Bonaventure Magazine | Winter 2025

BONAVENTURE

Editor, Beth Eberth

Contributors

Cover Story

The Canvas For a Cure initiative at St. Bonaventure not only fosters leadership and community impact among students, it also led four alumnae to career shifts in cancer nonprofits and research.

Q&A with Woj

It’s been four months since Adrian Wojnarowski, ’91, shocked the sports world by stepping down from his ESPN career. He talks about his new role as general manager of men’s basketball, navigating NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) and the need for alumni support.

Impact Report

See the tremendous impact the Bolder Bonaventure campaign has had on the university, thanks to the passionate support of alumni and friends. BEYOND Bolder Bonaventure will make it possible for the university to reach even greater heights.

INSIDE

Off the Shelf .

Alumni Event Photos .

Class Notes .

Weddings

COVER IMAGE

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Kaylee Grace, ’27, an Accounting and Finance major from Bedford, Massachusetts, painted the butterfly image during Canvas For a Cure’s fall event. She is also the vice president of Enactus.

‘Polishing our chain of friendship’

Our St. Bonaventure community has long been guided by the values of compassion, wisdom and integrity, values informed by our cherished Franciscan tradition. These principles call us not only to reflect on our shared past but also to work actively toward a future built on understanding, reconciliation and mutual respect.

Last spring, we embarked on a new chapter in the ongoing relationship with our neighbors from the Seneca Nation of Indians, taking deliberate steps to “polish our chain of friendship” and strengthen the bonds between our university and the original stewards of the land upon which this university sits.

St. Bonaventure students were invited to join Marty Jimerson Jr. and the Indigenous Spirit Dancers in a dance following their September performance.

The formation last fall of a joint committee made up of members from the university community and the Seneca Nation marked an important milestone in this journey, building on efforts that began in 2021 with the creation of a minor in Native American and Indigenous Studies.

That addition to our academic portfolio was bolstered in 2023 with a $147,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The grant supports not only academic initiatives, but allows us to bring guest speakers and Native American cultural events to campus.

These programs have provided our students with an invaluable opportunity to study the rich cultures and contributions of Indigenous peoples, while also promoting dialogue and collaboration with the Seneca Nation.

The most meaningful step we took this year was the unveiling of our Land Acknowledgment Statement before the start of the Bonnies game vs. George Washington on Feb. 9, a statement authored collaboratively by members of the university and Seneca communities.

St. Bonaventure University Board of Trustees

Michael Hickey, ’84

Board Chair

Steven G. Barry, ’88

Board Vice Chair

Carol A. Schumacher, ’78

Board Vice Chair

Daniel Horan, ’05

Board Secretary

Michael A. Anderson, ’77

Norbert A. Bennett, ’62

Luke H. Brown, ’89

Donna L. Burden, ’84

Pikai Chiang, ’84

Joseph “Joe” Davis, ’79

Edwin “Ed” Evans, ’85

Larry Ford, O.F.M.

As I stood alongside Seneca Nation President JC Seneca and First Lady Nicole Seneca, Fr. Stephen Mimnaugh, O.F.M., our vice president for Mission Integration, read 65 words that serve as a long overdue but meaningful gesture of respect and a commitment to our ongoing partnership:

With respect and contrition, we honor the Seneca Nation. Praised be You, our Creator, through our native friends.

For generations, the Great Hill People and Keepers of the Western Door of the his‐toric Haudenosaunee Confederacy have been the stewards of the land where St. Bonaventure University now resides.

As we journey together, may we polish our covenant chain of friendship, in humility, reconciliation, and Peace.

The game also featured Layla Seneca’s beautiful rendition of the National Anthem, ticket discounts for Nation members, and children from Seneca youth organizations playing basketball at halftime.

More initiatives have already taken root or are in the planning stages, from Seneca flags and signage displayed on campus and at significant events like Commencement, to more intentional efforts to recruit and support Native American students. And in 2023, three Native American students, with the help of Sociology professor Dr. Kathy Zawicki, formed an Indigenous Student Confederacy.

These efforts are more than symbolic. They are tangible expressions of our commitment to acknowledge and honor the Senecas’ deep connection to this land and to our beloved university. By fostering an atmosphere of respect and collaboration, we strive to fulfill our mission as a university dedicated to social justice and the common good.

Why is this relationship so vital to us?

The Franciscan tradition emphasizes that true community can only be achieved when we listen to and learn from one another. For too long, Indigenous voices and histories have been marginalized. It is our responsibility, as educators and neighbors, to ensure that those voices are not only heard but celebrated.

As we look to the future, our work with the Seneca Nation will continue to grow. Whether through educational initiatives, cultural exchanges, or joint community projects, our partnership is a living testament to the values we hold dear.

Together, we want to build bridges that honor the past while paving the way for a more inclusive and equitable future.

Dr. Jeff Gingerich

University President

Michael T. Fossaceca, ’88

Mark R. Gianniny

Jeff Gingerich

James Helms, ’95, ’18

Gerry Helper, ’79

Linh N. Hoang, O.F.M.

Laurie R. Krupa, ’82

Molly Kulesz-Martin, ’71

Margaret Magee, O.S.F.

Kristan K. McMahon, ’97

Lisa (Melillo) Molinaro, ’81

Mark Mulhern, ’82

Mark Murphy, ’91

Thomas Nairn, O.F.M.

Susanna Stitt, ’99

James T. Walsh, L.H.D., ’70

Kevin Watkins

Trustees Emeriti

Robert J. Daugherty, ’77

John R. “Jack” McGinley, L.H.D., ’65

Leslie C. Quick III, L.H.D., ’75

John D. Sheehan, ’82

Meet the new Alumni Engagement team

Vice President for Advancement

J. Michael Pressimone is pleased to announce new staffing in the university’s Office of Alumni, Donor, and Family Engagement.

“With a renewed commitment to fostering meaningful connections and a fresh, dynamic team in place, we are focused on enhancing the ways we engage with and celebrate our incredible alumni community,” Pressimone said. “We are thrilled to share updates on the leadership and new additions to our team as we look forward to an impactful year ahead.

Effective Jan. 1, Angela Nelson, ’19, began her tenure as the director of Alumni, Donor, and Family Engagement. She has served as the interim director since September, having stepped in at a critical time as fall alumni activities were in full swing. She previously served as the director of Donor Engagement and other roles in University Advancement.

She continues to demonstrate her love of Bonaventure, her alma mater, with enthusiasm and boundless energy. She has put together a new team for the Office of Alumni, Donor, and Family

Engagement.

Dylan Biondo, ’21, a Jandoli School of Communication graduate, serves as the assistant director of Alumni Engagement. Biondo majored in Strategic Communication & Digital Media and minored in Business.

He is from Queens, New York, a long way from St. Bonaventure, but his pride for the school brought him back. He is an avid New York sports fan and is heavily involved in auto racing with his family in the summer months. Biondo will focus on fostering relationships with young alumni and current students and enhancing events and communications.

Amanda Hulbert was appointed assistant director of Donor Engagement. With a passion for relationship building and community engagement, Hulbert works to create meaningful connections between donors interested in supporting the university’s mission.

She holds a master’s degree in Adult Learning from Empire State University. As a lifelong Olean resident, she is dedicated to supporting her community through service as a Rotarian, teaching children’s art classes at the Tri-County Arts Council, and as a board member for the Twin Tiers Disc Golf Club. Hulbert is excited to work at St. Bonaventure, where she can combine her professional expertise, love for her community, and dedication to the university’s values to make a positive impact.

Pressimone said this talented team is eager to build on St. Bonaventure’s incredible foundation of spirit and pride.

“We deeply value the time and thoughtful feedback our alumni have provided through the recent alumni survey. Your insights are invaluable as we analyze the data and identify ways to serve you better,” he said. “Together, we will continue to strengthen the bonds that make St. Bonaventure so special. Thank you for your dedication to your alma mater.”

Angela Nelson Dylan Biondo

Amanda Hulbert

President Gingerich signs contract extension to 2030

Dr. Jeff Gingerich has signed a contract extension that will keep him in place as St. Bonaventure’s president through May 2030.

Gingerich began his presidency at SBU in the summer of 2022. Since then, the university has welcomed the three largest freshman classes in 20 years, with total enrollment in fall 2024 — undergraduate and graduate — reaching the fourth-highest mark in university history.

“Our Board’s unanimous approval of Jeff’s contract extension is a testament to Jeff’s dedicated leadership. We’ve had extraordinary momentum under his tenure, including record student enrollment, new academic programs and greater engagement in the community,” said Michael Hickey, chair of the Board. “His vision and orchestration of a long-term strategic plan will set the stage for growth and a vibrant future at St. Bonaventure.”

Davises donate $1 million to athletics, business school

The university has received a $1 million gift from Matt Davis, ’87, and his wife, Laura.

The Davises have earmarked $600,000 of their gift for the Athletic Performance Center, $300,000 for an endowment to benefit the School of Business, and $100,000 to the Bonaventure Fund annual appeal. The gift will count toward the $125 million goal of the university’s Bolder Bonaventure campaign, which ends May 31.

“The desire of Matt and Laura to support so many areas speaks to how deeply they care about the entire Bonaventure experience for our students,” said Dr. Jeff Gingerich, university president. “A gift this significant also tells me how much they believe in our future. For that, I can’t thank them enough.”

The Davises have been longstanding supporters of SBU, including the Bonaventure Fund, Sixth Man Club, Bonnies Athletic Fund and the Warming House.

Gingerich said, “I’m grateful to our trustees, but I want to be clear that their show of faith is just as much about the tremendous work of the administrators, faculty and staff I’ve been blessed to be surrounded with as it is about me.”

Addonisio takes over as VP for Finance and Administration

Anna Addonisio, MBA, CPA, has been named St. Bonaventure’s new vice president for Finance and Administration.

She is the founding chief financial officer at Orlando Health Sciences University, where she played a pivotal role in securing financial stability, achieving preaccreditation status for the Orlando College of Osteopathic Medicine, and implementing strategic plans to support the institution’s rapid growth.

Swagata Banik named new dean of School of Health Professions

Swagata Banik, Ph.D., is the new dean of the Dennis R. DePerro School of Health Professions.

He was most recently the Medical Mutual Endowed chair for Public Health and Population Health at Baldwin Wallace University in suburban Cleveland.

A faculty member and academic administrator at Baldwin Wallace since 2011, Banik also held prominent roles as dean of Graduate Education and Research, director of the Center for Health Disparities Research and Education, and chair of the Department of Public Health and Prevention Sciences.

“St. Bonaventure has and always will have a special place in our hearts,” said Matt Davis. “We firmly believe in the visions outlined by President Gingerich, Director of Athletics Bob Beretta, and the School of Business. My life was and continues to be blessed by my Bonaventure education and the Bonaventure experience.”

Dr. David Kelley, ’90, has added another feather in his cap with the publication of his latest book, “Internship Playbook: Skills and Strategies for Sport Industry Success.”

Published by the University of Cincinnati Press, this insightful guide is designed to help aspiring professionals navigate the complexities of the sports industry. Kelley’s extensive experience and expertise shine through in this comprehensive resource, making it a must-read for anyone looking to excel in sports management and related fields.

Thomas Berry, ’88, published his seventh novel, “Blue Line to Richmond,” which centers on the American Civil War. The book earned the 2024 International Impact Award for Historical Fiction, War and Military category.

The story follows three people, including Paul Revere, the grandson of the Revolutionary War hero, as he marches out with the Harvard Regiment, hoping to end this bloody rebellion quickly. Elizabeth Van Lew is a Richmond Unionist with a growing spy network, and 2nd Lt. Morton Tower, a Gettysburg casualty, is locked away in the infamous Libby Prison.

