TABLE OF

CONTENTS

VOL. 16, NO. 1 75TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR JANUARY 2001

FEATURES
75 YEARS ON 75 ACRES The seed was sown in 1920; the property was purchased in 1922; construction began in 1925; the college opened in 1926. The student body numbered 25. It was the beginning of the college's First Spring. PRESERVING THE LEGACY The college turned coeducational Feb. 3,1969, graduated its first male student in June 1969 and its first four-year class of men June 3,1973. The Second Spring left its mark and prepared Mercyhurst for its Third Spring, the period of its greatest prosperity. THE $20 MILLION WALK Mercyhurst will embark on a $20 million capital campaign Jan. 1,2001, to construct a $6 million academic building, renovate Old Main and Zurn Hall and enhance its endowment by another $10 million a fitting benchmark in the 75th year anniversary plans. Chairman of the Board William C. Sennett, Esq.
President Dr. William P. Garvey Editor Mary Daly '66 Vice President of Public Affairs Editorial Assistants Margaret Closson M '00 Sharon Sisco Gennifer Tyson Oral Historian Larie Pintea '92 Feature Writers Gary Bukowski 73 Mary Daly '66 Don McQuaid Deborah W. Morton Larie Pintea '92 Paul Reichart Dr. Andrew Roth Gennifer Tyson Photo Credits Associated Press 27 Mercyhurst College Archives Mercyhurst Archaeological Institute Sisters of Mercy Archives Times Publishing Company Archives Ed Bernik 3,12 Mary Daly 8,10,11,29 Penny Hanes 23 Jim Judkis 31 Paul M. Lorei 4,13,15,17,25,26,30,32 Design GraphicDesign Printing Printing Technologies The Mercyhurst Magazine is published by the Office of Public Affairs. This special edition was produced in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of Mercyhurst College, which will run the calendar year 2001. The opening day of the college was Sept. 20, 1926. The Magazine's address is: 501 E. 38th St., Erie, Pa. 16546 Telephone 814.824.2285 FAX 814.824.2470 E-mail address: <magazine@mercyhurst.edu> Send change of address to: Tammy Roche Gandolfo '76 About the cover: While fashion, culture and trends typed them as flappers from the 20s and 30s, boomers from the 60s, pioneer male students from the 70s, yuppies from the 80s and members of Generation X or Y, the Mercyhurst students on the cover of this 75th Anniversary issue share a bond with their alma mater that transcends the fleeting masks of time.

14

SUITING UP FOR MERCYHURST Laker sports began 30 years ago, shortly after Mercyhurst turned coeducational. In the beginning there was only one sport, tennis. Today there are 12 varsity sports for men and 11 for women. It's a fascinating story of humble yet spirited beginnings for the Lakers.

17

TRUSTEE SPOTLIGHT: A LINK TO MERCYHURSTS PAST Three men, three friends, three pillars of the community look back on their years of service to Mercyhurst College as trustees during the Second and Third Springs. The spotlight is on Albert F. Duval, Charles H. Bracken and F. William Hirt. WHY DOES MERCYHURST COST $20,000? In 1926, tuition at Mercyhurst was $150 and with room and board the cost was $770. Today, the cost of a Mercyhurst education is $20,000. Economically, a college education is still the best investment a young person can make. But why does it cost so much?

21

ETC.
6 7 11 MERCYHURST 19 20 27 30 75th Anniversary logo 34 Melissa McGraw '01
>

Mystery of the Charter Oak Alums of the Thirties Mother Borgia Remembered The Gates: An Intriguing Part of Mercyhurst History Remember When: "The Cube" Election 2000 Detective Work of a Different Kind Classnotes

MERCYHURST COLLEGE

1925 Aug. 25, the laying of the cornerstone at Mercyhurst College draws 5,000 people.

.he movies, which had been silent, were just beginning to talk. Although the average price of a new car was $310, a majority of Americans did not yet own an automobile. A gallon of milk cost 56 cents, and "silent" Calvin Coolidge occupied the White House. The year was 1926, the year Mercyhurst was founded. In 2001, the college will celebrate its 75th Anniversary, still a youngster when measured against schools founded 200 or 300 years ago, but old enough to begin showing signs of maturity, strength, even complexity and yet young enough that its peak years still lie ahead. In this 75th Anniversary issue of Mercyhurst Magazine, an effort has been made to capture a sense of the past, the present and the future of "the college on the hill," the seventh institution of higher learning founded in America by the Sisters of Mercy. This commemorative issue is dedicated to the thousands of persons, past and present, who through their dedication and sacrifice have helped to bring Mercyhurst to the dawn of a new century and the radiant unfolding of the dream of its founders.

">

MERCYHURST

PRESERVES

ITS LEGACY

75 Years on
I w / M ERCYHU RST'S
X took a century and a quarter for Erie's classrooms to reach the ridge crowning the city. In 1926, Mercyhurst College opened its doors on a wind-swept hill overlooking Lake Erie, just 12 blocks away from the city's southern boundary. From its humble yet inspired beginnings, the college has emerged as a major force in the educational landscape of the region. The seed from which Mercyhurst sprang was sown in 1920 when the Sisters of Mercy were celebrating their golden jubilee in Titusville. Their religious community was growing rapidly and enrollment in their boarding school had reached the point where larger facilities were needed. The Sisters felt their needs had outgrown what Titusville could offer and that if the order was to prosper, a new field of action was needed. In 1921, the community looked to the episcopal city of Erie for their future, making a request to Bishop John Mark Gannon to allow them to build a high school and college in the lakeside city. Bishop Gannon, who regularly lent his enthusiastic support to educational projects in the diocese, gave his blessing, knowing that Mercyhurst would only add luster to his tenure as chief shepherd of the Diocese. Fortified with the necessary permission, Mother M. Borgia Egan, superior of the Titusville Sisters, and her assistant, Sister M. Pierre Wilbert, set out to find the site on which to build their dream. For more than 50 years, the Sisters had been hemmed in between hills and, beautiful as the valley was, a hilltop had a definite charm for them. They were guided in their search by two absolutes: They would build on a hill and their new home would include a view of Lake Erie.
1922 - Sept. 30, Sisters of Mercy purchase 75 acres in southeastern Erie, Pa., for $51,000.

