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WIDENER
Widener Magazine
Volume23
Number01
Spring ’13
Voic es of Leader ship 4 A Parade of President s 15 Sex Ed—for Senior s? 20
Widener Fund
promising
Futures
All gifts to the Widener
Fund are now designated
to support financial aid,
helping bring a Widener
education within reach
for our students and
giving graduates the
financial freedom to
pursue their dreams.
Andrea
Stickley’s Promising Future
Andrea Stickley ’14 has the kind of drive and passion that are so often the mark
of a successful leader. This political science major with a minor in environmental
studies has a deep commitment to increasing awareness of the responsibility we all
have to sustain the planet. As a member of the inaugural class of Oskin Leaders
in the Oskin Leadership Institute, Andrea has embarked on a project to study the
feasibility, impact, and benefits of installing solar panels on select university buildings.
Although only in her second year at Widener, she is on pace to graduate in 2014.
Her Widener experiences will serve her well as she pursues her career goals of working
on environmental issues in a federal agency and ultimately in legislative policy.
When you give to the Widener Fund, you support the
Promising Future of students like Andrea Stickley.
i
Andrea Stickley ‘14
Political Science
All gifts to the Widener Fund are now
designated to support financial aid,
helping bring a Widener education
within reach for our students and
giving graduates the financial
freedom to pursue their dreams.
Find out more at give.widener.edu
Daniel Hartney
Business ’15
IKE
THE BOSS
TWO AMERICAN ICONS
TWO GENERATIONS
ONE UNIVERSITY’S HISTORY
ii
10
AN AFTERNOON WITH IKE
President Dwight D. Eisenhower visited Pennsylvania Military
College on May 31, 1963, two days prior to commencement.
He is standing on the field at the left end of the front row in
a dark suit with his fedora over his chest.
COVER STORY
Memorable visits to the Main Campus in Chester by Eisenhower and
Bruce Springsteen took place less than eleven years apart. Eisenhower
visited in 1963, and Springsteen played one show in February 1974 and
two in 1975. Daniel Upton ’75, a photographer for the Widener College
yearbook, took the photo of Springsteen that appears on the cover.
15 16 20
WIDENER UNIVERSITY
Widener University
One University Place
Chester, PA 19013
Phone: 1-888-WIDENER
Website: www.widener.edu
Published by the Office
of University Relations
CONTENTS
4
Voices of Leadership
6
On Campus
10
An Afternoon with Ike
wight D. Eisenhower, the only man to serve as a five-star general
D
and two terms as president, visited Pennsylvania Military College
on May 31, 1963, and left an impression that has lasted half a
century. He is one of seven presidents who have visited campus or
have been a guest of Widener or PMC since 1920.
16
Visits from the Boss
Executive Editor:
Lou Anne Bulik
Editor:
Sam Starnes
Class Notes Editor:
Patty Votta
Contributing Writers:
Kathleen Butler
Derek Crudele
Dan Hanson ’97
Autumn Heisler ’15
Maria Klecko ’15
Chara Kramer ’14
Tina Phillips ’82, ’98, ’03
Allyson Roberts
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Before Bruce Springsteen became a rock’n’roll icon, he played
three memorable shows at Widener College in the mid-seventies.
One concert was surreptitiously videotaped and now exists as a
famous documentation of his early performances.
20
Sex Ed—For Seniors?
Widener’s Consortium on Sexuality and Aging is a one-of-akind program addressing issues such as sex education for seniors,
fostering research in the field, and addressing intimacy in
nursing homes.
Photographers:
Kathleen Butler
Jennifer Dublisky ’11
Dave Jackson
Daniel Upton ’75
Sarah Webb
24
Class and Alumni Chapter Notes
32
Campaign Update: Taking the Lead—The Campaign
for Widener
36
The Back Page
Magazine Advisory Board:
Gerry Bloemker ’98
Lou Anne Bulik
Kathleen Butler
Denise Gifford
Dan Hanson ’97
Tina Phillips ’82, ’98, ’03
Matthew Poslusny
Meghan Radosh ’00, ’02
Sam Starnes
Brigitte Valesey
Stephen Wilhite
The Currie family tree has deep roots to Widener and
PMC—a lineage that dates back four generations.
Visit Our Blog—
widenermagazine.com
Please join the conver­sation
by posting your comments
and letters to the editor
online.
Find us on Facebook
at www.facebook.com/
wideneruniversity.
2
As the two images on the
cover of this magazine
demonstrate, a diversity of
bona fide American icons
have paid memorable visits to
Widener and its predecessor
institution, Pennsylvania
Military College. From
Dwight D. Eisenhower, the
two-term president who led
the allied forces to victory in
World War II, to Bruce Springsteen, the rock’n’roll star whose
music has entertained and documented America, the range and
cultural significance of our influential visitors to campus have
made an indelible stamp on the Widener community.
The tradition of hosting visiting dignitaries and entertainers
dates back almost a century when students and faculty engaged
with leaders such as Franklin Delano Roosevelt, then secretary of
the Navy; composer and conductor John Philip Sousa; Gen. John
J. Pershing, leader of the American Expeditionary Forces during
World War I; Connie Mack, the legendary baseball manager; and
filmmaker Cecil B. De Mille, once a student of this institution.
Others to visit campus include notable figures as diverse as
Wernher Von Braun, the German-American once called “the
greatest rocket scientist in history,” and Ethel Waters, a renowned
jazz and blues vocalist and actress who hailed from Chester
and broke racial barriers on stage and screen.
This tradition is one that continues with the very
popular Philadelphia Speakers Series, an event Widener has
sponsored for nine consecutive years. Our distinguished
speakers share with the capacity crowds at the Kimmel Center
in Philadelphia their unique experiences and perspectives
on a wide variety of topics, and many often visit campus.
Recent speakers include President Bill Clinton, political
strategist Karl Rove, Mexican President Vicenté Fox, Pakistan
President Pervez Musharraf, former Secretary of State Henry
Kissinger, and leading journalists and writers, including Tom
Brokaw, Bob Woodward, Salman Rushdie, and Amy Tan.
The upcoming 2013–2014 season beginning in the
fall has recently been announced, and includes Apple
Computer co-founder Steve Wozniak, former Secretary of
Defense Robert Gates, historian Doris Kearns Goodwin,
and author Bill Bryson. For more information on tickets,
visit the Philadelphia Speakers Series website at www.
philadelphiaspeakersseries.org. We would be thrilled for you
to join us for these captivating presentations that Widener is
proud to present.
Dr. James T. Harris III, President
RULA AL-SAFFAR’S SPIRIT INSPIRES WIDENER AUDIENCE
Just six months after having her 15-year prison sentence
overturned, Rula Al-Saffar, a 2000 master’s graduate
of the School of Nursing, captivated an audience at
Widener with her story of imprisonment for treating
injured protesters during Bahrain’s Arab Spring.
“They could beat me, they could shock me, but they
could not take my spirit away from me,” said Al-Saffar,
former president of the Bahrain Nurses Society who was
detained and tortured for nearly five months in 2011.
Al-Saffar, ranked number 11 on the list of the 500 most
influential Arabs by Arabian Business Magazine, was
highlighted in the fall 2012 issue of Widener Magazine.
Al-Saffar’s journey is a story of unwavering commitment to her profession and to serving people, a story of
leadership in the face of extreme adversity, and a story of
the triumph of the human spirit. Fresh from speaking at an
international human rights conference in Washington, D.C.,
Al-Saffar visited campus in December and spoke about
her continuing fight to free the medics whose convictions
were not overturned and remain in prison in Bahrain.
“We need to teach about humanitarian law, about ethics,”
Al-Saffar said. “There needs to be medical neutrality. If
this can happen in Bahrain, it can happen anywhere.”
Rula Al-Saffar ’00 (pictured with Nada Adam, ‘12,
a communication studies Widener alumna from the
United Arab Emirates) brought her trademark peace
symbol to campus in December. Al-Saffar will return to
Widener on May 18 when she will give the commencement
address and receive an honorary doctorate in public service.
3
VOICES OF LEADERSHIP
VOICES OF LEADERSHIP
Boeing Executive Shares
Lessons from the Top
From left, Jonathan Greene ’15, Dr. James T. Harris III, David Oskin ’64 ’07H,
Dennis A. Muilenburg, and retired Gen. John Tilleli ’63, ’96H.
Dennis A. Muilenburg, president and CEO
of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, was
honored at the annual Voices of Leadership
dinner hosted by Widener’s Oskin Leadership
Institute in November. Muilenburg, who
oversees a $33 billion business and 60,000
employees worldwide, received the Widener
Bugle, given by the university in recognition
of those who have answered the call to lead.
Retired Gen. John Tilelli, a 1963 graduate
of Pennsylvania Military College who is vice
chair of the Widener Board of Trustees,
interviewed Muilenburg. “He’d be a leader
that I would follow into battle, or I’d follow
into business,” Tilelli said.
4
Muilenburg on mentors, role
models, and leadership
I had the privilege of meeting Neil
Armstrong a few times. I’ve never met a
more humble man. Here you are sitting
with the first man to walk on the moon.
This was a man who just had incredible
courage. I remember him talking to me
about the first Apollo mission. If you
added it up mathematically and utilized all
the engineering approaches we use today,
he and his crew had less than a 50 percent
chance of returning to Earth alive on that
mission. So imagine the courage it took.
You talk about competency—one of the
reasons that mission was successful is his
raw piloting skill to put a capsule on the
moon with a computer that probably has
Muilenburg was interviewed by retired Gen. Tilelli at the annual Voices of Leadership dinner.
less horsepower than my watch does today.
Just an incredible man. Very humble. An
extraordinary leader.
On being pushed out his
comfort zone
I came to Boeing because I wanted to
design airplanes. I spent fourteen years
designing airplanes, and just loved it.
Every kind of airplane you can imagine. I
thought, “This is a great career. I’m just
going to do this as long as I am in the
business.” At about the fifteen-year point
in my career, a senior leader at Boeing
came to me and said, “Dennis, we’ve got
something else we want you to try.” I said,
“I don’t want to switch gears. I like what
I’m doing.” He said, “We want you to
move to Washington, D.C. and run our air
traffic management business, a new startup for Boeing.” I said, “I don’t know a lot
about air traffic management. I’m a fighter
[plane] designer. Why do you want me to
do that?” He said, “Because it’s going to
stretch you and grow you.”
So I moved my family across the
country. I still remember driving from
Seattle to Washington D.C. We arrived in
D.C. moved in, and got settled. About ten
days after we arrived, 9/11 happened. For
those of you who remember the summer
of 2001, the air traffic system was bursting
at the seams. There was not enough capacity in the system. Overnight, the problem
went from not enough capacity to not
enough security. It completely blew up our
business model, and dismantled the air
traffic management business.
That was a very tough experience
for me. We had to unravel that business
model. There were some tough personnel
issues to deal with. That wasn’t much fun
while I was doing it. But looking back on
that time period, I probably grew more
as a leader in that year than any other
time in my career because it pushed me
outside of my comfort zone. I ended up
meeting a whole bunch of new people
in Washington, D.C. and dramatically
expanded my network. I had a much more
global understanding of the business and
how it worked. As my next job, I ended
up taking over future combat systems.
That move ended up being the single most
influential, important event in my career—
and it was something that originally I
didn’t even want to do.
