winter 2013
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
Carlow University Magazine
President
Suzanne K. Mellon, PhD
Dear Colleagues and Friends,
As we conclude 2013, it is the perfect time for reflection; therefore it is with great pride
that I share with you the first issue of Carlow University Magazine. A twice-yearly print
publication, the Magazine has been renamed and redesigned to provide a snapshot of the
success we are experiencing at Carlow University, the important stories to share with you,
and the people and communities we have impacted. Inside you will find updates on our
athletic success, learn about our latest endeavors, and meet inspiring alumni. In a very
competitive landscape of higher education, it is critical to present and market Carlow’s
distinctiveness in this region and beyond.
Since assuming the presidency of this extraordinary institution based on Mercy values in
July, I have been welcomed by multiple members of the community, both internally and
throughout the region, along with multiple donors and friends of the University. There are
many areas of the University that I have been impressed with—Carlow’s commitment to
excellence, inside and outside of the classroom; the strong student-centered culture; and
an exceptional commitment to social justice are unparalleled. The University community
is embarking on an important strategic planning process that I started in September. This
process has engaged the entire community in visioning Carlow’s future for the next five
years. This future will build on its strong heritage but extend its entrepreneurial strength
into the future where we demonstrate our distinctiveness in the transformational education
we deliver to our students and to the community we serve.
Carlow University, its faculty and students, make a difference in the world, and I encourage
you to stay up to date on our strategic planning process and exciting accomplishments.
In addition to the Magazine, please visit our new website at www.carlow.edu for regular
story updates and alumni, donor, faculty, and student spotlights. You can also follow us via
numerous social media avenues, including Facebook and Twitter.
I am honored to serve as the president of this excellent institution and look forward to
meeting more alumni and supporters of the University in the near future. It is my hope
that, as you review the Carlow University Magazine, you will see for yourself all of the great
things happening at Carlow.
Executive Editor
Amy E. Neil
Vice President
University Communications
and Strategic Positioning
Editor
Alison Juram D’Addieco, MST
Art Director
Lauren Boeh, MBA
Senior Graphic Designer
Writer/Photographer
Andrew G. Wilson
Director of Media Relations
Contributors
Autumn Burke
Karen E. Galentine, MS
Meghan Holohan
Kristy Lumsden
Jason Naughton
Lindsay O’Leary
Laura Rihn, MBA
Dalyce Wilson
Rose Woolley
Awards
Golden Triangle Award
2013 • 2011 • 2010 • 2008 • 2007 • 2006
Marcom Award
2010 • 2009 • 2008 • 2006
Sincerely,
Suzanne K. Mellon, PhD
30% Recycled
Carlow University Magazine is published two times a
year by Carlow University, 3333 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh,
PA 15213, 412.578.2091. ©2013 by Carlow University. It
is distributed free to University alumni and friends. It
is also available on Carlow’s website at www.carlow.
edu. Please send change of address correspondence
to the above address. Letters to the editor or any other
communications regarding the content of Carlow
University Magazine are welcomed and may be sent to
the above address to the attention of the Vice President
for University Communications and Strategic Positioning.
Carlow University, as an educational institution and as an
employer, values equality of opportunity, human dignity,
and racial/ethnic and cultural diversity. Accordingly, the
University prohibits and will not engage in discrimination
or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion,
national origin, ancestry, gender, age, marital status,
familial status, sexual orientation, disability, or status as a
disabled veteran or a veteran of the Vietnam era. Further,
the University will continue to take affirmative steps to
support and advance these values consistent with the
University’s mission. This policy applies to admissions,
employment, and access to and treatment in University
programs and activities. This is a commitment made by
the University and is in accordance with federal, state,
and/or local laws and regulations.
For information on University equal opportunity and
affirmative action programs and complaint/grievance
procedures, please contact Andra Tokarsky, Director of
Human Resources and Affirmative Action Officer, Carlow
University, 3333 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213,
412.578.8897.
FEATURES
02
14
A NEW LEADER FOR
CARLOW UNIVERSITY
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
Being Open to
Opportunities and
Challenges Has
Shaped the Career of
Suzanne Mellon, PhD
06
AN EXPERT AT
EMBRACING LIFE
Wennette West Pegues ’58
18
08
CARLOW STUDENTS
BRING ART CLASSES TO
AREA PRESCHOOLERS
10
CULTIVATING A
CULTURE OF CARING AT
THE CAMPUS SCHOOL
15
12
12
BRAND-NEW SHOES
Carlow Alumna
Mary Hoffman Fricker ’68
Delivers Joy to Inner
City Children
DEPARTMENTS
20
Nicole Bellavance ’13
15
FACULTY SPOTLIGHT
Bill DeBernardi
16
CARLOW UNIVERSITY HELPS
STUDENT BRIDGE HEARING
AND DEAF WORLDS
Danah Richter Participates
as a Young Leader in
Pennsylvania, National,
and Canadian Conferences
17
MEASURING SUCCESS
WITH BOTH HANDS
Carlow Alumna Kimberly
Zeske-Maguire ’91 Works
with Hand Transplant
Patients
18
CHANGING HOCUS-POCUS
TO HOCUS FOCUS IN
SPECIAL EDUCATION
35
ADVANCEMENT NEWS
24
CAMPUS NEWS
36
36
ATHLETICS
42
ALUMNI ACTIVITIES
WINTER 2013
Carlow University, a Catholic, women-centered, liberal arts
institution embodying the heritage and values of the Sisters of
Mercy, engages its diverse community in a process of life-long
learning, scholarship, and research. This engagement empowers
individuals to think clearly and creatively; to actively pursue
intellectual endeavors; to discover, challenge, or affirm cultural
and aesthetic values; to respond reverently to God and others;
and to embrace an ethic of service for a just and merciful world.
1
A NEW LEADER FOR
CARLOW UNIVERSITY
2
Being Open to Opportunities
and Challenges Has Shaped the
Career of Suzanne Mellon, PhD
ANDREW G. WILSON
CARLOW UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
I’VE REALLY COME TO SEE THAT A LOT OF LEADERSHIP IS HOW YOU MANAGE AND LEAD
THROUGH CHANGE. IN TODAY’S WORLD, THAT IS EVEN MORE OF AN IMPERATIVE—
TO CONNECT WITH PEOPLE; SET A SHARED VISION OF WHERE YOU ARE HEADED,
EMPOWER, COMMUNICATE, AND MOVE FORWARD.
—Suzanne Mellon, PhD
SUZANNE MELLON’S answer to that childhood
question of “What do you want to be when you
grow up?” has changed several times over the
years; most times long after any doubt about
being a grown-up had passed.
“When I think back to when I was an
undergraduate student, would I have thought
my aspiration was to be a university president?
Never.” Mellon says. She repeats that last word
softly, as she considers her career trajectory.
“In middle school, I thought I wanted
something medically related where I would be
involved in helping people,” she recalls, adding
that she was torn at the time between being
a nurse or a physician. “When I went to the
University of Michigan, I started with nursing,
and enjoyed it. Often times, people have the
narrow perspective that ‘this is a nurse and a
nurse works in a hospital,’ but nursing is so
much broader than that.”
Her professional career has become more
diverse over time, much as she has traveled
from her native Michigan to New Hampshire
and now to Pittsburgh. However, geography
doesn’t reveal as much about her journey as the
individual titles she has held: pediatric nurse,
community health nurse, researcher, consultant,
faculty member, associate dean, dean, executive
vice president, and, finally, university president.
“You need to be open to the opportunities and
the challenges that you have before you over the
course of your career,” she says.
In June, a sense of opportunity and challenge
converged in both the lives of Carlow University
and Suzanne Mellon, PhD, as she was named the
tenth president of the University, succeeding
Mary Hines, PhD, who retired in July.
Mellon came to Carlow from St. Anselm
College in Manchester, NH, where she had
served as executive vice president and professor
since 2009. As the chief operating officer and
second in command to the president, she
had responsibility for all areas of the college,
inclusive of academic affairs, advancement,
finance, marketing, enrollment, student affairs,
athletics, and other administrative areas.
For Mellon, an additional bonus in coming to
Carlow and Pittsburgh, is that she is now within
driving distance of her children. Mellon and her
husband, who passed away in 2012, raised four
WINTER 2013
children who are each highly accomplished in
very different fields.
Her oldest son is a surgeon, living in
Indianapolis, a second son is an attorney
in Chicago, her daughter is an architect/
marketing manager living in Michigan, and
she also has a son who is a Marine major,
currently based in North Carolina.
When George L. Pry, who was chair of
the Carlow Board of Trustees at the time,
announced that the board had named Mellon
as Carlow’s tenth president, he said, “Suzanne
has outstanding experience in all facets of
higher education administration and proven
knowledge of the major issues facing higher
education. She is a visionary leader, whose
creative outlook will help to strengthen Carlow
and inspire others to join her.”
The selection garnered praise from outside
the Carlow community, too.
“I’ve always found Dr. Mellon thoughtful
and concerned not only for the intellectual
enterprise, but for the people within it.
Carlow chose well,” said the Rev. Dennis
H. Holtschneider, CM, president of DePaul
University in Chicago, Ill. “While none of
us have easy choices these days in higher
education, I think the Carlow community will
find a leader who treats them like the partners
they rightfully are as they confront the
challenges ahead together.”
Many of the qualities that Holtschneider
praises spring from Mellon’s strong belief
in the Catholic intellectual tradition and
what that brings to the landscape of higher
education in general; from the reverence for
creation to the importance of a perspective
concerned with the whole person and how each
student develops academically, socially, and
spiritually. Particularly important, says Mellon,
is the integration of both faith and reason into
every discussion.
“Faith and reason inform everything,” she
says. “It’s also our focus on doing work in
service to others and for the common good.
Social justice is not just ‘what’s in it for me?’ or
‘what am I going to get out of it?’ There’s also
‘what am I doing that’s improving the world
around me?’ That’s all part of the Catholic
intellectual tradition in my book, too.”
As a community health nurse early in her
nursing career, she often came face-to-face
with systemic issues like poverty, abuse,
mental health, or addiction—and sometimes all
at once. The experiences she encountered in
this area of nursing made her want to pursue
a master’s degree at Ohio State University in
psychiatric and mental health nursing, with a
focus on family counseling and family therapy.
From there, she served as a consultant for other
nurses who were dealing with families going
through major health issues.
Pursuing her master’s whet her academic
appetite, and an opportunity to teach nursing
students presented itself, first at Wayne
State University, and then at the University
of Detroit Mercy. After getting her doctoral
degree at Wayne State in 1998, she began
doing cancer survivor research, and her focus
on family counseling and therapy folded into
that nicely.
“I became interested in working with
families who had inherited cancer risk—strong
family histories of cancer—and what that
meant for them dealing with it from a psychosocial perspective,” she says. “I wanted to help
people survive [getting cancer], help them be
resilient through it, and view it as something
they can manage and deal with unless,
obviously, they have a very aggressive form.”
In addition to her teaching and research,
Mellon wanted to make a difference at a
higher level in the university than she could
as a faculty member alone. When the position
of dean in the University of Detroit Mercy’s
College of Health Professions and McAuley
School of Nursing opened, she approached
Sister Maureen Fay, OP, then the president of
the university, to see if Fay considered her to
be a strong candidate to be dean.
“I told her to be prepared because, as an
internal candidate, everyone knows your flaws,”
says Fay. “The College of Health Professions
was our largest college and most complex, but
I encouraged her to pursue the position.”
Fay explained that the University of Detroit
Mercy came about from a 1990 merger
between the University of Detroit and Mercy
College. As with any combination of distinct
organizations, there is a period of growing
3
CELEBRATING THE HEART, CELEBRATING THE PEOPLE,
AND LISTENING TO THE CONTRIBUTIONS THAT PEOPLE
HAVE MADE. THAT MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE.
—Suzanne Mellon, PhD
4
pains, a time when care must be taken to be
certain no appearance of favoritism toward one or
the other is given.
“As dean, she really worked hard to unify the
school around university goals, as well as the
school’s goals,” says Fay. “She was extraordinarily
helpful to me during that time in helping to get
everyone pulling together. There was a lot of
history [between the two merged institutions],
and she was able to recognize that, but also inspire
them to move further. She was well respected by
her colleagues.”
The opportunity to be dean of such a large
and complex college helped Mellon come to a
definitive decision about academe.
“I think working in higher education is one of
the best careers you can have because you have
constant change, and the constant opportunity
to work and engage in a learning environment,”
she says. “I learn something new every day. If you
think you know it all, that’s probably when you
really should watch out [laughs] because that is
not the case.”
Dealing with the complex world that higher
education has become has forced her to
understand the importance of flexibility in a
leader. Some of the people she counts as a mentor
or role model are current or recently retired
university presidents: Holtschneider, Fay, Cynthia
Zane of Hilbert College, and St. Anselm’s Father
Jonathan DeFelice. She’s also learned from
watching leaders outside of higher education, too.
“I do a fair amount of reading on leadership,”
she says. “One of my favorite leaders—because I
admire the way he stayed the course and had a
vision for the future—was Abraham Lincoln. He
did not have an easy presidency, but, when you
think about it, he dealt with change and a lot of
adversity, and did it while still keeping his eye on
where things needed to be headed.
“And frankly, another leader I admire is one of
my sons, who is a Marine major. He is in Marine
Special Forces, deployed four times. I’ve learned a
lot about leadership and how you lead in adversity
through him.”
She has learned something from each of the
leaders she admires, and that has helped inform
her actions as a university administrator and, now,
a president.
“I’ve really come to see that a lot of leadership
is how you manage and lead through change,”
she says. “In today’s world, that is even more
of an imperative—to connect with people; set a
shared vision of where you are headed, empower,
communicate, and move forward.”
And through it all, she adds, it is important to
continue to celebrate all of life’s opportunities.
“Celebrating the heart, celebrating the people, and
listening to the contributions that people have
made,” she says. “That makes a huge difference.”
CARLOW UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
Summer Workshops
2014
The Carlow University Women of Spirit Institute®
PRE-LAW&ORDER
VISIT WWW.CARLOW.EDU/SUMMERWORKSHOPS FOR DEADLINES AND ONLINE REGISTRATION.
WINTER 2013
AN EXPERT AT
EMBRACING LIFE
Wennette West Pegues ’58
ALISON JURAM D’ADDIECO
THE STUDENTS HERE TODAY ARE SMART AND INTUITIVE. THEY ARE THE NEXT GENERATION.
THE THING IS, WE ARE ALL HERE FOR A REASON. YOU BECOME CLOSE TO THE PEOPLE WHO
SURROUND YOU, AND YOU ARE HERE TO DO SOMETHING FOR SOMEBODY ELSE.
—Wennette West Pegues ’58
6
CARLOW UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
WENNETTE WEST PEGUES never stops.
A self-proclaimed “techie grandma” who
treasures her Mac and iPod and is quick
to respond to email, Pegues is an expert at
embracing life.
A 1958 graduate of Mt. Mercy College (today
Carlow University), Pegues went on to receive
her master’s degree in sociology and counseling
and her doctorate in educational leadership
from the University of Tulsa.
Today, she is a student once again—this
time at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
(OLLI) in Tulsa—a program she helped establish
and run. She is also studying to be a docent at
Tulsa’s Gilcrease Museum, which houses the
world’s largest, most comprehensive collection
of art and artifacts of the American West.
The museum is the perfect spot for Pegues,
who spends much of her spare time immersed
in history. She is fascinated by genealogy and
holds a certificate in genealogical research from
Boston University.
“I love history, and I love learning,” she says.
Pegues’ impressive career in higher education
began at Mt. Mercy—though she says she never
expected to attend the school in the first place.
She was a scholarship student at St. Paul’s
Cathedral (now Oakland Catholic High School),
when the school’s pastor asked her about
her goals.
What about Mt. Mercy? he asked.
“Mt. Mercy was the epitome,” she recalls.
“It was best thing in the whole wide world,
but I never thought I’d be able to attend,
because it cost money.”
Pegues was thrilled when her pastor helped
her secure a spot and assisted her in arranging
for financial support. “I thought it was pretty
cool that I could have that opportunity. My
mother was so excited.”
Pegues was not the first in her family to
attend college, but she was one of only two
Black students during her entire four-year Mt.
Mercy experience. It didn’t matter, she says. She
and classmate Viola Brown Boxley were treated
just like everyone else.
What was tough, she says, was that her
mother was seriously ill. She recalls leaving
class to spend the night at Montefiore Hospital
after her mother’s heart surgery. She was back in
class the next day.
“I don’t think many of my classmates knew I
had a dying mother,” she says. “I’m not one to
say, ‘oh, poor me.’ I just did what I had to do.”
Doing what she had to do also meant
traveling to campus from her home in the then
WINTER 2013
brand-new St. Clair Village, far removed from
the Oakland campus.
