Performing Arts Dinner

Before listening to the melodic voice of Lorna Luft, Judy Garland’s daughter, singing Garland’s songs, Roadrunner community members enjoy one of the Foundation’s Performing Arts Dinners.

Ed Chapel ’77 holds a special place in the Ramapo College community. For 28 straight years, and 37 years in total, he consistently has donated to his alma mater through the Ramapo College Foundation. This makes him one of the most dedicated alumni supporters in college history.

“If not for Ramapo, I would not be who I am today,” Chapel says with a warm smile. He admits he was “a terrible student in high school. All I wanted to do was work and play ice hockey.” He wanted to be baker and worked many late hours at the Purity Bakery in Westwood, preparing the shop for the morning bakers. His parents were firm about his education, however, and Chapel landed at Ramapo.

Despite what he called his “less-than-stellar” academic history, Chapel was highly motivated once he arrived at Ramapo. He excelled both in the classroom and on the ice. He recalls, “It was such a varied curriculum and that is the strength of the Ramapo education. And playing hockey made my college experience even more rewarding.” A sociology major, Chapel fondly remembers taking a wide range of courses that he noted gave him the ability to think from multiple perspectives. By his senior year, he had received the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Scholar-Athlete award for his academic achievements and ascended to be captain of the hockey team.

Chapel continued his success after Ramapo, going on to earn his doctorate in sociology. As he completed that degree, he made his first donation: $30 to the Fund for Ramapo College. He kept giving, and since 1998, he has made a gift every year. He directs his support among a few causes that matter most to him, especially the Ice Hockey Club Team.

Ed Chapel ’77, courtesy of NJEdge.net

1981

Anthony J. DePrima (Human Ecology) has been nominated by the governor of Delaware to serve on the state’s Nuclear Energy Feasibility Task Force. Tony is the retired founding executive director of the Delaware sustainable energy utility Energize Delaware. He earned a doctorate in urban affairs and public policy from the University of Delaware and a master’s degree in regional planning from Virginia Tech.

Donald V. McCormick (Economics) joined Libra Industries as senior vice president of sales and marketing. The company provides electronic manufacturing services to a variety of industries.

1986

Timothy Nolan (Communication Arts) joined Quantum Life Systems as chief marketing officer. He has held senior roles at A&E, HBO and the History Channel.

1991

Timothy Greene (B.S. Business Administration) recently retired from his position as a special agent with the Internal Revenue Service’s ��Criminal Investigation Division after 25 years of service. He spent 22 years of his career assigned to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Task Force. (As pictured)

2000

Sabrina Krawczyk (Political Science) recently was elected to a three-year term on the Westwood Regional Board of Education.

2003

Nikeisha van Sleeuwen (Contemporary Arts) was appointed chief human resources officer at DSM-Firmenich, a Swiss-based international manufacturing company. Nikeisha began her career at the company nearly two decades ago. She earned a degree in HR Management Studies from Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

2005

Jessica Cullen (Political Science) was named to a leadership position at Lockton Companies within its U.S. casualty business. She was appointed head of excess casualty and operations. Jessica joined Lockton in 2024 as head of the U.S. casualty practice in London. Previously, she served as managing director of casualty practice at Gallagher.

2007

Katelyn Tanis (Sociology) is the new sales director for Cedar Crest, an Erickson Senior Living-managed community in Pompton Plains. Before joining Cedar Crest, Kate served as director of sales at Lantern Hill, an Erickson Senior Living-managed community in New Providence.

Ze Zeon (Communication Arts) has been selected as one of only 25 senior administrators nationwide to participate in the 2025-26 National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) ADA ��Fellows program, which supports professional growth of senior-level collegiate athletics administrators. Ze is deputy director of athletics and chief development officer at Binghamton University.

2008

Gregory Elfers (History) recently joined Montclair State University as associate director of philanthropic engagement. Gregory previously was part of the fundraising team for the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic. He also leads fundraising for Gay Social, an organization dedicated to fostering connection and belonging within the LGBTQ+ community in New Jersey.

2009

Erin Colfax (MSET), a science integrationist at the Unity Charter School in Morris Township, has been named one of the winners of the 26th annual Governor’s Environmental Excellence Awards. She was honored for her work in environmental education, bringing sustainability and climate-focused learning to her students.

2010

Shanikwa Lemon-Watson (Psychology) has been named executive director at the Paterson Alliance, an organization supporting nonprofits in the city. Previously, she served as program manager and director of programs and impact. She is pursuing a master of business administration degree at William Paterson University.

