The Haven Magazine Spring 2018

the connections issue

A Message From the President 

Spring, a time of new beginnings, of transition, and as Haven 

Advantage #35 states, a breath of fresh air. Soon, the University will 

welcome its 15th president, Robert M. Pignatello, to campus. It has 

been my pleasure to serve as interim president as we continue to move the 

mission of the University forward through these key leadership transitions. 

Every day on campus I’m reminded of the beauty of our surroundings—the 

scenic Susquehanna and adjacent mountains—that our alumni remember 

fondly and students come to cherish during their time at The Haven. From 

hiking to kayaking to enjoying a concert or evening stroll along the Lock 

Haven riverwalk—occasions to enjoy the outdoors and take a breath of fresh 

air abound. 

While many things on our campus change and evolve, the landscape we 

call home remains a vital piece of our identity and one that will continue to 

shape the experiences of LHU students for generations to come. 

As we transition from the rush of spring activity into the more leisurely days 

of summer, many of our students have undertaken exciting endeavors off 

campus in the form of internships, volunteer experiences, study abroad, and 

summer learning opportunities. They will return to campus this fall renewed, 

refreshed, and invigorated about what they have learned and the ways they 

have grown as individuals and future professionals. 

Our recent graduates have ushered in a new season in their lives as proud 

Lock Haven University alumni, ready to make their mark on the world. 

Equipped with a strong foundation in their chosen discipline, our students 

are prepared and eager to meet the challenges ahead of them. The 

leadership they receive from you—our more than 30,000 alumni—support 

these Advantages. Your willingness to reach out from your professional and 

service fields makes a tremendous impact on our students’ lives. Whether 

you return home to The Haven for an alumni panel, to attend the Career 

Fair, or speak to the class of a former professor—your input provides an 

invaluable resource and point of connection for LHU students. 

In October we will welcome alumni back to campus for our annual 

Homecoming celebration. I welcome you to return to your alma mater, to 

pause, take a breath of fresh air, and reconnect to The Haven—the place 

that started it all. 

Dr. Donna Wilson 

Interim President

CAMPUS VIEW 

On April 7th LHU and the Lock Haven community came 

together to celebrate Talon’s 5th birthday. Many of his friends 

and local mascots came to campus to join the fun! 

LOCK HAVEN UNIVERSITY THE HAVEN SPRING Photo: Bill 2018 Crowell1 

Bill Crowell

Lock Haven University’s Alumni Magazine 

contents 

PENNSYLVANIA’S STATE SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION 

Interim Chancellor—Karen Whitney 

Board of Governors—Cynthia Shapira, Chair 

LOCK HAVEN UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA 

Dr. Donna Wilson, Interim President 

Dr. Stephen Neun, Interim Provost, 

Mr. William Hanelly, Chief Operating Officer 

and Senior Vice President 

Dr. Tyana Lange, Vice President for Enrollment Management 

and Student Affairs 

COUNCIL OF TRUSTEES 

Dr. George Durrwachter ’61, Chair 

Daniel Elby ’71, Vice Chair 

Deborah Suder ’81, Secretary 

Krystjan Callahan ’02 

Mary Coploff 

Margery Brown Dosey ’66 

Guy Graham ’63 

James Gregory 

Michael Hanna, Jr. BA ’05, MA ’08 

Karen Whitney, ex-officio 

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

Christopher Raup ‘90, President 

Joseph Koehler ‘84, Past-President 

Meghan Hepler ’05, Secretary 

Elected Members: Jennifer Bell ’03, Ronald Brehm ’67, Anita Chesek 

’80, Robert Cooper ’90, Malarie Hastings ’09, Michael Heck ’95, Julie 

Love ’96, Kyle Losch ’15, James Manser ’01, George Rusczyk ’03, Edward 

Shifflett ’96, Robert Smith ’04, Amee Vance ’75, Shannon Walker ’04, 

Edward Wright ’71 

Ex-Officio Members: 

Donna Wilson, Interim President 

Ashley Koser, Director of Alumni Relations 

LOCK HAVEN UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION 

Robert Maguire, Foundation Board President 

Carl Poff, Executive Director 

THE HAVEN MAGAZINE STAFF: 

Editors: Elizabeth Arnold, Ashley Koser 

Writers: Elizabeth Arnold, Ashley Koser, 

Doug Spatafore, Jr., Julie Stellfox, John Vitale, Ryan 

Bogaczyk, Joby Topper 

Photography: Josh Grimes, Elizabeth Arnold, Bill Crowell, 

Tim Barnhart, PhotOlé, Julie Stellfox 

Design: PennyHouse Creative, Kayla Waldron 

The Haven (ISSN-2474-932X) is published biannually by 

the Lock Haven University Office of University Relations in 

partnership with the Lock Haven University Foundation, free 

of charge, for alumni, supporters, and friends of Lock Haven 

University. Alumni news items should be identified by class 

year and may be sent to the Lock Haven University Office of 

Alumni Relations, 10 Susquehanna Ave, Durrwachter Alumni 

Conference Center, Lock Haven, PA 17745. You may email 

news items to lhualum@lockhaven.edu. Please contact us by 

phone at 570.484.2586 

The Haven Magazine connects alumni, parents, and donors 

with Lock Haven University. The magazine aims to support, 

enhance, and advance the University’s image with its target 

audiences by publishing news and stories about LHU alumni, 

students, faculty, and stakeholders. The magazine’s feature 

stories intend to motivate, inspire, and inform readers about 

issues relevant to LHU through content that is both entertaining 

and intellectually engaging. Lock Haven University accepts 

news submissions from alumni and the broader community but 

reserves the right to edit or decline to 

print materials at its discretion. 

Lock Haven University is an equal opportunity/affirmative 

action employer committed to excellence through diversity. 

Departments 

5 

17 

19 

22 

haven happenings 

Alumni News 

Sports Corner 

news & Notes 

Alumni Eric Etkin and Chuck Durham 

talk technology from their Lancaster 

based company Seisan 

14 

Can’t get enough of 

The Haven? 

Visit www.lockhaven.edu/thehaven 

for extended content 

2 SPRING 2018 THE HAVEN LOCK HAVEN UNIVERSITY

letter From the editors 

You can enjoy the most recent copy of The Haven online. The 

Haven is available electronically on the LHU website so that 

you can catch up with fellow alumni, read about current LHU 

happenings, and stay connected to your alma mater from 

anywhere! If you did not receive a print copy and would like 

to request one, please let us know by emailing LHUalum@ 

lockhaven.edu, or by calling 570.484.ALUM (2586). 

on the cover 

We look at the 

ways technology 

connects us, 

on campus and 

beyond. 

The Haven Online 

connect with us 

Connections—you may think of technology, 

common interests or maybe even the 

relationships that we all have with one 

another. Our spring issue of The Haven 

captures all three definitions of the word. 

In our alumni feature, learn more about Chuck Durham, 

Eric Etkin, and the team at Seisan. The connections 

they have with one another through LHU, their common 

interest Phi Mu Delta, and their passion in working 

with technology has brought them together to create 

a company that is paving the way in application 

development. 

In our donor profile, we discuss the importance of 

connections with TKE, who support the University 

through their annual fundraising campaign. The brothers 

set the bar for other affinity groups to stay connected 

with The Haven and each other. 

This summer, we will be making connections with 

alumni across the country through our upcoming events 

schedule. On July 13, we will be in Hershey at Cassel 

Vineyards for an LHU alumni dinner and social at the 

winery. On August 9, we will have a social at Folino 

Estate Vineyard and Winery in Kutztown. All of these 

events are a wonderful way to connect with other alumni 

in your area while we bring The Haven to you! 

Mark your calendar for this year’s Homecoming fun 

happening October 15-21. Some highlights include our 

annual block party, fireworks, alumni golf tournament, 

sporting events, alumni parties, and more! New for this 

year’s Homecoming week is our annual Athletics Hall of 

Fame that will take place on Sunday, October 21. 

We hope that whether it has been a month, a year, or a 

decade since you have been back to campus that this 

issue offers you an opportunity to connect with us. We 

would love to see you at an event, on campus, or to just 

hear what you are up to in life after The Haven. You can 

update your profile anytime on our online community at 

www.alumni.lhup.edu. 

@lhualumni @LHUalumni @Lock Haven 

University Alumni 

Elizabeth Arnold 

Executive Director of Communications and 

Community Relations 

Ashley Koser 

Director of Alumni Relations 

LOCK HAVEN UNIVERSITY THE HAVEN SPRING 2018 

3

heard at the haven 

What professor has had 

the most impact during 

your time at LHU? 

Dr. Lally. He 

helped me 

with career 

advice and the 

application 

process. 

—Taylor ‘20 

Dr. Reid has been 

really impactful 

on developing 

the right method 

of questioning 

and thinking 

that’s essential 

for success as a 

scientist. he shows 

his students that 

he cares and is 

invested in their 

futures. 

—kelly ‘19 

LHU students enrolled in the physician assistant program practice the process of 

putting casts on each other. 

LHU Physician Assistant Program 

Granted Accreditation-Continued 

Status 

My math professor, Dr. Williams, 

always makes class entertaining and 

enjoyable. He’s always prepared with 

in depth lesson plans, but also makes it 

interactive and fun at the same time. 

-Ryan ‘19 

I look up to 

Dr. Burkholder 

Mosco in 

the English 

department. She 

is an example 

of a strong, 

educated woman 

and always 

eager to help her 

students. 

