Manuscript Syracuse Rachel Vassel ’91, G’21 Associate Vice President Multicultural Advancement Angela Morales-Patterson Director of Operations and Partnerships Multicultural Advancement Janey Ozoria Director of Development Multicultural Advancement Miko Horn ’95 Director of Alumni Events Multicultural Advancement Maria J. Lopez ’05, G’12 Assistant Director of Scholarship Programs Multicultural Advancement Angela Morales-Patterson Editor-in-Chief Renée Gearhart Levy Writer/Editor George S. Bain G’06 Copy editor Richard Perrins The Daily Orange Contributing writer Joe Quinn Design Office of Multicultural Advancement Syracuse University 640 Skytop Rd, Second Floor Syracuse NY 13244-5160 p 315.443.4556 f 315.443.2874 syracuse.edu/alumniofcolor suma@syr.edu Opinions expressed in Syracuse Manuscript are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions of its editors or the policies of Syracuse University. © 2022 Syracuse University Office of Multicultural Advancement. All rights reserved. On the Cover: Syracuse University celebrates 40 years of Multicultural Advancement in 2022. Our cover features scenes from some of our special events through the years and individuals integral to their success. The Business of Food 3 Student Spotlights 10 OurTime Has Come Scholarship Donors 16 Campus News 28 Alumni Profile: Kueth ’03 and Aprelle Duany ’03 38 Alumni News 40 History Lesson 48 In Memoriam 50 Hello Orange Family, One of the things that I often tell incoming students is that their four years at Syracuse will go quickly, but the relationships they make on campus will last a lifetime. Completing a degree program at Syracuse University will give you a career, but the richness of our community will give you a life. During my time leading the Office of Multicultural Advancement, I’ve been able to witness our Orange community come together in so many important ways. Together, we’ve attended alumni weddings, supported each other’s businesses, wept at alumni funerals, laughed and shared remembrances during Coming Back Together reunions, offered useful advice and made professional connections. I’ve found that what makes this community strong is that we all feed into it. We continually contribute to it with our time, talent, treasure and that incredible Orange love we have for one another. The more we give to it, the stronger it becomes—because we are Orange for life. For those who are not active in our Orange community, I urge you to get involved. Reach out to your fellow alumni on social media, check in with your first-year roommate, support a classmate’s business, mentor a current student, offer your expertise to a fellow alum, join a University advisory council, hire Orange or give what you can. When you do these things, you will benefit personally, and you’ll enjoy the fulfillment that comes with being an active part of this incredible family. As my friend and Syracuse basketball legend Derrick Coleman ’90 often says about Orange Nation, “Membership has its privileges.” After reading this issue, we hope that you’ll be inspired by our culinary entrepreneurs, amazing student and alumni profiles, deserving University awardees, generous donors and exciting campus updates. Perhaps you’ll think of ways that you can do more to support our great University, Multicultural Advancement, current students and one another. I truly believe that there’s something that each of us can do to make Syracuse University better for the next generation. To whom much is given, much will be required. Because of YOU, our alumni network is special. As we celebrate our 40th year of Syracuse University Multicultural Advancement, let’s make a pledge to each do just a little more to further our mission of supporting students and alumni of color. Check our digital platforms throughout the year for updates on 40th anniversary activities and content (#40YearsOfSUMA) and let us know how we can help you get more involved. Let’s keep it going! With Orange Love, Rachel Vassel ’91, G’21 Associate Vice President Office of Multicultural Advancement The Business of Food Food brings people together. Six alumni entrepreneurs share their success in the culinary world, despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. SPRING 2022 | 3 The Restaurateur: Zhamyr “Sammy” Cueva T he hospitality industry took a hard and immediate hit with the onset of COVID-19 in March 2020. “When you’re in lockdown and forced to close for months, you have to view things differently,” says Zhamyr “Sammy” Cueva ’93, co-owner of three Latin-fusion restaurants in the New York City area: Blend, Blend on the Water and Blend Astoria. “We had to really think about the future of the business and our surrounding community,” he says. “We knew we had to arm ourselves with the right means to enhance our business practice.” For Cueva and his business partners, that began with donating meals to first responders. “We wanted to make sure that the people who were putting their lives in harm’s way knew they were appreciated,” he says. “We weren’t turning a profit, but it was also a way to keep our employees working.” The second step was to use the time when the restaurants were closed to revamp everything from training manuals to 4 | SYRACUSE MANUSCRIPT interior decor. “We did it from top to bottom,” says Cueva. Like many, Cueva says he and his partners never expected the pandemic to last as long as it did. “The fortunate thing is that our business was doing very well before the pandemic and none of us were spending money all over the place,” he says. They also all have other endeavors and projects running simultaneously. Cueva has controlling interest in a special events company (also dormant during the pandemic). When restaurants were allowed to begin reopening, it required an entirely new business model, shifting to takeout food while implementing new sanitizing protocols to protect customers and staff. “It was such a strange time. No one knew yet how you contracted COVID,” Cueva says. “Our goal was to make sure customers were receiving the highest quality food and eating in a safe environment.” The first Blend opened in 2007, in Long Island City, Queens. The owners—who come from various Latin backgrounds: Ecuadorian, Dominican and Colombian— acknowledge how typical Latin dishes crossover throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. That “Blend,” is reflected in the Latin-fusion menu and ambience of their establishments. “We all wanted our native food to be represented, but as New Yorkers, they’re all a little mixed up, so that’s why we called it Blend,” says Cueva, a founding member of Lambda Upsilon Lambda fraternity, the first Greek-letter organization for Latinos at Syracuse University, where the representation of culture and community persisted for Cueva. Blend Astoria is similar, but located in Astoria, Queens, while Blend on the Water is more upscale. Located on the waterfront in Long Island City, the restaurant boasts an incredible view of the Manhattan skyline, leading the establishment to become one of the most Instagrammed restaurants in America. Next up: Blend Williamsburg, scheduled to open by fall 2022. Cueva says success in the restaurant business comes from focusing on quality. “When people come to one of my restaurants, they don’t care that I’m Latin. What they care about is the food and the presentation,” he says. “If you have something good, they’re going to keep coming.” The Cooking Show Host: Derrell Smith E ven when he didn’t know what he was doing, Derrell Smith ’10 was a confident cook. He recounts making dinner for a date at Syracuse University and cooking fried chicken for the first time. “It was golden brown, like something out of Bon Appetit,” he says. “But when we bit into it, it was raw.” Today, the former NFL linebacker is a chef, food entrepreneur and influencer, with a popular cooking show, Mad Good Food, on the Tastemade streaming network that showcases his personality and culinary skills demonstrating meals full of flavor and culture. He’s also CEO of 99Eats, a virtual culinary brand with a mission to connect people through food, content and experiences. “Food is how I express myself,” he says. Smith attended Syracuse on a football scholarship and majored in information management and marketing. A two-time All-Big East performer at linebacker and team captain, he used his final season of eligibility to start a master’s in advertising at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. He went on to play two years in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Houston Texans, coming back to Syracuse in the off­season to complete the master’s and trying to perfect recipes for the quintessential meatballs and sauce in his down time. After suffering a career-ending neck injury, Smith went to work in advertising in New York City. At the suggestion of a friend, he entered the Brooklyn Meatball Takedown. Using the recipe he’d developed at Syracuse, he won the competition. With no formal food training, he began running a pop-up stand on the weekends selling meatballs at Smorgasburg in Brooklyn, the country’s largest open-air food market. “I’d never cooked for more than 10 people in my life, and here I was cooking for thousands,” he says. “I was buying my ingredients at the grocery store and paying crazy amounts of money. But I would sell out every weekend.” When his entire department was laid off, Smith made a career pivot to focus on cooking full time, augmenting his meatball sales with corporate catering. He’d been at it for about a year when he was approached to film a demo for a new production kitchen opening in Brooklyn. “They brought me in to be like a big, Black, Rachael Ray,” he says. “I stood in front of a crowd and taught cooking classes each week, practicing different dishes that I’d never made in my life. I got paid, but I also owned the footage.” Those segments went up on YouTube, which led to his current gig on Tastemade, the perfect pandemic career while people were stuck at home cooking for themselves. “I have a natural ability to be charismatic, and I’m an extremely hard worker,” says Smith, a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity who sits on the young advisory council for the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse. He has no doubt there are bigger outlets in his future, as both a chef and TV personality. “I took my own path to spread love through food,” he says. “I’m very optimistic about what’s next.” SPRING 2022 | 5 The Mobile Chef: Jossette Burgos n a Saturday afternoon in May 2020, Chef Jossette “Josie” Burgos ’09, G’17 was streamed into the homes Oof alumni across the country, sharing how to prepare Spanish, adding ‘ita’ to a word means ‘little one,’ so I’m like the little Elba,” she says. It was growing up in her grandmother’s kitchen that inspired one of her favorite Puerto Rican meals, pepper steak with onions, Burgos’ love for cooking. “Just the warm, fuzzy feeling watching yellow rice with pigeon peas and fried green plantains. Many her cooking and then everybody fighting over her food because were cooking right along with her. it tastes so good,” she recalls. “Lockdown Cooking” was sponsored by the Office of Burgos and her husband had invested in the food truck just Multicultural Advancement as part of its Virtual Connection before the pandemic hit. For a year, it sat dormant while she Series. For Burgos, whose catering business had come to a halt focused on home-schooling her kids. Now, the Elbita’s Cucina with the lockdown, it was an opportunity to share her style of truck is booked solid, both at food truck rodeos sponsored cooking and her Puerto Rican culture. by the Syracuse Food Truck Association and by individual That love is at the center of her business, Elbita’s Cucina, a businesses and neighborhoods. “We’ve built a following,” she food truck and catering enterprise, which two years after the says. “It got to the point where our calendar was getting so full onset of the pandemic, is thriving. The business name is an that we had to turn people away, which is a great thing.” In the homage to her mother and grandmother, both named Elba. “In winter months, she focuses on catering jobs. For years, Burgos worked at Syracuse University, both in the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Community Folk Art Center (CFAC), where she frequently brought in her Puerto Rican cooking to share with co-workers. In 2014, she was presented with the opportunity to cater an event at CFAC, prompting her to get a catering license. That job led to the next, and a part-time business was born. The following year, she met her husband, Walwyn Jackson Jr., who shared her love for food and cooking. She incorporated dishes from her husband’s African American family into her repertoire. The couple began doing pop-up events around Syracuse and Auburn, shoving a 10-by-10 tent, cook top, fryer and a mini fridge into his minivan each weekend, says Burgos, a member of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority. “It was backbreaking,” she says. In 2019, they invested in a food truck. Burgos, then working at a Syracuse nonprofit, left her job to focus solely on launching the truck business, drawing from her Syracuse MBA to develop her business plan, branding and marketing. When she started, she had the only Puerto Rican food truck in Syracuse. Two years later, there are four. “I’m happy to be one of them,” Burgos says. “Competition is a good thing. It keeps us all on our toes and opens doors to better dishes.” Walwyn Jackson Jr. and Josette Burgos ’09, G’17 with Otto Expanding A Brand: Kenny Brown K enny Brown ’89 first experienced the magic of Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, on Martha’s Vineyard, in August 2017, at a Coming Back Together gathering sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Advancement. “My first thought was that I would love to do business here,” he recalls. In July 2020, Brown opened Sarah Brown’s Comfort Food in Oak Bluffs, an outgrowth of his family’s successful 50-year catering business based on Long Island. Due to the timing of the pandemic, the restaurant launched as a takeout business. Originally planned with an upscale Southern menu in mind, the venue quickly gained a reputation for its fried chicken. “Within two weeks, we were the chicken spot,” says Brown. Once dining restrictions eased, the restaurant became a hot spot on Circuit Avenue. Many Oak Bluffs’ vacationers from the New York area were familiar with Sarah Brown Catering, started by Brown’s South Carolina-born mother, who honed her cooking skills as both a domestic and restaurant cook. As a young mother, she launched her catering business in 1968, growing the business from her home kitchen to a commercial kitchen and warehouse facility, becoming one of the most sought-after caterers in the Tri-State area. Brown grew up in the business, washing pots and pans from an early age. After earning a degree in economics from Syracuse University, he took over the management side of the company. He later earned an MBA from Baruch College and a doctorate in business administration from Walden University. While the pandemic might not be viewed as the ideal situation for opening a restaurant, for Brown it was perfect timing because large-scale catering was at a standstill. “Our business model for catering was dependent on large gatherings,” he says. “There were basically no big weddings, bar mitzvahs or anniversary parties in 2020 or 2021, so it gave me the opportunity to solely focus on this new venture.” Sarah Brown’s Comfort Food is open seasonally from April to November. Many of the dishes served are based on Sarah Brown’s original recipes. The business is a family affair. Brown’s three children work at the restaurant, his nephew is the cook, and a niece is the baker. His mother, 87, is the face of the establishment and still likes to “crack the whip,” Brown says. As the pandemic eases and social gatherings increase, Brown hopes to extend the catering business to Oak Bluffs, where he now owns a home. “This is such a magical place, where people come from all over the country, all over the world,” he says. “It’s really provided a different exposure for our brand.” SPRING 2022 | 7 The Sommelier: Cha McCoy O ne of the hottest draws at this year’s Charleston Wine + Food Festival was a high-end dinner experience hosted by sommelier Cha McCoy ’07. Held at the freestanding bar of the award-winning restaurant Husk, the exclusive dinner focused on the history of Madeira in the Lowcountry. “During the 18th and 19th centuries, Charleston was the Madeira-consuming capital of America,” says McCoy, who paid homage to the popular Madeira clubs of the Lowcountry and the Black hands that served at them. McCoy served as beverage director for the annual festival, charged with programming “beverage moments” for 125 events, ranging from 30 to 1,500 participants. It was a plum assignment for McCoy, who has carved her own niche as a Black woman in a field dominated by white men. In that role as in others, it was her personal mission to make wine more accessible and inclusive for people of color and women. “I do all of this to bring us closer to each other through wine,” she says. The dinner was the latest incarnation of The Communion, a series of pop-up wine-dinner experiences that McCoy began 8 | SYRACUSE MANUSCRIPT in her Harlem apartment in 2017 and has since held in five countries around the globe. It began when she was unsuccessful at finding a job as a sommelier—someone who works as a wine steward in a restaurant—while studying for wine exams. “To quote Shirley Chisholm, ‘If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring in a folding chair,’” she says. “I stopped asking and started creating my own opportunities.” McCoy went on to earn the Certified Sommelier distinction from the Court of The Master Sommeliers and founded Cha Squared Experiences, a consulting company focused on beverage programming for tourism, education and hospitality events. She is a brand ambassador for the New York Wine and Grape Association. She also recently returned to Syracuse University to share her knowledge and passion for the beverage industry as an adjunct professor at Syracuse University’s David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, where she teaches a weekly class on wine and beer appreciation in the Department of Food Studies. In February, the Alpha Kappa Alpha hosted a virtual wine tasting for alumni through the Office for Multicultural Advancement. It’s an unlikely career for someone who started out as an engineer. A Harlem native, McCoy earned an undergraduate degree in civil engineering from Syracuse University and worked as a construction manager in New York City for a decade. While studying for an MBA in international finance in Rome, McCoy enjoyed traveling to wineries in the area. “I felt intimidated by wine, which I think many people do, so I started to read and study about it to be a more informed consumer,” says McCoy. The more she learned, the more her passion grew. Finishing up the MBA back in the States, McCoy got a part-time job in a wine store near her home, which