Harpur
Hotline
September 30, 2004
- Art History Faculty and Graduate Students Win Prestigious Awards
- Interesting Facts Revealed in Harpur by the Numbers
- From Book to Banking
- Harpur Student Keeps Irish Culture on Campus
- Harpur Alum Brings Filmmaking Expertise to Binghamton
- In Memoriam: Joan Smith and Norman Cantor
- Homecoming 2004 is less than two weeks away!
- Harpur Friends & Family
- Letter to the Editor
- Shop Harpur Online
- Back Issues of the Harpur Hotline
Art
History Faculty and Graduate Students Win Prestigious Awards
by
Sylvia M. Rabeler (MA `97)
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| Three art history faculty have won prestigious research awards. From left to right: Professor Karen-edis Barzman has received a Fulbright Senior Research Fellowship for Spring 2005. Both Professors Tom McDonough and Nancy Um have earned year-long fellowships from the Getty Research Institute. Um also received a National Endowment for the Humanities stipend for this past summer. | ||
Harpur College's Art History department has a long history of actively promoting scholarship and successfully pursuing prestigious fellowships. Over the past five years, our faculty, students and alumni have achieved several awards and had a particularly strong showing this year.
"It's terrific. We have seven full time faculty and three of them have major external awards this year. We're really working on full cylinders this year," said Charles Burroughs, professor and chair of art history.
Professor Karen-edis Barzman has received a Fulbright Senior Research Fellowship for Spring 2005 to study at the Oriental Institute, University of Naples, Italy. She will be conducting research for a book titled "Early Orientalizing: Italian Figurations of Islam, 1250-1750". Her specialty is Italian art and theatre from the 18th century and she is known for feminist work. This is a project looking at Florentine perceptions of the Ottoman empire and Turkish and Arab socieities in general.
Professors Tom McDonough and Nancy Um were each selected from a highly competitive field of international scholars to receive $40,000 year-long non-residential post-doctoral research fellowships from the Getty Research Institute. They were two out of only 16 recipients.
McDonough's research title is "The Beautiful Language of My Century: Reinventing the Language of Contestation in Postwar France".
Um's project is "Marking the Mocha Trade Network: Architecture, Spatial History, and the Port City in Early Modern Yemen." She also received a National Endowment for the Humanities summer stipend to visit archives in the Netherlands and Germany to study trade documents and photographs of Yemen.
Burroughs said everyone in his department takes his or her scholarly interest beyond the scope of art history, and many of us work across cultural boundaries. "Whatever our specific area of specialization is in art or cultural history," said Burroughs, "we're interested in going beyond that to consider relations and exchanges with other regions."
"These kinds of interests are particularly important to us in light of our diverse student body drawn from so many areas of the world," Burroughs said.
Several graduate students have also won awards to support their research. PhD candidate Karen (Wren) Rogers (MA'02) received a Henry Luce / ACLS (American Council of Learned Societies) Fellowship of $20,000, which Binghamton University's Graduate School matched with a full tuition scholarship.
Charles Cody Barteet, also a PhD candidate, won a Montequin Travel Award from the Society of Architectural Historians. His dissertation title is "Colonial Contradictions in the Casa de Montejo and Mérida: Space, Society, and Self-representation at the Edge of Viceregal Mexico."
PhD candidate Teresa Pac is in the 2nd year of a two-year Samuel H. Kress Foundation Fellowship, studying at the Central Institute for Art History in Munich, Germany. Previously, she received a year-long Fulbright Scholarship for 2001 - 2002 to study at Gdansk University in Poland. Pac's dissertation title is "Churches at the Edge: A Comparative Study of Acculturation at the Baltic Shore in the Middle Ages."
PhD candidate Sharon Smith is in her second year of a two-year Aga Khan Institute Fellowship at Harvard.
Interesting Facts Revealed in "Harpur by the Numbers"
"Harpur by the Numbers" is an interesting report that gives a good sense of our students' demographics, interests and achievements. You will need Adobe Reader to view it.
Harpur College's Associate Dean Donald Blake (PhD `75) and Assistant Dean Janice McDonald (MA `76) have created this report since 1999 to present an easy-to-navigate look at how noticeably Harpur College's population has changed over time.
"I've been here 30 years and when I first walked on this campus, it looked much different," said Blake. "The student body is much different in so many ways."
Blake cited a more diverse religious makeup and higher numbers of international and underrepresented minority students as examples of how Harpur's population has shifted.
Popularity of majors has changed too, Blake said. "Economics has zoomed forward in the last five to eight years to become one of the top three majors."
The document reveals post-graduation plans, including our acceptance rates for law, medical and graduate schools. Students give their opinions on the best parts of their four years at Harpur (Over 80% said "professors.") and how the College can improve.
