Mercyhurst Magazine Spring 2013

MAGAZINE APRIL 2013 Making history Rowing team breaks two world records

Inside this issue: Book tells Mercyhurst’s story Alum dives into drug research Student-athletes excel Alumni staf on world tour From the president

Is Mercyhurst a liberal arts institution or one committed to professional preparation? If you immediately said “it’s both!” you truly grasp what Mercyhurst is all about.

We don’t think it’s necessary to make “either-or” choices. We prefer the “both-and” approach.

We don’t have to choose between valuing the liberal arts and providing career preparation; both have a role. We don’t have to choose between being a beautiful “ivory tower” and being engaged in the world; we can be both. We don’t have to choose between ofering world-renowned academic programs and providing opportunity education; there’s a place here for both. We don’t have to choose between arts and athletics – we can do both.

Not only can we do both – we do both, in Erie, in North East, at the Booker T. Washington Center, in Corry, in Taos, N. M., in Dungarvan, Ireland. Everywhere Mercyhurst goes, you can see this “both-and” approach.

It’s what makes Mercyhurst special, and it’s what makes Mercyhurst graduates special. Because of their professional preparation and their engagement in the world, they are ready to contribute on the job the day they are hired. Because of their liberal arts education, they can take a broad perspective and “see around the corner,” a crucial skill in the fast-changing work world. Because of the emphasis on service in their education, they take responsibility and demonstrate leadership.

This is the vision of a Mercyhurst education. Everything we do is focused on the reconciliation of these apparent opposites to help create the well-balanced, thoughtful, vital and ethical leaders of tomorrow.

The student-athletes who organized last month’s EnduROWthon are a great example. They study in some of our most demanding programs, and they compete successfully with top rowing teams at places like the Dad Vail and Henley regattas.

But they went even further, meticulously organizing the 24-hour drive that set Erie’s frst Guinness World Records. In the process, they raised funds not only for their own trips, but also for the John Kanzius Cancer Research Foundation and Project Kenya.

From the quiet overnight hours when the rowers doggedly pursued their goal to the raucous fnal hours when the whole campus was caught up in the quest, I couldn’t have been prouder of our students.

But that’s just one example of what Mercyhurst students are doing. I hope you’ll read through this magazine to see what other students and alumni have been up to. Then please stay connected with us between issues by checking out our revamped website at mercyhurst.edu and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

God bless you, and God bless Mercyhurst.

Thomas J. Gamble, Ph.D. President, Mercyhurst University

1 The Ofce of Marketing and Public Relations publishes In this issue Mercyhurst Magazine twice a year. Editor Susan Corbran ’73 1 From the president [email protected] (814) 824-2090 3 The Brotherhood of the River The Mercyhurst EnduROWthon Contributing Writers 6 From the alumni association president Abby Badach, Susan Corbran ’73, David Leisering ’01, 7 Double life Professor’s careers in classroom and in military Deborah Morton, Brian Vail

9 Playing it safe New tactics in sports injury treatment Art Direction/Design Jennifer Cassano 11 Sea change: New frontiers for drug research [email protected] (814) 824-3022 13 Foundations of a university The Mercyhurst story Vice President for 15 Spirits of the angry dead Rights activist seeks peace External Afairs Monsignor David Rubino, Ph.D. 17 Lakers excel as students and athletes [email protected] (814) 824-3034 18 Saints succeed Assistant Vice President 19 Alumni authors on shelves Books written by ‘Hurst graduates for Advancement Ryan Palm ’07 21 Campus news [email protected] (800) 845-8568 24 Alumni relations world tour (814) 824-3320

25 Alumni notes Director, Alumni Relations Tamara Walters [email protected] (814) 824-3350

Class Notes Editor Debra Tarasovitch [email protected] (814) 824-2392

We’d love to hear from you. Send your story ideas, suggestions and comments to [email protected].

Send changes of address to: read watch hear Get more of the story, watch additional video Mercyhurst Magazine content, check out photo albums and hear Mercyhurst University interviews online when you see this logo. 501 E. 38th St. more Go to mercyhurst.edu/more. Erie, PA 16546 mercyhurst.edu/more

2 The Brotherhood of the River One team, 451,879 meters and an extraordinary test of endurance Story by Abby Badach

Two minutes remained between the Mercyhurst men’s rowing team and a world record. Hundreds of students rushed the stage, fooding the Mercyhurst Athletic Center stage with chants: “Row! Row! Row!” And row, these 10 student-athletes did – for 24 straight hours, all the way to an ofcial Guinness World Record. “I don’t know if my body’s ever been to this point before,” said senior exercise science major Jake Schuppe, who rowed the fnal 30 seconds. Schuppe is no stranger to endurance events. He’s competed in 24-hour mountain bike relays, but even that doesn’t compare. “With the atmosphere that my team created, we pushed ourselves so far past any perceivable limit we ever thought we’d even get close to,” he said. “My body is in shambles – but, you know what? It was phenomenal. And I’d happily do it again.” This a story of how adrenaline slays fatigue. This is the ultimate display of teamwork.

3 This is the Mercyhurst EnduROWthon. On March 7-8, 10 student-athletes from the mens’ rowing team rowed 451,879 meters to break a record for the greatest distance rowed by a lightweight mens’ small team on an indoor Concept II rowing machine in a 24-hour period. The previous record of 405,000 was set in December 2008 by a Hungarian club rowing team. Student organizers dubbed the event the “ Mercyless EnduROWthon.” It transformed the MAC into a 24-hour madhouse of whirring ergs, cheering students and a tsunami of energy. In addition to setting a Guinness record, the mens’ team also set a record adjudicated through Concept II.

“It was nuts. It was unbelievable,” said junior computer systems major and team captain Xavier Alexander. “I’’ m so glad I m a part of this team, and I’ m so proud of my guys.”

To clinch the distance record, the mens’ team rotated on the erg for 30-second, full-intensity shifts. The machine’ s fywheel had to remain spinning for the record to be legitimate, so man-to-man transitions had to be fawless.

After 4 minutes and 30 seconds to recuperate, each rower was back on the erg. The overnight shift allowed one rower at a time to take a 40-minute nap break, challenging the remaining nine to up their intensity. But they powered through for 24 hours to make history.

“That was probably one of the most painful experiences I’ ve been in for a while,” Schuppe said. “But as soon as it was over, there was just a rush of emotions. The cheering from the crowd, all of my teammates slapping me on the back, hugging me, congratulating me – it was euphoric.”

And as if one world record weren’ t enough, the EnduROWthon broke two. Across the stage from the men’ s varsity team was another rowing machine, on which 600 people took shifts to shatter the world record for most people to row 500 meters on a single erg in 24 hours.

Mercyhurst students, faculty, administrators and staf – even Louie the Laker – hopped on to take a turn, as did people from the Erie community.

For Jef Murt, a senior intelligence studies major and rower, the most powerful moment of the EnduROWthon wasn’ t with his varsity team. In the quiet depth of the overnight shift, a young boy with cerebral palsy got to do his part. The boy came with his mother at 4 a.m., took a seat on the erg and rowed his way into the record books.

“His mother was in tears – it was a very powerful thing to see,” Murt said. “Honestly, even though the mens’ varsity team broke the record, giving that little boy a chance to be a part of something so huge, that made this whole thing worth it.”

The EnduROWthon marked the frst time a Guinness World Record had ever been set in Erie, Pa. To achieve certifcation, the team kept a meticulous record of all the statistics and even few in a Guinness judge from England to oversee the event. 4 Nearly 300 people packed the MAC to cheer on all the rowers to the fnish – including Allan Belovarac, Ph.D., Mercyhurst history professor and a member and coach of the rowing team in its early years. Back in the 1970s, faces in the regatta crowds were “ mainly parents and girlfriends,” he recalls. The EnduROWthon introduced hundreds of folks to the sport.

But a rower doesn’ t count faces in the stands. He looks within himself. He looks to his team.

“’You re kind of a part of this ‘ brotherhood of the river’’ – it s almost like being in a fraternity,” Belovarac said. “ All of these guys for the rest of their lives cross a bridge or come to a body of water, and one of the frst things to come to their mind will be, ‘ That would be a great place to row.’ It gets in your blood. You never get out of it.”

Through donations, sponsorships and rafes, the EnduROWthon helped raise $5,300 for Project Kenya, the John C. Kanzius Cancer Research Foundation and the rowing team, as they travel nationally and internationally to compete.

With a schedule that includes Penn, Columbia, Cornell and MIT, Mercyhurst mens’ rowing has achieved considerable success in recent years. In 2012, the mens’ varsity lightweight eight team fnished the campaign ranked 10th in the U.S. Rowing Collegiate Poll, and for the third consecutive year captured gold at the prestigious Dad Vail Regatta.

Achieving world record status at the EnduROWthon set the tone for this teams’ commitment to each other and to the sport of rowing at Mercyhurst.

“It feels almost euphoric,” said coach Adrian Spracklen ‘90. “I didn’ t know how I’ d feel when we fnished, because it ’s not a race. It ’s not a competition. But … I feel very proud. I feel proud for the rowers. I feel proud for the school – because we’ ve done something that no one else has done, and we did it at Mercyhurst.”

EnduROWthon Team: Kevon Bridges Jake Schuppe Xavier Alexander Ivan Palikuca Sam Rouse Milos Veres Gary Loo Jonathan Blazevic Marcin Osajda Dave Cullmer

So how far is 451,879 meters, anyway? Here are a few comparisons to help you put it in perspective: • More than 280 miles • Nearly 5 times the width of Lake Erie • More than 21 trips around Presque Isle read watch hear • More than 7 times the length of the Panama Canal more • 4,118 football fields mercyhurst.edu/more 3 5 From the alumni association president

Dear fellow Lakers:

A fantastic time of year! Spring is in the air and the end of the school year seems to be right around the corner.

For many Mercyhurst students it signifes graduation, the end of an episode, and the commencement of all that is yet to come in their continuing journey. For the Mercyhurst University Alumni Association, it means the addition of close to 1,000 new members representing the Mercy mission, spirit and ideals throughout the world.

