January 2016
NEW CAMPUS IN RUSKIN, FLORIDA Dedicated August 19, 2015
from the
president
President Keith Taylor, Ph.D. addresses a full crowd at the Gannon University Ruskin, Florida dedication and blessing ceremony, officially opening Gannon’s second campus. (August 19, 2015)
As we reflect on 2015 and look forward with hope and anticipation to 2016, there is a wonderful sense of pride and gratitude on campus for the year of growth, change and historic milestones we’ve experienced. The year’s celebration of the 90-year anniversary of the founding of the University coincided with a bounty of new programs, buildings and learning environments designed and built across Gannon’s campus, the U.S. and abroad. These changes have caused a buzz of excitement and enthusiasm within the Gannon family and in our community. We are thriving in very challenging times and recognize our blessings as well as our responsibilities. We have witnessed significant changes in our campus footprint, arguably the most significant being the official opening of a second Gannon campus in Ruskin, Florida in August. The cutting of the ribbon at the dedication and blessing ceremony symbolized a new beginning in our Gannon history. This venture welcomed new members into our Gannon community, some of whom are pioneers in the new Occupational Therapy Doctorate program. I am happy to introduce you to members of this program’s inaugural class and tell you more about that historic day in the pages that follow. While our new Ruskin campus was one of the most notable additions this last year, it was matched by the many transformational changes made in Erie as our exceptional faculty and staff continued to advance the academic and entire collegiate experience. Several new buildings and academic centers were opened in addition to key innovations in academic programs to benefit our 4,416 students, a 23-year record enrollment.
Vol. XXVII, No. 1 • January 2016 Gannon University • 109 University Square Erie, Pennsylvania 16541 • (814) 871-7000 www.gannon.edu
We must never lose sight of the reality that all of this growth and advancement is a blessing, and we have a responsibility as individuals and as a Catholic University to serve Erie, Ruskin and all the communities we touch around the world. I was fortunate this past year to be able to join the rapidly growing number of our faculty, staff and students who eagerly participated in an extensive list of domestic and international service trips and mission-driven outreach efforts. I believe I can speak for each member of our Habitat for Humanity Global Village team in saying that the trip to Zambia, Africa was truly life-changing. It is heartening to see students working shoulder-to-shoulder with faculty and staff, embodying global responsibility and learning so directly and deeply why it is critical for us to live as one community and to serve for the greater good of others. This is what our University was founded on and remains the heart of our teaching and Mission. We have much to be thankful for and much yet to do as a University. I wholeheartedly believe that we are only able to reach each milestone by holding true to our Mission and rooting our forward-thinking actions of today in the rich tradition of our past. I am so thankful to be a part of a Catholic University with a 90-year tradition of success and service, and am confident this tradition will continue to guide our Gannon University family to follow our hearts and minds to another 90 years of achievements. God Bless,
Keith Taylor, Ph.D., President
Keith Taylor, Ph.D. President
Laura Hinsdale Graphic Designer
printing
Melanie Whaley ’95 Director for Marketing and Communications
Andrew Lapiska ’09M Creative Services Director
class notes and address changes
John Chacona Media, Marketing and Communications Writer Mallory Hedlund ’14 Marketing and Communications Specialist
photography Matt King Multimedia Specialist Andrew Lapiska ’09M Joe Mattis ’69 student, staff and alumni contributors
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Knepper Press Jana Hunt Coordinator of Gifts and Records hunt001@gannon.edu (814) 871-7469 Gannon Magazine is published by the Marketing and Communications Office at Gannon University.
features
Gannon Magazine January 2016
contents
06 A Modern-Day Pilgrimage
Strategic Goals
08 Homecoming Reunion Weekend
NewsNotes
Read about Gannon students’ experiences as they recollect their once-in-a-lifetime journey to Philadelphia to see Pope Francis.
Knights from far and near converged on campus to make 2015’s Homecoming celebrations the largest in history. Share in the memories, the excitement and the fellowship in our recap of Homecoming.
12 History Made, History Renewed
History was made and history was renewed as Gannon University formally opened a new campus in Ruskin, Florida. Follow the story of how a university continued its tradition of learning and service in a new location just off College Avenue.
02 innovation 03 community 04 worldview
05 06 07 10 27
growth faith & service legacy athletics alumnotes
The Possibilities 14 believe in the possibilities 16 achieve your possibilities 18 inspire the possibilities
Focus 20 facultyfocus 21 studentfocus 22 alumnifocus On The Cover In 1944 Gannon University received permission from the Commonwealth to offer degrees in Pennsylvania. Seventy years later, in October 2014, the University announced a new campus in Ruskin, Florida, where it was now able to offer graduate degrees. After several months of strategic planning and renovations, the doors to Gannon University’s Ruskin campus were opened on August 19, 2015 at the official dedication and blessing ceremony. This historic day welcomed both the students of the inaugural Occupational Therapy Doctorate class, as well as a new addition to the 90-year Catholic Tradition of Gannon University. #
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innovation
strategic goals
A Caring Structure For some students, success in college is a matter of getting an opportunity. Others could use a little help in fully taking advantage of that opportunity. For those students, the news that Gannon University has been awarded a Student Support Services (SSS) grant from the U.S. Department of Education couldn’t have come at a better time. The grant, a renewal of a $1.1 million, five-year award, will greatly expand and enhance the academic support services for students who meet at least one of the following criteria: lowincome, first-generation and/or those who have a documented disability. Through the use of professional advisors, peer tutors and peer mentors, qualifying students can receive services such as individual tutoring, study skills workshops, guidance with course selection, financial literacy and career advising—all critical factors in successfully navigating the complex transition from high school to college.
Adam Nogaj, director of the STEM Center, has worked one-onone with students to prepare and train them to be tutors. Created from elements of the former Math Center and Tutoring Center, the STEM Center employs a form of what experts in the field call supplemental instruction.
“Ultimately we want the University to earn a reputation as the place to go for students who are looking for STEM careers, but also for students who want STEM literacy.”
The grant is part of the TRIO Student Support Services program, a federally funded initiative designed to help students maximize their skills and to assist them in working more effectively toward graduation.
These services are delivered through the University’s Student Success Center, which includes the Academic Advising Center, Programs for Students with Learning Disabilities and the newly created STEM Center designed to deliver assistance for students taking courses in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. These courses have become increasingly important even to students who don’t major in STEM fields due to employers placing greater emphasis on mathematical and technical literacy. The STEM Center, funded by another grant, is a pioneering effort to give students in a wide variety of academic disciplines the skills they need to succeed.
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As it is widely practiced, supplemental instruction uses student tutors who have succeeded in the course. The tutors sit in on the course for which they are offering assistance as a way to better understand the needs of the students they assist. “They are there not just to answer questions posed by the students they help,” said Adam Nogaj, director of the STEM Center, “but to also propose questions.” Nogaj calls this structured learning environment STEM-PASS (Peer-Assisted Study Scheme).
“Building a Gannon-specific tool that our students can use is important,” Nogaj said. “General research shows that smaller, private schools support students better than other types of colleges. We have a caring infrastructure to begin with, and this makes it even better. “Ultimately we want the University to earn a reputation as the place to go for students who are looking for STEM careers, but also for students who want STEM literacy,” Nogaj said. “For students who want to learn and succeed here, we now have what they need in terms of support.” Combined with college-access initiatives such as GO College and the Archbishop Gannon Scholars program, and bolstered by the receipt of a historic grant, the University is making giant strides to increase both opportunity and success.
community
strategic goals GIVE Day in Ruskin, Florida
Thirteen members of the class gathered at Ruskin’s Camp Bayou Outdoor Learning Center to pitch in with grounds and facility clean-up, planting greenery, making minor repairs and completing other site projects. They were joined by members of faculty and staff, as well as members of their families, and alumna Annlyn Harvey ’11. While GIVE Day in Erie was overcast and chilly, Ruskin’s weather was what you might expect for a September day in south Florida. GIVE Day comes to Ruskin. GIVE Day has been such a fixture on Gannon’s calendar that the origins of the name might be forgotten. GIVE is an acronym for Gannon’s Invitation to Volunteer Everywhere. That last word is important because GIVE Day happens in more places than just Erie. Alumni have participated in the
annual event for years, this year in Atlanta, Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Rochester. Although the campus had barely been open a month, the inaugural class of the Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) program at Gannon’s Ruskin, Florida campus extended the GIVE Day tradition.
“It was physical labor in the heat and humidity,” said Desiree Herter, enrollment advisor at the campus. “But we had a great time and a terrific turnout.” As always, the spirit of fellowship and service was awakened in all those who took part, but for those dedicated volunteers in Florida, the day was also the beginning of a new and valuable tradition.
GIVE Day in Erie GIVE Day glowed with the generosity of nearly a thousand Gannon students, faculty, staff, alumni and their families. It was a noteworthy day by any measurement, and these are just a glimpse of some of the most heartening GIVE Day numbers: • 926 Gannon students, faculty, staff, alumni and their families participated • 50 sites nationwide • 125 trees planted in Erie as part of the TreeVitalize program • 22 Gannon community members volunteered at the Ruskin, Florida campus • 52 alumni volunteers • 6 alumni project sites in 5 states
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worldview
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The Long View “We lay foundations that will need future development.
mosquito netting. Meals were simple and communal.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.”
But by the end of the week, Agatha, Katherine and their families had a house, and they were grateful.