They are joined together by a unique medallion forged in the fires of Boston by Revere’s famous grandfather. As the North and South collide on the fields of battle and the back halls of the capital, the reader is brought along for a very in-

All books mailed to the magazine are shared with Friedsam Memorial Library for its collection. >>> WE LOVE MAIL!

timate and personal journey.

The novel can be found on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Berry’s website. www.thomas-berry.com.

Edward F. Saroney III, ’69, has authored and published “That Is — Is Not to be Known,” with edits by Art Lizza, ’74.

with the beautiful and mysterious Peggy Harrelson immerses Nash in murder and a deadly cat-and-mouse chase throughout war-torn Europe, pursued by German agents, czarist secret police, and Russian Bolsheviks. The prize is an arcane letter dating back to Catherine the Great that may alter the course of the war.

We are happy to print brief summaries of new books, CDs and other multimedia works published by SBU alumni, faculty and staff. Send a copy of the book or CD and summary press release to magazine@sbu.edu or: Bonaventure magazine

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Saroney’s second novel details the continuing life of Sean Rousseau and his deepening relationship with Merry McEntyre. They face new trials from Merry’s overprotective son and Sean’s discovery of an old and tattered diary recounting a nightmarish tale of an 1897 journey taken by two baseball players and a team follower of the Boston Beaneaters.

“Silhouettes of the Dark” is the first book of a trilogy

The three young men venture into the worst of the Boston slums to drink to their milestone 60th win of the season. But what they encounter that horrifying night is the personification of pure evil. Knowing the potential consequences of what he read, Sean struggles desperately to discredit the narrative as fictional for the salvation of his soul — and for the assurance that those he loves are safe.

Saroney’s first novel, “The Last Dodo Bird,” was published in 2020.

Mark Macedonia, ’82, has published his fourth novel, “Silhouettes of the Dark.”

The year is 1916. Europe is embroiled in a horrific war with no end in sight, and the United States remains hesitant to send troops into the conflict. Yet within the clandestine world of espionage, the U.S. is closely monitoring the operations of German agents throughout the world.

Enter Dr. Francis Nash, a professor of history at the University of Pittsburgh — and an undercover agent for the Office of Naval Intelligence. Nash is assigned to courier sensitive photographs to an agent of the British Secret Intelligence Service in Europe. A chance meeting

Dr. Leslie (Wilk) Braksick, ’86, and business partner Mark Linsz reflect on a decade of supporting leaders transitioning from intense careers to fulfilling next seasons in their new book, “Revealing Your Next Season.”

While many leaders spend years developing a financial plan for retirement, they spend little time on planning for their next purpose and thinking about wellbeing.

“Revealing Your Next Season” is not just an inspiring, pragmatic guide for finding joy and purpose after a full-on career. The authors’ words of wisdom are infused with kindness, warmth, encouragement, empathy, and a positive outlook to ensure readers have a companion with stories and examples to remind them they are not alone as they navigate this major career transition. The advice illustrates the authors’ deep understanding of transitions and their inherent challenges and opportunities.

Braksick and Linsz founded MyNextSeason 10 years ago to help companies and individuals with important career transitions and to ensure they happen well.

Embark on a journey with professional baseball scout Jim Pransky as he navigates from the humble sandlots of his small town to the exhilarating world of Major League Baseball. In “Baseball’s Test of Spirit,” Pransky reveals the untold stories and invaluable life lessons gathered from scouting iconic players and hidden talents alike.

Pransky, a native of Eldred, Pennsylvania, was the baseball coach at St. Bonaventure from 1982-1985. He earned a master’s degree from SBU in 1984.

His career includes stints with the Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, Colorado Rockies, and the legendary “Moneyball” Oakland A’s, as well as the Tampa Bay Rays during their unforgettable 2008 World Series run.

“Baseball’s Test of Spirit” shares the highs and lows, triumphs and tribulations, and the heart of baseball scouting through Pransky’s eyes.

Helen Ruggieri’s sixth book of poetry, “Blue Elegies: Poems for the Birds,” has been released by Sea Crow Press.

The book witnesses and pays homage to the many bird species vanishing in a rapidly changing world. One section of the book deals with aspects of birds that humans have adapted –including the chanteuse of Birdland Jazz Club, the Flying Wallendas stunt performers, and Icarus.

She previously published “Butterflies Under a Japanese Moon” featuring poems written while visiting Yokohama College of Commerce, the University of Pittsburgh’s sister college in Japan.

Other books include “The Kingdom Where No One Keeps Time,” “The Kingdom Where Everybody Sings Off Key,” “The Sapphires,” and two books of creative nonfiction, “The Character for Woman” and “Camping in the Galaxy.” Additionally, she coedited a book of writings about the Allegheny River (“Written on Water”).

Ruggieri grew up in a series of small towns in New York and Pennsylvania, graduated from Penn State University, and continued her studies at St. Bonaventure, where she earned her master’s degree in 1972. She returned to Penn State to earn an MFA in poetry writing.

Ruggieri taught at Pitt-Bradford for 20 years before her retirement. Her books are available at Amazon.com.

management guide for people of any age and in any career stage. It’s a timely framework for finding, pursuing and achieving employment that enables any reader to meet their professional and personal life goals. It provides a practical path to help readers choose a career, get the job they want, earn what they are worth, and do what they love (or at least genuinely like).

The book shares the methodology that Johnston has developed over 35 years as a search consultant at some of the world’s most influential firms. “Where’s Your Buffalo?” will help readers identify their perfect career (their “Buffalo”) and chart a course to reach it, including how to better understand their skills and talents and articulate what is important to them in a job and why.

providing the first political biography of the man who precipitated them — Gen. Harry H. Vaughan.

As the former president’s close friend and military aide, Vaughan brought a number of disreputable figures into the White House, in addition to committing plenty of misconduct on his own. Although aware of Vaughan’s misdeeds, Truman remained unwilling to rid his administration of him and his hangers-on. Vaughan’s scandals have largely been overlooked by historians, a tendency that “Little Helpers” corrects.

Executive recruiter Tom Johnston, ’81, is the author of “Where’s Your Buffalo? A Recruiter’s Guide to Getting the Career You Want, Earning What You’re Worth, and Doing What You Love.”

“Where’s Your Buffalo?” is a career

John Robert “Bob” Greene, ’77, ’78, published his 21st book, “Little Helpers: Harry Vaughan, His Cronies, and Corruption in the Truman Administration.” Greene encourages readers to rethink the scandals of Harry Truman’s presidency by

Drawing from primary and archival sources, many never before published, Little Helpers is further distinguished by its use of the correspondence between Vaughan and Truman. Greene also provides a dramatic narrative account of the inner workings of the Truman administration, making the book accessible to the general reader as well as the specialist.

University receives $500,000 grant from Cabrini Health Foundation GRANTS

St. Bonaventure has received another $500,000 grant from the Cabrini Health Foundation to benefit 30 Pell-eligible students in the health professions and education who might not otherwise have been able to attend SBU. The university received its first $500,000 grant for student aid from the Cabrini Health Foundation in 2023.

Each of the students — in either the School of Education’s teacher certification programs or the undergraduate programs in the DePerro School of Health Professions — will receive up to $5,000 annually for their four years at St. Bonaventure as long as they continue to major in one of those school’s programs and meet specified academic standards.

“We can’t thank the Cabrini Health Foundation enough for their generosity,” said Dr. David Hilmey, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs. “A significant cornerstone of our mission at St. Bonaventure is inspiring in our students a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship. Being able to provide additional financial support to students committed to these essential, service-oriented career fields allows us to fulfill that promise.”

The Mother Cabrini Health Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the health and wellbeing of New Yorkers, bolster the health outcomes of vulnerable communities, eliminate barriers to care, and bridge gaps in health services.

A small gesture with a huge impact

Alumnae share how Canvas For a Cure shaped their careers

By TOM DONAHUE, ’76

Gone fishing is a sign you might expect to find on the office door of Dr. Todd Palmer, associate professor of Management in the School of Business at SBU, and executive director of the school’s Foster Center for Responsible Leadership.

Through Enactus, an umbrella organization for projects that build campus-community partnerships and develop the next generation of leaders, Palmer lures students who want to be difference-makers.

“The best thing we can do is give students the opportunities and the resources, and let them find their way,” he

said. “I’ve created projects and different things for students to do over the years, and sometimes you just throw them out like fishing lines and wait for a bite.”

He’s had some prize catches over his 24-year career at SBU, none more so than a handful of past and present students connected with Canvas For a Cure, an Enactus program that raises money for the C.U.R.E. Childhood Cancer Association of Rochester and brings joy to young cancer patients at Golisano Children’s Hospital in Rochester. While admiring this Canvas trophy case, Palmer was struck by a common thread running through this “tapestry

Enactus team members Julia Bottino (front) and Halley Glover (back, from left), Ryan Forsythe, Chase Davies, Jake Wojtkowiak and Awak Thongjang transform The Burton’s dining room to an artist studio for last fall’s Canvas For a Cure.

of caring.” Not only have these students been involved with Canvas For a Cure, but four are alumnae whose Canvas experiences altered their career paths, and who now work for cancer nonprofits or in cancer research.

The Canvas story begins with Stephanie (Dolliver) Marcus, a native of Rush, New York, a suburb of Rochester, who followed

(Dolliver) Marcus today (above) and as an SBU student (left).

her brother to SBU, arriving as a freshman in 2012.

Marcus is no stranger to cancer. A survivor herself, the disease has claimed a number of her family members. So as a summer camp counselor in high school, she was drawn to a young camper, Sara, who’d been diagnosed with pediatric leukemia.

“We were 10 years apart, but we were very close and spent lots of time together,” Marcus said. “I visited her in the hospital and did anything I could to help her parents, who had two other boys as well. Then I went to Bona’s and just missed being able to hang out with her.”

On trips back home, she’d volunteer at C.U.R.E. “I knew what they were doing for Sara’s family and I wanted to give back,” she said.

An Education major, Marcus was looking for ways to get involved on campus when she bit on Palmer’s Enactus hook, joining what was then an annual Christmas break service trip to the Bahamas.

One day she told Palmer about her special relationship with her young camper Sara. Palmer put her in touch with a former student, Holly (Gendron) Dutcher, who’d recently been named executive director at C.U.R.E.

Dutcher, a 2009 graduate, had been a student in the fiveyear BBA/MBA program, worked as Palmer’s graduate assistant, and twice helped organize the annual Bahamas trip, experiences that planted a seed of service in her that would grow over time.

After graduating, Dutcher went to work for a Big 4 accounting firm, then as an accountant for a regional railroad in the Rochester area.

“But I just felt like something was missing,” she said. Dutcher started looking for volunteer opportunities within the sea of Rochester nonprofits numbering more than 5,000. She learned that C.U.R.E. was seeking volunteers to help with a holiday party.

It was all that seed inside her needed.

“I fell in love with their mission,” Dutcher said, so much so that she got friends involved and organized her own event, Cutting For a Cure. Salon stylists donated their time to harvest ponytails. The event raised more than $30,000 and collected hundreds of ponytails for wigs for cancer patients.

She was asked to join C.U.R.E.’s board of directors, and when the executive director’s position opened up in 2014, she applied for the job.

“I’d fallen so in love with this organization, and I was worried that somebody would come in and ruin it, make it too corporate and stuffy, so as a 27-year-old kid I threw my hat in the race,” Dutcher said. She got the job, and has been there ever since.

When Palmer reached out to her about Marcus’ involvement with the young cancer patient and as a C.U.R.E. volunteer, Dutcher needed no arm twisting to serve as her mentor. “Because, you know, there’s nothing like a Bonnie,” Dutcher said. “We’re all a big, wonderful family, so the fact that a student wanted to get involved in the community I was a part of really meant a lot to me.”

Looking to create a campus project that would aid the battle against cancer, engage students, and stand the test of time, Marcus came up with Canvas For a Cure, a program in which Bona students, staff and community members come together to paint small canvases with uplifting pictures and messages for young cancer patients. Participants pay a small fee, and organizers solicit donations from the community, with all proceeds going to C.U.R.E.

