2011 Spring / Summer Forward News Magazine

Forward
Spring
S u m m e r 2 0 11
THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF SETON HILL UNIVERSITY
Save The Date
2011 Homecoming
& Family Weekend
October 21-23, 2011
S E TON HILL U N IVERS IT Y BOARD OF TRU STE ES
Most Rev. Lawrence E. Brandt,
JCD, PhD
Honorary Chairman
Grace Hartzog, S.C. 71
Maureen Halloran, S.C.
Richard C. Hendricks
Colette Hanlon, S.C. ’63
Michele Moore Ridge ’69
Chairman
H. Phipps Hoffstot, III
Donald M. Henderson, PhD
David Iwinski, Jr.
John L. Holloway
Richard Kacin
Patrice Hughes, S.C. ’62
Donna Marie Leiden, S.C. 66
Lucy Lopez-Roig, PhD ’58
Catherine Meinert, S.C. ’71
Charles McKenna Lynch, III
Velma Monteiro-Tribble
Jeremy Mahla, S.C.
Kelley Murray Skoloda ’86
Mary Jude McColligan, S.C. ’41
Rebecca Cost Snyder
Arthur H. Meehan
Karen Farmer White
Marlene Mondalek, S.C. ’68
Daniel J. Wukich
Donald I. Moritz
Vivien Linkhauer, S.C. ’67
Vice Chairman
Gertrude Foley, S.C. ’59
Secretary
David G. Assard
Mary Ann Aug, PhD ’62
Bibiana Boerio ’75
Barbara Ann Boss, S.C. ’71
JoAnne W. Boyle, PhD
James R. Breisinger
Laurie Ann Carroll ’81
Lalit Chordia, PhD
Mary Ellen Cooney-Higgins ’64
Julia Trimarchi Cuccaro, Esq.
Sara Gill Cutting ’62
Lyn Marie Dwyer, S.C. ’60
Brycelyn Eyler, S.C. ’69
Matthew J. Galando ’04
Brigid Marie Grandey, S.C. ’63
Ruth O’Block Grant ’53
Louise Grundish, S.C.
Kym Stout Hamilton
Mary Jo Mutschler, S.C. ’69
Trustees Emeriti
Jean Augustine, S.C. 63
Bishop Anthony G. Bosco
B. Patrick Costello
Mary Lou Costello ’55
Louis A. Craco
Robert H. Davis
Melanie DiPietro, S.C. ’69
Rosemary Donley, S.C.
John R. Echement
Frederick R. Favo
Marcia M. Gumberg
Barbara Nakles
Maureen O’Brien, S.C. ’67
Maureen Sheedy O’Brien
M. Ellenita O’Connor, S.C. ’58
2 0 1 0 - 2 0 11
University Administration
JoAnne W. Boyle, PhD
President
Mary Ann Gawelek, EdD
Provost and Dean of the Faculty
Barbara C. Hinkle, MS
Vice President for Enrollment Services
and Registrar
Christine M. Mueseler, MA
Vice President for Institutional
Advancement
Marc B. Robertshaw
Arthur J. Rooney, Jr.
Ralph A. Scalise
Anita Schulte, S.C. ’57
Clayton A. Sweeney
Lawrence Werner
Joseph Whiteside
Anita Schulte, S.C. ’57
Secretary
Joanna Pietropaoli Stillwagon ’69
Treasurer
Matthew Galando ’04
Alumnus Trustee
Lisa Pietropaoli Bevington ’86
Linda Delia ’69
Denise Dorsey ’01
Mary Beth Gray Gigler ’70
Paul T. Roman, MPM
Vice President for Finance
and Administration
Helen Hofe ’84
Lois Sculco, S.C., PhD
Vice President for Mission and Student Life
Maureen O’Brien, S.C. ’67
Sheila Juliane ’80
James H. Pirlo ’07
Giovanna Rivera Genard ’94
Deborah Summers Robinson ’85
Paul M. Pohl
Sara Louise Reilly, S.C. ’42
Laurene DiGennaro Kristof ’64
Past President
2010-2011 Seton Hill Alumni
Association Board of Directors
Joy Jenko Merusi ’85
President
Annette Modar Holder ’01
President-Elect
Sara Miles Rutledge ’94
Allegra Stasko Slick ’88
Nancy Zilner Weir ’75
SETON HILL UNIVERSITY
Forward
S p rin g / S u m m er 2 0 1 1
Institutional Advancement
Christine M. Mueseler
Vice President for Institutional Advancement
724-838-4232
[email protected]
Molly Robb Shimko
Associate Vice President for Institutional Advancement
724-830-4620
[email protected]
Carol J. Billman
Director of Grants and Government Support
724-838-4204
[email protected]
CONTENTS
Lisa A. Carino
Director of the Annual Fund
724-838-2409
[email protected]
Kary Coleman Hazen
Director of Media Relations and Communications
724-830-1069
[email protected]
Mary Ross Cox
Director of Regional Alumni Relations
724-830-1027
[email protected]
9
Louise Lydon
Director of National Alumni Relations
724-838-4244
[email protected]
Justin Norris
Director of Development
724-830-1899
[email protected]
Carolyn Woods
Associate Director of the Annual Fund
724-830-1137
[email protected]
Marketing
Becca Baker
Forward Senior Writer and Editor
Associate Director of Marketing
724-552-1745
[email protected]
Timothy R. Banks
Graphic Design Manager
724-838-4298
[email protected]
Photography:
Dave Miller, Eric Schmadel, Bruce Siskawicz,
Sean Stipp, Jack Wolf, GradImages, SHU staff
& students
16
32
A RT I C L E S
2
The Classroom Reimagined
20
The Art of Hockey
Searching for God - A Q & A with Seton
Hill’s New Campus Minister, Sr. Maureen O’Brien, S.C.
6
9
Chemical Bond
21
You Can Get Anywhere From Here
12
Learn. Play. Change the World.
22
There and Back
15
December 2010 Commencement
25
Campus News
16
Sr. Lois Sculco Celebrates 50 Golden
Years as a Sister of Charity
30
SHU by the Numbers
18
Michele Moore Ridge ’69 Honored
with Robert L. Payton Award for
Voluntary Service
31
Griffins Notes
32
Victorian Parlor Furniture Returns Home to Seton Hill from Extended
Vacation in Florida
19 Wukich Center off to a Roaring Start
Alumni News Supplement Design:
Dragon’s Teeth Design
Printer:
Laurel Valley Graphics
Forward is published by Seton Hill University, Greensburg,
PA 15601-1599, (724-830-1005), http://www.setonhill.edu,
for the alumni and friends of the University. Postage paid
at Greensburg, PA.
Seton Hill University, as a matter of tradition and principle,
does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, gender, age,
disability, or national and ethnic origin in the administration of
its educational policies, admissions policies, employment
policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other
university-administered programs. Seton Hill University adheres
to the non-discrimination legislation of both the federal
government and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, including,
but not necessarily limited to, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title
VI, Title IX, 1972 Handicap Provision, and the Americans with
Disabilities Act.
ON THE COVER
Seton Hill alumnus Michael Rubino ’07 created the “All-Time Team” mural for the new locker room of
the Pittsburgh Penguins and a host of other art for Pittsburgh’s lavish new CONSOL Energy Center.
See story, page 6.
S E TO N H I L L U N I V E R S I T Y M I S S I O N
Seton Hill is a Catholic university rooted in Judeo-Christian values. In the tradition of
Elizabeth Ann Seton, we educate students to think and act critically, creatively, and ethically
as productive members of society committed to transforming the world.
The
Classroom
Reimagined
Seton Hill
Becomes a
Leader in
Mobile
Learning
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S P R I N G / S U M M E R 2 0 11
I
n the fall of 2010, Seton Hill
integrated mobile technology
into its curriculum – and
campus – in a big way. All
full-time students and
faculty (and many key
administrators) received iPads.*
Incoming full-time first year
students and faculty also received
new MacBook Pro laptops. And
everyone campus-wide benefited
from a robust new wireless
infrastructure that allowed
unencumbered use of technology
any time, any place – all part of
Seton Hill’s new mobile
learning program.
Faculty Committed
to Highly Engaged
Learning
Seton Hill developed the Engaging
Learners to Improve critical Thinking
through Edification (ELITE) Professional
Development Program with the
assistance of a U.S. Department of
Education Title III Strengthening
Institutions Program grant. As ELITE
participants, Seton Hill faculty and
teaching staff receive a full year of
training in the best use of modern
technology for education and
assessment.
Why the Emphasis
on Mobile Learning?
New discoveries, like learning itself,
happen every day, everywhere people
gather to discuss ideas, solve problems or
share creative expression. At Seton Hill,
we want our academic community to
have 24/7 access to that world of
learning, in addition to the tools they
need to engage in it fully. We also want
our students to be fully prepared to use
mobile technology in their lives and
careers after graduation.
How is the
New Technology
Being Used?
Art Authority for iPad and Inkling Digital
Textbook Apps Make Educational Debut
at Seton Hill
S
eton Hill classes in art history, modern art, psychology and marketing took part in
pilot projects for new educational iPad apps during the fall 2010 semester.
Art Authority for iPad provides
access to over 40,000 paintings
and sculptures from more than
1,000 western artists, organized by
artist name and artistic period.
“The students love it,” said
Maureen Vissat, M.A., assistant
Maureen Vissat
Cathy Giunta
professor of art. “They have the
opportunity to discover other works
by the same artists or connect to resources to uncover more information. The advantage
of having 40,000 images in their hands has certainly made art history more intimate
and personal.”
The Inkling app turns paper-based textbooks into engaging, interactive learning experiences
when viewed on the iPad. In addition to traditional textbook content, Inkling also offers the
ability to view movies, 3-D objects and guided tours. Inkling also offers interactive quizzes
that allow students to gauge their level of understanding, and an intuitive search engine that
helps students and professors find the information they need quickly. Seton Hill classes in
marketing and psychology joined students, professors and teachers at Abilene Christian
University, the University of Alabama and the Virginia Department of Education in piloting
this new app.
“I can, on the Inkling text, leave notes for the students... they immediately see those notes
that I leave. And they can refer back to that,” said Cathy Giunta, Ph.D., associate professor
of business. “I am surprised by how much, in a short period of time, the iPad has changed
how I teach.”
Visit www.ipadonthehill.com to see videos of Seton Hill students and professors discussing
their experiences with Art Authority and Inkling.
Too many ways to count. Seton Hill is
formally assessing the rollout of mobile
technology on campus, but in the
meantime, Forward magazine conducted
an informal poll during the first few
months of the new program. On the
following pages you will find responses
from faculty and students to the
question: “How did you use technology in
new ways this semester?” along with
other interesting facts about mobile
learning at Seton Hill. To learn more,
visit www.setonhill.edu/techadvantage,
and to view videos of Seton Hill students
and faculty discussing the ways they use
their iPads, visit Seton Hill’s newest
microsite, www.ipadonthehill.com.
Seton Hill students (from
l - r) Joclyn Brown, Alissa
Barron, Jamie Blotzer, Jenn
Black, Adam Narlock and
Deanna Pulice pose with
their brand new iPads on
August 22, 2010.
Photo: Bruce Siskawicz
www.setonhill.edu
Forward
3
“The iPad
has all the
world’s
learning
in it. And
access to that...
at your
fingertips...
seems to
open up some
new door to
some new
knowledge. It
transforms
you.”
- Seton Hill President JoAnne Boyle,
in a five-minute promotional video created for Apple. The
video showcases President Boyle, Catherine Giunta,
associate professor of business,
and students enrolled in Giunta’s
marketing class. The video also
features the Chicago Public
School System, a young
home-schooled student from
New York and a medical student
at Duke University. Dr. Boyle’s comments during the video
(of which this quote is an excerpt) elicited a resounding
ovation at an Apple national sales meeting. Apple and
Radical Media of New York filmed the video at Seton
Hill in October 2010.
