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Meet the 2007 Alumni Award Winners
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Alumnus of the Year
James E. Quinn
James E. Quinn, B.A. '74, is a member of Hofstra University's Board of Trustees and president and vice chairman of Tiffany & Co., an internationally renowned jeweler and specialty retailer.
A native of Staten Island, New York, Mr. Quinn enrolled at Hofstra on a dual football/academic scholarship. He played football for legendary Coach Howdy Myers and was active with Epsilon Sigma fraternity. His course of study began in the Physics Department. "I was pursuing what I was interested in at the time. I didn't really have a plan. I just got to a point in my studies where I wanted to move into liberal arts. I was writing theater and movie reviews for The Chronicle, and it was my good fortune that the Department of Communications was started. I jumped on board and toyed with the idea of becoming a sports writer."
After graduation, Mr. Quinn went on to earn an M.B.A. in financial management from the Lubin School of Business at Pace University. He married his college sweetheart, Diane Wittke-Quinn '73, and entered the management training program at Citibank in Manhattan, where he worked for 12 years. In 1986 he joined Tiffany & Co. as vice president for corporate sales. He was promoted to senior vice president of the corporate division in 1990 and to executive vice president in 1992. In 1995 he was named to Tiffany's board of directors, and by 1997 attained the position of vice chairman.
When Mr. Quinn was named to Hofstra's Board of Trustees earlier this year, President Stuart Rabinowitz said, "Jim Quinn is a great example of a successful graduate who has given back to the Hofstra community. He was an active and engaged student, and has become a successful businessman, community leader and loyal alumnus."
In 2001 the Quinns, who reside in North Caldwell, New Jersey, with their two children, established the Diane and James Quinn Endowed Scholarship. That same year, in his acceptance speech for Hofstra's Award for Alumni Achievement, Mr. Quinn said, "Hofstra is a remarkably important part of whatever success I have achieved since graduating."
Honorary Alumna
Maureen Murphy
Maureen Murphy, Ph.D, first visited the Hofstra campus when she was 9 years old. Her mother was a student here and took her to see a production of Julius Caesar, performed at that time in Calkins Hall. That was probably the only occasion Dr. Murphy sat on the sidelines of anything to do with the University.
Today she is a professor of curriculum and teaching, interim dean of the School of Education and Allied Human Services, and the University's equal rights and opportunity officer. She has a long and distinguished career at Hofstra, having previously served as dean of advisement, dean of students (for more than a decade), and acting chair (twice) of the Department of Curriculum and Teaching.
"I come from a family of country schoolteachers, so teaching is in my bones," she says. "It is what I do best and what gives me the greatest pleasure. I believe that my value to the University has been my teaching and scholarship."
Dr. Murphy is a distinguished scholar and well-known authority in the areas of Irish folklore, Irish literature, Irish history, curriculum and instruction, and multicultural education. She has also successfully combined these areas in her efforts as director of the Great Irish Famine curriculum, a program funded through a grant from the New York State Education Department. The curriculum received the 2002 Social Studies Program of Excellence Award from the National Council for Social Studies.
She is one of the six senior editors of the Dictionary of Irish Biography to be published in six volumes in 2008 by Cambridge University Press. She has written more than 100 articles and book chapters and delivered more than 300 invited lectures in 18 countries. Additionally, Dean Murphy was a Fulbright Fellow at University College, Dublin, and twice a State Department lecturer to Egypt. She is the past president of the American Conference for Irish Studies and the past chair of the International Association for the Study of Irish Literatures. She is also the historian of the Irish Hunger Memorial in Battery Park City.
Dr. Murphy says of being granted Hofstra alumna status: "It is an honor to be counted among the family of students with whom I have studied for the past four decades."
Awards for Alumni Achievement
James A. D'Addario
James A. D'Addario, B.A. '72, is chairman and CEO of D'Addario & Co., which manufactures musical accessories and is the world's leading manufacturer of musical instrument strings, reeds for woodwinds, and drumheads.
Mr. D'Addario received the 2002 Small Business Association's Entrepreneur of the Year Award and is listed as the inventor on many musical patents. His company has received the New York State Environmental Excellence Award and the Certificate of Congressional Recognition, and is a member of the Long Island Forum for Technology and Leadership Initiative Action. He also founded The D'Addario Foundation for the Performing Arts and the James D'Addario Family Foundation, Inc.
