Hunter College Inspiration Award. He later told his TV audience that the experience of meeting “all these wonderful young graduates” had been deeply moving.

 Winston Churchill’s great-grandson Randolph Churchill (shown

with his sister Jennie Churchill Repard) talks about how the British prime minister’s American-born mother influenced his political career.  House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (r) visits Hunter to discuss  Singer Judy Collins performs for the audience as part of a conversation with Roosevelt The lecture was part of the Tina Flaherty-Winston Churchill Series. a national initiative to expand economic opportunities for women. House director Jonathan Fanton about her life and career. Taking part in the discussion were elected officials, equal rights advocates, and Hunter students, including (l-r) Sophie Steinman-Gordon (HCHS), Jacqueline Tosto, Shu Shu Wu, and Audrey Stienon, a 2014 Luce Scholarship winner.

12 13 FACULTY AT HUNTER The Mystery of Human Longevity Bike Safety on the Rise in New York thought, the result of an active lifestyle, but instead wearing helmets and obeying traffic been several developments that could were due to their low-calorie diet. laws. They also found that the number account for the changes in ridership and The lesson, as Pontzer wrote in a New York Times of women cyclists in New York City has rider behavior. First, there has been a op-ed, is that, as a society, “We’re getting fat because doubled since 2009. steady increase in the number of bike we eat too much, not because we’re sedentary. Tuckel, who teaches a research methods lanes around the city. Second, more laws Physical activity is very important for maintaining  Research shows that humans and other course in the Department of Sociology, and enforcing bicycle safety have been en- studies were conducted by Hunter physical and mental health, but we aren’t going to primates burn far fewer calories than Milczarski, who teaches data analysis acted, including one mandating helmets students,” says Milczarski. Jazzercise our way out of the obesity epidemic.” other mammals. in the Department of Urban Affairs and for commercial riders, who include bike “We had about 70 students out there  William Milczarski, professor Now Pontzer and his team are back, with a new, Planning, first joined forces for a field messengers and delivery persons. this fall collecting data for three weeks.” of urban affairs and planning much publicized, study that seeks to answer the a safe and noninvasive technique, they measured study of bicyclists’ behavior in 2009. Another factor, say Tuckel and The second purpose is to influence (left), and Peter Tuckel, professor question of why humans live so long compared the number of calories the primates burned over Their initial study, published that year, Milczarski, is the introduction of the policy by raising awareness. “Any of sociology to other mammals. a 10-day period. attracted attention because it found CitiBike bike sharing program. Their publicity generated that leads to more  Herman Pontzer, professor of anthropology Their study shows that humans and other primates “The results were a real surprise,” says Pontzer. icyclists in New York City are cyclists were not riding safely. work shows that so-called “citi-bikers” communities demanding more bike burn 50% fewer calories each day than other mammals “Humans, chimpanzees, baboons, and other primates riding more safely, according to Since then, much has changed. Milczarski, are more likely to follow the rules of the lanes is a good thing,” says Milczarski. ack in 2012, Herman Pontzer, associate of similar size. The study, “Primate Energetics and expend only half the calories we’d expect for a Ba new study by Hunter College referring to the two researchers’ latest report, road than others. “Maybe the rest are Tuckel and Milczarski say they will professor of anthropology at Hunter College, Life History,” suggests that this slow metabolism may mammal. To put that in perspective, humans — professors Peter Tuckel and William says, “The facts are clear. Running red lights, just getting the hint,” added Milczarski. continue tracking this data. “Riding Band a team of scientists made headlines with a help explain why humans (and other primates) mature even those with a very physically active lifestyle Milczarski. In their report, Bike Lanes + riding on the sidewalk or against traffic are all These biking studies serve a dual is becoming a bigger part of living study of the Hadza, a tribe of nomadic hunter-gath- more slowly and live longer than most mammals. — would need to run a marathon each day just to Bike Share Program = Bike Safety, they on the decline, and helmet use is on the rise.” purpose for the professors. The first in New York City,” said Milczarski. erers in Tanzania. They discovered that the Hadzas’ Pontzer and his team examined 17 primate approach the average daily energy expenditure of found that an increasing percentage of In the half-decade between the two is pedagogical. “The majority of the “We will see if over time things get characteristically slim figures were not, as previously species in zoos, sanctuaries, and the wild. Using another mammal their size.” cyclists — women more than men — are studies, the authors write, there have observations and analyses in both better or slip backward.”

