Leading with Kindness
First to the Big Dance
They Got Game
Karen Donoghue ’03, the first woman vice president of Student Life, is guiding students through Covid-19.
The 1987-88 women’s basketball team won the MAAC and became the first Fairfield women’s team to go the NCAAs.
Fairfield Begins Its First Season in the MAAC Esports League
Fairfieldmagazine UNIVERSITY
Fifty Years of Firsts Women Trailblazers of Fairfield University — 1970-2020
WINTER 2020
Statue of St. Kevin of Glendalough On the Fairfield Campus Photo by Joe Adams According to legend, St. Kevin was kneeling with arms outstretched in prayer on the first day of Lent when a blackbird landed on his palm and proceeded to build its nest. St. Kevin remained still so as not to disturb the bird until its hatchlings had fledged, leaving the nest as Lent came to an end. On the cover: Promotional photo, circa 1970. With a full wall of southeast-facing windows, the Mezzanine level of the Barone Campus Center has long been an inviting place for students to meet, study, and relax.
Fairfield University Magazine Fairfield University Winter 2020 | Volume 43 | Number 3 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: Joe Adams: pages 5, 8-9, 10, 14, Andrew Henderson: pages 2, 16-17, 33-34 Manor yearbook: pages 2-3, 20-31, 36-40 University Media Center: pages 11, 31 University Athletics, New Britain Bees: page 13 Contributed photos: pages 9, 12-15, 18, 32-47 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
Fa i r f i e l d Un i v e r s i t y Mag a z i n e | win ter 2020 1
Contents
“ I am extremely fortunate to have been given these opportunities from my first year at Fairfield all the way to now.”
20
32
by Jeannine (Carolan) Graf ’87
by Nicole Funaro ’17
Women Trailblazers of Fairfield University, 1970-2020
Karen Donoghue ’03, was the first woman FUSA president. Now, as the first woman vice president of Student Life, she is guiding students through Covid-19.
— Karen Donoghue ’03, Vice President of Student Life
COV E R STO RY
Fifty Years of Firsts
Through a half-century of “firsts,” women on Fairfield’s campus have set the tone for inclusivity, moving the culture of the University forward, and opening doors for today’s female undergraduates to become leaders in student programming, academics, athletics... and life. Pictured above: Coeds decked out in the fashions of the 70s, as photographed for the 1975 Manor yearbook.
Leading with Kindness
In an exclusive interview with Fairfield University Magazine, Donoghue shares how her undergraduate experience instilled in her the importance of building a strong community and the significance of leading with kindness. Pictured above: Whether in-person or online, Karen Donoghue ’03 is a role model for effective communication and leadership.
2 wi n te r 2 0 2 0 | Fairf ie l d Un i ve rs it y M aga z in e
Fairfieldmagazine UN IVE RSIT Y
4 6 8 16
WINTER 2020
let ter from the presiden t 2019-20 financial report universit y news recreation
They Got Game
by Sara Colabella ’08, MA’11
36
First to the Big Dance by Chris Elsberry
The 1987-88 women’s basketball team defied the odds, won the MAAC, and became the first Fairfield women’s team to go the NCAAs. After a long and intense non-conference schedule prepared the team for MAAC success, just half a game stood between the Stags and their first NCAA appearance. What happened next is widely regarded as the most incredible 20 minutes in Fairfield University women’s basketball history.
Fairfield begins its first season in the MAAC Esports League.
18
leadership
The Age of Personalization
by Audra Bouffard
Fairfield hosted more than 1,000 leaders in business, healthcare, and higher education for a virtual summit on innovation in a time of change.
41 42
gr an ts & gif ts alumni notes
Profiles: 43 Sr. Colleen Gibson SSJ, ’09 Ignatian, Through and Through 45 Joe Sauvageau ’79 Searching the Heavens, for Life on Mars
48
donor profile Mike Guarnieri ’84
Pictured above: No. 23 Tricia Sacca ’91 makes a run for the basket.
Fa i r f i e l d Un i v e r s i t y Mag a z i n e | win ter 2020 3
Letter from the President
Dear Friends, In this issue of Fairfield University Magazine, we celebrate 50 years of coeducation at our University, with a remembrance of just a few of the many extraordinary women who have shaped and built the institution that we love and serve. Amongst the many lessons of this celebration is that things change. A state of affairs that at one point in history seems natural and immutable can very quickly become out-of-date, and a drag on innovation. I would argue in fact that the history of higher education shows that universities are far more dynamic places than we often tend to think, with tectonic plates constantly shifting beneath the surface. Yes, we have our roots at Fairfield firmly planted in the soil of Jesuit pedagogy, and in the world-transformative vision of St. Ignatius himself. At the same time, we are always on the move — as we should be, and as were the first Jesuits — heading out to the frontiers and continually asking ourselves: What more can we do to educate, teach, and enliven those around us? What is the world asking of us now? The founding community of Fairfield in 1942 could never have imagined the dynamic, inclusive, technologically sophisticated University that Fairfield has become in 2020. The gauntlet thrown before us is to continue to evolve and innovate, so that we are the best University we can be on our 100th anniversary in 2042 and beyond. As a steward of this mission, I am enormously optimistic and proud of where we are today, and how we have pivoted to embrace this challenge. The current pandemic has been horrific on so many levels. But it has compelled us — and indeed the whole of
higher education — to accelerate our pace of innovation. In fact I would say it has taken seven years of change that we could have anticipated, and truncated it all the way down to seven months, seven weeks, or even to seven days. This has been most evident in our teaching and scholarship throughout the pandemic. Despite the many restrictions we had to navigate to keep everyone safe, we successfully managed our on-campus experience for our students leading up to the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. All our programs had to develop virtual learning capabilities and adapt to them almost overnight. Teaching in the classroom — or at times in outdoor tents for many of us, including College of Arts and Sciences Dean Richard Greenwald, PhD and myself, who team-taught a class in higher education and society this fall — has been augmented and advanced through technologically enhanced pedagogy. We don’t have to sacrifice the attention to the individual student that is the hallmark of Jesuit education as we advance. What we are learning — with all the inconveniences that the pandemic has brought — is that we can use virtual technologies to broaden the learning experience, while also providing attention to the whole person at the most personal of levels.
T
here is also a great deal of innovation going on behind-thescenes, with respect to our focus on developing academic programs that meet the world where it is today. In September, we welcomed the first 35 students
4 wi n ter 2020 | Fairfie l d Un i ve rs it y M aga z in e 4 wi n ter 2020 | Fairfie l d Un i ve rs it y M aga z in e
to our Shanghai MBA with finance concentration. The program, led by Fairfield professors, will allow professionals in Shanghai to continue in their careers while obtaining a highly desirable American MBA from our nationally ranked Charles F. Dolan School of Business. This pilot program serves as a model for the kinds of creative educational partnerships that will bring a Fairfield education to ever broader audiences in ever more innovative ways. In this spirit, we have recently partnered with the online program management company Collegis to launch four new, entirely online graduate programs, offering MS degrees in cybersecurity, business analytics, marketing analytics and strategy, and healthcare administration. This partnership will assist us in developing and marketing these programs and making them available to a wider constituency. We are planning to launch additional online graduate programs in the coming months to insure we are meeting the world as it is. This is an enormously important development as we fulfill our mission as the modern, Jesuit Catholic University, and as we bring our unique combination of academic quality and personalized attention to students of all ages, anywhere in the world. We are doing this while seeing an increased graduate enrollment of 10 percent, with our programs in interior design, social work, and our MBA enjoying particularly strong growth. While many peer institutions are struggling to meet their enrollment projections, Fairfield welcomed its second largest undergraduate class to campus this year, with the highest overall GPA in any class of our modern history.
Read on page 10 about the distribution of more than 1,000 masks during the Get a Mask, Give a Mask campaign this fall. Pictured: (standing, l-r) Ella Gardiner ’24; President Mark R. Nemec, PhD; Tobenna Ugwu ’22; Alexis LeClair ’24; (in front, l-r) Kyle Bruenn ’23 and Colin McCarney ’23.
We haven’t forgotten that campus life remains the wellspring of our vitality. Our plans for a new 85,000-square-foot Convocation Center to be built on the current site of Alumni Hall are still in place, with our expectation of completing the project in fall of 2022. The new facility will boast a state-of-the-art broadcast and media center, luxury seating and lounge areas, and updated features that will truly make it a showpiece of Fairfield’s modern campus, and allow us to host community experiences — lectures, debates, symposia — on a scale that befits a first-rate University. The days when we can once again be together in this way as a community will come. In closing, thank you all as always for your role in the shared mission of our
University, and thank you in particular to all of the thousands of women — all of them trailblazers and pioneers — who have made Fairfield the innovative, welcoming, and continually evolving University that it is today, and will be for generations to come. As we move into the future, we do so with confidence, mindful that we are a community that is always growing, always innovating, to meet the needs and challenges of the world as it is.
“ The founding community of Fairfield in 1942 could never have imagined the dynamic, inclusive, technologically sophisticated University that Fairfield has become in 2020. The gauntlet thrown before us is to continue to evolve and innovate, so that we are the best University we can be on our 100th anniversary in 2042 and beyond.”
With my best wishes for you all,
Mark R. Nemec, PhD President Fa i r f i e l d Un i v e r s i t y Mag a z i n e | win ter 2020 5 Fa i r f i e l d Un i v e r s i t y Mag a z i n e | win ter 2020 5
Fairfield
FINANCIAL & STATISTIC AL HIGHLIGHTS
UNIVERSITY REVENUES 2019-20
$227.7M
12% Housing & Dining
77% Gross Tuition & Fees
4% Investment Return 4% Current Use Gifts & Grants 3% Other
UNIVERSITY EXPENSES 2019-20
$221.0M 26% Instruction & Research
21% Academic & Institutional Support 11% Student Services & Athletics
30% Student Financial Aid
<1% Public Service 12% Auxiliary Services
UNIVERSITY STATISTICAL TRENDS 2015-16
2016-17
2017-18
2018-19
2019-20
2020-21
3,793
3,879
3,957
4,052
4,208
4,272
731
680
677
680
645
774
4,524
4,559
4,634
4,732
4,853
5,046
Headcount
966
1,056
994
1,091
1,176
1,118
Combined SAT Average
1183
1186
1245
1266
1279
1264
High School GPA Average
3.41
3.48
3.49
3.65
3.64
3.64
FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT ENROLLMENT (FALL) Undergraduate Graduate University Total ENTERING FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS (FALL)
6 wi n ter 2020 | Fairfie l d Un i ve rs it y M aga z in e
TOTAL NET ASSETS THROUGH FY 2019-20 $ in millions $600 $500 $400 $300 $200 $100 Fiscal Year:
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
16
17
18
19
20
TOTAL ENDOWMENT THROUGH FY 2019-20 $ in millions $400 $350 $300 $250 $200 Fiscal Year:
10
11
12
13
14
15
2015-16
2016-17
2017-18
2018-19
2019-20
2020-21
FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES (FALL) Faculty
266
271
270
283
295
315
Staff
530
548
555
542
542
538
University Total
796
819
825
825
837
853
Baccalaureates
939
930
991
947
1,015
Masters
481
393
383
389
404
16
28
15
27
33
DEGREES CONFERRED
Post-Master Certificates Doctorates University Total
28 36 39 31 47 1,464
1,387
1,428
1,394
1,499
Fa i r f i e l d Un i v e r s i t y Mag a z i n e | win ter 2020 7
Universit y NEWS FAIRFIELD EARNS HIGH MARKS IN U.S. NEWS AND NICHE RANKINGS
Dolan School Launches MBA in Shanghai In spring 2019, University President Mark R. Nemec, PhD, and Fairfield Dolan School Dean Zhan Li, DBA, traveled to China. Their mission: to expand the University’s footprint and raise international brand awareness of Fairfield University. “The result of that trip is our partnership with Golden Education, which allows us to provide a high-quality MBA program to professional students,” said Dean Li. “Offering high-quality education on the global scale has been a vision of the Jesuits, a vision that is almost 500 years old. Our MBA in Shanghai amplifies that vision.” Golden Education is one of the largest management training companies in China. The Fairfield MBA program in Shanghai, led by Fairfield professors, allows students to continue in their professional careers while pursuing the degree in the evenings and on weekends. While the program has a focus on finance, students will also take the same marketing, management, and leadership classes that Fairfield MBA students take. The Shanghai students are scheduled to take their final class in the program — a Wall Street Immersion course — on campus in fall 2021. The Shanghai MBA program began with 35 students in September 2020. The next cohort of MBA students in Shanghai will begin in spring 2021. lF 8 wi n ter 2020 | Fairfie l d Un i ve rs it y M aga z in e
Fairfield University has yet again been recognized in two widely cited annual college rankings, earning distinctions in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges 2021 ranking, as well as on research website Niche’s 2021 Best Colleges in America list. Fairfield placed high on U.S. News & World Report’s Best Regional Universities in the North list at No. 3 and was also distinguished for its high spot on the Alumni Giving list. Regionally, Fairfield ranked No. 2 for both Most Innovative School and Best Undergraduate Teaching. Schools included in the Regional Universities rankings offer a full range of undergraduate programs, provide graduate education at the master’s level, and are divided into four geographical groups: North, South, Midwest and West. Fairfield ranked No. 21 out of 73 schools regionally considered Best Value Schools in the North. The Dolan School’s Finance program was also included on the list of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Undergraduate Business Programs for
Finance, receiving a No. 20 spot on the list. Earning a place on the Report’s list of Best Engineering Programs, Fairfield placed in the top half of the ranking. The University fared equally well in Niche’s Best Colleges in America ranking, named to the top 15 percent of the more than 1,600 colleges and universities included on the national list. Additionally, Fairfield was once again ranked No. 16 of 164 schools nationwide in the site’s review of Best Catholic Colleges in America. The University’s national accolades don’t end there, placing in the top 5 percent of colleges and universities nationally on Niche’s Best Colleges for Nursing in America list, with a No. 34 spot out of 692 schools considered. Fairfield also placed in the top 10 percent of Niche’s rankings for Best College Campuses in America and Best Value Colleges in America, and in the top 15 percent of rankings for Top Private Universities in America and Best Colleges for Accounting and Finance in F America. l
Fairfield University Board of Trustees Welcomes New Members The Board of Trustees of Fairfield University recently announced the appointment of three new members. Thomas J. Fanning Sr. ’78, P’10,’06, is founder and
managing member of Heritage Strategies LLC. Heritage Strategies LLC is one of 144 owner/member firms of M Financial Group, one of the nation’s leading financial services institutions. Fanning is also co-founder and co-managing member of TriState Q.S.R. LLC. Kristin (Dodge) McMahon ’87, P’21,’20, is a senior vice
president for Liberty Mutual Insurance Company/Ironshore, Inc., and is responsible for oversight of the claims function
across all specialty product lines including healthcare, professional liability, environmental, reps and warranty, regulatory, and Liberty Canada. McMahon has been part of the Ironshore team since 2008. Phillip J. Neugebauer ’91
is an executive vice president at PIMCO, with more than 30 years of investment experience. As a member of the leadership team for PIMCO’s U.S. global wealth management business, Neugebauer oversees strategic planning, tactics and analytics, as well as financial budgeting and forecasting. He is also a member of PIMCO’s global risk commitF tee and brand council. l
Of those who volunteered as books at last year’s Human Library, 97 percent reported that participation enabled them to learn about their own social identity.