“I used the iPad to have my students draw visual representations of
the plots and structures of works of literature. They were so creative
with their visuals, often tying the structure of the work of literature to
one of its themes and motifs. For example, when we studied August
Wilson’s play “Fences,” which has a baseball motif, one of the
students showed the class how the structure of the play is similar
to the structure of a baseball diamond.”
- Laura Sloan Patterson, Ph.D., associate professor of English,
director of Undergraduate Writing Programs
“I had a class where I couldn’t get students to respond [to a
hypothetical scenario.] I had them all download a free app that
makes a variety of sounds. ‘OK,’ I told them, ‘if you agree, make the
witch cackling sound. If you disagree, moo. If you think ‘it depends’,
make the glass break.’ It was silly and made everyone laugh but it
got everyone participating too.”
- Jaimie Steel, M.Ed., assistant dean of students
and adjunct instructor, liberal arts
“Here in the library, when we are helping students look for items,
we no longer need to go to a computer, we can just pull out our iPads
and find the information.” David Stanley, M.L.S., director, Reeves Memorial Library
“I have my work studies perform a laboratory exercise and I video
them and put it on YouTube. Then my students can pull it up on their
iPads during lab and replicate the exercise... if I can’t complete a
topic in class then I go back to my office and record myself using [a
screencasting tool] and upload it to YouTube ... I also have a back
channeling account set up that allows students to send me questions
in real time during class, and then I respond out loud for everyone.
This is really helpful for students who are shy, as it allows them to ask
questions anonymously.”
- Jamie Fornsaglio, Ph.D., assistant professor, biology
“I’ve printed out fewer physical papers this past semester than I think
I have in the past three years of my study at SHU. Also, I’ve been
amazed at how much of a “techie” I’ve become... It’s like a whole new
world has opened up to me because I have access to it whenever I
want to learn something new.”
- Madelyn Gillespie, senior new media journalism major
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S P R I N G / S U M M E R 2 0 11
“Probably the biggest surprise came from the fact that most of the
software we had available to use was freely available online. In
EL405 [New Media Projects], we started the class using Scratch, a
free game and story creator that had numerous tutorials online. Next
we had the interactive fiction unit where we used the free program
Inform 7 to create and test out our text-based game. Finally, our last
unit focused on HTML and CSS. We used FileZilla, a free FTP client
to put our handmade webpages online and I used a source code
editor to actually make the pages called Notepad++ which was also
free.”
- Matthew Takacs, sophomore computer science major
“The 2D and 3D graphing is amazing. When the professor mentions
a parabola, you know what that looks like, but harder equations are
difficult to visualize. The iPad allows you to graph equations – even
to graph two equations and compare, see all sides, maybe this one
goes to infinity, this one settles down to zero – so you can understand
it right away. Also, my mother in Puerto Rico likes to stay in touch with
me ... since the iPad is so small, I take it with me everywhere, and
can respond quickly when she emails.”
The SHU App
S
eton Hill has its very own app, created by
Benn Linger, Apple/web developer at Seton
Hill. Seton Hill’s app is designed to be used
on either an iPhone or an iPad and can be
downloaded for free from the App Store. Currently,
the Seton Hill app gives
users access to a map
of Greensburg showing
the current location of
all Seton Hill shuttles,
a graphic showing the
environmental impact of
all on-campus printing
done by the iPad’s user, Seton Hill’s website, Seton
Hill’s academic calendar, Seton Hill videos, and the
login screen for Seton Hill’s intranet, GriffinGate (a
password-protected site containing academic and
Seton Hill community information). Content continues
to be developed for the SHU app: in the works is a
daily menu for Lowe Dining Hall.
- Samira Parrilla, sophomore math major
“The technology at Seton Hill is like a lifeline for me. I am constantly
on my computer taking notes and such. Word 2008 comes with a
formula generator that is great for notes in my math and science
courses. The iPad is useful to me because all of my textbooks are
on it.”
- Jenn Black, freshman biology major
“One evening, we were exploring what Emerson means when he
says the purpose of beauty in nature is that it encourages us to
explore our own souls. The class was in little groups, their heads
bowed over their iPads. One student got my attention and pointed out
the window. I turned off the light, and there was a gasp – I could see
everyone’s faces in the glow of their iPad screens, and I saw them all
look up and glance out the window. What we saw was a fiery sunset,
picture-perfect, just filling every window in two walls of the classroom.
We didn’t need any extra light — the screens showed us the text, and
the screens were bright enough that we could see each other’s faces,
so we finished the discussion in darkness, just watching the sunset
progress, debating and scrolling through pages of Emerson.”
*Beginning in fall 2011, all new full-time
students and faculty will receive the just
released iPad2.
Article by Becca Baker WPF ’02,
Seton Hill associate director of marketing
- Dennis Jerz, Ph.D., associate professor of English
www.setonhill.edu
Forward
5
he CONSOL Energy Center is the NHL’s
newest arena. It’s big - but not too big. It’s
shiny. It’s constructed of steel and glass
and built into the side of a hill next to a
church. From its main concourses, it offers sweeping
views of neighborhoods and skyscrapers, bridges and
hills. It’s right down the street from a hospital and
a university. It’s a green, LEED gold-certified
building that was completed on time and under
budget. It contains original art, futuristic technology,
cheap donuts and possibly the world’s largest goalie
mask. On hockey nights, it features the three-time
Stanley Cup winning Penguins and 18,087 of their
wildly loyal (yet surprisingly friendly) fans.
The CONSOL Energy Center isn’t just a new building
in Pittsburgh. It is Pittsburgh.
Destiny’s New Home
The CONSOL Energy Center opened in August 2010 to
much fanfare in the city (led by a pervasive marketing
campaign declaring “Destiny Has A New Home”) and
around the NHL. A multi-purpose building, it replaces
the aging Civic Arena/Mellon Arena as the city’s
go-to entertainment venue for large concerts, collegiate
sports, circuses, skating shows and the like. But for
most Pittsburghers, and for hockey fans everywhere,
the CONSOL Energy Center is first and foremost the
home of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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Forward
S P R I N G / S U M M E R 2 0 11
The heart of the CONSOL Energy Center,
according to Penguins equipment manager Dana
Heinze, is the Penguins locker room. Here, the
players and coaches of one of the NHL’s most
popular teams build each other up for games,
strategize between periods, celebrate their victories,
and share the frustrations of the almost-victories and
painful (yet blessedly rare) outright losses. Here, the
lockers of young stars like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni
Malkin, Marc Andre-Fleury and Kris Letang are
crowned by a mural depicting some of the players
and coaches who did these things before them - men
with names like Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr and Bob
Johnson - below a domed ceiling that memorializes
the Penguins’ former arena. Because in Pittsburgh, no
matter how promising the future may look, you don’t
forget where you came from.
A Great Day
for Hockey
As the CONSOL Energy Center began to take shape,
the Penguins asked James Frederick, owner of the
James Gallery in Pittsburgh’s West End, to serve as its
art consultant. The Penguins had an ambitious plan
for the new Center, involving art of all sizes in various
media – some of it interactive – celebrating the team’s
history, its stars, its fans, the Pittsburgh region and the
team’s future. The art would be installed throughout
the Center, in public spaces as well as in the private
boxes, and in the spaces reserved for team, press and
administrative use.
Left: Mural of quotes from popular Penguins radio broadcaster Mike
Lange. Above: All-Time Team mural (above lockers). Below: Michael’s
first project for the Penguins; installed above the player’s
stick rack, it is one of the last things they see
before hitting the ice.
“The Pens gave very concise, good direction that we
could follow,” Frederick says. “They knew what they
wanted.”
Mike Lange, intended for the Center’s media level, the
motivational sayings “Either You’re In Or You’re In the
Way” (for the Pens’ strength and conditioning center)
and “Those Who Think They Do Too Much Often Do
Too Little (for the warm-up area), a “Welcome to the
Medial Level” sign – and the 93 foot long,
almost 2 foot high “All-Time Team”
mural that circles the Pens’ locker
room, at the Center’s very heart.
To accomplish everything that the Penguins
envisioned, James chose 20 art
professionals, the majority of them
established regional artists. Seton
Hill alumnus Michael Rubino
made the list after a referral
Finding your way around
from the post-production house
in the CONSOL Energy
Phenomenon, with which
Center is a snap thanks
Michael has worked closely
to Barbara Kerestes
through his position at the
Martin ’80 and her
Pittsburgh marketing and
company,
KMA Design, who
advertising firm BrabenderCox.
The All-Time
Team
It’s fitting that the Penguins
chose Michael to design the
“All-Time Team” locker room
designed the signage for
mural. As a southwestern Pa.
the Center. Barbara
The first project Michael
native who chose to stay in
completed for the Center,
received the Distinguished
Pittsburgh to begin his career
in August 2010, was a large
Alumni Leadership Award
in graphic design, he undertypographical treatment of
from Seton Hill in 2010.
stands the region’s past and has
the saying “It’s A Great Day for
been active, both politically and
Hockey.” This well-known quote
artistically, in helping to guide its
from “Badger” Bob Johnson, the
future.
Also, he’s been a Pens fan
popular Penguins head coach who
all
of
his
life.
led the team to their first Stanley Cup
victory in the 1990-91 season, has since been installed
“I grew up with the Penguins,” he says. “My parents
above the players’ stick rack.
had season tickets – they’d leave us with the babysitter
and go to the games.”
The Penguins liked Michael’s work on the “It’s A Great
Day for Hockey” project so much that they offered him
five more projects: a floor-to-ceiling mural consisting of quotes from iconic Penguins radio broadcaster
While Michael describes designing the mural as “a
dream come true,” he admits it was an especially
www.setonhill.edu
Forward
7
Playing His Game
ichael always knew he wanted a
career in art. He came to Seton
Hill because of its art program,
and he graduated in 2007 with a
Bachelor of Fine Arts in graphic design. While
at Seton Hill, he was editor-in-chief of the
literary-art magazine Eye Contact, a popular
cartoonist and contributing writer for The
Setonian, a dedicated blogger, and the founder
of the Seton Hill College Republicans. Michael
was also active in political campaigns, which
led to a graphic design internship with
BrabenderCox, a political and commercial
marketing firm with offices in Pittsburgh.
After graduation the company hired him as
a part-time designer; he now works full-time
for the firm, in both print and web design.
“I love it,” he says of his job. He particularly
enjoys seeing the impact marketing and
advertising campaigns have on political
campaigns. “Not every designer gets to see
the affect of their work.”
Michael calmly juggled multiple priorities and
projects as a student; if anything, he’s gotten
even better at it as a young professional. In
addition to his full-time job and freelance design
work he also serves as a staff writer, film critic
and podcast commentator for DVDVerdict, is a
member of the Cellar Dwellers improv comedy
troupe, is one of the creators, writers and
performers of the “Dodge Intrepid and the
Pages of Time” radio serial podcast, and had
his photography featured in “Pittsburgh Signs
Project: 250 Signs of Western Pennsylvania,”
published by Carnegie Mellon University Press
in 2009. In addition, he recently had his first big
success as a playwright.
“It was a goal of mine to write a play ever since
I took playwriting as part of my creative writing
minor at Seton Hill,” Michael says. “A one-act
play that I wrote, ‘Drop It,’ was selected for
production in the Pittsburgh New Works
Festival. This was my first produced play and I
was really honored to be a part of this festival.
It was in rehearsal at the same time as I was
working on the All-Time Team mural, so for two
weeks I’d go to work, go to rehearsal, then go
home and work on the mural until the middle
of the night.”
