June 2016
Built on Faith & Family
from the
president
(L-R) The Most Rev. Lawrence T. Persico, Bishop of the Diocese of Erie; Interfaith Youth Core President Eboo Patel; and Gannon University President Keith Taylor, Ph.D., together at Patel’s Interfaith Leadership lecture at Gannon’s Hammermill Center in February. Each of us who join in the Gannon University experience creates lasting friendships with teammates, fellow club or organization members, roommates, co-workers and colleagues. Some acquire new brothers or sisters after joining a fraternity or sorority; others find support and camaraderie from professors or staff members. Like all of those who have walked Gannon University’s campus, we are all part of the Gannon Family. As we’ve reached the end of another exceptional year, we reflect on the shared memories alongside our students, alumni, friends and colleagues who have shown us what it means to be a part of the Gannon Family, and recall the many notable achievements we’ve accomplished together this year. Several new academic buildings held their first classes after grand openings, dedications and blessing ceremonies. Others undergoing modernization, such as Beyer Hall, are in the final weeks of construction, while more transformation begins with a total revitalization of the Nash Library. A record number of freshly minted Gannon graduates walked across the stage at Commencement, heading out to lead our world. Included in their midst, were student-athletes who were nationally recognized for their incredible gifts. Our student media groups received awards and hold national standing among their peers for their talent and creativity. Passionate faculty and staff led service and global-learning initiatives opening the minds of our students and those they met. Alumni continue to excel in their professions and in every aspect of their lives serving others. While we have accomplished much together, more is yet to come.
Vol. XXVIII, No. 1 • June 2016 Gannon University • 109 University Square Erie, Pennsylvania 16541 • (814) 871-7000 www.gannon.edu
As part of the Gannon family, we often witness our community taking the time to help one another, to answer questions, to teach and to mentor. We share our knowledge, experience, and in some cases, our legacies, creating a lasting, positive impact on our students. Together, the Gannon Family is inspiring students to believe, and empowering them to pursue careers across the world, to chase their dreams, to make a difference, and to leave their mark. Gannon University is a family that is driven by our Catholic Identity and our Mission, embodied in service, inclusiveness and global citizenship. We are brought together by our care for one another, by our ambition to innovate and lead in our professions and disciplines, and by our commitment to providing a valuable and transformational life experience for every student. Through this, we are reminded of the power of a Gannon education and the strength we hold together as the Gannon Family. I invite you to read more about the impressive members of our Gannon Family in this edition of the Gannon Magazine.
God Bless,
Keith Taylor, Ph.D., President
Keith Taylor, Ph.D. President
Laura Hinsdale Graphic Designer
printing
Melanie Whaley ’95 Director for Marketing and Communications
Andrew Lapiska ’09M Creative Services Director
class notes and address changes
John Chacona Media, Marketing and Communications Writer Mallory Hedlund ’14 Marketing and Communications Specialist
photography Matt King Multimedia Specialist Andrew Lapiska ’09M student, staff and alumni contributors
We value your input; please direct any comments, questions or feature ideas to magazine@gannon.edu.
Knepper Press Jana Hunt Coordinator of Gifts and Records hunt001@gannon.edu (814) 871-7469 Gannon Magazine is published by the Marketing and Communications Office at Gannon University.
contents
features
Gannon Magazine June 2016
06 Newsnotes: Growth
Strategic Goals
09 Golden Knights in the Spotlight
NewsNotes
See the next steps in the evolution of Gannon University’s growing campus environment as renovation plans unfold for Beyer Hall and Nash Library.
Gannon University’s student-athletes have seen success in their seasons and in the classroom throughout the year, but these Gannon Knights have achieved national and even international recognition as leaders, and Olympic and professional competitors.
10 Built on Faith & Family
Read the stories and experiences of the alumni, faculty, staff and students who continue to build upon the faith and family of our community– a community that is better known as our Gannon Family, filled with support, encouragement and possibilities.
02 innovation 03 community 04 worldview
05 faith & service 05 legacy 06 growth 08 athletics 23 alumnotes
The Possibilities 14 inspire the possibilities 16 achieve your possibilities
Focus 20 facultyfocus 21 studentfocus 22 alumnifocus
Online Exclusives Look for this symbol to find articles with exclusive video, photo galleries and expanded content found in the Gannon Magazine Online Edition.
Gannon Magazine Online Edition Now Available!: Visit magazine.gannon.edu/June16 to view the online edition of this Gannon Magazine using your phone, tablet or computer.
On The Cover Formerly known as the Strong Mansion, Gannon University’s Old Main has been a symbol of our history since founder Archbishop John Mark Gannon purchased the building in 1941. Now 75 years later, Old Main remains a focal point of campus, and is visited by many Gannon Family members. #GANNONFAMILY
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innovation
strategic goals
Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration Creates Crayons For Kids Gannon University’s School of Education and biomedical engineering program worked together to bring a new classroom resource to students at Erie’s Barber National Institute (BNI) through its Integrated Crayons for Adaptive Needs (ICAN) project. The ICAN project was a cross-disciplinary, community project funded by an Erie-Gannon Alliances to Improve Neighborhood Sustainability (Erie-GAINS) mini-grant. Nancy (Heiss) Morris ’03, an instructor in Gannon’s education program, and her students coordinated donation sites at fifteen local elementary schools to collect recycled crayons for the project. Morris then brought in the biomedical engineering program, and worked alongside its faculty and students who assisted with repurposing the crayons to be adaptable for children with fine-motor skill impediments. “I wanted to do this project because it involves so many disciplines: It is active service and project-based learning, students experience community engagement, creation of a product from inception to production, and we engaged students and schools from across the county to take part in service to the BNI students,” said Morris.
Students at Blessed Sacrament are among the many throughout Erie County who recycled and donated hundreds of their crayons. “Having created a set of molds, Gannon students researched the specific process to reduce the curing time of silicone resin from seven days to only 20 minutes,” he said. “A silicone mold allows for both large and small production where the wax is either melted separately and poured into the mold, or crayons are melted directly into the mold using a microwave oven.”
“I wanted to do this project because it involves so many disciplines, it is active Students in the biomedical engineering program service and project-based received guidance and insight from occupational therapists at BNI as well as Morris and the learning, students experience education students to develop the community engagement… original mold design of the reengineered crayons. and we engaged students Davide Piovesan, Ph.D., and schools from across the assistant professor of biomedical county…” engineering, and students in his Tribology class worked to develop a mold that would be easy for the kids and their families to create crayons at home.
“The students designed the crayons on a computer program and transferred it to a machine to make the form necessary to produce the mold.” 2
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The final crayons were created to be large and triangular in shape, and had a different texture and scent than a typical crayon. Because students with finemotor skill impediments have difficulty grasping small objects, the students also equipped the crayon with a guard to help the preschoolers’ fingers from sliding down the crayon. The crayons were demonstrated in May to BNI, where the preschool students tested them, coloring pictures for the students and professors at Gannon. The full donation will be delivered in Fall 2016. View an exclusive video of the ICAN project in the Gannon Magazine Online Edition magazine.gannon.edu/June16
community
strategic goals Learning Outside the Box
Chasing The Rings
Working in the community is a long and honored tradition at Gannon University, but there’s nothing traditional about the way that Gannon students, faculty and staff are making things better in the places where they live, work and worship. Here are just a few examples of that service:
Playing the Part In an innovative experiential-learning program at Gannon University’s Ruskin, Florida campus, actors from two community theater companies took the roles of patients in simulated encounters with the students in the occupational therapy doctorate program. The actors imitated the symptoms and signs of patients with various conditions in interviews with students, who were asked to identify the condition being portrayed and recommend treatment.
A Special Meeting
The legal studies representatives who attended the event included the following from left to right: Peter Agresti, Ashley Javier, Samantha Dorn, Kenzie Ryback, Raj Gandhi, Bernadette Agresti and David Cimino ’15.
To get a first-hand experience of the legacy of Mohandas K. Gandhi as both a significant figure of non-violent political change and a humanrights lawyer, a group of Gannon University legal studies students and professors attended “Gandhi the Lawyer,” at the Duquesne University School of Law, where the students had a special visit with his grandson. “Meeting Raj Gandhi in person was enlightening, allowing students to hear of the personal experiences of Gandhi’s family life and life as a lawyer,” said Bernadette (Dvorak) Agresti ’86, ’96M, director of The Charles W. Deaner, Esq. ’48 Pre-Law Program.
The Sweet Smell of Innovation A group of Gannon University engineering students were willing to get their hands dirty— literally—with the work of making something useful from the waste that no one wanted. Gannon engineering students designed, built, installed and tested alternative composting systems for a local company as part of a firstyear seminar course.
