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Summer 2012 - Providence College

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BREAKING<br />

GROUND<br />

Ruane Center elevates the humanities at PC<br />

SUMMER <strong>2012</strong><br />

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE • A Commencement with<br />

Class Acts • New Heights in Student Research<br />

• The Puck Stops for Bellemore ’66 • Fanatical<br />

Friar Fund-Raising


PROVIDENCE COLLEGE MAGAZINE I SUMMER <strong>2012</strong><br />

04<br />

BUILDING<br />

Momentum<br />

The Ruane Center for the Humanities, named for<br />

Michael A. Ruane ’71 and his family, will be a<br />

landmark that underscores the liberal arts and PC’s<br />

revitalized Core Curriculum.<br />

40<br />

RAISING the ROOF<br />

A flurry of on-the-spot giving propels A Night in Black<br />

and White to a record $590,000 fund-raising take.


IN this ISSUE<br />

22 New Heights Through Depth<br />

Moths and Math. Faces. Phage Hunters. Even<br />

DWC … Student research projects are as varied<br />

as they are enlightening at the Celebration of<br />

Student Scholarship and Creativity.<br />

14<br />

CLASS acts all<br />

34 Anchor on the Ice<br />

Retired Assistant Coach Bob Bellemore ’66 &<br />

’94G kept the Friars’ heralded women’s ice<br />

hockey program on the winning path.<br />

DEPARTMENTS<br />

03 Save the Date<br />

14 1 Cunningham Square<br />

<strong>College</strong> & Campus News<br />

22 Great Expectations<br />

Academic News, Features, & Pursuits<br />

34 Friartown<br />

Athletics News & Features<br />

40 Keeping the Promise<br />

A Focus on Stewardship & Generosity<br />

46 Connections<br />

Alumni News, Features, & Notes<br />

Actress Viola Davis and four alumni — honorary degree<br />

recipients — share the spotlight with nearly 1,200 graduates<br />

at the Ninety-Fourth Commencement Exercises.<br />

64 The Last Word<br />

THIS SYMBOL MEANS you can find expanded<br />

magazine content on the Web at providence.edu.<br />

©<br />

<strong>Providence</strong> <strong>College</strong> <strong>2012</strong><br />

<strong>Providence</strong> <strong>College</strong> Magazine is published three times yearly by the<br />

<strong>Providence</strong> <strong>College</strong> Office of Institutional Advancement for alumni,<br />

parents, and friends. Opinions expressed in <strong>Providence</strong> <strong>College</strong> Magazine<br />

do not necessarily reflect those of the entire <strong>College</strong> community.<br />

1


CONNECT. Share. Network.<br />

Connect with THOUSANDS OF FELLOW PROVIDENCE<br />

COLLEGE ALUMNI AND THE PC COMMUNITY through<br />

these online resources:<br />

PC Alumni Web site<br />

WWW.ALUMNI.PROVIDENCE.EDU<br />

Facebook<br />

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/PCALUMNI<br />

Twitter<br />

WWW.TWITTER.COM/PC_ALUMNI<br />

LinkedIn<br />

WWW.ALUMNI.PROVIDENCE.EDU/CAREER<br />

Alumni Regional Clubs – choose from 15 clubs around the country<br />

WWW.ALUMNI.PROVIDENCE.EDU/CLUBS<br />

Alumni Benefits – short-term health insurance, auto insurance, credit cards, and more<br />

WWW.ALUMNI.PROVIDENCE.EDU/BENEFITS<br />

Give Back – to ensure that future students have the same PC experience you did<br />

WWW.GIVETOPC.ORG<br />

Questions? Please contact the Office of Alumni Relations: 401.865.1909 or alumni@providence.edu


CONTRIBUTORS<br />

EDITOR<br />

Charles C. Joyce<br />

Director of Editorial Services<br />

ART DIRECTOR<br />

Alexi Drago<br />

Director of Creative Services<br />

MANAGING EDITOR<br />

Joseph F. Carr ’83<br />

Assistant Vice President for<br />

Marketing and Communications<br />

CONSULTING EDITORS<br />

David Wegrzyn<br />

Senior Vice President for<br />

Institutional Advancement<br />

Lisa M. Bousquet ’86<br />

Associate Vice President for<br />

Development and Marketing<br />

WRITERS<br />

Staff<br />

Vicki-Ann Downing<br />

Writer/Editorial Services<br />

Liz F. Kay<br />

Assistant Director of<br />

Editorial Services<br />

Chris Machado<br />

Academic Communications Director<br />

Office of Academic Affairs<br />

Student<br />

Genevieve Marie Ilg ’14<br />

REGIONAL ALUMNI & STUDENT EVENTS<br />

July 21<br />

Cape Cod <strong>Summer</strong> Reception, Chatham, Mass.<br />

July 26<br />

Rhode Island Alumni <strong>Summer</strong> Reception, Narragansett, R.I.<br />

August 2<br />

Chicago Alumni Club <strong>Summer</strong> Cruise, Chicago, Ill.<br />

August 9<br />

New Haven Alumni Club <strong>Summer</strong> Reception,<br />

New Haven, Conn.<br />

August 12<br />

Cleveland Indians vs. Boston Red Sox Game and<br />

Reception, Cleveland, Ohio<br />

August 16<br />

South Coast Massachusetts <strong>Summer</strong> Reception,<br />

Fall River, Mass.<br />

August 29<br />

PC Club of New York U.S. Open Event, Jamaica, N.Y.<br />

GOLF TOURNAMENTS<br />

August 17<br />

Shawmut Design & Construction Men’s Ice Hockey Golf<br />

Reunion Weekend, Pawtucket, R.I.<br />

October 1<br />

Fall Vision Cup Golf Tournament, Newport Country<br />

Club, Newport, R.I.<br />

FALL PREVIEW<br />

October 12-13<br />

St. Dominic Weekend, PC Campus<br />

October 20<br />

Friar 5K and Friar Fan Fest, PC Campus<br />

FOR MORE:<br />

WWW.ALUMNI.PROVIDENCE.EDU/EVENTS<br />

THANK<br />

YOU<br />

SENIOR CONTRIBUTORS<br />

Mike Scandura<br />

Diane M. Sterrett<br />

PRODUCTION SUPPORT<br />

Kathy Ashton<br />

Production Coordinator<br />

GRAPHIC SUPPORT<br />

Jesse Hernandez<br />

PHOTOGRAPHY<br />

Rose Lincoln<br />

Tom Maguire ’72<br />

Ashley McCabe<br />

Stew Milne<br />

Patrick O’Connor<br />

Michael Perrson<br />

David Silverman<br />

Kevin Trimmer<br />

EDITORIAL SUPPORT<br />

Department of Athletics<br />

Department of Information Technology<br />

<strong>Providence</strong> <strong>College</strong> Archives<br />

DONORS<br />

MADE THE DIFFERENCE<br />

Over 13,000 alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and<br />

friends donated to <strong>Providence</strong> <strong>College</strong> in the past<br />

year. To each one, we say THANK YOU.<br />

Private support bridges the gap between tuition<br />

revenue and the true cost of a PC education.<br />

Your gift to PC makes a difference to our students<br />

and to the <strong>College</strong>’s future.<br />

To find out more, visit www.support.providence.edu.<br />

3


New<br />

stands tall in symbolism<br />

‘SIGNATURE BUILDING FOR THE<br />

NEXT HUNDRED YEARS’<br />

By DIANE M. STERRETT<br />

Michael A. ’71 and Elizabeth Ruane, who provided the lead gift, share smiles and greetings at the ground-breaking ceremony for the Ruane<br />

Center for the Humanities on June 7.<br />

COVER FEATURE I SUMMER <strong>2012</strong>


This is an education in the humanities, to ask the deepest questions<br />

about what is true, what is good, what is right, what is beautiful.<br />

Davis, four alumni, graduates bask in spotlight<br />

THE WAIT IS FINALLY OVER.<br />

— REV. BRIAN J. SHANLEY, O.P. ’80<br />

Physical evidence of the highly-anticipated Ruane Center<br />

for the Humanities can be seen on campus. The first bulldozers<br />

began site preparation in March, and construction<br />

commenced in mid-June.<br />

Scheduled for completion in summer 2013, the Ruane<br />

Center is a promise kept for the <strong>Providence</strong> <strong>College</strong><br />

Strategic Plan, which envisions enhanced academic<br />

excellence to “establish the <strong>College</strong> as a nationally recognized,<br />

premier Catholic liberal arts college that is a firstchoice<br />

destination school.”<br />

am for this building,” said <strong>College</strong> President Rev. Brian<br />

J. Shanley, O.P. ’80. “It will symbolize the <strong>College</strong>’s<br />

commitment to the liberal arts, the humanities, and<br />

undergraduate education — including the revitalized<br />

Core Curriculum and the Development of Western<br />

Civilization, which remains the cornerstone of the PC<br />

academic experience.”<br />

At the ground-breaking ceremony on June 7, Father<br />

Shanley said the humanities focus on what it means to<br />

be a human and to lead a meaningful life.<br />

“Like Harkins Hall in the past, this will be our signature<br />

building for the next hundred years. I couldn’t be<br />

any more excited about a new academic facility than I<br />

“This is an education in the humanities, to ask the deepest<br />

questions about what is true, what is good, what is right,<br />

what is beautiful.… [Students] ask those questions that are<br />

>>><br />

5


lifelong questions and they read those books that will haunt them for<br />

the rest of their lives,” said Father Shanley. “This building is going to<br />

enable us to provide that kind of soul-changing experience.”<br />

The 63,000-square-foot, multiple-level building is named in recognition<br />

of the leadership gift by Board of Trustees’ chair Michael<br />

A. Ruane ’71 and his wife, Elizabeth. In part, the gift symbolizes<br />

his commitment to academics at <strong>Providence</strong> <strong>College</strong>, Ruane said.<br />

“Building the center is important to advancing our academic<br />

growth, which I think has been understated in terms of perception<br />

in the greater academic community,” said Ruane. “I think<br />

the real value will be that it will serve as a center where the physical<br />

aspects of the building, including classrooms and open areas,<br />

are current and will uplift everyone’s interest in pursuing academics<br />

within the Catholic and Dominican mission.<br />

“It will cause the community to come together in continual improvement<br />

for academics, and when I say community, I mean<br />

complete interaction among faculty, students, administrators,<br />

and alumni,” he explained.<br />

Ruane, a managing partner of TA Associates Realty in Boston,<br />

emphasized this point at the groundbreaking. “A building is simply<br />

a tool,” he told the audience. “It only succeeds when people<br />

in the building achieve the goals of the community — in this<br />

case, academic goals.”<br />

“I’ve always felt that an academic building where the community<br />

could come together was absolutely critical to <strong>Providence</strong> <strong>College</strong>.<br />

As a trustee and chairman of the board, it’s a key part of my job<br />

to be a leader,” said Ruane.<br />

One person who provided leadership early in the building’s planning<br />

process, according to Father Shanley, was former trustee<br />

Edward L. Scanlon ’55 & ’00Hon. The president emphasized<br />

at the ground breaking that Scanlon donated a significant gift to<br />

jumpstart financial support.<br />

A retired executive vice president of NBC, Scanlon said his gift<br />

reflects a deep belief in the importance of the humanities.<br />

“While there are opportunities to support many worthy programs<br />

at <strong>Providence</strong> <strong>College</strong>, I concluded that no program can<br />

produce a truly educated person if there is not a strong humanities<br />

foundation offered to all students. This building affirms that<br />

importance for present and future generations,” said Scanlon.<br />

Symbolic venue<br />

The Ruane Center will serve as the home of the Development of<br />

Western Civilization (DWC) Program, the Liberal Arts Honors<br />

Program, and the English and history departments. It will house<br />

the administrative offices of the School of Arts & Sciences, which<br />

encompasses more than two-dozen disciplines.<br />

The center, which will be located adjacent to the Phillips Memorial<br />

Library and the Albertus Magnus science complex, will be visible<br />

from Eaton Street and near the main entrance to campus. It is<br />

a location that emphasizes the humanities — which incorporate<br />

English, history, foreign language studies, philosophy, and<br />

theology — and complements the <strong>College</strong>’s mission.<br />

“When people come to look at the <strong>College</strong>, they look for places<br />

where learning can happen and be special,” said John M. Sweeney,<br />

senior vice president for finance and business/CFO. “When<br />

students come for their admissions tour, they’ll come up the<br />

walkway from Harkins toward the library, and they’ll clearly see<br />

the importance of the role of the humanities and DWC in the<br />

academic tradition of PC. It makes a statement of what is important<br />

and what is the signature academic program, the core of the<br />

entire PC education.”<br />

A building is SIMPLY A TOOL. It only succeeds when people in<br />

the building achieve the goals of the community — in this case,<br />

academic goals. — MICHAEL A. RUANE ’71<br />

COVER FEATURE I SUMMER <strong>2012</strong>


The chosen site plays a role as well.<br />

“Where the building sits is not an accident. This location between<br />

the library and the science complex links the humanities to study<br />

and research. I think that is a very important element,” said Mark<br />

F. Rapoza ’90SCE, assistant vice president for capital projects and<br />

facilities planning, who is overseeing the construction.<br />

“The building’s location, external design, and internal layout<br />

capture the spirit of our new curriculum,” said Dr. Hugh F.<br />

Lena, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs.<br />

“The generosity of our benefactors allows the <strong>College</strong> to create<br />

bright spaces for teaching, learning, and research that are<br />

appropriate for the next generation of PC students.”<br />

The center’s architectural design is Collegiate Gothic, intended<br />

to highlight its affinity with Harkins and Aquinas halls, the first<br />

and most distinctive buildings designed for PC. Its most prominent<br />

feature is a square tower marking the main entrance.<br />

Inside, the layout incorporates flexible teaching spaces, large<br />

common areas, and technology designed to engage students.<br />

The center will serve as a destination place not just for classes<br />

but for sharing ideas and talking informally. To accomplish that,<br />

the building will be divided into three distinctive areas.<br />

The first area near the tower will be devoted primarily to a large,<br />

double-height “Great Room” with comfortable sofas and chairs,<br />

intended to be a space for lively conversation and informal<br />

study. It will be connected to an outdoor terrace.<br />

“The building will have two lives,” explained Rapoza. “Although<br />

it’s primarily an academic building, after hours it will become<br />

something different. With the Great Room and terrace, it can<br />

easily be used for other <strong>College</strong> functions.”<br />

Impacting teaching and learning<br />

The second area, centrally located, will be devoted to teaching<br />

spaces. The center will have two large halls for DWC lectures<br />

and presentations, two medium-size classrooms, and 12 smaller<br />

seminar rooms for up to 20 students. This configuration will<br />

enhance the Core Curriculum’s new emphasis, and faculty are<br />

looking forward to the teaching possibilities.<br />

>>><br />

7


“The Ruane Center will allow us to have more control of the spaces<br />

in which we teach, giving us various options for seating configurations<br />

and class sizes,” said Dr. Sandra T. Keating, associate professor<br />

of theology and associate director of the DWC Program. “With the<br />

new Core, we are moving toward a pedagogy that emphasizes reading<br />

and seminar discussion in DWC, so the ability to configure intimate<br />

spaces to encourage conversation is key. In addition, we have been in<br />

need of a large, comfortable lecture space that can accommodate guest<br />

speakers and conferences.”<br />

DWC faculty already have participated in two seminars to prepare<br />

them for the changes in teaching style that will be presented by the<br />

new Core Curriculum and the Ruane Center — including one session,<br />

“Teaching with Your Mouth Shut.”<br />

“We are discussing how to make the shift from a lecture-driven program<br />

to a seminar-driven program,” said Dr. Vance G. Morgan, professor<br />

of philosophy and DWC director. “We want the seminar to<br />

become a collaborative effort with the students, and the teacher to be<br />

another student of the text.”<br />

Dr. Sheila Adamus Liotta, dean of the School of Arts & Sciences,<br />

underscored the significance of the Ruane Center to the school within<br />

the context of a liberal arts education.<br />

“The school’s location in the building symbolizes the centrality of<br />

the arts and sciences to a <strong>Providence</strong> <strong>College</strong> education for all of our<br />

students, regardless of major; our strong programs in the schools of<br />

Professional Studies and Business are also grounded in the liberal arts<br />

through our Core Curriculum. We hear over and over that this liberal<br />

arts education is why all of our graduates are so appealing to employers<br />

and graduate schools, since it gives students the tools to think critically<br />

and solve problems,” Liotta said.<br />

She added, “Our home in the Ruane Center will also make the School<br />

of Arts & Sciences, which is still relatively new at the <strong>College</strong>, more<br />

visible to faculty and students, placing us in this hub of intellectual<br />

life, where every student and a large number of faculty will spend<br />

significant amounts of time on academic pursuits.”<br />

Students are just as excited about the building.<br />

“This building will give professors in the humanities the flexibility to<br />

teach in the ways they find best. We’ll have a variety of classrooms, and<br />

for the first time, enough classrooms to meet all of our needs,” said Dr.<br />

Stephen J. Lynch, professor of English and director of the Liberal Arts<br />

Honors Program.<br />

“A building devoted to the humanities … gives the new Core a new<br />

image,” said Clare E. Carroll ’14 (Merrick, N.Y.), an English major<br />

with a business studies minor. “I think the new study spaces will<br />

encourage students to engage with the material individually and in<br />

study groups. There are several main places on campus where students<br />

venture to study, and the Ruane Center may develop into another<br />

choice location.”<br />

COVER FEATURE I SUMMER <strong>2012</strong>


The third area of the center will consist of offices for faculty members<br />

and department headquarters. Moving the English and history<br />

departments here will free up substantial space in the library.<br />

“That will allow for some innovative uses that will bridge the library<br />

sciences and technology, enabling us to be more responsive to how<br />

students research,” said Sweeney. “I see us going in a greater direction<br />

with information technology in the library where we will be able to<br />

provide multimedia support for students of all majors.”<br />

Ruane notes the building also may inspire alumni.<br />

“I’m hoping as they become aware of the center and the type of<br />

activities housed there, that they will reflect on their own experiences<br />

as students from an academic point of view and realize how fruitful<br />

they were. As alums, we often associate our good feelings of PC with<br />

the people we met, but I think when a lot of us look back we see we<br />

had very strong academic experiences here. So, it may also inspire<br />

alums to be more involved,” Ruane said.<br />

Construction, which is estimated to cost $20 million, began in earnest<br />

after the ground-breaking ceremony. Installation of most of<br />

the utilities needed to support the building took place previously,<br />

enabling contractors to build without the interference and potential<br />

time delays associated with utility lines.<br />

Form follows function<br />

The S/L/A/M Collaborative and Sullivan Buckingham Architects<br />

LLC were the architectural firms chosen to design the building after<br />

several firms presented their ideas.<br />

The two firms offered the most creative ideas and exhibited the clearest<br />

recognition of the importance of housing the programs that are at<br />

the heart of the Core Curriculum, said <strong>College</strong> leaders.<br />

The architects’ eagerness to collaborate with the campus community<br />

in the development of the design was another key factor in their<br />

selection. Morgan, the DWC Program director, said S/L/A/M and<br />

Sullivan Buckingham would not present a finished design up front.<br />

The project’s construction lead and manager is Dimeo Construction<br />

Company of <strong>Providence</strong>.<br />

As a final touch, the <strong>College</strong> is planning to light the center’s tower<br />

distinctly, Rapoza said.<br />

“At night, there will be a low glow from the library and the science<br />

complex on either side, but the tower will stick out very prominently<br />

in the darkness. It will be somewhat of a beacon, in more ways than<br />

one,” he said. •<br />

Diane M. Sterrett of Tiverton, R.I., is a senior contributor for <strong>Providence</strong><br />

