2005-12-15 IB

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Dec. 15, 2005

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Senior Yankelovich fellow strives to connect SBU students, local non-profits

St. Bonaventure University senior Matthew Cressler is attempting to connect SBU seniors seeking service opportunities with local community organizations seeking volunteers for short-term projects.

Cressler, a double theology and history major from Smyrna, Ga., wants to assist seniors who are required to complete service hours for Clare 401 Senior Forum communicate with local non-profit organizations who need volunteers, as part of his senior project for the Mary Yankelovich Endowed Fellowship Program.

Mary Yankelovich Fellows, integrating theory and practice, develop and model the core values of St. Bonaventure — discovery, community and respect for the dignity of all people. The program’s purpose is to develop current and future leaders dedicated to the transformation of society based on Franciscan ideals of peace, justice, reconciliation and service.

The fellowship award honors Mary Yankelovich, a 1980 St. Bonaventure graduate who died tragically in an automobile accident in 1995. Her husband, Daniel Yankelovich, created the program in honor of his wife in 1997; since then, St. Bonaventure has been presenting it to students who “demonstrate the blend of qualities and achievements that characterized Mary.”

Fellows participate in a two-year leadership development program under the mentorship of a St. Bonaventure University faculty or staff member. During each of one’s junior and senior semesters, Fellows receive $1,000 stipends; in addition, senior Fellows receive a $1,000 service project budget and the assistance of a junior year Fellow.

“As the senior Yankelovich Fellow, I have been entrusted with the organization and implementation of a project that concretely embodies the Franciscan values of St. Bonaventure University through service to the local community,” said Cressler.

“When I began to envision my project for the Yankelovich committee, I desired to create a project that would impassion St. Bonaventure students about serving the local community and allow them to reflect on how that service is central to their educational experience and their future,” Cressler continued.

Cressler explained that the idea developed into a collaborative project with an institution already working to instill values of community service in SBU students — Clare College’s Senior Forum. One of the requirements for seniors to graduate is to participate in Clare 401’s Local Area Project, which requires students to fulfill seven hours of community service. Cressler envisions his project as serving as a bridge between students and community organizations.

Part of his project will include creating a Web site that is accessible to both students and community organizations to post their respective needs, offer contact information and allow for more direct communication between the local community and students. The project will launch at the beginning of the spring semester, Jan. 17, 2006.

“Hopefully, this project will initiate and simplify the process of communication between the community and Bonaventure students so that we are all able to meet those needs more efficiently and healthily … I hope this will serve as a catalyst for cooperation for the betterment of all,” wrote Cressler in a letter sent to local community organizations.

Even though his letter was sent out only last week, Cressler explained that one organization that responded immediately was Salamanca Alternative Education, where leaders said the program would have plenty of short-term projects that SBU students could participate in, such as one-on-one tutoring.

Dr. David DiMattio, associate professor of physics at SBU and director of Clare 401 Senior Forum, said that the Local Action Project was designed to allow seniors to take their acquired knowledge in their disciplines, along with the Franciscan values they have been introduced to for three years, go into the community, volunteer and give their talents to people in need.

“Thanks to Matt and the fellowship, we will have an experience learning component of 401 that should be able to live on its own,” said DiMattio. “I have always wanted to make 401 a true ‘capstone’ course with true Bonaventure ideals and become part of a real community. There has to be a reason for students to be involved in these courses, and sometimes it’s not an obvious one. Hopefully projects like these will give students a little nudge in the proper direction.”

Michael Williams, director of the Journey Project at St. Bonaventure, assisted Cressler by putting him in touch with local community organizations. Williams gave Cressler the distribution list of the sites that he works with through the Journey Project, as well as letterhead, postage and envelopes.

“This project will benefit both the community and Bona’s students in that it will bring people together. Bona’s students need every possible opportunity to experience the reality and needs of our local community. And our community members need to know that Bona’s students care about this place. This is about being good neighbors,” said Williams.

“Matt has envisioned and brought to fruition a significant service — it’s an act of bridge-building or reconciliation that is entirely consistent with our Franciscan tradition,” he said.

