- Sr. Margaret featured in 'A Visit with the President' on SBU-TV
- St. Bonaventure student awarded Grant-in-Aid of Research from Sigma Xi
- Classics of American film series showing at SBU's Quick Center for the Arts
- Four Bonaventure students travel to Assisi during winter break
- Quick Center thanks Joe questa and his crew
- Online survey to examine campus smoking habits
- SBU's class of 2004 survey tallies high satisfaction with Bonaventure experience
- Tickets still available for SBU performance of Grammy-winner Casting Crowns
- Dean's Graduate Scholarships available
- Career Center News ...
- Newsmakers ...
- Friday Forum
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Sr. Margaret featured in 'A Visit with the
President' on SBU-TV
SBU-TV Channel 9 is airing its new
program, titled “A Visit With the President.” The program features St.
Bonaventure University’s president, Sr. Margaret Carney, O.S.F., S.T.D.,
as its host, and aims to create a means of TV communication with SBU
students on a regular basis. The program began airing Friday, Feb. 10, at
2 p.m. and 6 p.m.
“This communication will serve both students, and Sr. Margaret’s mission as SBU president,” said Paul Wieland, lecturer in The Russell J. Jandoli School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Sr. Margaret will serve as host, and also chose her own guests to interview. The taping of the program will move from site to site on campus.
“A Visit with the President” will be produced by volunteers from Broadcast Seminar J/MC 420, the class that produces the weekly SBU-TV newscasts, under the guidance of Wieland. In addition, Mary Beth Garvin, a lab supervisor and adjunct professor at SBU, will edit the program in SBU’s Koop Lab.
The program will run for seven days beginning on the first or second Friday of the month, depending on taping date. It will also run on Adelphia’s Cable Channel 6 to viewers in the Olean area the third Friday of each month at 11:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.
For more information about “A Visit with the President,” please contact Wieland at pwieland@sbu.edu or (716) 375-2188.
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St. Bonaventure student awarded Grant-in-Aid of Research from Sigma Xi
Sarah Veeder,
a senior psychology major at St. Bonaventure University, has been awarded
a $1,000 Grant-in-Aid of Research from Sigma Xi for her work on her
capstone project for the Honors Program.
The Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid of Research program has a highly competitive application process and only approximately 20 percent of more than 1,200 applicants receive any level of funding. The average amount of grant money Sigma Xi gives out to recipients is $600, but Veeder’s project received $1,000. Veeder, an undergraduate, competed against many graduate students for this award.
Veeder is examining the influence of estrogen and progesterone on depression because it has been shown that females are diagnosed at a higher rate than males. Veeder came up with her own original project idea, and with the help of Dr. Darryl Mayeaux, refined how to study it. The grant money will be used to buy equipment and supplies for her project.
Because such an experiment is not possible on humans, she is using rats as an animal model of depression. The results from the study will give provide experimental evidence of whether estrogen and progesterone have different influences in depression-like behaviors in rats.
“I am very honored to receive this grant from Sigma Xi. The grant represents a tremendous opportunity for me to use our research to carry out a real-life experiment. I am also grateful for the help I have received from Dr. Mayeaux. His dedication to student success at St. Bonaventure is what makes this such a great university,” Veeder said.
Mayeaux, assistant professor of psychology, is Veeder’s sponsor.
“I was pleased to sponsor Sarah’s application for the grant and to work with her as we revised it for final submission. Receiving a grant from Sigma Xi is a great accomplishment. The awarding of this grant speaks to Sarah’s ability and to the project’s importance,” Mayeaux said.
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Classics of American film series showing at SBU's Quick Center for the Arts
The Regina A.
Quick Center for the Arts at St. Bonaventure University is pleased to
announce a new film series focusing on a selection of masterpieces from
American film history.
Planned in conjunction with Paul Spaeth, director of Friedsam Memorial Library, and Dr. Philip Payne, professor of history at SBU, the series will screen classics of American cinema from the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s, and will be supplemented with two contemporary films destined to become classics.
