F A L L
The State of Scranton: A Special Report
Trauma Surgeons’ Wartime Lessons
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Senior-care Professionals Discuss Silver Tsunami
Features 14 The State of Scranton: A Resilient City
A newly launched seminar series informs the University ‘gown’ about its beloved town, opening discussions to further engage faculty, staff and students.
19 Battlefield Breakthroughs 22 The Silver Tsunami
Wartime lessons in medicine link Donald Jenkins, M.D. ’84 and Daniel Grabo, M.D. ’98, two alumni trauma surgeons.
Alumni Brian Duke ’79 and Jack Lynch ’83 and faculty member Patricia Wright, Ph.D., discuss the growing population of Baby Boomers and how to help people ‘age well.’
Dan Akerman ’06 recounts his summit of Mount Everest.
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Online Journal There is more Scranton news than we can fit in this print edition! Look for icons throughout The Scranton Journal indicating that there is more related content, including photographs, videos or expanded articles, on our website. Visit scranton.edu/scrantonjournal to access the print version’s full content, plus our web extras.
PHOTOS
STORY
VIDEO
HERE ARE SOME HIGHLIGHTS:
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In the Midst of a Revival Read an article about Scranton by Meghan Rich, Ph.D., who has studied revitalization strategies employed by Scranton’s community stakeholders at both the grassroots and public policy levels.
Departments
3 Message
from the President
4 On the Commons 12
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Faculty News Profiles
A Conversation on Primary/Secondary Education Read a conversation on the philosophy (and state) of education between Mike Soskil ’97, G’09 and Darryl DeMarzio, chair of the University’s Education Department.
30 Athletics 34 University
Advancement
41 Class Notes Everest Photos Daniel Akerman ’06 shares breathtaking photos of his climb up Mount Everest. See his images online.
FALL 2016 • VOLUME 38, NUMBER 1
EDITOR
Laura Richards DESIGNERS
Bob Sanchuk Jason Thorne G’13
A Message
from the President
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Cheryl Murphy Randy Shemanski Melissa Starace, Ed.D. Stan M. Zygmunt ’84, G’95
Dear Alumni, Parents & Friends,
ASSOCIATE WRITERS
Sandra J. Snyder ’93 Sandy Stahl Maura Sullivan Hill ASSISTANT CLASS NOTES EDITOR
Margery Gleason PHOTOGRAPHY
AccessAerial.com Adam Atkinson Laura Barisonzi Terry Connors Ryan Strand Greenberg Jim O’Connor PRESIDENT
Kevin P. Quinn, S.J. VICE PROVOST FOR ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT & EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Gerald C. Zaboski ’87, G’95 VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT
Gary R. Olsen DIRECTOR OF MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
Last month, I informed the Board of Trustees of my intention to step down as University president effective June 1, 2017, giving our trustees sufficient time to search prudently for a new president. Since arriving at The University of Scranton five years ago, I have come to know a tight-knit Scranton community. It is a community where lives not only cross paths — but connect to one another — a community of family and friends who care for one another. I am filled with gratitude to the Scranton community for all that we have accomplished to advance our mission as a Jesuit and Catholic institution of higher education in the 21st century. This past spring, we were enriched by a seminar series focused on the City of Scranton. One seminar focused on a recent report on what constitutes a “living wage” in Northeastern Pennsylvania. You’ll read more about the series, and this report, in the pages of The Scranton Journal. As an alumni community, you are dispersed, but you remain connected to one
Lori J. Nidoh ’80, G’89
another, as well as to this campus and this city. I hope that you feel the strength of that
DIRECTOR OF PRINTING & MAILING SERVICES
connection despite your distance. As you’ll read, our alumni are climbing mountains,
Valarie J. Clark The Scranton Journal is published by The University of Scranton for its alumni and friends.
External Affairs & Enrollment Management Office The University of Scranton, Scranton, PA 18510-4615 570.941.7900
Office of Alumni and Parent Engagement
The University of Scranton, Scranton, PA 18510-4624 570.941.7660. Email: alumni@scranton.edu Website: scranton.edu/alumni If this issue is addressed to a graduate who no longer maintains a residence at your home, please tear off the mailing panel and mail it, with the corrected address, to the Office of Alumni and Parent Engagement. The University of Scranton is a Catholic, Jesuit educational institution serving men and women. The University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, disability, sex, sexual orientation or age. © 2016 The University of Scranton
saving lives, teaching throughout the world and speaking their minds. There are more than 49,000 of you, each with a unique story. We are thrilled to be a part of that story and hope you remain connected with your alma mater in the years to come. I have great hope and enthusiasm for our final year together. I will continue to serve energetically as your president during this transitional year. During this time, I encourage us to adopt the motto that inspired the life and work of St. Junipero Serra, Apostle of California: “¡Siempre adelante!” (“Always forward!”).
Sincerely,
Kevin P. Quinn, S.J. President FA L L 2016
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On the Commons Father Quinn to Step Down as President in June 2017 University President Kevin P. Quinn, S.J., will step down at the end of the 2016-2017 academic year. Father Quinn stated that he came to the decision to resign as Scranton’s 25th president after careful thought and prayer, discerning that “both for the University and for me the time is right for a change.” “In making this decision, I am filled with gratitude to the Scranton community — trustees, faculty, administrators, staff, parents, friends, alumni and students — for all that we have accomplished to advance our mission as a Jesuit and Catholic institution of higher education in the 21st century,” he said in a campus communication. Over the past five years of Father Quinn’s presidency, Scranton enjoyed national recognition for the value and quality of the education it provides to students, saw its applications grow to record numbers and enrolled some of the largest classes in its history. Academic programs expanded to include a second doctoral program — the Doctor of Nursing Practice — and new five-year bachelor’s and master’s programs. Campus
improvements included the acquisition and renovation of Louis Stanley Brown Hall, the completion of the Loyola Science Center, the construction of Edward R. Leahy Jr. Hall, and, through a unique collaboration with outside partners, the renovation of the historic Madison School into an early childhood learning center and graduate housing. Lawrence R. Lynch ’81, chair of the University’s Board of Trustees, said in a letter to the campus community that the Board had accepted Father Quinn’s resignation “with gratitude for his many accomplishments and devoted service.” In addition to noting many academic, philanthropic, administrative and strategic accomplishments, such as the development and adoption of Scranton’s 2015-2020 Strategic Plan “that is uniquely focused on the student experience,” Lynch cited some of the social justice and spiritual initiatives begun by Father Quinn. The Board will form a committee to conduct a national search for a new president and will make the “search process as inclusive as possible, within the necessary limits of confidentiality.”
Students Participate in Project Management Game
Local Banks Support Scranton
This spring, several engineering and KSOM students participated in the SimulTrain® project management game, which presents students with challenges that simulate real-life scenarios, mainly related to the workplace. The simulations help students gain both leadership and teamwork skills. Robert Spalletta, Ph.D., and Andrew Berger, Ph.D., faculty in the Department of Physics and Electrical Engineering, helped bring SimulTrain® to Scranton. Dr. Berger’s favorite part? “Watching the students interact, come together as teams and have fun competing while learning,” he said. “Both Dr. Spalletta and I were very happy to see how the students were putting classroom learning to use as they played the game.” SimulTrain® is played internationally within major corporations and around colleges and universities in Europe. It is used in more than 50 countries and has helped train 110,000 people in the workforce. The University of Scranton is the first university in the United States to play. GET SOCIAL We love to see school spirit! Check out junior Renee Zambelletti sporting her Scranton gear in Australia! The University of Scranton Study Abroad Program
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2/11/16
Executives from Fidelity Bank present a check to University representatives in support of the University of Success Program.
Two local banks made generous donations in support of two University programs: the Early Learning Center and the University of Success Program. First National Community Bank (FNCB), locally based for more than 100 years, donated $1,200 to the Early Learning Center through the Pennsylvania Education Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program. Opened in August 2015, the Early Learning Center is a pre-school program for children of faculty, staff and students, as well as members of the community. Fidelity Bank contributed $10,000 to the University of Success Program, a four-year pre-college mentorship program for high school students. The University of Success, offered free of charge to participants, is funded almost entirely by corporate and foundation grants, and is designed to develop the skills students need to successfully gain college admittance. 3/12/16
St. Patrick’s Day parade in downtown Scranton! scrantonadmissions Scranton! Insta
3/27/16 May you experience the joy of new life this Easter season! Photo: Sunrise on Chapman Lake by Lauren Conniff ’17 University of Scranton
On the Commons
U.S. News & World Report Ranks Scranton Programs Among the Nation’s Best • UNDERGRADUATE: Accounting, Entrepreneurship, Finance
Festival presenters are pictured here, from left: Rebecca Steinberger, Ph.D. ’95, professor of English at Misericordia University; Megan Lloyd, Ph.D., professor of English at King’s College; Cary Mazer, Ph.D., associate professor of English and theater arts at the University of Pennsylvania; and Michael Friedman, Ph.D., professor of English and theatre at Scranton.
All the World’s a Stage at the Scranton Shakespeare Festival
Five Earn Fulbright Awards Four members of the Class of 2016 and a member of the Class of 2012 have earned Fulbright grants, the esteemed merit-based scholarships that enable students to spend a year conducting research or teaching abroad. Since 1972, 155 Scranton students have been awarded grants in the competition, which include Fulbrights, administered by the Institute of International Education. The five Scranton alumni will complete their Fulbrights during the 2016-2017 academic year. The Fulbright Program is the “flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government,” according to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Recipients are selected on the basis of academic achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their respective fields. “This year, all five of our Fulbright national semi-finalists received awards, which is a remarkable achievement,” said Susan Trussler, Ph.D., the University’s Fulbright Program advisor and associate professor of economics and finance. 4/16/16 Students are out in droves today to help clean up the streets of Scranton #scrantonstreetsweep uofsclubs Insta
• ONLINE: Master’s in Education, MBA
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SURVEY
Joining cities around the world, Scranton marked the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death by presenting “Shakespeare Lives! A Festival” on April 23. The daylong event included presentations on Shakespeare and gender, Shakespeare’s language and Shakespeare in the 21st century, along with an opening address by noted Shakespearean scholar Cary Mazer, Ph.D., associate professor of English and theater arts at the University of Pennsylvania. The lunch presentation showcased scenes from Hamlet with Michael Bradshaw Flynn ’13, a producing artistic director of the Scranton Shakespeare Festival, presenting “400 and 5: The Scranton Shakespeare Festival.” The Education and English and Theatre Departments, as well as the Office of Community and Government Relations and the Lackawanna Arts and Culture Department, presented the festival in collaboration with the Schemel Forum.
• GRADUATE: Healthcare Management, Information Systems, Management, Nurse Anesthesia, Occupational Therapy, Operations Management, Physical Therapy, Rehabilitation Counseling
Watch your email for an invitation to take a short reader survey, which you should receive in late September. If you don’t receive an invitation (or can’t wait to share your thoughts!) follow this link to access the survey: scranton.edu/2016JournalSurvey Results will be shared in the Spring 2017 issue of The Journal.
Seated, from left: Sarah Fitch ’16, Susan Trussler, Ph.D., Fulbright advisor and associate professor of economics and finance; and Aimee Miller ’12, current health administration graduate student. Standing, from left: Olivia Gillespie ’16, Ivan Simpson-Kent ’16 and Veronica Sinotte ’16. 5/13/16
The Trivium teaches our students to lead. See how @USATODAYcollege: http://usat.ly/24QuAwy #JesuitEducated univofscranton
5/17/16 Getting close to moving out? Give all your unneededs to the End-of-the-Year Drive! Taking donations through graduation! The University of Scranton Center for Service and Social Justice
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On the Commons
Scranton Family Papers Scanathon
By Julien Cuny ’17 One of Scranton’s defining features is its rich history of industry, as evidenced by the city’s shared name with steel magnate George W. Scranton. In October 2015, the Weinberg Memorial Library collaborated with the Scranton Public Library, the Lackawanna Historical Society, the University of Scranton History Department and student volunteers to preserve the personal letters of this famous Scrantonian, as well as hundreds of other documents related to the Scranton family. Participants in the Scranton Family Papers Scanathon provided a valuable public service by preserving fragile primary sources for future generations. Over the course of the two-day event, volunteers successfully digitized more than 600 pages of letters related to George W. Scranton. In addition to digitizing letters, volunteers and staff also created descriptive metadata for future researchers, including the date, addressee, location, author and transcription for each scanned letter. Scholars will be able to access this resource for free through the Weinberg Library. The State Library of Pennsylvania lent the Weinberg Memorial Library a mobile Scribe Station for the Scanathon.
PROGRAM NEWS International Accreditation Renewed for Kania The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International renewed its accreditation of the undergraduate and master’s programs at the Kania School of Management (KSOM) through 2021. Less than 5 percent of business schools worldwide boast this distinction, and KSOM has held AACSB accreditation since 1996.
New Online Certificate in Health Informatics A graduate-level certificate in Health Informatics is the latest addition to Scranton’s online programs. The four-course certificate offers an accelerated path into the health care information field, where there is a demand for professionals trained in implementing information technology — medical systems, software and databases — for health care organizations. “The courses are culled from our respected master’s program, are taught by the same faculty and meet the same high standards,” said Margarete Zalon, Ph.D., R.N., ACNS-BC, FAAN, program director of the online Master of Science in Health Informatics program.
Expedited BSN Offered at Reduced Tuition Starting in the 2016 fall semester, Scranton will offer an expedited bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) degree for registered nurses (RNs) at a reduced tuition rate. The program incorporates a blended model of on-campus, remote conference and online access to offer greater flexibility for working RNs. The program is an extension of the University’s ongoing partnership with Geisinger Health System RN to BSN Partnership Program, which began in 2015.
Black History Month at Scranton
Criminal Justice Program Certified by the ACJS
Scranton kicked off Black History Month early when the Greater Scranton Martin Luther King Commission (GSMLKC) annual awards and celebration dinner was held in the DeNaples Center in January. Linda Cliatt-Wayman, an award-winning educator nationally recognized for transforming low-performing schools, gave the keynote address. The Multicultural Center offered several other events in celebration of Black History Month in February. Award-winning slam and spoken-word poet Javon Johnson, Ph.D., presented the spoken-word performance, “And Your Kids Will Be Painted Black.” An assistant professor of performance and communication studies at San Francisco State University, Dr. Johnson’s work combines race and gender theory with comedy and lyricism. There was also a screening of The Mask You Live In, a documentary that explores how America’s narrow definition of masculinity is harming boys, men and society at large.
Scranton’s Criminal Justice program — comprising of a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and minors in criminal justice and criminology — received a 10-year certification from the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS), an international association with more than 2,800 members that fosters professional and scholarly activities in the field of criminal justice. Scranton is one of nine colleges in the United States with this certification.
GET SOCIAL Thanks, Mom and Dad, for everything, especially the glasses! #usgrad16 laurmcgar Insta
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5/29/16
Reduced Tuition Rates for Summer In an effort to lessen the financial burden on students pursuing summer coursework, Scranton reduced the tuition rate for summer undergraduate classes, both on campus and online, by more than 26 percent.
6/2/16 #tbt to 1957, when old Loyola was still new. In the words of Fr. Long, it was a “magnificent hall of science, assuredly one of the most attractive and impressive buildings in this area.” #ripoldloyola Scranton Weinberg Memorial Library
6/2/16 The University of Scranton has started demolition of old Loyola Hall. When the project is complete, the site will be landscaped into a green space. The Lackawanna Historical Society
Three major gifts made to The University of Scranton this spring will be instrumental in supporting its mission for years to come. A $1.25 million gift from the president and CEO of The Cooper Companies, Robert Weiss ’68, and his wife, Marilyn, will benefit students across a range of majors within the Panuska College of Professional Studies. In recognition of the generosity of Weiss, a University trustee and member of the President’s Circle and Estate Society, and Marilyn, who studied at the University through the Scranton State General Hospital School of Nursing, a suite inside Leahy Hall now bears the couple’s name: the Robert and Marilyn Weiss Pediatric Low Vision Research and Training Suite. Gerard R. Roche ’53, H’82, chair emeritus of the international executive-search firm Heidrick & Struggles International Inc., and Marie Terotta Roche, who has spent her life in the arts, made a significant gift to The University of Scranton’s Department of Communication. Roche, for whom the Gerard R. Roche Center for Career Development was named, is a member of the President’s Business Council
and received its inaugural President’s Medal in 2002. The former chair of the University Board is also an inaugural inductee into the Kania School of Management Wall of Fame. The significant gift will be divided equally into segments to support endowed student scholarships, an endowed professorship and major renovations to the campus television studio. A loyal alumnus and his wife designated a generous $2.6 million gift for presidential priorities. The couple, who choose to remain anonymous, say they are proud to repay Scranton for profoundly changing their lives. “These donors have truly answered St. Ignatius’ call ‘to love and serve in all things’,” said University President Kevin P. Quinn, S.J. “They are servant leaders with servant hearts, and they are as humble as they are generous. We are extremely grateful for the transformations their selflessness will make possible at Scranton.”
On the Commons
Three Major Gifts Make a Big Difference
Read more information about each of the donors and their gifts at scranton.edu/news.
