Fairfield University - Press Releases - College of Arts and Sciences

Fairfield University presents Distinguished Teaching Award to Fairfield resident

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Fairfield University's College of Arts and Sciences has presented its 2013 Distinguished Teaching Award to Robert Epstein, Ph.D., associate professor of English, a Fairfield, Conn., resident.

For 15 years, Dr. Epstein has enriched the English curriculum with courses on everything from medieval literature to fairytales. He holds an M.A. and a Ph.D. from Princeton University and a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.

"Students respect Professor Epstein for the right reasons: He has an infectious enthusiasm for his material, he is demanding and pushes students to think critically and deeply, and he gives students every opportunity to succeed," said Robbin Crabtree, Ph.D., dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Dr. Epstein is known for promoting academic excellence through detailed attention to students and their work, enforcing the highest intellectual standards. "Professor Epstein brings these same habits to extensive service and leadership at Fairfield, much of which supports the core curriculum, promotes interdisciplinary inquiry and defends the inherent value of the liberal arts," Dean Crabtree said.

Dr. Epstein said he was extremely grateful for the award. "Over the years, I have seen many of my colleagues teach, and I know how talented and dedicated they all are," he said. "There isn't a professor in the College of Arts & Sciences who doesn't deserve recognition for teaching excellence. So I take this award as a symbol of the College's commitment to quality teaching and the faculty's dedication students."

Fairfield University awards 861 diplomas at 63rd annual undergraduate commencement exercises

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Fairfield University awarded diplomas to 861 undergraduate students at the 63rd commencement exercises today, as 5,000 family members and friends watched with pride on Bellarmine Lawn. The graduates earned degrees from the College of Arts & Sciences, Charles F. Dolan School of Business, School of Engineering and School of Nursing.

In keeping with tradition, the Jesuit institution celebrated students and honorary degree recipients who have led inspired lives.

The Reverend Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., president of Loyola University Chicago and a national figure in Jesuit higher education, gave the commencement address, asking graduates, "Who will help heal the world, if not for you? Some people can't help themselves ... Who will help create a just and right society, if not for you?"

His impressive life of service and a firm commitment to education served as an example of what one can do when fueled by passion and determination. The General Secretary for Higher Education for the Society of Jesus, Fr. Garanzini is known for his work concerning child and family therapy, moral development, and Catholic education.

Fr. Garanzini encouraged graduates to find inner peace. For him, that has involved staying in touch with God. He laced his address with humor, noting that the honorary Doctor of Laws degree he received came in part for living in a freshman dorm for the past 25 years.

The valedictory speaker was Kevin Reda, of Pleasantville N.Y., a politics and International Studies double major with a minor in economics, with plans to pursue an M.B.A. A lacrosse coach at Fairfield Prep, he shared treasured advice from the late North Carolina State University coach Jim Valvano concerning the benefits of laughing, thinking and crying daily. "Think about it, if you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day, that's a heck of a day," said Reda.

Reda also spoke of events that have moved him, including September 11, 2001, when his father survived the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. He also spoke about the outpouring of support from the Fairfield community when he ran a 5K race in support of M.S. awareness. A family member has fought the disease for a decade. "I have learned that being a man or woman for others is not as much about the impact it has on us individually, but the ability of our selfless actions to move and inspire those that we are serving."

Fairfield University President Rev. Jeffrey P. von Arx, S.J., presented Daniel Jones, of South Portland, Maine, with the prestigious St. Ignatius Loyola Medal, bestowed annually by the Fairfield University Alumni Association to the senior who best exemplifies the true spirit of a Jesuit education. A politics major, he plans to become an educator, and hopes to attend graduate school to study anthropology or comparative politics.

The Bellarmine Medal - awarded to the student with the highest four-year academic average - was presented to two individuals: Courtney Anne Onofrio, of Hopkinton, Massachusetts, a School of Nursing graduate who plans to be a registered nurse; and Caitlin Hill Stote, of Stamford, Conn., an English major who minored in educational studies and religious studies. She plans on pursuing a master's of arts in elementary education at Fairfield. Both were also given the John and Veronica Gleason Award for the graduating senior with the highest academic average.

The ebullient group of graduates also included many other high achieving individuals. The William J. Kramer '60 Humanitarian Award recipient was S‌arah Joseph, of Cambridge, Mass., an English, Communications, and Intercultural Studies major who has truly epitomized the Jesuit notion of the Magis.

The Class of 2013 Student Achievement Awards were given to an exemplary group of students for their commitment to the University, most notably through service work, mentoring, and student club involvement. Recipients included: Film/Television major Michael O'Keeffe, of Christchurch, New Zealand, who played for the Stags' soccer team and his native country's Olympic men's soccer team. He plans on pursuing a career in professional soccer in Europe; Environmental Studies and Communication major Alexandra Tarabour , of Red Bank, N.J., recognized for her dedication to student advancement programs; nursing major Morgan Zachary, of Somers, Connecticut, who will soon begin the Vanderbilt University Nurse Residency Program, pediatric track, in Nashville, Tenn.; and Courtney Onofrio, acknowledged for her global service work, including the School of Nursing's public health work in Nicaragua.

