Play it Loud
Sparks of Hope
Growing Faith
Curator Craig Inciardi ’86 exhibits the greatest instruments in rock history.
Fairfield is the first Jesuit university to offer a Peace Corps Prep Program.
Meet the New Director of Campus Ministry, Rev. Paul Rourke, S.J.
Fairfieldmagazine UNIVERSITY
SPRING 2020
Innovation and Inspiration Celebrating the First-Ever TEDxFairfieldUniversity
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Stagmania at Alumni Hall Photo by Peter McLean
Fans rocked the Alumni Hall bleachers at a sold-out game against Canisius on January 26. A “Last Call at Alumni Hall” reception to bid farewell to this long-standing fixture in Stag Country was scheduled for March 7, 2020. On the cover: Bigelow Tea CEO Cindi Bigelow H’16 shared “Lessons Learned From My Father” in her TEDxFairfieldUniversity talk at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts on October 28, 2019. Photo by Andrew Henderson
Fairfield University Magazine Fairfield University Spring 2020 | Volume 42 | Number 4 a.m.d.g. Editor, Alistair Highet Assistant Editor, Tess (Brown) Long ’07, MFA’11 University News Editor, Susan Cipollaro Copy Editor, Jeannine (Carolan) Graf ’87 Vice President for Marketing and Communications, Jennifer Anderson ’97, MBA ’02 Designer, Nancy (Gelston) Dobos ’91 Photography by: Lynsey Addario: page 7 (Afghan women) Photography by Alfonso: page 39 (wedding) Rich Fury/Getty Images: page 18 Andrew Henderson: pages 2 (TEDx), 12-13, 20-25 Chad Lyons: page 5 Courtesy of Steve Miller: page 17 (guitar) Michael Putland/Getty Images: page 14 Courtesy of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: pages 2 (Play It Loud), 15-17, 19 Stockton Photos: pages 10-11 University and Contributed: pages 3, 4, 6-9, 26-38, 40 Fairfield University Magazine is published four times (November, March, June, September) during the year by Fairfield University. Editorial offices are located in: Bellarmine Hall, Fairfield University Fairfield, CT 06824-5195 (203) 254-4000, ext. 2526 e-mail: ahighet@fairfield.edu Printed at The Lane Press Burlington, Vermont ii spr i n g 2020 | Fairfie l d Un i ve rs it y M aga z in e
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Contents
“ The day exceeded my expectations and was a fitting celebration of the 25th anniversary of the School of Engineering.” — Richard Heist, PhD, Dean of the School of Engineering
COV E R STO RY
14
20
by Alan Bisbort
by Jeannine (Carolan) Graf ’87
Curator Craig Inciardi ’86 exhibits the greatest instruments in rock history at the Met and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
The first-ever TEDxFairfieldUniversity event was held to celebrate the School of Engineering’s 25th anniversary at Fairfield.
As director of acquisitions and a curator at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Craig Inciardi ’86 has turned his childhood penchant for collecting memorabilia and his lifelong love of rock music into a career that has him rubbing elbows with rock ‘n’ roll legends.
Showcasing the innovative and inspiring ideas of the Fairfield University community both on campus and beyond, TEDxFairfieldUniversity’s diverse lineup of nine forward-thinking speakers included a current student, an alumna, an honorary degree recipient, and a faculty member.
Pictured above: A display from the Play It Loud exhibition, featuring a guitar played by rock legend Chuck Berry.
Pictured above: Fairfield University’s Marketing & Communications Department recorded each TEDx talk for online viewing. Watch them at fairfield.edu/tedxfairfielduniversity.
Play It Loud
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Innovation & Inspiration
Fairfieldmagazine UN IVE RSIT Y
4 5 10
SPRING 2020
let ter from the presiden t universit y news athletics
Spike in the Right Direction
by Ed Paige
Coach Todd Kress and Fairfield Volleyball Win Another MAAC Title.
12
campus ministry
Growing Faith
by Jeannine (Carolan) Graf ’87
26
Sparks of Hope by Sara Colabella ’08, MA’11
Fairfield is the first Jesuit university to offer a Peace Corps Prep Program. Fairfield’s specialized certificate program prepares students interested in pursuing Peace Corps volunteer work after graduation. A joint collaboration between the University’s International Studies Program and the Center for Social Impact, the Peace Corps Prep Program hones intercultural skills and builds professional portfolios.
Meet the New Director of Campus Ministry, Rev. Paul Rourke, S.J.
30 32
gr an ts & gif ts alumni notes
Profiles: 33 Katie Henderson ’17, MA’18 Making the Magis Happen in the Alaskan Wilderness 35 Christopher Pilkerton ’95 Acting Administrator of the Small Business Administration
38 40
campus even ts donor profile
Pictured above: Peace Corps volunteer and Fairfield alumna Patience Mhlanga ’14 (right) with a friend in Zambia. Fa i r f i e l d Un i v e r s i t y Mag a z i n e | sp rin g 2020 3
Letter from the President
“ The early Jesuits were innovators — they embraced the technologies of their day in order to ‘help souls’ as Ignatius would have put it.”
Send your letters to the editor of Fairfield University Magazine to Alistair Highet at ahighet@fairfield.edu. Your news could be featured in an upcoming issue of Fairfield University Magazine! Submit your updates through Class Notes within the Online Community and don’t forget to include a photo! Go to fairfield.edu/alumnicommunity.
Dear Friends, So we have crossed into a new decade — in this, the first Fairfield University Magazine of 2020 — and I am keenly aware of how much has changed for us all in the last ten years, and also of the tremendously exciting futures that lie before us. Arguably the greatest transformation that we have encountered in the last decade has been the evolution of digital technologies and the advent of “big data” — by which I mean our capacity to analyze patterns in human behavior and use that information and those capacities, in our case, to be the modern Jesuit, Catholic University the 21st century needs. We will always be a traditional, residential undergraduate institution, with a very clear emphasis on personal formation. Helping young men and women to develop their interior lives, their intellect and compassion — and doing so in the classroom and in the residence halls is at the core of Jesuit pedagogy and will always be integral to our identity. As I have stressed however, the world also needs us to bring the Fairfield educational experience to men and women of all ages, through the technologies that are now before us. This too, is consistent with the Ignatian spirit. The early Jesuits were innovators — they embraced the technologies of their day in order to “help souls” as Ignatius would have put it. They learned the languages, customs, and knowledge traditions of cultures around the globe in order to better comprehend the created world, and to share their knowledge with as many people as they could reach. This is the true missionary spirit that continues to inspire us as we evolve. One area where this has been expressed has been in the development of more than 70 new academic courses for degree and certificate programs in the last three years alone. Forty of these are offered entirely online, or are hybrid programs that embrace both online and classroom instruction. They include graduate certificates
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and degrees in cybersecurity, nursing informatics, dyslexia intervention, non-profit management, digital journalism, and marketing analytics, just to name a few. There will be more to come, as we execute on our strategic plan for evolution and innovation of academic programs which I shared with you in the last issue. The advent of big data also affects our day-to-day operations in ways that are less apparent but just as profound. One area where it is most impactful is in the increasing sophistication of our student recruitment strategies. I’m delighted to report that as of this writing, the applicant pool for the Class of 2024 is the largest in our history, with 12,551 men and women seeking admission, an increase of almost 3 percent over last year. The applicant pool also appears to be academically the strongest on recent record, and the most ethnically and geographically diverse. Given we are able to accomplish this at a time when the college-age population in the Northeast is declining is a reflection of our growing stature, but also of our deliberate enrollment strategies, informed by contemporary recruitment models and data analysis. Of course, as we grow, we do so with a reverence for our past. At press time, we plan to celebrate our collective history with a “Last Call at Alumni Hall” reception on the evening of March 7, and work will soon commence on our new Convocation Center, which we know will be another big step forward for our community. This new Center will host our basketball and volleyball teams, as well as other campus events, and also allow us to host larger community forums. This is the kind of working and gathering space that Fairfield needs as we continue our rise towards national prominence. There are countless other innovations underway, a few of which you will read of in these pages. In all instances, I encourage you to appreciate our evolution through the prism of the Ignatian spirit — one that is restless in the best sense of the word, open-hearted and courageous, full of confidence in our mission and always sailing boldly toward the horizon. With very best wishes and utmost gratitude,
Mark R. Nemec, PhD President
Universit y NEWS FAIRFIELD TO HOST SPECIAL OLYMPICS CONNECTICUT 2020 SUMMER GAMES
Fairfield Among Top 15 Schools for Communication Majors Fairfield University has been ranked among the top 15 in compensation software and data company PayScale’s 2019–2020 review of Best Schools for Communication Majors by Salary Potential. Ranked 13 nationally out of 458 colleges and universities, Fairfield falls in the top three percent of communication or journalism schools to produce graduates with the highest earning potential. Based on data from PayScale’s ongoing online compensation survey, which recorded 3.5 million college graduates for the 2019– 2020 rankings, Fairfield earned its top 15 national placement thanks to high median early-career pay ($58,900) for alumni with 0-5 years of work experience, and high median mid-career pay ($117,700) for alumni with more than 10 years of work experience. Fairfield is joined in the top 15 by University of California-Berkeley (No 1.), New York University (No. 11), and Boston College (No. 15). PayScale’s College Salary Report 2019–2020 includes 1,736 of the 2,167 eligible bachelor’s degree granting schools in the U.S., and includes 98 percent of schools with higher than 5,000 undergraduate enrollment, 95 percent of schools with enrollment higher than 1,000, and also includes more than 96 percent of all undergraduates at public or not-for-profit institutions, based on enrollment data from the U.S. Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). For more information on Fairfield rankings, visit fairfield.edu/ F rankings. l
Fairfield University is pleased to announce it will host the Special Olympics Connecticut 2020 summer games, presented by United Technologies. Serving as the site for the summer games Opening Ceremony on the evening of Friday, June 12, the University will also host swimming, soccer, tennis, and racewalking contests throughout the weekend. Athletes of all abilities from across the state will participate in a variety of sports competitions and demonstrations of strength and determination. In addition to serving as a venue for sports competition, Fairfield will also offer the Healthy Athletes® Village on Saturday and Sunday, which provides free health screenings to participating athletes by volunteer medical practitioners. Part of Special Olympics’ year-round program, Healthy Athletes® gives participants access to health care and
education to improve their physical and emotional wellbeing. Hearing, vision, and dental screenings will be some of the services offered during the summer games, while free prescription eyeglasses and mouth guards will be distributed to athletes at no cost. Fairfield Warde High School, another new venue for the summer games, will be the site for track & field competitions, and Yale West Campus in Orange, Conn., will serve as the grounds for the cycling contests on Saturday and Sunday. Overall, more than 2,500 athletes (with intellectual disabilities) and Unified Sports® partners (their teammates without intellectual disabilities) are expected to take part in the Special Olympics Connecticut 2020 summer games, alongside more than 500 coaches and 2,900 volunteers. To find out more about Special Olympics F Connecticut, visit soct.org. l
Athletes of all abilities from across the state will participate in a variety of sports competitions in the 2020 Special Olympics Connecticut summer games from June 12 to 14. Fa i r f i e l d Un i v e r s i t y Mag a z i n e | sp rin g 2020 5
Universit y NEWS CELEBRATING WOMEN LEADERS IN TECHNOLOGY Fairfield Dolan hosted a special breakfast roundtable — Celebrating Women Leaders in Technology — on Wednesday, October 30, presented by Future Tech Enterprise and HP. Women leaders from major financial, manufacturing, and technology companies shared their keys to success, challenges faced, and recommendations for how schools and companies can better support the next generation of women technology leaders. The roundtable discussion addressed the importance of women in the field of technology. Recent data shows that 74 percent of young women express a desire for a career in a STEM field. And in 2018, women held 25 percent of all U.S. tech jobs and accounted for more than half of the U.S. workforce. Hosts Donna Leonard, vice president of Future Tech, and Allison Cohen, events manager at Channel Company, led the discussion with six women leaders in the field: Andrea Ayala, a channel manager at Datto, Inc., a cybersecurity and data backup company; Cristina Dolan, CEO and founder of InsideCHAINS; Vanessa Forbes ’07, a print sustainability and graphics solutions communications lead at HP; Lori Groth, CIO, Industrial, at Stanley Black & Decker; Francesca Lancer, CFO of Hive IO; and Devra Sisitsky, the executive director and founder of F Makerspace CT. l
Fairfield Volleyball Wins MAAC Championship and 11th Trip to the NCAA Championship For the 11th time in program history and the fourth time in the last five seasons, Fairfield University Volleyball won the 2019 MAAC Championship to gain a berth in the NCAA postseason. The Stags won the conference crown on Nov. 24, taking a 3-1 decision over in-state MAAC rival Quinnipiac and earning a return trip to the national stage. Fairfield was tabbed to challenge #7 Minnesota in Minneapolis in the NCAA Championship First Round. The Stags fell 3-0 to the perennial national championship contender Golden Gophers, who eventually advanced all the way to the Final Four. The 2019 Stags extended their own conference record with their 11th MAAC Championship win.
