Picotte Family, Schmitt, and Holt-Harris
Are Citizens Laureate

The Picotte family, former RPI President Roland Schmitt, and Albany attorney John Holt-Harris Jr., were named on Feb. 27 as the 1997 winners of the University at Albany Foundation Citizen Laureate Awards. The awards recognize individuals for significant contributions to the community and academic world.

The awards will be presented at The Foundation's 20th Annual Citizen Laureate Dinner on Saturday, April 26, at 6 p.m. at the Hall of Springs in Saratoga Springs. For information and reservations, call 442-5310. The Picotte family and Holt-Harris will receive Community Laureate Awards, while Schmitt will be honored with an Academic Laureate Award.

The Picotte family name is closely associated with community service and philanthropy in the Capital Region. Well known for the Picotte Companies' area real estate interests, the family business was begun in the early 1930s by Bernard and Clifford Picotte and is now managed by their sons, John, Michael and William. The immediate descendants of Bernard and Clifford and their families set the example of community service for their families, company and community.

The Picotte Companies' short mission statement reads, "we regard our community as an asset. It is our commitment to contribute to the area's future through...the involvement of our people in community organizations."

Among the area organizations in the field of education and health that have been served by John Picotte, Michael and Margi Picotte, Rhea and Jim Clark, Bill and Susan Picotte and Ellen Picotte are: Albany Academy, Academy of the Holy Names, the University at Albany Foundation, Emma Willard School, St. Gregory's School, The College of Saint Rose, Siena College, Maria College, La Salle School, St. Anne Institute, St. Peter's Hospital, Albany Medical Center, Center for the Disabled, Wildwood School, Parson's Child and Family Center, Teresian House, Council of Community Services, Ronald McDonald House, Junior Achievement, 15-Love, Albany Project Strive, Urban League, WMHT-TV, Albany Boys' Club and the Albany Girls' Club.

The Picotte family continues its involvement in the Capital area through the next generation. Presently participating in community service are Jim, Betsy and Jeffrey Clark and Meg Picotte MacClarence.

Roland Schmitt, Ph.D., is president emeritus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; he served as president from 1988 to 1993. Prior to his presidency at RPI, he devoted 37 years to General Electric, retiring as senior vice president for science and technology and a member of GE's Corporate Executive Council. From 1978 to 1986, he directed GE's Research and Development Center in Schenectady.

Schmitt is chairman of the board of governors of the American Institute of Physics, chairman of the Council of Scientific Society Presidents and of the Motorola Science Advisors, and is vice chairman-technology of the Center for Economic Growth of the New York Capital Region. He serves as a member on the board of General Signal Corporation, of Reveo, Inc., an entrepreneurial firm, and of its subsidiary, VREX, and is on the advisory board of ILINC, a local entrepreneurial firm.

He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, of the American Physical Society, and of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Schmitt has won several awards, including the Hoover Medal awarded by five engineering societies, the Pake Medal of the American Physical Society, the Arthur M. Bueche Medal of the National Academy of Engineering, and the Medallist Award of the Industrial Research Institute. He was elected to the Capital Region Business Hall of Fame by Junior Achievement.

The Honorable John E. Holt-Harris, Jr., a partner with the prestigious Albany law firm of DeGraff, Foy, Holt-Harris & Kunz, has had a distinguished legal career of 58 years, specializing in corporation, probate and constitutional law. He served as a Records Court Judge from 1951 to 1978.

He has been listed in "Best Lawyers in America" in each year it has been published. He is chairman of the New York State Board of Law Examiners; past president of the bar, Third Judicial District; past president of the Albany County Bar Association; past chairman of the National Conference of Bar Examiners; and chairman of the Committee on Ethical Standards and Conduct of Officers and Employees of the City of Albany.

His biography is in Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in America, and Who's Who in American Law. He served as New York's delegate to the American Bar Association Section of Judicial Discipline.

Holt-Harris has played an active leadership role with the University at Albany since his appointment to the University Council in 1989. He served as council chair from 1990 to 1997 and continues to serve as a council member. He has also devoted his time to numerous other community organizations, having served as president of the board of trustees of Albany Public Library, and as chairman of Albany Project Strive and of the City of Albany Strategic Planning Committee. He has also served on the boards of Albany Medical Center, Albany Academy, St. Agnes School, and the Albany YMCA. He has been the chancellor of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany since 1973, and a member and president of the Board of Education of the city of Albany for 20 years.

Past recipients of Laureate awards include: Charlotte Buchanan, Louis Vaccaro, Douglas Windham, Gary Allen, J. Spencer Standish, Sara Chapman, Alain Kaloyeros, Bishop Howard Hubbard, William Kennedy, and Peter Kiernan.

The University's Richard "Doc" Sauers, one of the winningest head coaches in the history of college basketball with 702 victories, announced on March 10 his retirement as head coach, effective June 1, after more than four decades in the position.

"There is no better coach in America - at any level," said Director of Athletics Milton E. Richards, who will make known the University's search plans for Sauers' successor at a later date. "Dick has served the coaching profession with dignity for more than 40 years, and has been recognized by his peers on numerous occasions. Now it is time for the University and the Capital Region to stand and honor a coach who has developed a program known for its amazing consistency, winning teams, quality student-athletes and been a constant source of pride for collegiate athletics."