Arrupe Award Honors Friends of the Poor The 2016 Pedro Arrupe, S.J., Award for Distinguished Contributions to Ignatian Mission and Ministry was presented to the Friends of the Poor, a fitting honor in this Jubilee Year of Mercy. The Friends of the Poor, founded by the late Sister Adrian Barrett, IHM, with the simple goal of easing the burden of those living in poverty, is celebrating its 30th anniversary year. In accepting the award on behalf of the charity, Sister Ann Walsh, I.H.M., director of the Friends of the Poor, acknowledged the selfless service of Sister Adrian, who “got up and gave it up to God every day.” Friends of the Poor provides assistance to those in need with food, clothing, household items and furniture, in addition to hosting
Career Day in Philadelphia Fills Education Students with Passion and Purpose By Kelsey Goodson ’17
Members of the Early and Primary Education Department visit Philadelphia. 6/13/16 Congrats to Scranton native Stephen Karam, author of The Humans, who won a Tony Award last night! Join us this fall as we welcome him home to receive the Royden B. Davis, S.J., Award! University of Scranton
holiday dinners and running after-school programs for children. The Arrupe Award is named in honor of the late Rev. Pedro Arrupe, S.J., superior general of the Society of Jesus from 1965 to 1983, and was instituted in 1995 to recognize outstanding contributions in Ignatianinspired ministries. Sister Ann Walsh, I.H.M., director of the Friends of the Poor
On April 6, students from the Early and Primary Education Department embarked on a field trip to Philadelphia, led by professor Sandy Pesavento and Dona Bauman, Ph.D., alongside Elizabeth Rozelle, assistant career development director. The trip was intended to provide intimate insights and new perspectives regarding possible career opportunities at both The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the DePaul Catholic School of Philadelphia. At CHOP, the education students attended a panel discussion led by child-life specialist Rose Seelenbinder, CCLS, program coordinator in the Child Life, Education and Creative Arts Therapy Department at CHOP. During the discussion, they learned about the various career opportunities that the hospital provides, from childlife specialists to art and music therapists to teachers who work with students to provide comprehensive educational support. Later in the day, the group volunteered in the pre-K — 4th grade classrooms at DePaul, reading stories and planting flowers with the students. 7/2/16
A new look for the Commons — coming fall 2016! Read more, here: http://bit.ly/29boHZ3 University of Scranton
7/7/16 The @univofscranton Orientation team got a pep talk from our president, Fr. Quinn! #Royals2020 #amdg #goteam Lauren Scott Rivera
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On the Commons
Commencement 2016: More than 1,500 Join the Ranks of Scranton Alumni
“Beneficiaries of a Jesuit education — done the Scranton way — can be found throughout our country and internationally, and are our best ambassadors.”
— Joseph P. Bannon, M.D. ’83, H’16, chair of the Department of Surgery at Regional Hospital of Scranton
“As we celebrate your achievement today, you leave here not only with an excellent education, but one that is steeped in Jesuit values. In today’s world this is not only incredibly marketable, but one that our world and society desperately need.” — Sister Mary Scullion, R.S.M. H’16, co-founder, executive director and president of Project HOME (Housing, Opportunities for Employment, Medical Care, Education)
GRADUATE MAY 28, 2016
UNDERGRADUATE MAY 29, 2016
• 40 doctor of physical therapy students • 570 master’s students • Most popular degrees this year? – MBA – educational administration – occupational therapy
• 910 students received bachelor’s/associate degrees
• States represented by grads? – 17, plus the District of Columbia
Inaugural Lecture Features Award-winning Humanitarian Danielle Butin, executive director of the Afya Foundation, spoke at the inaugural Maria Gervasio Cura Personalis Lecture in April. Butin founded Afya — a medical supply recovery organization based in New York — in 2007. Over the past nine years, she has led efforts to ship $26 million worth of recovered medical supplies to 58 African, Caribbean, Latin American and Asian nations. The organization received a 2015 Clinton Global Citizen
Award in recognition of its response to the Ebola epidemic in Africa, and in 2014, the New York State Senate recognized Butin as a woman of distinction. The Cura Personalis Lecture is named for the late Maria Gervasio, a 2014 graduate of the Panuska College of Professional Studies’ Occupational Therapy program. During her five years at the University, her dedication to social justice and the empowerment of all people inspired many.
Watch many of the lectures that take place on campus at scranton.edu/news or our YouTube channel. GET SOCIAL Picking spinach, kale, zucchini and Swiss chard for Leahy Food Pantry tomorrow. Royal Community Garden. The University of Scranton Sustainability Office
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7/9/16
7/14/16 What a view! Lunchtime rooftop yoga sponsored by CHEW Employee Wellness! #universityofscranton scrantonwellness Insta
Danielle Butin
7/26/16 On assignment with the @univofscranton Extreme Physiology course. #takeahike kbolusTT
“The depth of professional, business, civic and educational experience of the new members of our Board of Trustees is a testament to the culture of success we will continue to foster at Scranton,” said University of Scranton President Kevin P. Quinn, S.J. “The University will be blessed by the guidance offered though the diverse perspectives they bring to our Board.”
Rick Baker ’77
Mary R. Haveron ’85
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President and chief executive officer of the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association, a nonprofit that owns and operates the Cotton Bowl Classic • M.A., sports administration, Ohio University
Did you know? Baker played professional baseball and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates, which included a two-year stint in their minor league system.
Certified public accountant and principal of an accounting and consulting practice for small businesses • Has more than 30 years of experience in the accounting field, including serving as CFO at Customized Mortgage Solutions in Old Tappan, New Jersey Did you know? Haveron is a member of the University’s Accounting Department Professional Council, where she advises and assists the Accounting Department on various initiatives.
Linda D’Andrea Barrasse, M.D. ’77
William Kelley, S.J. ’73
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Partner at Great Valley Cardiology, a Scranton based cardiac treatment facility; on staff at Regional Hospital, Moses Taylor Hospital and Geisinger Community Medical Center • M.D., Jefferson Medical College Did you know? In 2014, Governor Tom Corbett appointed Dr. Barrasse to Pennsylvania’s Organ Donation Advisory Committee.
A member of the pastoral team at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Washington, D.C. • M.Div., Jesuit School of Theology, Berkeley; M.A., Latin American Studies, Georgetown University
Did you know? Fr. Kelley’s first experiences with Jesuits occurred while a student at the University.
David Collins Blake, Ph.D., J.D. ’69
Dan Lahart, S.J.
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Consultant of health care compliance and ethics; consultant to the Association of American Medical Colleges • Ph.D., philosophy and ethics, Catholic University of America; J.D., Loyola Marymount Did you know? Previously, Dr. Blake was vice president of CedarsSinai Health System’s corporate integrity program in Los Angeles.
President of Regis High School in New York MBA, Stanford University Graduate School of Business; M.Div., Weston School of Theology; M.A., education, Boston College •
Did you know? Fr. Lahart began his career in education teaching mathematics at Scranton Preparatory School.
Frank Dubas ’75
Keith F. Muccino, S.J., M.D.
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Recently retired global managing partner for sovereign financial institutions at Deloitte, a New York City-based tax, auditing, business consulting and financial advisory services firm
Associate provost for educational resources at Loyola University Chicago, health sciences division; associate dean at Loyola University’s Stritch School of Medicine • M.D., Stritch School of Medicine; M.Div., Weston Jesuit School of Theology
Did you know? Since 1996, Dubas has been to 79 countries, including remote locales such as Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.
Did you know? Previously, Fr. Muccino was an assistant professor of medicine at Loyola University Medical Center’s division of general internal medicine.
Matthew E. Haggerty, J.D.
Yohuru Williams, Ph.D. ’93, G’93
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Managing director at Elk Lake Capital, private equity arm of the Lynett-Haggerty family; CEO of Times-Shamrock Communications and publisher of several newspapers • MBA, Villanova University; J.D., Catholic University of America Did you know? Haggerty was an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
On the Commons
Welcome, New Members of the Board of Trustees!
Tenured history professor and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Fairfield University • M.A., history, The University of Scranton; Ph.D., history, Howard University • Authored and edited numerous books, including Rethinking the Black Freedom Movement Did you know? From 2011 to 2014, Dr. Williams was chief historian at the Jackie Robinson Foundation in New York City.
Read full bios of our new trustees at scranton.edu/scrantonjournal.
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On the Commons
THE KEYNOTE: The Fierce Urgency of Now The featured speaker at the dedication was Yohuru Williams, Ph.D. ’93, G ’93, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Fairfield University and a member of Scranton's Board of Trustees.
University Names Building after its First African-American Graduate
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he University of Scranton dedicated Louis Stanley Brown Hall to honor its first African-American graduate, who was a member of the Class of 1919. University President Kevin P. Quinn, S.J., named and blessed the building, a historic structure located at 600 Linden St., at a ceremony on Feb. 18. The ceremony was part of the University’s Black History Month celebration. “The University is proud to dedicate Louis Stanley Brown Hall, which takes a page out of our history books and brings it to new life on campus and in the greater Scranton community,” said Father Quinn. “As an AfricanAmerican college graduate in the early 1900s, Louis Stanley Brown serves as an illustration of the longstanding commitment to justice in Jesuit and Catholic education.”
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Born in 1902 in Scranton’s Pine Brook section, Brown earned a commercial degree from The University of Scranton, then St. Thomas College. He was one of five children born to Henry and Sarah Brown. The college’s yearbook noted that Brown was ambitious and industrious, as well as humorous and witty. After graduation, he remained in Scranton, working as a shoe shiner, a laborer in the coal mines and a truck driver for G.W. Brown Inc. He died at the age of 60, and is buried in the Cathedral Cemetery in Scranton.
About Louis Stanley Brown Hall Louis Stanley Brown Hall was put into service as the P.P. Carter Building in 1896, and completed in 1897. The building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, is a significant local example of turn-ofthe-century architecture, influenced by both the Classical Revival and Commercial styles.
Excerpts from Dr. Williams’ talk: I like that we don’t know much about Louis Stanley Brown. That’s exactly as it should be. Because if all life matters — if we privilege life — then it’s not about what you say, or where you’re from or what degree you have. It’s about the fact that, as a living, breathing member of the human race, we recognize your value and we want to say that we appreciate and dedicate ourselves to the preservation of human life. It’s what you do for those on the margins that really defines you in those moments when people call into question what you believe, your value system, those very things that you hold dear. And what St. Thomas answered in 1919 is: black lives matter; all lives matter; Stanley matters. Hopefully what all this will represent is that this is how The University of Scranton continues to feel to this day. If we look at Louis Stanley Brown’s life: he’s born in 1902; he graduates in 1919; he dies [in 1962]. You just had the integration of American colleges and universities in the 1950s. They were ahead of their time graduating a person of color. They didn’t have to do it. It wasn’t their fight. They could’ve gotten away with not being involved in that struggle, but they did it because it was the right thing to do. They did it because they lived their values. See the entire talk on our YouTube channel and at scranton.edu/ scrantonjournal. Read more about Brown Hall at scranton.edu/ scrantonjournal.
Yohuru Williams, Ph.D. ’93, G ’93
One-on-One with
Michael Jenkins, Ph.D. ’06 Assistant professor in the Sociology, Criminal Justice and Criminology Department Expert on innovation in policing and community problem-solving policing
How did you become interested in the field of criminal justice? I can trace my interest in issues of crime and criminal justice back to my high school English classes with Barbara Holmes. Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment and Richard Wright’s Native Son inspired me to want to further understand the psychological and societal dimensions of criminal offending. You’ve been quoted by and/or written op-eds for the New York Times, the BBC, the Huffington Post, the Washington Post and many other national and local news outlets. What do you hope to convey to the public about community problem-solving policing? My No. 1 goal is to encourage people to take a step back, to see the issue at hand in its larger historical context. My commentary is often of a one-time, brief point in history — an event that people bend and use for their own ideological purposes. One of the biggest compliments I receive from students or others who follow my work is that they cannot tell if I am generally “pro” or “anti” police. I hope that’s a reflection on my unbiased and objective analysis of whichever contentious issue I’m being interviewed about. Speaking of contentious issues, responsible policing is an issue at the forefront of everyone’s minds these days. Your students may or may not end up in law enforcement. How do you talk to them about events like those in Ferguson, for example? Students have a desire to understand and make sense of these events while also recognizing their own biases or the emotions they invoke. Separate lectures on police culture, organization, patrol activities or police history all
have some important connection to understanding these brief clips we see of police-citizen interactions gone bad. How the city, its police department and politicians react to these events are also important points for lessons in police legitimacy and leadership. The rise of the online community has changed us all. How should police adapt? We should be thinking about the skills and backgrounds of police in the 21st century, as new criminal opportunities facilitated by technology arise. The traditional cop on the beat twirling a nightstick will still have its place, but we will also need police with specialized backgrounds in forensic computing and financial accounting and in analyzing and solving problems to combat the types of crimes that our communities are facing. Police are also mindful of how the vast and connected online community contributes to citizens’ perceptions of the police, people’s views on criminal behavior, and the need for strict police accountability. What’s next for you? That’s the question I’m always asking myself. I’m preparing to leave on a Fulbright award in spring 2017. I’ll be working with colleagues at University College London and the Metropolitan Police Department to study how police use force in the resolution of disorderly offenses. Before leaving, I’m hoping to finish a book manuscript on international policing. I have the pleasure of working one-on-one with motivated and smart undergraduate students on some interesting policing and crime projects. I’m looking forward to wrapping those projects up before they graduate next year! Visit scranton.edu/scrantonjournal to read more from Dr. Jenkins.
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Faculty News
Students in Professor Joseph Cimini’s Criminal Justice Process course gathered for a photo during his last class at Scranton.
Professor Marks End of an Era at Scranton When the 2016 spring semester started in January, it seemed like business as usual, but something was missing. For the first time since 1942, a Cimini was not teaching at Scranton. Criminal justice professor Joseph F. Cimini, J.D., retired from the University at the end of the 2015 fall semester, after more than 30 years of service. He could be considered a novice compared with his father, Frank A. Cimini ’39, who joined the faculty at the University in 1942 and taught in the foreign languages department at Scranton for more than 50 years. Professor Cimini ’70 has taught in the Sociology/Criminal Justice Department at the University since 1980.
International Fulbright Award Winners Spend Year in Residence at Scranton During the 2015-2016 academic year, Scranton was home to five Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistants and one Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence (pictured below). They came to Scranton from France, Japan, Egypt, Mexico, Argentina and they Germany, and offered valuable international perspectives in the Department of World Languages and Cultures.
Scranton’s Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistants. See who’s who at scranton.edu/scrantonjournal.
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THE SCRANTON JOURN A L
Susan Trussler, Ph.D., received the Earl Award at a presentation in April. From left: Terrance Sweeney, professor and chair of the Biology Department and previous Earl Award recipient; Karen Earl Kolon, M.D., daughter of the late John Earl III; Dr. Trussler; and University of Scranton President Kevin P. Quinn, S.J.
University Honors Fulbright Advisor and Economics/Finance Professor Susan Trussler, Ph.D., Fulbright advisor and associate professor of economics/finance, was honored with the John L. Earl III Award for service to the University, the faculty and the wider community. This award is presented annually to a member of the University community who demonstrates the spirit of generosity and dedication that the late Dr. John Earl III, a distinguished professor of history, exemplified during his tenure at Scranton from 1964 to 1996. Dr. Trussler joined the faculty of the University in 1985. During her tenure at the University, she has served as president of the Faculty Senate, an officer in the Faculty Union and as a member of the Board on Rank and Tenure, the University’s Planning Committee and the Kania School of Management’s Leadership Committee. She also developed the University’s International Business Program and serves as its director.
Faculty News
HIGHLIGHTS
Teachers of the Year
Accounting Professors Win Gold “The Continuing Saga of Goodwill Accounting,” by Scranton professors Douglas M. Boyle, D.B.A. ’88, Brian Carpenter, Ph.D. ’82, and Daniel Mahoney, Ph.D. ’81, received the Institute of Management Accountants’ Lybrand Gold Medal as the “outstanding article of the year.” The manuscript was published in the fall 2015 edition of Management Accounting Quarterly.
Entrepreneurship Professor Receives Award for Curriculum Innovation Jeremy R. Brees, Ph.D., assistant professor of management, marketing and entrepreneurship, received the Kania School of Management Advisory Board Award for Curriculum Innovation for the 2015-2016 academic year. The Kania School Advisory Board established this award to encourage and reward faculty who successfully propose and implement effective innovations in the curriculum.
Nursing Professor Publishes Textbook Nursing professor Patricia Moyle Wright, Ph.D., published her first book, Perinatal and Pediatric Bereavement in Nursing and Other Health Professions, in January. She co-edited the textbook with two others.
Professor Participates in International Meeting of Orthodox Scholars Theology professor Will Cohen, Ph.D., was among an international group of 30 Orthodox Christian scholars who met at the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in Istanbul, Turkey, in January. The group discussed issues relating to global orthodoxy and Council of Orthodox Bishops, who are now scheduled to convene this summer in Crete.
Nursing Professor Presents at Annual Meeting Susan Scanland, a faculty specialist in the Department of Nursing, gerontological nurse practitioner and certified dementia practitioner, was among the presenters at the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry’s 2016 Annual Meeting, held in March in Washington, D.C.
Exercise Science Faculty Member Awarded by Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics The University of Scranton exercise science professor Jessica Bachman, Ph.D., received The Emerging Dietetic Leader Award from the Pennsylvania Academy of Nutrition and The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics at their annual meeting held in the spring semester. For more faculty news, and for information about any of the awards mentioned here, visit scranton.edu/scrantonjournal.
Patricia Wisniewski (pictured above, left, with University President Kevin P. Quinn, S.J.), faculty specialist for occupational therapy, was named Teacher of the Year by the Class of 2016. The award honors a faculty member who maintains high standards of academic excellence and fairness and, through enthusiasm and dedication, inspires the interest of students in a field of education. Wisniewski has taught occupational therapy activity analysis courses, which include both lecture and laboratory components. The course series covers theory and application of activities and media used in occupational therapy treatments with children, adolescents and adults. The University Business Club selected Aram Balagyozyan, Ph.D. (at left), professor of economics, as the Kania School of Management Professor of the Year. Dr. Balagyozyan recognizes the academic excellence of his students by inducting “outstanding men and women” who finish at the top of his class into the “Balagyozyan Hall of Fame.” In 2011, Dr. Balagyozyan joined the faculty at Scranton and is also a regular visiting faculty member at the international MBA program at the City University of New York.
The students in Alpha Sigma Nu, Scranton’s chapter of the national honor society for students at Jesuit colleges and universities, selected Michael Fennie, Ph.D. (at left), assistant professor of chemistry, as the 2015-2016 Alpha Sigma Nu Teacher of the Year. The award, formally known as the Gannon Award in honor of Rev. Edward Gannon, S.J., is the University’s oldest teaching award. Established in 1969, the award recognizes outstanding teaching among faculty and is chosen annually by the Alpha Sigma Nu students. FA L L 2016
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The State of Scranton: A Resilient City A newly launched seminar series informs the University ‘gown’ about its beloved town, opening discussions to further engage faculty, staff and students.
