Dr. Petillo's Blog

President Petillo's Blog - Friday, April 26th

This has been a fun week for me because I had the opportunity to congratulate faculty and staff on their hard work and commitment to our students. On Wednesday, I attended the annual luncheon to honor our administrative assistants. They are usually the unsung heroes in any organization. None of us could get by without them.

Yesterday was the Second Annual Faculty Awards Reception, organized by Provost Laura Niesen de Abruna, where faculty members are honored for tenure, promotions, grants, sabbatical awards and more. I particularly want to congratulate Steven Michels from the Government and Politics Department for winning the Annual Excellence Award for both scholarship and teaching. In what I believe is an unprecedented occurrence, two separate selection committees chose him as their winner and – although there were many outstanding nominations – both committees believed he was the clear-cut choice. Congratulations to Steve and all the honorees.


Have you seen the new banners we have been hanging around campus? The installation is not quite complete as there are still several more to go up. I hope you like them as much as I do.

We also installed a new sign at the dining hall in the Commons to let everyone know it is called Linda’s. The name allows us to continue to honor Board of Trustees member Linda E. McMahon for her generosity to this University with both her time and money.


One of our most famous alums, John Ratzenberger, was on campus Tuesday for a student lecture. He shared the impact that his childhood in Bridgeport and his time at SHU has had on his career. Yes, he admitted that he originally got involved with theater to impress a girl, but his natural talent was quickly evident. During the presentation, he did an improv routine with several members of the Awkward Handshakes who were in attendance. We appreciate his taking the time to visit and hope to have him back again to share more of his great stories.

Also on Tuesday, we hosted a discussion on the recent papal conclave and the impact the new pope may have. The three panelists – our own Michael W. Higgins, Fairfield University’s George Collins and writer David Gibson – are all papal experts in their own way. Under the guidance of moderator Tony Ciorra, attendees heard about the historical significance of choosing this particular pope and the influence he is likely to have on the Church going forward. I hope I didn’t miss anything too important when I dozed off during Higgins’ presentation.

Our campus is once again filled with special guests today as Admissions hosts its final informational session for admitted students and their families.  Students will make their final decisions by Wednesday, and I am looking forward to learning all about the incoming class of 2017.

Heartfelt Designs—our student-run T-shirt business—is releasing its third and final shirt of the semester. It has an “I survived” theme and is a must-have for all of us who survived Sandy, Nemo and the Mayan Apocalypse!

Tonight begins our annual Relay for Life fundraiser. Organizers have put a great deal of effort into this event that will raise funds for cancer research. This fundraiser is always both moving and joyful. Stop by the Pitt Center any time from 6 p.m. tonight to 6 a.m. tomorrow to support the students, faculty and staff who have made a commitment to this important cause.

SHU L.O.V.E. will present a pops concert Saturday evening. They are always a pleasure to listen to. And don’t forget to mark your calendars for the Concert Against Bullying on Wednesday at 2 in the Chapel.

Enjoy the beautiful spring weather over the weekend!

President Petillo's Blog - April 19th

Last weekend, I attended the Concert Against Bullying put on by 4 Heart Harmony, Unfourgettable and several soloists. Not only did the show include outstanding musical performances, but the students shared testimonies about their experiences and thoughts around bullying. Their words were deeply moving, and I think all of us can benefit from hearing them. To that end, we have scheduled an encore performance on Wednesday, May 1, at 2 p.m. in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit. I encourage you to make every effort to attend. Let’s come together as a community to learn from one another.

We announced some exciting news to faculty this week. Through the generosity of Richard J. and Barbara A. Naclerio, we have established the Naclerio Faculty Scholars Program. The program consists of two awards of $12,500 for the 2013-14 academic year and is open to all current junior, tenure-track faculty members. I am looking forward to some exciting proposals and groundbreaking research as a result of this generous gift.

I dropped by the Dancing with Heart event this week. It is a Dancing with the Stars-like competition that pairs students with faculty and staff members. Congratulations to Eric Diaz, graduate assistant for club sports, and Kate Gallagher who took home SHU’s version of the mirror ball trophy!

Speaking of dancing, a huge round of applause goes out to the SHU Dance Team for their third-place finish in the National Dance Alliance Championships in Daytona Beach. This was their best finish in school history. The team routinely performs at football and men’s and women’s basketball games while training year round for these championships. Congratulations to them and to their coach alum Deirdre (Eller) Hennessey for the hard work and preparation that went into this victory.


Last Saturday marked Sacred Heart’s first-ever Literacy Conference put on by the Farrington College of Education. More than 100 attendees gathered for a morning of interactive and innovative workshops conducted by this year’s reading certification candidates graduating from the Connecticut Literacy Specialist Program. The theme of the conference was “Uncommon Teaching in a Common Core World,” embracing the new Common Core State Standards that have been adopted by 46 states across the country. Congratulations to Karen Waters and the rest of her team on an outstanding event.


