Behind Brick Walls and Razor Wire - Winter 2009

THE MAGAZINE OF SAINT ANSELM COLLEGE

Wi n t e r 2 0 0 9

Behind Brick Walls and Razor Wire Prison Warden Richard Gerry ’76 Keeps His Game Face On

Also: Swimming with Penguins Artistic Icon Maine Connections

Winter 2009

Volume 50

No. 1

Features 14 Under the Razor Wire Dick Gerry ’76 is warden of New Hampshire’s largest prison, supervising inmates from minimum security to death row.

By Anne Botteri

20 Swimming with Penguins Biology professor Lori LaPlante is a field researcher, SCUBA diver, and yogi.

By Bob Lindquist

24 Artistic Icon

Sylvia Nicolas, creator of the college’s landmark statues, has left a permanent mark on Saint Anselm College.

By Laurie Morrissey

32 The Maine Connection

Jeanine O’Brien ’92 keeps Maine alumni in touch with

the college, and each other, with programs and events.

By Bob Lindquist

35 On Shaky Ground

Cooperative Engineering grad Jason McCormick ’00 hopes his work will save lives and property when an earthquake strikes.

By Laurie Morrissey

Departments The Campus Report From the Abbey Focus on Faculty Sports Alumni News Class Notes In Memoriam

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On the Cover: Dave White, of Peterborough, N.H., entered New Hampshire’s “city within a city,” the New Hampshire State Prison for Men, to photograph Warden Richard Gerry.

Photographer Dick Shelton, also of Peterborough, spent the day inside the prison last August capturing the images that accompany the article on pages 14–19.

This Page: Psychology professor, cross country coach and distance running mentor Paul Finn, leads a group of students, staff and alumni on a Sunday morning marathon prep workout at Lake Massabesic in Manchester. Michelle Massmann ’06 (far left) is the assistant cross country coach.

Back cover photo by Gil Talbot.

weaving the fabric that is liberal arts

T he M aga z ine o f S aint A nselm C ollege

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Winter 2009 • Volume 50 • No. 1 Executive Editor

very four years,

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Anne Broderick Botteri ’82 Managing Editor

Bob Lindquist Associate Editor

Laurie Morrissey Campus News

Barbara LeBlanc Sports News

Ken Johnson Class Notes

Laurie Morrissey, Tricia Halliday Design

Cristina Boisvert, Sand Dollar Graphic Design Photography

Art Durity, Dick Shelton, Gil Talbot, Dave White Contributors

Melissa Dacey ’08, Lauren Weybrew ’08 Governing Board of the College & Officers of the Corporation

Right Rev. Matthew K. Leavy, O.S.B. Brother Isaac Murphy, O.S.B. Rev. Peter J. Guerin, O.S.B. Rev. Mark A. Cooper, O.S.B. ’71 Rev. Jerome Day, O.S.B. ’75 Rev. Jonathan DeFelice, O.S.B. ’69 Rev. John Fortin, O.S.B. ’71 Rev. William J. Sullivan, O.S.B. ’66 Bro. Andrew Thornton, O.S.B. Magazine Editorial Board

Katherine Durant ’98 Alumni Council Representative James F. Flanagan Vice President for College Advancement Dr. Landis Magnuson Faculty Representative Bro. Isaac Murphy, O.S.B. Governing Board Representative Paul Pronovost ’91 Alumni At-large Representative Dr. Elaine Rizzo Faculty Representative Michael Sheehan ’82 Board of Trustees Representative Brad Poznanski Vice President for College Marketing and Enrollment Management Tricia Guanci Therrien ’88 Assistant Vice President of Alumni Relations

and Advancement Programming

I have the opportunity to witness the impact that a presidential election has upon our students—and the impact our students have on our democratic society. Once again, I was proud to see the young citizens on our campus take part in what was, for most, a milestone: their first experience as a voter.

Each election can also be seen as a milestone for Saint Anselm College, as each student makes this small but decisive mark upon our nation.

At these times, I always ask myself if we have done all we could to prepare them for this opportunity; to ensure that they are well informed and have sought the truth with an open, independent mind. Have we encouraged them to develop the skills needed to accept, and even welcome, this personal responsibility?

By adhering to our longstanding liberal arts tradition, I believe we have gone a long way toward that end. Our required humanities program, “Portraits in Human Greatness,” demonstrates to every Saint Anselm College student how large an impact one person’s actions can have in the world.

In this issue of Portraits, you are introduced to Sylvia Nicolas, an honorary doctorate recipient whose artistic vision has an impact on everyone who spends time on our campus. You meet Lori LaPlante, a professor whose spirit of inquiry guides students in discovering the complexities of our natural world. And in our cover story, you have an unprecedented look into the daily life of an alumnus whose career brings him face-to-face with stark issues of justice, responsibility, and the value of life and freedom: Dick Gerry ’76, warden of the New Hampshire State Prison for Men. In whatever they choose to do in life, our students’ ability to understand themselves and their community, and to confront life’s most challenging questions honestly, is strengthened by their education in the liberal arts. History professor Beth Salerno put it this way in a recent blog posting: “The joy and value of the liberal arts is that you never know exactly what you will use—the future is not yet shaped. Having a broad base of shared knowledge gives you more to draw from as you try to apply the past in creative ways to solve future problems.”

Discovering those creative ways requires an appreciation of several kinds of knowledge—scientific, philosophical, theological, and artistic—which are reflected in the subjects of these articles. Sylvia Nicolas’ statue of Saint Anselm stands on a solid granite base. So the education of our students, whom we hope will imitate our patron, stands on the solid base of our Catholic liberal arts tradition. May it always be so!

Sincerely,

Visit the Web site at www.anselm.edu Portraits magazine is published three times a year for the alumni, college community, and friends of Saint Anselm College. The magazine is published by Saint Anselm College and produced by the Office of College Communications and Marketing. Opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the college, its administration, faculty, or (except for editorials) of the magazine. Materials meant for publication should be sent to Portraits Magazine, SAC Box 1737, Saint Anselm College, Manchester, NH 03102-1310, or via e-mail to magazine@ anselm.edu.

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Rev. Jonathan DeFelice, O.S.B. President

The Campus Report Suzanne Mellon Named Executive Vice President

Dave White

Artist’s conceptualization of fitness center.

F

ather Jonathan

DeFelice, O.S.B., has announced the appointment of Suzanne K. Mellon, Ph.D., as the college’s new executive vice president.

Dr. Mellon, formerly dean of the College of Health Professions and the McAuley School of Nursing at the University of Detroit Mercy, was selected from a pool of outstanding candidates following a national search. She assumed her duties Jan. 1.

Dr. Mellon brings stellar credentials as a scholar and administrator in higher education, and a demonstrated commitment to Catholic higher education, evidenced by her leadership and contributions for nearly two decades at the University of Detroit Mercy, a Catholic university in the Mercy and Jesuit tradition.

Dr. Mellon joined Mercy College of Detroit as an assistant professor of nursing in 1989 and became associate dean and chair of the McAuley School of Nursing in 1998. Her clinical specialization is in

psychiatric mental health nursing and family mental health. Her awards include the UDM President’s Award for Faculty Excellence, the first doctoral nursing student fellowship from the Helen Newberry Joy Foundation at Wayne State University, the Phenomenal Women’s Ashley Grey Legacy Award from Student Life at UDM, and most recently, the Symond Gottlieb Award for Outstanding Health Care Leadership from the Greater Detroit Area Health Council.

Dr. Mellon was named dean of the College of Health Professions in 2001.

Under her leadership, the college achieved growth in the number of students, faculty members and academic programs. In addition to leading these initiatives, Dr. Mellon continued to pursue her own research, recently completing a National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Nursing Research-funded study into family communication and decision-making regarding inherited cancer risk information with survivors and family members at risk of breast/ovarian cancer. She expects to continue her research while at Saint Anselm.

Dr. Mellon holds a BSN from the University of Michigan, a master of science in nursing from Ohio State University and a Ph.D. from Wayne State University. Dr. Mellon has been active in professional organizations and has served on several state-level advisory boards. She is an accreditation evaluator for the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and a consultant for the Ohio Board of Regents. She is involved in legislative advocacy for health profession and nursing education at the federal level.

College Prepares for Reaccreditation Saint Anselm College is in the final stages of seeking reaccreditation by The New England Association of Schools and Colleges Commission on Institutions of Higher Education.

NEASC, as the organization is known, is one of six accrediting bodies in the United States. It is responsible for assuring the quality of education provided by colleges and universities in the six New England states.

Saint Anselm was first accredited in 1941 and has renewed its NEASC affiliation every 10 years since. NEASC accreditation provides assurance to the Saint Anselm community, as well as to prospective students and their parents, that the college abides by its high standards of quality and is continually striving for excellence.

A committee of faculty, administrators and staff completed a college self-study, which covers the 11 areas of interest to NEASC, including mission and purpose, integrity, academics and faculty, library and other information resources, financial resources and governance. That self-study was prepared for a comprehensive evaluation, which will be conducted this spring by a team of peers, led by Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P., president of Providence College.

New Certificate Programs Saint Anselm students now can study for certificates in Web Design, Computational Physical Science (forensics) and Neuroscience. These new programs, which were introduced this academic year, bring the total of certificate programs to 21.

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Graduates Urged to Pursue Good

Bradley Poznanski is VP of Enrollment Management and Marketing

Award-winning journalist Helen Aguirre Ferré addressed 413 seniors during the college’s 115th commencement exercises on the college quad, urging them to face adversity without fear and to always look toward the truth.

In his address, Father Jonathan DeFelice, O.S.B., president of the college, quoted Pope Benedict XVI, saying that an education in faith nurtures the soul of a nation: “If you marginalize God and the truth, you cannot fulfill your obligation to nurture the soul of the nation.”

Father Jonathan presented Benjamin Prieur, summa cum laude nursing graduate, with the Student Award for Service and Citizenship. Nursing professor Kathleen Perrin won the faculty award of the Saint Anselm College Chapter of the American Association of University Professors. Business major Anthony Vercollone gave the student address. For pictures of the ceremony, go to www. anselm.edu/commencement08.

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Poznanski has been appointed vice president of enrollment management and college marketing and will oversee the college’s admission, financial aid and communications and marketing areas. He comes to the college from Southern New Hampshire University, where he worked for 16 years, and since 2003 served as vice president of enrollment management.

As director of admission Poznanski played a key role in New Hampshire College’s transition to Southern New Hampshire University in 2001.

Prior to joining Southern New Hampshire, he worked for six years as director of admission at Rivier College and played a key role in Rivier’s transition from a women’s college to a coeducational institution.

He is past president of the New England Association for College Admission Counseling; was the elected representative to the College Board’s radley

National Guidance and Admission Assembly Council; and is a trustee of Granite State Management and Resources (a non-profit organization affiliated with the New Hampshire Higher Education Assistance Foundation, NHHEAF).

Poznanski graduated from Springfield College, where he earned his B. S. in Health, Physical Education and Recreation. He holds an M.S. in Counseling from Rivier College.

He and his wife, Brenda, are the parents of Brian Poznanski, a sophomore politics major at Saint Anselm.

Talking About Quotes from speakers hosted by the college.

“I was a painfully shy person. In my high school class, when I was elected governor, everyone was surprised, not only me. I was not the most likely person to do this. I learned to speak, I learned confidence, by practice, by caring, by letting the issues pull me into the fray.”

Madeleine Kunin, former governor of Vermont, giving the keynote address at the National Education for Women Leadership New England Program.

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“The reason the European Union is important to you is that effectively the United States and the European Union are part of the same economy.

We are one economy. We’re 800 million people between us—300 million of you, 500 million of us.”

John Bruton, European Union Ambassador to the U.S.

Winter 2009

“Unless we have a first class, high-speed rail road system from Maine to Virginia, we will not be a world class megalopolis…. It’s one of these issues where the people are way ahead of the politicians.”

Former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, at a forum on rail transportation.

Dave White

The Campus Report

Art Durity

Gregg and Gardner Lead NHIOP’s Public Advisory Board

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.S. Sen. Judd Gregg and New Hampshire “I am profoundly grateful to Senator Secretary of State William Gardner Gregg and to Secretary Gardner for agreeare leading a new advisory board for the ing to lead the NHIOP Public Advisory New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Board, and to the highly accomplished inSaint Anselm College, dividuals who have commitannounced Fr. Jonathan “I am certain the ted to serve on this board,” DeFelice, O.S.B., college said Fr. Jonathan. “I am also institute will expand president. humbled by their support of The NHIOP Public our institute and its mission. its role as a leading Advisory Board held its “With the leadership of center for political first meeting in August this new board, our execuand civic thought, and comprises leaders tive director and the Saint in civic life, business, Anselm faculty, I am certain research and diapolitics and journalthe institute will expand its logue not only in New role as a leading center for ism. They will help the institute expand its Hampshire, but in the political and civic thought, role in the state and research and dialogue not nation, as well.” national dialogue about only in New Hampshire, but democracy, government in the nation, as well.” and the major issues facing our country.

Over the past year, Saint Anselm and Gregg is the board chair and Gardner the the NHIOP have hosted four presidential vice chair. primary debates, produced a poll on New Members will serve three-year terms Hampshire voter sentiment and sponand will advise Saint Anselm and the sored election-related panels. Candidates NHIOP on a wide range of topics related to have held campaign town meetings and programs, development, and the future of forums, and made major speeches from the institute. the institute.

Board Members U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg; N.H. Secretary of State William Gardner; Helen Aguirre Ferré, opinion page editor, Diario Las Américas; Kelly Ayotte, N.H. Attorney General; John Bridgeland, CEO, Civic Enterprises; Brad Card ’85, managing principal, Dutko Washington; Jim Demers, president, The Demers Group; Judy Fortin, medical reporter, CNN; Michael A. Heffron, president, Electronics & Integrated Solutions; Alyson Pitman Giles, president and CEO, CMC Healthcare System and Catholic Medical Center; Mark Halperin, editor, The Page, Time/ CNN Inc.; Steve Kaneb, vice president, Catamount Management Corporation and vice president, real estate, HP Hood, LLC; Fred Kfoury, CEO, Central Paper Company; J. Bonnie Newman, director, FairPoint Communications; Charles Pollard ’79, CEO, Omni Air International; Tom Raffio, CEO, Northeast Delta Dental; Tom Rath, founder, Rath, Young and Pignatelli; Cathleen Schmidt, president and CEO, Citizens Bank, NH; Steve Scully, political editor, C-SPAN; Bill Shaheen, director, Shaheen Gordon & Associates; Stephen Singer, president, Merchants Automotive Group; Barry F.X. Smith ’87, managing director, BlackRock Inc.; John Wilson, founder, GoffWilson P.A.