Arriving 30 hours after departing Erie, the nine students and three members of Gannon University administration were met by Hands together, hearts together. Gannon University their host from Habitat for ABST participants and Zambian villagers celebrate the Humanity, the ministry for completion of the house they built. which the travelers would Bishop Ken Untener of Saginaw, help build a house for two local mothers, Michigan began his prayer for a Agatha and Katherine, in a town called celebration of departed priests with Twapia. these words: “We are workers, not master builders; “It helps, now and then, to step back and ministers, not messiahs.” take a long view.” At 8 a.m., the Gannon Habitaters walked It would be difficult to think of a longer to the work site accompanied by the view–on life, service and the brotherhood village’s children, many of whom would be of all–than the one that 12 members of the there to walk them home when the work Gannon University community took on finished around 4 p.m. their Alternative Break Service Trip (ABST) The labor was difficult. Daytime to the African nation of Zambia. temperatures were frequently above 90 Zambia is 7,735 miles from the Gannon degrees and the living conditions were University campus, but the distance basic: no electricity, running water or by measures of economic security, life indoor plumbing. Sleeping was done in expectancy and modern conveniences sleeping bags on concrete floors under could not be more vast.
“When we turned the house over to them and celebrated, they sat at our feet,” remembered Val Bacik, the University’s director of planning and strategic initiatives. “It was a sincere reflection of how much they appreciated what we did. And that’s Christ-like, isn’t it, washing the feet? There’s great freedom in that humility.” The lives of Agatha, Katherine and the members of their families were profoundly changed by what the twelve visitors from America did during that week in Twapia. “It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.” Every morning, a little boy who spoke no English wanted to walk hand-in-hand everywhere with his new friends. “What he seemed to want to tell us is ‘I’m just here,’” Bacik said. “There was something so pure about his presence that I will never forget, and he was what this trip represented for all of us.”
A Grand Time in Ireland The Gannon University Alumni Association’s travel program took twenty enthusiastic alumni and friends to the Emerald Isle in May. This 10-day adventure began in Shannon and featured stops to the Ring of Kerry, Connemara and Dublin. A quick stop for a photo at Muckross House in Killarney, Ireland. 4
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The hosts for the trip were The Rev. Shawn Clerkin, associate professor, and Cathy Fresch, director of development. Based on
his previous nine visits to Ireland, Clerkin mapped out the tour. The group landed in Shannon and traveled by bus for their tour. Along the way, Clerkin engaged everyone in a limerick contest, singing of Irish songs, trekking the countryside and tasting all the treats Ireland had to offer. The excursion to Ireland was the third Gannon University Alumni Association
newsnotes
growth
Dedicating Gannon’s New Center for Advanced Engineering technology that allows student engineers to simulate different levels of muscle impairment. This perception of the movement and force of virtual joints and muscles is used as a tool to then develop biomechanical devices.
President Keith Taylor, Ph.D., welcoming the crowd at the Dedication and Blessing Ceremony for Gannon’s new Center for Advanced Engineering. “Each new facility renovation has been another domino in a well-designed vision we set forth within our strategic plan to drive innovation and ensure that we are providing the most dynamic learning environment for our students,” stated Gannon University President Keith Taylor, Ph.D. at the dedication and blessing ceremony for the new Center for Advanced Engineering (CAE) in September. Members of both the Gannon and Erie communities gathered in the CAE lobby
sponsored travel program. In previous years alumni and friends have visited Italy and the Galapagos Islands. Plans are in place to visit Yellowstone National Park with veteran biology professors and Yellowstone experts Steve Ropski, Ph.D. and Dave Gustafson, who, with director of alumni services Nancy Bird, will serve as hosts and guides.
to hear from various representatives of the University, including faculty and students proud to be teaching and studying in the new building. “To be able to be a part of the dedication and blessing ceremony of the new CAE building was one of the greatest honors I’ve had at this University,” said Thomas Roache, senior industrial engineering major. Bringing together mechanical, biomedical and the newly offered industrial engineering programs, CAE is home to faculty offices, classrooms and laboratories equipped with technology used in the field today. The biomedical engineering laboratory utilizes both motion-sensor and virtualreality technology. Robotic devices in the laboratory, such as the KINARM two-joint planar manipulator, use virtual-reality
The industrial engineering laboratories focus heavily on ergonomics and work design to promote occupational safety and maximize product value and process improvement. Planned equipment for the Industrial Automation and Robotics Laboratory includes an automated and integrated system of robots, machines, conveyor systems and manufacturing workstations. This space will prepare students to meet the growing needs of the manufacturing industry for a highly skilled workforce in industrial automation. An enthusiastic new member of the University family, industrial engineering Assistant Professor Ikechukwu Ohu, Ph.D., exclaimed in his speech at the ceremony, “I look forward to the first instance in the near future when an alumnus who is internationally recognized for his or her scientific contributions to society will point to this building and say, ‘I was trained here.’”
Sign up now for this fun and educational experience! Join Gannon Professors Dr. Steve Ropski and Dave Gustafson on an 11-day, 10-night wild adventure! GANNONALUMNI.ORG/YELLOWSTONE2016 #
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faith&service
newsnotes
A MODERN-DAY PILGRIMAGE A pilgrimage is defined as a journey to a destination associated with someone or something well known and well respected. For several Gannon students, a trip to Philadelphia to join thousands in welcoming Pope Francis was just that––a modern-day pilgrimage.
Bethany Lewis
Cody Feikles
“For me, there were several very memorable experiences. One was being able to understand the Pope in his native language. I’m completing my Spanish minor this year, and it was amazing to be able to use what I’ve learned at such a momentous event.
“I know the trip was about getting to see the Pope, but for me the whole trip was a pilgrimage. One of the most special parts was getting to know the people in our group better and share in life with them.
Senior, English Major
“The part that sticks with me about his speech is when he told immigrants not to be ashamed of their traditions and not to be ashamed of where they come from. “My grandpa is bilingual and comes from Argentina. So, I felt like that was a great message to say to people. I feel like it would be hard to hide something that’s so important to me, and I don’t think anybody should have to do that. “It was amazing how much community happened over those two days. We were a microcosm of people from all different places, and all different experiences and faith lives were coming together and participating in the same thing, yet each taking away something a little bit different.” 6
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Gannon students joined thousands for Sunday Mass with Pope Francis.
Junior, Theology Major
“My mission during the trip was to establish a friendship with each person, and I was able to do that. “For some people, a friendship is a face and a name, but for me it’s deeper than that. I was excited to get to know more people, because in a way, the more people you know and the more you give of yourself to others, you get to know more about Christ too. “In the Pope’s message it stuck with me how the Church speaks about unity. We have to be able to call each other brothers and sisters; and if we come together as a community trying to live virtuously, it doesn’t make it so scary, it’s not so bad. “One of the biggest takeaways was that sometimes you’re the leader and sometimes you’re the pilgrim. That’s a very important point to be able to understand
within your faith. You’re not alone and there are other people in it with you. Being able to look at the experience in the sense of being a pilgrim, and what does that mean to me? It’s a humbling agent, but it’s also a reassurance that anywhere in the world you go there’s a multitude of people doing it the same way and are in the same boat as you, struggling with the same things, desiring to acquire the same fullness of life and pertinence that you are.”
To read about more students’ perspectives on their journey to Philadelphia to see Pope Francis, continue reading on page 21.
newsnotes Undampened Spirits The early days of autumn in Erie had been mostly glorious, full of golden sunlight and mild temperatures– except for Homecoming Reunion Weekend 2015. But it takes more than rain and chilly winds to keep a Golden Knight down. Despite the climate outside, the homecoming spirit burned bright for the 965 revelers, which included 535 alumni of Gannon University and Villa Maria. This was the highest attendance ever recorded for the annual event, and participants had a lot to celebrate.
Notable Anniversaries The 40th anniversary of the radiologic sciences program brought a large number of alumni to campus, and the program’s open house drew almost 60 persons. The MBA program, the region’s first, celebrated its 45th anniversary with
legacy an open house at the new Center for Business Ingenuity and a keynote speech from V. James Fiorenzo ’90M, president of UPMC Hamot.
Distinguished Alumni Honorees Kicking off the weekend, the Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumni Dinner is always a high point. The 2015 honorees were: James A. Schaffner ’68; Edward C. Dawson ’74; Margaret A. (O’Bryan) Doheny ’70VMC; Larry E. Gioia ’04; and receiving the Monsignor Wilfrid J. Nash Principles of Christian Conduct Award, James P. Ahearn ’61. The annual alumni and family Mass at Mary, Seat of Wisdom Chapel and the President’s Brunch were a fitting conclusion to a weekend of memories and fellowship—and also the beginning of the planning for Homecoming Reunion Weekend 2016, Sept. 30 - Oct. 2. Mark your calendars!
Gannon community members, alumni, family and friends attending the Homecoming celebration, participated in various events and reunions throughout the weekend.
Following Mom’s Footsteps A bond between a mother and daughter is strengthened over time by common interests, similarities, and shared memories and experiences. For Diann and Lauren Cooper, this bond was vividly illustrated by the playful banter and sincerity in their dialogue as they each told their stories—both finding the many commonalities among their academic and occupational experiences. Diann Cooper ’87VMC, an eight-year instructor in Gannon’s Villa Maria School of Nursing, is a wife and mother of three, a UPMC Hamot employee, a 22-year religious education teacher and a student pursuing her Ph.D. Lauren Cooper is a senior pre-medical/biology major, an active member of Tri Beta sorority and Phi Eta Sigma, a UPMC Hamot employee and a tutor for nursing students in the Introduction to Microbiology course.
