Dr. Petillo's Blog

President Petillo's Blog: Friday, November 22nd

I think it would be remiss if I did not start by congratulating the football team, Coach Mark Nofri and his staff on winning the NEC championship. It’s been an exciting run capped off by their victory over Robert Morris last weekend. The FCS selection show is scheduled for Sunday at 11:30 and will be shown on the monitors at 63’s, Linda’s and in the plaza outside the Edgerton Center.

Members of the community got together Tuesday afternoon to congratulate Michelle Loris on her Connecticut Professor of the Year Award. It was great to see her family, students, the faculty and staff there to honor her for this prestigious achievement.

We got more good news this week when we learned that we are ranked among the top 10 best colleges for veterans in the Northeast by U.S.News & World Report. SHU was one of 234 ranked schools. Congratulations and thanks to the team at University College for all they do provide an outstanding educational experience for our veterans.

The SHU community gathered yesterday for the annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Service. I had to be at a meeting off campus, but I understand it was a heartwarming event and that the altar was piled high with our Thanksgiving gifts for the Bridgeport community. Thanks to Campus Ministry and the Office of Volunteer Programs & Service Learning on a great program and to all of you who contributed to a cheery holiday for our neighbors.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, it’s not too late to contribute to the annual turkey drive. There is still a need for a few more turkey to reach the goal of 800. Monetary donations are also needed for our Philippines Promise Project to provide relief for those devastated by the recent typhoon. Gifts can be dropped off at the Office of Volunteer Programs and Service Learning next to the HC lounge.

Today, along with much of the rest of the country, we commemorated the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. It actually began last night with the showing of the film “Remembering President Kennedy.” This morning, a panel of faculty members discussed various facets of Kennedy’s 1000-day presidency. Topics ranged from civil rights, Vietnam and the Cuban Missile Crisis to his Catholicism, his educational policies and the conspiracy theories surrounding his death. Thanks to Gary Rose for putting together such a great program and to all the SHU faculty members who shared their research and memories.

I really want to encourage students, faculty and staff to come by for some or all of tomorrow’s Northeast Regional Ethics Bowl, which Sacred Heart is hosting. Not only is it an opportunity for you to support SHU’s two student teams, but it is entertaining and fascinating to listen to the discussions on the ethics of scenarios straight out of today’s headlines. Thanks to June-Ann Greeley who has worked tirelessly to make this a successful event and also to all the faculty and staff members who will be serving as judges and moderators.

Sunday is the final of our fall undergraduate open houses, and it promises to be the biggest one yet with more than 800 families expected to attend. As always, I ask that you put your best foot forward, answer any questions, act as guides and allow our guests to feel the warmth and caring of our community—despite the Arctic weather that is in the forecast.

If your plans aren’t set for the weekend, Edges the Musical is still playing, and Christina Crawford will be at the Edgerton Center Saturday evening to talk about her experiences with her “Mommie Dearest” mother, Joan. Or you can bundle up on Sunday and head down to Stamford for the annual Thanksgiving Day parade, which this year features our own dance team. The Instrumental Chamber Ensembles are also performing Sunday afternoon.

It seems that I spent much of this blog thanking people, which is as it should be in my last blog before Thanksgiving. As always, I am grateful for each of you and all you do to make SHU a special place.

Have a great weekend! 

President Petillo's Blog: Friday, November 15th

This has been a week full of exciting news and a variety of events—just what you would expect from a vibrant University community like ours!

First, it is my great pleasure to congratulate Michelle Loris on being named Connecticut Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (commonly known as CASE). The announcement was made yesterday, and Michelle, with her devotion to her students, her colleagues and this University, is a most deserving awardee. I think it says a lot about the exceptional quality of our faculty that we have now had two Connecticut Professors of the Year in the past three years. We will honor Michelle with a reception at the gallery in the Edgerton Center on Tuesday afternoon. Please stop by to congratulate her.

We also learned this week that the specialty beer created for our 50th anniversary, Via Cordis, won a gold medal on Saturday at the Great International Beer Fest in Providence. This event is billed as America’s largest international beer festival. Congratulations to Geff Stopper and Kirk Bartholomew, who worked with Two Roads Brewing Company to create the beer, on this honor.

Finally, Brian Stiltner, chair of our Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies Department, was a guest of Melissa Harris-Perry on MSNBC for a discussion on the rising number of Catholic hospital systems and the impact of Catholicism on these hospital’s policies and the way they deliver health care. Again, all these things serve to reinforce the expertise and quality of our faculty. To watch the video clips, check out our faculty & staff news page on the website.

