mercyhurst magazine - fall 2003
TRANSCRIPT
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Gennifer Biggs, Director of Public Relations and Publications
GREETING THE EDITO
I Last year, a report from the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania
revealed that the commonwealth's private higher education institutions alone contribute $570 million to the
economy in Erie and northwest Pennsylvania, a figure fueled by utility purchases, construction contracts, and
utilization of other business services.
But viewing higher education simply as a powerful employment engine, a mainstay in the business com
munity and a vehicle for promoting the reputation of a region would be shortsighted.
The real contribution of an institution of higher education is, and must be, providing fuel for economic
and community development and firing the imagination of regional leadership dedicated to enrichment of the
region.
As a colleague and I discussed ongoing local efforts to rescue Erie's business corridor and revitalize its
neighborhoods, our conversation drifted to the role Mercyhurst College plays in the effort to keep Erie a
healthy and viable city and we began reflecting on how our college shows its support for the community.
Some efforts are obvious and well publicized - the Civic Institute has been recognized as an influential
and forward-thinking support system for community leaders for several years now.
But others labor behind the scenes, students and faculty making contributions to their community that
often involve long hours, dedication, personal sacrifice, and an enviable grasp of a concept from which
Mercyhurst grew.
The founders of Mercyhurst College, the Sisters of Mercy, are women who commit their lives to serving
people — especially those who are sick, poor, and uneducated — and over the years, the Sisters' goal of
empowering others struggling to overcome obstacles and lead full and dignified lives has become one with the
goals of many Mercyhurst students, faculty and staff.
This fall, as we welcomed the second-largest freshman class of 680 young adults from around the world,
Mercyhurst decided to show the leaders of tomorrow what it takes to truly make a difference. So out went the
class of 2007 to more than 20 sites around the city where they learned just how fulfilling community service
can be.
And, perhaps surprisingly, everywhere we went that day as we took photographs for this magazine, we
saw laughing students, sweaty and dirty in some cases, but filled with the joy of joining a community.
In this issue of Mercyhurst Magazine, we've offered you a glimpse behind the scenes of only a handful of
the myriad projects under way that gives our support to the city we proudly call home - Erie, Pa. We hope
they will warm your heart with pride for your alma mater, and inspire you to dig into whatever community
you call home.
Gennifer Biggs, Editor [email protected]
814.824.3315
On the cover:
On Saturday, Sept. 6, nearly 650 freshmen from Mercyhurst College fanned out across the City of Erie, lending their energy and enthusiasm to an unprecedented day of service. Students worked at 22 sites from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., completing nearly 3,000 hours of service in a single day.
On the right, Meghan Mooney and Chelsie Stevenson test out the giant bubble machine at the Erie Children's Museum after cleaning the equipment; at center top, a group of freshmen visiting with seniors at the Village at Luther Square; and, at bottom left, students heading out with faculty member Dr. Jeffrey Roessner to pick up litter along the lakeshore at Presque Isle State Park. See page 4 for the complete story.
Photos by Roger Coda
ABLE CONTENT Greetings from the Editor
Town and Gown: Our responsibility to serve our community
Inside Cover
2-3
Spreading their wings: The Class of '07 learns about community and themselves
Civic Institute ... building partnerships to build communities
MEI gives nonprofits competitive e-vantage
Pioneers7 Log: Growing up on the Mercyhurst frontier
'Hurst, city pool resources ... Get W.E.T.
Searching for treasure under the waters of Lake Erie
Mercyhurst strives to balance the playing field in urban education
4-7
8-10
11-12
13-14
15-17
18-19
20-21
Girl Talk: Mercyhurst mothers and daughters reflect on college, community, relationships 22-25
Class Notes 26-28
Deborah Duda Gale ... Across the Ocean Inside Back Cover
Issue Editor
Gennifer Biggs
Director of Public Relations and
Publications [email protected]
814.824.3315
Contributing Writers Gennifer Biggs
Deborah Wallace Morton,
Assistant Director of Public Relations
Photographers Gennifer Biggs
Roger Coda
Paul Lorei
Debbie Morton
Class Notes Editor Tammy Roche Gandolfo 76
814.824.2004
The Office of Public Relations,
a division of the Institutional Advancement
Office, produces Mercyhurst Magazine.
Vice President of Institutional Advancement
Gary L. Bukowski CFRE 73
Director of Alumni Services
Patricia Liebel '53
Telephone: 1.800.845.8568
Local calls: 824.2538
Fax: 814.824.2153
Send your change of address to: Mercyhurst Magazine
Mercyhurst College
501 E. 38th St.
Erie, PA 16546
Fax: 814.824.2473
O C T O B E R 2 0 0 3
TOWN AND 3 3 0
ECONOMIC ENGINE VS. CIVIC LEADER
One of Erie County's great and often unrecognized assets is the presence of five colleges and universities enrolling 19,000 degree-seeking students, employing 2,500 full-time persons, spending more than $400 million in annual budgets and investing more than $100 million in physical plant construction, improvement and additions during the past five years. All of these statistics add up to an enormous economic impact on Erie County — a positive influence that has been relatively stable through recent economic storms.
Mercyhurst College is proud to be one of those institutions. We employ, on two campuses, 448 full-time persons with an annual payroll totaling $21.9 million in salaries and benefits, a dramatic increase from the $15.8 million of four years ago. This year's enrollment of 3,800 students on the Erie and North East campuses represents a significant growth from the 2,600 of five years ago, and that growth has stimulated $45 million in new capital expenditures for buildings, land, and physical plant improvements. It also requires an annual budget that this year will top $67 million, up $31 million from four years ago.
But important as those economic facts are to the Erie economy, a college or university must be more than a thriving business. It should also be committed to advancing the civic responsibilities outlined in this challenge given to the Mercyhurst faculty several years ago:
A college should do more than merely offer courses and degrees. It should also
The first step would be to create an
effective Erie County higher education
consortium to move the five area colleges beyond competition and more towards
collaborative endeavors, drawing
upon the large "brain bank" found in our
joint 2,500 employees.
Dr. William P. Garvey, president
be a force for growth and change, a repository of talent and knowledge, a haven for truth, beauty and free thought — in short it should be an invaluable resource for the area and a source of civic pride.
Certainly Erie's higher education institutions have made significant contributions in the past to the quality of life in the Erie region — through plays, concerts, lectures, movies, athletic events and quality degree programs. Successful as these efforts have been, they have not been enough in these difficult economic times, especially in the City of Erie, where 50 percent of all property is tax exempt, including hundreds of acres utilized by higher education institutions.
— Dr. William P. Garvey, president of Mercyhurst College
**^ Photo In/ Paul Lord
To assist Erie County in solving the daunting economic challenges of the 21st century, I believe that higher education must leave the comforts of the ivory tower and play an active leading role in developing new approaches to the economic growth of northwestern Pennsylvania. The first step would be to create an effective Erie County higher education consortium to move the five area colleges beyond competition and more toward collaborative endeavors, drawing upon the large "brain bank" found in our joint 2,500 employees.
On its own initiative, Mercyhurst has begun to address the area's needs by increasing its emphasis on new programs to improve civic life. Currently, the college has more than $2 million in sponsored grants involving our archaeology, education, criminal justice, Civic Institute and R/IAP departments. Activities funded by these grants include improving literacy in inner city schools; training city and county teachers in technology; educating most of the region's future police and constables; reviewing ' effectiveness of county policies dealing with drug offenders, as well as probation and parole participants; assisting watershed improvement efforts in county streams; and improving teacher education through aesthetic education in the schools.
Most of us would agree that even though globalization of world markets and rapid advances in technology offer unparalleled opportunities for building new wealth in communities such as Erie County, most communities of our size lack the knowledge, skills, and expertise to identify and seize
M E R C Y H U R S T M A G A Z I N E
. Our fortunes are entwined; the college
contributes to the vitality of the town just as the health of the town ensures the vigor of the college. We face a future that
will require us to . exploit to the fullest our combined assets ... Our mutual fate
depends on the health of both town
and gown.
— Dr. Timothy Sullivan, president of the College of William and Maty
opportunities for growth. The result is often economic
decline or stagnation, both of which are now afflicting the Erie economy. We cannot accept such a condition. Instead we should heed the words of Dr. Timothy Sullivan, president of the College of William and Mary, who made this striking comment about the intimate link between college and community progress:
Our fortunes are entwined; tfie college
contributes to the vitality of the town just
as the health of the town ensures the vigor
of the college. We face a future that will
require us to exploit to the fullest our
combined assets ... Our mutual fate
depends on the health of both town and
gown.
So let's get moving to assure the future prosperity of Erie County! If not us, who? If not now, when?
2003-2004 PROFILE
MERCYHURST COLLEGE ERIE CAMPU
ENROLLMENT: 3,000
FRESHMAN CLASS: 681 students from 22 states and nine foreign countries (Canada,
Finland, Great Britain, Honduras, Ireland, Nicauagra, Norway, Poland and Scotland)
Average SAT score: 1080
Average GPA: 3.4
Average class rank in top 30 percent
FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES: 448
FACULTY: 127 full-time
BUDGET: $68 million
ENDOWMENT: $15.3 million
COST: Tuition $15,780, Fees $1,260,
Room and Board $6,414.
Yearly total for resident students $23,454
ALUMNI: More than 11,500
FUND RAISING: "Preserving the Legacy" Capital Campaign
October 2000 to present - $20.3 million
DEGREES: 43 majors, 65 concentrations
UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES: Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Music
GRADUATE DEGREES: Master of Science in Special Education, Administration of Justice
and Organizational Leadership
TWO-YEAR DEGREE PROGRAMS: Associate of Arts, Associate of Science
ADULT PROGRAMS: Comprehensive degrees, post-baccalaureate certificates and graduate
programs. Accelerated degree program. Teacher certification.
SPORTS: Basketball (M/W), Baseball (M), Cross Country (M/W), Golf (M/W), Soccer
(M/W), Softball (W), Tennis (M/W), Volleyball (M/W), Rowing (M/W), Field Hockey (W),
Ice Hockey (M/W), Lacrosse (M/W), Football (M), Wrestling (M), Water Polo (M/W)
O C T O B E R 2 0 0 3
FYI OUTREACH MERCYHURST FRESHMEN LEARN LESSON ABOUT TE
/ Amid the tiny tables, brightly colored toys and educational exhibits filling the Erie Children's Museum, 22 Mercyhurst College freshmen are learning a lesson of their own about community service, their new classmates and, well, the giant bubble machine.
Seemingly undaunted by the astringent odor of cleaners hanging in the air at the museum, Meghan Mooney and Chelsie Stevenson are hard at work completing their portion of the community service component included in this fall's Freshman Year Initiative program, which aims to introduce students to the challenges of college life.
"It was a little disgusting, but fun," admits Meghan, a freshman from Pittsburgh, of the giant bubble machine the two girls have cleaned and are now reconstructing.
"We tried it out before we cleaned it, and we're gonna' have to try it out again once
we're done..." "Just to make sure we've got it working
right," chimes in Chelsie, who is from New Castle, Pa.
The two are giggling and managing to stay fairly dry as they fill the giant circular bubble machine with soapy water out of a
THE MISSION OF MERCYHURST COLLEGE
Mercyhurst College, a Catholic institution in the liberal arts tradition, is a community of learning dedicated to the lifelong development of the whole person. It strives for academic distinction in each of its programs. Inspired by the vision of the Sisters of Mercy, the college holds in highest esteem the qualities of excellence, compassion, creativity, and service to others.