Although she has plans to continue her education and has applied to various medical schools, tutoring has opened Lauren’s eyes to a potential new opportunity, one that would find her following even more closely in her mother’s footsteps. “Teaching is also in my blood. It’s making me consider pursuing my Ph.D. and teaching microbiology,” she said, a statement that put a glimmer of pride in her mother’s eyes. #
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HOMECOMINGREUNION Photos courtesy of Rick Klein '84 Photography
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NWEEKEND
SAVE THE DATE
Homecoming Reunion Weekend Sept. 30 - Oct. 2, 2016!
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1. Susan Forquer ’66VMC, Candace Battles ’93, Russell Forquer ’71 and Ed Dawson ’74 at the Distinguished Alumni Dinner. 2. President Keith Taylor, Ph.D., Monique Beatty ’87, Kevin Sullivan ’87 outside the “Media Rats” classroom in the Center for Communications and the Arts; the room was gifted in honor of their classmates. 3. Lauren Theisen ’02, Jim Theisen ’02 and family tailgate at the Recreation and Wellness Center. 4. James England ’75, Robin Wilson and Mel Witherspoon ’68 party at the African-American Alumni gathering at The Knight Club. 5. “Meet Me at the Plymouth” was a popular gathering for Gannon and Villa Maria College grads of all ages! 6. Radiologic Sciences alumni celebrate the program’s 40th Anniversary. 7. Members of the Gannon College and Villa Maria College Class of 1965 reunite after 50 years. 8. President Keith Taylor, Ph.D., and Mary Carol Gensheimer, assistant professor, communication and the arts, lead the Homecoming Parade. 9. Distinguished Young Alumnus Larry Gioia ’04 and current Phi Kappa Alpha brothers at the Distinguished Alumni Dinner. 10. Jim Weber ’62 and Kelly Ceja warm up with hot chocolate during the parade. 11. Families gathered at Molly Brannigans after the Gannon football game. 12. Villa Maria College alumnae Donna Donatucci Arrowsmith and Paula Donatucci Praetzel celebrating their 50th reunion. For more photos, or to order your own prints from the weekend, visit gannon.edu/HC15Photos.
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athletics
newsnotes
Gannon Field Renamed McConnell Family Stadium
The former Gannon University Field was dedicated and renamed on Sept. 11, 2015 as McConnell Family Stadium. Gannon University Field first opened its gates to the Gannon and Erie communities in the spring of 2001. It has since been host to numerous football, soccer, lacrosse, baseball and softball games. On Sept. 11, 2015, Gannon University Field took on a new name and is now known as McConnell Family Stadium. After a generous donation by Gannon alumnus Dennis McConnell ’70, the renaming was announced at a dedication ceremony where Gannon student-athletes, faculty, staff and administrators gathered as the new stadium sign was unveiled. McConnell, a private investor living in La Jolla, California, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in finance. He is the founder of Bell Hill International, a venture capital company for early-stage biotech and healthcare companies, and has held several positions at Amgen Inc., a Thousand Oaks, Californiabased biotechnology company, including general manager of
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the diagnostics division and president of Amgen Greater China Ltd. He attributes much of his professional success to his parents, Harry and Betty McConnell of Cochranton, Pennsylvania. For this reason, a plaque bearing his parents’ names was permanently installed in the stadium. “My gift is really about honoring my parents and a tribute to the hard work and sacrifices they made for me to be able to attend Gannon,” said McConnell. “I think naming the stadium and athletic field after my family provides a suitable tribute and visibility for their hard work.”
Dennis McConnell ’70 was recognized and honored for his generous contribution to the University.
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Storybook Season A deep run in the NCAA tournament fell just short for the women’s volleyball team 3 as coach Matt Darling’s team, seeded sixth in the Atlantic Regional, advanced to the sweet sixteen before falling to top-seed Wheeling Jesuit in the championship match. The team made its seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, a record for any Gannon University team, and finished the season with 20 or more wins for the seventh straight season. Morgan Walters, Hannah Kren and Kelsey Ansec were named to the Atlantic Regional All-Tournament team. The ending wasn’t quite as compelling as the beginning, but the story of the Gannon University women’s soccer team was one for the ages. For two weeks, the team was the only one at any level of NCAA play (and there are more than 1,200 NCAA member schools) without a loss or tie and held a No. 1 ranking for four weeks. The Lady Knights shattered the school record for victories with an 18-3 overall mark, hosted the NCAA tournament’s Atlantic Regional, and put coach Colin Petersen ’01 in the field as a finalist for NSCAA NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year honors. With a brilliant individual play to tie Mercyhurst in the 70th minute of a tense match, three-time Academic AllAmerican Mani Brueckner 6 became the all-time leader in career points in Gannon women’s soccer history. Brueckner closes her career with 137 points and is the all-time leader in assists with 42, 22 more than the next-highest total in the program’s history.
Liam Nadler 1 was among the 22 student-athletes at 7 the Division I, II and III levels and the NAIA to be chosen to the 2015 Good Works Team sponsored by Allstate and the American Football Coaches Association. The 22 players were selected for their good works and service to others in addition to maintaining good academic standing. Nadler, a quarterback pursuing his MBA, will be flown to New Orleans in January to participate in activities at the Sugar Bowl. Cross-country runner Gabby Kennelley 7 has a flair for the dramatic. In only her fourth collegiate race, the senior was the overall runner-up at the PSAC Championships at Slippery Rock. Kennelley’s was the highest finish ever by a Gannon runner at a conference championship. She earned All-PSAC first-team honors, becoming the first Gannon runner to earn all-conference honors since her teammate Veronica Bujdos was named to the first team in 2013. Junior Diana Munoz 2 finished second individually at the 2015 PSAC Women’s Golf Championships at the Hershey Country Club. Munoz had a two-day score of 149, only one stroke back of individual champion Shannon Weber of Millersville. Coaching changes in fall sports saw a pair of Gannon alumni returning home to coach the Knights. Dale White ’01 5 became the men’s soccer coach after coaching at Mercyhurst. Sean Morphy ’04 4 took over coaching water polo when Don Sherman stepped down to concentrate on his duties as associate director of athletics. #
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History Made, History Renewed
When Gannon University dedicated its Ruskin, Florida campus in August, it wasn’t the first time an institution of higher learning had chosen the town on the east side of Tampa Bay. A century earlier, Dr. George McAnelly Miller, a Pittsburgh-born follower of the English philosopher John Ruskin, chose the primitive woods and coast of southwest Florida for a new cooperative settlement based on Ruskin’s communitarian ideals. One element of that community was Ruskin College, which was located not far from where Gannon’s new campus is today. This was the first institution of higher learning that gave its name to College Avenue, the main road that connects Ruskin to Sun City Center. 12
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The college got off to a promising start, but when America entered World War I and able-bodied young men were inducted into the armed services, enrollment dwindled. A series of fires destroyed most of the buildings on campus and by the war’s end, Ruskin College was closed.
It would take 97 years and the imagination of a different group of visionaries from Pennsylvania to open a new university a few hundred feet from College Avenue.
A Bright New Day Hundreds gathered under a bright summer sky for the blessing and dedication ceremony, including Bishop Lawrence T. Persico of the Diocese of Erie, members of the University’s Board of Trustees, senior administrators, faculty and the inaugural class of the Ruskin campus, as well as representatives of Ruskin-area governmental, healthcare and civic organizations. Bishop Robert Lynch of the Diocese of St. Petersburg got the biggest laugh of the day when he quipped that “I can assure you that God is blessing us already, because none of us who live here would ever schedule an outdoor occasion on an August afternoon with thunderstorms due in about 45 minutes. The fact that you can get away with it is an augury of great things.” The thunderstorms indeed stayed away and great things are happening already on the Ruskin campus.
Caitlyn Smith, one of the 24 inaugural students in the Occupational Therapy Doctorate program, spoke for her classmates when she said, “The University … is only one of a few in the nation to offer this doctorate program. Florida gives us the opportunity to practice in real-time and in a beautiful paradise.” To Smith and her classmates, Bishop Persico said, “Thank you for believing in Gannon. Know that we believe in you and entrust you to God’s wisdom and protection.” Moments later, the ceremonial ribbon was cut and a new day in Gannon University’s 90-year history began, bright and full of promise.
Take a tour of Gannon's Ruskin campus to see its real-world laboratories and many unique academic features.
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believe in the possibilities A GOOD PLACE TO START What sort of person enrolls in a totally new program on a campus that has just opened its doors for the first time? A person who believes in the possibilities, of course.
Heather Hinterberger “I was excited to be accepted into the inaugural class at the Ruskin, Florida campus. Since the program is only offered by a few universities in the country, I was instantly compelled to apply when I saw that Gannon offered an Occupational Therapy Doctorate.”
Pierre Celestin “I’m very into trying new things and taking risks–not big risks, but risks nonetheless. Getting my doctorate was something I had in the back of my mind, and Gannon had the right program in the right place.”
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There are 24 such persons enrolled in the first Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) program at Gannon University’s new campus in Ruskin, Florida. They bring different life experiences to the table, and they come from all over the country: Arkansas, California, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Florida. Most have undergraduate degrees in various health sciences, exercise science, psychology or biology, and all are exceptional students. The average prerequisite GPA for admission is 3.30 and the average overall GPA of the incoming class is 3.40. Each member of this inaugural class will have a clinical experience at one of the many healthcare organizations in the Ruskin and Sun City, Florida area; the presence of these organizations was a major factor that led Gannon to consider the location for its second campus. And all 24 OTD students have one thing in common: they believe in the possibilities of a Gannon University education to such an extent that they chose to lead the way for future generations of graduates at the Ruskin campus.
