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ARAMARK, St. = Bonaventure=92s=20 dining provider, earned high marks in its fall survey of campus = customers.=20 Every semester, ARAMARK conducts online surveys with customers at = over 500=20 ARAMARK-managed college/university institutions across the = country.=20

All customers = are=20 encouraged to voice their opinion on a number of topics, from = quality of=20 food, speed of service and staff performance to dining atmosphere. = The=20 fall survey was conducted from Sept. 28, 2009, through Oct. 9, = 2009, and=20 311 participants at St. Bonaventure took the survey.

=93We are = happy to report=20 that the overall score is above the national average in every = category,=94=20 said Amy Vleminckx, food service director at St. Bonaventure. = =93When we=20 compare our scores in each category to all the regions in North = America,=20 St. Bonaventure Dining Services scored above other regions in 96 = percent=20 of the categories.=94

DiningStyles, = ARAMARK=92s=20 comprehensive and proprietary research methodology, is designed = for=20 understanding and satisfying customers=92 dining preferences =97 = and=20 implementing changes in response to those needs.

=93The Dining = Services team=20 at St. Bonaventure is ecstatic that all their hard work is making = a=20 significant impact on the dining experience of SBU students,=94 = said=20 Vleminckx.

DiningStyles = surveys=20 address dining topics on campus such as the overall experience,=20 price/value, food variety, hours of operation, speed of service,=20 cleanliness, food quality, convenience, comfortable and fun dining = atmosphere, place to socialize, availability of combo meals, = availability=20 of nutritional information, availability of vegetarian options,=20 availability of healthy options, and hospitality.

=93Cleanliness, food variety=20 and speed of service are the categories showing the most growth at = St.=20 Bonaventure since the previous survey,=94 Vleminckx said. =

She also = noted that the=20 spring online survey is under way and encourages faculty, staff = and=20 students to participate.

The survey = will take 5 to=20 10 minutes and responses are confidential. The survey is = accessible at=20 http://www.college-survey.com/sbu through March 19. A $250 Best = Buy gift=20 card is the grand prize with two $25 Best Buy gift cards awarded = for=20 runner-up prizes.

In addition = to the online=20 surveys, customers are also able to share feedback about their = dining=20 experience by completing a Comment Card at all SBU dining=20 locations.

Celtic-rock and St. Partick=92s Day cheer will = be the scene=20 when Black 47 rolls into the St. Bonaventure University community = to rock=20 the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts on March 19.

The free concert will be from 8 until 10:30 p.m. = and is=20 open to the public.

The newly established Fr. Mychal Judge Center is = sponsoring the New York City band in honor of Fr. Mychal Judge, = who=20 perished during the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and was a = fan of=20 the group.

=93The band was a favorite of his,=94 said Larry = Sorokes,=20 director of the Fr. Mychal Judge Center. =93I thought it would be = fitting to=20 have them back to campus as we unveil the new center this = semester.=94 Black=20 47 played at St. Bonaventure a couple times in the 1990s, but has = not been=20 back since

. Black 47 has traveled the world over during = the members=20 20 years together, paving the way for other Celtic-rock groups = such as=20 Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly. The band has released 14 = albums;=20 most-recently Black 47 released =93Bankers and Gangsters=94 = alongside front=20 man Larry Kirwan=92s new novel =93Rockin=92 the Bronx.=94

Kirwan was also a good friend of Fr. Mychal = Judge, so it=20 is fitting his band helps open the new center. Kirwan wrote a song = about=20 Judge and also talks about him in his book =93Green Suede = Shoes.=94

Kirwan will visit campus again for a =93Rock and = Read=94=20 acoustic session on April 21.

McCarthyizm, a Celtic-rock band from Buffalo, = will join=20 Black 47 in the Quick Center for the Arts March 19.

SBU professor launches = Web site on=20 psychological well-being in higher education

Dr. Charles Walker, professor of = psychology at=20 St. Bonaventure University, believes that psychological well-being = in=20 higher education matters and he=92s spent more than a decade = developing ways=20 to measure it. He=92s now launched a Web site =96 = www.wellbeingincollege.org =96=20 in order to share those results with others.

=93If it is in the mission of some = colleges and=20 universities to improve the psychological well-being of their = students and=20 faculty, then this new Web site will help them achieve it,=94 said = Walker.=20 =93Its purpose is to help faculty, students, staff and = administrators become=20 better agents of well-being.=94

Recent research finds that colleges = and=20 universities that promote psychological well-being are more apt to = have=20 students and staff who are regularly cheerful and have a zest for = life,=20 who welcome challenges and opportunities for growth, and who = embrace=20 diversity and find meaning in social groups, said Walker.

Those individuals are also more = likely to live=20 longer, healthier lives, suffer less depression, be more creative, = and=20 have deeper, more stable relationships.

The Web site delivers and scores = well-being=20 inventories for faculty or students, then gives them immediate = results.=20 For those who take a well-being inventory, concise PDF documents = are=20 available to provide interpretive information and specific = suggestions for=20 strengthening psychological well-being. However, the site is also = designed=20 for use by development staff or institutional researchers.

