Arnie “Tokyo” Rosenthal ’73John E. Carr ’84Brendan Leonard ’91Victoria Lockard ‘07Lori Urso, M.P.A. ’03Class Acts Profiles
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Mary-Ruth Demers Cayer ’47
Spend just a little time with Mary-Ruth Demers Cayer, and you get the impression that trailblazer is a mantle she would just as soon shrug off.
Cayer is the first woman to graduate from URI with a B.S. in electrical engineering. She entered the then Rhode Island State College at 16 years of age, intending to pursue a degree in home economics.
“And I disliked it so,” the 81-year-old said. “I started school in June; engineering wasn’t offered until the fall. I thought engineering would be interesting, because I used to like to design and draw. So when engineering opened up, I enrolled.”
Cayer attended classes six days a week, with Sundays off. Classes were small, comprising 10 or 12 students on average. Math was always at 8 a.m., and if you were late, Cayer said, you were locked out of the classroom. Standing in a classroom in Bliss Hall during a recent visit to her alma mater, Cayer recalled one professor’s morning routine.
“There was always a slide rule problem on the board when we got into the classroom. We came in in a hurry, because the first five students to solve the problem got an A. You wanted to get an A.”
After graduation, Cayer received an offer to study at Duke University’s School of Law. “But I got married instead,” she said. Three children followed.
Cayer became a high school mathematics teacher on the advice of her mother, who believed in preparedness. “I taught math 15 or 16 years—all because my mother told me I should be prepared in case something happened.”
Today about 15 to 20 percent of a given engineering program’s students are women. In the 1940s, Cayer was a statistic unto herself.
Was it a problem being the only female in the class for most of her college career? “No,” Cayer said and laughed. “I enjoyed being the one woman in the company of many men.”
—Marybeth Reilly-McGreen
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Arnie “Tokyo” Rosenthal ’73
Some years back, Tokyo Rosenthal was at a standstill in L.A. traffic, reading the newspaper. He came across this headline: “Baby Boomers Pursuing Second and Third Careers.” The fateful headline made a lasting impression, and today, Tokyo describes himself as a “poster child for second and third careers.”
An accounting major at URI, “with a rock and roll minor,” Tokyo had a successful post-URI career as a cable TV executive, was an amateur boxer, and at a certain point, merged those interests as a boxing commentator and promoter. But he was always a musician first and foremost.
Now, finally, music is his day job. He has earned attention and critical praise for his latest CD, One Score And Ten. His current success can be attributed to his song “Edmonton,” which attracted the attention of DJs in Edmonton, Alberta, earning him radio play and the keys to the city and igniting interest in the CD.
Rosenthal describes his musical repertoire as “Americana with a few blues numbers in the mix.” His musical talents are as diverse as his résumé: he is a talented songwriter, vocalist, and instrumentalist—most at home on guitar, but also practiced on piano, mandolin, and drums.
Having long ago figured that life was taking him on a journey that would feature music as an essential sideline to his other careers, he is relishing this surprising but well-deserved second chance at making music center stage.
Until recently, the highlight of his musical life was when, as a URI student, Tokyo and his band, Harpo and Slapshot, played as the opening act for America in Edwards Auditorium. There’ve been a lot of other highlights lately, but one of the things still on Tokyo’s wish list is playing at Edwards again. “That would really be coming around full-circle for me.”
Visit tokyorosenthal.com to listen to Tokyo’s music, see what the critics are saying, and find out where to see him live.
—Barbara Caron
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John E. Carr ’84
It took John Carr 14 months to write his first two books, Don’t Touch That Dial! and And Now, A Word From Our Sponsor.
Established authors may bristle, as it often takes them that much time to develop a plot. Yet for Carr, a journalism major and self-described pop culture addict, writing these satirical tributes to classic television shows and commercials of the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s came naturally: “I won’t say that it wasn’t hard work, but it flowed for me because I have a passion for it.”
Carr’s love for programming from yesteryear stems from his childhood when family friendly sitcoms dominated the airwaves.: “It was a simpler time. The American family had one TV in the family room, where everyone would gather for the ‘family hour.’
“My books generate discussion. As we get older, we like to reminisce about this age of innocence when television was in its infancy. Reading about these times moves us to share experiences about a gentler time.”
While the subject matter of these books will resonate with Baby Boomers, Carr thinks all generations will enjoy his works. Cable channels like TV Land have spawned new legions of fans.
Carr attributes the popularity of this programming to the high quality of the script writing: “The writers had serious talent. Think of the fantastic interaction between M*A*S*H characters Hawkeye and B.J. Where is the creativity today? Reality TV doesn’t compare to the quality of programming, and crime shows just rehash what’s in the newspaper.”
Carr hopes that his books, in addition to spurring a stroll down memory lane, will foster an appreciation for the ingenuity of yesterday’s writers and producers.
Carr’s trip back in time continues with a DVD supplement to his books. Based on characters and images in Don’t Touch That Dial! and And Now, A Word From Our Sponsor, it is scheduled for release after Thanksgiving. For more information, check johnecarr.net.