One of these pioneers is Pierre Celestin, an exemplar of the varied backgrounds and dedication to learning that characterizes the trailblazing. Celestin, a 30-year-old New York native who grew up in Columbia, South Carolina, is no stranger to the rigors of a 21st-century career in healthcare. One of his three college degrees is in respiratory therapy (the other two are in physical fitness programming and psychology), and he works once a week as a respiratory therapist in the Ruskin area. But Celestin was after something greater, something that was just within his reach somewhere. “I researched and found that Gannon graduates had a high pass rate on boards,
The members of the inaugural Occupational Therapy Doctorate class gathered to celebrate the blessing and dedication of Gannon University’s Ruskin, Florida campus. which I think is important, so I thought it would be a good fit for me.”
he learned at a two-year program in Columbia.
material that we weren’t understanding, and that’s a very convenient thing.”
Occupational therapy was a good fit, too, for the former basketball player whose career was ended by back surgery in high school.
Now a healthcare professional, Celestin moved to Florida. “Not being familiar with the area and taking a chance was how I got to Florida,” he said.
“When I got out of high school, I wanted to go to school in Ohio for occupational therapy, but I was short of money, so I jumped into something that I could get a job doing,” he said. That was respiratory therapy, which
Celestin is excited about his first semester at Gannon. “The faculty are very helpful, and they’re more than willing to stay overtime just to help you out,” he said. “We’ve had professors come in at 5 or 6 o’clock to help go over
Celestin has big plans for his future career path as an OTD. “I want to gain some experience in the field, maybe in geriatrics or pediatrics, and manage a big department—or maybe open my own clinic.”
“I researched and found that Gannon graduates had a high pass rate on boards, which I think is important, so I thought it would be a good fit for me.”
When asked what “Believe in the Possibilities” means to him, Celestin said, “It’s not only a slogan, but a personal thing for me. I have to believe in myself and in the possibility of being a doctor and creating opportunities for myself, my family and my friends.” And that’s a pretty good place to start.
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achieve your possibilities 82
CALLED TO SERVE Growing up in the tiny Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania borough of Hyde Park (population 500), Timothy Hilty felt the call to duty and service. “You couldn’t go more than one or two houses without finding someone who served,” he said. “Being in the military was what I always wanted to do.” And he’s done it well. Brig. Gen. Hilty ’81 has been an active duty air defense officer, Apache helicopter pilot, and is now the Assistant Adjutant General of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. His is a distinguished military career that might have begun earlier had Hilty not tagged along on his brother’s visit to Gannon’s campus. “I was going to enlist in the Marine Corps, but after visiting Gannon, college looked pretty good,” he recalled. He joined Gannon’s Pride of PA ROTC battalion during his freshman year and was grateful to receive an ROTC scholarship as a junior. “I wasn’t a super student,” he recalled, perhaps with excessive modesty. “I think I was voted least likely to succeed by my fellow cadets, but I guess that prediction really didn’t work out too well 30-35 years later.” After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice, Hilty quickly entered active duty as an air defense officer in Rammstein, Germany. Recalling
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that “things looked better up there than they did on the ground,” Hilty became a helicopter pilot, served in Korea and then assumed command of C Company, Third Battalion 227th Aviation Regiment at Fort Hood, Texas. The unit was transferred to Germany shortly before the collapse of the Soviet empire in 1989. “We went from preparing to fight the Russian bear on the plains of the Fulda Gap, to wondering where our enemy went,” he said. “It was an adjustment.” He didn’t have long to think about it, though, because his unit was sent to fight a new enemy: Saddam Hussein. Hilty and his Apache helicopter were part of the decisive “Left Hook” operation across Iraq’s southern desert that took out Iraqi tank divisions and helped secure a swift victory.
Brigadier General Timothy J. Hilty ’81, Assistant Adjutant General of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, addressed Gannon’s Veterans Day Salute in October. After leaving active duty in 1993, Hilty returned to his native state and began service in the National Guard that continues to this day. Even though he is no longer on active duty, don’t think that his military career has lacked consequence. Hilty was put in charge of 7,000 active duty troops, Pennsylvania National Guard and police personnel to ensure security for Pope Francis’ visit to Philadelphia in September.
Security, the Philadelphia Police Department—even a Marine Corps battalion for rapid reaction.
ever meet. They are civilian airmen and soldiers with a military career, a civilian career and families, and they have to balance all of that with defending the Commonwealth and the nation.
“If you want to feel the greatest satisfaction of contributing to something bigger than yourself, there’s no better opportunity than in either the Army or Air National Guard.”
He had some experience with this sort of operation, having been part of the security team for the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh in 2009. Still, preparing for an influx of one million people, and coordinating with multiple departments was a complex undertaking. His command extended to teams from the Secret Service, the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Homeland
“It was quite the job,” Hilty said. “I was calm, but I hoped that nothing bad would happen.” Nothing did happen, of course. “The planning and execution was outstanding.” Hilty sees his service with the Guard as an honor and a privilege. “In the last 22 years,” he said, “I’ve served with some of the most dedicated and intelligent men and women you’ll
“If you want to feel the greatest satisfaction of contributing to something bigger than yourself, there’s no better opportunity than in either the Army or Air National Guard,” Hilty said.
Timothy Hilty has made that journey, a journey that began on Gannon University’s campus in the late 1970s. “As a Catholic university that emphasized religious life and service combined with my membership in Alpha Phi Delta and ROTC, putting that all together was the center of gravity for my call to serve, be part of a brotherhood and give back to something bigger than myself.”
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inspire the possibilities 20 11
A STORYBOOK BEGINNING … AND ENDING The perfect script for a romantic movie set on a college campus would include an attractive couple who cutely meet as new first-year students, eventually earn their degrees, get married and return to campus to teach at their alma mater. Bonus points if one of them was an athlete, too. Everyone knows that tales such as this are just too good to be true–except Dave ’09 and Nicolette Mosinski ’09, ’10M, who starred in a real-life version of this story. There was even a bit of magic involved. Nicolette came for a visit in late spring long after the deadline for admission to the physician assistant program had passed. “I made one visit here and I was sold,” said the native of North Tonawanda, New York. When she arrived for orientation, she was told that a seat had opened for the program. She grabbed it, and has never looked back. Dave’s academic journey was more varied. The North Royalton, Ohio native and graduate of Cleveland’s St. Ignatius High School bounced around between pre-med and pre-physical therapy, but the constant in his Gannon career was wrestling. “In high school, I was never the best wrestler in the room, but my college career was different.” Feeling the pressure of a demanding course load as a pre-med
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student, Mosinski quit the team. Then a funny thing happened. “My grades went into the tank, so I went back to Coach and begged him to take me back. Being able to be part of that community saved me,” he said. Both Dave and Nicolette were involved in a number of student organizations. He was a member of the Activities Programming Board (APB) and the Sport and Exercise Science Club. She was heavily involved with Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority and ran for Student Government Association (SGA) president during her junior year, and won. Both Mosinskis served on APB and SGA, but their story together started much earlier—about as early as it could have begun, in fact. “We met in the first 10 days of school,” Nicolette Mosinski remembered. “Our
Nicolette ’09, ’10M and Dave Mosinski ’09 have called Gannon home from the time they were students arriving on campus, all the way through to graduation, and as they returned to the University together as faculty members. first date was a walk to the public dock, because we had no car and no money.”
Most of that work for his program was at the Cleveland Clinic, where Nicolette also worked. So the two, now married, bought a house in nearby University Heights, Ohio.
“We’re so comfortable here because Gannon is like a family, an easy place to come back to. Our first day back, it snowed, and we both love the snow. It was like Erie was wrapping its arms around us.”
They’ve been together ever since, though not always in the same place. After graduating from Gannon, Dave attended graduate school at West Virginia University and then enrolled in a molecular medicine doctoral program at Case Western Reserve University.
But they kept their connections to Gannon. Then one day, while attending a Cleveland Indians game, the phone rang.
“It was Jay Willow [chair of Gannon’s sport and exercise science program] telling me about a job opportunity that opened,” Dave said.
“And at the same time, a PA position opened at Gannon, and that never happens with husband and wife,” Nicolette added. And that brings us to now, where Nicolette is assistant professor in the physician assistant program, and Dave is an instructor in the sport and exercise science program and a volunteer wrestling coach. “It’s unbelievable to come back to a place where the president knows both of us by name,” Dave said. “We’re so comfortable here because Gannon is like a family, an easy place to come back to. Our first day back, it snowed, and we both love the snow. It was like Erie was wrapping its arms around us.” The real-life version of the perfect script.
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Mark Blair ’13M
Instructor, Computer and Information Science
facultyfocus Intelligence Without Rules, Without Fear Mark Blair, computer and information science instructor, certainly has variety in his academic and employment experience. A Charlottesville, Virginia native, Blair has experience as a mechanic, a surgical health lab specialist at the University of Virginia, an intelligence specialist in the U.S. Marine Corps, a business owner and now an academic instructor.
After his service as an intelligence specialist for the Third Reconnaissance Battalion and the Third Marine Division General’s Staff, he was introduced to an opportunity in Erie to pursue his degree. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in both intelligence studies and psychology, Blair launched his first business, DAGIR Co. The Defense Analyst’s Generic Intelligence Resource Handbook (DAGIR) was a book the company created that eventually led to the development of “The Meth Hunter.” This program analyzed thousands of data points to detect relationships and patterns to assist law enforcement with ending methamphetamine rings. As the initial need for the business subdued, Blair enrolled in Gannon’s graduate computer and information science program with a focus in software engineering. Following graduation, he applied to Gannon again, this time as an instructor.