exposed her to wine from regions outside of Italy and also to the business of wine, importers, distributors and sommeliers. Eventually, McCoy began studying for and taking the sommelier exams and earned the coveted title of 40 under 40 by Wine Enthusiast magazine in 2019. From there, she landed the role as sommelier at a Michelin-star restaurant in Lisbon, Portugal, and since the pandemic, splits her time between Portugal and the Finger Lakes wine region of New York. McCoy’s mission is to spread the joy of great wine to people who may have felt intimidated or excluded. Late this spring, she will fulfill a dream when she opens The Communion Wine and Spirits in downtown Syracuse. “I went from civil engineering to social engineering,” she says. “Wine is just my vessel.” The Experience Maker: Tony Martinez F or more than 20 years, Tony Martinez ’87 ran a boutique marketing company producing high-end special events for clients ranging from Moet Hennessy and Pepsi to Microsoft, coinciding with events such as the Super Bowl, Latin Grammys and NBA All-Star Game. He says he built his reputation by creating memorable experiences that stimulated the five senses through food, drink, lighting, sound and visuals. Now he’s drawing on that background in his first restaurant venture, BarrioBX. “It’s more than food,” Martinez says. “It’s a dining experience and a hub for the community.” Martinez and a partner opened the Puerto Rican restaurant in the Bronx in September 2020. While he takes pride in the beautifully presented authentic cuisine and the creative, curated cocktails, he set out to make the destination a celebration of Puerto Rican culture. “As individuals and owners, we are people who stand for racial and social justice around the world, including the liberation of Puerto Rico,” he says. Artwork on the walls features Puerto Rican activist Pedro Albizu Campos and the original Puerto Rican flag, which was banned by the U.S. government. Once a month, the restaurant features a band playing bomba, traditional Afro-Puerto Rican music. “It’s a music of resistance,” says Martinez. In February, the restaurant kicked off the BarrioBX Book Club, featuring a discussion of Notes on the Return to the Island by Bonafide Rojas. “We had 30 people sign up within two days of announcing it,” he says. “I’m happy to provide a platform to educate people about their culture.” The experience hasn’t been without hiccups. The restaurant was scheduled to open in March 2020. Then the pandemic hit, prompting a nationwide shutdown. “I was scared,” Martinez says. “I had just invested all this money.” Instead, he and his business partner took the summer to build an outdoor dining area, opening in September with only outdoor seating and takeout, gradually opening for indoor dining based on New York City COVID guidelines. The restaurant wasn’t able to open at 100% capacity until June 2021. But Martinez says his connections have paid off, particularly relationships with well-known DJs such as Tony Touch and Kool DJ Red Alert, who have played his space, attracting their following as patrons of his restaurant. And he’s thankful to his Syracuse Kappa Alpha Psi brothers, who hosted their Founder’s Day at the establishment. “My Syracuse network is outstanding,” he says. “Every day there is someone here from my days at Syracuse.” SPRING 2022 | 9 Mariama Jalloh F or Syracuse University students graduating in 2021, the necessity of having a virtual Commencement may have been a disappointment. But for broadcast and digital journalism student Mariama Jalloh ’22, who was tapped to serve as co-host of the broadcast, it provided an opportunity to practice her skills in front of a viewership of thousands. “It was a very fun experience,” she says. “I thought I was good at what I do, but to have the affirmation of being chosen to be on such a big stage really solidified a true belief in my abilities.” Jalloh has dreamed of a career in journalism for years. “As a child I asked a lot of questions and was called nosy. But my dad said, ‘She’s not nosy, she’s just curious,’ and started calling me ‘the little journalist,’” Jalloh recalls. Attending high school in Berks County, Pennsylvania, Jalloh split her day between a conventional high school and a technical school, where she studied the production side of communications media. A teacher there recommended the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. Jalloh applied but didn’t receive enough financial aid to make tuition affordable. She spent a year at a local community college focused on earning the highest GPA possible. When she applied to Syracuse for her sophomore year, she was awarded a full scholarship. As a junior, Jalloh received additional assistance from the Our Time Has Come (OTHC) Scholarship Fund, receiving the Angela Y. Robinson Scholarship. In addition to the funds, the first-generation student was grateful to receive mentorship from Robinson herself, a seasoned Atlanta journalist now serving as director of operations for the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ). “I was able to meet her in person at the Coming Back Together reunion, and she introduced me to so many people to help me get my foot in the door,” Jalloh says. Becoming part of OTHC helped Jalloh achieve one of her major goals for her college experience—experiencing more diversity and Black culture among her peers. “My high school was predominantly white, so I wanted to take advantage of experiencing something different,” she says. Jalloh joined the African Student Union, the student chapter of the NABJ, and served as a Newhouse Ambassador. She also volunteered with the Juvenile Urban Multicultural Program, J.U.M.P. Nation, which mentors underprivileged high school students. As a senior, Jalloh is working as a videographer for The Daily Orange and is focused on broadcast opportunities to help her create her demo reel to get job interviews. She hopes to land an internship after graduation that will lead to a position as a TV reporter. Her ambition is to become a news anchor. “I want to tell stories that others are afraid to put out there, to be a voice for the voiceless,” says Jalloh. “That’s my goal.” Diego Luna D iego Luna ’22 was attracted to Syracuse University for its reputation as a major research institution. During his four years, he’s taken advantage of numerous undergraduate research opportunities and will graduate as an entrepreneur, having created the idea for his own startup. Luna X is a method for data analytics. “Every scientist has to look at their data and analyze it,” says Luna. It was while analyzing data sets for a research project that he came up with a process for searching key words in a large data set of papers or information. He realized it could have practical applications as well as scientific. “For instance, a business interested in expansion might want to know the fastest growing neighborhoods with the greatest income. You can use existing data, such as from the IRS, Census Bureau or what can be purchased from a third-party company and run a statistical analysis test and predictive forecasting for the desired information,” he explains. Luna had a relative with a small business back home in Brownsville, Texas, who wanted help analyzing some data. He put Luna X to the test and it worked. Luna worked with Blackstone LaunchPad at Syracuse University Libraries, the University’s student business incubator, which helped point him toward business development competitions and potential investors. After graduation, he plans to gain industry experience in a consulting or engineering capacity before trying to build out Luna X as a business. “I think it has huge potential,” he says. Luna came to Syracuse as a biology major planning to pursue medicine. Some hands-on experiences made him realize that was not the career for him. He switched to biotechnology, a field he believes is more suited to industry. He’s had the opportunity to work in two research labs while an undergraduate: the Althoff and Segraves Lab, where he conducted evolutionary biology research on yucca plants; and the Ross Lab, conducting biophysics research on the physical mechanisms behind how cells and proteins work. Luna particularly valued lab meetings and the ability to listen to professors and graduate students discuss the research. “I got to see critical thinking at its highest. Sometimes they would try to solve problems with very out-of-the-box ideas, yet they would work,” he says. “That experience is extremely useful in terms of applying it to real-world skills, because everyone is going to have meetings and have to find how to get your idea across in the most efficient manner.” But Luna isn’t all work and no play. He serves as vice president of the Syracuse Pride Union and counts participating in a Drag Race as a highlight of his college experience. “Being from a Mexican family in Texas, putting on a dress and makeup and performing for a crowd is just not something that would happen,” he says. “Having the freedom to experience that here was really great and a high.” An Our Time Has Come Scholar (OTHC) since his junior year, Luna says he values the friendships made and mentors gained from the program, specifically Alister Murray Sr., the father of one of his OTHC classmates, who is a tech executive at BNY Mellon and advised him on his startup. “He gave me some key advice and valuable knowledge,” says Luna. “Sometimes you have to take a step back from your primary goal and take an introspective look at why you’re doing what you’re doing,” he says. “It’s important to make sure you’re also having fun.” Alister Murray Jr. A s a teenager who enjoyed online gaming, Alister Murray Jr. ’22 learned firsthand the havoc that hackers can wreak. “The online gaming community can be pretty toxic,” says Murray. Winning a game, for example, might anger an opponent, whose response is to initiate a denial-of-service attack on his router, rendering it inaccessible. “I had to explain to my parents why they couldn’t access the Internet. I learned the hard way how to prevent that from happening by using a VPN [virtual private network].” That experience sparked an interest in computer technology and cybersecurity. Murray knew he wanted to attend Syracuse University, having enjoyed family weekends on campus as a youngster when his aunt, Cathy Williams ’13, was an undergraduate. At Syracuse, Murray has majored in information management technology with a concentration in cybersecurity and has been involved with the University’s cybersecurity club. Last summer, he got the chance to try his own hand as a malicious actor during a virtual internship for BNY Mellon. “My role was to serve as a penetration tester, basically, testing computer applications within the company for vulnerabilities to make sure they are working correctly and can’t be exploited by outside users,” says Murray. Post-graduation, Murray will begin work as a cyber analyst for Deloitte, working in the consulting firm’s government and public services and risk and financial advisory groups. “I’m extremely excited about this opportunity and can’t wait to get started later this year,” he says. Outside the classroom, Murray has an online business on the Discord platform selling clothing with custom graphics for gamers. “It’s a fun way to combine my interest in gaming with my skill for graphic design,” he says. “At this point I’m more into the graphic design than the gaming.” He also enjoys playing basketball with friends at the Barnes Center at the Arch. Murray was a WellsLink Scholar and is a recipient of the David Bing Scholarship within the Our Time Has Come (OTHC) Scholarship Program. “My brother is just a year younger than I am and a student at Howard University, so having the scholarship helps relieve some of my parents’ tuition burden,” he says. Murray also appreciates being part of the OTHC community. “It’s nice to have a group of like-minded Black and brown students and have a common space to share things we might not feel comfortable sharing within the larger campus community,” he says. “I thank Angela Morales-Patterson and Maria Lopez for such an enjoyable experience in OTHC.” Nathena Murray L ike all pre-medicine students, Nathena Murray ’22 had heard the horror stories about organic chemistry. The difficulty of the course was reinforced on her first day of class when the professor stressed the amount of effort required, advising students “not to let the material run you, but you run the material,” she recalls. Murray took that to heart, and, in throwing herself into her studies, discovered she loved the subject matter. “Instead of just memorizing, organic chemistry challenges you to understand core concepts so that they can tackle any problem thrown at you.” Murray changed her major from biology to medicinal chemistry and neuroscience. She is particularly interested in drug delivery and worked as a research assistant in the lab of Shikha Nangia, associate professor of biomedical and chemical engineering, focusing on designing new biomaterials using lipid-dated disordered proteins, the subject of her honors thesis. “These are biomaterials that would aid in the efficiency of drug delivery, which involves running a lot of computer simulations,” she says. Despite a demanding course and research load, Murray has been actively involved in the Syracuse University community and beyond during her time as a student. A WellsLink Scholar her first year, Murray now serves as a mentor for the program, advising five students to help them succeed academically and socially as they adjust to Syracuse. She held a leadership role with the Juvenile Urban Multicultural Program, J.U.M.P. Nation, working with local students to combat the high school dropout rate, and volunteers weekly at the Rahma Health Clinic, which provides free health care to uninsured, underinsured and underserved, and with the Eastern Farm Workers Association, an advocacy group that assists farm-based and other low-income workers. As a Remembrance Scholar, she served on the volunteer committee that helped plan a University-wide clothing donation drive for Afghan refugees. “My family is very community-driven,” says Murray, who grew up in Ossining, New York. “My involvements reflect my upbringing, my core beliefs as an individual and the kind of future I hope to have.” In January, Syracuse University honored Murray with a 2022 Unsung Hero Award, awarded to individuals who have made positive impacts on the lives of others but are not widely recognized for their contributions. “I don’t really look for recognition,” Murray says. “I’m not building a resume. I think my actions speak to my character and my authentic interest in helping others.” The award was a high point of her college experience. Another occurred in September 2021, when she was tapped to serve as a student host to Robert Hill, founder of the office that became multicultural advancement, during the Coming Back Together reunion. “He had a wealth of knowledge about the University and so many interesting stories,” says Murray. “It’s an opportunity I never would have had without the Our Time Has Come (OTHC) Scholarship Program. An OTHC Scholar since her sophomore year, Murray says the program has had an overwhelming impact on her college experience. “OTHC has given me an amazing network of peers and connected me with alumni who have advised me on potential next steps after graduation, all while supporting me financially,” she says. Murray, who is a licensed EMT, is hoping to matriculate in medical school in 2024. “I couldn’t juggle studying for the MCAT with everything else, so I’m focusing on that after graduation,” she says. “My goal right now is to become a physician working in a community health setting.” Bethanya Philipos T he COVID-19 pandemic has changed the workforce and the way work is performed in unimaginable ways. Bethanya Philipos ’22 thinks this might only be the beginning. “I’m very interested in the future of work,” says the psychology major with an information management and technology minor. “Work is going to really be technology-driven. There are so many emerging technologies, and we’re already seeing some of that now, especially with how fast we’ve had to adapt to a virtual work world.” For the past year, Philipos has been a member of the Digital Research Work Group, an iSchool initiative focusing on the intersection of changes in work, information technologies and new ways of organizing. “It’s a research group composed of undergrads and Ph.D. students, and we’re looking at the new ways of organizing digitalization and the future of work,” she explains. “We interview freelancers about their work patterns and have been analyzing their shifts and progress doing virtual work from pre-pandemic to post-pandemic. We’re also looking at social factors, such as the differences in race and gender. As a person of color, that aspect is particularly interesting to me.” Philipos says the experience helped her land a consulting job with Deloitte. After graduation, she joins the New York City office as a strategy analyst. “I think consulting is such a dynamic career. Every project is different and you experience different businesses with different needs,” she says. “I can get bored easily and knew I did not want to work in a space that was the same every day. I like things that are diverse and changing.” Philipos, from Burnsville, Minnesota, says it took her some time to find the right path. She came into Syracuse University as a health and exercise science major. She later switched to psychology with the intent to pursue a doctorate in clinical psychology and become a licensed psychologist. Ultimately, she realized her real interest was in organizational behavior, particularly as it relates to business and technology. She recently shared her experiences as a Black woman in STEM at Syracuse as a panelist in a program sponsored by Wise Women of Color, an organization for science, technology, engineering and math students. “My undergrad career was a bit of a roller coaster in terms of finding a direction, so I thought it might be helpful to others,” says Philipos, who is also active in the African Student Union. An Our Time Has Come Scholar, Philipos says she received invaluable guidance from her OTHC mentor, Tara Brown Favors ’95, who has led human resources at organizations including Morgan Stanley, American Express and Mutual of America Financial Group. “She has been so helpful in helping me find my passion and guiding my career search,” says Philipos. “We still talk weekly.” She applied to the OTHC program as an incoming first-year student and says she’s not sure how she would have navigated the college experience without it. “My parents are from Ethiopia. I’m a first-generation college student and the oldest child in my family, so there was no one with personal experience to guide me,” says Philipos. “It really changed my life because it was a source of guidance and support and like-minded people who understood what was going on. It provided a safe space for me.” Mena Sawyer L ast August, Mena Sawyer ’22 served as the teaching assistant for a week-long intensive negotiation course