Rutgers University-related organizations have presented multiple special awards honoring Livingston College alumni for their service to alumni and the greater Rutgers community. These include:

• 2006 Rutgers University Alumni Federation, William of Orange Award for Dedicated Volunteerism: Eric Clark, LC’98, The Rutgers Club of Chicago
• 2012 Rutgers Committee to Advance Our Common Purposes, Human Dignity Award: Leroy C. Haines, LC’71
• 2013 Center for Latino Arts and Culture Honoree: Iris Martinez-Campbell, LC’75, SSW’81
• 2013 Rutgers Alumni Association, Class of 1931 Award: Jason Goldstein, LC’02, RBS’05
• 2013 Rutgers University Alumni Association, Block R Award: Eric Schwarz, LC’92, SCILS’92, ’07
• 2016 Rutgers Alumni Association, Outgoing President’s Award: Marty Siederer, LC ’77
• 2016 Rutgers University Alumni Association, Young Alumni Service Award: Matthew Aquino, LC’08, RBS’08
• 2017 Edward J. Bloustein School, Career Achievement Award: Staci Berger, LC’94, EJB/GSNB’04
• 2020 Rutgers Alumni Association, Walter Seward, RC 1917, Spirit Award:  Derek Young, RC ’87 (longtime executive board member of the Livingston Alumni Association; posthumous award)
• 2022 Rutgers Alumni Association, Class of 1931 Award: John Hester, LC ’94
• 2023 School of Communication & Information Alumni Association Distinguished Alumni Award: Vivian Salama, LC’00, SCILS (SC&I) ’00
• 2023 Rutgers Alumni Association, Walter Seward, RC 1917, Spirit Award: Marty Siederer, LC ’77
• 2023 Rutgers Business School Honorary Business Excellence Award: Harvey M. Schwartz, LC’87

Eric Clark LC’98	Leroy C. Haines LC’71	Iris Martinez-Campbell LC’75, SSW’81	Jason Goldstein LC’02, RBS’05

Eric Schwarz LC’92, SCILS’92,’07	Marty Siederer LC ’77	Matthew Aquino LC’08, RBS’08	Staci Berger LC’94, EJB/GSNB’04

Derek Young RC ’87	Vivian Salama LC’00, SCILS’00	Harvey M. Schwartz LC’87

Eric O. Clark, a 1998 graduate of Livingston College at Rutgers University, was honored on April 8, 2017, as one of seven Loyal Sons and Loyal Daughters of Rutgers for 2017.

Clark, an Illinois native, has been the President of the Rutgers Club of Chicago for more than 12 years. A member of the Rutgers men’s basketball team during his years on the Banks, he was inspired to take on the task of revitalizing the Rutgers Club of Chicago upon his return to his home state. The position included the challenge of reaching out to the 2,500-plus alumni living in and around the Windy City.

Clark became and continues to be the Rutgers “go-to” guy for any BIG Ten event in Chicago, and was named the B1G10K Rutgers Representative in 2014. In 2006 Clark received the William of Orange Award for Dedicated Volunteerism from the Rutgers University Alumni Federation.

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 of the RAA. The RAA is the nation’s fourth-oldest alumni association, serving alumni in multiple colleges and schools on Rutgers’ New Brunswick/Piscataway campus. 

The awardees were formally recognized during the 59th Annual Loyal Sons and Daughters Dinner, a “scarlet” tie event held at Neilson Dining Hall on the Douglass Campus. Bios for all of the 2017 honorees are online. In addition to Clark, they are:

• Joan A. DeBoer, CC’84
• Luis Largo, GSE’07
• Melissa Lieberman-Elimanco, DC’05, GSE’06,’14
• Alyssa Gentile Salvesen, RC’09, GSE’10
• Dorothy M. Stanaitis, UCC’82
• Roy H. Tanzman, RC’73, CLAW’76

Photos: Eric Clark in 2014 (top), and in the 1998 Livingston College yearbook, Diversity: Memorable Reflections, Volume VIII.

Matthew Aquino, a volunteer mentor for students at Rutgers Business School, was honored in 2016 with the Young Alumni Service Award, presented by the Rutgers University Alumni Association (RUAA).