Dr. May has given 

me so many 

opportunities to 

perform different 

independent studies 

and he’s helped me 

figure out which 

parts of chemistry 

or science I am most 

passionate about. 

—maria ‘20 

– Sam ‘20 

4 SPRING 2018 THE HAVEN LOCK HAVEN UNIVERSITY 

The Lock Haven University 

physician assistant 

program has been granted 

Accreditation-Continued 

status by the Accreditation 

Review Commission on 

Education for the Physician 

Assistant (ARC-PA). 

“Reaccreditation 

validates the solid 21-year 

strong curriculum, and 

successful outcomes of our 

PA program,” said Sarah 

Lewis, program director and 

assistant professor in the 

Department of Physician 

Assistant Studies. 

The LHU physician 

assistant program graduates 

about 1 percent of the 

country’s new PAs each year, 

with a class of 72 students, 

according to Lewis. 

“We are excited that future 

students will have the same 

opportunities to become 

responsible and hardworking 

by training to become a PA 

under Lock Haven,” said 

Alicia Spees, second year PA 

student. 

“It is very gratifying to have 

this recognized externally by 

ARC-PA. Potential, current, 

and former students benefit 

in the knowledge that 

they can receive a highly 

regarded, high quality 

education at The Haven, 

”said Walter Eisenhauer, 

professor and Physician 

Assistant Department chair.

HAVEN HAPPENINGS 

Lock Haven University Students 

Offered Employment, Field 

Experience 

LHU student, Ellie Chambers is shown during one of her field experiences. 

Several students in the Lock Haven University sport 

studies program completed field experience with 

professional sport franchises and universities during 

the spring semester. Three were offered full time 

employment before graduation. 

Students who have been offered 

employment: 

Angelo Hronis, of Chambersburg – 

Cleveland Cavaliers 

Kristyn Gates, of Lansford – Portland 

Trail Blazers and completing field 

experience in the spring with the 

Philadelphia 76’ers and the New 

Jersey Devils 

Scott Brown Jr., of Abington – 

Detroit Pistons and completed 

field experience with Liberty Arena, 

Williamsport 

Students who have completed 

field experience: 

Adam Thompson, of Millerstown – 

FC Dallas 

Ellie Chambers, of Clarence – 

Philadelphia Eagles 

Ryan Dyke, of Milesburg – Florida 

State University 

Zachary Smeal, of State College – 

Penn State University 

Daniel Delbaugh, of Shamokin – 

Bloomsburg University 

Zach Cecce, of Sayre – LHU sports 

information office 

The sport studies program 

has a bachelor’s degree in sport 

administration and a master’s 

degree in sport science. 

Through field experience, the 

students are given the opportunity 

to apply their classroom 

knowledge to real life work 

situations in the sport industry, 

according to Dr. Patricia Lally, 

professor and chair of the Sport 

Studies Department. 

The new accelerated program 

allows juniors with a 3.0 GPA or 

higher to take graduate courses 

that count toward both an 

undergraduate and a graduate 

degree. The programs are: 

accelerated Bachelor of Science 

in sport administration to Master 

of Science in sport science – 

sport administration track and 

accelerated Bachelor of Science 

in sport administration to Master 

of Science in sport science – sport 

and exercise psychology track. 

LHU Health and Physical Education Students 

Earn Top Honors at State Convention 

Lock Haven University had two 

seniors receiving top honors at 

the Pennsylvania State Association 

for Health, Physical Education, 

Recreation, and Dance state 

convention, held in the fall of 2017. 

Winners were Amanda Fuschetti, 

Outstanding Future Professional 

Award and Justin Rowand, Violet 

Baumgardner Memorial Scholarship 

Award. 

“I feel that it is a reflection 

of the quality of the health and 

physical education program that 

has prepared me to be successful,” 

Fuschetti said. 

“Overall, the phenomenal Lock 

Haven health and physical education 

program and fantastic professors have 

prepared me to be the best possible 

educator that I can be,” Rowand said. 

“Our HPE teacher education majors 

have consistently ranked among the 

best in the state,” said Dr. Paul Ballat, 

chair of the Department of Health and 

Physical Education. “We are proud 

of our students’ success, and we 

will continue to support their efforts 

to attain the highest standards of 

excellence.” 

Award recipients are shown with Lock Haven University health and 

physical education faculty and administration. Front row, from left, are 

Dr. Paul Ballat, Dr. Kyoko Amano, Justin Rowand, Amanda Fuschetti, 

and Dr. Michael Fiorentino Jr. Second row, from left, are Dr. Kim Everhart, 

Dr. Cengiz Yakut, and Michelle Eaton. Back row, from left, are Dr. 

Brett Everhart, Dr. Tom Gioglio, and Dr. Cathy Traister. 


5

LHU students view art on display during the “Transformations” exhibit at Arthaus Projects in Williamsport. 

TRANSFORMATIONS 

Many current and former 

college students can remember 

a certain professor or two who 

impacted them in a profound 

way. Someone who said or did 

something that lit that spark 

within the student to push them 

in the direction of their chosen 

career, inspired them to do 

something great, or just think of 

something they hadn’t thought 

of before. So many students have 

had these experiences, but few 

of them are presented with the 

opportunity to honor their mentors 

with more than a “thank you.” 

Two LHU alumni and Lock Haven 

area artists, Tom Svec ’79, and Kurt 

Herrmann ’95, recently found a way 

to honor their former LHU college 

professor and mutual mentor, the 

late Bill Foster, through a dual 

art exhibit. “Transformations,” an 

exhibition highlighting Foster’s work 

and influence and featuring pieces 

from all three artists, was on display 

from February 16 through March 31 

at Arthaus Projects in Williamsport, 

formerly Converge Gallery. 

Both Svec, hardwood timber furniture 

artist, and Herrmann, figurative and 

abstract painter, studied with Foster 

at LHU - Svec, a liberal arts major and 

Herrmann a fine arts major. 

“Without valid critique, one can 

seldom move forward effectively in 

any creative undertaking,” Svec said. 

“Mentoring in the case of Bill Foster 

involved not only moral support and 

constructive criticism, but also actual 


monetary support. Bill owned our 

work. We became lifelong friends in 

the bargain.” 

Herrmann said Foster’s standards 

were incredibly high for his 

students, and he didn’t offer many 

compliments. “Bill was so sharp and 

sensitive and didn’t sugar coat his 

opinions — if he said something was 

good, or chuckled to himself, you 

knew you might be on to something 

good,” he said. “As an artist, that is 

invaluable. His greatest compliment 

was, ‘you know, that isn’t half bad.’” 

“Transformations” represented 

three different generations of creative 

undertaking, Svec said. His hope for 

the exhibit was that viewers would, 

“get an idea of the creative evolution 

of three people interconnected by 

education and physical proximity.” 

Several art students in Associate 

Professor, Vance McCoy and 

Professor, Jason Bronner’s classes 

had an opportunity to view the 

exhibit and learn about the art. 

Bronner said he could see threads 

and connections between the pieces 

and the ways Foster influenced Svec 

and Herrmann’s art. “I hope the 

students can see the relationships 

and can appreciate them,” Bronner 

said. “This also introduces them 

to two artists who make a living as 

artists. It provides them with living 

role models outside the university 

system.” 

Herrmann said there were two 

main factors that played a role in his 

decision to continue to be an artist 

and those were the exchanges he 

took through LHU. “First to Madrid 

and much of Europe. The second 

exchange through LHU was to 

Kemerovo in Siberia, Russia,” he 

said. “Studying and living abroad 

at 21 and 22 was mind blowing and 

exactly what I was searching for and 

needed.” 

Herrmann was commissioned in 

2016 by LHU to create two large 

canvases for the newly renovated 

Ulmer Hall. Svec, who served as the 

LHU 2018 spring commencement 

speaker, created a presidential 

podium, which was unveiled during 

the Business Hall of Fame luncheon 

in March. 

LHU professor, Jason Bronner, talks to his students about the art during the “Transformations” exhibit at Arthaus 

Projects in Williamsport. 


7

COVER STORY 

connections 

LHU faculty bring tech to 

the classroom in exciting, 

innovative ways 

8 SPRING 2018 THE HAVEN LOCK HAVEN UNIVERSITY 

Professor Walt Eisenhauer looks on as PA students practice proper casting technique.

drop in to a session of LHU 

Music Professor Mahlon 

Grass’s world music course 

and you’re likely to hear 

melodies from around the world. But 

that’s not the only thing that has Grass’s 

students excited about the course, it’s 

the opportunity to meet and interact 

with students from world music courses 

in other countries that has created 

unique learning connections. 

Grass has developed partnerships with 

universities in Ireland and Nova Scotia, 

Canada which bring together world 

music courses from each institution to 

learn about music and culture together. 

“When we work with classes in Ireland 

or Canada, we’re able to look directly 

at how that country’s compositions 

were influenced by American culture,” 

says Grass. 

Irish students spend a week presenting 

on their music and culture; LHU 

students access those presentations 

through the online D2L learning 

platform and then do the same for 

the Irish students. The online platform 

integrates text, narrative, slides, and 

audio and Dr. Grass is able to narrate 

the content for both American and 

Irish students. “It’s the next best thing 

to live study abroad for many of our 

students,” says Grass. “They have the 

ability to interact with students from 

other cultures and to learn from one 

another in really meaningful ways.” 

