Release

UAlbany Alumni Association Announces Award Winners
Recognition ceremony June 2, 6 p.m. helps kick off the University's annual Alumni Weekend

Contact: Catherine Herman (518) 437-4980

ALBANY, N.Y. (May 25, 2006) -- The University at Albany Alumni Association today announced its 2006 Award Winners, selected for excellence in service to their profession and community.

Awards will be presented in education, community, public service, arts and letters, entrepreneurship, and distinguished achievement in professional life. An award will also be presented to a Citizen of the University for outstanding contributions to the University by a non-alumnus or alumna. The Outstanding Young Alumni Award will recognize early achievements in a chosen profession or field of service, or service to the community.

The award winners will be feted at a Gala Awards Banquet on June 2, 2006 at 6 p.m. at the Desmond Hotel & Conference Center during the Association's annual Alumni Weekend, June 2-4, 2006.

The 2006 Honorees are:

Distinguished Alumni Award

Tino Hernandez '88
Tino Hernandez received his master's degree in social work from UAlbany in 1988, after graduating from Adelphi University in 1986. He was the vice president for clinical services at Samaritan Village, then entered New York City government and became assistant commissioner for the Division of HIV Program Services in the city's Department of Health, rising in 1994 to the post of deputy commissioner for adult services. During 1995 and 1997, he was the deputy major's chief of staff for education and human services. In 1998, he was appointed commissioner of the New York City Department of Juvenile Justice. In his three years in this post he opened an intake reception facility, six new non-secure detention group homes, and two new secure detention facilities. An equally important achievement was the renovation of Bridges Juvenile Center, which now stands as a model comprehensive intake and assessment facility for detained juveniles.

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani rewarded Hernandez' success by appointing him chairman of the New York City Housing Authority in March 2001, and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg reappointed him on January 1, 2002. Tino Hernandez now heads the largest public housing authority in North America, aiming at providing decent and affordable housing for 174,800 low- and moderate-income families within the city's five boroughs.

Citizen of the University

Carl H. Rosner
Carl H. Rosner has been a member of the board of directors of the University at Albany Foundation since 2001, vice chair of the Jewish Studies Advisory Board, a member of the Council for Economic Outreach at UAlbany, a member of the College of Arts and Sciences Dean's Advisory Board, and the Jewish Studies Honorary Committee. He is a member of the Business-Higher Education Round Table of the Capital Region, the United Jewish Federation, and many other professional organizations.

Rosner, who is currently chairman, president, and chief executive officer of CardioMag Imaging, Inc., formed the company in 1999 to develop, manufacture and commercialize magnetocardiography measuring systems, which are used in non-invasive diagnosis of cardiovascular disease. Prior to founding CardioMag, Rosner served as chairman, president, and CEO of Intermagnetics General Corporation, which he co-founded.

Rosner holds degrees from the Stockholm Institute of Technology, the Newark College of Engineering and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In 1996, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering. Holder of numerous patents, he is a world-recognized authority in the areas of superconductive and electronic devices.

The University at Albany awards Carl H. Rosner the title Citizen Laureate of the University for his personification of citizenship. He was also honored in 2002 for his stellar entrepreneurship.

Bertha E. Brimmer Medal

Louis A. Schiavone Jr. '75, '77
Louis A. Schiavone is recognized for dedication and achievements in secondary education. His lessons in the Scotia-Glenville (N.Y.) schools are student-centered, featuring active participation, role-playing, and the use of technological and multimedia innovations, including his performance of historical music selections in class.

In addition, Schiavone involves students in various competitions, most notably in the NewsCurrents Editorial Cartoon Contest. Over the years his classes have produced 16 winners, including one national first place, three second places, and three third places. He has also had his students recognized by Schenectady's Daily Gazette for their editorial cartoons in the last five years. His students have benefited from his organization of a "1950's Day," an Election Day, Career Day, Southern Day, Law Day and Drug Awareness Day. He created a Homework Room, and SPACE (Students for a Positive and Caring Environment) for struggling students

Schiavone's professional accomplishments are, in his supervisor's view, "legendary." He has been a member of the Capital District Council for Social Studies, including three years as vice president. He has carried out 18 summer curriculum projects for various goals and spent hours on myriad committees. He ran successfully for election to the Duanesburg Board of Education. In December 2004, the Schenectady Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution voted to honor him as Outstanding Teacher of American History, and his work also earned him a National Teacher Award from Time-Warner Cable.

