Constance Riley Doesn’t Sit Life Out She raised eight children, worked tirelessly in human services, and was an activist in the civil rights, peace, and women’s movements, but at age 86, Constance Riley ‘73, completed what she considers her greatest accomplishment: her first book. Chair City of the World (Xlibris, 2009) is a history of her hometown of Gardner as well as a family memoir and social history chronicling her life-long causes. Throughout her life, Riley strived to follow the advice of one of her heroines, Lucy Stone, the 19th-century crusader for women’s rights and abolition, to make the world better. She began a program to distribute free books to lowincome children, was a founding member of the Worcester Coalition for Disarmament, and helped establish and run local women’s centers. Riley returned to college at age 43 and graduated from UMass Amherst at 50. While she doesn’t get to many vigils these days, Riley regularly sends emails to about 200 people on causes that move her. “I’m still at it,” she says. “The peace movement is a long, long struggle.” For more on Riley and her book: chaircityoftheworld.com.
Mimi White ’70 says “it took forever to get a book out,” but here it is. Her poetry collection, The Last Island (Deerbrook Editions, 2009), has been praised for its unexpected transformations and revelations that arise from common events. White has taught creative writing for 25 years and is co-director of PicturePoets of AIR, a nonprofi t that provides arts and cultural experiences to teenage girls. She was poet laureate of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, from 2005 to 2007.
Albin Irzyk ’40, a highly decorated brigadier general, served in the Army for 31 years. His many accomplishments include commanding a tank battalion under General Patton; leading a cavalry regiment along the Iron Curtain during the Berlin Crisis of 1961; and serving for two years in Vietnam, where he had 600 combat hours in a helicopter. Irzyk wrote Unsung Heroes, Saving Saigon (Ivy House Publishing Group, 2009) to ensure that the accomplishments of the Headquarters Area Command in Saigon are never forgotten. He lives in Florida with his wife of 61 years, Evelyn.
William Koch ’55 has published The Diary of Elsie Kleiner Koch 1932 (Jean Shadrack Publishing, 2009) based on his mother’s diary. “It tells the story of her life in 1932 during the Great Depression in Adams. This could be the story of most towns and families in Massachusetts during that year,” he writes.
Stephen Cummings ’71G has campaigned for Democratic candidates since the rise of Eugene McCarthy in 1968 and is active in the Democratic party in Ventura, California. His book is Red States, Blue States and the Coming Sharecropper Society (Algora Publishing, 2008).
Jill C. Dardig ’74EdD is a professor of education at Ohio Dominican University in Columbus. “I am convinced that all teachers can use a variety of simple but effective strategies for communicating with and involving parents,” she says. Her latest book is Involving Parents of Students with Special Needs: 25 Ready-to-Use Strategies (Corwin Press, 2008).
Todd MacAlister ’76 brings a new perspective to the discussion of science and religion in Einstein’s God: A Way of Being Spiritual Without the Supernatural (Apocryphile Press, 2008). MacAlister is the founder, president, and chief instructional designer for Charles River Instructional Systems, which develops medical education/training programs.
Joseph Niemczura ’77 has taught nursing at the University of Hawaii at Manoa for four years. His book, The Hospital at the End of the World (Plain View Press, 2009) describes the first summer he spent teaching nursing and working in a mission hospital in rural Nepal. He made his third trip to Nepal in 2009.
Linda Thomson ’77G is a pediatric nurse practitioner certified in clinical hypnosis. She incorporates hypnosis into her practice to help children help themselves with physical and emotional problems. Harry the Hypno-Potamus: Metaphorical Tales for Children, Volume II (Crown House Publishing, 2009) is her second book to teach children about hypnosis and the power of imagination. Each metaphor is about a different animal with a problem common to children. Thomson lives in Ludlow, Vermont.
Lev Raphael ’78G, the son of Holocaust survivors, has written a critically acclaimed memoir, My Germany: A Jewish Writer Returns to the World His Parents Escaped (University of Wisconsin Press, 2009). Haunted by his parents’ suffering and traumatic losses under Nazi rule, Raphael was certain that Germany was one place in the world he would never visit. Those feelings shaped his Jewish and gay identity, his life, and his career. Raphael lives in Okemos, Michigan, and has written 18 other books. levraphael.com.
Robert Surbrug ’92, ’03G, is assistant professor of history at Bay Path College in Longmeadow. His book Beyond Vietnam: The Politics of Protest in Massachusetts, 1974-1990 (University of Massachusetts Press, 2009) reassesses the impact of the activist left on American politics after the Vietnam War. “I made extensive use of the UMass Amherst Special Collections and Archives, which has an abundance of excellent material on activist history,” Surbrug writes. “UMass Amherst itself comes into play at several points in the book, most notably during the 1986 anti-CIA protests.”
