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Notable Veteran Alumni: Martin J. Whitman

Martin J. WhitmanMartin J. Whitman is an alumnus of Syracuse University, and a veteran. You should know his story because it’s a Syracuse University story—one that speaks to our past, our present, and our future.

Martin’s story starts and endures with strong ties to the Syracuse community. Born in the Bronx, New York on September 30, 1924, Martin was called to serve his country in World War II, where he served in the pacific theater. Mr. Whitman returned to New York State after the war, but instead of returning to New York City, he found a home in Syracuse. He enrolled at Syracuse University and graduated magna cum laude in 1949 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Upon graduation, he worked as a security analyst at Shearson, Hammill & Co. before first dabbling in investment banking with the Rosenwald family, renowned for its ties to Sears, Roebuck, & Co. Later, he went on to earn a master’s degree in economics from the New School of Social Research (now New School University) in New York City.

As a 50-year veteran securities investor, Martin’s accomplishments are unrivaled. In 1974, he founded the M.J. Whitman LLC, a broker-dealer firm that later affiliated with Third Avenue Management, founded in 1986. Additionally, he has co-managed Third Avenue Value Fund since 1990. Third Avenue Value currently manages over $21 billion in assets for clients, demonstrating Whitman’s success in leadership and the business world.

After construction of a new, state-of-the-art-facility in June 2003, Syracuse University honored Martin’s legacy and success by proudly naming the Whitman School of Management after him. He also serves as an honorary member of the university Board of Trustees. His commitment to education is further demonstrated by his membership on the Board of the Institute for National Security Studies, affiliated with Tel Aviv University.

Eager to share his wealth of knowledge with others, Martin has authored several books including The Aggressive Conservative Investor with Martin Shubik, and Value Investing—A Balanced Approach. What’s more, Martin also returned to school, teaching as an adjunct professor at the Yale University School of Management and at the school that bears his namesake at Syracuse University.

http://www.newswise.com/images/institutions/logos/whm-logo.gifToday, Martin is 90 years old. Upon his retirement in 2012, he transferred responsibility to his co-manager and protégé of Third Avenue Value Fund, Ian Lapey. At long last, he is enjoying his well-earned retirement. His career accomplishments exhibit passion for his work and demonstrate an intellect, ambition, and compassion that can only be cultivated through his unique experiences as a service member, a scholar, and a businessman.

Martin J. Whitman is an alumnus of Syracuse University, and a veteran of the U.S. military. You should know his story.

Col. Joseph R. Novack, Jr. (Ret.) Named Executive Director of Veteran and Military Affairs

The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Veteran and Military Affairs (VMA) at Syracuse University is pleased to announce the appointment of Col. (Ret.) Joseph R. Novack, Jr., as executive director of Veteran and Military Affairs.

J Ronald NovackAs executive director, Novack will play a principal role in developing and directing the long-term planning and operational activities in support of the broad portfolio of veteran and military-connected programs at the University. Col. Novack will also serve as campus liaison to VMA’s partners and stakeholders and as lead integrator with other university departments developing strategies and initiatives focused on engaging and empowering the University’s military-connected students, staff and alumni.

“Colonel Ron Novack is a proven and principled leader,” says J. Michael Haynie, Vice Chancellor for Veteran and Military Affairs. “Chancellor Syverud and I are excited to have him join us in our ongoing efforts to position Syracuse University nationally as a leader in advancing educational opportunity for the nation’s veterans and their families.”

Novack enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1982, and served in Belgium and France before attending Officer Candidate School in 1990. He was commissioned as a field artillery officer in the branch detail program and became a quartermaster officer in 1992. He has served in numerous command and staff positions during his 32 years of service, retiring from the Army in November of 2015.

Most recently, Novack served as deputy commander, Capabilities, Development, Integration (CDI) for the U.S. Army’s Combined Arms Support Command, Ft. Lee, Va., where he directed the training, education and leader development of Army sustainment professionals and led a workforce of 300 military and civilian employees in over six directorates.

His most recent command position was as commander, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, in Fort Stewart, Ga., which included a nine-month deployment to Kandahar, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. His command positions include commander, 10th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, in Fort Drum, N.Y., with a 15-month deployment to Kirkuk, Iraq, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom; and as commander of Headquarters and Alpha Company, 407th Forward Support Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C., Supply and Services Troop Commander, 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta (Airborne) in Fort Bragg, N.C.

