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Oct. 16, 2008

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Trio of undergrads to present 'Caring for Creation' workshop at Hilbert

Three St. Bonaventure undergraduates will present a workshop segment at an upcoming conference, “Global Climate Change: Continuing the Catholic Response,” at Hilbert College.

The students, Alyssa Sparatta, John Nuttall and Morgan Beacker, will present the workshop “Youth and Youth Leaders Caring for Creation” during the Saturday, Oct. 18, event.

Sparatta is a senior biology major from Flemington, N.J. She enjoys volunteering at the Warming House, the oldest student-run soup kitchen in the country, and Canticle Farm, an organic Community Supported Agriculture Farm associated with St. Bonaventure. She was an intern at the Warming House during the summer of 2007 and also participated in a pre-med internship with the Department of Biology in the summer 2006. Sparatta is president of the Recycling Club and is part of the co-curricular committee for lowering carbon emissions at St. Bonaventure.

Nuttall is a senior biochemistry major and psychology minor from Olean. He is currently involved in researching the development of the mammary gland. He is the treasurer of the Recycling Club at the university and is a member of the co-curricular committee for lowering carbon emissions at St. Bonaventure.

Beacker is a junior environmental science major from Galeton, Pa. Beacker is involved with the Bona Animal Advocates, an animal rights group on campus, works in the Department of Biology with the laboratory animals, and is a part of the co-curricular committee for lowering carbon emissions at St. Bonaventure.

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Knowles named new head of pre-health care programs

University officials have announced the appointment of a new director of pre-health care programs, Dr. Allen Knowles III.

Dr. Knowles is a former Olean Medical Group partner and career family practice physician. He replaces Dr. Michael Domboski, the founding director of the university’s Franciscan Health Care Program.

“We have made great strides in distinguishing St. Bonaventure as the go-to school for pre-health care education,” said Dr. Michael Fischer, provost and vice president for academic affairs. “These efforts were energized by Dr. Domboski who established important relationships with prestigious medical schools, as well as served as a mentor to our pre-health care students. The program’s outstanding reputation is what enabled us to attract a leadership successor for the program of the caliber of Dr. Knowles.”

The new director will be responsible for the university’s array of pre-health care programs, which include dual-admissions programs, known collectively as the Franciscan Health Care Program, with George Washington University, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine, and Daemen College Department of Physical Therapy.

Dr. Knowles will continue to build partnerships with other medical centers to expand opportunities for St. Bonaventure students, and he will expand academic and career mentoring to serve all pre-health care students at the university.

“A fundamental function of the director of pre-health care programs is to mentor students and families from the point of inquiry, through the application process, and throughout the college career,” says Fischer. “Pre-health care students have unique academic and career support needs and, in this regard, Dr. Knowles’ experience as a clinical instructor at SUNY Buffalo and at the University of Rochester School of Medicine will serve him well at St. Bonaventure.”

“Dr. Domboski has built a great program which I intend to maintain,” says Dr. Knowles. “I am very excited to take on this challenge and look forward to working closely with the students and faculty.”

Dr. Knowles has been a family practice physician since 1984, starting his career in private practice in Burnsville, W.Va. In 1989, he became a partner in the Olean Medical Group practice and expanded his specialty to include surgical obstetrics. From 1994-2001, he supervised medical students and residents at the SUNY Buffalo University Primary Care Satellite, and he was an Olean General Hospital Emergency Room Staff Physician from 2001-2004.

In 2004, he again joined the Olean Medical Group. His most recent family practice work has been at Tupper Lake Health Center/Adirondack Medical Center where he worked until his retirement in May of this year. He has served as a Clinical Instructor and Fellow in Family Medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and a Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at SUNY Buffalo.

Dr. Domboski will work with Dr. Knowles for a period of time to assist with the transition of duties.

“Dr. Domboski has offered to help us ensure a smooth transition. This is not only a testimony to his dedication to our students, which is unparalleled, but also to his interest in ensuring the future growth and success of the program,” says Fischer.