Advice for students on courage
I think this idea of courage, to have the
courage to go do something, is very significant. Don’t underestimate what you
can do. At this stage of your career, and
with the investment that has been made
in you as leaders, imagine big things, think
about world-changing things, and don’t be
limited by what people might say you can
do. Especially early in your career, you can
afford to take a big swing. If it doesn’t go
so well, you’ll learn so much. I’d encourage
you to have the courage to think big and
really imagine what you can do.
For a video of the Voices of Leadership
discussion, visit widener.edu/vol.
5
ON CAMPUS
ON CAMPUS
Widener Joins President Clinton’s Effort
“To Make a Difference in the World”
Widener University is the first institution in the Philadelphia
region to join a growing consortium of colleges and universities
nationwide participating in the Clinton Global Initiative University
Network, an ambitious program founded by President Bill Clinton.
“Young people have a greater ability to enact change than ever
before,” Clinton said in a statement about the organization’s 2012
annual conference, “and CGI U is a global network of young
people seeking to use the resources at their disposal to make a
difference in the world.”
Living Learning
Communities
Enhance Student
Experiences
By Maria Klecko ‘15
Karly Simon, a senior sociology major from Medford, N.J.,
has spent much of her time at Widener “living and learning”
leadership skills. In addition to being a manager at the
Wellness Center and the vice president of communications
for the Panhellenic Association, Simon is resident adviser for the
Leadership and Civic Engagement Living Learning Community.
6
From Chester to Chongqing:
Social Work Scholarship on a Global Scale
CGI U is Clinton’s initiative to engage the next generation
of leaders on college campuses worldwide. Since its inaugural meeting
in 2008, CGI U has brought together more than 4,500 students
from more than 130 countries to make commitments to action.
The program is a project of the larger Clinton Global Initiative,
founded in 2005 with the mission to “turn ideas into action.”
Widener joined the network in January. A student
representing the Widener chapter of Engineers Without Borders
attended the recent CGI U meeting at Washington University in
St. Louis. Widener is providing a minimum of $10,000 from an
endowed fund to be divided among student projects.
Widener President James T. Harris III said the program
aligns perfectly with Widener’s commitment to leadership
development and civic engagement. “The Clinton Global
Initiative goes to the very heart of our mission at Widener,”
Harris said. “We are very excited to be selected as a member
of the University Network.”
A far-reaching partnership between social work faculty and
students at Widener and Chongqing Technical and Business
University (CTBU) in China continues to expand learning
and enhance social work services on both sides of the globe. The
collaboration, begun in 2006, has focused on faculty and student
exchanges, training, and research. Widener students and faculty
have visited the Chinese university frequently in the past seven
years, and Chinese students and faculty have come to Chester to
learn and share as well. “The eye-opening opportunities for our
students and the research partnerships this has created for our
faculty have been tremendous,” said Dr. John Poulin, director
of Widener’s Center for Social Work Education.
This year brings plans for even more cross-global cooperation.
Poulin said Widener’s Center for Social Work Education is
working on developing a program that will allow CTBU social
work students to transfer to Widener and obtain a bachelor’s
of social work degree in two years and be eligible for advanced
standing to receive a master’s of social work degree in one year.
In addition, Dr. Robin Goldberg-Glen, an associate professor
of social work who has spent a semester at CTBU teaching and
conducting research on Chinese elderly, will collaborate this
Living Learning Communities—known as LLCs on
campus—are residential groups of students with similar interests.
The clusters of like-minded students allow for in-residence
programming, outside-the-classroom experiences, and learning
opportunities that are tailored to academic disciplines.
Other LLCs include nursing students, engineering majors,
honors students, and biology, environmental science, and
chemistry majors.
LLC programming began several years ago in smaller iterations but has become more formalized over the past three years.
Now approximately 200 students participate. The Leadership
and Civic Engagement LLC is the latest to emerge, starting in
fall 2012. “It has helped me reflect on my leadership style and has
encouraged me to become better aware of those who need my
assistance,” Simon said.
The Leadership and Civic Engagement LLC houses upperclassmen, but most of Widener’s LLCs accommodate freshmen.
The university has experienced positive results in terms of
student retention. “Students that participate and live in LLCs
are retained at Widener from freshman to sophomore year at
a rate that is about 10 percent higher than other freshmen who
come to Widener with similar academic preparation,” said Dr.
Denise Gifford, associate provost and dean of students.
Gifford and Catherine Bermudez, assistant dean for residence
life, work together to ensure that the LLCs grow, linking both
the classroom and out-of-classroom experiences. Programs for
students have included the “spaghetti challenge” for engineering
students in which students paired up in teams of three to create a
tower of spaghetti using only one yard of masking tape that held
a marshmallow for 60 seconds. The nursing LLC hosted a movie
night that focused on the struggle of a cancer patient and the
hospital experience.
In addition to a greater retention rate, the LLCs offer
benefits such as an enhanced sense of community, the creation
of bonds between students with similar interests, a stronger
interaction between faculty and students, and continual
learning opportunities. “LLCs positively impact the success
of students,” Gifford said.
summer with a CTBU professor to teach a service learning course
for graduate students on social work practice with elderly Chinese
clients. Students will conduct biographical timelines and develop
intervention plans with CTBU social work students. “This multilayered partnership has enriched our understanding of the human
needs that social work can fulfill on a global scale,” Poulin said.
Dr. Robin Goldberg-Glen, a social work faculty member,
with a performer from the Sichuan Opera in Chengdu,
China, and with students and faculty from Chongqing
Technical and Business University.
Students in the engineering LLC competed in the “spaghetti
challenge,” a contest to build a tower out of spaghetti,
masking tape, and a marshmallow.
7
ON CAMPUS
ON CAMPUS
ENGINEERING GALA MARKS 150 YEARS,
HONORS ALUMNA AND FACULTY MEMBER
In a festive room full of engineers,
entrepreneurs, researchers, authors,
and executives, one particular alumna—
Sandra (Fay) Morgan ’71—stood out.
Morgan, the very first female engineering
student on campus, was honored with the
Widener School of Engineering’s 150th
Anniversary Medal at the gala dinner held
at Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute.
“When I saw Kirkbride Hall, I felt
like I was at a ‘real’ engineering school
compared to everything else I had seen at
that time,” said Morgan, who enrolled in
1967 when Widener was known jointly as
Pennsylvania Military College and Penn
Morton College and went on to a career
as a civil engineer.
As a scholarship recipient, Morgan
said she strongly supports the new
Anniversary Scholarship Fund, which was
launched during the sesquicentennial celebration. When fully endowed, this fund
will provide financial assistance to future
generations of engineering students.
Dr. Ray Jefferis, the longest tenured
faculty member at Widener, was also
honored for his commitment to teaching
excellence and community service. Jefferis,
who joined Pennsylvania Military College
in 1966, has developed a number of courses
in the School of Engineering. He also
holds two patents and over the past decade
has become an active volunteer for the
Red Cross.
From left to right: quarterback Chris Haupt set numerous Widener records; wide receiver/returner Anthony Davis earned
second team All-America honors; and running back Couve LaFate ran for four touchdowns and more than 300 yards.
Sandra (Fay) Morgan ’71 received
the School of Engineering’s
150th Anniversary Medal.
A NEW GENERATION OF LITERARY JOURNALS
By Chara Kramer ‘14
Widener’s student-run literary journal that
publishes student poetry, fiction, nonfiction, drama, and artwork has a new name:
Widener Ink.
The journal had been known as
the Pioneer Review, using the name of
the university’s Pioneer mascot that
was changed to the Pride in 2006.
Why the title change?
“We wanted to be more reflective
of the school as it stands today,” said Erin
Sylvester ’13, this year’s editor-in-chief.
Student editors have worked diligently
through the spring semester to produce
the journal. The journal will be available in
April, and can be found online by searching
for Widener Ink on Widener’s website at
www.widener.edu.
Another literary journal on campus
is The Blue Route, which is a national online
literary journal. This journal, although
closed to Widener students for submission,
is run this year by Jillian Benedict ’14,
editor-in-chief, along with other students,
and is published twice a year. It is available
at http://widenerblueroute.org/.
The Poet
Lips and limbs and broken things on nights of midnight moons,
hands and strings and hazy wings inside too-small bedrooms.
Disarray and disaster holding hands like brides and grooms,
wed beneath quilts and pillows hanging onto dusty brooms.
Force it, spin it, twist and groan until the words sound better.
Thread the ink and heart, pull until it tethers.
Glass and bones and ashy wood, crash those words together,
and read them in the morning because you know you won’t remember,
the blinding brilliance of wordsmithery and consummation of a sound.
Keep it flowing, keep improving, and spill your canvas proud.
—A poem from Widener Ink by Ashley Connor, a senior communication
studies major from Milmont Park, Pennsylvania.
8
A BANNER YEAR ON THE GRIDIRON
By Derek Crudele
As Widener football players gathered
for the annual preseason team photograph,
a staff member commented that it
looked like a championship picture.
That prophecy proved true as the Pride
went 11-1 for the season that included an
undefeated record in the Middle Atlantic
Conference, earning the program’s leaguerecord 19th crown. Widener started 11-0
for just the fourth time in its 132-year
history, tied a school record with seven
home victories at Leslie C. Quick Jr.
Stadium, and advanced to the NCAA
quarterfinals for the first time since 2001.
With every great team comes great
leaders, and Widener had that in senior
quarterback Chris Haupt. Buoyed by his
experience as a minor league catcher with
the Florida Marlins and the Toronto Blue
Jays farm clubs, Haupt used that ingenuity
and poise to be named second team
All-America by the Beyond Sports College
Network, as well as the Offensive Player
of the Year in both the MAC and
ECAC South Region.
In concluding a standout career,
Haupt finished with 9,907 career passing
yards, 88 touchdown passes, and 10,256
yards of total offense—all school records.
He also broke the school’s single-season
record with 3,827 yards passing, 4,007
yards of total offense, and 38
touchdown passes.
Sophomore wide receiver/returner
Anthony Davis always has been an
explosive player, and that was further
proven this season. An electrifying
competitor with awesome athleticism,
Davis was named second team AllAmerica by the Beyond Sports College
Network, second team All-East Region
by D3Football.com, second team ECAC
All-South Region, and first team AllMAC for a second straight year.
Also being named first team AllMAC were junior left tackle Mike Pacitti,
senior tight end Dom DePasquale, senior
defensive end Chad Gravinese, senior
inside linebacker Joe Wojceichowski,
junior safety Colin Masterson, and
senior kicker James McFadden.
Junior outside linebacker Dylan
Ditmer and sophomore cornerback Nick
Rodriguez were tabbed second team AllLeague. Senior center Andrew Philpott,
senior right tackle Gerry Pacitti, and senior
outside linebacker Jamal Dorsey were
named honorable mentions.
After the season, Head Coach Isaac
Collins, picked as Coach of the Year by
both the MAC and ECAC, announced
in January that he was leaving Widener
after three seasons to take the head
coaching position at Seton Hill University,
a Division II program in Greensburg, Pa.
He was replaced by Bobby Acosta,
previously an assistant coach at The
College of New Jersey. The new season
opens up at Wesley College on September
6, with the home opener against Lebanon
Valley on September 14.
Widener players and cheerleaders
celebrate recapturing the Keystone
Cup with a 42-23 win over Delaware
Valley College.
9
Moll. One challenge Eisenhower’s visit
posed was where to serve the lunch to
the president and about two dozen select
guests. “We had no good place to have a
nice meal for that many people who would
all want to be seated at the same table with
the president,” Pierpont said.
