List of Upsala College people

This is a list of the people associated of Upsala College including the school's presidents, its faculty and alumni. Upsala College was a Lutheran-affiliated, private college founded in 1893 in Brooklyn, New York, and located in East Orange, New Jersey (1924–1995). After years of declining enrollment and financial problems, Upsala College closed in May 1995.

Presidents of Upsala College

Nine men have served as the president of Upsala College in its 102-year history.^[1] Most of these men were Lutheran clergymen.^[1] Only one, the Rev. Dr. Evald Benjamin Lawson (1904–1965), was an alumnus of Upsala College.^[1]

	Portrait	College President	Years in office	Education[1]	Notes
1	—	Rev. Lars Herman Beck (1859–1935)	1893–1910	B.A., Augustana College (1885) attended Augustana Theological Seminary (1885–87) Ph.D., Yale University (1892)	Chosen to be the first president by the Augustana Synod at its annual meeting.[1] October 1893, met with first 16 students in a Brooklyn, New York church basement.[1] School offered land in Kenilworth, New Jersey in 1898, Upsala became a four-year degree-granting college in 1903—graduating its first students with B.A. degrees in 1905.[1]
2	—	Rev. Peter Froeberg (1873–1954)	1910–1920	B.A., Augustana College (1898) B.D. Augustana Theological Seminary (1902) attended Yale University, 1900-1905	Often borrowed money in his own name to pay the college's debts, including securing a large mortgage from Scandia Life Insurance Company to pay the entire debt and end foreclosure proceedings.[1]
3	—	Rev. Carl Gustav Erickson (1877–1936)	1920–1936	B.A., Augustana College (1904) B.D., Augustana Theological Seminary (1908)	reorganized the curriculum and faculty[1] Student body increased from 300 to 1,500 during his tenure.[1] Raised $465,000 to develop the school including 1923 purchase of 45-acre campus in East Orange, New Jersey.[1]
4	—	Rev. Evald Benjamin Lawson (1904–1965)	1938–1965	B.A., Upsala College B.D. Augustana Theological Seminary Studied at Union Theological Seminary M.A. Biblical Seminary (1933) S.T.D., Biblical Seminary (1937)	Expanded the college's East Orange campus; new buildings were built including the Beck Hall, residence halls, library and chapel.[1]
5	—	Rev. Carl Gustaf Fjellman (1919–2011)	1966–1976	B.A., Augustana College (1941) B.D., Augustana Theological Seminary (1945) attended University of California, Berkeley Ph.D., Drew University (1955)	Oversaw completion of Puder Hall for the sciences (1968), College Center (1970), Art Center (1971), and townhouse complex.[1][2] Changing demographics made multiculturalism, integration and diversity key issues.[1]
6	—	Rodney Otto Felder (1927–1997)	1976–1984	B.A., State University of New York at Albany (1949) M.A., Columbia University (1953) Ed.D. Columbia University (1957)	Expanded school by acquiring the Wirths Campus in Wantage Township, Sussex County, New Jersey. Previously a teacher and administrator in public school system and taught at various colleges.[1] Last president of Finch College in New York City (1970–77).[3]
7	—	David Eugene Schramm (1936– )	1986–1988	B.A. Concordia College (1958) M.Div., Concordia Seminary (1961) Ph.D. Washington University in St. Louis (1971)	Brief presidency saw declining enrollment.[1] Resigned over "differences of opinion as to how the college could best achieve its goal while preserving its mission" with the trustees.[4]
8	—	Rev. Robert Edgar Karsten (1930– )	1988–1994	B.A., Augustana College (1952) M.Div., Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (1956) Ph.D., University of Denver (1972)	Attempted to stem tide of serious financial problems, declining enrollment and academic standards, brought in international students.[1]
9	—	Paul Victor DeLomba (1935–)	1994–1995		A partner and project manager with Price Waterhouse,[5] DeLomba was hired in 1994 by the board of trustees to close the college.[1]

Faculty and staff

Academic faculty

• Richard Toensing, composer and music educator
• J. E. Wallace Wallin, visiting psychology professor, psychologist, early proponent of education for the mentally handicapped

Athletic staff

• Ron Rothstein, professional NBA basketball coach, former college basketball player, former teacher and basketball coach (1974-1975)

Alumni

This list of alumni includes both those who completed degree programs and graduated from Upsala College, as well as those who attended but did not graduate.