In this case, it was compost from Gannon’s Goodwill Garden. This past year, two teams of engineering students in the interdisciplinary first-year seminar under the guidance of Karinna Vernaza, Ph.D., professor of mechanical engineering, and David Gee, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, designed, built, installed and tested alternative composting systems. Find out more about Gannon’s community efforts in the Gannon Magazine Online Edition magazine.gannon.edu/June16
Amanda Scully (back row right) and Elizabeth Darling (back row left) with the U.S. Olympic rhythmic gymnastics team. Rhythmic gymnastics is one of the most beautiful Olympic sports, a combination of ballet and gymnastics, but the elite athletes who compete are subject to the same kinds of injuries all athletes seek to avoid. Helping them do so is where a support team led by Elizabeth Darling, DPT and Amanda Scully ’07, ’10DPT come in. Colleagues at Keystone Physical Therapy in Erie, Darling and Scully carry out an injury prevention program for the team of six rhythmic gymnasts who qualified for this summer’s Rio de Janiero Olympics. The effort includes several other Gannon physical therapy and athletic training graduates and students. Rosie Cooper ’10, ’13DPT and Amanda Till ’14DPT had the opportunity to work with the team. Mary Vicary ’14, ’16DPT worked at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, New York. “Elizabeth and Amanda have helped create a team of gymnasts ready to compete at the highest level,” said Caroline Hunt, director for rhythmic gymnastics, U.S. Olympic Team. Scully credits her success to the solid training she received during her years at Gannon. “Even though the science-based courses were hard, they gave me a base of knowledge that made everything I’ve done since easier.”
#GANNONFAMILY
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worldview
strategic goals
A World of Possibilities To measure just how completely the notion of international travel experiences for students has taken hold at Gannon University, consider this statistic about the Class of 2016: The year they arrived at Gannon, 78 students traveled abroad for a faculty-led or Alternative Break Service Trip (ABST) or spent a semester abroad as part of an exchange program at a partner college or university. This year, more than three times as many students did so. One component of this growth was the introduction in 2013 of the Transforming Residents Abroad Via Engaged Learning (T.R.A.V.E.L.) program, an initiative supported by The Barker Globalization Institute. In this program, groups of students traveling abroad together meet with a faculty or staff facilitator on a regular basis throughout the academic year to study topics and learn about their destinations before traveling at the end of the year. This
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Students, faculty and staff visited many historical landmarks in various countries, including England, Wales, France, Ireland, Scotland, Greece, Italy and Australia. year, 68 students traveled to 14 countries on eight trips. Faculty-led trips have also experienced dramatic growth. In the past academic year 134 students, 81 percent of whom received scholarships, traveled to 15 countries on Gannon: Inspired Faculty-led Travel (GIFT) programs. Of the 15 trips, 13 were integrated into academic courses. Five Gannon University students spent a semester abroad at a partner university, while six students from partner universities spent a semester at Gannon. Earlier this year, 79 members of the University community learned from and served with communities in eight locations in five nations, including the U.S., Canada, Guatemala, Haiti and Mexico. Through their service on ABSTs, they carried out the University’s Mission that calls
us to a “comprehensive, values-centered learning experience that emphasizes faith, leadership, inclusiveness and social responsibility.� View an expanded photo gallery in the Gannon Magazine Online Edition magazine.gannon.edu/June16
newsnotes
Building Bridges
faith&service
Students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members filled the stands of Gannon’s Hammermill Center to hear from national speaker Eboo Patel.
“Modernity pluralizes.” That quote, the theme of a multilayered and fascinating speech by Eboo Patel in the Hammermill Center in February, might also serve as a summary of Patel’s meteoric career and indeed his life. Eboo Patel is the founder and president of Interfaith Youth Core, an organization that advocates for the notion that diverse faith and philosophical identities can serve as bridges of cooperation rather than barriers of division. He has spoken about this vision at places like the TED conference, the Clinton Global Initiative, and the Nobel Peace Prize Forum, as well as college and university campuses across the country. Patel, a member of President Barack Obama’s inaugural Advisory Council on Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships, has written two books about interfaith cooperation, “Acts of Faith” and “Sacred Ground.”
Patel speaks at about 25 college campuses a year, and he liked what he saw at Gannon. “Who would have known that in northwestern Pennsylvania, a little Catholic college, built for the Catholic paperboys of Erie, would be home to 200 students from Saudi Arabia and 200 students from India,” he said. Ultimately, Patel sees himself as a bridgebuilder, and he urged all members of the Gannon community— not just students— to follow that path. “Campuses with a religious identity can be leaders in our work because religion already matters there. They have a framework to deal with religious identity. When a senior student at Gannon University is going to Mass and a Muslim student asks, ‘Where are jumma [Sabbath] prayers?’ the Roman Catholic student has a framework for knowing that prayer time. That’s incredibly valuable,” Patel said.
Hear more about Eboo Patel’s visit in an exclusive video in the Gannon Magazine Online Edition magazine.gannon.edu/June16
news notes
legacy
A Family Tradition Being able to say you are a member of the Gannon University or Villa Maria College family is an honor, but for some alumni, the legacy has continued through the generations of their families. These families have had the chance to experience Gannon and Villa through the various stages of growth, and have been important members in its success. Read about the generations of families in the Gannon Magazine Online Edition magazine.gannon.edu/June16 #GANNONFAMILY
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growth
newsnotes
A Growing Gannon Family Moves to Beyer Hall The Gannon Family has grown in many ways since the University has been established. It has also recently welcomed a record number of international students into the family. With this growth in numbers has come a growth in the development of brick and mortar for Gannon University. Recently, Gannon has opened a second campus location in Ruskin, Florida, in addition to the grand openings and dedications of several new academic learning environments and the modernization of existing buildings. Renovations to Gannon’s Beyer Hall have most recently been added to this list. A strategic focus on global efforts has led to the opportunity for Beyer Hall to be renovated and repurposed as a hub for student engagement, more intentionally bringing together Gannon’s international and domestic students.
More than 50 years later, Beyer Hall will soon be home to both Gannon’s Global Enrollment and Engagement Division, formerly known as International Enrollment and Affairs, and its Student Development and Engagement Division.
Since its formal dedication in April 1962, Beyer Hall has been home to several classrooms, laboratories and lounges, as well as Gannon’s ROTC program and the Dahlkemper School of Business.
The $6.3 million renovation project, expected to be completed by Fall 2016, will update and modernize the second, third and fourth floors of the 40,000 square-foot facility.
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The second floor will integrate student clubs and organizations with international student services in one common space. The third floor will be home to various offices under the Student Development and Engagement Division and the Barker Globalization Institute. The Office of English Language and Global Training, formerly known as the English as a Second Language (ESL) program, will receive its own dedicated space on the fourth floor. In an effort to include features that speak to the global understanding and inclusiveness of Gannon’s Mission, a nondenominational chapel will be available along with foot wash stations adjacent to the chapel for Muslim prayer preparation. Not only will Beyer Hall become a place of inclusiveness and social development, but it will also foster an environment where students are provided the types of opportunities that will allow them to continue to grow and flourish as upstanding, global citizens. View a photo gallery and read more information on the renovations in the Gannon Magazine Online Edition magazine.gannon.edu/June16
Checkout Time at Nash Library As you read this, hundreds of thousands of volumes and other items are making the short trip to the former Verizon toll building on W. Ninth St., a first step in the two-year renovation project that will transform the Nash Library into a technologically sophisticated and userfriendly learning commons. The project will include dramatic new entrances on W. Sixth and Seventh streets, 29 new study rooms, a green roof, a computer lab and the STEM and Writing Centers. Glass will abound to fill the space with natural light, and students needing extra energy for long study sessions will be happy to find a first-floor coffee shop. It’s a bold design that gives everyone in the Gannon University community a lot to look forward to. But on the occasion of a farewell party for the venerable structure, library director Ken Brundage chose to look back—or rather—look down.
With a rigorous construction schedule, Beyer Hall is expected to be completed and open for the beginning of the Fall 2016 semester.
He pointed out the carpet, a vibrant orange shade that’s been out of style for years. “It’s the original carpet,” he pointed out, “and you can’t find a threadbare spot on it after 42 years and thousands of students walking on it. This orange carpet is a manifestation of the permanence not only of the Nash Library, but of the place of libraries in the academy.” Completion of the renovated library is expected by January 2018.
Renderings show a vision of what the renovated Nash Library will look like when it re-opens in January 2018.
