To-Thi Bosacchi, founding director of the Asian American Cultural Center on the New Brunswick/Piscataway Campus, died of cancer July 4. She was 66.
Bosacchi was on medical leave when a new space for the Asian American Cultural Center was dedicated last November. Bosacchi had worked tirelessly since coming to Rutgers in 1999 to expand the center’s office space, formerly limited to two small rooms in Tillet Hall. The center is now located on Joyce Kilmer Avenue.
Bosacchi, pictured above with singer Harry Belafonte, helped create a social and academic space for members of Asian and Asian-American student groups to congregate and brought an academic focus to the center’s activities. The center received a grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission to collect oral histories of Vietnamese refugees from 1975 to 1980. Bosacchi is a native of Vietnam who immigrated to the United States in 1965, attending Ohio State University on a Fulbright Scholarship. She and her husband, physicist Bruno Bosacchi, were in Vietnam in 1975, but had to leave in April, before the fall of Saigon.
She taught an interdisciplinary course at Rutgers focusing on Asian-American oral history. Before coming to Rutgers, she worked for the state Department of Education, inspecting schools to ensure they were compliant with regulations pertaining to disabled and special education students. She organized and headed the first state Vietnamese refugee programs. Bosacchi is survived by her husband and two sons. Contributions in lieu of flowers can be made to The To-Thi Nguyen Bosacchi Memorial Scholarship Fund, Ohio State University - Development Office, Attn. Alain Hunter, Columbus, OH 43210.
Harold R. Scott Jr., actor, producer, director, and professor emeritus in theater arts, died suddenly at his home in Newark, New Jersey, July 16, at the age of 70. He was guarded by his two faithful dogs, Ellie and Morgan.A graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy and Harvard, Scott was head of the directing program at the Mason Gross School of the Arts for almost 20 years and lectured at more than a dozen universities, including Harvard and Brandeis. Among his awards are an Obie, an Exxon Award, a Variety Critics' Poll, and a Special Award from the New England Theater Conference for acting, directing, and teaching. He also received a Living Legend Award from the National Black Theatre Festival and a Lloyd Richard's Director's Award for his contributions to Black theater.
Scott was trained as an actor by Elia Kazan, Harold Clurman, and Robert Lewis. He was a professional actor for more than 15 years creating roles in such New York productions as “Incident at Vichy,” “After the Fall,” and “The Death of Bessie Smith.” He was artistic director of the Cincinnati Playhouse and participated in the O'Neill Theater Center's National Playwrights' Conference as both actor and director. Directorial credits include most of the country's major regional theater, as well as Playwrights Horizons, Manhattan Theater Club, The Roundabout, and Henry Street Settlement's New Federal Theater in New York. His Broadway credits include “Suddenly Last Summer” starring Elizabeth Ashley; “Paul Robeson” starring Avery Brooks; and “A Celebration of Lorraine Hansberry” with Sidney Poitier and Phylicia Rashad.
Scott was a member of New York's Ensemble Studio Theater and an associate artist of Crossroads Theater Company in New Brunswick, where he directed frequently. Scott's celebrated Afrocentric production of “Othello” was originally produced at the Rutgers Theater Company, and is historically distinguished by the first black Iago and Emilia. The production starred Avery Brooks as Othello, Andre Braugher as Iago, and Cynthia Martells as Emilia.
Contributions in lieu of flowers can be made to the Humane Society, ASPCA or your local animal shelter.
Cagenello came to Rutgers in fall 2000 as dean of students at the Mason Gross School of the Arts. He coordinated academic and student life programs for the school’s undergraduate and graduate students. Cagenello worked closely with individual students on both academic and personal concerns, exhibited great compassion for the welfare of each individual student, and was highly respected and admired by his colleagues. He was deeply committed to the individual respect of each student at Rutgers and Mason Gross, and he devoted special attention to the emotional well-being of minority, disabled, gay, and lesbian students, and other students with special concerns.
In addition to his duties as dean, Cagenello taught in the English department’s writing program and served as a tutor to intercollegiate athletes.
Cagenello received his bachelor’s degree from the University of New Hampshire and his master’s degree from the University of Hartford. He earned an Ed.D. from Teachers College of Columbia University. He taught English at the Forman School in Litchfield, Conn., and served as assistant principal of Farmington High School. He also served as assistant dean of student affairs at the Graduate School of Business at Columbia University, and as director of counseling and student services at New York University’s School of Education.Cagenello is survived by his partner, Timothy Sotomayor of Kendall Park, N.J.; his sister, Deborah Sexton of Wethersfield, Conn.; and his sister Lisa Richardson of West Newfield, Maine; in addition to his mother, Mary, and his stepfather, Jack Needham.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the “Scott Cagenello Memorial Commencement Award” by sending a check, made out to “Rutgers Foundation – Cagenello Fund” c/o Charlotte Mitchell, Office of the Dean, Mason Gross School of the Arts, 33 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick, NJ 08901.