Daniel ’86 and Nancy ’86 Loughran, Greg O’Connell ’64, and Carol '76 and Jack '76 Kramer.
(SUNY Geneseo photo/Keith Walters '11)
The Geneseo Foundation and the SUNY Geneseo Alumni Association presented their top awards for philanthropy and service on Oct. 19 during Geneseo President Denise A. Battles’ annual donor recognition gala, this year a benefit to support the President’s Access to Excellence Scholarship Endowment.
The Foundation also added the names of three couples to the College’s Donors of Distinction Wall in the Donor Garden, which recognizes those with a million dollars or more of lifetime giving to Geneseo.
Service and Leadership Awards
The SUNY Geneseo Alumni Association (SGAA) presented its 2018 Distinguished Service Award to Daniel Loughran from Fairport, N.Y., a 1986 Geneseo graduate. The award recognizes an individual who has made exceptional contributions to the SUNY Geneseo Alumni Association and the life of the College.
Loughran is a Geneseo Foundation Board member and serves as the Board’s treasurer and is chair of the finance committee. In addition, he is a member of the Business Advisory Council for the School of Business, president of Roundtable Athletic Association, and a member of the Sports Hall of Fame Selection Committee. As a student, Loughran played on the College’s ice hockey team and now serves as a volunteer assistant coach for the Ice Knights.
“We could never put words together to thank Coach Dan for all he has done for us and all that he is currently doing,” said Conlan Keenan '20, a communication major and Arabic minor at Geneseo, and captain of the men’s ice hockey team. “He is someone who is so selfless and sees others before himself.”
Loughran received his business management degree at Geneseo and his MBA from Pace University. He retired in 2016 with more than 30 years in the financial service industry.
His wife, Nancy, is also a 1986 Geneseo graduate. They both received the Geneseo Foundation’s Philanthropic Leadership Award in 2009, and their names were added to the Foundation’s Donors of Distinction Wall in the Donor Garden on campus.
The Geneseo Foundation’s 2018 Philanthropic Leadership Award is presented to individuals who have made an extraordinary impact on SUNY Geneseo students through their commitment and generosity. The award, first conferred in 2006, is one of the College’s most prestigious philanthropic recognitions.
This year’s recipients are Norman Neureiter and his wife, Georgine Reid Neureiter, and Elizabeth Neureiter-Seely. Norman and Elizabeth are the children of the late Paul Neureiter, professor emeritus of mathematics at Geneseo, who chaired the Division of Natural Sciences at Geneseo and was head of the mathematics department. He also was instrumental in developing five College departments: biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and geology.
Norman, Georgine and Elizabeth established endowment funds that are making a mark on the academic lives of the recipients. The Neureiter Family Endowment Fund for Global Awareness and Intercultural Understanding is providing students with study abroad opportunities to further global awareness and intercultural understanding. In addition, they established the Paul R. Neureiter Memorial Scholarship for Women Science Majors in memory of their father by honoring an outstanding female student in the sciences or mathematics each year.
“We are so fortunate to have friends like the Neureiters who genuinely value the importance of intercultural understanding,” said Sarah Lambert '20, a chemistry major and theater minor from South Beach on Long Island, N.Y. who spoke at the ceremony on her study abroad experience in Jamaica. “I have them to thank for the experience of a lifetime.”
Elizabeth Neureiter-Seely’s teaching career included teaching assignments in the United States and Germany and later as a professor of German and English for Speakers of Other Languages at Monroe Community College. She retired from MCC and lives in Rochester.
Norman Neureiter’s distinguished career included a number of key domestic and foreign service initiatives for the United States focused on applying scientific diplomacy as a means of improving international relations. Among many other accomplishments, he became the first director of the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Center for Science, Technology and Security Policy. Geneseo recognized him with an honorary Doctor of Science Degree in 2014.
Georgine Neureiter is a retired public speaking consultant. She taught English in high school and later was a resident in four different countries, which included a stint working for Radio Free Europe in Munich.
President’s Access to Excellence Scholarship Endowment
The President’s Access to Excellence Scholarship Endowment provides scholarships for incoming students who have a high capacity for success but may have attended under-resourced schools. They also may have faced personal circumstances that limited their access to a more enriched learning environment. “Many of our students would never have realized success without the philanthropic support from those who believe in our vision and made their Geneseo experience possible,” said President Battles.