=93Institutional researchers will = like the=20 database functions it provides,=94 said Walker. =93They can add = useful=20 respondent questions to an inventory then query their unique = database=20 online or download a copy of it after all the respondents have = finished.=94=20

The Web site also has a blog (under = construction) that will give visitors updates on best-practices in = the=20 promotion of well-being and discussions of trends in higher = education that=20 may affect human well-being.

=93I hope the site becomes a = virtual meeting=20 place for those interested in applying research and theory on = positive=20 psychology to higher education,=94 said Walker. Those interested = in learning=20 more about well-being in college are welcome to contact Walker at=20 cwalker@sbu.edu.

Service=20 learning trips to state prisons offered at SBU

By Liz Wordelmann, =9210

Students at St. Bonaventure University have the opportunity to=20 participate in service learning trips to state prisons.

In the fall semester of 2005, Fr. Bob Struzynski, O.F.M., began = this=20 program to provide experiential learning through service to those = in=20 prison. As a result of a high-demand to go on past trips, this = semester=20 the program was able to double the amount of dates offered to = students.=20 The program offers trips to Gowanda Correctional Facility and = Attica=20 Correctional Facility.

=93The service part is fulfilled by visiting men in prison, = some of whom=20 get no visits at all, and listening to them tell their stories = helps in=20 the healing process of the tragedy resulting from a bad = decision,=94=20 Struzynski said. For this semester there will be trips to Attica=20 Wednesday, April 7, and 28 and May 5, along with Friday, March 26, = April 9=20 and 23.

For Gowanda there will be trips offered Wednesday, March 10, = and 24 and=20 April 14. The Gowanda trip will have 13 students each trip and the = Attica=20 trip will have three students each trip as well. Both trips fill = up=20 quickly and Attica has a waiting list because only students 21 or = older=20 may go.

To go to Gowanda a student only needs to request to go three = weeks=20 ahead of time to be approved by Albany, but for Attica there is = more=20 extensive paperwork because participants are considered a new = volunteer=20 for this one trip to prison.

For the Attica trip, entrance to the prison is part of a = volunteer=20 program called Cephas. This program runs group therapy sessions in = prison=20 and then gives men coming out of prison a place to live while they = make=20 the transition back into society. The students sit in the therapy = group=20 and after a regular volunteer begins the discussion, everyone = participates=20 in accordance with his or her level of comfort. Prisoners will = discuss why=20 they are in prison and seek to discover why they may have made bad = decisions.

The student-volunteers sometimes relate to the prisoners and = share=20 their stories with them as well.

=93The result is a group where very good things happen in terms = of=20 insights, support and sometimes confrontation that brings deeper = honesty=20 with oneself and awareness of what must be changed if someone is = going to=20 be successful in society,=94 Struzynski said. The Gowanda program = is similar=20 except there is a tour of the prison and the participants sit down = with=20 men who have been convicted of driving while intoxicated (DWI) = felonies.=20 After this, students hold a discussion with three of the inmates. =

As a result of her trip to the Gowanda prison in Spring 2009, = Jen=20 Dempsey, =9212, started helping Struzynski with the program this = past fall.=20 She enjoyed the trip and was offered the opportunity to work with = the=20 program, and thought it would be a great chance to grow.

=93Going in and visiting the prisons and having discussions = with inmates=20 can be a very reflective experience,=94 Dempsey said.

This program can be used for University Forum Local Action = Project=20 (LAP) hours and many seniors take advantage of this opportunity. = Students=20 also visit the prison because they are looking to go into fields = related=20 to law or the justice system or they think it may be something = interesting=20 to do.

For more information on the Prison Ministry Program, contact = Jen=20 Dempsey at jdempsejc@sbu.edu or Fr. Bob Struzynski, O.F.M, at=20 rstruzyn@sbu.edu.

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Friday Forum

Date: March 12

Time: 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.

Location: University Club

Speaker: Dr. John Vena

Title: "Pollution in the Great Lakes and its = Effect Upon=20 Health"

Summary: Dr. Vena, a St. Bonaventure graduate = (Biology) and=20 a native of Olean, is head of the Department of Epidemiology and=20 Biostatistics at the University of Georgia=92s College of Public = Health. Dr.=20 Vena is a fellow of the American College of Epidemiology and the = American=20 Epidemiological Society, and has published extensively in cancer=20 epidemiology, especially on breast, lung and bladder cancer. Vena=20 presently serves on the Scientific Advisory Board for the = Environmental=20 Protection Agency

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Darwin L. King, professor of = accounting, and=20 Dr. Carl J. Case, professor of business information systems, = presented=20 their paper titled =93The Evolving Mission Statement: An Essential = Communication Tool=94 at the 17th Annual International Conference = of the=20 American Society of Business and Behavior Sciences (ASBBS). The = conference=20 was held in Las Vegas Feb. 18-21, 2010. The paper received a = =93Best Paper=20 of a Track=94 award at the honor=92s banquet held Feb. 20, 2010. = Less than 10=20 percent of the papers presented at this conference received this = award.=20 Articles winning the best paper award are published in the ASBBS=20 e-Journal.

Dr. Kimberly Young, professor of = management=20 sciences, appeared on Foxnews.com. She was quoted in the story = "World=20 Bank's Online Game Isn't a Real-World Solution, Critics Say" that = outlined=20 the benefits and limitations of using online gaming to help = promote=20 service learning. Young was quoted as saying she believes online = gaming to=20 be one way to help teach young people service values.