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athletics
newsnotes
Winter and Spring Sports Highlights
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2 Gannon University student-athletes continue to set the pace in the classroom and in competition concluding their winter and spring campaigns that were full of noteworthy individual and team performances. Coming out on top is difficult to do once, but the Gannon men’s cross country 1 team continues to achieve national distinction in the classroom. Coach John Carrig’s ’81, ’87M runners recorded the highest team GPA in NCAA Division II. This is the fourth time that the team has achieved this honor in Carrig’s 26-year head coaching career. Gannon was named an NCAA Division II All-Academic team by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association for the 13th consecutive season. The Golden Knights produced the nation’s highest cumulative team GPA with 3.80. Coming into February’s Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) championships at the Graham Aquatic Center in York, no Gannon female swimmer had won PSAC gold since the University joined the conference prior to the 2008-09 academic year. That situation ended decisively as the Gannon women’s swim 2 team won five gold medals on the way to a fourthplace finish. In all, the swimmers earned 14 All-PSAC honors, recorded 10 NCAA “B” cut times and broke two school records while finishing fourth at the PSAC Championships. The 400yard freestyle relay team became the first Gannon relay team– female or male–to ever win a PSAC title.
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A one-run, late-inning loss in the PSAC tournament left the baseball 3 team just a few wins short of potentially receiving a first-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament. Still, this was a recordbreaking year for overall victories (31-17) and PSAC wins (1810). The team was ranked regionally for the first time in program history and looks to build on this year’s successful campaign. The competitive cheer 4 co-ed team ended its inaugural season on a high note with a fifth-place finish at the 2016 National Cheerleaders Association Collegiate Cheer and Dance National Championships in Daytona Beach, Florida. The Golden Knights achieved the distinction of having the lowest deduction of any team in the finals and recorded perfect scores in two categories. The all-girl squad barely missed a berth in the finals after finishing second in the Challenge Cup portion of the event. Junior golfer Diana Munoz 5 saved her best for last. By shooting her best score of the week, she leaped 17 spots during the final round to finish in a tie for 38th place out of 66 golfers at the NCAA Division II Women’s Golf East Regional hosted by the Panther Creek Country Club in Springfield, Illinois. She also became the first golfer in program history to win three events during the same season after capturing titles at the Clarion, Allegheny and West Chester invitational tournaments. Munoz was the runner-up at the PSAC Championship and Ohio Valley Invitational. See highlights of more athletic teams in the Gannon Magazine Online Edition magazine.gannon.edu/June16
Golden Knights in the Spotlight The Goal is In Sight Gannon University student-athletes have made names for themselves at the highest reaches of athletics, but few have come as close to the Olympics as soccer standout Justine Rodrigues ’15 did in February. Rodrigues was a member of the national team from Guyana, a Caribbean nation in the northeast corner of South America. Rodrigues was a crucial performer, scoring a game-winning goal against Cuba to reach the qualifying round of the 2015 FIFA World Cup. The team beat Guatemala, but a 5-1 defeat at the hands of Trinidad and Tobago eliminated Guyana from the tournament. Still, the experience was unforgettable for Rodrigues, who is working in Erie as a physical therapist. 1 1
The Voice of Leadership As four-year letter winner for the Gannon football team, graduate student Chris Pike ’15, ’16M was a valuable contributor to special teams. The special team he’s on now, however, is the NCAA Division II National StudentAthlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), which he chairs. “It’s a big honor. There were 27 people on the committee. Three ran for the position and my peers decided that I’d be the best fit,” he said. In this leadership position, Pike says he will serve as “the voice of SAAC for Division II.” This spring, he traveled to NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis, New York and Phoenix, where he addressed representatives of all three NCAA divisions at the NCAA Leadership Forum. 2
Serving a Sweet Dose of Service Gannon University quarterback Liam Nadler ’14 was at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans for a nationally televised halftime showcase as one of 22 student-athletes selected for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. The Good Works Team is comprised of those who have used their limited free time to perform inspirational acts of service.
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Nadler worked with local youth at Erie’s Bayfront NATO Martin Luther King Center and Sister Gus’ Kid’s Café. He also arranged for three bone marrow donorscreening activities at Gannon that led to 200 individuals enrolling to the National Marrow Donor Program’s “Be The Match” initiative. Gannon’s starting quarterback for the fourth consecutive season, his performance was impressive enough to merit an invitation to the training camp of the National Football League’s New York Jets. 3 Find out more about these studentathletes in the Gannon Magazine Online Edition magazine.gannon.edu/June16
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Built on Faith Over the years of asking students and other Gannon University community members what makes Gannon special, a expression is frequently used: “Gannon is a family.� As Gannon University alumni, students, faculty and staff sit around their family dinner tables they should always be reminded that they will also have their Gannon Family and homes in Erie, Pennsylvania and Ruskin, Florida forever.
share what
#GannonFamily means to you!
The Gannon family dinner table is miles long, countries wide and is filled with members of all ages, reflecting the strength and support of our extended family. In order to become closer with one another and understand what Gannon Family means, we invite you to learn the stories, dreams and faces of those who make our family special.
While Gannon University and its community of people are constantly growing and ever changing, we all have one thing in common: We are all part of the Gannon Family. View exclusive video interviews in the Gannon Magazine Online Edition magazine.gannon.edu/June16
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h & Family JESSICA WALSH-FRAZIER ’15 AmeriCorps VISTA – Club Fit “I would like to leave my mark on Gannon specifically with service. By working with the Club Fit girls, I have seen that not everyone always has the same opportunities. So whatever impact you can have, big or small, whether its monetary or just coming and working out with the Club Fit girls for a day, you can make such a difference.”
BETHANY LEWIS ’16 English Major “I am a part of the English Department family, where everybody really knows each other. You can walk down the hall and every professor will say hi. I am also a part of the Campus Ministry family, which has many different branches within it. Those possibilities for different connections are what make all the difference in what Gannon Family means to me.”
DOMINIC PRIANTI Philosophy Instructor “You end up knowing everybody. As people stop by your office they feel comfortable coming in and talking to you. You end up getting to know all of the professors and students. I feel like it’s tight-knit here; and there’s a definite warm feeling at a smaller university like Gannon.”
TOM BARTON ’16 Theatre & Communication Arts Major “There is always something going on here. For me, being a part of the Gannon Family means being a part of an interactive support system where everyone goes out to support the endeavors of one another.”
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LEILANI KING Mechanical Engineering Major “The Gannon Family is a place for everyone. You can fit in whatever niche you want, whether it’s on the field, in the classroom or with clubs; there’s something for everyone if you’re looking for it. And you don’t have to be in just one, you can experience it all. There is a sense of community in that you have people around you who are going to support you and want to see you succeed, whether it’s professors, coaches or classmates pushing you to do your best. It’s more than just a group of students, it’s a community.”
MARY KATE CAROLL ’16 Occupational Therapy Major “The one word I would use to describe the Gannon Family is encouraging. Gannon is always an encouraging environment and has taught me to encourage my friends as well. Helping each other when we’re down or need a little pickme-up, that’s what family means to me.”
JENNA SULECKI Theatre & Communication Arts Major “I am a transfer student, and I can’t even say how much more at home I feel at Gannon, just for the simple fact that everyone is so warm, inviting and welcoming. As soon as you get here they help you get involved and find what you’re most interested in. I came here thinking I had a semblance of an idea of what I wanted to do, but now I feel sure of what I want to do. Everyone here has helped with that in some way or another, and that is the best feeling.”
JACK BARTON Owner, Out of the Grey Coffee House Café Tenant, Erie Technology Incubator A unique member of the Gannon Family, Jack Barton was the first winner of Gannon’s Technology Business Accelerator program. As the winning entrepreneur, Barton was introduced to new opportunities through the Erie Technology Incubator (ETI) at Gannon that led him to an online expansion of his customizable coffee, as well as a partnership on campus with Metz Dining. “I’m honored to be a part of the Gannon Family. It’s great to be able to come to work at a place where the people are very friendly and encouraging. I don’t know if that’s something that you find everywhere.”
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My Gannon Media Family Content Contributed by Rebecca Hilker ’16
Being a part of a family holds a different meaning for everyone. It certainly does for me, as the Gannon Knight Newspaper’s 2015-16 editor-in-chief, my media family has taught me the importance of working as one unit. By having this strong supportive family, we have also created a fiercely competitive and award-winning one as well.
THE GANNON KNIGHT
SCHUSTER THEATRE
The Gannon Knight has been a studentproduced newspaper since its beginning in 1946 and was once the only media outlet for Gannon news. Now, 70 years later, it is still publishing 24 issues per year with a circulation of 2,000.
