Cover:Final 7/29/09 12:58 PM Page 1 Saint Joseph’s University, Spring 2007 Seeking Solutions for Childhood Obesity summer 2006 Graduate Student Recounts Alumnus and CEO Beats the Odds College Binge Drinking: Life in Iraq Still a National Problem Presidents Letter:Spring 2007 7/29/09 1:00 PM Page 1 FROM THE PRESIDENT When the editors of Forbes magazine went looking for their Entrepreneur of the Year for 2006, they didn’t look in Silicon Valley for a high-tech whiz kid or along Boston’s Route 128 corridor for a biotech pioneer. Their search took them to Montgomery County, just north of Philadelphia, where Michael J. Hagan ’85 is the chairman, president, and chief executive officer of NutriSystem. Under his leadership, NutriSystem has experienced a stunning turnaround, with its sales and earnings growth and return on equity earning it the top spot on Forbes’s list of the Best 200 Small Companies in America last year. The magazine’s October 30 issue featured Mike on its cover. The recognition was well earned, but hardly surprising. Saint Joseph’s University is blessed by the leadership of many alumni, who can be found in an astonishing array of fields, where every day they heed God’s call to go forth and serve others. These are graduates who are school principals and teachers, physicians and research scientists, Fortune 500 vice presidents and directors. They are attorneys and accountants and journalists; artists and singers and writers; university presidents, priests, elected officials and social workers. Their work may not result in feature stories in business magazines or coverage in daily papers, but in their own equally significant ways, they — you — are achieving so much that is worthy of celebration. What ties the work of our alumni together, regardless of their field, regardless of their title, is a special kind of leadership. It is a result of the Jesuits’ emphasis on rigor and service, combined with our deeply held Catholic values of intellectual drive and spirituality. Men and women educated at Saint Joseph’s, leaders all, change not only the wider world but also their own individual domains. They bring to their enterprises technical acumen as well as a worldview that encompasses compassion and ethics. And they change their organizations — from entrepreneurial start-ups to non-profits to corporate institutions to government agencies — in ways that deepen the human experience and transform the world into a better, more just place. This special brand of leadership is fostered by a holistic, all-encompassing curriculum that gives each student a firm grounding in the humanities, the natural and social sciences, and the arts, and that includes ethics and justice as major components. It is informed and inspired by a campuswide emphasis on service to others. Individually, each of these efforts is laudable and worthy. Combined, in reflection of Catholicism’s encouragement to seek truth and Ignatius’s call to find God in all things, they cultivate in men and women an inquisitive nature and a deep commitment to bring meaning to their pursuits. And so I congratulate Mike Hagan for an honor that is richly deserved. At the same time, it gives me great pleasure to be part of the community that includes all Saint Joseph’s University alumni. Your contributions reflect well on all of us. More important, they foster goodwill and justice, in the process providing a model for all to emulate. God’s blessings, Timothy R. Lannon, S.J. President Contents/Cal Spr 07:News Summer 06 REV 7/29/09 1:00 PM Page 1 magazine Volume 21, No. 2, Spring 2007 Cover Story Features Departments 2 From the Editor 2 On the Calendar 3 News Scholarship Spotlight on Students, Faculty On Campus Service Athletics 26 Advancing Alumni Chapter Events 12 Americans in the Battle of the Bulge: John R. Post ’60 Awarded Shield of Loyola A Troop of SJU Researchers Fights Gift from Bernadette and James J. Nealis ’69 Childhood Obesity Loyola Society Executive Council By Kelly Welsh ’05 (M.A.) and Carolyn Steigleman 30 Alum Notes Members of Saint Joseph’s faculty have joined In Memory forces to combat the national epidemic of Francis R. Rosato ’56 (B.S.) childhood obesity. Alumni Profiles 18 Red Skies at Night Nick DiNubile, M.D. ’73 (B.S.) By Bradford T. Pearson ’06 (B.A.) Brian Egan ’90 (B.A.) An Iraqi journalist makes his way to SJU and Renee Hykel ’01 (B.S.) the master’s in writing studies program. 39 Viewpoint 20 Bucking the Odds By Stephen Fields, S.J. By Kevin Mulligan 40 EndPoint Underprivileged circumstances didn’t hold By Ed Trainer ’63 (B.A.) back Bruce Crawley ’67 (B.S.) in his quest for success. 