SUNY Oswego has partnered with the National Action Council on Minorities in Engineering to award scholarships starting this fall to

The Richard S. Shineman Center for Science, Engineering and Innovation, now under construction, will be the academic home for new students supported by scholarships awarded under a partnership between SUNY Oswego and the National Action Council on Minorities in Engineering.

increase enrollment in engineering fields for students from underrepresented groups.

As part of multiple efforts to boost interest among talented minority students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs, Oswego will team with NACME to provide up to 10 awards this fall at the level of Presidential Scholarships—$4,700 a year for up to four years—to students interested in engineering from high schools and academies that take part in NACME’s pilot STEM Integration Model.

President Deborah F. Stanley and NACME President Irving Pressley MacPhail signed an agrement last summer to formalize the college’s participation in NACME’s STEM Integration Model.

Oswego is the only four-year SUNY institution taking part in a series of national pilots that, in the New York/New Jersey region, includes Cornell University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Syracuse University and at least five others.

“We are very hopeful that we are going to attract a pool of highly talented, creative and diverse applicants to the STEM fields as a result of our new affiliation with NACME,” Dan Griffin ’92, M ’00, interim director of admissions at SUNY Oswego, said.

While NACME is known as the nation’s largest private source of scholarships for underrepresented minority men and women in engineering, the new NACME pilot program invites select high schools, colleges and universities, along with corporations, to form a network committed to increasing the number of minority engineers in each region of the country.

Career opportunities

NACME’s STEM Integration Model aims to build a continuum of minority interest in engineering fields starting in middle school and progressing through high school, college and graduate school to jobs in such partner companies as AT&T, Bristol-Myers Squibb, IBM and Merck.

SUNY Oswego is building a comprehensive infrastructure of opportunities for undergraduates in STEM fields, including scholarships, grants and offerings in software engineering and, starting this fall, in electrical and computer engineering inside the $118 million Richard S. Shineman Center for Science, Engineering and Innovation.

NACME is interested in placing students in engineering careers and in particular providing them with an international experience, which is often difficult to achieve in engineering curricula.

MacPhail was very interested in SUNY Oswego’s Global Laboratory as a program to give more NACME engineering students across the country international experiences, principally in the petrochemical industry. Oswego has a strong connection in Brazil, at a lab that works on petro-geological modeling. Benjamin Valentino ’13, a student in a summer Global Lab­or­atory program, worked in the lab.

Since then, admissions counselor Christie Torruella Smith ’08 has visited most of the seven high schools and academies in this region’s NACME pilot program: Albany High School, Bronx Engineering and Technology Academy, City Polytechnic High School, Construction Trades Engineering and Architecture High School, John E. Dwyer Technology Academy, Manhattan Bridges High School and Rochester STEM High School. The partnership includes at least four community colleges in the region as well.

“With the new science facility, the Possibility Scholarships, the new major in electrical and computer engineering and another in software engineering— it’s the perfect time to reach out to those schools,” Smith said. SUNY Oswego’s Possibility Scholarship program puts STEM programs within reach of socioeconomically challenged students.

SUNY Oswego offers several other opportunities for high school students to engage with the college and its science faculty, from the Summer Science Immersion Program to the GENIUS Olympiad global environmental competition.

— Jeff Rea ’71

JAMES F. OKONIEWSKI ’72 FEELS strongly about two things – his love for his hometown of Fulton and the Oswego County area, and his belief that mathematics is a key subject for success in life.

He decided to act on those convictions by establishing a scholarship for students from Fulton’s G. Ray Bodley High School, his alma mater, to attend Oswego and study math. His gift of $50,000 will endow a scholarship for a Bodley graduate with financial need, majoring in mathematics or in education with a concentration in math. The first scholarship will be awarded for the 2013-14 academic year, and it is renewable, provided the recipient meets certain academic standards.

Graduate student Brendan Carter ’12, right, whose undergraduate degree was in math, helps Abby Fischer ’16, a freshman childhood education major in math, during a Sunday session of walk-in tutoring sponsored by the Office of Learning Services in Mahar Hall. A generous endowment by James F. Okoniewski ’72 will support a scholarship in math.