Aquino, a 2008 graduate of both Rutgers’ Livingston College and Rutgers Business School (RBS), has volunteered with RBS’ TeamUP mentoring program since 2013. He has mentored five Rutgers students, and contributed to both their personal and professional development. Aquino spends numerous hours on the phone with his mentees, arranges in-person meetings, and invites them to visit his office. All his mentees have successfully completed their internship programs and earned full-time offers upon graduation. In addition to being involved in the Rutgers University TeamUP, Aquino has also volunteered for his five-year class reunion campaign. Aquino and three other classmates helped raised more than $20,000 for Rutgers through fundraising efforts.

Aquino has been a director of change management at Apollo Global Management LLC in New York City since March 2014. He previously was an assistant vice president at Barclays Investment Bank.

Photo: Matthew Aquino, center, accepts the RUAA’s Young Alumni Service Award from Donna K. Thornton, Rutgers’ Vice President for Alumni Relations, and Timothy S. Farrow, Chairman of the RUAA Board. The award was presented as part of the Rutgers Excellence in Alumni Leadership (REAL) Conference and Awards on October 14, 2016.

A Livingston Alumni Association board member for more than five years, Eric C. Schwarz (LC’92, SCILS ’92,’07) serves as an advocate for Rutgers’ Livingston College and its alumni. 

For his efforts, the Rutgers University Alumni Association (RUAA) honored Schwarz with its Block R Award, part of the Rutgers Excellence in Alumni Leadership Awards presented October 25, 2013, as part of the Alumni Leaders Conference and Homecoming weekend.

Schwarz is 2016-17 president of the LAA and a former secretary and vice president of the organization. He is responsible for maintaining the LAA online presence. Schwarz has maintained the LAA news feeds, website, and Facebook page; manages meeting logistics and communications; and works closely with the executive team to set the group’s direction. Additionally, Schwarz volunteers his time at virtually every LAA event as well as RUAA Homecoming, Reunion, and community service projects.

The Block R Award recognizes service to the alumni body through volunteer involvement in charter organizations, working with university partners in support of Rutgers’ community initiatives, and through other specific volunteer roles.

The other 2013 Block R Award honorees are: Brian Greczyn (SBC’97, ‘00), Cheryl Machleder (RC’02, SMLR’02) and Anik Roy (RBS’01).

Fellow Livingston College graduate Katty Rivera (LC’04, GSE’09) received the Scarlet Oak Meritorious Service Award at the same ceremony.

Read more about all the honorees.

Pictured (top): Eric C. Schwarz (LC’92, SCILS’92,’07), second from left, accepts a 2013 Block R Award at the Rutgers Excellence in Alumni Leadership 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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Originally posted November 22, 2013
Revised January 3, 2021

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

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.

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.

Leroy C. Haines, assistant director residence life, Livingston Campus, worked for 43 years at Livingston, dedicating his life to reducing prejudice, promoting respect for diversity, creating inclusive communities and mentoring hundreds of undergraduates. He retired in 2012.

Haines is a member of Livingston College’s first graduating class (1971), and a 2011 recipient of the Livingston Alumni Association’s Livingston Legacy Award.

Haines was one of six members of the university community recognized at the 2012 Rutgers Human Dignity Awards, presented April 26. The awards, presented by the Committee to Advance Our Common Purposes, honored the work of faculty, staff and students who strive to promote social justice and diversity.

Read more about the 2012 Human Dignity Award recipients from Rutgers Focus and The Daily Targum.

The Leroy Haines Award is given each year by Rutgers Residence Life to honor an undergraduate Resident Assistant or Apartment Assistant “who best exemplifies the character and persona of Leroy Haines.”

According to the Residence Life website: “Haines reduced prejudice, promoted respect for diversity, created inclusive communities, and forged intercultural collaboration among groups that had not traditionally worked together … As a student, a student employee, Resident Assistant, an alumnus, Resident Coordinator, Assistant Dean/Director of Residence Life for Livingston College and finally Livingston Campus Director, he has come to embody Livingston’s original motto of ‘Strength through Diversity.’ He always challenged the members of his residential communities to live together in order to learn together.”