Alvernia University Magazine Summer 2023

SUMMER 2023

PRESIDENT

Glynis A. Fitzgerald, Ph.D.

EDITOR

Kristopher M. Nolt

Executive Director of Marketing and Communications

ART DIRECTOR

Lynn N. Gano Director of Creative Services

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Claire Curry

Jon Fassnacht

Lini S. Kadaba

Sarah Matarella

Nikki M. Murry

Kristopher M. Nolt

Susan Shelly

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Susan Angstadt

Lynn N. Gano

Dan Z. Johnson

Stephen Johnson

Sarah Matarella

Heidi Reuter

Alvernia Magazine is published by Alvernia University to share news and information about the institution with alumni, friends and the community. Opinions expressed in the magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the university. Please share your feedback as we work to continuously enhance the publication: news@alvernia.edu.

Alvernia Magazine is a publication of Alvernia University. Copyright 2023. All rights reserved.

ALVERNIA UNIVERSITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES Officers of the Board

Chair

Gregory J. Shemanski Owner/President Customs Processing Services, Inc.

Vice Chair

Michael Duff Senior Vice President Penske Truck Leasing President

Glynis A. Fitzgerald, Ph.D. Alvernia University President Secretary

John McCloskey Jr. ’94 M’01, DBA Alvernia University Senior VP and Chief of Staff

University Counsel

Hourigan, Kluger & Quinn

Members of the Board

John M. Arnold, Jr. Chairman, CEO & Owner PPC Lubricants, Inc.

Paula Barrett, CPA Partner, Retired Reinsel Kuntz Lesher

Michael J. Caron, GTS Retired Welco

Kevin P. DeAcosta, ’00 President & CEO The Highlands of Wyomissing

Richard A. Ehst President and CEO, Retired Customers Bank

Michael Fromm President & CEO Fromm Electric Supply Corp.

John H. Gallen, Jr. Owner & President Ethosource and Wyatt Seating

Patricia C. Giles President Wyomissing Foundation, Inc.

Sr. Madonna Marie Harvath, OSF Retired

Bernardine Franciscan Sisters

Ellen Huyett, Esq. Attorney (Retired) Community Volunteer

Ginger Kunkel President Tompkins Community Bank

Steven M. Koons, CPA, PMP ’05 Partner Cotton & Company, LLP

Daniel Langdon CEO, Retired East Penn Manufacturing

Sr. Sandra Lyons ’69 Assistant Congregational Minister Bernardine Franciscan Sisters

Rachel A. Maher, DMD ’94 Pediatric Dentist Dentistry for Children

Stephen Najarian Partner SN Companies

Sr. David Ann Niski, OSF ’66 Executive Director Bernardine Franciscan Sisters Foundation

David W. Patti Director of Communications & Marketing Customers Bank

Sr. John Ann Proach ’74 Congregational Minister Bernardine Franciscan Sisters

Jeffrey R. Rush President, Commercial Markets Fulton Bank

Peter Rye President Brentwood Industries, Inc.

Jeanne L. Savage ’88 Community Volunteer

Barry L. Schlouch Owner/President Schlouch Incorporated

Lucine E. Sihelnik ’13 Berks County Commissioner

Sister Mary Snisky Director of the Bernardine Franciscan Associates

Bernardine Franciscan Sisters

Douglas Tieman

President and CEO, Retired Caron Treatment Centers

Sister Mary Joseph Tirpak Retired

Bernardine Franciscan Sisters

Michael G. Tobash

Owner Tobash Insurance Agency & Financial Services

Former state representative

Paul F. Trunk

President & VP, Retired Berk-Tek & Nexans LAN Division, North America

David Turner

Regional Manager, External Affairs

Met-Ed FirstEnergy Co.

John P. Weidenhammer

President Weidenhammer Systems Corp.

Continuing the mission

guidance, and support as they entrust the stewardship of the university to its first female layperson leader.

It is an exciting time, as Alvernia continues on the pathway of transformation into a Regional Comprehensive University. Our distinct mission of serving the underserved in the communities where we live, learn and engage has never been stronger. I’m grateful for the counsel and wisdom of President Loyack during the transition and for the support of the Board of Trustees as we aim to continue the extraordinary progress we’ve experienced over the past four years.

As I step into this new role with a clear path for the immediate steps ahead, it provides us with a unique opportunity to guide the future. We will continue down the path laid out in the Alvernia Advantage Strategic Plan, building upon the accomplishments and competitive advantages the CollegeTowne initiatives have afforded our university. Midpoint successes of this strategy include expanding academic programming in engineering and health sciences in new facilities that enhance scholarship and experiential learning opportunities; adding student living space; enhancing academic

support offerings; remodeling our academic operations into a four-College model; seeing academic programs reaccredited; and reorganizing our mission, diversity, equity, inclusion and engagement models.

We look forward to continuing to engage our extended campus community as we move the university into the next era. With flexibility, innovation, expansion, engagement and an unwavering student-centric approach, we will be prepared for the challenges facing this country’s regional private and liberal arts universities. I’m excited and honored to lead Alvernia on this journey.

We thank the students, alumni, staff, faculty, supporters, trustees, community partners and senior leadership team who have charted this path for us and continue to walk it with us. Together, our footsteps will pave a path toward future success and ensure that Alvernia remains a vibrant, mission-driven university benefiting from the Bernardine Sisters’ vision and legacy.

Sincerely,

Glynis A. Fitzgerald, Ph.D.

Alvernia University’s 8th President

Dear Alvernia University community,

As I officially step into my term as president of Alvernia University, I enter it with a deep sense of pride and humility. I’m proud to walk in the footsteps of the great Bernardine Franciscan Sisters—leaders of our community—and humbled by the Sisters’ acceptance,

CollegeTowne fuels regional expansion

By Nikki M. Murry

Alvernia University has been a part of Reading’s fabric since its founding in 1958. Its roots took hold in neighboring Schuylkill County after it expanded there in 1995.

But despite its entrenched ties, the university chose not to stick to the status quo in those communities. The August 2021 opening of the John R. Post Center at Reading CollegeTowne, a 250,000-square-foot living and learning facility situated in the heart of downtown Reading, began its reinvention. Its January 2023 unveiling of Pottsville CollegeTowne in the city’s downtown district continued the push.

The strategy mirrors the seismic transformation happening all throughout higher education, with institutions needing to think differently to stay relevant. And Alvernia’s forward thinking will create ripple effects, with redevelopment spurring more redevelopment, aided by public-private alliances.

“CollegeTowne isn’t buildings and education; it’s partnerships,” said John R. Loyack, outgoing Alvernia University president whose vision shaped the strategy’s implementation. “It’s a magical process that combines experiential education and economic redevelopment. It demonstrates how education can impact downtowns, unveils

opportunities for further redevelopment … and students are at the center of all of that.”

Moving into the state-of-the-art downtown Pottsville location, reutilizing a space once occupied by a grocery store, allows Alvernia to strengthen the relationship with the Joseph F. McCloskey School of Nursing, enhance teacher education and certification programs, and expand offerings in social work, psychology and business programs. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

“Since its founding, Alvernia has been a place for firstgeneration college students and non-traditional students juggling family life and new career opportunities, and this new campus will meet the needs of those students,” said Glynis A. Fitzgerald, Ph.D., Alvernia’s president and former senior vice president and provost.

Speak with nearly any member of the community about the arrival of Pottsville CollegeTowne at 500 Progress Avenue and

CollegeTowne fuels regional expansion

Alvernia University’s newest CollegeTowne location at 500 Progress Avenue in downtown Pottsville.

“Today’s adult learner needs an ecosystem of support services to address barriers to access and success in higher education.”

— Gaetan Giannini, vice president for graduate and adult Education

you’ll almost certainly be met with robust enthusiasm.

Celebrating the 17,000-square-foot initiative’s ribbon cutting on Jan. 19, 2023, Pottsville Mayor David Clews said that getting to that point and forming a partnership with Alvernia was nothing short of a pleasurable experience.

One effort that has already demonstrated CollegeTowne’s arrival will surely equate to measurable growth for the city. Already in the works is the development of an apartment complex that will rent living space at market rates, all within walking distance of campus.

“This has brought a huge potential for growth for Pottsville’s future,” said Clews. “The business community is extremely excited to welcome more potential customers, and residents will have access to an education system that’s more than willing to work with people to meet their goals.”

A proven model

The CollegeTowne initiative in Reading has sparked over 2 million square feet of redevelopment, with new entertainment options and a planned conversion of a former bank building into student housing. It’s all happening on a large scale, right on Penn Street and a half-block surrounding it.

The process from discovering the Pottsville CollegeTowne

site to opening happened quickly and somewhat seamlessly. Now it’s time to get to work and to watch that aforementioned magic happen.

“There’s already been an uptick in interest from people wanting to come to our campus,” said Vice President for Graduate and Adult Education Gaetan Giannini. “Students will experience topnotch labs in downtown Pottsville, but also get Alvernia’s personalized service. It carries the small-town touch and feel.”

Also essential for future growth, the Pottsville CollegeTowne campus includes its own O’Pake Institute for Economic Development and Entrepreneurship, fostering partnerships between students, area entrepreneurs, small business owners, faculty researchers and industry leaders to fuel economic development through the student-powered SPARK Business Incubator. In Reading, the incubator has assisted more than 250 businesses in just two years’ time.

“Our model has developed to the point where it now takes months versus years to implement,” said Loyack. “We’ve learned that coalitions formed between the private and public sectors

With a state-of-the-art wet lab, Alvernia’s Arnold School of Nursing and the Lehigh Valley Health Network’s Joseph F. McCloskey School of Nursing will educate and train the next generation of nurses in Schuylkill County at the Pottsville CollegeTowne location.

Alvernia’s community-based campuses are equipped to support the needs of the adult student population.

can bring community engagement, drive economic redevelopment and create student opportunities. It all gets students ready to make a living and make a life. They get reallife experiential learning without ever having to leave campus.”

CollegeTowne provides road map for changing demographics

With the decline of traditional high school—aged students looking to pursue higher education, institutions across the country are evaluating innovative ways to continue the delivery of their transformational mission to other groups of interested learners. These demographic changes bring the interests and unique needs of the adult learner to the forefront of university strategy and will be the key to the success of an institution over the next 10 years.

The expansion of Alvernia’s CollegeTowne model into other markets across eastern Pennsylvania via on-ground and online formats is addressing the needs of this population by providing state-of-the-art facilities with flexible instruction modalities that greatly benefit continuing education and graduate students in a community-centric hub.

“Today’s adult learner needs an ecosystem of support services to address barriers to access and success in higher education,” said Giannini. “Program availability, flexible scheduling, speed to completion, total cost and support, and confidence in ability to complete are important factors to the adult learner. The CollegeTowne model addresses all these areas as we add new programs, offer support services and adjust learning modalities to meet their needs.”

Fitzgerald believes the university’s mission calls for Alvernia to meet these needs, and investment in the expansion of student services is underway.

“The establishment of the Presidential Hope Fund and Clare’s Cupboard program indicates the university’s

commitment to meeting the needs of all our students, including our adult learners and graduate students,” said Fitzgerald. “The university is investigating how to leverage a social worker model

to connect students with all the resources they qualify for as students in Pennsylvania. This model of support and caring is what our Foundresses did for years in Reading, and we look to continue this work into the future.”