at the Syracuse University College of Law. She helped with presentations of hands-on negotiations and served as a liaison between law students and their professor. It would have been an interesting experience for any student looking toward a career in law, but even moreso given the professor: Syracuse Chancellor Kent Syverud. “It was a really unique experience I was lucky to have,” says Sawyer, a double major in political science and policy studies with a minor in African American studies. Sawyer was introduced to Chancellor Syverud by William Coplin, head of the policy studies program. Syverud began his career in law and is a former law school dean at both Vanderbilt University and Washington University in St. Louis. After a few conversations, Syverud invited Sawyer to assist with the course that he teaches each summer. It only reinforced her intended career path. Sawyer says she came to college with two goals: to prepare for a career as a lawyer and to help younger students of color on a path to success. As a junior, Sawyer worked with a friend to re-establish a pre-law chapter of the National Black Law Students Association, which had gone dormant after her first year when all of the leadership graduated. She’s served as vice president for two years. “It was important to me get the organization back on campus and active,” she says. “I consider that my legacy.” She was honored for her efforts with the 2021 Black Excellence Pre-Law Award from Syracuse University Law School Black Law Students Association. Sawyer aspires to a career as a civil rights litigator. She’s applied to law schools and is beginning to receive responses, knowing at this point that she will be attending law school somewhere next fall. Not one to rest on her laurels, Sawyer spent her final semester as a virtual intern with the Center for Reproductive Rights. “It’s hard to get legal-related internships as an undergrad, so I felt this was a good opportunity. It allows me to gain some professional experience while contributing to a meaningful cause. Advocacy and giving back are things I’m very passionate about,” she says. That’s evident in her many efforts to help younger students of color. Sawyer spent her first two years at Syracuse tutoring elementary school students at Syracuse-area Boys & Girls Clubs. A WellsLink Scholar as a first-year student, Sawyer served as a mentor in her sophomore year, working with five first-year students to help them adjust academically and socially to the University. She served as the director of outreach and a mentor for the Syracuse chapter of the You Can Too program, which matches colleges students of color with Black and Latino/a high school students for weekly mentorship and assistance on the college application process. “I worked with a student who lived in St. Louis,” she says. Sawyer feels fortunate to have received her own mentoring through the Our Time Has Come Scholarship Program. “The program has been a great way for me to connect with alumni of color in the legal field,” she says. “I have definitely made use of that network and also appreciate the leadership training and scholarship support we received. I can’t wait to put it to use.” Our Time SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM Gifts made in 2021 GIVING LEVEL OF $100,000 - $249,999 Candice Carnage ’90 GIVING LEVEL OF $25,000 - $49,999 Ada Agrait ’94 and Timothy Rossmeissl Benevity Tara Favors ’95 and Dale Favors Juvare LLC GIVING LEVEL OF $10,000 -$24,999 Rosalyn Allman-Manning ’75 Sharon Brangman ’77 and Charlie Lester ’81 Corine Clemons and John Clemons ’76 CyberGrants Inc. Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund Linda Fuller ’76 Lynette Hall ’89 and Millard Hall ’88 Shirley Harrison ’73 Jeanne Henriques and Peter Henriques ’80 Dakota Holman ’83 and Victor Holman ’82 Gisele Marcus ’89 Microsoft Corporation Fatimah Moody ’90 and Keith Moody ’89 Anthony Morgan ’81 Shawn Outler ’89 Shelia Payton ’70 Brenda Stith-Finch ’75 Gwynne Wilcox ’74 GIVING LEVEL OF $5,000 -$9,999 American Express Foundation David Arnold ’81 L. Kelly Atkinson ’79 Bank of America Charitable Foundation Mariama Boney ’96 and Anthony Townes Angel Broadnax and Walter Broadnax ’75 Candace Campbell Jackson and Mark Jackson Jose Cano and Wanda Garraway ’88 Alicia Carroll ’88 Lisa Cohen and Vincent Cohen ’92 Felicia Collins Ocumarez ’98 Delta Beta Executive Alumni Foundation Wesley Dias ’74 and Joyce Willis Tina Eskridge ’95 EY James Givens and Lisa Givens Stacey Hamilton ’89 Alan Hinkley ’90 and Maria Melendez Hinkley ’89 Melissa Holloway ’91 Patricia Hurlock ’85 ImpactAssets JaNeika James ’05 Jasheika James Kathleen Kahan ’82 and Scott Kahan ’81 Lockheed Martin Corporation Ana McKee and Theodore McKee ’75 Kisha Miller ’93 Hyacinth Mills and Jason Mills ’95 National Grid USA Ernest Newborn and Josephine Stovall-Newborn Jeannette Piña ’96 Jordan Pynes ’98 and Sahara Pynes ’98 Phaedra Stewart ’91 Strada Education Network Charles Willis ’90 Dianne Willis and John Willis ’87 Tyrone Woodyard ’85 Heather Keets Wright ’92 and Mark Wright GIVING LEVEL OF $1,000-$4,999 Debra Adams Simmons ’86 and Jonathan Simmons AIG American Endowment Foundation American Express PAC Match Anonymous Donor Richard Appiah ’96 and Marsha Style Appiah ’00 Lydia Aquino ’03 Liany Arroyo and Jesse Mejia ’97 AT&T Foundation Therese Banks Michael Barbosa ’96 Sharon Barner ’79 and Haywood McDuffie Marjory Baruch ’92 and Wu-Teh Hsiang Michael Bell ’79 Nkenge Bergan ’95 and Sean Bergan Bernadette Biggs ’85 Robert Blair ’83 Justin Blount ’93 Kenyon Bonner and Sylvana Bonner ’96 Lisa Brabham ’87 Debra Bright ’91 Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation Lori Britton ’92 and Milton Britton David Brooks ’82 and Beatrice Harris-Brooks Kenneth Brown ’89 and Deirdre Foreman Richard Brown ’81 and Donna Wilson Dawn Butler ’74 Valerie Cabrera and Richard Goldberg Barry Callender ’82 and Jennifer Callender Jamel Canty ’96 Jimmy Ceballos ’14 and Angie Toribio ’14 Rakeem Christmas ’14 and Jasmine Jordan-Christmas ’14 CNY Impalas Track Club LaVerne Collins ’80 Jose Cruz ’99 Zhamyr Cueva ’93 Tenzer Cunningham ’74 Colin Danville ’80 and Jenice View ’80 Mark Darrell ’79 and Vivian Darrell ’80 Andrew Dawson ’79 and Katrina Dawson Ramon DeLaCruz ’10 Nevil Dhabhar ’90 Richard Dillon ’88 Bill Dorante ’83 and Jacqueline Dorante ’84 Has Come DeChane Dorsey ’91 Danielle Douglas ’88 Stephanie Dyer ’74 Barbara Edouard ’95 Dielka Edwards ’91 and Joseph Edwards ’84 Michele Edwards and Robert Edwards ’85 Waldo Escolastico ’93 Alonzo Etheredge ’85 Michael Fauntroy and Lisa Williams-Fauntroy ’91 Charles Flack ’88 Lawrence Ford ’80 Friends of Multicultural Advancement Friends of Syracuse University Leonard Garner ’74 and Robin Garner Pia Gero ’86 Archie Gilchrist ’75 Frances Gonzalez ’13 Gloria Gonzalez ’98 Google Inc. June Grant ’87 Sonya Grant ’94 Denise Gray ’97 Andrea Green and James Green Camille Green and Jared Green ’01 Robert Gregg Felicia Griffin ’95 Kimberly Harris ’88 Natalie Harris Samaria Harris-Pitts ’83 and Michael Pitts Avon Hart-Johnson and Geoffrey Johnson ’78 Ronald Harvey ’12 Desmond Havlicek and Jennifer Havlicek Jacquenette Helmes ’91 and Mark Hughes Felicia Horn ’95 IBM Corporation Matching Grants Division Chino Ingram and Evelyn Ingram ’90 Intel Foundation ITW Foundation Stephanie Ivory Pamela Jackson ’97 Robin Jacobs-Yanthis ’75 and George Yanthis ’74 David Johnson ’73 and Ella Johnson ’72 Keith Johnson ’89 and Lisa Johnson Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies Shashi Johri ’98 Brian Jones ’88 and Terri Jones Laraine Jones ‘75 and Rufus Jones ‘75 JPMorgan Chase & Company Alfreida Kenny ’72 Meredith Keough ’93 and Robert Keough ’93 Michel Khalaf ’85 Celia King ’82 and Leonard Robbins ’95 Lisa Lattimore ’91 and Todd Lattimore Lawrence Lepard and Susan Lepard Lisa Lewis ’92 Jocelyn Lindsay ’24 DeBorah Little ’14 Janice Long ’87 John Lough ’02 and Katy Lough ’03 LaQuawn Loving ’09 LaTisha Marshall ’98 and Rasheed Marshall ’97 Digna Marte ’95 and Jason Martin MassMutual Life Insurance Clarence McGill ’72 and Evelyn McGill McGill Inc. T/A Natural Rhythm Trevor McKenzie ’86 Brandon Medina ’14 Medtronic Foundation Chandra Merritt and Hope Merritt ’96 Ginger Merritt Lia Miller ’99 and Johnnie Spicer Freddy Morales ’97 Ferlanda Nixon ’85 and Milford Nixon Nordstrom Jason Olivo ’95 Gezzer Ortega ’03 Oluwaleke Osinubi ’01 Philip Parker ’80 and Tammy Parker ’84 Doris Parris ’85 Donna Pearson and Walton Pearson Myles Pearson ’23 Raymond Perez ’20 Cyrille Phipps ’88 LaShon Pitter ’97 Kellie Porter ’99 Lisa Postell ’87 Elegear Primus ’83 and Sharon Primus Prudential Community Giving Program Gregory Raimann and Monica Raimann Juan Ramirez ’96 and Adriana Arahuete Samuel Ramirez ’10 Patrick Ramos ’10 Kira Reed Della Richardson ’89 Johansy Richardson and Kevin Richardson ’20 Theresa Rivera ’86 Deirdre Robinson ’82 and William Robinson Tania Robinson ’99 and Curtis Williams Michael Rosero ’98 Meka Sales ’94 and Michael Sales Steve Sallion ’88 Matthew Sanders ’03 Sarah Brown Catering Cesar Saravia ’12 Camille Simpson ’96 Stephen Smyk ’92 Richard Spears ’84 and Sheri Spears Ann St. Germain ’82 and David St. Germain ’83 Michael Starr ’89 Charles Stevens ’92 and Jennifer Stevens Kymberly Terry ’88 Bettie Thompson ’71 Jennifer Turner ’96 United Way of Central & Northeastern Connecticut United Way of Rhode Island Don Vassel ’89 and Rachel Vassel ’91, G’21 Carlos Verni ’11 SPRING 2022 | 17 Our Time SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM Gifts made in 2021 Michelle Waites ’84 and April Holder Rachel Williams ’04 Dianna Crawford Wilson ’87 YourCause GIVING LEVEL OF $500 - $999 Yolanda Arrington ’00 Tanya Ash ’91 Maliek Ball ’98 and Tamekia Flowers-Ball ’97 Renard Barnes ’87 and Tiffani Johnson Barnes ’89 Danielle Beidleman ’97 Jasmine Bellamy ’92 Dominick Bioh ’92 and Cynthia Robinson-Bioh Augusta Bolles ’71 and James Walsh Victor Bosier and Tanya Jones Bosier ’95 James Breed and Bianca Caiella Breed Lori Brown ’89 and Sanford Brown ’89 Christine Clancy and Eric Gerstenberg ’90 Colgate-Palmolive Company Alphonso Collins ’84 and Kim Lewis-Collins ’84 Jermie Cozart ’97 Martin Davis ’78 and Michelle Walker-Davis ’83 Katherine Dawes ’90 and Barry Lucas Valerie Daye ’85 Nannette Diacovo ’85 Ingrid DiMarzo ’94 Wendell Domon Brianna Downing ’99 and Gregory Downing Tamara Dukes ’93 Martha Elliott ’71 Laura Enslin and Robert Enslin Ivelisse Fairchild Taharka Farrell ’07 and Ingrid Myrie ’94 Fidelity Foundation James Fletcher ’75 and Carol Grant Aaron Foster and Niesha Foster ’94 Deborah Foster ’75 and Leon Foster Jason Foy ’91 Michele Frank ’89 and Craig Smith Frontstream Dana Gabuzda and Bruce Yankner Amos Gainey and Lynne Gainey ’81 Angela Gascho ’91 Kim Gatewood ’89 Crystal George ’84 Nicholas George ’20 Karisma Gilmore ’95 and Terrance Gilmore Harold Gordon and Lisa Gordon ’90 Connie Grant ’87 Joseph Greenidge ’86 Kwame Griffith and Patricia Leon-Guerrero ’04 Jose Guzman ’14 Deborah Harris ’84 Nkenge Hewitt ’92 Dawn Hobdy ’90 and Darryl Washington ’87 Reba Hodge ’02 HSBC Kadidra Hurst ’99 and Taz Hurst Intercontinental Exchange Chinemere Iregbulem-McGrath ’95 Jacqueline Jacobs ’98 Michael James ’94 and Carla Miller-James Hervens Jeannis ’09 Todd Jenkins and Venida Rodman Jenkins ’94 Jodie Johnson ’94 and Torry Johnson ’94 Juleen Johnson ’07 Milton Johnson ’83 and Rebecca Johnson ’82 Kenneth Kellner ’60 Ashley Keyes ’14 Tiffany Kirkland and Ryan Williams Pamela Kirwin Heintz ’91, G’08 Gilda Lambert ’69 Martin Lariviere and Monica Russel-Rodriguez Dana Lester ’95 and Timothy Lester ’99 Felix Lloyd ’98 and Jordan Lloyd Bookey Conor Lyons Richard Manigault ’83 Walter Marable ’93 Clement Mbote ’92 Monique McNeil ’94 Christopher Migneron ’98 and Kathleen Migneron ’93 Allison Mitchell ’08 Rochelle Moorehead ’87 Natalie Moreno Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Michele Murdock ’85 and Paul Murdock ’85 Larrin Orellana ’94 Michael Page Shannel Parker ’99 Donna Ponder ’87 Catherine Poteat ’90 and Chris Poteat Oliver Quinn ’72 Heidi Ramirez ’96 Stephanie Ramsey ’95 Shamara Ray ’97 Michele Richardson ’00 Kelly Robinson ’06 Wilfredo Ruiz ’99 Salesforce.org Foundation Francisco Salgado Almirca Santiago ’06 Martha Scales and Peter Scales ’71 Debra Hamilton Schoening ’81 and Kenneth Schoening ’05 Chelsea Scott ’08 Alexander Sepulveda ’93 and Delta Sepulveda Donna Smith ’91 Nehemiah Solomon Gwendolyn Sparks ’85 Monica Suzara and Ruben Suzara ’19 Jamella Swift ’93 Syracuse 8 LLC Bryan Tardif and Carla Tardif ’90 Michelle Tomlinson ’97 and Troy Tomlinson ’97 Carlos Velazquez ’02 Verizon Foundation Has Come Arlene Vital ’96 Anthony Bennia ’73 Melanie Crawford ’94 Seana Watts ’95 Tim Bentham Shari Crittendon ’84 Matthew Whelton ’94 Patricia Benton Theresa Cross ’99 Nila Williams ’96 Arnyse Black ’95 Joseph Cruz ’74 Sheree Williams ’94 Troy Black Shuwanda Curry Dale Wilson ’87 Yolanda Blaize ’96 Jennifer Damis ’01 Alfred Wooten ’94 Bruce Blaylock ’87 R. Deborah Davis ’91 Andrea Wright ’96 Jennifer Bloomfield ’83 Martin-Abdul Davis ’13 Justina Young ’04 Carolita Blythe ’89 Sadie Davis ’75 Eric Booker ’00 Timothy Davis ’91 Erik Bortz ’11 Frank Dawson ’76 GIVING LEVEL OF $100 - $499 Carla Brown ’87 Dayton Foundation Depository Inc. Donna Adams ’02 Hewitt Bryan Deloitte Foundation Alice Adams Michael Buchenberger Matthew DeMarco ’99 and Gena DeMarco ’99 Kenneth Adams Jennifer Buonantony ’03 Nicole Demby Carl Agard ’92 Karen Burgess ’92 Ryan Dennis ’04 Jane Aiello ’00 Gregory Burnett ’81 Beatrice Dewberry ’90 All Saints Church Abraham Caceres ’70 Cheryl Dixon-Hills ’75 David Allen ’95 Jonathan Cain ’01 and Colleen Locke ’01 William Docherty ’92 and Jill Docherty ’92 Danielle Alvarez ’10 James Caltabiano ’90 and Monica Caltabiano ’91 Charmen Douglas ’85 Issaka Amadu Soroya Campbell ’97 and Shawn Campbell Patrick Douglas ’15 Morris Anderson ’88 Debra Carey ’77 Jane Douglass ’54 Edwin Arboleda ’97 Francis Carrero ’10 Keith Downing ’97 Marcus Arrington ’94 Donine Carrington Martin ’91 Ebony Dowtin Harris ’95 Jennifer Arroyo ’96 Victor Carrion ’85 Bryan Doyon ’06 Virlynn Atkinson-White Candace Carter ’99 Melissa Edwards ’92 Thomas Bachstein ’89 Isaro Carter Jean Edwards Houston ’90 Liza Baird-Appiah Ylenia Castillo ’03 Michael Ellison ’94 and Caroline Ellison ’94 Laura Baker ’85 Safiya Cesar ’12 Marion Ervin ’68 and Linda Ervin ’69 Susan Ballard Mitzie Charles Yanco Escano Tracy Barash ’89 Diane Chesley ’74 Patricia Etem Paul Barbosa ’11 James Childs ’86 Sydni Eure Charles Barbour ’84 Cameron Clark ’07 Edward Evans ’87 William Barnes ’72 Darrell Claytor Exelon Corporation Belinda Barr-Tabron ’75 Sally Colclough ’62 Frantz Felix ’00 Marilyn Batchelor ’18 Andre Cole ’96 Bryant Fields Shelley Bauknight Cherry ’82 Michael Collazo ’99 Kemba Ford ’02 Donya-Gaye Becton ’03 Jeffry Comanici ’88 and Cydney Johnson ’77 Clifford Forrester ’21 Nashone Becton ’02 Carl Jenkins ’88 and Tonya Couch-Jenkins ’88 Marquise Francis ’13 SPRING 2022 | 19 Our Time SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM Gifts made in 2021 Michelle Frankson ’84 Michael John Frasciello ’15 Susana Fridman-Davidenko ’92 Jade Fulce ’08 Adam Fumarola Errol Gamory ’88 Aaron Ganaway ’16 Carol Garrett James Gaston ’82 Michele Gayle ’87 Solomon Gbondo-Tugbawa ’97 Icema Gibbs ’83 Naima Gibson ’95 Terrence Gilliam ’87 Ciara Ginyard ’02 Tamara Glasgow ’99 Roselyn Gohagan Jacquelyn Goldberg Darice Gonzalez ’80 Nia Gordon ’20 Benjamin Green ’08 Melissa Grey ’92 Marissa Grossman ’03 Allen Groves Keith Hairston ’82 Michelle Hall Nanette Halliburton ’91 Deryk Hammett ’91 Shawnequa Harding ’92 Kasandra Harley ’91 Austin Harris Kimberly Harris ’09 Charles Hawley and Joan Hawley ’69 Judith Hawley Conley ’75 Charles Hayward ’02 Keith Henderson Jessica Henry-Tillman ’11 Anthony Herbert ’15 and Sarah Valenzuela ’16 James Hewett Carol Hickes ’75 Laurie Hickey ’81 Alton Hicks and Tanya Hicks ’01 Christine Holland-Morrow ’96 Vanessa Holliday Andrew Holtsbery ’97 and Victoria Spinanger-Holtsbery ’99 Pamela Howlett ’83 Ann Huff ’87 Marion Ibrahim Michaeljulius Idani ’01 Barbara Ingraldi ’85 IQVIA Edward Jackson ’86 Samuel Jakes ’79 Trevor John ’96 Mandy John-Collins Angela Johnson Lia Johnson Michael Johnson ’87 Tawanda Johnson ’91 Thomas Johnson ’75 Cynthia Jones ’75 Kevin Jones ’80 Tarsha Jones ’91 Wendy Jones ’78 Dawn Jordan ’91 Patrick Jourdain ’20 Candice Kelly ’94 Kafele Khalfani ’96 Sahibzada Khan ’00 George Kilpatrick ’81 and Gloria Matthews Kilpatrick ’90 Laurie Kingsberry ’82 Sherrice Kirkland ’97 Brian Konkol Caryn Kuebler ’00 Jan Lane George Langford Joseph LaRoche Michael Lavine ’01 Anjalique Lawrence ’01 Sandra Lawrence ’86 Shana Lawrence Angela Lawrie ’90 Michelle Lee ’90 Chester Lett ’80 Jeff Levy Lorelei Levy Valerie Lewis ’80 Ismael Lind ’17 Rodney Littles ’74 Donald Lockett ’74 Dorcca Lopez Luis Lopez ’06 and Damaris Lopez ’05 Robert Loveless ’74 and Janet Loveless Eric Lunsford Carleen Lyken ’93 Marie Lynch ’85 Oliver Mack ’95 and Sandra Mack ’89 La Kisha Madison ’98 Richard Mair ’86 Lady Maldonado Thomas Malone ’67 Eve Marsan ’96 Andrea Marsh ’87 Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc. Andre Martineau Antonio Martinez Conchy Martinez ’88 Janel Martinez ’10 Jose Martinez Nicole Mayo ’01 Jeannine McConnell ’85 Jocelyn McGhee ’76 Has Come Brooke McKie ’95 Pedro Perez Reena Sanchez ’05 Seretta McKnight ’83 Shelda Perkins ’94 SAP America Carolyn McLaurin ’91 Christian Perry ’94 and Jeannette Perry ’96 Linda Saulsby Roslyn McLin ’93 Michael Peter ’70 Tyrone Saunders ’07 Mark Medina ’12 Angela Peterson ’83 Lisa Scanlon Artemio Mercado ’98 Donza Poole ’82 Shamel Schand ’07 Lisa Milano ’84 Tommy Popps ’00 Misty Schutt Kevin Miller ’88 and Myra Miller ’95 Lori Porcher ’86 Richard Sciandra ’67 and Amalia Sciandra Michael Mines ’79 and Beatrice Mines Sasha Porter ’06 Nidia Serrano Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company Kerri Powell ’90 ServiceNow Marsha Modeste ’05 Tammy Powell ’90 Arthur Seward-El ’97 Owen Monroe ’89 Shamieka Preston ’97 Kristin Shea Mariel Montolio ’07 Emmanuel Price Paul Shelton ’74 and Lillie Shelton Nadene Moore ’74 Armando Ramirez ’02 Daniel Singer ’91 Evelyn Moris ’85 Suzette Ramirez ’99 Thomasina Skipper ’76 Sade Muhammad ’12 Raymi Ramseur-Usher ’88 Terry Smallhorne ’86 Terryne Murphy Chelsea Ransom-Cooper ’15 Justin Smith ’14 Alison Murray ’01 Denise Rasberry ’94 Virgilio Soler Gladys Myatt ’95 Olivia Rayn ’01 Sandra Solomon ’95 Daniel Nash ’64 Jonathan Reyes ’14 Edwina Stephenson ’76 Elgin Neal Abigail Reynolds Kristi Stepteau Samuel Nelson ’84 and Sonya Nelson ’85 Anna Rice ’54 Charla Stuart ’89 James Neumeister and Tasha Neumeister ’03 Daniel Rice ’94 and Angelique Rice ’92 Constance Studgeon ’74 New York Life Foundation Phillip Rich Bernard Tarver ’82 Vanessa Nicholls ’88 Candice Richardson ’90 Javier Tavares Allison Nieves ’96 David Richardson ’08 and Caeresa Richardson ’07 Sharon Taylor ’75 Edwin Nunez ’95 Angela Rimmey ’83 Magda Theodate Kashieka Nzioka ’10 Joseph Rinaldi ’92 Gregory Thomas Fred Opie ’86 Olivia Roberson ’06 Karen Thomas ’91 Lydia Ortiz ’97 Barry Robinson and Lisa Robinson ’94 Kenyona Thomas ’20 Stephanie Ortiz Christopher Robinson ’97 Norman Thompson ’94 