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He’s done quite a bit more than just instructing during his first year, though. The student group GUBotDev, a crossdisciplinary engineering group dedicated to robotics and drones, has taken off since Blair helped start the group when he began teaching. “When I was here I had all these ideas I wanted to work on,” said Blair. “I found myself in this really fertile environment where almost anything I could dream, I could find somebody to support me through it. That was my thought process when I started GUBotDev.” With the motto “Intelligence Without Rules, Without Fear” to inspire their work, they quickly grew.
Mark Blair ’13M (left) joined the students of GUBotDev at Erie’s Manufacturing Day, where they showcased their knowledge of 3D printing and flying drones.
Blair assisted the students with getting their work into the community. The students taught an Upward Bound high school summer camp and participated as a vendor at Erie’s Manufacturing Day.
The group has since applied for and received roughly $8,000 in grants from IBM’s Students for A Smarter Planet program, as well as from the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority toward obtaining their FAA 333 Flight Exemption, a certification that will allow the students to fly drones professionally for profit. Portions of the grants will also fund prototype projects with partner universities with the goal of assisting community safety efforts.
But Blair’s business experience inspired the students to take GUBotDev beyond community goodwill, to pursue turning their passion into something more.
“The same way that I was supported when I had ideas here as a student, I’ve been supportive as a faculty member too,” said Blair.
He advised the students through an eight-week Technology Business Accelerator program through Gannon’s Erie Technology Incubator, where the students received professional feedback on transforming GUBotDev from a student organization to a profitgenerating company. “When I first set them up, we set up like a small business. Now we’re getting ready to transfer over to an LLC.”
“I think this is the only place we could do something like this. Whatever idea you come up with, we’ll back you up. That’s what this place is, that’s the beauty of itthat everyone supports you.”
“We started doing a lot more 3D printing, designing and building parts. The more they started to do, the more hands-off I became, and they really started to take over,” he said.
studentfocus A MODERN-DAY PILGRIMAGE (CONTINUED) Kelsey Gehring Junior, English Major
“I had never thought about traveling and reporting for The Gannon Knight; I figured we’d just report on things happening on campus. This was cool because it really illustrates that on a Catholic campus you can report on these types of events. I don’t know if I could do that at another school. “I went into this with the mindset of a reporter, but I came out with more than a couple of stories. Seeing the community really helped me get a new perspective on faith and how strong it actually is, and it can be hard to keep that when you’re in college. “We said the rosary on the way down to Philly, and I hadn’t said the rosary in about six or seven years, but this brought me back to it. Having that reintroduction to such a powerful prayer has been really important to me. “The most memorable thing about this experience was seeing the crowds. It wasn’t just the composition of seeing Philadelphia essentially shut down to let people walk through the empty streets that struck me. There was an obvious sense of community from the Church that I don’t see at my home parish. We were all there directly or indirectly because of
our faith. I saw it in the way masses of people willingly knelt on the ground during Mass and when prayers were the only thing heard on Benjamin Franklin Parkway. “I wouldn’t consider myself a religious person by convention. I go to Mass every Sunday and my family is very grounded in their faith, but Catholicism for me is about being part of a larger family. Being part of something larger than myself or my problems is important because there’s something comforting in it. Seeing the
crowds that recognized that aspect of Catholic teaching really reinforced that. “Pope Francis is one of my biggest inspirations because my faith is very important to me. Knowing there was a chance to see him up close, I couldn’t pass it up. It was a once-in-a- lifetime opportunity.”
Anna Swick
Sophomore, Social Work Major “There was a lot of waiting around in huge crowds where you had nothing to do but talk to people. Meeting so many people was amazing; everyone was from so many different walks of life. It was really powerful and it gave you a huge sense of solidarity that we were all there and were united somehow. “After coming back from the trip, it gave me a new sense of hope for the Church to see how many people are clinging to the Pope’s message and are excited about it. It changed me by giving me a whole new perspective on how big it all is. It was comforting to see that there are so many ways to express your faith, and not just one is right. As long as you are trying to do God’s will, that is the most important part. “The most important part of the Pope’s message for me is about love and mercy. We need to take care of the poor. We need to look at everyone with mercy and not judge them, but meet them where they’re at and give them Christ’s love. “He says things that no one else wants to say. I really appreciate that. He doesn’t care how popular he is; he’s going to say the truth. It’s important to have someone do that in a loving way.”
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Thomas Plut, D.O. ’99
alumnifocus
Thomas Plut ’99, D.O. with his wife, Gwen, and their four children (L-R) Abigail, 9; Nathanael, 5; Zoe, 3 and Ethan, 7.
Putting Patients First
Thomas Plut, D.O. ’99 has always been drawn toward the medical field to answer a calling to help those in need. Starting out in the biology and pre-physical therapy programs at Gannon, Plut went on to earn his D.O. at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, which led him to opportunities in family medicine. An active individual, his passion for sports medicine was undeniable, and he went on to complete a fellowship and his degree in the field. Employed by Lourdes Medical Associates in New Jersey for the past eight years, Plut has worked diligently to help and care for his patients, and has gained widespread recognition while doing so. “In the 12 years I’ve been practicing, sports medicine has changed drastically,” said Plut. “You have to be flexible and willing to look into new treatment options and evaluate the data to determine if it’s the right thing for your patients.” It is Plut’s “patient-first” orientation and willingness to adapt to new practices that has led him to be recognized as one of the first practitioners to offer the Tenex Health TX System on the East Coast. A minimally invasive option for patients with chronic tendon pain or disease caused by sport and non-sport related injuries, this new procedure uses ultrasound energy to target and remove damaged
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tendon tissue through a handheld, needle-like device without compromising the unharmed tendon tissue. Certified in ultrasound procedures, Plut was a natural early adopter of this option for his patients. He now teaches this technique to physicians from all over the country who’ve come to learn specifically from him. “I wouldn’t go back to practicing medicine any other way,” he said. “I really believe in it because it’s helped my patients to improve their function and lessen their pain.” Acting on his calling to help those in need has much to do with his faith, Plut explained. “Putting patients first has a lot to do with my faith. I am a Christian and try to follow the life of Jesus. I try to serve my patients by examining and loving them in a way to show them grace, mercy and compassion, as my Savior did for me. That is my driving force.”
Education B.S. in Biology, Gannon University, 1999 D.O., Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, 2003 Title Sport Medicine Specialist Employer Lourdes Medical Associates, Moorestown, N.J.
alumnotes 1954
SISTER MARY J. BEAUSEIGNEUR, S.S.J. VMC SISTER JOSEPHINE DEPETRO, S.S.J. VMC SISTER ANGELA M. SERVIDEA, S.S.J. VMC all celebrated their 60th Jubilees.
SISTER JEROME EUSTACE, O.S.B. VMC celebrated her 70th Jubilee.
REV. LEO J. GALLINA celebrated his 50th Jubilee.
1957
1968
1958
1969
REV. MSGR. ERNEST J. DALEY celebrated his 60th Jubilee.
SISTER LEONIE SHANLEY, S.S.J. VMC celebrated her 70th Jubilee. SISTER RACHAEL MCGUIRE VMC celebrated her 75th Jubilee.
1959
REV. MSGR. ANDREW H. KARG celebrated his 50th Jubilee.
1961
SISTER ANTONIA DOMERACKI VMC celebrated her 75th Jubilee. SISTER M. ANDRE FEULNER, S.S.J. VMC celebrated her 60th Jubilee.
1964
SISTER MARY E. DWYER, S.S.J. VMC celebrated her 60th Jubilee. BLAIR SMOULDER created a one-of-a-kind, hybridized daylily that was officially registered with the American Hemerocallis Society in honor of Gannon University, named “Sanitas, Scientia, Sanctitas.” He donated the flower, which was planted in front of Old Main on May 19. The only other example of this daylily is in Smoulder’s home garden.
1965
SISTER BERNADINE GEHRINGER, S.S.J. VMC celebrated her 60th Jubilee. DAVID D. KNOLL, ESQ. was honored by the Houston Symphony on Oct. 4 as an emeritus member of the symphony’s chorus, for which he sang for 24 years.
1966
MICHAEL J. AMBROSINO celebrated two milestone events recently, turning 70 in June and retiring on May 29 as president of Brooklyn Oil Associates, Inc. in Greenwich, Conn.
SISTER MARIA A. RUZA, S.S.J. VMC celebrated her 60th Jubilee. MICHAEL A. FETZNER, ESQ. was recently selected for inclusion in the 2016 Best Lawyers in America list for workers’ compensation law employers. Fetzner is with the Knox Law Firm in Erie; this is the third consecutive year he has been selected. ROBERT W. MCGEE, PH.D. recently won three silver medals at the Taekwondo World Championships held in Little Rock, Ark. on July 9. McGhee also has a novel, “Justifiable Homicide: A Political Thriller,” on the Amazon best-seller list. MICHAEL J. VISNOSKY, ESQ. was recently selected in the 2016 Best Lawyers in America list for family law. Visnosky is the director of governmental affairs for Millcreek Health System, Inc., and continues to serve as counsel with the Knox Law Firm in Erie. He is coincorporator and chairman of the board of trustees of Millcreek Health System, Inc. and chairman of the board emeritus of Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM).
1970
DAVID T. ACANFORA retired from teaching after 42 years. He taught social studies, government, criminal justice and psychology at Frontier Schools in Hamburg, N.Y., starting at the middle school in 1973 and the high school in 1987.