With the opening of Pottsville CollegeTowne, Alvernia now looks to the enhancements of the university’s presence in the Philadelphia region while exploring new markets for potential expansions, with the ultimate goal to add a new motto for the university:

“Alvernia University, now serving all of eastern Pennsylvania.”

Equipped with the latest in hybrid learning technology, classrooms at Pottsville CollegeTowne can serve students in-seat and attending online.

“The establishment of the Presidential Hope Fund and Clare’s Cupboard program indicates the university’s commitment to meeting the needs of all our students, including our adult learners and graduate students,”

— Glynis A. Fitzgerald, Ph.D., Alvernia president

Helping Healthcare

By Lini S. Kadaba

Alvernia’s healthcare programs are getting a boost with new learning and lab spaces at the John R. Post Center at Reading CollegeTowne.

Over the next several years, Reading and Berks County, like the nation, will face a significant shortage of nurses and other healthcare workers. To meet the challenge, Alvernia University is undertaking a major expansion of its health sciences programs — part of a future-focused approach that will benefit not only students but also the larger Reading community.

“We’re teaching our students to be adaptive and nimble,” said Patricia Reger, dean of the College of Health Sciences, “and meet the needs of today’s society and the society of tomorrow.”

Nowhere will that be more exemplified than at Alvernia’s ambitious John R. Post Cetner at Reading CollegeTowne, where Phase Two will include state-of-the-art facilities for health sciences as well as expanded nursing and refreshed occupational therapy programs, a new master’s-level Physician Associate (PA) program and a partnership with a community health provider that will provide experiential learning opportunities for students.

Demand for healthcare workers, Reger said, is being fueled by an aging population and massive exodus of nurses and other health professionals burnt out from the pandemic.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the United States will have an estimated 203,200 openings for registered nurses each year through 2031. The bureau also projects employment of physician associates (formerly assistants) to grow 28 percent between 2021 and 2031,

making it one of the fastest-growing professions in the country.

Berks County, for example, saw a decline of 2,500 nurses and other healthcare workers from 2019 to 2021, according to Wendy Clayton, vice president and chief nursing officer at Penn State Health St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Reading, an Alvernia nursing program partner. “That’s a big shortage when it comes to quality care and patient experience,” Clayton said. “We need people at the bedside desperately.”

Fortunately for the region, Alvernia’s health sciences expect to make a dent in those numbers. By fall, the newly named John and Karen Arnold School of Nursing (see sidebar on page 11). plans to occupy the renovated second floor of the John R. Post Center at Reading CollegeTowne. The nationally ranked nursing program’s $6.4 million expansion will add 25,000 square feet of classroom and lab space, enlarging its capacity by 42 percent.

Meanwhile the PA program is expected to launch in 2024 from the third floor of the Post Center and will be the first of its kind in Berks County, said Renee Langstaff, director of the Physician Associate program and chair of the Medical Science Department. “The university recognizes the need for more PAs to serve our community,” she said. “It’s one of the fastest-growing professions in the country. We will give preference to local applicants, in hopes that they will work locally after graduation. This will help to fill current holes in clinical care.”

The new facilities also will boast a Healthcare Simulation Center

When you drive through Penn Street, you can see how the proximity to CollegeTowne has changed the face, literally, of some of those buildings. For Penn State Health to be part of this movement is an opportunity of a lifetime.

—Jim Bennett, Penn State Health St. Joseph’s Medical Center chief operating officer and senior vice president

featuring high-fidelity, computerized mannequins programmed to breathe, have a heartbeat, talk (once cued by instructors) and even die—giving students realistic experiences that reinforce classroom lessons before they go onto hospital floors, Reger said.

Nursing junior Jamie Albert said the additional resources will “elevate our learning” and “provide students such as me the continuous growth and opportunities to reach our personal and professional goals.”

A partnership with a local community health provider will offer experiential learning for Alvernia students while providing free and low-cost care and wellness resources. “When the health of a community rises, the whole community rises,” Reger said.

In fact, Alvernia’s $50 million landmark economic development CollegeTowne strategy holds the promise to truly transform historically struggling Reading—an objective that aligns with the institution’s Franciscan-rooted mission to serve the underserved through education and economic development. According to Alvernia’s CollegeTowne proposal, about 32 percent of the city’s residents live below the poverty line. Reading also faces high unemployment, low educational attainment and blight.

Already, though, hopeful signs are appearing, starting with the 250,000-square-foot Post Center, the hub of CollegeTowne. In 2021, the John R. Post School of Engineering and the O’Pake Institute for Economic Development SPARK Business Incubator opened on the first floor;

higher floors house students. A prime example of a robust public-private partnership, the initiative is funded through substantial philanthropic gifts as well as $12.5 million in Pennsylvania Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grants, $2 million from Reading via the American Rescue Act and $1 million from Berks County.

“When you drive through Penn Street, you can see how the proximity to CollegeTowne has changed the face, literally, of some of those buildings,” said Jim Bennett, St. Joe’s chief operating officer and senior vice president. “For Penn State Health to be part of this movement is an opportunity of a lifetime.”

Renderings of the second phase of renovation at the John R. Post Center.

Alvernia University trustee and business leader John Arnold called the sizable philanthropic gift he and wife Karen made to transform Alvernia’s School of Nursing a “five-five” win.

Counting off the benefits, John said the donation—the largest gift by a trustee in Alvernia’s 64-year history—was great for Alvernia, great for the nursing program,

Karen graduated from Cedar Crest College and began her career as a sales assistant and registered representative for Johnston, Lemon and Co. Inc. She retired in 2015 from her position as assistant to the vice president of transportation at PVH Corp. John joined the Alvernia University Board of Trustees in March 2021. He also serves on the boards of his alma mater, Penn State University’s Smeal College of Business, Sageworth Trust Company and the Vail Valley Foundation. Karen serves on the Board of Trustees of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Foundation and also serves on the Foundation Board of Penn State Health St. Joseph Medical Center.

great for students, great for the general public and great for downtown Reading.

John was the chairman and sole owner of Jonestown, PA-based Petroleum Products Corp., a large petroleum midstream pipeline terminal business which was sold in 2015.

Arnold added that the gift also will have an outside impact on the public by helping to fill a need for more skilled nurses and boost health outcomes in historically struggling downtown Reading.

Outgoing Alvernia University President John R. Loyack and Alvernia nursing students join John and Karen Arnold at the naming ceremony in December 2022.

Penn Street

By Nikki M. Murry

Not long from now, 1.5 billion bees may call the roof of the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel on Penn Street in Reading home. Through a partnership between Uncle B’s Honey Company, owned by Branden Moyer, and Alvernia University’s SPARK Business Incubator, they’ll work to pollinate 1.5 billion flowers in the city. That’s a lot of buzz.

There’s also a lot of buzz around the incubator, so much so that the incubator was full at the time Moyer was introduced to the O’Pake Institute for Economic Development and Entreprenesurship, which houses the SPARK Business Incubator. But both sides saw the advantages of making a connection. “Partnerships make the world go round,” said Michelle Conway, director of student and client services and

SPARK Business Incubator manager.

It’s true. The bees, Alvernia students, the residents of Reading and Moyer have all benefited.

The student fellows and graduate assistants who work at O’Pake with the SPARK Business Incubator are high achievers, carrying a 3.5 GPA or higher and earning a recommendation from a current Fellow, faculty member or staff member for entry into the program. Those two pairings may lead to an interview process before determining if they are a fit for the paid work-study program that sees Fellows log 10—20 hours per week for the client they are assisting. Once selected, a Fellow can choose to remain such through their graduation year.

Left: Alvernia student Ethan LaVerdue ’22 and Uncle B’s Owner Branden Moyer display the newly opened beehives atop the John R. Post Center in downtown Reading. Above: Branden Moyer is joined by Alvernia digital media marketing and communication student and O’Pake Fellow Jennifer Weasner ‘22 as she shows off the logo she created for the O’Pake honey.

Those clients come from an assortment of fields, including the technology, software, retail, education, healthcare, entertainment and agriculture industries, to name a few. Fellows assisting them carry a wide variety of majors, too, from accounting and finance to sports management, biology and communications.

Jennifer Weasner ‘22, a digital media marketing and communication dual major, was thrilled to get hands-on for Uncle B’s, designing the logo for the business’s specially crafted O’Pake Honey, sold in the Institute’s General Store. Since then, she’s been working to enhance the O’Pake General Store’s social media presence on Facebook and Instagram. It’s the perfect partnership as Weasner looks to enter into the social media marketing field post-graduation this May.

Plans are also in the works to have students expand the hive project already atop the DoubleTree and connecting it with those managed by the university’s EcoHouse. Students would then establish, manage and harvest honey from a total of 20 to 25 hives, said Conway.

— Michelle Conway, Director of Student and Client Services and SPARK Business Incubator Manager

Current SPARK client Hayden Craddolf, owner of Cemboo, a B2B software service company, has nothing but high praise for the program, which his business formally became a part of in May 2022.

“Working with the O’Pake Fellows gave us the ability to frame our story and to prepare for future investors,” Craddolf explained. “Long term, we hope to move into a more permanent space connected to Alvernia and the O’Pake SPARK Business Incubator program and to stay in the Reading area.”

“I enjoyed being the student lead on the marketing project for Uncle B’s, from designing the logo for O’Pake Honey to now developing the social media strategy,” said Weasner. “I look forward to the challenge of building an audience and seeing where we can take it.”

For those entrepreneurs considering applying as a client with SPARK, Craddolf couldn’t recommend it more highly.

“You get to work with bright young students that are eager to be exposed to experiences and are assisted by a hybrid team of those students, scholars and professionals,” Craddolf said.

Spark Incubator clients Curtis Jaques (left) and Gerard Setteducato (right) of Triiilax were the first to secure a patent with the help of O’Pake’s Technology Transfer Office, led by Ph.D. student Caitlin Long (second from left) and Dr. Rodney S. Ridley Sr. (middle) and assisted by Alvernia student and O’Pake Fellow Hayley Hine ’23 (second from right).

“Partnerships make the world go round”

“It’s something any business should consider exploring. It has allowed us to flourish.”

Seeing the Institute and the SPARK Business Incubator transform the City of Reading motivated Fellow and Reading Area Community College (RACC) transfer student Jamal Dancy to enroll at Alvernia.

Dancy, a criminal justice major and a Reading resident, works with the nonprofit section of SPARK to aid those individuals looking to start new community initiatives, tackling such projects as assisting in developing business plans, creating financial models and conducting meetings with lawyers. As a RACC student, Dancy saw the positive change the O’Pake Institute and Alvernia were having in his community and was sold on enrolling with the university and becoming an O’Pake Fellow.

“A couple of years ago, there was a shooting in front of my home. It was a wake-up call,” said Dancy. “Since O’Pake made its home here, the change has happened quickly. Five years ago, I wouldn’t necessarily have walked up and down Penn Street.”

Dancy is also working with the SPARK Business Institute as a student entrepreneur developing an app geared to universities.

The good news doesn’t end in Reading. As Alvernia and the CollegeTowne initiative branch out to more communities, so will the SPARK Business Incubator model.

“We’ll have the Incubator in Pottsville, too,” said Conway. “We’ll duplicate what we do here [in Reading] at future locations and show others how special and real this project is, and aid in enhancing economic development, of course.”

Alvernia’s sustainability and O’Pake teams worked together to support the launch of the beehives atop the John R. Post Center.

“You get to work with bright young students that are eager to be exposed to experiences and are assisted by a hybrid team of those students, scholars and professionals.”

