2020 Winter Saint Vincent Magazine

SAINT VINCENT M A G A Z I N E

Winter 2020

2020

Upcoming

Events

Now Through June 12 Technological Textiles: Computing History and Decorative Textiles

Foster and Muriel McCarl Coverlet Gallery. www.saintvincentarts.org.

Friday, March 6, 2020 McCarl Gallery History Dinner Theater African American Soldiers and the American Revolution 6 p.m. Fred Rogers Center.

Saturday, March 14 Saint Vincent Concert Series

A night of intimate chamber music and conversation featuring Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra musicians Christopher Wu, violin; Susanne Park, violin; Andrew Wickesburg, viola; Anne Martindale Williams, cello.

7 p.m., Robert S. Carey Performing Arts Center.

Monday, March 16 Harvard Glee Club

Andrew Clark music director/conductor.

7:30 p.m., Saint Vincent Archabbey Basilica.

Tuesday, March 24 John Deely Jacques Maritain Lecture Farouk Seif, Ph.D. 4 p.m., Luparello Lecture Hall.

Wednesday, March 25 Charles G. Manoli Lecture Joseph Farrell, C’68.

7 p.m., Fred Rogers Center.

Thursday, April 23 Dedication of the Dale P. Latimer Library Thursday, April 23 Roman Verostko and the Algorithmic Revolution Revisited

Digital Arts Symposium, 3 to 4:30 p.m., Robert S. Carey Performing Arts Center.

Threshold Lecture Douglas Dodds

Victoria and Albert Museum.

7 p.m. Robert S. Carey Performing Arts Center.

Roman Verostko and the Cloud of Unknowing: From Ideas in Mind to Ideas in Code

Opening Exhibition, 8 p.m., Dale P. Latimer Library Arts & Technology Center.

DR. QUIANA GOLPHIN, C’00, MESSAGE OF HOPE Rev. Dr. Quiana M. Golphin, C’00, gave the keynote address to more than 200 people who attended the 2020 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Dinner in the Fred M. Rogers Center. She interwove stories about her past experiences to her present-day work to inspire those attending to continue the work of Dr. King. It is work she does every day.

Golphin attended a predominately white Catholic school as a child. But her life was influenced when, in 1986, at age 6, she saw images on the television “of black people chained together walking, and then being whipped by white people.” Disturbed by what she had seen, she sought out her parents to ask them what was happening. Her mother, the first parent she encountered, “had to explain to me the history of blacks in the United States... For the first time, I realized I was different.”

Regular trips to the Swissvale Library followed, which helped Golphin learn about African history, slavery, the underground railroad and the civil rights movement. Her focus on understanding these injustices led to a range of emotions, from “sadness, to anger, to pride. Thankfully, my parents were present whenever I needed to process my feelings. Early exposure to the reality that persons who belong to my culture were once and still are discriminated against on the basis of their skin color, created a sensitivity to the plight others faced with similar injustices. In fact, having gone through this process compelled me to try to refrain from holding unfair judgments against others who hold varying beliefs and values different than mine.”

Her life after graduation from Saint Vincent continues her work on those beliefs. She subsequently earned her master’s degree in community counseling from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and her doctorate in counselor education and supervision at Waynesburg University. Currently, she provides counseling services at California University of Pennsylvania and has served as an adjunct professor in both psychology and counseling at the Community College of Allegheny County, Carlow University, Waynesburg University and California University of Pennsylvania. Additionally, Golphin operates the Seasons Counseling Center at Deliverance Baptist Church in Wilkinsburg, where she is also an associate minister, worship leader, Sunday school teacher and youth minister.

She noted that “Our lives are not our own to squander away on account of self-centeredness. We are here for a purpose. In some way we need to position ourselves to ... bring quality and substance and peace to the lives of others. It doesn’t have to be done on a grand stage, but it can be as simple as offering kindness, empathy, warmth and understanding. It can be in the form of helping to connect others with resources. Or it can be in the vein of speaking out until others find the strength to speak for themselves.” It is work, she noted, “work that can be carried out through all of us in some way!”

Departments

President’s Message

4

More Features 10 Freshman Dwight Collins signs inauguration.

11 CEO Pays Tribute To Legacy Of Fred Rogers

Faculty

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Mark Abramovic, Daniele Arcara honored at convocation.

News

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David Novak confirmed to District Court; Don Miller’s book receives honor; Max King: Pittsburgher of the Year; Heinz Field Surprise; Palumbo scholars; accounting graduates excel.

14 From Graduation To On-The-Air

Sports

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Men’s cross country earns PAC title; men’s bowling to return; sports roundup.

Alumni

25 Women’s Volleyball Goes To PAC Tourney

S a in t V inc e n t M a g a z ine ARCHABBOT AND CHANCELLOR Rt. Rev. Douglas R. Nowicki, O.S.B. PRESIDENT Father Paul R. Taylor, O.S.B. SENIOR DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS Michael Hustava EDITOR Kim Metzgar svmagazine@stvincent.edu DESIGN Kim Metzgar

winter 2020 Volume 17, Issue 2

PROOFREADER Carol Riddle

Alumni events; alumni news, weddings, engagements, births, deaths; Jerry Marsico: an estate gift to carry forward the legacy.

Saint Vincent Magazine (United States Postal Service Publication Number USPS 5144-8000) is published by Saint Vincent College, Latrobe, Pennsylvania, for alumni, parents and friends.

Third-class postage paid at Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Postmaster: Send address changes to the Alumni Office, Saint Vincent College, 300 Fraser Purchase Road, Latrobe, PA 15650-2690.

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jim Bendel Jim Berger Kim Metzgar Sports Information Office

Saint Vincent College reserves the right to accept or decline submissions of both information and photos for use in the Saint Vincent Magazine, based on content, quality, timeliness and suitability, at the discretion of the editor.

PHOTOGRAPHY Alexander Byers Archabbey Archives Alumni Relations Office Sports Information Office

Saint Vincent College subscribes to a policy of equal opportunity in the classroom, workplace and programs, and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, age, veteran status, national origin, marital status, genetic history or disability. To learn more, visit: http://www.stvincent.edu/ Legal-Information/.

AD ARTWORK AND CAMPAIGN DESIGN George Fetkovich

PRINTING Laurel Valley Graphics ALUMNI NEWS COORDINATOR Mary Ann Dunlap

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Cover: Father Paul R. Taylor, O.S.B., C’87, S’92, was inaugurated as the 18th president of Saint Vincent College on November 22, 2019.

CONNECTEDNESS AT THE HEART OF OUR COMMUNITY

MESSAGE FROM THE

P R E S I D E N T

D

EAR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS,

In December, we celebrated our 15th annual winter commencement, at which 104 degrees were conferred. We know that this most recent group of graduates is bound for success and we look forward to continuing to walk with them as they embark on this newest chapter in their lives.

Connectedness is at the heart of our campus community. Connectedness to those who walk with us, connectedness to the world that surrounds us and connectedness to God. Each of you is integral in making this a reality for our students. Your support through gifts, outreach or through involvement in campus life, makes being a Bearcat a lifechanging experience for so many students. We are grateful for your continued dedication to Saint Vincent.

With classes resuming for our Spring 2020 semester, we are preparing for these exciting few months here on campus and beyond.

Mark Schultz

In January, we celebrated the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity from January 18 to 25 with a theme of “Life in Christ.” Focusing on togetherness, our whole community participated in a number of worship services and volunteer opportunities, and engaged in thought-provoking lectures. Among the highlights from the week were a Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration with a keynote address delivered by Rev. Dr. Quiana Golphin, C’00, and a performance in the Basilica by award-winning contemporary Christian artist Mark Schultz. I encourage you to visit stvincent.edu to read and see more from this impactful week at Saint Vincent. The week concluded with several bus loads of students who traveled to Washington, D.C., for the annual Pro-Life Mass and March for Life. It was inspiring to see so many of our students and young men and women throughout the nation who are committed to the pro-life cause.

Our campus continues to develop and expand. The Dale P. Latimer Library project, funded by the Forward, Always Forward comprehensive campaign, opened for student use in December, with an official dedication scheduled for April 23, 2020. We are also preparing to break ground on the renovation and expansion of the Student Life and Hospitality Hub—a project which will update the current community center, add a new dining space and enhance the infrastructure of our food service and preparation areas. The entirety of the project is scheduled for completion in August 2021.

In addition to the many highlights and successes of our students and alumni, you will also find in this edition of the magazine our annual report, which describes our scholarships, endowment and the comprehensive campaign, and also recognizes all of who have so generously given to Saint Vincent.

We wish you continued blessings for health, happiness and success.

Looking Forward,

Father Paul R. Taylor, O.S.B. President

Photo: Alexander Byers

FATHER PAUL TAYLOR, O.S.B. INAUGURATION ADDRESS NOVEMBER 22, 2019

“G

“None should doubt that these are critical times for colleges and universities. We face ever-changing needs for our students and alumni. Making higher education affordable and preparing our graduates for successful careers and lives of meaning and service are at the top of the list.

With the wisdom and collaboration of a faculty and administration committed to addressing these challenges, together we will overcome these obstacles.

“At the forefront of this effort is a strong and caring faculty deeply committed to guiding our students through the critical pathways of the liberal arts and sciences. It is through their dedication that our students are not simply prepared to join the workforce or attend graduate school, but to realize careers as leaders in their fields and meaningful lives rooted in the sound moral and ethical values so desperately needed in our divided and chaotic world.

“Regardless of what title any person here may hold, we take it as our most basic mandate to be a teacher

ood afternoon and welcome. Along with our Board Chairman, Chris Donahue and Archabbot Douglas, I am honored to welcome all of you here today. Your presence is an affirmation of our educational mission. How fortunate we are to share your friendship.

“It is a privilege to stand before you. As an alumnus of Saint Vincent it is an honor to be asked to serve with an outstanding faculty and administration in meeting the challenges before us. Together we will work to support the mission of Saint Vincent College by preparing our students to create a world that embraces our deepest ethical and spiritual values.

“For 173 years Saint Vincent College has been moving forward. Inspired by the leadership of our founder, Boniface Wimmer, whose vision has provided a strong foundation for our mission, we move forward today with a readiness to face the future.

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From left: Mrs. Irene Taylor, mother of Father Paul Taylor, O.S.B., left, and Mrs. Joanne Rogers, wife of the late Fred Rogers, at the inauguration Vespers.

Archabbot Douglas R. Nowicki, O.S.B., chancellor; Father Paul Taylor, O.S.B., president; J. Christopher Donahue, chairman of the board of directors, Saint Vincent College. and mentor for our students, playing a critical role in the ers. Yes, the cultivation of the life of the mind is a noble process of forming these young minds and hearts, and pursuit. It is, indeed, a fundamental component of human sending our graduates out to all parts of the world to make existence, an irresistible calling which the lure of the matea difference in the lives of others. At Saint Vincent the sturial world can never fully suppress.

“Knowledge about our dents always come first. world is deepening and “The cultivation of the information is growing and life of the mind is a noble ather Paul, a faithful Benedictine monk multiplying faster than endeavor. When we are for 31 years, is a living embodiment of human minds can readily at our best, colleges and what Catholic, higher education means assess given the relentless universities shepherd in our time—a competent integration sophistication of new techstudents in the pursuit of wisdom and knowledge. nologies.

As wonderful as of faith and reason, expressed in practical service for Yet, even before these the exponential expansion the betterment of our students, our church and our institutions existed, the of our access to informasociety. The Board of Directors is grateful that Father quest for understanding tion may be, it carries a Paul accepted this responsibility and we celebrate was burning in the human danger that the mind of a heart and mind. Young great liberal arts instituwith him today the ceremonial beginning of his learners, millennia ago tion must avoid. We must service as president of Saint Vincent College.” sat at the feet of phinever confuse information with wisdom, or more data losophers and teachers.

—Mr. J. Christopher Donahue, CEO of Federated for deeper truth. At Saint Schools emerged around Hermes, Inc., and Chair of the Board, Saint Vincent College Vincent we are committhe great ones like Aristotle, Socrates and Plato. ted to providing the best In ancient Egypt, learning of science and technology, and research, especially in the sciences, were held in the business and communication, literature and culture, phihighest esteem. Rabbis and scribes poured over Scripture losophy and theology through education, critical thinking their whole lives in the search for God and for a glimpse of and research. the Messiah. Saint Benedict, in his monastery, created a “It is of the highest priority that Saint Vincent College 1 “school for the Lord’s service,” and in doing so, preserved and her students and faculty pursue the life of the mind with in-depth study of specific academic disciplines in the the wisdom of the ancient texts through the cultural abyss broader context of study across the classical curriculum of of the Dark Ages. Medieval centers of learning emerged the liberal arts and sciences. around scholars and so formed the first of the great mod“While this academic pursuit is our primary task, if it ern universities of Bologna, Salamanca, Paris and oth-

“F

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Above, left: James F. Will, and Brother Norman Hipps, O.S.B., past presidents of Saint Vincent College. Photo at right: Most Rev. Edward C. Malesic, bishop of the Diocese of Greensburg. were the only component of our mission, our vision would be tragically narrow and our lives less rich. We choose to pursue not only the life of the mind, but Life itself.2 Or as Saint Thomas Aquinas would call Being Itself. Who is—God. Saint Benedict makes it clear in his Holy Rule that the purpose of living in the community is ‘to seek God.’3 It is more than a course of knowledge, it is the path of the soul.

