2002-2003 Highlights
HCC Celebrates its 35th anniversary in style
On Thursday, May 30, 2002 Housatonic Community College conducted its 35th commencement exercises. In recognition of this accomplishment and as a tribute to the College’s thirty-five years as an educational institution, the Housatonic Community College Foundation celebrated this milestone with a series of events during its 2002-2003 fiscal year.In February of 2003, the Foundation hosted four Faculty/Staff Appreciation Receptions to celebrate a retrospective on thirty-five years as a community college and to thank past and present members of the College community for their commitment to education.
The month of March included a donor/scholar anniversary breakfast event. This morning event spotlighted the impact that scholarships have on student’s lives and celebrated the growth of scholarship support over the past thirty-five years.
The culminating event of the year was a gala black-tie dinner dance Foundation fundraiser. Held on April 12 at The Inn at Longshore in Westport, Connecticut, friends of the College, faculty and staff participated in a delightful evening of fun and entertainment. The event was the most successful fundraising special event to date for the College, generating nearly $30,000 to support scholarships, College programs, the Housatonic Museum of Art and various College-related projects.
This
success was made possible through the efforts of the Foundation’s
Resource Development Committee, our numerous Gala sponsors, supporters
and the volunteer contributions of College faculty and staff to the
Gala’s silent and live auctions.
Sincere appreciation goes to Presenting Sponsor People’s Bank for their $10,000 donation, and to Support Sponsor Aquarion Water Company of Connecticut. Thanks also to sponsors Kleban & Samor, P.C., Santa Fuel Co., Shipman & Goodwin LLP, Antinozzi Associates, Mario D’Addario Pontiac-Buick-Nissan-GMC; Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Laska, J. Silver Clothing, Southern Connecticut Gas Company and Merit Insurance Inc.
Contributing to the success of the gala dinner dance was an exciting auction conducted by News 12 anchor David Smith and featuring a dazzling array of specialty items. Theme baskets donated and assembled by the College faculty and staff members were enthusiastically bid on and contributed significantly to the proceeds of the evening.
Auction donors included Teddy’s Limousine Service, Downtown Cabaret
Theatre, The Dinex Group, Connecticut Ballet, Stamford Center for the
Arts, Westport Community Theatre, Greater Bridgeport Symphony, Playhouse
on the Green, Bigelow Tea Co., Midas Touch Jewelers, Harper’s
of Fairfield, Southern Connecticut Gas Company, Michele Kristian, Trendsetters,
Derma Clinic, Peter Coppola Salon and the HCC Faculty and Staff.
A sincere thank you to all our supporters for your help in making this anniversary event a resounding success.
Donor/Scholar Breakfast recognized donors, scholarship recipients
Two new scholarships that will be awarded this year were announced at the March 13th Donor/Scholar Breakfast, as part of the Foundation’s celebration of the College’s 35th anniversary. The breakfast was held to thank donors, faculty and staff for their efforts in the administration of scholarships and acknowledge the accomplishments of scholarship recipients.
John Cerreta, chairman of the HCC Foundation’s Scholarship
Committee, announced a new $1,000 Community Scholarship from Southern
Connecticut
Gas Company. Representing Southern Connecticut Gas at the breakfast
were Diane L. Nunn, Vice President of Operations, and John A. Dobos
Jr., Director of External Affairs.
The scholarship will be awarded to a current student who is in good academic standing with a GPA of 3.0 or better, has completed one year at Housatonic and is not eligible to receive financial aid.
Mr. Cerreta also announced that the HCC Foundation would now administer the Salvatore Curiale Nursing Scholarship. The scholarship was established in memory of Salvatore Curiale, a former Director of Admissions at HCC.
The Curiale Scholarship is awarded to a student continuing his or her education in nursing. In attendance at the March breakfast was Mrs. Phyllis Curiale, the benefactor’s widow.
HCC Departments Celebrate College’s anniversary in February
During the week of Feb. 17, the HCC Foundation hosted receptions for each department within the College to thank all employees for their contributions to Housatonic’s growth and success.Each event – citing the Academic Dean’s Division, the Dean of Outreach Division, the Dean of Students’ Division and the Dean of Administration’s Division – was well attended by faculty and staff members in commemoration of the 35th anniversary of HCC’s first year as an established college.
Adding to the festivities at each reception were an anniversary pictorial slide presentation created and presented by Douglas Alton of the Audio Video Department of the HCC Library and light musical entertainment by HCC counselor Hernan Yepes.
Joyce Gerber Endowed Scholarship Fund honors long-time educator
For the last 18 years, Joyce Gerber demonstrated her warmth, passion and commitment to excellence in childcare and early childhood education by serving as Coordinator of the Early Childhood Education Program at Housatonic Community College.
Under Joyce’s guidance, the HCC Early Childhood Education Program has become the largest and most successful program in the Connecticut Community College system, with 19 classes and 425 students last year alone.
For 40 years, Joyce devoted herself to the field of early childhood education with a commitment that won praise from colleagues, educational professionals and students.
Upon her recent retirement, she has continued to give by establishing the Joyce Gerber Early Childhood Education Endowed Scholarship Fund at the College, to provide need-based tuition assistance to students who continue their education in the field of Early Childhood Education. The HCC Foundation is pleased to add this scholarship to its ever-increasing list of endowed funds that benefit Housatonic students.
New Grants Received from The Frederick H. Leonhardt Fund at the New York Community Trust
The Housatonic Community College Foundation has been awarded a $20,000 grant from The Frederick H. Leonhardt Fund at the New York Community Trust. This grant will create a new revolving fund to provide financial assistance to Housatonic students to help get them started in the often-complex world of financing a college education.
The basic concept in the creation of this program is to help students in need of financial assistance bridge the gap between the time tuition is due and the actual receipt of allocated financial aid or student loan funds.
The Housatonic Community College Foundation has also been awarded a $15,000 grant from The Frederick H. Leonhardt Fund at the New York Community Trust to fund the Tutoring Program at Housatonic’s Academic Support Center during the 2003-04 academic year. This grant will enable HCC to expand the program and provide students with mandatory and individually requested professional tutoring.
People’s Bank renews fund for Community College Nursing Students
For the second consecutive year, People’s Bank offered a $14,000 grant to aid Connecticut community college nursing students with unexpected financial shortfalls. The fund, established by People’s in 2002, is meant to cover expenses common to a nursing student—such as textbooks, laboratory fees, or equipment purchases.
As with the first year of the fund, the $14,000 grant was divided among students in the five Connecticut community colleges that offer nursing programs.
An anonymous gift to the fund established to assist Housatonic nursing students brought our nursing fund to $7500. The grant from People’s Bank coupled with this additional funding, has enabled the HCC Foundation to continue its support of Housatonic nursing students for another year.
The ever-mounting nurse shortage and the consequent need to help keep nursing students in school, is the driving force behind the establishment of the fund.
This fund is great news for the Housatonic students on the track to becoming registered nurses.
On a Side Note...
HCC Foundation board member, Len Berger, took on a new role this year as ringmaster of the 2003 Barnum Festival. Len has presided over all the events this year with great success, further demonstrating his vested interest in the City of Bridgeport.