8
Forward
challenging project. The mural features images of 21 legendary players
and coaches that had to be presented in the most engaging and
respectful way possible. It had to be designed so that it could be
printed easily on a wallpaper-like substance that could be installed
(in sections) around the oval locker room with no interruptions in
the design. It had to look good on TV, and complement the other art
and design features in the room. And a whole lot of people in the Penguins organization had to like it before it came anywhere near
the walls of the space that has often been described as “sacred.”
Michael’s talent, sacrifice of sleep (see “Playing His Game,” left) and
knowledge of the team paid off. After creating one section of the
mural and submitting it for approval, the Penguins gave him the
green light to complete the entire piece.
Using disks of archival photos provided by the Penguins, Michael
painstakingly pieced the full mural together. “It ended up that each
person got four feet, roughly, [that included] one primary photo, two
secondary photos and type treatment of their name,” he says. “I did
a lot of independent studies as a senior at Seton Hill, and that helped
prepare me. It was important to understand the math, to design
something at a certain size and understand how it would look when
printed on a much larger scale.”
Michael completed the mural in two weeks. “It was a great experience,”
he says. “I learned a lot, especially from the company in Washington
[County, Pa.] that printed and installed the mural. I’m happy with
how it turned out.”
Michael has reason to be proud. The Penguins’ new locker room is
widely-considered the best in the NHL, and the “All-Time Team”
mural is a hit with the team and the fans alike.
“We wanted a tribute somewhere in the player’s area and he [Head
Coach Dan Bylsma] thought it would be great to have that in the locker
room itself,” Heinze told pittsburghpenguins.com. “I think the graphic
designers really nailed the design. It has that ‘wow factor.’ That’s pretty
special to come in and see that.”
Article by Becca Baker WPF ‘02, Seton Hill associate
director of marketing, photos by Bruce Siskawicz, Seton
Hill graphic design certificate alumnus and professional
photographer.
Forward magazine would like to
thank Brian Magness, director, CONSOL Energy Center
Project Development, and James Frederick, owner, James
Gallery, for their help with this article and the CONSOL
Energy Center photo shoot.
S P R I N G / S U M M E R 2 0 11
Chemical
Bond
Claudia Callaghan (far left)
with classmates in a science
lab at Seton Hill.
Claudia Callaghan came to Seton Hill in 1933 to
study chemistry. The new Claudia Callaghan
Kent ’37 Endowed Scholarship helps to
ensure that future scientists can do the same.
C
carbon
6
laudia Callaghan became part of Seton Hill
history the moment she was born. Named for
her mother’s close friend Sr. Claudia Glenn (who
was to become Mother Claudia, Mother Superior
12.011
of the Sisters of Charity of Seton
Hill), Claudia Callaghan greeted the world on
May 24, 1915 in New Salem, Pa. One of seven
sisters and two brothers, Claudia attended
Latrobe High School before becoming “the first
in her family to go to college,” says Claudia
Dixon, Claudia Callaghan’s daughter.
Claudia entered Seton Hill in 1933, no doubt
under the watchful eye of Sr. Claudia Glenn,
who served as dean of residence and professor
of English during Claudia’s years at Seton Hill.
Claudia was at no loss for familiar faces; Seton
Hill classmate Marie Kent had also attended high school with
Claudia (and would later become her sister-in-law). Claudia
also quickly made new friends, most notably Jeannette
Dahlstrom, Ruth Rice Molinero and Geraldine Lewis.
Claudia had an interest in the natural sciences: a fitting pursuit
for the daughter of a coal miner. At Seton Hill, she majored
in science with a focus on chemistry and a minor in math.
She also found time to participate in the Mathematics Club,
Phi Sigma Chi and the senior class play. Claudia
played field hockey at Seton Hill, and greatly
enjoyed the fact that the University has a
women’s field hockey team today (she recalled
playing most of their games in the 30’s against
Slippery Rock University).
After she graduated from Seton Hill in 1937,
Claudia took a position teaching high school
chemistry and math in western Pennsylvania.
She also filled in wherever her school, and her
students, needed her. “During the Depression,”
her daughter Claudia relates, “her school needed
a gym teacher more than a math teacher. So she got together
with a brother who was athletic and learned what she needed
to teach gym as well.”
In 1941 Claudia married Raymond Kent, the brother of her
www.setonhill.edu
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9
Clockwise from top left:
Claudia (second from left)
and friends at Seton Hill
(Marie Kent, in the white
dress in front, would
become Claudia’s
sister-in-law); (left to right)
Jeannette Dahlstrom,
Claudia, Ruth Rice Molinero,
Geraldine Lewis; Sr. M.
Claudia Glenn, S.C., for
whom Claudia Callaghan
was named; Claudia
(far right) with friends
in front of Maura Hall.
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S P R I N G / S U M M E R 2 0 11
Seton Hill classmate Marie. Raymond taught in the Finance
Department at the University of Notre Dame for 38 years;
Claudia raised their three children, Claudia, Raymond and
Robert, and remained heavily involved in educational and
spiritual pursuits. She also developed creatively, becoming an
award-winning photographer and watercolor artist.
Claudia Callaghan Kent’s place in the history of Seton Hill
might have begun with her birth, but it did not end with her
passing. The Claudia Callaghan Kent ‘37 Endowed
Scholarship will support future generations of Seton Hill
students who wish to enroll in a natural and health science
degree program, as Claudia did. (And also as all three of her
children did: daughter Claudia and her brother Raymond both
earned degrees in chemistry, their brother Robert was a
physics major.) Created by Claudia’s daughter, Claudia Dixon,
and her husband Jack, the Claudia Callaghan Kent Scholarship
will provide financial assistance to students with significant
financial need who have demonstrated the potential to
succeed academically.
“It was very unusual for that time,” Claudia’s daughter says of
her mother’s academic aspirations. “Women, especially the
daughters of coal miners, rarely went to college.” Now, almost
100 years after her birth, the Claudia Callaghan Kent
Scholarship will provide young men and women with the
opportunity to study in the field that fascinated Claudia, in the
school that was a part of her life from the day she was born.
Text by Becca Baker WPF ’02, associate director of marketing,
historical photos courtesy of Claudia Dixon.
“When we were kids she was very active in the PTA, the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, and the Circle of Mercy,” her
daughter Claudia says. “After we all went to college, she started
taking classes in art. She worked in a variety of media. Later,
after she stopped making large paintings, my husband always
requested water color cards from her, she loved that.”
Although Claudia became active in the Notre Dame
community - she was a member of the Ladies of Notre Dame
and an enthusiastic Notre Dame football fan - she never lost
her connection to Seton Hill. She stayed in touch with her
good friends Jeannette Dahlstrom and Ruth Rice (and of
course her sister-in-law Marie) all of her life; her sister Hilda
Callaghan would become Sr. Margaret Louise, S.C. and serve
for many years as secretary to Seton Hill’s academic dean, Sr.
Muriel Flamman. Sr. Ann Infanger, a professor of biology at
Seton Hill at the time, recalls many “happy memories of
Claudia, and of her hospitality” at meetings and events
associated with the Charismatic Renewal movement in the
1970s. And in 2007, at the age of 92, Claudia was the lone representative of her class to attend Alumni Weekend
at Seton Hill.
Claudia enjoyed an active life full of family and art (“She
had Notre Dame season tickets and used them to entice her
children and grandchildren to visit her more often,” her
daughter recalls, “and she was still painting at age 94.”)
right up until a few weeks before she passed away, in
December 2009.
Claudia Callaghan’s daughter, Claudia Dixon, and her husband,
Jack, visited with Seton Hill friends on July 21, 2010 in
Washington D.C. Claudia followed in her mother’s footsteps,
earning a degree in chemistry from St. Mary’s College; Claudia
then went on to complete a Ph.D. in chemistry at Johns Hopkins
University. She served on Purdue University’s biochemistry
faculty from 1975 to 1991, and in the Department of Biological
Chemistry at the University of Michigan from 1991 to 2003. A
well-published scientist, Claudia is known for her work on the
regulation of lipid metabolism. Jack, also a distinguished
scientist, currently serves as the vice president and chief
scientific officer for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and
maintains a research laboratory at the University of California,
San Diego, where he is a professor of pharmacology, cellular
and molecular medicine, chemistry and biochemistry.
www.setonhill.edu
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11
Learn. Play.
Change the
World.
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S P R I N G / S U M M E R 2 0 11
eton Hill students Peter
Hilton, Katherine Ziemke
and Josh Wilks come from
different hometowns. They
don’t share a sport or a major.
They aren’t even in the same
class year. And yet they are exactly
alike in three major aspects: they are
top students, they are dedicated
athletes, and they spend what little
free time they have helping others.
(Which also makes them alike in a
fourth way – they are all remarkably
good at managing their time.) How
do they do it - and why? The
easy answer, which is
not without some
basis in truth, is that
as athletes, they push
themselves to be the
best at everything
they do. In talking
to these students,
however, it
becomes clear that
their motivations
are a little more
complicated, and a
lot more interesting.
Because I Can
Creating Family
Junior Peter Hilton plans his time two days in advance, “down
to 15 minute periods.” He has to. He’s a computer science
major with a mathematics minor. He is an integral part of
Seton Hill’s lacrosse team (his
coach, Brian Novotny, describes
him as a “fantastic athlete” who
is “part perfectionist and part
bull.”) He’s a Seton Scholar, the
treasurer for Seton Hill’s Student
Government Association, and an
honors student that has made the
Dean’s List every semester. He
tutors other students in computer
science. And he never turns down
an opportunity to help someone
in need. In fact, he hopes to
make it his life’s work.
“She’s tough - but as soon as we get out of the gym she’s all
smiles and high fives,” Katherine Ziemke says about her
basketball coach, Ferne Labati. “She knows what to say to get
you motivated. She calls us a family, and that’s what it is.”
“I recently had an internship with a company that was working
on ways to make cancer treatment easier on people,” he says.
“I just worked in their tech department, but it was great to be
able to help. It’s what I hope to do someday.”
It’s not surprising that Katherine has applied to be a big sister;
she seems to make new family members wherever she goes.
“My roommate Clare [Berenato] and I volunteered at the
Greater Parkview Church last year for Labor of Love. We fell in
love with the people there. We go to church there most
Sundays that we don’t have practice, and they came to see us
when we played Pitt. They call us ‘our girls from Seton Hill.’ “
While Peter is involved with a variety of charitable
organizations, one of his favorite projects is an annual trip to
help build and repair homes in a poverty-stricken area of West
Virginia. Peter became involved with this project through the
youth group at a church near his home in Gibsonia, Pa. “It’s
grown to 120 people,” he says, with obvious pride. “The first
year, 6 years ago, there were only 20 of us.”
He does it, he says, “because I can. I am physically able to
help, to do things that some of these people just can’t do,
because of age, or disability.“
One of the reasons Peter is able to help build houses is because
he’s been an athlete his whole life. From kindergarten to 6th
grade he played soccer, in middle and high school he played
both football and lacrosse. At Seton Hill he’s dedicated himself
to lacrosse. “He spends countless hours trying to perfect the
small things and constantly improve as an athlete,” says Coach
Novotny. “He is a cerebral athlete, he recognizes the game
within the game...as good an athlete as Peter is, he is an even
better student. Academics does not come as easily to Peter as
athletics does, he is successful academically because he works
hard.”
Peter plans to go to grad school for computer science after
earning his degree from Seton Hill. His ultimate career goal?
“I want to be able to make something,” he says, “that will help
someone.”
Katherine, a biology major who intends to become a
pharmacist, is a Dean’s List student who is the vice president
of the Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society and treasurer of the
Social Work Club. And she believes in the power of families.
So much so, in fact, that she has applied to become a big sister
through Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Laurel Region.
“I love little kids,” Katherine says. “I’m looking forward to
having a little sister, getting to know her, be there for her as
a friend, take her to basketball games...I had older cousins,
and they were always there for me. It’s good to know you have
someone to talk to.”