“A life of knowledge without the awareness of God, and without the personal humility that emboldens a student to stand before the Almighty, is a house built on sand. A house of knowledge without humility crumbles when the winds of time and culture wage against it.

“Each year when the monastic community welcomes new members as novices, Archabbot Douglas addresses the novices—and the whole community—that this deliberate life of free association in this community is meant to dispel our illusions: • Illusions about the Church • Illusions about ourselves • Illusions about God “The pursuit of the life of the mind and the pursuit of life itself at Saint Vincent College is precisely to seek truth.

That is the goal for all of us. We embrace that goal for, as Albert Einstein said, ‘The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all of our lives.’4 “Regarding the pursuit of truth in higher education, Pope Saint John Paul II in his Apostolic Constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae, noted: ‘. . . a specific part of a Catholic University’s task is to promote dialogue between faith and reason, so that it can be seen more profoundly how faith and reason bear harmonious witness to the unity of all truth. While each Saint Vincent Magazine

academic discipline retains its own integrity and has its own methods, this dialogue demonstrates that methodical research within every branch of learning, when carried out in a truly scientific manner and in accord with moral norms, can never truly conflict with faith. For the things of the earth and the concerns of faith derive from the same God.’5 “Pope Saint John Paul II again stressed the complementarity of science and religion when he wrote that ‘science can purify religion from error and superstition. Religion can purify science from idolatry and false absolutes. Each can draw the other into a wider world, a world in which both can flourish.’6 “In his first discourse in ‘The Idea of a University’ John Henry Newman writes that a University, ‘to have integrity as a University, cannot omit the science of Theology or Religion, because it would be ignoring a part of the universe it is studying. The search for truth cannot exclude the quest our souls need to undertake: • With confidence that truth can be found; and • That the best of the human spirit will be realized in the relentless search for truth.’7 “It is in the experience of the search for truth that our lives become more complete and less filled with fear.

“We are grateful for the national recognition given to the academic success of Saint Vincent College: “On May 23, 2019, The New York Times identified Saint Vincent College as one of the top performing colleges in the nation for retention and graduation of students from all economic and social backgrounds.8 “One of the key factors cited in this article contributing to the strength of Saint Vincent is “connectedness.” This caring, of course, is the legacy of Saint Vincent and is rooted 7

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by those evils of today, we can grasp this medal as a reminder that we are connected to this community and to God, and that we can be strong, together.

“Once you have the foundation of belonging, there are no hurdles too high, and no obstacles too big to keep you from success in this world—and eternal happiness in the next.

“This is the heart of the Saint Vincent difference.

“We all belong. Thank you.”

in the connectedness between each student and his or her teachers. As Fred Rogers said, ‘Where would any of us be without teachers—without people who have passion for their art or their science or their craft, and love it right in front of us? What would any of us do without teachers passing on to us what they know is essential about life?’9 “Equally important to us, our friends trust us.

“Boniface Wimmer said it best in 1854: ‘To all who knock, the door is opened.’10 Remember, Wimmer said ‘all.’ Saint Benedict also said it in his Holy Rule, Chapter 53,11 ‘Welcome all persons as Christ himself.’

“Together we study, together we work, and together we grow.

“Together we fall, and together we rise again.

“Together through the sad times, and the difficult times.

“And together with Joy. “At Saint Vincent, when you walk with us, you belong; our community is strong.

“In this world of shattered relationships and fractured social structures, ‘belonging’ is a treasure. Our Benedictine and Catholic mission prioritizes the sacred nature of the human person and the importance of the connectedness of every person to our community. The issues that face young people today are complex. Bullying, isolation, hatred and fear. How can a student learn when confronted by all of that?

“In your program book today, you will find a Jubilee medal of Saint Benedict. I suggest that you do not leave the medal in the book, but rather “hold on to it.” The text that is abbreviated in the letters of this medal is a prayer against evil. So when you and I are confronted

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References:

1 2 3 4 5

Cf. Rule of Saint Benedict, Prologue, Verses 45-50.

ST Ia 13.2.

Benedict of Nursia, Rule of Saint Benedict, 516, chapter 2.

Albert Einstein, from a letter to Adrianna Enriques, 1921.

Pope John Paul II, Ex Corde Ecclesiae (“On Catholic Universi-

ties,” Apostolic Constitution, 15 August 1990) §17.

6 7

Pope John Paul II, Philosophy and Theology, 1988, op. cit., M13 John Henry Newman, The Idea of a University (Notre Dame,

IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1990).

8

David Leonhardt and Sahil Chinoy, “The College Dropout.” The

New York Times, May 23, 2019.

9

Life’s Journey According to Mister Rogers, page 94.

10

To Him Who Knocks, The Door Is Opened, Saint Vincent

Archabbey Public Relations, Boniface Wimmer to Karl Von Reisach, Letters of an American Abbot, St. Vincent, Aug. 7, 1854.

11

Benedict of Nursia, Rule of Saint Benedict, 516.

Family portrait, from left: Emily Taylor, C22, niece; Nicholas Taylor, nephew; Robert (Bert) Taylor, brother; Irene Taylor, mother; Father Paul R. Taylor, O.S.B., C’87, S’92; Ryan Taylor, nephew; Lawrence Taylor, C’89, brother.

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INAUGURATION NOTES ing year) Washington & Jefferson College, Franklin & Kendra Smithbauer, sophomore marketing major Marshall College, Allegheny College, Geneva College, from St. Marys, provided the scriptural reading.

Saint Francis University, Westminster College, Mount Intercessions were offered in English by Ishmael Aloysius College, Edinboro A. Solomon, C’15, G’17, University, Chatham University, assistant director of residence Grove City College, Duquesne and multicultural student life; View photos from Father Paul’s University, Seton Hill Univerin Chinese By Jessica Dong, a inauguration at this link: sity, Aquinas College, Catholic junior accounting major from University of America, College https://www.flickr.com/photos/ Beijing; in Portuguese by John of Saint Elizabeth, Notre Dame S. Torres, a Saint Vincent saintvincentcollege/albums College, Mercyhurst University, Seminary student from Brazil; Carlow University, Fairfield in Hungarian by Bertalan P. University, Franciscan UniverPapp, a sophomore from sity of Steubenville, The U.S. Budapest enrolled in the Naval Academy, The University Benedictine Leadership Studof Pittsburgh at Greensburg ies program; and in Spanish View the video from Father Paul’s and The Lake Erie College of

by Jacqueline S. Guerra, a inauguration at this link: Osteopathic Medicine. Also sophomore criminology, law https://www.youtube.com/saintvincentcollege present were delegates from and society major from Silver the Presidents’ Athletic ConferSpring, Maryland. ence and the Elk County Twenty-five colleges and universities were Catholic School System, while more than 110 colleges represented by presidents or delegates in the and universities, legislators and government officials academic procession including (in order of found- sent letters and citations.

Saint Vincent’s Economic Impact Increases An economic impact study released by the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania (AICUP) revealed that Saint Vincent College had a statewide economic impact of $127.1 million in 2018.

The study was conducted by Parker Philips Inc., a nationally-recognized firm specializing in such analysis.

Saint Vincent’s economic impact has increased from a previous AICUP study, when the figure was $85 million in 2014.

The study considered the direct spending on wages and benefits, operations and capital projects by Saint Vincent, and the estimated in-

crease in demands for goods and services in industry sectors that supply or support the College. The study also examined the effect of student and visitor spending and the induced effect of increased household income.

The study noted that Saint Vincent supports and sustains 1,115 jobs, including 717 direct jobs; 119 indirect jobs created by supply/ equipment vendors and contractors; and 279 induced jobs created in the community at hotels, restaurants, gas stations, medical offices and retail stores in support of SVC’s faculty, staff members, students and visitors.

The study calculated tax

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revenues generated by this economic activity including sales tax, property tax, personal income tax and corporate income taxes, concluding that Saint Vincent generates $6.03 million in tax revenues annually for state and local governments.

Along with Saint Vincent College’s direct economic impact, it has also continued to serve the community through a variety of educational, service, entertainment and cultural programming and initiatives, such as: Cultural and entertainment events, including the Saint Vincent Concert Series, Saint Vincent Summer 9

Theatre, performances by student groups The Company and the Saint Vincent Players and regular exhibitions and programming in the Saint Vincent Gallery and the McCarl Coverlet Gallery; lectures through the Threshold Series, the Center for Political and Economic Thought, Aging and Spirituality, the Visiting Writers Series, the Forward: Boyer School Lecture Series and the John Deely/Jacques Maritain Lecture Series; public shows in the Angelo J. Taiani Planetarium in the Sis and Herman Dupré Science Pavilion; andother educational and community service programming.

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Saint Vincent freshman football player Dwight Collins Jr., served as a translator at the inauguration ceremony for Father Paul Taylor, O.S.B., as college president at Saint Vincent this fall.

FRESHMAN USES SIGN LANGUAGE SKILLS FOR PRESIDENT’S INAUGURATION “We all belong.” The theme of belonging has been the focus of the presidency of Father Paul Taylor, O.S.B., since he took office on July 1. That focus has been prominent in his talks to staff members, students, alumni and prospective students. Freshman Dwight Collins Jr. quickly became part of that core value when he was asked to be a part of the inauguration as an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter.

Coming to Saint Vincent from Edgewater High School in Orlando, Collins was an honor student and three-sport athlete, playing football, wrestling and lacrosse. He is also the only member of his immediate family, and one of only a few in his extended family who can hear. His parents and siblings are deaf. ASL is his first language. Collins learned spoken English in elementary school and is now proficient in both languages. But being asked to sign the inauguration ceremony and the inaugural address was something new for him.

ASL includes movements of the face, the torso and the hands as part of the language, as its users are generally facing one another when in conversation. In addition to the signs and gestures of ASL, its users also incorporate fingerspelling, or manually spelling a word using the American Manual Alphabet, into their communications. But signing the inaugural address and ceremony wasn’t as simple as substituting a sign for a word. ASL’s grammar is different than English. Thus, even for someone who is a natural communicator in both languages, there were still challenges. So Collins did what comes naturally to him—practice.

Provided with the program booklet and the transcript of the address, Collins, with the help of his mother, Tania Cuadrado, who recently moved to Pittsburgh, was able to work out how he would relate what Father Paul and other participants were singing and saying to members of the deaf community. Sometimes it involved using a simpler form of a word to relate an idea so that it could be done as quickly as the speaker was talking. Imagine having to spell an entire sentence to someone, whether verbally or with fingerspelling. It would be tedious. From all accounts Collins did well, Saint Vincent Magazine

even overcoming a bit of nervousness, as it was the first time he had ever signed a public event.

“There were some students and staff members who came up to me afterward who said they didn’t know I signed,” he said. And family members and friends watched either the Livestream® broadcast or the recording afterward.

Collins’ route from Florida to Saint Vincent was not one he sought out, although his adjustment to life in Latrobe has been rapid. The communication major didn’t find Saint Vincent. “Saint Vincent found me.” Phil Hamilton, C’10, who returned to Saint Vincent in 2019 to become offensive coordinator of the football team, was introduced to Collins by the Eagles’ coach, Cameron Duke.

“A lot of coaches who are recruiting you want to butter you up,” Collins said. What he liked about Hamilton, and other coaches he met here, was that they were “honest.”

He knew where he stood. That feeling carried over to his first weeks here, when he took part in the Opportunity SVC/ Act 101/SSS-TRIO department’s summer program, learning how best to work at becoming successful in college. Collins also described the football coaching staff at Saint Vincent as “dedicated,” and “caring. The staff cares about every player and everyone cares about one another here,” he said.

Dr. Nancy Rottler, assistant vice president for student success and retention, used phrases such as “quick to respond,” “natural leader,” and “open to helping” when describing Collins.

In a short period of time he has overcome any nervousness, developed a focus on what he needs to do to succeed. His vocabulary is now populated with phrases such as “time management,” and “structure.” But he smiles when he notes he also has to “enjoy what college life is all about.”

The communications major is using another of Father Paul’s catch phrases in a different way, as he works to take advantage of and expresses appreciation for the opportunities presented him at Saint Vincent. He’s got it “together.”

—Kim Metzgar 10

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“Taking on new challenges doesn’t mean you need to leave behind the wonder and altruism and optimism of youth. ...Be child-like in your view of the world and the discoveries it offers every day... ” —Paul Siefken CEO, Fred Rogers Productions Paul Siefken, president and chief executive officer of Fred Rogers Productions, was the principal speaker at the 15th annual December commencement at Saint Vincent College.

Fred Rogers Legacy: Daniel’s Neighborhood CEO Addresses Graduates Paul Siefken, president and chief executive officer of Fred Rogers Productions, was the principal speaker at the 15th annual December commencement at Saint Vincent College, where students were awarded bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees or doctoral degrees.