— SPARK client Hayden Craddolf, owner of Cemboo, a B2B software service company

for Fighting democracy

By Sarah Matarella

On Oct. 13, 2022, a roundtable session titled “Fragile Democracy” was held on Alvernia’s Reading campus in the Bernardine Lecture Hall. Travis Berger, dean of the College of Business, Communication, and Leadership, moderated the conversation with Dr. Kevin Donnelly, associate professor of history, and Dr. Nicholas Nicoletti and Dr. Victoria Williams, associate professors of political science serving as panelists

Q: What was the overarching goal of the roundtable? Williams A: In general, we focused on the current state of democracy in America, what makes democratic forms of government unique and important, and what characteristics democratic governments share. We looked at recent challenges to our democracy, including the Jan. 6 insurrection, and examined how midterm campaigns have been shaped by those challenges. Fundamentally, we asked whether a country can be democratic if its institutions cease being representative, if its politics and laws are being shaped dramatically by nine unelected members of the Supreme Court, and if the people and leaders constantly question election results and people believe elections are rigged and unfair.

Q: How does a fragile democracy affect Alvernia?

Berger A: As liberal democracies and social institutions are being threatened throughout the world, and as movements toward populism, nationalism and autocracies increase, we have a responsibility to explore, examine and discuss this current reality. We need experts to share their insights from different perspectives to help inform our thinking and understanding, to help us appreciate the consequential times that we are living in and to inspire us to action. Franciscan Father Daniel Horan wrote in an article in the National Catholic Reporter titled, “What Catholic Colleges and Universities Can Learn from Pope Francis.” He states that “Catholic educational institutions should not shy away and avoid disagreement, but take a bold, balanced, and thoughtful position rooted not only in the important value of academic freedom and constructive dialogue, but also in their mission precisely as Catholic institutions, which seek to pursue knowledge, truth and justice. The intellectual and practical resources of the university shouldn’t be reserved for academics alone but shared with the broader community.” We embraced our responsibility by hosting this discussion.

Q: Why does it make sense to host this discussion on Alvernia’s campus?

Jacob-Paul Taylor ’22, MBA student A: Especially within today’s social climate, it is imperative to engage in

difficult, yet meaningful discussion about the nation’s democracy. As we headed into a consequential midterm election and competitive presidential campaign period, the foundational pillars of democracy, especially the unrestricted freedom to cast a vote, must be intact. The Fragile Democracy Discussion beautifully complemented Alvernia’s commitment to forming worldly aware and ethically trained leaders; there is no better place to discuss the nation’s political climate than an institution of higher education rooted in the Franciscan tradition. Certainly, the event demonstrated there is immense work to be done; however, the first step in exciting change is talking about it, which is exactly the platform the discussion provided. I think the event offered a glimpse into the often complex and intricate, but immensely important balancing of democratic ideals both domestically and internationally. It effectively integrated student perspectives with those of area experts and produced an engaging and thought-provoking period of reflection, discussion and aspirations for change.

Q: How has American democracy become more vulnerable in recent decades?

Nicoletti A: The Supreme Court rolled back vital elements of the 1965 Civil Rights Act protecting the franchise. Voter ID laws have further weakened the franchise under the false guise of safeguarding elections. Partisan gerrymandering has attempted to pack and crack House districts to solidify institutional power. Campaign finance has seen the rise of Super PACs and unlimited spending by corporations and labor unions via the Supreme Court’s Citizens United (2010) decision. And most recently, the fundamental legitimacy of the American electoral process was disingenuously questioned by a president seeking to hold political power, leading to the Jan. 6, 2020, insurrection. In subsequent years,

American institutions like the Electoral College have come under increased attack, with proposed changes to electors’ selection at the state level.

Q: How can democratic backsliding as a result of various threats to American institutions be prevented?

Nicoletti A: Since the inception of the American Republic under the current Constitution, a struggle to strengthen democratic institutions and expand suffrage has continually evolved. The United States has gone from only allowing property-owning individuals to vote in most states to universal suffrage with the passage of the 26th Amendment in 1971. The process was long and hard-fought, with the African American and women’s civil rights movements as primary examples of groups fighting to expand the vote and reject disenfranchisement.

Q: What is an example of a historical parallel to previous perilous times for democracy?

Donnelly A: Liberal democracy as a whole has been facing a number of challenges across the globe in recent decades. There are many famous world historical examples from the fall of the Roman Republic to the rise of Nazism in Germany as well as comparative examples in Europe.

Q: What did the campus community gain from this roundtable?

Julia Davis, history major A: The Fragile Democracy roundtable was a great event that gave students insight into the political, governmental, and historical aspects of democracy. The panel shared keen political observations and discussed the state of America’s democracy. My favorite part of the event was the Q & A discussion because it opened up the conversation to various points of view. The event was a great opportunity to bring citizens together to discuss their ideals.

Alvernia’s Chair of Honor, which acknowledges veterans who are prisoners of war or missing in action, is proudly displayed in Francis Hall lobby. Scan the QR code below to learn more about how Alvernia supports active military members, veterans and their families.

To celebrate civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Alvernia students, staff and faculty volunteered across the City of Reading to engage in the annual day of service. Scan the QR code at right to watch highlights from the day.

Community need sparks entrepreneurial spirit

By Susan Shelly

Scan

As a student in Alvernia’s occupational therapy program, Mary Strausser MSOT ’08 did not anticipate a career that centered around children.

“I remember telling my classmates I had no interest in working with kids,” she recalled. “I thought I’d be perfectly happy with adults.”

Fast forward 15 years, and Strausser, now 38, has changed her tune. Completely.

“I can’t imagine now not working with kids,” she said. “It opened up my clinical world in a completely different way.”

Strausser, with two business partners, owns two franchises of Gym-Jam Therapeutics, Inc., a learning center serving children with autism and other special needs. The facilities offer services including applied behavioral analysis (ABA), speech therapy, occupational therapy, social skills groups and parent training.

The centers, which accept insurance and medical assistance, are located in Pottsville, the home of Alvernia’s recently opened Pottsville CollegeTowne, and Frackville, both in Schuylkill

“It was a way to give back,” she said. “We live in a small, closeknit community. A lot of the time there’s nothing for us to do but take care of each other.”

The centers currently serve about 220 children, with many more prospective clients on wait lists.

“We get multiple calls a week from people looking for services for their kids,” Strausser said. “We’re constantly trying to develop new programs and increase our staffing to better serve our clients.”

The Gym-Jam staff works with area school districts and Schuylkill County’s early intervention program to identify students needing services. The therapies provided vary depending on need, as does the length of time a child remains in the program.

Often, Strausser explained, the goal is to help a child prepare to transition into a school classroom. Once the child is able to be in school, Gym-Jam therapists teach school staff the skills they need to help the child succeed.

County. They serve children and families from a wide geographical area.

Strausser’s change of heart regarding her career path began nearly a decade ago when she had the first of her four children, a son who suffered from medical difficulties and experienced some developmental challenges. Locating services for him was not easy, as resources near her home were sparse at that time. When she eventually succeeded, she was delighted with the benefits her son experienced from the therapies he received.

“I saw the proof that getting good quality services early on can change a child’s life, and the family’s life,” she said.

When the opportunity to open a facility that could help other children arose, Strausser enlisted two colleagues and jumped at the chance.

“We’ll remain with the child as long as necessary, then fade back as they adjust to the classroom,” she said.

Gym-Jam also partners with Pottsville CollegeTowne psychology students, who assist at the centers.

“That partnership has just been invaluable for our community,” Strausser said.

She looks forward to additional opportunities to partner with Alvernia, with an eye to expanding Gym-Jam into Berks County.

“We’ll see what happens,” she said. “Alvernia was a wonderful experience for me, and I’m excited to be reconnected and working with people there.”

“We live in a small, close-knit community. A lot of the time there’s nothing for us to do but take care of each other.”

— Mary Strausser MSOT ’08

A

ister’s egacy S L

By Claire Curry

Sister Edward Ann Wierzalis’s deep ties to Alvernia University took root in her childhood when she and her three siblings visited their aunt, a Bernardine Franciscan Sister, and attended community festivals and picnics the Sisters hosted on the convent grounds. The Bernardine Franciscan Sisters also ran the high school that they established as Alvernia College in 1958. Sister Edward Ann graduated from both, earning her bachelor’s degree in education in 1971.

Inspired by her aunt, Sister Edward Ann embraced the college’s Franciscan values and mission to live a life of service. She became a Bernardine Sister and was a dedicated teacher, principal and leader in religious education who touched thousands of lives over her 30-year career. Today, her legacy lives on at her beloved alma mater through a scholarship her family established in her honor after she succumbed to a long battle with leukemia in 1993.

“She lived a life of dedication to the Franciscan mission,” said her brother, Dr. Edward Wierzalis, who has funded and maintained the Sister Edward Ann Wierzalis Memorial Scholarship with the help of other family members. In addition to making generous gifts over the years, Dr. Wierzalis recently secured the scholarship’s perpetuity by including it in his personal estate plan. “It’s to honor her memory and legacy of service, but it’s also to invest in students who will carry out that mission of service that my sister dedicated her life to.”

To date, the scholarship has offset academic expenses for 29 students, the majority of whom have pursued careers in teaching, social service and healthcare, according to Meggan Kerber, associate vice president of institutional advancement at Alvernia.

Dr. Wierzalis has similarly devoted his life to service as a high school counselor and in private clinical practice. Today, he is an associate clinical professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he teaches counseling courses and advises graduate students. As an educator, he understands the importance of supporting students in finding their greater purpose.

“One thing that I admire is Alvernia’s basis of education, its mission,” he said. “They really seek to educate students to not just get a degree and a career, but also to be active participants in changing their communities and address social justice issues.”

Dr. Wierzalis speaks fondly of his sister, Helene, who took the name “Edward Ann” in honor of their parents when she joined the Bernardine Order in 1971.

“[She] always had a very loving, maternal instinct about her,” Dr. Wierzalis said. “And I think it demonstrated itself in her passion for her vocation, but also her compassion for the people she encountered in life. She loved her students, she loved children and she loved the people she worked with.”

Sister Edward Ann served as principal of a diocesan elementary school in northeast Pennsylvania and was the director of religious education for the Diocese of Scranton. In her later career, she was named director of retirement for the Bernardine Sisters. She sat on the Bishop’s advisory board for persons with disabilities and the Scranton Diocesan RENEW board.

Among her many accomplishments were publishing the Diocesan Curricular Guidelines for elementary catechesis and creating a religious children’s television program. She was honored with several awards, including the NCEA Presidential Award for Excellence in Catholic Education.

“She loved her students, she loved children and she loved the people she worked with.”

— Dr. Edward Wierzalis

Driving for Degrees

By Susan Shelly

Yupha Muzyka ’21, MBA ’22, a 39-yearold wife and mother of two teenage daughters, grew up in Thailand, moving to Reading when she was 19 after meeting her husband, Steve, during a visit with her sister, who lived in Singapore.

She planned to begin college shortly after getting married and settling in America, but after enrolling in community college, she discovered her English wasn’t able to support her efforts in the classroom. Not one to give up, Muzyka enrolled in English classes at the Literacy Council of ReadingBerks, where she now volunteers to help others. She also began playing golf with her husband, and turned out to be a natural.

“It became our thing to do on the weekends, and I started to love the game,” she said. She even joined some leagues and started winning tournaments, including four county championship titles.

