Dr. Petillo's Blog

President Petillo's Blog: October 28, 2016

I would like to thank all of the SHU family members who came to campus last weekend for our annual Family Weekend. We endured some rainy weather, but still enjoyed a weekend filled with wonderful events, music and food. I hope everyone had a memorable time. I know I did.  

Between now and November 6, be sure to go to the Art & Design Gallery to check out the newest exhibit, “Poverty and Inequality: Our Stories.” The project is the result of a collaboration between students and faculty from SHU and the staff and resident members of PT Partners. This is an interesting and worthy exhibit to visit.

Speaking of worthy things, it was great to see so many students, faculty and staff at the preview of Before the Flood, a documentary film featuring actor Leonardo DiCaprio as he travels the world learning about climate change. This terrifying film emphasized the need for changes at every level. We will need to think about what we can do here at SHU. If you didn’t get the chance to attend the screening, you can catch it on the National Geographic channel.

And still on the subject of film, alum Yusef Al-Rahman’s feature film Niya has been nominated for four African Academy Awards, including Best Actor US/UK and Best Director. Yusef graduated from SHU’s film and television master’s program and his professors tell me he was an incredible student and a model of the kind of filmmaker the program graduates. Congrats and good luck, Yusef!

This week we shared the news about our exciting partnership with Frontier Communications with a launch party on Wednesday. SHU’s School of Communication and Media Arts and Frontier are teaming up on CT Sports Now, the flagship program of Vantage Sports Network. The program is anchored by former WTNH sports director, Noah Finz, and produced, edited and directed by SHU graduate and undergraduate students. It is produced in our studios in the Martire building. We are thrilled to provide our students with hands-on, real-life skills. 

Wednesday evening, we hosted “Religion and Politics: An Interfaith Conversation among Jews, Christians and Muslims.” Local clergy, including our own Father Tony Ciorra, had a conversation about what religious tradition brings to the political conversation of our day. I hope everyone enjoyed the enlightening talk.

Also on Wednesday, the Student Nurses Association dressed down for breast cancer awareness. Members of the group sported jeans and a breast cancer awareness T-shirt. Thank you all for showing your support to this important cause.

With each new semester, we look forward to Linda McMahon’s “Women Can Have It All” series. Linda, vice-president of our board of trustees, hosted Cindi Bigelow, CEO and president of Bigelow Tea Company. Cindi gave thoughtful answers to Linda’s questions about work-life balance and the sacrifices necessary to be a successful businesswoman. While she admitted to working early in the morning and late at night, Cindi shared that she was always available to take a phone call from her children. The program opened and closed with some beautiful music provided by SHU L.O.V.E.

An archaeology lecture with Dr. J. D. Kilby took place on Thursday as part of the Human Journey Colloquia Series, and another is slated for tonight. I hope you will join the Texas State University professor as he talks about Ice Age time capsules at 7 p.m. in the Schine Auditorium.

The Department of Public Safety, in conjunction with Student Government, hosted a Trick-or- Treat program on Thursday. Students learned about safety tips and, of course, enjoyed some sweet treats.

We have an Open House here on campus on Sunday, and I hear we are expecting another big turnout. Please be sure to welcome our potential Pioneers and their families. We look forward to meeting everyone and showing them around our beautiful campus.

Hearts United, a club that supports active and retired military members, will be holding an event to make care packages. The first round of care packages with the Vets Club takes place November 2 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Donations of the following are being accepted: taurine water flavoring packets, food bars, board and card games, beef jerky, junk food, but no chocolate, laundry soap, toothpaste and toothbrushes, shaving razors, caffeine packets and baby wipes. Boxes and packing tape are also needed. Please consider our men and women in the military.

If theater and music is your thing, we have quite the weekend of events for you. Our theater arts students are putting on a production of Tick, Tick…Boom! The musical is by Jonathan Larson, who created Rent. The play runs October 27-30 and November 3-6. On Saturday, at 8 p.m. in the Edgerton, the Gaelic Club of Fairfield and the Center for Irish Cultural Studies at SHU present “A Terrible Beauty,” a suite in honor of the heroes of 1916. Then on Sunday, the Greater Bridgeport Chapter of the American Guild of Organists present its 15th annual Pipescreams program at 4 p.m. at the Bridgeport Congregational Church. The concert includes Halloween-themed and Broadway musical pieces featuring a pipe organ, six choral groups with more than 200 singers, musicians, a 1920s silent film, costume contest with prizes and a reception. Choruses represent Sacred Heart University and the University of Bridgeport, as well as the Norma Pfriem Children’s Choir. Finally, on Monday, SHU’s band presents, “Halloween Spooktacular” at 8 p.m. in the Edgerton. Join the band for a fun-filled concert celebrating all things haunted and scary.