Pegues recalls struggling through street car
strikes that forced her to walk the three miles
to campus. “Of course it was usually winter
time,” she says. “But you couldn’t miss class. You
couldn’t say it was too far.”
“My grades suffered,” she says. “I never talked
about it, but the Sisters of Mercy knew, and
they understood.”
As part of her nursing preparation, Pegues
spent her last two undergraduate years as a
resident nursing student in Washington, D.C.
and Baltimore hospitals. She also enrolled in the
Army Nurse Corps., a three-year program that
helped pay tuition.
Just months before graduation, on Good
Friday, April 10, 1958, Pegues met a young man
named Julius Pegues. What she didn’t know was
that he was the first Black basketball player at
the University of Pittsburgh.
“I never even saw him play,” she laughs. “I
didn’t recognize his name, but that gentleman
and I have been together ever since.”
The night of June 3, 1958, hours after Pegues
received her Bachelor of Science degree in
nursing, the young couple hopped into a VW
Beetle and drove nonstop to his hometown,
Tulsa, Okla., to start their new life together.
“No one knew except one of my cousins,”
she chuckles. “There was no staying over back
then,” she adds. “You stopped, got gas, and kept
on going.”
The Pegues family flourished in Tulsa. In
addition to raising three children, Pegues put
her Mt. Mercy nursing degree to work, as both
a practicing nurse and a nursing instructor at
the Hillcrest Medical Center. After receiving
her master’s and doctorate degrees, she soon
became assistant dean in the College of Arts
and Sciences at the University of Tulsa, where
she also taught sociology.
During the course of an impressive career in
higher education administration, Pegues found
herself on the cutting edge of several important
developments. She was one of the first two
physician placement officers in Oklahoma,
placing physicians in rural communities. Later,
she became instrumental in the development of
public higher education in Tulsa.
In the early 1980s, explains Pegues,
Tulsa had no public institution of higher
education. A decision was made to bring upper
division courses to the city by developing a
consortium from four different institutions:
the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma
State University, Langston University, and
Northeastern State University.
Pegues was the first director of the
consortium—the predecessor to what is now
Oklahoma State University, Tulsa.
“It was absolutely wonderful,” she says. “I
started to work on July 15, 1982, and in 56 days
we had 1,862 students sitting down to courses.
We had people driving down from Kansas; we
had teachers from different parts of Oklahoma
driving 150 miles to get their degree. The city
needed it very badly.”
In 2000, Pegues retired from Oklahoma
State University, Tulsa, as associate dean
of students at the College of Osteopathic
Medicine. But retirement hasn’t slowed her
down a bit.
This September, she and her husband
returned to Carlow for Alumni Weekend. She
was relieved to see the same winding driveway
leading uphill to her alma mater. Some things
never change. But she was thrilled to see the
many transformations that have occurred at
Carlow over the last 55 years—including the
great diversity of students now on campus.
“The changes are so cool,” she says. “Carlow
is doing a wonderful job providing service
to students,” she says, “I see so many people
having an opportunity to do so much.”
She muses that providing service for others
is really what it’s all about. “The students here
today are smart and intuitive. They are the
next generation. The thing is, we are all here
for a reason. You become close to the people
who surround you, and you are here to do
something for somebody else.”
L–R: Wennette West Pegues ’58
and Julius Pegues.
7
CARLOW STUDENTS BRING ART CLASSES
TO AREA PRESCHOOLERS
ALISON JURAM D’ADDIECO
INSTEAD OF DIRECTING KIDS TO CREATE
A SPECIFIC PRODUCT, IT’S ABOUT LETTING
THE CREATIVE PROCESS HAPPEN.
—Angela Marshall, Carlow University School of Education Student
8
CARLOW UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
I AM ESPECIALLY EXCITED TO HAVE EDUCATION STUDENTS FROM CARLOW OFFERING
THE CLASSES BECAUSE OF THEIR PASSION AND COMMITMENT TO EDUCATION.
—Christi Howell, board president, Pittsburgh Toy Lending Library
IT’S A CRISP AUTUMN DAY at
Pittsburgh’s Toy Lending Library.
A perfect day to paint leaves.
Inside, preschoolers saunter
into the art area—a cozy nook
sectioned off by a kid-size door
and waist-high book cases. They
step softly onto thick, colorflecked rubber matting and are
quickly drawn into a mini-artist’s
studio: paint, easels, crayons,
colored tape, construction paper—
it’s all here.
Today, the kids grab bright
blue plastic paint smocks and
head to squat green chairs around
age-appropriate tables. It’s art
class day. The art area is open
every day, but on Thursdays
through mid- November, Carlow
University School of Education
students plan activities that make
the visit all the more fun.
Sam pulls a smock over his
Batman t-shirt and heads to a
table occupied by three little girls
and three big college-aged girls.
He is quickly greeted by Erin
DiSanti, a Carlow junior from
West Deer Township, Pa.
“Hi! Come sit over here and I’ll
tell you what we are doing,” says
DiSanti. Next to DiSanti, Janelle
McIntyre from North Huntington,
Pa., and Amanda Knobeloch, from
Wexford, Pa., also Carlow juniors,
WINTER 2013
are busy cutting oak and maple
leaf shapes from thick paper.
Sam finds a seat across the table
from Abigail, who is busy coating a
maple leaf shape with a thick layer
of orange and red paint.
“I will choose red,” Sam decides.
“I’m going to make it disappear,”
he adds.
The kids cover their leaves in
paint and then, with DiSanti’s
instruction, apply a layer of plastic
wrap over the paint, which they
start to smoosh around with
their fingers.
“Make sure you put the
plastic on the middle of the leaf,”
says DiSanti. “What’s it feel like?
Is it squishy?”
“The paint is all mushy,”
says Abigail.
“Today my daddy is having a
birthday,” announces Sam as he
paints his leaf bright red. “I am
making him a present.”
The art classes were the
brainchild of Elisabeth Moyer,
a 2005 Carlow graduate with
a degree in early childhood
education and special education.
Moyer worked for Allegheny
Intermediate Unit’s DART
program before giving birth to
her daughters. Today, she and
her children frequent the Toy
Lending Library.
Moyer wanted to find a way to
offer art classes to Toy Lending
Library visitors, so she called one
of her professors, Rae Ann Hirsh,
director of undergraduate early
childhood education at Carlow.
The Toy Lending Library would
supply the location, supplies, and
preschoolers. Carlow students
could come up with lesson plans
and guidance.
Hirsh jumped on the idea—a
perfect opportunity for students in
her Integrated Art class.
“I was absolutely thrilled,” says
Hirsh. “Hands-on experience is so
necessary. You can create lesson
plans all the time, but until you
actually do it, you have no idea.”
Christi Howell, president of the
Toy Lending Library’s board of
directors, is also thrilled.
“I am especially excited to have
education students from Carlow
offering the classes because of
their passion and commitment
to education. Personally, I love it
because my kids love art, and I can
bring them here to do it!”
Carlow junior Angela Marshall
from Cranberry Township, Pa., says
it’s all about the process.
“Instead of directing kids to
create a specific product,” she
says, “it’s about letting the creative
process happen.”
Amanda White, a mother of
two from Pittsburgh’s Avalon
neighborhood, is benefitting from
that creative process—and from
the Carlow students’ enthusiasm
and direction.
“She wants to do art when she’s
here,” laughs White, gesturing to
a smock-covered toddler at the
art table. “It’s hard to paint with
one while I’m holding the other!”
she says, glancing down at her
squirming baby.
White says she’ll be coming here
more often, as the weather gets
colder. “We’re not always going to
be able to go the park,” she says.
“We’re going to be looking for
things to do.”
“The fact that Carlow is
willing to do this allows us to
offer more programming for our
members,” says Howell. “It’s a
really cool thing: you get paint all
over yourself and your smock,
and it’s great!”
Opposite: Top: Carlow education
students (L-R) teach art to
preschool children at the
Pittsburgh Toy Lending Library:
Erin DiSanti, Janelle McIntyre,
and Amanda Knobeloch.
Bottom: Erin DiSanti helps
students paint leaves.
9
CULTIVATING A CULTURE OF CARING
AT THE CAMPUS SCHOOL
ALISON JURAM D’ADDIECO
PHILANTHROPISTS of every shape and size roam the
halls of Carlow’s Campus School, sharing their time,
treasures, and talents with those near and far.
Meet, for example, Cecelia Cecconi, an eighth-grade
student whose birthday parties take place at World Vision,
in Sewickley, Pa. where guests sort supplies for the needy
rather than unwrap presents. Cecelia has logged many
additional hours at World Vision—and also conducts
fundraisers to help support a Brazilian child.
“It’s good to help people,” she says. “Doing good things
makes you feel like a better person.”
Chase McCorkle, another eighth-grader, spent much
of this past summer working with young children at The
Campus School’s summer camp and at Pittsburgh Indoor
Sports Arena (PISA) sports camp. “Helping others makes
you a better person,” he agrees. “It makes me really happy
and motivated.”
Cecelia and Chase’s work counts toward their 20-hour
eighth grade service requirement, a Campus School
program coordinated by religion teacher Peggy Lazar ’75.
“Service is an integral part of The Campus School
community,” says Lazar. “Volunteering promotes
10
leadership, cooperation, and respect through working
with others. Students young and old receive personal
satisfaction from knowing that they made a difference.”
Long before they enter eighth grade, students learn
about the Mercy mission in their classes and have many
opportunities to give unto others.
“Even the youngest of our student body participate
in service and think about the wellbeing and the needs
of others,” says Michelle Peduto, The Campus School’s
executive director and head of school.
“They also like to ride trikes,” she laughs, recalling a
sidewalk transformed into a tricycle parking lot during
the Trikeathon for St. Jude’s Research Hospital. “We do so
much here, it’s just incredible.”
“Many parents told me that the children themselves
really took pride in asking for donations to help the
children at the hospital,” says Trikeathon coordinator
Erica Armbruster, director of the Carlow University Early
Learning Center and assistant director of early childhood
programs at The Campus School.
Campus School faculty and staff also take pride in
giving and, in 2012-2013, were the first group to give to
L–R: Cecelia Cecconi
and Chase McCorkle,
eighth grade students at
The Campus School, are
committed to service.
Here they ‘high-five’ in
Peggy Lazar’s religious
education classroom.
CARLOW UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
2012-2013 CAMPUS SCHOOL PHILANTHROPY TOTALS:
PENNIES FOR PATIENTS BENEFITTING LEUKEMIA AND LYMPHOMA PATIENTS: $2,000
WALKATHON FOR PHILIPPINE SCHOOL CHILDREN: $5,683.59
ST. JUDE’S TRIKEATHON: $4,800
SOLES FOR SOLES SHOE DRIVE FOR GREATER PITTSBURGH COMMUNITY FOOD BANK: 400 PAIRS OF SHOES
INTERSECTION FOOD PANTRY, MCKEESPORT: COUNTLESS BAGS, BOXES, AND CANS OF FOOD
The Campus School Annual Fund—used to provide support
for immediate needs, including technology, programming, and
teacher training.
Peduto calls faculty and staff support of the Annual Fund
“awe inspiring.” To date, the Annual Fund stands at $20,479.25,
with a goal of $100,000 by the end of the 2013-2014 school year.
“It shows their commitment,” says Peduto. “Our faculty and
staff believe in what they are doing, and they were the first ones
to step forward and support it.”
That belief in the school’s mission is at the heart of so many
philanthropic efforts and the inspiration for countless hours
of service to others. As Cecconi puts it, “Helping people is the
basis of morality. It’s doing something good for everyone, and
you know it’s going to make someone happy.”
This past May, approximately
90 Campus School children,
ages 3-6, brought their trikes
to school, rode laps around
the campus green, and raised
nearly $4,800 for St. Jude’s
Research Hospital.
HELPING PEOPLE IS THE BASIS OF MORALITY. IT’S
DOING SOMETHING GOOD FOR EVERYONE, AND YOU
KNOW IT’S GOING TO MAKE SOMEONE HAPPY.
—Cecelia Cecconi, eighth grade student, The Campus School of Carlow University
WINTER 2013
11
BRAND-NEW SHOES
ALISON JURAM D’ADDIECO
I HAVE TEACHERS TELL ME THAT SOME OF THESE KIDS
HAVE NEVER HAD A NEW PAIR OF SHOES BEFORE.
IT’S LIKE CHRISTMAS FOR THEM.
—Mary Hoffman Fricker
12
Carlow Alumna Mary Hoffman
Fricker ’68 Delivers Joy to
Inner City Children
“OH, GIRL. THIS IS ALL YOU.” Jennifer
Johnson, a teacher at Pittsburgh’s Fulton
Academy, pulls a pair of hot pink Converse
sneakers, their tops lined with delicate, pale
pink tulle netting, out of a box and hands them
to a squirming little girl with braids and lots
of beads.
The recipient squeals with glee.
Nearby, a boy is dancing in his seat, showing
off his grey shoes with cool superheroes on the
sides. “Yay! Look at my new shoes!” he says.
A little boy in a light blue shirt and jeans
raises his hand. “My shoe size is inside my
shoe,” he says. “It’s a two.”
No, this is not a shoe store. And no, it’s
not Christmas. It’s a rainy Friday in October
in the cafeteria of Fulton Academy, a pre-K
neighborhood school in Pittsburgh’s Highland
Park neighborhood that also offers a Frenchemphasis Magnet program.
These kids are just a few of the 103 first grade
students at Fulton who are receiving brand-new
Converse sneakers, courtesy of Pittsburgher
Mary Hoffman Fricker ’68.
When Fricker graduated from Carlow College
in 1968, she began teaching elementary school
in West Mifflin, Pa. She saw, firsthand, the effect
of poverty on young children.
She held those memories close to her heart
as she raised her two girls, and today, she
and her husband, Joe Fricker, quietly make a
difference in the lives of inner-city elementary
school children.
For the past seven years, Mary Fricker has
worked to identify Pittsburgh public and
Catholic elementary schools that qualify for the
most free lunches. After isolating one school
each year, she makes sure that each child in
the school’s entire first grade receives a pair
of shoes. Not just bargain-basement shoes.
Brand-new Converse sneakers in popular colors
and patterns.
Throughout the year, Fricker purchases lots of
sneakers. Teachers size up students’ feet, using
white plastic shoe-sizers Mary ordered on the
Internet. They send her a list, and she either
matches the list with her inventory or purchases
more shoes. Whatever it takes.
Joe delivers the shoes in person, and the
reactions they receive make their efforts more
than worthwhile.
CARLOW UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
“I have teachers tell me that some of these
kids have never had a new pair of shoes before,”
says Fricker. “It’s like Christmas for them.”
The children send her pictures of their
shoes—and letters, too.
“One boy wrote, ‘I didn’t think there were
people really out there like you,’” she recalls.
“They’re amazed that somebody they don’t
know would give them a new pair of shoes. They
treat them like gold.”
Fricker has donated more than 1,000 pairs of
shoes to the following Pittsburgh schools:
Greenfield Elementary (twice), Spring
Hill Elementary (twice), Martin Luther King
Elementary, Woolslair Elementary, Grandview
Elementary, Arsenal Elementary, Whittier
Elementary, St. Rosalia Academy, St. Cyril of
Alexandria, St. Mary of the Mount, Cardinal
Wright, St. Benedict the Moor, St. Agnes
(Oakland), St. Agnes (West Mifflin), Good
Shepherd, Word of God, East Hills Elementary,
Fort Pitt Elementary, and Fulton Elementary.
On November 14, 2013, Fricker was the
recipient of the Outstanding Philanthropist
Award as part of National Philanthropy Day,
sponsored by the Pittsburgh Chapter of the
Association of Fundraising Professionals. The
ceremony took place at Pittsburgh’s Heinz
History Center.
Though honored to receive the award, Fricker
is persistently humble—“others are far more
deserving,” she says. But she is devoted to
spreading joy—and hope.
Kevin Bivens, principal of Fulton Academy,
says he couldn’t believe his ears when Johnson
read him a letter from Fricker this past summer,
describing her intention to deliver shoes.
“I thought someone was playing around,”
he recalls. “I couldn’t believe it was true. When
we found out it was real, we knew we had to
jump on it.”
Bivens knows these students well, guiding
them into and out of the cafeteria and
instructing them to “say ‘Merci’” to Joe Fricker
after they receive their shoes. “
“My wife, Mary, was a first grade teacher,” Joe
Fricker explains to the students. “She would be
upset when kids would come to school and not
have proper shoes. She’s been collecting shoes
for years. These are really great shoes. These are
brand new. She just loves first-graders. That’s
why you’re getting shoes today!”
“Everybody loves a first-grader!” says Bivens.