“The idea behind it was that kids could pick out a canvas when they were diagnosed, and bring it with them when they had a hospital visit,” Marcus said. “Hospital rooms are bleak and scary in some ways, so this was a way to help make their room a bit more cheerful.”

It’s a small gesture with a huge impact, Dutcher said.

“The kiddos love them and get so excited about picking which one they want,” she said. “They put them in their rooms and give them to each other as gifts. It’s a wonderful program.”

Just like Dutcher, Marcus found herself questioning her goal of becoming a teacher.

“Being involved with Enactus, whether it was through the Bahamas trip, Canvas For a Cure, or other initiatives, really opened my eyes to doing something different, on wanting my career to be in the space of giving back, so that at the end of the day I could feel that I made a difference,” Marcus said.

She’d earn an MBA from Bona’s, then land a job with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. Today, she’s a senior assistant director for The Jimmy Fund, a community-based fundraising initiative supporting the work being done at Dana-Farber.

Two other Bonaventure alumnae have similar tales of their Canvas For a Cure involvement altering their career aspirations.

T aylor Douglas arrived on campus as a freshman in 2013 to

Stephanie

Holly (Gendron) Dutcher

p Michelle Barry and Matthew Joss show off their newly painted canvases. u Julianna D’Onofrio (left) and Sydney Bouchard, who led Canvas For a Cure for two years, check out the paintings while they were on display in the Swan Center in December.

“ – Dr. Todd Palmer

I tell students that their only job at Bona’s is to become the very best person they want to be, and I think these four women did that. They just took something, ran with it, and built something that turned out to have an impact on their lives.

”

pursue her lifelong dream of being a doctor. “I always wanted to go to med school, but that first year I felt like I wanted something more, something outside of science,” she said. “I’d heard of Enactus, and knew it was a leadership program, so I walked into the School of Business.”

She met professor Palmer and learned about Canvas For a Cure.

“I was like, oh my gosh, jackpot! This is perfect, so up my alley,” Douglas said.

She helped with community fundraising for Canvas and stayed with the program through her four years at Bona’s, her skills as an organizer evident to all, particularly Palmer. So in her junior year, as she was preparing for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), Palmer threw her a curve ball.

“Palmer brings me into his office one day, sits me down, and says, ‘Taylor, don’t take this the wrong way; you will be an amazing doctor, but I think you have more potential. You’ve built such amazing administrative skills through Canvas and the Bahamas trips, and I think you can take those skills and put them into something else. I think you can make a bigger impact in some other way.’”

Douglas

Douglas accepted Palmer’s offer to do a post-graduate year at Bona’s as his graduate assistant, earn an MBA, then decide if med school was the best choice for her.

“By the end of my senior year, I was like, you know what? I really do like the project management side of the health care world,” she said. Douglas graduated and went to work as an assistant administrator at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. “My job was focused on improving operational efficiency, and it was such a natural transition for me, similar to everything I’d been doing in the Enactus/Canvas world,” she said.

Douglas moved to Rochester, New York, in 2018, where she worked for the University of Rochester’s bone marrow transplant team, then for a private health management firm, where she focused on optimizing cancer care. Last year, she joined Cylinder Health, an innovative virtual health platform focused on digestive health and digestive cancer detection, as a product manager.

Taylor

Back at Bona’s, Canvas was still an annual studentrun initiative when the COVID pandemic closed the university in March of 2020, Allison Lefebre’s sophomore year. Lefebre had worked on Canvas as a freshman, but the campus closure and suspension of normal activities had put many such programs in limbo.

Palmer worried that the disruption had dealt a death blow to Canvas.

“But no,” he said. “Allison and two other students came to me their senior year and said, ‘Palmer, let’s do Canvas.’ They had worked on it as freshmen and wanted to bring it back. They essentially started from scratch.”

Lefebre had come to Bona’s intent on becoming a physician assistant. “I was dead set on it,” she said. But while taking her first biology class, she had second thoughts: “I was like, I like this, but I don’t love it.”

Palmer, seeing a parallel between Lefebre’s career uncertainties and those of his former graduate assistant Douglas, put the two in touch.

Lefebre’s experiences with Canvas and Enactus, which included organizing a trip to Charlotte, North Carolina, for students to network with alumni there, opened her eyes to other career options in health care.

“You don’t realize there are so many jobs that don’t require that medical degree, but are needed in the medical field,” she said.

With Douglas as her mentor, Lefebre changed her major and career path, earning a bachelor’s degree in Individual Studies in 2023. She joined DanaFarber Cancer Institute’s hematology and oncology new patient coordination team, and, while there, completed the online MBA program at SBU. In October of 2024, she left Dana-Farber for a position with GRAIL, a biotech company that developed a groundbreaking screening test for early detection of more than 50 types of cancer. Lefebre works with providers in the Boston area to share and promote the technology, and get patients involved.

Canvas For a Cure isn’t the biggest student-run Enactus program on campus, but it’s an example of what happens when students are challenged and provided with the tools they need to succeed, Palmer said.

“These are four incredible people. I’m just happy I could put them in situations and places where they could take advantage of their talents, to give them a chance to lead,” he said. “I tell students that their only job at Bona’s is to become the very best person they want to be, and I think these four women did that. They just took something, ran with it, and built something that turned out to have an impact on their lives.”

Canvas For a Cure not only endures because of their work, but “is in better shape than ever,” said Ryan Forsythe, a sophomore Management major from Buffalo,

New York. He and a classmate, Julia Bottino, a Marketing major from Wareham, Massachusetts, were challenged by Palmer to take Canvas to another level.

Previous program managers had moved the canvas-painting day gathering from campus to The Burton, the popular alumniowned bar and restaurant in Allegany. All agreed it was a brilliant move. For $17.50, attendees got a canvas to paint while enjoying a Burton burger and fries.

To increase attendance at the event in November of 2024, Forsythe and Bottino ramped up promotion efforts on campus and in the community. They also created an online donation campaign.

“We had 71 people at our event and raised close to $2,000,” Forsythe said.

Other steps have been taken to strengthen the organization as well, Bottino added. “We set up a board and a whole system for when things should be completed to make it easier for students coming in,” she said.

The two will continue their work to grow the program.

“Canvas for a Cure is now very healthy, and it’s going to keep happening, hopefully forever,” Forsythe said. “It’s a great event.”

(Learn more about C.U.R.E at curekidscancer.com. The Foster Center for Responsible Leadership seeks the involvement of alumni. To learn more, email Dr. Palmer at tpalmer@sbu.edu)

Allison Lefebre

These are some of the canvases painted this year for young cancer patients.

Bonnies’ GM talks about his new role and the need for alumni support

BY TOM MISSEL Chief Communications Officer

S Q&A WITH WOJ

ports Illustrated called it the biggest media story of 2024. On Sept. 18, Adrian Wojnarowski, ’91, dropped the biggest bomb of his acclaimed journalism career.

He tweeted to his 6.4 million followers that he was leaving his lucrative job as ESPN’s Senior NBA Insider to become the general manager of men’s basketball at St. Bonaventure to help the program navigate what he calls the “tsunami” inundating NCAA Division I athletics.

How big?

CNN, Fox News and CNBC covered the news. Four weeks after Chris Mannix’s 3,200-word story in SI on Wojnarowski’s decision, a New York Times photographer tracked Woj’s every move in Reilly Center on New Year’s Eve during the Bonnies’ thrilling last-second win over VCU.

Three hours before that game tipped off, Woj sat down in the RC reds to talk about the transition and the challenges that lie ahead.

25,

Q: It’s been about four months since you stepped away from ESPN. Do you miss it?

WOJ: No. I’m fully invested here. It’s been great so far and I’m really enjoying throwing myself into it and trying to be creative in the approach.

I just haven’t had time to think about anything but what’s in front of us here. We have a tremendous number of challenges but we also have a number of opportunities, too. I’m just taking my strengths and applying them to our program, to help our players and our program and our school.

I do miss a lot of the people and I still keep up a lot of those relationships. They’re important to me personally, and many of them can be important to our players moving ahead. But I was ready to move on.

Q: This new GM role has many responsibilities: recruiting, transfer portal, Name, Image and Likeness (NIL), working with the Team Unfurl collective. How do you prioritize those?

WOJ: I think they all go hand in hand. Right now, retention is most important for us, keeping this very talented group together. In this day and age, it can be perpetual free agency. But from day one, this group has bought into Coach Mark Schmidt and the program, and also to the university and being a part of this community. You want to give them every opportunity to thrive here and stay here, to let them see the opportunities that come from being at Bonaventure, on campus but also outside of it, opportunities we can bring them in the off-season, and experiences and relationships that we can help them develop.

I’m enthusiastic about how our players feel about their experience here with Coach, but also about potential players and their families, coaches at different levels, agents. They’re excited about what we have to offer and seeing that we’re doing some unique things at our level that they’re going to have access to: NBA opportunities, professional opportunities, meeting people who can help them, not just while at Bonaventure, but well beyond their time here.

A big part of it is taking my global network, in basketball and beyond, and making it our players’ and our program’s network. Coach has 30-odd players playing professionally all over the world. There are a lot of places to make a great living (playing basketball) beyond this country. We want to educate them on how you get there, how you stay there, and knowing that when you play here, you’re going to get developed and you’re going to grow as a player.

Adrian Wojnarowski, ’91, speaks at the Sept.

2024, press conference formally introducing him as the first-ever men’s basketball general manager at St. Bonaventure.

p The creation of Bona-themed slides is just one of the NIL initiatives Woj has been able to negotiate. u Men’s basketball co-captain Melvin Council Jr. earned Bona’s WWE player of the game belt with a thrilling game-winning bucket over VCU Dec. 31.

Now, it may not be over four years anymore; maybe over two years, right? But the growth is still there and that hasn’t changed. That’s what people want and we have a head coach and a coaching staff that have an incredible track record in that regard.

It might look different now with the portal, but I think the values of the program and the things about Bonaventure that appeal to players and their families haven’t changed.

Q: If we can’t always offer players the same financially as some schools, maybe even some schools in our own league, what’s the value added that you tell recruits about this place?

WOJ: Bonaventure was transformational in my life, and the lives of many others.

People may suggest that in coming back here that I gave up some things, but I only really look at what I’ve gained by being back. I do hope that decision lends some credibility with our young people about the decision I made. I hope it shows how strongly I believe in this university and program. But it’s not just me. We have a whole network of alums and people who care deeply about this place and believe in it.

We want this to be a 40- or 50-year decision in choosing St. Bonaventure. When they see us bring back and honor the 2000 team and the 1968 team, we want our players to see how connected those men are after all these years. We hope that our players see that and look around their locker room

and say, “Hey, we’d like to have that bond together some day.”

“Once a Bonnie, always a Bonnie” can’t just be a hashtag. We’ve got to live it here.

Q: As you leverage relationships in your global basketball network, what kind of desire have you seen from people to want to be involved with Bonaventure?

WOJ: There’s a lot of excitement around the program. Nick Khan, the president of WWE, used to be one of my agents at CAA (Creative Artists Agency), and so when I announced my decision to come here as GM, he immediately hit me up and said, “Hey, let’s see if there’s something we can do here.” They’ve been great.

Whether it’s the WWE belts or ISlides or quiiiz.com … these are global brands who want to be in business with Bonaventure, who see the benefits of our platform. There are others we’re working on that I think we’ll be able to announce during the season.

Q: How vital is NIL to the future of the program?

WOJ: Building out our NIL program for our players is more important than anything I’m going to work on here. Without it, we won’t exist. We couldn’t continue to compete in the Atlantic 10. We’ve always been at a disadvantage, but that’s about to grow exponentially.