1971
SISTER BARBARA A. VAVRECK, S.S.J. VMC celebrated her 60th Jubilee. DEACON RICHARD E. WINSCHEL was recently ordained as a Permanent Deacon in the Catholic Diocese of Erie.
1972
JOHN M. CROWLEY has retired with his wife, Mary Jane, to Sun City, S.C. after a 40-year career in higher education advancement at Cornell University, Southwest Florida College and Eckerd College. They have four children and four grandchildren.
REV. JOHN E. SANTOR ’72M celebrated his 50th Jubilee.
1973
L. MICHAEL HAJTMAN, CPA is president of the Albert and Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation, which is honoring retiring Hood College President Ronald L. Volpe, Ph.D. ’67 and Rev. Alphonse Crispo, a beloved philosophy professor at Gannon, with a scholarship at Hood College to benefit students studying classical philosophy. BERNARD A. NAGLE has been appointed as executive director for the Precision Machined Products Association (PMPA). Nagle, co-author of the book “Leveraging People & Profit-The Hard Work of Soft Management,” has spent much of his career in executive and leadership roles with Fortune 500 manufacturing companies and as senior consultant with PriceWaterhouseCoopers. BILL CLARKE recently authored “My Path To Heaven On Earth; How I Lost My Life And Found H.O.P.E.,” which is available on the Amazon and Barnes and Noble websites. The Rev. Robert Guglielmone, bishop of Charleston, S.C., commented on the book, saying, “Bill Clarke has produced beautiful and meaningful reflections concerning faith and God’s assistance in dealing with the adversities that confront our lives. His approach to life after a life-changing stroke is an inspiration for everyone looking to find a source of hope.”
births
1949
a son, McKlane Jay Sly (born Aug. 22, 2014) to Brooke L. Gingher ’99
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MEMBERS OF GANNON’S “TRAVELING WILBURYS” most recently traveled to Wellsboro, Pa. together. This alumni group has remained close friends since graduating in the early 1970s, traveling together every year since 2001. Members reside in various states and include: Peter ’71 and Mary Bates; James Byrne ’71 and Barbara Van Riper; Dennis ’73 and Jo Ellen Knecht; David ’73 and Patty Holland; Christopher ’72 and Cathy Mills; Kevin ’73 and Karen Dooney; Richard ’73 and Joanne Kujawinski.
Alumni honorees were recognized at the 2015 Distinguished Alumni Dinner: First Row: Brian Kurtz ’08 Alumni Association president; James Schaffner ’68; Edward Dawson ’74; Keith Taylor, Ph.D., Gannon University president. Second Row: Larry Gioia ’04, Margaret (O’Bryan) Doheny ’70VMC; James Ahearn ’61
A Message from Gannon University Alumni Association President Brian M. Kurtz ’08 A great weekend had by all! Everyone attending the Gannon University and Villa Maria College Homecoming Reunion Weekend 2015 took part in the traditions of yesterday, while the current students began creating traditions of their own to be remembered tomorrow. Strong history and memories came to life in the gathering of Villa women at high tea, in the joy of celebrating the Heritage Society in recognition of 50 years since graduation, in heartfelt testimony to the importance of Gannon and Villa in the lives of our Distinguished Alumni, and in many other events on and off campus.
SILVIA M. FERRETTI, D.O. recently received the 2015 Distinguished Service Award from the Pennsylvania Osteopathic Medical Association (POMA), a statewide organization for physicians holding the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree. Ferretti received the association’s highest honor in recognition of her countless contributions to the osteopathic profession and POMA. Ferretti is provost, senior vice president and dean of academic affairs of the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine.
I have no doubt that with the vibrancy found on Gannon’s Erie and Ruskin, Florida campuses, our current and future alumni will have traditions they will carry with them indefinitely.
JAMES A. KOSTEK closed out his almost 42year career in the chemical industry on Nov. 6. During those years he has worked at a number of companies and in a variety of positions, including: Combustion Engineering Inc. in their refractories division located in Valley Forge, Pa.; Leeman Labs; Scientific Systems; Autochrom. He spent the last 15 years in the Q.C. lab with Sartomer Co., a manufacturer of custom-designed monomers.
The National Alumni Board needs your help in keeping the Gannon and Villa traditions going strong for future generations as we seek new directors to serve a three-year board term beginning next June.
1975
As we enter the third year of the Board’s strategic plan, our members will double-down on efforts to connect alumni with one another and with the University by hosting annual events in the four regions of Buffalo, Cleveland, Erie and Pittsburgh, and in other cities around the country. Our work continues by engaging our future alumni and Gannon’s current students through the Mentoring Achievement Program, recognition of a graduating senior with the Inspiration for the Next Generation Award, and by supporting student scholarships such as the Alumni Legacy “Power” Scholarship. If you want to support your alma mater and Alumni Association, contact me at kurtz004@gannon.edu to talk more about becoming a director on the National Alumni Board or a regional coordinator to plan alumni activities in your city. We rely on your participation to instill what makes Gannon and Villa special in your life, into the lives of your fellow alumni.
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SISTER NANCY PRENATT, S.S.J. VMC celebrated her 50th Jubilee. WILLIAM D. BUSECK is president of W.D. Buseck & Associates, LLC, a management consulting firm, which has acquired Avalon Financial Services, Ltd., located in Niles, Ohio. Following the acquisition, Buseck will provide turnaround management services and Avalon Financial Services will provide banking services. SISTER MARY R. ROMEO, S.S.J. VMC celebrated her 50th Jubilee.
BARRY T. DREW, ESQ. has been nominated by Governor Tom Wolf to serve on the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. He has formerly served as the deputy secretary of administration in the executive office of the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue from 1995 until 2011. Prior to that, he served as solicitor for the City of Erie, then director of administration for the County of Erie, Pa. EDWARD J. GRIEBEL and his wife, Sandy, recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. He retired from GE Transportation in 2001 after 37 years of service. DAVID W. GRZELAK ’76M has been appointed as a new director to the Sun Hydraulics Corporation board of directors. Since retiring in June 2013 as the chairman of the board and CEO of Komatsu America Corporation, he has been an executive mining advisor for Komatsu Ltd.’s Global Mining Business Division in Tokyo.
1977
JANINE (EWING) JACKSON joined the Army to learn what a police officer does on a daily basis. Jackson was sent to Fort McClellan, Ga., for her basic training. She was in one of the first groups of women to experience the co-ed Army. After basic training, she remained at Fort McClellan for advanced individual training as a military policeman (MP). As an MP, she performed gate duty, road patrols and set up speed traps. Jackson was then selected to work full-time in vehicle registration. Her next post was in Frankfurt, Germany, where she received top-secret clearance and was one of five MPs to work with a civilian group. THADDEUS C. KEDZIORA ’77M has authored a new spiritual book, “Last of the Last Days,” in which he stresses Jesus’ rapidly approaching arrival. DEACON RAYMOND J. SOBINA was recently ordained as a Permanent Deacon in the Catholic Diocese of Erie.
1978
DEACON EDWARD R. HORNEMAN was recently ordained as a Permanent Deacon in the Catholic Diocese of Erie.
1979
AJITH K. KUMAR ’79M, ’83M holds 256 U.S. patents and many more international ones for products and concepts he’s created. Kumar is a consulting engineer at GE Transportation in Lawrence Park Township in Erie, and has worked for GE for 38 years.
1980
ANDREW P. ROTH, JR., PH.D. ’80M was chosen to speak at the Global Intelligence Forum in Dungarvan, Ireland, which was hosted by the Tom Ridge School of Intelligence Studies and Information Science at Mercyhurst University, where he was a former professor. His lecture discussed the global forces affecting higher education, including economics, globalization, public policy and technology.
1981
FRANCIS J. KLEMENSIC, ESQ. was recently selected for inclusion in the 2016 Best Lawyers in America list for medical malpractice lawdefendants. This is the fifth consecutive year he has been selected. Klemensic is an attorney with Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote, P.C.
1983
KAREN (MINICHELLI) DIMICHELE VMC retired after a 34-year career that included teaching in the Brentwood School District of Long Island, N.Y., at Holy Rosary Elementary School and in the Erie School District for the past 22 years, mostly at Perry Elementary. PHYLLIS T. HANEY was named director of the Office for Protection of Children and Young People in the Diocese of Pittsburgh on April 20. She joins the diocese after more than 30 years in lay ministry positions in Pittsburgh and the surrounding area. Her professional experience includes coordinator of religious education at St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Butler, Pa.; and director of religious education at Saints John and Paul Parish in Pittsburgh, Pa., where she earlier was a pastoral associate. Most recently, she was director of religious education at Mother of Sorrows Parish, Murrysville, Pa.
1984
marriages
1976
Monica T. (Mangefrida) Brower ’87, ’90M married Lance Trott on July 24, 2015.
Beth A. Cardot ’11 married Greg McFadden on June 27, 2015. Christopher William Cuviello ’09 married Alice Melinda Fitchett on Nov. 15, 2014.
Tricia L. Dituro ’07 married Patrick J. Bair on June 13, 2015. Nicole Marie Fiore ’08 married Christopher Scott Young on June 14, 2014. Angela Marie Pepicello, Pharm.D. ’12 married Patrick Michael Eller on June 27, 2015.
JEAN T. CLEGG ’84M has just completed her autobiography, which is being published.
Danielle N. Sciandra ’10, ’11M married William M. Macaluso on July 3, 2014.
