Harpur
Hotline
November 30, 2006
- Homecoming 2006
- Alumni Profile: Keith Gorham
- Binghamton Alumni Staff Heart Transplant Team
- Harpur College Student Profile: Aaron and Wes Sattler - the Chemistry Department's Double Threat
- A Running Tradition
- Paglia Reflects on Time at Harpur College
- Harpur Friends and Family
- Shop Harpur Online
- Back Issues of the Harpur Hotline
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HOMECOMING 2006
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| The
Nature Preserve. A scene
worth coming home for! |
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| Andrew
Wong '09, Teresa Yue '08, and Kelly O’Connor
'09 staff the |
Chemistry
Professor Emeritus Stanley Madan and Mrs.
Carol Madan |
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Kathy
Wakeman’67, Paul and Paula Weisshaar
’67 discuss their |
Sheldon
Kinney’56 displays
his collection of |
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Harpur
College Dean Peter Mileur addresses the |
The
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For additional Homecoming 2006 photos, click HERE.
Alumni Profile: J. Keith Gorham
As senior vice president of labor relations for NBC Universal, Inc., Keith Gorham ’73, MA ’75 attributes a great deal of his success to his time at Harpur College. A firm believer in the quality of a public education, Gorham received both his BA and MA in history. He knew going into college that he wanted to become a lawyer and realized Harpur was the best choice based upon academic reputation and cost. It proved to be a good decision, as Gorham went on to receive his JD from Stanford Law School.
Gorham’s legal career has thrived. He began his career at the Enforcement Litigation Division, Appellate Court Branch of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Washington, D.C. It was there that he acquired a passion for labor law. From there, he went on to become a field attorney for the NLRB in Los Angeles, Calif. and served as counsel for the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers until he joined MCA/Universal Studios (now NBC Universal, Inc.), where he has been employed for the past 22 years in various positions.
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J.
Keith Gorham |
An Interview with Keith Gorham:
How would you describe your time at Binghamton University?
I was there for six years (BA ’73 and MA ’75, history) and feel like I had a great educational experience. Class and section sizes were small and classes were stimulating and interesting. Although the weather wasn’t always the best (Gorham now resides in Sherman Oaks, Calif.), I enjoyed my time quite a bit.
What activities were you involved in?
Choral ensemble, band (baritone tuba), baseball and student government. These extracurricular activities enriched my time at Harpur by exposing me to different people, giving me a taste of politics and travel (the choral group went to Montreal and Vermont). It made for a more layered experience overall.
What did you take away from your time at Binghamton University?
Educational and life experience. Friendships that I still maintain today. The educational foundation I received from Harpur helped me in grad school and was a stepping stone for my postsecondary education, as well as in the workforce. The college experience helps you down the road of adulthood and onto the person you’ll become, so if the foundation is strong, you’re already ahead of the game.
Do any professors stand out?
George Stein because he had a great approach. The quality of his lectures and reading assignments were exceptional. I had the privilege of being Professor Stein’s graduate assistant.
Tom Africa
Sylvanus Cookey was a great professor and graduate advisor
Gerald Kadish had a great sense of humor and held interesting lectures.
Tell me more about your time since Binghamton University?
After graduation from Harpur College in 1975, I was accepted to Stanford Law School. At that time, specialization in a certain field was the trend and generalists were becoming obsolete. A discipline I had always been interested in was labor relations, so I decided to persue labor law. This focus encompassed my interest in labor as well as my love of history. The labor movement has a strong history and is a constantly evolving area. The appeal to me stems from experiencing the battles in labor and being “in the trenches”. It’s dynamic and emotional with the bargaining tables, picket lines and arbitration. Arbitration to litigation comes very quickly in labor law, which was another draw.
In my third year, I took part in an externship at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). I was employed at the Washington, D.C. branch of the NLRB after graduation. There, I was exposed to Federal appeals and Supreme Court cases. I came to the conclusion that I wanted trial experience at the regional NLRB level, so I became a field attorney for Region 21 of the NLRB in Los Angeles.