<strong>College</strong> Magazine.<br />

“They said, ‘We want to talk to you about what we need to do to<br />

accommodate you in this project.’ They said, ‘Every building has one type<br />

of room that is its building block — yours is the seminar room.’ That’s<br />

when I realized they had gotten what we were up to,” said Morgan.<br />

Top: The Ruane family stands on the future site of the new humanities<br />

center. From left are Michael ’71 and Elizabeth, and their children,<br />

Colin, Caitlin, and Justin.<br />

“The school’s [the School of Arts & Sciences] location in the building symbolizes<br />

the centrality of the arts and sciences to a <strong>Providence</strong> <strong>College</strong> education for<br />

ALL OF OUR STUDENTS.”<br />

— DR. SHEILA ADAMUS LIOTTA<br />

9


By DIANE M. STERRETT<br />

With more than $500,000 worth of information technology equipment, the Ruane Center for the<br />

Humanities will be more than ready when it opens in 2013 for that fall’s incoming Class of 2017 and<br />

subsequent classes — a cohort that has likely never known education without computers.<br />

“The process of information flow and learning has all changed,<br />

and we have to keep up in terms of how students are exposed to<br />

knowledge, can absorb knowledge, and can use knowledge for their<br />

future,” said Bernard G. Colo, C.A.G.S., CTS, director of Academic<br />

Media Services. “We have a responsibility to get as much information<br />

to them through as many senses as possible, and open more avenues<br />

of learning.”<br />

The equipment also will prepare students for a world that will require<br />

an increased fluency in technology.<br />

“It’s not just business students; if you’re in the medical field, the sciences,<br />

or the humanities, the ability to research requires use of technology,<br />

communications with other scholars who might be halfway<br />

around the world. We are preparing students to be gainfully employed,”<br />

Colo said.<br />

Careful planning and research are under way to ensure that the chosen<br />

technology is future-proof to meet the needs of the curriculum, faculty,<br />

and students, and is fiscally responsible. Here are highlights of what’s<br />

currently planned:<br />

and students to present documents and graphic material and<br />

annotate the images, then save and send them to a local server,<br />

the cloud, or to the <strong>College</strong> Learning Management Software for<br />

students’ password-protected access.<br />

• The larger of the two intermediate-size classrooms will have three<br />

projectors and screens with individualized inputs, providing faculty<br />

and students the ability to present, compare, and contrast<br />

data in an interactive environment. The smaller classroom will<br />

have two projectors and screens.<br />

• High-density, wireless Internet access hubs in the ceiling will<br />

provide robust connectivity, allowing more students to connect<br />

and maintain speed.<br />

Rebecca L. Ramos, assistant vice president for information technology,<br />

pointed out that the Ruane Center will be equipped as comprehensively<br />

as the classrooms in Harkins Hall, where major renovations<br />

were completed in summer 2011.<br />

Importantly, said Ramos, the Ruane Center will be wired to meet<br />

future needs, with ample cable installed for videoconferencing and<br />

other purposes.<br />

• Seminar rooms will have LCD annotation monitors with an<br />

accompanying Windows computer. These will allow faculty<br />

“No detail has been overlooked,” said Colo. •<br />

We have to keep up in terms of how students are exposed to knowledge,<br />

can absorb knowledge, and can use knowledge for their future.<br />

— BERNARD G. COLO<br />

COVER FEATURE I SUMMER <strong>2012</strong>


RUANE CENTER FOR THE HUMANITIES<br />

Interior Features<br />

Up to 2,000 students<br />

could visit the building<br />

each day for classes<br />

11 SEMINAR ROOMS<br />

with flexible layout for up<br />

to 20 students each<br />

1 ADDITIONAL SEMINAR ROOM in the tower<br />

for the Liberal Arts Honors Program (will<br />

be home to the <strong>College</strong>’s iconic Woodrow<br />

Wilson Table)<br />

16,800 SQUARE FEET<br />

(approximately) of instructional space<br />

400-PLUS TONS of steel in the<br />

building (800,000 lbs.)<br />

70 FACULTY OFFICES<br />

(approximately)<br />

3,700 SQUARE FEET of common<br />

space with Great Room and café<br />

1<br />

CAFÉ<br />

HOME TO 213 English majors &<br />

205 history majors<br />

120 -SEAT LECTURE HALL<br />

with 38 permanent microphones mounted<br />

on student desks, 3 projectors and screens,<br />

and 4 video cameras<br />

Exterior Features<br />

150 -SEAT LECTURE HALL with 3 projectors and screens, and<br />

4 60-inch LCD flat screens<br />

63,000<br />

SQUARE FEET<br />

50-FOOT-TALL<br />

Gothic tower entrance<br />

20-FOOT BY- 60-FOOT terrace<br />

off the Great Room for indoor/<br />

stories on<br />

outdoor functions<br />

Eaton Street<br />

side<br />

OUTDOOR CLASSROOM,<br />

1 landscaped in tiers for seating 475 windows 5 entrances<br />

30 -FOOT-LONG glassed-in passageway to library<br />

3<br />

2<br />

stories on<br />

campus side<br />

172,618 BRICKS along with pre-cast architectural concrete<br />

11<br />

11


The building’s location, external design, and internal<br />

layout capture the SPIRIT of our new curriculum.<br />

— DR. HUGH F. LENA<br />

Above: Clare Carroll ’14 presents a gift to Elizabeth<br />

and Michael A. Ruane ’71 on behalf of the student<br />

body — a framed architectural drawing of the new<br />

humanities building. Right: Posing with shovels at<br />

the groundbreaking are, from left, Bill Cone, landscape<br />

architect with S/L/A/M Collaborative; William<br />

Buckingham, design architect and principal in<br />

Sullivan Buckingham Architects LLC; Neil Martin,<br />

design architect with S/L/A/M; Elizabeth and<br />

Michael A. Ruane ’71; <strong>College</strong> President Rev. Brian<br />

J. Shanley, O.P. ’80; Daniel S. Kantor ’92, principal<br />

and chief financial officer for S/L/A/M; Gerald<br />

J. Sullivan ’86, project manager and principal<br />

in Sullivan Buckingham; Rick Plovino, principal<br />

in charge with S/L/A/M; and Casey Nicholson,<br />

planner for S/L/A/M.<br />

COVER FEATURE I SUMMER <strong>2012</strong>


TO ALUMNI ARCHITECTS,<br />

this building is one for the ages<br />

By VICKI-ANN DOWNING<br />

The Ruane Center for the Humanities was designed by the S/L/A/M Collaborative of<br />

Glastonbury, Conn., and Sullivan Buckingham Architects LLC of Boston — each with a<br />

strong <strong>Providence</strong> <strong>College</strong> connection.<br />

Daniel S. Kantor ’92 is a principal and the chief financial officer<br />

for S/L/A/M. Gerald J. Sullivan ’86 is a principal in Sullivan<br />

Buckingham and a former S/L/A/M architect.<br />

Both were involved in previous projects at the <strong>College</strong>, including<br />

the design of St. Dominic Chapel, the Smith Center for the Arts,<br />

the Center for Catholic and Dominican Studies, and the renovations<br />

of Harkins Hall, St. Catherine of Siena Hall, and Phillips<br />

Memorial Library.<br />

For each, the Ruane Center is something special.<br />

“We’re very excited about the project,” said Kantor. “It’s a really big<br />

opportunity. PC is redefining the Development of Western<br />

Civilization Program, and it’s going to have a significant impact<br />

on the <strong>College</strong>. While challenging, it’s been a lot of fun so far,<br />

and we look forward to getting the building to the point where<br />

people can see its impact.”<br />

Sullivan, who is project manager for the Ruane Center, said the<br />

DWC curriculum had a “profound effect” on his approach to<br />

architecture and design.<br />

“The synthesis of knowledge and the integration of multiple<br />

disciplines espoused by the DWC Program become ingrained<br />

in your psyche,” Sullivan said. “Like DWC, the design of the<br />

Ruane Center integrates multiple design disciplines into a<br />

unified whole. Stylistically, the design strives to look toward the<br />

future while remembering the past.”<br />

Kantor was a PC undergraduate studying computer science and<br />

mathematics when he joined S/L/A/M. He has been CFO since<br />

1999. Kantor and his wife, Alana L. (Tarro) Kantor ’93, have<br />

three children. He was one of four committee members who<br />

planned this year’s Class of 1992 reunion.<br />

“I’ve been personally invested in the work that S/L/A/M has<br />

done at PC,” said Kantor. “I come up to campus to see the projects<br />

as they progress and work through to completion.”<br />

Designing projects for the <strong>College</strong> as an alumnus is “always a<br />

pretty powerful experience,” said Sullivan.<br />

Sullivan studied psychology at PC. His first architectural<br />

work for the <strong>College</strong> was done with Keefe Associates. He is<br />

married with four children, and his parents and three siblings<br />

also are alumni. •<br />

Designing projects for the <strong>College</strong> as an alumnus is “always a<br />

pretty powerful experience.”<br />

— GERALD J. SULLIVAN ’86<br />

13


CLASS ACTS rule<br />

commencement stage<br />

Davis, four alumni, graduates share spotlight<br />

1 CUNNINGHAM SQUARE FEATURE I SUMMER <strong>2012</strong>


Actress Viola Davis, the Central Falls, R.I., native whose performances in The Help and Doubt won<br />

her Academy Award nominations, urged 1,200 graduates at the <strong>College</strong>’s 94th Commencement<br />

Exercises in May to persevere in discovering their “authentic selves” and their divine purpose.<br />

“The most important days in your life are the day you were born<br />

and the day you discover why you were born,” said Davis, who was<br />

awarded an honorary doctor of fine arts degree and delivered the<br />

Commencement Address.<br />

Davis warned graduates of the Class of <strong>2012</strong> that “your authentic self<br />

is trapped under the weight of the most negative forces in this world<br />

… everyone else’s dreams, desires, definitions of success, greed, the<br />

exchange of love and family for money and possessions, entitlement<br />

with no sense of responsibility, and the most frightening demon of<br />

all, lack of purpose.”<br />

Davis discussed how her life was transformed by events she did not<br />

anticipate in her youth — marriage, motherhood, and the death of<br />

her father. She closed with a dramatic recitation of the monologue<br />

from the play The Colored Museum.<br />

<strong>College</strong> President Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P. ’80 called Davis “an inspiring<br />

role model for those who seek to overcome adversity” through<br />

perseverance, hope, and faith.<br />

Honorary degrees also were awarded to four alumni:<br />

Catherine “Cammi” Granato ’93, U.S. Olympic women’s ice hockey<br />

gold medalist and an entrepreneur, was awarded an honorary doctor<br />

of humanities degree. A Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, she was<br />

lauded as a leader and role model who rose to compete at the top level<br />

of her sport despite a lack of opportunity for female players. One of<br />

her business ventures, Bela Hockey, develops hockey equipment and<br />

apparel for girls.<br />

Paul A. Kearney, Jr., M.D., FACS ’75, professor of surgery at the<br />

University of Kentucky Medical Center, was awarded an honorary<br />

doctor of science degree. Kearney was praised as “an innovative clinician<br />

and groundbreaking research scientist” who volunteers to serve<br />

the needy and the uninsured. Kearney is one of nine siblings, eight<br />

of them PC alumni.<br />

Deacon Patrick J.A. Moynihan ’99G, president of The Haitian<br />

Project, was awarded an honorary doctor of humanitarian service<br />

degree. The nonprofit organization operates the Louverture Cleary<br />

School, a Catholic secondary boarding school that serves 350 needy<br />

students. Moynihan, president from 1996-2006, made the commitment<br />

to return to Haiti with his family in 2009 to support the school<br />

and its mission. •<br />

Charles J. Goetz, Ph.D. ’61, the Joseph M. Hartfield Chair Emeritus<br />

of the University of Virginia School of Law, received an honorary<br />

doctor of laws degree. Goetz, self-taught in the law, was recognized<br />

for his pioneering work in law and economics and for being “an inspiring<br />

teacher, a prolific researcher, and a dedicated public servant.”<br />

Opposite page: Actress Viola Davis implores graduates not to fall victim<br />

to a “lack of purpose” in her Commencement Address. Top: In addition<br />

to Davis, the <strong>College</strong> bestowed honorary degrees on, from left, Charles J.<br />

Goetz, Ph.D. ’61, Catherine “Cammi” Granato ’93, Paul A. Kearney,<br />

Jr., M.D., FACS ’75, and Deacon Patrick J.A. Moynihan ’99G.<br />

15


266 UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES with<br />

Honors (summa cum laude, magna cum laude,<br />

cum laude)<br />

BACCALAUREATE GRADUATES with at<br />

least one parent who graduated from PC<br />

Above: From left, Patricia Alber<br />

’12, Elaina Al-Nimri ’12, holding<br />

her decorated cap, Dan Anderson<br />

’12, and Emilie Audette ’12 stand<br />

during “The Star-Spangled Banner”<br />

at Commencement Exercises.<br />

Above: Rev. Mark D. Nowel,<br />

O.P., dean of undergraduate and<br />

graduate studies, congratulates<br />

the students who graduated with<br />

perfect 4.0 GPAs for eight semesters<br />

and highest in academic rank<br />

honors: Emma Wright ’12 and<br />

Michael A. Wahl ’12.<br />

Above: <strong>College</strong> President Rev. Brian J.<br />

Shanley, O.P. ’80 awards a bachelor of<br />

science degree to Michael A. Surette ’12.<br />

1 CUNNINGHAM SQUARE FEATURE I SUMMER <strong>2012</strong><br />

Left: Amberly Glitz ’12, right, laughs<br />

as her twin sister, Caitlin, removes<br />

patches from her shoulder, signifying<br />

her transition to U.S. Army<br />

2nd lieutenant, during the ROTC<br />

Commissioning ceremony. Fifteen<br />

students were commissioned.


Left: Alexander Tweel ’12, left, and<br />

Greg DiCiancia ’12 pose for a photo<br />

before the Commencement Mass.<br />

Below: Student Alumni Association<br />

President Jenna M. Borkoski ’12<br />

and her father, Charles M. “Chuck”<br />

Borkoski ’71, shared their story at the<br />

Legacy Dinner on Commencement<br />

Weekend. Jenna’s maternal grandfather,<br />

the late Joseph A. Baggott, was a<br />

member of the Class of 1927.<br />

1,197<br />

DEGREES<br />

AWARDED<br />

250 STUDY ABROAD PARTICIPANTS<br />

(Undergraduate Day School)<br />

422 ENGAGED in Student Government/<br />

Campus Leadership Positions (Undergraduate<br />

Day School)<br />

Right: Mompati “Mo” Maruping<br />

’12, right, checks out a photograph<br />

with Laurie Moise ’12, left,<br />

and her aunt, Martine Estimé,<br />

during a family reception after<br />

the Commencement Mass.<br />

2,000<br />

Live Web stream viewers<br />

To view the Web stream<br />

and a time-lapse video,<br />

go to: www.providence.<br />

edu/commencement<br />

17


Chris Muyo ’12G Emma Wright ’12<br />

Tylea Richard ’04<br />

Three graduates awarded Fulbrights<br />

By LIZ F. KAY<br />

for overseas teaching, research<br />

Two recent PC graduates — one from the undergraduate<br />

day school and the other from the graduate<br />

education program — and an alumna of the Class of<br />

2004 were selected this spring to teach or research<br />

abroad through the prestigious Fulbright program,<br />

sponsored by the United States government.<br />

Two received English Teaching Assistantships. Emma Wright ’12 (Lake<br />

Hill, N.Y.), who graduated summa cum laude in May with a major in<br />

history and minors in French and German, will teach in Germany. Chris<br />

Muyo ’12G (Martinez, Calif.), another May graduate, will take the skills<br />

he developed through the <strong>Providence</strong> Alliance for Catholic Teachers<br />

(PACT) program to Malaysia.<br />

The third Fulbright recipient, Tylea Richard ’04 of Brooklyn, N.Y., will<br />

research the quality of life of garment workers in the Dominican Republic.<br />

The Fulbright Program is an international education exchange opportunity<br />

that promotes mutual understanding between the United States and<br />

other countries. Annually, about 1,700 U.S. citizens pursue research or<br />

teaching in more than 155 countries through the program.<br />

In 2011, two PC seniors were awarded teaching assistantships: Alexandra<br />

E. BetGeorge ’11, who went to Bulgaria, and Leah Glass ’11, who traveled<br />

to Turkey.<br />

1 CUNNINGHAM SQUARE FEATURE I SUMMER <strong>2012</strong><br />

Wright will assist an English-language teacher 12 to 14 hours a week and<br />

lead an after-school program for middle-school students in Germany. A<br />

vegan, she also will compare American and German food policies and the<br />

health of their citizens. She plans to attend law school and wants to pursue<br />

a career in sustainable food policy.<br />

Muyo, who majored in English at Villanova University, has attended<br />

Catholic schools his whole life. For the past two years, he taught English<br />

at Holyoke Catholic High School in Chicopee, Mass., as part of PACT,<br />

which offers students free tuition as they pursue master’s degrees in education<br />

while they teach in Catholic diocesan schools. He is the first graduate<br />

in PACT’s 10-year history to be awarded a Fulbright assistantship.<br />

Muyo said he is excited to have the opportunity to live in a country that<br />

is not predominantly Christian and to expose other people to American<br />

culture.<br />

Richard, who was a public and community service studies major and<br />

a Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholar at PC, started studying garment<br />

workers’ rights as part of her senior capstone project.<br />

After graduation, she worked for nonprofits in Washington, D.C., and<br />

a labor union, and was a production assistant in a Nicaraguan garment<br />

factory.<br />

She earned a master’s degree in business and labor studies at New York<br />

University. Now, Richard oversees administration, operations, and finance<br />

for Holstee, an eco-conscious clothing and accessories company. •


FROM BUFFALO TO BARCELONA ...<br />

An Alternative Spring Break<br />

PC students selecting alternative Spring Break experiences in March participated in foreign service and immersion<br />

trips, in Habitat for Humanity home and property work, and in the Liberal Arts Honors Program’s annual Spring<br />

Break journey to Europe.<br />

scrapbook<br />

STUDENT PARTICIPANTS: 240 • COUNTRIES VISITED: Dominican Republic - Ecuador - Mexico - Peru - Spain<br />