After Muzyka continued to improve both her golf and her English as her daughters got older, she finally felt confident enough to enroll at Alvernia in 2018. The university, with its low teacher-to-student ratio and close-knit community, was a good fit for an ESL student, said Muzyka.

“I felt right at home there,” she said. “The campus was beautiful, and everyone was warm and welcoming.”

Despite indicating on her Alvernia application that she was not interested in participating in

sports, Tom O’Connell, head coach of the women’s golf team, who had been alerted to Muzyka’s successes, urged her to join the team.

“I never thought that was going to happen because of my age. I was speechless when Coach called 30 minutes after I left campus... I agreed, and it turned out to be a wonderful experience,” she said.

Muzyka was a standout four-year member of Alvernia’s women’s golf team, earning distinctions including the Middle Atlantic Conference Senior Scholar Athlete in 2021 and a nomination for the Division III Commissioner’s Association StudentAthlete of the Year award in 2022. She also excelled academically as she earned degrees in business management and accounting, graduating in 2021.

“It’s been a very busy time,” Muzyka said as she reflected on the past five years. “I didn’t expect to go to grad school right away, but I was accepted for a graduate assistant position and didn’t want to turn down such a great opportunity.”

While working toward her MBA degree, she was employed as a graduate assistant for Alvernia’s state of the art trading lab located in the John R. Post Center at Reading CollegeTowne. She helped facilitate the implementation of the Bloomberg Terminal, a service employed by leading business and financial professionals worldwide.

She largely attributes her success to the support she received from the business faculty and to the unwavering support of her husband and daughters, Alexis, 16, and Allison, 13.

“My family was a constant support,” Muzyka said. “I’ve had to work hard for what I achieved, and they were always there for me.”

She graduated with her MBA in December 2022 and began working as an audit associate for RKL LLP – CPA Accounting & Business Consulting Firm in January. Muzyka hopes her achievements will inspire others — particularly her daughters — to pursue their dreams.

“I would tell others just to work hard and believe in yourself,” she said. “There will always be hardship in life, but if you don’t give up and keep pushing yourself, you’ll be able to succeed. There are always opportunities to learn and improve yourself.”

“There will always be hardship in life, but if you don’t give up and keep pushing yourself, you’ll be able to succeed.”

—Yupha Muzyka ’21, MBA ’22

Driving

(Above) Yupha Muzyka ’21, MBA ’22 in her new office at RKL, LLP after graduating in December 2022.

(Right) Muzyka had a storied golf career at Alvernia and was featured in USA Today’s Golfweek.

“I never thought that was going to happen because of my age. I was speechless when Coach called 30 minutes after I left campus. I agreed, and it turned out to be a wonderful experience.”

—Yupha Muzyka ’21, MBA ’22

Engineering a game plan

By Jon Fassnacht

mechanics and execution in-game.”

Ha could have chosen numerous other schools in the region with more established engineering programs, but he said staying close to home was important to him. The Reading resident wanted to help out his parents, who emigrated with him from Vietnam in 2015. Assistance from the Reading Collegiate Scholars Program, which provides scholarships and support to first-generation students living in the city, also aided his decision.

Many traditionalists initially scoffed at the idea of an audience watching others compete in video game tournaments, but passionate fans were game.

According to those who participate, playing esports allows gamers to stimulate their brains while connecting with enthusiasts from across the globe. Which makes the activity a perfect fit for Hao Ha.

“I like to use my brain in the games,” the Alvernia rising junior said. “The games actually make me think.”

The electrical engineering major has been a member of Alvernia’s varsity esports team since the program’s founding in September 2021. His specialty is “League of Legends,” one of five games in which the team competes. Ha plays top lane in the multiplayer online battle game.

“The top laner’s goal is usually to pressure the opposite side of the map and show up to the most important objectives,” said Josh Buchanan, director of Alvernia’s esports program. “Hao is a player with really good

Salem Elsaiah, assistant professor of electrical engineering, speaks very highly of his student.

“He’s enthusiastic and very smart,” he said. “He’s always coming to my office asking questions, asking about the program. He is also willing to help with demonstrations.”

One of Elsaiah’s classes is electromagnetics, which he calls a tough course that is difficult to teach. In late 2022, he asked his students to create a 3D presentation of one of the commonly used coordinate systems in the study of electromagnetics. Ha took advantage of the time of year to make his model functional, turning it into a Christmas ornament.

“Since the engineering major here is new, maybe I can do something for the city where I live,” Ha said. “I hope it will grow.”

Had he attended a different institution, Ha might not have had the chance to play sanctioned esports in between his studying. Alvernia’s team practices and competes in a new facility at the John R. Post Center at Reading CollegeTowne, featuring

The rise of esports over the last decade has been meteoric.

top-of-the-line equipment and ample space for the team’s 45 members, who practice up to four days a week in between its competitions.

A highlight from his time with the team was playing against bigger schools at a tournament in Philadelphia during the program’s maiden season.

“I mean, we lost, yeah, because it was it was our first year, but I got experience and people were saying I was good, so I took that as a compliment,” he said.

One of the reasons esports have gotten so popular, according to Buchanan, is because they’re an easy way for people to connect with likeminded individuals near and far. He said one of Ha’s strongest attributes is making sure his teammates from far-flung areas are adjusting, which isn’t surprising considering Ha’s experiences with new beginnings after moving to Berks County from half a world away.

“He plays for our ‘League of Legends’ team, and it’s actually the team with the most players from far away,” Buchanan said. “We have players from Washington state, from Texas, from Oklahoma, and for them I feel like he’s really gone out of his way to make sure that they feel at home and feel comfortable at Alvernia playing for our team. His mom will cook some food, he’ll bring food in for the team. He’s always that guy.”

Hao Ha ’25 is one of 40 esports athletes who were rostered during the 2022-23 academic year. Scan the QR code to the right to find out more about esports at Alvernia.

“Since the engineering major here is new, maybe I can do something for the city where I live.”

—Hao Ha

Graduate to advocate

By Claire Curry

Kirsy Rosario MBA ’22 discovered Alvernia’s Reading Collegiate Scholars Program (RCSP) as a senior at Reading High School. She went on to earn both her bachelor’s degree and MBA at Alvernia and then returned to her alma mater to oversee the program that helped her become a first-generation college graduate.

“If I didn’t receive this scholarship, my education and experience would have been completely different,” Rosario said. “I always knew I wanted to attend college — education and work have always been big values in my family. I know it would’ve been a financial challenge without the scholarship.”

Launched in 2014, the RCSP aims to increase high school graduation rates for local students by providing tutoring, mentorship, and college preparation support. Work-study and student volunteers from Alvernia have guided more than 1,200 high school students through the College Readiness Program. Every summer, RCSP scholarship recipients spend a week on campus to meet other students in their cohort and acclimate to their new surroundings. Throughout the year, the program hosts events to keep the scholars connected

Life, education and career have come full circle for Kirsy Rosario ’20 MBA ’22 as she takes over as the director of the life-changing program.

Rosario (first, row, second from right) shares a moment with fellow RCSP students and alumni of the program.

Being here at Alvernia, a place that gives back so much to the community, and sharing those values of family and humility has really shaped me into who I am today.”

—Kirsy Rosario ’20 MBA ’22

and to make sure they are faring well juggling their studies and adjusting to college life.

“We really are a family,” Rosario said, referring to the close bonds that form between the RCSP scholars as they progress through their college years and beyond. “Even after we graduated, the members of my cohort are still my closest friends. We talk all the time.”

The RCSP recently expanded its reach, welcoming students from 11 other high schools throughout Berks County. Two RCSP scholars will also travel to Ireland on short-term study abroad trips this year thanks to the newly established Jerry Greiner Fund. The fund was created by the Greiner and Flynn families in honor of the late Jerry Greiner, who served the University as a volunteer, donor and provost.

To date, the RCSP has assisted five cohorts with financial support totaling nearly 100 scholars, 41 of which have graduated thus far. This year, it welcomed its largest one to date with 43 incoming first-year students. Nearly all of the RCSP alumni and current students are first-generation college students from Reading.

Also from the area, Rosario holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting with a minor in psychology and earned an MBA in 2022, shortly before joining the University staff. She began working with high school students as a student herself, serving as a team member and graduate assistant for The Holleran Center for Global and Community Engagement, where she provided afterschool programming and mentorship to students at Reading High School.

“The moment I stepped on campus, I knew that this was home,” she said. “And being able to see that feeling in other students is very satisfying. Being here at Alvernia, a place that gives back so much to the community, and sharing those values of family and humility has really shaped me into who I am today.”

Similarly, Dania Cabello-Ruiz ’20 is a first-generation college graduate from Reading who earned her bachelor’s degree at Alvernia. Like Rosario, she returned to pursue graduate studies and joined the University staff in January 2022 as an admissions counselor for the RCSP. Cabello-Ruiz works closely with Rosario, her high school and college friend, on overseeing the RCSP as students are accepted into the program.

It’s the perfect position for CabelloRuiz, she said, because she shares a lot in common with students. “We have a high Spanish-speaking population; I speak Spanish,” she said. “I can relate on a more personal level because I know where some of these students have been. It’s a sense of me giving back. I had a wonderful experience at Alvernia and I want to be able to provide that for students coming here.”

Rosario and Cabello-Ruiz agree that the goal is to continue expanding the program in Berks County, to help students grow academically and professionally, and to encourage them to give back to the community. “The city of Reading needs more people that are graduating with their bachelor’s degrees, hopefully getting their master’s as well and then staying within the area to work their jobs,” Cabello-Ruiz said. “We want to give students all the tools that they need to do that. That’s our focus.”

Dania Cabello-Ruiz ’20 is helping recruit expanded cohorts of Reading Collegiate Scholars thanks to changes in the programs that expand offerings to students in need throughout Berks County.

Holleran Center News

Global experiences provided through Reading Collegiate Scholars Program

The Jerry Greiner Fund was established in October 2022 by the Greiner and Flynn families as a tribute to the late Jerry Greiner, recognizing his distinguished career in higher education, commitment to global engagement, dedication to Alvernia’s inclusive Franciscan mission and contributions to the University as a volunteer, donor and provost. The scholarship fund is geared toward underwriting global intercultural experiences in study and service for full-time students in the Reading Collegiate Scholars Program.

Physical & occupational therapy students serve in Belize

Alvernia University physical therapy (PT) and occupational therapy (OT) students and faculty served patients in a nine-day interdisciplinary, intercollegiate clinical study abroad experience

across five local community organizations in Belmopan, Belize. They partnered with Misericordia University’s speech-language pathology (SLP) program and Bellarmine University’s PT program and worked together in Mercy Clinic, Help Age Belize, the YWCA, LIFE and the Inspiration Center in Belize.

Alvernia adopts City block

The Holleran Center adopted the block between Noble Street and Arlington Street, home to Alvernia’s Upland Center, through the City of Reading Environmental Advisory Council’s Clean City initiative. The program promotes building community connections, developing leadership skills, and an overall active, cleaner community. The overarching goal is for students to gain service-learning experiences through the program, which helps maintain housing values, encourages business and investment, and discourages illegal activity to create a positive perception of the neighborhoods in the City of Reading.

Reading Collegiate Scholars students share time with the Greiner family.

