Campus Currents November 2005
Volume 14, Number 3
The official news publication of Fairfield University
Index for November 1, 2005
Vetting sessions held for strategic plan
Storyhour at Bridgeport schools
GE's Jeffrey R. Immelt to deliver Dolan Lecture
Mystery callers revealed under new phone system
News breakers
Service Anniversaries
Faith and Culture: A Day of Dialogue
New faculty join Fairfield
Fairfield University announces five new trustees
Ignatian Residential College awards Christine DeMarzo '07
More about the flu: What are we to do?
Dr. Dreyer speaks on medieval women mystics
Alumni College offers special discount to University employees
Ivana Podrug '06: Representing the Stags overseas
Rev. Thomas Schneider, S.J.
Margaret O'Brien Steinfels to deliver Mooney lecture
Students honored at annual Christopher B. Love Dinner
Fairfield University to launch the Center for Faith and Public Life
Dr. Lippman receives highest nursing honors
Lucy Katz to be installed as first Wright chairholder
Teach-in informs community about extensive impact of Hurricane Katrina
History of a Building: Charles F. Dolan School of Business
Fairfield University Couples: Barry and Charlene Wallace
news Briefs
Charitable Sharing Campaign 2005 begins
Lilly Endowment awards grant to continue the Ignatian Residential College
Managing Internet annoyances
Opera Verdi Europa's Madame Butterfly comes to the Quick Center
Ballet Flamenco José Porcel to perform
Lucy Kaplansky and Richard Shindell team up at the Quick Center
Pat Metheny and his quartet to play at Fairfield University
By Barbara D. Kiernan, Director of University Publications
During a two-week period in mid-October, University alumni, parents, and friends gathered on- and off-campus to share their reaction to and thoughts on the draft strategic plan that will be presented to the Board of Trustees in December. Representatives of the drafting committee, which penned the document, attended the various meetings to listen, clarify, and synthesize the feedback received. Most sessions were facilitated by the Napa Group, the consulting firm hired to guide the strategic planning process set into motion last fall by University President Jeffrey P. von Arx, S.J.
Among those invited to offer feedback were constituents whose ties to Fairfield University have been forged through volunteer activities. They included members of the Trustees Advisory Council; the Alumni Association Board of Directors; and the Advisory Boards of the Schools of Business, Engineering, Nursing, and College of Arts and Sciences. In addition, two groups of major donors responded to the plan at small gatherings in New York City and on campus.
To ensure that Fairfield's most visible ambassadors - our alumni - could comment on the direction being proposed for their alma mater, some 40,000 letters were sent by the president inviting their review of the plan, by then posted on the University website. That invitation was subsequently extended to parents of current undergraduates as well.
What to do with all this feedback (plus that of the University community garnered in September) now falls to the president and the drafting committee whose members, with the assistance of the Napa Group, will review the varied and valuable insights gained. Of these, the suggestions that were tactical in nature will be added to a growing list of practical ways to give flesh to the vision of the plan.
As Fr. von Arx has reminded all those who so generously took the time to give feedback, "Each initiative in the strategic plan - whether related to the integration of the core curriculum, of living and learning, or of Jesuit values into graduate and professional education - calls us to blaze creative new paths by which students can find their passions, discover who they are, and become who they are meant to be."
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Working lunches
Aware that more focused attention to the core curriculum is a major goal of the University's strategic plan, Dr. Orin Grossman, academic vice president, has charged the Center for Academic Excellence (CAE) with facilitating dialogue about this central element of the curriculum among faculty, who are, in fact, responsible for the core and its content.
To start these discussions, an open meeting of the faculty and four brown-bag lunches have taken place. "These conversations are designed to give faculty an opportunity to share their thoughts about the larger purposes of the core," explains Dr. Grossman. "What do we hope the core will provide for our students? What competencies and habits of minds to we imagine the core develops? What kinds of integrative thinking do we think the core should facilitate? How does the core connect to the various majors? These important questions are being discussed as a prelude to determining ways of implementing Goal I of the strategic plan."
According to Dr. Larry Miners, associate professor of economics and director of the CAE, "We thought an informal dialogue would be a good way for faculty to reflect on their vision for the core as well as its relation to Fairfield's Jesuit and Catholic mission and identity." According to Dr. Miners, a common concern that emerged was the need to reconcile the view of the core as providing foundational knowledge with the desire to provide an integrated learning experience for Fairfield's students."The strategic plan is calling us to greater intentionality in presenting the core," he observes, "so that students experience it as integrated across disciplines and as foundational to their major. It's a huge endeavor, one the CAE looks forward to being part of." |
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Joan Overfield, director of library services, read to a second grade class at Bryant School in Bridgeport last month, as part of Read Aloud Day. More than 20 Fairfield University administrators, undergraduates, and professors shared books with students at Bryant and Longfellow schools.
Photo by Jean Santopatre
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By Dana Ambrosini, Assistant Director of Media Relations
The Charles F. Dolan School of Business will present Jeffrey R. Immelt, the chairman and chief executive officer of Fairfield-based General Electric Company, for a lecture on "Growth and Leadership" on Nov. 2 at 8 p.m.
Immelt, the ninth chairman in GE's 126-year history, was appointed to this post in 2001. Previously, he served as president and chairman-elect of GE since 2000, when GE's Board of Directors selected him to succeed John F. Welch. From 1997 to 2000, Immelt was president and CEO of GE Medical Systems. Since 1982, he has held a series of global leadership roles in GE's plastics, appliance, and medical businesses. He became an officer of GE in 1989, and joined the GE Capital Board in 1997.
Immelt serves on the board of two non-profit organizations: Catalyst, devoted to advancing women in business; and Robin Hood, focused on addressing poverty in New York City. He was named the Financial Times "Man of the Year" for 2003.
He holds a B.A. in applied mathematics from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Harvard University. He and his wife, Andrea, have one daughter.
The Charles F. Dolan Lecture series, featuring highly accomplished, visionary and internationally recognized business leaders, was inaugurated in 2001.
To reserve seats for the Dolan Lecture, call the Box Office at ext. 4010.
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By Jill Kasiewicz Caseria, Editor
When the new telephone system is up and running, we'll all be able to reach out and touch someone - better and easier. Clearer sound, customized features, and improved conference calling are all on the horizon. Best of all, you'll always know who's on the line, since the new telephones come with built-in caller ID that displays the numbers of both on- and off-campus calls.
These are some of the benefits representatives from SBC discussed with members of the Fairfield University and Fairfield Prep community on Oct. 25.
"Every 10 to 12 years, Fairfield University changes its telephone system," says Don Adams, assistant vice president of computing and network services. "This installation is on an aggressive time scale. SBC is building a database of what we want, and not just replacing the handsets on our desks."
The current system is costly to maintain in terms of parts and service. SBC's service has advanced digital network lines using the latest equipment, "soft keys" that assist users to better handle incoming calls, improved 911 calling capability, and an enhanced voicemail system. But with all these new features, don't think you need to memorize 1,750 new numbers. All extensions will remain the same, as will the rates, and we'll still dial 8 to reach an outside line.
In the next few weeks, managers and directors will meet with their departments to discuss current phone use and create a "wish list" of new features. The lists will be shared with SBC, who will customize a system according to the University's needs.
Ken Kiraly, the lead project manager from SBC, said this information is key to developing a telephone system that works best for Fairfield University and Prep employees and faculty.
Installation will be done one building at a time beginning Jan. 6, he said. Kiraly expects it to be completed by February.
Training sessions to use the new system will begin next semester.
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Rev. James M. Bowler, S.J., University facilitator for Catholic and Jesuit Mission and Identity, published the article, "Maturing in Faith: Stages in the Adult Spiritual Journey," in Sacred is the Call: Formation and Transformation in Spiritual Direction Programs, edited by Suzanne Buckley (Crossroad Publishing Company, 2005).
"One Hundredth Birthday," a poem by Dr. Kim Bridgford, professor of English in the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), was read on the popular radio program, The Writer's Almanac, on Oct. 16. The poem was published in Dr. Bridgford's latest book, Instead of Maps: Poems by Kim Bridgford (David Robert Books, 2005).
Dr. Javier Campos, associate professor of modern languages and literatures, won third prize for a poetry book in the 31st Chicano/Latino Literary Prize for 2005 given by the University of California at Irvine. This is a prestigious national literary contest for Latino writers, and showcases the diversity of voices and languages among the Latino writers in the United States. The book, written in Spanish, will be published in 2006.
In addition, Dr. Campos wrote about author Isabel Allende's lecture at Fairfield University's Open VISIONS Forum, for his column at www.elmostrador.cl and received an e-mail from Allende's assistant, who wrote, "Isabel was so pleased with the article and asked that I write to thank you for sending it on to her."