Fairfield’s 2019 MAAC Volleyball Champions celebrate their victory in Alumni Hall.
Individually, Head Coach Todd Kress claimed his conferencebest sixth MAAC crown after also being chosen by his peers as the MAAC Coach of the Year for a record seventh time. On the court, Manuela Nicolini ’20
was the first player in conference history to be named both MAAC Player and Setter of the Year, also adding MAAC Championship MVP to her 2019 résumé after posting a triple-double in the F Championship match. l
Honorees Announced for the 2020 Fairfield Awards Dinner Fairfield University is pleased to announce its honorees for the 32nd Fairfield Awards Dinner, an annual gala commemorating the University’s dedication to the Ignatian mission of service through the transformative gift of education. This year’s event will be held on March 26, 2020, at the Grand Hyatt in New York City. Since 1988, this event has been a true celebration of Fairfield and has raised more than $19 million for the Alumni Multicultural Scholarship Fund and other endowed scholarships at Fairfield. Continuing to recognize professional
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achievement, outstanding leadership, and volunteer commitment to Fairfield, this year’s Fairfield Awards Dinner honorees will receive the following awards: Clinton A. Lewis, Jr. ’88, former executive vice president and group president, Zoetis, Inc. will receive the Alumni Professional Achievement Award; H. Bart Franey ’67, retired co-founder and principal at Wellness Environments, Inc., and president of Friends of Fairfield Rugby will receive the Alumni Service Award; Paul F. Lakeland, PhD, Aloysius P. Kelley, S.J., Chair in
Catholic Studies and professor of religious studies will receive the Distinguished Faculty/ Administrator Award; and Claire and Woody Knopf, P’16, chair of the Monmouth Medical Center Foundation Board, and former chairman and current consultant of Knopf Automotive (respectively) will receive the Parent Leadership Award. Serving as this year’s co-chairs are Patricia E. Glassford ’85 and Adrienne A. Johnson ’91. Glassford is a returning Fairfield Awards Dinner co-chair and a member of the University’s Board F of Trustees. l
Christina S. McGowan Appointed New Dean of the Library and University Librarian
GSEAP MAKING AN IMPACT Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions (GSEAP) faculty members have partnered with local schools to give Fairfield students the opportunity to put into practice the skills they are learning in the classroom. Last semester, Terri Germain-Williams, PhD, assistant professor of the practice and director of teacher education, placed 10 GSEAP students in Black Rock School classrooms in
Bridgeport, Conn. to work with several classes, specifically on math fluency. This came in response to a request from Black Rock School for one-on-one math skills building. The partnership is one example of the work being done as part of the Collaboration for Effective Educator Development and Reform (CEEDAR) initiative, funded by the Connecticut State Department of F Education (CSDE). l
Following a comprehensive national search, Christina McGowan has been appointed dean of the McGowan library and University librarian, effective January 1, 2020. Since June 2019, Christina McGowan has served as interim University librarian at Fairfield University, and has been active in academic and university leadership. In her role as dean of the library and University librarian, she will continue to lead the operations of the DiMenna-Nyselius Library. Prior to her current position, McGowan served as Fairfield
University’s assistant University librarian for Reference and Circulation Services from 2011 until May 2019, head reference librarian from 2003 until 2011, and senior reference librarian. Her accomplishments include providing leadership in the development and implementation of reference and circulation services, and leading and managing all aspects of the Reference Department with functional supervision of Reference Services, Information Literacy, and Outreach. McGowan earned her master of science degree in library and information science from Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information, and her BA in history F from Mount Holyoke College. l
Lynsey Addario photographed these Afghan women as one of them prepared to give birth in Badakhshan Province in November 2009.
Women and Leadership Series Culminates with Lynsey Addario Lecture On December 9, the day after her 44-page special report on euthanasia made the front page of the Sunday New York Times, awardwinning photojournalist Lynsey Addario visited Fairfield University to present the second lecture in the Open VISIONS Forum’s Women and Leadership Series, presented by Bank of America. Addario is not one to shy away from tough subjects, having spent much of the past two decades capturing images of war in places like Afghanistan, Iraq, Darfur, and Libya. The photographs she shared in her Quick
Center presentation, “Eyewitness Through My Camera Lens: Worlds in Conflict,” told stories of rejoicing – and then rioting, fires, and looting – after the 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein. Through the grainy, greenish lens of night vision goggles, they documented front line clashes between the U.S. 173rd Airborne and the Taliban in 2007. And they brought to life the chaotic call to arms of the 2011 Arab Spring, when Addario and her fellow journalists had more war experience than the rebel troops with F whom they traveled. l
DANIEL PEARL WORLD MUSIC DAYS CONCERT FEATURES SINGER-COMPOSER ELANA ARIAN
On Tuesday, October 22, Elana Arian was featured at the Daniel Pearl World Music Days Concert in a performance titled, An Evening with Elana Arian: A Celebration in Story and Song. Considered one of the leading voices in contemporary Jewish music, Arian’s soulful sound has inspired communities across the country. The event was part of the Daniel Pearl World Music Days Concert series, which honors the life and legacy of the slain journalist Daniel Pearl, who was also a skilled violinist. Pearl’s parents created this musical series to reflect their son’s belief that music can unite people.
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Universit y NEWS NIKOLE HANNAHJONES HEADLINES 2020 MLK CELEBRATION Award-winning investigative journalist and New York Times Magazine staff writer Nikole Hannah-Jones was Fairfield University’s keynote speaker at the 2020 Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation on Wednesday, January 29, held at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. The theme for Fairfield University’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. observance was The Challenge of Change: Intersectional Justice and Democracy. A week of programming to celebrate the life and influence of the late Dr. King was held between F January 26–31. l
Paul Lakeland, PhD Named 2020 Recipient of the Hellwig Award Fairfield University Professor Paul Lakeland, PhD has been named the 2020 recipient of the Hellwig Award for outstanding contributions to Catholic intellectual life, by the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU). The award is named for Monika K. Hellwig, a Georgetown theologian who served as president and executive director of the ACCU. Dr. Lakeland is the Aloysius P. Kelley, S.J., Professor of Catholic Studies and the founding director of Fairfield University’s Center for Catholic Studies. He has taught at Fairfield for the past 38 years, during which time he has also been chair of the department of Religious Studies, and director of
the University’s Honors Program. In his 15 years as director of the Center for Catholic Studies, Dr. Lakeland has welcomed some 90 distinguished speakers to campus, organized 90 workshops on Catholic issues for students, faculty, and the local community, convened the Presidential Seminar on the Catholic intellectual tradition, and — more recently — sponsored a local area discussion group with Commonweal magazine. “You do this work for the local community and you don’t think about it reaching the attention of a bigger organization,” said Dr. Lakeland of being honored with the Hellwig Award. Dr. Lakeland is a member of the American Academy of Religion, the
Dr. Lakeland
American Theological Society, the College Theology Society, and a member and past-president (201819) of the Catholic Theological Society of America, the largest society of theologians of any tradiF tion in the world. l
In Memoriam: Professors Emeriti George B. Baehr, PhD and Daniel S. Buczek, PhD
Nikole Hannah-Jones
Fairfield University mourns the loss of two professors emeriti, George B. Baehr, PhD and Daniel S. Buczek, PhD, both World War II veterans. Dr. George Baehr, Fairfield University professor of history emeritus, died on January 10, 2020 at the age of 95. A decorated World War II U.S. Army veteran who served in the European theater with the 8th Armored Infantry Batallion, 20th Armored Division, Dr. Baehr was a member of the first graduating class of Fairfield University (BA ’51). He received his master’s degree
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(’54) and PhD (‘70) from the University of Notre Dame. A lifelong professor of history, Dr. Baehr taught at the University of Notre Dame, Michigan State University, Holy Apostle’s Seminary (Cromwell, Conn.), and Fairfield University, where he was first appointed in September 1962 and remained for 30 years in the College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Daniel Buczek, professor of history emeritus at Fairfield University, died at the age of 96 on January 12, 2020. Dr. Buczek attended Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y. for two years before
being drafted into military service during World War II. Dr. Buczek was assigned as a Polish-Russian interpreter with the Military Police Prisoner of War Processing Company. In late 1944, he helped formulate agreements about temporary boundary lines between Allied and Russian Forces. Dr. Buczek began a 40-year teaching and writing career in 1950 at Seton Hall University, and in 1955 transferred to Fairfield, where he taught history for the next 35 years in the College of F Arts and Sciences. l
Justin Corbitt ’19 checks a simulation mannequin in the Egan School’s Simulation Center.
EGAN SCHOOL RANKED TOP 5 IN NEW ENGLAND (l-r) Fairfield University Dean of Students Will Johnson, PhD, and documentary filmmaker Byron Hurt.
DEAN OF STUDENTS WILL JOHNSON, PHD, HONORED WITH COMMUNITY LEADER AWARD
As part of its White Ribbon Campaign, the Center for Family Justice recognized Fairfield University Dean of Students Will Johnson, PhD for his leadership at Fairfield University, and for his efforts to engage men in the prevention of domestic and sexual violence.
