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Alfred
            M AGA Z I N E
               APRIL 2022

A TOUCH OF Glass
AlfredM AGA ZINE - A TOUCH OF Glass - Alfred University
Alfred
                       Executive Editor       Design/Photography                Alfred University
                       Erin Martinovich       Olivia Piazza ’19                 1 Saxon Drive
                                                                                Alfred, NY 14802
                       Contributing Writers   Additional Photography            607·871·2103
                       Mark Whitehouse        Joyce Miyake-Faraji ’21           news@alfred.edu
   M AGA Z I N E       Rob Price
                                              Alfred Magazine, copyright
    APRIL 2022 ISSUE
                                              2022, is mailed free of charge    We reserve the right to edit all
                                              to alumni, current parents, and   letters and articles submitted for
                                              friends of Alfred University.     publication in Alfred Magazine.
                                              Circulation: 6,100
AlfredM AGA ZINE - A TOUCH OF Glass - Alfred University
Facing page: N’Kosi Barber, a glass
       artist from Chicago, works in the
     School of Art and Design hot glass
                                              Inside
 shop. Barber visited the University the      2		   Elizabeth Lyons ’82, renowned in the world of glass art, grew up embracing
  first week of February in conjunction             creativity, the daughter of two Alfred University alumni who were accomplished
       with the SOAD’s Black Glass Arts             photographers and well-known art instructors. Today, Elizabeth, assisted by two
 Series. The series brought glass artists           fellow Alfred alumni—Jen Schinzing ’04 and Mike Krupiarz ’05—operates More Fire
   of color to the University throughout            Glass, a successful glass studio and gallery in Rochester.

      February, with artists giving glass
                                              9		 Before earning bachelor’s and doctoral degrees in ceramic engineering, and a
    art demonstrations and artist talks.          master’s in glass science from Alfred University, Kathleen Richardson ’82, was a
        Third-year B.F.A. student Adeye           chemistry major. Her decision to change her academic path during her first year at
     Jean-Baptiste was instrumental in            Alfred has led her to become one of the world’s leading teachers and researchers in
organizing the series, leading efforts to         the field of glass and optical materials.
 raise funds to bring the visiting artists
                              to campus.      13    At Corning Inc. John Mauro ’01, used mathematical modeling to develop newer,
                                                    more durable versions of Gorilla Glass for cell phones. Now he’s passing along his
                                                    knowledge of glass engineering to students at Penn State University, using lessons
       Above: Alfred University military            learned as an undergraduate and graduate student at Alfred University.
   veteran alumni participated during
         Reunion 2021 last August in the      17    Glass artist Leo Tecosky ’03, discovered as a high school student he enjoyed
dedication of a memorial honoring the               working with his hands. Then he learned of a place called Alfred University, where
  U.S. service veterans. The permanent              professors excelled at teaching students how to work with their hands. The results
memorial, located in front of the Davis             of that education are coming to fruition in glass art inspired in part by hip hop.
 Memorial Carillon, consists of a bench
                                              23    Professor Gary Ostrower ’61, returned to his alma mater to teach history. In
 and granite inlays detailing each war              December 2021, he retired from the University after a 52-year career. To have served
and conflict Alfred University-affiliated           as a colleague of Ostrower is to have enjoyed a unique professional and educational
 veterans fought in over the years and              experience.
        the branches of the U.S. military.
                                              27    Alfred Campus Digest
      Cover image: Elizabeth Lyons ’82
                                              32    Saxon Athletics
  works in the shop at More Fire Glass,
 the small production glass studio and        40    Class Notes
 gallery she operates in Rochester. See
                          story, Page 2.      46    Deaths

        T H E    M A G A Z I N E      F O R   A L U M N I    A N D    F R I E N D S    O F   A L F R E D    U N I V E R S I T Y     1
AlfredM AGA ZINE - A TOUCH OF Glass - Alfred University
2
AlfredM AGA ZINE - A TOUCH OF Glass - Alfred University
MORE
                                                     Workshop at SUNY Brockport, where he retired
                                                     as Distinguished Professor of Art/Education in
                                                     2002. He received an honorary degree from Alfred

FIRE
                                                     University in 2006. In 1972, Joan founded the
                                                     Visual Studies Workshop Press, which produces
                                                     artists’ books through a residency program.
                                                     She has taught and lectured in printmaking,
                                                     printing, and photography, and her work is

GLASS
                                                     part of permanent collections nationally and
                                                     internationally.
                                                       Elizabeth’s parents both taught at the renowned
                                                     Penland School of Craft, outside Asheville, NC,
                                                     and it was there, at the age of 11, that she saw
                                                     the process of glass blowing. That experience,
By Mark Whitehouse                                   combined with visits to the family glass business
                                                     on her fathers’ side in New York City, piqued her
Elizabeth Lyons ’82, founder of More                 interest in glass art. “It was magical to visit the
                                                     place where they made chandeliers and fancy
Fire Glass in Rochester, works with
                                                     mirrors. I remember a giant card catalogue.
fellow Rochester natives and Alfred                  In each drawer there were crystals of various
                                                     colors and shapes. I spent hours opening those
University alumni Jen Schinzing                      drawers,” she recalled.
’04 and Mike Krupiarz ’05 to create                    It wasn’t until Elizabeth enrolled in art school at
                                                     Alfred University that she discovered her passion
unique and beautiful pieces of                       for glass as an art form.
glass art at a 4,000-square-foot                       “After (first-year) Foundations, I started to focus
                                                     on glass and was excited to be working in that
building that houses the small-scale                 medium, though I was still fascinated by the
                                                     variety of studio experiences at Alfred,” she said.
production glass studio and gallery.
                                                     “That’s what was beautiful about Alfred. In my
All three developed an interest in                   sophomore year, I was able to work multiple
                                                     media areas that included ceramics, printmaking
art while growing up in Rochester,                   and wood. Not being limited by material has been
and a particular love for working                    so important to my work. I don’t think of myself
                                                     as a glass artist. I think of myself as a sculptor and
with glass while students at Alfred.                 designer. I love glass, but I also love metal, wood,
                                                     found objects, concrete and paint. I would never
  The daughter of Alfred University alumni and       limit myself. The medium is chosen to serve the
accomplished photographers—her mother Joan           idea.”
and late father Nathan both graduated from             Elizabeth earned her B.F.A., with a concentration
Alfred in 1957; Joan with a B.F.A. and Nathan with   in sculpture, in 1982. After graduation, she moved
a degree in English—Elizabeth’s interest in the      to New York City, working and taking film classes,
creative process came naturally.                     before returning to Rochester in 1988. She earned
  “We always made things, all the time,”             a master’s degree from Rochester Institute of
Elizabeth recalls of her childhood in Rochester.     Technology and in 1989 began a 21-year career
Nathan, who passed away in 2016, was curator         teaching art in the Rochester City School District,
of photography at the George Eastman House           at the School of the Arts, and then at East High
in Rochester before founding the Visual Studies      School.

