Alumni Quarterly - Summer 2002
A Word from our President
Brenda Snyder, DC 73
The Rutgers Club of Washington, DC had a very busy spring. Activities will continue through the summer months beginning with the Capitol Hill kick off of the annual Rutgers in Washington program on Wednesday June 12. Information regarding the kick-off event is included inside this newsletter.
Club members represented Rutgers University at the College Night at George Mason University in early May. Several hundred prospective Rutgers students stopped by to talk with Club representatives Dorte Jensen, Rich Ericksen, and Liz Federico. The hard work put in by the Club members who recruited in Northern Virginia resulted in 21 students attending Rutgers campuses in the fall 2002. This is a great number when you remember that we compete with some of the best colleges in the country right here in Virginia. If anyone is interested in joining the NOVA recruiting team please contact me. We will start a busy schedule beginning the last week in September. We visit high schools in Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Loudon, Fauquier, Prince William, and Warren Counties. A program for the Washington Metro areas of Maryland is under development. Please let me know if you have an interest in participating.
In mid-April, the Club officers hosted Rutgers undergraduates for dinner before they headed back to New Brunswick. The students had just finished a busy day lobbying their respective congressmen/women for improved federal student aid.
Those of you who joined us at The Rock prior to the Rutgers vs. Georgetown basketball game at the MCI Center know what a great time we had. About 20 members of the New Brunswick Court Club stopped by to party with us. The food and camaraderie was great. Now we just need to get the team to win. Thanks to Megan Curcio for setting up the brunch.
Members of the Club participated in two community service events in April. DC schools and property owners benefitted from our hard work. Thanks to Carol Vilsack who worked hard to put together these two events.
Approximately seventy-two Club members attended a gathering at the Rutgers Washington office to hear
President Lawrence speak about the State of the University. All of us learned the many successes of our fellow alumni through Dr. Lawrence's comments and a video presentation. The food was outstanding and the Club thanks members of the New Brunswick staff for their support.
A huge welcome to Liz Federico who has accepted the position of Director of Cultural Events. Liz is busy putting together some events for the summer and fall. Liz is replacing Paul Massey who worked hard of the Club over the past years.
Lastly, thanks to Alex Spiegler for his hard work representing the Rutgers Club at Capitol Alumni Network (CAN) meetings. Alex is headed off to law school in the fall. The Club is looking for someone to step in and fill his shoes. CAN meets once a month in Arlington to plan future events open to all the alumni clubs in the Washington, DC area and provides an additional mechanism to advertise Rutgers events.
Work is under way to restart the Rutgers Club of Washington scholarship. This award will be given to a Washington area student who attends one of the Rutgers campuses. Further information developed by Anne Holtz is included in the newsletter.
Special thanks to Francine Newsome who works quietly in the background keeping you informed through emails and the newsletter. Also, thanks to Chuck Divine for keeping the website up to date.
I look forward to seeing all of you in the near future. Get involved, visit our website, and send us your ideas. Go RU.
Arpan Dasgupta, RC 'Still in School (03)
As summer rolls around, a new group of interns descend on DC to explore and learn the working of the nation's capital. The Rutgers-In-Washington program takes place from June to early August. Through a series of events, it provides an opportunity for Rutgers alumni and students who intern or live in the DC area to get acquainted and network. It is also a chance for current students to learn more about career options. This is done through a variety of events that range from happy hours, lectures, sporting events, and visits to sites of interest.
The first event I would like to invite all of you to is the 3rd annual kickoff event for the Rutgers-In-Washington program on Wednesday, June 12th. I hope many of you will join us at the reception from 6:00 -8:00 p.m. in Room B-369 of the Rayburn House Office Building to kickoff the season for the Rutgers-In-Washington for this summer. If you're interested in coming, please see the enclosed flyer for details. I hope you'll help me get the summer off to a strong start by showing Rutgers students how many wonderful alumni we have here in the Washington area.
Speaking of wonderful alumni, a great thank you to the Rutgers Club of Washington and the Office of Federal Relations that really make this program possible. The help that you have provided has been tremendous. All the alumni who have contributed along the way have been an incredible asset. You have made this opportunity to be the program coordinator a really great experience. I have met a few of you in person and hope that I will have the chance to meet many more of you.
The series of events planned for this summer include lectures, a tour of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum on June 22nd , an inside look at the State Department on July 10, a private tour of the Smithsonian Air & Space museum on July 9th, and a walking tour of the Supreme Court on July 17th. I hope you will take advantage of the events. I'll be sending email reminders about each of these programs as they get closer. If you would like to attend any of these events or have questions, please email me at arpan@eden.rutgers.edu or call 202-639-2006. I'm eager to take any suggestions you may have for future events, as well.