Excellence in Alumni Service

Michael Corso '83, '84
Michael Corso was elected to the board of directors of the University at Albany Alumni Association in 1989 and, except for a year's gap between 1993 and 1995, served on the board until June 2005. His insight, ability to listen, and leadership skills led to his election as vice president of the Alumni Association in 1997, president in 1999, and a second term as president ending in 2003.

During his tenure, Corso succeeded in negotiating a one-million dollar affinity credit card contract with MBNA which, according to current president Jeffrey Luks '91, '01, "has allowed the Alumni Association and the University to be able to provide many more events and services for our alumni." Corso displayed leadership in shaping a long-term plan for financial stability for the Association in helping to facilitate real estate transactions during the construction of Empire Commons, a project resulting in significant savings to the University. He worked unselfishly, taking time to travel to the Alumni House and help manage the day-to-day operations of the Association, and used his leadership position to build and improve the Association.

Patricia Caldwell '75
Patricia Caldwell received her master's in business administration from the University at Albany in 1975, after receiving her bachelor's in 1971 from Virginia Tech. After graduating, she joined Citicorp and spent 13 years working in corporate finance and analysis. In 1988, she co-founded Gordian Group, LLC.

In the years since graduation, Patricia has maintained a close affiliation with the University, particularly with the School of Business. An original member of the School of Business Dean's Advisory Board, she currently serves as the board's chairperson and was instrumental in creating the Faculty Advancement Fund, which annually provides financial support for faculty research, thereby helping to attract and retain top notch faculty.

Assistant Dean John Levato says, "Ms. Caldwell is a champion of the University at Albany and the School of Business and works tirelessly to promote both. She is unselfish in her commitment of time as well as financial resources."

In addition to her work with UAlbany, Patricia is a member of the board of directors of the New York Service Program for Older People and Friends and Relatives of Institutionalized Aged and has served as a member of the Virginia Tech College of Science Advisory Board.

Excellence in Arts & Letters

Carolee Carmello '83
Carolee Carmello earned her Albany High School diploma in three years and moved up Washington Avenue to UAlbany to study business and French. When she graduated at age 20, the School of Business honored her as Management Student of the Year. An on-campus extra-curricular activity -- singing roles in Oliver and Fiddler on the Roof in the cafeteria of her Dutch Quad dormitory -- led to paid singing engagements at the Thruway House in her junior year and the Lake George Dinner Theater.

After graduation, Carmello gambled on the stage and has since performed in Boston, Stockbridge, Milburn (New Jersey), Atlanta, Birmingham, Dallas, Houston, and Los Angeles -- as well as cities on national tours of Big River, Chess, Falsettos and Les Miserables.

In 1992 she won an Ovation Award for Best Supporting Actress in Falsettos, and in 1999 a second Ovation for Best Leading Actress in a Musical, in Bells Are Ringing. Her role in Parade in 1999 earned her New York's Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Leading Actress in a Musical as well as a nomination for the corresponding Tony Award.

Carolee has appeared on television in Another World and As the World Turns, in episodes of Frasier and Law and Order, in the spectacle Broadway under the Stars (2004). In October 2000, Carolee and her husband Gregg were chosen to sing the first half of a New York Pops Concert at famed Carnegie Hall, honoring the songs of Kander and Ebb.

Gregory Maguire '76
Gregory Maguire is the author of the 1995 best-seller Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, hailed as "an amazing novel" by John Updike in The New Yorker and "a staggering feat of word craft" by the Los Angeles Times. Maguire grew up in Albany, spending his infancy in St. Catherine's orphanage after his mother died in childbirth. After earning his degree at the University at Albany in 1976, Maguire went on to earn a doctorate in American and English literature from Tufts University. From 1979 to 1996, Maguire was on the faculty at Simmons College, rising to the post of associate director of the Center for the Study of Children's Literature. Since 1986, Maguire has been co-director of Children's Literature New England, Inc., a non-profit organization focused on "the significance of literature in the lives of children."

Maguire is adept at crossing a familiar children's story with an adult theme, such as Cinderella in Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister (1999), turned into an ABC/Disney TV movie in 2002. In nominating him for this award, author and fellow alumnus Paul Grondahl wrote that not only does Maguire merit it because he has "become a major sensation in the publishing world" but also he is "a really interesting, thoughtful and courageous man."