At Fulton Academy, students are used to
sharing. Due to recent overcrowding, they no
longer have a library, an art room, or a music
room. In fact one corner of the cafeteria is
sectioned off by portable bulletin boards and is
filled with drums, music stands, and instrument
WINTER 2013
cases. The librarian delivers books on a cart.
Art is on a cart, too.
“It really bothers me,” says Bivens of the
missing library, which is now turned into
much-needed classroom space. “I love the
kids to be able to touch and feel the books.”
But, thanks to the Frickers, these
children receive something they don’t have
to share: brand new, not hand-me-downed,
fancy sneakers.
Kathy Wetzel, an early intervention
teacher at Fulton, calls the shoe project
phenomenal. “This is a great thing for the
kids. It’s so exciting—it’s like Christmas!”
Fulton first grade teacher Lori Carmody
says the kids couldn’t believe their ears when
they heard they would be getting brand
new shoes—from someone they didn’t even
know. “They were ecstatic,” she says, “and the
parents couldn’t believe this was happening.”
Carmody turned the shoe sizing into a
math game, teaching her students about
measurement. “This has been so awesome,”
she says. “I’m just thrilled.”
For Fricker, giving joy is what’s most
important. “These kids will think about this
for the rest of their lives,” she says. “Someone
who didn’t even know them gave them a new
pair of shoes. I hope it makes a difference to
them that they see kindness in the world.”
Opposite page: Thanks to Mary Fricker,
103 pairs of shoes were given to Fulton
Elementary students on October 11, 2013.
Below: Mary Hoffman Fricker ’68
Mary Hoffman Fricker
and McAuley Ministries
Honored at 2013 National
Philanthropy Day
Carlow University Alumna Mary
Hoffman Fricker and McAuley Ministries,
an outreach of the Sisters of Mercy,
were honored at the November 14,
2013 National Philanthropy Day Award
Ceremony, sponsored by the Western
Pennsylvania Chapter of the Association
for Fundraising Professionals, at
Pittsburgh’s Heinz History Center.
Fricker received the Outstanding
Volunteer Fundraiser award for her
philanthropic efforts to reach inner-city
elementary school children.
McAuley Ministries, the grant-making
arm of Pittsburgh Mercy Health System
and sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy—
who founded Carlow in 1929—received
the Outstanding Foundation award.
This past August, McAuley Ministries
announced $1.2 million in grants, mainly
supporting business development,
education, services to persons who
are homeless, and capacity-building
initiatives in Pittsburgh’s Hill District,
Uptown, and West Oakland communities.
“These most recent grants exemplify
our ongoing commitment to helping
create neighborhoods that are safe,
healthy, and vibrant,” stated Sister Sheila
Carney, RSM, Carlow’s Special Assistant
to the President for Mercy Heritage and
chairperson of the McAuley Ministries
Board of Directors.
13
NICOLE
BELLAVANCE
NICOLE BELLAVANCE’S bright red hair
and wide smile could make anyone warm up
to her. “I’m highly sociable,” she says. “In team
environments, I tend to thrive; I tend to take on
that natural leadership role.”
Bellavance is an example of how
perseverance, dedication, and a passion for
learning lead to success. Initially drawn to
Carlow’s intimate setting, Bellavance began her
studies in 2001 but was forced to take a leave in
2003 due to health concerns.
“Leaving and then coming back was tough,”
she recalls. “I was apprehensive that I had been
away for so long, and wasn’t going to do very
well. It was a big hardship to come back into the
swing of things as an adult student.”
Despite the obstacles, Bellavance graduated
in May 2013 with a 3.95 grade point average. She
was also the recipient of the Communications
Department’s award for academic excellence.
“I’m always quick to ask for more work,”
she says. “I just won’t accept anything less than
an ‘A.’”
Bellavance soon scored her dream job at
UPMC Cancer Institute, where she currently
integrates her passion for communication with
her interest in medical research as a clinical
research associate. Her work focuses specifically
on gynecological oncology.
She credits some of her success to
communications professors Michael Balmert,
PhD, and Chrys Gabrich, PhD, who challenged
her to keep moving forward. She notes that
Balmert’s Healthcare and Communications
class, in particular, gave her the skills she
needed to succeed. Carlow’s data and
technology courses were right on target, as well.
Bellavance offers words of advice for
current or recent graduates. “I had quite a few
internships,” she recalls. “If you have a company
that you really like…don’t be afraid to call them.
That’s how I got most of my internships. Take
any opportunity you can to learn more.”
“The teachers here are just fantastic, I just
really can’t say enough,” adds Bellavance.
Nicole Bellavance, ’13
Bachelor of Arts in Communication,
May 2013
DALYCE WILSON
ALUMNI
SPOTLIGHT
I LOVED IT HERE…THE SMALL CLASS STRUCTURES, THE
TEACHERS… I BELIEVE THAT IF I WALKED BACK ONTO THIS
CAMPUS IN FIVE YEARS, MY TEACHERS WOULD REMEMBER ME.
—Nicole Bellavance
14
CARLOW UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
BILL
DEBERNARDI
SISTER GRACE ANN GEIBEL sits at her desk
under the low-ceiling entranceway of Carlow’s
A.J. Palumbo Hall of Science of Technology:
sheet music in hand, smiling lively to passersby
through the amber of a canvas.
She may be easy to miss; students might
crane their necks when passing breezily to class,
but few grant her the attention she deserves.
Even fewer take the time to appreciate the
artistry and detail of the portrait.
Fewer, still, appreciate the artist himself. And
yet he, too, is worth a closer look.
Carlow Associate Art Professor Bill
DeBernardi, the portraitist of Sister Grace
Ann, is internationally recognized. His work
is featured in private, corporate, and museum
collections across 11 states, Puerto Rico, and
abroad—including France, Italy, and Venezuela.
During the month of November, DeBernardi’s
work was featured in a solo exhibition, “An
American Festival #55 (Stale),” at the Penn State
New Kensington Art Gallery.
Art, says DeBernardi, was not always his
primary focus. As an undergraduate, his
interests were creative writing, biology, and
anthropology. In fact, he equates his artistry
to biology and anthropology. His method,
he explains, is the preservation of a moment,
an object, or a being, and a deliberative
exploration. “It’s examining,” he says of his
Carlow’s Internationally
Recognized Artist
JASON NAUGHTON
artistic process, “it is an honest observation,
influenced by memory and perception, but free
of preconception.”
But this examination is not without heart.
“I am trying to be that little boy that I see as I
walk by with that look of amazement: here’s a
form, here’s a being, here’s a configuration,” he
says. “It is that sort of wonder, that’s at the heart
of everything.”
At Carlow, DeBernardi works closely with Art
Department Chair Dale Huffman to educate
students beyond college. “A lot of people come
out of college and feel kind of senseless as to
what happens next,” says DeBernardi.
The great strength of a small department,
he notes, is the ability to develop lasting
relationships with students. “We establish a
rapport with students after they’ve left here,
whether it’s phone calls and emails back and
forth, doing a studio visit, or putting together an
alumni show.”
Likewise, DeBernardi strives to bridge this
transition from college into the real world in
his curriculum. “I started to tweak some of the
classes to order to make that arch and that
transition into the real world more seamless,”
he says, “to position students so that once
they leave here they have the tools to express
themselves, but also have the tools to continue
in lifelong learning.”
FACULTY
SPOTLIGHT
Last month,
DeBernardi’s work
was featured in a
solo exhibition, “An
American Festival #55
(Stale),” at the Penn
State New Kensington
Art Gallery.
Left: Installation
view, “An American
Festival #55 (Stale)”
at Penn State
New Kensington.
WINTER 2013
15
CARLOW UNIVERSITY HELPS
STUDENT BRIDGE HEARING
AND DEAF WORLDS
Danah Richter
WHEN DANAH RICHTER visited
the Carlow University campus,
she saw the same potential that
many students see when visiting
the college that will become
their academic home for the next
four years.
“When I was on the campus tour
at Carlow, I saw the ability to be
part of the Carlow community and
that gave me a hope to succeed
through all the challenges,”
says Richter, who is from New
Kensington, Pa. “I chose Carlow
to give myself challenges and
prepare myself for the real world
after I graduate from college.”
However, the challenges
Richter arrived at Carlow with are
greater than those of the average
college student, and the barriers
to becoming part of the Carlow
community were a good bit higher.
“Communication and writing
English as a second language
16
are the most difficult things for
me as a deaf student at a hearing
college because no one knows
how to communicate with my
first language—American Sign
Language (ASL)—and writing in
English was an extreme struggle
for me to learn,” says Richter, who
is a junior social work major.
Students whose first language
is ASL often have difficulty with
Standard Written English. Despite
the early struggles, Richter has
found Carlow to be everything she
thought it could be when she was
on that campus tour.
“Because of our roots and
our Catholic heritage, we are
welcoming to all,” says Siobhan
DeWitt, the campus minister
at Carlow. “Catherine McAuley
served everyone in the Dublin
community when she founded
the Sisters of Mercy. Through
Carlow’s connection to the
Danah Richter Participates
as a Young Leader in
Pennsylvania, National,
and Canadian Conferences
ANDREW G. WILSON
Sisters of Mercy and our Catholic
heritage, we are here to serve
everyone in our community.”
Welcomed into the Carlow
community, Richter has begun
to excel. She has been named to
the Dean’s List for the past
two semesters.
“Danah is a student who is
dedicated to success,” says Bridget
Ponte, director of the Center for
Academic Achievement at Carlow
University. “I believe she can
accomplish anything that she puts
her mind to.”
One of the things Richter
put her mind to is being better
at comprehending and writing
Standard Written English. As
part of her studies, she took an
independent study course for
the past three years focused on
Standard Written English for
students whose first language
is ASL.
“[Communicating and writing
English] was an issue that Danah
recognized in herself,” says Jackie
Smith, a writing consultant in the
Center for Academic Achievement
and the Disability Services
Representative at Carlow. “Danah
has an amazing attention to detail
and a mature self-determination.
She is willing to ask for help and to
help others when needed.”
This willingness to both help
and be helped has led Richter to
recognition as a leader beyond the
Carlow campus. She was invited to
participate as a “young leader” in
the Pennsylvania Society for the
Advancement of the Deaf (PSAD)
conference held in Pittsburgh in
September 2013, and the National
Association of the Deaf’s (NAD)
National Leadership Training
conference in Omaha, Neb.,
in October 2013. She has also
been invited to participate in
the second annual Inspire
Virtual Symposium, an online
conference at the University of
Calgary in Canada, for disabled
students of varying abilities to
present papers that challenge
“ability expectations.”
Richter differentiates between
“deaf” with a lowercase “d,”
referring to the condition of being
non-hearing, and an uppercase
“D” that refers to the Deaf Culture.
Almost 29 million Deaf people live
in America and about 300 million
Deaf people live in the world.
“Our ‘Deaf’ voices grow louder,”
says Richter.
Being invited to represent
Pennsylvania—and by extension
representing both Carlow and
Pittsburgh—is just one more
step in helping Richter achieve
her goals.
“I always search for more
challenges,” says Richter. “My
next destination is working with
children with autism because I
find autism to be a very interesting
topic to work with. In five years,
I hopefully might graduate with
two master’s degrees: one in social
work and a second in mental health
counseling at Gallaudet University
in Washington, D.C. In 10 years,
I hope I will be able to work with
hearing and deaf children and deaf
adults in mental health services
and/or organizations.”
If Richter’s academic career
at Carlow is any indication, she
is well on her way to achieving
her goals.
CARLOW UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
MEASURING SUCCESS
WITH BOTH HANDS
Below: Carlow Alumna Kimberly Zeske-Maguire, left, works with Sheila
Advento, the first female double hand transplant recipient at UPMC.
KIMBERLY ZESKE-MAGUIRE ’91
sets about two dozen black and
red plastic disks in front of Sheila
Advento, and for a moment it
appears as if they are getting ready
to play a game of checkers.
When the disks are set up,
instead of asking Advento to make
the first move, Zeske-Maguire
instructs her to turn the disks
over, one at a time, as quickly as
she can, using only her left hand.
Zeske-Maguire times her. When
Advento is finished, she repeats
the process using only her right
hand, and, again, Zeske-Maguire
times her.
What may look like a game
is really occupational therapy,
made all the more challenging
because as recently as two years
ago, Advento’s hands belonged
to someone else. She is the first
female double hand transplant
recipient at the University of
WINTER 2013
Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC),
which is the first hospital in the
United States to perform bilateral
hand transplants, as well as the first
above elbow transplant.
Zeske-Maguire, her occupational
therapist and a Carlow University
alumna, knows there are different
ways to measure success; a
lesson occupational therapists
learn quickly.
“The theory of occupational
therapy is you do what’s meaningful
for the patient,” says ZeskeMaguire, who is the facility director
for the Hand and Upper Extremity
Rehab Clinic of the Centers for
Rehab Services (CRS) at UPMC.
“You have to find which way is the
best way to help your patient.”
Help might mean sympathizing
with a patient one time then
challenging him or her to work
harder the next, but either way,
Zeske-Maguire is prepared.
Carlow Alumna Kimberly
Zeske-Maguire ’91 Works with
Hand Transplant Patients
ANDREW G. WILSON
“I chose Carlow because I
didn’t feel like I was going to get
lost,” she says. “My first interest
was in rehab counseling. I did
field placements at the Children’s
Institute, Western Psych, and
Harmarville Rehabilitation
Center. It was my placement at
Harmarville that sparked my
interest in occupational therapy.”
As a psychology major, ZeskeMaguire’s advisor was Sister Rita
Flaherty, who helped her select
her classes and field placement
opportunities. She says the
statistics class, taught by Marlene
Winters, PhD, prepared her for
the research she’s been doing
today. After Carlow, she earned her
master’s degree in occupational
therapy from Boston University.
She worked at the Veterans
Administration (VA) Hospital in
Atlanta before transferring to the
VA in Altoona, Pa. She joined CRS
in 1998, and became a certified
hand therapist in 2001. She has
been the facility director at the
Hand and Upper Extremity Rehab
Clinic since 2007.
Occupational therapy helps
patients regain the skills required
to live a normal life. Often times,
this means regaining the use of
fine motor skills.
“There are patients who can
be hard to get motivated because
they feel defeated,” Zeske-Maguire
explains. “The flip side is there are
some who are so overly motivated
that I have to slow them down a
bit. Most people fall somewhere in
the middle.”
Advento, a hard worker,
definitely isn’t in the middle, as she
has plenty of motivation.
“My goal is full independence,”
says Advento, who lost her hands
and feet seven years ago from
complications of a bacterial
infection. “I want to have no need
for assistance from anyone.”
She is well on her way to
achieving that, too. Although
she has an assistant who travels
with her, Advento can drive and
is able to work as a customer
service representative for a
medical laboratory.
Zeske-Maguire credits
Advento’s progress to her great
sense of humor and strong
work ethic. She says that soon
after Advento received her new
hands, they strapped a marker
to her hand using ace bandages,
and Advento, who had artistic
abilities before the amputation,
drew Garfield the cat.
“She drew it better than I could,
and I have my original hands,”
laughs Zeske-Maguire.
Advento has since begun to
paint and draw again.
Her progress has been
documented many times by local
and national media—and she
even answered questions during
a Q&A at the American Society of
Reconstructive Transplantation
conference in Chicago where
Zeske-Maguire was presenting.
Zeske-Maguire says
Advento’s—and all of her
patients’—goals are usually much
simpler and clearer.
“They want to be able to brush
their teeth in the morning, or
hold their loved one’s hand,” says
Zeske-Maguire. “They want the
everyday human things that most
of us take for granted.”
These are the very things that
an occupational therapist can
help them achieve.
17
CHANGING HOCUS-POCUS TO
HOCUS FOCUS IN SPECIAL EDUCATION
ANDREW G. WILSON
THE UNINFORMED may think the only way to reach
special education students is through magic, but a Carlow
University professor and a magician are demonstrating
that the idea is more than just hocus-pocus.
“Special education is founded on the premise that all
children learn differently,” says Susan O’Rourke, EdD,
chair of special education and coordinator of instructional
technology certification at Carlow University.
Special education encompasses a spectrum of learners—
from those who have particular challenges to their
learning, as well as to those who are classified as gifted.
“While many of our students are challenged by
specific limitations related to sensory input, cognitive
processing, and other medical factors,” explains O’Rourke,
“a significant proportion of our students do not respond
typically to traditional teaching methods. Special
education teachers look for alternative means to support
and improve student learning outcomes.”
There are many possible alternative means of support
for student learning, but O’Rourke feels magic has special
qualities—none of which need to be pulled out of a hat.
“The skills required to perform a magic trick are
complex on many levels including attention, motor
planning, dexterity, organization, sequencing, non-verbal
and verbal communication, and social skills,” she says.
“The benefits to student’s self-efficacy, self-esteem, and
the ability to persevere are enhanced by learning and
performing magic tricks.”