We hold a place in our hearts for this city. Some of us
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development of a regional trail system.
grew up here, roaming the city’s hills. Some of us passed
The Office of Community and Government Relations and
through, interning downtown or leasing a house on Vine.
the Campus Ministries’ Center for Service and Social Justice
Some stayed. Some chose to return with a family in tow. What-
created the series in cooperation with the Jesuit Center, Fac-
ever the scenario, we’ve gained something from Scranton. Its
ulty Senate, Staff Senate and Education for Justice.
history, born of coal mines, forged from iron works, made it
“We saw this as a great way for faculty, staff and students to
what it is today. Its wondrous, complicated history became a
engage further in both the challenges facing our city, and its
little part of our own. Yet, that history is not complete.
progress,” said Julie Schumacher Cohen, director of commu-
Several University groups organized a seminar series
nity and government relations. “We hoped that through these
titled, “The State of Scranton,” to inform faculty, staff and stu-
seminars our campus community would have the information
dents about issues facing the Greater Scranton area. Topics
and connections to foster even more positive collaboration
have included everything from the city’s financial recovery to
between the University and the city.”
THE SCRANTON JOURN A L
Cohen gave the first talk of the series alongside Patricia Vaccaro, director of Campus Ministries’ Center for Service and Social Justice, in March 2015. “Because we are such a large part of the Scranton area, we have a responsibility to try to better our local community with the wealth of resources that the University has to offer,” said Vaccaro. Vaccaro added that bettering Scranton means anything from offering free University events to encouraging student volunteers to provide health care to uninsured residents through the Leahy Clinic to translating documents for the immigrant population. The benefits go both ways, said Vaccaro. The Scranton region provides endless educational opportunities for students and offers everything from events to natural resources to a vibrant and generous spirit. “We try to bring in various civic, nonprofit and social service organizations to make the campus aware of the many opportunities available in our area,” she said. In the series opening, Vaccaro gave an overview of Scranton’s nonprofit organizations, which work together to address problems, while Cohen outlined the city’s revitalization efforts and socio-economic context. Cohen explained that according to Census Bureau statistics, Scranton has a lower median household income than the state average and a higher percentage of persons living below the poverty level. At the same time, Cohen shared how, “downtown development, active neighborhood groups, thriving arts and culture, and increased focus on wellness and recreation all bode well for the city’s future.” So Scranton, like many small- to mid-sized cities, has its share of struggles, as well as opportunities. What this series confirmed is that an open dialogue about the issues and points of cooperation can make all the difference.
Challenges and Solutions “All the foundation is here. All the positive stuff is here,” said Henry J. Amoroso, whose company was hired to assist the City of Scranton with its financial recovery plan. In his seminar presentation, the second in the series, Amoroso, founder and executive director of HJA Strategies, associate professor and chair of the Department of Economics and Legal Studies at Seton Hall University, discussed his work for the city. He compared Scranton, which built an
infrastructure for a population twice its current size, to some cities in western Pennsylvania, parts of upstate New York and parts of eastern Ohio, cities that also went through population shifts and economic downturns. Those other modern cities, however, turned into “ghost towns.” According to Amoroso, Scranton has resiliency and the benefits of strong education and health care, — “Eds and Meds” — which not only provide jobs, but support economic growth even in a city that was challenged with the “loss of industry, the growth of government and pension obligations, and the loss of population.” At its height, Scranton had 150,000 residents. In 2013, the population was down to nearly 76,000, but that number is now increasing. Reducing the city’s accrued debt, said Amoroso, also means addressing underfunded pensions, restructuring police and fire contracts, moderately increasing property taxes and monetizing the sewer and parking authorities. Amoroso is confident that there is a solution. And, even now, while Scranton is still considered a “distressed” Act 47 city, he and his colleagues see promise in the downtown living boom, thanks in part to new luxury apartment buildings, new restaurants, a new gym and a soon-to-be marketplace and theater at the Mall at Steamtown, now the “Marketplace at Steamtown,” which is under new ownership. Despite perceived high property taxes in the city, housing is affordable at the median income, an attractive selling point. In fact, Forbes recently named Scranton among “America’s best cities for raising a family.” “We need to take advantage of the new millennial population shift that wants to be back in good, solid semiurban centers just like Scranton. We need to remove those barriers and bring them back to the city,” said Amoroso. “There’s not a study that does not show that this is the migration over the next 10 or 20 years.”
Welcoming Strangers into Our Midst In addition to the potential that Amoroso highlights for attracting more millennials to the city, another new group is already arriving in Scranton: refugees. This group is upping the population and infusing the city with a special diversity. Catholic Social Services has reported that more than 1,200 Bhutanese refugees have arrived since 2009, as well as 400 FA L L 2016
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Meskhetian Turks and several Syrian families. In the Scranton School District, an estimated 36 languages are spoken. “Scranton is a small city with many resources,” said Om Timsina, a proud Scranton resident who was forced from Bhutan with his family when he 3 years old. Timsina spent 18 years in Nepal as a refugee, learning and then teaching English. In 2009, he was among the first groups of Bhutanese refugees to come to Scranton. Since then, he has become a U.S. citizen and now works as a case manager for Catholic Social Services (CSS) of the Diocese of Scranton. He told his story during the seminar series, speaking alongside Sonya Sarner, program director for refugee and immigration services for CSS. Together, they discussed resettlement services to refugees, immigrants and migrants. Sarner and her team meet refugees upon arrival, and provide “safe and affordable” housing, as well as basic furniture and other household items. They assist in enrolling refugees in ESL classes, registering children in school and finding employment. Although the CSS team is “always there for our refugees,” said Sarner, the aforementioned services only last for three months. “I wish we could give them three years of services,” said Sarner. “Whether you speak English or not, you have to go to work.” In general, Sarner believes that the community has graciously welcomed refugees. Members of the University’s refugee crisis committee have worked closely with CSS, from welcoming refugee families at the airport to helping to coordinate a unique “pop-up” eatery experience featuring local Syrian refugee women as chefs.
A Professor’s Perspective University professor of sociology, criminal justice and women’s studies, Meghan Rich, Ph.D., studies how cities use arts and culture-based strategies to renew blighted areas. “If Scranton relies on its strengths and ‘authentic’ culture, it not only becomes a more attractive city for newcomers, but improves the quality of life for those who already call this city home,” she wrote in an essay for the online Journal. Read her perspective at scranton.edu/scrantonjournal.
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THE SCRANTON JOURN A L
The Living Wage There are many efforts in the city to attract new jobs and increase workforce development opportunities, which is why the University chose to recently focus on what constitutes a “living wage” in NEPA, the subject of a new study and a State of Scranton seminar. During the past year, the subject of minimum wage has been a topic of debate, both locally and nationally. The last time Pennsylvania raised the minimum wage was in 2006. Since then, 29 states and D.C. have raised their minimum wage. According to the “Living Wage Report 2016” — a subject of a State of Scranton talk — a significant gap exists between the minimum wage and a “living wage” for families in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties. The report, released by the Institute for Public Policy & Economic Development, The University of Scranton’s Education for Justice program and the Office of Community and Government Relations, sheds light on what families need to secure “a modest and dignified life” for their children. Additionally, serious economic challenges facing low-income families were explained, pointing to the need for more family-sustaining jobs. According to the study, while many families fall below official federal poverty measurements, there are also many others who work full-time, and are above the poverty line, but still fall short of earning an adequate living wage to provide for themselves and their children. Since they do not earn a living wage, they will likely have trouble meeting basic expenses, such as housing, food, child and medical care, transportation and taxes. “There are so many variables that are feeding into this problem, yet there are also so many opportunities to mitigate it in the future,” said Teri Ooms, the institute’s executive director and an author of the study. “The report brings these complex issues to a granular level, so we understand what is happening in our own community.” The study draws on the region’s network of community agency leaders who pointed to the fraying social safety net and their struggle to help families overcome financial shortfalls. “We heard about the real difficult trade-offs that families in our region are making,” said Michael Allison, Ph.D., coordinator of Education for Justice and chair of the University’s Political Science Department. The authors, who recommend increasing wages, supporting tax credits for low-income families, and adequately funding and expanding existing social service programs, said that this is just the beginning.
The full report, along with additional data, analysis and community leader input, can be found at scranton.edu/livingwage. University faculty will continue to explore these issues and the entire University will continue to engage with the community through student-service and communitybased learning activities.
What does it cost but dignified lives for families to live modest in Northeastern Pennsylvania?
Living Wage Rep ort 2016 The Institute for
EXECUTIVE SUMMA
Public Policy and The Univers & Economic Development ity of Scranto n
RY
Addressing Homelessness With a living wage that is unattainable for many, it comes as no surprise that some in the Scranton region struggle to find affordable housing and are left homeless. The official number of homeless has decreased over the years, but because so many do not admit to being without a home, “you can’t rely entirely on the ‘official’ number,” said Msgr. Joseph Kelly who, upon his retirement as the executive director of Catholic Social Services last year, The Times Leader has called “a champion for homeless people.” In his talk to the University community, Msgr. Kelly told stories of the homeless in Scranton. A family who spent nights sleeping in their car said they did not ask for “help” because they feared that their children would be taken from them if they did. A woman — confined to a wheelchair — slept on a friend’s couch. She eventually had a falling out with her friend and began to sleep on the street. Still, she did not consider herself homeless, but between homes. “People are embarrassed. People are scared. They don’t report that they are homeless,” Msgr. Kelly said. “Our shelter, St. Anthony’s Haven, is open 365 days a year. And it’s always full,” he added. “But because this problem is faceless, because it’s nameless, the vast majority of people in Scranton would say we don’t have a homeless problem.”
Scranton students participate in Trading Places, an intense, weeklong poverty simulation.
And when the numbers are skewed, the funding doesn’t come through. Then, the services just are not there when they are needed. Both longtime citizens and recent arrivals must recognize that there is a problem, even if they don’t see it on the streets, said Msgr. Kelly. Once the problem is recognized and openly discussed, there are numerous ways to help. In the past, Scranton students have taken part in an intense, weeklong poverty simulation downtown led by Vaccaro, called “Trading Places,” to attempt to better understand the community issue. They sleep outside, use public transportation and visit community agency offices. Msgr. Kelly is grateful for the University community’s continuous efforts to understand and serve the homeless population, particularly through the Leahy Clinic and active student and employee volunteers. But, there is always more to be done.
The Lackawanna River Heritage Trail is part of the route for the Steamtown Marathon.
Exploration and Beautification Coal mining, iron and steel production and lace fabrication are all part of Scranton’s history. With deindustrialization, buildings and warehouses were abandoned, creating blighted sections of the city. As the rest of the story goes, the city’s sudden loss of wealth and population left generations picking up the pieces. Now, despite financial woes, there is an influx of residents moving downtown and plenty of revitalization. The Lackawanna Heritage Valley (LHV), which aims to connect (and reconnect) residents to the region in unique ways, is developing 70 miles of regional trails. Since 2007, more than $8 million was spent on development of the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail, and Scranton saw the FA L L 2016
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Images: DxDempsey Architecture
BEFORE
AFTER
LEFT: Scranton Iron Furnaces as it stands now; RIGHT: The Furnaces reimagined by DxDempsey Architecture for “Scranton, What if?”
opening of many new trails and trailheads. In addition, there is now a Scranton architectural walking tour and a bike-share program to encourage everyone, from students to longtime residents, to explore the city and region. One of the bike-borrowing locations is at the University’s Weinberg Memorial Library. LHV’s director, Natalie Gelb, explained the importance of preserving and enhancing the physical character and economic vitality of the communities in the Lackawanna Valley during her State of Scranton talk. “We tell the region’s story and try to create a sense of pride and a sense of place,” said Gelb. The LHV is spearheading various efforts to connect both the University and the local community to the city’s history. For example, the Scranton Iron Furnaces (“remnants of a once extensive plant operated by the Lackawanna Iron & Steel Company that began in 1840,” according to the Anthracite Museum) is the subject of a “Scranton, What if?” plan to imagine something more for the city. Architect and Scranton native Michele Dempsey of DxDempsey Architecture, envisioned and laid out the “Scranton, What if?” plans. She joined Gelb for the series talk. Dempsey acknowledged that Scranton is more than its deficit and distressed status. “Scranton is alive with people who have hope and see the power of possibility,” she said. Consider Dempsey among the hopeful … and the realistic. “We kept an eye on reality,” she said, during her talk, noting that her firm’s visions for revitalization are economically feasible. 18
THE SCRANTON JOURN A L
“Scranton, What if?” projects include the Mall at Steamtown, which she and her team reimagined as a mixed-use development with a marketplace. The mall was subsequently bought and is being converted with these ideas in mind. Her team also devised a plan for the Iron Furnaces, which would include a restaurant, microbrewery, meeting spaces and interactive displays about the history of the iron industry. A new path would also connect the furnaces to the trails, making it a destination. “Scranton, What if?” is just one example of the many ways that the Scranton and University communities envision an even brighter future. “We must use ‘imagination and creativity together’ to solve problems,” said University President Kevin P. Quinn, S.J. While introducing a series talk, he quoted Ignacio Ellacuria, S.J., former President of the University of Central America in El Salvador. “It’s up to all of us,” concluded Quinn, as he reflected on how the wellbeing and future of the University and city are integrally connected. This is not the end of the discussion. There are more State of Scranton seminar talks scheduled for the 2016-2017 academic year. Topics will include the needs of Scranton’s aging population and the way in which arts and culture organizations are helping to enhance tourism and economic development. The series will further inform the University community about the mutually beneficial relationship between the town and the “gown.” Read more and see more photos at scranton.edu/scrantonjournal.
Battlefield Breakthroughs Wartime lessons in medicine link two alumni trauma surgeons.
Dr. Grabo and his team operating in Kandahar.
An active war zone may not seem like the time for medics and surgeons to reinvent the wheel. But trauma often calls for quick thinking, for decisiveness, for innovation. While serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, Donald Jenkins, M.D. ’84 helped to revolutionize an important corner of modern medicine through what he called “rediscoveries.” Years later, Daniel Grabo, M.D. ’98 followed the lead of one of his mentor’s in Afghanistan, employing Jenkins’ rediscoveries to save countless lives. Jenkins and Grabo both grew up in Luzerne County, a region that, Grabo noted, regularly breeds people who
place utmost importance on country, family and faith. It’s the place that helped launch both surgeons down military paths, and it was their Scranton education, they agreed, that helped lay the groundwork for the doctors they would become.
Meet the Mentor At Scranton, Jenkins, a biochemistry major, learned “philosophy and religion in the hallways,” he said. He also found a mentor in chemistry professor Marty Appleton, a World War II veteran, who suggested that Jenkins FA L L 2016
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consider military medical school. Jenkins did just that, going on to Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Maryland. In 1988, Jenkins went to San Antonio, Texas, for surgical training and joined the faculty of the Air Force’s Trauma Center in 1998. Soon after 9/11, he was deployed to Oman and was the first surgeon on the Arabian Peninsula, where he set up the first surgical hospital. Later, he served in Iraq as chief surgeon for the Air Force Theater Hospital before moving on to Afghanistan. After spending time in Rochester, Minnesota, as the director of the Level 1 Trauma Center, he returned to the Lone Star State to help lead the Military Health Institute at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. This trajectory married a traditional medical past to a “mind-blowing” future and left Jenkins with one overarching thought: “We better have learned something from this war.” Thankfully, he said, the medical establishment did. An early revelation in Jenkins’ career came in Oman, while he was treating severely injured soldiers in need of blood transfusions. Such patients ordinarily would receive component therapy, which is processed donor blood, made up of plasma, platelet and red-blood-cell parts. “But when I’m on a desert island in Oman,” he explained, “I have a fridge with 30 bags of only red blood cells. The only other blood products are walking around wearing uniforms with blood pumping through their veins.” And platelets, the key blood circulating cells that clot to stop bleeding, were badly needed. “The only way we could get platelets was to draw them from a donor on the spot,” he said. It was a reactionary method born of necessity, but it delivered shocking results. Trauma victims given two units of whole blood, as opposed to the typical 12 of processed blood, gained their health back more quickly. Casualties were dramatically reduced. Thus, a team of medical pioneers who looked to the past for answers was born. To Jenkins, whole blood transfusions made sense, but component therapy began in the 1970s and became standard practice by 1990, when he was training, so he had no experience with it. Nonetheless, he and his team began to use whole blood. It worked. 20
THE SCRANTON JOURN A L
Dr. Jenkins ‘84 at the American Legion’s 96th National Convention in 2014, where he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion’s highest honor. Previous recipients of the award include President John F. Kennedy, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Dr. Jonas Salk.
Lucas Carter/The American Legion
And they could hardly wait to take their findings home. “It was almost magical,” said Jenkins. “We rekindled this eight-track tape and played some really good music on it.” “Old-school” teachers would need no convincing, he said; contemporary skeptics, however, were a different story. Jenkins remembered being grilled during scientific trauma meetings. “They didn’t want to believe there was a better way to do things,” he said. Jenkins and his crew have recorded many positive outcomes using another new-old treatment: tourniquets. “In Vietnam,” Jenkins said, “More than 7,000 of our fellow citizens bled to death in what could have been stopped by a tourniquet.” A 90 percent post-hemorrhage death rate has become a 90 percent survival rate, he said, which means that more medical leaders are taking the long view. Count fellow alumnus Grabo among them.
Meet the Mentee A trauma surgeon at the Los Angeles County Navy Trauma Training Center, who also spent 10 months as chief of trauma in Kandahar, Afghanistan, Grabo was (and is) a big believer in Dr. Jenkins’ work. Thanks to him, said Grabo, he and other, newer military surgeons were “already using tourniquets, already using whole blood.” Jenkins laid the groundwork, and Grabo proudly carries the torch.