This year we will have more than 19,000 alumni living and working in all 50 states and in more than 40 countries around the world. Our alumni are impacting all facets of the world: social services, government, education, hospitality, fashion, business, military, ministry, sports, law enforcement, anthropology, medicine, the arts. No doubt that Mercyhurst University is infuencing the world and making a diference!

A goal of the Mercyhurst University Alumni Association is to keep all of the 19,000+ alumni connected and engaged with the university beyond graduation – no matter where you may be living.

One way in which we do this is to provide opportunities for local and regional events where alumni gather to reminisce, network and renew and/or maintain friendships. Visit the alumni events website (hurstalumni.org/events) to see where events for the current World Tour are scheduled.

Other events bring alumni back to campus, such as the annual Homecoming/Family Weekend and Reunion Weekend. While these gatherings provide an occasion to enjoy the many diverse aspects of the campus, the front gates are always open for returning alumni.

Reunion Weekend 2013 is scheduled for May 31 to June 2. Mark your calendar now to join us, especially if your class is celebrating a milestone reunion this year. Registration options and more information are also available online at reunion.mercyhurst.edu.

While you’re on the alumni website, make sure to download one of our new Mercyhurst- themed wallpapers for desktops, tablets and smartphones. View all the available images at hurstalumni.org/wallpaper.

On behalf of the entire Alumni Association Board of Directors, we invite you to stay connected and engaged with us as we move into the future of Mercyhurst. If you have ideas about how to better do this, or to help alumni connect and network, let us know – we want to hear from you!

Carpe diem.

Matthew Robaszkiewicz ’88, president Mercyhurst University National Alumni Association

Stay connected: • Visit the university website • Join the online Alumni Community • Visit us on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin Matthew Robaszkiewicz’s column appears regularly on Hurst Happenings, the alumni blog.

6 Leading a In the Navy Coming from a family with a long Navy history, Belovarac once dreamed of entering the U.S. Naval Academy. While in grad school at Case, he pursued the next best thing – a commission in the Naval Reserve – until double life his trademark thick glasses eventually proved his undoing. Story by Sue Corbran Though he was deeply disappointed by his disqualifcation, he can laugh about it now. “Don’ t they know that Admiral Nelson was blind in one eye?” he asks, “ or that Teddy Roosevelt charged up San Juan Hill wearing glasses?”

When Allan Belovarac steps to the podium to teach Years later, Belovarac found another route to naval service, signing on as “War in the Western World” this term, he brings with an enlisted man in 1984. But by this time he had earned a Ph.D. in higher education at the University of Bufalo and his new bosses quickly realized him background that not many history professors his background in analysis and writing suited him for naval intelligence. Belovarac ’s skills paved the way to his enlistment as a second-class petty can claim – 28 years of experience as an intelligence ofcer and intel specialist. After two years of training, he received a direct specialist in the U.S. Naval Reserve. commission as an ensign in December 1986. During monthly weekend drills and summer assignments lasting several weeks, he did the same kind of work done by regular Navy A “ Mercyhurst lifer,” Belovarac says he’ s worked at least part time at his personnel. Should trouble erupt, the Navy needed a complete picture alma mater ever since his 1973 graduation. For most of that time, he’ s had of the area, from the spots where helicopters could land to the lines of a parallel career in naval intelligence. communication available. So his unit might be called on study the region. His specialty was photo imagery. That kind of work is computerized now, Belovarac arrived at Mercyhurst in 1971 as a junior transfer and quickly but in those days he worked with slide rules, calculating distances by settled into the school ’s history department and its brand-new rowing analyzing shadows and objects of known sizes. program. Belovarac had never rowed before, though hed’ been at home on the water since childhood. Over the years, he rose through the ranks to commander, served missions around the world (most notably in Japan and Malta) and earned a variety He made history as part of the frst Laker crew to win a race, beating of commendations. He also added to his academic credentials, earning a Bufalo State and the Canisius novice team in October 1971. After master ’s in strategic intelligence from the Defense Intelligence College, graduation, he returned as an assistant coach, became head coach in where his dissertation on the rising naval power of China was chosen 1979, and guided the program through its growth phase until 1986. outstanding thesis. Though he enjoyed his history studies, he never expected to teach the Reserve units have to be ready to respond on short notice in the event of subject, “ not in my wildest dreams.” He earned a master ’s degree in an emergency. Several times that has meant call-ups for weeks or months history from Case Western Reserve, but found himself drawn instead to of full-time service. college administration. He was mobilized for the frst Iraqi war in 1991, working from a base While continuing to coach the rowing team, he served Mercyhurst as in Norfolk to feed intelligence to the front lines during the invasion of registrar, director of institutional research and more. In 1979 he was asked Kuwait. In 1996 he was recalled to support the Dayton Peace Accords that to don one more hat and teach a few history courses. He discovered it ended the war in Bosnia. wasn’ t as bad as hed’ imagined. In the aftermath of 9-11 he helped coordinate the sharing of intelligence Though he says he’ s basically very shy, throw him in front of a classroom between the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. naval and he turns into a dynamic lecturer. History is the mother of all command in the area. Most recently Belovarac returned to Japan to help disciplines, he believes, and he enjoys nothing more than helping set up a Crisis Action Center for U.S. Forces Japan after the earthquake students connect the lessons of the past to the world around them today. and tsunami hit in 2011.

7 7 Belovarac is married to Lee Pitonyak Belovarac, a 1974 Mercyhurst graduate who now teaches in the Walker School of Business. Their son Brian is a Syracuse University graduate now working for Janus Films in New York, and Brendan is finishing a master’s degree at American University and was recently accepted to medical school.

Retirement ahead Regulations call for naval reserve ofcers to retire when they hit 60, so this chapter of Belovarac ’s story closed last summer. There are no similar limits for college professors, but he expects to retire from Mercyhurst at the close of fall term. His “” retirement years are likely to be anything but relaxing, though.

Hes’ become involved with the unique sport of solo sailing as a member of the Great Lakes Single-Handed Society, open only to sailors who’ ve completed one of its daunting Great Lakes challenges.

A single sailor mans the boat 24/7 and must complete the lengthy courses without pulling into port or receiving assistance of any kind. His goal is to fnish a challenge on each of the Great Lakes and he’ s already completed Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. He hopes to conquer Lake Huron this summer.

Last summer he earned the Perseverance Cup, awarded to the solo sailor who copes with the greatest adversity. During his Ontario sail, his spinnaker halyard broke in the middle of the night in 20-knot winds, the self-steering system went out, the toilet holding tank overfowed, and he got caught in a line of squalls.

Closer to home, Belovarac wants to get involved again on the volunteer crew of the Brig Niagara. He was part of the frst crew that sailed Niagara in 1991. “I like the smell of tar and sawdust,” he explains. “I love it when the ship comes alive and wind flls the sails.”

On land, Belovarac is also a member of the Ski Patrol at Peek ‘ n Peak Ski Resort and continues to pursue advanced training in skiing techniques and in toboggan rescues of injured skiers.

It sounds like a demanding schedule, but Belovarac has a simple philosophy. “’God s given us this time on earth and we ought to take advantage of all the gifts He’ s put there for us.”

Or, in words attributed to his hero, Teddy Roosevelt, we need “ to warm both hands over the fre of life.”

8 Their research backed it up.

Playing it safe “The amount of movement between the head and the torso was signifcantly less,” Jacobson said. “In essence, it’s a simple concept. Our research demonstrated a safer protocol to use instead of the ‘Hurst team shows NFL all-or-nothing endeavor.” new treatment protocol The faculty-student duo collected data at the Movement Analysis Laboratory at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Erie. The lab, under Story by Abby Badach the direction of Kevin M. Cooney, PT, and biomechanist Dustin Bruening, Ph.D., uses high-tech motion sensor cameras that track refective markers placed on the body to measure the person’s All college students expect to have research projects under their belts before movement. The highly accurate technology is similar to that used they graduate. But scoring a chance to present that research to the NFL? That’s in video games, or the motion-capture equipment that transferred taking it to the next level. real humans’ dance steps to penguin waddles in the hit movie Happy Feet. Mercyhurst graduate student Jacob Gdovin and his faculty adviser, Bradley Jacobson, chair of the Sportsmedicine Department, spent last summer “Skin-based anatomical marker tracking is the closest we can get presenting their research regarding on-feld injury management of players to clinically replicating movement at this time,” Cooney said. “When with possible spinal injuries to the medical stafs of NFL teams. the cameras track the markers, they collect very accurately, to the millimeter, the movement that occurred.” In collaboration with Mike Cendoma, CEO of Sports Medicine Concepts of Livonia, N.Y., the pair took their research to NFL neurosurgeons, athletic The research project stemmed from Gdovin’s required trainers, team physicians and paramedics in an all-day, hands-on laboratory undergraduate baccalaureate research project – a mini-thesis presentation. They worked with the New York Giants, Houston Texans, New of sorts, required of all sportsmedicine students since 2002. He York Jets, Indianapolis Colts and the Dallas Cowboys – which happens to be collaborated with Jacobson from the beginning, with the goal of the team Gdovin has rooted for since he was a boy. getting their fndings published. They submitted a manuscript to the Journal of Athletic Training, which was approved in 2012 and is “I was there as a professional, so I had business to take care of,” he said. “But slated for publication this summer. The pair plans to tackle more inside? I was like a little kid, just taking in the sights and sounds. It was a dream research together over the summer. come true. I’m 23 years old, and I’m out teaching the medical staf for the Dallas Cowboys right on their home turf. It was quite an experience.” Gdovin is completing a graduate assistantship with Cooney at the Movement Analysis Lab and will graduate from Mercyhurst this Picture this scenario that’s bound spring with a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership with a to happen in a full-contact sport: concentration in human resources. “He’s very professional and extremely thorough,” Cooney said. “He’s A football player takes a hard hit and falls to his back. His helmet comes of. easygoing but disciplined and he’ll get the job done. He’s going to The medical team rushes in, suspecting that he has injured his cervical spine go places in his career.” – the vertebrae between his shoulders and the base of his skull. One wrong move could cause career-ending or life-threatening conditions, including In the fall, Gdovin will be back on campus to start graduate studies paralysis. Medical professionals on the feld have to proceed carefully to in exercise science. His dream job is to become an orthopedic minimize movement of the cervical spine as they care for the injured athlete. surgeon for an NFL team. With the hands-on education he received at Mercyhurst, he says he’s confdent he’ll get there. So, what’s the best way to treat such a delicate injury that minimizes movement of the afected area? Jacobson and Gdovin aimed to fnd out, “The OL program helped me study business management and collecting data on two diferent methods. leadership, giving me a sense of what it would be like to lead a team of future health professionals,” Gdovin said. “The exercise The standard protocol is dubbed the “all-or-nothing endeavor.” Picture that science program will help me learn the skills I’ll need in my feld, downed football player again. He’s without a helmet, but his bulky shoulder and help me to go on to succeed in medical school.” pads are still on, which lift his torso up and tilt his head down toward the ground. The National Athletic Trainer Association recommends that the Jacobson said he’s grateful to be a part of a university that supports shoulder pads also be removed so the athlete’s neck can return to a more hands-on applications for students and faculty alike. neutral position. “The administration here at Mercyhurst has been very supportive Jacobson and Gdovin, however, proposed a diferent option, which they call of providing opportunities through equipment, laboratories, the “pack-and-fll.” Under this protocol, the athlete’s shoulder pads stay on research contracts for faculty members and research assistantships and the void underneath the head is flled with towels to reduce movement for students,” he said. “When you think of why we do research, it’s to and keep the cervical spine in a neutral position. They thought that keeping beneft somebody. It’s benefcial for the community – and for the the shoulder pads on would reduce movement of the afected area and help athletes whose health and well-being will be improved because of protect the injured athlete from further injury. the improved healthcare that’s provided to them.”

