Dr. Petillo's Blog

It’s been quiet on campus this week with the students off for the summer and many of the faculty taking time off. I am looking forward to the summer programs we have lined up that will bring students of all ages to our campus. In addition to our traditional summer camps, this year we are giving qualified high school juniors and seniors a chance to earn college credits by taking one of 15 courses offered as part of our new Pre-College Program. We hope the three-week program will not only give teens a jump start on their college credits, but will also provide a chance for them to explore new interests, while experiencing academic life on a college campus.

Equally exciting is our inaugural Horizons program. In affiliation with Horizons National, we will have 32 first- and second-grade students from Bridgeport Public and Cathedral Education Cluster schools on campus for six weeks this summer. 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. These programs are exactly how we should be using our campus space during the summer months.

Of course, we also have our own students taking classes as well. On Tuesday, students in our Masters of Arts in Communication Program will sponsor the SHU Media Exchange. The event offers a moderated panel of experts, including Vinnie Fusco, general manager/executive in charge of NBCUniversal Stamford Media Center; Meryl Moss founder/president of Meryl Moss Media Relations; Bud Grebey, vice president, Corporate Communications, Tronox, Inc.; and Kip Bergstrom, State of Connecticut executive director of the Commission on Culture and Tourism. The panel will be moderated by John Seigenthaler of NBC Nightly News and Seigenthaler Public Relations. It promises to be a dynamic discussion about agency trends, the expansion of Connecticut’s “Creative Corridor” and the emergence of the media industry in our state.

Our 23rd annual Pioneer Open golf fundraiser took place on Monday. Despite a rainy day, we had a full field at the Brooklawn Country Club, and everyone had a great time. Congratulations to the University Advancement team on exceeding their goal and raising $235,000 through entry fees and the live and silent auction (which included a Pebble Beach golf package). The money will be used for much-needed student scholarships.

A great big cheer goes out to the Sacred Heart baseball team for its second consecutive NEC championship. There was a bit of déjà vu involved as the Pioneers once again entered the tournament as the second seed; once again won behind complete-game victories by Tony Scribner, Nick Leiningen and Kody Kerski; and once again closed out the tournament with two straight victories over Monmouth at Dodd Field. The team will play in the NCAA Regionals June 1-4. Go Pioneers!

Almost a week later, I am still thinking about graduation and the exciting week of activities. I enjoyed the opportunity to celebrate with the senior class at the champagne brunch in the new student commons Thursday morning and the Commencement Ball Friday evening. More than 1,600 people attended the dinner-dance under the tent Saturday evening. It was a wonderful event where students and their families celebrated the hard work and investment that has gone into earning their degrees. Music was provided by the Cartells, and I thoroughly enjoyed their performance. By the looks of things, I was not the only one.

The graduate and undergraduate degree ceremonies are always a mixture of joy and solemnity. From my conversations with the graduates – and my own memories of that time – I know that leaving college brings mixed feelings of sadness, nostalgia and trepidation, along with relief, excitement and anticipation.

For me, the overwhelming emotion was pride. I am incredibly proud of the 744 graduate students and 846 undergrads who received degrees over the weekend. I am proud of the strong men and women whom I shook hands with – men and women who are prepared to make a difference in the world. I am proud that during their four years here, they contributed to more than 22,000 hours of community service and am confident that they will continue that spirit of selflessness throughout their lives. You would think after countless graduations as a teacher and administrator, it would get old. It never does. I am always filled with pride at all these students have accomplished and excitement at all they have ahead of them.

I am also proud of the faculty and staff who came to work every day with the best interests of the students in mind. You worked hard on creative curriculums, programs and events that would capture their imaginations and prepare them for their adult lives. You nurtured and encouraged them and pushed them to succeed. As I looked at you during the graduation ceremonies, I saw the same pride on your faces that I was feeling. You have made a difference in these young people’s lives, and you should be every bit as proud of yourselves and you are of them.

We recently received the wonderful news that our Upward Bound grant has been extended for five years in excess of $1 million. Upward Bound has been part of Sacred Heart University’s culture for the past 21 years. The program has provided academic support, curriculum services and college preparation to more than 1,000 students from the three public high schools in Bridgeport and the Bridge Academy. The new grant will begin in September 2012 and will service a minimum of 63 students per year. Congratulations to program director Carylanne Rice-Ehalt and staff members Emma Sanchez and Kathy Garzillo for their hard work putting together a successful Upward Bound application for the United States Department of Education.  

