Posted on May 5, 2005

Class of 1957 Looks Ahead

The library at the Stanley R. Becker Career Center is all about the future.

This well-used resource is a campus hub for tracking employment and graduate school opportunities – a one-stop shop where students can conduct resumé and career research, develop networking opportunities and access career counseling to help shape life after Union.

Appropriately enough, the Class of 1957 is taking a forward-looking approach in naming and maintaining the library. Four years before the Class's 50th ReUnion, fundraising for the Becker Center Library Project is roughly 55 percent complete.

“I thought if we allowed classmates to pledge over several years, we would get better results,” said Class President Alan Cox.

“In all ways, this project is a first experience for the Class,” said ReUnion Co-Chair Fred Frank. “We decided to do something unique to commemorate our 50th anniversary. We decided to set $125,000 as the target money goal. That's larger than we've ever raised.”

The Class of 1957 already has a successful track record in contributions. Here are two for the books: In fall 2003, the class won the Dixon Ryan Fox Cup, which traditionally goes to the class with the highest percentage of Annual Fund participation that has not yet celebrated its 50th ReUnion. (Participation that year topped 70 percent.) In addition, class member Doug Seholm has given a substantial endowment for Jackson's Garden.

The Stanley R. Becker Center was home to the Admissions Office before that office moved to Grant Hall, and it also was once the location of the Old Gym. In addition to employer and graduate school materials, the Becker Library offers instructional handouts, numerous alumni listings and a host of career exploration books and directories.

Most would agree that anything the Class of '57 earmarks for the Becker Library is sure to have a long shelf life.

Class of 1955 Hits the Right Note

“We were the class just after the World War II vets,” said Class of '55 Head Agent Ken Haeffner. “It was very unified by virtue of its small size,” said ReUnion Chair Dom Carbone.

That unity is once again apparent – five decades later – as the Class of 1955 gets ready to celebrate its 50th ReUnion in the spring.

“We pledged $50,000 to do the lobby or atrium of the new music building,” Carbone noted. Added Haeffner: “That's over and above the Annual Fund.”

Union's Class of 1955 includes 27 physicians, numerous attorneys and, like Carbone and Haeffner, engineers and financial experts. One of its most prominent members is Robert Chartoff, producer of the Rocky films, Raging Bull and other Hollywood blockbusters.

Both Carbone and Haeffner say the education they received at Union was key in helping them forge good futures and good fortunes. Carbone, who earned a B.A. in economics, is retired from New York Telephone as corporate treasurer and remains active in his Benita Springs, Fla., real estate agency. Haeffner, who holds an M.S. in engineering, is retired from General Electric, where he was a control engineer. A Korean War jet fighter pilot, the Schenectady resident still flies and is also an avid sailor.

“Ken and Dom personify the tremendous energy and enthusiasm of the Class of 1955,” said Union Director of Annual Giving Gail Dexter. “This generous class gift shows how eager they and their classmates are to give back to Union.” When the time comes, the dedication of the new music building will be, well, music to everyone's ears.

Posted on May 5, 2005

Reconnected: Les Trachtman '77

Some loves happen quickly, others quietly. Some fade or grow. Les Trachtman's love of Union has only gotten deeper after a period of taking his alma mater for granted.

“I was a 'passive connected' person as a graduate until (Leadership Gifts Officer) Megan Donovan '97 invited me for coffee,” Trachtman recounted recently. “That was the rebirth of my love affair with Union.”

In nurturing his newfound appreciation for the College, Trachtman, an electrical engineer with extensive experience in equity compensation, mergers and acquisitions, became chairman of the Eliphalet Nott Society (ENS).

“It's a terrific program that fosters entrepreneurship and a great way to connect back with alums,” he said. Those who belong to this select group of grads and others, he noted, pledge 2 percent of the equity in enterprises they founded or served as principal, lender or investor, upon liquidation of the enterprise.

Trachtman, who holds a B.S. in electrical engineering cum laude from Union and MBA and JD degrees from Emory University, was president of the high-tech software company Transcentive, based in Shelton, Conn., until last winter, when an Australian firm acquired it. Transcentive was the second company that grew four-fold under Trachtman's leadership.

