24 Thursday Oct 2013
Posted in Reflections
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My name is Linda Robins and I wanted to tell you how sad I was to learn of your mom’s passing today.
I was one of the thousands of her Oneonta students. I attended between 1981 and 1985.
Electric. I am now remembering her voice, her movement, her command as she taught in lecture halls both large and small. Your mom challenged me. She pushed me. Continue reading
22 Tuesday Oct 2013
Posted in Scholarship Updates
Thanks so much to each and every person who has supported the Dr. Joan Iversen Scholarship. I received a list of 39 donors (not including me) from the College at Oneonta Foundation last week. I have permission to share the names of a handful of donors so far – I will need to write to most of them to ask for permission to share their names. But I thought it would be a good time to start the donor acknowledgement page, so it’s now published, waiting for me to add more names.
If you have donated, you can really speed up the acknowledgment process by letting me know it’s okay to name you in the donor list. Continue reading
19 Saturday Oct 2013
Posted in Reflections
Pro-Choice Rally, DC, circa 1985 w/SUCO Women’s Alliance members Stevi Calandra & Robin Frankel. (Joan Iversen in the middle)
I still have my notes from a history class taught by Dr. Iversen that I took decades ago. As a kid, I was never a history buff. I considered history to be a very male pursuit. Mostly because every history enthusiast I knew were men obsessed with war history. Like my Dad who watched every WWII movie a zillion times. Joan Iversen changed all that for me. Continue reading
17 Thursday Oct 2013
Posted in Scholarship Updates
I just received my first update from the College at Oneonta Foundation and I’m excited to report that we have successfully raised $4,955! This means that we are almost at 20% of our goal (just $45 short, proof that every dollar counts).
I think this is really wonderful progress given that we have 5 years to reach our goal of $25,000 and that many people are still only just learning of my mom’s death. But just because we have 5 years to reach the goal doesn’t mean we need to take 5 years to reach it. The sooner we reach that goal, the sooner a student will receive the first scholarship award.
Thanks so much to everyone who has donated so far! I, and my family, really appreciate your support. I know my mom would be pleased, too, although she would also be pushing us to do better (since that was what she did ALL the time!).
Shortly, I will be making an acknowledgements page to publicly thank each person who has given. I will, of course, be contacting each person who has donated (the college will be sending me a list) to ask for permission to list your name. Continue reading
14 Monday Oct 2013
Posted in Reflections
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As a quiet, first generation college student, your mom would not have remembered me – but I believe that was, perhaps, her greatest gift: she was simply inspirational to ALL of her students (particularly to the young women as I was in the early 1980’s).
In the classroom – she was a force – using slides and music as she lectured – and was completely captivating and ahead of her time. Her enthusiasm was boundless and infectious – we cared because she cared.
She encouraged her students to aim higher. I know I did.
~Tracy Fontao
05 Saturday Oct 2013
Posted in Scholarship Updates
The progress thermometer is now just at a starting point. I’m still awaiting the first official update from the folks at the College at Oneonta Foundation. The $2000 number is simply the amount I’m starting with–it’s based on the checks that were handed to me at the time of my mom’s memorial service and my own donation. It doesn’t yet include any donations that have been made online or that have been sent directly to the college. The staff there told me that they give regular updates if gifts are being made. The Academy has a pace that works well in its world. However, I know at the university where I work, those updates don’t come in “internet time.” I’ll be contacting the people at the College at Oneonta Foundation to see if we can find a faster update mechanism.
04 Friday Oct 2013
Posted in Reflections
Joan Smyth (later Joan Iversen) around 1967
Here’s an adapted version of the obituary that I wrote (with photo added of Max, the dog):
Joan Smyth Iversen, 81, of Oneonta, passed away on Sept. 16, 2013, at Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, NY after complications resulting from knee replacement surgery.
She was predeceased by her first husband, Terence J. Smyth, and her parents. She was survived by her husband of 44 years, Jack Iversen, a retired faculty member at the State University of New York at Oneonta; her five children, Nancy Smyth, Tod Iversen, Terence Smyth, Kristen Cartwright, and Jill Iversen; her sister, Dawn Danielson, and her nine grandchildren.
01 Tuesday Oct 2013
Posted in Uncategorized
I began a blog presence for this scholarship fund in a dedicated page on my own blog, Virtual Connections. However, several people had creative suggestions for periodic updates and content that would help convey who my mother was. As I thought more about doing this I realized the blog needed its own space, both to allow people to more easily follow scholarship blog updates, and for the readers of Virtual Connections to stay focused on the content themes that they chose to follow. So here begins this new blog, one dedicated to honoring my mother, Dr. Joan Smyth Iversen, through sharing recollections and building the scholarship that will continue her legacy.
I anticipate a two primary types of posts, those focused on scholarship fund updates, and others focused on sharing recollections. I hope the recollections will come from a wide range of people: former students, colleagues, friends, and family. Over time, some other ideas for post will probably unfold, as well.
~ Nancy Smyth
In Memory of Dr. Joan Iversen 