Dr. Petillo's Blog

I want to start out this week by once again congratulating the women’s basketball team on earning a spot in the NCAA tournament. They played well in a hard-fought battle against a tough Georgia Tech team. We are very proud of them and congratulate them on an outstanding season.

I was reminded earlier this week by an email from a proud parent that our fencing teams have also been having an exceptional season. Both the men and women’s fencing teams have been winners with the men going 10-0 and the women 10-2. Those records led to a tie with Brown for the Combined Conference Championship. This week, Megan Floyd from the women’s team and Stuart Holmes and Marty Williams from the men’s team are at the NCAA Fencing Championships at Ohio State. We wish them the best of luck. With only two members graduating from the fencing program, we can look forward to more success next year.

As for the email that I mentioned earlier, I always welcome comments, questions and feedback from readers of this blog.

Dr. Maryann Cusimano Love will be on campus on Sunday as part of the Fourth Annual Communion Breakfast for Fairfield County Educators. Her topic will be From Classroom to Community: How Educators Can Build a Better World. Dr. Cusimano Love is an associate professor of International Relations in the Politics Department of the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. The breakfast, which is sponsored by the Isabelle Farrington College of Education and Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice (CAPP) of Fairfield County, is designed for educators from pre-K through grade 12 and in higher education.

I encourage you to consider supporting student scholarships by attending our Discovery Gala on April 14. It will be our inaugural event inside the new commons. The Gala traditionally honors distinguished members of the community, while raising critically needed scholarship funds for the University’s most deserving students. This year’s honoree is Teresa Ressel, former CFO of the United States Treasury. Following the Gala, attendees will move on to the Edgerton Center to enjoy a performance by the Midtown Men.

Sacred Heart University will mark the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council and the upcoming golden anniversary of the University’s founding with a two-day conference April 23-24. The event is co-sponsored by the Paulist Press and will feature several notable scholars and theologians from throughout the United States, including Sacred Heart’s own Rev. Anthony Ciorra, assistant vice president of Mission and Catholic Identity, and Dr. Michael W. Higgins, vice president for Mission and Catholic Identity. Entitled A Universal Call to Holiness, the conference will focus on a way forward for the Church and will pick up where the Second Vatican Council left off with the seven closing speeches given by the cardinals on the last day of the Council in 1965. Their topics – youth, church and politics, art and beauty, suffering, labor and immigration, religion and science and the role of women – remain relevant today. I expect this to be an exciting and intense two days filled with fascinating information and a valuable exchange of ideas. Members of the Sacred Heart community are invited to participate in part or all of the conference free of charge. It’s a tremendous opportunity, and you will want to take advantage of it.

If you get a chance, I recommend that you stop by the Gallery of Contemporary Art for the Annual Student Art Exhibit. There is an amazing amount of talent on display.

There will also be amazing talent on display this weekend with the SHU Choirs performing Saturday evening and the University Concert Band’s annual Spring Concert set for Sunday afternoon. In addition, entertainer Mickey Rooney will be here Saturday evening to discuss a career that has spanned nearly 90 years.

We started this week with a victory by the women’s basketball team over Monmouth before an enthusiastic crowd at the Pitt Center. The women not only won the NEC tournament, but guaranteed themselves a spot in the NCAA tournament. That spot turned out to be the number 13 seed in the Des Moines Regional. They kick off their tournament play on Sunday against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets – a team they have never played. I, for one, will be glued to the television at 2:30 Sunday afternoon and will be wishing the women all the best. Go Pioneers!

Congratulations are also in order for our equestrian team! This past weekend, the team brought home its first-ever regional title. The team stayed on campus during spring break to train and prepare for their last competition. Their efforts paid off when they won the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) Zone 2 Region 5 championship title at UConn.

We celebrated our 48^th annual Founder’s Day on Wednesday, beginning with a standing- room-only mass at the Chapel of the Holy Spirit, followed by a celebration before a full house at the Edgerton Center for the Performing Arts that included some wonderful performances from the 4 Heart Harmony chamber choir. More than 50 members of the faculty and staff were honored for years of service that ranged from 15 to 40 years. As I said in my remarks there, these are the people who think of Sacred Heart as more than just a place of employment. They exemplify my vision of servant leadership, stewardship and presence. Once again, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your dedication and commitment.  To look at more photos from the big event, click here.