2020 VIRTUAL HUMAN LIBRARY On October 23, the DiMenna-Nyselius Library hosted Fairfield University’s fifth annual Human Library, an event designed to build a positive framework for conversations that challenge stereotypes and prejudices through dialogue. Built on one-on-one conversations, individuals who volunteered to be “books” sat virtually with event attendees to tell their stories as a way to break down barriers based on race, religion, sexual orientation, class, gender identity, lifestyle choices, disability, or other aspects of their lives. Students, faculty, staff, and alumni were recruited to be books in this year’s Human Library. Lisa Thornell, student engagement and outreach librarian, said, “The Human Library offers a space for difficult dialogues which we feel is particularly important during this time when we all are looking for ways to connect authentically with each F other.” This year’s event was held virtually on Zoom. l
Fairfield Egan Faculty & Students Aid in Campus Covid-19 Testing
JUDITH ROSENBAUM, PHD DISCUSSES JEWS & THE FIGHT FOR WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE On October 14, historian, writer, and educator Judith Rosenbaum, PhD presented a lecture in celebration of the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage. Her lecture, “Speaking in a Political Voice: Jews and the Fight for Women’s Suffrage,” was delivered as a Zoom webinar.
Students and faculty from the Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies were engaged this past semester as part of the University’s on-campus Covid-19 testing surveillance program. At the beginning of the semester, the undergraduate nursing and public health students were trained as nasal-swab observers. This experience replaced a clinical day for nursing students and experiential opportunities for public health students. During the testing clinics on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, students
worked under the direction of Egan faculty. Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) students went through extensive training to become the University’s contact tracers. In addition to contact tracing, the DNP students conducted health check calls to isolated students while the graduate level psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner and DNP students, under the direction of Egan faculty, engaged in mental health checks to isolated students as part of their DNP educational or F immersion experience. l
Fa i r f i e l d Un i v e r s i t y Mag a z i n e | win ter 2020 9
Universit y NEWS Fairfield Community Comes Together to Donate 1,000 Masks to Students More than 1,000 members of the Fairfield community showed their Stags for Stags spirit by making a gift to the University during the Get a Mask, Give a Mask campaign. Each donor who made a gift of at least $25 allowed the University to give out free Fairfield face masks to 1,000-plus students on Thursday, October 15. Fairfield students, faculty, and staff are grateful for these donors who made gifts to enhance the students’ on-campus and remote learning experiences, while also encouraging their health and safety during academic pursuits. With so many in the world currently facing unforeseen challenges, Fairfield supporters continue to be committed to assisting our students with access to a modern, Jesuit education — one that challenges individuals to creatively problem-solve, inspire innovation, and work
and serve passionately to uplift others. Geri Derbyshire, associate vice president for Development shared her gratitude for “our generous supporters for recognizing Fairfield students’ potential.” She went on to say that “these gifts are already being used to address our students’ most immediate needs to ensure that they can continue to access a great education, no matter what circumstances arise.” Nursing student Charlotte Murphy ’23 expressed how “incredible it is to see Fairfield’s great sense of family flourish during this difficult time.” Students who stopped by to pick up a mask also wrote “thank you” messages to donors on a giant card to share their gratitude. To see photos of students receiving their masks and learn how your Stags for Stags gifts are making a difference, visit fairfield. F edu/stagsforstags. l
Students signed a giant thank you card in appreciation of Stags for Stags donors. 10 wi n ter 2020 | Fairfie l d Un i ve rs it y M aga z in e
STAG CUTOUTS ON SALE NOW AT FAIRFIELDSTAGS.COM/FANCUTOUTS We are all excited that the Stags are back, but we understand that it’s not quite the same since you may not be able to attend games in person. That doesn’t mean you can’t be there in body (well, sort of) and spirit, supporting your Fairfield University Stags! Starting at $60, you can upload a photo of yourself (or a family member, friend, or even a pet!) and we will create a cardboard cutout to fill a seat at Alumni Hall at every game this season! By taking part, you will be able to support our Fairfield Stags from near and far. Included in your purchase is the option to take home your cutout at the end of the season. In addition, fans who purchase four or more cutouts will be able to be a part of the Virtual Red Sea on gameday with a video in our virtual fan zone as part of the ESPN broadcast. Fans who purchase 10 or more cutouts in addition to the above will receive a feature on one of the broadcasts in the 2020-21 season! Five dollars from every cutout purchased will be donated to the Fairfield University Athletic Director’s Fund which is used to enhance the student-athlete experience for all 20 varsity athletics teams. This program will F be ongoing throughout the 2020-21 basketball season. l
Fairfield Student-Athletes Reach 100 Percent Voter Registration Led by the efforts of the Fairfield University Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), every eligible Stag student-athlete was registered to vote beginning with the fall 2020 U.S. election. The registration initiative was a part of the STAGS LEAD Voter Education Program instituted this summer. “Our student-athletes continue to display great leadership here at Fairfield, in their communities, and in the world around them,” said Director of Athletics Paul Schlickmann. “I am proud and inspired that our Stags have made a collective commitment to take meaningful action in this
critical process.” The STAGS LEAD Voter Education Program also included educational opportunities and assistance for those who needed to obtain absentee ballots. In addition, athletics schedules on Election Day provided ample time for student-athletes who voted locally to do so in person. The STAGS LEAD Voter Education Program will be an annual initiative to encourage student-athletes to get involved and make informed decisions in politics and government at the F national, state, and local levels. l
Fairfield Egan Launches New Master’s Entry to Practice Nursing Program The Master’s Entry to Practice Nursing (MEPN) program provides a unique opportunity for students with a non-nursing bachelor’s degree to pursue a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree in an accelerated format. The program is designed to prepare advanced generalists in the clinical setting. At the completion of this program, students will be eligible to sit for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) to become a registered nurse. MEPN programs are newer but are increasing in popularity and success. Recently approved by the Connecticut State Board of Nurse Examiners, the MEPN is the first such program in the state of Connecticut to prepare advanced generalists for registered nursing practice and leadership. The MEPN program will admit its first class of students in May 2021. “If ever there is a time that highlights the need for more highly
MEPN program applications are now being accepted for classes beginning in May 2021.
qualified nurses in the workforce, it is now amid this coronavirus pandemic. The launch of the MEPN program couldn’t have come at a better time,” said professor and program director Erica Wuchiski, MSN, RN. The MEPN is a full-time 76 credit/800 clinical hours program to be completed in 24 months. Admission to the program will be competitively offered to students
who hold a baccalaureate degree from an accredited four-year college or university with a minimum GPA of 3.3 or better. Applicants must have completed the required prerequisite courses prior to admission. Fairfield is accepting applications and classes begin in May 2021. For more information about the program, visit www.fairfield. F edu/mepn. l
STUDENT PODCAST INVESTIGATES DEVASTATING EFFECTS OF COVID-19 AROUND GLOBE Over the summer, Fairfield University international studies and international business majors Lucas Santiago ’20, Micah Martin-Parchment ’21, Melissa Navarro ’21, Diana Muteba ’22, Martha Maree Quiblat ’22, Laura Seeger ’23, Caroline Timmerman ’23, Nicholas Gayle ’23, and Nya Jones ’23 researched, networked, and
remotely recorded interviews with University partners from around the world. Now available for download on both iTunes and Spotify, the ten-episode Covid Around the World podcast features engaging and enlightening studentled interviews with University partners located in Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, The Gambia, the
Philippines, Zambia, and the United Kingdom. Each episode addresses the worldwide impact Covid-19 has had on education, migration, and health. The podcast’s list of special guests features a wide range of industry experts, including international educators, healthcare workers, business owners, and non-profit F affiliates. l
LIVING THEOLOGY WORKSHOP: “CATHOLICS, JESUITS, AND SLAVERY” Led by Paul Lakeland, PhD, the Aloysius P. Kelley, S.J., Professor of Catholic Studies and director of the Center for Catholic Studies, the first of three fall 2020 Living Theology Workshops took place on September 23 and explored the topic of “Catholics, Jesuits, and Slavery.” Awareness has increased recently about Catholic participation in the slave economy during the colonial and young Republic periods in America, due to revelations of Georgetown selling slaves in the early 19th century to shore up the fledgling university’s finances. Yet, the scope of the Church’s involvement in general — and the history of Jesuit priests as slaveholders in particular — is not wellknown. In the Living Theology Workshop discussion, panelists outlined the history of Catholic slave-holding, explored the justifications offered in its defense, and responded from the perspective of the present day. Moved to a virtual platform for fall 2020, webinar sessions of the Living Theology Workshop were open to the public, and newly accessible to a broad geographic audience. In addition to “Catholics, Jesuits, and Slavery” workshop, the fall semester’s sessions covered “50 Years of Women at Fairfield” on October 17, and “Black Lives Matter at F Fairfield” on November 11. l
For complete information on Living Theology Workshops and other programs offered through Fairfield University’s Center for Catholic Studies, please visit fairfield.edu/cs.
Fa i r f i e l d Un i v e r s i t y Mag a z i n e | win ter 2020 11
Universit y NEWS Fairfield University Art Museum Brings The Lost Bird Project to Campus Artist Todd McGrain discussed his work on The Lost Bird Project on October 15. These monumental sculptures were installed on the Fairfield University campus in the days leading up to this online lecture. The Lost Bird Project is part natural history, part artist’s diary, documenting the extraordinary
The bronze sculpture “Great Auk” by artist Todd McGrain. All five “lost birds” sculptures in front of the DiMennaNyselius library will remain on campus through June 2021.
effort to place a series of public memorials to birds driven to extinction in modern times. As a chronicle of humankind’s impact on our changing world and a moving record of dwindling biodiversity, The Lost Bird Project is an ode to vanished times and vanished species. The great auk, Labrador duck, passenger pigeon, Carolina parakeet, and heath hen were birds that once filled unique niches in the North American landscape, from the shores of Labrador and New York to the Midwestern plains. Across the great American prairie, the skies were nearly black with passenger pigeons whose disappearance, like the buffalo’s, was thought to be inconceivable. As works of site-specific environmental art, the sculptures featured in The Lost Bird Project were placed in the locations where the birds were last seen in the wild and are now permanent public sculpture installations at a wide range of sites, from Newfoundland to Florida, Ohio to Martha’s Vineyard. Ten years in the making, The Lost Bird Project has been the subject of a featurelength documentary film that premiered in New York City in F December 2012. l
12 wi n ter 2020 | Fairfie l d Un i ve rs it y M aga z in e
Award-winning poet Lauren Alleyne, MFA, presented her work as part of the Humanities Institute’s Hindsight/2020 lecture series on Oct. 5.
Hindsight/2020: Lecture Series to Reflect on Unprecedented Year Beginning in September, the Humanities Institute in the College of Arts and Sciences has been hosting a yearlong series of online lectures and conversations highlighting the ways in which the humanities can help interpret and contextualize the critical public health, racialized violence, and social responsibility issues that have come to define an unprecedented 2020. The series will continue throughout the spring 2021 semester. “This year has been a devastating one filled with outspoken controversy,” said Nels
Pearson, PhD, director of the Humanities Institute. “Many of the issues we’ve faced regarding racism, public health, and individual liberty versus societal welfare touch upon key concepts in the humanities. If we can interpret and discuss these issues in the contexts of moral and political philosophy, bioethics, social constructions of race, the purpose of universities, and the historical contexts of the present, we can hopefully move beyond opinions and reactions into F deeper understanding.” l
PANDEMIC-RELATED FINANCIAL DISRUPTION DISCUSSED AT DEAN’S EXECUTIVE FORUM In the first of three Dolan Dean’s Executive Forum webinars, Tim Gately ’93, managing director and head of Europe, Middle East, and Africa Cash Equities for Citigroup, discussed the upheaval in the financial industry due to the pandemic. The September 22 webinar “Financial Industries of Post Pandemic: Investment and Careers” was hosted by Charles F. Dolan School of Business Dean Zhan Li, DBA, and
moderated by John McDermott, PhD, associate professor and chair of the Department of Finance. During the discussion, Gately noted that one of the lasting effects of the disruption caused by the pandemic is that “the stigma associated with working from home, of trying to balance work and life, has disappeared. Companies are realizing we can all be just as productive” in or out of an F office setting. l
Dr. Donald J. Ross Sr. Biology Lecture Series Celebrates 10 Years In 2011, the College of Arts and Sciences established the Dr. Donald J. Ross Sr. Biology Lecture Series to honor the memory of beloved Professor Emeritus Donald Ross, PhD, who passed away in August 2008, and was one of the founding members of the Biology Department. The lecture series commemorated its tenth anniversary this fall with special virtual events featuring biology faculty members and alumni who have gone on to achieve success in their field.
Over the past few years, biology professor Brian Walker, PhD, and assistant professor Geoffrey Church, PhD, have been instrumental in fundraising to ensure the longevity of the Dr. Donald J. Ross Sr. Biology Lecture Series. In addition to being recognized as one of the Outstanding Educators in America, Dr. Ross is credited with helping more than 800 Fairfield alumni earn their acceptances into some of the top medical, dental, and graduate F schools in the country. l
MIKE CARUSO EARNS ALL-FCBL HONORS Fairfield baseball catcher Mike Caruso ’21 has been named to the All-Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL) Second Team after an impressive summer on the diamond for the New Britain Bees. Caruso was the only catcher represented on the Second Team and finished the campaign ranked among the top players at his position. Caruso tallied 18 RBI during the summer season, placing second among all catchers in the league. He ended the slate by driving in a run in five straight contests. Caruso also tallied 22 hits on the season bolstered by a season-high eight-game hitting streak during the first week of August. His best offensive game came on July 22 when he went 4-for-4 at the plate with a home run, four RBI and three runs scored in a Bees victory over the Brockton Rox.
