2010 Award Recipients

Alumni Corporation Award for Distinguished Teaching
Ann Yao '80 Memorial Young Alumni Award
Maroon Citations
Humanitarian Award
Wm. Brian Little '64 Alumni Award for Distinguished Service


Alumni Corporation Award for Distinguished Teaching 

Ken Belanger
G. Kirk Raab '59 Associate Professor of Biology

Like most of you, I’ve often wondered, “how does vesicle mediated secretion contribute to asymmetric cell growth during development?”

We’re in good company; G. Kirk Raab '59 Associate Professor of Biology Ken Belanger studies it for a living. When he’s not pursuing the answer, he is teaching his students to ask their own difficult questions.

Here on our hill, Ken’s lab is an incubator for a new kind of biologist, one that thinks in terms of vesicles and asymmetric cell growth as well as the mathematics, the philosophy, and possibly even the poetry of life.

It’s easy to spot the far-reaching impact of Ken’s commitment to interdisciplinary education. He served on the NCAA accreditation committee that upheld the university’s Division I tradition. He helps to coordinate the Science and Sports summer camp that brings high-schoolers from around the state to the university for an intense week of academics and athletics. And thanks to his pursuit of a recent Howard Hughes grant, Colgate has hired a new faculty member — an expert in mathematical biology — to bridge the disciplines.

Because students of today are inevitably the teachers of tomorrow, Ken has also created a program to train peer tutors who spend the semester helping classmates find the answers to challenging problems.

These are the hallmarks of a master teacher, but Ken has one more: the enviable ability to read his audience, perceive confusion, and quickly adjust.

It is a pleasure to bring him before this audience tonight and let him read our gratitude, clearly inscribed on this Distinguished Teaching Award.

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Karen Harpp
Associate Professor of Geology

There are two rules of thumb at Colgate:

1.) If there’s a detonation on the quad, it was produced by associate geology professor Karen Harpp.

2.) Humanities students beware — Karen might convert you into a geology major.

Undergrads love and respect Karen not just because she blows up the occasional trash can or tray of jell-o. They flock to her classes because she explodes the conventional stereotype of a geology classroom.

She presents students with the data behind volcanology, then introduces them to policymakers, social scientists, and others who deal with the fallout of mother nature’s violence. She talks about research in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands then offers a field trip; with Karen you learn to read maps of the ocean floor, then your ride on the boat while maps are being made — in fact, she’s on a mapping cruise tonight, and that’s why she couldn’t join us in person.

Karen models intellectual curiosity and Colgate spirit for her students. Her courses on the Advent of the Atomic Bomb and Weapons of War led her to study tools of mass destruction. A specialist in mantle plumes and mustard gas, she’s constantly tapping alumni and friends from Washington D.C. to Hiroshima to help her present the many facets of her chosen topics.

While there’s small comfort in the historical record, we can find hope in the fact that leaders-in-training at Colgate are digging into the implications of scientific discovery with a talented educator like Karen Harpp.

For her dedication, passion, and commitment, we present her with the Distinguished Teaching Award.

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Ann Yao '80 Memorial Young Alumni Award 

Joanna Allegretti ’05

Every year, Colgate grads head to New York City from this beautiful campus, where five cars at the village stoplight constitute a traffic jam. Suddenly, they’re shoulder-to-shoulder with 8.3 million souls.

It can be thrilling and lonely at the same time; those longing for a hometown handshake rely on Joanna Allegretti, co-president of the New York City Alumni Club.

If you attend club get-togethers in the city, it won’t be long before you meet Joanna. She’s helped steward Broadway show and wine tasting events, screenings of alumni films, pub crawls, and more (all proceeds benefiting the New York City Club Scholarship Fund, of course).

Her club activities extend from the work she did while an undergraduate history major. Joanna was a member of the Newman Community, Kappa Kappa Gamma, her Senior Class Gift Committee, Sidekicks, and the Colgate Tutoring Group. She was on the LINK staff, the varsity women’s crew team, and the Residence Hall Council. She broadcast on WRCU and CUTV, joined Helping Hands, and traveled with the Venice Study Group. She was an admission greeter and tour guide.

Today, Joanna is a member of her Class Gift Committee and the Presidents’ Club. When she’s not planning club events or working as an admission volunteer, she advises clients at AllianceBernstein.

