AMU Magazine Spring 2016

SPRING 2016

OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE PRAYER GARDEN NEW STATUE DEDICATED

The Ave Maria University community gathers at the annual Feast of the Annunciation celebration in April.

PHOTO BY DAVID ALBERS

Contents 03 Letter from the President 04 News 07 Faculty 11 Speaker Series 26 Campus Community 28 University Digest 31 Giving 32 Athletics Update 34 In Memoriam 36 President’s Blog

12 COVER STORY: AM I NOT HERE, I, WHO AM YOUR MOTHER? Ave Maria University dedicates the Our Lady of Guadalupe Statue and Prayer Garden.

16 WHERE ARE THEY GOING?

Meet nine graduates from the Class of 2016 that have hopes of changing the world.

20 THE FIFTH ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIP DINNER

His Eminence Timothy Cardinal Dolan provided lots of laughter in his keynote address, and also shared his heartfelt belief that AMU students are making a difference through the recipe of reason, love, and joy.

22 LEAVING LEGACIES

Ave Maria University is known for its nobility.

Meet just a few of the University’s many legacy families that have put their faith in Our Lady’s hands and supported AMU since its infancy.

24 IT’S IN THE DETAILS

Canizaro Library Director Jennifer Nodes works to keep the library crisp with content to inspire and intrigue.

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SPRING 2016 VOLUME 6, ISSUE 1

PRESIDENT JIM TOWEY EDITOR COLIN VOREIS CONTRIBUTORS STEPHEN AKERS JOSHUA AMBEAU SARAH BLANCHARD JOSIE HARTNEY STACY LAFFERE VERONICA MACIAS EMMA MARTIN PHOTOGRAPHY DAVID ALBERS GRACE CABREY CHRIS DECLEENE NICHOLE KENDALL THOMAS GREENFIELD JEREMIAH RAPPLEY OSCAR VALLE

Hangin’ Out VICTORIA ANTRAM (‘17) TAKES ADVANTAGE OF THE SPRING WEATHER IN BETWEEN CLASSES.

DESIGN REVEL ADVERTISING

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GET SOCIAL WITH AVE MARIA UNIVERSITY

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Be sure to connect with AMU on social media! Whether it’s staying up-to-date with events on our Facebook feed, seeing life from a student perspective on Snapchat, or watching an academic conference on our YouTube page, be sure to follow us to keep up with what’s happening on campus!

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Ave Maria University Magazine is published by Ave Maria University, Ave Maria, Florida for alumni, parents and friends. Third class postage paid at Ave Maria, Florida.

Postmaster: Send address changes to the Office of Institutional Advancement, Ave Maria University, 5050 Ave Maria Blvd., Ave Maria, FL 34142.

Ave Maria University is a Catholic, liberal arts institution of higher learning devoted to Mary the Mother of God, inspired by St. John Paul II and Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, and dedicated to the formation of joyful, intentional followers of Jesus Christ through Word and Sacrament, scholarship and service.

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ON THE COVER AVE MARIA UNIVERSITY’S OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE STATUE, DONATED BY JERRY AND LINDA STAFFORD PHOTO BY DAVID ALBERS

Letter from President Towey

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President Towey shares a laugh with men’s basketball studentathletes Martez Harris (‘16, left) and Eric Richardson (‘18, right).

joined me in a regular study of the Gospel of Luke. We concluded with a look at the Easter story of the two disciples heading toward Emmaus at sunset. We read how Jesus led them gently to greater understanding, revealed Himself in the breaking of the bread, and turned their disillusionment into joy. Subsequently Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said, “Remain here in the city until you are clothed in power from on high.” It was a new day for all of them.

A faithful Christian journey is about sunrises, not sunsets. It is about hope and wonder and community. AMU students “remain here in the city” for four short years and by God’s grace are “clothed with power” to engage a fallen culture and change it, not flee it. They do this joyfully,

and this year our largest graduating class ever (our first over 200) will be sent out with hearts burning like those who met the resurrected Jesus in Emmaus. Like the disciples, AMU students leave our campus ready to set the world on fire.

That’s the Ave difference. I hope you get a glimpse of it in this edition!

Kind regards,

Jim Towey President

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his academic year had many significant milestones: our reaccreditation through 2025; growth to over 75 faculty members, with new professors bearing diplomas from Stanford, MIT, and other prestigious universities; a new high in the number of service hours by our students in the Mother Teresa Project; and new heights of intellectual rigor with a wide range of conferences, guest speakers, and topics (such as Thomism and the mystery of predestination, Humanae Vitae, poverty, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s life, and religious liberty, among others).

This issue of the magazine details the impressive scholarship of our faculty and underscores their vital importance to the University.

This year had other highlights. My wife Mary and I had the privilege of personally conveying AMU’s love and prayers directly to His Holiness Pope Francis at the conclusion of his trip to the United States. The group of AMU students and Vice President Julie Cosden who accompanied us on the trip will never forget the Pope’s farewell liturgy in Philadelphia that put the “Mass” in massive.

And this year, having two American Cardinals – Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York and trustee Seán O’Malley of Boston – address AMU audiences, underscored the merciful plan of God in conveying the keys of the Kingdom to St. Peter, his successors and those bishops in communion with them. One would expect no less during the Jubilee year of Mercy!

This year a group of AMU students

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AMUNEWS AMU REACCREDITED THROUGH 2025

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n December 8, 2015, Ave Maria’s regional accreditation association, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), reaccredited the University through 2025.

Regional accreditation allows the University to receive Federal Financial Aid (Title IV) for students in the form of grants and loans.

Reaccreditation was a three-year process, which began in 2012 with the implementation of institutional effectiveness and assessment processes. A SACSCOC leadership team was formed, chaired by then

VPAA Dr. Michael Dauphinais, to guide the process. In 2013, the University began work on its Compliance Certification report, consisting of over 500 pages of narrative and 1000 exhibits demonstrating that AMU meets the 90+ standards outlined by SACSCOC. The report was commended by an off-site review committee for being clearly written, thorough, and well-documented.

The University is grateful to the members of the University community who put in so much hard work during the 30-month affirmation process, especially Drs. Michael

Dauphinais, Seana Sugrue, Gabriel Martinez, Jorge Calvo, Keith Houde, and Christopher Alexander, as well as administrators Bob Farnham, Eddie Dejthai, Helen Altomari, and Christy Dorer.

Dr. Michael Dauphinais, who oversaw the reaccreditation process, commented: “I am grateful to have been a part of the University’s first ten-year reaffirmation of accreditation. It was a delight to have worked closely with so many dedicated professionals among the faculty and staff, who together made this process successful.”

—Sarah Blanchard

I N F E B R U A R Y, A M U ’ S B O A R D O F T R U S T E E S A P P R O V E D T H R E E N E W M A J O R S : M A R K E T I N G , C H E M I S T R Y, A N D M A N A G E M E N T I N F O R M AT I O N S Y S T E M S

CARDINAL O’MALLEY TO ADDRESS CLASS OF 2016 Ave Maria University welcomes His Eminence, Seán Cardinal O’Malley, O.F.M. Cap., as the commencement speaker for the University’s 13th commencement exercises on May 7.

“We are thrilled that Cardinal O’Malley is able to be with us on this special day and I know our graduates will be eager to hear his remarks,” said President Jim Towey. “His life experiences, his close friendship with Pope Francis, and his consistent advocacy for the sanctity of life, the dignity of the poor, and the need for joy and mercy in the lives of Christians, make him the ideal speaker in this Jubilee of Mercy the Holy Father has instituted this year.”

Cardinal O’Malley is in his 13th year as Bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston, and 46th as an ordained priest. He was elevated to the rank of Cardinal-Priest in 2006 and is a key advisor to Pope Francis, serving as a member of the group of eight Cardinals assisting

GEORGE MARTELL/PILOT NEW MEDIA

the Holy Father on reforming the Church’s governance and central administration. His Eminence holds both Master’s and Doctoral degrees from The Catholic University of America. He was a professor there for four years, and also serves as the Chairman of Catholic University’s Board of Trustees. He also is no stranger to Florida, having served as Bishop of the Diocese of Palm Beach prior to his appointment in Boston.

A record 211 undergraduate students are expected to receive diplomas this year. Recent commencement speakers at Ave Maria University include former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Governor Rick Scott, Librarian of Congress James Billington, and Dr. Arthur Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute.

DID YOU KNOW? CARDINAL O’MALLEY RECEIVED AN HONOR ARY DEGREE FROM AMU IN 2010

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Cardinal O’Malley is in his 13th year as Bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston, and 46th as an ordained priest.

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AMUNEWS

St. Gianna household members meet Dr. Esmeralda Molla after her testimony to AMU students.

A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE: ST. GIANNA’S DAUGHTER VISITS AMU

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AVE MARIA UNIVERSITY THANKS BERNADETTE RIENZO FOR MORE THAN A DECADE OF SERVICE

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Bernadette Rienzo has dedicated more than a decade of service to the Ave Maria community. After volunteering with the University for 12 years, her service was celebrated on her last day on campus in January. Bernadette joined AMU at the old campus in Naples, and continued to dedicate herself to the Department of Campus Ministry during the University’s formational years. Her work with students and getting to know them on a personal level has had a lasting impact.