Blake said in addition to simply being interesting, "Harpur by the Numbers" is useful in training the Admissions Office staff and helps faculty characterize the institution when applying for grants.
From
Book to Banking
Harpur history author says humanities prepared him well
for career in finance
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In 1972, when Stephen McIntire was writing his dissertation in Russian history, his faculty advisor, Norman Cantor, offered him $600 to write a draft for a textbook. The catch was that Cantor needed the manuscript in only three weeks.
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"In retrospect," said McIntire, who successfully fulfilled Cantor’s request, "I think he was testing to see if I could produce because he sort of looked it over in a cursory fashion and wrote me a check on the spot."
The "test" McIntire passed earned him a unique offer to write the first ever book chronicling the creation and history of Harpur College. The book would be sold as a fundraiser for the University. William Langlois '71 had conducted many interviews with President Bartle and a few other administrators; McIntire's task would be to continue the research as he saw fit and create a book.
Ten months later, what emerged was Harpur College in the Bartle Era, a fascinating and very descriptive story of Harpur College's development from Triple Cities College in 1946 to President Bartle's retirement in 1964. McIntire describes Bartle's vision of creating "a liberal arts college much like Swarthmore, whose quality and character had so strongly impressed him."
McIntire illustrates Bartle's management style in rich detail, providing quotations from the college’s first professors, administrators, and students, and even from Mrs. Bartle herself. He paints a vivid picture of Harpur College in the 1950's and explains how Syracuse University handed over Triple Cities College to New York State so it could become Harpur College in the newly formed State University of New York system.
Harpur College in the Bartle Era also describes the creation of the institution’s General Education Program, which remains Harpur College’s strong point to this day: to provide a broad liberal arts education even as students focus their interests on their college majors. The book is not necessarily a nostalgia piece; McIntire chronicles Governor Dewey’s objections to public higher education and the state and local bureaucratic barriers to Harpur College’s growth. Several photos taken in the 1950's show Harpur’s earliest students in class and at social activities.
Unfortunately, Harpur College in the Bartle Era is McIntire’s only book. After receiving his PhD, he entered a 15-month training program in credit finance at Bank of America and is continuing to enjoy a long career in banking. He now runs his own consulting business, SWM and Associates, which contracts with banks to outsource their special assets. He has traveled extensively for business, including a 3-month stint in Bishkek, Khyrgystan - perhaps majoring in Russian history came in handy, after all.
McIntire feels his liberal arts education at Harpur College prepared him well for the banking profession. "The exercise of writing and being able to articulate thoughts and ideas, and being able to analyze critically," he said, "made me able to explain very technical things to people."
McIntire also credits his professors' rigorous courses with his successful career today. "From the very beginning, Harpur College’s faculty had high expectations from students," he said.
"I had a graduate seminar in French History with Professor Peter Amann," McIntire recalled. "I'd written a paper very carelessly. There were only 8 or 9 of us there and we were politely critiquing each other’s papers. My paper came back to Peter and he just threw it."
McIntire is married to Mary (Davis) M.S.T. '69. They have a grown daughter and two grandchildren. He would enjoy hearing from former classmates at smcinsmart@aol.com.
Harpur Student Keeps Irish Culture on Campus
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Harpur College history major Joseph Escamilla `05 is proud of Ireland's culture and language and wants to share them on campus. Last year, he started the Irish Student Union for students to honor their Irish heritage, learn more about Ireland and meet people with similar interests.
Turns out, there's a lot more interest on campus than one would expect. Last year, Kim Allen Gleed (M.A. `96, Ph.D. `05) taught Harpur College's first ever course on Irish language, Gaeilge. "The class was completely full," said Escamilla, who now takes intermediate level Irish with Gleed as an independent study. In 2000, Gleed received a grant from the Irish American Cultural Institute to write the Irish language textbook, Transna an Lochain – Across the Pond.
Professor Thomas M. Wilson in Anthropology is currently teaching "Northern Ireland: Politics and Identity," a popular class cross-listed among anthropology, sociology and political science.
Wilson says the subject is popular among students because of the relatively high proportion of Americans who claim Irish ancestry and want to know something more about that land and its people. "The purported irrationality of the violence in Northern Ireland attracts some people who seek to discover the 'real' roots of the conflict," Wilson said, noting that many students are interested more in the comparative study of political violence, nationalism and terrorism, and want to know more about Northern Ireland in order to clarify matters related to other places.