IN MEMORIAM Edward John O’Neill, PhD,
PEGGY NOONAN OPENS THIS YEAR’S “WOMEN AND LEADERSHIP” LECTURE SERIES On October 2, Fairfield University’s Open VISIONS Forum welcomed Peggy Noonan, author and Pulitzer Prize-winning opinion columnist for The Wall Street Journal, as the first speaker in this season’s “Women and Leadership” series sponsored by Bank of America. Since 2000, Noonan’s weekly Wall Street Journal opinion column, “Declarations,” has established her as one of the country’s most impactful thought leaders today. She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 2017. Noonan brought her signature fair-mindedness and street-smart sensibility to the candid moderated conversation, “Finding the Moral High Ground/ Challenges for USA’s Reboot.” Unscripted, Noonan answered tough questions about the presidential election and addressed long-term concerns for the future of our nation.
a beloved mathematics and computer science professor, died on August 16, 2020, at the age of 78, following a courageous battle with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). Born in Washington, D.C., Dr. O’Neill, had been an area resident for many years. He received his BS, Phi Beta Kappa and was class valedictorian at Catholic University of America, and he earned his MS and PhD in mathematics from Yale University. He retrained in computer science for college faculty at Clarkson University. Dr. O’Neill taught mathematics and computer science at Fairfield University from 1967-2007 retiring as associate professor emeritus. While at Fairfield, he developed many lifelong friendships and was loved and admired by
both the faculty and his many students. Dr. O’Neill enjoyed running, playing tennis, and basketball, and played on the University faculty basketball team, the “Doctors of Dunk.” An active participant in Literacy Volunteers of America, Dr. O’Neill volunteered for the Bridgeport school system teaching science, technology, and reading, and he also helped run the computer contest for local high school students sponsored by General Electric. As a devoted Catholic, he was active in the Voice of the Faithful organization. Dr. O’Neill was also deeply involved in PSC Partners, the organization established to seek a cure for the rare liver disease with which he was diagnosed. A private funeral Mass was held at the Egan Chapel of St. Ignatius of F Loyola. l
Fa i r f i e l d Un i v e r s i t y Mag a z i n e | win ter 2020 13
Universit y NEWS FAIRFIELD RANKS HIGH IN WSJ/TIMES HIGHER ED 2020 RANKINGS FOR 2020 Fairfield University has again ranked well in The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education (THE) annual college ranking. Measured against colleges and universities nationwide, Fairfield placed in the top quartile, ranked among the top 200 and placed high in two particular categories — earning the 92-spot in the engagement category, and placing in the top 20 percent of schools for outcomes. Fairfield’s quality was demonstrated in the student survey results which inform the 2020 ranking and reflect a strong sense of commitment and value among those who attend Fairfield. On a scale of 1 to 10, Fairfield students’ answers ranked among the highest in the country when asked whether they would still choose to attend Fairfield if they could start their college selection process over (8.9 out of 10); whether they felt Fairfield
provided an environment where they felt surrounded by exceptional students who “inspire” and “motivate” them (8.7), and whether a Fairfield education is worth the cost of tuition (8.5). Notably, Fairfield was the top-ranked Jesuit institution in all three of these categories. Colleges and universities are also graded on performance indicators such as resources, which measures an institution’s capacity to provide proper and necessary facilities, support, and teaching; engagement, which measures a college’s ability to “inform, inspire, and challenge” its students; outcomes, which measures a college’s “record on delivering successful outcomes for their students;” and environment, which considers whether or not a college provides a “diverse, supportive, and inclusive” environment for all F students. l
14 wi n te r 2 0 2 0 | Fairf ie l d Un i ve rs it y M aga z in e
(l-r) Yamiche Alcindor and Ana Navarro discussed key issues of the presidential election.
“DECISION 2020: A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CONVERSATION” WITH YAMICHE ALCINDOR AND ANA NAVARRO
Fairfield University presented “Decision 2020: A Presidential Election Conversation,” on October 6, led by CNN’s Ana Navarro and PBS NewsHour’s Yamiche Alcindor. With less than a month before the 2020 election on November 3, their lively conversation centered on key issues that most affected the vote for U.S. president.
Fairfield Offers On-Demand Mental Health Counseling to its Graduate Students Fairfield University has announced a first-of-its-kind initiative that will provide graduate students with access to counseling via video, chat, or messaging through a teletherapy platform that enables students to discreetly select among licensed mental health professionals. Developed in partnership with Uwill, a social impact startup backed by Run-DMC founder Darryl McDaniels, the program will provide a lifeline for students, as colleges and universities across the country respond to the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on mental health. Designed to empower students by enabling them to evaluate and match to the mental health professionals they select, Uwill is the only secure teletherapy platform to offer a full suite
of communication modalities, including chat, video, and messaging. The company recently secured $3.25 million in seed funding led by McDaniels, as well as ed tech industry leaders such as Bright Horizons CEO Stephen Kramer, and Princeton Review founder John Katzman. Prior to the outbreak of Covid-19, the demand for mental health services was growing, with as many as 60 percent of college students reporting significant anxiety in the past year. New research suggests that the global pandemic has exacerbated this challenge for colleges and universities, with eight in 10 students reporting that their mental health has been negatively affected over F the past few months. l
Fairfield’s Dolan and Egan Schools Earn High Marks in 2021 College Factual Rankings Fairfield University’s Charles F. Dolan School of Business and Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies once again received high national placement in college research website College Factual’s annual Best Colleges ranking. The Dolan School was ranked No. 13 in the country in College Factual’s 2021 review of undergraduate marketing programs. Considered among 379 colleges and universities around the country, Fairfield’s placement on College Factual’s annual list puts the Dolan School in the top 5 percent of marketing programs in the nation. Additionally, the University’s
marketing program was named No. 1 in Connecticut, ahead of four other schools to earn the distinction for the second consecutive year. Fairfield Dolan was also ranked in the top 5 percent for business, management, marketing, accounting, and finance/ financial management. The Egan School also earned a top 5 percent national ranking, placing No. 17 out of 723 colleges and universities included in the review, and No. 2 in Connecticut. The Egan School was especially distinguished with a top 15 percent nationwide ranking for producing highly paid nursing graduates with a median F starting salary of $75,300. l
CAREER & INTERNSHIP FAIR MOVES TO VIRTUAL SETTING The fall semester’s virtual career fairs connected students directly with organizations from the comfort of their home or residence. The virtual fairs were open to all undergraduate and graduate students, and were hosted on Brazen, a virtual event platform that allows students to engage with employers, network and learn about a range of internship and full-time job opportunities. After signing in, students were able to explore opportunities and participate in one-on-one chats with F participating employers. l
The Printing Press and Jewish Literacy Culture: Online Lecture On Tuesday, September 29, the Bennett Center for Judaic Studies presented “People of the (Printed/ Digital) Book: Printing and the Birth of the Jewish Bookshelf,” by Rabbi Joseph A. Skloot. This was
Center for Social Impact Hosts Electronics Collection Drive Fairfield University’s Center for Social Impact collected new and used personal electronic devices for their community partner organizations experiencing an increased need for laptops, netbooks, and tablets. Andrea Canuel, associate director of community-engaged learning for the Center for Social Impact, said the need for this gently used technology is more prevalent than ever as the
Center’s community partners work diligently to adapt their programming and services to virtual formats. The equipment was collected in September and donated to locations such as Northbridge Healthcare Center — a Covid-19specific rehabilitation facility, and St. Martin de Porres Academy, a faith-based, tuition-free middle school in New Haven, Conn., F among others. l
Rabbi Joseph A. Skloot
the first of the Center’s online series of fall events. The invention of the printing press is one of the seminal events in the course of human history. But how did printing — and with it the sudden availability of the printed word — change premodern Jewish texts and readers’ experiences with them? Rabbi Skloot, this year’s Adolph and Ruth Schnurmacher Scholar-inResidence, explored these questions as well as the implications of digitization for Jewish books and their readers. Rabbi Skloot teaches at Hebrew Union College in New York, where he is the Rabbi Aaron D. Panken Assistant Professor of Modern Jewish F Intellectual History. l
Fa i r f i e l d Un i v e r s i t y Mag a z i n e | win ter 2020 15
They Got Game
Fairfield Begins Its First Season in the MAAC Esports League
by Sara Colabella ’08, MA’11
16 wi n ter 2020 | Fairfie l d Un i ve rs it y M aga z in e
A
thletic fields may not be filled with the spirit of competition this fall due to Covid-19 restrictions, but a new and virtual field of play is thriving at Fairfield University — esports. Gaining in popularity over the last several years, intercollegiate esports involve student teams competing in organized video game tournaments or leagues against other universities. Tournaments are held globally, traditionally in packed arenas with cheering fans, and livestreamed over services such as Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. More than 200 colleges and universities across the country feature egaming facilities with some even offering scholarships. Connecting players around the world, esports has become a global phenomenon. When Director of Recreation Eli Olken-Dann arrived on campus in August 2019, he made it a top priority to bring esports to Fairfield. Along with Olken-Dann, Fairfield’s Gaming Club has been instrumental in working with the Recreation Department to host and attend various tournaments and events, plugging students into the egaming ecosystem on campus. With the help of the Fairfield Gaming Club and the planning committee, esports officially launched this fall with a new innovative egaming lab. “We are excited to incorporate the egaming lab into the RecPlex,” said Olken-Dann. “Not only will this attract more students to our facility, but it will add another layer of engagement and competition to our recreation offerings.” Partnering with award-winning global IT solutions provider Future Tech Enterprise, the new egaming lab is equipped with Lenovo’s Legion brand of gaming laptops, desktops, keyboards, monitors, headsets, and accessories. “Esports is a great way to drive student engagement and connections, as well as attract prospective students,” said Bob Venero, P’24,’21, president and CEO of Future Tech Enterprise, Inc. Left: Students prepare for their first-ever MAAC season by practicing together in custom-made matches and in scrimmages with other colleges and universities.
Fairfield’s Esports Club has four competing teams that play four different games: Overwatch, Rocket League, Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, and FIFA.
(l-r): Fairfield Gaming Club President Eryiel Mascardo ’21 observes Justin Demas ’21 in competition.
Future Tech works closely with many of the world’s leading gaming equipment manufacturers and is an IT partner-of-choice for leading universities and Fortune 500 companies in the aerospace, defense, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, and retail sectors. Fairfield’s Esports Club has four competing teams that play four different games: Overwatch, Rocket League, Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, and FIFA. The size of each team during a tournament varies by game with six members for Overwatch, two for soccer simulation video game FIFA, five for Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, and three for vehicular soccer game Rocket League. Fairfield is a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) esports league. MAAC schools will compete in a regular season competition online, which began in October, to be capped by a conference championship in March 2021. In addition to Fairfield, current MAAC schools with esports teams include Canisius College, Marist College, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.
Similar to traditional recreation sports, esports require team community building, discipline, agility, and resilience in order to successfully compete. Esports is competitive like traditional sports but the competition is based in analytical skills. “Whenever we discuss skills in teams, we always say that being able to collaborate and communicate with the team are the most important skills. The ability to work together fluidly and synchronously is key to make the best plays in any team-based game,” explained Fairfield Gaming Club President Eryiel Joyce Mascardo ’21. To help students prepare for their first-ever MAAC season, Mascardo said the teams practice together in custom-made matches and play in scrimmages and practice games with other colleges and universities. While many sports are on hold due to the pandemic, esports has continued to gain momentum with no sign of slowing. Club Advisor Ethan Godfrey said, “Being quarantined and confined to our rooms, egaming gave us the opportunity to still communicate with our friends on a daily basis. Egaming is not going away anytime soon.” According to Newzoo’s Global Esports Market Report released in February 2020, the esports market revenue is predicted to reach $1.1 billion in 2020, a 15.7 percent growth year over year with the highest grossing revenue stream coming from sponsorships and media rights. Global video game tournaments are also predicted to reach 454 million viewers in 2020, an 11.7 percent increase from 2019, and that number is expected to grow to 646 million by 2023. Additionally, Business Insider is predicting esports viewership to grow at a nine percent compound annual growth rate from 2019 to 2023. There are critics who question whether esports should be considered a sport. Responding to the critics, Olken-Dann said, “There is actually a surprising physical element to esports that many people don’t consider. Many of the top esports athletes in the world use performance coaches to help them physically prepare for competition.” “Esports is considered a sport because it takes stamina,” Olken-Dann continued. “You have to be mentally sharp for the duration of F the competition.” l
Fa i r f i e l d Un i v e r s i t y Mag a z i n e | win ter 2020 17
RICH MILLER-MURPHY ’78
Executive Director, Laboratory and Medical Services at New York Blood Center Enterprises
MARK NEMEC
President, Fairfield University
ERIN MORAN ’05
Head of Industry, Education at Google
RICHARD GREENWALD
Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Fairfield University
SCOTT LACY BILL HULSEMAN ’98
Independent Consultant, Academia
18 wi n te r 2 0 2 0 | Fairf ie l d Un i ve rs it y M aga z in e
Assoc. Professor of Antropology and Assoc. Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Fairfield University
The Age of Personalization Fairfield hosted more than 1,000 leaders in business, healthcare, and higher education for a virtual summit on innovation in a time of change.
C
by Audra Bouffard
risis h as a way of redefining what leadership really means, and the year 2020 has been no exception. Over the past 10 months, industry leaders in healthcare, higher education, and corporate America have watched as the pandemic, and deepening social tensions, have rendered the idea of “business as usual” meaningless. Some argue we are witnessing a shift between yesterday’s age of standardization across all fields — the one-size-fits-all model of education, healthcare provision, and business leadership — toward a growing demand for ever-increasing personalization. From October 28-30, nearly 1,000 registrants from more than 600 U.S. businesses and organizations — including University President Mark R. Nemec, PhD, and other Fairfield faculty and alumni – gathered online to examine this national shift in leadership during a free, three-day virtual summit hosted by Fairfield University’s College of Arts and Sciences at The Westport Library. Presented by Glenn Lopez Group (GLLG), a nationally recognized business strategy firm, with support and artistic storytelling interludes commissioned by the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, the 2020 Leadership in the Age of Personalization Summit brought together more than 45 executives and experts to analyze what has been learned from the pandemic and how to shape the future of healthcare, corporate America, and higher education. “These crises have revealed the fragility of our systems in real time,” said Glenn Llopis, GLLG president and founder of the Leadership in the Age of Personalization movement. “Healthcare, corporate America, and higher education can no longer be viewed in silos anymore. Each sector needs the others, and how we respond to this convergence will determine what our collective future will look like.”
