Bryant Connection - Summer 2013

A Season of Firsts for Bryant Athletics

Remember!

Refer students and their families to our website:

admission.bryant.edu It’s an amazing source of information.

...continued from Page 3 Coincident with the lacrosse thrill, Bulldog baseball was creating its own spot in Bryant athletic history. In one of their most exciting seasons ever, the Bulldogs’ 45-18-1 tally set both school and Northeast Conference records. After winning the NEC Championship, the team learned they would be seeded third in the Manhattan Regional Tournament in Manhattan, Kansas, a four-team, double-elimination bracket.

In the opening round, the Bulldogs were matched with second-seeded Arkansas Razorbacks. The No. 2 ranked Hogs are the top pitching team in the country with a 1.87 team ERA, compared to Bryant’s 2.63 ERA which places the Bulldogs in the country’s top ten.

Pitcher Peter Kelich (Jackson NJ) allowed just three hits on the evening and struck out six, tying him for the program’s single-season strikeout record. Closer Salvatore Lisanti (Bronx NY) threw four hitless innings making it possible for senior Kevin Brown (Northborough MA) to break a 1-1 tie with an RBI single to score three runs for a final score of 4-1, giving Bryant University its first-ever Division I NCAA tournament victory.

The following evening, Bryant faced the top-seeded Kansas State at their home field and was defeated 7-1. In a rematch with the Razorbacks, the Bulldogs were eliminated with a score of 12-3.

The Bryant team is ranked No. 1 in the New England region, receiving seven out of eight first-place votes. In reflection, head coach Steve Owens said, “It was a great season and I am very proud of them. When we look back on this, it’s going to be an amazing accomplishment.”

Alumni-Admission Connection

The Character of Success Bryant University Office of Admission 1150 Douglas Pike Smithfield RI 02917 Phone: 401-232-6100 Toll Free: 800-622-7001 admission@bryant.edu admission.bryant.edu

The Bryant Connection is published three times a year by Judy Famiglietti for the Alumni-Admission Connection members of Bryant University. Send comments on this newsletter or Alumni-Admission Connection activity to Rebecca Eriksen, Senior Assistant Director for Events and Volunteers, Bryant University Office of Admission, 1150 Douglas Pike, Smithfield, RI 02917, 401-232-6957, 800-622-7001, or reriksen@bryant.edu.

4

In various interviews, players from both teams have indicated these games fulfilled longheld goals for post-season play. Senior lacrosse co-captain Ben Sternberg (North Kingstown RI) put it simply, “We’ve waited for this moment not just this entire season, but our entire careers.”

“This,” said Kevin Brown, “is the best team I’ve ever been on. When we came here as freshmen, it was on our minds that we could be the first Bryant baseball team to play in the NCAA tournament. To have that goal come true is an unbelievable feeling.”

Note: This article was prepared with help from the Bryant University Athletics Department, Jim Donaldson and the Providence Journal, and LaxPower (laxpower.com).

AS WE GO TO PRESS… We have just received notice that three seniors from the baseball team were selected in the annual Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. Kevin Brown was selected in the 22nd round by the Chicago Cubs, Joseph Michaud (Milford CT) was selected in the 33rd round by the Oakland Athletics, and Peter Kelich was selected in the 38th round by the San Diego Padres. Check out milb.com to follow their careers.

A Newsletter for Members of the Alumni-Admission Connection

Volume 13, Issue 2, Summer 2013

Summer Renewal With summer come all kinds of wonderful pleasures! OK…AAC membership renewal is not at the top of everyone’s list, but please take a moment to review and update your information.

If you receive a hard copy of the AAC newsletter, the envelope will also contain your 2013-2014 Membership Renewal Form.

Please take a moment to tell us whether or not you wish to renew. If you do, please review your information and make any needed changes. Then return the form to us in the postage-paid envelope provided.

If you receive the newsletter electronically, you will have received an email with two URL codes – one for the newsletter and another for the form. Follow these steps:  Click on the URL to open the Renewal Form.  Save the document, using your name in the filename.  Complete your information and click on the SUBMIT

button at the bottom of the form. We will receive it via email – automatically.

If you are unable to renew, please check off the appropriate box and return the form. Of course, we are not offended if you don’t feel you can renew; we understand that people’s lives and priorities change.

