Harpur
Hotline
January 12, 2007
- Alumni Profile: Rolly Mulvey '54 - Seniors for Peace Activist
- Faculty Profile: Anthropology Professor Michael Little Wins Recognition
- Student Profile: Jerry Granata '07 - Tour Guide at Ease Leading Others
- Harpur College to Host Screenings of The Rape of Europa
- The Harpur Palate Literary Journal Encourages Readers to Eat Their Words, Literally!
- Harpur Friends and Family
- Shop Harpur Online
- Back Issues of the Harpur Hotline
Alumni Profile: Rolly Mulvey '54 - Seniors for Peace Activist
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Rolly
Mulvey '54 (right) at weekly Seniors for Peace protest. |
The image of ageless people tends to be primarily conservative. This is certainly not the case with Seniors for Peace, a group of 106 senior citizens who are residents of the Redwoods Retirement Community in Mill Valley, Calif. committed to the search for world peace, social justice and genuine democracy.
With an average age of 86, political views leaning to the left, outspoken wisdom and pure passion for their cause, this group challenges any senior stereotype. Spearheading the group with his outspoken enthusiasm is ‘54 Harpur alumnus, Rolly Mulvey. Every Friday since January 31, 2003, with guitar in hand, Mulvey and the Seniors for Peace have faithfully held anti-war street demonstrations.
The group began expressing its opposition to the impending war in Iraq six weeks before the U.S. became officially involved through spirited weekly protests at the corner next to The Redwoods. It will celebrate its fourth anniversary on January 26, 2007, commemorate the fourth anniversary of the launch of the war on March 19, and continue weekly demonstrations after that.
In 2003, the group was the subject of a half-hour documentary, "Seniors for Peace," which profiles the group and highlights Mulvey’s efforts and charisma. The film premiered to a sold-out audience and received a standing ovation at the Mill Valley Film Festival. Produced by David L. Brown, the documentary has been aired by PBS and has been distributed internationally.
Capturing a number of the group’s energetic and colorful street demonstrations, the film also features interviews with several participants expressing their passionate anti-war views and telling their moving personal stories about their World War II experiences and work in post-war disaster areas that have contributed to their present anti-war and social justice views.
An Interview with Rolly Mulvey ’54:
1. How would
you describe your time at Harpur College?
I was a transfer student from Champlain College located in Plattsburg,
N.Y., and went down to Harpur in Binghamton (Endicott) to finish up my
last year prior to graduation in 1954. My time at Harpur was enjoyable
and there were new friends to get to know who were attending Harpur, but
also approximately 60-70 transfer students from Champlain who, along with
myself, would be attending Harpur due to the closing of Champlain.
2. What activities
were you involved in?
I had a part-time job with the Endicott Daily Bulletin, the local newspaper.
Its facility was very close to Colonial Hall.
3. What did you take away from your time at Harpur College?
A four-year degree. Also making new friends as a senior student while attending Harpur.
4. Do any professors/classes stand out?
Yes. While music was not my major, I have always been interested in music and two members of the music department, Dr. Gilfilan (applied music-piano) and Dr. Lincoln (modern music) were memorable and I had a very positive experience with both professors.
5. Tell me more about your time since your days at Harpur.
Big job! I lived and
worked in NYC for nine years following graduation. Worked for the Pez-Has
Candy Company and then for the Chrysler Corporation in the Chrysler Building
at Lexington and 42nd St. I got married and had three kids. I then got
a job with a New Jersey paper company and had the great fortune to be
transferred to the San Francisco Bay area, located in Marin County. I
then found work with a giant conglomerate, Octopus Forest Products Company
and was a traveling salesman for years. Had the eight western states as
my territory, which I tolerated. Being 3,000 miles from the home office
had its advantages. After retirement, I sold my house and moved to the
Redwoods, a local Mill Valley, Calif. retirement facility. I like it here
and it works for me. I have been very active with The Mill Valley Seniors
for Peace for the last four years and am still involved with many activities
that reflect my interest in music and musical instruments.