Novack is a graduate of the University of Maryland with a B.S. in management, and he holds an M.B.A from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and an M.S. in national resource strategy from the National Defense University.

Notable Veteran Alumni: Albert Lee Gaines

Albert Lee GainesAlbert Lee Gaines is an alumnus of Syracuse University, and also a military veteran. You should know his story, because it’s a Syracuse University story—one that speaks to our past, our present, and our future.

Though born in Struthers, Ohio on November 27, 1923, Albert Lee Gaines and spent the majority of his adolescence in Seneca, New York, where he attended the Seneca Vocational School. Following high school, Gaines went on to Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri; however, in the thick of World War II, he transferred to the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. There he would go on to make a significant mark on American history.

With much reluctance and through great adversity, Gaines became a member of the now world-renowned Tuskegee Airman in his early 20s. Prior to the Tuskegee Airman, there were no black U.S. military aviators. When Congress forced the U.S. Army Air Corps to form an all-black combat unit in 1941, Gaines was able to complete the course. He graduated Tuskegee University, as a 2nd lieutenant and progressed to the rank of captain as a pilot, bombardier, and eventually flight instructor. While in attendance at Tuskegee, Gaines also met Leola McCoy, whom he would later marry in 1948 and have two daughters.

image006.jpgDuring the height of WWII, Mr. Gaines was one of the few Tuskegee Airman to join the ranks of a unit known as The Red Tails. This elite group developed a feared reputation among German pilots having been accredited for shooting down 106 enemy aircraft and never losing a plane under escort. It was only later in 1952 that Gaines and several other Tuskegee Airmen were acknowledged for their success by the T.J. Watson family, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the founders of IBM, with whom he would eventually find employment. Notably, when he took the IBM opening exam, he had achieved the highest test scores on record.

AlbertLeeGaines2With support from important figures, Gaines was accepted into and attended Syracuse University—it was a “Jackie Robinson moment” as he called it. From Syracuse to Westchester County, he finally settled down in Peekskill, NY, where he worked as a computer engineer. Later, he successfully integrated the New York National Guard and served as the Lakeland School Board President, where he met his “Princess and Best Friend” and married her in 1991. Mr. Gaines retired from IBM in 1999, but he didn’t stop there. He continued to be a legal activist at the Montrose VA Hospital and even ran once for county executive. Gaines fully retired in 2003.

Albert Lee Gaines served as an advocate for civil rights and held significant positions in several local political committees, state associations, and in Westchester community organizations; but most importantly, Gaines was a diverse, kind-hearted, and intelligent man. He enjoyed photography, furniture repair, boxing, and electronic and automobile work, but most of all—being a voice for others. Albert Lee Gaines’ lifetime achievement was helping race relations in this nation. However, according to his second wife, Addie Viola-Baldwin, this humble and discrete man never spoke of his accomplishments. This Ohio-native was a Tuskegee Airman legend, one that gained a high level of respect and will forever be part of our history books.

Albert Lee Gaines is an alumnus of Syracuse University and a veteran of the U.S. military. You should know his story.

Notable Veteran Alumni: Gerald Cramer

Gerald CramerGerald Cramer is an alumnus of Syracuse University, and also a military veteran. You should know his story, because it’s a Syracuse University story—one that speaks to our past, our present, and our future.

Born in Utica, New York on May 9, 1930, a year after the Wall Street crash and the beginning of the Great Depression, Gerald Cramer was the youngest of three in a family of Lithuanian immigrants. As a boy, Cramer, who deeply admired and modeled himself after his father’s strength and work ethic, thirsted for a college education. Encouraged by his parents, he applied to the prestigious Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, one of the oldest in the United States, but quickly learned that pharmaceuticals were not a lifelong interest. Instead, Cramer applied to Syracuse University and was accepted in the summer of 1948.

While attending Syracuse, Cramer held various student leadership positions and conspicuously created the Campus Leadership Scholarship with the Traditions Commission and Campus Leaders Society. He also played varsity tennis his senior year. Mr. Cramer graduated in 1952 with a bachelor’s of science in accounting from the Whitman School of Management.

He awaited a U.S. Navy commission upon graduation, and, in the meantime, applied to graduate school. Cramer was accepted to both Harvard Business School and the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, but ultimately chose Wharton for its one-year program. While in graduate school, however, he received orders to report to Navy Officer Candidate School and left business school to serve his country.

