10 minute read
HALLmarks
In Brief
l Katie Smith, assistant professor of higher education, and
Shajina Anand, assistant professor of mathematics and computer science, received a University grant through New
Jersey’s Opportunity Meets Innovation Challenge program to study the internship experiences of women in computer science.
l Thomas Shea, program director for the Police Studies Graduate
Program; Juan Rios, assistant professor of social work; and
Manuel Gonzalez assistant professor of education leadership and police studies, received a University grant through New
Jersey’s Opportunity Meets Innovation Challenge program to study how police officers cope with suicides of fellow officers.
l Seton Hall University Health Services won a New Jersey
Department of Health College and University Flu Challenge for having the highest number of students reporting flu vaccinations among mid-sized schools.
l Felipe Lopez, visiting assistant professor of Latin American and
Latino/Latina studies in the Department of Political Science and Public Affairs, received the “Best Educational Initiative” award by the Hispanic Digital Humanities Association.
l Bryan Price, executive director of the Buccino Leadership
Institute, earned an “Innovation in Teaching Award” from the Middle Atlantic Association of Colleges of Business
Administration for the leadership development model that he implemented at Seton Hall.
l Joe Badillo, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, received a National Science Foundation grant of more than $200,000 for research in photoacid catalysis chemistry. l The SHMS Center for Interprofessional Education in the Health Sciences (CIEHS) received a grant from the
Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions to evaluate and design virtual reality and learning simulations to help SHMS students learn about telehealth.
l The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey awarded the College of Nursing a one-year grant to purchase respiratory equipment and infuse simulated comprehensive virtual encounters with patients into Seton Hall’s Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program.
l The Stillman School of Business undergraduate program ranked 106 in the nation in U.S. News & World Report, up 10 places from last year, and rose to 39 in the nation in the
Poets&Quants ranking of the “Best Undergraduate Business
Schools 2022.”
l Theresa Henry, associate professor of accounting and taxation; Jay Liebowitz, co-director of the M.S. in Business
Analytics program; and Provost Katia Passerini each earned
“Bright Idea Awards,” which honor faculty whose publications advance discipline knowledge.
l Nabeela Alam, assistant professor at the School of Diplomacy, was awarded a junior scholars grant from the Association of
Professional Schools of International Affairs to create a workshop on gender and COVID-19.
l Sherry Greenberg, associate professor at the College of
Nursing, was named a Distinguished Scholar Fellow by the
National Academies of Practice, honoring significant and enduring contributions to the profession.
Monsignor Turro Turns 100
His homilies are notably short, but his career as a priest has been notably long: After more than 70 years of service, Monsignor James Turro S.T.L., S.S.L., Ph.D., is living a reflective life at Our Lady of Mercy Rectory in Park Ridge, having celebrated his 100th birthday in January.
A scholar, linguist, author, international lecturer and spiritual adviser, Monsignor Turro spent most of his career teaching at Immaculate Conception Seminary, his alma mater, serving there for more than 60 years. He also served as director of the Seminary Library, which was renamed in his honor in 2007.
A native of Jersey City, he was ordained in 1948 after getting his degree in classical languages from Seton Hall. He then studied at Catholic University and the Pontifical Bible Institute in Rome, where he received the Sacred Scripture licentiate that enabled him to return to New Jersey and a position at Immaculate Conception, teaching New Testament courses.
He is also well-known for writing the popular “Your Word is a Lamp” monthly column in the Magnificat magazine.
He became Monsignor Turro in 1989, when Pope John Paul II named him a Prelate of Honor to His Holiness.
But the faithful under his spiritual supervision know him best for his short homilies — most consisting of just four to six uplifting sentences, according to an interview with Father Alexander M. Santora published in The Jersey Journal in January. “I fought against making the pulpit a classroom,” Turro told Father Santora. “I wanted it to be more of a conversation, though one-sided.”
As he told his interviewer, “I cannot imagine being in any other profession.”
Correction: The “Monsignor Turro Turns 100” Hallmarks news brief in the Spring 2022 edition of Seton Hall magazine included, without attribution, words and quotes from a previous article authored by Father Alexander M. Santora in The Jersey Journal. We regret and apologize for this error.”
A Top University
For the sixth year in a row, Seton Hall was recognized on the list of “Top Colleges and Universities” published by The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education. The University was ranked at No. 279, putting it in the top 35 percent of 797 four-year Title IV colleges and universities nationwide.
PATHWAY FOR PASTORAL LEADERSHIP
The Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology received an almost $1 million grant last fall for a four-year project to grow its academic and pastoral leader formation programs.
The project’s title, “4:12 Pathway for Pastoral Leadership,” is a reference to St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, which refers to people being equipped “for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.” The subtitle of the program, “Building an Authentic Culture of Discernment, Encouragement and Accompaniment,” refers to six strategic initiatives that will be taken up to educate, form and support the next generation of pastoral leaders.
