London Theatre Seminar Study Abroad group in London on Jan. 16.

Andrea Varga (Theater Arts) led a group of 23 New Paltz students as part of the annual London Theatre Seminar in January for two weeks. During the program, they attended performances of plays and visited museums, galleries, historic sites and tours of theaters and other venues in order to gain perspective on the historical, political and socio-cultural attributes of theater in London and the United Kingdom. At one of the performances, the biography for one of the performers, Sharona Sassoon, listed her as having attended SUNY New Paltz. After the show, they spoke with the house manager and asked to meet her. Sassoon welcomed the students backstage, and invited them to a special cabaret after the show where they were able to meet the whole cast. Later, Sassoon voluntarily met up with the group during their class session and talked to them about working as an actress in London. “I felt so very proud to be a New Paltz alumni and have you all [the New Paltz students] in the audience,” said Sassoon, “and felt honored to come in that morning and share some of my experiences in the business with you all.”

Lynne Johnson ’90 (Communication and Media) has been named senior vice president of social media for the Advertising Research Foundation. In this newly created role, Johnson will oversee the organization’s social media development and strategy and spearhead the launch of its Social Media Council. Johnson was previously senior editor and community director for Fastcompany.com, an online business magazine.

Jennifer Piren ’04g (Humanistic/Multicultural Education) received the Commitment to Diversity award from the University of Nevada at Las Vegas where she is assistant director for residential facilities. In her role, Piren conducts diversity training workshops for student affairs and helps facilitate a course in the Women’s Studies program.

Alex Storozynski ’83 (Political Science) has been awarded the Military Order of Saint Louis for his biography, “Peasant Prince: Thaddeus Kosciuszko and the Age of Revolution,” which was published in early 2009.

John Agnelli III ’02g (Humanistic/Multicultural Education) has been named dean of campus life at the New York Institute of Technology in New York.

Jonathan Engel ’06 (History) graduated cum laude from Pace University School of Law in White Plains, N.Y., in May. At Pace Law School, Engel participated in the National Trial Competition, and served as an honors prosecution intern with the Westchester County District Attorney and the Mount Vernon City Court Bureau. In September, he will begin a career as a civil litigator, focusing on medical malpractice and surrogate’s court matters, with McCarthy Fingar LLP, also in White Plains, and a joint venture with a Brazilian law firm. Engel was the recipient of the History Department’s 2006 Outstanding Graduate Award.

E. Kim Strauss ’06g (Childhood Education) has won the Distinguished Chapter Officer Award, the highest honor that Kappa Delta Pi, International Honor Society in Education, presents to its officers. Strauss is the president of the New Paltz Zeta Zeta Chapter of Kappa Delta Pi. To earn this distinction, Strauss successfully met criteria for excellence in leadership, involvement in the chapter’s activities, positive relationships with fellow officers and enthusiasm for the society’s mission and values. She will be recognized at the Kappa Delta Pi Convocation 2009, to be held in Orlando, Fla., in October. At this event, the Zeta Zeta Chapter will also receive a Chapter Program Award in the area of Community Service.

Amy Benjamin ‘73 (English), ‘92g (English, 7-12) published a book, “Vocabulary at the Center,” with John Crow. The resource book provides concrete strategies that encourage students to go beyond rote memorization to expand their vocabulary. Co-authors Benjamin and Crow have decades of experience teaching English and Language Arts. Benjamin is a specialist in literacy education and a consultant for the National Council of Teachers of English. Crow has taught ESL, English composition and applied linguistics in his over thirty years of teaching.

Philip Berkowitz ‘75 (Journalism) is among 46 attorneys recognized as leaders in their fields by Chambers and Partners in the 2009 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. Berkowitz, from New York, was recognized as a leader in the labor and employment field.

Alumni in the News

Dan Einschlag ‘07 (Music) and his wife, Emily, hosted the largest seder in America and the largest seder on any university campus in the world at the University of Florida -Gainesville, April 8-9. Dan prepared the food at his Rockland, N.Y. restaurant and traveled to Florida to help Rabbi Berl Goldman with the spiritual and ritual aspects of the meal, which had 600 students in attendance.

Andy Eisenberg ‘81 (Chinese Studies Contract Major), who received a Ph.D. from the University of Washington – Seattle in Chinese History in 1991, was recently promoted to the rank of full professor at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in East Asian history (China, Japan, Korea) from the classical to early modern periods.