“I have known Kat since August of 2010,” says Suzanne Rogers,
Ph.D, associate professor of biology, who has had Katherine as
a student in four biology classes. “She is outgoing and works
well with her fellow students. She
is an enthusiastic class
participant, earns good grades
and has an excellent attitude.”
While Katherine is a big believer
in time management (“I always
have a list,” she says. “I plan out
my days: this is when I have class,
this is when I do homework,
this is when I can sleep...”), she
doesn’t separate learning from
service, or service from sport. She
enjoys the basketball clinics her
team puts on for local girls, and
she was surprised by how much
she learned about the environment while volunteering to
provide information on recycling and composting at the local
Mother Nature Fair.
“It’s nice to get off campus, meet new people, see how they
live, learn new things,” she says. “Plus there’s nothing like
that feeling you get when you can do a good thing for
someone else.”
www.setonhill.edu
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13
Skills That Help
Josh Wilks became the first Seton Hill track and field representative to
participate in the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships
in New Mexico in March, 2010. He’s been named an Academic All-American
twice, and also earned the NCAA’s Elite 88 Award at the NCAA Division II
Outdoor Track Championships in North Carolina in May 2010. (The Elite 88 is
presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point
average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA’s 88
championships.)
In addition to winning awards and traveling around the country to participate
in championships, Josh is majoring in mathematics-actuary science and is also
earning his certification to teach at the secondary level while at Seton Hill.
He’s been on the Dean’s List every semester, and currently boasts a GPA of 3.87.
While he admits that “trying to balance school and athletics is a difficult thing
to do,” he feels that he is “a good example of a student-athlete, with the
emphasis on student...I love participating in all sports...the physical and
emotional discipline that I have gained through practice, training and
competition I can apply to all aspects of my life. I
have also learned strong leadership abilities and
the importance of teamwork.”
Josh became involved in community service
through the Boy Scouts of America; he became an
Eagle Scout while in junior high school. At Seton
Hill, he has participated in a variety of volunteer
projects, from walking dogs for the Humane
Society to cleaning racquetball courts and
machines at the Greensburg YMCA. But the most
rewarding activity he’s participated in, he says, was
Timmy’s Race for Children’s - a race/walkathon
to benefit Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. The
event is named for Timmy Creamer (son of Head
Track and Field Coach Tim Creamer), who recently survived an extended,
life-threatening illness. The proceeds are used to purchase stuffed Eeyores (the
donkey character from the Winnie-the-Pooh books, Timmy’s favorite stuffed
animal) that Timmy donates to other children undergoing cancer treatments at
Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh.
“This was a very personal experience for me because in my four years at Seton
Hill, I have really gotten to know Coach Creamer’s family,” Josh says. “When
we would have team functions, or just at practice, the entire team would play
with his kids and just have fun...the fact that I could volunteer where money
was being raised to help other kids, like Timmy, and that it was related to my
sport, was personally gratifying to me. Using my running knowledge and
experience to raise money for a good cause was fulfilling.”
For his part, Coach Creamer feels that Seton Hill has “been really privileged
to have Josh as part of our program.” He recalls attending the NCAA Division
II Outdoor Track Championships with Josh. “At the awards banquet,” Coach
Creamer says, “when they came to the Elite 88 Award, I turned to him, sort of
laughing, and said ‘wouldn’t it be something if you won that award?’ And then
they called his name.”
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S P R I N G / S U M M E R 2 0 11
Seton Hill Students
and Service
In the 2009-2010 academic year:*
•1075 students engaged in
academic service-learning
•1162 students engaged in
community service
•Students engaged in a total of
44487 hours of service
•Student-athletes engaged in 984
hours of team-sponsored service
* Information collected by Seton
Hill’s Student Services Office for The
President’s Higher Education Community
Service Honor Roll Program.
Student-Athletes
and Scholarship
In 2009-2010 Seton Hill had 44 new
members inducted into Chi Alpha
Sigma, the national college athlete
honor society. To be eligible for
membership in Chi Alpha Sigma,
student-athletes must be juniors or
seniors, have a minimum GPA of 3.4
and have lettered at least one year.
Currently, 69 Seton Hill student-athletes
belong to Chi Alpha Sigma.
Seton Hill has 91 student-athletes that
will receive the Division II Athletic
Directors Academic Achievement
Award. To be eligible, students must be
upperclassmen and have a 3.5 cumulative grade point average.
In 2009 the women’s basketball team
finished #6 in Division II (out of 287
schools) for team grade point average
with a 3.567.
In 2009-2010 the wrestling team was
nationally ranked #12 in Division II for
team grade point average.
Article by Becca Baker WPF ’02, Seton
Hill associate director of marketing,
photos by Eric Schmadel.
December 2010
Commencement
“Y
ou’ve done it,” President Boyle assured the 165 students gathered to
participate in Seton Hill’s December 13, 2010 commencement
ceremonies. “You’re here. And we’re all so very proud of you.”
Carole Zippi Brennan, Ed.D., ’6 9
Carole Zippi Brennan, Ed.D., ‘69, a psychotherapist and educator who often
teaches the Faith, Religion and Society course at Seton Hill, served as
commencement speaker. In her commencement address, “Just the Way You
Are,” Carole recalled a student who asked her “why doesn’t God perform
miracles now like in ancient times?”
“I thought about it,” she said, “then realized that so many of us are still
waiting for God to perform the miracle, not realizing that God has already
done so. The miracle is you.”
To read Dr. Brennan’s commencement address in its entirety, please visit
https://alumni.setonhill.edu/SpeechDec2010.
www.setonhill.edu
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15
Sr. Lois Sculco
Celebrates 50 Golden Years
as a Sister of Charity
More Than 300 Friends and Family Celebrate With
Her at Event Held at Seton Hill
S
ister Lois Sculco came to Seton Hill in 1956 straight from “Ken High,” the
public high school in her hometown of New Kensington, Pa. She had no
familiarity with the Sisters of Charity, in fact, she recalls feeling “not
terribly happy” about a freshman assignment to write a research paper on
why Elizabeth Seton should be canonized. In an attempt to make the task less
cumbersome, she decided to “take a creative approach and write a play” – and ended
up winning the prize for best paper. “A silver plaque of Elizabeth in a leather cover,”
she recalls. “How I wish I had kept it.”
While she remembers being impressed by the story of Elizabeth Seton, she felt “much
more inspired by the sisters who taught me, who lived in my residence halls and
who befriended me and my family.” So inspired that she joined the sisters right after
graduation from Seton Hill.
On October 9, 2010, Sister Lois Sculco celebrated 50 years as a Sister of Charity with
more than 300 of her friends, family members, colleagues and students at a Golden
Jubilee mass and reception held at the university.
“I wanted to celebrate here at Seton Hill in this Chapel because Seton Hill is so much
a part of my years as a Sister of Charity,” she said. “In a sense, I never left Seton Hill,
although I did teach high school in Pittsburgh, and my students at Holy Innocents
who are here today indeed readied me for my return to Seton Hill.”
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S P R I N G / S U M M E R 2 0 11
“My heart melts at the
thought of how dear we
are to each other and
the tie which binds us.”
- Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton -
Sister Lois
returned to
Seton Hill in
1968, and
in her long
tenure she
has served
in a variety of
roles - often
simultaneously.
Currently she serves as
vice president for mission and student life,
associate professor of English and
administrator of the National Catholic
Center for Holocaust Education. (Sr. Lois
asked friends that wanted to celebrate her
Golden Jubilee with a gift to make a
donation to the Center; the Center received
a substantial total donation in response.) Sr.
Lois has earned several advanced degrees,
including a Ph.D. from the Fielding Institute,
and been honored time and again for her
work with students, and with the Center for
Holocaust Education.
“I have also had many wonderful
opportunities to travel,” she said, “Especially
my trips to Israel were life-changing.”
“It was Sister who reminded me this is
a liturgy of thanksgiving; she returns
to give thanks to God for her parents,
family, friends, the Sisters, this university.
And we give thanks with her and for
her... She has followed the inspiration
of Elizabeth Ann Seton, whom I love
to call Betty Ann. One of my favorite
quotes from Betty: ‘Let us have faith,
for I believe we are starting down roads
that may become rugged trails, and
after that broken country, and after that
mere wilderness. Then we will have to
trust God and carve a road on which to
travel.’ And we all know that the Sisters
of Charity and Seton Hill, time and time
again, have carved new roads for us to
travel. For that too we give thanks.”
to Korea; and to Italy.
On the evening of her
Jubilee, it was the trip to
Italy that was forefront in
Sister Lois’ mind. She
had visited the country
“about 12 years ago...on a
woman’s spirituality study
tour which included a visit
to Livorno, where
Elizabeth Seton went with
her husband, who died
there. We visited William’s
grave and then also saw
the Filicchi home where
Elizabeth stayed.”
It was here, in the home of
the Filicchis, that Elizabeth
Seton, an Episcopalian,
found inspiration and
comfort in the Roman
Catholic Church. Two years
later she was officially
received into the Church.
“I think this family, and
her stay in Italy, were
life-changing experiences
for her,” said Sister Lois.
Sister Lois’ work has taken her around the
- Monsignor John Regoli “I wanted to celebrate the
world: to Poland with students and faculty
blessings of these 50 years
colleagues to visit the ghettoes of Krakow
here at Seton Hill, in this
and Warsaw as well as concentration and
Chapel, because Seton Hill is so much a part of my years as a
extermination camps; to Israel many times, to visit Yad
Sister of Charity. And I invite all of you now to join me in an
Vashem, or travel through the lands of the Bible with friends
Italian Festival in Cecilian Hall, not just to celebrate my
and colleagues, both Jewish and Christian;
heritage, but also to remember the
influence this country and family had on
Elizabeth Seton. It is with a quote from
her that I thank you all: “My heart melts
at the thought of how dear we are to each
other and the tie which binds us.”
Article by Becca Baker WPF ’02, Seton
Hill associate director of marketing,
photos by Bruce Siskawicz, Seton Hill
graphic design certificate alumnus and
professional photographer.
PHOTO, l - r: Lorraine Sculco, Jeanine Stokes,
Dominic Stokes, Dru Stokes, Tom Sculco,
Elisabeth Ervin, Sr. Lois Sculco, Lisa Lotito,
Frank Lotito.
www.setonhill.edu
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17
M i c h e l e M o o r e R i d g e ’6 9
H o n o r e d w i t h R o b e r t L . Pa y t o n
A wa r d f o r Vo l u n t a r y S e r v i c e
S
eton Hill University
Board of Trustees
Chair Michele Moore
Ridge has received the
Robert L. Payton Award
for Voluntary Service
from the Council for Advancement
and Support of Education (CASE).
The Robert L. Payton Award is
presented to an individual who
demonstrates leadership in
advancement programs, furtherance
of the philanthropic tradition, and
public articulation of needs, goals,
and issues in education. The award
was presented as part of the CASE
District II Annual Conference in
Baltimore, Md. on February 7, 2011.
“I am very humbled to receive the
award,” said Mrs. Ridge. “I accept
it because it honors Robert Payton,
and I accept it on behalf of the most
dedicated and wonderful group of
volunteers, the Board of Trustees at
Seton Hill University. I also accept
the award on behalf of an
incredible president, JoAnne Boyle,
and her cabinet.”
The career of Michele Moore Ridge is distinguished by
dedicated service to children, her community, her family
and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Throughout her tenure as the First Lady of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, Mrs. Ridge’s top priority was the prevention
of violence against youth. She chaired the Governor’s
Community Partnership for Safe Children, an initiative that
seeks to curb violence by and against our youth by reducing
child abuse, drug and alcohol abuse, academic failure and
illiteracy.
A former chair of the Vision of Hope Advisory Council, Mrs.