The deadline for renewal is July 12. Please let us hear from you by then. All renewing members will receive the updated AAC manual and directory along with their fall newsletter.

Have a story? Share it!

Do you have a personal story of an encounter that motivated a young person to take a closer look at Bryant?...or maybe even attend?

We’d love to hear about it.

Please email reriksen@bryant.edu to share it.

We will include some of the best in future newsletters.

Historian: You are the Future At Bryant’s 150th Commencement on May 18, historian Jon Meacham acknowledged the unique value of the Bryant education. “As an institution devoted to both the study of business and to the fundamentals of liberal education, you enviably occupy the nexus of commerce and culture, two great forces that far from being incompatible make one another possible.”

He charged the 729 graduates to assume their role in the future: “I believe that the actions of individual men and women doing what they can amid what George Elliot called the dim lights and tangled circumstances of the world determine our course.

Impersonal forces – economics, demography, weather – can in fact lead to historical outcomes and they are vital. But in the end, I hold that it is individual human actions - particular human beings acting according to the forces that confront them in real time - that are… the determinative forces in the affairs of the world. That means you are the determinant force in the affairs of the world. You can’t duck it, you can’t hide from it. The challenge is now yours; the responsibility is now yours.”

And, in spite of claiming a distaste for giving advice, he charged them to use their lives to improve society’s trajectory. “Political liberty and economic liberty are intertwined and without the pursuit of property there can be no sustained pursuit of happiness. History tells us that a principled and honest system of free enterprise is at the heart of the American experiment…. [I] hope fervently that you recognize money as a means [rather than an end] and that you will marshal the wealth that you create to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to care for the sick, to house the homeless, to educate the poor. If you do, you will be called blessed. If you do not, well, God help you because He will be the only one who might. …A life well lived is judged not by the bottom line but by the big picture.”

Meacham was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his biography of Andrew Jackson, American Lion. He is also author of Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power, the critically acclaimed The New York Times bestseller, Franklin and Winston, and American Gospel. Meacham serves as executive editor and executive vice president of Random House, and is a contributing editor to Time magazine, a former editor of Newsweek, and has written for The New York Times, and The Washington Post, among others. He is a Fellow of the Society of American Historians and serves on the boards of the New York Historical Society, the Churchill Centre, and the McCallie School. Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, he was educated at McCallie and the University of the South. Bryant recognized Meacham with an honorary doctor of humane letters degree.

Thank You for Your Help!

It’s summer! Time for us to pause, catch our breath, and thank all of our AAC members for their role in support of Bryant’s recruitment effort.

You carry Bryant’s message just by your presence in your communities – letting your personal stories be testimony to the value of a Bryant education. This is the essence of being an AAC member. In addition, many of you answer our call and actively give your time and energies. However you have contributed this past year, please accept the thanks of the Admission staff for expanding our reach wider than we could without you.

As we gear up to recruit the Class of 2018, these members attended college fairs this spring: David Crosby ’05 Stephanie Kirk ’10 Jim Magee ’88 Gabriella Rossi ’12

Sonali Shah ’12 Jay Weinberg ’85 Phil Weiss ’99

Ambassador Angle During the first weeks of April, as admitted students are struggling to make their final college decision before the May 1 universal reply date, we try to reach out to them with a personal touch. For our 2013 Phone Calling Campaign, these 11 members phoned students, offered their congratulations, and talked with them or (often) their parents: Jackie Ammirato ’12 Michael Boyd ’92 Lloyd Cahoon ’66 Christa (Berard) Cyr ’08 Jim Magee ’88 Mike Motschwiller ’88

Jennifer Proud Mearns ’82 Michael Rogers ’85 Dan Webb ’12 Bryan Wojtowicz ’08 Alan Zuckerman ’80

We appreciate everything you do. Thank you!

On April 24, the Bryant community paused, suspending classes and other activities, to celebrate and share its exciting academic and creative work. It was the third annual Research and Engagement Day (REDay) and includedmore than 100 presentations involving over 85 faculty and staff and more than 330 students.

The event included panels with papers, roundtable discussions, best practices sessions, showcases of creative expression, and poster presentations. Featured events were the sixth annual Bryant Economic Undergraduate Symposium, readings from Bryant Literary Review, a marketing plan competition, and two keynote addresses.