This week brought several special 50th Anniversary events to campus. Those included the beautiful Missa Gaia concert last weekend, presented by the combined choirs to celebrate creation; a discussion on patient safety and eHealth with Yale University’s Linda Godleski, Greenwich Hospital’s Susan Brown and our own Emmanuel Yung; a talk by Joanna Leone ’89 on her book Slices of Life Italian-American Stories; and a showing of the film Crossing Borders, a documentary that seeks to show the “other side” of the clash between the Western and Muslim worlds.

The talk by Joanna Leone was part of our celebration of International Education Week. Some of the other activities included Parisian breakfasts, Henna tattoos, foreign films, dance lessons, lectures and more. Thanks to the Office of Global Affairs, English Language Institute, Office of Graduate Admissions and Office of International Admissions for putting on such a great series of events. Thanks also to the Foreign Languages and Cultures Department for sponsoring the film, Motorcycle Diaries.

Other events on campus this week included a discussion on concussion management with Michael A. Lee of Pediatric Healthcare Associates in Southport; a summit on cyber security; a chat with ESPN anchor and SHU alum, Dario Melendez; a workshop for faculty on globalizing the classroom; and a talk presented by the SHU Polish Studies Fund on Tadeusz Kosciuszko and the Black American Revolution by Colgate University’s Graham Russell Gao Hodges. There was truly something available for every interest this week.

Congratulations to the women’s rugby club team for beating Fordham 48-0 to capture their first National Small College Rugby Organization Division Championship. Way to go, ladies!

It was also exciting to see the great turnout for Senior Day and our win over Duquesne at the football game last Saturday and our fans at the men’s basketball game Saturday evening. Even though Fairfield was the home team, it seemed like SHU was better represented in the crowd. Despite the loss, it was great to see so many students and faculty cheering the team on and also to observe the good-natured ribbing between Bobby Valentine and the Fairfield fans.

The football team heads to Robert Morris this weekend for their final regular-season game. If they win, the clinch at least a share of the NEC title. Some other factors that are out of their control will determine whether they receive a bid to the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs. You can watch the game on the big screen in the plaza outside the Edgerton or at 63’s. Go Pioneers!

Some activities on campus this weekend for your consideration include two theater performances—The Playboy of the Western World and Edges: The Musical; the debut performance of the University Faculty Brass Quintet this evening; and the men’s basketball team’s home opener against Brown tomorrow afternoon. The men’s hockey team is also playing at Yale tomorrow night. And, of course, there is always the option of studying…

Have a great weekend! 

President Petillo's Blog: Friday, November 8th

Those of us who knew Alvin Clinkscales are mourning his passing today. He was a special man who certainly made a difference in the lives of the people here. He was especially beloved by the students—in particular the many athletes he mentored. His funeral will take place here in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit tomorrow morning at 10. Our hearts go out to his family, friends and colleagues during this time of loss.

This week, as part of our 50th Anniversary celebration, we commemorated the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht. Those who attended saw the documentary film Defiant Requiem, the story of a group of Jewish prisoners—most doomed to die in the gas chambers at Auschwitz—who while at the Czech prison camp of Terezín in 1944 performed Verdi's Requiem before the very Nazis who had condemned them to death. The piece, which was originally intended as a musical rendition of the Catholic funeral mass had been turned by Czech opera-choral conductor Rafael Schächter into a proclamation of the prisoners’ unbroken spirit and a warning of God’s coming wrath against their captors. It was also our honor to host Murry Sidler, who went to Terezín with a full orchestra and the Catholic University of America’s chorale ensemble—along with surviving members of Schächter's chorus—to perform the Requiem in tribute to those who first sang it there. The program was completed by the beautiful music of members of our own SHU choirs.

You would have to be living under a rock not to know about our double fumble return for a touchdown against Monmouth last weekend and the video of the play that went viral, garnering more than two million hits on YouTube this week. Congratulations to SHU’s Big Red Sports team, made up of undergrads in the communications program, MACOMM grad students and MACOMM alumni, for capturing the play and splicing the various angles into a video that not only went viral, but was seen on ESPN’s Sports Center, Fox Sports and Eyewitness News just to name a few. Thanks also to Paul Pabst and Bobby Valentine for using their great connections to get the word out about this spectacular play. And did I mention Moses Webb who exemplified our pioneering spirit in his refusal to give up on the play until he was in the end zone? Well done, all!

