November 2007
News & Notes

A weekend full of traditions and more!
Homecoming 2007

Alumni from classes ending in 2 and 7
celebrated on Oct. 12
Members of the classes of 1967, 1977, 1982, and 1987 and 2002 gathered in the University Hall Conference Center to kick off Homecoming weekend with a cocktail party. Guests reunited with friends, made new acquaintances and even took to the dance floor!
 
Registered users of the alumni online community can view the photo album here.
      

Amphitheater rededicated
On Oct. 13, President Susan A. Cole and members of the MSU Alumni Association Board unveiled a plaque rededicating the amphitheater on campus. Through a generous gift from the MSUAA, supported by alumni and friends across the country, the amphitheater was enhanced and restored to its former glory in 2004.

Immediately following the ceremony, student organizations paraded into the amphitheater performing their Homecoming skits. The theme of this year's Homecoming celebrations was "Party like we're 99." To view more Homecoming photos click here.

Now that's the spirit!
                         Red Hawks soar over Cougars 27 - 12 
Sophomore running back Jeff Bliss came off the bench to rush for a career-best 165 yards and a touchdown while starter Ryan McCoach ran for 88 yards and two scores as Montclair State, ranked 19th in the latest D3Football.com Top 25 poll, knocked off Kean University with a 27-12 Homecoming victory at Sprague Field on Oct. 13. Read more here.

California Alumni - You are in our thoughts
In the wake of the devastation of the Southern California area fires, we've set up a listserve as a vehicle for Montclair State University alumni and friends in southern California to exchange valuable information and assistance. If you or someone you know in the southern California area who would like to be added to this list, they may do so by sending a blank e-mail to:
join-msualumni-southerncalifornia@msu-lists.montclair.edu.

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 '40s
The first half of the decade was entrenched in war following the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. The entire world was mired in conflict. Montclair State felt the impact. Enrollment fluctuated as men and women went into the service. On campus, students and faculty sold War Bonds to support the troops.

During the War, women in the United States played a vital role in contributing to the war effort. Nancy Lynch Castellano '44, '51 M.A. was among thousands of young college-aged women who served their country by joining a division of the United States Navy called the WAVES (Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service).

Castellano remembers how difficult it was to watch classmates get sent off to war. She recalls sitting in the cafeteria listening to Dr. Edna McEachern, a music professor, sing patriotic songs like "God Bless America" and "Over There" for students being shipped out.  After receiving special permission from Montclair State President Harry Sprague, Castellano and good friend Marian Weppler Russell '44 enlisted in the WAVES. In April 1944, Castellano and Russell received orders to report to Hunter College in the Bronx, which was designated as the U.S. Naval Training School for the more than 90,000 WAVES volunteers. Castellano served in the Navy for almost two years.

When the war came to an end in 1945, the world had changed--as did Montclair State. Some students returned on the G.I. Bill. Others never came back. Three men’s dorms were added from ex-military barracks and a village was set up on the upper campus for married vets with families. Temporary classrooms were set up from wooden war-surplus buildings. 

A bright spot during the decade was the athletics program. Legendary football coach Chet Pittser was a fixture on the gridiron sidelines, later having Pittser Field named in his honor. Under the direction of head coach Al Coder, the 1947-48 football team enjoyed its first undefeated season in 17 years. Several players went on to distinguished careers in teaching and school administration; Nathan Weiss ’48, became a New Jersey State college president.

The ’40s produced many students who went on to become familiar names in the history of Montclair State: James McGilvray ’41, a member of the Montclair State track team served in the Air Corps upon graduation. He retired as manager of sales and marketing for United Airlines and served as president of the Alumni Association. Marie Frazee-Baldassarre earned a bachelor’s degree in ’43 and a master’s in ’46 and never left. Her first position was as a secretary in the Office of the Registrar and she worked her way up through the ranks. She later moved to Academic Advising where she spent most of the latter part of her career as the adviser assigned to the School of Mathematics and Science (as it was known when she was active). Audrey Leef  ’43 also returned to her alma mater to work: from 1963 to 1992 she was a full-time professor in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science and subsequently served as an adjunct professor. She also spent time as chaplain for the Campus Ministry Council. She also served as Alumni Association president and was given professor emerita status. Following his graduation, Steven Schanes ’43 served in the War where he was a decorated Army Air Corps member. He later became a special assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce for policy development in Washington, D.C. before pursuing a career in employee benefits. (He owns his own human resources consulting firm.) Morris “Moe” McGee ’49, center and linebacker on the undefeated football team, served in WWII and the Korean War where he was wounded in combat and awarded the Purple Heart. He began his career at Montclair State as a professor of  English in 1959 and retired in 1990 with professor emeritus status.

In 1949, Sen. Alfred Littell sponsored legislation establishing the New Jersey School of Conservation, the environmental education field campus of Montclair State. The SOC is the largest and oldest university-operated environmental education center in the nation, located 57 miles from the Montclair campus on a 240-acre tract in the center of Stokes State Forest.

As the decade came to a close, Montclair State looked toward the future, with ever expanding programs and Dr. Sprague still at the helm.