For more information on Seniors for Peace, visit
www.mvseniorsforpeace.org
Faculty Profile: Anthropology Professor Michael Little Wins Recognition
By : Rachel Coker
InsideBU, Volume 28, No. 13
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Michael
Little, distinguished professor of anthropology, will receive a
lifetime achievement award from the American Association of Physical
Anthropologists. |
Michael A. Little, distinguished professor of anthropology, will receive the Charles R. Darwin Award for Lifetime Achievement in Physical Anthropology from the American Association of Physical Anthropologists in April.
“It’s called the lifetime achievement award, and so it’s not given to young people,” said Little, a spry 69-year-old with a full head of hair and no plans to retire. “I have somewhat mixed feelings about being in the age category where I’m getting this award.”
Little, a Philadelphia native, started out in geology and developed an interest in evolution and anthropology while an undergraduate at Pennsylvania State University. He stayed on to do graduate work and received his doctorate in 1968.
While studying under Paul Baker, Little did his first field work.
“I went to the Andes in 1962 and got hooked on anthropological studies,” Little recalled.
They lived in Cuzco, a small Peruvian city some 11,500 feet above sea level that was the capital of the old Incan empire. With others, Little studied the way residents in the jungle and in the Andes adapted to the cold.
His dissertation focused on that research, as did a 1976 synthesis volume he edited with Baker, titled Man in the Andes. “I remember arguing with him saying, ‘Man is sexist. Shouldn’t we call it People in the Andes?’ And he insisted, and so it came out as Man in the Andes,” Little remembered.
Little, who taught briefly at Ohio State University, joined the Binghamton faculty in 1971. Here, he developed a collaboration with Neville Dyson-Hudson, now an emeritus professor of anthropology, on a major project in Kenya.
Their 15-year initiative in the Turkana region, which incorporated social, biological, biomedical and ecological elements, remains the most significant study of pastoral nomads ever completed. Little modestly gives much of the credit for the idea to his colleague.
Although the researchers eventually won support from the National Science Foundation, they had trouble getting funded because the multi-disciplinary nature of the work meant many specialists didn’t know what to make of it.
“Now everybody uses the term ‘multi-disciplinary,’?” Little said. “But then it was very difficult.”
Still, that collaborative element made the work more enjoyable to Little than his more laboratory-oriented time in Peru. “I think I enjoyed the East African studies better, partly because there were social anthropologists involved and we got closer to the people,” he said.
The Kenyan study led to another synthesis volume, titled Turkana Herders of the Dry Savannah, published in 1999 by Oxford University Press.
Fifteen doctoral students were also trained during the course of the study, Little noted. Some continue to work on related projects with different pastoral populations in Africa.
“In a project such as this, the significance is not only the research findings but that it serves as a training vehicle for continuing the work with graduate students,” he said. “I’m committed, and I always have been, to training like what I received. I received very close and affectionate mentoring from my adviser and others on the faculty, and it has instilled in me a sense of the need to work closely with students.”
Looking back, Little can only imagine how his work would have been different if he had had such modern technology as laptop computers and global positioning system devices during his three- to six-month forays into the field.
“If we had only had cell phones,” he said wistfully, remembering the long drives he would make to call his wife from the post office of a Kenyan city that still reminds him of Tatooine in the Star Wars films. It cost $30 or $40 to make such a call.
Today, Little’s research focuses on the history of his profession. He felt it would be a good project to lead into his retirement, one easier than living in the bush.
Though he speaks fondly of his time in Peru and Kenya, Little also recalls the inconveniences of such trips. “You don’t have a regular food supply, there are lots of bugs around, mosquitoes, malaria, outhouses — not very nice outhouses, poisonous snakes, even hyenas that will bite your face off — so it was claimed by the people we worked with,” he said. “Working under these conditions is for relatively young people.”
He said he knew his
years of field work were coming to a close when he saw a colleague scramble
up on top of a Land Rover much more easily than he could. “I thought,
well, maybe I’m not going to be doing this much longer.”