I want to thank everyone who attended the Faculty Town Hall Meeting this week. I thoroughly enjoyed the lively discussion and debate on the future of this university, and I thank you all for your passion for and commitment to Sacred Heart.

We had another week of exciting programs and lectures here on campus. Among those were a Religion and Bioethics Panel moderated by our own Dr. Matthew Kenney. We heard from three leading experts: Dr. Kevin T. FitzGerald, Dr. David Lauler Chair of Catholic Health Care Ethics, Center for Clinical Bioethics at Georgetown University and associate professor, Department of Oncology at Georgetown University Medical Center; Dr. Henk A.M.J. ten Have, professor and director, Center for Healthcare Ethics at Duquesne University;  and Sr. Nuala Kenny, professor emeritus of Bioethics at Dalhousie University and Ethics and Health Policy adviser to the Catholic Health Alliance of Canada. By all accounts it was a passionate discussion. Also visiting was photojournalist Ed Kashi who spoke as part of Vision Project. He has done assignments throughout the world for National Geographic and other publications and has won numerous awards.

We concluded the Academic Research Showcase this week with a talk from Dr. Peter Maresco. His topic was The Expanding Christian Marketplace: If You Can Name It, or Make It, the Christian Marketplace Probably Sells It. He pointed out that 140 million potential customers make the Christian market an appealing one. I want to take this opportunity to again thank all four Showcase speakers as well as the committee that sorted through the proposals and put together such a great program.

Tuesday night, our Faculty Recital Series featured Keith Johnston on trombone and Andy Kolar on percussion. I love events where our faculty and/or students have a chance to showcase their talents.

Last night I hosted the second of my faculty dinners. It has been great to get to know some of you better in a more relaxed setting. I hope you have been enjoying them as much as I have. I plan to host one more before graduation and then continue them into next year.

In addition to whatever weekend plans you’ve made around March Madness and St. Patrick’s Day, consider heading over to the Edgerton Center Saturday evening for Ali’s Angels. This third annual benefit performance celebrates junior nursing student Alison Cubbellotti, and her donor, a graduate of Sacred Heart.  Proceeds will be used to fund research to find a cure for Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis and Crohn’s Disease.

My family and I are traveling to Florida this weekend for both business and pleasure. By the sound of things, the weather may be even more beautiful here than there. Whatever you decide to do, enjoy the weekend. And, go Pioneers!

Even with the students away on spring break – many of whom are on mission or Habitat trips – we have had some excitement here on campus this week. Congratulations to the women’s basketball team on their close victories against Fairleigh Dickinson last Saturday and Robert Morris on Tuesday in the 2012 NEC Championship Tournament. Home court advantage continues for our top seed team when they host Monmouth on Sunday at 3 p.m. in the NEC Championship Game – a game that will be televised on ESPNU. Let’s make full use of that advantage by turning out at the Pitt Center on Sunday to cheer the women on as they play not only for the conference championship but for a bid to the NCAA tournament. Go Pioneers!

Congratulations to the women’s basketball team! For the first time, Sacred Heart has swept the Northeast Conference Player, Rookie and Coach of the Year awards. Callan Taylor and Gabrielle Washington are Player and Rookie of the Year respectively, while Head Coach Ed Swanson was named Brenda Reilly Coach of the Year for the second time in his career. We wish the entire team best of luck when they host Fairleigh Dickinson tomorrow in the first round of the 2012 NEC Championship Tournament. The women Pioneers are the top seed after winning the regular-season title. Let’s all turn out to give them our support on Saturday.

Congratulations also to the Domenick Pinto, department chair of Computer Science & Information Technology, and the faculty and administration of our graduate certificate in Computer Gaming Design and Development. Sacred Heart University received honorable mention from The Princeton Review in its 2012 ranking of the top 50 graduate programs for video game design in the U.S.

