Alumni Association awards spring up in May

Wall of Fame adds five accomplished alumni

Five alumni were inducted into the Alumni Wall of Fame in May, the latest honorees in a tradition begun by the University and the UD Alumni Association in 1984 to recognize graduates who have distinguished themselves professionally and in the community.

Those honored were Alex T. Bourdon, EG ’81; Arthur L. Goldstein, EG ’59M; Elizabeth McCloy Morris, CHS ’73; Carol A. Post, AS ’91M; and Lisa C. Rowen, AS ’82, CHS ’82.

Alan Brayman, BE ’73, vice president of the UD Alumni Association, and UD President Patrick Harker presented the certificates of induction, bringing the number of names on the wall to 215.

In accepting his certificate, Bourdon told the audience he used his University training in engineering to carve out a successful career in manufacturing management in nuclear defense materials, polymers, fibers, films, instruments and medical diagnostic reagents.

While working for Dade Behring Inc., a global provider of medical diagnostic products, Bourdon helped launch Dimension Vista, a 2006 product line that integrated technologies for the high-volume clinical laboratory. He then joined PMI and moved the early-stage medical company to a publicly traded one.

At both companies, Bourdon collaborated with UD programs in mechanical engineering and medical technology and fostered student internships, scholarships and employment opportunities. He helped initiate an Honors Day award for a senior majoring in medical technology, and two additional scholarships were funded in his name by Dade Behring.
Goldstein, who retired after 32 years as chairman, president and chief executive officer of Ionics Inc., oversaw the company’s growth from a small research and development company into an internationally recognized leader in water purification, desalination and separation technology. He said his thirst for discovery and invention began when he was a student at the University.

The holder of 18 patents related to the purification and processing of liquids, Goldstein serves as a trustee and director with several organizations.

Post, a groundbreaking champion of legal reform on behalf of victims of domestic violence, has helped to change how Delaware’s courts treat domestic violence and created networks of support.

She told the induction ceremony audience that she found her “public voice” as an advocate at the University. “All of my work since then has built upon my experience at UD,” she said.

Post’s master’s degree thesis on Delaware’s Family Court inspired a new court program to provide advocacy services for domestic violence victims. She is a founder and executive director of the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence and serves on the board of the National Network to End Domestic Violence. She has qualified as an expert witness on the subject in Delaware’s Superior Court.

The Wall of Fame ceremony, which took place on the last day of National Nurses Week—May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale—also featured the induction of two UD nursing graduates.

Morris attributed her success in “serving in the greatest Navy in the world” to her UD education. “My nursing instructors instilled in me a passion to be attentive to the needs of others, the courage to take risks and a commitment to excellence,” she said.

A pediatric nurse practitioner in civilian practice who completed a 33-year career as a Navy Nurse Corps officer, Morris retired with the rank of rear admiral. During Operation Desert Shield/Storm, she coordinated the identification of reserve medical personnel for mobilization in support of the first Gulf War.

She served as deputy director of the Navy Nurse Corps, reserve component, and on the secretary of the Navy’s National Naval Reserve Policy Board, and she has received the Legion of Merit.

Rowen, also a nursing graduate, has been described as an “expert clinician scholar” who has advanced her scholarship over the last two decades while holding various leadership positions in the profession.

She is recognized nationally as an innovator and leader in clinical nursing, nursing education and research, patient safety and nursing management. While at Johns Hopkins Hospital, she created the concept of a “nurse partner,” which links a bedside nurse to a non-nurse partner by cell phone.

In 2007, Rowen became chief nursing officer and senior vice president of patient care services at the University of Maryland Medical Center.

For more Wall of Fame information, visit [www.UDconnection.com/wall-of-fame].

Outstanding seniors share love of challenges

The UD Alumni Association has named Zachary Bachrach Schafer and Carol Anne Cipriani the outstanding man and woman of the Class of 2008, honoring them with the annual Taylor and Warner awards, respectively.

The Alexander J. Taylor Sr. Award, first given in 1968, is named in honor of Mr. Taylor (1875-1940), a civil engineering graduate who was valedictorian of the Class of 1893 and later served as a member of the Board of Trustees. The Emalea Pusey Warner Award honors Mrs. Warner (1853-1948), a champion of education who worked diligently toward establishing a state-supported women’s college in Delaware and become the first woman member of the Board of Trustees.

Students considered for the $2,500 awards must have demonstrated leadership, academic success and community service and have a cumulative grade point index of 3.0 or better at the end of the first semester of their senior year.

The awards are presented each year at a luncheon on Honors Day, and the recipients also lead the alumni delegates’ procession at Commencement.

Schafer describes himself as a doer and, in keeping with that spirit, says that what makes him happy and keeps him inspired is meeting challenges—several at once—head-on.

“I like to have my hand in everything, and I’m not afraid to try a lot of different things,” he says, adding that when something interests him he usually finds a way to pursue it. A triple major in economics, history and international relations who also has taken several graduate-level courses in energy and environmental policy, Schafer says he would like to have done more but will save that for the possibility of graduate school.

“If I ever were to come back and get a doctoral degree, I would probably take some business classes and do something for energy and environmental policy,” he says. “But I also like the idea of combining economics with history, because I have a very strong interest in why the economy works the way it does and why, historically, people in power have made certain decisions.”

After completing his official coursework in the fall, Schafer spent the spring semester finishing a course of independent study and working for the Office of Development and Alumni Relations and as a teaching assistant.

“I really discovered myself here, and the friends I’ve made and the faculty I’ve met have really made UD my second home,” he says.

Schafer was active in numerous student organizations and volunteer activities and took advantage of several study-abroad opportunities, including UD programs in Argentina, Antarctica and Vietnam.

“Although Zach is not the most flashy of the very top students, it has been my pleasure to mentor him, and he perhaps comes close to the ‘ideal student,’” says Lawrence Duggan, professor of history and Schafer’s mentor. “He has certainly taken full advantage of what the University has to offer in trying to figure out both himself and his life’s work, and he has been willing to take risks to do so, which is what all students should do.”
Cipriani’s enthusiasm is contagious, and she says she has no doubts that she’s putting it to the best possible use with her chosen major and career.

An elementary education major, with the added credentials of special education and middle school math specialization and a 4.0 grade point average, she says that nothing inspires her quite as much as inspiring others. And along with her desire to teach lies a commitment to boost math confidence in kids who have difficulty with numbers.

“Because I’ve always loved math and I’ve seen how many kids struggle with it or dislike it, I want to be able to share my knowledge with them,” Cipriani says. “Math is something that is really needed for life, so when I chose to be a teacher, I decided to bring that to the classroom.”

In her final semester, she took extra math courses and pursued independent study with Nancy Jordan, professor of education, who is studying children at risk for learning difficulties in mathematics (See page 22). On Honors Day, Cipriani also received the Outstanding Student Teacher Award, the University Panel of Distinguished Seniors award and awards from the College of Human Services, Education and Public Policy.

“I never can just stop with the basics,” she says. “I like to go for a challenge.” Laura Glass, assistant professor of education, interim associate director of UD’s School of Education and Cipriani’s adviser, says that she models the best qualities of an effective educator.

“Carol’s insatiable drive to learn new things amazes me,” Glass says. “She seized numerous opportunities outside the University classroom to prepare herself for her future work in elementary or middle school classrooms, and, besides her stellar academic performance, she also is incredibly reflective and exhibits all of the qualities of being a leader in the field of education. Her deep care for children and warm personality will touch the lives of many families in her career.”