In a city where it’s easy to be anonymous, there’s a group of Colgate friends who know your name and would love to hear your news. For preserving those connections, we are pleased to hand Joanne Allegretti the Ann Yao '80 Memorial Young Alumni Award.

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Katie Finnegan ’05

Remember when poor Oliver Twist shuffles up to the master of the workhouse and asks for “more?” It leaps to mind when you review Katie Finnegan’s record at Colgate. She’s forever wanting more to do, and since Dickens isn’t responsible for this narrative, Katie’s request has always been granted.

As an undergraduate, Katie was a member of the varsity swim team. Her inaugural first-place finish came on October 27, 2001, in the 100-free during a meet against Holy Cross, and she worked hard for even faster times during three years on the squad.

One concentration wasn’t enough for Katie, so she majored in history and religion and earned admission into the Phi Alpha Theta history honors society. She was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma and participated in student government, too.

After graduation, Katie worked for J. Crew and American Eagle Outfitters before deciding that it was time to go back to school. She enrolled at Duke and just received her M.B.A., which she is putting to use at A.T. Kearney Management Consulting in Cambridge.

As if working and going to school weren’t enough, Katie has taken on ever-more responsibility as an alumna. She has appeared at Real World three times. She’s an admission volunteer, Presidents’ Club chair, and member of the Presidents’ Club Membership Committee with a reputation for taking more than her share of prospects.

“More” is a magic word at Colgate — when you ask for it, you will certainly get it. Katie’s level of volunteerism earns our gratitude and, what’s more, the Ann Yao '80 Memorial Young Alumni Award.

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Maroon Citations 

Robert Quitzau ’55

Bob Quitzau spent 44 years as a geophysicist with Shell Oil and 25 with the United States Air Force Reserve after three years’ active duty. But don’t let the big numbers fool you. He wasn’t sitting still.

His day job took him to Alaska, Mexico, Egypt, China, Malaysia, Trinidad, Gabon, Congo, Angola, and Cameroon. He and his wife, Fran, along with their five children, have lived in Los Angeles, Modesto, Seattle, New Orleans, and Houston. (Incidentally, they added their 14th grandchild last December.)

Keep in mind that Bob was also earning rank with the Air Force until 1983, when he retired as a Lieutenant Colonel.

Before he started looking for oil, Bob sought out opportunities at Colgate, where he earned his BA in geology. He was Phi Beta Kappa and Lamda Chi Alpha; Maroon Key and Konosioni; he was an Air Force ROTC cadet, Senior Class President, and co-captain of the wrestling team, which he helped restore to varsity status. Marching band? Yes. Alumni Memorial Scholar? Sure. George Cobb Fellow? Obviously. President’s Cup recipient? Of course.

You know how it started, and you know where we stand. In-between, Bob has served Colgate as president of the New Orleans Alumni Club, a member of the Presidents’ Club, his Reunion program and Reunion Class Gift committees, and co-editor of his 50th Reunion yearbook. He has appeared at Real World, and he joined us on the alumni council last year.

Bob’s service reminds us that dedication is dynamic. With this Maroon Citation, we’re pleased to remind him that we appreciate his efforts.

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Peter Sears '60

Japanese violin teacher extraordinaire Shinichi Suzuki said, “When love is deep, much can be accomplished.” If you need proof, look at what Colgate has accomplished thanks to Peter Sears’ love for alma mater.

Peter was a history major and a Phi Kappa Tau brother. He was on the Take Two Film Committee, Marching Band, Maroon News staff, and the Dean’s List. He was a member of Maroon Key and Konosioni, the Washington D.C. Study Group and the College Democrats.

He used his Harvard Law degree to become assistant general council at GlaxoSmithKline, where he worked for 36 years, becoming vice president of corporate development. Afterward, he became a biotech venture capitalist and taught at Cornell’s Johnson School of Management.

Early in his Glaxo years, Peter served as VP and general manager for the Asia Pacific region. When he returned to the states, he brought back a love of Japanese culture and a commitment to community spirit. You can see that commitment around you as you drive through the Village of Hamilton; through his ground-floor support for the Hamilton Initiative, Peter has helped to make Colgate’s home town what it is today.