Financially, we’re going to be limited compared to what other schools will be able to do, so we have to be really creative. We need our business partners to be creative with us, and for people who are invested in St. Bonaventure basketball to invest in the program. Without dramatic growth in those areas (NIL and Team Unfurl), the product on the court will look dramatically different.

We don’t have to have as much as VCU and Dayton and St. Louis dollar for dollar, but there’s a gulf that we will not be able to overcome if we aren’t aggressive and if everyone doesn’t take this very seriously. That’s the reality of where we are.

Q: What are you most proud of in your journalism career?

WOJ: When I was a student at Bonaventure, I just wanted to make a living at it. I wanted to be able to have a career. I never imagined what it would become.

I graduated and went back to Connecticut with out a job. Just having a career where I stayed employed from start to finish was all I wanted and I did that. I was lucky that it ended at ESPN, but when I was a student, if you told me I could have covered the Bonnies at the Olean Times Herald or covered Little Three basketball for the Buffalo News, I would have signed right up.

Q: Most interesting person you’ve ever inter viewed.

ning the conference (in 2012) was pretty remarkable. And that night in Dayton was just awesome. I remember sitting with President DePerro and embracing him when we were pulling away. That was a great memory.

WOJ: Probably Kobe Bryant. Kobe was the smartest athlete, one of the smartest people, I ever spent time with. He just understood his craft, understood your craft, understood what you did. He had a great curiosity about other professions. Brilliant guy and extremely driven. I’ve never been around a more driven person.

Q: Favorite memory as a Bonaventure student.

WOJ: Pickup basketball in Butler.

Q: Favorite memory as a Bonnies fan, post-graduation.

WOJ: The Atlantic 10 Championship in 2012 in Atlantic City and the 2018 win over UCLA in Dayton. Having seen what our Atlantic 10 existence had looked like for a very long time, when we had years when we struggled to win just a couple games, win-

Q: With no obligation to do so, you revealed your cancer diagnosis to Sports Illustrated in December. How come and how are you feeling?

WOJ: I was fortunate to get my prostate cancer diagnosis discovered early, and I want others to be proactive in getting physicals and getting their PSA screenings. A lot of men my age (55) and younger, who should be getting regular physicals, sometimes aren’t as diligent as they should be. I hope it creates some awareness for others to go out and do that. Don’t put them off.

I feel good. I have regular evaluations so I’m staying on top of it. That’s the good thing about being able to get diagnosed early. If you can catch prostate cancer early, you can stay ahead of it.

Q: You often credit your wife, Amy (Carr) Wojnarowski, Class of 1992. How influential has she been?

WOJ: She’s meant everything to my career. I was able to be pretty selfish with my career because she was so selfless, whether it was her own career or with our kids. I missed a lot of stuff and she picked up the slack at every turn. She had her own legacy at St. Bonaventure that’s quite remarkable in its own right. She was an Ideal Bonaventure Senior and the Hellinger Award winner.

(To learn more about how you can help Team Unfurl and the NIL initiative, visit www.teamunfurl.com)

Adrian Wojnarowski (center) is flanked by Head Men’s Basketball Coach Mark Schmidt (left) and Vice President and Director of Athletics Bob Beretta, ’87.

FACES PLACES

1.) Beyond Bold: Binghamton – Oct. 23, 2024

2.) Beyond Bold: Boston – Oct. 30, 2024

3.) New York City Mass – Nov. 6, 2024

4.) BonaNet (alumni and Enactus networking Zoom) – Nov. 7, 2024

5.) Beyond Bold: Chicago – Dec. 5, 2024

44 SHARE YOUR CAREER NEWS WITH THE BONA NATION! CLASS NOTES

To submit professional news for the next issue of Bonaventure magazine, complete the online form at www.SBUmagazine.com or email magazine@sbu.edu. Submissions may be edited for clarity or length.

1965

Bona classmates and Iota Delta Alpha IDA fraternity brothers Fred Fuller and Gene Vassel met up in Jupiter, Florida. Marv Stocker was elected vice commander of American Legion Post 156 in Ellicott City, Maryland, where he is responsible for the quarterly flag retirement ceremonies, Memorial Day and Veterans Day weekend fundraising events, and serves as chairman of the Post Charities Committee. Stocker is a Vietnam veteran and was inducted into the St. Bonaventure ROTC Hall of Fame in 2017.

1969

Our Lady of Knock and attended the ordination of Msgr. Seamus Horgan in Ennis, Ireland, to archbishop as the newly appointed Papal Nuncio to South Sudan. The archbishop is from County Claire, as is Eileen’s family. The archbishop, while serving as secretary to Cardinal Pierre in Washington, D.C., for the past three years, said Mass once a month at Tom’s parish of St. John Bosco in Woodstock, Virginia.

Marron, Pat O’Dea, and Ed Eckert, whom he describes as superb teachers and excellent mentors.

Greene and his wife, Patty (Messer) Greene, ’79, have three children and live in Chittenango, New York.

Peter White retired from 38 years of teaching and administrative work at the University of New Mexico in 2015. During his tenure he served as a full professor in English and American Studies, became vice provost for undergraduate education and secretary of the New Mexico Higher Education Department, appointed by Gov. Bill Richardson. He served as a Fulbright Fellow in Poland in 1980-81 and is the author or editor of five academic books. Since his time at St. Bonaventure, he has pursued a second career in professional violin making. In 2010, he was awarded a gold medal in Cremona, Italy, for his antiqued copy of a viola by Andrea Amati, 1560. Currently, he is a resident violin maker at Antonio Strad Violins in San Antonio, Texas. He has three sons and a grandson. He credits his connection to violin making to the work of the Franciscans in northern Italy.

1970

Tom Drinkwater and his wife, Eileen Tubridy Drinkwater, visited the shrine of

1973

Mary Tepas Banks is serving her second term as president of the Newcomers of Northwest Hillsborough County. This Tampa area women’s group provides more than 20 activities each month to help its members learn about the area and make new friends. She supervises more than 30 activity leaders who provide monthly luncheons, volunteer opportunities, speaker events, and fun opportunities for newcomers. The group serves close to 200 women.

1975

Bob “Wimpy” Jones has retired after 44 years in the Swiss machinetool industry. He and his wife of 45 years, Diane, live in New Fairfield, Connecticut.

1977

John Robert “Bob” Greene (also 1978) retired from Cazenovia College history after 42 years of teaching. He is forever grateful to faculty in the History Department during his time at Bona’s, particularly Nick Amato, Pete

Michael E. Frisina, Ph.D., won the James A. Hamilton 2024 Book of the Year Award from the American College of Healthcare Executives. His new book, “Leading with the Upper Brain,” also won the Bugbee-Falk 2023 Student Book of the Year Award presented by the Association of University Programs in Health Administration. Frisina is a retired Army officer and former faculty member of the Leadership Development Department at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He also was the leadership and ethics subject matter expert for the Army surgeon general and faculty member of the Uniformed Services University and Health Sciences Medical School. Founder of The Center for Influential Leadership, he is an international consultant and speaker on health care leadership, developing high performing teams to improve health care safety, quality and patient experience.

1980

Bob Marks was elected to a four-year term on the City Council of Cottonwood, Arizona, beginning Nov. 19. Marks retired in April 2021 after 22 years at Silicon Valley Bank. He worked in a variety of positions in the IT and Procurement departments, including seven years as manager of the bank’s global computer service desk. Marks also volunteers as a court-appointed special advocate

SBU’s oldest alumnus turns 105 in April

Dr. Albert J. “Al” Morini Sr., Class of 1941, is counting the days until his 105th birthday in April. He is believed to be the oldest living alumnus of St. Bonaventure.

Al is the first member of a threegeneration St. Bonaventure legacy family that includes Dr. A.J. Morini Jr., ’75, Barbara (Iannotti) Morini, ’75, Thomas Morini, ’77, and Julia (Morini) Pagliarini, ’11.

Additionally, three of Al’s family members followed him to the University of Maryland Baltimore College of Dental Surgery to prepare for their respective careers in dentistry: son A.J. Jr., granddaughter Chelsea, and son-in-law William Bresonis.

While studying in Baltimore, Al met his wife, Mary Sullivan, in October of 1941 and they were married the next year. Mary passed away in 2014, after 72 years of marriage. Al and Mary had four children, 12 grandchildren, and 18 great-grandchildren.

After dental school, Al served in the U.S. Navy at San Diego, California, during World War II. When the war ended, he opened his dental practice.

A few years later, Al returned to the armed services during the Korean War: He was on loan by the Navy to the Air Force at Hunter Air Force Base in Georgia.

Al ultimately retired as a lieutenant commander then returned to his hometown of Amsterdam, New York, to reopen his dental practice.

He often speaks fondly of his multiyear Devereux Hall roommate, Victor Zuck, who lost his life in WWII, not long after graduating from SBU.

Al is a dedicated fan of St. Bonaventure basketball and rugby. He has attended numerous games in the past and is cheering on the teams this year.

Matt Morgan named to 5 Under 25 list

Matt Morgan, a Finance and Economics major from the Class of 2021, was one of five young entrepreneurs named to Buffalo Business First’s fourth annual Inno 5 Under 25 list. The Western New York business publication released the list in October 2024.

Morgan, 24, was selected for his efforts developing his startup business, Fresumes, a free resume database service that he started when he was a student at St. Bonaventure. Morgan’s goal was to “democratize resume

databases for startups, small businesses and independent recruiters.”

As of October, Fresumes housed more than 17,000 resumes and served more than 8,000 employers.

The service allows job seekers to be more efficient in their search by uploading their resume once and allowing employers to contact the job seekers directly. Morgan said he hopes to begin partnering with local universities, social media groups and nonprofit organizations to host their resumes.

Morgan, a graduate of East Aurora High School, lives in Buffalo and has two children.

(CASA), advocating for children in the Arizona foster care system.

1981

Along with her career in journalism, Kerri Miller (above) is the founder and chief enthusiast of SirenSojourns: Adventure Travel for Adventurous Readers. She has led intrepid travelers to Bhutan, Cuba, Greece, Iceland, Jordan and India. Miller returned to Bhutan and India in November and is headed to the Slovenian Alps in May. “Book lovers are welcome,” she writes.

1984

Joseph Bunk is in a long career in the insurance industry. He recently completed an MBA, which brought back some great memories and realization of the quality of his undergraduate degree from St. Bonaventure. One of his regrets while at Bona’s was not learning how to play a musical instrument. He reversed this regret while in graduate school by learning how to play the bass guitar and then starting a band. Bunk shared an article about their first professional performance: https://tinyurl.com/y79wsce3. Dr. Mary Shannon Colson is a clinical assistant professor at the SUNY at Buffalo School of Nursing. Colson’s research focuses on the mental health needs of children and adolescents. She is focused on the need of high functioning children/adolescents to be diagnosed with Level 1 autism without intellectual disability to assist with understanding any behaviors requiring discipline in an academic setting.

1985

Paul Murphy has retired from his 39-year

Dr. Albert J. “Al” Morini Sr., ’41

career on Wall Street as an institutional bond salesman. During this time, he was instrumental in helping three different Wall Street firms (notably J.P. Morgan Securities) achieve the No. 1 ranking multiple times in the U.S. agency debt issuance league tables. He is looking forward to the next chapter of his journey.

1986

Kathleen Major joined Ashfield Medcomms (ashfieldmedcomms.com), a division of Inizio Medical, as a senior medical editor supporting the Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) Medical Strategy team. For the previous 15 years, she successfully operated a freelance business, KMajor Editorial Services, providing medical editing and project management support for clients whose materials focused on physician education and pharmaceutical and medical-related communications. She is also the chapter leader for the Northern New Jersey SBU Alumni Chapter.

1989

Lt. Gen. Patrick D. Frank commands U.S. Army Central and Third Army, where he is responsible for U.S. Army forces assigned to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of operations. Army Central (ARCENT) Forward Headquarters are at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, with the main command post at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina.