This week was another reminder of how lucky we are to continually have access to great speakers, programs and concerts here at Sacred Heart University. My special thanks and congratulations to all of the students who performed in a number of concerts last weekend. The Chapel of the Holy Spirit was the perfect venue for last Saturday evening’s Gospelfest which included uplifting performances by musicians from SHU and the surrounding area. 

On Sunday, performers from the University’s choral, band and theater programs shared their talents from locations throughout the Edgerton Center and in a variety of musical styles at the Elements concert. Kudos to John Michniewicz, director of Choral Programs, and Keith Johnston, director of Pioneer Bands, for bringing out the best in our students’ musical abilities.

We had an embarrassment of riches in the form of information and advice on Tuesday and Wednesday. Julie Jason, author of Managing Retirement Wealth: An Expert Guide to Personal Portfolio Management in Good Times and Bad, gave a talk in the Ryan-Matura library. Our own Dr. Jacqueline Kelleher presented the third of four lectures that make up the Academic Research Showcase – part of the Presidential Inaugural Lecture Series. Her topic was Film and Perspective-Taking: Educating Educators on Youth with Autism. The presentation included a film called Dungeons and Distractions – the brainstorm of her autistic twin sons – that allows those who view it to experience the challenges of autism. Her hope is to expand the film to include the activities of an entire school day and also to make additional films that portray the experiences of other disabilities that fall under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

We also heard from SHU alumnus Brian Fitzsimmons, award-winning author of Celtic Pride and senior writer/editor at MSG Variety, and from Paul Hogan, chairman and co-founder of Home Instead Senior Care on A Look at the Millennial Generation’s Views on Life. A video of his lecture is available online. Each event included an opportunity for questions and intellectual discourse. Our faculty and staff do a great job of bringing a variety of exciting programs to campus, and I encourage you to take full advantage.

The third annual Dancing with Heart event also took place Tuesday evening. More than 400 students, faculty and staff came out to see nine couples – each made up of a student and a faculty or staff member – perform a dance. In addition, Admissions Counselor Rob Gilmore had the honor of doing a solo dance after receiving the greatest number of votes from the Sacred Heart community. Congratulations to Professor Susan Gannon and John Dibari ’14 on impressing the judges with their dancing prowess and taking home the big glass ball (so to speak). And thanks to the sophomore class for putting on a very entertaining event. If you missed it, videos of the dancing are available on YouTube.

Sacred Heart’s Dr. Jennifer Mattei, Dr. Mark Beekey and master's candidate Mike Stocker participated in a “prescribed burn” at Stratford Point on Long Island Sound this week. The point of the burn is to eliminate leaf litter and kill invasive plant species down to their roots so that native species have a chance to thrive in the resulting nitrogen-rich soil. The area needed some bald patches where loose sand would allow rare insects and birds like piping plover and terns to breed. Sacred Heart University's environmental science program, in conjunction with the Connecticut Audubon Society, had already rebuilt the dunes and overseen the addition of 36,000 beach grass and switch grass plants at the site. The post-burn expectation is that native vegetation will now grow.

Attendees at last Saturday’s women’s basketball game were among the first to hear that the Lisa M. Moray Scholarship is now fully endowed. Lisa, a four-year member of the women’s basketball program, passed away in June 2008 as result of an automobile accident. She was a key member of the 2006 NEC Championship team that delivered a school-record 26 wins and a first-ever trip to the NCAA tournament. She finished her career with 160 three-point field goals, a mark that ranks her fifth all-time at Sacred Heart, and in 2007, she set a new school record for three-pointers in a season with 69. The scholarship will assist deserving female student-athletes who embody Lisa’s indelible spirit and her deep commitment to sportsmanship, teamwork and the Sacred Heart community. Recipients will also need to show academic promise and demonstrate financial need.

I hope that mid-term exams went well and that you all have a fun and relaxing Spring Break.

This week we finalized our search for the new dean of the John F. Welch College of Business. We welcome John Chalykoff, Ph.D., who will officially join us July 1. Dr. Chalykoff most recently served as associate dean at Boston University where he was responsible for all academic programs for 2,200 undergraduate and 900 graduate students. He is particularly passionate about new frontiers in business education, and I am looking forward to the impact he will have on our mission, vision and strategic plan.