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The Campus Report

gil talbot

New Look at Old Money

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rchaeologists use pick axes, trowels and brushes to travel to the ancient past.

Last summer, chemist Mary Kate Donais helped speed up the journey with high technology.

Donais, associate professor of chemistry, brought a portable metal analyzer to Coriglia, Italy, where Saint Anselm classics professors and students have been

unearthing history layer by layer every summer for the past three years.

She was loaned the device, called the XRF, through a program run by its Woburn, Mass.-based producer, Innov-X Systems.

The XRF can determine the metal content of ancient coins, mortar, pipes and anything else found in the trenches, in less than a minute. That allows classics experts to quickly draw links among artifacts and gain new insights into the site they are digging.

A lot of history can be read through metals. Every mint and each time period had a different recipe for coins. “The Roman mint under Caesar would have had a different recipe for bronze than the London mint,” she said. “Before, they would have to take the material back to the laboratory at Saint Anselm to analyze.”

Artifacts are often too big to move to a lab, however, and others must, by law, remain in Italy. Moreover, common laboratory analysis is destructive. An ancient coin must be chopped and dissolved in acid before chemists can identify the metals, Donais said. It can take months to get

results. The XRF analyzes an artifact in seconds from a small sample of material.

Last summer was an especially productive one at the dig. The trenches offered up coins, Etruscan lettering and a key piece of evidence—the corner of a wall, which indicates that the site is older and more important than earlier believed, said David George, classics professor and chair.

He now thinks the site was an Etruscan religious sanctuary in continual and intensive use from the 8th century B.C. to the 4th or 5th century C.E. The XRF contributed to that understanding with quick data that led to suppositions about how walls were repaired and maintained over time, and how water works were developed.

“The XRF allowed us to ask questions that we couldn’t ask before,” said George.

“For instance, we could compare the pigment in our frescoes to the pigment in frescoes in other sites.”

There is still more to be learned from the XRF analyses. Bradley Duncan ’09, who operated the device in Italy, is analyzing the information as part of an honors project.

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LESSONS OF

“Liberty has two meanings,” says Latona. “There is political liberty and there is liberty of the mind; a curiosity, an excitement about learning for its own sake.”

One way this effort is supported is in a iberty—in all of its forms and meanings— new “Free Speech Movement,” in which is the topic of courses and programs students and faculty meet weekly at Davithroughout the college, thanks in part son Hall to chew over politics and current to a $191,000 federal grant. The funds events. Liberty is also evident in proposals support “Learning Liberty: Education in for team-taught, multidisciplinary courses Liberty and the Liberal Arts,” an initiative to be introduced next year, such as Social that college president Justice; Science, Fr. Jonathan DeFelice, “Liberty has two meanings,” Society and Human O.S.B., launched five says Latona. “There is politiLiberty; and Liberty years ago. cal liberty and there is liberty in the Contemporary Max Latona, asWorld. Also planned of the mind; a curiosity, an sociate professor of is a series of Saturphilosophy, and Peter excitement about learning for day civic education Josephson, associate its own sake.” workshops focusing on professor of politics, issues such as energy have helped lead the faculty’s developuse, city planning, and the environment. ment of ideas for the new programs and courses addressing this effort.

Liberty

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Your Online Alumni Community Haven’t logged into AlumNet yet?

What are you waiting for?

Connect. Network. Update.

Now! Don’t miss out.

www.anselmalumni.net

structure, tapping the expertise of a greenhouse manager at the University of Miami, Ohio, where he earned his doctorate.

The structure stands on the site of the old greenhouse, at the back of the Goulet Science Center, and is more than double its size.

As Berry was already stocking it with plants, he received a boost from Cory Morrill, an amateur botanist in Antrim, N.H. Moving to a smaller house, she needed a new home for some of her plants and donated 30–40 cacti, succulents and other desert-loving plants—many of them more than 30 years old—to Saint Anselm.

“The donation saved me a lot of work on stocking the greenhouse and saved the school a substantial amount of money,” Berry said.

The plants will support a variety of biology classes, allowing students to examine full-sized samples of specimens. In the past, students worked with small plants destined to join the compost pile, as well as pictures and microscope slides.

gil talbot

Botany Under Glass

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New Hampshire, but Saint Anselm will retain 650 square feet of summer weather all year long with the biology department’s new greenhouse.

Hibiscus, bananas, passionflower and cacti will flourish year round in the structure’s two sections—one for desert plants and the other with a fogging system that mimics a tropical environment. Electronic controls will automatically adjust shade cloths, vents and radiant heat emanating from the concrete floor to maintain proper temperatures.

Botanist Eric Berry, assistant professor of biology, took the lead in planning the inter is long and cold in

Nafisi Kicks off NHIOP Series

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r. Azar

Nafisi, scholar and best selling author of Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books kicked off the New Hampshire Institute of Politics’ 2008–2009 Distinguished Scholar Series Sept. 10. In “The Republic of the Imagination,” she talked about the ways literature transcends political barriers and shared her view that literature and imagination connect and change the world and that both are necessary for a vibrant culture.

Nafisi argues that imagination is not something you go to and then leave behind. “The imagination allows us to place ourselves in others’ experiences. Through the eyes of imagination we can see an alternative view.”

Nafisi is the director of the Dialogue Project at the Foreign Policy Institute of John Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. She teaches courses on the relationship between culture and politics and has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and The New Republic.

Funding for this event was provided by BAE Systems of Nashua, the Norwin S. and Elizabeth N. Bean Foundation, and the Distinguished Scholar Series at the NHIOP.

Once a Player...Always a Player

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he Anselmian Abbey Players marked their 60th season on Feb. 21, with an alumni review showcasing talent from the 1960s to the present. Directed by Mandy O’Neil ’06 and produced by Landis K. Magnuson, director of the Abbey Players, the show featured numbers from past performances including Pippin, Anything Goes, Godspell, Carousel and Little Mary

Sunshine. Alumnae Jen Coburn ’99, Mandy O’Neil ’06, and Liz McEvoy ’08 performed songs from Mamma Mia and The Full Monty as a tribute to former musical director Peter Bridges, who passed away in June 2006. Teddy Howland ’05 and Julie Byrne ’06 (left) emceed the show.

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Sarah Friberg ’11 and Jeffrey Schnick, assistant professor of physics and club advisor.

Swimming, Stargazing, and More

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60 clubs on campus, bringing together students interested in art, music, sports, politics, and more. Some are academic (History Society, Philosophy Club, La Societie Francaise).

Others are more athletic (volleyball, dance, rugby). Several are task-oriented (Rescue Team, Yearbook). Artsy ones include Jazz Band, Music Society, and Quatrain (literary magazine).

Besides allowing students to dabble in new interests, socialize, and forget about homework and tests, clubs play a role in enriching the campus experience for everyone, by sponsoring events, here are nearly

producing The Crier, and raising awareness of issues like recycling and multicultural issues.

One of the newest clubs added to the roster is the Physics Club, which began offering “star nights” last fall. President Sarah Friberg, who interned at the Boston Museum of Science Charles Hayden Planetarium, wheels the telescopes out of the Izart Observatory, and shares her knowledge of the night sky. Their plans include a rocket launching competition and (if they raise enough money), a laser show on the quad.

Little Loans, Big Benefits

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Anselm College business students are using capitalism and the Internet to help lift people out of poverty in the developing world.

Since last year, students have generated 180 micro-loans totaling more than $4,000 to small-scale entrepreneurs in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America. Students use viral marketing to encourage classmates, professors and family members to raise the number of loans to 300 by the end of the academic year.

The vehicle for lending is KIVA, a Web site that puts lenders of as little as $25 directly in touch with bakers, jewelry makers, farmers, shopkeepers and peanut butter producers around the world who need capital to grow their businesses. The loans are used to buy everything from bicycle parts to fertilizer and fishing nets. Loans are repaid in three to 28 months, and lenders have the option of making new loans with the returned money.

“I really believe in the transformational power of capitalism and the free market,” says Thomas Fitzpatrick, assistant professor of business and economics. “I believe that this, combined with democracy, is the future of the free world.”

Fitzpatrick gives that concept life in his international business management class. Students make direct foreign investments through the Web site, setting criteria for investment in the same way a multinational corporation would. The business student

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organization Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE), also adopted the idea as one of its projects and since last semester has held three symposia on micro-lending.

Fitzpatrick himself is attracted to people who are attempting to improve their life circumstances, such as a man in Tajikistan who is a refugee of ethnic civil war. He recently made seven new loans after the first seven he made were repaid.

One of the 34 loans he has made so far went to a 65-year-old Nigerian mother of nine who sells yams, another to a Cambodian couple hoping to Assistant professor transport passengers with a horse and cart.

Thomas Fitzpatrick is the SIFE Club advisor.

The Web site shows him a photo of each borrower, information on their plans, and even links to others who participate in that loan (a Dutch bookseller, or a Canadian doctor, for instance). He can view his entire portfolio, with a breakdown of the countries and businesses he has helped support.

“It’s such a beautiful use of technology that allows individuals to interact with each other over tens of thousands of miles and to be engaged with each other,” he says.

New Spaces in Old Places

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February opening of Saint Anselm College’s longawaited fitness center (below) was a milestone event, complete with a formal ribbon-cutting and a blessing by Fr. Augustine Kelly, O.S.B. The three-level, 9,000- square-foot facility on the south side of the Carr Center contains stateof-the-art equipment including 37 cardiovascular machines, 39 strength pieces, and approximately 7,000 pounds of weights. Joggers and weight lifters enjoy a view of Grappone Stadium through the center’s floor-to-ceiling glass panels. Students were eager to test out the new equipment, as were Fr. Anselm Smedile, O.S.B., Fr. Benet Phillips, O.S.B. and Fr. Matthias Durette, O.S.B. (right).

Joseph Hall, formerly the Sisters of Joan of Arc Convent, now houses faculty offices (history, education and economics and business) and seminar rooms (inset below), especially for humanities lectures, as well as space for the Peter J. Guerin O.S.B., Center for Teaching Excellence and the Richard L. Bready Chair in Ethics, Economics, and the Common Good. The Bloomberg Room, for use by students in economics courses taught by professors John Romps and Arthur Kenison, contains a computer tied into the Bloomberg network, through which students can experience a simulated trading experience. A television tuned to Bloomberg TV, and a real-time stock ticker, complement the space.

The fitness center addition and the convent renovation enhance both academic and residential life on campus. he

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Advancement News College Receives $350,000 Luce Foundation Grant

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Marie Curie or Jane Goodall could be a Saint Anselm graduate—especially in light of a grant recently awarded by the Clare Boothe Luce Program of the Henry Luce Foundation to support women in the sciences, math and engineering.

Funding from this $350,000 grant will provide full two-year scholarships—including tuition, room, board, and fees—for four outstanding Saint Anselm women majoring in accounting, biochemistry, chemistry, computer science,economics, engineering, environmental science, mathematics, natural science and physics. Four members of the Class of 2012 will be selected in their sophomore year to receive the scholarships for their junior and senior years.

Saint Anselm joins a prestigious list of colleges and universities to receive support from the Luce Program, including Columbia University and Johns Hopkins University.

Saint Anselm has long been a proponent of women faculty and students in the sciences and has several notable alumna in the sciences, including Judith Harrington ’84 and Lisa Zuraw ’82, he next

chemistry professors at the U.S. Naval Academy and the Citadel, respectively, as well as doctors, biologists, and pharmaceutical researchers. The college exceeds national averages in hiring and retaining female faculty in math and the sciences (37.5 percent) and in the percentage of female graduates in these majors (53 percent). Nearly one third of all female graduates in the relevant majors in the last 10 years have enrolled in graduate school upon completion of their bachelor’s degrees. This grant is recognition of that commitment, as well as testimony to the legacy of an extraordinary woman, Clare Boothe Luce.

Luce was a playwright, author, and journalist, congresswoman from Connecticut and U.S. Ambassador to Italy. She was instrumental in founding the Atomic Energy Commission; in 1981, President Reagan named her to his Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board.

She left most of her estate to The Henry Luce Foundation, established by her husband, co-founder and editor in chief of Time Inc. She dedicated her legacy to helping women in fields in which they are underrepresented.

Scholars Win Support of Philanthropists

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Saint Anselm students were happy to learn that their educational goals had been supported by generous friends they had never met: Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. Davison and Albert H. Gordon. The three philanthropists established funds that would not only reward motivated, high achieving students, but also represent a small but significant investment in the future.

The students who were selected to receive scholarships were nursing major Kristen McGoey ’09 and politics major Elissa Rauth ’08.

McGoey, from Danbury, Conn., received the Fr. Bernard Holmes, O.S.B., Award, which was established through the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. Davison in memory of Fr. Bernard. Mrs. Davison is a member of the college’s Board of Trustees, and the college’s main dining facility is named in honor of the couple. The Holmes Award is granted annually and provides full tuition and fees for the winner’s senior year.

McGoey exemplifies the values required of a Holmes Award winner through her major and her campus involvement. Recipients must participate in the life of the college and demonstrate concern for others, potential for leadership, and a love of learning.

A four-year Spring Break Alternative participant, she led this year’s trip to Honduras. She is a core team member of Campus Ministry, an orientation leader, and a member of the Student Nursing Association.

Elissa Rauth, of Scarborough, Maine, was awarded the 2008 Albert H. Gordon Research Fellowship, receiving a $2,500 stipend wo talented

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Kristen McGoey ’09

Elissa Rauth ’08

for her summer working at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College.

The awardee works at the Institute of Politics, completing research and writing assignments critical to the institute’s mission.

It is intended to enhance opportunties for admission to graduate and professional schools and provide work experience for careers in public policy and public affairs.

Rauth is fascinated by American history and government and interned in the office of U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe. She earned a certificate in public policy studies in addition to her degree in politics.