Schuster is another side to the media family that has not only provided the Gannon and Erie community with spectacular productions since the 1960s, but also was recently recognized for hard work and dedication.
The Knight is also an award-winning newspaper, receiving a first-place award from the American Scholastic Press Association (ASPA) in the category for collegiate newspapers for the 2014-15 academic year. Additionally, the ASPA recognized the student-produced publication as one of the two most outstanding university newspapers in the same year.
The student production team was honored at the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) for their production of “Stage Fright: Play Fest of Fear,” a show that was completely produced and directed by the students of the honorary theater fraternity, Alpha Psi Omega. The production, which was comprised of five short plays, was selected to advance and perform three of the plays at the Region II KCACTF in January.
WERG The second-oldest member of the Gannon media family was created in December 1972, starting out in the Zurn Science Center basement as 89.1 WERG. Now known to the Gannon and Erie communities as the student-run 90.5 WERG, airing from the Center for Communication and the Arts, WERG was a national finalist for eight awards in seven categories, including Best College Station in the Nation at a University under 10,000 enrollment, at this year’s Intercollegiate Broadcasting System media conference. WERG placed in the top five nationally in four of those categories, and was named the national champion for Best Sports Update and Best Event Promo.
Read more on Gannon’s student-run media in the Gannon Magazine Online Edition magazine.gannon.edu/June16
TOTEM Totem is a literary arts magazine that compiles work from the Gannon community, and is produced annually by Gannon students. Since 1996, ASPA has awarded Totem with first-place or first-place with special merit, and this year was no different. The ASPA competition is open to all colleges across the United States, and Totem is in the category of colleges with an enrollment total of over 2,501. In order to be awarded first-place with special merit, Totem had to receive a total of over 950 out of 1,000 points – it received 990 for the 2015 issue.
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inspire the possibilities 122
CHALLENGED TO CHANGE Immokalee, Florida is only 30 miles from some of the toniest resorts on the Gulf Coast, but it might as well be in a developing nation far away. There, thousands of people who pick Immokalee’s winter tomatoes live in rotting shacks and fill their 32-pound buckets of tomatoes in horrid conditions. It is here that Jimmy Menkhaus, Ph.D. goes to see the face of God. Menkhaus, assistant professor of theology, has brought Gannon University students to Immokalee through the Gannon: Inspired Faculty-led Travel (GIFT) program for the past two years, to serve and learn about economic inequality, social justice and human dignity. The ten students who have accompanied him on each of the trips work at one of the area’s service sites in the morning, spend the afternoon with Immokalee’s children and listen to speakers who help them put the experience into a social, cultural and economic context in the evening. It’s not as grueling as carrying
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125 32-pound buckets of green tomatoes in 95-degree heat, but it’s not a typical spring break in Florida, either. It’s not for everybody. So how does Menkhaus attract students for the trip? “In my Moral Responsibility class I do one lesson on Immokalee, and I ask if anyone is interested in going,” he explained. “I was lucky to have 10 excellent students who were up to the challenge and who were transformed by the experience.” Menkhaus himself has been transformed. “Immokalee means ‘My Home’ in Seminole, and every time I go I feel like it’s my home,” he said. “The generosity and care of the people we encounter makes you feel at home, but the heartbreaking reality of the place is just below the surface.” “It’s a real paradox,” he said. “The average people, many of whom are undocumented and who are trying to raise money to send home, have risked their lives for their
Cody Feikles at a farm outside Immokalee, Florida.
The 2016 Immokalee GIFT travel group: (Back, L-R) Jimmy Menkhaus, Ph.D., Taylor Fragale, Jordyn Hays, Maureen Grady, Aubrey Hering, Katie Ellsworth, Nicole Miller, Cody Feikles (Front, L-R) Carly Mizner-Garofalo, Ashley Chismar and Katie Hutchison. families. People want to share their stories, and they don’t want handouts. All they want is for us to tell their story when we go home.” Menkhaus does just that, using Immokalee in his ethics class to teach about what Pope Francis calls “the globalization of indifference.” The message of the first Jesuit Pope resonates deeply with Menkhaus, who had a thoroughly Jesuit education at Cincinnati’s St. Xavier High School and at John Carroll University in Cleveland.
When asked why he goes to Immokalee, Menkhaus quoted another Jesuit, the Rev. Peter Hans Kolvenbach: “When the heart is touched by direct experience, the mind may be challenged to change.”
“The more we can bring the reality of the world to students … the more they’ll be inspired to challenge that notion of the globalization of indifference.”
“A Catholic education seeks to create an environment that touches the heart,” Menkhaus said. “You can’t take every student to a location, but the more we can bring the reality of the world to students and show how it connects to their experience, the more they’ll be inspired to challenge that notion of the globalization of indifference.”
For Menkhaus, inspiration came in the form of a boy with a tattered backpack. “His school folders were falling out because it wasn’t really a backpack anymore,” Menkhaus remembers. “His teacher explained that the boy’s mom told him that he has to go three more years until they can afford to get him a new backpack. I thought how I have several backpacks in my house, and I thought about how he was trying to carry his stuff home, physically and metaphorically, but that it might fall out through no fault of his. There are a lot of kids who are trying to do the right thing, but the system is fighting against them. When I think of Immokalee, I’ll always remember the sight of that boy’s folders just barely hanging on in his backpack.”
#GANNONFAMILY
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achieve your possibilities 87
GROWING HOMETOWN OPPORTUNITY When deciding to attend Gannon University as a freshman, Jeff Boswell ’78 knew he would have to pay for his own education and work year-round while attending school—something that certainly did not stand in his way. The industrial management major and president of Delta Sigma Phi fraternity worked in the Nash Library Resource Center and at a small grocery store in downtown Erie during the school year. When returning home to Meadville in the summers, he worked 40 hours-per-week as a produce clerk at a local supermarket. No stranger to having a hard-working, committed mentality while at Gannon, it was just this mindset that allowed Boswell to achieve his goals in a global business career. Boswell immediately began a career upon graduation as a project engineer at Sunbeam Equipment Corp., which later transformed into SECO/WARWICK Co. in 1984. SECO/WARWICK is a global metallurgical furnace manufacturer with seven manufacturing plants on three continents, employing over 1,100 professionals. “When I started at Sunbeam, I still worked at the supermarket,” he said. “The president of Sunbeam shopped there too. When he saw me putting lettuce out after I had worked at Sunbeam from 8-5 p.m., he was shocked.” In 1989 Boswell was appointed vicepresident in charge of sales and marketing. He was involved with the Industrial
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Heating Equipment Association for twelve years as a committee member, chairman and in 2004, as the association president. Since 2005, he has held many positions in the global SECO/WARWICK Group, including president and CEO of SECO/ WARWICK Corporation (Meadville, Pa.), president and CEO of SECO/WARWICK S.A. (Swiebodzin, Poland), executive vicepresident of Retech Systems, LLC (Ukiah, Ca.), and chairman of the supervisory board of SECO/WARWICK S.A. SECO/WARWICK was a national company with equipment in every state, until about 1984 when the business began to go global, which caused Boswell to take an active role in traveling abroad, propelling his career.
Jeff Boswell ’78 at his restaurant, TimberCreek Tap & Table, in Meadville, Pa. At the peak of his career, Boswell recalls traveling between 200,000-250,000 miles each year. “In the ’90s, I got my first million-miles on US Air,” said Boswell proudly. During his time with SECO/WARWICK, Boswell has seen the company’s profits steadily increase as it expands to new markets in new countries. This is among the many reasons he received Gannon’s President’s Award in 2010, given to an alumnus who has successfully led and strategically directed a business operation into the future, accomplishing growth and development opportunities. “I realized the past recipients and was very humbled by it,” he said. “I was surprised because I never felt as though I was worthy of such an honor.” Boswell explains the importance of having both a strong business background and a sense of engineering knowledge for his industry, and says communication is key for today’s global business industry.
“Looking back on it now, it’s all about communication and how you talk to people,” he said. “It’s about global understanding and the importance of communication and cultural awareness, but also understanding how different countries operate to be able to determine when your business will and will not work well in those markets. “Having business and engineering knowledge combined is beneficial. The happiest I ever was in my life was when I was a sales project engineer. I really loved that job,” he said. “To tell you the truth, I’d much rather be a project engineer than the big shot,” he chuckled. Boswell currently serves as a director on the supervisory board of SECO/ WARWICK S.A., and is also a co-owner of two TimberCreek Tap & Table restaurants in Meadville and Grove City. “The advice I’d give to students is to find something you like to do. If you find something you like to do, you’re going to give it more,” he said. “If you can be happy while at work, the money will come later.”