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Eighth annual mountain auction to benefit Mt. Irenaeus Franciscan mountain retreat

Reservations are now being accepted for the eighth annual Mountain Auction, slated for Saturday, Nov. 1, in Doyle Hall at St. Bonaventure University. The Mountain Auction benefits Mt. Irenaeus, the Franciscan mountain retreat in West Clarksville, N.Y., that is affiliated with St. Bonaventure.

The auction features an evening with more than 200 gifts, most offered by silent auction and a select few in an exciting, fast-moving verbal auction. Gifts can range from small appliances, sports memorabilia and gift baskets to weekend getaways.

Among the highlights of this year’s auction gifts are a wine country tour with a bed and breakfast overnight, Buffalo Sabres tickets, fresh seafood, theater performances, gourmet dinners, CUTCO Cutlery, artwork, gift certificates to area businesses and restaurants, a golf outing with Mark Schmidt and Steve Watson, a Wii, and a Glen Iris dinner and overnight.

The Mountain Auction will be held Saturday, Nov. 1, in the Robert R. Jones Board of Trustees Room, Doyle Hall. The evening begins with Mass at 5 p.m. in the University Chapel, followed by the auction at 6 p.m.

The Mountain Auction will include a generous buffet of hors d’oeuvres, beverages, and desserts. Tickets are $40 per person. For reservations, contact Michelle Marcellin at (716) 375-2096 or by e-mail at mmarc@sbu.edu.

Last year’s auction helped raise more than $25,000 and brought the seven-year total to more than $188,000. Proceeds from the Mountain Auction will add to the Mt. Irenaeus endowment and support the general operating fund.

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SBU routs Geneseo to clinch berth in state rugby championship game

Overcoming some sloppy first-half play, St. Bonaventure's men's rugby team turned up the heat on an unseasonably warm fall afternoon to rout previously unbeaten Geneseo, 48-0, to clinch the Empire West Division II title Saturday at McGraw-Jennings Field.

The win propels the Outlaws into the New York state title game in two weeks, most likely against East-leading Hamilton.

SBU, ranked No. 8 nationally in Div. II in the latest eRugbynews.com poll, improved to 5-0 on the season and has outscored its opponents 328-5.

"I think both teams were a little too amped up early in the game so it was pretty sloppy for a while," said SBU Coach Clarence Picard, whose club led 15-0 at halftime. "But we settled down in the second half and started doing what we wanted to do.

"Geneseo was a good, physical team and put some pressure on us a couple of times, but I think our fitness helped us in the second half and they wore down a little."

Sophomore flyhalf Craig Chatfield scored 17 points to lead the Outlaws, who wrap up their regular season Saturday at home against Buffalo State.

SBU is seeking its second straight state championship. A successful defense of its title would move the club into the Northeast Rugby Union tournament in November

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Newsmakers for Fall 2008

Dr. Robert P. Amico presented, "Engaging the Sciences and Professional Disciplines: Teaching About Diversity Beyond the Liberal Arts," with Dr. Susan Shaw and Dr. Donna Champeau of Oregon State University at the Association of American Colleges and Universities Conference on Diversity, Learning, and Inclusive Excellence, October 16-18, 2008, in Long Beach, Calif.

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Faculty and staff campaign begins; challenge grant announced

The University is hoping to raise $75,000 dollars from this year’s Faculty and Staff Campaign, part of the Bonaventure Fund and the University’s $90-million Anniversary Campaign.

Andrea Bidell, the Annual Fund’s executive director, said the participation level of faculty and staff is just as important as the financial goals the University has set to raise from its employees.

“One of the things we’re stressing with this campaign is that every gift makes a difference, no matter the amount,” Bidell said. “Your participation is what counts.”

Bidell said corporations and foundations look at the University’s internal participation in their decisions to donate grant money.

Since June 1, 2001, 53 percent of University employees have given more than $256,777 to the Anniversary Campaign, a landmark fundraising event running from the beginning of the millennium through the school’s 15-month, 150th Anniversary celebration. Last year, 20 percent of faculty and staff donated $71,402, Bidell said.

This year, Bidell said, the University’s goal is to raise $75,000 from its faculty and staff, five percent more than last year’s total.

Bidell said this year’s faculty and staff campaign offers more options in the donating process. Faculty and staff members can give restricted gifts to a specific scholarship or give an unrestricted gift, donating money to areas in most need.

