Founders' Day: Retirees
November 18, 2009
Berger, Marion Hire Date: Sep. 1, 1973 |
Hire Date: July 12, 1971 |
Caruso, Shirlee Hire Date: July 25, 1996 |
Goddard, Fred Hire Date: Feb. 18, 1975 |
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Evans, Hank Hire Date: Sep. 5, 1984 |
Keen, Sue Hire Date: April 8, 1996 |
Kenselaar, John Hire Date: Apil. 1, 1985 |
Kopp, Ernest Hire Date: May 9, 1994 |
Hire Date: July 19, 1971 |
Morales, Joseph Hire Date: Dec. 21, 1996 |
Morrison, Carol Hire Date: Sep. 1, 1983 |
Perkins, Brenda Hire Date: Feb. 28, 1972 |
Ramkissoon, Sieudial Hire Date: Sep. 12, 1988 |
Reynolds, Patricia Hire Date: Oct. 22, 1990 |
Roberts, Phyllis Hire Date: July 1, 1989 Unit: Cooperative Ed. |
Russell, Robert Hire Date: July 6, 1987 |
Shiffman, Mary Hire Date: Sep. 1, 1979 |
Hire Date: Sep. 1, 1971 |
Voto, Christine Hire Date: April 6, 1992 |
I joined Ramapo in 1971 as a counselor and later served as the Director of Career Planning and Placement, Assistant Dean of Students, Associate Dean of Students, Dean of Students ,and Vice President for Student Affairs. I retired at the end of May, 2009.
In recent years, much of my work was devoted to the transformation of Ramapo into a residential campus which included the construction of residence halls, expanding and changing student support services to meet the needs of a better-prepared student body, and working to have long-needed improvements in our recreation and sports facilities come to fruition.
I married Professor of History Henry Bischoff in 1973 and together we raised two daughters. Renee works in the public health field after finishing her M.P.A, degree at Columbia and Kendra is a doctoral student at Stanford University looking forward to joining the "family business."
Throughout the period of my service in Student Affairs, I was fortunate to work in close concert with Nancy Mackin who brought extraordinary leadership skills to her position as Dean of Students and with many other highly talented and deeply committed staff members.
Nancy, a Founder, began her service to Ramapo as Assistant Registrar. Subsequently, she was Registrar; Director of Student Development; Associate Dean of Students; and was Dean of Students for almost two decades. For the ten years before her retirment in June, 2009, a good part of her work focused on the transition of Ramapo to a residential college. She was heavily involved in the program development, selection of architects, procurement of funding, and overisght of the building process of Oak (now Bischoff) Hall, Maple (now Mackin) Hall, The Village, The Overloook, Trustees Pavilion, and Laurel Hall.
In the early years of the college, Nancy was heavily involved in campus governance through her election to the Academic Committee. She was also chosen by her peers to serve as a voting member and administrative manager of the presidential search committee which chose Bob Scott to lead Ramapo. In later years, her role as Dean offered opportunities to interact with the Board of Trustees and to serve on numerous all-College committees. She thoroughly enjoyed the process through which decisions about the future of the College were made.
Mostly, what Nancy says she enjoyed during her years at Ramapo was her interactions with students and colleagues: "Building a College is a very collaborative process, one that requires care and patience (lots of the latter!). Being able to be part of almost all of the history of the College has been my honor. I am particularly indebted to Pam Bischoff for all the support--personal and professional--she has provided over the years;to Dick Roberts who taught me everything I know about the financing and construction of college buildings; and to the literally thousands of students who provided a lifetime of memories. I also wish to thank each of the presidents of Ramapo, each of whom offered me opportunities to serve the Colleges in new and interesting ways. Above all, I thank my partner of thirty years, Tim Robinson, for being my first mentor and my best friend."
I was a member of the first group of Faculty to join Ramapo College when it opened in September 1971. As a member of TAS, I had to create a list of all the equipment and supplies that would be needed to teach chemistry. We were told the five science laboratories on the second floor of the D wing would be ready when the College opened. They weren't, so we had to make plans to teach our labs at an alternate site. Fortunate for us, the U.S. Army had recently abandoned a Nike missile site on Campgaw Road and we used the barracks for our lab courses during the first semester. The first few years at the College were very exciting and full of challenges. I served as the Director of TAS from 1981 to 1984, a time when State financial support for Higher Education began its decline. During those three years I learned that it was better to teach than be an administrator who always had to worry about budget matters. Since there was a growing need for Computer Science faculty in the 1980's, I enrolled at Stevens Institute of Technology, received a Masters degree in Computer Science in 1986 and began teaching Computer Science courses along with my Chemistry courses. A strong interest in Chemical safety and sustainability led me to introduce microscale organic chemistry experiments in 1988 and I served as the College Right to Know trainer for about 7 years. I enjoyed my many years at Ramapo College and enjoyed working with its excellent Faculty and Staff.
