Meet Our Donors

We thank all our planned-gift donors for their generous support. Here are some of their stories.

Charles L. Magliaro. ’54 ’58 M.A.: “I Appreciate So Much What Montclair State Has Meant to Me”

Charles L. Magliaro ’54 ’58 M.A has many fond memories of his student days at Montclair State, where he was a music major, president of the “Men in Music” group and a member of the Phi Alpha Psi fraternity. In 1966 he was chosen by the School of Education faculty to serve as the charter president of Phi Delta Kappa, an international honor society.

Now retired in St. Simons Island, Georgia, with his wife Lori, Charles enjoyed a fulfilling career in education administration for more than 25 years. He was a teacher and a school principal before becoming superintendent of schools in East Hanover, where he served for 21 years, a record tenure. In 1987 he was named “Administrator of the Year” by the New Jersey Educational Media Association. “I had the opportunity to hire many excellent teachers from Montclair State, including my own replacement, Larry Santos ’67 ’74 M.A., hired to help meet the needs of a district-wide mathematics initiative.”

In May 2007, Charles and Lori drove 900 miles from their home in St. Simons Island, Georgia to the Montclair State University campus for a very special gathering. Members of the Carpe Diem Society, which honors alumni such as Charles and other friends who have made a commitment to Montclair State through their estate plans, were honored at a celebratory luncheon in University Hall. The Carpe Diem Society is a way for Montclair State to seize the opportunity to engage alumni and friends throughout their lives.

Charles was a keynote speaker at the event. He spoke enthusiastically, giving a Carpe Diem Society member’s perspective. Charles talked about his positive experience being back at MSU in 2003 for an Alumni Superintendents Breakfast, his first time back at his alma mater in many years. “I was so impressed with the growth on campus and it reminded me how fortunate I was to go to school here,” he recalled. “I got a great education and I appreciate so much what Montclair State has meant to me. I wanted to give something back.”

Charles wanted to make a gift with lasting impact. He chose to do it by creating a percentage bequest in his will for his alma mater. “I always wanted to do something for Montclair State,” he shares. “Accordingly, I have established an endowed scholarship for mathematics and science education majors.”

“I am proud to have been a part of Montclair State, its growth and development, and everything it stands for,” Charles adds. “I hope that in some small way my gift will help ensure that the University’s commitment to academic excellence will continue.”

Daniel G. Alexander ’48: Helping Outstanding Students Achieve their Full Potential

Daniel G. Alexander ’48 has many fond memories of his student days at Montclair State. “I have a lot of respect for my years of college and got good grades. I always made the honors list all four years,” Don, as he prefers to be called, says proudly. “It was intellectually stimulating.” His favorite teacher was music professor Dr. Edna McEachern, for whom the music building was named. “She taught as if we were the only two people in the class,” says Don. “I loved her for that. Music was a passion of mine from childhood and still is today.”

A Spanish Major and Latin minor, Don also was very involved in campus extracurriculars, including the Spanish Club (where he served as president), the Italian Club and Phi Lambda Pi.

Don and his late wife Emma Milano Alexander both spent their entire careers as librarians in Newark, he in public schools and she in a public library. The couple enjoyed traveling to Mexico (where, speaking fluent Spanish, they didn’t need an interpreter) and throughout Europe in the 1950s and 1960s, including a memorable trip to the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome.
A grateful student who appreciated the opportunities that his education afforded him, Don always planned to give something back to his alma mater. He has established the Daniel G. Alexander ‘48 Endowed Scholarship through a bequest in his will. “The idea for a scholarship for deserving but financially needy students came to me when I was a student and working part-time in a hospital,” Don shares. He himself worked multiple jobs while at MSU and believes that working while going to school is important and builds character. His gift will assist academically outstanding but financially deserving students who work part-time while studying at Montclair State.

Don also made a gift to Montclair State in honor of his “loving friendship” with classmate Filomena Peloro ’46, a fellow Spanish major. He donated funds to create the Filomena Peloro ’46 Memorial Book Fund to buy Spanish language books for the University library in honor of his dear friend’s memory.

Don lives with his beloved Bichon Havanese dog Tiger, and enjoys reading and music. He visited campus in November 2008 with Tiger and met with President Susan A. Cole, Dean Hunt, Claire Taub, Interim Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and other old and new friends at the University. “The campus is so changed,” Don says. “There were only three buildings when I was a student!” He enjoyed visiting his alma mater and meeting with students.