Grabo hears the echoes of cura personalis, which he learned when he was a biology major at Scranton. “I feel very strongly called to making sure all the hard work Dr. Jenkins did does not get lost,” he said. “After Vietnam, they learned a great deal about how to take care of combat casualties. Yet, these lessons learned were put on a shelf, and when we went back to war, our warriors were dying at too high a rate from preventable causes. Dr. Jenkins and his team had to rediscover all of these lessons, as well as a few more. It’s my job to make sure that we continue to talk about what they learned, to teach it and to refine it.” It’s a heady mission for the father of two young sons, and husband of fellow 1998 alumna Janet Ramos. “Ten to 20 years from now, when our children go off to fight the next ‘great war,’ we hope there won’t be mass casualties,” he said. Grabo has implemented Jenkins’ work to great success — at home and overseas — often through an evolving concept called damage-control surgery. Its time-saving elements relate to a military system that Jenkins established. In Iraq, Jenkins helped set up a coordinated — and boundary-breaking — trauma system among the Army, Navy and Air Force. Under the old order, a Marine medic would never take an injured Marine to an Army hospital because
Dr. Grabo ’98 (right) displays his Romanian Medal of Honor while in the company of a Romanian military representative.
home base was king, even if it meant “patients were going 90 miles in the wrong direction to get health care that was 20 miles in the other direction,” Jenkins said. Time management was equally critical for Grabo, who directed efforts to save the lives of Romanian security soldiers injured by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan in 2014. He received the Romanian Medal of Honor for his heroism. He used every “new-old” tool from Jenkins’ kit, including massive transfusions and tourniquets. Now, patients are sent to the nearest hospital that has the capabilities to care for their injury. Eliminating blind party loyalty has saved many lives. He continues to use those tools to train doctors in California and sees the difference tourniquets, for one thing, make on trauma patients from the streets of Los Angeles. In such situations, Grabo hears the echoes of cura personalis, which he learned when he was a biology major at Scranton. Treating friends and foes alike, out of respect for the individual person, may not be easy, but it’s a “no-matter-what” requirement, as important on the battlefields as in civilian life. Caring for drunk drivers, gang members and the like at home can be as difficult as caring for military enemies. “That’s where caring for the whole person comes into play,” said Grabo. The life-saving tourniquet makes no judgments, and neither does he. As for those tourniquets? “Jenkins was one of the major leaders on that front,” he said. “I am honored to know him and to look to him as a mentor and a leader.” Other believers in Jenkins are rapidly multiplying (he recently received the American Legion’s highest honor for his work), especially when it comes to using fresh, whole blood for transfusions. “They’ve dusted off the old manuals, they know the science and they see that this clearly is the way to go,” said Jenkins. “This is the plan for the next decade.” Get a closer look at the lives and careers of Drs. Jenkins and Grabo at scranton.edu/scrantonjournal.
Disclosure from the Department of the Navy/the Department of Defense (D.O.D.): The views presented here are those of the author and not necessarily the Navy or D.O.D. FA L L 2016
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90 80 United States population in millions
70 60 50
88.5
The Silver TSUNAMI Alumni and faculty discuss the aging of Baby Boomers and how to help people ‘age well.’ 40.3
40 30 20 10 0
19.0
Age _> 65 3.1 1900
5.5
Age _> 85 1910
1920
1930
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
Year
2020
2030
2040
2050
Projected
Source: Older Americans 2012: Key Indicators of Well-Being. Washington, D.C.: Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics; 2012.
M
ore than 25 years ago, Jack Lynch’s mom was suffering from early-onset Alzheimer’s and other health challenges. She was in her 60s. “What became very clear to me was the intense stress put on family and friends in that type of situation,” said Lynch ’83. Although his mom passed away 20 years ago, Lynch was recently reminded of those intense years when his father and sisters were caring for his mom. As he was fielding phone calls from seniors and their caretakers in his position as the CEO of Main Line Health in Philadelphia, he thought of his own family. “I became even more aware of the needs of those with aging parents,” recalled Lynch, who ultimately decided to add a senior-level position in his company to cater to the rising aging population and its needs. The aging of Baby Boomers, those born from 1946-1964, is creating an unprecedented need for senior-care service professionals. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), by 2030, the number of those 65 or older will more than double. Americans are living longer, said the CDC, which is focused on preventing and controlling “chronic diseas-
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es so that these added years translate into quality years.” This “silver tsunami,” as this aging and retirement of older Americans is sometimes called, is putting pressure on health care systems throughout the country.
The Sandwich Generation Baby Boomers are often caregivers to their elderly parents, and some individuals in this generation are beginning to experience their own health issues. Whether it’s the former, the latter or both, there are resources to be had, but it can be confusing where to find them. Lynch noticed that missing piece of the puzzle. In addition to taking care of their parents, Baby Boomers are often taking care of their children, and even their grandchildren. The “sandwich generation” is caregiving, in one way or another, around the clock. “There’s an essential community need, and there are a lot of people who are falling through the cracks,” said Lynch. Once he identified this need, Lynch created a system director of senior services position at Main Line Health. He and his team conducted a national search to find the most qualified
candidate, who happened to be fellow alumnus Brian Duke ’79, former secretary of aging of Pennsylvania (the nation’s fourth-grayist state). “With the volume of people aging,” said Duke, “we have to make sure we provide care at the right time, in the right setting, in the right way and with the right intensity.” Duke participated in the University’s 2012 Conference on Aging, which integrates academic findings on aging with practical applications and, more important, facilitates creative collaboration among practitioners, health care institutions and universities. According to Duke, who has now been at Main Line Health for a year, the key to connecting people to resources is creating a dialogue about “what it means to grow older, and grow older well.”
Initiating a Dialogue
“It’s really about staying with people,” said Duke. “How do we stay with them so they, or those making the decisions for them, can make the best informed decisions and have access to the services they need?” One of the team’s most important tasks? Preparation, noted Duke, which involves being out in the community, educating the aging population about advance care directives related to end-of-life decisions. “These are difficult conversations,” said Duke. “None of us wants to talk about directives, but we know we have to think about it.” Health care professionals should — early on — practice initiating these “difficult conversations,” said Patricia Wright, Ph.D., who teaches an end-of-life, seminar course at Scranton, which consists of mostly upperclassmen, who have already begun their clinicals. She believes that, though it doesn't always happen, it’s better to conduct the difficult conversations long before the end of life. “The students bring a lot to talk about; they’ve already experienced a lot,” she said. “We talk about how to support patients, not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually as well.” Wright echoed Duke’s assertions that a team of healthcare professionals consisting of doctors, nurses, social workers, therapists and other senior- care professionals should be involved in the care of older patients. And, more important, the team should discuss options with the entire family unit. This, according to Duke, is when he relies on his Jesuit training in “being for and with others.” “Scranton imbues that in all of us,” he said. “Sometimes, an older person takes his or her time telling you something. Don’t rush it; you may miss it. In the field of aging and health care, there is this gift of being present … and the presence of God is there.”
“Sometimes, an older person takes his or her time telling you something. Don’t rush it; you may miss it."
Duke and his team work hard to initiate a dialogue about their patients' — and their caregivers' — futures. Thanks to their seniorcare navigation health line, patients are able to describe their unique situation, then the team determines their best course of action. “Sometimes, patients simply describe what they’re living through. They don’t know where to start. We spend time helping people form their questions,” said Duke. The team’s ultimate goal is to reduce the risk of hospital readmission, which is more complex than it sounds. Reducing risk involves addressing both the medical and social aspects of a person’s life. For example, a patient might be discharged with a prescription and a list of appointments but have no way of getting to those appointments. The team refers patients to resources that will help them with everything from prescription schedules to transportation.
Are you a caregiver? Get Duke’s tips on how to do it well at scranton.edu/scrantonjournal.
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PROFILE: Mike Soskil ’97, G’09
Mike Soskil teaches Wallenpaupack South Elementary School students in 2015. INSET: Soskil, third from right, celebrates on stage with his fellow Global Teacher Prize finalists.
The Global Stage An alumnus teaches his students to be global citizens and receives recognition for it in Dubai.
BIG THINGS are possible, even in a small town.
Photo credit: The Varkey Foundation
That’s something science teacher Mike Soskil ’97, G’09, Global Teacher Prize finalist, tries to teach his Wallenpaupack South Elementary School students, whether through science experiments, Skyping abroad or service. His commitment to broadening his students’ horizons is why he returned to Newfoundland, his hometown. “I wanted kids in my hometown to know how much they mattered and to know that they could dream big, even though they were from an area where there was quite a bit of poverty,” he said.
A Big Deal When Soskil was chosen as a top 10 finalist for the Varkey Foundation’s $1 million prize — sometimes called the Nobel Peace Prize of education — he set an unprecedented community example. The prize is presented annually to “an exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to [his/her] profession.” Here was a teacher from Northeastern Pennsylvania — inspired, energetic, curious — being recognized in a way teachers are often not.
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Now this head teacher is making it his mission to ensure other teachers get the recognition they deserve. Locally, he encourages fellow teachers to call the newspapers to discuss projects and talk openly about how they’re influencing students. He also networks with teachers through speaking engagements, conferences and Twitter. “Teachers do something great, and they say, ‘It’s not a big deal.’ Well, it is a big deal. And if other people knew about it,
PROFILE: Mike Soskil ’97, G’09
they’d think it was an amazingly big deal,” Soskil said. This year’s Global Teacher Prize wasn’t the first time he was recognized. He was a 2015 top 50 finalist for the prize and, in 2013, at the White House, he won a Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government for K-12 math and science teaching. He is also recognized as a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert, one of a handful who “represents the best of the best when it comes to using technology to reinforce critical 21st-century skills.” He is now a finalist for the 2017 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year. Prior to teaching science during the 2015-2016 school year, Soskil served as a curriculum coach at his current school, brainstorming and implementing ways to make material more relevant to students. “We did everything from bringing in the chief bracketologist from USA Today to talk to our calculus students about how he uses calculus to develop his NCAA bracket to bringing in LeVar Burton from ‘Reading Rainbow’ to read his book to our firstgraders,” he said. In March, Soskil sat in front of an audience of thousands, including his wife and mom, at the Global Teacher Prize ceremony in Dubai. He was awaiting the announcement of the winner, thinking, “What will I do if I win?” But he also considered, “What will I do if I don’t win?” The answer was the same: “I want to change the narrative for teachers and start telling the stories of the great things that are happening in education to inspire the kid who doesn’t know if he or she wants to be a teacher, or to inspire the teacher who is feeling beat down after years of teaching.” Soskil was grateful to have gotten to know his fellow finalists. “As much as I wanted to win, I also was rooting for each of them, because I knew they had amazing stories to tell and a great message for teachers of the world,” he said.
Teaching in a Virtual World Soskil didn’t win the grand prize, but he went home “thrilled” for the winner, Hanan Al Aroub from Palestine, and with a deeper understanding that “students need to have autonomy over their learning in order to be truly engaged in the learning process.” “We know that kids brings their own passions to the classroom and their own unique perspective on things,” he said. “So we try to expose students to as many different, passionate people in the world … and varying points of view … as we can, through video conferencing.” In the past two years, Soskil and his students have connected via multimedia technology with more than 70 different countries, the international space station and Antarctica. Social innovators, national park rangers and scientists share their
passions and help to supplement classroom learning. These “virtual field trips” involve real-time questions and often lead students to want to delve deeper and “do more,” Soskil said. In fact, his students connected with children in Kansas and Greece to raise more than $12,000 for water filters to protect 3,000 against disease in Nairobi’s Kibera slum. It began when Soskil’s students also set up a “cultural exchange,” sharing songs and stories with the Kenyan students. The Wallenpaupack students even learned a little Swahili.
A Message of Service Soskil learned this message of service, this sense of something “bigger than us,” from his mom, a longtime executive at the Red Cross, and he learned how to teach it from his time at The University of Scranton. “I believe that Scranton prepared me to be a teacher better than anyone else I know,” he said. “I feel like I stepped in the classroom with an understanding of what my role was beyond just delivering content to kids. I understood I was a source of inspiration and empowerment to my kids.” Soskil also tries to empower educators to do more than teach to the test. “We have to focus bigger than that,” he said. “We want kids to be successful global citizens and human beings; that’s the purpose of education.”
A CONVERSATION Between Mike Soskil ’97, G’09 and Darryl DeMarzio, Ph.D., chair of the University’s Education Department
DeMarzio: In thinking about professional networks of teachers, it makes me think, well, what does it mean to conduct teacher education? Is teacher education just preparation for a profession, or is it an ongoing activity in which philosophical reflection takes place? Soskil: I think it should be the latter. Absolutely. We’re too focused on college and career-ready right now; it’s too narrow of a bowl. You could be perfectly ready for a career and have no skills that allow you to get enjoyment out of life, or to give back to others, or all of the things that make life worthwhile. Read more about Soskil’s teaching philosophy in a conversation he had with Darryl DeMarzio, chair of the University’s Education Department. You can find the conversation at scranton.edu/ scrantonjournal. Photo credit: Fourth-grader Michael Soskil Jr.
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PROFILE: Sharon Kneiss ’77
Good Science
The outspoken president and CEO of the National Waste & Recycling Association is helping to clean up — and educate — America.
Sharon Kneiss ‘77 at an NWRA board of governors meeting last year in Miami, Florida, sitting next to chair of the board, Ben Harvey.
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omeone has to speak for the garbage.
Sharon Kneiss ’77 does it each and every day as the president and CEO of the National Waste & Recycling Association. But one of her proudest moments was when her outspoken passion for her job made its way into her personal life. She and her husband John were driving near their Bethesda, Maryland, neighborhood when yet another driver tried to maneuver — dangerously — around a garbage truck. “My husband actually got out and chided the passing driver,” she recalled with a chuckle. “I guess I trained him well.” A blatant disregard for the safety of these “undervalued” trash collectors, who are performing an important service in the community, drives Kneiss “absolutely crazy.” A North Scranton native, who has lived and labored in Washington, D.C., for much of her life, Kneiss runs the trade association that represents companies that collect, manage and recycle waste, as well as those who supply to the industry, including waste equipment manufacturers, distributors and other service providers. She spends her days advocating for policies
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that support the environmentally responsible management of the nation’s trash, and the end game is sustainability. “It’s all about how you manage the end of life for products,” she said, characterizing her job as sort of a palliative care for inanimate objects. The behind-the-scenes life of trash, from birth to death to rebirth, is something Kneiss thinks about on a daily basis. “I call recycling an ‘innovators’ game,’” she said, noting the range of items born of garbage: fleece, carpeting and Trex® composite decking, for example, and even recycling bins themselves.
Firing the Flame Kneiss credits her time at Scranton, where she learned to focus on results, driven by strong data. She fondly recalls one all-nighter when she and her chemistry classmates supervised the Wittig Reaction in the chemistry lab. This focus on good results, she said, translated into her eventual work on the life cycle of trash, and the intensity and camaraderie she
PROFILE: Sharon Kneiss ’77
experienced helped prepare her for her roles as advocate and innovator. She also valued her Jesuit education, so much so that she eventually sent her son to a Jesuit high school. Now, she’s glad to connect with fellow Scranton alumni in D.C., who are also colleagues, working in senior positions at trade associations. “It’s just wonderful to have that community,” she said. One such connection is Steve Sandherr ’80, CEO at Associated General Contractors of America, the largest trade association for the construction industry in America. Having known each other for 20 years, Sandherr and Kneiss exchange emails and have lunch often, discussing work and life. “She’s sharp, she’s professional, and she’s done a great job of growing her membership and advancing her association,” Sandherr said.
The Issues To hear Kneiss, who also earned an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh, recount her career trajectory, working for the Petroleum Institute in the late ’80s, addressing the Resource Conservation & Recovery Act (RCRA), marked her first steps down the advocacy and policy road. RCRA authorized the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to control hazardous waste “from the cradle to the grave,” according to epa. gov. Amendments enabled the EPA to address potential environmental problems from underground petroleum tanks. As vice president in the American Chemistry Council’s products divisions in the late 2000s, she worked to ensure that legislative and regulatory decisions to address any chemical concerns were made based on good science. She also broke ground with partnerships and campaigns on critical issues. In one such partnership, with California government and conservation groups, she developed and introduced programs to increase plastics recycling and achieved a 30 percent increase in favorability ratings among influential residents. Her stops along the way might lead a casual observer to conclude she’s been on both sides of issues. But according to Kneiss, her positions have always had one thing in common: “I’ve always in the bin been on the side of good science,” 1. Card b 2. Pap oard she said. “Each industry has its er 3. Foo db challenges, and the bottom line is 4. Mail oxes each of these industries is working 5. Beve ra 6. Foo ge cans to do the right thing based on good d cans 7. Gla data and good science.” ss b 8. Jars ottles (glas That’s not to say the “right thing” plastic s & always gets the popular vote. Hydraulic 9. Jugs ) 10. Pla fracturing, or fracking, for example, has stic
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bottle
Sharon Kneiss (right) visits an NWRA member facility.
divided minds in the Marcellus Shale regions. Kneiss is not an opponent. “Using good, sound and safe methods to extract gas is beneficial from an energy perspective for this country,” she said. Landfills also get a bad rap, she said. “Landfills are an important aspect of waste handling and are highly engineered facilities that segregate waste from the environment. In addition, we extract landfill gas (methane) produced at many landfills and use that gas to power electricity or as fuel for CNG vehicles. There is enough gas extracted from landfills to power 1.2 million homes in this country.”
Teachable Moments Kneiss remembers returning to Scranton in 2005 to give a presentation about recycling. “Recycling has blossomed in the last 20 years,” she said, noting curbside community blue-bin collections have risen from 500 to more than 10,000 and are now available to about 70 percent of the population. Teaching the ins and outs in this business is essential. Kneiss has been in the recycling and waste-management business long enough to have witnessed its evolution and speak to its cyclical nature. The industry has evolved “from treating waste as a health concern to treating waste as something from which you extract the greatest value,” she said, adding that recycling is actually a commodity business. That means recyclables are sold to entities that are going to make new products from what has been cast off. The problem right now, she said, is that “prices are very, very low.” “One of the things we’re addressing is: How do you make the whole recycling business a sustainable business?” she said. That’s a question worth asking again and again because, as Kneiss points out, “This is an industry that touches every single person on this planet.” For more on the state of recycling today from the perspective of Sharon Kneiss — and to learn why plastic bags should stay out of your recycling bin — visit scranton.edu/scrantonjournal.