A $25,000 challenge grant also encourages first-time and increased gifts, Bidell said. Timothy F. Fidgeon, a member of the Board of Trustees, has set up a grant, matching every first-time gift or increased gift up to $25,000 now through Dec. 31. The matched money will go to an endowment providing funds for professional development for faculty and staff.

Faculty and staff members can donate gifts through the Faculty and Staff Campaign Pledge Form, designating an amount to be deducted from each paycheck for a marked period of time. Other options include donated check or credit card payments, appreciated securities and bonds, bequests and life insurance.

During Francis week, Bidell and six co-chairs, Douglas and Elizabeth Cashing, Jeffrey and Laura Peterson, Ann Tenglund and Mike Hoffman, announced a marketing campaign to inform and promote faculty and staff donations. The campaign includes a Web page, a secure online donation site, letters to staff mailboxes, e-mails, an ad in the Oct. 10 edition of The Bona Venture, a message in the electronic Notice Board and a formal mailed invitation to participate, scheduled to be delivered Oct. 27.

Bidell said the Faculty and Staff Campaign is scheduled to officially kick off with “Give a little…get a latte,” an Oct. 23 event at Café La Verna. Faculty, staff and students will have a chance to participate in raffles and receive a complimentary drink coupon between 2 and 4 p.m.

Bidell said the public kickoff event is just as important for students as it is for the faculty and staff in attendance.

“We think this will be a great opportunity for the students to see that not only do their faculty and staff contribute on a daily basis with their expertise and their energy,” Bidell said, “but also (they) give back to their University financially.”

“This event shows that the faculty and staff are very committed to the University,” Bidell said.

Working at the University two years this December, Bidell said last year’s “Give a little…get a latte” event yielded a lower than expected turnout on a bad weather day, and said she hopes this year’s installment, scheduled earlier in the campaign, would increase participation and awareness in the campus community, especially in the student body.

“We would also like our students to learn the importance of giving back to the University,” Bidell said, hoping the kickoff event will provide insight and that the faculty and staff will leave a positive impact on impressionable students.

“The service work that (the students) do and their sense of giving back is excellent,” Bidell said. We as a University applaud that and are very proud of that.”

Bidell said faculty and staff participation should inspire students to give back as alumni.

“Their gifts are what make Bonaventure what it is,” she said.

After the kickoff event, Bidell said there are plans for the University to host a recognition event in the spring for employees who participate in the Faculty and Staff Campaign.

Bidell said her co-chairs represent each of the buildings on campus, serving to help spread word and encourage participation among their building’s faculty and staff members, providing forms and answering questions.

Bidell said donating to the Bonaventure Fund is a personal commitment to the University’s mission and vision, and gifts provide a way for faculty and staff to give to the University, along with their time and their talent.

“Those of us involved hope that (faculty and staff) will personally think that giving back is an important thing to do and a positive thing to do, and it will help the University in the long run.”

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Stomp out cancer at Circus for a Cure event

An upcoming Student Government Association event will have a carnival theme, but a serious message.

The Circus for a Cure event is 2 to 6 p.m. on Friday Oct. 24 on the lawn in front of the Hickey Dining Hall.

The festival will provide more than just a break from the stress of classes and the mundane. All proceeds will be donated to I’m Too Young for This, a grassroots organization that advocates cancer awareness in young adults and cancer survivors under the age of 40.

The field day will offer free games with prizes just for attending donated by local businesses. There will also be live entertainment, free carnival food and inflatables. The Buzz will play music, and the event will culminate with a balloon stomp competition where participants “stomp out cancer."

Balloon stomp participants will be asked to donate $10. In return, they will receive a T-shirt and a chance to win some really cool prizes such as iPods, LCD televisions or Holiday Valley ski passes.

Registration for the balloon stomp competition begins on October 16. Interested participantscan sign up in the Reilly Center in front of the campus bookstore where SGA will be hosting table. Participants can also register at the event.

The main entertainment for the day will be a FlippenOut Productions performance, featuring a trampoline extreme stunt show.

Two days earlier, on Oct. 22, at 7 p.m., in Dresser Auditorium of the John J. Murphy Professional Building, SGA and the Student Life Division will host two speakers who will share their experiences with cancer.

