Alumni shared their secrets for success with around 800 students in the Mandela Room at Binghamton's annual Career Day on April 11, 2002. Click here to see photos from the event.

Robert Wu, manager of Robfo International, was one of nearly 60 employers who spoke with students at Career Day 2002.

"The Career Development Center is proud to offer this great opportunity," said Stephen Cantine, a career counselor and coordinator of this year’s Career Day, "We are delighted so many alumni took time out of their busy schedules to help our students prepare for their futures."

Career Day is held each Spring. An employer-recruiting fair takes place each Fall. Both are designed for students to ask people with "real world" experience questions about their fields of interest.

Cantine said the Career Development Center strives for diversity when planning such events. "We have a database of 700 people in a variety of fields and we invite everyone to come to campus. That way, we can provide students with the most information."

To get the most bang for their buck, the Career Development Center provides students with important questions to ask employees in their fields of interest, such as, "Describe a typical work day," and "How well is my background suited for this type of work?"

"Students feel like Career Day is a great opportunity to have so many fields represented in one place," said Cantine, "They like being able to ask people about their industries."

Interested in being a part of Career Day 2003? Please contact the Career Development Center.

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Thousands Discover Harpur College at Open Houses

Over two thousand high school students and their families learned more about Harpur College at Open Houses held April 7^th and 13^th in the Mandela Room. Faculty from every department and program, admissions counselors, and academic advisors answered questions about everything from course requirements to career opportunities. Harpur College also hosted a reception for participants to relax, enjoy refreshments, and get to know each other. The university offered campus tours, financial aid information, and Q&A sessions throughout the day.

Mike Perry, a student at SUNY Farmingdale, attended Open House with other members of his family and said he liked Binghamton’s campus. "It seems to accommodate all students."

Elana Yudman, traveled to Binghamton with her mom, Randi, from Pomona, NY. She is interested in Harpur College because of our strong Psychobiology department. Having visited in August, she already knew the campus well. "I know I’ll get a good education here," she said.

Mallory Myers is also attracted to Harpur College’s Psychobiology department. She came to Open House from Albany to learn more about the program. "This is a beautiful school," she said, "I love the ‘brain’ idea of the campus and the rooms in College in the Woods." Binghamton is among Myers top choices.

Katelyn Kowalchyk attended Open House with her parents, Heidi and John. She likes Harpur College’s program in Biochemistry and our affiliation with SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse. Kowalchyk is from Binghamton, but plans to live on campus

Barbara Abou-El-Haj, professor of Art History, represented her department at Open House on the 13^th and felt the event is very useful. "Anyone to whom we can speak, we might engage and convince to come here," she concluded, "It’s a good chance to meet professors in person and learn more about our programs."

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McMahon to Help Monitor Mali's Presidential Election

This election marks an important stage in Mali's democratic development, as President Alpha Konare is constitutionally barred from running for reelection.

The international delegation is organized by the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, with funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development.

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Harpur College's Rightmire Named Distinguished Professor
by Marty Doorey

Harpur College's Anthropologist G. Philip Rightmire, whose most recent work has been in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia consulting on a 1.7 million year-old fossilized skull, is the University's newest distinguished professor. (Photography by Evangelos Dousmanis)

G. Philip Rightmire, an internationally known leader in human paleontology, has been designated a distinguished professor by the SUNY Board of Trustees.

In nominating Rightmire, President Lois B. DeFleur wrote that Rightmire has developed a research record that places him among an elite handful of world scientists in the field of paleoanthropology who have made significant contributions to the field.

The distinguished professor designation, which is the highest academic rank possible, is conferred on individuals who have achieved national or international prominence. Rightmire is the University's 22nd distinguished professor. Seven emeriti professors hold the designation.

Rightmire, who joined Harpur College's faculty in 1969, is considered among an elite and highly reputed handful of world scientists in the field of paleoanthropology. His research has concentrated on the anatomy and evolutionary relationships of early members of the genus Homo. Although he has studied and written about human remains in Europe and Asia, his primary research has focused on African findings.

"I haven't worked in a vacuum all these years," Rightmire said. "I've worked with a lot of people in and outside of the SUNY system. They've helped me and I certainly need to acknowledge that."

He said he was especially fortunate to have had so many good colleagues and students during his years at Binghamton.

This summer Rightmire will return to the former Soviet republic of Georgia to reexamine recently found fossilized bones from a skeleton believed to be 1.7 million years old. He was called to consult by Georgian anthropologists to help date the materials and place it in evolutionary context.

One of Rightmire's nominators credited him with making the out-of-Africa theory of human origins and dissemination academically respectable.