FIRST

SPRING

cres
By Mary Daly

It took the two Sisters a year to find the perfect site. Enlisting the help of TO. Andrews of the Andrews Land Co., they viewed every available parcel in and around Erie. Finally, the 75 acres on Cooper Road owned by the heirs of Judge Gunnison were selected as the birthplace of Mercyhurst.

The first student body of Mercyhurst College started classes Sept. 20,1926.

The Sisters used most of their $65,000 in savings to purchase the land near the city's new Glenwood district on the southernmost ridge of the city, 265 feet above the street level at 10th and State streets. From the beginning, Mother Borgia was determined to make Mercyhurst the "beauty spot in the diocese of Erie." Wanting the institution to be a masterpiece of harmony, she directed that the exterior of the college be given as much attention as its interior. Under her direction, the Sisters hired prominent architect F Ferdinand Durang of Philadelphia to design Mercyhurst, while Walter J. Monahan was charged with creating a plan to beautify the surrounding property. Durang, one of the leading architects of educational buildings of the time, created a masterpiece of English Gothic design that had a suggestion of a medieval castle in its
1928 Oct. 5, College receives its charter. Charter Oak tree planted Oct. 10, Mother Borgia's feast day.

lines. Ground was broken Sept. 8,1924. In their preliminary plans for Mercyhurst and in their later efforts to finance that work, the Sisters relied on Frank W. Wallace of the Second City Bank to help bring about the financial negotiations for the construction of Mercyhurst. On his advice, the Sisters sold $500,000 in low-interest bonds door-to-door to finance the construction of the new college. Allotting two years for the construction, the H. J. Conrath Co. of Erie, general contractors for the project, assured the Sisters there would be plenty of time to build the massive facility. Even though the schedule lagged months behind because of Erie weather, by late summer 1926, it looked as if the college would be finished just in time to begin classes. . Then, two weeks before classes were to begin, the workers went on strike over a labor dispute at another construction site in Erie that had nothing to do with the Sisters or Mercyhurst. In their typical unconquerable spirit, the Sisters finished the work themselves. They worked round the clock, with help in the last week from members of the Sacred Heart Ushers Society and St. Mary's Ushers Society who had volunteered their services. The date was Sept. 20,1926. It was a rainy day, the windows leaked and a tractor pulled cars from the muddy ground around the barely finished building. Despite the problems, Mercyhurst College wrote the first page of its history by opening its doors to its first 25 students. And thus began what has affectionately come to be known as the First of Mercyhurst's "Three Springs."

2929 First library opens on second floor of Egan with 8,500 volumes.

1924, Sept. 8, Ground broken. Sept. 20,1926, Mercyhurst College opens.

First graduation held June 4,1929.

MERCYHURST

PRESERVES

LEGACY

MERCYHURST'S SECOND

& T H I R D SPRINGS
By Mary Daly

An n riversaries that end in zero or five lend ll

themselves to reflection, to a quiet look back on the people and events that have giyen shape to life as we know it today. From the tract of farmland on the bluffs overlooking Lake Erie to Mercyhurst's modem campus 75 years later, the college has undergone dynamic change during its Second Spring (1963-1972) under Sister Carolyn Herrmann, and its Third Spring, beginning in 1980, under Dr. William P. Garvey. Today Mercyhurst covers six blocks and is the largest piece of unbroken real estate in Erie. The changes to the campus during the Second and Third Springs have been so dramatic that one 10-year alum said, "If we didn't have Old Main and the front gates, there wouldn't be much of a resemblance to the college we knew." Today Old Main is the spiritual center of a campus that has blossomed to include 33 structures stretching to the east, west and south. As the Second Spring unfolded under Sister Carolyn Herrmann, who led the school through the tremendous changes of the 1960s, a new Mercyhurst began to emerge. While remembered for her courageous and progressive leadership, Sister Carolyn made her mark in Mercyhurst history as the leader who guided the college in its great transition to a coeducational institution. Three dates in Mercyhurst history stand out above all others: Sept. 20,1926, when the college opened; Oct. 5,1928, when the school received its charter; and

Feb. 3,1969, when the board of trustees voted to admit the first class of men to Mercyhurst.

lege has experienced its greatest period of growth and prosperity. In the past two decades, the college has become one of the 20 top private liberal arts colleges in the North and the second largest Mercy college in America. It has grown its student body to a record 3,225 students, its faculty to 125, and its endowment to $12 million. Its budget is now $47 million, and an unprecedented $40 million program of new buildings and campus renovations has been realized. In addition to the pace-setting growth on the main campus, in 1991 Mercyhurst purchased the 100-year-old Redemptorist Seminary in North East, which today houses the college's two-year programs on 80 acres in the middle of the country's Concord grape region. For many alums who remember the "old Mercyhurst" and who loved the small college atmosphere, Mercyhurst-North East with its 600 students is the next best thing. More important than all the physical Thefirstfour-year class of male students graduated from Mercyhurst College June 3,2973. growth, however, the college has emerged as a regional leader in higher education while remaining true to its mission as a pri"Ripeness is all," said Shakespeare. By the time Dr. William P. Garvey assumed the vate Catholic liberal arts college in the presidency in 1980, the time was ripe for Mercy tradition. Mercyhurst to begin its Third Spring. As As the college celebrates its diamond Dr. Garvey became the driving force behind anniversary during 2001, Mercyhurst will the next phase of the college's growth, the honor its past, celebrate its present, and same spirit of excitement that marked the work together to bring to full maturity the founding of the college by Mother Borgia fruits of the Third Spring. and its transition to coeducation under Sister Carolyn pervaded the college on the Don McQuaid also contributed to this article. hill. Under his inspired leadership, the col-

