Selected alumni profiles.
Caro “Kay” Shute McDowell '49Walter Swistak '61Frank Santopietro '67Brian Porto '74Mary Jane Behrends Clark '76Lorise Maynard '73Shannon Donovan '95, M.S. '99Sixcia Henderson '99Class Acts Profiles
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Caro “Kay” Shute McDowell '49
A few months ago, Kay McDowell made a bet with her grandson, Mark: if he got an A in his reading class, she’d go skydiving. She wanted to challenge him and offer him a fun incentive, but Kay has never needed a reason for an adventure.
After graduating from URI in 1949, she moved to Alaska, “as far as I could go and still speak English.” She got a job with 4-H and later earned her Master’s degree in Teaching, which led to a career as a junior high school reading teacher.
When she “started to feel the cold” in Alaska after living there for 21 years, Kay and her husband settled in Mesa, Ariz., where Kay found more adventures. “I’ve been over the Grand Canyon in a helicopter, down the Canyon on a mule, and down the Colorado River whitewater rafting.” She has twice been crew in the Reno Balloon Race, and she’s tried parasailing, so skydiving naturally seemed like the next challenge.
After Kay made the deal with Mark, her daughter arranged the tandem skydiving jump for her 77th birthday. When making the arrangements, Kay’s daughter asked if there was an age limit and was told, “Yes, you have to be 18.”
When the big day came, wasn’t she a bit nervous? “No! I was excited, not at all nervous. I thought it was a neat thing to do. It was a perfect day and I landed like a feather.” The ride down lasted about five minutes, allowing Kay to enjoy the glorious landscape of Eloy, Ariz., spread out below her. “It was a wonderful day!”
So what did Mark have to say about his grandmother’s wild ride? “I’ve got the coolest grandma ever!” This Coventry, R.I., native wasn’t quite as adventurous when she attended URI. “I was broke! I couldn’t do anything but go to school, but my mind was always on adventure.”
—Susan Farley
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Walter Swistak '61
Three days after graduating at URI’s 76th commencement in 1961, Walter Swistak received a letter of congratulations from President Francis Horn for being the graduate with the most children—five.
Swistak was already special because he was one of 12 World War II veterans employed at the Navy base in Newport who earned electrical engineering degrees through the University’s Extension Division in Providence. What began in 1951 with 35 men meeting two nights a week for three-hour sessions of study with periodic visits to campus to complete laboratory requirements became a decade of working toward a degree.
When he began college, Swistak and his wife of 60 years, Helen, already had three children with a fourth on the way. The fifth was born during the 10-year span.
Graduating with Swistak were James French, John Kane, Ernest Tonnes, James Banks, Cletus Dennis, Vincent Ferris, William Fitzpatrick, Joseph Huttler, James Irons, Warren Neville, and William Ochab. They ranged in age from 37 to 50.
“So many people had the capability to further their education, but they never got the chance because of the war,” said Swistak, who logged 1,800 hours of flight time as a blimp pilot. “We signed up for the program because the labor market was very competitive, and we all wanted to better ourselves.”
“It wasn’t easy because you have a job, family, and lots of homework,” Swistak said. “My wife worked as a nurse from 3-11 p.m. When I got home, I’d relieve the sitter, and I’d do homework when the kids went to bed. You didn’t realize how much went into what you were doing until you were done.”
For Swistak, the degree resulted in a professional promotion to general engineer.
All five of Swistak’s children earned URI degrees. Mark, Susan, Sally, and Michael earned undergraduate degrees, while the eldest, Chris, earned his master’s degree. Mark’s wife, Debbie, and two of their children are also graduates, while a third child is now a URI senior.
—Shane Donaldson ’99
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Frank Santopietro '67
Dr. Frank Santopietro has helped scores of athletes accomplish great feats.
He is the podiatrist for the New England Patriots, the Providence College Friars, and the Boston College Eagles. With the Patriots he has worked year-round not only treating injuries, but also finding ways to prevent injuries and improve performance. His patients have included everyone from Arthur Ashe to NFL, NBA, MLB, and Olympic athletes. A former consultant to the Boston Ballet, he was medical director of the Ocean State Marathon from 1979 to 1986.
Santopietro is on staff at Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Boston, where he headed the Division of Sports Medicine Podiatry Clinic for 26 years. He is also affiliated with Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, Mass General Hospital, and New England Baptist Hospital. He taught at Brown University Medical School until 2002.