Fairfield Prep Welcomes New President, Christian J. Cashman Fairfield University has announced that Christian J. Cashman will become the next Cashman president of Fairfield College Preparatory School, effective July 1, 2020. Previously a teacher in the Theology Department at Fairfield Prep, Cashman returns to the school after a three-year stint as the president and head of school at Northwest Catholic High School in West Hartford, Conn., where he not only acted as the Catholic spiritual leader and chief development officer of the school, but also oversaw all professional
staff, budgetary processes, official communications, and gift-giving. A graduate of Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, Cashman earned a bachelor of arts in philosophy and a master of education in secondary education, specializing in English. He is also a graduate of the Seminars in Ignatian Leadership, part of the Jesuit School Network’s United States Jesuit Conference. “Mr. Cashman is a proven leader with a strong commitment to the excellence and the traditions which are hallmarks of a Jesuit, Catholic secondary education, said Fairfield University President Mark R. Nemec, PhD. “I am confident that he will lead Fairfield Prep F into a successful future.” l
Fairfield University’s Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies has been ranked in the top five nursing schools in the New England Region by Nursing Schools Almanac’s 2019 ranking of the 60 Best Nursing Schools in New England. Ranked at No. 5 by the online nursing student resource, Fairfield is joined by Yale University (No. 1), Boston College (No. 2), University of Connecticut (No. 3), and University of Massachusetts
Medical School (No. 4) in the Nursing Schools Almanac’s 2019 review. Each nursing school in the region was ranked on three dimensions: the institution’s academic prestige and perceived value; the breadth and depth of nursing programs offered; and student success, particularly on the NCLEX licensure examination. These rankings were then combined into an overall score, producing the comprehensive F regional ranking. l
“EDISON OF MEDICINE” ROBERT LANGER, PHD, INSPIRES FAIRFIELD ENGINEERS AND SCIENTISTS
On Friday, Oct. 25, Robert Langer, PhD, visited Fairfield University to present a lecture titled “The Edison of Medicine: Robert Langer’s Quest to Solve Global Health Challenges Using Biotechnology.” Dr. Langer currently serves as a David H. Koch Professor at MIT — the university’s highest faculty honor. He is widely hailed as one of the world’s most important innovators in the field of biotechnology. Fa i r f i e l d Un i v e r s i t y Mag a z i n e | sp rin g 2020 9
Spike in the Right Direction Coach Todd Kress and Fairfield Volleyball win another MAAC title. by Ed Paige
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tag l oya l i s t s i n r e d , punching air horns and ringing cowbells — it was the way a title game at Fairfield’s Alumni Hall should be. That November day, Stags volleyball defeated Quinnipiac 3 to 1 to win the 2019 MAAC Championship. It was Coach Todd Kress’s sixth championship ring. Fairfield went on to play in the NCAAs, where they faced the nation’s seventh-ranked team, the University of Minnesota. There, the Stags fell in three contested sets, but it was clear that playing among the top in the nation is where they now belong. Ever since coming to Fairfield in 1995, Kress has met with success. He’s the all-time school leader in wins (225), and he holds a 58-game winning streak versus conference foes. At present, he owns more MAAC championships than any other Stags coach. “Todd has developed a great team chemistry and a dynamic selflessness,” said Paul Schlickmann, Fairfield’s athletics director. “He has a knack for finding high-level talent that other programs overlook. In their classroom performance, community service, and common purpose, volleyball embodies what we are all about here.” In his first stint as Fairfield’s head coach (he left for Northern Illinois after the 1998 season) Kress won two conference championships and produced the school’s single best season, 35-2. Since returning to campus in 2014, he has produced four more conference championships. Bu t i n 2019, t h e g lo ry wa s a l mo s t not to be. Fairfield faced Marist in the MAAC championship semifinals. Down two games in the match, the Stags faced the real possibility of being upset on their home court. “I really didn’t realize we were down until the later stages of the third set,” said Fairfield’s returning senior captain Manuela Nicolini ’20 of Castelnuovo Rangone, Italy (Volleyball Left: Manuela Nicolini ’20 was the Most Valuable Player of the 2019 MAAC Championship after recording a triple-double in the championship match against Quinnipiac.
“Todd has developed a great team chemistry and a dynamic selflessness. He has a knack for finding high-level talent that other programs overlook.” Paul Schlickmann, Director of Athletics
Above: Coach Todd Kress holds a 58-game winning streak versus conference foes, and has more MAAC championships than any other Stags coach. matches are played to the best of five sets, and each set needs to be won by 2 points). “At one point I remember thinking, ‘Oh my God, we have to get this point.’ But the team somehow knew we weren’t going to lose.” And they didn’t, taking the third set 25-22 and the fifth 15-11. Said Kress: “You only get a few of these matches in your career, either playing or coaching.” Nicolini has been a critical part of the team’s success. The 2019 MAAC Player and Setter of the Year has garnered numerous star accolades and statistics as a Stag. She has won the Best Setter award twice and is the first-ever conference player to be named best in two categories for one year. Nicolini also sits fourth on Fairfield’s alltime assist list. And since she red-shirted a year, the senior will return to Fairfield next year, looking to become the Stags’ third player
to have three 1,000-assist seasons. “I didn’t really know anything about U.S. volleyball when I was growing up in Italy,” said Nicolini. “I just liked Fairfield’s location close to New York City and the school’s academic reputation. I feel so lucky to be here. It’s a great community, a great environment. When we travel and I see the other schools I realize how great Fairfield is.” For all the conference championships, the question remains: when will Stags volleyball advance in the NCAA tournament? Kress said simply, “It bugs me. Taking the next step is what gets me up each morning. [Winning a tournament game] is definitely one of my goals and the team’s.” In order to avoid a top seeded team like Minnesota in the first round of the NCAA’s, Fairfield’s ratings have to change. Kress explained, “Our RPI [Rating Percentage Index] was around one hundred this year. It’s probably one of the highest a MAAC team has ever had. But for us to avoid a top-16 seed we have to get in the forties or fifties.” The problem is, generally, other MAAC teams do not have high RPIs, so despite winning so often within the MAAC, those wins don’t help move Fairfield up in the rankings. And the Stags desperately need to win some early season tournament games against higher-ranked competition. Sticking to core principles has worked so far, and that will continue to be the way forward. “We want to create a student-athlete model and experience that is second to none,” said Schlickmann. “Fairfield should be a place to go where men and women can compete at the highest level. Competitive success will be a by-product of that.” The school’s striking athletics facilities, fresh uniforms, and gleaming gear, as well as its expanding social media and streaming coverage won’t hurt as volleyball takes the step up to a higher level. Then there’s the new Arena and Convocation Center, expected to be completed in 2021 — build it and they will F prevail. Volleyball will play there, too. l
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Growing Faith
Meet the New Director of Campus Ministry, Rev. Paul Rourke, S.J. by Jeannine (Carolan) Graf ‘87
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n a windy, rain-soaked September afternoon, Rev. Paul Rourke, S.J., celebrated his first Mass of the Holy Spirit at Fairfield University. A worldwide tradition at Jesuit colleges and universities since the Middle Ages, the Mass of the Holy Spirit heralds the beginning of a new academic year. The fall 2019 service at Egan Chapel welcomed first-year and returning students, faculty, and staff to campus — an especially fitting start for Fr. Rourke, the newly appointed director of Campus Ministry. Originally from St. Louis, Fr. Rourke is a 1994 graduate of Georgetown University. He received a law degree from Washington University in 1997 before joining the Society of Jesus in 2000. He was ordained a priest in 2010, and arrived at Fairfield fresh off an eightmonth tertianship — the final stage of Jesuit formation — in Australia. While abroad, his pastoral ministries centered around offering the Spiritual Exercises to parish groups and working with university students who traveled to Australia on foreign immersion trips. Prior to his tertianship, Fr. Rourke served for five years as director of Campus Ministry at Georgetown University Law Center, the largest law school campus ministry program in the country. Of the Georgetown Law students, he said, “I could relate to the career pressures, the anxieties, the uncertainties, and also the public service dimension. A lot of people have a sense of wanting to be of service to society, but they also feel the need to pay off loans and other competing pressures. Having had some experience with that, I was able to share the tools of Ignatian discernment, hopefully to their benefit.” Now at Fairfield and ministering to the community here, he said, “I’d like to lead every person I meet into a deeper encounter with the living God and a deeper encounter with their true self. “How do we accompany students on this discovery without imposing, without proselytizing, or without compromising their freedom in any way? Just by giving them that space to come to the deepest longing of their heart, which I firmly believe is ultimately only satisfied through God.” Fr. Rourke described his role as director of Campus Ministry as “somebody who is trying to care for the spiritual health of the whole
“How do we accompany students on this discovery without imposing, without proselytizing, or without compromising their freedom in any way? Just by giving them that space to come to the deepest longing of their heart, which I firmly believe is ultimately only satisfied through God.” Rev. Paul Rourke, S.J., Director of Campus Ministry
campus community.” By that he means not just Catholics, but students of other faiths (or no faith) as well. “Even though I’m not giving non-Catholic students the kind of spiritual leadership that our individual faith chaplains can offer them, I still think that my job is to be a steward of the home that they already have here in Campus Ministry.” Fr. Rourke noted that although students come to Campus Ministry with a lot of the same basic life questions as anyone, they’re at an age where they’re deciding whether faith and regular participation in Church are going to remain part of their lives. “It’s kind of a tender moment,” said Fr. Rourke, “where they’ve come from home and maybe they were practicing or maybe they weren’t going to church on a regular basis, and here they have the opportunity to choose.” Mass at night in the residence hall lounges — an old Fairfield tradition — was reinstated during the fall semester as a way to minister to students where they live. Other initiatives that Fr. Rourke envisions going forward include financial support for students who wish to go on an immersion trip, a broader array of retreat offerings, and perhaps one day, a dedicated off-campus retreat house. But first, Fr. Rourke’s goal is to work in
Above: Student lectors and Eucharistic Ministers meet with Fr. Rourke in the sacristy, prior to Mass. Left: Fr. Rourke spoke of peace and hope in his homily at the candlelight Advent Mass. collaboration with the Murphy Center for Ignatian Spirituality and other Centers on campus “to really have Campus Ministry be not simply pastoral, but to be an agent of the mission of Jesuit education, of passing on our Ignatian tradition, and helping it to enrich the whole fabric of the University.” As the first semester of his Fairfield University career drew to a close, Fr. Rourke was once again a celebrant on the altar of Egan Chapel, continuing another Campus Ministry tradition: the annual candlelight Advent Mass. Looking very much at home, he began his homily with these words: “There’s something about candlelight that creates a feeling of intimacy and peace; something that makes you feel, in a sense, a closeness to the sacred and to the spirit of this season of peace that we celebrate. And of course, light is also a symbol for us, of hope and of understanding, of God’s knowledge and wisdom coming to us, and of God’s very F life that comes to us through Jesus.” l
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CURATOR CRAIG INCIARDI ’86 EXHIBITS THE GREATEST INSTRUMENTS IN ROCK HISTORY AT THE MET AND THE ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME by Alan Bisbort
Most people who have met Ringo Starr — or for that matter, any Beatle — would consider that to be one of the highlights of their life. For Craig Inciardi ’86, it was just another day at the office — not that he wasn’t excited about it, mind you. Inciardi’s office is, of course, not like yours or mine. He is director of acquisitions and a curator at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and he met Ringo while interviewing him about his first Ludwig drum kit — the one he famously unveiled on The Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964, during the TV appearance that launched the “British Invasion” and changed the course of history. Inciardi had convinced the now 79-year-old Beatle to loan this iconic kit to the rock museum for its blockbuster Play It Loud exhibition, a
IT LOUD left:
Pete Townshend of The Who leaps in the air while performing live on stage, London, February 1981; his guitars are featured in Play it Loud. right: A Gibson Melody Maker guitar played by Joan Jett.