Dr. Arjun Chaudhuri, Rev. Thomas R. Fitzgerald, S.J., Professor of Marketing in the Charles F. Dolan School of Business (DSB), co-authored "Is Brand Trust Important?", which was published in Marketing Management Journal 15, no. 1 (spring 2005).
Erin Chiaro, director of financial aid, was interviewed for News 12 Connecticut's Education Notebook on Oct. 1.
On Oct. 7, the Connecticut Post covered the University's Teach-In on Hurricane Katrina. Lending their perspectives on the social, economic, and historical affects of the hurricane in the article were: Dr. Patricia Behre, associate professor of history; Dr. Elizabeth Boquet, professor of English; Dr. Peter Burns, an associate professor at Loyola New Orleans University and guest lecturer at Fairfield University; Dr. Joy Gordon, associate professor of philosophy; Dr. Philip Greiner, associate professor of nursing; Dr. Philip Lane, chair of the Economics Department; and Dr. Renée White, professor of sociology and anthropology and co-director of the Black Studies Program. (See page 5.)
Dr. Ralph Coury, professor of history in CAS, published several works: "The Demonisation of Pan-Arab Nationalism" in Race and Class, vol. 46, no. 4, 2005; "Introduction" to "Writing Tangier," a special issue of The Journal of Middle Eastern and North African Intellectual and Cultural Studies 3, no. 1 (2005), of which Dr. Coury is a co-editor; and a review of Christians vs. Muslims in Modern Egypt: The Century-Long Struggle for Coptic Equality in The American Historical Review (April 2005).
In a Sept. 12 article in the Westchester County Business Journal, Dr. Edward Deak, Roger M. Lynch Professor of Economics in CAS, said the U.S. economy was strong enough to avoid a recession despite Hurricane Katrina. In a story on the growing number of executives in Fairfield county, Dr. Deak said, "(Their presence) generates more buying power for the county, but it also drives demand for better restaurants and entertainment, and better schools and services." The story appeared in The Advocate (Stamford) and the Greenwich Time on Sept. 25.
In a Sept. 27 Connecticut Post story on the increasing number of corruption charges against Bridgeport city officials, Dr. Donald Greenberg, chair of the Politics Department, said, "Investigations are like spider webs. One leads to another ... and so on."
Dr. Sheila Grossman, professor of nursing, published "Pathophysiology of Cystic Fibrosis: Implications for Critical Care Nurses" in Critical Care Nurse in August. She also participated in the National Nurse Practitioner Association of Continuing Education and was selected to be an on-site accreditation evaluator for the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.
On Oct. 8, Dr. David Gudelunas, assistant professor of communication (CAS), presented "Managing the Message: Health Communication and Circuit Parties" at the Forum sur la santé (Health Summit) in Montreal, Canada. The forum was presented with the support of the Québec Ministre déléguée à la Protection de la jeunesse et à la Réadaptation and ZOOM Media. His article, "Online Personal Ads: Community and Sex, Virtually," was recently published in the Journal of Homosexuality, 49 (1).
Dr. Xin James He, associate professor of information systems and operations management in DSB, wrote "A Comparative Study of Business Process Reengineering in China," which was published in the refereed journal, Communications of the IIMA (International Information Management Association), in October. Dr. He and Myron Sheu of California State University, Dominguez Hills, co-authored "Data Warehousing for Supply Chain Management with Case Analysis," which was accepted for publication in refereed journal International Journal of Management and Enterprise Development, 2005. Dr. He was recognized with a plaque, as vice president of IIMA and the 2005 IIMA Annual Conference Program Chair at the 16th IIMA annual conference in September, held in Dublin, Ireland.
In Sept. 27's Record-Journal (Meriden), Dr. Lucy Katz, the Robert C. Wright Professor of Law, Ethics, and Dispute Resolution in DSB, discussed the need for a fairly compelling reason to remove books from a public library, she said, given that the Supreme Court has been strengthening free speech laws.
Dr. Wendy Kohli, associate professor and chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions (GSEAP), presented "Feminist Epistemology and Inquiry: Toward More Accountable Research" at the Colloquium in Philosophy of Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, on Oct. 6. This prestigious Colloquium series at Teachers College annually features national and international scholars in the field of philosophy of education to speak on their current research and lead a seminar for faculty and doctoral students.
The paper, "Achieving Gasoline Price Stability: A Modest Proposal" written by Dr. Mark LeClair, professor of economics in CAS, has been accepted for publication by The Energy Journal. The paper examines the use of tax rebates and penalties to smooth gasoline prices during periods of high price variability.
Dr. R. James Long, professor of philosophy in CAS, delivered the paper, "Saint Anselm's Cosmological Argument" at the 31st annual meeting of the Southern Medieval Association at Stetson University in Daytona Beach, Fla., in September.
Dr. Sharlene A. McEvoy, professor of business law in DSB, and Dr. Catherine C. Giapponi, visiting professor of management, have had an article accepted for publication in volume 12 (2) of the Journal of Individual Employment Rights. Their article, "The Legal, Ethical and Strategic Implications of Gender Discrimination: Can the Fair Pay Act Succeed Where the Equal Pay Act has Failed?," discusses the efficacy of statutes in ameliorating gender-based disparities in pay and the integration of pay inequity initiatives in the design of organizational compensations systems.
Dr. McEvoy has also been named to the 14th edition of Who's Who in American Law 2005-2006.
Dr. Anna Martin, chair of the Finance Department in DSB, had her article, "A Note on Common Methods Used to Estimate Foreign Exchange Exposure," published in the Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions, and Money (2005). She is also serving a three-year term on the Board of Directors of the Eastern Finance Association (EFA), after being elected by its members last spring. The Easton Democratic Town Committee nominated Dr. Martin for a spot on the Region 9 (Easton/Redding) Board of Education.
Dr. Carole Ann Maxwell, director of choral and liturgical music, has been named Chorus Master for Connecticut Grand Opera and Orchestra's production of Puccini's La Boheme at the Palace Theater in Stamford, on Nov. 19. Dr. Maxwell has been invited to her second year of conducting at the "Messiah Sing-In" at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center, New York City, on Dec. 20.
Rev. James Mayzik, S.J., assistant professor of visual and performing arts and director of the Media Center, was featured on Channel 12's Education Notebook Oct. 15.
Joan Overfield, director of library services, discussed the DiMenna-Nyselius Library's policy - like that of most public libraries - of not disclosing a patron's private information in a Sept. 7 Hamden Journal article on lawsuit challenges to provisions of the Patriot Act.
Access Control & Security Systems profiled Todd Pelazza, director of public safety, in its Sept. 1 issue under the headline, "Todd Pelazza provides commitment, dedication to Fairfield University."
Karen Pellegrino, director of admission, discussed Fairfield's larger than expected freshman class in an Oct. 4 Connecticut Post article on college enrollment growth.
Dr. Elizabeth Petrino, associate professor of English, presented, "Phoebe Cary and the Parodic Sensibility," at the Antebellum American Women Writers and the City Conference, sponsored by the Catherine Maria Sedgwick Society, at Fordham University on Sept. 23. Her paper discussed salon culture and parody as means by which female writers advanced themselves in the 19th-century literary marketplace while challenging literary authority. She also published the article, "Late Bloomer: The Gentian as Sign or Symbol in the Work of Dickinson and Her Contemporaries," in The Emily Dickinson Journal 14 (2005).
In an Oct. 13 article in the Record-Journal (Meriden), Dr. Kurt Schlichting, chair of the Sociology and Anthropology Department, discussed the national problem of low voter turnout. He explained, "People feel that whomever they elect is going to use the same system; therefore, why get excited? What is it going to matter?"
In an Oct. 23 Connecticut Post article, Dr. James Simon, associate professor of English in CAS, discussed the benefits of a new law that seals the arrest reports of 16- and 17-year-olds accused of misdemeanor charges.
Dr. Norman Solomon, dean of DSB, provided perspective on union negotiations for a Sept. 28 article in The New York Times on General Motors of Canada and the Canadian Auto Workers reaching a three-year contract and narrowly avoiding a strike.
Two articles authored by Dr. Marie-Agnès Sourieau, associate professor of French and director of the Latin American Caribbean Studies program in CAS, appeared in the September issue of Small Axe, a Caribbean journal of criticism, and the March issue of Contexto, a scholarly journal published by the University of Mérida in Venezuela. Both articles examine how former President Aristide of Haiti used the language of the Haitian revolutionary heroes as it is reflected in historic drama and oral history to manipulate his audiences. On Oct. 14, Dr. Sourieau presented a paper on Edwidge Danticat's latest novel, The Dew Breaker, at the annual conference of the Haitian Studies Association at the University of Massachusetts-Boston.
Dr. Timothy Law Snyder, dean of CAS, discussed the new Women in Math and Science Floor in a Sept. 8 Connecticut Post article and in a Sept. 16 Fairfield Citizen-News article. He said, "This distinctive living-learning environment is intended to nurture the aspirations of these gifted young women as they pursue the demands of studying for a degree in mathematics or the sciences."