After two years as a field attorney, I took a position as the director (attorney) of labor relations at MCA/Universal Studios. I have been with NBC for 22 years in various positions. I still enjoy coming to work every day. My work is diverse, interesting and has many aspects to it. It’s fun.
What drives your connection with the University? Why would
you tell others it’s important?
In the back of my mind, I have a connection with Harpur College because it is the institution that has made my career possible. Binghamton still has as great of a reputation as when I attended. I am a firm believer in public universities.
What do you do outside of work?
I love spending time with my family and children, golfing and volunteering for the I Have a Dream Foundation.
Binghamton Alumni Staff Heart Transplant Team
Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester is home to the only Heart Failure and Transplantation team in upstate New York. Eighty-one heart transplants have been performed since the program’s inception in February 2001 -- 15 this year alone. Astoundingly, half of this nationally-recognized program is staffed by Binghamton University alumni. The core team is comprised of four cardiologists, one cardiac surgeon and three head nurse practitioners. Dr. John Bisognano ’84, Jean Huether ’86, Lisa Kotyra ’90 and Dana Shannon ‘99 make up the Binghamton portion of the core team with Heather Cronmiller ’97 on board as quality manager for cardiac surgery.
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Harpur alumnus John Bisognano ’84 is an associate professor of internal medicine in the Cardiology Department, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. Bisognano is board certified in internal medicine and cardiovascular disease and is a specialist in hypertension. His areas of special interest include preventive cardiology and hypertension. In his own words: Two people were particularly important in my development at Binghamton University. My primary advisor, Professor Jim Dix from the Chemistry Department, views each of his students as a potential Nobel Prize winner. He has confidence and faith in their intellectual ability and always provided the support and opportunity that enabled each of his students to reach their full potential. He was a friend and a mentor. He could see the excitement of discovery in the analysis of every piece of new data that research yielded. Additionally, Richard Quest, director of the laboratories and teaching assistants, taught me how to teach. He viewed each lecture or small group session as an opportunity to give students their money's worth in education by stimulating their thinking and generating excitement for the topic. Quest would never tolerate busy slides, disorganized presentations or a poor delivery and provided valuable advice to me that I take into every lecture or talk that I give, including educating patients on their medical conditions in a way that they find clear and useful. Harpur alumnus John Bisognano ’84 is an associate professor of internal medicine in the Cardiology Department, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. Bisognano is board certified in internal medicine and cardiovascular disease and is a specialist in hypertension. His areas of special interest include preventive cardiology and hypertension. |
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Jean Huether ‘86 RN, MSN, CCTG is a transplant coordinator for the Program in Heart Failure and Transplantation. |
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Lisa Kotyra ’90 RN, MS, ACNP, CCRN is a transplant coordinator for the program in Advanced Heart Failure and Trnasplantation. She is board certified as an acute care nurse practitioner and has extensive experience in critical care and cardiology nursing. In her own words: I practice as an acute care nurse practitioner with the transplant team. I am a 1990 graduate of the Decker School of Nursing. I loved my time at Binghamton University. After graduation, I came to Strong as a nurse in the pediatric intensive care nnit. I pursued my MS at the University of Rochester and became certified as nurse practitioner. I then worked for the cardiac transplant surgery team until 1997. At that time I took a position with a private cardiology practice in Syracuse, where I also worked with SUNY physicians and nurse practitioners. I returned to Strong in 2004 to take this position as coordinator in the program of Heart Failure and Transplant. I mainly work with all the heart failure patients and the patients being evaluated for transplant. I think having a program that is this intensive is key to successful management of heart failure. The role is fascinating. It is emotionally intensive, not to mention labor intensive. There is so much on the horizon for transplantation with advances in medications, assist devices and post-transplant management. I also enjoy all the outreach we do throughout New York State with other institutions and lots of private practices. |
| Dana Shannon ’99 is the ventricular assist device (VAD) coordinator for the Artificial Heart Program. She coordinates care for patients who have or are receiving VADs. Other responsibilities include the evaluation of potential and current VAD patients by following the patients medically on the inpatient units and assisting with the daily management. She is also very involved with the education of patients and their families regarding the care of the VAD. In addition, she is involved in research of the devices and serves as a liaison between the research nurses and patients. | |
| Heather Cronmiller ’97 is the quality manager for Cardiac Surgery which entails quality assurance and improvement for cardiac patients, statistical analysis of the department, as well as New York State, national, Medicare and various other reporting. |
Because of Strong Memorial Hospital’s stellar reputation in this field and its excellent staff, the future of the program is promising. The team will continue to do 15 to 20 transplants a year until the program grows enough to merit more hires. The growth is bittersweet, however, since the reason it thrives is in direct correlation with the increase of patients over time. Bisognano explained that the increase in patients can be attributed to more people developing heart failure due to obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc.
