First Master of Fine Arts Degrees Awarded 2019 SFC Literary Prize Arts at SFC The McGuire Scholars: First Class Graduates President Miguel Martinez-Saenz, Ph.D., and McGuire Scholar Antonia Meditz ’19, the 2019 Spring Commencement THE ST. FRANCIS COLLEGE MAGAZINE | FALL 2019, VOLUME 83, NUMBER 1 TERRIER BOARD OF TRUSTEES ALUMNI BOARD OF DIRECTORS Fall 2019 Volume 83, Number 1 CHAIRMAN PRESIDENT Terrier, the magazine of St. Francis College, Denis Salamone ’75 Robert L. Smith ’72 is published by the Office of Marketing and Communications for alumni and friends of TRUSTEES VICE PRESIDENT St. Francis College. Hector Batista ’84, P’17 Patricia Moffatt Lesser ’77 Bro. William Boslet, OSF ’70 Linda Werbel Dashefsky SECRETARY Rev. Msgr. John J. Bracken Vice President for Kevin T. Conlon ’11 Government and Community Relations Kate Cooney Burke Thomas F. Flood Timothy Cecere P’20 DIRECTORS Vice President for Advancement William Cline Joseph M. Acciarito ’12 Bro. Leonard Conway, OSF ’71 James Bozart ’86 Tearanny Street John J. Casey ’70 Executive Director, Edward N. Constantino ’68 Marketing and Communications Kenneth D. Daly ’88 Salvatore Demma ’09 and ’11 Mary Beth Dawson, Ph.D. Joseph Hemway ’84 EDITOR William F. Dawson, Jr. ’86 Dorothy Henigman-Gurreri ’79 Leah Schmerl Jean S. Desravines ’94 Sarah Bratton Hughes ’07 Director of Integrated Communications, Gene Donnelly ’79 Mary Anne Killeen ’78 Marketing and Communications Catherine Greene Josephine B. Leone ’08 CONTRIBUTORS Leslie S. Jacobson, Ph.D. Alfonso Lopez ’06 Rob DeVita ’15 Penelope Kokkinides James H. McDonald ’69 Kathleen A. Mills ’09 Joey Jarzynka Barbara G. Koster ’76 Jesus F. Linares ’84 Jonathan K. Ng ’07 PLEASE ADDRESS ALL Michael A. MacIntyre ’97 Antonevia Ocho-Coultes ’04 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR TO: J. Christopher Mangan ’83 Josephine M. Pagliughi ’13 Editor Lawrence A. Marsiello ’72 Dyanne Marie Rosado ’95 Terrier Magazine Danielle Rouchon ’92 St. Francis College Victor J. Masi, DO ’89, P’21, P’24 180 Remsen Street, Room 7304 Gino P. Menchini Theresa Spelman-Huzinec ’88 Brooklyn Heights, NY 11201-4305 Bro. Gabriel O’Brien, OSF Joseph A. Stuto ’09 Walton D. Pearson ’83 OR VIA E-MAIL TO: Judy A. Rice ’79 [email protected] John F. Tully, Esq. ’67, P’12 President Miguel Martinez-Saenz, Ph.D. (Ex Officio) Thomas J. Volpe (Emeritus and Non-Voting) KEEP IN TOUCH WITH ST. FRANCIS ONLINE SEND US YOUR NEWS! Connect with St. Francis College, read up on the latest campus news, and watch out for talks and At the Terrier, we are always looking for new special alumni events through social media. ideas for stories and spotlights. If there’s someone you’d like to read about, please @sfcny For more information, please contact the Office send a note to [email protected]. @sfcalumni of Advancement at [email protected]. @sfbkterriers The opinions and viewpoints expressed in Terrier are not neces- Download a digital copy of Terrier or view sarily those of St. Francis College, its trustees or administration. https://www.linkedin.com/school/ multimedia related to articles found in Terrier Designed in New York City by mnd.nyc. st-francis-college/ at sfc.edu/alumni/alumnipublications. youtube/stfrancisny youtube/sfcterriers MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT MIGUEL MARTINEZ-SAENZ, PH.D. To all in the St. Francis College family, e had a great start to the 2019-20 academic year. Students, faculty and staff returned for TERRIER WTUESDAY. With the cooperation of our neighbors and assistance of our local NYPD Community Affairs Bureau, we closed Remsen Street and hosted a Welcome Back Block Party: food, fun, and Franciscan hospitality at its best. On the first day of classes, we continued a relatively new tradition of serving the students a cultural meal—this year we featured African cuisine. The following day we hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for our brand new Troops to Teachers & Veterans Lounge (see page 14). I proudly share that SFC has bolstered its support of veteran students. We are now a designated Military Friendly School, a Yellow Ribbon Program partici- pant, and home to New York State’s only chapter of Troops to Teachers, a federal program that helps military members and veterans transition to new careers in education. Last academic year, my second anniversary at SFC, was a Needless to say, we kicked off the year with energy that year of anniversaries to remember and celebrate: 160 years of comes from friends reconnecting, excitement about what is St. Francis College, 50 years of educating lay women, 50 years to come, and a refreshed community eager to make this of SFC soccer (and now a women’s team to “boot”), 50 years another stellar year. We welcomed a returning student body of Professor John McCabe lighting up a classroom