Meanwhile, he has participated in Real World, served on his class gift committee and as a campaign volunteer. For the past five years he has been a member of the Alumni Council, and he is a member in perpetuity of the Presidents’ Club.

In honor of his deep love for Colgate and all that it has helped the university accomplish, the alumni council awards Peter Sears the Maroon Citation.

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James Smith ’70

When Jim Smith was a senior advisor at the J. Paul Getty Trust, he said, “a visit to a fine museum, an outstanding performing arts center, a worthy historic site or building can transport us to an ethereal universe, but those of us who work in these places or serve as trustees know that they are not constructed of air, shadows, and colors.”

To operate in a tangible world, institutions like Colgate require real support — the kind that Jim has given since he graduated magna cum laude with a BA in history.

An alumni memorial scholar, Jim participated in student government, the debate society, and the London history study group. He witnessed Colgate’s sea change in the late 1960s, but the essentials remained — particularly the encouragement of faculty like Doc Redding, who told Jim that he could be a great scholar.

He fulfilled the prediction by earning his master’s and doctorate at Brown, becoming an expert on the history of philanthropy, and taking up positions at the Rockefeller Archive Center, the New School, the Howard Gilman Foundation, and Georgetown University.

Along the way, he has served on his Reunion Gift, Reunion Program, and Class Gift committees; as a Campaign Steering Committee member; Reunion yearbook volunteer, Presidents’ Club chair, Doing Well by Doing Good and Real World participant, an alumni council member and a university Trustee. He has mentored countless Colgate undergrads, particularly by organizing alternative spring break trips to Washington, D.C., and New York City.

To some, Jim is an educator and researcher; to others he’s an administrator. To us, he’s all of these things — as well as a source of wisdom, generosity, and friendship. We are pleased to award him this Maroon Citation.

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Julia Bergeron ’75

In a 2008 Maroon News article, Julia Bergeron encouraged Colgate undergrads to create their own brand. She suggested that they ask themselves questions like, “What are your values? What do you love doing? What are you good at? What do you want to be known for?”

We couldn’t help but wonder, what’s Brand Julia? Here’s what we know: Julia values her Colgate connection; she loves to see students attend this university and succeed. She’s proved it during 21 years as an admission volunteer and four years on the alumni council, where she served as communications committee chair.

She’s excellent at planning and encouraging participation — just reference her work as a Reunion program chair in 2005 and 2010, her participation on her class gift and Reunion gift committees, or any event she has hosted as president of the Northern Vermont alumni club.

And what will she be known for? It’s a little morbid to answer the question fully. But it could be for the honors she earned with her geography degree, her dedication as an RA, a swimmer, or a member of the Washington Study Group. It might be the 16 years she spent at Conrail after earning her MBA at Yale or the way she’s raised her four boys.

Then again, it might be for the telling way she introduced Vermont members of the Class of 2013 to the Colgate spirit: by suspending them from a 415-foot-long zip line, and giving them a nudge.

For sharing her own inspiring brand of Colgate spirit, we’re pleased to award Julia Bergeron the Maroon Citation.

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Stephen Burke ’80

Stephen Burke is a family guy, but that’s a FOX production so we found network-appropriate programs to describe the man who could soon control a merged Comcast/NBC Universal.

Let’s start with The Office. Steve has had several. He served 10 years with the Walt Disney Attractions as Chief Operating Officer before becoming Executive Vice President and President of Broadcasting at Capital Cities/ABC. Since 1998, he’s been with Comcast Cable, first as President and now as C.O.O.

Meanwhile, Steve has pursued Parenthood. He is home every night for dinner with his five children and wife, Gretchen ’81. (During the school year, it’s four kids — Daniel is here at Colgate in the Class of 2012.) If you believe Forbes magazine, he does his best to avoid industry cocktail parties. Other parents in the room can thank Steve for a right of passage: trips with our own toddlers to the Disney store. He was the one who convinced Michael Eisner to launch the chain.

While climbing the ladder, building a family, and running 13 marathons, Steve hasn’t forgotten the Community that set him on the road to success. He earned a history degree here at Colgate, magna cum laude. He was Phi Beta Kappa, Konosioni, and Theta Chi. Yes, he earned an MBA at Harvard, but he receive his honorary doctorate here in 2004.