Student Profile: Tour Guide at Ease Leading Others
By : Rachel Coker
InsideBU, Volume 28, No. 13
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Jerry Granata chose Binghamton because he liked the variety of majors the University offered and he had no idea what he wanted to do.
These days, he’s a resident assistant and tour guide who helps underclassmen and high school students in similar straits. And, although he’s now a senior majoring in English and history with plans to go to law school, the campus remains one of his favorite elements of life at Binghamton.
“I love that we’re a campus separate from everything else and you can go for a walk at 2 a.m. by yourself or with a friend and feel safe,” he said.
Granata, 21, of Staten Island, is a first-generation college student from a family of electricians.
He recalls visiting Binghamton in the rain with a few friends, taking a tour and then stopping in the University Union to talk to students. His mind was made up by the time he left town, he said.
Granata, who belongs to the Alpha Phi Omega community service fraternity, is in his second year as a Hinman College RA. He was recently named to the National Residence Hall Honorary, which restricts its membership to the top 1 percent of residence hall leaders.
Granata said he has enjoyed getting to know and understand the University in a different way through his work as a tour guide and RA. “I like the behind-the-scenes part of it,” he said. “It’s made me think that I wouldn’t get in now if I applied.”
Jeffery Gates, associate director of undergraduate admissions, relies on students like Granata to help convey the value of a Binghamton education to other young people.
“He’s
honest. He loves his experience at Binghamton,” Gates said. “Coming
from a first-generation family, he wants to help others. Helping someone
in their quest to go to college, he’ll go out of his way to make
the tour the best it can be.”
Harpur College to Host Screenings of The Rape of Europa
Harpur College, in collaboration with the Alumni Association, will host a series of screenings of the film The Rape of Europa.
The Rape of Europa is a feature documentary based on the National Book Critics Circle Award-winning history by Lynn H. Nicholas. The film tells the epic story of the systematic theft, deliberate destruction, and miraculous survival of Europe's art treasures during the Third Reich and Second World War. The Rape of Europa interweaves the history of Nazi art looting with the stories of contemporary restitution cases. The film also tells the dramatic story of the unprecedented heroic efforts of the U.S. Monuments Men who were sent to Europe to safeguard and return displaced art at the end of the war.
For more information on this film, please visit www.rapeofeuropa.com.
UPCOMING SCREENINGS:
Los Angeles: February 13th -- Alumni reception from 6-7:00pm, screening begins at 7:00pm
San Diego: February 14th -- Screening begins at 7:30pm
For more information
on screening events, please contact Lisa Court at 607-777-4277or
email at lcourt@binghamton.edu.
Harpur Palate Literary Journal Encourages Readers to Eat Their Words, Literally!
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Established
by BU creative writing graduate students in 2000, Harpur Palate is a semiannual,
international literary journal publishing works of fiction, creative nonfiction,
and poetry that demonstrate attention to craft, structure, language, and
the story well told. Since its inception, the journal has grown to 170
pages, added a visual art portfolio, begun distributing nationwide, and
published some of the most respected names in creative writing, including
Lee K. Abbott, Marvin Bell, Lydia Davis, Viet Dinh, B.H. Fairchild, Sascha
Feinstein, Jack Ridl, and Ruth Stone. Harpur Palate also sponsors two
writing contests annually, the John Gardner Memorial Prize for Fiction
and the Milton Kessler Memorial Prize for Poetry, and participates in
the growing graduate creative writing conference, Writing By Degrees (http://writingbydegrees.binghamton.edu),
held in Binghamton every fall.
This summer, the editors are pleased to announce Harpur Palate’s
first-ever themed issue on Food, Hunger, and Appetite, broadly interpreted.
The issue will give Harpur Palate readers the chance to Eat Our Words
(literally!) by publishing work on this theme and featuring an edible
poem insert written by esteemed poet Cole Swensen.
For subscription information and to read some sample prose and poetry
from past issues of Harpur Palate, the editors encourage you to visit
our website at http://harpurpalate.binghamton.edu.