“My Brooklyn” Takes an Unsparing Look at Urban Renewal Exploring the Lives of Animals

n 2006, seven years before Bill de Blasio ran The film won the Audience Award when it premiered an dolphins type? How do on the mating behavior of insects and successfully for mayor on the strength of “a at the 2012 Brooklyn Film Festival, and later won the snails mate? These are some crustaceans into a one-woman show Itale of two cities” campaign, Professor Kelly Best Documentary and Best Director Awards at the Cof the mysteries Hunter profes- that she has performed to sold-out Anderson began shooting and directing a Red Hook International Film Festival. It also received a sor Diana Reiss and Hunter graduate crowds in New York and around the documentary on the same theme. glowing review from The New York Times. Sharing the student Isabella Rossellini are trying world. In Green Porno: Live on Stage, My Brooklyn examines the human cost of the honors was producer Allison Lirish Dean, who received to unravel. Rossellini wears Day-Glo costumes and redevelopment and gentrification of Brooklyn’s her master’s in urban planning from Hunter in 2011. Reiss is a founder of Hunter’s innova- communes with puppets as she mimics downtown, including the Fulton Street Mall Last July, as the mayoral race intensified, the film- tive Animal Behavior and Conservation the reproductive rituals of a variety and surrounding residential neighborhoods. makers made My Brooklyn available at no charge to (ABC) master’s program in psychology, of creatures. any New Yorker who wanted to host a home screening. which trains students to work in the Recently, at New York’s Rubin Accompanying each copy of the film was a facilitator’s fields of animal behavior, conserva- Museum of Art, Reiss and Rossellini guide with a list of questions for post-screening con- tion, and welfare. She is also among appeared together in conversation on versation and various proposals for civic engagement. the world’s leading experts on animal the nature of animal cognition. They Anderson, a resident of Brooklyn and deputy chair cognition and has published ground- discussed the complexities of nonverbal Photo: Michael Palma of Hunter’s Department of Film and Media Studies, also breaking studies on dolphins, including communication, the nature of human-  Actress and Hunter graduate student Isabella Rossellini with screened the film at Roosevelt House in September. Af- one that showed that they can indeed animal bonds, and whether animals can psychology professor Diana Reiss at the Rubin Museum of Art terward, she told the audience that the film was intended use an underwater keyboard. feel empathy. Reiss presented videos to help spark citywide discussion on the impact of urban Rossellini, the daughter of Ingrid of her work, including extraordinary Reiss is no stranger to the camera mentary premiering this month on PBS. development and to serve as an instigator of grass-roots Bergman and Roberto Rossellini and footage of a dolphin recognizing itself in herself. She served as science advisor Rossellini followed up Green Porno political involvement. “We felt there was a conversa- a celebrated actor and director in her a mirror. Rossellini likened animals to for The Cove, a documentary about dolphin with two more series of film shorts: tion that needed to happen about city policies that have own right, has brought her study of the good actors. “As an actor, 90% of what hunting in Japan that won the 2009 Oscar Seduce Me, about animal seduction, and intensified gentrification, instead of just focusing on  Documentarian and Hunter professor sex lives of animals to film and stage. we do is nonverbal,” she said. “With a for Best Feature Documentary, and appears Mammas, about the maternal instinct, individual choices about where to live,” Anderson said. Kelly Anderson She transformed her series of shorts good actor, you just read the emotion.” in Inside Animal Minds, a three-part docu- or lack thereof, in the animal kingdom.