“Union taught me to aspire to greater things. Since then, I've solicited – rather than feared – challenge,” Trachtman said. He singled out two professors, Yu Chang and Ed Craig, as particularly inspirational.

“Because of my broad-based background at Union, I could understand technology and convert that knowledge into something ordinary human beings can understand,” Trachtman said. “I think that's the Union story.”

The right chemistry: Michelle Spaziani '95

On her first visit to campus, Michelle Spaziani was greeted by everyone she passed. “It was the most welcoming feeling. I immediately felt I could belong,” she said.

That initial sense of belonging only deepened for Spaziani, a chemistry graduate who went on to carve out a successful career in financial consulting. Now, as Head Class Agent, Spaziani makes sure her Union classmates maintain connections to their alma mater and continue to give back.

She and other Class of '95 volunteers are working toward two financial goals for their 10th ReUnion: $10,772 in support of the Union Fund, which helps sustain the Union community, and $10,000 for the new Bicentennial Class Scholarship.

To be awarded during the 2005-06 academic year, the scholarship would mark the first time a class gift has been donated by Union graduates celebrating a ReUnion of less than 15 years.

An avid caller in Annual Fund phonathons as a Union student, Spaziani continued volunteering after graduating and while earning master's degrees in chemistry and public health at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She is a financial consultant with A.G. Edwards, with certifications from the College of Financial Planning.

Totally invested in her volunteer work at Union, she says, “Union is about all kinds of learning. Students are encouraged to explore everything.” She feels indebted to Mary Kay Carroll, assistant professor of chemistry, and “to the entire chemistry community at Union.”

With her continued volunteering, the chemistry continues to be right.

With Interest: Patrick Dicerbo '88

“The more interested I get in Union, the more interesting Union becomes for me,” says Patrick DiCerbo, Annual Fund chairman and volunteer recruiter.

The road from student to active alum has been a clear-cut one for DiCerbo, a special agent with Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company who lives minutes from campus with his wife, Jennifer C. Pacchiana '91.

Twenty years ago, as a Galway High School athlete, DiCerbo regarded the College as “hallowed ground” when he and his teammates came on campus to wrestle at Alumni Gym.

At Union, he majored in European history and Spanish, competed in track, cross-country and rugby, and represented Delta Phi on the Interfraternity Council. He was one of the few students to spend three terms abroad, in Spain, Mexico and Barbados, which he says prepared him for the rest of his life.

“A term abroad is the cornerstone of a liberal arts education,” he said. “It helps turn out people who are well-rounded and can adapt to any situation.” He credits International Studies Director William Thomas and professors George and Sharon Gmelch for facilitating those experiences.

Involved in the Annual Fund, Ramée Circle and ReUnions, DiCerbo describes Union as “a place to go back to.” He's particularly pleased with the forward-thinking initiatives of the You are Union Campaign.

“We have to raise more money to be what we want to be,” DiCerbo said. “At Union, people put a lot of effort into their work, from the administration and faculty to the maintenance people. There has Fbeen consistent quality over a long period of time. Union has stood the test of time, and it is only getting better and better.”

Posted on May 5, 2005

The sound of musical giving Mother-daughter duo orchestrates perfect gift

A daughter's vision

Supporting Union's music programs is a natural for Adrian MacLean Jay '98, who recently described a class with Music Professor Hilary Tann as “hands down the best College class I ever took.”

Adrian, who majored in history but was mesmerized by music, recalls the time Tann told her class of trained amateur musicians to tear up the course syllabus. “It made us open our ears and give everything a chance,” Adrian said.

She also remembers the cramped rooms where she practiced piano, and as a result, she had a strong desire to upgrade the College's music facilities. “I hope to help Hilary's dream be realized, with a quality theater and practice rooms that are acoustically wonderful,” she said. The MacLean family gift will do just that.

“In our family, we like to give back to schools and institutions. My parents encouraged me, and gave times 10,” Adrian said, noting Mary Ann and Barry MacLean's tradition of matching their children's donations tenfold. “I've always tried to be a good steward and give back, and to increase as I've gone along.”