9 Kevin M. Cooney, Bradley Jacobson, Jacob Gdovin

10 Sea change: New frontiers for drug research Story by Sue Corbran

Kevin Tidgewell escaped Pennsylvania’s dreary winter weather in January for two and a half weeks to sunny Panama and a series of dives in warm Caribbean waters. The scenery was gorgeous, the water teemed with diverse species, but Tidgewell was no tourist.

Dr. Ron Brown, now the chair of Mercyhurst ’s Chemistry Department, says Tidgewell was one of the frst students he met when he joined the faculty in 1999, and he left quite an impression. “I remember being very excited to have the opportunity to work with a student of Kevins’” abilities, he recalled. “I have always felt that the biggest reward of being a Mercyhurst professor is witnessing the transformation that takes place in our students between that meeting as freshmen and when they graduate.”

Hes’ proud that Tidgewell has remained in close contact as an alumnus, including returning to speak with current students. “I would like to believe this is because of the experiences that he gained here, and his desire to draw upon the tradition of strong faculty-student mentorship present at Mercyhurst in his current position,” he said.

Tidgewell still keeps tabs on the Lakers lacrosse team as they contend for national titles and returned for Homecoming last fall to play in the alumni lacrosse game. During that visit, he also stopped in to check out the new lacrosse locker room, which includes a locker he sponsored during the Legacy Campaign.

11 11 It was a business trip for the 2003 Mercyhurst graduate, who compound disappeared within minutes once the garlic clove has spent much of his career searching for marine compounds was cracked, though, so they looked for a way to stabilize it and that might one day help those sufering from pain and disease. harness its healing potential. But a summer at the University He’s continuing that research now at Duquesne University, of Florida in a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) where he was appointed assistant professor of medicinal convinced him he wanted to get out from behind the desk. chemistry last fall. He continued to study natural products while earning his With the widest variety of living organisms on earth, the oceans doctorate at the University of Iowa, where his mentor, Dr. may well be the latest frontier for medical research. Tidgewell Thomas E. Prisinzano, sought treatments for pain that wouldn’t was hunting for cyanobacteria (also known as blue-green algae cause drug dependence. or pond scum) and returned to Pittsburgh with enough to propel his research for several months. Later, as a post-doctoral fellow with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, he worked in Dr. William Gerwick’s lab at the The raw material isn’t glamorous. It looks a bit like hair or limp University of San Diego. There his focus turned to drug discovery seaweed, feels a bit slimy and looks pretty gross. When Stephen from the ocean, primarily looking for cancer-fghting drugs. Hawking’s Brave New World series featured Tidgewell’s work, the narrator said cyanobacteria looked like “marine snot.” After about two and half years in San Diego, he accepted another post-doc assignment in Panama with the Smithsonian But back in his lab, using state-of-the-art nuclear magnetic Tropical Research Institute, still afliated with the Gerwick lab. resonance and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry In an unspoiled wilderness, he found a rich hunting ground instruments, he hopes to isolate from the cyanobacteria for materials that might one day help treat both cancer and compounds that could lead to advances in pain relief and neglected tropical diseases like malaria and leishmaniasis. addiction treatment. How and why do his test compounds react with pain receptors in the human brain? That’s the riddle he’s The work involved frequent scuba excursions – not as much trying to solve. fun as it might sound for Tidgewell, who had a deep aversion to water after nearly drowning when he was just 2. Though he Though it’s far from the ocean depths where he fnds his raw grew up in Southern California, he pretty much avoided the materials, Tidgewell says Duquesne is a good ft for him because ocean until the demands of science forced him to conquer of its focus on pain studies. In addition to teaching medicinal his fear and now he is as comfortable underwater as on land. chemistry courses in the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical When he headed to Duquesne, a new post-doc took his place in Sciences and the Mylan School of Pharmacy, he’s part of the Panama, but Tidgewell still intends to return about twice a year Chronic Pain Research Consortium (CPRC), collaborating with to obtain his own lab samples. scientists from many disciplines to better understand and treat disorders of the central nervous system. He’s found his research home in medicinal and natural products chemistry with its focus on developing and testing compounds. A native of Irvine in Southern California, Tidgewell was recruited He calls it “chemistry with a purpose.” And he believes it’s to join Mercyhurst’s lacrosse program in fall of 1999. His teams important to act quickly. “Due to problems with ocean never fnished out of the Top 10, and he capped his career with acidifcation and pollution, species are disappearing every day,” an appearance in the NCAA Final Four. he says. “We need to fnd them before they’re gone.”

His success in the classroom was just as memorable. Tidgewell He doesn’t measure success only in terms of drug patents, knew he wanted to major in chemistry and focused on noting that it can take years, even decades, to shepherd a new computational chemistry and math at the Hurst. He worked with product through animal and human trials to actual use. “But Dr. Candee Chambers to investigate a sulfur compound released if I can go and discover a tool to better understand pain or by garlic that seemed to have some medicinal properties. The addiction or depression, that’s a win.”

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12 Foundations of a university Story by Sue Corbran

New book chronicles Mercyhurst history from its founding to 2000 Strausbaugh started with the accounts compiled by Mother Eustace and McQuillen and documented them through primary sources. He turned to Roy Strausbaugh, Ph.D., is a specialist in European history, but his self-study documents and evaluations from the Middle States Commission latest book tackles a subject much closer to home – the founding and on Higher Education; minutes of the board of trustees; papers left by Sister development of Mercyhurst University. Carolyn Herrmann and Sister M. Charles Weschler, among others; and accounts from the Merciad student newspaper. The Foundations of a University: Mercyhurst in the Twentieth Century, researched and written over the past six years, is now available for purchase Mother Borgia Egan and others of the “Pioneer Sisters” left memoirs about in bookstores on Mercyhurst’s Erie and North East campuses. the founding of the school. He reviewed those, as well as oral history interviews with prominent fgures in Mercyhurst’s development, recorded Strausbaugh approached Mercyhurst President Thomas J. Gamble, Ph.D., by former Erie Morning News Managing Editor Larie Pintea in the early 1990s. early in his tenure to suggest that Mercyhurst needed to create a comprehensive history. Strausbaugh credits both Earleen Glaser, the Mercyhurst University archivist, and Sister M. Edith Langiotti, RSM, archivist for the Erie community of the The last major history of Mercyhurst was compiled by Sister M. Eustace Sisters of Mercy, for assistance in accessing these sources. Taylor, RSM, Ph.D., in 1976 when the college celebrated its 50th anniversary. Mother Eustace was personally involved in the history she wrote about. A He dedicates the volume to “the Sisters of Mercy who founded, brought to member of Mercyhurst’s frst graduating class in 1929, she taught at the life and guided Mercyhurst College.”“No story of Mercyhurst can be told school for decades and served a term as its president in the late 1950s. without understanding the contributions of the Sisters of Mercy, their labor, love, and passion for this college,” he adds. More recently, another history professor, Michael McQuillen, Ph.D., began compiling a Mercyhurst history, but had to cut the project short when he But as the decades passed, forces beyond the control of the Sisters helped was appointed Mercyhurst’s president in 2005. shape the school’s direction. Throughout, Strausbaugh tries to show how events at the college mirrored changes in American higher education, the Strausbaugh was uniquely suited to take on the task of chronicling ‘Hurst church and society itself. history. He had worked at Mercyhurst since 1994, serving in a variety of roles from director of libraries to academic dean at Mercyhurst North East. He’s The narrative ends around the turn of the 21st century. “A historian is not now a visiting professor of history. He earned his doctorate at Case Western a journalist,” Strausbaugh concluded. “For good history to be written, it is Reserve University. better that some time pass and perspective be gained. And so, another historian, down the road, will be better positioned to assess the transition to This was a second career for Strausbaugh, who had already retired from university status in the years since 2000.” Edinboro University of Pennsylvania as a tenured professor of history. While there, he wrote his frst college history, Edinboro University, Administrative The 430-page volume includes 12 pages of black-and-white photos from History, 1963-1993. More recently, he had served as a trustee and board the Sister Mary Lawrence Franklin Archives at Mercyhurst. It is available for chair at Greenville’s Thiel College, an experience that helped him better sale in the Mercyhurst bookstores at Erie and North East. The book sells for understand the operations of small, church-related, liberal arts colleges. $30, but is currently on special at $24.

You can also order it online at lakershop.mercyhurst.edu.

