A Brooklyn street, a beloved town park, a now-extinct plankton species that marks the end of a glacial era. These namesakes are living proof of how alumni and faculty are shaping the world in varied — and sometimes surprising — ways.
On Ferns and Friendship
On a walk through the rainforest of Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula in 2016, Wes Testo ’12 spotted something that made him stop in his tracks.
Then a PhD student at the University of Vermont, Testo had been studying ferns for nearly eight years, an interest that began under the early guidance of Colgate Professor of Biology Eddie Watkins. With his well-trained eye — honed through hours spent in Costa Rica’s dense, tropical forests with Watkins — Testo knew the “weird little fern” he noted that day was unlike anything he’d seen before.
“I could tell from the shape of the leaf and the white hairs covering it that this was a hybrid of the two species growing next to it,” recalls Testo. He collected the leaves for further study, and soon confirmed that the funky-looking fern was the first documented specimen of its kind — and it needed a name.
“I had wanted to name something after Eddie not only to honor his contributions to the study of tropical ferns, but also because of the personal impact his mentorship and friendship have had on me,” says Testo.
In March 2018, with the publication of Testo’s findings, Pityrogramma ×watkinsii was born.
“To date, the only place where that particular hybrid has been found is that one little trail in the woods in Costa Rica,” says Testo. “I think that’s pretty cool.”
Recalling his first few weeks at Colgate in fall 2008, Testo admits he “had no idea what I was doing.” Without a major or career path in mind, the first-generation college student knew only that he had a deep interest in nature, cultivated during his childhood on a farm in rural Westerlo, N.Y.
But, through “sheer luck,” says Testo, he landed in Watkins’ Evolution, Ecology, and Diversity class, where the professor shared his “intoxicating enthusiasm” for plants. Watkins, also in his first year at Colgate at the time, quickly became a mentor to Testo, helping him navigate both college life and his academic future.
The two began collaborating in the lab and on fieldwork in Costa Rica — Testo’s first time outside the U.S. Their research on fern ecology and physiology produced several academic papers and helped Testo earn admission to University of Vermont’s PhD program in plant biology.
Watkins remembers learning of his namesake fern in an email from Testo. The subject line: “Surprise for you.”
“It’s the biggest honor of my career,” Watkins says, adding that his former student often jokes that, with its tufts of “unkempt” and graying hair, the Pityrogramma ×watkinsii resembles its honoree.
“He likes to give me a hard time,” Watkins says, laughing.
After earning his PhD in 2017, Testo went on to postdoctoral research in Florida and Sweden, and later, served as assistant curator of pteridophytes at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, where he led the curation of the museum’s fern collection. Today, he’s back at Vermont as assistant professor of plant biology and director of the university’s herbarium.
Testo and Watkins regularly catch up at professional conferences, teach, and travel together for research; their most recent trip to Costa Rica was this past January.
“Wes was my first research student in the lab at Colgate, and I am now learning from him,” says Watkins. “And really, isn’t that every professor’s dream? That’s why we do this in the first place.”
A Piece of the Molecular Puzzle
For organic chemists, making molecules in the lab is an important way to understand molecular structure and function — and how Professor Ernie Nolen developed the molecule that went on to bear his name.
It was the mid-1980s, and Nolen, now Colgate’s Gordon and Dorothy Kline Chair in chemistry, was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, working to build a newly discovered molecule found in certain wild grasses. When consumed, the molecule, known as a tremorgen, causes livestock to present with a halting stagger, convulsions, and even death.
“I wanted to understand what in their structure causes that biological activity,” says Nolen. “In this case, the molecule was causing a reaction similar to symptoms of multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, or Parkinson’s disease.”
In 1985 Nolen successfully built the eastern hemisphere of the tremorgen, and his work was continued by Penn colleague Paul Sprengeler. The molecule was henceforth known as the Nolen-Sprengeler Lactone and has resulted in hundreds of publications referencing Nolen’s findings, advancing the study of fungus-produced tremorgens within the field.
Still, Nolen tends toward modesty:
“[Having a molecule named after me] is a cool novelty,” he says. “Like the kind of thing my mother would have tacked on the fridge when I was a kid.”
A (Microscopic) Window Into the Future
Since beginning her research as a PhD student at Rice University, Amy Leventer has spent more than 40 years studying microfossils in the Southern Ocean near Antarctica — and a good portion of that time glued to the microscope, examining sediment samples to understand how Earth’s climate has transformed.
Leventer, the Harold Orville Whitnall Professor of Earth and environmental geosciences, specializes in paleoclimatic reconstructions of Antarctica, using highly sensitive single-celled organisms, called diatoms, to determine how climate has affected, and will affect, life on Earth.
“Diatoms are highly sensitive to changes in climate,” she explains. “So they’re helpful as time markers in the geological record.”
One diatom species is especially useful in this regard — and has held special meaning for Leventer, both personally and professionally, since its discovery in 1998. In honor of her commitment and dedication to studying polar marine microorganisms, Leventer’s colleagues named the diatom after her.
Rouxia leventerae went extinct nearly 130,000 years ago at the end of the penultimate glacial interval, an often-referenced marker in climate research; Leventer estimates her diatom has been cited in hundreds of publications since its discovery.
“[Rouxia leventerae] marks the transition to the ‘Last Interglacial,’ which is the last time the Earth was warmer and sea level was higher than it is today,” she says. “It’s a time period of great interest to people who study climate — a window into what the world may soon be like.”