Leah Shearer, who is a St. Bonaventure alumna from 2000, and Curt Balch will provide a fun and entertaining speech targeted toward college students. They will discuss their personal accounts of having cancer as young adults, as well as providing information on how to detect cancer early.

Both speakers are affiliated with I’m Too Young for This. Shearer, who had cancer while she was a student at Bona’s, opened a local chapter in her hometown of Rochester.

All students and faculty are welcome to attend both events.

Donations may be made to SBU Student Activities by check or in cash at the event or in advance to:

Ms. Sabrina Maddeaux
SGA President
Reilly Center
St. Bonaventure University
St. Bonaventure, NY 14778

For more information, contact Sabrina Maddeaux, SGA President, at maddeasn@sbu.edu or by phone at 716-375-2305.

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SBU to host lecture on racial cleansings

All Negros Driven from Indiana Town read one 1920s newspaper headline in Arkansas.

Racial cleansings, like the one the 1920s headline demonstrated, are a part of American history Americans tend to forget. St. Bonaventure University students and the surrounding community will have the opportunity to learn about this on Oct. 29 in a presentation by Elliot Jaspin, a retired journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner. The presentation, titled “Separate Histories; How We Lie to Ourselves,” will be at 7 p.m. at Dresser Auditorium in the John J. Murphy Professional Building.

Lee Coppola, dean of the Russell J. Jandoli School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and Dr. Robert Amico, professor of philosophy, chose to bring Jaspin to St. Bonaventure because of his unique accomplishments in the field of journalism.

“I am most concerned about making sure that my students learn to use their journalism skills for the greater good of society,” said Coppola.

Amico hopes that students will learn about a hidden chapter in U.S. history when these racial cleansings took place across the country during the first part of the 20th century.

Jaspin will discuss the book he wrote last year titled “Buried in the Bitter Waters — The Hidden History of Racial Cleansing in America.” The University will show a PBS film on SBU-TV prior to his visit titled “Banished,” which is a documentary about the racial cleansings.

Jaspin’s interest in this part of history began in 1991 while working in the Washington Bureau of Cox Newspapers where he directed a computer-assisted reporting program.

Using this program, he discovered that between 1864 and 1923, white Americans engaged in numerous racial cleansings.

Jaspin’s knowledge of computer programming came from an earlier job when he worked at the Providence (R.I.) Journal-Bulletin. During an investigation of municipal corruption, Jaspin obtained an electronic copy of the city’s financial records. Realizing that computers made it easier to analyze large amounts of data, he decided that the future of journalism lay in understanding how to use the computer in the reporting process.

In 1989, Jaspin founded the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting at the University of Missouri, where journalists learn how to use the new equipment. He has trained journalists for hundreds of newspapers, most notably the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press.

Jaspin was born in Long Island, N.Y., and graduated from Colby College in Waterville, Maine.

In 1971, he won a Pulitzer Prize when he wrote a five-part series on Jimmy Hoffa, one of the most powerful and controversial union leaders of the 1960s and 1970s. Jaspin is now retired and lives in Annapolis, Md.

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University to celebrate Diversity Awareness Month with national speakers

St. Bonaventure University will host a pair of speakers in late October in recognition of Disability Awareness Month.

To create awareness and improve the lives of people with disabilities, on campus and in the community, Dr. Barbara Trolley, associate professor of counselor education and chair of the Disability Committee at St. Bonaventure, said speakers were invited to talk about this year’s theme of “Education of Youth with Disabilities: Collaboration for Success.”

The first speaker will be Dr. Fred Orelove, executive director of Partnerships for People with Disabilities and author of numerous publications on school, community and parent collaborations. Orelove will give a presentation on Oct. 23 from 3:30 – 5 p.m. in the William F. Walsh Auditorium on “The Good Journey: Suggestions for the Directionally Challenged.”

The second speaker will be Ron Hager, senior staff attorney for the National Disabilities Rights Network. On Oct. 30, he will present “The Prevention Focus on IDEA” in Murphy Auditorium, located in The John J. Murphy Professional Building from 5:30 – 7 p.m.

