For Immediate Release — Friday, May 20, 2005

GENESEO, N.Y. — The State University of New York at Geneseo invites graduates of Geneseo’s classes of 1955 and 1965-66 to join their classmates for, respectively, their 50^th and 40^th anniversary reunions, to be held in Geneseo. The 50^th reunion of the class of 1955 will run from the afternoon of Thursday, June 9, through Friday, June 10. Friday’s celebration will also include members of the classes of ’50, ’45, ’40, ’35 and ’30. The 40^th reunion of the classes of 1965 and 1966 will take place on Saturday, June 11.

Program highlights will include award presentations to the following Geneseo graduates and emeriti:

Carl Savino ’50 and Olga Gerych-Savino ’53 of Cortland, N.Y.;

Robert Thompson ’55 of Rochester, N.Y.;

Fred Brown ’55 of Bonita Springs, Fla.;

Douglas Brode ’65 of Syracuse, N.Y.;

Robert Schultz ’65 of Johnstown, N.Y.;

Patricia Malet Fennell ’65 of Geneseo, N.Y.;

Professor Emeritus Bruce Godsave ’65 of Geneseo, N.Y.;

and Director Emeritus of Institutional Research James McNally of Geneseo, N.Y.

Additional details follow below, and advance registration is required for both reunions. For more information or to register, contact the SUNY Geneseo Alumni and Parent Relations Office at (585) 245-5506 or alumni@geneseo.edu.

The 50^th reunion of the SUNY Geneseo Class of 1955 will begin on the afternoon of Thursday, June 9, with a tour of Roemer Arboretum, led by Associate Professor of Biology Gregg Hartvigsen. A cocktail hour and gourmet dinner at the Big Tree Inn will be followed by a dessert reception at McClellan House. This historic building houses the Irma Hamer Collins ’42 Alumni Center and the Lockhart Gallery, where music will be provided by Betty Franz Grant ’53, and artwork by Livingston Potpourri, a local art group, will be on display.

The celebration, which will continue on the college campus on Friday, June 10, will include a champagne reception and 50-Year Club luncheon in the Mary Jemison dining center. Immediately following, the reunion program will conclude with the unveiling and dedication of a new Minerva statue in the college’s Milne Library. Reunion alumni will have the opportunity to view a student-produced documentary on "Searching for Minerva," and to mingle with members of the Class of 2005. The statue is a gift from the class to replace the original, which stood in the library in Old Main.

Highlights of the luncheon will include presentation of the following awards from the Geneseo Alumni Association:

Distinguished Service Award to Carl Savino ’50 and Olga Gerych-Savino ’53, retired educators and current owner-operators of Walden Oaks Country Club in Cortland, N.Y. The couple first met at an alumni reunion almost 45 years after graduating from Geneseo, and they are devoted supporters of the college. The Savinos’ contributions include hosting an annual gathering of Southern Tier alumni at their country club.

Distinguished Service Award to Robert Thompson ’55, retired Pittsford Central School elementary principal and long-time volunteer for Geneseo. Thompson has served as an alumni association board director since 1996, and is a member of the planning committee for this year’s 50th reunion. He also is an active community volunteer in the Rochester area.

Society of Old Main Award to Fred Brown ’55, retired educator and generous supporter of Geneseo. Brown and his wife, Joan Gustafson Brown ’57, developed Westchester County and New York City chapters of the alumni association in the ’60s, and Fred later served as an alumni association board director. Fred received the GAA Distinguished Service Award in 1977, and was inducted into the Geneseo Sports Hall of Fame in 1980. In recent years, he and his children endowed the Fred and Joan Brown Family Incentive Award in memory of Joan, who died in 1998.

The 40^th reunion of the SUNY Geneseo Classes of 1965 and 1966 will take place throughout Saturday, June 11. A casual gathering at the Big Tree Inn will kick off festivities on Friday evening, and Saturday’s schedule highlights include:

• the opportunity to visit McClellan House, home to the Irma Hamer Collins ’42 Alumni Center and Lockhart Gallery, where reunion alumni authors will hold a book signing and sale, and artwork by Livingston Potpourri, a local art group, will be on display;

• a demonstration of the Sturges carillon in a presentation, "Bells of Geneseo," by Geneseo Professor Emeritus Bruce Godsave ’65;

• a luncheon buffet with former professors and classmates in the newly renovated Mary Jemison dining center;

• an informal "Reunion Chat," featuring members of the 40th reunion classes;

• tours of campus, including the Roemer Arboretum and Milne Library;

• a reunion reception followed by a delicious dinner, with music provided by members of the Geneseo String Band, presentation of awards, and a surprise "flashback" to 40 years ago;

• and a dessert buffet with music by the Allan Howe ’65 Trio and special guests, M&B All Stars.

As a highlight of the dinner program, the Geneseo Alumni Association will present the following awards:

Professional Achievement Award to Douglas Brode ’65, teacher, theatre critic, actor, television and radio broadcaster, and author of twenty-five books on mass media, the performing arts, cinema aesthetics, and popular culture. Brode serves as coordinator of the Cinema Studies Program at Onondaga Community College and teaches film courses at Syracuse University’s (SU) Newhouse School of Public Communications. He majored in education, English and drama at Geneseo, and earned an M.A. in literature from SU.

Excellence in Education Award to Robert Schultz ’65, professor emeritus of Fulton-Montgomery Community College (FMCC) and mayor of the City of Johnstown, N.Y. Schultz received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1977 and, in addition to his role as an academic faculty member, served FMCC as director of the college union, coordinator of student activities, director of admissions, and dean of students. He majored in speech education and drama at Geneseo, earned an M.S. in guidance and student personnel from SUNY Albany, and pursued advanced study in psychology at New York University.

Distinguished Service Award to Patricia Malet Fennell ’65, retired elementary school teacher and current Geneseo Alumni Association president. An alumni board director since 1991, Fennell is also a long-time member of the Roemer Arboretum Advisory Board, a member of the Geneseo Foundation Friends of Art Committee, and a long-standing advocate for and supporter of the Geneseo Crew Club. She earned a B.S. in elementary education from Geneseo and has served as an adjunct faculty member in the college’s Shear School of Education.

Distinguished Service Award to Bruce Godsave ’65, Geneseo professor emeritus of special education. In 1983, Godsave began the restoration of the college’s carillon, housed in Sturges Hall, and has worked diligently to ensure that the bells continue to ring over the Genesee Valley. The presence of the carillon has become an important cultural aspect of life on campus and in the Village of Geneseo. Godsave earned a B.A. and M.S.Ed. from Geneseo, and a Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati.

Honorary Lifetime Membership to James McNally, Geneseo director emeritus of institutional research. After devoting his 35-year career to Geneseo, McNally officially retired in 2002 but has continued to serve the institutional research office as needed. He currently chairs a team of emeriti charged with researching and writing a new history of the college, and he and his wife, Shirley, are generous supporters of the college and the local community. McNally earned a B.S. from SUNY Potsdam, M.S. from SUNY Albany and Ph.D. from Michigan State University.

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