2023 Honorary Degree Recipients

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W. Patrick Hughes, P'96

Chair, Curry College Board of Trustees

W. Patrick Hughes, P’96 has served as chair of the Curry College Board of Trustees since 2017. Pat, the father of the late Justin P. Hughes, a 1996 honors graduate of Curry College, has been a trustee since October 2013.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree from Boston University in 1970, Pat was drafted into the NFL, where he excelled in a 10-year career as a linebacker with the New York Giants and the New Orleans Saints. Upon retirement from the NFL, Pat launched a career in the healthcare field which ultimately lead to the highest levels of leadership.

After leading Sales, Marketing and Product Development for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, which achieved unprecedented growth and profitability under his leadership, Pat joined Fallon Community Health Plan, one of New England’s largest health insurers as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing and Sales Officer in 2007. He then served as President and CEO of Fallon Health from February 2010 until his retirement at the end of 2015.

Pat has served as Chair of the Board of Ultra Benefits, Inc. He was Chair of the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans and served on the Board of the Alliance of Community Health Plans in Washington, D.C.

He was inducted in Boston University’s Athletic Hall of Fame, and he has received Honorary Doctorates from Becker College and the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.

Pat and his wife Carole have established two endowed scholarships at Curry College to honor the memory of their son Justin.

Kathryn M. Sardella '67, M.Ed. '81

Vice Chair, Curry College Board of Trustees

Kathryn M. Sardella '67, M.Ed. '81 has served as Vice Chair of the Curry College Board of Trustees since 2017, and has been a trustee since 1975.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from Curry in 1967, Sardella began her teaching career in the West Bridgewater Public Schools system. A dedicated and caring educator, Sardella immersed herself in empowering students to learn and grow inside and outside of the classroom. She was certified and taught students with special needs, and over her tenure also worked with students who needed to learn to read, write, and speak English. Her annual third-grade spring theater production was a highlight of the school year.

In 1981, she returned to Curry and was member of the first Master’s in Education class. During her career, she was also a teacher to other teachers, instructing upcoming educators at Curry and other local colleges. Sardella has served on numerous committees and received awards and accolades for her dedication to teaching.

In addition to her lifetime of service in K-12 education, Sardella is an active volunteer in her

community with a particular focus on adult literacy. She works with adults at the Literacy Place in Bridgewater and provides English language tutoring to nuns from Vietnam. Over the years, she has also been the driver behind many local fundraisers supporting nonprofits and initiatives and a devoted philanthropist to Curry.

Sardella has received numerous alumni awards from Curry. In 1995, she received the Curry College Outstanding Alumni Award, for her years of devotion and dedication to the College. In 2002, Curry’s Education Department renamed an annual award in honor of Sardella—the Kathryn M. Sardella Community Service Award.

Samuel A. Landy, Esq. '82

President and CEO of UMH Properties, Inc.

Samuel A. Landy, Esq. ’82, is the President and CEO of UMH Properties, a NYSE listed firm which provides much needed workforce housing. Under Landy’s leadership, UMH has grown from 28 communities and 6,800 home sites in 2009 to 135 communities and 25,700 home sites in 11 states. A leader in the manufactured housing industry, Landy received the 2019 Manufactured Housing Institute’s Chairman’s Award for exceptional leadership.

Deeply involved in the not-for-profit world, Landy also founded the Open Space Pace an organization that is dedicated to raising awareness about the equine and agricultural industries in hopes to preserve open space in the state of New Jersey. He also serves as a director of the Rutgers University Board for Equine Advancement.

In 2021, Landy received the 2021 Joshua Huddy award and the 2016 Good Scout Award by the Monmouth Council, Boy Scouts of America.

A member of the Curry Council, the impact of the Landy Family’s philanthropy on Curry and its students has been significant. The Landy Family Student Services Area in our Learning Commons is named in honor of Landy and his wife Laurie. This fall, as the result of a tremendous act of philanthropy, the Dean of the College’s School of Nursing was named the Eugene W. and Gloria Landy Dean in honor of Landy’s mother and father.

Landy is also a professional racehorse trainer and driver. He was awarded New Jersey Horse Person of the Year in 2014.

After graduating from Curry College in 1982 where he was a member of the Alexander Graham Bell Academic Honor Society, Landy attended Widener University School of Law. He was admitted to the New Jersey Bar Association in 1985 and the United States Supreme Court in 1997.

Laurie Landy

Founding Director & Development Director, Special Strides

Laurie Landy is a social entrepreneur who has dedicated her life to bettering the community.

She earned a degree in Occupational Therapy from SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University. With a focus in pediatrics, Landy worked as an occupational therapist for JFK Rehabilitation, in a variety of school systems, and in private practice. She is certified in neuro-developmental treatment and has years of practice and study in sensory integration and hippotherapy treatment strategies.

Landy, along with her husband Sam ’82, founded Special Strides, located in Monroe Township, New Jersey. Special Strides is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of individuals with disabilities through therapy, recreation, and education on a farm. Weekly, approximately 130 clients enhance their lives through the partnership of the natural environment and engagement with horses. In 2017 the Rutgers University’s Equine Science Center honored Landy with the “Spirit of the Horse Award” in honor of her work at Special Strides.

Landy’s leadership in the not-for-profit world is not limited to Special Strides. She also serves on several boards such as the Jewish Federation in the Heart of NJ, Special Strides, Hebrew Free Loan, and Neighbors Fundraising for Neighbors. She is the chairperson for the Special Needs Task Force of the Jewish National Fund for Red Mountain Therapeutic Riding Center.

Personally, Landy thrives living on beautiful Congress Hill Farm and sharing time with Sam, their three sons, and many farm friends. Congress Hill Farm is an equestrian center in New Jersey with a multitude of equine related businesses. Landy takes great pride in her family farm as a haven for discovery, happiness, and attainment of mastery.