13 Going coed Since 1962, the cooperative program with Gannon had brought men to the campus and sent Mercyhurst women to Gannon. …

In 1967, when Mercyhurst went to a three-term system, coordinating an exchange of students with Gannon created scheduling problems. After almost two years of frustration, Mercyhurst accepted men in the exchange program as full-time students. In this way these men could obtain their courses in the major feld. By the spring of 1969, there were some twelve full-time male commuter students at Mercyhurst. It was more than “ coed drift”; by the fall of 1968 it was de facto coeducation. The fnal decision was to accept what Mercyhurst was doing and, for fnancial survival, move to the deliberate recruitment of male students. The board ’s choices were simple, remain a womans’ college and tolerate a few men, or “break with tradition and become coeducational.”

In making this decision, another reality had to be faced. The enrollment of the college was declining at a time when most colleges were growing quite well. Infuenced by the women’ s movement and the need to have skills to compete with men in the workplace, women were transferring from womens’ colleges to coeducational institutions at an increasing rate. The Registrar ’s Ofce reported that this was happening at Mercyhurst. While the baby boomers were entering higher education in increasing numbers, Mercyhurst was losing out. The 1968/1969 fscal year ended with a defcit of $35,753. The fnancial perils of remaining a womens’ college were there for all to see.

During four months beginning in late 1968, the college devoted itself to an intensive study of the issue. With the direction of the administration, the issue was considered by students, faculty, administration and the advisory board. The majority in most constituencies of the school strongly supported and recommended the change, except for students. They were evenly split. The administrations’ fndings were submitted to the trustees. The board, made up of seven Sisters of Mercy and two laymen, agreed. Sister Carolyn announced the trustees’ decision on February 5, 1969, the day after the trustees had voted. …

Because of changing roles of women in society, coeducation was more realistic. “ Monosexual (sic) education … imposed … unnecessary limitations on a student ’s educational experience.”

The decision was not one that all stakeholders accepted. Sister Carolyn refected years later that not enough groundwork had been done with the alumnae, especially the older graduates. Not all of the Sisters were in favor of this decision, nor were all of the faculty and upper class students enthused. Negative feelings about the decision lasted for years.

As Sister Carolyn said, “ …the realities impelled us.” To her it was a matter of saving Mercyhurst.

– From Chapter 5, “A New and Different Mercyhurst: 1966-1972.”

14 Calming spirits of the angry dead Armed with the skill sets of this pioneering program, the distinguished human rights activist intends to return to her native Zimbabwe and resume a crusade that, at its heart, is the pursuit of healing. Story by Debbie Morton

15 Zimbabwe is rife with tragedy; the human wreckage of three eras of In her quest to right the wrongs, Eppel and her group have put political violence is widespread and the spirits are angry. No more so themselves at risk, facing staf arrests and raids on their ofces. than Shari Eppel, whose anger has driven the human rights work of One of her colleagues “disappeared” and has not been seen in a this 50-something psychologist for two decades. year. Fortunately, her children, Ben, Joe and Ruth, no longer live in Zimbabwe, although Paul Themba Nyathi, the man she calls her “life Eppel has taken a one-year sabbatical from her post as executive partner” and describes as a “fearless activist,” remains behind. She director of the Solidarity Peace Trust, which assists victims of human worries, but not for herself. rights abuses in their eforts to end the oppression, so that she may earn her master’s degree in forensic and biological anthropology at “People are afraid to step up and lead for fear of reprisals,” Eppel Mercyhurst University. Armed with the skill sets of this pioneering said. “I am more angry than afraid. Being white protects me. I’m the program, the distinguished human rights activist intends to return to only white person in our organization (of 17) and am less likely to her native Zimbabwe and resume a crusade that, at its heart, is the be targeted. Still none of us has it in our blood to capitulate to pursuit of healing. the state.”

She is a serious woman on a serious mission. She knows hers is a job So, they go on, deftly tending to the emotional needs of the that may never be done, but she does it for Edwell and for the tens of tortured while locating and chronicling histories of mass graves. thousands of victims like him. Eppel instituted a program of exhumations and reburials in response to pleas like those of Edwell’s mother, but bouts of Edwell was 19 when soldiers nailed him to a tree and savagely beat political violence frequently disrupted her eforts. him to death. Adding indignity on top of horror, they shoved his body in an ant-bear hole – a fnal resting place reserved for dogs – in In her pursuit to perform scientifcally accurate exhumations, she a nearby schoolyard. received training from the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team, the foremost human rights organization in the world, and later “The children run on his head every day,” his mother lamented to met with one of its prominent international lecturers, Mercyhurst Eppel one afternoon. “How can he rest?” forensic anthropologist Steven Symes, Ph.D., who convinced her that Mercyhurst’s master’s degree program would further empower Across her African homeland, especially in its remote villages, Eppel her eforts. is privy to whispered stories of the wrath of ancestral spirits. “The Argentineans told me that Mercyhurst’s program was the best, “In African culture, the spirits of the angry dead are an overpowering and they were right,” she said. “It’s been brilliantly helpful.” weight in people’s lives and there’s a fatalism linked to that,” she said. “If you don’t properly honor and bury your dead, it is believed that As Zimbabwe now faces a new political era, with a possible change bad luck will befall you, your family and your community.” in government being more concordant with Eppel’s own mission, she decided it was time to retrain so that she would be ready to For much of the past 20 years, Eppel has documented Zimbabwe’s resume her work when obstacles became less dangerous. political violence, most recently under the Robert Mugabe regime. She has done interviews, written journal articles and disseminated Eppel’s Mercyhurst training focuses on scientifc procedures for her fndings to policymakers worldwide to sway public opinion on identifying graves and removing remains; analyzing bones to Zimbabwe. “There is such a lack of accountability for all the bad determine sex, height, age and ethnicity of skeletons; identifying things that have happened in Zimbabwe,” Eppel said. “We are dealing signs of trauma and documenting evidence that may one day lead with dead, tortured and displaced people. There needs to be an end to securing justice for the victims and their families. As her mission to the human rights violations and to the impunity.” moves from documentation to intervention to healing, she fnds herself on a continuum where the worlds of the living and the dead ultimately intersect.

“Exhumation and reburials are part of empowering the people,” Eppel said. “The right to mourn your dead is a moral right. If we are to have any chance at all of bringing peace to the living, we have to bring peace to the dead.”

Shari Eppel’s children, Joe and Ruth, with Edwell’s mother, Ma Ndlovu, at his reburial site in Zimbabwe.

16 ESPN’ s SportsCenter featured junior Jonathan Ouegnin on its Feb. 21 “Top 10 Plays” list for his dunk in a win over rival Gannon.

Lakers excel as Womens’ basketball advanced to the PSAC Tournament for students and athletes the frst time since 2011. Kaylee Foster led the team with 11.1 points per game, fnishing her career with the ninth-best Both Laker hockey teams feld goal percentage in school had exciting postseason history. Dana Banda wrapped up runs. The women won the her career with 381 assists, the College Hockey America second-most in program history. tournament and advanced to the NCAA tournament Mens’ soccer for the ninth straight year. advanced to the After knocking of #2 seed NCAA Final Four Cornell to reach the Frozen for the frst time Four for the third time in since 2002, winning program history, the Lakers its frst PSAC fell to Boston University in Championship in the semifnals. Christine the process. Alex Bestland was CHA Player Manea was chosen of the Year and Stephanie Daktronics Regional Ciampa was named CHA Player of the Year. Tournament MVP. The football team won Senior forward Gina the PSAC West for the Buquet won the Elite 89 second time in three award at the Division I seasons. Quarterback national womens’ hockey Anthony Vendemia was tournament. She was selected for the PSAC Mercyhurst ’s ffth winner Fall Top Ten list, while of the Elite 89, given to the running back Brandon athlete with the highest Brown-Dukes was the cumulative grade-point average participating at the fnals site for each PSAC West Freshman of NCAA championship. Previous honorees were Vicki Bendus (also of the Year. womens’ hockey), Bethany Brun (womens’ rowing, a two-time winner) and Ian Wild (mens’ lacrosse). Mens’ water polo had its best season in program history, The mens’ hockey team beat Army, Holy Cross and Connecticut on its way winning 23 games and to the title game in the Atlantic Hockey Association tournament before qualifying for Easterns losing to Canisius. for the frst time ever. The Lakers fnished Luis Leao of the men’ s the season ranked basketball team has been 17th in the country, selected to the 2012-13 and Brett Luehmann was national co-player of the year after breaking National Association of Mercyhurst ’s career points record. Basketball Coaches All- America Team, the frst Laker Volleyball made the NCAA Tournament for the frst time since 2009 and in program history to earn the Elyse Texido was named the PSAC West Defensive Player of the Year. honor. Earlier, Leao put up 18.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per Jake Pilarski and Kristen Vidmar of the game as the mens’ basketball golf team were both honored as PSAC team qualifed for the PSAC Champion Scholar Athletes for earning Tournament for the fourth the highest GPA among student- straight season. A native of athletes competing in the conference Brazil, he was the PSAC Western championship. Division Athlete of the Year Mercyhurst posted an Academic Success and was named to the Capital Rate (ASR) of 82 percent for freshmen One Academic All-America First enrolled 2002-2005, above both the 78 Team – also the frst student- percent average of the Pennsylvania State athlete in program history to Athletic Conference and the 72 percent win those honors. national average for student-athletes.

