Dr. Petillo's Blog

President Petillo's Blog: March 24, 2016

It’s been a short week for us, but a busy one nonetheless. Last Saturday, high school students from all over Connecticut came to SHU to participate in Connecticut History Day’s Fairfield Regional Contest. Students showed off their projects on a variety of historical happenings and people. Thanks to Professors Charlotte Gradie, Sally Ross and Jennifer McLaughlin for organizing the event and, especially, to the 75 student, faculty and staff volunteers who served as judges, hall monitors and more.

Also last weekend, our choirs joined forces to present “All Things Bright and Beautiful.” The selections highlighted the call of Pope Francis for all people to praise God for his glorious creation. It was a moving concert.

Holy Week began with Palm Sunday. Those who attended Mass here on campus were treated to inspiring readings of the passion by our students. Easter Mass will also be celebrated in the Chapel on Sunday.

Our Student Art Exhibit in the Art & Design Gallery opened on Sunday and showcases some brilliant work by our students. The exhibit continues through April 8. You will want to make a point of stopping by.

Wednesday was our annual Founder’s Day celebration! It was a great opportunity to celebrate and say thank you to our dedicated faculty and staff—some whom have been with us for 40 years. The celebration began with a moving service in the Chapel, continued with the presentation of awards and some great performances by students and staff and concluded with a reception in University Commons. The photo booth seemed to be popular. Stay tuned for a compilation of the photos that were taken during the celebration.

On Thursday, Southern Illinois University economics professor AKM Mahbub Morshed was on campus to discuss the impact of rapidly expanding big-box chain-stores such as Wal-Mart on price convergence among American cities—something he believes has been overlooked. We thank Professor Morshed for visiting and sharing his views.

Psi Chi (The International Honor Society of Psychology) is running a service project for the Mercy Learning Center in Bridgeport. The Center provides literacy and life skills training to low-income women in the Greater Bridgeport area. The organization is in need of canned goods. If you are interested in donating, there is a drop-off box in the Psychology Department and at Oakview. The organization particularly needs tea bags, oatmeal, cereal, jelly, peanut butter, small bags of dried beans, canned tuna, canned fruit, canned soups, tomato sauce and small bags of rice. Gift cards to Stop & Shop, Walgreens, Kohl’s, Target and CVS are also welcome.

Mark your calendar for next Thursday at 2 when the Honorable Elaine Chao, the 24th U.S. Secretary of Labor, will be the featured guest in Linda McMahon’s “Women Can Have it All Series.” She will discuss her incredible career, life experiences and how to balance work, family and personal time.

Also on Thursday, SHU’s first-ever Literary Spotlight will take place in the Art Gallery. Local authors will share their work with students, and students will have the chance to express their thoughts as well. This event gives new authors exposure and the opportunity to engage with current creative writing students. The Literary Spotlight is scheduled to occur each semester going forward.

If you are around this weekend, our women’s tennis team takes on LIU Brooklyn at 1 on Friday, and our men’s volleyball team plays Harvard at 4 on Saturday. Good luck to our Pioneers playing home and away this weekend.

I wish all Christians in the SHU community a blessed Easter and a wonderful long weekend for everyone. Enjoy the spring weather predicted for Sunday, and come back refreshed and ready for a successful close to the semester.

President Petillo’s Blog – March 18, 2016

Welcome back, Pioneers. I hope your break was fun and rewarding. I am just getting back from time away myself. I have been in Italy and Ireland where I had a chance to spend time with SHU students from home as well as those who are studying in Rome and Dingle. Sacred Heart’s choir performed in Rome over the break, and I was fortunate enough to hear them. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the group to sing in St. Peter’s Basilica. They sang a love song to my wife Sabina and me to commemorate our 25th anniversary. We were very moved.