On Day One of the summit, leaders from major healthcare organizations including CVS Health, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, and City of Hope examined lessons learned from Covid-19 and the rapid evolution of personalized care during a time when patients want to be seen and treated as individuals. Throughout the afternoon, healthcare experts such as Fairfield alumnus Rich Miller-
“The roots of higher education are not institutional-based, they’re individual...” Mark R. Nemec, PhD, University President
Murphy ’78, executive director of laboratory and medical services for New York Blood Center Enterprises shared their experiences with telehealth, digital therapeutics, and other forms of personalized virtual care. On Day Two, the conference’s focus shifted to new challenges being faced by corporations. Discussions centered on finding the proper balance between standardization and personalization inside the workplace, and how to pursue inclusion as a growth strategy. Panelists lending their voices to the conversation included Dalana Brand, head of diversity and inclusion for Twitter; Stephanie Llyod, founder and president of the Toggle brand and head of new ventures for Farmers Insurance; and Nik Modi, managing director at RBC Capital Markets. “We all know we need to do something differently, we just need the courage to invest and experiment,” Modi said. “The fear of
experimentation can’t be a barrier anymore, because not experimenting means we get deeper into a state of standardization, and that leads to mediocrity, and ultimately, obsolescence.” On the final day, the summit’s national conversation on higher education featured Fairfield University President Mark R. Nemec, PhD; Dean Richard Greenwald, PhD and Associate Dean Scott Lacy, PhD of the College of Arts and Sciences; educational consultant Bill Hulseman ’98; and Erin Moran ’05, head of industry education at Google. President Nemec and his colleagues examined how today’s crises have accelerated what a “student-centered” approach means in terms of curriculum, teaching, and research. “The roots of higher education are not institutional-based, they’re individual... the idea being that the instruction and formation of one individual – and in our case, an individual of purpose – is really at the core of what we do,” Dr. Nemec stated during the morning kick-off session. “While this current moment feels so fraught and full of challenges, we as a Jesuit Catholic institution start every day with gratitude, and in my mind, gratitude is about optimism. So I would say that while the moment seems very challenging … there are learnings that can come out of this pandemic that we hope will enhance how we think about the delivery of instruction and the maintenance of our community.” Dr. Lacy, who was instrumental in organizing and co-hosting this year’s summit, expressed his pride in the University for taking the lead in facilitating this national discussion. “By engaging in collaborative, insightful, and forward-thinking conversations like these,” he said, “we can connect and learn from one another to inspire and create meaningful change, F and new and emboldened relationships.” l
To learn more about the Leadership in the Age of Personalization Summit or to watch a full recording of the event, visit www.2020summit.ageofpersonalization.com. Fa i r f i e l d Un i v e r s i t y Mag a z i n e | win ter 2020 19
Women Trailblazers of Fairfield University 20 wi n ter 2020 | Fairfie l d Un i ve rs it y M aga z in e
50 Years of Firsts
by Jeannine (Carolan) Graf ’87
Despite the Jesuits’ progressive vision of education and their willingness to charter a new Catholic liberal arts college in Connecticut in the midst of a global war, original plans for Fairfield University in 1942 did not include women. Still, women found their way in. In 1949, female nursing students at Bridgeport and New Haven hospital programs took liberal arts classes on Saturday mornings in Xavier Hall. The same year, Fairfield began offering six-week summer school sessions to both men and women in a wide range of subjects from “Fundamental Accounting” to “God and Creation.” And when the Graduate Department of Education opened in 1950, women enrolled alongside men in teacher certification and master’s programs.
1970-2020
Undergraduate students of the early 70s congregate outside of Northwest Hall, later renamed Jogues.
Fa i r f i e l d Un i v e r s i t y Mag a z i n e | win ter 2020 21
Recognizing women’s valuable contributions to education, the Fairfield Jesuits awarded a doctor of laws in 1953 to nationally known educator Margaret V. Kiely, PhD, dean of the faculty at Queens College in New York; she was the first woman to be given an honorary degree from Fairfield. A decade later, in 1963 the University hired its first full-time female professors in the College of Arts and Sciences: both graduates of all-female Radcliffe College, Austrian-born Dorothy Shaffer, PhD, taught mathematics and Joan Walters, PhD, went on to become the first woman to chair the Economics Department, teaching four decades of Stags until her retirement in 1996. In the mid-1960s, as the Second Vatican Council was preparing to pronounce that women had the right “to acquire an education… equal to [that] recognized for men,” women’s roles in American society were shifting, and an increasing number of colleges in the Northeast were becoming coeducational – leaving male-only institutions to face stiffer competition for applicants. Shortly after his arrival in 1964, Fairfield University’s fifth president, Rev. William C. McInnes, S.J., began conversations about coeducation with the Board of Trustees, the faculty, and the undergraduate student body. A Feb rua ry 19 67 p o ll p u b l is h e d by The Stag, Fairfield’s campus newspaper at the time, showed students 56 percent in favor of coeducation. Offered an opportunity to voice their opinions, pro and con, responses in the “pro” camp ranged from practical (“If we are to be men of the future we must be able to deal with women of the future.”), to open-minded (“You can’t consider yourself fully educated until
you’ve experienced an appreciation for another’s view...”), to resigned (“Why not? The other schools seem to survive. It will come sooner or later, so why not now?”) Opposing viewpoints ran the gamut from staunch (“Why should we do what other colleges do? Let us keep Fairfield the good school it is now.”) to conciliatory (“I think the best thing that could be done would be to establish a separate all-girls’ college somewhere near…”). Two months later, a followup poll in The Stag indicated that the student sentiment had shifted away from coeducation and in favor of a co-institutional arrangement with an all-women’s college. Fairfield’s Board of Trustees spent the next year exploring the feasibility of a “coordinate” women’s college, akin to a Radcliffe or Barnard, but in the end, with unanimous faculty approval, they resolved to initiate coeducation on the undergraduate level. In February 1969, a Stag article titled “Equal Acceptance Basis for Women in 1970” announced that the school would admit undergraduate women into the College of Arts and Sciences – both as transfer students and members of the Class of 1974, beginning in the fall of 1970. Plans were also announced to open a School of Nursing. And so, on the heels of St. Peter’s in 1966 and Georgetown (as well as Connecticut neighbors Yale and Trinity) in 1969, Fairfield University officially became coeducational in 1970, the same year as Boston College. The College of the Holy Cross would follow in 1972, and Fordham in 1974.
In the fall of 1974, tennis became Fairfield’s first varsity women’s sport.
Hired as assistant director in 1966, Barbara Bryan, MLS, became the first woman director of the University’s library in 1974. Active within her profession, she was elected 1988 Connecticut Librarian of the Year by her peers. After 31 years of service to Fairfield, she retired in 1996 and was named University librarian emerita, an honor she treasured. The Stag-Her Inn was a popular hangout in between classes. 22 wi n te r 2 0 2 0 | Fair fie l d Un i ve rs it y M aga z in e
TIMELINE OF “FIRSTS”
1953
u 1st Honorary Doctorate of Laws to a Woman: Margaret V. Kiely, PhD
1963
u 1st Female Full-Time Professors: Dorothy Shaffer, PhD and Joan Walters, PhD
1970
u Coeducation Begins u School of Nursing Opens With 1st Female Dean: Elizabeth K. Dolan, PhD
1972
u 1st Woman Editor of The Manor Yearbook: Susan (Coon) Howard ’74
1974
u 1st Female Valedictorian/ 1st Woman on Board of Trustees: Karen (Stonkas) Ponton ’74 u 1st Women’s Varsity Sport: Tennis, With First Woman Coach Tamma O’Mara The School of Nursing opened with a cohort of 20 undergraduate students.
u 1st and Only Women’s Varsity Basketball Undefeated Season
TIMELINE OF “FIRSTS”
(continued)
1975
Coeds from the Class of 1975 photographed walking across Fairfield’s campus for the Manor yearbook.
u 1st Woman Editor of Student Newspaper: Amy Zigmont ’76 u 1st Woman President of the Student Legislature: Geralyn (Radowiecki) Spollett ’76
1976
u 1st Female Loyola Medalist: Claire (Carney) Schimpf ’76
1979
u Women Outnumber Men for 1st Time: 52 to 48 Percent u 1st Alumna Professor: Dr. Phyllis C. Braun ’75
The undefeated season of varsity women’s basketball (1974-75) has never been repeated.
u 1st Full-Time Female Varsity Coach Hired: Dianne Nolan MA’89
1980
u 1st Women’s Basketball 1,000-Point Scorer: Donna Margine ’81 u 1st Female Director of Choral Activities: Carole Ann Maxwell, DSM, P’02
In 1976, there were 26 women on the undergraduate faculty, making up 17.5 percent of the full-time undergraduate teaching staff. In 1978, the first women’s studies courses, “Women in Literature” and “Modern Women Writers,” made their way into the course catalog. Other classes, such as “Sociology of Occupations and Professions,” featured topics of specific interest to women.
The 1970s: Setting the Tone for Inclusivity
above from top:
The first woman to be appointed dean was the School of Nursing’s Dr. Elizabeth K. Dolan; Basketball Coach Dianne Nolan was the first full-time female varsity coach; and coeds mugged for a 1971 Manor yearbook photographer.
A total of 234 women and 1,879 men arrived on Fairfield’s campus for the fall 1970 semester, surpassing an undergraduate enrollment of 2,000 for the first time in the school’s history. Twenty women were enrolled in the new School of Nursing, headed by Elizabeth K. Dolan, PhD — the first woman dean in Fairfield’s history. About 80 women commuted, and the rest moved into residence halls. Split among Julie Hall and the first two floors of Loyola Hall, the women’s living quarters included carpeted hallways, full-length mirrors, and ironing boards. According to an October 1970 article in the student newspaper, the University also provided “additional dresser space for the girls two weeks after their arrival, when they discovered that the allotted space was insufficient.” Women’s intramural sports teams were established in flag football, tennis, and basketball. A cheerleading team also took off. The student newspaper reported that “the football, hockey, and rugby clubs admit girls on a non-playing basis, with Glee Club being the only major organization not permitting coed membership.” Whether allowed to sing with the men or not, the first women undergraduates at Fairfield set the tone for inclusivity, moving the culture of the University forward and opening doors for today’s women to become leaders in student programming, academics, and athletics. Early trailblazers include Susan (Coon) Howard ’74, the first woman editor-in-chief of The Manor yearbook; Karen (Stonkas) Ponton ’74, the first female valedictorian; Amy Zigmont ’76, the first female editor of The University Voice student newspaper; Geralyn (Radowiecki) Spollett ’76, the first woman president of the student legislature; Claire (Carney) Schimpf ’76, the first female Loyola Medalist; and biology professor Phyllis C. Braun ’75, PhD, who, in 1979 became the first alumna to join the Fairfield faculty and still teaches today. Upon graduating, Ponton, a nursing major, became the first woman appointed to the Fairfield University Board of Trustees. She served from 1974 until 1981, and also taught at the School of Nursing during the ’80s. By then, the nursing program had grown in both size and reputation. From the start, the combina-
tion of rigorous coursework, cutting-edge clinical training, and Ignatian pedagogy churned out highly sought after graduates for a profession described in an early program brochure as “rich in association with people and in the rewards of providing needed service.” Initially dubbed the Stagettes, the first two women’s varsity sports programs were tennis in the fall and basketball in the winter of 1974. Both teams became known as the Lady Stags a few years later; today, all Fairfield athletics teams go by the name Stags. The tennis team was coached by Tamma O’Mara, assistant recreation director, making her the first woman to coach a varsity sport. O’Mara was also the first director of the Recreation Complex (RecPlex) when it opened in 1979. The women’s basketball team was coached by a classmate, Gary Dittrich ’74. Elevated to DIII varsity play in ’74-75, Coach Dittrich took the women to their first and only undefeated season ever (16-0) — a distinction for which the team was honored in 1995, the same year Coach Dittrich was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame. Founding team leader, Diane Oakley ’75, later served on the University’s Board of Trustees from 1997 until 2004. In recognition of her longtime support of Stags sports programs, Oakley was presented an inaugural Fairfield Athletics’ Distinguished Service Award and named a “Leader of the Herd” in 2014. Capturing the Connecticut State Championship title in 1978, the women’s basketball program moved to Division II in 1979, the year that Coach Dianne Nolan MA’89 – the first full-time women’s varsity coach – was hired. Coach Nolan brought the basketball team up to Division I play in 1981, and saw the women to their first MAAC Championship in 1988 (see page 36 for the full story). After two more MAAC championships in 1991 and 1998. and with a school-record 456 wins, Coach Nolan stepped down at the end of the 2007-08 season, telling the Mirror, “This team has been like my baby that I have raised for 28 years, and you never want to leave unless you feel like your baby is OK; I really feel like this team is in a good place and that was important to me.”
Fa i r f i e l d Un i v e r s i t y Mag a z i n e | win ter 2020 25
TIMELINE OF “FIRSTS”
(continued)
1981
u 1st Female Station Manager of WVOF: Laurie Keane ’83
1987
u 1st Woman “Teacher of the Year”: Suzanne Lyngaas, MBA, CPA u Glee Club Becomes Coed
1988
u 1st MAAC Championship for Women’s Basketball
1991
u 1st MAAC Championship for Women’s Softball
1992
u 1st Woman President of Alumni Association Board of Directors: Janet Canepa ’82
1993
u 1st Female Recipient of William J. Kramer ’60 Humanitarian Award: Lauren Nowicki ’93 u 1st Women’s Studies Minor Approved u 1st MAAC Championships for Women’s Soccer & Tennis
Women undergraduates outnumbered men at Fairfield for the first time in 1979.
The 1980s: Support for Women by Women As Fairfield approached the 10th anniversary of coeducation, female undergraduate students outnumbered males for the first time, by 52 to 48 percent. The University marked the 10th anniversary of women on campus in 1980 with a panel discussion, “Women: Changing Roles and the Quality of Life,” featuring prominent women’s voices of the day at Fairfield: Board of Trustee member Judge Ellen Bree Burns; Dean Phyllis Porter, PhD, of the School of Nursing; and Dorothea Braginsky, PhD, still a popular pyschology professor and entertaining lecturer today. The 10th anniversary celebration also featured entertainment by the Women’s Chorale, which had been formed in the early ’70s to complement the steadfastly all-male Glee Club. Carole Ann Maxwell, DSM, P’02 joined Fairfield as director of choral activities in 1980, and two years later she and Orin Grossman, PhD, established the Chamber Singers, Fairfield’s first mixed choir. In 1987, all three choral groups officially integrated to form the first coed Fairfield
University Glee Club. Led by Dr. Maxwell to this day, and accompanied by pianist Beth Palmer, the Glee Club has performed internationally throughout Europe, and in prestigious venues across the U.S. H e r aldi ng a se cond d ec a d e o f leadership “firsts” at Fairfield, in her junior year Donna Margine ’81 was the first women’s basketball player to surpass 1,000 career points. Margine is one of only two Fairfield women’s basketball players to average better than 20 points per game in a season and she remains the most accurate shooter in school history, with a .556 field goal percentage. She served as assistant Stags coach from 1981 until 1985, and in 1987 became the first alumna to be inducted into the Fairfield University Athletic Hall of Fame. Laurie Keane ’83 became the first woman station manager for University radio station WVOF in 1981, and the following year, classmate Jill Krusinski ’83 was named the first female editor-in-chief of The Fairfield Mirror, which succeeded The University Voice in 1977
and remains the student newspaper to this day. Suzanne Lyngaas, MBA, CPA, assistant professor of accounting, was the first woman at Fairfield to be honored with Alpha Sigma Nu’s “Teacher of the Year Award” in 1987 and she was also the first professor ever from the School of Business to do so. Georgia Fayetta Day, PhD, was appointed associate dean of the Graduate School of
Education and Allied Professions in 1988. With a doctorate from Syracuse and a master’s from Gallaudet University, Dr. Day taught the first-ever course in American sign language at Fairfield, and she was active in Project BEST (Black Educational Specialists Training), a federally funded grant program that trained Black teachers in special education.