Steve has served his alma mater as a member of the board of trustees and the James B. Colgate Society, proving that, although it only takes A Minute to Win It on NBC, it takes years of dedication to earn a Maroon Citation, which we’re pleased to award him tonight.

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Robert Dorf ’80

Robert Dorf’s career is quintessential Colgate. He earned a BA in English literature, then went into banking, logistics and transportation, and sales before deciding that the nonprofit arts sector was his true home.

Twenty years after leaving the hill, he earned a master’s degree in nonprofit management from the New School and went to work as managing director of Dances Patrelle. In 2004, he transferred to the legendary Susan Marshall Dance Company.

While traveling on his own life journey, Bob has helped countless Colgate students find their own unique career paths. He developed and taught the Core Distinction course Passion, Promotion, and Public Awareness: Thinking About the Arts in the 21st Century. He has brought his dance company to campus for workshops and led alternative spring break trips into New York City’s nonprofit community.

Most importantly, Bob has opened his rolodex, then his palm pilot, his Blackberry, and more recently his iPhone contacts list to those he mentors, creating foot-in-the-door connections that are vital for new graduates.

Bob is the son of Charles Dorf, Class of 1952. He’s a regular at Real World and a member of the alumni council. He has served on regional campaign committees and has chaired his class gift committee. He has done it with all the style and urbanity you’d expect from someone who travels to Scotland just to play golf.

And so, in the lingua franca of modern dance, we invite Bob Dorf to engage in contralateral movement toward the podium to accept his maroon citation for service to Colgate, its students, and alumni. 


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G. Bruce Knecht ’80

We’re a little jealous of Bruce to be honest. Everything started out well enough. He graduated with an economics degree after building a distinguished record with the Maroon News, Konosioni, and Beta Theta Pi.

He earned an MBA from Harvard and spent years with the Wall Street Journal as a staff writer and foreign correspondent — jobs that must have kept him typing into the wee hours to make last-minute deadlines. We were ok with that. But then Bruce threw it all away to become an author and write books about his favorite pastime: sailing.

Now, he conducts “research” by traveling to places like Australia and spending long afternoons on the decks of elegant boats, talking to a variety of interesting characters about rigging and storms and the fish that got away. The kicker is, he’s great at it. Walter Cronkite, Tom Brokaw, the Washington Post, and Esquire have praised him. For those of us who work inside four walls, it’s a little hard to stomach.

But in his defense, Bruce is a mainstay at Colgate events up and down the east coast. He’s been a long-time admission volunteer, a career services partner, Reunion College presenter, a Class Gift Committee and Presidents’ Club member. He’s lectured on campus, served on his Reunion Program Committee, appeared at Real World, and done time on the alumni council.

In short, Bruce has advanced Colgate’s success and its reputation, so we’ve decided to stow our jealousy. And in thanks for his dedication, we’re awarding him the Maroon Citation.

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Robert Burke ’85

Plenty of little-leaguers dream about earning a big-league contract. Of course, the vast majority grow up to become economics or English majors. For them, there’s something better. There’s Bob Burke, a scouting machine where Colgate’s best talent is concerned.

There was a time when he bankrolled Merrill Lynch’s recruiting trips to Hamilton with his own resources. He brought other alumni employees with him to talk with students about internships and entry-level positions at one of America’s legendary finance houses.

It started with seniors. Then Bob realized he could develop bright sophomores and juniors, too. That way, Merrill would see that a liberal arts education was often more desirable than a business school bachelor’s degree.

He built mentoring and training programs with Career Services to guide undergrads through the interview process. He still dialogues with faculty on the expertise that students will need for success and how to incorporate those skills into the curriculum.

Bob is a Beta Theta Pi brother, a husband to classmate Cassandre Ammer, and father of four. But he’s an expert in fixed-income investments, too.

Clients trust him to find the best return, and with his encouragement, philanthropy from company alumni has steadily increased, occasionally outpacing Colgate’s overall alumni giving rate. In true Burke style, he’s treating Merrill’s merger with Bank of America as a new opportunity for partnership, hiring seven Colgate interns for its 2010 summer program.

So, on behalf of those he’s brought up to the big leagues of finance, and in thanks for his personal investments in Colgate’s success, we’re pleased to award Robert Burke this Maroon Citation.