Many of you were busy serving others over spring break and for that I thank you. Three groups participated in Habitat for Humanity efforts in Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia where students helped build and remodel homes. Four groups traveled abroad. A small group of students went to Costa Rica to work with the Costa Rica Institute of Technology on its Limon Campus (TEC-Limon). They worked at the local school, cleaned the nearby beach and patrolled the beach at night for sea turtles laying eggs. A group of students went to Guatemala to work with the non-profit CERNE Nutrition Center and Clinic. SHU students helped install five eco-friendly stoves. Another group of students went to Nicaragua to work with school children as part of an after-school program and stay with the families. Lastly a group went to Colombia to work with the nonprofit Rise and Walk Foundation, which operates a community center. Thank you for all your hard work, Pioneers.

While the choir was abroad, our pep band was very busy playing at home and away games for our athletic teams. They traveled to play at the men’s hockey games and came home to support the women’s basketball team. They never missed a game. Team spirit is important, and our band, along with Big Red, does a great job of keeping the energy high and delighting our fans.

On that note, I would like to congratulate our women’s basketball team for a fantastic season. You put up a good fight and made us proud. I would also like to congratulate our women’s swimming and diving team for their recent conference success and for being named to the College Swimming Coaches Association of America’s Scholar All-America honor roll. Congrats to everyone!

Our Veterans’ Resource Center (VRC) has opened at Roncalli Hall. The primary purpose of the room is to provide a comfortable environment for student veterans. They can study, meet with one another and relax. The VRC is also filled with information on resources available to vets on and off campus.

Last week, students from 14 local high schools came to Sacred Heart to participate in the annual Junior Achievement Business Challenge. The competition took place at Martire where business-minded students heard from professors about networking and negotiating. They also competed in a business challenge and were awarded scholarship money. We love hosting these events and hope we had some future Pioneers with us.  

Our very own Jim Barquinero, senior vice president for Student Affairs and Athletics, was honored at Notre Dame High School this weekend. The high school held its fifth annual Lancer Legacy Gala and awarded Jim with the Sister Marion Rielly Leadership Award. SHU alum Diane Auger was also honored. Congratulations to Jim, Diane and all the honorees.

This week was Pioneers Give Back! The Forever Pioneers, SAA (Students Alumni Association) and the Office of Alumni Engagement sponsored the event, which included initiatives throughout the week to educate current students on the importance of giving back to SHU and the way their gifts are used. Thanks for your donations, big or small. They make a difference.

Tuesday was a busy night on campus. The Joe Carter and Brazilian Jazz All Stars performed the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim, and students, faculty and staff gathered in the Schine for a colloquium entitled “Religion, Psychology and Spirituality: Friends and Foes?” Professors spoke about the gap between organized religion and spirituality. I hope you enjoyed these events.

On Wednesday, the School of Communications and Media Arts hosted former CBS Morning News and Today show anchor Faith Daniels and her husband, Dean, the former news director of WCBS in New York as well as two members of the Parents Circle Families Forum (PCFF). The PCFF is an organization of more than 600 Israeli and Palestinian families who have each lost a family member in the longstanding and ongoing conflict between the two and are now united to encourage peace. The School of Communications helped produce a video featuring PCFF members, which was a great opportunity for our students.

I hope you had a great St. Patrick’s Day. I had to leave Dingle just before the parade, but as you can see in this video, SHU was well represented. While there, I did have a chance to dine with students and visit the aquarium. Here on the Fairfield campus, the Irish Step Dance Ensemble celebrated with a performance at the Edgerton. It was a combination of traditional and non-traditional Irish Step dancing, accompanied by authentic Irish musicians.  

Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, a charity event that brings awareness to violence against women, is taking place April 30. The event asks men to walk a mile in women’s shoes. The fourth annual walk will take place at 8:30 a.m. in downtown Fairfield. I really want to see SHU well represented at this important event. I ask all of our clubs, sports teams and organizations—both men and women— to consider participating. We will share more details with you soon.

I am pleased to share that Amish Naik and Priyanka Prabhu qualified for the CT Skills Challenge Final event on April 2 at the Yale School of Management. The CT Skills Challenge involves coding contests.