O’Pake Institute News

Ph.D. graduate assistant secures national fellowship

Caitlin Long, Ph.D., graduate assistant for research and innovation, was one of the three U.S. applicants who earned the Association of University Technology Managers, Inc. (AUTM) fellowship. AUTM is the leading association in technology transfer, with over 3,100 technology transfer professionals internationally. Through this fellowship, Long receives monthly training and has two professional mentors. Long also attends AUTM’s annual meeting conference to represent Alvernia and O’Pake as the chair of the intellectual property (IP) committee in the SPARK business incubator’s Technology Transfer Office. The conference covers best practices in the technology transfer industry and emerging trends in the field. This allows Long and Dr. Rodney S. Ridley Sr., Alvernia University’s vice president of research, economic development and innovation and COO of the O’Pake Institute, to connect with technology transfer professionals, organizations and schools across the globe. Ridley even presented on the Reimagining the TTO: From Technology Transfer to Knowledge Transfer panel at this year’s Annual Meeting in Austin, TX ,on Feb. 21 alongside other university technology transfer experts.

O’Pake launches Executives-in-Training program

At the beginning of the Spring 2023 semester, Michelle Conway, director of student and client services for the O’Pake Institute, launched the Executives-in-Training program. The program is an immersive personal and professional development experience offered to O’Pake graduate assistants pursuing a master’s degree. The program includes a strengths finder assessment, conflict resolution and negotiation training, and opportunities to hear from established business professionals. Participants in this training program also receive networking opportunities and are assigned a professional mentor.

O’Pake presents inaugural two-year retrospective review

In June 2020, the SPARK Business Incubator was formally launched. The O’Pake Institute’s Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership unconscious bias training yielded a record high attendance of 280 professionals. The Cultural Coalition, a volunteer-based, Berks County-focused, strategic planning and execution group that aids in identifying and attending to the City of Reading’s social and economic issues, launched in April 2022.

The Financial Lending and Innovation Collaborative (FLIC), which developed an investment model for qualifying startups as well as assistance with venture capital and microlending, launched in June 2022. The Technology Transfer Office serviced 16 clients. Academic Services, including faculty/Fellow research projects, launched in January 2022 and four projects were piloted by June 2022. Six out of 11 graduated Fellows accepted jobs in the Reading area in 2022.

Robert Philpot ’21, Dr. Rodney S. Ridley Sr. and Caitlin Long attend the AUTM annual meeting.

ALVERNIA WELCOMES LARGEST CLASS

Alvernia University welcomed the third straight largest class of nearly 600 students to campus, many comprising the Alvernia University Class of 2026. The class welcomes the first students who plan to enroll in the brand-new physician associate program and the largest class of Reading Collegiate Scholars students. 70% of the incoming class of first-year and transfer students are from Pennsylvania and 25 students are international students from Brazil, Canada, Iran, Ireland, Peru, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. The academically strong and dedicated class boasts an average SAT score of over 1090, with 48% also being student-athletes and 31% identifying as first-generation college students.

Watch a recap from New Student Orientation Week:

Alvernia’s 2023 graduates celebrate commencement

Alvernia celebrated more than 600 students in the Class of 2023 with a pair of commencement ceremonies in front of family and friends at the university’s stadium in early May.

“For President Loyack and me personally, this is a very special day. Four years ago, we welcomed many of you, both students and guests alike, to our university at our Opening Convocation,” said President Glynis A. Fitzgerald, Ph.D. “Flash forward to today and I can honestly say we have transformed together in so many ways. I’ve loved the opportunities to get to know you and your unique stories.”

Graduates earned associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees as the university celebrated a split commencement.

“Fellow graduates, when you venture out into your prospective careers and aspirations, never forget the gifts we have received and shared at Alvernia University from our mission,” said Micah Yarbray, one of the Class of 2023 student speakers. “Commit yourselves to social justice and human rights. Remember our service

DOE DESIGNATES ALVERNIA AS HUNGER-FREE CAMPUS

Alvernia University’s Clare’s Cupboard food pantry received an official PA Hunger-Free Campus designation from the Pennsylvania Department of Education. “This designation underscores Alvernia’s commitment to mission-driven inclusive excellence and academic excellence by ensuring that students, faculty and staff feel comfortable and supported on campus,” said Dr. Darryl C. Mace, Alvernia’s vice president of mission, diversity and inclusion. Clare’s Cupboard is an integrated, community-based resource geared toward enhancing Alvernia community members’ quality of life on campus. It has locations at the Reading, Pottsville and Philadelphia campuses and offers free food, toiletries, clothing, housewares and academic assistance to Alvernia students in need.

to others in the local and global community. Believe in the basic goodness of life through joy and optimism and maintain a sense of responsibility to yourself and others.”

Outgoing President John R. Loyack and Pennsylvania Acting Secretary of Education Dr. Khalid D. Mumin were presented with honorary degrees during the ceremonies. Loyack also provided remarks at both commencements.

As Loyack gave a heartfelt goodbye and congratulations to his first incoming class, he stressed finding the right work-life balance as the key to a successful life: “When career passion meets talent and aligns with the timeline of our lives, including family, responsibilities and interests, we position ourselves for true success.”

Watch the Class of 2023 share their favorite memories:

John R. Loyack, Khalid D. Mumin and Gregg Shemanski; President Glynis A. Fitzgerald, Ph.D.; Alvernia students celebrate during the commencement ceremonies.

Alvernia partners with St. Luke’s University Health Network

Alvernia University announced an academic preferred partnership agreement with St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) to enhance workforce capabilities for qualified SLUHN employees at a signing event at Geisinger St. Luke’s Hospital.

“Since its founding, Alvernia University has been a place for students who need to manage full-time jobs, new career opportunities, family life and other external factors with their educational pursuits,” said President Glynis A. Fitzgerald, Ph.D. “I am pleased to see the value that SLUHN has placed on education and learning in the workplace. We are excited to have them as a preferred educational partner in meeting our students’ needs as they create their comeback at our Pottsville CollegeTowne campus, our other community-based campus locations or online.”

Once SLUHN employees successfully meet all the Alvernia University admissions requirements, Alvernia will award a 20% discount annually for all eligible graduate and adult undergraduate programs in the classroom and

for hybrid formats. Alvernia also offers professional, non-credit certificate programs that can be priced upon request.

“The team at St. Luke’s University Health Network and Geisinger St. Luke’s is thrilled to partner with Alvernia University to provide discounted educational opportunities to our employees and their families,” said Gabe Kamarousky, president of Geisinger St. Luke’s.

SLUHN employees also have full access to university resources, including the library, stateof-the-art computer labs, volunteer opportunities, fitness center, athletic events, lectures, the arts and more.

“Employees are the invaluable resource of any business, and we understand that employers want what’s best for their business by providing employees the access to the education and training that they need,” said Dr. Gaetan Giannini, Alvernia University’s vice president for graduate and adult education.

ON CAMPUS

TURKEY DRIVE RETURNS FOR THE 35TH YEAR

For the 35th consecutive year, Alvernia distributed holiday meals to residents in need during its Turkey Drive event, held at the university’s John R. Post Center at Reading CollegeTowne. “I am so thrilled to see that 34 years after starting this drive, it continues,” said the founder of the Turkey Drive, Polly Mathys. “We started with 25 turkeys the first year and have given away 12,000 turkeys over the years.” Thanks to partnerships with Jaindl Farms and Redner’s Markets, the University provided 400 turkeys and holiday meals to Reading residents, with 50 turkeys going to Saint Margaret School.

Watch a recap:

JUSTICE BROBSON VISITS READING COLLEGETOWNE

During a recent visit, PA Supreme Court Justice P. Kevin Brobson urged civility in leadership during his presentation in front of nearly 100 students, moderated by Dr. Victoria Williams, associate professor of political science. “I really do believe the schools that decide to invest in their communities, that allow the experience to bleed out of the gates, out of the walls of the university into their communities, is going to be a value proposition not only for you all as students and how you contribute to society but how you are able to learn experientially and build a community,” stated Justice Brobson. “Civility and collegiality are not signs of weakness; they are signs of leadership.”

President of Geisinger St. Luke’s Gabe Kamarousky and Alvernia University President Glynis A. Fitzgerald, Ph.D. shake on the new agreement.

ALLIED HEALTH PROGRAMS SUPPORTED BY REP. HOULAHAN

Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) toured Alvernia University’s John R. Post Center at Reading CollegeTowne to receive an update on its expansion into downtown Reading and future plans. “We have seen just how important our health and our community’s health are these past few years,” said Houlahan. To help Alvernia improve its educational programs and address the nursing shortage, among other goals, Houlahan has put forward a $2 million Community Project Funding request through the Appropriations Committee in Congress to fund Phase Two.

Alvernia secures $7.5 million grant for Reading CollegeTowne

Alvernia received a $7.5 million grant from the Pennsylvania Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) for the second phase of renovation of the John R. Post Center at Reading CollegeTowne. This marks the largest grant in university history. To date, Alvernia has secured a total of $15.5 million in redevelopment grant resources for the CollegeTowne initiatives in Reading and Pottsville.

“The community’s belief in the transformative power of the Alvernia experience and CollegeTowne initiative is highlighted by today’s historic grant,” said outgoing Alvernia President John R. Loyack. “We are eternally grateful for this funding that will continue to reshape the future of Reading, and we owe a special thanks to State Rep. Manny Guzman, Sen. Judy Schwank, Gov. Wolf, Speaker Culter, all the Berks County representatives and countless other elected officials and their respective teams for their belief in our collective vision.” The grant award is the

ALVERNIA RECEIVES $2 MILLION IN ARPA FUNDS FOR COLLEGETOWNE

Alvernia has received $2 million from the City of Reading to assist in the second phase of the John R. Post Center renovation. The awarded funds are part of the $61M American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding that the City of Reading was awarded in 2021. “We are incredibly grateful for Mayor Eddie Moran and the City of Reading City Council’s support of the second phase of Reading CollegeTowne,” said outgoing Alvernia President John R. Loyack.

fourth of its kind in recent history for the university after it secured a $4 million RACP grant in December 2020, $1 million in 2021 and $3 million for Pottsville CollegeTowne in late 2021, the largest grant in the university’s six-decade history.

Plans for the second phase of CollegeTowne include the addition of a physician associate program, a refresh of the nursing program, the addition of a community clinic, additional engineering tracks and expansion of downtown housing. RACP is administered by the Office of the Budget for the acquisition and construction of regional economic, cultural, civic, recreational and historical improvement projects. RACP projects are authorized in the Redevelopment Assistance section of a Capital Budget Itemization Act, have a regional or multi-jurisdictional impact, and generate substantial increases or maintain current levels of employment, tax revenues or other measures of economic activity.

The John R. Post Center remains under renovation with the assistance of a Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant.

Penske’s Moses serves as Alvernia’s 2022-23 Executive-in-Residence

Alvernia named Penske Logistics Senior Vice President of Sales and Solutions Andy Moses as the College of Business, Communication & Leadership’s Executive-in-Residence (EIR) for the 2022-23 academic year. On Thursday, Dec. 1, Moses was the featured speaker at an interactive Q&A forum, moderated by MBA Program Director Don Schalk. The event was attended by Alvernia’s Senior Leadership Team, faculty and students.

“I am honored to serve as Alvernia’s Executivein-Residence,” said Moses. “I am impressed with Alvernia’s innovative approaches to preparing students for careers in industry by bringing together the academic and business communities. Our company has a number of Alvernia graduates contributing to Penske’s success.”