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Mark Falcone ’85

Mark Falcone is founder and CEO of Denver-based Continuum Partners. If you look at the real estate development company’s website, you’ll see a description of Belmar, an urban center they’re building in Lakewood, Colorado. It features shops, restaurants, theaters, offices, homes, parks, a hotel, and more—all within 22 city blocks.

No, I’m not trying to sell you a timeshare. I’m describing Mark’s personality in action. Let’s tick through the list:

Shops: Mark has the mind of an entrepreneur. It led him to launch Continuum Partners after moving from Syracuse in the mid-90s.

Restaurants and theaters: He is devoted to the arts and the art of having a good time. The latter made him popular with his Theta Chi brothers; the former landed him on the board of the Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver.

Offices and hotels: Early on, Mark worked for a series of well-established real-estate developers. In their offices, he became a deal-maker, and he has used the skill to further Colgate’s Hamilton Initiative. Most recently, he has been a driving force behind plans to renovate the Hamilton Inn.

Parks: Time and again, Mark has proven his commitment to creating sustainable human habitats; it’s responsible — and it often leads to greater profits.

As a member of the Board of Trustees, the Presidents’ Club, and the Passion for the Climb Steering Committee, Mark has shared his experience and creativity with Colgate. He has sponsored and hosted a series of university events in the Denver area, including a Passion for the Climb campaign kick-off. His daughter Sonia will graduate with the Class of 2012.

For all these reasons, we are pleased to recognize Mark Falcone with this the Maroon Citation.

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Kevin Rusch ’85

Kevin Rusch understands Colgate. He is so connected to the spirit of the place that, after four years on the Raiders’ swimming team, he held 13 records. Five of them were varsity bests in the 50-yard freestyle, 100 and 200-yard backstroke, and 100 and 200-yard butterfly. His sophomore year, he was named to the all-ECAC squad in the 100-meter butterfly.

The intensity that earned him a place in the Colgate Athletics Hall of Honor served him well in finance with E.F. Hutton, Greenwich Capital, Five Mile Capital, Silvermine, and finally Mariner Investment Group, where he was a portfolio manager. Lately, you’ll find Kevin parenting his four kids or coaching young swimmers in New Canaan, Conn., and sending new champions to his alma mater.

Kevin is used to setting the pace. So it’s no surprise that his support for Colgate is an example for his classmates and KDR brothers. He’s a Presidents’ Club member in perpetuity, and when athletic scholarships came to campus, he endowed a fund that would bring bright student-athletes into Lineberry, regardless of their financial situation.

Since graduating with his math/econ double major and earning an MBA at NYU, Kevin has served on the financial services committee during the Campaign for Colgate, on the Presidents’ Club Membership Committee, his class gift committee, and most recently on the alumni council. He made his Real World debut in 2010.

The name Kevin Rusch has been seen on plaques, honor rolls, and record books. Now, thanks to his consistent service and intense commitment, we’re pleased to put it on this Maroon Citation.

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Christine Quirolo ’00

While working on her MBA at Dartmouth a few years ago, Christine Quirolo participated in a peer review with other students. According to a Wall Street Journal article on the topic, her classmates suggested she build her confidence and assertiveness, though her internship supervisor never spotted any problems in the first place — and neither have we.

After graduating with her B.A. in political science and women’s studies, Chrissy spent five years with IBM and two years in grad school. She joined American Express as a marketing manager in 2007.

That same year, she was elected to the Alumni Council and for good reason. Chrissy had already built a significant record of service as an admission volunteer and regional chair, Presidents’ Club class chair, and president of the Westchester Alumni Club.

Her zeal has been infectious. As a class gift committee member in 2009, she decided that the women of 2000 needed to increase their participation. Relying on her Senior Class Gift experience, she asserted leadership, wrote e-mails and letters, and pushed their percentage above 30 points. In the process, she inspired other class volunteers to launch challenges of their own.

A Gamma Phi Beta sister, she has often appeared at Real World and her attendance at Alumni Council meetings isn’t bad — we were disappointed to miss her in March, but no matter how we pleaded, she wouldn’t reschedule her wedding.