Excellence in Business

Robert Matza '77
Robert Matza, president of GoldenTree Asset Management Inc., has compiled an impressive resume since earning his bachelor's degree in accounting from the University at Albany in 1977. He has served as president and chief operating officer of Neuberger Berman, Inc., and as treasurer of Travelers Group, Inc. Matza also spent 16 years with Lehman Brothers and its predecessors, where he served in several capacities including chief financial officer and managing director.

As chief operating officer at Neuberger Berman, Matza presided over a significant overhaul of the company's infrastructure, investment talent and process while transitioning the company from a successful partnership to an asset manager that was poised for growth. In 2003, Matza negotiated the $3 billion merger of Neuberger Berman with Lehman Brothers.

Matza serves as a member of the UAlbany School of Business Dean's Advisory Board and the advisory board of the school's Center for Institutional Investment Management (CIIM).

"Bob is an exceptional individual. He is bright, articulate ... conscientious and committed to his profession," said Hany Shawky, finance professor and director of CIIM. "Bob is not only dedicated to his work, but he is very generous with his time and energy to the betterment of the educational experience of students and faculty at his alma mater."

Excellence in Community Service

Arnold Rothstein '60, '62
Judith K. Rothstein '64, '75
Arnold and Judith Rothstein dedicated their lives to serving others with distinguished individual careers as educators in and beyond the Guilderland School District, and outstanding community service. It is that tireless dedication that garners them the Excellence In Community Service award for serving as board members since the end of the 1990s to Community Caregivers, Inc., and from 2003 to 2005 as elected co-presidents.

Community Caregivers is a volunteer, nonprofit organization, founded in 1996 in Altamont for the purpose of providing assistance to the elderly, the housebound, and others who need assistance. Its motto is "Lending neighbors a helping hand" and services range from transportation to meal preparation, general household tasks, paper work, and "assurance calls." A community effort, Community Caregivers is so successful that they believe it will serve as a model program nationally. The Rothstein's enthusiasm, motivation, and endless efforts to do the right thing for their neighbors inspired such broad support.

In nominating the Rothsteins, Christine Bouchard, associate vice president for student success at UAlbany, said, "Community Caregivers, Inc. is a simple concept -- neighbors helping neighbors in need ... the Rothsteins did more than their share: Arnie especially in financial and administrative matters, Judy in volunteer recruitment and training including the 'I Care' fund raising campaign that culminated in a gala at the Albany Country Club with a very successful silent auction."

Excellence in Education

Ruth J. Kellogg '73
Former district superintendent of BOCES Ruth Kellogg started her career in education as an elementary school teacher and principal. She went on to receive her doctorate from the University at Albany in 1973, and afterward held the post of director of elementary education in Cobleskill. Kellogg then advanced through a series of superintendent posts -- from a small district (Greenville) to a large district (South Glens Falls), culminating in six years of service as district superintendent of BOCES for four Albany, Schoharie, Schenectady and Saratoga counties from 1991 to 1997.

Following her tenure with BOCES, Kellogg brought her talents to the international stage as director of International Recruitment; director of Start-Up School in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia; director of International School in Lahore, Pakistan; all of these positions through the SABIS International School Network. In 2000, Kellogg joined the department of Educational Administration and Policy Studies at UAlbany's School of Education as an adjunct faculty member. Kellogg concurrently served as executive director of the Capital Area School Development Association (CASDA).

Jeff McLellan, her successor at CASDA, remarked that Kellogg's "positive and professional leadership has touched the lives of over 175,000 students and 10,000 teachers."

Mary Ellen Jukoski '74
In 1990 Mary Ellen Jukoski left Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn., where she had risen to assistant vice president for academic instruction, to become academic vice president and dean at Mitchell College in New London, Connecticut. In 1995 she became president of the college. Frederick Ziegler, chairman of the board of trustees, wrote, "Under Mary Ellen's courageous and wise leadership, Mitchell College has evolved from a sleepy two-year institution to a thriving baccalaureate-granting college which is about to embark on a $50 million building program. As part of this evolution, she single handedly has transformed the board of trustees from its status as a long-tenured local group into a vibrant and engaged body from around the country."

Mary Ellen earned a master's degree in curriculum planning and development from UAlbany in 1974, and in 1980 moved to the University of Memphis, where she began as program assistant in the Institute for Academic Improvement at the Center for the Study of Higher Education, and where she also completed her doctorate.