John Galluzzo ’93 is program coordinator and citizen science coordinator for Mass Audubon’s South Shore Sanctuaries by day, freelance writer and editor by night. He has 26 books in print and four more on the way. His latest two books are Images of America: Monhegan Island (Arcadia, 2009) and Lifesavers of the South Shore: A History of Rescue and Loss (History Press, 2008), about the heroism of local men who served in the U.S. Life-Saving Service. Inspired by an NPR piece about the habits of centenarians, Galluzzo walks a minimum of 30 minutes daily and blogs about his walks at: halfanhouraday.blogspot.com.
Janet MacFadyen ’93G wrote a book-length poem drawn from her travels along the west coast of Newfoundland, A Newfoundland Journal (Killick Press, 2009). “For almost 20 years I have kept journals while traveling or hiking,” she says. “It was my UMass Amherst advisor, Peter Elbow, who got me in the habit of using journals for all kinds of purposes. I started exploring longer poems, longer lines; trying to capture more of an experience rather than less of it, not letting the demand for conciseness shut a poem down before it had a chance to breathe.” MacFadyen’s husband and fellow traveler, Stephen Schmidt ’73, took the book’s cover photo.
Robert Forrant ’94G has published Metal Fatigue: American Bosch and the Demise of Metalworking in the Connecticut River Valley (Baywood Publishing Co., Inc, 2009). Forrant is a professor in the department of regional economic and social development at UMass Lowell and has been a consultant to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the International Labour Organization. Before completing his graduate education, he worked for many years as a machinist and union business agent.
David J. Valley ’57 was a member of General MacArthur’s security unit during the occupation of Japan in World War II. He later spent several years in Japan working in high-tech. His seventh book and fourth novel, Bright Life: Framing Japan’s Constitution (Sektor Publications, 2009), is a historical novel that draws on his life experience. Valley is also active in veterans organizations and writes for Poker Player. He and his wife, Dottie, live in Rancho Bernardo, California.
Nancy Rial ’70 was always curious about her uncle Alan, killed in World War II in the battle for Metz. She tells his story in Alan’s Letters (self-published) through his letters, maps, photos, and background history. “I created this book because when I traveled with my family to World War II museums in the U.S. and Europe, there were few books that would appeal to families with teens,” she says. “This book could introduce the topic to another generation of Americans.” Rial is a library media specialist with the Cambridge Public Schools. alansletters.com
Peter Manseau ’96 designed his BDIC major in religious studies and creative writing. His latest book, Rag and Bone: A Journey Among The World’s Holy Dead (Holt, 2009) examines relics—the bits and pieces of long-dead saints at the heart of nearly all religious traditions. One reviewer said the book “reads like a novel, entertains like a television docudrama, and educates like the best college professor you ever had.” Manseau is the editor of Search magazine, which explores the intersection of science, religion, and culture. He is a doctoral candidate in religion and lecturer in journalism at Georgetown University. He lives in Washington, DC, with his wife and two daughters. petermanseau.com
Caroline Liebenow ’98 has produced a coloring and storybook, Color a Lizard’s Tale (lulu.com, 2009). The book teaches children about anole lizards and encourages respect for wildlife. Liebenow showcases her work in fi ne textile designs, graphic design prints, and decorative photography on her website, liebenowdesign. com. “I would love to network with other alumni in the fi ne craft or other creative fi elds,” she says. She lives in New Hampshire.
Trudy Milburn ’98G moved with her husband, Chris Christian ’96G, and their daughter back to her home state of California to launch the communication major at the newest California state university, Channel Islands. She was formerly an associate professor of communication studies at Baruch College in New York City. Her book is Nonprofit Organizations: Creating Membership Through Communication (Hampton Press, 2009).
Timothy Willig ’02G is an assistant professor of history and coordinator of the Native American Studies Program at Onodaga Community College in Syracuse, New York. He is the author of Restoring the Chain of Friendship: British Policy and the Indians of the Great Lakes, 1783-1815 (University of Nevada Press, 2008).
Jean Williams ‘06 says she is “an avid reader, writer and volunteer for charity organizations in her area….the mother of one son and a mentor to many.” She has published The State of Gracie (Xlibris, 2009), about a single working mother who is wary to love again, but a chance encounter brings new possibilities and a new love. For more information: jgraciew.com.
Claire Puccia Parham ’94G published The St. Lawrence Seaway and Power Project: An Oral History of the Greatest Construction Show on Earth (Syracuse University Press, 2009). Puccia Parham reveals the human side of the project in the words of its engineers, laborers, and carpenters. “As a graduate of the Labor Studies program,” she writes, “this book is a reflection of what I learned during my time at UMass.” She is an instructor in the History Department at Siena College in Loudonville, New York.
Holly Robinson ’84G has been a freelance writer, including working as a contributing editor to Ladies’ Home Journal and Parents, since 1995. Prior to that, she was a science writer at UMass Medical Center. Her affectionate memoir, The Gerbil Farmer’s Daughter (Harmony Books, 2009), recalls her childhood in West Brookfield on a farm with nearly 9,000 gerbils. authorhollyrobinson.com
