Alumni Profiles:
Banking on a new world of business Paul Speltz '69 (BUS) '72 M.B.A.
Social worker with a song Lara Herscovitch '95 M.S.W.
From Oregon to the Big Apple Davis Coen '02 (CLAS)
Other Items of Interest:
Save the Date
In Memoriam
Legacy Scholarships

The Class Notes section of Alumni News & Notes is in development. We hope to bring this feature to you in the online edition of the Summer 2003 issue.

Let your fellow UConn alumni know about the milestones in your life. You can keep them up to date by sending information, and, if possible, a photograph, to Alumni News & Notes, University of Connecticut Alumni Association, Alumni Drive, Storrs, CT 06269; by fax to 860-486-2849; or by e-mail to alumni-news@uconn.edu

Banking on a new world of business
It was clear from the beginning of his days at UConn that Paul Speltz '69 (BUS) '72 M.B.A. enjoyed a challenge.

A native of New Canaan, Conn., Speltz spent his first two years at UConn's Stamford campus. As the head of student government there, he became interested in creating a sense of unity among UConn's regional campuses. Recruited by then- UConn President Homer Babbidge, he established a weekly closed circuit TV news broadcast from Storrs to the other campuses in 1967. He also was instrumental in ensuring ticket allocations for students from the regional campuses for Storrs athletic and cultural events.

As a business major, Speltz was clearly an entrepreneur. During his senior year, he founded the Theta Iota chapter of Delta Sigma Pi, the honorary business fraternity. The son of a General Electric executive who traveled extensively, Speltz had a thirst for travel and was especially interested in Asia.

After completing his MBA, he took a job with a consulting company in Asia, eventually starting his own company specializing in trade with China. Over the next three decades he worked in international trade as the owner of his business or with other major companies.

His latest challenge is on the world stage that he has traveled so often during his career in business. Last year he was nominated by President George W. Bush to serve as the U.S. executive director of the Asian Development Bank, a post that carries the rank of ambassador.

In his new role, Speltz directs the ongoing work of the bank, which manages more than $5 billion in loans through 22 offices worldwide. Its newest office is in Kabul, Afghanistan, where Speltz is optimistic that the bank can play an important role helping that impoverished nation rebound in the post-Taliban era.

Today, Speltz and his wife, Renee, make their home in Houston. Despite his increasingly demanding commitments abroad, however, he has remained actively involved with his alma mater.

He was inducted into the School of Business Hall of Fame five years ago and, as a member of the school's Board of Advisors, has played a role in helping the school achieve national

prominence. In April he will be in Connecticut when the School of Business hosts a conference to explore opportunities for a number of countries through the Asian Development Bank.

And, no matter what time zone he is in, Speltz manages to find some time to keep up with Husky basketball.
-- Jim H. Smith

SAVE THE DATE! Reunion Weekend Classes of 1943, 1953 and Classic (1952 and earlier) Mark your calendars! Reunion Weekend will take place on Friday and Saturday, June 27-28, 2003. Schedule includes tours of campus; keynote speakers, including Associate Head Women's Basketball Coach Chris Dailey; classroom seminars, a dinner Friday evening at which the Class of 1953 gift will be presented. Saturday features a New England Clambake and Greek Sing Contest. Check your mail in May for registration information or check our website (www.uconnalumni.com) for program updates. Special Interest Reunions Interested in getting reconnected with that special group of friends (dorm, fraternity, sorority, student organization, athletic team, intramural team, etc.)? Let the UConn Alumni Association help. If you have questions regarding reunions, please contact Kim Lachut '90 at 860-486-2240 or toll-free at 888-UC-ALUM-1 or e-mail: kimberly.lachut@uconn.edu You may also check the UConn Alumni Association website (www.uconnalumni.com) for up-to-date information.

Social Worker with a song
Some days it can be difficult for Lara Herscovitch '95 M.S.W. to think of her passion for music as a blessing. As the director of programs at the Greater Bridgeport Area Foundation in Connecticut, her days are filled with attending meetings, writing reports, and reading thick files of grant applications. In between she is carving out a reputation as a singer-songwriter.