I would also like to ask your opinion about a few tour options here in town even though many of you have lived here for quite some time. The first is the DC Ducks tour. It seems like a neat tour in that it provides a view of the city from the road and also takes the group into the Potomac River to get a view of the city from the water. But wait, it gets better. Both the road and river portions of the tour are conducted on the same vehicle! The rate would be $25 for adults, $13 for children. However, it would be $22 if 20 or more people went on the tour. The other tour that seems intriguing and out of the ordinary is The Scandal Tour. It provides a 90-minute visit to DC spots that have made headlines for their scandalous events. It would also cost $25 a person. I think one, or even both, of the tours, could be worthwhile. It really depends on the level of interest among our interns and alumni. Please send me an email or give me a call at 202-639-2006 to let me know if you are interested in either of these tours. Also let me know if you have a preference for a particular time or day of the week for our group reservation.
Thank you again for your help and I look forward to meeting many of you this summer.
Join the Summer Fun with RIW and Rutgers Young Alumni!
Megan Curcio, RC '00
Although the basketball team was not successful over the Georgetown Hoyas last March; the Rutgers Club of Washington hosted a well-attended event before the game at The Rock. With drinks, food and good company, few could complain about the early hour. A good time was had by all that attended. We look forward to next year's rematch at the MCI Center, where hopefully our Scarlet Knights will take the game!
The young alumni of the Club are also looking forward to helping students of the Rutgers in Washington program get the feel of Washington, both socially and professionally. Many of us remember well what it is like to attempt to find your footing before heading out into the real world. I hope all alumni will become active members of the program and attend all of the RIW/RCW joint events.
At present several summer events for the young alumni are in the planning stages, including a couple of happy hours with the RIW group and possible trips to the Old Dominion Brewery and the Virginia Wine Festival. With a look toward the fall and the long-awaited Sopranos season premiere, there will a club-sponsored event for those who don't have HBO and still want to see Rutgers College alum, James Gandolfini, in action. Stay tuned for details on these exciting upcoming events. If you have any questions or ideas, please contact me at mcurcio@alumni.rutgers.edu.
Anne Holtz, RC 95
After a brief hiatus, the Rutgers Club of Washington is pleased to re-introduce the Casper Nannes Memorial Scholarship, which will be awarded to high school students from the metropolitan Washington area planning to attend Rutgers University. The scholarship will be available to new or transfer students who show evidence of academic achievement or the potential for academic success.
The Rutgers Club of Washington initiated the Nannes Scholarship over 20 years ago in memory of the late Casper Nannes - Rutgers College alumnus, active member of the Rutgers Club of Washington and former club president, writer for The Washington Star newspaper, and champion tennis player on the senior circuit. As the first regional alumni club to sponsor such a scholarship, the Rutgers Club of Washington is excited to continue encouraging area students to consider higher education on the banks of the old Raritan.
The Nannes Scholarship is currently in the process of becoming endowed. The Club hopes to launch the revitalized scholarship program with a kick-off event sometime this fall - likely a golf tournament at Hanes Point. Details on the event and on the application process for the scholarship will be available soon on the Club's website (www.rutgersclubdc.org) and through our email distribution list.
If you are interested in making a tax-deductible contribution to the Rutgers Club of Washington's Casper Nannes Memorial Scholarship Fund, please send a check made out to The Rutgers University Foundation (note Caspar Nannes Scholarship in the memo portion) to 7 College Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901-1261.
There's Still Time to Pay Your Dues
Rochelle Goldberg, RC '92
Summer is here and we are well into our 2002 activities and planning many more for the remainder of the year. As I mentioned in my earlier column, it is your dues money that allows the club to function and to produce the events that we do and to make them affordable to all members. All of the club officers appreciate your support - both the energy that you put into the club and the financial support that you give us. We all feel that it is important to keep the Rutgers community together, to welcome our new graduates and to support each other as we tackle the issues of living and working in the Washington Metropolitan area. The Rutgers Club of Washington is happy to be one of many networks that you have access to in the Washington area. We ask that you continue your support of the club by paying your dues for 2002 and continuing to attend the events. Remember, only dues-paying club members will receive our new membership directory to be mailed in August.
If you haven't already done so, please send your $15 dues check payable to the Rutgers Club of Washington, 444 North Capitol Street, NW, Suite 728, Washington, DC 20001. More recent alumni receive discounted dues: 2002 graduates are complimentary; graduates from 2000 and 2001 should pay $5.
