Special Awards to Alumni

Center for Latino Arts and Culture Honors Alumni, Faculty Including LAA’s Iris Martinez-Campbell

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The Rutgers Center for Latino Arts and Culture honored the achievements of Rutgers alumni and faculty in art and community leadership, at its

The Rutgers Center for Latino Arts and Culture honored the achievements of Rutgers alumni and faculty in art and community leadership, at its 20th anniversary celebration held January 26, 2013.

The program theme was “Our Stories,” with video and verbal presentations celebrating the honorees, including Iris Martinez-Campbell (LC’75, SSW’81), who at the time was serving as an executive board member of the Livingston Alumni Association and a member of the Rutgers Board of Trustees.

Special tribute was paid to the memory of the late Edward G. Ortiz, one of the pioneering professors in the beginnings and development of Livingston College.

Other honorees were Héctor Bonilla, Sandra Rocío Castro, MaryCarmen Daza, Elpidio Laguna-Díaz, Brenda López, Isabel Nazario, Vilma Pérez and Mario Vargas.

The event, held at the Rutgers Student Center on College Avenue, featured a tropical rainforest decor and a silent auction of works by local Latino artists to benefit CLAC programs. The event had been postponed from Nov. 3, 2012.

Originally posted February 18, 2013

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Distinguished Alumni Award, Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame, Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni

Distinguished Alumnus Eddie Jordan Led Rutgers Basketball to ’76 Final Four, Has Served for 30+ Years as College and Pro Coach

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Eddie JordanEddie Jordan, named in 2011 as a Livingston College Distinguished Alumnus, has led basketball teams on the court, and he’s been a coach for more than 30 years.

As of 2019 he is an assistant coach with the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets.

His careers as both a college player and a college coach began at Rutgers. He returned to Rutgers as the head coach of men’s basketball from 2013 to 2016.

Jordan attended Rutgers University’s Livingston College from 1973 to 1977 but didn’t graduate at that time. He completed his bachelor’s studies at Rutgers in 2015, with a degree from the School of Management and Labor Relations.

Rutgers University also has honored Jordan with induction into both the Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 2004.

When Jordan took to the basketball court in the 1970s, the College Avenue Gym shook with cheers of “Eddie, Eddie,” sparking a wave of enthusiasm and school spirit that captivated the state.

He responded in spectacular fashion, scoring 1,632 points and setting all-time Rutgers records with 585 assists and 220 steals. He led the 1975–76 undefeated basketball team to the NCAA Final Four. (See articles from Rutgers Athletics and from NJ.com. In May 2016, NJ Advance Media, publisher of The Star-Ledger, placed Jordan at number 17 in its list of “the 50 greatest athletes in Rutgers history.”)

He was drafted into the NBA in 1977 by the Cleveland Cavaliers and acquired by the New Jersey Nets midway through his rookie year. As a Net, he led the league in total steals in 1978–79 and was second in total steals in 1979–80.

He joined the Los Angeles Lakers in 1980, and earned a place on the 1982 World Championship squad. In his seven-year career, he averaged 8.1 points, 3.8 assists, and 1.82 steals per game.

His coaching career began at Rutgers and included a number of positions in both collegiate and professional basketball. He spent four years as lead assistant coach of the Nets, guiding them to consecutive Eastern Conference championships in 2002 and 2003.

In 2003, the Washington Wizards named Jordan head coach, a position he held through 2008. Jordan led the Wizards to four straight playoff appearances, which includes the team’s first postseason series win since 1982.

Jordan returned to Rutgers in 2013 with an NBA Championship ring and with 28 seasons of coaching experience, including eight at the collegiate level and 19 in the NBA. His first day as head coach was documented in the video on this page (or open the video in a new window.)

At the same time, “Quietly, amid all of the noise about the controversial hiring of his new boss, athletic director Julie Hermann, men’s basketball coach Eddie Jordan was focused on his own tasks,” including studying to finish his bachelor’s degree he started to earn in 1973 at Rutgers’ Livingston College, ESPN’s Andy Katz reported.

Jordan eventually earned his bachelor’s degree in 2015.

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In Memoriam, Seth Scheiner

Seth Scheiner, an Original Planner of Livingston College and History Professor Emeritus, Remembered

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Seth ScheinerSeth M. Scheiner, a professor emeritus of history at Rutgers University and a founding faculty member at Rutgers’ Livingston College, died Nov. 3, 2015, at age 82.

Professor Scheiner had taught history for 36 years, from 1962 to 1968 at Temple University, then from 1968 to 1998 at Rutgers.