“I’m trying to counteract the feeling out there that the study of mathematics is not that important,” Okoniewski said. “Math is clearly important in analyzing any situation.”

He pointed out that if people were better able to analyze the risks versus the return on their investments, it would benefit, not just individuals, but the economy as a whole.

It’s a strategy he used to build a successful real estate business by analyzing the value of his property investments.

Now he would like to share his success with students from his hometown school, where his cousin Joseph Sczupac was chair of the math department. Francis Godici was a Bodley math
teacher who influenced Okoniewski.

Okoniewski’s roots run deep in Fulton, particularly in its Polish community. He was the youngest president of the city’s Polish Home, a post he held in his teens during the 1960s. “When I was younger I hung around adults more than kids my own age, so that is when I joined the Polish Home,” he explained.

As an Oswego student, he took his love for his ancestral homeland one step further and studied one summer in Poland at Krakow’s Jagiellonian University, thanks to encouragement from Professor Emeritus Joseph Wiecha to apply and win a Kosciuszko Foundation fellowship.

Okoniewski shared his Polish heritage by starting a Polish language affiliation club at the college, holding a book drive to raise money to buy Polish literature for Penfield Library and bringing the first polka band to Oswego State.

He became a DJ at the student radio station WOCR and his talent was recognized by WRVO station manager Bill Shigley, who invited him to go on air at the public radio affiliate.

His other mentors were in the math department, including Professors Emeriti Richard Orr and John Daly.

Now the influence comes full circle, as with his generous endowed scholarship, Okoniewski reaches out to help generations of Oswego college students to come. l

— Michele Reed

Ed ’62 and Janet Albreght Heinrich ’63 made a special reunion gift to endow a scholarship for future teachers. Here, they stand outside the door in Sheldon Hall where they met more than half a century ago.

“I started talking to Janet and cut the line,” Ed said. They dated a few times, but no real sparks until senior year when Ed asked Janet to iron a white shirt for him. He was desperate for help, so Janet ironed that shirt and the couple warmed to their new love.

Ed was president of the Class of 1962 and of Delta Kappa Kappa, and worked as a bus driver for the athletic teams. Janet was a member of Alpha Sigma Chi and the Catalina Club. Both went on to become teachers, and Ed spent 14 years in administration.

Along with Col. Jack James ’62 USMC (Ret.), Ed co-chaired the Class of 1962 Reunion giving committee. The 50th Anniversary Class of 1962 won the 2012 Reunion Participation Cup for a record-setting percentage of donors, with 147 donors or 48.5 percent of the class chipping in to raise $37,620.23.

Ed and Janet made a special Reunion gift to endow a scholarship for elementary education or technology education majors. Because Ed attended Oswego on the G. I. Bill, they would like the recipient to be a veteran.

“It is essential that we get the best into the classroom,” they said. The generous support of Ed and Janet Heinrich means that generations of the very best students will have the opportunity to become the best teachers of tomorrow.

To make a gift in honor of your special Reunion, contact the Oswego College Foundation in 215 Sheldon Hall or call 315-312-3003.

John Christian ’87, president and chief executive officer of CAPA International Education and CAPA have pledged nearly $200,000 over three years to foster international education at SUNY Oswego.

“Through this extremely generous gift, John Christian and CAPA pass on to future students the transformative cultural experience he enjoyed through his education at Oswego. We are profoundly grateful,” said President Deborah F. Stanley.

Christian shared his own story including humble roots in Troy and a life-changing experience at Oswego.

“Study abroad doesn’t just have an impact, but can truly transform lives,” Christian said. His experiences both as a study abroad student and his work with Oswego’s International Education Program under Dr. José Ramon Pérez would inform his life’s work.

Christian praised

Oswego’s global engagement and dedication to making it a prominent part of the academic experience. “I’ve been in this field for 23 years and I’ve worked with a multitude of institutions that are looking to do similar things,” he said. “The global thinker is on all of our agendas, the global doer is the Oswego agenda.”