—Maria V. Caliri ’86, M.B.A. ‘92
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Left to right, Glenn Leman, president of Health Enterprises; President George W. Bush; Brendan Leonard, senior director of sales & marketing at Health Enterprises; and Rep. Jim McGovern. |
Brendan Leonard ’91
Brendan Leonard has worked for Fortune 500 companies like Hasbro, Samsonite, and Capital One, but it is his work with the small, niche-product company Health Enterprises, Inc., that paved his way to the White House.
Last May, Health Enterprises earned the “E” Award for Excellence in Exporting from President Bush. As the company’s vice president of sales and marketing, Leonard represented his company at a ceremony in which Health Enterprises was honored for its model of growth in international business.
“My biggest challenge was letting it all sink in,” said Leonard, who earned a B.S. in marketing at URI. “I wish I could have found a way to slow down time that day. After we left, I took a video tour just so I could refresh my memory of what I saw.”
Headquartered in North Attleboro, Mass., Health Enterprises is at the forefront of health care products around the world. It works domestically on branded and private-label products with companies like CVS and Walgreens but also has clients in over 45 countries. It was one of 15 companies honored, along with powers like FedEx. Leonard and company president Glenn Leman visited the West Wing, where they met President Bush in the Oval Office.
“He was extremely gracious, and it struck me how—with everything he has on his plate—he was so focused on why we were there,” Leonard said. “He freed up his time and was actively involved in the day.”
Leonard saw Theodore Roosevelt’s Congressional Medal of Honor, the Great Seal, and the Resolute Desk, which has served as the working station for most presidents since Rutherford B. Hayes.
“It was an overwhelming experience,” Leonard said. “You see all the history and realize the magnitude of the decisions made by the people who occupied that office. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
—Shane Donaldson ’99
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Victoria Lockard ‘07
When more than 300 artists submit 860 works for a juried art exhibition, it is fair to say that competition is keen. Chances of winning are not that high—especially for a newly minted printmaking graduate.
Despite the odds, Victoria Lockard entered the 10th Annual Fidelity Investments All Media Juried Exhibition primarily “to feel like I was doing something for my career. I had no attachment to winning. When my family and friends asked if I thought I could win, I couldn’t understand how absurd they were being.”
Lockard, who submitted a linocut entitled “Soviet Supper,” did not even consider the possibility of capturing a prize until the third and second place winners were announced. “It dawned on me then that I might have a chance. When I heard my name, my mouth dropped.”
While Lockard was shocked, the jurors may have seen a refreshing perspective in her work. “People say that I have a way of expressing an image that’s totally unseen before.”
“Soviet Supper” may have evoked a sense of mystery among the judges as well. Using a photo composite, Lockard created a dinner scene portraying three women and a man at a table topped with a bottle of vodka, shot glasses, and traditional Russian fare. Instead of showing the blank wall that was behind the dinner table, she cut an image of a Persian rug into the linoleum to represent a cold building. Lines cut into the plate give the work the impression of an old photo that has been folded in someone’s wallet.
“I like making up very complex stories when I create linocuts, but I wonder about what’s really going on. I’m also curious about what viewers think.”
Although “Soviet Supper” is open to interpretation, the trajectory of Lockard’s future is more concrete. An award-winning artist who also held her first solo show this spring, she is quickly gaining a well-deserved reputation for excellence.
—Maria V. Caliri ’82, M.B.A. ’92
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Lori Urso, M.P.A. ’03
She retired after 10 years as the executive director of the Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association, but it was no swan song for Lori Urso.
Urso, who earned an M.P.A. from URI, began her career with the WPWA in 1992. After three years she left for a career in radio at WERI, where she hosted talk shows, was a D.J., and produced “Backstage with the Blues” hosted by James Montgomery.
After Urso’s family sold WERI, she returned to WPWA in 2000 for a six-month, interim stint. Months became years, and before she knew it, Urso was being honored with the Lifetime Achievement Environmental Merit Award from the New England Environmental Protection Agency.
“The pace was fast,” said Urso, 43, a mother of two. “There were few opportunities over the years to sit back and relax because there was always something new going on. Before I knew it, it was time for a change.”
When Urso first joined the WPWA, the organization rented a one-room office and had 300 members and an endowment of $8,000. When she retired in March, the WPWA owned a property on the Wood River with three buildings, three river access areas on the Pawcatuck, a fleet of 24 kayaks and five canoes, and an endowment of nearly $500,000. There were more than 1,000 members, and the WPWA’s net worth topped $1.5 million.
Her work with the WPWA is hardly Urso’s lone achievement. As half of the blues group Ursula George—along with George Reithoffer—Urso released an album, Blue Basics, in 1999. She also produced a blues album for James Montgomery and partnered on record label Innerhythmic. She is working on four new songs that will be released on the Internet in the coming months.
“Because I went into environmental science, which has a heady, technical side, I made sure to hold onto my artistic side,” Urso said. “I wanted to balance myself.”
—Shane Donaldson ’99