The proof that students are responding 

is evident in more than the class signup 

rate. Grass says student learning 

outcomes have improved noticeably 

since the collaborations began. “I see 

technology as a way to connect with 

visual learners. When I introduced the 

technology components, the grade 

point average for the course went up 

10%.” Grass believes that’s because 

students are using tools they identify 

with in ways that allow for interesting 

connections.” 

“Students today want to interact. They 

want to make connections. We see 

that in their use of social media. The 

standard lecture doesn’t work for this 

generation of students and so it’s been 

Professor Mahlon Grass has developed innovative ways to connect with music students around the world. 

exciting for me to find ways to engage 

with them,” he shares. 

While he believes the high grade point 

averages are proof the students are 

connecting to the content, Grass says 

he can’t take credit in the shift. “It’s 

not because of me. It’s because they’re 

engaged and interested in what they’re 

learning—that has really made the 

difference.” 

allows them to interact directly with the 

instructor. The lectures are augmented 

with faculty and small group discussions 

at each campus. 

A majority of the learning is handson 

at each location in a model that 

Eisenhauer says embodies a studentcentered 

approach to case-based 

learning. He says, “Every campus 

“Students today want to interact. They want to 

make connections. We see that in their use of 

social media. The standard lecture doesn’t work 

for this generation of students and so it’s been 

exciting for me to find ways to engage with them.” 

-Mahlon Grass 

since its start in 1996, the LHU 

physician assistant program 

has been a campus leader 

in integrating technology into the 

classroom. Much of the program’s use 

of technology focuses on bringing 

together the four campuses—LHU 

main, Clearfield, Coudersport, and 

Dixon University Center—that deliver 

content to LHU’s PA program students. 

According to PA Program Professor 

and Chair Walt Eisenhauer, the content 

delivery focuses on a hybrid distance 

education model. Students from each 

campus location view lectures remotely 

with the use of video technology that 

utilizes a physical diagnosis lab and a 

cadaver lab, but the ability for students 

to learn from instructors and specialty 

care providers across the state does a 

lot to increase students’ exposure to 

valuable material.” 

The video component of LHU’s PA 

program mirrors current trends in health 

care distribution across the country, 

particularly in rural areas where many of 

LHU’s PA program graduates eventually 

set up practice. “Telemedicine is a 

growing field. You see it in areas from 

dermatology to emergency medicine, 

and beyond,” says Eisenhauer. 

He adds that it’s a way for patients to 


9

access the specialty care they need, 

despite their rural location. Many 

physicians and PAs are teleconferencing 

with patients to review cases. They 

have the ability to view live video 

images and review photos. In more 

serious cases, many regional hospitals 

are utilizing telemedicine in their ICU 

departments to connect with rural 

hospitals and provide guidance and 

consultation to nurses and PAs on staff 

in those locations. 

Students in LHU’s program are 

exposed to these models of care 

delivery through their experiences 

in the classroom and, especially, 

their practical experiences. “Our 

students are directly participating in 

these models of care as part of their 

experience in the program.” 

“It’s true hands-on 

preparation for 

the evolving 

technologies they 

will utilize as 

care providers in 

the future,” says 

Eisenhauer. 

Associate Professor Eric Lippincott talks with athletic training students about new 

technologies being utilized by the program. 

utilizing evolving technologies 

has become a key component 

of the curriculum in LHU’s 

athletic training program. According 

to Athletic Training Associate Professor 

Eric Lippincott, staying connected with 

students engaged in the internship 

phase of their coursework is an 

essential part of the program. “Our 

senior level students take part in 

intense, semester-long internships and 

it’s crucial for them to stay connected 

to one another, and to the faculty,” says 

Lippincott. 

The program utilizes Zoom video 

meeting technology to connect 

with students and check in on their 

internship progress. He says, “We 

have students located across the 

country, from New England to Missouri. 

Maintaining face-to face interactions 

with one another, and the faculty, 

helps them connect back to LHU. Plus, 

it’s really important for them, and for 

us, to discuss what they’re learning, 

the interesting cases they’re seeing, 

and then have an opportunity to tie 

that back to what they learned in the 

classroom.” 

LHU’s athletic training program utilizes 

a cohort model which allows students 

to develop a close bond as they move 

through their courses together. “The 

cohort model helps students maintain 

peer-to-peer connections. That has 

been well received by students, 

especially when it comes time for their 

internship semester,” Lippincott shares. 

Prior to the internship phase of their 

coursework, athletic training students 

prepare for the field with the latest in 

technology. “We utilize technology in 

the classroom in a number of ways,” 

says Lippincott. One tool available 

to students is the Balance Master 

which is used to assess balance and 

perform balance exercises, specifically 

with patients who have sustained a 

concussion. 

According to Lippincott, LHU students 

are able to learn with equipment that 

is the gold standard in the athletic 

training field. “Our students are 

learning with cutting edge technology. 

Athletic training is a medical field 

and our students have to stay up 

to date with the latest in diagnostic 

and treatment tools.” Unlike larger 

programs, LHU students have the 

opportunity to work directly with 

patients and use these technologies 

early in their coursework. “I think it 

gives our students a real advantage 

when they leave here,” says Lippincott. 

“They go into the field 

knowing how to use the 

latest in technology. 

Plus, during their time 

as student trainers 

they are the ones doing 

the hands-on work. It 

gives them the skill 

set they need to be 

successful in their 

first job.” 

He shares that many athletic training 

graduates go on to jobs where they 

are the only medical professional on 

the field. “Many graduates quickly 

find themselves in situations where 

they are evaluating and making return 

to play decisions. The resources and 


training they receive at LHU prepare 

them for those situations and give them 

the tools they need to make critical 

decisions with confidence.” 

students in LHU’s chemistry 

program have access to 

exciting technology that has 

revolutionized traditional classroom 

teaching and delivery methods. 

Professor Kevin Range specializes in 

the area of computational chemistry—a 

relatively new field that expands 

possibilities for research, teaching, and 

learning. “Much of what students are 

learning deals with electronic structure 

theory. Students are using a computer 

program called WebMO which 

provides a web browser based interface 

to state-of-the-art electronic structure 

programs. This allows students to 

calculate where electrons want to live 

in a molecule,” says Range. He adds, 

“Technology has evolved to the point 

where we can solve really complex 

equations in ways that didn’t used to 

be possible.” 

What does this mean for LHU students? 

According to Range, students have 

access to technologies that provide 

opportunities for problem solving and 

research throughout the chemistry 

curriculum. So, they’re dealing with 

material that students traditionally 

weren’t exposed to until later in the 

coursework. He says, “The software 

keeps improving, and that only 

increases possibilities for our students. 

Every student enrolled in Principles of 

Chemistry has access to the programs. 

It’s really expanded the opportunities 

for students to engage with complex 

ideas and theories at an early stage of 

their education.” 

In the past, students learned this 

material through two dimensional 

maps. Through grant funds, Range 

acquired a server students can utilize 

to access these cutting-edge programs 

using any device with a web browser, or 

via an app on their phone. Range says 

that students’ access to this technology 

has made a marked difference in 

learning outcomes. “Instead of looking 

at two-dimensional images, which 

were very limited, students can now 

work with three-dimensional models. 

In essence they can make whatever 

molecule they want and test how that 

molecule reacts to different scenarios.” 

Apart from providing access to 

complex ideas early in their education, 

the availability of the technology helps 

students connect to the material in 

more direct ways. 

“Through this software 

students are able to 

make abstract ideas more 

concrete. They can see 

the atoms and molecules 

in ways that are more 

dynamic than anything 

they experience with a 

textbook. 

Professor Kevin Range discusses 

a molecule model with students 

in LHU’s chemistry program. 

The ability to draw and animate a 

molecule is something that’s just not 

possible with 3-D models or static 

images.” 

Range has been at the forefront 

of national efforts to integrate this 

emerging technology in college 

classrooms. “I’ve been at LHU since 

2005,” says Range. “I was the first 

computational chemist at LHU. The 

University and the department had 

a vision to bring this new field to 

students.” Since arriving at LHU he has 

led the way in integrating technology 

into the chemistry curriculum and 

has presented his work at national 

conferences. He shares, “I realized that 

LHU is pushing this type of curriculum 

integration forward, and that’s 

exciting for the University and for the 

possibilities it provides our students.” 


11


Commencement 

Last December, Lock Haven University 

celebrated winter commencement in 

which 218 graduate and undergraduate 

students participated. This spring, 

degrees were conferred upon 620 

graduates during the University’s 

141st commencement ceremonies. 

On the evening of Friday, May 11, 

110 students were awarded graduate 

degrees in Price Performance Center. 

On Saturday, May 12, in two separate 

ceremonies in Thomas Field House, 510 

undergraduates received their degrees. 

Bright smiles and even some tears 

were on the faces of many as the new 

graduates walked across the stage and 

became LHU alumni. 


13

alumni feature 

An App for That 

LHU alumni lead the way in 

developing web and mobile app 

technology 

What started 

as a website 

business in 

1993 has grown 

into a national company 

serving the technology 

needs of multiple major 

corporations. Alumni 

Chuck Durham ‘93 and Eric 

Etkin ‘99 run what is now 

known as Seisan, Inc. Their 

list of services includes 

custom web and mobile 

app development, along 

with integration consulting 

services. Durham says that 

he saw opportunities for 

unique integrations early 

in the online technology 

boom. He says, “From 

the beginning, we saw the 

web as a business tool. Our 

first client was Ford New 

Holland. We connected 

with a marketing firm right 

around the time businesses 

were beginning to do 

more with websites and we 

developed a site for New 

Holland in 1996.” 