Cressler has been a resident assistant and coordinator of Students for the Mountain since the fall of 2003. He has served as secretary for the Franciscan Chraism in the Student Government Assocation since fall of 2004. Cressler has also been involved with SBU intramurals, The Journey Project, Musical Theater Company and SBU’s club soccer team.

He has been awarded a presidential scholarship, the highest academic scholarship awarded at SBU, since fall of 2002. Cressler has also made the Dean’s list each semester he’s been here, and was elected to the National Dean’s List for academic excellence. He has also been involved with SBU’s Honors Program since fall of 2002.

He was named Resident Assistant Volunteer of the Year last spring and received second place in the SBU Spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. Oratory Competition last spring. Cressler was also named the Ideal Student of the Francis E. Kelley Oxford Program for the summer of 2003.

For more information, contact Cressler by e-mail at cresslm@sbu.edu or by phone at (716) 379-5176. Interested organizations or students may also contact Cressler’s project assistant, Sarah O’Donnell by e-mail at odonnesp@sbu.edu.

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Hartnett to address classmates at December Recognition Ceremony

Abigail Hartnett will address her classmates as St. Bonaventure University recognizes some 100 graduate and 80 undergraduate students during its December Recognition Ceremony Saturday, Dec. 17. The ceremony begins at 4:30 p.m. in the University Chapel, Doyle Hall.

University president Sr. Margaret Carney, O.S.F., S.T.D., will offer a welcome to the students and their families.

Hartnett, a Manlius, N.Y., resident who majored in mathematics with a minor in business, will be the student speaker.

In her address, Hartnett plans to focus on the “unique and special place” that St. Bonaventure is. She comes from a long lineage of Bonaventure grads, as all four of her grandparents went to Bona’s — Edward T. Hartnett, ’42, and his wife, Mary (Sweeney), ’43, and Paul A. Berst, ’39, and his wife, Peggy (Lindsay) — as well as her parents, Edward J. Hartnett, ’70, and Molly (Berst), ’70, along with various other relatives.

“There is much talk about our Franciscan heritage, but a lot of us don’t fully understand yet what it is exactly. I think as we leave Bona’s, and throughout our lives, we will gain a greater perspective and appreciation for our experiences here,” she said.

“I can guarantee that no matter where I go in this world, whenever I see someone sporting Bonaventure gear, I will make it a point to stop and have a conversation with them. The same cannot be said for many other schools. Regardless of time or space, the bond that the Bonaventure students and alumni have unites them across the globe,” added Hartnett.

On campus, Hartnett has been active in the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) program, serving on the presentation team in 2003-2004 and as vice president in 2004-2005. Hartnett attended two business service trips to the islands of San Salvador (January 2004) and Grand Bahamas (January 2005), where she helped develop a Business Ethics Education Program for young students of the islands.

Other campus activities include serving as Student Government Association chief of staff for 2004-2005, membership in Phi Eta Sigma National Academic Honors Fraternity, and as a student ambassador for SGA from 2003 through 2005.

Ann H. Lehman, M.B.A., academic coordinator in the School of Business and an adjunct professor, was selected by the students to speak.

Dr. Frank E. “Skip” Saal, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, will serve as the master of ceremonies.

Dr. Michael J. Fischer, dean of the School of Graduate Studies and the School of Business, will present the graduate students. Dr. Stephen Stahl, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, will present the undergraduate students.

Fr. Xavier Seubert, O.F.M., guardian of the Friary, will give the invocation and Robert M. Donius, vice president for University Ministries, will give the benediction.

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Bennett, Dailer, Sapio, Vanterpool to join SBU Athletics Hall of Fame

Four outstanding former student-athletes – Mike Bennett ’95, Suzie Dailer ’95, Becky (Okoniewski) Sapio ’94 and David Vanterpool ‘95 – will be inducted into the St. Bonaventure University Athletics Hall of Fame as its Class of 2006.

They will become the 92nd, 93rd, 94th and 95th members of the Hall of Fame when they are formally inducted on Jan. 14, 2006. The induction ceremony will be held in the Robert Jones Trustees Room in Doyle Hall beginning at 11 a.m. The ceremony is free and open to the public.