Arnold Osei-Tutu ’00 Rhina Rodriguez Mazier ’99 Ian Thompson ’01 and Amber Thompson Barbara Otte and Bruce Shelley ’70 Juan Rosario ’21 TIAA Charitable Inc. Mitchell Owen ’82 Lauri Rosario ’13 and Donald Saint-Germain ’12 TIAA-CREF Financial Services Michael Owens ’91 Veronica Rosario ’94 Alphonso Tindall Charmon Parker Williams ’78 Frederick Royall ’92 Anthony Tolbert ’88 Ernie Pascual ’14 Stacey Rubain ’96 Christopher Tompsett ’83 Clarybel Peguero ’97 Melissa-Kay Samuels ’08 Nicholas Torres SPRING 2022 | 21 Our Time SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM Gifts made in 2021 Ada Torres-Wright ’93 Lauren Townes ’02 and Ahmeed Turner ’09 Laura Tracey ’94 Katherine Tran ’17 Damian Travier ’98 and Heather Travier ’97 Craig Tucker Phyllis Twillie ’84 and Louis Bailey Tiffany Tyler ’98 Carol Tyrell ’81 Ileana Ungureanu ’06 Lisa Varlack Anthony Vasquez Nancy Villarreal-Adler ’73 Jose Vilson ’04 Barry Volain ’74 Kevin Wade ’03 Irja Walcott ’93 Joash Ward ’15 Jason Watkins ’06 and Nicole Watkins ’93 Nicole Watkins-Bouhbal ’85 Na’Tasha Webb-Prather ’11 Jennifer Weintraub Ellen Weir ’74 William Welburn ’75 Wells Fargo Foundation Wepay Eugene Wethers ’80 and Judith Wethers ’81 Davita White ’95 Denise Whittington-McCalla ’88 Mark Wilkins ’90 Anthony Williams and Tuwanda Williams ’88 Colette Williams ’88 and Mario Jenkins Demietra Williams ’98 Eric Williams ’86 and Denise Williams ’86 Grant Williams ’89 Maxine Williams ’77 Michelle Williams ’88 Wendy Williams ’90 Kim Williamson ’87 Garth Wilson Gregory Wilson ’80 Thomas Witkowski ’85 and Mark Davila Jess Withey ’97 Charmane Wong ’84 Denie Wong ’89 and Heidi Tanakatsubo Omar Woodham ’10 and Ann-Marie Woodham Roosevelt Wright Jr. ’93 and Mylinda Smith John Young ’14 Shalise Manza Young ’99 and Marcus Young ’01 Theresa Young ’90 Brittany Zaehringer GIVING LEVEL OF UP TO $99 Deborah Abbott ’66 Madeline Abel and Gyasi Barber ’11 Kim Abrams and Percy Abrams Francois Acosta ’17 Deborah Adair ’88 Ashlynn Adams ’25 Adeyemi Adediran ’16 Heather Adelman and Marc Adelman Jane Adetola ’99 Lynn Eustance ’72 and Jim Adkins Sonia Adon ’14 Nicolette Aghedo Justina Agyei-Mensah ’21 James Aiello ’70 and Pamela Johnson Cindy Alcantara ’08 Bradley Boyer ’94 and Martha Alderman Boyer Stuart Alderman ’78 Gregory Alexander ’15 Jose Alfonso Annice Allen ’17 and Benjamin Allen ’18 Benjamin Allen ’88 Eunice Allen-Bradley ’02 Alexandra Alomar ’16 Abdulaziz Al-Sulaiti ’19 Neema Amadala ’17 Afriyie Amankwaa ’21 AmerisourceBergen Mary Anagnost ’86 Jessica Cumberbatch Anderson ’02 Tasha Andre ’15 Lisa Andreotta William Angelucci Gerson Anton ’21 Elizabeth Asiago-Reddy Jeffrey Atancuri Guaman ’22 Kaithlyn Atty ’21 Roshone Ault Lee ’99 Patricia Aurigemma Karin Backus ’02 AbdulMalik Badamasuiy Dorinda Bagwell ’89 Valerie Banks ’90 David Barbier ’24 Bridget Barden Marche Barney Dorothea Barraco-Hetnar ’88 Vanessa Batista Megan Beach Sandra Bean Dwayne Beasock Erisha Beckford ’21 Becton Dickinson & Company Kristin Behnke Camilla Bell ’14 Cornelia Bell Sally Belliard Lynsay Belshe Allana Benton Patrick Berry Davine Bey and Yalonda Bey ’21 Has Come Kayla Bill ’15 Antonio Capobianco ’18 and Jared Nelson ’18 Ernest Colvin ’87 Jose Bird-Laborde ’71 Sheree Carey Pamela Comerford ’94 Alicia Blaisdell-Bannon ’74 Sherry Carey Lisa Conklin ’82 George Blasiak and Kimberly Blasiak ’08 William Carey Anjelique Cooley ’16 Eunice Boateng ’21 Liza Caristia Brickney Copeland ’09 John Boccacino ’03 and Samantha Boccacino Mary Carmosino ’76 and Ralph Carmosino ’79 Corey Cortner Hannah Boghosian Jodi Carr ’18 Lisa Costantino ’21 William Boghosian ’73 and Mary Ellen DeGeorge Cecilia Carroll ’05 Abigail Covington ’19 Danielle Bonner Christine Carter Andreina Nieves Crispin ’17 David Boone ’87 and Fawn Boone ’88 Stacy Carter ’95 Clarence Cross ’07 Joniran Boone ’94 Stacey Carter-Lane ’94 Michael Cross and Sharon Cross ’18 Miranda Bouchey and Richard Bouchey Joseph Casion ’99 and Kathia Casion ’98 Steven Crough and Joan Koral Marcia Bradley ’61 Jeannie Castro Alva ’98 Melanie Cuevas-Rodriguez ’00 and Kristin Bragg ’93 and Marlowe Bragg Beth Celona Julio Rodriguez ’14 Francheska Bravo ’15 Michael Cerio ’93 Jessica Cumberbatch Anderson ’02 Jennifer Braxton ’95 Ronald Cerow Anthony Dabbundo ’21 Randi Bregman ’90 and Theodore Gottbrecht Karah Cesar ’12 Richard Daley ’02 Ona Bregman ’58 Christine Chamberlain ’05 Kelsey Davis ’19 Raynard Bronson Laura Chamberlain and Thomas Organ Marita de Lara ’94 Kavell Brown ’16 Fern Chan Catherine De Leon Khari Brown and Yasemin Washington Brown ’90 Patrice Chandler Carla De Salvia and David De Salvia ’85 Louise Brown-Smith Karina Checo Brian Debronsky and Susan Debronsky Yvette Brown ’82 Marjorie Chetney and Matthew Chetney Marian Degiovanni Kay Bruening ’80 Alice Chin ’89 Robert Delaney Barrington Bucknor ’21 Shiu-Kai Chin ’75 and Linda Milosky Jed Devine Christian Buonadonna ’21 Melissa Chipman Chandler Dewgard ’21 Danielle Burgo and Jerrel Burgo ’18 CIGNA Foundation Mohammad Diallo ’13 Jane Burrell J.R. Clairborne Sandra Diao Mary Burrus and Glenn Peers David Clark ’75 and Stanlyn Clark ’76 Gineyda Diaz ’06 Kathleen Butt Pamela Clausen ’04 Lucianna Diaz ’14 Kathryn Byrnes ’99 Briana Clayton ’21 Michael DiNardo ’20 Daniela Cabral John Clinton and Regina Clinton Emily Dittman ’06 and Jason Dittman ’06 Raylyn Cabrera Gomez ’21 Alexa Cloud ’18 Rodney Dixon ’03 Richelle Calderon ’21 Richard Cohlan ’70 and Roberta Cohlan ’72 Michaela Donnelly ’02 Payton Campbell ’21 John Cole ’93 and Leslie Cole ’90 Diane Dorf ’80 and Steven Morgen Vikki Campos Jermaine Coles ’21 Chris Drew and Katie Martin Rebecca Canchola ’99 David Collins and Shayla McCullough-Collins ’05 Rachel DuBois ’13 Dana Canty ’13 Bianela Colon Kishi Ducre SPRING 2022 | 23 Our Time SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM Gifts made in 2021 Naomi Duncan ’21 Kiara Garcia ’18 Emily Hart Cathy Dutch and William Redfield Madelyn Garcia ’08 Abbie Hartman Denise Dyce Rosie Garcia ’09 James Hartnett and Kris Hartnett Andrew Eastham ’09 Isabel Garrone ’05 Sharon Hassan Alexis Eckhart ’21 Alfreda Gaston ’70 Ann Hathaway and James Hathaway Rona Edlund Heather Gierloff Thomas Haverly ’93 Beth Egan ’88 Laurel Gilbert ’70 Taylor Heinz ’18 John Ekar ’21 and Nike Ekar Amy Gillespie Stacey Herman ’10 Ayman El Hassan Michael Gittens Jessie Hill Lynell Engelmyer Rosalyn Gittens Valerie Hill ’13 Epiphany Blue LLC Sandra Gittens Adara Hobbs ’24 Mayra Espinoza Melissa Giufre Katherine Hoole ’13 and Raghu Menon Gwyneth Esty-Kendall ’19 Heather Gleason ’93 Christine Hopkins ’82 Chanee Fabius ’09 Jenny Gluck and Jean Swanger Kenneth Horwitz and Sheri Horwitz ’86 Danielle Fairfield and Robert Fairfield Ashley Gomez ’19 Kathryn Hudson ’10 Wendy Fast ’64 Jason Gonzalez ’97 Donald Hughes Christopher Fasuyi Thalia Gonzalez Nikita Hunter ’99 Justin Fazio ’99 and Meagan Fazio ’99 Diana Green ’75 Tari Hunter-Hall Susan Feurzeig Karla Green Nikkia Hurt-Bey ’22 Simone Fields ’03 Peter Green ’76 Anwar Husain ’89 Sally Fisher ’07 and Tyrone Fisher ’09 Linda Greene Wendy Ingram-Nunes Sharon Fitzgerald ’96 Isaiah Gresham Dan luster and Melinda Iuster Pamela Flores Espinoza ’21 Maria Guarrera and Kyle Witman Edward Jackson and Kathy Jackson Deidre Flowers ’92 and Mark Flowers Guggenheim Partners LLC Stephanie Jackson ’81 Sonja Forgo ’12 Yomidalys Guichardo ’17 Deborah Jacobs ’99 Shirley Forssell Tom Gundred Sahil Jain ’13 Barbara Forsstrom ’83 Rajesh Gunreddi ’06 Sheri James ’96 Stephanie Fortino James Guseh ’80 Roslyn Jefferson ’78 Christopher Fowler ’13 and Jennifer Herrera Maya Guzman Sonya Jelks ’97 Carol Frazier and Larry Frazier Mary Hagemann John Jensen ’12 and Sarah Jensen ’12 Kyle Frias ’11 and Olivia O’Connell ’13 Kathleen Haley ’91 and James Kirk James Jerge and Marie Jerge Sue Friedland and Rita Gram Kelly Haley ’23 Stanley Jimenez ’22 Hannah Fuller Jesse Hall Andrew Johnson and Kelli Johnson ’98 Anthony Fulton ’82 and Ms. Fulton Sheila Hall ’95 Brittnee Johnson ’21 Shawn Gaetano ’20 Vicki Hamilton Callie Johnson ’73 Shiron Gaines Phyllis Hanesworth Kelly Johnson ’17 Arleni Garcia Enam Haque and Saira Haque ’10 Sheila Johnson and Salatha Willis Joel Garcia ’16 Bruce Harkness ’67 and Sarita Harkness ’67 Winfred Johnson ’02 Has Come Paulette Johnson-Davis ’68 Legal Pro LLC Ann Marshall ’95 Diana Jones Charles Lerner ’14 Danielle Marshall ’18 Ian Jones and Ashley Lefebvre Cheryl Leszczewicz and Thomas Mueller Stephanie Martin Jessica Jones Natasha Leverett Elvira Martinez ’18 Cameron Jordan ’21 Judith Lewis and Minchin Lewis ’68 Gerardo Martinez ’15 Ud Joseph ’25 Lizette Lewis ’13 Sheika Mason ’05 Glenn Kaalund ’84 Merica Lewis ’86 Roman Massenberg ’87 Mazaher Kaila ’19 Scott Lial ’97 and Jennifer Reynolds Lial ’97 Andrea Massop Ramos ’85 John Kalamarides ’66 Judy Licker and William Licker Marilia Matos ’10 Gay Kasegrande ’93 and Ken Kasegrande Ruben Lira ’17 David Mayes ’19 Abby Kasowitz-Scheer ’96 and Jeffrey Scheer Julius Lofton and Deborah Williams-Lofton ’83 Maisel Mazier ’99 Alexander Kean Hazel Lonie Bonny McCabe Ian Kean Blanca Lopez ’25 Joshua McCleary ’18 Andrea Kelley ’88 Linda Lopez ’98 Frediqua McCullers ’17 Karen Kelly and Sean Kelly Maria Lopez ’05, G’12 Scott McDowell KelPort Consulting Inc. Ralph Lorenz and Cheryl Neff Lorenz Shabrea McElroy ’95 Bette Kestin ’93 Martha Love ’16 and Deanna Bailey Lucas McGee Susan Kim Keri Lowder ’95 Tamara McGill Melissa Kinckle ’01 Larandi Lowe ’16 Lauren McNamara ’21 Kevin King Nyota Lucas ’01 Stephanie McReynolds Rebekah King Albert Lun Emma McSherry ’22 Christopher Kiper John Luther and Marie Luther ’08 Damaris Mercado ’03 Edward Kishinevsky ’95 Sandra Lutz Debra Mercado ’82 Ellen Kisner and Ronald Kisner ’70 Sierra Lyles ’21 Raffaella Ann Meriwether Aulton Kohn ’07 Maryjean Maciulewicz Benita Miller ’96 Angela Kolosky ’12 Michelle Madera ’10 Megan Miller Limnyuy Konglim ’05 Joanne Mahoney ’87 and Marc Overdyk Ejolee Mitchell ’10 Rachel Kucharski ’18 Maliz Mahop ’15 Yolanda Mitchell ’13 Anita Kuiken and John Kuiken Shumika Mainer Olivia Moen ’22 Amina Kurdi ’18 David Malecki Anna Adibah Mohd Khairi ’20 Grismaldy Laboy Glenn Malsbury ’80 Elizabeth Mohr Angenetta Lambert Gianna Mangicaro ’18 and Sophia Montesdeoca ’12 Jamie Lambert ’21 Christopher Szlamczynski ’18 Denise Moore ’21 Linda Tatar Landau ’76 and Mark Landau Jasmine Mangum ’16 Cedric Moorehead ’86 Chris Lander ’63 and Kenneth Lander John Mannion ’01 and Rebecca Mannion ’05 Catherine Moran ’97 Heather Lane and Steven Lane ’93 Alexandra Marchesano ’12 Meghan Moran Paige Lauback ’20 Kimberley Markus Erika Morant ’07 Tricia Le Aimee Maroney ’23 Nancy Morisseau ’94 SPRING 2022 | 25 Our Time SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM Gifts made in 2021 Carmelina Morrison and Timothy Morrison Nicole Morrissette-Ugoji ’08 Dan Mort Dante Moss ’18 Kelly Moss ’98 Lisa Mueller ’89 James Mulligan and Pamela Mulligan ’89 Nzyuko Munguti ’18 Dwayne Murray ’97 Nathena Murray ’22 Valerie Murray Gloria Nabbosa ’21 Anwar Nasir ’06 John Neal and Tashia Thomas Neal ’09 Shannon Newkirk-Denny Cashe’T Nixon ’12 Laura Njanga ’96 Leslie Noble ’09 and William Morris Aili Obandja ’19 Carrie O’Connor ’02 Osei Ofosu-Benefo ’92 Jeanne Olson Mary Oonk Kenneth Orlowski ’95 and Teresa Orlowski Adriana Ortiz Nicole Osborne ’14 and Erin Smith ’15 Iris Otano Elsie Otero Luke Overdyk ’21 Ellen Owens ’96 Janey Ozoria Nateasha Palmateer and Nicholas Palmateer ’15 Leslie Pankowski ’95 Avrum Patterson Eric Patterson ’12 and Angela Morales-Patterson Rebecca Pedersen ’94 and Steven Pedersen Roberto Peguero ’06 Jewell Pendleton ’97 and Robyn Phillips-Pendleton ’95 Deborah Peoples Crystal Perkins ’09 and Sheldon Kee Allison Perlowski ’92 Michelle Perrin-Steinberg ’05 Sofia Pertuz Rachel Pilvinsky Kristie Pimentel Dalia Pinto Jason Poles ’99 and Nikki Poles Damont Pore and Michele Pore ’96 Gabriel Prepetit ’22 Carol Quezada Olivo Amanda Quick ’14 Astrid Quinones ’18 Windy Quinones-Muriel ’94 Smitha Rao ’05 Nathan Rath ’04 and Sandra Rath ’03 Priscilla Rawlins ’98 Dayhana Ray Michelle Reason ’02 Hannah Rebar ’18 Milena Reckseit ’85 and Peter Reckseit ’84 Karolyn Reddy LaVonda Reed Isabel Reedy ’20 Denisse Rosario Reyes ’20 Jacob Reynolds ’16 Lisa Reynolds ’97 Penny Rhodes Amy Ribar ’17 Kayla Richardson Karen Richter Frederic Riley and Tammy Riley Melinda Rivera ’15 Richard Rivera ’90 RLI Insurance Company Mary Roberts-Bailey ’82 Grant Robinson ’83 James Robinson Ivan Robles ’15 Lisandra Robles Rio Rocket Jennifer Rodriguez ’04 Teresa Rodriguez Ronald Roebuck ’95 Akima Rogers ’94 and Pia Rogers ’98 Franklin Romero ’14 Christopher Roper ’85 Clayton Rosati ’97 and Monique Rosati ’97 Christopher Rose ’24 Kenneth Rose ’90 Olivia Rosegarten ’21 Anna Rosen-Birch ’21 David Ross ’66 and Martha Sutter ’83 Kristin Ross ’21 Allison Roth ’15 Sean Royes Zahabu Rukera ’21 Nicole Russell Sameeha Saied ’21 Larry Sampson ’69 Anand Samuel Saida Sanchez Joshua Santola and Kendall Santola Rosann Santos ’95 and Ronald Harris Monica Sarmiento ’93 Michelle Saunders-Smith and Zachary Smith Don Sawyer ’03 Ruth Schick ’61 Jody Schobel and Joseph Schobel Sara Schofield Booker Jennifer Scott Susan Scott Aysha Seedat ’16 Andrew Seymour ’21 Shazif Shaikh ’19 Has Come Dee Shedlow Victor Suarez ’15 Donna Ware and William Ware Craig Sherman ’86 Michael Suber ’85 Jasmin Waterman ’03 Joshua Shub-Seltzer ’21 Diane Swords ’76 and Peter Swords ’79 Lottie Watts ’09 and Daniel Barreros Katherine Siff ’07 Linda Sylve Deborah Weissman ’72 Sigma Lambda Upsilon Senoritas Latinas Sarindi Tas Marsha Weissman ’70 Unidas Sorority Inc. Anastasia Sarantos Taskin Marcus White ’16 Frank Signorelli and Sari Signorelli ’88 Angely Tavares ’10 Sarah White ’71 Carolyn Silas ’90 Celesta Taylor Stefanie White ’18 Julie Silipo ’11 Raicine Terry ’10 Claudine-Lonje Williams Amparo Silva Ronald James-Terry Taylor ’15 Daisy Williams ’93 Laura Singer ’16 Jasmine Thomas ’10 Evelyn Williams Gursimar Singh ’21 Rahnold Thomas ’02 Kathleen Williams ’87 and Kenneth Williams ’87 Jacqueline Sirgo Jasmine Thompson ’07 Lakeisha Williams SiriusXM Margaret Thompson Serena Wills ’97 Joanna Slater ’96 Monique Thompson ’96 Terri Wills Elaine Small-Bess Taneika Thompson ’99 Reynolds Winslow ’61 Teyanna Smalls-McEachin ’96 Xavier Thompson ’95 John Woltman ’18 Diane Smith Ian Thornell Alicia Wood Gaelyn Smith ’20 Ellen Thornton ’80 and Gregory Thornton ’73 Garrett Yagade ’19 Jasmine Smith Darlene Tinsley ’21 Lisa Yearwood ’91 Kierrah Smith ’17 Shaddia Torres ’04 Holly Zahn ’12 Parrish Smith ’14 Tupper Property Management LLC Ariana Zapata ’20 Marissa Sobel ’16 Alonzo Turner Nancy Zarach ’05 Ginger Sorensen and Jeffrey Sorensen Havilah Tyler ’17 Liliana Zaragoza ’21 Hedsan Sorrentini ’88 Erica Tyson Andrew Zaso ’10 and Irene Zaso Yunus Sozen ’02 and Erika Wilkens ’10 Jeffrey Unaitis ’83 John Zazyczny ’85 and Victoria Zazyczny ’86 Monique Spaulding Monique Valeris ’03 Vance Spears ’95 Allen Spruill Elizabeth Young Stafford ’03 Nicole Stahl ’68 Debora-Grace Stanczak ’86 Alexis Stanley ’07 Stephanie Stevens ’96 Cameron Stewart ’21 Kamille Stewart ’14 Arnold Stieber and Lucille Stieber ’67 Judith Stopek ’68 Delaney Van Wey ’18 Arthur Vaughn ’92 and Octavia Vaughn ’94 Chris Velardi ’95 and Karen Velardi Jasmine Vickers ’18 Fanny Villarreal Christian Von Tippelskirch and Karina Von Tippelskirch DeArbea Walker ’18 Kelly Wall ’02 and Kevin Wall ’94 Elaine Walter ’70 and Francis Walter ’70 Joielle Walter ’97 CAMPUSnews Alumni Gifts to 119 Euclid Make Major Impact for Students A s a Syracuse University undergraduate in the early 1990s, Tara Brown Favors ’95 remembers looking at the houses on Fraternity Row with longing. “None of those homes were for Black students. It seemed unfair that we didn’t have a place where we could congregate,” she says. So, when Favors visited the newly opened 119 Euclid Ave. during Coming Back Together (CBT), she was profoundly moved. “I laughed in some rooms, danced in others and cried in the Memorial Room. It was beyond beautiful. I decided then I wanted to be a part of its legacy,” she says. Favors made a $100,000 gift to name the quiet lounge in the house. Although she has a philanthropic history, it was the first time she’d ever made a naming gift. That’s a familiar theme. “This project was funded solely through gifts from Black alumni, none of whom had ever made a previous naming gift,” says Rachel Vassel ’91, G’21, associate vice president for multicultural advancement. John Clemons ’76, G’14 also visited 119 Euclid Ave. during CBT weekend. Touring the space and meeting students brought back fond memories of spending time at the former Black Student Union when he was an undergrad. “The house provides students of color with a beautiful new space to study, meet, network, laugh, connect and enjoy a meal with fellow students,” he says. Because Clemons considers the kitchen the heart of a home, he chose to fund that space with a $50,000 gift. “My financial support of 119 Euclid comes from my heart, and it fills me with joy to know that students will use the John Clemons Kitchen for years to come.” Karen Cooper ’25 is forever grateful for that space. Cooper loves to cook, and the lack of a kitchen space for students in her residence hall was just one factor adding to her struggles as a first-year student. But most of her discomfort came from being a Black student from the South at a predominantly white university in the North. When she shared those feelings with her First Year Seminar professor, Sam Johnson, he walked her across campus to 119 Euclid Ave., which had just opened to students. “There was pretty much an immediate connection,” says Cooper, of meeting the staff and students at 119. “I’m not sure I would have stayed at Syracuse without it.” While Cooper says she’s made use of 119 Euclid in all ways possible—hanging out, studying, booking a meeting room, attending events—using the kitchen is at the top of her list. Before Thanksgiving, Cooper prepared and hosted a meal for students, a southern seafood boil accompanied by mac and cheese and barbecued chicken wings. She prepared another southern feast before Christmas break. “Everything good I have acquired at Syracuse—connections, friends, clubs I’ve joined—has come from that space,” says Cooper, a communications and rhetorical studies major from Orangeburg, South Carolina. That was the goal. 119 Euclid was created out of student demand for the University to foster a more diverse and inclusive campus environment. Black students, in particular, wanted a place to feel comfortable being their authentic selves. Previously used as administrative space, 119 Euclid Ave. was reimagined through extensive input from Black students, faculty, staff and alumni, under leadership from the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. The facility includes a social lounge, two meeting rooms, a full kitchen, a large conference room, a quiet room and a reflection room dedicated to members of the Black community who lost their lives to violence. From historical photographs and Students and alumni tour 119 Euclid Ave. during its grand opening celebration. artwork to inspirational quotes adorning the walls, the space was decorated to celebrate Black culture and traditions and the contributions of the Black community on campus. “119 Euclid exists because the University listened to the voices of Black students, and it fosters and showcases the excellence that our Black students bring to campus,” says Eboni Britt G’05, executive director of strategic communications and initiatives in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. “I am so proud that the University and our alumni have made such a substantial contribution to the experience that Black students have during their time at SU.” Britt says use of the facility is primarily directed by students and student organizations. Since opening last fall, 119 Euclid has hosted cultural conversations, a book club, a Trap and Paint event celebrating art and music during Black History Month, game nights, a Super Bowl party, an art walk and more. Cameron Gray ’22, an Our Time Has Come Scholar who served on the planning committee for 119 Euclid, says the space has become a home on campus for many. “There’s something so special about having a space on campus where people can literally come and sit on a couch, watch TV, do homework, grab a snack, or fellowship with other students,” she says. “Only five months in, it’s really exceeded my expectations in terms of the sense of community and the way it’s become a refuge for Black students. I’m thankful to the alumni donors who helped make this happen. They should be very proud.” It’s not only individual gifts that funded the space. Alpha Kappa Alpha and Delta Sigma Theta both made major gifts, funding the primary social lounge and the large meeting room, respectively. “The stressors of not only being at a prestigious university, but being Black at SU, are significant, and sometimes traumatic,” says Candice Carnage ’90 on behalf of DST. “Having a space to study, think and be still in a safe environment, surrounded by like-minded individuals is a gift we are happy to give.” While the majority of 119 Euclid Ave. has been funded, Vassel says one final need remains: the opportunity to name the entire facility at $1 million. “119 Euclid Ave. has always been a placeholder name,” says Vassel, a contributor herself to the AKA Lounge. “I’d really like to see this funded by one of our alumni,” she says. “It’s a unique opportunity to support current and future students while celebrating our rich Black history at Syracuse University.” CAMPUSnews Celebrating the Dream T he Syracuse University community came together Jan. 30, 2022, for the 37th Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration featuring a conversation with civil rights activist and global humanitarian Martin Luther King III. