Vol.
14, Issue 2 Fall 2005
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| Advancement |
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News |
| Alumni
Profile: Joy Bryant |
| Faculty
Profile: Lt. Col. Freida Oakley |
| Faculty
Briefs |
| Research
Highlights |
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| Class
Notes |
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| Honor
Roll of Donors |
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| Staff |
Florida
Tech TODAY is published three times
a year by Florida Tech’s Office
of Advancement and is distributed
to 50,000 readers.
Florida Tech, Office of University Communications, 328 W. Hibiscus Blvd., Melbourne,
FL 32901-2715 (321) 674-6218, Fax (321) 674-6399, jowilson@fit.edu
Don’t leave copies of your alumni magazine behind. Send your new address
to Florida Tech, Office of Alumni Affairs, 150 West University Blvd., Melbourne,
FL 32901-6975, hrosskam@fit.edu
Ken Droscher
Office of Alumni Affairs,
(321) 674-7191, gopanthers@fit.edu
© Copyright 2005 by Florida Institute
of Technology.
All rights reserved. Reproduction by any means whole or in part without permission
is prohibited. For reprint information, contact Florida Tech TODAY at (321)
674-6218, Fax (321) 674-6399, or jowilson@fit.edu.
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Alumni around the world keep the
light of university-day memories
bright through chapter activities.
Today, Florida Tech has chapters
all the way from Florida to Kuwait.
Usually
a handful of alumni in a region
lead the charge to begin a
chapter, allowing area alumni to
reminisce, socialize and give back
to their university. An especially
energetic alumni chapter leader
is alumni board member Cindy Dwyer
Pratt ’97,
of Ventura, Calif. She draws chapter
enthusiasts across a wide geographic
swath.
Pratt recently took over
a fledgling group from alumni board
member
Sherry Cantrell ’98, who
moved to Alabama. The first activity
Pratt
planned for the huge Los Angeles
community-where 300 alumni reside
was a cocktail reception aboard
the Queen Mary in Long Beach. It
took
Pratt and husband Bob Pratt ’95, ’97
M.S., ’98 M.B.A. two hours
to get there.
“We have about 40 people in
contact so far,” said Pratt,
who sent out an e-mail survey to find
out
what would interest alumni
in getting together. She’s looking
at a Dodgers game, picnic or museum
visit as upcoming possibilities.
Cindy,
alumni board member
Sara Dunsford ’00
and John Kelly ’80 also
attended a college fair in
Anaheim last spring.
They helped university recruiter
Bob Rowe ’87 and met
an enrolled freshman starting
in fall 2005.
“
So many alumni are interested and
a significant number of them love
FIT,” said Cindy. “My
goal is to bring people back in.”
New chapters or chapters
looking for pointers will
find the
Alumni Chapter Handbook a
useful tool.
For a copy, call toll free
(866) Fla-Tech.
The Alumni Office, joining with the
university’s Florida TechStart
business accelerator, has established
the Florida Tech Alumni Entrepreneur
Alliance (AEA), a network of alumni
entrepreneurs in many disciplines and
industries who are resources for each
other, other alumni, students, the
university and the community.
Early business networking between alumni
yields great results. In one instance,
an alumnus-owned software development
company in New Jersey introducing a
new product, wanted input from potential
customers or distributors. An alumnus
who owns a technology firm in Florida
reviewed the product and is now considering
becoming a distributor.
The key to
building this group is to identify
existing alumni and prospective
alumni entrepreneurs, and create
a resource database of people interested
in broadening their business network.
Local alumnus, Travis Proctor, CEO
of Artemis International Technologies
Inc., has developed a private online
database application that will allow
interested alumni to register with
the AEA. Now it’s your turn
to participate.
Sign up for this Alumni
Office sponsored
opportunity. Information will remain
confidential to those on
the database unless specified otherwise
and there is no cost. Register
at
www.FloridaTechAEA.org.
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’73,
President, Bensalem, PA (215) 969-0540;
VoiceTypeG@aol.com
’74,
Vice President, Colorado Springs, CO
(520) 452-0030;
downeyj@msn.com
Jim Thomas ’72, Treasurer, Viera,
FL
(321) 779-0223;
jimwthomas@aol.com
’74,
Secretary, Venice, FL
(941) 497-1307; russballagh@ij.net |
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| Alumni
Cheering Squad Gathers at Dad Vail |
| Message
from the FTAA President |
| Recalling
Denton Clark |
| Fraternally
Speaking: Fraternity and Sorority News |
| Former
Professors Powwow |
| Alumni
Travel Program |
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The most ambitious schedule of alumni
road receptions in the history of the association
will begin this fall. In addition to accelerating
our local events, the association will
have a presence in the cities of San Antonio,
Dallas/Ft. Worth, San Diego, Long Beach/Los
Angeles, San Jose and San Francisco, Seattle
and Boston. The schedule will be forthcoming
to you and is dynamic, as hopefully readers
will say let’s do a get-together
in our city too.
As you read association
president George Poidomani’s column,
you note the importance of chapter development
and the
growth of our alumni organization. Most
chapters begin with an initial reception,
build energy and evolve into an active
chapter. Initial receptions are intended
to provide fun, encourage class mates
and former student organization members
to
re-connect with each other and to stay
connected. The memories that tie each
of us together are re-created. See someone
whom you have not seen in years!
What
can you do? Join us at these events,
network and invite others to attend.
Sometimes your call or email will influence
someone
to attend the reception when otherwise
they would not. The key to our receptions
are those alumni on the ground who
encourage fellow alumni to participate.
If you
would like to have a specific faculty
member
or a student in a specific major join
us to provide a program, let us know.
For
our international alumni, we will make
every effort to get a representative
from
the university to your gathering.
It may be someone from the Office of Admission,
a traveling administrator, faculty
member or prominent alumnus or alumna.
In all cases, our campus leaders will
be in attendance. It is your opportunity
to
learn first hand important strategic
plan initiatives that are being completed
and
of the success stories of faculty,
staff and students.
If now’s
the right time for you to become
more involved with your alumni
association and you want to be engaged
with fellow
alumni, please contact Ken Droscher
in
the Office of Alumni Affairs. If
you have ideas, suggestions and/or
would like to
volunteer, let him know. Telephone
him toll free at 866.FLA.TECH or
email him
at gopanthers@fit.edu.
Your 45
member alumni association Board of Directors
thanks you!
It’s the eve of May 2005 Commencement
and the class of 2005 gathers with family
members for a send-off at President Catanese’s
reception. These almost-grads show off
their new class rings just after the president
conducts a ring ceremony.
A new table with built-in seats graces
the patio behind the president’s
office, a gift of the class of 2005. Class
officers, presented the gift to President
Anthony J. Catanese at the pre-commencement
reception he hosted in May. Leaving a legacy
and pictured here with Dr. Catanese are:
(L to R) Tom Lange, vice president; Dawn
Wasik, historian;
R.B. Hirsch III, pres.; and Elizabeth Haupin,
secretary/treasurer.
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