Binghamton Ranked No. 32 by U.S News & World Report
University Continues to Rate Among Nation's Elite
by Katie Ellis

Binghamton University continues to rank among the elite public universities in the nation for quality and value, according to national publications that focus on higher education.

U.S. News & World Report's 157th annual "America's Best Colleges" issue and guidebook has ranked Binghamton 32nd in its list of top public universities - the eighth consecutive year Binghamton has rated among the elite Top 50. Binghamton also placed 74th overall in the publication's ranking of all doctoral universities, public and private.

In addition, Binghamton has again been praised by the Fiske Guide to Colleges, 2005 edition, as being the "premier public university in the Northeast" and one of the best values in the nation - a ranking echoed by the Princeton Review's The Best 357 Colleges.

The Fiske Guide ranks Binghamton as one of only 43 best values in public or private higher education in the nation, and writes, "Binghamton offers a challenging academic pace without the cut-throat edge."
One student is quoted as saying, "The caliber of the students here is much greater than that of any other SUNY school and right on par with the best private institutions."

According to the Princeton Review, at Binghamton students "can experiment with ideas, think freely, and get the tools to expand their view of the world." The Review also named Binghamton one of the best colleges in the Northeast.

"I am so proud that Binghamton's quality and value are consistently praised by national publications," said President Lois B. DeFleur.

"These publications look at more than statistics," she said. "They listen to our peers and talk to our students, and what they continue to find is that Binghamton's excellence comes from the quality of our faculty, students and staff, and from our total commitment to be the best we can be."

With so much at stake for prospective students and their parents, these rankings and guides are important tools during a college search, according to Cheryl Brown, Binghamton's director of undergraduate admissions.
"The college choice process is a complicated one and families are often overwhelmed as they make decisions," she said. "Having reference guides such as these provides a way to help them."

To compile its rankings, U.S. News & World Report annually calculates scores based on: academic reputation from peer institutions; retention of students; faculty resources; student selectivity; financial resources; graduation rates; and, alumni giving rates to compile its rankings. According to the magazine, each school's rank is based on the same set of quality indicators.

Complete U.S. News ranking information is available at www.usnews.com.

The Fiske Guide surveys college administrators and students, makes campus visits, conducts telephone interviews and solicits other background information to research its publication, which is collated by a staff of journalists and freelance writers. It is then edited by Edward B. Fiske, former education editor of the New York Times.

The Princeton Review collects statistical information from the institutions themselves, and routinely surveys students directly for their opinions about academics, campus life and extracurricular activities.

All three publications are now available on newsstands.

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Harpur Professor Wins Forgiveness Award

A Harpur College English professor turned a personal tragedy into a lesson about forgiveness and won an award from the Worldwide Forgiveness Alliance.

Professor Lois Einhorn received the Heroine of Forgiveness, Reconciliation and Peace Award on August 1, 2004 in San Rafael, CA at the organization's celebration of International Forgiveness Day.

The award was established eight years ago when the Alliance honored Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu, all historical figures who promoted peace and forgiveness. Einhorn won for forgiving her abusive parents and developing new ideas about forgiveness. She shared some of these ideas through both speaking and expressive dancing at the award's ceremony.

She tells her story of surviving harrowing torture and child abuse in her manuscript, Child Abuse and Forgiveness: Would YOU Forgive "Nursery Rhymes and Scary Tales"? (for which Einhorn is now seeking a publisher or literary agent).

Robert W. Plath, executive director and founder of the Worldwide Forgiveness Alliance, said their board of directors agreed Einhorn displayed outstanding attributes of forgiveness, and her research best advanced forgiveness and its healing powers.

Child Abuse and Forgiveness is modeled after The Sunflower, by Simon Wiesenthal, in which Wiesenthal, while a prisoner in Auschwitz, chose not to forgive a dying Nazi soldier. Wiesenthal opens The Sunflower with his own narrative and asked 54 other people, as well as the reader, what he or she would have done under those circumstances. The inherently contradictory opinions comprise the greater part of the book.

"When I read The Sunflower, I knew I had to write a book modeled after it," Einhorn said. She sent out copies of her manuscript to people whom she considered her personal heroes and asked them to write comments.

Among those who responded are Pete Seeger, a composer and musician; Arun Gandhi, who is head of the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence; health care activist, Patch Adams; and Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a famous boxer who was imprisoned and exonerated for a crime he didn't commit.

Einhorn also sent Child Abuse and Forgiveness to people whom she did not initially consider heroes, including a prisoner on death row in San Quentin whom she befriended and visited while in California to receive the award.

In her book's afterword, Einhorn decries revenge and advocates compassion and love toward all people. "I really believe Mahatma Gandhi's statement, 'An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.'"

