Two St. Bonaventure University alumni whose service to their alma mater can be measured in decades – not years – have been named this year’s Alumni of the Year:
Dan Collins, ’73, and Marianne (Letro) Laine, ’68.
Two St. Bonaventure University alumni whose service to their alma mater can be measured in decades – not years – have been named this year’s Alumni of the Year.
Dan Collins, ’73, and Marianne (Letro) Laine, ’68, will be recognized June 17 during Alumni Reunion Weekend with the William P. “Stax” McCarthy Alumnus of the Year Award.
“In the short time I’ve come to know Dan and learn more about him, I can’t think of many alumni who are more passionate about St. Bonaventure than Dan Collins,” said Dr. Jeff Gingerich, university president. “From his service on our Board of Trustees and Alumni Board to everything he’s done for our Jandoli School and Admissions and Advancement offices, Dan is richly deserving of this honor.”
Collins graduated from St. Bonaventure with a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in journalism and mass communications in 1973.
He served twice on the university’s Board of Trustees: from 1998 to 2002, while also serving as president of the National Alumni Association Board; and from 2006 to 2019, the last four years as vice chair. Collins was a member of the NAAB from 1994 to 2004.
Collins was awarded the Journalism Alumnus of the Year award in 2003, and in 2010 he was added to the Jandoli School’s Wall of Distinguished Graduates.
He has partnered with a number of university offices and initiatives to volunteer his time and expertise, including the Bonaventure Fund, Career & Professional Readiness Center, Office of Admissions and 150th Anniversary Capital Campaign. He also served on the Athletics Campaign Steering Committee and is a member of the School of Communication’s Advisory Council.
A senior communications consultant at Brodeur Partners, Collins has spent his entire career in the communications field. Prior to joining Brodeur he was the vice president of corporate communications at Corning, Inc., retiring in 2019 after 20 years with the company.
He previously served as vice president of communications for the software group of IBM, and as associate partner and director of worldwide communications for Anderson Consulting, now Accenture. He also led communication programs at Bell & Howell Corp. and Perkins & Will.
Collins is also the founder and manager of Bona Venture Stables, Inc. Established in 2005, Bona Venture Stables offers share-based horse racing partnerships. It maintains a stable of eight to 12 horses that race mostly in New York, Florida and Kentucky in races ranging from maiden claiming and graded stakes events to the Breeders’ Cup championships.
Collins and his wife, Sarah, live in Saratoga Springs, New York, and have two daughters, Claire, ’07, and Maura.
Marianne (Letro) Laine graduated from St. Bonaventure with a Bachelor of Arts degree in education in 1968, followed by a master’s degree in English. She is the widow of Erick Laine, former president and CEO of Cutco Corporation and a member of the university’s Board of Trustees from 1989 until 1996.
The Laines were instrumental in the development of the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts’ education outreach program, which Marianne continues to support. Her support for the QCA will continue well into the future – in April 2019 she made a significant contribution that will support the Quick Center’s operations, special events and exhibitions.
“Marianne’s commitment to St. Bonaventure can never be overstated,” President Gingerich said. “Exposure to the arts is often a great challenge in a rural area like ours. The Quick Center’s education outreach program has been so meaningful for this region, not just for schoolchildren but for everyone. Couple that with the contributions she and Erick have made through the years to the School of Business and it’s pretty easy to see why we’re honoring Marianne.”
In 2004, Laine was named the inaugural chair of the Quick Center Guild and she continues in that position today. She is also a former member of the National Alumni Association Board.
Laine also established the Mrs. Mary A. Letro Memorial Scholarship, named after her mother. Most recently, the Laine family created the Erick Laine Endowed Chair for the School of Business at the university, the first award of its kind for the school.
The university honored Erick and Marianne with the Western New York Gaudete Award in 2003 and an honorary degree in 2010.
Marianne taught secondary English for nine years near Rochester and then returned to her native Olean to begin a long and distinguished career of volunteering.
She served as an officer and board member of the Olean Camp Fire Council and the Friends of Good Music. She has volunteered at Olean Public Library, Olean General Hospital, Bartlett Country Club and was on the advisory board for WBFO, the area’s National Public Radio affiliate.
She also supports her high school alma mater, Archbishop Walsh High School, and is a partner and owner of two local restaurants.
She maintains homes in Olean and at Cuba Lake.
More information about St. Bonaventure’s Reunion Weekend activities can be found at www.sbu.edu/Reunion.
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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship. St. Bonaventure was named the #5 regional university value in the North in U.S. News and World Report’s 2022 college rankings edition.