Alumni Cited for Excellence at Reunions 2013

Four distinguished Rider University graduates were fêted for their philanthropy, generosity leadership and professional excellence, both on campus and in their greater communities, at the Alumni Awards presentation in North Hall on Saturday, June 8. The annual ceremony was part of the daylong Reunion 2013 festivities on the Lawrenceville campus.

Joseph P. Teti ’65 received the Gordon E. Prichard Award for Volunteer Service, United States Army Col. Roger E. Carey ’80 was given the Harold L. Conover Leadership Award, and Norman A. Brodsky ’64 was presented the Rider University Distinguished Alumnus Award for exceptional professional achievements. Journalist Nicholas A. Ballasy ’08 was the recipient of a new award, the Outstanding Young Alumnus Award.

Joseph P. Teti ’65 was presented the 2013 Gordon E. Prichard Award for Volunteer Service. The award is named for Prichard, a member of the Rider Class of 1963, who served with distinction as a member of the Alumni Association Board.

A 1965 Rider graduate, Teti retired after spending more than 40 years at Triangle Blueprint Company as its president and chief executive officer. Over the course of his career, he was a member of the Princeton Club of New York and served as president of the Kiwanis Club, where he was also recognized as Man of the Year in 1983. Teti was awarded the Entrepreneur of the Year from the Mercer County Chamber of Commerce in 2004 and the Princeton Area Chamber of Commerce in 2002. 

In addition to his service to Rider University, Teti served as a Lawrence Township councilman and was the chairman of the board and Leadership Award winner for the New Jersey Retail Merchants Association.

Col. Roger E. Carey ’80 was given the 2013 Harold L. Conover Leadership Award, an honor named for the graduate of Rider’s Class of 1923. Conover was the prime mover in establishing the Alumni Association and became the association’s first president. He was also a member of the University Board of Trustees, for which he served as secretary for many years.

Carey graduated from Rider with a bachelor’s degree in Speech Communication in 1980 and went on to earn his Master of Science from Central Michigan and a Master of Science in National Security Strategy from the National Defense University. He served in the United States Army from the time he received his commission as a second lieutenant in 1980 until his retirement in 2012.

Over the course of his career, Carey held numerous positions including assignments at the White House Communications Agency where he provided support for President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, First Lady Hillary Clinton, the Secret Service, and the White House Staff, achieving the designation of presidential communications officer. He also served as the commander of the 504th Signal battalion, Fort Huachuca, Ariz., and was the Officer in Charge of the Army/G-6 Operations Cell at the Pentagon. In 2005, Carey was assigned to the U.S. European Command J6 in Stuttgart, Germany, as the Division Chief for C4I Interoperability/Operations. Carey concluded his career with distinction having been awarded the Legion of Merit upon his retirement. 

Norman A. Brodsky ’64 was presented the 2013 Rider University Distinguished Alumnus Award. Brodsky earned his bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Rider in 1964 before adding a law degree from Brooklyn College in 1967. After working for a time as a lawyer, hebecame a successful entrepreneur, founding eight successful businesses, including CitiStorage, the largest privately owned archive business in the country.

Brodsky has written a monthly column for Inc. magazine called “Street Smarts,” has appeared on CNN, CNBC, Fox’s Housecall and Bloomberg TV, and is the author of The Knack – How Street Smart Entrepreneurs Learn How to Handle Whatever Comes Up. Brodsky has won numerous awards and accolades over the course of his business career, including Employer of the Year, an advocacy award from the Greater New York Development Organization, and the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2006.

The Outstanding Young Alumnus Award was presented for the first time at Reunions 2013, and the inaugural winner was Nicholas A. Ballasy ’08. Ballasy earned his bachelor’s degree from Rider in 2008 and went on to graduate from the Institute on Political Journalism at Georgetown University. His reporting has been featured on numerous national news outlets including CNN, Fox News, Inside Edition, ABC, CBS, Extra and The Drudge Report.

During his career, Ballasy has interviewed former President Bill Clinton, former Vice President Al Gore, Vice President Joseph Biden, Gen. Wesley Clark, New York Gov. George Pataki, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, and current Secretary of State John Kerry. He now serves as the senior video reporter for The Daily Caller, where he produces original news packages and articles from Capitol Hill reaching an audience of over 5 million viewers.

Dr. Miriam Steinitz-Kannan ’73, a Regents Professor of Biological Sciences at Northern Kentucky University, and Dr. Eric L. Brosha ’89, a research scientist in the Sensors and Electrochemical Devices Group at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, were honored prior to the Alumni Awards with induction into the Science Stairway Hall of Fame. Bill Brosha '85 accepted on behalf of his brother.