The name isn’t just a point of pride for Leventer, but also for her family, who “supported me when I went on these two-month treks to Antarctica,” she says. Her son, a surgeon, has a line drawing of Rouxia leventerae tattooed on his arm, and her husband, an emergency room physician, gifted her a pendant version for her recent milestone birthday.
Breaking Barriers
In Harlem, Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard is a major thoroughfare named after a key figure in civil rights.
Before he was a leader in Congress, Adam Clayton Powell Jr. ’30 broke barriers at Colgate as one of the first African American students at the University when he enrolled in 1926. A “quiet, unobtrusive” student, according to his classmates, Powell graduated in 1930 with a degree in Biblical literature. He then returned to New York City, where his father had just retired as a well-known pastor of Harlem’s Abyssinian Baptist Church. Powell Jr. took up the reins, using the pulpit to address socioeconomic inequalities and organize boycotts throughout Harlem.
A charismatic and powerful speaker, Powell parlayed his popularity into a political career. He ran for his first seat in public office in 1941, becoming the first African American elected to the New York City Council. When Harlem became its own political entity through redistricting, Powell won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives — the first person to represent the neighborhood in Washington — and used his platform to advance the civil rights movement, targeting Jim Crow laws and improving opportunities for African Americans.
In 1968, as then-chairman of the House’s education and labor committee, Powell returned to Colgate, and his lecture on “Black power and the white establishment” earned a standing ovation in Memorial Chapel.
Powell passed away in 1972, but his contributions endure: In Upper Manhattan, Seventh Avenue is also called Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard, and Harlem’s State Office bears his name. At Colgate, the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. ’30 Award was established in 1993 to recognize seniors who have made “outstanding contributions to Colgate and … enriched the cultural and social lives of students of color.”
A Community Hub With an Unforgettable Benefactor
In the western New York village of Lakewood, Richard O. Hartley Memorial Park is a favorite gathering spot for locals and visitors alike — but few know the story behind its name.
“Most people of his generation have passed away, so not a lot of folks in this area remember Richard,” says Linda Voltmann ’78 Swanson. “Which is a real shame.”
For Swanson, Richard O. Hartley, Class of 1925, was the “kindest, most lovely person,” and his eponymous park is a fitting tribute to the man who loved children, his community, and his alma mater.
Swanson met Hartley in the mid-1980s, when she and her late husband, Randall Swanson ’75 — then new parents to daughter Christine ’06 — moved to Lakewood, a small village on the shore of Chautauqua Lake, where Hartley was a village trustee. The Swansons came to know Hartley as an ever-present fixture and volunteer at community events, the local library, and Christine’s elementary school, where Hartley would, according to his May 1996 obituary, “assist pupils in assignments and follow their progress through high school, college, and careers, often sending them congratulatory letters for their accomplishments.”
Christine remembers his jovial presence in her fourth-grade classroom — and his signature driving cap and scarf.
“He was like everyone’s grandpa,” she says. “This little old man with a big personality.”
Hartley was steadfast in his dedication to Colgate, as well, volunteering as an admission representative for the Jamestown-Lakewood area. He returned to campus each year for reunions, and soon began carpooling from Lakewood to Hamilton with the Swansons.
Some of Linda’s fondest memories of Hartley were from those car trips. While munching on roasted peanuts, Hartley would regale the family with tales of his Colgate days, his time in the Chemical Warfare Service during World War II, and the challenges of finding work as a chemist during the Great Depression.
In 1992 the village of Lakewood recognized Hartley’s contributions by renaming the local park in his honor. When his wife, Frances, passed away in 1993, Hartley donated the proceeds from her insurance to the project, funding the construction of a gazebo and a beach house. Since then, and after his death in 1996, Richard O. Hartley Memorial Park has seen numerous additions and improvements, including the 2022 construction of a handicap-accessible play area that “would have really pleased Richard,” says Linda.
To honor their late friend, Linda and Christine tend the rose garden in Hartley Park — an effort that feels especially meaningful this spring, says Linda, on the 100th anniversary of Hartley’s graduation from Colgate.
“Richard was the archetype of what a Colgate graduate should be,” she adds. “He was a genuinely kind and unassuming person who pulled the weight of 10 people.”
For his dedication and loyalty to Colgate, Hartley was awarded the Maroon Citation at his 65th Reunion in May 1990.
He’s Official
Famed NFL linesman Wayne Mackie’s legacy lives on in his beloved Brooklyn neighborhood — and beyond.
Born and raised in Brooklyn’s Linden Houses, Mackie ’82 was a skilled athlete, but when a knee injury as a teenager curtailed his future in football, he shifted his attention to officiating. His career evolved from high school sports to the Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference, Big East, and, eventually, the NFL, where he became known to players and coaches as one of the league’s most accurate — and most respected — linesmen. By 2016 he reached the pinnacle, serving as head official at Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara, Calif.
Mackie, who passed away in 2022, was honored in fall 2024 when a street outside the Linden Houses was co-named “Wayne Mackie Way” in recognition of his career achievements and his dedication to the community.
Said City Councilman Chris Banks, who sponsored the co-naming: “Commemorating Wayne Mackie’s legacy by co-naming the street where he grew up is the least we can do to recognize the profound impact and positive influence that Wayne Mackie had on those from the 42nd Council District.”
At Colgate, Mackie played baseball and basketball and hosted a funk and rap show on WRCU. One of “DJ Funky Mack’s” favorite tracks: “Celebration” by Kool and the Gang.