The 1990s: A Model of Equality Entering the third decade of coeducation at Fairfield, controversy regarding the role of women in the Church swirled in December 1990. “Bishop Bans Women From Altar,” read the Mirror’s front-page headline when, contrary to established Campus Ministry policy, it was announced that only men would be permitted on the altar for the dedication ceremony of the new Egan Chapel of St. Ignatius Loyola. The Jesuits, separate from the Diocese of Bridgeport, had for years welcomed women lectors and Eucharistic ministers on the altar for campus Masses and liturgical celebrations, but women at the time were not permitted on the altar at diocesan events that involved the Bishop. Campus Ministry Assistant Chaplain Paula Oddis boycotted the dedication ceremony in protest, telling the Mirror, “The issue is about what we are used to here [at Fairfield] and that’s a model of equality.” Weeks later, Oddis resigned and was replaced by Sr. Anne Flood, SC. In a 1992 Mirror interview, Sr. Anne praised the “climate of equality at Campus Ministry,” but noted that “the influence of women in the Church is a burning issue, and an important issue that should be explored more.”
above from top:
This year, Glee Club Director Carole Ann Maxwell celebrates her 40th anniversary at Fairfield; and Fairfield softball earned its first MAAC Championship in 1991.
Protests shifted from the chapel to the Campus Center in 1992, when a group of faculty members and students approached the University Council — a governing body made up of faculty, administrators, and students —and called for the campus snack bar/pub, then called The Stag-Her Inn, to be renamed. Council chair Robert Maina ’93 told the Mirror, “I feel that if the snack bar [name] is seen as an act of harassment, it must be addressed.” The Stag-Her Inn’s name had been an attempt at inclusivity back when it first opened in 1973, but two decades later, it seemed no longer compatible with the changing times. The Stag-Her Inn sign was removed from the establishment on the grounds that it “may be taken as a sexist slur or an image of alcoholic indulgence.” The Council ran a full-page ad in the paper, asking for new name suggestions. Submissions included “Fitz’s Place,” “Campus Center Lounge,” and “The Stag Club.” Ultimately, the controversy was resolved in 1995 when a new pub was built on campus and christened The Levee. An eatery remains to this day in the Barone Campus Center, called simply The Stag Snack Bar.
The nineties was a decade of achievement for female student-athletes. Softball won its first MAAC season and Championship in 1991. Women’s soccer won its first MAAC championship in 1993, and repeated four more times between ’95 and ’99. Women’s tennis also won the MAAC for the first time in ’93 and enjoyed an unbroken streak of MAAC dominance until ’98. Women’s golf took its first MAAC crown in ’98, and women’s lacrosse won its first MAAC regular season in ’99. Women’s basketball returned to the MAAC in ’91 and ’98. Fa i r f i e l d Un i v e r s i t y Mag a z i n e | win ter 2020 27
Mary Fr ances Malone, PhD, became the first woman to hold one of the University administration’s 12 key leadership positions in 1993, when she was promoted to associate academic vice president – a role she held for an unprecedented 25 years. Dr. Malone founded the University’s Ignatian Residential College program and oversaw its growth into today’s three sophomore living and learning communities. Reflecting back on her career, Dr. Malone said, “I owe a great deal to the collective that is Fairfield University. My years here have opened my eyes, my mind, and my heart to such a depth of intellectual engagement across disciplines and have deepened my faith in ways too numerable to count.” Also in 1993, Lauren Nowicki ’93 became the first woman to receive the William J. Kramer ’60 Humanitarian Award, which recognizes a student’s commitment to volunteerism and service to others. That year, the Academic Council approved the first women’s studies minor as part of the Women’s Studies program, co-founded by associate professor of English Johanna Garvey, PhD, and assistant professor of business law Lucy Katz, JD. Katz told the Mirror, “It’s a way to expand the curriculum and bring the University into the 20th century.” The Women’s Studies program launched an annual “Person of the Year” recognition in 1994, for outstanding contributions to women’s issues. The first award recipient was nursing professor Doris Lippman, PhD, who served in Vietnam as a member of the Army Nurses’ Corp. Thanks to her efforts as vice chair of the Vietnam Women’s Project, a Washington, D.C., memorial was dedicated in 1993 to honor the roughly 11,000 servicewomen of the Vietnam War – close to 90 percent of them nurses.
The award was later renamed the Lucy Katz “Person of the Year” Award. During her 25 years at Fairfield, Katz chaired the Management Department and held the inaugural Robert C. Wright endowed chair in Business Law, Ethics and Dispute Resolution. Three years before she was hired as director of Alumni Relations, assistant vice president Janet Canepa ’82 became the first woman appointed president of the Fairfield University Alumni Association Board of Directors in 1992. She served a two-year term, representing Alumni Association members in the University community and advancing the involvement, volunteerism, and support of Stag alumni around the world. This pioneering role prepared her well to assume the directorship of Alumni Relations in 1995, just as Fairfield was kicking off celebrations to mark a quarter-century of women on campus. Canepa oversaw a year of events commemorating the achievements of female faculty, students, and alumnae, including a panel series titled “The Women We Have Become,” featuring reminiscences of Fairfield’s first dean of women, Anne Marie Samway, alongside alumnae trailblazers from the early years of coeducation. “I think the first women who were admitted to Fairfield wanted to prove they were up to the challenge of competing in what had been and all-male bastion,” Rev. Aloysius P. Kelley, S.J., then-president of the University, told a reporter in a New York Times article about the 25th anniversary of coeducation. “They set very high standards for themselves which have continued to this day. Even after they leave our campus, the contributions our alumni make in their communities and careers bring great honor to Fairfield.”
Rosa Rebimbas ’98 became the first female chief justice of the Student Court, the judicial branch of the Fairfield University Student Association, in 1997. She graduated from Fairfield with majors in political science and secondary education, and a minor in faith, peace, and justice. An attorney in Naugatuck, Conn., Rebimbas has served as a Republican member of the Connecticut House of Representatives (District 70) since 2009. 28 wi n te r 2 0 2 0 | Fair fie l d Un i ve rs it y M aga z in e
Basketball fever ran high the late 90s as the Stags made NCAA appearances in ’97 (men) and ’98 (women).
TIMELINE OF “FIRSTS”
1993 (continued)
u 1st Woman Appointed to Key Leadership in Administration: Mary Frances Malone, PhD
1994
u 1st Women’s Studies Person of the Year Award: Doris Lippman, PhD
1997
u 1st Female Chief Justice of the Student Court: Rosa Rebimbas ’98
1998
u 1st MAAC Championship for Women’s Golf
1999
u 1st MAAC Championship for Women’s Lacrosse
2000
u 1st MAAC Championship for Women’s Rowing
2001
u 1st NCAA Appearance for Field Hockey (Patriot League Champs)
Mary Frances Malone (middle) was the first woman to hold a key leadership position in the University’s administration. left: A newly minted alumna celebrates her achievement.
Field Hockey won the Patriot League Championship in 2001.
2002
u 1st Female FUSA President: Karen Donoghue ’03
TIMELINE OF “FIRSTS”
2002 (continued)
u 1st Alumna to Speak at Annual Diversity Convocation: Brenda Joyce (Blissett) Young ’74, PhD
2010
u Fairfield University Art Museum Opens With Female Founding Director/Chief Curator Jill J. Deupi, PhD
2012
u Women’s Studies Program Rebranded to Become the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program
A new team in 1997, women’s rowing won its first MAAC title in 2000. In 2001, field hockey, coached by Jackie Kane ’87, made its first NCAA appearance. Among the 12 alumni who lost their lives on September 11, 2001 was one woman, Johanna Sigmund ’98, who worked on the 93rd floor of the World Trade Center. On the ten-year anniversary of 9/11, Coach Kane remembered Sigmund, a field hockey student-athlete who wore #24, as the fellow Philly girl who’d gone out of her way to welcome Kane as the team’s new coach in 1995. Sigmund was “an extremely hard worker,” Coach Kane told the Connecticut Post, “and just an all-around terrific person.” Brenda Joyce (Blissett) Young ’74, PhD was initially slated for Fairfield’s Annual Diversity Convocation in fall 2001, but due to the events of 9/11, it wasn’t until 2002 that she became the first alumna to deliver the convocation address. An English professor,
Dr. Young earned her PhD in African American Studies from Emory University. “College is the best and happiest time of life,” she told the students. “Use these years to polish the diamonds that you already are.” Through the decades, as women on campus attained leadership positions in administrative posts, faculty appointments, and student organizations, the one elusive role for female undergraduates was that of Fairfield University Student Association (FUSA) president. When Karen Donoghue ’03 was elected in 2002 the Mirror headline proclaimed “Glass Ceiling No More.” Her victory paved the way for the five women who have served in this role since. Donoghue’s career path in higher education brought her back to Fairfield in 2014, where she currently serves as vice president for Student Life. (Learn more in her interview on page 32.)
2017
u 1st Female University President: Lynn M. Babington, PhD
The 2000s: Glass Ceiling No More
2020
u 50th Anniversary of Women at Fairfield. Visit fairfield.edu/ celebrate-women for Calendar of Events
The Fairfield women’s crew team became MAAC Champs in 2000.
Since the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts opened 30 years ago, women’s voices from around the globe have been a part of the campus dialogue. In the first decade of the millennium, the Quick Center’s Open VISIONS Forum (OVF) welcomed Benazir Bhutto, the first woman prime minister of an Islamic country for the 2002 Jacoby-Lunin Humanitarian Lectureship, sponsored by the Bennett Center for Judaic Studies.
2010 to Today: Trailblazers Igniting the Future The Women’s Studies program was rebranded in 2012 to become the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGS) program. As a student in the program at the time, Alicia Bissonette ’12 said, “The reason why Women’s Studies was invented was to balance out the male-dominated teaching style of the past. However, as times change, so does the study. I think it’s wise that they are including all genders and sexualities in the conversation.” Offering an expanded variety of courses that seek to challenge cultural, intellectual, social, and political assumptions about sex, gender, and sexuality systems, the renamed program also hosts a WGS Center on campus, with meeting space and informational resources. “First Woman and Non-Jesuit to Lead Fairfield University” announced the Connecticut Post headline when then-provost and senior vice president for academic affairs Lynn M. Babington, PhD, was appointed interim president for six months beginning in January 2017. “Fairfield is ready,” Dr. Babington told the newspaper. The former professor and dean of the School of Nursing was asked how her nursing background had prepared her for the role of president. “When you are a nurse, you translate medical information between patient and families and physicians half the time,” Dr. Babington replied, “And when you are a college president, you have to look at the big picture and translate it to families, students, staff, faculty, and the Board of Trustees who are the ultimate overseers.” Dr. Babington went on to become president of Chaminade University in Honolulu and
was replaced at Fairfield by President Mark R. Nemec, PhD, in June 2017. Dr. Nemec appointed Christine Seigel, PhD, provost in 2018. Today, Dr. Siegel is one of eight women in senior leadership positions at Fairfield. A champion of women faculty members and students, Dr. Siegel has launched a lecture series in celebration of the 50th anniversary of coeducation. The first session, “Women at Fairfield – Trailblazers Igniting the Future,” featured female voices from a cross-section of roles and eras: University Trustee Rosellen Walsh Schnurr ’74, Vice President of Student Life Karen Donoghue ’03, and past Student Achievement Awardee, Claretta Mills ’16. Additional commemorative events are being planned – for full celebration details please visit fairfield.edu/celebrate-women. Women today outnumber men on campus in both student population and on the faculty. Even beyond campus, there are now more women than men among Fairfield’s 40,000plus living graduates — something the male students and alumni of 1970 could never have imagined. Embracing the core Jesuit values of the magis and cura personalis, men and women together set the tone for inclusivity and acceptance when coeducation changed the history of Fairfield 50 years ago. But it was the trailblazing women who set the high bar for achievement — excelling in the classroom, leading organizations and teams, and going on to successful careers — and it is this legacy that continues to open doors for generations of female undergraduates and F alumnae. l
left from top:
Students in 2016 demonstrated for gender equality in Washington D.C.; the women’s lacrosse team earned back-to-back MAAC Championship trophies in 2018 and 2019; and Provost Christine Siegel’s 2020-21 webinar series commemorates women’s contributions to Fairfield. Fa i r f i e l d Un i v e r s i t y Mag a z i n e | win ter 2020 31
LEADING WITH KINDNESS Karen Donoghue ’03, was the first woman FUSA president. Now, as the first woman vice president of Student Life she is guiding students through Covid-19. by Nicole Funaro ’17
In February 2002, Karen Donoghue ’03 had her first run-in with history when she was elected president of the Fairfield University Student Association (FUSA). Winning the title by a mere 11 votes, Donoghue became the first female president of the student governing body since Fairfield University started admitting women undergraduate students in 1970. The victory was so significant that The New York Times interviewed her for a story that ran in print the following month, giving her the moniker “B.W.O.C.,” which stands for “Big Woman on Campus.” Donoghue is still a “B.W.O.C.” at the University, currently serving Fairfield as the vice president of Student Life. She earned Karen Donoghue ’03 returned to Fairfield University in 2014 and was appointed vice president of Student Life in 2018.
32 wi n ter 2020 | Fairfie l d Un i ve rs it y M aga z in e
Fa i r f i e l d Un i v e r s i t y Mag a z i n e | win ter 2020 33
yet another “first” in this role, becoming the first female to occupy the position. With every milestone achieved along the way – and in the midst of unprecedented stresses on student life due to Covid-19 – Donoghue forges forward with the values instilled in her as an undergraduate: the importance of building a strong community, and the significance of leading with kindness. You won the 2002 FUSA Presidential Election by the small margin of 11 votes — did you think you could win?
I guess the answer is maybe? [laughs]. There were moments when I thought, ‘Yes, I think we can do this.’ And then there were moments of self-doubt since women had run in the past and never won. But, I had enough people supporting me, and I had great friends and mentors encouraging me to really try this and do the best that I could. Janet Canepa ’82 (assistant vice president for Alumni Relations) was someone who whispered a bug in my ear pretty early on — she herself had run when she was a student, and she supported me from the beginning. Today, as colleagues, she’s still encouraging me to try new things, so I am very grateful to her.
Did being the first female FUSA president give you an added sense of responsibility when assuming the role?
I think being the first put me in spaces that a female student leader had not been in before, having to connect with senior leadership and the Board of Trustees. Being the first female president was something that was mentioned every time I was in the room, because it was so monumental at the time. There was definitely a tension placed on me to succeed in these spaces, which was a good thing. The institution was proud of me, and for that I was thankful, and with that came the pressure of wanting to be successful, not only on behalf of the students that elected me, but for the administration at the time. What was next for you after your 2003 graduation?
I went on to Rider University in New Jersey, for a master’s degree in education. I also had an internship working in student leadership and leadership development, which is an area I still focus on today. I had a lot of fun working with students while taking classes, and I was
applying my work in my classes and vice versa. Once I graduated, I worked at Penn State University in their Office of Residence Life department. I was in a location that I never lived in before – I had to make new friends, I had to meet new colleagues, and I had to learn an entire big-campus system, and that put me into a nice space to learn again. Then, I was at a professional development conference and I bumped into Mark Reed ’96 — also a former FUSA president — who at the time was a vice president at Fairfield in the role that I now have. He encouraged me to apply for an opening in the Office of Residence Life; I did and it brought me back here. I then went from the director of Office of Residence Life at Fairfield to the position of dean of students, and am now vice president of Student Life. As the vice president of Student Life, what did you learn as an undergraduate FUSA president that still informs your role today?