“His (Dr. Orelove’s) work, along with Ron Hager’s, is extremely pertinent to our work in the community, and in regard to our School of Education’s Collaborative Counseling Clinic, especially the autism program,” said Trolley.

Registration for either or both of these presentations may be sent directly to: Dr. Barbara Trolley, St. Bonaventure University, School of Education, St. Bonaventure, N.Y., 14788. Participants should include his or her name, address, phone number, e-mail address, number attending and if applicable, organization affiliation.

In 1988, Congress instituted the National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Ever since, October has been the kickoff month for year-round awareness programs that accentuate the abilities and skills of Americans with disabilities.

For more information on Disability Awareness Month, contact Trolley at btrolley@sbu.edu.

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Bona's to host screening of 'The Sugar Babies' and executive producer

St. Bonaventure University alumna Claudia Chiesi, Ph.D., will return to her alma mater this month to show her film “The Sugar Babies” and discuss the plight of the children of agricultural workers in the sugar industry of the Dominican Republic.

“The Sugar Babies” examines the moral price of sugar — present and past — from the perspective of the conditions surrounding the children of sugar cane cutters of Haitian ancestry in the Dominican Republic, and the continuing denial of their basic human rights.

The film screening, which is being sponsored by the Franciscan Center for Social Concern and the Center for Nonviolence, will be held at 2 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 26, in Dresser Auditorium of the John J. Murphy Professional Building on the university campus.

“We are sponsoring the showing of this documentary film to raise awareness of human trafficking and how it impacts individuals and the family system,” said Sr. Suzanne Kush, C.S.S.F., director of the Franciscan Center for Social Concern. “This particular film focuses on Haitian children who are exploited and enslaved. Most of us need a ‘sugar fix.’ However, it comes at a price. This price is human lives of the most vulnerable. As a Franciscan university we need to be aware of our suffering sisters and brothers throughout the world and in some way try to make a difference.”

Chiesi, a 1969 graduate, served as executive producer of the film, which focuses on the history of slavery in the sugar industry, as well as the current conditions surrounding human trafficking and child labor in Hispaniola. Chiesi will also discuss the film and its human rights issues during various classroom visits on campus the following day.

Prior to joining Siren Studios in 2005 as a producer, Chiesi spent most of her career in higher education, most recently as the president of Harford (Md.) Community College.

“The field of human rights is as significant to me now as when I first visited the Franciscan missions in Jamaica when I was 16, and later, in 1988 and 1989. While I was working at a college in south Florida, I visited the local sugar plantations and saw the impoverished living conditions of its workers,” Chiesi said.

Chiesi credits her 16 years of Franciscan education as being the foundation for her new career. She graduated from St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School and Archbishop Carroll High School in Buffalo. Following her undergraduate work at St. Bonaventure, Chiesi earned her master’s and doctorate at the University at Buffalo.

Haitian author Edwidge Danticat narrates “The Sugar Babies,” which was shot in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The film includes interviews with the Haitian ambassador to the U.S.; the U.S. State Department’s Office of Human Trafficking; Human Rights Watch, an organization dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world; and anthropologist Dr. Sidney Mintz. The film also features human rights activists, missionary priests and the child workers and their families.

Produced in 2007, “The Sugar Babies” will soon be available on DVD. The film received the Juried Best Documentary award at the 2008 Delray Beach Film Festival as well as “Official Selection” honors at the New Orleans International Human Rights Film Festival, Buffalo Niagara Film Festival, United Nations Through Women’s Eyes Film Festival and the Montreal International Film Festival (2007).

The film screening is free and open to the public. Viewer discretion is advised: Some footage may be too graphic for young viewers.

To view clips from the film or learn more about the trafficking of Haitians into the Dominican Republic, go to www.sugarbabiesfilm.com.

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Friday Forum

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

Date: Friday, Oct. 17
Speaker: Matthew Tornambe
Time: Lunch starts at noon, Forum goes from 12:35 to 1:30 p.m., including Q&A
Place: University Club - Above Hickey
Topic: Concluding the 150th Anniversary Campaign for St. Bonaventure … Your Advancement Office’s view during difficult economic times
Cost: $3 (pay upstairs)

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