Unless you have been involved in a project of this magnitude, you may not realize the months of work and thousands of hours it takes. My deepest gratitude is extended to Nancy Boudreau, director of web content, and her team – Kim Galiette and Caitlin Robles. They pretty much gave up their lives to this project over the past year. Thanks also to the rest of the Web Design team for their hard work and thoughtful input – Funda Alp, Alane Bikovsky, Renata Cioffi, Maura Coppola, Emily Dauenhauer, Tracy Deer-Mirek, Diana Fitzsimons, Emily Gillette, Frances Grodzinsky, Alexis Haakonsen, Michael Iannazzi, Mia James, Christopher Lavoie, Katie Nichols, Jamie Romeo, Julie Savino and Deborah Surbey.
Of course there is still fine-tuning to be done to the site over the next few weeks and months, but I ask that we don’t lose sight of the tremendous amount of thought and creativity, along with the hard work, that it took to prepare for this launch. Everyone involved did an outstanding job and deserve our respect, thanks and congratulations.
As you look beyond the graphics and design, you will discover that the site also reflects the goals set forth in our five-year strategic plan and our new branding messages, which you will hear more about very soon. Again, thanks and congratulations to everyone involved in this project.
Despite the gloomy skies, the rain mostly held off last weekend allowing for an action-packed homecoming weekend. The football team got its first victory of the season before a stadium filled with alumni and current students. It was great to see so many alumni on campus, and I enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with them.
The Pioneers are at home again this week – the second of just four home contests they have this season. We are looking forward to another big crowd as faculty and staff will be out in numbers following the Employee Spirit Club’s annual SHU Day. In addition to delicious food, the event features activities for children and fun raffle prizes. I’m looking forward to meeting my colleague’s families and cheering the football team on to a second straight victory in what looks to be a tough contest against Wagner.
This week was Hispanic Heritage Week, and La Hispinadad put on a great series of events to educate and entertain the SHU community. These included a presentation by Curtis Acosta of the Tucson Unified School District where the high school’s Mexican American Studies program was controversially shut down by the Board of Education; a discussion on the integration of immigrant families into the U.S.; a showing of the film, Maria Full of Grace; and a piñata fundraiser. La Hispinadad was resurrected in 2010 and is quickly making its presence known. Congratulations on a great job!
Wednesday afternoon brought the second in the “Civility in America” series that SHU is sponsoring along with the City of Stamford and the Dilenschneider Group. This week’s speaker was Ernie Anastos, Fox 5 News Anchor and acclaimed author who spoke on the topic of Civility in the Media. He expressed his disappointment that so much of the news today is negative, adding that it is money and viewer preferences that drive the decisions on what to air. His goal, he said, is to report more positive news.
This was one of eight lectures on civility to be presented at the Ferguson Library in Stamford. Next up is Olympia Snowe, U.S. senator from Maine. She will speak on Civility in Politics next Wednesday evening at 5:30. Through our sponsorship of this series, we are increasing our presence in Stamford where we also have a campus.
WWE wrestler Mick Foley was here Wednesday evening to speak to students about sexual violence on campus. Mick, who is a bestselling author and stand-up comedian, prides himself on also being a rape crisis hotline volunteer. He was a great role model with an important message.
I really don’t like to brag – and I’m actually not, because I am the first to admit that I was carried by the rest of my team – but yours truly was on the winning trivia team at Red’s pub Wednesday night. We were thrilled to dethrone a certain team from the Welch College of Business that just might be pictured below, and we are throwing down the gauntlet to any challengers. Bring it on!
Following the long holiday weekend that I know we are all looking forward to, the faculty will gather on Tuesday for its Fall Faculty Institute. We have an exciting agenda that includes presentations by Jillian Kinzie of the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research and Dr. Gerry Francis, executive vice president of Elon University. There will also be an interactive panel discussion on “Active and Engaged Learning at Sacred Heart University.”
Happy Columbus Day!