New Holland was a logical 

first client given their 

location in Lancaster, 

Pennsylvania—directly in the 

heart of farming country. In 

1997 they won an agriculture 

marketing website award, 

marking the first of many 

such recognitions. 


From those early days 

with New Holland, the 

business grew quickly 

and attracted a national 

clientele from the start. 

“After working with New 

Holland we got connected 

with MapQuest,” says 

Durham. The relationship 

with MapQuest led to 

connections with Microsoft 

and Bing as the company 

continued its upward 

trajectory. Today their 

roster of clientele includes 

an impressive list that 

spans industries and 

includes Verizon, Ford, 

Bank of America, Dr. 

Pepper, Oakley, The Home 

Depot, Discovery Channel, 

and more. 

What began with three 

developers has since grown 

to a staff of 18 developers, 

many of them LHU alumni. 

Etkin sees the continued 

connection to LHU as one 

of the company’s strengths. 

“We hire a number of LHU 

alumni, because we’ve 

remained connected to 

the University and to the 

program. We know that 

students coming from 

LHU’s computer science 

program will be prepared 

for the field and ready to 

hit the ground running 

when they walk through 

our doors.” 

Durham shares that even 

during the beginning 

stages of web development 

and computer science 

education, LHU prepared 

him well for the challenges 

and opportunities ahead. 

“The faculty at LHU did a 

fantastic job of preparing 

me for a field that was 

really emerging at the 

time. I left LHU knowing 

that I could take my skills 

and knowledge in any 

direction.” 

The skills and knowledge 

Durham and Etkin acquired 

at The Haven have taken 

them to the top of their 

field, developing exciting 

new technologies, and 

paving the way for fellow 

LHU alumni to join their 

journey. 

Officially founded in 2002, 

Seisan has built a reputation 

for having expertise in 

technologies that have 

not yet hit the mainstream 

business lexicon. They 

developed “intranet/ 

extranet” functionality 

before those terms were 

even officially coined. 

Eric Etkin and Seisan Creative Director/UX Expert Mike Wilkinson review details about an upcoming project. 


15

Connections + Innovation = Opportunity 

LHU partners with Penn Highlands 

Clearfield to develop state of the 

art nursing simulation center 

Penn Highlands 

Clearfield and Lock 

Haven University 

Clearfield have partnered 

to create a new Simulation 

Center to enhance the 

learning experience for LHU 

nursing students. Students, 

like junior nursing major 

Lauren Butler, will benefit 

from the hands on learning 

opportunities the new 

center provides. “The LHU 

nursing program has a great 

reputation, but this new 

partnership makes it even 

better,” said Butler. Adding, 

“with the new center we 

are able to work in an actual 

hospital setting and learn 

in an environment that 

provides realistic scenarios 

for patient care.” 

The hospital and university 

worked together to relocate 

simulation equipment from 

LHU Clearfield’s clinical 

simulation laboratory on 

campus to the hospital’s 

former Intensive Care Unit. 

This equipment, along 

with the relocation of the 

hospital’s clinical simulation 

equipment, have been 

combined to form a new, 

more realistic, hospital 

setting for student and staff 

training. 

“Lock Haven University 

is proud to be preparing 

the next generation of 

healthcare providers, 

managers, and educators,” 

Dr. Donna Wilson, interim 

president at Lock Haven 

University, said. “We are 

very pleased to be able to 

partner with Penn Highlands 

Clearfield on the Simulation 

Lab to enhance the 

preparation of our students 

and the lifelong learning 

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at Penn Highlands Clearfield in February, officially marking 

the partnership with Lock Haven University Clearfield for the new Simulation Center in the hospital. 

Shown from left, are Dr. Donna Wilson, LHU Interim President; Mark Norman, chief operating officer 

at Penn Highlands Clearfield; Dee Hanna, nursing instructor and Sim Center coordinator; Jennifer 

DellAntonio, chair and associate professor of the LHU nursing department; and Rose Campbell, Penn 

Highlands Clearfield chief nursing officer. Photo credit: The Clearfield Progress 

In this photo provided by The Progress, Lock Haven University Clearfield nursing student, 

Josie Graff, checks the vital signs of one of the simulators at the Penn Highlands 

Clearfield Simulation Center. 

of healthcare professionals 

at Penn Highlands. This is 

exciting teamwork.” 

Life-like adult, child, and 

infant patient simulators 

that talk, breathe, and 

blink are programmed 

to have symptoms that 

need attention. Patient 

care procedures such as 

catheter insertions, dressing 

changes, blood pressure, 

pulse, and listening to 

lungs and heart can be 

practiced by students using 

the lab, which opened on 

September 24, 2017. 

“The new simulation lab 

gives our students the 

opportunity to learn how to 

handle a variety of situations 

in a safe environment and 

develop critical-thinking 

and decision-making skills 

required in our profession,” 

said Jennifer DellAntonio, 

DEd, MSN, RN, CNE, chair 

and associate professor, 

LHU Nursing Department. 

“A community partnership 

for the simulation center 

has been a goal for the 

university for many years,” 

said Darlene Ardary, PhD, 

RN, CPN, CSN, simulation 

lab coordinator. “This is a 

wonderful opportunity to 

provide real-world education 

to not only nursing students, 

but healthcare providers in 

acute and primary care, as 

well as community based 

agencies.” 


ALUMNI news 

Alumni Board Spotlight – 

Sue Crook and 50 Years of Computer 

Science at LHU 

Sue Crook’s interest in reconnecting with 

the school she graduated from in 1977 

started out simple enough, with a few 

alumni gatherings near Philadelphia. She 

loved hearing the success stories of older 

alumni and about all the changes on campus 

from younger LHU grads. 

With her children out of school and more 

free time on her hands, she realized that 

she wanted to give back to LHU in more 

ways than just financially. Her desire to 

give back is the reason that Crook is now 

a member of the Lock Haven University 

Alumni Board and her goal is to get as 

many alumni as possible back on campus. 

In November she teamed up with professor 

of Applied Computer Science, Dr. Susan 

Strayer, and played a pivotal role in setting 

up the program’s 50th anniversary and Celebration 

of Scholarship. Dr. Strayer said she 

was very appreciative of the legwork Crook 

put in to help make the event so successful, 

serving as her alumni partner and master of 

ceremonies for the banquet. 

Crook also served on an alumni panel that 

spoke with students to share their experiences, 

and how their LHU educations impacted 

them professionally. “The students 

found the panel discussions very useful,” 

Strayer said. “We just really appreciate that 

kind of contact from our alumni. They are 

absolutely fantastic.” 

Crook shared that the Computer Science 

program at LHU has evolved during its 50 

years. When Crook was a student it was 

more about mathematics. “Back in the ’70s 

it was a very new program; no business 

courses. It was a lot of mathematical programming,” 

she said. “There were 11 of us 

that graduated together and were hired by 

General Electric.” 

Some of the presentations students gave 

during Celebration of Scholarship were 

on robotics, algorithm visualizations, and 

virtual reality. “They were excellent,” Crook 

said. “I think everybody was really impressed 

with the students.” 

If you would like to be a part of an alumni 

advisory board or to aid current students 

in their professional development, please 

reach out to John Vitale or Ashley Koser at 

the LHU Foundation. 

Helping Her Students Shine: LHU 

Alumna Nominated for LifeChanger of 

the Year 

The days are long and 

the challenges are 

many, but being able 

to see the positive 

impact she’s having 

in her students’ lives 

makes it all worthwhile 

for Jessica Joseph. 

She never imagined that her passion for 

educating young people would result 

in being nominated for LifeChanger of 

the Year, but people around her saw her 

dedication to her students firsthand and 

she’s now a LifeChanger nominee, vying 

for an honor that is awarded to just 17 

educators nationwide. 

The award, sponsored by the National 

Life Group Foundation, recognizes K-12 

educators making a significant impact 

in their students’ lives. Joseph is one of 

more than 800 educators nominated. 

Winners for the 2017-2018 school year 

will be announced in the upcoming 

months. 

Joseph graduated from Lock Haven 

University in 2016 with a Bachelor’s 

Degree in Early Childhood Education and 

Special Education. She also has a minor 

in Political Science and was a part of the 

national sorority Alpha Sigma Tau. 

Now an autistic support teacher at the 

Milton Area Middle School in Milton, Pa., 

she is reminiscent of how her experience 

at LHU propelled her on her current path 

for success and feels honored that she is 

being considered for such a prestigious 

award. 

“Lock Haven’s education program has 

a reputation of being one of the best 

programs out of all of the state schools 

and after experiencing the program I 

could not agree more,” she said. “The 

professors in both the early childhood 

education program and the special 

education program have so much 

experience and showed me the amount 

of work and effort you need to have in 

order to be a teacher.” 


17

ALUMNI news 

Margery Krevsky Dosey – 

Celebration of the Arts 

On Thursday, 

March 22 Lock 


held its annual 

Margery 

Krevsky Dosey 

Celebration 

of the Arts 

ceremony. The event featured various 

displays of talent by students and faculty, 

including singing, dancing, spoken word, 

and piano and jazz performances. The 

event also included an art exhibit by 

featured student and Margery Krevsky 

Dosey Scholarship of the Arts Award 

winner, Zach Hommey. 

Hommey’s artwork wowed attendees 

who were taken by the artistic manipulation 

of still photos he alters via Photoshop. 