Ensign Cramer’s first assignment was to Korea on the sole surviving Landing Ship Tank (LST 611) during the height of the Korean War. To his relief, however, LST 611 moved to Hawaiian waters. Cramer rose quickly from damage-control officer up to executive officer, the vessel’s second officer in command, and the rank of Lieutenant. LT Cramer served three years and four months on the ship that would be named Crook County 611, known for two things: “rugged and durable people and rugged and tough terrain.” The name appropriately describes the ship and its servicemen, much like Cramer.

Mr. Cramer’s hard work and dedication have spanned nearly six decades and contributed to an impressive investment-banking career. Most notably, Cramer co-founded and was chairman emeritus of Cramer Rosenthal & McGlynn LLC, an investment advisory firm that manages more than $10 billion in assets. He has also served on numerous boards and in leadership positions for firms such as Oppenheimer & Company, Silver Lane, GOM Capital LLC, and Seavest Capital.

Like his father in many ways, Cramer was also active in philanthropic work. Cramer’s civic commitments include membership on the boards of the National Road Safety Foundation and Ripplewood Corporation, a major equity firm. Cramer also served as director of Tea Town Lake Reservation and formerly on boards at St. Joseph’s Medical Center and the Glaucoma Foundation.

Cramer also remains active in Syracuse University affairs. Since 1995, he has served on the executive committee of the Board of Trustees and has held posts as vice chairman and chairman of the investment and endowment committee. He has also served as a member of the SU School of Architecture Advisory Board and the Metropolitan New York Advisory Board. He has been a major benefactor of the Maxwell School with more than three-dozen students as recipients of Cramer Scholarships and four Maxwell faculty members with the title of Cramer Professor. Mr. Cramer has also sponsored and funded a joint program between the Maxwell School’s Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism and the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) of the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Israel. In 2004, Cramer was selected as the first recipient of the Maxwell School Horizon Award; and, in 2006, Cramer was awarded the George Arents Pioneer Medal, Syracuse University’s highest alumni honor.

Gerald Cramer is an alumnus of Syracuse University and a veteran of the U.S. military. You should know his story.

Notable Veteran Alumni: John E. Breyer

A U.S. Navy veteran, John E. Breyer found his passion for science, technology, and education early on in his career. Following his military service, Breyer received his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois and continued his education by taking graduate courses at both Cornell and Syracuse Universities. It was at Cornell’s School of Integrative Plant Science that Breyer found gratifying work in the biophysics laboratory under Dr. Bill Fry, a renowned scholar who specializes in plant epidemiology and expert in late blight disease in potatoes and tomatoes.

Notable Veteran Alumni: Brad Anderson

BradAnderson2Brad Anderson is an alumnus of Syracuse University and also a military veteran. You should know his story because it’s a Syracuse University story—one that speaks to our past, our present, and our future.

Born in 1924 in Jamestown, New York, Brad is best known as an American cartoonist and creator of the comic stripsMarmaduke and Grandpa’s Boy. His career as a comic artist started at a young age. By high school, Brad was already publishing cartoons for aviation magazines such as Flying andFlying Aces. Having graduated in 1943 from the Brocton Central High School in western New York near the height of World War II, Brad served in the US Navy for three years. In this time, he gave more than just his service. He continued to hone his craft and published cartoons for the US Navy.

After the war, Brad used his G.I. Bill to attend Syracuse University for a bachelor of fine arts degree with a major in advertising. By this time, Brad’s work was gaining not only local popularity in the SU student magazine The Syracusan, but also commercial popularity in well-known commercial outlets like Collier’s Weekly and theSaturday Evening Post. He gave advertising a try, but quickly came to terms with his true calling and directed his energy exclusively on freelance cartooning.

Launched in 1954 and still going, Brad’s remarkably successful and celebrated creation Marmadukewas reportedly first inspired by his mother’s boxer, but he ultimately chose a Great Dane due to its “expressive face.” More than 600 newspapers in 20 countries published the comic strip throughout its syndication. Marmaduke grew into a staple of American pop culture, so much so that 20th Century Fox actually made it into a movie featuring stars like Owen Wilson, Emma Stone, and others.

Brad has received numerous awards and accolades throughout his storied career including the Newspaper Panel Cartoon Award from the National Cartoonists Society in 1978 and the George Arents Pioneer Medal in 1999, Syracuse University’s highest award that it bestows upon its graduates.

Brad Anderson is an alumnus of Syracuse University, and a veteran of the U.S. military. You should know his story.