"I thought her manuscript was extremely well written and insightful," Plath said, adding that he loved the poignancy and power of Einhorn's questions to her abusive parents. "I felt everything indicated that she has made a total breakthrough back to love, understanding and compassion for her parents. She is free."

Einhorn, who began teaching at Harpur College in 1979, carries her passion for forgiveness and justice into the classroom. She teaches a popular course called Communications, Ethics and Social Action, which she says is designed to "comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable" (a quote Einhorn took from a bumper sticker on her office door). Students learn how to turn anger and apathy into advocacy and action. Einhorn created the course from scratch.

Einhorn is currently also working on a manuscript called Oh, the Sacred Places You'll Go: Spiritual Lessons from Dr. Seuss. Seuss was the author who inspired Einhorn to study language.

The Worldwide Forgiveness Alliance has asked Einhorn to return next year for a fundraiser. For more information about the organization, go to their website: http://www.forgivenessday.org.

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From Job Hunt to Emmy Nomination
Harpur Grad's Risk Pays Off

Among the tuxedos, diamonds, and haute couture on the red carpet at the 56th Annual Emmy Awards next month will be a Harpur alumnus who never gave up on his dream of a music career in Hollywood.

Micha Liberman `95 was nominated on July 15 for an Emmy Award for his musical editing work on the HBO original series Deadwood, which is based on a community of outlaws in the Black Hills of South Dakota in 1876.

The road to success wasn't easy for Liberman, who was born in Israel, grew up in Texas, and, after graduating from Harpur College, moved to Los Angeles in the hopes of finding a job in the music industry.

Instead, he wound up as a telemarketer for AT&T. "You know, those annoying people who call and ask you to switch your long distance," Liberman recalled. He worked from 6:00a.m. to 1:00p.m., followed by a long drive across the city to intern for free for film composer Hans Zimmer.

"My theory was that if you're in the right place at the right time, the opportunity would come along, so I tried to be in the right place as much as possible," Liberman said. Unfortunately, he spent most of his internship "washing dishes and sweeping cigarette butts out of the parking lot."

A coworker at AT&T told Liberman that David Schwartz, the composer for several TV shows, including Northern Exposure, was looking for an apprentice. His coworker promised to get Schwartz's number, but Liberman couldn't wait. "I opened the phone book and started calling every David Schwartz," he said, "and there are a lot of them!"

His courage paid off. The fifth David Schwartz in the phone book was the composer, who admired Liberman's determination and hired him after a job interview.

"The next thing I know, I'm working on network television shows," Liberman said, still amazed at his good luck. "This was only four months after coming to L.A. I went from a job that I hated to a better one than I could imagine."

"If you want to be a professional musician, there are thousands of jobs you have to be prepared to do," he said. Musicians hope one of those jobs "hits" and becomes his or her professional niche. "For me, I'm still on my way up as a composer, but music editing 'hit.'"

Liberman went on to work for composer Jonathan Wolff, the "king of sitcoms," who, at the time, was scoring the music for Seinfeld. A few years later, he took a job with composer John Frizzell, where he worked on films including I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, and on TV shows like King of the Hill.

In 2001, Liberman made the bold move of creating his own studio and becoming his own boss. While it was difficult at first ("I did some films you've never heard of."), he eventually became the music editor for the CBS drama The Education of Max Bickford, starring Richard Dreyfus.

Despite the show's short run, it helped to further build awareness of Liberman's talent among industry insiders and he landed the job as music editor of HBO's Deadwood.

Liberman credits the music faculty at Harpur College for giving him the skills that helped him get ahead in a tough, competitive industry. He remembers Professors Timothy Perry, who introduced him to playing in orchestras; Bruce Borton, who taught him conducting; Jonathan Biggers, who taught him musicianship; Dan Fabricius, his percussion teacher; Al Hamme, who taught him musical arrangement; and, most significantly, Colleen Reardon: "She was like a light," he said. "She made it fun."

Liberman will attend the Creative Arts, Engineering and Interactive Television Awards, known in the industry as the "Technical Emmys" on September 12. Clips of the ceremony will be broadcast at the Primetime Emmy Awards on September 19.

"Binghamton gave me confidence, and confidence is really big in Hollywood. If you don't believe you can do it, then no one can believe you can do it, and you'll never get hired."

Liberman and his wife, Elyssa, have a newborn son, Max.

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Upcoming Book, Museum Exhibit to Showcase Photography of Van Dousmanis `03

American photographer Berenice Abbott once said, "Photography helps people to see." For nearly a decade Evangelos Dousmanis `03 - better known as Van - has been helping people to see Binghamton University. From his unique perspective behind the camera lens, he has shown us its faces and its places; its triumphs and its tragedies; its special events and its daily life. He has defined our images and our memories. He has taken us to places when we could not go. He has connected us to each other. He has helped us see.

