Dr. Petillo's Blog

President Petillo's Blog: Friday, January 31st

This week we said goodbye to former Sacred Heart President Emeritus Thomas Melady with a memorial mass. Because his influence is embedded in the history of this University—as well as many achievements outside of his time here—we also honored him with a posthumous honorary doctorate. We had planned to give it to him during a special 50th Anniversary ceremony at our Founder’s Day celebration. Instead we presented the degree certificate and hood to his wife and daughter during Wednesday’s service.

Our own Lucjan Orlowski will receive an honorary doctorate from Wroclaw University of Economics (WUE) on March 6 during WUE’s version of Founder’s Day. WUE is honoring Lucjan for his “scholarly accomplishments and contribution to the science of economics.” Since it was established in 1947, WUE has bestowed just 24 honoris causa doctorates. Be sure to congratulate Lucjan on this well-deserved honor.

Peter Kavanagh, retired senior producer for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, was on hand Wednesday night to discuss the dichotomy between the secular and religious media and how it is impacting the new pope. One of the points he made was that today’s media is lacking in substance and content, and the Church needs to learn how to work within those confines.

We also heard from New York Times bestselling author Anna Quindlen on Wednesday. She spoke before a full house at the Edgerton Center as part of WSHU’s Join the Conversation series. Also on hand was Ann Leary, author of The Good House and co-host of the NPR weekly radio show Hash Hags. Ms. Quindlen shared insights into her new novel, Still Life with Bread Crumbs, and discussed the challenges of having a writing career while raising children.

We heard from our neighbors this week that a group of students were running on Eckert Street after the last big snowstorm and stopped to rescue a blind, deaf dog in the middle of the street. Its owner is extremely grateful to them for saving the dog’s life. I can’t say I’m surprised, but I am always happy to hear great feedback about our students. 

Congratulations to our four students whose illustrations have been accepted into the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles’ national juried competition. This year, only a little over 16 percent of entries submitted were accepted into the show, which says a lot for the talent of seniors Michael Abate and Kelley Aneson, junior Rachel Fogarty and sophomore Adrianna Mallory. What a great way to put SHU on the map!

Congratulations are also in order for our outstanding web management team. They received a Silver Winner award for Social Media Hub and Merit Winner award for Institutional Website from Higher Ed Marketing. Congratulations to Nancy Boudreau, Caitlin Robles and Kim Galiette for all they do to keep our website both exciting and operational.

If you weren’t at the Pitt Center for Wednesday night’s men’s basketball game, perhaps you caught it on TV. Despite a heartbreaking five-point loss, it was great to get the exposure provided by TV airtime.

Congratulations to junior Megan Floyd for being named a Primetime Performer by College Fencing 360 for her performance at last Sunday’s Philadelphia Invitational. She turned in a 13-2 day while competing against fencers from #7 Northwestern, #8 Penn, Duke, North Carolina and Fairleigh Dickinson. Way to go, Megan!

What better way to get fired up for the Super Bowl game than by attending Saturday night’s first-ever performance by the SHU Dance Company? The dancers will perform a variety of dance genres going back to the 60s up to today.

The Super Bowl will feature two West Coast teams battling it out on my home turf of New Jersey. Should be interesting to see the first cold-weather championship in many years. Please come on over to Reds to catch the game with friends. Hope to see you there.  Just also keep in mind as you attend your parties that Monday is not a holiday from classes.

Enjoy the weekend!

 

President Petillo's Blog: Friday, January 24th

This week we were greeted with a double slam of a major snowstorm and arctic weather. I want to take a moment to thank all the folks who were here during the storm to make sure the students were safe, warm and fed. Special kudos to the crews who cleaned the streets, sidewalks and parking lots and helped us keep the closure to a minimum.

We received exciting news this week. SHU has been selected by the State of Connecticut to receive a Math and Science Partnership Grant in the amount of $349,546.  Congratulations to Professor Bonnie Maur and Annette Hird Carbone for their hard work in putting together our successful application.

We also announced this week the impending retirements of Megan Rock, vice president for University Advancement, and Father Jerry Ryle, chaplain and director of Campus Ministry. They have both made their mark on SHU during their time here, and they will be missed.

Starting Monday, members of the SHU community are invited to stop by the set of The Dan Patrick Show at Pier 40 in New York City, a national sports radio/TV show that can be seen live from 9 to noon each weekday on the NBC Sports Network. The show is produced by SHU adjunct faculty Paul Pabst. Have your SHU colors on display, and the camera will give you some airtime during the crowd shots.

Rick Falco has shared with me some of the details—and photos—from the photography trip he took to India with four students during the semester break. As he pointed out, it truly was a unique and cultural experience, especially for photographers, as India provides such a rich visual experience. This was one of many opportunities for our students to travel abroad—whether for a few days, a few weeks or an entire semester. I very much encourage everyone who can to find a program that appeals to them and take advantage of the opportunity to experience another country and culture.

There are a lot of exciting events on the calendar for the upcoming semester—everything from our “Really Big SHU” commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ arrival in the U.S. and celebrations of Black History Month to colloquia that range from a discussion on “Pop Music and Activism” and a presentation by several alumni authors to several discussions on the impact that Pope Francis has already made. I recommend that you check out the 50th Anniversary Event Calendar and the Colloquia schedule. There is definitely something for every interest.

Congratulations to Brianna Castrogivanni who was named NEC Women’s Track Athlete of the Week on Tuesday after setting a Sacred Heart program record in the mile at the BU Limited Open last Thursday. A senior and team captain. Brianna already owned the conference’s top time in the 5K, before crossing the line in 4:55.88 to beat her previous personal best and set a new SHU record.