1992

Suzanne Wilcox English was promoted to senior vice president for strategic development and communications at Cathedral Corporation, where her primary responsibilities are developing new business relationships in the nonprofit sector.

1995

1987

Mary K. (Lapp) DiRisio was promoted to dean of Library and Student Learning Services and received two recognitions for her accomplishments at Fayetteville (North Carolina) Technical Community College. In April 2024, she received the college’s President’s Distinguished Staff Award and, in May 2024, she received the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) Excellence Award. DiRisio has been a librarian for 20 years and prior to joining FTCC in 2020, she was a public librarian in Olean and in Cumberland County, North Carolina.

Denise (Miele) Sullivan defended her dissertation, “Social Emotional Learning: An Examination of Teacher Perception, Knowledge and Practices used in the Classroom,” and graduated with a Doctor of Education degree Jan. 14 from Monmouth University, West Long Branch, New Jersey. She also has master’s degrees in school counseling and administration from Georgian Court University in Lakewood, New Jersey. Sullivan is a school counselor at Monmouth Beach School.

1997

Dr. Jayme (Maley) Hines has returned to St. Bonaventure to join the faculty in the School of Education. Hines teaches in the Childhood and Early Childhood program while supporting students through advising and mentorship. She is so excited to be back at Bona’s and supporting future teachers.

2004

Sarah Hansen chaired the Defense Research Institute’s 2024 Trucking Law Seminar “The Time is Now: Turning the Tide in Trucking Litigation” in St. Louis. The three-day seminar contained high level presentations highlighting practical strategies to defend cases in the face of new challenges involving changing jury demographics, viewpoints and values,

practical workshops for effective witness preparation and claims resolution, innovative trucking technology and litigation tactics. This national seminar drew hundreds of attorneys, claims representatives and industry professionals, who also enjoyed “on the field” networking opportunities at Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals.

2005

Patrick Noel earned his National Board Certification in Early and Middle Childhood Physical Education, becoming only the fourth physical education teacher in Fairfax County Public Schools to achieve this certification. This advanced teaching credential is considered to be the highest and most respected in the education field.

2008

Emily L. Ciraolo (also ’09) was promoted to communications lead for Cisco’s Supply Chain Transformation organization in April 2024.

2010

Adam Bennett (above) was named the Western New York Boys Basketball Coach of the Year after another successful season as head coach of the boys varsity basketball team at Salamanca High School. The Warriors finished 20-6 and won their league, sectional and regional championships to advance to the New York State Final Four in Glens Falls. Bennett has led the Warriors to the state final four in two of his last three seasons. He is the only coach in school history to win multiple sectional and regional

Mary (Lapp) DiRisio with FTCC President Dr. Mark Sorrells

championships, and just one of three coaches in Big 30 history to take a team to the state final tournament more than once. In addition to coaching the boys basketball team, Bennett is the assistant athletics director at Salamanca.

2011

Kristy (Kibler) Holfoth was promoted to editor of Buffalo Magazine in March 2024. She holds the position in addition to being a content specialist for Amplified Buffalo, the marketing agency of the Buffalo News.

2012

Kaitlin (Lindahl) Jackson was promoted to director of agency communications at Catholic Charities of Buffalo. She has been with the nonprofit for nearly eight years. Djenita Svinjar joined Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck as senior counsel in the Litigation Department with a focus on construction law. She is based in the firm’s Denver office. Svinjar began her legal career as in-house counsel and assistant vice president for a Fortune 500 title insurance provider, which led her to the construction industry where she served as corporate counsel for one of the nation’s largest general contractors and then as outside counsel to several of the nation’s largest commercial general contractors. Beyond her practice, Svinjar is heavily involved in the community, serving on the U.S. Board of Advisors for Women for Women International, St. Bonaventure’s Alumni Council, and as vice president for the Denver chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction.

Jayne Mary to Kelley and Patrick Gill, ’04

Sloane Elizabeth to Colleen (Smith) Dunn, ’04, and Michael Dunn

James Wolcott to Maureen and Joseph Wolcott, ’06

Josephine Marie to Elizabeth Ervolina, ’06, and Bradley Naughton, ’04

Collins Elise and Lucas Walter to Kate (Himes) Drum, ’12, ’13, and Nick Drum

Cameron Roy to Kelly (O’Dell) Cooke, ’13, ’14, and Ryan Cooke, ’13, ’14

Bella Marion to Lauren (Capotorto) Didio, ’13, ’15, and Trey Didio, ’14, ’15

2014

Tim Harfmann joined News 12 The Bronx as a multimedia journalist. The New York City native returned to the Big Apple in September 2024 after working at ABC-WTNH in Connecticut and NBCWSLS in Virginia.

2019

Connor Nolan (also ’21) was promoted to assistant director of consumer and mortgage ending at Community Bank. In his new position, he is responsible for managing and evaluating portfolio characteristics, reviewing profitability models, preparing various projects and reports, and mining data from internal and external sources. Nolan joined Community Bank in 2021, serving as senior real estate underwriter at the Allegany Loan Operations building. Outside of the bank, Nolan serves as the official statistician for the men’s and women’s basketball teams at SBU.

2020

Nathan Apker (also ’21) was promoted to audit senior accountant at Dannible & McKee, LLP, a certified public accounting and consulting firm. Apker joined the firm full time in 2021 after working as an intern in the audit department for two years. He is responsible for performing audits, reviews and compilation services, and proofing client financial statements/reports in preparation for issuance. Apker lives in Liverpool, New York, and works at the Syracuse office. Donovan “Donnie” Moffat (also ’21) was appointed assistant athletic director for Academics and Student Eligibility at St. Bonaventure.

Alums invite veterans to go sailing Brady Sullivan, ’83, and John Intile, ’74, were both in the ROTC, commissioned as 2nd lieutenants and served on active duty. They grew up within 15 miles of each other near New York City. Both worked for the Office of the Public Defender in Naples, Florida, and both married women who immigrated to the U.S. Sullivan and Intile are looking for Bona grads and veterans to come sail with Veterans Sailing. Email Sullivan at veteranssailingthelastpatrol@gmail.com.

Bonnies at PRSA conference

Bona grads unexpectedly found each other at the 2024 Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Northeast District Conference in Syracuse in November 2024. From left are Erin Collins, ’05; Tracy (Nelson) Volkmann, ’05; Vanessa Marquette, ’11, ’12; Julie (Kalata) Sheedy, ’92; Kate Lewis Torok, ’01; and Jared Paventi, ’99.

Christmas gathering at Smith & Wollensky

Mark Lawley, ’92, Paul Murphy, ’85 (front row from left) and Bill Lawley, ’85 (back row) got together at Smith & Wollensky for a Christmas lunch.

Pregaming in Florida

Tim and Elaine (Krasniak) Rice, 1979 graduates, joined St. Bonaventure basketball legend Jim Baron, ’77, at the pregame celebration before the Nov. 13, 2024, men’s basketball game at Florida Gulf Coast University.

Former

ROTC cadets gather in NC

Former SBU ROTC cadets from the Class of 1987 (and two ’86 spouses) gathered for a reunion at Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina, in October 2024. Pictured from left are Jim Reese, ’87, Tim Shanahan, ’87, Jim DiRisio, ’86, Mary (Lapp) DiRisio, ’87, Bill McLean, ’87, Mary (Mahoney) Santini, ’87, John Santini, ’86, Mark Weinerth, ’87, and Aiden Hannan, ’87.

4 Bonnies from 4 states

These 1982 grads from four different states are pictured at the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado, in September 2024. From left are Kerry Gleason, Lois Morales, Renee Ricco and Sean Linehan. In the front is Boru (as the Bona Wolf).

Celebrating 60 in Naples

These 1986 classmates gathered to celebrate their 60th birthdays together in Naples, Florida. In the front row (from left) are Amy (Gillooly) Allyn, Kathy (Spruyt) Williams and Karen (Salva) Green. In the back row (from left) are Erin McCrea Noll, Mimi (Dowd) McNamee, Rene (Poochigian) Pochop and Patty (Kurz) Williams.

Birthday milestones in Sarasota

Class of 1986 housemates (from left) Elizabeth (Knowles) LaPlante, Kathleen Major, Julie (Ottaway) Schmit, and Maureen (Lonieski) Reuther celebrated their 60th birthdays together during a “girls trip” to Sarasota, Florida, in May 2024.

Reminiscing on the Cape

These 1980 Bona grads got together on Cape Cod in October 2024. The classmates try to get together every few years and often meet on the Cape. The first students/seniors to live in the “new dorms” when the Garden Apartments were built in 1979-80, they feel very fortunate to have met each other in Dev all those years ago. The classmates (from left) are Deb (McWhirter) Carr, Kathy Finnegan, Vicki (VanDevere) Borer, Barb (Cunneen) Cancalosi, Barb (Nothem) Yaros and Kathy (Waterstrat) Mazur.

Marking their 60th birthdays in Costa Rica

Friends from the Class of 1986 traveled to Costa Rica to celebrate their 60th birthdays. From left are Lori (Flanagan) Moore, Gail (Henzel) Veideman, Lisa (Voss) Palvino, Ann (Fossaceca) Szot, Jeannine O’Brien, Amy (Tuttle) Steger, Mary Ann (Moore) Covey, Nancy (Butow) Bardsley, Mimi (Reineck) Otminski, and Pamela (Arnold) Powers.

Golfing in Scotland

It was a trip of a lifetime for these St. Bonaventure grads. They play golf together every fall, but in 2024 they treated themselves to a Scotland golf vacation – six rounds in seven days, including the Old Course at St. Andrews. On the Swilcan Bridge at the Old Course, from left, are Tony Lewis, ’83, Paul Foley, ’87, Michael Hunt, ’85, ’87, John Foley, ’81, and Michael Stinton, ’83. Their annual golf trips started in 1992 and are still going strong.

Golfing at Turning Stone

Members of the classes of 1989 and 1991 attended a golf weekend at Turning Stone Resort. In the front row (from left) are Pat Hanna, Craig Sickler, John Galuski, Mike Keilman, Rob Donnelly, and Dan Pucillo. Back row (from left) are Jeff Estabrooks, Scott Walrath, Steve Sickler, John Finch, Paul Estabrooks and John Eberhard.

And even more golf!

It’s always great to get the Bona’s gang together for golf. Pictured are John Haar, ’90, Mike Fitzpatrick, ’90, John Wiedeman, ’90, Dan Mangan, ’91, Pat Reynolds, ’90, John Stevens, ’90, Chris Annesi, ’90, Tim Carlo, ’90, and Sean Mahoney, ’91.

Golfing in Florida

A group of ’71 friends got together for some golf and dinner in the Singer Island/Jupiter, Florida, area. From left are Johnny Johnson, Bill Scott, Gene McQuade and Jim Kibble.

An Ideal meeting Ideal Bonaventure Students

Nick Speranza, ’64, and Jack Steger, ’22, met up at Speranza’s granddaughter’s wedding.

Catching up in Raleigh

Alumni (from left) Daniel Short, ’85, Brendan Shea, ’85, Thomas Bittner, ’84, and Philip Ples, ’83, had a chance to catch up at the Raleigh wedding of Short’s son.

Bonnies

in Malta

These Bonnies took a break from the sun in Malta to show off an SBU banner: From left are Kirsten and Ray Mastoloni, ’81, Kelly (Calcote) Fry, ’84, and Andy Fry, ’83.

The ’80s take on the Poconos

It was just like old times when members of the classes of 1982, 1983 and 1984 got together in the Poconos. From left are Caroline (Hammond) O’Connor, ’83, Maggie (Clarke) Percival, ’83, Tricia (Flynn) Curran, ’84, Jo-Ann (Cahill) Delfino, ’83, Annemarie (Mark) O’Hearn, Carol Beckerle, ’83, Lauren (Reidy) Scheib, ’82, Helene (Warner) Connick, Julie Doran, ’82, and Chritina (Lambert) Clarke, ’82.