I like to look at my year as FUSA president as the ultimate internship for what I’m doing today. It gave me a taste in two spaces that I
With Ellie O’Mara ‘24 (right) and Tushi Patel ’22 (left), Donoghue (center) says it’s important to “have open ears” in order to create the best Fairfield experience for all students. 34 wi n ter 2020 | Fairfie l d Un i ve rs it y M aga z in e
“ Having a woman in all conversations is a necessity, and having diverse people in all conversations is equally a necessity as we move forward. So my advice is to be proud of your voice, know your voice counts, and make sure you’re finding spaces to share that voice.” — Karen Donoghue ’03, Vice President of Student Life don’t necessarily have access to now; as the student government president, you definitely have a lens and a voice to and for the student body. It also gave me a taste of what working in higher education would be like, and I enjoyed it; I knew it was something that I potentially wanted to do for the rest of my life. So it gave me a foundation for my master’s and my future. But my goals then are still my goals now: you want students to have the ultimate experience at Fairfield, and that means an amazing academic and cocurricular experience. Now, I am in charge of that cocurricular side. Now, I have to realize that students are constantly changing — students are not the same as when I was a student here, but listening to students is still the same. I have to have open ears and take their pulse to try to create that cocurricular experience that complements their academics in a really transformational way. What did your role as FUSA president teach you about leadership?
First, if you have a strong team committed to a shared goal or vision, you can succeed much more than individuals trying to achieve their own personal goals, and I think that’s something that we try right now to do in Student Life. Another thing that I learned and still learn now is that effective communication is essential, whether it’s through emails and inperson meetings with my staff, the student body, or parents. Role modeling behavior is also very important, and I think we all try to be better every day. I think this is something very prevalent in Jesuit teaching — no one is perfect, but we give thanks for the graces we have each day, and when we do make a mistake, we have to acknowledge it, ask for forgiveness, and then try to be better the next day. Now you have the added challenges of helping to lead through a public health crisis: Covid-19. Tell me about what this experience has been like.
Covid-19 is a huge disruption in higher education and at Fairfield University. We had to pivot, and we had to respond, and I had to
acknowledge to the students that the Fairfield experience is not the same. And it can’t be the same when you’re in the middle of a global pandemic. The core of a Jesuit Catholic institution is still here. But the Fairfield we all know and love cannot operate in the exact same space because it’s no longer safe to do so. So that’s where there has been a lot of listening. We’ve created, to the best of our ability, an experience focused on putting protocols in place to keep the student body safe. And now we’re living it. And we have to be open and authentic, and acknowledge that maybe this isn’t ideal, or maybe we can look at this from another angle and try to adapt. Using technology to reach students in a different way is something that I don’t think will ever go away, and I am so thankful for, because you can connect and communicate to a larger audience using technology such as Zoom or Google Hangout. That’s something I think we will take away as a positive, because the ability to have human interaction on a larger scale at a moment’s notice is pretty cool and so valuable.
15 years of my life by handing me this one article. Later on, I had opportunities to serve on the town advisory board of the Center for Family Justice, to work very closely with Fairfield’s Title IX policy development, and to support our students who may have been victims of sexual assault. I’ve also become a trained self-defense teacher, in particular for women, through the R.A.D. (Rape Aggression Defense) programs. In every role I’ve had a Fairfield, I know that I pay attention to any group of students that might be considered marginalized. I always encourage students, especially females and those of any underrepresented population, to run for high leadership positions. That includes our students of color and especially our women of color. I also try to encourage our women students to go into fields that are still predominantly male. Sometimes, it just takes someone saying, ‘Hey, have you thought about an accounting major?’ or ‘Have you ever thought about engineering?’ People put ideas in my head as a student, and that’s a role I now like to serve.
What has leading taught you?
What would be your best piece of advice for women students at Fairfield who aspire to leadership roles?
through
Covid-19
I am a mother of two small children, and I think what this pandemic has showed me is that all mothers, including myself, are amazing. Working mothers are amazing, and I would give a shout out to every working mother through this pandemic. That’s the first thing I learned — my own capacity to balance so many different things at the same time. I think other mothers, and any parent, probably has experienced the same thing. Over your career, you have shown specific interests in Title IX and women’s advocacy — how did this come about?
When I was in my FUSA presidency, [Assistant Vice President] Jim Fitzpatrick ’70, handed me an article about Title IX and gender equity, and he said it was a big deal. Lo and behold, it was a big deal, and it’s still a big deal today. It was like he was foreshadowing the next
Having a woman in all conversations is a necessity, and having diverse people in all conversations is equally a necessity as we move forward. So my advice is to be proud of your voice, know your voice counts, and make sure you’re finding spaces to share that voice. From your undergraduate years through the present, how would you sum up your entire Fairfield experience?
With one word: blessed. I am extremely fortunate to have been given these opportunities from my first year at Fairfield all the way to now. I am beyond blessed to have colleagues who are friends, and who are with me on a daily basis, supporting my development and growth, and helping me when I fall. I truly believe this is a community, and I am so F thankful that I am part of it. l
Fa i r f i e l d Un i v e r s i t y Mag a z i n e | win ter 2020 35
Big Dance First to the
The 1987-88 women’s basketball team defied the odds, won the MAAC, and became the first Fairfield women’s team to go the NCAAs.
A
by Chris Elsberry
t halftime, the MAAC tournament championship game was over. Or, at least in the minds of the LaSalle women’s basketball team, it was. Just before the first-half buzzer, Jennifer Snyder hit a 3-pointer to give the Explorers a double-digit lead. LaSalle had held Fairfield to less than 20 points, had them shooting 25 percent from the floor, and had forced them into 14 turnovers. The Stags’ opponents believed a ticket to the NCAA tournament was already in their grasp. The cheering and the laughter coming from the LaSalle locker room could be heard loud and clear through the wall that separated the Stags’ locker room from the Explorers. The halftime celebration was more than enough to raise the hackles of the Fairfield players. “I don’t remember a lot about the game, but I remember at halftime, they thought the game was won,” senior guard Trish Barrett ’88 said. “They felt like they had it, but in our eyes, 36 wi n te r 2 0 2 0 | Fair fie l d Un i ve rs it y M aga z in e
it wasn’t anywhere close to being over. That kind of gave us extra motivation. We knew we were going to keep fighting.” “You know what it was? We knew we weren’t playing our best, I think that was more of it,” senior guard Dana Pellegrino ’88 said. “As much as they were celebrating, it wasn’t because of what they were doing, it was because of what we weren’t doing. I think that motivated us a lot.” All season long, Fairfield’s success had been based on hard work, team play, and chemistry. An intense non-conference schedule had prepped the Stags for MAAC play and now, at the beginning of March Madness, Fairfield found itself just 20 minutes away from its firstever trip to the NCAA tournament. It turned out to be the most incredible 20 minutes in Fairfield University women’s basketball history. right:
No. 24 Lisa Mikelic ’91 takes a shot.
“Time files… it absolutely boggles my mind. It was an amazing feeling… and to experience it? Look at that picture — you see all our hands in the air and we’re all looking around to hug somebody and celebrate … I’m getting chills thinking about it. It was awesome.” — Dana Pelligrino ’88
Rewind a bit. By the time the four newest members of the Fairfield University women’s basketball team arrived on campus – freshmen Tricia Sacca ’91, Shanna Lewis ’91, Lisa Mikelic ’91, and Teresa Maguire ’91 – head coach Dianne Nolan had already assembled a solid core of veteran players, including seniors Barrett, Pellegrino, Tasia Turkalo ’88, and Terry Voegler ’88. There was a junior, Cheryl Trumbo ’89 and sophomores Kathy Gailor ’90, Renita Pritchett ’90, Tabitha Brickhouse ’90, and Barbara Robb ’90. Together, there was talent, experience, depth. And toughness. “They were all as tough as nails,” Nolan said. “One through 11 … amazing. They cared about each other.” “Great girls, great teammates,” added Turkalo. “Wonderful, hard-working, smart, committed.” According to Pellegrino, it was the old Aretha Franklin adage R-E-S-P-E-C-T that set the groundwork for success that season. “There was no drama. It was all about working together and doing what was best for the team,” she said. “We had great chemistry. Our bus driver Don, he’d play music for us and he always played the song “We Are 38 wi n te r 2 0 2 0 | Fair fie l d Un i ve rs it y M aga z in e
far left:
No. 23 Tricia Sacca ’91 gets past the defense in Alumni Hall. left: Veteran players of the Class of ’88: Trish Barrett (No. 4), Dana Pellegrino (No. 10), Terry Voegler (No. 44), and Tasia Turkalo (No. 20) celebrate with teammates upon clinching the MAAC Championship.
Family,” and that’s what we were – family. Not only the upperclassmen but the freshmen, they were all great players and great people. We made each other work hard.” The motto for the season was “On a Mission.” It originated from a scheduling mix-up in the previous season, when the Stags played one too many regular season games and were disqualified from playing in the 1986-87 MAAC tournament. That disappointment was the driving force of their mission to make the MAAC tournament the next year.
T
he regular 1987-88 season opened in Seattle with a game against Washington of the Pac10, a team that had gone 23-7 the previous year and had participated in the NCAA tournament. Playing in front of almost 2,000 people at the Edmundson Pavilion, Fairfield fell by a 73-59 score. “I didn’t know what the hell I was doing,” Sacca said. “I’d never been to the West Coast in my life. I’d never played in front of so many people. I remember Dianne
coming down the bench to put me in the game and I didn’t get up. I’m thinking to myself, ‘I’m not going into this game.’ What did I get myself into? I was just trying to survive.” The next night against Eastern Washington, Fairfield found the win column, beating the Eagles 81-62. A win at Central Connecticut, home wins against Rider and Vermont, along with another road win at Iona, lifted the Stags to a 5-1 start. But Fairfield dropped both games in the Wildcat Christmas Classic at Villanova to Notre Dame and Siena and then lost at Brigham Young and Utah to fall back to .500 before righting the ship with wins against Hartford and New Hampshire. “What I remember about BYU and Utah was, there was a big snowstorm going on while we were there and the bus had to drive through it,” Pellegrino said. “It was crazy. But those games toughened us up and that’s a tribute to Dianne. She really did try to have us prepared and challenged. We were ready for the conference.” A loss to LaSalle opened MAAC play, but Fairfield reeled off eight wins in its next nine games – again, losing to LaSalle – to stand at 15-7 overall and 8-2 in the conference.
“We grew as a unit because we were prepared,” said Mikelic, who averaged 12.9 points and 6.6 rebounds. “We played the best. We never backed down from any competition because we felt we were just as talented as anyone. We were prepared for MAAC play. We gained from each loss. The MAAC was really competitive, we fought every night.” “That whole conference, looking back at it, it was one of the top conferences in the country,” Sacca said. “Fordham, St. Peter’s, LaSalle, Holy Cross, Iona, Manhattan – it was just unbelievable women’s basketball. Everyone was good.” Fairfield stumbled against both Holy Cross and Manhattan before beating Cleveland State in a non-conference game to finish the regular season and enter MAAC tournament play with a 16-9 record and an 8-4 conference mark. In the MAAC quarterfinals, the Stags took care of Fordham, winning 80-66 as Sacca scored 17 points and grabbed 16 rebounds. Mikelic, the MAAC Rookie of the Year, scored 18 points, had six steals and four assists, and Shanna Lewis – who had scored just 47 points all season – chipped in with 11 points on 5 for 7 shooting from the floor. The next day against Holy Cross in the semifinals, it was Turkalo’s time to shine as she scored 22 points to lead five players in double figures. “I was a scorer and a rebounder; those were my two main jobs,” Turkalo said. “Those were the things I knew I had to get done.”
L
aSalle was the regular season conference champion, entering the MAAC championship game at the Westchester (N.Y.) Civic Center. They had already beaten Fairfield twice in conference play, including a 19-point spanking in Philadelphia. They were 25-3 and ranked 20th in the
Fa i r f i e l d Un i v e r s i t y Mag a z i n e | win ter 2020 39
right:
No. 33 Cheryl Trumbo races to hug Tricia Sacca.
Associated Press women’s basketball poll. After holding the Stags to just 25 percent shooting from the floor and forcing those 14 turnovers, LaSalle went into the locker room celebrating their 29-18 lead, thanks to Snyder’s 3-point buzzer beater. “They hit a 3-pointer right before halftime and I remember thinking we’re in trouble,” Sacca said. “But then, there’s no substitute for seniors and leadership. We had both. I remember listening to Dana and Tasia and Trish at halftime and thinking I’m going to follow their lead.” “I didn’t have a good first half at all,” Pellegrino said; she had managed just two points. “And my thinking was to keep going at them. All season long we’d never given up and we weren’t going to do that now.” Pellegrino hit a 3 to open the second half, getting Fairfield back within striking distance. But over the next 13 minutes, Fairfield could get no closer. LaSalle maintained a comfortable lead, 47-39 with 6:45 to play. Both Mikelic and Sacca were on the bench with four fouls, but Terry Voegler and Shanna Lewis stepped up to give Nolan some solid defense and more than enough toughness. “Terry Voegler was tremendous,” Mikelic said. “I can still see her making those two baskets in my mind.” Down a point with just over two minutes left and Mikelic on the Stags bench after fouling out, it was Voegler that gave Fairfield the lead at 51-50, scoring on a short jumper in the lane. “I remember she (Voegler) was probably the most improbable hero of that championship,” Sacca said. “That’s the beauty of college sports. Normally, she’s probably not even in the game at that point, but Lisa had fouled out so she was in there.” On the next possession, LaSalle looked to take the lead but Sacca stepped out and cut off the passing lane – forcing a crucial turnover.
With 1:16 left, Sacca scored to make to 5350 Fairfield. Another Explorers turnover gave Fairfield back the ball and Pellegrino threw a long pass to Voegler; breaking for the basket, she scored to finish a game-ending 11-0 run for Fairfield. “It was one of the most exciting endings to a game that I’ve ever been involved with,” Pellegrino said. Pellegrino led the way with 18 points – 16 coming in the second half – while adding three assists and three steals. Voegler and Barrett each scored eight points while Sacca and Turkalo both had seven points and Sacca had 13 rebounds.
T
he Stags didn’t have to travel far to face its firstround NCAA opponent, making the hour-long bus ride over the Whitestone Bridge to Queens, N.Y. to face the St. John’s Red Storm. “I remember watching the draw and as a freshman, I didn’t know what to expect,” Mikelic said. “No one had ever been to the NCAAs before. It was all new.” At halftime, Fairfield trailed St. John’s 43-32 but the Stags rallied to pull within 61-53 with 7:32 to play. That was as close as they got; the Red Storm won 83-70. “I don’t think they were that much better than us, but we might have gotten a little too caught up in playing in the NCAAs. I don’t think we came out as strong as we could have,” Mikelic said.