                                                     Continued on page 4                                 3
Mike Krupiarz ’05 (left), Jen Schinzing ’04 (center), and Elizabeth Lyons ’82 outside More Fire Glass studio and gallery in
Rochester.

4
It was while                                                                                            “We’d come
she was                                                                                                   into the
teaching that                                                                                             studio after
Elizabeth                                                                                                 our other jobs
opened More                                                                                               and worked
Fire Glass in                                                                                             to keep the
Rochester in                                                                                              place going,”
1998. She had                                                                                             Elizabeth
wanted to open                                                                                            explained.
her own studio,                                                                                              At the time,
and found                                                                                                 the focus of
some space                                                                                                More Fire
in Rochester.                                                                                             Glass was
“I went to                                                                                                public access.
the bank                                                                                                  “I wanted
and applied                                                                                               to create
for a loan to                                                                                             a studio
purchase the                                                                                              that was an
equipment. The                                                                                            educational
bank turned         A chandelier Elizabeth Lyons created, consisting of glass magnolia blossoms           facility and
me down. They       attached to a forged metal frame, adorns  the  lobby of the Arca Hotel in Hong Kong. it was a first
said they didn’t                                                                                         for this area.
know what they would do with the equipment” if                  I was committed to offering summer and after
the studio venture failed, Elizabeth recalled.                  school programs for city high school students,
  Soon after, in a fortunate stroke of serendipity,             though kids came from all over. We raised money
a glass artist Elizabeth was acquainted with                    and offered lots of scholarships. Many of those
contacted her to say she was selling her glass-                 students have continued in glass and the arts.”
blowing equipment and asked if Elizabeth                          Elizabeth rented out studio time, and offered a
was interested. “It was very small and cobbled                  variety of classes, taught by nationally renowned
together, but I said yes, I would take it.” Using               artists, including Einar and Jamex de la Torre,
her own $5,000 as an investment, which was                      Emilio Santini, Karen Willenbrink, Ross Richmond
matched by a grant from the City of Rochester,                  and many others. That shifted in 2010, when
Elizabeth bought the equipment and secured                      Elizabeth retired from teaching and turned her
the space needed to open More Fire Glass studio.                attention full time to her studio practice.
“That’s how I got started. I moved the equipment                  “It was just me and Jen at the time and there
into the space and used it for about two years                  was a complete course correction,” Elizabeth
until I was able to build new hot shop equipment,               said. “We both left our full-time jobs. I decided I
including a glass furnace.”                                     wanted to focus on creating and making art. It
  Elizabeth said she made sure to continually                   was a big, risky leap for us, but it was what we
invest in her business. “I was teaching at the time,            really wanted to do. Not long after that things
so every cent I made (at the studio) I re-invested.             really started to take off. There is a point in life
I was super-conservative, and never borrowed                    when you pare down and do fewer things, but do
any money. I’d make a little money and buy tools,               them better.”
equipment and materials or less glamorous                         In 2016, More Fire Glass studio moved to its
things one needs to run a business.”                            current location, a former welding supply shop
  In 2005, she was joined at the studio by Jen                  on Rochester’s Field Street, just off busy Monroe
Schinzing. Like Elizabeth, Jen had a full-time job              Avenue and easily accessible from I-490. Two
elsewhere, as a photographer at a local studio.

                                                               Continued on page 6                                  5
The showroom at More Fire Glass studio and gallery in Rochester. Founder Elizabeth Lyons ’82 and fellow Alfred University
alumni Jen Schinzing ’04 and Mike Krupiarz ’05 create original glass art at More Fire Glass.

years later, Elizabeth and Jen were joined in the               glassblowers, create their own works (which are
studio by Michael Krupiarz, who returned to his                 available for sale in the More Fire Glass showroom
native Rochester after several years working and                and on the studio website) and work with
teaching in North Carolina, including a stint as                Elizabeth on various projects. Jen serves as studio
an instructor at Penland. Michael knew Jen from                 manager and Michael as studio coordinator.
their time at Alfred University, and was a student                “Jen has really helped me grow the business.
at Rochester School of the Arts when Elizabeth                  There has been a lot of collaboration between
was a teacher there. “When we got to a place                    us. We bounce ideas off each other all the time.
where we could hire someone, Michael’s name                     Jen and Michael are very interesting artists in
came up, and we reached out to him,” Elizabeth                  their own right. They bring a lot of creativity to
recalls.                                                        the table,” Elizabeth commented. “I couldn’t ask
  More Fire Glass serves a variety of clientele, from           for two more capable people to work with. They
architects and interior designers to individual                 make it a joy to come to work. Both are incredibly
clients and retail showrooms. Elizabeth’s work                  organized and offer the perfect combination of
has appeared in national publications like the                  working styles.”
New York Times, Vogue and Town and Country                        Jen says she has had an interest in “making
magazines, and in specialty trade publications                  and creating” for as long as she can remember.
like World of Interiors magazine and Architectural              Growing up in Rochester and attending school in
Digest. Elizabeth’s work has been exhibited in                  Fairport, she says she “took every art class I could
museums, is included in permanent collections,                  in high school” and knew that her college plans
and has been sold in major retail outlets like                  would include attending art school.
Barneys, Bergdorf, and Holly Hunt. One of                         “When I started looking, I asked my mom, ‘How
her most ambitious and stunning works is a                      will I know?” She said, ‘You’ll just know,’” Jen
chandelier made of glass magnolia blossoms                      recalled. “We visited Alfred. All the brick buildings
attached to a forged metal frame. A large version               and green spaces…it was just different from the
of the chandelier adorns the lobby of the Arca                  other campuses. It had a cozy, homey feeling.
Hotel in Hong Kong.                                             It had that vibe. I knew as soon as I got to the
  Jen and Michael, both talented and experienced                campus, Oh my god! This is where I want to go.”