Dr. Chalykoff was selected after a lengthy search that included consideration of a number of highly qualified candidates. I am extremely grateful to Dr. Bridget Lyons, chair of the search committee, and the other members of her team for the effort they put forth to find the right candidate for this position. I also want to thank those of you who shared your thoughts and provided feedback to the committee. It was an important part of the process. Please make a point of introducing yourself to Dr. Chalykoff and welcoming him to the Sacred Heart community.

Julie Savino, executive director, University Financial Assistance, was in Hartford Tuesday evening to speak before a panel of legislators on proposed cuts to the Connecticut Independent College Student Grant program (CICS). After making major cuts to the program last year – cuts that will continue to impact student aid in the next academic year – Governor Malloy has proposed eliminating the package for private schools in the state that have an endowment of $200 million or more. While Sacred Heart does not fall into that category, we are extremely concerned about the effect the cut would have – not only on our sister institutions, but especially on students from low- and middle-income families who rely on this aid to help them attend the school of their choice. Julie believes her remarks and those of the others in attendance had an impact. Hopefully that will prove to be the case.

We had some special guests on campus on Wednesday when high school sophomores from the Yale-Bridgeport GEAR UP Partnership visited with Dr. Jennifer Mattei for a tour of her labs and a presentation on Project Limulus – a research program investigating the population dynamics of horseshoe crabs in Long Island Sound. The students had a chance to see and touch a horseshoe crab, and Dr. Mattei invited them to join her in the field this summer to tag crabs. Following the presentation, the students had a more extensive tour of the campus and joined us for lunch. The GEAR UP Partnership follows the same group of students from the time they are in seventh grade until they graduate from high school. The goal of the program is to prepare them to enter and graduate from college. Special thanks to Dr. Mattei and her team for making this a memorable experience for these young students.

While the Republican candidates for President were having a contentious debate Wednesday evening, Eugene Robinson from the Washington Post and Tucker Carlson of Fox News Channel were on campus having a debate of their own as part of the 2011-2012 Student Affairs Lecture Series. In an event moderated by our own Dr. Gary Rose, the two discussed everything from the upcoming election and who is responsible for the gridlock in Congress to the stimulus package, foreign policy and the current debate over coverage of contraceptives under the administration’s health plan. My own views on that last topic were recently published in an op-ed in the Connecticut Post.

Wednesday was also Ash Wednesday, which begins the season of Lent. Lent is traditionally a special time of prayer, penance, sacrifice and good works in preparation for the celebration of Easter. The word “Lent” comes from the Anglo-Saxon words “lencten” meaning spring and “lenctentid,” which not only means springtide, but also was the word for March, the month in which the majority of Lent always falls.

Carla Lapelle, associate dean of Student Affairs at Marshall University in West Virginia, was on campus yesterday to meet with Sacred Heart’s Student Affairs staff and with the members of the University’s Alcohol and Other Drug Coalition. Ms. Lapelle, a national expert on collegiate alcohol and drug issues, provided staff and the coalition with a number of tools that can be used to combat high-risk drinking, including activities and strategies to advance campus and community readiness. Her visit was funded from a $25,000 grant that the University received from Diageo, the world’s leading premium drinks producer, and the First Mate Program, which is aimed at educating students about responsible drinking. 

The Sacred Heart University baseball team recently took time away from its preparations for the upcoming season to participate in the Read-A-Loud program at the Black Rock School in Bridgeport. The team divided up to read to students from 17 classes, grades K-6. Our students and staff give of their time to the local community and the world to the tune of more than 45,000 volunteer hours a year, and all such efforts are greatly appreciated. 

Congratulations to Sacred Heart members of the women’s swim team for breaking two school records on the first day of the Northeast Conference Swimming and Diving Championship. The Pioneers swam the 200 Medley Relay in 1:50.93, and the 800 Free Relay in 7:57.38. Haley McGill, Malvina Reinhold, Liz Bennett and Rachel McGrath teamed up in the 200 Medley Relay to break the previous record of 1:51.97 set at last year’s NEC Championship. Ms. Reinhold, Ms. McGill and Ms. Bennett, along with Meghan Bailey, also swam the 800 Free Relay in 7:57.38, topping the previous record of 8:00.12 set in 2009 at the NEC Championship.