He said the solution was a large, temporary table of plywood built in the lobby
of Alumni Auditorium, at the time a twoyear-old building. A copy of PMC’s budget
for “Eisenhower Day” indicates the “special
table” cost $50 to build. According to a
planning menu, the entrees served on that
table were a choice of “Lobster Newberg in
Patty shell OR Filet Mignon.” An earlier
suggested menu had proposed “Frog legs &
Crab Meat in Casserole on Melba Toast,”
but like the offer of a round golf, that
entrée didn’t make the final cut.
An Afternoon with Ike
Eisenhower on Campus One-Half Century Ago
By Sam Starnes
Opposite page: Eisenhower mingled with students from Stetser School who
attended the military review; above, with John Lance “Jack” Geoghegan ‘63.
M
ore than three decades before he
would achieve the rank of four-star
general, John Tilelli, who grew up on a
farm in New Jersey, shook the hand of
Dwight D. Eisenhower, one of only five
men ever named a five-star general in
America’s history. The handshake came
when “Ike,” as the two-term former
commander-in-chief was commonly
known, visited Pennsylvania Military
College on the Friday before the 1963
commencement for a luncheon in his
honor, a military review of the cadets, a
ceremony in which he bestowed awards,
and a reception. “In my wildest dreams
as a young man, I never dreamed I would
get that close to a president,” said Tilelli, a
1963 PMC graduate who was awarded an
honorary doctorate from Widener in 1996.
10
As he prepared to graduate from
PMC that weekend, Tilelli was bound
for military service, but said he did not
aspire to make a career of the Army until
ten years later. He ultimately was named
a four-star general in 1994, becoming the
highest-ranking graduate from PMC and
Widener. While serving as a general and
working in the Pentagon, Tilelli went on
to meet other presidents. He worked as
a commander in the first Gulf War for
President George H.W. Bush, whom he
refers to as “Bush 41,” and he later served
in the Pentagon under President Bill
Clinton. Although Tilelli retired in 1999
before President George W. Bush took
office, he also worked with “Bush 43” when
he served as president and CEO of the
United Service Organization (USO.)
Almost fifty years later, looking back
on his first meeting with a president,
Tilelli, now chairman and CEO of Cypress
International and vice chair of Widener’s
Board of Trustees, remembers it as a landmark event for the class of 1963 that pointed
its graduates on a path toward success.
“It set the final values and allowed us to
come to where we are today,” he said.
The origin of Eisenhower’s visit to PMC
began the previous year with a letter from
Philip T. Sharples. Sharples, a businessman,
aviation pioneer, and an active Republican
fundraiser, was the brother of the PMC
chairman of the Board of Trustees,
Laurence P. Sharples, then a vice president
in the thriving family business and also
an aviation innovator. In December
1962, Brigadier Gen. Robert Schultz,
aide to Eisenhower, responded to Philip
Sharples’s request of the president.
“He is presently in Georgia but read
your letter while in enroute from New
York to Augusta and has asked me to
advise you that he will take the review
late in May,” Schultz wrote. (Eisenhower
was a frequent visitor to the Augusta
National Golf Club in Georgia where
the Masters tournament is played.) After
the invitation to visit campus was accepted,
President Moll appealed to Eisenhower’s
widely known love of golf—one history of
Eisenhower indicates that he played about
800 rounds of golf in the eight years that
he was president—in a letter to Schultz
in February 1963. “Appreciating the
General’s fondness for golf,” Moll wrote,
“we would be most pleased to arrange a
foursome for him at the Springhaven Club
in Wallingford, less than 10 minutes from
here.” Eisenhower, however, did not take
Moll up on his offer.
Although Eisenhower is arguably
the most significant historical figure ever
to visit Widener or PMC, the college
in this period was quite accustomed to
welcoming influential guests to campus
and took the event in stride, said Robert
Pierpont, a 1954 PMC graduate who at
the time of Eisenhower’s visit worked
in the college’s administration as
assistant to PMC President Clarence
The late spring day of Eisenhower’s visit
offered a clear blue sky with a low in the
high fifties rising to the high seventies.
Barbara Geoghegan Johns, then a junior at
Beaver College (now Arcadia College) in
Glenside, Pa., said that her future husband,
John Lance “Jack” Geoghegan, a senior
at PMC and the class president, drove
from PMC to pick her up that morning
to attend the Eisenhower review. It would
be one of their very first dates.
Eisenhower, at the time 72, and twoand-a-half years after leaving the White
House, arrived at noon in a car driven by
his aide. Wearing a dark blue suit and tie
and a gray fedora, he was greeted at the
front entrance to Old Main by an
honor guard and President Moll and
Maj. Gen. William Shepard Biddle, PMC’s
commandant of cadets, who escorted
him to Alumni Auditorium. Biddle,
according to the Delaware County Daily Times,
was an “old friend” who had served under
Eisenhower in World War II.
After the lunch but before the
review and awards ceremony, Pierpont
joined Eisenhower, Moll, and others who
adjourned for a break in the Tumbleston
Room, a lounge area that is now the PMC
Museum. Eisenhower, as others remarked,
was very gracious. “He was generally a nice,
11
Eisenhower’s
visit came on
the cusp of much
great change in
the college and
in the country.
Eisenhower, in fedora, seated here
between President Moll and Gen. Biddle,
bestowed military awards to nine cadets.
Geoghegan presented Eisenhower with a
silver sabre and plaque declaring him the
first honorary captain in PMC’s history.
12
polite guy,” Pierpont said. “You would
never know that he had been the
commanding officer who won the
war—and had been president.”
Jack Geoghegan had arranged for
Barbara Geoghegan Johns to sit in the
bleachers for the review on what was then
the football field behind Old Main. The
stands were packed, and included some
students from nearby Stetser School,
with whom Eisenhower chatted. Jack
Geoghegan had not told Barbara of the
high-profile role he would play in the
ceremony: Serving as the cadet escort for
Eisenhower during the parade and review,
and presenting the president with a silver
sabre and reading a short statement
making him the first honorary captain
in the history of the school.
When the military parade began
with Jack Geoghegan by Eisenhower’s
side, an entrance that included the president
standing at attention for a 21-gun salute,
Barbara Geoghegan Johns told those in
the stands with her that she could not tell
which one Jack was—all cadets had donned
formal military dress uniforms with hats
that featured a strap worn beneath the
nose. “They told me, ‘He’s the one with
the president,’” she said. “I remember
what a strange feeling it was watching
them walk together.”
Geoghegan then rode standing in the
front of an Army Jeep while Eisenhower
and Laurence Sharples stood in the back
as the cadet band played. Geoghegan later
presented Eisenhower with a silver sabre
and a plaque, making these comments:
“Sir, this sabre is a symbol of leadership
within the Corps of Cadets. It carries also
with it a willingness to fight and die for
our country, that you were so willing to do
yourself. It finally carries responsibility.
A responsibility that you as general and
statesman were all too willing to exercise.
Upon your decisions has rested the
fact that we are free rather than
captive Americans.”
After Geoghegan’s presentation,
Eisenhower made brief remarks to the
crowd. “I assure you,” said Eisenhower,
a 1912 graduate of the U.S. Military
Academy, “I did not attain the rank of
first captain at West Point.”
Eisenhower presented awards to
nine cadets, including Geoghegan who
took the top honor with the Francis M.
Taitt Prize, designated for an outstanding
soldier and gentleman with the neatest
appearance in the cadet corps. “He was
truly honored that Eisenhower came,”
Barbara Geoghegan Johns said. “He was
very happy to be the person escorting him.”
David Oskin ’64, ’07H, a junior at the
time, received the Lt. J. William Wolfgram
Memorial Medal given to the most
soldierly cadet. Oskin does not
remember precisely what Eisenhower
said, only that he was very warm and
courteous while Oskin himself was
quite nervous. “I just wanted to make sure
that my knees didn’t buckle,” said Oskin,
a member of Widener’s Board of Trustees
who served as the board’s chairman for
nine years. “I was absolutely spellbound
and elated. He was a general and president
I had read about in books for years. It was
very special to have someone like Ike put
the award on your chest. It is one of the
things in life that you don’t forget. I felt
very proud of my college that day.”
David McNulty, secretary of the class
of 1963 and editor of that year’s Sabre
& Sash–the PMC annual–was excited
about Eisenhower’s visit because copies
of the yearbook he had labored to compile
and edit had arrived only two days prior.
Biddle agreed to give McNulty and his
friend B. David Lake, president elect of
student council for the rising senior class,
time to present Eisenhower with the yearbook. With McNulty’s family, fiancé, and
Cadets and others in the PMC community remember Eisenhower’s
graciousness and warmth during his visit.
13
others looking on, he and Lake shook his
hand and spoke briefly with Eisenhower
while standing outside the Biddle residence
on 14th Street. McNulty said the historical
significance of the moment resonated
deeply. “We met and got our pictures taken
with the Supreme Allied Commander of
World War II, the man who ordered the
D-Day invasion and achieved victory in
Europe, the president of the United States,
the man who put the words ‘under God’ in
our nation’s pledge of allegiance,” McNulty
said. “It was a day that we all would cherish
as a milestone in our lives forever.”
After a short reception back in
Alumni Auditorium, Pierpont remembers
Eisenhower leaving with very little fanfare.
Unlike modern presidential visits that
feature a heavy police presence, security
was minimal. “There was no Secret Service
with him,” Pierpont said. Nor was there
a motorcade. “I distinctly remember
his driving off with the aide back to
Gettysburg. As far as I can remember,
they were the only two people in the car.”
The time of Eisenhower’s visit came on
the cusp of much great change in the
college and in the country. “In June of
1963, we couldn’t even spell Vietnam,”
said McNulty, who, like Tilelli, was
commissioned into the Army that
weekend. “It was the end of an era.”
That November, President Kennedy
would be assassinated, and into the mid1960s, the Vietnam War would escalate.
Eisenhower visited PMC again in 1965,
speaking to freshmen and to the Greater
Chester dinner held on campus. He died
in 1969. Nine years after his first visit and
three years after his death, Pennsylvania
Military College and Penn Morton College
would become Widener College.
The coming years also brought much
personal change for the class of 1963. Jack
Geoghegan and Barbara Geoghegan Johns
were married after her graduation in June
1964. After a year serving with the Catholic
A Parade of Presidents
1
2
David McNulty ’63, left, and B. David Lake ’64 presented Eisenhower
with a copy of the Sabre & Sash, PMC’s yearbook.
3
Relief Services in Africa, they had a child,
Camille, in June 1965. Jack Geoghegan,
who was commissioned in 1963 but had
a two-year wait before serving, soon
shipped off to Vietnam and was killed in
the battle of Ia Drang in November 1965.
The 1992 book, We Were Soldiers Once…
and Young, tells the story of the battle in
which he was killed (actor Chris Klein
portrayed Geoghegan in the 2002 movie
based on the book). Widener’s John L.
Geoghegan Student Citizenship Award is
given annually for academic achievement,
leadership, and community service.
Keeping Geoghegan’s memory alive at
Widener has been important to McNulty,
a close friend of Geoghegan. “Jack was
a great guy,” McNulty said. “He could
have been president.”
David Oskin, who in the years
following served in Vietnam and then
went on to a very successful business
career, said the leadership exemplified by
Eisenhower should be studied. “When
I think of Ike, I think of leadership,”
said Oskin, for whom Widener’s Oskin
Leadership Institute is named. “He showed
character and courage.”
Tilelli also concurred with the leadership
qualities of Eisenhower. “Your leaders in
essence are a patchwork quilt of people
you look up to,” Tilelli said. “His style of
leadership is an excellent one to emulate
for young people.”