17 Twelve members of the feld hockey team were named to the 2012 Laker Gladiator by SGI/NFHCA Division II National Academic Squad, with seniors Megan Richards and Jessica Richards both fnishing their careers as four- time honorees. Meghan Smith was named a Scholar of Distinction with a sports cumulative grade point average above 3.9. Wrestling won the Division II camps Academic National Championship, recording the highest team GPA in the nation. The Lakers earned Training a 3.379 team GPA and landed eight student-athletes on the All- Academic Team. the next Wrestler Ryan Bohince earned All-America honors at nationals, generation fnishing seventh in the 125-pound weight class. He went 35-7 in his freshman season. Teammate Dylan of athletes. D’Urso took the Most Technical Falls Award at nationals after having 11 total technical falls this season, the most in Division II. Coach Mike Wehler was named the Division II Bob Bubb Coaching Excellence Award. BASEBALL July 15-17, Grades K-12 - $80 For details on these and other achievements by Laker student-athletes, visit hurstathletics.com. MEN’S HOCKEY Rick Gotkin’s Laker Hockey School Aug. 5-10, all ages, no experience necessary - $200 WOMEN’S HOCKEY Mike Sisti’s Elite Developmental Camp Saints succeed July 8-12, ages 11 and up - $825 resident $650 day camper The new womens’ swim program was honored as most MEN’S SOCCER improved team at the Region III Individual Elite Camp Championships. Freshman Destine July 22-25, advanced players ages Godfrey won three individual 15 and up events and was named 2013 Region $360 overnight; $260 commuter III Female Swimmer of the meet. At the NJCAA national championships Team Camp in March, Godfrey brought home July 29-Aug. 1, high school All-American honors by placing 6th in the 200 Individual Medley. Several and club teams individual swimmers and relay teams captured honorable mentions. $360 per player overnight, $260 per player commuter Both the mens’ and womens’ soccer teams made it to the Region III, Division I playofs. The men ended their season with a loss to Bryant and Stratton in the semifnals; the women fnished as runners-up to Monroe Community College.

Wrestling coach Aaron Cooper was elected to a two -year term as vice president of the National Junior College Athletic Association coaches association and was also named “Wrestling Man of the Year.”

For updates on sports at North East, visit mercyhurst.edu/mnesaints.

read watch hear more Visit hurstathletics.com for details about mercyhurst.edu/more these and other camps planned for Summer 2013. 18 Alumni authors on shelves

Small Shoes Color Blind

Camille Licate ’96 has always embraced growth and change. People today often claim proudly Now she’s shared her philosophy about coping with change that they’re color blind – that they in a book, Small Shoes: Outgrowing Old Relationships & Finding don’t even notice color when they meet the Right Fit. someone of a diferent racial background. Tifany Rae Reid ’97 believes that’s the “Like shoes wrong approach. that once ft you so well, “By not seeing color, you’re not honoring relationships my history, you’re not honoring my culture can become and heritage, you’re not honoring the too small, out challenges and obstacles I have because of style, or of the color of my skin that you will never just too old,” face,” she says. Her philosophy, born of personal experience, is simple: she explains. “Only when we can begin to acknowledge our diferences can we ever She says her begin to celebrate the similarities.” book is meant to help people deal with the evolution of any Until her mid-20s, Reid self-identifed as white. She’d never met her father, a relationship, whether it’s with a friend, lover, family member, black man, and accepted her mother’s explanation that her dark complexion, money, job, belief system or life style. curly hair and thick lips refected her “dark Hungarian” ancestors. Dance Chair Tauna Hunter, who invited her former student She eventually forged a relationship with her absentee dad and even back to campus to speak to today’s young dancers, called forgave her mother for the long-running deception, but grew convinced that the book “a lovely way to process life’s epiphanies through a colorblindness – raising biracial children without regard to the signifcance of multitude of imaginative and delightful shoe metaphors.” the color of their skin – was wrong. Licate majored in dance at Mercyhurst, but studied She tells her story in Color Blind – A Mixed Girl’s Perspective on Biracial Life, anthropology as well. After graduation, she pursued both a 2011 book that’s become a powerful resource for parents raising biracial interests, moving to New York City where she studied and children, blended families and educators impacting multicultural classrooms. performed with the Martha Graham Dance Company and also worked as a pottery analyst for The American Museum Reid earned her degree in forensic science at Mercyhurst, and then worked in of Natural History. corporate insurance in New York City, Philadelphia and southern New Jersey. After about a decade, she branched out to create her frst company – Life She later shifted her focus to acting, performing with The Coaching with Tifany Rae. The sideline has grown into a full-time calling, and Shakespeare Theater in Washington, D.C., before relocating to she says she has fnally found her “divine assignment” working with biracial California to work as a professional actress. Her most recent children and their families. flm, “There Will Be ____,” will premiere at The International Film Festival in Rotterdam and The New York City Film Festival All her activities focus on getting and keeping people talking about what it this year. She’s also pursuing screenwriting and producing, means to be multiracial and multicultural in America today. She hosts Mixed and is currently working on a flm project designed to raise Race Radio, acts as a race relations expert for a nationally syndicated television awareness for the endangered African Elephant. show, and serves as a diversity trainer and community educator. She created S.I.M.P.L.L.L.E., a community success group dedicated to Supporting Interracial An animal lover, Licate volunteers for The California Wildlife & Multicultural People Living, Loving, Learning Everywhere. Center and MuchLove Animal Rescue. When not working, she usually can be found blazing trails on horseback. She says Besides volunteering for several nonprofts, she’s a commissioner with the that Georgia, an elderly horse she cared for, was one of her Camden County Human Relations Commission and was recently accepted into greatest teachers. the 2013 New Leaders Council (NLC) Training Institute-Philadelphia chapter.

Small Shoes is available on amazon.com or at Licate’s e-book Color Blind is available from booksellers on the Web and from Reid’s own store, www.createspace.com/3607803. website, tifanyraecoaching.com.

19 65 West 55th Street The Nonproft Leader

Gagan Suri ’96 describes his new novel, 65 West 55th Street, as a Al Messina ’71 has fctionalized memoir. The title is the address in New York City where he already turned the lessons met his wife, Sarah, on a blind date. “The address marks the start of my learned during his long journey with my soul mate, my best friend,” he says. career with Boys & Girls Clubs of America into one That journey wasn’t always easy for Gagan and Sarah – or for their book. Now he’s nearing counterparts in the novel, Karan and Zeina. completion of a second. Gagan and Sarah grew up on diferent sides of the long-simmering feud between India and Pakistan. Hostility between the two nations dates The Decline & Fall of Charity back to 1947, when Pakistan was carved out of India, and has erupted in America, scheduled for in three major wars in the decades since. It took several years for their publication this fall, argues that nonprofts in recent years have become families to accept and bless their relationship. preoccupied with money, marketing and metrics. “Charity was once an informal act of kindness, but it has now become a professionalized act “Fighting to be with her was the best decision of my life,” Suri says. “But of philanthropy,” he explains. “It was once given without expectation of the story is not just about an Indian and a Pakistani. It is not just about anything tangible in return, but is now given with the expectation of a Hindu and a Muslim. The story extends to any two people with varied much in return, particularly public recognition of donors and the ever- backgrounds who love each other.” expanding demand by funders for quantifable results.”

Born and raised in India, Gagan Suri graduated from the Indian Institute Messina, an alumnus of the 118-year-old Erie Boys Club (now the Boys of Hotel Management in New Delhi before moving to the U.S. and & Girls Club of Erie), went on to become the agency’s seventh executive enrolling at Mercyhurst. After several years in the hotel industry director. He previously served as assistant national director of program with Hyatt Hotels, he headed to Canada’s McMaster University, services for Boys & Girls Clubs of America, where he focused on earned an MBA and launched a new career in investment banking leadership development. with Credit Suisse. His service to the organization in many roles at many levels earned him During this career transition, he met Sarah, a native of Pakistan who the Thomas Garth Character and Leadership Award, presented to one had graduated from New York’s Parsons School and was working as a executive each year from the more than 5,000 Boys & Girls Clubs in the freelance fashion designer. Suri worked frst on Wall Street and later for U.S., Europe and Asia. international investment banks in London and the Middle East. Today he’s vice president and head of real estate for the largest Saudi bank, Messina’s frst book, The Nonprofit Leader as Liberal Thinker: Politics, Ethics National Commercial Bank Capital. He lives in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi and Strategy Reconsidered, grew out of his experience not only with Arabia, with Sarah and their two sons, Zyan (9) and Aaryan (6). Boys & Girls Club, but with Erie community agencies including United The message of the book, Way, the Erie Rotary Scholarship Foundation, the Times Old Newsies, published in December Erie Hospice and Family Services. 2012, is simple. “Love goes beyond boundaries. To all Amazon.com calls The Nonprofit Leader, published in 2011, “a those who love someone contemporary version of Machiavelli’s The Prince for the nonproft of a diferent religion, executive of the 21st century. Told in the form of a memoir, it is a culture, or country: Believe compelling account of the political and ethical dynamics every in yourself and stay frm nonproft leader must master to survive and ultimately succeed as a in your belief, because nonproft CEO.” all forces against you will gradually wither away with Messina and his wife, Jan, have two daughters, Denise and Alyssa, and time and what will remain standing intact will be your true love itself.” two granddaughters, Halle and Leah. One of the frst men to graduate from Mercyhurst, Messina was the frst male president of student The book is available at amazon.com. For more information, check out government and the frst male editor of the Merciad. his website at gagansuri.com. 20 Campus News

Livingston appointed Lourdes University president

David J. Livingston, Ph.D., vice president for advancement at Mercyhurst, has been named the new president of Lourdes University, a coeducational liberal arts institution of 2,600 students in Sylvania, Ohio. Founded by the Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania in 1958, Lourdes is known for its quality academic programs and personalized attention to students. President Gamble announces leadership changes Livingston served in a variety of roles during his more than 15 years at Mercyhurst, from faculty member and chair of the religious studies President Thomas J. Gamble, Ph.D., recently announced personnel changes department, to president of the Faculty Senate, to associate vice president intended to maximize the achievement of goals set forth in the university’s and later vice president for advancement. strategic plan.

In that role, he is credited with making strategic and far-reaching gains, Jeanette Britt ’94, formerly associate vice president for advancement, has among them increasing the annual average giving to the university by more joined the president’s staf as chief information ofcer. than 80 percent. He raised $32 million of a $50 million capital campaign goal two years ahead of schedule and acted as project manager for the $10.5 Monsignor David Rubino, Ph.D., who has steered the Walker School of million academic building completed in the summer of 2012. Business over the last two years as interim dean, becomes vice president for external afairs, which includes the advancement function.

Police academy Ryan Palm ’07, director of alumni relations and annual giving, becomes graduates 100th class assistant vice president for advancement.

