We could hardly have asked for a more beautiful day to dedicate our new student commons. I hope those of you who came out for the celebration enjoyed it as much as I did. It was wonderful to have Linda McMahon and her family with us as we dedicated the building in her honor. She is a strong believer in the importance of lifelong education and has done a lot for Sacred Heart. A special thanks to the members of the brass ensemble, the Four Heart Harmony choral ensemble and, especially, the students who kept our secret and participated in our surprise flash mob performance. To view additional photos from the dedication, CLICK HERE.
Congratulations to Interim Dean Rupendra Paliwal and the entire faculty of the Welch College of Business on their recent reaccreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). AACSB International, the longest-serving global accrediting body for business schools that offer bachelors, masters and doctorate degrees in business and accounting, has accredited fewer than five percent of business schools worldwide. To maintain accreditation a business program must undergo a rigorous internal review every five years, at which the program must demonstrate its continued commitment to the 21 quality standards relating to faculty qualification, strategic management of resources, interactions of faculty and students, as well as a commitment to continuous improvement and achievement of learning goals in degree programs. A great deal of work goes into preparing for the site visit. We can all be very proud that our Welch College of Business stands up to such intense scrutiny.
Congratulations to Dr. Lucjan Orlowski, Dr. Abu Amin and Dr. Kwami Dunbar. Their preliminary research outcome was extremely well received at the CME Group Foundation seminar at NYMEX in New York City. Their work on the institutional transformation of financial futures markets received kudos from both the Foundation and the audience of prominent academics and Wall Street professionals. CME organizers were also impressed by the strong showing and active participation from SHU, so thanks to Dr. Russell Engel, Professor Ralph Lim and student research assistants Brian Benson and Bryan Harmon for their attendance and participation. Next the group will present their research at a seminar in Luxembourg on May 18.
Dr. Robert McCloud recently received confirmation that his research on how to teach computer programming to talented young people (students who score in the 99th or 99.9th percentile on standardized tests) in Albania has been funded for a total of $1.8 million through the Education Equity and Excellence Program. Bob has several partners on this project, including former SHU student Kelly Leather who is currently in Albania working on her Fulbright Scholarship research.
Earlier this week, Sacred Heart hosted high school students from several neighboring towns as part of Dr. Jack de Graffenried’s 20th Art & Design Expo. The students had a chance to view the Sacred Heart student art show in the Gallery of Contemporary Art and then heard from guest speaker Wendell Minor who has done book covers for many well-known authors, such as Pat Conroy, David McCullough, Jodi Picoult, Howard Fast, Toni Morrison and many more. He encouraged the students to follow their dreams, noting that he never thought he would go from drawing fuzzy bunnies for Hallmark cards to the career he has today.
Congratulations to the dance team on their fifth-place finish at the NDA Collegiate Championships. We wish them the best of luck when they compete in the hip hop category tonight. Congratulations also to the women’s bowling team. Although they were eliminated from the NCAA tournament after back-to-back losses this morning, they did a great job winning the Northeast Conference championship.
A few weeks ago, when I looked back at what I had written, I found that much of the blog focused on our talented students. Similarly, today I have written mostly about our talented faculty. What a great community we have here at Sacred Heart!
Enjoy the weekend.