His colleague at Livingston College, Gordon Schochet, remembered Scheiner as one of the original planners of Livingston. The college opened in 1969 as a co-educational undergraduate college with a progressive curriculum and a goal of attracting underrepresented students.

Scheiner “taught urban and African-American history and was, in fact, the first person at Rutgers to work in the latter field,” Schochet said. “As a Caucasian, he did eventually encounter some objections and hostility but went on to supervise the first dissertations in history at Rutgers in African-American history and/or by African-American graduate students.”

Robert W. Snyder, an associate professor of journalism and American studies at Rutgers-Newark and a 1977 graduate of Livingston College, remembered Scheiner as part of “a very interesting and encouraging environment” in Livingston’s history department.

Seth Scheiner - from Livingston College 1981 yearbookScheiner had a “gentle and kind” sense of humor and was a “mensch” who consistently supported civil liberties at Livingston and at the larger Rutgers University, said Norman Markowitz, associate professor of history at Rutgers who had worked with Scheiner since 1971.

“Seth was a kind, warm, gentle, person who served his students and the university with great distinction and dignity,” said Ronald L. Becker, head of Special Collections and University Archives at Rutgers.

“He was a thoroughly decent man and a fine colleague, and, whatever the circumstances, I always enjoyed being with him and left feeling better about the world,” said Karl Morrison, a colleague of Scheiner’s in the History Department and the Lessing professor emeritus of history and poetics at Rutgers.

Scheiner is survived by his wife of 30 years, Eveline Scheiner; two sons and two daughters-in-law, Jeffrey and Robin Scheiner, and Adam Scheiner and Lana Faye Taradash; a sister, Martha Lederer; a stepdaughter, Ellen Goldstein and her husband, Allan; a stepson, Evan Shurak, and his girlfriend, Sarah Wilson; and seven grandchildren, Amy, Matthew, Madeline, Amelia, Noah, Carly and Brooke. He was laid to rest on Nov. 5, 2015. Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Photos of Seth Scheiner: (top) Courtesy of Scheiner family; (bottom) From Livingston College’s 1981 yearbook, The Last.

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Colleen Fraser LC'74, Distinguished Alumni Award, In Memoriam

Distinguished Alumna Colleen Fraser, LC’74, Advocated for People With Disabilities and Was a Hero in the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks

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Colleen FraserUnion County, New Jersey, on July 29, 2013, dedicated its new county building to the late Colleen Laura Fraser, an advocate for people with disabilities and a 1974 graduate of Livingston College at Rutgers University.

Fraser was one of the heroes of United Airlines Flight 93 who kept their plane from becoming another weapon of destruction on September 11, 2001; she was 51.

Colleen Fraser (1974) - From the Livingston College yearbook

Flight 93 crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. All 40 passengers were killed.

The dedication of the $11 million Colleen Fraser Building, at 300 North Ave. East, Westfield, occurred on what would have been Fraser’s 63rd birthday.

Fraser, an advocate for people with disabilities for 20 years, served on the New Jersey Developmental Disabilities Council for more than 11 years. She was appointed chair of the council by New Jersey Governor James Florio in 1990 and served in that position for five years. She also served as the director of the Union County Office for the Disabled from 1985 to 1988.

The Livingston Alumni Association (LAA) posthumously honored Fraser at the 2006 Distinguished Alumni Awards. Watch the LAA’s video tribute to her (1 minute, 33 seconds), embedded on this page, or open in a new window.

Read more about Fraser from The Star-Ledger‘s coverage of the building dedication and from her obituary.

Photos of Colleen Fraser: (top) Courtesy of the Fraser family; (bottom) From the 1974 Livingston College yearbook, We the People. 

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Meritorious Service Award

Katty Rivera (LC’04) Honored for Meritorious Service to Rutgers Alumni and the Latino Community

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Katty Rivera - 2013 REAL AwardRutgers alumna Katty Rivera, a member of Rutgers’ Livingston College Class of 2004, has served in many alumni leadership roles as a volunteer in support of both the Latino and Rutgers University communities.

The Rutgers University Alumni Association (RUAA) honored her with its Scarlet Oak Meritorious Service Award, part of the Rutgers Excellence in Alumni Leadership Awards presented October 25, 2013, as part of the Alumni Leaders Conference and Homecoming weekend. Established in 1974, this award recognizes alumni of Rutgers for their outstanding service to the university that extends beyond a specific area or volunteer role and serves as a model for all volunteers in the RUAA.

