2005-10-06 IB

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Oct. 6, 2005

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SBU announces new Women's Studies major

One year after the Women’s Studies program celebrated its 10-year anniversary, it has now been approved as a major at St. Bonaventure University.

The program aims to introduce students to the field of women’s studies by offering specialized courses in content and theory, and to promote insight of women’s and feminist scholarship into the general curriculum, according the undergraduate program catalog.

Dr. Karen Robbins, director of women’s studies, is excited about this new major and what it brings to the university. She talked about how this major helps you to learn to take a critical approach to solving situations.

“Gender impacts society in profound ways,” Robbins said. “These courses are a helpful prep for life.”

The University has offered a Women’s Studies minor since the program was introduced in the 1993-94 academic school year. The minor had its core requirement of “Introduction to Women’s Studies,” a selection of four courses in the field, and a senior seminar, “Colloquium in Women’s Studies.”

Robbins expects that students will use this as a double major. Several students have approached her about this new program and she is hoping that the number will grow. Robbins wants students to know that the program is here and both males and females are encouraged to take these classes.

“We’re here, come take us, we want you,” Robbins promotes.

This program is run by a small but dedicated committee. It was accredited over the summer by New York State with no budget. The program encourages different professors of different fields to teach classes about women based on their area of study. The courses available range from “Women and Politics” to “Women in Religion” and “Women, Minorities and the Media.”

The coursework has goals of studying women’s issues while promoting interdisciplinary research and critical thinking and to raise questions about the exclusionary functions of existing knowledge, according the undergraduate program catalog. Robbins’ main goal of this major is to make it more visible on campus, so people know it’s here.

Robbins expects this major to be an admissions tool to help the University. She imagines it will attract students especially from all-girl Catholic schools.
Robbins said anybody that graduates with a Women’s Studies degree usually can get jobs that any humanities major can.

“This program incorporates writing skills with critical thinking,” Robbins said. “And that is what employers are generally looking for.”

This field of study takes an interdisciplinary route. It gives you more insight into how things are set up in our society and how women are portrayed in various situations.

“This program shows you how to live life,” Robbins said. “Women’s Studies is something all the students should consider.”

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Fidgeon, McNamee, Fr. O'Connor, Sponyoe, Stoecklein join St. Bona Board of Trustees

Five new members, Timothy F. Fidgeon, Brian M. McNamee, Fr. John F. O’Connor, O.F.M., John V. Sponyoe and Bernard E. Stoecklein Jr. took their seats during the September meeting as new members of the St. Bonaventure University Board of Trustees. Each will serve a three-year term.

Timothy F. Fidgeon
Fidgeon graduated from St. Bonaventure University in 1965 with a bachelor’s degree in history and from Harvard Law School in 1968. After law school, he served in the U.S. Army Military Police Corps and joined Hemenway & Barnes in 1969.

Fidgeon concentrates his practice in the areas of general taxation, estate and small business planning and the trust and estate side of probate law. He has the principal supervisory responsibility for the firm’s tax practice as well as oversight of the Tax Department and that department’s tax return preparers.

He has served two terms on the Council of the Section of Taxation of the Massachusetts Bar Association and as a member of the Estate and Gift Tax Practitioner’s Liaison Committee, working with senior representatives of the Internal Revenue Service. He also served as a member of the Steering Committee of the Massachusetts Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights.

Brian M. McNamee
A 1978 graduate of St. Bonaventure, McNamee became senior vice president of human resources for Amgen Corp., the world’s largest biotechnology company with more than 14,000 staff members, in June 2001.

Prior to joining Amgen, McNamee served as vice president of human resources at Dell Computer Corp., and as senior vice president for human resources for the National Broadcasting Corp. (NBC), a division of General Electric Co., for which he previously had held human resource positions in Spain, Belgium and Singapore.

Among other board service, McNamee serves as a member of the Corporate Advisory Board for the University of Southern California's Marshall Business School, as well as a member of that school's Curriculum Innovation Committee.

A native of Olean, N.Y., he earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from St. Bonaventure in 1978 and a master of industrial and labor relations degree from Cornell University.

Fr. John F. O’Connor
Fr. John, Provincial Minister of the Most Holy Name of Jesus Province in New York City, has returned to service on the board after a four-year absence, following previous terms as a University trustee from 1985 to 1996 and from 1998 to 2001.