14 15 Hunter Schools Take the Lead in Caring for New York’s Aging Population Opera Star Martina Arroyo ver the next 17 years, the num- Foundation has made a $750,000 gift “Professor Capezuti will help lead tion, especially in gerontology,” said (HCHS ’53, ’56) Receives ber of Americans 65 or older endowing a new faculty chair. the drive to integrate gerontology into Silberman School of Social Work Dean Owill rise from 35 million to 70 Dr. Elizabeth Capezuti, who earned all our curricula – undergraduate, Jacqueline Mondros. “We look forward Kennedy Center Honors million. Public health experts warn of a her master’s in nursing at Hunter in masters, and doctoral,” said Dr. Gail to putting this award to work and severe shortage of medical professionals 1984, returns to the College as Hunter’s McCain, Hunter’s Joan Hansen Grabe joining with other health professions to n December 8, 2013, in Hall debut just two years later. specially trained to care for the elderly, first Hearst Professor of Gerontology. Dean of Nursing. Further, Capezuti will improve outcomes among older adults." Washington, D.C., the John In 2006, Arroyo told Opera News and the National Institute of Medicine An internationally known geriatric work closely with Hunter’s Brookdale OF. Kennedy Center for the about the defining role Hunter played has called for the swift establishment of nurse researcher, Capezuti previously Center for Healthy Aging, which seeks Performing Arts paid Martina Arroyo in her life. educational programs in geriatric care. taught at the to improve the lives of older New York- its highest tribute. “I was lucky, because I went to the Hunter is leading the way in recog- University of ers through medical research, policy Seated in the presidential box with Hunter College Opera Workshop in the nizing and meeting this critical need. Pennsylvania initiatives, and course work. the Obamas and her fellow honorees, ’50s,” she recalled, noting that it all began Working in close collaboration with and NYU, was The Silberman School of Social Work the great soprano received the Ken- when she was in high school and Josef one another, the Brookdale Center for co-director of is also in the vanguard of improving nedy Center Honors for a lifetime of Turnau, a professor at Hunter, caught her Healthy Aging, the School of Urban Public the Hartford elder care. As a result, the Gerontologi- outstanding contributions to American and her friends outside the auditorium, Health, the School of Nursing, and the Institute cal Society of America and the John A. culture. At a White House ceremony imitating the opera singers inside. Silberman School of Social Work are for Geriatric Hartman Foundation have named the  From left, Nancy Giunta, assis- earlier that evening, President Obama “Professor Turnau made me sing making rapid advances in the field and Nursing, and Silberman School a Hartford Center in tant professor at the Silberman honored the Hunter graduate who as a punishment,” she said. But then  Elizabeth Capezuti receiving national attention as a result. received the Geriatric Social Work Excellence – a des- School of Social Work, Joan became a star of the Met, the Paris he realized she had talent, and advised Photo: John Filo (MSN ’84), Hearst Hunter’s School of Nursing demands American ignation held by only five schools in the Jeffri, director of the Research Opera, La Scala, and other classical her to take the workshop. “I went for Professor of  Martina Arroyo (front row, right) with her fellow Kennedy that every student become competent Academy of nation. With this designation comes a Center for Arts and Culture at stages around the world. fun but became so involved that I Gerontology Center honorees Shirley MacLaine, Billy Joel, Carlos Santana, the National Center for Creative in elder care; those aiming to specialize Nursing’s $140,000 grant for research, curriculum U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia ended up going to Hunter. Music and Herbie Hancock. can pursue programs in gerontologi- 2013 Nurse Leader in Aging Award. As development, and joint ventures with Aging, Gilda Pervin, sculptor, Sotomayor led the Kennedy Center took over my life entirely.” cal/adult nursing practice at both the the Hearst Professor, she is charged professionals and agencies dedicated to and Alana Hartman (MSW ’14) accolades for the famously generous Today Arroyo maintains a strong develop their characters through music educator as well as an artist: “Martina master’s and doctoral levels. Rec- with shaping new curricula, directing the well-being of the aging population. at “Aging: A Progressive Issue,” and witty woman whose voice The New working connection to her alma coaching and classes in role, libretto, Arroyo has dazzled the world with her ognizing Hunter’s leadership in this research, teaching in the doctoral pro- “No one goes it alone anymore. It’s a conference held at the Silber- York Times once called “among the most mater through the Martina Arroyo language, movement, stagecraft, and glorious soprano voice and continues to field, the William Randolph Hearst gram, and mentoring junior faculty. all about interdisciplinary collabora- man School of Social Work glorious in the world.” Sotomayor drew Foundation’s Prelude to Performance stage combat. The program culminates share her artistry with a new generation abundant laughter and applause when program, an intensive, comprehensive, each year with two fully-staged of opera singers.” she announced, “I’m here for the diva!” six-week training program for performances at the Kaye Playhouse. And when several of Arroyo’s Arroyo, a graduate of both Hunter emerging artists aged 20 to 35. The Arroyo is also a trustee emerita of talented young protégés performed College ’56 and Hunter College High program brings together promising the Hunter College Foundation. at the Kennedy Center, the television Hunter Launches the Institute for Education Policy at Roosevelt House School ’53, grew up in Harlem and young opera singers with a staff of When the Kennedy Center announced cameras closed in on a visibly moved was only 19 when she graduated performance professionals led by Arroyo Arroyo’s nomination, it cited her diva, her eyes welling with tears of safeguard of democracy,” while Eleanor York City’s mayoral race. Bill de Blasio, not from college. She made her Carnegie herself. The singers learn, explore, and extraordinary achievements as an pride and delight. Roosevelt said, “On the public school yet a front-runner, used the platform to largely depends the success or the failure outline his vision of a school system that of our great experiment in government serves as “a real career ladder.” ‘by the people, for the people.”’ “We are missing a focus on early The mission of the Institute, which childhood education,” he said. “We must Brad and Angelina, Meet Morty and Lee: focuses on all aspects of K-16 public have universal pre-K education and after- education, is to become a major school programs for all middle school Lee Kaufman ’61 and Her Husband, Both 91, resource for researchers and policy- children. If we don’t, we should not expect makers seeking to improve educational the fundamental changes we need to make Are Sudden Stars outcomes for America’s students. this school system work for everyone.”  David Steiner, dean of the Hunter School of Education, interviews At the launch, Dean Steiner laid out Upcoming Institute events include a ee Kaufman, half of TV’s popular they were both 90 when, bantering she said recently, speaking on the mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio. a vision of the Institute as “a space for master class on leadership and a confer- Swiffer-ad couple, has experi- in their kitchen, the pair ad-libbed phone from her now-famous home in hat are the values Roosevelt House, founded and directed research and analysis and debate,” ence on closing the college graduation Lenced some of life’s major turning their way through a TV commercial Valley Stream, Long Island. we seek to transmit by David Steiner, the Klara and Larry then moderated a panel discussion gap, as well as discussions on charter points at unusual times. to accidental stardom. Kaufman was living in Brooklyn and “Wto the next generation? Silverstein Dean of the Hunter College with educational leaders about the schools and the place of religion in Kaufman was already past 40 Now Kaufman is balancing the de- raising her children when she decided What in the end constitutes an educated School of Education. In her welcoming challenges and possibilities for the schools, to name just a few. when she graduated from Hunter mands of newspaper and TV interviews to return to college and earn a degree. human being?” These were just two remarks, Hunter President Jennifer future of public education. and embarked on a successful teaching with her fundraising work on the board She chose Hunter, which required a of the weighty questions asked by Raab stressed that Roosevelt House is One of the Institute’s earliest programs  Morty and Lee ’61 Kaufman career. She was the widowed mother of the Hunter Alumni Association’s long subway ride into Manhattan. participants at the inauguration of the perfect location for the Institute; was a series last summer of one-on-one For information on the Institute and its of two when she met and married busy Long Island Chapter. “I did all of my homework on the the Institute for Education Policy at FDR, she noted, called education “the interviews with leading candidates in New programs, go to: ciep.hunter.cuny.edu. Morty, the widowed father of four. And “We have a very nice, active group,” train,” she said.