The prevention of heart failure is Bisognano’s ultimate goal and interest. “People are finally accepting the fact that we’re not making a huge dent in high blood pressure, weight and diabetes,” he said. “This is a critical issue for people to be aware of in their 20s, 30s and 40s so they may take aggressive preventative measures such as daily exercise, weight control and healthy eating. These measures will ultimately help decrease healthcare costs and the burden on the healthcare system as a whole.”
Every patient the program serves is in heart failure. The team makes every effort to treat people with heart failure so they may live as long as possible without transplant, or to fix reversible problems since the wait for a new heart can be as long as three to six months. Their success rate is great.
When asked how their time at Binghamton prepared them for this work on such an elite team, all of the alumni explained that their education was top-notch and that Binghamton gave them the analytical, critical thinking and teamwork tools to succeed in their postsecondary education and career. It is not uncommon to run into Binghamton alumni within all areas of the medical community in Monroe County. Employers recognize the high caliber of Binghamton graduates and this is especially apparent with the Heart Failure and Transplantation team at Strong Memorial Hospital.
Student Profile: Aaron and Wes Sattler - the Chemistry Department's Double Threat
Twins Aaron and Wes Sattler ‘07 came to Binghamton University with an interest in science. That interest led both to pursue bachelor of science degrees in chemistry. What’s even more unique than twins within the Chemistry Department is that they are both outstanding students (Both Major GPAs of 4.0) doing independent research with Associate Professor Wayne Jones. They were also the first-ever undergraduates to become teaching assistants for Physical Chemistry (typically a graduate-level teaching assistantship). Not common students by any means.
There is an obvious respect between the brothers as peers as well as a common respect for the Chemistry Department as a whole. They spoke highly of the department, citing Wayne Jones James Dix, Jon Stickles, Nikolay Dimitrov, CJ Zhong, and Stanley Madan as faculty and staff they look up to and who have been invaluable in the classroom, lab, as mentors and as inspiration for their independent study.
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Aaron
and Wes Sattler '07 with their research poster. |
The pair began their research in 2005 when they joined Jones’ research group. They initially focused on different aspects of a project synthesizing conjugated fluorescent polymer chemosensors for toxic metal cations. This fall, Wes and Aaron initiated new projects which entailed synthesizing transition metal (ruthenium) complexes as small molecule sensors and bound to surfaces. They have been studying the photophysical properties of these structures including UV-vis absorption, emission and excitation spectroscopy, and time-resolved emission lifetimes using a pulsed nitrogen laser in order to apply these new structures in next generation sensor applications.
When asked how their research
has impacted their education to date, both explained that the practical
knowledge gained from lab time and research helped when applied to classroom
learning.
“Research and class went hand in hand and gave us a better overall
understanding of the material,” said Wes.
When asked what the secret was to maintaining such stellar GPAs while balancing coursework and research, Aaron explained, “When you find the topic you're learning about interesting, it makes it come more easily. I think the most important thing is understanding the chemistry and not memorizing it.” Both have been involved in five-hour long study groups where the group discussed coursework for awhile and then casually discussed chemistry for hours on end with fellow undergraduate and graduate students, as well as each other. This type of academic community – where learning is not just required, but embraced – has helped the brothers to thrive.
