You are currently browsing the tag archive for the 'Rutgers' tag.
With generous funding from the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies, two professors with the Center for Children and Childhood Studies at Rutgers–Camden are working to strengthen communities and the lives of youths in the city. Bill Whitlow, a professor of psychology, is working with the Camden Area Health Education Center to help residents address issues involving air and water quality in their neighborhood. Dan Hart, director of the Center for Children and Childhood Studies and a professor of psychology, is working with two Camden groups to address youth development and health care.
source: http://rujnjpartnership.rutgers.edu/index.shtml#item1
By EILEEN STILWELL
Courier-Post Staff
Tapping his fingers on a marble altar at Sacred Heart Church to the beat of a song he wrote, Richard Wolfe smiled at the sound, but urged the young singers “not to be too churchy.”
“This is gonna be better than I thought,” said Wolfe during a rehearsal of a song about Matthew Henson, an explorer he had never heard of until he recently connected with South Camden advocates.
Six rehearsals down, two to go before the big event Monday when a 15-foot-tall statue of American explorer Matthew A. Henson will be unveiled at Broadway and Viola Street.
The noon event marks the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the North Pole by Henson, an African-American from Maryland, and Rear Admiral Robert Peary, who organized the expedition and took all the credit.
How Wolfe, a self-described Jewish Republican, landed in the sanctuary of Sacred Heart Church after decades as a songwriter and arranger in Manhattan is a twisted tale that illustrates how much some retirees are willing to contribute.
“Funny where life takes you. I felt like yesterday’s newspaper. I needed something to do. They asked me to write a song and here I am,” said Wolfe, 81 and a recent widower who moved from Naples, Fla., two years ago to be near his son, Rick, and his family in Haddonfield.
During rehearsal this week Wolfe was clearly pleased by the performance of the 25 choral students from Sacred Heart grammar school who sang his song with attitude. Students from Camden’s Creative High School accompanied them.
It didn’t hurt that opera star Barbara Dever, a native of East Camden who volunteers as Sacred Heart’s music director, is their music coach.
Having worked with the likes of Arthur Godfrey, the Andrews Sisters, Kingston Trio, Roger Williams, Nat King Cole and other legends between the 1950s and 1980s, Wolfe lived the good life, flew his own plane, sat in Yankee Stadium box seats and was on the same party circuit as Sammy Kaye, Bobby Darin, Eddy Arnold and Mike Douglas.
His name appears on the “Itsy, Bitsy, Teenie, Weenie, Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” recording, an international best-seller sung by Brian Hyland; Bert Parks singing “Miss America”; and Mary Martin doing “Do-Re-Mi” and “A Spoonful of Sugar.”
“With “Itsy, Bitsy,’ we worried at the time about it coming off dirty. It was so innocent compared to today’s music of sex, drugs and violence. When rock became a religion, instead of just music, the industry changed dramatically,” said Wolfe.
Wolfe is proud of his new collaborators.
“I’m the only one without a Ph.D.,” he joked referring to Dever, an internationally known mezzo-soprano who has appeared with Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Zubin Mehta. Wolfe will accompany her Monday when she sings the spiritual “Oh Glory” at the public event.
Other contributors to the program include Michael Lang, a retired Urban Studies professor at Rutgers-Camden; George Roland, a retired systems engineering professor at University of Pennsylvania and John Giannotti, a retired art professor at Rutgers-Camden and an internationally known sculptor.
Monday’s event will kick off the transformation of an abandoned Episcopalian Church on the East side of Broadway into a maritime museum by the Heart of Camden, a nonprofit neighborhood association. The museum, when enough grant money is obtained to begin construction, will celebrate Camden’s long history as a port city on the Delaware River and home to the former New York Shipyard.
The shipyard connection creates a window to showcase Henson, an African American explorer who for decades was denied recognition for his role in reaching the top of the world with Perry.
As a young man, Wolfe wanted to be a pitcher for a professional team. Injuries got in his way, so he turned to music. He bought a piano for $35, locked himself up in an old barn in his hometown of Williamsport, Pa., and taught himself to play.
“I borrowed a couple of kerosene heaters from the farmer across the way, cut out a pair of finger gloves at the ends, taped a flashlight to the piano and practiced hour by hour,” wrote Wolfe in his autobiography called “Succeeding and Surviving in the Music Business.
The book describes his rise in the business, his collection of 350 original songs and his respect for talented musicians.
“They spoiled me for the rest of the world,” he said. “They knew they were the best in the business and they wanted to stay on top. They were 100 percent motivated.”
The business side was full of charlatans, he said, always trying to cheat artists out of royalties. Regrettably, he said he was forced to spend too much time and money in court fighting for his due.
Wolfe’s career took a detour when he was assigned to create children’s music for RCA and Kapp Records.
“At first I was insulted until I realized how much fun I was having with the kids,” said Wolfe about the opportunity to record timeless pieces like “Puff the Magic Dragon,” “Zip-a-Dee Doo-Dah” and “(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window.”
The Camden chorus has such potential that he hopes to build on the one Matthew Henson song and make a professional recording as he did years ago with young singers from Harlem. His collaborator on that project was Cissy Houston, Whitney’s mother.
Years of smoking unfiltered Camels and drinking Jack Daniels destroyed his health, he said, forcing him into semi-retirement about 25 years ago.
“They told me I’d be dead in a year,” said Wolfe, a slight man with a tidy beard and wry sense of humor.
When his wife of 54 years, Patricia Anne, died of lung cancer in August, he slipped into depression. A casual acquaintance pulled him out by showing him Camden.
“Sure, I’ll write you a song,” he said.
Reach Eileen Stilwell at (856) 486-2464 or estilwell@courierpostonline.com
This fall, they are entering the 8th grade. But this summer, they’re taking classes at Rutgers University.
The Rutgers Future Scholars program welcomed its first 200 Scholars this summer, and will welcome up to 50 students every year from each of the Rutgers’ communities: Camden, Newark, New Brunswick and Piscataway. The goal is to make tuition-free college education possible for promising students who would not be able to afford tuition. The five-year program will provide Scholars opportunities for academic enrichment and social development, along with tutors, mentors and advisors. Those who complete the program and gain admission to Rutgers will receive a full scholarship. Many of the Scholars will be the first in their families to attend a four-year college.
The program founders hope it will be a model for providing a pathway to higher education for at-risk, low-income students. The Scholars will attend residential summer programs during high school, as well as a Saturday seminar series and preparation classes for PSAT, SAT and ACT exams. Parents are expected to participate in workshops, partner with teachers, and assist with the college admissions process.
Funded by private donors and corporate gifts, the program has already raised more than $200,000 in pledged support.
Want to learn more? Check out this Rutgers Future Scholars Program Welcome Session Video.