Habitat for Humanity<br />

One hundred twenty students went to 12 locations in 8 states to work<br />

for Habitat for Humanity: Baltimore, Md.; Buffalo, N.Y.; Burlington,<br />

N.C.; Coatesville, Pa.; Concord, N.C.; Glade Spring, Va.; Lewisburg,<br />

W.Va.; Lexington, Va.; Oak Ridge, Tenn.; Pittsboro, N.C.; Wilmington,<br />

Del.; York, Pa.<br />

Immersion Experience in Ecuador<br />

Seventeen students studying the theme “Visualizing Peace and Justice”<br />

journeyed to Ecuador to take photographs. Among them was Colleen<br />

Hayes ’13 (Bradford, Mass.), shown above with a child in a Quechua<br />

indigenous community in Pijal. The students were enrolled in crossdisciplinary<br />

courses, The Global Community Lens and Peace and Justice.<br />

In a new twist for Habitat participants, alumni hosted students for<br />

dinner as a gesture of hospitality in two locations. Above, Amy<br />

(Colagiovanni) Martinez ’98, far right, and her son, Diego, gather<br />

with students in Rockville, Md. Students working in Buffalo, N.Y.,<br />

also enjoyed a homemade meal at the home of Richard Friedman ’03<br />

and his wife, Kelly Mack ’04.<br />

Honors Program Trip to Barcelona<br />

<strong>College</strong> President Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P. ’80 was among seven<br />

faculty who accompanied 60 students in the Liberal Arts Honors Program<br />

on their Spring Break trip to Barcelona, Spain.<br />

The trip was AWESOME. We did tons of things — stuccoing the foundation, painting, siding, caulking,<br />

and spreading grass seed. As a group, we had a ton of fun living together, cooking together, and playing<br />

games. We took a trip to a river and went swimming — everyone became friends.<br />

— Joseph Slattery ’13 (Mount Airy, Md.), Habitat volunteeer in Lexington, Va.<br />

19


STUDENTS gobble up<br />

tips for business meals, attire<br />

While a job interview or pow-wow<br />

Here are key tips from Freedman and the alumni panel:<br />

with the boss can be stressful enough,<br />

conducting these meetings over food<br />

increases the discomfort potential.<br />

But the PC students who attended the Etiquette<br />

Dinner and Fashion Tutorial this spring can nosh<br />

with confidence, thanks to tips shared by Elizabeth<br />

Freedman, the author of Work 101: Learning the<br />

Ropes of the Workplace without Hanging Yourself<br />

(Delta, 2007). She was joined by an alumni panel<br />

that offered advice to students on what to wear to<br />

business casual events and interviews.<br />

Top: Author Elizabeth Freedman, left, demonstrates<br />

proper soup consumption technique as Chloe A.<br />

Darche ’15 (Spring Lake, N.Y.), center, laughs while<br />

following her directions during the Etiquette Dinner.<br />

01.<br />

02.<br />

03.<br />

04.<br />

05.<br />

Follow your host’s lead and — unless invited to do otherwise — wait<br />

for him or her to sit down, look at the menu, or eat, Freedman said.<br />

It’s not about the food, she said, so no sopping up sauces with bread or<br />

slurping soup loudly.<br />

Always order foods that “preserve your dignity” — nothing that<br />

requires eating with your hands or is messy, Freedman recommended.<br />

Observe other people to gauge what clothing is considered appropriate,<br />

even by staking out the building ahead of time to see what co-workers<br />

are wearing, suggested Kate Kennedy ’92, a human resources consultant.<br />

For example, jeans may be fine at a more casual firm, especially<br />

with flats or formal shoes, said Sarah Walker ’81, senior human resources<br />

manager at General Dynamics Corp. Shorter skirts or higher<br />

heels may work in fashion-forward industries, especially when paired<br />

with hose, said Kerri Coletta ’07, a store administrator for Nordstrom.<br />

Regardless of your colleagues’ standards, boat shoes and white socks are<br />

a no-no, according to Josh Varone ’03G, human resources specialist at<br />

Swarovski North America Limited. •<br />

1 CUNNINGHAM SQUARE I SUMMER <strong>2012</strong>


iefly<br />

SNEAK PEEK: THE CLASS OF 2016<br />

GENDER:<br />

46% male<br />

AVERAGE<br />

STUDENTS ENROLLED:<br />

1,022<br />

54% female<br />

3.38 on a 4.0 scale (unweighted)<br />

A 5-PEAT: COMMUNITY SERVICE<br />

HONOR ROLL<br />

PC was named to the President’s Higher Education<br />

Community Service Honor Roll for the fifth<br />

consecutive year.<br />

To be honored, a college or university must<br />

demonstrate to the Corporation for National<br />

and Community Service, a federal agency that<br />

oversees AmeriCorps and other service initiatives,<br />

that its students, faculty, and staff are engaged<br />

in service that achieves measurable results<br />

in the community.<br />

STUDENTS OF COLOR:<br />

16% (highest<br />

in <strong>College</strong> history)<br />

In its application, PC highlighted service coordinated<br />

through the Feinstein Institute for Public<br />

Service, Campus Ministry, and the Office of<br />

Figures as of June <strong>2012</strong><br />

Student Activities-Involvement-Leadership, along<br />

with the Standing Committee on Service.<br />

GARCIA-PLETSCH ’13 NAMED NEWMAN CIVIC FELLOW<br />

Magali Garcia-Pletsch ’13 (Norwood, Mass.) was named a <strong>2012</strong> Newman Civic Fellow by Campus<br />

Compact, an organization that promotes community service among college students and faculty.<br />

Garcia-Pletsch, a global studies major and public and community service studies minor, volunteered at<br />

the International Institute of Rhode Island, supporting refugee families, and at <strong>Providence</strong> CityArts for<br />

Youth, teaching photography to inner-city youths. She also has served as a community organizer and has<br />

led multicultural groups at PC.<br />

21


EXPANDING MINDS,<br />

opportunities through research<br />

Celebration of scholarship attracts 100 student presenters<br />

By VICKI-ANN DOWNING<br />

GREAT EXPECTATIONS FEATURE I SUMMER <strong>2012</strong><br />

22


THE THIRD ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP AND CREATIVITY,<br />

a showcase of the best student projects from the academic year, set a record for participation<br />

this spring, with 100 students displaying 52 projects involving 21 academic disciplines.<br />

Among the research topics showcased were “Moths and Meadows,”<br />

“One Face,” and “The IN- DWC Project: ‘Defining World<br />

Citizens.’”<br />

Other presentations highlighted student service work abroad.<br />

Two new courses, Phage Hunters (see page 26) and Student<br />

Managed Investment Fund (see page 28), also were featured.<br />

Students, faculty, and staff browsed the projects and interviewed<br />

the student researchers on the upper level of the Slavin Center.<br />

Each academic department and program was invited to nominate<br />

projects for display.<br />

“The Celebration of Student Scholarship and<br />

Creativity is a wonderful event that highlights<br />

the hard work of all of our students,” said Dr.<br />

Julia M. Camp, assistant professor of accountancy<br />

and chair of the Student Engagement<br />

Advisory Committee, the event sponsor.<br />

“It is an opportunity for students and their peers to see the<br />

variety of work, across disciplines, done throughout campus,” said<br />

Camp. “It is a wonderful chance for younger students, especially<br />

those who are undeclared or still searching for their interests, to<br />

see what is available to them. For faculty and staff, this is a great<br />

event where we can be proud of our students’ accomplishments.<br />

Each year I feel I learn something new from the work presented<br />

by the students.”<br />

The Celebration of Student Scholarship and Creativity was inspired<br />

by the <strong>College</strong>’s three-year, $250,000 grant, Fostering a<br />

Culture of Student Engagement, from the Davis Educational<br />

Foundation. The grant was awarded to deepen students’ engagement<br />

in learning, which also is a component of the <strong>College</strong>’s<br />

Strategic Plan.<br />

“The projects of these students, supported by their faculty mentors,<br />

are exemplary because of the depth of commitment and<br />

understanding they reflect, as well as the high quality of the finished<br />

project,” said Dr. Hugh F. Lena, provost and senior vice<br />

president for academic affairs.<br />

Left: Caroline O’Shea ’12, on flute, and Anna O’Connell ’12, on harp, demonstrate the music and poetry of Anthony Raftery, the subject of<br />

O’Shea’s research project, “The Galway Rambler: Antoine O Raifteiri and the Roots of Irish Cultural Identity,” at the Celebration of Student<br />

Scholarship and Creativity this spring. Top: O’Shea, right, explains her research project to a fellow student.<br />

>>><br />

23


MANY FACES, one look<br />

Blair Rohan ’12 (Wantagh, N.Y.), a studio art major with a<br />

concentration in digital imagery, was captivated by the<br />

differences and similarities in human faces.<br />

To create her art exhibit, One Face, she collected photographs and<br />

grouped them by gender and age. Using her computer to create short<br />

brushstrokes, she assigned each image a color, then layered the separate<br />

faces, some from different races, into a single portrait.<br />

To viewers who looked closely, the resulting collages showed both a single<br />

combined face and each individual face.<br />

“I was intrigued by how different pieces of images can come together to<br />

form a new image,” said Rohan.<br />

“Though my original portraits all have different features and facial expressions,<br />

when I place them together they make their own unique portrait,”<br />

said Rohan. “Looking at these works, I want a viewer to recognize<br />

that though we all have unique exteriors, we really look more alike than<br />

we think.”<br />

Rohan’s work was displayed in April in the Reilly Gallery of the Smith<br />

Center for the Arts.<br />

NEVER DONE with ‘Civ’<br />

Students study in the Development of Western Civilization<br />

(DWC) Program for two years, but its lessons never<br />

really leave them.<br />

That was the message behind Defining World Citizens, a video created by<br />

11 sophomores in a DWC seminar taught by Rev. R. Gabriel Pivarnik,<br />

O.P., assistant professor of theology.<br />

As a final assignment, Father Pivarnik challenged the 42 sophomores in<br />

his two sections to create a five-minute video on the topic “IN-DWC”<br />

— “I’m Not Done With Civ.” The students, divided into four groups,<br />

wrote and edited scripts and filmed around campus. Defining World Citizens<br />

was judged the best.<br />

Fiona Stack ’14 (Syracuse, N.Y.) said the team was inspired by a segment<br />

Father Pivarnik showed them from an episode of The West Wing called<br />

“The Red Mass,” in which a character says he hopes the president, when<br />

facing challenges, will “reach for all of it (the inspiration from important<br />

thinkers) and not just the McNuggets.”<br />

“We’re done with class, but I don’t think we’re done with Western Civ in<br />

our lives,” said team member Mitchell Mordarski ’14 (Wolcott, Conn.),<br />

an accountancy major.<br />

view the video<br />

Top: Standing with their “IN-DWC” project are, from left,<br />

Alyson Johnson ’14, Mitchell Mordarski ’14, Maddie Walsh<br />

’14, Mark Dushel ’14, Fiona Stack ’14, and Tessa Kehoe ’14.<br />

GREAT EXPECTATIONS FEATURE I SUMMER <strong>2012</strong>


MOTHS & MATH make a match<br />

Last summer, in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon, Christopher<br />

Mattioli ’12 (Middletown, Conn.) found a way to combine moths<br />

and mathematics.<br />

Mattioli spent 10 weeks in a Research Experience for Undergraduates program —<br />

sponsored by the National Science Foundation — at Oregon State University.<br />

For five weeks, he tracked and collected moths in the H.J. Andrews Experimental<br />

Forest, noting the elevation, temperature, and vegetation at which the moths were<br />

discovered.<br />

Top: Ryan Paranal ’13 demonstrates a finding in his<br />

project, “Pigment Granule Move within the Photoreceptors<br />

of the Squid Retina.”<br />

Bottom: Meaghan Lambert ’14 and Joseph Dalli<br />

’14 talk with Dr. Richard M. Battistoni, professor<br />

of political science and of public and community<br />

service studies, about “The Politics of Memory of the<br />

Columbine High School Shooting.”<br />

Then Mattioli spent another five weeks in a lab on the college campus to create<br />

and test “statistical machine learning algorithms.” He developed four computer programs,<br />

added environmental variables, and tested the programs to see if they could<br />

correctly predict where moths would be found in the rest of the state, home to 210<br />

different species.<br />

His research, “Modeling Moth Species Distributions in the Cascade Mountains,”<br />

determined that three of the four computer programs worked well, Mattioli said.<br />

Mattioli, a mathematics and computer science major, hopes to continue his studies<br />

in graduate school.<br />

“I want to apply computer science and math to problems in biology and<br />

ecology,” said Mattioli. •<br />

25


PHAGE HUNTERS<br />

A new hands-on biology research lab for freshmen<br />

BACKGROUND<br />

PC is a member of the Science Education Alliance (SEA), created four years ago by the<br />

Howard Hughes Medical Institute to enable undergraduate educators to present innovative<br />

courses and programs. Phage Hunters, also known as the National Genomics Research<br />

Initiative, is SEA’s first program.<br />

PARTICIPANTS<br />

Rev. Nicanor Austriaco, O.P., associate professor of biology; Dr. Kathleen A. Cornely,<br />

professor of chemistry; teaching assistant Benjamin Lichtenfels ’13 (East Greenwich, R.I.);<br />

and 16 freshmen, who were invited to participate in the alternative biology lab offered for<br />

the first time during the 2011-12 academic year.<br />

Molly Berning ’15, left, and Colleen Cassidy ’15 examine<br />

phage in the laboratory.<br />

WHAT’S A PHAGE?<br />

A phage is a virus, commonly found in the environment,<br />

that feeds off bacteria. Scientists believe phage could be<br />

useful in combating antibiotic-resistant diseases, especially<br />

those that cause tuberculosis and leprosy.<br />

FIRST SEMESTER<br />

Students found phage in soil samples<br />

collected around campus. They worked<br />

in the lab to purify, characterize, and<br />

extract the DNA from their phages,<br />

which they also named. By Thanksgiving,<br />

DNA samples from three phages —<br />

Job42, FriarPreacher, and Black Magic —<br />

were sent to the University of Pittsburgh<br />

for sequencing.<br />

SECOND SEMESTER<br />

Students worked in a computer lab to<br />

analyze and annotate the sequenced<br />

DNA from Job42 using DNA Master,<br />

a computer program, and the Phamerator,<br />

a tool that allowed them to compare<br />

the DNA sequence of Job42 with<br />

those of other phages. Their research<br />

results were included in the GenBank,<br />

an annotated collection of DNA sequences<br />

maintained by the National<br />

Institutes of Health.<br />

OUTCOMES<br />

“By far, Phage Hunters has been one of the highlights of<br />

my freshman year. Just to get the experience to get into<br />

labs, work with teachers, do more hands-on stuff, has<br />

been wonderful, and has, in a sense, given me a better<br />

feel of what I’ll be able to do in the field after I graduate.”<br />

GREAT EXPECTATIONS I SUMMER <strong>2012</strong><br />

Students’ blog: friarphagehunters.wordpress.com<br />

— Alfredo Gonzalez ’15 (Nixa, Mo.)


2011-12 JOSEPH R. ACCINNO FACULTY TEACHING AWARD<br />

Classroom ‘charge’ inspires<br />

By LIZ F. KAY<br />

English professor deNiord<br />

Nurturing developing writers can be challenging work, but Chard deNiord<br />

derives much of his energy for writing and teaching from teaching itself.<br />

THE GIFT<br />

By Chard deNiord<br />

“There’s a kind of electricity, a charge, that occurs<br />

in the classroom,” said deNiord, an associate professor<br />

of English. “When I see students writing<br />

strong poems, or strong lines even, it’s just my<br />

nature — I myself get very excited and inspired by<br />

what they do.”<br />

The essayist and poet, who helped establish the<br />

creative writing major at PC in 2009, was named<br />

the recipient of the 2011-12 Joseph R. Accinno<br />

Faculty Teaching Award, PC’s highest teaching<br />

honor, during the spring semester.<br />

The Center for Teaching Excellence and the<br />

Teaching Award Selection Committee present the<br />

prize annually to a tenured faculty member who<br />

demonstrates excellence in teaching, passion and<br />

enthusiasm for learning, and concern for students’<br />

academic and personal growth.<br />

The award is named for the deceased brother of<br />

the late John J. Accinno, C.P.A. ’46 & ’93Hon.,<br />

a former <strong>College</strong> trustee, who died in January.<br />

Generous benefactors, John and his wife, Jean<br />

(Richard) Accinno, are members of two of the<br />

<strong>College</strong>’s giving socieities — the 1917 Society<br />

and the Harkins Society.<br />

deNiord, who started at PC in 1998, earned a master<br />

of divinity degree from Yale Divinity School<br />

and a master of fine arts degree in poetry from the<br />

Iowa Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa.<br />

Students in his creative writing and literature<br />

classes praised the way he guides them as poets<br />

and readers.<br />

“He encourages individual expression, be it in<br />

analysis or composition of poetry, and his free<br />

spirit and open mind enable even the most timid<br />

writers to find something within themselves to<br />

convey in writing in a meaningful way,” wrote<br />

a student who nominated him for the Accinno<br />

Award.<br />

deNiord said he felt “strange” to receive the teaching<br />

award.<br />

“I feel I’m part of an excellent whole<br />

at <strong>Providence</strong> <strong>College</strong>, a community<br />

of excellent teachers and superb students,<br />

where the pedagogical standards<br />

are high indeed,” deNiord said.<br />

He is the author of four books of poetry, including<br />

two collections published last year, The Double<br />

Truth (University of Pittsburgh Press) and Sad<br />

Friends, Drowned Lovers, Stapled Songs (Marick<br />

Press). The latter was written with the help of a<br />

Committee on Aid to Faculty Research grant from<br />

PC and features interviews and essays on prominent<br />

senior American poets. •<br />

In memory of Ruth Stone<br />

(June 8, 1915 - November 19, 2011)<br />

“All I did was write them down<br />

wherever I was at the time, hanging<br />

laundry, baking bread, driving to Illinois.<br />

My name was attached to them<br />

on the page but not in my head<br />

because the bird I listened to outside<br />

my window said I couldn’t complain<br />

about the blank in place of my name<br />

if I wished to hold both ends of the wire<br />

like a wire and continue to sing instead<br />

of complain. It was my plight, my thorn,<br />

my gift — the one word in three I was<br />

permitted to call it by the Muse who took<br />

mercy on me as long as I didn’t explain.”<br />

27


STUDENTS-TURNED-PORTFOLIO managers<br />

handle endowment funds in course<br />

By VICKI-ANN DOWNING<br />

The portfolio managers wore sandals and T-shirts<br />

and carried tall, cool drinks into their classroom in<br />

the Feinstein Academic Center.<br />

The news from the markets was good: their investments were up 3.02<br />

percent for the week, behind strong performances from Bed Bath &<br />

Beyond and The Dollar Tree. And though results from Halliburton were<br />

disappointing, Michael Signorelli ’12 (Scituate, Mass.) still planned to<br />

“double down” on the stock.<br />

“We have bold investors in this class,” declared Dr. Christopher B. Alt,<br />

adjunct professor of finance. “They are independent.”<br />

Signorelli and five classmates spent last semester managing <strong>Providence</strong><br />

<strong>College</strong>’s first Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF) in a new<br />

course of the same name. They gained hands-on research and investment<br />

experience managing real money — about $120,000 — in PC’s<br />

endowment fund.<br />

The students made stock picks, tracked market activity, learned about<br />

investing from analysts and consultants, and toured the New York<br />

Stock Exchange.<br />

The SMIF was established with a $50,000 gift from Marshall Raucci, Jr.<br />

’04P, a member of the Board of Trustees’ Investment Committee, which<br />

oversees PC’s endowment, and his wife, Dr. Marian Mattison, associate<br />

professor of social work.<br />

Top: Paul G. Maguire ’90, a <strong>College</strong> trustee who formerly worked at the New York Stock Exchange, briefs students in the Student Managed Investment<br />

Fund course and their professor, Dr. Christopher B. Alt, during a tour of the exchange.<br />