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PROFILE: Dan Akerman ’06
Ghosts Off the Mountain An alumnus climbs Mount Everest, collecting snow samples for research along the way.
Dan Akerman ’06 at the summit of Mount Everest at 5:47 a.m. on May 14.
NINE HOURS TO WAIT. Nearly at the peak of Mount Everest, alone with his thoughts, Dan Akerman ’06, lay in his tent on Friday, May 13, waiting for his Sherpa to tell him it was time to attempt the night climb to the mountain’s peak — 29,029 feet. They were camped in the “death zone,” appropriately named for the extremely harsh conditions and the impossibility of rescue so close to the top. “In the ‘death zone’ every ounce of energy your body uses, it can’t recover,” said Akerman. “You’re slowly dying, essentially.” Telling the story a month later, he was calm and spoke in a measured tone. He was — mostly — recovered, albeit with some frostbite. But, at the time, his mind was reeling, and his body was devouring energy. “I was just turning things over in my mind: how I got started, and all the things I had to do to get to this day,” he said. “What happens if I don’t summit? How will that affect me in all aspects of my life? I was attempting to prove to myself that anything is possible. What if anything is not possible? How could I recover, mentally, from that?” 28
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The Ascent Five years ago, Akerman, a vice president of crisis management at Swiss Re, an insurance company in San Francisco, California, set his 2016 Everest plan into motion. He mapped out training schedules (he had already begun to train, climbing Mount Rainier in 2010, Aconcagua in 2012, Denali in 2014 and Manaslu in 2015) and calculated the cost of more than $50,000, which he then raised. All the while, he worked 40-50 hours a week and trained two hours a day, three or more in the months before the climb. For Akerman, it took dedication. “I always think of that quote, ‘Of those to whom much is given, much is expected.’ I think about that quote a lot,” he said. “I’ve been given so many opportunities,” many of which he attributes to his experiences at Scranton. A decade earlier as a student, this international finance and business major wasn’t thinking about mountain climbing. What was “expected” of him, at that point, was making the Dean’s List. “When he sets his mind to something,” said Lena Akerman, Dan’s mother, “he follows through.”
PROFILE: Dan Akerman ’06
Dan Akerman was born in Sweden, moved to New York with his family as a toddler, then back to Sweden with his family at age 9. But before he moved back to his homeland, he promised an American friend (Michael Cassino ’06) that they would reunite at college in the United States. In 2002, they became roommates at Scranton. Just like Everest, his mom noted, “he delivered 100 percent according to plan.” She recognized his determination, but admitted that his Everest climb made her, and the rest of the family, nervous. After all, avalanches in the last two years have killed 35 climbers and injured many others. And her son took on an extra challenge while there. Through Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation, an organization that pairs explorers with scientists to conduct research, Akerman planned to collect three snow samples for researchers who are trying to prove that the Tibetan Plateau is melting at extremely high altitudes. To do so, he would have to make his way deep into crevasses in three different places along his Everest route and send the samples back to Denver.
their bodies to the altitude. They made it to Khumbu Icefall, a craggy, treacherous expanse of ice. “The ice blocks are always teetering. They will collapse at some point, but hopefully not when you’re underneath them,” said Akerman. “There are some risks you can’t control.” They arrived at Camp III, halfway up the Lhotse Face, on May 12. On Friday the 13th, they were at Camp IV. Wind prevented many groups from attempting to summit, yet Akerman and his team decided to make their ascent. Within an hour, he couldn’t feel his toes. But, as usual, he was committed to his goal. “I was just so set on getting to the summit then … bad weather? It didn’t faze me,” he said, citing summit fever. “There was nothing stopping me.” “Colors started building on the horizon at 4:30 a.m.,” he said. At 5:47 a.m., Akerman reached Everest’s peak. Suddenly, he was scared. “If I can’t get down on my own two feet, I’m not going to get down,” he recalled thinking. “I might freeze to death. I could potentially die today.”
PHOTOS: Dan Akerman
FROM LEFT: The Milky Way, taken from Base Camp at 3 a.m., before an acclimatization climb through the Khumbu
Icefall; Base Camp with Khumbu Icefall in the background; View from the final ridge before Akerman’s summit
View more photos of this incredible trek at scranton.edu/scrantonjournal.
The Peak Akerman arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal, by way of his home in Sweden on March 30. He hiked alongside two Sherpas, who had a combined 25 Everest summits. Because of the snow samples, Island Peak — the “warm-up mountain” and the least technically challenging part of the climb — proved difficult for Akerman. Around 19,600 feet, there was no crevasse safe enough to climb. So he had to dig. Into the ice. Seven feet down. It took five hours, but he managed to get the first sample and send it off. He easily got the next two samples. Eventually, he and his team got to Everest Base Camp. Because they were already acclimated to the high altitude from their extra time on Island Peak, they decided to go straight to Camp III. Usually, climbers do rotations up the mountain to adjust
After 34 minutes on the summit, Akerman and the Sherpas made their descent. No one else had gone up that day due to high winds. When they approached Camp IV, people emerged from their tents and pointed into the swirling snow. “We must have seemed like ghosts coming off the mountain,” he said. Once they made their way down through Khumbu Icefall, he breathed a sigh of relief. Then, almost immediately, he set another goal. As he checked Everest off his list, he devised a plan to reach the highest peak on every continent, “the seven summits.” For now, though, Akerman is readjusting to his normal routine as a businessperson in San Francisco, sitting at a desk with frostbite on his toes.
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Athletics
Lady Royals Make History with 30 Consecutive Victories
The Lady Royals celebrate their victory over Christopher Newport in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
Royals Return to the NCAA Tournament Making its 27th appearance in the NCAA Tournament after earning an at-large bid, the men’s basketball team finished the season with a 19-8 record after losing to Lynchburg in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Senior forward Brendan Boken was named Landmark Conference Player of the Year and a first-team selection. Junior forward John Vitkus was named Defensive Player of the Year and a second-team selection.
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Boken Becomes Royals’ All-time Leading Scorer Senior forward Brendan Boken finished his career with 1,911 points, the most in the men’s basketball program’s 99-year history. He capped his career by being named first-team All-American by D3hoops.com and third-team All-American by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. He also earned Landmark Conference Player of the Year honors. Boken is the 61st All-American in the University’s history, across all sports.
The Lady Royals women’s basketball team posted a season for the record books in 2015-16, as the team finished with a 30-1 overall mark, won the Landmark Conference championship and advanced to the Elite Eight of the 2016 NCAA Division III Tournament. First-year head coach Trevor Woodruff, who collected Coach of the Year honors in the Landmark, led the Lady Royals to a school-record 30 victories in a row before bowing out in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament to eventual national runner-up Tufts. In February, the Lady Royals capped an unbeaten run in the Landmark, winning their fourth conference crown since joining the league in 2007-08 with a 78-57 win over Catholic in the Long Center. The conference title was the 25th in program history for the Lady Royals and the first Landmark Conference crown for the team since 2014. Junior forward Sarah Payonk was named second-team All-American by D3hoops.com and honorable mention AllAmerican by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, while also earning the title of Landmark Conference Player of the Year. Fellow junior forward Alexix Roman was named a third-team AllAmerican by D3hoops.com and was a first-team all-conference choice, and freshman guard Bridgette Mann was named the conference’s Rookie of the Year.
Wrestling Continues Resurgence Posting nine dual-meet victories this past season, the most since the 2004-05 season, the wrestling team finished the season 9-9. The Royals had a thrilling 28-15 win over King’s Jan. 13 in the Long Center, the team’s first victory over its nearby rival since 2005. Junior Ian Evans (pictured) finished the season with a 29-8 record at 157 pounds. He now has 90 career victories, the third most in school history. Three other wrestlers — senior Eric Calimano, sophomore Nicholas DePierro and freshman Daniel D’Agostini — each won more than 20 matches.
Athletics
Trio Leads Royals on the Diamond Three baseball players made the all-Landmark Conference team after the Royals finished their season with a 16-21 record. Sophomore outfielder Tommy Trotter and sophomore shortstop Brad Schneider (pictured) both earned first-team honors, while senior first baseman Zach Dignam was a second-team selection. Both Dignam and Trotter reached the 100-hit milestone for their careers during the season, with Trotter doing so in just his 64th career game.
Scranton Golfers Shine on the Links The men’s golf team finished fourth at the Empire 8 Conference championships, the team’s sixth straight season finishing in the top four at the conference championships. Senior Eric Montella (pictured) had a strong spring, finishing seventh at the conference championships to earn second-team, all-conference honors. Fellow senior Ryan Brown also had a strong season, leading the Royals with an average of 79.00 over 11 rounds.
Men’s Lacrosse Reaches Double-Digit Victories Again It was another strong season for men’s lacrosse. The team reached the Landmark Conference playoffs for the sixth straight season and eighth time in the last nine. The Royals finished with an 11-7 record, marking the third consecutive season they’ve won at least 10 games. Four players earned All-Landmark Conference honors for their play: senior midfielders Brad Elkin (pictured) and Alec Mikrut and sophomore midfielder Adam Drury were first-team choices; senior goalkeeper Nicholas McKaba was a second-team choice.
Women’s Lacrosse Breaks New Ground The women’s lacrosse team reached the Landmark Conference championship for the first time in the conference’s nine-year history. The Royals finished the season with 11 victories, matching the program’s highest win total in the past 11 years. The Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association selected junior attacker Meghan Kerr to the first-team All-Boardwalk Region, and senior midfielder Erin Allen (pictured) was a secondteam choice. Both Kerr and Allen were also first-team All-Landmark Conference honorees. Senior defender Bridget Gallaher earned second-team honors.
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Athletics The 2016 senior student-athlete award winners, from left: Erin Casey, women’s soccer (Carlesimo Award); Brendan Boken, men’s basketball (O’Hara Award); Ryan Brown, men’s golf (Carlesimo Award); Bridget Gallaher, women’s lacrosse (Fitzpatrick Award); and Emily Walsh, women’s tennis (O’Hara Award).
Seventy-four Student-athletes Honored at Annual Luncheon The Athletics Department held the 25th annual Senior Student-Athlete Luncheon on Saturday, May 14 in the DeNaples Center. Seventy-four senior student-athletes were recognized during the event, which included the presentation of the Athletics Department Merit Awards to those with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.5 or higher. The luncheon also included the presentation of five special awards to senior student-athletes: • Bridget Gallaher, women’s lacrosse – Fitzpatrick Award (outstanding community service and leadership) • Erin Casey, women’s soccer, and Ryan Brown, men’s golf – Carlesimo Award (academic and athletic achievement) • Emily Walsh, women’s tennis, and Brendan Boken, men’s basketball – O’Hara Award (most outstanding studentathletes in the senior class) In addition, longtime men’s and women’s volunteer assistant basketball coach Canio Cianci was presented with the Beining Award for outstanding contributions to the Athletics Department.
Walsh Shines for Women’s Tennis For the fourth consecutive season, the women’s tennis team finished with double-digit wins. They had a 12-7 overall mark, qualifying for the Landmark Conference playoffs for the ninth straight season in the process. Senior Emily Walsh (pictured) broke Scranton’s all-time, career singles victories record with 49 wins. She was also named first-team all-conference in singles and doubles, ending her career at Scranton with 44 doubles wins, the second-most in program history. Sophomore Julia Frattaroli earned first-team honors in singles and doubles, and junior Emily Machado was a second-team choice in singles.
Men’s Tennis Makes Return to Conference Playoffs The men’s tennis team qualified for the Landmark Conference playoffs for the first time since 2014, finishing with an 8-10 overall mark and a 5-3 ledger in Landmark Conference play. The team was led by five student-athletes who earned All-Landmark Conference honors: freshman Charles Swope (second-team singles); sophomore Keller McGurrin (second-team doubles); freshman Alexander Ochalski (second-team doubles); and juniors Michael Pottieger (second-team doubles) and Matt Prendergast (second-team doubles).
Stricker Sparks Softball to Postseason Berth The softball team punched a ticket to the Landmark Conference playoffs, finishing with a 20-16 overall record, marking the first time Scranton played in the Landmark Playoffs since 2012. Scranton was paced by junior Shannon Stricker (pictured), who went on to win the Landmark Conference’s Player of the Year award after batting .403 with 27 RBIs. Stricker was also honored for her work in the classroom, as she earned CoSIDA Academic All-District Honors. Juniors Jenna Snyder (first-team) and Christine Kiefer (second-team) also earned all-conference accolades.
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Athletics
Baseball Team Goes Beyond the Field, to the Dominican Republic The University of Scranton baseball team spent five days in January in the Dominican Republic to play four games and perform community service, traveling from Santo Domingo to San Pedro De Macoris to Boca Chica. The team was greeted by Major League Baseball players, worked on its game, met children at a local orphanage and, near the end of its trip, held a baseball clinic for children of all ages. Sophomore outfielder Chase Standen chronicled the five days through several blog posts. Even practice in the Dominican Republic, he wrote, was eventful. “It was incredible how quickly our practice became a community event. With Spanish music playing throughout the duration of our practice, we all seemed to have a good time,” he wrote. “Some members of the team went beyond their comfort zones to try to communicate with the players, even though they knew little to no Spanish.” The team’s head coach, Mike Bartoletti, said he was proud of his players. “This trip was a very eye-opening experience for my team and me,” said Bartoletti. “The team did an outstanding job of representing The University of Scranton. I feel that we made a positive impression in every person’s life that we came in contact with during our stay.” Standen, who called visiting the orphanage a highlight of the trip, reflected on his and his team’s time in the Dominican Republic in his “Day Five” post:
The team arrives at its home for the week, Bellevue Resorts in Boca Chica.
Over the course of our trip, we played three incredible teams and shared a baseball field with former MLB players. We met people at the hotel from all walks of life and met more while playing ball. We shared our stories with them, and they shared theirs. From practicing with a 14-year-old Red Sox prospect, to shaking current Kansas City Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura’s hand, and even talking with Arno, Lobo, and Eddie from Sammy’s crew, it was truly an honor to see, up front and personal, how an incredible culture has been built around a game. Nowhere else will you find such a universal love for baseball.
Even with all of these once-in-alifetime baseball experiences, our trip gave us more beyond the field than we expected. Nothing can beat bringing a smile to the face of a child who hasn’t smiled in a long time, nor the sound of laughter coming from a child who has every reason in life not to be happy. In a couple of months, we might forget names, in a couple of years, we might forget how we played while we were there, but for a lifetime, we will remember what it was like to make a child who thinks no one cares feel like the most important person in the world. On top of that, we have made long-lasting memories as a team and grown closer to each other in four days than we have in the past four months. I know for a fact that we would do it all again in a heartbeat. Read all of Standen’s posts at scranton.edu/scrantonjournal.
The Royals line up before their game against the Dominican Army moments after pitcher Yordano Ventura (shaking hands on the right), of the World Series champion Kansas City Royals, threw out the game’s first pitch.
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University Advancement
Christopher Louin ’17
A Royal Experience A new internship program enables students to choose the internship they really want.
As summer approaches, many students face an important decision: Should they pursue an unpaid internship in their field of choice to gain valuable, résumé-building skills, or choose a paying job that will provide much-needed income between semesters? Thanks to the establishment of the Royal Experience Summer Internship Program, this quandary was made easier for 13 Scranton students this year. Funded largely through the philanthropy of the Parents’ Executive Council, the new program aims to offset the financial burden that comes with unpaid work, offering a stipend of up to $4,000 to each qualifying award recipient. Kylie Mignat ’18 said it was a relief to know that she would receive financial assistance while interning at the TMH Law Offices in Scranton over the summer. Mignat, of Canadensis, a triple major in international studies, German cultural studies and
Hispanic studies, hopes to pursue a career as an immigration attorney. Interning at the law firm enabled her to review closed cases and assist attorneys who were working on active files. “[The stipend] means the entire world to me because I had no other way of gaining any experience without this funding,” Mignat said. “This award has helped me to afford housing and food for the summer, as well as the attire I needed to enter my firm’s office and the special immigration court in Philadelphia.” According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), 65 percent of 2015 graduates interned while earning a bachelor’s degree. Though many internships offer a stipend, unpaid internships still remain common. NACE’s “Class of 2015 Student Survey” indicates that about 40 percent of internships or co-ops are unpaid, with significantly higher percentages of unpaid offerings in social services, education, government and similar fields. Christopher Louin ’17 of Doylestown fell into this — Kylie Mignat ’18 category. The electronic commerce major spent the summer working in a government position after being offered a spot within the competitive Mayor’s Internship Program in the City of Philadelphia. Louin intentionally chose to bypass other internships — some of which offered a salary — to spend his summer where he felt he would be doing the most meaningful work. He began his summer working in the city’s records office, then moved to City Hall to assist with process optimization and group performance
“[The stipend] means the entire world to me because I had no other way of gaining any experience without this funding.”
ROYAL EXPERIENCE SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROGRAM AWARDEES Matthew Busch ’17 Friendship House, Scranton Marissa DeStefano ’17 Good Grief, Morristown, New Jersey Alex Gardner ’17 REU Prog. @ Miami University of Ohio, Oxford, Ohio Gretchen Selinski ’17 Weight Watchers, Towson, Maryland
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Daniel Muenkel ’19 U.S. Securities and Exchange Comm., New York, New York
Alyssa Purdy ’17 Onondaga County Health Dept., Syracuse, New York
Christopher Louin ’17 Mayor’s Internship Program of the City of Philadelphia, Philadelphia
Emily Darcy ’17 WHHI-TV, Hilton Head, South Carolina
Megan Bershefsky ’17 Democratic National Committee, Washington, D.C.
