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Aug. 2, 2007

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Science, math teachers hone their skills at summer institute

More than two dozen science and math teachers from across the Southern Tier went back to school last week, thanks to a $56,000 State Education Department grant awarded to St. Bonaventure University.

The institute ran July 16-20 at St. Bonaventure. The week’s activities included not only lectures from Bonaventure professors and experts in their field, but hands-on experiences.

Science teachers performed hydrology testing of the water table on campus and went on a fossil-hunting field trip to the Penn Dixie Paleontological Center in Hamburg, while math teachers had the chance to use geometry-investigation software to examine properties of triangles.

Classes met for six hours a day for five days and could be taken as a three-credit graduate course in the School of Education or three units of continuing education credits.

Dr. Peggy Yehl Burke, dean of the School of Education and the School of Graduate Studies at St. Bonaventure, said participants were able to connect with colleagues from other districts and enjoy working with new technology for science and math.

“We were delighted to be able to offer this program to area teachers,” said Burke.

St. Bonaventure was one of 29 universities and colleges in the state to be awarded state grants totaling $2.5 million for teachers to attend college-based summer seminars to improve their professional content knowledge and refresh and renew their competency in the areas of mathematics or science.

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Sr. Elise Mora, O.S.F., honored with Peacemaker Award

The Franciscan Federation has recognized Sr. Elise Mora, O.S.F., of Allegany with a Peacemaker Award for her commitment to the environment and social justice issues.

Sr. Elise, a lecturer in the Department of Modern Languages at St. Bonaventure University, received the award July 11 during the organization’s annual conference in Minneapolis, Minn.

Some 500 Franciscans, members of more than 50 religious congregations and their associates, attended the conference for four days of prayer, conversation and education on the growing needs of the environment and issues of social justice.

The 2007 conference theme was “A Franciscan Dynamic: Right Relationship, Care for Earth, Care for Each Other.”

Sr. Elise, a bilingual educator with more than 40 years of experience teaching and working in non-traditional settings, was recognized for being “instrumental in all areas of ecology and environment being observed and carried through. She has also been committed to the poor and marginalized through her involvement with social justice issues.”

In the early 1980s, Sr. Elise took a hiatus from teaching to focus primarily on advocacy, immigration, and pastoral work among Hispanic people. She spent 10 years in New York City, where she worked in the South Bronx on behalf of indigent or low-income people in need of medical care, and later working with Immigrant Services for the Archdiocese of New York providing paralegal and referral services to legal and illegal immigrants. Her next move was to Chicago, where she served as a pastoral associate in a Mexican parish that included newly legalized and illegal immigrants.

In 1996, she was elected to serve in leadership for her congregation, the Sisters of St. Francis of the Providence of God of Pittsburgh. During that time she also served as the Peace, Justice and Integrity of Creation director. In that capacity Sr. Elise sought to provide ongoing education to her sisters, employees and others about justice issues. She simultaneously served as a lecturer at St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, Pa., where she prepared seminarians for ministry among Hispanic people and initiated an ongoing religious education program for Spanish-speaking prisoners at the nearby State Correctional Institution at Greensburg, Pa.

She joined the Department of Modern Languages faculty in 2006.

Sr. Elise holds a master of pastoral studies degree in religious studies from Loyola University, Chicago; a master’s degree in Spanish from Millersville (Pa.) University; and a bachelor’s degree in education from Carlow University, Pittsburgh.

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Mackowski wins national award for public radio commentary

Chris Mackowski of Limestone, an associate professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at St. Bonaventure University, won a national Public Radio News Directors Inc. award for a radio essay he wrote and taped last summer for WBFO-FM.

Mackowski’s “crisply written and well-delivered” essay — on how his son’s friends were questioning whether Elvis Presley was real — took top honors for commentary among radio stations in WBFO’s division at the PRNDI Awards Banquet July 21 in New Orleans, said Mark Scott, WBFO’s news director.

“I was glad to find out I still have an A-game sometimes,” Mackowski said. “It aired last August, so I had pretty much forgotten about it. But it was a nice surprise when I found out from the folks at WBFO that I had won.”

The Buffalo-based National Public Radio affiliate, which can also be heard on 91.3 FM (WOLN) in Olean, won three first-place awards in all, including ones for breaking news coverage and newscast for its extensive efforts covering the freak October snowstorm in Buffalo.

Scott, SBU class of 1977, was among the radio staff members honored for their work Oct. 13, 2006, the day the snowstorm hit.

The PRNDIs (prin-dees) are the only national awards recognizing outstanding public radio news reporting at local stations. A total of 87 awards were presented to 34 stations in three categories: stations with five or more full-time news employees; stations (like WBFO) with three or four; and those with one or two.

“As you can see, this is highly competitive, so for us to win three first-place awards was quite remarkable,” Scott said.

