Dr. Petillo's Blog

I began the week enjoying our annual “Late Night Breakfast” sponsored by the IRC and the Office of Residential Life. This year we started a new tradition, and special thanks go to the members of the faculty and staff from across the campus who delivered food and bused tables that night. They took their role of serving students literally! And I hope this gave everyone the boost they needed for exams and that you passed them all with flying colors. Thanks to Rob Gilmore and Chartwells for making this year’s event special. 

 
I also had a great chance to meet with student government leaders this week when I asked them to dinner and cooked for them. It gave me the opportunity to check on how the semester was going and to get their feedback – and to keep things moving along.

And speaking of moving things along, as many of you know, we are in the midst of crafting a strategic plan for the next five years. As I’ve said, it is vitally important that all of us take an active part in this process to ensure that the plan represents our best thinking and that when it is presented to the Board of Trustees in May. The formal “kick off” for this process was Wednesday. My special thanks to Dr. David Coppola for his coordination of everything thus far. And thank you all for the hard work this will entail over the coming months. It will be worth it.

I got to participate in a ceremony this week I certainly hope we can repeat. The Energy Efficiency Fund and United illuminating, the firm that supplies the University’s electricity needs, formally presented us with a rebate check for $204,461. Since December 2009, we have been reimbursed almost a third-of-a-million dollars for energy upgrades. The long-and-the-short of it is that we are being rewarded when we put systems and equipment in place that will help us save money. This, in conjunction with practical measures like turning off the lights if you’re the last one to leave a room or sealing open spaces to cut down on wintry drafts, has saved us very considerable funds. These can now be used for financial assistance or physical upgrades: a much better way to spend those dollars. And it is working to make our world a greener, more hospitable, place. It’s a win for everyone. Thanks to Ed Dobransky and Mike Austin for all their efforts on behalf of the University and our planet.

 
And, it is good to see that a little over a year after its dedication, the Chapel of the Holy Spirit continues to make headlines. This week alone, the smaller Chapel of the Nativity was the “cover story” for America, the respected national Jesuit magazine. Father Jim Martin, who was honored by the University at Freshman Convocation in September, wrote the piece, which was both thought-provoking and insightful. And the Chapel’s new stained-glass windows were featured in a beautiful pictorial essay in the Connecticut Post newspaper.

In closing out both the semester and 2010, I want to thank each and every one of you for your vital contributions to our life together and our common goals. Once again, in the face of challenges this year, our community did what it always does when confronted with a demonstrated need: it rolled up its sleeves and said, “How can we help?” We had many causes to celebrate this year, and sometimes we came together in sorrow as well. Christmas reminds all of us that in the midst of any darkness, a shining light still guides our destinies. I wish you and your families a wonderful holiday break and a bright, prosperous and peaceful New Year!

 
 
 

 

 ‘Tis the season – when everything seems to be happening at once, and there’s music everywhere on campus. Tonight’s Messiah concert, by the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and the choir of St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Hartford, has been sold out for weeks. It was even written up in the New York Times. And last Sunday’s annual service of Lessons and Carols in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit called on the strong artistic skills of many of our students under the careful direction of Dr. John Michniewicz, who heads our choral music programs. A special gift, as usual, was provided by our own Allegra DeVita, who performed Ave Maria. In fact, Dr. John and his talented ensembles seem to be everywhere these past few weeks, and we thank them all for their exceptional contributions to the festive spirit around campus. 

The University community gathered in the Chapel to light the Advent wreath on Wednesday, and we are grateful to Bishop William E. Lori of Bridgeport – the chairman of the University’s Board of trustees – for being with us to preside at this service. And on Thursday night at 7, the University formally lit its beautiful Christmas tree – with carols and festive music by the Pioneer Band and even hot chocolate and cookies.
 

 
I am proud to say that our students understand the true meaning of the season in many ways. On Monday, some 50 gathered in University Commons to “celebrate” a Hunger Banquet. Upon entering, each was assigned a number randomly to represent his or her status in the world. The guests were seated at tables according to socio-economic status and learned a great deal about the “class” to which they had been assigned. At the end of the evening, each table dined on foods typical of that economic condition. Congrats to Gail Gillespie, class of 2012 community service chair, who headed the event, and to Dawn Doucette, whose office of Volunteer Programs has been so busy in this season of giving.  The group is receiving support from the 2011 El Salvador Delegation as well as from the Sacred Heart Campus Ministry COR team.