’88 friends get together in the Finger Lakes

Despite living in different states, Bona friends from the Class of 1988 have gotten together at least once a year since graduation except for 2020. In June 2024, they met at a winery in the Finger Lakes. From left are Jennifer (Lehman) Garguilo, Eileen (Finan) Breslin, Mary (Fischer) Fuhrman, Janet (Vercammen) Staschiak, Laurie (Corwin) Springer, Terri Tucci-Petrin, and Karen Mezzalingua.

Sharing holiday cheer in Manhattan

Alumni Daniel Hollywood, ’79 (retired NYPD Lt.), John Carney, ’76, and Paul Murphy, ’85, celebrated some holiday cheer at the Old Town Bar in Manhattan.

Alumni Deaths

A directory of deceased alumni is available on Bona’s Online. Register at www.sbu.edu/alumni

Rose Ann (Luntz) Evans, ’50, Kingston, Pennsylvania

James R. Lensing, ’50, Greenwich, Connecticut

John P. Ryan, ’50, Hewitt, New Jersey

Joseph R. Tilmont, ’50, Milton, Delaware

Michael Martone, ’51, Halfmoon, New York

Anthony J. Tisko, ’52, Dallas, Texas

Mary (Freany) Whitcomb-Pietrylo, ’51, Great Valley, New York

Paul T. Gallagher*, ’52, Novato, California

Frederick T. Tomm, ’52, East Walpole, Massachusetts

James G. Smith, ’52, Salamanca, New York

William J. Bruton M.D., ’53, Concord, New Hampshire

Eugene R. Ferraro, ’53, Stuart, Florida

Ralph F. Brancaccio, ’54, Ellington, Connecticut

Donald M. Flanagan, Esq.*, ’54, Binghamton, New York

Donald J. Kelly, ’54, Point Lookout, New York

Fr. Joseph Nangle, O.F.M., ’54, Washington, D.C.

Joseph A. Quinlan, ’54, Corning, New York

Edmund J. Quiñones, ’54, Lockport, New York

Timothy E. Brophy, ’55, Little Falls, New Jersey

Gerald T. DeVito, ’55, North Port, Florida

Nicholas G. Lanza, ’55, Storrs Mansfield, Connecticut

Dr. Joseph F. Palma, ’55, Mystic, Connecticut

Duane F. Anderson, ’56, Lakewood, New York

Dr. Robert H. Becker, ’56, Cortez, Colorado

Dr. Robert E. Burke, ’56, Charlottesville, Virginia

Rev. Romano J. Ferraro, ’56, Jamaica, New York

Col. (Ret.) George W. Goetz, ’56, Grand Junction, Colorado

Sr. Harriet Hamilton, ’56, Cortland, New York

Rev. Leo F. McCarthy, ’56, Town of Tonawanda, New York

Ray E. Schottmiller, ’56, Rochester, New York

Dr. John P. Soder Jr., ’56, Friendship, Maryland

Norman D. Willover, ’56, Exton, Pennsylvania

Carmen P. Fasulo, D.D.S., ’57, Voorheesville, New York

John J. Gallagher, ’57, Holmdel, New Jersey

Shirley A. Krise, ’57, Williamsville, New York

Dr. Ronald E. MacLeay*, ’57, Virginia Beach, Virginia

Charles B. Marquardt*, ’57, Webster, New York

Brendan M. McCann, ’57, Pembroke Pines, Florida

Gerald F. McGuire, ’57, Fairport, New York

Richard M. McHale, ’57, Ontario, New York

William T. McMullen, ’57, Depew, New York

Lawrence J. O’Donnell, ’57, River Edge, New Jersey

Gerald W. Olshefski, ’57, Bradford, Pennsylvania

Louis M. Prisco, ’57, Millbrook, New York

Robert A. Dubill, Litt.D., ’58, Alexandria, Virginia

Stephen P. Hennessey, ’58, Apex, North Carolina

Rev. William M. Kuba, ’58, East Brady, Pennsylvania

Msgr. Joseph K. Bobal, ’59, Reynoldsville, Pennsylvania

Robert A. Gentile, ’59, Boonton, New Jersey

Paul L. Zamberlan, ’59, Seaford, Delaware

Robert P. Cesca, ’60, McLean, Virginia

John C. Clark, ’60, St Augustine, Florida

Gary Crawford, ’60, Latham, New York

Francis J. Gahagan, ’60, Binghamton, New York

Gary Davis, ’61, Leesburg, Florida

William J. Curley*, ’61, Sun City West, Arizona

Dr. Thomas G. Frank, ’61, Orchard Park, New York

Sidney J. Groves, ’61, Dover, Delaware

Charles D. Hartman, ’61, Washington, D.C.

Kenneth C. Hyde, ’61, Roswell, Georgia

David D. Keefe, Ph.D.*, ’61, Rockville, Maryland

John H. Kennedy, ’61, Staatsburg, New York

*Member of Seraphim Legacy Society

Rev. John J. McVean, O.F.M., ’61, New York, New York

Henry E. Meisner, ’61, Highlands Ranch, Colorado

Michael R. Michalko, ’61, Naples, Florida

David A. Downs, ’63, Elizabethtown, New York

William J. Fitzpatrick, Esq., ’63, Port Orange, Florida

Rev. Michael S. Joyce, O.F.M., ’63, Providence, Rhode Island

John F. Kane, ’63, Littleton, Colorado

Joseph P. Mahoney, ’63, Chateaugay, New York

Charles S. Schunk, ’63, Putnam Valley, New York

Eugene F. Sommers, ’63, Springwater, New York

Gordon E. Tilley, ’63, New Milford, Pennsylvania

Rev. Joseph D’Angelo, ’64, Mattituck, New York

Stephen E. Breuer, ’64, Penn Yan, New York

E. Kevin Dolan, ’64, Walpole, Massachusetts

Arthur W. Lovel, ’64, Wellsville, New York

Fr. Daniel P. Riley, ofm, ’64, West Clarksville, New York

Leo J. Feeney, ’65, Chatham, New Jersey

Charles J. Ponticello, ’65, Skaneateles, New York

Michael G. Powers, ’65, Watertown, New York

Eugene E. Sydoriak, ’65, Cordova, Tennessee

Michael A. Cangialosi, ’66, Montvale, New Jersey

Daniel F. O’Gorman, ’66, Lake Worth Beach, Florida

Sr. Mary V. Hicks, ’66, San Jose, California

Dr. Jane Kopas, ’66, Wayne, New Jersey

Michael W. Maraffa, ’66, Baytown, Texas

Edwin J. Morley, ’66, Greencastle, Pennsylvania

Michael L. Pascarella, ’66, Eldred, Pennsylvania

Sr. Matthew A. Bricketto, ’67, St. Petersburgh, Florida

Barbara (Buto) Kirby, ’67, Coudersport, Pennsylvania

Joseph J. Prock, ’67, Schenectady, New York

William G. Frost Sr., ’68, Saint Clair Shores, Michigan

Blanche (McLean) Buono, ’68, Brandon, Florida

Thomas M. Klemmer, ’68, Longmont, Colorado

Sr. Norma Matthews, ’68, University Park, Florida

Michael E. Nash, ’68, Powell, Ohio

D. Lynn (Vossler) Shane, ’68, Allegany, New York

Edwin H. Zack Jr., ’68, Portland, Oregon

Thomas A. Zilliox, ’68, Baltimore, Maryland

John F. Bazow, ’69, North Chesterfield, Virginia

Thomas G. Hynes, ’69, Ruskin, Florida

Judith A. (Slish) Leardini, ’69, Youngstown, New York

John C. Fee IV, ’70, Rochester, New York

Sarah M. Luna, ’70, Rochester, New York

Rev. Salvatore P. Luzzi, ’70, Bradford, Pennsylvania

William S. Makarowski, M.D., ’70, Erie, Pennsylvania

John M. Minard, ’70, Emporium, Pennsylvania

Thomas J. Bamrick, ’71, Glenwood, New York

Michael Gallagher, ’71, Auburndale, Florida

Paul W. Hoffman, ’72, Belmont, New York

Rev. Gaetano T. Baccaro, ’73, Morrisville, New York

Daniel C. Panzica, ’73, Castle Pines, Colorado

Richard J. Esposito, ’74, Brockway, Pennsylvania

Salvatore P. LaTona, ’74, Fort Collins, Colorado

Jeffrey K. Parker, ’75, Bristol, Connecticut

Thomas Tedesco, ’76, East Meadow, New York

Richard J. Alden, ’78, Rindge, New Hampshire

Christopher P. Miller Sr., ’78, Allegany, New York

Glenn R. O’Grady, ’78, Deland, Florida

Dennis J. DeBalso, ’79, Conover, North Carolina

Kathleen M. (Stanley) Morrison, ’79, Titusville, Pennsylvania

Donna M. (Apuzzo) Regan, ’79, Springfield, Massachusetts

Cathy C. Briggs, ’80, Eugene, Oregon

John M. Hennessey, ’80, Pittsford, New York

Colleen A. (Brennan) Weale, ’80, Beaconsfield, Quebec, Canada

Eve M. Creary, ’81, White Plains, New York

Katherine A. (Kipp) Mutty, ’81, Rome, New York

Joseph J. Kane Jr., ’82, Newport, Vermont

Daniel J. Hogan, Esq., ’83, South Glens Falls, New York

James M. Kosmala, ’84, Allegany, New York

Jeffrey V. Warner, ’84, Portville, New York

Sean P. Conyngham, ’85, Waldwick, New Jersey

Daniel R. Reuscher, ’85, Saint Marys, Pennsylvania

William R. Briggs, ’85, Leland, North Carolina

Betty A. (Brooks) Meierjurgen, ’86, Little Valley, New York

Nancy L. (Myers) Mowery, ’86, North East, Pennsylvania

Diane M. (Price) Chancy, ’87, Tallahassee, Florida

Carol A. (Maxwell) Derr-Kosinski, ’87, Jamestown, New York

Michael R. James, ’87, Franklinville, New York

Todd F. Chambers, ’88, Lexington, South Carolina

Jeffrey M. McCaul, ’89, Little Valley, New York

Daniel J. Butchello Jr., ’92, Olean, New York

Daniel S. Costello, ’92, Wilton, Connecticut

Katherine C. (Ingalls) Dooley, ’92, Alpharetta, Georgia

Robert T. Faulds Jr., ’94, Allegany, New York

Michael J. Fennell, ’95, Hamburg, New York

Brian R. Farrelly, ’98, Auburn, New York

Sr. Daria R. Mitchell, ’03, Fairfield, Ohio

Vincent R. Martinelli, ’16, Andover, New York

Parents & Friends

Frank H. Aloi, Portville, New York

Paul Bogoni, New York, New York

Lisbeth A. Keenan, Olean, New York

Katherene L. Meisch*, Canandaigua, New York

Catherine A. Mitchell, Belmont, New York

Michael F. Money, Fairfield, Connecticut

In Memoriam

Former faculty member Dr. David L. Carpenter passed away Sept. 15, 2024. He was an experimental psychology professor at St. Bonaventure for 34 years, researching visual perception, before his retirement in 2005.

Fr. Vincent F. Cushing, O.F.M., who served two terms on the university’s Board of Trustees, passed away Dec. 10, 2024. Fr. Cushing served on the Board from 1972 to 1981 and from 1995 to 1998.

Robert J. “Bob” Brill, a former St. Bonaventure faculty member and controller, passed away June 19, 2024. Brill was an accounting professor at SBU from 1964-1967, then moved into the Business Office as the university’s controller from 1967-74. He returned to the university in 1981 and taught accounting until his retirement in 2003.

Remembering the life and legacy of Fr. Dan Riley

Fr. Daniel Paul Riley, ofm, founder and animator of Mt. Irenaeus and one of the most beloved friars in the history of the university, passed away July 24, 2024.