An honorary Doctor of Laws degree was bestowed on Sister Maureen Clark, CSJ, a Sister of St. Joseph from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who worked in the correction system in Pittsburgh and then the Massachusetts correctional system. Fairfield graduate William P. McDonald '75, of New York, N.Y., who has been with The New York Times since 1988, received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. He was part of a team that won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for National News, for the series "How Race Is Lived in America." His family includes Fairfield graduates: brother, James E. McDonald '66, his wife Irene Leopold McDonald '84, and a cousin, Ann McDonald Langan '74.

At 3 p.m. today, a commencement ceremony will be held in Alumni Hall for 418 graduate students. Fairfield graduate Dr. Patrick W. Kelley '76, P'12, of Silver Spring, Maryland, a director with the U.S. National Academies' Institute of Medicine, will speak at the graduate ceremony and will receive an honorary degree. Dr. Kelley and his wife, Michele (Fairfield '76), are the parents of John (Boston College '07) and Maureen (Fairfield '12). The graduate student valedictory speaker is Erin Radocchia, from Westbrook Conn., who, like both of her parents, graduated from the School of Nursing. Loretta Egan Murphy, of Monroe, Conn., who earned an M.S. in nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner track, received the St. Ignatius Loyola Medal for outstanding University service. She works in the Intensive Care Unit at St. Vincent's Medical Center, and plans to continue her work in the service of people in the greater Bridgeport community after graduation.

An honorary Doctor of Laws degree will be bestowed on Sister Patricia Farrell, OSF, LCSW, LMHP, a Sister of St. Francis of the Holy Family, from Dubuque, Iowa. She committed her life to pastoral work, working in Texas and Latin America. She is the immediate past president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious.

Fairfield University awarded a total of 1,279 degrees May 19, including 858 bachelor's degrees, 396 master's degrees, 19 certificates of advanced study from the Graduate School of Education & Allied Professions, three Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degrees, and three associate's degrees.

Photos: 1) Fairfield University awarded diplomas to 861 undergraduate students at the 63nd commencement exercises, May 19, 2013; 2) A joyful graduate at Fairfield University's commencement; 3) A happy graduate with diploma in hand on Bellarmine Lawn; 4) The Reverend Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., center, president of Loyola University Chicago and a national figure in Jesuit higher education, gave the commencement address and received an honorary degree; 5) A graduate embraces family members.

For updated information: http://www.fairfield.edu/commencement

More than 400 receive degrees at 63rd Fairfield University Graduate Commencement

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

On a drizzly day that didn't dampen anyone's spirits, Fairfield University awarded 396 master's degrees, 19 certificates of advanced study and three doctor of nursing practice degrees at its 63rd Graduate Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 19, 2013.

The crowd at Alumni Hall included two honorary degree recipients: Patrick W. Kelley '76, P'12, M.D., DrPH, of Silver Spring, Maryland, director of the Boards of Global Health and African Science Academy Development at the U.S. National Academies, who was the graduate commencement speaker; and Sister Patricia Farrell, OSF, LCSW, LMHP, a Sister of St. Francis of the Holy Family, Dubuque, Iowa, and the immediate past president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious.

The University conferred graduate degrees from its College of Arts and Sciences, the Charles F. Dolan School of Business, the School of Engineering, the Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions and the School of Nursing.

In his commencement address Dr. Kelley challenged the graduates to be transformative leaders.

"The educated, especially at the professional level, like yourselves, are parties to a social contract," he said. "Empowered professionals, such as each of you, in recognition of their status, assume an obligation to use their position and capabilities to lead the creation of more equitable societies where health, education, security and opportunity are more accessible to all, where the treasury of the talents God has given to each of us, can be fully at the service of all of us."

Dr. Kelley has overseen consensus advisory studies on subjects including the evaluation of U.S. foreign assistance for HIV/AIDS, the global problem of substandard and falsified drugs, and global surveillance for infections transmitted between humans and animals. In 2003, he retired from a career in the U.S. Army Medical Corps during which he founded the DoD Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System and the DoD Accession Medical Standards and Analysis Activity and edited the first textbook on military preventive medicine in more than 60 years.

Dr. Kelley received his B.S. (cum laude) from Fairfield University, an M.D. from the University of Virginia, and MPH and DrPH degrees from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. He received an honorary doctor of science degree from Fairfield on Sunday. His daughter, Maureen, is a 2012 Fairfield graduate.