From the Abbey J

12 was a special day of celebration at Saint Anselm Abbey, commemorating 60 years of monastic profession for Bishop Joseph J. Gerry, O.S.B and Fr. Cecil J. Donahue, O.S.B, and 25 years of monastic profession for Fr. Patrick M. Sullivan, O.S.B., and Fr. Iain MacLellan, O.S.B. Bishop Joseph and Fr. Cecil are both now retired. Former abbot and chancellor of the college, Bishop Joseph was bishop of Portland for 15 years until 2004 after serving as auxiliary to the bishop of Manchester. He taught philosophy and humanities until 1986.

Prior to his retirement, Fr. Cecil was campus minister for many years, and director of maintenance.

Fr. Iain is director of the Chapel Art Center and Fr. Patrick is monastic infirmarian and a registered nurse.

The celebration included a Mass, where the jubilarians renewed their vows, followed by a reception that was attended by family and friends. uly

Monks Mark Milestones

(L-R) Bishop Joseph, Fr. Patrick, Abbott Matthew, Fr. Iain, Fr. Cecil.

Brother John Paul James–Saint Anselm Abbey’s Newest Monk

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ro. John

Paul James, of Concord, N.H., became a Benedictine of Saint Anselm Abbey when he took his temporary vows on July 11. He is a graduate of Concord High School and Southern New Hampshire University, where he majored in communication, and where his mother Paula works in the graduate school of business.

Bro. John Paul had his sights set on a career in the funeral business, an interest that developed from a summer high school job and became nearly a full time job while he was in college.

“I was even enrolled in funeral school (the Funeral Institute of New England) when I realized that it wasn’t for me,” he says.

“The funeral business is a vocation, it is a lifestyle,” he says. In some ways it isn’t so different than the monastic

Bro. John Paul with parents Douglas and Paula, and grandmother Cleo Robert.

life. It is rigorous and you have to devote your whole self to it. “But, unlike monastic life,” he says, “you deal only with death and tragedy.”

His desire to work with and help people, along with encouragement from Fr. Jerome and Fr. Mathias,

prompted Bro. John Paul to reevaluate his life’s path and consider the monastic life of a Benedictine monk.

In preparation for studies for the priesthood, he is taking philosophy and Latin courses at the college.

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Focus on Faculty Pablo Garcia Did you always want to teach?

When I graduated from high school, I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I thought, what better way to spend a year or two than learning a trade? I earned a certificate in bread baking in Mexico and one in Lyon, France.

But my prospects were bad as a French baker from Mexico. Why would anyone hire me when they could hire a French baker from France?

Are you satisfied with store-bought bread?

I appreciate good bread, but I’m not hard about it. I’m happy to have bread that fits in the toaster.

What led you to teaching?

I loved reading and I had the opportunity to teach literature after college. I thought teaching would be awesome, but I can’t do it in Mexico City. There’s too much light, too much pollution.

It’s never dark and it’s never quiet. I went to the University of Rhode Island for my master’s in Latin American literature, and Indiana University for my Ph.D. What is your specialty?

Colonial Latin American literature. My dissertation was on a 17th century historian who worked in New Spain, a territory that is now Mexico and the southwestern United States. I am also interested in Nahuatl, which was spoken by the Aztecs.

Is the language becoming extinct?

It’s holding its own. Nahuatl is spoken by one and a half million people, mostly in the central highlands.

How did you become interested in Tai Ji? I took up Tai Ji 20 years ago, and I haven’t stopped since. Let alone the whole martial arts self defense thing, I love the philosophy behind it. It’s about how the universe works, yin and yang, and working with the universe instead of against it like we usually do.

12 P o r t r a i t s Winter 2009

Is the practice of Tai Ji helpful in teaching a language?

What is Tai Ji not good for? It helps you go with the flow and be bendy as opposed to breaky; it helps you be flexible in any situation.

What don’t we understand about Mexico?

What you think of as Mexican food is kind of like Mexican food. Yes, there is rice, beans, and tortillas.

But the taco shell is just unheard of; tortillas are soft.

And we never had cumin in my house.

What aspect of Mexican culture would you love the U.S. to adopt?

The food—not the food itself, but food culture: sitting down to a meal that could last two hours and involves not only fulfilling the practical purpose but also what is called sobremesa. Literally, it means over table. It means enjoying the conversation and conviviality once the meal is done.

What aspect of U.S. culture do you most appreciate?

American pride, which can be aggressive and not good, can also be good.

The problems Mexico has—like corruption and a lack of productivity—have a little bit to do with lack of pride. Here, people believe in the institutions and are proud of them, which makes the institutions stronger.

As a Mexican professor, a French bread baker and a Tai Ji instructor, you have quite a combination of skills. What’s next?

I don’t know… Tai Ji is never ending.

Academically, there is promotion and tenure to prepare for. At home, fatherhood is a major enterprise. I plan to take a drawing class—I like to doodle.

I would like to improve my carpentry skills.

I would love one day to learn to play a musical instrument. Ultimately, I think you have to go with the flow and trust life—it has been good to me so far.

Assistant Professor of Spanish B.A., Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico M.A., University of Rhode Island Ph.D., Indiana University, Bloomington

dick shelton

Pablo Garcia of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures talks about good bread, yin and yang, and the mysterious taco shell.

Alex Witkowicz ’08

Learning to Lead

S

en.

Fr. Augustine Kelly, O.S.B., dean of the college, welcomed new faculty members.

Seated (L-R): Joel Hodge (theology), Tauna Sisco (sociology), Maureen Gaynor (nursing), Nirmala Menon (English). Standing (L-R): Lizabeth K. Auth ’86 (nursing), Lisa Michaud (computer science), Kevin Cherry (politics), Jonathan Acuff (politics), Cynthia Lucero(education), Adam Wenzel (psychology), Kelly LaLonde (economics and business), Matthew Konieczka ’01 (philosophy), Fr. Augustine, Carrie E. MacLeod ’83 (nursing).

Just Asking…

“Why Brazil’s economic development?”

dave white

Christine Kearney, Politics I’ve always been interested in the relationship between rich and poor states—why poor states are poor and rich states are rich, and why poor states can’t catch up.

Within that context, Brazil is interesting because it’s always in the middle. It’s an emerging power and it’s tended not to be too dependent on what rich states tell it to do. It tends to forge its own path. When

Latin American countries were adopting market reforms and privatizing their companies, I noticed Brazil wasn’t doing that. I wondered why, when this wave of market reform was sweeping the whole region.

It’s a humanitarian issue. More than half of the world’s population lives in poverty, while those in the rest of the world consume most of the resources, live healthy lives, and get to be personally fulfilled. The countries that appear to be changing the dynamic now, and have a certain amount of power, are Brazil, Russia, India and China.

Professors spend countless hours on research. It might be larval frogs, Brazilian politics, Boston’s Big Dig, or the “many and prolific uses of alcohol in the works of William Shakespeare.” What sparked their interest? Each issue of Portraits spotlights one faculty member’s research.

Hillary Clinton and Gov. Sarah Palin may have knocked deep cracks into the political glass ceiling this year, but women still are underrepresented at higher levels of government.

Elizabeth Ossoff, professor of psychology, and Jennifer Lucas, assistant professor of politics, are helping to address that deficit with National Education for Women (NEW) Leadership New England. In June, 13 female undergraduates from across New England participated in an intensive five-day residential program, learning about leadership from leading women in politics, journalism and government.

Former Vermont Gov. Madeleine Kunin kicked off the session with a lecture based on her book, Pearls, Politics and Power, in which she examines what it will take for women to assume a larger leadership role.

The program will be held each summer at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics. Last year’s participants learned such leadership skills as public speaking, persuasive writing and crafting a message.

“They also had the opportunity to meet women making a difference in their communities, including female journalists, lawyers, nonprofit and community advocates, legislators, judges, lobbyists, local and county officials, and even former governors, who shared their stories and offered encouraging examples of successful female political leadership,” Lucas said.

Ossoff said the students were awakened to what leadership could do for them. “After the program students reported seeing the importance of the political process and the value of their potential role in that process,” she said.

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Behind Brick Walls and Razor Wire Prison Warden Dick Gerry ’76 Keeps His Game Face on

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By Anne Botteri

Photography by Dick Shelton

T

he office has no windows. The walls are pale blue over oak paneling. No family photos, no knick-knacks, no awards. No evidence that the man sitting at the plain desk has a life outside these walls.

From a special entrance to the warden’s office, visitors walk up one flight of stairs to face an eight-foot-high set of bars. The officer in the security bubble on the other side buzzes the door open. Visitors to the warden’s office see none of the prison he oversees unless he takes them through another barred door and another loud buzz, the one he hears every time he ventures into the belly of what he calls “a city within a city.”

This is the city that Richard M. Gerry, a Saint Anselm College alumnus and criminal justice major, presides over as warden of the New Hampshire State Prison for Men in Concord, the largest of the state’s four prisons.

Visitors are reminded to surrender their car keys and other metal objects at the security bubble. “No cell phone, right? OK, this way,” he says.

It’s another short walk to the inside of Gerry’s razor wired city, one inhabited by 1,500 men accused and convicted of crimes ranging from theft to murder to sexual assault.

Inmates wear dark green pants and button down shirts, unless they are new arrivals, in which case they wear bright red. Men assigned to special housing units for disciplinary issues wear orange. Four hundred employees make up the rest of the population—but they, like the warden, leave this city behind to return to families, vacations, and free time that really is free.

To get inside this prison, one has to travel outside first, down a metal staircase resembling a fire escape and into a huge asphalt yard. This is where men move between housing units and job assignments, meals and trips to classes, counselors, the canteen or visiting room. On a hot July day at 9 a.m., the yard contains a solitary inmate, weed-whacking a patch of grass. The smell of fresh tar mixes with humid air as a construction crew labors to patch the roof on one of several mismatched buildings that form the periphery of the compound. Armed officers pace back and forth in the watch tower above, which juts out of a red brick wall scheduled for demolition.

The warden stands in the yard with quiet and stoic confidence, eager to describe what the work crews are doing, what it will cost and what’s involved in bringing outside contractors into his prison. Gerry is unarmed and unfazed as inmates walk past him. A man in a wheelchair rolls slowly back to his housing unit.

“He’s been here a long time. Life sentence,” the warden observes.

In a maximum security unit across the compound sits an inmate whose sentence was not life, but death. The first person sentenced to death in New Hampshire in 50 years, a 28-year-old Manchester man convicted of killing a police officer, is under Dick Gerry’s supervision now.

The Way to the Warden’s Seat In a sea of blue uniforms that officers wear and street clothes worn by counselors and medical personnel, Gerry is the lone guy wearing a suit, but it wasn’t always that way.

He began his career in a uniform too, the one he wore as a New Hampshire state trooper after graduating from Saint Anselm. He notes with the ever-present calm demeanor that he knew about hard work long before he got to college.

Born and raised in the coastal Massachusetts town of Scituate, Gerry worked on a lobster boat called The Michelle and cut metal in a steel factory. He attended public schools and wondered whether he’d fit in at a Catholic college.

“I figured the other kids would have the religion thing down a bit better than me,” he says—a rare personal confession from a man who’d rather talk about anything than himself. Asked to recall courses that stood out for him, he ponders a moment and says he has fond memories of Fr. Peter Guerin’s course in the sacraments. He also remembers a course taught by Phil Stanley, who was at the time New Hampshire’s Commissioner of Corrections.

“When I was sitting in that classroom, I never thought I’d wind up sitting in this chair,” Gerry says, adding, “People don’t set out to become prison wardens.”

Gerry remembers vividly the first time he rode alone in a cruiser. It’s one thing to go through the training, he says, “but when you are out there by yourself for the first time, that’s when it sinks in.” He also recalls an early incident that landed him on a train in New York’s Penn Station apprehending a drug dealer who had left New Hampshire.

The prison in Concord is not Gerry’s first gig as warden. He was warden at the New Hampshire State Prison for Women in Goffstown from 2001-2007.

He doesn’t hesitate to note that there are differences in female inmates, “a whole other set of health issues and

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The New Hampshire Prison for Men is the state’s oldest prison facility and the only one that houses maximum security male prisoners in its special housing unit (SHU). The symmetrical design of the SHU provides guards with clear sight lines of all the wings from the control center. Inmates remain in their cells 23 hours a day.

problems there.” A sergeant at the women’s prison, Michelle Goings, talks with reverence about her former boss: “I worship the guy. He is as smart and fair as it gets.” Gerry’s successor at the women’s prison, Joanne Fortier, refers to her colleague as a mentor and friend: “I call him all the time, whenever I have a question or need advice. I trust him completely. Everyone does.”

Gerry also worked as a special investigator for the New Hampshire attorney general and served as chief of security at the men’s prison. He has been chased by dogs and convicts, but it’s hard to imagine anything ruffling the man who notes that most police officers would prefer never to set foot inside a prison. He wishes more of them could see what he sees behind the walls.

In the Shadow of the Razor Wire In Gerry’s city within a city, 5,000 meals are served daily.

Lunch begins at 10:15 a.m., and occurs in 20-minute shifts.

Besides cells and housing units, the prison grounds include a hospital, dental clinic, weight room, library, chapel, furniture making shop, metal shop, small engine repair shop, classrooms, a retail store, and visiting room. Men pass through the yard and up and down outdoor metal stairways on their way to classes, Bible study, meals and play practice 16

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for the prison’s upcoming performance of Macbeth. They go to jobs making license plates, upholstering furniture or cutting up carrots. They go to parole hearings and medical appointments, the law library or the weight room. They head to the canteen to pick up their weekly orders of shampoo, shaving cream, and Ramen noodles. Even though it costs New Hampshire taxpayers almost $20,000 per year to keep a man incarcerated, the state does not provide toiletries or toothpaste.

Every man here knows who Dick Gerry is, and every man takes notice when he enters a housing unit or any place in the prison. The warden stops to talk to inmates and staff, affording respect to both. He doesn’t frown, but he doesn’t smile much either. It’s “Good morning Sir,” or “Good afternoon, Warden.” Some men angle for a chance to see if he might respond to the request they sent him for a meeting, but when they do, his hand goes up quickly, like an umpire calling time out: “Not now, Mr. Brown. Not now.” He explains, “It’s as much for their protection as me not wanting to deal with it…We need to try to get questions and issues resolved via the chain of command before they come to me.