Mackowski’s feature stories and commentaries have appeared in The Buffalo News, Olean Times Herald, Bradford Era, and heard on WBFO. He is also the author of two books, “The PR Bible for Community Theatres” and “Original Works: Producing and Promoting Original Plays.”

As a journalist, Mackowski was recognized in the 1990s by The Associated Press and the Maine Association of Broadcasters for his work, including awards for spot news and continuous news coverage, feature reporting, and public service.

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Donahue joins Communications Office as director of print, electronic publications

Thomas H. Donahue has been appointed director of print and electronic publications, effective Monday, Aug. 6.

Donahue will be responsible for the content development and management, look and consistency in image of all University publications, including the Web site.

“Tom’s extensive experience and exemplary communication skills make him a perfect fit for this position. He will be a great addition to our team,” said Emily F. Sinsabaugh, Ph.D., vice president for marketing and communications.

A native of Lockport, Donahue earned a bachelor’s degree in theology in 1976 from St. Bonaventure.During a 25-year career at the Olean Times Herald, Donahue held various newsroom positions, including those of reporter, bureau chief, city editor and managing editor.

He left the paper in 2003 to take the position of magazine editor at Alfred University, where he helped usher in the first full-color alumni magazine.

A year later he returned to the Olean Times Herald as a copy and page editor and as a featured columnist, reviving the Generally Speaking column that at one time had been a daily staple of the paper.

Donahue lives in Cuba, where he is active in youth Little League and basketball programs.

He and his wife, Debbie, an English teacher at Bolivar-Richburg Central School, have three children: Michael, who lives in Olean; Carolyn, who lives in San Diego, Calif.; and Bradley, a senior at Cuba-Rushford Central School.

Sinsabaugh also announced two other staff changes in the Office of Communications: Thomas J. Missel has been appointed director of media relations and marketing and Beth A. Eberth has been appointed director of University communications.

Missel, who joined the University in 2001, previously served as director of publications. In his new role, Missel will serve as liaison with external and campus media and assist Sinsabaugh with University marketing initiatives.

Eberth, who also joined the University in 2001, is responsible for a number of University communications, including BonAlumnus, Inside Bona’s and the Administrative Bulletin. She also supervises the switchboard operator, who prepares the daily Notice Board.

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2006 alum Sean Lynch and BonaResponds featured in Moody's magazine

Sean Lynch, a 2006 graduate of St. Bonaventure University, and his work with BonaResponds was featured in the July issue of Moody’s Corporation “Aaa” Magazine.

A senior associate in Moody’s Investors Services’ Corporate Finance Group, Lynch helped create the BonaResponds service group as a student and Finance Club member at SBU. He continues to serve as an adviser.

BonaResponds is an on-campus service organization formed initially to aid the victims of Hurricane Katrina. But the group’s work did not stop there. Its mission has expanded and is driven by a basic desire to help those in need.

The article in Moody's employee magazine discusses trips made by Lynch and BonaResponds in October 2005 and March 2006 to help clean up after Hurricane Katrina. Lynch, who earned a bachelor's degree in finance, now lives in Setauket, N.Y. Click here to read the article on Sean Lynch.

BonaResponds continues to help with disaster relief and smaller local service events. Its volunteers have responded to disasters in Buffalo and Enterprise, Ala., have shoveled snow in Olean after a storm dumped 18 inches, and have had had numerous local service days where they have done everything from building classrooms, painting high schools and building trails.

Moody’s Investor Services is a leading provider of independent credit ratings, research and financial information to more than 9,300 customer accounts at some 2,400 institutions around the globe.

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Newsmakers

Dr. Robert P. Amico, professor of philosophy, delivered a paper on “White Privilege” at the 7th International Conference on Diversity, July 3-6, 2007, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Dr. Charles Walker, professor of psychology, recently gave an invited presentation at the Gallup University Training Center in Omaha, Neb., on “Potential Applications of VIA Signature Strengths and SQ Talent Themes within Comprehensive Programs of Student Well-Being.” He has also been invited to give a talk on student well-being at the international Global Summit on Human Well-Being to held in October 2007 in Washington, D.C.

Visiting journalism professor Breea C. Willingham conducted two workshops during the Urban Journalism Workshop at the Philadelphia Daily News the week of July 9, 2007. She taught interviewing skills to the 15 students in the program, and gave a crash course in covering race and ethnicity. UJW, a two-week journalism program designed to prepare high school students for a career in communications, has been sponsored by the Daily News for 21 years. Willingham went through UJW 17 years ago. She’ll return next summer to help the new group of aspiring journalists.

Dr. Kimberly Young, professor of management sciences, was an invited lecturer at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pa., on June 24, 2007. Her presentation, “Strategic Management for an E-World,” was given to military commanders and officers and focused on strategies to reduce employee Internet abuse among organizations.

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