ACCENT ON AVILA
Gold Hammers at the Ready!
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From L to R: Suzanne Slepitza, Avila First Lady, Sue Fahey, Centennial Campaign Co-Chair, Dave Frantze ’76, Centennial Campaign Co-Chair and Trustee, Ernie Straub, Steve Dunn, Centennial Campaign Co-Chair and Trustee, Tom Fritzlen, M.D., Mark Thompson, Centennial Campaign Co-Chair and Trustee, Amy Thompson, Centennial Campaign Co-Chair, Ronald Slepitza, Ph.D., CSJA, Sue King, Ph.D., Jim Willcox, Centennial Campaign Honorary Chair, Councilman Scott Taylor, S. Marie Joan Harris, CSJ, Ph.D., Paul Bookmeyer, S. Patty Clune, Trustee, Joseph Fahey, Centennial Campaign Co-Chair and Trustee and Robert Hunter, Board Chair.
Breaking through to a bright future H Councilman Scott Taylor and President Ron Slepitza, Ph.D., CSJA discuss the renovations.
Larry Sullivan, Ph.D., Dean of the School of Science & Health and S. Marie Joan Harris, CSJ, Ph.D. show the design for the Marie Joan Harris, CSJ, Ph.D. Science & Health Complex.
Patricia Daly Lyon ’00 and Centennial Campaign Co-Chairs Amy Thompson, Dave Frantze ’76, Mark Thompson and Steve Dunn give a champagne toast to meeting the Mabee Foundation challenge.
ard hats were donned, hammers swung and plaster flew on March 31 in what will soon become the Learning Commons on the Avila University campus. The occasion was a “Breakthrough” ceremony celebrating the start of three major capital improvement projects – a Learning Commons, the Marie Joan Harris, CSJ, Ph.D. Science & Health Complex and a 130-space parking lot. It was a lively celebration that included moving speeches from President Ron Slepitza, Ph.D., CSJA, S. Marie, and Avila Board of Trustees Bob Hunter and Joe Fahey, and culminated in more than two dozen people taking turns swinging gold hammers and knocking through an existing wall of the old library. It was a clear signal of the University moving into a bright and exciting future with the most cutting-edge and up-todate learning and environment for its students. Hunter, chair of the Board of Trustees, put it best: “A breakthrough is a success that leads to greater success.”