Bypassing that system is not good for them or for me.”

In the visiting room, a pony-tailed man in sunglasses looks up from his Scrabble game. “Good morning,

Warden.” The inmate is pleased with today’s game, having just added “northern” and “utopia’ to his repertoire. “Good for you,” Gerry says. “Enjoy your visit.” Every inmate is addressed by last name: “Good morning Mr. Brown.” “How’s it going today, Mr. Lambert?” But Dick Gerry doesn’t linger in conversation with any inmate.

Newly convicted men and those being returned for parole and other violations arrive at the prison in sheriffs’ vehicles or state vans. They are placed in a large holding cell, one built a century ago, where they wait until being processed and categorized with questionnaires that assess their mental and physical health, and known gang affiliations.

Housing assignment number one is always the prison’s oldest cell block where traditional barred cells are opened with large metal keys. On a July afternoon, temperatures in this building climb well into the 90s and with no breeze, the smell of sweat and urine make breathing difficult.

Outside of North, one of two housing units that resemble a battered three-story hotel from a WWII movie, inmates linger on railed balconies. A neat walkway is lined by hydrangea bushes planted by inmates. The flowers and the fragrance seem out of place, as does the sight of an inmate training a large poodle (destined to become a helper to someone with special needs). The right to have and train a poodle is a privilege in North and South, as is the right to live where basketball hoops mounted on high cement walls under the razor wire provide a release on warmer days.

The living is not so good in the special housing unit (SHU), where stark hallways are arranged in a Starship Enterprise sort of arrangement: the cells can be seen, but not the men who live within them. This part of the prison, despite its many occupants, is eerily quiet. The thick metal doors resemble those of bank vaults, with a tiny slot where meals can be passed in or where occupants are requested to back up to doors and put their hands out to be handcuffed before transport to some other place in the prison.

The men who live in the SHU never walk in the asphalt yard. In the one hour each day they spend outside their cells, they exercise in a glass enclosed room or an enclosure on the roof. It is a place where no inmate wants to live and where an hour outside your cell might be spent walking back and forth alone on your hallway or in a small rooftop cage where the only thing you can see is a cement wall on the other side of the wire. Five minutes after Gerry arrives here, he knows word is out that he is in the building.

Leg shackles are among the numerous historical items displayed in a conference room adjacent to Gerry’s office.

2.3 million people are incarcerated in the U.S. More than half are unconvicted, awaiting trial.

Since 1980, the U.S. prison population has quadrupled.

The U.S. prison population rose by more than 25,000 in 2007.

From the Pew Charitable Trust report: “One in 100: Behind Bars in America 2008.”

The Duties of Office The warden’s day starts with a staff meeting in the conference room next to his office, where personnel from the offices of security, human resources, medical and other units review the preceding day. Two inmates were put on suicide watch. Two fights occurred in Hancock. An inmate’s wife was arrested for attempting to smuggle drugs during a scheduled visit. Gerry notes the arrest was handled well:

Inmates of the New Hampshire State Prison have been making license plates since 1932. Samples of all the types of plates produced adorn the walls of the metal shop.

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Slots in doors are used to put handcuffs on inmates before they leave their cells and for meal delivery.

“She never made it into the visiting room. We had information that it was coming. We were prepared.”

He spends a good chunk of his day slicing already sliced budgets. Every equipment request, from helmets and vests to fax machines or pagers, must be approved. “Safety trumps everything else,” he notes, but there’s a hint of frustration on his face and in his voice as he acknowledges a new round of budget cuts requested by a commissioner and a legislature looking at every dollar.

“If the conditions for an inmate’s parole require that he complete certain substance abuse programs, but there’s a wait to get into those programs due to space and funding for the program, well…” Gerry doesn’t need to finish the sentence. “They just keep coming. We can’t turn them away and sometimes we can’t get them out of here.” In a crowded pod on Hancock, 80 sex offenders are housed together and the wait for required programming often extends beyond an inmate’s minimum sentence. With or without sufficient space or equipment, the warden is never allowed turn away the newly convicted.

“They just keep coming.

We can’t turn them away and sometimes we can’t get them out of here.”

Instead he converts recreational spaces into crowded dormitories, knowing all

the while that the increase in the inmate population will not be accompanied by an increase in staff.

Gerry knows justice means different things to different people, and as warden, he serves them all. He deals with those differences on a daily basis. A victim’s family wants to 18

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know if the conditions are severe enough. Citizen groups want to know if conditions are humane enough. At a meeting with inmates, the subject of justice turns to simpler matters like whether more fresh fruit might be made available and whether or not a penniless parolee has a right to “gate money”on the day of his release.

“From the public’s perception, it’s about safety and punishing people,” Gerry says. “From the Department of Corrections’ perspective, it’s about being firm, fair and consistent, and doing more with less.” For Gerry, the pressures and the demands are simply part of the job—which he tries to leave behind him at the end of a long day.

Wardens don’t mix their home and work lives, but Gerry smiles when talking about his three sons and his wife Karen ’76, a nurse he met at Saint Anselm. But Karen has never been inside the prison walls, and when Gerry gets home, he’d rather

mow his lawn and tend his tomatoes than talk about his day, even when the day includes meetings with New Hampshire’s attorney general about what to do if a pending capital murder conviction results in a death sentence.

After weeding his garden and mowing his lawn one evening, Gerry headed back to prison in khakis and a wind breaker to attend the dress rehearsal for “Macbeth.” In a sparse audience of officers and the directors’ family members, Gerry keeps his game face on, but applauds as the all male cast of thespians, including more than one convicted murderer, deliver their well rehearsed lines exploring the themes of violence and the moral stain of bloodshed. When the play is over, the warden lingers outside his prison in the darkness, under a solitary streetlight. He contemplates the connections between Shakespeare’s tragedies and the real life tragedies he sees every day. P

Gerry supervises a staff of more than 400, both correction officers and non-uniformed staff. Above right: Creative expression and art by inmates is found throughout the prison.

Life or Death Michael “Stix” Addison shot and killed Manchester police officer Michael Briggs in 2006 in an attempt to avoid arrest.

Addison dominated the news in New Hampshire and beyond after his crime; during his three-month trial last fall; and during the jury’s 28-day deliberation on his sentence in December.

On December 1 and 2, Warden Gerry testified as to the inmate’s behavior and his prison housing arrangements. He also discussed what could be expected should Addison receive a sentence of life in prison: he would be transferred to a maximum security section where he would be in his cell 23 hours a day with minimum privileges. Within 18 months or two years, he could be eligible for life in medium security, where he would have opportunities to move about the prison, receive visitors and receive vocational training.

As the jury’s sentencing deliberation wore on, the citizens of New Hampshire waited, debated, and blogged about the moral issues involved in taking a life for a life. On December 19, Dick Gerry woke up to a bumper sticker-sized, one word headline—“DEATH”—in New Hampshire’s largest daily newspaper.

There is no death chamber in the New Hampshire State Prison for Men, even though the death penalty is still on the books and that is where Addison’s execution will take place if his appeals fail. The last execution here was a hanging in 1939, but the primary form of execution is lethal injection.

The sentence stirred up the capital punishment debate: as the legislature considered three death penalty bills, that attracted large crowds to the hearings. At the conclusion of what is anticipated to be a lengthy appeals process, the warden of the men’s prison will assume responsibility for the final outcome of this case. It is a responsibility Gerry accepted when he was sworn in on July 12, 2007. As for what this practicing Catholic and former state trooper thinks about the death penalty for a cop killer, the warden’s game face goes into lockdown. His expression says it all: don’t ask me because I won’t answer.

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Swimming with Penguins Professor Lori LaPlante shares her research passion with students

LaPlante is living a childhood dream— studying the ocean and its life, while teaching and sharing her passion with students eager to learn.

By Bob Lindquist

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Hosaka LaPlante describes herself as a typical beach bum. The Pacific Ocean was her playground and she spent as much time as she could in it or near it doing all those things that have come to define Southern Californians: swimming, surfing, SCUBA diving, kayaking, and exploring the tidal pools and underwater life.

Her love for the ocean and its abundance of living things would direct her education and her career, but first she had to save enough money to pay for college. A part-time high school job with an environmental consulting company turned into a full time accounting position that enabled her to buy a house and make enough money selling it to cover her tuition at nearby California State University at Long Beach. She earned her bachelor’s degree in marine biology and continued on to the University of Connecticut and a Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology. She joined the Saint Anselm College biology department in 2005, and while New Hampshire is much different than southern California, LaPlante is living a childhood dream—studying the ocean and its life, while teaching and sharing her passion with students eager to learn. She teaches evolutionary biology, biostatistics, vertebrate zoology, biosphere at risk, general biology, directed research, a field studies in tropical biology course she introduced two years ago with botanist Eric Berry, and a new course this year, animal behavior.

Coral reefs and tropical fish, harbor seals and redbacked salamanders have all fallen under LaPlante’s reori

search scope. As a field biologist, she conducts her research in the wild, observing animals in their natural environment, collecting data, recording her observations and testing hypotheses. Her research has taken her all over the world, to many exotic and not-so-exotic places—from Long Island Sound to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef; the Isles of Shoals to the Galapagos Islands; the woods and fields of New Hampshire to the reefs and rain forest of Belize—warm climates, cold climates and those in between.

“That’s what’s so great about being a field biologist,” she says. “You have to go to where the animals are.”

The past two summers, she has been conducting research 10 miles off the N.H./Maine coast at the Shoals Marine Laboratory on Appledore Island, the largest of the Isles of Shoals, studying the behavior of harbor and gray seals.

Through the Research Experience for Undergraduates program there, she was working with a student observing and recording the behaviors of the seals on nearby Duck Island. Specifically they were looking at when and why the seals hauled out—moved out of the water onto the land to rest, nurse the young, and warm up—and if and how this behavior was influenced by human activity and boat traffic.

What would be the impact on the seals if they flushed— prompted to return to the water—before they were warmed up and rested?

As the local seal expert, in addition to her own research, LaPlante taught at the lab and frequently acted as tour

“That’s what’s so good about being a field biologist, you have to go where the animals are.”

bob lindquist

L

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h Biosphere at Risk c a e t and to guide to the many children e v behavior, record o sho who observed the seals during science field their observations and I ltrips to the w students island during the summer. identify the fish or animals they

Three years ago, LaPlante and fellow biology professor Eric Berry developed a 10-day field studies course in Belize to conduct research in a tropical environment. LaPlante covers the marine biology side, and Berry the plants and rainforest. This small Central American country is a good location for this kind of course, says LaPlante. It has a complex and diverse tropical biological environment with coral reefs, mountains and rain forests.

The goal of the course is to introduce students to methods of field research. Taking advantage of the diverse environment, the course is divided into two parts: four days in the rainforest at Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary and Cockscomb Jaguar Reserve, followed by five days on the coral reef at Tobacco Caye. This past year nine students left campus shortly after commencement and returned in early June. Prior to the trip the students spent four days of classes on campus in preparation. They collected local data for comparison, practiced and became familiar with data collection techniques, and learned as much as they could about Belize—its environment, geography and culture.

The work is done at research stations under the watchful eye of a local researcher and guide and the students learn to collect data using a variety of methods. They observe 22

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see.

The students were surprised by the size of the reef and the multitude of colors. In the rainforest they were amazed by the size of the trees, many with buttress roots so big the students could sit or lie down on them.

More than the research, the trip is a valuable learning experience for the students, says LaPlante. In addition to their studies, they get to experience the local environment and culture.

“I really like this course,” says LaPlante. “I see research in a fresh context—through the eyes of the students. You forget how hard it is to collect data and write notes underwater.”

Last fall LaPlante introduced a new animal behavior course. While the animal species of New England may not be as exotic as those of Belize, LaPlante has developed a relationship with the Stone Zoo in Stoneham, Mass., and created research opportunities at the zoo for the class.

Several times during the semester, LaPlante drove the eight students in her class to the zoo where they conducted their own research. Each student selected a different animal, conducted background research, created a hypothesis to test, and defined behaviors to observe and measure. The

LaPlante is eager to point out discovery opportunities. Elissa Polski, Justin Howard and Julia LaGraves (above) take forest measurements during the inland segment of the Belize trip.

The class (above right) creates a transect line on the beach and observe and record Belize’s inner tidal diversity (right).

Making notes underwater is a challenge as Emily Howard can attest. (opposite page)

ke a difference a m in gl an c s observations were recorded and “My favorite place to dive obal p l a r oc idu analyzed. The students’ research v is still Southern California,” she i d ess in included the behavior of mother/daughter says. “I try to get back there as often as I w es ho pairs of llamas, the aggressive behavior of adult can.” She is also an avid skier, plays in a competi. flamingos toward unrelated juveniles introduced into their group, the sentry behavior of meerkats, and the mating and courting behavior of a pair of hyacinth macaws.

Soleil Bacque ’09, did her directed research at the zoo.

She observed and recorded brown bear behavior and measured the level of stress, exhibited by pacing, when differing types of toys are introduced into the habitat. The results of her research will be helpful for Stone Zoo biologists as they try to make the bears’ stay more comfortable. The bears are usually there temporarily awaiting release back into the wild.

Back on campus, three of LaPlante’s directed research students studied red backed salamanders and climate change. In a lab setting, they observed and measured various behavior changes—mating patterns and signals, and other habits—based on temperature differences. Little did LaPlante know at the start of the semester when she and her students were scouring the local forests for salamanders, one of the biggest challenges of the course would be keeping up with the salamanders’ voracious appetites.

Although none of her fall classes involved marine research, LaPlante usually heads back to the ocean for research and recreation during breaks and summer vacation.

tive beach volleyball league at Hampton Beach in the summer, and recently became certified to teach Ashtanga Yoga. She now offers a Power Yoga class on campus and plans to continue one every semester. This year, 14 students signed up for the first class.