He was born William Francis Riley on Feb. 6, 1943, in Rochester, New York. In 1960, he arrived at St. Bonaventure, following in the footsteps of his uncles Tom and Rip Riley. He came with aspirations of being a doctor, but influenced by friars like Irenaeus Herscher and Gervase White, he changed his major to philosophy his sophomore year, graduating in 1964.

He joined the Franciscan Order in 1965, took the name Daniel Paul, and furthered his education at The Catholic University of America and Washington Theological Union. A champion of civil rights during the turbulent 1960s, Fr. Dan served as co-chair of a religious task force for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

During his initial stint at SBU (1971-1974), Fr. Dan worked with Fr. John O’Connor, O.F.M., to oversee the conversion of the old maintenance building on campus into the Thomas Merton Ministry Center, and he worked with students to find a home for Olean’s first Warming House.

“The students have given me so much that I’m barely aware of what I’ve given them. It’s been a gift to be involved in their lives and to see their sincere desire to come alive and experience God in their own way.”

- Fr. Dan Riley in an interview for the 2023 Bonaventure magazine cover story.

Fr. Dan was assigned by Holy Name Province to positions in Boston, New York City, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Washington, D.C., between 1974 and 1978, but was asked to return to St. Bonaventure to become coordinator of the university’s vocation program and a campus minister.

In a life committed to building community and armed with a prom-

ise from his province to grow a regional ministry, Fr. Dan revitalized the dream of a center for contemplation and reflection. In 1984, the Mountain’s board of trustees purchased 204 acres in rural Allegany County, 20 miles from campus, to establish Mt. Irenaeus.

For more than 50 years, Fr. Dan’s words, actions and legendary laugh left an indelible mark on the lives of thousands of people across the country, including St. Bonaventure students, many of whom maintained their friendships with Fr. Dan long after graduation. He officiated hundreds of weddings, baptisms and funerals.

The Mountain on the Road ministry, bringing Franciscan spirituality to alums across the country for more than 20 years, was a ministry he loved. Fr. Dan was a multimedia artist and creative minister who used a variety of mediums, including podcasts, video reflections, watercolor paintings, photography and reflections on Instagram to reach people regardless of their location or time of day.

Within the journey of his 81 years, the center of his wheel housed his Riley family. Fr. Dan was predeceased by his parents, Jane Frances (Dalton) and James “Jake” Riley, and his brother Jim. He is survived by his brother Denny (Catherine), and sisters Patty, ’69 (Dick Lush), and Ellen, ’72 (Paul Kruse, ’70), as well as countless nephews and nieces and great-nephews and great-nieces, including Bonaventure alumni Emma Riley, ’10, James Riley, ’12, Bartholomew Lush, ’00, Margaret Lush Camire, ’02, and current student Kevin Lush.

For more remembrances about Fr. Dan, please visit mountainonline.org/fr-dan/ or www.sbu.edu/FrDan.

Robert A. Dubill, ’58, a former university trustee (19962000) and a legendary editor at USA Today, passed away Aug. 23, 2024. Dubill was an inaugural member of the Jandoli School’s Wall of Distinguished Graduates, was named the Jandoli School’s 1985 Alumnus of the Year, and was awarded an honorary degree from SBU in 1986. He received a Pulitzer Prize in 1980 along with the late John Hanchette, ’64, and was executive editor of USA Today from 1995 to 2002.

Donald M. Flanagan, Esq.*, ’54, a former trustee and president of the Alumni Association at St. Bonaventure, passed away Oct. 23, 2024. A retired lawyer from the Binghamton area, Flanagan was president of SBU’s Alumni Association from 1972 to 1974, and was a university trustee from 1978 to 1995.

St. Bonaventure Athletics Hall of Fame member Paul W. Hoffman, ’72, passed away July 20, 2024. Hoffman was a starter on Bona’s 1970 Final Four team, averaging 11 points a game that season. In the next two years, he averaged 15.4 and 15.8 points per contest and was a leader of St. Bonaventure’s third-place NIT team in 1971. Hoffman spent over 30 years as a social studies teacher and coached boys and girls basketball, boys soccer and girls volleyball for 25 of those years.

Brendan McCann, ’57, a member of the university’s Athletics Hall of Fame and a lifelong educator, passed away Nov. 7, 2024. He was a member of the St. Bonaventure basketball team, serving as team captain in 1956-57. A prolific scorer, McCann finished his SBU career with 748 career points (19551957). McCann was named an Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American in 1957. He was a first-round draft choice of the New York Knicks in 1957 and played two seasons with the team.

Joanne E. (Pierce) Misko, ’70, a former Roman Catholic nun who, in 1972, became one of the first two women sworn in as special agents for the F.B.I., passed away Dec. 13, 2024. During her career, she had assignments at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, Washington, D.C., Miami, Florida, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she worked for a time with alumni John Reemmer, ’68, Vince delaMontaigne, ’71, and Rick Mariconda, ’69. When she retired in 1994, she was the longest-tenured female agent in the history of the FBI.

Fr. Joseph Nangle, O.F.M., a member of the Class of 1954 and an honorary degree recipient at St. Bonaventure in 2019, passed away Dec. 14, 2024.

James O’Hara, who served on the St. Bonaventure Board of Trustees from 1996-2001, passed away Jan. 2, 2025, at the age of 88.

Maj. Gen. Les Palm, who served on the St. Bonaventure Board of Trustees from 2013-2019, passed away Jan. 12, 2025. He was 80. A star football player at the University of Oregon in the 1960s, Les began his distinguished U.S. Marine Corps career in 1966, graduating from Officer Candidate School in 1967, and ultimately rising to major general over more than 31 years of service.

Jeffrey V. Warner, ’84, an adjunct instructor of Spanish at St. Bonaventure, passed away Oct. 13, 2024. A retired high school Spanish teacher, Warner received the university’s Adjunct Faculty Award for Excellence in April 2024.

Breakfast in NJ

It was a reunion of two for Rich Adamonis, ’77, (left) and Tom Veit, ’73, at New Jersey’s Oakland Diner in October 2024. Veit and Adamonis worked in Listings and Communications, respectively, at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) – Veit for 31 years and Adamonis for 18 years, including roles as senior vice presidents and officers. In 1998, they represented the NYSE at the Harvard Business School executive Program for Management Development (PMD). In retirement, both are active volunteers in their communities.

California cheering Bonaventure alumni, family and friends from the Sacramento, California, area gathered Aug. 3 to cheer on the Sacramento River Cats. In the front row are Hilary (Schuler) Cabodi, ’00, ’01, and David Brown, university gift officer; Dan Lazzaro, ’06, and Trevor Levine, ’11, are pictured in the back row.

Bonaventure Magazine Submission Guidelines

To submit your announcement for an upcoming edition:

• email magazine@sbu.edu

• use the online form at www.SBUmagazine.com

All photos must be of good reproductive quality. Pictures submitted electronically must have a resolution of at least 300 dpi. Original images from a camera or cell phone work best. Photographs that have been shared on social media or via text have likely been compressed and will not be large enough to reproduce in the magazine.

The university is prohibited from publishing copyrighted photographs, unless accompanied by written permission from the photographer.

Photos are published at the discretion of the editor. Photos that include banners or other insignia of the Brown Indian mascot will not be accepted.

Don’t forget to notify us of your new name or address!

Update your contact information at www.sbu.edu/alumniupdate or send an email to magazine@sbu.edu.

St. Bonaventure University takes pride in its alumni and joyfully shares the news of their lives and achievements.

St. Bonaventure is supportive of our Catholic Church’s teachings. Publication of announcements provided to us by our alumni does not necessarily imply an endorsement by the university.

Erin O’Rourke, ’17, and Keith Parnapy

Carianne DiSpigno, ’18, ’20, and Tyler Paar, ’21

Heather Sauer and Tom Buttafarro, ’11

Ashley Delvento, ’20, and Michael Makutonin, ’20

Michelle Miller, ’19, ’20, and Nick DeRose, ’22

Emily Wulff, ’18, and Billy Money, ’18

Natalie Costello, ’17, and Drew Jaskolski

Erin Senior and Mike Hartwell, ’14, ’15

Megan Cross, ’16, and Danny Lee, ’16

Margaret Previte, ’19, and Mathew Marley

Alicia Grimaldi and Michael P. Cashman, ’81

Katie Ferrari, ’99, ’15, and Angel Matos

Hannah Miller, ’21, and Adam Irwin, ’21

Caleigh Bridgeman, ’15, and David Richenberg, ’15

Kate Meyer, ’11, and Josh Bulera

Michaela Byrne, ’19, ’21, and Nicholas Cevette, ’19, ’20

Jade Shaughnessy and Matthew Bulger, ’11

Sarah Jupinka, ’18, ’19, and Colin Coppola, ’18

Marissa Harmon and Nik Clinton, ’20

Rhyan Truett and Michael Murphy, ’13

Maria Swieciki, ’13, and Niall Madine

Caroline Franz, ’16, ’18, and Pat Cary, ’16

Haylei John, ’18, and PJ Neubauer, ’19

Julia Mertsock and Donovan Moffat, ’20, ’21

Sydney Cassagnol, ’18, and Matthew Squilla, ’18

Finding Your People

From working on the Bonadieu yearbook during its early days in the 1930s to running for Student Senate in 1970, clubs and organizations have long been a vital way for SBU undergraduates to connect with others. In the summer edition of the magazine, we invited alumni to share where they “found their people.”

A GROUP OF STUDENTS AND I came together to establish a running club back in 2011-2012. Our focus was for those in the club to run together with no commitment while getting in shape. It’s a blessing to know it’s still in existence.

– Jacob Witter, ’13

THERE WERE COUNTLESS GROUPS AND CLUBS that helped me find my people, but three stand out the most: BonaResponds, University Ministries (including The Mountain, The Warming House, Canticle Farm), and rugby! As a school leader and firefighter/EMT, I wouldn’t be the person I am today without these communities.

Through BonaResponds, I gained the confidence to build. Without formal training I have built everything from decks and benches to chicken coops and toy boxes, and now I’m even working on a sunroom. BonaResponds not only taught me creative building skills but also the importance of mistakes and how to form lasting relationships with others.

My rugby family at SBU accepted me for who I was, craziness and all. Thanks to my experience with SBU rugby, I’ve since founded three inner-city rugby programs that have helped produce college-bound athletes with scholarships in hand.

Fr. Dan Riley and University Ministries helped keep me grounded in my faith, which I had strayed from prior to attending SBU. It was in these deep, loving relationships that I found the desire to give back to my community in the same way.

Bona’s wasn’t just a university. It was where I found not only my people but myself, and because of this, I am inspired every day to make a difference.

– Carrie Grace, ’05, ’17, and current MBA student

ST. BONAVENTURE GAVE ME

THREE THINGS: Mrs. Centanni, four semesters at The Buzz, and a degree.

Radio station WSBU was a family for misfits. We were all different kids from all walks of life bound by the love of music. I never felt more at home in my life than I did in RC 210. I played the music that I loved to a crowd of very few and I couldn’t have thought of a better way to spend two hours every Sunday.

Those were the “Glory Days.” The Buzz wasn’t something I did; it was something I lived. – Joe Centanni, ’09

WSBU board members with the Goo Goo Dolls prior to their 2007 concert in the RC: Michael Moretti, Jessica (Bartock) Lankford, Bryan Collins, Stephanie (Nikolaou) O’Keefe, Chris DeMarchis and Joe Centanni.

I FOUND “MY PEOPLE” THROUGH THE WOMEN’S RUGBY TEAM.

During my freshman year in ’09, the senior players were our coaches. We didn’t win a single game.

Through grit, determination and a lot of teamwork, we became state champions and fourth in the nation in the National Small College Rugby Organization (NSCRO) by 2011.