“Bernadette offered herself tirelessly for the students,” said Grace Cheffers, Director of the Mother Teresa Project and Service Learning at AMU. “Their problems mattered to her, and she prayed for each individual that she was helping.” Bernadette has always demonstrated an endless supply of care and concern for AMU students and the world around her, making her an integral member of the community. Ave Maria University would like to thank Bernadette for her tireless, self-giving service to the University community.

Ms. Cheffers also echoes this sentiment, “I would like to express gratitude to Bernadette for her many hours of service. She is a woman who exhibits great faith and lives a thoughtful, deliberative life for God and others.”

Bernadette’s service made an impact on everyone that she encountered, and Ave Maria University wishes her well as she moves to Washington D.C. to live with the Little Sisters of the Poor.

St. Gianna Molla’s daughter, Dr. Esmeralda Molla, visited Ave Maria University during several months of travel throughout the United States. Esmeralda played a significant role in Pope Francis’ World Meeting of Families in the U.S. because her mother was selected as the patron saint for the event. St. Gianna Molla, Italian pediatrician, wife, and mother, is a great representative of motherhood and the pro-life movement. While pregnant with her fourth child, St. Gianna had to choose between saving her own life or her child’s. Despite the inevitable risk of death in giving birth during time of illness, she refused an abortion and hysterectomy.

Esmeralda is devoting her life to spreading the message of selfless, genuine love which her mother exemplified.

On January 29, students were able to meet Esmeralda, a once in a life opportunity. She shared the stories of her parents’ holy marriage and life of sacrifice which led to the heroic decision of her mother giving up her own life for Esmeralda.

St. Gianna’s daughter provided students with a firsthand witness of her parents’ conversations shared through letters before and during their marriage. “Esmeralda talked not only about her mother’s bravery, strength and love in giving her life for her daughter, but she also talked about her joy in caring for her father when he was unable to care for himself,” said sophomore Nora Anderson. “When I met Esmeralda, she encouraged me to continue to be actively pro-life and that is something I will never forget.”

AMU Students for Life, the largest student organization on campus, attended the event, as well as a household devoted to St. Gianna Molla. One of the household members, freshman Katy Sherman, said of her experience, “it had such an impact because I was able to meet and speak with someone who is a living example of St. Gianna, whom I look up to tremendously and have a great devotion to.” Esmeralda plans to dedicate the rest of her life to her mother’s memory. She is raising funds to transform her family’s former home in Italy into a place of prayer and devotion. Many people ask Esmeralda for prayers because of her spiritual connection to St. Gianna Molla The unique experience of meeting the daughter of a saint is one the students will remember forever.

—Veronica Macias

FACULTY PUBLICATIONS

Ave Maria University Faculty: Scholarly Publications, Presentations, Performances, and Honors

PRESENTED PAPERS: “Desencanto

y aniquilación en la obra de Gina Picart Baluja” and “Novela negra y ciencia ficción en manos femeninas.

Análisis de la novela cubana en los últimos años,” at Taller Nacional de Literatura Fantástica “Espacio Abierto,” La Habana, Cuba. (August 21, 28)

(BIOLOGY)

SUBMITTED TWO PATENTS: US

62/175,066 and one filed. (January 6)

BAXA, PAUL (HISTORY)

INVITED ONLINE ARTICLE: “Death

at the Autodrome: Fascism, the Vatican, and the 1928 Italian Grand Prix,” for the AllRounder.com. (June 11)

BLANCHARD, MARY (HISTORY)

ORGANIZED SESSION: “Life,

Death, and Family Connections in AngloSaxon Communities,” at International Medieval Conference, Leeds, UK. (July 6) PRESENTED PAPER: “Servi Regis:

Episcopal Preferment in the Community of the King’s Councillors,” at International Medieval Conference, Leeds, UK. (July 6)

BREIDENBACH, MICHAEL (HISTORY)

AWARDS: Shortlisted for the Prince Consort and Thirlwall Prize from the Faculty of History, University of Cambridge, for original historical research.

PRESENTED PAPERS: “Dignitatis

Humanae and American Religious Liberty,” at Religious Liberty: 50 Years After Vatican II, Ave Maria University. (December 9)

BREIDENBACH, JANICE (PHILOSOPHY)

SPECIAL SEMINAR: “Thomistic Animalism,” University of Oxford, Blackfriars Hall. (November 27) INVITED LECTURE: “Aristotle’s Political Animal and the

Metaphysics of Freedom,” at Intercollegiate Studies Institute Honors Program Conference, “Traditions of Liberty,” Seattle. (June) PRESENTED PAPER: “Against a Causalist Approach

to Divine Action,” University of Edinburgh, School of Divinity, at “The Uniformity in Nature: natural laws, natural powers, or divine action? Conference,” with Sarah Broadie as commentator. (May 30) CONFERENCE SPEAKER: “Is Beauty Fashionable?” Fashion

Institute of Technology, at Fashion Intelligence Conference. (April 11)

INVITED: “Conciliar Constitutional Theory in the American Founding,” at Rothermere American Institute Seminar in Constitutional Thought and History, University of Oxford. (November) INVITED: “Medieval Liberty and Libertas Ecclesiae,” at Intercollegiate Studies Institute Honors Program Conference. (July) INVITED: “American and Catholic at

the Founding: Dual Citizenship?”

Intercollegiate Studies Institute Society Lecture, Ave Maria University. (April 22)

COLMAN, JOHN (POLITICS) PRESENTED PAPERS: “Diamonds

From Dunghills: Thomas Jefferson, Religious Liberty and Free Inquiry,” at Southern Political Science Association, New Orleans. (January 17) “Belonging to Oneself: Montaigne on the Art of Autonomy,” at Association of Core Texts and Courses Annual Conference, Plymouth, Massachusetts. (April 10)

CURTRIGHT, TRAVIS (HUMANITIES)

LECTURE: “Marina and Forensic Speech in Shakespeare’s Pericles,” American Shakespeare Center, Blackfriars Conference. (October 28-November 1) SEMINAR PAPER: “Ingenium, Rightly Understood: Augustine’s City of God and Sallust’s War with Catiline,” for The Center for Thomas More Studies and The Terrrence J. Murphy for Catholic Thought, Law, and Public Policy, University of St. Thomas, at “Utopia and the Roman Republic: Sallust, Augustine, and More in Dialogue.”

(November 6-7) ARTICLES: “From Thomas

CURTIS, NICHOLAS (BIOLOGY)

ARTICLES: with N.E.,

M. Middlebrooks, J.A. Schwartz, and S.K. Pierce. 2015.

Kleptoplastic sacoglossan species have very different capacities for plastid maintenance despite utilizing the same algal donors, Symbiosis 65: 23-31.

With Pierce, S. K., and M. Middlebrooks 2015.

Sacoglossan sea slugs make routine use of photosynthesis by a variety of speciesspecific adaptations.

Invert. Biol. 134: 103–115.

More’s Workshop: De Tristitia Christi and the Catena Aurea,” LOGOS: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture 18:4 (Fall, 2015): 100126.

“Wolf Hall: Tudor History through an Anti-Historical, Anti Catholic Lens,” Public Discourse. (April 9) “Why Thomas More is the Patron Saint of Statesmen?” Crisis Magazine. (July 30) BOOK: Thomas More: Why Patron of Statesmen? editor and contributor, (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books: 2015).

CHAPTERS IN A BOOK:

“Introduction” to Thomas More: Why Patron of Statesmen?

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ABELLA, DAYAMI (SPANISH) BARBOSA, ANTONIO

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FACULTY PUBLICATIONS

“Sir Thomas More and his Opposition to Henry VIII in 1533” in Why Patron of Statesmen?

DAUPHINAIS, MICHAEL (THEOLOGY)

ARTICLE: “Laudato Si’ and the Selling of Body

Parts,” Crisis Magazine online. (September 22)

DINAN, ANDREW (CLASSICS) INVITED RESPONSE: to Luca

Codignola-Bo, “Roman Catholic Libertinism in a New North Atlantic World,” Ave Maria

University. (January 27)

Cardinal Newman Society. (December 14)

PRESENTED PAPER: “Neo-Latin

with Donohue, D., “Disconnect between common core’s literary approach and Catholic education’s pursuit of truth,” Issue Bulletin, Cardinal Newman Society. (May 28)

and the Jesuits in America,” at The Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Conference, University of Kentucky, Lexington.

(April 25)

FROULA, JEFFREY (THEOLOGY)

CHAPTER IN A BOOK: “The Passions: Some Key Thomistic Distinctions,” in Thomas Aquinas: Teacher of Humanity, ed. John P. Hittinger and Daniel C. Wagner (Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2015).

GUERNSEY, DAN (EDUCATION)

RESEARCH: with Donohue,

LONG, STEPHEN (THEOLOGY)

BOOKS: The Teleological Grammar of the Moral Act,

second edition (Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2015).