Kaitlyn Leithauser ’16 Atrium Post Acute Care of Park Ridge, Park Ridge, New Jersey
Kylie Mignat ’18 TMH Law Offices, Scranton Margaret Blount ’17 Pivot Physical Therapy, Columbia, Maryland Margaret Dodgson ’18 The University of Scranton, Scranton
Commission in New York City and the Democratic National Committee in the District of Columbia. “It was a dream to start this program, to be very honest, and to see it come to fruition is amazing,” said Whitney. “It was so exciting when we contacted the students and told them they were selected — it was the best day of the year.” Whitney anticipates expanding the program, allowing more stipends to be awarded. Meanwhile, Mignat remains thankful that the Royal Experience Summer Internship Program, and those who contributed to it, gave her the chance to see firsthand what her future career might be like — without the worry. “It really gives excellent opportunities to students who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford the internship of their dreams,” said Mignat. “I never could have been able to afford to spend 10 weeks doing this internship without the help of these generous donors, and I am so thankful to them. I can only hope that others in the future can continue to receive the same gift I did this summer.”
University Advancement
management projects. Louin believes the tasks fit particularly well with his minor in operations management. “I felt really proud to be chosen for the program. Knowing a check would come in really helped,” Louin said. “I spent a lot of money to get to my internship every day, including taking the train and parking. I knew it was unpaid, but it was such a great opportunity for me that I couldn’t pass it up.” Louin said the skills he acquired, and the contacts he made, will be advantageous when he is ready to find a job after graduation. Christina M. Whitney, director of The Gerard R. Roche Center for Career Development, said the Royal Experience Summer Internship Program was modeled after a successful program at Boston College. Rising sophomores, juniors and seniors in good academic standing, who had accepted a meaningful unpaid internship between eight and 12 weeks long with a minimum of 200 hours, were eligible to apply. Seventy-nine students threw their hats in the ring. The winning 13 students, noted Whitney, emerged as the cream of the crop. Selected students completed internships in myriad fields spanning the East Coast, including at a television station in Hilton Head, South Carolina, the U.S. Securities and Exchange
The Royal Experience Summer Internship Program is made possible by supporters like you. To help increase the number of students who benefit from the program, please visit scranton.edu/ makeagift and enter “Royal Experience” as the fund name.
Bob Bessoir '55 Honored at the Carlesimo Award Dinner A standout basketball player and coach at the University was honored at this year’s Carlesimo Golf Tournament and Award Dinner in June. Bob Bessoir ’55, who served in a variety of roles at Scranton during his legendary career, was recognized at the annual fundraising event on June 20 at Saucon Valley Country Club. More than 250 guests, including keynote speaker P.J. Carlesimo, attended the event. Bessoir played four seasons for the Royals, finishing his career with 1,078 points and 838 rebounds. In his final college game, Bessoir pulled down a school-record 43 rebounds, an effort no other Royal has come close to matching. During his 29 seasons as men’s basketball head coach, Bessoir led the Royals to 554 victories and was named national coach of the year in 1983 and 1992. In 1976, he guided the Royals to the University’s first National Championship, a feat they repeated in 1983. All in all, Bessoir led the Royals to 18 NCAA Tournament appearances, 14 Middle Atlantic Conference titles and 13 seasons of at least 20 wins. Bessoir also served as acting director of Athletics, head men’s tennis coach, head baseball coach, professor of physical education and director of the National Youth Sports Program. Of all the jobs that Bessoir held at the University, it is
The 2016 Peter A. Carlesimo Award is accepted by Bob Bessoir ’55. Pictured, from left: Dave Martin, director of Athletics; Bob Bessoir; University President Kevin P. Quinn, S.J., and P.J. Carlesimo.
his coaching prowess that Royals fans will never forget. Named in honor of Peter A. Carlesimo, former University of Scranton coach and athletics director, the Carlesimo Golf Tournament and Award Dinner honors a person who has made special contributions to athletics and Catholic education. This year’s event raised more than $100,000 for athletics at Scranton and will help provide a transformational experience for the University’s student-athletes. For more information on ways to support Scranton Athletics, please visit scranton.edu/athleticsfund.
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University Advancement
5.06.16 We did it again! We came together to make an ordinary day extraordinary. May 6, 2016, was The University of Scranton’s second annual Day of Giving. In just 24 hours, 1,888 alumni, parents, students, employees and friends came together to contribute $202,000 to campus scholarships and programs. Remarkable.
THANK YOU for helping us show the world what it means to be a Royal!
Scrantondipity noun | The donor count for the day ended at 1,888, which also happens to be the University’s founding year. But wait — it gets better. Colleen Fowler ’88 was donor 1,888. Now that’s what we like to call Scrantondipity!
Remembering Mary Mary Nguyen Silsbee ’98 passed away in 2013 after a courageous battle with cancer. Silsbee was a behavior specialist and worked with many children affected by autism. To commemorate her life and her commitment to helping others, four of Silsbee’s best friends and 1998 classmates came together to launch a fundraising campaign on 5.06. With the support of her family and friends, they raised nearly $15,000 in her honor. Gifts benefit the Psychology Department in support of research and educational programs that teach Scranton students how to care for children with autism, just as Mary did.
30 Years, Flocks of Volunteers To celebrate the Center for Service and Social Justice’s 30year anniversary, Pat Vaccaro, director of the center, and her team didn’t want a party. Instead, they wanted to celebrate in a way that would advance their work "for and with others." So they invited their flock to support the center on 5.06 and promised that for each gift of $30 or more, a pink flamingo would be placed on the Dionne Green in the donor’s name. The result? Colleagues, alumni, volunteers, community partners and past supporters flocked to the opportunity. Together, they contributed more than $17,000 to service programs, and they placed about 300 flamingos on the Dionne Green. 36
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Members of the Class of 1998, from left, Erin (Sheedy) Dougherty, Dawn (Sarao) Lopez, Julie (D’Avanzo) Guthrie and Meg (Cannella) Robustelli enjoy a moment together at the Mary Nguyen Silsbee ’98 Memorial Bench dedication in July.
Uzoma Agbasionye ’18 was born in Udi, Nigeria. Because of the Scholarship for Students from Africa, Agbasionye was able to come to The University of Scranton in pursuit of a Catholic and Jesuit education. On 5.06, he shared his story with the University community, which led to $15,800 in donations to the scholarship, including a generous $5,000 match from University employees Daniel and Rebecca Haggerty.
Julia Dolan ’16 and Sarah Fitch ’16 both participated in the Christianity in Africa Course, which introduced them to a small school in Uganda called St. Margaret’s. Dolan, Fitch and a group of their peers came together on 5.06 to raise more than $3,000 for the course, which will help provide uniforms and supplies for St. Margaret’s students.
University Advancement
Royals in Africa
ABOVE: Students gather in front of St. Margaret’s School in Uganda during a visit
by Scranton students through the Christianity in Africa course.
From left: Sarah Fitch ’16, Julia Dolan ’16, Winna Mowenn '16, Sybil Doleyres ’16 and Uzoma Agbasionye ’18 pose behind the Africa table during Festival of Nations, another annual event that took place on campus on May 6. LEFT:
T.G.I.506 Nearly 200 alumni gathered in five different cities to kick off the 5.06 weekend with fellow Royals at T.G.I.506 Happy Hours. Washin gton, D .C.
d Baltimore, Marylan
New York, New York
Morristown, New Jersey
Philadelphia
Campus Headquarters After passing by hundreds of pink flamingos on the Dionne Green, students entered the first floor of the DeNaples Center, which was filled with music, snacks, balloons, prizes and, of course, plenty of purple shirts. Student leaders staffed an array of donation tables on behalf of 21 clubs, 17 athletic teams, Campus Ministries, ISP, the Center for Service and Social Justice, the Center for Career Development and the Christianity in Africa course. LEFT: Snapchat users on
campus were able to capture their 5.06 moments with a customized photo filter.
See more photos, videos and read more from 5.06.16 at scranton.edu/scrantonjournal.
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University Advancement Royal Memories Made at Alumni Weekend 2016 The University welcomed more than 1,200 alumni and friends to campus June 3-5 for Alumni Weekend. Alumni with class years ending in a ‘6’ or ‘1’ celebrated their milestone reunions. All members of the University community were invited to partake in the festivities.
Annual Frank J. O’Hara Award Recipients Honored Five alumni were honored with the Frank J. O’Hara Award/Frank J. O’Hara Recent Graduate Award during Alumni Weekend. The University and its Alumni Society present this prestigious annual award each year. Honorees are selected based on their commitment to Ignatian values and their pursuit of professional and personal excellence. The O’Hara Recent Graduate Award is presented to an alumnus/a who has graduated within the past 10 years and has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to service for others in his/her personal or professional achievements and embodies Scranton’s Catholic and Jesuit values.
Pictured, from left: John L. Gownley ’06; Kevin P. Moran ’01; University President Kevin P. Quinn, S.J.; Thomas P. O’Brien ’86, P’19; Bart P. Billings, Ph.D. ’66, G’68, Col. U.S. Army (Ret.); and Richard H. Breen Jr., ’77, Col. U.S. Army (Ret.), President of the Alumni Society. Absent from the picture is Karen M. Murphy, R.N., Ph.D. ’91. 38
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President’s Circle and Leadership Volunteer Reception To celebrate our generous donors and faithful volunteer leaders, the University hosted an exclusive reception on the Galvin Terrace during Alumni Weekend. During the event, a check totaling more than $1.2 million was presented to University President Kevin P. Quinn, S.J., and represented the gifts made by classes celebrating their milestone reunions this year. The donations support scholarships and various campus priorities. Alumni Society President retired army Col. Richard H. Breen Jr. ’77 offered heartfelt thanks to the volunteer leaders who gave their time to support the mission of the University. Speaker and recent graduate Katie DiPlacido ‘16 expressed her gratitude for the volunteers and donors who helped make her Scranton experience fulfilling.
Rudy DiGilio ’76 Rides to Reward For Rudy DiGilio ’76 getting to his class reunion is a bit of a workout. Every five years, the New Jersey resident tackles the Poconos by bicycle, following a 75-mile route from his home to Alumni Weekend festivities on campus. It has become as much of a tradition as attending the reunion. “I started riding with my wife [JoAnn] in the late ’70s,” DiGilio explained. “In the beginning, I would look for any reason for a ride. I thought it would be fun to try once, so I started with my first reunion, and now I’ve done every one since.” The route is not for the faint-hearted; the six-hour journey is anything but flat. But DiGilio stays fit and ready for the challenge by riding several times a week and keeping healthy. The avid cyclist, who is retired and now works at a bicycle shop in Easton says he always takes the trip solo, and his wife meets him in Scranton with a car for the return trip home. “It’s a lot of hills — it’s one of the harder rides I do,” DiGilio said. “But I really enjoy it. I take pretty much the same route, so I know what to expect.” And the reward for the hard work? "A really great weekend with his classmates, he said."
A Piece of Scranton
Scranton's Got Talent Talented Royals treated their classmates to a night full of laughter. Steve Clark ’06, twice named “Best Storyteller in Philadelphia,” began the evening with a hilarious performance, followed by comedian Ron Babcock ’01 of Last Comic Standing fame. What talent will we see at #ScantonAW17?
Royals everywhere had the unique opportunity to take home a piece of Scranton history through the online Alumni Weekend auction. The hotticket items included the Nevils Hall and Gunster signs, as well as the lettering from the Loyola Science Center. More than 50 winners took home a piece of Scranton, all for a good cause. The silent auction brought in more than $13,000 for The Royal Fund, which supports student scholarships and campus priorities.
All alumni are invited to return to campus June 9-11, 2017, for Alumni Weekend. Scranton grads with class years ending in ‘2’ or ‘7’ will celebrate their milestone reunions. If you’d like to be a part of the planning, please email alumni@scranton.edu for additional information. Registration will open in early March 2017. In the meantime, follow us on Instagram @ScrantonAlumni and tag your photos using #ScrantonAW17. For more information, or to let your classmates know that you are planning to attend, please visit scranton.edu/alumniweekend and add your name to the “Planning to Attend” list.
University Advancement
Save the Date for #ScrantonAW17
See more photos and read more from alumni about Alumni Weekend at scranton.edu/scrantonjournal. Visit scranton.edu/alumniphotos to view all photos from the weekend.
First Female Graduates of Scranton Reunite at their 40-year Reunion “We arrived in the fall of 1972, the first class matriculated at The University of Scranton that included women as full-time day students. While change was difficult, the University welcomed us with open arms. We made a lasting impression there and, 40 years later, we are still ‘the first.’ We made our way and grew up together. We studied. We partied. We learned in lecture halls with just a sprinkling of us. We found seats in the cafeteria among a sea of male faces. Best of all, we developed lifelong friendships, and we graduated — the Class of 1976 — the class that helped change the face of the University forever.” – Women of the 1976 Class Committee
Some of the first, full-time female graduates of the University gathered in front of Fitch Hall, where their journey began in 1972. Class of 1976 alumni, from left to right: Rosemarie Lally-Doyle; Pat Kreckie; Darlene Hayes-Ely; Marian Gigliotti; Donna (Lange) Helhowski; Ro Bunting-Murphy; Suzanne Schwartz; Susan Swain; Mary DeCicco; Connie (Walecki) McIlwain; Andrea (Rygiel) King; Carolyn (Schumacher) Esgro; Mary Ellen Taggart-Ford; Karen Pennington; and Debbie Quarry Kasten.
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University Advancement
Guiding Future Doctors Pam Taffera-Deihl, D.O., MBA ’02
The chair of the University’s Medical Alumni Council takes joy in mentoring Scranton students. When Pam Taffera-Deihl, D.O., MBA ’02 looked at prospective colleges with her father, she had no idea what she would choose to do in her career. But one thing she did know was where she wanted to figure that out. “The presentations at the other schools didn’t compare to the one Scranton had given us,” she recalled. “We’d get about halfway through an open house somewhere else and I’d say, ‘Nope, this isn’t Scranton.’” The University’s emphasis on its Jesuit roots and the concept of cura personalis, or care for the entire person, struck a chord with the then-high school junior and has remained with her since. Dr. Taffera-Deihl said she even looked back to her positive first experience at Scranton when choosing a medical school, pursuing her MBA and selecting her employer. “You bring Scranton everywhere you go,” she explained. “It has touched everything I’ve done. When I was struggling or having a hard time, I met the challenges thanks to the lessons I learned when I was there. It’s what helped me to be successful in my career.” Taffera-Deihl, who lives in Berks County and is a hospitalist with WellSpan Health Hospitalist Group, remains an active part of the Scranton community. After several years as a member of the University’s Medical Alumni Council (MAC) Executive Committee, she is now entering her second year as chair. The MAC offers undergraduate pre-health professional students education and guidance during their college years and allows alumni practitioners a chance to remain in touch through networking, educational programming and mentoring opportunities. Taffera-Deihl said her position as chair came at the perfect time: She had just moved away from a teaching role in academic family medicine to devote more time to her young
Taffera-Deihl (center) with members of the MAC.
Dr. Taffera-Deihl ’02, pictured here in 2013, has visited Haiti several times with members of the MAC.
family (she and husband, Steve, are raising her stepson, Reed, a daughter, Annie, and son, Joseph). While she said she is very rewarded professionally, she missed the opportunity to mentor students. “It’s a joy to work with undergraduates,” she said. “At Scranton, they already have an amazing program in place with the most prepared students. They have passion and excitement that hasn’t been burned out by the culture of health care.” She credits her mentor, Mary Engel, Ph.D., director of fellowship programs, with helping her reach her dreams, and enjoys watching her do the same with current students. “I really like to give credit where it is due,” she said. “Mary is amazing at identifying something special in the students and helping them realize their potential.” Through the MAC, Taffera-Deihl has joined students and medical alumni on four medical mission trips to Haiti, and she intends to return when her children are a bit older. “It’s an amazing trip for so many reasons, but it’s also the most transformative time in students’ lives — where they truly become physicians. It really gives them perspective into the world.” Taffera-Deihl worked with the MAC’s executive committee to plan this year’s annual fall event, titled “Keeping Cura Personalis in your Professional Training and Practice,” held Sept. 10, in Philadelphia. A spring event to be held in Scranton will follow, and a new project, called Dinner with a Doc, which connects University students interested in medicine with alumni who are doctors, begins this fall. “It’s another chance,” she said, to expand on her connections with students and alumni. “We Scranton folks flock together,” she said.
For more information on the MAC, its symposium programming, or to become involved, email Lynn King Andres ’89, associate director, Volunteer Engagement at lynn.andres@scranton.edu. 40
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Class notes included in this edition were submitted prior to July 5. To submit your own news or see additional class notes, visit scranton.edu/classnotes.
New Alumni Society President Retired Army Col. Richard H. Breen Jr. ’77 With more than 49,000 members, Scranton’s Alumni Society is a powerful network that spans generations — and the globe. As the new Alumni Board president, retired army Col. Richard H. Breen Jr. ’77 wants to ensure that each of those members sees the value of a continued connection with the Scranton community. Breen, who has served on the Col. Richard H. Breen Jr. '77 board since 2006, assisted with a recent large-scale transformation of the organization to better represent the Society’s membership. Changes included both a new name (originally the Alumni Society Board of Governors to the Alumni Society Advisory Board) and priorities that more directly align with the efforts of University Advancement, which supports the University’s strategic plan. Breen said he is happy to serve in the role of president because Scranton holds an important place in his heart. “I love the University,” he said. “I love being the product of a Catholic and Jesuit institution, and I have lived its values.” Breen, who retired from the Army after 30 years, said service is part of his core being, and he’s thrilled to give back to Scranton, which gave him so much. During his term, Breen added that he will often be thinking of his college roommate, Thomas Coveleski ’77, who passed away earlier this year after an illness. “He was an amazing example of selfless service to others,” said Breen. “The impact he made was profound. I will dedicate my two years (as president) to his memory.” Read more about Breen’s goals for his term as president at scranton.edu/ scrantonjournal.
Alumni Benefits & Services As a graduate of The University of Scranton, you have access to an exclusive selection of benefits and services. More information at:
scranton.edu/BeEngaged
ClassNotes
Performance Music Alumni Reunion (Bands, Singers/Choirs, Strings) Oct. 15-16, 2016 This year marks Cheryl Boga’s 35th year at The University of Scranton! Come back to campus for opportunities to sing, play, talk, laugh and reignite old connections. The weekend will feature rehearsals (Boga Bingo anyone?), dinner, concerts, dancing and more! You do NOT want to miss this! To register, visitscranton.edu/alumnievents. You don’t have to wait for the Performance Music Alumni Reunion to support the program! Visit scranton. edu/givemusic.
