Weekend events
Reunion College Presenters
- Rodney Agnant ’14, Mindful Storytelling: Re-experiencing Those Around You
- Teesa Bahana ’11 and Elise Bronzo ’10, Creating Community: How Access to Art Transforms the Human Experience
- Diane Ciccone ’74, P’10, and Kali MacMillan ’10, Into the Light: The Early African American Men Who Attended Colgate From 1840–1930 and Transformed a Nation
- Veronica McFall ’89, Dato the Fact Cat and The Voyagers: A Visit to The Bahamas From A-Z
Alumni award winners
MAROON CITATION
DENNISTON M. REID ’94 (left)
A year ago, when Denniston Reid received the Alumni Corporation’s Humanitarian Award, a former colleague from his days in the Colgate admission office remembered him being a “larger-than-life presence, teaching us to think differently.”
Classmates from his undergraduate days remember him the same way. A leader in the Black Student Union and the Coalition for a Better World, he received the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Award for his outstanding contributions to campus life and the community of color. He was a member of Konosioni and a George Cobb Fellow.
With his degree in education, he returned home to New York City to join Teach for America. That is where he has made his career. Aside from three years in the Colgate admission office, Denniston has spent his professional life as a teacher, administrator, visionary, and innovator, improving educational opportunities for underserved students.
He is currently chief schools and innovation officer for Excellence Community Schools. He earned his master’s from Columbia and is in the doctoral program at Penn State University. For years, through his STEM and Shakespeare summer program, he has brought his students to campus for a weeklong introduction to college-level life and academic work.
He is an engaged alumnus. A member of the Alumni Council, the Board of Trustees, Alumni of Color, and the Presidents’ Club, his service includes speaking at admission events, Common Good receptions, and the recent Entrepreneur Weekend. Denniston and his wife, Charlene, are parents of Kennedy and Denniston III.
As he celebrates his 25th reunion, we are pleased to present the larger-than-life Denniston Reid this Maroon Citation.
WM. BRIAN LITTLE ’64 ALUMNI AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE
RONALD J. BURTON ’69
Ron Burton was a sophomore playing his first season on varsity when EBONY magazine featured him as one of only a half dozen black athletes starting at quarterback on “big- time football campuses.” He was in the vanguard then as he has been throughout his college and professional life.
Colgate finished that season 8-1-1, its best record in 30 years, and Ron led the team in total offense. He graduated as Colgate’s all-time leader in passing and total offense and won the inaugural Andy Kerr Trophy in 1968 as offensive MVP. He also lettered in baseball for three years, playing center field.
One of Ron’s favorite receivers was tight end Dean Taylor, his high school teammate from Montclair, N.J. At Colgate, they became the first African American members of Lambda Chi Alpha. Denis Cronin ’69 was president of the house when the LXA national said its exclusionary clause required that Ron and Dean be expelled. In a significant statement from the turbulent year of 1968, the brotherhood unanimously voted instead to withdraw from the national.
Ron and Denis would later serve together as Colgate Trustees, Denis as board chair. Ron’s leadership for the University also includes member and vice president of the Alumni Council, mentor to prospective and current students, and roles supporting every capital campaign since his graduation. A member of the Presidents’ Club, he is one of four founders of an endowed scholarship fund memorializing Thomas M. Wilson ’67, a fellow member of the Athletic Hall of Honor. Ron received the Maroon Citation in 1979.
He was a history major. During a 29-year career with Dun and Bradstreet, he rose to vice president, as he notes in the reunion yearbook, “One of the few African Americans to hold that title in corporate America at the time.” Ron has been a commissioner of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and served on the boards of the Jackie Robinson Foundation and the Yogi Berra Museum. His wife, Carolyn, is his partner in much of his good work. They are the parents of Christopher and Alison.
Ron Burton, a leader in business and in life, elevates Colgate and his community. We are pleased to present him the Wm. Brian Little ’64 Alumni Award for Distinguished Service.
WM. BRIAN LITTLE ’64 ALUMNI AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE
GREGORY A. THREATTE ’69
When Colgate has needed him, Greg Threatte has been there.One of seven black students in the Class of 1969, Greg said of that group in a Colgate Scene profile 35 years later: “Here are seven very successful African Americans, and what did we have in common? Colgate stretched us to a place where we didn’t take no for an answer.”
Greg was a charter member of the Association of Black Collegians (ABC), a group central to fundamental changes in the University’s social structure. In 1968–69, in addition to calling the question on restrictive clauses in some fraternity charters, ABC advanced the idea of creating a cultural center. Greg was there, and he was there in 1989 when the University dedicated the center, renamed in 1996 as the ALANA Cultural Center.
