Vol. 11, No. 2, SUMMER 2019 BONAVENTURE TheMagazine of St .Bon aven ture Unive rsity 16 Distance Doesn’t Matter For Dan, ’95, and Gayle Patton, honoring Fr. Richard Flaherty, O.F.M., through an endowed scholarship is as natural as the friendship they have shared with “Padre” for nearly 30 years. 18 The 21st Century Library In a digital age of untrustworthy sources, the multitude of benefits offered by a library – and its librarians – are more important than ever. 28 It Takes a Village Head men’s basketball coach Mark Schmidt reflects on the wins on and off the court. INSIDE Franciscan Minute . .4 Reunion Photos . .12 The Pathway to Success . .14 Class Notes . 33 Editor Editorial Contributors Photography Contributors Submit Class Notes: www.SBUmagazine.com Bonaventure Magazine Beth Eberth Susan Anderson, ’11 Danny Bush, ’13, ’15 Address changes: [email protected] P.O. Box 2509 Tom Donahue, ’76 Liam McGurl, ’17, ’19 Additional contacts: 3261 W. State Road Emma Fox, ’22 Office of Alumni Services St. Bonaventure, NY 14778 Liam McGurl, ’17, ’19 www.sbu.edu/alumni (716) 375-2000 Jennifer Pulver (716) 375-2302 [email protected] Bonaventure: The Magazine of St. Bonaventure University is produced twice a year by the Office of Marketing and Communications. 2 President’s Message Lofty aspirations and the path to get there We have an obligation to help students envision their meaningful contributions to society rom the day I became the 21st president of St. Bona- He’s spent summers at our Franciscan Institute and at - venture University, I’ve had one overarching goal: that tended retreats at Mt. Irenaeus. one day I’d be able to look parents squarely in the eye I’m confident Fr. Russel is up to the task because of his di - Fand tell them, “Your child’s life will be transformed here.” verse background, from his work promoting ecumenical and That’s a lofty aspiration, but most of you understand, in interreligious dialogue the last four years at the General Curia hindsight, that this remarkable institution was a transforma - of the Order of Friars Minor in Rome, to his prior role at tional touchstone in your lives. Siena College, working directly with students as the director Our difficulty has always been figuring out a way to trans - of the Franciscan Center for Service and Advocacy. form our students intentionally, not intuitively, to convince Add to that his experience as an academic in the classroom, their parents with evidence, in foresight, that this place will and I’m not sure we could have found a better candidate. have a profound impact on To be clear, mission integration isn’t a one-person job. Fr. their children’s personal Russel will only serve as the beacon to guide our entire cam - and professional lives. pus community down this path. Fifty years ago, almost 50 It’s imperative that faith-based schools like St. Bonaventure friars and sisters served as create a culture where mission integration is top of mind faculty or staff at Bona’s. across the institution so we can educate students to shape the Probably 90% of our stu - future we want. We have an obligation to help students envi - dents were Catholic. Mis - sion their meaningful contributions to society. sion integration was Catholic universities are of vital importance in today’s wrapped in brown robes world. The real impact of a St. Bonaventure education is ulti - and black habits and didn’t mately dependent on our ability to embed and integrate our really need to be purpose - Franciscan mission and values in every aspect of our work. fully artic ulated. We’ve done that at Bona’s for more than 160 years. Nicole 2019 is a stark contrast. Antonacci is a perfect example. Nicole just earned her MBA Fewer than 20 friars com - this May after finishing her BA in psychology in 2018. bined are on campus and at But instead of immediately joining the workforce, Nicole is Mt. Irenaeus. Less than two-thirds of our students are Catholic devoting a year of service to the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, help - and an ever-increasing number come to us having practiced no ing to teach middle school kids in San Diego to express them - organized religion at all growing up. selves though art and poetry. But students still thirst for meaning in their lives, perhaps “Something I learned at Bonaventure,” Nicole said, “is that more so now than ever as our society becomes more politically there is so much beauty in uncertainty. This lesson gave me fractured and insular. Young people want to connect with each the courage to set my MBA aside, put my faith in God first, other and the world in more meaningful and purposeful ways and dedicate this year to serving