Thirty-three cadets graduated from Mercyhurst’s Municipal Police Training Academy on Dec. 14, 2012, the 100th class to complete the 21- Café Diem reborn week program. Nearly 3,000 students have graduated from the academy in new location since it began in 1977. Café Diem student Cadets undergo nearly 780 hours of training to prepare for entry-level manager Jessica positions as police ofcers, deputy sherifs, municipal authority ofcers, Christofferson park rangers and security guards. Cadets can also obtain 16 college credits toward an associate degree in criminal justice. Café Diem, the student-run café The academy, housed on the North East campus, is one of only 16 certifed formerly located academies in Pennsylvania where individuals can earn Act 120 certifcation, in Hammermill a requirement for many law enforcement jobs. The Mercyhurst curriculum Library, reopened goes more than 20 hours beyond the required 754 hours of training in January on the Pennsylvania mandates for future police ofcers, said Bill Hale, police frst level of the new academy director. Center for Academic Engagement. The café serves cold and hot breakfast and lunch items, including a variety of healthy menu options.

Besides ofering convenient dining services for the many students, staf and visitors using the building, it’s an additional hands-on food and business experience for students in the Statler Department of Hospitality Management. About 15 students work as managers, purchasers, staf and food preparers.

21 Psych prof wins Students with autism invited research award to preview college life

Matthew T. Weaver, Ph.D., has been For the fourth year in a row, the Asperger Initiative at Mercyhurst (AIM) selected by the American Psychological will ofer a residential summer program designed to enable college-bound Association to receive the 2013 Early Career teenagers with Asperger’s and high-functioning autism to test the waters of Researcher Award from the B.F. Skinner university life. Foundation for his post-doctoral research on the behavioral efects of nicotine. The Summer Foundations Program, scheduled for July 6-27 on the Erie campus, focuses on the development of skills necessary to succeed in Weaver joined Mercyhurst in 2012 to head college. Enrollees will live in a residence hall and eat in the university the new Laboratory on Addictive and cafeteria, enroll in a three-credit college course, and interact with fellow Impulsive Behavior. “Roughly 19 percent of students in social activities. For more information, contact Dianne Rogers adults smoke, but many more try smoking at [email protected], or call her at 814-824-2450. and do not continue to smoke,”Weaver said. “So what are the diferences between those who continue to smoke and those who quit? This is just one Mercyhurst’s innovative program for college students on the autism of the questions we’d like to ask.” spectrum has continued to earn recognition, including an invitation for AIM Coordinator Bradley McGarry to testify in November before a Weaver did similar research at the University of Pittsburgh using an animal Congressional committee studying the federal government’s response model. He now plans to expand his work to study human subjects. to autism.

Two faculty members Freeh to headline ‘Hurst named research fellows intelligence forum in Ireland

Dyan Jones, Ph.D., assistant professor of physics, and Robert H. von Thaden, Jr., Ph.D., associate professor of religious studies, have been named research fellows for 2013, honored for consistently producing scholarship at the highest level within their disciplines.

Jones earned her doctorate in physics education research at Kansas State University. She has begun creating upper-division physics courses and created a minor program in physics as well. She has presented dozens of Louis Freeh, the former director of the FBI, will deliver the keynote address papers at national conferences and published her research fndings in many at Mercyhurst’s Global Intelligence Forum, The Dungarvan Conference, peer-reviewed proceedings and journals. July 7-10 in Dungarvan, Ireland. von Thaden specializes in biblical and other sacred texts and is currently Sponsored by the Institute researching and writing about the cognitive science of religion. He has for Intelligence Studies at written a book, Sex, Christ, and Embodied Cognition: Paul’s Wisdom for Corinth Mercyhurst University, the (2012), and a number of articles and academic papers. third biennial conference will focus on “Preparing Intelligence Analysts for the 21st Century.” Panelists will address how leaders can efectively establish intelligence practices to enhance decision-making in a world marked by intensifying globalization and widespread infuences of technology.

An estimated 180 panelists and delegates – the largest group to date – are expected to attend, said James Breckenridge, Ph.D., executive director of the Institute for Intelligence Studies.

For more information on the forum and its oferings, visit globalintelligenceforum.com.

22 Laker Radio adopts Poll reveals opposition eclectic new format to arming of teachers

Mercyhurst’s two radio stations – JAZZ A majority of registered voters in FM in Erie and WYNE AM in North East Pennsylvania rejects the controversial — have combined into one new station: proposal of arming teachers in schools, WMCE AM 1530 & FM 88.5. according to a recent poll by the Mercyhurst Center for Applied Politics. The change will allow WMCE to provide more diverse programming, attract more student involvement and appeal to a broader fan base, according to The poll found that many Pennsylvanians Laker Radio general manager and disc jockey “Captain Dan” Geary. support proposals advanced by the Obama administration, among them While WMCE will ofer hits improving mental health screening, requiring background checks for from the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s, all gun sales and increasing the presence of police ofcers and armed Mercyhurst students will security guards. also be airing their own programming in a variety of The proposal to allow teachers trained in the use of frearms to carry guns genres. WMCE AM & FM will in classrooms was rejected by a majority – 56 percent – of Pennsylvanians. continue to feature Laker sports coverage and the To read more about this and other polls completed by MCAP, highly-rated The Hispanic visit polisci.mercyhurst.edu. Show and Polka Party. Fans of the station’s former jazz format can stream this

genre online at jazz.mercyhurst.edu. Education Department to work with Mercy Center of the Arts New faces in advancement The Mercyhurst Education Department has forged a new cooperative The Ofce of Institutional Advancement this spring welcomed two agreement with Mercy Center of the Arts, a collaboration that will provide new employees who are already hard at work contacting alumni around a vibrant arts-based preschool experience for Erie area children while also the country. ofering new clinical opportunities for early childhood education majors.

Julianne Weibel Foltz, Esq., the new director Working with the Sisters of Mercy and the Mercy Center staf, Mercyhurst of planned giving, will be working with current will oversee the hiring of a new director for the center, who will also be a members of the O’Neil Society (Mercyhurst’s faculty member in Mercyhurst’s education department. Mercyhurst will also planned giving society) as well as discussing use the center as a resource for its teacher candidates, who will be assigned new planned and deferred giving options there for clinical experiences. with alumni and friends of the school. She has more than 10 years of experience in higher education advancement with a strong focus ‘Ambassadors of service’ on planned giving. She can be reached at [email protected] or 814-824-3990. ofer aid during spring break trips Embodying Mercyhurst’s mission Tamara Walters is the new director of alumni of service, nearly 50 students, relations and annual giving, replacing Ryan faculty and staf chose to spend Palm, now the assistant vice president for their spring breaks volunteering advancement. She has more than six years of at sites around America and the fundraising and event planning experience, Caribbean. The alternative break primarily in higher education but most recently trips were organized by the with the Red Cross chapter in Erie. She will be ofces of service learning and attending some of the alumni events this spring. campus ministry. She can be reached at [email protected] or 814-824-3350. One group headed to Gresslier, Haiti, joining a team rebuilding a church and school destroyed by the recent earthquake. Others went

to Bridgeton, N.J., to help with demoliton and debris clearing in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Two groups headed south on separate Habitat for Humanity trips, one to Union County, N.C., and another to Tupelo, Miss.

23 Alumni relations world tour

Building on the success of the inaugural Alumni Road Trip in 2012, Alumni Relations decided to expand and hit 20 cities within the U.S., Canada, and Ireland in 2013. As we like to say, the gates are always open and we’re delighted to welcome alumni back to campus at any time. But if you can’t come to us, the World Tour will bring Mercyhurst to you.

Each event includes great food and drink. More important, you’ll have a chance to network with fellow alumni and, at many tour stops, with accepted students and their families from your area. You can share stories about your time on The Hill, let us know what you’ve been up to since graduation, and give those prospective students an idea what life as a Laker is all about.

The World Tour kicked of with a reception at Erie’s new Bayfront Convention Center (see photos right) and has already made several stops. Check the schedule to see if there’s an event coming up near you.

April 17, 2013 April 23, 2013 May 1, 2013 5:30-7:30 pm 6-8 p.m. 5:30-7:30 pm Conor O’Neill’s Pub Mad Hatter Trali Irish Pub Ann Arbor, Mich. Washington, D.C. Raleigh, N.C.

April 18, 2013 April 24, 2013 May 2, 2013 6-8 p.m. 6-8 p.m. 5:30-7:30 p.m. The Kerryman Irish Pub Slainte Mortimer’s Chicago, Ill. Baltimore, Md. Charlotte, N.C.

April 25, 2013 May 10-11, 2013 6-8 p.m. 9-4 p.m. each day Tavern 29 Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta New York, N.Y. Philadelphia, Pa.

moreread watch hear mercyhurst.edu/more 24 Alumni Notes

Christopher C. Cofey, Ph.D. ‘77 has been Bryan A. Hurley ‘05 has been named SEC Brandy L. Weber ‘06 named associate director for science at the reporting manager in corporate fnance at married Dave Porter on National Personal Protective Technology KeyBank in Cleveland, Ohio. Oct. 6, 2012, in Sullivan Laboratory at the National Institute for Island, S.C. Brandy is an assistant store manager Occupational Safety and Health. Simon R. Arias ‘05 was honored when the with Starbucks. Dave is Pittsburgh Post-Gazette named his company, an aerospace engineer Kelley Moore Spaeder ‘88 was inducted American Income Life’s Arias Agency, as currently working on into the American Cancer Society’s Georgia Pittsburgh’s top workplace among small projects with Boeing. Achievement Society. businesses. They plan to move to Toronto in May 2013. Deborah M. Lang Jessica M. Verbic ‘06 received her teaching Maeve E. Kelly ‘07 Redlin ‘93 accepted license for Spanish grades K-12 and is married Sean Gavin on a position as teaching at St. Francis DeSales High School June 16, 2012. incentive coordinator in Columbus, Ohio. She is the assistant coach at Wyndham for the school’s cross country and track teams Jade, a company and completed the Columbus Marathon that specializes in October. in meeting management and Patrick Garvin ‘11 has been promoted to Bradley W. Maxa ‘07 married Shelley corporate and incentive travel, in Plano, Texas. experienced assistant for the Bonadio Group Lockhart on April 21, 2012. Andy O’Dell ‘07 of Bufalo, N.Y., which provides accounting, was a groomsman. Dr. Cassandra L. Kuba ‘97 was recently consulting and fnancial services. awarded tenure and selected to receive the Kristin S. Peterson ‘08 and Matt R. 2013 Presidential Gala Award for Outstanding Pierce ‘09 are engaged to be married in Service at California University of Pennsylvania. November 2013. She is an assistant professor of anthropology. Marriages and Engagements

