By Sarah Hacker
Stuart Rubinstein ’85 has never been to a class reunion. But in the 38 years since earning his degree, he’s attended all but one of the Five Quad anniversaries on campus. “I always call my class ‘Five Quad,’” he says, referring to the mix of under and upperclassmen he served with on the volunteer student-run ambulance squad during his four years at UAlbany. “That’s the group that was really meaningful to me in school.”
Logging thousands of on-call hours as an ambulance attendant, then crew chief and, later, as a lieutenant overseeing shifts, Rubinstein helped countless people in distress. “It was about giving back to the community,” he says. But at the end of his junior year, he was given an opportunity that he credits as being foundational to his lifelong career success.
University Administrator Neil C. Brown, or “Dean Brown” as he was affectionately known on campus, had been instrumental in facilitating the founding of Five Quad and served on the Five Quad Board of Directors with Rubinstein. “Dean Brown was very special to me,” Rubinstein explains, “because in the summer of 1984, he hired me to figure out how the University could use some brand-new piece of technology they had just received.”
That new technology was an IBM desktop computer, one of the first PCs on campus.
Rubinstein, a business major, embraced the bulky but cutting-edge tool. Using a spreadsheet program, he was able to track the medical forms of incoming freshmen and transmit that data from Student Health Services to the Office of Student Affairs over the phone line. The process was so innovative that Rubinstein was asked to present it at a SUNY-wide Student Health Services directors meeting.
By the following summer, the experience had landed him his first job as a UAlbany graduate. He was hired by a group of insurance companies to overhaul their computing system. “All the old guys knew the big mainframe computers and minicomputers, but they needed some kid out of college who knew this new technology,” Rubinstein reflects. “I’ve always connected all the dots back through my career to that [Five Quad] job.”
With the 50th anniversary of Five Quad in 2023, Rubinstein wanted to give back. He had also been searching for a way to commemorate Neil Brown and Five Quad founder, Barry Bashkoff, who had both recently passed away.
Rubinstein established The Five Quad Tribute Fund to remember and celebrate those who served, while supporting Five Quad’s future. “I want it to be a tribute to those who are still there, who are leading, who have led, who have passed away, in honor of students or faculty or administration,” he explains.
The fund provides general support and an annual award recognizing a current Five Quad member for leadership, service and volunteerism. Nate Foster ’23 was selected as the first recipient this past spring. He was honored at the President’s Award for Leadership Ceremony and presented with a monetary prize. “Receiving the Five Quad Award meant a significant amount to me,” he says. “It was a nice recognition for the countless hours I have worked.” Foster now attends medical school at the University at Buffalo.
Rubinstein hopes that his generosity inspires others to give and that the fund grows significantly enough to support additional aspects of Five Quad. He is happy to deliver a boost for students as they prepare to graduate and begin their careers, just as he was given.
By Sarah Hacker
Stuart Rubinstein ’85 has never been to a class reunion. But in the 38 years since earning his degree, he’s attended all but one of the Five Quad anniversaries on campus. “I always call my class ‘Five Quad,’” he says, referring to the mix of under and upperclassmen he served with on the volunteer student-run ambulance squad during his four years at UAlbany. “That’s the group that was really meaningful to me in school.”
Logging thousands of on-call hours as an ambulance attendant, then crew chief and, later, as a lieutenant overseeing shifts, Rubinstein helped countless people in distress. “It was about giving back to the community,” he says. But at the end of his junior year, he was given an opportunity that he credits as being foundational to his lifelong career success.
University Administrator Neil C. Brown, or “Dean Brown” as he was affectionately known on campus, had been instrumental in facilitating the founding of Five Quad and served on the Five Quad Board of Directors with Rubinstein. “Dean Brown was very special to me,” Rubinstein explains, “because in the summer of 1984, he hired me to figure out how the University could use some brand-new piece of technology they had just received.”
That new technology was an IBM desktop computer, one of the first PCs on campus.
Rubinstein, a business major, embraced the bulky but cutting-edge tool. Using a spreadsheet program, he was able to track the medical forms of incoming freshmen and transmit that data from Student Health Services to the Office of Student Affairs over the phone line. The process was so innovative that Rubinstein was asked to present it at a SUNY-wide Student Health Services directors meeting.
By the following summer, the experience had landed him his first job as a UAlbany graduate. He was hired by a group of insurance companies to overhaul their computing system. “All the old guys knew the big mainframe computers and minicomputers, but they needed some kid out of college who knew this new technology,” Rubinstein reflects. “I’ve always connected all the dots back through my career to that [Five Quad] job.”
With the 50th anniversary of Five Quad in 2023, Rubinstein wanted to give back. He had also been searching for a way to commemorate Neil Brown and Five Quad founder, Barry Bashkoff, who had both recently passed away.
Rubinstein established The Five Quad Tribute Fund to remember and celebrate those who served, while supporting Five Quad’s future. “I want it to be a tribute to those who are still there, who are leading, who have led, who have passed away, in honor of students or faculty or administration,” he explains.
The fund provides general support and an annual award recognizing a current Five Quad member for leadership, service and volunteerism. Nate Foster ’23 was selected as the first recipient this past spring. He was honored at the President’s Award for Leadership Ceremony and presented with a monetary prize. “Receiving the Five Quad Award meant a significant amount to me,” he says. “It was a nice recognition for the countless hours I have worked.” Foster now attends medical school at the University at Buffalo.
Rubinstein hopes that his generosity inspires others to give and that the fund grows significantly enough to support additional aspects of Five Quad. He is happy to deliver a boost for students as they prepare to graduate and begin their careers, just as he was given.
