October 1, 2021

To the Campus Community:

Funeral services were held today for Anthony Mastroianni ’50, former Farmingdale State College Council Chair, a third-generation resident of Huntington, former chairman of the Huntington Republican Committee and former trustee of the Huntington Historical Society. He died Sunday at the age of 91.

Anthony Mastroianni began a lifelong association with Farmingdale when he enrolled at the new campus in September 1948, the same year SUNY was chartered. He graduated two years later from the building construction program, which was renamed civil engineering technology. The class was comprised of returning World War II veterans and recent high school graduates. He spent little time on the main campus because his education was centered at the Conklin Street Industrial-Technical Division under the leadership of Allee. He applied his skills in the U.S. Navy’s Construction Battalion, better known as the SeaBees during the Korean War, later joining the New York Guard, retiring as a major. After his 1950 graduation from Farmingdale, Mastroianni was employed as a civil engineer and superintendent of all types of construction. He received a master’s degree from C.W. Post University, and later retired as the Suffolk County public administrator. A member of Foreign Wars Post 1469, he was elected to the position of vice commander of the Navy Seabee Veterans of America.  He was also a member of many religious and social clubs, such as the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Knights of Columbus, BPOE Elks Lodge 1565 and the Society of American Military Engineers.

Mastroianni joined the Alumni Association and became an active lifelong member. In July 1967, Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller appointed him to the Farmingdale College Council. He was reappointed by Gov. Malcolm Wilson in 1984, and by Gov. Mario Cuomo in 1992. He served as council chairman and vice chairman. He retired from the council in 2000 after thirty-three years of continuous service, believed to be the longest tenure of any SUNY College Council member.

He received numerous awards for his contributions to the College, including:

• 1974 Farmingdale State College Alumnus of the Year
• 1979 SUNY Council Members Founders Award
• 1980 Farmingdale State College Evening College Recognition Award
• 1996 Farmingdale State College Ram’s Horn Award
• 1999 SUNY President’s Award for More Than Fifty Years of Continuous Service to SUNY
• 2012 Farmingdale State College Centurion Award

Mastroianni played an important leadership role as a member of the College Council during the transformative presidential administrations of Charles W. Laffin Jr. and Frank A. Cipriani. His gentle demeanor and unparalleled devotion to Farmingdale State College will be sorely missed.

Tony leaves his wife, Ona, his stepson Gintautas Rugienius, his step-daughter Asta Desmarais, his daughter Lisa Ann Record, sisters Terry Schaeffer and Elvera Moore and brother Theodore. Condolences to the family may be sent to Michelle Johnson, Director of Alumni Engagement, Ward Hall, Room 10.

John Nader
President