Hommey, a senior graphic design major, 

said digital art allows him to create the 

abstract visions he sees in his head. 

“It is important to me that my work 

hold the viewer’s attention whether that 

comes from the sensory beauty or a deeper 

message, or simply the beauty of the 

process,” he said. 

Krevsky Dosey, a member of the Lock 

Haven University Council of Trustees since 

2007, established the scholarship in her 

name in 2011 to award artistic excellence 

at LHU. “What a creative mind,” she said 

of Hommey. 

The arts at LHU are of high value 

to Krevsky Dosey. As a successful 

businesswoman she understands 

the importance creativity has in the 

workplace, and the pivotal role the arts 

play in fostering creativity and innovation. 

“We have many academic courses 

at Lock Haven University, but it is my 

opinion that you must get involved in 

the arts to develop innovative thinking 

because if you don’t, you will have a job, 

but you won’t be able to take it to that 

next level,” she said. 

“Every one of these performers went 

through a creative process, and no two 

creative processes are ever the same,’” 

she added. “Learning to think differently 

is a commodity that is very critical right 

now.” 

Krevsky Dosey closed the night by 

thanking the faculty who helped the 

students orchestrate their performances 

and develop their respective talents. 

“When you put on performances like 

this there are so many people to thank, 

but I especially want to thank the faculty 

who are working with these students 

behind the scenes,” she said. “They 

don’t always get the applause or the 

spotlight, but they are the people who 

are making our students the stars that 

they were tonight.” 

Alumni Enjoy 

Food, Friends, 

and Fun in the 

Florida Sun 

In February, 

members of the Lock 


Alumni Association, 

including former 

President Dr. Michael 

Fiorentino Jr., made 

their way to Florida 

for some fun in the 

sun with alumni and 

other members of the 

LHU family. 

The trip took them 

from dinner in Ft. 

Lauderdale at the 

15th Street Fisheries 

Restaurant, to brunch 

in Bradenton at 

the Waterlefe Golf 

and River Club. A 

gathering in The 

Villages at the Palmer 

Legends Country 

Club, another at the 

M Waterfront Grille in 

Naples, and an alumni 

happy hour at the Big 

Fin Seafood Kitchen 

in Orlando rounded 

out the trip. 

Barbara Rusko ’58, 

referred to the event 

in Bradenton as, “a 

good time.” Barbara 

Langheim Freas ’79, 

said she, “enjoyed 

meeting everyone.” 

The LHU Alumni 

Association is 

committed to keeping 

alumni connected 

to the University 

through special 

events and additional 

outreach. To learn 

more about the Lock 


Alumni Association, 

visit www.alumni. 

lhup.edu. 

Trent Turner Receives 

Excellence in 

Coaching Award 

Coach is part of his title, but 

life lessons are what Trent 

Turner is most focused on 

teaching his students. Turner’s dedication to 

his students has culminated in being honored 

with the 2017 Excellence in Coaching Award by 

the Pennsylvania State Association for Health, 

Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance 

(PSAHPERD). 

Turner graduated from LHU in 1991, while 

also winning the Health and Physical Education 

Department’s Golden Whistle Award. The 

recognition is given to the graduating senior 

majoring in health and physical education with 

the highest GPA, who is also expected to best 

represent the program in the future. Since 

graduating from LHU, he’s done just that. 

Turner is the wrestling coach at Conestoga 

Valley High School in Lancaster, Pa., a position 

he’s held for the past 21 years, while also 

teaching health and physical education. He 

comes from a strong coaching background. His 

father, Neil Turner, was Lock Haven University’s 

wrestling coach from 1979-1990. 

He was nominated for the Excellence in 

Coaching Award by his colleagues, without 

his knowledge, but even with such a strong 

coaching pedigree and years of dedicating 

himself to his students, he was still surprised 

upon news of winning the honor. 

“I’m just humbled that somebody recognized 

the time and effort I’m putting into the 

profession,” Turner said. 

One person who recognized Turner’s 

commitment to his profession from the very 

beginning is his father. He’s proud of his son, not 

just because he won the award, but because of 

the “why” behind it. 

“The nature of the award is exactly what 

we all should be doing,” Neil Turner said. 

“Keeping our eye not on the objective results, 

but the subjective effect that it’s having on the 

participants and what they’re gaining from the 

experience.” 

“I’ve tried to do some things through our 

wrestling program that are character based,” 

Trent Turner said. “We’re focused on the 

character that drives the process of developing 

life champions.” His wrestlers need to look no 

further than their coach for the embodiment of 

what being a life champion is. 


SPORTS CORNER 

Wrestling caps historic season with major awards 

Ronnie Perry wrestles PSU’s Zain Retherford during the 149 pound finals match at 

the NCAA national finals tournament. 

Ronnie Perry was named 

the EWL and PSAC Athlete 

of the Year and head 

coach Scott Moore was 

named Coach of the Year 

by both leagues 

Following what was a historic 

season for Lock Haven 

University wrestling, All- 

American and national finalist 

Ronnie Perry was named both 

the Eastern Wrestling League 

(EWL) Athlete of the Year and 

the Pennsylvania State Athletic 

Conference (PSAC) Athlete of 

the Year, while LHU head coach 

Scott Moore was named both 

the EWL and PSAC Coach of 

the Year. 

Perry capped a remarkable 

2017-2018 run in the national 

finals at 149 pounds and Moore 

led the Bald Eagles to a historic 

season. 

For Perry, the season capped a 

brilliant Bald Eagle career. The 

Bald Eagles’ redshirt-senior won 

a PSAC and EWL title, before 

finishing as an All-American 

and NCAA Division I finalist. On 

the way to becoming LHU’s first 

finalist since 1997, Perry took 

down the No. 2 seed, a returning 

NCAA champion and — in all — 

he knocked off three returning 

All-Americans at the NCAA 

tournament. He also became 

the first No. 15 seed in NCAA 

tournament history to make the 

finals. 

Perry’s win in the EWL finals 

marked the 100th of his career. 

Perry became the 20th member 

of LHU’s 100-win club. Perry 

closed the season with a 32-4 

record and finished with a 104-32 

career record. The 104 wins are 

tied for the 13th most in school 

history. 

It is without question that 

Perry’s career was a major 

influence on the resurgence of 

the LHU wrestling program. His 

magnificent NCAA tournament 

run has only added to his legacy 

at The Haven, and helped further 

cement the Bald Eagles place 

back on the national wrestling 

scene. 

“The season was an amazing 

end to my Lock Haven career. I 

just want to thank my coaches, 

teammates and family for 

helping me get to the biggest 

stage; I couldn’t have done it 

without them,” said Perry. “The 

rise of LHU wrestling is for real. 

We all saw it this year and it was 

an honor to be a part of it.” 

LHU finished the regular season 

at 12-4 with the 12 wins marking 

the most in a single season in 

15 years. The nationally-ranked 

LHU wrestling team crowned 

three individual champions and 

nine Bald Eagles placed as LHU 

powered its way to the 2018 

EWL team title. It marked the 

second EWL championship in 

school history and the first since 

the Bald Eagles won the title in 

1997. 

The Bald Eagles capped their 

special season with a 16th 

place finish at the 2018 NCAA 

Division I Championships in 

Cleveland. Behind two All- 

American performances the 

Bald Eagles scored 35 points 

and placed 16th out of 65 teams. 

It marked LHU’s highest finish 

since a tie for 19th in 2002. 

With Perry (second, 149) and 

Chance Marsteller (fourth, 165) 

both collecting All-American 

honors, the Bald Eagles ran their 

all-time program mark to 41 

All-Americans. It marked the first 

time since 1988 that LHU had 

two wrestlers place among the 

top-four. 

“This past season was a special 

one in so many ways and I think 

everyone knows now that ‘The 

Rise’ is for real. Our guys worked 

so hard and were rewarded with 

PSAC and EWL championships,” 

said Moore. “To have six national 

qualifiers says a lot about where 

we are as a program, and we 

capped the season with an 

amazing national championship 

performance. Without question, 

‘The Rise’ doesn’t happen 

without Ronnie Perry. He earned 

everything he got and he will go 

down as one of the all-time Lock 

Haven greats.” 

Scott Moore celebrates after a win at the NCAA national tournament in Cleveland. 


19

ATHLETIC NEWS & NOTES 

Colleen Hacker 

’78, a former 

standout in both 

field hockey and 

women’s basketball 

helped guide the 

USA women’s ice 

hockey team to gold at the 2018 

Winter Olympics. Hacker serves as 

the team’s mental skills coach and 

is a 1978 graduate of LHU. Hacker 

has been the mental skills coach 

and performance psychology 

specialist with five Olympic teams. 

She won three Olympic medals 

with women’s soccer, 1996 (gold 

medal), 2000 (silver) and 2004 

(gold). She also worked with the 

field hockey team in 2008 (eighth 

place). She now has worked with 

the women’s ice hockey team in 

2014 (silver) and this year’s gold 

medal. 

During the annual ALL-IN (Feb. 

8) day of giving, LHU athletics 

received 524 gifts totaling 

$185,161. The goal of $150,000 

was easily surpassed, in thanks to 

all the kind donations. 

Rileigh Devine of the LHU women’s 

basketball team was 

named to the 2017- 

2018 Pennsylvania State 

Athletic Conference East 

Second team. Devine 

averaged a team-best 

10.9 points per game. 