22 The Party’s Over: Consequences of College Binge Drinking By Thomas W. Durso ’91 (B.A.), ’02 (M.B.A.) New research illuminates the serious ramifications of binge drinking among college students, particularly women. UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION Advancing Section Editor SJU MAGAZINE: Published four times Saint Joseph’s University is committed to President Duffy Ross annually by Saint Joseph’s University, a policy of equal opportunity in every Timothy R. Lannon, S.J. Executive Director, Development 5600 City Avenue, Philadelphia, PA aspect of its operations. The University Vice President for External Affairs and Alumni Communications 19131-1395; distributed free to alumni, values diversity and seeks talented Joan F. Chrestay Alum Notes Editors parents, friends and faculty/staff of Saint students, faculty and staff from a variety Assistant Vice President for Alexa Bonadonna ’06 (B.A.) Joseph’s University (circulation 54,000). of backgrounds. Accordingly, the University Communications Assistant Director, Online: www.sju.edu/ucomm/magazine. University does not discriminate on the Harriet K. Goodheart University Communications basis of race, color, gender, sexual Assistant Vice President for Sarah Whelehon POSTMASTER: Please send change-of- orientation, religion, national or ethnic Marketing Communications Graduate Assistant, address correspondence to Development origin, age, marital status or disability in Joseph M. Lunardi ’82 (B.A.) University Communications and Alumni Relations, Saint Joseph’s the administration of its admissions, Art Director University, 5600 City Avenue, educational, financial aid, employment, SJU MAGAZINE Carmen R. Croce ’71 (B.A.) Philadelphia, PA 19131-1395. athletic or recreational policies and programs. Editor Director, University Press Send editorial correspondence to Molly Crossan Harty Designers University Communications, Saint Questions or concerns regarding the News Section Editor James B. Brack Joseph’s University, 5600 City Avenue, University’s equal opportunity/affirmative Kelly Welsh ’05 (M.A.) Brooke M. Canale Philadelphia, PA 19131-1395, or action policies and programs or services Associate Director, Jonathan B. Dart [email protected]. and accommodations for disabled persons Jaci Lantz University Communications should be directed to the Affirmative Carol McLaughlin ’80 (B.A.) Action Officer at 610-660-3336. Daniel Walsh Photography Laird Bindrim Contents/Cal Spr 07:News Summer 06 REV 7/29/09 1:00 PM Page 2 On the Calendar From the Editor ACADEMIC CALENDAR ALUMNI Last day of classes, Fri., Apr. 27. Final Examinations, Mon., Apr. 30-Fri. May 5. Reunion Weekend 2007! May 18-20 Commencement: Classes of 1962, 1967, 1972, 1977, • Baccalaureate Mass, Fri., May 11 (5:15 P.M.) 1982, 1987, 1992, 1997, 2002 • Graduate Students, Sat., May 12 (9 A.M.) • Undergraduate Students, Sat., May 12 (3 P.M.) Class of 1957 — 50th Reunion May 10-12 Online: www.sju.edu/commencement. See inside back cover for more information. Life is full of tough choices, isn’t it? ACADEMIC EVENTS Paper or plastic? Starbucks or Dunkin’ Erivan K. Haub School of Business Cooperative Education Summer Immersion Programs Auction, Fri., Mar. 23, Campion Student Center (5-10 P.M.), followed by an Donuts? PlayStation or Xbox? Program: Enrolled students alternate time in classroom with learning on the job to gain valuable industry alumni reception. The auction benefits new service trips If only all of our decisions were that simple. experience, earn respectable wages, and graduate in to Tanzania and Ecuador, in addition to annual trips to So many more of our choices have long- four years. Interested companies, contact Patricia Tijuana, Mexico, and Tohatchi, New Mexico. Contact: Bazrod at 610-660-1103 or visit www.sju.edu/hsb/coop. Matt Fullmer, 610-660-1030, or [email protected]. lasting ramifications, far-reaching consequences. Diversity Lecture Series: “The Naked Truth: Advertising’s Erivan K. Haub School of Business Hall of Fame Award, And when we’re lucky enough or smart enough Image of Women,” Jean Kilbourne, Ed.D., author and Wed., Apr. 25, Hyatt Regency Philadelphia at Penn’s or in-the-right-place-at-the-right-time enough, filmmaker, Wed., Mar. 28, Presidents’ Lounge, Campion Landing. Honoree: Robert D. Falese Jr. ’69, those choices can change our lives in ways we Student Center (4-6 P.M.). Contact: 610-660-1141. president of Commercial and Investment Banking, Online: www.sju.edu/STUDENT_LIFE/multicultural_life/ Commerce Bank. Contact: Mary Finelli, 610-660-1645 may not imagine ... often for the better. documents/OMLPOSTERofEVENTS_v2.pdf. or [email protected]. See page 29 for more information. The subjects of this issue’s features can attest “Agency and Subjectivity,” a conference supported by Legacy Day, Fri., Apr. 27. Contact: Nora Clancy, to that. SJU and the Greater Philadelphia Philosophy Consortium, 610-660-3202 or [email protected]. Sat., Apr. 7, Erivan K. Haub Executive Center, McShain Upon meeting Bruce Crawley ’67, you would Hall (1-5 P.M.). Speakers: Linda Martin Alcoff, professor 21st Annual Graduate Business Student Association/MBA never guess the circumstances from which he of philosophy, women’s studies, and political science at Alumni Association Networking Event, Thu., May 10, Mandeville dining room, (6-9 P.M.) RSVP: Graduate came.