Van was hired to be the University photographer in January 1995, as Binghamton was preparing to celebrate its 50th anniversary. This was a new position created out of the recognition that capturing and preserving the images of campus life is essential to our past and to our future. In the nearly 10 years since Van was hired, the campus has seen unprecedented growth, not only in its physical landscape, but also in its academic and research mission, its national stature and its community connections. Van has been here to record it all.

In recognition of Van's contributions to shaping the image of Binghamton University, the University Art Museum and the Binghamton Foundation are collaborating on a special exhibit and book of Van's photography. The exhibit is slated to open during Homecoming Weekend, October 8-10, 2004. The 122-page hardcover book will include 60 color and 40 black and white photographs.

About the Artist: Evangelos Dousmanis `03, in his own words

When I was a boy, my grandfather taught me the mechanics of photography. During long hours spent in the darkened bathroom of our apartment in the projects, he showed me the magic. We watched together as images emerged from a blank page. I remember the smell of chemicals and the sound of constantly running water. Magic.

My mother taught me the social impact of photography, its power to influence and bear witness. She would assign me exercises in seeing -- holding my hand as she moved me inches left or right and asking, "Do you see?"

During undergraduate study at Binghamton University, Cinema Chair Ralph Hocking encouraged "thoughtful vision." He described photography as a tool of personal exploration; a litigious vision for deeper understanding. I was encouraged to make my camera a bridge between self and society. Twenty years as a photojournalist honed my understanding of the power of photography and the responsibility of the photographer.

A shape, a shadow, an emotion caught forever in time to be deciphered by the viewer. Photography is a powerful communicator, reinforcing society's perception of itself. A cultural negotiator and barometer of our values; it is our mirror.

During my years at Binghamton University, I found through my camera a microcosm of our culture that I tried faithfully to capture with all its complexities and dreams. The University campus is about people. There's a lot of hope and it’s a really beautiful place. I have the luxury of being able to look for that.

Digital imaging has replaced the smell of chemicals and the sound of running water, but photography is still magic. And I hope this collection of photos taken over the past 10 years will give people the opportunity to share some of the magic I found at Binghamton University.

Van continues treatment for prostate cancer and thanks everyone for their kindness and support. He would enjoy hearing from alumni and friends at vand@binghamton.edu.

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Harpur College to join the free books and entertainment at University Fest 2004

Make room on your bookshelves!

Free books will again be the draw at Binghamton University’s annual University Fest from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, August 28, when the University welcomes the community onto campus and students back for the fall semester. All events will take place in front of the University Union. Harpur College will have a table with giveaways and academic information from our departments and programs.

The book giveaway will include books on many different subjects and office supplies. Visitors can load up on as many free books as they can carry.

The family-friendly event will also feature kid’s games; giant inflatables including a rock-climbing wall, slide and moon bounce; face painting; a caricaturist; crafts and vendors; food and more. Entertainment will be provided throughout the day.

University Fest is sponsored by Binghamton University, the Student Association and the Division of Student Affairs.

There is no admission and parking is free.

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Alumni and friends, mark your calendar for the best campus event of the year...

Click the logo above for detailed information on reunions for the classes of 1999, 1994, 1979 and 1954, a schedule for the weekend, a list of who's attending, how to get involved, and so much more!
Don't miss Homecoming 2004 - it's a tradition worth coming back for.

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Harpur Friends & Family

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:

1970: A television show based on one of Harpur College's best known alumni will air on September 20 on CBS. Seinfeld veteran Jason Alexander will play Tony Kornheiser in Listen Up, which will portray the Washington Post columns Kornheiser penned for the newspaper about his life at home. In a May 2004 Washington Post article, Kornheiser joked that having Alexander portray him feels "weird" and "everybody thinks they should be in the show, and that Brad Pitt or Julia Roberts should play them."

1973: Last year, Anita Aboulafia began working as Communications Manager and Editor at the New York County Lawyers' Association (NYCLA), a 96-year-old bar association in lower Manhattan. NYCLA was the first major bar association to admit lawyers without regard to their race, gender or ethnicity. Aboulafia writes and edits NYCLA's bi-monthly newsletter and handles publicity for their public forums and events.

1993: Harpur grads are moving up in the world! Amy Dacey has been recently promoted to deputy political director of John Kerry's campaign and will travel with the presidential candidate around the country until Election Day. She is responsible for briefing Kerry on world and national events, local issues and political matters prior to his speaking engagements. Dacey was previously John Kerry's field campaign manager in 25 states, working primarily in Washington D.C. She earned a master's degree in political science from American University in 1995 and has worked for a number of successful campaigns. Before joining Kerry's campaign, Dacey was director of EMILY's List's Political Opportunity Program, which trains women to run for their state legislatures. In an e-mail to the Hotline, Dacey wrote, "I loved my experience at SUNY Binghamton - the relationships with friends and faculty have truly helped me in my goals. The education I received was simply the best and I feel prepared me to go onto graduate school and pursue a career in politics. I am very fortunate to have gone to Binghamton and have always known I made the right decision. As I am currently crossing the country with Senator Kerry I often cannot believe how fortunate I am to have this new and challenging opportunity. But isn't that what SUNY Binghamton prepared us for? We can reach our goals and dreams. You just have to work hard and keep trying."