Since the establishment of the Latino Alumni Association of Rutgers University (LAARU) in 2009, Katty has volunteered in support of both the Latino and Rutgers communities. She has served in several capacities in LAARU, including sergeant at arms, fundraising chair, and LAARU leader. From 2010-2013, Katty served on the RUAA Board of Directors, participating in multiple committees, including chairing the Awards and Recognition Committee that selected the 25th Anniversary Class of the Hall of Distinguished Alumni. She was also a member of the Alumni Leaders Council Committee and was the Class of 2004 Reunion Campaign Chair.

In addition to her work with the RUAA, Katty has participated in the Committee of Public Relations for the Peruvian American Political Action Committee, serves as director of organizational development for the Peruvian American Coalition – New Jersey Chapter, and is a steering committee member for the Elección Latina at the Rutgers University Center for American Women in Politics. Katty also is a 2009 graduate of Rutgers’ Graduate School of Education.

As of 2021 Katty serves as a project coordinator at the Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network, Northeast and Caribbean. She is also a member of the advisory board for Rutgers’ Center for Latino Arts and Culture.

The RUAA presents the Rutgers Excellence in Alumni Leadership Awards annually to recognize those alumni and other members of the university community who devote their time and talents to further the mission of the alumni association and the university.

The other 2013 recipients of the Scarlet Oak Meritorious Service Award are: Harold Kaplan (RC’57), Bruce E. Marich (RC’63, GSNB’65) and Patricia Nachtigal (NLAW’76).

Fellow Livingston College graduate Eric C. Schwarz (LC’92, SCILS ’92,’07) received the Block R Award at the same ceremony. Read more about all the honorees.

Pictured (top): Katty Rivera (LC’04, GSE’09), second from left, accepts a 2013 Scarlet Oak Meritorious Service Award at the Rutgers Excellence in Alumni Leadership (REAL) Awards event, held October 25, 2013. Presenting the award are Donna K. Thornton, Rutgers University Vice President for Alumni Relations; University President Robert L. Barchi; and Maurice Griffin (NLAW’94), chair of the Rutgers University Alumni Association (RUAA). (Bottom): The 2013 REAL honorees gather for a group photo. Photos courtesy of RUAA.

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Distinguished Alumni Award

Distinguished Alumna Andrea D. Lyon, LC’73, Dean of Law School in Indiana, Is an Expert in Death-Penalty Defense

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Andrea Lyon, 2006Valparaiso University in Indiana tapped Rutgers alumna Andrea D. Lyon to lead its law school as dean starting in June 2014, underscoring the growing importance of hands-on training in legal education.

Lyon, a capital defense attorney and academic clinician, is a 1973 graduate of Rutgers University’s Livingston College and a 2006 recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award given by the Livingston Alumni Association (LAA). Read more about Lyon in a November 20, 2013, profile from The Indiana Lawyer.

Here’s how the LAA saluted Lyon in 2006: “In his widely publicized speech in 2003 pardoning several innocent death row prisoners and commuting all death sentences to life imprisonment, then-Governor James Ryan of Illinois singled out for praise DePaul University Law Professor Andrea Lyon, who has spent her career trying capital cases. According to Ryan, Lyon and her students at the Death Penalty Legal Clinic saved the life of inmate Madison Hobley. Lyon is a Clinical Associate Professor of Law and Director, Center for Justice in Capital Cases at DePaul University College of Law. She is a nationally recognized expert in the field of death penalty defense and is a frequent speaker on the topic at legal education conferences around the United States.” 

In 2016, Lyon spoke with The New York Times about Valparaiso University’s challenges in a changing market for law school education.

And in 2023, Lucille Lo Sapio interviewed Lyon for episode 47 of Lo Sapio’s podcast, “Not So Famous in NJ – Coffee Talk and Candid Conversations.” Andrea Lyon, Rutgers alumna and former Deputy Public Defender in Chicago, talks to Lo Sapio about defending guilty people, proving the innocence of death row inmates and helping convince former Illinois Governor Ryan to abolish the death penalty while exonerating her death row client. Listen to the podcast.

Watch a short (1:17) video saluting Lyon in 2006 (above), or open the video in a new window.

Pictured: Andrea Lyon at the 2006 Livingston College Distinguished Alumni Awards.

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Loyal Sons and Loyal Daughters

Michael Beachem, Former LAA President, Honored as Loyal Son of Rutgers

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Livingston College graduates celebrate the induction of Michael T. Beachem (rear center) as a Rutgers Loyal Son of 2013. Front (l-r): Michele Ostrowski, Rosemary Agrista, Iris Martinez-Campbell and Langston Campbell, Jr. Rear (l-r): Marty Siederer, Eric Schwarz, Michael Beachem, Jason Goldstein.