Academia and research

Name		Degree (Year)	Description
Joan W. Bennett		B.S. 1963	geneticist
Brian D. Carver		B.A. 1993	Historian
Okianer Christian Dark		B.S. 1975	law professor dean at Howard University's School of Law[6]
John Langston Gwaltney		B.A. 1952	anthropology professor
Karen Mitchell			Ottawa University (Kansas) Dean of Education and political science professor
Birger A. Pearson		B.A. 1957	early Christianity and Gnosticism scholar professor emeritus of religious studies at University of California, Santa Barbara, University of California, Berkeley[7]

Business

Name	Degree (Year)	Description
John Bobowicz		Sun Microsystems executive; founder of Java.net
Catherine "Kitty" A. D'Alessio		President of Chanel, Inc. in the United States
Neil Ringel		Executive Vice President, Staples Inc.

Politics and public service

Name	Degree (Year)	Description
Betty Boyd		former Colorado state legislator
David Demarest		political operative, White House communications director (Reagan, Bush administrations) Stanford University administrator
Frank J. Dodd		New Jersey state senate president, businessman
Brian Fischer	B.S. 1966	Commissioner of the New York State Department of Correctional Services
Nia Gill	B.A. 1971	New Jersey state senator[8]
Matthew Patrick		Massachusetts state representative
Richie Roberts	did not graduate	former New Jersey police detective and defense attorney Most recognized because of his role in the arrest, prosecution and later defense of Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas. Roberts was portrayed by Russell Crowe in the film American Gangster.[9]

Arts and entertainment

Name	Degree (Year)	Description
Louis Chu		Asian-American author, Eat a Bowl of Tea
Richie Davis		Canadian Football League player and Grey Cup champion
Kay Gardella		New York Daily News television critic
Walt Housman		football player
Don Kirshner		songwriter, rock music producer[10]
Allen Klein	B.S. 1956	music industry executive, talent manager (Sam Cooke, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones), and pioneer in freeform radio
Dick Kryhoski		Major League Baseball first baseman, 1949 World Series with New York Yankees
Bob McCann	did not graduate	professional basketball player
Robert W. Peterson		newspaper reporter and author
Jerry Recco	did not graduate	radio personality (WFAN, WHTG, WINS)
Michele Sainte		drum and bass and early techno DJ, music producer, songwriter
Gunārs Saliņš		Latvian modernist poet
Vin Scelsa		radio personality, created Idiot's Delight' freeform radio program
Sam Shoy	B.A. 1989	DJ Soulfinger Sam, international DJ, producer of house, techno, funk
Sally M. Walker	B.A. 1975	juvenile science and nonfiction author
Tim Walsh		Brooklyn Nets head athletic trainer
Derrick Williams	B.S. 1988	hobby concert promoter, global technology executive (USDA, Oracle, Highbeam Business Systems)

Fictional alumni

• The protagonist of Philip Roth's novel American Pastoral (1997), Seymour "Swede" Levov, and his wife, Dawn Levov, are graduates of Upsala.

References

1. "Series I Presidential Papers" in the "Upsala College records, 1893-1995" held in the collection of the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center, Augustana College (Rock Island, Illinois). Retrieved 16 August 2013.
2. Staff. Obituary for Carl Gustaf Fjellman in The Star-Ledger (3 July 2011). Retrieved 16 August 2013.
3. Arenson, Karen W. "Rodney O. Felder Dies at 69; Finch College's Last President" in The New York Times (26 January 1997). Retrieved 16 August 2013.
4. Associated Press (AP). "Metro Datelines: Upsala President Resigns From Post" in The New York Times (27 October 1988). Retrieved 16 August 2013.
5. Allen, David Grayson and McDermott, Kathleen. Accounting for Success: A History of Price Waterhouse in America, 1890-1990 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press, 1993), 268.
6. Howard University School of Law. Faculty: Okianer Christian Dark, Interim Dean and Professor of Law. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
7. Pearson, Birger A. Birger Albert Pearson - Curriculum Vitae, University of California, Santa Barbara.
8. New Jersey Legislature. Members: Legislative District 34 - Senator Nia H. Gill Esq. (D). Retrieved 24 May 2013.
9. Waldron, Mary. "American Hero: Richard Richie Roberts". Retrieved 4 December 2012.
10. Schudel, Matt. "Don Kirshner, hit-making rock impresario of the 1960s, dies at 76" in The Washington Post (18 January 2012). Retrieved 24 May 2013.