 
And let me offer a belated thank you to a contingent of SHU nursing professors and 12 students, who traveled to Kingston, Jamaica, to administer much-needed medical care in late September and early October. The group worked with PRN Relief International. Shery Watson, a SHU nursing instructor, is a member of the PRN board and was team leader for the mission to Jamaica. The team has been serving the same community of Kingston, Jamaica, for the past 10 years. Over the eight days, 800 patients were treated. According to Professor Julie Stewart, D.N.P., the other faculty member on the trip, the coordination under the umbrella of PRN began two years ago. Dr. Stewart said PRN provided all the mechanisms, such as lodging and security, to make the effort successful. For the eight-day mission, 25 suitcases filled with medicine traveled with the group for distribution to the needy!
 
Victory was snatched from the jaws of defeat – twice – by our basketball teams on Wednesday night. Our women’s team overcame Yale by the thinnest of margins (70-69). And thanks to a score made at literally the last second by Junior Stan Dulaire, our men’s team squeaked by at 56 to 55 against Hartford. And the winning point was the only time that evening that the Pioneers were ahead, having overcome a 20-point deficit! Congrats to all involved.
 
Two terrific events are coming this weekend. I hope you can attend one or both. They are free, and both are in the Edgerton Center for the Performing Arts. On Saturday at 7:30 P.M., there will be a Christmas Choral Extravaganza featuring 160 SHU performers with an impressive line-up of holiday favorites. And the next day at 3 in the afternoon, we can look forward to Christmas Memories, with the SHU Concert Band and Concert Choir. It’s beginning to sound a lot like Christmas!

This week, I had the pleasure of speaking with more than a hundred students in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit for what will be the first of many regular conversations. It was tornado-in-Kansas weather, so I really appreciate the showing for what proved a lively exchange. What impressed me most was the wide variety of concerns that were voiced – touching so many of the major themes of the University for the months ahead. They ranged from academic challenges to expansion of facilities to the school’s spiritual and community service programs. I told them how much I need their active participation in our common goal of making the years ahead the best ones ever for Sacred Heart. The University is beginning to design a five-year strategic plan, and I will count on every one of you to play a part. Some questions, I admit, I had no ready answer for. My staff has taken to calling me the IP, for instance – for interim president. And at this point, I don’t know whether I even want to take the “I” away from “IP.” And when I know, I will share that thought with you as well. Many don’t realize it, but I go back nearly 30 years with SHU: I was a Trustee in the early 80s, so I’m glad to still be a part of this community today, when we have every reason to look forward to the future with great hope.
 
Student activism is a point of great pride for all of us, and I wanted to single out a few such efforts this past week. I mentioned last week that we provided more than 500 turkeys for Thanksgiving feasts for our neighbors in need. An incredible accomplishment. And members of the Marketing Club spearheaded a drive to “White Out Lung Cancer.” This included getting Connecticut’s Governor Jodi Rell to draft an official statement declaring November as Lung Cancer Awareness Month, as well as participating in campus coverage by CBS News from New York City. And members of the Student Alumni Association and the Alumni Executive Council are collecting helpful supplies such as toiletries, snack foods and even zip-lock bags for our troops serving overseas. We’re proud of you all.
 
I want to congratulate Dr. Michelle Loris and her team for earning a prestigious Lilly Foundation grant for a conference in 2012 that will showcase our award-winning core curriculum, The Human Journey. The network exchange will attract educators from around the country to learn from our experience by speaking with our faculty members and students.
 
And another success story to share: Kudos to our IT Factory – where the University community goes for assistance with thousands of computers and related devices. The editors of University Business magazine have chosen it as a 2010 national “model of efficiency,” and we couldn’t be more pleased.
 
This time of year brings many celebrations, and I am look forward to numerous student concerts and other special events. This Sunday, December 5th  at 4:30, we will celebrate the traditional service of Lessons and Carols in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit. And on Friday, December 10th, the Chapel of the Holy Spirit will host the second annual performance of Handel’s Messiah, by the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and the St. Joseph Cathedral Choir.