And keep and eye out for our newest issue, Volume 6 Issue 2, to be published
January 22, 2007!
In response to your much-appreciated feedback, the Harpur Hotline has developed a regular feature of alumni news. Please send us anything you want: publications, promotions, marriages, babies, graduations, retirements, etc. Many thanks to everyone who shared their stories! Here's what some of your fellow Harpur alumni and friends are doing:
| FRIENDS
& FAMILY |
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| 1960: Arthur Plotnik,
B.A. 1960, is a versatile author with a distinguished background in
editing and publishing. Two of his works were featured selections
of the Book of the Month Club: The Elements of Editing (Macmillan/Longman),
a standard reference through more than 20 printings, and The Elements
of Expression: Putting Thoughts into Words (Henry Holt /Barnes &
Noble). Reviewers have consistently praised Plotnik's writing for
its accuracy, style, and wit, often ranking it with Strunk & White
in practicality.
In fall 2005 Random House published his latest book, Spunk &
Bite: A Writer's Guide to Punchier, More Engaging Language &
Style, which poet Billy Collins called "A must for every writer's
desk." To be published in paperback this spring, it is among
the bestselling new titles on language and writing. Plotnik has written scores of newspaper and magazine articles and columns, in addition to six nonfiction books.Presently a contributing editor to The Writer magazine, he is listed in Who's Who, Contemporary Authors, and other directories of writers and journalists. He lives in Chicago with his wife, artist Mary Phelan. |
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| 1963: Father and Daughter
Team Publish Children’s Poetry Book -- North Carolina sculptor and writer Forrest Greenslade (Harpur '63) and his artist daughter Kathryn Armstrong have just published a book of children’s poetry. Haicooo: Little Poems for Children is a collection of whimsical haiku paired with colorful graphics of friendly animals. The father/daughter team has worked together for years. When Armstrong was just old enough to hold scissors, she would cut out shapes from construction paper for her father. He used them to make diagrams for his research presentations while a scientist in the pharmaceutical industry. They have since collaborated on many health and management books and articles. The idea for Haicooo came from drawings Armstrong was creating for a hospital web site design. “We wanted to give the pediatric department’s pages a child-friendly look with bright-colored illustrations,” she says. “I sent the first drawing to my dad,” she explains. “He had learned about haiku poetry in his Fearrington Writers Group, and sent back a silly poem about it.” As Armstrong completed more drawings, she sent them to her father who continued to be inspired. Father and daughter agreed that this would be a great way to introduce children to the joy of art and poetry. Incidentally, Armstrong had a nearly one-year old daughter (Nicole Alexandra) at the time. Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry, dating from the 19th century. A traditional haiku consists three lines of approximately 5, 7, and 5 phonetic units which generally correspond to the syllables of English. “In our Haicooo, we don't even attempt to follow the elaborate rules of Haiku,” notes Greenslade. We just use the basic form to tell little stories to little folk.” All profits from sale of the book will go to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the hospital where the daughter works and grand daughter Nicole was born. “The NICU team was in my room within 20 seconds,” Armstrong says. “Thankfully, Nicole started breathing on her own in that time. But I will never forget the swift actions of the NICU professionals who examined her and made sure she was OK.” Now almost two years later, Armstrong reads Haicooo to her daughter. Nicole giggles and points to the animals. “Moo. Cow,” she says. Armstrong smiles. “Because of the NICU’s work, other moms will be able to read to their children, too.” "We hope that parents, grand parents and friends will show these pictures and read these poems to small children, and use them to initiate a life-long engagement for kids with art and poetry,” Greenslade explains. “Hopefully, older children will read them themselves, and even write poems of their own." Kathryn Armstrong is a classically-trained graphic designer with a BFA from Parsons School of Design in NYC. She has worked for years in the publishing and communications field, primarily in healthcare. Kathryn is also an animal lover and serves on the board of directors of a local animal rescue group, as well as fawning over several of her own pets. Dr. Forrest Greenslade spent his working life as a scientist, author and executive. In his dotage, he sculpts whimsical creatures. He calls them Forrest Dwellers, and insists that they will bring good luck to your home and garden. For more information visit www.haicooo.com, click here, or call Forrest Greenslade at 919-545-9743. In addition to working as an attorney, I have founded a company which hand-makes vintage baseball bats and other equipment and my website http://bulldogbatsonline.com/ |