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s observance was held virtually. David Barbier Jr. ’23, who co-chaired the celebration with Hendricks Chapel Dean Brian Konkol, offered welcoming remarks from 119 Euclid Ave., the University’s new space created to celebrate the longstanding history, traditions and contributions of the Black community on the Syracuse University campus. “The creation of 119 Euclid is one example of embracing the theme for today, which is ‘We are Part of the Dream,’” said Barbier. The theme was chosen, he says, both to reflect on the legacy of Dr. King and his dream, “but how we must be a part of it in the here and now, and in the years to come on campus and far beyond.” The centerpiece of the evening was Barbier’s interview with King, the eldest son of the late Dr. King and Coretta Scott King and ambassador of their legacy of nonviolent social change. King spoke about the importance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. “On Jan. 15, 1969, less than a year after Dad was killed, my mother and a team of people in Atlanta and around the country were already beginning the process of observing what would later become a King holiday,” King said. “In our minds it was a day where we would be engaged in doing work.” His mother lobbied every U.S. senator and many congressional representatives to make the holiday a reality. “She was a coalition builder,” King said. “If it was not for Mother, I don’t know how far Dad’s legacy would have gone.” Martin Luther King Jr. Day was signed into law as a federal holiday by President Ronald Reagan in 1983 and was celebrated as an official holiday for the first time in 1986. Over the years, the King holiday has evolved to including nonviolence and voting rights training and volunteer activities. Barbier asked King how he perceives colleges and universities as agents of change. King spoke of the student engagement that took place in the 1960s that ultimately brought about change. Change can also come through tragedies, such as the murder of George Floyd that sparked protests in all 50 states and around the world and brought many of the relics of the Confederacy down, he said. King lamented the current state of our nation. “We as a nation are far, far too divided. Dad used to teach us that we can learn how to live together without destroying person or property. We can disagree without being disagreeable,” he said, closing with the thought that much work remained to create the beloved community that his father and mother envisioned. “I want everybody at Syracuse to fulfill and achieve whatever they want to achieve,” he said. “I hope that you would look to Martin Luther King Jr. for a philosophy that helped to transform our nation and the world, so that our nation and world becomes better.” In addition to King’s remarks, the evening included a tribute by Chancellor Kent Syverud to Charles Vert Willie G’57, H’92 and Walter Broadnax G’75. Willie, who died Jan. 11, 2022, was Syracuse University’s first tenured Black faculty member, a giant in the field of education and civil rights and a classmate of Dr. King at Morehouse College. Broadnax, a student of Willie, is distinguished professor emeritus of public administration and international affairs in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and a member of the University’s Board of Trustees. “At Syracuse University we recognize that academic excellence cannot exist without a determined commitment to the principle that all are created equal. Syracuse University must be a place that is welcoming to all. We study social movements, history, political science and literature to learn lessons from the past,” Chancellor Syverud said. “Let’s take our inspiration from Dr. King and Dr. Willie and Dr. Broadnax. Let’s persevere through setbacks. Let’s commit ourselves to excellence that is rooted in equality. Let’s make Syracuse University an example of the transforming power of higher education.” In addition, Syracuse University bestowed MLK Unsung Hero Awards on students, faculty, staff and members of the community, including Our Time Has Come Scholar Nathena Murray ’22; Chenhui “Peipei” Liu ’23; David Knapp, assistant professor of music education; Joanna Spitzner ’92, associate professor of studio arts; Vince Cobb Sr., media technology consultant and engineer in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications; the Institute of Technology at Syracuse Central varsity football team; and community members Ocesa Keaton G’15 and Beverly Oliver. New DEI Chief Named M ary Grace A. Almandrez has been appointed to the position of vice president for diversity and inclusion, effective June 1, 2022. Almandrez brings nearly 25 years of experience in higher education, having served in leadership roles at Brown University, the University of San Francisco, McDaniel College and, most recently, the University of Rhode Island (URI). Almandrez was selected following a national search that yielded a diverse and highly qualified pool of candidates. “Mary Grace’s depth and breadth of professional and academic experience make her uniquely qualified for this position,” says Chancellor Kent Syverud. “I have great confidence in her ability to move Syracuse forward in achieving our aspiration to be a University that is truly welcoming to all. She has demonstrated visionary leadership, creativity and resilience throughout her career in working through some of the most challenging issues.” Almandrez will lead the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, providing oversight and vision in the administration of services, programs, policies and procedures for students, faculty and staff related to advancing the University’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA). She will lead the implementation of the DEIA Strategic Plan and liaise and collaborate with key constituencies, including undergraduate and graduate student leadership; the Board of Trustees Advisory Committee on University Climate, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility; Academic Leadership for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility; the Council on Diversity and Inclusion; and the Disability Access and Inclusion Council, among other stakeholder groups. “Syracuse University is well-poised to be an exemplar of integrating scholarship and practical application in campuswide diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility initiatives,” says Almandrez. “Syracuse is a forward-thinking institution with a community equally committed to advancing DEIA priorities. I am looking forward to building on that momentum and working collaboratively with students, faculty, staff and the greater Syracuse community. Since March 2020, Almandrez has served as associate vice president for community, equity and diversity and chief diversity officer at URI after serving in an interim role for over a year. Before joining URI, she spent seven years at Brown University, where she served in a number of leadership positions, including associate vice president and dean of students. Prior to Brown, she was assistant dean of students for multicultural student services at the University of San Francisco. Almandrez began her career in higher education as director of multicultural services at McDaniel College. Almandrez earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of San Diego, a master’s degree in human resources development from McDaniel College and a doctor of education in organization and leadership from the University of San Francisco. She also holds a certificate from Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Institute for Educational Management. Her teaching and research interests include Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) women in leadership, student activism, inclusive pedagogy and praxis, and organizational development. “Syracuse University is well-poised to be an exemplar of integrating scholarship and practical application in campuswide diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility initiatives.” — Mary Grace A. Almandrez Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion SPRING 2022 | 31 CAMPUSnews New Chief of Public Safety Appointed C raig A. Stone has been of police, implemented bike patrols and community police appointed associate academies to build community trust. vice president and chief of “Craig impressed everyone with his depth of experience and Campus Safety and Emergency his track record of collaborating with diverse constituencies Management Services at Syracuse to build trust and strengthen community relations,” says Allen University. He began in this new Groves, senior vice president for the student experience and role April 1, 2022, assuming chief student experience officer, who led the search committee. responsibility for all administrative, “Craig’s campus safety philosophy and his approach to operational and financial aspects community policing is responsive to and consistent with the of the Department of Public Safety evolving needs of students, faculty, staff and visitors.” (DPS), Emergency Management, Stone received a master of science in the administration and Global Safety and Support. of justice from the University of Louisville and a bachelor of Stone brings decades of experience business administration in organizational leadership from to the role, with nearly 30 years Mount Vernon Nazarene University. He is a highly sought after as a police officer in Columbus, Ohio, including 13 years as a presenter on issues including risk management, crowd control, lieutenant in Homeland Security, Internal Affairs, Patrol and Staff campus and community policing, high-risk drinking prevention, Inspections, and service as chief of police for Cleveland State diversifying police forces and biased-based profiling. Stone has University, The Ohio State University (OSU) and the University also taught courses in criminal justice management and policing. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “I am excited to join Syracuse University and work with the Stone most recently served as deputy director of the teams that are charged with advancing campus safety priorities,” Department of Public Safety for the city of Columbus, Ohio, says Stone. “I look forward to the kinds of transformative where he helped develop a neighborhood violence prevention changes that will ensure a campus culture that is truly plan and worked with the Columbus City Council on legislation welcoming and offers a sense of safety and openness to diverse to improve the police hiring process. He helped expand communities, thoughts and experiences.” community policing programs at OSU and, as OSU chief Sharif Bey Selected 2022 USA Fellow S harif Bey, associate professor of studio arts in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, was named a 2022 USA Fellow by United States Artists, an organization that illuminates the value of artists to American society and addresses their economic challenges. Bey, a ceramicist, was one of 63 thinkers and makers selected. USA Fellowships are $50,000 unrestricted awards that recognize artists for their contributions to the field and allow them to decide how to best support their lives. Bey balances his time as a professor and scholar with a prolific studio practice and frequent exhibitions. He says his research informs his art, his art influences his teaching and teaching inspires him to keep learning. Bey produces both functional and sculptural pieces of pottery, work that reflects his interest in the visual heritage of Africa and Oceania, as well as contemporary African American culture. He explores the cultural significance of ornamentation with colorful large-scale beads that he assembles into adornment pieces. Bey studied sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, Slovakia. He later earned a B.F.A. in ceramics from Slippery Rock University, an M.F.A in studio art from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a Ph.D. in art education from Penn State University. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship (sculpture), the Pollock-Krasner Fellowship, the J. William Fulbright Scholarship (Slovak Republic) and the Judith Seinfeld Award for Excellence, Creativity and Innovation in faculty research (Syracuse University). His work is featured in public collections, including Carnegie Museum of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Columbus Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Everson Museum of Art, Hickory Museum of Art and several U.S. embassies. Marcelle Haddix Named Associate Provost of Strategic Initiatives M arcelle Haddix was appointed associate provost for strategic initiatives in February, a position created to connect Academic Affairs with the campus and surrounding community. Haddix will serve as the principal liaison to and coordinator with the University Senate and liaison to the Syracuse University Libraries, the Office of Community Relations and the University’s many academic programs with community-based or experiential learning. She will also work to connect Academic Affairs with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and the Inclusive Leadership Assembly, the Women’s Leadership Initiative and the Institute for Veterans and Military Families. “Professor Haddix’s leadership will be critical in making progress toward our ambitious goals for academic excellence in a University welcoming to all,” says Vice Chancellor and Provost Gretchen Ritter. “In this new role, she will help us meet the growing needs of students, faculty and academic leadership. I am confident that her distinction as a scholar, her experience as an academic leader, her considerable ability to connect with people and her broad community connections—both within the University and with the City of Syracuse—will serve as a tremendous asset to the University and will help to round out my team of seasoned leaders in Academic Affairs.” University Scholars Named Cameron Joy Gray ’22, Ifeyinwa Ojukwu ’22 and Cassandra Rodriguez ’22 are among 12 students named as 2022 University Scholars, the highest honor the University bestows on undergraduates. Students were selected based on coursework and academic achievement, independent research and creative work, evidence of intellectual growth or innovation in their disciplinary field, a personal statement and faculty letters of recommendation. Gray, an Our Time Has Come Scholar, is a film major in the College of Visual and Performing Arts. Ojukwu is a psychology and biology major in the College of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Honors Program. Rodriguez is a neuroscience and psychology major in the College of Arts and Sciences. The scholars are honored at a reception and receive special medallions to be worn at Commencement. Haddix is Distinguished Dean’s Professor of Literacy, Race and Justice in the reading and language arts department in the School of Education, with scholarly interests focusing on the experiences of students of color in literacy and English teaching and teacher education and the importance of centering Blackness in educational practices and community spaces. In her role as associate provost, Haddix will advance specific initiatives in diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility and oversee the First-Year Seminar and Women in Science and Engineering. She will also be the lead administrator overseeing University-wide arts and humanities organizations and research programs, coordinating activity for the many independent affiliates such as La Casita and the Community Folk Art Center, and overseeing the Syracuse University Art Museum, Light Work, the Coalition of Museums and Art Centers and the Lender Center for Social Justice. “I am grateful for many opportunities across the span of my career that have enabled me to work with community members at Syracuse University and beyond,” says Haddix. “I have been able to work across disciplines and help lead in our most challenging times. What excites me about this new role is the potential to create these opportunities for our colleagues, students and community.” Haddix was recognized with the 2020 Orange Circle Award for her work facilitating literacy projects in the Syracuse community, including the Writing Our Lives project for urban youth writers. She is co-founder of the Sankofa Reproductive Health and Healing Center and a founding member of Cafe Sankofa Cooperative in Syracuse’s South Side community. Cameron Joy Gray ’22 Ifeyinwa Ojukwu ’22 