16 17

2013 Hunter

Elbrun Kimmelman (’72) achieved Michael Glantz (’84) is the Carol Goldberg (’56) has shared her Richard Boris (’64) is a professor Mary Cirillo-Goldberg (’68) great success in commercial marketing president and a co-founder of great knowledge and love of art with of political science and an expert on Soviet rose to the top ranks of the banking and advertising and developed the Headline Media Management, a many buyers and enthusiasts during her politics. He served as executive director and financial services industry. Hall field of social marketing, which applies firm that represents high-profile long career as an art advisor. She was a of the National Center for the Study of She is currently on the boards of marketing techniques toward the TV anchors, reporters, hosts, and board member of Independent Curators Collective Bargaining in Higher Education Thomson Reuters and Hudson Venture betterment of society. She has advised executives, as well as coaches in International, which brings exhibitions and the Professions from 2001 to 2013. Partners, a venture capital firm, as numerous foreign governments on college and professional football. to venues around the world and trains During his tenure, the organization, well as several cultural, medical, the use of marketing for development While earning his degree at Hunter, young curators. Through her work which is dedicated to studying the use and educational institutions. Cirillo- and nation-building. She headed he served as coach of the women’s for ArtTable, she helped other women of collective bargaining as a means for Goldberg began her career at Ernst & of an effort to restore a former British swim team and as sports information succeed in her field. In a space they advancing higher education and the Ernst and spent 23 successful years diplomatic residency, which now director. He rose to leadership opened in Mount Kisco, Goldberg and working conditions of faculty and staff at Citibank before being appointed houses the oldest women’s liberal arts positions in television news and sports her husband have exhibited work from in colleges and universities, founded two to global leadership posts at Bankers college in South India. Kimmelman at CBS, MTV, and NBC. His mother, their private collection, and since 2007, new journals, increased its revenues, Trust and Deutsche Bank. She also serves as board chair of the New York Phyllis Glantz (’54), is also a member she has sponsored a playwright’s award greatly expanded its research and training served as chair and CEO of Openter, Council for the Humanities and is a of the Hunter Hall of Fame. They are presented by the American Renaissance programs, and became a major national LLC, an internet consulting firm. Fame member of Hunter’s Roosevelt House the first mother-son duo in the history Theater Company. She is a member force in academic collective bargaining. Cirillo-Goldberg is a member of the Advisory Board. of the organization. of the Hunter College Foundation and Hunter College Foundation and serves chairs Hunter’s Art Advisory Board. on Hunter’s Theatre Advisory Board.

Ruth Bernstein (’55) is a powerful Doris Derby (’62), an educator Jacqueline Gordon (’87) is a guidance Joyce Griffin-Sobel (MSN ’81) is Leslie Lieth (’72) was certified Catherine Merolle (’71) oversees Leonardo Rodriguez (MSW ’82) Martha Adams Sullivan (DSW ’91) was advocate for people with hearing and documentary photographer, counselor and town councilwoman a leader in nursing education. as a nurse practitioner in 1975 print production on all magazines is an expert in providing residential elected president of the National loss – a disability she has lived was a member of the Student on Long Island, and a lieutenant A specialist in oncology and a and went on to provide primary published by the Hearst Corporation treatment to troubled children and Association of Social Workers New with herself for many years. She Nonviolent Coordinating Committee colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves. Her former professor at Hunter’s School care to children as a pediatric in the United States. As a director of adolescents. He joined the Jewish York City Chapter in 2012. Sullivan has held important positions at the from 1962 to 1972, working for the overseas service includes wartime of Nursing, she is currently dean of nurse practitioner for more than operations, she is responsible for Board of Family and Children has served as vice president of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies, overthrow of Jim Crow in the Deep deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. the College of Nursing at SUNY 30 years. She also served on scores of publications, including Services shortly after receiving St. Barnabas Healthcare Network the Jewish National Fund, and the South. Her photos from that period At home she is a leader of the Veter- Upstate Medical University. During numerous community and Good Housekeeping, Oprah, Esquire, his master’s in social work from and as executive director of the Teaneck, NJ, Board of Education, have been widely published. Derby ans Museum Project and the Veterans her service in the U.S. Naval nursing boards in New York. Elle, Harper’s Bazaar. Merolle is Hunter. Today, he is the Board’s Fordham-Tremont Community and she founded the organization was founding director of the Office Advisory Council, and serves on the Reserves, Griffin-Sobel developed She is a longtime leader of active in many graphic-arts industry chief program officer, responsible Health Center. She is currently Advocates for Better Communication. of African American Student Ser- board of Girl Scouts of Suffolk County. and directed the Navy Nurse Corps’ the Alumni Nursing Association groups and is known as a champion for residential and day treatment on the Governor of New York’s She has also created a mentoring vices and Programs at Georgia State She has worked for many years at the first program of clinical nursing at Hunter. of digital workflows and electronic services for children, preventive Geriatric Interagency Planning program for New York City high University, and she served on the Wilson Technological Center, and is a research. Her academic articles have advertising formats. In 2009, services for families, and a group Council, and she was formerly school students with hearing loss. Georgia Board of Regents’ African- member of the scholarship commit- been widely published, and she is a Publishing Executive Magazine of domestic violence shelters. deputy commissioner of the New American Male Initiative Task Force. tee of the Association of Long Island past editor of the Clinical Journal of named her one of the “Top Women York City Department of Health Vocational Educators. Oncology Nursing. in Magazine Publishing.” and Mental Hygiene.