The college integrates its strong foundation in the arts and sciences with focused programs in career preparation, challenging students to think critically, to comprehend the richness of our global community, and to work for positive change. At Mercyhurst, students gather the knowledge, insights, skills and vision necessary to lead fulfilling and productive lives.
Guided by its Catholic heritage, Mercyhurst promotes the values of truth, individual integrity, human dignity, mercy, and justice.
large bucket. Both are nearly giddy with anticipation — ready to pull the rope hanging in the center of the machine, watch the large circular "bubble wand" rise and see a giant, iridescent wall swell around them, only to pop seconds later.
Spread throughout the three floors comprising the museum are the young women's classmates, other members of the freshman class who moved into Mercyhurst on Sept. 4.
The group, a total of 650 students divided into 27 small groups led by faculty members,
spent their first few days at college attending group presentations, completing class discussions and preparing for a full-day service effort included in FYI for the first time this fall.
VA Medical Center
Chri&Ma#oo
41st & Glen wood (PHW)
More than 20 local nonprofit organizations around town benefited from the day's efforts as groups of students and their faculty mentors performed close to 3,000 service hours in a single day on Saturday, Sept. 6.
Students boarded buses around 9 a.m. and worked in groups of about 25 until approximately 2 p.m., taking a short break during the day and returning to a student government-sponsored barbeque.
"FYI helps to guarantee students the best possible chance of being successful during their time at Mercyhurst," explains Cathy Anderson, associate vice president for student development. "It teaches the students where they can go to get help while they're here."
FYI was originally launched by Mercyhurst College five years ago, but until this fall, the freshmen taking FYI met with faculty once a week for the full 10 weeks of the fall term. Starting in 2003, the students and their faculty mentors, about 27 in all, began meeting during orientation, tackling the community service component of FYI together and then meeting once a week for the first four weeks of fall term.
But on Saturday, it was hard work ahead for the newest class of Mercyhurst Lakers,
M R H U R M Z 1 N
MSELV ES. EACH OTH.LR, AND COMMUNITY SERVICE
and at 9 a.m., the Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center parking lot is full of freshmen.
Standing on the back of a golf cart, assistant director of student development Cass Shimek takes up a megaphone and the day's efforts begin.
In less than 15 minutes, nearly 650 sleepy-faced freshmen and their faculty mentors are loaded, along with snacks and water, onto the waiting vehicles, and the PAC
lot is filled only with the rumbling echoes of departing buses. Standing in the resulting free space, Shimek and Anderson share a whoop of success and a hug while the two upperclassmen overseeing the student orientation leaders relax for a minute and discuss how the new program is progressing.
Marisa Paolini and Sarah Fedenets are charged with organizing the 50 student orientation leaders, all volunteers, who assist faculty throughout FYI. Sporting the highly
identifiable brilliant orange T-shirts of student leaders — all emblazoned with the logo "Focus On Your Future" — Paolini and Fedenets are quick to say how well the first few days have gone.
"Three weeks ago we moved in and everything took shape," said Paolini, a senior, who adds that she thinks the freshmen, while a bit overwhelmed, are having a good time and reaping the benefits of the new format.
"They seem enthusiastic and I think they
o O B R 2 0 0 3
will really like it when they realize that by the
time Monday is here, they will have finished
half of what they have to accomplish in FYL"
Hope Magee, one of the student
assistants who is assigned with a group of
freshmen doing coastal cleanup at Presque
Isle State Park,
It is nearly 11 a.m. and her group is
plucking up trash wedged between rocks that
protect the bayside shoreline of Presque Isle.
Holding a clipboard, her sunglasses
perched atop her head, Magee is tallying the
amount and type of litter the students
retrieve.
"It's been very busy/' she says, taking a
break after recording that one of the young
women has just found a "giant, dead, stinky
fish" along the shoreline. "They've gone to
speakers and classes and now this, but
they've learned a lot about the school, and I
think they are doing really well."
Magee, like the other seniors helping
with FYI, went through the program when
she first arrived, but in the format that
stretched the course throughout the entire
first term of her freshman year.
"This group will be done before
midterms; they're getting 60 percent of FYI
finished before classes even start, and I think
that is a great improvement/'
Magee returns to recording her charges'
finds, laughing as one young woman holds
up a child's rubber ball and exclaims: "What
is with all these bouncv balls? I've found a J
bunch. That's just stupid."
Back at the headquarters for the Presque
Isle cleanup effort, which has placed more
than 100 students along the coast of the
peninsula, a Department of Conservation and
Natural Resources environment interpretive
technician, Brian Gula, talks about the impact
of the students' efforts.
"We really don't have the resources or
the staff to keep up on the trash we have on
our shoreline," says Gula. "Presque Isle is
very clean, but when you are surrounded by
water on three sides, we get a lot of litter that
floats in — from boaters, cities, washed out of
streams, vou name it."
Student manpower from Mercyhurst not
only facilitates a cleaner site, but also assists
the DCNR in education efforts.
"This brings an awareness to the kids,"
Gula explains. "They will see there is a lot of
trash out there, and it will show them just
how many people still litter. And it will give
them a sense of responsibility along with a
sense they are doing something good."
Each student group records all the trash
it retrieves on a checklist the DCNR will use
to track litter as part of a larger program.
Ref tec tiofi s
IGommunity service gives new life
to me. It makes me realize the power
of one and even more so the power of
teamwork. It puts an end to talking
and griping about negative situations
and puts us into action. Community
service brings people together and
enables them to all create a bond and
work together for one common goal.
Whether people wanted to be there or
not at 9 a.m. (on Saturday), everyone
showed up and in the end I believe
many even cared.
Mercyhurst did not just want to
clean up a park, they wanted to unite a
class and give back to the community
that has given so much to the college.
— Reflections on the cleanup of
McClelland Park by Christine Biddle,
Class of 2007
But Gula doesn't want the day to be all
about work.
"This is about having some fun, too,"
says Gula. "It is a beautiful day and this is a
great place to be on a day like this. We hope
this helps bring them back to visit again now
that they've done this work."
Tempting students with community
service opportunities they can continue once
classes begin is another goal of the day's
activities.
At the Village at Luther Square, where
students mentored by Jodi Hopper, director
of the graphic design program, spent the
morning playing black jack with elderly
residents, the younger generation has been
won over by their elders.
M E R C H u M G I N
'This is awesome/' says Andrew
Lapiska, a freshman from Seven Fields, Pa.
"Some of the others are out cleaning up
and picking up stuff; that's not for me. In
here, we get to interact with these people and
they are just great."
"See that lady over there ... Louisa ...
she came here from Italy in 1921 — all by
herself. And that's her son, he comes to see
her every day," explains Andy, who met
Louisa during the morning activities. "She
has the best stories to tell."
As the group prepares to split up
between floors and visit with more residents,
three young women run up to Hopper,
breathlessly announcing: "We met Mary
That's what took us so long."
Mary, the only resident who smokes, had
joined the freshmen out in front of the site
with her cigarettes, and quickly charmed
them.
"She knows the best jokes!" two of the
students tell Hopper. "Can we come back
and visit her? She seems so lonely."
After signing the contact sheet to be left
at Luther Square, the girls — Kelsey Brown
of Randolph, N.Y., and Kylie Thorne of St.
Marys, Pa. — exchange cell phone numbers
so they can coordinate their visits to Mary
"You know, this has been a surprisingly
rewarding experience," says Hopper, echoing
the sentiments expressed by another faculty
member, Dr. Doug Boudreau, who says while
he was always enthusiastic about doing this
project, enjoying the day as much as he did
was a bonus.
Retiree tioft s
realized that I really did something
good and worthwhile for the commu
nity, which gave me a great feeling by
the time we were leaving. I believe it is
for this reason that community service
is such a good idea. Not only did I get
something accomplished, I actually
gained something as well: knowledge
about myself and others and a general
feeling of well-being.
Reflections on the cleanup of
McClelland Park
"This was really fun, and the students
seemed enthusiastic about the work they
were doing," says Boudreau, who teaches
French language and culture, and accompa
nied a group to the International Institute, a
nonprofit agency that welcomes and helps
settle international refugees. At that site,
students washed service cars, sorted donated
furniture and did yard work.
In all, students spread out from one edge
of Erie to the other, working at sites as
diverse as the Second Harvest Food Pantry,
where freshmen repacked food donations,
and outdoor sites, where the Lake Erie
Region Conservancy (LERC) worked with
students on clean-up projects.
"This was a great opportunity to get the
students involved and interested in
conservation efforts at a young age," says
Cathy Pedler, who handles environmental
initiatives supported by Mercyhurst and is
the vice president and secretary of LERC. She
spent the day working alongside students at
McClelland Park, where a neighborhood
recreational area has evolved into a dumpsite.
There, more than 50 students
accompanied by Dr. Peggy Black, social
work, and Dr. Joseph Morris, political science,
and LERC volunteers spent the day clearing
the woods of refrigerators, couches, a
smattering of smaller items and even an
engine.
But perhaps the bigger accomplishment
comes when neighbors, drawn by a busload
of energetic teenagers in their neighborhood,
join in.
"We were surprised when the neighbors
came and joined in," says Morris. "We have
everyone out helping — from an elderly lady
who brought her own rake to kids who
helped our students carry trash out to the
Dumpster."
With a majority of the trash and larger
items moved out by the freshmen who
worked at the site, it is hoped a more vigilant
maintenance program at the park, which is
owned by the City of Erie, will allow residents
of the area to enjoy the wooded space.
Back at the Children's Museum, as their
peers clean stairways and wipe down walls,
tasks punctuated with squeals of discovery
— "Hey, look at this! It is all made with
gumballs!" — Meghan and Chelsie try to put
into words what their induction into Mercy
World has been like.
"It's been really hectic," says Meghan. "I
was a little anxious when I first got here, but
I'm really glad I'm here now. I've already met
a great group of friends."
She and Chelsie share a quick laugh and
hug, then get more serious.
"At first I thought the FYI class wouldn't
be any fun, but now I'm glad we're doing it.
You have this great group of friends right off,
and it makes settling in much easier," says
Chelsie, then sighs. "It sure is a lot to take in,
though."
The two return to their bubble machine,
refilling and "priming" the apparatus under
the close direction given to them by Marlene
Martin, the museum's director. "Pull and drop," she tells them. "There
you go — it just takes time."
Soon, a crowd of classmates gathers as
the two laughing girls stand in the center of a
giant bubble that stretches over their heads
— encasing the start of a lifelong friendship
and a college experience off to a great start.
By Gennifer Biggs
Photos by Roger Coda
o T O B E R 2 0 0 3
rruxE 0 0 0
BUILDING PARTNER 3 3 3
\i / 1 Mercyhurst College Civic Institute Director Art Amann took a
moment to size up his surroundings. He had come to this East 23rd Street residence to have a heart-to-heart with its owner about neighborhood revitalization, which seemed daunting when he learned of the crack house across the street and the prostitution ring at the corner. Add to the equation the front yard drug deals that are part of the fabric of everyday life along this inner-city stretch and revitalization is a tall order at best.
"Why do you stay?" Amann asked the man. "It's where I live and I want to make it better/' he replied. Amann smiled; he knew that he had struck a common chord.
What motivated that particular neighbor is at the very heart of what drives the Civic Institute.
"Erie is where we live and we are here to make it better/' Amann said.
