THE ST. FRANCIS COLLEGE MAGAZINE | FALL 2015; VOLUME 79, NUMBER 1 Graduation on the Water Page 4 2014-2015 Donor Report Begins Page 18 Also Inside: Horror Royalty — Stephen King . 2 Alumni Events . 12 Two Sisters On A Mission . 3 Golden Terriers? How about a 75th Anniversary? . 13, 14 Starr Shines Bright . 8 Class Notes . 14 We Are The Champions . 10 In Memoriam . 17 TERRIER BOARD OF TRUSTEES ALUMNI BOARD OF DIRECTORS Fall 2015 Vol. 79, Number 1 CHAIRMAN PRESIDENT Terrier , the magazine of St. Francis College, John F. Tully, Esq. ’67 Sarah M. Bratton Hughes ’07 is published by the Office of College Relations for alumni and friends of St. Francis College. TRUSTEES VICE PRESIDENT Hector Batista ’84 Patrick J. Dugan ’01 Linda Werbel Dashefsky Brother William A. Boslet, OSF ’70 Vice President for DIRECTORS Monsignor John J. Bracken Government and Community Relations James Bozart ’86 John J. Clark, Ed.D. Dennis J. McDermott ’74 John J. Casey ’70 Edward N. Constantino ’68 Director of Alumni Relations Kevin T. Conlon ’11 Brother Leonard Conway, OSF ’71 Salvatore Demma ’09 Thomas F. Flood Orville W. Dale Vice President for Development Joseph Hemway ’84 Kenneth Daly ’88 Dorothy Henigman-Gurreri ’79 Mary Beth Dawson, Ph.D. EDITOR Mary Anne Killeen ’78 William Dawson ’86 Richard Relkin Josephine B. Leone ’08 Jean Desravines ’94 Director of Media Relations Alfonso Lopez ’06 Gene Donnelly ’79 PHOTO EDITOR Lorraine M. Lynch ’91 Brendan J. Dugan ’68** Michael A. MacIntyre ’97 Edwin Mathieu Catherine Greene James H. McDonald ’69 Webmaster Leslie S. Jacobson, Ph.D. Patricia Moffatt Lesser ’77 Barbara G. Koster ’76 COPY EDITOR Kevin M. Nash ’78 Jesus F. Linares ’84 Anne Silverstein Jonathan K. Ng ’07 Michael C. Macchiarola Antonevia Ocho-Coultes ’04 CONTRIBUTORS J. Christopher Mangan, ’83 Dyanne Marie Rosado ’95 Charlene Culler Lawrence A. Marsiello ’72 Director of Annual Giving Danielle Rouchon ’92 Victor J. Masi, DO ’89 Robert Smith ’72 Vanessa O. De Almeida ’00 Gino P. Menchini Theresa Spelman-Huzinec ’88 Assistant Director of Alumni Relations Denis J. Salamone ’75 Joseph Szkutnik ’71 David Gansell Thomas J. Volpe* Director of Sports Information * Emeritus and Non-Voting Kareem Cooper ’14 ** Not elected Writer Alexandria Egler Writer Alison Lowenstein Writer PLEASE ADDRESS ALL LETTERS TO THE EDITOR TO: Richard Relkin Terrier Magazine KEEP IN TOUCH WITH ST. FRANCIS ONLINE St. Francis College 180 Remsen Street, Room 7304 facebook.com/SFCNY For more information, please contact Vanessa Brooklyn Heights, NY 11201-4305 facebook.com/SFCAlumni De Almeida ’00, Assistant Director of Alumni facebook.com/sfcterriers Relations, at [email protected]. OR VIA E-MAIL TO: [email protected] instagram.com/sfcny Download a digital copy instagram.com/sfcalumni of Terrier or view multimedia related to articles found ON THE COVER in at: linkedin.com/company/ Terrier sfc.edu/terrier. St. Francis College President Brendan J. Dugan st.-francis-college ’68 offers congratulations to Tvrtko Vrdoljac ’15 after he delivered the Valedictory Speech. At the Terrier, we are always twitter.com/#SFCNY looking for new ideas for stories and spotlights. twitter.com/#sfcterriers If there’s someone you’d like to read about, twitter.com/sfcalumni please send a note to [email protected]. youtube.com/stfrancisny The opinions and viewpoints expressed in youtube.com/sfcterriers Terrier are not necessarily those of St. Francis College, its trustees or administration. Designed by MND.NYC — printed in NYC. Jessica Lynch ’15, Biology Professor Alison Dell, Veronica Peña ’18, and Phil Taitt ’16 are just some of the St. Francis faces you’ll see around the city for this year’s promotional campaign. Message from President Brendan J . Dugan ’68 I’m proud to bring you news of a remarkable year of ‘firsts’ here at St. Francis College. or the first time, we held our Spring For several years, Health Promotion Professor Commencement outside on Pier 2 of Starr Eaddy has guided her students in hosting F Brooklyn Bridge Park. The forecast called an annual health fair. It’s real-world experience for rain but the clouds parted just before our that gives them an edge in finding jobs after they graduates processed. We held an unforgettable graduate (page 8). ceremony under bright, blue skies, in the shadow In this issue of Terrier, we also introduce you of the Brooklyn Bridge (page 4). to two current Terriers, religious Sisters from Excitement on campus was also at record levels Vietnam, who travelled halfway around the world this past spring as Men’s Basketball won the NEC to learn the skills they will need to change the regular season title, hosted three playoff games, lives of people in their home city (page 3). and qualified for the NIT for the first time in 50 years (page 10). The Sisters have dedicated their lives to giving back and so Women’s Basketball went on the road