18 19 Class Notes

1940s 1960s Capitol, and the White House. His Art Museum in Shanghai. A former tion of State Veterans Homes, Landscape paintings by Eva Susan Dessel (’95, BFA ’03) was lence, led efforts to strengthen art has been featured on the covers correspondent and photojournalist the nation’s largest provider of Lundsager (MFA ’88) were exhib- named a 2013-2014 Frankel safety measures at the school. In a profile by The Epoch Times, Mary Guinan (’61), dean of the of books, periodicals, and journals, who covered China, the U.S., India, long-term care for veterans. ited at the Academy Art Museum Institute Fellow at the University Judy Lerner (’43) recalled her School of Community Health in public spaces, and on coins and South Korea, and the former Soviet in Easton, MD. Her works are in of Michigan. Her work will be 2000s undergraduate years at Hunter and Sciences at the University of postage stamps worldwide, and was Union, he won the 1989 Pulitzer William Reifer (MSW ’82) has the permanent collections of the based on her research about her lifetime of activism for human Nevada, is a key figure in featured in ARTslant in August 2013. Prize for Spot News Photography, been promoted to vice president Dallas Museum of Art, the Nerman Martha Gruening (1889-1937), Patricia Caffrey (MSN ’00) was rights, women’s rights, and peace. implementing the Affordable Care shared with his colleagues at the of quality and case management Museum of Contemporary Art in a suffragist, journalist, and among 50 women recognized at For nine years, she has been chair Act in Nevada. She has served two 1970s AP for coverage of the collapse of at Phelps Memorial Hospital Oakland Park, KS, and the St. Louis civil rights activist. the June 2013 Brooklyn Top Women of the international committee terms as Nevada Health Officer. the Soviet Union. Center in Sleepy Hollow, NY. Art Museum. in Business Networking Awards of Peace Action, an NGO with the A paperback edition Veronie Lawrence Wright (’95) Dinner for outstanding accom- United Nations. Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick (’63), of Weeds Like Us by Martin McLee (’79) was recently Steven M. Schall (MSW ’83) has been Compassion was appointed campus director plishments in the health care, retired senior associate judge of the Gunter Nitsch (’71) elected bishop of the United named president of the board of Fatigue and of the College of New Rochelle’s corporate, education, or nonprofit Ruth Rosenfeld Janko (’49) has New York Court of Appeals, joined was published in Methodist Church, New York University Settlement on the Lower Burnout in Bedford-Stuyvesant campus in arenas. Caffrey is the nurse admin- published a book, On Becoming a the international law firm Greenberg June 2013. Episcopal Area. He is the former East Side. He is a partner in Schall Nursing: Brooklyn. Known as the School of istrator for the Brooklyn satellite Person: Tales and Perspectives on Traurig in 2013. The first Hispanic senior pastor & Russo Planning Works, which Enhancing New Resources, the school offers of Calvary Hospital. Parent-Child Relationships. and second woman on the Court Andy Furman (’72) is a co-host of the of the Union provides services to nonprofits and Professional the bachelor’s degree and provides of Appeals and the first Hispanic national morning show Fox Sports United government agencies. Quality of a support system for its low- 1950s woman to sit on any trial bench in Daybreak on Fox Sports Radio. Methodist Life (Springer income students, some of whom New York, she received an honorary Church in Debra Drelich (MSW ’84), a special- Publishing Co.) by Vidette Todaro- were incarcerated, homeless, or Mildred Dresselhaus (’51) received degree from Hunter in 2013. Art Boston. He ist in geriatric care, was featured Franceschi (MSN, MPH ’89) substance-dependent. the Materials Research Society Von historian was also in The New York Times column “Ask seeks to provide solutions to Hippel Award for her pioneering Fredric Diane an adjunct the Expert,” providing advice on as- the increased compassion fatigue contributions to the fundamental Leeds (’67) Radycki professor of sisted living for aging relatives. among nurses. Todaro-Franceschi science of carbon-based and other recently (MA’73) is social work is coordinator of the Clinical materials, her leadership in energy retired as the author at Simmons College and taught Vilma Torres (MSW ’84), a longtime Nurse Leader Graduate Program The video artist Omer Fast (MFA ’00) and science policy, and her mentor- chancellor of Paula at Brandeis. advocate for crime victims’ fami- at Hunter. was the subject of a recent article in ing of young scientists. Dresselhaus of Penn Moder- lies, was honored at Safe Horizon’s The New York Times. His latest has said she had good luck in State sohn-Beck- 1980s annual Champion Awards Gala. 1990s piece, which premiered at the Frieze finding mentors, including future Shenango. er: The First Modern Woman Artist Torres, who began working at Safe Art Fair in London, explores the labor Nobel Laureate Rosalyn Yalow (’41), Among his (Yale University Press). Radycki is Thelma Allen Stich (BSN ’80), Horizon as an intern while still a Theresa Hawkins (’90) is the involved in pornography. Fast told while she was at Hunter. many associate professor and director recently listed in Strathmore's Hunter student, has spent nearly founder and group coordinator The Centre d’Art Contemporain the Times that his goal was to keep honors are the Penn State of the Payne Gallery at Moravian Who's Who Worldwide, has a PhD 30 years at the organization. of the Atlantic City Free Public in Geneva hosted the first retro- his own final product balanced Barbara B. Doonan (’59), principal Administrative Excellence Award College. from Rutgers, and is the president Library’s Film Society, now in spective of work by American artist between being “arguably pornography, scientist at Altria Group (retired), is and Penn State’s establishment of of Student Nurse Coach LLC on Among the highlights of the 2013 its seventh year. Edy Ferguson (MFA’96). Ferguson but also arguably art.” currently a research fellow at New a scholarship in his name. Ray Gleason (’74) is the author of a Staten Island. Aeschylean Festival in Greece was uses multiple media, with refer- York Medical College. She recently novel, The Violent Season (Unlim- a performance of Agamemnon di- Henry Butler (’91) has been ences drawn from film iconography, The New York City comedy club published “Prevention and Manage- Susan Rogers (’67) received the ited Publishing), drawing on his Fred S. rected by Niketi Kondouri (MA ’86). appointed district manager of rock music, and the spirit of punk. Caroline’s recently featured actress ment of Obesity by Isoflavones” Clifford W. Beers Award, Mental experiences in the Vietnam War. A Sganga (’81), Community Board 3 in Bedford- and comic Natasha Leggero (’00). in Isoflavones: Chemistry Analysis, Health America’s highest honor. retired U.S. Army infantry major, executive Jacqueline R. Stuyvesant in Brooklyn. He New York City history teacher Function and Effects (Royal Society She is director of the National Men- Gleason is a lecturer at Northwest- director of Banks (MSEd previously served as board chair. Joshua Vasquez (’96) was Alexa Pomales (’02) is assistant of Chemistry). tal Health Consumers’ Self-Help ern University’s School of Continu- the Long ’87) is the nominated for a 2013 Hometown director of the Child and Family Clearinghouse, a consumer-run na- ing Studies in Chicago. Island State author of A David Lilenfeld (’93), co-founder Heroes in Education Award, Center at Rockefeller University. Arthur M. Pfeiffer (’59), a Palo tional technical assistance center, Veterans Fine Piece of and CEO of SterlingFunder, spoke sponsored by the Daily News, Alto mathematician and software and is director of special projects Nancy Kantor (’74) was promoted Home at Chocolate: at the 2013 Urban League Young the New York City Department of Bill Sothern (’02), a certified designer, has developed success- at the Mental Health Association of to executive vice president, original Stony Brook, Righteous Professionals Entrepreneur Boot Education, the United Federation industrial hygienist, was featured ful poker apps for the iPhone and Southeastern Pennsylvania. programming, and general manager, received Sistas Camp. The annual event provides of Teachers, and the Council of in a New York Times article on iPod Touch. He now plans to open Disney Junior Channel Worldwide. the Secretary’s Award from the Crossing Over young entrepreneurs with guid- School Supervisors and Administra- residential mold detection. His an Internet-based poker room that Joel Iskowitz (’68) is one of the Department of Veterans Affairs. to the Wild Side, published by ance and training from leaders tors. Vasquez, chair of the History firm, Microecologies, volunteered will legally allow Americans to play few living artists whose artwork is An exhibition of Liu Heung Shing’s(’75) The award recognizes his service as WestBow Press. in the metro Atlanta business Department at Bushwick Leaders’ its services in New Orleans after online poker for real money. displayed in the Pentagon, the photographs was held at the Chinese president of the National Associa- community. High School for Academic Excel- Hurricane Katrina and is battling

continued

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20 21 Class Notes continued In Memoriam