Last January instead of California, LaPlante and her husband and travel partner John, (their first date was a SCUBA dive) headed further south, for a two-week trip to the Galapagos Islands, the world’s greatest living laboratory, and the inspiration for Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species. The trip was part research—preparation for her animal behavior course—and part recreation—to celebrate the completion of her dissertation. Without any natural predators, the animals there are unafraid of humans, and LaPlante capitalized on the opportunities for up-close observations and research. She observed, photographed and videotaped many of the islands’ unique species, including giant tortoises, frigate birds, flightless cormorants, marine iguanas, blue-footed boobies and Galapagos penguins.

“It was the trip of a lifetime,” says LaPlante. Not only did she get to observe and document unique and rare species for the future benefit of her students, she fulfilled a personal dream when she got to swim with the penguins. P Winter 2009

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Unseen Hands, Sylvia Nicolas HD ’91

By Laurie Morrissey

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Monumental Talent S

Anselm of Canterbury, eight feet tall and bearing a long curled staff, gazes across the Quad from his granite pedestal in front of Alumni Hall.

Saint Benedict, holding an open book and quill, overlooks the drive leading into campus.

Although few students could name the artist who created the larger-than-life bronze statues (and fewer still have met her), Sylvia Nicolas has had a lasting impact on our campus.

Without her—and her multi-talented family—Saint Anselm would look very different. They also created mosaic murals in the Abbey Church; the church’s 4,500 square feet of stained glass; and three statues in the church.

The ties that bind Sylvia Nicolas to Saint Anselm are many, making her relationship to the Benedictine college unique. Nicolas is the parent of an alumna; the recipient of an honorary doctorate of fine arts; and someone whose work touches the experience of all who visit.

Twenty miles west of the Hilltop in the village of Mont Vernon, Sylvia Nicolas creates stained glass designs, paintings, and sculptures. Depending on her latest commission and her mood, she works in one of three places: two workrooms in her 18th-century white colonial, or her studio in a detached barn. At 80, she still accepts commissions. After her assistant leaves, she is likely to continue working, finding that she has put in eight hours and will soon need a visit to the chiropractor.

Such dedication to her muse is not surprising: she is a fourth generation stained glass artist whose father designed windows throughout Europe and the U.S. “With stained glass, it’s and has been referred to as the father of all a question of light.” modern stained glass.

Her son, Diego, is a glass painter in the Netherlands. She is the daughter of a sculptor, the sister of a writer.

“I at least do a drawing a day. Any back of an envelope, or list—anything that hangs around, sooner or later I’ll be sketching on it,” she says, sitting at an antique table beneath one of her father’s paintings.

Signs of her prolific talent are everywhere. Shelves are filled with sculptures in bronze, terra cotta and fiberglass.

Drawings and paintings lean against walls. Paints and brushes crowd drawing boards and tables. Like her glass designs, her flower gardens are a palette of adjoining colors aint

with no straight lines anywhere. They are like Monet’s garden without the water—an elegant jumble of hues and varied symmetries.

Nicolas’ early life was filled with artistic influences and inspirations. Her family fled Holland before WWII, moving to New York at the urging of Sylvia’s aunt, who had married the writer Aldous Huxley. The many artists she has known—including fellow refugees who gathered in the family’s upper west side apartment in the 40s—became what she refers to as the warp of a loom on which she weaves her work.

She studied art on both sides of the Atlantic, with teachers such as Mexican painter Rufino Tamayo and Russian sculptor Ossip Zadkine. Costume design (one of her father’s many talents) was her first love. She studied costume design in Paris, where she bought cheap “standing places” at the ballet and enjoyed gathering with the young theatrical crowd. She draws on this knowledge when designing clothing for saints depicted in her stained glass windows.

“I have whole ideas for ballets, and I wish someone would write them,” she says.

Nicolas’ life—now centered in small-town “Ravello,” 1958 stained glass Winter 2009

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New Hampshire between the fire station and the general store—sounds like a who’s who of 20th century art. She recalls listening to choreographer George Balanchine play piano after an evening at the opera, and sitting in the Russian Tea Room with a painter whose father composed scores for the ballets of Diaghilev and Balanchine. In Hollywood, she came to know Igor Stravinski. The loom contains strands of Chaplin, de Beauvoir, Camus, Krishnamurti, Isherwood.

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Trappist monk from Spencer, Mass., who brought Nicolas to Saint Anselm in 1965. She was working in her family’s glass studio in the Netherlands when Bro. Blaise Drayton visited her father, who had painted a Madonna window in the Trappist monastery. After Joep showed him his daughter’s mosaics in local churches, Bro. Blaise, a consultant on the design of Saint Anselm’s new church, offered her a commission.

The mosaic mural she created on the walls of the Abbey Church’s Eucharist Chapel illustrates the Psalms of Praise, and is made of hand cut marble, brick and natural stone.

Over nine months of work, which involved breaking up four tons of marble, she was often interrupted by ongoing construction and the installation of a massive organ. She did some distracting in turn. Fr. Jerome Day, O.S.B., recalls that when the brethren wanted to use the church for services, she protested ­and continued pounding and scraping as the Mass began.

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“For the students, I wanted to make him vigorous and fairly young.”

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While working on the mosaic, Nicolas came to know Richard Kapp, a musical director at the Institute of Arts and Sciences (now New Hampshire Institute of Art), who was planning a production of Stravinsky’s “Histoire du Soldat.”

She was so eager to do the costumes that she offered to do it for free.

Sylvia Nicolas settled in New Hampshire in 1968 and continued working as she raised a family. In 1985, she received a commission for the college’s statue of Saint Anselm.

Her first large scale statue went from sketch to model to eight-foot sculpture, and was cast in bronze at Paul King Foundry in Rhode Island. In the crook of his staff is a small owl, symbolizing safe retreat from troubles. From the artist’s conception to its installation on April 21, 1987 (the feast of Saint Anselm), was more than 18 months.

Nicolas recalls a discussion of whether or not to portray the saint with a beard. “I thought, the students have to feel close to him. He should be a vigorous man traveling, not an old man.”

The statue of Saint Benedict was dedicated two years later, a reminder of the saint’s influence as the father of western monasticism. In his hand is the Rule that has guided monastic life for 1,500 years. At his side is the raven that saved him from eating poisoned bread. “I wanted the raven to be on his shoulder, but the monks felt it would be too much like Francis of Assissi,” she recalls.

The statue’s dedication stands out in the artist’s mind.

“It was a rainy evening, and when the rain stopped we all went out of the church. When Abbot Matthew said his blessing, the sky opened and it poured. We all were in the church rubbing our heads with towels and laughing. In the courtyard, the monks were barbecuing butterflied lamb in great aprons. And at the end the sisters sang in Gregorian.”

In 1990, Nicolas accepted another commission: the design of a medal in honor of the Saint Anselm centennial.

The windows in Abbey Church were designed by Nicolas’ father and executed by her cousin in the family glass studio in 1969. Joep referred to the three windows above the nave as a symphony of optical music in praise of God, with the three separate elements expressing the Trinity. He also designed the 28 lancet windows in the choir. In all, they contain more than 300 distinct colors, from dark and somber to bright and joyful.

At first, Nicolas recalls, she turned away from glass painting. But, while helping her father design windows for two churches in the Netherlands in 1954, she learned the techniques passed down from her father and grandfather.

Joep improvised directly on glass panels. A mixture of black matte paint and alcohol is applied, and when dried, is scraped off to make areas of dark and light.

“The longer I was in his studio, the more I realized how very fantastic his work was.” Pregnant with her first child at the time, she says, “I was getting my son ready to be a glass

artist, and that is what he became.” That son is now the fifth generation of Nicolases to add his work to the windows of St. Pancratius Church in Tubbergen.

Sylvia Nicolas’ window designs grace buildings throughout Europe and the U.S. Fr. Jerome Day, O.S.B., describes Nicolas as one of the leading ecclesiastical artists in the United States, and also a woman of steely resolve tempered by good humor. She works in her studio, cares for her home and garden, and travels often to Holland to see friends or to Oregon to see her daughter, Alida O’Neill ’94. She walks to the nearby general store to buy fresh bread, visits a local antique shop (where she may give in to the temptation to buy another table), and every once in a while visits her friends at the college that proudly displays her family’s artistic legacy.

That legacy lives in the memory of the nearly 10,000 alumni who graduated since the 1980s, and it appears in photo albums, viewbooks, Web sites, even primary night TV broadcasts. It is part of what makes Saint Anselm College unique. P

Saint Mary Magdalene, 1989 fiberglass Winter 2009

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he opening reception of the recent Sylvia Nicolas exhibition at the Alva deMars Megan Chapel Art Center drew a record crowd, including faculty and staff, students, friends of the artist, educators and curators from other institutions, and art lovers from the region. A writer and videographer from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops also attended, working on a video production about the artist.

The exhibition ran from mid-October through early December, featuring paintings, drawings, stained glass, and sculpture representing work from the 1950s to the present.

Nicolas does not exhibit widely, and solo shows of her work have been rare, says Fr. Iain MacLellan, O.S.B., Chapel Art Center director.

“Her sense of cultural history and human life is warm, uniquely perceptive, and genuine,” Fr. Iain said. “This exhibition provides yet another generation of students and the community a fuller context

s a l o c i N Sylvia

Org. tage D ter, NH No. 6035

Chapel Art Center Features Nicolas’ Varied Work

Worldly Works Sylvia Nicolas’ work can be seen throughout the world. The following is partial list of locations.

Stained glass • Salve Regina window at Cistercian Monastery, Snowmass, Colo.

• 13 windows in Church of St. Pancratius, Tubbergen, the Netherlands • 10 windows in Church of Annunciation, Washington, D.C. • 23 windows in Church of St. Stephen and St. James, N.Y.C. • Tree of Life window in Southern N.H. Medical Center, Nashua, N.H. • 47 windows in St. Dominic Chapel, Providence College • Resurrection window, All Saints Church, N.Y.C. • 19 windows in St. John’s University, Queens, N.Y. Sculpture • St. Mark the Evangelist, Church of St. Mark the Evangelist, Londonderry, N.H. • Crucifix and Stations of the Cross, St. Dominic Chapel, Providence College • The Reading Children (2 bronze statues), Milford, N.H. town common • St. Joan of Arc, Lisle, Ill. • Madonna, Seat of Wisdom, Whippany, N.J.

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in which to view her permanent works on our campus, which have become dear to us as lasting emblems of our beliefs and mission.”

Classes in fine arts, French and humanities visited the exhibit, as well as a local scout troop. Chapel Art Center intern Francesca Botteri ’09 designed an art project for the scouts based on Nicolas’ work.

Fr. Iain led an “art in situ” tour of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel mosaics and the landmark Saint Anselm and Saint Benedict statues.

On that late October day, in situ (Latin meaning “in the place”) was possibly more than visitors bargained for: a strong wind, and the sound of machinery renovating the former convent of the Sisters of Saint Joan of Arc, competed with the voices of Sylvia Nicolas and Fr. Iain. Nicolas discussed how she prepared to make the statues by reading extensively about the lives of the two saints and reading their writings. She also described the inspiration she felt in creating the mosaic murals depicting the Laudate psalms.

“The stones are like miniature pieces of a dream,” she said.

To view a five-minute video of Nicolas on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops web site: http://www.usccb.org/video/

How Well do you know St. Anselm?

1. The item in Saint Anselm’s left hand is: a. A compass, symbolizing his travels between

Normandy and Canterbury b. A book c. A shield bearing the crest of the city of Canterbury 2. Saint Anselm lived from: a. 480–547 b. 1033–1109 c. 1512–1574 3. The Saint Anselm statue weighs approximately (without granite base): a. 850 pounds b. 1,100 c. 2,000

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4. Saint Anselm’s biographer was: a. Gundulf b. Herluin c. Eadmer 5. Saint Anselm founded which school of thought: a. Scholastic theology b. Patristic theology c. Dogmatic theology 6. Saint Anselm entered which Benedictine abbey as a

novice?

a. Mont-Saint-Michel b. Monte Cassino c. Bec. Answers below.

Previous page: exhibition brochure; “Midi,” 1998 oil on canvas.

This page: the artist in her studio; a section of Nicolas’ mosaic mural in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, Saint Anselm Abbey Church; installation of the Saint Benedict statue.

Answers: 1. b, 2. b, 3.a, 4. c, 5. a, 6. c Winter 2009

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Sports News Courting Success—Jamie Vessels ’09

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5’10, Jamie Vessels refers to herself as “a shorter forward.” Nevertheless, she has impressed her coaches and teammates with her energy on the court during her two years on the Hawks basketball team.

During the summer, she concentrates just as hard on her future career. For the past two summers, she has returned to her home state of North Carolina for a 12-week internship with the state’s Bureau of Investigation. Her experience there includes joining field agents on witness interviews, seeing the bomb squad in action, and observing a homicide investigation.

“I’ve seen how things really work in a law enforcement agency, and it has reinforced my desire to go into this field,” she says.

The homicide investigation was the most fascinating aspect. Investigators were following leads in the homicide of a 29-year-old man, when an anonymous tip suddenly led them in a completely new direction.

“It was really surprising when somebody came forward to tell them what they knew. It was a totally different angle,” Vessels says. “Getting to see a homicide investigation from beginning to end was cool. I’m interactive and help out here, but I can also sit back and learn.”

Vessels feels fortunate to have found such a valuable internship in her home state. Her former professor, Tom Hammond, put her in touch with 1964 graduate James Coman, senior deputy attorney general in the North Carolina Department of Justice.

Coman was in charge of all criminal investigations in the state and handled the Duke University student lacrosse case. Vessels and Coman discussed her goals and opportunities over phone calls and e-mails.

Saint Anselm College offered the North Carolina student the exact combination she was looking for: a Catholic college with a good criminal justice program and a varsity basketball program she enjoys. She had played on a very competitive team all four years at Cardinal Gibbons High School and realized during her freshman year how much she missed the game. She walked onto the Hawks team as a sophomore and fit in instantly,

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according to coach Chris Leazier.

“Jamie’s practice habits, her commitment to maintaining a peak fitness level and her investment in our team concept make her an invaluable component of our team,” he says. He also points to her outstanding performance in the classroom, as evidenced by her induction into the national student-athlete honor society.

One of the most memorable experiences time on the team, Vessels says, was “beating Franklin Pierce by one point my sophomore year. We were in the bottom of the rankings and they were at the top.”

