February  2008
News & Notes


"Elmer Gantry" a huge success on MSU stage
The new American opera with music composed by Robert Aldridge, director of Montclair State’s John J. Cali School of Music and libretto by Herschel Garfein had its tri-state premiere last month at the Alexander Kasser Theater and opened to rave reviews.

Based on the 1928 novel of the same name, “Elmer Gantry” takes the theme of fundamentalist religion and molds it into a new opera that walks the line between satire and tragedy. The opera is a co-production of Peak Performances @ Montclair State University and the Nashville Opera, and was made possible in part by funds from the Argosy Foundation and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.

To learn more about "Elmer Gantry" and to find out if a production might be coming to a town near you, visit www.elmergantryopera.com/site/.

Plans for 25th anniversary and other reunion classes
Plans are underway for the 25th anniversary class of 1983 and classes ending in 3s and 8s.

Save the date for Sept. 20, the same date as the University's Centennial Festival. We'll be hosting an outdoor family brunch in the President's Circle just for you. It will be a great opportunity for you to reconnect and reminisce with your classmates before taking in all the action at the festival which will include rides, entertainment, crafts and more.

Italian Festival of the Arts and Humanities underway
An Italian Sense of Place: Land and Identity, addresses the diverse perceptions of Italy as rendered by Italians in Italy, Italians living in America and Americans living in Italy. Artists, photographers, historians, literary scholars, architects, musicians, film critics and chefs from the U.S. and Italy will interpret and contextualize the various illustrations of land and identity within the broad framework of an Italian Sense of Place. The experience of place, with its many histories and infinite cultures, seen from both sides of the Atlantic, is the overarching theme of this festival. Sponsored by Global Education Center, George Segal Art Gallery, Art & Design Department, Cali School of Music, Spanish/Italian Department, History Department, Health and Nutrition Sciences. For information call 973-655-4185 or for a listing of events click here.

What have you been up to?
Get married recently? Had a baby? Maybe you just got a new promotion? Tell us about it! We'd love to hear your news and put it in the next issue of the Alumni Magazine for all your fellow classmates to see. Send your news to alumnionline@mail.montclair.edu.

Tell a friend about us
Do you know an alumna/alumnus who might not be receiving Connections? Take a moment to forward the e-newsletter to a friend (or a few friends!) and tell them to get on our e-mail mailing list by sending their contact information to alumnionline@mail.montclair.edu.

Bergen County alumni forming a chapter
Did you know there are 13,061 alumni living in Bergen County, New Jersey? If you are one of them, we have an opportunity for you to come together with your fellow classmates by becoming a part of the official Bergen County alumni chapter. Christine Padilla '93, '99 MBA and Faissal Yousef '04 have graciously volunteered to build the chapter and organize events. Interested in learning more? Visit the Bergen County chapter page on the Online Community:
If you are not a registered member of the community already, it only takes a few moments and a few easy steps.
1. Go to www.msualumcommunity.com
2. Click Not registered yet?
3. Enter your last name and your pin number or select no pin option

Alumni Connections will feature an article each month during the centennial year written by members of the Montclair State University Alumni Association. The retrospective stories will look back decade-by-decade at the school and the culture of the times. 

Alma Mater, dear Montclair: the '70s... groovy!
In May 1970 the Kent State and Jackson State tragedies occur; then the last two weeks of the spring semester, an anti-war student strike closes MSC (in the United States, more than 450 similar college student strikes are held.) That heralds what is to come: the “me” decade. The voting and drinking age is lowered from 21 to 18, cassette tapes, calculators, gay rights, VHS, Japanese cars, “The Godfather,”  World Trade Center is built, “Rocky,”  a wage and price freeze, gas lines, inflation, disco, Wade vs. Roe, a faculty strike in November ’74, Watergate, Richard Nixon resigns and is pardoned, Gerald Ford becomes President, the U.S. leaves Vietnam, women’s lib, the nation’s Bicentennial, Iran hostage taking, Jimmy Carter becomes President.  This and more affect daily campus life. 

President Thomas Richardson, at the helm since 1966, maintains progress at MSC.  In 1972, Bohn Hall, a high-rise co-ed residence hall housing 600 students within 16 floors and dedicated to Harold C. Bohn, former chair of the English Department, opens.

In 1972, Richardson Hall, a math/science building opens, subsequently named after the president, as well as the Student Center, a central gathering place for students. To the south of the Student Center is an outdoor area (commonly referred to as the “quad”) that is used for studying and activities.

College High, the demonstration school, closes in 1973, and the building it was housed in becomes a classroom facility. It’s later named Morehead Hall, dedicated to Allan C. Morehead, an alumnus and former professor, executive president and provost.

That same year, Richardson resigns and Dr. David W. D. Dickson becomes the Montclair State’s – and New Jersey’s – first African-American college president.

The Recreation Lodge becomes the Drop-In Center and MSC enrolls 7,500 undergraduates, plus 6,000 part-time undergrads and graduate students. Incredible increases since becoming MSC. The year 1976 sees the opening of the Clove Road apartments, while 1977 brings news of the death of Montclair’s first president, Harry Sprague. Around this time, the Alumni Association purchases a home on Normal Ave. for office and meeting use. 

The wrestling team wins the school’s first NCAA Division III national championship in 1976 and the1977-78 women's basketball season was one of the most memorable seasons in Montclair State’s athletics history. Led by Carol Blazejowski ’78, who averaged an amazing 38.6 points per game, Montclair posted a 25-7 record and advanced to the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women Final Four, the pre-cursor to what is now the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship. Blazejowski goes on to enjoy a successful professional career and is inducted in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994. Other notable alumni from the decade include film actor Bruce Willis and singer Melba Moore ’70. 

The decade wrapped up with a power outage courtesy of Hurricane David, more parking controversy, a teachers' strike that only lasted two days, a demonstration over the crisis in Iran, and campus concerts by Patty Smith and David Johansen. While Sprague Field underwent a field renovation with the installation of astro-turf, the Class of ’79 commencement exercises took place at Giants Stadium where Angelo R. Cali, a long time supporter of the institution, was among the honorary degree recipients.