"Unlike an industry a college like ours can't pack up and go/' said Dr. Thomas Gamble, former director of the Civic Institute. Gamble passed the staff to Amann July 1 after becoming Mercyhurst's vice president of academic affairs. "We are part of this community and we are in a symbiotic relationship with it. We can't be an island of affluence in a sea of poverty."
LIVING THE LEGACY True to its Mercyhurst roots, the Civic Institute also seeks to live
the legacy of the Sisters of Mercy, who throughout history have advanced the mission of service to others.
Originally Mercyhurst College was home to the Center for Child
Erie Mayor Rick Filippi, foreground, addresses residents attending a Weed
and Seed revitalization plan meeting in July while Art Amann, background,
director of the Civic Institute, listens.
Unlike an industry, a college like ours can't pack up and go. We are part of this community and we are in a symbiotic relationship with it. We can't be an island of affluence
in a sea of poverty.
Dr. Thomas Gamble, vice president of academic affairs
and former director of the Civic Institute
and Family Policy directed by Gamble; the Center for Justice Research and Policy directed by Amann; and the Center for a Healthy Community, headed by Dr. Mark Levine.
In 1999, spurred by Mercyhurst President Dr. William P. Garvey, who envisioned a broader mission for Gamble's work that would address issues like neighborhoods and the environment, all of which impact children and families, the Mercyhurst Civic Institute was born, unifying all three programs under one umbrella.
What does the Civic Institute do? Perhaps a better question would be: What doesn't it do? Fundamentally, the institute is a college-community partnership that facilitates local decision-making affecting the social, health, educational, and civic well-being of the Erie region.
Its interdisciplinary staff conducts research on issues like juvenile justice, welfare reform, affordable housing, and last year's study on racial profiling in the Erie police department; they analyze data, like the incidence of teenage pregnancy and adolescent childbearing in Erie County; they produce publications, including the unparalleled community resource, "Directions: Understanding Child and Family Well-being in Erie County;" and they evaluate programs, engage in strategic planning and write grants. Altogether, the institute's endeavors promote discussion of regional issues, generate policy, and foster outcomes that benefit the Erie region and its residents.
"We could never be as effective on our own," Amann said. "It is the college-community partnership that enables our community to do what it wants to do better."
While the institute's role has been in the vanguard, behind the scenes, and everywhere in between, the partnerships it has forged since its inception in 1999 are responsible for pouring approximately $5 million into the Erie area economy in the form of grant money. A
8 M K H U R M I N
TLB UNIT Among those listening to
ideas for reclaiming one
Erie neighborhood are
Dan Castro, president of
the Institute for
Leadership, Education
and Development, front
row left; and Tom
Hyson, director of the
Weed and Seed program
in Pennsylvania, front
row right.
bonus for Mercyhurst is the tremendous research opportunities the partnerships create for faculty and students.
HAND IN HAND One of the institute's more high-profile
endeavors is the state's Weed and Seed Initiative, through which it partnered with the City of Erie and the Erie County District Attorney's Office to write the grant proposal that brought the program to Erie in 2002. The major initiative, which will bring an estimated $720,000 in funds into Erie over a three-year period, is one of 15 statewide.
Essentially, the state and city police "weed" the criminal element out of neighborhoods — in Erie's case, the targeted area runs west to east, from Cranberry Street to East Avenue, and north to south, from 12th to 26th streets. Then, as part of the "seed" component, the Civic Institute lends its resources and expertise to teams of neighborhood residents that guide the revitalization effort.
That is what brought Amann to the doorstep of the East 23rd Street resident last winter, and keeps him meeting with citizens in the target neighborhood.
"We expect to have the revitalization plan into the state this fall," Amann said, noting that some very positive proposals are
being generated by the five committees working on the plan.
One of the committees, for example, is charged with investigating ways of building a positive relationship between the police and neighborhood residents, particularly youth. Out of their meetings came the idea of resurrecting the Police Athletic League, which in the 1960s produced teams of police and inner-city youth that played sports together.
Gamble said that once a community's revitalization plan is endorsed by the state, it is better positioned to secure funding for implementation of its proposals, although that remains a long and arduous process.
"It took decades for a neighborhood to fall apart, and it's going to take decades to put it back together," he said.
EXPANDING INFLUENCE In highlighting some of the Civic Institute's other recent endeavors, Gamble credited Amann and his staff, which currently includes five full-time employees and nine consultants, with expanding the breadth of the institute's programs.
"They have been instrumental in spreading our influence statewide and we are really showing the flag regionally as well," he said.
For example, as part of the School Resources Officer Project, Gamble said the
institute is evaluating 21 school districts in Pennsylvania that employ state-funded law enforcement officers in their schools to ascertain the program's effectiveness in curtailing violence. Currently, the institute's staff is compiling data from an estimated 2,500 surveys completed by students, parents, teachers and administrators in the respective school districts. The project is funded by a two-year $70,200 grant from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
Elsewhere, the institute is consulting with Cumberland County to help organize a Mentally 111 Offender Program, which is designed to be a seamless collaboration between the criminal justice system and mental health providers. Essentially, the program provides policies, procedures and training for Cumberland County officials involved with mentally ill offenders from arrest through incarceration. The reimbursement-driven program is expected to yield approximately $10,000 for the Civic Institute in 2003.
And, using the institute's Criminal Justice Advisory Board as a model, which links key decision-makers in consideration of issues like electronic monitoring and jail crowding in an attempt to seek successful remedies and identify future needs, the institute is helping seven counties in Pennsylvania establish similar boards.
NYGAARD JOINS EFFORT Meanwhile, Judge Richard L. Nygaard of Erie, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, joined the Civic Institute as a senior fellow. Nygaard will conduct a series of public lectures and will lend his expertise to researching issues of therapeutic jurisprudence, which pools the social sciences with the judiciary and corrections field in an effort to seek a rehabilitative course of action for individuals in the prison system, Gamble said. •
O C T O B R 2 0 0 3
^ *
^ f e >
Lor/ Duska, a neighborhood revitalization team
member, listens during the July meeting when
revitalization plans were unveiled.
As a recipient of the Mercyhurst College
James V. Kinnane Criminal Justice Award last
spring, Nygaard expounded on his interest in
criminal law, sentencing and the prison
system.
"The recidivism rate today is as high as
it ever was/' Nygaard said. "We have six
million people in this country under
supervision, two million of them locked up;
of that, 40,000 are in Pennsylvania, and we
have no idea whether they are going to come
out any better than they went in."
Nygaard advanced the need for research
and information sharing to generate solu
tions, which is what he will attempt to do
within the framework of the Civic Institute.
"The first thing we have to do is a lot of
research, then share the information with
others and factor it into the law," he said.
"Right now, we are running a warehouse and
we have to get back to the business of
corrections."
With plenty of existing projects to con
centrate on and a number of new endeavors
about to commence, Amann said he is eager
to lead the Civic Institute into the future.
And, after following Tom Gamble's lead
the past several years, Amann said he couldn't
have asked for a better mentor.
"Actually, I can't think of a better goal
for me and for the institute than to continue
what Tom has already started ... to create a
better Erie."
By Debbie Morton
Photos by Roger Coda
CIVIC INSTITUTE FAST Director
Art C Amann
Staff Fivefidl-time employees and nine consultant*.
Projects Juvenile Detention Census Management Database
Juvenile Placement Fund Monitoring Project
Erie County Parent-Child Home Program Evaluation
Evaluation coordination for the Model Preschool project in association with the Erie
Community Foundation, the Heinz Endowment and the YWCA
CROSMISA Dually Diagnosed Offender Program Evaluation
Erie County Drug Treatment Court Program Evaluation
Analysis of Police Stops and Searches for the City of Erie
Weed and Seed Initiative
Pennsylvania County Criminal Justice Policy Board Development
Regional Quality of Life Analysis for the NWPA Workforce Investment Board
Distinguished Speaker Series
Erie County Criminal Justice Advisory Board coordination and staff support
Erie County Policy and Planning Council for Children and Families coordination and
staff support
CIRCLE Incorrigibility Project research and staff support
Grants Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grant Preparation and Reporting
Growing Greener Grant: Partnership for a Healthy Millcreek Watershed
Publication
• "Directions: The Well-being of Children and Families in Erie County, Pa. ft
Partners and Funding Sources
The Erie County Office of Children and Youth
The Erie Community Foundation
The Erie County Departments of Corrections, Adult/juvenile Probation and Parole
The Erie County Court
The Erie County Office of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
The School District of the City of Erie
The Governor's Partnership For Safe Children
The Howard Heinz Endowment
The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency
The Pennsylvania Department of Welfare
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
10 M E R H U M Z I N
0 3 0
Nina Bell, development director at the
Mercy Center for Women, opted for tact
when she described her agency's Web site as
"rather outdated."
Shantel Hilliard '02, program director at
the Booker T. Washington Center, didn't even >
brave a description of his Web site.
"Let's just say we decided to scrap it and
start over," he said.
In both cases, it was the new Mercyhurst
College E-Commerce Institute (MEI) that
overhauled the Web pages of these nonprofit
organizations and fine-tuned their voice on
the World Wide Web.
In a culture that embraces an ever
increasing level of Internet dependency,
many Erie area nonprofit organizations are
lagging behind in establishing their presence,
according to MEI director and computer
systems instructor John Byrtus. In an effort to
help local nonprofits take advantage of the
Internet's powerful communication
capabilities, thereby strengthening both the
community and the economy, MEI took
shape.
• Mercy Center fonmaenr "s in iiHiW-Wi
IttaiJtfiiiJxif^iiKimuxu
An offshoot of Mercyhurst College's
service learning program, headed by Sister
Michele Marie Schroeck '88, '96, and in coop
eration with the math and computer systems
department, MEI is staffed by student volun
teers pursuing degrees in related fields. Their
MEI student volunteer Scott Fiorina develops a color palette for Web page design.
services are provided free of charge to the
nonprofit groups.
Since it was officially launched last
spring, MEI is working with 25 clients in the
nonprofit sector to assess, plan, create, moni
tor and maintain their respective Web sites.
The Mercy Center for Women needed a
Web upgrade to achieve a viable, straightfor
ward, easy-to-navigate site for referral
purposes but, like most nonprofits, it just
didn't have the money.
"Many not-for-profit organizations can
not afford to pay to have sites professionally
developed," Byrtus pointed out. "To avoid
professional development costs, these
organizations have amateur level work or
forgo having a site."
Bell said, "The Mercy Center wants a
presence out there, where we can say to other
organizations, churches, agencies: here's our
Web site and what we are all about in case
you need to refer someone to us."
The Mercy Center's site was one of the
first completed by the E-Commerce Institute.
Not only was the result gratifying, Bell said,
but the process was also a positive experience.
"We were assigned three wonderful
students and they were so professional," she
said. "They met with us, discussed our needs,
and offered really good ideas." •
That's the genius of the institute — new people, fresh ideas.
And in the constantly evolving world of
e-commerce, keeping creativity percolating is what it's all about.
O C T O B E R 2 0 0 3 11
ONPROF IVEE
Last spring, a volunteer staff of 18
students worked with the MEI in a service
learning capacity. Work continued throughout
the summer with a smaller staff, including
Scott Fiorina, Michael Thiess, Jim Lahood,
Curtis Henry and Karen Gourley. Like their
predecessors, the summer crew was equally
enthusiastic about its work.