Notable Veteran Alumni: Hillard Pouncy

Hillard Pouncy is an alumnus of Syracuse University, and also a military veteran. You should know his story, because it’s a Syracuse University story – one that speaks to our past, our present, and our future.

Hillard Pouncy was born on February 8, 1922 in Prichard, Alabama. He grew up in Eufaula, Alabama, on the Chattahoochee River, and had never traveled more than 30 miles from home before he went off to college at the Tuskegee Institute.

It was at Tuskegee where Pouncy says he “saw the Airmen” – he saw their uniforms, how they carried themselves, and he wanted in! A short time later, Hillard went on to become a member of the legendary “Tuskegee Airmen,” a group of nearly 1,000 African American pilots and bombardiers trained at Moton Field in Tuskegee, Alabama from 1941 to 1946. Reflecting on his wartime experience as a member of the 477th Bombardment Group, Pouncy says he’s often asked:

“Wasn’t that a stupid thing to do? Flying when the country didn’t care about us?”

In response, Hillard says that “a lot of people tell us that our air corps, the Tuskegee Airmen, helped lead the Civil Rights Movement. So maybe it was worthwhile.”

Worthwhile indeed: the Tuskegee Airmen overcame segregation and prejudice to become one of the most highly respected fighter groups of World War II. They proved conclusively that African Americans could fly and maintain sophisticated combat aircraft. The Tuskegee Airmen’s achievements, together with the men and women who supported them, paved the way for full integration of the U.S. military. In fact, many historians credit the success of the Tuskegee Airmen as the motivation for President Harry Truman to sign Executive Order 9981 in July, 1948, which ended segregation in the U.S. military, and arguably paved the way for the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision that integrated public schools.

After the service, Hillard Pouncy went on to earn a doctorate in organic chemistry from Syracuse University.  His degree from SU paved the way to a 30 year as a chemist for Union Carbide – including six years living and working in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a technical advisor to Saudi Arabian Petrochemical Company.  However, even in the face of his successful professional career with Union Carbide, Hillard remained connected to the military.  Major Hillard Pouncy served for more than 17 years with the New York Air National Guard, ultimately retiring from the U.S. Air Force Reserve.

In 2008, Hillard received the Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of service with the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II, and is one of less than 200 World War II airmen still alive today.

Hillard Pouncy is an alumnus of Syracuse University, and a veteran of the U.S. military. You should know his story.

Notable Veteran Alumni: Seymour “Cy” Leslie

Cy Leslie is an alumnus of Syracuse University, and also a military veteran. You should know his story, because it’s a Syracuse University story – one that speaks to our past, our present, and our future.

Seymour “Cy” Leslie was born in December of 1922, in Brooklyn, N.Y.  Raised in the Bronx, Cy was a child of the Great Depression, and from an early age took on the burden of working to support his sister and widowed mother, delivering ice and other goods throughout the neighborhood.  After graduating from DeWitt Clinton High School, Cy went on to Syracuse University, and then wartime service with the United States Army’s Signal Corps during World War II.

After the war, Cy started composing birthday songs and other musical themes with his wife Barbara.  The husband-wife team recorded the songs on 45s as greeting cards, and sold them through drugstores.  It was from these humble beginnings, that a career and an entertainment industry icon was born.

In 1953, Cy Leslie founded Pickwick Records, named for the first volume in a set of Dickens novels Leslie had treasured as a youth. The company created compilation discs, a revenue source neglected by the major record labels.

Pickwick went on to experience rapid growth, and became one of the first publicly traded record labels.  By 1957, the label had sold more than 100 million records, licensing efforts from the likes of Sammy Davis, Jr., Fats Waller, and Dizzy Gillespie. Pickwick also released any number of rock & roll records, several of them featuring a then-unknown Lou Reed, who served as a staff songwriter at Pickwick. Pickwick also spun off the subsidiary labels P.I.P. and De-Lite, with the latter notching a series of hits via the funk band Kool & the Gang.

In 1980, Leslie entered the nascent home video business as president of CBS Video Enterprises, two years later becoming founder and chairman of MGM/UA Home Entertainment Group. During his tenure at MGM/UA, Cy was instrumental in transforming home video from a rental business into a sell-through enterprise, in part by introducing and popularizing boxed sets. Among MGM/UA’s first release was the Wizard of Oz, something that didn’t surprise those who knew Cy well (it’s said that Cy always had a ‘crush’ on Judy Garland).

