News From Fort Schuyler

September 9, 2002 - Volume 6, No. 26

HOMECOMING - Check out the Alumni Association website for the latest schedule of Homecoming 2002, which runs from Thursday September 19 through Saturday, September 21. Events include a special dinner to honor John J. Foody Engineering Hall of Fame inductees, CHIEF ED PFLEGING, PROF NORM WENNEGAL, and DR. JOSEPH McNEILL, Class of 1948. The Maritime Industry Museum will feature the opening of a well-received traveling exhibition, "Dazzle and Drab: Ocean Liners at War," which illustrates the dramatic role that passenger liners played during wartime in the last century. Act fast, there are registration deadlines for many of the special events. Go to http://www.fsmaa.org/homecoming for complete information.

MARITIME BLUE - The staff of the Luce Library invites alumni and friends to step in, admire its new sea blue rug, and get some bargains at its annual Homecoming Day Book Sale on Saturday, September 21. "We have everything from fiction to engineering, from sci-fi to physics, from texts to romance, from hardcover to paperback... and lots of it." Also, according to JANE FITZPATRICK, Association Librarian: "We are asking for volunteers to help us either set up the sale tables and signs on Friday, September 20 after 1 PM or to participate anytime on Saturday recording sales, bagging books, or just overseeing the tables." If you can help, contact Jane: jfitzpatrick@sunymaritime.edu [BTW - You can also donate books until September 13.]

IN THE NEWS - The City Section of the September 8 New York Times (p.8) ran a story on the rejuvenation of the Bronx River, 'Hoping Urbanites Will Venture Where Crabs and Killifish Thrive,' based on a joint study "..by a team of marine biologists from two Bronx schools - Lehman College and SUNY Maritime College." The article went on to note that "The team waded or used a 46-foot boat belonging to SUNY Maritime to gather samples..." but never mentions the name of the Fort Schuyler biologist who is actually coordinating the study, the Science Department's DR. BARBARA WARKENTINE. A corrective to this oversight may be found in the 'Maritime Watch' section of the college website http://www.sunymaritime.edu/zpt/z04/z0404.makka?=1148 Barbara's program is described there in some detail and even includes photos.

REVERSE BRAIN DRAIN - On October 1, Dr. JOSEPH J. PUGLISI will leave Kings Point to become the Maritime College's first Chief Information Officer. According to an announcement by VADM RYAN, "Dr. Puglisi is currently the Director of the Office of Computer Resources at the United States Merchant Marine Academy, a position held since 1989. For two years prior to that, he served as Associated Director. From 1978 - 1987, Dr. Puglisi was Managing Director of the Computer Aided Operations Research Facility (CAORF) for Maritime Administration at Kings Point, New York. In this capacity, Dr. Puglisi directed the world's largest, and most sophisticated, ship simulation research facility. Dr. Puglisi brings with him to Maritime a long list of impressive credentials."

CALLING ALL SLEUTHS - Here is a query from a member of the Class of 1967 passed on to NFFS by CHARLES E. HUDSON, Class of 1990: "I lived in the Rahway [NJ] Plaza Apartments on Main Street from 1977-1981. I used to see an African-American Maritime cadet walking on the street downtown every once in a while in his uniform. I pointed him out to my kids as going to the same school I went, but I never stopped to talk with him. I have often wondered, as we frequently do as we age, who he might have been, what class he was in, and if there were any other cadets then or even now living in Rahway ? [Rahway is not only the birthplace of a signer of the Declaration of Independence, Abraham Clark, but also the birthplace of the Director of Libraries at Kings Point, Dr. George Billy, and the former head of the Luce Library at SUNY Maritime - Richard Corson.]

UBIQUITOUS - Fort Schuyler graduates turn up near, far and in between. KATHI PYZYNSKI, Assistant Manager of Computer Services, came across an unusual one in Newport, RI this summer: "This year we decided on a sunset cruise...We arrived at the dock expecting the same crew we have had for the past five years. The First Mate was the same woman, but the Captain was a new man with an accent. Since we have family all over the world, I was trying to get Paige [her daughter] to identify where the Captain could be from. First guess, Ireland. Then she said, ' No, Australia.' We agreed and told her we would confirm this once we boarded.

As we boarded I was grabbed by the Captain who shouted, 'Kathi, it that you ?' Our Captain was DAVE DAWES....a lic/grad and avid library user. I think he graduated around 1999/2000. Dave has been shipping out and took this job to be around his family for the summer." [David is a graduate of the Third Mate/M.S. Degree Program of the college's Graduate School of International Transportation Management, created for students with 4-year undergraduate degrees who in addition to pursuing a graduate degree, want to become licensed ship's officers.]

LITTLE RED LIGHTHOUSE - If Homecoming is not on your agenda, consider bringing your kids/grandchildren to this maritime event in upper Manhattan: "Come celebrate Manhattan's only remaining lighthouse and the 60th anniversary of the book that helped to save it, 'The Little Read Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge,' on September 21 at Fort Washington Park, from noon to 5:00 PM. ..the event will include live music, food, hayrides, maritime exhibitors, boat rides, lighthouse tours, celebrity readings, activities for kids, and more. For more information call (212) 360-8202." [Source: Channel 13's September issue of "Edonline Bulletin".]