Dr. Petillo's Blog

President Petillo's Blog: June 23, 2017

Summer is officially here and many of us celebrated the Solstice this week by enjoying the beautiful weather in between meetings and events.

On Wednesday I had the great pleasure of meeting administrators from Dongguk University in Korea. We signed a memorandum of understanding, establishing an academic partnership. Dongguk University is located in the heart of Seoul with over 23,000 undergraduate and over 6,000 graduate students. It is the largest Buddhist university in Korea founded in 1906 priding 111 years of history. Establishing these global partnerships is very important to our mission and enhances the experiences we can offer our students.


Our communications graduate students produced the SHU Media Exchange, “Fake News, Real Problems: Journalism and Education in the Digital Era,” on Thursday. This year’s event focused on the topic of fake news and its impact on journalism and education in today`s digital media landscape. Many panelists were involved and news anchor and reporter Faith Daniels moderated the event. Great job, MACOMMers.

The Athletics department continues to have an exciting summer. News broke on Thursday that SHU once again won the Northeast Conference Institutional Academic Award. This means all our NEC athletes had the best combined GPA than any other university in the conference. Congrats to our student-athletes who work hard all year on and off the field.

If you are involved in the business, management or human resources field, the Student HR Summit 2017 is happening on Saturday at the Martire Center. Alumni and students will take part in a panel discussion on management and leadership with local HR professionals. There will be networking opportunities and resume and cover letter reviews.

Congratulations to SHU Dining’s Lisa Gallagher who received the Chartwells President’s Circle Award this week for her outstanding performance, expertise and brand promotion. Thank you for going above and beyond in keeping us well fed and for always making us feel welcome in our dining areas. Well deserved.

Chartwells CEO Lisa McEuen, left, presents SHU Dining's Lisa Gallagher with the President's Circle Award.

After nearly two years of construction, we are thrilled that faculty and staff from our College of Nursing and College of Health Professions are moving into the new Center for Healthcare Education at 4000 Park Avenue. The modern state-of-the-art building offers all the latest technology to support our students and their future professions. This is just a glimpse of the building’s features and what our faculty, staff and students will benefit from.


Have a great weekend everyone!

President Petillo’s Blog: June 16, 2017

SHU in Luxembourg celebrated its 25th anniversary this week, and I had the pleasure of participating in the festivities. It is hard to believe that we started the University there just a quarter century ago. I would like to thank Dean John Chalykoff and Dr. Alfred Steinherr for putting together the celebration. From organizing the program to inviting the guests, they did an outstanding job. I also want to acknowledge Norbert Becker and the Board of Regents who are responsible for the incredible growth of the program. The 25th anniversary ceremony also honored the prime minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, with an honorary degree. While I was there, I also attended a conference on Chinese business that featured SHU Professor Jing’an Tang. As always, we enjoyed the beauty of Luxembourg and the generosity of its people.

Back in the states, Professor Gary Rose had the chance to meet State Rep. Prasad Srinivasan, a medical doctor who is running for governor of Connecticut. You can see them both on this Sunday’s edition of The Real Story on Fox 61.

Mark your calendars for the SHU Media Exchange. The event takes place Thursday at the Martire Center. It is produced entirely by our graduate students in the MACOMM program and serves as a cumulative project that showcases the skills they have gained. The event has been moderated by news anchor Faith Daniels for the past several years, and she has graciously agreed to join us once again.   

Enjoy the weekend.

President Petillo’s Blog: June 9, 2017

Our Athletics department received its share of excitement this week. SHU earned the Northeast Conference Brenda Weare Commissioner’s Cup for the seventh time for overall athletic excellence. The Pioneers accumulated 291.56 points, the only conference school to surpass the 200-point barrier. SHU also earned its third straight and record 10th, Joan Martin Commissioner’s Cup for excellence in women’s athletics, accumulating 138.50 points. This is the highest point total in the past five seasons. We also learned that our men’s and women’s track and field teams earned 17 All-Northeast Conference selections, as well as the 2017 Women’s Coaching Staff of the Year award. This is coach Christian Morrison’s 18th NEC coach of the year award covering cross-country, indoor and outdoor track. Finally, for the sixth time in the award’s seven-year existence, SHU earned the Northeast Conference Building Communities Award presented by Bayer. Members of the NEC teams contributed 8,141 hours of community service. I am very proud of our student-athletes and their commitment to giving back.

We received wonderful news for Upward Bound, a college preparatory program here at SHU for local high school students. The program will be funded for another five years. This means high school students will continue to benefit from a program that puts them on the path to success and expands their knowledge and skills.

Professors Randall Glading and Charles Britton from the Isabelle Farrington College of Education welcomed Trumbull and Bridgeport grade-school children to campus last week for their Classes Without Walls project. Students worked together online during the school year and eventually met in person for learning activities on SHU’s campus. The project provides opportunities for students in the third, fourth and fifth grades to communicate with students from a neighboring school district that has a different socioeconomic profile. The College of Education faculty will welcome two more groups of students to campus this month.

What a treat it was seeing our soon-to-be freshmen Pioneers on campus this week for orientation. The two-day event includes guided tours by our orientation leaders, an overnight stay and a chance to bond with future classmates. Their parents also attended several information sessions.

We held our 28th annual Pioneer Open at Great River Golf Club on Monday. All proceeds of the golf event support university scholarship programs. I hope everyone had a memorable day.SHU faculty gathered in Dingle, Ireland, this week for a three-day multi-disciplinary conference, “Sea, Land and Spirit: Coastal Environment in the West of Ireland.” Talks focused on ideas and best practices to sustain the coasts for future generations.

Bergoglio Hall was featured in Architect Magazine earlier this year, and we recently learned it was one of the magazine’s most popular projects. The article was featured again in the publication’s newsletter. We are happy to hear that the state-of-the-art hall is getting some well-deserved attention.

Our United Way Campaign runs June 12 through June 30. I encourage you to consider contributing to a cause that does so much for area children.

Next week I will be in Luxembourg celebrating the 25th anniversary of our program there. I will be speaking at the academic convocation. I look forward to seeing our friends and former students in Lux.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!