Ridge worked with the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape
together with the National Sexual Violence Resource Center
to ensure a brighter and safer future for children. Since the
founding of Vision of Hope, the program has launched a
national child abuse prevention campaign. Mrs. Ridge
continues to serve as Honorary Chair of the Vision of Hope
Gala and Silent Auction.
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S P R I N G / S U M M E R 2 0 11
Mrs. Ridge was appointed
chairperson of the Seton Hill
University Board of Trustees in
2003, the first alumna to assume
this leadership role. Mrs. Ridge has
also served as campaign co-chair for
Seton Hill’s endowment and capital
fund-raising campaigns. During her
tenure, the University has achieved
commitments totaling more than
$90 million. Under Mrs. Ridge’s
leadership, Seton Hill collaborated
with city, county and school
representatives along with
legislators and the arts community
to renew the City of Greensburg
while addressing the University’s
facility needs. She then co-chaired
the $21 million campaign to build
the new Seton Hill University
Performing Arts Center in
downtown Greensburg, Pa. Mrs.
Ridge also led efforts to bring an
additional location of the Lake Erie
College of Osteopathic Medicine
(LECOM) to the Seton Hill
University campus. LECOM at
Seton Hill opened in July 2009
and will help forestall
Pennsylvania’s healthcare crisis by
increasing the percentage of medical school graduates who
stay in the area to serve the needs of rural communities.
Mrs. Ridge was named a Distinguished Daughter of
Pennsylvania and was featured in Lifetime Television’s
“Remarkable Women” program. She has received numerous
awards and honors.
Mrs. Ridge and her husband, former Secretary of Homeland
Security Tom Ridge, have two children, Lesley and Tommy.
“Michele Ridge has a passionate commitment to education
and recognizes its value in changing lives for the better,” says
President Boyle. “She is accomplished in many areas but her
ability to instill in others a love of learning is truly inspiring.”
“Serving as chairman of the Board of Trustees for Seton Hill
University,” says Mrs. Ridge, “is a labor of love.”
Wukich Center Off to a Roaring Start
T
he Wukich Center for Entrepreneurial Opportunities (Wukich CEO) officially
opened its doors during the fall 2010 semester, and it is already showing a return
on the investment of its founder, local businessman and Seton Hill trustee
Daniel J. Wukich.
With the support of the Wukich Center, business professors Lyzona Marshall and Doina
Vlad attended the School of Entrepreneurship at Oklahoma State University’s The
Experiential Classroom XI workshop in September 2010. The Experiential Classroom
workshops attract educators from around the world looking for the best methods of
teaching entrepreneurship.
The Center has joined the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers, the premier
leadership organization for established and emerging university-based entrepreneurship
centers. Through the Consortium, entrepreneurship centers around the world can share
information and develop collaborative programs and initiatives.
Statistical software has been purchased through the Center that will support valuable
research on entrepreneurship.
Wukich CEO and Students
Tim Banks
The Center chose its first Wukich Scholar, Laura Hambruch, in August. Laura, a student in
Seton Hill’s MBA Program, receives a full-tuition scholarship to Seton Hill and an annual
stipend for her work as a research assistant in the Center.
Plans are under way to create a micro-loan fund to assist student
start-up ventures.
Seton Hill now has an official chapter of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs
Organization, sponsored by the Wukich Center. This national student
organization offers students information and support for enterprise
creation. The Center will also underwrite the costs for two students to
attend the organization’s annual national conference.
For more information on the Wukich Center for Entrepreneurial Opportunities,
visit www.setonhill.edu, or email [email protected].
T
he Wukich Center
sponsored an Elevator
Pitch Competition for
students in spring 2011. During the
competition, students competed
to see who could deliver the best
90-second pitch and wow the
judges with why their idea is “the
next big thing.” Student Amy Rau
earned first prize ($1000) for “What
About Spot,” a business to take
care of pets for the elderly or hospitalized; Team CashSync took second prize ($750) for “Watt Monitor,” a
device that can be attached to a household appliance to monitor electrical usage and aid in managing costs
and reducing a home’s carbon footprint; and student Karyn Drombosky received the third prize ($250) for her
“UV Light Sanitizer Keychain” that can sanitize hands as well as objects to prevent the spread of germs.
Pictured Above, l - r: Douglas Nelson, Amy Rau, Ann Marie Crosby, Heather Bly,
Charles Bisel, Karyn Drombosky; Back row: Martin Sherman
www.setonhill.edu
Tim Banks
Wukich CEO and Faculty
Wukich CEO
Welcomes New
Director Douglas
Nelson
S
eton Hill’s new MBA Program
Director, Dr. Douglas Nelson,
was named the director of the
Wukich Center in January 2011. Dr.
Nelson earned his Doctor of Science
degree in information systems and
communications from Robert
Morris University, an MBA from
Butler University and his bachelor’s
degree in business from Kent State
University. He previously served as a
business instructor at Seton Hill and
held senior leadership positions with
PriceWaterhouseCoopers,
Whittman-Hart, and SunGard Higher
Education. Dr. Nelson has started new
business operations from scratch,
revitalized underperforming
operations, and helped optimize the
performance of small, mid-size and
Fortune 500 institutions.
“The Wukich Center is the focal point
for harnessing the entrepreneurial
spirit on campus and helping transform
that energy from conceptual idea to
successful business enterprise,” says
Dr. Nelson. “The business landscape
is laden with successful entrepreneurs
whose minds were expanded and
sharpened through their Seton Hill
experience. The Wukich Center will
build on this entrepreneurial legacy
by providing research, curriculum,
and new venture support for the
next generation of high impact
entrepreneurs.”
Forward
19
Searching
for God
A Q & A with Seton Hill’s
New Campus Minister,
Sr. Maureen O’Brien, S.C.
Let’s start with an easy one.
What aspect of your new
position has been the
most fun?
The students. As long as I can I
want to be ministering to young
people. They are so generous, so
energetic, so
willing to help
others.
What has been
the most
challenging
aspect of your
new position?
The pace! In high
school you get a
lull every once in
awhile. Not here.
So you’re saying we’ve been
hard on you?
Everyone was so welcoming to
me. It’s overwhelming. Everyone
here is so affirming, it’s such a
hospitable environment.
How did you feel when you
found out that you’d been
chosen as Seton Hill’s new
campus minister?
About Sr. Maureen
Born in Pittsburgh, Sr. Maureen entered the
congregation of the Sisters of Charity on September
8, 1962. She earned her bachelor’s degree in music
education from Seton Hill in 1967 and went on to earn
a master’s in religious studies from Aquinas Institute in
Michigan and a certificate in spiritual theology from the
Toronto School of Theology (Regis College) in Toronto,
Ontario. Sr. Maureen taught music and religion to junior
and senior high school students in the Pittsburgh and
Greensburg dioceses from 1967 until 1978, when she was
named the director of Doran Hall Retreat and Renewal
Center in Greensburg. From 1988 to 2010, she served
as the director of campus ministry at Greensburg Central
Catholic High School. Sr. Maureen has also served as the
co-director of vocations for the Sisters of Charity, and on
the boards of Mom’s House, Greensburg and Seton Hill
University. She has also been involved in prison ministry
at the State Correctional Facility, Greensburg.
Sr. Maureen joined Seton Hill as director of campus
ministry in July 2010.
Photo: Bruce Siskawicz
20
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When I applied I made it clear to
the committee that I didn’t want
to be hired because I was a Sister
of Charity, I only wanted to be
chosen if they felt I was the best
person for the job. I was ecstatic
when I got the news. I love Seton
Hill – I wanted to come to Seton
Hill before I wanted to become
a Sister of Charity. It’s my home.
At this point in my life, and in
my career, I want to give my
energy and my passion to my
home.
What goals do you have
for Campus Ministry?
One long-range plan is a strong
peer ministry – students who
would be responsible for
planning activities, for reaching
out to other students. Fr. Stephen
and Marilyn and I
can plan a retreat
that we think
would be great ....
but the students
might say ‘I’m not
into that.’ If the
students plan it,
take ownership,
then it’s a retreat
for all students.
Also, students
can help us to
communicate to
other students
that we are here for any student
of any faith. We are here to help
them develop their spiritual life.
The peer ministry needs to be
diverse, Catholics, nonCatholics, people of color,
artists, athletes ... at this age,
people are searching. Not
necessarily for a belief system.
They are searching for God.
You attended Seton Hill as
a student in the 60s, and
you have also served on the
Seton Hill board. What is your
experience of the all changes
Seton Hill has gone through
over the past few years?
Along with the growth, and the
addition of technology, Seton
Hill has remained very
person-centered. We care
about each other.
About Campus Ministry
Seton Hill’s Campus Ministry coordinates all Masses throughout
the year, in addition to providing pastoral ministry services and
arranging retreats and service outreach opportunities (from annual
events like Labor of Love, Take the Day On and Operation Christmas
Basket to volunteer projects designed to help those in need in the
local, regional or international community.) Serving in the Campus
Ministry with Sr. Maureen is Father Stephen Honeygosky, O.S.B.,
Ph.D., chaplain, associate director of campus ministry, associate
professor, English, and Marilyn Fox Lewis, campus minister.
Tribune-Review / Eric Schmadel
Terrance DePasquale, dean of graduate and external
programs, assists university president JoAnne Boyle
and Zhang Shichang, Chairman of Shandong University
of Political Science and Law, at the ceremonial signing
that formalizes Seton Hill’s partnership with
Shandong University.
You Can Get Anywhere From Here
Seton Hill Signs New Degree Completion Program Agreement with Shandong
University of Political Science and Law, China and Academic Exchange
Program with University of Cordoba, Spain
N
ext year, Chinese business students at Shandong
University of Political Science and Law in Beijing will
begin studying for their Bachelor of Arts degree in
business - from Seton Hill. A new cooperative degree program
between the Shandong University of Political Science and Law
and Seton Hill will provide Shandong University students with
the opportunity to complete two years of their undergraduate
degree in China, and their remaining two years at Seton Hill.
“We look forward to welcoming students
who will come from Shandong Province,
the birthplace of Confucius,” said
President Boyle.
While Seton Hill has faculty and student
exchange and study abroad program
agreements with other international
institutions (including a long-standing
agreement with Beijing Union
University, also in China), this is the
first collaboration that leads to an
academic degree.
“Many Chinese students want to study
in an English-speaking country ...
employment possibilities in China
increase exponentially with a degree
from the U.S.,” says Terrance
DePasquale, Ed.D., dean of graduate and
external programs at Seton Hill, and one
of the primary facilitators of the
agreement, along with Provost and Dean
of the Faculty Mary Ann Gawelek, Ed.D.,
and President Boyle.
Seton Hill has also just finalized a new faculty and student
exchange program with the University of Cordoba in Spain.
Currently studying in Spain are Seton Hill students Lauren
Graham, a senior Spanish and international business major,
and Maria Mastromatteo, a junior international studies and
Spanish major. Visiting Seton Hill from Spain are Daniel Sanz
Trenado and Clara Garcia-Ferrer Galvez, MBA students who
are taking business and communication courses at Seton Hill
(and serving as “conversational
partners” in Seton Hill’s Spanish
Program). The University of
Cordoba also hosts two Seton Hill
May Term study abroad courses,
City Study Experience: Cordoba,
Spain and Adventures in Food
and Nutrition.
Associate Professor Xianmei
Zhang of China University of
Petroleum Spends Year at SHU
as Research Scholar
Xianmei “May” Zhang, an associate
professor of accounting at the China
University of Petroleum in Beijing, China,
is spending the 2010-2011 academic
year at Seton Hill as a visiting research
scholar. While at Seton Hill, Xianmei is
conducting research into the American
energy industry, including the current
popularity of Marcellus Shale as a source
of natural gas. Xianmei is also studying
U.S. methods for teaching accounting.