Looking back, Tilelli said it is
remarkable how fast half a century can
pass. “Fifty years went by in a blink of an
eye,” he said. “Time goes a lot quicker than
one might hope.” But he said those years
have been good to the place he calls his
undergraduate alma mater and has continued to serve as a trustee. “The college
changed to a magnificent university,” Tilelli
said. “It was a great college at that time.
It’s now a great university with the right
mission and the right goals—supporting
global and community leadership.” w
4
5
14
Eisenhower was not the first president to step on campus and visit with
PMC and Widener undergraduates, nor was he the last. Seven of the last
sixteen presidents, starting with Warren G. Harding and ending last fall
with Bill Clinton, have either visited campus or been the guests of PMC
or Widener University.
February 1920: Warren G. Harding
received an honorary doctoral degree
from Pennsylvania Military College in
a ceremony in the Armory in February
1920, one year before taking office. “If
I had a dozen sons, I’d send every one
of them to PMC, for here you make
men,” he said. A senator from Ohio
at the time, he was accompanied to
the ceremony by George B. Christian
Jr., an 1896 graduate of PMC who
served as secretary to Harding.
On the photo above, he wrote,
“To Col. Frank K. Hyatt. With cordial
greetings and good wishes from the
one who holds Chester’s famous
college in high esteem. Sincerely,
Warren G. Harding.”
1
2 June 1920: Franklin Delano Roosevelt
received an honorary degree in 1920
while assistant secretary of the Navy,
thirteen years before beginning
the first of his four terms. Received
at commencement, his degree
hangs in his childhood bedroom at
Hyde Park. He said, “Pennsylvania
Military College is one of the few
schools in the land that teaches
leadership of far-reaching vision.”
3 October 1929: Herbert Hoover and
his wife were riding a train bound for
Philadelphia to see the final game
of the 1929 World Series when they
stopped at the Chester B&O Railroad
Station to briefly review cadets. The
event became known as the “tensecond review.” Hoover went on to
see the Philadelphia Athletics win the
series against the Chicago Cubs in
Shibe Park only a few weeks before
the great stock market crash of 1929.
October 1980, and October 2000:
George Herbert Walker Bush visited
Widener two times twenty years apart–
both before and after his residency
in the White House. He campaigned
as a vice presidential candidate in
1980 for the Reagan-Bush ticket, and
he returned in 2000 to stump for his
son George W. Bush. In 2000, a crowd
packed into the Schwartz Athletic
Center to watch Widener football
coach Bill Zwaan and players present
Bush with a Widener warm-up suit.
5 October 2008: Barack Obama,
then a senator from Illinois, made a
campaign speech one week before
election day to about 9,000 people who
packed onto Memorial Field behind
Old Main and waited in the rain and
39-degree temperatures for him to
appear. Obama drew on the imagery
of the rain throughout his speech, saying, “A little rain never hurt anyone.
When times are tough, when it’s cold,
when it’s raining, when it’s hard—
that’s when we need to stand up.”
6 October 2012: President Bill Clinton
opened the 2012–2013 season of
the Philadelphia Speakers Series
presented by Widener University.
He joined Widener President
James T. Harris III for a Q&A
session before a capacity crowd at
the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia
and applauded Widener for its vision
of community involvement. Currently
head of the Clinton Foundation, he
discussed the worldwide efforts he
oversees to improve the quality of
life for those living in poverty.
4
For more images of presidential
visits to PMC and Widener, visit
the Wolgram Memorial Library
Digital Collections at http://digitalwolfgram.widener.edu/cdm.
15
6
THE BOSS
AND THE
BOOTLEG:
WIDENER CONCERT VIDEO
THE “HOLY GR AIL” FOR
SPRINGSTEEN FANS
16
By Dan Hanson ’97
The Widener student working the
door to the Bruce Springsteen and
the E Street Band show on a freezing
February night in 1975 looked quizzically
at Michael Turner when he presented
his $ 6 ticket.
“What’s that?” the student
asked, his gaze fixed on the large
case slung over Turner’s shoulder.
Turner didn’t miss a beat. “I
have a breathing problem and this
is a portable iron lung,” he said.
Either satisfied with Turner’s
answer or too cold to inquire further,
the student took Turner’s and his
friend Jeff Audet’s tickets and waved
them through the entrance to the
Schwartz Athletic Center field house.
Turner and Audet didn’t know it
at the time, but their “portable iron
lung”—actually Audet’s Sony Portapak
video camera and reel-to-reel video
recorder—would record some of the
earliest and rarest concert footage of
Springsteen, a New Jersey rocker with
a strong regional following poised
to become a music industry icon.
Springsteen played three Widener
concerts—one on April 5, 1974, and
consecutive nights on February 6 and
7, 1975—before his Born to Run album
launched him to superstardom and
landed him on the covers of both TIME
and Newsweek in October 1975. Video
Turner and Audet shot of the first 1975
show became a hot commodity on the
bootleg music market for years, first on
VHS and then on DVD, before gaining
a worldwide audience on YouTube.
“We didn’t know it would be a piece of
Springsteen history,” said Turner, who
grew up in Broomall, Pennsylvania, and
was attending Temple University when
Photo: Daniel Upton ’75
he and Audet recorded the concert.
“We would show the video at parties
in my parents’ recreation room, hang
out, and drink beer. We just thought it
was pretty cool to have this thing.”
“I asked for his autograph, but all
we had was a magic marker,” said
Paul Shandelman ’79. “Springsteen’s
piano player lifted my shirt and
drew two eyes and a face, and
Springsteen signed it, ‘Nice
belly, Bruce Springsteen.’ It
was pretty awesome.”
Glory Days
Vivid images of Springsteen’s shows
also live in the heads of Widener
alumni who attended the concert as
students almost 40 years ago. New
Jersey-native Anthony Zizos ’75 was
accustomed to seeing Springsteen
play at the Jersey Shore prior to his
rise in popularity. “It was as if he
followed me to college, bearing
comfortable memories of my high
school days,” Zizos wrote. “The
indoor track was packed that night
with a crowd so electrified it rivaled
the Saturday afternoon rousing
crowds watching the magic of Billy
Johnson, Richie Weaver, and the PMC
drill team on the football field behind
Old Main. That concert was amazing!”
Paul Shandelman ’79 was lucky
to have a roommate, Ron Siarnicki,
who worked behind the scenes at the
field house and had backstage access.
Siarnicki recruited Shandelman to
help with concert preparations, and
he got to meet Springsteen in person.
“I asked for his autograph, but all we
had was a magic marker,” Shandelman
said. “Springsteen’s piano player
lifted my shirt and drew two eyes
and a face, and Springsteen signed
it, ’Nice belly, Bruce Springsteen.’
It was pretty awesome.”
As a photographer for the Widener
yearbook, Daniel Upton ’75 had a pass
to photograph the concert, and took
the images that appeared in the yearbook and in this magazine. “I was there
with my future wife, Jean, and remember
it being a good show with a very
energetic crowd,” Upton said. “He’s
a great entertainer, musician, and poet.”
And Mark J. Luongo ’78 remembers
moving into his dorm as a freshman
in fall 1974 and seeing posters for
Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.
plastered on walls and doors. “I
recall asking myself what was the
fuss over this guy named Springsteen,”
Luongo said. “I remember going to
the field house and sitting on the track
covered with a huge rubber sheet and
waiting for this show to begin. Then
one of the biggest people I had ever
seen came out and started playing
a saxophone, and that’s how I was
introduced to Clarence Clemons.
Then this little, greasy guy hops
out on stage, and the energy was
phenomenal. I was mesmerized
and came back for the next show. I
have been a Boss fan ever since.”
Tracking “The Holy Grail”
of Bruce Videos
For many years, the identity of
who recorded the Widener concert
footage was unknown. Springsteen
17
Daniel Upton ’75, a photographer for
the Widener yearbook, shot the photo
of Springsteen at far left in the hat
during the 1974 concert, as well as
images used on page 16 and the cover
of this magazine. The two center
images of Springsteen from the 1975
concert appeared in the yearbook, and
are believed to be taken by Joe Quinn
’75. The image of the ticket was provided
by brucebase.wikispaces.com.
fans on the Internet speculated
that the video was shot by Widener
students with authorization from
Springsteen’s management.
As a Springsteen fan and director
of public relations at Widener, I set
out to solve the mystery. I solicited
information on the Widener Magazine
blog, but the request yielded nothing.
While reading comments left by viewers
of the video on YouTube, I stumbled
across a response to a comment
that led me to Michael Turner.
Turner said that he and Audet
gave a copy of the reel-to-reel tape
to a popular Philadelphia radio disc
18
jockey, and they believe that’s how
it was distributed. Other than that,
Turner and Audet made a handful of
copies for friends and family with
the advent of VHS video technology
several years after the show.
Now anyone can access the
video. Go to YouTube.com and
search “Springsteen Widener” and
be transported 38 years back in time
to February 6, 1975—three months
before the release of Born to Run.
Through a haze of smoke, Audet’s
video camera focuses on a 25-year-old
Springsteen belting out favorites from
his first two albums, Greetings from
Asbury Park, N.J. and The Wild, The
Innocent, and the E-Street Shuffle.
The grainy black-and-white image
jumps, goes in and out of focus, and
cheering concertgoers temporarily
block the camera’s view of the band.
As the concert progresses, you
are there with Turner and Audet,
moving closer to the stage as they
move closer with the camera. You
hear familiar tunes from Born to Run
as they are heard by many for the first
time­—including the title track and
the song “Wings for Wheels,” which
would become “Thunder Road” on the
album. Comments left by viewers of
the concert footage on YouTube treat it
as a rare archaeological find. “This is
the Holy Grail of Boss performances,”
writes one. “This is like finding an
early version of the Gettysburg
Address. Priceless!” says another.
The rarity of the video is
unmistakable according to Erik
Flannigan, a national expert on
digital media and the senior editor
of Backstreets, the official Springsteen
fan magazine. “When it surfaced,
it was a revelation,” Flannigan said
of the Widener concert footage.
“Nobody had ever seen any footage
of Springsteen from this era unless
they attended those shows in person.
In 1975, it was almost unthinkable
that someone would sneak a video
camera into a concert. They were
almost the first ones to do it.”
When a documentary on Born
to Run was released on the 30th
anniversary of the album in 2005,
Turner, as a devoted Springsteen fan,
purchased a copy. Watching the
documentary in his living room, he
was blown away by what he saw.
There, in all of its grainy, black-andwhite glory, was Turner and Audet’s
footage of the song Born to Run they
shot at Widener. “I was flabbergasted,”
Turner said. “I had no knowledge
that it would be on there.”
Turner said he doesn’t know if the
original half-inch reel-to-reel exists
anymore. Even if he could find it and
the video was worth big money, Turner
said it probably wouldn’t be for sale.
“I’m not sure I would take money for it.
I would rather donate it to Springsteen
or the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.”
He paused for a moment and added,
“But I would take a couple of front row
tickets to a Springsteen concert for it.”
Turner’s and Audet’s efforts to
film the Springsteen show has allowed
a younger generation of Springsteen
fans, such as William Mikolajewski,
a 2011 graduate of Widener’s School
of Engineering, to connect with the
legendary shows here. “I was not
in attendance at this concert as
I was not born yet, but I couldn’t
help but respond to how amazing
this show was,” Mikolajewski said.