Boswell recently created an endowed scholarship at Gannon to help make education more accessible for students of the Crawford Central School District. The Jeff Boswell Endowed Scholarship, “is an investment in our hometowns for me and my wife, Jeanne” said Boswell, who grew up in Meadville. His wife, Jeanne (Ridgeway) Boswell, is originally from Cochranton, Pa. The couple met at Sunbeam, where Jeanne was hired just six months before Jeff. “She tells everybody she got me my job,” he grinned. “She enjoys telling people that.” The scholarship is among the 234 endowed scholarships at Gannon providing support annually to 413 deserving students from diverse locations, backgrounds and financial circumstances. “I’d rather give to the kids of Crawford County than have my name put on some building— it’s not the way I work. I just want them to get a great education is all; it’s pretty simple.” #GANNONFAMILY
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achieve your possibilities 1600
CLIMBING THE RANKS If you ask any Gannon community member, past or current, why they chose to be a part of Gannon University you will notice similarities in the responses you receive—you may hear about the engaging environment, Catholic Identity, supportive people or prestigious academics. While Lt. Col. Drew Contreras ’96, ’98M, DPT, SCS, would have had a similar response at the time he was a student, it was not until after graduation that he realized the gravity of the impact those characteristics of Gannon truly had. The four-year ROTC cadet was an active member of the Pride of PA Battalion, the Pre-PT Club and Pi Kappa Alpha, all through which he was introduced to those he now considers mentors and lifelong friends. “The relationships you form with people— professors, advisers, people with similar interests— is the way that Gannon grooms you to be successful in life,” he said. “Being in ROTC gives you a sense of balancing things and it teaches selfdiscipline, something I’ve found certainly pays off in the future.” Contreras received his Bachelor of Science degree in biology in 1996 and his masters degree in physical therapy in 1998 from Gannon. Shortly after, Contreras married his wife, Roseann, on Aug. 4, 2001. He later continued his education, earning a doctorate degree in physical therapy in 2008 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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After graduation, he was first stationed with the U.S. Army at Fort Benning in Georgia, where he spent a large portion of his time treating injuries for those undergoing basic training. However, after the events of Sept. 11, 2001, Contreras’ role quickly changed when he was relocated to Fort Bragg in North Carolina and re-assigned as the first Brigade Physical Therapist to the 82nd Airborne Division. Identified as a vital asset to the unit, he was then deployed along with the soldiers for 15 months of service in Iraq. “Being in the Army healthcare system is a little different because these are the people you’re with all the time,” he said. “It’s very easy to be willing to give that little bit of extra effort.” “It was a very professionally rewarding experience, but it was hard on the family when I was gone for that long,” he said. “But, I am in a different place now.”
Image Source: White House Staff
President of the United States, Barack Obama, promoted Gannon University alumnus Drew Contreras ’96, ’98M, White House Physical Therapist, to Lieutenant Colonel in December 2015. Joining him for this honor in the Oval Office was his wife and their two children. Contreras and his wife have since had two children, Gabriella, 13 and Andrew, 10; and he has taken on new roles in new locations.
Therapist. In this role, Contreras treats patients on the White House complex and oftentimes travels with the White House administration.
Upon returning from Iraq, Contreras’ assignment officer selected him to be the Director of Physical Therapy and Wellness at the Pentagon, where he thought he’d stay for just two years and return back to the Army. Those two years quickly turned into eight, and he soon found himself working from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
“It was kind of overwhelming at first,” he said. “Yes, I go to the White House to work, but my focus is on the people – you don’t lose sight of that.”
“The best way to describe it was becoming a victim of your own success. One person tells another, and then everyone wants the help,” he said. “Part of my success was because I had a PT professor that used to say, ‘If you treat everyone the same no matter who they are and do your best, you’ll be satisfied with that.’” This mindset led Contreras to his current position as the first White House Physical
“It was a way of people thanking me and saying they appreciate everything I do and how much I give,” Contreras said. The people who’ve taught and guided him, who’ve supported him like family, and the people he diligently serves and cares for, all contributed to Contreras climbing the ranks and achieving success.
“The relationships you form with people-professors, advisers, people with similar interests-is the way that Gannon grooms you to be successful in life.”
“The instructors I had at Gannon were very influential in the type of officer I am now,” he said. “You learn your morals and values from the people you are around, and I always felt that the things I received from Gannon, as far as navigating life, were just as valuable as the education I received.”
Just as humbly as he fulfills his position, Contreras stood with his family in the Oval Office as President of the United States, Barack Obama, promoted him to Lieutenant Colonel in December 2015. #GANNONFAMILY
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Assistant Professor, Industrial Engineering
Ikechukwu Ohu, Ph.D.
facultyfocus New Faculty, New Program, New Technology As a new addition to the Gannon Family, Ikechukwu Ohu, Ph.D., assistant professor of industrial engineering, is leading the growth of the new industrial engineering program through the expansion of state-ofthe-art technology and learning opportunities offered in the Center for Advanced Engineering’s Industrial Engineering Laboratory. Ohu is experienced in teaching robotics, ergonomics, operations research, computer integrated manufacturing and manufacturing processes.
His research background lies in ergonomics associated with minimally invasive surgery, in which he is still actively engaged. Ohu is also an active member of the IPE Trauma Research Team in Gannon’s Patient Simulation Laboratory. He has recently brought a growing collection of robotic technology and industrial automation machinery to Gannon’s Industrial Engineering Laboratory, including highly adaptive, collaborative robotic equipment used for things such as advanced research in telerobotics and human-robot interactions, robot-assisted surgery and computer integrated manufacturing. This innovative technology will be used to develop capabilities to address teaching and advanced research needs in core focus areas relating to ergonomics, lean systems, operations research, supply chain
engineering, and industrial automation and robotics. Ohu was a part of the Center for Advanced Engineering’s Dedication and Blessing Ceremony in September, shortly after his arrival at Gannon, where he shared his excitement of becoming a part of the Gannon Family. “I have been following the University’s progress and growth for quite some time. Little did I know that God in His faithfulness would not just make me a member of the Gannon Family, but also an integral part of the team blessed with the responsibility of starting what will turn out to be the best industrial engineering program in this region of the United States,” he said. “While we as faculty members occupying the Center are focused on maintaining the strategic direction and creative energy that runs through the veins of every member of the Gannon Family, which will lead us to being one of the best engineering centers in the country, we will not forget our primary constituency—our students.” Ohu showcases “Baxter,” a robot used for classroom instruction on human-robot interactions and advanced research in telerobotics, robot-assisted surgery and computer-integrated manufacturing.
Education Doctorate of Engineering Science, Southern Illinois University Hometown Idumuesah (“The village of seven quarters”), Delta State, Nigeria Hobbies Tennis, Racquetball 20
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studentfocus
#RETHINK GREEK The history of Greek letter organizations on campus is a long and storied one, beginning in 1954 with the opening of Delta Sigma Phi. But like everything at our dynamic, growing University, the numbers and roles of the Gannon Greeks has changed over time. Today, 435 students are members of social Greek organizations on the Gannon University campus. They join for different reasons, but all enjoy the particular brotherhood or sisterhood that characterizes Greek life. Tony DiPasqua ’10 is the official adviser to Gannon’s seven fraternities and five sororities, working with members on the day-to-day operations of the organizations. Leadership, brotherhood, service and philanthropy inspired DiPasqua to become a charter member (a “Founding Father,” as he puts it) of the reconstituted and
recolonized chapter of Delta Sigma Phi, and they inspire him still in his leadership role. “I stress accountability and community,” he said. Both are growing among the Gannon Greek community. This Spring, the 12 fraternities and sororities did something they hadn’t done in more than 20 years: come together to plan, organize and execute a joint event. That event, the Greek Ball, held at Erie’s Bayfront Convention Center, attracted more than half the members of the Gannon Greek community and raised more than $2,500 for the AJO Forever Foundation, an Erie-based organization named for Alyssa Josephine O’Neill and dedicated to raising epilepsy awareness. Gannon’s Greek organizations have reversed their recent decline in membership and added 130 members
ROW 1 (L-R): Kyle Hartl, Shahid Hashmi, Josiah Leach, Francis Nigro, Theodore Rogers, Nicholas Williams, Austin Grist ROW 2 (L-R): Shelby Malone, Abigail Wu, Aleisha Fowler, Juliet Corrigan, Roodlyne Merisier in the past year. Individual members are being recognized, too. Sara Borro, a Gannon education major, was named as the Outstanding New Member by the national organization of Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority, citing her “excellent spirit and attitude…and a potential for taking leadership roles in the chapter and in the national organization once she graduates.” Recognition on campus is a goal, too. DiPasqua pointed to Gannon’s Greek Man and Woman of the Year and Ward McCracken Chapter of the Year awards as momentum builders, as is the national “Rethink Greek” initiative of which Gannon’s Greeks are a part. “The students are so engaged,” DiPasqua said. “They’re driving the ship and making it happen.” #GANNONFAMILY
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alumnifocus Q&A With Gannon “Media Rats” Content Contributed By Rebecca Hilker ’16
What are your thoughts on the new Center for Communication and the Arts bringing advertising, multimedia, communication arts and journalism under one roof? Kevin Sullivan: What I loved about Gannon’s Communication and the Arts department and my time there was that it always seemed to be a family atmosphere. To unite that under one roof is even more extraordinary. Having all these functions in one place will allow students in various disciplines more opportunity to mingle, share experiences and maybe find something new they really enjoy. Monique and I can’t say enough about A.J. Miceli and M.C. Gensheimer’s passion and dedication in making the School of Communication and the Arts a reality. What advice do you have for students entering the field of communications?