Last Friday, we had a very special guest on campus. Her name is Yin Myo Su (Misuu), and she was here as part of Fortune magazine and the U.S. State Department’s Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership program. Misuu is managing director of the Inle Princess Resort Hotel in Burma and was the mentee of Xerox. Xerox put together a schedule of events designed to give her an understanding of how executive women operate in a global corporation with a goal of helping her to advance her leadership skills. Part of that schedule included a visit to our campus, which turned out to be her first time at a traditional University. While here, she toured the campus and met with Vice Provost for Special Academic Affairs Mary Lou DeRosa and others. This opportunity came as a result of our relationship with Yvonne Hickey, general manager for Public Sector Operations at Xerox, who has joined our Horizons Board of Directors.


On Monday, students from our undergraduate biology and professional science graduate programs worked with staff from the Connecticut Audubon Society to plant trees and shrubs at Stratford Point.

A couple months ago, members of our faculty participated in controlled burn at the site to get rid of vegetation and debris and give native species a chance to thrive there. The hope is that Monday’s planting project will encourage birds to come back to the site for food and shelter.


Congratulations to the members of the baseball team who are in the process of defending their NEC title as the second seed. They were also seeded second when they won last year’s championship.

I miss the students and the normal buzz of the campus already, but I am looking forward to the start of our summer sessions and orientations. Enjoy the beautiful weather that is expected to continue through the weekend!

Without a doubt, I am going to start this blog with huge congratulations to all our students who will graduate this weekend.  A total of 744 graduate students will receive master’s degrees, professional certificates and doctorates, and 846 undergrads will receive associate and bachelor’s degrees. We will also award honorary doctorates to Susan Davis, chief executive officer of St. Vincent’s Health Services, and Carl Anderson, supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus. Currently there’s no rain in the forecast. Let’s hope it stays that way.

This week we finalized our search for the new dean of the Isabelle Farrington College of Education. We welcome James C. Carl, Ph.D., who will officially join us August 1. Dr. Carl most recently served as department chair of Curriculum and Foundations at Cleveland State University where he was responsible for budgeting, scheduling, evaluating, grant writing and curriculum development. He was selected after a lengthy search that included consideration of a number of highly qualified candidates. I am extremely grateful to Dr. Ann Clark, 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 critical to the process. Please make a point of introducing yourself to Dr. Carl and welcoming him to the Sacred Heart community.

We received sad news this week with the passing of Marian “Bunny” Calabrese, former associate professor of English. During her tenure here she was beloved by students and colleagues alike, and many of you have made it a point to share your memories of her during the past few days. A memorial service for Bunny will take place tomorrow at 11 a.m. at Mary Taylor Memorial United Methodist Church in Milford. 

Congratulations are in order for Dr. Julie Stewart, assistant professor of Nursing. Julie was named one of the most outstanding nursing educators in the United States by the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties. The organization – responsible for setting standards in nursing education not just nationally, but throughout the world – presented her with the prestigious “Outstanding Faculty Practice Award” at its 38th Annual Conference recently in Charleston. As Julie pointed out herself, the award reflects not only her skills, but the quality of the education that Sacred Heart nursing students receive. Julie was also named a Connecticut Nurses Association Diamond Jubilee Award winner in 2010. She won the Florence Wald Nursing Award for Clinical Excellence.

Kudos, too, to Katie Nichols, director of Greek Life, who was honored by Cooperative Educational Services (CES) of Trumbull with the Success through Educational Partnerships (STEP) Award. Katie was honored for overseeing the 24-hour see-saw-a-thon fundraiser – Greek Life Goes Back to Give Back – put on by the University’s Greek Life organization to raise money for a playground at Bridgeport’s Six to Six Interdistrict Magnet School.

