FORWARD THE ALUMNI MagaZINE of Seton HILL UNIVERSITY -Whitney Harness, head coach, women’s field hockey FORWARD | Fall & Winter 2012 MESSAGE from the PRESIDENT 2 DR. WIERSZEWSKI’S INNOVATIVE 6 TEACHING TECHNIQUES A Moment IN TIME 9 Tanzania to PENNSYLvania 10 TURNING PHAGES ON A NEW SCIENCE COURSE 16 Catharine MurraY RYAN RECEIVES 20 Highest Honor EXperiencing THE worLD and Teaching 25 THE “CROSSE” YOU BEAR 30 THE Right to Grow 34 CAMPUS NEWS 38 Seton HILL Honors Two at Graduation 42 FAIRWAY FIXER 46 Distinguished ALumni 48 ALumni events 51 Cover Artist - Carol Brode9. Carol Brode is an assistant professor of art and director of the Harlan Gallery at Seton Hill. She teaches studio art courses, including painting, printmaking and mixed media. She is a member of the College Art Association, the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh (past board member and exhibitions chair) and Group A; Carol is listed in the Marquis Who’s Who of American Women. Her work has been exhibited at the Carnegie Museum of Art, The Mattress Factory, the State Museum of Pennsylvania and the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, as well as in many other galleries and venues. Her artwork is in the collections of many regional corporations, including Westinghouse, Duquesne Light, Dravo Corporation and others, as well as in many private collections. Regularly, Carol conducts European study tours for students and travels frequently to view current exhibitions. In the past she has taken students to Italy, England, France, Germany, the Czech Republic and Greece. Carol received both her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and completed additional graduate study at New York University, as well as post-baccalaureate studies in art education at the University of Pittsburgh. THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE of SETON HILL UNIVERSITY FEATURED ARTICLES INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT ChRISTINE M. MUESELER Vice President for Institutional Advancement 724-838-4232 [email protected] 6. MOLLY ROBB SHIMKO Associate Vice President for Institutional Advancement 724-830-4620 [email protected] CAROL J. BILLMAN Director of Grants and Government Support 724-838-4204 [email protected] 16. LisA A. CARINO Director of the Annual Fund and Major Gifts 724-838-2409 [email protected] KARY COLEMAN HAZEN Director of Media Relations and Forward Project Manager 724-830-1069 [email protected] EMILY HEINICKA Associate Director of Development 724-838-4244 [email protected] 20. ANDREW MILLER Director of Development Information Systems 724-830-1137 [email protected] JUSTIN NORRIS Director of Development 724-830-1899 [email protected] ChRISTY PERGAR Associate Director of the Annual Fund 724-830-4636 [email protected] 10. 34. MARY ROSS COX 06. DR. Wierszewski’s INNOVATIVE 16. TURNING PHAGES ON A NEW Director of Alumni Relations 724-830-1027 TEACHING TECHNIQUES SCIENCE COURSE [email protected] Students are getting their hands dirty in an The iPad Comics for Life app allows anyone KRISTOFER SMITH to design, write and format their own comic innovative new science course this fall at Director of Corporate and Community Relations strip or even an entire graphic novel. Seton Hill University. 724-552-4323 [email protected] 10. FROM TANZANIA TO PENNSYLVANIA 20. THE ELIZABETH ANN SETON MEDAL DESIGN: New Perspective, www.new-perspective.com Hard work and service define Catharine Murray Ryan receives highest Bovey Masiole’s journey. Seton Hill University honor. ANNUAL REPORT OF DONORS DESIGN: George Fetkovich, Apollo Design Group, Inc. 34. THE RIGHT TO GROW WRITERS: Seton Hill University and Saint Vincent Ashley Brewer, Cara DeCarlo, Lauren Jones, College communities participated in a joint Heidi Ruby Miller, Jennifer Reeger, Kara Rhodes service trip to Managua, Nicaragua. PHOTOGRAPHY: Mark Fallone, Jim Judkis, Eric Schmadel, Sean Stipp, Jack Wolf, SHU staff and students ALUMNI NEWS SUPPLEMENT DESIGN: Dragon’s Teeth Design SETON HILL UNIVERSITY PRINTER: MISSION Laurel Valley Graphics Forward is published by Seton Hill University, Seton Hill is a Catholic University Greensburg, PA 15601-1599, (724-830-1005), http://www.setonhill.edu, for the alumni and rooted in Judeo-Christian values. friends of the University. Postage paid at In the tradition of Elizabeth Ann Greensburg, PA. Seton, we educate students to think Seton Hill University, as a matter of tradition and principle, does not discriminate on the basis of race, and act critically, creatively, and creed, gender, age, disability, or national and ethnic origin in the administration of its educational ethically as productive members policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other university-administered programs. of society committed to transforming Seton Hill University adheres to the non-discrimination legislation of both the federal government and the the world. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, including, but not necessarily limited to, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VI, Title IX, 1972 Handicap Provision, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. MESSAGE from the PRESIDENT MESSAGE from the PRESIDENT MESSAGE PRESIDENT from the Dear Alumni and Friends, In my message to you last year, I reminded you During my 25-year tenure as president and in that at Seton Hill University, we remain aware earlier years as both a student and a member that there will be no return to a simpler time of the faculty, I have always known there is when market forces will play a less dominate something very special about Seton Hill. role in American education. After all, these Throughout its changes, and the changes in the forces encourage us to evaluate all we do and marketplace, the essential Seton Hillness of this how well we do it. Responding to the market place shines through. does not mean compromise. It does mean that we must be ever conscious of maintaining At THE UNIVERSITY, WE REMAIN COMMITTED Seton Hill’s special identity as a Catholic liberal "During my 25-year (some would say “liberating”) arts university TO OUR MISSION AND TO ENHANCING THE while keeping costs manageable for our students ACADEMIC DISTINCTIVENESS THAT HAS tenure as president and their families. CONTRIBUTED TO THE RICH CHARACTER OF A SETON HILL EDUCATION. and in earlier years When students ask me what is most important to their Seton Hill University experience, beside as both a student the pursuit of academic excellence, I ask them On behalf of the students, faculty and com- to keep three things in mind: munity who benefit in many ways from your and a member of gifts, I thank you for your belief in Seton Hill the faculty, I have FIRST, IN AN INCREASINGLY COMPETITIVE University. A new horizon beckons and we will JOB MARKET, the workplace of tomorrow will continue to respond, with enthusiasm, with always known be looking for graduates who have done their care and with joy. learning using advanced technology – especially there is something mobile technology. Sincerely, very special about SECOND, I TELL THEM THAT THE HALLMARK OF SUCCESSFUL COLLEGE GRADUATES Seton Hill." WILL BE their ability to consistently make good decisions in a constantly changing world. JoAnne Boyle I advise them to study deeply, take advantage President of opportunities to study abroad (or anywhere they will be exposed to a new culture or new way of doing things), and seek out the profes- sors and programs and friends who will chal- lenge them to learn new things and support them while doing so. MOST IMPORTANT, I REMIND THEM NOT TO NEGLECT THEIR SPIRITUAL GROWTH. Our global community needs strong young men and women who can think and act critical- ly, creatively and ethically – in every profession, and in all aspects of life. I know our students find it heartening to learn of all you do to advance the communities in which you live and work. 2 FORWARD | Fall & Winter 2012 MESSAGE from the PRESIDENT MESSAGE from the PRESIDENT THE IMPORTANCE of SOUVENIRS President JoAnne Boyle addressed the freshman class at the Fall Honors Convocation. Among some of her observations: Well, here you are at the beginning of a magnificent journey.M Y ADVICE TO YOU: COLLECT SOME SOUVENIRS. Not the kind you put in a drawer or on a shelf, but the kind that will always be lurking around in the memory box of your mind. Today starts your unique journey. By its end, you should have an impressive assortment of souvenirs accumulated along the way. Here are some ways to get started on your collection: FALL IN LOVE WITH A PIECE OF ART OR ARCHITECTURE. Study it. Learn all about it and the artist and people who created it. Make a promise to yourself that someday you will go to see it face to face. TAKE THAT JOURNEY—perhaps it will be to Chartres Cathedral just outside Paris—or to Rome to see the Sistine Chapel—or Florence to see Michelangelo’s statue of David…perhaps you will do this with art history professor Maureen Vissat on one of her spectacular trips to Italy. Start to plan for it now. Go with professor John Spurlock to China, learn about the Ming Dynasty, see the Ming Tombs or Shandong Province to walk where Confucius walked. Go to France to visit the Louvre, the Pompidou and the art and architecture of Auguste Rodin—to Israel to contemplate the lessons of the Holocaust at Yad Vashem. FORWARD | Fall & Winter 2012 WWW.SETONHILL.EDU 3 MESSAGE from the PRESIDENT MESSAGE from the PRESIDENT GET OBSESSED WITH A CONCEPT, a theorem, a puzzle, a formula—and become the world’s foremost thinker on the subject. Or, if not the world’s, at least Greensburg’s. LEARN A Poem—bY HEART. If you want short, go to Emily I know a prominent person who finds himself with extra time Dickinson and discover the virtue of brevity—or Robert Frost… on his hands.