And, notes O’Rourke, “learning a magic trick is fun!”
To teach magic tricks as part of the education process,
O’Rourke called on Kevin Spencer, a magician from
Lynchburg, Va., who has a passion for educating children,
as well as a passion for magic.
O’Rourke first met Spencer because they are both
members of the Division of International Special
Education and Services (DISES), and have attended several
of the same conferences. Recently, Spencer provided the
keynote address at the DISES International Round Table
2013 in Tobago, West Indies.
“Curiosity can be a powerful motivating factor in the
education experience,” says Spencer, who has created his
own magic-based curriculum titled Hocus Focus.
According to Spencer, evidence suggests that children
may learn and retain information more effectively when
they are taught creatively and allowed to be creative.
“Learning a magic trick encourages students to ask
‘what if’—a question that is at the very core of creativity
and innovation,” he explains. “Learning a magic trick can
encourage students to be creative, to search for answers,
and can stimulate them to think in different ways.”
18
THE SKILLS REQUIRED TO PERFORM A MAGIC
TRICK ARE COMPLEX ON MANY LEVELS INCLUDING
ATTENTION, MOTOR PLANNING, DEXTERITY,
ORGANIZATION, SEQUENCING, NON-VERBAL AND
VERBAL COMMUNICATION, AND SOCIAL SKILLS.
—Susan O’Rourke, EdD
CARLOW UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
Before revealing the secrets behind any magic tricks,
Spencer asked for and received the enthusiastic support of
both the International Brotherhood of Magicians and the
Society of American Magicians.
Beginning in October 2013, O’Rourke and Spencer
collaborated on two projects at the Propel School, a charter
school in Braddock Hills, Pa.
In the first project, Spencer performed a magic trick
for gifted students that hinged on math and science
principles. The Propel students were paired with Carnegie
Mellon University engineering students, and together they
analyzed the math and science principles behind the trick.
The trick and the analysis became the basis of math and
science exploration for several weeks to come.
In the second project, Propel students with special
needs were linked with students at Belmont School in
Derry, Northern Ireland, via video conferencing. Spencer
introduced magic/illusions to students at both schools
and asked them to learn a trick and teach it to peers via
video conferencing. The goal was to develop a range
of skills including communication, fine motor, motor
planning, and memory. The students would continue to
meet via video conferencing on six occasions over the next
several months.
Teaching students a magic trick helps them to be
more aware of their thought processes, including the
mistakes they make. Through those mistakes, students
develop critical thinking and problem solving abilities,
which can improve their observational techniques
and self-determination.
“We remove the stressors of being right and give
them permission to take intelligent risks,” says Spencer.
“Learning a magic trick provides students with an
opportunity to learn facts and concepts they can see, touch,
manipulate, and talk about.”
O’Rourke and Spencer’s collaboration stemmed from
a desire to utilize video conferencing in delivering the
Hocus Focus curriculum to a wider range of students. They
also wanted to see if the video conferencing itself might
actually enhance students’ skill development.
“We hope to measure and analyze student growth over
the life of the project and determine the effects of video
conferencing on the outcomes,” says O’Rourke.
“Over the years, I’ve witnessed an increase in motivation
and effort put forth by students when preparing for their
participation in video conferences,” she says. “Given
Kevin’s extensive research and experience in utilizing
the Hocus Focus curriculum in the traditional sense, an
opportunity to research the effects with the introduction of
a media source seemed interesting.”
Carlow University’s School of Education is on the
forefront of this new research in many ways.
“The notion of analyzing magic tricks to explore
science and math concepts grew out of our work in
High Performance Learning in the School of Education,”
says O’Rourke.
New knowledge about the way children learn, coupled
with recent advances in neuroscience and the use of
digital technology in the classroom, have prompted
Carlow’s School of Education faculty to take a fresh look
WINTER 2013
at the way teaching and learning occur in the 21st century.
Their research has led them to examine both how they
are teaching college students and how the students are
prepared to teach in the modern classroom.
As a result, O’Rourke has begun to use magic to teach
certain concepts at Carlow, as well.
“We realize the value of problem-based and projectbased learning through students’ discovery—especially for
students who learn differently and are classified as ‘gifted,’”
says O’Rourke. “This perspective prompted the idea to use
a fun, playful magic trick to motivate and engage students
to discover and determine the science and math concepts
illustrated in the trick.”
Of course, if the students are motivated to learn math
and science by using fun magic tricks, we never know in
what field the next breakthrough will occur.
“Perhaps,” Spencer says, “these very students will
develop new methods that can be used to advance the art
of illusion into the next century!”
Both pages: Magician
Kevin Spencer says
curiosity can be a
powerful motivating
factor in the education
experience. Magic can
encourage students to
be creative and search
for answers, and can
stimulate them to think
in different ways.
19
ADVANCEMENT NEWS
A CONVERSATION WITH
ELSIE HILLMAN
Elsie Hillman spent an evening
discussing her remarkable life, and it
didn’t take long to have her explain the secret of
her success.
“I’m really sort of a bridge between people,”
said the woman who was instrumental in
turning out the vote for Republican presidential
candidates from Dwight Eisenhower to George
Herbert Walker Bush because she was able to
bring together coalitions of labor, women, and
traditional Republicans. “I still have contacts
in Washington. I can call someone up and
have them take my call. I can be a liaison or
ambassador between what somebody needs and
somebody else can give them.”
These were just a few of the ideas expressed
during a conversation between Hillman, a
Carlow Board of Trustee emerita, and Ellie
Wymard, PhD, director of the MFA in creative
writing program at Carlow. The conversation
took place during the Lives of Public Leadership
and Influence lecture series during Carlow’s
Speak Up Week, February 18-21, 2013.
Sponsored by the Dr. Tom Hopkins
Communication Laboratory, Speak Up Week
included a number of events designed to
encourage members of the Carlow community
to speak out on issues that matter most to them
and those they love.
Lives of Public Leadership and Influence was
made possible thanks to generous funding from
the Michele R. Atkins Endowed Chair for Ethics
Across the Curriculum and the Kenneth D.
Hines Endowment for Ethics in the Professions.
Wymard’s questions provided a framework
for the evening, but Hillman seemed quite
comfortable talking about her life, and casually
dropping names of politicos like U.S. Senator
Hugh Scott, Pennsylvania Governor Bill
Scranton, U.S. Senator “Johnny” Heinz, and even
heavyweight boxer Billy Conn.
“I believe the issues—not the politics—have
always been attractive to me,” she said. “I guess
I thought I could always make a difference.”
Making a difference in Pennsylvania politics
in the 1950s was not easy for a woman—even
one who had married Henry Hillman, the heir to
a steel and coke fortune who steered the family
money into real estate and venture capital—and
because of that Hillman often would mentor
other women—like Barbara Hafer—who she felt
20
could make a difference in politics. She also
acknowledged that today’s political climate in
the Republican party doesn’t make it easy for
a woman—even one who considers herself a
bridge builder.
“We’re out of date,” she said, indicating
the Republican Party. “I can’t imagine myself
joining that party today. Of course, I’m not
sure the Democrat Party is pleasing all of the
democrats either.”
Hillman also discussed the recently published
case study of her life, Never a Spectator: The
Political Life of Elsie Hillman, which has been
incorporated into several Carlow courses.
Throughout the evening, Hillman’s comments
about the people she encountered and the
politics she practiced over her life would bring
a positive reaction from the audience, but, by
far, the loudest cheers of the evening came
when Hillman voiced the one factor that would
improve the world today.
“I think we would be better off if more women
were involved in politics.” By the sounds of
things, no one at Carlow disagreed.
L–R: Ellie Wymard, PhD, and Elsie Hillman
I BELIEVE THE ISSUES—NOT THE POLITICS—HAVE ALWAYS
BEEN ATTRACTIVE TO ME. I GUESS I THOUGHT I COULD
ALWAYS MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
—Elsie Hillman
CARLOW UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
ADVANCEMENT NEWS
INVESTING IN STUDENTS
Michele Atkins and Elsie Hillman Challenge Alumni
Michele Rehfeld Atkins ’82,
chair of Carlow’s Board of
Trustees, likes a good challenge.
A straight-A student in high school,
Atkins completed one year of college
but was forced to take time off to earn
funding for her education. The year
was 1963.
She soon married and moved to
Texas when her husband, Pat Atkins,
became a faculty member at the
University of Texas at Austin. Atkins
recalls being the only faculty wife who
did not have a college degree—a fact
that continued to gnaw at her.
When the family ended their journey
in Pittsburgh, Atkins was challenged to
finally finish what she’d started.
“We were driving on Route 19,” she
remembers. “Our kids were maybe 6
and 8, and I was again bemoaning the
fact that I never finished my degree.”
Knowing just how much education
meant to his wife, Pat pulled the car
over at the busy Fort Couch Road
intersection, turned to Michele, and
encouraged her go for it. Find the right
program, he told her. Enroll. There is no
time like the present.
That was the deciding moment,
recalls Atkins. She accepted the
challenge and enrolled, at age 32, as an
undergraduate at Carlow College.
Since completing her bachelor’s
degree in sociology in 1982, Atkins
has worked professionally in not-forprofit management, strategic planning,
fundraising, and governance for such
organizations as the Make-a-Wish
Foundation, the American Lung
Association, Gilda’s Club of New
York City, and the Carnegie Library
of Pittsburgh. Most recently, she
was president and CEO of Heritage
Community Initiatives of Braddock, Pa.
“My husband and I were both the first
in our families to go to college,” says
Atkins. “We feel a huge responsibility
to ensure that others are also able to go
to college and graduate.”
WINTER 2013
This past Spring, Michele and Pat
Atkins created a ground-breaking
$50,000 challenge towards The Carlow
Fund, matching all gifts, dollar for
dollar, up to that amount, through
June 30, 2013.
The Carlow Fund provides financial
support to student scholarships
and financial aid, technology
enhancements, library resources, and
faculty development.
The Atkins’ challenge was answered
by Carlow supporters in just five
weeks—and was soon enhanced by
Carlow Board of Trustee emerita Elsie
Hillman, who doubled the challenge to
make it $100,000.
“Carlow University is and has always
been a very special place in Pittsburgh
and in my heart,” says Hillman. “As a
former trustee, I learned so much about
the Mercy tradition and wonderful
approach to higher education,
especially for those young, bright
women who choose Carlow. Carlow will
always have my support.”
When the challenge reached
completion, Carlow Fund donations
totaled $225,375.34—a huge,
unprecedented success.
Atkins is thrilled by this success.
“Carlow helped to shape why I did
what I did with my life,” she says. “It’s
where I learned that I wanted to make
a difference.”
NEW
PHILANTHROPIC
ENDEAVOR
HONORS
CARLOW’S
FOUNDERS
In honor of the 1929 founding of Mt. Mercy College by the Sisters of Mercy, Carlow has
developed the Carlow University 1929 Society.
A group of philanthropic alumni and friends of
Carlow, the 1929 Society seeks to ensure that
the University can plan for the future, confident
that resources are in place to meet the most
immediate demands.
To become an inaugural member of the Society,
individuals are asked to contribute $1,929 or
more to The Carlow Fund during the fiscal year
(July 1-June 30).
A year-round campaign with a mission to keep
Carlow University affordable, competitive, and
strong, The Carlow Fund provides immediate,
unrestricted income where it is needed the most.
With this critical support, donors help provide the
financial resources such as student scholarships
and financial aid, technology enhancements,
library resources, and faculty development.
“Carlow University is a valuable educational
institution to Pittsburgh,” says Larry Karnoff,
principal of Larry Karnoff Consulting and a
friend of the University. A member of Carlow’s
Development and Cultivation Committee,
Karnoff says he is proud to support the new fund.
“When I learned that the school was inviting
its friends and alumni to participate in the
1929 Society with a gift of that amount, I thought
this would be a good way to help the students,”
notes Karnoff.
To learn more about the Carlow University
1929 Society, please contact Karen E. Galentine,
Vice President for University Advancement,
at 412.578.6135.
Michele Rehfeld Atkins ’82
21
ADVANCEMENT NEWS
CAPOZZI KIRR
CHALLENGE CONTINUES
TO PAY IT FORWARD
Barbara Capozzi Kirr ’60 has a
message to tell. She wants to make sure
others know the life-changing quality of the
Carlow experience.
A social work graduate, Capozzi Kirr says
she’s very grateful for the solid education
she received, but also for the perspective she
gained, inspiring in her a love of learning that
continues to this day.
Capozzi Kirr is a former Carlow trustee and
her husband, David Kirr, is a life member of
Carnegie Mellon’s Board of Trustees. They
both know the importance of giving back to
their alma maters, and they have decided to
spread the word about Carlow in the form of
generous gifts that keep on giving.
In 2005, the Kirrs set aside $50,000 for the
Barbara A. Capozzi Kirr ’60 and David M.
Kirr Endowment for Teaching Excellence.
At the same time, they gave an additional
$50,000, creating the Capozzi Kirr Endowment
Challenge. It was a way to share their good
fortune and inspire others to do the same.
Their challenge gift, available in 10 $5,000
grants, would match any individual or group
of individuals or organizations that would give
$20,000 toward establishing a new, named
endowment for $25,000. For each new named
endowment, the Kirrs would contribute $5,000.
Anita Dacal, Carlow University
executive director for philanthropy, says
the Capozzi Kirr Challenge has been
“tremendously successful.”
“It’s so incredible,” says Dacal. “They helped
us in ways you can’t even count. It’s a real,
organic, philanthropic experience. This is
relationship building. It’s understanding where
your money is going and who it is educating.”
Dacal says the challenge has inspired many
to give more—including Georgia Lundberg
Navaretta ’63.
Having pursued a fulfilling nursing career,
first as a U.S. Naval Officer and then later as
a public health nurse and a pediatric hospital
nurse, today Navaretta and her husband,
Gerald Navaretta, live in Kingwood, Texas.
They came across the Capozzi Kirr Challenge
while researching endowed scholarships on
Carlow’s website.
22
“It was too hard to pass up,” she says. “It gave
us a way to give money now, and direct where
the money would go. The Kirr matching funds
were an opportunity to set up our scholarship
earlier than we planned.”
The Navarettas created the Georgia Lundberg
Navaretta Nursing Scholarship, a need-based
scholarship awarded to a full-time junior or
senior female undergraduate student in nursing
who demonstrates satisfactory academic
progress and a commitment to pursue nursing
as a profession.
While the timing was perfect—honoring
Navaretta’s fiftieth reunion in 2013—her greatest
wish was to ensure that young people could
grow from the Carlow experience just as she did.
“Mount Mercy educated me so that I could
pursue my career of nursing and created in me
my love of volunteering, which has brought me
much happiness,” says Navaretta. “I would hate
to see someone have to give up on their dream
because they couldn’t afford it.”
Top: Barbara A. Capozzi Kirr ’60 and David M. Kirr.
Bottom: Georgia Lundberg Navaretta ’63.
MOUNT MERCY EDUCATED ME SO THAT I COULD PURSUE
MY CAREER OF NURSING AND CREATED IN ME MY LOVE
OF VOLUNTEERING, WHICH HAS BROUGHT ME MUCH
HAPPINESS. I WOULD HATE TO SEE SOMEONE HAVE TO GIVE
UP ON THEIR DREAM BECAUSE THEY COULDN’T AFFORD IT.
—Georgia Lundberg Navaretta
CARLOW UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
ADVANCEMENT NEWS
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Two Clark Families Come
Together to Support
Nontraditional Students
For eight years, Pamela Clark ’11 took courses to earn a bachelor’s degree in
theology from Carlow University. In her classes,
the mother of four met other nontraditional
students, many of whom juggled family, school,
and a career.
“I met the most amazing women in my
classes, young and old alike…who were raising
families, working full time, and trying to better
themselves and get an education so they could
get a better job—I admired them so much,”
says Clark.
As Clark’s graduation neared, she realized
her siblings, parents, in-laws, and children
would want to give her gifts. In lieu of presents,
she requested donations for a scholarship for
nontraditional students. And it turns out, an
existing Clark scholarship—the Leonard and
Mary D. Clark Memorial Scholarship—was the
perfect fit. Established by Eleanor Clark Quigley
’75, the fund honors the memory of her parents
and is awarded annually to a female, undergrad
nontraditional student.
“Mary, my mother, was very interested in
education and in my education,” explains Clark
Quigley. She recalls that, when she graduated
from high school, she wasn’t planning to
attend college. Her mother had different ideas,
and convinced Clark to attend Mount Mercy
College—which she did for two years before
quitting to get married and start her family.
When Clark Quigley was in her 40s, however,
she re-enrolled at Carlow, graduated, and
became a first grade teacher in the Norwin
School District, where she taught for 22 years.