Monique Beatty ’87, Kevin Sullivan ’87 and the “Media Rats” group received a classroom named in their honor in Gannon’s new Center for Communication and the Arts. Gannon University’s Communication Arts programs and student media have evolved along with the changing pace and technology of today’s multimedia industry. So, just how different was the experience about 30 years ago? Monique Beatty ’87, director of production, at DreamWorks Animation Television; and Kevin Sullivan ’87, staff writer at Nickelodeon Animation Studios, share their experience, and what advice they have for students today. Recently you’ve given back to Gannon, and a classroom in the new Center for Communication and the Arts is named after you and your classmates. Can you tell us more about the “Media Rats?” Monique Beatty: Media Rats was what we called our group of friends; I think Joe Bruncsak ’88 came up with the name. We were so into all aspects of our major–radio, TV, theater–and “media” neatly covered them all. Plus, the media center was in the basement of the library and we hung out there a lot, so “rats” just seemed a natural partner. We want to be clear, though, that we have never seen an actual rat in the library!
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MB: First, maintain your friendships. It’s so rewarding on both a personal and professional level. The Media Rats have been a wonderful support group through both good times and bad. Second, be in the moment. As amazing as life can turn out to be, where you are now will never happen again. KS: Don’t let “the real world” overwhelm you. Be flexible. You never know where your career path will take you. Be open to different possibilities. Try new things. Try anything. Read more from Gannon’s “Media Rats” in the Gannon Magazine Online Edition magazine.gannon.edu/June16
alumnotes 1968
CHARLES A. PORA recently had his fifth book published. “Why We Never Had Dates” is a collection of 32 humorous and serious short stories about growing up in Erie in the ’60s.
1975
DENNIS F. GALLETTA, Ph.D. ’78M received the Association for Information Systems LEO Award in December. Galletta is a professor of business administration in the University of Pittsburgh’s Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business. He is also director of the school's doctoral program. The LEO award recognizes outstanding individuals in the field of information systems. All recipients are scholars or practitioners who have made a global impact on the field and who are well-regarded by their peers within and outside their field. Galletta studies human factors of electronic commerce and behavioral security, such as passwords and online advertising. He has published at least four books, 47 peer-reviewed journal articles and 50 peer-reviewed conference publications.
1980
JOHN C. STEHR celebrated 40 years in broadcasting this year. After working for WJET-TV and WSEE-TV in Erie while still at Gannon, Stehr’s career has also taken him to WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids, Mich.; WISH-TV in Indianapolis; KUTV in Salt Lake City; and CNBC and CBS News in New York. He is currently lead anchor at WTHR in Indianapolis, where he marked his 20th anniversary this summer.
1982
GINA L. MORGENSTEIN is running for local office in Wallingford, Conn. She is a physician assistant with ProHealth Physicians, and the founder of Democratic Women of Wallingford and Up with Downtown Wallingford.
1977
GLORIA B. EBRATT-WELSH ’74M has retired as an early childhood psychologist with Cuyahoga County, Ohio. She is enjoying traveling, gardening and photography. She also does scale miniatures and belongs to several clubs where she teaches classes.
1971
SISTER MARY DREXLER, S.S.J. VMC is a 2016 honoree of the Mercy Center for Women’s “Women Making History.” Sister Drexler is retiring this year as the principal at Villa Maria Academy. She serves on the Board of Trustees at Gannon University and has taught the importance of education, spirituality and philanthropy.
1978
DAVID A. BERNATOWICZ received the Excellence in Teaching Award from Cuyahoga Community College, Ohio, in August. PATRICK M. HOGAN recently finished codriving the 24 Hours of Daytona Classic at the Daytona Speedway. Driving a 1976 DeKon Monza, he finished 10th overall and third in his class. There were over 200 competitors from all over the world driving historic sports cars from different eras, ranging from 1962 to 2012.
a son, Lucas David Lapiska (born on March 16, 2016) to Andrew M. Lapiska ’09M and Julie (Coppolo) Lapiska ’05.
births
1969
CARL M. CARLOTTI, ESQ. has been named president of National Fuel Gas Distribution Corporation, the utility segment of National Fuel Gas Company. He joined the company in 1985 and had been senior vice president since December 2007 and head of the Pennsylvania Division since 1993.
a daughter, Emmylou Rose Singh (born on Feb. 19, 2015) to Sanjay Singh ’97M and his wife, Erin H. Holston Singh, Ph.D. She joins older sister, Adan.
#GANNONFAMILY
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Alumni from the class of 2008 celebrate at the wedding of one of the former classmates. (Row 1; L-R) Elizabeth (Hudson) Longo, Miles McFall (in the picture), Rebecca (Fresch) Kurtz, Katie Gabelman (Row 2; L-R) Katie (Trapp) Koch, Kelly Fennessy, Ed Koch, Chris Watson, Brian Kurtz, Lacey Johnson
A Message from Gannon University Alumni Association President To me, Family = Gannon. Having met my wife, Rebecca, at Gannon during our first months on campus, 12 years, one wedding in the Mary, Seat of Wisdom Chapel, and one 15-month-old daughter later, well, you get the idea. The same goes for our closest friends, our Gannon Family, with whom we celebrate holidays, birthdays and more. They are all part of our family, one that wouldn’t exist without Gannon. For others, family can mean a legacy, oftentimes second- or third-generation Gannon alumni. That legacy is the basis of the Alumni Association Endowed Legacy “Power” Scholarship given each year to children of alumni to attend Gannon University. This endowed scholarship is partly funded by charitable contributions through relationships with businesses that provide discounts through the Alumni Benefits Program. Services include real estate sales and acquisitions, moving and storage, auto and home insurance and long-term care insurance. I’ve had the pleasure of serving on the National Alumni Board for the past six years, the last two as President. While this article marks the end of my term, the work of the Board to share Gannon’s legacy with alumni around the globe will flourish under the leadership of President-elect Greg Czarnecki ’89 and Alumni Services Director Nancy Bird. Visit gannonalumni.org for more information on alumni events near you, the Alumni Benefits Program, Endowed Legacy “Power” Scholarship, and to share what Gannon means to your family. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your Gannon Family. Brian Kurtz ’08 President, Gannon University Alumni Association
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1983
WANDA (PRICE) FILER, M.D., MBA, FAAFP assumed the role of president of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) on September 30. Filer is a family physician in York, Pa. In October 2014, the Congress of Delegates, the AAFP’s governing body, chose Filer as president-elect. The AAFP represents 120,900 physicians and medical students nationwide. Filer has a clinical practice at Family First Health, a federally qualified health center with offices in York and Adams counties.
1985
TINA (CICCHETTI) DONIKOWSKI retired from GE Transportation on October 30, after a 38-year career. She began in 1977 as a stenographer and retired as vice president of the global locomotive business. KIMBERLY (MORMUR) MORITZ has been appointed superintendent of SpringvilleGriffith Institute Central School District in New York. She was the superintendent in the Randolph Central School District in Cattaraugus County, N.Y. for the past seven years. She previously served as assistant superintendent and high school principal in the Gowanda Central School District, principal at Randolph High School, assistant principal at Frontier Middle School, and as a business and Spanish teacher in the Pine Valley Central School District in northern Chautauqua County, N.Y.
