Alumni Association Recognizes UAlbany Graduates for Careers of Excellence

 

ALBANY, N.Y. (April 16, 2010) -- One of the leading surface scientists in the world, a major figure in feminist film studies, a renowned innovator in investment management, a champion of affordable housing in New York State, the originator of a new forensics field, the driving force behind the state's seventh largest credit union, outstanding educators, business people and contributors to the community and UAlbany are the 2010 recipients of the Alumni Association's annual Excellence Awards.

The 13 outstanding UAlbany alumni will be honored Saturday, May 1, at 6 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza, State & Lodge streets, in Albany.

2010 Excellence Awards Recipients
University at Albany Alumni Association

• Citizen of the University � Larry and Marie Shore have been involved with UAlbany since 1993, when Larry began 15 years' membership on the University at Albany Foundation board. In 2002, the Shores established the Lawrence and Marie Shore Life Sciences Graduate Scholarship to support graduate students pursuing degrees in biological sciences, chemistry, psychology or forensic sciences. They are UAlbany College of Arts & Sciences fellows and active supporters of the School of Social Welfare.
  
• Distinguished Alumni Award � Michael J. Castellana, B.S. '84, M.B.A. '92, is president and CEO of SEFCU, the largest credit union in the Capital Region. Over the last 20 years, he has helped SEFCU grow to 190,000 members, 39 branches and assets of $2 billion. He also has shown unrelenting commitment to community service. This extends to the University at Albany, where his efforts on behalf of SEFCU have significantly raised the profile of UAlbany in the community.
  
• Bertha E. Brimmer Medal � Annette Romano, M.S. '90, is a dedicated educator with more than 20 years� experience as a teacher of special education, kindergarten, and first and second grades. She became one of the first 100 teachers in New York to become National Board certified. A key player in revamping the Niskayuna school district�s professional development program, she also helped develop and implement UAlbany's new certificate of graduate study in teacher leadership. 
  
• International Alumni Award for Exceptional Achievement � Bhupendra N. Dev, Ph.D. �85, now based in India, is one of the leading surface scientists in the world, having successfully developed a technique combining X-ray standing wave and X-ray reflectivity. His recent work includes a new technique based on photoemission electron microscopy for the determination of diffusion coefficient in nanostructured systems. His awards include the Medal of the Materials Research Society of India and Marie Curie International Fellow of the European Union.
  
• Excellence in Alumni Service Award � DeForest R. Hinman, B.S.�05, established a highly successful career in investment analysis and is now a principal and equity research analyst at Walthausen & Co. He has recruited UAlbany students to his firm and guided the UAlbany Student Investment Group as they built the leading equity component of the University�s endowment fund.
  

• Excellence in Arts and Letters Award � Tania Modleski, B.A.�70, M.A.�71, is a major figure in feminist film and popular culture studies. Her groundbreaking first book, Loving with a Vengeance: Mass-produced Fantasies for Women, gave rise to the scholarly discipline of cultural studies. Her second book, The Women Who Knew Too Much: Hitchcock and Feminist Theory, solidified her reputation as one of the most perceptive, influential film critics in academia.
• Excellence in Business Award � Steven M. Zelin, B.S.�84, has built a reputation as one of the nation�s leading restructuring financial advisors; he�s been the lead partner on landmark restructuring transactions for such companies as Enron, Xerox, AbitibiBowater and SemGroup. Now a senior managing director with Blackstone Group, Zelin is praised as a collaborative team player who empowers colleagues with the authority to achieve results.
• Excellence in Community Service Award � Bill Barnette, M.S.W.�81, has demonstrated a broad-based commitment to children, families and communities for over four decades. Former director of interagency collaboration with New York�s Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, he worked to enhance student performance, organized an Urban League program to engage minority youth in legal and medical careers and  helped organize the Parsons Minority Adoption Program.
• Excellence in Education Awards � Ann Marie Murray, M.A.�75, M.S.�98, Ph.D.�02, president of Herkimer County Community College, has devoted her career to making community colleges accessible and poised to prepare students for employment. In 23 years as an administrator and teacher at Hudson Valley and then as vice president for academic affairs at Broome community colleges, she introduced programming that improved academic units, increased distance-learning opportunities and bolstered science and international education.
• Excellence in Entrepreneurship � Benjamin R. Bloomstone, B.S.�79, is a founder and managing partner of Cross Shore Capital Management, LLC, an investment management firm specializing in hedge funds, in Boston, Mass. His novel concept, a vehicle where investors could put capital with otherwise hard-to-access hedge fund managers, has grown Cross Shore from $25 million to $500 million in assets under management in just six years.
• Excellence in Public Service � Deborah VanAmerongen, M.P.A.�92, has worked tirelessly to promote affordable housing statewide and nationally. As commissioner of New York�s Division of Housing and Community Renewal, she streamlined operations to deal with the state�s complex rent-regulation system. Joining Nixon Peabody in February 2010 as a strategic policy adviser, she now works on the preservation and production of affordable housing nationwide
• Excellence in Science & Technology � Hany Farid, M.S.�92, director of Dartmouth�s Image Science Group, founded a new scientific subfield, digital forensics, to determine if digital images, audio, video and other documents have been manipulated or altered. He is widely sought out by intelligence agencies, news organizations and scientific journals to authenticate images.
• Outstanding Young Alumni � Karen C. Kelly, M.S. �08, while earning her master�s degree from UAlbany, co-developed a unique medical literature curriculum at SUNY Upstate Medical University that has earned wide recognition and respect within the medical education community. The program she coordinates comprises multiple courses, close to 500 students and nearly 100 faculty.
  

For more news, subscribe to UAlbany's RSS headline feeds

Educationally and culturally, the University at Albany-SUNY puts "The World Within Reach" for its 18,000 students. An internationally recognized research university with 58 undergraduate majors and 128 graduate degree programs, UAlbany is a leader among all New York State colleges and universities in such diverse fields as public policy, nanotechnology and criminal justice. With a curriculum enhanced by 300 study-abroad opportunities, UAlbany launches great careers. For more information about this globally ranked University, visit www.albany.edu. For UAlbany's extensive roster of faculty experts, visit www.albany.edu/news/experts.shtml.