All films will begin at 7 p.m. in the Rigas Family Theater of the Quick Center for the Arts. Screenings will be free and open to the public.
The series begins today, Feb. 14, with the legendary 1939 film “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” directed by Frank Capra. Starring Jimmy Stewart, Claude Rains and Jean Arthur, the movie tells the story of an innocent small town Cub Scout leader appointed to his state’s vacant Senate seat.
Playing on Tuesday, Feb. 21,
is Preston Sturges’ World War II era farce “The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek”
from 1944. At a time when most movies were extolling our nation’s brave
soldiers and their loyal wives and girlfriends, Sturges presents the tale
of Trudy Kockenlocker – a small town girl who helps send off the local
troops with a huge bash.
She awakens the next morning to find
herself married, but can’t remember to whom. The predicament deepens as
she discovers she is pregnant. The events of the film snowball from there.
At once a high-speed comedic romp, Sturges delivers a characteristically
stinging satire of hypocrisy on the home front.
The series continues Tuesday, Feb. 28, with “The Grapes of Wrath.” Adapted from John Steinbeck’s masterpiece, this is John Ford’s 1940 adaptation starring Henry Fonda as Tom Joad. Ranked by the American Film Institute as No. 21 in its list of the 100 best films of all time, the film tells the story of a simple Oklahoma (‘Okie’) family, the Joads, as they leave their struggling farm for the promise of life in California.
Along the way, they deal with troubling setbacks and seemingly insurmountable obstacles, all the while persevering, in the words of Ma Joad, “because we’re the people.”
The series continues Tuesday, March 28, with “All That Heaven Allows” (1955), directed by Douglas Sirk and starring Rock Hudson and Jane Wyman. Wyman’s Cary, a wealthy widow, falls for a local gardener, Ron Kirby (Hudson), and must deal with the vicious gossip of her upper crust “friends” and the objections of her spoiled children, even as she finds a renewed lease on life in the arms of Kirby and his idyllic lifestyle and big-hearted friends.
Soon, she is forced to retreat to her bland suburban home, and the flat lifestyle mirrored in her television screen. This is Sirk’s first masterpiece, and he uses several innovative directorial cues to emphasize the trapped settings that lead to Cary’s loneliness and isolation.
On Tuesday, April 4, the series will show two modern movies that continue the bold filmmaking traditions of the golden era of Hollywood. It begins with Stanley Kubrick’s iconoclastic take on the Vietnam War, “Full Metal Jacket.” This two-part drama begins at the Marine boot camp on Parris Island, focusing on the sadistic command of Sgt. Hartman (Lee Ermey), who punishes his men in order to instill a sort of tribal uniformity leading to grisly consequences.
The movie then shifts to Vietnam, where a jaded young Marine journalist, Private Joker (Matthew Modine), longs to experience for himself the front lines. Kubrick keeps a dispassionate distance from his subjects and lets the story and characters speak to a cynical view of the ’60s mindset of ultimate experience and consciousness.
Tuesday, April 25, marks the conclusion of the series with the 2003 film “Elephant,” directed by Gus Van Sant, the director of “My Own Private Idaho” and “Good Will Hunting,” The movie depicts a day in the lives of suburban high school students before and after a Columbine-style shooting. Filmed in long, unedited tracking shots that establish a peaceful calm, the movie doesn’t flinch from depicting the harrowing violence in the same manner.
While Van Sant doesn’t attempt to sort out the motives of the antagonists, the backdrop of the movie suggests a world where the children have been left to fend for themselves, as their parents are either unable or unwilling to assume responsibility. “Elephant” won the 2003 Palme d’Or and Best Director awards at that year’s Cannes Film Festival.
More information on the “Classics of American Film” series at the Quick Center can be found online at www.sbu.edu/arts-center/index.htm, or by calling (716) 375-2494. Doors open one-half hour before the films begin.
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Four Bonaventure students travel to Assisi during winter break
Four sophomores from St. Bonaventure
University joined Mike Williams, director of the Journey Project, in the
10-day Association of Franciscan Colleges and Universities (AFCU)
pilgrimage to Assisi, Italy during their winter break from Dec. 26 – Jan.