DEACON FRANK A. LUCIANI ’84M was recently ordained as a Permanent Deacon in the Catholic Diocese of Erie.
Jordan Leah Shawley ’13 married Ethan R. Keeler ’13 in May 2015.
1985
JOHN M. MALONEY is the vice president of sales for Code Kit PRO, whose product, the Pedi-PRO platform resuscitation organizer, became the third winner of Gannon’s Technology Business Accelerator program. The winning team went home with a $10,000 check, legal assistance from MacDonald Illig Jones & Britton LLP, along with six months of residency, coaching and strategic mentoring from the Erie Technology Incubator (ETI). REV. MARK A. NOWAK ’85M celebrated his 40th Jubilee. Fr. Nowak is currently the pastor at St. Francis Xavier Parish in McKean, Pa. DENNIS R. SCULLY has been appointed vice president of engineering and operations with Viatran Corporation, North Tonawanda, N.Y. He previously served as operations manager at Howden North America. JAMES C. WESDOCK, M.D. currently lives in Richmond, Va. and is the head of health and safety in over 40 countries for Alcoa, Inc. He also leads public safety programs for fire, police and EMS, and participates in a family medical practice 10 hours per week. Along with his busy career, he is also a marathon runner.
Kristen M. Rajczak ’09 married Andrew T. Nelson, Ph.D. on May 23, 2015. Joseph M. Wagner, O.D. ’09 married Ashley M. Wolanski, Ph.D. on Dec. 13, 2014.
1986
BERNARD J. SHERRY, II has been named the new chief operating officer for Saint Thomas Health, a nine-hospital health system based in Nashville, Tenn. Sherry most recently served as president and CEO of Saint Thomas Midtown and Saint Thomas West Hospitals. He joined Saint Thomas Health in 2000, serving as vice president of management care.
1987
ANTHONY C. SCHNUR has been appointed to the Tombstone Exploration Corporation Board of Directors, an exploration and development company in Cochise County, Ariz. Schnur is the chief executive officer of Lucas Energy, Inc.
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1988
LT. COL. JAMES M. GUELCHER, ESQ. COL. DAVID A. ROSCOE, ESQ. ’96M Roscoe and Guelcher recently graduated from the United States Army War College (USAWC), each receiving their Master of Strategic Studies. Roscoe earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree in 2000 from Capital University Law School. He commands a brigade in the United States Army Reserve and practices law in Columbus, Ohio. Guelcher earned a J.D. degree in 1991 from Case Western Reserve University School of Law. He serves in an Active Guard Reserve status as the Command Judge Advocate for the 352nd Civil Affairs Command at Fort George G. Meade, Md. Roscoe and Guelcher were both commissioned from the Gannon University ROTC program in May 1988, and had not seen each other since then, until attending the USAWC first resident session in June 2014.
in memoriam
REV. SCOTT W. JABO celebrated his 25th Jubilee. Fr. Jabo is currently the president of Cathedral Preparatory School in Erie, and is a member of Gannon’s Board of Trustees.
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Alumni Donald R. Adams, CPA ’52 Robert J. Adler, Jr. ’69M Margaret Cleary Bagnoni ’90 Joan Urey Beach ’65VMC James R. Brugger ’40 Paul F. Cancilla ’50 Ronald J. Carroll ’52 William R. Chadwick ’78 Kathleen A. Cleary ’67VMC Harry L. Cochrane ’62 Francis J. Colantuono ’71 James J. Connell ’58 Margaret Deter Corraine ’57VMC M. Robert Cross ’56, ’69M Kathleen Christensen DeJohn ’71
gannon magazine
january 2016
1989
1991
GREGORY J. CZARNECKI has been elected to the Board of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science. He also published an article entitled “Making your research count: How to influence public policy” in the Academy of Science Journal.
1992
PATRICK F. CASTER has been appointed as chief operating officer for Care Solutions with PIH Health in Whittier, Calif. He will oversee implementation of the plan growth strategy for the organization’s insurance product, PIH Health Care Solutions. Caster has 25 years of healthcare experience.
MARY (VICKEY) GUSTAFSON was selected by the U.S. Department of State for a prestigious 10-month teaching fellowship in Turkmenistan, a former Soviet Bloc country in Central Asia. Gustafson will teach English and methodology to pre-service teachers at the International University of Humanities and Development in the capital, Ashgabat. She is one of only 165 U.S. citizens selected for the 2015-2016 English Language Fellow Program.
1990
KENNETH M. OGOREK ’90M was elected president of the National Conference of Catechetical Leadership (NCCL). This is a three-year appointment that began May 21. He is currently the director of Catechesis at the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. CARLO J. PELINO, O.D., FAAO has been named chief of The Eye Institute (TEI) of Salus University’s Chestnut Hill satellite practice. In his new position, Pelino will be responsible for collaborating with TEI leadership to provide high-quality care for patients, while optimizing the student and resident clinical experience.
Rev. Gilio L. Dipre, Ph.D. ’49 William F. Doran, Jr. ’78 Edwina J. Double ’95 Wendy S. Edwards ’89 Susan Devito Fisher ’68VMC Thomas P. Gatesman ’87 Audrey Mascharka Gifford ’59VMC Charleen Stumpf Gray ’61VMC Fred T. Haener ’57 Susan Hirt Hagen ’80M Lionel E. Hewitt ’80 Leo L. Hokaj, Jr. ’61 Mike Jennewine ’09 Arthur C. Johnson, Jr. ’66 Marian Williams Judice ’82 John C. Kalata, D.O. ’48 Mary Markiewicz Kasputis ’68VMC
RICHARD J. HUDIC, JR. has been hired as the executive director of the Allegheny Regional Asset District. Hudic most recently served as the executive deputy secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. Previously he was president and chief executive officer of the Team Pennsylvania Foundation, a nonprofit economic development organization that has helped coordinate gubernatorial trade missions. EPHRIAM “TIGER” BILETNIKOFF ’92, ’05 was the winner of a 2015 IHS Spectrum Excellence Award. He was the “Featured Executive” interview for Supply Chain World Magazine.
1993
SALLY A. BLANK has joined Biamp Systems, Beaverton, Ore. in the role of sales development director. Her focus will be on the company’s Unified communication and collaboration sector.
1995
KRISTEN (BARCLAY) BARRISH ’95M was inducted into the Allegheny College Athletics Hall of Fame. During her career, she helped the Gators women’s tennis team compile a record of 60-29. Barrish played first singles for four years and graduated as the program’s alltime leader in singles wins (68) and doubles wins (64). She is second all-time in total wins with 132, and her 64 doubles victories are still the most for the Allegheny College women’s tennis team. Off the court, Barrish graduated magna cum laude at Allegheny College and went on to earn a Masters of Science degree in physical therapy at Gannon University. She is currently a physical therapist for Golden Living Center in Uniontown and Waynesburg, Pa.
William C. Kuhn, Esq. ’50 Rev. Raymond J. Kulwicki ’73M Thomas A. Mangin ’71, ’76M Mary A. Masterson ’55VMC Bernard W. McCaffrey, USAF (Ret.) ’56 Alexandra J. McCoy ’75VMC Roberta E. McCreary ’72M Bernadette McDonald ’34VMC William P. McFadden ’53 Barry G. McNerney, USA (Ret.) ’72 Edward P. Miehl ’76 Perry M. Miller ’60 David R. Moore ’78 Joan Arkell Neff ’53VMC Charlotte Prochowski Niewolak ’42VMC Thomas J. O’Connor ’65 Vincent E. Paris, II ’76
MATTHEW W. STEGER was awarded the “Outstanding Customer Service Award” by WIN Home Inspection at their annual franchisee conference in Houston, Texas. This award is based upon returned customer satisfaction surveys exceeding 90-percent satisfaction. Less than 12 of the company’s more than 160 franchisees won this award. This was the third consectuive year that he has won this award. Steger has owned and operated WIN Home Inspection in Elizabethtown, Pa. since 2002. He is also a Level-1 Certified Infrared Thermographer and a PA DEP licensed radon tester.
1998
AARON M. CHRISTY is a youth minister at Clen-Moore Presbyterian Church of New Castle, Pa. KERI (KOMLOS) ZIPAY received a Masters of Urban Planning, Design and Development degree from Cleveland State University in December 2014. In January, she joined the Community Development Department with the City of Hudson, Ohio, as the planning technician.
1999
JOSHUA M. JEKIELEK delivered the keynote speech at this year’s annual Memorial Day program at Evergreen Park in Kane, Pa. He is an English language arts teacher at Kane High School, and also currently serves in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve with the rank of Petty Officer 2nd Class.
Harriet Purzycki ’58VMC Gordon L. Reed ’78M Juanita Miles Reichel ’82 Richard J. Reilly ’53 Edward E. Rinderle ’62 Richard F. Schoenfeld ’66 Patience E. Sharp ’80 Debra Anderson Shaw ’99 Jeanne Strenio Spencer ’88 Donald C. Swartz ’52 Yolanda Y. Thomas ’94 Bryan K. Tippet ’79 Wilhelmina Maxwell Toran ’89, ’92M Michael A. Urda, Ph.D. ’65 Chris R. Vanderwende ’97 Jackie Rozanski Vogt ’10M Dolores Olszewski Volkman ’49VMC
TIMOTHY S. WACHTER, ESQ. was selected for inclusion on the 2015 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Rising Stars list, which features the top two-and-a-half percent of outstanding young lawyers in the state. He is an attorney with the Knox Law Firm in Erie and focuses on representing governmental entities, municipalities, school districts, authorities and special purpose entities. He has been on this list consecutively since 2013, and was selected as one of Erie’s “40 Under 40” in 2014 by the Erie Reader.