CHAPTER IN A BOOK: “Is Thomism a Humanism,” in John

Hittinger (ed.) St. Thomas Aquinas as a Teacher for Humanity (Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholar Publishers, 2015).

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ARTICLE: “Brief Comment on Marín-Sola and

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Torre regarding Grace and Freedom,” trans.

Fr. Philippe-Marie Margelidon, O.P., Revue thomiste, n° CXV (115), Année 2015.

SYMPOSIUM PARTICIPANT: “Creation ad imaginem Dei: The Obediential Potency of the Human Person to Grace and Glory,” Thomistic Institute of the Dominican House of Studies, “What is a Human Person?” Symposium. (March 20) INVITED LECTURE: “Pruning the Vine of La Nouvelle

Theologie in the Garden of Thomism,” Academy of Catholic Theology, Washington DC. (May 20)

D., Faith and Morals Language in Catholic School Teacher Employment Documents: Best Practices Brief, The Cardinal Newman Society’s Catholic Education Report, Manassas, VA. (June) ARTICLES: “Challenges

and Ambiguities at the World Congress on Education,” Crisis Magazine. (November 25) “A look at San Francisco’s new teacher contract,” Crisis Magazine. (August 21) “Gay activists target Marin Catholic high school in San Francisco,” Crisis Magazine. (April 24) “Reflections on an interview with David Coleman, College Board president and common core architect,” Catholic Education Daily,

INTERVIEWS: related to education given in this past year to the Associated Press, US News and World Report, Breitbart News, EWTN radio, EWTN NewsNightly, Rome Reports, the Cardinal Newman Society and Our Sunday Visitor.

LAMB, FR. MATTHEW (THEOLOGY)

BOOKS: Theology Needs

Philosophy: Not Acting in Accord with Reason is Against the Nature of God. (Catholic University Press, 2016).

EDITED: with Matthew

Levering, The Reception of Vatican II after Fifty Years: Retrospect and Prospect (Oxford University Press, 2016) 512 pages.

ARTICLES: “Giovanni Sala on

Lonergan’s Recovery of the Theoretical Way of Living,” Nova et Vetera, Fall 2015 Vol. 14, No. 3.

“Theological Indebtedness to Jacques Maritain” in the Proceedings of the American Maritain Association 2016.

CHAPTERS IN BOOKS: “Fr. Bernard J. F. Lonergan, S.J.: The Gregorian Years” in Fr. Gerard Whelan, S.J. Lonergan’s Anthropology Revisted: The Next Fifty Years of Vatican II (Pontifical Gregorian University, 2015).

“St. John Paul II’s Thomism: Why

Aquinas is a Teacher for Humanity” in John Hittinger (ed.) St. Thomas Aquinas as a Teacher for Humanity (Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholar Publishers, 2015).

“Christianity as Transpolitical in the Work of Fr. Ernest Fortin, A.A.” in David Franks (ed.) God and Political Philosophy: Essays in Honor of Fr. Ernest Fortin (Boston: St. John’s Seminary Press, 2015).

LEE, SEUNGHEE (MUSIC) PRESENTED ORIGINAL COMPOSITION:

‘Parakeet Dancing’ at the recital of pianist EunMi Ko, The Timucua Arts White House, Orlando, Florida.

(December 6)

MCNULTY, DENISE (NURSING)

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: for “The Effectiveness of Using the Journey to Empowerment Professional Development Seminar to Enhance Nurses’ Sense of Empowerment,” presented at the Sigma Theta Tau International 43rd Biennial Convention, Las Vegas. (November 9)

NEW, MICHAEL (ECONOMICS)

ARTICLE: “Analyzing the Impact of State Level Contraception Mandates on Public Health Outcomes,” Ave Maria Law Review, Vol. 13:2 (Summer 2015).

NOVAK, MICHAEL (VISITING PROFESSOR)

BOOK: with Paul Adams and Elizabeth Shaw, Social Justice Isn’t

NUTT, ROGER (THEOLOGY) BOOKS: Thomas Aquinas’

‘De Unione Verbi Incarnati,’ Dallas Medieval Texts and Translations 21 (Peeters Publishers: Louvain, 2015).

PAKALUK, CATHERINE (ECONOMICS)

ANNUAL CALIHAN LECTURER: “Liberty & Dependence,” Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, held at Ave Maria University. (November 18) AWARD: Acton Institute’s

2015 Novak Award Winner.

CHAPTERS IN BOOKS: with JA Burke and A Widmer, “Solidarity and Job Creation: Substitutes or Complements” in The Challenge of Charity: Freedom and Charity Working Together, edited by Martin Schlag, Juan Andres Mercado, Jennifer E. Miller (Rome, IT: MCEBooks, 2015).

“With Motherly Care: Addressing the Crisis of Human Flourishing in Our Time” in Promise and Challenge: Catholic Women Reflect on Feminism, Complementarity, and the Church, ed.

Mary Rice Hasson (Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor, 2015).

With D Allen and J Price, “Normal Progress through School: Further Results” in No Differences? How Children in Same-Sex Households Fare, ed.

Ana Samuel (Princeton, NJ: Witherspoon Institute, 2015).

PAKALUK, MICHAEL

First Things.

(September 15)

PRESENTED PAPERS: “Aristotle a

“Mercy and Lawfulness in Human Sexuality,” Catholic Answers.

(November 18)

(PHILOSOPHY)

Living Authority for the American Founders,” Research Seminar in Political Philosophy, Pembroke College, Oxford University.

(February 18) “The Notion of the Kalon in Aristotle’s Ethics,” and “Aristotle on the Missing Sense,” Research Seminars in Ancient Philosophy, University of São Paulo.

(March 30-April 3) “The Consistency of Rawlsian Liberalism with the Public Philosophy of the Founders,” American Political Science Association Meeting, San Francisco.

(September 4) INVITED LECTURES: “Aristotle on

the Missing Sense,” University of St. Thomas, Houston.

(April 9) “The Notion of the Kalon in Aristotle’s Ethics,” Rice University, Houston.

(April 10) “Aristotle on Mildness,” Aristotle Workshop, Union College. (October 15-18) “Aristotle a Living Authority for the American Founders,” Torrey Honors Institute Lecture Series, and seminar on “Mildness as a Virtue,” Biola University. (November 7-10) RESPONSE: to Thomas Pink,

“Dignitatis Humanae and the problem of Church and state,” Dignitatis Humanae Conference, Ave Maria University. (December 9) ARTICLES: “The Folly of

Lifestyle Ecumenism,”

PARKER, BLANFORD (LITERATURE)

SCREENPLAY: “Forgiveness,” sold to an LA production company.

(July)

RAIGER, MICHAEL (LITERATURE)

CHAPTER IN A BOOK: “Cocteau, Opium, and Art: A Coleridgean Account of the Imagination as a Cognitive Power” in A Piercing Light: Beauty, Faith, and Human Transcendence, ed. James Jacobs (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2015).

TRABBIC, JOSEPH (PHILOSOPHY)

ARTICLES: “The Gods of Atheism,” Crisis Magazine.

RITTER, BRADLEY (CLASSICS)

BOOK: Judeans in the

Greek Cities of the Roman Empire: Rights, Citizenship and Civil Discord (Leiden: Brill, 2015).

ROMMEL, LYLAS (LITERATURE)

PRESENTED PAPERS: “The War

and the Ballet Parade,” Florida Conference of Historians, Florida Southern University.

(February 13-15) “Parade and the Avant-Garde ‘Total Work of Art,” NeMLA Conference, Toronto, Canada. (May 1-4)

SALLAI, LADISLAV (BIOLOGY)

PRESENTED: Florida Academy

of Science 79th Annual Meeting on March 20-

(December 11) “Vatican II Followed Ottaviani on Church and State,” Crisis Magazine. (July 14) REVIEW: of In the Self’s Place: The Approach of Saint

Augustine by Jean-Luc Marion (Stanford University Press, 2012) in International Philosophical Quarterly 55 (2015): 259-262.

21, 2015 at Saint Leo, Florida.

“Taxonomic Revision and List of Cyanoprokayrota from Florida, USA.” T.E. Smith and L. Sallai.

Florida Academy of Science. 2015.

Phosphorous and Oxygen Concentration and Algal Assemblages in Caloosahatchee Canal.” M. Jones, L. Sallai, T. Smith. Florida Academy of Science.

2015.

“Determination of Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Oxygen Concentration and Algal Assemblages in Locations of Lake Okeechobee” L. Sallai and T. Smith. Florida Academy of Science.

2015.

“Determination of Nitrogen and Phosphorous Concentration and Algal Assemblages in Nubin Slough, Kissimmee River and Nicodemus Slough.”

H. Dennehy, L. Sallai, T. Smith. Florida Academy of Science.

2015.

“Determination of Nitrogen and

“Determination of Concentration of

ave ma r ia maga z i ne | ave ma r ia.edu

What You Think It Is (New York: Encounter Books, 2015).

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FACULTY PUBLICATIONS

Phosphorus and Nitrogen and Algal Species in Agricultural Fields.” J. Guernsey, L. Sallai and T. Smith.