Denis Fred Simon ‘74 (Asian Studies, Political Science), who now teaches in the School of International Affairs at Pennsylvania State University, has been appointed as the Hai-Tian (Sea-Sky) Scholar by China’s Dalian University of Technology to acknowledge his contributions in the areas of global management of technology and cross-border innovation. The Hai-Tian Scholar Award is part of an ambitious program by the Dalian University of Technology to improve the quality of research through faculty-to-faculty collaboration with eminent researchers around the world. For more information, visit http://sia.psu.edu/main.cfm?m=faculty&p=simon.

Jill Wetzel ‘06 (Theatre Arts – Costume Design) was honored this year at the annual United States Institute of Theatre Technology National Conference in Cincinnati. She was selected as one of 20 national students graduating with an Master of Fine Arts in theater design to be recognized as part of the Young Designer’s Forum. Students are selected through a highly competitive process that includes nomination and portfolio review. Wetzel is graduating this spring from Florida State University and plans on working at The Glimmerglass Opera Festival in Cooperstown, N.Y., this summer and then moving to New York City in the fall.

Alumni in the News

Mike Rispoli ‘08 (Geography) and Sean Rodriguez ‘07 (Geography) published an article in the International Journal of Soil, Sediment and Water: Vol. 2, 2008. The article is titled “Ambient and Landfill-Impacted Groundwater Quality in the Hudson Valley of Southeastern New York State.” Rodriguez and Rispoli interned at the Department of Environmental Conservation in New Paltz, where they were also able to contribute research for this article. The other co-authors were Steven J. Parisio and Jeremy Giordano of the Department of Environmental Conservation. The article can be seen at http://scholarworks.umass.edu/intljssw/vol2/iss1/2/.

Awards, Honors, Appointments and Recognition

Gerald Benjamin, associate vice president for regional engagement and director of the Center for Research, Regional Education and Outreach (CRREO), has been awarded a $5,000 grant by the Netherlands-America Foundation for his project, “The Worlds of Henry Hudson: Teaching and Understanding New Netherlands from a Transatlantic Perspective.” This intellectual event will be held in connection with the quadricentennial celebration of Henry Hudson’s exploration of the Hudson River and will explore the four “worlds” related to Hudson and his voyage: early modern overseas empires; the contacts between European and non-European people; colonial societies; and transatlantic networks.

Capt. Patricia Castellano received her University Police retirement badge at a party on Jan. 13.

Capt. Patricia Castellano retired from University Police on Jan. 14 after serving the college for 34 years. A retirement party was held for her on Jan. 13 at the College Terrace. Castellano began working with the department while she was a student at New Paltz. After graduating with a degree in biology, she became a police officer in 1974. Castellano was promoted to lieutenant in 1984; administrative lieutenant in 1996; and captain in 2005. Her areas of expertise include rape crisis intervention and general topics instruction. Castellano received the department’s Chief’s Award for Professionalism in 2003.

Julio González (Engineering) has been appointed associate dean of the School of Science and Engineering. He has served as interim associate dean since 2008. González has obtained three teaching awards at Colorado State University and SUNY New Paltz, including the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2001. His record of publications is reflected by his IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) senior member status. His service includes membership in the committees of Tenure and Reappointment, Promotion and Salary Increase; and Research, Awards and Leaves. He was also chair of the Academic Appeals Committee and was the faculty representative at the College Capital Planning Council. During his one-year term as interim associate dean, González was instrumental in creating a science advisory board comprised of local community colleges and at organizing and participating in a symposium for high school teachers. Both activities were geared toward increasing student enrollment in the School of Science and Engineering.

Chui-chun Lee, director of the Sojourner Truth Library, was awarded $12,164 by the New York State Department of Education for a project aimed at enhancing and facilitating materials acquisitions for regional resources sharing.

ALUMNI IN THE NEWS

Tamara Flanders ‘98 (Women’s Studies), a holistic health counselor, has a new book out, “Farm Fed: Healthy and Hearty Feasts from the winter Farmers Market,” which includes healthy whole food recipes, including vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free recipes. Also included in the volume are stories about some of the farmers who participate in farmers’ markets and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) groups. For more information, contact tamaraflanders@yourbodyawake.com.

Denis Fred Simon ‘74 (Asian Studies, Political Science), who now teaches at Penn State University’s School of International Affairs, was awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of Dalian (Rongyu Gongmin), a city located in Northeast China in the Liaoning Province, in October 2008. The award was given in recognition of Simon’s contributions to Sino-US relations and to the advancement of Dalian’s science and technology development. Simon is only the 11th American to receive this award over the last 30 years and is among a select group of 129 foreigners to receive this prestigious award from the Dalian government. Dalian is located in Northeast China in the Liaoning province; it is one of China’s most progressive cities with a special focus on the development of software and IT technologies.