6.
Students who participated in this organized pilgrimage were:
Krista Adamitis, a sophomore accounting major from Cuba; Amalie Donius, a
sophomore undeclared science major from Alfred Station; Robert Rapone, a
sophomore political science major from Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.; and Bill
Maloney, a sophomore history major from Watertown. They were among the 32
students from other Franciscan colleges and universities around the U.S.
who made the trip.
The students flew into Rome and were bused to Assisi in the Umbria region of Italy, which is the home of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Clare.
The Assisi pilgrimage offered students an opportunity to deepen their personal relationship with God through visits to the major sanctuaries associated with Sts. Francis and Clare. Students participated in rituals, prayers, Eucharist celebrations, historical visits and lectures.
Students visited La Verna, the sanctuary where Francis received the stigmata; Greccio, where Francis revitalized the custom of the Christmas crèche; Rome, where they saw St. John Lateran, the Cathedral Church of the Pope who is bishop of Rome; St. Peter’s Basilica, seat of Christendom, where students made a profession of faith followed by a liturgy of praise near the Tomb of Peter; and San Francesco, Francis’ home among the poor, the only sanctuary in Rome dedicated to Francis, where he often stayed here on his visits to Rome.
According to Williams it was a time of reflection for the students.
“The students recalled the story of Francis and Clare by walking the journey of their lives,” he said. “They looked at religious art and explored the context behind the art to try and understand what Francis and Clare were working with and against at this time.
Maloney said the trip was one that he will never forget.
“It was an amazing
experience. I really got a first-hand view of who St. Francis was and what
he stood for,” he said. “I got to experience a whole different culture and
group of people while I was there.”
The AFCU includes 19 colleges
and universities. Each pilgrimage consists of input by well-prepared,
trained staff, wholesome meals, visits to sacred Christian and Franciscan
places, historical information, spiritual conferences, daily prayer and
Eucharist celebrations and an opportunity to enjoy local shops, cafes and
restaurants and become acquainted with the culture of Rome and Assisi.
There are four more trips planned for 2006 and there is a St. Bonaventure trip planned for the same time next year. Students interested in the pilgrimage can visit the Web site at: www.FranciscanPilgrimages.com.
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Quick Center thanks Joe Questa and his crew
A familiar
face on the St. Bonaventure University campus usually has a tool in his
hands.
Joe Questa, one of the Maintenance Department’s crew chiefs
can be found all over campus most days in his service oriented capacity,
fixing broken windows, door locks and towel rods for students and
otherwise repairing small problems in all university buildings. Many
people on campus may not be aware that Joe’s finely honed skills as a
carpenter have been put to good use throughout the years since his arrival
in 1986. The Presidential podiums, athletics display cases in the Reilly
Center as well as bookcases in the President’s office all attest to his
talent and skill. Lately, Questa has added exhibits designer to his
extensive list of job duties, designing and then building wood pedestals
and false walls for the Quick Center.
Questa does not work alone. A member of Questa’s team since 1990 and a skilled carpenter in his own right, Ray Scanlon helped to build the new pedestals and install the false walls. Fred Petruzzi, an Engineering Division crew member since 1997, did the electrical work for the new stained glass installations.
Questa prefers to keep a low profile, but his elegant wood pedestals have raised the level of exhibit installation at the Quick Center to new heights.
Be sure to visit the Quick Center to see Joe and crew’s handiwork in the exhibition, One with the Cosmos: the art of Gabriella P. Mountain, on view until April 30, 2006.
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Online survey to examine campus smoking habits
A St.
Bonaventure University health subcommittee is using an online survey to
gauge the smoking habits of the campus community with an anonymous online
survey. The information will then be used to consider future smoking
policies for the University.
“It was decided to make an online survey because of the ease of distribution and data collection, and because the majority of the campus community has access to the network,” said biology lecturer Romy Knittel, part of a subcommittee of the University’s Environmental Health and Safety Committee formed to examine the issue. Accommodations will be made for any individuals not having online access.