One of Rightmire's more recent and notable scholarly contributions is his complex reinterpretation of the thesis on the positioning of Homo heidelbergensis as precursor to Homo Sapiens. The nomination citation noted that Rightmire's hypothesis has become so important that scientists studying Homo heidelbergensis frequently refer to it as "Rightmire's species."

Rightmire earned his bachelor's degree from Harvard and his master's and doctorate from the University of Wisconsin. He was promoted to full professor in 1982 and in 1990-91 was awarded a University Award for Excellence in Research. The previous year he was named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The author of a book, Homo Erectus, which serves as a basic text in the field, Rightmire has served on the editorial boards of scholarly publications such as the American Journal of Physical Anthropology and the Journal of Human Evolution.

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In response to your much-appreciated feedback, the Harpur Hotline has begun a regular feature of alumni news. Send us anything you want: publications, promotions, marriages, babies, graduations, retirements, or anything else you wish to share. We want to share the good news about our Harpur friends and family. A great, big thank you to everyone who replied to the last Hotline's inquiry for your latest news. Here's what a few of your fellow Harpur alumni are doing:

1954: Larry and Elizabeth "Betsy" Silverstein will celebrate their 50th anniversary at a dinner party with their six children and eight grandchildren on April 27, 2002. The Silversteins were married in Binghamton on April 26, 1952. They previously celebrated the big event with a trip to Strasbourg, France to visit one of their daughters. Betsy was a cheerleader at Harpur from 1947 to 1948. Does anyone remember her? Larry retired from Dow Corning in 1990. He was corporate manager of Industrial Hygiene.

1976: Laura Parrotti is an associate professor of theater at Ohio University. She is a certified teacher of Lessac voice training and studied and teaches the Linklater approach. She has taught voice workshops all over the world. In 1993, Parrotti was a member of the Citizen Ambassador Program to the People's Republic of China for a cultural theater exchange. She is a member of the Association for Theater in Higher Education (ATHE) and the Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA). Parrotti has directed numerous productions at Ohio University and Ohio Valley Summer Theater. Parrotti is also a professional voice, speech, and dialect coach and has worked at The Cleveland Playhouse, the Cincinnati PlayHouse in the Park, and the Contemporary Actors' Theatre Company in Columbus. She is currently teaching an innovative course called "Women Speaking: Then and Now."

1980: Maybe a Harpur College education will become a family tradition for David J. Nelson. He brought his son to Harpur's open house on Sunday, April 7, 2002. "The school looks great," he said, "We met with a couple of students we know and they are having a great time. We hope to visit again."

1986: Peter Bohush left dot-com consulting in 2001 to become a Realtor with Keller Williams Realty in Westborough, Massachusetts. But he's putting his writing/directing Theater degree to use in his new line of work as executive producer and host of a weekly television series, WICKED GOOD HOMES. The show features interviews and remote segments providing information on property ownership and home improvement. WICKED GOOD HOMES airs in 23 towns in central Massachusetts, with companion video clips posted online at http://www.WickedGoodHomes.com. Bohush's career path was recently profiled in the Boston Globe. The article may be read online at the Boston Globe or at the Wicked Good Homes website.

1987: Bari Cooper Nirenberg is teaching English as a Foreign Language in a Beer Sheva, Israel high school. She and her family moved to a new home in a town north of Beer Sheva in December 2000. They are enjoying more room, a bigger yard, and two new dogs. She told the Hotline, "These days I keep busy staying fit, driving my kids around, and avoiding crowded places and public transportation."

1988 - 1989: Several alumnae and their kids had a Newing reunion on 3/24/02. From left to right, top row: Linda Meshkati '89, Janine Rospers '89 with her children Julianne & Jennifer. Bottom row: Nadine Godfrey '89 with Johanna, Jodi Sanders '89 with Ryan, Brett Habib-Sloane '88 with Jesse and Jack, and Liz (Rosenfeld) Epstein '89 with Mallory and Quincy.

1992: Jennifer and Steven Stern had a baby girl, Sabrina Harriet Stern, on March 20, 2002.

1995: Rei Hirasawa and Mark L Deckman (SEHD `96) got engaged on March 8, 2002. Hirasawa is an insurance broker at Marsh in New York City and Deckman is an associate at Rivkin Radler in Uniondale, NJ. A Fall 2004 wedding is planned.

Please send all information and photos (.jpg preferred) to Ingrid Husisian, Hotline Editor, at husisian@binghamton.edu or by mail to the Harpur College Dean's Office, LN 2430, Binghamton University, PO Box 6000, Binghamton, NY, 13902-6000. We look forward to hearing from you!

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