CCSU Alumni Lead Rich Lives of Service and Accomplishment

Cynthia B. Cayer, Director of Development and Alumni Affairs

Central Connecticut State University has more than 60,000 living alumni, and 85 percent of them live and work in Connecticut. CCSU graduates can also be found in every state and in many nations around the world.  While it’s tempting to catalog our many excellent graduates, I will mention here only a few to suggest the key roles they play in richly diverse fields.

Our students learn the importance of service to the community, and our graduates embody that idea. Internationally, for example, the Rt. Rev. Justice O. Akrofi ’72 serves as the Archbishop of the Anglican Province of West Africa. Here in the U.S., Fran Mainella MS ’75 is the Director of the National Park Service, and John B. Larson ’71 is a four-term U.S. Congressman for Connecticut. At the state level, 11 CCSU alumni serve as members of the Connecticut General Assembly, including Rep. John S. “Corky” Mazurek ’83 and Rep. P. Faith McMahon MS ’68, who also serve on the CCSU Alumni Association Board of Directors. State Superior Court Judge Carmen Espinosa ’71 is the first Hispanic to hold that office. And William Millerick ’82 is the indefatigable president of the New Britain Chamber of Commerce.

Thousands of CCSU alumni work as educational leaders and classroom teachers.  Among them, Robert G. Hale, Jr. ’76, MS ’81, 6^th-Yr. ’84, principal of Westbrook High School, was named the 2006 Connecticut High School Principal of the Year by the Connecticut Association of Schools.  And Amy Doyle Coan MS ’04 is a chemistry teacher at East Catholic High School in Manchester, where she earned the New England Institute of Chemists Secondary School Chemistry Teachers Award.

CCSU alums have also compiled an enviable record in professional sports. Donna Fiedorowicz ’80 is vice president, Tournament Business Affairs, for the PGA “Champions Tour.” Reid Gorman ’94 is president of MacGregor Golf. Scott Pioli ’88 is vice president for player personnel for the New England Patriots and a three-time NFL Executive of the Year.

In business, industry, and finance, CCSU alumni are leaders.  Carol Ammon ’73 is the founder and board chair of Endo Pharmaceuticals. Angelo Messina ’75 is vice president and chief financial officer for Otis Elevator, Thomas Rogan ’74 is United Technologies Corporation’s vice president and treasurer. Locally, John Patrick ’82 is president of TD Banknorth, and Dan Siracusa ’79 is president of Siracusa Moving and Storage.

In arts and culture, CCSU graduates run the gamut from New York Times best-selling novelist Mary-Ann Tirone Smith ’65, to esteemed Hartford Courant columnist and WTIC-AM radio personality Stan Simpson ’85, to award-winning designer Renate Senzimer ’92, MS ’96, a senior graphics designer for ESPN, to Bill Berloni ’89, an animal trainer for major theatrical productions, including the original “Sandy” from the hit Broadway show Annie.

Serving nearly everywhere—in all segments of education, business, and industry—many alumni also actively support the University’s efforts in admissions, career advising, communications, and fundraising.  Always in motion, our graduates enjoy lives of accomplishment, personal satisfaction, and civic participation.

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