Michael T. Beachem, past president of the Livingston Alumni Association (LAA), was one of eight Rutgers University alumni who were honored April 13, 2013, as Loyal Sons and Loyal Daughters by the Rutgers Alumni Association (RAA).
 
Beachem is an extremely dedicated alumni volunteer, serving on the University Senate and Board of Trustees, as well as several positions within LAA: president, nominations committee chair and executive council member.

Beachem holds three degrees from Rutgers: Livingston College ’73, Graduate School of Education ’78, Graduate School of Education Doctorate ’84. He has played key leadership roles with the Graduate School of Education Alumni Association and Kappa Delta Pi, the honor society of the Graduate School of Education. Beachem was recognized for his across-the-board dedication to Rutgers in 2007 with the presentation of the Meritorious Service Award. He lives in Old Bridge, NJ.

In addition to Beachem, the other Loyal Sons and Daughters for 2013 are:

  • Charles Churchill (RC’59)
  • Steven Darien (RC’63)
  • Jeanne M. Fox (DC’75, CLAW’79)
  •  M. Wilma Harris (DC’66)
  •  Joseph H. Lemkin (RC’90)
  •  Houshang Parsa (RC’80)
  •  David Singer (CC’01)

These dedicated alumni volunteers were honored at a formal “red” tie dinner held Saturday, April 13, 2013, at the Nielsen Dining Hall on the Douglass campus. University President Robert L. Barchi was the keynote speaker.
 
The Loyal Sons and Loyal Daughters of Rutgers are individuals who have made a meaningful and long-standing commitment to the betterment of Rutgers, The State University by exemplifying extraordinary alumni service or by making a significant impact on university life and culture. Nominations are made by existing Loyal Sons and Daughters, and the finalists named by a special selection committee.

Founded in 1831, the Rutgers Alumni Association (RAA) is the nation’s fourth-oldest alumni association, serving alumni from the university’s New Brunswick/Piscataway campus.

View additional photos from the event.

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Loyal Sons and Loyal Daughters

Iris Martinez-Campbell Named as a Rutgers Loyal Daughter in 2012

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Iris Martinez-Campbell (front row, center) celebrates with her colleagues on the board of the Livingston Alumni Association (LAA). Front, from left: Michele Ostrowski, Martinez-Campbell and Rosemary Agrista. Rear, from left: Eric Schwarz, Jason Goldstein, Michael Beachem and Marty Siederer.

Iris Martinez-Campbell of Somerset, NJ, was among 10 Rutgers University alumni who were honored as 2012 Loyal Sons and Loyal Daughters by the Rutgers Alumni Association (RAA).   

The honorees were inducted during a black-tie affair held at Neilson Dining Hall on the Cook/Douglass Campus of Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, on Saturday, March 31, 2012.

Martinez-Campbell, who earned degrees from Livingston College in 1975 and the Rutgers Graduate School of Social Work in 1981, has been a tireless advocate for Rutgers.

In spite of the demands of her job with the Perth Amboy Public School district, Martinez-Campbell has always found time to give back to her alma mater in many ways, ranging from service as an officer on the boards of the Livingston Alumni Association and Rutgers Graduate School of Social Work Alumni Association to serving as a mentor to Rutgers students in the Latino and social work fields.

Her involvement on the Rutgers Center for Latino Arts and Culture advisory board, and Rutgers University Board of Trustees and Rutgers University Alumni Federation have all been additional examples of Iris’s leadership in action.

A member of the Rutgers University Board of Trustees since 2002, Martinez-Campbell has served on many of its committees, including its nominating and executive committees, and has also been a member of several Rutgers Board of Governors committees. Martinez-Campbell spreads the Rutgers gospel throughout all of her activities and is a Loyal Daughter of Rutgers at heart and in all of her actions.

A 54-year tradition, the Loyal Sons and Loyal Daughters of Rutgers are comprised of individuals who have made a meaningful and long-standing commitment to the betterment of Rutgers, the State University by exemplifying extraordinary alumni service or by making a significant impact on University life and culture. Nominations are made by existing Loyal Sons & Daughters, and the finalists named by a special selection committee. Founded in 1831, the Rutgers Alumni Association (RAA) is the nation’s fourth-oldest alumni association, serving 200,000 alumni on the New Brunswick/Piscataway campus of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.

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Loyal Sons and Loyal Daughters

LAA’s Debra O’Neal Honored as a Loyal Daughter of Rutgers

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Debra A. Holston O'NealThe Rutgers Alumni Association (RAA) is pleased to announce the 2015 class of Loyal Sons and Daughters, honoring eight Rutgers alumni, including Debra A. Holston O’Neal, LC’87 (pictured).