Dr. John Thiel, professor of religious studies, delivered a plenary address at the 15th annual national conference of the Lilly Fellows Program in Humanities and the Arts, "Keeping the Faith: Four Religious Perspectives on the Creation of Tradition," held at the College of the Holy Cross from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2.
In October, Brian Torff, associate professor of visual and performing arts, toured Switzerland with French pianist Florence Melnotte and performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., with the Django Reinhardt New York Festival.
"Exploring Alexithymia, Depression, and Binge Eating in Self-Reported Eating Disorders in Women," an article published in the Journal Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, was written by School of Nursing faculty members Dr. Kathleen Wheeler, professor, Dr. Philip Greiner, associate professor, and Martha Boulton, adjunct. This research was sponsored by a grant from the Research Committee at Fairfield University. Dr. Wheeler also spoke at The Connecticut Youth Services Association Annual Conference in October on psychotherapeutic strategies for treatment of trauma in children.
Garden of Martyrs (St. Martin's Press, 2004) by Dr. Michael White, associate professor of English, is one of five finalists for the 2005 Connecticut Book Award for Fiction. The winners will be announced on Dec. 4 at a ceremony in Hartford's City Hall.
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November 2005
5 years
Kathleen Krochko
Rita Sherwood
10 years
Jeanne Marie Booth
Timothy Connell
Maria Diorio
Kathleen Feeney
25 years
Beatrix Brownfield
45 years
W. Laurence O'Neil, S.J.
Condolences
Daniel Simon, a member of the Fairfield University Board of Trustees since 2001, died on Oct. 9. He was chairman, president, and founder of Universal Holdings for 25 years before becoming founding president of KJ Investment nearly eight years ago. Simon was also a director or trustee for Affiliated Networks, BP Capital Holdings, St. Mary's University of Minnesota, and the Outdoor Advertising Foundation, and was member of The Hundred Club of Chicago and the City Club of Chicago. He earned a B.A. from Winona State University. He is survived by his wife, Sandra, and their two children, Kelly '01, and Joseph, in Glenview, Ill.
Bro. Austin J. Burns, S.J., brother of the Rev. Vincent M. Burns, S.J., of the Fairfield Jesuit Community, died on Oct. 12.
Jeannette D'Arcy, mother of Barbara Kiernan, director of University publications, died on Oct. 12.
Dolores Doornbosch, mother-in-law of Mark LeClair, professor of economics, died on Oct. 20.
New Employees
Amy Angelastro - RecPlex Assistant II, RecPlex
JoAnn Garrity - Administrative Assistant, Library
Sara Hanrahan - Personnel Floater II, Office of Human Resources
William Johnson - Assistant Director of Admission, Office of Undergraduate Admission
Martha Kruy - Reference Librarian, Library
Colleen McGinn - Assistant Director of Alumni Relations, Alumni Office
Patricia Meagher - Temporary Career Counselor, Career Planning Center
Catherine Wanamaker - Personnel Floater II, Office of Human Resources
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By Barbara D. Kiernan, Director of University Publications
It's not every day that the bishop of a diocese and the president of a university gather people from their respective communities for a day of dialogue, the nature of which is meant to transcend the "niceties" of conversation. On Oct. 21, such dialogue took place at Alumni House, where the Most Rev. William Lori, Bishop of Bridgeport, and the Rev. Jeffrey von Arx, S.J., president of Fairfield University, addressed some 60 faculty, administrators, and members of the local church.
The event represented a new phase in a series of conversations begun in 2003 by the Bishop and the Rev. Jim Bowler, S.J., facilitator of Catholic and Jesuit Mission and Identity. Since then, Fr. Bowler and members of the Mission and Identity Advisory Board have met with Bishop Lori twice a year for dinner, exploring how the University and Diocese might work together in ways appropriate to their distinct missions. While it may surprise some, such an exercise initially included all the elements of a tightrope walk - caution, risk, tension, and the need for balance in moving forward.
Simply put, the tightrope represents the potential conflict between a bishop's rightful role as teacher/guardian of the Catholic faith in the diocese he leads, and the legitimate claim of a university to academic freedom in the search for truth that takes place in various disciplines. Rather than spend the day bemoaning a tension that will clearly outlive us all, the hope was to make that tension a creative one.
 To frame the conversation, the dialogue centered on the relationship between faith and culture. By agreement, Bishop Lori discussed this from the perspective of Pope John Paul II's 1998 encyclical, Fides et Ratio (Faith and Reason), while Fr. von Arx developed his remarks in relation to Our Mission and Culture, a document of the 34th Jesuit General Congregation, held in Rome in 1995.
Both speakers noted that at the intersection of faith and culture, the comfort zone of traditional belief and thought is stretched. This can become fertile ground for the crystallization and purification of both. The bishop illustrated this through a look at the pre-Christian encounter of biblical faith (Hebrew scripture) and Hellenistic philosophers, and the impact of one upon the other. The president also drew from history, noting lessons learned by the failure of early Jesuits to enter fully into the cultures they encountered in their missionary work. "Aggression and coercion have no place in preaching the Gospel of freedom," he said. "The ministry of dialogue always assumes God's presence in the lives and cultures of others. God's action is antecedent to ours: we do not plant the seed of his presence, for he has already done that in the culture. God's grace is not ours to direct."
"Both speakers emphasized the fruits borne of the dialogue between faith and culture," noted Fr. Bowler. "While Bishop Lori stressed the challenges of evangelizing, Fr. von Arx focused on the Jesuit approach to evangelization, which acknowledges the presence of God's spirit within a given culture."
To give flesh to the dynamism of faith and culture at work, two University professors - Dr. Jesús Escobar, professor of art history, and Dr. Kim Bridgford, professor of English - gave presentations that illustrated the intersection of faith and culture. Dr. Escobar opened the day by relating the cultural flowering that took place in Spain during the 15th to 17th centuries, a time remembered more for the Inquisition than for the influence of Catholicism on art, architecture, education, and social services.
Dr. Bridgford later read a selection of poems by 17th- to 21st-century religious poets (herself included), each in its own way a reflection of its time and a mirror to the transcendent.
With the professors' presentations serving as bookends to Bishop Lori and Fr. von Arx's remarks, the program then turned to four invited respondents, who shared their observations.
- Sr. Mary Agnes Donovan, of the Sisters of Life, questioned why Fr. von Arx had included no mention of students' faith lives, the formation of which creates the dynamic desire to pass on the Gift.
- The Rev. Richard Ryscavage, S.J, director of the University's Center for Faith and Public Life, cautioned that while Jesuit spirituality views the world as graced at the core, there is a danger to it. Not everything in a culture is wholesome, or beautiful, he said, and a Christian must stand outside the culture to critique it critically.
- Dr. Elizabeth Petrino, associate professor of English, highlighted key themes in the Ignatian style of teaching that resonate with feministmethodology - context, experience, reflection, action, and evaluation. These practices, which attempt to fuse intellectual and emotional approaches to learning, she noted, lead to self-reflection and the pursuit of justice, and "suggest that the feminist and Jesuit worldview may be more compatible than previously believed."
- The Rev. Kevin Royal, rector of St. John Fisher Seminary, pointed out that any dialogue on culture suffers when the participants' self-identity in Christ is lacking. He wondered aloud whether Catholic college students have an identity as Catholic, and how they can possibly have a dialogue with today's culture of death absent awareness of Church teaching on contemporary issues.
"I thought the event was courageous on all sides, and marked by a refreshing willingness to listen to positions with which one might not entirely agree," said Dr. Paul Lakeland, the Aloysius P. Kelley, S.J. Professor of Catholic Studies. "But beyond that, there was evidenced here a concern for the responsible involvement of the Catholic community in dialogue with the wider world. Obviously, a diocese and a college do that somewhat differently, and the bishop and the president both appropriately spoke to their different but complementary missions. Both in their different ways recognized God at work in postmodern culture, and talked about ways to reach out to that culture."
The closing meditation, taken from papal letter Ex Corde Ecclesiae (From the Heart of the Church) placed the day in context. Read by Associate Academic Vice President Dr. Mary Frances Malone, it said, "By its very nature, a university develops culture through its research, helps to transmit the local culture to each succeeding generation through its teaching, and assists cultural activities through its educational services. It is open to all human experience and is ready to dialogue with and learn from any culture... A Catholic university shares in this, offering the rich experience of the Church's own culture. In addition, a Catholic university, aware that human culture is open to Revelation and transcendence, is also a primary and privileged place for a fruitful dialogue between the Gospel and culture."
Dr. Kim Bridgford, professor of English (pictured above, left), and the Most Rev. William Lori, Bishop of Bridgeport, listened as University President Jeffrey von Arx, S.J., addressed some 60 faculty, administrators, and others representing both communities. Bishop Lori also talked with attendees during this "Day of Dialogue."