In her welcoming remarks, Vice President for Academic A, Dr. JoseMarie Griffiths stated, “Here at Bryant, we …want students to have hands-on opportunities to learn the skills of creating knowledge. Participating with faculty and other students on projects like those showcased at REDay is an integral experience to becoming an educated person. Careers in the 21st century demand far more than fluency with existing knowledge. Today and in the years to come, professionals will be required to know how to push at the borders of their disciplines to find new ways to do things and new things to do.”

The morning keynote was given by Jean Twenge, Ph.D., author of the book Generation Me: Why Today’s Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled – and More Miserable Than Ever Before. Her research explores generational differences related to self-esteem, individualism, anxiety, and sexuality, and has been featured on The Today Show and Dateline NBC.

2

A season of firsts…that’s a good way to describe the spring season for two of Bryant’s athletic teams in the school’s first year of Division I playoff eligibility.

Mariah Burgess Class of 2014 • Marketing & Spanish Hometown: Urbana, Illinois

Before coming to Bryant, Mariah Burgess played volleyball for seven years, an experience she credits with teaching her time management, teamwork, and the knowledge that people from very different backgrounds can work together well. As part of the Bryant volleyball team for her first two years, she honed those skills learning to adhere to timelines in order to get things done and realizing that, on a team, everyone has their strengths.

At the end of her sophomore year, deciding she wanted to focus more on school work and become involved in more clubs and organizations, Mariah left the team. She joined Pi Sigma Epsilon, a business fraternity and expanded her role as a Student Ambassador by joining the Admission Events Office student-employee staff. She became a member of the executive board for the Bryant University Spanish Cultural Organization (BUSCO) and started spending more time in the Amica Center for Career Education to learn what she needed to guide the remainder of her time at Bryant and identify and pursue career opportunities.

Research and Engagement Day In the afternoon, alumnus F. Kurt Last ’78, president of Specialty Operations Solutions Inc., presented a keynote entitled “How a practical Bryant education prepares students to do well and to do good.”

Last founded SOS, a leading supplier of research and laboratory services, in 1997.

Of the various student/faculty presentations, several spanned multiple sessions:  Current Trends and Future Directions in Supply Chain Manage-

ment  US Women, World War II, and Letter Writing  Hurricane Sandy (examined the accounting, financial and tax impli-

cations for individuals, businesses and governments of the 2012 super-storm) Other sessions demonstrated the range of Bryant’s educational offerings:  Science and Faith: Friends or Foes?  Chinese Education System and Youth Culture  Creating Democracies and Understanding Legitimacy Around the

Globe  Music in Advertising  Bacterial Sugars Ain’t So Sweet: Proteins That Break Bacterial

Sugars, and How to Use Them

A Season of Firsts for Bryant Athletics

Through Bryant’s Linked through Leadership Program, she participated in the Learn & Lead Institutes and the Learn Weekend Experience. She met people outside Bryant’s student-athlete circle and gained insight into her personal leadership style, learning that letting others shine is true teamwork. This experience led to her to becoming an Orientation Leader during the summer of 2012. She describes this experience as a lot of fun, hard work, and long nights, but loves the new friendships she gained because she knew so many incoming students.

This past spring, Mariah spent a semester abroad in Barcelona, Spain where she got lots of practice speaking Spanish and gained confidence in her abilities. Rather than living with fellow students, Mariah chose to live with a local person – a woman with grown children and who speaks little English. To further enhance her language skills and to meet more local people, she had two language exchange partners with whom she met weekly. They spent half their time speaking in Spanish and the other half in English so both partners had a chance to improve their skills with a native speaker.

During her time abroad, two classes stood out for Mariah.

One was the Seven Wonders of Spain, an architecture class which took field trips to see sites most tourists would miss.

The other was the Great Art Collections of Spain during which she learned about the Spanish greats such as El Greco, Goya, and Velazquez. This class gave her exposure to Spanish masterpieces in Barcelona and more when visiting Madrid and other cities after the class ended.

Upon her return to the States, Mariah had just a few short weeks to prepare for her summer internship at The Hartford Financial Services Group in Hartford, CT where she will participate in the Operations Leadership Development Program supporting small commercial markets. Landing this internship felt like a big win to Mariah and she expects to gain valuable experience and possible future job opportunities.

We wish Mariah the best with her internship this summer and are looking forward to having her back to work in the Admission Events Office this fall.

