1970's

1970s

Cindy Baldinger Roth '76 B.S. SPA is self-employed as a speech/language pathologist in New Jersey. E-mail:theblueq33@aol.com (January 2007)

Bonita L. Bleiler '74 B.S. EK ED recently accepted a position with the Lehigh Valley Writing Project at Penn State Lehigh Valley as a teacher/consultant to the local home schooling community. Her husband is also a Penn State alum and their daughter will soon be a Penn State student in the nursing program. E-mail: bbleiler@dishmail.com (October 2007)

Jane Buatti Kitchen '79 B.S. SPA Principal, Valley Christina High School. Continuing with the tradition of Penn State legacies, my youngest child was among the 2007 PSU graduates this spring (my oldest child graduated from PSU in 2006). It was thrilling to be on campus again to share my memories with my children. Our family is proud to represent Penn State pride in California. E-mail:jkit357@comcast.net (May 2007)

Sandy Burket Yagiela '76 B.S. SECED after graduating, Sandy moved to Michigan and spent 30 years in product engineering at Ford Motor Company. She retired in December 2007 and began a second career with her husband's IT solution and network support business. Her goal is to retire again soon and live a life of leisure. E-mail: syagiela@tcguys.com (November 2008)

Mary Ann Capuzello '71 B.S. SECED; '72 M.Ed. SECED Mary Ann's family has a full-time real estate company which serves all of Hilton Head, Bluffton, and the Low Country area of South Carolina. They assist both full-time and part-time residents. They have many Penn Staters in the area and an active football following. Please call or email for all of your real estate needs. They can refer you to realtors in all areas of the US. E-mail:capuzell@hargray.com (November 2006)

Cynthia Dawso Van Druff '76 Home Ec. ED; '99 Health Education Cynthia will complete her Ph.D. program in from the College of Human Sciences at Iowa State University in May 2012. She is currently the Child Nutrition Director in the Upper Moreland Township School District, Willow Grove, Pa. She and her husband, Robert, '76 Chemical Engineering, live in southern New Jersey. E-mail: cav@umtsd.org (April 2012)

Lucille Dinwiddie '73 B.S. SECED is the Vice President, Organizational Development for ConAgra Foods, Inc.. She was recently featured as the cover and profile for Chief Learning Officer magazine. http://www.clomedia.com/digital-edition
E-mail: lucy.dinwiddie@conagrafoods.com
(November 2008)

John Foster, '77 B.S. VI ED, '83 M.Ed. VIED; '97 Ph.D. WFED is the president and CEO of National Occupational Competency and Testing Institute (NOCTI), an international organization that develops assessment exams. John and his wife, Pam '98 WFED, have two sons. Their oldest son participated in the Penn State nanotechnology program and their youngest son is a student at the University Park campus. E-mail: john.foster@nocti.org (June 2010)

Natalie Fox '71 B.S. SECED She has just retired from Truman High School in the Bristol Township School District after 34 years. Her daughter, Emily, is a marketing/Spanish alum at Penn State '09. E-mail: sranat@earthlink.net (October 2007)

Ilene Goldberg White '74 B.S. EK ED retired after 34 years with the Abington Heights School District as an elementary teacher and most recently as a middle school counselor. She returned to State College to semi-retire and enjoy Happy Valley once again. (December 2009)

Deby Goldstein Goldfarb '72 B.S. EDU is currently writing for "Simply the Best" magazine covering the South Florida area with another article to be published in the January/February 2010 issue. She also started and incorporated a business called "Stepping Out Florida", which is an online event newsletter/website that details social and business events in the South Florida area. www.steppingoutflorida.com E-mail: debfarb@comcast.net (December 2009)

William A. Gregory '75 B.S. MU ED (Blue Band, Army ROTC, Phi Mu Alpha) is superintendent of the Canton Central School District, NY. His son, Matthew is a 2006 PSU grad and daughter, Kate is currently a PSU sophomore. E-mail: wgregory@hotmail.com (December 2009)

William G. Gribbin '77 Ph.D. EDADM has been the Dean of the School of Communication at Liberty University since 1985. E-mail: wgribbin@liberty.edu (January 2009)