“The set list has to be one of Bruce’s
best. A show with ’Rosalita,’ ’Born
to Run,’ ’Spirit in the Night,’ and a
’Wings for Wheels’ rendition is to
be remembered for the ages. As a
younger Bruce fan who has attended
Widener, this show will always hold
special meaning to me, and remain
a frequent play on my iPod.” w
Please see page 30 for a story
about alumni who won tickets
from the Widener fund to attend
a 2012 Springsteen concert.
19
SEX ED—
FOR SENIORS?
Widener program one-of-a-kind in addressing issues
of sexuality and aging, including fostering research
and addressing intimacy in nursing homes
By Allyson Roberts
After working for 30 years as director
of staff development for a hospital in
Connecticut, Jane Fleishman decided that
she had one more career in her. Fleishman,
58, a doctoral student in Widener’s Center
for Human Sexuality Studies, became
interested in the issues of sexuality and
aging after a friend introduced her to
Dr. Laura Singer-Magdoff, a 95-year-old
practicing psychotherapist. Fleishman
soon began presenting sexuality education
lessons for the gray-haired set in SingerMagdoff’s weekly discussion group at
her assisted living community in the
Bronx, N.Y.
Fleishman, through qualitative
research to gauge the effectiveness of
her teaching, learned that two things
are clear: First, people in their 70s,
80s, and 90s still think about and often
pursue intimate relationships. Second,
most older adults are thrilled to learn
how the human sexual response affects
them in their later years and to know
that they can still experience tremendous
pleasure. Many people who have forgone
20
sexual activity due to health or cognitive
changes are happy to learn ways to
accommodate these changes,
Fleishman said.
She found that there is a substantial lack of research in this area. “Most
research related to sexuality and aging
centers around problems related to sexual
function, which creates a lopsided view
and a stereotype that healthy older people
aren’t interested in sex,” Fleishman said.
“Without researching samples of healthy
older adults, we can’t develop or generalize
models of sexual relationships later in life.”
Filling that void of research and
providing more education on a subject
long viewed as off-limits is the goal of
the Sexuality and Aging Consortium, an
education outreach program of Widener’s
Center for Human Sexuality Studies.
The Consortium, founded in 2007
and integrated into Widener in 2010, is
comprised of professionals nationwide who
provide sexuality education, counseling,
and resources for older adults, their
families, and caregivers. Members also
21
offer training, consulting, and policy
development services to professionals
serving older adults.
The program is the only one of its
kind in the country, said Melanie Davis,
current co-president of the Sexuality and
Aging Consortium at Widener University.
“No other organization exists that’s quite
like ours,” she said.
Davis said that through conferences,
training sessions, and media exposure,
consortium members share their unique
areas of expertise with each other and with
other professionals interested in sexuality
and aging. She hopes these efforts spark
a shift in attitudes about sex and aging
throughout the nation. “The Consortium’s
work is especially important as Baby
Boomers age,” Davis said. “These people
grew up in a time when sexual freedom
was glorified and the contraceptive pill
was introduced. They’re not giving up
these freedoms now just because they’re
growing older, and they shouldn’t have to.”
Part of the Sexuality and Aging
Consortium’s work focuses on educating
and counseling older adults directly so
that they can enjoy life-affirming, safe
sexual expression as they age despite both
biological and cultural challenges that may
get in their way. Davis said the challenges
are varied, yet they are rarely broached by
physicians or discussed between aging
partners. “There are real challenges to
being sexually expressive at a later age,”
Davis said, listing several examples like
lowered sex drive due to hormonal changes,
surgeries that may affect performance
or the experience of pleasure, side effects
from medication, the loss of a partner,
or the notion that an aging body is
22
Dr. Laura Singer-Magdoff, left, invited Jane Fleishman, right, a doctoral student
in Widener’s Center for Human Sexuality Studies, to lead sex ed lessons in
Singer-Magdoff’s assisted living community.
unattractive. “Education can help older
adults manage most of these challenges
so they can enjoy being as sexually
expressive as they want to be.”
Davis said sexual expression, whether
experienced alone or with a partner, has
many benefits: “People who accept and
enjoy their bodies sexually report a greater
sense of self-esteem and well-being.
Those who engage in sexual activity may
enjoy increased circulation, better sleep,
and even decreased pain from medical
problems. Older adults with sexual
partners may enjoy greater emotional
intimacy and sexual satisfaction once
they adapt to age-related changes
and rethink their sexual scripts. The
Consortium is eager to help make these
positive changes possible.”
Peggy Brick, 84, the founder and a
past president of the Sexuality and Aging
Consortium, said feelings of intimacy and
desire do not have to end as one ages. “It’s
still appropriate for people at our age to be
intimate. It’s OK.”
Brick has co-published two textbooks
on the subject and regularly teaches a class
known as “sex ed for seniors.” She said the
goal of her class is to get attendees to open
up and rethink their sexual scripts, beliefs
that paint a picture of what people who
engage in intimate behavior look like and
how intimacy unfolds in a methodical way,
from a caress leading to a kiss and so on
until intercourse occurs. “We need to give
adults a broader definition of sexuality,”
she said. “We need to change the sexual
scripts that we learned as kids, where the
young are sexy and the focus is solely on
sexual intercourse and orgasm.”
Brick said forms of sexual intercourse
are typically part of sexual relationships,
but as couples age, the act may become
harder to complete due to physiological
changes. Men especially become frustrated
and embarrassed that they can’t perform
as they once did in their youth, she said.
“It’s most often the men, not the women,
who abandon their sex life and intimacy
altogether as they age,” she said. “We want
them to continue to embrace their sexuality
to enjoy healthy, happy, fulfilled lives, but
awareness as to how to move forward is
half the battle.”
The Consortium is committed to
educating caregivers on the intimacy
rights and needs of seniors but struggles
to make inroads into nursing homes and
assisted living facilities. “A lot of facilities
are reluctant to train their staff on these
sexuality issues because they operate under
the mindset that if they don’t do anything,
nobody will criticize them,” Brick said. She
explained that most facilities broach the
subject only when a question arises among
the staff about residents’ relationships or
the behavior of a specific resident.
Brick was approached by her own
senior living facility when a male resident
became involved with a female resident
who had early onset dementia. Brick
helped the administration develop a
policy for reacting to such issues and held
a training workshop for staff. “Facilities
need policies that dictate a collective
approach to dealing with issues such as
this so that one staff person doesn’t feel
the pressure to make a decision,” Brick
said. “Furthermore, one staff person may
handle the issue one way, while another
may handle it another. There needs to
be consistency.”
Brick sees the sexuality education of
older adults and the training of caregivers
as equally important because as older adults
look to fulfill their intimacy needs, their
places of residence and caregivers
will have to adjust. She’s witnessed her
peers at her senior living facility grow
bolder after attending her lessons. One
woman felt empowered to ask for a double
bed for her husband who was suffering
from Parkinson’s disease and living away
from her in a separate wing. “After lunch,
she’d go in and lie with him; her husband
said it was the best part of his day,” Brick
said. “How simple was that? People need
to know that it’s OK to ask for that,
and residences need to know it’s OK
to say yes.” w
To contact the Sexuality and Aging
Consortium at Widener University, call
610-499-1378, e-mail saconsortium@widener.edu,
or visit www.widener.edu/sexualityandaging/.
Peggy Brick founded the Sexuality
and Aging Consortium, now a
program of the Widener Center
for Human Sexuality Studies.
ABOUT THE CENTER FOR HUMAN SEXUALITY STUDIES
Widener University’s human sexuality program was originally an academic
department founded at University of Pennsylvania in 1976 that moved to
Widener in 1999. In the years since, the program has thrived at Widener, growing
in the diversity of the students and the number of options for those who want
to pursue a career in human sexuality education. Now known as the Center
for Human Sexuality Studies, it offers the only fully accredited doctoral program
in human sexuality in the country. The program, which also offers a master’s
degree, prepares future and current professionals to teach, consult, provide
counseling and therapy, and conduct research in a variety of settings
on complex issues related to human sexuality. Graduates of Widener’s
program go on to fulfill leadership roles nationwide as therapists, educators,
and researchers. “In a time when the majority of the population lived through
or was born after the sexual revolution, when sexual rights are political hot
potatoes, it is critical that higher education institutions train professionals who
understand and use best practices in human sexuality education, therapy, and
research,” said Dr. Justin A. Sitron, assistant professor in Widener’s Center
for Human Sexuality Studies and vice chair of the Board of Directors of the
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS).
23
CLASS NOTES
Class of 1943
Lt. Col. Joseph O’Hare,
BS, business, turned 92
in May and celebrated
the event with three
generations of family
and friends. Joe remains
comfortable and well at
his home in McLean, Va.
Class of 1953
LTC William John
Thompson, BA, political
science, was buried at
Arlington National Cemetery
on November 21, 2012, with
full military honors. His
casket was carried on
the Caisson. Bill’s family
members thank all his
fellow cadets for their kind
words and condolences.
Class of 1955
Robert Burns, BS,
mechanical engineering, received the 2012
Distinguished Service Award
for Individual Volunteer of
the Year from LeadingAge
PA, an association of notfor-profit organizations that
provides services, housing,
and health
care for
older
adults.
Burns was
recognized
for his
generous
donation
of time
to ease
the challenges of aging
for fellow residents. The
committee was particularly
impressed with his founding of the REACT (Resident
Enterprise Assistance Chore
Technician) Committee, a
group of men who address
resident needs with small
repairs to furniture, medical
24
CLASS NOTES
and electronic equipment,
and other household items.
Burns repairs the residents’
scooters and replaces
scooter batteries. He also
repairs and maintains
scooters that are donated
to the residents association so that other residents
can use them. He is past
president of Brittany
Pointe Estates Residents
Association and currently
chairs five committees.
Vincent J. Land, BS,
accounting, chairman
of Miners Bank was
inducted recently into the
Pennsylvania Association of
Community Bankers Hall of
Fame. In a ceremony held
in Vail, Colorado, Land was
honored by the association
for his “significant contributions to his community,
institution, and in particular
this association.” Land
retired from Miners Bank
in April 2012 and currently
serves as chairman of the
board of directors. He is
a retired Army colonel.
Class of 1960
Sheldon “Shelly” A.
Schwartz, BS, mechanical
engineering, of Greencastle,
Pennsylvania, was interviewed in January 2012
by the Public Opinion newspaper. Schwartz, winner
of the 2012 Widener-PMC
Alumni Association Alumni
Service Award, was asked
about his family, his favorite
things, his
career, and
to share a
memorable
event in
his life.
He said,
“While the
birth of our
children are
A Return to Cambodia
Leth Oun, a U.S. Secret Service Officer and 1998
Widener graduate featured in the fall 2011 issue
of Widener Magazine, visited his native Cambodia
for the first time after he escaped the murderous
regime of dictator Pol Pot 34 years ago. Oun traveled
to Cambodia for his job when President Obama toured
Southeast Asia in November. He stayed on for a week
to reconnect with his homeland. While in Cambodia,
Oun had a tearful but joyous reunion with his younger
sister, Poch, who was only two years old when
he last saw her.
perhaps the most satisfying,
proud, and memorable
events in my life, I have one
career highlight: After the
Chernobyl accident in the
USSR, I was among a group
of government officials
who went to the IAEA headquarters to work with other
nations to develop two
international treaties—one to
deal with mutual response
and the other with early
notification of a radiological
event. After nearly a month
in intense negotiations, we
managed to get unanimous
support for our efforts, and
the two treaties were agreed
upon. Years later they were
ratified by the U.S. Senate. It
is a career highlight to have
sat in the IAEA chambers,
along with other international representatives, with the
sign and flag of the United
States in front of me and
speaking for our nation.”