Cassandra Rodriguez ’22 SPRING 2022 | 33 CAMPUSnews Xiluva Mbungela ’24 Wins 2021 Wesley Award X iluva Mbungela, a third-year student in the School of Architecture, has been named a recipient of the 2021 Robert L. Wesley Award from the SOM Foundation. Named in honor of the first Black partner at SOM, the award supports BIPOC undergraduate students enrolled in architecture, landscape architecture, interior architecture and urban design to alleviate the cost of post-secondary design education. One of only three full fellows to receive the award, Mbungela will receive a $10,000 scholarship to support her academic development, in addition to a yearlong mentorship program connecting her with leading BIPOC practitioners and educators. A native of South Africa, Mbungela believes that projects in the built environment should not only be functional, but engage matters of social justice, ethics and environmental sustainability. “My ultimate dream is to become the founder of an architectural firm saturated by young African architects who create buildings that reflect the strength of African design,” says Mbungela. “Returning to South Africa with a world-class education from Syracuse University coupled with the prestigious Robert L. Wesley Award will distinguish me as a young leader in the field and set me on the path to be part of the drive to reinvent Africa as a place of architectural innovation.” At Syracuse University, Mbungela has been involved in a number of diversity and inclusion initiatives aimed at educating the campus community and empowering marginalized students. She is a member of the National Organization of Minority Architecture Students chapter and a leader in the University’s African Student Union. Mbungela also serves as an orientation leader for Syracuse Welcome, the University’s student orientation program. Ifeyinwa Ojukwu ’22 Named Marshall Scholar S enior Ifeyinwa Ojukwu, a biology and psychology major in the College of Arts and Sciences with a minor in public health in the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, has been named a 2022 Marshall Scholar. Founded in 1953, the Marshall Scholarships fund graduate study in the United Kingdom for outstanding American students. Ojukwu was one of 41 students selected from around the country and is Syracuse University’s fourth Marshall Scholar. At Syracuse, Ojukwu is a Coronat Scholar, a 2021-22 Remembrance Scholar and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program. She will use her Marshall Scholarship to pursue a master’s degree in precision medicine at University College London, and after, plans to pursue a combined M.D./master of public policy program in the U.S. “Race-related health disparities in patient care and outcomes are unfortunately abundant in the U.S., and I’ve come to realize that our approach to solving these issues will have to be multi­faceted and comprehensive in order to be effective,” she says. “I believe one such facet lies in precision medicine, a medical model that more actively takes into account patients’ individual genetic and environmental characteristics. As a future physician and health policy advisor, I hope to be a part of this field’s expansion and broadened application in medical practice and treatment. I believe my Marshall year will be integral to achieving this goal.” New Scholarship Honors $1.5M Grant to Strengthen Felix E. Cochren Indigenous Studies he College of Visual and yracuse University has TS Performing Arts at Syracuse received a $1.5 million University has established a grant from the Andrew W. scholarship fund in memory Mellon Foundation to strengthen of Felix E. Cochren, a faculty Indigenous studies at the member who dedicated himself University. The grant, to be paid to teaching excellence and over three years, will be used developing successful theater to create the multi-disciplinary artists and designers. Cochren was Center for Global Indigenous an associate professor of theater Cultures and Environmental design and technology in the Justice. The grant will also department from 2002 to 2019, expand and enhance curriculum when he passed away at age 68. and course offerings in Native The Felix E. Cochren Jr. Memorial American and Indigenous studies. Scholarship intends to promote a more diverse student body in the Scott Manning Stevens, associate professor and director drama department by providing scholarship and financial assistance of the Native American and Indigenous studies program, will to current students who are underrepresented in the program. serve as executive director of the new center. He is a 2021-22 “Diversity and inclusion in the student population is a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard cornerstone value not only within the drama department but University. throughout the greater Syracuse University community as a Stevens says that the center will explore options for whole,” says Ricky Pak, an assistant professor of acting. “However, Indigenous communities to take on common challenges such a unique challenge for drama is that if we do not have a diverse as cultural heritage preservation and language revitalization, population of students . . . we lose the ability to tell stories that are defending political sovereignty, and climate change and the not traditionally told . . . because we don’t have the appropriate environment. “Today’s students realize that they are on the front student population from which to cast.” lines of climate change and environmental justice issues. They The fund, which began awarding scholarships in Fall 2021, have a sense of urgency because they know that they will witness was established with a gift from the Gerald & Daphna Cramer real-life situations in communities in the Arctic, the Andes and Foundation. Gerald B. Cramer ’52, H’10 was a longtime other marginal climates throughout the world,” he says. benefactor of Syracuse University. A&S Professor to Become President of Rhetoric Society of America G wendolyn Pough, Dean’s Professor of the Humanities and professor of women’s and gender studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, will serve a six-year term as president-elect, president, and past-president, of the Rhetoric Society of America (RSA), beginning in July 2022, becoming the first Black woman to lead the organization. Pough has been a member of RSA’s board of directors since 2018 and is the second faculty member from Syracuse University to serve as RSA president, following Kendall Phillips, professor in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, who held the position of president from 2014 to 2015. The RSA was established in 1968 and is composed of scholars from various disciplines who study the history of rhetoric and explore new areas within the subject of rhetoric where research is especially needed. “Being elected to serve in this capacity is an honor and a privilege,” says Pough. “I attended my first RSA conference in 1998 while I was still in graduate school, and the organization has been a significant part of my career as a rhetorician ever since. As the second Black person and first Black woman elected to lead this organization, I will do my best, with the help of the dynamic and hard-working board of directors, to lead the RSA into the bold and diverse future we are building.” SPRING 2022 | 35 CAMPUSnews Felisha Legette-Jack Tapped to Lead Women’s Basketball F our months after her jersey was retired by Syracuse University, Felisha Legette-Jack ’89 returned to campus as head coach of the Orange women’s basketball team. “I’m coming home! These words bring me great joy,” Legette-Jack says. One of the all-time Orange greats, Legette-Jack brings more than 30 years of coaching experience to her new role. She spent the last 10 years at the University at Buffalo, building the women’s basketball program into one of the perennial powers in the Mid-American Conference (MAC), leading the Bulls to four NCAA Tournaments, including the 2018 Sweet Sixteen. She is the all-time winningest coach in Bulls history with a 202-115 record and four MAC Tournament Championships. During her career she has guided three different Division I programs to a combined 13 winning seasons, nine postseason berths and six 20-win seasons, and has accrued a 343-279 record. A Syracuse native, Legette-Jack led Nottingham High School to a pair of state titles. At Syracuse University, Legette-Jack earned Big East Freshman of the Year honors after helping lead the Orange to their first Big East Championship in school history. As a sophomore, Legette-Jack averaged a double-double (15.8 ppg and 10.1 rpg) en route to honorable mention All-America honors and All-Big East recognition. The next year she earned honorable mention All-America and All-Big East Second Team recognition. After missing the 1987-88 season due to a knee injury, she returned to earn the court earn All-Big East honors for the fourth time in 1988-89. She finished her career as the program’s all-time leader in points, rebounds, field goals made and attempted, and free throws made and attempted. She graduated with bachelor’s degrees in child and family studies, and psychology. Legette-Jack is enshrined in multiple halls of fame, including the Greater Syracuse Hall of Fame, the Syracuse Urban Sports Hall of Fame and the Syracuse University Orange Plus Hall of Fame. She was named to the Big East Silver Anniversary team in 2004 and became the first female in Syracuse University history to have her jersey retired last fall, when her No. 33 jersey was raised to the rafters of the Carrier Dome on Nov. 14, 2021. “My goal is simple: Pursue championships in the classroom and on the basketball court,” says Legette-Jack of her new role. “We will build our program with our C.A.B. philosophy: character, academics and basketball. We will work tirelessly to help our team understand that character will always be first, academics will be a close second, and we will find the best athletes in the world to make you all proud. “We will play with purpose, passion and pride. We will tell our story through our play. Our defense will show with intensity and purpose. Finally, we will earn the right to expand our minds and broaden our horizons together.” Kirsten Elleby Named Deputy Athletic Director K irsten Elleby has joined Syracuse University as deputy athletic director and senior woman administrator, the highest-ranking woman on the athletic department staff. With more than 17 years of athletics administration experience, Elleby previously spent almost six years as associate athletics director for student- athlete enrichment and senior woman administrator at the University of New Orleans. She also held positions at Wake Forest and Coppin State. At Syracuse, Elleby will serve as the liaison to the University’s Title IX Office, represent Syracuse Athletics with her fellow ACC senior woman administrators, and have specific sport oversight responsibilities, including women’s basketball and additional sports to be determined. “Kirsten has tremendous experience and a track record of success in her career,” says John Wildhack ’80, director of athletics. “Her familiarity with the ACC after nine years at Wake Forest, coupled with her broad range of responsibilities throughout her tenure, will be a great resource for our staff and student-athletes.” “I am honored and humbled to be joining Syracuse University Athletics,” Elleby says. “I look forward to working collaboratively with the coaches, staff and administrators to create an environment where our student-athletes will reach their highest potential and have the best experience possible. I am focused on bringing my experiences with me to make a positive impact and serve the student-athletes at the highest level.” Elleby earned a bachelor’s degree from Spelman College and a master’s of education in sports management from Old Dominion University. She is a 2021 graduate of the NCAA Dr. Charles Whitcomb Leadership Institute and a member of National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics, Minority Opportunities Athletic Association, Women Leaders in College Sports and completed the NACWAA/HERS Institute for Administrative Advancement program. Syracuse Enters Partnership With Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference S yracuse University and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) have created an alliance designed to connect institutions, student-athletes, staff and alumni. The MEAC is comprised of eight historically Black institutions across the Atlantic coastline: Coppin State University, Delaware State University, Howard University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Morgan State University, Norfolk State University, North Carolina Central University and South Carolina State University. Under the new agreement, Syracuse has set a goal of holding up to 50 competitions against MEAC institutions over the next 10 years. The first was held Nov. 17, 2021, when the Orange women’s basketball team played Morgan State University. In addition to athletic competition, the agreement calls for an internship exchange between the athletics offices of Syracuse and MEAC institutions, joint seminars on compliance and student-athlete development, and conferences on revenue generation and women’s leadership. There is also a provision for visiting professorships or lecturer exchanges between Syracuse and MEAC institutions. SPRING 2022 | 37 From South Sudan to Syracuse, Kueth and Aprelle Duany Invest In Community I n September 2021, Kueth Duany ’03 and his wife, Aprelle ’03, attended the Coming Back Together reunion, their first trip back to campus in 12 years. “After being gone for so long, I wanted to rebuild a connection back to the University and the community,” he says. “My time at Syracuse was really formational.” Looking for an opportunity to give back, the Duanys “The ethos is to help people pick themselves up by providing contributed $10,000 to the Our Time Has Come Scholarship them opportunities that never existed due to the conflict that Fund. “Education is the reason my parents brought my siblings existed all those years,” he says. and I to the U.S., so that we could become productive citizens,” Duany’s story is like the plot of a Hollywood movie. His father, he says. “I don’t think there’s anything better to give someone the late Wal Duany ’71, was a government officer who had been than an opportunity to be educated.” educated at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship Duany’s family left their native South Sudan in the midst of civil and Public Affairs and was later imprisoned for being a Christian war when he was 3 years old. Today, he is integrally involved in the in public office. In the early 1980s, when the second Sudanese country’s economic recovery through the Duany Group, a company Civil War was starting, Wal and his wife, Julia, were worried their that invests in real estate and businesses, helping to create jobs. young sons would be taken by the Sudan People’s Liberation Army. Kueth and Aprelle Duany visited campus during CBT 2021. The family fled to Bloomington, Indiana, where Wal completed doctoral studies at Indiana University. Duany says it was an idyllic childhood in a university town that was both highly educated and basketball crazy. “The community didn’t treat us as immigrants but embraced us as a family that came out of a very tough situation,” he says. All five Duany children were high achievers, a testament to their upbringing. “We were raised with all of the opportunities American culture provided for us, but in the house, my parents raised us with African values and African traditions, so we were able to get the best of both worlds,” Duany says. “That helped us be kids who were centered, who valued their education and family, who pursued something.” For Duany, that was basketball. He followed his father’s footsteps to Syracuse University on a basketball scholarship to play for the Orange. He majored in information technology, and on the very first day of class, met his future wife, Aprelle. “We were both on the bus from South Campus,” recalls Duany. “I was intrigued by her. When she tells the story, it’s, ‘Why is this funny dressed, too tall guy looking at me?’” Aprelle was also an IT major, and the two became fast friends. As seniors, they decided to give a more serious relationship a try; they married in 2008. “She’s basically been my best friend since 1998,” he says. Duany was the Orange’s starting shooting guard, averaging 11.