6
Like Jen, Michael was taken with Alfred as soon        the chance to join Elizabeth and Jen at More Fire
as he set foot on campus for his first visit. “When      Glass
I walked onto campus, and saw the facility, I said,        “Being able to do what you love, what you’re
‘Yeah, this is it.” It was pretty instant.”              passionate about for a job…I’m very grateful and
  He enrolled at Alfred planning to focus on             fortunate,” Michael said. Being able to work in his
ceramic art, but that began to change after his          hometown, “is an extra perk. It’s great for me to be
first year. “My introduction to glass was in my          here in that respect.”
sophomore year, and I thought I’d try it out. It           Looking back, Elizabeth is quick to credit her
was so new and challenging, it just took over my         own time at Alfred for helping shape her career, as
interest,” Michael recalled, noting the influence        a teacher and artist.
of his first glass professor, the late Jackie Pancari,     “It’s huge. Alfred influenced my time as a
visiting professor of glass from 1998-2003. “Her         teacher, particularly the Foundations class.
energy and love for glass was contagious.”               It didn’t make sense at the time, but after I
  Jen says her work has “evolved over the years,”        graduated and started teaching, I really drew on
and her sculptural work incorporates mixed               that experience every day,” she says, crediting
media. “Even though I’m primarily a glassblower, I       “brilliant teachers” like John Wood (her instructor
have a lot of respect for other materials.”              in Printmaking and senior advisor) and Andy
  She says working with Elizabeth and Michael            Billeci, along with Harland Snodgrass, Jessie
at More Fire Glass is so gratifying because she’s        Shefrin and Val Cushing. The art school “is rooted
doing something she loves while working with             in this history of collaboration and ingenuity. It’s
great people. “It’s amazing. In the beginning both       a very special place. I feel very fortunate to have
of us (Jen and Elizabeth) were doing other jobs.         worked with those people.”
To be able to build this up to the point we could          That sentiment is reflected in the students she
take the leap is amazing. It’s great to be at a place    has worked with—after they’ve come out of Alfred
where your creative input is so valued,” she said.       University, or those she steered to Alfred as a
“Elizabeth, Michael and I make a great team.             high school teacher. “Alfred graduates are really
Glassblowing studios are such intimate spaces.           well-prepared as artists. There is a kind of creative
You can’t work with just anyone. We work really          growth that happens in the art school that is so
well together.”                                          unique to that program.”
  After graduating from Alfred, Michael studied
and worked 12 years in North Carolina—including
as a teaching assistant at Penland—before
returning to Rochester in 2018. He jumped at

                                                                                                         7
8
THE
                 Optics
                    Glass                 OF

Kathleen Richardson ’82,                    Today, Kathleen holds the prestigious title of Pegasus Professor of
                                          Optics and Materials Science in CREOL, the College of Optics and
a leading educator and                    Photonics at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, where she
researcher in infrared glass              runs the Glass Processing and Characterization Laboratory.
                                            A member of the Alfred University Board of Trustees since
science and technology,                   2006, Kathleen earned B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from Alfred
got her start at Alfred                   University. Her research and teaching specialize in infrared optical
                                          materials, chalcogenide glasses and glass ceramics; she has been
University, albeit briefly,               granted 21 patents, with direct benefits to numerous industrial
as a chemistry major. By                  applications. Kathleen is a past president of the American Ceramic
                                          Society (ACerS) and the National Institute of Ceramic Engineers
her second semester, she                  and a past chair of ACerS Glass and Optical Materials Division. She
had switched to ceramic                   is a Fellow of ACerS, the Optical Society of America (now Optica),
                                          the Society of Glass Technology, and the European Ceramic Society
engineering, a decision that              (honorary).
would lead her to worldwide                 Growing up in Rochester, Kathleen’s interest in optics developed
                                          at an early age. Rochester is home to Kodak, and an after-school
distinction in the field of               Science Explorer program at the company piqued her interest in
glass and optical materials.              the inner-workings of cameras, and in the chemistry and science
                                          behind optical materials. Kathleen’s love of chemistry—it was her
                                          favorite subject in high school—and her passion for sports led her
By Mark Whitehouse
                                          to Alfred University. Her favorite teacher in high school was the
                                          father of one of her friends, also a softball teammate.
Photos courtesy of
The University of Central Florida           While she was looking into colleges, her friend’s sister, who had
                                          gone to nursing school at Alfred University, suggested Kathleen
                                          consider Alfred. “I visited Alfred and I knew it was where I wanted
                                          to go. It was a small campus: far enough away from home but
                                          close enough where I could come back for holidays. There was a
                                          lot of inclusivity and camaraderie at Alfred. And, I could still play
                                          volleyball!”
                                            Kathleen enrolled at Alfred University in the fall of 1978 as a
                                          chemistry major, a course of study that would change after just
                                          one semester. “I was living in a dorm with ceramic engineering
Facing page: Kathleen Richardson          majors and they were having so much fun,” she recalled. The
’82, ’88 M.S., ’92, PhD oversees
                                          following spring, she switched her major to ceramic engineering.
the Glass Processing and
Characterization Laboratory in the          At Alfred, Kathleen took as many classes as she could that related
College of Optics and Photonics           to optics—which studies the behavior and properties of light and
(CREOL), University of Central Florida.   its interactions with materials, including glass—and in 1982, she

                                          Continued on page 10                                               9
earned her bachelor’s degree. In February of                   University of Central Florida (UCF). In 1993, she
1983, Kathleen began a five-year tenure at the                 was named an assistant professor in UCF’s
University of Rochester (UR) Laboratory of Laser               Departments of Chemistry and Mechanical,
Energetics, initially as an electronics technician             Materials and Aerospace Engineering. This
and then as a laboratory engineer.                             position later transferred to the School and then
  Kathleen was one of the first ceramic materials              College of Optics and Photonics, once those
engineering graduates hired to work at UR in                   entities were established at UCF.
optics. She recalled that when David Pye (then                   Kathleen served as an instructor in the U.S. and
professor of glass science engineering) was                    abroad, including at the University of Rochester
called for a reference, he “was a bit miffed at the            Institute of Optics and as visiting professor at
employer’s lack of familiarity with the quality                Université Claude Bernard in Lyon, France, and
of Alfred’s ceramic engineering program, and                   Université Bordeaux in Bordeaux, France in 2000
asserted that ‘our graduates knew as much                      and 2001.
or more about optics and materials as the                        In 2002, while on leave from UCF, Kathleen
graduates of optics programs.’ Most Alfred                     was appointed manager of the R&D Materials
University ceramic engineering graduates went                  and R&D Technology groups for Schott Glass,
into traditional ceramics jobs.                                                 a German multinational glass
I was the only one at that time                                                 company specializing in the
who I knew had gone into optics.            “I visited Alfred and I knew        manufacture of optical glass and
I was an outlier, and that decision,                                            glass-ceramics. “For me, it was an
                                              it was where I wanted to
fortunately, changed my life.”                                                  industry test drive after spending
  While working at UR, Kathleen              go. It was a small campus:         10 years in academia. I wanted
worked part-time toward her                     far enough   away  from         to try something different. It
master’s degree in glass science,               home but close enough           was great from a corporate
which she earned in 1988. Seeking             where I could come back           experience standpoint.”
a career in education and research,                                             In 2003, Kathleen returned to
                                               for holidays. There was
she decided to pursue her doctoral                                              UCF, as associate professor in the
degree.                                        a lot of inclusivity and         School of Optics, Departments
  “I was running some of the same              camaraderie    at Alfred.”       of Chemistry and Mechanical,
projects (at Rochester) as some                                                 Materials and Aerospace
                                                 Kathleen Richardson ’82
of the Ph.D. students, providing                                                Engineering. Two years later, she
technical supervision for some as                                               left for Clemson University, where
well as mentorship,” she recalled. “I                                           she served for 12 years—seven as
realized I could stay at UR or go to Alfred and get            a professor in the School of Materials Science and
my Ph.D. I knew I needed additional education                  Engineering (including five years as department
and training to get where I wanted to be, so I                 chair) and five as a research professor. During her
opted for the Ph.D.”                                           tenure at Clemson, she was an affiliate professor
  Kathleen returned to Alfred to earn her                      at UCF.
doctorate in ceramic engineering. Her advisor,                   “Clemson provided me a leadership
William LaCourse, professor of glass science,                  opportunity,” she said. Among her chief tasks
arranged for her to work in the glass lab, which               was that of combining two departments:
“gave me the opportunity to learn how to teach                 Ceramics and Metallurgy, and the School of
and interface with students.” She lectured in one              Textiles.
class and was an instructor in another.                          Enrollment in the two programs had been
  After earning her Ph.D. in ceramic engineering               declining. Kathleen created two endowed chairs
in 1992, Kathleen was appointed a research                     in Clemson’s School of Materials Science and
scientist in the Center for Research and                       Engineering and also increased the co-op and
Education in Optics and Lasers (CREOL) at the                  internship opportunities available to students.