Class of 1963
Peter Linton, BS,
management, retired to
Arizona after 25 years of
civil service. Linton was a
GS 13 engineer and served
with the
Army,
Navy, and
Air Force
in Alaska,
Japan,
Korea,
the United
Kingdom,
Iceland,
and
California. He is a World War
II history buff who has four
grandchildren and still is
hiking and dancing weekly.
In 1996, he remarried, marrying Liz Leonard, a surgical
nurse. Linton lost his daughter, Sylvia, to cancer in 2009.
Class of 1969
Roy Eaton, BS, economics,
has published a new book,
Makers,
Shakers,
and Takers.
He covers
a myriad of
subjects,
such as
education,
marriage,
responsible behavior, social
reform, discrimination,
government misconduct,
complacency, and traits
of an admirable nation.
According to Donald Trump,
“Roy writes with compassion, skill, and insight.
Makers, Shakers, and Takers
is a terrific collection of
stories and essays—and
definitely worth your time
and attention. A great
read—from someone who
knows and respects Roy.”
Class of 1981
David Bouffard, BS, biology,
former vice president,
public relations for Sterling
Jewelers Inc., the largest
specialty retail jeweler in
the country, has assumed
the new role of vice president of corporate affairs
for parent-company Signet
Jewelers
Limited.
In his
new role,
Bouffard
will be
responsible
for developing and
implementing the company’s corporate
social responsibility and
sustainability initiatives,
as well as maintaining government and industry relationships. Bouffard joined
Sterling Jewelers in 1981 as
part of field operations
management in Philadelphia.
Throughout his 31-year
career, he has held various
managerial positions
including director of sales,
merchandising and advertising, general manager in
New York, marketing
director, and vice president
of public relations. David
resides in Fairlawn, Ohio,
with his wife, Barbara,
and daughter, Amanda.
Helene Burns, BS, nursing,
’94 MS, nursing services
and administration, has been
named one of the
New Jersey Institute for
Nursing’s “Divas and Dons.”
Burns, vice president for
Patient Care Services at
Kennedy
University
Hospital in
Stratford,
N.J., was
one of 19
New Jersey
honorees
from all
areas
of nursing recognized for their
extraordinary impact on
the profession and the
community. Burns has been
a member of Kennedy’s
leadership team since 2008.
In her role as VP for Patient
Care Services at Kennedy
—Stratford, she oversees
the operational and clinical
aspects of care at the acute
care hospital, which has
more than 800 employees.
With more than 30 years
of nursing experience, Ms.
Burns is a board-certified
Nurse Executive, Advanced
through the American Nurses
Credentialing Center. She
and her husband reside
in Berlin, N.J.
JOIN WIDENER’S
NEW ONLINE
ALUMNI
COMMUNITY
Connect with other
alums, and create
profiles, class notes,
alumni clubs, photo
galleries, events, giving,
and more. Continue the
lasting connection!
alumni.widener.edu
SEND US YOUR
CLASS NOTES
Tell us. Who are you now?
Where are you now?
You can submit your
class notes and photos
three ways:
1. Enter on the Widener
Pride Network at
alumni.widener.edu
2. Email to Patty Votta:
pavotta@widener.edu
3. Mail to the Office of
Alumni Engagement,
One University Place,
Chester, PA 19013
25
CLASS NOTES
CLASS NOTES
Class of 1983
Management and Law Alumna Pursues a Sweeter Science
Kristin Weldon Peri, a 1998
Widener management
alumna who graduated
from Widener Law in
2001, appeared on the
third season of the Food
Network’s pastry chef
competition show Sweet
Genius. According to a
story in the Delaware
County Daily Times, after
graduation from Widener
Law, Peri worked for
several years as a trial
attorney and “loved the courtroom” but also had other
interests. “In 2007 I took a cake decorating course…and
was instantly hooked,” she told the newspaper. “But I
was constantly trying to challenge myself to see
what else I could do.” Peri pursued her love of baking
and started a business called Divine Cakes. “When
I decided to do this, there were some people who
couldn’t understand moving from practicing law to
this business, but my family and friends didn’t blink
an eye,” she said. Although she said competing on
the show was fun, it also was filled with pressure and
hard work. “I was so nervous,” said Peri, who was
not permitted to divulge the results before the show
aired. “It was harder than studying for the bar exam.”
Kristin Weldon Peri ’98, ’01L, competed on the third
season of the Food Network’s pastry chef competition
show Sweet Genius.
Communication Studies Grad Included on Forbes’ List
Christopher Matthews, a 2008 Widener communication
studies graduate and former lacrosse standout who
also served one year as an assistant coach, was named
to Forbes magazine’s list of high-achieving marketing
and advertising professionals under the age of 30.
Forbes created 15 different lists of 30 people younger
than age 30 who are the “young disruptors, innovators,
and entrepreneurs impatient to change the world.”
Matthews was recently named a senior brand
strategist for Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, a fullservice integrated ad agency, in New York. Previously, he
worked at the digital creative agency Big Spaceship where
he led the firm’s work with the Google Creative Lab.
Forbes wrote, “His focus was to explore new platforms
and products undefined in the market and develop novel
ideas for them with his team. The most successful idea
was ‘What Do You Love? ’—a meta search tool that won
several awards, including the revered Tomorrow Award.”
At Widener, Matthews helped lead Widener’s men’s
lacrosse team to four Middle Atlantic Conference titles.
The Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, native and Monsignor
Bonner High School graduate served as an assistant
coach for the Pride in 2009, helping guide them to
the MAC final.
26
John Passarella, BS,
accounting, has written a
tenth novel, Supernatural:
Rite of Passage (August 2012)
available at Passarella.com,
Amazon.com, and wherever
books are sold. Rite of
Passage is an original novel
based on the hit CW series
Supernatural and is set in
the seventh season of the
show. This is John’s second
original Supernatural tie-in
novel. He won the Horror
Writers Association’s Bram
Stoker Award for Superior
Achievement in a First Novel
for the co-authored Wither.
Class of 1984
John Fleurant, BS,
accounting, has been
promoted to deputy
chief financial officer for
New York Life Insurance
Company. It is a new
position reporting to the
executive vice president
and chief financial officer.
As deputy CFO, Fleurant
will retain his current roles
as senior vice president
of finance and controller,
positions he has occupied
since joining the company
in 2010. Prior to joining
New York Life, Fleurant, a
certified public accountant,
served as controller at
Prudential Financial.
Before that, he was
a senior manager for
Deloitte & Touche, where
he spent nine years.
Class of 1985
Gregory Pronesti, BSN,
nursing, married Denise
Hodson on November
1, 1998. They have four
children: 8-year-old twins
Giovanni and Samuel,
4-year-old Zachery, and
the newest addition to
the family, Joshua, born
on October 23. Greg has
been working for the past
five years at The Queen’s
Medical Center, Honolulu,
Hawaii, as a perioperative
nurse. He is also a member
of the CV Transplant Team.
Kevin Muir, BA,
government and politics,
’98, MEd, social studies
education, recently received
his Six Sigma Green Belt
certification by applying
Six Sigma methodology
and principles towards
reducing transfers of
advanced placement (AP)
reader inquiries in his
workplace at Educational
Testing Service, Princeton,
N.J. Kevin analyzed and
categorized past defects in
the routing and handling
of inbound inquiries from
seasonal test raters for
the AP program, then
implemented an action plan
to reduce the percentage
of calls and emails being
transferred from a first-line
support team to other staff.
The solution was successfully implemented for the
2011-2012 AP reading cycle,
leading to a more stable,
predictable, and betterperforming process for
meeting business objectives
and customer expectations.
Class of 1989
Mark Carrow, MS, taxation,
is among seven Citrin
Cooperman accounting
professionals named
Philadelphia’s Top
Practitioners by SmartCEO
Magazine. They were
included in the magazine’s
SmartCPA Readers Choice
section. The section recognizes the Philadelphia area’s
top accounting professionals
—those trusted advisors
on whom CEOs rely for
everything from accounting and tax preparation to
mergers and acquisitions
and general business
consulting. Carrow, the
managing partner of the
firm’s Philadelphia office,
provides tax services and
business consulting advice
to closely held entities,
executives of publicly
held corporations, and
development-stage enterprises. “We take pride in
our work and appreciate
this recognition from
our valued clients and
colleagues,” Carrow said.
Class of 1995
Christopher Davis, BS,
biology, was recently
re-elected to serve on the
board of trustees of the
Pennsylvania Osteopathic
Medical Association
(POMA), a statewide organization for physicians holding
the doctor of osteopathic
medicine (D.O.) degree.
Board certified in family
practice/osteopathic manipulative medicine, Davis is
a physician at Springfield
Sports
Science
Center and
medical
director at
Heartland
Home
Health
Care and
Hospice
in Delaware, Montgomery,
and Philadelphia counties.
He is also a staff physician
at Springfield Hospital and
Harlee Manor Nursing Home
in Springfield, Pennsylvania.
Chairman of POMA’s District
2, Davis serves as a delegate
to the POMA, the American
Osteopathic Association,
and the American
College of Osteopathic
Family Physicians.
President of the American
Osteopathic Association
of Prolotherapy Integrative
Pain Management, he
is also a member of the
Pennsylvania Osteopathic
Family Physicians Society.
Davis was re-elected as
a trustee-at-large during
POMA’s 104th Annual
Clinical Assembly.
Class of 2005
Rodney Jackson, MEd,
counseling higher education, ’08 MEd, student and
personnel counseling, has
been promoted to chief,
education and training at
RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk,
England for the 48 Force
Support Squadron, USAF.
Rodney and his wife reside
in Cambridge, England.
Class of 2007
Katarzyna Bartoszek, BA,
anthropology, was awarded
a master of science degree
in forensic medicine by
Philadelphia College of
Osteopathic Medicine at
the graduate program’s
commencement ceremony
in 2012 at the Academy of
Music in Philadelphia.
Class of 2012
Stacey Snyder, BS, accounting, joined the Belfint,
Lyons & Shuman Firm as
a staff accountant in their
Accounting and Auditing
Department. Stacey interned
with BLS before coming on
full time with the firm and
currently resides in Garnet
Valley, Pennsylvania.
27
CLASS NOTES
Marriages
Sara Traviline ’06 and
Shawn McAuley ’06,
“class couple of 2006,”
were married on
September 24, 2011,
at St. Basil the Great Parish
in Kimberton, Pennsylvania.
Lauren Vassallo ’06
and Patrick Renegar
’02, ’05L were married
on October 27, 2012.
CLASS NOTES
New Arrivals
Kristin (Hulmes) ’09
and Andrew Malloy ’09
announce
the arrival
of their
son, Mark
Douglas
Malloy.
Mark was
born on September 9, 2012.
Kelly (Haughey) West ’04
and Alex West ’02, MBA ’03,
members of Alpha Sigma,
were married in Berlin,
Maryland, on September 5,
2009. Kelly and Alex would
proudly like to announce the
birth of
their son,
Daniel
Aloysius
West, on
February
7, 2012.