Congratulations also to the club bowling team for taking first place at the Viking Classic last weekend.

There are plenty of home sporting events on campus this weekend, so make some plans to get out and root for your fellow Pioneers. The men’s volleyball team will be on the court against Loyola tonight and Lewis tomorrow night. The women’s basketball team faces Wagner tomorrow afternoon, and the wrestling team takes on Brown Sunday afternoon.

Have a great weekend!

President Petillo's Blog: Friday, January 17th

We received exciting news this week from the Business Council of Fairfield County. They have named Sacred Heart a Platinum winner for our efforts in promoting a healthy workplace. This is an upgrade from the Gold award we have received the past few years. The award will be presented at a breakfast event on February 14. Congratulations to Sally Schettino and the rest of her team in HR for their efforts in encouraging our employees to be healthy.

We also learned yesterday that Former Sacred Heart women's basketball star Amanda Pape has been selected to the Northeast Conference Hall of Fame. Amanda led Sacred Heart to its first NEC Tournament championship in 2006 and a pair of NEC regular-season titles in 2005-06 and 2006-07. The Pioneers were 87-34 overall and had an incredible 59-13 record in conference play during the four years she played here. Congratulations, Amanda!

And congratulations to Mary Treschitta whose work is currently on display in the gallery at the Edgerton Center. Her work encompasses graphic design, traditional fine arts, motion graphics and highlights from her two trips with students to Rome and Berlin for Global Affairs. The show will continue through February 7, and I recommend that you stop by and check it out.

In anticipation of Mary’s show, the “Spirit of SHU” mural by Professor Nathan Lewis has been moved to the third floor of the McMahon Commons near the fireplace. It looks great there and will be more visible to prospective students, parents and other visitors.

Another piece of art you will want to check out is the new statue of Big Red in front of the Pitt Center. We should get some kind of tradition started regarding the big guy! In the meantime, I’ve been told to use #BigRed when tweeting about the statue, so I suggest you do the same.

We commemorated the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., this week with a two-day event that included a student panel on Thursday and a talk on Friday on “Creating Harmony through Diversity” by Faye V. Harrison of the International Union of Anthropological & Ethnological Sciences. We all have Monday off in honor of this great man’s legacy and would do well to take a moment to think about the sacrifices he made in pursuit of equality for all.

The men’s volleyball team is in action tonight at 7 p.m. Head out to the Pitt Center and cheer them on.

Enjoy the weekend!

President Petillo's Blog: Friday, January 10th

The students will be arriving on campus this weekend following the semester break, and regular readers of this blog know how I feel about that. I am never happier than when the dorms and classrooms are filled, and the campus is buzzing again.

I hope students, faculty and staff had a fun and relaxing break filled with good times with family and friends. As always, some of our students gave up part of their break to enrich the lives of themselves and others—whether they were participating in our annual CURTIS Week program, giving concerts in Italy, taking classes in Ireland or holding a throwing clinic for local middle school children.

CURTIS Week began on Wednesday and continues through Sunday morning. Thirteen students and some staff are participating in this immersion program that includes both cultural and service activities and focuses on the issues of social justice and multiculturalism that perpetuate poverty.



Meanwhile, members of the University band are on a concert tour in Italy. From what I hear, they are taking advantage of every opportunity even if it means sacrificing their sleep. In addition to giving several performances, they are packing in the sightseeing (and the delicious food) and enjoying what may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Yesterday, members of our track & field team held a throwing clinic for Bridgeport’s Blackham Middle School’s shot putters. This is a continuation of a relationship that has been building between Valerie Wherley, a professor in the Department of Physical Therapy & Human Movement Science, and her students and the members of the Blackham track & field team. Organized by Lindsay Aponte, a senior in the exercise science program, the clinic covered several exercise routines that can help improve the ability to throw a shot put—including some with kid-friendly names like “Squash the Bug” and “Elbow the Dwarf, Punch the Giant.”

As for me, I was lucky enough to have the chance to meet up with some of our students and staff who were at our campus in Dingle, Ireland, for a class during the break. They had a chance to find out about the Irish education system and culture and much more. They also did a lot of sightseeing, experienced an Irish New Year’s and were offered opportunities to learn such things as Irish dancing or pottery making. I think my favorite line from the student blog about the experience was this one: “. . . and then the students headed back to town for a night of dancing and fun, while the faculty sat around the fire in the hotel.”

On a more somber note, we learned this week of the passing of President Emeritus Thomas Melady, who served as this University’s president from 1976 to 1986. We are still reaping the benefits of his vision today as he was instrumental during the time Sacred Heart was moving from a local commuter college to a regional university. He was also a mentor and friend to students and faculty alike, and we have heard from many this week who wanted to share their fond memories. We will honor him with a memorial Mass on Wednesday, January 29, at 2 p.m. in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit.

If you have a few minutes, check out this video on the multi-talented Gabby Washington. Gabby and the rest of the women’s basketball team have an away game at Mount Saint Mary’s tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. You can catch the action on necfrontrow.com.  

Before I close, I want to remind everyone of two events next week commemorating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On Thursday, there will be a student panel on race, sexuality, religious freedom and other issues. Friday’s program will feature Faye V. Harrison, president of the International Union of Anthropological & Ethnological Sciences and joint professor of Anthropology & African American Studies at the University of Florida. I encourage everyone to attend.

Welcome back!