Graduating from Union into a successful television career, Adrian is a producer and writer for Jewelry Television, a 24-hour gem and jewelry network in Knoxville, Tenn. “Gem” is the word she uses to describe Union, which remains close to her heart. It was while visiting from her Chicago home a decade ago that she fell in love with the school instantaneously.

“I knew in 10 seconds,” she said.

A mother's legacy

The MacLean family's $275,000 gift to support the music building at Union grew out of daughter Adrian MacLean Jay's desire to expand performance space and practice rooms on campus.

The gift also is in keeping with family tradition. Union Trustee Mary Ann MacLean and her husband, Barry, previously have supported renovations to the College's Schaffer Library, and they've encouraged their children to give generously to institutions that have helped shape and nurture them.

“Education is the focus of any philanthropic work that Barry and I have been able to do,” Mary Ann said recently. The MacLeans are co-owners of the MacLean-Fogg Company in Mundelein, Ill., a global company specializing in high-performance fastener and component manufacturing.

Appointed a Term Trustee in 1995, Mary Ann launched a one-woman campaign to sing Union's praises. She was instrumental in arranging to fly groups of high school guidance counselors from Chicago to the College to aid in education, outreach and recruitment efforts. In all respects, she noted, “Union is such a welcoming place.”

For both mother and daughter, the sound of music from the facilities they're helping to revitalize is sure to strike just the right chord in welcoming future students to campus.

Posted on May 5, 2005

The Garnet Blades

In 2000, Dalton Menhall '92 teamed with Chris Hancock '96, Chris Sears '96 and Rick Clifford '92 in founding the Garnet Blades to help the Dutchmen remain competitive in the ECAC and the NCAA. One hundred members strong, the Blades have helped support everything from the purchase of new jerseys and equipment to the cost of coaches' clinics. The organization also sponsors an annual golf outing, which raised more than $10,000 last year. Hockey and golf afficionados, take note: the Fourth Annual Garnet Blades Golf Tournament is set for Friday, June 3.

The Icemen Liketh

Hockey alumni, players, fans and guests gathered with Union leaders in mid-November for the locker room dedication. Seeing the new lockers for the first time, “I walked around with my mouth open,” said lead fundraiser Dalton Menhall '92. “Current players like Jordan Webb, Brian Kerr and Joel Beal were as blown away as I was. Then I watched as Union skated to its first-ever weekend sweep of RPI in Division I history.”

Posted on May 5, 2005

The sweet smell of hockey
Varsity hockey scores big with locker room project

The men's varsity hockey locker room has gone from dank to swank, thanks to renovations spearheaded by former Union players eager to give their old, dented steel lockers the boot.

The new facility in the Frank L. Messa Rink at Union's Achilles Center is winning cheers for its comfort and cleanliness.

“We went from having the worst locker facility in the league to being in Division I's top tier,” said Men's Varsity Head Coach Nate Leaman. “It's really helped with team attitude and morale. It's easier to ask guys to work hard when they're treated in a first-class manner.”

The locker project began with a conversation last season between Coach Leaman and Dalton Menhall '92, who played for the Dutchmen from 1988-89 through the 1991-92 season. A founder of the Garnet Blades, Menhall was in the locker room in February 2004 when opportunity hit.

“There we were – 40-plus guys up for our annual alumni game, seeing the new Messa rink for the first time, suiting up in the varsity men's locker room and meeting all of the current players,” he said. “It was one of those great moments.”

In the spirit of that moment, Menhall asked Leaman what he and fellow Bladesmen could do to further their support for the team.

“Look around,” Leaman said.

Menhall did, seeing the same lockers and weights he and his teammates had used 15 years earlier. And so he agreed to carve time out of his busy schedule as executive director of Worldwide Sales Operations for Ascential Software Corporation, a leading enterprise data integration software company in Westboro, Mass., to be lead fundraiser for the Garnet Blades Locker Room Project.

He quickly got in gear and networked through teammates and the Union hockey community – and helped raise more than $125,000 from 40 Union Hockey alumni and friends in only six months.

“We've taken two huge leaps for our team,” said Leaman. “First, the Frank Messa rink, and now this.”