I would like to congratulate Cadet Anthony Iandoli who was recently awarded the Commander’s Scholarship. Anthony participates in our ROTC program at Yale. Keep up the good work, Anthony!

Congratulations also go out to Tyler Beauchesne who has had an illustration accepted into the Society of Illustrators of New York, a nationally juried annual student scholarship competition. Tyler was one of 254 acceptances from more than 9,000 entries from 2,289 students from universities and art colleges throughout the country.

Today we look forward to greeting newly admitted undergraduate nursing students and their families. Please congratulate our newest Pioneers and make them feel welcome!

Be sure to check out the choir’s “All Things Bright and Beautiful” concert, which celebrates the earth and all living things. The concert will take place Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit.

On Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., stop by and see some incredible artwork at the Art and Design Student in the gallery at the Edgerton Center. The awards presentation is at 2 p.m. If you can’t get there Sunday, the exhibit runs through April 8.

Most of our athletic teams are playing away this weekend, but our women’s lacrosse team will face LaSalle University today at 3! Go Pioneers!

As we embark on Holy Week with Palm Sunday services this weekend, I hope you take the time to reflect on the blessed mysteries of our faith and find renewal and peace. Have a great weekend!

President Petillo's Blog - March 4, 2016

As promised, I met last week with student leaders to discuss the importance of treating one another with respect at all times. We had some great conversations. I also heard from many of you following the message that I sent out last week. You reinforced what I already knew—that an environment of respect and dignity is of the utmost importance to all us and is what the SHU community is all about. Thank you.

Our performing arts students put on its annual Showcase last weekend with performances from dancers, theater students, choir and band. I know I say this every year, but our students are incredibly talented. Please make an effort to get out and see their work. You won’t be disappointed.

A big congrats goes out to our women’s basketball team who have clinched the NEC regular season title. Our winter guard team also showed off their skills last weekend in New Jersey. They came in second place at the WGI regional competition. We would also like to congratulate our men’s basketball team for having a great season and playing their best again LIU this week. You made us all proud! Congratulations to all!

On Monday, faculty and staff gathered to show off their creative sides at the annual Literacy Fest. Many shared short stories, poems and songs. We appreciate your work and your courage in sharing such personal work with others.

Yesterday, I signed a memorandum of understanding with the president of Kyoei University in Japan. This partnership means we will work together on a number of initiatives including English language programming, joint educational and research activities and exchange of academic materials and academic publications. This summer, SHU will welcome its first group of students from Kyoei University. They will participate in an English language and cultural immersion program. These collaborations are exciting for both institutions and will provide great opportunities for our students.

Carol Hall, a famous lyricist known for her work on The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, visited SHU Wednesday evening to offer a master class to our students. About 50 students attended the event held in the Edgerton Center. Carol talked about her career, answered questions from students and asked student actors about their roles in the University’s upcoming production of the show. What a great learning experience.

Jocelyn Novella, director of counseling at the Counseling Center, gave a lecture at the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals chapter meeting today in Fairfield. Her topic was ideal body image on a college campus. Thanks, Jocelyn, for sharing your expertise on such a serious issue with others.

SHU’s Department of Catholic Studies has been selected to participate in the Association of Core Texts and Courses Summer Institute on teaching great books through seminar pedagogy. Professors Joe Nagy and Marie Hulme, who teach “The Human Journey Seminars: Great Books in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition,” will participate in this two-week institute. They’ll spend one week at Columbia University’s Great Books program and a second week at the University of Chicago’s Great Books program. This is the second year that Sacred Heart University’s Human Journey Core was recognized for participation in this institute.

There are a few home games this weekend. On Saturday, our men’s lacrosse team faces Providence College at noon. On Sunday our women’s basketball team challenges Mount St. Mary at 1 in the NEC quarterfinals. The men’s volleyball team plays McKendree at 4 on Sunday. Good luck to all our teams playing home and away. Go Pioneers!

I want to wish all our students a safe and fun spring break. Whether you are participating in a mission trip, traveling with friends or spending time with family, I hope it is rewarding and restful and you come back energized for a great second half to the semester!