We also have plenty for those who are into sports. Men’s soccer plays Bryant tonight at 5, and women’s soccer faces Bryant Sunday at noon. Field hockey goes head-to-head with Monmouth tonight at 6, and women’s ice hockey battles Holy Cross tonight at 7 at the Sports Center in Shelton. Our football team plays Saint Francis University at noon tomorrow. Go Pioneers!

Hope everyone has a spooky—and very safe—weekend!

President Petillo's Blog: October 21, 2016

It’s our annual Family Weekend, and I’m looking forward to seeing the families of our students. There are a number of great activities planned and, of course, we are all hoping for another victory by the football team.

Students had a great time at last weekend’s Fall Fest. They enjoyed tasty treats, played games, such as the ever-popular corn hole, and just took a break from schoolwork to relax.

This week was packed with eye-opening lectures and discussions. Author Chris Mooney came to campus to discuss the Republican war on science on Monday. I was pleased to see a packed Forum for our Hesburgh lecture series on Tuesday when Dominic Vachon, director of the Ruth M. Hillebrand Center for Compassionate Care in Medicine, discussed what science says about compassion and the difference it makes in our lives. Then on Wednesday, scholar and author Phyllis Zagano was here. She talked about women in the ordained diaconate. Anthony Scaramucci, author and entrepreneur, was the featured speaker at the Dean’s Leadership Series on Thursday. We honored Anthony at our Discovery Gala in the spring and were thrilled to have him back to share his business insights.

Faculty and staff joined senior officers and me as we gave our annual State of the University address on Wednesday. It was an opportunity to report on the success and growth happening at SHU and share the challenges that need our attention. Thanks to all of you who came out to hear the presentation.

On my way to the address, I couldn’t help but notice all the students dressed in business formal attire. They were off to our career fair at the Pitt Center. With over 60 employers in attendance, the fair was a great opportunity for students to talk to potential employers and find internships. Students had the chance to perfect handshakes, find out what jobs they might be interested in, pass out resumes and simply network. It was great to see so many of our Pioneers take advantage of this significant opportunity.

Doctorate of physical therapy and pre-physical therapy students recently participated in the American Heart Association Heart Walk in Fairfield County. Team captains came from each class and the pre-physical therapy club orchestrated fundraising events during September. They raised more than $5,000. Congrats, everyone, and thanks to Professor Donna Bowers for overseeing the group’s efforts and participation. Donna does the walk every year in honor of her late husband. This year, although she was in Phoenix, she did the walk at the same time as the students and finished just in time to catch the Arizona sunrise.  

Mark your calendars. Next week we have two very exciting events happening on campus. On Tuesday at the Edgerton, you have the opportunity to see the film documentary starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Before the Flood, before its official release. The film starts at 8 and you can stick around for a conversation following the viewing. Then on Thursday at the Forum, trustee Linda McMahon is back for another interesting installment of her Women Can Have it All lecture series, featuring Connecticut’s own Cindi Bigelow of Bigelow Tea. The program begins at 2 p.m.

Get excited for basketball season tonight! SHU Hoops Madness starts at 9 p.m. See our dance team, cheerleaders and band perform as a well as a special appearance from the hip-hop duo Black Sheep. Doors open at 8:30 p.m., and there will be giveaways and raffles.

Be sure to check out the choirs’ performance, Hope from the Heart, on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in the Edgerton Center for the Performing Arts. If you haven’t heard the choir, you should. They are a talented group.

In addition to the football game against Robert Morris at 1 p.m. on Friday, there are several opportunities to cheer on our Pioneers this weekend. The women’s volleyball and soccer teams and the men’s soccer team all have home games this weekend. Go Pioneers!

Enjoy Family Weekend and say hello when you see me around campus.

President Petillo's Blog: October 14, 2016

Campus is certainly beautiful this time of year. The leaves are starting to change and peak foliage will be here soon. It should be a perfect weekend for students to take a break from studies and head to the opening hockey game of the season Saturday afternoon or participate in the Fall Fest activities Sunday afternoon outside 63’s.

This month is domestic violence awareness month. Yesterday the Center for Family Justice held a vigil in Fairfield where members of SHU’s Delta Tau Delta fraternity spoke. Our Title IX director, Leonora Campbell, was also in attendance. To raise more awareness for domestic violence victims, October 18 is Purple Tie Tuesday. If you normally wear a tie—or even if you don’t—please consider a purple one on Tuesday.