In 1983 Mary Ellen moved to Loretto Heights College, in Denver, for two years as director of its University Without Walls Program, returning to the east in 1985 to Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, then on to Mitchell College. Trustee Ziegler observes that many of Mitchell's graduating seniors, as they receive their diplomas, pause to embrace their college president -- "Mary Ellen finds the time to get to know her students well enough to develop a real and mutual affection. She is, as stated, remarkable."

James R. Butterworth '73, '77, '79, '86
In March 1999, James Butterworth moved from superintendent of schools for Averill Park to assistant commissioner of education in the Office of Regional School and Community Services, where he supervised the offices of Comprehensive Health & Pupil Services, Planning and Professional Development, Child Nutrition, Nonpublic Schools, Charter Schools, School Improvement Team, Research & Evaluation, Innovative Programs, Native Americans and Technology Policy. His colleague Mark Barth calls the post "New York State's "Assistant Commissioner for Miscellanea."

Butterworth's distinction has always been his hands-on approach, eagerness to share, and a curiosity in examining more effective structures. A knowledgeable educator of great intellect, honed at the University at Albany where he received his undergraduate degree, two master's degrees, and a doctorate, and sustained by his curiosity and commitment to stay current with research and good professional practice, he continues to teach college classes, present at professional conferences, and consult for school districts.

Excellence in Entrepreneurship

Harvey Patashnick '67, '69
Harvey Patashnick, received his bachelor's and master's degrees in physics from UAlbany, and was honored in the first group of UAlbany's Distinguished Alumni at the formal Dedication of the University in 1969.

Patashnick was co-founder and long-time president of Rupprecht & Patashnick Co., Inc. (R&P), an engineering and manufacturing company that grew to become the recognized world leader in instrumentation and technology for particle measurement. R&P was recently acquired by Thermo Electron Corporation, an S&P 500 company, and Patashnick currently provides consulting services to the company through his new enterprise, HP Consulting LLC. Rupprecht & Patashnick has also been a partner in the Albany Nanotech Project.

Patashnick has obtained numerous patents, written frequent scientific papers, and received multiple awards. In 1983, U.S. Patent No. 4,391,338 garnered an "Inventor of the Year Award" for him and co-founder George Rupprecht from the Eastern New York State Patent Law Association. In 2004, they won the Eastern New York Intellectual Property Law's "Inventor of the Year" award.

Patashnick is a member of the Council for Economic Outreach, the Albany-Colonie Chamber of Commerce, where he served on its Executive Committee since 2005, and the Board of Trustees of Dudley Observatory.

Excellence in Public Service

The Honorable Gerald D. Jennings '76
Gerald D. Jennings, currently in his fourth term and the 74th mayor of the City of Albany, New York State's capital city, was awarded his master's degree in educational administration from the University at Albany in 1976. Jennings successfully ran for election to the city's Common Council, serving the 11th Ward for 13 years before he won election as mayor in 1993. Under his leadership, the City of Albany in 1998 received the "City Livability Award" from the U.S. Conference of Mayors. In the same year, Albany and its mayor were awarded for promoting cooperative relations between government and the business community. Mayor Jennings has initiated programs for the safety of the many college students who live off campus and frequent local businesses.

The most direct relation between the mayor's office and the University at Albany has been through the successful campus-community coalition, the "Committee on University and Community Relations." The chairperson of this committee, Thomas L. Gebhardt, said, "The mayor's support for our committee has been unwavering... Without the Mayor's continued commitment to our committee, we would not have achieved the success we have over the years."

William Barnette '81
William Barnette is director of the Bureau Systems Development and Public Education in the New York Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services. Since 1971 he has worked in Human Services, holding clinical, supervisory, management and executive level positions.

Barnette served on the City's Board of Education for Albany's children. Albany's Mayor Jennings wrote, in support of this award, "...he brought with him creativity and dedication to high quality education for Albany's children. He is a strong advocate for every student regardless of race, color or creed... [He] does not exclude anyone but instead encourages everyone's participation."

Barnette has served as a field instructor in the University's School of Social Welfare, as an active member of the School's Community Advisory committee, and as a strong supporter of its grant applications in the area of drug abuse.

For 30 years, William Barnette has been an outstanding volunteer in a wide variety of community services. The mayor has called Barnette "an exemplary citizen with a strong commitment to the community."

As early as 1988, the University's Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy honored him with its him its Distinguished Alumni Award. He is also the recipient of the 2005 Governor's African American Leaders of Excellence in State Service Award.