Hofstra Mourns the Loss of Distinguished Professors

Shortly after the spring 2011 semester ended, the Hofstra community was shocked and saddened by the passing of two distinguished faculty members: Professor of English Dana Brand in May and Associate Professor of Psychology Vincent Brown in August. In September there was more sadness when Hofstra learned of the loss of Professor Emerita Lenore Sandel (M.S. ‘63, Ed.D. ‘70).

Dana Brand was a former chair of the English Department and taught all genres and periods of American literature. He had been on the Hofstra faculty since 1989. Dr. Brand was the author of The Spectator and the City in Nineteenth-Century American Literature (Cambridge, 1991) and numerous articles on topics in English, American, and French literature, philosophy, and film. He was also a personal essayist and the author of 2007’s Mets Fan, a collection of essays about his experiences as a baseball fan. He wrote a second book about baseball fandom in 2009 titled The Last Days of Shea. Professor Brand was particularly active in Hofstra’s Honors College, where he taught in Culture and Expression.

At the time of his passing, Dr. Brand and Dr. Richard Puerzer, associate professor and chair of the Department of Engineering, were in the midst of working with the Hofstra Cultural Center on a 2012 conference commemorating the 50th anniversary of the New York Mets. The April 26-28 conference will be dedicated to the memory of Dr. Brand. For more information on the conference, visit hofstra.edu/Mets. 

Vincent Brown had been on the Hofstra faculty since 2001, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in cognitive psychology, research methods, and statistics. He was previously an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Arlington and a visiting assistant professor at Clarkson University and the University of Richmond. From 2008 to 2010, he served as program director in perception, action, and cognition at the National Science Foundation. Dr. Brown was co-principal investigator, with Hofstra Associate Professor of Computer Science Simona Doboli, of a National Science Foundation grant on neural network models of individual and group brainstorming.

Lenore Sandel was one of three people to receive Hofstra’s first doctoral degrees in 1970, and she was inducted into the Hofstra Honor Roll in 2010. She had joined the Hofstra faculty in 1964 after earning a master’s degree in reading in 1963. Prior to that, her first full-time position, as a clinician/ diagnostician in the Reading/Writing Learning Clinic, was created for her by the director of the Reading/Writing Learning Clinic, Dr. Miriam Schleich.

Dr. Sandel’s love of education began with student teaching, more than 65 years ago, and included years of substitute teaching in all grades and subjects, and almost 30 years at Hofstra University. She retired in 1992 after a long and illustrious career at the University, but continued to work as an adjunct professor. In 1994 she was named professor emerita, a tribute to her “long and meaningful service as an accomplished member of the faculty.” 

In 2000 Dr. Sandel made a donation of her historically valuable collection of children’s books to the Special Collections Department of the Hofstra Library. She continued to contribute to the Reading/Writing Learning Clinic for many years as a reviewer of children’s and professional books. 

Garden Dedicated to Music Legend Ellie Greenwich ’62

The garden dedicated in memory of Ellie Greenwich is located outside the New Academic Building on the South Campus.

Songwriting legend Ellie Greenwich, who passed away in 2009, was a Hofstra alumna whose hit songs defined an era of American music. “Be My Baby,” “Chapel of Love,” “Da Doo Ron Ron,” “Then He Kissed Me,” “Do Wah Diddy,” and “River Deep, Mountain High” are just a few of the hit songs she either wrote or co-wrote. On October 30, 2011, Hofstra University dedicated a garden on campus to this musical “Leader of the Pack” (another of her songs!). The tranquil space is located just outside Hofstra’s New Academic Building, home to the Department of Music. 

The Songwriters Hall of Fame credits Greenwich as one of the most successful songwriters of modern pop music. Her songs, which have sold in the tens of millions, earned her 25 gold and platinum records and more than 33 BMI Awards, as well as numerous civic and Hofstra alumni citations. 

Greenwich wrote her first song when she was 13 and formed an all-girls group called The Jivettes. Her sister, Laura Weiner, who attended the garden dedication, spoke extensively about Greenwich’s love for creativity. 

After graduating from high school in 1957, Greenwich attended Queens College for one year as a music major. In an informal autobiographic essay, titled “All About Me,” she remembered a discouraging experience that led her to transfer to Hofstra. “I made (wrote and sang) a record for RCA and proudly brought it to my music class – only to have my professor play it for the class, while holding his arm on the handle, causing the needle to scratch and ultimately warp my record – telling me and the rest of the class (I was humiliated) that’s what he thought of this kind of music and that I’d better get really serious ... and so on and so on ... I did ... I QUIT!” 

Greenwich majored in English and minored in secondary education at Hofstra. Weiner said, “Ellie had some of her best experiences at Hofstra.” Greenwich wrote, “During my years at Hofstra, I was in Wreath & Foil sorority where I was honored as the most active and most beloved sister in the same year. I performed in some of the musicals done at the Hofstra Playhouse. I was Outstanding Senior Woman and, unbelievably, voted Spring Queen in 1961.” Also in 1961, she met co-writer Jeff Barry, whom she later married, and they experienced much success, working with music leaders such as Phil Spector and the team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. 