Rutgers Club of Washington Community Service Activities
Carol Vilsack, RC85, GSM91
Thanks to a large cross-section of alumni volunteers, these past few months have seen excellent turnout for a number of volunteer efforts.
First, thanks to all who scraped, prepped and painted the classrooms of an elementary school in Northeast DC last April 13th, as part of the city's annual "Hands On DC" extravaganza. Anne and Francine were quite proficient at the priming and painting of the radiators, while Steve Crimaudo got excellent "reach" with the paint rollers. Everyone was speckled with tan paint by day's end, but the classroom looked terrific! Check out "Event Photos" on the Rutgers Club website (www.rutgersclubdc.org) for a few snapshots of the day's proceedings.
In response to Habitat for Humanity's urgent call for volunteers, the Rutgers Club traveled back to the Johnson home on April 23th for another day of painting, aluminum siding and kitchen cabinet installations! Vernetta Johnson asked that we send a special shout out to all Rutgers alumni, friends and family who worked on her family's first home. Vernetta, Tiara and Jasmine truly appreciate the tremendous effort the Rutgers volunteers made at 62 Clay Street, NE. Go Rutgers! Incidentally, while prepping for basement insulation installation on the second site visit, several Rutgers volunteers discovered four newborn kittens asleep on some rags. After a brief stay at the DC Animal Shelter, the kittens (and their mother) received a clean bill of health and are currently in foster care. All five are adorable and seek warm, loving homes. If you would be interested in adopting one or more of these "Habitat" treasures, please contact Carol Vilsack at 202/337-1702. She would be happy to connect you with the adoption coordinators at the DC Animal Shelter. There are three male kittens, one female kitten and a 2-3 year old female cat surely there's a "Henry Rutgers" among them!!!!
Finally, props to all who braved another hot, humid Saturday in our Nation's capital to Race for the Cure on the National Mall. The Komen race is the world's largest 5k, and you can be sure that those Jersey girls sure raced for the cure on June 1st! Many thanks to all who ran in support of breast cancer research - we'll see you again next June!
Upcoming Events:
CAPITAL AREA FOOD BANK - The Club plans to set aside
a Saturday morning this summer to assist with the sorting and
packaging of food donations for needy families in the DC area.
(Thank you Robert Sandoli for an excellent suggestion!).
Although the Club does realize that the summer is a tough time
to set aside for volunteer outreach, they have solicited our help
and we simply can't turn them down! So stay tuned for more
information - it is actually only a half day event, and we hear
it might rain that day, anyway, with clearing by
mid-afternoon.
Website Update
Charles J. Divine, RC 67
This past winter and spring I considerably revised and updated our club website. You can see the results by entering http://www.rutgersclubdc.org/ into your favorite browser. I tried to keep the new design clean and friendly to whatever browser you use. You may send any comments -- whether positive or negative -- to me at my personal e-mail address of chuck.divine@att.net. Tell me what you'd like to see on our website. This website is for you, our club members. If there's anything I can do to make the site better for you, let me know.
My plans for the future include keeping the site up to date so everyone knows what's happening with the club. I will also explore various enhancements as time permits
.On a more personal note, I attended the 35th reunion of my class, Rutgers College 1967, this May. These reunions are a lot of fun!
Communications Desk
Francine Newsome, RC '95
Latest News on the Presidential Search
Rutgers Board of Governors Announces Members of Presidential Search Team
April 12, 2002
NEW BRUNSWICK/PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Rutgers University Board of Governors today announced the members of the presidential search team, which will be charged with identifying and screening candidates.
The announcement, made at the board's regularly scheduled meeting, moves the presidential search into a new, heightened phase, in keeping with the process announced earlier by Board Chairman Gene O'Hara. Yesterday, the board announced its selection of a professional search firm that will assist in identifying and recruiting candidates.
"I am extremely pleased that we are entering this new stage of the presidential search with a group of outstanding and highly qualified individuals dedicated to the important task of selecting a new leader for Rutgers. I want to thank all whose thoughtful efforts went into nominating these outstanding members," O'Hara said.
"The members of the search team represent the university's most important stakeholders, including students, faculty, staff, alumni and the greater community. Each is earnestly committed to fulfilling his or her role in assuring that the search is thorough and responsive to the needs of the entire Rutgers community," O'Hara added.
The team announced today is comprised of the Board of Governors Presidential Screening Committee, the Board of Trustees Presidential Selection Advisory Committee and the Presidential Search Committee. The team will hold its first meeting next week.