Cris Guenter '76 B.S. Art Ed is Professor and Graduate Coordinator for the Department of Education at California State University, Chico. Cris was named the 2008 National Art Educator of the Year by the National Art Education Association and received the award in New Orleans in March. 
E-mail: cguenter@csuchico.edu (May 2008)

Marjorie Hall-Petkosh '75 B.S. EK ED, '87 M.Ed. Dev. & Remedial Reading, '89 Reading Supervisory Certification. Expects to retire on June 17, 2008 from Solanco School District in Southern Lancaster County as Director of Title I Services. (April 2008)

Robyn Holder '79 B.S. HI ED recently began Master's Degree program in Organizational Leadership through Gonzaga University. E-mail: robynholder@centralpenn.edu (November 2006)

John Hollinger '73 M.Ed. HI ED retired after 30 years as a college administrator in PA, NJ, & NY. He resides in Utica, NY and is semi-retired from canoe tripping in the Adirondacks, Canada, and Maine. E-mail: jholl28@adelphia.net (July 2009)

Belinda Hostrander Sheroda '79 B.S. EK ED is currently residing in Middletown, MD. She received a Master's in special education in 2003 from Hood College and is now teaching special education pre-kindergarten at Middletown Primary School. E-mail: sheroda5@yahoo.com (May 2009)

Andrew Jackson, Sr. '74 B.S. EK ED; '04 Ph.D. SPEC (Special Graduate Program) received the 2009 Penn State Alumni Association Diversity Award from the Volunteer Services Program Annual Awards on Friday November 6. The award was presented by Alumni Association president, attorney Barry Simpson; executive director Roger Williams; and volunteer programs director Kevin Barron. Andrew retired as an academic adviser from the Penn State College of Education in September 2007. E-mail: axj119@psu.edu (December 2009)

Frank Theodore Koe '76 Ph.D. ACI; '69 B.S. SECED is an instructor at Penn State University and adjunct professor of art at the University of Memphis. Frank recently won an award for his text book and DVD entitled "Fabric for the Designed Interior" which was published in 2008. For more information, please visit: www.fabricforthedesignedinterior.com/ E-mail: ftkoe@verizon.net (June 2009)

Martina K. Kriner Fegan '71 B.S. SECED English, is teaching at the Greencastle-Antrim High School in Greencastle, PA. She was recently appointed to serve on a National Council for Holocaust Education and received the Pennsylvania State Education Association Human and Civil Rights Educator of the Year Award. E-mail: martinacats@earthlink.net (May 2007)

Sue Ellen Larkin '78 M.S. SPA After graduation, Sue worked in hospitals and rehabilitation centers in the Northeast and Ann Arbor. She took 12 years off to raise four children. After her divorce she began to work again in two school districts in the Philadelphia area, and remarried 5 years ago. They now have a blended family of 6 children, all of whom are "launched" into college and beyond except one who is in 7th grade. Sue has been working with a majority of middle school students with autism, learning disabilities, AAC needs, and medical fragility for the past 7 years. Sue looks forward to hearing from her classmates in 1977-78 to hear what everyone has been doing. E-mail: sew713 @aol.com (November 2006)

John E. Lutz '70 Ph.D. SECED Upon retirement in December, 2005, he was named the first Superintendent Emeritus in New York State. He is currently serving as Chair of the County Red Cross Chapter and Regional Director of a Cornell Alumni Association. He wrote a march for Concert Band which was premiered by the Cornell University Wind Ensemble last May. E-mail: jel28@cornell.edu (October 2007)

Walter Gary McGuire '79 D.Ed. HI ED Retired after 40+ years in college administration in IL, NY, PA and CA. His last position was Provost of the North Orange County Community college District School of Continuing Education, an accredited adult education organization serving 70,000 students annually. While at Penn State, he served as a research assistant to S.V. Martorana in the Center for the Study of Higher Education. Gary resides in Gainesville, VA. E-Mail: bandgmcg@aol.com (November 2008)

Maria McKelvey '79 B.S. E E C is starting her 29th year in education. Currently, she is the Director of Federal Programs and Instruction in Pocahontas County, WV, the most rural county in the state. Most recently, she was a private consultant for school improvement and worked for the West Virginia Department of Education as a Closing the Achievement Gap liaison. E-mail: tamd55679m@yahoo.com (January 2009)