“Ellie was a woman before her time,” said Weiner. “It wasn’t accepted for a woman to be connected in that end of the business; it was a man’s world.” However, gender inequality did not stop Greenwich during these years. She seized the charts as one of New York’s top demo/session singers and vocal arrangers, working with artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, Blondie, Jim Croce, Dusty Springfield, Lesley Gore, Electric Light Orchestra, Bette Midler, The Manhattan Transfer, Bobby Darin and even Cyndi Lauper, on her hit “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” She is also credited with discovering Neil Diamond and was a frequent collaborator, singing background on his hit songs “Cherry, Cherry” and “She Got the Way to Move Me,” among others. Diamond told Rolling Stone after her death, “If I hadn’t met Ellie Greenwich I wouldn’t have had a career.” 

In 1985 The Leader of the Pack, a show about her life and music, opened on Broadway and was nominated for a Tony Award in the Best Musical category. In May 1991 Greenwich was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and in 2010 she was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

“Despite her fame, Greenwich was very humble and good spirited,” said Weiner. “Her passion was for music and creating, not fame and glory. She was a comedian and always knew how to make everyone laugh, but never understood the impact she had on people.” 

-Morgan Smith ’13, courtesy of The Chronicle 

Meet the 2011 Alumni Award Winners

Hofstra University and the Alumni Organization hosted the 2011 Alumni Awards Dinner at the Garden City Hotel on September 23. Alumni and friends celebrated the personal and professional accomplishments of nine distinguished alumni and friends of Hofstra University. 

Alumnus of the Year 

The Alumnus/Alumna of the Year Award is given in recognition of exemplary career achievement and/or outstanding service to Hofstra University or the Alumni Organization. 

Marilyn B. Monter, J.D. ’76 

Marilyn Monter recently completed her term as chair of the Board of Trustees at Hofstra University. Her tenure has been marked by many milestones in Hofstra history, including the accreditation of the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine from its accreditation, the entrance of its first class this past fall and the recent announcement of a new School of Engineering and Applied Science. “I accept this award not for what I have accomplished, but for what President Rabinowitz and the Board have accomplished these last few years.” 

Ms. Monter is executive vice president of The Holiday Organization, Inc., a Westbury-based real estate development company, founded by her father, Gerald Monter, in 1951. The Holiday Organization is the developer of the various Hamlet communities on Long Island, as well as several Colony communities in South Florida. In addition, the company developed three golf course communities on Long Island, which include one private and two public facilities. 

After earning a J.D. from Hofstra University School of Law (now the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University), Ms. Monter served as assistant dean of the law school, and then became an in-house attorney for Allied Chemical Corporation (now Honeywell International, Inc.). She joined The Holiday Organization in 1984. 

She is vice president of the Suffolk Y Jewish Community Center, and vice chair of Planned Parenthood of Nassau County. In addition, she is a member of the board at The INN, and has served on the boards of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, and Elmezzi Graduate School of Molecular Medicine. 

She is a former trustee of Friends Academy. In 2005 Ms. Monter was named a “Woman of Distinction” by Distinction magazine, and in 2008 and 2009 she was honored by Long Island Business News as one of the Top 50 Most Influential Women. 

Honorary Alumnus Award 

First awarded in 1977, the Honorary Alumnus/Alumna Award is given to friends of Hofstra in recognition of outstanding service to the University or the Alumni Organization. 

Tejinder Bindra 

Tejinder Bindra is a member of the Hofstra University Board of Trustees and CEO of Jeetish Group of Companies. He co-founded Jeetish, an import company, in 1979 along with his father and brother. Later Jeetish diversified into other businesses but remained under the umbrella of Jeetish Group of Companies, with interests in apparel, export/import and real estate. 

He is the founder and president of the Sikh Art & Film Foundation, an organization that has been at the forefront of promoting Sikh heritage, art and culture in the United States. Mr. Bindra sponsors the annual Vaisakhi celebrations at the Consulate General of India. He also partnered with the Jewish Community Relations Council to co-host “Connecting Building Bridges,” an event that was inaugurated jointly by Consul Generals of India and Israel. Mr. Bindra is also the founder and president of the Sikh Organization of New York and has led two very successful delegations to the state government, on behalf of the Sikh- American community. These efforts resulted in Vaisakhi being recognized as a “Sikh American Day” by the state government, and in the introduction of an assembly resolution for the freedom to wear turbans by state police and other state employees. 

Sardar Ishar Singh Bindra, Mr. Bindra’s father, endowed the Sardarni Kuljit Kaur Bindra Chair in Sikh Studies at Hofstra University and also established the Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize to promote religious tolerance. 

Mr. Bindra is the recipient of the 2011 Ellis Island Medal of Honor and has been honored many times by various Indian and American organizations for his work in the community. 

Award for Alumni Achievement 

The Award for Alumni Achievement is given to Hofstra alumni who have distinguished themselves in their chosen fields of endeavor and/or rendered exemplary service to Hofstra University. 

Andrew F. Corrado, M.B.A. ’92 

Andrew F. Corrado is Nassau County market president at Capital One Bank. In this role, he focuses on improving customer experience, growing revenue, leveraging market opportunities, and overseeing and coordinating resources that impact local communities. 