"A lot of the groups we are working
with don't know how to update the Web sites
they have, so we are developing a simple
coding to help them do it on their own," said
Thiess, a retired tool and die worker who is at
Mercyhurst earning a certificate in computer
information systems.
Besides showing the power of service
learning to enhance the community, the MEI
is preparing students for professional careers.
"I've gained a lot of experience and have
learned more about computer languages like
JAVA, CSS and Visual Basics in here than I
have in the classroom," said Fiorina, a senior
in management information systems who
introduced an expansive color palette to the
generator that is utilized to formulate Web
pages for clients. "There will be more color
choices now than there were before."
^ ' ^ " " ^ • ' • ' • y
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That's the genius of the institute — new
people, fresh ideas. And in the constantly
evolving world of e-commerce, keeping
Mercyhurst E-Commerce Institute director John Byrtus, at left, talks over some e-commerce best practices
with students Scott Fiorina, Jim Lahood and Michael Thiess.
creativity percolating is what it's all about.
Part of the institute's work centers on
two new Web sites it is developing:
www.erieoutlook.com, which highlights
Erie's best features in an effort to attract
young professionals to the region; and
www.erieservices.org, which is a portal to
link the area's social service agencies.
"It's a good feeling to get a site up on the
Internet and know that you were responsible
for developing it," said Lahood, a senior
studying management information systems.
"For a lot of us working here, the payoff is
going to be on the resume."
For someone like Hilliard, though, the
payoff is in being able to extend his organiza
tion's reach through the Internet and help
those who might desperately need its services.
"Most of the people we help are
low-income," said Hilliard. "It's all about
awareness. Having a good Web site lets us
make people aware of the services we
provide, especially new people coming into
the area."
As for the future, MEI's long-range plans
include aiding the region by helping create
e-commerce businesses and by supporting
e-commerce initiatives within existing
organizations, both for-profit and nonprofit.
Further, MEI seeks to provide service
learning-based consulting services, seminars,
certificate programs and resource
coordination activities.
Story and photos by Debbie Morton
12 M H U R S T M A
UP... In 1973, pioneer Kevin Koob organized a
secret mission — a daunting trek that no
male before had tried - a midnight run
through the female-inhabited second floor
dormitory of Old Main.
Wearing a ghoulish mask and a nun's
' black habit, Koob sprinted through the dorm,
his deranged cry awakening the girls and
sending them shrieking to bolt their doors. So
fueled was he by their reaction that he pro
ceeded to the third floor — the nuns' quarters.
There, like so many pioneers in history,
Koob met his match. He was halfway down
the hall when a dear, brave Sister of Mercy,
thinking he was another Sister in the throes
of a nightmare, came upon him from behind.
She put her hand soothingly on his shoulder
and he turned to meet her, his fiendish face
but a breath away. Eeeeeek! She screamed.
He screamed. And they both took off
running.
In the days ahead, there was a full court
press to uncover the identity of the masked
nun imposter. Hearing that he was a key
suspect from then-admissions chief Thomas
Billingsley, who is now executive vice
president for administration, Koob gave
himself up. Because Koob was one of the
male pioneers of Mercyhurst College in its
co-educational transition period (aka The
Frontier Days), the powers-that-be put the
prankster through his paces, but stopped
short of doling out punishment too severe.
"Basically," Koob said, "I just had to
incur the wrath of the Sister I had scared."
Certainly, some of the administrators
and faculty who were here during Koob's
memorable four years on campus were
surprised to hear recently that the class clown
had gone on to a serious career and, just last
spring, was charged with the awesome
responsibility of protecting a U.S. president.
Commander Koob was the U.S. Coast
Guard Project Officer assigned to the security
Now here's a face that only a mother could love!
It belongs to Kevin Koob '75, best known for his
mad dash through Old Main in a nun's habit.
He also snared the "best costume" award one
Halloween for this monk's outfit.
of President George W. Bush and that of
Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge on
their visit to Philadelphia in March.
Koob has been with the Coast Guard for
27 years, both on active duty and now in its
reserve. His civilian job is that of response
and recovery officer for the Federal
Emergency Management Agency in
Philadelphia. What's more, this previously
unfocused twenty-something has gone on to
enjoy a 20-year marriage, complete with four
children.
When he thinks back to the good old
days at Mercyhurst, his memories typically
include fellow pioneer, roommate and
co-conspirator Dan Cannon, who now lives
in Somers, N.Y., with his wife of nine years.
"We trade e-mail and, periodically, get
together, and I am always amazed at how
very incredible it is that the paths of our lives
have tracked along so closely," Koob said.
So closely, that as Koob was guarding
President Bush, Patrolman Cannon was
providing security for former President Bill
Clinton and Senator Hillary Clinton at their
Chappaqua, N.Y., home, a duty he has under
taken on multiple occasions as a 21-year
veteran of the Town of New Castle Police
Department, which serves Chappaqua.
"It's been a challenge for the 45 officers
in our force to provide the kind of security
necessary for the Clintons," Cannon said.
"Obviously, the Secret Service has a large
presence here, but they are teamed up with
New Castle police officers when the president
is in residence. I've done his security quite a
few times now, and he is starting to recognize
me. Actually, both he and the senator have
come out to shake my hand."
Like Koob, Cannon sometimes has to
pinch himself to believe what he is doing now.
"When we were rooming together at
Mercyhurst, Kevin and I endeavored to find
the margins at both ends of the page,"
Cannon said. "We never dreamed of seeing a
U.S. president, let alone protecting one."
Certainly, Cannon was in cahoots with
his buddy Koob when it came to mischief at
Mercyhurst. Some may remember this
particular episode: On April 1,1972, as all
good faculty, staff and administrators were
processing along East 38th Street to work,
they encountered a bottleneck as they •
I guess it just goes to show that if you can get students through some of those tough stages in life, the end result can be pretty
good.
Tom Billingsley, executive vice president
for administration
O C T O B E R 2 0 0 3 13
MER HUR approached The Gates. The imposing 20-foot-
high, 25-ton, wrought-iron gates that frame
the entryway to Mercyhurst College had been
wrapped and locked in chains.
APRIL FOOLS! Koob and Cannon had
struck again!
Ironically, both were in the work study
program at Mercyhurst, and it became their
job to paint the gates, which were scratched
and chipped from the chaining incident.
"After finishing the project, we reported
to Sister Barbara (then-director of financial
aid), who handed us a check and thanked us
for our hard work," Cannon remembered.
Obviously guilt-stricken, they offered to
donate their services to the college, but Sister
would not hear of it.
"We told her we couldn't take the
money, but she kept insisting," Cannon
continued. "When we finally fessed up, she
got this twinkle in her eye, and said, T knew
you wouldn't take the check/ She had had
our number all along!"
While long-time Mercyhurst personnel
can still remember the mischievous antics of
Koob and Cannon, their academic pursuits
"When we were rooming together at Mercyhurst, Kevin and I endeavored
to find the margins at both ends of the page. We never dreamed of seeing a U.S. president, let alone
protecting one. / /
Dan Cannon '75
Dan Cannon, left, and Kevin Koob, share fond memories of Mercyhurst and a passion for practical jokes
that has mellowed over the years. Today Cannon is a police officer in New Castle, NX, and Koob is a
Coast Guard reservist and response and recovery officer for the Federal Emergency Management Agency
in Philadelphia.
did not go unnoticed. On the contrary,
criminal justice professor Dr. Frank Hagan
chronicled Cannon's senior thesis in his
textbook, "Research Methods in Criminal
Justice and Criminology."
A psychology major, Cannon solicited
Koob's help with the thesis, a study of how
social status of a perpetrator affects people's
reaction to a crime. To test his theory, Cannon
found a busy shopping locale, placed a
shopping bag at his side, and looked away.
Then, Koob, dressed either in workman's
clothes, a business suit, or priest's robes
would steal the bag. After each incident,
Cannon would debrief passersby on their
reaction to the simulated crime. All in all, the
results made for pretty interesting reading
and helped whitewash an otherwise
notorious twosome.
After Cannon graduated, he worked for
seven years in government social work before
becoming a police officer. In both instances,
his career goal was not punitive in nature,
but rooted in the desire to restore the order
and protection he believes each person is
entitled to in life.
Much has changed at Mercyhurst since *
the days of Koob and Cannon. Men are no
longer novel; they are commonplace. But
both agree that the discoveries they made in
their pioneering days on the Hill have served
them well in life.
And as Billingsley so aptly summarized,
"I guess it just goes to show that if you can
get students through some of those tough
stages in life, the end result can be pretty
good."
By Debbie Morton
Contributed photo
14 M R H U R M A Z I N
'Him POOL
/ A new education program aimed at
promoting watershed stewardship among
Erie youth is making a big splash with a
group of students from the Mercyhurst
College education department and City of
Erie high schools.
"I really learned a lot, especially about the
history of Erie, like the flood and why Mill Creek
was tubed/' said Keri Johnson, a 2003
Mercyhurst graduate who is doing her student
teaching this fall.
"I liked going in the creek and seeing all the
aquatic macro invertebrates and identifying the
different fish," said Matt Ritz, a Strong Vincent
High School senior.
"I've done volunteer work at the Bayfront
Center (for Maritime Studies) and 1 thought
doing this would be interesting,,, said Kevin
Lyons of Villa Maria Academy.
Aptly called Get W.E.T. (Watershed
Education Team), the project plunges
participants into a whole wide world of
aquatic life in Mill and Cascade creeks and
Presque Isle Bay as they get up close and
personal with local watershed issues, then
Student Jen Turner, left, works with mentor
Patrick Bruce, center, and student Hollian Vickey,
in Mill Creek. The group used a seine to pull
samples from the creek.
CITY OUR 0 0 3
I liked going in the creek and seeing all the aquatic macro invertebrates and
identifying the different fish.
Matt Ritz, a Strong Vincent
High School student
turn their newfound knowledge into creative
learning activities for children in grades K-6.
The collaborative effort of Mercyhurst
College, the Bayfront Center for Maritime
Studies, Pennsylvania Sea Grant and Erie
School District is funded by a $13,000 grant
from the Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection Growing Greener
Program.
In addition to educating young people
about the Presque Isle Bay Watershed, the
Get W.E.T. project encourages civic
responsibility and shows students how their
curriculum is not something separate from
the real world, but a means to making a
better world.
The project began with a watershed
summer camp June 16-20 that paired
Mercyhurst education students with Erie
high school students.
What is a watershed? How is Presque
Isle Bay's unique? What kinds of fish live in
the bay? How did Erie as a fishing port
impact the city's development? What are the
effects of waterfront development on
non-point and point source pollution? How
do you test water quality?
Those are a sample of the questions the
Get W.E.T. team explored during the week-
long camp and are now preparing to help K-6
pupils digest a la games, puzzles, experi
ments and other fun learning projects.
Throughout the fall, Mercyhurst educa
tion students will mentor the high school stu
dents in an after-school setting as they devel
op age-appropriate learning activities and
then, in the spring, the high school team will
become peer educators and use the materials
they created to educate elementary school
students.
Students spend a day on Lake Erie in the
Momentum.
Get W.E.T. team members include
Mercyhurst students Megan Auell, Patrick
Bruce, Carol Clark, Keri Johnson, Mary
Mullen, and Rebecca Turner; and high school
students Matt Ritz, Audrey Hamilton,
Frances Nieswonger, Andrea Montroy, and
Hollian Vickey, all of Strong Vincent High
School; Jen Turner of the Northwest
Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy; and Kevin
Lyons of Villa Maria Academy. Also
participating is Amber Richardson of Villa
Maria Elementary.