Erin Radocchia, of Westbrook, Conn., who, like both of her parents, graduated from the School of Nursing, delivered the graduate class address. She joked that, as a baby, she was the youngest 'student' ever at Fairfield, "getting passed from my mother to my father in between classes in the halls of the School of Nursing.

"Eighteen years later, those halls would become the ones I knew best, as I pursued my own bachelor of science degree in nursing at Fairfield," she said. "I was inspired, not only by my parents' thirst for knowledge and commitment to service professions, but also by Fairfield's Jesuit ideals. Throughout a rewarding career in nursing, when faced with the desire to continue my education in nursing, there was nowhere besides Fairfield I even considered attending."

Loretta Egan Murphy, of Monroe, Conn., who earned an M.S. in nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner track, received the St. Ignatius Loyola Medal for outstanding University service.

Sister Patricia Farrell did pastoral work and community organizing in San Antonio, Texas, leading her eventually to 20 years in Latin America, beginning in Chile and ending in El Salvador. She also worked in the behavioral health field with Spanish-speaking people in Chicago and Omaha. She is currently part of the leadership team of the Sisters of St. Francis of Dubuque, Iowa. She received an honorary doctor of laws degree on Sunday.

Fairfield University President Jeffrey P. von Arx, S.J., told the graduates that they will always be part of the Fairfield community.

"We, the faculty and administration, are filled with pride in your accomplishments," he said. "During your time of study here, you shaped us all with your enthusiasm, with your passion for learning, with your good humor, and through the close relationships that you have forged here, which I am sure will be with you for the rest of your life."

Commencement for the University's 861 undergraduates took place Sunday morning on Bellarmine Lawn. The Reverend Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., president of Loyola University Chicago, was the undergraduate commencement speaker and received an honorary degree along with Sister Maureen Clark, CSJ, a Sister of St. Joseph from Pittsburgh, who worked in the correctional system for 13 years; and William P. McDonald '75, a Pulitzer Prize-winning editor at The New York Times.

Images: Patrick W. Kelley, M.D., of Silver Spring, Maryland, director of the Boards of Global Health and African Science Academy Development at the U.S. National Academies, delivers the Commencement speech; Sister Patricia Farrell, OSF, LCSW, LMHP, a Sister of St. Francis of the Holy Family, Dubuque, Iowa, speaks after receiving her honorary degree; A happy graduate holds his degree aloft; Erin Lynn Radocchia, of Westbrook, Conn., delivers the graduate valedictory speech; Beaming graduates celebrate their special day.

For updated information: http://www.fairfield.edu/commencement

Fairfield University's 63rd Commencement Media Advisory

Fri, 10 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

What: Fairfield University's 63rd Commencement

When: Sunday, May 19, 2013

Undergraduate Ceremony: 9:30 a.m. 
Graduate Ceremony: 3 p.m.

Undergraduate Commencement Speaker:
Reverend Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., President, Loyola University Chicago and General Secretary for Higher Education for the Society of Jesus (Chicago, IL)

Graduate Commencement Speaker:
Dr. Patrick W. Kelley '76, Director, Board on Global Health for the Institute of Medicine of the U.S. National Academies. (Silver Spring, MD)

Honorary Degree:
Sister Maureen Clark, CSJ, Sister of St. Joseph. (Pittsburgh, PA)

Honorary Degree:
Sister Patricia Farrell, OSF, LCSW, LMHP, Sister of St. Francis of the Holy Family. (Dubuque, IA)

Honorary Degree:
William P. McDonald '75, The New York Times. (New York, NY)

Where: Bellarmine Lawn, outdoors, in back of Bellarmine Hall, on the Fairfield University campus, in Fairfield, CT.

Fairfield University Media Credentials are required (in advance) to attend Commencement Ceremonies

Contact: Mike Horyczun, mhoryczun@fairfield.edu, or call (203) 254-4000, ext. 2647. Media are advised to enter via the "Jogues Hall" gate, off Round Hill Road, where they will be directed to a reserved parking area near Canisius Hall.  

Same-Day HD footage available: Commencement B-roll and Sound bites from keynote speakers can be downloaded at:
https://files.fairfield.edu:8443/xythoswfs/webview/_xy-4896395_1

Downloads will be available by: 2 p.m. (EST) for theUndergraduate Commencement; 6:15 p.m. (EST) for the Graduate Commencement on Sunday, May 19, 2013.

Undergraduate and Graduate ceremonies will be streamed live at http://www.fairfield.edu/commencement 

Live audio of the Undergraduate Ceremony will be available on WVOF-FM, 88.5, and online at www.wvof.org 

For updated information: http://www.fairfield.edu/commencement 

Fairfield University's 63rd Commencement Speakers

Undergraduate Ceremony:
Reverend Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., president of Loyola University Chicago,in Chicago, IL, and General Secretary for Higher Education for the Society of Jesus. Father Garanzini is active in community service and is known for his work on behalf of children and families. He is a frequent speaker and has published many books and articles on issues such as child and family therapy, moral development, and Catholic education.

