Campus Spotlight

Many kinds of students flourish at FSC and a woman in her senior years is no exception. Dorothy Noke has been attending classes in the Art Department for 18 years and has no intention of finishing her studies: “If you graduate you have to leave,” she says.

Noke specializes in printmaking, taking Art Department Chair Mark Cote’s advanced printmaking classes and working in the print room. “Mark Cote is a terrific professor,” she says. “He pays a lot of attention to detail so when you’re through you understand the process.” She is seen above in the print room with Cote.

She also notes the dedication of other faculty members she encounters in May Hall: “Every professor is so concerned about students. They really want them to learn and give 100%.”

Noke was already an accomplished painter when she came to FSC; she also wrote poetry and had published a children’s story. “But when I found printmaking I knew I was home,” she says. She has shown her work in a juried exhibition for community artists at the Danforth Museum, Framingham, and in the Mazmanian Gallery on campus. Like other students in a recent “Art of the Book” class, she has her work included in the collection of the Zine Library at Harvard University.

“What a wonderful example of lifelong learning, passion, and commitment to a discipline is Dorothy,” says Professor Halcyon Mancuso of the English Department. “Many of the faculty who work with her also mention the value that Dorothy brings to other students in the classroom.”

The 2008 Alumni Achievement Awards were presented to five outstanding alumni Saturday, May 31, at Reunion Weekend.

Class of 1953
Sister Margaret Catherine Sims was honored for her outstanding work as leader of the Marian Community. She works devotedly for those in need in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Uganda and other areas of Europe and South America. Over 20 of her close friends came to witness her receive this award.

Class of 1956
Nancy Tracy Fitzgerald was recognized for her exceptional contributions to the field of education. She developed an on-site pre-school at Framingham High School and was founder of Northside Nursery School. Retirement hasn’t slowed her down and she continues to work as a Kindergarten screener, tutor and consultant for the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Class of 1974
Karen Plichta received recognition for her outstanding work during her 30-year tenure with the Air Force. She chartered new ground and was among the first wave of female jet engine mechanics. She had a diverse and distinguished military career and retired at the top NCO rank of Chief Master Sergeant in 2004.

Class of 1978
James F. Bernazzani, Jr., was honored in recognition of his extraordinary career with the FBI. In 2002, he was named principal deputy director of the newly formed Terrorist Threat Integration Center. Bernazzani spearheaded efforts to restore stability in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and received the Presidential Award for Meritorious Service in 2006. One of FSC’s all-time hockey greats, he was elected to the Athletic Hall of Fame in its inaugural year, 1991.

Class of 1993
Forest M. White was recognized for his cutting-edge scientific research in the Division of Biological Engineering at MIT. White focuses on understanding how protein phosphorylation-mediated signaling networks drive biological responses to cellular stimulation. He is also a member of the Center for Cancer Research and the Center for Environmental Health Sciences.

Above: Sims, President Flanagan, White, Plichta, Bernazzani, Fitzgerald.

Framingham, MA — Emma Abby of Natick, a geography major with a concentration in environmental studies and the valedictorian of the 2008 class at Framingham State College, has received a prestigious Fulbright Program Fellowship to pursue an international master’s program in environmental studies and sustainability science at Lund University in Sweden.

“I couldn’t be happier,” says Abby. “I wasn’t really expecting anything and it couldn’t have been a better surprise.”

According to the program’s Web site, the Fulbright Program “is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.” The program, which was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by then Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State.

Timothy Flanagan, president of Framingham State College, says, “Emma is an exceptional example of how a public higher education prepares students for very competitive, prestigious programs. We’re very proud of her accomplishments. She exemplifies how Framingham State alumni make a genuine difference; her work in environmental and sustainability sciences will be important to us all.”

Carl Hakansson, a professor of geography at Framingham State College, says, “Emma’s accomplishments are a testament to how commitment and discipline can pay off. Her enthusiasm and dedication were an inspiration to students and faculty alike and I believe that inspiration made all of us better teachers and students.”

Osama Abdelgadier, a professor of geography at Framingham State College, says Emma is a competent and hard-working student. “She made us all at Framingham State College proud of her and of our program, and I am quite sure she will be an excellent ambassador of Framingham State College to Lund, Sweden.”

Before coming to Framingham State College, Abby attended the Sudbury Valley School in Framingham.

First regional and then national recognition. In May The Gatepost campus newspaper, the voice of students for 76 years, was named one of two national finalists for editorial writing in the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ 2007) national “Mark of Excellence” competition.

The names of the national winners and finalists are posted on the SPJ Web site. They will be honored at the SJP’s annual conference in Atlanta in September.

The national award followed The Gatepost’s selection as the winner of a first-place SPJ “Mark of Excellence” award for editorial writing in Region I (the New England and mid-Atlantic states), presented in April at the University of Southern Maine.

Above, 2008 graduating Gatepost editors, from left to right: Assistant Living Arts Editor Stephanie McNulty, Associate Editor Alex Smith, Editor-in-Chief Brad Petrishen, and Staff Writer Heather Maconochie. Not present, Sports Editor Chris Calzolaio.

The editorials were written by Petrishen with the assistance and support of the editorial staff.

“We are the only state college in the country to be recognized by the SPJ this year in any of its national award categories for college newspapers, magazines, and radio, television, and on-line reporting,” says Dr. Desmond McCarthy, ’81, professor of English and advisor to The Gatepost.

“To receive first place in our region is an honor, and to be recognized nationally is an even greater achievement,” says Smith. “It is great to know that our hard work has paid off and that we do stand among the best.”

Petrishen is proud to bring the award home “not to the journalism building at an Ivy League university but to College Center 410, Framingham State College.”

Communication Arts
Dr. Derrick TePaske has an exhibition of his archival photographs of the Walter E. Fernald State School featured at the opening of the gallery in a newly renovated mill on the Mumford River in the Blackstone Valley. The organization located in the mill, “Alternatives, Unlimited,” provides an array of services to mentally handicapped adults.

Education Department
Dr. Diane Lowe attended the Massachusetts Reading Association conference in Sturbridge April 10 and 11. The theme of the conference was “Literacy is the Connection!” The MRA Exemplary Reading Program Award was presented to the Hemenway School in Framingham. Sheila Harper, literacy specialist at the Hemenway School, completed the Literacy and Language program at FSC in 1998. Amy Ball and Maggie Dabrush, current Literacy and Language students about to receive their FSC M.Ed. degrees, served as student ambassadors.

English Department
Bernard Horn was scholar-in-residence on May 4 and 5 at the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel at Tifereth Israel Congregation in New Bedford. The subject of his lectures was the poetry of Yehuda Amichai. Horn’s translations of Amichai’s poetry have appeared in The New Yorker, Moment Magazine, and the Manhattan Review.

Office of Institutional Research
John Macuga served on a panel at the 14th Annual Massachusetts Statewide Undergraduate Conference held in Amherst May 3. He discussed public speaking and presentation skills with the undergraduate attendees, sharing lessons learned from his experience as an administrator and as an officer in the Army National Guard. While an undergraduate at UMass-Amherst in 1999, Macuga presented his honors thesis at the 5th Annual Undergraduate Conference.