1929 First May Crowning

1932 Original drawing of proposed O'Neil Tower and Christ the King Chapel.

1947 Two prefabricated houses built on Egan deck for additional student housing. Became known as the "Deck Houses."

Torn down 1967. Current site of Sullivan Hall

7 5 T H

E D I T I O N

2 0 0 1

MERCYHURST

P R E S E R VES

ITS

LEGACY

The $20 Mlon Walk

By Larie Pintea

r. William Garvey7 s evening walk around the Mercyhurst College campus is a ritual that started some 21 years ago. It was a short inspection walk, around only a few buildings, which never left him breathless. The college president grins now when someone suggests that he should have a pair of serious hiking boots for his "all's well" walk, one that would take him 14 miles from the main campus to North East. "What Bill Garvey has done in 20 years is astounding," Mercyhurst College trustee chairman, Atty. William C. Sennett, said recently. "But what he is planning to accomplish in the next three or four years will be nothing short of a small miracle. "I don't know of anyone who doesn't believe that his $20 million legacy plan will succeed. It's a fitting benchmark in the 75year history of Mercyhurst, one that will take us a big step closer to national recognition as an outstanding liberal arts college," Atty. Sennett said with enthusiasm. That enthusiasm is a part of the spillover from a series of informational meetings Dr. Garvey has conducted in recent months with members of the college's trustees, faculty, administrative staff, daily operations team members, and, of course, the students.

Equipped with a wooden pointer, like an old history professor would prefer, Dr. Garvey points to a map of his vision for a transformed Mercyhurst College campus, doubled in size and scope. Without hesitation he plunges into his presentation, tapping the colorful aerial picture of the transformed campus, citing the need for each development in the master plans.

A new 40,000-square-foot academic building that will cost $6 million. It will be located in the southeast campus, just east of Zum Hall, and contain 20 new classrooms and state-of-the-art educational technology. Dr. Garvey's wooden pointer taps on the next object: Complete renovation of Zum Hall, familiar to Mercyhurst students since 1968. Cost $2 million dollars. The new life for the science and fine arts building will transform it as the focal point of the college's second academic quad. He gets even more animated with the pointer as he taps on the third major project, Old Main. "This is close to all the people who know and love Mercyhurst. Who among us in all our college family, doesn't have a special place in our hearts for Old Main: We must preserve her!" The renovation of the original building, including new electrical,

1950 Gates from Harry K. Thaw estate in Pittsburgh become front campus signature landmark.

1953 May 4, Joseph J. Weber Memorial dedicated. Inheritance left to Sister Mary Alice Weber and Sister Rachael Weber finances construction.

1959 Jan. 6, Ground broken for McAuley Hall. September 1959, the original residence hall adjoining Old Main is named Egan Hall.

. (plumbing, heating and cooling) and replacement of Old Main's 950 windows will cost $2 million. The president had everyone's total attention with the presentation of the first three projects, which will cost $10 million.

Mother Borgia for 31 years, and which took fire in 1963 under Sister Carolyn Herrmann who became a civic force in her 10-year tenure as president." Mother Borgia and Sister Carolyn were critical factors in Mercyhurst's history, Dr.

He admits, however, that he saw a few jaws drop when he announced the final segment in the legacy plan. "We will enhance the college endowment plan by $10 million." Not a waver or a blink as Dr. Garvey waves his wand at the whole college enhancement. "I don't want any doubts about securing the future of Mercyhurst College." The endowment is vital, he says, to maintain Mercyhurst's competitiveness with some of the best schools in the northeastern United States. Dr. Garvey stresses, "This will be an all-out drive to reposition Mercyhurst College so it can really surge ahead toward major objectives in the next 20 years." He sees the legacy plans as a reaffirmation in the future of the college and of its major role in the life of the Erie community. "The success of this endeavor will show that the college is valued by the people of this community. They, too, will be investing in our future," he points out. There has been a mutual respect shared by Mercyhurst and the people of Erie for many years since the Sisters of Mercy put down the cornerstone of the college in 1925, proceeding on pure faith, with only small encouragement. "Perhaps there was a time many years ago when this campus was somewhat remote from the rest of the city," Dr. Garvey reflects. "But we have committed ourselves to the community and, we feel, made it a better place to live, socially, culturally civically. "It's all now part of a Mercyhurst tradition that was started and nurtured by

Garvey maintains. "We cannot give them enough credit for their accomplishments. "Under Sister Carolyn's watch, Mercyhurst changed to a coeducational college and moved from a point in time where we came perilously close to closing our doors as a college, to a time, now, when we are potentially a great American college." Raising $20 million will be a major effort in the next three or four years, he emphasizes. "But it's not money for the sake of money. What it is, is money for the future of Mercyhurst. "This legacy drive doesn't just keep it going, it drives it to much higher ground academically. Within the next three to five years, I want this to be an institution of 3,000 students 'on the hill,' and 800 students in North East. That would put us near the 4,000 mark. That's the critical student mass and budget FTE needed to support the physical plant." By 2003, he projects the college will have a budget of $55 million to $60 million, and employ more than 400 people. When Dr. Garvey took over as president, the college had a budget of $5 million and employed about 180 people. "We now increasingly compete for students with Allegheny and John Carroll, and U.S. News and World Report recently ranked us as one of the 20 best liberal arts schools in the North. That's an excellent ranking in about 130 colleges. We're 19th not bad but I tell people we have to be in the top 10," Dr. Garvey explains. The Mercyhurst president doesn't hesitate to set the goal for the college he has led for 21 years. "Within the next 20 years we

should be positioned to be compared favorably with nationally ranked schools." While acknowledging that some alums are stunned when they visit the campus after an absence of 10 or more years, Dr. Garvey notes, "For some it's hard to take, remembering the little school and the small facilities. "But after they get a full exposure and understand what has been accomplished, they come back and tell us they love it, that they are proud of it, that they want to be part of its future. It make us all tremendously proud to be part of its legacy. "This has all been the accomplishment of many people a board of trustees with strength and vision, a faculty and administration devoted to their tasks, and a trusted staff who treat this college as a special place in their lives." The college president's voice softens a bit as he reveals some of his heartfelt feelings. "The Sisters of Mercy handed me the responsibility in 1980, to preserve and protect their cherished college, to enhance it if I could," he said. "When I take my walk around the campuses two decades later, I feel hopeful that I have succeeded in the task they entrusted to me. "We believe that on our watch this administration positioned Mercyhurst for the future. It has all the signs of an institution ready to take off." With a wave of an arm Dr. Garvey charges his audience, "It's up to us to make it happen... and $20 million is the next step."