Addressing those in attendance, including Saint Vincent President Father Paul Taylor, Archabbot Douglas Nowicki, members of the board of directors, faculty and staff members, parents, family members and graduates, Siefken said that “you’ve all embodied one of Fred Rogers’ most honored philosophies—that ‘One of the greatest dignities of humankind is that each successive generation is invested in the welfare of each new generation.’”

The transition they were about to undergo, from the Saint Vincent community to the bigger world community, he said, can be difficult. But those transitions, he added, mark a new stage in life with challenges and surprises.

“At Fred Rogers Productions,” he said, “we produce a television program for preschoolers called Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. It’s filled with little strategies to help children through the new experiences they face daily.

“But I’ve found that some of those strategies can be helpful for people at any age.

“One that comes to mind today is: When we do something new, let’s talk about what we’ll do.

“So let’s talk about ‘some new things’ that the members Saint Vincent Magazine

of this graduating class are about to do.

“You’re heading into new careers in the medical sciences or business and finance or communication or public policy.

And many of you may also be thinking about a world filled with new responsibilities—bills and taxes and figuring out whatever it means to dress ‘business casual.’ I’m still trying to figure that one out.”

But, he noted, just because students are moving on to new challenges in life, it “doesn’t mean you leave behind the wonder and altruism and optimism of youth.”

Holding on to it, he said, helps one appreciate the world and the discoveries it offers every day.

“It’s the questions you asked in childhood that led you to where you are today, after all.

“In his song ‘Some Things I Don’t Understand’, Fred Rogers explored the innocent and often profound questions we ask when we’re young.

“Mister Rogers sang: ‘Why, why, why, why, why, why? I wonder, why?’

‘Why do I wonder a lot?’

“He calls out the kind of basic questions kids ask. Questions like: Why is water so wet? Why is the sky blue?

“These are fundamental scientific questions, aren’t they?

And we should keep asking them.

“As Fred Rogers said: “‘Children’s play is not just kids’ stuff. Children’s play is rather the stuff of most future inventions.’

“Children also ask questions with beautiful honesty that are at the heart of philosophy, social justice and religion: 11

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“Questions like: Why do people have different color skin?

Why is that man asking you for money? Why do people have to die?

“We struggle to answer these questions for children—because we don’t know the answers ourselves.

“So let’s keep asking the same questions as adults—don’t let curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge end with your college years!”

Siefken has spent 24 years in children’s television, from the Cartoon Network to PBS KIDS and finally, at Fred Rogers Productions. Prior to that he was a high school English teacher in Atlanta and Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and prior to that he was a YMCA camp counselor.

“It’s been hard work,” he said, “but it also reminds me every day that there’s nothing more powerful than a child’s enthusiasm. Fred Rogers sometimes liked to say that: ‘The child is in me still, and sometimes not so still.’”

Even if someone does not have a career focused on children, he said, facing new experiences with a child’s anxious adrenaline can keep life interesting. Or, he said, we can choose to avoid new experiences.

“Maybe it’s because we think adulthood is about choosing a path and sticking to it. Or maybe we find comfort in routine and narrow points of view. But as you start on your career path remember the child that is in you still. And remember that children hate to be still.

“Young children have an incredible capacity for love and joy and wonder and play. They have a strong sense of right and wrong, of fairness and justice. They can be incredibly determined one moment and heartbreakingly vulnerable the next. They’re instinctive risk-takers who will dance and sing in a crowded room and at the same time they’re cautious of meeting new people one-on-one. They’re inherSaint Vincent Magazine

ently creative and spontaneous. And while they can be swayed toward mischief, they are naturally inclined toward kindness.

“But they are NOT inclined to stagnate. Change is an everyday occurrence. And they grow and learn because of it.

“Another musical strategy from Daniel Tiger tells children that ‘Things can change and that’s okay. Today we can do things a different way.’ And that message is timeless. As you head to your next adventure after graduation, embrace new experiences and change the way your inner child wants you to.

“He’s no Daniel Tiger, but Benjamin Franklin once said, ‘When you’re finished changing, you’re finished.’ That means raising your hand when you’re presented with a new opportunity to follow your passion—even if you know it will be hard. Embrace it and make the most of it.

“In 2012, when I was the director of children’s programming at PBS, I was presented with just such an opportunity. We had just premiered Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood on PBS. I had been working with the good folks of Fred Rogers Productions for more than a year to get it on the air. That’s when I got a call from Bill Isler, a Saint Vincent alumnus and the president of Fred Rogers Productions at the time.

He wanted to gauge my interest in running production for the new series that the company was managing.

“Interesting, I thought. And then he said, ‘this is also about succession. How would you like to be the next president of our organization?’

“Wow. Now that’s a phone call. That’s a big job. And it’s the only one like it. I was terrified. Who was I? Could I really be the head of the company that Fred Rogers founded?

“I was born in 1970, so I was in the first generation of PBS KIDS. Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and Sesame Street 12

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were must-see TV in our house when I was young. And now I’d be working alongside many of the people who had worked with Fred for years and practically raised me!

“I am privileged to work at an organization that any child would love. It’s a place where we’re always asking questions. Where it’s impossible to be too earnest. Where there’s always an invitation to do the right thing. Where we take risks but also recognize people’s feelings of insecurity.

We do our best to model kindness in everything we create.

“One of my favorite quotes from Fred Rogers speaks to the meaning of success. He said: ‘The thing I remember best about the successful people I’ve met all through the years is their obvious delight in what they’re doing … and it seems to have very little to do with worldly success. They just love what they’re doing, and they love it in front of others.’ And I do love my job.

Where else could a person have so much fun while also helping children and families in such powerful ways?

“We strive to continue the work that Fred Rogers started for the very same reasons he cited: to give an expression of care, each day, to every child; to make it clear that feelings are mentionable and manageable; to show and tell what the good in life is all about; and, ultimately, to make goodness attractive.”

Fred Rogers, Siefken said, “was not only a person of enormous talent and scholarship and faith. But he was also someone with a tremendous sense of purpose and a tireless work ethic. When Fred Rogers,” he said, “spoke about accomplishing one’s dreams, he said ‘what makes the difference between wishing and realizing our wishes?’ Lots of things, of course, but the main one, I think, is whether we link our wishes to our active work. It may take months or years, but it’s far more likely to happen when we care so much that we’ll work as hard as we can to make it happen. And when we’re working toward the realization of our wishes, some of our greatest strengths come from the encouragement of people who care about us.”

Siefken noted that supportive partners and hard work can help make dreams come true, but sometimes the problems of the world are daunting. But, he said, “look at Fred.

He followed his interests and his passion with rigor and made a little TV show and he did the best he could. He had no idea that the impact would be as staggeringly inspirational as it has become. But the thing that led to his impact was the dogged pursuit of his vision.”

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He cited the work of Dr. Dana Winters at Saint Vincent College’s Fred Rogers Center. “Her Simple Interactions program for early childhood educators and caregivers has been recognized on the international stage for its innovation. At its core, Simple Interactions proposes that you as a human being—as a ‘care-giver’—have everything you need to help children succeed simply by affirming the importance of positive, responsive, supportive, human interaction that leads to connection, reciprocity, inclusion and an opportunity for children to grow.

“Love and attention and connection—we all have that within us. That humanity is part of the Saint Vincent mission—to enable you to integrate your professional goals with the broader purposes of human life.

“When he first started Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Fred recognized the power of television to impact people’s lives.

And he saw that it was not being used to its potential. Slapstick comedy and violent cartoons were all that television was offering for children.

He knew that media could be put to better use. To expand people’s worlds and share their experiences.

To connect in a meaningful way with the audience. And he felt a moral obligation to use the power of media responsibly.

“In his 1999 induction into The Television Hall of Fame, Fred said: ‘I feel that those of us in television are chosen to be servants. It doesn’t matter what our particular job, we are chosen to help meet the deeper needs of those who watch and listen—day and night! We all have only one life to live on earth,’ he said.

And through television we have the choice of encouraging others to demean this life or to cherish it in creative imaginative ways.’

“Those words were given to an audience of television people. But we can replace the word television with any profession, can’t we? We have a choice of encouraging others to demean this life or to cherish it in creative, imaginative ways.”

At the beginning of their transition into the next stage of their lives, Siefken told the graduates that they should “Remember to be childlike. To work hard. To love what you do in front of others. To trust and act on your humanity.

And to be yourself. Because as Fred famously said: ‘You are a very special person. There is only one person like you in the whole world. There’s never been anyone exactly like you before, and there never will be again. Only you. And people can like you exactly as you are.’”

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December Graduate Gets Right To Work As On-Air Reporter

By Jim Berger

Since her childhood in Erie, Elspeth Mizner has been fascinated with the local news. Now, instead of watching the headlines, she’ll be the one delivering them to her hometown, as immediately upon her December graduation with a degree in communication, Mizner was hired at WICU-TV, Erie’s NBC affiliate, where she will serve as an on-air reporter and weekend producer while assisting with social media.

“I grew up watching so many of their reporters, some of whom have been there for 30 or 40 years,” Mizner said.

“Being able to meet them in person, learn from them and now call them my colleagues and co-workers is a surreal feeling.”

Mizner didn’t have an exact career plan mapped out when she enrolled as a freshman at Saint Vincent in August 2016. While she maintained her fascination with the news media, Mizner decided to major in communication due to its rigorous, broad-based curriculum that exposes students to all aspects of the communication field. She embraced the breadth of the department head on, enrolling in nearly every communication class offered.

“It’s a very broad major,” she said. “Working in the news was always in the back of my mind, but I wanted to keep my options open.”

Dr. Jessica Harvey, chair of the department, said that being able to offer students so many aspects of the communication field is a point of pride. She credits this broad curriculum in helping Mizner land her first job.

“That is definitely one of the benefits of our program,” Harvey said. “Students are able to carve out a career path that fits with their own interests. For Elspeth, we didn’t have Saint Vincent Magazine

a specific broadcasting track, but she was able to piece things together and create a program for herself that really fit well with her interests, ultimately helping her to land this job.”

Throughout her tenure at Saint Vincent, Mizner thrived in the classroom and as she begins her career in television, she laughed when recalling the course that intimidated her the most early on in her undergraduate career.

“When I took Mr. (David) Safin’s Introduction to Digital Media class, I was so nervous. I had never filmed or edited before. I told myself ‘if I just make it through this semester, I’ll never have to pick up a camera or edit video again.’”

Having successfully navigated her first foray into video editing, Mizner’s interest in working in television continued to grow, and was eventually solidified after taking a course in broadcasting taught by Jennifer Antkowiak, a highlyrespected television journalist who enjoyed a successful career working in news.

“We really didn’t use a textbook much and didn’t have to take notes for the entire class,” said Mizner, “but it was one of the best classes that I ever took. Professor Antkowiak brought in her own experiences from working in news and told us her own stories to show us what it’s really like.

She pulled back the curtain to show that while it may look glamorous working in television, there is a lot of hard work that goes into it. She would often bring in reporters that she worked with, and this was really fascinating to me because by then, I knew this is really what I wanted to go into.”

Now confident in her decision to pursue a career in television, Mizner made her first contact with her future employer in December 2017, when she was afforded the opportunity to shadow a reporter over the duration of winter break.

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Three months later, she received word that she was officially accepted into WICU’s summer internship program. From May through July, Mizner spent 3-4 days a week at the station’s studio shadowing photographers and reporters, filming, editing and practicing on-air reporting. She returned to the station to shadow over the following winter break.

“It was such a welcoming atmosphere,” she said. “I learned so much from so many people, whether it was a reporter who had been there since the 1970s or one who was right out of college. When I shadowed and interned there, it felt just like a welcoming community, much like it does at Saint Vincent.”

Mizner began preparing for her job search during the 2019 spring semester, spending countless hours perfecting her resumé, assembling a video portfolio and readying for interviews, receiving help along the way from the communication faculty members.

“Mr. Safin was such an incredible influence,” she said, “and was always great in offering constructive criticism. I know that this will definitely help in the long run. Whether it was my first draft or 10th, I know he was always going out of his way to help and push his students to do the best we could do. Every piece of advice that he gave us is what made me a better editor and videographer.

“Dr. Harvey was always so encouraging and checked in with me every day on my job search. After class, I could go to her office with a question on classwork, and we would end up having a real-life discussion. She truly cared about my personal life, my friends, my family—she’s always been so supportive.”

“Professor Antkowiak,” she continued, “would always review my resumé, helped me put together my reporting reel and offered me advice on how to successfully reach out to television stations for employment. She told me to be persistent, keep following up, send one more email and give them one more phone call.”

During her final semester at SVC, Mizner applied to stations in Erie, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Buffalo, and with less than two weeks left in her final semester, her persistence paid off.

“I was asked to interview at WICU on Thanksgiving Day,” she said, “and almost immediately accepted the position.

During my interview, I apologized to them for bothering so much, but they assured me that I wasn’t annoying and that I had gone about it the right way. Had I just sent in one application and hoped for the best, I probably would not be in this position today.”