Cheerleader Reunion Nov. 19, 2016 Join Caitlin Gluck ’06 and Kate Goodwin (McGuire) ‘08, cheerleading coaches, on campus this fall. Don’t miss this chance to catch up with fellow cheerleading alumni and support the current team. The evening will include a performance from the current University cheerleaders, a student and alumni meet-up, and a dinner for alumni cheerleaders. Invitations will be emailed this fall. To add your name to the invite list, please email alumni@scranton.edu with your name, maiden name and class year along with “Cheerleader Reunion” in the subject line. The dinner’s proceeds, and your donations, will support the cheerleading team’s trip to Nationals in January 2017. Please check out The University of Scranton Cheerleading Facebook page for more information and updates.
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Class Notes
Milestones
Names in Gold indicate alumnus/alumna is celebrating his/her reunion year
Robert Munley ’52, Dalton, along with his wife, Bernadine, was honored by the Lackawanna Bar Association with the 2016 Community Service Award. R. Barrett Noone, M.D. ’61, Haverford, was honored by the American Association of Plastic Surgeons (AAPS) for his contributions to plastic surgery with an endowed lecture in his name. Dr. Noone is a past president of the association, has been recognized as a Distinguished Fellow and as the recipient of an Honorary Award, the highest honor bestowed by the AAPS. Vincent Balitas, Ph.D. ’65, Pottsville, has published The Great Bunhill Fields Costume
Ball and Other Stories. Balitas has retired from teaching and is working on a novel, Peabody’s Pencil Store and Museum. His early collection of poems as well as the new short stories can be found on Amazon. John Paris ’67, Oroville, California, was the 2015 recipient of the Enlightened Piano Radio Award for Best Piano-Driven Jazz Album, Reflections. Paris has also performed at the awards ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York City and has performed on stage with such notable artists as The Moody Blues, Bob Newhart and Bobby Vinton. He has recorded numerous CDs of solo piano
music. Learn more about his career at johnparismusic.com. Thomas E. Clarke Jr. ’73, G’ 75, Titusville, Florida, is retiring from the federal government after more than 42 years of service, 40 of which were spent with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). For much of that time, Clarke worked as chief operations officer for the chief financial officer at the John F. Kennedy Space Center. James Blake ’74, Lewes, Delaware, recently retired after 22 years as vice president/ treasurer and chief financial officer for Morey’s Piers & Beachfront Water Parks.
Allison Martin ’08 to Chris Samuels ’08 Michael Sheruda ’08 to Maral Avetian Dave Doelp ’09 to Kristina Pappas ’10 Laura Falzon ’09 to Matthew Slattery ’10 Cate McKenna ’09 to Kevin Furman Melissa Davitt ’10 to Cameron Afshari, DPT ’15
Jennifer Scotti ’11 to Ryan Steinwandtner ’11 Chelsea Cooper ’12 to Paul Rajan ’12 Jennie Hofmann ’12 to Alex Rizzi ’12 Casey McFadden ’12 to Alexandra Iannelli ’13
Marriages Frank Graeff Jr. ’79 to Denise A. Foran Soshini Jeyakumar ’05 to Aaron Landon ’05 Kevin DeCatro ’07 to Angela Kanellopoulos Alex Rocha ’07 to Yaritza Zayas Cynthia Satterlee ’07 to Andrew Donovan ’08 Stephen Crawford ’08 to Kristin Josephs ’09
Frank J Graeff Jr. ’79 married Denise A. Foran on Jan. 2.
Get Social with Scranton Check us out on your favorite social media platforms. Insta
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Soshini Jeyakumar ’05 married Aaron Landon ’05 on Sept. 18, 2015. Scranton friends celebrated with the couple: Jacquelyn Lopez Alvarez ’05, Stephanie Poliansky Blash ’05, Kristina Mardjokic Brezicha ’05, Finda Baryoh Coleman ’04, Keith Coleman ’03, Jennifer Dammer ’05, Megan Dunne ’90, Patrick Fay ’06, Sarah Shirer Fridirici ’05, Kathryn Flood Gianatiempo ’05, Sudharshini Jeyakumar Giamongo ’05, Timothy Gibbons ’05, Tanya Biscocho Gonzalez ’05, Natalie Hellmers ’05, Christopher Hundersmarck ’04, Shrutti Jadhav ’05, David Keib ’07, Anthony Kennedy ’05, Gregory Kershaw ’08, Amy Crouthamel Lang ’05, Chad Lang ’05, Donald Mammano ’05, Marissa Matarazzo ’07, Jason Mellor ’05, Rory Naughton ’05 Tiffany Ott ’05, Joseph Petriello ’05, James Polles ’07, Kate Ritchie ’05, Yolanda Quinones Scharf ’05, Christine Kirchner Sulouff ’04, Josiah Sulouff ’04 and Ndeh Tawah ’04.
officer of Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. Brian Duke ’79, Washington Crossing, was appointed to the board of directors of Presby’s Inspired Life, a Lafayette Hill-based provider of continuing care and affordable housing for seniors. Duke currently serves as the system director of Senior Services for Main Line Health. Read more about his work on page 22. Martina Martin ’80, Baltimore, Maryland, was selected by Alpha Sigma Nu, the national honor society for students in Jesuit colleges and universities, as one of 100 Magis Medal winners who “best exemplify our tenets of scholarship, loyalty and service.” Janet Noll Gilroy ’81, South Bend, Indiana, was promoted to assistant dean for
On June 10, 2016, Alex O. Rocha ’07 married Yaritza Zayas surrounded by Scranton alumni. Pictured, first row: Michelle Wheeler ’07, Joanna McKeegan ’07, Joanna Pearson ’07, Matthew Cohen ’07. Second row: Mara Castellano ’07, Meghan Miller ’07 and Laura Walsh ’07. Third row: Rita Harvey ’07, Janelle Brown ’07, Caitlin Martin ’08, Glenn Petriello ’07, Alex O. Rocha ’07, Yaritza Zayas (bride), William Snyder ’07, Lucas Silva ’07, Lauren Cooper ’07 and TJ Walsh ’08.
Allison Martyn ’08 and Chris Samuels ’08 are pictured here on April 9, 2016, alongside the Scranton graduates at their wedding at the Scranton Cultural Center. Pictured, from left: Bob Barrett G’73, Maria Semidei Barrett ’87, Jeanne Slater Yazinski ’82, G’88, Ron Yazinski ’72, Amanda Blorstad ’08, DPT ’11, Doug Jones ’10, Becky Prial Fullam ’08, Ashley Teatum ’09, Mike Manzano ’90, Cari Reynolds ’08, Sara Samuels ’11, G’12, Dan Navins ’07, G’07, Allison Martyn Samuels ’08, Bob Samuels, University staff, Chris Samuels ’08, Sarah Malcolm ’08, Alexa Vacaro ’08, Chris Truszkowski ’09, G’09, Torrey Salmon Truszkowski ’12, Joe O'Connell '08, G'09, Sarah Salisbury O'Connell '08 and Jennifer Johnson Slater '93.
Student Success at Vera Z. Dwyer College of Health Sciences, Indiana University. Patrick T. Barrett ’82, Reading, was sworn in as a Berks County judge on Jan. 4, 2016. Marge Colette Mazzucelli, Ph.D. ’83, Brooklyn, New York, offers elective graduate courses in Conflict Resolution and Radicalization and Religion, which represent New York University (NYU) in the State Department educational Peer 2 Peer (P2P) initiative. Dr. Mazzucelli hosted the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) to welcome P2P finalist teams from Azerbaijan, Belgium, the College of Europe and the Netherlands to NYU in cooperation with the New York office of the U.S. Department of State on July 5.
Class Notes
Ernest Kollra ’75, Plantation, Florida, has been appointed by Gov. Rick Scott to the circuit court bench in Fort Lauderdale. William Parker ’77, Landenberg, has been named vice president of Claims and Underwriting at the Conestoga Title Insurance Company. Maj. Gen. John Gronski ’78, Lebanon, is the commanding general of the United States Army in Europe. Maj. Gen. Gronski will help train National Guard soldiers to prepare them for combat and help European allies deal with emerging threats. Joseph Kadow ’78, Tampa, Florida, has been elected as chair of the National Restaurant Association. Kadow is the executive vice president and chief legal
Kristin Josephs ’09 and Steve Crawford ’08 were married on Dec. 12, 2015. Pictured, from left: Lisa Traver ’02, Pat Traver ’02, Kristin Josephs ’09, Kyle Romero ’09, Jenny Zappitelli ’09, Nick Andreychak ’08, Mary Tremallo ’09, Dan Colucci ’08, Colleen Arthur ’08, Erin Wessling ’09, Kevin Arthur ’09, Chris Smith ’09, Steve Crawford ’08 (groom), Adam Brozek ’08, Kelly Brozek ’08, Dana Jordan ’09 and Gia Pittaluga ’09.
Michael Sheruda ’08 married Maral Avetian on June 6, 2015. Bridal party members included Jessica Sheruda ’12, Thomas Nebzydoski ’06, Thomas Majernick ’09 and Ryan Dell’Aglio ’09.
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Class Notes
Milestones continued Marion Munley, Esq. ’83, Moosic, of the Munley Law Firm, spoke at the American Association for Justice (AAJ) Winter Convention in Boca Raton, Florida. Munley delivered a presentation titled, “Demonstrative Evidence: Using Visual Storytelling to Prove Damages.” She also served on a panel of speakers at the AAJ’s Women Trial Lawyers Caucus Leadership Summit, discussing mistakes to avoid during case selection. Munley received the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s (PBA) 2016 Lynette Norton Award, which recognizes a female attorney who excels in litigation and is devoted to mentoring other women in the
legal profession. She received her award at the PBA Commission on Women in the Profession Annual Conference May 11. Joseph Yanish ’83, Albion, Rhode Island, senior health systems specialist for the Providence VA Medical Center, was recognized for his outstanding service and dedication in the field of health care management with the 2016 American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) VA Regent’s Award at the ACHE Congress on Healthcare Leadership in March 2016. Joseph Cleary ’84, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, has joined the executive leadership team of Morey’s Piers & Beachfront Water Parks as vice president and chief financial officer.
John Lanahan ’84, Hillsborough, New Jersey, has been promoted to deputy general counsel at Weichert Realtors. Joseph English ’85, Marietta, Georgia, has been placed on the 2016 list of Georgia Super Lawyers. English has also joined fellow business leaders as founding members of the Kennesaw State University (KSU) Entrepreneurship Center’s Executive Advisory Council, a senior-level task force established for the purpose of promoting and advancing the KSU Entrepreneurship Center. English is a founding partner of Taylor English and a member of the firm’s employment and labor relations practice.
Marriages continued
Kristina Pappas ’10 and Dave Doelp ’09 were married on April 9, 2016. Scranton alumni in attendance are pictured, from left: Cassandra Fiadini ’10, Stephanie Webber ’10, Leann Skoronski ’09, Justine Baakman ’10, Alan Rojas ’09, Melissa Keller ’10, Kelly Noonan ’10, Mallory (O’Hara) Delullo ’10, Michelle Giampietro ’10, Karl Weiss ’10, Joseph DeLullo ’10, Kristina Pappas ’10, Elizabeth Gorge ’10, Matthew Nyquist ’10, Laura Skoronski ’10, Stephanie Kazanas ’08, Kevin Berry ’09, Dave Doelp ’09, Kristin Doelp ’06, John Kotula ’09, Jennifer Dice ’10 and Dean Guiler ’09.
Cate McKenna ’09 married Kevin Furman on Oct. 10, 2015. Their marriage was celebrated by many Scranton alumni: Megan Hess ’09, Siobhan Lyons ’09, Michael Ritterbeck ’09, Amy Flemming ’09, Becky (Howell) Ziemak ’09, Keith Williams, Therese (DeVries) Narzikul ’86, Justine Zoeller ’09, Rosetta (Walsh) Kulick ’09, Maggie Walsh ’12, Gary Racich ’09, Kathleen Marcucilli ’09, Jennifer Giustiniani ’09, Erin Gilfeather ’09, Jeff Powers ’10, Kathleen Reedy ’09 and Erin Quinn ’09. 44
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Laura Falzon ’09 and Matthew Slattery ’10 were married on Sept. 19, 2015. Many Scranton alumni were in attendance: Amy Flemming ’09, Nick Benedetto ’10, Nicole Huth ’10, Jon Soll ’10, Megan Conley ’09, Siobhan Cerny ’10, Samantha Snapp ’09, Dave Slattery ’13, J.P. Van Thuyne ’09, Caitlin Van Brunt Smith ’09, Danielle Tighe Soll ’10, Bridget McCormick ’10, Erin Gilfeather ’09, Patti O’Leary ’09, Mollie Gallagher ’10, Maggie Gallagher ’10, Stephanie Huth ’10, Lauren Lefevre ’10, Shauna McPherson ’09, Lindsay Loughery ’10, Peter Monahan ’09, Hannah Solon Schneider ’10, Jason Schneider ’10, Sam Dillman ’10 and Chris O’Donnell ’10.
Melissa Davitt ’10 and Cameron Afshari, DPT ’15, were married on Sept. 19, 2015. Fellow alumni joined them for their wedding celebration.
legal issues involving the company and oversees the compliance department. Elizabeth Lee Ridgely ’86, Telford, earned her Master of Science in nursing from Loyola New Orleans. Richard Peuser ’86, G’87, Brookeville, Maryland, became the branch chief of Textual Reference Operations, Archives, II, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in May 2016. He began his career at NARA in 1988. Msgr. James Checchio ’88, Metuchen, New Jersey, was appointed by the Holy Father as bishop of Metuchen. Lisa Witowski Shearman ’89, Lansdale, has been elected to partnership in the firm Hamburg, Rubin, Mullin, Maxwell &
Alex Rizzi ’12 married Jennie Hofmann ’12 on Sept. 27, 2015, at Madonna della Strada Chapel. The ceremony was performed by Fr. Ron McKinney, S.J. Many Scranton alumni were in attendance. Pictured, back row, are: Joseph Casabona ’07, Paul Luongo ’12, Debbie Sepe ’93, Andrew Kelly ’12 and Robert Gadomski ’12. Next row: Erin Holman ’14, Shawn Washart ’12, Elizabeth Klassner ’12, Moira McGinn ’12, Salvatore Frangipane ’12, Jonathan Danforth ’12, Laura Capasso ’12, Kelsey Hassig ’13, Shannon Murphy-Fennie ’99 and Nick Naro ’75. Third row: Nicole Menendez ’12, Danielle Colaprico ’12, Melissa Fernandez ’12, Kristin Leccese ’12, Katherine Juliano ’13, Grace Pfisterer ’12, Daniel Carvino ’12, Adam Gault’12, Cara Brindley ’12, Maria Marx ’12, Katie Tamola ’13 and Gill Naro ’12. Front row: Jennie Rizzi ’12 and Alex Rizzi ’12.
Jennifer Scotti ’11 and Ryan Steinwandtner ’11. They were married on May 9, 2015. Top row, from left: Richard Steinwandtner ’06, Patrick Drum ’11, Erica Sprenkle ’11, Steven Brody ’11, Alex Lopez ’11, William Mascio ’11, Katherine Bowen ’11. Bottom row, from left: Ingrid Patella ’06, Michelle Diamond ’11, Kate Gallagher ’11, Jennifer Scotti ’11, Ryan Steinwandtner ’11, Betty Anne Sullivan ’90 and Joseph Hanlon ’90.
Lupin. Shearman was also elected to the board of directors of the Montgomery Bar Association. John Errico ’90, Dunmore, published his novel Dad, Wanna Be Our Manager? with Ravenswood Publishing. Daniel Munley ’90, Clarks Summit, of the firm Munley Law, recently spoke about trucking litigation at the New Jersey Association for Justice (NJAJ) Boardwalk Seminar. Bernard J. Costello, D.M.D., M.D., FACS ’91, Pittsburgh, currently chief of Pediatric Craniomaxillofacial Surgery and professor for the department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, was promoted to associate dean for Faculty Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine.
Class Notes
Barbara Taylor ’85, Scranton, released her second novel, All Waiting is Long, on July 5. This book is the sequel to Sing in the Morning, Cry at Night, which was named a top summer read by Publishers Weekly in 2014. Karen Angelo Fortunati ’86, Milford, Connecticut, will have her first young adult novel, The Weight of Zero, published by Delacorte/Penguin Random House this fall. It is the hopeful story of a young girl’s struggle to accept her mental illness. Mary O’Toole Mahoney, Esq. ’86, Sherborn, Massachusetts, has been promoted to senior vice president and general counsel at Tufts Health Plan. In her position, Mahoney handles all
Alexandra Iannelli McFadden ’13 and Casey McFadden ’12 (front) celebrated their wedding with fellow Scranton alumni. Pictured, back row: Mike Iorfino ’12, Mark Grambo ’12, Mike Bruno ’12, Amy Schwartz ’13, Lucia Rodriguez and Chris Nebzydoski ’12. Second row: Kate Slade ’11, Kaela Mahon ’12, Jeremy Patriarco ’12, Mike Bucha ’13, Lizzy Straccia ’14, Megan Etzel ’13, Catherine Appell ’13, Kelly Rafalski ’13, Colleen Davey ’13 and Catherine Fischer ’13. Front row: Sean Butler ’13, Jesse Outhouse ’13 and the newlyweds, Alexandra Iannelli McFadden ’13 and Casey McFadden ’12.