Larie Pintea has been a member of the President's Board of Associates for the past 31 years. He is the retired managing editor of the Morning News and the oral historian of the college.

1968 - April 11, Zurn Hall dedicated.

1969 Feb. 3, Mercyhurst turns coeducational. Daniel Burke becomes first male graduate of the college June 9,1969.

1970 - July 17, Baldwin Hall dedicated.

5 T H

0 1

MERCYHURST

PRESERVES

ITS

LEGACY

By Don McQuaid

he acorn has long been considered a symbol of good luck. Bearing a tiny seed that will produce a mighty oak, the acorn reminds us that great things can be born of humble beginnings. The Sisters of Mercy certainly had this in mind when they planted Mercyhurst's Charter Oak Oct. 10,1928, the feast day of Mother Borgia Egan, first president of the college. The ceremony, attended by the entire student body took place five days after the college's charter was granted. From photographs of the planting ceremony found in the Mercyhurst archives, it is certain that the Charter Oak was planted on the front campus, probably in the vicinity of Weber Hall, which was built in 1953. Today, however, there are no oak trees on that part of the campus. So what happened to the Charter Oak? According to Sister M. Eustace Taylor '29 and Sister Mary Charles Weschler '40, the tree in question was a pin oak about 12 feet tall. They believe there are two possible explanations for its disappearance: 1) It was planted and died 2) It was too large to be transplanted and had to be removed when either Weber Hall or Hammermill Library was built. Gary Bukowski '73, who did his senior thesis on the first 10 years of the college and is now vice president for institutional advancement, said that when he was a student at Mercyhurst, he had heard by oral history that the Charter Oak had died as the
2971 Learning Resource Center opens in June. First capital campaign of the college (1967) successfully raises $750,000 for its construction.

result of an ice storm a few years after its planting, substantiating the first theory. The Sisters feel strongly that if the oak died during Mother Borgia's lifetime, she most definitely would have had a second oak planted. They said that in Mother Borgia's annual talks to the freshman class she always made a point of telling them that an oak was planted to commemorate the granting of the college's charter.

the other about 40 feet to the south of it. It is possible that one of these trees was planted as a replacement for the Charter Oak. But if so, why isn't there a plaque stating this fact? Even the Sisters wonder. Mary Daly '66, vice president of public affairs, recalls as senior class president planning the traditional Senior Week ceremony of planting a tree as the class gift to the college. Daly said that Sister Eymard Poydock '43, senior class adviser at the time, had told her it was a tradition begun in the early years by Mother Borgia as a way to beautify the campus. The historic significance of these trees, like that of the Charter Oak, has been lost because none of them is marked with a commemorative plaque. It would seem that the mystery of the whereabouts of the Charter Oak simply reflects the times and the way things were done in the college's earlier years as opposed to now. Even so, it remains puzzling why the Charter Oak was never given landmark status. Seventy-some years later, this most significant milestone in the academic historv of
J

Sister Mary Charles seems to recall that a tree located between Zum Hall and Baldwin Hall was called the Charter Oak. Two giant pin oaks now stand in this area, one near the marquee in front of Zurn and
19S0 - July 1, Dr. William P. Garoey succeeds Dr. Marion L. Shane as president.

the college, however, will be recognized as part of Mercyhurst's 75th anniversary celebration. The college will place a plaque at one of the two pin oaks near Zum Hall to commemorate the granting of the school's charter and the planting of the original charter oak. And what better day to do the honors than Founders Day, Oct. 10, 2001.

1985 July 4, Mercyhurst begins its first Old Fashioned Fourth of July celebration.

Inaugurated Sept. 22, Third Spring begins.

L A D I E S OF T H E 3 OS

ALUMS FROM THE THIRTIES

he Lindbergh baby was kidnapped from his crib in Princeton, New Jersey. The Great Depression held the nation in its grip. Newly elected President Franklin D. Roosevelt was faced with an unprecedented 24 percent unemployment rate. And Babe Ruth called his famous home run for the New York Yankees. These were a few of the highlights of the time during which young women attended Mercyhurst College in the 1930s a time before television and computers and cell phones, a time before women's lib and rock 'n' roll, a time when all the memories of Mercyhurst were only a few years old. In the cameos that follow, alums of the 30s bring to life the Mercyhurst of the First Spring, capturing its essence as perhaps nothing else can, and, among other things, putting a human face on the legendary founder of the school, the indomitable Mother Borgia Egan.
1985 Garoey Park begins to take shape when 3, bricks are laid. Six years later the Canterbury Clock, 1987 Sullivan Hall built. Cafeteria expanded and state-of-the-art kitchen added for HRIM program. 1988 - Oct. 16, $1.6 million D'Angelo School of Music dedicated.

donated with the 15-year proceeds of Canterbury Feast, becomes its focal point. 2 0 0 1

L A D I E S OF T H E 3 0 S

Natalie Ford Allen Remembers...

By Deborah Morton

f only "The Gates" could speak, what stories they would tell ... of eager students crossing the threshold of independence; of dedicated educators challenging young minds; of bishops, statesmen, entertainers and other dignitaries dining with college presidents. The historic iron gates framing the entrance to Erie's Mercyhurst College cannot so enlighten, but there is an individual nearly as recognizable and elegant who, like "The Gates," is a landmark in her own right. She is 91-year-old Mercyhurst alumna Natalie Ford Allen and she IS talking! As one of Mercyhurst's first graduates (1930), one of the first brides married in the college chapel (1937), a starlet in Mercyhurst's debut theater production of "The Wild Rose" (1929), and the orchestrator of the college's first campus dance, "Nat" has memories of her alma mater that date back to its infancy. Nat has agreed to share some of her stories. She starts with the late Mother Borgia Egan, Mercyhurst's founder and first president. "Oh, Mother Borgia was a great