for their NEC playoffs have hundreds of you. It’s important that we thank you for all and went one better, winning the NEC Championship and making that you do to support our educational mission. Your generosity the NCAA Tournament for the first time in College history. makes it possible to maintain our affordable tuition and offer As our Nursing program grows, we took an important step generous scholarships to keep attracting students who go out in recognizing our legacy of success and held our first White and so proudly represent St. Francis College in the community Coat ceremony. The ceremony honors our students for their (page 18). dedication to becoming the best nurses they can be and the Looking forward to another year of firsts, compassion they will show for their future patients (page 9). Not everything was a first though, for alumnus Francis Roland ’40. This spring marked the 75th anniversary of his graduation from the College (page 14). Brendan J. Dugan ’68 President ST . FRANCIS COLLEGE TERRIER | FALL 2015 | 1 Campus News (For more campus news, check the St. Francis College website at sfc.edu) Capital One Pitch Contest Kenneth D . Daly — National Grid Lecture Series NOVEMBER 20, 2014 — Three students were awarded seed money to support APRIL 21 — St. Francis College alumnus Ken Daly ’88, President of their entrepreneurial ventures courtesy of Capital One at the second annual National Grid New York and a member of the College’s Board of Trustees, Student Entrepreneur Pitch Challenge. Top prize went to Korey Fisher ’16, a shared “Life Long Lessons in Doing the Right Thing” for the second Kenneth D. Business Management student who wants to leverage software and the Internet Daly — National Grid Lecture Series. to reduce the high cost of health care. ● He spoke to Accounting and Management students about his life and work experience, as well as about the people who influenced his life including former bosses, teachers and friends. “Always take actions and make decisions that you would be proud to have your friends, family and loved ones read about in the newspaper,” Daly told the students. “It’s not always easy to do the right thing, but behaving responsibly is not just an option, it is an absolute obligation.” ● The Good Counselor MARCH 3, 4 — Communication Arts Professor Kathryn Grant’s award Korey Fisher ’16, Nicole Spataro ’16, and Nicole Molinella ’16. winning play, The Good Counselor, was performed with a cast of St. Francis College students and alumni. Junot Diaz — Walt Whitman Writers Series The Good Counselor tells the story of a public defender’s attempt to mount APRIL 16 — The line wrapped around the block, hundreds deep, two hours a defense for a woman accused of before author Junot Díaz was set to become the 12th writer to speak at the killing her baby. As the argument spills over from the courtroom into the Walt Whitman Writers Series. Dozens had to be turned away and 100 people community, the defense lawyer must come to terms with his preconceptions watched the event via video feed from an adjoining room. about the capacities of mothers. But that wasn't good enough for the writer of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar “I wrote this play out of my concern for the ways mothers’ feet are held to Wao, which was named the best novel of the 21st century so far by BBC Culture. the fire both in the home and in the court of law,” says Professor Grant. “I was Díaz went into the overflow room and spent a half hour brought up in a home where I watched my mother struggle to raise eight children talking with the audience before the formal event began. with limited resources. It seemed we expected her to perform the miraculous Díaz read from his collection of short stories, Drown, for her children without expending the least amount of energy on herself. I see and answered questions from the editor of Buzzfeed this attitude in other homes, in our popular culture and most perniciously, in Books, Isaac Fitzgerald, as well as from members of judicial systems.” ● the audience. “Junot Díaz is among the most influential novelists alive,” said St. Francis College English Professor Theo Gangi, who is also the director of the College Writing Awards in Education Program and helped to organize the event. ● The hard working members of the Xi Rho Chapter of the Kappa Delta Pi Education Honor Society gained some important recognition from the national organization. The chapter was selected as a winner of the prestigious Phoenix Stephen King Award for Chapter Improvement for showing great strides in management and APRIL 21 — St. Francis College and BookCourt welcomed master of horror programming. The Honor Society also selected Chapter President Michelle Stephen King for a roundtable discussion with his son, Owen King, as well as Rosenberg ’15 for the Distinguished Chapter Officer Award.