household mold problems caused An exhibition of new paintings Street in lower Manhattan. Julie Oppermann (MFA ’13) Sisters Lucille Duke Kaufman ’47 and Barbara Duke Dickstein ’48 by Hurricane Sandy. by Zach Harris (MFA ’06) was exhibited a series of her paint- recently held at the David 2010s ings at the Mark Moore Gallery ucille Duke Kaufman ’47 and Barbara Duke Dickstein ’48, survived by her husband, a son and two grandchildren. Sara Abrams (’03) has been named Kordansky Gallery in Los Angeles. in Culver City, CA. Oppermann, sisters who were close to each other and their alma Barbara contributed generously over many years to assistant rabbi of the Westchester Harris’s work has been featured Jean Keogh (MSW ’12) has joined who lives and works in New York, Lmater, died last year within months of each other. Hunter’s Annual Fund and its Mother’s Day Scholarship Reform Temple in Scarsdale. and reviewed in Artforum and The the education team at Nassau recently completed two residency Lucille died on June 29, 2013,Barbara on November 7, 2013. Campaign. She loved to get to know the students she New York Times and is in the County’s Coalition against Child programs — in São Paulo at the Lucille, an art major at Hunter, helped her husband sponsored through letters, emails, and visits to the College. A solo exhibition of works by permanent collections of the Abuse and Neglect and the Coali- Residencia Artistica and in Berlin build a thriving plumbing contracting firm and owned A longtime 20th-century costume historian at the artist Jules de Balincourt (MFA Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, tion against Domestic Violence. at the University of Kunste. her own company, LDK Contractors. She was a founding Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of American ’05) was on view at the Montreal the Princeton University Art member and vice chair of the Hunter College Founda- History, Barbara collected most of the Smithsonian’s Museum of Fine Arts through Museum, and the Santa Lindsey Westward Mutations by Kristen tion Board of Trustees. She was also on the boards of 1970s garment collection and worked on several major Barbara Museum of Art. Ferretino’s Palmer (MFA ’13) was one of eight the Alumni Association and the Scholarship and Welfare exhibitions. At Hunter, Barbara majored in speech and (MFA ’13) new plays featured at the Tangent Fund and was a generous donor to Hunter’s library and drama. She is survived by her husband, Sidney Dickstein, Ten new paintings by Peter play Moon- Theatre’s 2013 NEWvember New art galleries, as well as the College’s Mother’s Day Scholarship and by three children and five grandchildren. Demos (MFA ’08) were presented light on the Plays Festival in Tivoli, NY. Her play Campaign. She and her husband, Ted Kaufman, also funded the Lucille and Barbara were both loyal Hunter alumnae in a solo exhibition at the David Bayou had was chosen from more than 300 Lucille and Theodore Kaufman Genetics Research Laboratory. and strong presences on campus many years after Richard Gallery in Santa Fe during a staged submissions from around the world.  Sisters Barbara Duke Dickstein (left) and In recognition of her service to the College, they graduated. They will be greatly missed by the Hunter summer 2013. Demos is a recipient reading at the Palmer is artistic director of Oddfel- Lucille Duke Kaufman Lucille was inducted into Hunter’s Hall of Fame. She is community and all those whose lives they touched. of the Hunter College Tony Smith Classic Stage lows Playhouse Youth Theatre in April 2014. His works are in the col- Award and recently completed a Company in New York City. Her Middletown, CT. lections of the Brooklyn Museum, Marie Walsh Sharpe Foundation work has been performed at the Opera Star Regina Resnik ’42 the Los Angeles County Museum Studio Residency. Kennedy Center Theater Lab in Fivel Rothberg (MFA ’13), a of Art, and the Los Angeles Washington, Atlantic Theatre filmmaker and educator, is pera legend Regina Resnik, who while still in her She was a regular guest performer at La Scala in Museum of Contemporary Art. Kelle Jacob (’08) has been Company, Rattlestick Playwright’s working on a new web-based teens gained acclaim for her performances at the Milan, Covent Garden in London, the Vienna Staatsoper, promoted to assistant manager, Theater, the Manhattan Repertory documentary about sexual