GREAT EXPECTATIONS I SUMMER <strong>2012</strong>


Ana-Maria Sima ’12 (Bucharest, Romania) said, “It was incredible to be<br />

able to see the traders, ask them questions, and listen to stories about the<br />

old days of the NYSE. I am excited that the school is offering us more opportunities<br />

to integrate the theories we learn with real-world experience.”<br />

Alt has high hopes for the course. He would like to include as many as 15<br />

to 20 students and to grow the SMIF to $500,000 through good investment<br />

results and additional contributions from alumni. He also would<br />

like to acquire Bloomberg Terminals, computers that would allow the<br />

students to receive market news and price quotes and place trades on an<br />

electronic trading platform.<br />

For PC, the SMIF is what investors call a “triple alpha play,” said Raucci.<br />

Raucci, a principal in an investment consulting firm that counsels<br />

colleges, universities, foundations, and hospitals about their long-term<br />

assets, brought the idea for the fund to faculty in the School of Business<br />

almost two years ago.<br />

The fund raises money for the permanent endowment, supports student<br />

financial aid, and creates an environment where “students are involved in<br />

a first-class, engaged-learning process,” he said. •<br />

“I saw the benefit over the years of the engaged-learning process,” said<br />

Raucci. “Students can demonstrate to potential employers that they<br />

have experience investing and managing money. It gives them a leg up,<br />

being able to describe how they bought and sold a security with real,<br />

live money.”<br />

About 200 colleges and universities in the country have SMIFs, Raucci said.<br />

“It really becomes the better schools that participate … schools that have<br />

resources, schools that have embraced engaged learning, and schools that<br />

have dedicated individuals who work to raise money for this purpose,”<br />

he said.<br />

Alumni underscore value of SMIF<br />

The SMIF was boosted by a $50,000 donation from two alumni — James<br />

M. Mahn ’86, managing director with Citigroup Global Markets and a<br />

member of the School of Business Advisory Council, and his wife, Molly<br />

Mahn ’86.<br />

“IT GIVES THEM A LEG UP, BEING ABLE TO<br />

DESCRIBE HOW THEY BOUGHT AND SOLD A<br />

SECURITY WITH REAL, LIVE MONEY.”<br />

“PC is where Molly and I met and a place where we developed values and<br />

made friendships that have lasted us a lifetime,” said Mahn. “We are just<br />

happy to give something back to PC, which has given so much to us, and<br />

we believe the SMIF is a fantastic way for PC students to gain hands-on<br />

experience in investment management.”<br />

For the students, a highlight last semester was a tour of the New York<br />

Stock Exchange with Paul G. Maguire ’90, a <strong>College</strong> trustee who worked<br />

on Wall Street for more than 20 years. Maguire said he was delighted to<br />

bring two of his loves — the stock exchange and PC — together.<br />

— Marshall Raucci, Jr. ’04P<br />

Top left: From left, Jesse Aversano ’12, Ngoc Pham ’12, Ana-Maria Sima ’12,<br />

Patrick Murphy ’13, and Michael Signorelli ’12 view a Milestones exhibit<br />

at the New York Stock Exchange. Lower right: Outside the NYSE are Ngoc<br />

Pham ’12, Ana-Maria Sima ’12, Dr. Christopher B. Alt, Patrick Murphy<br />

’13, Timothy Myers ’12, and Michael Signorelli ’12.<br />

29


WYZGA ’83G: A successful company can have heart<br />

By VICKI-ANN DOWNING<br />

When the <strong>Providence</strong> <strong>College</strong> School of Business hosted “Leading with Values” — the first Rhode Island Collegiate<br />

Conference on Values-Based Leadership — Michael S. Wyzga ’83G was the natural choice to be keynote speaker.<br />

For more than 12 years, until its acquisition in 2011, Wyzga was chief<br />

financial officer and executive vice president at Genzyme Corp., one of the<br />

top biotech firms in the world, specializing in the manufacture of drugs<br />

for people with life-threatening diseases.<br />

Adhering to the company’s mission satisfied a question that Wyzga wondered<br />

about when he received an M.B.A. from PC: “Is it possible to build<br />

a company that is successful and does good things? Can you build a good<br />

company that is good?”<br />

Genzyme’s mission was to provide medicine to all patients, regardless of<br />

ability to pay. It was a pledge it kept despite pressure to hit “the number”<br />

— its earnings per share — every quarter, said Wyzga, who titled his<br />

address “Maintaining Your Values, 90 Days at a Time.”<br />

Under Wyzga’s leadership, Genzyme employed 11,000 people in 40 countries<br />

and had $5 billion in estimated annual revenue. To fulfill its mission,<br />

“We had to create a sustainable basis. Once we were profitable, we could<br />

treat all patients, regardless of ability to pay,” said Wyzga.<br />

Wyzga said Genzyme kept a plant open in Belgium that manufactured<br />

drugs for only nine patients, though the decision cost millions. It also<br />

shipped drugs to countries — including China, Russia, and Canada —<br />

that did not pay for them. It made its new headquarters in Cambridge,<br />

Mass., employee friendly, with lots of glass to underscore transparency.<br />

When the occasional shareholder objected, Wyzga said he told them, “It’s<br />

simply what we do.”<br />

GREAT EXPECTATIONS I SUMMER <strong>2012</strong><br />

Wyzga is now president and chief executive officer of Radius Health,<br />

a company that manufactures drugs to treat osteoporosis and women’s<br />

health. He is a member of the PC School of Business Advisory Council.<br />

“<strong>Providence</strong> <strong>College</strong>’s niche is teaching good business and holding on to<br />

your values,” Wyzga said.<br />

The conference, organized by Dr. Matthew Eriksen, PC professor of management<br />

and department chair, drew 70 students from colleges in Rhode<br />

Island and Massachusetts. It offered workshops on such topics as social<br />

entrepreneurship, strength-based management, and intercultural proficiency.<br />

Workshop presenters included PC faculty members Dr. Patrick T. Kelly,<br />

Dr. Matthew J. Keane ’01, Dr. Michael L. Kraten (all accountancy), and<br />

Eriksen; PC special lecturer William Allen; Dan Brown ’63, managing<br />

director of International Magazine Publishing; and Michael J. Davis ’15P,<br />

vice president/taxes at Nestlé USA. John F. Robitaille ’70, director of the<br />

Johnson & Wales University International Center for Entrepreneurship,<br />

delivered the opening remarks. •


LIBERAL ARTS HONORS ALUMNI<br />

Up Close<br />

SANTILLI ’11 BRINGS<br />

Honors Program into her classroom<br />

By LIZ F. KAY<br />

When most teachers teach the Pythagorean Theorem, they probably begin with the formula a 2 + b 2 = c 2 .<br />

But Elizabeth “Lia” Santilli ’11, a Liberal Arts Honors Program graduate,<br />

started by showing her geometry students at Bishop Feehan High School<br />

in Attleboro, Mass., a photo of Pythagoras’s hometown.<br />

Santilli traveled to Greece on the Honors Program’s Spring Break trip as<br />

a senior, and the group sailed by Samos, the island where the mathematician<br />

was born.<br />

“It was one thing I was able to bring into the classroom,” said Santilli,<br />

who double-majored in mathematics and secondary education at PC.<br />

“We spent 10 minutes talking about where the theorem came from, and<br />

talked a little bit about Greek mathematicians and philosophers.”<br />

The 23-year-old chose to teach in a Catholic school because she wanted<br />

to build community beyond the classroom.<br />

“I wanted an environment where I was going to have the opportunity<br />

to influence my students in more of a personal way,” Santilli said. “I felt<br />

like I was going to be able to do that more at a Catholic school.”<br />

Santilli said she had the opportunity to plan events and to think about<br />

ways to get students involved in their faith through Campus Ministry<br />

at PC. Every year, she went to Washington, D.C., for the “March for<br />

Life,” and she appreciated the chance to chaperone Feehan’s trip to the<br />

march this year.<br />

Santilli lives in her hometown of Cranston, R.I., and returns to campus<br />

frequently. She has continued to attend the lectures she appreciated as<br />

a student. This spring she heard the Rodney Delasanta Lecture, a talk<br />

offered each year by the Honors Program. It is dedicated to the late Dr.<br />

Rodney K. Delasanta ’53, a professor of English who led the Honors<br />

Program from 1987 to 2004.<br />

LIBERAL ARTS HONORS ALUMNI PROFILE<br />

Elizabeth ‘Lia’ SANTILLI ’11<br />

• Mathematics Teacher and Assistant Math Team Coach,<br />

Bishop Feehan High School, Attleboro, Mass.<br />

• B.A., Mathematics and Secondary Education, Summa<br />

Cum Laude<br />

• Recipient, Thomson Scholar Award, given to the most<br />

outstanding student to complete Honors Civ<br />

• Lector, Sacred Heart Church, West Warwick, R.I.<br />

The teacher also has stayed in touch with classmates. The hours in<br />

Honors Civ definitely helped create lasting bonds, Santilli said.<br />

“I’m not sure what came first — us being honors students, or us being<br />

friends,” she said.<br />

She sees the positive impact of the Honors Program on her teaching,<br />

particularly the writing required for professional development. Santilli<br />

added that she prefers to reason through math, “rather than just memorizing<br />

formulas. One of my goals is to have the students speak and write<br />

well about math, as opposed to just doing it,” she said.<br />

“That’s something I think I’ve taken from my experiences … being<br />

challenged to think and read and write at PC.” •<br />

31


iefly<br />

STUDENTS AT BUSINESS CONFERENCE<br />

ADVISED: FIND YOUR CAREER PASSION<br />

Eight alumni and a PC parent advised students about career<br />

opportunities during the sixth annual “Pathways to Success”<br />

business conference sponsored by the Future Friars Executives<br />

(FFE), a student-run business club.<br />

The keynote address was given by Jack Hayes ’89, then-director<br />

of athletics at Hofstra University and now the athletic director<br />

at Brown University. Hayes told the 65 undergraduates in<br />

attendance that they could expect to work for about 45 years.<br />

He advised them to “find something you are passionate about,<br />

that motivates you. It’s to your benefit.”<br />

MAXFIELD NAMED SCHOOL OF BUSINESS DEAN<br />

<strong>Providence</strong> <strong>College</strong> has appointed Dr. Sylvia Maxfield, a faculty member<br />

at Simmons <strong>College</strong> and its School of Management since 2002,<br />

as dean of the School of Business. Maxfield, who starts August 1,<br />

chaired Simmons’ MBA program and was professor and director of the<br />

Principled Leadership Program.<br />

A graduate of Cornell and Harvard universities, Maxfield taught at Yale<br />

University from 1988-1997. She also served as senior sovereign analyst<br />

(for Latin America) and vice president for Lehman Brothers. It is hoped<br />

her arrival will coincide with the business school’s accreditation approval.<br />

A team from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of<br />

Business visited PC this spring and gave a favorable preliminary report.<br />

Other presenters were Lauren Jones ’05, director of policy and<br />

communications for Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Murray;<br />

Jeff Serowik ’90, president of Pro Ambitions Hockey, Inc.;<br />

Elizabeth Ray ’84, vice president for development at The<br />

Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts; Pete Mongelli ’07,<br />

strategic project manager for 89 Degrees and a photography<br />

business owner; Kevin Higgins ’10, associate financial analyst<br />

for EMC Corp.; and Michaela Shaw ’09, retail operations coordinator<br />

for Alex & Ani.<br />

In addition, Kristen Gallagher ’95, a sales consulting senior<br />

manager for Oracle, spoke via Skype from California. Jeff<br />

Scharpf ’14P, a trader with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, also<br />

addressed students.<br />

GLOBAL STUDIES PROGRAM GAINS NATIONAL ACCLAIM<br />

PC’s Global Studies Program was one of three similar programs chosen to receive the <strong>2012</strong> Sen. Paul<br />

Simon Spotlight Award for Campus Internationalization. The selection was made by NAFSA: Association<br />

for International Educators.<br />

The award shows that international study “is truly now an integral component of the academic experience<br />

for PC students,” said Adrian G. Beaulieu, dean of PC’s Center for International Studies.<br />

The Global Studies Program was founded in 2005. Ninety students major in the discipline, which<br />

features study abroad with an engaged learning component — an internship, a service-learning program,<br />

or an individualized research project. Dr. Nicholas V. Longo ’96, associate professor of public and<br />

community service studies, is the program’s first full-time director.<br />

GREAT EXPECTATIONS I SUMMER <strong>2012</strong><br />

Dr. Nicholas V. Longo ’96


What’s on your READING LIST this summer?<br />

DR. MAIA F. BAILEY, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY<br />

For professional enrichment: An Edible History of Humanity, by Tom Standage, for a new<br />

course with Dr. Comfort M. Ateh, assistant professor of education, Food Politics<br />

For pleasure: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot, the Freshman Common<br />

Reading Program selection for the incoming Class of 2016; The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, by<br />

Junot Diaz; Sacre Bleu, by Christopher Moore<br />

DR. PETER M. JOHNSON, PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH<br />

For professional enrichment: The Case for God, by Karen Armstrong, and The Book Thief,<br />

by Markus Zusak; re-reading; One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey, and Art and Illusion,<br />

by E.H. Gombrich<br />

For pleasure: random novels by Elmore Leonard; Collected Short Stories of Ray Bradbury; and<br />

The Land Where the Blues Began, by Alan Lomax<br />

DR. WILLIAM E. HUDSON, PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE<br />

For professional enrichment: The Age of Austerity, by Thomas Byrnes Edsall; The Polarized<br />

Public? Why American Government is So Dysfunctional, by Alan Abramowitz; and a new edition of<br />

Deborah Stone’s Policy Paradox: The Art of Political Decision Making<br />

For pleasure: 1861: The Civil War Awakening, by Adam Goodheart, and The Master of the Senate,<br />

the third volume of Robert Caro’s biography of Lyndon Johnson. And, in a lighter vein: the latest in<br />

a series of historical novels about the end of the Roman Republic by Steven Saylor<br />

DR. CHRISTINE E. EARLEY, PROFESSOR OF ACCOUNTANCY<br />

For professional enrichment: All the Devils are Here: The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis,<br />

by Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera, and Thinking Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman<br />

For pleasure: The Hunger Games trilogy, by Suzanne Collins (“My teenage daughter is dying for<br />

me to read the books, so we can talk about them!”)he end of the Roman Republic by Steven Saylor<br />

33


THE PUCK<br />

stops here for ‘Double B’<br />

Bellemore ’66 & ’94G retires after 38 seasons as women’s, men’s<br />

ice hockey assistant coach<br />

By MIKE SCANDURA<br />

Bob Bellemore ’66 & ’94G makes a kick save during his playing days with the Friars in the 1960s.<br />

FRIARTOWN FEATURE I SUMMER <strong>2012</strong>


BOB BELLEMORE:<br />

career highlights<br />

<strong>Providence</strong> <strong>College</strong> women’s ice hockey goaltenders<br />

Genevieve Lacasse ’12 (Scarborough, Ontario, Canada)<br />

and Christina England ’11 devised a unique way to<br />

celebrate the birthday of long-time assistant coach<br />

Bob Bellemore ’66 & ’94G two years ago.<br />

They obtained tickets and treated Bellemore — a record-setting goaltender in<br />

his undergraduate days at PC — to a Boston Bruins home game.<br />

“He’s done so much for us,” said Lacasse. “Every day at practice he’s upbeat<br />

and does so much for the goalies.<br />

“We felt it would be awesome if we took him to a game and sat right behind<br />

a goal. It was something special to show how much we appreciate what he<br />

does every day.”<br />

Bellemore, who has been affiliated with PC for 50 years as a student, twosport<br />

athlete, and coach, retired this year after serving 38 years as an assistant<br />

coach of the women’s and men’s hockey teams, including the last 19 with the<br />

women. While his specialty is working with goaltenders, he helped out in all<br />

facets, including recruiting and scouting.<br />

Perhaps the best person to express what Bellemore has meant to the women’s<br />

program is current Head Coach Bob Deraney.<br />

PC assistant<br />

women’s ice<br />

hockey coach<br />

PC assistant<br />

men’s ice<br />

hockey coach<br />

AMERICAN<br />

HOCKEY COACHES<br />

ASSOCIATION’S<br />

WOMEN’S ASSISTANT<br />

COACH OF THE<br />

YEAR<br />

“First, I don’t think we’d have a program without Bob,” said Deraney. “When<br />

Jackie Barto (’84) left as coach in 1999 to go to Ohio State, Bob was the<br />

constant. Tom Sheehan, who was the interim head coach, and Bob were the<br />

bridge to me.<br />

Goaltender on PC’s first ECAC<br />

Hockey Championship Team, which<br />

advanced to the NCAA Final Four<br />

1962-66: Member, PC men’s hockey team<br />

“People see his 19 years with the women’s team being significant. That<br />

six-month period when Bob recruited players made up my freshman class.<br />

That was one of the most important periods in the 38-year history of the<br />

program.”<br />

1984-87: Director of Schneider Arena<br />

1987-91: Goaltending Coach, New Jersey Devils<br />

Deraney, who has coached at PC for 13 years, and Bellemore have guided the<br />

Friars to six 20-win seasons since 1999 and 11 consecutive appearances in the<br />

Women’s Hockey East Tournament semifinals.<br />

One of the program’s most renowned goalies who came under Bellemore’s<br />

tutelage was Olympian Sara DeCosta ’00.<br />

Mentor,<br />

USA Hockey<br />

Inducted into PC Athletic Hall elite training<br />

of Fame<br />

camps<br />

RETIRED SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER AND GUIDANCE<br />

COUNSELOR, SOUTH KINGSTOWN (R.I.) HIGH SCHOOL<br />

>>> 35


“He was my first goalie coach,” said DeCosta. “I learned so much from<br />

him, especially my first year, regarding basic stuff that nobody taught me.<br />

“Off the ice, he taught me about the mental side and<br />

how important it is. I loved the game before but when<br />

I met ‘Double B’ it gave me even more passion.”<br />

According to DeCosta, Bellemore’s influence was never more important<br />

than during her freshman season.<br />

“Going into my freshman year and my first game, you’re always intimidated,”<br />

she said. “The first shot was from the red line, and it went in.<br />

‘Double B’ will never let me forget that. But with his sense of humor, he<br />

made me be OK with it eventually.”<br />

Lacasse echoed DeCosta’s sentiment.<br />

“The life he brings to the rink every day is awesome,” she said. “You need<br />

to be serious, but you also need to be loose at times. He cracks a joke that<br />

loosens everyone up, but then he says, ‘It’s time to get to work.’”<br />

Bellemore also worked with players other than goalies — one<br />

being another Olympian and a hockey Hall of Fame inductee, Cammi<br />

Granato ’93 & ’12Hon.<br />

“He always had a goaltender’s perspective to help out the forwards,” said<br />

DeCosta. “During a game, he’s very good at evaluating goaltenders. He<br />

can pick out their weaknesses.”<br />

Keen eye on the bench<br />

Bellemore certainly realizes the value of an assistant coach — especially<br />

in hockey.<br />

“As an assistant coach, one of the assets I had as a goalie was playing a<br />

specific position where I could watch and help,” he said. “When you’re the<br />

head coach, you’re watching 100 things. The biggest asset for an assistant<br />

coach is to have that in your back pocket — to be able to help with the<br />

goaltending part of it.<br />

“If you can get somebody who can zero in on that particular position, it’s<br />

a big help.”<br />

Nobody appreciates that more than Deraney.<br />

“Because of his personality, he neutralizes the stress for goalies,” he said.<br />