Mr. Corrado also serves as senior vice president heading Capital One’s Professional Services and Private Banking Division across the country and is a longtime community advocate. He currently serves as chairman of the board of directors for the Maurer Foundation for Breast Health Education. He was previously secretary and treasurer for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Long Island and continues to serve on that organization’s scholarship committee. In 2010 he was recognized as Man of the Year by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Long Island. 

Mr. Corrado graduated from Hofstra with a Master of Business Administration. He is president of the Zarb School of Business Alumni Association and was recently asked to join the advisory council board for the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine at Hofstra University. 

In conjunction with Hofstra’s Zarb School of Business and Capital One Bank’s Community Development Group, Mr. Corrado helped develop the Campus Entrepreneurial Challenge, a unique program that provides coaching and mentoring opportunities to Zarb School students and also provides a financial grant in the form of seed money for a business startup. This program also includes coaching and mentoring opportunities for business students from Uniondale High School. 

During his Alumni Awards acceptance speech, Mr. Corrado said, “Over the last several years I have had the pleasure of working with Hofstra in many ways, and every time I do it, I feel I get something out of it. It’s such a great feeling to give back to the community.” 

Gerard N. Giovaniello, B.A. ’64

Gerard “Jerry” N. Giovaniello is senior vice president of government affairs and chief lobbyist of the National Association of Realtors^® (NAR), the nation’s largest professional association, representing more than 1 million members involved in the residential and commercial real estate industries. 

Mr. Giovaniello manages the association’s government affairs staff and serves as NAR’s chief lobbyist for members of Congress from California, Washington, Nevada, Hawaii and Oregon. 

Before joining NAR in 1981, Mr. Giovaniello was chief of staff for two members of Congress from California: Rep. Jerry Pettis (R-Calif., 1972-1976) and Rep. Jim Lloyd (D-Calif., 1976-1981). During those nine years, he also taught political science for the Washington, D.C. Semester Program of The Claremont Colleges in California. 

Mr. Giovaniello has been a policy analyst and writer for National Journal, a weekly magazine covering the 

federal government and public policy issues. After earning a graduate degree in history from New York University, he fulfilled an ROTC commitment to the U.S. Army. He served as an officer in Vietnam and Washington, D.C., from 1968 through 1970. 

“I don’t think I’d be standing here if Hofstra didn’t award me a scholarship as a student,” he said upon accepting the Alumni Achievement Award. “Hofstra prepared me to be extremely flexible, and when I look back on the milestones of my career, Hofstra gave me the ability to accomplish them all.” He also thanked his sisters, who took on his responsibilities at home, allowing him to focus on his education. 

Nancy F. Kaplan, B.A. ’73; M.A. ’91; Ph.D. 

In her acceptance speech, Nancy F. Kaplan reminisced about working as a waitress at the Hofstra University Club, working on Program Board and on Don Kirschner’s In Concert series at the John Cranford Adams Playhouse, as well as her years on WVHC, then the campus radio station. She changed her major seven times before finding her niche in media communications. “My love for learning was instilled at Hofstra, and I chose to give back.” 

She is associate professor in the Department of Radio, Television, Film in Hofstra University’s School of Communication, and her research interests include media literacy, new and interactive media, entertainment education, and media accessibility for individuals with disabilities. Dr. Kaplan is founder and faculty adviser of the Hofstra chapter of the Association for Women in Communications (AWC). 

Dr. Kaplan is a member of the Directors Guild of America (DGA), National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), National Academy of Media Arts and Sciences (NAMAS), New York State Communication Association, and Broadcast Education Association (BEA). She has worked as a producer, director, writer, associate director, stage manager and journalist in both studio and field production for commercial television (ABC, CBS), public television (WLIW), and corporate and educational media, encompassing more than 1,500 shows at the network level and more than 4,000 productions on the local level, including work at WWOR, WSNL, WCBS and cable. Some of her network production credits include Good Morning America, One Life to Live, All My Children, SportsBeat with Howard Cosell, As the World Turns, and PrimeTime Live. She has served as a judge for the New York International Film and Television Festival, the Emmy Awards, and the Broadcast Education Association Media Arts Festival. 

She produces and facilitates the Annual Jewish Film Festival in Bellmore, New York. Dr. Kaplan is the co-author of the book Student Television in America: Channels of Change (1998), and she also wrote “Multimedia: Information, Knowledge, and Converging Technologies,” a chapter in the book Les Medias et L’information aux Etats-Unis de 1945 a Aujourd’hui (published by Universite Paris — Sorbonne 1997). 

Diana E. Lake, B.A. ’68; M.D. 

“I decided to become reacquainted with Hofstra, after talking with an associate who was also a Hofstra graduate, and learning about plans for the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine,” Dr. Diana E. Lake explained when accepting her Alumni Achievement Award. After that she became involved in the University’s Women in Leadership initiative, a professional resource and powerful network for both Hofstra alumnae and current students. 