Living in Syracuse for most of his professional life, Greg has always made himself available — to talk to the Office of Undergraduate Studies summer program, to counsel students and alumni on cultural issues, to advise on careers through programs such as Dream Catchers and Real World, and especially to encourage and support those with an interest in medicine. “From the moment he graduated, he helped other students,” remembers Diane Ciccone ’74. “There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do.”
As a Colgate trustee, he was part of the Task Force on Campus Culture, formed in response to a tragedy. He is completing a term on the Alumni Council, where he served on the Torchlight Working Group. He raised money from his class to support Colgate and gave generously to the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Scholarship Fund. He volunteered in admission and on the campus committee on medical professions. Presidents have sought his advice on issues affecting alumni of color. He received the Maroon Citation in 1999.
In addition to his Colgate degree in physics and astronomy, Greg holds an MD from SUNY Upstate. He retired in 2014 as professor emeritus and chair of pathology at Upstate Medical University. He is a former president of the Onondaga County Medical Society and current president of the Albany County Medical Society. He and his wife, Stephanie, have three grown children.
A lifetime friend calls Greg Threatte “a presence for Colgate.” We are pleased to acknowledge that truth by awarding him the Wm. Brian Little ’64 Alumni Award for Distinguished Service.
ANN YAO ’80 MEMORIAL YOUNG ALUMNI AWARD
JAMES A. SPEIGHT IV ’14
James Speight’s father advised him, “It’s not about where you go; it’s what you do when you get there.” He lived that credo on campus, and he lives it still in his career and as an alumnus.As a first-year student, James won the Stimets Award for contributing the most to campus life. That summer, COVE sent him to Kenya as a volunteer. As a Link, he advised freshmen. He sang with the Thirteen. He was a senator, ALANA liaison, and senior policy coordinator in student government. He coordinated alumni affairs and was a “wise man” for the Brothers and an Ambassador for ALANA. He played rugby and was a member of Theta Chi. He was tapped for Konosioni. As a senior, he won the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Award and the Voice of Conscience Award for efforts that enriched the campus and the community of color.
To his degree in political science, James added an MA in management from Wake Forest. Looking for work in finance that focused on the common good, three years ago he joined the Robin Hood Foundation, supporting the best-performing nonprofits fighting poverty in New York City.
James is a member of the Presidents’ Club Membership Council and is active in the New York City district club. He supports the Brothers and Alumni of Color and has spoken at Mosaic weekends. And he shares valued career insights with students.
James Speight is “paying it forward,” and we are pleased to award him the Ann Yao ’80 Young Alumni Award.
WM. BRIAN LITTLE ’64 ALUMNI AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE
KATHLEEN A. DILL ’89
Colgate story: Kathleen Dill applied to Colgate because her adviser, her favorite teacher, and a dorm proctor at the Millbrook School — all Colgate alumni — encouraged her to.On campus, Kathleen majored in English, played rugby, fell in love with art as a docent at Picker Gallery, traveled on Peter Balakian’s first London Study Group, and joined Delta Sigma Upsilon because that was her dorm proctor’s sorority.
Kathleen began her career teaching English, inspired by the two alumni who taught her at Millbrook, and later joined Prep for Prep, helping gifted students of color achieve their academic promise. After a decade in education, she changed careers to corporate communications, first with Lehman Brothers, later with JPMorgan, and just recently joined the private equity firm Advance.
Wherever her career has led, volunteering for Colgate has been central in Kathleen’s life. She’s active in the New York City district club, served on the Women’s Advisory Committee, represents the admission office, counsels students and alumni about careers in finance and communications, and participates with Alumni of Color. On the Alumni Council, Kathleen’s roles included treasurer, member of the nominations committee, and chair of the admissions committee. She was elected to the Colgate Board in 2013 as Alumni Trustee and has just completed her second three-year term. She received a Maroon Citation in 2009.
A wise and tenacious fundraiser, Kathleen has been a member of her class gift committee for years. She is a longtime member of the Presidents’ Club. As she approached her retirement from the Alumni Council and Board of Trustees, she led an appeal among alumni that added more than $10,000 to an assistance fund available to students through the Office of Undergraduate Studies.
One veteran staff member who has known Kathleen in all her roles calls her “as good as it gets for a volunteer.”
Direct, tireless, committed, enthusiastic, smart, and fun, Kathleen Dill has devoted 30 years to Colgate, and we’re counting on her for 30 more. The Colgate Alumni Corporation is delighted to recognize her many contributions with the Wm. Brian Little ’64 Alumni Award for Distinguished Service.