“Besides knowing the position, he’s able to manage the confidence, psyche,<br />

and attitude of goaltenders. Goaltending is as much attitude as aptitude.<br />

His mindset sets him apart from most goalie coaches.”<br />

Bellemore has another opinion regarding what he brought to <strong>Providence</strong>’s<br />

hockey teams.<br />

“What you do for yourself stays with you,” he said. “What you do for<br />

others lives on. That’s what I hope I’ve been able to do and has lived with<br />

players over the years.” •<br />

Mike Scandura of Riverside, R.I., is a senior athletics contributor for<br />

<strong>Providence</strong> <strong>College</strong> Magazine.<br />

Top: Bob Bellemore ’66 & ’94G, who led PC to its first ECAC Championship as<br />

a sophomore, was a standout goaltender for the Friars in the early to mid-1960s.<br />

At right, as an assistant coach for the women’s ice hockey team, Bellemore had a<br />

profound effect on the nationally renowned program and particularly its goaltenders,<br />

including, from left, Nina Riley ’14 and Genevieve Lacasse ’12.<br />

FRIARTOWN FEATURE I SUMMER <strong>2012</strong>


around friartown<br />

STEWART APPOINTED MEN’S SOCCER HEAD COACH<br />

Craig Stewart, who served as an assistant men’s<br />

soccer coach at PC from 2006-08, was appointed<br />

the Friars’ head coach in May. Stewart<br />

served as the head coach at Division II power<br />

Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, N.H.,<br />

the last three seasons, compiling a 51-8-6<br />

record and taking the Ravens to two NCAA<br />

tournaments.<br />

A former All-American player at Franklin<br />

Pierce, Stewart guided his alma mater to a<br />

21-1-1 record in 2011. The Ravens won both<br />

the Northeast-10 Conference regular-season and tournament championships<br />

and advanced to the NCAA Final Four. Stewart was named the NSCAA/<br />

Mondo East Region Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.<br />

Former Friar hockey great Rick Bennett ’90 earned ECAC<br />

Coach of the Year honors in his first season as a head coach<br />

during 2011-<strong>2012</strong>. Bennett led Union <strong>College</strong> to the program’s<br />

first-ever NCAA Division I Frozen Four appearance.<br />

The Flying Dutchmen won two games in NCAA regional play<br />

after capturing the ECAC Tournament Championship for the<br />

first time. Bennett, a long-time PC assistant coach, took the<br />

reins at Union after the 2010-2011 season when Nate Leaman<br />

left to become the Friars’ head coach. Leaman led PC to the<br />

HOCKEY EAST Tournament semifinals.<br />

Laura Nagel ’14 (Napier, New Zealand) set the pace on the course and<br />

in the classroom, earning U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches<br />

Association individual All-Academic status for the 2011 cross-country season.<br />

Additionally, the Friars’ team, coached by Ray Treacy ’82, was recognized<br />

as an All-Academic team and recorded a combined grade point average<br />

(GPA) of 3.28. To qualify as an individual, Nagel had to finish in the<br />

top 10 percent of the NCAA Regional Championship field (she was ninth<br />

of 243 runners) while having a GPA of 3.25 or higher.<br />

>>><br />

37


around friartown<br />

SISSON LEADS TRIO OF TRACK ALL-AMERICANS<br />

The indoor and outdoor track seasons<br />

saw a number of Friars earn national<br />

and BIG EAST Conference accolades.<br />

Emily Sisson ’14 (Chesterfield,<br />

Mo.), left, led the way, placing fourth<br />

in the nation in the 5,000-meter race<br />

at the NCAA Division I Outdoor<br />

Track Championship and earning<br />

First-Team All-America honors, to go<br />

along with Second Team All-America<br />

recognition in the 3,000 run indoors.<br />

Sisson’s teammate, Shelby Greany ’13 (Suffern, N.Y.), is a Second Team All-<br />

American in the steeplechase, having finished 10th in the NCAA outdoor<br />

meet. Sisson, who will participate in the U.S. Olympic Trials, and Greany<br />

were <strong>2012</strong> BIG EAST champions in their respective events.<br />

On the men’s side, David McCarthy ’12 (Waterford, Ireland) earned Second<br />

Team All-America mile honors during the indoor season, finishing ninth in<br />

the NCAA Championship but less than three seconds behind the winner.<br />

McCarthy also broke the PC and New England mile records in January,<br />

posting a 3:55:75 time.<br />

GILLEN, ELITE EIGHT FRIARS HAILED<br />

A highlights video, a question-and-answer session led by two<br />

<strong>Providence</strong> Journal sports writers, and remarks by current<br />

Head Coach Ed Cooley and then-Head Coach Pete Gillen<br />

were all part of the Cox Sports 15th Anniversary Celebration<br />

of the 1997 PC men’s basketball team in May at the Westin<br />

Hotel in <strong>Providence</strong>. The team beat the likes of Duke on the<br />

way to an Elite Eight berth in the NCAA Tournament. In<br />

addition to Gillen, two assistant coaches and 10 players from<br />

the 1996-97 team attended the dinner that attracted approximately<br />

375 Friar faithful.<br />

Above: Pete Gillen, right, catches up with former Friar Jason<br />

Murdock ’97 at the Elite Eight celebration.<br />

GOALIE LACASSE ’12 REWRITES RECORDS BOOK<br />

Women’s ice hockey goalie Genevieve Lacasse ’12 (Kingston, Ontario, Canada) graduated in May<br />

with her legacy assured as one of the all-time Friar greats.<br />

A four-year stalwart under Coach Bob Deraney, Lacasse redefined goaltending excellence at PC. She<br />

leaves holding school career records for victories (64), games played (127), saves (3,482), and shutouts<br />

(20), in addition to a number of Women’s Hockey East and single-season records.<br />

Named the team’s most valuable player for the third consecutive season and PC’s Female Athlete of<br />

the Year (for Team Sports) for the second straight year, Lacasse also backstopped Team Canada on its<br />

way to an International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championships gold medal in April.<br />

A former Hockey East Rookie of the Year, Lacasse earned a degree in marketing.<br />

FRIARTOWN I SUMMER <strong>2012</strong>


save the date !<br />

FRUCHTL TO LEAD WOMEN’S HOOPS<br />

10.20.12<br />

Susan Robinson Fruchtl, a legendary player and accomplished coach, is<br />

the Friars’ new women’s basketball head coach. Associate Vice President for<br />

Athletics Robert G. Driscoll, Jr. announced Fruchtl’s appointment in April.<br />

“Susan has demonstrated a high level of success as a coach, a player, and in<br />

the classroom at a variety of levels,” Driscoll said. “Susan is a winner. Her<br />

commitment to academics and passion for coaching the game of basketball<br />

make her a great fit to lead our student-athletes and our women’s basketball<br />

program to the next level.”<br />

Fruchtl is a West Virginia native who won the 1992 Wade Trophy, given<br />

annually to the nation’s best player, as a Penn State senior. She also earned<br />

All-America honors as that Nittany Lions team finished the season ranked<br />

#1 in the country.<br />

“I am very proud to represent the <strong>Providence</strong> Friars, and we will work hard<br />

to get the word out about <strong>Providence</strong> women’s basketball,” she said. “It is<br />

an awesome opportunity to build a program and coach in the BIG EAST. It<br />

is one of the premier conferences in the nation, and it will present a serious<br />

challenge every night we step on the court. I will strive to get studentathletes<br />

who will love <strong>Providence</strong> and who will make people proud to come<br />

watch them.”<br />

The new coach comes to PC after five successful seasons as head coach at St.<br />

Francis University (Pa.), where her Red Flash teams advanced to the NCAA<br />

Tournament in 2010 and 2011. She also has served as an assistant coach at<br />

Penn State and Slippery Rock University. •<br />

Above: Susan Robinson Fruchtl is welcomed as the new women’s basketball head<br />

coach by <strong>College</strong> President Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P. ’80 and Robert G. Driscoll,<br />

Jr., associate vice president for athletics and athletic director.<br />

<strong>Providence</strong> <strong>College</strong> students, alumni, parents, faculty,<br />

staff, and the general public are invited to run or walk<br />

PC’s third annual Friar 5k, a 3.1-mile USA Track & Fieldsanctioned<br />

course with a 10:00 a.m. start. Proceeds<br />

benefit the PC Fund.<br />

REGISTER ONLINE:<br />

www.support.providence.edu/friar5k<br />

Immediately following the race, all participants and their<br />

families are encouraged to stay on campus and attend<br />

the <strong>College</strong>’s annual Friar Fan Fest on Slavin Lawn for<br />

race awards, entertainment, activities, and refreshments.<br />

FOR MORE INFORMATION, please call the<br />

Office of Alumni Relations at 401.865.1909<br />

or email alumni@providence.edu.<br />

39


FRIAR fund-raising fanatics<br />

Cooley rallies audience to ($590,000) record generosity at<br />

A Night in Black and White<br />

By CHARLES C. JOYCE<br />

Men’s basketball Head Coach Ed Cooley, at podium, is flanked by members of the Friars Club as he prepares to stir the audience into<br />

giving at A Night in Black and White.<br />

KEEPING THE PROMISE FEATURE I SUMMER <strong>2012</strong>


It was an evening for raising funds for <strong>College</strong><br />

needs and an evening for celebrating the Friar<br />

family and spirit.<br />

Truth be told? It was Ed Cooley’s evening.<br />

The passionate PC men’s basketball coach stole the spotlight at<br />

the third annual A Night in Black and White at the Park Plaza<br />

Castle in Boston on April 28. Cooley stirred the audience into<br />

a flurry of giving that resulted in another record-setting fundraising<br />

evening.<br />

PC’s biggest, single-event, annual fund-raiser, A Night in Black<br />

and White generated $590,000 — mostly for the PC Fund. That<br />

figure shattered last year’s record of $425,000.<br />

The total included an astonishing $167,000 in gifts that evening<br />

alone, with much of it raised by Cooley and auctioneer Kathy<br />

Kingston. Kingston directed the live auction, while Cooley and<br />

Kingston made “Fund-A-Need” appeals on behalf of the Angel<br />

Fund to the crowd of 750, including alumni, parents, corporate<br />

partners, and friends.<br />

The Friars’ second-year coach, Cooley contributed both a leading<br />

gift to the Angel Fund and a spontaneous offer to host a dinner<br />

for 10. Other highlights of the live auction were an evening of<br />

wine tasting and tapas for eight hosted by <strong>College</strong> President Rev.<br />

Brian J. Shanley, O.P. ’80 and <strong>College</strong> Executive Vice President<br />

and Treasurer Rev. Kenneth R. Sicard, O.P. ’78 & ’82G and a<br />

seven-day trip to a Tuscany resort.<br />

A Night in Black and White celebrates and supports the <strong>College</strong>.<br />

Featuring elegant wines and gourmet food, it is highlighted by<br />

the presentation of the Black and White Award, which recognizes<br />

individuals who significantly impact PC and the communities<br />

in which they live. This year’s honorees were William ’77 and<br />

Claudia Concannon ’08P, and Bryan and Susan Koop ’11P, ’12P.<br />

William Concannon is a former trustee whose family provided the<br />

lead gift for the Concannon Fitness Center. The Koops were the<br />

first chairs of the Parents for <strong>Providence</strong> Association and were cochairs<br />

of the first two A Night in Black and White events.<br />

The record amount realized this year catapulted the three-year<br />

fund-raising total for A Night in Black and White to more than<br />

$1.3 million.<br />

“The real highlight of the evening for us was when we looked<br />

around the hall and an entire table of young graduates had their<br />

bid cards raised high for the Angel Fund,” said Ted ’86 and Kim<br />

’86 McNamara, co-chairs with Mark ’97 and Susan Gasbarro.<br />

The PC Fund and the Angel Fund are instrumental to the <strong>College</strong>.<br />

The PC Fund supports the most compelling operational needs.<br />

The Angel Fund provides immediate assistance to current students<br />

whose education is in jeopardy because their family is experiencing<br />

unanticipated financial distress.<br />

A third beneficiary of the evening was the National Alumni<br />

Association Scholarship Fund. Proceeds from the silent auction,<br />

including photography by PC students, support that fund.<br />

“Fund-A-Need,” continued the McNamaras, “gave everyone<br />

an opportunity to showcase their Friar spirit. It allowed everyone<br />

to give at a level that was possible, and everyone gave with<br />

pride. We were all there to celebrate PC and its honorees, Bill<br />

and Claudia, and Bryan and Susan. But, we were there also to<br />

support PC and its future.”<br />

Above: <strong>College</strong> President Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P. ’80 celebrates<br />

with Black and White Award recipients, from left, Susan and Bryan<br />

Koop ’11P, ’12P and William ’77 and Claudia Concannon ’08P.<br />

>>><br />

41


Parental support carries PC<br />

An emphasis of A Night in Black and White was parents and their<br />

role in the event and in the <strong>College</strong> community. Parents’ involvement<br />

helps makes PC the vibrant community it is, said Father<br />

Shanley in his greetings. He cited the leadership of Frank and<br />

Donna Ferruggia ’14P, the co-chairs of the Parents Leadership<br />

Council (PLC) of the parents association.<br />

“There are a lot of really good things going on. The future of <strong>Providence</strong><br />

<strong>College</strong> depends on your generosity and nights like Black<br />

and White. It’s a night to celebrate where we’ve arrived at and where<br />

we’re going,” said Father Shanley.<br />

His remarks resonated with many, including parents Richard and<br />

Diane Waskiewicz ’05P, ’12P, and Jeffrey T. and Kelly Craugh ’15P,<br />

who all served on the event committee. They became involved<br />

largely in gratitude for the impact PC has had on their children.<br />

The Waskiewiczes, who have served on the PLC for four years, said<br />

they took on a leadership role because their daughter, Sarah ’05,<br />

“blossomed” at PC and were proud that their son, Scott ’12, followed.<br />

Committee chairs: Ted ’86<br />

and Kim ’86 McNamara; Mark<br />

’97 and Susan Gasbarro (committee<br />

comprised more than 60 alumni<br />

and parents)<br />

Left: Christian Vara ’89 and his wife<br />

Ellen register for A Night in Black<br />

and White.<br />

“The PC family is very welcoming. Neither one of us are alumni,<br />

but we feel like we are,” said Richard.<br />

“To see the transformation of the PC campus since Sarah was a<br />

freshman, beginning with the opening of St. Dominic Chapel, is<br />

just amazing,” added Diane.<br />

The Craughs said there was no doubt where their daughter, Erin<br />

’15, was going to go to college, especially after two high school<br />

experiences: a summer reception for new and prospective students<br />

hosted by Charles M. ’71 and Leslie Borkoski ’12P and a<br />

campus tour during which they bumped into John M. Sweeney,<br />

vice president for finance and business/CFO, whose hospitality<br />

amazed them.<br />

ATTENDANCE: 750<br />

BENEFICIARIES:<br />

PC Fund, Angel Fund, National<br />

Alumni Association Scholarship<br />

Fund<br />

“I am so impressed with the people at PC. They are kind and generous,”<br />

said Kelly Craugh. Jeffrey added, “There is no pretense, no<br />

nonsense. There’s such a passion about the school.”<br />

That, too, summed up the sentiments of the McNamaras after A<br />

Night in Black and White.<br />

“It truly was a tremendous night for our school. Friar spirit, Friar<br />

pride,” they said. •<br />

KEEPING THE PROMISE FEATURE I SUMMER <strong>2012</strong>


A NIGHT IN<br />

BLACK<br />

AND<br />

WHITE<br />

Raised in <strong>2012</strong>:<br />

$590,000<br />

Raised in 2011:<br />

$425,000<br />

Three-year total: $1.3 million<br />

Above: At left, raising her bid card during the live auction is Ann Manchester-<br />

Molak ’75, PC assistant to the president and the executive vice president. At<br />

right, auctioneer Kathy Kingston and Friars’ men’s basketball Head Coach Ed<br />

Cooley lead the live auction and “Fund-A-Need” appeal.<br />

SPONSORS: 129<br />

“I AM BLESSED.”<br />

In-kind contributors : 55<br />

“When I think back to<br />

the ’70s, I could never<br />

envision the campus we<br />

call <strong>Providence</strong> <strong>College</strong><br />

today.”<br />

— William Concannon ’77,<br />

’08P Black and White Award<br />

recipient with wife Claudia ’08P<br />

“The founding families<br />

[of the Parents for <strong>Providence</strong><br />

Association] are<br />

just amazing.”<br />

— Bryan Koop ’11P, ’12P,<br />

Black and White Award recipient<br />

with wife Susan ’11P, ’12P<br />

— Susan M. Borsari, mother<br />

of Gina Borsari ’13 (Brookfield,<br />

Wisc.), upon winning the<br />

$10,000 tuition grant raffle<br />

Above: A group of graduates from the classes of 2010 and 2011 poses at A Night<br />

in Black and White. Left: Nurys Cooley, wife of men’s basketball Head Coach<br />

Ed Cooley, gets caught up in the excitement of the live auction and the “Fund-<br />

A-Need” appeal.<br />

For more, including photos and a video:<br />

www.alumni.providence.edu/blackandwhite<br />

43


CORPORATE AND FOUNDATION PARTNERS<br />

bolster PC in critical areas<br />

By LAURA DUNN<br />

Two local businesses and two charitable foundations who are partners in the <strong>College</strong>’s Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations<br />

(OCFR) recently contributed gifts totaling $210,000 to support institutional priorities. The four are among approximately 200 businesses<br />

and charitable organizations that are supporting PC through the office, which was established in 2007. Corporate and foundation<br />

donations support the <strong>College</strong> in multiple areas, including increasing student financial aid, expanding student services and programs,<br />

enhancing campus facilities, and advancing the Catholic and Dominican mission.<br />

PC THANKS THESE BENEFACTORS FOR THEIR RECENT SUPPORT:<br />

The Legion Foundation<br />

The foundation contributed a gift to support “Faith in the City,”<br />

a student service immersion program in the Office of Mission and<br />

Ministry. The foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to<br />

the development of religious, educational, and charitable programs<br />

that foster and promote public awareness and adoption of the moral<br />

and ethical principles of Christian religions.<br />

Faith in the City is a vibrant example of the foundation’s mission.<br />

Centered on service, social justice, and spiritual reflection, the program<br />

consists of three service components: Habitat for Humanity,<br />

NOLA Immersion, and FaithWorks.<br />

In participating in one or more of these opportunities, students provide<br />

direct, personal service to the poor and the vulnerable. In doing<br />

so, they reflect on self, the Gospel’s call to do justice, and social justice<br />

in general, with the hope that they will transform themselves and the<br />

lives of their brothers and sisters in the world.<br />

The Edward J. and Virginia M. Routhier Foundation<br />

The foundation established the Edward J. and Virginia M. Routhier<br />

Scholarship Fund to assist Rhode Island residents at PC who are<br />

majoring in health policy and management. The foundation has a<br />

longstanding interest in healthcare and education, especially in growing<br />

the number of healthcare professionals in Rhode Island. The<br />

late Mr. Routhier, who attended PC in the 1940s, was an insurance<br />

executive, and his late wife was a registered nurse.<br />

E. Turgeon Construction<br />

The company made a gift to support the PC Fund, the Friars Forever<br />

Fund (athletics), and the Office of Mission and Ministry. A longtime<br />

supporter of the <strong>College</strong>, Turgeon has been involved in campus<br />

construction for 20 years.<br />

Joseph Tavone Painting<br />

The company made an unrestricted gift to support PC’s most critical<br />

needs. It is a long-time service provider and generous donor to<br />

the <strong>College</strong>.<br />

To learn more about the OCFR, contact Jacqueline Nowell in the<br />

Office of Institutional Advancement at 401-865-2905 or jnowell@<br />

providence.edu.<br />

The Legion Foundation’s recent gift to the <strong>College</strong> and its Office of<br />