Leanne Roberts, assistant professor of
education, and Dr. Marlene Cross, assistant
professor of biology, are coordinating
Mercyhurst College's involvement in the
effort. Former Mercyhurst assistant education
professor Dr. Joanne Carney provided support
throughout the grant-writing process. •
o c T O B R 2 0 0 3 15
ojeff W-S.J:
Wat«rxh«d Iducatlon Tton
"Opportunities to collaborate with and learn from professionals in the field and transfer that knowledge to work directly with K-12 students are precisely what pre-service teachers need/' said Roberts. "This project is rich with authentic learning experiences for our students."
"What a wonderful opportunity this is for students to 'do' science in the field/' Cross said. "I think you learn so much more when you actually see the results."
The summer camp, meanwhile, was
supervised by Anne Danielski, education specialist for Pennsylvania Sea Grant; and on-site coordinator Amy Jo Smith, a senior biology major at Perm State Erie — The Behrend College, whose enthusiasm set the tone for the week.
Despite the rain that constantly threatened, Smith said every day of the camp turned out "great" and everything she planned she accomplished.
"This was our first year for the program and we were pleased to start with a
comfortable number of participants; the one-on-one ratio was great," added Danielski, who detailed the camp experience, starting with a view from the top.
"We took everyone up the Bicentennial Tower to see the bayfront, and we had photos of the area from 100 years ago, so they got a unique perception of the then and now of our bayfront," she said.
Throughout the week, the team was encouraged to visualize the watershed from an historical perspective, beginning in the
Eric Obert, associate director of the Pennsylvania Sea Grant program, works with students Audrey Hamilton, center, and Prances Nieswonger, right, to identify
fish from Mill Creek.
16 M E R C Y H U R S T M A G A Z I N E
1600s and watching how the community developed around the bay and how the fishing and shipping industries shaped Erie as a city.
"I grew up in Erie, but I gained so much
knowledge, from the history of the bay to the
organisms that live there," said Mary Mullen '03,
who is doing her student teaching this fall.
Jim Stewart, executive director of the Bayfront Center for Maritime Studies, talked about watershed stewardship and urged the students to remember: This is your bay your lake, your watershed and you are the ones who will be responsible for taking care of it one day.
Ed Kissell of the S.O.N.S. of Lake Erie Fishing Club talked about development of the bayfront and its impact on the environment, while Kelly Burch, DEP regional director, apprised the group of government efforts aimed at preserving the integrity of the watershed.
The students tried their hand at role playing, envisioning themselves as business people and developers who had to consider land use and watershed issues in pursuit of
I grew up in Erie, but I gained so much
knowledge, from the history of the bay to the organisms that
live there.
Mary Mullen '03, mentor
their would-be development projects. Of course, no watershed camp would be
complete without the opportunity to get wet, and there were plenty of those.
Team members experienced the bay while taking a sailing lesson.
"I really enjoyed the sailing; it was one of my
favorite parts of the camp," said Mercyhurst
senior Carol Clark.
The campers collected sediment samples to analyze and utilized a portable Hydrolab
to test the pH, oxygen level, and temperature of water samples. They used seines to collect benthic invertebrates from the bottom of a creek, and learned how aquatic biologists use electroshocking equipment to bring larger fish to the surface so they can collect, study and record pertinent environmental data before returning the fish safely to their habitat.
And if a week's worth of camaraderie, discovery, picnics, sailing and scientific exploration were not enough for these aquatic crusaders, there was art! Cathy Pedler, Mercyhurst archaeologist and coordinator of the Partnership for a Healthy Mill Creek Watershed, and education graduate student Melissa Borgia spent the last day of camp helping students share what they had learned through artistic expression.
The students also presented draft proposals of the learning activities they intend to use in the elementary school classroom in the spring when they take education beyond the realm of textbooks and tests and into the real W.E.T world.
By Debbie Morton
Photos contributed by Pennsylvania Sea Grant staff
, i
Students and mentors pose with Presque Isle Bay in the background.
O C T O B E R 2 0 0 3 17
EAR IINGF ORE THEW ER LAKEER
"We are opening up an enormous new era in archaeology ... time
capsules in the deep oceans,
the Navy, Aug. 11, 1986.
ff John E Lehman Jr., U.S. Secretary of
When John Lehman spoke of the ongoing underwater excavation
of the Titanic in 1986, he never imagined how widespread underwater
archaeology would become as advances in science and technology
brought new methods to sites buried beneath the rhythmic waves of
oceans, seas and lakes.
But never before in the history of underwater excavation have the
Great Lakes been the focus — until now. And, it
all happened in Erie, Pa., this summer, under
the lead of the Mercyhurst College archaeology
department.
In what was billed "an historic undertak
ing" with enormous potential to identify,
research, preserve and interpret the shipwrecks
at the bottom of Lake Erie and unveil the rich
seafaring history of the region, a topnotch team
of collaborators went to work in June exploring
Pennsylvania's Lake Erie waters, starting with
Presque Isle Bay.
Their exploration into the never-before-
researched treasures of Lake Erie has the goal of
bringing history alive for youngsters in the Erie
region, feeding an interactive curriculum for
K-12 students as research continues next year.
Making this all possible were Mercyhurst
College and the Bayfront Center for Maritime
Studies (BCMS), which secured an 18-month,
$33,500 grant from the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection
Coastal Zone Management program, then
coordinated nearly $60,000 in matching funds
and in-kind commitments.
The funding paved the way for a partner
ship with the Institute for Nautical Archaeology (INA) based at Texas
A&M University in College Station, Texas, a collaboration that has as
its roots a longstanding friendship between Mercyhurst Trustee James
Zum and INA board member Edward Boshell Jr., who had envisioned
their two institutions in a cooperative venture of this kind for years.
The INA was organized in 1972 as a nonprofit research institute
that has excavated some of the most significant underwater archaeology
We have demonstrated the feasibility of the
enterprise, and we see that as a solid
base for future expansion of this
project. We are now in the midst of
chasing down more funding to continue
this effort.
sites in the world, including those in Port Royal, Jamaica, and
numerous shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea near Turkey. Other key
players in the momentous undertaking are Pennsylvania Sea Grant,
Divers World, Lake Shore Towing, and the Lake Erie Region
Conservancy.
"This joint underwater archaeology project will preserve the local
history of Lake Erie and its shipwrecks," explained James Stewart,
executive director of the Bavfront Center for Maritime Studies. "In
addition, instead of talking to local students about history, we are
going to show them what is right here and get them excited about it."
The program started in June with Texas
A&M doctoral candidate and INA researcher
James Coombs overseeing a rotating staff of
four Mercyhurst College archaeology students
who took on the responsibility of jump-starting
the project — despite inclement weather that
kept them on shore for weeks.
After battling bad weather and mechanical
troubles, the students eventually settled into the
tedious chore of sweeping the lake bottom with
a side scan sonar, looking for anomalies, many
of which were found.
More than 100 anomalies were recorded,
two of those known shipwrecks, the rest new
discoveries that will be mapped and researched
when the project continues next summer —
when additional funding is secured.
Coombs said he is pleased with the initial
efforts, even though the group covered only 4.5
square miles of territory.
'Now that all the kinks have been worked
— Dr. James Adovasio,
Mercyhurst Archaeological Institute
ir
out, next season will go much more smoothly,
and we expect a lot more ground to be
covered," he added.
Despite a slow start, many of those
intimately involved in the project were pleased
with the preliminary endeavor.
"We have already had a tremendously productive first full season
with this project," commented Stewart. "Our partnership with Texas
A&M's Institute of Nautical Archaology took several steps forward,
including the start of the systematic side scan sonar survey of the
Pennsylvania waters of Lake Erie."
As the project continues, Stewart explained that the information
18 M H U M A Z I
*i>*A
\ : * & '
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lw~ti ^m.->
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1
.
T/7cse sonar images shozu portions of
the Philip D. Armour, a 264-foot
freight barge/steamer that sank during
a gale in 1915 while carrying a load of
coal. It sits in the sand at a depth of
30 feet, about 6 miles off the Erie, Pa.,
harbor entrance. At the time she was
launched in 1889, the Armour was
the largest wood propeller ship ever
built by the Detroit Dry Dock Company.
An anomaly identified during the
summer underwater archaeology project
spearheaded by Mercyhurst College, the
Bayfront Center for Maritime Studies and
the Institute for Nautical Archaeology
based at Texas A&M University.
- < - .
We have already had a tremendously
productive first full season with this
project. Our partnership with
Texas A&M's Institute of Nautical Archaeology took
several steps forward, including the start of the systematic side
scan sonar survey of the Pennsylvania
waters of Lake Erie.
— James Stewart,
executive director,
Bayfront Center for Maritime Studies
gathered about the newly discovered
shipwrecks will be funneled into the Bayfront
Center for Maritime Studies, which will use
the data to develop curriculum for the
region's K-12 classrooms. Since Lake Erie is
home to more freshwater shipwrecks than
any other location in the world, the project
promises an exciting look into the seafaring
history of the region.
"We already held a teacher training in
the spring that sowed the seeds for producing
a curriculum to make the adventure and the
science of underwater archaeology available
to school children from around the region/'
explained Stewart.
Despite the setbacks of a stormy and wet
Erie summer, Dr. James Adovasio, director of
the Mercyhurst Archaeological Institute, said
he was pleased with the initial effort.
"We have demonstrated the feasibility of
the enterprise, and we see that as a solid base
for future expansion of this project/' he said.
"We are now in the midst of chasing down
more funding to continue this effort."
The joint endeavor is being funded in
part by the Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection Coastal Zone
Management program. Through federal
grants, the Coastal Zone Management
program provides technical and financial
assistance to local governments and state
agencies to control development in coastal
hazard areas, improve public access, protect
natural resources, expand strategies to
improve local economies, and promote
proper planning.
Mercyhurst and BCMS are now working
to renew grants from those entities.
Mercyhurst archaeology research projects
routinely employ the very latest computerized
surveying, mapping, and remote-sensing
techniques along with tried-and-true
excavation methods that have set the standard
in the field. Mercyhurst students and
archaeologists have participated in excava
tions at famous international archaeological
sites such as Pavlov I in the Czech Republic,
Caesarea Maritima in Israel, and Mezhirich in
southern Ukraine. Closer to home, Mercyhurst
archaeologists are involved in the Meadowcroft
Rockshelter, sites in Allegheny National
Forest, a varietv of locations in northwest
Pennsylvania, and several major excavations
in Texas.
The mission of the Bayfront Center for
Maritime Studies is to design and deliver
unique, hands-on, maritime-related
educational, vocational, and recreational
opportunities for all members of the
community. Since its inception in May 1998
the BCMS has worked with youth creating
learning experiences through building boats,
sailing and learning about the local environ
ment on Presque Isle Bay and Lake Erie.
By Gennifer Biggs
Contributed photo
o c O B 2 0 0 3 19
MERCYHUR TO BALANCE PLAYING F
Nine-year-old Tanya recited the words in
deliberate one-by-one measure. They were
her words, painstakingly put together with
the help of mentors in an after-school
program that seemed to elicit her best effort.
As she finished her "All About Me" story the
audience applauded and she beamed with
the glow of their endorsement. She felt like a
winner, and she wasn't the only one.
An East High School freshman and
aspiring teacher who had tutored the Edison
Elementary School second-grader relished the
ripple effect of her young charge's success.