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By Nina M. Riccio, Publications writer
Fairfield welcomes several new tenure-track faculty members this year. In random order, Campus Currents will introduce them to the University community throughout the fall.
Yasin Ozcelik
Dr. Ozcelik joins the Charles F. Dolan School of Business as an assistant professor of information systems and operations management. After earning his undergraduate degree in mathematics at Bilkent University in Turkey, Dr. Ozcelik pursued his master's degree in economics and a doctoral degree in management information systems, both at Purdue University. Dr. Ozcelik taught economics and telecommunications courses there, and was awarded the Purdue University Graduate Student Award for Outstanding Teaching in 2003, and the Krannert Dean's Certificate of Recognition for Teaching Excellence in 2002. He has presented at numerous conferences both in the United States and around the world, including AMCIS Doctoral Consortium, the Big Ten IS Research Consortium, INFORMS, EURO/INFORMS, and WISE. He also served as the session chair for the electronic commerce session at the Seventh INFORMS Telecommunications Conference in 2004. He published a book chapter titled, "Information Privacy and e-Business Activities: Key Issues for Managers" in Managing e-Business in the 21st Century.
His research interests include the economics of information systems, business models in electronic commerce, business value of information technology, and information privacy and security. His dissertation, "Essays on the Effects of Information Technology and the Internet on Business Environments," explores the catalyst function of IT and the Internet on new business models, the enabler role for these technologies for emerging digital marketplaces, and the transforming effects of them on measures such as productivity.
Renée T. White
Dr. White joins the Sociology and Anthropology Department as a professor and the co-director of Black Studies.
She earned her Ph.D. in sociology from Yale University in 1995 and had a joint appointment in sociology and African-American studies at Purdue University from 1994 to 1996. Dr. White also taught as an associate professor of sociology at Central Connecticut State University, where her focus was on the African Diaspora, race and ethnic relations, AIDS, and urban sociology and poverty. While there, she developed courses on black feminist thought and AIDS in the U.S. She has also teamed with a colleague to assess the impact of a Ugandan microloan program on women's risk of HIV infection.
Dr. White is passionate about her research interests, including HIV/AIDS, gender, race theory, and urban inequalities. This spring, she was named co-editor of Haworth Press' Journal of HIV/AIDS Prevention in Children and Youth, She is co-editor of the forthcoming volume, The Globalization of AIDS: An Interdisciplinary Reader, to be published by Routledge Press in 2006. Dr. White is also interested in film studies and visual sociology.
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By Nancy Habetz, Director of Media Relations
A bishop, a university president, two alumni, and a corporate executive are among the five new trustees announced by Fairfield University.
 Bishop George V. Murry, S.J., was named bishop of the Diocese of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands in 1999 after serving four years as auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Chicago.
A native of Camden, N.J., Bishop Murry entered the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus in 1972 and was ordained a priest in 1979. He graduated from St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore, and received a master's degree in divinity from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, Calif., and a doctorate in American Cultural History from George Washington University. Bishop Murry has served on the Boards of Trustees for a number of high schools, universities, and charitable organizations.
The Rev. Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., became the 23rd president of Loyola University Chicago in 2001. A seasoned university administrator, professor, author, and scholar, Fr. Garanzini has spent most of his career working in higher education.
 Before joining Loyola, Fr. Garanzini was a psychology professor and special assistant to the president at Georgetown University. An authority in the field of child and family psychology, he is an established author, researcher, and speaker who has published numerous books and articles.
A native of St. Louis, Fr. Garanzini graduated from Saint Louis University with a degree in psychology and entered the Society of Jesus in 1971. He was ordained a priest in 1980. In 1986, he received a doctorate in psychology and religion from the University of California's Graduate Theological Union.
Brian Hull '80, an accounting major, was appointed senior vice president of global private clients with Merrill Lynch in September. He also remains vice  chairman and a member of Merrill Lynch's Executive Client Coverage Group (ECCG).
Hull started his career at Merrill Lynch in 1994 in the Equity Capital Markets group, where his responsibilities included marketing, pricing, and trading equity and equity-linked new issues. He also spent more than 10 years at Atlanta/Sosnoff Capital Corporation, where he managed a trading desk and was a member of the investment committee.
Mr. Hull lives with his wife, Laura, and their three children in Manhasset, N.Y.
 Patricia E. Hutton '85, a finance major, is executive vice president and chief financial officer of NBC Universal Pictures & Studios. She is responsible for overseeing the financial and operational performance of NBC Universal's Motion Picture Group as well as Parks & Resorts. Hutton led the due diligence and integration efforts related to the acquisition of Universal's film business.
She joined GE as a credit management trainee and then entered the financial management program. Before her current appointment, she was CFO of NBC & Telemundo's 28 owned and operated television stations based in New York City.
Hutton, who lives in Studio City, Calif., has won numerous leadership awards while at GE, including Chairman's Circle. She is also actively involved in the FMP program and has been a Regional Leader for the GE Women's Network in several businesses.
 Ned Lautenbach has been a partner of Clayton, Dubilier, and Rice since 1998 and serves as the Chairman of Covansys, where he helped increase the company's India-based IT services business, reduce expenses, and cut costs to improve gross profit and significantly improve profitability.
Prior to joining the firm, he served as the senior vice president and group executive of worldwide sales and services at IBM Corporation, and was a member of the IBM corporate executive committee. During his career at IBM, he held a variety of other senior executive positions in several divisions, including president of the national distribution division of the United States; president, Asia Pacific; and chairman, IBM World Trade Corporation.
A graduate of the University of Cincinnati and Harvard Business School, where he earned an MBA, Lautenbach is a trustee of Fidelity Investments and a director of the Eaton Corporation.
He lives with his wife, Cyndy, in Fairfield, and Naples, Florida. They have four grown children, two of whom graduated from Fairfield College Preparatory School.
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Dr. Glenn Sauer (pictured left), associate academic chair of Ignatian Residential College and chair of the Biology Department, presented Christine DeMarzo '07 (pictured center) with the 2004-2005 Ignatian Residential College Student Scholarship Award on Oct. 17. This annual award is presented for the best scholarly work by an Ignatian Residential College student in an Ignatian College class. DeMarzo's paper was selected from 26 student submissions for her paper, "Should Organizations Apply Value-Based Principles in Decision Making?", written for Business Ethics 291 taught by Dr. Joan Van Hise (pictured right), associate professor of accounting, in spring 2005.
Photo by Jean Santopatre
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Recent news reports highlight the spread of avian flu to the human population. Since January 2004, there have been more than 117 confirmed cases of avian flu caused by the Influenza A (H5N1) virus in humans, as reported to the World Health Organization. Of these individuals, 60 people have died - one out of every two infected. All of these cases occurred in Southeast Asia and represent bird-to-human transmission.
 On Oct. 13, experts reported the first case of avian flu in poultry outside of Southeast Asia. Several chickens in Turkey were found to be infected, but the question is whether it is the same H5N1 virus. This situation is significant because it means that containment of the virus to one geographic region may not be working.
To further add to public health concerns, testing of the drug Tamiflu on infected patients in Vietnam has uncovered one case where the virus developed resistance to Tamiflu. This finding raises concern that the fallback plan for most countries, including the United States, may not be sufficient if there were a major outbreak. There is a similar drug available, Relenza. While both medications have proven effective for early treatment of this virus, there is concern that work on a vaccination may hold the most hope in case of a pandemic.
Should you be worried? You should at least be concerned and aware! It is expected that there will be a sufficient supply of both Tamiflu and Relenza on the world-wide market to treat people in most developed countries. Work is also proceeding rapidly on a vaccine. The first stage of human testing is currently being conducted on adults. If these tests are successful, testing will be done on older adults and children. It is expected that production of this vaccine in the United States can begin as soon as testing is completed.
In addition, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) stated on Oct. 14 that its surveillance and restriction on poultry products should prevent entry of the virus into U.S. flocks. Poultry producers have also adopted strict measures to quickly identify and eliminate infected birds.
Concern remains, however, that the virus may mutate and begin spreading from human to human. There is justified concern that our federal leadership is not prepared to deal with a large scale epidemic. Funding for public health preparedness is still linked to bioterror, not to increasing the workforce to cope with a major outbreak. A pandemic would most likely overwhelm the current acute care health system.
From a Jesuit perspective, we should be concerned not only for ourselves and our loved ones. We should be concerned because of the potential for the most vulnerable in our society to once again be left to suffer while those with health insurance obtain Tamiflu or Relenza. We should worry that the availability of these drugs (and possibly a vaccine!) in the United States may mean that others around the world will never receive them, and that disproportionate numbers of people in countries already lacking good medical care or public health will die. We should be aware of the response of our government to this situation, especially as our nation's resources are drained by recent hurricanes and an ongoing war. Most important is prayer and faith. Pray for a just response if needed, and have faith that we will be given the resources necessary to respond.