A 2003 New York state law that banned smoking in places of employment caused smokers to congregate near doors and outside buildings to smoke. This smoke often lingers around the buildings and doorways, and may find ways to enter the buildings — via nearby open windows and doors. “There have been some complaints from people in a number of buildings on campus regarding this exposure to smoke as well as the debris created,” said Knittel. A brief survey of smoking conduct at other schools showed a wide range of policies; from just enforcing New York state law to having a completely smoke-free campus.
Knittel expects the online survey to give the subcommittee a better understanding of the campus community’s stance on the issue. “This will inform us as we form a recommendation on a smoking policy at SBU,” she said.
The online survey will be offered through my.sbu.edu from Friday, Feb. 17, through Monday, Feb. 27, and there will be a link from a Notice Board announcement as well as directions to the survey in other campus announcements. The survey is open to SBU students, faculty and staff.
No names will be associated with the survey data. User IDs will be stored separately for random drawings to win Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce gift certificates.
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SBU's class of 2004 survey tallies high satisfaction with Bonaventure experience
A survey of St. Bonaventure University’s Class of 2004 conducted by the University’s Career Center shows that nearly 97 percent of respondents were satisfied with their Bonaventure experience.
The survey questionnaire was mailed in November 2004 to 471 graduates, 448 undergraduates and 23 five-year undergraduate/graduate students. Two additional mailings, follow-up e-mails and a phone survey were conducted in spring 2005. These efforts resulted in 272 responses, or 57 percent of the 2004 graduating class. Approximately one-third of the respondents were male and two-thirds were female.
Data indicates that of the 272 respondents, 58 percent reported being employed full time (includes military and self-employed). A little over 29 percent of the respondents reported being employed part time, with 1.1 percent employed part time by choice, 7.35 percent employed part time, but seeking work, and 20.59 percent employed part time while attending graduate school.
When surveyed as to whether or not the Bonaventure experience helped launch their careers, 95 percent of the respondents employed full-time said that it did.
Connie Whitcomb, director of the Career Center, said the results of the survey indicate that our alums have a very high appreciation for their St. Bonaventure education. “I think it’s a strong statement that such a high percentage of our graduates that are employed full-time feel that their academic experience at St. Bonaventure did prepare them to meet the expectations and challenges of their current employment situation,” said Whitcomb.
The report includes current
employers for the 2004 graduates. Among them are
Ernst & Young,
MBNA, Wachovia Bank, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Buffamante Whipple Buttafaro,
First Investors, Paychex, Adelphia, XM Satellite Radio, and Canon Business
Solutions.
When surveyed as to graduate school status, 37 percent of the respondents reported being enrolled in an advanced degree program. Of that population, 83 (82 percent) reported being enrolled full time. The listing of graduate institutions currently attended by members of the Class of 2004 includes: St. Bonaventure University, University of Notre Dame, Villanova University, Rochester Institute of Technology, University of Connecticut, Texas Tech University, Chicago School of Professional Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, and Syracuse University.
Whitcomb, coordinated the Class of 2004 employment and education survey; the Career Center’s administrative assistant, Janet Burroughs, prepared the report.
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Tickets still available for SBU performance of Grammy-winner Casting Crowns
Tickets are still available for the Christian rock concert
featuring Grammy Award-winning Casting Crowns, who will perform at 7:30
p.m. Sunday, March 19, in the Reilly Center Arena at St. Bonaventure
University. Casting Crowns’ “Lifesong” won a Grammy Award last week for
Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album.
“Casting Crowns’ music has
captured the attention of not only modern Christian music fans, but across
the musical spectrum, including the writers at Rolling Stone magazine,”
said Steve Plesac, director of student activities at St. Bonaventure
University. “We are excited to welcome the band and their fans, and we
feel there could not be a better venue for this concert than St.
Bonaventure University.”
“Lifesong” debuted at No. 9 on Billboard’s
Top 200 Albums Chart, one of only two Christian artists to break the top
10 on the Billboard Chart in 10 years. The band was also nominated for
favorite artist in the contemporary inspirational category at the 33rd
American Music Awards, and was featured in the Sept. 26, 2005, issue of
Rolling Stone magazine.