(Florida Academy of Science, 2015).

SCHECK, THOMAS

(THEOLOGY AND CLASSICS) BOOK: St. Jerome:

Commentary on Isaiah; Origen: Homilies 1-9 on Isaiah, Ancient Christian Writers No. 68 (New York: The Newman Press, 2015).

SMITH, THOMAS (BIOLOGY) BOOKS: with CJ Smith &

T. Annang, Taxonomic Catalogue of Algae from Ghana (Africa) and New Additions (Algae Press, 2015).

Fundamentals of a Botany Lab Manual (Dubuque, IA: Kendal Hunt Publishing, 2015).

ARTICLE: “Revised List of Algae From Sudan and New Additions,” (2015) International Journal on Algae 17(2):159-192.

SURMANSKI, SR. ALBERT MARIE (THEOLOGY) REVIEWS: of Revolutionary

CELEBRATING RESURRECTION POWER!

Ideas by Jonathon Israel, in Heythrop Journal, Volume 56, Issue 3 (May 2015): 478-479.

a v e m a r i a m a g a z i n e | s p r i n g 2016

by Sarah Blanchard

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What exactly is “Resurrection Power?” The phrase is taken from The Letter of Paul to the Philippians, in which St. Paul writes that he desires to know Christ and “the power of His Resurrection” (Philippians 3:10). “Resurrection power can help us to rise above difficulties or to live well with unresolvable challenges,” Fr. Bob explains. “Resurrection power helps us to use both our reason to understand God’s victory over death and our faith to grow in our relationship with the God Who raised Jesus bodily from the dead.”

Resurrection Power: Spiritual Solutions for an Anxious Age (Hobe Sound, FL: Lectio Publishing, 2016).

Fr. Bob’s new book features examples from Scripture and from the lives of the saints that illustrate victorious daily living and the conquering of ordinary anxieties. Life in our “anxious age” is often flooded with distractions and we can become weighed down by a multitude of concerns. Reviving the spirit of Easter, and letting the power of the Resurrection operate in our lives, is a sure path towards spiritual renewal, joy and peace.

of Aquinas and the Nicomachean Ethics, ed.

Tobias Hoffmann, Jörn Müller, and Matthias Perkams, in Heythrop Journal, Volume 56, Issue 4 (July 2015): 692-693.

TAMISIEA, DAVID (THEOLOGY)

MODERATOR: and speaker,

Society of Catholic Social Scientists, 2015 Annual Conference,

Franciscan University of Steubenville.

(October 23-24)

TINTES, HELEN (MUSIC)

TAUGHT VOICE AND GAVE OPERA WORKSHOP SEMINARS: Tyrolean Opera

Program, Tirol, Austria.

(July-August) Opera Concert: with Naples Opera Society.

(September) INVITED LECTURE: on Operetta,

Tamba Bay Chapter of the National Association of Teachers Singing, Florida Gulf Coast University. (October 2015)

TREACY, SUSAN (MUSIC)

CHAPTER IN A BOOK: “Gregorian Chant” in T&T Clark Companion to Liturgical Studies, ed. Dom Alcuin Reid, OSB (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2015).

VALLE, ANTHONY (THEOLOGY)

RESEARCH GRANT: Fondazione

Vaticana Joseph Ratzinger-Benedetto XVI. (2014-2015 and 2015-2016)

YARBROUGH, JOSEPH (CLASSICS)

ARTICLE: “Philip the Chancellor on the beginning of time,” Vivarium, 53 (Spring 2015).

SPEAKER SERIES

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ve Maria University’s Office of Institutional Advancement hosted a Speaker Series highlighting the University’s extraordinary faculty. Beginning in early November, a featured speaker was showcased every two weeks during the high season months. Faculty members presented on a varying range of subjects, from the Presidential Primaries to the message of faith and sport by Saint John Paul II. Each presentation was held in the Bob Thomas Student Union on AMU’s campus.

February 26, 2016—Paul Baxa January 15, 2016—Michael New “Iowa, New Hampshire, and the 2016 Presidential Primaries”

“History and Hollywood: On the Uneasy Relationship between Historians and Filmmakers”

November 6, 2015—Michael Pakaluk “Religious Liberty and Ethics in Light of HHS Mandate and Supreme Court decision on Gay Marriage”

March 11, 2016—Michael Dauphinais

November 20, 2015—Thomas Smith “The South Florida Ecosystem – Habitats, Wetlands, and Wildlife”

December 4, 2015—Roger Nutt “Expecting the Messiah: Principles of Advent Mysticism” In conjunction with the beginning of Advent, Roger Nutt answered five theological questions that pinpointed the spiritual significance of the Advent season and its relation to Christmas.

February 12, 2016—Seana Sugrue “Politics and Populism” Dr. Sugrue discussed the rise of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders as current manifestations of the populist impulse in America and will put this current wave of populism in historical perspective.

April 1, 2016—Catherine Pakaluk “The Future of Alternative Education: What Economists Have Contributed to the Study of Education “

To learn about future Institutional Advancement events like the speaker series, visit avemaria.edu/events

ave ma r ia maga z i ne | ave ma r ia.edu

January 29, 2016—Keith Houde “Athletes of the Spirit: Saint John Paul II on Faith and Sport”

“C. S. Lewis: Narnia and the Crisis of Our Age” This talk considered C. S. Lewis’s legacy in his fictional stories and his philosophical writings. Using some of the stories from Narnia as a starting point, Dr. Dauphinais introduced listeners to central themes of his major works. Lewis had an uncanny ability to state clearly objections to the Christian faith and then respond to them by rational argument as well as by a kind of disenchantment from the myths of modernity.

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Am I not here, I, who am your Mother?

UNIVERSITY DEDICATES OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE PRAYER GARDEN AND STATUE

by SARAH BLANCHARD

J a v e m a r i a m a g a z i n e | s p r i n g 2016

JUAN DIEGO WAS AN insignificant member of his community when the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to him. One day, as the Christian Indian made a path through the rocky terrain on his way to Mass, he noticed a light coming from the top of Tepeyac hill. There, the Virgin Mother appeared to him and called him “Juanito, my son!”

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“Why did God look upon him?” Pope St. John Paul II asked in his homily for the canonization of Juan Diego. Why was Juan Diego, a poor Christian Indian, chosen to see and bear the message of Our Lady? Quoting scripture, the Pope continued in his homily: “God chose what is low and despised in the world ... so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (1 Cor 1:28, 29). The proud and the mighty fight for attention on the world stage, but it is the meek and lowly—like Juan Diego—who reflect the greatness of the Lord. God shines unobstructed through the lives of those who are humble.

With this in mind, it isn’t hard to imagine why the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego. Who better than Mary understands how the soul of the humble magnifies the Lord? She too was an insignificant member of her community when God plucked her out of obscurity and made her Mother—first of Jesus Christ, and then, at Calvary, of the whole world. Her motherhood sprung from her humility; with an unadorned Fiat! she accepted her calling to overflow with God’s compassion and love, signatures of maternal care.

These two things—the humble and the maternal—are intimately united in the Virgin of Guadalupe. Understanding from her own experience how God loves “what is low and despised in the world,” the Virgin has a special care for the insignificant and rejected children of society. Juan Diego’s childlike trust in God was met with Mary’s maternal care. She responded to the humble child with her own humble motherhood.

It is with this same childlike confidence that Ave Maria University has placed itself in Our Mother’s care, first in invoking her name as patron at its founding, and then

again in publicly consecrating itself to her Immaculate Heart last year. The University has united itself in her care for the “low and despised in the world,” both in its work defending religious liberty, and as it fosters compassionate care for the poor through the Mother Teresa Project.

base of a 10-foot bronze statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas. There, they renewed their consecration to Mary’s Immaculate Heart.

Left: Jerry and Linda Stafford stand by the Our Lady of Guadalupe statue.

On December 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary and the beginning of the Jubilee Year of Mercy, the University once again embraced the Virgin as Mother with the opening of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Prayer Garden. At the opening ceremony, students processed out from Mass in the Oratory, crossed the canal by way of a newly constructed footbridge, followed a gravel path, and arrived at the

On February 19, Bishop Frank J. Dewane of the Diocese of Venice presided over the official dedication of the prayer garden, offering a blessing of the statue. “Under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe,” he said, “this image will remind us of the close ties of Mary to Jesus, to her Church, and to Ave Maria.” Jerry and Linda Stafford, who generously donated the statue in memory of their son, Jerry T. Stafford (1966-1982), stood by.

Deacon John Jarvis read from the Gospel of St. Luke the account of the Visitation of Mary, in which Elizabeth cried out: “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” In reflection afterwards, President Towey invited all gathered at the dedication—trustees, members of the President’s council, the University’s Founder, Tom Monaghan, Chairman Michael Timmis, faculty, administration, staff and students—to look to the example of Juan Diego’s humility and ask, with Elizabeth, “Who are we, that the Mother of Our Lord should come to us?” The

answer, he said, lies in the mercy of God, which shines brightly in the person of Our Lady. In God’s mercy, she was chosen to be Mother; in her humility, she carries His mercy to the world.

