Long Island University named the Pratt Building’s First Floor Hallway in honor of UniWorld Group Founder and Chairman, and former LIU Board of Trustee member,  Emeritus Byron Lewis ’53 and his remarkable career. Dubbed the “original king of Black media” by the New York Times, Lewis founded the advertising agency UniWorld Group in 1969 and went on to secure an array of high-profile clients, including Mars Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, AT&T and Ford Motor Company.

PBS will be airing film professor Susan Zeig’s documentary “Rooted in Oakland: A Community School Takes Shape,” which tells the story of the transformation of Fremont High School in East Oakland, California. The film will also be screened at several national conferences, including the California Community Schools Convention in Los Angeles, the Institute for Educational Leadership Conference and the National Equity Project 30th Anniversary Conference.

School of Business Dean Graziela Fusaro spoke at the “Upskilling Vietnam: STEM Study for Students and Workforce” event in Vietnam, sharing her insights with aspiring students considering future careers in STEM-related industries. The event was hosted at the National Innovation Centre in partnership with the US Embassy in Vietnam and Study Group, a global leader in international education prep.

DreamWorks Animation named Brett Wolfe ’23 one of 16 fellows across the nation for the 2025 DreamWorks Animation LAUNCH Fellowship program. The program offers eight weeks of personal mentorship from DreamWorks professionals, workshops on the art and business of animation, and speaker series covering the TV and feature animation pipeline. Wolfe, who studied screenwriting at LIU, has earned an award from the Kennedy Center and was recently recognized by the International Screenwriters’ Association.

With an 11-9 victory over Stonehill, the LIU Women’s LAX team and reigning NEC champions, clinched their spot in the NEC women’s lacrosse tournament. Goalkeeper Mylie Norton earned her eighth win of the season after stopping three shots as the Sharks clinched a spot in the NEC Tournament for the fifth straight season.

Marina Rodina ’01 was named Senior Vice President of Business Development at Meadows Behavioral Healthcare (MBH), a leader in trauma, addiction, and mental health treatment. Rodina has over two decades of experience in sales and behavioral healthcare leadership, most recently serving as Vice President of Business Development at Acadia Healthcare.

Umer Chaudhry, Associate Professor of Veterinary Medicine, co-authored research examining Diminazene, a drug frequently used to treat the parasite Trypanosoma Evansi. Resistance to the drug presents an emerging threat in grazing livestock, resulting in huge economic losses. The study, published in the journal Animals, aimed to develop a high-throughput strategy based on molecular approaches to improve the understanding of Diminazene resistance in Trypanosoma Evansi.

Baseball Head Coach Dan Pirillo ’08 achieved a major milestone with his 200th career victory at LIU, leading the Sharks to a 2-0 win over Mercyhurst. In his eighth season of his alma mater, Pirillo has guided LIU to three Northeast Conference Championships and was named Coach of the Year in 2022.

The New York State Legislature voted to appoint Felicia Thomas-Williams ’96 as Long Island’s representative on the New York State Board of Regents, the governing body responsible for the general supervision of all educational activities within the state. Thomas-Williams previously served for nine years as a special education teacher and 11 years as a principal in the largest school district on Long Island, the Brentwood School District, before retiring in 2024.

LIU beat Villanova in a 10-7 win that began with a dominating performance by starting pitcher Garrett Yawn. Yawn pitched five and a third perfect innings and kept the Wildcats scoreless through six. He picked up the win, pitching seven innings with three strikeouts while allowing just three runs, three hits, and one walk.