Dailer and Vanterpool were both basketball players, Okoniewski was a swimmer and Bennett was a baseball player.

“Suzie, Becky, Mike and David all assembled outstanding careers of athletic accomplishments over their four years at St. Bonaventure, and it is fitting that we recognize them with induction into the Hall of Fame,” said Dr. Ron Zwierlein, director of intercollegiate athletics. “They also have gone on to become valuable contributors to society, which is chief among the goals of our educational experience at St. Bonaventure University.”

Bennett helped elevate the Bonnies baseball program into a regular contender for postseason play. He is the only St. Bonaventure baseball player to earn first team Atlantic 10 All-Conference accolades three times – 1993, 1994 and 1995 – and his .365 career batting average remains the school record. Bennett, who played second base, third base and left field over his career, also ranks among the program’s all-time leaders in hits (194), RBI (138), runs (121), home runs (18) and doubles (42). He helped lead the Bonnies to their first berth in the Atlantic 10 Tournament in 1994 and a repeat appearance in 1995. Bennett went on to a three-year career in minor league baseball and is now a teacher and coach at Thomas Edison High School in his native Elmira, N.Y.

Best known as a scorer with long-range accuracy, Dailer set and still holds all the school records for three-point field goals. As a sophomore in 1993, she led the nation in three-pointers (99) and also led the Atlantic 10 Conference in scoring (19.4 points per game) and assists (6.0 per game). Over her career, Dailer scored 1,422 points and made 291 three-pointers. She now stands fifth in program history in scoring. However, Dailer truly was an all-around player, as evidenced by her impressive statistics in many areas. She ranks fifth all-time in school history in assists (449), seventh in steals (178) and 14th in rebounding (466). The Wheeling, W.Va., native was named All-Conference by the Atlantic 10 in 1993, 1994 and 1995. Her senior season, Dailer won the State Farm National Women’s 3-Point Shootout at the women’s Final Four. Dailer now works as a nurse in Frederick, Md., and is an assistant coach for a girls high school basketball team.

One of the top sprinters in the history of the women’s swimming program, Sapio made her mark over four seasons of competition (1991-94) at the Eastern Intercollegiate Championship and the first two seasons the Atlantic 10 Championship was held. She won nine events at Easterns over her career – three individual and six as part of relays. She also won nine events at the Atlantic 10 Championships. Over her four years, Sapio set school records in eight events – the 50 freestyle, 100 free, 200 free and 200 individual medley as well as five relays. Her times in the 200 and 400 medley relays still stand as program records. A native of Depew, N.Y., Sapio resides in Buffalo and is the mother of three young children.

Vanterpool helped lead the Bonnies men’s basketball back to national respect over his four seasons (1991-95). An Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team selection in 1991-92 when he averaged nine points per game, the 6-foot-5 guard developed into a superb all-around player. He averaged better than 12 points per game his sophomore and junior seasons. As a senior, he averaged 17.5 points per game and was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference first team. More importantly, he led the 1994-95 team to an 18-13 record and a berth in the NIT -- St. Bonaventure’s first postseason appearance since 1983. Vanterpool scored 1,474 points over his four seasons and today ranks 13th in school history in scoring. He is also listed among the program’s all-time leaders in assists (3.6 per game), rebounding (5.6 per game), steals (2.2 per game) and three-pointers (106). His 247 steals were at the time a school record. Vanterpool went on to a lengthy career in professional basketball including stints in the NBA with Washington and New Jersey. A native of Silver Spring, Md., he is currently playing for CSKA Moscow, which is one of the elite teams in the Euro League.

For more information on the Hall of Fame or the induction ceremony, contact Steve Mest at (716) 375-2319 or smest@sbu.edu or visit www.gobonnies.com.

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Board of Trustees holds retreat on University heritage, brief meeting

St. Bonaventure University’s Board of Trustees met Friday and Saturday in Buffalo for a retreat led by Sr. Mary Beth Ingham, C.S.J., one of the world’s leading scholars on Franciscan thinker John Duns Scotus and a leading proponent for the importance of the Franciscan intellectual tradition in the Church today.