It is appropriate that the University began this Jubilee Year of Mercy by throwing itself on the mercy of God through Mary.

With confidence in her maternal love, the community takes shelter beneath her blue mantel, there carrying out its work united to her in compassion for the poor and lowly, the meek and despised. “What unites people at Ave Maria University,” Towey said, “is a desire to be joyful, intentional followers of Jesus, a love of our Church, and a special devotion to la Guadalupana, la Morena, la Virgencita. A real desire to find ourselves through our work beneath her mantel.”

The dedication ceremony closed with a Rosary led by students. AMU junior Victoria Antram said it was a blessing to be a part of the event. “This statue serves as a reminder that Ave Maria lies in the shadow of Mary’s mantel of grace,” she went on.

“I gaze out from my dorm room window every morning, and she reminds me to live out her Fiat to joyfully accept God’s will. I

love the statue and all the goodness it foreshadows in this University’s future.”

The garden currently stands across the canal on the westernmost edge of campus, but, as the University expands over time, it will eventually stand at its center. Although not yet the geographic heart, the prayer garden has already become a spiritual one. Students are at the foot of Our Lady morning, noon, and night. The garden gives students something they have been in “desperate need for,” John Gargano, President of the Student Government Association, remarked. “It is a place of prayer, peace, and consolation outside where they can be with Our Lord and his Mother, contemplating life under the watchful eyes of the beautiful 10-foot statue of Our Lady.” He expects the garden to become a place of pilgrimage, one “where miracles and conversions will unfold.” Who knows?

Maybe even a few AMU engagements.

“The Our Lady of Guadalupe Prayer Garden belongs at AMU,” Scott King, Director of Mission and Outreach, said.

“Here, where the Blessed Mother is woven into everything.” She desired a church to be built on Tepeyac hill, he explained, “in order that she might be present to us.” The

message of her miraculous image is that she wants to be with us, and she wants us to know that she is there by our side. The statue of la Guadalupana in AMU’s prayer garden is likewise a daily reminder to the University community of Our Mother’s presence. Her blue mantel is spread wide, ready to cover those who, like Juan Diego, place their trust in her. “I am reassured,” King continued, “in knowing that Our Lady of Guadalupe will be gazing upon the students, faculty and staff of Ave Maria University from Her prayer garden.”

The Virgin of Guadalupe continues to speak to our times. There is a reason John Paul II declared her Patroness of the Americas; her motherhood and her humility continue to be relevant. We must work on practicing the humility of Juan Diego and look to our Mother for care. She will never fail to respond to our childlike trust with her maternal compassion.

“And should we be frightened…or should worldly pusillanimity threaten us,” Pope Francis said in a homily for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, “may She return to speak to our heart and enable us to hear her voice ... ‘Why are you afraid? Am I not here, I, who am your Mother?’”

ave ma r ia maga z i ne | ave ma r ia.edu

AMU students, faculty, staff, administrators, and community members process from the Oratory to the Our Lady of Guadalupe Prayer Garden.

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW? going?

MEET A FEW OF OUR 2016 GRADUATES

The Class of 2016 is getting ready to take their last set of AMU finals, solidifying plans for next year, and visiting the soft-serve ice cream machine as many times as they possibly can before graduation. As they move forward to life in the real world, we asked some of our seniors to take a look back at their time spent at Ave.

Where are they going?

Lexie Hammerquist

Biochemistry Plans: Attending medical school at

Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska

How Ave has changed me:

The Mother Teresa Project at Ave Maria University was very influential in my decision to go to medical school.

The opportunities to work with the Missionaries of Charity have been truly life-changing. My immersion in their service and spirituality changed the way I see others and gave me a love for service which I will carry into my career in healthcare. I am very grateful for having received such wonderful formation.

Paula Shute

Psychology; Shakespeare in Performance minor Plans: Going on to work in the

psychology field or doing mission work with NET.

What I’ve learned at Ave:

My friends have been beautiful examples of true friendship to me over the years here, and I can’t ever repay all that they have taught me about love and self-sacrifice. And I have, hopefully, learned a few things about Psychology and Shakespeare. I have also learned to abandon myself and my plans into God’s hands. Ave helped me grow in many different ways, and for that I will always be grateful.

Joe Guernsey

Biology Plans: Attending University of Florida Medical School

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What I’ve learned at Ave:

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AMU has helped me discover how to truly balance my academic, athletic, and spiritual life and has introduced me to the joy of a life in Christ in service to others.

Michael John Dauphinais

Politics and Humanities Plans: Attending law school (already accepted at University of Notre Dame, Duke University, and University of Michigan)

Favorite AMU memory:

Moot Court with Dr. Seana Sugrue in her Constitutional Law class. Nothing like a trial by fire to show that you have what it takes. Success feels so sweet when it’s earned.

Charlotte Kunkler

Biochemistry, Math minor Plans: Pursuing a Ph.D. in Biochemistry at University of Notre Dame

Favorite AMU memory:

Performing with my friends in Ave Idol sophomore year. Ave Idol is one of our biggest, most popular annual events, and always promises a good time. Our lip sync rendition of “Dark Horse” featured our famous costume change mid-song, which won us runner-up for People’s Choice.

Business Plans: Financial Advisor for Boston

Partners Financial Group. Some future goals I have set for myself are to be selected for ACE (“achieving client excellence”) as an Advisor and to pass the CFP exam by 25.

What I’ve learned at Ave:

As a student athlete at AMU I have learned time management, discipline and self-sacrifice. Baseball demanded a large portion of my time and with a significant academic workload I quickly found that I would have to be disciplined and make sacrifices if I was going to be successful throughout my four years.

Sarah Downes

Biochemistry Plans: Attending University of Louisville Dental School

How Ave has changed me:

Ave has formed me into a well-rounded person and a stronger follower of Christ. Ave has challenged me in countless ways and thus has served to strengthen me. This school has given me the opportunity to cultivate endurance, perspective, and hope. Life will bring much larger challenges, but with the experiences here, I am confident I can handle them well.

Finance and Economics Plans: Working for Raytheon in their

Finance Leadership Development Program. My first rotation will be Indiana for a year, with my location and function changing yearly after that.

What I’ve learned at Ave:

Your college experience and postgraduate opportunities are entirely up to you. Your outlook and attitude totally define how much you enjoy and grow from your college experience. The school offers plenty of opportunities: you have to take advantage of them and work to make the opportunities your own.

Emma Martin

Business, Psychology minor Plans: Career at Walt Disney World, Inc. Favorite AMU memory:

Some of my favorite Ave memories have been our Feast Day celebrations that we hold for All Saint’s Day, Our Lady of Guadalupe, and the Annunciation. The whole AMU community comes together to eat, dance, and celebrate. You really feel the familial bond that is very unique to our university, and is definitely one of my favorite things about Ave.

ave ma r ia maga z i ne | ave ma r ia.edu

Jack Yvars

Daniel O’Rourke

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CHANGING THE WORLD

a v e m a r i a m a g a z i n e | s p r i n g 2016

The Fifth Annual Scholarship Dinner

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Nearly 400 friends of Ave Maria University gathered at The Ritz-Carlton-Naples for a memorable evening to raise money for scholarships and celebrate how AMU students are “Changing the World” through service opportunities with the Mother Teresa Project. No other college in the United States has a closer connection to Mother Teresa than AMU, with hundreds of students giving their hearts to love and their hands to help the poorest of the poor.

“When we created the theme for the evening, we didn’t know that His Holiness Pope Francis would soon approve a second miracle for Mother Teresa of Calcutta and plan her canonization for later this year,” said President Jim Towey during his address to the attendees. “It seems tonight’s program to highlight the experiences of our Mother Teresa Project Scholars in her homes in India, Haiti, and Mexico was divinely arranged!”

President Towey then was joined on

stage by Founder and Chancellor Tom Monaghan and Chairman of the Board of Trustees Michael Timmis to bestow an honorary degree upon His Eminence, Timothy Cardinal Dolan. In his keynote address, the Cardinal provided lots of laughter and his heart-felt belief that Ave Maria University and its students are changing the world through the recipe of reason, love and joy. “You see the reason in the very rigorous program of scholarship at Ave Maria University. You see the love in things like the Mother Teresa Project, and you see the joy in the smiles on the faces of each student,” Cardinal Dolan stated.

The second half of the evening opened with AMU junior, Marianna Vargas Ingoglia, a native of Barquisimeto, Venezuela, who added to the evening’s international theme with a beautiful flamenco performance.

Four AMU students then took guests on a trip around the world, speaking about

ave ma r ia maga z i ne | ave ma r ia.edu

their personal experiences during service immersion trips through the Mother Teresa Project.

Senior psychology major Paula Shute traveled to Calcutta and worked in Daya Dan, the home for handicapped children.

Sharing a personal experience, Paula was singing a praise and worship song when one of the very deformed and blind boys reached out and touched her. And in that moment, Paula realized that boy had Christ in him and was sharing Christ with her.