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PLAY IT LOUD
PLAY IT LOUD Instruments of Rock & Roll Jayson Kerr Dobney and Craig J. Inciardi with Anthony DeCurtis, Alan di Perna, David Fricke, Holly George-Warren, and Matthew W. Hill
Instruments of Rock & Roll
PLAY IT LOUD
Play It Loud celebrates the musical instruments that gave rock and roll its signature sound. Seven engrossing essays by veteran music journalists and scholars discuss the technical developments that fostered rock’s seductive riffs and driving rhythms; the evolution of the classic lineup of two guitars, bass, and drums; the thrilling innovations and expanded instrumentation musicians have explored to achieve unique effects; the powerful visual impact instruments have had; and the essential role they have played in the most memorable moments of rock and roll history. Abundant photographs depict rock’s most iconic instruments — including Jerry Lee Lewis’s baby grand piano, Chuck Berry’s Gibson ES-350T guitar, John Lennon’s twelve-string Rickenbacker 325, Keith Moon’s drum set, and the white Stratocaster Jimi Hendrix played at Woodstock — both in performance and as works of art in their own right. Produced in collaboration with
roadies was going to paint over the Ludwig logo and he told him, ‘No! That’s why I got the drums, so people could see the Ludwig!’.” Such are the encounters that Inciardi has had since he was recruited out of the Collectibles Department at Sotheby’s in 1991 to work for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Play It Loud was not the first exhibition on which Inciardi collaborated with the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 1999, he helped pull together Rock Style, which ran through March 2000 at The Met, spotlighting the influence that rock ’n’ roll has had on fashion from the 1950s to the present and focusing on performers like Elvis Presley, Mick Jagger, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, this astounding book
Instruments of Rock & Roll
goes behind the music to offer a rare, in-depth look at
the instruments that inspired the musicians and made possible the songs we know and love.
236 pages; 179 illustrations, 128 in full color; suggested reading; suggested listening; index
-1-58839-666-2
eD in sPain
collaboration with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, which opened in April 2019 in New York, moved to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this past fall, and currently runs through September 2020 at the Hall of Fame’s home in Cleveland, Ohio. “He was so happy to be able to purchase that set of Ludwigs, to replace the sub-par equipment available before then in the UK,” said Inciardi. “Ringo told me that one of the Beatles’
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above:
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame exhibit. Cover of Play it Loud featuring Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth on Ovation Magnum electric bass. right: Steve Miller’s Les Paul TV Special electric guitar, Gibson Guitar Corp, 1961. upper right: Craig Inciardi ’86. left:
the Beatles, David Bowie, and Madonna. But Rock Style was nowhere near the blockbuster that the current Play It Loud collaboration has been. The new exhibition has also spawned a popular exhibition catalog, co-authored by Inciardi and Met curator Jayson Dobney, and published by Yale University Press.
“ MANY ITEMS CAME FROM MUSICIANS WHO NEEDED THEM BACK BECAUSE THEY STILL USE THEM IN PERFORMANCES.” — Craig Inciardi ’86
“Play It Loud was hugely successful for the Met, with 600,000 visitors,” said Inciardi. “It broke a lot of records for first-time visitors to the Met, which was exciting. The hope is that those firsttimers checked out other exhibitions while they were there and then became return visitors.” The stated focus of Play It Loud is: “Instruments as objects and tools of the trade.” “We were interested in the different designs and artistry of the hardware,” explained Inciardi. “We included equipment used by Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Beatles, and Jimi Hendrix, but also the unsung heroes were represented, like Hank Marvin and James Jamerson and Carol Kaye.”
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espite his globetrotting for rock ’n’ roll artifacts and arcana, Inciardi has not wandered far from his boyhood roots. A Brooklyn native, he attended Xaverian High School there. “After graduating from Xaverian, I really wanted to go to a Jesuit college and Fairfield University was on my radar,” said Inciardi, who still lives in Brooklyn. “Several Fairfield professors had profound impacts on my career. I also met my wife there, Joan Hauerstein, also Class of ’86. Fairfield had the same impact on her, pointing her in the direction of her career as a curator, archivist, and art consultant.”
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After graduating from Fairfield with an English and communications double major, Inciardi landed a job at Phillips, the auction house based in London and New York, which specializes in 20th-century art, design, jewelry, books, and other memorabilia. He started out as a “porter,” a job that included unloading items to be placed on auction and then holding up items at the auction itself. “From there, I went to the Collectibles Department and learned a lot about a potpourri of items, like toys and sports memorabilia. You actually got to hold the items, to get the feel of them. I learned from the experts, who were very generous with explaining the significance of various objects.” His next stop was the Collectibles Department at Sotheby’s. The scope of what he handled expanded to include dolls, animation celluloids, Hollywood memorabilia, and rock ’n’ roll artifacts. He was at Sotheby’s for three years, when he was approached by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation in New York, whose board chairman was Rolling Stone magazine publisher, Jann Wenner. Since then, Inciardi has been in his true-blue milieu, an area that harks back to his childhood love of the Beatles and the Monkees. “My brother and I had their albums, which
were given to us by our babysitter,” he said. “I remember throwing them around like Frisbees at age 5, but we also listened to them. I was certainly aware that by the 1970s the Beatles had broken up and that it was a big deal culturally.” His propensity for collecting rock ’n’ roll material began then, with scrapbooks of concert tickets, rock magazines, posters and albums. And his love of rock music did not dim at Fairfield University, where he and friends would drive to New Haven and Hartford to catch some of the up-and-coming bands (like R.E.M. and U2). He recalls one memorable concert in Fairfield’s Alumni Hall, by the Joe Jackson Band. Though never himself in a rock band, he admits to playing the guitar “adequately, and that’s being generous about my talent.” Play It Loud was a real back breaker, requiring more than five years of planning to pull off. Inciardi was responsible for amassing and organizing the loan of material from myriad places and people, including Ringo Starr. “So many items came from musicians who needed them back because they still use them in performances,” he said. “We had specific instruments in mind when we requested them from the musicians. We didn’t just want any old instrument from a famous rock ’n’ roller. We wanted one of significance to them.”
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Particularly helpful in the planning process was Jimmy Page, the guitarist who cut his teeth in the Yardbirds and as a session musician before becoming a superstar as leader of Led Zeppelin. “Jimmy Page came to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame several times and I interviewed him for a section of the exhibition called ‘Creating a Sound’,” said Inciardi. “We took a film crew into Abbey Road, Studio B, where the Beatles recorded, and he demonstrated how he got certain sounds for the Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin. He’s a very thoughtful person — a real gentleman, and incredibly knowledgeable about rock ’n’ roll and blues history.” It was just another day at the office for F Craig Inciardi. l
above left:
Singersongwriter St. Vincent playing a custom designed Ernie Ball Music Man during the 2018 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival. above: The Play it Loud exhibit. left: The guitar “rig” of Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello. far left: Ibanez Iceman electric guitar, commissioned and played by Paul Stanley of Kiss.
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Innovation & The first-ever TEDxFairfieldUniversity event was held to celebrate the School of Engineering’s 25th anniversary at Fairfield.
Third-generation Bigelow Tea CEO Cindi Bigelow presented a TEDx talk titled “Lessons Learned From My Father.”
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Inspiration by Jeannine (Carolan) Graf ’87
If you’ve ever watched a great TED or TEDx talk online, you’re probably familiar with that “aha” feeling of suddenly seeing a new idea presented in a fresh, interesting way. That’s what it felt like to be a part of the first-ever live TEDxFairfieldUniversity event, held this fall in the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts.
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Watch and share the TEDxFairfieldUniversity talks at: fairfield.edu/ tedxfairfielduniversity The acronym TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design — the three topics that combined in 1984 for the first TED Talk in Monterey, Calif. Today, the nonprofit TED organization shares “ideas worth spreading,” not only through the renowned annual TED Talk conference, but also through TEDx — a program launched in 2009 as a smaller, more intimate model for local communities to share big, TED-worthy ideas. The idea to host a TEDx event on campus was the brainchild of Phil Maroney, director of development for University Advancement, and School of Engineering Dean Richard Heist, PhD. Maroney said they were discussing the experiential learning of today’s engineering students and “landed on TEDx as a way to share the Fairfield experience on a global platform.”
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ith a theme of “Innovation and Inspiration,” the Quick Center’s Wien Experimental Theatre was transformed into TEDxFairfieldUniversity on Monday, October 28, 2019. As the clock ticked toward the 2:30 p.m. start time, 100 invited guests began to fill the rows of tiered seats overlooking the professionally lit stage, set with the familiar red TEDx logo letters. Down the hall, overflow audience members leafed through event programs as they sat in the Kelley Theatre, which had been set up to livestream the TEDx talks for hundreds of additional viewers. Dean Heist and Maroney had carefully curated the list of nine TEDxFairfieldUniversity speakers; each prepared to present for no more than 16 minutes. Among those selected were alumna Dawne Ware ’89, CEO of Ware Consulting LLC and a finance executive in the property casualty and reinsurance industries, who had a message about doing the right thing — even when
no one is looking; David Banks, president and CEO of The Eagle Academy Foundation, Inc., whose visionary approach to the education of young men of color has been featured on CBS This Morning; and Cindi Bigelow H’16, third-generation CEO of Bigelow Tea, who wished to pass along important life lessons learned from her predecessor and father. Bigelow introduced her parents, Eunice and David Bigelow Jr. as they sat in the front row. Entitled “Lessons Learned From My Father,” her message centered around the importance of making family a priority and being a role model. “You have the power to make a room better,” she told audience members, “just by being you.” Mark Unger, author and owner of another family business, Unger Global Companies, also had his family present for his moving TEDx talk, “First Survivor,” about confronting — and rejecting — the prognosis of “zero chance of survival” when his son was diagnosed with childhood cancer.
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aving served three U.S. Army tours as a trauma surgeon in Afghanistan and Iraq, Dr. T. Sloane Guy, MD, MBA, brought a unique perspective to his TEDx talk, “Innovation Inspired by Adversity: Robotic Surgery’s Third Wave.” Dr. Guy, director of Minimally Invasive & Robotic Cardiac Surgery at Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, took listeners back to 1989 — a time when experienced surgeons believed, “the bigger the incision, the better.” That year, young doctors pioneered the first minimally invasive surgical procedure, an innovation now widely considered to be “the most revolutionary medical procedure in 100 years,” having heralded a cultural shift toward focus on patients’ needs and recovery
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above :
Regenerative medicine expert Stephen Badylak, DVM, PhD, MD, described this slide of the interface of a cell and extracellular matrix as “the inspiration for the work we do” in his research lab. at left:
A TEDxFairfieldUniversity “Innovation & Inspiration” event program; Aidan Kehoe said that believing that “everyone first needs to feel safe” is what drove him to a career in the cybersecurity industry; Videographer Costas Costanta ’12 captured the day’s talks, now available online at fairfield.edu/ tedxfairfielduniversity. Fa i r f i e l d Un i v e r s i t y Mag a z i n e | sp rin g 2020 23
above:
Backstage, Tom DiPirro ’13 of Fairfield’s Marketing & Communications team monitors the recording of Dr. Donna Coletti’s talk, “The Longest Journey: How Palliative Medicine Changed a Surgical Mind and Heart.” right:
Donna Coletti, MD, MS, FACOG, is scholar-in-residence of the Kanarek Center for Palliative Care Nursing Education at Fairfield’s Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies. opposite page from top:
Lilliana Delmonico ’20 is a bioengineering major in Fairfield’s School of Engineering; 100 audience members gathered in the Quick Center’s Wien Experimental Theatre for Fairfield’s first TEDx event; Executive Director Peter Van Heerden of the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts emceed the afternoon event.
