Nyack Rockland's

Newly Constructed Alumni Green Gazebo

and Honorary Degree Recipients

Dr. Theodore Roosevelt Malloch will be receiving an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree. Dr. Malloch is chairman and chief executive officer of The Roosevelt Group, a leading strategic advisory conference management and thought leadership company. He is also the founder and chairman of the not-for-profit, Spiritual Enterprise Institute (SEI), established in 2005. Dr. Malloch has authored seven books. His latest is Doing Virtuous Business: The Remarkable Success of Spiritual Enterprise.

Dr. Stuart McAllister will be receiving an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree. Dr. McAllister joined Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) in 1998 as the International Director and today is North American Regional Director and Vice President of Training. With a rich history of service, Stuart was general secretary of the European Evangelical Alliance (1992-1998) and has been involved with the European Lausanne Committee. He developed an evangelistic mobilization called "Love Europe," sending several thousand team members across Europe with the message of the Gospel. Stuart also founded the European Roundtable, bringing together a diverse group of ministries and interests that collaborated to foster "Hope for Europe."

 ATS 50th Anniversary Celebration

Alliance Theological Seminary celebrated its 50^th anniversary with a banquet at The View on the Hudson in Piermont, NY on February 10. The gathering drew retired, former, and current faculty and staff from the Rockland and New York City ATS campuses and nationwide to Rockland County. It was a time to rejoice over what God has done in and through the seminary since its inception as the Jaffray School of Missions in 1960.

The new "Barney-Shepherd Lifetime Achievement in Ministry Award" was presented to Dr. John and Mrs. Helen Ellenberger. The award, named for the seminary's first faculty, Dr. Linwood Barney and Dr. Jack Shepherd, acknowledged the servant-leadership of this distinguished couple. They are a part of a family that represents five generations of some 25 students who are alumni dating back to the days of the Missionary Training Institute through today's Nyack College.

Dr. John and Mrs. Helen Ellenberger

Dr. Tammy Lum, professor at Nyack Rockland's School of Music proudly reported on the performance of Nyack College vocal students and alumni led by Professor Shelley Jameson and David Mauillo. She said the performers, "rocked the world of quiet downtown Nyack with their "Opera in Place and Time" at the Nyack Library Carnegie Room Concert Series."  Dr. Lum explained, "This series that is accustomed to piano and instrumental recitals never experienced the white heat, over the top bel canto singing like this before. The executive director, Yashar Yaslowitz, was so blown away that he said staggeringly, '"Life will never be the same here after this! I am so overcome with emotions! You all have to come back to give recitals again.'" 

On the street, passersby wondered what the hubbub with tuxes and ball gowns was in the library. In response, some people said, "Nyack College students sang a concert, but they were all like professionals."

Nyack College hosted the seventh annual American Cancer Society College Relay for Life on Friday, March 25. Dominican College, SUNY Rockland Community College, and St. Thomas Aquinas College once again joined with us in the fight against cancer. The event was held in the Hennessy Center at Dominican College in Orangeburg, NY, from 6:00 pm until midnight.

The ACS College Relay for Life is an event that gives teams of college students, co-workers, families, and friends the opportunity to bond together while raising funds and awareness to fight cancer. This year's ACS College Relay for Life was dedicated to the memory of Lawrence D. Carrington, Sr. "Larry" is the father of Felicia Carrington, a Nyack College senior and social work major. 

As a prelude to celebrating the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, Nyack College hosted its sixth annual Social Justice Day Luncheon on the Rockland County campus in President's Hall of Shuman Hall.

A reception was held in the office of President Michael G. Scales to welcome local government officials, leaders of community organizations, and residents of Rockland County, as well as relatives of the luncheon honorees.

The 2011 Social Justice Awards were presented to the Honorable Harriet Cornell, chairperson of the Rockland County Legislature, and to Dr. Stella Marrs, community liaison specialist for the Rockland County Human Rights Commission.

Left to Right: Earl Miller (Executive Director of Community Relations), Dr. Stella Marrs, Hon. Harriet Cornell, Dr. Michael G. Scales (President)

Two posthumous awards paid tribute to the vital work of two elected officials who both passed away in 2010. New York State Senator Thomas P. Morahan and the Honorable William "Bill" Darden, vice chairman of the Rockland County Legislature, were recognized. As engraved on the plaques, the awards were presented "with sincere appreciation for leadership and commitment to building a better Rockland County community for all citizens." 

As a celebration of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, Nyack College and Orange & Rockland Utilities co-sponsored an oratory contest for local youth at the Nyack Center on February 5, 2011.