Mizner’s success hardly came as a surprise to the faculty with whom she had worked so closely during her time at Saint Vincent.

“As you’d expect,” Safin said, “it is incredibly gratifying to see someone like Elspeth succeed as she did through college and then immediately find a job that takes advantage of her skillset. She will tackle her career in the same way Saint Vincent Magazine

she tackled her time at Saint Vincent—she’ll have an open mind, she’ll work hard and she will never stop learning. This is only the beginning.”

Added Harvey: “It’s very exciting and it makes me proud.

It validates what we do in our department. Elspeth knew what she wanted, she went after it and got it. The fact that she was able to land her dream job like this right away shows how much initiative and passion she has.”

While Mizner is thrilled to begin her television career, she has seen first-hand through her internship experience that for as many people who remain in the industry for three or four decades, there are just as many who choose to leave it much earlier. Knowing that this is a reality of the business, she is confident that the well-rounded education she received at Saint Vincent has her well-prepared to take on any challenge.

“Some people go into news and stay for 40 years,” she said, “while others pursue other opportunities after 10 years. Should another door open or another opportunity present itself down the road, I am confident in the foundation and background that I was able to gain in the communication department at Saint Vincent.”

Before she gets too caught up in looking at what the future may hold, however, Mizner is ready to jump with both feet into her new career in her old home.

“The fact that Erie is home to me makes this adjustment so much easier,” she said. “I know the area and I know what’s important to the community. I was drawn to the news because every story is important and every story deserves to be told, and I’m really looking forward to telling them to my hometown.”

CHALLENGE PROGRAM – at –

The Challenge Program is a one-week academic, theme-based summer event, held each June, for young people, ages Preschool through 12th grade, originating in the Education Department at SVC. Registration opens late fall. For further information visit: www. stvincentchallenge.org or contact: Dr. Kathleen Beining, kathleen.beining@stvincent.edu or 724-805-2981.

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Maxwell King Named Pittsburgher Of The Year

M

axwell King, author of The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers, and former executive director of the Fred Rogers Center at Saint Vincent, was named Pittsburgher of the Year for 2019 by Pittsburgh Magazine.

King served at the Rogers Center from 2008 to 2010, then spent the following years writing the biography of Rogers, completing the draft in 2013. He then served as president and chief executive officer of The Pittsburgh Foundation.

During that time he also worked on edits to the book, noting in his 2018 Threshold lecture at Saint Vincent that his “agent and publisher liked [the book] but they didn’t like the structure.”

The draft that followed became the book, which was released just in time for the 50th anniversary of Fred Rogers’ work in childrens’ television and the same year a documentary directed by by Morgan Neville, Won’t You Be My Neighbor? was released. Actor Tom Hanks’ feature film, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, was released in the fall of 2019.

King recounted in an interview with Cristina Rouvalis in Pittsburgh Magazine that when he came to the Fred Rogers Center, where he was tasked with raising funds for the center’s media programming, he “quickly realized something important was missing. ‘Why isn’t there a biography of Fred?’ he asked Rogers’ widow, Joanne. ‘Fred never wanted one,’ Joanne said.” By the time King completed work at the Rogers Center, plans for the biography were in full swing. The rest, as they say, is history.

From left, Peggy and Maxwell King, Dr. Roberta Schomberg, executive director of the Fred Rogers Center at Saint Vincent College, and Archabbot Douglas R. Nowicki, O.S.B., at the Pittsburgher of the Year event.

King is former executive director of the Rogers Center and the author of The Good Neighbor, the biography of Fred Rogers.

Fred Rogers Film, Tom Hanks Garner Award Nominations A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, was chosen by Time magazine as one of the ten best films of the year. Starring actor Tom Hanks, the movie depicts Lloyd Vogel, a journalist for Esquire who is assigned to profile beloved television icon Fred Rogers, a Latrobe native. For his performance, Hanks was nominated at the Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice, Screen Actors Guild Awards, BAFTA Awards and Academy Awards.

Actor Tom Hanks visited the archives at the Fred

Tom Hanks at the Fred Rogers Center with Fred Rogers’ piano.

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Rogers Center at Saint Vincent while conducting research for the film.

In 2018, Nicholas Ma produced a documentary called Won’t You Be My Neighbor? about Fred Rogers. He appeared on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood twice as a child with his father, cellist Yo Yo Ma. That film was nominated for numerous awards, won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary Feature and was chosen by Time magazine as one of its top ten films of 2018.

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Dr. Arcara Thoburn Award Recipient Dr. Daniele Arcara, mathematics professor and chair of the Mathematics Department, was presented with the Thoburn Excellence in Teaching Award at the College’s annual Founders’ Day Vigil and Honors Convocation in the Saint Vincent Basilica on November 14.

The Thoburn Award is made possible by a gift from the late Thomas W. Thoburn Jr. and Tina Thoburn, D.Ed., educators and philanthropists from Ligonier.

Nominations for the award are made by College alumni five to seven years after graduation who are invited to name one member of the faculty who made a significant impact on them through their teaching and personal interactions.

Upon presenting the award, Dr. John Smetanka, vice president for academic affairs and academic dean said that the number of nominations submitted “is a clear indication of the long-lasting impact that our faculty members have on our students.”

During Smetanka’s presentation of the award, he read excerpts from a number of nominations submitted on behalf of Arcara.

“One of the alumni who

Father Paul Taylor, O.S.B., Saint Vincent College president, presents mathematics professor Dr. Daniele Arcara with the Thoburn Excellence in Teaching Award on Founders’ Day. nominated Dr. Arcara wrote that he ‘had a great attitude toward his students and created an environment that prompted learning.’ Another nominator shared that ‘Dr. Arcara’s teaching helped me earn a master’s degree and land a job at one of the top software companies in the nation.’ Finally, another alumnus summed it up best in saying ‘Dr. Arcara is one of the nicest and most selfless people I have met.

He genuinely cared that his students learned and made even an 8 a.m. class interesting.’”

In his acceptance speech, Arcara recalled his first visit to Saint Vincent College in 2005.

“I was interviewing for a job in the math depart-

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ment,” he said. “The day after my interview, I was scheduled to fly out of the Latrobe airport. Brother Norman (Hipps), who was dean at the time, drove me to the Latrobe airport, but the flight was canceled. So, he cleared his schedule and drove me to the airport in Pittsburgh so I could get a flight home. I was grateful for that and thought, ‘wouldn’t it be nice to work at a place where people go out of their way like this to help you out?’ Thankfully, God said yes and made it happen.”

Arcara concluded with two pieces of advice.

“Number one,” he said, “I think Saint Vincent is a great community to be a part of, so let’s make sure we realize that and cherish 17

that. Let’s be thankful for being a part of this community. Number two, we have a great tradition here so let’s keep it going. Make sure we go out of our way every day to help those around us.”

Arcara teaches courses across the curriculum including Abstract Algebra, Dynamics, Complex Variables and Real Analysis. He is also a leader in innovated K-16 mathematics education, conducting regular summer workshops for mathematics teachers.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the Universita’ di Torino in Turin, Italy, and a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Georgia. His research interests are in algebraic geometry.

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2019 Projektenmacher Award: Mark Abramovic Business instructor A. Mark Abramovic was named the winner of the ninth annual Projektenmacher Award in recognition of initiatives that, in the spirit of Saint Vincent founder Archabbot Boniface Wimmer, “brought vision to reality through hard work and perseverance.”

College president Father Paul R. Taylor, O.S.B., presented Abramovic with the honor at the Founders’ Day Vespers and Honors Convocation on November 14 in the Saint Vincent Basilica.

“Wimmer’s brother monks would sometimes

ridicule him about ‘building castles in the skies’ or for being a project maker with unrealistic plans,” said Father Paul. “The nickname ‘Projektenmacher’ was originally given to Boniface Wimmer for someone who lived in a fantasy world.

Thanks be to God, Wimmer’s dream has become a reality. Saint Vincent Archabbey, College and Seminary stand before us strong and vibrant for 173 years. We would not be here without his dreams.

“Professor Abramovic,” he continued, “saw in Saint Benedict and Abbot Boniface Wimmer the character

that makes Saint Vincent strong and that unites our faculty and students in a common bond and common goal for a successful and meaningful life.”

Abramovic teaches finance courses in Saint Vincent College’s Alex G. McKenna School of Business, Economics and Government, including Advanced Corporate Finance, Business Policy and Strategy, Corporate Finance, Entrepreneurial Finance, Mergers and Acquisitions and Personal Financial Planning. In 2008, he received the Excellence in Entrepreneurship Educa-

A. Mark Abramovic received the Projektenmacher Award from Saint Vincent College President Father Paul Taylor, O.S.B., on Founders’ Day.

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tion Award from the Acton Foundation for Entrepreneurial Excellence, while in 2016 he was honored with Saint Vincent College’s Thoburn Excellence in Teaching Award.

Along with his distinguished teaching career at Saint Vincent, Abramovic is the founder of the College’s award-winning Benedictine Leadership Studies (BLS) program, a four-year leadership program based on Saint Vincent’s Catholic, Benedictine heritage, specifically the hallmarks of The Rule of Saint Benedict.

Students accepted into the program maintain a portfolio with samples of their work and self-reflections while taking part in retreat workshops and experiential learning projects and trips, including a week-long excursion to Rome during spring break of their senior years.

BLS fellows take crossdisciplinary courses rooted in leadership, ethics, politics, theology and Benedictine spiritualty. Since its establishment, 25 students have completed the BLS program, and two more who graduated in December. In 2017, the BLS program was recognized with a national award for Best Practices in Student Affairs for mission integration for student activities, leadership and orientation by the Association for Student (Continued on Page 19)

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Projektenmacher

(Continued from Page 18)

Affairs at Catholic Colleges and Universities (ASACCU).

“When I was first notified that I was going to be receiving this award,” Abramovic said, “I had mixed emotions. I was delighted that Benedictine Leadership Studies was being recognized for the good work that it has done and the benefit that it has had for those students who completed the program and to those students who are currently in the program. On the other hand, I was uncomfortable being the person to receive this award. Many people have been involved in making BLS what it has grown to become.”

Abramovic thanked a number of his colleagues who were involved in the initial planning for the BLS program in 2012, including Mary Collins, vice president for student affairs; Bob Baum, dean of students; Courtney Baum, director of the Career and Professional Development Center; Kelly King, director of service learning and outreach; Jym Walters, assistant director of campus life and recreation; and Samantha Firestone, assistant to the dean of students.

Abramovic also expressed gratitude to Father Tom Hart, O.S.B., assistant to the president for mission, and Father Benoit Alloggia, O.S.B., president of the Saint Benedict Education Foundation. “Father

Tom provided excellent counsel regarding the understanding of Benedictine heritage and the Benedictine Hallmarks. I can tell you that I spent hours in his office trying to understand them.

“Father Benoit was a key player in the development of the capstone course in Rome. For most students in the program, this is the highlight of their four-year exercises and in many ways, it has become a life-altering experience for them.”

Abramovic’s biggest thank you was for the entire Benedictine community at Saint Vincent, for its unwavering support of the program. “You have served as great role models,” he said, “by publicly living the core values instilled from The Rule of Saint Benedict, which have become the hallmarks of the Benedictine Leadership Studies program … We hope we have made you proud.”

Abramovic holds a bachelor of science degree in accounting from Penn State University and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh. Prior to joining the Saint Vincent faculty, he had a 30-year career working for four different New York Stock Exchangelisted companies in the oil and natural gas industry, including 15 years as a CFO and five years as president and COO for NUI Corporation in Bedminster, New Jersey.

Saint Vincent Magazine

Dr. Janet Franicola receiving the Teacher Educator of the Year Award from Dr. George Drake, PAC-TE President.

Teacher Educator Honor Dr. Janet Franicola, assistant professor of education and assistant chair of the Education Department, was named the Teacher Educator of the Year by the Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators (PAC-TE) at the association’s fall conference in Harrisburg.

The award is the highest given by the organization, recognizing individuals who have directly participated in and contributed to the preparation of candidates for teacher certification in Pennsylvania.

A member of the faculty for 11 years, Franicola teaches at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, while she is heavily involved with the observation and mentoring of adjunct faculty members.

Previously, Franicola was an administrator in the Norwin School District, most recently serving as the 19

assistant superintendent of elementary education. She was nominated for the PACTE honor by Dr. Veronica Ent, chair of the Education Department.

“As a member of PAC-TE for 16 years and consistent presenter and presider,” Ent stated, “I believe that Dr. Franicola is one of the strongest and most dedicated teacher educators I have ever known. She has been instrumental in preparing our teachers to be the best.”

PAC-TE is a nonprofit association for those engaged in the preparation and development of professional educators. It is dedicated to providing advocacy for professional educator preparation, promoting quality professional education preparation programs and providing opportunity for individual professional growth for all persons in Pennsylvania engaged in educator preparation.