Stephanie Lucas Alicia Santoliquido ‘08 married Jason Robert E. Merski ‘99 was appointed to the Christenson ‘68 McCraw on Nov. 17, 2012, in South Orange, Saint Vincent Foundation Board of Corporators married George N.J. They live and work in the Washington, in November 2012. A special education Basile on June 16, D.C., area. teacher at Erie’s East High School, he is also 2012. Matron of serving his frst term on Erie City Council. honor was Maureen Sarah Belotti ‘09 and Sam Smolarek ‘09 are Milan Carroll ‘68. engaged to be married in May 2014. Sam and Martin P. Cannon ‘00 was included in Stephanie is a freelance Sarah reside in Pittsburgh, where Sam serves Rochester Business Journal’s “Forty under 40.” writer/editor and as a police ofcer of Mt. Lebanon Township He is the director of total compensation at George retired from and Sarah is pursuing her Master of Public Paychex, Inc. Consolidated Edison. Administration degree at the University of Pittsburgh while working for the Leukemia & Sgt. Raymond G. Kress ‘00, a SWAT team Kevin P. McAteer ‘89 Lymphoma Society. leader for Nevada County in California, married Shayna Meador was awarded the Medal of Valor after on Dec. 24, 2012, in Brian Johns ‘10 and Alexandra Miniri ‘10 successfully rescuing a hostage being used Raleigh, N.C. are engaged and planning their wedding for as a human shield. October 2013 in Bufalo, N.Y.

Mandy Fies Weaver ‘01 ’07 was promoted to supervisor of the foster care, adoption and Births and Adoptions kinship support team at Ashtabula County Scott Koskoski ‘00 Children’s Services in Ohio. Aaron May ‘05 is engaged to marry Jennifer and wife Melissa had a Henk in July 2013. Melissa B. Burke son, Jackson David, on Jan. 21, 2013. He joins ‘03 has been named Penelope Lewis ‘06 and a partner of Kenney siblings Benjamin, Tyler Ilmari Niklander ‘07 and Olivia. Shelton Liptak Nowak. were married on Oct. 22, 2011. They reside in Finland. Gregory C. Beato ‘01 and Susan Gonnam Beato ‘01 had a son, Marco Louis, on Oct. 20, 2012.

25 Danielle Reid Cofta Megan Hines Acre ‘06 and husband Ben had Mother of: ‘01 and husband a son, Garrett Benjamin, on Nov. 10, 2012. Marilyn S. Batra ‘60 (Luella Smith) Stephen had a son, Nancy Ann Chiappazzi ‘67 (Lee Soccoccio) Jackson Thomas, on Zacariah Brien ‘06 and Valorie A. Catalano ‘77 (Betty McIntyre) Aug. 28, 2012. Kathryn Jarocki ‘07 had Christopher Hagerty ‘79 (Adrianna Hagerty) a son, Levi Brien Jarocki, on Jan. 10, 2013. Jim Tarasovitch ’80, Joe Tarasovitch ’85 and Marie Tarasovitch Peterson ’86 (Eleanor M. Tarasovitch) Shawn L. Basile Mother-in-law of: ‘01 and Sarah Pulley Basile ‘03 Gary Peterson ’86 (Eleanor M. Tarasovitch) Anthony P. Prusak ‘90 (Shannon R. Wilson) have adopted Sarah Williams their third Palm ‘06 and daughter, Zofa, Ryan Palm ‘07 Father of: with the help of had a daughter, Joan Mohr Krist ‘77 (Clarence Mohr) Reece’s Rainbow. Madison Grace, Richard S. Porris ‘79 (Raymon Porris) They already on Dec. 8, 2012. Megan Reichel Last ‘96 (Richard Reichel) adopted Zoya in 2010 and Mila in Laura M. McCarthy ‘07 (Kevin McCarthy) Rita Galaviz Helms ‘07 and husband Daniel 2011. Read more about their story on Sarah’s had a son, Jameson Daniel, on Nov. 1, 2012. Grandfather of: blog at angeleyesadoption.blogspot.com. He joins brother Sean. Abigail S. Grasinger ‘09 and Tyler J. Glenn B. Caulfeld ‘02 and Naomi Clear had a Grasinger ‘11 (Joseph R. Kohler) son, Joshua Patrick, on Jan. 15, 2013. Grandmother of: Tim Tarasovitch ’08 and junior Jessica James C. Alexander IV ‘04 and Heather Tarasovitch (Eleanor M. Tarasovitch) Ackerman Alexander ‘04 had their fourth child, James C. Alexander V, on July 18, 2012. Friends of the University: He joins older sisters Noel, Morgan and Taylor. Father Stephen Anderson Diana Bohl Thomas J. Wilson ‘04 and Stephanie Roddy Wilson ‘04 had quadruplets John Anthony, Barbara E. Bracken Hailey Lynn, Kaia Elizabeth, and Gavin Deaths G. David Burton Thomas on Dec. 29, 2011. Rose Dascanio Alumni Dorothy DeVitt Margaret MacInnes ‘33 Ranjit S. Dhaliwal, MD Winifred Eisert ‘37 Dominick J. Jordano Harriet Schaper ‘43 Leo MacKrell Sarah M. Thorn ‘45 Joseph P. Minunni Mary H. Phelan ‘50 Clara Mizikowski Ann McCormick ‘57 Stanley Prazer Mary Jane H. Doty ‘58 Marguerite Spaeder Eric Hollenbeck ‘05 Roberta E. Kase ‘70 and wife Anne had a Fred Nungesser ‘75 son, Jude Thomas, on Steven G. Ryan ‘77 Dec. 23, 2012. Barbara A. Hanley ‘84 Christine Turner ‘97 Brian R. Batchman ‘08

Husband of: Lydia Ann Asplund ‘52 (Henry R. Asplund) Trudi M. Harclerode ‘62 (C. Keith Harclerode)

26 Fashion Star Guest Check

Before hotel “fxer” Anthony Melchiorri and the Travel Channel’s Hotel Impossible can help a struggling facility, they need the lowdown on its operations. As they prepped for the popular show’s second season, they turned to Mercyhurst graduate Derek Wood ’91 and his company, Guest Check.

Wood conducted anonymous onsite inspections (aka mystery shops) at the hotels in question, checking out everything from the check-in process to food and beverage services to Internet speed. Waldorf-Astoria Manager Eric Long, a long-time Guest Check client, recommended Wood for the job.

After earning his hospitality degree, Wood worked with Applebees, Erika Ballman De Salvatore ’00 is taking her strong suit – a critical Hyatt and Sheraton Hotels and ran two small B&Bs. His fnal job on eye – to the set of NBC’s Fashion Star where, as the program’s featured the operations side was opening and running a full-service, privately buyer for Express, she makes decisions that stand to propel an aspiring owned, 62-room hotel and restaurant in Colorado. designer’s career into retail rapture or stop it dead in its tracks.

A Mercyhurst fashion merchandising and Fashion Institute of Technology graduate, De Salvatore is director of visual merchandising for Express and lives in Columbus, Ohio, where she has been a member of the Express corporate team since 2003.

De Salvatore got her career start in the late 1990s at the Millcreek Mall Express store, where she eventually became manager. Today, much of her time is spent on the road, traveling among the 600+ Express stores, refning brand presentation and gaining inspiration for what is next.

The busy wife of Danny De Salvatore and mother of 4-year-old Massimo, she never aspired to be a TV personality. To the extent that Fashion Star speaks to her passion, though, she jumped at the chance. Fashion Star, hosted by Louise Roe, Glamour magazine’s fashion editor- at-large, each week gives contestants a challenge to design a certain type of clothing. They work with guidance from celebrity mentors Jessica Simpson, Nicole Richie and John Varvatos.

While running hotels, he looked for help assessing his own operations De Salvatore has bantered with them all and felt very much at home, – a way to evaluate his services through the eyes of guests. When he a state of confdence she said Mercyhurst helped engender. couldn’t fnd the right company to provide that guest perspective, he

launched his own. The inspectors Guest Check contracts have worked in “The minute I met Marilyn Smith (then chair of fashion merchandising), more than 30 states, Mexico, Canada, the Bahamas and the Caribbean. I felt a connection; something magical happened and I knew fashion The next step, he hopes, is a partnership that would allow him to expand was where I should be,” De Salvatore recalled. “Marilyn also told me into Europe. I had the power of public speaking and she drove that home every time I presented. She would say, ‘When you speak, you command an Wood is married to fellow Mercyhurst alum Wendy Smith Wood ‘91 entire room.’” and they have three kids, Wyatt (13), Brooks (11), and Ava (5). The Woods live in Golden, Colo., where Wendy runs her own portrait/ De Salvatore and representatives of Macy’s and Saks Fifth Avenue are photography business. charged with evaluating contestants’ designs and bidding on those they wanted to carry in their stores.

“The premise of this particular reality show is very diferent,” De Salvatore said. “The designs the buyers purchase become available immediately to the public. Fashion Star defnitely meets the instant gratifcation demands of today’s younger generation.”

27 Why not Cullen Eddy? Story by David Leisering

Growing up as a young boy in a hockey family, you have one dream in life He has some advice for today’s Lakers: “Take nothing for granted. I had – to someday play in the National Hockey League (NHL). That dream could the opportunity to play for a couple league championships, which was soon become a reality for former Mercyhurst defenseman Cullen Eddy. great. But, the part I miss the most are the relationships I developed with my coaches and my teammates.” Eddy played for two teams in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) before fnding a home with the Adirondack Phantoms, the American Hockey Mercyhurst plays in the Atlantic Hockey Association, which currently League (AHL) afliate of the Philadelphia Flyers. Then he got an exciting has some players playing in the National Hockey League. “It defnitely call from his agent last July. makes me work that much harder so I can join those guys. ‘Why not me?’ I question myself constantly,” he says. Eddy had become the second player in Mercyhurst’s history to sign a National Hockey League contract. Well, why not Cullen Eddy?