Although she had to miss her senior year of play due to recurring injuries, Vessels supported her former teammates by attending every game she could. She plans to attend graduate school and move into the state or federal law enforcement field.

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Basketball Court Dedicated to Longtime Coach Al Grenert

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Al Grenert was honored Saturday, Feb. 21, with the dedication of the basketball court at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium in his name. The court was dedicated during half-time of the men’s basketball game vs. Saint Michael’s. More than 1,000 fans, including members of the Grenert family and many former Saint Anselm basketball players, gathered as the court was blessed in recognition of the coach.

Grenert was head coach of men’s basketball at Saint Anselm College from 1949–1971, and won more than 300 games.

A member of the New England Basketball Hall of Fame and the Anselmian Athletic Club Hall of Fame, Grenert coached 23 members of the Saint Anselm Hall of Fame.

The ceremony included remarks from Ed Cannon, director of athletics, as well as Fr. Jonathan DeFelice, O.S.B., ormer basketball coach

president of the college, and the floor was blessed by Bishop Joseph Gerry, O.S.B. Scott Grenert, the youngest of the Grenert children, spoke on behalf of the Grenert family.

Scott was joined by brothers Al, Geoff, Gregg ’73 and Mark ’74, and sisters Lisa Boucher and Donna Guertin. He acknowledged his mother, Iris, who was unable to attend the ceremony, but was watching via webcast from Florida.

The floor features two eight-foot wide logos bearing Grenert’s name.

New Hawks Web Site Soars Hawks fans may already have noticed the dynamic, new look of the athletics Web site, www.anselm.edu/athletics. The site has been redesigned to provide the most up-to-date information about Saint Anselm’s sports teams.

The new site features news headlines for each sport accompanied by photos, interactive polls, “This Week in Hawk History,” and student athlete biographies. Scores are instantly updated as game results and news stories are posted on other athletics sites in the Northeast-10 Conference. In the future, video and audio clips will be available on the site, as well.

The college partnered with PrestoSports, a leading athletic Web design company, in the redesign, which was executed with the help of the Office of Sports Information, the Office of Communications and Marketing, and Office of Information Technology.

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Alumni News Jeanine O’Brien ’92 – The Maine Connection

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wice a year Jeanine

O’Brien ’92 and five classmates, Tara Rossi, Susan Connelly, Meghan (O’Brien) Wright, Kim (Harrington) Swift and Kate (Rogers) Coppins, hold a mini-class reunion. In the summer they meet for a long weekend on Cape Cod and in the winter they travel to O’Brien’s home for Prelude Weekend. “It’s become such a tradition,” says O’Brien, “we’ve been doing it every year since we graduated.” The gatherings have become automatic for the six friends and their calendars are marked every year for the first weekend in December and the first weekend in August.

Since she graduated Jeanine O’Brien can’t remember a time when she hasn’t been involved in one way or another with Saint Anselm College or with her fellow alumni. She served on the former alumni board for many years, and now is vice president of the new alumni council. She is a regular visitor to campus and has helped with reunions, homecomings and other alumni events. She has opened her home in Scarborough, Maine, and her parents’ nearby beach house for all kinds of gatherings, from receptions and lobster bakes to college updates by Fr. Jonathan. In short, she has been the college’s point person for alumni events and activities in Maine.

When she returned to Maine after graduating, she had to travel to Manchester or Boston to join in alumni gatherings.

“I would run into people from Saint Anselm all the time in Portland, especially when I wore a college sweatshirt,” she says. “There were no events here for alumni and I wanted to start doing something.” So she established the Portland Chapter of the alumni association and has been keeping her fellow Downeasters connected with each other and to the college ever since. In recognition of her work for the college, she received the Young Alumni Service Award in 2002.

Her first alumni event was a reception at the Portland Museum of Art. “I don’t remember how many people attended, but I do remember that Bishop Joseph (Gerry, O.S.B., ’50, then bishop of Portland) came and the night was a success.”

Countless other events followed, including traditional seasonal events like summer lobster bakes, and the Magic of Christmas with the Portland Symphony. Before he retired, Bishop Joseph hosted numerous well-attended gatherings at his Portland residence.

While the annual lobster bakes and symphony performances are popular, O’Brien isn’t afraid to try something different. Last December, in keeping with the Alumni Council’s new spiritual initiative, she organized an alumni 32

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Mass at Saint Maximilian church in nearby Scarborough.

Bishop Joseph and Fr. Mark Cooper, O.S.B., ’71 conducted the Mass, which was followed by a luncheon.

“More than 60 alumni and their families came to the mass and luncheon,” she says, “by far our most well attended alumni event in recent memory.” And, she adds, most of those who attended had not been to other alumni gatherings.

As a member of the Alumni Council’s chapter task force, O’Brien is sharing her experience in Maine, and helping to create a structure for others who want to develop chapters or hold alumni events in their own areas. As alumni travel and move about the country, these guidelines will be helpful for them as they look to get in touch with other alumni.

Staying involved with the college has been a valuable experience for O’Brien. “I have formed some really nice friendships and relationships I never would have otherwise,” she says.

O’Brien says the highlight of her tenure on the board was marching in graduation as a representative of the Alumni Association, and her favorite event is alumni awards night.

Award Winners in the Limelight

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Saint Anselm College bring their skills and talents around the world, from Goffstown to Ghana. While one combats malaria, another helps hurricane survivors rebuild their homes. Once a year, the call goes out for award nominations. And once a year, a small group of alumni—a representation of all accomplished Anselmians—is honored at a dinner ceremony. Eight alumni received awards this year. raduates of

Walter J. Gallo Award: Constance Richards ’69. Richards was the founding director of the college’s Health Services Department. Her accomplishments included developing and managing the medical clinic, counseling services, health education programs and other services. She applied her skill in countless areas, including organizing blood drives and advising the student rescue team.

Art Durity

Business Leadership Award: Ronald L. Petrin ’72. Petrin founded an independent pharmacy in Bedford, N.H., where he has served the community for more than 25 years. He developed a prescription compounding practice, mixing drugs to meet individual needs.

He has served on the New Hampshire Board of Pharmacy and founded the International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists.

O’Malley to be the Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia of the Archdiocese of Boston. As the archbishop’s top administrator, Fr. Erikson oversees programs serving two million Catholics in nearly 300 parishes.

Alumni Award of Merit: Colonel Gregory A. Boyle ’81. Boyle was selected by the commandant of the Marine Corps to lead the Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Regiment.

Stationed at Quantico, Virginia, he is the commanding officer of the regiment’s battalions at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and Camp Pendleton, California.

Humanitarian Award: Monique Petrofsky ’83. A captain in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, Petrofsky has worked with indigenous populations in Alaska and the American southwest and in remote corners of the globe.

She tracks diseases, organizes immunization programs, trains health workers and negotiates with village chiefs and international aid agency officials to control malaria, Guinea worm infection, and other diseases.

Academic Achievement Award: Christopher Tollefsen ’89. Since earning a doctorate at Emory University, Tollefsen has been a member of the philosophy faculty at the University of South Carolina. He recently published two books: Biomedical Research and Beyond: Expanding the Ethics of Inquiry and Embryo: a Secular Defense of Life (with Robert P. George).

John Houghton ’49 Alumni Council Award: Joan Sonski ’74. Sonski is a nurse educator in one of Connecticut’s largest hospitals, Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center. She is a Young Alumni Service strong ambassador for the Front (L-R) Joan N. Sonski, Constance Richards, Monique Petrofsky.

Back (L-R) Col. Gregory A. Boyle, Joshua I. Aiello, Ronald L. Petrin, Fr. Award: Joshua Aiello ’05. college, and has served in Inspired by his Spring many leadership capacities Richard Erikson, Christopher O. Tollefsen.

Break Alternative experifor the Alumni Associaences, Aiello continues helping the less fortunate. As an tion, including more than eight years as an Alumni Council AmeriCorps volunteer, he joined the emergency response member and co-chair of the Hartford Alumni Chapter. team that mobilized after Hurricane Katrina. He is now associate director of service learning and community outreach Catholic Leadership Award: Very Reverend Richard Erikson at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy, where he inspires ’80. As U.S. Air Force chaplain, Fr. Erikson served on miliothers to community service. tary bases and in the field, as well as at Air Force Headquarters. Two years ago, he was tapped by Cardinal Sean Winter 2009

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Class Notes Where do Class Notes come from?

About half come directly from alumni, either in letters, in e-mail updates or through AlumNet. The rest are compiled from a variety of public sources: newspaper and magazine clippings from around the United States and press releases sent to us by employers when, for example, a Saint Anselm grad at the company gets a new job.

It is our policy not to publish pregnancy or engagement announcements or candidacies for political office. However we are happy to print news of births, marriages, and elections to office.We do not publish baby or wedding photographs.

Class Notes submissions are edited for style, clarity and length. We put a lot of effort into making sure entries are accurate, but if we slip up, please let us know.

If you submit photographs with your Class Note, the best formats are high-resolution digital photos (300 dpi) or prints. Please be sure to identify alumni in the photo.

Ryk Bullock runs a real estate agency in Bedford, N.H., where he is school district moderator, assistant town moderator and a member of the state’s election task force.

John Gallagher, O.F.M., Cap., is provincial minister for the Capuchin Franciscan Friars of the Province of St. Mary, encompassing New England and New York.

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Donald Gagnon is CEO of AAA Mid-Atlantic and AAA MidAtlantic Insurance Company. He is a C l ass N o t e s re c e ived after August 11, 2008 will be included in the next issue. Wharton Fellow at the University of CHC Family Health for Community Pennsylvania.

Education, and program director for CHC School-based Dental Sealant Walter Gallo received a 2008 Good Program in Fitchburg.

Samaritan Award from Pastoral CounMichael Martini is president of Minute seling Services of Manchester.

Man Arc for Human Services, in Concord, Mass.

Richard Barry was appointed to the board of trustees of Quincy Medical Michael J. Ashe Jr. received the Elms Center. He practices law in Quincy, College Presidential medallion in recMass. ognition of his outstanding service to

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the community as sheriff of Hampden County, Mass., for more than 30 years.

Rev. Leo Hoar, associate chaplain at Springfield College, received an honorary doctorate degree from the college.

1971 Stephen Shea, of Lancaster, Mass., is a trustee of the Massachusetts Dental Society. He retired from private practice in 2001 and serves as assistant director for HCC Family Health Dental Service, program director for

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Bob Savard ’71 (center) and Fr. Mark Cooper, O.S.B., ’71, (right) received some tips on improving their game from Jack Nicklaus, at the Nicklaus Pro Am Golf Tournament at the Lost Tree Club in West Palm Beach, Fla.

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Earthquake Engineer: Jason McCormick ’00

By Laurie Morrissey

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McCormick was 11 years old when he first saw the devastation caused by an earthquake. It occurred during a 1989 World Series game between Oakland and San Francisco, and it was the first major American earthquake to be televised live.

“I remember seeing and hearing people’s panic, but didn’t know I would be doing research someday to help make buildings safer in earthquake-prone regions,” he says.

He experienced a real 4.9 tremor while he was a graduate student in Georgia, but, he says, “I prefer just to simulate them.” So after completing his Ph.D. at Georgia Institute of Technology in 2006, the Saint Anselm College/Catholic University cooperative engineering grad headed to Japan, where researchers can test four-story steel buildings using the world’s largest shaking table. He spent a year and a half at Kyoto University’s Disaster Prevention Research Institute with a postdoctoral fellowship from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

“In Japan, everything is earthquake driven as far as structural design, so they have some innovative testing facilities,” McCormick says. “The intent is to gain better understanding of how buildings, bridges, and other infrastructure behave during an earthquake, so as to prevent loss of life and catastrophic failure of these structures.”

Now, McCormick’s research takes place in the structural engineering laboratory at the University of Michigan, where he is an assistant professor in the department of civil and environmental engineering. Much of his research focuses on developing shape memory alloys, which can undergo large deformations and return to their original shape. Besides saving lives, reducing a building’s structural response during an earthquake, like the May 2008 quake in China, limits the economic impact of the disaster.

McCormick maintains strong ties with the Japanese researchers he worked with, as well as colleagues across the U.S. He presented his work at the 14th world conference on Earthquake Engineering in Beijing, China. ason

Earthquake Info (from the U.S. Geological Survey and Jason McCormick) • One of the New Madrid, Missouri, earthquakes of 1811-1812 reportedly rang church bells in Boston (1,000 miles away).

• The largest earthquake recorded in the U.S. was the March 28, 1965 earthquake in Prince William Sound, Alaska (9.2 magnitude).

• In 1985, a swimming pool at the University of Arizona in Tucson lost water from sloshing, caused by a magnitude 8.1 earthquake in Mexico (1,240 miles away).

• States facing significant risk from earthquakes: 39.

• Urban areas in the U.S. at risk of significant seismic activity: 26, including Boston, MA, Charleston, S.C., San Francisco-Oakland, CA, and St. Louis, MO. • Average number of magnitude 6 or greater earthquakes per year in the U.S.: 6.

• Average number of magnitude 5 or greater earthquakes per year in the U.S.: 57.

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Class Notes M arriages Michael Santuccio ’89 and Danielle Richey, May, 2008, Rye, N.H. Susan Morrissey ’90 and Christopher Marr, April 26, 2008, Salem, Mass.

Michael Jennings ’96 and Kathryne Mary Tone, July 28, 2008, North Reading, Mass.

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Maura Gleason ’98 and Christopher Danforth, June 16, 2007, West Greenwich, R.I.

Shaun Sanborn is a senior vice president, safety and security, at Laconia Savings Bank (N.H.) He is certified as a fraud examiner.

Brian Chaput ’99 and Annette Omer, January, 2008, Saint Anselm Abbey Church.

Kevin Lemoi ’99 and Daisy Campbell, March 15, 2008, Falmouth, Mass.

Kathleen Petersen ’99 and Jeff Gleisberg, Aug. 4, 2007, Gloucester, Mass.

Ellen Ryan ’99 and Michael Gleason, Aug. 11, 2007, St. Albans, Vt. Jessica Petty ’00 and Joshua Cote, May 2005, Saint Anselm Abbey Church.