There’s music for all tastes on campus this weekend with Gospelfest on Saturday evening and the Elements concert on Sunday afternoon. Gospelfest promises to be a wonderful evening of uplifting and joyful music with performances by 4 Heart Harmony, SHU L.O.V.E., the UnFOURgettable Women’s Quartet, as well as the Chamber Singers from the University of Bridgeport, the Fairfield County Children’s Choir, bass player Rodger Bryan and percussionist Chuck Saber. The Elements concert will feature performances from the University’s choral, theater and band programs in a non-traditional setting and a variety of musical styles. 

This is also Siblings Weekend. Whether or not you are entertaining guests from home, enjoy the weekend!

This week brought the second of the four lectures that make up the Academic Research Showcase, which is part of the Presidential Inaugural Lecture Series. Dr. Anne Barker of the College of Health Professions presented Complexity Science: A Theoretical Model to Inform New Beginnings. She discussed the roots of Complexity Science – the chaos theory, fractal geometry, the butterfly effect and complex adaptive systems – and then suggested we view Sacred Heart as a complex adaptive system or, as she put it, “one big mob!” Such a view, she mentioned, could lead to a variety of interesting changes in the way we interact. Those include making connections that don’t currently exist, connecting the disconnected, employing self-organization and being present. The first two lectures in the series have been fascinating, and I am looking forward to the remaining two.

Earlier this week, Anna Badkhen, author of Peace Meals: Candy-Wrapped Kalashnikovs and other War Stories spoke at the library as part of the Human Journey Colloquia Series. She shared her experiences as a war correspondent to an audience of students, faculty, staff and guests. She explained that rather than cover the war itself, she prefers to delve into the lives of the people who are living, keeping homes and raising families in the war zone.  Her talk sparked a lively discussion following the formal presentation.

The team from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) has completed its visit here, and now we wait to hear our accreditation status later this spring. I want to thank Interim Dean Rupendra Paliwal and the entire staff of the Welch College of Business for their hard work preparing for this site visit.

Congratulations also to Beth Sullivan, vice provost for Admissions/Financial Assistance. She did a spot on the Fox Connecticut morning news this week where she offered advice to students and parents on how to pay for a college education. She was helpful and eloquent and represented the University well.

A special thank you to the staff of the Mail and Duplicating Center. Valentine’s Day may well be their busiest day of the year, and they did a great job making sure that approximately 500 packages – many of them bouquets of flowers – reached their on-campus destinations.

This week is Resident Success Assistant (RSA) Appreciation Week. Our RSAs work hard around the clock to support our residential students and ensure they have a successful academic year. If you see an RSA, be sure to let him or her know how much we appreciate all that they do.

Alumnus Jeff LeBlanc ’08 was on campus Wednesday night to perform at the Edgerton Center for the Performing Arts. He is a Sacred Heart success story whose latest album, Worth Holding On To, reached number three on the iTunes Top 200 Singer/Songwriter Chart and number 163 on the iTunes Top 200 Albums chart. He also was the opening act for David Archuleta’s U.S. Christmas tour this past December. We hope he will come back often.

Congratulations to the women’s basketball team on their sweep of Rivalry Week by defeating Bryant College twice this week and improving to 12-2 in conference play. A special nod goes to freshman Gabrielle Washington who was named NEC Rookie of the Week for the fourth time this week. She scored 21 points at home against Bryant on Saturday and 27 on Bryant’s home court on Wednesday, making her the first rookie this season to have back-to-back 20-plus point games.

The memorial mass for Sister Marie Julianne Farrington has been scheduled for Wednesday, February 29, at noon in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit.

Finally, in the next few weeks, I plan to begin hosting a series of casual faculty dinners of 10 to 12 people each time. Each guest list will include a mix of representatives from all of the Colleges. I look forward to great conversation in an informal setting and a chance for you to interact with colleagues you might not run into regularly.

Enjoy the weekend!

It was another week of special guests here at Sacred Heart starting with Monday night’s lecture and performance by singer-songwriter Derek Warfield and his newest group, the Young Wolfe Tones. The music was spectacular, and it was fun to hear about the origin of the Irish rebel song and ballad tradition and why people sing these songs today.