If you haven’t seen the latest issue of our University magazine, you should check it out. This issue—commemorating our 50th anniversary—could be the best one yet.  For starters, the cover is a four-panel pullout of Nathan Lewis’ “Spirit of SHU” mural. Inside there are highlights from our 50-year history, an excerpt from Dr. Higgins’ “1963” book, profiles of legacy families and much more. You can see the electronic version here. Thanks to the Marketing and Communications folks for their great work. 

Last Saturday, approximately 20 of our student-athletes and Bobby Valentine headed to Ninety Acres Park right down the street off Park Avenue to help a local Boy Scout troop rake the park and clean up garbage. This was part of the SHU-North End Partnership that was facilitated by Bridgeport City Council members Michelle Lyons and Thomas McCarthy. Our students had a great time interacting with the Bridgeport City workers and Michelle Lyons, and a lot of work was accomplished. Thanks to Tom Bovino ’15 for organizing the effort on our end.

The Jail N’ Bail fundraiser was back this year to raise money for Special Olympics of Connecticut. Organized by John Kichinko of Public Safety, with plenty of help from the SHU community and beyond, the event raised $5,300. I hope everyone had a great time. My thanks to all who filled out warrants and/or raised bail for this great cause.

A huge congratulations to the women’s cross country team on winning the 2013 Northeast Conference Championship last Saturday. Next up for the team is the NCAA Northeast Regional at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx next Friday. We wish them the best of luck.

Those of you who drive on campus may have noticed the addition of several speed bumps. Let them serve as a reminder to all of us that driving a bit more slowly will not make a difference in when we get to where we’re going, but it may just possibly prevent injury to a member of our community. Thanks for your patience.

If you are looking for something to do this weekend, you have plenty of options. The women’s basketball team is playing St. John’s at home this evening at 7 in the Pitt Center. Tomorrow, the football team takes on Duquesne at noon as they continue their quest for an NEC championship. Tomorrow night, the men’s basketball team is at the Webster Bank Arena to take on crosstown rival Fairfield University. If you are more interested in the arts than sports, plan to attend the Missa Gaia concert Saturday night. The program, which celebrates creation, will include the recorded sounds of whales, wolves, birds, and seals along with the beautiful voices of our own choirs.

Whatever you decide to do, have a safe and relaxing weekend! 

President Petillo's Blog: Friday, November 1st

Our 50th Anniversary celebration continued this week with Wally Lamb on hand Tuesday night to talk about his new book, We Are Water, as part of the WSHU Conversation Series. On Wednesday, we held a special academic convocation to present Rabbi Abraham Skorka with an honorary doctorate of theology, honoris causa. Rabbi Skorka is a teacher, author, theologian and, interestingly, a biophysicist. His books have covered both theological topics and biophysics. The first English edition of one of his more recent books, On Heaven and Earth: Pope Francis on Faith, Family, and the Church in the Twenty-First Century, was co-authored with then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, now Pope Francis. He is close friends with the pope and is sometimes referred to as “the pope’s rabbi.” He is a brilliant and spiritual man, and it was an honor to have him here and get to know him.

Other events this week included the Welch MBA Forum on “Developing Women Leaders Around the World.” Mary Borba, senior vice president of Human Resources at Boehringer Ingelheim, spoke to our business students about the importance of women leaders and the perspective they bring to the workplace before taking questions from the crowd.

We also heard from University of Notre Dame Professor Brian S. Collier on the topic of “Save Our Schools, Save Our Children and Save Your Family.” He came for the 2013 Hesburgh Lecture Series. He talked about how schools have changed since World War II and the importance of going back to the days when the entire family was involved in what happened at school. Before the lecture, he met with a group of students from the Isabelle Farrington College of Education where he shared his experience working with Native Americans in Catholic schools and asked the students about their goals for their own future teaching careers.

Wednesday night brought an inspiring talk by Dick Hoyt who regularly competes in marathons and even Ironman triathlons with his non-speaking quadriplegic son, Rick. The talk, entitled “Together You Can Do Anything!” was part of the Student Affairs Lecture Series. It was an eye opener for all of us who think we have it tough as well as a strong argument for independence and inclusion for those with disabilities.

The University Band celebrated Halloween in style with its Spooktacular Thursday night. The spooky concert was preceded by games and trick-or-treating for the children in attendance.

I am extremely disappointed that I did not get to see the student production of Boeing, Boeing. My wife went and said it was spectacular. Congratulations to all involved—the actors and those working behind the scenes—on another professional performance.

The annual campus-wide turkey drive is already under way with an aggressive goal to donate 800 turkeys to provide Thanksgiving dinner to Bridgeport families. Please do what you can to help.

This is the weekend when we end Daylight Saving Time by turning our clocks back one hour Saturday night. Have a great weekend and make good use of that extra hour!