“I am really excited about this
agreement because it has increased
the interest of our students in
traveling abroad,” says Judith
Garcia-Quismondo, Ph.D., Seton
Hill assistant professor of Spanish
and facilitator of the new exchange
program, who is a native of
Cordoba.
“It’s also important for students
from other cultures to learn about
America,” says Dr. DePasquale. “Not
just the sensational stories they may
see on the news. They need to see
that we are not a monolithic society.”
www.setonhill.edu
Forward
21
There
Back
and
A
t least once a week, Marguerite (Margi)
Fiori Slavonia ‘64 and her husband, J.
Gerald (Jerry) Slavonia visit the train room
of their home in Diablo, California. From
there, they can take a quick trip back home
to southwestern Pennsylvania to visit their childhood
homes (in Leechburg and Stockdale, respectively) as well
as Margi’s father’s drugstore, her grandfather’s furniture
store, and downtown Pittsburgh. And of course, no visit
home is complete without a quick jaunt to Saint Vincent
College and Seton Hill University.
“Jerry and I have been married 47 years,” Margi says.
“And it started at Seton Hill and Saint Vincent. It was the
beginning of our history together.”
Leaving the Station
Margi Fiori grew up in Leechburg, Pa., the daughter of
Seton Hill alumna Florence Favero Fiori (class of 1934),
and Frank J. Fiori, a “strict Italian, born in Italy, who
worked hard for two things: our safety, and to get us
educated.”
Margi’s mother never lost her connection to her college,
and introduced her children to her alma mater right
away. “From the time we were babies we would go to
Seton Hill...driving up that hill, riding the elevators, seeing her room in 5th Canevin...it was a ball. Mother loved
Seton Hill so much. I always wanted to go.”
Margi came to Seton Hill with the intention of becoming
a teacher, but without an academic major in mind.
Rosalie Catalino (now Nebiolo) ’61, a senior from
Margi’s hometown, knew that Margi had a musical
background and suggested that she audition for the
music program.
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S P R I N G / S U M M E R 2 0 11
“That was when Mary Ann Scialdo was there...a year ahead
of me...a prodigy...fabulous. And they were all like that, they
had all come from real music backgrounds...I had not. I had to
go in and play what I knew... all I can think is that they must
have been cringing...long story short – of course they accepted
me, there were only six or eight of us!”
Margi fondly recalls the support she received from her music
professors.
“In those days,” she says, “you were a mother. So I was a
mother, for 15 years.”
Margi raised her boys, Jerry and Joel, in the family’s new home
in Diablo, California, where the family had moved after Jerry
senior accepted a position in the area. During this time, Margi
also volunteered in the office of the parochial school that the
boys attended, St. Isidore. In 1981, as the school prepared to
open its kindergarten, Margi asked the principal how many
children the kindergarten would serve.
“Sr. Miriam David would come to 4th
Canevin almost every day and tutor
me. Sr. Ann Agnes put up with my
piano playing...Ms. Garrity was my
savior because she decided I had a nice
voice...I remember them saying to me
‘Marguerite, you are going to be the
best teacher.’ They knew I was not a
musical prodigy, but I wanted to be
the best teacher I could be.”
Away from home for the first time
(“Coming from a little town,
Leechburg, and a strict father...that
was my first freedom.”), Margi
developed friendships during her time
on the Hill that would endure through
graduation, the passing of time and
the challenges of geography. Margi
also participated in a wide variety of
events and activities while at Seton
Hill, from performing in concerts and
musicals to running for class president
in her senior year (she won.) It was a
Seton Hill social event, in fact, that sparked the most enduring
relationship of Margi’s life.
“This was, I think, sophomore year... I was up for one of the
homecoming things, and a photo was sent over to Saint
Vincent... Jerry was being reprimanded in the President’s
Office... (she laughs) y’know, as usual...the pictures were
there, lined up. Jerry pointed to mine and said ‘see that girl?
I’m going to marry her.’ “
He did. Margi graduated on June 7, 1964. Twenty days later,
on June 27, she and Jerry were married. “It was the beginning,”
Margi says, “of our adult life.”
Next Stop: Family and Career
Margi and Jerry moved immediately to Chicago, where Jerry
had started a career in the insurance industry. Margi worked
as a teacher for three years before switching tracks to focus on
raising a family.
“He said: I’m going to do 18 in the morning and 18 in the
afternoon,“ Margi recalls. “I said ‘oh my golly, in Chicago I
taught 34 in the morning and sometimes 36 in the afternoon.’
He said: you’ve got the job.”
“I said ‘one year,” she remembers. “After one year I was
hooked. I was at that school for 27 years, six as a volunteer,
and then 14 as the kindergarten teacher, and the last seven
years as an administrator.” Her dedication to St. Isidore, and
to her students, received national attention in 1995 when
Margi was chosen as one of only 12 teachers across the
country to be honored with the National Catholic Education
Association’s Distinguished Teacher Award.
“I think what made my kindergarten different from all the
others was Spanish - we were the first to teach it,” she says.
“Secondly, I had this huge musical every spring. It was
renowned.”
Every year at Christmas, and after every spring musical, Margi
wrote to her old professors. “I always told them ‘you have no
idea how much I use my music.’ “
www.setonhill.edu
Forward
23
Arriving at: Seton Hill (Again)
Margi and Jerry both feel that they’ve never really left their
past behind. “Your childhood home is always your home,”
she says. And “home,” to both of them, includes their alma
maters.
Margi and Jerry still have family in western Pennsylvania, and
the family connection to Seton Hill and Saint Vincent is also
strong, on both sides. Jerry’s father,
Joseph, and brother, Robert, both
graduated from Saint Vincent.
Robert married Seton Hill alumna
Mary Ralston (now Slavonia), who
attended Seton Hill with Margi and
graduated in 1965. Margi’s father
courted her mother while she was a
student at Seton Hill, and they
celebrated their 50th wedding
anniversary there, at an event
coordinated by Margi and Jerry.
Another reason Margi and Jerry feel
that they’ve never really left home is
that they can visit it any time they
want - all they have to do is visit the
train room.
that duplicate existing Pa. railways, through hills that feature
Pennsylvania shale and bluestone. The tracks wind through
the towns that Margi and Jerry knew best, and past replicas of
Margi and Jerry’s childhood homes and family businesses in
addition to other southwestern Pa. landmarks. Margi created
and installed all of the foliage, taking care to ensure that it
matches what grows along the tracks, seasonally, in western
Pennsylvania. On some sections of the track the leaves are the
golden and red of autumn, while on others spring
flowers bloom or snow covers tiny,
bare branches. The walls of the room
are covered with enlarged photos of the
region, including, of course, photos of
Saint Vincent College and Seton Hill
University.
Good Morning.
This is God.
I will be handling all
your problems today.
I will not be needing
your help.
Put any new problems
on my desk.
Have a nice day.
In 2001, one of Margi’s students
gave her a card containing this message.
It continues to serve as her philosophy
on living each day.
Jerry’s father gave his sons a Lionel
train set in 1947, and Jerry has been an avid collector ever
since. The train room in the Slavonia home is unique in two
ways: it is set up to replicate western Pennsylvania, and a tiny
camera mounted on a train allows visitors to view the display
from the perspective of a passenger. Jerry’s trains run on tracks
Maybe someday, riders on the train will
get the opportunity to view a replica of
Seton Hill’s new Performing Arts Center
in Greensburg, which Margi describes
as “almost overwhelmingly remarkably
fabulous...there was such a vision to do
that, to do it in Greensburg, and help
that town ... it’s unbelievable, that from
those six girls that graduated with me
we’ve come to this.”
Margi and Jerry have supported their
schools throughout the years, both financially and through
alumni events and initiatives. Most recently, they created a
future legacy donation using a life insurance policy to
endow a music scholarship at Seton Hill in honor of Margi’s
mother, who also has a seat dedicated to her in the
Performing Arts Center.
“It just has always been so
unbelievably sentimental,” Margi
says, of their feelings for their
respective schools. “And then
add the fact that my mother is a
graduate, and his father ... and
they were there at the same time
... we just never left it. It’s in our
hearts forever.”
Article by Becca Baker WPF ’02,
Seton Hill associate director of
marketing, from an interview
conducted by Molly Robb Shimko
MBA ’01, associate vice president
for institutional advancement, and
Lisa Carino ’88, director of the
annual fund. Photos by Lisa Carino.
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S P R I N G / S U M M E R 2 0 11
C ampus News
Notre Dame
Anthropology
Professor Speaks
on the Evolution
of the Family at
Seton Hill
James Bellis, Ph.D., associate
professor of anthropology at
the University of Notre Dame,
presented a lecture titled
“What’s Happening to our
Family? An Evolutionary
Perspective” on October 21 at Seton Hill. Bellis has served as chair
of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Notre Dame
and established the archaeological field school. Additionally, Bellis
directed the African Studies Program. Sponsored by the Greensburg/
Uniontown Notre Dame Alumni Club and Seton Hill University,
Bellis’ lecture was a presentation of the Notre Dame Alumni
Association’s Hesburgh Lecture Series.
Students Enjoy Opportunity
to Network with Alumni,
Entrepreneurs and
Community Leaders at
“This Way Up and On to
Success” Event
Seton Hill hosted “This Way Up and On to
Success,” a networking event for students, alumni
and community leaders February 16. The event
provided students, especially seniors, with an
opportunity to interact with more than 30 alumni,
entrepreneurs and community leaders who hold
professional positions in fields that include art,
business, education, entrepreneurial studies,
finance and healthcare. Part of Seton Hill’s
celebration of National Entrepreneurship Week,
this event was sponsored by the Westmoreland
Keystone Innovation Zone and Seton Hill’s
Wukich Center for Entrepreneurial Opportunities.
Seton Hill and Blackburn Center
Work Together to Change Attitudes
and Beliefs About Domestic and Sexual
Violence
Seton Hill has made an institutional commitment to undertake
activities and projects to engage university students in the social
transformation goals of Blackburn Center Against Domestic & Sexual
Violence in Westmoreland County. This is a long-term commitment:
the two organizations are developing primary prevention strategies
that will change attitudes and beliefs about domestic and sexual
violence, and will test these over time (a span of 5 to 10 years at least).
In the 2010-2011 academic year, 38 students representing a variety of
courses and 6 faculty and staff members have been involved in
collaborative projects with the Blackburn Center, together devoting
more than 1,000 hours to the initiative (and assisting an estimated
2800 individuals.) The activities will expand in the 2011-2012
academic year.
The effectiveness of these activities will be measured with a survey
that is administered to incoming freshmen, who will complete the
same survey at the end of their senior year. The survey measures the
impact of campus/course activities by assessing students’
understanding of the root causes of gender
violence, their attitudes and beliefs about these
issues, and their commitment to supporting
strategies to end gender violence.
Leading this initiative at Seton Hill is Provost
and Dean of the Faculty Mary Ann Gawelek,
Ed.D., who also serves as a board member for
Blackburn Center.
Featured participants included:
Chad Amond, Kara Berardinelli, Lisa Pietropaoli Bevington, Ryann
Bradley, Kristen Butela, Amy Capozzi, Pamela Guay Cochenour,
Rosemary Corsetti, Autumn DeLellis, Barbara Desmond, Judy Silvis
DiNardo, Margaret DiVirgilio, Deb Driggers, Steve Gifford, Alexis
Graves, James Hill, Kathleen Madigan, Deborah Dzombak McMahon,
Craig and Lisa Morella, Tanya Moximchalk, Erin Pearson, Necee
Regis, Michael Rubino, Jani Tonks Rybacki, Carol Mulholland Scanga,
Brenda Shaffer, Virginia Tuscano, John and Nancy Weir, Deborah
Whiteside.
www.setonhill.edu
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25
C ampus N ews
co n ti n u e d
Seton Hill University
Drives Economic Growth
in Region
Chemistry Club Receives Outstanding
Chapter and Green Chemistry Awards
from the American Chemical Society
AICUP survey underscores economic
impact of Pennsylvania’s private
college and universities. Statewide,
it’s $16.1 billion.
