Ten individuals were honored with Seton Elm-Ivy Awards in recognition of their efforts to strengthen ties between Yale and the City of New Haven.
President Richard C. Levin and New Haven Mayor John DeStefano Jr. presented the 22nd annual awards at a luncheon on April 10 in Woolsey Hall.
The Seton Elm-Ivy Awards were established in 1979 by Fenmore Seton, Yale Class of 1938, and his wife, Phyllis. The awards evolved from the Elm-Ivy Fund, also created by the Setons. The fund identifies and honors individuals from Yale and New Haven whose work enhances understanding and cooperation between "town" and "gown."
Seton Elm Awards are given to individuals who work in the New Haven community, while Seton Ivy Awards are presented to Yale faculty and staff whose efforts have boosted ties with the Elm City. Seton Ivy awards are also presented to undergraduate and graduate students at Yale who have contributed to the wider community.
This years honorees and a brief description of their contributions follows.
Seton Elm Awards
Victor Budnick, executive director of Connecticut Innovations, the State of Connecticut's leading investor in high technology. Connecticut Innovations targets seven critical high technology areas, including the bioscience sector, where many companies have been developed by Yale scientists. Budnick has emphasized the role that Yale scientists -- and others in higher education -- can play in creating economic growth by providing new jobs and taxes for New Haven.
Josephine Bush, chair of the board of the New Haven Urban Resources Initiative, a nonprofit organization based at the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies that works in partnership with community groups to restore or renew the environment by planting in and beautifying barren schoolyards, vacant lots and other areas. Bush has also been a volunteer with Arch Street Blockwatch in the city, which has created a new park in the Hill neighborhood.
Queen Edwards, a career counselor at Hillhouse High School and the volleyball, basketball and track coach at Wilbur Cross High School. Known as the "Queen of Caring," Edwards serves as the activity director for the National Youth Sports Program (NYSP) at Yale and as director of the newly established New Haven Girls' Basketball Development League. A former basketball player at Hillhouse High School, she has worked with the NYSP since its inception five years ago. The program now involves more than 350 New Haven children each summer for free, full-day recreation and academic programs. Edwards also established a year-long NCAA Girls Sports Clinic, through which Yale varsity teams work with area youngsters on developing their athletic skills.
Herbert Pearce, founder of the real estate and development company H. Pearce and Company. Pearce and his firm -- one of the largest real estate companies in the area -- have helped thousands of families achieve home ownership, including many Yale employees. The firm's relocation services have also helped countless Yale staff and faculty members make their home in New Haven. A former faculty member at and trustee of the University of New Haven (UNH), Pearce's numerous philanthropic gifts have included contributions to the Yale School of Nursing, Southern Connecticut State University and UNH.
Ann Robinson, professor emerita of Gateway Community College and the founding curator of the Prince Hall Masonic Lodge's Little Red Brick Schoolhouse Museum. During Yale's Tercentennial celebration, the museum is highlighting the life and accomplishments of Sylvia Ardyn Boone, the first African-American woman to become a tenured professor at Yale and a major force in drawing public attention to New Haven's role in the Amistad affair. Last year, Robinson supported research by a Yale student on New Haven history and organized celebrations that showcased the joint history of Yale and New Haven.
Seton Ivy Faculty and Staff Awards
Constance (Cecie) Clement, deputy director of the Yale Center for British Art. Clement, who has worked at Yale museums for the past 30 years, helped create a Department of Public Information and Education at the Yale Center for British Art with the goal of making the public aware of the center's programs and offerings. She was honored with the Seton Ivy Award for community outreach that extends beyond her professional involvement. Today, more than 100,000 people visit the museum each year, in part due to Clement's efforts. A New Haven native, Clement is also cochair of the Arts Industry Coalition.
Linda Honan Pellico, program director of the Graduate Entry Program in Nursing at the School of Nursing. Pellico is the driving force behind a community-based education program for children about their health. She has brought her educational program, called "Have Bones, Will Travel," to many New Haven schoolchildren since 1996. The hour-long class helps children learn about their bodies and how to protect them from illness or injury, and introduces the idea of a career in nursing. Pellico has visited some of the same classrooms every year since the program began, tracking children from the first through sixth grades and tailoring her lessons to their advancing development. Last summer she led a group of students and faculty from the School of Nursing in presenting the "Have Bones, Will Travel" program on the New Haven Green as part of the International Festival of Arts and Ideas.
Robert Solomon, clinical professor (adjunct) at the Law School. Solomon was selected by Mayor John DeStefano Jr. to act as interim executive director of the Housing Authority of New Haven in 1999. At the time of his appointment, the agency was plagued with low funding and financial burdens, and had received its lowest scores in six years in a performance evaluation by the state board of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Under Solomon's leadership, the agency's new management team has taken significant steps to strengthen the authority. It has since been removed from HUD's troubled-agency list and has been designated as a Moving to Work program, which accords the agency more resources and increased flexibility in planning and development. Thousands of New Haven residents have benefited from this improved management.
Seton Ivy Undergraduate Award
Andrea Pizziconi, a Pierson College senior who works in the Office of University Properties. For the past year, Pizziconi has worked as retail recruiter in the office, with the responsibility of finding prospective tenants for downtown properties. She helped bring Gourmet Heaven and Alexia Crawford to the city and has exceeded her job responsibilities by also acting as a liaison between Yale and local merchants. In the summer of 2000, in collaboration with the United Merchants Association, the Town Green Special Services District, University Properties and the Chapel West Special Services District, Pizziconi organized one of downtown New Haven's most successful retail promotions, a "welcome basket" for all incoming Yale students. The promotion, which was written about in the Wall Street Journal, was catalyst for a new spirit of collaboration in downtown New Haven.
Seton Ivy Graduate and Professional Student Award
Eric Ashton, a candidate for a master's degree in public health in the School of Medicine's Department of Epidemiology and Public Health. In the spring of last year, Ashton worked to design activities to commemorate the Yale Tercentennial for the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health on the theme "A Year of Community Service." He helped contact local organizations and organized the kickoff for "EPH Days of Community Service," held in September 2000, which included a blood drive and the preparation of dinners by the department's faculty and students for the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen. As part of the effort, Ashton also recruited cyclists to join the 200-plus-mile Boston to New York City AIDS Ride. Ashton spent last summer as a President's Public Service Fellow in the Office of the Mayor in New Haven and is currently a student intern at City Hall in the office of the community services administrator.
T H I S
W E E K ' SS T O R I E S
Team learns how hepatitis C virus recruits cells' RNA
'Art for Yale' charts growth of gallery's collections
Ten honored for their work promoting town-gown relations
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright describes his inspirations and aspirations
Center offers programs in uncommonly taught languages
Study: Teens' reputations offer clue to their risk-taking behavior
Yale Rep serving up cocktail of hope and cynicism in 'Big Night'
Author Styron defends decision to confront the taboo in his fiction
Exhibit of photographs shows Yale as 'a place of changes'
Annual film festival to take place at campus sites and nearby venues
Symposium will explore 'trends in machine learning'
Concerts feature works by Yale composers that integrate computer technologies
Medical Library exhibit examines the evolution of microscopes
Creative Arts Workshop pays tribute to Yale artists in exhibition
'Administrative Professionals' Day to be celebrated April 25 and 26
Bulletin Home|Visiting on Campus|Calendar of Events|In the News|Bulletin Board
Yale Scoreboard|Classified Ads|Search Archives|Deadlines
Bulletin Staff|Public Affairs Home|News Releases|
E-Mail Us|Yale Home Page