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Senate Confirms David Novak, C’83, To U.S. District Court

By Jim Berger

In October, the Hon. David J. Novak, C’83, achieved a professional milestone when he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as an Article III judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. His confirmation, by an overwhelming Senate vote of 89-3, was the latest accomplishment in a distinguished career, the roots of which were laid early on in his undergraduate career at Saint Vincent College.

“As a kid, I was interested in law, but didn’t know much about it,” Novak recalled. “I took a class with Bruce Antkowiak, who at the time was in the U.S. Attorney’s office, and I was just blown away. He would tell us stories about what he did as a federal prosecutor and I just thought to myself, ‘this is exactly what I want to do.’”

Now the chair of the Criminology Department and head legal counsel at Saint Vincent, Antkowiak remembers Novak as an outstanding student with a bright future.

“He was a very, very talented student,” Antkowiak said. “I could see it right away. There are certain people who have as much inside of them to

be a lawyer as others might have it in them to follow a religious calling.

Whenever you see that in someone, I feel that it’s imperative to point it out to them. That was David.”

After graduating from Saint Vincent with high honors and earning the Political Science Department Award for Academic Excellence, Novak attended the Villanova School of Law. Novak felt wellprepared for the rigors of law school, thanks to his experience at SVC. “I knew that Saint Vincent had me ready,” he said. “Early on, I had (Dr.) Bill Snyder for a writing professor. He destroyed my writing, but I remember that it really helped me when I went to law school. I remember distinctly as a first-year student at Villanova, we’d talk about where we came from, and I’d hear so many others talking about their big schools. It was readily apparent to me that the education I received at Saint Vincent—with small classes and where writing and discussion are important—really had me ready, and I’m grateful.”

Upon earning his J.D., Novak worked as an assistant district attorney in Philadelphia, an experience that he

The Pittsburgh-based global investment manager Federated Investors has changed its name to Fedearated Hermes Inc. The firm’s chairman is J. Christopher Donahue, who is chairman of the Saint Vincent College Board of Directors. The move ties to Federated taking a majority stake in London-based Hermes Fund Managers Ltd. in July 2018. As of September 30, the firm had $527.2 billion in assets under management. It employs about 1,900 around the world. Based in downtown Pittsburgh, it was founded in 1955.

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feels was invaluable in the advancement of his career.

He then joined the U.S. Department of Justice and for three years was assigned to the Southern District of Texas on the Mexican border, where he regularly prosecuted the Mexican drug cartels. This led to his move to Richmond, Virginia, and a position as prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of Virginia.

“At the time, the Richmond area had the second-highest murder rate per capita in the country,” he said. “Murders were out of control. I was put in charge of the cold homicide task force, working with the FBI, Richmond police and Virginia State Police going after gangs that were killing people and selling drugs.”

Novak’s extensive experience in prosecuting capital crimes led to the biggest case of his career, the prosecution of Zacarias Moussaoui, who pleaded guilty of conspiring with Al Qaeda in the September 11 attacks.

Novak is humbled by his selection as one of three prosecutors in the largest criminal investigation in U.S. history.

In 2010, Novak was elevated to Chief of the Criminal Division in the Eastern District of Virginia, supervising all criminal investigations in a district that encompasses Alexandria, Richmond, Norfolk and Newport News, before being named a U.S. Magistrate judge in the Richmond Division of the U.S. District Court in February 2012.

In March 2019, Novak was nominated for a seat as an Article III judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate by a landslide vote.

Novak, whose nephew, Ryan, is a 2016 SVC graduate, remains grateful for the strong, liberal arts foundation he received at his alma mater.

“I’m proud of my time at Saint Vincent,” he said. “It’s a rock-solid place that cares about its students. By taking one class, Bruce changed my whole life. The power of that is immense.”

Fall 2019

Don Miller Book Receives Award Hailed as “a magnificent book, certainly one of the very best ever written about the Civil War,” Donald L. Miller’s Vicksburg: Grant’s Campaign That Broke the Confederacy, was awarded the prestigious Fletcher Pratt Award, presented annually as the outstanding non-fiction book on the American Civil War published during the course of the calendar year. Previous winners include such Civil War lu-

minaries as Ron Chernow, John Waugh, James M. McPherson, David Donald, William McFeely, Allan Nevins, Edward Coddington, Allen Guelzo, Bruce Catton, Amanda Foreman and Shelby Foote. The awards ceremony and dinner is scheduled in Manhattan for May 12, 2020.

Miller is the New York Times bestselling author of ten books, the John Henry MacCracken Emeritus Professor of History at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania and is one of the most respected authorities on World War II, the Civil War and Modern U.S. History.

His books have been nomi-

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nated for, and won many awards and he is a frequent consulDonald L. Miller, tant and C’66, H’93 adviser on historical productions, including those for PBS and HBO. His book, Supreme City: How Jazz Age Manhattan Gave Birth to Modern America, his history of New York City in the 1920s, was dedicated to the late Charles Manoli, P’45, C’51, H’05, one of Miller’s influences when he was a student at Saint Vincent.

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Eulalia Books Makes The New Yorker Saint Vincent College’s small publishing press, Eulalia Books, is celebrating its first publication in the New Yorker. The poem, “Sixty,” is a translation from Uruguayan poet Fabian Severo’s collection “Night in the North” and was included in the iconic magazine’s Decenber 2 issue. It was translated by Laura Cesarco Eglin and Jesse Lee Kercheval.

Eulalia Books is a small publishing press run by Michelle Gil-Montero, professor of English.

Fall 2019

Accounting Graduates Excel On Exam

Graduates of Saint Vincent College’s Alex G. McKenna School of Business, Economics and Government continue to excel in their performance on the Certified Public Accounting Examination.

According to a report issued by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), the first-time pass rate of recent SVC accounting graduates who took the CPA Examination in 2018 ranked 32nd nationally among 242 institutions in the small program category, comprised of schools with 10-20 candidates.

This is the third straight year in which McKenna School graduates have garnered high marks. In 2017, SVC ranked 24th out of 281 institutions for first-time pass rate among medium programs, while in 2016, SVC ranked 21st nationally among all 885 U.S. institutions participating.

In the recently released 2018 rankings, Saint Vincent finished among the top performers in the state of Pennsylvania among schools with at least 10 CPA candidates, while nationally, SVC bested institutions including Columbia University, all Penn State campuses and Ohio State University, among others.

From left, Saint Vincent College President Father Paul R. Taylor, O.S.B.; David Hollenbaugh; Alec Wehler; Kendra Smithbauer; John Kowach, vice chairman and executive director of the A. J. and Sigismunda Palumbo Charitable Trust; Mary Rae Kowach, administrative assistant of the A. J. and Sigismunda Palumbo Charitable Trust; Nathan Porter; Emily Prencipe; and Saint Vincent Archabbot Douglas R. Nowicki, O.S.B.

Palumbo Scholars Meet Trust Representatives Representatives from the A. J. and Sigismunda Palumbo Charitable Trust had an opportunity to meet with four A. J. Palumbo, P.C.M. (Poor Coal Miner) Scholars at Saint Vincent College on November 4 at a luncheon hosted by Archabbot Douglas R. Nowicki, O.S.B., and Saint Vincent College President Father Paul R. Taylor, O.S.B. The scholars recognized

include Nathan Porter, a senior physics education major from Kersey and graduate of Ridgway High School; Emily Prencipe, a junior integrated scienceallied health major from Ridgway and graduate of Ridgway High School; Kendra Smithbauer, a sophomore marketing major from St. Marys and graduate of Elk County Catholic High School; and Alec Wehler, a

New Music Education Program Saint Vincent has announced the addition of a music education certification program for undergraduate students to start in fall 2020. The program of study will allow students to develop high-level music skills and learn the art of teaching. Music education candidates will pursue a bachelor of arts degree in music in an undergraduate program well-known for its offerings in sacred music education and vocal performance. Students will enroll in courses that encompass all aspects of music history, theory and methods. For teacher certification, students will receive training in pupil advancement, assessment, management, instructional strategy and curriculum development, and gain field experience as pre-student and student teachers. Demand for music educators is expected to grow by more than 12 percent across the U.S. over the next six years.

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freshman mathematics education major from St. Marys and graduate of Elk County Catholic High School.

The students were each awarded $25,000 scholarships as part of the A. J. Palumbo, P.C.M. Scholars Program designed to pay tribute to A. J. Palumbo’s extraordinary life and career by honoring students with exemplary academic and leadership potential.

The Palumbo Scholars embody the strong work ethic, ethical principles and intellectual talent that made Palumbo a successful businessman, respected community leader and selfless philanthropist who referred to himself as a P.C.M. and stated that the lessons he learned from his early days in the coal mines guided him throughout his lifetime.

His personal philosophy of the P.C.M. is that success is achieved through hard work, common sense and perseverance.

Fall 2019

Veterans Scholarships Awarded

Four Saint Vincent Colin New Mexico and was deployed to Quatar and lege students—Andrea Afghanistan.

Gross, Nicholas Rega, Snyder is a sophomore Dowry Snyder and Eugene criminology, law and soYeo—were awarded Veterans Scholarships at a Mass ciety major. A specialist to commemorate military in the U.S. Army, he was veterans on November 8. stationed at Fort Bragg, Richard J. Schulte, P’64, North Carolina, as a part of C’68, spearheaded the the 82nd Airborne Division, scholarship initiative.

1st Brigade, 3/73 Calvary, Taking part in the Heinz Field surprise of scholarships A senior integrated Alpha Troop, Third Platoon. for two Saint Vincent College students and ROTC cadets science-allied health major, Yeo is pursuing a master were, from left, Dr. Eric Kocian, associate professor of Gross is a sergeant in of divinity degree at Saint criminology, law and society; junior Anthony Meneses; the U.S. Army National Vincent Seminary. A native Father Paul R. Taylor, O.S.B., college president; Guard, now stationed in of Wyoming, New York, he sophomore Noah Lynch and Lt. Col. Faith Chamberlain.

Pittsburgh. Gross plans on served in the U.S. Army becoming a civilian X-ray from 2007-12 in the first technologist. cavalry division and was Rega, a sophomore deployed to Mosul, Baghphilosophy major, served dad and Al-Kut. He earned Instead, with 10 minutes, in the U.S. Air Force for six Two Saint Vincent College a bachelor of arts degree 40 seconds remaining in students and ROTC cadets years, reaching the rank in classical rhetoric from the third quarter, they were of staff sergeant. He was received the surprise of a Duquesne University and each presented with full lifetime when they were stationed at Nellis Air Force has also studied at the tuition scholarships in front Base in Nevada, Kunsan Air Byzantine Catholic Semiawarded full-tuition scholof 62,000 fans by Saint arships in front of more Force Base in South Korea nary of Saints Cyril and Vincent College presithan 62,000 fans during and Cannon Air Force Base Methodius. the November 3 football dent Father Paul R. Taylor, game between the PittsO.S.B., and Dr. Eric Kocian, Saint Vincent’s ROTC adburgh Steelers and the visiting Indianapolis Colts viser and associate profesat Heinz Field. sor of criminology, law and Junior Anthony Mensociety.

Beginning in the fall 2020 semester, Saint Vincent Lynch will officially coneses, a criminology, law will offer academic majors in business data analytics and society major from tract with the ROTC in the and data science, programs that will successfully Covina, California, and spring. He plans to become prepare students for employment in one of the fastest sophomore Noah Lynch, an a combat medic in the U.S. growing job sectors in the country. integrated science/allied Army, before eventually Students in the data science major will develop skills health major from Mount becoming a physician’s asfrom the fields of computer science, applied math and Pleasant, thought that they sistant or nurse practitioner statistics to extract insights from data and develop had received invitations in the Army. processes and models to analyze data. Business data to the game in order to Meneses is scheduled analytics students will develop skills in business and be present for the on-field to be commissioned into statistics to make data-driven decisions, with an recognition of their ROTC the National Guard in May emphasis on identifying trends and creating clear and commander, Lt. Col. Faith 2021 as a military policeinformative visual presentation of data.

Chamberlain, as part of man and will then pursue a Both of these fields are growing rapidly and offer the Steelers ATI Salute to career in law enforcement strong opportunities for job placement and income.

Service initiative. in the Pittsburgh area.

Heinz Field Surprise

Business, Data Science Majors Coming In Fall

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Fall 2019

The men’s cross country team and coaches display the conference championship banner. Pictured are front, from left, Geoffrey Goldman, Collin Wilson, Frankie King, Jeremy Capella, Stephen Karavitch; back, from left, Head Coach Dr. Andrew Herr, Joe LaForest, Adam Petrovich, Darius Hinton, Jake Mercer, Calvin Dziewulski, Will Greene, Tyler Laughery, Steve Patterson, Justin Densmore, David Swisher, Eli Urban, Assistant Coach/Women’s Head Coach Kevin Wanichko.

Men’s Cross Country Team Captures PAC Championship “I really didn’t anticipate that. Will had a great race, he Behind a first-place finish by senior Will Greene, the pretty much led from the gun. Then we had a pack of men’s cross country team captured the 2019 Presidents’ guys, Frankie, Tyler and Steve, who just Athletic Conference Championship, settled into that next pack and ended up winning the event held in New Wilmington, in the top five. Really, it was better than I Pennsylvania. expected.”