In college Santopietro studied biology, thought about dentistry, and considered a career in art. After graduation, he enlisted in the Naval Officer Candidate School, where he trained with several podiatrists and became hooked.
“I didn’t like the morbidity of the work involved with being a regular doctor,” said Santopietro, who attended medical school at Temple University. “I chose podiatry because it involved a surgical specialty, and I liked the idea of studying the biomechanics that affect the foot and lower extremities.”
His expertise led to work with shoe companies Converse, Nike, and Saucony. From 1977 to 1989, Santopietro was a designer for Saucony, developing shoe models used throughout the industry. His designs include the Saucony Jazz running shoe and outsole design; the Dixon, which featured the first rear foot stabilization device; and the Freedom Trainer; which featured the first two-density progressive pronation midsole.
Sports have been a major influence on Santopietro. The former URI wrestler coaches young athletes in soccer and hockey. He was the founder and coach of the first Massachusetts public school girls’ hockey teams, the Westwood Wolverines (1992-1999).
“I have the greatest job in the world,” said Santopietro. “Being an athlete and sports fan has definitely helped me because I can relate to the people I’m treating.”
—Shane Donaldson ’99
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Brian Porto '74
If Brian Porto had his way, major college athletics would look very different than it does today.
Porto, a cross-country runner for URI in the 1970s, would use Title IX, the federal legislation that outlawed sex discrimination in schools, to eliminate what he says is the current commercial sports model in favor of one that emphasizes participation.
Porto would eliminate athletic scholarships, tutoring programs that serve athletes only, and spring football practice. “We have to get away from using athletics as a way to build revenues and brand names,” Porto said. “You build up more alumni support if your academic product is good.”
Some might say, “Yeah, what does he know about big-time college athletics?” He knows plenty. He spent two years writing A New Season, Using Title IX to Reform College Sports, (2003 Praeger Publishers), a 245-page book that argues forcefully for making students, not money, the emphasis of college sports.
The 1974 political science graduate, now a lawyer in Windsor, Vt., says in the book’s preface that sports, like music recitals, are important because they force students to confront their fears and limitations in public, which academic programs typically do not. He also says that when sports are “primarily a means of earning money and gaining public visibility, they do not belong on college campuses.”
His own URI athletic experience meshed well with his academic and other activities at the University. However, Porto said that sports as part of a well-rounded university experience at the Division I level has now become just a quaint notion.
“A New Season, as its title suggests, is a hopeful book,” Porto says in his preface. “It is based on the belief that there can be fiscal sanity, academic integrity, personal responsibility, and gender equity in college sports.”
—Dave Lavallee ’79, M.P.A ’87
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Mary Jane Behrends Clark '76
If you know and love Rhode Island, you are in for a special treat when you pick up a copy of Mary Jane Clark’s latest mystery, which is set in Newport. In the acknowledgment section of Hide Yourself Away, Clark proclaims the book to be a “valentine” to the Ocean State.
Clark graduated from URI in 1976 with a dual degree in journalism and political science. A few months later, she landed a job at CBS News in the New York City headquarters. She began as a desk assistant on the night shift and rose through the ranks to become a writer and producer—a position she still holds today.
Her other persona as a best-selling mystery author came along later. In the early 1990s, Clark’s life took a dark turn. Her young son was diagnosed with Fragile X, the most common form of genetically transferred mental retardation. She and her husband—the son of celebrated mystery author Mary Higgins Clark—divorced. Needing a creative focus in her life, Clark penned her first mystery, Do You Want to Know A Secret?
Success didn’t come overnight. It wasn’t until 1998, after a friend had read the manuscript, that the book reached the hands of a publishing industry professional. Within two weeks, Clark had signed a contract with St. Martin’s Press. Since that time, she has authored seven successful mysteries. All are set in the world of broadcasting, an arena that Clark knows well.
Clark’s love of Rhode Island was sparked by her time as a URI undergraduate. The New Jersey native speaks glowingly of the campus and her experiences there. When asked how she came to study at URI, Clark laughs. “My father was an FBI agent tracking a spy at the Naval War College; URI’s student union was a drop site. My dad was so impressed with the campus that he recommended I go there.”
Now there’s a twist worthy of her mystery novels.
For more about Clark and her work, go to www.maryjaneclark.com.
—Jennifer Sherwood ’89
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Lorise Maynard '73
In the late 1960s, URI established the Special Programs for Talent Development to provide tuition, tutoring, and room and board to students who would not otherwise have been able to attend college.