Corporate and Foundations Relations will benefit the Office of Mission<br />

and Ministry’s “Faith in the City” program that is facilitated by <strong>College</strong><br />

Chaplain Rev. James Cuddy, O.P. ’98 (pictured) and others.<br />

KEEPING THE PROMISE I SUMMER <strong>2012</strong>


NEW SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS<br />

underscore parents’ gratitude to PC<br />

By LAURA DUNN<br />

An extraordinary education is priceless, but the cost to obtain one isn’t always within reach.<br />

That’s why, in the last year alone, three <strong>Providence</strong> <strong>College</strong> families<br />

have stepped up to, quite literally, “pay it forward.” The<br />

Goelzer, Signorelli, and Weber families each have established<br />

scholarships that will make a PC education possible for future<br />

students in financial need.<br />

“The rising cost of a college education, increased student debt,<br />

and the overwhelming need for financial aid, combined with<br />

greater parent engagement through PC’s Parents for <strong>Providence</strong><br />

Association, are all reasons for these generous gifts,” said<br />

Marguerite Stokes Loughlin ’86, assistant director of stewardship<br />

in the Office of Institutional Advancement.<br />

“Mostly, these scholarship funds have been established with a<br />

deep appreciation for the value of a PC, Catholic, liberal arts<br />

education,” she added.<br />

education possible for later generations of his family. Robert F.<br />

Weber passed away this year, and now family and friends are<br />

making memorial contributions to the fund as well.<br />

“These families all want to give back for different reasons — to<br />

honor a father, to give back the gift they themselves had received,<br />

to simply show appreciation for their child’s education,” said Ted<br />

DeNicola ’74, senior major gifts officer. “But all of them are parents<br />

who value the experience and opportunities that PC offers,<br />

and they want to help give that to others.”<br />

Those interested in learning more about establishing a scholarship<br />

fund can contact Megan Artz, director of major gifts and gift<br />

planning in the institutional advancement office, at 401.865.2169<br />

or martz@providence.edu. •<br />

The Daniel Goelzer and Angela Carcone Goelzer Family<br />

Scholarship Fund was established in grateful recognition of<br />

Angela’s PC education and that of their daughter, Mary<br />

Elizabeth ’14 (Bethesda, Md.). Angela ’77 attended PC with<br />

scholarship assistance.<br />

Similarly, William and Shelley Signorelli founded the Signorelli<br />

Family Scholarship Fund in appreciation for the valuable<br />

experience their sons, Kevin ’10 and Michael ’12 (Scituate,<br />

Mass.), have enjoyed at PC.<br />

“Both of our sons have had such a wonderful experience,” said<br />

William. “I’m also very impressed with the direction that Father<br />

Shanley [<strong>College</strong> President Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P. ’80] is<br />

taking with the school. I’m just fortunate that I’m in a position<br />

where I can support that, and I’d encourage any other parents<br />

who can, to do the same.”<br />

The Robert F. Weber Scholarship Fund was established by the<br />

parents of David Weber ’09. They chose to honor David’s grandfather,<br />

his military service, and his sacrifice in making a college<br />

William Signorelli ’10P, ’12P, right, who stands proudly with his<br />

son, Michael ’12, during Commencement Weekend, has established<br />

a scholarship fund for future PC students with his wife, Shelley. The<br />

Signorellis say they are grateful for the education both their sons<br />

(Kevin graduated in 2010) received and like the direction in which<br />

the <strong>College</strong> is heading.<br />

45


REUNION WEEKEND <strong>2012</strong><br />

Stories<br />

memories<br />

CONNECTIONS I SUMMER <strong>2012</strong>


“We laughed non-stop from Friday night until Sunday morning, reminiscing<br />

about our PC experiences.”<br />

— JOHN CERVIONE ’87<br />

A RECORD-BREAKING 1,200 ALUMNI RETURNED TO PC ON JUNE 1-3 FOR REUNION<br />

WEEKEND <strong>2012</strong> TO SHARE MEMORIES AND TO MAKE NEW ONES. GRADUATES IN<br />

CLASS YEARS ENDING IN ’2 AND ’7 WERE INVITED.<br />

The weekend’s theme was “Step Into Your Story.” Highlights<br />

included the popular all-classes barbecue and a WaterFire<br />

<strong>Providence</strong> lighting in downtown <strong>Providence</strong>.<br />

appearance in the NCAA Final Four 25 years ago, as well as<br />

the Class of 1992’s dedication of bricks for Alumni Lane in<br />

memory of nine classmates.<br />

Several classes embraced the theme through specific events,<br />

such as the Class of 1987’s reception that recreated the experience<br />

of being in New Orleans for the men’s basketball team’s<br />

This year, all “Golden Friars” — alumni who have celebrated<br />

their 50th anniversary — were invited to the Golden Friar Mass<br />

and Dinner to welcome the newest graduates to reach this milestone,<br />

the Class of 1962.<br />

“It was great to be back to see familiar,<br />

favorite places and all the new changes —<br />

the campus looks great, and so did all the<br />

“The Dominicans were a lot younger but the<br />

same as the men who taught us life’s values<br />

so many years ago.”<br />

friends from our class!”<br />

— BETH PATKOSKE ’87<br />

— U.S. ARMY COLONEL (RET.)<br />

JOHN P. KENNEDY ’62<br />

Left: Members of the classes of 1967 and 1972 unite for dinner on the stage of the Angell Blackfriars Theatre in the Smith Center for the<br />

Arts on Reunion Weekend <strong>2012</strong>. Above: At left, friends from the Class of 1987 share memories and laughs during a New Orleans-style<br />

reception for their 25th reunion in Aquinas Hall Lounge. At right, rain forced the barbecue into the Peterson Recreation Center but didn’t<br />

dampen the spirits of these Class of 2007 graduates who gathered for their first Reunion Weekend experience. Seated are, from left, Vichara<br />

Santos Silva ’07, Lindsey Bauer ’07, Jessica McRae ’07, and Colin Boyle ’07. Standing are Richard Murray Scudder ’07, Bridget Flynn<br />

Anderson ’07, Megan O’Leary ’07, and Elyse Roberts ’07.<br />

>>><br />

47


June 1-3<br />

CLASSES ENDING<br />

IN ’2 AND ’7<br />

“The reunion was great.<br />

St. Dominic Chapel<br />

itself was worth the<br />

trip to campus.”<br />

— EDWARD J. McELROY ’62<br />

FARTHEST TRAVELED<br />

Ronald P. Stride<br />

’62<br />

Singapore<br />

Above: The casino tables were a big draw in the Slavin Center. Right:<br />

Enjoying a special 25th reunion reception in Aquinas Hall Lounge are,<br />

front row from left, Debra Brendel Miceli ’86, Veronica Hendrick ’87,<br />

Mary Kay Algieri Patten ’87, and Jude Mulvey ’87, and rear, from<br />

left, Joseph Miceli ’87, Thomas Fiore ’87, and Susan Klosen ’87. Far<br />

Right: Robert Reilly ’42D and his wife, Mary Anne Reilly ’02Hon.,<br />

greet <strong>College</strong> President Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P. ’80 after the Golden<br />

Friars Mass.<br />

CONNECTIONS I SUMMER <strong>2012</strong>


GOLDEN FRIARS ATTENDING<br />

ATTENDANCE<br />

Class of 1962 : 70<br />

Classes older than 1962 : 92<br />

Alumni : 1,200<br />

Overall : 1,555<br />

Left: The Class of 1962 gathers on the steps of St. Dominic Chapel after Mass.<br />

Left: Michele Boussy Tracia ’92 places gift remembrances in front of the<br />

portraits of deceased classmates prior to a brick dedication ceremony in their<br />

memory. Lower middle: At the barbecue are, sitting, Carmella Cacchiotti<br />

and her husband, John Cacchiotti ’59, and standing, Florence Cotoia and<br />

her husband, Frank Cotoia ’54. Below: Members of the Class of 1962<br />

salute their 50th reunion along with family and friends.<br />

OLDEST GRADUATE<br />

PRESENT<br />

Samuel J. Chester<br />

’34<br />

Cranston, R.I.<br />

TOP TURNOUT<br />

BY CLASS<br />

2007 : 237<br />

TO SEE MORE photos<br />

from Reunion Weekend,<br />

go to prov.ly/Kzc9Tw.<br />

1992 : 214<br />

2002 : 163<br />

49


take note<br />

STUDENTS SIGN UP TO ‘BE THE MATCH’<br />

The National Marrow Donor Program gained 248 new members from<br />

among students, staff, faculty, and alumni when the <strong>College</strong> hosted<br />

its first campus “Be the Match” registration drive in April. Christine<br />

Griffin ’91 contacted the Office of Alumni Relations to organize<br />

the event upon the 10-year anniversary of the Michael H. Flanagan<br />

Foundation, a nonprofit she started in memory of her brother, a member<br />

of the Class of 2001 who died of leukemia that year. Patrick A.<br />

Lynch ’03, who serves on the National Alumni Association Board<br />

of Governors, spoke at the event about his successful bone marrow<br />

transplant in high school.<br />

‘FUSION’ PROJECTS IN SEVEN LOCATIONS<br />

Alumni joined in service projects in seven locations from Boston to<br />

Washington, D.C., this spring as part of FUSION — Friars United<br />

for Service In Our Neighborhood. The initiative, begun in 2007<br />

by the <strong>Providence</strong> President’s Council and the City of <strong>Providence</strong><br />

Parks Department, has spread to involve regional clubs as well. On<br />

Long Island, volunteers spruced up a camp for physically and mentally<br />

challenged children. Other projects included cleaning along a<br />

river in Pawcatuck, Conn.; revitalizing a playground and chaperoning<br />

field trips in New York City; volunteering at the Epiphany<br />

School in Boston; and sprucing up schools in Washington, D.C. In<br />

<strong>Providence</strong>, alumni helped a large group of PC students build and<br />

beautify a playground at a neighborhood park, above.<br />

Above, Alyssa Martino ’14, right, and Tiffany Paolillo, a nursing student<br />

from the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, register potential bone<br />

marrow donors.<br />

50/50 RAFFLE BENEFITS SCHOLARSHIP FUND<br />

The National Alumni Association’s Greater <strong>Providence</strong> Chapter, the<br />

Mal Brown Club, raised more than $5,000 for the Mal Brown Scholarship<br />

Fund from its first 50/50 Raffle, conducted at men’s basketball<br />

home games this year. Club board members, assisted by members of<br />

the Student Alumni Association, sold tickets at a table set up in the<br />

Dunkin’ Donuts Center concourse during nine BIG EAST Conference<br />

games. Jackpots ranged from $400 to $700. The scholarship<br />

fund benefits students from Rhode Island with financial need.<br />

CONNECTIONS I SUMMER <strong>2012</strong>


SOAKING UP INNSBRUCK<br />

Below, alumni and guests enjoy a view of Innsbruck, Austria, near<br />

the Olympic ski jump, during the Friar Explorations Alumni<br />

Travel Program tour of Austria, Switzerland, and Bavaria in April.<br />

Front row, from left, are, Jennifer K. Carr, assistant director of<br />

alumni relations, Kelly Phillips ’11, Marilyn Corrente, and Susan<br />

Dorgan ’79. Back row, from left, are Marcia McNiff ’77, Charles<br />

Anthony, Nick DeCristofaro ’56, and Thomas Lee ’60. The next<br />

alumni trips planned by the Office of Alumni Relations will be<br />

to Walt Disney World on October 5-8, <strong>2012</strong>, and to Spain on<br />

November 1-11, <strong>2012</strong>. For more information, visit the Friar Explorations<br />

Web site at: www.alumni.providence.edu/travel.<br />

ALUMNI TALK CAREERS<br />

Thirty-five alumni offered career advice to students during a Spring<br />

Networking Night hosted by the Student Alumni Association and<br />

the alumni clubs of Greater <strong>Providence</strong> (Mal Brown), Newport,<br />

and New London/Washington County. The keynote speaker at<br />

the March event was H. Kirk Bozigian ’73, an adjunct professor of<br />

marketing at PC and the head marketer and inventor at HKB Ideas.<br />

Bozigian urged students to create their own brand and to market<br />

themselves through personal blogs, customized business cards, and<br />

social media sites.<br />

Above, Gillian Daly ’14, left, introduces herself to Nora Yousif ’09, a<br />

financial advisor with RBC Wealth Management, at the Alumni-<br />

Student Networking Night.<br />

PwC ALUMNI SUPPORT ST. MARY’S HOME FOR<br />

CHILDREN<br />

Fifteen alumni who work for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) joined more<br />

than 40 accountancy and MBA students for the second annual service<br />

day at St. Mary’s Home for Children in North <strong>Providence</strong> in April. St.<br />

Mary’s offers treatment programs for boys and girls traumatized by abuse<br />

or who have psychiatric disorders. With accountancy faculty members Dr.<br />

Matthew J. Keane ’01 and Carol A. Hartley, C.P.A., the volunteers painted<br />

rooms, organized donated clothing, and landscaped grounds. The day was<br />

organized in part by John R. Formica, Jr. ’81, a partner in PwC’s National<br />

Professional Services Group, and the student-run Accounting Association.<br />

Working in the clothing donation room at the St. Mary’s service project are, from left, Kevin Briere ’06, Anthony Zammiello ’13, Erin O’Grady ’14, Lauren<br />

Fryxell ’10, Matt Condon ’13, and Carolyn Russo ’12.<br />

51


CLASS notes<br />

LEGEND<br />

* = School of Continuing Education<br />

** = Graduate Studies<br />

All others are day school graduates.<br />

CONNECTIONS I SUMMER <strong>2012</strong><br />

Oh, those Grotto Beach days!<br />

(spring 1983)


1960s<br />

’61<br />

Francis M. O’Boy of Taunton, Mass., was<br />

named one of the top attorneys in New England<br />

by Martindale-Hubbell, an information<br />

services company to the legal profession. He<br />

was awarded the AV Preeminent Rating, based<br />

on his legal experience and high, ethical standards.<br />

A criminal and civil litigator for the past<br />

30 years, he has served as lead counsel in more<br />

than 75 homicide cases. He has been voted a<br />

“Massachusetts Super Lawyer” by Boston Magazine<br />

for the past five years.<br />

John J. Partridge, Esq. ’11Hon. of <strong>Providence</strong>,<br />

R.I., was honored as The Pawtucket Foundation’s<br />

“Person of the Year” at its Annual Awards<br />

Celebration. The award is presented to a person<br />

who has significantly enhanced the quality<br />

of economic and community life in Pawtucket.<br />

He is a founding member of Partridge Snow<br />

& Hahn LLP in <strong>Providence</strong> and co-founder of<br />

The Pawtucket Foundation. He has contributed<br />

to the community through his generosity,<br />

leadership, service, and participation with numerous<br />

charities and institutions. He is chair of<br />

PC’s Liberal Arts Honors Program’s Leadership<br />

Council.<br />

’67 (45th-Year Reunion)<br />

Kevin B. Byrne of North Mankato, Minn.,<br />

was named associate provost and dean of the<br />

faculty at Gustavus Adolphus <strong>College</strong> in Saint<br />

Peter.<br />

1970s<br />

’71<br />

Vasilios J. “Bill” Kalogredis, Esq. of West<br />

Chester, Pa., was selected as one of Philadelphia’s<br />

Top-Rated Lawyers in its <strong>2012</strong> edition. He<br />

is a partner at Kalogredis, Sansweet, Dearden<br />

and Burke, Ltd., a healthcare law firm in<br />

Wayne.<br />

Frederic L. Renner of St. John, Virgin Islands,<br />

and his wife, Renee Proctor, have written a<br />

book, Between the Sheets, about their 10 years of<br />

living on St. John and those they have met on<br />

their charter sailboat. The book is a humorous<br />

account of the people who visit the island and<br />

includes many of Renee’s homemade recipes.<br />

’72 (40th-Year Reunion)<br />

Peter Gobis of Cranston, R.I., a sportswriter<br />

and columnist for The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro<br />

and North Attleboro, Mass., was honored<br />

for the fourth time by the New England Better<br />

Newspaper Association for the “Best Sports<br />

Story of the Year” in the suburban newspaper<br />

division. He also received the Presidential Award<br />

from the Massachusetts Basketball Coaches<br />

Association for his contributions to the game<br />

in writing about the professional, college, and<br />

high school athletes participating in the sport.<br />

’74<br />

Raymond L. McGowan of Ivyland, Pa., was<br />

promoted by Crown Holdings, Inc. of Philadelphia<br />

to president of the company’s North<br />

American Food Packaging business, responsible<br />

for marketing, sales, production, and<br />

planning. He previously served as president<br />

of Crown Food Can Packaging USA. He is a<br />

member of the <strong>Providence</strong> <strong>College</strong> School of<br />