For the confidence with which she has maintained her Colgate connections; for asserting herself on behalf of her alma mater, we’re pleased to award Christine Quirolo the Maroon Citation. 

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Gabriel Schwartz ’00

Here’s a snapshot of Gabriel Schwartz’s Colgate experience: Phi Eta Sigma, Beta Theta Pi, Fraternity Man of the Year, Campus Life Achievement Award-winner, Dean’s Summer Research Fellow, IFC President, Student Government Executive Board member, Economics tutor, Secondary School Tutoring Program co-director, and Charles A. Dana Scholar. Gabe was on the Japan Study Group; a member of Konosioni, his Senior Class Gift Committee, and the Colgate Jewish Union.

Anyone who could do all that while earning a double major in Asian studies and mathematical economics could find a way, after graduation, to build profits from the debt of foundering business concerns. That’s what Gabe has been doing for the past several years, first with Goldman Sachs, now as managing director of distressed investing at Davidson Kempner Capital Management.

Gabe graduated summa cum laude; that also describes his legacy as an alumnus. Working with career services, he established procedures to guide Goldman’s recruiting efforts at Colgate. These policies and best-practices have drawn other investment firms to campus.

Gabe has been co-chair of the Finance Community affinity group, a member of his Class Gift Committee and the Presidents’ Club. He regularly encouraged his fellow grads at Goldman to support the university, and today, the company’s giving rate traditionally runs 10 percent ahead of overall alumni giving rates.

As a professional investor, Gabe understands short selling; as a Colgate alumnus, he’s never sold his alma mater short. He recognizes its value and the importance of alumni engagement for the institution and its students. In recognition of all this, we’re pleased to award him the Maroon Citation. 

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Devon Skerritt ’00

If you intend to be here for Reunion 2050, please book an extra night at the Colgate Inn. Devon Skerritt’s record of service is already extensive, and if he holds the pace for another four decades, his citation alone could take you into Saturday afternoon.

Devon was a history major, tour guide, and volunteer firefighter. He joined the student activities board, CUTV, and the London History Study group; was invited into Konosioni, named a Charles A. Dana Scholar, and elected senior class president.

Since graduating magna cum laude, he’s been a class officer, class editor, and a Reunion College presenter. He’s appeared at Real World seven times, served on his Reunion Program and Class Gift committees, joined the Presidents’ Club, and received the 2005 Ann Yao Young Alumni Award. He recently retired from the Alumni Council, where he chaired the Nominations Committee.

Devon’s been an admission and a career services volunteer. In Boston, he’s hosted the Manzi Fellows and introduced them to local alumni. He’s also coordinated Maroon Advantage career networking seminars for alumni interested in the higher education field.

Devon holds a masters degree in higher ed. administration from Penn and is assistant director of admissions at Harvard — a title he held here between 2002 and 2004. Rumor has it that he’s already counseling his four-month-old son, Cullen, on the finer points of Colgate’s application process.

While building his career and founding his own family, Devon has devoted himself to the Colgate community. In thanks, we are adding to his list of accomplishments and awarding him the Maroon Citation. 

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Carol Baker
Gift Records Associate

Every once in a while, Colgate ... encourages us ... to show our support. So we reach—some quickly, some cautiously—for our wallets.

If you look around this weekend you can see where the money goes. And tonight, you can meet one of the people who makes sure it gets there. That’s Carol Baker.

For 30 years, Carol has been a familiar voice on the phones. She has been responsible for accurately tallying your generosity and making sure that it is properly deposited for use. She has done it all with a personal touch even as philanthropy has gone from a paper-based activity to an online transaction.

Carol’s excellent with currency but not so great with telling time. The length of her days are more likely to be determined by the pounding of Murray’s footsteps in the Advancement Office stairwell than the tick of the clock. As the calendar approaches December 31 and May 31, they get louder and faster.

This being the first week of the new fiscal year, you’ll notice that CB is looking greatly refreshed. If this ceremony had been held any earlier, we would have had to beam her in by satellite from her desk.

When she’s not authorizing your credit card, Carol can be found using her own during shopping trips with her sisters. Her granddaughter, Samantha, is in Colgate’s Class of 2010. Her daughter, Stacey, works in the admission office.