“It was a dream come true,” said Eddy. “I had been back and forth between the AHL and the ECHL for the past couple of seasons. This contract assured me that I could go no lower than the AHL, which is just one step away from the big show.”

A native of Hidden Valley, Pa., Eddy last played for the blue and green as a senior during the 2009-10 campaign. Known for his physical style of play, he caught the eye of some scouts and immediately signed with the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL after his senior season. There, he helped the Cyclones win the ECHL Championship in 2010.

He signed one-year AHL contracts the next two seasons, bouncing between the Phantoms and the Greenville Road Warriors of the ECHL. He spent most of his playing time with the Phantoms, becoming a mainstay in the lineup, and continuing to catch the eye of Flyers’ general manager Paul Holmgren.

“I play a tough position in a tough organization,” said Eddy. “The Flyers are very deep on defense so there aren’t any guarantees that I’ll get called up. All I can do is work hard and keep doing my best and hopefully the right pieces will fall into place so I can get that call.” Eddy could become the second player to don a Mercyhurst jersey to appear in the National Hockey League. Former Laker Jamie Hunt (2003-06) played In the meantime, Eddy is making a name for himself of the ice and has in one game for the Washington Capitals in 2006. become a fan favorite with the Phantoms. Hunt signed an NHL contract with the Capitals right after his junior season Eddy was named the Phantoms’ IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of (2005-06) with the Lakers. He spent two years with Washington’s AHL the Year for his outstanding contributions to the Glens Falls community affiliate, the Hershey Bears, and two more years with the Chicago Wolves of during the 2011-12 season. In his second season with the Phantoms, he the AHL. He amassed 48 career points in 165 games. has embraced new opportunities to get involved in the community.

“It’s a wonderful feeling to get involved with the community,” said Eddy. “It really means a lot to me. The fans come out and support us, so I feel we should go out and support them.”

Eddy’s made multiple visits to the Glens Falls Hospital Pediatric Unit and led full-school assemblies at Abraham Wing Elementary and Granville Elementary, talking about the importance of hard work and staying in school. Eddy has read to classes at Corinth Middle School and has been a guest on the Phantoms’Weekly Radio Show. He also helped the Phantoms raise money for The C.R. Wood Cancer Center at Glens Falls Hospital as part of the Phantoms’ Pink in the Rink promotion.

Eddy played 2006-10 with the Lakers, fnishing his career with 49 points (9 goals, 40 assists) in 144 games. He had a career-high 16 points as a freshman during the 2006-07 season (5 goals, 11 assists) and was named to the Atlantic Hockey Association’s All-Rookie Team that year.

28 Aspiring to inspire Liquid Artistry

When Liz Lindsay graduated in 2007, she was certifed to teach art from Christina Mafei kindergarten through high school. Today she’s teaching a diferent sort of art than has held key she anticipated – the traditional Korean martial art Tang Soo Do. management positions at many Liz started training in Tang Soo Do before she was six, absorbing not only its world-class hotels physical techniques but also the personal discipline and respect that’s central and restaurants since to the martial art. Tang Soo Do is a Korean “karate” taught by way of Moo Duk graduating from Kwan, which translates roughly as “military virtue school.” It teaches virtues like Mercyhurst in 2001, responsibility, sincerity and justice in strict, disciplined classes involving kicking, but it’s her unique punching, knee strikes, elbow strikes, joint locking, and sweeping take downs. It sideline that’s drawn wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t always fun. the most attention. An award-winning mixologist, she created “The World’s Best Mai Tai” at the Bacardi World Mai Tai Competition in Kona, Hawaii, in 2011.

She describes her philosophy of cocktail making as “Liquid Artistry” and says she combines the ideas of a bar chef and the ingredients of a liquid kitchen to create her tantalizing sensations. She also adds market-fresh ingredients, homemade components such as infusions and herbal and spice-favored syrups, and fresh squeezed juices and purees to create her signature drinks.

Fresh out of Mercyhurst, Mafei headed to Chicago, working “Little did I know at the time that the instructor’s job wasn’t to teach me to have at Hyatt Regency O’Hare, Chef Charlie Trotter’s restaurant, fun or even to kick and punch, but to make me into a better, more well-rounded Four Seasons Hotel Chicago and Fairmont Hotel Chicago. person,” Liz explains. She quit lessons at 16 and only realized years later how For the past fve years she’s been a part of the Trump Hotel much she missed them. Collection. She was on the opening teams for both Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago and Trump International “That instructor cared enough to help me and so many others learn right from Hotel Waikiki Beach Walk. wrong, what it was to earn something, how it felt to lose and then practice harder to succeed, how to respect everyone, how to protect myself, how to push myself, In 2011, Mafei joined the task force to open the newest and what it meant to give yourself to the development of others,” she says. Trump addition in Panama City, Panama, and in spring 2012 she headed to Miami where Trump had acquired the Doral She returned to training and, in 2008, was ofered her own school by Grand Golf Resort & Spa. Master C.S. Kim. Enrollment at her school in Irwin, Pa., has grown from 15 at the start to 100 now, with ages ranging from 4 to 60 and abilities from those with Now Mafei has moved back to Oahu to serve as Director physical and mental disabilities to gifted athletes. She expects to produce her frst of Food and Beverage Outlets for the 3,600-room Hilton black belts this year. Hawaiian Village.

As a competitor, she’s brought home 10 national and world championships. The Mafei is a certifed sommelier through the Court of second female to win a world championship in individual forms, she was the Master Sommeliers, a member of the U.S. Bartenders frst to do it twice. In October, she earned her master’s belt and the title Master Guild and a former member of the Chaine de Rotisseurs, Lindsay (Sa Bom Nim Lindsay). Honolulu Chapter.

Lindsay says some people suggest she wasted her education. She replies vehemently, “No, I use it every day! There are many, many times I look back proud that I had good roots and a well-rounded education. I think people underestimate having a good education.”

She knows some of her students probably feel like she did as a teen – that all she does is yell at them. “The gift is knowing that someday they will get it. Someday, maybe they will appreciate those who taught before them. Someday, they will aspire to inspire too!”

29 Sundancing Reunion by the sea

Eric Hollenbeck ’05 is getting to be a regular at the prestigious Sundance Thirteen members Film Festival. of the Class of 1965 gathered in He was among the executive producers of Compliance, a controversial drama Kennebunkport, about a prank caller who convinces a fast-food restaurant manager to interrogate Maine, last an employee. It premiered in 2012 in Sundance’s NEXT division, a noncompetitive September for their showcase for new voices in American cinema. Mark Cuban’s Magnolia Pictures second “Reunion by purchased it and released it in theaters last summer. Compliance is now playing on the Sea.” Maureen VOD (video on demand) and is out on DVD. Gray and her son Rob hosted the This year, Hollenbeck was one of the producers of The Kings of Summer (previously group at their titled Toy’s House), one of 16 flms competing in the U.S. dramatic division. “We summer homes in without question had one of the hits at Sundance,” Hollenbeck says. “People loved Cape Porpoise. the flm, fnding it both hilarious and moving, and it’s routinely cited as one of the Barb Brairton of top flms of the festival.” Erie brought along Mercyhurst University “Laker Spirit” t-shirts for the The Kings of Summer is the story of three unhappy teenage boys who fee to the whole group. wilderness to build a makeshift house and live of the land as masters of their own destiny – or at least that’s the plan. It stars Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, Moises Attending were Kathie Mahaney Baumeister, Maureen Arias, Nick Oferman, Megan Mullally and Alison Brie. Aleci Gray, Anne Ledoux Erwin, Bonnie Morris Gerace, Peggy Hock Heetmann, Claire Cronin Palmisano, Barbara A few days after the Jan. 19 premiere, CBS Films acquired domestic rights to the flm. Kramer Brozich, Barbara Brairton, Mary Ann Sabolsky Scott Shooman of CBS said, “While comparisons to movies like Stand By Me and The Sieczka, Ginny Gorsak DeGironimo, Carol Klein, Janis Goonies are inevitable, we found Toy’s House to be a fresh, funny and heartwarming Bodnar Hall and Susan Smith Beidler. story that is a loving throwback for a new generation.”

Since leaving Mercyhurst, Hollenbeck has worked for numerous production companies and studios, including Walt Disney Pictures, Focus Features, Paramount Pictures, The Weinstein Company and Universal Pictures. His credits include Gus Van Sant/Matt Damon’s flm Promiseland, Tom Cruise’s Jack Reacher, The Avengers, George Clooney’s Ides of March, J.J. Abrams/Spielberg’s Super 8 and Showtime’s breakout hit series Homeland. In spring 2010, he founded his own company, Breakfast Films, to develop, finance and feature flms.

Why Breakfast Films? “It is said that break- fast is the most important meal of the day. But simply put, breakfast is just awesome. Who doesn’t like pancakes, bacon, and eggs? If you don’t like pancakes then surely you like wafes, French toast or bagels. Maybe oatmeal or cereal is your style? So many choices…

“We would like to think that the best flms started with a great breakfast. Hence, Break- fast Films was born to produce a variety of features flms, because life is about choices.

“What are you having for breakfast?”

Hollenbeck divides his time between Cleveland and Los Angeles. He and his wife, Anne, welcomed their frst son, Jude Thomas, on Dec. 23, 2012.

30 501 East 38th Street, Erie, PA 16546

MAY 31 - JUNE 2 2013 Reunion Weekend

WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS • Welcome Home Reception • All-Class Dinner and Reception You’re invited back to campus for a weekend of good food and drink, exciting events and great company. Mercyhurst alumni are invited to • Alumni College stay in beautiful Warde Hall, and enjoy festivities all weekend on • All-Class BBQ Lunch the campus. • Distinguished Alumni Awards Take a campus tour and let our guides tell you all about the latest additions to the Mercyhurst campus and make a quick stop at • Athletics Hall of Fame the brand-new, state-of-the-art Center for Academic Engagement.

Induction Ceremony We hope you will join us for these and many more exciting events • Saturday Night Gatherings throughout the weekend! • Sunday Mass & Brunch Watch your mailbox and email inbox for more details, • Campus Tours and visit reunion.mercyhurst.edu for the latest updates!