big woman, stately and stern," she recalled. "The nuns were very strict in those days, Mother Borgia, especially. You could never pull anything over on her. We girls would go out and smoke in the woods during our free periods and when we'd head back to class, she'd be waiting." With her arms crossed sternly across her chest, her stiffly starched black-andwhite habit encircling her like a funnel cloud, she would command, "Girls, come over here. I know what you've been up to." And they would march forward to meet her, not a recalcitrant one in the bunch. The encounters were enough to send shivers down a young Catholic girl's spine, but, at 19, Nat had a reputation for charming her way around infractions, minor though they were. "I wasn't what you would call a rebellious teenager," said Nat. "I just liked a challenge and a good time." Throughout her years at Mercyhurst, Nat had the sense that she could move heaven and earth, but not Mother Borgia. That changed when she persuaded Mother

to allow the girls to hold a dance on campus. Mother Borgia capitulated to the wishes of Nat and her persistent friends, but only after imposing strict guidelines regarding decorum. For example, as a day-hop (commuter), Nat was required to arrive at school in advance of her date, who would follow later and sign in to claim her. Then, and only then, could the twosome proceed to the basement of Old Main where the first school dance was held. Clearly, the individual Nat would become over nine decades wife, mother, career woman, community servant, churchgoer, and a lady known countywide for her impeccable style was influenced significantly by her years at the college. "They were great years for me," she said, now relaxed in a sun-dappled room at St. Mary's Home, where she has lived the past six years. A petite woman with soft chestnut hair, high cheekbones, hazel eyes and a razorsharp wit, Nat seems to have stepped straight out of "The Golden Girls." She laughs at her own foibles and isn't con-

2989 - Preston Hall third floor added for business department.

1990 Oct. 7, Carolyn Herrmann Union dedicated.

1991 Jan. 23, Board of trustees approve $1.5 million purchase of Saint Mary's Seminary in North East, Pa.,

Named Walker School of Business Nov. 7,1996.

Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Arts begins summer residence at Mercyhurst.

from the Redemptorist Fathers. Opens MercyhurstNorth East in September. Retires debt 1999.

strained by life's ticking clock. Born Feb. 27,1909, to the late Richard and Helen Ford, Nat has lived in Erie all her life. Her father had hoped she would study voice. After she graduated from Academy High School in 1928, he promptly enrolled her in the Ithaca Conservatory of Music. She promptly threatened to run away from home. "I had a nice voice and I always loved music, but not as my livelihood," explained Nat, a woman who chose, instead, a career in business. Mercyhurst College, meanwhile, had recently opened its doors and Nat chose to commute from her family's home in Wesleyville. Her dad's blessing followed after she promised to balance her business courses with piano and voice lessons. He was particularly delighted when she joined the cast of Mercyhurst's first theater production, "The Wild Rose," an operetta staged in 1929 at the former Colonial Theater at Peach near Ninth Street. When the curtain came down, though, it marked the finale of Nat's stage career. "I just didn't like the feeling of being other people," said Nat, who had played the part of a suffragette. "I have always liked being me." So she concentrated on her business curriculum. All of her classes were held in Mercyhurst's original structure, the grand Old Main, which remains the crowm jewel of the campus. Then it was surrounded by woods. Now, there are more than 30 other architecturally imposing buildings chiseled into the magnificently manicured grounds. "It's a city all its own," she said of the sprawling 75-acre main campus in Glenwood Hills. But it's not so much the shifting topography that surprises her as it is the changing human landscape. What the Sisters of Mercy inaugurated in 1926 as Mercyhurst College and Seminar}7 for Girls with 25 young women in the college and 100 more in the seminary, is now a coeducational institution with a total undergraduate enrollment of more than 3,000 young men and women.

One of Nat's favorite teachers was the late Sister Mary Esther, who taught business courses, including typing. "She was an excellent teacher and if you took a class from her, you learned, whether you wanted to or not," said Nat. After Nat completed her two-year business program at Mercyhurst in 1930, she immediately went to work at her father's insurance business in downtown Erie as his "Girl Friday." When he became ill, she shouldered even more responsibility, reminding him that it was that tough accounting course and not the voice lessons that enabled her to do so. Later, she and her husband, the late Paul Allen, founded their own insurance business and worked side by side for more than 30 years. They had a son, Dennis, who still lives at the West Ninth Street address they called home for most of their married life. They were a dual-income family long before it became the norm, and Nat will be the first to advise any young woman today that she can have both family and career. Nat and Paul Allen were married Feb. 6, 1937, one of the first couples to exchange vows in Mercyhurst's Christ the King Chapel. Since then, the college chapel has been the site of more than 500 alumni weddings. It was Mercyhurst's registrar at the time, the late Sister Mary Alice Weber, who was instrumental in arranging Nat's marriage at the chapel. "In those days, I think a lot of times the nuns had hoped we girls at the college would become nuns, and I admit, I did think about it," Nat said. "But Sister Mary Alice made sure to tell me that WHEN I decided to get married, I should come back and marry in the new chapel they were building. And so I did." Keeping pace with the changes that span a nine-decade lifetime is no small task, but Nat isn't one to whine about change. In fact, she seems to enjoy the synthesis of old and new. Maybe that is part of the secret to her longevity Arguably, anyone who has ever known

Nat Allen remembers her first and foremost as the fashion plate of Erie. Whether attending a social event or a meeting of one of the many community groups she supported, all Nat had to do was walk in the door and heads would turn. Indeed, her wardrobe seemed to know no limits, as observers will recall. Pillboxes, berets, widebrimmed hats, veils and hoods no outfit was complete without a hat which led _ to her nickname "Nat the Hat." Even today, Nat isn't sure whether it was an obsession, a passion, or a little of both that drove her to fill closets knee-deep with shoes and skyhigh with hats. "I just loved beautiful things," she confessed. At 91, Nat has abandoned her former high-fashion profile for a "sophisticated casual" look. She may be relegated to wearing athletic shoes now, but they always match her outfit, and she loves her accessories. As much as Nat prides herself on being a woman of fashion, she counts herself fortunate to be a woman of faith. She attends Mass and says the rosary daily. Every morning when she wakes up, Nat reads a poster on the wall of her room. It is a message she takes to heart. "Good Morning," it reads: This is God. I will be handling All your problems today. I will not need your help ... So, have a great day! And if ever God does need any help, Nat said she has no doubts that Mother Borgia will rise to the occasion.
Deborah Morton is a free-lance writer from Erie.