Her daughter, Susan Hankowitz, also graduated
from Carlow as a nontraditional student.
“I was a nontraditional student. Mount Mercy
helped me obtain grants and loans,” recalls
Clark Quigley. “I was thrilled to be given a job to
pay off those loans, and it helped me decide that
[starting a scholarship] would be helpful.”
Top: Pamela Clark
’11 and her mother,
Virginia Trovato.
Bottom: Eleanor
Clark Quigley ’75.
ALUMNA ESTABLISHES MILES AGAINST MELANOMA SCHOLARSHIP
A decade ago, Jessica Vega-Rogowicz might have had a different association for
the word “gold”—as in a golden tan.
“During my college years, I was unaware of
the damaging effect of sun and tanning bed
exposure,” says Vega-Rogowicz, who graduated
from Carlow in 2004 with a dual degree in
elementary and special education. “I vacationed
yearly at the beach and started using tanning
beds while I was in college.”
Following two bouts with melanoma, the most
serious form of skin cancer, Vega-Rogowicz
has a different outlook on tanning. She formed
a local chapter of Miles Against Melanoma, a
nationwide non-profit organization that aims
to fight melanoma by increasing awareness;
supporting patients, survivors, and families; and
fundraising for research.
At her alma mater, she established the
Jessica Vega-Rogowicz Miles Against
Melanoma Scholarship, which provides $1,000
for education majors to use for their studies.
Scholarship applicants are asked to submit
lesson plans detailing how to avoid health
hazards like melanoma.
WINTER 2013
Because of Vega-Rogowicz’s efforts to combat
melanoma, the Carlow University Alumni
Association presented her with the first G.O.L.D.
Award, recognizing Graduates Of the Last
Decade who embody the Carlow traditions of
excellence and shared values through professional
achievements, personal accomplishments, and
dedication to the mission of the University.
“Jessica is richly deserving of this award,”
says Rose Woolley, director of alumni relations
at Carlow. “She is a tremendous advocate for
both sun safety and for Carlow.”
The Miles Against Melanoma Pittsburgh
Chapter’s inaugural year was immensely
successful, raising $25,000 to benefit the
University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.
“I had a lot of negative energy,” says
Vega-Rogowicz, “and I needed to channel it
in a positive way. Establishing a scholarship
is one more positive way that I can raise
awareness about sun safety.”
L–R: Joanne Malenock, PhD ’59, president of
Carlow’s Alumni Association Board of Directors,
Jessica Vega-Rogowicz, Suzanne Mellon, PhD.
23
CAMPUS NEWS
2013 SPRING COMMENCEMENT
Carlow University’s 2013 Spring Commencement took place on Saturday,
May 11, 2013 at Soldier’s and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum in
Oakland. The graduating class consisted of 297 (22 men and 275 women),
of which 217 received bachelor’s degrees, 72 received master’s degrees,
and eight were awarded their doctorates.
24
CARLOW UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
CAMPUS NEWS
Prior to the commencement
ceremony, Carlow’s chaplain, the
Reverend Harry E. Nichols, also
pastor of St. Stanislaus/St. Peters
in the Strip District, celebrated
a Baccalaureate Mass for all
graduates and their families at
St. Paul Cathedral in Oakland.
WINTER 2013
25
CAMPUS NEWS
CARLOW UNIVERSITY
RANKS NATIONALLY
IN TOP 20
26
Carlow University is listed in the top
20 private colleges and the top 100 overall
in Washington Monthly’s annual ranking of
more than 1,500 colleges that provide the “best
bang for the buck.” Carlow University is also the
only private college in Pennsylvania that made
the cut for the top 20. Washington Monthly
awards highest marks to colleges that are both
effective and inexpensive.
“We are pleased an independent source
like Washington Monthly has confirmed what
we have known about Carlow,” said Suzanne
Mellon, PhD, president of Carlow University.
“Our mission when Carlow was founded 84
years ago was to not only provide students with
a personalized education that prepares them for
a career and for life, but to educate people who
are not being served by other schools. We are
still fulfilling that mission today.”
Of the 1,572 colleges and universities
considered, only 349 made the list. Each
year, the 44-year old Washington, D.C.-based
magazine publishes a list of the colleges in
America “that do the best job of helping nonwealthy students attain marketable degrees
at affordable prices.” Schools were ranked
according to three main criteria, including
recruiting those with modest means, meeting a
specific graduation rate threshold, and ability
of graduates to earn enough in the workforce to
pay back their student loans.
Carlow was ranked 96th overall (public and
private) and 19th among just the private schools.
Notably, Carlow was one of only three schools
from Pennsylvania among the top 100, one of
only two Catholic schools among the top 100,
and the only Pennsylvania school on the list
of private colleges. The closest top 20–ranked
institution geographically is more than 370
miles away from Pittsburgh.
“Our rankings aim to identify institutions that
are acting on behalf of the true public interest,”
says Robert Kelchen, editor of the 2013 College
Rankings. “The Washington Monthly’s college
guide demonstrates that it’s possible to serve a
variety of public interests and provide a great
college experience at the same time.”
The full list of Washington Monthly’s 2013
Best Bang-for-the-Buck rankings can be found
at www.washingtonmonthly.com.
CARLOW UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
CAMPUS NEWS
CARLOW UNIVERSITY
NAMED TO PRESIDENT’S
HIGHER EDUCATION
COMMUNITY SERVICE
HONOR ROLL
For the eighth-straight year, Carlow students, faculty, and staff
were recognized for their efforts within
the community by being named to the
President’s Higher Education Community
Service Honor Roll.
Launched in 2006, the Honor Roll
is a national recognition program
that highlights the role colleges and
universities play in solving community
problems and placing more students on a
lifelong path of civic engagement.
Carlow has been selected to the Honor Roll
ever since the program’s inception.
“These institutions have inspired students
and faculty alike to roll up their sleeves
and work alongside members of the
community to solve problems and improve
their neighbors’ lives,” said Wendy
Spencer, CEO of the Corporation for
National Community Service.
Carlow students help out locally with
programs like the Youth Media Advocacy
Program and the annual Student
Government Association Fashion Show
which benefits Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Students help out locally, nationally, and
globally through service opportunities
such as Alternative Spring Break.
“This is a testament to the commitment
of faculty, staff, and students in living out
the tradition of the Sisters of Mercy, our
founders,” said Jessica Friedrichs, Carlow’s
coordinator of service-learning. “The
Mercy mission is one that sees service in
the pursuit of social justice as an essential
component to liberal arts education.”
For a complete list of Honor Roll awardees
visit www.nationalservice.gov.
WINTER 2013
CARLOW UNIVERSITY BIOLOGY PROFESSOR
RECEIVES “FIGHTING SPIRIT AWARD”
AT COACHES VS. CANCER EVENT
Laura Schatzkamer’s Triumphant Battle Against
Breast Cancer Earns Honor at Event at Heinz Field
Laura Schatzkamer, an assistant professor of biology at Carlow
University, received the “Fighting Spirit
Award” at the Coaches vs. Cancer TipOff Madness event, one of the premier
basketball events of its kind in the country
and hosted by many area universities’
men’s and women’s basketball coaches, at
Heinz Field on October 2, 2013.
In the fall of 2008, Schatzkamer, who
teaches anatomy and physiology to nursing
students, and is the faculty athletics
representative and advisor to Carlow’s
dance division, felt a lump in her left breast.
“It was small, but clearly not normal,” she
recalls. “My first thought was, ‘This can’t
happen to me, I’m a healthy person, and my
body wouldn’t let me down.’”
That small lump turned out to be cancer,
and she had surgery in October 2008. As
she waited for the surgery to heal and her
chemotherapy to begin, she continued to
teach her classes, but she was aware of a
change in her perspective.
“My world was a new one,” she says.
“Instead of syllabi, I was thinking survival.”
She completed her chemo treatment in
time to be at the pool for Memorial Day
weekend 2009. One year later, she became
a paddler on the Pink Steel dragon boat
team, the Breast Cancer Survivor Division
of the Steel City Dragon Boat Association.
She has not stopped paddling since, and
was featured in a television commercial for
UPMC along with the rest of her Dragon
Boat racers last year. (For more information
about dragon boat racing, please visit www.
steelcitydragons.org.)
“We are a group of women who hang
tight together, are there for each other, and
have a bond that I don’t believe I would
have found under any other circumstances,”
said Schatzkamer when she accepted the
award. “I accept this award on behalf of my
team, because every member of Pink Steel
has a fighting spirit.”
Two years ago, Schatzkamer, a Fox
Chapel resident, became a personal trainer,
specializing in helping other survivors get
back into shape after cancer.
“I’m feeling healthy, energetic, and I
welcome every new day,” she says.
But even with this positive attitude,
Schatzkamer knows there is more to be
done, and her message is both direct
and simple.
“Cancer can strike anytime or anyone,”
she says. “Just when you least expect it,
your world can be turned upside down. We
celebrate survival, but—the truth is—we
don’t all survive. There is more to do, a real
and final cure to be found, and I hope it
comes soon.”
Laura Schatzkamer
27
CAMPUS NEWS
L-R: Susan O’Rourke, EdD, professor and chair
of Carlow’s Special Education Programs;
Pauline Greenlick, adjunct professor, treasurer
of Bright Kids Uganda; Victoria Nalongo
Namusisi; Suzanne Mellon, PhD; and Mary
Burke, PhD, professor and chair of Carlow’s
PsyD (Counseling Psychology) program.
CHANGING THE WORLD ONE CHILD AT A TIME—
VICTORIA NALONGO NAMUSISI
Kwagala Makes Victoria Nalongo Namusisi’s World Go Round.
Kwagala is the Ugandan word for “love,” and her father’s love for her is the reason
why Victoria Nalongo Namusisi, a fisherman’s
daughter, received an education and became a
journalist, a government official, a supporter of
scouting for young people, and ultimately, the
founder and executive director of the Bright
Kids Uganda, a children’s home in the city of
Entebbe that she established in 2000.
“I would hear people say, ‘there goes the
fisherman’s daughter,’ whenever I passed
by,” she told an audience of education and
psychology undergraduate and graduate
students at Carlow University on October 2,
2013. “My father used to tell us that the only gift
he could ever give us was an education.”
Once she had her education and became a
journalist and then a district administrator in
Uganda, Namusisi discovered that her entire
family’s status had been upgraded.
“Once I had my education, I would
hear people say, ‘there goes the district
administrator’s father,’” she said, noting that
there was little difference between her family
and other fishermen’s families except for one
thing. “The difference was that my father took
education seriously.”
28
Namusisi came to Carlow through the
invitation of Carlow professors Mary Burke,
PhD, and Susan O’Rourke, EdD, who visited
Uganda and the Bright Kids orphanage in July.
One of the purposes of the return visit was to
broaden the horizons of Carlow students by
hearing Namusisi’s exceptional story.
“We have very little experience of what
it’s like to live in a country with very little
resources,” said Margaret McLaughlin,
provost and vice president of academic affairs
at Carlow University, who introduced Namusisi
to the audience. “Victoria demonstrates how
much a single individual can influence what
goes on in a country.”
Bright Kids Uganda provides a home
and education for more than 60 children who
have been affected by violent conflicts in
northern Uganda, HIV/AIDS, poverty, and
abandonment. One of the first children she
cared for at Bright Kids Uganda was a young
boy living on the streets of a city in northern
Uganda that was ravaged by war for nearly
two decades. The boy appeared to be no more
than three or four years old; but Namusisi
was stunned when she discovered how old he
actually was.
“He was six and a half years old, but he
was so malnourished that he looked like
he was three and a half,” she said. He had
a swollen face and a distended belly, but,
when she took him to a doctor, she found
he was disease-free. Still, because of the
malnourishment, the doctor gave him only
about two weeks to live.
“If you want to save him,” the doctor told
Namusisi, “keep him warm and give him
food.” But even with that treatment plan,
the doctor wouldn’t—or couldn’t—give any
guarantees that he would survive.
That didn’t deter Namusisi. She went to
see if she could find any parents or relatives,
and when she asked if she could take the boy
with her, she was stunned at the one word
answer, “Take.”
“It was a big shock to me that a whole
human being had no value,” she said. “Life
had lost its value in northern Uganda because
of this war.”
With food, shelter, and especially her care,
the boy thrived, and now he is a teenager,
healthy and strong, but still a grade level or
two behind his age group due to the neglect
he experienced early in life.
“I thank God that through Bright Kids
I had the chance to save some lives,” said
Namusisi, who turned her attention to the
Carlow students in the audience. “You are
blessed in this country. Education is a right.
In Uganda, education is not a right. It is
a privilege.”
She illustrated the impact that education
can have on the children of Uganda by telling
about the impact O’Rourke and Burke had
when they visited in July. A mother brought a
baby that was unresponsive and feared to be
developmentally delayed, she recalled.
“Susan spent a few minutes with the
child touching it on the feet, then the hands,
making sounds for the baby to follow, and
soon he was turning his head and responding
to the sound, something he hadn’t done in
months,” Namusisi said. “The situation was
changed by an expert in just one hour. How
much can we gain by having a team from
Carlow visit Bright Kids for just two weeks?”
CARLOW UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
CAMPUS NEWS
EDNA O’BRIEN TO HELP MFA PROGRAM CELEBRATE
10TH ANNIVERSARY IN STYLE
International Icon Will Be at Carlow on April 5, 2014
Carlow University is pleased to welcome acclaimed Irish novelist, memoirist,
and poet, Edna O’Brien to celebrate the 10th
anniversary of its Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in
Creative Writing Program on Saturday, April 5,
2014, at 7:30 p.m. in the Rosemary Heyl Theatre,
in Antonian Hall on the Carlow campus.
“Edna O’Brien is an international icon,”
said Ellie Wymard, PhD, director of the MFA
program at Carlow.
O’Brien, who has been called the doyenne
of Irish literature, published her first novel,
The Country Girls, in 1960 to much acclaim
and controversy. The novel is credited with
breaking the silence on sexual matters and
social issues during a repressive period in
Ireland following World War II, but it also was
banned—and even burned—in Ireland, which,
for O’Brien, still hurts.
“They used to ban my books, but now when
I go there, people are courteous to my face,
though rather slanderous behind my back,”
she told George Plimpton for his 1986 book,
Writers at Work. “Then again, Ireland has
changed. There are a lot of young people who
are irreligious, or less religious. Ironically, they
wouldn’t be interested in my early books—they
would think them gauche. They are aping
English and American mores. If I went to a
dance hall in Dublin now I would feel as alien as
in a disco in Oklahoma.”
Born in 1930 in Twamgraney, County Clare,
O’Brien’s family was extremely religious and she
believes their strict Catholic beliefs stifled her
imagination. Her parents sent her to a convent,
where the types of literature allowed within its
confines was limited. The first book O’Brien
ever bought was Introducing James Joyce by
T.S. Eliot. She has said that Joyce’s Portrait of
the Artist as a Young Man made her realize
that she wanted to be surrounded by literature
for the rest of her life, and the publication of
The Country Girls made that a certainty.
Overcoming her oppressed adolescence,
O’Brien was anything but oppressed during
the “Swinging ’60s,” where she threw parties
in London that were attended by Marianne
Faithfull, Sean Connery, Princess Margaret, and
Jane Fonda, among others. She was wooed by
Richard Burton, Marlon Brando, and Robert
Mitchum, and Paul McCartney walked her home
late one evening.
The author of more than 30 novels, short
story collections, non-fiction books, dramas, and
poetry collections, O’Brien published a memoir
of her life, titled Country Girl, in 2012.
Scottish novelist Andrew O’Hagan believes
O’Brien “changed the nature of Irish fiction; she
brought the woman’s experience and sex and
internal lives of those people on to the page,
and she did it with style, and she made those
concerns international.”
MFA 10TH ANNIVERSARY EVENTS
FRIDAY, APRIL 4, 2014
The celebration started early with
alumni reading selected works from 10:
Carlow University’s MFA Anniversary
Anthology on Friday, October 4, 2013
during Alumni Weekend.
PRIVATE DINNER FOR MFA ALUMNI AT MONTEREY BAY FISH GROTTO
SATURDAY, APRIL 5, 2014
MFA WORKSHOPS IN FICTION, POETRY, AND CREATIVE NONFICTION
8 A.M.–NOON
VARIOUS LOCATIONS AROUND CAMPUS
OPEN TO ALL MFA ALUMNI
LUNCHEON FOR MFA ALUMNI
NOON–2 P.M.
AN EVENING WITH EDNA O’BRIEN
7:30 P.M.
ROSEMARY HEYL THEATRE, FIRST FLOOR, ANTONIAN HALL
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
WINTER 2013
More information
and tickets will
be available soon
on carlow.edu.