Approximately 75 faculty and staff members and 30 students enjoyed a delicious lunch from the Big Green Pizza Truck on Tuesday during our first-ever Campus Donor Day. During the event, which was hosted by the Office of Annual Giving, I had the honor of receiving a check for more than $5,000 from the students who ran the Class of 2012’s Forever Pioneers giving campaign. I also received a check for more than $67,000 from Dr. Peter Maresco, who was representing the faculty and staff. Thanks to all of you who gave so generously.

On Wednesday, I had the chance to present Katie Nichols (not the same Katie I referenced above!) and David Hill each with an Apple iPad2 for the award-winning essays they submitted to the Religious Freedom Essay Contest, sponsored by the Knights of Malta. It was great to have a chance to congratulate them in person.

A round of applause goes to Tony Jean-Louis of the men’s track & field team for breaking an NEC record in the 110m hurdles. He paced the competition with an IC4A qualifying time of 14.03s. And kudos to senior Leopoldo Garcia, who has been selected to play in the 2012 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship after a win in the NEC Conference Championship last weekend. He will compete as an individual in the regional tournament in Greensboro, NC.

I hope members of the faculty and staff had a chance to stop by the end-of-year thank you barbecue. As I said in my message earlier this week, this has been an outstanding year for us. I asked you back in September to join me in making servant leadership, stewardship and presence the hallmarks of my tenure. We’re off to a good start, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Looking forward to a great Commencement Weekend!

I want to start today’s message with a welcome to the Class of 2016! We are so glad that you have decided to join the Sacred Heart community, and we are looking forward to meeting you at orientation next month.

A big thank you to all the faculty and staff members who came out Monday night to serve the students at the end-of-classes late night breakfast sponsored by Res Life. It appeared to be a lot of fun for all involved. Clearly, hundreds of hungry students appreciated your efforts.

I’d like to wish students the best of luck as you take the last of your finals and finish up your projects and papers. Whether you are heading home for the summer or gearing up for graduation exercises next weekend, have fun and be safe.

I hope you had a chance to attend one or more of the student performances over the weekend. The University Choirs, the University Concert Band and the SHU F.O.R.C.E. DanceEnsemble all put on spectacular shows.

We got some good news this week by way of social media: Pilar Munday, who teaches Spanish in our Foreign Languages and Cultures Department, was named in a list of the Top 50 Foreign Language Professors on Twitter. She was commended for her posts in Spanish and English on language education, health and cultural topics. Consider me a follower of @mundaysa!

Congratulations to the Master of Arts in communication team that took the top prize in the Wine and Spirit Wholesalers of Connecticut, Inc. state-wide PSA contest. Their commercial about underage drinking took home the awards for best overall PSA and technical excellence, which means that it will air on all the major television stations in Connecticut for a full year. Members of this creative team were Jeff Crane, Mike Dominguez, Jade Ean-Heller, Lauren Forgione, Michele Herrmann, Justine Luzzi, Guilherme Palma Neto and Wayne Travers. Along withtheir project supervisors, Lori Bindig and Justin Liberman, we take great pride in this extremely talented group of students.

Congratulations also to Katie Nicols, winner of the Religious Freedom Essay Contest, sponsored by the Order of Malta, and to David Hill who wrote the runner-up essay. Both Katie and David will receive an Apple iPad2 for their efforts, and the essays will bepublished on the SHU website. These two stood out among the many extremely well-written essays that were submitted. The judges were impressed by all the essays, so kudos to the other students who sent in submissions.

It was a week of accolades and awards, beginning with our 20th annual All-Sports and Senior Awards Banquet on Monday evening at the Trumbull Marriott. A total of 168 senior student-athletes and others were honored for their accomplishments both on and off the field. Jeff Holtz, the voice of the Pioneer Sports Network, served as the evening’s master of ceremonies, and Callan Taylor of the women’s basketball team delivered moving remarks on behalf of all the student-athletes.

On Thursday, nearly 200 faculty and staff members gathered for the Faculty Awards reception, which was one of our presidential inauguration year events. Provost Laura Niesen de Abruna joined me in hosting the event where 55 faculty members were honored. Categories included Academics for Creative Teaching Grants, Faculty Excellence Awards, Retiring Faculty, Sabbatical Awards and University Research and Creativity Grants, as well as the Annual Excellence Awards for Scholarship and Teaching. Congratulations to all the honorees.

Let’s enjoy these last few days of the semester.