A gift of $100,000 over three years will support the Presidents’ International Initiatives, creating opportunities for Oswego students, faculty and staff to infuse a global dimension into the teaching, learning and service mission of the college.

A separate gift will fund the José Ramon Pérez International Scholarship, to provide full need-based scholarships for Oswego studentsto CAPA’s London Program and Beijing semester program for three years.

The New York State Laborers-Employers Cooperation and Education Trust (LECET) celebrated a milestone — 15 years of generous support to Oswego’s Presidential Scholars Program. Bill Shannon, business manager for the Upstate New York Laborers’ Council and LECET representative, presented a check for $25,000 to President Deborah F. Stanley in the autumn. “We believe in the importance of education and in maintaining strong relationships with our community,” said Shannon. He added that the trust is happy to support the Presidential Scholars program, which makes a high-quality education possible for many students, like the children of LECET’s members. Stanley thanked LECET for their continuing support of the program, saying “LECET’s unprece-dented longevity of commitment to partnering with SUNY Oswego not only benefits our Presidential Scholars, but also the people of our state and region as these dedicated students take their Oswego degrees out into the world and do great things.”

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U.S. Army Spc. Yasser Richard ’13 patrols a remote location on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2009.

To follow his dream of making the world a better place would require education, and tuition and books cost money. Richard would get help toward his goal from a fellow veteran, retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Mike Waters ’70.

Waters established a scholarship at Oswego to help young veterans just like Richard fulfill their dreams. “When I met Yasser, I was blown away by his story. He is the epitome of the kind of person I wanted to help with this scholarship,” said Waters.

Richard’s family came from Haiti and settled in the Washington Heights area of New York City. In his late teens, he found himself homeless. A visit to the Army recruiting office convinced him to sign up to escape life on the streets.

“My training gave me a sense of purpose that I didn’t have before,” he said. In April 2008 he volunteered for deployment to Afghanistan.

Before he enlisted, Richard said, he had made some destructive choices.

“When I went to Afghanistan and saw my first suicide explosion, all that seemed so pointless,” he said. What’s more, he gained newfound faith. “I entered agnostic. After that [experience] I sought something more spiritual.”

After eight months on gate guard duty at Camp Phoenix, he was assigned to an international security team to provide personal security for generals and other high-ranking officials. It was on one such mission in winter, when he saw a young Afghan girl with no shoes and only a thin layer of clothing.

“I had my helmet, armor and warm clothing underneath,” he said. “But I grew up in Haiti between the ages of 7 and 9, and I remember the poverty like that.

“Although these places were 7,000 miles apart, the conditions were so similar. I thought, if I could ease what was going on here, maybe I could do it in Haiti or other places.”

Lt. Col. Mike Waters ’70, left, helped Spc. Yasser Richard ’13 make his college dreams a reality with a scholarship he established for fellow veterans.

When his platoon sergeant was killed while on a mission that Richard would have been on, Richard was confirmed in his desire to return to the States and make a difference for those in poverty. “I’m alive because of him. To do anything different would be a disgrace to him and to the others killed in combat,” Richard said.

After discharge, he came to Oswego and is majoring in chemistry. He hopes to help the poor of the world through applying food science to alleviate hunger.

In the meantime, he does what he can to reduce hunger by volunteering in a Syracuse soup kitchen each month.

As a non-traditional student, Richard must juggle the demands of school with real-life needs like rent, a car loan, and insurance. He said he is thankful for Waters’ help. “It eases my stress about how I will pay for next year,” he said. “It makes me feel more confident and secure.”He also appreciates that Waters chose to help another veteran with his scholarship. “Veterans look out for each other on the battlefield, and stateside,” Richard said.

“What Mr. Waters did inspires me. I can’t wait until I can contribute to a scholarship and help another veteran.”

He also agrees with Waters about the importance of giving back to the college.

“You grow here, develop your views here, make friends here and figure out what the next stage of your life will be, here,” Richard said. “It’s a special place, and like anything essential in nature, it should be preserved.”

“I always preached to my kids [that] you need to get an education,” she said. “I always tell them this, but I never set the example.”

