Alumni Honored for Professional Excellence at Veritas Awards

Caldwell, N.J.—April 5, 2013—Caldwell University celebrated the professional accomplishments of three of its alumni at its 28th Veritas Awards Dinner on March 22 at the Essex Fells Country Club.

The Veritas Award is the highest honor the college bestows on its alumni for their professional excellence in diverse fields.

Justin Cece ’99, an Emmy-award-winning television editor, received the Excellence in Media Award. Barbara Detrick, Ph.D., ’65, professor of pathology and director of the Immunology Laboratory and Cytokine Laboratory at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, was presented the Excellence in Immunology Award. Rosemary Buczek ’71, a lettering artist and illuminator, received the Excellence in Calligraphy Award.

Justin Cece, of Bloomfield, N.J., was among a group of editors to receive a 2010 Emmy Award for Outstanding Editing, Quick Turnaround for “Inside the Obama White House.” In 2011, he won another Emmy as part of a team for his work on the “Dateline NBC” series “America Now: Friends and Neighbors,” which focused on rural Ohio families facing chronic poverty. The show won in the category of Best Continuing Coverage in a News Magazine.

More recently, he has edited programs for “Rock Center with Brian Williams.” He edited a segment for the show’s “Inside the Situation Room,” spotlighting Williams’ unprecedented access to the White House Situation Room and offering interviews with President Obama and members of his national security team who were present as the operation against Osama bin Laden was carried out. He worked on the London Olympics in New York and edited for “Dateline” and “Rock Center’s” extensive coverage of Hurricane Sandy and the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Cece’s previous experience included working in Rome on the coverage of the beatification of Mother Teresa in 2003, the death of Pope John Paul II and the conclave to elect Pope Benedict XVI. He has worked on NBC sports and news specials and has done work for the BBC, CNN, CBS and Peacock Productions. He received a bachelor’s degree in communication arts from Caldwell.

Barbara Detrick is professor of pathology and director of the Immunology Laboratory and Cytokine Laboratory at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. There she pursues the university’s threefold mission: clinical service, research and teaching. Detrick’s research on the eye has identified some of the key immune responses in retinal degenerative diseases seen in age-related macular degeneration and multiple sclerosis. She also helped to discover a critical ocular protein that is now the basis of gene therapy for retinal diseases. For 25 years, she explored immunity in the eye at the National Eye Institute and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health. She has authored more than 100 scientific papers, 20 book chapters and two books. She is the editor in chief of the seminal immunology book “The Manual of Molecular and Clinical Laboratory Immunology.” In addition to her clinical and scientific roles, Detrick is a dedicated teacher. She previously served as the chief of diagnostic immunology at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the George Washington University Medical Center.

Rosemary Buczek is a lettering artist and illuminator whose work has been appreciated around the globe. At her studio, the Gilded Quill, in Milford, N.J., she combines her calligraphic skills with illuminations including gilding techniques to produce resolutions, certificates, hand-lettered books and illuminated manuscripts of her own design. Buczek’s love of medieval manuscripts has influenced her designs and use of color. She has taught many classes and workshops around the country and in her home.

Buczek’s clients have included the White House, the Association of the United States Army, Prudential Financial, Sony, AT&T, Exxon, Rutgers University, the American Petroleum Institute, the Society for Scientific Exploration, and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. One of her creations was presented to Pope Benedict on his visit in April 2008. She reproduced the Gettysburg Address on calf vellum, a work presented to President and Mrs. Obama in February 2009. She creates high-end greeting cards and unique gifts for the luxury market.

Buczek’s work is held in private collections around the world, and a piece titled “San Giuseppe” was awarded third place in an international competition in Italy. She wrote the foreword for the book “The Bible of Illuminated Letters” by British author Margaret Morgan and will be featured in a book titled “101 New York Calligraphers” by Cynthia Dantzic.

In addition to honoring professional excellence in alumni, the Veritas Awards Dinner provides networking opportunities among alumni, the business community and the college. Alumni are recognized by the college and their peers for upholding the finest values of the founding Sisters of St. Dominic of Caldwell and the Caldwell University mission.