Class Notes

A noted composer and music educator along with leading executives in aerospace engineering, retail management, and financial services were honored by the University at regional events this spring. Part of a series of events throughout the year to recognize alumni for their career achievements and for their service to their alma mater, this spring’s ceremonies highlighted alumni from the Eastman School of Music, the Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, and the Simon Business School.

Eastman School of Music

Samuel Hope ’67E

Distinguished Alumni Award

Hope is the retired executive director of the National Association of Schools of Music, a national accrediting organization founded in 1924 by longtime Eastman leader Howard Hanson and other collegiate music leaders. He has also served as director of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design, the National Association of Schools of Theatre, and the National Association of Schools of Dance. The four independent organizations accredit more than 1,200 arts institutions and entities, primarily in higher education.

Hope received a bachelor’s degree in composition from Eastman, where he studied with Robert Gauldin, Louis Mennini, Burrill Phillips, Bernard Rogers, and Wayne Barlow, as well as with Nadia Boulanger in France. A noted composer, he has had his work performed by American orchestras, choirs, and chamber ensembles. He has also written and spoken widely on the arts, education, and evaluation.

Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences

John (Jack) Carmola ’77

Distinguished Alumnus Award

A retired former segment president for Goodrich Corporation, and president of Aerospace Customers and Business Development for United Technologies, Carmola works with private equity companies. He graduated from Rochester with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering and a minor in geomechanics. He began his career with General Electric before joining Goodrich in 1996. There, he earned promotions to vice president and was elected an officer of the company before being named segment president in 2005.

Carmola serves on the Hajim Dean’s Advisory Committee and is a member of the George Eastman Circle, the University’s leadership annual giving society.

Simon Business School

Colleen Wegman ’00S (MBA)

Distinguished Alumnus Award

Wegman is president of Wegmans Food Markets Inc., an 83-store supermarket chain headquartered in Rochester. The company has built an international reputation for its overall excellence in quality, customer service, and variety, and for 17 consecutive years, it has been named to Fortune magazine’s list of the “100 Best Companies to Work for in America” including being ranked the top company in 2005.

Wegman received an MBA from Simon in 2000. Beginning her career with Wegmans in 1991, she became a senior vice president in 2001. In 2005, she was named president of the company by her grandfather, the late Robert Wegman. Since 2007, she has been a member of the Food Marketing Institute’s Board of Directors. Active in the United Way of Greater Rochester, Wegman chaired the 2010 campaign and chaired the organization’s Board of Directors in 2014.

Ronald Fielding ’73 (MA), ’76S (MBA)

Dean’s Medal

The retired chief strategist and senior vice president of the Rochester division of Oppenheimer Funds Inc., Fielding managed the company’s Rochester municipal and convertible bonds for more than 25 years. In 1980 he founded Fielding Management and The Rochester Funds, which he sold to Oppenheimer in 1995.

He earned a master’s degree in 1973, followed by an MBA from Simon three years later. Fielding has been a member of Simon’s Executive Advisory Committee since 2005, and he also serves on the Simon National Council and the Simon Campaign Committee. He established the Ronald H. Fielding Scholarship Fund in 1996 to provide support for Simon students. A 1995 recipient of the Simon Distinguished Alumnus Award, he is also a member of the George Eastman Circle, the University’s leadership annual giving society.