Thanks to Don’s generosity and vision, the Daniel G. Alexander ‘48 Endowed Scholarship will enable hard-working deserving students at Montclair State to achieve their full potential for a long time to come.

Rev. Dr. Audrey Vincentz Leef ’43: “I Wouldn’t Be Where I Am if it Weren’t for Montclair State”

Rev. Dr. Audrey Vincentz Leef ’43 has been part of Montclair State for nearly 70 years. “I came to campus in 1939 as a very young valedictorian,” she recalls fondly. “Fifteen percent of our classmates were the valedictorians of their high schools. There were 500 students and 50 faculty members. The school was small and homey.”

As a student she was a member of the Kappa Delta Pi honor society, cheerleading, dance club and the Student Government Association. Audrey graduated in 1943 with a degree in mathematics. “I’ve been grateful to Montclair ever since then for the foundation that it’s given me,” she shares.

Over the years, Audrey has served Montclair State steadfastly as a professor in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, campus chaplain, a member of the Alumni Association Board (she was its President from 1976-78), and Alumni Representative to the Board of Trustees. She has been a member of the MSU Foundation Board since 1972. In 1985 she was recognized with an Alumni Citation Award.

“I still teach an adjunct course, so in essence I’ve been here since 1966 as faculty,” Audrey says proudly. She also is a Member Emerita of the Alumni Association Board and Professor Emerita of the mathematics department.

In addition, she served as an associate minister of the First Congregational Church’s United Church of Christ and was ordained a minister in 1985. She also is a Counseling Specialist in the American Association of Pastoral Counselors (AAPC).

Audrey and her husband Robert have four children, Eric, Janet, Mark and Carol, and ten grandchildren and one great grandson.

She has established the Audrey V. Leef Scholarship, which will continue her legacy of service and dedication to Montclair State for many years to come.

“I wouldn’t be where I am if it weren’t for Montclair,” Audrey shares. “Things were very difficult in 1939. We were still in the Depression and most of us were in that same situation, where we didn’t have much money. That’s why so many of us are grateful for the opportunities that Montclair gave us.”

Rapoport Legal Scholar Awards Help Outstanding Students Achieve Their Dreams

Thanks to the late Ruth S. Rapoport ’74, Montclair State students studying jurisprudence and pre-law have a brighter future.

The new Ruth S. Rapoport Legal Scholars awards provide support to students in the jurisprudence major or pre-law minor program at Montclair State to assist them in defraying the costs associated with preparing for the LSAT (the standardized test for law school admission) and the law school application process. Andrea Khan ’09, an academically outstanding jurisprudence major and student leader, is the first Rapoport Legal Scholar.

Andrea, a Bloustein Scholar and a Montclair State Outstanding Scholar who is double-majoring in English, has a 3.954 GPA. She is a justice of the Student Government Association and served as the group’s vice president last year. Andrea is a member of the New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority’s Student Advisory Committee and the national honor fraternity Alpha Lambda Delta. “I enrolled in a Kaplan LSAT preparatory course. I could not have afforded it without the Rapoport Legal Scholars Award,” Andrea shares. “It is the most beneficial decision I have made about law school.”

Miss Rapoport passed away in November 2006 at age 84 after a long and productive life. Her nephew, Avram Segall, an associate professor of Political Science and Law at Montclair State, implemented his late aunt’s wish to establish the endowed scholarships through a gift designed to support the program and its students.

Miss Rapoport’s studies at Montclair had been interrupted by World War II. She took a job with what was then the War Department and went on to a career as a Senior Defense Contracting Officer with the Department of Defense. On retirement she determined to complete her degree. “She had fond memories of her undergraduate years,” recalls Segall, “telling me once that as a French major she had a class which had about 17 students. The chair of the department declared that was entirely too many students for one class and proceeded to divide it into two sections. Such was the manner in which Montclair State built its reputation for excellence in education.”

“I am so grateful for Miss Rapoport’s generosity,” Andrea shares. “I hope I can do this award and myself justice.” Professor Segall adds, “I am pleased that my aunt wanted to make this generous gift to her alma mater and that she honors my association with the University through it. Her hope was that this gift will help promising law students reach their goals.”