29
CAMPUS NEWS
THE CAMPUS SCHOOL OF CARLOW UNIVERSITY
CELEBRATES ITS 50TH ANNIVERSARY IN 2013-2014
THE CAMPUS SCHOOL HAS GROWN BEYOND
ANYTHING I COULD HAVE IMAGINED.
—Sister Mary Paul Hickey, founder
Although a sixth grade student from 1963 may be contemplating retirement today,
The Campus School of Carlow University—
founded in 1963—is celebrating its 50th
anniversary this year, and preparing for many
more years of educating children.
“For the past 50 years, The Campus School
of Carlow University has been in the forefront
of innovation and creativity in teaching,” says
Michelle Peduto, the executive director and
head of the school, which teaches Pre-K through
grade eight and Montessori classes for ages
3 through 6 and 6 through 9. “As I look at our
dedicated staff and the achievements of our
students, I am constantly amazed at all we have
accomplished, and am excited for what the
coming years hold for our school.”
In September 1963, Sister Mary Paul Hickey
opened the Mount Mercy College Campus
School, for kindergarten through sixth grade,
as a demonstration school for Mount Mercy
College’s (as Carlow University was known
then) School of Education.
“The goal was to provide opportunities for
college students preparing for elementary
school teaching to observe and participate in
excellent teaching and enthusiastic learning,”
said Sister Mary Paul, the school’s founder
and a member of the Sisters of Mercy. “The
Campus School has grown beyond anything I
could have imagined.”
The kick-off event for the Campus School’s
year-long celebration occurred on Saturday,
September 14, 2013, when the Most Reverend
David Zubik, DD, Bishop of the Diocese of
Pittsburgh, celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving
for all the blessings bestowed on faculty,
parents, and their children during its history.
A special remembrance was made of deceased
students and faculty members, and several
awards were presented—including Faculty
Emeritus Awards to Sister Marilyn Froehlich
and Sister Vivian McElhinney, the Legacy
Award to Ruth and Fred Egler, and the Director
Emeritus Award to Sister Mary Paul Hickey.
On November 30, 2013, the Campus School
presented an Alumni Celebration of the Arts
at Carlow’s Kresge Theatre. Current students
and families, alumni, and friends of the
Campus School enjoyed a wine and cheese
soiree and were treated to performances by
Campus School alumni and friends.
The Caribbean Vibes Steel Band, led by
Verna Crichlow, a 2008 Carlow University
Woman of Spirit®, and featuring her two
Campus School alumni daughters, Jeanne and
Georgina Crichlow, delighted the audience
with the sounds of steel pan.
Grace Callahan, a Campus School alumna
and a student at Duquesne’s Graduate School
of Music, performed vocal selections along
with her sisters, Audrey and Celeste Callahan,
also alumni. Other vocalists included the
North Hills Harmony Line Chorus and its
Sunburst quartet, featuring the talents of
alumni parent, Joe Fricker.
Mark Thompson, a professional mime and
husband of Campus School teacher Linda
Wallen, treated the audience to movement
theatre, and Campus School alumna Chareeni
Kurukulasuriya, an undergraduate student at
Yale University, read her poetry.
The 50th anniversary festivities will extend
into 2014, at the annual Campus School
International Picnic on May 17, 2014 and at a
special dinner cruise on Sunday, August 10,
2014 from 6 p.m.–9 p.m. aboard the Gateway
Clipper Fleet’s Empress.
For more information on the events, Campus
School alumni, parents, and friends are
invited to call Maria DeFeo at 412.578.6158.
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CARLOW UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
CAMPUS NEWS
WINTER 2013
31
CAMPUS NEWS
CARLOW OFFERS INNOVATIVE NEW PROGRAMS
Carlow faculty and administration are working hard to create innovative,
new programs that prepare students to meet the current and future needs
of employers. Learn more about these and Carlow’s other new programs at
carlow.edu/academics.
GETTING SOCIAL
Keep a finger on the pulse of Carlow’s
digital social scene by checking out
updates like these at carlow.edu/social.
AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER ENDORSEMENT CERTIFICATE
This flexible and convenient program prepares students to meet the
Pennsylvania Department of Education competencies for teaching children
with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
MSN-NCEL NOW OFFERED ONLINE
Busy inpatient nurses who aspire to be leaders or educators have a
convenient, new option. Carlow’s popular Master of Science in Nursing with
a Concentration in Education and Leadership (MSN-NCEL) is now offered
completely online.
MSN/MBA DUAL-DEGREE PROGRAM
Recognizing a need for nurses to be trained in business management, Carlow
now offers a dual-degree program in which students earn both an MSN (Master
of Science in Nursing) and an MBA (Master of Business Administration).
THREE NEW MBA CONCENTRATIONS
Earlier this year, Carlow’s popular Master of Business Administration
program retooled its concentrations in response to regional employer needs.
The three new concentrations are:
It was a rainy summer,
but sometimes it’s
worth it: Rainbow over
the Monongahela in
June 2013.
Although we can’t
condone hanging
out of windows,
we are quite fond
of this photo from
the 1980s.
• Healthcare Management
• Project Management
• Global Business
NEW MAJOR: CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Students who choose to major in criminal justice at Carlow University learn
from experienced and supportive faculty with valuable connections to law
schools, government offices, and law firms.
ALCOHOL AND DRUG COUNSELING CERTIFICATE
The new, post-graduate Alcohol and Drug Counseling Certificate program
allows students to specialize in the growing field of addictions.
TWO NEW TIME- AND MONEY-SAVING FAST-TRACK PROGRAMS
Carlow now offers two accelerated programs in which undergraduate students
can get on a “fast track” to graduate studies. Qualified students can take up to
12 graduate credits as undergraduate students.
•
•
32
Psychology Early Admission Program—Students can earn early admission
to Carlow’s Master of Science in Professional Counseling program.
RN to BSN with Fast-Track Option—Registered nurses (RN) working toward a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) can apply to take graduate classes that count toward their MSN.
CARLOW UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
CAMPUS NEWS
PLAYFAIR
A few of our newest
Carlow students at New
Student Orientation’s
PlayFair on the Green
in August. PlayFair is
a team-building event
where students to get
to know each other
and celebrate their
similarities and their
differences.
Mercy Service Day 2013
McAuley Hall and the
old smokestack in early
autumn morning sun.
SENIOR DAY
Senior Day at
Highland Park Tennis
Courts on October
12, 2013. Congrats to
our tennis seniors
Amanda Capatolla,
Amber Omstead, and
Supriya Plumley!
Steelers
pre-season
game
MOLE DAY
October 23rd was Mole Day, a play on Avogadro’s
Number 6.022 x 10^23, worldwide and for the
Carlow Chapter of the American Chemical Society
(ACS)! What better way to celebrate than with
their periodic table of cupcakes?
MERCY FOUNDERS FORTNIGHT
As part of Mercy Founders Fortnight
(a celebration of the lives of the Sisters
of Mercy of the Americas who founded
Carlow) there were several opportunities
to walk the labyrinth for spiritual
reflection and stress reduction in the
St. Agnes Center of Carlow University.
Above L to R: Nicole Passarella, president of the
Carlow Chapter of the ACS and Katelynn Marmura,
member of Carlow Chapter of the ACS.
Night of the Celtic
WINTER 2013
33
CAMPUS NEWS
THE NEW
CARLOW.EDU
IS HERE!
If you’ve visited the carlow.edu
website lately, you have
probably noticed our new look!
Designed as a comprehensive
update to Carlow University’s online
presence, the updated site focuses
on the heart of our University—the
alumni, students, faculty, staff, and
community—within an uncluttered,
engaging layout to make your
experience easier and more enjoyable.
Our new website extends beyond
the curriculum to share inspiring
and heartwarming stories. Student
and alumni spotlight stories are
showcased throughout the site to keep
you up-to-date with fellow Carlow
alumni accomplishments and news.
University Communications and
External Relations led the website
redesign charge and launched the
new site in August 2013 with the
help of a great local firm, Mind Over
Media. Behind the scenes, we worked
tirelessly to build more than one
thousand pages and ten thousand
pieces of content, including digitized
photos from the 1920s to next
month’s athletic events. We optimized
the navigation, moving the most
important links to where you’ll look
first—at the top of the homepage. For
current students, there is a quick links
menu for everything from Blackboard
to student e-mail.
Carlow University President
Suzanne Mellon, PhD believes that
the new site better represents the
University’s mission. “The update of
our website reflects the culture and
history of Carlow and the University’s
commitment to transparency in
providing alumni, students, and the
community with the succinct and
accurate information for which they’re
looking,” she said.
While you’re browsing carlow.edu,
let us know what you think. We’re
quite proud of it.
34
CARLOW UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
CAMPUS NEWS
TRENDING
NOW
WEB SPOTLIGHTS FEATURE STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND ALUMNI
Visit carlow.edu to read more
CHANESSA SCHULER
Bachelor of Arts, Mass Media ’12
Chanessa Schuler knew she wanted a career in media.
She also wanted to impact the world around her. Carlow
University helped her do both.
Her current position as a multimedia specialist with the
Saturday Light Brigade (SLB Radio Productions, Inc.) grew
out of a Carlow-arranged internship through the Youth
Media Advocacy Project (YMAP).
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
JOCELYN INLAY
Carlow University sophomore
Jocelyn Inlay, a resident of the
City of Pittsburgh’s Lincoln
Place neighborhood, was
selected for the Irish American
Scholars program, and will spend
the 2013-2014 academic year at
Queens University Belfast in
Northern Ireland.
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
CINDY FICKLEY
Associate Professor, School of Nursing
Accuracy in pediatric dosing is critical. Unlike adult medicine, there
are no standard doses. That’s why Carlow University Associate
Professor Cindy Fickley utilizes high-fidelity simulation (HFS) to make
sure nursing students are on the top of their games mathematically.
DALE HUFFMAN
Chair, Art Department
Nationally and internationally renowned potter Dale Huffman is
an inspiration—and a true hands-on mentor. His students delve
right into the nuts and bolts: Building kilns. Assisting with firings.
Preparing clay. “My goal,” he says, “is for them to learn how to
manage these things on their own.”
FACULTY SPOTLIGHTS
WINTER 2013
35
ATHLETICS
ATHLETIC HIGHLIGHTS
FALL 2013
Women’s tennis, basketball, and volleyball
continue to exemplify the Champions of Character
designation that Carlow has earned.
36
CARLOW UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
ATHLETICS
The recent addition of
men’s cross country has
brought greater diversity
to the athletics programs
offered at Carlow.
Carlow student athletes
excel in their fields;
softball and soccer teams
warm up for the season.
WINTER 2013
37
ATHLETICS
HIGHMARK STADIUM
IS NEW HOME FOR
CARLOW UNIVERSITY
CELTICS SOCCER
Second Consecutive
Successful Season Falls
Short in KIAC Semi-Finals
38
Carlow Celtics Head Coach Marcus
Pollidore and his Carlow University
Celtics soccer team had the opportunity
to defend their Kentucky Intercollegiate
Athletic Conference (KIAC) title on a new
home field this season, and it was a location
befitting a champion.
Carlow University and the Pittsburgh
Riverhounds entered into an agreement for
the Carlow Celtics soccer team to play their
2013 home schedule at the Riverhounds’
Highmark Stadium, a 3,500-seat facility
located at Station Square.
“Highmark Stadium is an outstanding
venue,” said Pollidore, who is in his seventh
season with Carlow. Last year’s team, which
went 15-3-1, including 6-0 in the conference,
won the conference championship with an
overtime win over Point Park University,
and qualified for the National Association of
Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) tournament.
This year’s team made it all the way to the
KIAC semi-finals before losing to Point Park in
a shootout following a thrilling double-overtime
scoreless match. It was a hard-fought game
from beginning to end, and was testimony to
why the Celtics are “champions of character.”
“I want to thank the Riverhounds for providing
this opportunity,” said George Sliman, Carlow’s
director of athletics. “Highmark Stadium is an
excellent venue for our fans and I believe we
attracted new fans to Carlow Soccer.”
CARLOW UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
ATHLETICS
NEWEST INDUCTEES TO CARLOW
WALK OF FAME COME FROM
VOLLEYBALL, SOCCER, AND SOFTBALL
Three Carlow University undergraduate athletes will forever be immortalized in stone for their exceptional performances in and out
of the realm of sports. The Department of Athletics 11th Walk of Fame
Induction Ceremony, held on October 16, 2013, was a commemoration of
the success that Carlow University values in students.
The three inductees honored with stones on the Walk of Fame included
Student Athlete Award recipient Erica Powell, Senior Athlete Award
recipient Amanda Cotherman, and Spirit Award recipient Rachel Blonski.
The Walk of Fame is dedicated to all those who participated in athletics
at Carlow University. The names engraved on the center of the Walk are
those of students who received the Coaches Purple and Gold Award given
from 1980-1981 through 1986-1987 and those who received the Celtic Award
beginning in 1991-1992. The names on the borders of the Walk are alumni
donors who supported the construction of the Walk.
Admiring the newest stones on Carlow’s Walk of Fame are
(L-R) Erica Powell, Amanda Cotherman, Athletic Director
George Sliman, and Rachel Blonski.
WALK OF FAME INDUCTEES
ERICA POWELL
Erica Powell, a biology/perfusion technology major
with a 3.9 cumulative GPA, played a large role in the
Carlow Celtics volleyball team’s academic success.
“Erica’s ability to balance the rigors of competitive
collegiate sports and the demands of a challenging
academic curriculum attest to her self-directed motivation
and team spirit,” says volleyball head coach Julie Gaul.
Powell was named an All-American volleyball
scholar-athlete in both 2011 and 2012, received the
NAIA Scholar-Athlete award in 2011 and 2012, and was
awarded USCAA Academic All-American status.
AMANDA COTHERMAN
Amanda Cotherman, a member of the 2012 championshipwinning soccer team, learned how to juggle more than a
soccer ball during her tenure at Carlow. A nursing major,
she successfully held a 3.392 cumulative GPA while
exhibiting superior performance on the field. She earned a
spot in the Walk of Fame with the Senior Athlete Award.
“Amanda was a huge asset both as a player and a captain,”
says Head Coach Marcus Pollidore. In the championship
game against hometown rival Point Park University,
Cotherman scored the only goal of the game—in overtime.
RACHEL BLONSKI
Rachel Blonski, a 2013 graduate of the biology/autopsy
specialist program, leads her life with spirit on and off the
softball field. Her overall attitude, leadership, team-building
skills, and commitment to success earned her a place in the
Walk of Fame with the Spirit Award.
Blonski was the 2013 Carlow Celtics softball team captain,
chair of the Student Athlete Association, an NAIA
Scholar-Athlete, and USCAA Academic All-American in
both her junior and senior year. “Rachel embodies the ideal,
spirited Carlow student athlete,” says softball team Head
Coach Bob Sirko.
WINTER 2013
39
ATHLETICS
FOR CARLOW CROSS COUNTRY TEAMS, HARD WORK BEGINS TO PAY OFF
Both Carlow University’s men’s and women’s cross country teams were in
their second season of competition this fall,
and began to see some improvement over
their inaugural season.
Both teams competed in five regional
invitationals, with the best finish for both
teams being fifth place (out of 10 teams for
the women and 11 teams for the men) at the
Pitt-Greensburg Invitational held in October.
Director of Athletics George Sliman says the
goal for team membership is about 20 student
athletes, and says, “First year coach Andrew
Rowland is looking forward to his first
complete year of recruiting student athletes
for both the men’s and women’s teams.”
40
CARLOW UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
ATHLETICS
CARLOW VOLLEYBALL HAS SUCCESSFUL SEASON,
SETS SIGHTS HIGHER FOR THE FUTURE
USCAA ACADEMIC
ALL-AMERICANS
KELSEY BONK
Coach Julie Gaul’s Carlow University Celtics volleyball team finished their
2013 season at 21-21, and 5-8 in the conference,
but numbers don’t tell the whole story.
“When you look at the competitive schedule
that we had, we had a really successful season.
And we’re still a young team,” says Gaul, who
notes that the team only loses two players
to graduation, Amanda McKenzie and Leah
Stack. “We constantly improved throughout
the season, and we had a couple of really
successful moments.”
One of the successful moments came early
in the season as the Celtics defeated crosstown rival Point Park University, a pre-season
favorite, to win the KIAC conference, at the
“Jam the Gym” event held at Kiski Area High
School. “Jam the Gym” is a fundraiser for a
scholarship in memory of Kiski’s assistant
coach, Jaime Moran, who died of leukemia in
2012, as well as a way of honoring the former
head coach, Ellen Toy, who is battling stomach
cancer. Toy and Gaul were teammates at the
University of Pittsburgh in the 1980s.
WINTER 2013
Another bright spot was Carlow’s post-season
showing. Seeded ninth in a 12-team field, the
Carlow University Celtics won their first round
match in the KIAC Volleyball Tournament at
Midway College in Midway, Ky., over eighth
seeded Cincinnati Christian, but lost the
second round match to the number one seed,
Asbury College.
