Alumni Recognized for Service to College and Outstanding Careers

President’s Philanthropy Award

Robert “Rip” Van Camp ’54

Robert “Rip” Van Camp ’54 graduated magna cum laude from Springfield College, before serving in the U.S Marine Corps, going on to receive an MBA in 1958 from Cornell University. Van Camp worked in numerous business capacities, ranging from head of marketing at Colgate Palmolive to president and CEO of Reynolds Development Corporation before leaving to start his own consulting firm, Van Camp Group, Inc.

Van Camp served on the Springfield College Board of Trustees from 1968 to 1992 and again from 1996 to 2001. During that time he played a leading role in several key decisions that have made a lasting impact at Springfield College. By securing a gift from Reynolds, he helped establish The Summer Management Institute, an intense professional development program for nonprofit leaders. The institute evolved into what is now the School of Professional and Continuing Studies. With fellow trustee Harold Potts, Van Camp helped gain approval for the creation of a physical therapy program at Springfield College, now a signature program with a doctoral component. Additionally, he was an outspoken leader in support of a student trustee program, which is now in its 45th year. In 1979, Van Camp was awarded the Tarbell Medallion.

Van Camp spearheaded the Class of 1954’s million-dollar gift in celebration of its 50th Reunion in 2004, which is currently valued at almost $2 million in cash and commitments and designated for the Class of 1954 Peter A. Karpovich Chair in Wellness.

The President’s Philanthropy Award recognizes an individual who has made significant contributions to, and exemplifies leadership in, advancing Springfield College.

The Tarbell Medallion

Bridget Belgiovine, G’87 

Service to Springfield College for Bridget Belgiovine, G’87, began when she was assistant athletic director in 1988 and she co-chaired the committee to celebrate the 25th anniversary of women’s varsity athletics at Springfield College. From 2010-12 she was Alumni Council president, representing that body on the Board of Trustees. In 2012, she became full member of the Board of Trustees on which she currently serves.

Belgiovine served on the Athletic Hall of Fame Selection Committee, the Alumni Association Awards Process Committee, the Milwaukee and Chicago Alumni Association Executive Committee, at Alumni College, twice as emcee for the Athletic Hall of Fame and Alumni Awards Dinner, the Field Hockey Reunion Committee, as an admissions representative, and is a frequent volunteer at the alumni and student career networking event held on campus.

She received a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education from Trenton State College and a master’s degree in physical education and athletic administration from Springfield College. Belgiovine currently serves as director of athletics and chair of the department of physical education, recreation, and athletics at Wellesley College. For her efforts on gender equality, diversity, inclusion, and excellence in sports at educational institutions, she has received numerous accolades.

The Tarbell Medallion, a facsimile of R. Tate McKenzie’s “The Joy of Effort,” first presented in 1935 as a gift from Edward Norris Tarbell, Class of 1889 is given annually to an alumnus or alumna out of school at least 20 years who has demonstrated varied outstanding service over a period of time to his or her alma mater.

Young Alumna Award

Meghann “Meg” Foley Dombroski ’06

Meghann Foley Dombroski ’06, DMD, MPH, has a passion for family, service, and creating beautiful smiles. Dombroski graduated from Springfield College with a major in sports biology and a minor in business. She earned a Doctor of Dental Medicine degree from Tufts University College of Dental Medicine and a master in public health from Harvard University.

Dombroski has worked as a general dentist at a private practice, as an orthodontist, and now, in her own practice, mBrace Orthodontics, in Falmouth, Maine. She also is an assistant clinical professor at the University of New England.

Dombroski has created partnerships and outreach programs with school-based dental clinics, senior housing programs, local elementary schools, the Head Start program, a women’s homeless shelter, and several other institutions, earning numerous awards along the way. She is a member of the Maine Alumni Association Executive Committee.

The Young Alumnus/a Award was established by the Class of 1966 in 1974 and  is presented to a graduate in the 10th reunion class in recognition of professional excellence and outstanding service to the College, community, state, and/or nation.

Distinguished Alumnus Award

Kenneth M. Baldwin ’64 

Kenneth M. Baldwin ’64, PhD, is professor emeritus of physiology and biophysics at the University of California (UCI) at Irvine School of Medicine. Baldwin’s academic journey began when he received a Bachelor of Arts in physical education at Springfield College. He received a Master of Science in exercise science at the University of Massachusetts, and a PhD in exercise physiology at the University of Iowa. Following post-doctoral research on the biochemistry of acute and chronic exercise at Washington University at St. Louis, he joined the faculty at UCI in 1973.

Baldwin ascended to the rank of professor, above scale, serving as the senior academic dean of faculty affairs in the School of Medicine from 1998-2006. Baldwin published more than 230 peer-reviewed manuscripts, invited text book chapters, and leading review articles concerning physical exercise and inactivity.

In 1992, Baldwin was appointed chair of the NASA Life and Microgravity Science Advisory Committee along with an appointment to the NASA Advisory Council. His academic distinctions are numerous. Most recently, Baldwin was appointed to the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space, a position he will serve through 2018.

The Distinguished Alumnus/Alumna Award was established by the Class of 1940 in 1966 to annually recognize professional excellence and outstanding service to community, state, and/or nation.

Distinguished Alumnus Award

Paul A. Rosenbaum ’64 

Paul A. Rosenbaum ’64, JD, earned a bachelor’s degree in American studies, and a Juris Doctorate from George Washington University Law School in 1967. He worked with Metropolitan Life Insurance and then-Federal Life and Casualty in Battle Creek, before serving in the Michigan House of Representatives from 1972 until 1978. During that time he chaired the House Judiciary Committee, was legal counsel to the speaker of the house, and wrote and sponsored the Michigan Administrative Procedures Act.

Rosenbaum served on the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, was vice chairman of the Criminal Justice and Consumer Affairs Committee of the National Conference of State Legislatures, and a member of a committee of the Michigan Supreme Court responsible for reviewing local court rules.

Rosenbaum served as a senior partner at Rosenbaum Law Center, CEO and chairman of BD Rentrak Corp., and currently is CEO and board chairman of SWR Corp., which he founded in 1994. Rosenbaum served on the Springfield College Board of Trustees from 1980 to 1986.2

Editor’s Note: Read full awardee profiles at springfield.edu/2016alumniawards.