The session featured a discussion of Penske’s company culture, management style and core values as well as what keeps Moses up at night about the business, advice for students entering the job market and his approach to market trends that will affect Penske in the future. The

main trends that he identified were people and technology, and he encouraged students to pay extra attention to courses involving analytics and data science.

The EIR program, now in its seventh year, allows students to gain valuable insight into realworld experiences directly from regional industry executives. Students also learn about the specific skills that leaders are looking for in college graduates, various leadership styles and real-life professional scenarios through interactive sessions and classroom lectures with Moses and other Penske executives. Moses has amassed over three decades of transportation industry experience serving in product and sales leadership roles. Prior to joining Penske Logistics, he was vice president of sales at Penske Truck Leasing. A member of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), Moses has spoken at industry-leading supply chain conferences and guest lectured at top universities. He is also a supply chain author.

ALVERNIA REVEIVES PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD

Alvernia was recognized as the preferred Berks County college or university in the 2023 People’s Choice Who’s Who in Business listing for the third consecutive year. “Alvernia’s faculty, staff, students, alumni and community partners play an integral role in successfully creating an extraordinary regional, comprehensive university serving eastern Pennsylvania,” said outgoing President John R. Loyack. The People’s Choice is an annual scientific survey that reaches out to thousands of Berks County residents to ask about their experiences. That information is used to determine which businesses and organizations have fostered positive consumer relationships over the years by providing valuable services and displaying a commitment to quality.

NURSING PROGRAM EARNS NATIONAL RECOGNITION

Alvernia’s nursing program earned national recognition from Colleges of Distinction (COD) and U.S. News & World Report for its high-impact curriculum and expansive experiential learning opportunities. “To help address the shortage of nurses in the region, Alvernia plans to increase enrollment in its prelicensure track as the program moves to its state-of-the-art facilities in CollegeTowne,” said Dr. Patricia Reger, dean of the College of Health Sciences. The University also received nods in U.S. News & World Report’s national undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) rankings, landing in the top 500 programs nationwide. In July, Alvernia had a trio of badges bestowed upon it by COD, including being named a 2022-23 national, Catholic and Pennsylvania COD as well as recognition for its business, education and nursing programs.

Alvernia students speak with Andy Moses (far right) following his speaking session on his career, advice for students and his approach to changing market trends.

ALVERNIA AND MESSIAH PARNTER FOR PH.D. PATHWAY

Alvernia University and Messiah University construct a pathway for Messiah graduate students to continue their educational journey in the Ph.D. in Leadership program at Alvernia featuring a 10% tuition discount.

“As organizations and communities face complex challenges, the demand for professionals with advanced knowledge, expertise and credentials to lead change is growing,” said Alvernia President Glynis A. Fitzgerald, Ph.D. “In Alvernia’s Ph.D. program, students acquire advanced theoretical and practical knowledge, along with leadership skills that position them as experts in their field. We are appreciative of Messiah University for their partnership to create a seamless educational transition for Messiah graduates into this program.”

ALVERNIA’S OFFICE OF CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARDED FOR VAST PROGRAMMING

Alvernia University’s Office of Career Development was honored by Colleges of Distinction (COD) for providing exceptional support during every stage of students’ college experience and alumni’s professional endeavors.

“The Career Development recognition goes beyond mock interviews and job board postings; Alvernia brings career readiness into the classroom, making intentional connections between students of all majors and the careers they pursue after graduation. It’s the kind of innovative, ingrained career preparation strategies that make Alvernia University’s outstanding Office of Career Development worthy of praise,” said Tyson Schritter, chief operating officer at Colleges of Distinction.

Alvernia’s Office of Career Development engages in career conversations and supplies resources to students, alumni, employers and family members to develop connections that will ensure networking opportunities and develop professional careers.

Alvernia’s O’Pake Institute graduates first SPARK Business Incubator tenant

PubTrawlr, founded by Dr. Jonathan Scaccia, became the first tenant to graduate from the SPARK Business Incubator at Alvernia University’s O’Pake Institute and is moving to The Candy Factory, a coworking space for businesses and professionals, in Lancaster, PA.

“The SPARK Business Incubator provides startup companies with a supportive environment to learn, grow and thrive. Incubator space is intended to be temporary, and incubator graduation is a call for celebration,” said O’Pake’s Director of Student and Client Services Michelle Conway.

“It is our goal is to mentor and advise incubator companies so that they can hit their critical milestone and take their businesses to the next level,” Conway continued. “Our ultimate goal is to incubate businesses that support the local economy and add to the brain gain of Berks County.”

PubTrawlr is an artificial intelligence-driven platform that helps people find new and relevant scientific research on demand. Scaccia credits O’Pake with much of PubTrawlr’s success and growth from what began as a basement experiment to what is now a flourishing business.

“O’Pake met me where I was at, especially when I didn’t know what was going on or what the appropriate business steps were,” said Scaccia. “They provided services that synced up with what I needed. As an early-stage entrepreneur, there’s a temptation to try to do everything yourself. But to get things done the right way, you need to rely on others, and O’Pake was the ‘other’ that helped me get there.”

Scaccia was part of the inaugural cohort of SPARK Business Incubator tenants, along with Adrean Turner and Radarra McLendon.

Dr. Scaccia works on code for his AI-driven platform PubTrawlr in O’Pake’s SPARK Bushiness Incubator.

Fulton Bank supports Reading CollegeTowne initiative

Alvernia University and Fulton Bank expanded their longstanding relationship to boost entrepreneurship and stimulate the redevelopment of downtown Reading through the Reading CollegeTowne initiative. The expanded partnership includes Fulton becoming a sponsor of the University’s O’Pake Institute for Economic Development and Entrepreneurship in addition to supporting experiential learning and mentorship opportunities for Alvernia students through the student Fellows Program and business owners serviced by the SPARK business incubator.

“This deep-rooted partnership with Fulton Bank reinforces two of the most fundamental pieces of Alvernia’s mission: students and the community,” said Alvernia President Glynis A. Fitzgerald, Ph.D. “Fulton Bank’s support of our Reading CollegeTowne initiative as a founding sponsor facilitates increased activity between our students and community mentors. We look forward to both the student and business successes that come from this natural extension of Fulton Bank’s ongoing support of Alvernia’s Franciscan mission to serve the underserved in our communities.”

Fulton Bank pledged a total of $300,000 over the course of five years to provide financial support and mentors for the O’Pake Institute. This enables Alvernia to provide additional undergraduate and graduate students with the opportunity to work with existing and start-up businesses and gain critical real-world experience. Fulton Bank mentors will work directly with students and clients in the Institute’s business incubator. Fulton Bank is also a sponsor of the transformational Reading Collegiate Scholars program, which provides high school students across Berks County with tutoring, advocacy, guidance and other education support to prepare them for college.

“Two of the key focus areas of our Fulton Forward initiative are workforce development and economic empowerment,” said Executive Vice President and Director of Commercial Sales for Fulton Bank Jeffrey R. Rush. “We are grateful for the opportunity to work with Alvernia University and the O’Pake Institute to advance this mission. Together, we are working to support both entrepreneurs and students who are building the future of our local economy and community.”

ALVERNIA EARNS MULTIPLE MILITARY SUPPORT DISTINCTIONS

Alvernia University earned a national endorsement in military support from Colleges of Distinction (COD), an advocate for schools whose program experiences are grounded in a philosophy of engagement, teaching, community and outcomes. “College sometimes doesn’t come naturally to veterans. We all think we’re too old and that school is behind us,” said David Ruppert ’21, veteran alumnus. “The Alvernia community is very understanding and helpful, and the Veterans Center was a great source of support.” The University’s Veterans Center raises awareness about what is endured and accomplished by those who serve our country. Their mission is to provide anyone with ties to (or an interest in) the military with the resources, support and advocacy necessary to succeed in higher education.

ALVERNIA AND RACC EXPAND PARTNERSHIP

Alvernia University and Reading Area Community College (RACC) have introduced an expanded dual admissions transfer agreement to facilitate the transfer of RACC students to Alvernia’s baccalaureate degree programs. The expanded dual admissions transfer partnership allows students to earn their associate degree at Reading Area Community College and then enroll, with junior standing, at Alvernia University’s Reading Campus or online for other community-based campuses to pursue and complete a bachelor’s degree in two years. Traditional residential transfer students who declare dual admission will benefit from annual academic scholarships to help lower the cost of their education.

Partners like Fulton Bank continue the progression of the Reading CollegeTowne initiative.

Due to limited column space, edits have been made to Periscope submissions. To read the full versions online, please scan the QR Code here:

Faculty SPOTLIGHT

Caroline Fitzpatrick, Ph.D.

Professor of Communication and Digital Media

Challenging the publishing industry

Ten years ago, Dr. Caroline Fitzpatrick, professor of communication, realized that her students were not purchasing textbooks for her classes due to financial barriers. She combined her publishing and teaching expertise with her passion for helping students to write an open educational research (OER) textbook. OERs are learning materials that are intentionally created to be free and accessible resources for students.

“I truly believe that this is an important thing for faculty, universities and colleges to consider encouraging more OER adoptions, whether in the form of short or long textbooks, handouts, worksheets or anything that might help ease some of the financial burden,” said Fitzpatrick.

In Fitzpatrick’s OER text “Writing the Disciplines,” each chapter features a different types of documents written in various professions. Examples include best practices for news writing, medical research reports from the perspective of a health care professional, how to write a narrative, writing legal and criminal reports and more. Examples and templates for each professional document are also included in each chapter.

Full story available at Alvernia.edu.

Recent Publications/Presentations:

Fitzpatrick and Dr. Ryan Lange co-presented a panel discussion on Communication Pedagogy in a Post-Pandemic World: Open Educational Resources (OERs) and Title III Grant Projects at the Annual Pennsylvania Communication Association Conference, Sept. 30-Oct. 1, 2022. Fitzpatrick also presented a paper on Publishing OERs as Tools for Social Justice & Equity in Higher Education at the Annual Mid-Atlantic Popular and American Culture Association Conference in November 2022..

Allison Blair Snyder

Communication Instructor and Admissions Advisor, Graduate and Adult Education

Blair Snyder was accepted as a presenter at the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology’s international conference The Waters of Life: Exploring Water Mythos, Divinity, Beings & Ecology in May. Her presentation is titled “Witnessing an indigenous pedagogy for healing the sacred waters: The interconnectedness of mother earth, a mother’s womb, and the future of our planet” and discusses indigenous philosophy and water ecology as a framework for creating a healing matrix focused on the waters of Mother Earth and the waters of a mother’s womb, through the inextricable interrelationship between their well-being for the future of humanity.

Ballantyne was elected Chair of the Boating Advisory Board of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission on Feb. 6, 2023.

Rodney S. Ridley Sr., Ph.D., RTTP

Dean of the College of STEAM, Vice President of Research, Economic Development and Innovation & Chief Operating Officer of the O’Pake Institute for Economic Development & Entrepreneurship

Ridley represented the O’Pake Institute’s technology transfer office (TTO) as a panelist at the Association of University Tech Managers (AUTM) annual meeting and conference. The panel, Reimagining The TTO: From Technology Transfer to Knowledge Transfer, discussed the evolution of the technology transfer profession and how tech transfer can meet the industry’s growing expectations in the future. It also explored how continued mission growth and increased federal expectations arising from the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 will shape the future of academic tech transfer. Caitlin Long, Ph.D. student and graduate assistant of research and innovation at the O’Pake Institute, was also in attendance as one of three U.S. AUTM Fellows along with Robert Philpot, engineering major and O’Pake Fellow of Engineering.