Greene was first among a trio of The team victory was the first for Bearcats that captured the top three Saint Vincent since 2016, when the team spots, timed in 26:10. His dominant completed a string of seven consecutive performance earned him PAC Runner PAC crowns. In 2017, the Bearcats of the Year honors, as he finished 52 finished third, and followed with a runnerseconds ahead of second place Frankie King up finish in 2018.

(27:02). Third across the line was Tyler The Bearcat harriers advanced to the Laughery in 27:10. They were joined as NCAA Mideast Regional hosted by Lehigh All-PAC First Team performers by Steve University. The team finished 14th among Patterson, who was fifth in 27:24.

Will Greene a field of 51 teams.

Calvin Dziewulski and Justin Densmore King led the Bearcats with a 44th overall finish as earned All-PAC Honorable Mention honors by finishing in he crossed the line in 26:02.8. Laughery finished in 14th (28:06) and 15th (28:07), respectively.

26:15.6, good enough for 59th. Patterson completed the Rounding out the top-7 for the Bearcats was Jeremy race in 26:35.4 while Greene and Densmore were the Capella, who finished 21st in 28:33. other two scoring runners. Greene finished with a time “I was very pleased with the way the guys ran, taking of 26:54.1 while Densmore ran a 27:03.6. four of the top five places,” said head coach Andy Herr.

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WINTER 2020

Women’s Volleyball Reaches Second Round In Conference Playoffs The Saint Vincent women’s volleyball team made it to the second round of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference playoffs in 2019 as the fourth seed. It was the team’s first tournament appearance since 2013.

Sweeping Thiel on the road, the team achieved its first conference playoff win since 2010 in straight sets before losing at Westminster in the semifinals. Saint Vincent ended with an overall record of 16-18 while going 10-6 in PAC play.

Against Thiel, senior Sarah Wozniak had 16 kills and three blocks, junior Madison Reeping 11 kills, and sophomore Caitlyn

Figuly nine kills and four blocks. Freshmen Carly Augustine and Sierra Widmar tallied double-digit assists as they finished with 22 and 18, respectively.

Freshman Madi Marsico and junior Hannah Devine had 20 digs. Against Westminster, Augustine led with seven kills while Wozniak and freshman Becca Miller added six each.

Augustine had 11 assists and 15 digs and Widmar had 12 assists and 13 digs.

Five players were recognized on the Presidents’ Athletic Conference All-Conference Teams. Wozniak was named All-PAC First Team. Wozniak

finished first in overall kills (344), second in hitting percentage (.281) and third in points per set (3.55). The Uniontown native led the Bearcats with 89 blocks and was third on the team with 24 aces.

Augustine and Reeping were selected to the All-PAC Second Team. Augustine led Saint Vincent with 591 assists while totaling 326 digs and and a hitting percentage of .199. Reeping finished second on the team in kills (263), points per set (2.60) and block (53).

Marsico earned All-PAC Honorable Mention as she led the team in digs (614) and digs per set (5.07).

The Olmsted Falls, Ohio native tallied 27 aces, second on the team. Junior Danielle Zemba represented Saint Vincent on the PAC Sportsmanship Team.

Wozniak was also named to the 2019 Academic AllDistrict Volleyball team as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). A physics major, she was named to the District Four First-Team. A four-year starter and team captain in 2019, she was also named an Honorable Mention AllPAC selection in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Wozniak was named to the PAC Academic Honor Roll four times.

Senior Sarah Wozniak gets one of her six kills past the outstretched arms of two Westminster blockers in the second round of the conference playoffs.

Saint Vincent Magazine

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WINTER 2020

SPORTS ROUNDUP

David Stephen

Cletus Helton

Shemar Bennett

MENS’ BASKETBALL

The Presidents’ Athletic Conference race was a close one in early Febraury as Saint Vincent began the meat of its schedule. Five teams were only one game apart in the standings at press time. Under head coach Terrance Smith the team is averaging 72.6 points per game.

Junior guard David Stephen leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.4 points per game. Junior forward Shemar Bennett has twice been named Player of the Week in the PAC, averaging 14.8 points and a team-leading 10 rebounds per game. Against Bethany, Bennett had a career high 19 rebounds, in addition to 22 points.

Strong defense led to the Bearcats pulling out a close one against Bethany with Cletus Helton putting the team ahead 67-66 with less than a minute left. Helton finished second in scoring with 18, followed by Stephen with 14 in the victory.

Against Waynesburg, the Bearcats fought back from a 48-31 deficit to take the game into overtime, before dropping a 73-68 decision to the Yellow Jackets.

Kayla Grudinsky

Jessica Guesman Meghan Christman

BOWLING

The women’s bowling team picked up three wins over visiting La Roche University, to finish the first half of its season with a record of 36-4.

Meghan Christman led the way in Baker play with a perframe average of 17.26, or a game equivalent of 172.6.

She was followed by Jessica Guesman (17.12) and Kayla Grudinsky (16.12). At press time Saint Vincent held one of the highest winning percentages in the NCAA. Saint Vincent Magazine

TENNIS

Six Bearcats were named to the All-Presidents’ Athletic Conference Women’s Tennis Teams. The PAC announced its all-conference teams, along with this year’s sportsmanship team selections, after a vote of the league’s eight head coaches.

Sophomore Maura Skelley earned First Team honors at singles and First Team in doubles with her partner freshman Angela Popovich. Popovich was also named Second Team for her performance at singles.

Senior Livia Wentworth and freshman Abby Jo Stull claimed Honorable Mention honors in singles action while the combination of Stull and senior Kate Palko received Honorable Mention accolades for second doubles. Senior Jessica Hartner represented Saint Vincent on the PAC Women’s Tennis Sportsmanship Team.

Christian Witchey

Mike Stasko

FOOTBALL

Maura Skelley

Angela Popovich

Colton Belmont

The Presidents’ Athletic Conference announced its AllPAC football teams and annual award winners. The AllPAC teams and yearly award winners are determined by vote of the league’s 10 head coaches.

Eight members of the Saint Vincent College football team were honored by the conference and its coaches.

Senior punter Christian Witchey was named All-PAC First Team. Witchey led the PAC in punting average with 38.7 yards and a season long of 66.

Juniors Mike Stasko and Colton Belmont were listed as AllPAC Second Team. Stasko broke the single season record for rushing yards (912), rushing touchdowns (10) and total touchdowns (12) in the modern era of SVC football.

The Lehighton, Pennsylvania, native finished second in the conference with 90.7 yards per game.

On the All-PAC Honorable Mention team, seniors Izaak Gray and Cody Henry along with juniors Bruce Johnson and Cam Norris represented the Bearcats well. Senior Quincy Mays was named to the PAC Sportsmanship Team.

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Maddy Pollick

Sean Knipp

Sydney Green

Eduardo Richa

SOCCER

Members of both Saint Vincent College men’s and women’s soccer teams were honored as the Presidents’ Athletic Conference released its All-Conference Teams.

Junior Maddy Pollick was named All-PAC Honorable Mention as a defender while junior goalkeeper, Abigail Johnson represented the Bearcats on the PAC Sportsmanship Team. Pollick started all 16 matches for Saint Vincent with a total of four shots and two shots on goal. Johnson appeared in all 16 matches with 14 starts in net as she made 128 saves with a goal against average of 3.01. The women finished 2-6 in the conference and 2-14 overall.

On the men’s side, freshmen Sean Knipp and Eduardo Richa were recognized by the PAC as they were named Honorable Mention. Knipp appeared in 17 matches with 16 starts as a defender for the Bearcats. Knipp totaled 11 shots with five ending on goal. For Richa, he finished second on the team with three goals and tallied 25 shots with 13 on goal.

Junior Frank Singer was the Saint Vincent representative on the PAC Sportsmanship Team. Singer appeared in 17 matches for SVC as he scored a goal with 16 shots and five on goal. The men were 1-5-2 in the conference and 2-13-3 overall.

TRACK

Saint Vincent was picked to finish tied for fifth on the men’s side and seventh for the women in indoor track and field in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference. For the men, the Bearcats finished the 2018-19 season sixth overall.

Three runners participated in the Youngstown State University Icebreaker Meet. Sydney Green and Jessica Brinker represented the Frankie King women’s team while Frankie King ran for the men. Green finished 12th while Brinker was 20th in the 5000-meter run. King was sixth overall in the 3000-meter race.

Both teams returned to action in mid-January.

Saint Vincent Magazine

Jessica Gibson

Jessica Brinker

CROSS COUNTRY

After finishing fifth out of nine teams in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Championship, the women’s cross country team finished 21st out of 49 teams in the NCAA Mideast Regionals, held at Lehigh University. Saint Vincent was paced by Sydney Green, who completed the course in 23:24.1 and finished 77th. Jessica Gibson was the second Bearcat to cross the line as she ran a 23:46.3 while Jessica Brinker ended two positions behind Gibson as Brinker finished in 23:53.5.

Danielle Butler and Alissa Beam rounded out the scoring for Saint Vincent as they ran 24:16.1 and 24:59.4, respectively.

This was the first time Saint Vincent College had three runners finish in the top 100 at the Mideast Regional.

Gibson became the seventh best performer in school history with her time while Brinker became the 10th overall best performer in school history.

SWIMMING

Both the men’s and women’s swim teams started the season strong, the men have a 3-2 conference record (3-6 overall), and the women a 4-1 conference record (6-3 overall).

Two swimmers were honored by the Presidents’ Athletic Conference as rookie of the week for the week ending November 24, freshmen Chris Chris Bush Bush and Lauren Connors.

At the Franklin & Marshall Invitational Bush finished 14th in the 400 IM, 20th in the 200 breaststroke and 23rd in the 500 freestyle. Both of his times in the 400 IM and 500 ranked third in the PAC while his time in the 200 breaststroke was fifth.

Lauren Connors Connors posted the PAC’s fastest time in the 200 backstroke. She finished fourth in the 200 IM, the second-best time in the league.

In the 100 butterfly, her time was third-best in the league, while her split as the leadoff swimmer in 400 free relay ranked as the PAC’s third-best time in the 100 free.

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MEN’S BOWLING PROGRAM RETURNS AFTER 38 YEARS Saint Vincent will add intercollegiate men’s bowling to its athletic program in the fall of 2020. The team will have club status and will be coached by Jeff Zidek, C’90, who also serves as the head coach of the college’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) women’s bowling program. The program will return after a 38-year hiatus and remains the only one in Saint Vincent history to win a national title, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) championship in 1978, under the tutelage of the late Brother Patrick Lacey, O.S.B.

WOMENS’ BASKETBALL

Jenna Lafko

Madison Kollar

Saint Vincent Magazine

After receiving five of nine first place votes from the Presidents’ Athletic Conference head coaches in a preseason poll, the women’s basketball team was voted as the favorite to take first. The team’s play thus far reflects that vote. At 14-6 overall and a 10-1 in conference play at press time, the team is led by Madison Kollar with a 16 point per game average, followed

by Jenna Lafko at 13.6 points per game. The team is averaging 74.5 points a game with an average 14.9 scoring margin.

Jenna Lafko was twice named the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Player of the Week this season. A junior guard from Gibsonia, she equaled her career high with 26 points against Washington & Jefferson, shooting 62.5 percent from the floor and 8 of 9 at the free throw line.

In a high-scoring game they defeated Waynesburg 96-86.

Lafko and Kayla Slovenec each scored a team-high 18 points with both grabbing five rebounds. Bri Van Volkenburg scored 15 points off the bench and Taylor Boring added 10 as well. Kollar and Carlee Kilgus both finished in double digits with 11 and 10, respectively. Saint Vincent outrebounded Waynesburg 45-34.

Earlier this season, the team defeated Penn State-Altoona 108-83, the team’s highest single-game point total since scoring 114 points in a February 2014 game against Bethany College.

Lafko tallied 26 points in that effort.

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ALUMNI & FRIENDS

A SAINT VINCENT TRADITION

Saint Vincent Gristmill millers and the years they served, from left, Father Michael Antonacci, O.S.B., C’07, S’14, 2012-2013; Father Joseph M. Adams, O.S.B., C’01, S’09, 1997-2001; Brother Anselm Zhang, O.S.B., 2019-present; Father Paul R. Taylor, C’87, S’92, 1988-1990; and Brother Andrew Kim, O.S.B., assistant. (See page 30 for story).

Alumni Calendar Of Events TOPGOLF Alumni Event TOPGOLF Pittsburgh, Bridgeville

Sunday, March 22 • 2 to 6 p.m. • $55 RSVP: www.stvincent.edu/alumni

Harrisburg Presidential Event, AACA Museum, Hershey

Thursday, March 26 • 6 to 8 p.m.

RSVP: 724-805-2568

A Bearcat Night Out

Saint Vincent College Saturday, March 28 • 5 to 10 p.m.