Individual honors included McKenzie earning
first-team all-conference status for KIAC, and
also being named a first team All-American by
the USCAA. Carlow’s Volleyball team also had
four other USCAA Academic All-Americans,
which included McKenzie, as well as sophomores
Carly and Kelsey Bonk, and Ashley Grooms.
CARLY BONK
“Since the season ended, I’ve noticed a lot of
our volleyball team working out on their own,
which I see as another good sign for next year,”
says Gaul.
Above (L-R): Leah Stack and Amanda
McKenzie provided senior leadership to a
Carlow Celtics volleyball team that finished
the season 21-21.
ASHLEY GROOMS
41
ALUMNI ACTIVITIES
CARLOW UNIVERSITY HONORS FIVE ALUMNI
AS 2013 CARLOW LAUREATES
Recognized for Outstanding Academic Achievement,
Professional Contributions, and Service
Carlow University’s most prestigious alumni award, the Carlow Laureate, was awarded to five distinguished alumni on Friday, May 10, 2013, at a
luncheon at the Pittsburgh Athletic Association.
Carlow Laureates are recognized for their outstanding academic achievements,
professional contributions, and service. Recipients of this award have risen to the
highest ranks of their chosen professions, have contributed to new knowledge in
their disciplines, and have been guided by the principles of a Carlow education—
one tied to academic rigor, but one also tied to service.
42
CARLOW UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
ALUMNI ACTIVITIES
The 2013 Carlow Laureates are:
Margaret Meis Armen, JD
CHIEF PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE
OFFICER OF MICROCREDIT NOW
Margaret (Margie) Armen, JD, attorney and
activist, graduated from Mount Mercy College
in 1969 with a major in Spanish and a minor
in secondary education. She recently founded
her own firm, MicroCredit NOW, a think-tank
for developing impartial and reliable metrics
for the success of micro credit, cataloging best
practices for the microfinance industry, and
promoting innovation in providing financial
services to women entrepreneurs in the
developing world.
After teaching until 1973, Armen began working
for Stouffer Foods Corporation before enrolling
in the Cleveland Marshall College of Law of
Cleveland State University, where she served
as executive editor of the Cleveland State Law
Review and received several academic prizes.
After graduation, she joined the General
Counsel’s Office of the U.S. Government
Accountability Office (GAO), where she
worked in energy, transportation, housing,
environment, defense, criminal investigations,
Social Security, and education. In 2006, she
retired from GAO with the title of deputy
assistant general counsel.
Armen also led several professional
organizations, among them The International
Alliance for Women (TIAW), where she was
active in TIAW’s Micro Credit Program.
Barbara K. Mistick, PhD
PRESIDENT OF WILSON COLLEGE
Barbara K. Mistick, PhD, began her tenure
as the 19th president of Wilson College in
2011, where she is also a tenured professor of
business. She served as president and director
of The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh from
2005 to 2011, making history as the first woman
president of the first public library in the nation.
Previously, she was a distinguished service
professor of public policy and management
in the Heinz School of Public Policy and
Management at Carnegie Mellon University.
Mistick holds a prominent leadership role in
some of higher education’s most influential
state and national organizations. These include
membership on the board of directors of the
WINTER 2013
Association of Presbyterian Colleges and
Universities (APCU) and the Association
of Independent Colleges and Universities
in Pennsylvania (AICUP), as well as the
Pennsylvania Library Association (PaLA).
Mistick received her Bachelor of Science
from Carlow College, her Master in Business
Administration from the Joseph M. Katz
Graduate School of Business at the University
of Pittsburgh, and her doctorate in management
from Case Western Reserve University.
Carol Awkard Neyland
VICE PRESIDENT OF COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT AT DOLLAR BANK
Carol Neyland earned her Bachelor of Science
degree in classical languages from Carlow
College in 1973. She has worked in the financial
services sector for more than 30 years.
Prior to joining Dollar Bank, Neyland was
responsible for regulatory compliance for the
local office of TIAA-CREF. Before that she spent
26 years at Mellon Financial Corporation, now
BNY Mellon.
Neyland graduated from Carlow with majors
in Latin and Greek and later won a teaching
fellowship to teach Latin at the University of
Pittsburgh. After achieving her master’s degree
in classical languages, she won an appointment
as an academic advisor and completed her
master’s degree in business administration.
Over the years, Neyland has served on a
number of non-profit boards, some of which
included: Girl Scouts of Western Pennsylvania,
the Urban League, Family Health Council,
Pittsburgh Dance Council, Parental Stress
Center, Vietnam Veterans Leadership Program,
Pittsburgh Civic Garden Center, Interfaith
Volunteer Caregivers, and the YMCA of
Greater Pittsburgh.
Sister Cynthia Serjak, RSM
After serving for more than a dozen years as a
music teacher and pastoral musician in schools
and churches in the Diocese of Pittsburgh,
Serjak was elected to the leadership team of
the Sisters of Mercy of Pittsburgh. Her desire
to work with others in making music wherever
they are led her to create a music program
for people who are homeless or at risk of
homelessness in the city of Pittsburgh.
Serjak served as coordinator of music for
the Mother of Mercy Chapel at the Convent
of Mercy, has worked with young women
preparing to become Sisters of Mercy. She
has also served as the director of the New
Membership Office for the Sisters of Mercy of
the Americas.
The author of two books and co-author of a
third, Serjak also composes music, particularly
for the Sisters of Mercy.
Rita McGinley
EDUCATOR AND PHILANTHROPIST,
RECEIVED A POSTHUMOUS AWARD
Rita McGinley, educator and philanthropist,
was born and raised in Braddock, Pa. After
graduating with degrees in biology and
English from Mount Mercy College in 1940,
she embarked on what would be a 45-year
career as a teacher and guidance counselor in
General Braddock and then Woodland Hills
school districts.
She credited her time at Mount Mercy,
along with her upbringing in Braddock, with
inspiring her to dedicate her career, and her
life, to student success. As a philanthropist, she
maintained that dedication to student success
by generously funding The Rita M. McGinley
Center for Student Success—the core of the
newly envisioned University Commons. Soon
to be located in the repurposed Grace Library
at the center of campus, the new University
Commons will become a focal point of the
Carlow student experience.
MINISTER IN THE OFFICE OF NEW
MEMBERSHIP, SISTERS OF MERCY OF
THE AMERICAS
In addition to her Bachelor of Arts degree,
McGinley holds an Honorary Doctor of
Humanities degree from Carlow University and
is one of Carlow’s Women of Spirit®. She died on
February 15, 2013.
Sister Cynthia Serjak, RSM, earned her Bachelor
of Arts degree in organ, music education, and
theology from Carlow College in 1972 and her
Master of Science in professional leadership in
1997. She also has a MFA in musicology from
Carnegie Mellon University.
Opposite Page: Top: Rita McGinley. Bottom
(L-R): Margie Meis Armen, Barbara K. Mistick,
Carol Awkard Neyland, Sister Cynthia Serjak.
43
ALUMNI ACTIVITIES
ALUMNI WEEKEND
October 4–7, 2013
L-R: Georgiann Schaefer ’63 and
Isabel Aiello Sestrich ’63.
L-R: Marie Esquela, Sarah Esquela, France Rossetti (Father
Tavard’s niece), Anna Margaret Loncaric Esquela ’64, and
Camille Rossetti (France Rossetti’s daughter). Both France
and Camille Rossetti traveled from France for Alumni
Weekend: A Tribute to Father Tavard.
L-R: Anna Marie Wiber Nelson ’63,
Mary Ellen FitzGerald Collins ’63,
and Mary Cotruzzola ’63.
First row L-R: Sandy Petro Tracy ’63, Patricia
Kirkham ’63, Nancy Louvris Mulligan ’63, Suzanne
Mellon, PhD, Judith Davies Klingensmith ’63, and
Kathleen Spohn ’63.
Second row L-R: Catherine Cron ’63, Mary Rickard
’63, Dorothy Gerhard ’63, Anna Marie Nelson ’63.
Third row L-R: Mary Ellen FitzGerald Collins ’63,
Barbara Gaynor ’63, Mary Cotruzzola ’63, and
Johanna Boyle Giasi ’63.
Fourth row L-R: Georgia Navaretta ’63 and
Loretta Fox ’63.
L-R: Kathy Lamb, Barbara Hoffman, Dorothy
Kaiser Lamb ’38, and Anita S. Dacal ’69.
44
CARLOW UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
ALUMNI ACTIVITIES
L-R: Mary Scalercio ’73 and
Suzanne Mellon, PhD.
Standing L-R: Judith Davies Klingensmith ’63, Anna
Marie Kocak Kassab ’63, Ellen Ashburn ’63, Loretta
Fox ’63, Anna Marie Nelson ’63, Catherine Cron ’63,
Patricia Santelli ’63, and Katherine Kon ’63.
Sitting L-R: Kathleen Sphon ’63, Sheila Begg ’63, and
Patricia Kirkham ’63.
Sitting L-R: Camille Rossetti, France Rossetti, Suzanne
Mellon, PhD, Bob Vega (Jessica Vega-Rogowicz’s
father), and Scott Rogowicz (husband of Jessica
Vega-Rogowicz).
Standing L-R: Elissa Medore Sichi ’59, Joanne
Malenock, PhD ’59, Barbara Kraft ’83, and Jessica
Vega-Rogowicz ’04 (2013 G.O.L.D. Award Recipient).
L-R: Mary Langdon Duff ’43
and Jackie Dixon ’11.
L-R: Mary Ellen FitzGerald Collins ’63
and Suzanne Mellon, PhD.
WINTER 2013
45
ALUMNI ACTIVITIES
MBA EXECUTIVE IN RESIDENCE RECEPTION
Laura E. Ellsworth, partner-in-charge,
Jones Day Pittsburgh
ALUMNI NIGHT AT PNC PARK
Alumni enjoy dinner, Pirates game,
and fireworks in PNC Park’s Budweiser
Bowtie Bar. L-R: David Onufer, Mary
Onufer ’04, ’05, ’06, and Ciaran Hall.
ALUMNI LEADERSHIP RECEPTION
L-R: Janet Nock ’60, Joe Nock, and
Suzanne Mellon, PhD.
46
CARLOW UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
ALUMNI ACTIVITIES
NATIONAL ALUMNI COUNCIL KICK-OFF MEETING
L-R: Dory Dominguez ’67 and Jeanne Gleason ’60.
NEW YORK CITY
L-R: Rebecca Baker ’95,
Susan Lee ’79, and
Suzanne Mellon, PhD.
LAKE CHAUTAUQUA
SISTER ROSE MARIE HAUBER SCHOLARSHIP LUNCHEON
Above: Top (L-R): Britti Momich, Kristy Giandomenico, Liz Smith,
Rebekah Stern. Bottom (L-R): Barbara Kraft ’83, Maureen McBride
’75 and Keri Baker ’10. Below: The Benefit took place at the
Pittsburgh Athletic Association.
WINTER 2013
Alumni trip to Lake
Chautauqua in front of
the Athenaeum Hotel.
47
ALUMNI ACTIVITIES
NEWS
ALUMNI
EVENT
CALENDAR
JANUARY 25, 2014
WICKED WITH PRE-SHOW RECEPTION
AT BOSSA NOVA
6:30 P.M. BOSSA NOVA
8 P.M. THE BENEDUM CENTER
FEBRUARY 13, 2014
MBA ALUMNI NETWORKING DINNER AND
MBA EXECUTIVE-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAM
5:30 P.M.-8 P.M.
A.J. PALUMBO HALL OF SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY ATRIUM AND ROOM 107
FEBRUARY 22, 2014
FLORIDA ALUMNI VISIT:
SALVADOR DALI MUSEUM TOUR AND LUNCH
ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA
MARCH 29, 2014
THE SISTER ROSE MARIE HAUBER, RSM,
ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP LUNCHEON AND
THE ALUMNI SCHOLARSHIP FUND
11 A.M. TO 2:30 P.M.
PITTSBURGH ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
Jack and Rhodora Donahue ’47
have received the Church ALIVE
Award. This award is given by the
Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese, in
addition to the Manifesting the
Kingdom Award, for proclaiming
Christ in their communities through
their gifts of time, talent, treasure,
devotion, commitment, and love.
60s
Valerie Tucci ’60 is a tenured
professor at the College of
New Jersey.
Jeanne Lese ’61 received the
Hero Award from the International
Veterans Against Mefloquine for
her contribution to research and
advocacy concerning the dangers
of mefloquine and was part of a
historic face-to-face meeting about
mefloquine with the FDA.
Judith Gallick O’Sullivan ’63.
Her daughter, Kathryn, received
Malice Domestic’s 2012 Award for
Best Traditional Mystery; Kathryn’s
novel, Foal Play: A Mystery, was
published on May 7, 2013 by St.
Martin’s Minotaur, a division of
Macmillan Publishing.
Patriciann (Furnari) Brady ’66
retired from Lutheran Social
Services in Sioux Falls, N.D. where
she had worked as a licensed social
counselor for the past five years.
APRIL 26 - MAY 7, 2014
Suzan Kupperman ’67 retired
from her position as a speech
pathologist at Hillsboro School
District in Oregon.
CARLOW UNIVERSITY ALUMNI
SHADES OF IRELAND TRIP
70s
JUNE 2014
ALUMNI NIGHT AT THE PITTSBURGH
PIRATES GAME AND PRE-GAME DINNER
EXACT DATE TO BE ANNOUNCED
48
40s
Sister Maureen Clark, CSJ
’71 worked in the correctional
system for 13 years in Pittsburgh
then accepted a position in the
Massachusetts correctional system,
where she has served for the past
26 years. She has spent most
of her time serving as Catholic
chaplain, working with the female
offender population. A highlight of
her ministry continues to be the
creation of programs that help
reconcile and reunify women with
their children and families. She
received an honorary doctor of laws
degree from Fairfield University on
May 19, 2013.
Judith Kaspic LaSpada ’73 is
enjoying her time planning vacation
bible school for children at Our Lady
of Joy Parish in Plum Borough, Pa.
She also teaches second grade
CCD classes.
Joseph Paul Uranker ’74 has been
accepted to show his work on a new
site, Custom Made.
Eleanor Quigley ’75 is the recipient
of the Presidential Lifetime
Achievement Award from the
Retired and Senior Volunteer
Program (RSVP). Quigley was one of
15 volunteers recognized for more
than 4,000 hours of service through
community projects throughout
Westmoreland County.
Annette Condeluci ’79 received
her MBA in public administration
on June 21, 2012 from Strayer
University, Washington, D.C. at an
event at the Verizon Center.
80s
Vaneeda Bennett ’81 was recently
elected to the board of directors
of the MedStar Health Research
Institute in Hyattsville, Md.
Anne Scott-Hargreaves ’83
graduated in May 2013 with a
Master of Science in nursing, as
a family nurse practitioner and
nursing educator. She currently
resides in Nashville, Tenn. with her
husband and five children.
Judith A. Kaufmann ’84
was a recipient of the 2012
Cameos of Caring Nurse
Educator Award, representing
Robert Morris University.
Tracy Soltesz, PhD ’85 has
been promoted to professor of
anatomy at the Kentucky College
of Osteopathic Medicine, affiliated
with the University of Pikeville in
Pikeville, Ky.
CARLOW UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
ALUMNI ACTIVITIES
Lynne Figgins ’88 is director of
business development for Eyetique
and 3 Guys Optical.
90s
Christine M. Angeletti ’90 was
a recipient of the 2012 Cameos
of Caring Donate Life Award,
representing Children’s Hospital
of UPMC.
Cristen Cuddy-Krebs ’90 completed
her doctorate in nursing practice
from Robert Morris University.
Cuddy-Krebs is the founder/
executive director of Catholic Hospice
& Palliative Services, the area’s
only pro-life hospice; and HALO
(Hospice Advocacy and Leadership
Organization), a nonprofit that raises
the awareness of patient end-of-life
rights and of fraudulent practices in
hospice, a growing concern across the
nation. She resides in Wexford, Pa.
with her husband and five children.
Elizabeth Beatty ’97 was
a recipient of the 2012 Cameos
of Caring Award, representing
Kindred Hospital, Heritage Valley.
Shana Bielich ’98 was chosen as
one of Pittsburgh’s Fifty Finest
eligible and most accomplished.
She was featured in Whirl Magazine
in August 2012.
Ondrea Robinson ’98 was
honored by Pennsylvania Women
Work as one of its Women of
Courage at a fundraising event
October 12, 2012, at the Omni
William Penn Hotel, Pittsburgh.