Seton Hill’s Chemistry Club, an American Chemical Society
Student Affiliate Chapter, has received the Outstanding Chapter
and Green Chemistry Awards for the 2009 - 2010 academic year
from the American Chemical Society. Members of the club were
honored at the ACS national meeting in March, 2011. The
09-10 year also marked the fifteenth (and final) year that Sr. Susan
Yochum,Ph.D., professor of chemistry and chairperson of the
Division of Natural & Health Sciences, served as advisor for the
club. Assistant Professor of Chemistry Demetra Czegan, Ph.D.,
is the new advisor for the club.
Seton Hill University, where enrollment has
grown 60 percent over the last decade, has played
a significant role in adding over $90 million to
the region’s economy through the construction
and renovation of new and existing facilities.
Since 2005, Seton Hill has invested more than
$60 million in new construction, renovations
and new technology initiatives. Within the last
five years, Seton Hill’s growth, in particular, has
had a direct impact on the revitalization of the
City of Greensburg through the construction of
the new Performing Arts Center in downtown
Greensburg, creation of the Visual Arts Center in
downtown Greensburg, the addition of the Seton
Hill University Center for Orthodontics at Bishop
Connare Center in Unity Township, and the
addition of a location of the Lake Erie College of
Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) on the
University’s campus (LECOM at Seton Hill).
An economic impact study conducted by LECOM
shows that medical school students add
approximately $37,500 per student to the local
economy annually.
The Association of Independent Colleges and
Universities of Pennsylvania (AICUP), the only
statewide organization that serves exclusively the
interests of private higher education within the
Commonwealth, exists to complement and
support the work of campus leaders. Every five
years, AICUP conducts a study of the community
and economic impact of its member institutions.
The aim of the Economic Impact Study is to
measure and highlight the many economic,
educational and community benefits of
Pennsylvania’s independent colleges and
universities. The results of this survey are also
intended to inform legislators, and the general
public, about the economic and social benefits to
a specific community resulting from the presence
of an independent college or university.
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Writing Popular Fiction Professors
and Alumni Publish Writing Guide
Michael A.
Arnzen, Ph.D.,
professor of English
and chairperson of
the Division of
Humanities, and
Heidi Ruby Miller
‘07, free-lance writer
and creative writing
instructor at Seton
Hill, have gathered
the voices of today’s top genre writers affiliated with Seton Hill
University’s acclaimed MFA program in Writing Popular Fiction
alongside their published students in “Many Genres, One Craft:
Lessons in Writing Popular Fiction.” “Many Genres, One Craft,”
containing instructional articles by more than 60 published
authors from all genres (including science fiction, fantasy,
romance, horror, mystery, thriller, children’s, young adult and
everything in between) will be available spring 2011 through
Headline Books, Inc.
A Griffin is Part Lion, After All
The brand new Seton Hill University
Lions Club celebrated its founding
with a charter luncheon on January
30, 2011. Senior Jovonne Robinson
(daughter of Deborah Robinson ‘85)
will serve as the first president of the
campus club. James Paharik, Ph.D.,
associate professor of sociology and
coordinator of human services, is the
club’s faculty advisor.
S P R I N G / S U M M E R 2 0 11
Nationally Recognized Social Sciences Professor and Seton Hill
Alumna Celebrates Golden Jubilee
Contributions by Sister Victoria Marie
Gribschaw, S.C. Evident at Local, State,
and National Levels
S
ister Victoria Marie Gribschaw, S.C., Ph.D., associate
professor and chair of the Division of Social Sciences at
Seton Hill University, celebrated her Golden Jubilee with
the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill on January 2, 2011.
In her 50 years as a Sister of Charity, Sister Victoria Marie
touched many lives. Since 1974, she has been influencing
students at Seton Hill University. Sister
Victoria Marie teaches courses in
family and consumer sciences, including
the introductory and capstone seminars
in the major; housing; physical, social
and economic environment; consumer in
our society and family financial and
resource management courses. She serves
as the advisor for the Family and
Consumer Sciences Club as well as the
Kappa Alpha Gamma chapter of the
Kappa Omicron Nu honor society. In
2000, Sister Victoria Marie was
recognized with the Professor of the
Year Award.
Sister Victoria Marie believes that her
teaching and research is inspired by a
quote from Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton,
“I would wish to fit you for that world in
which you are destined to live…”
In addition to her work with Seton Hill University, Sister
Victoria Marie is active at state and national levels in her field.
She is a member of the American Association of Family and
Consumer Sciences, serving as secretary of the Board of
Directors for the organization from 2005-2007, and the
Pennsylvania Association of Family and Consumer Sciences,
where she served as president from 2003-2004 and 2006-2007
and currently serves as the vice president for internal relations.
In 2008, for her work with the Pennsylvania Association of
Family and Consumer Sciences, Sister Victoria Marie received
the Outstanding Professional Award.
From 2005-2008, Sister Victoria Marie served on the
National Advisory Committee to develop criteria for the
revised Praxis II: Family and Consumer
Sciences Tests. This exam is designed for
prospective teachers of family and
consumer sciences in middle through
senior high schools and assesses subject
knowledge as well as methodology
applicable to teaching family and
consumer science.
Reflecting upon her life as a Sister of
Charity, Sister Victoria Marie noted, “I
have been surprised by the twists and
turns in God’s plan for me. I have
experienced loss, grief, sadness and joy,
with many new experiences of life and
beauty, higher levels of expectations and
feelings of gratitude and love.”
Sister Victoria Marie earned her
Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry
from Seton Hill University and her Master of Science degree
in family resources/home economics education from West
Virginia University. She continued her education career and
obtained her Doctor of Philosophy degree in consumer and
family economics from Ohio State University.
Christine Mueseler Elected to Board of Pennsylvania
Humanities Council
Seton Hill University Vice President for Institutional
Advancement Christine Mueseler was recently elected to
the state board of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council,
a nonprofit organization representing Pennsylvania in the
Federal-State Partnership of the National Endowment for
the Humanities.
“I am eager to serve on this board because I am very much
committed to the mission of PHC,” said Mueseler. “PHC
‘inspires individuals to enjoy and share a life of learning,
enriched by human experience across time and around the
world. Through programs and partnerships, PHC fosters
the sharing of stories and ideas - to increase understanding
and a large vision of human life, community and
possibility.’ “
www.setonhill.edu
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27
C ampus N ews
co n ti n u e d
In Memoriam
Sister Mary Francis Irvin, S.C.
B
orn Lucy Irvin, Sr.
Mary Francis Irvin
wanted to be a Sister of
Charity from the time she was
a little girl. She entered the
congregation of the Sisters of
Charity in 1933 at the age of
18. Soon after, she discovered
in herself an interest in, and
aptitude for, art.
Sr. Ann Infanger, S.C., professor emerita of biology, remembers
Sr. Mary Francis’ life as having three phases: art, development
and prayer. The third phase, she said, “overlapped and
enlivened the other two.”
Sr. Mary Francis earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in
painting and design from Carnegie Mellon University and
a Master of Fine Arts degree in painting from Cranbrook
Academy of Art, Bloomfield, Michigan. Many of her paintings
adorn the hallways and rooms at Doran Hall, Ennis Hall and
Caritas Christi. She designed the 110 stained-glass panels in
the windows of Caritas Christi’s chapel and the Coat of Arms,
emblem and ring of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. Sr.
Mary Francis also founded Seton Hill’s art department, along
with her dear friend and colleague, Sr. Mary Estelle Hensler.
“How she and Sister Estelle built up that art department ...
I’ll never get over it,” said Kevin Enright Hannigan Fuller, art
major, class of 1957, and longtime friend of Sr. Mary Francis.
“Fearless Sisters of Charity they were.”
“Sister Mary Francis was passionate and organized in
everything she did,” Kevin added. “She admitted that she had
a nature that tended to be excessive and Sister Estelle had to
pull down the string on her helium balloon now and then.”
Sr. Mary Francis taught art at the university from 1945
until 1977.
“Her classes were very structured, very organized and very
quiet,” Kevin said. “I loved the serenity, the emphasis on
beauty, even the critiques after each session. We would all tack
our assignments to the wall and the surgery would begin. She
would survey the work quietly for a while with her index finger
to her lips and then the incisions would commence. She found
something to compliment in each effort. Then came that word:
BUT. She taught us humility very, very quickly.”
According to Kevin, the prayer students would say before each
class set the tone: “Direct, we beseech Thee, O Lord, all our
inspirations and carry them on by Thy gracious assistance, so
that every prayer and work of ours always begin from Thee and
by Thee be happily ended through Christ, our Lord. Amen.”
“Her ability to focus was amazing, her intelligence was
formidable and her memory was astounding. Her outward
demeanor was formal and prim, but she was childlike in her
unrestrained joy in creation,” said Kevin. “I am grateful that
Sister Mary Francis came to us through such a beautiful
transparent soul.”
In reflecting on her life as a Sister of Charity and artist, Sr.
Mary Francis once stated, “An artist is not a special person.
Every person is a special kind of artist and I believe that our
entire congregation consists of sisters who are special kinds
of artists.” When asked what advice she would give students
in today’s art program, Sr. Mary Francis commented in 2004,
“Have an inspiration to paint some work of art and work very
hard to achieve that inspiration. I think artwork—it isn’t just
done—I think prayer often accompanies a good painting.
Painting is really a part of a person.”
Sister Mary Francis, age 96, died at Caritas Christi on
January 8, 2011.
Prayers for Japan
Members of the Seton Hill University community extend thoughts and prayers
to our alumni, parents, students, friends and many others in Japan as events
continue to unfold in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami that took place
earlier this year.
Seton Hill has 35 alumni currently living in Japan. Class of 1958 alumna,
Towako Sakurai Takayama of Tokyo, has written to President JoAnne Boyle several times in recent months. Here is an excerpt from one of her letters:
“I know we, all Japanese people, are now supported by prayers of the world’s people.
May I ask to keep us in the intention strongly? We are in the warmest thoughts
from you. We will recover, I trust.” She adds, “JoAnne, as a Seton Hill graduate, I
have especially prayed to Mother Seton to send us ‘a miracle’ as well as individual,
national, cosmopolitan level assistance.”
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S P R I N G / S U M M E R 2 0 11
Seton Hill’s Campus Ministry Office
coordinated a collection through the
Catholic Relief Service for all who are
suffering in Japan. The University’s Alumni
Office continues to reach out to alumni
and friends in Japan by email. If you have
information you would like to share with
the office, please be in touch with Louise
Lydon, director of national alumni relations,
by email, [email protected] or by phone,
(724) 838-4244 or Mary Ross Cox, director
of regional alumni relations, by email,
[email protected] or by phone,
(724) 830-1027.
Mission ImPROMible Events
Benefit Liberia Mission
Mission ImPROMible, a designer dress sale
benefit project created by Seton Hill sophomores
Kelli Alfieri and Lauren Sciacca as a service project
for the Communication Club, has raised close to
$5,000 for the Liberia Mission of Mission Honduras
International.
Kelli and Lauren, who are both communication
majors with minors in business, coordinated the
donation of new dresses from local bridal and prom
shops, and then sold them at a fraction of their
retail cost at two Mission ImPROMible events held at
Seton Hill in the fall of 2010 and spring of 2011.
Teach. Learn. Prevent.
The Ethel LeFrak
Holocaust Education
Conference
Proceedings, “Teach,
Learn, Prevent:
Holocaust Education
in the 21st Century,”
edited by Carol
Rittner, R.S.M., have
been published and
are available for
purchase through the
National Catholic
Center for Holocaust
Education. [Books can be purchased for $19.95 plus
$5.00 shipping and handling, a total of $24.95.