Their mutual glory came as a result of a
pilot program, proposed by the St. Benedict
Education Center and developed through the
new Urban Education Institute, an undertak
ing of Mercyhurst College education faculty
Dr. Phillip J. Belfiore and Ruth Auld '01. The
institute represents a college-community
partnership aimed at balancing the playing
field in urban education where poverty,
teacher shortages, under- and non-certified
teaching staff, poor test scores and low
expectations all play an integral part in the
struggle for quality.
Although still evolving, the institute has
formed a K-16 consortium among
Mercyhurst College, St. Benedict Education
Center, the City of Erie School District, and
community resource programs, including the
Erie Housing Authority.
John Koran, executive
director of the Housing
Authority of the City of
Erie, a community
partner in Mercyhurst's
new Urban Education
Institute, visits with
student Latreece Rowry at
the computer.
We selected students we felt could benefit
academically and socially and we
found it to be a real positive program.
Our kids were eager to go and, for some,
grades actually improved. Plus, they
were exposed to good, positive role
models.
Brenda Meredith, principal,
Edison Elementary School
Its goal is to raise the quality and
diversity of the K-12 urban teaching force and
upgrade post-secondary teacher training in
an effort to improve student performance in
urban schools, said Belfiore, associate
professor of education and director of the
graduate program in special education at
Mercyhurst College.
The institute launched its first initiative
last spring with a pilot project that linked
Mercyhurst faculty and freshman education
students, East High faculty and four
freshmen, and Edison faculty and 13 pupils
in an after-school club at Franklin Terrace
community center on the City of Erie's east
side. Computers and related resources were
furnished by the Erie Housing Authority and
St. Benedict Education Center. Mercyhurst
College provided transportation; also, grant
money from the college's graduate program
in special education funded a graduate
assistant to direct the project on-site.
Alma Hucic works on her "All About Me" book
as Mercyhurst education student Chad Keene
lends support.
The 10-week session, which interlaced
academic instruction, mentoring and social
skills training, was capped by a "literary tea/'
at which the second-grade through
fourth-grade participants read aloud to an
approving audience the "All About Me"
books they had authored.
"It was wonderful to see the great
feelings the kids had about themselves and
the books they wrote," recounted Stacy
Steingrabe, the Mercyhurst graduate assistant
who directed the outreach effort that resumed <
this fall. "It was a great outcome for us."
Also helping Stacy was Sara Kassab, a
graduate student doing an internship at the
after-school program.
Calling the pilot project "a huge success,"
Sister Miriam Mashank, OSB, '54, executive
director of the St. Benedict Education Center,
said, "Originally, we felt the need to provide
a quality after-school education program to
children living in the Franklin Terrace area,
many of whom attend Edison school, but we
were worried about the 'school after school'
concept. Thanks to Phil Belfiore and Ruth
Auld, who were the brains behind the
program, it turned out to be an exciting,
20 M R Y H U R T M 1 N
URBAN EBUCAHO
Mercyhurst graduate student Sara Kassab gets a
hug from two Edison students in the after-school
project at Franklin Terrace community center.
energizing experience for everyone."
She also credited Mercyhurst President
Dr. William P. Garvey with providing the
support necessary to launch the project.
Edison Principal Brenda Meredith,
meanwhile, said she was encouraged by the
project's results.
"We selected students we felt could
benefit academically and socially and we
found it to be a real positive program/' she
said. "Our kids were eager to go and, for
some, grades actually improved. Plus, they
were exposed to good, positive role models."
Meredith said Edison also furnished a
teacher, Patricia Sherbin, who provided
curriculum guidance to Mercyhurst and East
High students charged with mentoring the
elementary school children.
But the youngest participants in the
program accounted for only part of the pilot
project's success. It was a win-win situation
on multiple levels. Mercyhurst faculty got
experience in the field and the chance to put
their research to work in an urban lab.
Education students in Belfiore and Auld's
urban education class got the feel of working
in an urban classroom, the likes of which
most had never before encountered.
It was the four East High School ninth-
grade students, though, whose contributions
held the most promise toward long-term
improvement of urban schools, noted
Belfiore. The girls - LaTasha Williams,
Amanda Williams, Frannie Cicatelli, and
Emily Thor - became pioneers last spring in a
pre-teaching academy, one of three programs
that comprise the Urban Education Institute.
The academy, which is being housed at East
and directed in cooperation with
Mercyhurst's teacher preparation programs,
gives top urban high school students an
opportunity to explore college and the field
of education as a career choice.
According to research cited by Belfiore,
of the students who graduate from high-
minority, high-poverty schools, many do not
have the opportunity to enter college, and
fewer choose education as a post-secondary
career. Likewise, urban public schools lack
quality role models for underrepresented
populations.
Tanya Mickel, left, takes a snack break with East
High mentors, Amanda Williams, center, and
LaTasha Williams.
Belfiore said the aim of the pre-teaching
academy is to offset those trends locally by
stimulating and cultivating an interest in
teaching among top high school students at
East.
The girls' first mission was as mentors in
the after-school pilot program at Franklin
Terrace. Thev were trained by Auld, an
instructor in special education, and mentored
by faculty from participating schools and
Mercyhurst undergraduate education students
Erin Moll, Pam Cichon, Mallory Taylor, and
Chad Keene. The hope now is that they will
continue in the pre-teaching academy
through 12th grade, enroll as education
majors at Mercyhurst and, armed with
college degrees, return to the city to teach.
To date, the girls have resolved to
participate again this year as sophomores,
and more ninth-grade recruits are expected.
Participation in the academy is selective in
that participants must meet academic,
disciplinary and attendance criteria at East to
qualify for admission.
As an added benefit, Belfiore said, the
pre-teaching academy may serve as a tool to
increase diversity on the Mercyhurst campus,
where only three percent of students in the
education division are minority.
While the pre-teaching academy is
establishing roots, the foundation also is
being laid for two other proposed programs
under the institute's umbrella. One represents
an extension of the pre-teaching academy —
the college emergent teacher program —
which would provide for pre-teaching
academy students, once they reach 12th
grade, to take college coursework and earn
nine credits towards a Mercyhurst degree in
education. The third component of the
institute is a master teacher in-residence
program, through which the best minority
public school teachers in Erie would lecture
at Mercyhurst and East.
By Debbie Morton
Contributed photos
o c O B E R 2 0 0 3 21
GIRL TALK:
HTE COLLE 9 UNIT
w A
^jf While there is no cookie-cutter Mercyhurst
woman, many who are touched by the spirit
intrinsic in the Mercyhurst experience, tend to
reflect a certain commonality.
Such is the case with these four Mercyhurst
women: alumna Marlene Mosco '68, vice chair of
the colleges board of trustees, and her daughter,
Emily, a 'Hurst senior; and trustee Doris
Stackpole and her daughter, Jennifer, a 2003
graduate. Together they share, and, each in her own
way, manifests, the Carpe Diem spirit.
They are outward extensions of the college's
mission, which holds in highest esteem the
qualities ofexcellmce, compassion, creativity and
service to others.
As warm and inviting as a crackling fire in the hearth, Doris and Jen Stackpole of St. Marys, Pa., make friends feel like family, and acquaintances, like dear friends. There are no airs, no pretenses, no barriers to their engaging manner.
"We joke that we must wear a sign on us that says, Talk to me/" said Jen, casting a sideways glance at a bemused mom. "We'll be out together and perfect strangers, like waitresses in a restaurant, just start telling us their life stories."
Perhaps, it is a reflection of her smalltown upbringing or the fact that she has lived a life both of humble means and of prosperity that makes Doris so approachable.
In the late 1950s, Doris worked in the dietary department at her hometown hospital. She later worked as a retail sales clerk in a downtown store and as a secretary in the sales department of a St. Marys carbon
My mom has an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and is always open to new
challenges, which she embraces with
passion. I think we are very much alike in that way. We have an adventuresome spirit and want to
learn more about life and people.
Jennifer Stackpole '03
manufacturing industry during the 1960s and earlv 1970s.
J
"I know what it is like to work and not have two nickels to rub together from one paycheck to the next," Doris said. "But, I learned a lot from my father about handling; money, things like putting a little aside in savings and giving to the church even if it meant you had nothing left at the end of the month."
When Doris reached a point in life where she was comfortable financially, she continued to look for ways to grow and expand her
knowledge. While raising Jen and Jen's older sister, Susan, who is a Duquesne University graduate, Doris became a Dale Carnegie graduate and went on to teach human relations, public speaking and sales management courses.
But it is her community service during the past three decades that epitomizes just what kind of woman Doris is and illustrates the depth and breadth of her community-mindedness.
As a member of the Mercyhurst College Board of Trustees since 1997, she chairs the student and academic development committee and serves on the executive, endowment management, and long-range planning committees. She also served Mercyhurst as visitors' board chairman of the D'Angelo School of Music from 1997 to 2000.
She is a well-known figure in her hometown of St. Marys and neighboring Ridgway
In St. Marys, she served as a trustee of Elk Regional Health System Inc. and trustees chairman of Elk Regional Health System Inc. Foundation for 12 years.
In Ridgway, she was chairman of the board of directors of Elk County Citizens Against Physical, Sexual and Emotional Abuse, and currently serves on a six-county regional economic development board, North Central Enterprise Inc. She also has given tirelessly to the Catholic Diocese of Erie by serving as past chairman of the founding board of directors of Catholic Charities.
"My mom has an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and is always open to new challenges, which she embraces with passion," Jen said. "I think we are very much alike in that way. We have an adventuresome spirit and want to learn more about life and people."
22 M E R C Y H U R S T V. A G A Z I N E
REELEC
Doris Stackpole played a
dual role during
Mercyhurst graduation
2003 — mom and college
trustee. Here she poses
with daughter Jennifer,
who earned her bachelor
degree in music/voice in
May.
ir ii
the negatives as well / /
'Jen and I are like a couple tumbleweeds, her mother echoed. "We will adapt to whatever comes our way as the positives.
As a Mercyhurst trustee, Doris is responsible, in part, for making Mercyhurst what it is today. Like Jen, however, she says she owes Mercyhurst a debt of gratitude for what it has done for her.
Although neither of these women would
appear to have confidence issues, they thank Mercyhurst nonetheless for buoying their self-assurance. Originally, Jen was planning to go elsewhere for college, but her mind kept returning to a few years earlier when she had accompanied her mother to a performance at the Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center.
"I kept thinking about how much I loved the campus and how it had felt so much like
home," Jen said. So, she changed plans and came to
Mercyhurst, a decision she will never regret. "Coming from a small town, Mercyhurst broadened my horizons and taught me a lot about myself and gave me confidence," Jen said.
'The opportunity to grow here has been phenomenal," Doris added. "There's been a lot of self-discovery, not only about life but about the capabilities I have that I didn't even know I had."
For Jen, Mercyhurst means far more than the bachelor's degree in music/voice that she received in May 2003.
"Mercyhurst doesn't stop with education," Jen said. "It teaches you how to think, how to stand up for what you believe in, and not to be afraid to speak out, even if •
When I came to Mercyhurst, I felt like
I was taken under this huge wing, and
it's wonderful to share the same
experience as my daughter, but on a
different level.
— Doris Stackpole,
Mercyhurst trustee and mom
o O ii E 2 0 0 3 23
what you say is against the college's position on something. I think the faculty here is wonderful. I have had professors who are like family. They are just as willing to learn from me as I am from them."