"Music will always be a part of me. I can't help that. It's biology. I've either been blessed or cursed with it, depending on how you look at it," she says.

After graduating from UConn, Herscovitch worked as an education specialist for Save the Children, traveling throughout the world. She carried her guitar as a traveling companion, writing songs and playing the guitar in places like Bolivia, Ethiopia, Thailand, Ecuador and Honduras. Returning home later and taking her position in Bridgeport, an unexpected invitation to perform with a friend in New York City launched her second career.

In 2000 she released her first CD, Sin Tierra, and last November she completed There, her second compilation of original music on her own record label, La Rama Records (www.laramarecords.com).

Over the past three years she has developed a following in Connecticut, performing at the New Haven International Festival of Arts & Ideas, in the New England region, and in New York City.

Herscovitch says she feels that both of her worlds compliment and influence each other. Her job in social work influences her songwriting, and her music helps her spread the word of her deep commitment at working in a field that tries to make the world a better place.

"I would love to have the opportunity to focus on music full time. But maybe because I have to do both, I believe that my day job feeds my music," she says. "Social work and working with the high caliber of people that I do in the arts, in education, in health and human services, and in the environment is so incredible.

I like to believe that any artist is a better artist if they are balanced as an individual.

I may believe that out of necessity right now, but I'd love the opportunity to test my theory."

In Memoriam

ALUMNI
Marci Anne Byiteck '97
Alphonse Chapanis '37
Linda M. Crum '79
Thomas Dowling '42
Stephen L. Drawbridge '70
George M. Eckle '42
Deborah B. Elkins '55
Howard E. Evans '40
Karen A. Golden '00
June P. Gustavson '51
Joanna Higgins '52
Richard Leavitt Hilton Jr. '63
Henry Katzenstein '54 Ph.D.
Andre Kocay '69
Ida Lidofsky '40
Harold Litvin '41
Gary D. Marder '85
Robert Margucci '55
Robert F. Masek '64
Robert A. Nemeth '57
Tobias Philbin Jr. '40
James J. Philbin '48
John P. Ponziani '70
Francis G. Rost '56
William T. Saltus '53
Howard R. Snedeker Jr. '55
James A. Verinis '41
William Wagner Jr. '60

FACULTY
Reinhold A. Dorwart
Harold Seidman
Walter R. Whitworth

FACULTY
Joseph Gianelli
Thomas J. Tighe

From Oregon to the Big Apple

Davis Coen '02 (CLAS) is one of only 25 recent college graduates to be selected by the City of New York for a high-level internship in city government. As an Urban Fellow joining the more than 400,000 employees working for about 250 different city agencies, Coen's primary challenge has been to understand the complex workings of such an enormous governmental system and to find a way as an individual to make a contribution within it.

The experience has been humbling for the Fellows, who are bright and motivated but also very inexperienced in the "real world" and in the workplace, according to Coen. He says, "We are surrounded by people who have dedicated their lives to public service and to their fields."

Coen, a former writer and editor for the UConn Daily Campus, works for the commissioner of the Department of Homeless Services, under the direct supervision of the director of communications. His responsibilities include writing press releases and assisting the media. Coen notes, "With a lousy economy and unemployment rates rising, the number of homeless people has increased, which has compounded or exacerbated problems that may have already existed within the shelter system."

Coen also contributes to projects related to improving communications between the agency and those who depend on its help. His work is rewarding both because of his interest in journalism and because he's "helping people who need it - there's something really gratifying about that."

The nine-month fellowship appealed to Coen, an Oregon native, because of his desire to live in New York, which he calls "probably the most exciting city in the world." He also notes many of his predecessors used the fellowship as a springboard to careers in law, politics and journalism as well as city government.

At UConn, Coen was a University Scholar - able to develop his own plan of study for his final three semesters. Majoring in history and classics, he wrote his thesis on the interaction between Jews, Greeks and Romans in ancient Palestine.

He believes the analytical and critical-thinking and writing skills he developed at UConn have helped in his current position and will be beneficial no matter where he goes when the fellowship ends in May. He says, "I was very lucky to have a really well-rounded liberal arts education at UConn."
-- Leslie Virostek