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| 1964: Honored Judge Barry Schneider Announces Retirement from Superior Court Superior Court Judge Barry Schneider has announced he is retiring at the end of January, 2007, ending a 21-year judicial career during which he received several awards honoring his outstanding judicial qualities. “It has been an honor and privilege to serve the State of Arizona as a trial judge since February 1986,” he said in his letter to the governor, advising that his last day will be January 31. He plans to return to the practice of law, specializing in mediation. During his judicial career, he served as presiding judge of the Domestic Relations Department 1995 to 1998 and Civil Department Presiding Judge from 1988 to 1991 and again from 1999 to 2001. He currently is assigned to a civil calendar. In 2002, Judge Schneider received the State Bar of Arizona President’s Award as the judge “who has contributed enormous effort towards the furtherance of the (state bar) president’s goals and priorities. That same hear he also was named “Judicial Officer of the Year,” by the Phoenix chapter of the American board of Trial Advocates. The Maricopa County Bar Association honored him in 1997 with the Henry S. Stevens Award, as “Outstanding Judge.” During his career, he dedicated countless hours serving on committees and councils to improve effectiveness of court programs and processes, access to the court and professionalism of judges. He has served on several statewide groups including the Arizona Judicial Council, State-Federal Judicial Council, Committee on Criminal Justice, Judicial Ethics Advisory Board and the Arizona Supreme Court Committee on More Effective Use of Juries. He serves on the Civil Practice and Procedure Committee, is former chairman of the Arizona State Bar Consumer Protection Committee and the Unauthorized Practice of Law, Advisory Committee. He was a member of the Dispute Resolution Task Force of the Commission on the Courts. Judge Schneider also is an educator. He has been a faculty member at the Arizona College of Trial Advocacy and has taught at New Judge Orientation of the Arizona Judicial College. He has been an adjunct faculty member at the Phoenix College of Law and the Arizona State University College of Law. The Arizona Legislature appointed him to two councils it had created including the Child Support Coordinating Council and the Domestic Relations Reform Subcommittee. Judge Schneider received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Harpur College (now Binghamton University in 1964 and his law degree from St. John’s University of Law in 1968 where he was an editor of the law review. He was admitted to practice in New York in 1968 and in Arizona in 1972. Before becoming a judge, he was an associate at Langerman, Begam, Lewis & Marks and then a partner with Rosen & Schneider. |
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| 1966: Stan Zirkin PRESS RELEASE On August 9, 2006 General Counsel Ronald Meisburg announced the
selection of Assistant General Counsel Stanley R. Zirkin, Chief
of the Contempt Litigation and Compliance Branch, as the co-recipient
of the American Bar Association’s first annual “Federal
Labor and Employment Attorney of the Year Award” for outstanding
achievement in the field of labor and employment law. The award
was presented to Mr. Zirkin on August 7, 2006, at the ABA’s
national convention in Honolulu, Hawaii.. In announcing the honor,
General Counsel Meisburg stated: |
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| 1967, 1968, 1969: Friends and family gathered at Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay Hotel in October to celebrate the 60th birthday of Dr. Lester Marion, '68. In attendance, among others, were Vivian Kantor Marion '69, Frank Doberman '67, Yvonne Fritz Doberman '67, Bob Holzhauer '68, Lowell Barek '68, Bruce Saal '68, George Ginsberg '68, and Joel Schwartz '69. Shown in the photo left to right are Bruce, George and Joel. |  |
| 1973 & 1978: Sherri
(Kandel) DeWitt graduated from Harpur in 1973 with her B.A.