10
Kathleen Richardson is one of the world’s preeminent researchers and teachers in the field of optics. The Pegasus
Professor of Optics and Materials Science at the University of Central Florida, she has played a key role in lobbying the
United Nations to designate 2022 as the International Year of Glass.

Using her Alfred University connections, she                       success in teaching, research, creative activity,
helped develop a student internship program                        and service. That same year, she was awarded
at Savannah River National Laboratory in Aiken                     the Florida Photonics Center of Excellence
County, SC, where Alfred University alumnus                        Professorship at UCF.
John Marra ’83 (BS ceramic engineering, BA                           At UCF, Kathleen leads a team conducting
chemistry) was serving as chief research officer.                  research in the Glass Processing and
  “I had a wonderful Alfred network to help me                     Characterization Laboratory (GPCL) in CREOL,
during those years at Clemson,” Kathleen said,                     a global leader in education, research, and
noting that Marra also agreed to send some of                      industrial partnership in the fields of optics and
his employees at Savannah River (some also                         lasers.
Alfred alums) to serve as adjunct professors at                      “I, with my colleagues, lead the optical glass
Clemson. Her work at Clemson was successful in                     side of the lab,” she explained. “We actually make
increasing enrollment in the School of Materials                   components based on glass and glass ceramics
Science and Engineering.                                           that we hope someday make it into an innovative
  Kathleen left Clemson in 2012 to return to UCF,                  optical system that requires something special,
but retained her position as a Clemson research                    not currently available on the market.”
professor through 2017. She has been professor in                    While these infrared (IR) materials are
the College of Optics and Photonics at UCF since                   engineered to transmit light that we cannot
2012. In 2018, she was named Pegasus Professor                     typically ‘see’, they also must meet other metrics
of Optics and Materials Science and Engineering.                   of performance based on their thermal and
UCF Pegasus Professors are recognized for                          mechanical robustness, and compatibility

                                                                   Continued on page 12                                     11
with unique manufacturing methods. Many                      recently, Martin established the University’s new
IR systems are now deployed for security                     Center for Directed Energy.
and imaging systems that must be small                         Kathleen has sought to pay her success
and compact, a challenge with crystalline IR                 forward, through service to her profession and to
materials.                                                   her alma mater.
  Applications where infrared optics are widely                This past spring, the United Nations designated
deployed include night vision systems, such as               2022 the International Year of Glass. As a tribute
those used in infrared lens systems and cameras.             to her former undergraduate advisor David
Other applications include sensing of chemical               Pye, Kathleen and Pye were closely involved
and biological species in vapor or liquid form               in lobbying the UN for that designation. She
where IR glasses are integrated onto silicon chip-           is currently leading efforts to organize the U.S.
based structures. For example, this planar IR                kickoff event, the National Day of Glass, which
technology can be used to detect the presence                will be celebrated in April in Washington, DC.
of a deadly bio-chem material like anthrax or                  “Dave Pye envisioned (the International Year of
other toxins possessing a ‘fingerprint’ signature            Glass) five years ago. It was very much his idea,”
in the IR. Current GPCL research partners are a              she said, explaining that Pye knew she had been
mix of governmental agencies—                                                   involved in the United Nations
the U.S. Army, National Science                                                 International Year of Light from
Foundation, Defense Threat                  “It’s why    I serve    as  a       2015 and encouraged her to
Reduction Agency, and NASA,                                                     help with securing the Year of
                                           trustee, to give back to
i.e.—as well as private industry,                                               Glass designation from the UN.
including defense contractors like         the University. I know               “I worked with my international
Lockheed Martin (all their infrared                                             glass colleagues to help make
                                            what I’ve been able to
optics are manufactured at their                                                it happen. It’s a testament to
Orlando location), BAE Systems,              do  is because     of  my          all of our passion in the art,
and Raytheon Corporation.                                                       engineering and science of glass
                                            Alfred education. And
  “There is nowhere else in the                                                 and how it touches our lives.
United States you can go to find           for that, I’m extremely              We are truly entering the Age of
this type of expertise,” Kathleen                                               Glass and the multitude of areas
                                                    grateful.”
says. “I can count on one hand the                                              where it impacts our everyday
places in the world that do what               Kathleen Richardson  ’82         activities.”
we do. And for this reason, we are                                                 Kathleen is grateful for her
extremely proud, but very busy.”                                                time at Alfred, to which she
  “This gives me joy when I think about our                  attributes much of her professional success, and
team’s impact – it gives me the opportunity                  speaks glowingly of the faculty who mentored
to work with great people,” she added. “And,                 her, including Pye and LaCourse, James Shelby
most importantly, it provides my students an                 and Arun Varshneya.
opportunity to get really great jobs in a wide                 “I came back to Alfred (to pursue graduate
range of locations and for diverse employers.”               degrees) knowing precisely what I wanted to
  Kathleen’s husband, Martin Richardson, is                  do,” she said, referring to her pursuit of a career
professor of Optics and Photonics, Physics, and              focusing on glass science and optics. “I was so
Electrical and Computer Engineering at CREOL,                fortunate to have such great people around me,
where he is founding director of the Townes                  this community of glass professors well known in
Laser Institute at UCF. The Institute, which is              their field.”
associated with CREOL, is funded by the state                  “It’s why I serve as a trustee, to give back to the
of Florida to develop the next generation of                 University. I know what I’ve been able to do is
laser light engines for applications in medicine,            because of my Alfred education. And for that, I’m
advanced manufacturing and defense. Most                     extremely grateful.”

12
master
Chef
John Mauro ’01 developed
ways to use mathematical
modeling to cook up newer,
more durable versions of
Corning Inc.’s Gorilla Glass
for cell phones. He's also a
terrific chef.