Middle school through high school students, ages 12-17, from Rockland schools were invited to participate. Five participants prepared and delivered a three to five minute segment of a speech composed by Dr. King. Delivery of the speeches was judged on content, comprehension of the material, interpretation, ability to stay within the allotted time, and overall presentation. Local teen contest winners were: third place to August St. Louis (Felix Festa Middle School); second prize to Maxim Ngolla (Nyack High School); and first prize to Devonte Gilchrist (Ramapo High School). Scholarship money was awarded to the winners who plan to attend Nyack College, Dominican College, St. Thomas Aquinas College, or SUNY Rockland Community College. First place prize was $1,000; second place prize, $500; and third place prize, $250. In addition, awards of $500, $300, and $200 were available to students who plan to attend other colleges and universities.

Nyack College students were among the more than 1,200 young men and women from high schools and colleges joined by faculty and staff at the Legislative Office Building in Albany, NY on Tuesday, February 8 for New York Student Aid Alliance Advocacy Day. This forum allowed participants to voice their opinions on the value of state student aid programs, including the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP), Grad TAP, the Arthur O. Eve Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP), the Science and Technology Entry programs (STEP/C-STEP), and the Liberty Partnerships Program.

Among the Nyack College advocates were Executive Director of Community Relations Earl Miller, along with Nathaniel Perez, Dashara Carter, Abraham Thomas, Todd Vester, Timothy Compere, Geraldine Villatoro, Edwin Soto, Patrick Almonor, Eric Thompson, Roosevelt Smith, Jonathan Moses, and David Victor. The group spent time with newly elected New York State Senator David Carlucci and Rockland Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee (pictured above with Nyack students (L-R: Edwin Soto, Dashara Carter, and Geraldine Villatoro).

Sheila C. Seery, Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities Vice President for Research and State and Local Relations, emailed the Nyack students with this comment: "It was great meeting you and getting to chat with you. Hearing your stories and your plans for the future is so uplifting. I am blessed to advocate for such a worthy cause."

The Nyack College/ATS campus communities recently lost a few extraordinary family members.

Dorothy Spidell (NC '50) went to be with the Lord on January 21, 2011. Miss Spidell worked at Nyack College from 1950-1963 first as Assistant Librarian and then as Librarian. She was also one of the founding mothers of The Association of Christian Librarians. In her final literary creation, Dorothy wrote, "My idea of Heaven, based on what pleases me most here on earth, is to be seated in a comfortable chair in a well-furnished room with book-lined shelves, a good book in hand...[and] a bowl of Macintosh apples at my elbow."

D. Jeanne Sweet (NC '63) went to be with her Lord on February 15, 2011. She served the Nyack College Business Office and ran the HUB, the Nyack College student lounge, in the 1950's.

Dr. Paul Frederick Liljestrand, Nyack College Professor Emeritus, went to be with the Lord on February 17, 2011. During his tenure at Nyack, beyond his role as an educator, he was a mentoring and loving presence for students and faculty alike. A graduate of The Juilliard School and the School of Sacred Music at Union Theological Seminary, he was the conductor of the Nyack College Chorale and presented the group to an international audience. A noted composer of sacred music, the world premiere of his oratorio, O God Our Help, was presented at the Norton Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, TX and the New York premiere was performed on the renowned Carnegie Hall stage in 1993.

Contributions can be made to the Dr. Paul F. Liljestrand Memorial Scholarship Fund, Nyack College School of Music, 1 South Boulevard, Nyack, NY. Checks should be made payable to Nyack College. An online register for expression of condolences can be signed at the funeral home's website: www.allenfh.com.

Marjorie Lois Dailey Cowles (NC '63) went to be with the Lord on March 3, 2011. Marjorie served with her husband as a missionary to the Philippine Islands from 1952 to 1963. She worked in the academic and admissions offices of Nyack College and ATS from 1965-1983, advising and mentoring countless students.

Rev. Robert L. Niklaus, Jr. passed away on March 13 at the age of 77. The 1955 graduate, who was also an adjunct professor at Nyack, served for a dozen years on the mission field in Belgian, Congo. He was an associate editor for the precursor of Alliance Life, The Alliance Witness, and a journalist for many other publications, including the monthly National Religious Broadcasters magazine. The celebrated wordsmith is known in the Nyack community for writing the historical piece, The School That Vision Built: Centennial Review of Nyack College 1882-1982. (Click here to read the document.) He also wrote several books on the global history of the Alliance and often traveled with a Christian & Missionary Alliance video team to film missionaries where they were serving. Rev. Niklaus retired from the C&MA in 2000 and became pastor of Mullein Baptist Church in Lakeville, MA.