RSVP: Melissa.Intrepido@stvincent.edu

Local Alumni Lunch

Saint Vincent College Friday, April 13 • Noon to 1 p.m. • $10 Guest Speaker: Dr. Susan Sommers, professor of history RSVP: 724-805-2568

Washington D.C./Virginia Presidential Event, Port City Brewing, Co., Alexandria, VA

Thursday, April 15 • 6 to 8 p.m.

RSVP: 724-805-2568

Local Alumni Lunch

Saint Vincent College Friday, May 8 • Noon to 1 p.m. • $10 Guest Speaker: Kelly King, director of Service Learning RSVP: 724-805-2568

Alumni and Friends Golf Outing

Champion Lakes, Bolivar and Latrobe Elks Golf Courses, shotgun starts Friday, June 5 • 10 a.m. • Champion Lakes • 11 a.m. Latrobe Elks • 3:30 p.m. cocktail hour, Fred Rogers Center, 5 p.m., dinner RSVP: 724-805-2568

Local Alumni Lunch

Saint Vincent College Friday, June 12 • Noon to 1 p.m. • $10 Guest Speaker: Courtney Baum, director of Career Services RSVP: 724-805-2568

Prep Reunion

Pleasure Acres Farm, New Alexandria Saturday, June 13 • Noon to 4 p.m., Social • 4 to 5 p.m., Mass RSVP: 724-805-2568

Summer Theatre Gala

Saint Vincent College Friday, June 26 • 5 p.m., Dinner • 7 p.m., The Sound Of Music RSVP: 724-805-2656

Benedictine Tradition At Saint Vincent Gristmill The Benedictine tradition at the Saint Vincent Gristmill dates to the days of Archabbot Boniface Wimmer, who orchestrated its construction in 1854. Since that time Benedictine monks have ground grain for its continuous operation, using the same technology that has been in place since the gristmill was constructed.

Like many traditions, the mill’s operation is passed from generation to generation of Benedictines. Recently, Benedictine alumni performed a unique inspection on the millstone, checking to ensure that it remained in balance for grinding precision.

Father Michael Antonacci, O.S.B., C’07, S’14, now assistant professor of physics, was assistant miller from 2008 to 2012, then miller from 2012 to 2013. He noted that he became interested in how things work when he served there, after learning how to operate the mill from the late Father Francis Ehnat, S’12, who preceded him as miller.

Recently Brother Anselm Zhang, O.S.B., who became miller in 2019, became concerned about the precision of the millstone, and brought it to the attention of the Gristmill Committee, which includes College President

DR. RAGAN PANELIST ON VELVET REVOLUTION On November 20, Dr. James Ragan, C’66, was a panelist for the discussion “The Velvet Revolution 30 Years Later: Promises, Legacies and Challenges” at Loyola Marymount University.

The panelists recalled the dynamics of the Velvet Revolution and the subsequent transition to democracy, as well as the contemporary political challenges, in the Czech Republic and Central Europe.

Dr. Ragan was joined on the panel by film director Pavlina Moskalyková; United Nations ambassador and 2006 Miss World Tatiana Gregor Brzobohatá; special envoy Václav Bartuska; and Jan Bubeník, leader of student protestors during the Velvet Revolution.

Saint Vincent Magazine

Father Paul R. Taylor, O.S.B., C’87, S’92, and Father Joseph M. Adams, O.S.B., C’01, S’09. Father Paul has been involved with the Gristmill’s operation since his days as a junior monk, and continues to be involved to the present-day, as time permits. He was the miller from 1988 to 1990. Father Joseph served as miller from 1997 to 2001.

The millstones each weigh one ton. The bottom stone is mounted on a platform and is motionless. An axle propels a drive bar, which protrudes through the middle of the bottom stone. The top stone rests above the bottom stone and spins when in operation, propelled by the drive bar.

The stones grind at their best when only 1/100 of an inch apart. Thus, the millstones must be balanced.

Typically, Father Michael said, the millstones are covered so that when flour is ground it can be guided into a chute and collected. The grain is fed through the center of the top stone, and is cut, not crushed. The flour travels along furrows in the buhrstone, from center to edges, as the top stone spins.

To read more about the gristmill and its history, refer to the book The Saint Vincent Archabbey Gristmill and Brewery, 1854-2000, by the late Father Omer U. Kline, O.S.B. P’41, C’46, S’49. It is available at www. stvincentstore.com.

DR. BEAMAN SPEAKS ON MEDICINE, FAITH Saint Vincent College’s ninth year of talks on Spirituality and Aging featured a discussion on the intersection of medicine and spirituality, led by Dr. Shawn Beaman, C’98. Beaman is chief anesthesiologist at UPMC Presbyterian University Hospital.

He spoke about what it means to be a medical doctor and a man of faith, where conflicts may arise as science and faith can often be seen in some tension. He also explored the place of faith in healing, not only spiritual but physical, as well, and explored the place of prayer in the lives of both patients and physicians.

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Class News

1960s Robert “Bob/Chicks” Stefanik, P’61, C’66, and his wife, Donna, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on June 21. Bob writes: “Best Thing Ever!”

Deacon William J. Hisker, Ph.D, P’65, C’69, S’05, and his

From left, Father Michael Antonacci, O.S.B., C’07, S’14; Dr. Michael Williams, C’01, and Father Paul R. Taylor, O.S.B., C’87, S’92.

PHYSICS PROFESSOR RETURNS TO ALMA MATER Dr. Michael Williams, C’01, professor of physics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, recently delivered a presentation to a group of students and

Births Kara Walker to Valerie (Rogers) Walker, C’08, and her husband, Gregory Walker on October 3, 2019. She joins two older brothers.

Emma Therese Waldow was born on September 29, 2019, to Daniel R. Waldow, C’12, and his wife, Mary Kate (Kenna) Waldow, C’13. Emma joins big brother, Peter.

faculty members in the Herbert W. Boyer School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Computing.

Williams, who graduated with degrees in mathematics and physics, recently received tenure and a promotion to associate professor of physics at MIT. His presentation at the Boyer School was entitled “Discovering the Fundamental Structure of Matter and Energy—Insights from CERN.” Williams is both an expert in high-energy experimental physics and in developing systems to quickly analyze vast quantities of data produced in experiments at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research.

A graduate of Hempfield Area High School, Williams earned his Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University, before performing postdoctoral research at Imperial College, London, for four years. He has been on the MIT faculty since July 2012.

Saint Vincent Magazine

wife, Vera, recently celebrated their golden wedding anniversary! Congratulations!

1970s Dr. Dennis Nebel, C’73, longtime executive director of the Human Services Center, has retired. At the Rehabilitation and Community Providers Association (RCPA) 2019 Fall Annual Conference in Hershey, Dr. Nebel received the association’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

He also was the recipient of the 2012 Jack Butz Humanitarian Award in Lawrence County.

1980s Michael J. Rubino, C’81, represented Saint Vincent College at the inauguration of Dr. Roger W. Davis as ninth president of Beaver County Community College on September 27, 2019.

John V. Antinori, C’87, after working in New York City for the past 25 years, most recently as director of “total customer experience” at IBM, was hired as Latrobe’s new city manager.

James J. Palerino, D.M.D., C’87, retired in February of 2019 from the U.S. Public Service after 24 years of service.

The firm of Atty. Daniel Lynch, C’89, owner and managing partner of The Lynch Law Group, LLC, Cranberry Township, was chosen as one of the Top

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50 Fastest Growing Companies in Pittsburgh for the second year in a row. The firm also won honors for Best Places to Work in Pittsburgh.

1990s Sean F. McClain, C’96, is the new chief executive officer of Pittsburgh-based Montauk Energy. Montauk Energy specializes in the collection of natural gas from landfill methane.

Edward R. “Eddie” Howe, C’98, a Curbell Plastics employee for more than 20 years, has been promoted to regional director. He will be responsible for sales and service teams in Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Florida and Virginia. Eddie has helped countless customers find practical solutions for their unique needs including material selection, stocking, cutting, and fabrication. He is a strong leader who works tirelessly to ensure those he manages have the tools to succeed. Eddie Howe was recently awarded the highest honor Curbell bestows— the True Blue Award. True Blue recipients are the best examples of individuals who consistently put the company, its customers and employees first in all they do, year after year.

2000s Grant A. Berry, C’06, has joined Eckert Seamans in the firm’s Pittsburgh Office. Berry helps clients buy, sell, invest in and finance various businesses and properties. As a transactional attorney, he has worked with clients on a wide variety of WINTER 2020

commercial transactions, including acquisitions, divestitures, mergers, financings, reorganizations and joint ventures. He has assisted with all aspects of negotiating, documenting, and closing the deal.

Dana M. (Puglisi) Winters, Ph.D., C’06, assistant professor of child and family studies and director of Simple Interactions and academic programming at the Fred Rogers Center at Saint Vincent College addressed a worldwide audience in Finland.

Jinny A. (Morgan) Kcehowski, C’07, has been promoted to associate director of training and development for Curbell Plastics. Since 2009, Jinny has been

Condolences Jerome P. Eidemiller, P 46, on the loss of his wife, Mary Eidemiller, on October 28, 2019.

Donald J. McNulty, C’68, on the death of his mother, Della R. McNulty, on November 17, 2019.

T. Michael “Mike” Moleski, P’63, C’68, on the loss of his brother, David Moleski, on September 18, 2019.

Dr. William C. Snyder, C’73, professor of English, Robert M. Snyder, C’77, and Rebecca Snyder, C’96, on the loss of their mother, and her motherinn-law, Mary B. Snyder, on December 15, 2019.

David Trentin, C’78, and Joel Trentin, C 20, on the loss of their mother and grandmother, respectively, Joan Andrews, on July 19, 2019.

John J. Quinn, Ph.D., C’81 and Anna Quinn Holloway, C’84, on the death of their father, Dr. Dennis P. Quinn, on December 20, 2019.

Atty. William L. Kohler, Jr., C’84, and Catherine Kohler,

leading the training initiatives companywide with award winning results. She was instrumental in automating the company’s first comprehensive onboarding program, implementing a formal Train the Trainer program, “flipping the classroom” for two of Curbell’s legacy instructorled training programs, and increasing overall user adoption and engagement on the company’s learning management system. In her new role Jinny will be responsible for partnering with the senior management

of Missouri with his Ph.D. in July 2019 and was hired to work on the Living Repository of the Arizona State Constitution Project at ASU.

2010s

Evan M. Thomas, C’19, is cur-

Aaron R. Kushner, C’13,

Jo-Anne S. Thompson, C’14, is an attorney with McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC in their Energy and Environmental Law Practice Group.

Patrick D. Wilkinson, C’14, completed his Ph.D. in cellular and molecular pathology in the School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh in 2019.

rently a financial professional with New York Life.

graduated from the University

Michelle (Zuppo) Hill, C’97, on the loss of her mother, Frances Zuppo, on January 1, 2020.

C’15, on the loss of his wife, and her mother, respectively, Mary Catherine, on December 26, 2019.

Sara Hart, C’05, on the loss of her father, James Kenneth Hart on September 18, 2019, and her mother, Elizabeth “Betty” Marie Hart, on January 1, 2020.

Edward C. Saliba, C’89, on the loss of his father, J. Edward Saliba, Sr. on June 19, 2019.

Patricia L. Dellinger, C’90, G’07, on the death of her

Lauren (Mihalco) Mullen, C’06, and her husband,

sister, Karen Ann Gustafson, on November 27, 2019.

Clinton T. Mullen, on the loss of their father-in-law and father, respectively, Lane R. Mullen, C76, on September 25, 2019.

Cathileen (Mucha) Leighty, C’91, on the loss of her husband, Douglas A. Leighty, C90, on Wednesday,

David J. Baker, C’08, and his wife, Laura M. (Fedor) Baker, C’07, on the loss of their mother

December 18, 2019.

Beth Langham Bollinger, C’95,

and mother-in-law, respectively, Elaine M. Baker, on November 27, 2019.

on the death of her mother, Cleo L. (Horner) Langham, on September 24, 2019.

Valerie (Rogers) Walker, C’08, and her husband,

Father Brian D. Boosel, O.S.B., C’96, S’02, and Katrina M. Boosel, C’04, S’07, on the loss

Gregory Walker, on the loss of their father-in-law and father, respectively, Michael J. Walker, on October 3, 2019.

of their father and father-in-law, respectively, Ralph L. Boosel, on November 15, 2019.

Dr. Susan Mitchell Sommers, professor of history, Alexander M. Sommers, C’14, Sophia Sommers, C 20, on the

James W. Walters, C’96, and his wife, Christina L. (Brouwer) Walters, C’98, on the loss of their mother and mother-inlaw, respectively, Zoe Kathryn Walters, on December 27, 2019.

Saint Vincent Magazine

team to align and elevate the company’s training and development program even further to support strategic and performance goals. Jinny also serves as chair of the IAPD (International Association of Plastics Distribution) Women in Plastics Committee. This committee supports women through mentoring, education, personal and professional development in order to attract, retain and advance women within the plastics industry.

loss of their mother and grandmother, respectively, Polly

32

Winkler-Mitchell, on Monday, November 18, 2019.