Dr. Lake is a medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), with a practice that is devoted solely to the care of patients with breast cancer. Dr. Lake’s research interests involve all areas of breast cancer but focus mainly on the development of new therapies, prevention of cancer recurrence following surgery, and treatment of recurrent disease. 

Working in conjunction with colleagues on the Breast Cancer Medicine Service at MSKCC and as the liaison in breast medicine to the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (a national clinical trial cooperative research group sponsored by the National Cancer Institute), Dr. Lake is involved in clinical trials to develop better hormonal therapies and improved medical approaches for all stages of breast cancer. 

She is a member of the Advisory Council to the National Institute of Nursing Research. She has been a member of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Scientific Review Committee, and has previously served on the NIH Cooperative Group Review and the Cancer Education Committees. 

Dr. Lake holds a Bachelor of Arts in biology from Hofstra University and a Doctor of Medicine from Chicago Medical School. Her hematology/oncology fellowship training was at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Lake is presently a clinical associate professor at Weill Cornell Medical College.

Irwin E. Redlener, B.A. ’64; M.D. 

Dr. Irwin E. Redlener is president and co-founder (along with singer-songwriter Paul Simon) of the Children’s Health Fund, a philanthropic initiative created to develop health care programs in some of the nation’s most medically underserved urban and rural communities. He is also director of The National Center for Disaster Preparedness at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and recently served as one of 10 members of the federally appointed National Commission on Children and Disasters. 

“I came to Hofstra 50 years ago,” Dr. Redlener said in his acceptance speech. He says his experience in Hofstra’s New College “was a time of profound insight and learning in a new way that influenced the rest of my life.” In a 2010 interview with Hofstra Magazine he had said, “The professors were uniformly remarkable and inspiring. They helped us not only grasp individual topics, but also relate them to larger concepts, and see how different issues and ideas are interconnected.” 

Dr. Redlener has published, spoken and testified extensively on the issues of health care for homeless and indigent children, child abuse and neglect, and national health policy. Recognized as a national expert on a range of issues, Dr. Redlener also speaks and writes extensively on national disaster preparedness policies, pandemic influenza, the threat of terrorism in the United States, and the impact and consequences of major natural disasters and related issues. 

Dr. Redlener worked extensively in the Gulf region following Hurricane Katrina and helped establish ongoing medical and public health programs. He also organized medical response teams in the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11 and has had disaster management leadership experience internationally and nationally. He is the author of Americans at Risk: Why We Are Not Prepared for Megadisasters and What We Can Do Now, published in August 2006 by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 

The nationally acclaimed New York Children’s Health Project, one of the country’s largest health care programs for homeless and disadvantaged children and their families, was developed in 1987 by Dr. Redlener. In 1993 Dr. Redlener served as a member of the White House Task Force on Health Reform, under President Clinton. From 1997 through 2003, Dr. Redlener also had a lead role in the development of The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, where he served as president and chief spokesman. The hospital remains one of the most advanced and innovative facilities of its kind in the world. 

Dr. Irwin E. Redlener earned the M.D. from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, with pediatric training at Babies and Children’s Hospital of the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City, University of Colorado Hospital and the University of Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. He holds an honorary Doctor of Science from Hunter College of the City University of New York, among numerous other awards and honors. 

Jack A. Weisbaum, B.B.A. ’64 

Jack A. Weisbaum has been employed in public accounting for more than 50 years. He is currently CEO of BDO USA, LLP, a position he has held since 2003, and previously served as chairman of the board. He also served as national leader for the firm’s specialized services business line, where he focused on bankruptcy and restructuring. Mr. Weisbaum has been a trusted advisor to hundreds of businesses, ranging from small private companies to major corporations listed on the New York Stock Exchange. He has been honored by various organizations for his contributions to the business community, including the American Jewish Congress, B’nai B’rith, and New York Institute of Credit. 

He is professionally affiliated with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, serves on the board for the Center for Audit Quality, and serves as associate chair for the Catalyst Awards annual reception. 

In addition to his leadership roles at BDO, Mr. Weisbaum and his wife, Mary, are very active in local and national charities. He has received awards of recognition from various charities, including the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. 

Since earning a B.B.A. from Hofstra in 1964, Mr. Weisbaum has maintained a strong connection to the University. He is currently a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board of the Frank G. Zarb School of Business, and he also established the Jack Weisbaum ’64 Endowed Scholarship. 

Honorary Alumnus Award 

First awarded in 1977, the Honorary Alumnus/Alumna Award is given to friends of Hofstra in recognition of outstanding service to the University or the Alumni Organization. 

Reginald André, B.B.A. ’04 

Upon receiving the Young Alumnus Award, Reginald André thoughtfully thanked Hofstra faculty “who make a difference in students’ lives” and his parents “who dragged me, kicking and screaming, from being a brat to someone who can win an award from a prestigious university.” 

Mr. André is vice president of the Alternative Investments & Manager Selection (AIMS) Group at Goldman Sachs and Co. in New York City, where he is co-business unit manager for the Risk Management & Analytics teams across the AIMS businesses. Mr. André focuses on leading the capital management, cash and credit management, and communications management functions as well as new business development and infrastructure within the AIMS Private Equity Group. He also serves as deputy diversity champion for the Goldman Sachs’ Investment Management Division. Mr. André joined Goldman Sachs and Co. as an analyst in 2004. 

