June 10, 2006
New Jersey Institute of Technology added three new inductees to its Athletic Hall of Fame in the annual ceremony held on campus on June 10.
In addition to honoring the three new Hall of Famers--Andrew D. Brown (Class of '63), Nicholas J. Kaminsky (Class of '78), and Raymond V. Paulius (Class of '85)--the ceremony also included the introduction of two new special recognition awards.
The Bob Swanson Award, named for the late professor and athletic director, Bob Swanson, was presented to the NJIT faculty or staff member who has shown continued support for the Highlander athletic program.
Bob Swanson was NJIT's Director of Athletics from 1947 to 1982 and the inaugural recipient of the award is Dr. James M. Grow, a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science. Dr. Grow is active in the campus community, including his support of the athletic program and its student-athletes. He is an avid participant in judo in his spare time.
Also announced was the first Herb M. Iris Award, which pays tribute to the late Herb M. Iris (Class of '51, 1930-2006), a great visionary and a major benefactor and supporter of NJIT athletics. Mr. Iris had the longest tenure as chair of the Highlander Athletic Advisory Board and he served as national chair of the Highlander Athletics Campaign.
The Herb M. Iris Award will honor exemplary leadership and a support in the advancement of NJIT athletics. The first recipient of the Herb M. Iris Award is Seymour "Zoom" Fleisher (Class of 1951), who is an NJIT Hall of Famer and former basketball player, as well as being a major benefactor of his alma mater and its athletic program. Mr. Fleisher, who was unable to attend the June 10 ceremonies, will be honored with a special presentation at a later date.
Andy Brown, a soccer player at Newark College of Engineering from 1956-59 is fifth on the all-time career list with 31 career goals, playing for coach Mal Simon. Brown was a tri-captain of the 1959 team, which was the first NCE team to qualify for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national tournament. Brown's senior team began a run of three straight national postseason bids which would include the 1960 NAIA national co-championship. After college, he was deeply involved in bringing youth soccer to the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC, and is honored in Bowie, Maryland, with a plaque in city hall and his name on the city's first soccer field.
Ray Pauluis played soccer at NJIT from 1980-83, during which time the Highlanders posted a combined record of 36-26-2. In 1983, he was honored as a first-team all-America and is one of two men in school history to earn first-team all-America recognition in NCAA Division III from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. Paulius was a quad-captain and all-American his senior year. The team MVP in 1983, Ray was first-team all-State and all-Region honoree that year as the Highlanders advanced to the finals of the ECAC postseason tournament.
Nick Kaminsky, a baseball player from 1975-78, graduated with numerous of NJIT school hitting records and with four straight championships in the old Independent Athletic Conference. A two-year captain, he earned all-IAC honors his last two seasons (1976-1978) and was an all-Region honoree his senior year. At the time of his graduation, he owned the school records for career home runs (11), triples (10), runs batted in (80) and slugging percentage (.516). He shared the record for games played (100) and also logged 110 hits, with a career batting average of .326.