“Each proposed initiative addresses the requirement of theological schools to attend to the spiritual and character formation of future pastoral leaders,” said Monsignor Joseph Reilly, S.T.L., Ph.D., the school’s rector and dean. “The project takes this aspect of formation to heart in each initiative.”
The $989,384 in funding is coming from Lilly Endowment Inc., an Indianapolis-based private philanthropic foundation related to the Eli Lilly pharmaceutical company that makes religion the primary aim of its grantmaking.
A Financial Assist for Graduates
Recent graduates and alumni got help pursuing a graduatelevel education, thanks to $250,000 in Seton Hall scholarships funded through a grant that applied to 45 master’s programs at the University.
“As we emerge from the pandemic, economists are predicting a robust job market in the U.S., particularly in fields including health care, education and technology,” said Christopher Cuccia, associate provost for Graduate Affairs. “We want to see our alumni equipped with the confidence and credentials to pursue the career path they envision.”
Graduates from the classes of 2011 to 2021 were eligible for Alumni Graduate Scholarships for their first two semesters of graduate school for both part-time and full-time enrollment, beginning in the summer and fall 2021 semesters.
SHU IN THE NEWS
Katia Passerini, provost and executive vice president, Catholic News Agency, on Seton Hall’s partnership with Catholic University of South Sudan.
Yanzhong Huang, director of the Center for Global Health Studies, CNN, on how China’s testing of Wuhan blood-bank samples could assist in understanding the timing of the COVID-19 outbreak event.
Juan Rios, College of Arts and Sciences, NBC News, on taking an innovative public-health approach to violence with the creation of the Newark Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery.
Charles Grantham, director of the Center for Sport Management, The New York Times, on Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson leading his own negotiation for a contract extension.
Kathleen Neville, College of Nursing, Yahoo! News, on a recent Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration grant to expand an interprofessional training program to treat opioid-use disorders with medication-assisted treatment services.
Matthew Pressman, College of Communication and the Arts, NiemanLab, on journalism needing to be more open to aspiring journalists from diverse backgrounds and low-income households.
Thomas Healy, Law School, AAIHS Black Perspectives, on Floyd McKissick, one of the forgotten figures of the civil-rights era.
U.N. CONNECTIONS
Four United Nations and Global Governance Studies Center Fellows met with students and faculty this fall in a program hosted by the School of Diplomacy and International Relations. The center was created in 2014 to coordinate faculty and student research, promote scholarship, and to expand programs at the school related to the U.N.
Joe Donnelly, the newest fellow, has been involved at the U.N. for 40 years and has worked closely with the School of Diplomacy for nearly 20 years. He recently retired as the permanent delegate to the U.N. of Caritas Internationalis, a Catholic nongovernment organization (NGO) that provides disaster relief and development aid around the world.
Donnelly has been instrumental in establishing a long-standing partnership with Caritas that has provided internships to more than 50 Seton Hall students. “Many NGOs and U.N. internships seek Seton Hall interns because of the reputation of this program, this school, the faculty, the advisers and the support system here,” Donnelly said.
Students who become U.N. Youth Representatives through the center attend events and network at the U.N. Headquarters in New York while representing the School of Diplomacy and increasing its visibility.
Students also can volunteer to become U.N. Center digital representatives, working to expand the online presence of the school through social media.
Also serving as fellows in the program are Catherine Tinker, J.D., J.S.D., a sustainable development expert; Mary Norton, Ed.M., Ed.D., and Reverend Bob Chase.
Administration Updates
Three key administrative positions have been filled with the appointment of Monica Burnette, Ph.D. ’17, as vice president of student services; Georita M. Frierson, Ph.D., as the new dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; and Courtney B. Smith, Ph.D., as dean of the School of Diplomacy and International Relations. Burnette, who takes on the Student Services position on a permanent basis after having served as interim vice president since August, welcomed the largest freshman class in Seton Hall history last fall. She also wrote an Opportunity Meets Innovation Grant that provided $750,000 in additional academic support and resources for first-generation, Pell-eligible students.
She continues to oversee student support and academic programs in 18 departments, such as the Academic Resource Center, Career Center, Center for Academic Success, Educational Opportunity Program, Health Services, Housing and Residence Life, and Public Safety and Security.
Frierson came to Seton Hall from D’Youville College in Buffalo, New York, where she served as interim vice president of Academic Affairs while continuing to serve as dean of the School of Arts, Sciences and Education, a position she held since she arrived at the college in 2019. A clinical psychologist trained in health psychology, she is active in the American Psychological Association.
Smith, one of the School of Diplomacy’s founding faculty members, was appointed dean after serving in the position on an acting basis since August 2019. Since he became acting dean, the school has launched a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice Coalition that has developed new courses on race, gender and religion in international affairs, and launched the Black Diplomacy Student Organization. The school is also developing new collaborative programs with international partners.
Smith also will serve as vice dean of Seton Hall Law, in keeping with the University’s collaboration initiatives.