2004
2001
2005
BRETT M. MCCORKLE participated in a beta test for Google Glass for the insurance industry. He is a senior programmer analyst at Erie Insurance. SANDRA A. RANCK, MSN ’04M was appointed in March 2015 to serve on the Ohio Board of Nursing for a four-year term. She currently is the program administrator of the Auburn Practical Nursing Program in Concord Twp., Ohio. DONNA M. HUCKNO, RN, MSN is the new vice president of Nursing and Health Services for Erie Homes for Children and Adults.
CHRIS B. GILL, PH.D., ’01M has earned his doctoral degree in education leadership from Youngstown State University in Ohio. He is principal of Hickory High School in the Hermitage School District, Pa. NICHOLAS T. KUCHCINSKI is currently a seminarian with the Episcopal Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania, and is a member of the Cathedral of St. Paul. He is also a probation/parole officer with the Erie County Department of Corrections. BRIAN L. MAILLIARD has joined the St. Paul’s business office in Greenville, Pa. as chief financial officer. He previously worked for 13 years with Hill, Barth and King in Meadville, Pa.
MICHAEL J. PETSCH-MUNGER, MSN, RN, CRNA was chosen for the Excellence in Nursing Award by D Magazine in Dallas, Texas. Out of approximately 40,000 nurses, only 11 received the honor of this award. Munger was featured in the magazine, as well as in other various publications and newsletters throughout the Dallas/Fort-Worth Metroplex.
2002
ELLIOTT J. EHRENREICH, ESQ. was recently selected as a 2015 “Lawyers on the Fast Track” by the Pennsylvania legal community. He was among 40 lawyers selected by The Legal Intelligencer, the nation’s oldest daily legal newspaper. Ehrenreich is an attorney with Knox McLaughlin Gornall & Sennett, P.C., concentrating on business acquisitions and financing, health law and other business transactions.
Michael P. Winiarczyk, II ’94 Katherine Wisniewski Wright ’61VMC Valerie M. Yeager ’68VMC
Parents and Friends Rev. Msgr. George J. Adams Bonnie J. Allesi-Barker, Ph.D. Rev. Msgr. Robert G. Barcio Michael J. Bednar Thomas Cicchetti Raymond L. Dombrowski, Ed.D. Carol Dischinger Draves Jeffrey J. Eckhardt Patrick L. Hart Nancy Theuerkauf Held
Ronald T. Hinman Goffredo C. Ianiro, D.P.M. Nancy J. Jackson Jared F. Lawrie John M. Petersen Thomas F. Rafferty Patricia Muir Roach Irene Mszanowski Ropski Richard J. Schroeck Charles G. Shearer Rev. Charles D. Skinner Beatrice Summers Varo
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2007
MICHALEE (LOPUH) CHRISTY ’07M has received the 2015 VFW Citizenship Teacher of the Year Award for the state of Pennsylvania. Christy is the vocal director at Mercer High School, teaching grades 7-12 choir, guitar, show choir and theater arts. She and her husband, Aaron, reside in Mercer, Pa. with their children, Abigail, 9 and Andrew, 6.
2008
PATRICK M. GRACZYK ’08C has been hired as the Allegheny Valley School District’s new superintendent. He most recently served as assistant to the superintendent at the Highlands School District in Pennsylvania.
2009
WILLIAM J. BOYLE ALISSA R. VERONE, PH.D. recently completed graduate degrees. He received his MBA in August 2014 from Medaille College in Buffalo, N.Y., while she received her Ph.D. in June 2015 from the Roswell Park Cancer Institute division of the State University of New York at Buffalo. Her dissertation research was focused on studying the anti-tumor activity of vitamin D3 metabolites in EGFR mutant, non-small cell lung cancer. LINDSAY J. CAPUTO is currently working in the emergency department at DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa, Ala. ANDREA C. CARNICELLA ’11M recently started working as a legislative aide for Pennsylvania State Senator John H. Eichelberger, Jr.
2010
MEAGHAN K. ROPSKI, D.V.M. recently finished an internship as a rotating veterinarian at Friendship Hospital for Animals in Washington, D.C., and continues on its team as a surgical specialist associate.
2011
JACKI R. DAVISON ’11, ’12M is a physician assistant at Penn Highlands Pediatrics in DuBois, Pa. DESTIN S. DEMARION began his first tournament on June 4 as a professional bass fisherman. DeMarion’s tour as a pro angler began with the Rayovac FLW Series Northern Division. He is a chartered captain on Lake Erie when he’s not competing, and also works for DuraEdge in its social media marketing department. REV. ERIC J. DINGA was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Lawrence E. Brandt of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg on June 20. Dinga celebrated his first Mass the
next Sunday at his home parish, Christ, Prince of Peace, in Ford City, Pa. In July, began his appointment as parochial vicar of the partner parishes, Our Lady of Grace in Hempfield Township and St. Benedict of Marguerite in Unity Township. He is co-chaplain of Clelian Heights School in Greensburg, Pa. RYAN M. FARRELL was named the valedictorian of John Marshall Law School’s 305 graduating students. Farrell, a native of Dubois, Pa., previously earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in liberal arts from Gannon. He was a staff editor of the John Marshall Law Review and served as a teaching assistant, as well as in the Veterans Legal Support Center & Clinic. He currently is considering positions with the U.S. Air Force and the Army JAG Corps, and plans to specialize in international and operational law. DAMIAN E. GARCHER, MD graduated from the University of Toledo College of Medicine on May 29. While there, he was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society and was active in several extracurricular organizations. Garcher began his residency in urological surgery at the University of Toledo Medical Center in July.
2012
MADISON K. STEWARD is a certified physician assistant at Saint Vincent Hospital in Erie.
2013
SHANE A. CROSS is a technology support specialist at North East School District in North East, Pa. KYRENE M. HAYNES recently joined the Summit ENT and Hearing Services practice in Chambersburg, Pa. as a physician assistant. Haynes provides direct patient care and makes treatment plans and decisions under doctor supervision. She sees patients at the Chambersburg office and at the new Waynesboro Medical Office building.
2015
BRYTON A. DYBOWSKI was the 2015 Medal of Honor recipient for Gannon University’s Class of 2015. Voted on by student and faculty, the award is presented annually to the graduating senior who has done the most to further the interests of the university, to foster loyal college spirit, and to carry out the ideals of Christian life. JESSICA L. RECTENWALD was named the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division II Softball Co-Player of the Year. She also claimed the Golden Knights’ first All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division Athlete of the Year award. Rectenwald led Gannon to its first appearance at the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional tournament since 2007 with a record of 29-16. She is currently working as an analyst for an insurance company in Erie. BRIANNA A. WOODS was one of four finalists in the 2015 ATHENA Young Professional Awards. The ATHENA award is given to an outstanding university student who has the potential to be a leader through her demonstration of excellence, dedication to service and position as a role model for other young women. Woods was nominated by Jax Vadney, technical director of theatre, for exhibiting such values in and out of the classroom. Woods served as the vice president of the theatre honors fraternity, Alpha Psi Omega, held two internships during her senior year, co-founded the art club, was part of the WERG radio staff, and served as the arts and leisure editor for The Gannon Knight, as well as the multimedia editor for Gannon Edge.
2014
CHAD M. FRANCIS was recently hired to work at the Erie Water Works plant. LIAM L. NADLER is among a record 197 nominees for the 2015 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, which is the most esteemed off-field honor in college football, recognizing college football players who exemplify a superior commitment to community service and volunteerism. Nadler is currently quarterback for the Gannon Golden Knights football team. ABIGAIL M. TAYLOR was accepted at the Mayo Clinic’s Arizona campus for the postgraduate physician assistant fellowship program in the internal medicine with a critical care concentration. JESSICA SHIREY ’15M is an occupational therapist at Parkwest Medical Center in Knoxville, Tenn.
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gannon magazine
january 2016
There are some things that only an attorney can do for you. Making Gannon the beneficiary of your IRA is not one of them. Marvin Rosenberg ’58 Erie, Pennsylvania | B.S. in Accounting Tau Kappa Epsilon, Treasurer Management Club
Attorney Marvin Rosenberg earned his undergraduate degree in business administration from Gannon in 1958. He went on to law school at Georgetown University, followed by a distinguished career as one of the nation’s top telecommunications lawyers. “I appreciated the comprehensive curriculum at Gannon–the art, music and philosophy–not just the accounting and political science classes. My Gannon experience introduced me to a much richer, fuller life.”
Marvin chose one of the easiest ways of including Gannon in his estate plan - by designating his alma mater as the beneficiary of his IRA. “My attorney suggested gifting the proceeds from my IRA. It was easy and convenient, with no complications.” You can get a beneficiary designation form from your IRA website. Simply provide a copy of the beneficiary form to document your planned gift and become a member of the Archbishop Gannon Founder's Society.
Did You Know? There are many different ways to include Gannon in your estate plan. Some of the easiest include making Gannon the beneficiary of your 401K retirement plan. For more information please call the Gannon University Advancement Office. Contact: Tony Fulgenzio, Executive Director of Philanthropy and Communications at (814) 871-7786. Or visit our website at gannonalumni.org/estateplan.
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For 90
years, the Gannon University family has been dedicated to Catholic Tradition, providing possibilities for students to achieve an education recognized for excellence and value that ensures success for our graduates. Our students in Erie and Ruskin, Florida are the reason we are inspired to share the many reasons why we #GUbelieve this holiday season.
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