He is no stranger to the Bonaventure campus community, having spent nine years on the SBU campus soon after his ordination in 1973. He served nine years as director of campus ministry at St. Bonaventure from 1973 to 1982, during which the number of students working in Community Outreach grew to 450 and the campus ministry program was considered one of the three best in the United States. He was an instructor in the Theology Department and pastor of the campus parish.

Fr. John was extremely active in the local community, serving on several boards of youth and mental health organizations and as assistant chief of the Allegany fire department.

After leaving St. Bonaventure, he was guardian and director of Holy Name College in Washington, D.C., and after a brief stint as director of real estate for Holy Name Province and chaplain of Trinity College in Washington, was named pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Triangle, Va., where he served from 1991 to 2003.

From 2003 to 2005, he returned to his post as director of real estate for Holy Name Province. From 1997 to 2005, he was a member of the Provincial Council, and served as co-director and later director of finance for the province.

He holds a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy from The Catholic University of America and a master of arts degree in theology from the Washington Theological Union.

John V. Sponyoe
Sponyoe served as chairman of the board of Intelsat, Ltd., a leading provider of satellite communications services worldwide, supplying video, data and voice connectivity in more than 200 countries and territories, until January 2005, when Zeus Holdings Ltd. acquired 100 percent of Intelsat.

He retired in February 2004 as a consultant to Lockheed Martin Corp.; prior to that position he was chief executive officer of Lockheed Martin Global Telecommunications from August 1998 to February 2002, and president of Lockheed Martin Electronics Platform Integration Group from 1997-98.

Sponyoe earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from St. Bonaventure in 1961 and received a master of business administration degree, majoring in finance, from the University of Scranton.

Sponyoe and his wife, Joyce, reside in Naples, Fla. He has three children, including a son, Chris, who graduated in 1986 from St. Bonaventure, and seven grandchildren.

Bernard E. Stoecklein Jr.
Stoecklein is chairman, president and chief executive officer of CMS Mid-Atlantic Inc., which he founded in December 1995 and which provides financial, marketing and consulting services to the cemetery industry in New Jersey and New York states.
Stoecklein also in 1996 founded Mid-Atlantic Finance Inc., which maintains offices in Pittsburgh and became a wholly-owned subsidiary of CMS Mid-Atlantic in 1999.

He got his start in the cemetery business when he joined Cemetery Management Services of Western Pennsylvania Inc., a family business, in 1969. He joined CMS West Inc., a spin-off firm, in 1974, and acquired controlling interest in 1977, when he became chairman and CEO; the firm was sold in 1997.

Among other service commitments, Stoecklein is a founder and trustee of the Realize Your Dream Foundation, a private foundation that provides college scholarships to select Pennsylvania and New Jersey students based on merit, commitment to community service and need.

He and his wife, Suzanne, reside in Pittsburgh and have four children.

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SBU's Lenna Visiting Professor to discuss American-European relations

Has the end of the Cold War also brought an end to Euro-American cooperation? Disagreements within NATO, arguments over trade, friction with France and Germany: Are these just passing issues or do they indicate the emergence of a new world order?

St. Bonaventure University’s second 2005-06 Lenna Visiting Professor, Dr. Alan Dobson of the University of Dundee (Scotland), will give several lectures on the significance of these changes in America’s transatlantic relations. Each of his three public talks will be followed by question-and-answer sessions and open discussions. During the course of his visit, Dobson will contribute to classroom discussions in history, political science, business and English, both at St. Bonaventure University and Jamestown Community College. Dobson will also give several public lectures concerning transatlantic studies, and its growing importance in the 21st century.

Transatlantic studies emphasizes cooperation and interconnection between traditional academic disciplines (such as history, political science, economics, literature and the arts) in the attempt to create a more complete view of the relationships that exist between the New World and the Old. It also emphasizes that the connections — historical and contemporary — that link these many nations suggest that they are best understood not as individual states, but as a community of constantly interacting peoples and cultures.

In Dobson’s lectures, he will first provide a historical overview of the “special relationship” between Britain and the United States, familiarizing listeners with the political and cultural cooperation that characterized the relations between the two countries in the 20th century. Dobson’s three major public addresses will then focus on different contemporary changes and challenges in Anglo-American and Euro-American relations, and how they have (and are likely to) impact economies, security, educational exchange and travel, and ultimately, shape the future of the transatlantic community.

The first of these three public events is a special presentation on “The ‘Special Relationship’ and the Special Challenges of Globalization.” This exploration of the contemporary changes in U.S./U.K./European commercial relationships will begin 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, in the San Damiano Room of Francis Hall. A light reception will follow, hosted by the School of Business.