1992 - Dec. 8, $1.4 million Ice Center dedicated.

1993 May 16, First class of student Ambassadors inducted.

1993 - Oct. 12, Albert}. Duval Apartments dedicated. Nov. 7, Frances Warde Townhouses dedicated and new

statue for Our Lady ofLourdes Grotto blessed. Parking ramp on east campus opens with 1993-94 academic year.

The Queen of Homecoming...

By Gennifer Tyson

"Did I expect all this attention? Never!" said Ethel Levick Shapira, an Erie native who graduated in the class of 1932 and returned for Homecoming 2000. "But since I am the eldest graduate here, I think I should take a bow." Dressed in a sharp brocade suit, Ethel, who turned 90 in December, followed the evening's events with sparkling eyes, and, to everyone's delight, told stories of days long past. Her favorite tale? "That would be the time when Mother Borgia caught us spiking the cider for our prom," said Ethel, winking mischievously. With a flair for the dramatic, Ethel recounts the events of the day more than 65 years ago. "I was president of this, of that, and when we had our prom, I was in charge," she said. After booking the orchestra, arranging the decorations and handling the rest of the details, Ethel was faced with providing the refreshments. "The girls, they all wanted something hard," said Ethel. "So I got cider, as hard as I could find, but they still weren't happy. They had something a little harder in mind." Always eager to please, Ethel spiked the cider with "a little vodka, something that wouldn't have an odor," she recalls. "I didn't think we'd get caught." "We just put in a little here and a little there," admits Ethel. "But then, in marches Mother Borgia." After helping herself to a glass of cider,

Mother called to Ethel. "You have something in here!" she said to me. "Of course, I denied it, but you didn't get much by Mother. She didn't miss a trick and didn't believe me for a minute." Sure enough, Mother Borgia demanded the spiked cider be thrown out, but Ethel begged her to change her mind. "I told her, 'You will embarrass me in front of everyone/ and she finally relented," said Ethel. "She was a master at the art of compromise." The deal: "We had to promise we would stay at the dance, no one was allowed to leave." Then and only then could the cider remain. "Sounded fair enough to all of us," she recalls. "The next day, " Ethel said, "I found Mother and gave her a big hug. I told her she was a honey and thanked her for not embarrassing me." As Ethel reminisced about her time at Mercyhurst, she explained she was only going to attend the Catholic college for a year. Originally, she had planned to attend Temple University but her father died unexpectedly. Everything changed. "I decided to stay home and take classes at Mercyhurst for a year while my family got itself together." That first year as a day-hop (commuter student) turned into four for Ethel, and in 1932, the first Jewish woman to attend Mercyhurst College graduated as valedictorian of her class. Soon after graduation she took a job at Strong Vincent High School, but then, per

the rules of Depression-era America, she had to quit when she got married to Charles Shapira. After their children were raised, Ethel returned to the public school district where she taught for nearly 20 years. Along the way, she earned a master's degree in education from Gannon. Today Ethel spends seven months of the year in Naples, Fla., and returns home for the summer. Watching the evolution of Mercyhurst has been interesting for Ethel, who admits some changes she foresaw, while some others were a complete surprise. "I have to say I could see the expansions and new buildings coming, because I knew how hard the nuns worked to make this college succeed," said Ethel. "But even as a mother of two sons I never imagined I would see men on this campus." Regardless of the contrasts between today's Mercyhurst and the one still clear in her memories, Ethel says she loves visiting and reminiscing about her alma mater. "I just love this place. It is filled with so many good memories for me. I loved Mercyhurst then and I love it now," she said. "The nuns, they were like family to me. I loved every one of them and, yes, I especially loved Mother Borgia. She really loved us, too.
//

Gennifer Tyson of Chicago, 111, joined the public affairs office at Mercyhurst this year.

1994 - Sept 19, Philip D. Hirtzel Field dedicated at Mercyhurst-North East. Recognized as finest baseball diamond in region.

1996 Dec. 5, Trustees approve automation of college library and construction of a pitched roof and fourth floor, to bring architectural lines in harmony with Old Main.

1996 - March 2, the $3.7 million Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center opens. Praised for pristine

acoustics. Dedicated April 20 at the 20th annual D'Angelo Young Artists Competition.

10

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MOTHER BORGIA REMEMBERED ...

By Larie Pintea

'orgia may be an ominous name in history books, but for Mercyhurst College, Borgia spells a wondrous woman who created a college in her mind and then, by her incredible will, pushed it into existence, brick by brick, dollar by dollar, sister by sister. All this despite a secret few knew. She was an Egan girl from the large Irish family of Michael and Maty Leary Egan near DuBois, Pa. A tall, well-built woman with a brilliant mind, she knew not only how to plan, but also how to select, train and direct other women to accomplish what she knew was God's purpose: to build a college for women in Erie. Her name was Katherine but a few people called her Kitty. She made her first mark in education as principal of St. Catherine's High School in DuBois, which became the first accredited parochial high school in Pennsylvania. That accomplishment singled her out as a leader among approximately 100 Mercy sisters, more than half of them under the age of 40, who elected her major Superior in 1918. It was an extraordinary feat for many reasons, not the least of which was her secret. Her rise in Mercyhurst history began shortly after Bishop John Mark Gannon told her she could "build a new school." No person or obstacle deterred her after that. There is strong reason to believe the bishop might have meant a seminary for high school students similar to their boarding school, St. Joseph's Academy in Titusville, which needed to be expanded. Mother Borgia, however, interpreted his direction to also mean "a college," not sometime later but now. Once convinced, she never looked back, not even when the bishop suggested he may have been misinterpreted. One of her unique talents was knowing where to go for advice. A Jesuit priest, Thomas Gaston from Boston College, was

in Titusville giving a retreat at the main base of the Mercy sisters. He suggested where she might look for a college site. "Go to the top of the hill in Erie and look at the lake. That's where you should build," he told her. She found the perfect spot in the wooded fringe south of the city and, in 1922, convinced the Order to buy 75 acres for $51,000. And so it all began.