Chelsea Cooper ’12 and Paul Rajan ’12 celebrated their marriage on Aug. 22, 2015. Faculty, staff and alumni in attendance included: Michael Martin ’12, Patrick Cooper P’06, ’12, Martin Berger ’12, James FitzPatrick ’14, Barry Eiden ’11, Matthew Terry ’12, John Hogan ’12, James Roth ’12, Molly Harms ’13, Matthew Grillo ’12, Sharon Olechna P’11, ’13, Nicole Pepe ’12, Dr. Murli Rajan G’84, P’12, ’16, Kristen Leri ’15, Isabelle Rajan ’16, Vinny Signoriello ’13, Nichole Formicola ’16, Kimberly Hosgood ’12, Frank Siclari ’12, Stephanie Cooper Shupp ’06, Aida Ribanovic ’12, Adam Gault ’12 and Kevin Williams ’12. FA L L 2016
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Class Notes
Milestones continued John Hakim ’91, Dallas, recently published an article in the Pennsylvania Bar Association magazine, The Pennsylvania Lawyer. Hakim created Luzerne County’s first-ever Department of Conflict Counsel and currently heads the department as the conflict counsel attorney. Ernest Leber, M.D. ’91, Collegeville, has been named the Emergency Residency Program director at Drexel University College of Medicine. Amy Warner Bachman ’91, Dallas, has been named to the new position of manager of Enrollment Marketing in the recently created Department of Enrollment Marketing within the Division of Planning and External Relations at Misericordia University. Jennifer Kelly Dominiquini ’93, Sugarland, Texas, was elected to the Alpha Sigma Nu board of directors. Paul Matey ’93, Roseland, New Jersey, has joined University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, as senior vice president and general counsel. He most recently serviced as deputy chief counsel to Gov. Chris Christie. Holly MacDonald Diamond ’95, New York, New York, has joined MCIC Vermont as the associate director of Claims. Michele Vesely Ferguson ’95, Dunmore, an elementary reading specialist in the North Pocono School District, has been awarded a $150 classroom teacher grant from Kappa Delta Pi, International Honor Society in Education. She will use her funds to create a Non-Fiction Classroom Lending Library. Ferguson has been an active member in Kappa Delta Pi since being inducted more than 20 years ago while an elementary education major at Scranton. Jessica Attardo-Maryott, D.Ed. ’96, Franklindale, earned her doctorate of education, specializing in curriculum and instruction, in May 2015 from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Cory Donovan ’96, Haddon Township, New Jersey, launched a free mobile app that is like Amber Alert for pets. FurAlert was
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recently mentioned in the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philly.com. FurAlert was also recommended as “Top 10 Mobile App for Pet Owners” by PetCoach. Carrie Holderman Gilmore ’96, Durham, North Carolina, recently celebrated her oneyear anniversary with Girls on the Run of the Triangle. Gilmore is the Community Outreach & SoleMates coordinator. Philip Grieco ’00, Playa Vista, California, accepted a position with GoPro based in Carlsbad, California, as director of Sports Marketing, Global Motorsports & Mass Sports for the brand. Suzanne Messina Messer ’01, Cicero, New York, has been elected a member of the firm Bond, Schoeneck & King. Gregory Shahum, Ph.D. ’01, G’05, Guangzhou, China, is working with Genesis Rehab Services introducing new rehabilitation facilities in China and will soon be responsible for a large rehab department in a newly opened 1,000-bed hospital. Anthony Talerico Jr. ’01, Eatontown, New Jersey, was elected to his third term as councilman in the Borough of Eatontown. He became the first Independent elected in the borough’s history. Talerico currently serves as the chair of the Finance and Ordinance Committee. John Errigo, Ph.D. ’02, Bensalem, completed his doctorate in organization and management at Capella University in March 2016. His dissertation title is: “Stakeholder theory and value creation within corporate communication: LGBT corporate inclusion through the lens of Rawls’s theory of justice.” Laura Waters Newman ’03, Columbia, South Carolina, was promoted to the rank of captain, U.S. Army Medical Specialist Corps, and is currently serving as the chief of the Nutrition Care Division at Moncrief Army Community Hospital, Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Elizabeth Ali ’05, Philadelphia, is the new assistant director of Residential Education at Saint Joseph’s University. Jeanne Bovard H’08, Fleetville, was
selected by Alpha Sigma Nu, the national honor society for students in Jesuit colleges and universities, as one of 100 Magis Medal winners who “best exemplify our tenets of scholarship, loyalty and service.” William Colona ’08, Fort Lee, New Jersey, is the director of Government and Community Relations at Pace University. Stephanie Kazanas, Ph.D. ’08, Slingerlands, New York, earned her Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from the University of Albany, SUNY. Kazanas will join the Department of Counseling and Psychology at Tennessee Technological University this fall. Katherine Prizeman ’08, Forest Hills, New York, was selected by Alpha Sigma Nu, the national honor society for students in Jesuit colleges and universities, as one of 100 Magis Medal winners who “best exemplify our tenets of scholarship, loyalty and service.” Kathleen C. Long ’09, Lock Haven, was appointed first assistant district attorney in Clinton County, Pennsylvania, on Jan. 4, 2016. Prior to her appointment, Long served as public defender in Clinton County for two years. Joseph DeLullo ’10, Minot, North Dakota, was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force after completing Officer Training School at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. He was recognized as a distinguished graduate. DeLullo had previously served for five years on active duty as an enlisted airman. Douglas Jones ’10, West Wyoming, has been accepted into the Jesuit novitiate for the Maryland Province beginning August 2016. Katherine N. Sullivan ’11, New York, New York, was selected by Alpha Sigma Nu, the national honor society for students in Jesuit colleges and universities, as one of 100 Magis Medal winners who “best exemplify our tenets of scholarship, loyalty and service.” Michael Zaydon ’12, New York, New York, wrote the lead article, “Know Your Millennials,” in the spring edition of the Pennsylvania CPA Journal.
Class Notes
Births & Adoptions An adopted son, Anthony Eamonn, to Eamonn and Suzanne Whalen Maxwell ’90, Landing, New Jersey 1 A daughter, Bridget, to Frankie and Mary Twohig Novick ’98, East Elmhurst, New York 2 A son, Owen Patrick, to Harold and Nicole Radomski Woering ’01, Southbury, Connecticut A daughter, Scarlett Marie, to William and Amanda Witt-Bogertman ‘02, Chelsea, Massachusetts 3 A son, Shane Justin, to Kevin and Sara Hanna Tompkins ’02, Conshohocken 1
6
A son, Eamon Michael, to Meghan and Peter Castagna ’03, West Chester 4 A daughter, Caroline Rose, to Charles ’04 and Erica Cilurzo Bartels ’04, Little Silver, New Jersey 5 A son, Luke Mason, to Keith ’06 and Jennifer Bostwick Guglielmi ’06, Philadelphia 6 A son, Desmond James, to Dominick ’06 and Courtney Esposito Bellizzi ’06, Rockville, Maryland A son, Angelo Luca, to Drs. Caitlyn and James Costanzo ’06, Newark, Delaware A daughter, Juliana Maria, to Daniel ’07
2
4
3
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and Michelle Constantino Crowe ’07, Commack, New York 7 A daughter, Morgan McKenna, to Jason ’07 and Michelle Laura Feairheller ’07 8 A daughter, Terese Ann, to Daniel ’07 and Bridget Brady Mitsakos ’08, Moscow A daughter, Eleonora Catherine, to Meagan and Edward DelSole, M.D. ’09, New York, New York 9 A daughter, Harper Grace, to Michael ’09 and Alyson Semon George ’09, Newtown 10 A daughter, Ravenna, to C.J. and Shawna Perry Rinaldi G’10, Olyphant 11
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Rev. Bernard R. McIlhenny, S.J., H’98
Francis J. Dubas Jr. ’75 Global Managing Partner for Sovereign Financial Institutions Deloitte
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President’s Business Council
Dean of Admissions Emeritus The University of Scranton
2016 HONOREES
SAVE THE DATE October 6, 2016 THE PRESIDENT’S BUSINESS COUNCIL 15TH ANNUAL AWARD DINNER
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Class Notes
“May the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace. Eternal rest grant unto them, Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.”
In Memoriam Robert R. Gill ’43, Glen Mills Richard G. Lonsdorf, M.D.’43, Gladwyne Frank A. Carroll, M.D. ’47, Alexandria, Virginia Saul Kaplan ’47, Scranton Bernard D. Rosenfeld, M.D. ’47, Walnut Creek, California Harold Lakin ’49, Venice, Florida Theodore N. Tacij ’49, North Abington Township Martin S. Doria, Ph.D. ’50, Pensacola, Florida John J. Judge ’50, Clarks Green Michael A. McLaughlin ’50, Napa Valley, California Frank P. Sabatini, Sr. ’50, Plains Township Bruno P. Silvestri ’50, Peckville Rudolph D. Marciano ’51, Scranton Rev. Edward R. Scott ’51, Scranton William P. Kearns ’52, Juno Beach, Florida John Pisanchyn ’52, Olyphant Theodore P. Rysz ’52, Moosic William L. Reich ’53, Scranton William A. Bohan ’54, Endwell, New York Rodney D. Brown, Ph.D. ’54, Waymart Frank Loughney Sr. ’55, Scranton John J. O’Connell Jr. ’56, Leesburg, Florida Donald F. Gumpert ’57, Clifford Township Edward J. Reuther ’57, Scranton John A. Serafini ’58, Smithtown, New York Robert F. Jordan ’59, East Syracuse, New York
Robert Rasieleski ’59, Scranton Edward F. Mark G’61, Hunlock Creek Paul Mushak, Ph.D. ’61, Durham, North Carolina Eugene G. Coyer ’62, Scranton Joseph F. Grella ’62, Duryea Carmen J. Donato ’63, West Pittston Robert C. Melucci ’63, Philadelphia Rev. Francis E. Skechus, S.J. ’63, G’78, Scranton James Costello ’64, Lafayette, Louisiana Anthony C. Konieski ’64, Willkes-Barre Robert J. Quinn ’65, Virginia Beach, Virginia William Drackly ’66, Scranton Boyd C. Manzer ’66, South Gibson Hon. James B. McNulty ’66, Scranton Albert A. Meskunas ’66, Dover George Senich ’66, Scranton Ellsworth R. Chase ’67, Mechanicsburg Bernard Motichka G’67, Largo, Florida Thomas W. Jennings ’68, Lafayette Hill Gregory O. Hare ’69, Hazleton Thomas O’Malley ’69, Duryea William J. Clarke ’70, Clarks Summit Charles W. Nutt, Jr. ’70, Elgin, South Carolina John P. Klobusicky ’71, Dunmore Edward J. Wreski ’71, Hatfield Roy A. Leber ’72, Scranton Dennis Owens ’72, Pottstown
Frank M. Salva ’72, Blakely Rev. Francis P. Skitzki ’72, Wilkes-Barre Raymond Bulger ’74, Dunmore Alan J. Decker ’75, Pittston Thomas M. Coveleski ’77, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware Mary L. Scranton H’77, Dalton Robert J. Gillon ’78, York William F. Crimmins ’79, Horseheads, New York David W. Price ’79, Dunmore Donna M. Manger ’80, G’82, Dunmore Patrick P. Ackourey ’82, G’84, Scranton Frank J. Laboranti ’84, Scranton Paul F. Meyers, Jr. ’85, Scranton AnnaLisa Richards Black ’85, Madison Township Rev. John M. Brndjar G’86, Allentown Harry W. Lafko G’87, Orwigsburg Rev. Edward Glynn, S.J., H’90, Baltimore, Maryland Michael D. Elias, Sr. G’92, Wilkes-Barre Carrie Holderman Gilmore ’96, Durham, North Carolina David A. Clarke ’98, Pittston Vincent Vanston G’99, South Abington Township Margaret McGinley Thomas ’00, Carbondale Charles W. Devereaux ’02, Easton Robert V. Giacometti ’04, Old Forge Joshua J. Lewkewich ’10, Southington, Connecticut
In Memoriam Friends & Family Frank Andrews, father of Mary Andrews Brown ’81 and Patty Andrews O’Connell ’89, father-in-law of Jay O’Connell ’90 Bernard Bechtel, brother of Leonard Bechtel ’85 Meg Cullen-Brown, University Staff, mother of Michael ’13 and Ryan ’16 Phyllis Cunningham, mother of Mary Beth Cunningham Becker ’88 and James Cunningham G’92, wife of Dr. James Cunningham, Professor Emeritus Prof. Emeritus Francis Curtis, father of Francis Curtis ’89 John Dodge, husband of Dena Cirlincione-Dodge ’93 Charles Valor Foulks, son of Mary Kate Webber Foulks ’98 William French, husband of Leah Canary French ’79 James A. Geiger, father of Matthew Geiger ’81, Daniel Geiger ’85, Lawrence Geiger ’87, Gabrielle Geiger Hampsey ’89, Katie Geiger Gallagher ’93 and Mary Geiger Kozak ’96; father-in
law of Ronald Hampsey ’86 and Shawn Gallagher ’88; grandfather of Jamie Hampsey ’16 and Molly Hampsey ’19; uncle of George Riehman ’87, James Riehman ’89, Felicia Gordon Riehman ’85 and Melissa Fries Riehman ’01, G’02. Mary Clare Gibbons, mother of Dr. John Gibbons ’76, Mary Gibbons Holmes ’98, Hon. James Gibbons ’79, Thomas Gibbons ’79 and Patrick Gibbons ’88 Thomas Groncki, father of Dr. Mary Ann Groncki ’94 Nan Grzywacz, mother of Gary Grzywacz ’84 and grandmother of Corey Wasilnak ’16 Shirley Honold, mother of Sally Honold Berlot ’84 and mother-in-law of Joseph Cleary ’84 Evan Jones, father of Richard Jones ’74 James Kompany, father of Karen Kompany Marti ’84, Rosanne Kompany Rutman ’86 and James Kompany ’95; grandfather of Vincent Marti ’17 Marion Kowalski, mother of Karen Kowalski Loyd ’78 Harold Lakin, M.D., father of Meg Lakin Roccasecca ’85
Victoria Laskiewicz, mother of Ann Marie Laskiewicz-Ross ’79, G’09 Harry Raymond Lillie, father of Raymond Lillie ’81 Theodora Liskowicz, mother of David Liskov, M.D. ’74 and Robert Liskowicz, M.D. ’89 Santina Lonergan, wife of Brian Lonergan ’69 Karen Canary Merriman, sister of Leah Canary French ’79 Thomas Phillips Sr., father of Thomas Phillips Jr. ’85 Ann Needham, mother of Kathleen Needham Preston ’87 Geraldine Sare, wife of Lewis Sare ’51 Sr. Maria del Rey Shevlin, IHM, sister of Col. (Ret.) George Shevlin ’60 Michael Spellman, brother of Barbara Spellman Shuta G’78 Stanley Swaintek, father of Michael Swaintek ’78 Helen Zvirblis, mother of G. Anthony Zvirblis ’66 and Joseph Zvirblis ’74
We Want to Hear from You! Please send us your class notes, photos, address changes and feedback. There are four easy ways to reach us: ONLINE: scranton.edu/BeEngaged E-MAIL: alumni@scranton.edu FAX: 570.941.4097 STANDARD MAIL: The Scranton Journal, 800 Linden Street, Scranton, PA 18510 Class Notes Publication Policy: The University of Scranton accepts submissions of news of professional achievements or personal milestones for inclusion in the Class Notes section of The Scranton Journal. Submissions can be submitted electronically to alumni@scranton.edu or by mail to Marge Gleason, class notes editor, University of Scranton, 800 Linden Street, Scranton, PA 18510. Digital photos should be 300dpi, JPG or TIFF format and at least 3x5 inches. The University of Scranton reserves complete editorial rights to all content submitted for Class Notes, and posts and publishes listings in as timely a fashion as possible, as space permits. Reasonable steps are taken to verify the accuracy of the information submitted, but the University cannot guarantee the accuracy of all submissions. Publication of achievements or milestones does not constitute endorsement by The University of Scranton. The University of Scranton is committed to providing a safe and nondiscriminatory employment and educational environment. The University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, age, veteran status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or other status protected by law. Sexual harassment, including sexual violence, is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. The University does not discriminate on the basis of sex in its educational, extracurricular, athletic, or other programs or in the context of employment. Inquiries regarding non-discrimination and sexual harassment and sexual misconduct policies may be directed to Jennifer LaPorta, Executive Director and Title IX Coordinator, Office of Equity and Diversity, (570) 941-6645.
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The Future is in your hands Join Today
The Estate Society
THE UNIVERSIT Y OF SCRANTON
The University of Scranton empowers its students to develop their knowledge and skills while challenging them to be men and women of faith and service to their communities. By including the University in your long-term estate and financial plans, you can help ensure tomorrow’s leaders will similarly value their Jesuit education and the Ignatian ideals that come along with it. Through careful philanthropic planning, you can meet your present financial needs, and those of your loved ones, by developing a personalized giving plan tailor-made for you. Depending on your goals, a gift through your estate or another planned-gift vehicle may reduce your tax burden, while providing a legacy that will benefit future generations of Scranton students.
Enjoying the view are daughters of Michael J. Jenkins, Ph.D. ’06, University professor, and Katherine Jenkins and Anthony J. Primerano ’05, G’06 and Michelle (McColgan) Primerano ’06.
For helpful planning tools, articles and spotlights on Estate Society members, please visit our website at scranton.edu/plannedgiving. For personalized illustrations or options, contact Cheryl Murphy, associate vice president of Development, at cheryl.murphy@scranton.edu or 570.941.4144.
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Save the Date PLAN TO JOIN US FOR THESE UPCOMING EVENTS 2016
2017
Family Weekend
September 23-25
Ignite Student Leadership Conference
February 18
15th Annual President’s Business Council Award Dinner
October 6
Shamrockin’ Eve
March 10
Bill Kelly Jr. Golf Tournament
October 7
Scranton Day of Service
April 1
Performance Music Alumni Reunion
October 15-16
Scholarship Brunch
April 2
President’s Business Council Student Networking in Washington, D.C.
October 27
Scranton 5.06
May 6
Pre-Law Society Networking Event
October 28
Commencement Weekend
May 26-28
New Jersey Presidential Reception
November 17
Class of 2017 Legacy Reception & Photo
May 27
Cheerleader Reunion
November 19
May 28
Kania School Young Alumni Day
November 19
50-year Class Undergraduate Commencement Processional
Scranton Presidential Reception
December 1
Alumni Weekend
June 9-11
Philadelphia Presidential Reception
December 8
TBA
New York City Presidential Reception
December 9
Carlesimo Golf Tournament & Award Dinner
Washington, D.C., Presidential Reception
December 16
The University of Scranton • University Advancement • scranton.edu/advancement