Donors of Distinction Wall and Garden
The Foundation also recognized three couples last weekend for their unwavering support of SUNY Geneseo. They have made lifetime contributions $1 million or more and were honored with a plaque on the Donors of Distinction Wall, which is in the Donor Garden in front of Wadsworth Auditorium. The wall and garden pay tribute to Geneseo’s most generous contributors.
Receiving the recognition were Jack ’76 and Carol ’76 Kramer; Dan ’86 and Nancy ’86 Loughran; and Greg ’64 and Elizabeth O’Connell.
Jack ’76 and Carol ’76 Kramer
The Kramers have many years of service and philanthropic commitment to Geneseo. They received the Geneseo Foundation’s Philanthropic Leadership Award in 2014. They recently made a $1.35 million combined outright and planned multi-purpose gift commitment to the College in support of four endowments to enhance the quality of the student experience at Geneseo.
Their blended gift includes an endowment to create the Jack ’76 and Carol ’76 Kramer Faculty in Excellence and Innovation Endowment to provide funding for faculty to explore new innovative teaching paradigms, investigate educational new programs, conduct undergraduate research with their students, and pursue professional development activities.
In addition, their planned gift will create the Jack ’76 and Carol ’76 Kramer Study Abroad Endowment and increase funding for their other existing scholarship funds.
The Kramers provided a significant enhancement to the College’s GREAT Day celebration in 2008 by endowing the GREAT Day lecture series as a part of the College’s Shaping Lives of Purpose Campaign. The GREAT Day lecture has become a highlight of the annual College-wide symposium celebrating the scholarly and creative endeavors of Geneseo’s students.
“You are two of the most devoted Geneseo advocates we have ever known,” said Geneseo President Denise A. Battles in recognizing the Kramers. “The time, talent and treasure you both have provided has greatly benefited Geneseo’s students and faculty over the years, and they will continue to benefit well into the future.”
Jack served for 13 years on the Geneseo Foundation Board during a time of growth and success and was Board chair for 10 of those years. Carol was a member of the Philadelphia regional planning committee tasked with organizing regional alumni group meetings. Jack and Carol have remained very active with the College in a variety of roles.
Dan ’86 and Nancy ’86 Loughran
The Loughrans are highly engaged Geneseo alumni and have been consistent donors to the College for more than 25 years. They received the Geneseo Foundation’s Philanthropic Leadership Award in 2009.
The Loughrans have provided financial support for a variety of initiatives at the College. They were among the first to fund a New Horizons Scholarship, which provides talented students the opportunity to earn a Geneseo education. They also funded a second New Horizons Scholarship specifically for a student in the School of Business and were among the original supporters of the construction of the School’s Trading Room, recently named the Edward Pettinella ’73 Trading Room.
They have provided major support for Geneseo’s athletic program over the years with multiple endowments for such things as capital projects and support of the Roundtable Athletic Association. They recently made a planned gift through a bequest to support the various endowments well into the future.
“Nancy and Dan are clearly a great alumni team with a heartfelt love for Geneseo and a powerful drive to see our students succeed,” said President Battles. “They appreciate the value of philanthropy to education. They are a true model for giving fully of their time, talents and treasure.”
Dan also was honored over the weekend with the SUNY Geneseo Alumni Association 2018 Distinguished Service Award.
Greg ’64 and Elizabeth O’Connell
Greg O’Connell recently joined Geneseo’s quest to address the most important factor leading to national prosperity — educational attainment. He contributed more than $1 million to establish the Greg ’64 and Elizabeth O’Connell Family Endowment in support of underrepresented and underserved students. Funds will be used to increase recruitment efforts, provide scholarships and to help reduce the financial burden on families of Transitional Opportunities Program (TOP) summer session students, among other initiatives.
O’Connell’s career has taken him from a classroom teacher and New York City police detective to successful investor and real estate developer with a passion for revitalization projects. He attributes his accomplishments and skills to the training he received as an education major at Geneseo.
Among his most revered real estate development projects has been the revival of the Red Hook area of Brooklyn. The area was once considered unsalvageable, but for more than two decades, O’Connell actively pursued the vision of a thriving waterfront that blends recreation, shopping and affordable housing with light industry and business and provides jobs for the residents of the neighborhood.
He also has a passion for rural development and has been working for years revitalizing towns near Geneseo such as Mt. Morris, Dansville and Perry. He has involved Geneseo students as interns in some of the projects in such activities as promotion and marketing.
In 2010, Geneseo conferred upon O’Connell, an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.
“Greg, the generosity you have shown Geneseo over the years reflects your commitment to higher education,” said President Battles. “Congratulations on your considerable accomplishments and enduring commitment to the College.”