By Rob Price

  John Mauro ’01, PhD ’06 grew up in the Southern       Apple iPhones and Samsung Galaxies. He is also
Tier, in a house his father designed on a hillside      often described as one of the top glass scientists
overlooking the Canacadea Valley in Almond. His         in the world, although he’s too modest a man to
father was an engineer and worked for the New           describe himself that way. He does confirm that
York State Department of Transportation. His            he loves the academic life; he loves teaching;
mother was an elementary school teacher in the          he loves working with his undergraduate and
Alfred-Almond school district. During the summer        graduate students. And he traces his happiness at
months, the Mauro family vacationed in a cottage,       Penn State to his years as an undergraduate and
also designed by John’s father, on Waneta               graduate student at Alfred University.
Lake, about 40 miles from Almond. He learned              “The Alfred experience was formative for me. My
to paddle a kayak there when he was boy. His            professors taught by their own example, and I’m
grandfather taught him how to catch and clean           just trying to follow their example.”
fish. His grandmother taught him how to cook the          John started working at Corning Inc. while he
fish.                                                   was still an undergraduate at Alfred University.
  He lives in Boalsburg, PA, these days with his        He joined the company on a full-time basis after
wife, Yihong, and their daughter, Sofia, having         his graduation in 2001 – just about the time the
joined the faculty of Penn State University in 2017.    company was sinking into a financial crisis driven
Before moving to Pennsylvania, he and his wife          by, among other issues, the implosion of the fiber
lived and worked in Corning. John was a glass           optics market. In June 2000, Corning’s stock had
scientist for Corning Inc., and he is often described   soared to more than $100 per share. By June
as the co-inventor of Gorilla Glass, the ultra-thin,    of 2002, the stock had dropped to about $1 per
scratch-resistant, nearly unbreakable glass used in     share. It began its slow climb out of the cellar

                                                        Continued on page 14                            13
during the second half of 2002, supported in part             January 2012, Corning announced the invention
by its sales of glass to manufacturers of flatscreen          of Gorilla Glass 2. A year later, Corning invented
video monitors.                                               Gorilla Glass 3. Each iteration of the glass was
  On the West Coast, Apple Inc. was working on                stronger and more damage resistant than its
a product that would need a different kind of                 previous version, and less prone to fracturing
flat glass. Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs was              in the event of being dropped (cell phones get
looking for a rock-hard, thin glass that would                dropped a lot). Mauro contributed to Gorilla Glass
respond to the touch of a fingertip while also                improvements by developing mathematical
resisting scratches and fracturing. Jobs met with             models to assemble a theoretical recipe of
Wendell Weeks, Corning’s new chief executive,                 materials that would create versions of Gorilla
and described the various properties Apple                    Glass that satisfied the needs of companies such
needed for the new glass, which would cover                   as Apple.
the flat-screen surface of a new gadget Jobs was                To understand John’s accomplishment, it’s
thinking of calling the                                                                        useful to compare
iPhone. Did Corning                                                                            the development of
make any glass that                                                                            Gorilla Glass with the
would withstand the                                                                            invention of a new
punishment Jobs                                                                                recipe for a favorite
anticipated each iPhone                                                                        meal. A chef can
would suffer? Weeks                                                                            spend months and
knew of a hardened                                                                             years testing different
glass material that                                                                            ingredients until
Corning had developed                                                                          finding the precise
in the early 1960s –                                                                           mixture of herbs,
called Chemcor – which                                                                         spices and other
the company had set                                                                            ingredients that yield
aside due to the lack                                                                          the best tasting meal.
of demand. Weeks                                                                               John Mauro, instead,
thought Chemcor could                                                                          used a computer.
be adapted to Apple’s                                                                              “We build
needs, and the company                                                                         equations,” he
committed itself to an                                                                         explains, “in which we
intense campaign to                                                                            insert the chemistry
manufacture thousands                                                                          of the glass, and
of square feet of thin,     John Mauro   leads a class at Penn State University as Professor   the computer
scratch- and fracture-      of Materials Science and Engineering.                            eventually gives us
resistant glass that would                                                                   the values of the glass
coat the screens of the newfangled iPhone. In                 properties, such as density and thermal expansion
2007, the first shipments of Gorilla Glass began              coefficients. Each model gives a separate property
leaving Corning’s manufacturing facility in                   and if we put all these models together, we get a
Harrodsburg, KY.                                              kind of magic chemistry. …I remember one of the
  Now, enter John Mauro. Once the first version               products we commercialized: The model told me
of Gorilla Glass was delivered to Apple, it was               what the optimized glass would be, and I thought
necessary for Corning to begin improving the                  about it for a while and realized: That actually
product, hardening the glass further, making                  makes sense. So, I melted that glass, I melted a
it stronger and more scratch resistant. At that               whole bunch of other glasses, and the glass that
point a 27-year-old Mauro began working on                    the model predicted was indeed the model with
subsequent iterations of Gorilla Glass, and in                the optimum composition.”

  14
The Mauro family: John and Yihong with daughter Sophia.

  He wasn’t working in a vacuum. John credits               In the Inamori School of Engineering, John
individual professors with whom he studied at             points to Arun Varshneya, emeritus professor of
Alfred University as major contributors to his            glass science, as his principal mentor. “Professor
success at Corning. Physics Professor Roger               Varshneya was numero uno,” he says. “He
Loucks, in Alfred University’s College of Liberal         invited me to co-author the third edition of
Arts and Sciences (CLAS), provided hours                  Fundamentals of Inorganic Glasses, which
of support while John was developing the                  was published in 2019. …Little did I know how
mathematical models for new iterations of Gorilla         much that book would change my life. And my
Glass. He and Loucks have co-authored numerous            own teaching style was inspired by Professor
papers together.                                          Varshneya’s style, which boiled down to engaging
  Then there were History Professor Gary Ostrower         students and conveying the technical rigor of
’61 and the late Fiona Tolhurst, former Alfred            glass science and glass technology.”
University English professor, also members of               And of course, John salutes David Pye ’59, PhD
CLAS. “Professor Ostrower is such an effective            ‘68, former dean of the New York State College of
and engaging lecturer. When I was in his class, I         Ceramics and now the inspirational force behind
was captivated not only by what I was learning            the United Nations’ declaration of 2022 as the
but also by watching his teaching style. …And             International Year of Glass (IYOG). John, who
Professor Tolhurst was transformational in                serves on the International Year of Glass North
helping me take my writing to the next level. I’ve        American Steering Committee, worked with Pye
published hundreds of journal articles and I now          in galvanizing international support for IYOG;
have two textbooks under my belt; people seem             “but the original idea was David’s,” he says. “He’s
to know me for the clarity and accessibility of my        someone who not only has these big ideas, but
writing style.”                                           he’s successful in implementing them as well. He