Early in May, the men’s lacrosse team became the University’s first-ever team to win a berth in an NCAA Division I playoff tournament. The Northeast Conference champions travelled north to play top-seeded Syracuse (14-3). The Bulldogs created excitement in the famed Carrier Dome and across the ESPN viewing audience by jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the game’s first seven minutes. Junior Colin Dunster (Cos Cob CT) garnered the first goal within 10 seconds and the second 29 seconds later. Just five minutes later, senior captain Peter McMahon (Wilton CT) scored from a feed by Brian Schlansker (Glenville NY). NEC Rookie of the Year, Shane Morell (Glens Mills PA) gave Bryant its fourth unanswered point. Faceoff specialist, Kevin Massa (Huntington NY) broke two of his own records set earlier in the season going 22 for 23 at the X. However, as the game continued, the Bulldogs struggled with turnovers (18 to their opponents’ seven), failed to capitalize on possessions, and ultimately lost 12-7. (Syracuse went on to become the national runner-up at the tournament’s Memorial Day final, losing to Duke.)

The team finished the year with an 8-11 record after a rough 0-7 start and is now ranked No. 20 in the nation by the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. Their season included games against four other top-20 programs and they are the only Northeast Conference team on that list. In the 2013 season, the Bulldogs set alltime team records for games played (19), faceoff winning percentage (.728), saves (220), and saves per game (11.58).

Head coach Mike Pressler told LaxPower (laxpower.com), “Today is a time to reflect on our body of work, and the thing I am most proud of is where we were in March at 0-7, and where we are today – conference champions representing the NEC in the NCAA tournament. These guys have done so much so quickly – two conference championships in back-to-back years, a trip to the NCAA tournament, putting Syracuse on the ropes for three quarters – these are remarkable achievements that these guys will keep with them for the rest of their lives.”

“There are so many things to say about this week and this experience,” said head coach Mike Pressler to LaxPower (laxpower.com). “To see busloads of our students come all the way from Rhode Island and to watch our crowd go crazy for us when we came out of the tunnel was just incredible. What this day meant, not only for Bryant lacrosse but Bryant University, just can’t be put into words,” he continued.

Continued on Page 4...

3

Thank You for Your Help!

It’s summer! Time for us to pause, catch our breath, and thank all of our AAC members for their role in support of Bryant’s recruitment effort.

You carry Bryant’s message just by your presence in your communities – letting your personal stories be testimony to the value of a Bryant education. This is the essence of being an AAC member. In addition, many of you answer our call and actively give your time and energies. However you have contributed this past year, please accept the thanks of the Admission staff for expanding our reach wider than we could without you.

As we gear up to recruit the Class of 2018, these members attended college fairs this spring: David Crosby ’05 Stephanie Kirk ’10 Jim Magee ’88 Gabriella Rossi ’12

Sonali Shah ’12 Jay Weinberg ’85 Phil Weiss ’99

Ambassador Angle During the first weeks of April, as admitted students are struggling to make their final college decision before the May 1 universal reply date, we try to reach out to them with a personal touch. For our 2013 Phone Calling Campaign, these 11 members phoned students, offered their congratulations, and talked with them or (often) their parents: Jackie Ammirato ’12 Michael Boyd ’92 Lloyd Cahoon ’66 Christa (Berard) Cyr ’08 Jim Magee ’88 Mike Motschwiller ’88

Jennifer Proud Mearns ’82 Michael Rogers ’85 Dan Webb ’12 Bryan Wojtowicz ’08 Alan Zuckerman ’80

We appreciate everything you do. Thank you!

On April 24, the Bryant community paused, suspending classes and other activities, to celebrate and share its exciting academic and creative work. It was the third annual Research and Engagement Day (REDay) and includedmore than 100 presentations involving over 85 faculty and staff and more than 330 students.

The event included panels with papers, roundtable discussions, best practices sessions, showcases of creative expression, and poster presentations. Featured events were the sixth annual Bryant Economic Undergraduate Symposium, readings from Bryant Literary Review, a marketing plan competition, and two keynote addresses.

In her welcoming remarks, Vice President for Academic A, Dr. JoseMarie Griffiths stated, “Here at Bryant, we …want students to have hands-on opportunities to learn the skills of creating knowledge. Participating with faculty and other students on projects like those showcased at REDay is an integral experience to becoming an educated person. Careers in the 21st century demand far more than fluency with existing knowledge. Today and in the years to come, professionals will be required to know how to push at the borders of their disciplines to find new ways to do things and new things to do.”