On Wednesday evening, the Welch MBA forum presented Kathy Giusti, founder and CEO of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation and the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium and one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. She spoke to a packed house of MBA students and guests at the Schine Auditorium. She provided solid advice about how to start a company – advice that was equally valuable whether the startup is for profit or not-for-profit. She also shared her very personal story of amazing courage and strength. After receiving the fatal diagnosis of multiple myeloma at age 37, she not only had a second child and has been raising a family, but also started her foundation and consortium to ensure that medical and academic institutions and scientists work together to develop new drugs and bring them to market. She used a corporate model based on her experience as head of Searle's worldwide arthritis franchise. During a lively question-and-answer session following her presentation, Ms. Giusti expressed appreciation for the thoughtful, knowledgeable questions and words of gratitude for her work that came from the audience.

Also on Wednesday evening, our own Lucjan Orlowski, Ph.D., gave a presentation in conjunction with the exhibition in the Pitt Center marking the 30^th anniversary of the Polish Solidarność. Lucjan’s topic was “Reflections on the Origins and Legacy of the Polish Solidarity.” Before an audience of students, faculty, staff and visitors from the community, he shared the history and timeline of the Polish solidarity movement and incorporated stories from his personal experiences and those of his friends in Poland.

Lucjan has more reason to celebrate as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group Foundation has awarded a $45,000 grant to Sacred Heart University that will allow our Economics and Finance professors the opportunity to carry out advanced research designed to help financial market participants better understand financial futures behavior and, in turn, better manage financial risks. The grant also supports two student assistant positions, which have been filled by Brian Benson and Bryan Harmon, both participants in the John F. Welch Scholars Program. Lucjan was instrumental in getting this grant for the University. Congratulations to him and his team.

I had the honor last night of speaking at the Norwalk Catholic Club’s annual Lincoln Day Banquet. The other speaker was The Most Reverend William Edward Lori, S.T.D. The dinner honors the memory of Abraham Lincoln and is attended by more than 300 men of various faiths. I shared some thoughts on the importance of individual rights of conscience and the need to speak up whenever government attempts to erode and minimalize the role of said conscience.

NEC Week tipped off Wednesday night with the men’s basketball team edging the Bryant Bulldogs at the Pitt Center. The two face off again tomorrow night at Bryant. If you prefer hockey, the men’s team will play UConn Friday night away and then host them Saturday night at the Webster Bank Arena. Or if you lean toward great music, Melissa Manchester will be on campus Saturday at the Edgerton Center for the Performing Arts. Her songs always bring me back to the time in my life when I first heard them. Whatever you decide to do, have a nice weekend.

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow in Pennsylvania yesterday morning, which means six more weeks of winter. If it’s six more weeks of the kind of winter we’ve been having this week, I’m ready for it!

We filled the Edgerton Center Tuesday night for a “Hot Stove” conversation between Brian Cashman, senior vice president and general manager of the New York Yankees, and Theo Epstein, general manager of the Boston Red Sox for nine seasons and now president of baseball operations for the Chicago Cubs. While the conversation was not as “hot” as it might have been before Epstein moved over to the National League, the two were extremely entertaining as they discussed everything from the Yankee-Sox rivalry to their mutual respect for one another as professionals and the challenges of making trades in the “Moneyball” era. The discussion was part of the 2011-2012 Student Affairs Lecture Series and was moderated by ESPN’s Steve Berthiaume, who did an excellent job. The program left a roomful of baseball fans completely satisfied.

Wednesday afternoon, faculty, staff, students and visitors gathered in the Starbucks Café at the Ryan-Matura library for a presentation and book signing by Dr. Gary Rose. He shared some of the findings from his most recent book, Connecticut's Fourth Congressional District: History, Politics and the Maverick Tradition. In particular, he introduced his audience to the range of characters who have represented Connecticut’s Fourth District over the years. Following a lively question-and-answer session, he signed books for those who wanted to purchase a copy. The library was a perfect venue for this program. Hopefully we can do it more often.