Philip A. Greiner, DNSc, RN
Associate Professor of Nursing; Director, Undergraduate Program; Director, Health Promotion Center
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By Nina M. Riccio, Publications writer
Dr. Elizabeth Dreyer, professor of religious studies, believes signs of a renewed interest in the religious history of Christian women are all around us. "Books about once obscure medieval figures are snapped up by growing numbers of spiritual seekers who wish to recover neglected female role models," she said at the fifth annual Anne Drummey O'Callaghan lecture on Women in the Church on Oct. 5. "Challenging us to wake up from ignorance, indifference, and apathy, these women witness to the intense love of God, brutal honesty about their struggles and doubts, and courageous prophetic voice. They are weird, but they also provide welcome female companionship on the journey toward love of God and neighbor."
Mystics, defined as those with a radical openness to God and the world and an intense, affective, and intellectual engagement with the Spirit, often wrote of hearing voices, seeing visions, or having vivid dreams in which God spoke to them. Acknowledging that female mystics such as St. Catherine of Siena, Hildegard of Bingen, and Hadewijch of Brabant, "would fail our idea of sanity," Dr. Dreyer noted that studying their writings is of great importance from a religious and a literary point of view. Often their texts are among the first written in the vernacular, making them as valuable as literature. Their writings, she said, "show their courage by holding the Church accountable to its mandate to be holy." Dr. Dreyer stressed the danger these women faced if the Church deemed their work too controversial; the Church's response to Marguerite Porete's The Mirror of Simple Souls, for example, was to burn the author at the stake.
Women mystics often fasted, went without sleep, or flagellated themselves in imitation of the suffering Christ, Dr. Dreyer noted, adding, "we cannot lose their stories or we miss a part of women's history." Scholars recognize this and are currently searching in the convent archives of Europe, finding, dating deciphering, and determining the authorship of many long-forgotten writings.
Dr. Dreyer has written seven books; her most recent is Passionate Spirituality: Hildegard of Bingen and Hadewijch of Brabant.
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Join Fairfield University faculty and alumni for a day of personal enrichment and a truly interactive learning experience on Nov. 5 for the annual award-winning Alumni College - offered at a special discount rate of $40 to faculty and staff.
Often described as a "homecoming of the mind," Alumni College is an opportunity to attend mini-courses taught by Fairfield's superb faculty. The mini-courses, taught in the Charles F. Dolan School of Business, will focus on many of the most interesting and pressing issues facing us today. For more information, visit www.fairfield.edu/documents/alumni/AlumniCollege05.pdf or call Nicholas Segretario at ext. 4280.
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Sports
Ivana Podrug '06: Representing the Stags overseas
By Patrick Moran, Assistant Director of Sports Information
 For most student-athletes, summer is spent working on their respective games, as well as traveling. Ivana Podrug '06, a tri-captain on the women's basketball team, had the opportunity to do both. She spent the summer as part of the Croatian National Team in the qualification for the EuroBasket Women Tournament. Croatia finished second in its qualifying pool this year.
"It was a great opportunity for Ivana to represent her country and Fairfield University," says women's basketball Head Coach Dianne Nolan. "It gave her some international playing experience that will hopefully help us this season."
A veteran of several international competitions for Croatia, Podrug helped her team reach the Croatian National Championship twice, while playing for several other teams in international tournaments.
"It's such a great feeling of pride to represent your country," Podrug says. Podrug also had the chance to play with her older sister, Emilija, who averaged 17 points per game in five games during the qualifying round.
As she is about to enter her senior season at Fairfield, Podrug has been a solid contributor both on and off the court. As a junior last season, she was fourth in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) in block shots with 36 (1.24 per game). In her freshman season, she was named to the MAAC All-Rookie team, after averaging 4.2 points per game, and shooting 51.1 percent from the field.
Off the basketball court, Podrug has also made her mark, as she was named to the MAAC All-Academic Team twice, and also earned an honorable mention selection for the Division I-AAA Athletic Directors Association Scholar-Athlete Team.
Podrug and the rest of the women's basketball team, opens the 2005-06 season on Nov. 18 against Brown University at the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport.
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By Jill Kasiewicz Caseria, Editor
For someone who likes to explore the world on foot, over oceans, and in accordance with the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises, it's no surprise that the Rev. Thomas Schneider, S.J., has chosen the path less traveled in navigating to his current position at Fairfield University. Today he works in Fairfield University's Office of Jesuit and Catholic Mission and Identity, but he first charted a course to fulfill his life's mission in 1966, as a freshman at Fairfield University.
 It was his father's idea that he attend Fairfield. A chemical engineer, the elder Schneider was impressed by the University's student interns assisting him in his lab each semester. Tom traded the full scholarship he had at the University of Connecticut for an education with the Jesuits, which included an early weeknight curfew in all three of Fairfield's residence halls - Gonzaga, Loyola, and Regis.
By the time he reached his sophomore year, Tom was deeply involved in several service projects and considered a religious vocation.
Following graduation in 1970 with a degree in physics, he entered the Society of Jesus and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to study ocean engineering. His graduate research lured him out with local lobster fishermen, trying out some proposed modified fishing technologies in Long Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean to increase sea life populations. "I had always loved science, and I was aware of the changing ecology of the ocean," he says. "Overfishing was a problem even then and most people were not giving it enough thought." He earned his master's degree in 1974 and was ordained in 1979.
He has served for nearly 25 years at various schools in the United States and abroad, including 12 years in Jamaica, during which he was president of St. George's College in Kingston (10 years), and Regional Superior for the Society of Jesus in Jamaica (six years). Throughout this time in Jamaica, he worked with various retreatants from across religious backgrounds who found the Spiritual Exercises transformational. "Many described it as setting a fire within them, providing them with a whole new way to experience prayer, God, and scripture," Fr. Schneider recalls. While at St. George's, he was charged with "animating the institution with the Ignatian vision," he says, through staff development and student programs.
In 1997, Fr. Schneider left Jamaica to take an academic sabbatical, earn a spiritual direction and counseling certification from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology, and serve for a year as director of pastoral and spiritual ministries for the Jesuit Conference in Washington, D.C. For the past five years, he has served as a hospice bereavement counselor in northern Virginia.
After living and teaching the Spiritual Exercises throughout his career, Fr. Schneider is working with the Rev. James Bowler, S.J., to develop programs for University employees to animate the mission - similar to his work at St. George's. In other words, he would like to help more people have a personal experience with the Spiritual Exercises, by making them more relevant to everyday office life, he says. He's open to exploring unique ways of doing so, and has incorporated modern films and poetry into the directed prayer and reflections with previous retreatants.
"The mission touches everybody," he says. "A smile from a coworker, walking around campus and talking to people, that's how you build the spirit."
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By Dana Ambrosini, Assistant Director of Media Relations
The Catholic Studies program at Fairfield University will present noted writer and commentator Margaret O'Brien Steinfels, co-director of the Fordham Center on Religion and Culture, for the 12th annual Christopher F. Mooney, S.J., Lecture in Theology, Religion, and Society on Nov. 16 at 8 p.m. at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. The lecture, entitled "Vatican II Americans: The Middle of the Journey," is free and open to the public.
Steinfels has been an intriguing voice on a variety of social and political issues for more than 30 years. Prior to her work at Fordham, she spent 15 years as the editor of Commonweal, an independent bi-weekly journal of political, religious, and literary opinion edited by Catholic laypeople since 1924. She also co-directed "American Catholics in the Public Square," a three-year project of the Commonweal Foundation. The project published two volumes of essays, American Catholics & Civic Engagement: A Distinctive Voice, and American Catholics & American Culture: Tradition and Resistance. In 2002, Steinfels made history when she was one of only two American lay Catholics selected to address the U.S. bishops on the clerical sexual abuse crisis at a Dallas meeting.
In 2003, she and her husband, New York Times "Beliefs" column writer Peter Steinfels, were awarded the University of Notre Dame's Laetare Medal and the University of Dayton's Marianist Award.
For more information, call Carolyn Arnold at ext. 3415.
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On Oct. 20, the Center for Multicultural Relations hosted the annual Christopher Blake Love AHANA Student Achievement Awards Dinner, honoring students who achieved a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 or higher during the previous academic year. Pictured above are this year's honorees with Dr. Larri Mazon, director of multicultural relations.
Photo by Jean Santopatre
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By Nancy Habetz, Director of Media Relations
Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, Archbishop of Washington, D.C., and Archbishop Celestino Migliore, Apostolic Nunzio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, will lead the dignitaries at the launching of Fairfield University's Center for Faith and Public Life on Nov. 7 at 8 p.m. The event, which will take place in the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, will be followed by a reception.
The Rev. Richard Ryscavage, S.J., professor of sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences, who will also direct the Center, will give the address. Cardinal McCarrick, Archbishop Migliore, and Richard Boucher, deputy director of the White House Office for Faith Based and Community Initiatives/U.S. Department of Education, will offer remarks.
