Rutgers Alumna Tells Tale of Devotion to Alma Mater

CAMDEN --  Her business card reads “Terrific Tales and Super Stories.”

Using a paper lantern or a bright swatch of cloth as props, and her voice as an instrument, Dorothy Stanaitis UCC '82 mesmerizes an audience.

Maybe today it will be the ancient Chinese account of a young girl forced to sell her origami artwork to stay alive. Maybe she’ll choose the African fable of the rich man and the starving dog. With a repertoire culled from a 30-year career as a children’s librarian, this Rutgers—Camden graduate is plying a trade she never knew existed when she herself was the age of her youngest listeners.

“I had no idea people did this for a living,” Stanaitis says of her calling, which takes her to schools, camps and libraries – and to the children whose rapt faces captivate her in return.

“For me, that’s the best part. They sit perfectly still, with their eyes straight ahead, totally lost in the stories,” the Gloucester City resident says.

The stories she shares come from all parts of the globe and appeal to a wide range of ages with their universal messages.

Stanaitis has her own narrative to tell. Rutgers plays a leading role in it.

Long a booster of The State University of New Jersey, she joined the Rutgers University—Camden Alumni Association soon after receiving her degree in English in 1982, moving up to become the association’s president. She followed a similar arc with the multi-campus Rutgers University Alumni Federation, serving as president from 1992 to 1995.

Most recently, Stanaitis was elected a university trustee emerita for life – the first from Rutgers-Camden. The honor came after Stanaitis completed two six-year terms as a charter trustee on the Rutgers Board of Trustees and was named one of Rutgers-Camden’s “Fifty Finest” graduates during the campus’ 50th anniversary celebration in 2000.

Stanaitis’ connection to Rutgers runs deep.  “I cried at graduation,” she recalls. “I never wanted to leave Rutgers, and now I won’t have to.”

Eleven public trustees are appointed by the governor of the state. Twenty alumni trustees, representing their respective campuses, are elected by the Board of Trustees. Twenty-eight charter trustees are also elected by the Board of Trustees.

When Rutgers became the state university in 1956, the Board of Trustees, the original governing body, became one of two governing boards acting in an overall advisory capacity to the Board of Governors.

 “To be part of what Rutgers does for the community, for the state, and for the world – it’s a wonderful thing,” Stanaitis says.

“A quite meaningful aspect for me is that the first generation of college-goers can go to Rutgers—Camden and be nurtured and moved along in the right direction. It has to do with the personal commitment of the faculty; Rutgers has a faculty and administration personally committed to students’ success.”

Since retiring as children’s program director at the Gloucester City Library in 1994, Stanaitis has juggled her two passions -- story-telling career and Rutgers -- with consummate skill.

The university component, marked in red ink on the pocket calendar she pulls from her purse, often demands her attention several times a month. In addition to the four major gatherings of the board every year, trustees are expected to attend committee meetings, now known as learning groups.

The groups focus on such components as women’s scholarship and leadership, diversity, athletics, libraries, public affairs and advocacy, and research, among others.

Like her beloved children’s stories, her alma mater is never far from this graduate’s mind.

On vacation several years ago, Stanaitis leafed through a few brochures extolling the state’s popular tourist attractions. The colorful catalogues duly noted the Garden State’s official insect (the bumble bee), its official bird (Eastern goldfinch), and its official flower (violet), along with other pieces of New Jersey trivia.

Where, this alert Rutgers trustee wondered, was mention of the state’s university?

Stanaitis quickly pointed out the oversight to members of the Rutgers University Relations Department. As a result of her activism and their follow-through, travelers nationwide now find New Jersey tourism brochures prominently displaying Rutgers photographs and information.

A widow with two children and four grandchildren, Stanaitis is involved in yet another story-telling adventure.

She is writing for various national magazines, with the goal of seeing 100 of her stories and articles in print. By summer’s end, she was within shouting distance of her goal: 84 down, 16 to go.