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“The way we’re going to continue forward is by continuing to be inspired by our limitations.” — Steven Badylak, DVM, PhD, MD, Deputy Director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine
time. Summing up his work in robotic surgery, Dr. Guy shared a quote from Elon Musk: “I could either watch it happen or be a part of it.” Cybersecurity expert Aidan Kehoe, cofounder and CEO of Skout Cybersecurity challenged young leaders to “change the world by caring about it more every day,” in his TEDx talk, titled “Feeling Safe in Scary Times.” Kehoe compared working in cybersecurity “to riding a tiger” and noted that the world has accumulated more data in the last three years than in the history of mankind. To the great interest of the engineering students in the audience, he also estimated that there are currently 3 million open jobs in cybersecurity worldwide — almost a half million of them in the U.S.
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ll of the invited speakers shared one important asset: an idea that would inspire debate and spark conversation. For bioengineering major Lilliana Delmonico ’20, it was a thought-provoking twist on how to handle the expectations of others when asked, “What do you want to do with the rest of your life?” For Donna Coletti, MD, MS, FACOG, scholar-in-residence at the Kanarek Center for Palliative Care Nursing Education in Fairfield’s Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Sciences, it was the personal story behind her unlikely professional career path from obstetrics and gynecology to palliative and hospice care — a move inspired by her father’s serious illness. For Stephen Badylak, DVM, PhD, MD, deputy director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, it was the idea that innovation and inspiration are “typically borne out of an unmet need.” Dr. Badylak highlighted new developments — and setbacks — in regenerative medicine strategies for human tissue and organ replacement. He noted that every innovative step forward comes with mistakes and identified limitations
that then supply the next unmet need. “The way we’re going to continue forward,” he said, “is by continuing to be inspired by our limitations.”
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any of the nine invited speakers at Fairfield’s inaugural TEDx event were accustomed to speaking in front of an audience, but none of them had ever given a TEDx talk. Event organizer Maroney said, “The speakers approached their talks as if they were delivering the Gettysburg Address — they ‘wordsmithed,’ rehearsed, refined, read books on public speaking, and rehearsed some more.” As of this publication date, their TEDx Fairfield University talks have been watched online more than 8,250 times collectively. They can be viewed at fairfield.edu/ TEDxFairfieldUniversity. A serendipitous outcome of TEDx Fairfield University was the camaraderie that formed between the speakers as they waited backstage. A bond formed among them in the green room as they introduced themselves, double-checked the timing of their talks on the master schedule, and watched one another’s presentations on a TV monitor. Being a TEDx speaker has changed the whole experience of watching TED talks online for senior Delmonico. “I used to think TED speakers were super-human and larger than life,” she said. “I still do, on some level. But now, when I watch talks I think, ‘That is a real person who was probably nervous, but hopefully had a small group of strangers cheering them on in the green room.’” In the weeks that followed TEDx Fairfield University, the TED organization sent a confidential email survey to audience members. “I’m happy to report,” shared Maroney, “TEDxFairfieldUniversity scored a nine out of 10.” Dean Heist was not surprised. “The day exceeded my expectations,” he said, “and was a fitting celebration of the 25th anniversary of F the School of Engineering.” l
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FAIRFIELD IS THE FIRST JESUIT UNIVERSITY TO OFFER A PEACE CORPS PREP PROGRAM.
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left:
Patience Mhlanga ’14 at her Peace Corps swearing-in ceremony in Zambia. far left from top: Mhlanga prepares a nutritious meal of local fare; a woman and her baby check on the progress of the new maternity ward construction; Mhlanga helps lay the bricks for the new facility.
by Sara Colabella ’08, MA’11
As a child, Patience Mhlanga ’14 fled her native Zimbabwe due to political persecution, first to a refugee camp in Zambia then to America with the support of the Jesuit Refugee Service. After graduating from Fairfield, mindful of the generosity she had been shown by the Jesuits, she joined the Peace Corps to return the same helping hand she once received. “I am a practicing Catholic, and I have always believed that being of good service to others is a reflection of our love for thyself, others, and God,” she said. “I felt a sense of duty and calling to apply for the Peace Corps, because it demanded more than being just kind, but also my gifts and skills in solving various challenges affecting the developing world.” Ten years after leaving the refugee camp in 2007, Mhlanga returned to Zambia to work as a health volunteer focusing on nutrition, HIV/ AIDS, maternal and child health, and sanitation.
SPARKS OF
HOPE Fa i r f i e l d Un i v e r s i t y Mag a z i n e | sp rin g 2020 27
“ BE REMINDED THAT YOU MAY NOT ‘SAVE ANYONE,’ BUT YOUR PRESENCE IS VALUABLE. DURING MY PEACE CORPS SERVICE, SOME DAYS FELT LIKE MY COMMUNITY AND I WERE SIMPLY WORKING TOGETHER TO IGNITE A SPARK OF HOPE FOR EVERYONE TO FLOURISH.” — Patience Mhlanga ’14
Her responsibilities included village-tovillage outreach regarding HIV education, hosting cooking demonstrations using local produce, teaching mothers about nutrition, and helping to build a new maternity ward and waiting shelter. “Peace Corps is more than volunteering. It is a job that demands our gift of time and a duty that should be taken seriously,” noted Mhlanga. “Be reminded that you may not ‘save anyone,’ but your presence is valuable. During my Peace Corps service, some days felt like my community and I were simply working together to ignite a spark of hope for everyone to flourish.”
S
ince the Peace Corps was first established in 1961, more than 230,000 U.S. citizens have served in 141 countries worldwide. With almost 3,500 of those volunteers from Connecticut — and 156 from Fairfield University — in 2018, Fairfield responded to increased student interest in international service by becoming the first Jesuit university to offer a Peace Corps Prep Program. A joint collaboration between the International Studies program and the Center for Social Impact (formerly the Center for Faith & Public Life), the program combines handson experience with specialized coursework to build necessary competencies. Courses
focus on six Peace Corps sectors: education, health, environment, agriculture, youth in development, and community economic development. “The first of its kind among our Jesuit peer institutions, this dynamic new program allows us to address students’ interest in pursuing international careers by honing their intercultural skills and building their professional portfolios,” said Anita DeegCarlin, international studies program associate director and co-director of the Peace Corps Prep Program. “With a Peace Corps Prep certificate, graduates will have a head start when applying to international service opportunities, as well as a diverse community of peers who share their global outlook.”
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top:
Zambian schoolgirls learn how to make reusable feminine products. above left: Julia Brown ’17 (left) and a coworker support public health programs at a hospital in Cameroon. above right: Brown trains at a girls’ camp to raise awareness of heath issues and gender-based violence.
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raduates of Fairfield’s Peace Corps Prep program will follow in the footsteps of Mhlanga and other recent graduates who have volunteered for the agency. Nursing major Julia Brown ’17 felt the call to join the Peace Corps after being taught at the Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing
A
top left:
A farm in Sitaba, Senegal. Local children play with 2017 alumna Bridget Mulkerin’s dog, Saï Saï. above : Bridget Mulkerin ’17 (second from right) shares a smile with her friends and neighbors . top right:
& Health Studies that the holistic treatment of patients is not just something that happened in a hospital room. When she arrived in Njombé, Cameroon in 2017, Brown was struck by how different the culture was — she described being in awe of how people gracefully carried baskets, water jugs, and bags on their heads. Starting each day with a 40-minute walk to the nearby hospital, Brown dedicated herself to treating HIV patients as a community health
extension agent, prescribing and dispensing medication, and reviewing test results. She also worked on a care team to launch a mobile clinic to bring affordable health interventions to the community and created HIV support groups, among other community initiatives. “I was impressed by the vast projects and funding in place for HIV prevention work across the whole country,” she said. “All of these things reinforce the idea that Peace Corps volunteers aren’t serving to ‘save’ anyone or anything, and we don’t know ‘better’ than Cameroonians. We simply have a different background and training, and offer a different perspective on public health initiatives.” Brown began her third Peace Corps term in January and is now stationed in Ebolowa, Cameroon.
few thousand miles north of Cameroon, Bridget Mulkerin ’17 is on a journey of her own, working as an agroforestry volunteer in Senegal. She lives with a host family and her dog Saï Saï in the small village of Sitaba, located in the Sédhiou region on the Casamance River. The area is abundant in a variety of trees including acacia, baobab, and African mahogany. Mulkerin works with local farmers to improve the health of their tree and fruit production. Part of her role as an agroforestry volunteer involves working with an advanced farmer to build a Master Farm — a hectare plot of land used to teach local farmers improved agricultural and agroforestry technologies, which in turn improves food security. Training sessions cover tree pruning, beekeeping, composting, crop spacing, making organic fertilizer, creating tree nurseries, and live fencing. Additionally, Mulkerin and fellow volunteers started a scholarship program for 30 middle school-aged girls, teaching them skills such as composting, money saving, and making reusable menstrual pads. Mulkerin has witnessed the poverty and the harsh realities of life in Senegal, from weddings of child brides to funerals of children under the age of five — victims of malnourishment and lack of access to quality medical care. At the same time, she understands deeply that “people are people no matter where you go.” “This means,” she said,“that middle schoolers still want dances, kids love playing in the dirt with their friends … adults love drinking tea and talking with one another through the night. Everyone loves getting dressed up for holidays, praying, and celebrating together. “My friends in Senegal do not allow the unacceptable poverty they experience to stop them from living. Still, their battle against it is hard fought, day after day.” Fairfield University challenges students to be socially responsible men and women for others — and with others. These Peace Corps volunteers, and those who will follow, are exemplars of that mission. Mhlanga explained, “As Jesuit-educated students, we need to keep the flame burning. To not just be intelligent human beings, but to go beyond and dispense that intelligence into the community by serving F others.” l
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Grants&Gifts
A Selection of Grants and Gifts Received from Private and Public Foundations, and Corporations
The Arts The Fairfield University Art Museum received an $8,312 Preservation Assistance Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities for its James Reed Print Collection Rehousing Project. This funding will allow the museum to re-house each of 700 19th century French lithographs and etchings into archival solander boxes, and place them into storage cabinets with new dataloggers in place to actively monitor the room’s temperature and humidity. The National Endowment for the Arts and Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD)
has granted the Quick Center $12,000 to continue its “Theatre That Changes Our World” series, which will focus on women’s stories in the face of the #MeToo movement and suicide prevention. The first play in the series, Women On Fire: Stories from the Frontlines, directed by Chris Henry, featured stories told to him by an anonymous group
of women and showcased real narratives and concerns that plague the world. The second play in the series, Right Before I Go, brings to life the last words of those lost to suicide: the heartsick, bullied, survivors of war, mentally ill, and the achingly lonely. This play, written by Stan Zimmerman (screenwriting credits include The Golden Girls, Roseanne, and Gilmore Girls), aims to provide a sense of hope for the living.