While earning a B.B.A. in finance at Hofstra’s Zarb School of Business, Mr. André served as student president of the Financial Management Association (FMA), a pre-professional organization with the purpose of preparing students for careers in finance. Since graduation, he has maintained a strong connection to the FMA and has applied much of what he learned there to his roles within the Zarb School of Business Alumni Association. 

In 2008 Mr. André was asked to help structure and lead the Zarb School of Business Alumni Association’s Career Networking and Advisement Committee. He accepted and went on to sponsor a number of networking events and develop several successful student-focused programs designed to engage Zarb alumni, the Hofstra Career Center and student-leaders. Many of these programs have run every semester, bringing dozens of Zarb alumni back to campus and reaching hundreds of Zarb students. 

In 2010 Mr. André was elected to his current role as the Zarb School of Business Alumni Association’s first vice president.

Hofstra Athletics

Springs Sports Prepare for Another Winning Season 

The spring season at Hofstra features some of the University’s most successful teams. The men’s lacrosse program has been to the NCAA Tournament four consecutive seasons, a program-first, while the softball team is a perennial NCAA Regional participant. The women’s lacrosse team has been a contender for the conference title in recent years, while the baseball program is on the rise under Coach Patrick Anderson. 

The Seth Tierney-led men’s lacrosse team graduated one of the best players in program history in All-American Jay Card, but the team does return seniors Brad Loizeaux (six goals, four assists) and Steve Serling (three goals, six assists in four games), and juniors Ian Braddish (16 goals, 17 assists) and Adrian Sorichetti (12 goals, one assist), among others on the offensive end. The defense is strong, led by juniors Cody Solaja, Mark Mullen and Corey Caputo. The Pride also boast one of the nation’s top face-off specialists in All-American John Antoniades and are solid between the pipes with the return of senior All- American goalkeeper Andrew Gvozden. 

The softball team, led by Hall of Fame Coach Bill Edwards, will look to return to the top of the CAA after being upset in the CAA championship last season. The team is bolstered by the return of its two ace starting pitchers – junior Olivia Galati and senior Erin Wade. Galati has been the CAA Pitcher of the Year in each of her last two seasons and set Hofstra records last season for wins (29) and strikeouts (348). Wade won 11 games for the Pride in 2011 and added 109 strikeouts. Galati could also spearhead the Pride offense as she batted .343 a season ago. Juniors D.J. Slugh and Tessa Ziemba also return and will provide boosts on the offensive end. Slugh hit .338 last year, while Ziemba hit .335 with 10 doubles and 44 RBIs. 

The Pride women’s lacrosse team returns seven of its top eight scorers from 2011, led by All-CAA performer Jill Maier, who tallied 37 goals and three assists as a sophomore last season. Junior Clare Brady, who posted 15 goals and a team-best 17 assists, also returns and will be looked upon by Head Coach Abby Morgan to be a playmaker on the offensive end along with senior Maryann Miller. Miller had eight goals and five assists a year ago. Sophomores Jenn Ward, Lindsay McKinnon and Alex Mezzanotte, and junior Jackie Ardolino also provide the Pride with some scoring punch. Senior defenders Lizzie Zorovich and Chrissy Jones will anchor a relatively young defensive unit in front of keeper Jackie Pandolf, who returns for her senior season. 

The baseball team, under Coach Patrick Anderson, has a solid nucleus of players returning, led by first team All- CAA selection Danny Poma. The senior outfielder batted .382 last season with 16 doubles, 28 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. Senior third baseman Joe Perez, junior first baseman Jared Hammer and sophomore catcher Matt Reistetter, who was a third team All-CAA selection last year, also return and should be regulars in the starting lineup. Perez led the team with nine home runs last season, while Hammer hit .358 to rank second on the team. Reistetter batted .270 as a freshman and also did a good job in handling the Pride pitching staff, which is anchored by junior David D’Errico and sophomore closer Bryan Verbitsky. 

Arcadia Publishing and Author Chris R. Vaccaro ’07 to Release Book on Hofstra Athletics 

In collaboration with Arcadia Publishing, author Chris R. Vaccaro is proud to announce the forthcoming release of his fifth book, Hofstra Athletics, in Arcadia Publishing’s Images of Sports series. 

Hofstra Athletics is set for release in mid- to late-January, and orders are now being accepted for presale. The cost of the book is $21.99 plus $4 for shipping and handling (USPS Priority Mail). For bulk orders or for more information, please call 516-HOF-TIXX. The book may also be ordered online at GoHofstra.com.

Since its founding in 1935, Hofstra University has built a strong reputation in the collegiate sports world. Thousands of athletes have represented one of Long Island’s finest private universities, winning countless championships and helping to create a foundation of history that is remembered today. Hofstra Athletics strings together a pictorial history of Hofstra’s well-known coaches and athletes, championship teams, and players who achieved success on the professional level. 