The second event is the keynote Lenna lecture, titled “Anglo-American Friendship and Euro-American Co-operation: Past, Present, and (?) Future.” Held at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 17, in The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, Dobson’s talk — and the following discussion — will provide a practical and accessible overview of the major changes and challenges in today’s transatlantic relationships.

His third and final lecture will be to the President’s Roundtable at Jamestown Community College in Jamestown on Oct. 25. The talk is titled “Hands Across the Water: How Europe has Shaped America … and Vice Versa.” While in Jamestown, Dobson will also participate in classroom visits.

Dobson, who is director of the Transatlantic European and American Studies Institute at the University of Dundee, as well as chair of the prestigious Transatlantic Studies Association, has written numerous books, which analyze the changes in transatlantic relations from the Cold War to the present. Due to his groundbreaking work in this field, Dobson has received numerous prestigious appointments, including a posting as a senior research fellow at the Norwegian Nobel Institute in 1997, being made a fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and membership in the Royal Aeronautical Society.

The Lenna Endowed Visiting Professorship, established in 1990, is funded through gifts from Betty S. Lenna Fairbank and the late Reginald A. Lenna of Jamestown. It is designed to bring scholars of stature in their field to St. Bonaventure and Jamestown Community College for public lectures.

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Community breakfast to kick off 2005 campus United Way campaign

All University employees are invited to a United Way campaign kickoff breakfast beginning at 8 a.m. Friday, Oct. 14, in The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts.

The “Results You Can See” Breakfast will kick off the 2005 St. Bonaventure Community Challenge. During the 2004 St. Bonaventure United Way campaign, the percentage of employees increased from 4 to 87, an increase of 2,000 percent. Including the contribution from the Student Government Association, the total University contribution exceeded $10,000.

During the reception, University president Sr. Margaret Carney, O.S.F., S.T.D., first recipient of the United Way’s Community Spirit Award in 2004, will welcome the gathering. James M. Stitt, president and chief volunteer officer for the United Way, will discuss the importance of the SBU campaign and the University's relationship with the community. Dr. Susan B. Anders, associate professor of accounting, who has led a student volunteer effort with the United Way to provide tax accounting assistance, and Journey Project intern Sarah McCue, who volunteered with the American Red Cross, will speak on their relationship serving United Way agencies.

“We especially welcome all St. Bonaventure employees to be a part of this campaign, which demonstrates our support as neighbors and members of the Cattaraugus County community with results all of us can see,” said Jill Gray, operations manager for the Quick Center and campus campaign director.

The breakfast will kick off at 8 a.m. with the kickoff program slated for 8:15 a.m. All are encouraged to attend.

RSVPs are appreciated by Oct. 11 by contacting Gray at ext. 2479 or jgray@sbu.edu.

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St. Bonaventure University to host Fourth Annual Girls' Day workshop

The Fourth Annual Girls’ Day workshop featuring computer science education will take place at St. Bonaventure University Saturday, Oct. 22, attracting participants from 32 schools from Cattaraugus, Allegany and McKean counties.

The program, coordinated by Suzanne Watson, lecturer in computer science, is designed to get girls involved in the field of computer science. The activities will introduce girls to this traditionally male-dominated area and give them practical experience to build on. St. Bonaventure graduates and other women in the computer science field assisted by current St. Bonaventure students will present the workshops. Participants will be treated to a breakfast snack during registration and lunch at Hickey Dining Hall.

Teachers or guidance counselors in collaboration with math or computer science teachers can nominate girls in sixth, seventh and eighth grade for the event; five students from each school with be chosen to participate.

Nominees will receive an information/registration sheet along with a photo release form (forms are available at http://web.sbu.edu/cs/girlsday). Once the forms have been signed and reviewed by parents, they should be returned to the contact teacher or guidance counselor right away. The completed forms will then be faxed to Dr. Suzanne Watson at St. Bonaventure University (FAX 716-375-7618) as soon as possible as registration will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

Students will choose from five exciting hands–on workshops:

Alice is an easy-to-use, computer generated graphics program. Both beginning and more advanced sessions will be available.

Handy with Hardware students will have the opportunity to take a computer apart and see what makes it tick.

Pixel Perfect will allow students to use Adobe Photoshop Elemements software and will work with digital images.

Robots students will program robots and get a glimpse of the possibilities for this type of application.