General University Support & Scholarships The William T. Morris Foundation renewed its support with a $20,000 grant toward the Arthur C. Laske Jr. ’51 Memorial Scholarship, which is awarded to a wellrounded student who demonstrates responsibility, selflessness, innovation, and integrity. The University received a grant in the
amount of $8,092 from the William and Philip Carlson Fund to support arts programming and scholarships at Fairfield. The Morrison Family Foundation made a $10,000 gift in support of The Fairfield Fund. This contribution will be used to support financial aid, academics, career services, strategic initiatives, and other University priorities.
Center for Social Impact The Marie and John Zimmerman Foundation has renewed its support of the Jones-Zimmermann Academic Mentoring Program with a $50,000 grant. With this award, Fairfield University will continue to provide after-school tutoring and mentoring to elementary students from Cesar Batalla School in Bridgeport, Conn.
Bennett Center for Judaic Studies The Frank Jacoby Foundation has given $18,400 in support of the 22nd annual JacobyLunin Humanitarian Lectureship, which took place on November 13, 2019 as part of the Quick Center’s Open Visions Forum.
College of Arts & Sciences
Supported by the Frank Jacoby Foundation, attorney Carrie Goldberg delivered the 22nd Annual Jacoby-Lunin Humanitarian Lecture, “Demanding Justice for Victims: From Cyber Crimes to Federal Courts.”
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The F.M. Kirby Foundation has awarded a $15,000 grant in support of the Adrienne Kirby Family Literacy Project, an initiative directed by Dr. Judy Primavera. The project benefits more than 125 Fairfield University students as they put their classroom learning into action and support the literacy development of low-income children in Bridgeport, Conn.
From among a dozen eligible affiliate member institutions, Fairfield’s School of Engineering was awarded one of eight faculty grants and three of 26 student grants by the NASA Connecticut Space Grant Consortium.
Charles F. Dolan School of Business The Bank of America Foundation has awarded $12,000 to establish the Bank of America Scholars Program for female students of MBA, MSF, and MSBA programs, promoting academic excellence, professional mentorship, and ethical leadership.
Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing & Health Studies A $4,000 grant from the CVS Health Foundation will provide scholarship support for exceptional nursing students who are training to become family nurse practitioners. All recipients of this award are bilingual, demonstrate outstanding academic promise, and have aspirations to take nursing positions that support medically underserved populations following graduation. The Helene Fuld Health Trust has pledged an exceptional $650,000 to support the Accelerated Baccalaureate Program (ABSN) of the Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies. This gift will facilitate efforts to identify and support scholars in the ABSN Program in order to develop in them the social awareness, critical thinking skills, and values to become licensed nurses and leaders, to improve health outcomes globally. The Delaney Memorial Foundation has given $3,000 for scholarships to assist outstanding nursing students who demonstrate financial need. The Egan School has received a grant of more than $17,000 from the Older Americans Act Title III to fund a fall
The Helene Fuld Health Trust has pledged $650,000 in support of students who have earned a bachelor’s degree in another field, and are now pursuing an accelerated nursing degree.
prevention program. A Matter of Balance© is a national structured group intervention that utilizes a variety of activities to address physical, social, and cognitive factors affecting fear of falling, and to teach fall prevention strategies. The activities include group discussion, problem-solving, skill building, assertiveness training, videotapes, sharing practical solutions, and exercise training.
School of Engineering Dr. Uma Balaji has been awarded $5,000 as part of the University of Bridgeport Innovation Grant to develop a multipurpose solar charging station that is efficient, affordable, and uses a ‘tracker’ system to follow the sunlight to charge mobile phones and other mobile devices. The product is intended for use in countries with poor infrastructure for electric energy supply, particularly in humanitarian contexts. The NASA Connecticut Space Grant Consortium granted the School of Engineering a total of $3,600 to help fund the following projects: • Dr. Harvey Hoffman was awarded $2,000 to help fund the “Afterschool Robotics” service learning course at Wakeman Boys and Girls
Club, offered through Fairfield University in spring 2020. The program aims to build a STEM pathway through mentorship between undergraduates and middle school students, introducing approximately 15 undergraduate Fairfield engineering students to the knowledge and skills to engage in robot building and then mentor approximately 15 middle school students from Wakeman Boys and Girls Club. • Mitchell Owen ’20 was granted nearly $600 to fund his project, which manipulates flight data using parallelization and genetic algorithms to thoroughly test conflict detection software utilized by air traffic controllers. Once fully implemented, the new evolution framework will boost conflict detection performance and reliability. A trip to William J. Hughes Technical Center will allow him to present and test a prototype and final product to the Simulation Branch of the Federal Aviation Administration. • Keith McHugh ’20 was granted $1,000 to fund his project, which aims to design and fabricate a desktop device that will allow for the remanufacturing of used plastic bottles for applications such as 3D printing filament. The device is capable of taking in plastic bottles of varying sizes and turning them into long bands of plastic that can be F used for other applications. l
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Alumni NOTES 1960
S H A R E YO U R N E W S
’68 | Arthur J. Kenney completed, on behalf of his class, Fairfield University NARRATIVES of the Class of 1968, documenting the noble lives led by more than 150 members (52 percent) of that graduating class. Copies in book-bound and electronic formats are available for alumni and students to read in the DiMennaNyselius Library, and the Library of Congress.
1970
’74 | James Carroll joined Barclay Damon in Boston, Mass. in September 2019. Carroll primarily concentrates his practice on litigation in state and federal courts for corporations and individuals such as officers, directors, and real estate brokers and associates. Robert Harbeck and his Sun City Carolina Lakes (SCCL) tennis team won the 2019 USTA Men’s Doubles (55+) South Carolina State Championship held at Palmetto Dunes in Hilton Head, S.C., and was a finalist in the 2019 USTA Men’s Doubles (65+) South Carolina State Championship, also held in Hilton Head. ’77 | Michael Lyons has been promoted to vice president and deputy chief compliance officer at Beckton Dickinson. Lyons oversees attorneys and compliance staff with responsibility for worldwide legal and ethical compliance at the company. He was previously associate general counsel, and previously served as associate general counsel at Covidien (now Medtronic).
Marie-Claire Najjar ’12, MS’13 and Robert Wallum ’12 were married on Nov. 2, 2019 in New Jersey. Share your news! Simply log on to the FREE Alumni Online Community and post your Class Note. Not a member? Registration is easy at fairfield.edu/alumnicommunity. Sign up and log on today.
1980
’85 | Thomas Moore earned the rank of associate professor of English at York College at the City University of New York, where he serves as a tenured member of the faculty. Moore also works at CBS News Radio.
Catholic Charities’ planned Gonzaga Family Haven complex in northeast Spokane, Wash., which will provide housing and social services to more than 70 homeless families. ’98 | Dan Padernacht has been named to the 2019 City & State Bronx Power 100, which identifies the New York City borough’s political “movers and shakers.”
1990 2000 ’91 | Robert McCann is president and CEO of Catholic Charities, which recently received a $5 million donation from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ nonprofit to help fund its latest housing project for homeless families. The grant from the Bezos Day One Families Fund will be primarily focused on
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’00 | James Chesbro MA’05, MFA’12 was selected “Most Inspirational Teacher” by Fairfield College Preparatory School’s graduating seniors, in fall 2019.
’04 | Gerald Abbey authored the book Cheers, Beers, and Eastern Promise, which was published by Amazon and CreateSpace in 2013.
’05 | Kevin Neubauer has been promoted to partner with national law firm Seward & Kissel LLP. Neubauer has extensive experience representing sponsors and managers of private investment funds, particularly private equity funds, private credit funds, venture capital funds and hedge funds, on the formation, structuring, and offering of interests of such funds. He also has significant experience structuring domestic and offshore partnerships and other types of investment vehicles, including special purpose vehicles, co-investment vehicles, separately managed accounts and funds-of-one. ’08 | Katherine Schneider MFA ’12 had her first book of poetry, I Used to Remember the Story of How, published by Finishing Line Press. It is available on Amazon and the Finishing Line Press website.
2010
’12 | Casey Grambo was named associate director of Development Communications and Alumni Affairs at the Yale School of Drama in December 2019. ’13 | Jacqueline Brimley, a mathematics major, became an associate of the Society of Actuaries (ASA) in September 2019. ’15 | Richard “Rick” Dowling, of the Junior Golf Hub in Ridgefield, Conn., was named Connecticut State Golf Association (CSGA) Player of the Year. Dowling finished 253 points ahead of the second-place finisher and had one of the most successful seasons in CSGA history. In May, Dowling won the Wilson Cup Invitational in Scarsdale, N.Y. and he
Katie Henderson ’17, MA’18 Making the Magis Happen in the Alaskan Wilderness
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by Nicole Funaro ’17 ome people are drawn to a life of travel by sheer wanderlust. But Katie Henderson ’17 MA’18 has always been on the move. Born in Florida, Henderson’s Air Force military family moved throughout the United States during her childhood — not to mention stops in Okinawa, Japan; Rome, Italy; Ramstein, Germany; and Brussels, Belgium. After Henderson’s family settled in Colorado, a new adventure came on the horizon for Katie alone: Fairfield University. As a first-year student in 2013, Henderson jumped at the chance to get involved on campus, serving as a New Student Leader (NSL), joining the History Club, and earning membership to several academic honor societies. Each of these ties strengthened her already apparent desire to be a teacher.
“We are in a very rural location that does not have any roads or cars, and the houses for all 300 residents are connected by boardwalks because the tundra that surrounds us is spongy and waterlogged.” “Being an NSL made me much more confident in my own abilities, and more outgoing in my actions. I also learned that I really enjoyed mentoring students and forming relationships with them, based on common experiences and challenges,” she said. Henderson completed her BA in history in 2017 with minors in American studies and education, and her MA in education with a social studies concentration in 2018. After finishing her master’s degree, Henderson landed job at a
high school in Ridgefield, Conn., where she taught freshman and sophomore world history, as well as a psychology elective class. “I was happy with the academic rigor and high levels achieved by my students in Connecticut,” said Henderson, “but I felt that I could make an even bigger difference in my own life as well as the lives of my students.” Henderson found that chance at a job fair for teachers, upon striking up a conversation with a recruiter from Alaska. “I became really fascinated with the idea of working with Alaska native students in a completely different environment and lifestyle. I went home and spent all weekend looking up the school district and other information, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that I could find a lot of depth, meaning, and purpose if I taught there,” she said. So Henderson left Ridgefield and moved to Atmautluak, Alaska to teach at Joann A. Alexie Memorial School in the heart of a rural Yup’ik Eskimo village. At the Pre-K through grade 12 school in an area with a population of about 300 residents, Henderson has thrown herself into her new community and has the responsibilities to match. She not only serves as a secondary English teacher for grades 6-12, but also the school’s art liaison, providing professional development in ways for teachers to integrate art into their curricula. She has even coached cross country and served as the assistant coach for the school’s basketball program, in her spare time. In addition to her newfound duties, there has been much to adjust to, said Henderson — for starters, Atmautluak itself. “We are in a very rural location that does not have any roads or cars, and the houses for all 300 residents are connected by boardwalks because the tundra that surrounds us is spongy and waterlogged,” she explained. “The one store we have does not have produce or fresh foods available, and families rely on subsistence hunting, fishing, and gathering
for their own survival and the survival of their traditional Yup’ik culture.” Another challenge she faces is working with students who primarily speak the Yugtun language, which is native to the Yup’ik culture. “Many of my students struggle greatly with English because they only speak Yugtun at home, and even my high schoolers are at an elementary-grade reading level even though they are required to use grade-level curriculum materials,” she said. “As a social studies teacher who was hired as an English teacher, this has made my job especially challenging.” Yet, with the challenges come the rewards, of which Henderson said there are plenty. “I am learning so much about another culture and way of life, and I am much closer to my students and can form real connections with them and other community members. I am really enjoying learning as much as my students about their Yup’ik traditions and way of life.” Henderson may have her eye on yet another move in the future, perhaps to return to her roots and teach internationally in a military school. No matter what lies ahead, she said that her Fairfield experience has prepared her well. “Because of my military background, I have always been flexible and resilient, but at Fairfield my approach to obstacles also grew out of my passion to succeed and to learn,” she said. “I do feel that I am carrying on the Jesuit values as a teacher. The magis is my personal favorite, and the source of my own drive to be the best I can be and more in everything I do. Here in Alaska, I am much more than just an English teacher, and that F has been really satisfying.” l
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Alumni NOTES was part of the winning amateur side in the Julius Boros Challenge at New Haven, Conn. In June, he captured his second Connecticut Amateur Championship in three years. In early August, Dowling finished T2 in the Public Links at Wintonbury Hills in Bloomfield, Conn. He then finished third in the Mid-Amateur at Shuttle Meadow Country Club in Kensington, Conn.