This book captures nearly 200 images of student-athletes, coaches, administrators, facilities and many other aspects of the Hofstra community. With captions accompanying every image and photos dating back to the 1930s, this book is a must for any Hofstra fan. Hofstra Athletics features a foreword by Craig “Speedy” Claxton, one of the most prolific athletes to attend Hofstra. He was selected in the first round of the NBA draft in 2000 and spent 10 seasons in the league. He led the Pride to an NCAA tournament appearance, was inducted into the Hofstra Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011, and had his jersey number (10) retired. 

Chris R. Vaccaro, an award-winning journalist from Long Island and a 2007 graduate of Hofstra University, is the author of four previous books on Long Island sports history and has written for more than 100 publications nationwide. He is an editor with AOL’s Patch.com, adjunct professor of journalism at Hofstra University, and a board member for the Press Club of Long Island. 

Arcadia Publishing is the leading local history publisher in the United States, with a catalog of more than 6,000 titles in print and hundreds of new titles released every year. 

Established in 1993, Arcadia has blended a visionary management approach with the innovative application of state-of-the-art technology to create high-quality historical publications in small local niches. 

Pay Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain

Actor Tom McGowan '81  Is Having a Magical Time Playing the Wizard in Wicked 

For nearly two and a half years, character actor Tom McGowan ’81 has been starring in the wildly successful musical Wicked. In the national tour and now on Broadway, McGowan has filled the large green shoes of the Wizard, who is not quite so wonderful in this story about the witches of Oz. 

 McGowan's show business breakthrough came in 1991 when he received a Tony Award nomination for La Bête. Afterward he began appearing in television sitcoms, starting with the Fox comedy Down the Shore, and later in recurring roles in Frasier as Kenny the station manager, and then in Everybody Loves Raymond as Ray’s buddy Bernie. More recently McGowan has been seen on the small screen in Desperate Housewives, Hot in Cleveland and Curb Your Enthusiasm. His film credits include Sleepless in Seattle, As Good As It Gets, Heavyweights, Ghost World, Bad Santa, The Family Man and The Birdcage. 

Hofstra Magazine had the opportunity to speak with McGowan about his successful career and his advice for students pursuing careers in the performing arts. 

What is it like taking on the role of the Wizard of Oz – a character people love and probably think they know going into the theater? 

TM: It’s fun to play a part where people assume you will be one way and then find out that the story is quite different – and that’s a lot of what this play is about. People think they are coming to see a version of The Wizard of Oz. They are primed to love the Wizard, and then during the course of the story, they find out things about him that they’re not thrilled about. 

In this play the Wizard is really there to help the witches, Elphaba and Glinda, tell their story. My impetus as an actor is, What can I do to help these actresses tell the story they need to tell? They’re such fantastic parts, and the Wizard is very key, especially to Elphaba’s story. Both times these characters meet one another, she comes in with one expectation and leaves a different person. 

People who come to Wicked expecting some light children’s fare are probably surprised at how deep and emotional the story is. 

TM: Audiences really respond to it. When I was on tour with Wicked, I got the sense that people came in thinking, “This is a kids show.” It’s not that way at all – it’s for everybody. If you like comedy, if you like a great story, if you like beautiful music, if you like the sheer spectacle of live theater, you’ll love Wicked. 

Performing on Broadway has been very special. I’ve enjoyed being back on the East Coast. A lot of my Hofstra friends and my friends and family from New Jersey have come to see me. 

What are the challenges of working on such a huge and technically complex production? 

TM: I’ve never worked for any theatrical production that was near the scale of this. It’s really awe inspiring. I did the second national tour of Wicked for a year and performed it in San Francisco for a year. Just the thought that there are multiple huge sets like this traveling the country is amazing. 

It’s really so impressive what they do – the lights, the sets, the costumes. The show is done on a huge, old-fashioned Broadway scale. The Wizard appears late in Act I, so at some point I usually watch some of the musical numbers from the side of the stage. With all that is going on with the sets and costume changes, I always have to be careful that I don’t get run over by a huge piece of scenery. 

You’ve done theater, film and television. Do you prefer one genre over the others? 

TM: Creatively, there’s nothing like the theater. I love rehearsing. I love choosing how to present the play. I love performing in front of a live audience. With that said, I also love doing television. I’m still not quite comfortable with film, but I haven’t had the same types of roles in film as I’ve had in television. 

Working on Frasier and Everybody Loves Raymond were just fantastic experiences. I love the sitcom format. It’s great for having a family life. You get to go home at night and see your kids. I feel really lucky that I’ve been able to do a little of everything. 

To what do you attribute the longevity of your career as a character actor? 

TM: At Hofstra I had a couple of leading roles, but I seemed to gravitate toward the parts as the best friend or the uncle. I actually like those parts – they are usually meatier and funnier, and they can be darker to play. 

After Hofstra I spent a few years waiting tables, doing little shows here and there, and then I got into the Yale School of Drama. About five years after graduating from Hofstra I got my first agent. He said, “We really like you, but you’re probably not going to be working for a few years. Once you hit your 40s your career will really start.” And I just got lucky. I started working right away. La Bête was one of the big breakthroughs, but before that I had done three years of regional theater, and I worked at the Public Theater doing Shakespeare. 