Aaron and Wes are in the process of applying to graduate schools (Aaron and Wes are both interested in pursuing inorganic chemistry), with Columbia being the top choice for both.
This June, Harpur alumni gathered for the 36th Annual Bunn Hill Memorial Run. In attendance were Gary Truce (professor, Physical Education), Charlie Collier ’69, Roger Knight ‘75, Gabe Yankowitz ‘71 and Ira Gershenhorn.
The race was initiated in 1969 by Bill Barker ’68 (now a mathematics professor at Bowdoin College) when he returned to campus for a visit and enlisted a couple of his Harpur cross country teammates to run one of the team’s most infamous workout courses, Bunn Hill. Barker came back the following five years to run the course on his own. In 1975, Barker contacted former Harpur cross country/track runner Gabe Yankowitz, who at that time was a professional staff member and residence hall director at Binghamton, and suggested they contact former teammates to run the course for “old time's sake.”
The first year, Barker, Yankowitz, Collier, Knight, Gary Wallace ‘73 and Steve Appel ’72 participated. They enjoyed the run so much that they decided to do it again the following year and the group has been running the course annually ever since. Over the years, other teammates including Bill Schecter ’68, Bob "Flash" Fellman ‘69 and assorted friends and family have joined in the tradition. Anyone who participates in the race more than once becomes an official “Bunn Hiller”.
With the vigor, brotherhood and dedication of the Bunn Hillers, there is no finish line in sight for this great Harpur tradition.
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Pictured from left
to right: Gary Truce, Charlie Collier, Roger Knight, Gabe Yankowitz, and Ira Gershenhorn |
Paglia Reflects on Time at Harpur College
By : Rachel Coker
InsideBU, Volume 28, No. 10
When Camille Paglia returned to her alma mater Oct. 17 as the Milton Kessler
Distinguished Poetry Reader, she seemed to have two major goals. First,
let the audience know what an extraordinary teacher Kessler was. Second,
take on the intellectual establishment, particularly the humanities.
“Once in a lifetime you encounter a teacher of the quality, the dimension and the vision of Milton Kessler,” she said.
Paglia, an Endicott native and second-generation Harpur College alumnus, graduated in 1968. Paglia, now the university professor of the humanities at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, is the author of four bestselling books, including 2005’s Break, Blow, Burn: Camille Paglia Reads Forty-three of the World’s Best Poems.
She recalled Kessler introducing her class to Theodore Roethke, three of whose poems appear in her book. She said she was stunned by the “mammoth quality” of Roethke, and by how different he was from any poet she had learned about in high school.
She was also struck by Kessler’s approach to poetry, which encouraged students to have a “glandular experience” of the work.
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Author
Camille Paglia speaks to an audience of nearly 400 on Oct. 17
at the Anderson Center Chamber Hall. |
Paglia took or audited five or six courses with Kessler and said she had gone through her notebooks before the speech to glean some of his comments.
One in particular stood out, she said, from the second day of her first course with him. “Poetry is all about perception of mind,” he told the class.
Kessler, a poet and professor of English who is credited with founding the University’s Creative Writing Program, died in 2000.
In his classes, Paglia said, she imagined a coming renaissance of the humanities. Instead, she said, people have gotten the idea that art belongs to the elite.
“What is the purpose of education?” Paglia asked. “For me, the humanities should be about art appreciation.”
Paglia sees many of the most revered poets of our time as pretentious “word choppers” and believes their work may well be driving people away from poetry.
“True poetry is something that has incandescent quality that is passionate, engaged, emotional and physical,” she said.
Paglia spoke quickly, breezing through page after page of notes and allowing herself lengthy asides. The Chamber Hall audience of nearly 400 students, faculty, staff and community members frequently interrupted with laughter and applause.
