C.W. Post Appoints Gargano and Goldstein as Marshals for Commencement Exercises

Dr. Roger Goldstein has been appointed platform marshal.

Brookville, N.Y. - After years of leading students through college life, two longtime, well-respected professors of the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University have been chosen to literally take them down the path to becoming alumni when the Campus celebrates its 50th Commencement exercises on Mother's Day, Sunday, May 11, 2008.

Cara Gargano, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Theatre, Film and Dance, has been appointed Grand Marshal of the ceremony and will head the procession of students and faculty members into the commencement tent, carrying the sterling silver Long Island University mace.

Dr. Gargano, whose father was in academia at a small arts college, remembers watching him participate in commencement processions every year as a child.

"It was very magical and important," she said. "I've always been fascinated and moved by the idea of commencement. It's so dignified and regal. It's amazing to find myself in a similar place."

Roger Goldstein, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Political Science/International Studies, who will be honored for 40 years of service to the University during the Commencement exercises, has been named Platform Marshal. He will carry the C.W. Post Mace and will be at the front of the platform party, made up of Long Island University President David J. Steinberg, members of the University Board of Trustees, C.W. Post administrators, honorary degree recipients, the valedictorian, two salutatorians, and other distinguished persons.

"My selection as Platform Marshal for the 2008 C.W. Post graduation affirms the commitment by Long Island University's faculty, trustees and administration to provide students and society as a whole with a model for service, achievement and excellence," Dr. Goldstein said.

Dr. Cargaro Gargano will serve as grand marshal.

A former dancer, Cara Gargano studied at the New York School of Ballet under Richard Thomas and Barbara Fallis and later taught at the school. She has worked with U.S. Terpsichore Co., the Empire State Ballet, Garden State Ballet and Arlington Dance Theatre. Her concert choreography for Cara Gargano Dance Co. has received warm reviews from The New York Times and has been presented in Europe as well as in the United States.

As a stage director and choreographer, Dr. Gargano has worked in theatre, opera and musical comedy. She holds a Ph.D. in French language and literature from the City University Graduate Center and has published in both English and French in Modern Drama, Reliologiques, Dance Research Journal, Theatre Research International, and New Theatre Quarterly and has provided chapters for several books including "Mythes dans la littérature contemporaine d'expression française," "Réécritures des mythes: utopie au feminine," "Réécritures de Madeleine Monette," "Anne-Marie Alonzo: Collection d'essais" and most recently, "Hermes-Aphrodite Encounters." She has translated several plays from the French that have been produced in New York and Ohio.

A member of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education, the National Association of Schools of Dance, the National Association of Schools of Theatre, the Modern Language Association, and the Society for Dance History Scholars, Dr. Gargano is immediate past president of the Congress on Research in Dance, and serves as a choreography peer reviewer for the National Dance Association Promotion and Tenure Initiative.

Initially appointed to the faculty of Southampton College, Roger Goldstein taught there as a member of the social science division ultimately becoming director of that program. Ever since his arrival on the C.W. Post Campus in 1972, he has devoted himself to the work of aiding in the efforts to strengthen and innovate in the curricular area. Particularly noteworthy are the outcomes of his efforts in the area of international studies highlighted by the establishment of a relationship in created between Long Island University and the Foreign Affairs University in Beijing, China.

Dr. Goldstein's interest in international relations led, in cooperation with former Assistant Under Secretary General of the United Nations Leila Doss, to a unique internship opportunity for C.W. Post students at the United Nations. His commitment to enhance cross cultural awareness and communication is reflected in the programs and courses he developed, the speakers he brings to the Campus, and his constant support for study abroad opportunities.

While at C.W. Post, Dr. Goldstein supported the work of a number of U.S. government agencies including the Department of State. His current scholarly projects include a co-authored work with a former ambassador to the United Nations discussing United Nations reform and another studying the relationship between Non Governmental Organizations and the United Nations in the development of an international political culture.

Dr. Goldstein earned his B.A. at Oberlin College and an M.A. at Columbia University. His Ph.D. was awarded by Columbia University's Russian Institute.

Posted: March 27, 2008