Cy Leslie died in 2008, just a few days past his 85th birthday.  He was a true pioneer of the entertainment industry, and was widely recognized as one of the 20th Century’s most influential and outstanding leaders in the industry. Some of those recognitions include the Record Industry’s Man of The Year (1975), the Presidential award from the National Association of Record Manufacturers (1976), and Time Magazine’s Home Viewer/Time Magazine Man-of-The-Year Award for special achievement (1987). Cy was also Vice Chairman of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and an active member of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Seymour “Cy” Leslie is an alumnus of Syracuse University, and a veteran of the U.S. military. You should know his story.

Notable Veteran Alumni: The Honorable Norman A. Mordue

Norman MordueThe Honorable Norman A. Mordue is an alumnus of Syracuse University and also a military veteran. You should know his story because it’s a Syracuse University story—one that speaks to our past, our present, and our future.

Norman Mordue was born in Elmira, NY in 1942. As a Syracuse University Economics student, he was part of the ROTC program and commissioned as a Second Lieutenant upon graduation. After completing Basic Training, the new First Lieutenant heroically led his platoon during the Vietnam War. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross after his selfless efforts to relieve another platoon that had come under heavy artillery fire. Armed with a machine gun, First Lieutenant Mordue rescued two of his men who had been injured from enemy fire. Though he was severely injured after the incident, he refused to accept medical help until his men could withdraw and they could order artillery strikes on enemy positions.

His commitment to leadership and courage in the face of adversity helped advance the American offensive and eventually defeat the enemy. Norman was also awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star, retiring from the military as a Captain in the U.S. Army.

Following his distinguished military service, Norman returned to Syracuse University in 1971 to earn a degree in law. After graduating with his J.D., he served as the district attorney for Onondaga County. He eventually worked his way up to the bench, serving as the State Supreme Court justice in the county from 1986 until 1998.

Nominated by President Bill Clinton and confirmed in only sixteen days, Norman was appointed to the Northern District of New York, serving from the chief judge of the court until 2011 when he became the Senior Judge on the bench. His distinguished career as a judge has garnered him great respect in his local community. Judge Mordue and his wife, Christina, have three children: Daniel, Jackie, and Michael.

Norman A. Mordue is an alumnus of Syracuse University, and a veteran of the U.S. military. You should know his story.

Notable Veteran Alumni: Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Daniel Patrick Moynihan is a faculty alumnus of Syracuse University, and a veteran. You should know his story, because it’s a Syracuse University story—one that speaks to our past, our present, and our future.

Daniel Patrick Moynihan was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and grew up with humble beginnings as a shoe-shiner in New York City. He attended public and parochial schools in the city, ultimately graduating from Benjamin

Franklin High School in East Harlem. Before he began college, he worked as a longshoreman on the piers. After his first year of college at City College of New York, he entered the U.S. Navy.

Moynihan served as an active duty sailor from 1944 to 1947, last serving as a gunnery officer on the USS Quirinus. After leaving the Navy he went on to earn his M.A. and Ph. D. in Sociology from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and then later studied economics at the London School of Economics as a Fulbright fellow.

Daniel enjoyed an impressive career working in the Executive Branch of government, serving under four different U.S. Presidents in a number of capacities. Notably, as a member of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, Daniel served as the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Policy Planning and Research, dedicating much of his efforts to eliminating poverty in the United States. Under President Nixon, Daniel was appointed as Counselor to the President on Urban Affairs. During this time, Daniel was instrumental in bringing issues of acid rain and the greenhouse effect to the attention of NATO as pressing concerns for the future and for social policy research. Daniel then pursued a career in international diplomacy, first working tirelessly as the US Ambassador to the United Nations and then to India. In 1976 Moynihan was elected to the US Senate to represent the state of New York, and held that position until 2001.

During his career, Daniel Patrick Moynihan was held in high esteem by his colleagues for his commitment to bipartisanship, and for his ability to identify and enact innovative and novel solutions to the most pressing problems of the day. He is remembered for his affinity toward seersucker or tweed suits, and for exhibiting a flair for captivating speeches.

After leaving the Senate, Moynihan joined the faculty at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.

Daniel passed away in 2003 from complications of a ruptured appendix. In 2005, the Maxwell School honored him by renaming the Global Affairs Institute as the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs.

Daniel Patrick Moynihan was a faculty alumnus of Syracuse University, and a veteran of the U.S. military. You should know his story.