Carol’s family and the Colgate family have been linked in countless ways for decades. As she enters a well-earned retirement, we are pleased to acknowledge her loyalty and dedication with this Maroon Citation.


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Dick Biddle
Head Football Coach

Head Football Coach Dick Biddle can claim plenty of honors: he arrived at Kerr Stadium in 1996 and, within one season, he turned our 0 and 11 Colgate football team into a winning squad. Since then, Dick has earned Patriot League Coach of the Year honors four times, and he was named the NCAA Division I-AA national coach of the year in 2003. His teams have won six Patriot League titles and appeared in six NCAA playoffs. Of the 29 coaches who have led the Raiders, he’s the winningest with a record of 113 and 51.

There’s something else that Coach Biddle can claim as he looks forward to another season on the gridiron: he has the biggest classroom of any teacher on campus. An open-air facility, it measures about 8,500 square feet, give or take a couple of inches. On that patch of green, he’s responsible for training six dozen giant-killers for success.

There isn’t any circling of chairs in the end-zone, but there is every hallmark of the Colgate experience: teamwork, decision-making, memorization, innovation, hard work, rewards, and responsibility. He’s demanding and expects his players to show up—to be accountable not only in his classroom at the bottom of the hill, but in the enclosed spaces around the quad. Because athletics at Colgate is more than just the forward pass or the kick-return. It’s on-the-job leadership training.

In honor of Coach Biddle’s winning record, in thanks for his efforts to preserve the university’s commitment to Division I athletics, the Alumni Council awards him this Maroon Citation. 

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Humanitarian Award 

Glenn Langer ’50

Glenn Langer is a teacher of doctors. He earned his BA in natural history from Colgate in 1950 and his MD from Columbia Medical School in 1954. He then built a career at the UCLA School of Medicine, retiring in 1997 as a professor of medicine and physiology, director of the UCLA Cardiovascular Research Laboratory, and holder of the endowed chair of cardiology.

A doctor and an educator, Glenn is also the founder and visionary behind the Partnership Scholars— a California-based mentoring program for low-income children in grades seven through 12.

The idea hatched when Glenn retired and decided to offer seven grants, each allowing kids in the Lennox School district to purchase calculators, textbooks, and museum tickets. But it didn’t stop there. Glenn eventually expanded the original concept to provide intensive mentorship, academic resources, and cultural enrichment opportunities. Then he raised funds to support it.

The program currently sponsors 257 students, and of its 160 high school alumni, 149 have attended or graduated from a four-year university. Some couldn’t read, write, or count at age nine. But through active intervention — and an investment of $11,000 per child — they have excelled and been accepted to Penn, Harvard, Stanford, and other top-tier institutions.

“The most inspiring aspect of the program,” says a former Scholar, “is its ability to instill in its recipient that sense of hope and optimism that not all that touches the crest of the sky is impossible to reach.”

Glenn’s generosity presents underprivileged children with new prospects, and his Colgate career offers an example to follow: he was Phi Beta Kappa; a George Cobb fellow, a member of Maroon Key, Konosioni, Delta Upsilon, and the golf team. His Presidents’ Club membership has been in force for decades.

A Johns Hopkins study recently documented the advantage that rich, bright students have over their poor counterparts. It comes down to the learning experiences that take place outside the classroom. Where poverty eliminates them, Glenn Langer is trying to restore them, one student at a time.

We applaud him for his effort and the honor it reflects on his alma mater. In thanks, we also award him the Colgate Alumni Corporation Humanitarian Award. 

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Wm. Brian Little ’64 Alumni Award for Distinguished Service 

Paul Jenkel ’60

Back in the day, we used to say that Paul Jenkel was “concentrating” in economics. That’s a little misleading. He was definitely studying it, and he focused well enough to earn his BA in 1960, his MBA from New York University in 1967 and become senior vice president at capital management company Alliance Bernstein.

But while Paul was supposedly concentrating on economics, he was a member of Sigma Nu. He was involved in student government, the economics club, the Young Republicans, and the Outing Club. He worked on the Salmangundi and the Maroon, and he was manager for the Freshman tennis team.

So from an early age, even while he was concentrating on his studies, Paul demonstrated an ability to see the big picture and set his sights on multiple priorities. That didn’t change after graduation. While working his way up the corporate ladder and making a name for himself in financial management, Paul became an alumni leader.