OHunter College Assembly Hall and went on to sing Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, the Chicago Philharmonic, Photo: David Rodgers Fenella Saunders (MA ’05) is manag- North America Innovation, at Theater, and other venues in consent which aims to educate at the world’s greatest opera houses, died on August 8, and the San Francisco Opera, among others. ing editor of American Scientist, the Estée Lauder. New York. She is a playwriting young men. He was interviewed 2013. She was 90. A Phil Beta Kappa graduate of Hunter’s Resnik made her Broadway debut in 1987 playing magazine of Sigma Xi, The Scientific candidate at the Yale School about the film by the Jewish Class of January 1942, Resnik was a star of the Metropoli- Frau Schneider in a revival of Cabaret, for which she Research Society. Steve Rivera (’08) opened a new of Drama. Daily Forward in July. tan Opera from 1944 to 1983 and later became a master earned a Tony nomination. Three years later she played gallery, NOVELLA, on Orchard teacher and an opera and film producer and director. Madame Armfeldt in a Lincoln Center staging of A Resnik’s most celebrated roles included Carmen, Little Night Music, winning a Drama Desk nomination. Donna Anna and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Mistress As a Hunter student Resnik sang Gilbert and Sullivan the Hunter College Foundation Board of Trustees, Quickly in Falstaff, Amneris in Aida, Klytaemnestra in roles at College venues, and in later years she produced “Re- which was established in 1991, and after serving Elektra, and the Countess in Queen of Spades. She began gina Resnik Selects” at The Kaye Playhouse, established three terms she was named a trustee emerita. Hunter Literary Notes: New Books by MFA Alums her career as a soprano, but in what she called “the biggest a scholarship for Hunter music students, and served as awarded her an honorary doctorate and a President’s gamble of my life,” she took on the mezzo-soprano and a special consultant on cultural affairs to the president Medal, and the Alumni Association gave her its 1986 Gary Shteyngart’s (MFA ’02) Phil Klay’s (MFA ’11) Redeployment, Bill Cheng’s (MFA ’11) first novel, Jessica Soffer’s (MFA ’09) contralto repertory and gained still greater success. of the College. She was one of the earliest members of Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement. latest work, the memoir Little his debut short story collection Southern Cross the Dog, was debut novel, Tomorrow There Will Failure (Random about the Iraq published by Be Apricots, House), has war and its HarperCollins has been received ter- effects on the in 2013. The published by Hunter Remembers rific reviews in soldiers who New York Times Houghton a host of major fought in it, has said the book Mifflin Harcourt. Jeanne H. Mehler ’31 Lillian Dinkin ’43 Gerard Leon Cafesjian ’50 Angeline Gallman Donaldson ’65 news outlets. been published “has all the The Atlantic Dorothy Selengut ’33 Estelle Silverman ’43 Mary Capone McDonnell ’50 Barbara Bluckhorn Lane ’66 “Of the many by The Penguin markers of a described Agnes Fauerbach ’34 Eugenia Chen Wing ’44 Zelda Boley ’52 Dolores Prida ’69 enormously Press to wide novel written her book as Henrietta Berger Kahn ’34 Antoinette Maggio ’44 Eileen Agnes Sullivan ’53 Patricia Blevins ’70 gifted authors acclaim. Dexter in the finest “a moving, Augusta Strauss Thomas ’34 Jeanne Payne ’45 Barbara Mullings-Carter ’56 Aspasia Couloumbis Christopher ’72 now writing about the immigrant Filkins, in his review in The New Southern gothic tradition.” extraordinary novel….sorrowful Sarah Kenyon ’35 Chana Gordon Mlotek ’46 Edwin Kabakow ’57 Araceli Cabeiro McShane ’76 experience… Gary Shteyngart is York Times Book Review, wrote, and beautifully written.” Helen F. Rosen ’38 Eleanor Schildkret Sapakoff ’46 Margaret Roy Gotti ’61 Thomas A. Dern ’79 undoubtedly the funniest,” wrote “Redeployment is hilarious, biting, Rae Thomas ’38 Mildred Snyder ’46 Judith Daninhirsch ’63 Virginia Griffith Frank ’85 Michiko Kakutani in The New whipsawing and sad. It’s the best Lilia Morales Ayala ’40 Aclen Lewis ’47 Marie Angelos ’64 Eileen Roaman ’95 York Times. thing written so far on what the war Helen Rehr ’40 Elsbeth Gaertner Lewin ’47 Susan Gildenberg Jeffers ’64 Alfred Chiodo ’05 did to people’s souls.” Mary Josephine Ruzicka ’41 Helen Yuen ’49 Stanley Snadowsky ’64

