Dr. Petillo's Blog

July 27, 2012

One of the things I love about summer is the chance to dive into some books I’ve been meaning to read. Of course, I read year-round, but there is something about summer with its longer days of sunlight and extra vacation time that allows me to get to the stack of books on my to-do list. This summer’s list included:

• Bloodmoney by David Ignatius, which was a summer beach read – an entertaining novel about espionage.
• Transforming a College by George Keller, which I asked the trustees and leadership team to join me in reading. It’s about the transformation of Elon College in North Carolina, and I think it can inform our discussion as we plan our next steps to bring greater distinction here to Sacred Heart.
• The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore, which is the book we asked all incoming freshmen to read over the summer. It’s about two kids with the same last name who grew up in the same city (Baltimore). One became a Rhodes Scholar, decorated combat veteran and business leader, and the other is in prison serving a sentence for felony murder. The author will speak on campus here in the fall.
• The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, which I was inspired to reread after reading the Wes Moore story. Both books reminded me that we often remain isolated from the poverty of spirit as well as material that surround us.

I hope you have had a chance to do some reading over the summer and have discovered both entertaining and thought-provoking treasures.

The University Board of Trustees had a productive retreat over the past weekend. It was good to take time to go over some of the key strategic issues that are facing us and talk about where we will be focusing our energies during the next five years. We talked about the quality of our academics, faculty and facilities. A grateful thank you to all the Board members and senior staff who gave up a precious summer Saturday for this work.

We had folks from the Golf Channel on campus Thursday afternoon and evening to film the Path to College program offered by First Tee of Metropolitan New York. Fairchild Wheeler Golf Course is one of First Tee’s five locations in the tri-state area, and our close proximity made for a natural partnership. Faculty and staff from Sacred Heart regularly offer presentations to the program’s students in grades 7-12 on interview practice, resume building, financial aid & planning and college essay writing. The Golf Channel was here to film one of those presentations.

Enjoy the weekend!

 

July 20, 2012

This week, the Horizons at Sacred Heart program is in the fourth week of the six-week program. My heart lifts whenever I happen to glimpse these young students whether they are walking to get ice cream or jumping rope. This week, however, I spent some quality time with them, which only served to reinforce just how special this program is. Early in the week, I stopped by just in time to see their daily spirit cheer. Their excitement and enthusiasm was a reminder that we might all do well to start each day with a spirit cheer! On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to read to them. What a wonderful experience. They were wide-eyed and appreciative. Later that day, the sound of Justin Bieber spilling out of the speakers on my patio from the radio inspired an impromptu dance party – another reminder that we all can learn about making the most of life’s opportunities from this special group of students.

The Horizons students do their daily spirit cheer during a visit with President Petillo.

This was a big week for visitors to the Horizons at Sacred Heart program as members of the national Horizons Board of Directors checked in on the program. The students also had Nook tablet readers delivered this week and are using them for the literacy portion of their curriculum.

The youngsters have been working hard, and we are optimistic that the results of their post-program testing will indicate that the program has been successful in closing the achievement gap in both their academic and social skills. In addition to their regular studies and twice-weekly swimming lessons at the Cardinal Sheehan center, the group has gone on several field trips. They have visited the Stepping Stones Museum in Norwalk, spent time at the beach with the students of the Horizons at Greens Farms Academy program, and they went bowling today. Future plans include a trip to the Connecticut Science Museum in Hartford and a carnival at Greens Farms Academy.

As I traveled around campus during the unrelenting heat this week, I couldn’t help but notice the many people out in the blazing sun working on the grounds and the buildings. A big thank you for your dedication to getting the campus ready for the return of the students in a few weeks!

Workers took a break under the shade of a tree in the quad during the heat wave this week.

Fortunately, spectacular weather is predicted for the coming weekend. I hope you all have a chance to enjoy it!

 

July 13, 2012

I am back at Sacred Heart after doing some traveling around Europe. Following the Luxembourg commencement exercises, I went to Positano and then on to Rome. I was not the only representative of SHU to spend time in Rome recently. Ten SHU students took advantage of our partnership with John Cabot University (JCU) in the heart of Rome. JCU is located along the banks of the Tiber River. It is in the vibrant Trastevere quarter, on the grounds of the prestigious Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, where Galileo worked. A 15-minute walk from JCU takes you to the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel and Castel Sant'Angelo – the hiding place of the popes during the Guelf-Ghibelline wars of the Middle Ages. JCU is an American university in Rome that houses students from all over the world.

Our students were there for a 5-week summer program. Three of them took just one course at JCU while the other seven took also took our SHU business ethics course with Professor Andra Gumbus. This was a two-week course that ran Monday through Thursday from June 4-14. The course investigated the ethical questions that arise in normal business situations, such as justice and the market system, whistle-blowing, trade secrets and conflict of interest, privacy, discrimination and affirmative action, marketing, safety and employment issues. The students took a day trip to Florence with Professor Gumbus, and traveled throughout Europe on their own time. Professor Gumbus tells me that they did not want to come home – a sentiment with which I can certainly sympathize!

Dr. Stephen Brown is heading up an Innovation Committee here at SHU. The committee has set a goal to recommend ways to facilitate innovation campus wide. There is increasing competition within the higher education sector, including universities that have state support or large endowments. The committee will explore how we can think innovatively about everything we do. We do our students and ourselves a disservice if we remain complacent in today’s economic environment.

Dr. Brown has recruited a dynamic team with representatives from all five our colleges. They are Kirk Bartholomew, Jody Bartone, James Castonguay, Ann Clark, Michael Emery, Andra Gumbus, Lois Libby and Julianna Stockton. They will be scheduling open discussions with the SHU community to solicit ideas and feedback, and I encourage all of you to participate. This is important work.  We need to consider different ways of delivering services and think more creatively about what we do with and for our students.