Four Mercv sisters who knew Mother Borgia gathered for a recent interview to talk about Mother Borgia, the incredible woman they knew, worked with and loved for the spirit and confidence she instilled in them. They are Sister Eustace Taylor, 96, and Sister Loretta McHale, 94, former presidents of the college; and Sister Bertha Michalik, 94, and Sister Mary Charles Weschler, 80. Seventy-five acres was a lot of land and there was much discussion among the sisters, Sister Loretta recalls. "What will we do with all this land?" some asked. After all, the sisters had not operated a college before and their new seminary would have about 100 girls. Plans called for only one building with an attached dorm. Mother Borgia, however, reminded the sisters, "We're moving from Titusville because we don't have enough room to expand. I don't want that to be the case for our new venture. We want land to grow. We have to look to the future." When Mercyhurst College opened in 1926, Mother Borgia was 49. She directed Mercvhurst's destinv for the next three
J
J

decades. After one year in the presidency by virtue of being the Superior, she became dean of the college. "She didn't want to be president. She wanted to be dean, where she would be near the students," recalls Sister Loretta. "Mother Borgia was a visionary, but she also encouraged the other sisters to suggest ideas of their own. She wanted building Mercyhurst to be a community project," Sister Eustace recalled, her eyes looking at years past. She also surrounded herself with smart women to carry out those ideas people like Sister Pierre Wilbert, who was the worker and right hand to the leader; Sister Mary Alice Weber, who was good with finances; Sister Benedicta Flecken,

2996 - Oct. 22, Tullio Field dedicated. Named for the late mayor of Erie, Louis ]. Tullio. Astroturf added 1998.

1997 - Nov. 16, Water sculpture "Blessingu dedicated on back west campus.

1998 Jan. 1, The $6.4 million expansion to the Hammermill Library opens and the Catherine McDonough Walker Reading Room dedicated.

Serf- ~ IOI is i. iiiiionni)

Vienna in Erie debuts.

5 T H

11

Sr. Loretta

Sr, Eustace

ry Charles

who managed the construction; and Sister Jane Frances Raffetto, who had a flair for special events that would bring attention to Mercyhurst for years to come. The four sisters remember Mother Borgia for her humility and they agreed on her human traits: she was intelligent, dignified, spiritual, generous, wise and practical ... and always optimistic a trait that never left her. "She was not overly aggressive, but she could be stem," recalls Sister Mary Charles, "and she always shared the credit and the praise." Mother Borgia's understanding of the evolving woman in a changing America after World War I was acute. She was not a feminist in the sense the word is used today, but she recognized the new needs of women in our society and was determined to make a difference for them, Sister Eustace insisted. Katherine Egan came from humble beginnings and she wanted her girls, the poor and the middle class, (and a few from money) to have an advantage in the workplace and in society. Give them a good education and good social skills, imbue them with the best compassionate traits and the rest of life will take care of itself, she used to say. Mother Borgia believed that young women had to be prepared to take their place in the world should anything happen to their husbands. They had to be able to "make it on their own." They had to know how to handle the finer things in life and have polish that would reflect good breeding to give them a social edge. They also needed that social training so they would

be an asset rather than a liability to their husbands' careers. While none of the four sisters interviewed were at Mercyhurst College when the first class opened in 1926, three of them came from Titusville for the cornerstone laying in 1925. "Once the plans were off the drawing board, all of our focus was on Mercyhurst. Everything was Mercyhurst and for Mercyhurst, " said Sister Loretta. "Everything we talked about, all our money, energy and prayers went for Mercyhurst. The present builds the future/ Mother Borgia used to tell us." What would she say about Mercyhurst if she saw it today? Sister Loretta was quick to reply, "I think Mother Borgia would say, 'The seed took very well and it is still ripe/" Sister Eustace said, "She would be delighted at the growth and the college's reputation with U.S. News & World Report." Sister Bertha added, "She would have voted for coeducation and the new expansion plans because she was always thinking about the future." Sister Loretta agreed. "I think she would say T support it.' I feel she'd say, 'We'll do this, but go no further. That next we would concentrate on depth to make Mercyhurst the best Catholic college in the nation/ Yes, she would say nation, not just region!" Sister Loretta insisted. "She'd like the student Ambassadors and the service learning program," Sister Mary Charles added, "and she'd be pleased with the rigorous new academic programs and the fact that Mercyhurst students visit the sisters at the motherhouse that would be important to her. She'd also be

to know that the college has brought back the Mass of the Holy Spirit." Sister Mary Charles added a word of caution, "She would, however, want us to watch the cost of the college and be sure we take care of those students who want to come here but can't afford it." It was clear the four sisters felt comfortable reading Mother Borgia's mind much like she had once read theirs, and "sizing her up" as she had done to them when they were young sisters to determine how best they could contribute to the Mercyhurst plan. Special hands had touched Mother Borgia's mind and directed her accomplishments. It was an astonishing feat for many reasons, not the least of which was her secret. Katherine Egan, the woman who built Mercyhurst and directed dozens of sisters in getting degrees at the finest universities, didn't, until much later in life, have a college degree herself. After she died in 1962, at the age of 85, her close friend Sister Loretta opened the trunk that contained Mother Borgia's possessions. She lifted the lid and saw a rolledup artist's sketch of the Mercyhurst founder, a few pieces of clothing, some almost threadbare, and a couple of books. Mother Borgia had already given everything she valued to her beloved Mercyhurst. That is a legacy worth preserving.

5 lad

2999 September, eight townhouses in FrenchNormandy architecture open at Mercyhurst-North East

2000 Purchased last of the 24 original Baldwin Garden Apartments 45 years afterfirstrental.

2000 Dec. 6, the $1.3 million Rec Center expansion opens. Includes $200,000 in newfitnessequipment.

Traffic signal installed at front gates; $1 million expansion at branch campus completed.

Financed by student body through a 51 million pledge made by MSC to the "Preseroing the Legacy" campaign.

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LAKER

S PORTS

their heyday, Gloria Sedney, Lois Hoffman and Jean Forsythe could not have imagined that sports at Mercyhurst would become an integral part of college life for the students of 2000. During their tenures in the 60s as heads of the phys ed programs at the Hurst, these women were little recognized at the college, yet remained strongly committed to wellness, exercise and sports as fun for students, fostering a spirit of competitiveness, and providing a valuable lesson in teamwork to take into the workforce. On the following pages we take a look at the evolution of Laker sports and how it has enhanced the lives of Mercyhurst graduates. It is hardly a complete story. Maybe someday someone will write a book long enough to tell it all.