"The Center will seek to create opportunities for students, faculty, policymakers, and religious leaders to reflect on the intersection of faith and public life," says Fr. Ryscavage. "In the Catholic Jesuit tradition, it will respect diversity while searching for the common good of society."
The Center will seek partnerships with local community organizations, individuals, and local churches to identify and research primary area needs and issues of communal concern. Community partners will have access to University-facilitated training and support designed to help them take a more active role in public policy dialogues. Initial objectives of the Center will be to help define social solutions, create stronger bonds, increase trust, and improve the quality of civic discourse overall.
Cardinal McCarrick was named Auxiliary Bishop of New York in 1977, serving as Vicar of East Manhattan and the Harlems. Pope John Paul II appointed him to be the first Bishop of Metuchen in New Jersey when the diocese was established in 1981. From 1986 until his appointment to the Archdiocese of Washington, he served as the fourth Archbishop of Newark. A founding member of the Papal Foundation, he is a member of the Board of Catholic Relief Services and serves on the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, and the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
A native of Cuneo, Italy, Archbishop Celestino Migliore joined the Holy See's diplomatic service in 1980. His first assignment was to Angola, where from 1980 to 1984 he served as attaché and second secretary to the Apostolic Delegation. From there he was transferred to the Apostolic Nunciature in the United States. Since 1988 he has served in Egypt, Poland, and France. From 1995 to 2002 he was Under-Secretary of the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State at the Vatican and was in charge of fostering relations with several Asian countries that had no formal diplomatic relations with the Holy See. In 2001 Archbishop Migliore led the Delegation of the Holy See to the United Nations Conference on Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, held in New York.
Bishop William E. Lori, Bishop of Bridgeport, will deliver the Invocation. British Robinson, National Director of Social and International Ministries for the Jesuit Conference, will offer the Benediction. The Fairfield University Glee Club will also perform as part of the ceremony.
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By Nina M. Riccio, Publications writer
 When Dee Lippman joined the Army Nurses Corps in 1968, she had no idea the next two years would not only shape her life, but her career as well. Now, almost 40 years later, her continued work with veterans has earned her the nursing profession's highest award - fellowship in the American Academy of Nursing. She will be inducted this month at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.
In 1968, then just out of nursing school, she joined the Army on the condition she and her husband, Kenneth, a new physician, could serve together. They were assigned to a M.A.S.H. unit for skin and orthopedic surgeries in Japan, where soldiers were flown by helicopter from Vietnam and stabilized before being sent home or back to the front. "During the Tet Offensive that year, there were so many casualties. Most of these soldiers had not been in a place where they were not under attack since going to Vietnam," she remembers. "As they were recovering, they tended to open up, talking to us as if we were their moms, sisters, or girlfriends. It's hard to find a place to put that." Some of the men would be sent home if their tour of duty was almost over, but many had to be sent back to Vietnam - a task that was particularly difficult for those who had nursed them back to health. "When we came back home in '69, the country was so against the war that we never talked about our experiences there," Dr. Lippman says. "We didn't even discuss them with our families."
Eleven years later, with three children plus master's and doctoral degrees from Columbia University, Dr. Lippman landed one of two teaching positions at Fairfield's School of Nursing. "I was teaching a class and went to a veteran's hospital with my nursing students. It was there that I first saw Vietnam vets with post-traumatic stress syndrome, something that was not recognized in the 1960s," she says. It struck her that the men she had patched up and sent home years ago were still suffering; Dr. Lippman, who had specialized in psychiatric nursing in school, promised she'd help. She began volunteering at outreach centers, where the vets tended to go for their emotional care, and she joined the board of Homes for the Brave, which provides vets with transitional housing.
In 1985, Dr. Lippman heard about the Vietnam Women's Memorial Project, a group dedicated to honoring the women who had served in Vietnam. "Since only military personnel are listed on The Wall in Washington, D.C., there are just eight women noted there," she says. She became actively involved with the group, trying for nine years to get a sculpture approved to honor the nurses who had served in Vietnam. The challenge was daunting; the group found they actually had to have two pieces of legislation sponsored and passed for the project to go forward. The sculpture was finally approved in 1993 and now stands in Washington, D.C.
In 2003, Dr. Lippman was awarded an honorary Military Order of the Purple Heart. She is currently president of the Connecticut Nurses' Association (CNA), and lectures frequently on the emotional toll placed on soldiers and nurses during war. "The psychological wounds of war are not recognizable the way wounds to the body are," she says. Her work has led her to focus not just on older veterans, but also on the geriatric population in general. She has been honored by the CNA with its highest award - the Diamond Jubilarian Agnes Ohlson Award - for her contributions to nursing through political action. In 1994, she received Fairfield University's first Women's Studies Award. Meanwhile, Dr. Lippman has juggled a full teaching schedule in the School of Nursing, and even managed to complete a second master's degree (in marriage and family therapy) through the Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions. "Dee is one of the most influential nursing professionals in the country," says Dr. Jeanne Novotny, dean of the School of Nursing. "The role she played in establishing the Vietnam nurses' memorial is a tribute to her personally and to the University."
This month, nurses will honor Dr. Lippman when she is inducted as a Fellow into the American Academy of Nursing. "It's the highest professional honor a nurse can receive," emphasizes Dean Novotny. "Only 38 percent of those who applied this year were selected." The Academy honors those who have done work well above and beyond their normal duties.
Dr. Lippman is pleased and honored to receive the award, though she's not entirely sure how being a fellow in the Academy will affect her work. "I'll still serve on various boards for veterans' issues, and I'd like to focus my work on post-traumatic stress and the care of vets now coming home from Iraq," she says. "The sooner they get treatment for mental health issues, the less likely those issues will become chronic." As for nurses, the landscape for those serving in Iraq is quite similar to those who served in Vietnam, in that they are trying to save lives while living under the constant threat of attack, Dr. Lippman says. "The work hasn't changed. It's saving as many people as you can save and comforting those who lay dying."
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By Dana Ambrosini, Assistant Director of Media Relations
Dr. Lucy Katz, professor business law in the Charles F. Dolan School of Business, has been honored as the first holder of the Robert C. Wright Chair in Business Law, Ethics, and Dispute Resolution. The Dolan School has named the chair in honor of the chairman and chief executive officer of NBC Universal and vice chairman and executive officer of General Electric Company. This is the third Dolan School of Business chair made possible by an endowment provided to the school by Charles and Helen Dolan.
An installation ceremony will take place on Nov. 15 at 8 p.m. in the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts and will feature remarks by Wright and Dr. Katz.
Wright became president and chief executive officer of NBC in 1986 and was named chairman and chief executive officer in 2001. He has had one of the longest and most successful tenures of any media company chief executive. Under his leadership, NBC was transformed from a broadcast network into a global media powerhouse with leadership in broadcast network television, cable programming, station ownership, and television production. Wright holds degrees from the College of the Holy Cross and the University of Virginia School of Law.
Dr. Lucy Katz will hold the Robert C. Wright Chair in Business Law, Ethics and Dispute Resolution for five years, at which time it is renewable. She joined Fairfield University in 1983 as an assistant professor of business law. She teaches undergraduate and MBA courses in the legal and ethical environment of business, negotiation and dispute resolution, human resource law, and law, women, and work.
Dr. Katz has contributed to three books and is the author of numerous articles on law. She was one of the two original co-coordinators of the Women's Studies program and completed a term as chair of the Management Department. Recently, Dr. Katz's writing has focused on the use of arbitration to resolve business disputes in international commerce, particularly in developing nations like Cuba and Vietnam. Arbitration is a boon to the economic development of those countries because it encourages outside investors who might be afraid of counting on local court systems to adjudicate a disagreement fairly, she says.
"It is especially gratifying that this chair recognizes the three areas of law, ethics, and dispute resolution. Fairfield University and the Dolan School of Business have thus communicated the message that all three are vital in today's business environment, and so play an important role in business education," Dr. Katz says.
"We are very, very fortunate to have Dr. Katz as a faculty member. She is a distinguished scholar, teacher, and administrator. She has earned the respect of her peers and of her students," says Dr. Norm Solomon, dean. "Dr. Katz is a wonderful colleague and a wonderful inspiration to all who have the privilege of working with her. That she will be named as the first Robert C. Wright Chair in Business Law, Ethics, and Dispute Resolution is fitting and proper given the ideals Bob Wright's career epitomize."
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To open October's Teach-In on Hurricane Katrina, Fairfield University faculty, staff, and students paused for a moment of silence. More than a dozen faculty and administrators presented research on topics such as the Hurricane's impact on the environment, health, and the economy. The evening included a live jazz performance by Brian Torff, associate professor of visual and performing arts, and students, and reflections read by New Orleans natives Dr. Patricia Behre, associate professor of history, and Dr. Beth Boquet, professor of English.