Michaela Cheffers, a sophomore and Mother Teresa Scholar, participated in a mission trip to Mexico City at the end of her freshman year at AMU. Michaela worked in two very different facilities while abroad. Her difficult experience at a government run facility for handicapped and dying women gave her a greater appreciation for a home with similar patients run by the Missionaries of Charity.

Catherine Popik, a senior biology major, traveled to Haiti in 2015 and shared a lighthearted story about helping a Missionaries of Charity home with the daily task of laundry. Her lesson: blessings can be found everywhere…even in the laundry!

Senior politics major Michael Reilly spoke of his love of soccer and how he was able to share his love of the sport with underprivileged children at the nearby Immokalee Soccer School. Michael shared how his time with the program made him a better person, coach, and Catholic.

The evening came to a close with a candlelight recessional and a soul rendering vocal benediction by the AMU choir that was received by thunderous applause and rave reviews.

Plans already are underway for the 6th Annual Scholarship Dinner to be held on Thursday, February 16th, 2017. In light of the choir’s magnificence, Cardinal Dolan’s unforgettable address, and the students’ spellbinding stories, this year’s dinner will be a tough act to follow.

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Leaving Legacies

BY JO SI E H A RT N E Y

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VE MARIA UNIVERSITY IS KNOWN FOR ITS NOBILITY—many families have sent several children to the University because of its faithfulness to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, its excellence in academics, exceptional faculty, and the tight-knit community that has formed over the years. More than ten families have sent at least five children to Ave Maria, and a dozen members of the Class of 2019 follow in the steps of two or more siblings.

Here are just a few of Ave Maria University’s many legacy families that have put their faith in Our Lady’s hands and supported AMU since its infancy.

THE HARTNEY SISTERS

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ll five of Dr. Tom and Judy Hartney’s daughters

THE DEMASI CLAN

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he DeMasi family from Munsonville, New Hampshire, will send their seventh child, Antonia, to

Ave Maria in the Fall of 2016, where she will join two siblings currently enrolled (Lily, ’17 and Kolbe, ’19).

Surprisingly, each individual seems to have taken a unique road to get here. Lily began her undergraduate career at a private college in New Hampshire, but

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transferred to Ave after one semester. She loved what

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she found at Ave Maria, and encouraged her younger siblings to follow. “I told them that going to Ave was the best decision I ever made, and that Ave would challenge them to be the best version of themselves.” Going to school with a sibling can make the jump into college life easier, something Lily really enjoys: “I love having [Kolbe] here. He is someone who understands me more than anyone else.”

have attended Ave Maria University. While

there was no obligation to carry on the tradition, each felt a certain tug when it came time to choose the college they would attend. “While growing up, I heard my sisters talk about the same professors and their bonding experiences while attending Ave, so naturally I wanted to be able to share those experiences and memories,” recalls Bernadette Hartney, currently a freshman and a member of the women’s soccer team. The lessons learned and experiences gained at the University extend beyond the classroom and even past graduation.

Annie (’14) reflects on the impact Ave has had on her sisters over the years. “I’ve witnessed genuine growth. Each of my sisters has been able to make her faith her own and to personalize her walk with Christ at Ave Maria.”

MEET THE MULLALLYS

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he Mullally family has sent five family members to AMU, with two currently in attendance. Thomas (’17) and Marie

(’19) are continuing the family legacy in the classroom and are also members of the Gyrene cross-country teams. Thomas feels that his older siblings have paved the way for him. “They have left an amazing reputation which I am proud of and honored to have the opportunity to live up to,” Thomas said. “I am extremely glad to have had siblings to volunteer with, pray with, play with and do every other activity on Ave’s incredible campus. However, by engaging in activities unique to my personality, such as running, I have been able to form my own identity at AMU.”

A LOT OF LITTLETONS

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n the 13 years since Ave’s founding, nine Littleton family members have pursued

higher education at Our Lady’s Univer-

sity. Parents James and Kathleen Littleton wanted to send their children to an “authentically Catholic” university and have been pleased with their decision to invest in Ave Maria. “We have not had any regret. Each of our children has had an enriching and happy experience attending Ave Maria University,” the Littletons explained. Four of their daughters have earned degrees from AMU, as well as the mother, Kathleen, who received her Masters in Theology in 2014. The Littleton legacy is alive and well with sophomore Fiona and freshman twins Maura and Clare currently attending.

A BUNCH OF BLANCHARDS

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he Blanchard family from Littleton, Colorado, has sent five of their nine children to Ave Maria Uni-

versity—and even more impressive, four of the five that attended AMU married an Ave alum. Jacob Blanchard, a 2006 grad, is currently an Instructor of Biology at Sciences from Western Michigan University. His wife, Mary, also a 2006 graduate of Ave Maria, is a D.Phil candidate at the University of Oxford. Corey Blanchard (’17), is the only Blanchard currently enrolled at AMU, and is thankful that his brothers and sister paved the way for him. “I was able to really get a good feel of what to expect in college because of my siblings’ experiences at Ave,” said Corey.

ave ma r ia maga z i ne | ave ma r ia.edu

Ave Maria and is also pursuing a Ph.D. in Biological

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IT’S IN THE DETAILS by SARAH BLANCHARD

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Jennifer Nodes works to keep the library crisp with content to inspire and intrigue.

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A L I B R A R Y C A N S I M P LY B E a building filled with books, but it has the potential to be so much more. At AMU, it’s a place where professors do a lot of their thinking, and students do a lot of their studying. Research happens, classes meet, study groups gather, and ideas are formed. All day long, there is a steady stream of people coming in and out of its doors. For many, there isn’t a day of Left: Marie Constantin’s “Photographs of the semester that passes Mother Teresa” exhibit without their setting foot into the library.

Right: Director of Library Services “The Library is the heart Jennifer Nodes of the University; it may Below: Students not draw much attention prepare for final exams to itself, but it is vital.” in the library That’s how Jennifer Nodes expresses the role of the library in the life of the University. Miss Nodes, who is Director of the Library, works behind the scenes to help make this heartbeat possible.

In 2005, Miss Nodes came to AMU to found the Rare Books Department and to start the University archives. As Curator of the Rare Books and Special Collections Department, she oversees the University’s holdings of rare books, manuscripts, and artwork. “When I heard about a collection being developed at a new campus,” she reflects, “I was interested in the challenge of building something from the ground up.” She left her position as a member of the Research staff of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and came down to Southwest Florida.

Miss Nodes received her Bachelor’s degree in English and Art from Northwest

Missouri State University, and her Master’s in Library and Information Science with an emphasis in Museum Studies from Dominican University, Chicago. Her educational background made it a natural fit for her to oversee the installation of the University’s art collection as Ave Maria settled into its permanent campus. During that process, Miss Nodes saw the potential for using the second floor of the Canizaro Library as a gallery space. In 2008, she had a picture hanging system installed.

Miss Nodes was also appointed Curator of the University’s Mother Teresa Museum, which tells the story of Mother Teresa’s life and works through storyboards, photographs, personal documents, correspondence, memorabilia, and relics. Overseeing the University’s permanent and rotating exhibits involves great attention to detail. For each exhibit, Miss Nodes must decide what to display and how to display it—from the logistics of transporting the pieces to campus, to the creative process of displays and storyboards, to working out the lighting of the area around the exhibit. For example, at the time of this interview, Miss Nodes

ave ma r ia maga z i ne | ave ma r ia.edu

Since then, Miss Nodes has established an exhibition program featuring several curated exhibits per year of works by local, national, and international artists.

Two exhibits of note for the University are: “One Aim/One Vision: The Bolshoi Ballet in Still Photography” and “Faith in His Hands: The Annunciation Sculpture by Márton Váró.” The former featured a series of photographs, which are now in the University archives, taken by internationally acclaimed dance writer and photographer Marc Haegeman. The latter exhibit documented the installation of sculptor Márton Váró’s Annunciation Relief above the entrance to Ave Maria’s Oratory.

had just received an envelope containing a checkered bed sheet from the Missionaries of Charity—one of the numerous tiny details involved in her current project for the Mother Teresa Museum: a replica of Mother Teresa’s room.

In spite of these various concerns, Miss Nodes never looses sight of the whole. She has a habit of applying the same standard across the board; whether curating rare books or setting up exhibits, she always asks the question: “How does this fit in with the University’s mission?” She looks to interest the students and the faculty, hoping that the books she curates or the exhibits she creates will be opportunities for deepening knowledge through discussion and reflection.

She arranges receptions for the opening of new exhibits, where students and faculty have the occasion to meet with the artist in person and discuss his or her works. For example, local artist Joan Brechin Sonnenberg was present for the opening reception of the current exhibit, “Boundless.” In 2010, principal ballet dancers came to cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony for the exhibit featuring Marc Haegeman’s photographs of the Ballet.

Miss Nodes has also initiated a program of displays of material from the Rare Books and Special Collections as a way to introduce students to items in the University holdings that they would not otherwise encounter. “The feedback I get is not usually immediate,” she says. “Sometimes it’s years later that a student will approach me and mention a past exhibit and the impression it made.”