as a Jesuit Volunteer.” and I know St. Bonaventure can show them how to do it. All we need to do now is structure our institutional efforts — In my first months on campus, I formed a campus-based inside and outside the classroom — more formally to ensure Commission on University Mission. The commission was that all of our students are realizing the life-changing experi - charged with revising our mission statement and values (see ence Nicole Antonacci had. page 4), solidifying our relationships with Mt. Irenaeus and Holy Name Province, and — perhaps most important — articu - lating a rationale to hire a vice president for Mission Integra - tion. Fr. Russel Murray, O.F.M., emerged from a national search this spring and begins work in August, but it won’t be his first Dr. Dennis R. DePerro trip to Bonaventure. St. Bonaventure President St. Bonaventure University Board of Trustees* Robert J. Daugherty, ’77 Michael A. Anderson, ’77 Michael E. Hill, ’96 Les Palm Ann Swan Board Chair Steven G. Barry, ’88 Fr. Linh N. Hoang, O.F.M. Richard A. Penna, ’68 Lynda M. Wilhelm, ’86 Kathleen A. Colucci, ’77 Lana D. Benatovich Fr. Daniel P. Horan, O.F.M., ’05 Very Rev. John E. Puodziunas, O.F.M. First Vice Chair Janet I. Bodnar, ’71 Albert C. Horton, ’66 Bill Purcell Trustees Emeriti Daniel F. Collins, ’73 Kevin A. Cleary, ’02 Bharat Kohli Leslie C. Quick III, L.H.D., ’75 Raymond C. Dee, L.H.D., ’64 Second Vice Chair Fr. Thomas E. Conway, O.F.M. William J. Lawley Jr., ’85 Carol A. Schumacher, ’78 John R. "Jack" McGinley, L.H.D., ’65 Timothy J. Finan Dr. Dennis DePerro Cindy Abbott Letro John D. Sheehan, ’82 Charles Osgood, L.H.D. Vice Chair for Academic Excellence Michael T. Fossaceca, ’88 Paul C. McDonald, ’80 James E. Stitt Laurie A. Branch, ’04 Thomas M. Garvey, ’74 Yvonne Minor-Ragan Marvin W. Stocker, ’65 Board Secretary Deb A. Henretta, ’83 Very Rev. Kevin J. Mullen, O.F.M. * Board members as of May 31, 2019 SUMMER 2019 3 Franciscan Minute Ensuring a strong foundation of community at SBU By Fr. Francis Di Spigno, O.F.M. Bonaventure says, “… there should be no St. Bonaventure Values knowledge without love.” St. Bonaventure Informed by our Franciscan Charism, ’m sure you’ve heard the expression, knew that the life of the mind must be con - we are a COMMUNITY … “The more things change, the more they nected to the love of the heart, for “knowledge … nurturing COMPASSION . stay the same.” Here at St. Bonaventure, without love is in vain.” What is learned in the … seeking WISDOM. Ithere are a lot of changes taking place, not to classroom, the residence halls, the chapel and … building I NTEGRITY. return to what was but to build what is to locker rooms must be integrated to who we come. are in the world. foundation of our community re- One of the changes is the rewording of our The question of our university’s values was mains strong and stable. mission statement and a new set of univer - a different story. There were several univer - Despite these important changes, sity values. It is not a coincidence that this is sity “values” flouting around so it was clear one thing that won’t change is intro- happening in conjunction with the upcoming that we needed to create one set of values that ducing our Franciscan charism to arrival of our new mission officer. define who we are today. After numerous the next generation. conversations, a survey of our alumni, stu - In early July, the University Min- St. Bonaventure Mission Statement dents, faculty and staff, and consultation with istries team spent an afternoon and St. Bonaventure is a Catholic university the administration and Board of Trustees, we evening with our 2019 Orientation dedicated to educational excellence as in - knew first and foremost that St. Bonaventure Team at Mt. Irenaeus (pictured formed by our Franciscan and liberal arts tra - is a community. below). It was a wonderful time to- ditions. In the words of our patron, we We then set out to name exactly what type gether in that gorgeous setting. The believe that there should be “no knowledge of community is at the core of who we are, highlight was the incredible sharing without love,” and thus seek to transform the what holds us together, and what drives us on that took place during the Mass in lives of our students, inspiring in them a life - long commitment to service and citizenship. St. Bonaventure embraces students, faculty and staff of all faiths and cultures and strives to bring out the best in every individual through meaningful relationships. As an aca - demic and spiritual community, we endeavor to prepare our students for the challenges they will face in their professional careers and personal lives.