Among the first students admitted to this program was Lorise Maynard, whose hard work has resulted in a long and accomplished career of helping others to become successful and “own a piece of America.”
Maynard enrolled in the College of Business Administration and majored in management. Her interest in business was fired by the Civil Rights movement. “It was about economics,” she explains. “If we could own our own businesses, then we could own a piece of America.”
After graduating from URI and working briefly as an event planner for an upstate New York shopping center, Maynard moved to California and entered the world of defense contracts as a procurement specialist. She saw first hand how the proper education of small business owners could help them procure lucrative defense contracts and allow them to become important members of the community and vital components of this country’s economy.
Massive layoffs in the defense field in the early 1990s left Maynard temporarily without a job. Soon she was hired by the San Diego County Water Authority as a small contractor outreach and opportunity program representative. Here she was able to make tremendous strides in improving the success of small businesses in the area.
Maynard’s experience in developing training programs for small businesses made her an expert in her field and earned her national recognition. She soon instituted a scholarship program with funding from large and small business owners. Since its inception, this program has awarded over $100,000 in scholarships.
For Maynard, this is the ultimate success. She has been able to reach out and set others on the road to high achievement that she herself has followed.
—Susan Farley
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Shannon Donovan '95, M.S. '99
The notion of sustainability is not just something Shannon Donovan teaches to her students at Scituate High School; it’s something she lives and practices every day. “I’ve always been interested in sustainability. It’s been a dream of mine to live ‘off the grid,’” she says.
A former doctoral student in botany, Donovan says that her days as a graduate teaching fellow in marine and environmental science education “rekindled my desire to live more lightly on the earth.” She decided to forgo a life in academia in order to become a teacher and active environmentalist.
When she is not teaching, Donovan devotes her time to the Apeiron Institute, located in her hometown of Coventry, R.I. The organization’s mission is to create ecologically healthy communities by bringing sustainable living practices from around the world to Rhode Island. This includes choosing ecologically sound technologies, utilizing renewable energy sources and sustainable agriculture, practicing preventive and holistic-oriented healthcare, and operating under green business practices.
Donovan became involved with the Apeiron Institute last year after hearing about the group’s annual Sustainable Living Festival. Soon she became one of the festival’s most committed volunteers. Today, Donovan serves on the festival planning committee, putting together workshops on all aspects of sustainability, including solar, wind, hydro, and bio fuels; healing arts; and vegan cooking.
Her work on Apeiron’s education committee includes helping to expand the curriculum for after-school programs that teach elementary and middle school students about sustainability. Student activities include building solar ovens, reducing energy waste at home and school, organic gardening, and recording detailed observations about the environment through journaling.
“My hope is that through my involvement with groups like Apeiron, the young people that I work with will see that every person has the ability to bring about meaningful change in the world, especially when we start working for that change in the place we call home.”
—Susan Farley
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Sixcia Henderson '99
By the time Sixcia Henderson was born in 1976, her mother had endured six operations in six years. Her grandfather said the miracle of the child was a secret, but she would be intelligent, just like the CIA. Thus, Sixcia.
Henderson, who was born in Providence and raised there by her Dominican mother, watched as friends dropped out of school, got pregnant, or turned to drugs. She wanted something better in life.
With the financial support and academic guidance of URI’s Special Programs for Talent Development, Henderson obtained a double degree in communication studies and Spanish with a minor in international development.
Today she is a client services manager for the Center for Women and Enterprise in Providence. “I help women write business plans and inform them about researchers in Rhode Island who can help them,” said Henderson, who runs a program called Power Up. ”Our programs help women either starting or growing a business. We teach them how to operate their businesses.”
Henderson holds weekly meetings with her clients to discuss their business hopes and brings in experts, ranging from accountants to marketing specialists, to talk to them. “I like to hear about these women and their ideas,” Henderson said. “Listening to what they want and helping them achieve their goals is so rewarding.”
Henderson has lived in France and Spain, worked for the mayor of Providence, and served as assistant director of the International Trade Center in New Orleans. She worked at Harvard University and was developing a company to teach clients how to do business in other countries when she landed her current job.
Asked if she could have believed that she would accomplish so much so soon, she was honest. “Probably, yes. And I’m still not done,” said Henderson, who married John Devine, a lecturer in communication studies at URI, in July. “I love to dream, and I know that anything is possible.”
—Shane Donaldson ’99
