Board member spotlight
Scott Feuer '90 is a key part of our alumni engagement efforts on Long Island. His involvement with
the University, as an alumnus, started with the Admissions Alumni Volunteer Program
and he joined the Alumni Association board in 2015. He serves as treasurer and has
focused a great deal of time on the development and launch of our Long Island Chapter.
He was a psychology major at Binghamton and is a partner at the law firm Rivkin Radler
LLP.
Why have you remained so connected to the University since graduating?
Binghamton is where I spent a critical time in my life, got a great education and
made many lasting memories. I met my wife Barri there (we lived on the same floor
in Onondaga Hall when we met in 1987) and we had our first date at Number 5. About
10 years ago, I decided it was time to start giving back and began staffing college
fairs on behalf of the Undergraduate Admissions office. I really enjoyed this experience
and met some great people at the University as well as fellow alumni. One thing led
to another and about four years ago I founded the Long Island Event Committee of the
Metro New York Chapter to help organize alumni events. (We recently became the Long
Island Chapter.) Along the way, I've made great friends and business contacts. I was
even able to help a new Binghamton graduate get his first job.
What would you like to see the Long Island Chapter become?
When I was in college, it seemed like half the students in Binghamton were from Long
Island. While many did not return after graduation, we know from our database there
are still thousands of alumni on Long Island and the chapter leaders are doing a great
job planning events to interest a wide range of people. I would like to see more people
attend our events and be inspired to re-engage with the University, attend chapter
meetings to help plan future events and help spread the word about our events to those
alumni whom we aren't reaching by email. We now have a Facebook group which I encourage all Long Island alumni to join.
Everyone is busy, and this is usually the biggest obstacle to alumni getting involved.
How do you get past this to motivate someone to volunteer?
We all have so much going on between work and family, and many people feel stretched
too thin already and don't have time to commit to volunteer activities. Volunteering
simply makes you feel good. Whether it's helping with a college fair at a local high
school or participating in an Alumni Global Day of Service project, you leave that
experience feeling you've made a difference in a positive way and you've set an example
for others. When I speak to alumni about getting involved, I assure them the time
commitment does not have to be substantial, and the rewards of making new connections
and giving back to a University that played such an important role in your life far
outweigh the sacrifice of some personal time.
Your son is a current student at Binghamton. How does it feel to share this bond with
him?
I could not be prouder of Ethan's accomplishments, both academically and as a leader
in every organization he joins. During high school, Ethan served in many leadership
positions culminating with his election as international president of United Synagogue
Youth for 2016. In Binghamton, he is a member of the executive boards of both the
Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity and Hillel, serves as a senior consultant in the Public
Speaking Lab and this fall will be a program assistant for the Emerging Leaders Program.
Ethan is working toward his degree in English with a minor in education and looking
forward to a career as a high school teacher (and perhaps one day a college professor).
Although parents are often role models for their children, in this case, Ethan has
been my role model as he has inspired me to take on leadership roles including my
current position as treasurer of the Alumni Association. From the first time we visited
campus with Ethan when he was in middle school, my wife and I were hopeful that he
would choose Binghamton. We were careful not to pressure him as we felt this should
be his decision, and we were very happy for him (and for us) when he was offered a
spot in the Class of 2020 and chose to accept it.