The morning keynote was given by Jean Twenge, Ph.D., author of the book Generation Me: Why Today’s Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled – and More Miserable Than Ever Before. Her research explores generational differences related to self-esteem, individualism, anxiety, and sexuality, and has been featured on The Today Show and Dateline NBC.

2

A season of firsts…that’s a good way to describe the spring season for two of Bryant’s athletic teams in the school’s first year of Division I playoff eligibility.

Mariah Burgess Class of 2014 • Marketing & Spanish Hometown: Urbana, Illinois

Before coming to Bryant, Mariah Burgess played volleyball for seven years, an experience she credits with teaching her time management, teamwork, and the knowledge that people from very different backgrounds can work together well. As part of the Bryant volleyball team for her first two years, she honed those skills learning to adhere to timelines in order to get things done and realizing that, on a team, everyone has their strengths.

At the end of her sophomore year, deciding she wanted to focus more on school work and become involved in more clubs and organizations, Mariah left the team. She joined Pi Sigma Epsilon, a business fraternity and expanded her role as a Student Ambassador by joining the Admission Events Office student-employee staff. She became a member of the executive board for the Bryant University Spanish Cultural Organization (BUSCO) and started spending more time in the Amica Center for Career Education to learn what she needed to guide the remainder of her time at Bryant and identify and pursue career opportunities.

Research and Engagement Day In the afternoon, alumnus F. Kurt Last ’78, president of Specialty Operations Solutions Inc., presented a keynote entitled “How a practical Bryant education prepares students to do well and to do good.”

Last founded SOS, a leading supplier of research and laboratory services, in 1997.

Of the various student/faculty presentations, several spanned multiple sessions:  Current Trends and Future Directions in Supply Chain Manage-

ment  US Women, World War II, and Letter Writing  Hurricane Sandy (examined the accounting, financial and tax impli-

cations for individuals, businesses and governments of the 2012 super-storm) Other sessions demonstrated the range of Bryant’s educational offerings:  Science and Faith: Friends or Foes?  Chinese Education System and Youth Culture  Creating Democracies and Understanding Legitimacy Around the

Globe  Music in Advertising  Bacterial Sugars Ain’t So Sweet: Proteins That Break Bacterial

Sugars, and How to Use Them

A Season of Firsts for Bryant Athletics

Through Bryant’s Linked through Leadership Program, she participated in the Learn & Lead Institutes and the Learn Weekend Experience. She met people outside Bryant’s student-athlete circle and gained insight into her personal leadership style, learning that letting others shine is true teamwork. This experience led to her to becoming an Orientation Leader during the summer of 2012. She describes this experience as a lot of fun, hard work, and long nights, but loves the new friendships she gained because she knew so many incoming students.

This past spring, Mariah spent a semester abroad in Barcelona, Spain where she got lots of practice speaking Spanish and gained confidence in her abilities. Rather than living with fellow students, Mariah chose to live with a local person – a woman with grown children and who speaks little English. To further enhance her language skills and to meet more local people, she had two language exchange partners with whom she met weekly. They spent half their time speaking in Spanish and the other half in English so both partners had a chance to improve their skills with a native speaker.

During her time abroad, two classes stood out for Mariah.

One was the Seven Wonders of Spain, an architecture class which took field trips to see sites most tourists would miss.

The other was the Great Art Collections of Spain during which she learned about the Spanish greats such as El Greco, Goya, and Velazquez. This class gave her exposure to Spanish masterpieces in Barcelona and more when visiting Madrid and other cities after the class ended.

Upon her return to the States, Mariah had just a few short weeks to prepare for her summer internship at The Hartford Financial Services Group in Hartford, CT where she will participate in the Operations Leadership Development Program supporting small commercial markets. Landing this internship felt like a big win to Mariah and she expects to gain valuable experience and possible future job opportunities.

We wish Mariah the best with her internship this summer and are looking forward to having her back to work in the Admission Events Office this fall.