Sr. Mary Beth is associate academic vice president and professor at Loyola Marymount University, as well as the current holder of the Joseph A. Doino Visiting Professorship of Franciscan Studies at the Franciscan Institute. Sr. Mary Beth, the author of “Scotus for Dunces” and co-author, with Dr. Mechthild Dreyer of Universitåt Mainz, of “The Philosophical Vision of John Duns Scotus,” has also taught in the summer program sessions at the Franciscan Institute in recent years.

Br. F. Edward Coughlin, O.F.M., vice president for Franciscan Mission and a member of the Committee for the Retrieval of the Franciscan Intellectual Tradition, introduced Sr. Mary Beth’s presentation with an overview of the theological view of the world, the person and God as presented by St. Anthony of Padua, the first systematic theologian.

The Board held a brief business meeting at which it heard a presentation from TraversCollins on its just-completed research for graduate marketing for the University; reviewed benchmarks for the Anniversary Campaign for St. Bonaventure; and reviewed the status of the Faculty Handbook Committee’s work to remove SBU from AAUP censure.

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Students can pay tribute to civil rights pioneers, win prizes in oratory competition

SBU students can pay tribute to a Civil Rights pioneer and have a chance at winning gift cards to the University Bookstore by entering the Third Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Oratory Competition. The competition will be held during the University’s observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Week (Jan. 16-20, 2006), but students should pick up information packets and register before leaving for Christmas break.

Information packets are available from Nichole Gonzalez in Room 200 of the Reilly Center. This year’s theme is “In the Steps of a Pioneer” and entries should be 3- to 5-minute oratory presentations in the form of a self-written speech, original poetry or the memorization and delivery of a speech/work of a civil rights leader.

The oratory competition will be held Thursday, Jan. 19, 2006, beginning about 4:30 p.m. in the Robert R. Jones Board of Trustees Room. The competition will be preceded by performances by the step team, SBU Steppers, and the a cappella group, Last Second, at 4 p.m. in the adjacent Doyle Dining Room. Following the oratory contest, at approximately 5:30 p.m., St. Bonaventure will recognize winners of its middle school essay competition, which is being judged by SBU student teachers. A dessert reception will follow.

Other activities planned for the week include:
Monday, Jan. 16, 2006
• 4 p.m., prayer service in The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts atrium
• 4:30-7 p.m., formal dinner in Hickey Dining Hall. The dinner is open to the campus community. Faculty, staff and students not on a meal plan can pick up tickets for the dinner from Nichole Gonzalez in the Reilly Center. During the dinner there will be a reading from Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
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Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2006
• noon, prayer at the Peace Pole near the Thomas Merton Ministry Center

Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2006
Care packages for guests of The Warming House will be delivered on Wednesday, Jan. 18, as students, faculty and staff prepare and serve the evening meal at The Warming House. The campus community is encouraged to donate toiletries or create their own care packages and drop them off in University Ministries by Tuesday, Jan. 17. Please contact Connie Horan in Admissions at ext. 2429 or Trevor Thompson in University Ministries at ext. 2601 with questions.

Thursday, Jan. 19, 2006
• 4-6 p.m., Student Showcase in Doyle Hall
o 4 p.m., performances by SBU Steppers and Last Second, Doyle Dining Room
o 4:30 p.m., SBU student oratory competition, Board of Trustees Room
o 5:30 p.m., recognition of middle school essay competition winners, Board of Trustees Room
o 5:45 p.m., dessert reception, Doyle Dining Room

Friday, Jan. 20, 2006
• 12:30 p.m., Friday Forum, University Club (for faculty & staff). The Rev. Cheryl Parris and students who will be studying the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama during Christmas break (Jan. 12-16) will be the presenters.
• 3:30 p.m., prayer service in the Thomas Merton Center

Also during the week, special movies will be shown on SBU-TV Channel 9 at 4:30 p.m. The lineup for the week is: “Martin Luther King Jr.: The Man and the Dream,” “Crash,” “Mississippi Burning,” “Amistad,” and “Remember the Titans.”