In Memoriam
Barnett Sussman ’45
Frank McClenaghen ’46
Robert Bashore ’48
John Touey ’48
Edward Grinnan ’49
Warren Pushaw ’49
Anthony Caia ’50
Remo Farinelli ’50
Brandon Hehn ’50
George Sfirri ’50
John Momot ’51
Roger Williams ’51
Ernest Tremblay ’52
William Thompson ’53
John West ’55
Edward McNelis ’57
J. Hughes ’59
Filideo Pompilii ’59
Edward Watson ’59
Vincent Gorman Jr. ’61
William Seaman ’64
John Grant ’65
Stephen Kauffman ’65
Robert Sicotte ’65
John Snyder ’65
William Harris Stevens III ’65
John Cimino ’67
A Real-Life Ironman:
Widener Grad Training for
Professional Triathlon Tour
Kenrick Smith, a 2002 civil engineering graduate who
played football, rugby, and ran track and field while
at Widener, is now setting his sights on making it as a
professional in the most grueling of sports: triathlons.
In October, Smith competed in the Ironman
World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, completing the race that consists of a 2.4-mile swim, a
112-mile bike ride, and a 26.2-mile run—the length
of a full marathon. “I was very humbled by this
experience of being able to race against the best
triathletes from around the world,” he said. “To
be considered one of them was truly an honor.”
He says that the sport is addicting, and he is
devoting himself to training full-time in order to make
it as a professional. “My goals moving forward are
to eventually race professionally and race on the pro
circuit,” he said. “I hope to motivate and inspire others
to chase their dreams by showing them that you can
achieve anything if you truly have a passion for it.”
Smith is married to Jodi M. (Russell) Smith, a
hospitality management major who was Widener’s
valedictorian in 2002. They live in Schnecksville,
Pennsylvania, with their three children. You can read
more and follow his progress in triathlon competitions
on his website at http://www.k17sport.com/.
28
James Monaghan ’67
William McDevitt III ’70
James Phreaner ’70
Joseph McKee ’71
Arthur Hafner ’72
Joseph Marzili ’72
Charles Harper ’73
William Grigg ’74
Costas Krikelis ’75
Carol Ritter ’76
Earl Heffernan ’77
Paul McCracken ’77
Neil Fongeallaz ’78
Joseph Ryan ’78
Keith Meckley ’80
John Sikorski ’80
Edward Kelly ’81
Gilbert Stinitus ’81
Walter Kern ’82
Robert Linden ’82
Charline (McKoy) Allen ’83
James Kelly ’84
Robert Matuszewski ’84
Augustus Derle ’85
Benjamin Cowley ’88
Carl Malatesta ’88
Mary Smith ’89
Frances Marchol ’90
John Metz ’90
Stephen Antonik ’91
John Covert ’92
James Watson ’94
Colette Molloy ’95
Sally Eberhard ’98
Edward Rankin ’00
VINCE GORMAN ‘61
Vincent C. Gorman Jr. of Media, a retired U.S.
Army lieutenant colonel who was a 1961 graduate
of Pennsylvania Military College and later a faculty
member and administrator at Widener, passed
away January 4, 2013, at his residence. Born in
Philadelphia, he was raised in Doylestown. During
his 20-year Army career, he served two tours in
Vietnam, was commander of the 42nd MP detachment in Germany, taught security at the MP School
at Fort Gordon, Ga., and was professor of military
science at Widener University from 1979-1983.
While at Widener, he expanded ROTC enrollment by
starting ROTC programs at Villanova, West Chester,
and Cheyney universities. Retiring from the
U.S. Army in 1983, he
became director of the
Annual Fund and Planned
Giving at Widener from
1983-1986. From 1986
until his death, he was
a registered broker and
financial consultant,
and certified financial
planner with numerous
banks, the most recent
being First Niagra Bank.
Brian Ware ’02
Stephanie Harris ’03
Taisha Turner ’10
Friends, Faculty,
and Staff
Paul Anapol
Barry Bean
Andrew Bushko
Vernice Ferguson
Patrick Fisher
William Foose
Elizabeth McGonigle
Paul Perreca
Alexander Sarcione
Steven Wilson
SAVE THE DATE:
HOMECOMING
Save the Date for 2013!
2013 Homecoming/
Reunion Weekend
October 18 & 19, 2013
We welcome all Widener
~PMC Alumni!
For more information,
please visit
alumni.widener.edu
ROBERT C. MELZI,
PROFESSOR EMERITUS
Robert C. Melzi, a professor emeritus of romance
languages at Widener University, died March 1,
2012, at the age of 96. Known as a lexicographer,
Renaissance scholar, and a leading authority on the
Italian language, Dr. Melzi served on the Widener
faculty for 30 years and chaired the romance
language department in the 1970s. In 1967, Dr.
Melzi, an expert on Dante, wrote Castelvetro’s
Annotations to the ’Inferno’: A New Perspective
in Sixteenth Century Criticism. He published the
Bantam New College Italian-English Dictionary
in 1973, a project that took eleven years.
Triathlete Kenrick Smith ’02 and his wife, Jodi M. (Russell)
Smith ’02. She was Widener’s 2002 valedictorian.
29
CLASS NOTES
CHAPTER NOTES
A “Bazaar” Tale Told By Widener Alums
By Autumn Heisler ’15
English and engineering majors are not usually pictured
together, but class of 1999 alums Patrick Manley, with
a degree in English, and Brendan O’Riordan, with an
engineering degree, are an exception. This pair of
Widener graduates collaborated to make and produce
a documentary on a groundbreaking Delaware
County mall known as the Bazaar of All Nations.
The Bazaar was one of the first models of today’s
modern mall, predating the King of Prussia Mall, among
others. It opened November 8, 1960, on Baltimore Pike
in Clifton Heights with the idea of bringing stores together.
A community—one that some considered a family—
grew out of the four-city-block-long center. Manley and
O’Riordan, along with cinematographer and director
Melissa Whitely, decided to commemorate this “mother
of all malls” by creating the documentary that debuted
in 2010, the 50th anniversary of the Bazaar’s opening.
The Bazaar of All Nations closed in 1993 and was
demolished two years later. The idea for the documentary
came to Manley about a decade ago when a basic search
on Google turned up little information on the Bazaar. “It
seemed odd to me, considering there are websites for even
the most obscure things, that a place as fondly remembered
had no presence on the Internet, or anywhere else for that
matter,” Manley said. It wasn’t until 2006, when Manley
met Whitely and proposed the idea of putting together a
documentary, that the idea truly blossomed. Manley asked
his lifelong friend O’Riordan to join them in their project.
Through their research, the three-person partnership
discovered a lot of Bazaar tales, ranging from contests, to
celebrities, to simple acts of kindness. “One woman we
interviewed won a pony at a contest in front of the Bazaar
when she was about 10 years old,” O’Riordan said. “She
“I think I can,
I think I can”…
and yes she
did! Kristin
McJunkins ’92
contacted the
Office of Alumni
Engagement to
inquire about an
alumni chapter
in New England. There was not one, so she decided to
start one! Months later, McJunkins and alumni hosted a
cocktail reception at a restaurant and bar in Connecticut.
Another event was held on September 16 aboard the
Essex Steam Train. There are plans for future events
with the Connecticut Whale minor league hockey team
and a wine tasting at Haight-Brown Vineyards. The
group hopes to expand events across New England
soon! If you’d like to get involved, please contact
chapter chair Kristin McJunkins at krmcjunk@msn.com.
From left to right: Patrick Manley ’99, Melissa Whitely,
and Brendan O‘Riordan ’99.
had to call her father to come to the Bazaar and help her
bring the pony back to their suburban home. Together
they walked the pony across Baltimore Pike and through
the neighborhood streets to the confusion of onlookers.”
Even political figures stopped by this remarkable landmark during their campaigns. The documentary features
never-before-seen photographs of Robert F. Kennedy, Ted
Kennedy, and President Richard Nixon. The documentary
has been featured on PBS station WHYY-TV, and DVDs
are available at http://www.thebazaarofallnations.com.
Widener Alumna Wins Springsteen Tickets
Von Luehrte, right, with Hewes, at Springsteen
show in Citizens Bank Park.
30
New England Regional Group
Cathy Von Luehrte was only six years old and too young
to see Springsteen the last time he played at Widener,
but she did see The Boss because of Widener. A 1993
graduate of the JD/MBA program, Von Luehrte won
tickets through the Widener Annual Fund “Glory Days”
give-a-way. She made a donation to the annual fund
that made her eligible to win two field-level tickets to
Springsteen’s show at Citizens Bank Park in September. “I
never win anything, so I never gave it a second thought,”
Von Luerhte said. She was pleasantly surprised when
she learned that she won. She also knew exactly who to
invite—friend and co-worker Lisa Hewes, a fellow Widener
graduate holding a 1985 bachelor’s degree and a 1988 law
degree. “The concert was incredible,” Von Luehrte said.
Pictured Essex Steam Train attendees include:
(Left Side, Front to Back) Frank Mancuso ‘67,
MaryAnn Mancuso, Neva Graham, Chris Briscoe
‘87, Mary VanBuren, and Steven Fratoni ‘74.
(Right Side, Front to Back) Bradley Fish, Chris
Fish ‘87, Rhea DeBari ‘81, Katherine Leier ‘81,
and chapter chairperson Kristin McJunkins ‘92.
(Not pictured: Jeff ‘66 and Lynn Travers.)
Upcoming Spring/Summer 2013
Regional Alumni Event Schedule
April
24: Central PA—Harrisburg Senators vs.
Reading Phillies, Harrisburg, PA
27: CA—USS Midway Museum
Tour, San Diego, CA
28: Washington State—Horse Races at
Emerald Downs, Auburn, WA
May
05:Greater Philadelphia—Point to Point
Steeplechase, Wilmington, DE
08:Greater Philadelphia—Networking
Luncheon, Philadelphia, PA
June
15:New England—Wine Tasting at Haight
Brown Vineyards, Litchfield, CT
18:Greater Philadelphia—6th Annual Phillies
Game at Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA
30:CA—Dodgers vs. Phillies, Los Angeles, CA
July
20:Greater Philadelphia—Happy Hour at
La Costa Lounge, Sea Isle City, NJ
… and many more to be added!
For the latest information about these events and
others, please visit: http://alumni.widener.edu/events
Regional Chapter Contact Info:
Greater Philadelphia Area:
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P hiladelphia County, PA
Jeff Flynn ‘04
jeffrey.t.flynn@gmail.com
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W ilmington,
FL­—East Coast
Tom Dougherty ‘93
tdougherty@rccl.com
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D elaware
Atlanta, GA
Morrie Spang ‘62
morriespang@comcast.net
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B ucks
Baltimore, MD
Office of Alumni Engagement
alumnioffice@widener.edu
FL—Orlando
Stephanie Dudley ‘11
dudley-stephanie@
aramark.com
County, PA
Jim Gentile ‘77
jjgdds@mac.com
& Montgomery
Counties, PA
Gregg Strom ‘64
gstro@stonemor.com
DE
Vera Kunkel ‘78
liberal@magpage.com
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C hester
California
Sharon Carothers ‘92
scarothe@worldnet.att.net
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S outh
Central PA
Office of Alumni Engagement
alumnioffice@widener.edu
County, PA
Frank Pellegrini ‘66
fpellegrini@maillie.com
Jersey
Office of Alumni Engagement
alumnioffice@widener.edu
District of Columbia
Office of Alumni Engagement
alumnioffice@widener.edu
Puerto Rico
Dennis Lopez ‘85
dennis.lopez@
compass-usa.com
Texas
Gerry Gaeta ‘77
jazzsinger99@hotmail.com
FL—West Coast
Office of Alumni Engagement
alumnioffice@widener.edu
Washington State
Alex Poblete ’89
alex@dmp-inc.us
New England
Kristin McJunkins ‘92
krmcjunk@msn.com
If you have interest in
starting a new chapter,
please contact the Office
of Alumni Engagement
at 610-499-1154 or
alumnioffice@widener.edu.