Elaine “Lanie” DeGlau, who works in the Business Office, and

Kylee M. Henderson, C’09, on the death of their husband and father, respectively, Keith A. DeGlau, on December 5, 2019.

Employee Caroline Kollar, and students Alexander Kollar and Robert Kollar, on the death of their mother-in-law and grandmother, respectively, Joyce Kollar, on November 16, 2019.

Dr. Paul Niemiec, professor of psychological sciences and Mary Niemiec, assistant director of Opportunity/Act 101/SSS-TRIO on the loss of their mother and mother-in-law, respectively, Ms. Ida B. Niemiec on December 14, 2019.

Dr. Mary Beth Spore, associate professor, education on the loss of her father, Rudolf F. “Rudy” Roitz, Jr., P’49, on November 17, 2019.

Dr. Kayla Jachimowski, assistant professor of criminology, on the recent death of her father, Daniel Joseph Jachimowski.

WINTER 2020

Retired Professor Dennis Quinn Dennis P. Quinn, retired professor of philosophy who served as chairman of the philosophy department for 42 years, died December 20, 2019.

He attended Saint Michael’s College in Vermont, did a tour of duty in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean conflict, then finished his bachelor’s degree at Saint Anselm College in Manchester. He earned a master of arts and a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame. Upon graduating, he and his wife, Joan, and their children moved to Latrobe and he began teaching at Saint Vincent. He was author of a book on Emmanuel Kant’s metaphysics titled An Examination of Kant’s Treatment of Transcendental Freedom.

Surviving are his wife, Joan C. Quinn, his children Dennis Jr.,

John J. Quinn, C’81; Anna, C’84; Maura and Eileen, seven grandchildren and two nephews.

David A. Collins David A. Collins, who served for 14 years as assistant vice president for admission, died December 16, 2019. Following his retirement in 2015, he continued to serve as a part-time admission counselor from February 2016 to May 2019, which included a two-month stint as interim dean of admission in the summer of 2018.

Michael J. Kuhar Michael J. Kuhar of Indiana, died December 9, 2019, naturally while hunting at his son’s residence. He retired as the court administrator for Indiana County, and had taught in the Criminology Department at Saint Vincent since 2011.

He is survived by his wife, Mary (Paleos) Kuhar; two sons, Anthony Kuhar and partner, Latitia Simms, of Philadelphia and Christopher (Megan) Kuhar, of Indiana; a daughter, Elaine Kuhar, of Rockville, Md.; and two granddaughters.

GUARDIAN SOCIETY Guardian Society members are loyal alumni and friends who have remembered Saint Vincent College in their estate planning through bequests, insurance policies, trusts or annuities.

Their stewardship guarantees a quality education to Saint Vincent students of the future. For information call 724-805-2949.

He also had a distinguished career in the Air Force and the Air Force Reserves and offered free college counseling and financial aid services. Surviving are his wife, Nancy (Clark) Collins; his son, Jeremy Collins, three siblings and three nieces.

Deaths Rev. Daniel C. Wolfel, O.S.B., P’46, C’50, S’54, on September 12, 2019.

Michael A. Riehl, C’49, on January 6, 2020.

Rudolf F. “Rudy” Roitz, Jr., P’49, on November 17, 2019.

Charles J. Cignetto, C’51, on November 10, 2019.

William R. Bodner, Jr., M.D., C’59, on January 15, 2019.

David “Sluggo” Sluganski, C’75, on September 11, 2019.

Rev. William J. Kiel, S’93, on

Robert J. Adams, C’60, on

Jeffrey A. Kerna, C’76, on

Kelley Ann Vitale, C’04, on

October 14, 2019.

December 1, 2019.

September 12, 2019.

October 6, 2019.

Raymond J. Straub, C’60, on

Lane R. Mullen, C 76, on

Jason R. Zollinger, C’04, on

September 18, 2019.

September 25, 2019.

October 1, 2019.

Joseph J. Cadonic, C’62, on

Kevin G. Moroz, C’79, on April

Jessica Mae Seremet, C 20, on

November 29, 2019.

12, 2018.

November 9, 2019.

Rev. William Kohler, C’52, S’55, on December 17, 2019.

John G. Labanish, C’63, on

Mark A. Wolozsnowicz, C’79,

David A. Collins, retired

December 29, 2019.

on September 17, 2019.

Robert E. Beranek, Ph.D., C’53, on October 31, 2019.

Richard K. Lanz, M.D., C’63, on December 21, 2019.

Richard J. Doerfler, D.M.D., C’82, on September 18, 2019.

assistant vice president for admission.

Sylvester J. “Pete” Pokrifka, C’55, on August 20, 2019.

George A. Marcinko, Sr., C’57, on December 10, 2019.

John A. Kintz, C’58, on November 16, 2019.

Francis C. Minni, C’63, on June 11, 2019.

George R. Bordell, C’64, on January 2, 2020.

James H. Schimpf, C’70, on

Rev. Luke E. Policicchio, O.S.B., C’83, S’88, on December 29, 2019.

Amy A. (Winklosky) McQuaide, C’87, on December 11, 2019.

October 17, 2019

Douglas A. Leighty, C 90, on

David J. Angelicchio, Sr., C’73,

Wednesday, December 18, 2019.

on July 7, 2019.

Saint Vincent Magazine

33

Michael J. Kuhar, professor of criminology, on December 9, 2019.

Dennis P. Quinn, Ph.D., retired professor of philosophy, on December 20, 2019.

If you would like to get in touch with the alumni office, email alumni@stvincent.edu or call 724-805-2568.

WINTER 2020

Engagements Ariel E. Shasko, G’16, to Kurt Bonnet. Wedding plans are incomplete at this time. Ariel is currently employed by Kennametal as a project manager.

Sara Kamarchik, C’11, is engaged to Jem Smith, C’11.

They are planning a July wedding.

Sharon Nincke, C’18, employee of Saint Vincent and Mitchell Farrell, CPA, C’18, will marry in June at the Saint Vincent Basilica.

Annie Rifilato, C‘17, and Adam Burgh, C‘17, were married on June 15, 2019 at Saints Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church in Windber.

In attendance were Dr. Tim Kelly, chair of the History Department as well as from left, Michael Suchernick, C‘18; Allison Cross, C’18; Katie Stupar, C‘17; Haley Adams, C‘18; Connor Chywski, C’17, groomsman, and Emilee Vinisky, C’18. The wedding was officated

by Father Brian Boosel, O.S.B., C ‘96, S ‘02.

Marriages Cristin Clague, C’08, and Scott McGregor on August 29, 2019 in Annapolis, Maryland.

Cara E. Metz, C’12, G’14, and Thomas W. Millwater. Their wedding will be held on June 20 at Pine Ridge Farm, Stewartstown.

Courtney Nicole Briggs, C’12, and Daniel Joseph Bodnar on November 9, 2019 at Saint Vincent Basilica with Father

Bonaventure Curtis, O.S.B., S’10, as celebrant. SVC alumni

in the wedding party included maid of honor, Natalie Caruso, C’12, and Amanda Koch, C’13, bridesmaid.

Alaina D’Aloiso, C’17, G’19, and Timothy Robbins, C’17, were

Tanner Lee Master, C’14,

Allison Petris, C’12, G’14, an employee at the Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve at Saint Vincent College, and Anthony Sellitto, C’15, now working at Uber ATG, will marry November 14 at the Saint Vincent Basilica. The reception will be at Stratigos Banquet Centre.

married on November 23, 2019. Alumni in attendance were

and Samantha Bachman on November 2, 2019 at Hurlbut Memorial Community United Methodist Church in Chautauqua, New York.

The newlyweds are making their home in Butler. Tanner is employed by BEA in Robinson.

Matthew Oxenreiter, C’90; Samantha Firestone, C’17, G’19; Alyssa Luther, C’16; Peter Reiter, C’17; Peter Santiago, C’17; Joshua Vasko, C’17; James Kuniega, C’16; DJ Hough, C’18; Claire Galvin, C’20; Maura Snyder, C’17; Lisa Iacaruso, C’17; Mallory Murphy, C’17; Meghan Murphy, C’17; Connor Chywski, C’17; Thomas McKee, C’17; Hannah Galvin, C’17, G’18; Floyd Nichols, C’19; Katie Oxenreiter, C22; Melony Hurlburt, C’17; Anna (Hillman) McKee, C’17; Nick Anderson, C’17; Timothy Oxenreiter, C’15; and Mary Ellen Oxenreiter, C’91. In attendance but not pictured: priests who officiated at the Mass, Father Ananias Buccicone, O.S.B., C’88, S’93; and Father Jean-Luc Zadroga, O.S.B., S’00, G’13; Bearcat B.E.S.T. staff members Amy Hildebrand, G’17; Leann Downs, G’12; Father Philip Kanfush, O.S.B., C’96, S’99; Philip Pisone, Kathy Burd, and Dr. Linda Jukes.

Address Update Keep in touch and be sure and update your address with the Alumni Office! Email alumni@ stvincent.edu or call 724-8052568.

Saint Vincent Magazine

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WINTER 2020

Jerry Marsico, C’99, Looks At Gift To Saint Vincent College In His Future Retirement Plans

S

everal weeks ago I had the opportunity to speak with Gennaro “Jerry” Marsico, C’99, about his professional role as a financial planner and how that led him to include Saint Vincent College in his estate plans.

like a 401(k) or an IRA can face some unfavorable tax consequences. From my view, if one is inclined to leave his/her estate to both the loved ones and a charity, it might save taxes to leave the retirement assets to the charities (Saint Vincent College) and the non-retirement money to family.

What has motivated you to consider a planned gift for the college?

“I have always had strong feelings for the college. The administration and faculty really cared about bestowing actual knowledge and teaching us ‘how to think’ in the true liberal arts tradition (Jim Meny for showing me that Aristotle helps us answer the deeper questions of life, and Father Rene for showing me that the lessons of the past are cyclical themes that reoccur in the future, and Father Vernon who demonstrated that understanding the mind and behavior is helpful to everything we encounter in the real world). As a result, I have been blessed with a fulfilling career in the financial services industry. Success in law school and other professional programs at the Harvard Kennedy School and Wharton never would have occurred without that solid educational foundation.

As a financial advisor, I am naturally ‘wired’ to think in terms of the ’long-run’ picture. Charitable giving is an important part of one’s legacy. Two examples of my plan include: 1. Creating a charitable fund that benefits Saint Vincent College, and 2. Naming SVC as a partial beneficiary on some of my retirement accounts, which, from a tax-perspective, makes great sense since human beneficiaries inheriting traditional retirement assets

If someone was thinking about making a planned gift, what would you recommend as a first step?

“Get in the habit of being charitable now! By this, I mean start giving, or increase your giving to Saint Vincent on an annual basis to help with immediate needs. Then, think about the mark you want to leave when you are gone. Naming Saint Vincent as a beneficiary on your IRA allows you to live off the assets during your retirement years while leaving the remainder (or some of the remainder) to the college. The best part is that this type of planning is ‘free.’ Changing your beneficiary costs nothing and involves little more than signing a form. Unlike other avenues of estate planning, there are no legal fees or complicated documents to execute.”

Jerry, how about one final comment about your commitment to Saint Vincent College?

“Most importantly, my wife, Jennifer, is my best friend and fully supportive of these plans. We share a collective spirit of generosity always keeping in mind how blessed and fortunate we have been and our Christian responsibility to look out for others as stewards of God’s resources that stands as the focus of our charitable giving.”

—Jim Bendel, C’60, D’85, Planned Giving Director james.bendel@stvincent.edu, 724-805-2948

MAKE A DIFFERENCE, MAKE A FUTURE Contact the Office of Institutional Advancement 724-805-2948 www.stvincent.edu/studentsfirst

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Saint Vincent College Quality Education in the Benedictine Tradition

300 Fraser Purchase Road Latrobe, PA 15650-2690 www.stvincent.edu

THRESHOLD LECTURE DALE P. LATIMER LIBRARY DEDICATION APRIL 23, 2020 THRESHOLD LECTURE DOUGLAS DODDS, VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON 7 p.m. Thursday, April 23, 2020 Robert S. Carey Performing Arts Center Free | Reservations required | Telephone 724-805-2177 | www.saintvincentarts.org

Douglas Dodds is senior curator of the Word & Image Department at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, England. Responsible for developing one of the world’s foremost collections of digital art, Dodds has been instrumental in raising awareness of the significance of early computer-generated art on a global stage. Dodds’ interest in the work of Roman Verostko has prompted the V&A to amass an impressive collection of the artist’s work—second only in size to Saint Vincent’s holdings. As part of the symposium, Dodds will offer the College’s Spring 2020 Threshold Lecture—highlighting the unique legacy of collecting at Saint Vincent—focusing on the vital role an academic institution plays in encouraging intellectual inquiry, cultural creation, and the preservation of artistic legacies.

At left, Douglas Dodds and Roman Verostko at Saint Vincent, 2008

UPCOMING EVENTS IN THE ARTS AT SAINT VINCENT