O’Neal, a 1987 alumna of Rutgers’ Livingston College, is Vice President for Outreach of the Livingston Alumni Association (LAA). O’Neal currently lives in Delaware and serves on the Rutgers University Alumni Association (RUAA) Board, where she chairs the RUAA Regional Clubs Committee. She is a past president of the National Association of Social Workers, Delaware Chapter. O’Neal was actively involved with reunion and campaign planning for her 25th reunion in 2012, where she serves as her class vice president and has been a hands-on volunteer leader for the LAA, the RAA and the RUAA, despite the distance she must travel to return to campus. She is currently working with other LAA volunteers to capture the history of Livingston College.

Bios for all of the 2015 honorees are online. In addition to O’Neal, they are:

  • Robert V. Cancro, RC’73, GSE’78 
  • Carlton F. Cassaday, RC’66 
  • Susan Darien, DC’64, SSW’66 
  • Kendall Hall, RC’88 
  • Stanley Liptzin, RC’59, GSE’63 &’75 
  • Matthew M. Lunemann, ENG’06, GSNB’09 
  • Mark Gregory Robson, CC ’77, GSNB’79 & ’88, SPH’95 

The awardees were formally recognized during the 57th Annual Loyal Sons and Daughters Dinner, a “scarlet” tie event held Saturday, April 18, 2015, at Neilson Dining Hall on the Douglass Campus. George B. Stauffer, Mason Gross School of the Arts Dean from 2000 to 2019, was the keynote speaker.

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Loyal Sons and Loyal Daughters, Meritorious Service Award, Special Awards to Alumni

LAA President Jason Goldstein Honored as a Loyal Son of Rutgers

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The Rutgers Alumni Association (RAA) in 2014 honored 10 alumni as Loyal Sons and Loyal Daughters, including Jason E. Goldstein, LC’02, RBS’05 (pictured).

Goldstein was the president of the Livingston Alumni Association (LAA) from 2012 to 2015, and has been a member of the LAA board since 2002 (including serving as second vice president from 2003 to 2006 and first vice president from 2006 to 2012).

As one of the first board members of the Rutgers University Alumni Association, Goldstein advocated for programming and marketing that embraced all of Rutgers’ alumni constituents.

Goldstein’s service to Rutgers includes:

  • Founder and chairman of the Livingston Theater Company Alumni Association; as an undergraduate founded the Livingston Theatre Company. 
  • Many service and community events such as theater night and speed networking.
  • Driving force behind LAA’s public relations and marketing activities.

Goldstein has been a key partner with the RAA, particularly in producing a video for the 2013 Loyal Sons and Daughters dinner, and portraying Colonel Henry Rutgers at the Loyal Sons and Daughters’ 50th anniversary event.

Each year since 1958, RAA has honored an illustrious cadre of Loyal Sons and Daughters.

Bios for all of the 2014 honorees are online. In addition to Goldstein, they are: Ruth Ann Burns, DC’67, GSNB‘75; Joseph A. Carlani III, RC’84; Evelyn Sermon Field, DC’49, GSE’65, SCI’75; Robert I. Kanarick, RC’63; Brian L. Kelly, Pharm’94; Rene Robbins Lawless, DC’81; Margaret O’Donnell, CC’93; Christine Tiritilli, DC’92; and James C. Van Vliet, Eng’53.

The honorees were formally recognized during a “scarlet tie” dinner on Saturday, April 12, 2014, at 6 p.m. at Neilson Dining Hall on the Douglass Campus. Julie Hermann, then Rutgers Athletic Director, was a guest speaker.

LAA President Jason Goldstein, left, is congratulated by RAA President Tom Carpenter as Rutgers Alumni Association’s Class of 1931 Award winner, in a presentation at the Rutgers Student Center on Saturday, May 18, 2013. Photo courtesy Steven Allen, RAA board member.

As part the Rutgers-New Brunswick ReUnion on Saturday, May 18, 2013, RAA President Tom Carpenter (Rutgers College, 1957) presented the Class of 1931 Award to Goldstein.

The RAA cited Goldstein’s extensive volunteer involvement with programs on behalf of Rutgers alumni, and the partnerships on programs such as theater nights in conjunction with musicals presented by the Livingston Theatre Company, Alumni-Student Speed Networking events, a November 2012 coat drive, and other activities.

The annual Class of 1931 Award honors a graduate, ten years or more from graduation, for volunteer service to the RAA, to one’s class or community, or to other Rutgers constituencies. The award also recognizes potential for leadership in the future.

In 2007 Rutgers University Alumni Federation honored Goldstein with the Meritorious Service Award.

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Preserving the History. Advancing the Legacy.

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