Sauers, who will be 67 years old on April 3, finishes his career with a 702- 330 record in 41 seasons as Albany's coach. He stands alongside such legendary mentors as Kentucky's Adolph Rupp, North Carolina's Dean Smith, DePaul's Ray Meyer and F.C. "Phog" Allen of Kansas, as one of 11 coaches in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) annals to reach the 700- career win mark. Sauers achieved that prestigious victory plateau one month ago on Feb. 8 in his team's 89-71 triumph over Bridgeport.

Sauers, whose teams averaged 17.1 wins per season during his tenure and had just one losing campaign, became the University's head coach in 1955, when the school was known as the New York State College for Teachers and the team's nickname was the Pedagogues. Since that time, the institution has evolved into a nationally ranked research university with a broad mission of undergraduate and graduate education, and the nickname has become the Great Danes. Meanwhile, the men's basketball program moved from the NCAA's College Division to Division III, and was upgraded to the current Division II level in 1995.

"I congratulate Doc on his absolutely wonderful career here at the University at Albany," said President Hitchcock. "Not only is he a national star, but he is a star here, and always will be.

"The love, affection and respect that his players have for him was especially evident that night just one month ago, as they carried him around the arena floor after his 700th win," Hitchcock added. "He is a role model for them, and for us. He teaches us what sportsmanship is all about - dedication, fairness, giving your all. Though we wish so much that he would stay, we understand that he hears the siren call of the links at Woolfert's Roost, and a wonderful retirement.

"He is part of our university family, and he, Elaine and their entire family always will be welcome here at the University at Albany."

Added Vice President for Student Affairs James P. Doellefeld, "I have been watching teams coached by Doc Sauers for many years, and I always have admired their focus, their intensity, and their ability to rise to whatever challenge they faced. The rivalries with Potsdam, Hartwick and Siena are particularly memorable.

"Not only is he one of the best coaches I ever have seen, he is one of the best coaches anyone ever has seen," he continued. "He has been an outstanding ambassador for the University at Albany, and we are fortunate that we will still have him for the next few months. After that, I guess, his family and golfing pals at the Roost finally will have him all to themselves."

Sauers, whose UA team went 17-10 as a member of the New England Collegiate Conference in his last season, and rebounded from his lone losing record the previous year, becoming the 15th person to coach his 1,000th game at the collegiate level in February 1996. In his final year, Sauers and Mount St. Mary's Jim Phelan were the only active coaches with 40 or more seasons at the same school.

Albany teams under Sauers were always geared toward post-season play. Since 1975, the Great Danes made nine NCAA tournament appearances, and prior to that there were four NAIA tournament invitations. In 1993-94, Albany established a school record for victories with a 25-3 mark, and reached the Division III East Sectional final. Albany also qualified for the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) playoffs seven times, and won two championships in 1978 and 1989.

Sauers guided the Great Danes to 20-win campaigns on 10 occasions, and incredibly his clubs have reached the 17-victory mark in 26 different seasons. He was named the 1985 NCAA Division III Coach of the Year after Albany went 22-6 and gained a national tournament berth. In 1994, he was chosen as both the East Region and New York State Coach of the Year for the third time in his career. Sauers was inducted into the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992.

Sauers and his wife, the former Elaine Sykes of Schenectady, have two children, Cheryl and Stephen, and a grandson, Jordan. Stephen played for his father in the late 1980s, and is presently an assistant basketball coach at Division I Marist College.

University at Albany graduate programs are once again listed among the best in the nation, according to the prestigious annual rankings of graduate schools by U.S. News & World Report, released today.

U.S. News ranks Albany's School of Social Welfare #21 among 130 accredited graduate schools of social work throughout the nation, and Albany's School of Education #38 among 191 graduate schools in the country.

Each year, U.S. News ranks selected graduate programs for its annual America's Best Graduate School guidebook. Albany's graduate programs in Public Administration and Sociology ranked #10 and #25, respectively, in the most recent national assessments of those disciplines.

U.S. News determined the social work school rankings by sending surveys to deans, faculty, and administrators of accredited graduate programs. Albany's average score was 3.3 out of a possible 5. The top-ranked University of Michigan averaged 4.4; the University of North Carolina and the University of Wisconsin, which tied for 9th, averaged 3.7.

"We are pleased with the recognition," said Social Welfare Dean Lynn Videka- Sherman. Noting that the ranking follows two other recent reports ranking the School among the nation's Top 5 in faculty productivity and doctoral programs, Videka-Sherman added, "If anything, our ranking is an understatement of how good we are. We are only 29 years old, and the 20 schools above us in the rankings all are older and more established."

Graduate education programs that grant Ph.D. or Ed.D. degrees were ranked by using five attributes: faculty resources, research activity, student selectivity, and two separate measures of reputation. Albany's overall score was 70.5. Teachers College of Columbia University was #1, with an overall score of 100. The University of Washington was #25, with an overall score of 81.8.

Assistant Dean of Education Michael Green said, "We are honored to again be ranked among the nation's best graduate schools of education. We have been, and continue to be, a leader in advancing teaching and learning -- as demonstrated last year, when two faculty members, Judith Langer and Arthur Applebee, received a $12.5 million U.S. Department of Education grant to establish a national center dedicated to improving student learning and achievement in English."

The graduate program rankings will appear in the 1997 edition and the March 10 issue of U.S. News, both of which will be available on newsstands Monday, March 3. The listings also will be available on Friday, February 28 on the U.S. News Colleges & Career Web site (www.usnews.com).