Early in May, the men’s lacrosse team became the University’s first-ever team to win a berth in an NCAA Division I playoff tournament. The Northeast Conference champions travelled north to play top-seeded Syracuse (14-3). The Bulldogs created excitement in the famed Carrier Dome and across the ESPN viewing audience by jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the game’s first seven minutes. Junior Colin Dunster (Cos Cob CT) garnered the first goal within 10 seconds and the second 29 seconds later. Just five minutes later, senior captain Peter McMahon (Wilton CT) scored from a feed by Brian Schlansker (Glenville NY). NEC Rookie of the Year, Shane Morell (Glens Mills PA) gave Bryant its fourth unanswered point. Faceoff specialist, Kevin Massa (Huntington NY) broke two of his own records set earlier in the season going 22 for 23 at the X. However, as the game continued, the Bulldogs struggled with turnovers (18 to their opponents’ seven), failed to capitalize on possessions, and ultimately lost 12-7. (Syracuse went on to become the national runner-up at the tournament’s Memorial Day final, losing to Duke.)

The team finished the year with an 8-11 record after a rough 0-7 start and is now ranked No. 20 in the nation by the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. Their season included games against four other top-20 programs and they are the only Northeast Conference team on that list. In the 2013 season, the Bulldogs set alltime team records for games played (19), faceoff winning percentage (.728), saves (220), and saves per game (11.58).

Head coach Mike Pressler told LaxPower (laxpower.com), “Today is a time to reflect on our body of work, and the thing I am most proud of is where we were in March at 0-7, and where we are today – conference champions representing the NEC in the NCAA tournament. These guys have done so much so quickly – two conference championships in back-to-back years, a trip to the NCAA tournament, putting Syracuse on the ropes for three quarters – these are remarkable achievements that these guys will keep with them for the rest of their lives.”

“There are so many things to say about this week and this experience,” said head coach Mike Pressler to LaxPower (laxpower.com). “To see busloads of our students come all the way from Rhode Island and to watch our crowd go crazy for us when we came out of the tunnel was just incredible. What this day meant, not only for Bryant lacrosse but Bryant University, just can’t be put into words,” he continued.

Continued on Page 4...

3

A Season of Firsts for Bryant Athletics

Remember!

Refer students and their families to our website:

admission.bryant.edu It’s an amazing source of information.

...continued from Page 3 Coincident with the lacrosse thrill, Bulldog baseball was creating its own spot in Bryant athletic history. In one of their most exciting seasons ever, the Bulldogs’ 45-18-1 tally set both school and Northeast Conference records. After winning the NEC Championship, the team learned they would be seeded third in the Manhattan Regional Tournament in Manhattan, Kansas, a four-team, double-elimination bracket.

In the opening round, the Bulldogs were matched with second-seeded Arkansas Razorbacks. The No. 2 ranked Hogs are the top pitching team in the country with a 1.87 team ERA, compared to Bryant’s 2.63 ERA which places the Bulldogs in the country’s top ten.

Pitcher Peter Kelich (Jackson NJ) allowed just three hits on the evening and struck out six, tying him for the program’s single-season strikeout record. Closer Salvatore Lisanti (Bronx NY) threw four hitless innings making it possible for senior Kevin Brown (Northborough MA) to break a 1-1 tie with an RBI single to score three runs for a final score of 4-1, giving Bryant University its first-ever Division I NCAA tournament victory.

The following evening, Bryant faced the top-seeded Kansas State at their home field and was defeated 7-1. In a rematch with the Razorbacks, the Bulldogs were eliminated with a score of 12-3.

The Bryant team is ranked No. 1 in the New England region, receiving seven out of eight first-place votes. In reflection, head coach Steve Owens said, “It was a great season and I am very proud of them. When we look back on this, it’s going to be an amazing accomplishment.”

Alumni-Admission Connection

The Character of Success Bryant University Office of Admission 1150 Douglas Pike Smithfield RI 02917 Phone: 401-232-6100 Toll Free: 800-622-7001 admission@bryant.edu admission.bryant.edu

The Bryant Connection is published three times a year by Judy Famiglietti for the Alumni-Admission Connection members of Bryant University. Send comments on this newsletter or Alumni-Admission Connection activity to Rebecca Eriksen, Senior Assistant Director for Events and Volunteers, Bryant University Office of Admission, 1150 Douglas Pike, Smithfield, RI 02917, 401-232-6957, 800-622-7001, or reriksen@bryant.edu.