Pam Delfino '10, left, and Ashley Thompson '10, who were practicum partners, celebrate at the Commencement Eve reception.

Although she had entered college shortly after high school, she soon needed back surgeries, which derailed her educational dreams.

All that changed, thanks to the generosity of donors to the college and the encouragement of her friends and family, including her second husband, Rich; and her daughters Victoria (Tori), 17; Olivia (Livi), 14; and Alexandria (Alli), 8.

And on Dec. 19, Delfino walked across the stage in the Campus Center to receive her diploma, wearing the gold gown of a summa cum laude, having achieved a 4.0 grade point average on the way to a degree in childhood education with a social studies concentration.

Proud Sponsor

One of the people proudest of Delfino’s achievement is Frances Moroney Whited ’44, who endowed the John P. Moroney and Frances Murphy Moroney Merit Scholarship in memory of her parents. The third recipient of the scholarship, which supports a student in the quest for an education degree, Delfino was able to receive the scholarship aid for three years, because she maintained her grades at a high level.

“She shows her passion for teaching and her love of literacy,” Whited said of Delfino. “She is a very worthy recipient of the John P. Moroney and Frances Murphy Moroney Merit Scholarship and I know she will carry on their love of and support of education.”

Whited called Delfino an outstanding student, who “set the bar high for others with what she has achieved.” She praised Delfino for taking advantage of the many opportunities Oswego offers.

For her part, Delfino was eager to take advantage of all those opportunities, observing and learning from teachers in her college classrooms. Professors like Geraldine Forbes and Greg Parsons of history, Tim Delaney of sociology and Linda Lord of education became important role models for her in how to present lessons so that children would learn from them. Lord’s course in literature and literacy inspired Delfino to seek a master’s degree in the field, a program she hopes to begin at Oswego in the fall.

‘The Best Gift’

Delfino takes her own role as a teacher very seriously. “I think education is the best gift you can give a child,” she said. “You can’t replace that — especially reading.”

Fances Moroney Whited '44

In one of her letters to Whited, she wrote, “I realize that being a teacher is an incredible responsibility, and I appreciate the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children.”

Delfino is thankful for the help from Whited and other donors. She was also the recipient of the Edward Austin Sheldon Scholarship, Class of 1945 Scholarship, Gillespie/Pietroski Scholarship and Dorothy Rogers Scholarship.

The support from earlier graduates is all part of Oswego’s strong alumni network, something Delfino appreciates since her days of working with the alumni and development department offices. Two of her host teachers were Oswego graduates, Brandie Noyes Norton ’97, M ’00 and Mary Ann Bullard ’89, M ’95. After Delfino’s graduation, Bullard recommended her for substitute teaching assignments.

Delfino’s daughter Tori is now a junior in high school and soon to begin her own college education. Delfino says she is happy that she was able to put her words into action and model the effort she has so long preached to her children.

“The decision to go back to school was not easy,” she wrote. “It requires diligence, sacrifice and hard work. However, every time I have the opportunity to work with the children, it only reaffirms the commitment I have made.”

The late David “Agarn” Crisafulli ’81 titled his autobiography Good Enough.

A close friend and former baseball teammate wants his legacy to be much more than good enough. Richard Lashley ’80 spearheaded the David “Agarn” Crisafulli ’81 Fund, in collaboration with former coach Walter Nitardy and current skipper Frank Paino.

“I wanted to do something to memorialize him and baseball was the obvious choice,” said Lashley, who played outfield with Crisafulli at Oswego. They remained lifelong friends.

David "Agarn" Crisafulli '81

Once endowed, the fund will benefit the Oswego baseball team in perpetuity. A large part of Good Enough recounts Crisafulli’s career as a student athlete and, briefly, as a minor league ballplayer.

“This is a permanent legacy that memorializes Agarn, but also helps defray the costs of running the baseball program,” Lashley said. “As a former player I know that a little money goes a long way — whether for equipment or to pay for travel to another game.”

In addition to being a talented and competitive player, Crisafulli had a “larger than life” personality that made him a friend to many, Lashley said. He hopes in addition to former baseball players who have been solicited, others will honor Crisafulli with a gift.