Beth Misialek Mineo '79 B.S. Speech Pathology has been appointed director of the Center for Disabilities Studies at the University of Delaware. E-mail: mineo@udel.edu (February 2009)

Dorothy I. Mitstifer, '72 M.Ed. HEEd, '76 Ph.D. HEED is the Executive Director of the Kappa Omicron Nu Honor Society in East Lansing, MI. Dorothy will be recieving the Distinguished Service Award from the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences on June 24, 2007. This is the top award of this professional association for family and consumer sciences/human development - new names for home economics. E-mail:dmitstifer@kon.org (May 2007)

Ginny Neff Campbell '72 B.S. Art Ed retired in June 2008 after 35 years teaching art in Shaler Area School District, a suburban area of Pittsburgh, PA. A couple of years ago, she had a grant from The Mattress Factory (installation art museum) to create an "Inuksuk" (Inuit Indian style rock sculpture) in the school's garden. Prior to that she was nominated for Who's Who. She has been asked to do some part time work for Carlow University, supervising student teachers in their Art Ed program for the coming fall. Both of her children are graduates of Penn State's Schreyers Honors College. Benjamin received his B.S. in Physics and M.S. in Electrical Engineering in 2004. He works for the Penn State EOC Research Center and earned his Ph.D. in Engineering in May 2008 from Robert Morris University. Her daughter Rebecca received a B.S. in ComDis in 2005 from PSU and an M.S. at UNC at Chapel Hill in 2007. She works in Crestview, FL as her husband, 2nd Lt. Tim Voigt (2007 Industrial Engineering, PSU), is stationed at Eglin Air force Base. Ginny's husband, Reed, taught Tech Ed for Shaler Area and retired in 2005. He is a 1970 grad of Northern Arizona University who has learned to bleed blue and white! E-mail: gin@zoominternet.net (January 2009)

Marlene Novak Palchinsky '78 B.S. EEC has started a tutoring business - Customized Learning. Students of all abilities, in grades K-12 and adult, come to sharpen their skills and improve their study habits. Every student learns that their goal is a destination and not a race. Every student will achieve his or her potential in a supportive and encouraging environment that emphasizes individual learning styles. E-mail: Marpsu@aol.com (February 2009)

Christie Odell Foresman '73 B.S. SPA is a special education case manager for East Lycoming School District in Hughesville, PA. She has three children - 1 is a Mansfield University grad, 1 is a PSU grad and the other is at Bloomsburg University. 
E-mail: odell51@windstream.net
(April 2008)

Sally Pepper Gordon '71 B.S. SECED Social Studies, is Executive Director of the Children's Center of Lexington, MA, and early education and care center for children ages 15 months through 5 years. She received her master's degree in Special Education in 1974 from the College of New Rochelle. She has two children -  Douglas, who lives with his wife Leora Kaye in Brooklyn, and Rebecca who lives in Manhattan. E-mail: sallypg1@gmail.com (June 2009)


Carl Pillar '71 B.S. REHAB, '90 M.Ed. CN ED retired in January 2008 after 35 years with the PA Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, Altoona District Office. He served as a rehabilitation counselor, assistant district administrator and district administrator. His wife, Bonnie Etters Pillar, daughter Rebecca Pillar Robison and son John Pillar are all PSU graduates. His son, Mark, served in the US Air Force. E-mail: clpill@hotmail.com (April 2008)

Patricia Presser Shoffner '78 B.S. EK ED, '83 M.Ed. C&I is a first grade teacher in the State College Area School District. Two of her daughters are now attending Penn State in the school of Arts & Architecture (Class of 2010 and 2011)! E-mail: pps11@scasd.org (January 2009)

Anne M. Richardson Sizemore '70 B.S. ART ED (MSLS Library Science, East Texas State Univ; AS Nursing RN, Georgia Southwestern Univ.) is adjunct librarian at the Albany Technical College, Albany, GA. She and husband Henry have two sons, David who is attending Albany Technical College, and Michael who is attending Georgia Tech. E-mail: henry_sizemore@bellsouth.net (December 2009)