Opening acts include music artists Nichole
Nordeman and Josh Bates, and guest speaker Tony Nolan. Doors open at 6:30
p.m.
Tickets are priced as follows: Gold circle seating, first 15
rows on the floor – $40; Back section of the floor – $22; Blue seats –
$25; Bleacher seating – $22; and upper-level red seats – $19. Also, groups
of 10 may purchase red seats for $15 each by going in person to the Reilly
Center Ticket Office or by calling the office at (716)
375-2500.
Tickets may be purchased in person at the Reilly Center
Ticket Office, at all Tops Friendly Markets, by phone at (888) 223-6000 or
online at tickets.com. For more information call the ticket office at
(716) 375-2500. All seating is reserved.
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Dean's Graduate Scholarships available
St. Bonaventure will be offering Dean’s Graduate Scholarships for the summer and fall of 2006.
“Career advancement has never been more challenging,” said Dr. Michael Fischer, dean of graduate studies. “And it has never been more important to acquire the knowledge, skills and understanding that are essential for professional success. We hope by offering ‘Dean's Graduate Scholarships’ for a second year that we can continue to help students benefit from our nationally recognized programs and our outstanding faculty. The scholarship program was a tremendous success last year and we are happy to announce the continuation of this initiative.”
The scholarships provide up to 50 percent of the cost of tuition and will be available to students applying for the first time for graduate programs in the schools of Business, Education, Journalism and Mass Communication, and Franciscan Studies.
To be eligible for scholarship consideration, students must be first-time applicants in the graduate program and complete the admissions application, letters of recommendation and transcripts by May 15.
An online application is available at http://www.grad.sbu.edu/ and is due May 1, 2006. Scholarship applicants must submit via the online application a 300- to 500 word essay on How a Dean’s Graduate Scholarship will help me realize my goals.
Recipients enrolled in the summer program will be notified before July, while students applying for the fall semester will be notified by July 15.
The Dean’s Graduate Scholarship cannot be used in conjunction with any other St. Bonaventure assistantship, grant, concession, scholarship or waiver.
St. Bonaventure offers
master’s degrees and advanced certification programs at two locations: its
main campus just outside of Olean and in a convenient weekend format at
its Buffalo Center, located at 5200 South Park Ave. in Hamburg.
Open houses highlighting the University’s graduate programs are
scheduled for Saturday, March 25, between 2 and 4 p.m. at SBU’s Buffalo
Center in Hamburg and for Wednesday, March 29, between 6 and 7:30 p.m. at
St. Bonaventure University.
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For information on a Networking from Scratch worshop,
teacher recruitment days (USA now open), Practice Interview Week and
CareerFest '06, be sure to check out this month's Career
Directions at the Career Center Events Web page.
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Dr. David Haack, O.F.M., assistant professor of visual arts, has been commissioned to paint a large work (36 inches by 96 inches) based on the theme “Assisi over Syracuse” for Assumption Ministries on North Salina Street in Syracuse. The painting combines major Franciscan churches with the Assumption complex of buildings in Syracuse that in turn surround 24 portrait images representing the various ethnic groups the friars serve. Currently the painting is in Syracuse being digitalized and enlarged to a 9 feet by 22.5 feet format, and will be installed on the outside of the ministry center on Salina Street.
The Roland Art Center at the University of St. Francis in Fort Wayne, Ind., invited Dr. David Haack, O.F.M., to exhibit 25 of his paintings in a one-person exhibition that are now on display through March 9. Paintings include meditations on the life of Francis of Assisi and contemporary reflections based on the life of a 21st century friar.
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All SBU faculty, staff and administrators are welcome to all the Friday Forums.
Date: Feb. 17, 2006
(this Friday)
Speaker: Dr. Douglas
Stanley
Time: Lunch starts at noon, Forum goes from
12:35 to 1:30 p.m., including Q&A
Place:
University Club - Above Hickey
Title:
"Twenty Years in the Life of a Rocket Scientist"
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