Three paintings done by Webb students for the Western Culture II art project are currently on display at the North Shore Historical Museum in Glen Cove as part of an exhibit titled “Child and Young Adult Reading in the Last 100 Years.”  The paintings—by Declan Gaylo ‘19, Brandon Wui ’20, and Shannon Liu ‘21—have drawn a great deal of attention and many compliments from museum visitors. 

Each year, Professor Richard Harris’ Western Culture II class participates in this art project that requires them to recreate a painting or illustration. The goal of this assignment is for the student to learn to look closely at and really see a work of art, as well as acquire a better sense of the roles of composition and color.

ABOUT THE NORTH SHORE HISTORICAL MUSEUM

The North Shore Historical Museum’s mission is to preserve the history of the North Shore of Long Island through the stewardship of its collections and historic structure — the 1907 Justices Courthouse — to engage the public, and to interpret the history of the North Shore, in particular, the area once known as the “Gold Coast”, through exhibitions, lectures, and programs. The North Shore Historical Museum has been chartered by the New York State Department of Education to collect and exhibit artifacts and archives of Long Island’s North Shore.

Please visit https://northshorehistoricalmuseum.org for more information.

The student projects that were features are below!

Professor Emeritus Alan L. Rowen passed away in the early morning hours on Wednesday, October 9, 2019, after a battle with aplastic anemia.

Alan taught at Webb Institute for twenty-five years before retiring in 2001 with the title of Professor Emeritus. He was the first Rosenblatt Professor of Marine Engineering at the school, a title he held for ten years.

Alan was a 1965 graduate of SUNY Maritime. Following graduation, he sailed on merchant ships as a watch-standing engineer, later returning to the Maritime College as an Engineering Watch Officer and Instructor. He then joined the Naess Shipping Group as Manager of New Construction and moved to London. He returned to New York in 1977 to teach at Webb Institute. While at Webb, he worked as a research associate and as an independent consultant. Alan wrote a textbook on marine engineering and contributed to a number of publications that are widely used in the industry and by students at Webb and other schools.

Upon his retirement, Alan assumed the position of Technical Director at SNAME. He was named a Life Fellow of SNAME and chaired the Society’s Ships’ Machinery Committee.  He was also a Fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineers and an officer of the Institute’s Eastern USA Branch.

He is survived by his wife, Alice, and two sons.

Comments made by the Webb community:

“Knowledgeable and dedicated to his profession. He worked us hard & we appreciated it. A huge loss for the community. Best wishes to the Rowen family & friends.” – Michael Birmann ’86

“So sorry to hear this. He was an excellent professor” – Scott Roodvoets ’86

“Al Rowen was truly the best professor I ever had. And the hardest, for sure. He knew his stuff and worked the students quite aggressively so that he could know that they knew their stuff, too. It wasn’t easy in his class. “Work assigned today was due yesterday” was a typical joke. But he had a great way of explaining things … especially one-on-one. And, boy, could he write on the chalkboard! Reams and reams of thermodynamic equations. (I’ll confess that I’ve forgotten much, 35+ years later). But if there’s one thing that Rowen taught me that HAS stuck with me, it’s this: the process of how to learn, and how to apply yourself. That has stuck with me, and it’s served me well throughout my professional and personal life. Rowen gets the gold star for that. From me, and dozens and dozens of other Webbies, I’m sure. He will most certainly be missed. But his legacy lives on in us all. And I am ever thankful for that.” – T.J. Perrotti ’85

“Rowen was the best. He really knew how to cram a lot of information into an hour, and even a thick-headed guy like me could get it. I’m deeply saddened at this news, Al a Rowan was a good man and a great teacher and role model.” – Douglas Goldhirsch ’85

“The man who showed the most personal concern for my well-being when I was disenrolled at the end of my junior year. I will always be grateful.” – Ivan Kirschner ’81X

“A fantastic teacher and colleague. Alan was knowledgeable, energetic, and intense. Offices next to each other, we spoke daily and often closed the door to laugh about something. His sense of humor might come as a surprise to some, but he was fun to discuss things with, and always honest.” – Richard Neilson ’70

by Shannon Liu ’21

In May of last year, Professor Harris asked our class, the class of 2021, what humanities electives we would like for the following semester. Our class eventually decided on three, with only five students choosing the third choice, a music composition class. After several discussions with the students, Professor Harris had a good idea of the class we were looking for, and he started searching for a teacher. Luckily, he found Dr. Hristina Blagoeva, an accomplished flutist currently instructing at the Long Island Conservatory of Music. We met her in early June and were eager to start the class.

The class we decided on was a Music Theory and Composition class. The first half of the semester focused on music theory. We covered the basics from major and minor keys to chordal structures and harmonic progressions. In the second half of the semester, we discussed different composition structures as well as different species of counterpoint, a more traditional and regimented choral-based form of composition. During this portion of the class, all five students wrote and developed several original compositions. We also had two workshops with Dr. Miles Massicotte, a pianist with amazing improvisational skills, who worked with us to harmonize our compositions.

During the last couple of weeks of the semester, we worked on composing and practicing our final compositions to be presented at the Webb Holiday Party. At the recital, the students performed their own compositions with accompaniment by Dr. Blagoeva and Dr. Massicotte. The performers where:

• Dan Desio – bass guitar
• Luke Herbermann – guitar
• Ben Hunt – bass clarinet
• Shannon Liu – flute
• Hank Rouland – piano

In a ceremony launching “The Harlem Hellfighters: Citizens, Soldiers, Patriots Project,” on Saturday, November 16, 2019, Assistant Dean Richard Harris was honored with a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition for his efforts in preserving and making known the story of the World War I U.S. Army 369th Infantry Regiment, which became known as the “Harlem Hellfighters.”

This African American unit achieved a remarkable record of courage, determination, and dignity in the face of unconscionable prejudice and discrimination on the part of many in the country they served. Forty-four men from Glen Cove and nearby towns were members of the unit, whose training officer was Richardson Pratt, nephew of Herbert L. Pratt. Four members of the regiment from Glen Cove—Sgts. Joseph Carmen, Richard Fowler, Jeremiah Reid, and Lt. Richardson Pratt, were awarded the French Croix de Guerre for bravery in battle.

The highlight of the event was Congressman Tom Suozzi’s awarding the Purple Heart to the daughter of Leander V. Willett of Oyster Bay, 101 years after her father was wounded in battle in World War I.