Rev. Eleanor Williams ’99 will
retire after serving the needs
of disabled and disadvantaged
students in the Pittsburgh Public
School District for 30 years. In
1993 she co-founded the nonprofit
Parents Against Violence.
00s
Denise Abernethy ’93, director,
emergency services, UPMC
Shadyside, has been named the
2013 Emergency Department Nurse
Leader of the Year. Abernethy
received this national award at the
Emergency Nurses Association
Leadership Conference in Fort
Lauderdale, Fla.
Rev. Dorthea (Lorrie) GheringBurick ’00 received the Howard
Chambers Award for Academic
Excellence in 2005, became an
ordained minister in 2006, and
currently serves the congregation
of Buffalo Presbyterian Church,
Sarver, Pa.
Carla Bergamasco ’94 is team lead
nurse for the Prader-Willi syndrome
unit at The Children’s Institute.
Valerie Phillips ’00 has relocated
to Virginia and is coaching
men’s basketball.
Wendeline J. Grbach ’95 was a
recipient of the 2012 Cameos of
Caring Nurse Educator Award,
representing UPMC Shadyside
School of Nursing.
Mayra Patricia Toney ’00 was a
recipient of the 2012 Cameos of
Caring Nurse Educator Award,
representing Mercy Hospital School
of Nursing.
Charleeda Redman ’95 was
honored as one of the New
Pittsburgh Courier’s 50 Women of
Excellence 2012. She is currently the
executive director of corporate care
management at UPMC.
Amanda Harbay ’03 currently
teaches first grade at East Catholic
School in Forest Hills. She obtained
her master’s degree in education
degree from Edinboro University
in 2009.
Sherry Konick-Hoback ’96 has
been director of nursing for the
last six years for the third largest
community health organization
in Florida. Just recently, she was
promoted to chief clinical services
officer. She is currently pursuing
her MBA with a health services
management concentration at
Keiser University.
Denise Schreiber ’03 was
elected to the Garden Writers
Association (GWA) as Regional
2 director, encompassing
Pennsylvania, Maryland, New
Jersey, Delaware, and Washington,
D.C. She is also the local
arrangement chair for the GWA
2014 Symposium in Pittsburgh.
WINTER 2013
Dave Onufer ’04 was chosen as
one of Pittsburgh’s Fifty Finest
eligible and most accomplished.
He was featured in Whirl Magazine
in August 2012.
in Washington, D.C., to end the
War on Drugs. She is returning
to Pittsburgh ready to take local
action, using personal experiences
as motivation.
Jackie Anderson ’05 has accepted a
position as an agent with Farmer’s
Insurance Company.
Melissa Lynn Sharp ’11 was a
recipient of the 2012 Cameos of
Caring Award, representing West
Penn Allegheny Health System,
Allegheny Valley Hospital.
Ashley Esposito ’06 led her second
trip to Beattyville, Ky., where she
and students from Merion Mercy
Academy in Philadelphia ran a
non-denominational bible school.
Mary Reilly Burgunder ’08 was
a recipient of the 2012 Cameos of
Caring Advance Practice Award,
representing UPMC Home Health/
Home Care.
Jenny MacBeth ’09, ’11 is featured
as a subject matter expert on social
media in a new book by Barton
James: Digital Media: A Visual
Encyclopedia: D5liver.
Tera McIntosh ’09 has been
awarded a PhD in leadership and
change from Antioch University. Her
dissertation, “Show and Tell: Using
Restorative Practices and Asset
Based Community Development
to Address Issues of Safety and
Violence,” explores how restorative
practices could help increase the
social fabric within communities
in order to help solve complex
community problems.
Natalie DeCario ’12 has accepted
a position as the communication
specialist for AGB Capital, in charge
of all blogging and social media.
She also works with the presidents
of the four separate companies that
are part of the ABG Capital group.
Christina McLachlan ’12 has
accepted a position as an
administrative assistant at
Soujourner House.
Lea Steadman ’12, Michelle
Lagree, and Meredith Neel, current
MBA students, have, along with
one student from Chatham, been
selected to participate in the Idea
Foundry’s Spring 2013 InterSector
Accelerator Program. The team has
developed and researched a project
called Farm Truck Foods, which
makes fresh foods and produce
available to Pittsburgh’s many “food
desert” communities.
10s
Lisa Costa ’10 was honored as one
of Pennsylvania Women Work’s
Women of Courage at a fundraising
event on October 12, 2012, at
the Omni William Penn Hotel,
Pittsburgh.
Meghan Foy ’10 was rated “highly
effective” in Washington, D.C.,
public schools where she has been
employed as an art teacher since
graduation. She was also chosen to
be interviewed on her views of the
visual arts in public schools.
Kayla Bowyer ’11 is a public ally
at Amachi Pittsburgh, a nonprofit
organization for children whose
parents are incarcerated. Bowyer
participated in a June 2013 rally
49
ALUMNI ACTIVITIES
CONDOLENCES
40s
Mary Margaret Grant, sister of
Eleanor Keener Midgley ’43,
died October 8, 2012.
John E. Kopay, husband of
Margaret Hamas Kopay ’46,
died December 27, 2011.
Dr. Kenneth L. Garver, husband of
Bettylee Weisburg Garver ’47,
died March 21, 2013.
60s
70s
Mafalda “Tillie” Worden, mother
of Sister Judith Worden ’60,
died July 29, 2012.
Mary Jane Brabender, mother
of Cheryl Brabender Walter ’72,
died August 5, 2012.
Marie Similo, mother of
Jean Similo Baldwin ’61, and
Mary Similo Ross ’73, died
November 4, 2012.
Joseph Talarico, father-in-law
of Deborah Grimes Talarico ’73,
died November 25, 2013.
Joseph Rosario Ross, father
of Cynthia Ross Koch ’62, died
September 28, 2012.
Stanley Fajerski, father of
Marianne Fajerski Miller ’75,
died January 27, 2013.
Robert Brenza, husband of
Nancy O’Donnell Brenza ’65,
died August 25, 2013.
Dolores J. Hochlinski Wegrzynek,
mother of Lynn A. Wegrzynek ’75
and Nancy Wegrzynek Miller ’77,
died May 3, 2013.
Robert Edward Lund, husband
of Carol Gagliardi Lund ’66, died
December 27, 2012.
Thomas Joseph McCarten, father
of Patricia McCarten Stack ’76,
died January 8, 2013.
James W. Sham, husband of the
late Mary Elizabeth “Betsy” Sham
’66, died September 19, 2013.
John V. Policicchio, father of
Sara Policicchio Phillip ’76,
died March 10, 2013.
William J. McVeagh, husband of
Angela Valitutti McVeagh ’51,
died November 1, 2013.
Erika Jean Reiber, sister of
Louise Reiber Malakoff ’67 and
Karen Reiber Gethen ’69, died
November 9, 2013.
Paul Vincent Baldi, father of
Sara Marie Baldi ’77, Paulette Baldi
Studdert ’79, and Ann Baldi Rock
’82, died December 10, 2012.
Martin Trichtinger, husband of
Arlene Trichtinger ’52, died
June 7, 2013.
James M. Bukata, husband of
Virginia Kuhn Bukata ’68, died
December 7, 2011.
Mary Ellen Diener, mother of Mary
Kay Diener ’77, died June 10, 2012.
Hugh F. McKeegan, husband of
Joan D. McKeegan ’53, died
October 20, 2012.
John H. Stafford, husband of
Judith Conley Stafford ’68, died
May 11, 2013.
William E. “Billy” Garver, Jr.,
grandson of Bettylee Weisburg
Garver ’47, died March 14, 2013.
50s
Edward J. Corcoran, husband of
Mary Lou Hurley Corcoran ’50,
died September 6, 2011.
Patrick Minnock, father of Bridget
C. Minnock ’78, died August 8, 2012.
80s
Have you recently moved,
gotten married, had a
baby, changed jobs, earned
an advanced degree, or
received a promotion? If
so, please send us your
news, updated information,
or business card, and we
will send you a Carlow
University luggage tag as
our way of saying thanks.
John V. Cannon, father of
Marilou Cannon Hudanick ’89,
died October 10, 2011.
90s
Dr. Sam Toma, husband of
Irene Toma ’93, died
March 18, 2013.
00s
Rita Duffy, wife of Robert Duffy ’00,
died February 25, 2012.
Viola Scozio, grandmother of
Ashley Anne Popojas ’09, died
November 26, 2012.
FRIENDS
Violet Clark, mother of Marilyn Noll
and mother-in-law of Walter Noll,
died December 16, 2012.
William Shaughnessy, husband of
Ava Maria Shaughnessy ’53,
died September 20, 2013.
Jennifer Matlak Andrew, daughter
of Mary Matlak Kleysteuber ’69,
died August 1, 2013.
Mary M. Creighton Kengor, mother
of Marilyn Kengor Cupec ’57,
died December 24, 2012.
John E. Pater, father of Diana Pater
Gardner ’69, Jacqueline Pater
Cortese ’76, and Jennifer Pater
Grieger ’73, died March 25, 2013.
Thomas Donald Lauterbach,
husband of Suzanne Miller
Lauterbach ’83, died March 16, 2012.
Duke Barry Simpson, brother of
Marlene Simpson Gardner ’69,
died July 30, 2013.
Mary Thornton, mother of
Barbara Thornton Nissly ’86,
died May 6, 2012.
Andrew R. Teed, husband of
Patricia Trena Teed ’69, died
August 19, 2011.
Angeline J. Cvetan, mother of Mary
Cvetan ’87, died March 27, 2013.
Emilie van Voorst, sister of
Michele van Voorst, LB, died
January 30, 2013.
Ed Allen, grandfather of Lisa Paugh
Mathey ’88, died July 2, 2012.
Kuna van Voorst, sister of Michele
van Voorst, LB, died June 15, 2012.
John M. Nicolella, brother of
Mary Nicolella ’57, died
November 8, 2012.
Marie Buntag Grigassy,
sister of Ellie Wymard ’58,
died October 19, 2013.
Suzanne Laubach (Our Lady of
Mercy Academy), aunt of
Greg Laubach and sister-in-law
of Angela Laubach Slocum ’58,
died July 19, 2013.
50
Elizabeth “Betty Ann” Heginbotham,
mother of Lisa Heginbotham
Simpson ’82, died March 31, 2013.
James Herbert “Bert” McConomy,
brother-in-law of Eileen and
Thomas McConomy, died August
27, 2013.
Erika Van Oldeneel, sister of
Michele van Voorst, LB, died April
25, 2013.
CARLOW UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
ALUMNI ACTIVITIES
Sister Marie Colette Rittelmann ’45
died June 20, 2012.
60s
Martha Callas Briem ’75
died June 5, 2013.
30s
Sister Rose Ann Dorinsky ’47
died February 5, 2013.
Anne T. Weimerskirch ’61
died May 6, 2013.
Anne Remington Larkin ’75
died September 13, 2010.
Veronica Butler Schulte ’35
died January 22, 2013.
Helene Wolf Merritt ’47
died July 18, 2012.
Elisabeth Benko Anderson ’63
died June 15, 2012.
Megan Lee Sandell ’75
died July 27, 2013.
Mary Agnes Sheran ’36
died July 30, 2012.
50s
Sister Mary Carol Bennett ’63
died October 25, 2012.
Gretchen LeDonne Petruna ’76
died September 2, 2012.
Jane Beck Wells ’37
died June 1, 2013.
Dorothy Arch Mueller ’50
died October 22, 2013.
Mary McClean Zang ’63
died March 1, 2013.
Mary Kay Fabiani ’79
died October 21, 2012.
Jane Fulton ’38
died August 25, 2013.
Dolores Coyne Diercks ’51
died February 14, 2013.
Mary Healy Corba ‘64
died November 15, 2010.
80s
Elizabeth Brown Manion ’38
died September 17, 2011.
Sister Mary Houpt ’51
died September 4, 2012.
Dorothy Sinchak Junio ’64
died November 14, 2010.
Ellen Bruecken Pagnotta ’81
died December 7, 2012.
Rita M. McLaughlin ’38
died May 23, 2012.
Esther O’Toole Ruskin ’51
died September 29, 2013.
Barbara Durbin Lescalet ’64
died January 24, 2013.
Lilia Comer Huguley ’84
died August 26, 2013.
Jean Boslett Sheedy ’39
died April 24, 2013.
Ann Harding Mahoney Gilin ’52
died March 12, 2013.
Barbara Philpott Welsh ’64
died January 8, 2010.
Kenneth Faub ’85
died January 22, 2013.
40s
Yvonne L Paulin Botzer ’53
died September 11, 2012.
Rose Marie Ehmann ’65
died June 3, 2010.
Joan Ann Newcomb ’86
died December 18, 2012.
Rita M. McGinley ’40
died February 15, 2013.
Mary Elizabeth Elliott Rodgers ’53
died November 4, 2013.
Joanne Slominski Keefer ’66
died April 7, 2012.
Joseph M. Laffey ’89
died October 26, 2010.
Marie Yagatich ’41
died February 14, 2013.
Patricia Crowley Stark ’53
died June 14, 2012.
Noelle Nanna Yorio ’68
died October 9, 2011.
Anita Yunker Heger ’42
died June 23, 2012.
Lillian E. DeMarco ’54
died November 24, 2012.
Margaret Mary Tanghe “Peggy”
Suess ’69 died August 10, 2013.
Bonnie Lee ’91
died October 8, 2013.
Gertrude “Trudy” Gross Hendrickson
’42 died April 22, 2010.
Patricia Barrett Aldridge ’55
died April 26, 2013.
Paula Pezzulo Williams ’69
died December 7, 2012.
Robert J. Thomas ’92
died April 29, 2012.
Tessie Mantzoros ’42
died June 14, 2013.
Grace Ammannito Scarsellato ’55
died May 14, 2012.
70s
Mary Ann Klenotic ’99
died October 17, 2010.
Mary Alice Duff Haydt ’43
died September 7, 2013.
Marjorie Amend Haas ’57
died February 15, 2013.
Nancy McCusker Benson ’70
died August 11, 2012.
00s
Sister Mary George Klockgether ’43
died April 18, 2013.
Sister Mary V. Jasiota ’57
died April 2, 2010.
Andrew J. Hungerman ’72
died October 12, 2012.
Patricia L. Carroll ’01
died August 8, 2012.
Sister Mary Florence McClain ’43
died October 24, 2012.
Sister Madeleine McCabe ’58
died July 4, 2013.
Suzan D. Leonard ’72
died May 13, 2012.
Mary Ward Pantalone ’44
died February 25, 2013.
Sister Rosemary Flaherty ’59
died August 31, 2013.
Jennifer Pater Grieger ’73
died September 3, 2013.
IN MEMORIAM
Mary Agnes Barry Dixon ’45
died January 21, 2013.
WINTER 2013
Lucille Lewis Meuschke ’73
died June 8, 2013.
90s
Please send alumni news to Rose
Woolley at rmwoolley@carlow.edu;
by mail at Carlow University,
3333 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA
15213; call 412.578.6274; or visit
http://alum.carlow.edu/index.cfm,
and click “share your news.”
51
ALUMNI ACTIVITIES
MARRIAGES
Maryann Marks ’73 married
William Liss on October 31, 2009.
Jennifer Kennedy ’93 married
Rodney Woodard in March 2013.
Rev. Dorthea (Lorrie) Ghering-Burick
’00 married Daniel Burick, CRNA on
May 14, 2011.
Courtney Ezzo ’07, ’10 married
Jamal R. Smith on January 21, 2012.
Emily Obranovich ’09 married
Randy Denman, Jr. on July 2, 2011.
Kailey Edder-Tritt ’11 married
Jason Tritt on October 6, 2012.
Sarah Montgomery ’11 married
Ricardo Hall on June 29, 2013.
Jenna Schwartz ’12 married
Johathan Flickinger on June 1, 2013.
Kevin Goodwin (graduate student)
is engaged to Christine Spitler;
marriage will take place in May 2014.
BIRTHS
Elizabeth Tomayko ’77,
a grandson, Andrew Richard,
born September 21, 2013.
Katherine (Santypal) Korsak ’05,
a son, Shane Stephen,
born September 9, 2011.
Jessica Vega-Rogowicz ’04,
a son, Andrew (Drew) Scott,
born November 6, 2013.
Katie (Kelly) O’Keefe ’06, twin girls,
Kelly Marie and Elizabeth Joan,
born February 19, 2012.
52
“Alyssa,” 2012, a watercolor
by Carlow art student
Rachel Trainer.
CARLOW UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
the board of trustees
is pleased to announce the inauguration of the
10th president of carlow university
suzanne k. mellon, phd
please save these very important dates:
friday, april 4, 2014
Inaugural Mass · 1:30 p.m. · St. Paul Cathedral · Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
saturday, april 5, 2014
Inauguration Investiture with Procession · 10:30 a.m. · Antonian Theater · Carlow University
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