Photo by Jean Santopatre
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By Alejandra Navarro, Publications writer
The Charles F. Dolan School of Business is housed in a state-of-the-art facility that has the distinctly professional feel of a conference center.
Set aside its recent technology renovations, and the building has an airy atrium and lounge, comfortable meeting spaces, and a dining room featuring a wall of windows with a view of a terrace and the lush foliage surrounding Fairfield's pond. It feels like a professional conference center because it was built to be just that.
The University first included the development of an executive conference and training center in its master plan in the late 1960s as a resource for Fairfield County's expanding business community and for the campus's growing number of business students. At the time, however, the University did not have funding to build it.
In 1977, Fairfield teamed up with the National Association of Mutual Savings Banks, now America's Community Bankers, to create a center for the teaching and learning of business and financial programs. Two years later, The Center for Financial Studies was completed.
 When it opened in 1979, the 66,810-square-foot facility included 64 hotel-like guest rooms to accommodate 128 people, six classrooms, and an amphitheatre seating 148. The building was later expanded to 70,739 square feet. The banking association used the facility for training programs, often taught by Fairfield faculty, and the University's Department of Business Administration held functions there. In addition, the Center was available to organizations offering educational programs in banking, finance, management, and organizational behavior.
A year before the opening, the University had reorganized the Department of Business Administration, and established the. As the School developed new academic programs, its popularity continued to grow. "By 1998, Fairfield University decided that the Center facility would serve the University better as a facility for its School of Business," says Dr. John Barone, provost emeritus, who served as vice chairman of the Center for Financial Studies from 1977 to 1994.
In the original agreement, the University would have received full control of the Center in 2007. Instead, the University negotiated with the Association, paying $4 million to wholly own the building and establish a new home for the School. In 2000, the School received a generous $25 million gift from Charles F. and Helen Dolan, which funded the acquisition and renovation of the building, establishment of endowed chairs, and creation of the Dolan Lecture Series. Later that year, the School was named in recognition of Mr. Dolan, University trustee and founder and chairman of Cablevision Systems Corporation.
The Conference Center's suites were converted into 45 faculty offices. Seven classrooms were wired for multimedia, the Internet, and computer projection, and the 150-seat amphitheater also was outfitted for computer projection.
"The Dolan School of Business building is an outstanding example of a first-class business school facility," says Dr. Norm Solomon, dean. "Of particular note are the common areas where students can relax as well as study; the many 'break out' rooms where students can have group study sessions; the more than 100 computer terminals available; and classrooms that are 'smart,' incorporating the latest in audio visual technology."
The building has 11 classrooms, two computer labs, and eight group workrooms. The most recent addition, the BEST classroom, has 35 multipurpose computers that function as trading station with a stock-ticker and professional software that gives students access to financial information. "The Dolan School is certainly the envy of other business programs," Dr. Solomon says.
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By Nina M. Riccio, Publications writer
Where Barry Wallace has been for the past 26 years: teaching English at Fairfield Prep.
Where he would rather be: nowhere, unless it's puttering around his backyard garden.
"I came to Prep in 1979 and I've never wanted to leave," he says. "It's the kind of place where you can become as a good a teacher as you can be." The Jesuit mandate to educate students to become "men for others," along with the students' required community service component and their eagerness to learn, is a combination that makes for an ideal teaching situation, he adds.
 Maybe it was Barry's positive experience that influenced his wife, Charlene. Four years ago, she looked for employment at Fairfield University after leaving the eldercare field, in which she had worked for many years. Today, she's a secretary for the departments of philosophy and religious studies and enjoys the intellectual atmosphere. "I've worked in places where people never spoke of world events," she says. "Now, I can't walk down the hallway without hearing people discussing and debating, and I find it renewing for me to be here." Another plus for Charlene: the lectures, art events, and Glee Club concerts she attends every chance she can. "The atmosphere here is so rich and there's such a sense of community. It's amazing that all these opportunities are just 10 minutes from our home."
Both natives of Bridgeport, Charlene and Barry attended Sacred Heart University and met in October 1969, the night of the nationwide student moratorium on the Vietnam War. "There was tremendous anti-war foment on college campuses across the country," remembers Charlene. "The world seemed dangerously out of control, yet we believed to our core that we as a new generation could change things for the better." They got to know each other better when Charlene, the editor of the college literary magazine, published Barry's first story. Today, their daughter, Rose, is a nursing student at St. Vincent's College, and they have time to indulge in their hobbies. For Charlene, that's cooking. "I love to cook and find new ways of doing things, to try new spices and recipes," she says. She's also hooked on tag sales, often scouting out several on a single weekend, holding one of her own, or helping at a friend's. As a collector, she's proud to note that her accumulation of Fiestaware is famous: it made a guest appearance several years ago on one of Martha Stewart's shows.
Barry, on the other hand, can usually be found working on his regular column for the Fairfield Citizen-News or spending time in the great outdoors. "When we bought our new home in Fairfield, the backyard had literally been scraped down to nothing," recalls Charlene. "There was not a tree, a bush, or even a blade of grass in sight. I can't tell you how depressing it looked that first winter. But Barry has literally transformed it into an urban oasis that's a refuge for woodchucks, butterflies, birds, and all kinds of urban wildlife. We've even had deer back there." Many a Sunday, Barry has taken the train into New York City and walked through various neighborhoods, searching out small, urban pocket gardens and returning home with the names of plants to add to his own yard. It must be in his genes; twin brother Brian is also an avid landscaper and has cultivated a flourishing beach garden at his home on Fairfield beach.
Working together has been a plus, says Charlene. "We commute together, and it's nice to have the other so close by, though we did think we'd have more opportunity to meet up for lunch." That's a rare occurrence, though, because of Barry's "way too early, way too short" school lunch schedule. Still, says Barry, "the best parts of working on the same campus are the rides in together and the shared life of a community of people we know and respect."
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Dolan School named one of the best
The Charles F. Dolan School of Business at Fairfield University has been named to The Princeton Review's "Best 237 Business Schools" for 2006, marking the first time that the Dolan School has placed in the prestigious annual publication of graduate business programs.
The Princeton Review conducts a three-year survey cycle, collecting the opinions of graduate students at more than 237 of the best AACSB-accredited MBA programs in the world and gathering statistical information on many more.
Students credited the Dolan School on its "fine finance program," "very accessible and helpful faculty," and "current and interesting" coursework, and its facilities, "equipped to accommodate all up-to-date teaching technologies."
School of Nursing earns recognition from John A. Hartford Foundation
Honored for infusing geriatrics into the undergraduate curriculum, the School of Nursing has been selected as this year's winner of the John A. Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing/American Association of Colleges of Nursing 2005 Award for Baccalaureate Education in Geriatric Nursing. Marking the rewards, the foundation noted, "Your gerontology initiative ranked extremely high on all selection criteria and your application truly exemplifies an outstanding use of innovative and diverse clinical settings."
Dr. Jean Lange, associate professor of nursing, wrote the application for the award. She and Dr. Jeanne Novotny, dean, attended a special acceptance ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 23.
Editor Hershal Shanks to speak at Fairfield
The Carl and Dorothy Center for Judaic Studies will present a lecture by Hershel Shanks, founder and editor of Biblical Archaeology Review and former editor of Moment magazine, on Nov. 7 at 7:30 p.m. in the Oak Room of the John A. Barone Campus Center. Shanks will present "The Dead Sea Scrolls: What Do They Really Say and Why Are They Important?"
Shanks, a former lawyer, founded Biblical Archaeology Review in 1974 with the intention of indulging a hobby. Since then, the magazine has grown to have the largest paid circulation of any archaeology magazine in the world, according to the nonprofit Century One Foundation.
Shanks, who holds degrees from Haverford College, Columbia University, and Harvard Law School, is also the author of several books.
Space is limited and reservations are requested. For information and to register, call Judaic Studies at ext. 2066.
Professor to discuss Judaism and stem cell research
Rabbi Professor Elliot Dorff, a top authority on conservative Jewish ethics, particularly regarding stem cell research, is this year's Judaic Studies Scholar-in-Residence at the Carl and Dorothy Bennett Center for Judaic Studies. He will deliver "New Issues in Bioethics: Stem Cell Research and Genetic Screening" on Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m. in the Charles F. Dolan School of Business. This free lecture is made possible by a gift from David and Edith Chaifetz.
Rabbi Dorff co-chairs the bioethics department at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles. In 1993, he served on the Ethics Committee of Hillary Rodham Clinton's Health Care Task Force. In 1997 and 1999, he testified on behalf of the Jewish tradition on the subjects of human cloning and stem cell research for the President's National Bioethics Advisory Commission.
Rabbi Dorff has published more than 150 articles on Jewish thought, law, and ethics, as well as 10 books. He was ordained as a Conservative rabbi by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 1970 and received his Ph.D. in philosophy with a dissertation in moral theory from Columbia University in 1971.