4

In various interviews, players from both teams have indicated these games fulfilled longheld goals for post-season play. Senior lacrosse co-captain Ben Sternberg (North Kingstown RI) put it simply, “We’ve waited for this moment not just this entire season, but our entire careers.”

“This,” said Kevin Brown, “is the best team I’ve ever been on. When we came here as freshmen, it was on our minds that we could be the first Bryant baseball team to play in the NCAA tournament. To have that goal come true is an unbelievable feeling.”

Note: This article was prepared with help from the Bryant University Athletics Department, Jim Donaldson and the Providence Journal, and LaxPower (laxpower.com).

AS WE GO TO PRESS… We have just received notice that three seniors from the baseball team were selected in the annual Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. Kevin Brown was selected in the 22nd round by the Chicago Cubs, Joseph Michaud (Milford CT) was selected in the 33rd round by the Oakland Athletics, and Peter Kelich was selected in the 38th round by the San Diego Padres. Check out milb.com to follow their careers.

A Newsletter for Members of the Alumni-Admission Connection

Volume 13, Issue 2, Summer 2013

Summer Renewal With summer come all kinds of wonderful pleasures! OK…AAC membership renewal is not at the top of everyone’s list, but please take a moment to review and update your information.

If you receive a hard copy of the AAC newsletter, the envelope will also contain your 2013-2014 Membership Renewal Form.

Please take a moment to tell us whether or not you wish to renew. If you do, please review your information and make any needed changes. Then return the form to us in the postage-paid envelope provided.

If you receive the newsletter electronically, you will have received an email with two URL codes – one for the newsletter and another for the form. Follow these steps:  Click on the URL to open the Renewal Form.  Save the document, using your name in the filename.  Complete your information and click on the SUBMIT

button at the bottom of the form. We will receive it via email – automatically.

If you are unable to renew, please check off the appropriate box and return the form. Of course, we are not offended if you don’t feel you can renew; we understand that people’s lives and priorities change.

The deadline for renewal is July 12. Please let us hear from you by then. All renewing members will receive the updated AAC manual and directory along with their fall newsletter.

Have a story? Share it!

Do you have a personal story of an encounter that motivated a young person to take a closer look at Bryant?...or maybe even attend?

We’d love to hear about it.

Please email reriksen@bryant.edu to share it.

We will include some of the best in future newsletters.

Historian: You are the Future At Bryant’s 150th Commencement on May 18, historian Jon Meacham acknowledged the unique value of the Bryant education. “As an institution devoted to both the study of business and to the fundamentals of liberal education, you enviably occupy the nexus of commerce and culture, two great forces that far from being incompatible make one another possible.”

He charged the 729 graduates to assume their role in the future: “I believe that the actions of individual men and women doing what they can amid what George Elliot called the dim lights and tangled circumstances of the world determine our course.

Impersonal forces – economics, demography, weather – can in fact lead to historical outcomes and they are vital. But in the end, I hold that it is individual human actions - particular human beings acting according to the forces that confront them in real time - that are… the determinative forces in the affairs of the world. That means you are the determinant force in the affairs of the world. You can’t duck it, you can’t hide from it. The challenge is now yours; the responsibility is now yours.”

And, in spite of claiming a distaste for giving advice, he charged them to use their lives to improve society’s trajectory. “Political liberty and economic liberty are intertwined and without the pursuit of property there can be no sustained pursuit of happiness. History tells us that a principled and honest system of free enterprise is at the heart of the American experiment…. [I] hope fervently that you recognize money as a means [rather than an end] and that you will marshal the wealth that you create to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to care for the sick, to house the homeless, to educate the poor. If you do, you will be called blessed. If you do not, well, God help you because He will be the only one who might. …A life well lived is judged not by the bottom line but by the big picture.”

Meacham was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his biography of Andrew Jackson, American Lion. He is also author of Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power, the critically acclaimed The New York Times bestseller, Franklin and Winston, and American Gospel. Meacham serves as executive editor and executive vice president of Random House, and is a contributing editor to Time magazine, a former editor of Newsweek, and has written for The New York Times, and The Washington Post, among others. He is a Fellow of the Society of American Historians and serves on the boards of the New York Historical Society, the Churchill Centre, and the McCallie School. Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, he was educated at McCallie and the University of the South. Bryant recognized Meacham with an honorary doctor of humane letters degree.