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. In his senior year, he was selected as the team’s sole captain, a role he took seriously. “We had such a young team. I tried to provide some leadership in terms of the way I conducted myself,” says Duany. With help from Troy Weaver, then assistant coach and now general manager of the Detroit Pistons, he learned to motivate a group to work together and look beyond their own statistical needs. “We built a very unselfish culture,” he says. That team won the 2003 NCAA National Championship. “The lessons I learned have carried over to business and helped me build on my own vision towards what a corporate organization should look like,” he says. It was while Duany was at Syracuse that a number of “Lost Boys” from South Sudan were resettled in Syracuse. The church group sponsoring the refugees reached out to Duany through the athletic department. “These young, traumatized men needed mentors. I looked just like them and was someone who could provide hope,” he says. “It was an easy connection to build relationships with them.” Duany invited them to basketball practices, shooting hoops after practice. In turn, he was invited to their homes and met parents and siblings. “They became my own family in Syracuse. I could eat traditional African food like I used to eat at home. It made Syracuse more meaningful for me,” he says. After graduation, Duany played professionally for five years, both in the United States and abroad. When he retired from basketball, he’d hoped to launch a career in investment banking or consulting but found “nobody wanted to hire a former basketball player who had never worked at a job,” he says. Instead, Duany decided to build his own company investing in his home country. In the early 2000s, his parents had returned to South Sudan to assist with a peace agreement to end the war, which was signed in 2005. In the following years, Duany and all of his siblings would spend time in South Sudan, some of them remaining bicoastal. “None of us had interest in politics or even humanitarian work. We found our niche investing in businesses, investing in real estate, creating jobs and providing people with the dignity of work.” Duany’s father died in 2013. His mother is undersecretary in the Ministry of Labor. Most of his siblings are now focused on careers in the United States, with the exception of older brother Duany Duany, who was recently appointed as an ambassador for South Sudan and is awaiting assignment. While Duany’s real estate investments are primarily in South Sudan, Kenya and other East African countries, he purchased a historic building in downtown Syracuse during the pandemic. “It’s great to be reconnected with Syracuse and contribute to the city’s revitalization,” he says. Duany commutes monthly between South Sudan and Boca Raton, Florida, where Aprelle is based with the couple’s two daughters, ages 10 and 13, who attend school and train at the Evert Tennis Academy. The two locales are a study in contrast. “Progress in a post-conflict country is slow,” says Duany. “It’s arduous. But I always take a long view and there are good people working to make things better. There is opportunity where there once was none.” SPRING 2022 | 39 ALUMNInews Trustee Rob Light Is Major Supporter of OTHC A s a first-year student at Syracuse University, budding journalist Rob Light ’78 wrote an article for The Daily Orange about the University’s concert committee. The story was good; it landed on the front page. But Light, who was passionate about music, realized he might be more interested in the concert committee than writing for the newspaper. As a sophomore, he became president of University Union, the University’s student programming board, and as junior and senior, he directed the concert committee itself. Today, Light is managing partner and chief of music at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), one of the biggest talent agencies in Hollywood. Under Light’s leadership, CAA’s music department represents many of the world’s most popular and talented musical artists and comedians. Light oversees all of CAA’s music agents, providing strategic counsel on concert tours and event bookings worldwide, as well as advising clients on their overall career development. Light acknowledges that while the talent represented by his agency and others is incredibly diverse, Blacks and Latinos are not nearly as represented on the business side of the industry. “I lecture at schools across the country, and I realize many students have no idea what we do as agents,” says Light, a member of the Syracuse University Board of Trustees. Light and his wife, Shelly, want to change that. In an effort to open doors, the couple made a $300,000 gift to the Our Time Has Come Scholarship Fund, creating three scholarships for historically underrepresented students at Syracuse University. Their motivation was simple: to provide opportunity to those who might not otherwise have it in fields that are personally meaningful to them. “Shelly is not an SU grad, but she believes in this mission and was instrumental in encouraging this gift,” Light says. The Light Family Newhouse Scholarship acknowledges the excellent education Light received as an undergraduate journalism major. “I truly believe the Newhouse School is the best communication school in the world. The opportunities I had and people I met, I don’t think would have been duplicated anywhere else,” he says. The Carolyne Barry Scholarship is named in honor of Shelly Light’s late sister, who was an acclaimed acting teacher in Los Angeles, and supports a student in the College of Visual and Performing Arts. And the Light Family Bandier Scholarship supports a student in the interdisciplinary Bandier Program, which trains students for careers in the business side of the recording and entertainment industries. Light has supported various initiatives at the University through the years but, at this point in life, says his focus is on making a direct impact on students. “It makes me very proud when I see my name on a classroom, but much more satisfying when I get to talk to students who might not have had the opportunity had it not been for our scholarships,” he says. Indeed, one of the Lights’ criteria in establishing the OTHC scholarships was to have the opportunity to meet and communicate with the scholarship recipients. “It’s important to know who these people are,” says Light. “I don’t want to just be a name, but someone they can reach out to and vice versa.” The Lights met the first recipient of the Light Family Newhouse Scholarship, Kiana Papin ’22, during the Virtual CBT Reunion Telethon in September 2020. “It’s incredible that someone you don’t know can support you in ways that you could not imagine,” says Papin. “This scholarship means so much to me, and I want to thank Mr. and Mrs. Light for their generosity. I’m excited to one day be in a position to pay it forward and support my Syracuse University community.” And that’s just what Light hopes for. “Every time I lecture students at Syracuse, the last thing I say is, ‘If you’ve had a good experience here, give back,’” he says. “If you have success in life, the best gift you can give is to support future generations.” Vanessa Williams Makes Gift to Fully Endow Scholarship in Her Name I n January, Vanessa Williams ’08 performed at the Kennedy Center’s 50 Years of Broadway celebration, which included a special tribute to composer Stephen Sondheim. For Williams, who sang a duet from Sondheim on Sondheim that she’d performed on Broadway in 2010, it was a full-circle moment. “I remember discovering Sondheim during my freshman year performance class at Syracuse,” she says. “The fact that I got to work with him, become nominated for a Tony because of him, those are the dreams you have as a musical theater student just hoping that you’ll get a chance to sing Sondheim on Broadway, not even considering having him as your friend in your phone book.” Williams now wants to help other students of color achieve their dreams. In December 2021, the multi-talented singer/actress made a major gift to fully fund the Vanessa Williams Endowed Scholarship Fund supporting underrepresented students in Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts through the Our Time Has Come Scholarship Program. “This is something near and dear to my heart,” says Williams. “My parents were both teachers, and education was a top priority in my family. Being able to help provide educational opportunities for young people and to open up doors to their future careers is of the utmost importance to me.” Williams’ scholarship fund was launched in 2019, with proceeds from a benefit concert she performed at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Advancement. Williams performed gratis, with ticket sales supporting the scholarship. Her recent gift brings the scholarship to the $100,000 endowment level, allowing the fund to pay out scholarships beginning next fall. “I wouldn’t have the career I have without the support I received in school and personally in my life to make me who I am,” Williams says. “I want to support people who have the same passion and drive, the same skill set, to be able to go to a university that not only gives them training in the arts, but also a campus environment. Because there’s something unique about a college experience that happens only a small time in your life where you don’t realize how great it is until you graduate.” Williams attended Syracuse University on a Presidential Scholarship for the Arts, majoring in musical theater. During her junior year, she was approached to participate in the Miss Syracuse Pageant. She had been cast in a Syracuse Stage production of Cyrano de Bergerac, but when the show closed early, she found herself available. “I won Miss Syracuse in April, Miss New York State in July and Miss America in September,” she says. “And that was the end of my Syracuse career.” When she was crowned in 1984, Williams was catapulted to fame as the first Black Miss America. She successfully used that platform to launch her multi-faceted performance career, which encompasses popular music, Broadway, television and film. She’s sold millions of albums and earned four Emmy nominations, 11 Grammy nominations, a Tony nomination, three SAG award nominations, seven NAACP Image Awards and three Satellite Awards. Her platinum single “Colors of the Wind,” from Disney’s Pocahontas, won the Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe for Best Original Song. Williams has been recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and honored by the International Foreign Press Academy with the Mary Pickford Award in 2010 for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to the Entertainment Industry. Her autobiography, You Have No Idea, co-written with her mother, Helen Williams, was a New York Times best-seller in 2012. Bubble Kisses, her first picture book for children, received the International Book Award in the category of Best Children’s Picture Book in 2020, among other honors. Williams is proud to be a symbol for students of someone who manifested their dream, and also that her success affords her the ability to give back. “This is an opportunity to provide scholarships to people that need the money, need support, and who might not have the resources that other people do,” she says. “For those students, it’s a game-changer.” SPRING 2022 | 41 ALUMNInews René Marsh Pens Children’s Book to Battle Pediatric Cancer ike all new parents, René Marsh G’03 was thrilled by the birth of her first child, son Blake, in 2019. But only nine months later, the unthinkable happened: Blake was diagnosed with L a rare brain tumor, pineoblastoma. He died 16 months later. Navigating Blake’s medical journey, Marsh, a national correspondent at CNN, was shocked to learn how little federal funding is dedicated to pediatric brain cancer, the leading cause of death by disease for children under age 15. In 2018, only 5% of the National Cancer Institute’s $6 billion budget was earmarked toward pediatric cancer. Funding for research in childhood brain cancer is even more limited. No drug has ever been developed and approved specifically to treat children with brain cancer. “Blake was actually treated with chemotherapy drugs that were developed and designed for adults decades ago, one drug seven decades ago,” says Marsh. “This one-size­fits-all approach doesn’t work. A child’s cancer is biologically different, and in many cases, more aggressive.” Spending long hours sitting at her child’s hospital bedside, Marsh read to him constantly. “He wasn’t conscious, but I didn’t know if he could hear my voice and I wanted him to know he wasn’t alone,” she says. Blake had always loved books and being read to. During that time, Marsh began writing a child’s book of her own, the story of a little boy overcoming a terrible monster. Inspired by David and Goliath, Marsh says the book is about “the power of hope when you’re facing life’s challenges. “The idea for the story came out of a dark time for us during Blake’s treatment,” says Marsh. “I wanted to write a book that I could read to Blake that would give him that fighting spirit of, ‘you can do it, even when the odds are stacked against you.’ I was writing for him, but I was kind of writing for myself, too.” As the mother of a child with cancer, Marsh says she was not unique in wanting to do everything possible for her child. But as a journalist at a major news network, she also had a rare platform. The Miracle Workers: Boy vs. Beast was published Nov. 1, 2021. Marsh launched the book on air on CNN, and the initial printing sold out in 72 hours. All profits from the book (available for sale at www.renemarsh.com) directly support the Blake Vince Payne Star Fund, established by Marsh and her husband, Cedric Payne, to support research on pineoblastoma in infants and to develop new therapies. Under the auspices of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, the Blake Vince Payne Star Fund directly supports an unprecedented effort to find a cure. Annie Huang, a pediatric neuro-oncologist and scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, and Paul Northcott, pediatric brain cancer scientist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, are advisors to the project. “They’ve created a blueprint for the necessary steps to get to a cure. We’re awaiting proposals for how they will start this research, and all of the money that we raise goes directly to that work,” says Marsh. As a journalist, Marsh knows how to find experts. She considers her master’s degree in broadcast journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications “probably the best investment I ever made. “I had great professors who brought their real-world experience in TV news into the classroom,” she says. “I felt very prepared when it was time for me to look for a job.” Before CNN, Marsh worked at news stations in Miami; Albany, New York; and Shreveport, Louisiana. She’s currently based in Washington, D.C. She says her children’s book is an extension of her storytelling ability. “Regardless of what people are facing in life, my goal is that readers will find comfort and be inspired,” she says. “Living in a pandemic, I think that messaging particularly resonates with people now.” Alumni Couple Purchase Greenberg House hen Oliver Fernandez ’08 and Leah Fernandez ’08 were living in New York City, they would visit Leah’s sister in Washington, D.C., and walk past the Syracuse WUniversity Greenberg House, at the time, the University’s headquarters in the city. Now, the couple own the building. “I was walking by these properties pulling my suitcase to sleep on Leah’s sister’s couch,” says Oliver, the owner and president of McKenzie Construction, a government contractor. “So, it’s crazy how it comes full circle. Now, we live down the street.” Oliver and Leah met as Syracuse University undergraduates. Oliver studied civil engineering while Leah studied marketing and psychology. The two moved to New York City in 2010, where Oliver worked at an engineering firm while working on his construction business on the side. When the couple moved to Washington in 2014, they already knew of the Greenberg House as a landmark in the city with a connection to their alma mater. But they never imagined owning the space until they walked by one day in 2020 and saw a “For Sale” sign outside. Syracuse University purchased Greenberg House in 1988, using it as its home base in Washington until it outgrew the space. At first, the couple weren’t interested in the building because it needed significant renovations. But when the demand for their businesses—McKenzie Construction and Leah’s real estate firm—increased, they took a closer look. The couple needed a place for their respective businesses, and the Greenberg House met their requirements—a five-minute walk from their home, spacious and connected to Syracuse. “All these things started lining up, and then Syracuse was willing to work with us on pricing. So it was like, ‘Let’s make this happen,’” Oliver says. Both Oliver and Leah credit Syracuse for their entrepreneurial spirit. “Meeting people that could make things happen, meeting people that were different from myself and then figuring out what I was really interested in,” says Leah. Under the couple’s ownership, the top half of the building will serve as office space for McKenzie Construction, while the bottom half will house Properties by Leah. The two emphasized their perseverance when their businesses struggled with the onset of the pandemic. “We’re not saying that there hasn’t been hardship, but it’s important to keep moving forward and raise everybody up around you as well,” Leah says. “We want to do that for the community.” ALUMNInews Evelyn Ingram Awarded Funding to Restore Historic Syracuse Church E velyn Ingram ’90 and her husband, Chino, were awarded $1.2 million in Empire State Development Funds to help restore a piece of Syracuse African American history. The couple purchased South Presbyterian Church, located on Syracuse’s South Side, and plan to transform the building into The Castle, a sophisticated multi-use venue with an elegant event space, upscale lounge and training center. “Our investment on this side of town is significant for us as African Americans and to recognize that the change begins with us,” says Ingram, director of community engagement for Wegmans Food Markets. The couple say the project is particularly meaningful because Chino grew up two doors down from the church. The church is on the National Register of Historic Places and had been vacant for more than a decade when the Ingrams purchased it from the Greater Syracuse Land Bank in 2019. They estimate the cost of the renovation project at $8 million, which they hope to complete in two years, with the aid of historic preservation tax credits, grants, investors and their own funds. “We stand on our faith, and we know that it will happen,” she says. Syracuse Honors Legacy of Manny Breland O fficials from across Syracuse University and Central New York came out to honor the life and legacy of the late Emanuel “Manny” Breland ’57, during a halftime ceremony held during the Orange men’s basketball game against Boston College on Feb. 19, 2022. Breland, a standout athlete, dedicated educator and community leader, died Dec. 4, 2021, from pancreatic cancer. Members of Breland’s family were joined by Syracuse University Athletics Director John Wildhack ’80, Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh G’05, Syracuse City School District Superintendent Jaime Alicea G’88 and others as they celebrated Breland’s achievements and the impact he had on the City of Syracuse. The family was presented with a Syracuse University basketball signed by Head Coach Jim Boeheim ’66, G’73, an alumni recognition document, and a city proclamation recognizing Manny’s contribution to the City of Syracuse, declaring Feb. 19, 2022, “Manny Breland Day.” Breland was the first Black athlete to receive a basketball scholarship to attend Syracuse University. He was a starring guard on the basketball team, helping to lead the team to its first NCAA Eastern Finals in 1957. He started 56 games for the Orange, finishing with a career average of 8.5 points per game. After graduating from Syracuse University, Breland had a long career as an educator, high school principal and basketball coach. He was the first Black basketball coach in Central New York and coached the Central Technical High School boys team to two section titles. After 30 years of service, Breland retired in 1991 and was inducted into the Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame in 1992. Breland will also be honored by the City of Syracuse as one of four homegrown basketball stars to be featured on a “Syracuse Trailbazers” mural planned for downtown. SPRING 2022 | 45 ALUMNInews mySUlife Clothing Line to Support OTHC B rooklyn native Gina (Brown) Keller ’89 has developed a social media following by chronicling her life, including raising a teenage son, finding love with a childhood friend after age 50, and planning a wedding. #myBKlife grew from a hashtag to an Instagram account, YouTube channel, website and a line of myBKlife slogan clothing and accessories. On April 15, Keller released an offshoot of that brand, mySUlife, a line of similar merchandise with a slogan to appeal to her fellow Syracuse University alumni. A portion of proceeds will benefit the Our Time Has Come Scholarship Program. “I believe it’s important to support our youth and provide students with opportunities,” she says. “Syracuse University is not cheap. Having been a student and preparing to send my own son to college, I know what a challenge it can be.” Keller started myBKlife in 2018 with