Although she always tries to develop new ways to generate direct response, Miss Nodes is encouraged by the frequent indirect feedback she receives, as professors pause to look at a painting on their way to teach class, or students lean over to ponder a displayed book while waiting for the rest of their study group to arrive.

If the library is the heart of a university, then Ave Maria’s is working hard to stay in shape.

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CAMPUS COMMUNITY

DRAMA, DANCING, AND DORM WARS Students enjoy campus life beyond the classroom

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1. Front Row, L to R: Prudence Robertson (‘19), Paula Shute (‘16), and Mary Catherine Beller (‘16) perform a scene from Newsies at the AMU drama club’s cabaret showcase.

2. Students dance the night away at the Sadie Hawkin’s.

3. Anna Richart (‘19) and Liz Kennedy (‘19) flash a smile during the annual Snowball in December.

4. Students anticipate the synchronized swimming competition of Dorm Wars.

5. Mother Teresa Hall, the 2015-16 Dorm Wars Champions!

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CAMPUS COMMUNITY

JOYFUL, INTENTIONAL FOLLOWERS Campus Ministry immerses students in a vibrantly Catholic atmosphere

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1. Students attend one of 14 Bible studies led

by President Towey throughout the academic year.

2. Renowned Catholic author Christopher West speaks to students about Theology of the Body.

3. The Ave Maria community gathers for a special Rosary procession to honor the Feast of the Annunciation.

4. Dr. Scott Hahn attracted a standingroom only crowd for his talk titled “The Lamb’s Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth” this spring.

5. Kristina Stark (‘16) enjoys a talk hosted by Campus Ministry at the Bean of Ave Maria. ave ma r ia maga z i ne | ave ma r ia.edu

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UNIVERSITY DIGEST RELIGIOUS LIBERTY: 50 YEARS AFTER VATICAN II In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Dignitatis Humanae, the History, Theology and Philosophy Departments at Ave Maria University sponsored a one-day conference reflecting on the impact of the Second Vatican Council’s declaration on religious freedom. Dr. Michael Breidenbach, Assistant Professor of History and conference organizer, explained: “The recent threats to religious liberty—globally, nationally, and locally—have given the fiftieth anniversary of Dignitatis Humanae a renewed importance and urgency.”

The conference, which was funded by Ambassador Michael Novak and the Henkels Lecture Fund, featured internationally acclaimed scholars representing a range of academic disciplines. Speakers included Thomas Pink (King’s College London), David L. Schindler (Pontifical John Paul II Institute), Michael Breidenbach (AMU), William McCormick, S.J. (Fordham), Joe Trabbic (AMU), and Steven Long (AMU).

Ave Maria professors Michael Novak, Michael Pakaluk, Fr. Matthew Lamb, and Seana Sugrue provided commentary.

The interdisciplinary nature of the conference enabled the scholars gathered to engage in a free exchange of ideas across academic fields. Breidenbach hopes to capitalize on the new paths of inquiry generated by compiling an edited volume.

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THOMISM AND PREDESTINATION

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The Aquinas Center for Theological Renewal at AMU teamed up with the Thomistic Institute to offer a three-day symposium on “Thomism and Predestination.” The event brought in eminent Catholic scholars from around the world to discuss the question of predestination, drawing upon theological sources ranging from the early Church Fathers to contemporary scholarship. Fr. Serge-Thomas Bonino, OP, President of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas, and Secretary General of the International Theological Commission, delivered the keynote address: “Contemporary Thomism Through the Prism of the Theology of Predestination.” Other speakers included: Fr. Romanus Cessario, OP (St. John’s Seminary), Fr. Christopher Cullen, SJ (University of Fordham), Dr. Thomas Osborne (University of St. Thomas, Houston), Fr. Michael Sherwin, OP (University of Fribourg), and many more.

“Of course the distinction of our speakers was remarkable—minds of international prominence known for their theological and philosophic engagement with the tradition,” Dr. Steven Long (Theology, AMU) reflected. “The conference was tremendously successful, and its proceedings will be published and doubtless will be cited in scholarly conversations for decades to come.”

REIMAGINING CARE FOR THE POOR

Keynote speaker David Lapp (Institute for American Values) spoke on “A Poor Church for the Poor: How We Can Accompany Our Neighbors in Need – and Save Our Souls in the Process.” Lapp urged those gathered to heed Pope Francis’ words and think how we can be true to our roots as “a Church that is poor, for the poor.”

Other speakers included: Andreas Widmer (Catholic University of America), Erika Bachiochi (Ethics and Public Policy Center), Jonathan Reyes (Executive Director of the Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops), Robert Keith (co-founder & CEO of two high profile startups), and Robert Reynolds (Founder and Partner, Avesta).

RE-ENGAGING HUMANAE VITAE In anticipation of the 50th anniversary of Paul VI’s Encyclical Letter Humanae Vitae, which was first issued on July 25, 1968, the Stein Center for Social Research, in conjunction with the Mother Teresa Project, held a conference to take a new look at the encyclical, its reception, and its continuing relevance. The interdisciplinary event, which featured scholars from the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences, served as a commentary on the encyclical in light of relevant theological and scientific developments—such as Natural Family Planning, NaPro Technology, and John Paul II’s Theology of the Body—since the letter’s original publication.

Joseph Arias (Notre Dame Graduate School of Theology, Christendom College), Mark Regnerus (University of Texas, Austin), Andrew Beauchamp (Wright State University), Timothy Muldoon (Boston College), and Jana Bennett (University of Dayton) were just a few of the speakers present. Stephen Bullivant (St. Mary’s University, Twickenham), and Brett Salkeld (Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina, Saskatchewan) were influential in organizing the conference with an eye towards producing a 50th anniversary collection of essays.

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A group of thinkers from academic, business, and non-profit sectors, all with a passion for the poor, met to engage in creative discussion about the possibility of developing new, Church-based solutions to poverty in the United States, emphasizing the necessity for strong church communities in effecting social change. The conference was organized by the Stein Center for Social Research at Ave Maria University, with the support of the Mother Teresa Project.

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UNIVERSITY DIGEST BUSINESS LECTURE SERIES The Ave Maria University Business Department initiated and sponsored a lecture series aimed at introducing AMU students to the wealth of knowledge and experience found in business leaders and executives in the Naples area. “It is a unique way to introduce them to our students and to offer our students a wide range of real world knowledge in a broad array of business related fields,” said Mary Hunt, Assistant Professor of Business and Psychology and Chair of Business.

This academic year’s series featured: Myra Janco Daniels (former President of Roche, Rickard, Henri, Hurst, Inc.; Founder and former CEO of The Philharmonic Center for the Arts, Naples), Tom Hoban (Founder and CEO, Coast Group of Companies), Kevin Lawhon (Managing Partner, The South Florida Group of Northwestern Mutual), Antonio Lopez (Managing Director, The Access Global Group), Tom Monaghan (Founder and former CEO of Domino’s Pizza; Founder and Chancellor of Ave Maria University), Michael Timmis, Sr. (attorney, businessman and former Chairman of Prison Fellowship International), and Joseph Vumbacco (Consultant in healthcare sector for Equity and Hedge Funds).

a v e m a r i a m a g a z i n e | s p r i n g 2016

GENUINE FEMININE 6TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE: “THE NEW FEMINISM”

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The student organization Genuine Feminine hosted its sixth annual conference at AMU this year, “The New Feminism.” Past conferences have looked at topics ranging from work/family balance, to the role women play in shaping social and cultural norms, to considering woman in her capacity as artist and muse, to the function of women in the political sphere.

Each year, Genuine Feminine brings in speakers of note—such as Kathryn Jean Lopez (National Review), Kay S. Hymowitz (Manhattan Institute), Meghan Cox Gurdon (Wall Street Journal), Sr. Jane Dominic Laurel, OP (Aquinas College), and Dr. Pia de Solenni (Augustine Institute-Orange County)—who join in the students’ ongoing discussion of the nature of femininity and the practical implications of being a woman in modernity.

Christina Hoff Sommers, American Enterprise Institute scholar and author of Who Stole Feminism?, gave this year’s keynote address, “Freedom Feminism: What’s Right (and Badly Wrong) with Feminism.” Speaker Erika Bachiochi (Ethics and Public Policy Center) offered her personal testimony over lunch. The daylong event also featured papers and presentations by a number of AMU professors.

GIVING

A

Detroit, Michigan native, Louis Argenta joined the faculty at Wake Forest Baptist in 1988 and is best known for co-inventing Vacuum-Assisted Closure ®, a negative pressure wound therapy that has helped more than 10 million patients worldwide.

Dr. Argenta is internationally recognized as an expert in the science of mechanobiology and its applications to clinical medicine.

Argenta grew up an avid reader. He discovered books by humanitarian physicians Albert Schweitzer and Thomas Anthony Dooley III. By high school, he’d chosen medicine as his field of study and

was class president and valedictorian.

He completed his undergraduate degree, medical school, and internship at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

The Vietnam War brought a three-year stint in the Navy, after which he returned to Michigan for residencies in general and plastic surgery. After tens of thousands of surgeries, Argenta retired from clinical practice in 2014.