                                                          Continued on page 16                             15
was probably the single biggest influence on me               in the organizational work going into making the
when I made the decision to go into academia                  2022 International Year of Glass a success.
after working at Corning. He said there was no                  “The International Year of Glass should help
better job in the world than being a professor, and           educate the public about glass, the importance of
now I know he was right.”                                     glass and finding the next generation of exciting
  John was living in Corning when the position                opportunities in glass. There are so many major
he eventually would fill opened at Penn State                 challenges facing the world; how many of those
with the retirement of Carlo Pantano, a glass                 can be addressed using glass? We want to get the
engineering professor of international renown. By             next generation of students excited about glass:
the time John heard Pantano was retiring, Penn                how ubiquitous it is, how important it is, and how
State had already interviewed numerous people                 there are real opportunities in this field of science.”
to fill the position. When Pantano heard John                   If John Mauro sounds busy, don’t forget that he
was interested in the job,                                                                is also married, with a
he put up the money to                                                                    daughter who is in her
bring John to Penn State                                                                  second year of high
for his interviews.                                                                       school. Yihong, his
  “Teaching was                                                                           wife, served initially as
something I always                                                                        a part-time researcher
wanted to do,” John says.                                                                 at Penn State when the
“Even at Corning, I spent                                                                 Mauro family moved
a lot of time mentoring                                                                   to Pennsylvania. When
young scientists. I                                                                       the COVID pandemic
helped start a sabbatical                                                                 started, she stepped
program for university                                                                    back to concentrate on
faculty to spend time                                                                     their home life.
at Corning. In 2014, I                                                                          “She’s into
was promoted to senior                                                                    gardening,” John says.
research management at                                                                    “She’s a terrific gardener,
Corning, and I eventually                                                                 and we have amazing
had 15 scientists and                                                                     vegetables.”
technicians working in my                                                                       And John (no
group, all of whom I got                                                                  surprise here) loves
to mentor and support. I                                                                  to cook – which he
just love to teach and help                                                               learned before he
people along with their                                                                   understood how recipes
intellectual development.”                                                                could be developed
                              An avid cook, John rustles up a meal with Sophia.
  At Penn State, John                                                                     with mathematical
currently teaches Introduction to Glass Science               modeling. Learning to cook was simpler; he just
for senior undergraduates and a graduate course               stood alongside members of his family during his
in Materials Kinetics. He also continues a vigorous           childhood summers on Waneta Lake, learning
output of scholarly publications, with more than              how to fry fish.
300 scholarly articles and two textbooks: Materials             “I am the luckiest person in the world,” he says. “I
Kinetics: Transport and Rate Phenomena and                    owe it to Alfred University, and to the people who
Fundamentals of Inorganic Glasses (co-authored                mentored me at Corning. But I also owe it to my
with Varshneya). He continues to be a prolific                mother and father and grandparents. The lessons
inventor, now with 62 granted U.S. patents, and               you learn when you’re a child may be the most
was recently inducted as a Fellow in the National             valuable. At least for me, all my lessons are coming
Academy of Inventors. He is also heavily involved             full circle.”

16
GLASS ARTIST
                                  LEO TECOSKY’S
                                     ART EVOKES
                                     A WORLD OF
                                       CULTURES

THE              Leo Tecosky ’03 didn’t know he liked working with his
               hands until he was a teenager, visiting relatives in Vermont

HIP
               during summer vacations away from his home in Florida.
               He was working in a bakery and café owned by an uncle,
               near Montpelier; at the same time, he began working with
               a local blacksmith, learning the ways of fire, and hammers,
               and anvils.

HOP
                 “I always drew, I was always creative,” he says. “But that’s
               when I realized I was interested in working with my hands
               and material manipulation.”
                 In Vermont, learning the basics of blacksmithing, he also
               heard of a school in western New York, Alfred University,
               and its School of Art and Design, where teachers and artists

MAN
               were dedicated to helping students work with their hands,
               manipulating material and making art.
                 He enrolled in the University and studied with Art
               Professor Fred Tschida, in the School of Art of Design,
               focusing on tubes and neon gas. He also took summer
By Rob Price
               Continued on page 18                                       17
classes in glass blowing – “just to get my feet wet,”    began providing music for parties using two
but Tschida was an important mentor. After Leo           turntables and spinning the vinyl LPs backwards
graduated, Tschida invited him to return for an art      and forwards, achieving a new rhythmic sound
residency in the neon studio.                            that in turn inspired a new style of dance – break
  Leo also took classes in the College of Liberal        dancing. Campbell eventually changed his name
Arts and Sciences, where the late William Cassidy,       to DJ Kool Herc; his DJ-ing experiments inspired
Professor of Religion in the Human Studies               a new style of singing – Rap – that had a bravado
Division, served as his advisor and mentor. Cassidy      equal to the energy of break dancing. Other
was a student of eastern religions; he practiced         cultural innovations developed alongside Rap and
Tai Chi; loved opera, downhill skiing, and watching      DJ Kool Herc’s DJ-ing: Inner city graffiti, for one,
NFL football Sunday afternoons in the fall. His          which was regarded by municipal authorities as
intellectual life was a medley of Americana and          property destruction but which also was yielding
international.                                           extraordinary designs on the facades of inner
  Leo himself is now described as an artist              city buildings and subway walls. Altogether, the
drawn towards combining different experiences            scholar Henry Louis Gates notes, DJ-ing, graffiti,
and cultures into complex glass forms. He                        breakdancing and Rap fused into the
“works at the intersection of cultural                                  cultural medley known as hip hop.
exchange,” according to an art                                                     Hip hop is where art
critic cited on his website, http://                                            begins for Leo. “I create
www.leotecosky.com/bio. “His
experience living in many
                                        “A lot of hip hop                         glass art using hip hop as
                                                                                   a jumping off point,” he
places and traveling to
others has helped shape
                                         is smooth and                               says. “I think my art has
                                                                                      concepts that aren’t
his view of the world.”
  He was born in New
                                        soft, and blown                               talked about in the art
                                                                                      world or in the world at
Mexico and spent his
early years growing up
                                         glass is round                               large: graffiti as a sub-
                                                                                      culture, typography as
near Albuquerque before                  and soft also.”                             language, Arabic art and
his family moved to Miami.                                                         Islam as a marginalized
In the years following his                        Leo Tecosky                    culture  and religion. And it
graduation and residency                                                       brings awareness to all those
at Alfred University, he joined                                             ideas as creative and decorative
an apprenticeship program at the                                        beauty.”
Wheaton Cultural Center, in southern New                          One of Leo’s favorite icons, a sign he
Jersey, where he began crafting glass art under          returns to over and over in glass, is the arrow,
the mentorship of Hank Adams and Beth Lipman.            a common symbol in graffiti, but when Leo
He has enjoyed art residencies in Stockholm,             crafts a glass arrow he moves the straight lines
Istanbul, and Hohr-Grenhauzen, Germany; also             of the image into graceful curves that shift the
Corning, Pittsburgh, and New York City. He               implications. The sharp, leading point of one of
describes his art as an amalgamation of different        his arrows may announce: Look here! But the
designs, images, and icons drawn from different          other end is a graceful curve, like a dolphin’s tail;
cultures including Islam and one of its U.S.             it disrupts the rigidity of the point and introduces
offshoots, the Five-Percent Nation, which was            a more natural, organic element. Hip hop culture
founded in Harlem in the early 1960’s.                   has sharply defined edges too; it makes no bones
  Places like Harlem and the Bronx have been             about itself. “But a lot of hip hop is smooth and
vital sources of inspiration in his evolution as         soft,” Leo says. “And blown glass is round and soft
an artist. In the 1970s, in the Bronx, a young           also.”
Jamaican-born teenager named Clive Campbell