NYC / North Jersey
Garren Pflueger ‘94
gepfinancial@gmail.com
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Campaign Update
STUDENTS AIMING HIGH IN OSKIN LEADERS PROGRAM
By Autumn Heisler ’15
THE 2012 PRESIDENT’S
COUNCIL DINNER
The 2012 President’s Council Dinner marked the first
time this event honoring the university’s top donors
was held on campus. The dinner featured the dedication
of the Bown Dome Sculpture Garden, which now graces
the area behind Old Main. The Garden was a gift from
Thomas H. Bown II ’67 and his wife, Bonnie.
Top: From left, Heddie and Suk-Chung Yoon are joined by the master of ceremonies for the evening, Trustee Brian Tierney ‘87L
and his wife, Maud. Above: Tom ’67 and Bonnie Bown (center) pose with their family before the start of the festivities.
Momentum remains strong as we stride closer to our
campaign goal. This level of support is unprecedented
in Widener’s history, and is a reflection of the
outstanding commitment to the university’s
future by alumni, friends, and partners.
Campaign Progress
$54.3 million
Goal: $58 million
Amount Raised as of 3/1/13
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The world can’t be changed overnight;
it takes time and commitment. Here
at Widener, the Oskin Leadership
Institute is changing the world
one project at a time. The Oskin
Leadership Institute was established
in the fall of 2011 through the vision
and generosity of Widener’s former
chairman of the Board of Trustees,
David Oskin ’64 ‘07H. Oskin’s wife,
JoEllen, and their late son, David,
joined him in making this gift to
the university.
But what difference does the
Oskin Leadership Institute make?
One shining example of the Institute’s
impact is the Oskin Leaders program
for students. Sixteen sophomores were
chosen during the spring 2012 semester
to become the inaugural class of Oskin
Leaders. Students were nominated
and accepted into the program based
on their ability to create, present, and
accomplish a leadership project that is
near and dear to their hearts.
Daniel Hartney and Sumo
Yarkpawolo have been planning out
their “dreams,” as Yarkpawolo calls
them, ever since the Oskin Leaders
program became a part of their lives.
“Feeding the hungry people of the
world is what my work is all about,”
Hartney said. He is working on
developing different methods to
grow nutrient-rich foods through
advanced agricultural methods, such as
hydroponics and aquaponics. “I aim to
create a business that will allow food
to be grown locally, sustainably, and
economically—anywhere on the planet.”
Yarkpawolo has a much different,
but equally exciting, project he has
been working on. He decided to
choose something close to home.
“This project is important to me,
because as a little boy growing up in
Liberia, I hated the fact that for such a
small and beautiful country, there was
such a high unemployment rate,” he
said. He is currently working on bringing tourism to his home country, not
only attracting vacationers, but
also creating jobs in the hotel and
resort business.
Dr. Arthur Schwartz, founding
executive director of the Oskin
Leadership Institute, has played a
role in each of the sixteen inaugural
students’ projects. Through Dr.
Schwartz’s reliable guidance, the Oskin
Leaders are making progress toward
their unique and ambitious goals. With
plans as varied as creating meditation
classes here at Widener, creating a new
foreign exchange program, and aiding
pregnant women without homes in
Philadelphia, this year’s Oskin Leaders
will influence the lives of many, as
well as leave a legacy for those to
come. “Dr. Schwartz has been a great
inspiration to me,” Yarkpawolo said.
“Whenever I talk to him about my
project, I feel like I have what it takes
to accomplish this dream.”
Autumn Heisler, a sophomore from
Allentown, Pennsylvania, majoring in creative
writing and English, is an Oskin Leader
(pictured front row, far right.)
Sixteen sophomores, most pictured with Dr. Arthur Schwartz, the founding
executive director of the Oskin Leadership Institute, were chosen during the
spring 2012 semester to become the inaugural class of Oskin Leaders.
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Campaign Update
Campaign Update
PROMISING FUTURES
While the country struggles to work
its way through these tough economic
times, many students struggle to afford
the quality college education they need
to succeed. These students can’t wait
until all the varied and sundry economic indicators are more favorable; they
are facing their college years now, and
they need help.
That is why Widener has taken
a proactive approach to this situation
and made the decision to channel all
gifts to the Widener Fund exclusively
to financial aid. Funds will be awarded
FIRST GENERATION FUND
to students based on need and will
augment Widener’s already substantial
financial aid and scholarship programs.
The university’s Development Office
has dubbed this initiative Promising
Futures, and includes gifts to the fund
toward the $58-million goal of the university’s overall fundraising campaign,
Taking the Lead—The Campaign for Widener.
The simple truth is that for most
students, covering the cost of attending
Widener would not be possible without the help of financial aid. Financial
aid packages are invaluable in bridging
Widener has taken a proactive approach to the problem of
student debt and made the decision to channel all gifts to
the Widener Fund exclusively to financial aid.
the gap and bringing a Widener education within their grasp.
Applications to Widener continue
to rise, and the qualifications of these
applicants are increasing, as indicated
by higher SAT scores. Financial aid
is a key factor in why these highly
accomplished students choose
Widener above the countless other
universities that are vying for their
enrollment. According to the 2012
UCLA Freshman Survey, the top reason the class of 2016 chose Widener is
the financial assistance that was awarded, followed closely by Widener’s
academic reputation and the success
Widener grads have in the job market.
Gifts to the Widener Fund allow the
university to continue to attract some
of the brightest and most motivated
students, enhancing the university’s
reputation and enriching the academic
experience of all its students.
By supporting the Widener Fund
and Promising Futures, alumni and
friends help to alleviate the daunting
pile of debt that many students face
upon graduation. Receiving sufficient
aid while they are in school will provide these new graduates the financial
freedom to pursue their dreams.
Students who are the first in their family to attend college face
a unique set of challenges, which is why the university established
the “First Generation Fund” to allow donors to specify their
gift to the Widener Fund to provide financial aid for these
students. In this year’s freshman class, 23 percent are first
generation, with another 20 percent having parents who started
but did not complete a college degree. Because these students
don’t have a family history of college attendance, the university
makes a concerted effort to better understand and help guide
these pioneers toward success. Financial aid is often the lifeline
that brings a Widener education into the realm of possibility
for first generation students and changes the course of history
for not only the recipient, but for the entire family for
generations to come.
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
DEAN FUNDS SCHOLARSHIP
Widener School of Business Administration Dean Savas Özatalay
and his wife Liz made the decision to establish a scholarship
because they’ve seen firsthand the kind of positive impact financial
support for a student in need can have. Dean Özatalay himself
was a scholarship recipient while pursuing his education. Those
who contributed to scholarship boosted Savas’s confidence and
motivated him to succeed. He is pleased to be able to offer the
same kind of opportunity he received to a student today. He
envisions the same positive outcomes for the recipient of the
Savas and Mary Elizabeth Özatalay Scholarship.
The dean observed that faculty and staff have a unique
perspective on the challenges of students facing financial need.
Throughout his career, he witnessed numerous talented and eager
prospective students who could not enroll at Widener because of
the cost, and also saw top students who were forced to drop out
after a semester or two for financial reasons. "In many cases, they
just needed a little help,” he said. “A scholarship would have made
all the difference for them.”
Gifts to the Widener Fund support
the promising futures of students
like Spencer Ng ’15. Spencer is
preparing for a career as a primary
care physician working with lowincome and underserved populations.
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35
THE BACK PAGE
Deep Roots on a
Widener-PMC
Family Tree
By Tina Phillips ‘82, ‘98, ‘03
Long before Widener senior Lindsay Currie attended her
first Widener Homecoming when she was only a toddler, her
Widener-PMC roots had grown deep in the Chester soil.
The family connection took hold with her great-grandfather,
John R. Hanna, a star guard on the Pennsylvania Military
College football team of the late 1920s who graduated in 1930
with a degree in civil engineering. His family owned a contracting
business that installed most of Chester’s sidewalks, and he
went on to become a prominent businessman. He was a loyal
supporter of PMC and held various leadership positions,
serving on the PMC Board of Trustees and as president of
the Alumni Association.
His daughter, Gayle Hanna Stauffer, fondly remembers
when a residence hall was named in her father’s honor in the
mid 60s. “I was so proud watching my father accepting such an
honor in front of his family, alumni, and friends. We all knew
how dedicated he was to the college and how hard he worked to
promote growth and change.” Although she did not attend PMC
since it was not co-ed at the time, her brother, John Hanna Jr.,
graduated from PMC in 1966.
When Gayle’s daughter, Tracy Stauffer Currie, chose a
college almost fifty years after her grandfather graduated, she
picked Widener. It was a fateful decision. She would go on to
meet her future husband Bruce Currie during a house party
on fraternity row. For weeks, Tracy said she wouldn’t go to the
cafeteria because she was nervous about running into Bruce—she
would always feel butterflies in her stomach whenever seeing him.
Lindsay Currie ’13 and her brother Jeffrey Currie
showed Widener spirit at an early age.
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Their first date was a ski trip, and
to this day they still enjoy skiing
with family and friends.
They have many fond
memories of their time at
Widener, including how some
of Bruce’s friends were known
to portray “Willie Widener,”
an unofficial campus mascot
during the 80s who would
stroll the campus with his sidekick dog known as “chick dog.”
After graduating and
marrying, Bruce ’83 and
Tracy ’84 have long enjoyed
attending Homecoming to
reconnect with their friends
and classmates. When their
From left to right, the
children Lindsay and Jeffrey
lineage of John R. Hanna
were born, they continued to
’30 in front of residence
attend, bringing their kids
hall named for him: Gayle
every year. Lindsay fondly
Hanna Stauffer, Lindsay
remembers her mother pulling
Currie ’13, and Tracy
out the matching Widener
Stauffer Currie ’84.
sweatshirts for her and her
brother to wear.
When it came time for Lindsay to choose a college, she
said she felt she didn’t need to tour the campus, believing she
knew all about it from her parents and the many Homecoming
gatherings she attended. She was glad, however, that she took
the tour because that was when she met School of Hospitality
Management Dean Nicholas Hadgis and learned about the
program, which was a perfect fit for her.
When she started Widener, she moved into Hanna Hall—
the residence named for her great-grandfather who died in 1982,
nine years before she was born. She went on to be a successful
Widener student, and recently completed an internship in Greece
where she applied her managerial and service education. She is on
schedule to graduate from Widener in May and plans to
participate in the senior class gift fundraiser. She also plans to
attend future homecomings as an alumna with her family and
friends. “I am very proud of my legacy at Widener, and I believe
my education has more than prepared me to successfully enter
the hospitality job market,” Lindsay said.
You can bet her great-grandfather who began college life
as a freshman cadet at PMC in 1926 would be very proud.
Dr. Tina Phillips, executive director of Alumni Engagement is the first
in her family to graduate from Widener University. She also has two sisters
and two children who are graduates. Her niece currently attends Widener and
will graduate this May.
Widener
Leadership
Works
For graduate students.
Today, leadership is at a premium.
In today’s global economy there are no guarantees. That’s why it’s more important
than ever to give yourself an edge that can take your career to the next level.
Offering more than 60 graduate degrees from Biomedical Engineering to Business
Process Innovation and Special Education Assistive Technologies, Widener
University has the graduate program for you. With classes taught in full-time,
evening, weekend, accelerated, on-line, and part-time formats in three convenient
locations, Widener fits your schedule.
Visit today to learn how to jump-start your career at widener.edu/graduate
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