Business Advisory Council.<br />

Anthony V. Riccio of Westbrook, Conn., who<br />

is stacks manager at Sterling Memorial Library<br />

at Yale University, presented an exhibit, From<br />

Italy to America — Photographs of Anthony<br />

Riccio, at the Bellarmine Museum of Art at<br />

Fairfield University. The exhibit documents the<br />

Italian-American immigrant experience and<br />

includes his photography from Italy, Boston’s<br />

North End, and New Haven.<br />

’76<br />

Russell E. Darrow of Pearland, Texas, was promoted<br />

to chief clinical officer at Cornerstone<br />

Hospital, Bellaire, in Houston. Cornerstone<br />

is a 74-bed, acute-care hospital for patients<br />

requiring an extended hospital stay.<br />

Theresa M. Gibbons of South Burlington, Vt.,<br />

has joined the law firm of Lemery Greisler of<br />

Saratoga Springs, N.Y. She has spent 20 years<br />

in private practice in U.S. immigration law and<br />

related corporate matters and offers expertise in<br />

professional business immigration as well as corporate<br />

structural matters related to immigration.<br />

France bestows Legion of Honor<br />

Award on Vaghi ’42D<br />

Joseph P. Vaghi, Jr. ’42D of Bethesda, Md.,<br />

received the Legion of Honor “Chevalier”<br />

(Knight) Award, France’s highest civilian award,<br />

for his heroism and personal contribution to the<br />

liberation of France during World War II at a<br />

ceremony at the French Embassy in Washington,<br />

D.C., this year. Equivalent to the United<br />

States’ Medal of Honor, the Legion of Honor<br />

was established by Napoleon Bonaparte in<br />

1802. Vaghi was a U.S. Navy lieutenant commander<br />

who served as a beach master at the<br />

D-Day invasion at Omaha Beach on June 6,<br />

1944. He was responsible for helping clear the<br />

beach for tens of thousands of Army troops to<br />

come ashore. Wounded that day, he removed<br />

two gasoline cans and several boxes of hand grenades<br />

from a burning Jeep while under fire. He<br />

was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for heroism<br />

and took part in the invasion of Okinawa.<br />

>>><br />

53


’76 (Continued)<br />

David E. Revens, Esq. of East Greenwich, R.I.,<br />

was named “Lawyer of the Year” by the Kent<br />

County Bar Association. A partner at Revens,<br />

Revens and St. Pierre in Warwick and a practicing<br />

lawyer for 32 years, his expertise includes<br />

family law, personal injury, and estate planning.<br />

Mary D. Ross of Coventry, R.I., was promoted<br />

to chief operating officer at Advanced Pharmacy<br />

Concepts (APC) in North Kingstown. She has<br />

direct responsibility for the daily operations of<br />

the audit services and consulting services business<br />

units. She was previously responsible for<br />

consulting and clinical services and government<br />

programs at APC.<br />

Mariana R. Sequeira of Bristol, R.I., has joined<br />

the regional headquarters of Webster Bank in<br />

<strong>Providence</strong> as senior vice president/senior banker<br />

serving the Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts<br />

markets. She is a certified trust and financial<br />

advisor and asset management specialist.<br />

Stephen M. Silvestri, Esq. of Kingsville, Md.,<br />

has joined Jackson Lewis, LLP as a partner<br />

in the firm’s Baltimore office. With nearly 30<br />

years of experience trying labor and employment<br />

cases, he has been recognized as an expert<br />

in workplace law by his colleagues and was included<br />

in Best Lawyers in America, Chambers<br />

USA, and Maryland Super Lawyers.<br />

Mary-Ellen Sposato Rogers of Rocky Hill,<br />

Conn., has joined Learning Dynamics of Wallingford<br />

as a training consultant, specializing<br />

in human resources, health and wellness, and<br />

entrepreneurial strategy development practices.<br />

She is the founder and CEO of Work/Life<br />

Innovations. She is a member of the <strong>College</strong>’s<br />

Board of Trustees.<br />

Thomas J. Rogers of Marblehead, Mass., a<br />

financial representative at Baystate Financial<br />

Services, LLP of Boston, earned New England<br />

Financial’s Master’s level of recognition. The<br />

honor is presented to select top producers who<br />

exemplify the highest standards of personal integrity,<br />

professionalism, and customer service<br />

across the company.<br />

’78<br />

Gerard M. Hanabergh of Pleasantville, N.Y.,<br />

has joined First Capital as executive vice president<br />

and chief credit officer in the firm’s New<br />

York City office. A specialized commercial finance<br />

company, First Capital primarily serves<br />

small- and middle-market entrepreneurs with<br />

annual sales ranging from $10 million to $200<br />

million. Prior to joining First Capital, he was<br />

chief risk officer for the asset-based and leasing<br />

portfolio of RBS/Citizens Financial Group.<br />

A 1917 Society memento for Nuttall ’55<br />

1980s<br />

’80<br />

Martha Reynolds McVeigh, CFE of West<br />

Warwick, R.I., was honored with the 2011<br />

CFE Excellence Award from the Rhode Island<br />

chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud<br />

Examiners. She has ended a 23-year career in<br />

state service, most recently as senior economic<br />

crimes investigator for the R.I. attorney general’s<br />

Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.<br />

’82 (30th-Year Reunion)<br />

Kenneth J. Albano, Esq. of Longmeadow,<br />

Mass., was appointed to the Board of Directors<br />

of the Western Massachusetts Division of the<br />

March of Dimes. He is a member of the corporate,<br />

commercial, and municipal law departments<br />

of Bacon Wilson, P.C., the largest law<br />

firm in western Massachusetts. He also serves<br />

as counsel for several local municipalities.<br />

’83<br />

Gregory P. McGuckin of Toms River, N.J.,<br />

was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly<br />

and represents the 10th Legislative District.<br />

He is a partner in the law firm of Dasti, Murphy,<br />

McGuckin, Ulaky, Cherkos, and Connors<br />

in Forked River.<br />

’77 (35th-Year Reunion)<br />

Joseph P. Hassett, Jr. of East Greenwich, R.I.,<br />

executive vice president of investments for Janney<br />

Montgomery Scott LLC in <strong>Providence</strong>, has<br />

been named to Barron’s <strong>2012</strong> list of “Top 1,000<br />

Advisors.” The list, which is based on quantitative<br />

and qualitative data, represents standards<br />

of excellence in the financial advisory profession.<br />

Prior to entering the financial services<br />

industry, Hassett was a professional basketball<br />

player in the NBA. He is a longtime radio color<br />

analyst for PC men’s basketball and a member<br />

of the <strong>College</strong>’s <strong>Providence</strong> President’s Council.<br />

<strong>College</strong> President Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P.<br />

’80 presents Chester T. Nuttall, Jr. ’55 with a<br />

1917 Society plaque during a visit to Nuttall’s<br />

home in Wilkesboro, N.C., this year. The 1917<br />

Society recognizes cumulative lifetime giving to<br />

PC of $250,000 and above. A retired accounting<br />

and finance executive, Nuttall is a member<br />

of the society’s top level, Platinum, which represents<br />

contributions of $1 million and higher.<br />

The native of Fall River, Mass., also is a member<br />

of the Harkins Society, made up of benefactors<br />

who have named PC in their estate plans<br />

through bequests or other types of deferred gifts.<br />

CONNECTIONS I SUMMER <strong>2012</strong>


John Vasconcellos of New Bedford, Mass.,<br />

has joined the Trustees of Reservations of Massachusetts<br />

as southeast regional director of the<br />

Westport field office. The Trustees is a volunteer<br />

organization that preserves pristine and<br />

historic land and buildings for public enjoyment.<br />

He oversees the staff and properties<br />

in the southeast region, which encompasses<br />

more than 2 million acres, including Cape<br />

Cod and the Islands. He previously served as<br />

managing director for development for the<br />

Gay Men’s Health Crisis in New York City,<br />

the nation’s first AIDS service organization.<br />

**Michael S. Wyzga of Boston, Mass.,<br />

was appointed to the Board of Directors<br />

of Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a<br />

biopharmaceutical company engaged<br />

in the discovery and development of<br />

drugs for the treatment of human viral<br />

diseases. He serves as chairman of the<br />

Audit Committee. He is president and<br />

CEO of Radius Health, Inc., a leading<br />

company dedicated to developing a new<br />

generation of drug therapies for osteoporosis<br />

and women’s health. He is a member of<br />

the <strong>Providence</strong> <strong>College</strong> School of Business<br />

Advisory Council.<br />

’87 (25th-Year Reunion)<br />

David L. Dugas of Cumberland, R.I.,<br />

was promoted to director of major gifts<br />

and planned giving at Stonehill <strong>College</strong> in<br />

Easton, Mass. He joined Stonehill in 2005<br />

and served as a major gifts officer prior to his<br />

promotion.<br />

’88<br />

Tracy Gaede Niehaus of Cincinnati, Ohio,<br />

was named a client services executive at Tri-<br />

ComB2B, an agency dealing exclusively in<br />

business-to-business marketing of technical<br />

products and services. She joins TriComB2B<br />

from KGB Advertising, where she spent<br />

more than 20 years in marketing management<br />

roles.<br />

CLASS AGENTS CORNER<br />

Christopher Breen ’92<br />

DANVERS, MASS.<br />

EDITOR’S NOTE: Class agents are some of the most influential ambassadors of <strong>Providence</strong><br />

<strong>College</strong>. With this magazine issue, we launch a feature profiling dedicated alumni who serve their peers<br />

and PC through the Class Agent Program. For more information on how to become a class agent, go to<br />

alumni.providence.edu/classagent.<br />

WORK: Manager, Massachusetts Department of Revenue (full time); event operations<br />

specialist, Boston Red Sox (part time)<br />

FAMILY: Wife, Kathlyn; two daughters, Siobhan and Shannon; and son, Liam<br />

FAVORITE PC MEMORY:<br />

“The camaraderie among classmates. That’s what struck me when I first<br />

visited the campus: how down-to-earth everyone was, and how welcome<br />

I felt among my classmates. I have been back for many alumni<br />

events, and I think the school still has this environment. My other favorite<br />

memory is running the second Friar 5K with my son.”<br />

CLASS AGENT PERSPECTIVE: “This is my first year as a class agent, and it<br />

happens to be our 20th reunion year. Our committee really worked well with one another<br />

and made it a fun, interactive experience for our classmates. I think that connecting with<br />

over half of our class through social media and using photos, polls, videos, etc. to engender<br />

interest is a big accomplishment. However, our most significant accomplishment is the<br />

brick campaign and dedication ceremony that we organized for our deceased classmates.”<br />

Above: Breen holds a torch while assisting at WaterFire <strong>Providence</strong> on Reunion Weekend <strong>2012</strong>.<br />

>>><br />

55


‘Bloomberg Markets’ magazine names<br />

Gallo ’04 top currency forecaster<br />

Stephen Gallo ’04 of London, England, is tops<br />

when it comes to currency forecasting, in the<br />

view of Bloomberg Markets magazine.<br />

A finance major at PC, he was the most accurate<br />

currency forecaster for the six quarters that<br />

ended June 30, 2011, with an average margin<br />

of error of 5.05 percent, according to Bloomberg’s<br />

analysis. He was also the most accurate<br />

euro-dollar forecaster during that time.<br />

Gallo was head of market analysis for Schneider<br />

Foreign Exchange Ltd., a currency broker<br />

in London, but started a new position in May<br />

as senior foreign exchange strategist for Francebased<br />

Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment<br />

Bank. He advises clients who need to exchange<br />

money from one currency to another, using<br />

macroeconomic data and political perspectives<br />

to help plan the timing of transactions and possible<br />

risks.<br />

After graduating from PC, Gallo earned a master’s<br />

degree in investment management from<br />

City University London’s Cass Business School<br />

in 2005. He is also an amateur pilot.<br />

’89 (Continued)<br />

Gregory S. Christenson of Sammamish, Wash.,<br />

was named chief financial officer and vice president<br />

of finance of Oberto Brands in Kent. He<br />

oversees the finance, accounting, procurement,<br />

CONNECTIONS I SUMMER <strong>2012</strong><br />

information technology, legal, and strategy<br />

departments. Oberto Brands is known for its<br />

Oh Boy! Oberto Jerky products. He was previously<br />

the director of finance at Kraft Foods,<br />

overseeing the Process Cheese business (Kraft<br />

Singles, Velveeta, Philadelphia Cream Cheese,<br />

and Kraft Grated Cheese) in Northfield, Ill.<br />

Peter J. DiFilippo of Cranston, R.I., a relationship<br />

manager in Citizens Bank’s Commercial<br />

Enterprise Banking Division, was promoted<br />

to senior vice president. He is responsible for<br />

providing commercial lending and a full range<br />

of financial solutions to new and existing corporate<br />

clients.<br />

Stephen E. Gallucci, C.P.A. of New Rochelle,<br />

N.Y., was appointed managing partner of the<br />

Greater Fairfield (Conn.) County practice of<br />

Deloitte, with which he has spent his entire 22-<br />

year career. A partner with Deloitte & Touche<br />

LLP, he oversees nearly 1,300 employees and is<br />

responsible for the strategy and direction of the<br />

company’s business activities in southern Connecticut.<br />

Paula Sullivan Harris of Duxbury, Mass., was<br />

elected chairman of the Board of Directors of<br />

the South Shore Chamber of Commerce. She<br />

is co-founder and principal of WH Cornerstone<br />

Investments of Duxbury, a wealth management<br />

services firm. She also serves in other<br />

community capacities, including as a trustee of<br />

the Duxbury Free Library, a board member for<br />

the Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra, and a<br />

corporator of South Coastal Bank.<br />

1990s<br />

’90<br />

Eileen M. Christenson, C.P.A. of Sammamish,<br />

Wash., has been named chief financial officer<br />

of Presbyterian Retirement Communities<br />

Northwest (PRCN) in Seattle. She oversees the<br />

financial management of PRCN and its three<br />

senior-living communities. She was previously<br />

director of accounting at Vi at the Glen, an<br />

independent living and continuing care community<br />

in Glenview, Ill.<br />

’92 (20th-Year Reunion)<br />

David P. Higgins of Atlanta, Ga., a private<br />

wealth advisor in the Private Banking and<br />

Investments Group at Merrill Lynch in Atlanta,<br />

was recognized by Barron’s “America’s<br />

Top 1,000 Advisors: State by State” list for the<br />

fourth consecutive year. He is ranked seventh<br />

in the state of Georgia among financial advisors.<br />

He has been with Merrill Lynch for 19<br />

years and was recognized as a “Top 40 Advisor<br />

under 40” by On Wall Street magazine and as<br />

a “Top 100 Financial Advisor” by Barron’s in<br />

2008.<br />

Maryann K. McCarthy of Delmar, N.Y., has<br />

joined the New York State Petroleum Council<br />

(NYSPC) as associate director in its Albany<br />

office. The NYSPC represents all sectors of<br />

New York’s oil and natural gas industry. She<br />

most recently served as vice president of business<br />

development and government affairs at<br />

the Industries for the Blind of New York State.<br />

Jim Paquette of Lutherville-Timonium, Md.,<br />

who is assistant vice president and director of<br />

athletics at Loyola University in Maryland, has<br />

been named to the NCAA Division I Men’s<br />

Golf Committee, effective September <strong>2012</strong>.<br />

Loyola’s athletic director since 2010, he previously<br />

spent 16 years on the athletic leadership<br />

team at Boston <strong>College</strong>.<br />

’94<br />

**Jean A. Doyle of South Attleboro, Mass.,<br />

was named director of research and development<br />

at The Wellness Corporation, a provider<br />

of employee and student assistance programs<br />

that is based in Shrewsbury. She concentrates<br />

on issues of student retention and persistence<br />

in higher education as part of the WellConnect<br />

Student Assistance Program. She has taught at<br />

Boston <strong>College</strong> and at the Harvard Graduate<br />

School of Education.<br />

>>>


Build a Legacy for PC<br />

with a charitable bequest<br />

For many alumni and friends, a charitable bequest is the easiest and best way to make a gift to<br />

<strong>Providence</strong> <strong>College</strong>. In fact, some of the <strong>College</strong>’s most powerful and enduring gifts have been<br />

bequests. Continuing this tradition of remembrance will ensure financial strength and academic<br />

excellence for PC well into the future.<br />

have you thought about including providence<br />

college in your estate plans?<br />

We are happy to provide bequest language, or can help you draft language so that your gift is used<br />

as you intend.<br />

If you have already made a bequest provision for <strong>Providence</strong> <strong>College</strong>, we thank you for your<br />

thoughtful and generous support, and ask you to let us know about your intentions so that we can<br />

recognize you as a member of the Harkins Society. For more information about building a legacy<br />

for PC, please contact Carol Giusti-Cahalane at 401.865.1246 or cgcahalane@providence.edu.<br />

CONNECTIONS I SUMMER www.support.providence.edu/plannedgiving<br />

<strong>2012</strong><br />

57


Weber ’06 interviews ‘old friend’<br />

Oprah Winfrey<br />

Matthew Weber ’06 interviewed the queen of<br />

television talk, Oprah Winfrey, when she visited<br />

the Harvard Graduate School of Education<br />

in March for the launch of Lady Gaga’s new<br />

nonprofit, the Born This Way Foundation.<br />

Weber, new and social media officer at the<br />

graduate school, chatted with Winfrey for his<br />

weekly iTunesU podcast, Harvard EdCast.<br />

“During the 10 minutes, it felt like talking to<br />

an old friend as we laughed, joked, and enjoyed<br />

a good conversation on education, bullying,<br />

and inspiration,” Weber said.<br />

An American studies major at PC, Weber also<br />

turned the tables on Winfrey, leaving her “a<br />

gift under her chair” — a Harvard ID card<br />

with her name and photograph.<br />

To listen to Weber’s podcast, visit www.gse.<br />

harvard.edu/news-impact/<strong>2012</strong>/03/harvardedcast-oprah-gaga-and-harvard<br />

’94 (Continued)<br />

Hollie B. Lussier of North Kingstown, R.I.,<br />

has joined the Boston office of DLA Piper<br />

as of counsel. She is a member of the firm’s<br />

Intellectual Property and Technology Practice<br />

Group. She previously served as senior<br />

counsel at Citizens Financial Group, Inc. and<br />

RBS Americas. DLA Piper has approximately<br />

4,200 lawyers and operates in 31 countries.<br />

’95<br />

Matthew D. Amaro of Mystic, Conn., was<br />

elected as a corporator of The Dime Bank,<br />

a mutual savings bank with 11 branches in<br />

southeastern Connecticut and Westerly, R.I.<br />

He practices general dentistry and is a partner<br />

with Norwich Family Dental Associates in<br />

Norwich.<br />

’96<br />

Jennifer Sevigney Durand of Stoughton, Mass.,<br />

was selected as a “Rising Star” in the field of<br />

family law in the 2011 edition of Boston Magazine<br />

— New England Super Lawyer. It was the<br />

fourth consecutive year she has received “Super<br />

Lawyer” distinction by the magazine. She is a<br />

domestic relations attorney at Schmidt & Federico,<br />

P.C. in Boston.<br />

’97 (15th-Year Reunion)<br />

**Patricia R. Aull of Portsmouth, R.I., is the<br />

new principal at Curtis Corner Middle School<br />

in South Kingstown. She was previously principal<br />

at Tiverton Middle School and assistant<br />

principal at Coventry High School.<br />

Alison W. Kennedy of Short Hills, N.J., was<br />

named director of investor relations at Fireman<br />

Capital Partners, a consumer-focused buyout<br />

and growth equity firm based in Boston.<br />

She most recently served as vice president of<br />

investor relations and business development<br />

at Adveq Management.<br />

’98<br />

Jeffrey S. Drouin of Tulsa, Okla., was named<br />

assistant professor of English at the University<br />

of Tulsa, where he specializes in British and<br />

Irish modernism in the transatlantic context.<br />

His first book, James Joyce, Science, and Modernist<br />

Print Culture: The Einstein of English<br />

Fiction, was published last year.<br />

’99<br />

Michelle M. Arbitrio, Esq. of Chappaqua, N.Y.,<br />

was named a partner at the national law firm<br />

of Wilson Elser and works in the White Plains<br />

office. She is a member of the Securities and Life,<br />

Health, Disability, and ERISA (Employee Retirement<br />

Income Security Act) practices.<br />

Michael P. O’Brien of Staten Island, N.Y.,<br />

was presented with the “Sheldon B. Hurwitz<br />

Young Lawyer of the Year Award” by the New<br />

York State Bar Association in recognition of<br />

his outstanding contribution to the practice<br />

of law in the field of insurance. He is an<br />

attorney with the Wall Street firm of O’Brien<br />

& Jacobs, PLLC.<br />

Elizabeth E. Smith of Boston, Mass., was<br />

named a professional recruiter in the Boston<br />

office of Inside Edge Legal, the legal contract<br />

staffing affiliate of Major, Lindsey & Africa,<br />

one of the world’s leading legal search firms.<br />

She is a former director of candidate recruitment<br />

and development at Counsel on Call.<br />

2000s<br />

’00<br />

John J. DiChello of Philadelphia, Pa., has<br />

been elected partner at Blank Rome LLP. He<br />

is a member of the Corporate Litigation Group<br />

and practices in Philadelphia.<br />

Michael V. Ferri of Northbridge, Mass., was<br />

promoted to principal of the accounting firm<br />

of Sullivan & Company LLP in <strong>Providence</strong>,<br />

where he works with clients on strategic tax<br />

planning and compliance, banking relationships<br />

and financing, costing studies, and merger<br />

and acquisition strategies. He serves in the<br />

<strong>Providence</strong> <strong>College</strong> President’s Council Executive<br />