Beth Antoniac ’01 and Jonathan Waterhouse, Sept. 22, 2007, Raymond, N.H. Heather Craven ’01 and Ryan Carroll ’00, Sept. 29, 2007, Saint Anselm Abbey Church.

Alyson Hamilton ’01 and Vinnie Tersigni, Sept. 15, 2006, Bedford, N.H. Tracy Martine ’01 and Spencer Dolan ’99, May 3, 2008, Saint Anselm Abbey Church.

Michelle Evangelista ’02 and Jonathan Bourdeau ’02, May, 2008, Saint Anselm Abbey Church.

Brian Gavaghan ’02 and Meghan Bissett, Aug. 4, 2008, Flemington, N.J. Natalie Mullen ’02 and Anthony Brankin ’02, March 29, 2008, Manchester, N.H. Erin O’Neil ’02 and Kevin Kierce, June 2, 2007, Saint Anselm Abbey Church.

Karen Regan ’02 and Robert Daniel Pomeroy, April 12, 2008, Saint Anselm Abbey Church.

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William Sapelli was honored by the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League for his many years of dedicated service as a hockey referee in western Mass. He is assistant superintendent of schools for Agawam public schools.

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Edward L. Sullivan is assistant general counsel at Peabody Energy in St. Louis, Mo. Pat (Normandin) Watson is coordinator of quality assurance at North Care Hospice and Palliative Care. She lives in Kansas City, Ks., with her husband, Otis.

1978 Margaret (Powers) Gulley is a nurse manager on a neurology floor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She lives in West Roxbury, Mass., with her husband Joe and two sons.

Jack McEnany’s latest book, Brush Cat: On Trees, the Wood Economy, and the Most Dangerous Job in America, will be published by St. Martin’s Press in winter 2009. His previous book Bode (Random House 2005), written with skiing champion Bode Miller, won the Ullr Best Book Award from the International Ski History Association. He is working on Who Killed Mick Mars? with Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars. McEnany’s political blog, LostNation.TV, received a Webby Award from the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.

He lives in Franconia, N.H., with his wife and two children.

Robert Woodbury is chief financial officer at GT Solar, which is based in Merrimack, N.H. Winter 2009

1979 Christopher Kelly is a captain in the New Haven, Conn., Police Department. He is a shift commander in the patrol division.

Janet O’Connor received the Locke Award at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in recognition of her compassionate and personalized care. She is a permanent charge nurse on the telemetry unit.

1980 Michael Hughes, former assistant golf coach at DePaul University in Chicago, is head men’s golf coach at Brown University. He is also director of golf at Mulligan’s Island Golf in Cranston, R.I.

1981 Leonard Coppenrath received the Massachusetts State Police Superintendent’s Commendation for his work on a 2005 Hingham murder case. He is a 21-year veteran of the department and is assigned to the Plymouth County detective unit.

Harry J. Korslund III, of Windham, N.H., is senior vice president of commercial lending at Haverhill Bank.

1982 Linda George is a women’s health nurse practitioner and certified nurse midwife at Central Vermont Midwifery.

1985 Ken Merrifield is the mayor of Franklin, N.H., and a financial analyst with the N.H. Department of Health and Human Services. He has been involved

Where the Action Is: Chris LaGana ’93

By Lauren Weybrew ’08

C

LaGana knows all about the ups and downs of the stock market. He spends every day on the floor trading and getting to see the economy in action. The New York City native graduated from Saint Anselm College with a history degree, unsure of what to do next. In 1994, lured by the glamour and money of the stock market, he took an internship with an investment company.

LaGana was put to the test right off the bat, putting in 12-16 hour days to learn the business. But, thanks to his liberal arts background, he was well prepared and had an edge over others in the program. He replaced his study of humanities texts with The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, and Business Week. His first real job was in the retail sector where he gave investment advice and managed portfolios for individuals, not on the floor where the excitement was. hris

in municipal government for the past 16 years, serving as school board chair and a three-term city councilor. He earned a master’s degree in business administration from Franklin Pierce College in 2007.

1986 Michael Carrier is senior director of secondary markets in the government affairs department of the Mortgage Bankers Association. He earned a J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. Chris Farley is the fire chief for Camden, Maine, and an instructor at Southern Maine Community College’s Fire Training and Education Program.

1988

After a two-year stint in Jackson Hole, Wyo., setting up a new branch of the company (and learning to ski and paraglide), LaGana returned to New York in 2005 and took a job in institutional investing with Jeffries Execution Services.

He is now on the stock market floor every morning for the opening bell, and spends his days managing hedge funds and money markets for various companies.

On the stock market floor, there is no standard day. Success depends on how the market is faring or what announcements the Federal Reserve Board may make. “There is real tension today over the future of the institution of the NYSE due to the popularity of computers,” he says. While the daily stress can be hard, he loves the excitement of the job. LaGana has honed his skills over 14 years in the industry and plans to continue on this path for a while. But in the meantime he has another exciting project to work on—he and his wife Lisa have a baby boy, Thomas Dylan.

research group in the department of biological sciences, focusing on the discovery and development of pharmaceuticals for cancer and central nervous system disorders.

1989

Robert O’Brien, of Milton, Mass., was elected to the board of directors for Massachusetts Citizens for Life.

Michael Winn is general manager of Absolute Broadcasting LLC, owners of AM-900 in Nashua, N.H.

1990 James DeLuca, a dentist in Springhill, Fla., cycled in the 3,000-mile Race Across America, raising funds for the Macular Degeneration Foundation.

1991 Dan Carney is vice president of operations at Azuki Systems, a mobile media technology services company in Acton, Mass.

He has a master’s in business administration from Suffolk University.

Paul August is a senior manager at Sanof-Aventis at the Cambridge, Mass., research center. He leads a Winter 2009

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37

Class Notes M arriages Brian Kelso ’03 and Amy St. Onge, July, 2008, Sugar Hill, N.H. Amy LaBelle ’03 and Gregory Parthum, May 24, 2008, Hampstead, N.H. Robin Lepore ’03 and Joshua St. Germain, April 26, 2008, Sierra Vista, Ariz.

Lora Kirby ’04 and Jonathan Howard, May 17, 2008, Hood River, Ore. Katherine Ames ’06 and Michael LaBossiere, June 28, 2008, Worcester, Mass.

Jessica Foster ’06 and Jared Correia ’00, June 24, 2007, Magnolia, Mass.

Marc Dionne ’07 and Alice Lepore, Dec. 31, 2007, Nashua, N.H.

James K. McAdams was a Fulbright exchange teacher in Budapest, Hungary, from August 2007-June 2008.

He teaches English in the Quincy, Mass., public school system, and lives in Quincy with his wife, Nancy, and three children.

1993 Jon Caron is the principal of the Catholic elementary school in Augusta, Maine.

Jason Scott is a social studies teacher at the Community School of Naples, a private, independent school.

He lives in Bonita Springs, Fla.

Kristen (Kuehnel) Engebretson ’89

K

Engebretson began her career as a teacher, but gradually her interest in animals grew into a completely different kind of career. She became a certified wildlife rehabilitator, then a 4-H leader, farmer, and fiber artist. She is the owner Tranquil Morning Farm in South Windsor, Conn., where she raises sheep, rabbits, llamas and alpacas. She and her family shear, process, and dye the natural fibers, make soap from goats’ milk, and market their products. Just for fun, they also have flocks of poultry, two rescued Arabian horses, and a working farm collie “to keep everyone in order.” risten

1994 Stephen Osowiecki is an assistant vice president at Newtown Savings Bank in Connecticut.

1995 Mark Foynes is executive director of the Wright Museum of WWII History, in Wolfeboro, N.H. He is the author of Images of America: Plaistow, Westville, and the North Parish, an illustrated history of his home town in southern New Hampshire. He lives in New Durham, N.H., with his wife, Sarah, and son.

Heather (Aiello) Kempskie (with her sister, Lisa Hanson) published The Siblings’ Busy Book, part of the Meadowbrook Press Busy Book line.

She edits Parents and Kids Magazine, a parenting monthly serving the suburbs of Boston. She lives in Bellingham, Mass., with her husband, Kevin, and two children.

Craig MacCormack, of North Attleboro, Mass., is a senior writer at Zweig White Information Services, contributing to the Zweig Letter and AEC Finance News.

1996 Jeffrey Dee, of Silver Spring, Md., is director of development for the Catholic Distance University, an online learning community for distance education in the Catholic faith.

1997 Jeanne Dunne is patient care coordinator at Liberty Home Care and Hospice Services in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

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C lass

N oteable

Adoption Mythbuster: Martha (Pinet) Henry ’96

By Laurie Morrissey

M

Henry has discussed adoption and foster care in many settings, including National Public Radio, Cosmopolitan Magazine and the Today Show. Now the psychology graduate is the author of a “The Today Show was an opportureference book for families, professionnity to debunk some myths about als and students. Published by Lyceum Books in May, it focuses on the behavadoption, desensationalize the ioral and medical needs of children who issue of adoption scams, and to are adopted or living in foster care.

Henry earned a doctorate in develmodel appropriate and respectopmental psychology at Clark Univerful language. Choosing one word sity, and began working at the Office for over another changes the whole Foster Care and Adoption Education Policy at UMass Medical School eight perspective.” years ago. Her book, Adoption in the United States: A Reference Book for Families, Professionals and Students, is written for the whole team involved in adoption and foster care, including family members and people in the legal, social, health, and education professions.

One of Henry’s main interests is the use of language.

“Most of the time when people talk about adoption, they use language that is stigmatizing,” she says. “Expressions like ‘put up for adoption,’ or ‘give up,’ can unintentionally hurt feelings by conveying values and beliefs that have a whole loaded history behind them.” The phrase “put up for adoption” comes from the orphan trains of the 1850s-1920s when abandoned or orphaned children from eastern cities were sent to the Midwest and put on display for people to choose, Henry explains. Many ended up being used as farm and domestic labor.

“The Today Show was an opportunity to debunk some myths about adoption, desensationalize the issue of adoption scams, and to model appropriate and respectful language. Choosing one word over another changes the whole perspective.”

Henry is particularly concerned about the number of children in the foster care system—at least 500,000—many of whom have special health care needs. “Surprisingly, there is not a lot of research on this,” says Henry. “Most of what there is has a pathological bent, focusing on the deficits as opposed to the strengths of families.”

Henry and her staff evaluate training programs and develop adoption and foster care curricula, including courses and seminars for medical students.

Winter 2008 Winter 2009

Alex Witkowicz ’08

artha

Portraits Portraits

39 39

Class Notes

1998

Future Anselmians Charlene Bonner ’91, a son, Bendeshe (Ben), March 15, 2008.

Thomas Santos ’92 and Lauren, a son, William Colin, May 24, 2008.

Jeff Palopoli is director of marketing services for 451 Marketing in Boston, Mass.

S. Peter Skehan ’92 and Lisa, a daughter, Mary Frances, March 15, 2008.

Michelle (Rodrique) Hemmerling ’93 and Andrew, twins Connor Andrew and Aidan Lucas, May 2, 2008.

Andrea (Goni) Mills ’93 and Daniel, a son, Brady Robert, May 19, 2008.

Lori (Gatton) Todd ’93 and Rusty, a daughter, Brooke Cynthia, Dec. 19, 2007.

Mario Scalzo, of Rome, N.Y., is a senior technical support engineer at Indium Corporation, a supplier of electronics assembly materials.

Dave Brosnan ’94 and Meghan, a son, Matthew Francis, Aug. 4, 2007.

1999

John Dolan ’94 and Stephanie, a daughter, Alanna Mary, Daniel O’Brien ’94 and Amy, a daughter, Molly Katherine, May 27, 2008.

Jennifer (Trocciola) Saragosa ’94 and Anthony, a daughter, Olivia Grace, Oct. 21, 2007.

Paula (Devin) Bartlett ’95 and Ryan, a son, Lucas Andrew, March 13, 2008.

Meghan (Correll) Chamberlin ’95 and Ted, a daughter, Tessa Ruth, March 17, 2008.

Pamela (Call) MacDonald ’95 and Christopher, a daughter, Lauren Francis.

Marimartha (McGivern) Matthews ’95 and Michael, a son Shawn Alan, Aug. 13, 2007.

Dana (Mercier) ’95 and Paul O’Leary ’95, a son, Patrick James, Sept. 12, 2007.

Jessica (Serino) ’95 and Christopher Pike ’95, a son, James Thomas, Aug. 3, 2007.

Melissa (Atwood) ’96 and Daren Bergman ’96, a son, Tyler Jonathan, Jan. 7, 2008.

Kelly Amoroso works for Kenyon International, a Houston, Tex., based company that assists private businesses and state governments in preparing disaster emergency plans.

2000 John Callahan, of Brighton, Mass., is a principal at the Walthambased staffing firm Winter, Wyman.

He works in the financial contracting division.

2001 Siobhan Manning graduated on the dean’s list from Caritas Laboure College, where she earned a degree in nursing. She plans to work in the field of cardiology.

Donald Tarzia ’96 and Stephanie, a son, Bradley Edward, May 14, 2008.

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Winter 2009

2002 Jennifer Chilson graduated summa cum laude from Johnson & Wales University with an associate degree in baking and pastry arts. She is a pastry cook at the Charles Hotel/Henrietta’s Table in Cambridge, Mass.

James Collura is vice president for public policy and communications at the New England Fuel Institute, a regional energy trade group in Watertown, Mass. He serves as district deputy for the metro-west Boston area of the Mass. Knights of Columbus.

Keith Comeau is a social studies teacher at Salem High School and varsity football coach at Dedham High School.

Tracy Dickinson is an elementary school English teacher in Lynnfield, Mass.

Richard Florest is an associate editor at Weinstein Books. He lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. Allison Halsey is the director of women’s basketball operations at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va.

2003 Katelyn Giovino is completing a master’s degree in international relations at Boston University and has accepted a job as an immigration paralegal with Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton, P.C., in Waltham, Mass.

Lisa Johnson graduated from Salem State College with a master’s degree in social work.

Robin (Lepore) St. Germain is a child protective services unit supervisor for the state of Arizona. She lives in Sierra Vista, Ariz., with her husband, Joshua.

2004

2005

F uture A nselmians

Katherine Doyle works in elder services at Community Council of Nashua, N.H. She earned a master’s degree in counseling psychology at Assumption College.