I leave myself open to opportunities and whatever seems interesting at the time. All through the years I was doing Frasier and Everybody Loves Raymond, I would spend my summers doing regional theater and kept my name out there as someone who loves working in the theater. 

Phil Rosenthal ‘81, executive producer and creator of Everybody Loves Raymond, was your close friend and classmate at Hofstra. What was it like being a part of that show? 

TM: Phil and I are great friends. We moved to the city together after Hofstra. I’ve known him since I was 18. The first television show I did was a sitcom that he was a writer for, Down the Shore. 

When Raymond happened – well, you just never know what’s going to click. Phil and Ray [Romano] just really connected, and Phil really fought to get the best cast possible. I think I was in three of the first six episodes, and you could tell right away there was something special there. Ray was a better actor than they could have hoped for. He and Patricia Heaton had great chemistry. Doris Roberts and Peter Boyle were great. And Brad Garrett was this incredibly funny character. Very few of the writers left, which is unusual, because typically when a show is successful, the writers get new deals and leave. 

I did about 20 episodes over the course of the years. There was always great camaraderie on the set. 

What’s ahead for you? 

TM: The word is there will be a lot of television pilots shooting this spring, so I’m hoping I’ll be able to get back into television, because I’ve been away for a couple of years. Wicked has been a spectacular job. I love it, and I hope I can come back to it in the future. My daughter is a junior in high school, so I’d like to be home [on the West Coast] so I can see her through the rest of high school and get her settled into college. I have a son at U.C. Santa Cruz. So it would be nice if some television work would keep me home for a while. 

What advice would you share with current drama students and recent alumni about succeeding in the performing arts? 

TM: I would say the No. 1 thing is to be nice to everybody – an underrated quality in show business. There just aren’t enough people being nice to each other. I would also suggest continuing to study and to work on anything you can to get experience. 

Another piece of advice Phil and I followed: if you want to be an actor and work in New York or L.A., move there the day after you graduate. Don’t go home. If you go home, the summer goes by, six months go by, a year goes by, and what do you have to show for it? Phil and I had a couple of hundred dollars for an apartment, and we moved into the city and got terrible jobs. Then we got slightly less terrible jobs. But we were in the city pursuing our careers from the day after graduation. 

You have to give yourself that little kick in the tail and get yourself to right where you want to be. 

Wicked photos: Joan Marcus

Hofstra Happenings

Hofstra Names School of Law for Maurice A. Deane

Hofstra University recently named its law school the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University to honor a distinguished alumnus with a unique 30-year commitment to Hofstra that was forged when he embarked on the pursuit of a law degree after a career as a successful business executive. 

Maurice A. Deane’s story is defined by distinction in both business and in academics. During his 26-year career with Endo Laboratories, he helped build the firm into one of the largest privately held pharmaceutical companies in the nation and facilitated its eventual sale to DuPont. After the sale, Deane was named president of the company, until his retirement eight years later. He continued to serve on Endo’s board of directors for several years after his retirement. 

At the age of 50, Deane enrolled at Hofstra School of Law and graduated first in his class. He was a mentor and personal and professional role model to his classmates. At the 1981 commencement, he received awards for constitutional law and evidence. The award currently bestowed on the Law School valedictorian each year at graduation is named in his honor. 

Over the next 30 years, Deane’s bond with Hofstra and the Law School deepened as he contributed to the University community in new and exciting ways, serving as both adviser and benefactor. As a University trustee and then chair, he guided the University with particular attention to academic excellence. In 2008 he was named chair emeritus. 

“Maurie holds a very special place in the history and the development of the Law School,” Hofstra President Stuart Rabinowitz said. “He is a person of impeccable integrity and with a deep commitment to academic and professional excellence. He was a brilliant student and is a distinguished alumnus and valuable advisor, trustee and chair emeritus of the Board of Trustees.” 

Recently, Deane made a $20 million commitment to the School of Law, which will be dedicated to enhancing the school’s academic quality. Previously, he endowed a distinguished professorship in constitutional law, as well as a Law School scholarship with his wife, Barbara. He has participated in the Alumni Mentor Program and served on committees for a number of key events, including Hofstra’s 75th anniversary and the annual Gala Ball. 

Naming the school for Deane seems a fitting way to close out the Law School’s 40th anniversary year, said Dean Nora V. Demleitner. “It is a privilege to be dean at such an important moment in our school’s history,” she said. “This naming serves as the perfect bridge between a proud past and a promising future.”  

Hofstra Launches School of Engineering and Applied Science 

Hofstra University will establish a School of Engineering and Applied Science with a co-op education program that will partner with a network of industry leaders to offer students substantial work experience before they graduate. The new school signals Hofstra’s goal to be at the forefront of science and engineering education, and to act as an incubator for research and development that prepares students for a complex marketplace. 

The new school will combine and expand Hofstra’s existing Departments of Engineering and Computer Science to develop a curriculum that emphasizes high-tech research, practical work experience and interdisciplinary study, integrating resources and faculty from other parts of the institution, including the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine and the Frank G. Zarb School of Business. 