Watch your e-mail and the Web for additional information as plans are finalized: http://www.sbu.edu/index.cfm?objectid=ED517608-1143-EB9C-3AABFE43343AD198

For more information about Martin Luther King Jr. Week 2006, contact Lt. Col. Rick Trietley at ext. 2565 or rtrietle@sbu.edu. The annual observance is organized through the Diversity Action Committee’s Subcommittee on Student Life.

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Puerto Rico, Lithuania exhibits to open at Quick Center for the Arts in January

Two exhibitions highlighting the diverse heritages of the countries of Puerto Rico and Lithuania open at The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts at St. Bonaventure University on Friday, Jan. 20, 2006.

The color and culture of Puerto Rico is revealed in “Atención: 20th century Puerto Rican Silk Screen Posters, the James G. Shine Collection, Samuel Dorsky Museum, SUNY New Paltz,” which was organized in conjunction with the “Latin Connection: Arts across our Region” exhibition consortium organized by the Castelani Museum at Niagara University. In conjunction with the poster exhibition, the Quick Center will host a Latin program, “Besame Mucho,” by Baritone Luis Ledesma at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 10.

The Puerto Rican Department of Education hired a group of young artists in the 1950s to produce vivid, durable posters that would educate the mostly illiterate population on civic, health and social issues. The government poster workshop created many jobs because the hand printed silkscreen posters were produced in tremendous quantities. Many of Puerto Rico’s most talented artists, including Rafael Tufiño, Lorenzo Homar, Antonio Martorell and José A. Alicea, participated in the program and soon the countryside was adorned with brilliant posters, which freely used Puerto Rican folklore images. Over the years, the poster campaign expanded to include all cultural and political events, in an attempt to foster national pride.

The posters on view were collected by St. Bonaventure alumnus James G. Shine, who is also one of the artists represented. A native of Puerto Rico, Shine took advantage of the opportunity to study in the United States and then returned home to pursue his career as an artist. After retirement and resettlement in New Paltz, Shine has had a second career teaching Spanish at SUNY New Paltz. Shine gave his collection to the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art at SUNY New Paltz in honor of Latin American Studies at SUNY New Paltz and students of Spanish past, present and future. The posters will remain on view until May 7, 2006.

The second exhibition opening Feb. 10 is titled “Photo Passport I: Lithuania by Juozas Polis.” Intended as the first in a series of exhibitions featuring photographs of a country and its people, this show features one of Lithuania’s most distinguished and renowned photographers, Juozas Polis. Polis has been photographing his homeland by helicopter since 1957. He has carefully recorded every inch of the country from on high, showing the beauty of a country and people who persevered in spite of much suffering at the hands of Soviet occupiers throughout much of his lifetime. Polis recorded the painful rebirth of Lithuania, as his people forgot their fears and went out into the streets in 1991 to demand freedom.

Born in 1920, Polis has exhibited his work throughout Lithuania, and in cities across the globe, such as Berlin, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Chicago, Cleveland and Madison. He has published 10 books of his photographs, including: “Across Lithuania,” “Lithuania’s Seashore, Lithuania, our Fatherland, and Lithuanian Theatres.” The album, “Lithuania Reborn” sold 50,000 copies within four months of its 1989 publication. “Passport to Lithuania” will remain on view until June 11, 2006.

Admission to the Quick Center galleries is free and open to the public. Galleries are open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For information on group tours, please contact Jason Trimmer at (716) 375-7686. For general information, call (716) 375-2494, visit our Web site at www.sbu.edu or e-mail us at Quick@sbu.edu.

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Three accessibility projects to be completed at SBU

Money raised and donations received in the month of October proved to be very promising for advancements in St. Bonaventure University’s accessibility for students with disabilities. This money will fund three significant projects.

The Teaching and Learning Center received a $1,000 donation from M. William Corr, class of 1963, to purchase a new computer to run accessible programs for students with disabilities.

The Walk for Accessibility raised $530 that will be used to install an accessible drinking fountain on the main floor of the library.