Graduate Ceremony:
Patrick W. Kelley '76, P'12, MD, DrPH, is the Director of the Board on Global Health for the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the U.S. National Academies. Dr. Kelley has overseen a portfolio of IOM expert consensus studies and convening activities on a variety of subjects. He also directs the African Science Academy Development Initiative. Dr. Kelley lives in Silver Spring, MD, with his wife, Michele (Fairfield '76) and is the father of two adult children, John (Boston College '07) and Maureen (Fairfield '12).

Fairfield University's 63rd Commencement Honorary Degree Recipients

 In addition to the speakers, honorary degrees will be bestowed on the following:

Sister Maureen Clark, CSJ, is a Sister of St. Joseph from Pittsburgh, PA. Sister Maureen worked in the correction system for nearly four decades, most recently in Massachusetts, and mainly working with the female offender population. A highlight of her ministry has been in the creation of programs that help reconcile and reunify women with their children and families.

Sister Patricia Farrell, OSF, LCSW, LMHP, is a Sister of St. Francis of the Holy Family, Dubuque, IA. Sister Pat did pastoral work and community organizing in San Antonio, Texas, leading her eventually to 20 years in Latin America, beginning in Chile and ending in El Salvador. She is currently part of the leadership team of the Sisters of St. Francis of Dubuque, Iowa, and the immediate past president of Leadership Conference of Women Religious.

William P. McDonald '75, has been with The New York Times since 1988. He has held editorial positions on the Metropolitan, National, Culture, and Obituary desks. He was part of a team that won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for National News. As Obituaries editor, he has edited two recent annual collections. He is the fourth Fairfield graduate from his family. The others are his older brother, James E. McDonald '66, his wife Irene Leopold McDonald '84, and a cousin, Ann McDonald Langan '74. Mr. McDonald resides in New York, NY.

On Campus Viewing Options: There are several closed-circuit viewing locations offered. Guests are welcome to view undergraduate and graduate commencement ceremonies indoors from any one of the following locations on campus that will provide closed-circuit viewing (on large screens): Quick Center - Kelley Theatre; Barone Campus Center - Oak Room, The Stag, The Mezzanine, Lower Level Lobby, Conference Room 200; and Gonzaga Hall Auditorium.

*In case of severe weather, the ceremonies will be held in Alumni Hall.  Visit www.fairfield.edu for any notice of change of venue on day of events. 

Map of the University and directions

Fairfield University professor named to national board

Thu, 09 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Angela Kim Harkins, Ph.D., of Fairfield, Conn., associate professor of religious studies at Fairfield University, has been elected to a four-year term on the national board of the Lilly Fellows Program in Humanities and the Arts.

Dr. Harkins, who joined the Fairfield University faculty in 2006, teaches in the Department of Religious Studies and for the University's Carl and Dorothy Bennett Center for Judaic Studies. She is a member of the National Jesuit Advisory Board on Interreligious Dialogue and Relations and has been Fairfield's Lilly Program campus representative since 2008.

Dr. Harkins holds a B.A. in theology, magna cum laude, from Loyola University of Chicago and completed her M.A. in theology at the University of Notre Dame with a concentration in biblical languages. She spent a Fulbright year at Hebrew University, Jerusalem, in 1997-1998 and then completed her Ph.D. in theology at the University of Notre Dame in 2003.

Dr. Harkins is the co-chair of the Religious Experience in Early Judaism and Early Christianity section of the Society of Biblical Literature. Her monograph on religious experience and the Qumran Hodayot is entitled "Reading with an 'I' to the Heavens." It appeared in 2012 in the series Ekstasis: Religious Experience from Antiquity to the Middle Ages published by de Gruyter Press in Berlin. Her current research is on the ancient pseudepigraphic collection known as the Odes of Solomon.

Founded in 1991, the Lilly Fellows Program seeks to strengthen the quality and shape the character of church-related institutions of learning through three initiatives. Firstly, it offers an extremely competitive two-year postdoctoral teaching fellowships to young scholars who wish to prepare themselves for positions of teaching, scholarship, and leadership within church-related institutions. Secondly, the Lilly Graduate Fellows Program offers mentoring and support for exceptionally talented young men and women who are preparing for a career of teaching at the college or university level. Finally, its National Network of Church-Related Colleges and Universities sponsors various grants and other initiatives that explore the nature of mission and identity in higher education today.

The national network represents 100 schools of diverse denominations and traditions. The Lilly Fellows Program is based at Christ College, the interdisciplinary honors college of Valparaiso University in Northwest Indiana. Fairfield University has been a member since 2005.