 18
So, the arrow has become a subject for formal                    Leo now lives in Brooklyn, where he and his
study and focus in his work. “It’s a symbol used                 wife are raising their two-year-old daughter,
across the graffiti canon,” Leo explains, “It’s a                Coretta. Lauren Tecosky, a writer and former
very stylized element, moving from straight to                   science teacher at the Community Roots Charter
squiggly, and it comes from the language of hip                  School, now teaches at the Brooklyn Botanic
hop, which is what my work is about at its core.                 Garden. Coretta is two. “We split her care,” Leo
The arrow is evocative. It guides the eye. It’s a                says. “And I have other family members who
connector in terms of joining letter forms and                   live in Brooklyn.” He teaches at the Tyler School
graffiti pieces. It’s a striking element in terms of its         of Art and Architecture, Philadelphia, and also
physical form.”                                                                                     works as a glass
  Music adds                                                                                        fabricator and
an additional                                                                                       gaffer for different
element. Click                                                                                      companies around
on one of Leo’s                                                                                     New York.
videos (www.                                                                                            He is busy,
leotecosky.com),                                                                                    and he hopes
and you can                                                                                         to stay busy,
watch him craft                                                                                     “making more of
one of his arrows                                                                                   my own art, and
accompanied                                                                                         that depends on
by a hip hop rap                                                                                    doing my day-
piece by Dewey                                                                                      to-day work as a
Decibel, a rapper                                                                                   glass fabricator. I
and artist born in                                                                                  also want to keep
Boynton Beach.                                                                                      traveling as much
Decibel was                                                                                         as I can. I want to
originally named                                                                                    take my daughter
Dewey Bryan                                                                                         around the world
Saunders, but                                                                                       and show her
he manipulated                                                                                      new places. I want
the material                                                                                        to gather new
of his name to                                                                                      material for my
become Emcee                                                                                        world.”
Unless and then                                                                                         He likes his
in 2011 Dewey                                                                                       life. “It’s a great
Decibel (These                                                                                      life,” he says.
days, he goes by                                                                                    “It’s a balancing
the name Dewey                                                                                      act between
Bryan). He may                                                                                      my fabrication
                         Leo Tecosky’s neon artwork. Tecosky initially studied neon art at Alfred
have been born                                                                                      work, different
                         University with Fred Tschida.
in Florida, but his                                                                               workshops, and
music is pure inner city (He describes Philadelphia              making my own art. Glass has taken me
as his city of “origin”). He also traveled frequently to         all over the world. That’s something I really
Alfred, when Leo was studying at the University, to              appreciate about the medium. It opens up doors
enjoy a local party, which he would help Leo host.               internationally, because glass artists make such a
  “Dewey would come and rap while I did the DJ-                  tight-knit community.”
ing,” Leo says.

                                                                                                                      19
CELEBRATING
Alfred University
plans events, activities
around UN International
                                        Glass             School of Art and Design have used the medium of
                                                          glass in creating art on display in private and public
                                                          collections around the world.
Year of Glass                                              Glass art and glass technology are changing
                                                          world culture and industry, and Alfred University
 When Alfred University Professor Emeritus David
                                                          students and alumni are emerging as leaders in
Pye ’59, ’68 Ph.D., learned the United Nations would
                                                          what may be known someday as the Age of Glass.
declare 2015 an International Year of Light and Light-
                                                          Alumni include glass artist Pearl Dick ’98, artistic
Based Technologies, he began thinking of a similar
                                                          director and founder of Firebird Community Arts,
UN resolution that would establish an International
                                                          in Chicago, whose art programs encourage growth
Year of Glass.
                                                          and healing in inner city youth and were featured on
 Six years later, in May 2021, a resolution approved
                                                          an NBC Nightly News telecast in 2017; Mike Pilliod
by the UN General Assembly declared 2022 the
                                                          ’01, director of glass/manufacturing innovation
International Year of Glass. Pye’s colleagues at Alfred
                                                          for Tesla; Robert Schaut ’02, scientific director for
University, working in both the Inamori School of
                                                          Corning Incorporated Pharmaceutical Technologies
Engineering and the School of Art and Design,
                                                          and co-inventor of Corning Inc.’s Valor Glass, used
now are preparing for a year that celebrates Alfred
                                                          in glass vials used to transport COVID vaccines;
University as one of the preeminent glass science and
                                                          Don McPherson ’84 M.S., ’88 Ph.D., co-founder of
arts education institutions in the country.
                                                          EnChroma, a maker of eyeglasses for people with
 Alfred University is renowned in the world of glass,
                                                          color blindness; John Edmond ’83, co-founder of Cree
both in art and science. The University is the only
                                                          (now Wolfspeed, a global leader in the development
institution of higher education in the country that
                                                          and manufacture of silicon carbide power and radio
offers bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees
                                                          frequency semiconductors. When it was founded
in Glass Science Engineering. Side by side with
                                                          in 1987, Cree focused on producing LED’s and,
glass technology research, artists studying in the
                                                          subsequently, LED lighting solutions); and Richard
  20
Sturzebecher ’58, who                                                            that will reduce levels of
developed the formula for                                                        fertilizer run-off.
a glass fiber capable of                                                            In other words, the “Glass
transmitting light signals.                                                      Future” is happening. As
 Alfred University                                                               Bill LaCourse, uncle of
undergraduates themselves                                                        Aiden LaCourse, and retired
are exploring new uses                                                           professor of glass science in
and applications for glass,                                                      Alfred University’s Inamori
including fourth-year                                                            School of Engineering, puts it:
student Aiden LaCourse,                                                          “Glass is booming.”
who has developed a nearly unbreakable, and                Alfred University’s standing in the world of
reusable, glass straw; LaCourse is also working with      glass, both in science and engineering, and art,
Alfred University glass technology professors to          undoubtedly played a role in successful efforts to
develop a glass medium for agricultural fertilizers       establish 2022 as the International Year of Glass.