Some of Paglia’s most popular remarks focused on the state of higher education. She lavished praise on public universities while calling several prominent elite institutions a “fraud” beset by a “resort mentality.”
Paglia earned master’s and doctoral degrees at Yale, which she acknowledged has a wonderful library. She said she sometimes feels like an “insurgent” fighting the Ivy League. Paglia called for a new approach to teacher training and decried the sameness of thinking among professors from coast to coast.
“Your best chance for independent thinking,” she said, “comes from small liberal arts colleges or public universities.”
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:
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& FAMILY |
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| 1979: Jan Lisa Huttner - MA 1979 from the HPSBS Program in the Philosophy Department Wins Second Consecutive Achievement Award Chicago
Critic Champions Women Filmmakers; Wins Second Consecutive
Chicago film critic Jan Lisa Huttner recently earned her second
consecutive Silver Feather Award from the Illinois Woman’s
Press Association, for writing the most award-winning articles
in IWPA’s annual Mate E. Palmer Communications Contest.
Last year Huttner’s writing won 10 honors, one of which
went on to win first place in the “Best News Writing for
the Internet” category from the National Federation of Press
Women (IWPA’s parent organization). “Jan Huttner brings
expertise, ethics and enthusiasm to all her writing projects,”
explains IWPA Contest Chair Pat Szpekowski. A go-to source for
information on women filmmakers, Huttner has spoken out widely
against the “celluloid ceiling” that keeps women screenwriters,
directors and other behind-the-scenes professionals from having
the same opportunities as their male colleagues. “To use
the words of Professor Martha Lauzen,” says Huttner, “If
we change media messages, we change the world!” |
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| 1991:
Erica
(Petacchi) Kim ('91) and husband Jeff Kim welcomed
home their two children from Guatemala on March 24, 2006. Cassandra
Caroline Kim was born on 11/24/05, and Carter Petacchi Kim on 12/03/05.
The family lives in Fairfax, VA. |
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1993: Richard Relkin has accepted a position as the Director of Media Relations for St. Francis College in Downtown Brooklyn. Prior to this position, Relkin spent 3 ½ years as the Director of Communications for the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators - the Principals' Union - in New York City. Relkin resides in New York with is wife Rachel and children Sydney and Adam. |
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| 1973:
Joan Guggenheimer,
a soft-spoken lawyer who had the ear of the chief executives at two
of the world’s biggest banks, died Sunday, July 30, 2006 at
her home near Scarsdale, N.Y. She was 54. The cause was colon cancer, her husband, Peter, said. As general counsel of Citigroup and later of J. P. Morgan Chase, Mrs. Guggenheimer navigated both companies through Wall Street’s legal waters, defending Smith Barney against sexual harassment charges in the “Boom Boom Room” case and helping resolve the Enron litigation at J. P. Morgan last year. But she will be remembered as much for a quiet, effective style that made her a trusted adviser in the executive suite. Mrs. Guggenheimer considered Charles O. Prince III, Citigroup’s chairman and chief executive, a mentor as she rose through its legal ranks to become co-general counsel in 2001. She was also one of the closest advisers to James Dimon, who relied on her judgment when he ran the Smith Barney brokerage division of Citigroup. He recruited her in 2003 to be the top lawyer for Bank One, and later for J. P. Morgan when he became the chief executive. Her husband said that her respect for fairness and rules helped find an ethical middle ground while defending the sexual harassment claims. “It was difficult because she understood there were real grievances,” Mr. Guggenheimer said. “But her role was to protect the company and she accomplished both goals.” Joan Bleckman was raised in Queens and married Peter Guggenheimer, an architect, 33 years ago. After earning a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Binghamton University in 1973, Mrs. Guggenheimer graduated from Columbia Law School in 1979. Mrs. Guggenheimer was a litigator before she took a job in Smith Barney’s legal department in 1985. She is survived by her husband, Peter, and their two children: Laura, a paralegal for the Manhattan district attorney’s office; and Eric, a sophomore at Cornell University. |
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Back Issues of the Harpur Hotline
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