Later on Wednesday, the Mini Max took place at the Schine Auditorium. This event is held every semester and is a showcase of the best work of the students from the Communication and Media Studies program. The works include photographs, magazine production, creative writing, posters, videos and more. If you missed it, you can check out the projects at http://themax.posterous.com/.

Director of Bands Keith Johnston and student trumpet players Rob Cowan and Brian Beatty are back from a successful trip to Haiti. During their stay, the group worked and performed with Haitian students of all demographics and economic backgrounds. A highlight for Keith was the opportunity to hear a concert band play a funeral march written in the late 1800s by a Haitian composer in just one night – as funerals were held within 24 hours of death. Keith was impressed with the piece, which he says is a wonderful example of Haitian military band music. He was able to get photocopies of the band parts – all handwritten – and plans to perform and record the piece here at SHU in March. He believes this will be the first time the piece is performed and recorded outside of Haiti. I can’t wait to hear it.

The Welch College of Business will host the 2012 annual meeting of the Academy of International Business- Northeast Chapter (AIB-NE) next fall from October 11-13. AIB’s Northeast region stretches from Maine to Virginia along the Northeast coast of the United States. Its mission is to provide an opportunity for interaction and sharing of ideas among members. Dr. Khawaja Mamun and Dr. Jing’an Tang will serve as conference co-chairs. They will need a lot of help planning and executing this auspicious event.

You might want to mark your calendars for Monday at 7:30. That’s when the first of three music/lecture presentations on Irish traditional music will take place. This first lecture features singer-songwriter Derek Warfield discussing the history of the Irish rebel song and ballad tradition. Derek will be joined by members of his new group, the Young Wolfe Tones, for a performance that promises to be truly memorable.

Whether you are rooting for the Patriots or the Giants or just plan to enjoy the commercials, have a great time on Sunday. Just keep in mind that Monday’s 8 a.m. classes have not been cancelled!

We began the week with the sad news of the loss of three young lives in a tragic fire at Marist College. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the Marist community and with the families and friends of the victims. I think today is a good time for all of us to check our smoke alarms and make sure they are working.

Sadly, we also lost Sister Marie Julianne Farrington last weekend. Sister Marie Julianne had a long and special history with Sacred Heart up until her retirement last spring. In addition to developing projects and initiatives to fulfill the University’s mission and enhance its strategic position, she also served as an external liaison to the religious community for the University. Sister Marie Julianne received a Doctor of Humane Letters degree, honoris causa, from Sacred Heart University in 2005. She will be missed.

Congratulations to Sacred Heart’s Habitat for Humanity Campus Chapter on receiving the prestigious Second Mile Award, presented each year by Habitat for Humanity of Coastal Fairfield County (Habitat CFC). The award also went to Youth United, a Habitat CFC program focused on giving youth from different backgrounds, faiths and organizations the opportunity to work together to sponsor and build a house with Habitat. Youth United and Sacred Heart’s Habitat club partnered to raise money for and build a house at 554 Jane St. in Bridgeport. This is the first time the award has been given to groups since its inception in 1988. Habitat CFC’s Keith Cook said the groups won for their perseverance in raising money for the house over several years and the care and quality they put into the construction of the house – which is what the Second Mile Award is all about.

The Business Council of Fairfield County has recognized Sacred Heart University as a Gold winner for its successful efforts in promoting a healthy workplace. This is the third consecutive year that we have been honored with the Gold award. The program also received the “Award of Distinction for Workplace Wellness” in 2011 from the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce. Congratulations to Sally Schettino for her hard work putting together such a great variety of wellness programs for faculty and staff.

Sacred Heart welcomes Murray Martin and Teresa Ressel to its Board of Trustees. Mr. Martin is chairman, president and chief executive officer of Pitney Bowes, Inc., and Ms. Ressel most recently held the position of chief operating officer of The Americas for UBS Investment Bank. We are grateful for their willingness to serve and look forward to the expertise they will bring to the table.