Scott Ballantyne, MPA, Ed.D., PRSBA Associate Professor of Business

Melcher serves as president and CEO of Marathon Capital Advisors and Marathon Business Advisory Services, LLC, professional advisory firms offering M & A advisory, management and strategic consulting, executive coaching, business valuations, executive and management recruiting and placement, and loan brokerage services. He has affiliated with Fundraising Consultants Associates of Florida as a senior advisor and has served on more than 50 nonprofit and for-profit company boards of directors.

Periscope

Ryan Lange, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Communication

Kraus published her research titled “Targeting Epigenetic Regulation of Cardiomyocytes through Development for Therapeutic Cardiac Regeneration after Heart Failure” in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences. Kraus earned her Ph.D. in the summer of 2022 working in biomedical sciences and has continued her research here at Alvernia. She worked with biochemistry major Brianna Beavens to publish “The Current Therapeutic Role of Chromatin Remodeling for the Prognosis and Treatment of Heart Failure” in MDPI’s biomedicines journal in February.

Scheirer was the keynote speaker at the national meeting of the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses

In October 2022. She has national certification in medical surgical nursing (CMSRN) and presented on vaccinology and current issues in vaccination. This is associated with her work as chairperson of the Berks Immunization Coalition. Scheirer also started her two-year term as chair of the Pennsylvania League for Nursing, a constituent of the National League for Nursing (NLN).

Lange presented at the 82nd annual Pennsylvania Communication Association conference in October on his work on the Title III grant he earned to revitalize his firstyear writing enhanced course. He presented and served as a session chair at the 73rd Annual International Communication Association conference in Toronto, Canada. Lange will also present at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C., in August. He co-wrote a chapter in Dr. Caroline Fitzpatrick’s upcoming peer-reviewed textbook, “Writing the Disciplines: An OER Textbook,” with Dr. Jodi Radosh. He is writing another peer-reviewed chapter for the De Gruyter Handbook of Media Entertainment and Communication, “New Media Habits and Entertainment,” which is the subject of his presentations at ICA and AEJMC. Lange has begun co-authoring a chapter for the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication, “Spatial Presence and Realistic Interaction in Video Games,” with his colleague Dr. Cheryl Bracken.

Kraft co-authored two scholarly articles in 2023: “The relationship between diet, exercise, and inflammation in college students: A crosssectional study” in Nutrition and Health and “Response to ‘Cocoa and chocolate are sources of vitamin D2’” in Food Chem.

Yarri and Stober co-presented “Frankenstein as a cautionary tale for modern genetic technologies” at the national Association for Practical and Professional Ethics in February 2022 and published an article titled “God and Genetics” in The Routledge Companion to Christian Ethics, edited by D. Stephen Long and Rebekah L. Miles, Routledge, 2023, pp. 33-46.

Joseph

Associate

Professor of

Mechanical Engineering, Director of the John R. Post School of Engineering

Mahoney presented two posters with his co-principal investigators and a undergraduate researchers from Alvernia and Penn State at the joint meeting of the American Society of Biomechanics and the North American Congress of Biomechanics in Ottawa, Canada, in August 2022. They studied the impact that jogging with a stroller has on body movements, the ground force and muscle activity as they may contribute to an increased risk of injury to the stroller pusher. Work on this study has continued through the Summer of 2023.

Raymond H. Melcher, Jr. ’78 Instructor of Business

Lindsay Kraus, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Biology

Diane Kraft, M.S., RDN, LDN Biology Instructor

M. Mahoney, Ph.D.

Tracy Scheirer, Ph.D., RN, CMSRN, CNE Associate Professor of Nursing

Donna Yarri, Ph.D. Professor Emerita

Spencer S. Stober, Ed.D. Professor of Biology & Leadership Studies

Bongrae Seok, Ph.D. (editor’s note: Dr. Bongrae Seok’s section features his work from this edition of the magazine and the previous magazine edition)

Professor of Philosophy

Seok’s primary research interests lie in cognitive and comparative philosophy of mind and moral psychology, moral neuroscience, neuroethics, and neuroaesthetics. He has published a chapter “Moral Psychology of Emotion in Korean Neo-Confucianism and Its Philosophical Debates on the Affective Nature of the Mind” in (Emotions in Korean Philosophy and Religion, Confucian, Comparative, and Contemporary Perspectives, Palgrave), a journal article (“Moral Psychology of the Confucian HeartMind and Interpretations of Ceyinzhixin” in Dao, a Journal of Comparative Philosophy. Volume 21), a review article (“Review of Nichols’s The Routledge International Handbook of Morality, Cognition, and Emotion in China” in Journal of Chinese Religions, Volume 50, Number 2) and an APA blog titled “The Mencian Creature: A Distinctive Moral Psychology.” He gave presentations at the APA Eastern Division Meeting (2023): “Confucian Moral Psychology and Moral Sentimentalism,” “Moral Psychology of Embodied Affect and Jeong/Qing (Emotional Attachment) in Korean Culture,” and “Moral Psychology of Mind-Cultivation in Korean Neo-Confucian Philosophy.” (Content continued at alvernia.edu.)

Janae Sholtz, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Philosophy, Coordinator of Women’s and Gender Studies

Sholtz recently published a chapter titled “Post-Covid Communities: A Schizoanalysis of Immanent Engagements” in “Deleuze, Guattari and the Schizoanalysis of the Global Pandemic: Revolutionary Praxis and Neoliberal Crisis” with Bloomsbury Press. She also published a chapter titled “Creative Resistance: Aesthetics and the Uses and Abuses of Affect in a Time of Global Terror” in “Deleuze and Guattari and Terror” with Edinburgh University Press. Sholtz was invited to lead a weeklong graduate seminar with the Deleuze and Guattari Studies Conference on “Space, Control, Resistance” in Belgrade, Serbia, in summer 2023 and also keynote the conference. She served as a plenary speaker at the North Texas Philosophical Association convention in Dallas, TX, in April 2023 and was a keynote speaker for an International Webinar on the theme “Truth in Action: Karmayoga and Satyagraha: New Dimensions in Gandhian Pragmatics,” sponsored by the Mahatma Gandhi Center for Conflict Resolution and Peace Studies in fall 2022. (content continued at alvernia.edu.)

C. WarchalKing, MFA Fine & Performing Arts Instructor

Warchal-King presented her work at the Reading Theater Project’s eighth annual 5-Minute Fringe Festival: Shadows, a live theater production featuring new work by 10 playwrights and performers from around the region. She collaborated with composer Stephen Grieco on the piece titled “Seeking,” inspired by celestial bodies and their relationship to our earthly bodies. “Seeking” was also included in a full multimedia performance in Francis Hall Theatre on Sunday, April 23.

Jessica

Zappin, Chown, Unger, O’Donohue and Axelrod traveled to Belmopan, Belize, with 25 physical therapy and occupational therapy students. They served patients in a nine-day interdisciplinary, intercollegiate clinical study abroad experience across five local

community organizations in partnership with Misericordia University’s speech-language pathology program and Bellarmine University’s physical therapy program.

Robin Zappin, PT, Ed.D.

Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy, DPT Program Director

Gregory Chown, OTD, BHSc (OT), BA, CPAM Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy

Pamela Unger, PT, CWS

Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy

James M. O’Donohue, PT, DPT, OCS, ATC, FAFS

Associate Professor of Physical Therapy

Julie Axelrod, PT, DPT Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy

Class NotesAlumni

Attention, Alumni:

• Married?

• New job?

• Addition to the family?

1980s

Margaret Anne (Moyer) Brown ’85 retired from the Reading School District on June 20, 2022, after 37 years in education.

1990s

Ruth M. (Wenger) Martin ’93 used nursing skills in remote villages of Cambodia.

Rev. Evelyn W. Morrison ’97 MBA ’01 was accepted to Alvernia’s Doctoral Program –Ph.D. in philosophy and community leadership in fall 2022.

2000s

Kevin P. DeAcosta ’00 was inducted into Exeter Academic Hall of Fame.

Robert M. Kovacs ’02 was promoted to the rank of sergeant on December 25, 2021, in the Harford County Sheriff’s Office in Maryland. After being promoted, Robert did a brief stint on midnight patrol but was transferred to lead the Courthouse and County Building Security Unit, where he supervises 19 deputies and maintains the safety of those in the judicial system and county government. Robert continues to be a team leader on the Crisis Negotiations Team and recently restarted the agency’s Critical Incident Stress Management Team, which he also leads.

Ann M. Blankenhorn MBA ’03 has been named vice president, nursing clinical practice & education & center for Patient Safety at Tower Health.

Francis G. Schodowski MBA ’03 has been named Presbyterian College’s vice president for advancement in Clinton, South Carolina.

Julia S. Angstadt MBA ’05 was in the ensemble (chorus) for “Music Man” at the Reading Civic Theatre in June 2023.

Diane Gassert ’06 got engaged to Robert Hoover on Dec. 18, 2022.

Jeffrey Krick ’06 started a new position at Berks County Community Foundation as the senior accountant.

Kerri A. Lubinsky M.Ed. ’07 was named principal of John S. Clarke Elementary Center in Pottsville, PA.

Kathleen F. Noll MBA ’07 was promoted to executive director of the Council on Chemical Abuse.

Jamie Barton ’07 took the oath of office to begin his first term in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

Andrew Angstadt ’08 directed “The Music Man” at the Reading Civic Theatre.

Amy (Sikorski) Klatt MBA ’08 was promoted to chief marketing officer at Herbein + Company Inc. in Reading, PA.

Cathy S. Geissler ’08 MA ’12 is the director at transitions by CareSense which opened in August 2022 in Mount Penn, PA.

Margot C. Allen ’09 was promoted to Regional Director of Patient Experience with AccentCare Hospice in Baltimore, MD.

Ryan Z. Richard ’09 moved into an ownership role in his family farm, which supplies 35 or more restaurants in the Bethany—Fenwic —Ocean City,

1. Ruth M. (Wenger) Matin ’93 2. Robert M. Kovacs ’02 3. Dianne Gassert ’06 4. Kathleen F. Noll MBA ’07 5. Amy (Sikorski) Klatt MBA ’08 6. Christopher R. Davis ’16 M.Ed. ’17 7. Kati M. (Ehrgott) Hafer ’16 and Tyler Hafer ’16

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Class NotesAlumni

MD area. The farm has expanded production into exotic mushrooms and other crops.

Audrey L. (Hoffman) Krupiak ’09 MBA ’10 has been promoted to assistant director of communications & marketing at the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance.

2010s

Tara E. (Walls) Zilling ’10 started a new position with Stauffers of Kissel Hill, a locally owned grocery store and home and garden center in Lancaster, Harrisburg and York counties. Tara is the new assistant director of marketing & branding with the company.

David Confalone MBA ’11 started a new position as the vice president of finance at HNL Lab Medicine.

Denine F. McCarthy-Searle ’11 started a new position with Boyer & Ritter as an associate.

Adam P. Krick MBA ’11 was appointed director of enterprise risk management at Tompkins Community Bank.

Emily C. Berret ’11 accepted a position as the senior advisor to house democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Amanda (Brown) Bailey ’11 accepted a position with the Department of Energy and is looking forward to continuing to support the government under her new agency. Her family also moved to South Carolina last year and are enjoying their first warmer winter.