Amir Hinton of the LHU men’s 

basketball team was named to 

the 2017-2018 Pennsylvania State 

Athletic Conference East First team. 

This marked the second straight 

year he was a first-team selection. 

This past year Hinton reached the 

1,000-point mark, becoming the 

fastest player in PSAC history to 

do so. 

The women’s track and field team 

was led this past season by Rashana 

Tompkins and Laurel Moyer. For 

Tompkins, it was a record year as 

she broke the LHU 60-meter hurdle 

record four different times. She 

became the first woman in Lock 

Haven history to break the 9-second 

barrier as her fastest time clocked in at 

8.87 Moyer, a true-freshman, ran away 

from the field at the indoor PSAC track 

and field championships on her way to 

the 5,000-meter title. 

Head swimming coach Phil Hurley led 

his swimming team into the biggest 

meet of the season at the PSAC 

Championships ready to compete. 

Out of the 18 individual races, 14 of 

them swam to season bests while 11 

were lifetime bests. All five relays also 

finished with season best marks. 

Former men’s cross country and 

track and field standouts Nick 

Hilton ’17 and Alex Monroe ’16 ran 

to phenomenal feats early in 2018. 

Hilton competed at the Walt Disney 

World Marathon and become the first 

American to win the event in 14 years 

and once again qualified for the United 

States Olympic trials in the marathon. 

Monroe competed at the Aramco 

Houston Half Marathon and easily 

qualified for his second Olympic trials in 

the marathon. 

LHU field 

hockey earned 

a 2017 Zag 

Field Hockey 

/ National 

Field Hockey Coaches Association 

(NFHCA) Division I National 

Academic Team Award. This award 

recognizes programs with a team 

GPA of 3.0 or higher during the 

fall semester of the 2017-2018 

academic year. 

Head men’s and women’s cross 

country coach Aaron Russell helped 

both programs to U.S. Track & 

Field and Cross Country Coaches 

Association All-Academic Team 

honors. Four student-athletes from 

the men’s team and six from the 

women’s team earned individual 

All-Academic honors as well. Teams 

must have compiled a cumulative 

grade point average of at least 3.0 

and must have scored at an NCAA 

Division II regional meet to qualify 

for All-Academic team awards. The 

individual All-Academic honor was 

awarded to those student-athletes 

who compiled a cumulative GPA 

of at least 3.25 and finished 

among the top 30 percent of 

eligible runners at his or her 

regional championships and/or 

the top half of the field at the 

NCAA Championships. 

A total of 124 LHU studentathletes 

were named PSAC 

Scholar-Athletes during the 

2017-18 fall semester. 

The men’s and women’s 

cross country program was 

selected as winners of the 

2017 PSAC Sportsmanship 

Award. The Lock Haven teams 

were recognized for their 

generosity following a Division 

II Cross Country Challenge 

at Kutztown University. After 

sighting the Bloomsburg 

University team bus stranded 

in a ditch alongside the road, 

and noticing the inability of the 

tow trucks to pull the bus out 

of trouble, Aaron Russell and 

his teams graciously offered the 

Bloomsburg athletes, coaches, 

and additional personnel a ride 

home. 

LHU Athletics joins PSAC 

Network 

Powered by the LHU office of athletic 

communications & marketing, LHU partnered 

with Stretch Internet and unveiled the Bald 

Eagles edition of the PSAC Network during the 

2017-2018 season. 

The 2017-2018 men’s and women’s basketball 

season marked a new chapter for Lock Haven 

University athletics and the entire Pennsylvania 

State Athletic Conference (PSAC). The PSAC 

launched its new digital network with all 18 

PSAC institutions joining the fun. 

The PSAC Network allows the 18 different 

universities of the PSAC to work with a website 

streaming service called Stretch Internet 

in order to live stream different sporting 

events to online audiences. Through Stretch, 

the network provided first-class viewing 

(1080p HD) with video streams available on 

all computers and devices, including phones 

and tablets. The broadcasts are also available 

on Roku and Apple TV. Best of all, the PSAC 

Network streams are free for all. 

“We are excited about the PSAC Network 

and look forward to what the future may 

hold for the project,” said LHU Director of 

Athletic Communications and Marketing, Doug 

Spatafore ’06. “It’s been a learning experience 

and took a lot of planning and work to get us 

here, but year one was a success. The goal of our 

office is help promote LHU student-athletes and 

our teams in new ways, and the network certainly 

provided us that opportunity. The numbers show 

that our fans enjoyed watching the games as 

well.” 

The PSAC Network at LHU provided an 

opportunity for students to get hands-on 

experience. Without question, LHU’s version of 

the PSAC Network, better known as HAVENC@ 

st, was successful because of the LHU Sports 

Broadcasting Club. The club, a student-run 

organization, helped in every aspect of the 

network from set-up and producing, to 

camera work and more. 

The students, many of whom are 

communication or sport administration 

students, learned how to use streaming 

software, different camera shots and 

angles for optimum viewing, how to set up 

and operate a soundboard, and learned 

the different aspects of preparing to 

broadcast a live game on the air. 

The transition to the new PSAC network 

has paid dividends for not just the club, 

but also for the athletic communications 

and marketing department. Through the 

generosity of grants funded by PSAC, 

the department was able to purchase 

new state-of-the-art equipment in order 

to provide the highest quality stream 

available. 

“The new streaming network and 

equipment have really benefitted the 

broadcasting club,” said Club President 

Corey Woomer. “Once the technology was 

upgraded, the broadcasts became much 

more precise and clear for the viewers. 

Students now see the type of broadcasts 

we are able to produce and want to get 

involved with the club to gain valuable 

broadcasting knowledge and skills.” 


DONOR PROFILE 

Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) brothers are shown stuffing letters for their scholarship campaign. 

Donor Profile – 

TKE fraternity 

1970’s Fraternity 

for Life 

The Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) 

fraternity may not be a 

part of current Greek life at 

Lock Haven University, but 

the brothers of the early 

70’s have taken steps to 

make sure the TKE Theta 

Gamma chapter remains a 

part of their lives, as well 

as contributes to the LHU 

community of today. They 

never have forgotten their 

experiences together as TKE 

brothers and many of them 

continue to embrace that 

sense of family they created 

as students, by continuing to 

support each other and LHU 

throughout the years. 

The TKE motto is “fraternity 

for life,” and the brothers 

from LHU certainly have 

proven that to be true, 

having had a reunion every 

year since graduation in 

the early 70’s. The first 

reunion, organized by the 

late brother Gary Finken and 

his wife, Ethel Bush Finken, 

was held in Danville. Since 

then, the venue has moved 

to New Cumberland. Around 

1990, the group added a 

summer golf outing. There 

is a core group of about 15 

brothers who rarely miss a 

gathering, with many others 

who also make appearances 

from time to time. Finken 

was known to track down as 

many brothers as possible 

to make sure they came to 

the gatherings. He believed 

it very important that they 

remain a part of each other’s 

lives. 

“Over the years we have 

watched each other get 

married, have kids, build 

careers, and retire,” said 

Scott Culpepper ’71. “Many 

of our kids became lifelong 

friends because of these 

reunions.” 

Greek life was very strong 

in the late 60’s and early 

70’s, and TKE was around 

80 brothers strong, 

according to Mike Crosman 

’73. “We were the biggest 

fraternity,” he said. “We did 

really well academically. It 

was the foundation for the 

friendships that we have 

now. We’re really like a 

family.” 

Fundraising became a high 

priority for the group, 

who have developed a 

scholarship for current 

LHU students. They hold 

a silent auction and a 

golf tournament and 

also call on TKE alumni 

to help contribute to the 

scholarship fund. The “TKE 

Make It Happen” campaign 

was launched last year, in 

an attempt to reach many 

of their membership, more 

than 700 brothers and their 

families, to encourage them 

to donate. Their goal is 

to grow the endowment 

of the scholarship fund to 

$100,000. 

“It all comes back to the 

positive experiences we 

had at Lock Haven,” Hugh 

McNelis, ’71, said. “If we 

hadn’t gone to Lock Haven, 

our lives would be very 

different.” 

The brothers of TKE credit 

their success in continuing 

to gather together over 

the years, as well as their 

fundraising efforts, to 

Finken. “We never get 

together without toasting 

Gary,” Culpepper said. 

“Our informal name as 

a fundraising entity is 

‘Friends of Finken.’ It’s not 

an overstatement to say 

that he remains our spiritual 

leader.”

News & notes 

Robert M. Pignatello Named 

President of Lock Haven University 

The Board of 

Governors of 

Pennsylvania’s 

State System of 

Higher Education 

unanimously selected 

Robert M. Pignatello 

to be the next 

president of Lock 

Haven University, effective July 1. 

Pignatello has more than 20 years of 

experience as a college senior executive 

and administrator. He said he is 

honored to have been selected to serve 

as Lock Haven’s next president and 

looks forward to assuming the role. 

“Lock Haven is a truly remarkable 

institution, and we have an exciting 

future before us. Together, we will 

The Texas Restaurant 

to Celebrate 100th 

Anniversary 

On August 8, the Texas 

Restaurant will celebrate its 

100th anniversary as a dining 

staple in the Lock Haven 

community. 

The restaurant was founded 

by George Pappas in 1918. 

In 1961 it was purchased by 

Nick Klaras and Peter Anastos. 

Peter’s son, Phil Anastos, took 

over ownership in 1991. 