Although Jen and Doris don't always see eye to eye, which they attribute to their German-Irish heritage, they both agree that the Mercyhurst community is like family to them.
Not only does Jen regard the faculty highly she counts the friendships she has made here, particularly in her affiliation with the concert choir, as precious gifts.
"I've made absolutely the best friends here/' Jen said.
Likewise, Doris said, "When I came to Mercyhurst, I felt like I was taken under this huge wing, and it's wonderful to share the same experience as my daughter, but on a different level."
Although Jen graduated last spring, she is taking classes at Mercyhurst this year toward her teacher's certification. She would like to perform on Broadway one day but, like her mom, she knows practicality has its place and she intends to use teaching to support her voice career.
One of Jen's finest moments at Mercyhurst came last spring when members of the Mercyhurst College Concert Choir took a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Ireland. Before leaving, the choir members honored a request of the Stackpoles to perform in their hometown of St. Marys.
"To have the people I love most in this world perform with me in my church in my hometown was wonderful," Jen said. "To show people in a small town that there is a whole, big world out there and that they can be part of it meant so much. Mercyhurst did that for me."
Give Mercyhurst College senior Emily Mosco a box of candy bars to sell for charity and she cringes.
Give the same box to her mother, Marlene, and she lights up.
/ / I love fundraising," said Marlene.
charities rather than hunting for funding. This dynamic Mercyhurst mother and
daughter manifest as many differences as they do similarities, but on one point they agree: their choice of college.
Emily a graduate of Mercyhurst Prep, had no plans to attend Mercyhurst College. She landed here by default her freshman year.
After spending 10 days at a college in New York, she refused to stay a moment more. It simply wasn't for her. Since Mercyhurst's fall term had not yet begun, a flurry of last-minute paperwork opened The Gates for Emily.
What was then eyed as a transitional move turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
"Emily has never been a quitter, so it was a very difficult time and we weren't sure what to expect, but she ended up loving Mercyhurst," Marlene said.
What I like about Mercyhurst is the
caring and the attention you get, and
the personal relationships you
develop.
Emily Mosco
"I hate it/' said Emily, who quickly adds that she prefers working hands-on with
She became an Ambassador, found her academic interests in English and Spanish, and immersed herself in Laker life until her blood ran green. Even though mom, and dad Homer, were only three blocks away, Emily rarely saw them. Mercyhurst was home now.
"I cried my eyes out when my freshman year was over," Emily remembered.
While Emily took a more mature, serious approach to college, Marlene fluttered through the halls of Old Main back in the Sixties with a to-do list that was more social than academic in orientation.
"Considering what I do today, I think
that surprises most people," Marlene remarked. "But, Mercyhurst truly shaped and
formed me. I give a lot of credit to the Sisters of Mercy who are so positive about everything. Their guidance goes a long way toward developing healthy self-images."
Marlene discovered and cultivated an interest in business at Mercyhurst and, in 1968, graduated with a bachelor of science degree in business administration. She went on to become president of the Northwest Pennsylvania region of PNC Bank and is vice chair of the Mercyhurst College Board of Trustees.
Her affiliation with PNC came through Mercyhurst, where shortly before graduation she was interviewed for a position as training director at Marine Bank (PNC's predecessor). No sooner had she transposed the tassel on her graduation cap than she was immersed in bank operations. A mere eight days to be exact.
Holding the distinction of "the first female college graduate ever hired by the bank," Marlene might as well have been wearing a Scarlet Letter on her business suit.
"You can imagine how popular I was," she quipped.
But, step by step, she learned, she grew, and she inched her way to the top, which she described as a natural ascent rather than a calculated course.
Today, she is both a business and civic leader. She is a member of the board of directors of the Warner Theatre Preservation Trust, trustee of the Boys and Girls Club of Erie Inc. and of the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, chairperson of the Erie Convention Center Authority and a member of the Community Fund Drives Committee , for the Erie Conference. In addition, she is a member of the board of corporators of Hamot Health Foundation and Saint Vincent Health Foundation, and served as co-chairperson of the state finance committee for the Tom Ridge for Governor Committee. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Mercyhurst College Distinguished Alumni Award.
"I've been very fortunate in life and I owe much of it to Mercyhurst, which is why I am on the board and why I try to do whatever I can for the college," Marlene said.
Marlene and Emily agree that
24 M R C H I R S T M / I N
Mercyhurst provides a top-drawer education and life experience due, in large part, to its abundance of powerful role models.
"I had wonderful mentoring at college/' Marlene said. "I try to do the same now and help mentor others, especially my child."
"What I like about Mercyhurst is the caring and the attention you get, and the personal relationships you develop," Emily added.
Like her mother, Emily is a natural born leader. It is in leadership style that they differ, however.
"Mom (whom she calls Marsie) is more driven; she's more hyper about getting things 'done right away," said Emily. "I'm driven as well, but in a more relaxed way. Maybe that's because I'm 21 and she's ..."
"Fifty-six," chimed in Marlene. Referring to Emily's leadership style,
Marlene recalled an observation that Mercyhurst College President Dr. William P. Garvey made about Emily years after her pre-school teacher first suggested it: "They said Emily has a quiet confidence. She does not need to be the center of attention, but you always know she's there. I think they're right."
In fact, using her educational experience
in Spain last year as a frame of reference,
Mercyhurst truly shaped and formed me. I give a lot of
credit to the Sisters of Mercy who are so
positive about eveiything. Their
guidance goes a long way toward
developing healthy self-images.
— Marlene Mosco '68,
Mercyhurst trustee and mom
Marlene and Emily Mosco take a break from a busy schedule to share a moment in Garvey Park.
Emily is gently but persistently urging Dr. Garvey to inaugurate a comprehensive study-abroad program on campus.
Both Marlene and Emily are proponents of a liberal arts education, which they believe makes for a well-rounded individual. Emily believes a study-abroad program augments that scenario.
x — -
Marlene Mosco '68
"That one experience made such a difference in my life/' she said, describing the Syracuse University study-abroad program she linked up with after countless hours of searching for options on the Web.
Besides learning to converse fluently in Spanish, she experienced a different people, a diverse culture and, more profoundly, she
said, "It changed my mind about a lot of things that I used to think were important but just aren't anymore."
What she came to admire most about the
Spaniards is their vitality. "Spaniards don't care so much about
money or social status; it's not about climbing the ladder," Emily said. "They just love life."
Now, as she continues to wrestle with the great unknown — life after Mercyhurst — she knows the alma mater she will one day share with her mother is a place where she can always return and find a sense of well-being — almost as comforting as working side by side with 91-year-old Emma DiTullio, Marlene's mom, who has headed the annual spaghetti dinner at Erie's Dr. Gertrude A. Barber Center for many years.
Emily, like her mother, is a dedicated volunteer who has given hundreds of hours to volunteer endeavors, the most special being the Barber Center experience she has shared with her grandmother the past seven years. That tradition elicits many warm and wonderful memories, not unlike those she has made at Mercyhurst.
Yes, indeed, like a big ol' plate of pasta, some people, some places, just make you feel good inside.
0 C T O B R 2 0 0 3 25
FALL 2
THE FIFTIES
Mary Jachimczyk Bankowski '53, Naples, Fla., and her husband Edward celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on May 30, 2003, by renewing their marriage vows at the Holy Name of Jesus Church, the same church where they were wed, followed by a "surprise" reception for family and friends.
THE SEVENTIES Mary Schlegel Samios 70, Ligonier, Pa., has accepted a position as major gifts officer at Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pa.
Gail Gerono 73, Pittsburgh, Pa., has been promoted to vice president, investor relations, communications, and human resources at Calgon Carbon Corporation. She is the first woman to hold the title of vice president at Calgon Carbon, as well as the first woman to be an elected officer of the company.
Holly Chiappazzi Villella 79, Erie, has work featured in Kaleidoscope: Exploring the Experience of Disability through Literature and the Fine Arts. Her personal essay, "The Piano Man," appears in issue #47 of the magazine with other thematic material reflecting the experience of autism. Her work was selected from more than 200 submissions considered for publication. Villella is a writer, artist, and a member of the Sarah A. Reed Children's Center Board of Directors. Her essays have appeared in The Annals of St. Anne de Beaupre, Liguorian Magazine, Our Family, and Erie Times-Nrcvs.
THE EIGHTIES Patrick Allen '87, a Navy reserve petty officer 2nd class, recently returned from a deployment to the Arabian Gulf region while assigned to Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 15, home-based in Corpus Christi, Texas. Allen's unit deployed eight MH-53E Super Stallion aircraft, 400 tons of equipment and 370 personnel in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. HM-15 provided airborne mine countermeasures protection and heavy lift combat support capability to coalition warships in the Northern Arabian Gulf, Eastern Mediterranean Sea and inside Iraq. The MH-53E's primary mission was to clear ocean lanes, harbors and rivers of deadly sea mines.
Linda Rieger Graves '87, Erie, earned a master's of social work in social administration at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. She is a licensed clinical social worker in an outpatient mental health agency in Erie.
Jennifer Conmy '88, Cleveland, Ohio, is a controller for the Columbia Iron and Metal Company.
Michael Hrusovsky '89, Walker, Mich., has been named regional director of operations for Hospitality Specialists Inc. in Grand Rapids, Mich.
THE NINETIES Thomas R Causgrove '92, Erie, earned a master of education degree in reading from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in May 2003.
Robert R. Stein '92, Meadville, Pa., earned a master of arts degree in counseling from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in May 2003.
Ann Salandra Boyd '92, Williamsville, N.Y., has been promoted to senior marketing manager, cakes and desserts, at Rich Products Corporation, Buffalo, N.Y.
Nicole Acquilano '94, Ozone Park, N.Y, is a physical education specialist for the Calhoun Lower School. She is pursuing a master of science and physical education from Hofstra University. Acquilano continues to dance and is a consultant for Town Sports International. She choreographs for Sports Clubs and Kids, lectures at fitness conventions and trains young instructors on how to choreograph for children ages 3-17.
Jennifer Beckdol Leon '94, Yardley, Pa., is a campus recruiter for Fisher Scientific.
Holly Kleiner Fitzgerald '94, Erie, earned a master of education degree in elementary education from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in May 2003.
Antoinette Platte Payner '96, Suffern, N.Y, earned a master's degree in operations research and statistics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and is a director of underwriting at American Express in New York.
Brian Ash '98 has completed his first year residency at Cleveland Clinic and has begun a surgical residency in Clarion, Pa.
Renee Bums Ash '98 graduated from the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine in May 2003, and her husband, Brian Ash, DJRM, presented her hood to her. Ash will begin a three-year surgical residency at Jewish Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Tracy Bacik '99, Farmington Hills, Mich., graduated from the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine in Mav 2003. She begins a two-vear surgical residency at Providence Hospital in Southfield, Mich.
THE MILLENNIUM Kimberly Falvo '00, Pittsburgh, Pa., works in sales for UPMC Health Plan.
Helen Mills '00, Aspinwall, Pa., is teaching and coaching the girl's soccer team at Allderdice High School. She also coaches Pittsburgh's Tri-City club team.
Robin Nuber '00, Houston, Texas, is a teacher at Wainwright Elementary School in Houston.
26 M R H D S T M A G z I N
Amy Piecynski '00, Pittsburgh, Pa., is a counselor at Discovery House in Pittsburgh.
Julie Zook '00, Pittsburgh, Pa., is the assistant general manager at Rock Bottom Pittsburgh, a microbrew and restaurant.