Heidi Odemer MBA ’12 was hired as the product reliability manager at Penske. The position is a mix of warranty and marketing, managing and sustaining projects, and looking out to the future to where products will be needed.

Marissa R. (DeLucia) Haynes ’12 was promoted to interim director of Hempfield Township Parks & Recreation.

Deanna M. Dungee ’13 was promoted within the Oak View Group and is now the director of events at the Liacouras Center at Temple University.

Amy Cengeri MS ’13 received her board certification in pediatrics from AOTA. She is one of 21 occupational therapists in Pennsylvania to have this certification. She currently works for the newly opened St Luke’s Pediatric Specialty Center in Center Valley.

Christopher R. Davis ’16 M.Ed. ’17 accepted a position as the marketing and communications lead of University Relations at the University of Southern California.

Allen R. Liszcz II ’16 received his master’s degree in accounting from National University and was married in April 2023 to Collin Adam. He also accepted a position within the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Headquarters in Washington, DC.

Kati M. (Ehrgott) Hafer ’16 and Tyler Hafer ’16 got married on May 1, 2021.

Deborah A. Hartranft MBA ’17 was promoted to chief community relations officer at Berks Community Health Center.

Violet (Palermo) Emory MA ’17 has been appointed as the executive director for Berks Latino Workforce Development Corporation.

Zachary Stricker ’17 MBA ’20 was promoted to senior consultant at RKL in Reading, PA.

Kelsi M. (Bickel) Paschall MS ’18 and Tanner Paschall ’15 got married on June 18, 2022.

8. Deborah A. Hartranft MBA ’17 9. Tara E. (Walls) Zilling ’10 10. Adam P. Krick MBA ’11 11. Allen R. Liszcz II ’16 and partner Collin 12. Kelsi M. (Bickel) Paschall MS ’18 and Tanner Paschall ’15 13. Amanda (Brown) Bailey ’11 14. Audrey L. (Hoffman) Krupiak ’09 MBA ’10

15. Marissa R. (DeLucia) Haynes ’12 16. Heidi Odemer MBA ’12 17. Deanna M. Dungee ’13 18. Violet Emory MA ’17

8.

9. 10.

11.

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13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

Class NotesAlumni

2010s

Dr. Katie (Farney) Schmehl DPT ’18 and Dr. Greg Schmehl DPT ’18 got married on July 2, 2022.

Dr. Emily N. (Thek) Maas MS ’19 welcomed baby boy Lucas Maas in August 2022.

Dr. Daphne Klahr Ph.D. ’19 obtained a doctoral degree from Vanderbilt University as part of the class 2022.

2020s

Marissa N. (Armolt) Bear ’20 had a baby boy, Colton, with her husband, Mitchell.

Mikayla J. (Pettis) Heckler ’21 and Jeremiah Heckler ’21 got married on May 7, 2022.

Dr. Brandon J. Choate DPT ’22 was inducted into the Blue Mountain All-Sports Hall of Fame for wrestling.

Viola Yousiff MBA ’22 was promoted to Senior Living Manager at RKL in Lancaster, PA.

In Memoriam

In memory of our deceased alumni who are gone but not forgotten.

1960s

Sr. Eleanor O’Grady RSM ’63

1970s

Denise M. Lessig ’77

Michelle O. (Dougherty) Leidich ’78

1980s

Michael J. Stevenson ’81

Paul D. Weisel ’81

Leonard Rhoads, Jr. ’93

Joseph P. Burns ’89

1990s

Patricia M. (Theussert) Hansen ’91

Denise L. (Miller) Weinsteiger ’91

Vicki K. (Frutchey) Rishcoff ’93

Thomas M. Trexler ’93

Robin L. (Lachowski) Cuzner ’95

Catherine (Gulden) Runkle ’99

20. Mikayla J. (Pettis) Heckler ’21 and Jeremiah Heckler ’21 21. Viola Youssif MBA ‘22

2000s

Nicholas J. Winter ’00

John W. Adam Jr. ’03

Debra S. Gilbreath ’03

Steven P. Zimmerman ’04 MBA ’06

Judith A. Kopil ’04

Greg W. Wentzel MA ’05

2010s

Katie R. Schickling ’16

Alvernia mourns passing of Gregory Harder

In late December, Alvernia mourned the passing of sophomore Gregory Harder, who passed away at his family’s home in Fabius, NY Harder was a member of the university’s football team and was pursuing his master’s in athletic training. He was thrilled to be pursuing a degree he was so passionate about. An excellent student, Greg was named to the Middle Atlantic Conference Fall Academic Honor Roll as a first-year student in 2021-22 and earned the honor again for his academic performance in the fall. An on-campus memorial service was held in his honor during the spring semester.

19. 20. 21.

19. Lucas Maas, son of Dr. Emily N. (Thek) Maas MS ’19

Saturday, May 13 2023

Alumni

Getting Involved at AU: Mentorship

Mary Lou Kline ’81 personifies the adage “Sharing time with another human is a priceless gift.” She has gifted 12 young protégés since 2004 with her work as a member of Berks Mentors for Youth.

Kline, who is from the Reading area and still lives here with her husband, taught management and economics at Reading Area Community College for 35 years, having earned her Alvernia business administration degree in 1981 and her MBA from Lehigh University in 1986. While teaching at RACC, then-president Dick Kratz suggested that her talents and energy could be put to good use as a mentor.

“It was a good fit from the beginning,” said Kline. “I liked the organization, I knew people there and I wanted to give back, even though that sounds cliché.”

Kline’s most recent protégé is Alvernia student Dayana Mejia De Leon, whom she met as a junior at Reading High School in 2018, when <ejia De Leon was dual enrolled at Reading Muhlenberg Career and Technology Center in the nursing program.

“She was a very smart student,” said Kline, “but English was her second language, having moved to the U.S. from Honduras. I understood her perfectly but later I found out that she almost didn’t join the mentor program because she thought her English was not good enough. She also didn’t know what a mentor was or how it would benefit her.”

She soon found out as they spent more time together. They walked, biked, hiked and talked, lunched on Alvernia’s

campus and went to concerts and museums. Kline encouraged Dayana to learn to ride the city bus because she knew she would need to take public transportation to get to Alvernia’s campus. With the encouragement of Dayana’s family and support from Kline, higher education was within reach. She matriculated into Alvernia’s nursing program in the fall of 2020 as a member of the Reading Collegiate Scholars program, and her cohort, number seven, is very close to graduation.

“Mary Lou is not just my mentor, she is my friend,” said Mejia De Leon. “It meant so much to have someone outside the family who also believed in me.”

Mary Lou has made a big difference in the lives of the whole Mejia De Leon family. Dayana’s younger brother and sister, Joshua and Ailyn, join Mary Lou and her husband, Phil, on the excursions Kline organizes.

Kline has a son, daughter and three granddaughters, but she thinks of herself as her mentees’ favorite aunt.

“The young people I mentor are always in my life,” she said, “even as they get older and have children of their own. The oldest is 40 now and lives in Chicago. Last year, I hosted another protégé’s wedding in my back yard and I am available to them and their children as well. With all the modern technology, it is easier to stay in touch.”

There are many ways to get involved with Alvernia. If you are interested in mentoring, email alumni@alvernia.edu.

Dayana Mejia De Leon and her siblings spend time with Mary Lou Kline ’81 (shown first in the right picture).

Alumni Council seeks new members

The Alvernia University Alumni Council is currently seeking alumni who are interested in reconnecting with the university. Please consider joining the Council or one of the committees, Enrollment and Marketing, Career Development or Engagement & Philanthropy, as they look to find new ways to engage our alumni with other alumni, students and faculty and staff on campus.

Those interested in getting involved can email alumni@alvernia.edu to be considered for a spot.

Alvernia alumni gather in Philadelphia

Over 50 Alvernia alumni and their families enjoyed an afternoon in South Philly in the spring. The group traveled to the Wells Fargo Center to attend a Philadelphia Flyers game. The group even had a chance to meet one of the most recognizable mascots in professional sports, Gritty, who was nice enough to pose for a picture. The group celebrated after the game with a happy hour at the SouthHouse Philadelphia, owned and operated by Emil Notarfrancesco ’05, located a few blocks from the Philadelphia Sports Complex. You can find more information about SouthHouse, along with other Alvernia alumni-owned businesses in the newly launched Alumni Business Directory. To help support your fellow Golden Wolves or submit your own business, please visit www.Alvernia.edu/Alumni.

Alvernia hosts Easter Egg Hunt for alumni and families

The Alvernia Office of Alumni Engagement hosted its inaugural Easter Egg Hunt for the Alvernia community. Nearly 150 people attended the hunt, hosted in the PLEX, and participated in three age-based hunts, arts and crafts, and pictures with the Golden Wolf and the Easter Bunny. Over 20 current students volunteered through the Holleran Center to help run the event, including hiding the eggs. Be sure to visit Alvernia.edu/Alumni for a listing of upcoming Alumni events.

Alvernia alumni, faculty, staff and families participate in the inaugural Easter Egg Hunt at the PLEX.

Alvernia alumni meet Gritty at the South Philadelphia gathering.

Hope Fund provides more than hope

In recognition of Alvernia’s foundresses and in the Bernardine Franciscan tradition of serving those in need, Alvernia established the Presidential Hope Fund at the onset of the pandemic. The fund has assisted students (undergraduate, graduate and adult) and their families in financial need and provides the university with the flexibility and resources necessary to address student hardships as they arise. Below are a few stories of the impact of the Presidential Hope Fund:

Our students experience barriers to staying in school and walking across the stage. These may include:

100% of the Presidential Hope Fund supports our students who need financial assistance to ensure that they can continue and finish their education. Since 2020, The Presidential Hope Fund has assisted over

Jamel, a student from New York, was at a crossroads this fall when he had to decide whether to stay here at Alvernia and work toward his degree, or go home to receive medical treatments at his local hospital. Unsure what to do since he loves Alvernia but couldn’t risk his health, Jamel and his mom, Tasha, reached out to our Health and Wellness Center to find a solution.

With assistance from the Presidential Hope Fund, Jamel received transportation to and from Reading Hospital to receive his treatments. Even better, Jamel is able to continue his studies here at the University.

“For me to be 200 miles away from my youngest child is very scary, but the way that Alvernia attended to my son for that month and a half — I am just so very grateful!” said Tasha, Jamel’s mother.

200 students!

was still trying to find ways to head to Alvernia in August and heard about the Presidential Hope Fund, which was the lifeline she needed to pay for her education and become the nurse she always wanted to be!

With the help of the Presidential Hope Fund, Kristina could pay for her education and live on campus. When she moved onto campus that August, she found a great group of roommates whom she is still friends with today. They often participate in Alvernia’s great extracurricular programs. More than that, receiving Hope Fund support and coming to Alvernia has allowed Kristina to excel in her nursing career. Alvernia’s nursing program is one of our most rigorous programs, but Kristina has taken advantage of those on-campus resources like our tutoring center to succeed and be a year away from graduating.

Kristina had set her sights on Alvernia to follow in her mom’s footsteps and become a nurse, but in the spring of 2020, as she was counting down the days to Alvernia, the pandemic hit. Schools and businesses closed, and Kristina, who worked part time after school, had no idea how she would pay for her education. As spring turned to summer, Kristina

Jamel shown off and on the football field.

Kristina (shown top middle) relaxes in her Alvernia dorm with her roommates.

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MBA ’22

Alvernia

@alverniau Alvernia University @alverniau