2011 Award Winners: The College at Brockport

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The Hall of Heritage is the Association’s most prestigious award, designed to honor alumni who have distinguished themselves by their exceptional contributions to the Alumni Association and/or the College and/or the community and/or have shown outstanding professional achievement.

	Andrew Caruso ’61 co-founded Kwik Goal Ltd, a soccer equipment distributor, in 1981. Caruso is as much responsible for the growth of soccer participation in the US as any single individual. He was Safety Chairman for Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association of the United States for ten years. Andy was a board member of Soccer Industry Council of America (SICA), from which he received the Simon Sherman Leadership Award in 1996. He has coached and assisted dozens of youth, club and school teams in Pennsylvania, Florida and New York. He has served as Coaching Director of Indialantic Soccer Club, which has over 1000 players. He was the State Coach for Pennsylvania and Florida in addition to having Olympic Development. He served as an educator for eighteen years in the Brentwood Public Schools where he received the Teacher of the Year award in 1967. Caruso earned his Bachelor’s degree from Brockport.

	Nicolette M. Depass Ferguson ’94 is a principle dancer with Garth Fagan Dance and has been a member since 1994. She teaches at the Garth Fagan Dance School. Over the last 16 years her skills have paved her way to success in many leadership positions at Garth Fagan Dance. Ferguson regularly shares her talents and expertise in dance with children in schools world-wide. Throughout the year she participates and serves as Lead Lecturer in the Garth Fagan Dance Company’s outreach to not-for-profit social agencies in the Greater Rochester area. She has served as an instructor for the Urban League Child and Family Health and Wellness Program in Rochester public schools. Ferguson earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Communication and Dance in from Brockport.

	Donald Staffo ’68 is the recipient of two of the most coveted awards in his profession from the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) including the Honor Award and Social Justice Award. He is currently serves as the Chair of the Health and Physical Education Department at Stillman College in Alabama. He is also a professor and interim Athletic Director at Stillman. He has received many national, regional, state and local awards for accomplishments in his field. Dr. Staffo has many professional publications including books, periodicals and articles dedicated to the advancement of health and physical education. He started his career instructing at the elementary school level and has progressed through his years of teaching. Dr. Staffo earned his Bachelor’s of Science degree in Health and Physical Education in 1968 from Brockport.

Honors for Outstanding Service Award is designed to honor those who have given outstanding service to the Alumni Association and/or the College and/or given outstanding community service and/or shown outstanding professional achievement.

	Richard Amundson ‘78/’82/’84 has returned to Brockport over the past several years as a lecturer, an adjunct faculty member and a member of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) Advisory Board. He has years of experience teaching and directing physical education departments in school districts throughout New York State. Amundson received the Ernest Tuttle Scholar Athlete Award in May 1978 and he was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Post Graduate Scholarship Nominee in December 1977. He has been active with numerous athletic groups. He received the Distinguished Service Award from New York State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (NYS AHPERD) in 2006 and the Ellis Champlain Leadership Award from the NYS Council of Administrators in 2004. Richard earned his Bachelor’s (1978) and Master’s (1982) degree in Physical Education and his Certificate of Advanced Study (1984) in School Administration from Brockport.

	Patricia Baker ‘61/’67/’80 was a member of the faculty at the College at Brockport for nearly 24 years in the Department of Education and Human Development. She chaired many college committees, was a member of the Faculty Senate, and carried advisement loads of over 100 graduate students. Dr. Baker has helped to develop the first bylaws for Oak Orchard Community Health Center, served as President of Brockport Integrated Service and Community Organization (BISCO) and has held many leadership positions with the Brockport Rotary. She has received many community and professional awards throughout the years. Dr. Baker earned her Bachelor’s degree in American Studies (1961), her Master’s in Education (1967), and her Certificate of Advanced Study in Educational Administration (1980) from Brockport.

	Marianne Marchlik Virgilio ’86 has worked in the field of philanthropic development for nearly four decades in two states and with eight non-profit organizations helping to raise millions of dollars for programs and causes that enrich communities. She held the positions of the Director of Alumni Relations and Executive Director of the College Foundation at the college. Later in her career she returned to Brockport as the Director of Development from 2000-2004. Currently Marianne is the Director of University Advancement Office of Trusts and Estates at the University of Rochester. She has served on the Seymour Library board of directors for ten years. She has been a Boy Scout merit badge counselor and a 4-H leader in the community. Marianne earned her Master’s degree in Educational Administration from Brockport.

