Friday, June 22 marked a milestone celebration of the life and work of Bob Carsky ’73, a track star and humanitarian who was tragically killed in his adopted homeland, Africa in 2004. 

Since 2005, Bob’s family members, classmates, friends and fellow track alumni have come together annually, in early May, to participate in a run to honor Bob’s memory and/or to support the Robert Carsky Scholarship and the Carsky fund for African Refugees.

As the Carsky family continues to grow and are spread out, geographically, it has become more difficult for them to attend the annual run. In addition, early May weather in CNY has proven to be most unpredictable, if not downright nasty, for many of the runs. So, this year’s run was the final ‘formal’ event. 

But CBA will continue to reach out on behalf of the scholarship funds to honor the spirit and mission of Bob’s work. To date, 187 donors have contributed nearly $140,000 to the endowed Carsky Scholarship and 52 donors have contributed $26,930 to the Carsky Fund for African Refugees. Four students have benefited from the Robert Carsky Scholarship during their tenure at CBA and four additional students were offered assistance through the Carsky Fund for African Refugees. 

The ‘final run’ was a special and touching tribute to Bob. The Carsky family, led by Bob’s dad, Dr. Edward Carsky, came out in force. The event served as a kick-off for the Class of 1973 45th Reunion weekend, and more than a dozen of Bob’s classmates were in attendance. In all, close to 40 gathered at the track to enjoy pizza (donated by Bob Walker ’75/Papa Johns), hot dogs cooked and served by Roxanne and Mark Hettler ’73, and to share memories of Bob. Several photo collage posters were on view as a visual timeline to document the 13 Carsky runs held since 2005.

Poignant remarks and memories were offered by Director of Advancement, Patti Callahan, Bob’s brother, Bill, his close buddy and ‘Brother,’ Dr. Kevin Hopkins ’73, and 1977 track alumni and long-time Carsky event coordinators, Stephen Bowman and Dick Driscoll. Bob’s daughter, Jasmine, read a beautiful statement from her mother and Patti closed the program with an excerpt from Bob’s eulogy. 

For additional photos, visit our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/CBASyracuseAlumni