Hofstra President Stuart Rabinowitz said, “Establishing a School of Engineering and Applied Science will make Hofstra only the third university in the New York metro area to have schools of law, medicine and engineering (the others are Columbia University and New York University).” 

The plan for the new school was crafted with the help of an advisory panel of industry leaders and alumni whose members will act as mentors for students and help Hofstra build a network of business partners to participate in the cooperative education program. 

Hofstra already has three programs – mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and engineering science – that are accredited by the international Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), as well as a popular concentration in computer entrepreneurship for students interested in launching their own high-tech startups.

Time Capsule Tells the Story of a 75-Year-Old Hofstra by Billy Finnegan ’14 

The Hofstra community came together on May 11, 2011, to commemorate 75 years of growth and success by presenting and burying a time capsule in front of Hofstra Hall. 

Coordinated by the Student Committee of the 75th Anniversary, it is hoped that the time capsule will provide the future Hofstra community with an accurate picture of what the campus was like in 2011. Assistant Dean of Special Collections and University Archivist Geri Solomon offered an overview of the items inside: there were news clips (some Hofstra news, some general current events) and Hofstra memorabilia, such as an alumni mug and a Charles Jenkins basketball jersey. Perhaps the most unusual item was donated by science faculty members: a beaker of 2011 atmospheric gas. There was also a pair of flip-flops, a Blackberry phone, and a Greek organization windbreaker. “We wanted the items to say, ‘Hofstra,’ but we also wanted to include specific cultural things, icons of the time,” Dean Solomon said. 

Dean Solomon, who oversaw the preservation of the items in the capsule, worked closely with Peter Libman, dean of students and chair of the Student Committee. Dean Libman was glad to organize such a project. “[The Time Capsule Committee] was a great group to work with ... everyone worked well putting the event together. We had a lot of fun doing it.” 

Hofstra President Stuart Rabinowitz and Vice President for University Relations Melissa Connolly, who served as chair of the 75th Anniversary Committee, spoke at the ceremony and helped the Time Capsule Committee and the Plant Department bury the capsule. 

The time capsule will be excavated in 2036, when Hofstra University celebrates its 100th anniversary. The committee is looking forward to returning for the opening. “I’m very excited about being there for the ceremony when they open it,” Dean Libman said optimistically. “We’ve all made a commitment to come back.” 

Zarb School Featured in The Princeton Review's Best 294 Business Schools

The Princeton Review, an education services company, featured the Frank G. Zarb School of Business in the 2012 edition of Best 294 Business Schools. 

“It comes as no surprise to us that Zarb is featured in The Princeton Review’s Best 294 Business Schools: 2012 Edition,” said Dr. Patrick Socci, dean of the Frank G. Zarb School of Business. “Throughout all Zarb School of Business programs, the importance of lifelong education, ethics in business, an awareness of global issues and concern for the environment are emphasized. While pursuing their studies at our school, students are able to participate in a wide variety of activities and cultural events on campus, as well as take advantage of the rich diversity of activities and business opportunities available on Long Island and Manhattan, which makes this school not only a great place to achieve an excellent education but also to experience life.”

The Frank G. Zarb School of Business is one of 67 schools in the book (22 percent of the 294) that appear on one or more of the book’s ranking lists. It is ranked in the top 100 in the Academics, Professors Interesting, Professors Accessible, Career Rating, and Admissions Selectivity categories. 

Off-B'way Shines Spotlight on Hofstra Alumni and Faculty Talents

Alumni and faculty from Hofstra University’s Department of Drama and Dance collaborated on an ambitious off-Broadway production of Samuel Beckett’s one-act plays Footfalls and Not I. This limited engagement, titled A Stain Upon the Silence, was performed at the 45th Street Theater in New York City, from October 6 to 16, 2011. Both plays explore two conflicted and isolated women as they struggle to express their humanity. 

A Stain Upon the Silence was produced by James Monahan, who graduated from Hofstra’s Department of Drama and Dance in May 2011. His production company, Studio 216 Productions, brought in director Jean Dobie Giebel, sound designer Rychard Curtiss, and scenic designer James Hart – all professors in the Department of Drama and Dance. Leading actress Marci Skolnick is a Hofstra alumna from the Class of 2001. 

For more information on future Studio 216 projects, visit Studio216Productions.com. 

Golden Gloves Champion Cara Catronuova '04 Speaks to First-Year Students

Cara Castronuova ’04, a former nationally ranked boxer turned certified personal fitness trainer, health writer, boxing commentator and journalist, actress and judge on the NBC reality show The Biggest Loser, returned to Hofstra on September 3, 2011, to speak to first-year students about healthy living, overcoming obstacles and making the most of college life. 

“Hofstra provided a great foundation for me to push myself to do better things in my life,” said Castronuova, who graduated with a degree in communications. “It means a lot to me to meet students and give them strategies for fulfilling their potential, because I was in their place once. With all the changes occurring for freshmen, fitness and exercise can help you adapt and keep you physically and mentally strong.” 

The event was part of Hofstra’s annual Welcome Week, which consists of a variety of academic programs, trips, guest speakers, and social and educational activities designed to cultivate relationships and immerse new students in the Hofstra community.