The Citation of Appreciation Award honors those individuals who have demonstrated sustained commitment through their services to and/or affiliation with the Alumni Association.

	Judith Wade Denio ‘61 and James Denio ’61 have been the historians for the Class of ’61 and of the Guys and Dolls cast and crew since their undergraduate years. They have been very active with alumni activities for the past 50 years including helping in the planning of the 50th Class of ’61 and Guys and Dolls reunions. Judy has an impressive career of more than 30 years of teaching before retiring from Niagara-Wheatfield Schools. She has been a member of many choirs and she volunteers and is a supporter of Headway of Western New York Inc. Jim worked for the Kenmore-Tonawanda School District for more than 30 years. He has volunteered for the Buffalo General Hospital at the Deaconess Center and for Headway New York State Traumatic Injury Organization. Jim was the past president of Kenmore Teachers’ Association, received NYSUT Leadership Award in 1988, and is a US Navy veteran. Judy earned her Bachelor degree in Health and Physical Education and Jim earned his Bachelor degree.

	Paul Fortner ’93 has served as a board member of the Brockport Alumni Association and as an Alumni House Committee chair. During his time as chair of the Alumni House Committee, Fortner saw to it that many needed projects were completed, including the Bassett Room renovation. He has served the Village of Brockport for almost 20 years in many ways including working for the Police Department, serving as a Drug Abuse Resistance Education officer and a Co-Chair of Brockport Against Chemical Abuse, and has also been a member of the Fire Department. He was in the Crime Prevention Program of New York state in 1989 and received the Outstanding Adult Student of the Year from Brockport in 1992. Paul coached many sports teams for the Brockport School District over the years. He also was a substitute teacher for the Brockport School District. Fortner earned his Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and his New York State Teaching Certification.

The Alumni Association, in recognition of those who are not graduates of the College, will, when merited, present this Distinguished Service Award. The award recognizes significant impact and/or exceptional dedication to the Brockport Alumni Association and/or the College and/or the community and/or have shown outstanding professional achievement.

Garth Fagan, Distinguished Professor Emeritus: Garth Fagan taught at The College at Brockport beginning in 1970 when he established his now world famous company, Garth Fagan Dance which is celebrating its 40th anniversary season in 2011.

It was not always Garth Fagan Dance, however. His critics initially referred to his troupe as "the bottom of the bucket" because of Garth’s insistence in staffing his company with novice and untrained dancers he taught at the then SUNY Brockport Educational Opportunity Center. Often panned by his critics because of his rather odd method to create and staff a company, Garth used this as motivation. Garth’s stubbornness and ‘glass is half-full personality’ led him to initially name is troupe the "The Bottom of the Bucket BUT ... Dance Theatre."

The son of a Jamaican educator (Garth’s father was educated at Oxford and served as the Chief Education Office in Jamaica); Garth has always been a teacher at heart. For more than three decades Garth Fagan brought his award winning artistic talents and teaching expertise to the classrooms and studios on the campus at Brockport. He taught Fagan technique, composition, and repertory classes in the Department of Dance. His students were occasionally invited to take a company class at its Rochester studio and a few have become company members.

From these humble beginnings at The College at Brockport, Garth has become one of the most world renowned innovators and practitioners of modern dance. He was, and remains, a believer that modern dance needs to push the envelope of what is normal, challenging the generally accepted norms and using his vision and beliefs to set him and his company apart from other modern dance choreographers and companies.

The recipient of many prestigious national and international awards, Garth is known for his innovative interpretations and originality. He has often been referred to as “one of the great reformers of modern dance.” In 1998, the Tony Award for Best Choreography was bestowed upon him for his path-breaking choreography for Walt Disney’s The Lion King. That same year he also received the Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, and the Astaire Award.

Mr. Fagan’s other awards include the 2001 Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the prestigious three-year Choreography Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Dance Magazine Award for "significant contributions to dance during a distinguished career" and the "Bessie" Award (New York Dance and Performance Award) for Sustained Achievement. He is also the recipient of five Honorary Doctorate degrees including one from The College at Brockport in 2007. In addition he received the Arts Achievement Award from his alma mater, Wayne State University. His company, Garth Fagan Dance, has also been the recipient of many prestigious awards during its brilliant 40 year tenure on stages around the world.

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Last Updated 6/30/11