An anonymous donor offered to fund the $2,600 needed to install two door assist devices at the parking lot entry of the John J. Murphy Professional Building. The University hopes to be able to install assists in the front entry of the Murphy building in the near future.

"We are thrilled by the support and generosity we received from many individuals and hope to continue improving accessibility, not only for individuals with physical disabilities, but for all members of our St. Bonaventure community,” said Nancy A. Matthews, coordinator of Disability Support Services and Academic Intervention at St. Bonaventure.

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Bona alumnus becomes one of youngest superintendents in New York state

St. Bonaventure alumnus Jeffrey R. Rabey became one of the youngest school superintendents in New York state on Nov. 14, when he took the job at Lake Shore School District, in Angola, N.Y.

“I’ve always admired Lake Shore,” Rabey said. “I thought it was a great district, with strong technology integration, fiscal management and partnerships with BOCES. Lake Shore was the only district on my radar.”

Rabey, 38, has been the director of secondary education in Lancaster for the past two years. He has now filled the superintendent position that was left vacant this past summer by former Lake Shore superintendent Kenneth J. Connolly. Connolly left for a job in Westchester County. Rabey is now in charge of the full operation of the school and has a list of goals he wishes to reach.

“My goals over the next several years will be to focus on achievement as all educational leaders are across the country,” Rabey said. “Our goal is to provide a solid educational experience for our students in order for them to successfully compete in a global economy.”

Rabey is a Cheektowaga native who spent part of his youth in Holland. He earned his bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Daemen College, and his master’s degree in the school of counseling from St. Bonaventure University. Rabey also completed an educational leadership program at the University at Buffalo.

Rabey has become one of about 20 superintendents in New York who are under 40 years old. According to the New York State Council of School Superintendents there are more than 700 school districts in the state.

Rabey appears to be following in the footsteps of another Bona alumnus, Bill O’Connell. O’Connell graduated from Bonaventure in 1970 and became the superintendent in Limestone, N.Y., at age 27.

O’Connell knew Rabey, who was working in Limestone as a teacher. Rabey then went on to become a counselor and then followed O’Connell as principal when he retired. O’Connell retired and became an instructor here at Bona’s in the Educational Leadership program, and eventually retired from SBU as well.

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Six SBU students inducted into national history honor society

On Wednesday, Dec. 7, St. Bonaventure University’s Department of History recognized six students for their academic achievement by inducting them into the Sigma Gamma Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, the national history honor society.

To qualify for the Sigma Gamma chapter, students must have an overall grade point average of 3.25, a minimum of 14 credits of history courses, and a GPA of 3.5 in those courses.

The inductees included Tania Baker, a senior history major from Olean; Andrew Bland, a senior history major from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio; Matthew Cressler, senior history major from Smyrna, Ga.; Alicia Lengvarsky, a junior history major from Allegany; Jessie Rider, a senior history major from Olean; and Michelle Semancik, a senior history major from Cincinnati, Ohio.

The induction was held during the History Club’s Christmas party. The History Club’s mission is to increase awareness of history at St. Bonaventure, to serve the St. Bonaventure and local community in history-related projects and to provide venues for those interested in history to meet and share their interests.

Membership in the club is open to any St. Bonaventure student interested in history. For more information about the History Club, contact club president Erin Spallone or club adviser Dr. Elizabeth Littell-Lamb.

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Career Center News ...

Check out the newest edition of Directions for information on Career Center events and programs during the months of December and January including: upcoming career fairs over Christmas break, information on networking, learning how to create a college central account and more at the Career Center Events Web page.

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Newsmakers ...

On Nov. 23, the University of Central Oklahoma premiered Trek to Gongga Shan for solo timpani and orchestra, written by composer Moses Mark Howden, an adjunct professor of music at St. Bonaventure University. Dr. David Hardman, director of percussion studies at the University of Central Oklahoma performed the solo timpani part. As a guest artist, Howden met with music faculty and conducted a timpani master class for the university’s percussion students.
Trek to Gongga Shan is a tone poem for solo timpani and orchestra depicting the physical and spiritual journey of a mountain climber ascending Gongga Shan in West Sichuan, China.

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