Many ladies on this team are still my best friends today. We have taken vacations together, attended each other’s weddings, and watched our families grow. The blood, sweat, tears and teamwork on the field have turned into lifelong friendships off the field. We have Bona’s to thank for that!

– Kayla (O’Keefe) Dixon, ’13

BEYOND Bolder Bonaventure IMPACT REPORT

I was pleased to join the St. Bonaventure community as vice president for Advancement in April 2024. The Advancement team was closing out the fiscal year and preparing for the final year of the Bolder Bonaventure campaign.

I saw my new role in two phases. First, by working with University President Dr. Jeff Gingerich, the Advancement team, deans, and many others, Bona’s would successfully cross the Bolder Bonaventure finish line surpassing its $125 million goal.

Second, we would lay the groundwork

for what’s next.

Our theme for this year is BEYOND Bolder Bonaventure. In the stories and vignettes that follow, you will see the tremendous impact Bolder Bonaventure has had on the university already. The passionate support of alumni and friends that has fueled the success of this campaign makes it possible for Bonaventure to reach even greater heights.

n J. Michael Pressimone, Ed.D. Vice President for Advancement

A rendering of the Athletic Performance Center.

PILLAR PROGRESS

The DePerro School of Health Professions offers graduate programs in Physician Assistant Studies, Occupational Therapy and Speech Pathology, as well as undergraduate programs in Nursing, Health Science and Public Health.

Dennis R.

DePerro

School of Health Professions

The Dennis R. DePerro School of Health Professions was launched in fall 2016. The next year, St. Bonaventure enrolled 33 Health Science majors. By the fall of 2024, enrollment in the school had grown tenfold: 235 undergraduates and 108 graduate students for a total enrollment of 343.

Recognizing that careers in health professions present great opportunities for St. Bonaventure students, the idea for the school grew out of strategic planning. This became an important pillar for the Bolder Bonaventure campaign. The unfortunate and untimely death of President Dennis DePerro led to the naming of the school in his honor and memory. More than $19 million was contributed to transform Francis Hall into a state-of-the-art health professions facility.

In the years since its inception, total net revenue from the School of Health Professions has exceeded $47 million. Not a bad return on investment!

Philanthropy directed toward the School of Health Professions has had a direct impact on St. Bonaventure’s financial health. It has also increased its institutional reputation.

For example, our Physician Assistant Studies program attracts more than 700 applicants each year for 40 slots, and our recent class of PAs had a 100% pass rate on their Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE).

Franciscan Mission and Ministries

St. Bonaventure is Franciscan to its core. Our Franciscan charism remains central to the identity of the university. It connects alumni to this place in very important and special ways. It remains a centerpiece for our future planning. It, like the other pillars, needs to be nurtured through financial support and robust volunteerism. For the last 50 years, the Warming House has been a place where our Franciscan identity is beautifully animated. It remains the longest-standing student-run soup kitchen in the country.

“After three years of working at the Warming House, I am here to tell you that, yes, the Warming House is full of good stuff. The smile of a volunteer when they learn something new, an in-depth conversation with a guest, or the smell of some delicious cookies. So, what is this good stuff? Love. Without a doubt, it’s love. The Warming House is a place where people come to cultivate love. And this is a beautiful thing to see. Every week I get the opportunity to give a little love and receive a little love.”

Max Wolfe, ’26

On Sept. 26, 2024, we gathered to celebrate this milestone anniversary at the Empty Bowls and Baskets Dinner. This event was key to our efforts to secure $1 million to endow Warming House operations. That evening we announced that we had raised $463,333 toward that ambitious goal. That work continues as does the work of the Warming House. From its founding, the heart of the Warming House has been students – those who prepare the meals and know that the Warming House provides more than just food.

Student coordinators Molly Edgington and Max Wolfe spoke of their experiences during the Empty Bowls and Baskets Dinner.

“I have the opportunity every week to live the values of compassion, wisdom and integrity that our university is built on. These skills are invaluable and could never be learned in the classroom. They are not listed on a syllabus or demonstrated on a final exam. They are lifelong skills that I will continue to practice long after I cross the stage at graduation. I can confidently tell you that I am forever changed because freshman year I decided to volunteer at the Warming House.”

Molly Edgington, ’26

Russell J. Jandoli School of Communication

It was an October to remember as the school celebrated a major gift to the building project and its 75th anniversary

The upcoming addition to the home of the renowned Jandoli School of Communication now has a name, thanks to the generosity of one of its most accomplished alumni.

A ceremonial groundbreaking for the Henretta Communication Center, a 6,200-square-foot addition to the Murphy Professional Building, was held Oct. 19 as part of the Jandoli School’s 75th anniversary celebration.

For the donors, Deb Henretta from the Class of 1983 and her husband, Sean Murray, their magnanimous gesture is as much about family as it is about philanthropy.

Henretta’s father, Elmer, ’59, and brothers Michael, ’85, and Mark, ’90, are also Bonaventure graduates. Deb and Sean met at St. Bonaventure while he worked at the university from 1980-1982.

Henretta and Murray made the significant commitment to recognize 75 years of transformative education in the Jandoli School and to enhance the educational experience for generations of Bonnies to come.

“Bonaventure has been woven into the fabric of my family for almost 70 years and I know all of us have been grateful for the role our Bona’s experience has played in our lives,” Henretta said. “Much of my success is deeply rooted in the values and lessons learned at St. Bona’s. I am grateful to be in a position to give back to the university and contribute to the success of future generations of Bonaventure students.”

The Henretta Communication Center will be a centerpiece

for digital media innovation and experiential learning that will transform the Jandoli School. The state-of-the-art center will include a digital newsroom to bring together the campus media outlets and create a collaborative, future-focused facility.

This capital project will be done in three phases. The Henretta-Murray gift and many others will make phases one and two a reality. Construction of the Henretta Center will begin this winter and is expected to be completed in 18 to 24 months.

“The outpouring of support from alumni and friends of the Jandoli School has been inspiring. We have a bold vision to reinvent the Jandoli School’s facilities to fit the school’s outstanding reputation, but it is only because of the generosity of hundreds of donors that we are able to make this transformation happen for our students.”

Jandoli School Dean Aaron Chimbel

Academic Mission and Student Experiences

This pillar is by far the largest and most complex of the Bolder Bonaventure campaign. Funds raised in this pillar provide support for a wide array of university activities. Student scholarships, faculty support, academic program initiatives, the endowment, student service organizations, and many others fall under this vast umbrella.

Here are a few examples of how these dollars have enriched the experience for our students, faculty and staff

CAMPUS CLOCK: The campus clock has long been an icon on Bona’s campus. However, time does take a toll, and the old clock paused at 6:10 many years ago, and, alas, could not be repaired. Thanks to the generosity of faithful alumnus Jack McGinley, ’65, we now have a new clock, and it tells the correct time!

A few minutes of your time can lead to a major gift to Bona’s!

There is no doubt that Chris LaPlaca, ’79, is a dedicated Bonnie and devoted friend of the Jandoli School of Communication. When asked for help, he responds. He didn’t hesitate when he was asked to make a phone call to prospective student Jack Haskell, ’26, during Jack’s senior year of high school. Here is how Jack recalls the conversation.

“My senior year of high school, I received a call from a contact titled ESPN Headquarters, accompanied by a text that read ‘Jack: this is Chris LaPlaca, Bonaventure ’79 and Senior VP of Corporate Communications at ESPN. Give me a call when you can. Happy to help you think about what’s best for you.’ I proceeded to have a 30‐minute phone call with Mr. LaPlaca about my future, my goals, and why St. Bonaventure. I was absolutely star‐struck that a guy like him took the time out of his busy schedule to talk to a high school senior who hadn’t even committed to St. Bonaventure yet. My relationship with Mr. LaPlaca is a prime example of how special this school and its alumni are.”

Jack enrolled and the rest is history. Think about it. A 30-minute conversation can make a huge difference to a recruit. A single phone call to a prospective student can result in over $100,000 in net revenue to SBU. Now that’s a gift — and that future Bonnie will carry on the SBU legacy.

STUDENTS WITHOUT BORDERS: What makes a St. Bonaventure physician assis‐tant different from any other PA? The PA Studies program at St. Bonaventure is rooted in that same Franciscan mission that you see, hear and feel everywhere on campus. This has led our PAs abroad to serve those in need. The group’s 2024 med‐ical mission to the Dominican Republic was made possible in part by the generosity of Nick Ferreri, owner of the Field of Dreams Senior Living Facility in Allegany.

CELEBRATION OF EXCELLENCE: The Celebration of Excellence showcases the lasting impact of the James Martine and Leo Keenan Faculty Endowments through the achievements of faculty grant re‐cipients and student scholars, while expressing gratitude to all donors for their generosity. A student shares her academic research dur‐ing the spring 2024 luncheon.

Alumnus Chris LaPlaca (left) and student Jack Haskell.

Athletics

When Bob Beretta assumed his role as vice president and director of Athletics at St. Bonaventure in the summer of 2024, he took up the reins during a period of turmoil and uncertainty in the world of NCAA sports.

While much of Bob’s time has been spent dealing with these major national issues, he has remained singularly focused on the experience of the St. Bonaventure studentathlete. This includes creating a championship mentality for all athletes and providing the resources needed for them to compete at the highest level.

Athletics is incredibly important to the health and wellbeing of St. Bonaventure University. It drives enrollment, particularly for student-athletes, and our reputation as a member of the Atlantic 10 conference is an important part of our overall marketing strategy when recruiting new students.

Club sports at the university continue to play an important role as well. We offer 19 club sport opportunities in which 500 students compete each year. In the last two years, women’s and men’s rugby have each won a national championship.

In order to support all student-athletes and continue to strengthen enrollment, university facilities need to be improved and expanded.

Renderings for a new track and field (above), baseball seating (below), and an Athletic Performance Center (lower left).

The Endowment

During Alumni Reunion Weekend 2024, the 50th reunion class – the Class of 1974 – launched the Cornerstone Endowment program.

The goal is for each future 50th reunion class to contribute $250,000 to the university’s unrestricted endowment.

“Beyond annual giving, we wanted to do something that’s lasting. An endowment will go for generations.”

Tom McElroy, ’74

“I think contributing to the endowment makes sense. It shows a belief that we who benefited from those who supported the university back in our day want to do the same for today’s students.”

Ann M. McCarthy, ’74

Where do we go from here?

As I bring this impact report to a close, I am ever more confident that we will successfully conclude the Bolder Bonaventure campaign. This will have happened because of you, our most generous donors. It doesn’t matter whether you gave $20, $200, $2,000, $200,000, or $2 million; every single gift had an impact on St. Bonaventure University.

There is still work to be done. We need to fulfill the expectations that are unmet within the pillars. This will include an ongoing effort to support the Athletics Pillar and bring those projects to fruition. We will continue to raise needed unrestricted gifts through The Bonaventure Fund, the Bonnies Athletic Fund, and the Sixth Man Club.

We will make sure that our philanthropic efforts align with the university’s strategic plan so that we can fuel the engines of progress. We will focus on endowment growth and increased activity in the area of planned giving.

The future is bright for St. Bonaventure because our alumni and friends believe so passionately in our mission and its importance in the world today.

Thank you.

nJ. Michael Pressimone, Ed.D. Vice President for Advancement

Thank you for your support

When I came on board as president nearly three years ago, the Bolder Bonaventure campaign was well on its way, but there was still much work to be done. Through the generosity of so many, we are ever so close to meeting this aggressive goal. With your support, we will certainly cross the finish line together.

Throughout the year, Betsy and I have had numerous opportunities to travel around the country and visit alumni and friends of the university. They are keenly interested in what we are doing and ready to invest to make sure that our dreams become reality.

We both thank you for your unwavering commitment to the mission of St. Bonaventure University.

n J eff Gingerich, Ph.D. University President

3261 W. State Road P.O. Box 2509 St. Bonaventure, NY 14778

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