1999: Congratulations to Thomas Scotto for receiving a 2004-2005 Fulbright Award to study in Canada. He is currently working on his PhD in political science at Duke University, where he earned an M.S. in 2002.

2001: An August 14 and 15 benefit in Redfield, NY raised around $6,300 to help Margaret Yerdon (M.A.S.S. `03) cover medical bills from her ongoing battle with breast cancer. Yerdon was a star softball player during both her high school and undergraduate years, and her younger sister, Mary Beth (`06), now follows in her footsteps. Yerdon works through Americorps as a team coordinator for Rochester Cares, an organization that pairs non-profit agencies with volunteers. She also works part-time at Starbucks, which she did while a student at BU. Yerdon's parents, Molly and Ambrose, say their daughter is doing well but faces more surgery and treatment in the future. She would be glad to hear from old friends at margarita71225@aol.com.

2003: Markus Zisselsberg (M.A.) received a prestigious fellowship, the "Max Kade Dissertation Summer Grant," to support his dissertation research at Washington University this summer. He is a doctoral student in comparative literature. Zisselsberg's wife, Margarita, earned an M.S. in reading education from BU in 2003.

2003: We mourn the loss of Steven J. Mally who died Saturday, July 24 in a car accident near his hometown of Centerport, NY. He was 23. Mally majored in English at Harpur College and was pursuing a master's degree in teaching at Long Island University's C.W. Post Campus.

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Harpur Alum Shares Breathtaking Story of Colorado Climb

Businessman, former guide, and mountain climbing enthusiast, Jerry Shustrin `74 recently completed climbing all 59 of Colorado's 14,000 foot peaks. It is an inspiring tale of endurance and bravery. When not climbing mountains, Shustrin is the owner and president of Crestone International, Inc., a company that sells refurbished fire engines, water pumps and diesel engines.

This was originally a report for Fourteener World, an online magazine for people who enjoy climbing the highest peaks of Colorado and the West.

This story marks the very last of the Shustrin's successful summitting of Colorado's fifty-nine 14,000 peaks.

"When I was growing up in the early 1960's, there was a book called Annapurna by Maurice Herzog which dealt with the successful and tragic 1950 French expedition to climb Annapurna in the Himalayas," Shustrin said, "To this day it's the most deadly of the 8,000 meter peaks (over 26,000 feet). I read that book and the words resonated something special within me."

"Even while I was at Harpur, I was always climbing in the nearby hills and in the Catskill and the Adirondack mountains." Shustrin climbed his first 14'er, Mount of the Holy Cross, the year after he graduated from Harpur, in 1975. He's never stopped since.

Read the story here.

Editor's note: Do you have a personal story to share with the Harpur Hotline? Send your idea to hotline@binghamton.edu. We want to share the news about our alumni.

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Alumni Association Offers Home Loan Discount Program

Faulty, staff, students, parents and alumni can now get discounted home loans through Binghamton University's Alumni Association.

Through the Home Loan discount program created by the Alumni Association and IndyMac Bank, applicants will save $250 on closing costs for new first mortgages and benefit from a streamlined application and approval process while supporting the Alumni Association. IndyMac Bank is one of the nation's largest home lenders. In addition to home purchase or refinancing loans, IndyMac Bank offers fixed and adjustable rate loans, limited documentation loans, vacation and second home loans and jumbo loans of up to $3 million. The Alumni Association receives revenue from inquiries made through its dedicated website at www.homeloanprogram.net/bu or from toll-free calls to 888-207-5230.

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Shop Harpur Online

Shop the campus bookstore from the comfort of your PC or Mac. Want to pick up a copy of the new Harpur history book The Cornerstone? Visit The Campus Bookstore.

For more Harpur College merchandise, such as hats, shirts and window stickers, contact the bookstore at 607-777-2745.

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Back Issues of the Harpur Hotline

Miss an issue? Want to read more? Check out: http://harpur.binghamton.edu/hotline

Harpur College Development Team Mission Statement:

The Harpur College of Arts and Sciences Development Team encourages alumni, students, faculty and friends to identify with Harpur College's past, present and future by engaging them in events and programs that connect them to the college. We facilitate ways for our constituents to enrich Harpur College through their financial contributions and personal talents and resources.

Contact the Webmaster.

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