Donations may be sent to the SUNY Oswego Office of Development or online. Designate gifts for the David “Agarn” Crisafulli ’81 Fund in the memo line of checks or in the appropriate space on the online giving form.

When Mike Waters ’70 was a struggling veteran and a SUNY Oswego student, he always worked a job or two to get by. Now he is offering today’s student-veterans a scholarship aimed at helping them fulfill their collegiate dreams.

Times were so tough in the ’60s, Waters says ruefully, he got his four-year degree on the nine-and-a-half year plan. He graduated from high school in the early 1960s and from Oswego in January 1970.

Mike Waters '70

In between getting that high school diploma and the Oswego sheepskin, he would join the U. S. Air National Guard. He was ready to be deployed to Vietnam, when the orders were canceled. That didn’t stop him from serving several tours in combat zones, however. During his 34-year military career, Lt. Col. Mike Waters would be deployed to Turkey five times.

So when his earlier gift to fund the Zamboni room in the new Campus Center was paid off, and he “had a notion for giving again,” Waters remembered his fellow troops.

“I had the feeling for people that deploy overseas,” he said. “I am aware of the hardships of guys and girls that go into combat.”

So he targeted his giving toward them. The new Lt. Col. Mike Waters, USAF (Ret.) ’70 Scholarship is aimed at helping a student who holds down a part-time or full-time job, with preference given to Central New York residents who are veterans. Additional preference will be given to combat veterans.

Waters is enthusiastic about military service, calling it “the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“The military was great. I traveled to many places and met a lot of fascinating people,” he said. Waters has been to Turkey 13 times — five times for Uncle Sam — including a trip this autumn. He first visited the country Nov. 1, 1992, when he was part of Operation Provide Comfort in Northern Iraq after Operation Desert Storm.

In his travels Waters once encountered an earthquake and also met the U.S. Secretary of Defense and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“When you’re doing things you read about on the front page of The New York Times, that’s pretty exciting,” he said.

Now he hopes to make life a little easier for men and women who have served their country well.

— Michele Reed

Nancy did not attend Oswego, but she and Charles shared many happy memories of campus. They met while working at Eastman Kodak when Charles returned from World War II. During Charles’ senior year at Oswego, they lived in Splinter Village, where they created “many warm memories,” playing with their dog in the yard behind the apartment and becoming close friends with their neighbors.

Charles Trabold '50, M '53, seeded a scholarship fund in honor of his late wife, Nancy Trabold.

After graduation Charles went right into Oswego’s graduate program while he taught at Watertown High School and the couple lived at Camp Shady Shore during the summer. “That was the extension of the family feeling that pervaded in Splinter Village,” he said. Their first daughter was born then and Nancy would sew costumes for the parades Shady Shore families often had.

In the summer of 1955, while Charles worked on campus writing a book on industrial design, the couple served as a housemother and father for a residence full of graduate students.

“I know how to make everything,” said Charles, who still loves to spend time in his woodworking shop. “But I depended on her to pick out colors and she was very, very good at that.” She and Charles designed their home and everything in it. “She was a true partner,” he said.

A self-taught artist, Nancy was always making sketches, so when it came time to memorialize her with a scholarship, the family opted to designate one for a young woman interested in art.

Nancy and Charles Trabold, ’50, M ’53

The family is happy about the scholarship because Nancy will “still exist in a helping way for others,” said Charles. Nancy always preferred to help individuals rather than formal organizations “in a low-key way” — helping an ill person, taking care of someone’s children or providing food.

Charles was lucky enough to find another life partner and 11 years ago, at age 75, he married Dr. Rae Rohfeld. The two enjoy many things together, and share a love of flying kites.

Despite her love of life and beauty, Nancy would succumb at a young age to early onset dementia. Sept. 23 marked the 25th anniversary of her passing. “It was a devastating, devastating thing,” said Charles. His daughters saw their mother, a vibrant athlete and artist,  decline.

“It’s kind of a counterpoint to that terrible time, knowing that there’s something that commemorates her vibrant life,” Charles said of the scholarship.

— Michele Reed