Argenta and his wife, Ginger, a nurse he married during medical school, have eight children, including Sara (‘15) and Claire (‘17). Over the years, the Argenta family has made medical missions to 25 nations, repairing cleft lips, palates, and burns.

Credit: Portions of this article originally appeared on the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center Intranet.

Top: Dr. Argenta speaks to a large group of AMU students interested in entering the field of medicine.

Bottom: Biochemistry students Charlotte Kunkler (left) and Lucy Schlink (center) visit with Dr. Argenta.

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MEET TRUSTEE DR. LOUIS C. ARGENTA

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ATHLETICS UPDATE

Left: Lacrosse midfielder Mackenzie Tourville (‘19) advances upfield in the Gyrenes’ 18-5 victory against the University of Pikeville.

Below: Infielder Marissa Conde (‘17) prepares for a ground ball during a 5-1 victory against Peru State College.

Bottom: Ryan Keegan (‘19) hits a single in AMU’s 18-2 victory over Florida Memorial in March.

A Sensational Spring

a v e m a r i a m a g a z i n e | s p r i n g 2016

Ave Maria Athletics are in full swing as several sports teams have taken to the field and court this spring. The AMU baseball team picked up its first conference win early in the season, defeating Webber International University 7-5 in February. Senior catcher and two-time Gold Glove winner Conor Sullivan has re-established himself as a defensive leader behind the plate after missing the entire 2015 season due to injury. Sullivan recorded a perfect fielding percentage through the Gyrenes’ first 34 games.

In only their second full season of play, the AMU women’s lacrosse team has already made a name for themselves. The squad upended fourth-ranked Tennessee Wesleyan Col-

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lege by a score of 12-11 in March. Freshman Mackenzie Tourville netted six goals in the contest, including the game-winning goal with 2:02 remaining.

Coming off of a strong 2015 season, the Lady Gyrene Softball team was victorious in 10 of their first 12 games to begin 2016. Senior All-American centerfielder Kingsley Avery and junior shortstop Marinna Shadley have led the offensive effort, each compiling an impressive .373 batting average midway through the season. The Lady Gyrenes hope to compete for a Sun Conference championship again in 2016, after finishing second in the 2015 conference tournament.

Go Gyrenes!

To learn more about athletics at Ave Maria University, visit www.avemariagyrenes.com

ATHLETICS UPDATE

Ave Maria hired former MLS midfielder Eddie Gaven as the new Men’s Soccer head coach this spring. Gaven played 11 seasons in the MLS for the New York Metro Stars and the Columbus Crew. During his professional soccer career, he received two Humanitarian of the Year awards for the Columbus Crew in 2008 and 2010 and was named the team’s Most Valuable Player in 2010.

Athletic Director Kimberly King is excited to have Coach Gaven on board. “Eddie is a perfect fit for AMU. He cares about the mission of the school and can help us get to the next level of play because he has been there,” Mrs. King said. “We are lucky to have someone with so much talent and heart to coach here at Ave.” —Josh Ambeau

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As Ave Maria Football prepares for their 2016 campaign, they will be led by new head coach Joe Patterson. Patterson joins the Gyrenes after spending the past twelve years as the head coach at St. John’s College High School in Washington D.C. During his time at St. John’s, Patterson posted a record of 76-54, including 10 playoff appearances.

Academics are important for Patterson, as his team at St. John’s achieved an average GPA of 3.0 or higher in nine out of twelve seasons. Patterson graduated Summa Cum Laude from Villanova University and received a Master’s Degree from Catholic University of America. While at St. John’s, he taught Honors Literature and won multiple Teacher of the Year Awards.

Patterson looks forward to leading the Gyrenes in his first season this fall.

He commented, “I’m excited about the future of AMU football. There is a great energy on the team.” The Gyrenes look to rebound from a 4-9 season in 2015, and hope to compete for a Sun Conference Championship.

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In Memoriam

AMU students met Sr. Gertrude during their time volunteering with the Missionaries of Charity Sisters in Calcutta.

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Remembering Sister Gertrude

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Sister Gertrude, the second woman to join Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity, passed away in December of 2015. Sister Gertrude lived a full and blessed life. Born in 1929, she met Blessed Mother Teresa in 1946, and then joined the Missionaries of Charity three years later.

She was a doctor by trade and worked side by side with Mother Teresa caring for the sick. Sister Gertrude wrote of her close relationship with Mother, “We became truly mother and daughter, more than a sister or a doctor.” She shared Mother Teresa’s spirit and continued to radiate that same spirit after Mother’s passing. Sister Gertrude’s fervent faith and passion for service and love in action set an example for everyone she encountered.

Several Ave Maria students met, worked, and prayed with Sister Gertrude during their mission work in Calcutta. John Gargano (‘17), reflected on his time with Sister Gertrude: “[She] was the embodiment of love and joy. We had the opportunity to sit down and talk with her for an hour.

When she talked, you knew you were talking with a living saint. Her love for others could be seen in her joy. What I saw in her were the charisms and joy that characterized Mother Teresa. It was an unforgettable experience.”

Sister Gertrude will always be remembered for her tireless service and devotion to the poorest of the poor.

Four Missionaries of Charity Sisters, and 12 volunteers who helped them were massacred

by Islamic terrorists in the country of Yemen in March. Ave Maria University mourns the tragic death of these lovely women from Mother Teresa’s order, and honors their heroic faith and witness. Because Ave Maria University is uniquely dedicated to honoring Mother Teresa’s memory and continuing her work, our hearts are particularly heavy with grief. Even the thought of their reunion with Mother Teresa in heaven is of no consolation at this moment.

These Sisters cared for the elderly and disabled in war-ravaged Yemen and went to bed each night wondering whether they, too, would be carried off in the waves of cruel hatred that roil parts of Africa and the Middle East. On March 4th, they were.

Let us pray for those grieving these senseless deaths and the repose of the dead, as well as for the safety of Fr. Tom, who is still missing.

Fortunately, Sr. Sally, M.C. survived. May our consciences be awakened and enlivened by the example of the Church’s latest martyrs.

-Jim Towey

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Modern-day Martyrs

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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FROM PRESIDENT TOWEY’S BLOG

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Pope Francis and Ave Maria University

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His Holiness Pope Francis knows without a doubt that Ave Maria University loves him. How? Because by the grace of God, I was able to tell him.

Thanks to the kindness of Eustace Mita, the man who spearheaded the fundraising for the Philadelphia leg of the papal journey, and Carl Anderson, the Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus and his wife, Dorian, Mary and I were at the airport hangar for Pope Francis’ departure and his final U.S. event, and along the rope line as he exited the stage. We kissed the Holy Father’s ring and hand and, in my awful Spanish, assured him of the love and prayers of Ave Maria University.

I can’t say that he responded, “Wonderful. How are the Gyrenes doing?” In fact, he might have been puzzled by the mixture of Spanish and Latin that he heard, coupled with “University.” So he paused a moment before he spoke.

And then he simply looked in our eyes and asked for our prayers. Humbly, sincerely, emphatically.

Moments later, as his tiny Fiat 500 drove past the hangar, I yelled to him through his open window, one more time, all of the love of our entire community. The assurance of Ave Maria University’s love was one of the last of the multitudes of expressions of affection that he encountered during the scores of events and countless dignitary lines he walked during his six days in America.

Our Lady made sure that Ave’s voice was in the chorus of acclaim.

What I do know is that Ave Maria’s flag was firmly planted there, starting with the stirring musical performance by our very own Martin Doman, accompanied on stage by his wife Charlene. He sang two original songs that were well-received by the huge throngs of people that had already assembled in advance of the liturgy.

The Lord allowed our group these opportunities, I believe, because we are a University after Pope Francis’ own heart: humble yet proud, hidden yet already national, rich in people, not money, and a community of joyful, intentional followers of Jesus Christ. We were there representing all of the students, faculty, administrators,

staff, alums, donors, and friends.

And so I hope you will join with me and do as the Pope asked, and pray for him. Pray for him daily. Pray for his leadership as he preaches the joy of the Gospel. Pray for wisdom to guide his steps.

After this historic visit, he now understands America much better and appreciates it a great deal more.

And he knows that Ave Maria University loves him!

To read the President’s Blog, visit blog.avemaria.edu

From top left, clockwise President Towey (left) and Vice President for Student Affairs Julie Cosden (far right) with AMU students in Philadelphia during the Pope’s visit to the United States.

Assistant Director of Student Life Martin Doman performs prior to the Papal Mass in Philadelphia.

Pope Francis celebrates the closing Mass of the 2015 World Meeting of Families.

Ave Maria University 5050 Ave Maria Blvd.

Ave Maria, FL 34142

TAKE A TOUR Student Ambassador Josh Ambeau (far right) shows AMU’s beautiful campus off to visiting students from St. John Francis Regis Parish in Hollywood, Maryland.

If you are a high school student interested in touring Ave Maria University, visit us online: www.avemaria.edu/visitcampus