Cathy Rider Woldanski '79 B.S. REHED is celebrating her 10th anniversary as Owner/President of Employment Rehabilition Services, Inc. in Fredericksburg, VA. Her company specializes in Worker's Compensation Case Managment services. E-mail: employmentrehab@aol.com (February 2008)

Susan L. Sevel Holzer '75 B.S. EK ED is the President/Owner of The Chalk Box in Altoona, PA. E-mail:Russue824@msn.com (May 2007)

Denise Shipley Jordan '73 B.S. EK ED is a Math Specialist for Toledo Public School, Toledo, Ohio specializing in K-5 math. She is also an adjunct instructor at Owens Community College in Toledo where she teaches psychology and sociology classes. She has two daughters - both are college students. E-mail: d_jordan211@yahoo.com (February 2008)

Suzie Sims-Fletcher '79 B.S. SECED September 2006 Suzie traveled to Mugla, Turkey, as an English Language Fellow. This program is administered by Georgetown University, and her post is a joint mission of the US Embassy ELO in Ankara Turkey, and the Turkish Ministry of Education. She will be teaching university students, as well as conducting training, and seminars for faculty until July 2007. More information can be found on her websitewww.redhed.info(turkey page). This is a highly competitive program as well as quite an honor for her to be representing the US.
E-mail:suzie@redhed.info (November 2006)

Alyce Spotted Bear '78 M.Ed. EDADM American Indian Leadership Program, has been appointed by President Obama to the National Advisory Council on Indian Education. Alyce is an English Instructor at the Fort Berthold Community College, New Town, ND. For more information about her appointment, visit: www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/president-obama-announces-more-key-administration-posts-5132010 (November 2010)

Tom Staszewski '74 B.S. EK ED has been an educator since 1974. His career has spanned a variety of levels, from teaching elementary and middle school grades to instructing and holding various administrative positions at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. He is presently academic dean at Mercyhurst College North East in North East, Pa. Tom has recently authored a book entitled "Total Teaching:

Your Passion Makes it Happen" which he describes as "...a tribute to teachers as it honors and celebrates the efforts and accomplishments of today's educators." 
E-mail: tomstasz@verizon.net (January 2008)

Timothy Tate '73 B.S. EK ED,'76 M.Ed. C&I has retired from government service after a 34 year professional career. E-mail: ttate@verizonmail.com (December 2007)

Margaret Thorsell Avallone '70 M.Ed. Speech Pathology is currently employed by the Montgomery County Public Schools working with the Montgomery County Infant and Toddler Program as a speech language pathologist in Silver Spring, MD. E-mail: margaret_avallone@yahoo.com (December 2009)

Robyn Tomkinson Holder '79 B.S. HE ED, is a recent summa cum laude graduate with a Masters of Arts in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University. She is currently employed at Central Pennsylvania College, in Harrisburg, PA in marketing, and serving as an adjunct professor. E-mail: trholder1@aol.com
(April 2008)

Christine Wright Pierce '73 B.S. SPA, '74 M.S. SPA retired from her position as Clinical Supervisor at Kent State University's Speech and Hearing Clinic, where she is employed in an Accent Reduction clinic with international teaching assistants and departmental Master's students. She was in private practice for 17 years prior to taking this position 12 years ago. Christine's husband is on the faculty in the same department at KSU. They have three children and four grandchildren. Their son is a commercial pilot and has an 8 year-old son. Their older daughter is a high school English teacher on mommy leave with three pre-schoolers and Christine's younges child works for Homeland Security in DC. They travel extensively (Antartica last winter) and plan to retire so they can see the rest of the world. E-mail: cwpierce@kent.edu (February 2008)

William Vitori '73 B.S. SECED (Chemistry) After 36 years of teaching Advanced Placement Chemistry and Honors Chemistry at Elizabeth Forward High School, William is planning to retire in June. He and his wife, Bunny, are active volunteers in the Alumni Student Teacher network in the Pittsburgh area. They are also closing on a second home in Bellefonte in January and hope to volunteer their services to the PSU College of Education at University Park during the summers. Love the Blue and White! 
E-mail: bunnybill@comcast.net (January 2009)