LHU Students have always 

played a big role in the Texas’s 

history and success. Known 

in part for its hot dogs, gravy 

fries, and breakfast, the Texas’ 

iconic hot dog, “The Growler,” 

was named by LHU students in 

the ’60s. 

The Anastos family has been 

supporters of LHU athletics 

throughout the years and also 

acknowledge that the LHU 

community has helped support 

the restaurant. “It’s been a 

great marriage between us and 

LHU,” Anastos said. 

With its full menu of 

great food and focus on 

community involvement, 

the Texas’s reputation 

spans far and wide, even 

as far as Europe. 

“Just recently I had a 

grandfather in here that 

told me his grandson was 

over in Germany, in the 

confront the challenges that lie ahead 

and convert them into opportunities 

to even better serve our students and 

our region,” Pignatello said. “I greatly 

anticipate working closely with the 

council of trustees, students, faculty, 

alumni, local leaders, and system 

officials on fulfilling our vital mission. 

I am immensely proud to be a Bald 

Eagle and to join the Lock Haven 

community.” 

Pignatello has a Bachelor’s Degree 

in Political Science and Public 

Administration from Montclair State 

University, Montclair, New Jersey, 

and a Master of Public Administration 

from Rutgers University. He expects to 

complete work this year on a Doctor of 

Education degree in Higher Education 

Leadership and Management at St. 

Peter’s University, Englewood Cliffs, 

New Jersey. 

service, and they were talking 

among each other and a guy 

there asked him about the Texas,” 

Anastos said. “So somehow the 

name made it over to Germany.” 

“We try to do a lot for the 

community, but the reputation 

was really built before me. I’ve 

tried to continue it and keep it 

strong.” 

LHU Ranks First Among 

PASSHE Schools For 

Performance Funding 

Lock Haven University has 

ranked first among The 

Pennsylvania’s State System 

of Higher Education (PASSHE) 

universities for performance 

in the 2017-2018 academic 

year. The Performance Funding 

Program is designed to measure 

the outcomes of each university 

in the areas of student success, 

comprehensive access to 

opportunity, and stewardship 

of PASSHE and Commonwealth 

resources. 

The assessment is based on 

institutional performance 

and peer comparisons on 10 

measures that align with the 

themes of success, access, and 

stewardship. The measures 

are divided between five 

mandatory measures and five 

optional measures selected by 

each institution. All indicators 

of university performance are 

measured according to their 

progress toward institutionspecific 

goals and against 

external comparisons based on 

similar universities. 

While LHU tied for first in the 

2016-2017 cycle, this year’s 

awards see LHU in first place for 

performance funding, having 

earned the most points out of 

all 14 universities for meeting 

performance expectations. The 

achievement will provide LHU a 

total of $2,592,046 in funding. 


LHU Holds 3rd Annual 

Business Symposium, 

‘Innovation Wins’ 

Lock Haven University’s 

Stephen Poorman College of 

Business, Information Systems, 

and Human Services and the 

LHU Business Hall of Fame 

held their third annual Business 

Symposium on Friday, March 

23 in Rogers Gymnasium. 

Before the keynote address, a 

panel discussion was held with 

Joseph Galli Jr., Group executive director and CEO of Techtronic Industries, addresses 

the audience during the Lock Haven University Business Symposium recently 

held on campus. 

remarks from panelists: Margery 

Krevsky Dosey, founder and 

CEO of Productions Plus – The 

Talen Shop; Richard Winter, vice 

president of operations and 

general manager or Forest Park 

Cemeteries; Jeffrey Parker, 

chief executive officer of 

Coastal Defense, Inc.; and 

David B. Dentler, senior 

director of membership 

development at PSECU. 

Keynote speaker was 

Joseph Galli Jr., Group 

executive director and CEO 

of Techtronic Industries. 

In addition to his current 

position, Galli has held key 

leadership roles at several 

other companies including 

Black & Decker, Amazon.com, 

and Newell Rubbermaid, Inc. 

Galli shared many 

experiences, successes, and 

challenges he has had in 

business — focusing on the 

theme of “Innovation Wins.” 

Innovation is important, 

he said, as long as you 

aren’t afraid of it. But you 

must continue to grow with 

yourself and your own ideas, 

stressing that your creation 

can sometimes become your 

enemy — when you have to 

outdo what you’ve already 

done — “Try to out innovate 

yourself,” he said. 

Lock Haven University’s Haven Activities Council 

recently won the NACA National Your Best Campus 

Tradition award by submitting a video featuring the 

LHU Homecoming Golf Cart Parade. Shown are LHU 

students decorating a golf cart for last year’s parade. 

LHU Haven Activities Council Video 

Wins National Award 

Each year, Lock Haven University Student 

Activities and the Haven Activities Council 

(HAC) sponsor the annual Homecoming 

Golf Cart Parade, a popular event that 

showcases the university’s many student 

clubs. The 2017 parade brought more 

than 2,000 participants and spectators out 

to enjoy the fun campus tradition. 

HAC recently submitted a video 

highlighting the parade for the National 

Association for Campus Activities (NACA) 

National Your Best Campus Tradition 

award. The video made it into the finals 

— the top three for campuses with less 

than 5,000 students, and competed for online 

votes on Monday, February 19 at the NACA 

convention in Boston. The two schools LHU 

competed against were Bradley University in 

Peoria, Illinois, and Gettysburg College. 

HAC’s video received the most votes and 

won registration to the 2019 NACA National 

Convention and a slot to present, an article 

in Campus Activities Magazine, and $1,000 

toward the parade in the fall. 

The video was shot and edited by student 

Kylee Doyle and the students interviewed 

were Mike Williams and Rachel Capece, both 

HAC members. 

To view the video, visit 

https://youtu.be/07RowQmoSvM. 


23

news & notes 

Class Notes 

70’s 

Dr. Carol L. Hodes ’70, 

was selected as 2018 

Outstanding Woman by the 

State College PA Branch 

of American Association 

of University Women. Dr. 

Hodes is chair of the branch’s education 

subcommittee that investigates 

important issues in public education, 

from funding to charter schools and 

beyond. 

Her committee has authored 

several guest editorials in the Centre 

Daily Times on issues relating to school 

choice. She has also been appointed 

to AAUW’s new state-level education 

committee. Her work will be recognized 

in April at the AAUW state convention 

at Seven Springs. 

Since retiring from the PA 

Department of Education nine years 

ago, Dr. Hodes has been a senior 

consultant to National Occupational 

Competency Testing Institute (NOCTI), 

the largest provider of industry-based 

credentials in the U.S. 

Dr. Cindy Allen ’78, 

was named the 2017 

recipient of the Elmer 

B. Cottrell Award, which 

is the Pennsylvania 

State Association 

for Health, Physical 

Education, Recreation and Dance’s 

(PSAHPERD) highest award. 

A group of alumnae from the 1970’s 

recently gathered in Wildwood, New 

Jersey for a wonderful, memory filled 

evening. They are, front row from left: 

Eliza Sams Mann and Jane Reichley 

Hayes; Back Row (L-R): Julie Mowry 

Remaley, Charlene Truhlik, Jane 

Munson Milard, Max Nichols Uhlig, 

Colette Anderson Santoro, Nancy 

Nastasi Reigle, Marianne Moore 

Gilmore, Linda Smith Izett, Mary Ann 

Lea Fitzgerald 

90’s 

Don Houser Jr. ’94, was recently 

unanimously confirmed by the state 

Senate for a new four-year term as 

a member of the Pennsylvania State 

System of Higher Education Board of 

Governors. Houser was re-nominated 

to the PASSHE position by Gov. Tom 

Wolf and is a former member of the 

Lock Haven University Council of 

Trustees. 

The 20-member 

Board of Governors 

is responsible for 

oversight of the 

state system. The 

board establishes 

broad educational, 

fiscal, and personnel 

policies. Among other 

tasks, it appoints 

the chancellor and each university 

president, approves new academic 

programs, sets tuition, and coordinates 

and approves the annual state system 

operating budget. 

Houser, born in Lock Haven, received 

a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science 

in 1994 from Lock Haven University 

and is a former township commissioner 

in Susquehanna Township, Dauphin 

County. He is currently state policy 

advisor for Dominion Energy, Inc. In 

this position, he works closely with 

all of Dominion’s business units and 

is responsible for coordinating all 

of Dominion’s government affairs 

activities in Pennsylvania and New 

York, where he also sits on the Board 

of Directors of the Independent Power 

Producers of New York, Inc. 

Prior to joining Dominion, he spent 13 

years in the Senate of Pennsylvania, 

where he was field representative for 

former state Senator J. Doyle Corman 

and chief of staff for current Senate 

Majority Leader Jake Corman. 

Houser and his wife, Mindy, also 

a graduate of LHU, and two sons 

Jackson and Sloan, reside in Robinson 

Township, Allegheny County. 

00’s 

Benjamin Miller ’01, 

won two blue ribbons in 

his local Department of 

Veterans Affairs creative 

writing competition for 

the second year in a 

row. He also won a red, 

second place ribbon. His writings will 

now go on to the national competition 

to compete against the writings of 

fellow veterans all across America. In 

2017 he won a second place silver 

medal for one of his writings. 

Nicole (Pinto) 

Stephenson ’08, 

is stepping into a 

leadership role with the 

Society of Professional 

Women (SPW), a 

program of The Main 

Line (Pa.) Chamber of Commerce that 

is the largest women-oriented business 

networking program in Greater 

Philadelphia, according to a new 

Philadelphia Business Journal ranking. 