40 wi n ter 2020 | Fairfie l d Un i ve rs it y M aga z in e
“We grew as a unit because we were prepared. We played the best. We never backed down from any competition because we felt we were just as talented as anyone.” — Lisa Mikelic ’91
There is a photo, black and white, of the Fairfield celebration after beating LaSalle for the MAAC title. Both Sacca and Turkalo have their arms raised high, preparing to hug each other. Pellegrino is turning to embrace Barrett, while off to the right, Voegler is starting to run off the court, heading to kiss her boyfriend, as the story goes. It is a moment forever frozen in time and one that Pellegrino still remembers clear as day. “Time files … it absolutely boggles my mind,” she said. “It was an amazing feeling… and to experience it? Look at that picture – you see all our hands in the air and we’re all looking around to hug somebody and celebrate … I’m getting chills thinking about it. F It was awesome.” l
Grants&Gifts
A Selection of Grants and Gifts Received From Private and Public Foundations, and Corporations
The Arts
University Nurse Anesthesia Program students. This assistance will help support the full-time status of nurse anesthesia students and allow them to enroll, participate, progress, and successfully graduate from the Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies Program. The Older Americans Act Title III has given $11,387 to support adjunct professor Monica Wheeler, MSN, RN and her project entitled “A Matter of Balance,” which 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.
Art Bridges Foundation gave $10,000
toward equipment purchases, educational and outreach programming, and printing costs surrounding the Fairfield University Art Museum’s (FUAM) Birds of the Northeast: Gulls to Great Auks and The Lost Bird Project exhibitions. In addition, the foundation provided generous in-kind support by covering the costs associated with insuring, shipping, and crating a piece loaned by Marsden Hartley. The Stephen and Palmina Pace Foundation has approved an exceptional
contribution of more than 132 works from Stephen Pace (1918-2010) including paintings, watercolors, works on paper, and sketchbooks. With a $750,000 estimated value, this donation represents the largest gift (by value) of artwork to the FUAM in its 10-year history. The numerous studies relating to major works in the donation will provide exciting connections as research projects and teaching tools, for faculty, students, museum staff, and audiences.
General University Support & Scholarships Davis Educational Foundation gave
$25,000 in support of Fairfield University’s efforts to offer enhanced remote learning for the 2020-21 academic year in the context of the ongoing Covid-19 health crisis. This grant is enabling Fairfield to provide a robust and supportive learning environment through new and sophisticated online learning tools, including quality rubrics and training materials. 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. H.W. Wilson Foundation has renewed
Stephen Pace (American, 1918-2010) Untitled, 60-10, 1960, Oil on canvas, 94 x 72 x 3/4 inches, Fairfield University Art Museum, Gift of the Stephen and Palmina Pace Foundation.
its support of Fairfield University with a $50,000 gift. This generous award will go toward Fairfield’s Stags for Stags campaign, specifically the “Critical Student Financial Aid Fund,” allowing deserving students to receive the financial support they need in order to reap the benefits of a Fairfield education.
Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing & Health Studies
Charles F. Dolan School of Business The Barnes Group Foundation continues
to support the Charles F. Dolan School of Business with an additional $5,000 grant to bolster the School’s entrepreneurial and strategic priorities, and to nurture Fairfield students’ innovative talents.
School of Engineering The Earl W. & Hildagunda A. Brinkman Private Charitable Foundation has
Jonas Philanthropies gave $10,000 as part
of a two-year pledge to support two students in Egan’s Family Nurse Practitioner DNP program, through tuition support and professional networking opportunities. The Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration has granted $20,169 to
renewed its generous support of the School of Engineering with a $75,000 grant in support of the School’s Mechanical Engineering and Machine Labs. This award will help enhance the cutting-edge research of faculty members in the School of Engineering, and will also enable students to acquire outstanding mechanical skills as they participate in hands-on projects F aimed at solving real-world problems. l
provide financial support for eligible Fairfield Fa i r f i e l d Un i v e r s i t y Mag a z i n e | win ter 2020 41
Alumni NOTES 1970
S H A R E YO U R N E W S
’71 | Jim Ruane successfully achieved recertification as a criminal trial advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Ruane lives and practices law in Connecticut at Ruane Attorneys. ’75 | Andrew (“Dewey”) Egan, PhD, has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to conduct research and teach in Nepal at the Institute of Forestry, as part of a project on the impacts of natural disasters on community forests, and community forestry policies and practices in Nepal. A former dean of the School of Forestry and Natural Resources at Paul Smith’s College, and forest science faculty member at the University of Maine and Laval University in Quebec, Egan served as a Fulbright Scholar at the Institute of Forestry once before in 2004.
1980
’84 | C. Frank Figliuzzi, NBC News national security analyst and former FBI assistant director, has an upcoming book now available for pre-order: The FBI Way: Inside the Bureau’s Code of Excellence.
Lindsey Hanley ’15, MPA’22 and Christopher Finelli ’15, MSA’16 were married on August 8, 2020. Share your news! Simply log on to the Alumni Online Community and post your Class Note. Not a member? Registration is easy — www.fairfield.edu/alumnicommunity. Sign up and log on today.
She was recognized as one of 25 Massachusetts teachers for her work as an AP literature and composition teacher. ’95 | Alyson Genovese has joined S&P Global as the global head of corporate responsibility where she oversees the organization’s global CR strategy, program management, employee engagement, corporate foundation, and ESG disclosure. ’96 | Christopher Basta, principal of Beaver Brook Elementary School in Abington, Mass., has been conferred the degree of doctor of education by the University of New England.
1990 2000 ’91 | Kristin Hayes Frohock was named a Partners in Excellence Teacher by Mass Insight Education for her work and research in the AP STEM and English Programs.
’01 | Heather Monoson, after 20 years working in corporate finance with General Electric and Rexel Inc., has recently transitioned into
42 wi n ter 2020 | Fairfie l d Un i ve rs it y M aga z in e
the non-profit space. In June 2020, Monoson accepted the position of chief financial officer for U.S. Sailing, located in Bristol, R.I. She is excited to be joining the national governing body for the sport of sailing, especially as they prepare for the Tokyo games in 2021. ’05 | Melissa (Nowicki) Skidd MBA’11 was recently appointed senior associate director of CV marketing at Boehringer-Ingelheim. Mark Wilson recently published an op-ed regarding police reform. The article can be viewed at the newyorkbeacon.com. ’07 | Katie McLaughlin founded the McLaughlin Method this year to support leaders in getting sustainable business results by creating a people-first culture. The four-month executive group coaching and implementation program improves employee engagement scores and retains top talent. Incorporating
theatre techniques and skills allows McLaughlin’s clients to cement their learnings through interactive experiences. ’08 | Jennifer Ioli was recognized in the Best Lawyers’ new category, “Ones to Watch,” which recognizes individual lawyers who are early in their careers for outstanding professional excellence in private practice in the U.S. Ioli is currently employed at Sherin and Lodgen in Boston, Mass.
2010
’12 | Vincent Ferrer joined the nationally recognized commercial real estate tax litigation department of Skoloff & Wolfe, P.C. (Livingston, N.J.) in September 2020. He was also recently named to the publications committee of the New Jersey State Bar Foundation.
Sr. Colleen Gibson SSJ, ’09 Ignatian, Through and Through
C
by Jeannine (Carolan) Graf ’87 olleen Gibson ’09 stood on a hillside overlooking the city of Sydney, Australia one summer night during the 2008 World Youth Day celebration. Her conversation with Rev. Mark Scalese, S.J., one of the chaperones for the trip organized by Campus Ministry, had just taken an unexpected turn. After telling him about her upcoming internship at Commonweal and her aspiration to be a writer, “He asked if I’d ever considered religious life,” she remembered, “and I said I had, but I didn’t really think it was for me.” “You are Ignatian, through and through,” Fr. Scalese told the rugby player, service trip volunteer, and soon-to-be senior class
“ There’s no way I could’ve imagined that I’d be a vowed woman religious, but that’s the thing about vocation: it’s always in you, but it’s the gradual work of life… we are always ‘becoming’ who we are.” valedictorian. “You’d make a great Jesuit, but we don’t take women.” He suggested she look into the Sisters of Saint Joseph, an order started by a French Jesuit. She promptly filed his advice away for future consideration. Sr. Colleen was introduced to Ignatian spirituality at Fairfield. Although she attended a large public high school in central New Jersey, she had only looked
at Catholic colleges and Fairfield “felt like a place where I could fit in and be comfortable enough to be myself, but also challenged to grow,” she said. Intrigued by the idea of an interdisciplinary major, she chose American Studies, later adding a religious studies double major. In her first week on campus, Sr. Colleen stumbled across the women’s rugby team table at an Activities Fair. The players assured her no prior experience was necessary and encouraged her give it a try. By the end of her first year, she had received both a concussion and MVP honors. By sophomore year, she was team captain. Antithetical to her calm, quiet nature and ultimate vocation, Sr. Colleen admits to a rough and tumble reputation on the rugby pitch: “People say I played like an animal!” Yet, she values the sport for being more than what her father likened to “a riot, but without the rules.” “Rugby is 15 players on the field at a time and it requires every type of person,” she said, noting the solidly built props, the smaller hookers who get lifted up, and the lean, super-fast backs. “There is a unity and diversity to the team, and to the sport in general. Playing 45-minute halves without a break teaches patience and endurance — you learn to lean on and trust your teammates.” Recalling her discussion 12 years ago with Fr. Scalese, Sr. Colleen thinks her younger self would be surprised to know that she is, indeed, now a Sister of Saint Joseph (SSJ). “There’s no way I could’ve imagined that I’d be a vowed woman religious,” she said, “but that’s the thing about vocation: it’s always in you, but it’s the gradual work of life… we are always ‘becoming’ who we are.” Four years ago, Sr. Colleen helped found the SSJ Neighborhood Center in Camden, New Jersey. With herself and just one other
Sr. Colleen Gibson SSJ, ’09
religious sister working full-time, the Center offers: weekly community prayer, a food pantry, life skills classes for everything from sewing and crocheting to personal finance, a 19-bed community garden, and English classes — ten sections of which had to be moved online due to the pandemic. Sr. Colleen also authors the blog “Wandering in Wonder,” and is a published writer in National Catholic Reporter, America, Commonweal, and Give Us This Day. In celebration of the 50th anniversary of women at Fairfield, the Class of 2009 valedictorian was invited by the Center for Catholic Studies to deliver its 20th Annual Anne Drummey O’Callaghan Lecture on Women in the Church this past October. Although Covid-19 prevented an inperson presentation, her lecture, “Showing Up: The Radical Work of Commitment in Uncertain Times,” was livestreamed to 473 screens via Zoom. In it, Sr. Colleen recognized the need to empower women as leaders in the Church. “If you go to any parish, even in the midst of the pandemic, women are the ones in the pews, the ones leading ministries. Women show up to make a difference, to promote social justice, and to pass the faith on to the next generation.” The last time Sr. Colleen visited campus was for her 10-year reunion in June 2019. “Fairfield is a place where I left a part of my heart,” she said, “and where the groundwork for so much in my life was laid. To remember all those connections, and to recognize that this place transformed who I F am — I’m just so grateful for it.” l
Fa i r f i e l d Un i v e r s i t y Mag a z i n e | win ter 2020 43
Alumni NOTES REUNION WEEKEND Classes of 1976, 1981, 1986, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016 Save the Date: June 11-13, 2021!
S H A R E YO U R N E W S
Bridget (Lake) ’04 and Matt Dalen welcomed son, Henry Raymond, into the world on March 4, 2020. Share your news! Simply log on to the Alumni Online Community and post your Class Note. Not a member? Registration is easy — www.fairfield.edu/alumnicommunity. Sign up and log on today.
Visit fairfield.edu/reunion2021 for more information.
50TH REUNION WEEKEND Class of 1971 save the date for the “reunion of a lifetime!” May 21-23, 2021 Visit fairfield.edu/50threunion for more information. Please note that we continue to monitor the ever-changing environment surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic and will communicate any changes regarding both of the above reunion celebrations as needed. Rescheduled dates for Reunion 2020 and the Class of 1970’s 50th Reunion are still pending.
Fairfield EVENTS AT T E N D F R O M H O M E ! Virtual events are wonderful opportunities to have fun, to learn, and to connect with the Fairfield community. Find lectures, livestreams, webinars, and more at: Fairfield.edu/museum Fairfield.edu/quick Fairfield.edu/alumnievents
44 wi n te r 2 0 2 0 | Fair fie l d Un i ve rs it y M aga z in e
Marriages Michael Csorba ’09 and Ashley Januszewski — Dec. 28, 2019. Francesca Adamo ’15 and Anthony Antorino ’15 — Aug. 21, 2020. Lindsey Hanley ’15, MPA ’22 and Christopher Finelli ’15, MSA ’16 — Aug. 8, 2020. Jeannine Nocera ’15 and John Perrotti ’15, MS’16 — June 6, 2020.
Nicole (Miles) ’15 and Jimmy Conway ’14, MS’15 — son, Miles James, June 17, 2020.
In Memoriam Raymond A. Ferrara ’51 (BEI) — Aug. 11, 2020 Richard P. Riccio ’51, MA’53 (GSEAP) — June 26, 2020 Michael J. Savko ’51, MA’55 (GSEAP) — July 11, 2020 Robert D. McLean ’52 — July 7, 2020
Births
Joseph P. Nucera ’52 — Aug. 8, 2020
Bridget (Lake) ’04 and Matt Dalen — son, Henry Raymond, March 4, 2020.
Walter R. Purcell Jr. ’53 — Oct. 26, 2020
Kimberly (Czarnecki) ’06, MBA’16 and Mark Kremheller ’11, MS’12 — daughter, Natalie Brooke, Dec. 28, 2019. Tess and Thomas Vitlo ’09 — daughter, Jozie Claire, July 27, 2020. Kathleen (Goldberg) ’12 and Ryan Steele — son, Christopher Jay, Aug. 22, 2019. Sarah (Martin) ’13, MA’15 and John Corbo — daughter, Jacklyn Anna, May 4, 2020. Meredith (LaBerge) ’15 and Josh Barton — son, Wyatt Ocean, May 11, 2020.