Web Site Design participants will create a Web site for Girls’ Day for friends and family to view over the Internet.

The day will conclude around 3 p.m. with a brief presentation from Pamela J. Ludford, a Ph.D. candidate in computer science at the University of Minnesota. Ann Tenglund, coordinator of Library Computer Services, Curriculum Center & Bibliographic Instruction at St. Bonaventure, will then moderate a panel discussion. The panel will also include the workshop presenters, other SBU graduates and faculty. There will be opportunities for participants to question the panel.

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SBU welcomes new educational service coordinator Andrea Barone

St. Bonaventure University has welcomed Andrea Barone as the new coordinator for educational services in the School of Franciscan Studies.

Barone is a Bonaventure alumnus who previously worked as the director of arts services for The Arts Council for Chautauqua County in Jamestown from 2000 to 2005. She served as the executive director for the Accrediting Commission on Education for Health Services Administration in Washington, D.C., from January 1996 to August 2000. From 1993 to 1994, Barone worked as a full-time instructor in English and humanities at Strayer University. She was also a writer for the Japanese Embassy.

Barone is excited about her new position and is ready to return to the Bonaventure family. She said that the Franciscan Institute will serve as more than just a place of employment for her.

“I feel very privileged to be a part of the University and Institute family, and feel again that same sense of ‘coming home’ that I had here as an undergraduate,” Barone said.

“And although the Institute is renowned for its academics and research, because of the wonderful faculty, staff and students I work with on a daily basis, for me it is also a significant source of spiritual revitalization and riches. I truly feel I have it all!” she continued.

Barone is a native of Jamestown, and a 1976 graduate of Bona’s, where she received a bachelor’s of arts in English. She was also captain of the women’s tennis team. She received a master’s degree in humanities from SUNY Buffalo and graduated summa cum laude in 1986. In 1990, she received a second master’s degree in English from SUNY College at Fredonia.

In 1989, Barone won third prize in the Annual Poetry Competition at the Chautauqua Institution and has had poetry published in publications such as “Array,” “The Cord,” “Metropolitan,” “Olympus” and “St. Andrew’s Press.” She also had articles published in “Arts on Fire” and the University at Buffalo’s “Neon Magazine.”

As educational service coordinator, Barone will oversee the admissions and acceptance process for the School of Franciscan Studies, including full-time programs, summer programs and sabbatical programs.

She will serve as academic support for the dean and faculty in the school and monitor and assist students with academic needs. Barone will also serve as residence life coordinator for students enrolled in the School of Franciscan Studies.

The School of Franciscan Studies is home to the internationally known Franciscan Institute, which promotes the study of Franciscan sources, history and theology. The school offers a masters of arts and an advanced certificate in Franciscan studies.

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Plush weekend in NYC, trip to island of Patmos, Cutco among highlights of fifth Mountain Auction

Tickets are now available for the fifth annual Mountain Auction, slated for Saturday, Nov. 5, in Doyle Hall at St. Bonaventure University. The Mountain Auction benefits Mt. Irenaeus, the Franciscan mountain retreat in West Clarksville that is affiliated with St. Bonaventure.

Among the highlights of this year’s Auction are a fabulous New York City weekend for two including two nights’ accommodation in Manhattan, a round of golf and lunch for 2-4 people at Echo Lake Country Club in Westfield, N.J., as well as dinner and tickets to a Broadway show. Those with a spiritual bent may seek the offering of a week on the Greek island of Patmos, where St. Peter was exiled and where renowned poet and Olean native Robert Lax made his home for many years until his death.

This year’s Auction will also feature a weekend getaway in Albany. a package at the Glen Iris Inn and some of the finest products made or available in the area, including CUTCO cutlery and Zippo items. Some 200 items are available at the Auction, which also offers many handcrafted treasures, gift baskets, home appliances, and décor, hobby and leisure items.

The Mountain Auction will be held Saturday, Nov. 5, in the Robert R. Jones Board of Trustees Room, Doyle Hall, on the St. Bonaventure University campus. The evening will include a generous buffet of hors d’oeuvres, beverages and desserts, and much more. Tickets are $38 per person; to make reservations or to support the auction with a gift, please contact Michelle Marcellin at (716) 375-2096 or by e-mail at mmarc@sbu.edu.