22 23 NON-PROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID Hunter College of The City University of New York MADISON, WI and the Alumni Association of Hunter College PERMIT NO. 2223 695 Park Avenue New York, NY 10065

Foundation Board Member DON CAPOCCIA ’82 owe Hunter an enormous debt,” says Hunter plex that he and his colleagues will convert into quality special. “It was a great introduction to people,” he said. College Foundation Board of Trustees member apartments for middle- and working-class tenants. “For the first time, I became aware of real cultural and “I Don Capoccia (MUP ’82). “I wouldn’t be Capoccia is also a dedicated philanthropist and arts racial diversity.” An undergraduate class he taught had doing what I do today if not for what Hunter College advocate. He has served as vice chairman of the U.S. perhaps the greatest influence. “I was teaching kids did for me.” Commission of Fine Arts and vice president of the New from all over about ‘city life’ — but really, they were What Capoccia does today is manage a major real York State Association for Affordable Housing, which teaching me.” estate development company that makes afford- he cofounded, and is on the boards of the Governors Capoccia has been a generous contributor to able housing a reality for thousands of New York City Island Preservation and Education Corporation and the Hunter’s library fund, LGBT Center, and urban affairs residents. BFC Partners, which Capoccia founded, has Battery Park City Authority. projects, and he has provided many Hunter students helped spur the resurgence of neighborhoods like the Capoccia’s commitment to accessibility and diver- with career-building internships. He became a trustee East Village, East Harlem, Williamsburg, Downtown sity in urban planning was fostered at Hunter. Though in 2012 so that he could have an even greater impact. Brooklyn, and Stapleton in Staten Island through he was raised upstate and earned his undergraduate “There are so many younger people at Hunter who residential, retail, and community facility building degree at the University of Buffalo, it wasn’t until he come from challenging upbringings, and it can be projects. Capoccia recently added the Bronx to the list came to Hunter to pursue his master’s in urban plan- so hard to find opportunity,” he said. “I want to help by becoming a co-owner of a rundown 252-unit com- ning that he understood what made New York City provide that.”