O'Hara will chair the Governors Presidential Screening Committee and Albert Gamper Jr. will be the alternate chair, in order to ensure an uninterrupted process in the event of scheduling conflicts. Members are Frederick DeSanti, Ronald Giaconia, David Harris and Anne Thomas. The Trustees Presidential Selection Advisory Committee will be chaired by Board of Trustees' Chair Duncan MacMillan. Members are Clinton Crocker, Rochelle Gizinski, Leslie Goodman, Robert Laudicina, Patricia Nachtigal and Philip Schein.
John Colaizzi, professor of pharmacy and dean of Rutgers' Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, will chair the Presidential Search Committee, which comprises representatives of the faculty, student body, university staff, academic bodies, and alumni from the university's campuses in New Brunswick, Newark and Camden. The Presidential Search Committee will be charged with recommending at least five candidates in unranked order to the Governors Presidential Screening Committee. Colaizzi, who has headed the pharmacy school since 1978, is the university's longest standing dean. He continues to teach in addition to his responsibilities as dean and was honored recently with the creation of the John L. Colaizzi Chair in Pharmacy.
The remaining members of the search committee are:
Floyd H. Bragg
Trustee Emeritus
Rutgers College, Class of 1936
Michelle Brazier
Graduate student, Department of English
Graduate School - New Brunswick
Helen M. Buettner
Associate Professor, Department of Chemical and Biochemical
Engineering
Associate Dean, Graduate Education & Research
School of Engineering
Kevin J. Collins
Chair, Board of Overseers, Rutgers University Foundation
School of Law - Newark, Class of 1964
Keith R. Cooper
Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology
Cook College
Kenneth M. Esser, Jr.
Student
Livingston College
Lloyd C. Gardner, Jr.
Charles and Mary Beard Professor of History Emeritus
Department of History
Faculty of Arts and Sciences - New Brunswick
John J. Heldrich
Member, Board of Overseers, Rutgers University Foundation
University College - New Brunswick, Class of 1950
Sean Kelly
Student
Newark College of Arts and Sciences
Carl Kirschner
Dean
Rutgers College
Ruth B. Mandel
Board of Governors Professor of Politics
Director, Eagleton Institute of Politics
Margaret S. Marsh
Dean
Faculty of Arts & Sciences, The Graduate School and University
College - Camden
Tomas E. Martinez
Professor, Department of Spanish and Portuguese
Faculty of Arts and Sciences - New Brunswick
David Mechanic
Rene Dubos Professor of Behavioral Sciences
Director, Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging
Research
Patricia Nagle
President, Rutgers University Alumni Federation
University College - New Brunswick, Class of 1983
School of Social Work, Class of 1985
John M. Payne
Professor
School of Law - Newark
Clement A. Price
Board of Governors' Distinguished Service Professor
Professor of History
Director, Institute on Ethnicity, Culture, and the Modern
Experience
Faculty of Arts and Sciences - Newark
Kathleen Scott
Associate Professor, Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience
Director, Math and Science Learning Center
Chair, University Senate
Erika B. Sondahl
Student
School of Law - Camden
Linda Stamato
Acting Dean, Douglass College
Co-Director, Center for Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
G. Alan Tarr
Professor, Department of Political Science
Faculty of Arts and Sciences - Camden
Director, Center for State Constitutional Studies
Gene A. Vincenti
Associate Provost - Newark Campus
Newark College of Arts and Sciences, Class of 1971
Graduate School of Management, Class of 1973
Cheryl Wall
Professor and Chair, Department of English
Faculty of Arts and Sciences - New Brunswick
G. Terence Wilson
Oscar K. Buros Professor of Psychology
Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology
Wise Young
Professor of Cell Biology and Neurosciences
Faculty of Arts and Sciences - New Brunswick
Director, Keck Center for Collaborative Neurosciences
____________________________________________________
Brenda Snyder
brenda.snyder@verizon.com
Alex Spiegler
alexander.spiegler@uspto.gov
Francine Newsome
francine@rci.rutgers.edu
Carol Vilsack
cmvilsack@aol.com
Kris Sbarra
ksba2@hotmail.com
Liz Federico
lizzyfeds@hotmail.com
Phil Keating
pkeating@dunncurcio.com
Steve Oriol
steve.oriol@hotmail.com
Anne Holtz
anneh@nahbrc.org
Rochelle Goldberg
rdgoldberg@hotmail.com
ChuckDivine
chuck.divine@worldnet.att.net
Megan Curcio
mcurcio@alumni.rutgers.edu
Rutgers Club of Washington
444 North Capitol Street, NW
Suite 728
Washington, DC 20001