with his that is diverse and high-achieving, and an incoming class abstract and practical wisdom, humor, and so much more. that is the largest in recent times. So much credit goes to A highlight that is front and center is a moment at the 2019 extraordinary faculty and staff who go above and beyond Charter Award Dinner when seven of the first 12 lay women each and every day. Moreover, we thank our believers. It is walked on stage to a standing ovation by event attendees, our strong partnerships with alumni, parents, friends of the received flowers presented by seven current students, and were College, foundations, corporations, and elected officials from moved by the monumental moment for the ages. It was the all levels of government that enable us to grow our academic yesterdays, todays and tomorrows right before us, a living programs, expand and upgrade our facilities, add endeavors documentary. It was powerful. like Troops to Teachers, Terriers Come Home, and SFC We must never forget the impact that this special place has International, and ultimately earn national recognition. had on those that came before us, those who are present today, All of this and so much more fosters a great sense of pride and the impact it will have and those that will follow. It is of what we do together for those we serve, and gives clear clearly evident through the rankings shared, the good work indication that there is nothing small about the impact the we do, and most importantly, the people we put out into the Small College of Big Dreams is having. world. They are global citizens who carry and share their We need to pause and reflect on the great work being done, Franciscan values with all they come in contact with—through the incredible investment that our believers make through word and action. their time, talent and treasure, and the impact we are having As we pause and reflect, we also share our heartfelt gratitude locally, nationally and globally. It is an honor and privilege to for “believing” in the SFC of today and the investment you share U.S. News ranked nearly 1,400 colleges and universities are making in the SFC of tomorrow. We are proud to steward for the 35th edition of the rankings, and among 58 northern the mission entrusted to us by the Franciscan Brothers of regional colleges ranked in the study, SFC came in 13th for Brooklyn, and it is a privilege to partner with each of you. overall academic quality and placed in the top 10 on the We are all DRIVEN BY DREAMS! following lists: In peace and friendship, Top Performers on Social Mobility (#2): Demonstrating SFC’s success in enrolling and graduating large proportions of economically disadvantaged students. Best Colleges for Veterans (#5): Indicating SFC’s effective participation in federal initiatives that help veterans and Miguel Martinez-Saenz, Ph.D. active-duty service members pay for their degrees. President, St. Francis College Best Value Schools (#6): Reflecting SFC’s strong academ- ics coupled with its modest average net cost per student. ST. FRANCIS COLLEGE TERRIER | FALL 2019, VOLUME 83, NUMBER 1 1 SEEN …it is about constituting an A N D act of ethical concern in an act H E A R D of remembrance no less urgent… AROUND than the biblical commandment to SFC remember. It is about preserving memory so that we can remain fully human beings.” Alice Greenwald, President & CEO of the 9/11 Museum and Memorial, delivering St. Francis College’s 2019 Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Rememberance Day) lecture; April 24, 201 9 I still battle the anxious thoughts in my brain every single day. But when I introduce myself, I am more than my illness. Your mental illness should not be the only thing that defines you. Once you realize that, you’re already on your way to recovery.” You have got to have grit. You have to have grit to find your Gabriella Pagan delivering her first-place speech mentors within your organization. You have to have grit to take in the Delaney Speech contest. The annual contest, open to all SFC students, requires chances…you have to have grit when you enter a company…and participants to deliver a three to four minute stomach the job you didn’t particularly like and have the grit to speech on any topic in front of a judging panel, to win prizes up to $500; April 29, 201 9. find the one that you really do…” Peggi Einhorn, one of three panelists in 2019 Kenneth D. Daly Lecture (see page 24), addressing St. Francis College students about what it takes to succeed professionally; April 1, 201 9 We are artists, so When all of a sudden I we are in service…I serve take a look at someone not as the misrepresented and a problem to be solved, but the under-represented, as my brother or my sister who and that’s who I’m telling needs to be respected and stories about.