Charles E. Schaefer ’55 — Sept. 19, 2020 Virgil V. Procaccini ’56 — July 14, 2020 Edward M. Thorne Jr. ’56 — Aug. 3, 2020 Robert L. Piscatelli ’57 — Sept. 12, 2020 Bartel R. Crisafi Sr. ’59 — June 19, 2020 Eugene P. DesJarlais ’62, MA’68 (GSEAP) — June 18, 2020 Vincent J. Fazio ’62 — Aug. 14, 2020 Timothy A. Huff Sr. ’63 — Aug. 18, 2020
Joe Sauvageau ’79 Searching the Heavens, for Life on Mars
L
by Meredith Guinness MA’16 ik e a lot of Wat er bu ry high schoolers in the mid1970s, Joe Sauvageau ’79 enjoyed whiling away an after-school hour watching Star Trek reruns from the comfort of a beanbag chair in his rec room. But unlike most of his classmates at Holy Cross Catholic High School, Sauvageau often followed his daily sojourn with Kirk, Spock, and the gang by boldly going to the local library to learn more about phasers, teleportation, and warp speed. “It was my inspiration,” Sauvageau said recently, with a laugh. “I wanted to know what they meant and what was possible.” A boyhood fascination with robots and rockets has led to a passion-fueled career in science and technology, cur-
“ There are a huge number of possible planets out there in our galaxy alone. It is mind boggling when you ponder the potential for life in the universe.” rently as system manager, Astronomy and Physics Directorate, at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory ( JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. There, Sauvageau, who earned a BS in physics and mathematics at Fairfield, leads a team developing next-gen optical instruments and space telescopes for use in exoplanet exploration and NASA missions. In short, he contributes to the technology used in searching for life on Mars — and beyond. Inspired by retired School of Engineering Dean Evangelos Hadjimichael to complete his MA and PhD from the State University of New York, Stony Brook,
Sauvageau started his post-doctoral work at the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) in Boulder, Col. His work then took him to Motorola in Arizona and a photonics company in Washington, where he honed his love of entrepreneurial discovery, leadership, and partnerships. “I had an opportunity to do something that maybe mattered to society,” said Sauvageau, who was eventually named chief technology officer at Lightpath Technologies. Later, as president and principal consultant of Neuralfire Technologies, he helped design and implement a manufacturing capability for Northrop Grumman, for high-power laser diodes that supported the Department of Defense’s Energy Weapons Program. While at Leidos Corporation, Sauvageau was chief engineer and sensor architect on the Commercially Hosted Infrared Payload — also known as CHIRP — a program that helped reduce risks in the development of wide field-of-view staring infrared imaging sensors used by the Air Force. He served as a program manager and chief engineer for the Air Force’s Autonomous Nanosatellite Guardian for Evaluating Local Space (ANGELS) program. What does all that mean? “I put two things up in space,” he said. Which isn’t to say Sauvageau hasn’t taken time to enjoy his off-work hours. Shortly before the turn of the century, he moved to Hawaii, turning his full attention to becoming a master scuba diver. Well, not his full attention. It was while teaching scuba classes himself that he met his wife of 20 years, Zulma, who has joined him on undersea adventures around the globe. With each move, Sauvageau found himself moving from microscopic devices to the giant space telescopes he’s been perfecting and finetuning in recent years. At JPL, he enjoys leading a team on optical instrument design and development of cryogenic space telescopes.
Joe Sauvageau ’79
Some of his work deals with promising advancements in exoplanet characterization, including digging chemical signatures from light that will help scientists determine, for example, whether there is life in the clouds around Venus, a planet which is so hot it would melt lead on its surface. And that’s just one location for exploration. “There are a huge number of possible planets out there in our galaxy alone,” Sauvageau said. “It is mind boggling when you ponder the potential for life in the universe.” Sauvageau, who has spoken to groups on campus before, enjoyed linking up with old friends and classmates during 2019 reunion activities. In the lab, he’s energized mentoring new scientists and he hopes to return to Fairfield in the coming years to speak and find internship opportunities for up-andcoming entrepreneurs and scientists. In his spare time, he continues his own exploration into complexity theory and, more recently, evolutionary game theory and consciousness vs. matter. While his own openness to new thought and theory helps, he’s finding his own research often brings him back to concepts learned in philosophy classes at Fairfield. There’s a certain synergy between the mystics of old and scientific theorists working today, he said. “I have a better appreciation of what I learned back at Fairfield,” said Sauvageau. “There are deeper things beneath the surface. “When I stare into the night sky, I am left in awe with a profound curiosity that drives questions and a never-ending search for F understanding.” l
Fa i r f i e l d Un i v e r s i t y Mag a z i n e | win ter 2020 45
Alumni NOTES In Memoriam Continued from previous page. Pasquale C. Pagliaro ’64 — July 13, 2020 Gregory J. Smith ’70 — Aug. 1, 2020 The University is proud of our unique legacy tradition. More than 12,000 students and alumni have family members — including parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, or siblings — who attended or currently attend Fairfield University.
Reverend William F. Verrilli ’73 — July 24, 2020 Edward J. Fleming IV ’76 — Aug. 31, 2020 Frederick Sorrentino ’77 — April 2, 2019 William W. Bisch ’80 — Oct. 27, 2020 Lisa (Peter) Smith ’82 — July 26, 2020 Michael W. Walsh ’82 — Aug. 2, 2020 Robert S. Cardillo ’84 (BEI) — July 26, 2020 Robert J. Jaeger ’85 — Sept. 3, 2020
Pictured (l-r): James Keenan, Sarah (Piccolomini) Keenan, Christopher Gradel, Kerianne Keenan, Timothy Keenan, Valerie (Gradel) Keenan, Paul Keenan, Mark Keenan. Not pictured: Gregory Gradel.
“We have always treasured the friendships and education received at Fairfield University, and we are so proud to see our children turning a family tradition into a legacy.”
Christopher Gradel ’06
James Keenan ’11
Valerie Gradel Keenan ’80, P’23, ’18, ’12, ’11, ’06
Sarah Piccolomini Keenan ’11
Mark Keenan ’12
Connie (McKenna) Crowell ’88, MA’95 (GSEAP) — July 31, 2020 David P. Ciaudelli ’91 — Aug. 31, 2020 Julie A. (Nevin) Nippes ’96 — Aug. 4, 2020
THEIR FAIRFIELD FAMILY TREE
Gregory Gradel ’76
John (Jay) B. Sutay Jr. ’85 — July 22, 2020
Mark C. Bogdan ’98 — June 29, 2020 Timothy Keenan ’81, P’23, ’18, ’12, ’11, ’06
Kerianne Keenan ’18
Paul Keenan ’23
Jason T. Boutin ’99 — Aug. 24, 2020 Brian T. Murphy ’99 — Aug. 8, 2020 Luca Iacusso ’04 — Aug. 1, 2020 Caitlin M. Davis ’05 — Oct. 31, 2020
Submit your Fairfield family tree at fairfield.edu/legacystory. 46 wi n ter 2020 | Fairfie l d Un i ve rs it y M aga z in e
Michael R. Malinowski ’09 — Sept. 20, 2020
StayConnected
As a way to keep our alumni connected, no matter where life takes them after graduation, Fairfield University has established Regional Chapters throughout the United States. There are 9 across the country: from Boston to Washington, D.C. alphabetically, and from Boston to San Francisco, geographically. Feel free to reach out to any of these alumni volunteers if you have an idea for an event or want to get involved. Or, contact Fairfield’s Office of Alumni Relations at alumni@fairfield.edu or at (203) 254-4000, ext. 2614. Want to know what’s coming up in your area? Keep an eye on our events calendar or visit your Chapter’s Facebook Page.
BOSTON Margaret (Maggie) Smith ‘12 margaret.smith921@gmail.com
NORTHERN NEW JERSEY Alex Long ‘14 longalex52@gmail.com
CHICAGO Colbey Stabell ‘16 colbey.stabell@gmail.com
PHILADELPHIA Robert Hoey ‘05 rthoey@janney.com
Christopher Young ‘16 cfyoung313@gmail.com
Matthew McAndrew ‘06 matt.mcandrew1@gmail.com
FAIRFIELD/ WESTCHESTER COUNTIES Mary Kelly ‘02 marykelly02@yahoo.com
SAN FRANCISCO Carrick Higgins ‘15 higginscj@hotmail.com
HARTFORD alumni@fairfield.edu NEW YORK CITY Katherine Gillette ‘15 ktgillette15@gmail.com
G R A D U AT E S C H O O L S MBA’11 | Melissa (Nowicki) Skidd ’05 was recently appointed senior associate director of CV marketing at Boehringer-Ingelheim.
Raymond Bassi MA’66 (GSEAP) — Aug. 15, 2020
Marriages
Donald A. Pisati MA’67 (GSEAP) — July 16, 2020
Lindsey Hanley ’15, MPA ’22 and Christopher Finelli ’15, MSA ’16 — Aug. 8, 2020. Jeannine Nocera ’15 and John Perrotti ’15, MS’16 — June 6, 2020.
Emily Jedinak ‘12 emily.jedinak@comcast.net
Births
WASHINGTON, D.C. alumni@fairfield.edu
Kimberly (Czarnecki) ’06, MBA’16 and Mark Kremheller ’11, MS’12 — daughter, Natalie Brooke, Dec. 28, 2019. Sarah (Martin) ’13, MA’15 and John Corbo — daughter, Jacklyn Anna, May 4, 2020.
Do you own your own business and want to let your fellow alumni know about the work that you do? Create your personal virtual “business card” in Fairfield’s new, exclusive
Nicole (Miles) ’15 and Jimmy Conway ’14, MS’15 — son, Miles James, June 17, 2020.
ALUMNI-OWNED BUSINESS DIRECTORY
Richard P. Riccio ’51, MA’53 (GSEAP) — June 26, 2020
Business cards will include your name and class year, a brief description of your company, contact information, and the opportunity to offer a special discount available only to Alumni. Visit fairfield.edu/registeryourbusiness to register and activate your account and complete the profile.
In Memoriam James C. McKelvey III MA’52 (GSEAP) — Aug. 27, 2020
Michael J. Savko ’51, MA’55 (GSEAP) — July 11, 2020 Dorothy Sondheim MA’62, CAS’75 (GSEAP) — July 21, 2020 Arthur Iacuzio Jr. CAS’64 (GSEAP) — July 1, 2020
Joseph Foresi Jr. CAS’67 (GSEAP) — July 14, 2020
Eugene P. DesJarlais ’62, MA’68 (GSEAP) — June 18, 2020 Bruce N. Jaffe MA’70 (GSEAP) — Sept. 13, 2020 Joan A. (Rosenzweig) Rowen MA’70 (GSEAP) — July 3, 2020 Cynthia J. Butler CAS’71 (GSEAP) — July 4, 2020 Sister Mary R. Roy MA’73 (GSEAP) — Aug. 5, 2020 Herbert A. Grant MA’75 (GSC&PC) — June 5, 2020 Jean (Davis) Sherman MA’75 (GSEAP) — July 18, 2020 Ellen (Haber) Goldstein MA’76 (GSEAP) — July 7, 2020 Reverend Richard T. Donahue MA’79 (GSEAP) — Sept. 9, 2020 Michelle (LeDonne) Reichert MA’83 (GSEAP) — Aug. 18, 2020 Lydia (Garcia) Ras-Allard MA’84 (GSEAP) — Aug. 15, 2020 Mary Ellen (Reynolds) Bolton CAS’92 (GSEAP) — Sept. 16, 2020 Susan (Horn) Corey MA’92 (GSEAP) — Aug. 24, 2020 Ellen (Cole) Visnyei MA’93 (GSEAP) — Aug. 25, 2020 Connie (McKenna) Crowell ’88, MA’95 (GSEAP) — July 31, 2020
Lynne (Abromaitis) Zebrowski MA’65 (GSEAP) — July 17, 2020
Fa i r f i e l d Un i v e r s i t y Mag a z i n e | win ter 2020 47
“I have included a gift to Fairfield in my will because Fairfield teaches us to give back and be of service to others. I am proud to leave a lasting legacy that will afford future generations the same opportunities and experiences that I had.” — Mike Guarnieri ’84
Please contact the Office of Planned Giving for further information. We welcome the opportunity to speak with you confidentially.
48 wi n te r 2 0 2 0 | Fair fie l d Un i ve rs it y M aga z in e
What Legacy Will You Leave? feel itit is is my my responsibility responsibility to give back.” “I“I feel MikeGuarnieri Guarnieri ’84 was the first member of family his family family totogo to He was only Mike ’84 was the first member of his to go college. He was Mike Guarnieri ’84 was the first member of his to go to college. college. Heonly wasable only able able to attend Fairfield because of the many sacrifices his parents made and the generosity to attend attendFairfield Fairfieldbecause because many sacrifices his parents and the generosity of of thethe many sacrifices his parents mademade and the generosity of those whose gifts made it possible for him to receive financial assistance. Mike of those thosewhose whosegifts giftsmade made it possible to receive financial assistance. Mike has has it possible for for himhim to receive financial assistance. Mike has included a gift to Fairfield in his will in order to give back and pay it forward. included gifttotoFairfield Fairfield in order to give anditpay it forward. included aagift in in hishis willwill in order to give backback and pay forward. “Fairfieldhas has enabled enabled me me to to be who who II am, am, and and as as an an alum, alum, II have the to “Fairfield the responsibility responsibility to “Fairfield has enabled me to bebe who I am, and as an alum, I havehave the responsibility to stay connected and ensure the Jesuit mission continues. We must stay connected and stay connectedand andensure ensure the Jesuit mission continues. We must stay connected stay connected the Jesuit mission continues. We must stay connected and and engaged. Fairfield needs us.” engaged. Fairfieldneeds needs us.” engaged. Fairfield us.”
As fondly onon your Fairfield days — on teachers, coaches, and and Asyou youlook lookback back fondly your Fairfield days —your on your your teachers, As you look back fondly on your Fairfield days — on teachers, coaches coaches and classmates ——think about how youyou cancan help ensure future Fairfield students have an classmates think about how help ensure future Fairfield students classmates — think about how you can help ensure future Fairfield students have have an an education that is is just asas exceptional andand life-changing as yours. education that just exceptional life-changing as yours. education that is just as exceptional and life-changing as yours. Contact toto learn more about creating youryour legacy by including Fairfield in yourin your Contactus ustoday today learn more about creating legacy by Contact us today to learn more about creating your legacy by including including Fairfield Fairfield in your estateplan. plan.IfIfIf you have already included Fairfield in your your plans, please us estate you have already included Fairfield in your plans, please let us let know so thatso estate plan. you have already included Fairfield in plans, please let us know know so that that we may thank you and update our records to reflect your wishes. we may thank you and update our records to reflect your wishes. we may thank you and update our records to reflect your wishes.
Fairfield University encourages Fairfield University encourages donors to consult with their donors to consult with their tax and legal advisors when tax and legal advisors when considering any planned gift. considering any planned gift. Stacie Kelly | Senior Director of Planned Giving | 203-254-4020 | skelly1@fairfield.edu Stacie Kelly | Senior Director of Planned Giving | 203-254-4020 | skelly1@fairfield.edu plannedgiving.fairfield.edu plannedgiving.fairfield.edu
Fairfieldmagazine UNIVERSITY
Non Profit Organization U.S. Postage Paid
WINTER 2020
Burlington, VT 05401 Permit No. 229
1073 North Benson Road Fairfield, Connecticut 06824-5195 Address Service Requested
A BIG THANK YOU! Gifts in Action! More than 1,000 alumni, parents, friends, and faculty/staff members made a gift during our Get a Mask, Give a Mask appeal, allowing us to give upwards of 1,000 Fairfield masks to our students. Thank you for making a difference for today’s students and faculty. “ It’s incredible to see Fairfield’s great sense of family flourish during this difficult time. To have so many of you donate shows the University community’s dedication to our health, and your commitment to keeping us safe!” — Charlotte Murphy ’23, Nursing Major
Stay tuned for more information about STAGiving Day 2021!
To learn more about how to support our Stags, visit www.fairfield.edu/give