Last Spring, to raise money for the Irish Student Union, Gleed’s class held a Céilí, which is an Irish party with Céilí dancing (not to be confused with "set" dancing, which was made famous by Riverdance in the 1990’s) and traditional Irish music and food such as soda bread and potato pancakes. The Irish Student Union will hold another Céilí on Saturday, October 30 from 5:00p.m. – 8:00p.m. They also plan to march in the City of Binghamton's annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, hold a St. Patrick's Day Céilí, bring an Irish music band to campus in April, and petition for more Irish history and language courses.
Escamilla not only leads the Irish Student Union, he also teaches free Gaeilge classes after each meeting. "We've had a minimum of 20 students per class," he said. "We start out very basic. It's for beginners."
Escamilla said Ireland is officially bi-lingual. Gaeilge is still spoken widely in some provinces and all children are required to learn the language in elementary school. "People want to be able to understand the local slang when they’re abroad," Escamilla said. "It's also another way to learn about Irish culture."
Escamilla doesn't fit any stereotype of an Irish-American. He's half Apache and half Irish. He has dark features and has lived "everywhere" in the U.S. including Anchorage, AK and a ranch in Kerrville Texas. He said his mom raised him by herself and her Irishness rubbed off on him.
"My mom always encouraged me to go after what I wanted," Escamilla said. "I never gave up because she encouraged me in everything, from becoming a track star in high school to creating the Irish Student Union here. I’d like to say that this was her way of instilling Irish values in me."
Gleed called Escamilla one of the most promising students she has met on campus. "His enthusiasm for Irish language and culture has manifested itself in hid dedication to the Irish Student Union," she said. "He has put his heart and soul into this organization, and as a result, appreciation for Irish culture has now more formally returned to campus."
For more information about the Irish Student Union, contact Joseph Escamilla at josephthebrave@croiceansa.com.
Harpur Alum Brings Filmmaking Expertise to Binghamton
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Oftentimes, Harpur students come here from New York City, put in their four years, and go right back to the big apple. Jason Detrani `92 followed that same pattern, but added another step: he came back to Binghamton again and decided to not only call it home, but make it the backdrop of his career as a filmmaker.
As an undergraduate, Detrani transferred to Harpur College on the recommendation of a film professor at Hunter College who felt he would thrive under Cinema Professors Ken Jacobs and Larry Gottheim. The advice served Detrani well. "I got my start in filmmaking and video technologies and opened my mind academically," he said
After graduating, Detrani moved back to his hometown of New York City and worked as a freelance gaffer (lighting technician) for Nickelodeon, CNN, Manhattan Center Studios, Storz Lighting, Grey Advertising and several feature films and commercials. "I loved the flexibility because it allowed me to work on my own projects at the same time," Detrani said.
Freelancing also left room in Detrani's schedule for graduate school; he earned a Master of Art and Applied Science in photography and digital imaging from SUNY New Paltz in 1997.
After finishing his Master's, Detrani worked for J.Crew, spearheading the popular clothing company's move from traditional photography to digital imaging for their catalog and internet marketing.
Throughout this time, he was also on the production team of the independent film "Wrestling with Alligators," which starred Claire Bloom and debuted at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival.
Detrani's experience in film attracted the attention of the Binghamton-based Misty Falls Motion Picture Company who hired him to help produce the 1998 film "Shades of Darkness." He was still living in New York and commuting to Binghamton for filming, but when Broome Community College offered him a teaching position, Detrani decided to make Binghamton his new home.
The money he saved by living in Binghamton allowed him to launch his own technology consulting firm, Media Solutions, which provides voice, data, network and presentation media solutions for corporate events, business meetings and research summits. Word of Detrani's expertise traveled fast, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry. He soon built a long list of clients which included Johnson and Johnson, Ortho Biotech, Aventis and Pfizer.
In 2002, Detrani became director of production and business manager for the Misty Falls Motion Picture Company and worked as director of photography on their movie "Summer of Tomorrows," which was filmed in Binghamton and Ithaca. Everyone in the cast and crew was from the local area.
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But what Detrani has enjoyed the most is showcasing the Binghamton area’s often-underexposed artistic and cultural side. He and fellow Harpur alumnus Theodore Nappi `02 (M.A. `05), along with local filmmaker Doug Bush, host and produce the cable access show "Media Offline," which broadcasts theatre productions, art gallery openings, concerts and community events.
He is also involved with the Binghamton Progressive Media Center, an independent media center that teaches the tools of media production and seeks to create increased opportunities for independent producers to get more airtime. "It's a grassroots effort to give independent media equal time on the airwaves and seeks to take communication out of the hands of large networks and back into the hands of people. They're nonprofit and nonbiased," explained Bill Huston, the co-founder who also produces "The Progressive Media Hour" on Binghamton University's WHRW.