Beth Amati Reichel '01, Meadville, Pa., is a special education teacher for the Northwest Tri-County Intermediate Unit #5.
Diane Rooney '03, Hopewell Junction, N.Y., is working on her master's in special education at Mercyhurst College.
Christina Stanyard '03, Webster, N.Y., is attending graduate school at the University of Rochester for marriage and family therapy.
Anthony Stranix '03, Haddon Heights, N.J., is an accountant with Bowman & Co. LLP in Cherry Hill, N.J.
Chad Martin '96 and wife Deanna had a son, Tyler Michael, May 16,2003.
David Runco '96 and wife Tara (Peduzzi) '97 had a daughter, Gianna Carmella, July 16, 2003.
Kimberly Thayer Clear, admission counselor at Mercyhurst North East, and husband Tom had a daughter, Audra, May 11,2003. Congratulations also to grandparents Shelley
Lindsay Can '01, Rochester, N.Y., is the lab manager for brain and cognitive sciences at the University of Rochester.
Carlee Cramer Wood '01, Erie, is a Spanish teacher for the Millcreek School District.
Gretchen Koskoski '01, Wake Forest, N.C., has accepted a first-grade teaching position at Rand Road Elementary School in Gamer, N.C. She continues to teach ballet privately in her spare time.
Victor Laurenza '02, Gibsonia, Pa., is a licensed financial sales consultant for PNC Bank in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Kristen Brown '03, Syracuse, N.Y., is attending the Maxwell School at Syracuse University for a master's of public administration degree.
Emily Camilli '03, St. Louis, Mo., works for Rave Hospitality as manager of a Longhom Steakhouse in Chesterfield, Mo.
Andrew Casserly '03, Willoughby, Ohio, has taken a management position with Eat n' Park Hospitality Group in northeastern Ohio.
John Cozzocrea '03, Orlando, Fla., has taken a management position with Cintas Corp. in Orlando.
Hannah Gehman '03, Port Allegany, Pa., is attending Johns Hopkins University School of Biocellular Sciences to obtain professional certification in cytopathology.
Tara Hockensmith '03, Glen Burnie, Md., is an intelligence analyst for the Department of Defense at Ft. Meade, Md.
Timothy Kaemmerer '03, St. Louis, Mo., works for the City Museum in downtown St. Louis.
Bryan Paulozzi '03, Strongsville, Ohio, has accepted a position in the marketing sales department of Pawler Communications.
Jennifer Szymanski '03, Springwater, N.Y., now attends Gannon University working on her doctorate in physical therapy.
Tracy Thompson '03, Cranesville, Pa., is a clinical dietitian at Pleasant Ridge Manor in Girard, Pa.
Anthony Tomaino '03, Canfield, Ohio, is attending the Mercyhurst North East culinary school
Tanya Trombly '03, Bismarck, N.D., is a company member with the Northern Plains Ballet, a professional ballet company in Bismarck. The company regularly tours in Fargo, N.D., Grand Forks, N.D., and Bismarck, N.D., as well as Billings, Mont., and Sioux Falls, S.D.
David Vitale '03, Hendersonville, Term., has accepted a position with Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville as assistant general manager of cafe services for Ben & Jerry's.
BIRTHS Linda Rieger Graves '87 and husband Lynn had a son, Jackson Hunter, Sept. 30,2002.
Robert Kiener '89 and wife Jennifer (Becker) '90 have two daughters: Morgan Ashly, April 4,1996, and Sidney Nicole, Oct. 4,1999.
Robert Morrison '92 and wife Jennifer (Swick) '94 had a son, Tyson James, March 9, 2003.
Jeffrey Nicholson '92 and wife Laura (Wier) '92 have two children: Jake, Nov. 9,1994, and Maxine Clare, Sept. 2,1999.
Jennifer Beckdol Leon '94 and husband John had a son, Jack Flliot, April 29,2001.
Jodi Dresel Sucharski '94 and husband Jody had a daughter, Zoe Elizabeth, Feb. 13,2003.
Anthony Campoli '95 and wife Dorianne have two sons: Anthony Donald, May 25, 2001, and Santino Joseph, Aug. 8,2003.
Thayer, Civic Institute administrative assistant, and her husband Allan.
CONDOLENCES Alumni Mary Ann Robaskiewiez Robie '29 Iva Kreider Foster '35 Alice L. Martin Brugger '36 Mary Agnes Lobaugh Mussman '37 Dorothy L. Chimenti '46 Laurel M. Groff McQuown '49 Josephine Olszewski Jackson '59 Lucreta Pavlov Rubin '52 Margaret Mack Walsh '57 Susan McCartney Horowicz '59
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Sr. Denise Tompkins, RSM '62 Anita Bonaminio Haley '84 Gayle A. Bailey '99
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Mother of Jeffery George 71 (Freda George) Fran Gress, secretary in the administrative services office (Mary Wroblewski)
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Father of Amanda Smith Breon '97 (John E. Smith) Mary Breckenridge, associate vice president for adult and graduate programs (John Barrett)
Wife of Lewis Lutton, biology professor (Marianne Lutton)
Father-in-law of James Breckenridge, assistant professor of R/IAP (John Barrett)
Mother-in-law of Jim Lanahan, Mercyhurst North East dean of administration (Marjorie Pitarresi) Pete Russo, athletic director (Phyllis Riazzi)
Son of Larie Pintea, President's Associate (Daniel Pintea) Rhonda Clark, assistant professor of history (Robbie Clark Henderson)
Friends of the College Sister Mary Mark Doubet, SSJ, director of telecommunications and external reporting
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O C T O B E R 2 0 0 3 27
WEDDINGS Gina Mannarelli '92 married James Agostine Oct. 5,2002, at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Erie.
Antoinette Platte '96 married Ian Payner Sept. 21,2002, at Christ the King Chapel, Mercyhurst College, Erie.
David Runco '96 married Tara Peduzzi '97.
Douglas Schreiber '99 married Carrie Tappe '00 July 26,2003, in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Beth Amati '01 married Kevin Reichel July 19,2003.
Greta Lynt '02 married Jason Bevil June 21, 2003.
Nicole Michali '03 married Michael Drayer July 26,2003, at St. Luke Catholic Church, Erie.
Brandon Case, Sodexho catering manager at Mercyhurst College, married Jackie Stevens Aug. 1,2003, at the Clarion Hotel in Erie.
A long overdue reunion of four biology and mathematics majors
from the Class of 1967 was celebrated in July 2003. The four, some of
whom had not seen each other in more than 35 years, met in Lancaster,
Pa., for a fun weekend of reminiscing.
Attending were, left to right, Carol Piotrowicz Skrocki of South
Plainfield, N.J., Sigma Stacey Toth of Erie, Pa., Marikae Sorvelli Moraski
of Bellevue, Wash., and Sylvia King Cullingford of Monroe, Conn.
ARE YOU IN THE KNOW?
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new job, award or honor, works published or new degrees. We also welcome professional photographs and 35mm one-subject close-up snapshots. Photographs will be returned if requested. Information is used as space permits.
Mail your news to Mercyhurst Magazine, Alumni Office, Mercyhurst College, 501 E. 38th St., Erie, PA 16546; fax (814) 824-2153 or e-mail <tgandolj@merc\jhurst.edu>. Mercyhurst invites letters to the editor.
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28 M R H U M i N
DEBBIE BUDA GALE 9 9 9
WMmiss THE OCEAN
It is summer. This year it is serious and the island is thoroughly flummoxed. No one has been able to whine one iota about the weather and everyone has completely forgotten about those freaky hail
storms we had just a few weeks back. "Weatherspeak," the conversational crutch of the islander, has been rendered useless and a mild form of temporary insanity prevails. Previously confined to Disneyland, Disneyworld or beaches, the overexposure of vast bellies on an even vaster majority of the population now dominates the urban landscape. Coconut-scented sunscreen wafts through the air, dulling the senses, aloe vera glistens on red-hot skin, impulsive lunch hour purchases of soft tops (a.k.a. convertibles) are on the rise, roaring off trendy tarmac into dappled sunshine at speed.
Even I, seasoned sun worshipper that I purport to be, was caught unawares by the damaging effects of continuous solar exposure as this recent episode will illustrate.
A year ago we acquired two mice as a present for one of our daughters. She really wanted a horse but I really didn't. The Brit thought we should get her a pet of her own since we only had four pets already He also thought he could buy us some time getting her the mice, ignoring the fact that mice have been known to turn into horses in fairy tales and that this particular daughter shared more than a passing resemblance to Cinderella; including extreme love of animals, lots of sisters and the wicked mother who wouldn't get her that horse in the first place. But that is how Scamper and Scatter came to live with us.
I personally made it through most of the year barely realizing they were home until just as summer got under way one of the mice developed a growth. The girls were quite concerned so I decided to make this tragic occurrence instructive. I told them they should try to use the Internet and see if they could figure out what was wrong with him. I thought this might be another one of those golden opportunities to explain all about the birds and the bees and other laboratory animals, linking this to how researchers use mice for experiments to benefit mankind. I was wrong. The girls returned with a thick file of research, providing a hypothetical diagnosis along with an urgent request to get the mouse to the vet. I had never considered taking a mouse to a vet but as it was very hot and I was outnumbered, I called. I was able to secure an appointment for that afternoon.
I am not an authority on this since I have not spent much time with vets in the states or in England for that matter, but I have noticed there are differences. I know that Americans really do love their pets but the English really, really do. I loaded all five girls and their assorted
friends along with Scamper into the mini-van and headed to the vet. We were directed to our waiting area between the iguana enclosure and snake central, adjacent to the hamster hamlet. Eventually it was our turn and our vet was most attentive as she examined our mouse.
I was very impressed by her patience with the children's endless questions. I think I was balancing my checkbook when I overheard them discussing "options" and became more alert. I tried to establish eye contact with the vet who was now ignoring me. I finally got her attention when I laughingly inquired as to the life span of this particular breed. She was not laughing when she whispered "around 18 months," without the children hearing. I asked her what we were looking at in terms of cost for the surgical option. Unwilling to make this decision alone, I picked my jaw up off the floor. Depositing Scamper back into his cage, I bundled up the crestfallen children for the trip home and immediately scheduled a family meeting with the budget director.
I anticipated a very short, "You've got to be kidding" meeting and was incredulous when he approved the expenditure. The children were screaming with joy and professing their undying love for their father (and not me) as they raced to give Scamper the good news. I knew the Brit was right when he reminded me that this was one of those moments our kids would remember for the rest of their lives. I would have to save the great circle of life justification for another moment.
The next morning it was back to the vet. We were reminded by the same, now, very grave vet, of the dangers associated with anesthetic on small animals and to prepare ourselves should Scamper not tolerate the procedure. About this time my mobile rang. It was the Brit wanting to know how it was all going. He talked to the surgeon and each of the girls and told them to be brave. When I finally got the phone back he told me he was late for a meeting but just before he rung off he told me not to forget to tell that vet, "We draw the line at chemo."
Scamper has survived his ordeal so far and is once again happily cage sharing with Scatter back in the boot room. More importantly I was able to redeem myself with all the girls and especially Scamper's owner when I let her keep the mouse in her bedroom for a few days after the surgery. Under normal circumstances I would have vetoed such a request in a New York minute but you have to remember, it was really hot and I can't begin to tell you how it felt to hear Cinderella tell me I was the best mother ever.
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501 East 38th Street Erie, PA 16546 www. mercyhurst. edu
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