Make checks payable to “NCCHE” and send to Wilda
Kaylor, NCCHE, Seton Hill University, 1 Seton Hill
Drive, Greensburg, PA 15601-1599.]
Jennifer L. Goss, a graduate
student in Seton Hill
University’s online Genocide
and Holocaust Studies
Certificate Program and a social
studies teacher at Fleetwood
Area High School, Fleetwood,
Pennsylvania, is the second
recipient of the Ethel LeFrak
Outstanding Student Scholar of
the Holocaust Award. Jennifer wrote her awardwinning paper, “Children and the Holocaust:
Universal Aspects,” for Dr. Michael Phayer’s Children
and the Holocaust course.
Perfectly Marvelous
During its second season in Seton Hill’s Performing Arts Center,
the Seton Hill Theatre and Dance Program presented
“Independence,” “The Way of the World,” “Blood Relations”
and “Cabaret,” along with a fall dance concert. Seton Hill’s Music
Program offered a full schedule of concerts, ensembles and
recitals, including performances by students, the Faculty Jazz
Quintet, PMEA District I Honors Choir, the Sacred Music Program,
the Westmoreland Symphonic Winds, the Seton Hill Jazz Band and
the Community Music Program.
Seton Hill and LECOM at Seton Hill
Volunteer Together in Honor of
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Every year, Seton Hill students, faculty and staff gather together to
perform community service in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. as
part of the University’s “Take the Day On” event. This year,
members of the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine at Seton
Hill academic community joined with Seton Hill to volunteer at six
service sites in Westmoreland County.
With Sincere Apologies
In the 2009-2010 Annual Report of Donors we accidentally
omitted the name of Marsha Yatsko Taylor ’73 from the list of Seton
Hill alumni and friends who participate in The Heritage Society.
Thank you, Marsha, for all you do for Seton Hill.
www.setonhill.edu
Forward
29
SHU NUMBERS
BY THE
Dinosaur femurs, safe molars and high schoolers
743
high school students participated in
Seton Hill’s dual enrollment and College in High School
programs in 2009 - 2010.
3
years in a row Seton Hill has been voted the best
college in the area by readers of the Tribune-Review. (Seton
Hill also regularly
receives top
marks in national
rankings: in 2010
the University was recognized as one of
America’s best colleges by Forbes business
magazine, a best northeastern college by
the Princeton Review, and one of the best
colleges in the north region by U.S. News &
World Report.)
20.5% of Seton Hill’s undergraduate
population is seeking teacher certification.
1st Seton Hill
students to receive
ROTC scholarships are
Trask Alexander, a
sophomore criminal
justice major from the Virgin Islands, and Lindsey Potter, a
junior arts administration major from Bakersville, N.C.
110 first-year LECOM
at Seton Hill
medical students received
their first stethoscopes in a special
ceremony held November 3, 2010.
28 groups participated in Seton
Hill’s 2010 Homecoming Parade.
416 teeth belonging to members of Seton Hill’s
basketball team are protected by mouth guards provided by
Seton Hill’s Center for Orthodontics.*
300
Christmas gifts were
donated by members of the SHU
community to local children through
the Westmoreland County Children’s
Bureau. (Other Christmas service
projects included 7 boxes of toys
donated to orphans in Haiti and $950
raised for the Westmoreland County
Food
Bank, the Blackburn
Center and the Red Cross Measles
Initiative through the
annual Operation Christmas
Basket fundraiser.)
33 “bones”
in Tyrannosaurus
Rex created by
students Stephen
Wittuck and
Katherine Ingram
for the production
of “Pterodactyls”
directed by student
Matthew
Mlynarski.
* tooth total approximate
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S P R I N G / S U M M E R 2 0 11
Griffins
Notes
Field Hockey
Joins PSAC
Men’s Basketball Griffins Compete
in Goodwill Games in Puerto Rico
The men’s basketball Griffins traveled to Bayamon, Puerto
Rico, to meet three Puerto Rican Division II schools in the
inaugural Goodwill Games December 13-16, 2010 at the
University of Puerto Rico-Bayamon. The Griffins went 2 - 1
in the Goodwill Games. Seton Hill University has a longstanding relationship with colleges and universities in
Puerto Rico; more than 100 Seton Hill alumni call Puerto
Rico home.
Burkes First Women’s
Basketball Griffin
Named to CoSIDA
Team
Senior forward Jordan Burkes has
been named to the CoSIDA
(College Sports Information Directors
of America) Academic All-District 2
Third Team. Burkes becomes the first
Seton Hill women’s basketball player to earn a CoSIDA
Academic All District Award. Jordan leads the team in
scoring while carrying a 3.62 GPA in Math – Elementary
and Special Education.
Miller Named WVIAC
Rookie of the Year
Matt Miller, a freshman guard on
the men’s basketball team, has been
named WVIAC Rookie of the Year.
Miller is the first Seton Hill athlete
to earn a specialty award from the
WVIAC.
Seton Hill’s Field Hockey
Program will compete in
the Pennsylvania State
Athletic Conference as an
associate member
beginning with the fall
2011 season. As the WVIAC
does not sponsor the sport,
Seton Hill’s field hockey
program has competed as
an independent since the
program’s inception in
2003. In 2010, the team
ended the most successful
season in the program’s history (11-8), resulting in a ranking
of 6th in the South Region by the NCAA Division II Field
Hockey Committee.
Men’s &
Women’s
Cross
Country
Teams Both
Named
AllAcademic
Teams
The U.S. Track and
Field and Cross
Country Coaches
Association
(USTFCCCA)
named both SHU
cross country teams
2010 All-Academic Cross Country Teams. To qualify, a
team must have a cumulative team GPA of 3.0 or better and
have finished at least five runners at their respective NCAA
regional championship.
Information for Griffins Notes is provided by Sports Information
Director Jason Greene and Executive Director for Athletic
Programs Christopher Snyder. For more information on Griffins
Athletics visit www.setonhill.edu/athletics.
www.setonhill.edu
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31
Victorian Parlor Furniture
Returns Home to Seton Hill from
Extended Vacation in Florida
“Dad always gave credit to Saint Mary’s and the Sisters of
Charity for preparing him for Mercersburg and Princeton,”
says his son, Arthur Pivorotto, Jr. “He had a strong academic
foundation and appreciated the emphasis on Latin. He also
admired the strong Catholic identity of the school.”
Homecoming
I
n the late 60s or early 70s, the decision was made to
replace the antique victorian-era furniture in the
Administration Building’s Parlors with more
modern, “comfortable and practical” furnishings.
Some of the original furniture was returned to the Parlors
when the University completed its historic renovation of the
Administration Building in 2001, but a few pieces - including
a sofa, mirror, table, oversized chair, and tea set consisting of
a table and two chairs – are set to return in the near future.
These particular furnishings had been given a wonderful
home with the College’s (then) board chair, Arthur Pivirotto,
who, along with family members, have cared for the
distinctive pieces all of these years.
From Saint Mary’s School to the
Board of Trustees
In 1898, Arthur’s brother Gus became a student of Saint
Mary’s School for Boys at Seton Hill, while Arthur’s sisters,
Christine and Graziana, attended Seton Hill’s Saint Joseph
Academy. In 1916, Arthur followed in his older siblings’
footsteps and began studies at Saint Mary’s School for Boys.
After graduating from Saint Mary’s, Arthur attended
Allegheny High School, Mercersburg Academy and Princeton
University, ultimately earning an engineering degree from
Lafayette College in 1931. (Seton Hill awarded him an
honorary Doctor of Laws degree at the College’s Golden
Anniversary Celebration.) Arthur enjoyed a successful career
with Continental Commercial Corporation in Pittsburgh,
having advanced to the position of CEO and president at the
time of his retirement in 1967. In 1969, Arthur (a member of
the Seton Hill advisory board since 1960) became the first
chairman of the Seton Hill College Board of Trustees.
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S P R I N G / S U M M E R 2 0 11
It is with Arthur Pivirotto, Jr. and his wife Ann (pictured), in
Jupiter, Fla., that the furniture gifted to Arthur Pivirotto now
resides. In November 2010, the Pivirottos got in touch with
Christine Mueseler, vice
president for institutional
advancement at Seton
Hill, to tell her that they’d
like to donate the pieces
back to Seton Hill.
“We have cherished
having it in our home,”
said Ann, “but we want to
return it to its true home,
Seton Hill.”
Photos by Kary Coleman
Hazen ’98.
A Continuing Legacy
The Pivirotto legacy at Seton Hill did not end
with Arthur. His granddaughter, Ruth Ann
Pivirotto McMahon, graduated from Seton Hill in
1977. Also, in 1964, Arthur established a scholarship
fund in memory of his wife, Ruth E. Pivirotto. As of
June 30, 2010, this annual scholarship has been
awarded to 25 individuals, setting them on a path
to academic achievement and lifelong success.
ALLOWS TAX FREE CHARITABLE GIVING
RETROACTIVE EXTENSION APPLIES TO IRA
DISTRIBUTIONS MADE IN 2011 TAX YEAR
Making a lasting mark through your support of Seton Hill University is a wonderful
thing. Having the chance to see the immediate impact of your legacy is even better.
If you are 701/2 or older, a provision of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance
Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 allows you to make cash gifts totaling
up to $100,000 a year from your traditional or Roth IRA to a qualified charitable
institution like Seton Hill without incurring income tax on the withdrawal. This is
good news for alumni and friends who want to make a charitable gift during their
lifetime from their retirement assets, but have been discouraged from doing so
because of the income tax penalty. The provision is retroactive and applies to
distributions made in the 2011 tax year. Donors must act by December 31 to take
advantage of this opportunity for this tax year.
MAKING A GIFT THROUGH THE IRA CHARITABLE ROLLOVER
If you are considering a gift, please consult your attorney or financial advisor to
confirm your eligibility and learn how to initiate the transfer.
• Instruct your financial advisor or plan administrator to make a “qualified
charitable distribution” or “charitable IRA rollover” and to transfer a specific
amount directly to Seton Hill University.
• The distribution may be made by check or direct cash wire with your name
included on the check or wiring documents. Compliance with the Tax Relief,
Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act requires that
the check or distribution proceeds come to Seton Hill directly.
AN EXAMPLE OF HOW
THE CHARITABLE IRA
ROLLOVER WORKS
• Gifts made to Seton Hill through the Charitable IRA Rollover can be
designated for a specific purpose, used to create an endowed scholarship, or
build an existing scholarship.
• Gifts made to Seton Hill through the Charitable IRA Rollover may be used to
fulfill pledge agreements.
WHY NOW?
Whatever your investment objectives, the IRA Charitable Rollover Extension can
help you realize your Seton Hill legacy and make a more significant impact than
you ever thought was possible. But the deadline for participation this tax year is
approaching fast. Donors must act before December 31, 2011 to take advantage of
this opportunity for the current calendar year.
MORE QUESTIONS?
PHOTO: SEAN STIPP
Mary, age 74, received a generous
scholarship to attend Seton Hill
and she would like to help current
Seton Hill students in the same
way. Mary is a member of The
Heritage Society and has included
a provision in her will to leave
$50,000 to the University to
establish an endowed scholarship
fund in her name.The IRA
Charitable Rollover Extension
allows Mary to roll over $50,000
from her IRA in 2011—and
establish the scholarship and see
it at work—during her lifetime.
Please contact Molly Robb Shimko, Associate Vice President
for Institutional Advancement, at 724-830-4620. As always,
your financial planner is the best source of information related
to your personal circumstances. Thank you for your
consideration of this opportunity.
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Baltimore, Maryland
Boston, Massachusetts
Washington, D.C.
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s “A Gershwin Fantasy and
Step Touch” at Seton Hill’s Performing Arts Center