Detrani is now full time assistant professor at Broome Community College and teaches film analysis, filmmaking and mass communications. He unabashedly credits his education at Harpur College with giving him the skills and confidence to pursue such a variety of creative projects.
"Until I came to Harpur College, my experience with education seemed all rote memorization," Detrani said, "but at Harpur, I had freedom to pursue intellectual knowledge. My professors were very encouraging about academic freedom and instilled in me a love for thinking."
In Memoriam: Joan Smith and Norman Cantor
Harpur College mourns the loss of two former professors. Joan Smith, who taught Sociology from 1978 to 1991 and helped establish Harpur College's Women's Studies Program, died September 10 at her home in Hartland, VT. Norman Cantor, who from 1970 to 1976 served as distinguished professor of history and served as academic vice president of the University, died September 19 at his home in Miami, FL.
Smith earned her doctorate in sociology from New York University and taught at Dartmouth College before joining the faculty at Harpur College. At the University of Vermont, she became the first woman dean of their College of Arts and Sciences. She wrote several books about gender roles and labor including Hard Work and Making Do: Labor Mobilization in Rural Areas (1999) and Creating and Transforming Households: The Constraints of the World Economy (1992).
A memorial service took place September 17 in Ira Allen Chapel at the University of Vermont. At the request of her family, the Joan Smith College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Professional Development Fund has been established in Smith's memory. For more information, please call 808-656-3166 or e-mail a-sdean.admin@uvm.edu. Condolences can be sent to Peter Welch and family, 346 Town Farm Hill Road, Hartland, VT 05048.
Cantor earned his PhD from Princeton where he began his career, and taught at Columbia and Brandeis before coming to Harpur College where he remained for six years. After a brief posts at the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois, he became dean of faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences at New York University in 1978. He retired as professor emeritus of history, sociology and comparative literature.
He was well known as a medievalist and his book Civilization of the Middle Ages was in print continuously since its publication in 1963. His many books, including Inventing the Middle Ages (1991) and Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World it Made (2002), were popular among history buffs both inside and outside the classroom. His biography, Alexander the Great, is due for release next year.
Less than two weeks away... Don't miss out on the best tradition on campus!
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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1969: After over 30 years working at law firms, Rich Alpern recently became a principal at Frederick W. Cook & Co., an executive compensation consulting firm in Manhattan. He lives in Washington Twp. in Bergen County, New Jersey. Rich and his wife Sandy (Raffes) `70 are spending a great deal of time in Manhattan enjoying their new granddaughter, Allison, who was born on June 13. Sandy finished a two-year term as president of the Jewish Community Center of Paramus about three weeks before Allison was born. |
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1978: The October 2004 issue of House Beautiful magazine featured Paul Gleicher in an article entitled "Urban Renewal" about the restoration of a New York City upper west side town house. He is the principal of Gleicher Design Associates, an NYC architectural firm. His wife, Lisa Sharkey Gleicher, is a senior producer of "Good Morning America." The couple has two sons and a daughter. |
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1980: On September 24, 2004, Perot Systems Corp., announced that Peter Altabef, general counsel, will succeed Ross Perot, Jr. as president and chief executive of the Plano, TX computer systems firm. Altabef, who earned his law degree from the University of Chicago in 1983, worked for the firm Hughes & Luce LLP before joining Perot Systems 11 years ago. He helped develop Perot Systems' strategy for business process services, which represents about one-fifth of Perot Systems' sales. His wife, Jennifer Burr Altabef, is a partner at the law firm Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal LLP. The couple has a son and a daughter. |
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1996: The British publisher, Rotovision, has hired Anthony LaSala as the editor of an upcoming book on world photography. LaSala is senior editor of Photo District News, VNU, Inc, in New York City. |
Occasionally, our Harpur Hotline readers write to us - and we love hearing from you! Please direct your comments to hotline@binghamton.edu or call 607-777-6285. We will only print your letters with your approval.
September 17, 2004
To the Editor:
I was delighted to see that Studio B was renamed in honor of my most favorite professor, Christian “Pete” Gruber, at SUNY B, though I was greatly saddened that he did not live to see the honor.
I can still remember taking a Shakespeare course of his. Two friends and I got to act out the three witches from Macbeth. Though I was a theatre major he inculcated such a love of Shakespeare in me that I started teaching it to my own children and their classmates starting in 4th grade. They too have developed a love of the Bard.
I was lucky enough to take at least one more course with Professor Gruber. He was the one of the few teachers who understood that Shakespeare is theatre and taught it as such. His sense of humor and his friendship with his students are one of the memories I have carried with me for approximately 30 years. In my mind he will always be the smiling professor who so clearly enjoyed what his students and his subject matter.
Sincerely,
Laurie J. Greenwald `78
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