fiancé Steve Brown after seeing positive reactions to the #myBKlife she added to her social media posts. She and Brown had grown up on the same Brooklyn block and reconnected in 2014. Their love story, reflected in their social media, gained a following. “Steve said, ‘We need to put this on a hoodie,’” Keller recalls. The hoodie was soon joined by T-shirts, hats, masks and other merchandise bearing the slogan and is often worn by Keller and Brown in their social media. “myBKlife represents all the positive aspects of our lives and is also a reflection of our love for Brooklyn,” says Keller. The couple also has a YouTube show, Car Chronicles with Steve and Gina, in which they chat about everyday life from their car, including postponing their wedding due to the pandemic. “We received such great, positive feedback, we just kept going with it,” she says. The couple, who will be married this spring in Brooklyn, sell their merchandise via the myBKlife website and through pop-up shop events they started during the pandemic. “We held the first one in August 2020 and sold out 90% of our merchandise,” she says. A devoted alumna, Keller has regularly attended CBT reunions and served on event committees, co-chairing the first CBT 5K Fun Run in 2017. At CBT 2021, she and Steve took part in the inaugural ’Cuse Marketplace, where alumni entrepreneurs had the opportunity to promote products and services. “A classmate told me she followed my social media and suggested doing something with mySUlife. That’s where the idea was born,” says Keller. “It really made sense as an expansion of sharing my life.” mySUlife merchandise is now available for sale on MyBKlife.com. Keller says the new line is a direct result of her Syracuse University network. Brown plans to use proceeds to fund the mySULife Memorial Endowed Scholarship in honor of Steve’s father, David Nathaniel Richardson, who passed away recently. “This is my way to give back,” she says. Gina Brown Keller ’89 models some of the items in her new line of mySUlife gear, which benefits the OTHC Scholarship Fund. HISTORYlesson Syracuse’s Martin Luther E to Dr. King on campus—a student scholarship or a library. Brown and Merritt were student activists who had helped found the Student Afro-American Society (SAS) in February 1967. Merritt was then president, having succeeded the founding president, St. Clair Bourne ’67. After King’s assassination, they formed the King Alliance for Progress and began raising money from organizations and individuals, both on and off campus. From this effort, funds were used to purchase books to establish the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library—a bookshelf in the Black Cultural Center on Walnut Place. “Before I graduated in May 1969, I remember putting those first books on their shelves, saying, ‘This library now exists,’” recalls Brown. Concurrent with efforts to honor King, Brown chaired the SAS Afro-American Studies Committee, which successfully lobbied the University to start an Afro-American Studies program that same year. The program became a department in 1979. But within 10 years, Black students and faculty became frustrated by what they viewed as lack of support for both Syracuse University’s Department of African American Studies (AAS) and its Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Memorial Library. The department had been without a permanent chair since 1982. In 1988, Wynetta Devore, a professor of social work who was then president of the Black Faculty and Staff Association, attempted to negotiate for an enhanced library with a dedicated librarian but those efforts were stonewalled pending the hiring of a permanent chair. SAS President Agyei Tyehimba ’92 (then known as Quentin Stith), began a campaign to push for improvements for the AAS department. Those efforts came to a head in March 1989 when SAS staged a major protest engaging hundreds of Black students to disrupt the ribbon-cutting of the University’s new Sci-Tech Center and a luncheon following attended by local and state dignitaries. Robert Hill, vice president for public relations and special assistant to the Chancellor, stepped in as mediator between University administrators Gershon Vincow, vice chancellor for academic affairs, and Sam Gorovitz, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and SAS officers Stith and Sam Reynolds ’89. Ultimately, AAS faculty, including Professors Renate Simson and Janis Mayes, successfully worked with the administration in creating what became known as the 13-Point Document, a plan to foster departmental development and expansion, leading to the hiring of Bruce Hare as chair of African American studies and Miserach Zekarias as the inaugural MLK librarian. Evolving from its student roots, the MLK Library is now the only accredited department library at Syracuse University, fulfilling its original mission to bring discovery of the African Diaspora and illuminate the culture and life of Black people often excluded or limited within traditional academic libraries. Located in Sims Hall, the library boasts a collection of some 11,300 books and items, including rare, autographed, first editions, limited and select formats, a wide variety of media, personal papers, artifacts, ephemera, photographs, newspaper and scrapbook collections, and the library’s most treasured item—a letter from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Although originally created as a space for Black students, “Today, as Dr. King probably would have wished . . . the library is home to many diverse students from all different backgrounds and nationalities,” says MLK librarian Angela Williams. IN MEMORIAM Charles V. Willie G’57, H’92, of Brighton, Massachusetts, died Jan. 11, 2022. A sociologist, he was the Charles William Eliot Professor of Education Emeritus at Harvard University and former Boston School Desegregation Master. Willie was born in Dallas, a grandson of enslaved people. He attended Morehouse College at age 16, where he became a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, was elected class president and was mentored by Morehouse President Benjamin E. Mays. He graduated in 1948 and earned a master’s degree from Atlanta University in 1949. Willie taught at Syracuse University from 1950 to 1974, rising from graduate student lecturer to chair of the Department of Sociology and eventually vice president for student affairs. He was Syracuse’s first Black tenured faculty member, department chair and vice president. Willie took a leave of absence from Syracuse at the invitation of Robert F. Kennedy to direct the research arm of Washington Action for Youth, a crime prevention and youth intervention program. Willie returned to Syracuse in the mid-1960s, during which time he brought his Morehouse classmate Martin Luther King Jr. to speak twice at the University. In 1966-67, Willie took another leave from Syracuse at the invitation of Harvard Medical School, where he taught and conducted research in its Department of Psychiatry as part of the Laboratory of Community Psychiatry and at the Episcopal Divinity School. In 1974, Willie left Syracuse to accept a tenured position as professor of education and urban studies at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. In 1999, he retired from his post as the Charles William Eliot Professor of Education and was named Professor Emeritus. He continued to teach part time for another decade. Willie’s groundbreaking research encompassed issues of social justice—including desegregation, poverty, housing policy and the experience of Black students at predominantly white colleges. He wrote more than 100 articles and 35 books on race, education and urban communities. As an applied sociologist, he focused on solving social problems, serving as a consultant, expert witness and court-appointed master in major school desegregation cases in the United States. He was once the highest lay official in the Episcopal Church in America, stepping down in 1974 to protest the church’s refusal to recognize women as priests. Willie received 15 honorary degrees, including a Doctor of Humane Letters from Syracuse University presented in 1992. In 2000, he received the George Arents Pioneer Medal, Syracuse University’s highest alumni honor, presented to alumni who have made outstanding contributions to their chosen fields. In 2003, the Department of Student Affairs created the Charles V. Willie Distinguished Lecture series. And in 2017, he was honored by Chancellor Kent Syverud with the Chancellor’s Citation for Lifetime Achievement. Willie is survived by his wife of 57 years, Mary Sue; and their three children: Sarah, professor of sociology and anthropology and provost at Swarthmore College; Martin, an architect and community developer; and James G’98, who works in government and serves on the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs’ Board of Visitors and their families. Charlene McDougle Smith G’71, of Greensboro, North Carolina, died Jan. 12, 2022. Smith was born in and raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where her mother was a teacher and her father was a principal and school administrator. She attended Hampton University, where she met her future husband, Horace H. Smith G’70. The couple moved to Syracuse where Horace forged a distinguished 32-year career in college retention at Syracuse University, retiring as vice president of undergraduate studies in 2008. Smith earned a master’s degree at Syracuse and worked as a social worker and administrator in the Syracuse City School District. Known for her impeccable attire and infectious smile, she was a practicing Baptist and an active member of Jack and Jill and the Syracuse chapter of Delta Theta Sorority. Smith is survived by her husband, Horace; daughters Tonya and Tamara; her brother Charles; and numerous relatives and friends. IN MEMORIAM Clyde Forbes ’76, of Rochester, New York, died Dec. 21, 2021, after a lengthy illness. A native of Rochester, Forbes graduated from East High School, then attended Syracuse University, where he was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity and earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. Known as a leader, influencer, activist and positive contributor in the Rochester community and beyond, Forbes earned an MBA from the University of Rochester and had a 32­year career with Rochester Gas and Electric, retiring in 2008 as director of economic development. He then founded Wellington Solutions, serving as president. Forbes served as a trustee of the Goodwill Missionary Baptist Church, as well as building construction consultant. Forbes is survived by his brothers, Minister Prince and Wilfred Forbes; his sisters, Bishop Gloria Ferguson, Deloris Williams, Beatrice Hamer, Carmetha Jones, Natalie Jackson and Alberta Baker; his companion, Debra Graves; and a host of extended family and friends. Diane Green-El G’95, of Fayetteville, New York, died Oct. 2, 2021. Born in Brooklyn, Green-El earned a bachelor’s degree from Brown University, a medical degree from Upstate Medical University, and completed a residency in pediatrics at the University of Buffalo. In 1995, she earned an MBA from Syracuse University. Green-El’s career as a pediatrician and a health care administrator began when she accepted a position at the Syracuse Community Health Center, launching a 40-year commitment to promoting quality health care for all. Her mission, to ensure the highest quality of care be delivered to the Health Center’s diverse patient population, was evidenced in all of her work. Green-El chose pediatrics because she believed every child deserved quality care, but after assuming her role as medical director, she soon found herself promoting quality health care for all, including access to prenatal care for young women and mental health services for those who might otherwise be excluded from care. During her career in Syracuse, she served multiple terms as medical director and later as chief clinical officer. Under her clinical leadership, Syracuse Community Health Center became one of the first to become certified by the newly reorganized Joint Commission on Health Care Organizations. Green-El later became the first medical director for Total Care, a licensed health maintenance organization designed to insure medically underserved populations. She also provided clinical oversight for the establishment of one of the first seven-day-a­week urgent care programs in Onondaga County, Extended Hours Services. Even though her administrative responsibilities were often arduous, she continued fulfilling her work as a pediatrician, maintaining regular clinical hours in the office, managing a hospital schedule caring for sick children and rounding on newborns. Green-El was an active member of the National Medical Association and of Central Baptist Church. She is survived by her mother, Doris; her brother, Charles; stepsons, Emanuel B. Henderson III and LaMar B. Henderson; and other family. Judith Carmen Hanson ’99, of Springfield, Massachusetts, died Dec. 16, 2021. Affectionately known as “Judy,” Hanson graduated from Springfield Central High School and received a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from Syracuse University. She worked briefly at Education and Training Programs in Windsor, Connecticut, and for the last 25 years was employed at MassMutual Life Insurance Company. Adored by her colleagues, Hanson was known to be a hard worker, dependable, detailed, smart and valuable member of her technology team. She was a community volunteer, working with Junior Achievement and tutoring in her spare time. She was also a proud member of the National Society of Black Engineers. She enjoyed the beach, traveling, music, sports and any form of trivia. Hanson is survived by her parents, Lloyd and Lillieth Hanson; sister, Coleen Corlis; her brothers Omar and Owen Hanson; cousins Carol, Debbie, Arlene and Mascino; goddaughter, Taevosha; nieces Nia, Devin and Maxine; nephews Hakeem, Donovan, Zavier and Dominic; and numerous other family members and friends. Krystle M. Davis ’07, of Maybrook, New York, died Dec. 2, 2021. Born in Bronx, New York, Davis studied magazine journalism, sociology and African American studies at Syracuse University, graduating summa cum laude. A Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholar, she served as editor-in-chief of 360 Degrees magazine, staff writer at The Daily Orange, was a contributor to The Black Voice and The Citizen newspaper (Auburn, New York), served as Literacy Corps tutor and was a Newhouse Ambassador. As a senior, she was selected as a Syracuse University Scholar, the highest undergraduate honor that the University bestows. Davis spent nearly 15 years at Forbes, rising from copy editor to most recently serving as associate director of content marketing. Davis is survived by her father, Robert Davis; her mother, Anna Thompson; sisters Arianna VanDunk, Tai Davis and Monique Glover; and other family. SPRING 2022 | 51 IN MEMORIAM Madison Noelle Chappell ’19, of New York City, died Feb. 7, 2022, from cervical cancer. Raised in Harlem and Scarsdale, New York, Chappell played the drums, guitar, piano and violin. In middle school, she played violin at the United Nations in New York City and later performed in many different countries with her high school orchestra. With a goal to become a physician, Chappell served as an EMS volunteer from her senior year in high school through college. She studied psychology at Syracuse University, her parents’ alma mater, completing all of the pre-medicine requirements. She spent summers during college volunteering in the robotics clinic at the Burke Neurological Institute and, pre-pandemic, volunteered in the maternity department at Mount Sinai West. In 2018, Chappell was diagnosed with metastatic cervical cancer and advised to drop out of school. Despite her terminal illness, she was proud to remain a full-time student and make the Dean’s List twice. She also ran a clothing business, Be Decent Clothing, and was a Twitch-affiliated streamer. After graduation, she joined her local Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority chapter, where her mother (who joined at Syracuse University) now serves. Chappell is survived by her parents, Robert and Nicole Chappell; her brothers, Robby (a student at the Syracuse University College of Law), and Noah; grandparents; and other family. FACULTY Wynetta Devore, of Syracuse, New York, died Dec. 19, 2020. She was professor emerita of social work at Syracuse University. Born in North Carolina and raised in New Jersey, Devore earned an undergraduate degree from Hope College and an M.S.W. and doctorate in education at the State University of New Jersey. She worked in several public welfare programs and taught at Kean College, New Jersey, before joining the faculty at Rutgers University. In 1980, Devore joined Syracuse University’s School of Social Work, where she taught foundational courses including Human Diversity, Human Behavior in the Social Environment and Foundations of Social Work Practice. She was a consistent advocate for ensuring that the School of Social Work was a model program for student success taught by a diverse faculty. In 1981, she co-authored Ethnic Sensitive Social Work Practice with Elfriede G. Schlesinger, Ph.D. The book—a seminal work on race, social work practice and social work education—is now in its fifth edition. Devore was active at the University, serving as president of the Black Faculty and Staff Association, and in the social work profession, serving on numerous editorial boards and presenting at global conferences on topics and trends of significance. She received the Syracuse University Chancellor’s Citation for Exceptional Academic Achievement in 1996. After retiring in 1999, she remained a vital presence, giving occasional guest lectures and served as the keynote speaker for the School of Social Work’s 60th anniversary celebration in 2017. A longstanding member of Park Central Presbyterian Church, Devore served as a deacon and an elder and went on several long-term mission trips to New Orleans, Haiti and South Africa, where she taught courses on AIDS. As a member of the Syracuse Chapter of The Links Inc., she led many successful fundraising and service programs, including the African Doll Project. This international effort collected more than 250 Black dolls that she personally took to child care centers in townships outside Cape Town in South Africa for local children who, under apartheid, were denied the privilege of owning dolls in their own images and skin types. The chapter was awarded first place by the International Services Committee at the 1996 National Assembly for this project. Devore is survived by her children, Julia Bryant and David Bryant; her brother, Jesse Devore; and a host of cousins. NON PROFIT ORG US POSTAGE Office of Multicultural Advancement PAID 640 Skytop Rd, Second Floor SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY Syracuse NY 13244-5160 SYRACUSE NY Save the Date: OurTime Has Come Scholarship Golf Tournament November 14, 2022 Weston, Florida! Stay tuned for further details!