Career Mentor Program.<br />

Christopher J. Hilton of Farmingdale, N.Y.,<br />

was promoted to executive vice president of<br />

Empire National Bank, a full-service community<br />

bank headquartered in Islandia, N.Y. He<br />

retains his role as chief credit officer, responsible<br />

for managing all aspects of credit and<br />

CONNECTIONS I SUMMER <strong>2012</strong>


lending functions and serving as the bank’s<br />

Community Reinvestment Act officer.<br />

Sara A. Tenreiro Monaco of Smithfield,<br />

R.I., received a doctorate in education from<br />

Northeastern University. Her research focused<br />

on data analysis and early reading acquisition.<br />

She is currently an adjunct professor of<br />

elementary/special education at <strong>Providence</strong><br />

<strong>College</strong>.<br />

’01<br />

Courtney D. Dubois of Cumberland, R.I., a<br />

teacher at the Wolf School in East <strong>Providence</strong>,<br />

was presented with the school’s Founders Day<br />

Award for her talents, dedication, and leadership.<br />

She was commended for fostering<br />

confidence and achievement in her students<br />

and for teaching them successful strategies for<br />

dealing with difficult situations.<br />

CLASS AGENTS CORNER<br />

Michele Consiglio ’92<br />

WARWICK NECK, R.I.<br />

Michael F. McDonagh of Easton, Mass., was<br />

promoted to general counsel and government<br />

affairs director of the Massachusetts Association<br />

of Realtors (MAR), where he has worked<br />

since 2001. He directs the group’s legislative<br />

efforts and oversees legal affairs and risk management<br />

programs for MAR members.<br />

Melissa A. Moore, Esq. of North Oxford,<br />

Mass., has accepted a position as assistant director<br />

of gift planning at the <strong>College</strong> of the<br />

Holy Cross in Worcester.<br />

Brian Palmieri of Huntington, N.Y., was<br />

named vice president of global finance operational<br />

risk management at American Express<br />

in Greater New York City. He was previously<br />

senior vice president/global head of financial<br />

risk assurance for MF Global.<br />

Angela M. Taylor of Westbrook, Conn., was<br />

named sales and marketing manager for Acara,<br />

a leader in the aesthetic medical practice<br />

and medical spa industries. She previously<br />

worked at Clear Channel Communications,<br />

where she developed radio and sponsorship<br />

advertising.<br />

>>><br />

WORK: Veterinarian for a small-animal, three-doctor practice<br />

FAMILY: “I am an only child with a large, extended family. My mom is an immigrant<br />

who met my dad while he was stationed in Holland with the Air Force. I am one of the first<br />

to go to college in the family and the only doctor, so far.”<br />

FAVORITE PC MEMORY:<br />

“The people, of course. I met some of the best people during my four<br />

years at PC. I cherished going to Trinity Rep [Trinity Repertory Theatre<br />

in <strong>Providence</strong>] for the first time as part of one of my English classes;<br />

exploring Exeter, R.I., while on a women’s weekend retreat; nights full of<br />

popcorn and diet Coke while studying with my roommates in Aquinas<br />

Hall; and Senior Week, the culmination of an amazing four years.”<br />

CLASS AGENT PERSPECTIVE: “This is my first year as an agent. PC was an<br />

essential component of the person I am today. To try and honor that as well as aid others<br />

in obtaining that, I gladly give PC some of my time…. For Reunion <strong>2012</strong>, we created<br />

multiple class-specific events, including ‘Tuck-in’ at Temple bar on Friday night, a ‘Come<br />

as You Are’ breakfast on Saturday morning, and a return to Club Eagles after the Reunion<br />

BBQ. We remembered our classmates who have passed by asking for class donations so we<br />

could purchase bricks for them on Alumni Lane.”<br />

For more information on how to become a class agent, go to alumni.providence.edu/classagent.<br />

Above: Consiglio holds a torch while assisting at WaterFire <strong>Providence</strong> on Reunion Weekend <strong>2012</strong>.<br />

59


’02 (10th-Year Reunion)<br />

*Lori Crowshaw, R.N., of Riverside, R.I., was<br />

promoted to clinical manager of the Visiting<br />

Nurse Service of Greater Rhode Island.<br />

Stephen H. Muzrall of Foxboro, Mass., was<br />

promoted to major gifts officer at Stonehill <strong>College</strong><br />

in Easton, Mass. He joined Stonehill in<br />

2006 as a special gifts officer.<br />

Jennifer E. Sullivan of Northford, Conn., was<br />

promoted to senior marketing coordinator at<br />

Tantor Media in Old Saybrook. She is responsible<br />

for e-marketing for consumer and library<br />

markets, social media, and other new product<br />

initiatives for the audio-book publisher, where<br />

she has worked since 2006.<br />

’03<br />

Peter S. Johnson of Tewksbury, Mass., has started<br />

his own insurance business, serving Middlesex<br />

County. He holds several insurance licenses<br />

and is working toward his Life Underwriters<br />

Training Council Fellow (LUTCF) designation.<br />

’05<br />

Troy A. Quinn of Los Angeles, Calif., was hired<br />

to sing on the television show Glee as a choir<br />

member for an episode that aired in February on<br />

FOX. Before that, he appeared on The Tonight<br />

Show with Jay Leno as a back-up singer for Jackie<br />

Evancho.<br />

Michael J. Raia of <strong>Providence</strong>, R.I., was named<br />

director of communications for the City of<br />

<strong>Providence</strong>. He was previously director of communications<br />

and media relations in the Office<br />

of the Secretary of the Maryland Department of<br />

Labor, Licensing and Regulation.<br />

the New York City community, develops marketing<br />

strategies, and provides the U.S. Army<br />

with the necessary personnel to execute its<br />

missions.<br />

Ashley S. Grant of Baltimore, Md., was named<br />

research program manager at the Johns Hopkins<br />

Bloomberg School of Public Health, Institute<br />

for Global Tobacco Control. She earned a master<br />

of public health degree from Tufts University<br />

School of Medicine in 2011.<br />

*Joshua I. Rozovsky of Bloomfield, Conn.,<br />

was elected to the Board of Directors of the<br />

Connecticut Society for Healthcare Risk Management.<br />

’07 (5th-Year Reunion)<br />

Laura E. Bedrossian of New York City was selected<br />

as one of five finalists for PR Week’s “Young<br />

PR Professional of the Year.” She is a senior account<br />

executive at Peppercom and focuses on<br />

client management, media relations, crisis management,<br />

and public relations account strategy.<br />

Roy P. Gibbs of Charlestown, Mass., was admitted<br />

to Dartmouth <strong>College</strong>’s Tuck School of<br />

Business.<br />

’08<br />

Paul J. Endres, Jr. of East Dennis, Mass., is one<br />

of four young Boston artists whose work was<br />

featured in an exhibit at the LaMontagne Gallery<br />

in South Boston. He was chosen as one of<br />

the “Top Five Young Artists to Watch” by The<br />

Boston Globe last year. His paintings depict the<br />

events of a fictional catastrophic event and typically<br />

blend comedy and tragedy in frenzied scenes.<br />

Association of Secondary School Principals. He<br />

has served as assistant principal at the middle<br />

school since 2008.<br />

’09<br />

Nora S. Yousif of Easton, Mass., was named<br />

to a one-year term on the town’s Agricultural<br />

Commission. She is an investment advisor at<br />

RBC Wealth Management in Easton.<br />

2010s<br />

’10<br />

Elizabeth Card of Washington, D.C., is attending<br />

the Georgetown University School of<br />

Medicine.<br />

**Beth Cauley of Chepachet, R.I., was appointed<br />

principal of Hanaford Elementary<br />

School in East Greenwich. She was previously<br />

an elementary school teacher in Pawtucket.<br />

’06<br />

U.S. Army Capt. Stephen D. Gerry of Brooklyn,<br />

N.Y., has assumed command of the Brooklyn<br />

North Recruiting Company at Fort Hamilton.<br />

He oversees and guides more than 30 Army<br />

recruiters at six recruiting stations in Brooklyn<br />

and Queens, serves as the Army ambassador for<br />

**Jason R. Masterson of North Kingstown,<br />

R.I., assistant principal at North Cumberland<br />

Middle School, was named Assistant Principal<br />

of the Year by the Rhode Island Association of<br />

School Principals. He was honored this spring<br />

in Washington, D.C., by the National<br />

CONNECTIONS I SUMMER <strong>2012</strong>


KEEP UP WITH YOUR CLASSMATES!<br />

Online Visit the Friars Online alumni community:<br />

www.alumni.providence.edu/classnote<br />

Mail<br />

providence college magazine/class notes<br />

<strong>Providence</strong> <strong>College</strong><br />

Office of Institutional Advancement<br />

1 Cunningham Square<br />

Harkins Hall 404<br />

<strong>Providence</strong>, RI 02918-0001<br />

Submissions are printed on a space-available basis and may be<br />

edited for length and other editorial considerations.<br />

61


IN MEMORIAM<br />

JENNIFER K. O’CONNOR ’98 & ’03G<br />

associate dean of admission<br />

“Jen was a ray of sunshine in the admission office and around<br />

campus,” said Faith W. Allen, assistant dean of admission. “She<br />

always had a smile on her face, and it was a staple to those of<br />

us who knew her. She would help anyone out, even if it did not<br />

fall under her own responsibilities. Her presence is certainly<br />

missed every day by all of us and will continue to be missed.<br />

Her loss has left a void in our office.”<br />

Jennifer K. (Hastings) O’Connor ’98 & ’03G, associate dean<br />

of admission at <strong>Providence</strong> <strong>College</strong>, died on March 26 after a<br />

courageous battle with cancer.<br />

After serving as an admission counselor at Rivier <strong>College</strong> in<br />

Nashua, N.H., Mrs. O’Connor began working at her alma<br />

mater as an admission counselor in the Office of Admission in<br />

2000. She was named assistant dean in 2002 and promoted to<br />

associate dean in 2006. Among her many responsibilities, she<br />

coordinated the <strong>College</strong>’s annual Family Day for prospective<br />

students and their families.<br />

“Those who knew Jen will remember her warm smile, kind heart,<br />

and cheery disposition,” said Amy Cembor, president of the New<br />

England Association for <strong>College</strong> Admission Counseling. “She<br />

touched the lives of many during her time on earth, and her spirit<br />

will live on in her students and colleagues at PC.”<br />

Mrs. O’Connor was born in Worcester, Mass., and graduated<br />

from Auburn High School in 1994.<br />

She is survived by her husband, Ryan J. O’Connor of Westborough,<br />

Mass.; her parents, Terrance J. and Martha J. (Rogers)<br />

Hastings; her sister, Amy M. Messina, and Amy’s husband,<br />

Marc; her in-laws, Patrick M. and Gail M. O’Connor; her<br />

nephew and niece, Thomas and Caroline Messina; along with<br />

aunts, uncles, and cousins.<br />

As a student, she earned a bachelor’s degree in history, with a<br />

minor in French, and attained a master’s degree in history.<br />

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on March 29 in<br />

North American Martyrs Church, Auburn.<br />

CONNECTIONS I SUMMER <strong>2012</strong>


DEATHS<br />

Charles Bernstein, D.D.S. ’36<br />

Dr. Leopold M. Trifari ’38<br />

William J. Riley, Jr. ’40<br />

Bernard T. White ’40<br />

William E. Caldarone ’41<br />

A. Joseph Cappelletti, M.D. ’42D<br />

Rev. Raymond E. Dyer ’42<br />

Melvin S. Engle ’42M<br />

Joseph W. Lewis, Jr. ’42D<br />

Edward J. Ostrowski ’44<br />

Paul V. Salley ’44<br />

Edmund J. Vuolo ’45<br />

Frank B. Parise, D.D.S. ’47<br />

Rev. Ralph T. Hall, O.P. ’50<br />

Julius C. Migliori, M.D. ’50<br />

Augusto W. Saobento ’50<br />

Allan A. DiSimone, M.D. ’51<br />

Anthony D. Guglielmi, M.D. ’51<br />

William H. Kelley ’51<br />

Clayton N. Lefebvre ’51<br />

William C. Little, Jr. ’51<br />

Robert W. McElroy ’51<br />

Gilbert Vincent, D.D.S. ’51<br />

Paul A. Bernier ’52<br />

Col. Anthony L. Camuso (Ret.) ’52<br />

John F. Ennis ’52<br />

Howard S. Kaufman ’52<br />

Angelo G. Viticonte ’52<br />

Thomas B. Daley ’53<br />

Thomas P. Finley ’53<br />

Dr. Melvin Greenberg ’53<br />

John J. McKenna, Sr. ’54<br />

Thomas F. Bonniol ’55<br />

John B. Mastrostefano, Sr. ’55<br />

James J. Pollard, M.D. ’55<br />

Peter N. Stevens ’55<br />

Arthur C. Carr ’56<br />

Richard J. Mello ’56<br />

John L. Gormly, Jr. ’57<br />

Francis A. Petriello ’57<br />

Nicholas Sammartino ’58<br />

Gilbert Domingue ’59<br />

Richard J. Matthews ’59<br />

Charles E. O’Loughlin ’60<br />

William M. Dittoe, Jr. ’61<br />

Charles E. Kelly, Jr. ’62<br />

Lawrence C. O’Keefe ’62<br />

Louis V. Pezzi ’62<br />

William A. McKenna ’63<br />

Francis J. Devlin ’64<br />

Robert F. Turbridy ’64<br />

Raymond W. Flynn ’65<br />

Gerald R. Ruest ’65<br />

Robert Furer ’66<br />

Daniel J. Duggan ’67<br />

M. Cody Fahey, D.D.S. ’67<br />

Herbert F. Callahan III ’68<br />

Michael G. Patterson ’68<br />

Anthony J. Bellucci ’69<br />

Thomas E. Slye ’69<br />

Richard J. Connaughton ’70<br />

Matthew W. Kiely ’70<br />

James T. O’Neill ’70<br />

John E. Pyne ’70<br />

Valmore L. LaFontaine ’71G<br />

Robert J. McCormack ’71<br />

Vincent E. Reilly ’71<br />

Catherine Lang Angell ’72SCE<br />

Jose C. Carreiro ’73<br />

Leon C. Drezek ’73<br />

Steve L. Alves ’74<br />

Katy Gallagher Beck ’75<br />

Patricia O’Brien D’Aloisio ’75G<br />

Michael J. Taylor ’75G<br />

Alexander P. Wilson ’76G<br />

Thomas L. Largey, Jr. ’78<br />

Helen Serry McKeown ’78G<br />

Ann E. Gaffney ’79<br />

Jean E. Briggs ’80G<br />

James P. Murphy ’81G<br />

Richard S. Marchisio, Jr. ’84<br />

Donna Lisi Superczynski ’88SCE<br />

James B. Hanley, Jr. ’90<br />

Shannon O’Connor Hayward ’92<br />

Catherine M. Dimanna ’93G<br />

Jennifer K. O’Connor ’93 & ’03G (staff)<br />

Jennifer Coyne St. John ’93<br />

Marco F. Cera ’95<br />

Daniel Iagatta III ’95SCE<br />

Nathaniel Downing ’07<br />

63


A CHURCH<br />

with many doors<br />

By REV. JOSEPH J. GUIDO, O.P.<br />

THE LAST WORD I SPRING <strong>2012</strong>


THE LAST WORD<br />

Our family’s church sits on a patch of neatly tended grass, a great pile of brick and granite that<br />

towers above the old neighborhood. Built by the Irish, it was a source of pride for the Italians<br />

who followed them, and today, it is the spiritual home for an increasing number of Latinos and<br />

Asians. Each day its bells toll the Angelus, as they have for more than a century, and on Sundays<br />

they summon a many-hued and polyglot congregation whose differences, while real, belie the<br />

deeper unity of a shared faith.<br />

The church’s front doors are majestic. Twice the height of a<br />

man, framed by triple arches and flanked by images of angels<br />

and saints, they open onto the beautiful upper church. One’s<br />

eyes are drawn down the long center aisle, agleam with marble<br />

and dapples of light from the stained-glass windows, and then<br />

upwards, toward the white and gold baldacchino, and further<br />

still, to the apse with its fresco of Christ and the apostles.<br />

But we rarely used those doors. By unspoken agreement, they<br />

were reserved for special occasions, like weddings and funerals,<br />

and their use underscored the promise or gravity of the occasion.<br />

Mostly we used the more modest side doors. Once inside, we<br />

would dip our fingers in the holy water and bless ourselves,<br />

take a bulletin, and make our way down the side aisle before<br />

slipping into a pew. Soon, familiar faces arrived. The adults<br />

would nod a greeting, recognizing old neighbors who had<br />

moved away, as we had, but who would return from time to<br />

time, as we did, and always at Christmas.<br />

One Christmas Eve the upper church was already full by the<br />

time we arrived, so we had to go back outside, down a set of<br />

stairs, and through the basement door to the lower church.<br />

Low ceilinged, largely unadorned and cramped, it lacked<br />

everything that made the upper church magnificent. Even so,<br />

it was not without its own sense of the miraculous.<br />

as they, like us, welcomed the birth of the Savior. Suddenly it<br />

didn’t matter that we were in the lower church. What mattered<br />

was why we were there at all.<br />

Just as my family’s church does, the Church has many doors.<br />

Some are grand, others modest, and still others humble and<br />

homely. But they all lead to the same place. They all lead to<br />

Christ. That’s what matters, after all, not the entrance by<br />

which we come to him.<br />

Some whose faith is bold and strong may<br />

delight in things grand, majestic, and beautiful,<br />

signs here on earth of heaven to come. But<br />

others may require a more modest entrance,<br />

though their faith is as strong, and many others<br />

a plain and almost hidden door, like those<br />

that open onto a refuge or a sanctuary lighted<br />

only by candles.<br />

The Church has doors for the strong and for the weak, the<br />

righteous but especially for the sinful, those whose faith is sure<br />

and those whose faith is lost, doors for those drawn by beauty<br />

and doors for those drawn by need: doors enough for everyone.<br />

Towards the end of Mass the power failed, and with it, the<br />

little electric organ that had accompanied our singing. As we<br />

lighted candles and tapers to see by, someone took out a guitar,<br />

tuned it, and led us in singing Silent Night. Just then we<br />

realized: this is how it was at the beginning! Many years ago in<br />

Austria, another congregation sang this carol for the first time,<br />

accompanied only by a guitar and in the light of many candles,<br />

It only remains for us to make sure that all the doors are open.<br />

Rev. Joseph J. Guido, O.P. is vice president for mission and ministry,<br />

assistant professor of psychology, and a counseling psychologist<br />

in the Personal Counseling Center.<br />

65


1 Cunningham Square<br />

<strong>Providence</strong>, Rhode Island 02918-0001<br />

non-profit org.<br />

u.s. postage<br />

paid<br />

permit no. 54<br />

burlington, vt<br />

05401

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