SPW’s mission is to help accelerate the 

advancement and expand the influence 

of women leaders of all professions 

and generations, strengthen the 

business community, and support the 

Philadelphia region’s non-profits. 

Brandon Apter 

’09, was named 

marketing and 

media specialist 

at Kennesaw State 

University in Georgia. A 2009 LHU 

sports administration graduate with a 

minor in recreation management, his 

first two professional stints were with 

the Reading Fightin’ Phils as a game 

day intern and the Wilmington Blue 

Rocks as their seasonal marketing 

assistant. While with the Fightin’ 

Phils, he created his very own game 

day character, “Brando the Bando,” 

a tribute to his seven-plus years in 

marching band throughout high school 

and college. 

He then spent three years with 

the Frederick Keys, where in 2012 

he helped boost attendance by 18 

percent and his marketing department 

was nominated for four awards. He 

also began performing as an on-field 

emcee with the Keys, a duty he also 

performed in subsequent stints with 

the Gwinnett Braves and Port Charlotte 

Stone Crabs. While with the Keys 

he also got a chance to emcee an 

on-field promotion for Minor League 

Appreciation in front of over 35,000 

fans at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. 

While with the Braves in 2014, he 

was nominated for a Minor League 

Baseball Golden Bobblehead Award 

and won a GameOps.com Best On- 

Field Promotion award. In 2017, in his 

final season with the Stone Crabs, he 

helped attendance increase by over 

20 percent as he and his team brought 

the promotional schedule to a new 

level, with helicopter candy drops and 

military recognition. 

In his new role with Kennesaw 

State University, he is in charge of 

the marketing, social media, and 

graphic design for one of their schools: 

University College. His responsibilities 

include content creation, designing 

collateral for different parts of the 

school, and representing the college at 

orientation events on campus. 

‘10’s 

Kristin A. Taylor CPA, 

’14, was promoted 

to senior associate 

at Smith Elliott 

Kearns & Company, 

LLC. Taylor audits 

governmental entities, 

nonprofits, and financial institutions. 

She graduated cum laude from Lock 

Haven University with a Bachelor’s 

Degree in Accounting and Business 

Administration. 

In Memoriam 

Beverly Ann (Lyons) Adelizzi ’58 

Dorothy L. Angeli ’65 

Emeritus Richard “Dick” Hepner 

Gillian Masemore 

(Wife of Emeritus Ira Masemore) 

James. I Newcombe ’65 

John Petuck ’55 

Kathy (Ritchie) Somerville ’70 

Daniel Strawbridge ’17 

Bruce S. Wagenseller ’57 

Dr. May White Dyer died on 

October 7, 2017 at the age of 90. Dr. 

Dyer held the positions of professor 

and art chair at Lock Haven University 

and retired in the Art Department 

on June 23, 1996. The university 

has many of Dyer’s art pieces in its 

collection. 

Laurence R. Gocella ’57, died 

on March 16, 2018, at the age of 

86. Gocella lettered in football, 

gymnastics, swimming, and track 

during his time at Lock Haven 

University. He was the recipient of 

a Distinguished Service Award from 

LHU in 2009 and a Distinguished 

Philanthropist Award in 2015 in 

recognition of his outstanding 

contributions and service to LHU. 

Dr. Michael “Mickey” Greenberg, 

M.D., a lifelong resident of Clinton 

County died on January 24, 2018, 

at the age of 72. Greenberg was 

well known for his philanthropy and 

was an avid giver to Lock Haven 

University. Greenberg also played a 

pivotal role in the development and 

success of Lock Haven University’s 

nationally recognized physician 

assistant program, and served as 

LHU’s medical director since 1996. 

He also served two terms as a 

commissioner and as treasurer for the 

Accreditation Review Commission on 

the Education of Physician Assistants 

(ARC-PA), the national body 

responsible for accrediting all U.S. 

physician assistant programs. 


FROM THE ARCHIVES 

Technology in the Age of Electricity: The Central 

State Normal School in the 1890s 

by Joby Topper, LHU Library Director 

We live in the Computer 

Age, a period of rapid 

advancement in computer 

miniaturization, digital 

communications, robotics, and other 

areas of high technology. It’s an exciting 

time to be alive. 

The “Age of Electricity”—the 1880s and 

90s—was a similar time in our history. It 

was the age of Edison, Tesla, and Bell, 

among others. Their discoveries and 

inventions brought about a revolution in 

communications, power generation, and 

transportation. 

The catalogs of the former Central 

State Normal School (now Lock Haven 

University) draw attention to the various 

electrical wonders that were available at 

our school. These catalogs were, after all, 

recruiting tools. They were disseminated 

to high schools all across Pennsylvania. 

They were meant to catch the attention 

of prospective students and their parents. 

Our school was one of the first in the 

nation to be fully equipped with electric 

lighting. This gave us a competitive 

advantage over schools that were still lit 

by oil and gas: 

“At night the whole building is brilliantly 

illuminated with the electric light. Four 

hundred and fifty electric lamps are 

distributed among two hundred rooms. 

… There are no oil lamps to fill and trim. 

The student needs only to touch a spring 

and immediately he has splendid, clean, 

and harmless electric light.” 

Our catalog writers knew that prospective 

students would likely be impressed by the 

convenience of electric lighting, and that 

parents would just as likely be impressed 

by the relative safety of electric lighting 

compared to oil and gas. 

The catalog also includes a hook for the 

curious student who needs to understand 

how it all works—from the steam engine, 

to the dynamo, to the light bulb. 

“The school equipment includes one 

40-horse power Ball automatic engine, … 

one Edison dynamo with ampere metre, 

volt metre, and all necessary appliances, 

with many other interesting pieces of 

machinery. The student is associated with 

the teacher or engineer in the running 

and caring for the several machines, and 

is thus given the opportunity to become 

thoroughly familiar with the details of 

each.” 

incentive to enroll at the Central State 

Normal School. 

The writer also mentions two of the 

most popular devices of the time: an 

“Edison Improved Phonograph, capable 

of recording and reproducing every 

form of sound” and a “Bell Telephone 

complete with Blake Transmitter.” The 

writer’s use of the words “improved” 

and “complete with Blake Transmitter” 

distinguishes these two inventions from 

earlier, less successful versions of Edison’s 

phonograph and Bell’s telephone and 

thus reflects the school’s progressive 

attitude. Although our school had just 

one phonograph and one telephone, 

many schools had neither. Our students 

enjoyed “telephonic and telegraphic 

communication with all parts of the 

city and with the neighboring towns 

and cities.” In 1890, this range of 

communication was truly remarkable. 

The Age of Electricity also produced 

advances in transportation, notably 

the electric street railway. Streetcars 

connected the Normal School to 

downtown Lock Haven, Flemington, and 

Mill Hall. A student could ride downtown 

and back for a nickel. The streetcar 

service closed in 1930, but it lives on in 

the university trolley, which was designed 

to look like the old streetcars. 

Sketch of the Dynamo Room and a Student’s Room, from 

the CSNS Catalog of 1890-91 

For a technophile of the 1890’s, the 

prospect of hands-on instruction in 

electrical engineering was a powerful 

Sketch of a streetcar approaching the Normal School, ca. 1895 


25

University Relations 

Durrwachter Alumni Conference Center 

Lock Haven University 

Lock Haven, PA 17745 

Q&A 

Professor 

Marian Tzolov teaches 

physics at LHU and leads students in 

the study of nanotechnology. 

Q 

: Tell us about your field of 

study. How did you develop 

an interest in it and what led 

you to The Haven? 

A 

: Physics was my interest since 

high school. The fundamental 

knowledge, the understanding 

of the world around us, and 

the application relevance all 

motivated me. It is amazing that 

humanity has developed tools 

and methods for studying nature, 

and fabricating materials and 

devices that have never existed 

in nature. The Haven offers very 

good opportunities to do science, 

and I enjoy every moment in the 

classroom and in the laboratories. 

Q 

: What is the most 

rewarding part of your job? 

A 

: The interaction with the 

students. Science is a human, 

social activity. The ultimate fruition 

of the scientific endeavor is to 

share ideas and experience with 

others, in best case scenarios to 

transfer the understanding and 

experience to younger people— 

to empower them to be active 

and creative. 

Q 

: What is one thing you’d 

like people to know about 

the field of nanotechnology? 

A 

: Nanotechnology is 

interdisciplinary, a field 

where ideas and methods are 

exchanged between established 

branches of science. A gamechanging 

factor nowadays is 

the tremendous technological 

advancement in instrumentation, 

and computation, both hardware 

and software. This provides a lot 

of opportunities, but also raises 

the bar for our knowledge and 

preparation. 

Q 

: In your view, what are 

some of the primary 

advantages The Haven offers? 

A 

: The Haven is a supportive, 

inclusive, and personal 

community. The relatively small 

number and the spirit of the 

Haven’s members make this 

possible. The close relations 

between students and faculty 

have a huge, positive impact on 

reaching our educational goals. 

Q 

: When you’re not in the lab 

or the classroom, how do 

you enjoy spending your time? 

A 

: I like spending time with 

my family, either at home 

baking bread at the weekends 

and cooking using vegetables 

from our backyard, or going to 

our kids’ dance performances 

and sport competitions. Weather 

and time permitting, you can see 

me jogging, cross country skiing, 

playing table tennis, helping with 

local track meets, or helping my 

wife in organizing the local Math 

Kangaroo competition.

The Haven Magazine Spring 2018

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