MARK G. TROMBETTA, M.D. is the lead author of the recently released textbook “Brachytherapy: An International Perspective.” The textbook provides a comprehensive look at one of the oldest forms of cancer treatment, which involves injecting radioactive material directly into a tumor without damaging healthy cells. The book includes European and American guidelines on the use of the technology. Trombetta is the system director of clinical programs at the Allegheny Health Network Cancer Institute and professor of radiation oncology at Drexel University.
1987
ARNALDO A. D'AMBROSIA has been named vice president for university advancement at the University of Detroit Mercy. D’Ambrosio will be responsible for leading the university’s development, alumni relations and communications programs in order to build awareness and secure the philanthropic resources necessary to sustain and advance its mission. He most recently held the position of vice president for alumni relations and advancement at Northwood University in Midland, Mich. for the past six years. DINA (TALIERCIO) SCRIBNER is the director of marketing and events at Sarah Reed Senior Living Center in Erie.
1989
JEFFREY P. HEIN, M.D. was inducted into the Quigley Catholic High School, Pa. Hall of Fame during the “Passport to Paris” gala event held on Oct. 9. Hein is a family physician with Heritage Valley Medical Group Inc. in Beaver, Pa.
marriages
PATRICK W. SCHMITT, D.O. has been named medical director of the new Cleveland Clinic Rehabilitation Hospital, a joint venture of Cleveland Clinic and Select Medical. The 60-bed, adult inpatient rehabilitation hospital next to Cleveland Clinic’s Avon, Ohio medical campus offers comprehensive rehabilitation treatment for patients with complex neurological, medical and musculoskeletal disabilities.
Bridget Anne Cole ’11 married Joshua Frederick Wahl on May 23, 2015. Diane M. Corey ’09 married Aaron Bourne on Oct. 10, 2015. Meredith Nicole Lilly ’10 married Daniel Ryan Long on May 9, 2015. Rashida A. Mithani ’04 married Jonathan L. Brown on Oct. 5, 2013. Victoria Lynn Mottern ’03 married Larry Gilchrist on Aug. 15, 2015.
Erik John Nesbit ’14M married April Yeelam Hung on May 23, 2015. Lisa Robin Peretich ’11 married John William Cole on Aug. 22, 2015. Tiffany Nicole Thompson ’14M married Levi Adam Overdorff on Sept. 12, 2015.
1990
KIMBERLY (WASHOK) JONES has been promoted to director of engineering and public works for the town of Bluffton, S.C. She will supervise three divisions: engineering, storm water management and public works. She most recently served as the director of the storm water management division for the town.
JAMES F. STEVENSON has been named as PNC Bank N.A.’s regional president for northwestern Pennsylvania. Stevenson is currently market director for PNC Corporate Banking in the region and will continue in that role as he assumes his new position.
#GANNONFAMILY
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1992
RITA L. BRIODY is an IT analyst in the enterprise program management office of Erie Insurance Group. Briody is a member of the team on innovation, and research and development, that is responsible for shaping a new discipline at Erie Insurance. Some of their recent successes include having a special relationship with Google Glass’ at-work program, which gained Erie Insurance the top spot on the “Insurance Networking News” website’s “Five Hottest Carriers in Insurance Technology.” The team received an invitation to share their ideas and meet with partners at Google and X, previously Google X, in San Francisco; were invited to learn about HP’s “the machine” at HP’s innovation garage; have interacted with Stanford University's design school; and received mention on the “Insurance Networking News” website’s “Top 8 Insurance Internet of Things Projects.”
in memoriam
DARON C. PRAETZEL, D.M.D. served 13 years on active duty with the U.S. Air Force and was deployed to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom as a facial trauma surgeon. He is currently a colonel in the Air Force IMA Reserves at Little Rock AFB, and is part of the facial trauma team at CHI St. Vincent for Hot Springs,
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Alumni Mary Scanlon Backus ’33VMC Donna Pike Barton ’88 Vernon D. Bible, Esq. ’51 William B. Biroscak ’78 Donald P. Blair, CPA ’60 Amy L. Brookhouser ’00 R. Douglas Bubna ’74 Daniel H. Burt ’52 William C. Buseck ’53 Richard T. Cardo ’65 Richard L. Cassidy ’57 Monte M. Chesko ’60 Harold K. Copeland ’70 Russell J. Crowner ’77 Paul M. Deluca ’84 Daniel D. Demmer, D.D.S. ’59
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Ark. and the surrounding community. Praetzel is the owner of Arkansas Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons, Arkansas Center for Surgical Excellence, Alivah Marketing, and founder of the FACES Foundation.
1993
TRACEY MCCANTS LEWIS, ESQ. was honored by the YWCA of Greater Pittsburgh with an annual Racial Justice Award for her efforts to promote racial equality. Lewis is an assistant professor of clinical legal education at Duquesne University. JEAN (PASCARELLA) TRUMAN, PH.D. ’93M has been promoted to associate professor of nursing and granted tenure at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. She is the coordinator of the associate of science in nursing program and also teaches in the RN-BSN program.
1994
REV. MARK R. JUCHTER graduated from the Fort Hood Family Life Chaplain Training Center and received a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy from Texas A&M Central Texas on Dec. 12. The Family Life Chaplain Training Center is staffed with specially trained chaplains and provides counseling
Stephanie Diplacido ’69VMC, ’71M Patrick A. Doyle ’04 Wilfred J. Erb ’49 Anthony A. Farnell ’71M Frederick G. Flynn, D.O. ’69 Anthony B. Foffi ’54 Patricia Hohman Formichella ’78VMC Mary Eisenman Gillespie ND ’37VMC M. Fletcher Gornall, Esq. ’48 Paul J. Greenaway ’80 Kathlyn Stephens Griffin ’42VMC Leonard L. Grucza ’62 Joan Marsh Guerrein ’49VMC Elizabeth M. Hannold, Ph.D. ’86, ’96M Debra Kondratic Harris ’82 Daniel A. Hatton ’58 Raymond L. Heidt ’59
services to the Fort Hood community. Juchter was one of only two Air Force chaplains to be selected to this program in 2014. Juchter spent 18 months and over 500 hours in field education (counseling) at Fort Hood. Juchter has been assigned to be a teacher at the Air Force Chaplain Corps College (AFCCC), a training center for chaplains and chaplain assistants at Fort Jackson, S.C. THOMAS R. KALKA, JR. is the owner of Sergeant's Fitness Concepts. He previously served in the U.S. Army as an infantry officer and graduated from the Air Assault and Airborne Schools. ERIC G. LAPRICE, ’97C, ’99M has been busy in his new job as the district ranger of the Western Divide Ranger District of the Sequoia National Forest and Giant Sequoia National Monument. In addition to the day-to-day complexities, the rangers experienced a busy fire season on the Sequoia. LaPrice participated in a helicopter reconnaissance flight over a cabin fire; he got to see the Very Large Air Tanker (VLAT) in operation; and gave briefings on the Rough Fire. He was also a featured guest on the Jan. 15 episode of the Rose Colombo show on the Freedomizer Radio Network. He
Marilyn E. Hess, Ph.D. ’46VMC Rev. Thomas S. Hoderny ’79 Kathleen McCoy ’89 Robert D. Jolls ’73 Thomas R. Kaminski ’65 Katherine A. Lopes ’78 Douglas J. Mathias ’70 James D. McCloskey ’69 Robert P. Meshanko ’66 Larry J. Pustelak ’85 Katherine Sheridan Riley ’42VMC Betty Brann Robbins ’74VMC Cathy A. Robinson ’96, ’97, ’10M Joseph D. Rovnak ’57 Barbara Corwin Ryden ’61VMC, ’75M David H. Scibetta ’70 Patience E. Sharp ’80, ’90M
was interviewed about his coffee table photography book, “Best Foot Forward.”
1996
JESSICA (SHALTES) RODDY has joined the staff at WESTARM Physical Therapy’s school-based rehab program. Roddy will provide physical therapy and occupational therapy to special needs students in the Lower Burrell, Pa. area school districts.
1999
ALLEN L. BONACE, RN ’99M has served for the past 10 years as adjunct faculty for the Villa Maria School of Nursing at Gannon. He was recently promoted to vice president for special projects at Saint Mary’s Home of Erie. He was the director of nursing for Saint Mary’s at Asbury Ridge for the past 12 years.