Another first for Sacred Heart was last weekend’s New England Film and Music Festival, which exposed students (and other attendees) to short films, documentaries and features of varying genres. The films not only offered theater-goers interesting stories and information, but also showed what is now possible through the medium. With our new film and television master’s program debuting in August, here’s hoping this was the first of many such events at Sacred Heart.


Earlier this week, Maestro William Boughton was on campus to discuss Edward Elgar’s masterpiece The Dream of Gerontius. This work derives its text from an epic poem by Cardinal John Newman that was given to Elgar as a wedding gift. Elgar decided to add music, and the result will be performed as part of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra’s spring concert, Angels and Demons, on May 2-3. An audience of faculty, students and guests were thoroughly entertained by Boughton’s description of the story told by the music and the history of the piece.


Last night, I had a chance to see our student performance of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The show is both funny and touching and packed with outstanding musical performances. There are three more performances this weekend. Don’t miss it!


Sunday kicks off National Volunteer Week, and our students will be participating in activities that range from working in soup kitchens and donation centers to read-aloud days at local schools. In other words, it won’t be that much different from any other week at SHU. Our students have generous hearts.

Although I hate to end on a sad note, I feel a need to comment on the events of the week in Boston and Texas. Certainly my thoughts and prayers are with the residents of those communities, and I know yours are too. As is always the case, tragedies like these remind us how imperative it is to let those who matter know as often as possible. Every member of the Sacred Heart community is important to me, and I am reminded every day what an honor it is to lead this University.

Have a great weekend.

President Petillo's Blog - Friday, April 12th

Despite the rain, wind and gloom we are experiencing today, we had some real signs of spring this week. It was great to see students socializing, eating, playing and studying on the campus grounds.

Students enjoy the spring weather.

I would be remiss if I did not thank you all one more time for your support during the accreditation visit from NEASC. I appreciate your taking time out of busy schedules to attend the meetings and your openness in answering questions from the team. I look forward to sharing the results and recommendations with you once we receive them and to our future collaboration for the benefit of SHU and our students. 

I am excited to share that senior Morgan Merriman is the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship to Albania. Morgan, who plays on SHU’s basketball team, will implement a basketball program for middle-school girls – many of whom are Muslim. While in Albania, she will also help with a gifted program for fifth- and sixth-grade students. She will be teaching them computer programming. Congratulations to Morgan and to Professor Bob McCloud who assisted with the application process.

Sacred Heart is included in a list of Best Graduate Schools 2014 by U.S. News. The Welch College of Business also received a specialty ranking for its part-time MBA program. The part-time ranking is based on five factors: average peer assessment score; the average GMAT or GRE scores; the average undergraduate GPA; work experience and the percentage of the business school’s fall MBA enrollment that is part time.

Our annual Discovery Gala was a tremendous success – raising approximately $530,000 for student scholarships.  Attendees enjoyed mingling with current students and hearing about the experiences a SHU scholarship has afforded them. The Three Phantoms concluded the evening with a spectacular performance of Broadway show tunes. My thanks to all of you who attended.

Discovery Gala

Our annual Founder’s Day program was also a great success. Congratulations to the 62 faculty and staff members who were honored for 15 to 40 years of service. This event marked the 50th anniversary of the signing of our charter, which we commemorated with a slide show that celebrated our history and the many changes that have taken place over the years – both to our campus and to longtime faculty and staff! We will begin our semicentennial celebration in earnest next fall with a number of exciting events.

Founder's Day

Wednesday evening saw the third in our four-part “Reflecting on Sandy Hook” colloquia series. The topic was Where is God? This challenging subject matter was ably handled by Anthony Ciorra, David Coppola, Wayne Detzler, Suri Krieger and June-Ann Greeley, who moderated the event. If there was a consensus, it seemed to be that all of us can best serve the survivors of a horrific tragedy like the events at Sandy Hook by listening and caring.

Reflecting on Sandy Hook: Where is God?

Three of our band students left this weekend for Gordon College in Massachusetts to participate in the 2013 New England College Band Association Inter-Collegiate Band. Congratulations to Lora Streett (clarinet), Nate Tallo (bass clarinet) and Mike Tomanelli (tuba). I expect they are in for an incredible experience!

From left are band members Nate Tallo, Mike Tomanelli and Lora Streett at Gordon College.