Space is limited and reservations are requested. For information and to register, call Judaic Studies at ext. 2066.
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By Alejandra Navarro, Publications writer
Fairfield University and Fairfield Prep began the 2005 Charitable Sharing Campaign with a Kick-Off breakfast in Alumni House on Oct. 12. The goal of the campaign is to raise $30,000 for the United Way and Community Health Charities of Connecticut, the fundraising arm to 34 of the state's charities, by Nov. 23. This year's chairs are Rita Duda, associate director of human resources, and Deirdre Eller, director of new student programs.
In addition to the chairs are 35 campaign captains, who have already begun asking employees to consider making a contribution. "The success of the Charitable Sharing Campaign is a direct result of the dedicated captains. Without them, there really is no campaign," says Duda. "The captains are the 'go-to' people in their own particular area of campus and they very generously agree, some for several years now, to play a vital role in this campaign."
Funds raised will stay in the community, unless specified to leave the state, to fund programs like the United Way's "Success by 6," which gives parents and childcare providers with early childhood development skills, and the American Cancer Society's "Road to Recovery," which offers free transportation for people receiving chemotherapy.
"Unfortunately today, I think all too many people can relate, either directly or indirectly, with one or more illnesses that our agencies represents," said Ann Murphy of the Community Health Charities at the breakfast. The numbers are distressing. This year alone, for example, 17,000 people will contract some form of cancer, and more than 7,000 will die from it. Murphy stressed the importance of Fairfield's contributions. "You will provide a better quality of life for these people, a quality of life they would not experience otherwise without your generosity."
"Despite the destruction of Katrina and other natural disasters we have all been asked to respond to, our local needs to not disappear," emphasizes Duda. "We still have families in our own area who rely on the programs and resources provided by the United Way and Community Health Charities."
For more information, call Rita Duda at ext. 2994 or Deirdre Eller at ext. 2375.
Rita Duda addressed the Charitable Sharing Campaign chairs at the Kick-Off breakfast.
Photo by Jean Santopatre
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The Lilly Endowment has awarded Fairfield University a $500,000 grant to sustain Fairfield's Ignatian Residential College through 2010.
The program is the result of an ambitious undertaking five years ago by the Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment entitled, "Theological Exploration of Vocation." It encourages college students to draw on the wisdom of their religious traditions as they make decisions about their intellectual development and their futures, including their consideration of ministry as a career. Fairfield University was selected to participate in 2001 and was awarded a $2 million grant under which it established the Ignatian Residential College the following year. The program offers academic courses, mentor groups, retreats, lectures, and cultural trips, as well as spiritual, social, and intellectual service events, in an attempt to help students learn more about themselves and discover some insights into what their individual callings or vocations might be.
"We are excited by the student response to the program and the leavening effect on the entire university," says the Rev. James Mayzik, S.J., program director. "The program's impact reaches far beyond the 200 sophomores involved. It touches students, staff, faculty, and friends of the University in ways never imagined."
Noël Appel, director of foundation relations, says that during the next three years the University will be raising money to establish a $3 million permanent endowment, which will be matched with institutional cost share commitments, so that the Ignatian Residential College can be funded into perpetuity.
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By Jill Kasiewicz Caseria, Editor
Bogged down by excess spam? Worried about viruses? At last month's Brown Bag Luncheon sponsored by the Office of Human Resources, Jeff Potocki of Computing and Network Services identified and explained how to manage some of the Internet's most common annoyances:
- Viruses, Trojans, and Worms: Created to deliberately interfere with computer operation or delete data. Symptoms may include "frozen" screens, frequent crashes, applications not working properly, unusual error messages, and distorted dialog boxes. Detecting and removing viruses requires a virus-detecting software, such as Norton Anti-Virus. Protect your computer by keeping software up to date, adjusting Web browser security, using antivirus software, regularly backing up files, and using e-mail cautiously.
- Spyware: Tracks Web-browsing activity for marketing purposes; may be used to obtain personal financial information. Symptoms include excessive pop-up ads, changed settings, new toolbars, and slow operation. Removing Spyware requires a special program. Protect your computer by adjusting Web browser security settings and using the same techniques as you would to protect against viruses.
- Spam: Unsolicited electronic communications that are often excessive and undesired. Spammers steal, swap, or buy lists of valid e-mail addresses or gather addresses from websites where people sign up for free offers or enter contests. Manage spam through Outlook or Exchange by filtering e-mail, using rules, and not using the preview pane; by deleting messages from senders you don't recognize; and by refusing to forward chain e-mails. Also, never reply to spam messages.
- Phishing: Spam e-mails or pop-up windows posing as legitimate institutions (banks, online payment services) that intend to steal someone's identity. Protect yourself by calling the company or business to verify if it is indeed attempting to contact you, and by deleting suspicious e-mail.
For more information, call the Computing and Network Services Help Desk at ext. 4069 or e-mail cns@mail.fairfield.edu.
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Opera Verdi Europa, a young Bulgarian company, will take the stage in Puccini's classic Madame Butterfly on Nov. 5 at 8 p.m. at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. A pre-concert Art to Heart discussion with Howard Kissel, the New York Daily News chief drama critic, will take place from 7 to 7:40 p.m.
Madame Butterfly tells the heartbreaking story of Cio-Cio-San, a 15-year-old Japanese girl who enters into a "geisha marriage" with Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton, an American who has leased a home above Nagasaki harbor in the early 1900s. Though she believes the marriage will last, Pinkerton knows their contract has a monthly renewal option, which, he tells his assistant, he will eventually make use of so he can marry an American woman. Cio-Cio-San bears Pinkerton a son and faithfully holds a three-year vigil while he's at sea, only to have him return with his new wife, Kate. Consumed by grief, she chooses suicide, which she considers the path of honor, rather than a life of disgrace.
The intimate story is told simply through songs of love, yearning and, ultimately, deep sadness that stay with the audience long after the curtain comes down.
For tickets, call the Box Office at ext. 4010.
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Ballet Flamenco José Porcel brings its blend of precision, sensuality, and joy to the stage of Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts on Nov. 12 at 8 p.m. Part of the Quick Center's Dance America series, the program features a post-performance Art to Heart Q&A with the company.
The evening's program features 10 dances ranging from electrifying solos by Porcel to larger pieces by the company of eight men and women. In addition, the audience will be treated to live performances by a musical ensemble and traditional flamenco singers.
For tickets, call the Box Office at ext. 4010.
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Lucy Kaplansky and Richard Shindell, two of the most revered singer-songwriters on the modern music scene, will share the stage at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts on Nov. 19 at 8 p.m.
Kaplansky has been perfecting her unique blend of rock, folk, country, and pop since she started singing in Chicago clubs while in high school. She has sung back-up on albums by Colvin, Nanci Griffith, and John Gorka. Her albums include Ten Year Night and Every Single Day, which won back-to-back Best Pop Album honors from the Association for Independent Music. She, Shindell, and Dar Williams formed the folk group Cry Cry Cry.
In addition to collaborating with Kaplansky, Shindell has a long history of writing and recording solo efforts that showcase his meticulous craftsmanship and memorable voice. Shindell released his first album, Sparrow's Point, in 1992 and several more have followed, including Reunion Hill, which won AFIM's Best Contemporary Folk Album. Shindell has toured relentlessly and with some of folk's greatest musicians, including Joan Baez, who invited him on a 1997 tour.
For tickets, call the Box Office at ext. 4010.
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The innovative Pat Metheny Trio with Christian McBride and Antonio Sanchez and Quartet, with special guest David Sánchez, will take the stage on Nov. 3 at 8 p.m. at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts.
Celebrating more than 30 years as one of the world's top jazz guitarists, Metheny had been touring recently with bassist Christian McBride and drummer Antonio Sanchez as a trio. That changed this summer when he played a searing set with saxophonist David Sánchez at the Montreal International Jazz Festival.
"It was a fantastic set. We were all having so much fun playing off each other," Metheny says. "I knew that my next tour in the fall had to have as many dates with David as possible."
The Quick Center will present all four performers, who will play some tunes as a trio, some as a quartet, and some as extended duet sections. Sánchez's addition means many more musical possibilities for the ensemble.
For tickets, call the Box Office at ext. 4010.
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Campus Currents is the official news publication of the Fairfield University community. It is published monthly. The editorial office is located in Bellarmine Hall, Room 203. Phone: 254-4000, ext. 2556. Fax: 254-4167. E-mail: jcaseria@mail.fairfield.edu.
Editor
Jill Kasiewicz Caseria, M.A.'04
Assistant Director of University Publications
Editorial Board
Martha Milcarek
Assistant Vice President for Public Relations
Barbara Kiernan, M.A. '90
Director of University Publications
Jean Santopatre
University Photojournalist
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