Proceeds will add to the Mt. Irenaeus endowment and support the general operating budget of Mt. Irenaeus, a not-for-profit Franciscan mountain retreat affiliated with St. Bonaventure University and situated outside West Clarksville, N.Y. The Franciscan Friars and their friends in this ministry of peace and prayer welcome people of any tradition who seek to experience the abiding presence of God in their daily lives.

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University concludes 2005 St. Francis Week celebration

St. Bonaventure University concluded its annual celebration of Francis Week on Tuesday, Oct. 4 with a Eucharistic celebration in honor of the University’s patron saint, St. Francis of Assisi.

The celebration began with a Family Weekend Eucharist in the Reilly Center arena. The week continued with events including a “Morning at the Motherhouse” and an Evening Away at Mt. Irenaeus on Tuesday, Sept. 27.

University Forum classes heard a lecture on Bonaventure’s “Journey Into God.” Presenters were guests of Bonas, Fr. André Cirino, O.F.M., Josef Raischl, S.F.O., and his wife, Bernadette Raischl.

The honored guests were also the 2005 Fr. Jerome Kelly, O.F.M., Memorial Speakers. The presentation at the Quick Center for the Arts was titled “The Strategy That Saved Assisi.”

Mt. Irenaeus held a Francis Week overnight on Saturday, Oct. 1, with the theme, “Seeking Peace with a Panting Spirit.”

A highlight of the week was the Transitus, a dramatic re-enactment of the passing of St. Francis. Directed by Br. Basil Valente, O.F.M., the re-enactment included a number of students, faculty and staff with music and dramatic narration in retelling the legacy of the saint from Assisi.

The week concluded with the blessing of the animals on the front lawn of the University Chapel, followed by the Feast of St. Francis: Eucharist celebration at the University Chapel.

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Friday Forum

All SBU faculty, staff and administrators are welcome to all the Friday Forums.

Date: Oct. 7, 2005
Speaker: Kathy Kelly
Time: Lunch starts at noon, Forum goes from 12:35 to 1:30 p.m., including Q&A
Place: University Club - Above Hickey
Title: "Eyewitness to War"

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Newsmakers ...

Dr. Alva V. Cellini, professor of modern languages, has published several book reviews in MultiCultural Review. In the Spring 2005 issue she reviewed Ignacio Padilla’s “Antipodes: Stories” (New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2004,) and Rubén Darío’s “Songs of Life and Hope/Cantos de vida y esperanza” (Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 2004). In the Fall 2005 issue she published reviews of Nicanor Parra’s “Antipoems: How to Look Better and Feel Great” (New York: New Directions, 2004) and of Ilan Stavans and Teresa Villegas’ “¡Lotería!” (Tempe: Univ. of Arizona Press, 2004).

She has also been invited to participate in the revision of “Prego! An Invitation to Italian,” a text for language and culture written by Graziana Lazzarino, et al. and published by Mc Graw Hill.

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Dr. Michael Chiariello, dean of Clare College, presented a paper titled “A Franciscan Foundation for a Contemporary Catholic Curriculum” at the conference “Joy in the Truth: The Catholic University in the New Millenium.” The conference was held at Notre Dame University’s Center for Ethics and Culture, Sept. 29-Oct. 1. Chiariello also visited the University of St. Francis, in Ft. Wayne, In., where he was invited to consult with administrators and the faculty’s Committee on General Education, who are reviewing their curriculum to achieve a more focused Franciscan identity.

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The Society of Environmental Journalists gave its David Stolberg Award for meritorious volunteer service to Dr. Denny Wilkins, associate professor of journalism and mass communication, at its annual conference last week in Austin, Texas. Dr. Wilkins has been a member of the editorial board of the society’s quarterly journal, SEJournal, for 10 years and chair for the past three years. SEJ, a 1,400-member international organization of environmental journalists, seeks to advance public understanding of environmental issues
by improving the quality, accuracy and visibility of environmental reporting.

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Dr. Kimberly S. Young, associate professor of management sciences, appeared in the Sept. 2 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education. The article, “Logging Off, Tuning Out,” explored how college campuses are seeing an increasing number of students developing unhealthy obsessions with the Internet. Several researchers, including Young, discussed the implications of student Internet abuse and how over-indulging in activities such as online gambling, instant messaging, blogging and role-playing games potentially hurt academic performance. The article also explored remedies such as monitoring online behavior, prevention workshops and counseling to help curb student online abuse.

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Career Center News ...

For information on resume due dates, on-campus recruiting interviews and an interviewing program for accounting and finance majors, visit the Career Center Events Web page.

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