As usual, there are a number of exciting events planned on campus for those looking for some weekend entertainment. The New England Film and Music Festival takes place tomorrow with films running in the Schine Auditorium from 1 p.m. until midnight or so. There will also be an open forum with FTMA faculty at 5 to discuss filmmaking. That discussion will be in the first-floor student lounge of the McMahon Commons.  Also, tomorrow evening 4 Heart Harmony and various soloists from the chorus program will present “A Concert Against Bullying,” and La Hispanidad is hosting its third annual Latin Culture Night. The weather promises to clear up, so enjoy your weekend!

President Petillo's Blog - Friday, April 5th

Welcome back from Easter break! You know how much I love seeing the campus filled with students and bustling with activity. That is more the case than usual today as we welcome 400 admitted students and their families to campus for a variety of informational and fun activities. Today’s visitors are those admitted to the College of Arts & Sciences, the Isabelle Farrington College of Education or who are undecided about their majors. Please welcome and congratulate anyone you meet up with.


Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch was on campus earlier today talking about sustainability and other current environmental issues. He also suggested ways that we can become involved in helping our local communities to be more green. The event was hosted by our environmental club, The Green SHUs.


This past weekend our Percussion Ensemble was invited to perform at the Percussive Arts Society’s Connecticut Day of Percussion. The Percussive Arts Society is the pre-eminent percussion organization in the international community.  Each state in the U.S. has a chapter that hosts this annual event. The event took place at Sacred Heart this year. Our ensemble represented SHU extremely well, and received great feedback. Please join me in congratulating our Percussion Ensemble and everyone involved in hosting this high-profile event.


Congratulations are also in order for Head Baseball Coach Nick Giaquinto, who notched his 500th career win Sunday afternoon. I have a feeling that many more victories will be added to that total as the season progresses.

And big kudos also to a team of faculty members – Jody Bortone, Pamela Buck, Cara Erdheim, Marie Hulme and Sean Heffron – who have been accepted to participate in the Association of American Colleges and Universities’ (AAC&U) Institute on High-Impact Practices and Student Success. Thanks also to Michelle Loris, who mentored the team during the application process. This will be an exciting and rewarding experience, and I am looking forward to hearing from them when they return to share what they learn with the rest of us.

A standing ovation is in order for the men’s fencing team for repeating as NEC champions! Additionally, Stuart Holmes was named Fencer of the Year in men’s foil and Jayme Smith was Fencer of the Year in women’s foil. We believe this is the first time that both top fencers came from the same school. Congratulations to coaches Tom Vrabel and Mat Laudicina and all the student-athletes, especially Stuart and Jayme. You have done SHU proud!

I love having a long list of congratulations. I have one more, and I have no doubt there are other great accomplishments I haven’t yet heard about. I did hear that our website received a Merit award from the Higher Ed Marketing Report. We were one of six schools recognized in the group with 5,000 to 9,999 students. Congratulations to Nancy Boudreau, Kim Galiette and Caitlin Robles of our web team!

I want to acknowledge Laura Niesen de Abruna, our provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, for putting together another outstanding Faculty Institute. Scott Evenbeck of the New Community College at the City University of New York (CUNY) gave an informational and enlightening talk about Centering on Students. He presented seven Principles of Excellence in undergraduate education that he believes will lead to student achievement, greater retention and increased persistence to graduation.


We had a lively crowd at our Persian New Year celebration Wednesday evening. In addition to an array of delicious food, attendees were treated to a lecture by Hadi Jorati of Yale University, poetry and music. All in all, it was an entertaining evening for folks of all cultures.


Bobby Valentine was on campus yesterday to broadcast the first of his baseball analysis programs for NBC Sports from our own WHRT studio. It went extremely well, and those who happened to be wandering the halls of the main academic building were treated to Bobby’s wisdom on a variety of baseball-related topics. We hope this will be the first of many such broadcasts from campus by Bobby.


The next few days will be extremely important for Sacred Heart, beginning with our annual Discovery Gala tomorrow evening. This is our biggest fundraiser of the year, and we count on this event to raise lots of scholarship dollars to ensure that students of limited means have the opportunity to come to Sacred Heart. The gala will take place in the McMahon Commons and will be held in conjunction with a performance by The Three Phantoms – Broadway stars who have all played the title role in Phantom of the Opera. It will be a fun and entertaining evening. I am looking forward to it, and I hope to see many of you there.

On Sunday, the NEASC accreditation team will arrive to begin the accreditation process for which we have been preparing for more than a year. I know I can count on you to be welcoming and to provide any information they ask for to the best of your ability. I also ask that you attend the appropriate open forum meeting on Monday at 3:15. Faculty will meet in Curtis Hall, staff in University Commons and students in the Mahogany Room.

Finally, if you are looking for some high-level entertainment over the weekend, TheatreFest will take place in the Little Theatre (former chapel) on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The program features plays that are written, performed and directed by students, along with improv performances by the Awkward Handshakes. It sounds like a lot of fun to me! Have a great weekend!