2016

Ian Godfrey (Political Science) has been appointed director of New Jersey Congressional District 9. Ian, who was appointed by Congresswoman Nellie Pou, recently served as chief of staff for Passaic Mayor Hector Lora. Before that, Ian was on the staff of the late Congressman Bill Pascrell Jr.

2019

Achyut Gautam (Business Administration) recently received a master of business administration degree from the University of Oxford. He attended under a Skoll Scholarship, an opportunity for social entrepreneurs to pursue an Oxford MBA with full financial support. Achyut is the co-founder of Khetipati Organics, which seeks to minimize post-harvest loss and foster economic growth in rural Nepal.

2020

Ryan Greff (Business Administration), executive director of Fair Lawn Main Street Inc., was elected chairman of the Bergen County Workforce Development Board. Ryan is also a member of the N.J. Commission on National and Community Service. He is a member of the Anisfield School of Business alumni advisory board.

2023

Brooke Savercool (Sociology) has joined the Town of Boonton Police Department as a special law enforcement officer.

2025

Brielle Pelissier (BSW, MSW) joined West Essex Middle School in North Caldwell as a social worker.

Instagram posts, short films and creative writing focused on North Africa – for someone who spent a large part of his career writing about British Gothic literature, this is a 180-degree turn.

Ramapo College Literature Professor Benjamin Eric Daffron, currently based in Marrakech, Morocco teaching at Cadi Ayyad University as part of the prestigious Fulbright U.S. Scholar program, once focused his scholarship and teaching on authors such as Jane Austen, Lord Byron and Mary Shelley. A few years ago, he underwent what he describes as a “radical transformation” in his research pursuits. “During the (COVID-19) lockdown, I sought to make sense of what was happening to and around me… As I wrote my way through and out of lockdown, I composed essays that blended the personal with the theoretical, something altogether unprecedented in my career.”

This type of writing and scholarship not only was new to Daffron but also to the world of contemporary literature. Daffron’s research has focused on autotheory, an emerging genre in the literary scene. Described as “the chimera of research and imagination” (Arianne Zwartjes, “Autotheory as Rebellion,” Michigan Quarterly Review), the genre blends personal narrative with scholarly reflection. Daffron has introduced this new genre to Ramapo through a new senior seminar course for English and Literary Studies majors called Autotheory: Critical Reflections on Life, in which students examined the genre through memoirs, essays and more and used it to surface topics ranging from sexuality and race to language and affect. This blend reflects Ramapo’s distinction as a public liberal arts college – the interdisciplinary nature of critical inquiry.

In January 2023, Daffron experienced what he calls “a watershed moment”: his first visit to Morocco. “That trip ignited a love for the country that found expression in a series of creative and critical pieces, in particular travel memoirs, as well as translations from French to English of stories.” He returned in an almost addictive manner, traveling there four more times in the next two years. “Something about the Marrakshi way of life kept summoning me,” Daffron writes in “Marrakech’s Medina: ‘A Simple Path of Reading,’” published in Panorama: The Journal of Travel, Place, and Nature.

Why Les Paul Matters Here

The studio’s name is no coincidence. Les Paul not only was a legendary guitarist but also a relentless innovator who helped redefine how music is created, recorded and experienced. His experiments with multitrack recording and sound layering changed the recording process, influencing generations of musicians and producers.

That spirit of experimentation aligns closely with Ramapo’s philosophy. “We never wanted to be a ‘button-pushing’ program,” said Neill. “We wanted to train musicians who think creatively and technologists who understand music.”

That shared vision drew the attention of the Les Paul Foundation, whose mission is to preserve Paul’s inventive spirit through education. In 2013, the foundation awarded Ramapo a $150,000 grant, matched by the College, to help build a studio that reflects that approach to learning.

Ramapo was also a natural fit because of its local connection to Paul. He lived in Mahwah for more than 50 years, working from his home studio and remaining closely tied to the community until his death in 2009. The studio’s presence on campus continues that connection, linking Paul’s legacy of innovation directly to the next generation of musicians and producers.

The ribbon cutting at the Les Paul Studio in 2016.

Today, that legacy is most evident in how students use the space, experimenting, collaborating and finding their creative voice.

“Back in the ’70s and ’80s, almost no one was doing this,” Neill said. “Ramapo was.”

As demand for music production education grew, the studio transitioned from a nice addition to an essential facility. After years of planning, building and selecting equipment, the Les Paul Studio officially opened in 2016 and has continually improved through regular upgrades that meet industry standards.

Beyond the Classroom Walls

The studio’s influence extends beyond coursework. Faculty use it for professional recordings and research-based creative projects, blurring the line between academic work and artistic practice. Neill recorded his opera “Fantini Futuro” in the Les Paul Studio, later performing it in Venice while continuing work toward its release – an example of how the space functions not only as a classroom but also as a working creative environment.