We are continuing to gear up for the Horizons at Sacred Heart program that will launch this summer and will bring 32 low-income students entering first and second grade from Bridgeport Public and Cathedral Education Cluster schools to campus for six weeks. The program will address summer learning loss, a phenomenon in which low-income children fall behind in reading and math skills in the summer, while middle-income students keep pace or jump ahead. This contributes to an achievement gap, leaving some low-income kids as much as three years behind by fifth grade. The program is being underwritten by a seven-figure gift from an anonymous donor. This generous donation will cover the cost of the teachers, administrators and materials needed for the program, while Sacred Heart will provide the facilities and some administrative services. This week, we named 11 people to the Board of Overseers for the program. Representatives come from both the Sacred Heart community and the local area.

Wednesday evening, the Academic Research Showcase portion of the Presidential Inaugural Lecture Series kicked off with a presentation by Professor Jennifer McLaughlin, representing the College of Arts and Sciences. She discussed her paper entitled Reflecting on the Bicentennial of the War of 1812 to a fascinated crowd of students, colleagues, family members and visitors from the local community. She linked the topic to the inaugural theme, “A Time for New Beginnings,” by concluding that even though no solid changes took place between the United States and Great Britain as a result of the war, the Americans’ belief that they had won allowed them to move on and make changes – or new beginnings – on the home front.

As I write this, Director of Pioneer Bands Keith Johnston is in Haiti with two members of the University orchestra – trumpet players Rob Cowan and Brian Beatty. The group will participate in the first annual Brass Festival, sponsored by the Holy Trinity School of Music in Port-au-Prince, and will give lessons to brass students and conduct brass and wind ensembles. The three also participated in the Ireland trip over the Christmas break, so they are piling up the miles.

Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams are back in action at the Pitt Center on Saturday against Mount St. Mary’s. Let’s show our fellow Pioneers our support by filling the stands and cheering them on. Whatever you decide to do over the weekend, be safe and have a good time.

I’m always happy when a new semester begins and the campus fills with students and faculty members. I love the academic atmosphere and seeing the space on campus being used the way it’s meant to be used. That’s one of the many reasons that I’m excited about the programs that will be happening here on campus during the summer. One of those is the result of a new partnership between Sacred Heart and Horizons National. The program will bring 32 low-income students entering first and second grade from Bridgeport Public and Cathedral Education Cluster schools to campus for six weeks. The hope is that these students, many of whom are the first in their families to step onto a college campus, will be inspired by their experience to set high goals for their education.

The program addresses summer learning loss, a phenomenon in which low-income children fall behind in reading and math skills in the summer, while middle-income students keep pace or jump ahead. This contributes to an achievement gap, leaving some low-income kids as much as three years behind by fifth grade. By spending some of their vacation here, the students will actually gain reading and math skills this summer. My personal hope is that we see them again in 10 or 11 years when they return to Sacred Heart as freshmen.

Last week, I mentioned that some of our students were in Mississippi working with Habitat for Humanity, and another group was participating in our annual CURTIS Week immersion program. Both groups are back on campus and are reenergized by and grateful for their experiences.


As you can easily see, we are making tremendous progress on the new student commons building. We are planning a dedication ceremony for mid-April. We are also making headway with our new website design, which will launch before the start of next semester. Our website will be even more attractive and user-friendly than it is now.

There will be a lot of activity surrounding this Saturday’s basketball games against Central Connecticut State University. First, it is the annual Pack the Pitt event, sponsored by Student Government. The goal is to fill the arena with a sea of red. Come to either the women’s or men’s game dressed in red to collect Pioneer Fever Pinnies, stadium cups and drawstring bags from Coke. You will also be eligible to win raffle prizes or the door prize of a $2,500 Disney trip.

In addition, a reunion of alumni from the Welch College of Business will take place in the Pitt balcony, beginning at 2 p.m. Approximately 40 people, including some members of the WCOB faculty, are expected to attend for appetizers, networking and, of course, a great view of the games.

I’m hoping to see victories by both teams. Last night the men beat Quinnipiac in a 78-75 nail biter. That completes a season series sweep – the first time that’s happened since 2007-08. And, the women have been on fire. After two conference road wins this past weekend over Robert Morris and Saint Francis (PA), they vaulted to the number 16 spot in the Mid-Major poll. The women are 6-0 this year in the Pitt Center. Congratulations to both teams – and best of luck on Saturday.