The University has held, and is in the                    in the advancement of glass in New York will be
process of organizing, numerous on-                       recognized.
campus events marking IYOG. They include:
                                                          • Conference on Glass Recycling Sustainability,
• The Black Glass Artist Series. Supported by the         hosted by the Inamori School of Engineering, and
School of Art and Design, Sculpture/Dimensional           opening of the Center for Glass Innovation.
Studies Division and Student Senate, the series
featured glass artists of color visiting Alfred           • Scholes Lecture, held in April (date, speaker to
University in the month of February (celebrated           be announced). The Scholes Lecture Series was
as Black History Month) for one-week residencies,         established in 1982 by alumni of Alfred University
offering artist talks and creating original artwork to    to honor the late Samuel R. Scholes, who in 1932
be exhibited at the School of Art and Design.             established the first glass science program in the
                                                          United States at the New York State College of
• Summer Arts at Alfred Festival. Plans are under         Ceramics at Alfred University.
way for the festival, which will include events and
activities focused on glass art.                          • Bill LaCourse is leading a project to design and
                                                          create medals, made partially from glass, which will
• A concert by Denis James, a well-known                  be given to competitors in World University Winter
musician who performs on instruments made from            Games next January in Lake Placid, NY.
glass.
                                                          • A Fall semester GlassArtEngine course.
• Summer workshops in glass art and engineering           Glass engineering and art students partner to
and a summer “institute” in Glass Explorations.           work through research and technical challenges,
                                                          exploring new physical combinations of glass as a
• Reopening of the Paul Vickers Gardner Glass             material.
Center as a center for interdisciplinary glass studies.
Vickers, a 1930 graduate of the University’s New          Some of the aforementioned events and activities are
                                                          tentative; dates and times will be announced when
York State College of Ceramics, served as curator of
                                                          finalized.
ceramics and glass at the Smithsonian Institution.

• New York State of Glass, an on-campus
celebration of the state’s leadership in glass art
and science, during which companies, universities,
museums, and individuals who play a key role
                                                                                                                 21
Looking
Back

22
Retired History                                         (Avery Publishing Group, 1996); and Collective
                                                        Insecurity: The United States and the League of

Professor Gary
                                                        Nations (Bucknell University Press, 1979). He also
                                                        has written numerous scholarly articles dealing
                                                        with the United States’ involvement in world

Ostrower ’61                                            affairs during the 20th century. He has written
                                                        dozens of book reviews – too many to list (“For
                                                        space reasons, I have omitted all reviews written

reflects on a half                                      before 1986,” he writes in his CV). He is currently
                                                        researching material for an article about the

century of teaching
                                                        American Nazi (and former AU faculty member)
                                                        Edward Sittler.
                                                          Meanwhile, he has served as ombuds officer
                                                        for both Alfred University and St. Bonaventure
By Rob Price
                                                        University. He has served as university
                                                        parliamentarian, vice president of the Faculty
  On Dec. 2, 2021, Alfred University History            Senate, and Chairperson of the Committee for
Professor Gary Ostrower wrapped up the final            the Faculty Evaluation of Administrators. In the
class in his History 211 course, American History       Village of Alfred, he coached Little League. For
from 1492 to 1865. It was also his last class                a quarter century, he served as a trustee
at Alfred University, where he has                                 for the Village and as Mayor. He has
taught for the past 52 years. He                                        appeared on hundreds of local
also graduated from Alfred                                                radio programs, offering his take
University – in 1961, which           “To be a colleague                    on domestic and international
means he has lived in                                                         politics, especially on the
and around the Alfred                  of Gary is to be a                       historical backgrounds of
community for more than                                                         current events and national
six decades. It’s difficult          student. I’m always                        controversies.
to estimate the number                                                             In early November of
of individuals whose lives           learning from him.”                        2021, he delivered his
have been impacted by                                                          last Bergren Forum as an
the experience of studying              Professor Emrys Westacott             Alfred  University Professor:
under Ostrower. But his                                                     “What You Didn’t Know about
colleague in the College                                                  World War II.” For an hour, he
of Liberal Arts and Sciences,                                           hopscotched through issues such
Professor of Philosophy Emrys                                      as the pros and cons of the United
Westacott, estimates the figure is high.                    States’ use of atomic bombs to end the
  “Gary has had a profound influence on so              war, the virtues and vices of Winston Churchill,
many,” Westacott says. “Not just on students but        and the German failures to adequately equip
on everyone who has worked with him. To be              the huge German army, noting the Nazi war
a colleague of Gary is to be student. I’m always        machine employed 400,000 horses when it
learning from him.”                                     invaded Russia. The number of Bergren Forums
  In his more-than five decades at Alfred               he has delivered over the years, according to
University, Ostrower has published three books          Westacott, is incalculable.
on United States foreign policy in the 20th               Born in 1939, growing up in Woodbridge, NJ,
century: The United Nations and the United              Ostrower was acutely conscious of the world
States: 1940-1998 (Twayne Publishers, 1998);            war surrounding the United States and his
The League of Nations: From 1919 to 1929                community. “I had uncles who fought in the

                                                         Continued on page 24                            23
Professor Gary Ostrower lectures to a packed history class. Ostrower has favored a traditional lecture/discussion format for
teaching History.

War. My father served as a civil defense official.                Pennsylvania and Denmark’s Aarhus University.
We collected tin cans and newspapers, we were                       He met his future wife, Judy Samber, when
involved in blackouts. I recall air-raid warnings                 she was an Alfred University undergraduate.
vividly.”                                                         They have two children, Sarah and Peter, who
  In high school, he began enjoying the study                     attended Alfred-Almond Central School. Judy
of events that had led to the world wars. As an                   went on to law school, eventually becoming
undergraduate at Alfred University, he majored                    Allegany County’s first female judge and an
in history and political science, studying with                   outstanding judicial referee. Meanwhile, in 1996,
people like Professors David Leach and Melvin                     Ostrower was named the Margaret and Barbara
Bernstein. “On the first day of the first class I                 Hagar Professor of the Humanities at Alfred
took with Leach, I walked out of the classroom                    University.
knowing that I would teach History,” he says.                       In 52 years of teaching at the same institution,
“Leach made the light bulb come on for me.”                       he has had a bird’s eye view of the development
As a graduate student at the University of                        of the liberal arts and sciences, as well as on
Rochester, he initially thought he would study                    the evolving Alfred University student body. He
French History, but the French scholar was on                     remembers when, early in May of 1970 during
leave. “So I started taking courses in American                   his first year at Alfred, four students were killed
History. I loved it.”                                             during an anti-war demonstration at Kent State
  He joined the Alfred University faculty in 1969                 University and two more at Jackson State.
after two years teaching at Vassar College. The                     Protests erupted across the country. He
University became his professional base for                       remembers, “Alfred University students went
the next four decades, and the surrounding                        on strike. The University cancelled classes, final
community his home. He has been a visiting                        exams were cancelled.”
professor at places as varied as the University of                  Other changes: The extraordinary shift in

  24
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