A member of the Passion for the Climb Campaign Steering Committee, he has served for the past six years on the university’s Planned Gift Committee and has been a Maroon Council member for almost a quarter of a century. He has been a member of his class gift committee for 16 years; in the last half of the 1990s, he served on the alumni council. Going back further, he was on the Special Committee during the Campaign for Colgate back in the late 80s.

Paul has connected his classmates with the university and shown them the ways that they can shape its future. He has also engaged in extensive dialogue with A Better Colgate, pursuing improved alumni relations and seeking common ground on issues that will determine the nature of our alma mater’s success in the years to come.

For keeping his eye on so many moving parts and for making Colgate a priority even at his busiest moments, Paul Jenkel has earned this Wm Brian Little Award. 
 

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Lee Woltman ’65

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Then he created Colgate. But the hill was quiet and lonely, so he carved Lee Woltman in an image all his own and set him on the quad — problem solved.

Lee has been a force on this campus since the moment he arrived in 1961. He was recruited out of high school to be a pillar among Colgate’s economics majors...
It also helped that he could play offense, defense, and kick for the football team. Either way, his efforts earned him a bachelor’s degree and a place as team captain four years later. During his college days, Lee was also on the baseball team, in the Outing Club, Maroon Key, and Konosioni.

These were the early indicators that Lee could be many things to most people. He’s been a brother and mentor to his fellow Delta Upsilon alumni, their alumni corporation director and treasurer, a liaison between his house and his alma mater during the course of more than three transformative decades.

He was a mentor to the Class of 2007 during its senior year — and to the long list of Colgate staff members he hired while serving as director of development between 1968 and 1981.

The alumni council awarded Lee a Maroon Citation in 1985. But, 25 years later, we took another look at his entire record: his longstanding Presidents’ Club connection, his Maroon Council membership, the years on the Silver Puck Board of Directors, his work on his Reunion gift and Reunion program committees, his time on the alumni council. We saw that he created the Rowdy Raider program, which has successfully encouraged student attendance at athletic events.

We took it all in and had to admit that a litany like that requires more. Lee’s service — given while raising three children here in the village with his wife, Susan — deserves the highest recognition we can bestow. So tonight we are pleased to award him the Wm. Brian Little Award for Distinguished Service. 
 

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Dan Benton ’80

It’s a no-brainer now. But back in the 1980s, putting your money on Apple over IBM was bold. Dan Benton made that recommendation as one of Goldman Sachs’ top-rated analysts, and the rest is history. Or is it?

Dan was Phi Beta Kappa at Colgate. He earned his math degree magna cum laude and went on to study for his MBA at Harvard. (At this point, his son Alex, Class of 2011, is probably wishing the ceremony had ended 15 minutes ago.)

Dan spent almost 10 years with Goldman and five at Dawson Samberg before founding Pequot Capital Management in 1999, then Andor Capital Management in 2001. The knowledge he gained in these environments paid off for Colgate. As a nine-year veteran of the Board of Trustees — recruited by Brian Little himself — and chair of the Endowment Management and Finance Committee, Dan has helped guide the endowment through incredible market highs and the recent economic crisis.

Long before the campaign launch, Dan was providing generous support for projects like the Broad Street Community, a cornerstone of the university’s living-learning infrastructure. The $1.5 million Benton Challenge was directly responsible for record-breaking Annual Fund participation levels in 2003.

His present vision and resources have been devoted to the Benton Scholars Program, which identifies cohorts of talented undergraduate applicants and places them in a learning environment that hones their leadership skills.

Several years ago, Dan told the Colgate Scene, “Brian Little changed my life.” He said, “Brian didn’t just retire and go fishing; he retired and devoted the same amount of energy he had for business to his kids, his grandkids, his love of photography and Colgate. That has influenced me greatly.”

Dan’s influence on Colgate has, in turn, been so transformational, the university inducted him into the James B. Colgate Society in 2008 and presented him with an honorary doctorate during this year’s commencement. We are here tonight, five years after awarding him a Maroon Citation, to recognize the totality of his impact on our community.

In a wonderful moment of symmetry, and with many thanks, we do so by awarding Dan Benton the Wm. Brian Little Award for Distinguished Service. 
 

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