Edwin (Ted) Abel, Ph.D. (SHS Class of 1981)

Ted Abel is the Director of the Iowa Neuroscience Institute, Roy J. Carver Chair in Neuroscience, and a Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics in the Carver College of Medicine at the University of Iowa. Until 2017, he was the Brush Family Professor of Biology and Co-Director of the Biological Basis of Behavior Program at the University of Pennsylvania where he directed a Graduate Training Program in Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience.

Dr. Abel did his undergraduate work at Swarthmore College and then studied under Nobel Laureate Tim Hunt at Cambridge University as a Marshall Scholar.  He carried out his Ph.D thesis work with Tom Maniatis at Harvard University and was a research fellow with Nobel Laureate Eric Kandel at Columbia.

Dr. Abel’s research focuses on the molecular mechanisms of memory storage and the molecular basis of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders. He has been a pioneer in the use of molecular and genetic approaches to define how neural circuits mediate behavior, including identifying the molecular impact of sleep deprivation on neuronal function. Dr. Abel’s accomplishments in undergraduate teaching, research and advising were recognized by the Penn School of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Award for Mentorship of Undergraduate Research. He has appeared on NPR’s Science Friday. Dr. Abel is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. 

 

DONALD A. CADGE (SHS Class of 1969)

Following his graduation from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Don had a distinguished forty year career in the pharmaceutical industry at SmithKline and McNeil, and at the time of his retirement he was President of Patriot Pharmaceuticals. 

However, Don is better known for his service to the Springfield community and Springfield School District. During his twenty year tenure on the Springfield School Board, Don was one of the founders of SAEF, the Springfield Area Education Foundation, which is dedicated to empowering student success through community engagement. Don was also an active participant in the development of the Springfield Literacy Center, one of the first such programs created in this area. He has been an active member of Covenant United Methodist Church in a variety of leadership positions, including the Super Bowl of Caring food drive.

Because of his devotion to the Springfield community, in 2016 he was enshrined on the Springfield Volunteer Wall. Don is a true renaissance man with many interests. He enjoys an enthusiastic and growing following as DDTW, Dandy Don the Weatherman, whose weather forecasts are known for their accuracy, clarity, and lack of hype.  However, to most of CougarNation, Don is simply the "Voice of the Cougars", Springfield's all in one version of Merrill Reese and Harry Kalas. 

 

Faith Glazier (SHS Class of 1983)

Faith graduated Springfield High School in 1983 and was awarded the Braunsdorf Memorial Award.  Faith attended Lehigh University and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.S. degree in Business and Economics.  Following graduation, she moved to New York City to work with a litigation consulting firm called Peterson & Co.  After two years, she left to attend Harvard Business School, and graduated in 1991 with a Master’s in Business Administration. 

Faith moved back to New York, married her husband Rob Weisstuch, and went to work for Deloitte Consulting in their Strategy and Operations practice.  Faith entered the partnership at Deloitte in 1998.  She has spent the last 27 years as a leader in their Life Sciences and Healthcare practice providing strategy and operations consulting services to pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device and distribution companies. Faith has served some of the firm’s most important global clients and she currently serves as the global leader for Deloitte’s Generics Pharmaceutical Practice, and is responsible for the thought leadership, and project delivery for this market.  She is also a speaker at industry events and has been an author in industry publications.

Faith has a passion for grooming future talent and has lead recruiting, as well as various talent initiatives for Deloitte over the years, with a specific focus on those promoting women.  

Faith is a member of the Lehigh University College of Business and Economics Dean’s Advisory Council and a former board member of the Volunteer Consulting Group in New York.

Faith now resides in Larchmont, NY with her husband and her three daughters, Caroline, Hayley and Sydney. 

 

American Studies Program (1964-2000)

When Harold Taussig, a history teacher at SHS, came up with the concept of a combined American History/American Literature course elective for juniors, it was unprecedented. From what we (Liz, Jim H. and Jim D.) have been able to piece together from conversations with family of our deceased colleagues, former students, and our misty memories, this had to have been about 1964-65. The two-credit course was similar to the college course model—first period lecture daily, then later in the day Monday, Wednesday and Friday classes of roughly 25 kids. On Tuesday and Thursday these classes were divided in half for seminar sessions, History on one day, English on the other.

The administration at the time (RK Smith principal and Chuck Hable, superintendent) supported the new concept, and a trial four-week unit on the 1920s was developed and tested. Although the college type schedule would make it difficult to schedule the rest of the regular courses in the high school, the support for this innovative program was there. It lasted 35 years!

Harry LeFever was the first of Hal’s teaching colleagues to jump on board the teaching team as an English teacher. Then other faculty from the English and History staffs joined. From the beginning there was no problem attracting students to elect the course. The lectures were held in the auditorium of the old building and, since enrollment was exploding in those days, there were so many kids that they scheduled the lectures twice to accommodate them. The new building addition that provided the audions and office space was enthusiastically welcomed by the staff of six teachers and 200 or so students.

American Studies teachers discovered that they were in for the professional ride of their careers.  We followed a tight, strictly designed, almost hectic schedule in order to cover the huge amount of material in a year. When there was a snow day, it really screwed us up!  We shared the lecturing, depending on the topic. Sometimes we showed films, did skits, or hosted guest speakers. Because it was a course about American culture too, we covered trends in art, music, theater, and economics, too. From a teaching perspective the unique thing about this program was the enormous challenge to meet a high standard of scholarship because our respected peers were watching in the back of the audion! The great thing, of course, was that we all were there to help each other too.

Hal and Harry left the program shortly after it was launched to embark on new career challenges. Their program prospered and over the years it gained significant renown. School officials and staff from all over the country came to observe American Studies in action. Impressed with what they saw, some local school districts, such as Haverford and Marple-Newtown implemented similar programs. Springfield School District routinely sent out surveys to SHS graduates asking them to indicate which courses they found to be most significant to their subsequent educational success. Through the years until the program was ended around the year 2000, they consistently mentioned American Studies.

Contributing Members:  Harold Taussig, Harry Lefever, Tom Gallagher, Jim Hornaday, Jim Doyle, Marjorie Mourning, Donna Macek, Jim Pomillo, Jim Trumbauer, Jane Scheuer, Peg Lamb, John Zappacosta, Liz Ball, Cindy Danaker, Bill McRae