Marriages Alexis Gill ’98 and Stephen Schuler — Sept. 28, 2019
S H A R E YO U R N E W S
Haley Moore ’13 and John DeNave ’13 — Oct. 19, 2019 Marie-Claire Najjar ’12 MS’13 and Robert Wallum ’12 — Nov. 2, 2019 Katlin Cizynski ’14 and Kristian Petric ’11, MBA ’14 — Sept. 14, 2019 Tara McDermott ’14 and Henry DeMaso ’14 — June 1, 2019 Lindsey Petronella ’14 and Robert Hagstrom ’14 — Sept. 28, 2019 Maxwell Buchanan ’15 and Alyson Jacobs ’16 — Sept. 28, 2019
Kimberly DeCarlo ’03 and Joseph DiPaola — Feb. 16, 2019
Marissa Cannata ’15 MSN’17 and Thomas Balanda ’15 — Sept. 27, 2019
Joanna Lenck and Eric Reitz ’07 — Oct. 12, 2019
Hannah Sullivan ’15 and James Carroll ’13 MS’14 — Oct. 18, 2019
Erica Rojas ’08 and Brandon Newcomer — July 4, 2019
Drew Mignosa ’16 and Mary Gaughan ’16 — Nov. 16, 2019
Joanna Lenck and Eric Reitz ’07 were married on Oct. 12, 2019, at the Sea Pines Resort in Hilton Head, South Carolina.
Births
Share your news! Simply log on to the FREE Alumni Online Community and post your Class Note. Not a member? Registration is easy at fairfield.edu/alumnicommunity. Sign up and log on today.
Kathleen Foley ’10 and Jon Brennan — Aug. 10, 2019 Alison Goldberg ’11 and Mark Turczak — Sept. 21, 2019 Amanda Blaney ’12 and Dominick Della Valle — April 26, 2019 Chloe Carlino ’12 and Christopher Pacicco ’12 — Dec. 14, 2019 Kristen Cordola ’12 and Johnny Messina ’12 — Sept. 7, 2019 Kelsey George ’12 and Roland Abichaker ’11 — Sept. 27, 2019 Jessica Karanian ’12 and Joseph Karczewski ’12 — Oct. 12, 2019 Allison Maguire ’12 and Matthew Lyman — Oct. 12, 2019
Christina (Rice) ’00 and Jeremy Nappi ’00 — son, Cole Robert Nappi, Dec. 27, 2018 Jessica Dubuss ’05 and Amanda Tripmacher — son, Wells Chatham Tripmacher-Dubuss, Oct. 14, 2018 Caitlin Crimmins and John Crimmins ’10 — daughter, Charlotte Helen, April 15, 2019 Julie (Le) ’10 and Michael Giordani ’10 — daughter, Lily, April 25, 2019 Elisse (Ferraro) ’12 and Thomas Smith ’11 — son, Cole John Smith, Sept. 25, 2019
Madeline Goralski ’13 and Kevin Murphy — Oct. 19, 2019
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Leave a Legacy
Education is a Gift. Pass it on. By including Fairfield University in your estate plans, you can create a personal legacy that will support many generations of future students. For more information, please contact: Stacie Kelly, Senior Director of Planned Giving at 203-254-4020 or skelly1@fairfield.edu or visit fairfield.edu/plannedgiving
Christopher Pilkerton ’95 Acting Administrator of the Small Business Administration
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by John Torsiello s acting administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), Fairfield University graduate Christopher Pilkerton ’95 has a lot on his plate. But that’s just fine with him; he was prepared to multi-task and make important decisions while at Fairfield. “Fairfield played an incredibly important role for me,” explained Pilkerton, a political science and communication major, who joined the SBA as its general counsel in 2017 and became acting administrator in April of 2019*. “I had the opportunity to serve as the FUSA president, and as one of the first students elected to the local town council. Those experiences helped crystallize my interest in government and policy. I still use many of the lessons I learned during that time.” Pilkerton, who lives on the eastern shore of Maryland with his wife, Amanda, a pastry chef, called his presidential cabinet-level position at SBA “unbelievably rewarding.” He has the opportunity to work alongside “so many talented and dedicated individuals towards a mission of helping people reach their goals of becoming entrepreneurs.” He added, “I have the chance to visit these companies, hear directly from them, and see the many, many jobs that they are creating.” The Small Business Administration (SBA) is an autonomous U.S. government agency established in 1953 to promote the economy by providing assistance to small businesses. The SBA provides a variety of financial resources for small businesses including microlending, or small loans that are issued to those who wouldn’t otherwise qualify for financing, as well guidance and entrepreneurial development. It also directs government contracts towards small business. “The SBA team makes a difference every day,” Pilkerton said. “We help people start small businesses. Two of every three net new jobs come from these entrepreneurs.”
After graduating from Fairfield, Pilkerton attended law school at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and began a legal career as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan, working as a trial lawyer in both the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor and the Office of Money Laundering and Tax Crimes. During that time, he obtained a master’s degree in public administration from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. He went on to become senior counsel at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, investigating cases related to insider trading and accounting fraud. He has been a partner in two law firms, representing clients in regulatory matters and providing general counsel services to early-stage companies and the financial services industry. Pilkerton has also served on the board of directors of the NASDAQ Futures Exchange, and as the associate director of the Law and Public Policy Program at the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law. He was named one of Fortune magazine’s “Heroes of the Fortune 500” for his efforts to support orphans in Liberia affected by the Ebola virus. He keeps in close touch with many of his classmates, some several times a week, and is a godfather to the children of two of his roommates. Pilkerton returned recently to his alma mater when he was invited to speak at the Charles F. Dolan School of Business. “Between the experiences I had while I was at Fairfield, the friends that I made and am still close to, and the lessons I learned that I still use in my professional life, Fairfield’s impact on my life has exceeded all expectations I had when I applied in 1990,” he said. “Much like the goals of the SBA,” Fairfield provides students with an environment to succeed, and empowers them to “follow their dreams,” continued Pilkerton. “A small liberal arts school in Connecticut allowed me to receive invaluable experience in
“The SBA team makes a difference every day. We help people start small businesses. Two of every three net new jobs come from these entrepreneurs.” politics. So many of my classmates were able to take advantage of its programs and location to pursue their areas of professional interest — whether it was medicine, financial services, entertainment, non-profit work, or entrepreneurial activities.” In a summation of his approach to life and business, Pilkerton said, “I have always been moved by the adage, ‘If you knew you could not fail, what would you do?’” Based on his career trajectory, adherence to that F adage has served him well. l *In January 2020, U.S. Treasurer Jovita Carranza was confirmed by the Senate and sworn in as the 26th head of the SBA, taking over for acting administrator Pilkerton.
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Alumni NOTES In Memoriam
Edward Galkowski (BEI) ’72 — Sept. 19, 2019
George Baehr ’51 — Jan. 10, 2020
Robert E. McQuillan (BEI) ’73 — July 10, 2019
F. Harry Costello ’51, MA’58, CT’59 (GSEAP) — Dec. 11, 2019 George J. Dirgo ’51 — Oct. 17, 2019 Timothy F. Cronin ’53 — Sept. 11, 2019 Thomas P. Doyle ’53 — Dec. 12, 2019
Gerald J. Murphy ’73 — Sept. 22, 2019 Suzanne (Ferencz) Weinz ’75 — Nov. 19, 2019 Gary R. Harrington ’76 — June 3, 2019 Corey C. Shaw ’77 — Sept. 5, 2019
Rudolph J. Girandola ’53, MA’57 (GSEAP) — Oct. 9, 2019
Robert M. Hancharyk ’78 — March 25, 2019
George A. Williams ’53 — Oct. 24, 2019
Eugene R. Bertolli ’79 — Nov. 10, 2019
John F. Coss ’57 — Oct. 1, 2019
David H. Pruner ’79 — Nov. 30, 2019
Robert McCarthy ’59 — Dec. 30, 2019 Richard J. Regan ’60, MA’63 (GSEAP) — Sept. 24, 2019 Anthony P. Vitarelli ’60 — Aug. 24, 2019
Marcy (Lauro) Vogel ’82 — Oct. 24, 2019 August J. Bellome ’84 — Sept. 9, 2019 Heather B. Hulford ’89 — Sept. 18, 2019
Kenneth F. Misa ’61 — Oct. 2, 2019
Jeffrey L. Leonard ’92 — Nov. 23, 2019
Michael S. Guglielmo ’62 — Oct. 31, 2019 Lawrence C. Rafferty ’64 — Oct. 13, 2019 Lorenzo Giordano (BEI) ’65 — May 24, 2019 Ronald Miecznikowski ’67 — Oct. 22, 2019 Rev. G. Simon Harak, S.J. ’70 — Nov. 3, 2019
Hundreds of companies match the charitable contributions made by their employees, employees’ spouses, or retirees. You may double or even triple the impact of your gift! Please visit matchinggifts.com/fairfield to find out if your employer matches. If they do, complete your company’s matching gift form as you make your gift to Fairfield.
Make your gift today at fairfield.edu/give
Toni M. Gallo ’88 — April 25, 2019
Joseph F. Colette ’61 — Oct. 2, 2019 Vincent A. Carrafiello ’62 — June 29, 2019
Did you know?
S H A R E YO U R N E W S
Joseph A. Martino ’93 — Oct. 26, 2019 Rebecca (Timlin) Scalera ’94 — Dec. 14, 2019 Irene T. Dowdall ’95 — Aug. 29, 2019 Steven D. Gaffney ’00 — Nov. 29, 2019 Michael D. Reilly ’09 — Dec. 1, 2019
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Katlin Cizynski ’14 and Kristian Petric ’11, MBA ’14 were married on Sept. 14, 2019 in Massachusetts.