and received herPh.d in 1978. She is now an attorney in Orlando, Fl.
and recently argued and won the case of Voscilla v. Rosado in front
of the Florida Supreme Court, the highest court in the state. Personal note: It would be wonderful to hear fromsome of my old classmates! |
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| 1976: After graduating with a Bachelor Degree in Anthropology / Archaeology, Laurie A. Sperling went on to study Architecture at Washington University, inspired by Barbara Nadel ('75) and Barry Bronfman ('75), who were also pursuing Architecture (even though Harpur didn't offer it as a major at that time). Her firm, which specializes in laboratory programming, planning and design around the world, is celebrating its10th year ofbusiness this year. In addition to Barbara Nadel, FAIA, who is an architect specializing in building security issues, I am in touch with Harpur friends Debbie Marx Sokoler ('76) and her husband Rick Sokoler ('77), and Jill Goodman ('76). Personal note: Please pass on my email address to classmates -- I'd love to hear from other Newing College folks! Laurie A. Sperling, |
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| 1980: After getting his start in photography shooting photographs for Binghamton's Alumni publications in 1979, Mark Ostow has become a full-time commerical/editorial photographer. Some of his clients are Whole Foods, The Atlantic Monthy, Forbes, The New York Times. For more information, please click here. | |
| 1988: Deborah
Abramson Levine ('88) and Michael Levine
('88) have started Pink Lemonade Stands Across America to benefit
the Young Survival Coalition, a non-profit charity dedicated to young
women with breast cancer. This year they coordinated over 21 pink
lemonade stands in NY, NJ, CA, TX and VA. The lemonade stands hosted
by children, raised over $7000 to benefit young women battling breast
cancer. For more information about getting involved email Deborah
Levine at MLevine336@aol.com or visit young survival.org. Also, Deborah ran the ING NYC marathon this year and raised over $8700 for Fred's Team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to benefit breast cancer research. |
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| 1992: Lee B. Salz brings a unique perspective to sales and sales management. For over 15 years, he has been in the trenches with sales people and sales managers, not as a consultant, but as the leader of their sales organization. His methods and processes have been developed and refined with the sales teams he has managed and mentored. Unlike many authors, Salz writes from a real-world experience perspective, not from academic research. While many seem to write from the perspective of the “ivory tower”, Salz takes a mentoring approach. Salz has developed a specialty in building high performance sales organizations in both strategic and transactional sales, in Fortune 500 companies and small start-up ventures. He has been successful in differentiating seemingly commoditized products and services resulting in record revenues and profits. The key element of his approach is building a scalable sales organization through the use of his Sales Architecture® methodology. This is the customized process by which a sales organization is founded and developed. The system was initially developed for sales managers, but Salz found a disturbing phenomenon with sales management. Most companies promoted or hired sales managers who were strong sales people. However, the job of the sales manager is vastly different than that of a sales person. These managers are not equipped to build the requisite Sales Architecture for the sales team. In his long awaited book titled, Soar Despite Your Dodo Sales Manager, Salz has taken his experiences dealing with the relationship between sales people and their managers and formulated a bridge between the two. While he is sympathetic to the sales managers placed in the untenable situation of creating a scalable sales organization, this book is written for the salespeople working for them. This empowerment book helps salespeople create the necessary structure and support they need to be successful. While the term Dodo seems to infer ridicule, it is simply a metaphor for the bird who became extinct due to its inability to adapt to its environment. This book helps to ensure a sales person’s success so they don’t go the way of the Dodo. Salz received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1992 from Binghamton University. He resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota with his wife and three children. Lee grew up in New York and Marlboro, New Jersey; and lived in the Washington D.C Metro area for ten years prior to moving to Minneapolis. When he takes a break from sales, you can find him playing with his kids, working out in the gym, or playing/watching baseball. Lee can be reached at lsalz@salesdodo.com. |
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| 1996: Jennifer (Jennah) Bender Quail and husband Mark are pleased to announce the birth of their son, Ethan Bly, on January 6, 2006. | |
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