Judy Crowley works in the marketing department of the Boston law firm Burns & Levinson LLP.

Jon Hartford is volunteer coordinator at HopeFound, a Boston-based nonprofit organization that fights homelessness. He lives in Brighton, Mass.

Bruce Dietterle is assistant men’s varsity soccer coach at Pfeiffer University in North Carolina.

Erica (Richardson) Arooth ’97 and John, a daughter, Caitlyn Elizabeth, Aug. 15, 2007.

Elizabeth McNally is a student at Palmer College of Chiropractic, Florida campus.

Carrie (Larsen) ’97 and Marc Cormack ’97, a daughter, Lainey Grace, March 26, 2008.

Meaghan O’Neil graduated from Suffolk University (New England School of Art and Design) with a master’s degree in interior architecture. She is a project manager at Rojas Group in Boston.

Melanie (Poznanski) Toscano ’96 and Rick, a daughter, Sydney Marie, Oct. 9, 2007.

2006

Andrea (Leahy) Wright ’96 and Brian, a son, Harrison Leahy, Jan. 27, 2008.

Anne Marie (Robertson) ’97 and Mark Cyr ’97, a son, Colin Patrick, Sept. 26, 2007.

Gina Rotondi is a lobbyist in the government relations wing of the Concord, N.H., law firm Rath, Young & Pignatelli.

Jessica (Barnard) Johnson ’98 and Ian, a son, Isaac Allen, Sept. 4, 2007.

Nancy (Meehan) Kelly ’98 and John, a son, Owen Meehan, Jan. 22, 2008.

Chris Kursonis ’98 and Patti, a son, Thomas Richard,

Encore!

Lindsey (Palasciano) ’98 and Kevin Melo ’99, a son, Xavier John, Feb. 24, 2008.

Carey Cahoon ’98

S

Saint Anselm College to see a play. Others come back to direct them. Last spring, Carey Cahoon ’98 directed her eighth Abbey Players production, “Anything Goes.”

Since graduating, she has designed sets for 17 spring and fall productions, and she looks forward to adding to that list this year with Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” and “Seussical the Musical.”

“I can’t pick a favorite,” she says.

“The process is so very different depending on the material. I prefer working on more conceptual pieces like “Children of Eden” or “Pippin,” but as a classics major I can appreciate a good farce like “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.”

Cahoon’s husband, Matthew ’98, helps the Abbey Players with set building every year. Jennifer Coburn ’99 lends her talents as a choreographer. “Anything Goes,” with 32 tap dancing Anselmians on stage, was her ninth Abbey Players musical. ome alumni come back to

Diane (Root) Menard ’98 and Rich, a daughter, Ashelyn Casey, March 10, 2008.

Danielle (Fabrizio) Reinhart ’98 and Chamis, a son, Gabriel John, Feb. 5, 2008.

Amy (Morin) ’98 and Ray Williams ’99, a son, Connor Mark, May 22, 2007.

Heather (Magliano) ’99 and John Bates ’00, a boy, Declan John, May 1, 2008.

Jaclyn (Kulas) ’99 and Tristan Claxton ’98, a son, John David, April 11, 2008.

Matthew Lomanno ’99

Kristin (Fuller) Derosier ’99 and Michael, a daughter, Megan Elizabeth, Feb. 12, 2008.

Winter 2009

Matthew Lomanno ’99 and Jessica, a daughter, Eliana Claire, March 9, 2008.

Linda (Chase) Plaisted ’99 and Roger, a daughter Olivia Marijane, April 10, 2008.

Erin (Cayer) ’99 and Jeffrey Stabach ’99, a son, Oliver, May 8, 2007.

Portraits

41

Class Notes Future Anselmians Brighid (Sheehan) Wall ’99 and Brendan, a son, Declan Byrne, Feb. 24, 2007.

A Voice for the Homeless: Amy Regan ’07

Tara (McCormick) Wardrop ’99 and Michael, a daughter Julia Elizabeth, June 19, 2008.

Kathleen (Riga) Ziegler ’99 and Mike, a daughter, Sophia Alice, Jan. 27, 2008.

Stephanie (McKenna) Haley ’00 and Michael, a son Michael Patrick, March 11, 2008.

Laura (Abraham) DePlacido ’00 and Michael, a daughter, Emilia Kathryn, March 28, 2008.

Denise (Coldwell) Morelli ’00 and Toby, a son, Matthew Albert, July 12, 2007.

Jaclyn (Covelle) Olivieri ’00 and David, a son, Joseph Robert, Feb. 14, 2008.

2007 Ryan Brandreth is a police officer in Manchester, N.H. Lauren Cimeno was hired to teach third grade in Westford, Mass. She completed a master’s degree in teaching at Simmons College.

Kathleen Connelly is a nurse at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Mass.

Tom DeRosa is the New Hampshire Republican Party’s political director.

Stephanie Gould attended the Circle in the Square Theatre School after graduating and has been acting and auditioning in Manhattan. She was a background performer in the film “Consent” and appeared in the indie short feature “Brooklyn Asylum.”

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As student government president, politics major Amy Regan listened to her fellow students. Now, in her home state of Maine, she gives a voice to homeless citizens. Her job as a community organizer for Homeless Voices for Justice includes raising awareness of homelessness, organizing demonstrations, conducting voter registration drives, and meeting with elected officials to advocate for services.

She educates about tenants’ rights and affordable housing options, and works through the legal system and law enforcement training academies to prevent illegal evictions and hate crimes. She works in Portland at Preble Street shelter and organizes for the homeless community in Portland, Augusta, Brunswick and York County.

Laraine Lennon is the office administrator at Back Bay Financial Group.

She lives in Boston, Mass.

Cassie Pappathan is a reporter for the Concord Monitor’s Insider.

2008 Andrea Berlin is an officer in the Bedford, N.H., police department.

Madeleine Clark is a public relations account coordinator at Montagne Communications in Manchester.

Andrea Crocker teaches voice and piano at the Leddy Center for the Performing Arts in Epping, N.H. Winter 2009

Vincent J. Capowski

V

incent J. Capowski, a former history professor and administrator, died June 4 in Moultonborough, N.H., at the age of 77.

Capowski held a master’s degree and doctorate from Fordham University. Over his 40 years at the college, his enthusiastic teaching, uncompromising standards and compassion earned the praise and respect of students and colleagues. He chaired the history department, chaired reevaluation committees, and was president of the college’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors.

In addition to teaching, Capowski held the positions of assistant and associate dean, where he wrote the original faculty handbook and launched the summer school program. He was also active in many state and local organizations concerned with the arts and humanities.

Kevin B. Harrington

K

evin B. Harrington, a former trustee of the college, died in Salem, Mass., on Nov. 27, 2008. A graduate of St. Louis University, he had a long and distinguished career in Massachusetts politics.

He served in the state Senate for 20 years, as president for eight years.

He founded a lobbying and consulting firm and served on the boards of numerous business, civic, educational and charitable organizations. A strong proponent of education, he lectured widely and received 10 honorary degrees. While on the board of trustees at Saint Anselm College, he was instrumental in the establishment of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics.

In Memoriam Trustee Emeritus Thomas J. Paul

T

J. Paul, a trustee and generous benefactor of Saint Anselm College, died August 11 in Rydal, Pa., at the age of 88. He had a long relationship with the college as a friend, honorary degree recipient, trustee, and the parent of five graduates.

Paul founded a highly successful marketing communications company and he pioneered the concept of integrated marketing communications, an approach to brand marketing communications that is an industry standard today.

He was a longtime patron and proponent of Catholic education and health care, and his company has supported numerous institutions and charities.

“He will be missed by all of us but his memory will live on for generations on our campus,” said Fr. Jonathan DeFelice, O.S.B., president of the college. “He provided invaluable assistance to the college during some very critical times by his work as a trustee and by his longtime generosity that included a million dollar gift for the construction of student residences at Father Bernard Court in memory of his dear friend, Fr. Bernard Holmes.”

Paul served on the board of trustees for 10 years. His son, John Paul ’70, is a current trustee.

in

memoriam

homas

Arthur Feldman ’39, Manchester, N.H., May 29, 2008.

Richarad R. Campagna ’71, Litchfield, N.H., March 9, 2008.

Paul Kelliher ’43, Manchester, N.H., April 1, 2008.

Nancy A. (Sartorelli) Flynn, ’72, Bedford, N.H., June 17, 2008.

Rev. John V. Moran ’47, Rye, N.H., June 27, 2008.

Fr. James W. Jones, O.F.M., ’73, White Plains, N.Y., Feb. 9, 2008.

Richard R. Lassonde, D.D.S. ’49, Concord, N.H., March 5, 2008.

Frank Labato, ’73, Vernon, Conn., March 27, 2008.

William T. Welch Jr. ’50, Manchester, N.H., April 8, 2008.

James J. Morris Jr. ’75, Mission Viejo, Calif., May 31, 2008.

William M. McLaughlin ’52, Acushnet, Mass., May 27, 2008.

Michael Manning ’78, Nashua, N.H., May 7, 2008.

Maurice L. Ouellette ’54, Centralville, Mass., Feb. 19, 2008.

Albert C. Abrahamson ’79, Hampton, N.H., Feb. 11, 2008.

Armand C. Rheault ’54, Manchester, N.H., April 9, 2008.

Donald M. Boland ’80, Salem, N.H., Feb. 10, 2008.

Ronald A. Royer, D.D.S. ’57, Merrimack, N.H. April 3, 2008.

John T. Finnegan ’93, Stroudsburg, Pa., March 17, 2008.

Jo-Anne (O’Connor) Enrique ’58, Niantic, Conn., April 2, 2008.

Friends

Richard C. Newman ’63, West Springfield, Mass., June 28, 2008.

Leo Charles Langlois, Jr., Laconia, N.H., Nov. 16, 2007.

John R. Hussey ’64, Manchester, N.H., April 4, 2008.

Claire M. Boulanger, Bedford, N.H., Feb. 27, 2008, former employee.

Dr. Stephen F. Lehane ’65, Menlo Park, Calif., April 7, 2008.

Rosalie Whittier, Goffstown, N.H., March 7, 2008, former employee.

Andrew A. Roy ’65, Bedford, N.H., Jan. 7, 2008.

Frederick J. Bukowski, Manchester, N.H., April 12, 2008, former employee.

Robert L. Fournier ’67, Goffstown, N.H., March 30, 2008.

Thomas J. Flatley

T

J. Flatley, father of trustee Daniel T. Flatley and generous benefactor, died May 17 at the age of 76. The owner of a Braintree, Mass., commercial real estate company, he was one of the Boston area’s most influential business executives. Flatley was born in Ireland and lived in Milton, Mass.

He was a noted homas

John W. Kornichuk, Manchester, N.H., June 24, 2008, benefactor.

David Borrelli ’70, Needham, Mass., Feb. 9, 2008.

philanthropist, supporting many charities locally and in Ireland, including the New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans.

He made a valuable contribution of land to Saint Anselm College in 2002.

Winter 2009

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43

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Reunion 2008

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800 alumni and their families returned to campus for Reunion 2008 to join in the festivities that included the Christopher Q. Cabana ’89 Memorial Fun Run, activities for kids, college update, campus tours, class receptions, entertainment and dancing.

Walter J. Gallo and the class of 1958 went all out and had a record 60 percent of their class present for their 50th reunion and induction into the Order of Golden Anselmians. In addition, 30 graduates of the former Mount Saint Mary’s College in Hooksett were welcomed into the Saint Anselm College alumni family. For more pictures of Reunion 2008 visit www.anselmalumni.net.Reunion 2008 was special affair for the Gallo and Megan families. Walter Gallo ’58 celebrated his 50th reunion and his son, Walter Gallo Jr. ’83, celebrated his 25th. Paul ’58 and his wife, Lucille (Mondou) Megan ’58 celebrated their 50th reunion and their son, Peter ’83 and his wife, Caroline (Sanford) Megan ’83 celebrated their 25th. ore than

Gallos and Megans Celebrate Golden and Silver Reunions—Seated (l-r) Caroline (Sanford) Megan ’83 and Lucille (Mondou) Megan ’58. Standing (l-r) Walter Gallo Jr. ’83, Peter Megan ’83, Walter Gallo ’58 and Paul Megan ’58.

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Winter 2009

Final Frame

F

Four Alumni Come Home

Saint Anselm graduates returned to their alma mater late fall as members of the faculty. Chemistry grad Daniel Broek ’80 (professor, biology) earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry at Rutgers University and has taught at the University of Southern California. Carrie E. MacLeod ’83 (assistant professor, nursing) holds a master’s and doctorate from Boston College. Lizabeth K. Auth ’86 (clinical nursing

Dave white

our

(L-R) Carrie E. McLeod, Lizabeth K. Auth, Daniel Broek, Matthew Konieczka.

faculty) earned her master’s degree in nursing education at Rivier College. Matthew Konieczka ’01 (assistant professor, philosophy) earned a master’s degree at Northern Illinois University and a doctorate at the University of Missouri.

“Becoming a faculty member here at Saint Anselm College feels like coming home,” says MacLeod.

Walking through the quad on the way to have this photo taken, says Lizabeth Auth, she thought about the blessing of being able to come back to Saint Anselm College to teach.

“This campus has always felt like home to me… the right place to be. The students are amazing and I think they connect to you differently when they find out you are a fellow Anselmian. Of course they are stunned when you remind them there is not a study hall in “the Ozone,” and the weekend does not start on Thursday at 6 p.m. in the Pub—not for nursing majors, anyway! They also connect to you when you understand “But professor, this test was so hard!” They are all hard. And I, too, have prayed in the church for a good grade. It is all part of what makes being a Saint Anselm graduate unique… that sense of grounding and community… and just one of the many reasons I am so happy to be back on the hilltop.”

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Thank You, Alumni and Friends Your generous gifts provide critical support for scholarships that make a Saint Anselm College education possible for so many.

As we look to decrease our impact on the environment and seek ways to use our financial resources more wisely, this year’s Honor Roll of Donors will be posted online rather than printed and mailed as it has been in years past. You will find the entire Honor Roll of Donors at http://www.anselm.edu/honor-roll. For those without access to computers, a limited number of printed copies will be provided upon request.