S H A R E YO U R N E W S
G R A D U AT E S C H O O L S Dr. Len Bergantino MA ’67, EdD, PhD, published four books in 2019: I am Freud! Psychoanalysis is the Only Method of Cure: Too Bad No One Knows How to Do One!!!; Reverse Analysis, The Existential Shift, Gestalt Family Therapy, and the Prevention of the Next Holocaust; The Art of Psychotherapy and the Liberation of the Therapist; and The Essence of Music. James Chesbro ’00, MA’05, MFA’12 was selected “Most Inspirational Teacher” by Fairfield College Preparatory School’s graduating seniors, in fall 2019. Katherine Schneider ’08, MFA’12 had her first book of poetry, I Used to Remember the Story of How, published by Finishing Line Press. It is available on Amazon and the Finishing Line Press website.
Herbert L. Crocker Jr. MA’62, CT’66 (GSEAP) — July 26, 2019 John M. Shostak MA’63 (GSEAP) — Nov. 10, 2019 Richard J. Regan ’60, MA’63 (GSEAP) — Sept. 24, 2019 Angela J. (Lombard) McCann MA’66 (GSEAP) — Dec. 12, 2019 Sister Mary Fahy MA’73 (GSEAP) — Dec. 11, 2019 Francis W. Poisson Jr. CT’73 (GSEAP) — Dec. 14, 2019 Joan M. Crimmins CT’77 (GSEAP) — March 22, 2019 Robert V. Jerome MA’77 (GSEAP) — Dec. 10, 2019 Sharon A. (Rotunno) Kluchnick MA’77 (GSEAP) — Oct. 20, 2019
Marriages
Kathryn L. (McCue) Dinnan MA’81 (GSEAP) — Nov. 25, 2019
Marie-Claire Najjar ’12 MS’13 and Robert Wallum ’12 — Nov. 2, 2019
Kathleen (Kelly) Stachura MA’85 (GSEAP) — Oct. 2, 2019
Katlin Cizynski ’14 and Kristian Petric ’11, MBA ’14 — Sept. 14, 2019 Marissa Cannata ’15 MSN’17 and Thomas Balanda ’15 — Sept. 27, 2019
Kathleen (Foley) ’10 and Jon Brennan were married on Aug. 10, 2019, in Worcester, Mass.
Sister Mary R. Boothe,CSJ, MA’87 (GSEAP) — Oct. 18, 2019 Joseph G. Kozlowski MS’01 (SOE) — Sept. 9, 2019 Valerie D. Lee MA’11 (CAS) — Aug. 27, 2019
In Memoriam Rudolph J. Girandola ’53, MA’57 (GSEAP) — Oct. 9, 2019 F. Harry Costello ’51, MA’58, CT’59 (GSEAP) — Dec. 11, 2019 Charles E. Maloney MA’58 (GSEAP) — Dec. 9, 2019
Christina (Rice) ’00 and Jeremy Nappi ’00 welcomed son Cole Robert on Dec. 27, 2018. Share your news! Simply log on to the FREE Alumni Online Community and post your Class Note. Not a member? Registration is easy at fairfield.edu/alumnicommunity. Sign up and log on today.
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S H A R E YO U R N E W S
Alumni Campus NOTES EVENTS SPRING 2020
Fairfield University Alumni Association fairfield.edu/alumni | 203-254-4280 Email us at alumni@fairfield.edu Save the Date: Fairfield Awards Dinner THURS., MARCH 26
For more information, visit fairfield.edu/awardsdinner 50th Class Reunion Class of 1970 FRI., MAY 15 – SUN., MAY 17
Caitlin Crimmins and John Crimmins ’10 welcomed daughter Charlotte Helen on April 15, 2019.
The Sleeping Beauty Open VISIONS Forum Espresso: Randall Griffey The Met @ 50 – Looking Back/Looking Forward TUES., MARCH 3 | 7:30 P.M. Orin Grossman, Michael Haber, Emma Sohlberg, and Sheryl Staples: Beethoven @ 250 SUN., MARCH 8 | 3 P.M. Pablo Ziegler Trio Jazz Tango FRI., MARCH 13 | 8 P.M.
2020 Commencement: May 16 & 17 70th Commencement Graduate SAT., MAY 16 | 9:30 A.M.
Undergraduate SUN., MAY 17 | 9:30 A.M.
Reunion 2020 Class years ending in 0 and 5 FRI., JUNE 5 – SUN., JUNE 7
Donald Ciampi, Jr. ’86, DJ Ciampi ’21, and Donald Ciampi, Sr. ’61 pose at the annual Fairfield Legacy Association reception at Alumni House
Are you one of the 15% of Fairfield graduates who are members of a legacy family? Our legacy families consist of students and alumni whose family members — including parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren and/or siblings — attended or currently attend Fairfield. Visit fairfield.edu/FLA to learn more and to submit your family tree.
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Quick Center for the Arts quickcenter.com | 203-254-4010 Follow us! @FairfieldQuick The Met: Live in HD Agrippina (Handel) SUN., MARCH 1 | 12 P.M. (ENCORE) & 5:30 P.M. (ENCORE) | 11:15 P.M. PRE-TALK
Tom na Fazenda (Tom at the Farm) FRI., MARCH 20 | 8 P.M. The Met: Live in HD Der Fliegende Holländer (Wagner) SUN., MARCH 22 | 1 P.M. & 6 P.M. Global Theatre: Right Before I Go MON., MARCH 23 | 7 P.M. Russian National Ballet Theatre The Sleeping Beauty FRI., MARCH 27 | 8 P.M. Young Artists Series SUN., APRIL 5 | 2 P.M. SUN., MAY 3 | 2 P.M. The Capitol Steps FRI., APRIL 17 | 8 P.M.
The Met: Live in HD Tosca (Puccini) SUN., APRIL 19 | 1 P.M. & 6 P.M. MOMIX FRI., MAY 1 | 7:30 P.M. The Met: Live in HD Maria Stuarda (Donizetti) THURS., MAY 14 | 1 P.M. & 6 P.M.
The Fairfield University Art Museum
S H A R E YO U R N E W S
fairfield.edu/museum | 203-254-4046 Email us at museum@fairfield.edu Gifts of Gold: The Art of Japanese Lacquer Boxes Bellarmine Hall Galleries NOW THROUGH MAY 15
Archives of Consciousness: Six Cuban Artists Walsh Gallery, Quick Center for the Arts NOW THROUGH MAY 16
Choco (Eduardo Roca Salazar), The Duck (El Pato), 2019, Collagraphs applied to wood, Collection of Steven and Terry Certilman
Kristen Cordola ’12 and Johnny Messina ’12 were married on Sept. 7, 2019, at the Egan Chapel of St. Ignatius Loyola at Fairfield University.
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Donor PROFILE Dr. Patrick J. Carolan ’59 and Betty Carolan ’87, P’85, P’89
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r. Patrick J. Carolan ’59 and his wife Betty Carolan ’87, P’85, P’89 have been — and continue to be — instrumental members of the Stag community. Their family is the first in the University’s history to include a husband, wife, son (Patrick ’85), and daughter (Jennifer ’89) who are all Fairfield alumni. After meeting through mutual friends as teenagers, Patrick and Betty began their lifelong journey together, raising five children and welcomed nine grandchildren. Defining himself as a typical kid from Bridgeport, Patrick — a first generation American and the first in his family to attend and graduate from college — earned his bachelor’s degree in pre-med studies in 1959. During this time, he said, “the Army had a program where if you enlisted at the beginning of your senior year they would commission you as a Second Lieutenant, assign you to a medical school, and in return you had to serve a two-year draft obligation, plus an additional year.” In his final year at Seton Hall Medical School in 1962, Patrick enlisted in the Army and moved his growing family (which now included two children) to serve first in San Francisco, Calif., then in Fort Benning, Ga., Phoenix, Ariz., and San Antonio, Texas. In his decade of Army service, Patrick rose to the rank of
Lieutenant Colonel and was named Chief of Orthopedics at 3rd Field U.S. Army Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) during the Vietnam War from 1970 to 1971, earning a Vietnam Campaign Bronze Star Medal. Witnessing the toll that his overseas deployment took on the family, Patrick decided “it was time to get out, because I thought we’d be in another war and Betty had been in Arizona with four kids while I was in Vietnam. I didn’t want to see her go through that again.” During the Christmas holidays in 1971, Patrick and Betty visited their Connecticut families and Patrick met Dr. Walter Shanley ’57, a Bridgeport orthopedic surgeon. The Carolans moved to Connecticut and Patrick joined Dr. Shanley at his Bridgeport practice in 1973, later opening his own practice, Merritt Orthopedic Associates. Around this time, the family welcomed their fifth child, James. Shortly after his birth, Betty began
40 spr ing 2020 | Fairfie l d Un i ve rs it y M aga z in e
The Carolans have been President’s Circle members and have supported the Fairfield Fund for more than 30 years. attending night classes at Fairfield University. She graduated with a BA in English 13 years later, in 1987. “I had five children at this point, so my time was primarily spent going to school and taking care of them,” Betty recalled. “That was my full-time job, but that’s what I chose to do and I loved it.” Patrick also reconnected with Fairfield during this period. “John Fallon (Class of ’71), contacted me to see if I was interested in being the Class of ’59’s representative on the Alumni Board. Then, Donald Cook, the Athletics Director at the time, asked if I wanted to be the Athletics teams’ physician.” Patrick was the attending physician for Fairfield Athletics for 22 years. He also served on the Alumni Board from 1972 to 1980, and was the 1977-78 president of the Board. He volunteered on the ’94,’04, and ’09 Reunion committees, was a University Trustee from 1979 to 1985 and from 1998 to 2004, chaired his 50th Reunion committee, and was a member of several other
University committees. He was honored at the 1981 Fairfield Awards Dinner with the Alumni Service Award, and in 1992 Patrick received the 50th Anniversary Jubilee Medal, awarded to the 50 most active and influential alumni who helped to build the University. Betty also supported the University, serving on the Perlman Gala Committee in 1991, joining several chair installations, and attending numerous events, dinners, lectures, and receptions over the years, including the Fairfield Awards Dinner, President’s Circle dinners, and President’s receptions. In addition, the Carolans have been President’s Circle members and have supported the Fairfield Fund for more than 30 years. Patrick attributes their commitment to Fairfield to their positive academic experiences at the University, “which were in large part provided by the Jesuits.” “The best teachers I had were F the Jesuits,” agreed Betty. l
REUNION 2020
Please consider supporting Fairfield with a gift in honor of your Reunion. You can make your gift online at fairfield. edu/give or call us at 877-748-5123. Thank you!
50TH REUNION WEEKEND
REUNION WEEKEND
May 15-17, 2020
June 5-7, 2020
Class of 1970: To register for the 50th Reunion Weekend, or for a full schedule of events, pricing, and frequently asked questions, visit
To register for Reunion Weekend, or to view the full schedule of events and frequently asked questions, visit
fairfield.edu/50threunion.
fairfield.edu/reunion.
Please consider supporting Fairfield with a gift in honor of your Reunion. Make your gift online at fairfield.edu/give or call us at 877-748-5123. Thank you! Fa i r f i e l d Un i v e r s i t y Mag a z i n e | sp rin g 2020 iii
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Mark your calendars now for Fairfield’s sixth annual STAGiving Day in support of Fairfield education.
Thursday, April 23, 2020 #STAGiving iv spr i n g 2 0 2 0 | Fairf ie l d Un i ve rs it y M aga z in e