He says of his Hofstra experience, "Midway through my college career, preparing to be a music teacher, the lure of our family business made me change my career plans, and I considered dropping out of college. It was through the encouragement of my professors, and particularly Herb Deutsch '56 [professor emeritus and former chair of the Music Department], that I realized the significance of the educational opportunity I was receiving at Hofstra."
On receiving an Alumni Achievement Award, he adds, "Receiving recognition for my personal accomplishments from my alma mater rekindles the pride and sense of accomplishment that I felt when I received my diploma in 1972."
Mitchell Gans
Mitchell Gans, B.B.A. '71, J.D. '74, is a professor of law at Hofstra Law School and an adjunct professor at New York University School of Law, where he currently teaches transfer taxation in the LLM/J.D. program. He is an academic fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.
Before joining the Hofstra Law faculty in 1984, Professor Gans was an associate in the tax and trust and estates departments at the New York City law firm of Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett and law clerk to Associate Judge Jacob D. Fuchsberg, New York State Court of Appeals.
Professor Gans is one of the country's leading scholars in the estate and gift tax area. On behalf of NYU Law School, he recently taught an eight-week course on valuation issues by satellite to all IRS attorneys in the country. He continues to provide lectures for the IRS on transfer and income tax issues, providing policy and tactical assistance.
His scholarship over two decades has had an enormous influence on public policy. One of his articles, the subject of a page-one story in The New York Times, led the Senate to change its approach to the gift tax. Professor Gans has also created a new estate-planning concept that is changing the way in which a fundamental aspect of estate planning is practiced.
Professor Gans is a frequent lecturer and has published articles in the Emory Law Journal, Boston University Law Review, Notre Dame Law Review, Virginia Tax Review, Florida Tax Review, the Journal of Taxation, the ABA's Real Property, Probate and Trust Journal and Tax Notes, among other publications. In two successive years, he received an award from the ABA for having written the article of the year.
He recently completed a book on the ethical obligations the Treasury imposes on tax practitioners and a map of the estate and gift tax provisions in the law, which will be published by West. Professor Gans recently served as a member of Surrogate's Court Committee at the New York City Bar Association. He currently serves as the academic reporter for an advisory committee to the New York State Legislature on trust law, and is a member of the Circular 230 Task Force at ACTEC and the ACTEC subcommittee studying giftcompletion questions.
In 2005 Professor Gans was named the Steven A. Horowitz Distinguished Professor of Tax Law in recognition of his outstanding achievements as a teacher and scholar. He has also received the distinction of Teacher of the Year for several years from his Hofstra students.
"For 40 years, I have enjoyed the intellectual excitement and rigor that the Hofstra community offers," said Professor Gans. "It has enriched my life, first as a student and then as a teacher and scholar. I will forever be grateful to my own teachers, my friends and colleagues, and my students for the influence they have had on the path my professional life has taken."
Debra Sandler
Debra Sandler, B.B.A. '82, is the worldwide president for McNeil Nutritionals, LLC, a Johnson & Johnson company and global marketer of innovative nutritional products. Prior to this position, Ms. Sandler was general manager for the company's North American business and was responsible for all aspects of marketing, sales, operations, communications and quality assurance in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. She spearheaded the highly successful consumer launch of SPLENDA* in the United States. Ms. Sandler began her career at PepsiCo Inc., where she served for 13 years in a variety of marketing positions of increasing responsibility. She joined the Johnson & Johnson organization in 1999 as vice president of worldwide marketing for McNeil Specialty Products Company. She moved to the personal products company of Johnson & Johnson as vice president of worldwide marketing. In 2002 she returned to McNeil Nutritionals as worldwide group vice president of marketing.
Ms. Sandler has been recognized by Advertising Age as part of the "Power 50 Marketers Award for Excellence in Marketing" (2004); by Ebony magazine as one of the "Top 15 African American Female Executives in Corporate America"; by The Network Journal as one of the "Top 25 Influential Black Women in Business"; and by Black Enterprise as one of the "Most Powerful African Americans in Corporate America." She has also been named one of the "Outstanding Women in Marketing & Communications."
Thomas J. Sanzone
Thomas J. Sanzone, B.S. '82, is chief information officer and a member of the executive board of Credit Suisse, based in New York. He is charged with strategically leveraging technology globally across the bank, including the enablement of existing and new business lines, the automation of critical processes and the improvement of the bank's overall control environment. The technology organization employs more than 10,000 professionals in more than 50 countries.
