This has been a busy and exciting week at Sacred Heart University. It was a week that started out for most of us remembering September 11, 2001 -- where we were, what we thought, perhaps memories of a loved one who was lost that day. Forty members of SHU’s vocal ensembles 4 Heart Harmony and SHU L.O.V.E. (Ladies Only Vocal Ensemble) were in New York City to take part in one of the many commemorative events held on Sunday. It was a rewarding experience for everyone who participated. Closer to home, many of us gathered on Sunday for a candlelight service to commemorate the events of 10 years ago. As I said then, for Christians, these moments are not just about the pain and the loss, but also about the love. Finally, I was honored to be one of many area people asked to write a 9/11 reflection for the Fairfield County Business Journal.
I kicked off the weekend at the Bridgeport Rescue Mission’s Walk to Help the Homeless. Organized by SHU’s Volunteer Programs, the walk took place Saturday morning with a kick off on campus. Proceeds will benefit the Mission’s programs for homeless and near-homeless men, women and children. It was a beautiful day for a walk, and everyone who came out had a great time. Congratulations to Maura Cook on a wonderful job organizing the event here, and thanks to Jim Buchanan at WICC for coming out to support this fundraising effort.
On Wednesday, I had the honor of conferring a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, on Dr. John J. DeGioia, the president of Georgetown University, in a special academic convocation. Dr. DeGioia spoke to those present about growth and academic excellence -- two things that are clearly important to us here at Sacred Heart. Dr. DeGioia is a graduate of Georgetown and has spent his entire career there. He is the first lay president of a Jesuit university and has been credited with helping Georgetown become a premier institution for both education and research. My thanks to everyone who made this event possible.
As I was presenting Dr. DeGioia with this honorary doctorate, many others in the Sacred Heart community were celebrating our seventh annual Constitution Day. Again, my gratitude to everyone who helped put together this event, especially Professor Gary Rose. The keynote speaker was Martha A. Dean, Esq., the 2010 Republican candidate for Connecticut Attorney General. Her topic was “Defibrillating the Constitution: Jump-Starting the Heart of America’s Economic Engine.” By all accounts, her comments were fascinating. Attendees also received pocket-sized copies of both the United States and Connecticut State constitutions. The latter were published here by our University Press. Even though Connecticut is nicknamed the Constitution state, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first time the State constitution has been printed in such an accessible way. You can download both constitutions from the SHU Web site.
Finally, I stopped by the economic forum last night that was sponsored by the John F. Welch College of Business (WCOB) in the Schine Auditorium. Our own Dr. Lucian Orlowski presided over the event before a standing room only crowd. Clearly the topic, “Recent Developments in Financial Risk” rang a bell in today’s economy. Guest speakers were Dr. Bluford Putnam, chief economist of CME Group; Dr. Abu Amin and Dr. Kwamie Dunbar, assistant professors in the WCOB’s Department of Economics and Finance; Albert H. Cheng, senior vice president of Atlantic Asset Management; and Sidney Hardee, managing partner of Hardee Brothers, LLC. They provided a wealth (no pun intended) of great information on a variety of topics that ranged from “Improving the Integration of Risk Management into the Investment Process” to “Risk Control Using ETFs” and everything in between. Congratulations to the WCOB on a wonderful event. It’s our goal to serve not only the Sacred Heart community, but the communities around us, and this program did exactly that.
If the weather forecasters are correct, we are in for a beautiful fall weekend. Let’s all get outside and enjoy this rare and wonderful weather.