That creative momentum increasingly extends beyond campus. In November, students in Ramapo’s Creative Music Technology MFA program transformed Fridman Gallery in New York City into an immersive sound installation inspired by composer and performer David Tudor’s “Rainforest.” The event, Rainforest+, reimagined Tudor’s concept of an “orchestra of loudspeakers,” where everyday objects became instruments vibrating and resonating to create a living soundscape. MFA students designed and performed original responses to Tudor’s work, turning the gallery into an evolving sonic environment shaped by experimentation, collaboration and audience interaction.

For faculty and students alike, projects like this reflect how the Les Paul Studio functions as a starting point rather than an endpoint. Ideas developed in the studio move outward into professional venues, connecting Ramapo’s creative work to broader artistic conversations. The experience mirrors the program’s philosophy: Learning happens not only through instruction but also through making, performing and sharing work in real-world contexts.

Although more institutions are investing in music technology, Neill believes that Ramapo’s early commitment to music technology and its liberal arts environment set it apart. “Technology will keep changing,” he said. “But the ability to think musically, creatively and critically, that’s what lasts.”

Ten years in, the Les Paul Studio remains one of Ramapo’s most distinctive academic spaces, honoring a legendary innovator while preparing students to help shape the future of the music industry. “The studio gives you the chance to take your work seriously,” Strain said. “You’re surrounded by people who want to make something real, and that pushes you to grow. A decade later, it’s still a place where students can walk in with an idea and leave with something they never thought they could make.”

Vanessa Garcia ’28 never lost her smile.

Not when she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at 10 years old. Not when she spent weeks and months at a time on the pediatric oncology floor, out of her school and away from her friends.

“I never once felt sad. I always used to say, ‘I feel so uncomfortable with the chemo,’ because it literally felt like a house breaking inside of you, but I was never down. I was always smiling,” Garcia said of the three-and-a-half years she spent in and out of St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital in Paterson, NJ.

There were many people who kept her spirits up. Her mother spent the days and nights with her. Her father visited after work. The child life specialists played with her and gave her toys and activities. Staff of the nonprofit the Valerie Fund supported her and her family both financially and mentally – even sending her to Camp Happy Times, a summer camp where she connected with other pediatric cancer patients.

And the nurses – many of whom were childhood cancer survivors themselves – made her feel comfortable, like she was not alone. Their kindness and example ultimately inspired her future.

Inspired to Help

“The experience definitely impacted me and changed me a lot,” Garcia said. “I wouldn’t be the same person if I hadn’t gone through that. I know that it shaped me to be stronger.”

Garcia went into remission in 2016, and in 2019 finished the intense treatments she had to undergo to ensure the cancer did not return. Five years later, backed by a scholarship for childhood cancer survivors from the Valerie Fund and support from the New Jersey Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF), she enrolled in the��Bachelor of Science in Nursing program��at Ramapo College of New Jersey.

“I was always a child running around and helping everyone. So I always said I would want to come back one day and be a nurse to kids with cancer, and be like, ‘it’s okay. I know what you are going through.’” Garcia said. “I feel like that’s what keeps me going because I’m going to be able to help them just like they helped me.”

Garcia said all of the nurses that treated her were amazing, but one in particular, named Danny Garcia, stood out. To transfer chemo and medicine into her body, she had a port inserted deep under her skin. He taught her how to stand properly so hospital staff could find the port and inject the medications in a way that would not hurt her, she said.

“He stood out to me because he was the one that always helped me and showed me how to do things properly so I wouldn’t get hurt,” she said.

Choosing Ramapo Nursing

Garcia said she first looked at Ramapo because she wanted to attend a small college close to her Paterson, NJ home. When she visited Ramapo’s welcoming, picturesque campus in nearby Mahwah, NJ, she thought, “I can actually see myself going here.”

Then she researched Ramapo’s nursing school, and decided, “That’s it. This is where I am going.”

��A top nursing school in New Jersey, Ramapo consistently demonstrates “superior nursing education and quality,” and “stands out with its exceptional NCLEX pass rates,” according to��. An impressive 223 students who graduated from Ramapo and sat for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) exam in��2023��and��2024��yielded a 100% pass rate.

“I love my decision, because I love being here,” Garcia said.

She credits��Ramapo’s EOF��staff with helping to keep her smile bright as she transitioned into college life. The initiative features a five-week summer program for incoming freshmen, one-on-one advisement, mentorship, academic support, tutoring and financial assistance. “Everyone in that office is just amazing. They literally know how to help me anytime I go in,” she said.