Mr. Sanzone recalls, "Hofstra prepared me well for the business world. My technical training in computer science was excellent. I was able to quickly learn the technical requirements of my job as a programmer and immediately start contributing to the success of the group I joined."
He joined Credit Suisse in 2005 after leaving Citigroup, where he was chief information officer for the Corporate and Investment Bank, the Private Client Group and the Global Transaction Services business. In that role, he was the head of CIB Tech Services, charged with the strategy, development and implementation of all application technology. He was additionally responsible for Real Estate and General Services.
Mr. Sanzone joined Salomon Brothers in 1984 as a programmer analyst in the mortgage trading systems area. In 1991 he was appointed senior operating officer for fixed income and equity sales trading, and in 1996 was named managing director and head of global application development. At Travelers/Salomon Smith Barney, he was responsible for capital markets development and was instrumental in merger-related systems consolidations for Nikko, Salomon Smith Barney, Citicorp and others, from 1997 to 1998.
Awards for Young Alumni
Thomas J. Basile
Thomas J. Basile, Esq., B.A. '97, is president of Empire Solutions Consulting LLC, a New York-based strategic communications firm. In 2007 he was named managing director of the Middleberg Sustainability Group(TM), a public relations and issue management firm that helps companies develop and promote environmentally friendly products, processes and workplaces.
Mr. Basile's experiences over the past 10 years include many senior-level roles in politics and government. In 2005 he served the Department of State as a lead planner for former Presidents Bush and Clinton's visit to the tsunami-ravaged areas of South Asia. In 2004 and 2005, he was press secretary to Senator Trent Lott and the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies in Washington, D.C. In 2003 and 2004, he spent seven months in Iraq as a senior press adviser to the Coalition Provisional Authority. After his return to the United States, he was awarded the Joint Civilian Service Commendation Medal. Television and radio news outlets often seek his insight on Iraq, the war on terrorism and the national political scene.
Mr. Basile is a former director of communications for the Environmental Protection Agency. He also coordinated many significant White House events, including President Bush's meeting with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican and the memorial service for the Space Shuttle Columbia astronauts in Houston.
Mr. Basile majored in political science at Hofstra. He is a former SGA vice president, was listed in Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities and held a prestigious internship with U.S. Senator Connie Mack. He says of Hofstra, "It challenges students to learn through a wide variety of experiences, both academic and practical. That attitude is vital when approaching any career environment. Those who hope to succeed must take advantage of multiple avenues for growth, learning and achievement over a lifetime."
Mr. Basile says receiving a Young Alumnus Award "... is truly a tremendous honor. The Hofstra community has been a major influence in my life, and it is humbling to be selected from among so many accomplished graduates. I share the award with my Hofstra friends, many of whom have become like family, and all those who have supported me throughout my life and career. After all, one never walks the road alone."
Paul Manson
Paul Manson, B.A. '97, is the youngest producer on the staff of NBC's Today Show and a two-time Emmy Award winner. When asked about his career highlights, Mr. Manson details a live broadcast he co-produced from Saudi Arabia in 2002. Katie Couric interviewed Crown Prince Abdullah. It was the first Western interview for the crown prince, who is now king.
"The interview, conducted in King Abdullah's private residence, marked the first time a team of Western television journalists was able to sit down one-on-one with King Abdullah and raise questions about U.S.-Saudi relations - specifically his thoughts on why 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were Saudi."
Mr. Manson has worked on many other stories of international consequence, including Hurricane Katrina, the tsunami in South Asia, the Olympics, both Democratic and Republican National Committee conventions, U.S. presidential elections and 9/11.
Mr. Manson does not take the professional success he enjoys for granted. "I consider myself fortunate to have a job that I look forward to doing every day. I've been lucky enough to have experienced things that I never thought I would in my lifetime.
For me it all started at Hofstra. The University gave me the foundation, the support and the education I needed to go out and achieve my goals."
Mr. Manson is an active member of the Hofstra University Sigma Pi Alumni Association, a donor to the Joseph Ades Endowed Memorial Scholarship, and past announcer at Homecoming parades and half-time shows. He counts completing his third New York City Marathon among his highest personal achievements.
On being named a recipient of Hofstra's Young Alumnus Award, Mr. Manson says, "I hold Hofstra in the highest regard... Some of my greatest memories remain those I made while attending this school. The friendships I made at Hofstra are a very important part of my life today, and this award is a great reminder that my relationship with the University didn't end after graduation."