We held our first open house of the semester on campus Monday. The sunny, windy day brought out many potential students and their parents. We had a great turnout, and I think everyone enjoyed touring our state-of-the-art facilities and meeting with friendly and informative faculty and staff.

Hundreds of high school students came to the Pitt Center on Tuesday for the New England Association for College Admission Counseling Regional College Fair. Representatives from over 165 colleges and universities set up booths and gave out information. This was the fifth year we’ve been asked to host the event. Thank you to everyone on the organizing committee for making sure the event ran smoothly. It is a great reason for more potential students and parents to come to our campus.

While many students were catching up on sleep and schoolwork on Monday and Tuesday, faculty was busy expanding their minds at SHU’s Faculty Institute. For this institute, we initiated discussions for development of SHU 2020, the new strategic plan for the University. Faculty met in smaller groups for dialogue and discussion around future strategies for enhancing academic excellence and expanding support for student development. A couple sessions on grants were also offered to interested faculty. Conversations were in-depth and interesting. Thank you to everyone who participated.

Campus Ministry is holding a Heart Warming Clothing Drive now until October 28. They are looking for donations of new or used clothing to help the Bridgeport Rescue Missions. Last year, they collected 970 pounds of clothes. Let’s help them reach their goal again. Collection boxes are in Hawley Lounge, Campus Ministry, Volunteer Programs and Service Learning and all freshman residence halls. The Welch Experience and Alpha Kappa Psi are also hosting a clothing drive, Save A Suit. They are looking for gently used professional attire for college graduates and military men and women. Collection is happening throughout the entire month of October. The drop off box is outside room W342 at Martire. Please help these worthy causes.

About 40 students who participated in Community Connections in August returned to the Hall Neighborhood House Monday to paint a wall in SHU red. The SHU shield was drawn by two graduate students about a month ago, and these students went back to paint the shield. More painting needs to be completed, and once it’s done, the room will be dedicated to SHU. The room will provide a gathering spot for all students before and after their volunteer activities at the home.

We hosted a thought-provoking colloquium on Wednesday. Attorneys Robert Pellegrino and Michael Jefferson came to SHU to talk about identifying, understanding and reducing racism. The colloquium gave students the opportunity to talk about race in an honest and judgment-free zone.

We hosted many dance workshops over the past week or so. I hope students who are passionate about dance were able to attend and learn more about the art.

Last night we hosted the CT Skills Challenge, an event that provided students the opportunity to get noticed by the state’s tech companies. During the challenge, students took an hour-long test that required them to use their coding abilities. I hope it was an exciting and educational event.

Next Wednesday in the Pitt Center, we are holding our annual Internship and Career Fair from 1 to 4:30 p.m. There will be more than 100 employers from a variety of industries seeking to hire students for internships and full-time positions. Faculty and staff are welcome to attend. It’s a great opportunity to make some valuable connections. We hope to see many undergraduate and graduate students there!

As I mentioned earlier, our first home hockey game of the season is Saturday at our new home in the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, which is well branded to show our presence there. Free student tickets and shuttles to and from the arena will be available for every home game. Shuttle buses begin one hour prior to the scheduled game and stop one hour following the game. The game against Union starts at 2 p.m.

And speaking of branding, have any of you seen this billboard? We have similar billboards touting our top-10 fastest-growing Catholic college ranking in The Chronicle of Higher Education posted in strategic spots from New Jersey to Massachusetts.

Today our women’s field hockey team faces Rider at 6, and they will play Bryant Sunday at 1.

Women’s tennis plays Hofstra at 10 a.m. on Sunday. Also on Sunday, both our men and women’s golf teams will play in the SHU Fall Classic at our Great River Golf Course. Good luck to all our student-athletes playing at home and away.

Earlier this week, we sent out an email about the attractive rates that are available to faculty and staff at Great River. As you can see, one member of the SHU community wasted no time taking advantage of this opportunity.

 Have a great weekend!

 

President Petillo's Blog: October 7, 2016

We’re into the thick of the semester as we transition into fall. In my latest video blog, I am pleased to highlight the numerous events of this past week including SHU Safety Week, our new video series On Common Grounds, our Health and Wellness Fair and the opening ceremony for our Physician Assistant Studies program at Stamford Hospital’s Tandet Center. I hope you are enjoying the cooler weather and the changing colors.