Gerard J. Sheridan ’65 Richard D. Sicheri ’74M James Smith ’73 Jane Hornung Soban ’52 Frank J. Taylor, D.D.S. ’57 Laurence D. Taylor ’88M Bryan K. Tippett ’79 Robert D. Wagner ’80 Marjorie D. Welch ’75M Frederick Wellman ’73M Patrick A. Zameroski ’77
Parents and Friends Susan Considine Allison Rev. Msgr. Robert G. Barcio
JOHN E. FLANAGAN has been hired as the new director of the Mesa County Workforce Center in Grand Junction, Colo. Before assuming his new duties, he worked for more than three years as chief operating officer of Title I and workforce programs for Northwest Pennsylvania CareerLink, which serves a six-county region with a combined workforce of more than 400,000 employees. Prior to that, he served as executive director of the International Institute of Erie, which offers resettlement services for refugees, and as senior project manager for Allegheny County, Pa. in managing various projects and services for senior citizens.
2001
LEE T. SARKIS ’04M MEGAN (HALLOCK) SARKIS Megan Sarkis was voted the 2015 State University at New York College Admissions Professionals (SUNYCAP) Professional of the Year. This award recognizes the SUNYCAP professional whose efforts throughout the past year have exemplified the best of the admissions profession. She was also elected as the 2016 president of SUNYCAP. She has worked at The
Michael J. Bednar Antoinette H. Bliley Kenneth J. Bulik Christopher R. Carnicella Grace A. Davies Sister M Michaela Fox, S.S.J. Mary L. Gill Thomas E. Haines, Sr. Patrick L. Hart Jerome M. Jurenovich, Sr. David A. Kish Darcy K. Kosobucki Herbert F. Krahe Patrick H. Laurnoff Nina L. McCracken Guy M. Orton James E. Palmer
College at Brockport, SUNY since 2007 as the assistant director of undergraduate admissions. Lee Sarkis was named general manager of Dick’s Sporting Goods in Greece, N.Y. He started working for Dick’s Sporting Goods in 2006 as a golf professional, and has since risen through the ranks as sales lead, department manager, assistant store manager and general manager. They reside in Rochester, N.Y. with their two children Joseph (8) and Eliza (3).
2002
ALISON A. FREEMAN has joined the faculty at Pfeiffer University as an assistant professor of nursing. She is a certified nursing and healthcare educator who worked most recently for Stanly Regional Medical Center in Albemarle, N.C.
2005
THOMAS E. GREISHAW was recognized in the January/February issue of American Jail Association as one of the “35 under 35,” highlighting the best corrections professionals under the age of 35 who are making a positive impact on the profession early in their career. He is the director of the Pennsylvania
Irene Mszanowski Ropski Martha S. Roth Patience E. Sharp Patricia L. Shreckengost
Paul A. Sieber William Skerlong John A. Tullio Walter J. Yahn
#GANNONFAMILY
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Department of Corrections’ Office of County Inspections and Services. The office is responsible for inspecting Pennsylvania county prisons that are not under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections. ERIN R. HOUSTON, PH.D. took over as executive director of the Shenango Valley Urban League as of September. In May, Houston finished her Ph.D. in instructional management and leadership from Robert Morris University in Moon Township, Pa. GEOFFREY W. HUSTED was among the 2016 inductees into the Gannon University Athletics Hall of Fame. Husted is considered one of Gannon’s men’s basketball all-time best post players. He is the program’s fifth-leading career scorer (1,620), while also ranking third in free throws made (431), fifth in games played (115), sixth in rebounds (853), sixth in blocked shots (93) and seventh in field goals made (589). Husted helped Gannon to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances (2002-05), and earned AllRegion and All-Conference recognition three times. After Gannon, Husted played professionally in the NBA Developmental League, the Continental Basketball Association and overseas. Husted is currently an operations supervisor for Marathon Petroleum.
2006
CATHLEEN J. CUBELIC ’06C has worked in education her entire career and is currently director of curriculum, instruction and assessment at the Midwestern Intermediate Unit IV, an agency that serves school districts in Butler, Lawrence and Mercer counties in Pennsylvania. She has been honored with the 2015 President’s Award from the Pennsylvania Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development, which recognizes leaders in the field for contributions to the organization and public education. She has served in the association throughout her career and has been named Western Region president and supervision committee member.
2007
KIMBERLY A. PETROSKY is employed as a research integrity analyst with the Pennsylvania State University Office for Research Protections. ERIN H. SCHMIDT-WRIGHT ’07M, ’10C, ’11C has been hired as the assistant principal for Carson Middle School in the North Allegheny School District. Wright is currently a unit principal at Mt. Lebanon High School. She has also been an assistant to the principal, a teacher and a coach at Keystone Oaks Middle School, all in Pennsylvania.
2009
NICHOLAS G. PRONKO ’09M has been appointed manager of internal communications at UPMC Hamot Medical Center in Erie. He previously served in communications and marketing at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. NATHAN R. ZIEGLER ’11M is a manufacturing production specialist in Erie.
2010
MICHAEL S. RODGERS has moved to Nashville to pursue his career as a musical performer. Since moving to “Music City USA,” he has played on Broadway, the main drag in the city, at the Tequila Cowboy and Tin Roof Broadway, among others. He has also recorded two albums. Rodgers performs as a one-man band, singing, picking guitar and triggering a tambourine and a bass drum with foot pedals. When he is not performing, Rodgers works at a local coffee shop in Franklin, Tenn.
2011
AMANDA L. ROCHE has completed a surgical residency at Norwalk Hospital/ Yale School of Medicine and is currently working as a surgical physician assistant in Orange, Conn. BARRY C. WILSON is currently employed with the Hermitage Police Department in Pennsylvania.
2012
IAN D. RAE is employed at NLMK in Hermitage, Pa. as an electrical engineer. BRITTANY N. RAKARICH will be attending Drexel University in the spring of 2016 pursing a Master of Science degree in nursing with a concentration in nursing education and faculty role. BRITTANY R. YECK is employed as an outpatient physical therapist in Erie.
2013
ZACHARY P. GARVEY ’13M is a physical therapist with Lycoming Physical Therapy in Montoursville, Pa.
2014
ANDREW M. BOYD was recently instituted into the ministry of acolyte at St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, Pa. An acolyte is appointed to aid a deacon, minister to a priest at the altar, and as a special minister to give Holy Communion to the faithful at Mass and to the sick. Acolytes may also expose the Eucharist for public adoration in the absence of a priest or deacon. SHELBY C. DAVISON, PA-C has joined Penn Highlands Elk’s medical staff. Davison will see patients at the QCare facility in Ridgway, Pa. BALDEMAR GONZALEZ has been working as a paralegal for the United States Capitol Police in Washington, D.C. for almost one year. He will enter Columbia University’s law school in the fall. JABULANI NEWBY was invited to attend the Raptors 905 training camp, an NBA Developmental League affiliate of the Toronto Raptors. JAMIE N. SCHROTER ’14M is a physical therapist at Hertel and Brown Physcial Therapy in Erie.
2015
ADAM M. BLAZEK is in his first season in the National Basketball League of Canada as a point guard with the Niagara River Lions.
This information represents class notes submitted from Oct. 2015-Jan. 2016. View all class notes submitted between Oct. 2015-April 2016 in the Gannon Magazine Online Edition magazine.gannon.edu/June16
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Donald Grumblatt ’50 Don’s love for music began at an early age. “I was in the fourth grade and took piano lessons.” His music teacher at Garfield Elementary School in Erie, Pa. inspired him to pursue music, and eventually find his true passion.
He recently named Gannon University, specifically the Erie Chamber Orchestra, as the beneficiary of his Individual Retirement Account (IRA). “I got the idea from a fellow musician’s obituary and thought, ‘What a great idea.’”
“George Yochim was the music teacher who opened a whole new world of music to me, and I soon started playing the trumpet.” Don was a founding member of the Gannon College pep band in 1948. Today, Don plays bugle at graveside ceremonies for Erie area American Legion Posts and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Posts.
With Gannon staff available to help every step of the way and convenient online options, making Gannon University the beneficiary of his IRA was an easy way for Don to leave his legacy for future generations of musicians and students.
Leave your legacy. Include Gannon University in your estate plans today. For more information, contact: Tony Fulgenzio, Executive Director of Philanthropy and Communications 814-871-7786 | fulgenzi001@gannon.edu | gannonalumni.org/estateplan
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SEPTEMBER 30 - OCTOBER 2, 2016 SIGNATURE EVENTS WILL INCLUDE: • Class of 1966 50th Reunion • Homecoming Football Game and Tailgate • Alumni Association Distinguished Alumni Dinner • Homecoming Parade • Beyer Hall Open House • Villa Maria College High Tea • Heritage Society Luncheon
gannonalumni.org/homecoming2016