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Suiting up
She had a tiger by the tail and Sister Carolyn Herrmann knew better than to let go. Mercyhurst College had become coeducational in 1969. Suddenly a major sports program was necessary to corral the abundance of male energy that inundated the campus. It didn't take Dean Bill Garvey long after the trustees voted to approve coeducation to have one of his heart-to-heart talks with Sister Carolyn on the importance of starting a major sports programUtilizing Lake Erie as a motif, "we should call ourselves the Lakers/' Dean Garvey suggested, "and we can add blue, the color of the water, to the college's green and white academic colors." That was the easy part. "After that, nothing was easy. It was sometimes hectic, occasionally impossible, often astonishing, a few times bewildering, and not once or twice the source of the most humorous events in Mercyhurst's modem-day history!" Garvey recalls. College trustee J. Robert Baldwin had built an indoor tennis court at the college in 1969, so tennis seemed the natural first choice as a varsity sport. It wouldn't cost a lot of money to field a team and Mercyhurst had the newest facility in town. Only a coach was needed. A few years earlier Bob Sturm had joined the college as assistant to the president and director of development in charge of raising $750,000 for the college's first capital campaign to build a new library. Sturm had never seriously swung a tennis racket, but he quickly became a tennis buff. His new found game ultimately

led not onlv to a successful librarv fund

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drive, but also to coaching the college's tennis team from 1972-1977 with Chuck Dailey, a college trustee. To their great pride, in 1976, the year Mercyhurst was celebrating its 50th anniversary, ^ the Dailey-Sturm coached team won the NAIA national championship. No Mercyhurst team has brought home a national title since, in any sport, but in 1985, five Laker teams made it to the national finals baseball, men's and women's soccer, ice hockey and women's rowing. Mercyhurst was the only college in the country with those bragging rights that year. Rowing began in 1970 on a shoestring with an old boat donated from Buffalo. It was a time when nothing seemed impossible to accomplish at Mercyhurst. If it sound-

TENNIS
TEAM

ed like a good idea, it was done! President's board member Larie Pintea suggested rowing to Dean Garvey who took it to Sister Carolyn. It got a green light and Pintea became the first crew coach, so directed by Sister Carolyn, who pointed out there was no money to buy equipment or hire a coach. "This was your idea, so you're the coach," Carolyn said with her magnetic smile. That's the way it was then. Pintea was followed by Barry McAndrew as coach. One of the first-year oarsmen, Allan Belovarac, later headed the rowing program from the mid-70s to the mid-80s. Today's head coach is Adrian Spracklen, another former oarsman for the college. We discovered that it wasn't talent we needed initially, but enthusiasm and dedication. We rediscovered the use of athletics as a catalyst. Less than the best students as freshmen, most of the oarsmen graduated with good grades. We had succeeded by

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providing them with something that motivated them, a demanding sport and a dedication to winning for Mercyhurst, a newfound affection. "We rowed Canisius in two weeks and lost. That same year we went to Notre Dame and destroyed them/' Pintea remembers. "The kids went wild. The nuns were incredulous. Those young men helped start a tradition of spirit and desire that will always be the Mercyhurst way." Dean Garvey, a former basketball coach with a love of the game, didn't waste any time convincing Sister Carolyn that the next men's sport should be basketball in 1971. Baseball and golf were added the same year. Garvey assured Carolyn that basketball would attract Erie youngsters. With coach ^ Dick Fox at the helm, a n ^ Kind g of excitement was brewed at Mercyhurst. When the Lakers took to the court for the first time Dec. 2,1971, at Tech Memorial against Lockhaven University, a full house was present to cheer on the feisty Lakers who had a winning year that first year. That first basketball team practiced at any gym in the city until the Campus Center was built in 1977. Finally the Lakers had a home court with a trendy blue rubber floor that looked better than it worked. Garvey was right: the team was mostly home-grown kids from western Pennsylvania and Erie families were caught up in the excitement of seeing their boys perform. We gave them basketball, they gave us a male sports identity as a coed college. In those early years, even the mayor of the city played a role. Erie Mayor Lou Tullio helped us construct a diamond on the back campus for a baseball team. In recognition for that early support, when the college constructed its football field in 1996, it was named Tullio Field. Even Lou would have been astounded when Astroturf was added in 1998. Baseball quickly found its glory days under Mercyhurst coach Joe Jordano. During his decade at the Hurst from the late-80s to the late-90s, the team fought its way to six post-season tournaments, including four NCAA appearances. Joe Spano took over the baseball team

in 1999-2000, continuing the success story by taking the team to the NCAA regional playoffs in 2000. What coach Joe Cook started back in the early 70s has become another success story for Mercyhurst athletes. A few years after coach Cook's baseball team got its start, soccer started attracting participants and fans in America. Mercyhurst jumped on the bandwagon in 1976, starting a men's team headed by Dave Shimpeno. The men's soccer team flourished with the influx of Irish and English students coming to study at Mercyhurst.
jyfe v John Melody '91, first played
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both men's and women's soccer for the past four seasons. Mercyhurst has advanced to the NCAA playoffs for nine years. The men have held the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) title six straight years and are ranked as one of the top Division II teams in the nation. They finished the season with a 135-1 record this fall and went to the opening round of the NCAA playoffs. Dr. Garvey, by now the president of Mercyhurst, decided in 1981 that football should be next, undoubtedly the biggest surprise in sports development at the college. He hired young Tony DeMeo from Iona College to both field a team and drive the male enrollment up. The Lakers won their first game against St. John Fisher Sept. 5,1981. Over the years football has progressed from Division III non-scholarship to its present class, Division II scholarship. DeMeo was probably the most colorful coach in Mercyhurst history. His quick wit endeared him to the sports media. The DeMeo stories are endless: The time he gave a pizza place the exclusive rights to sell pizza on campus to subsidize the football budget; or the time he replied to a note from Erie Mayor Tullio, a former football coach, telling Tony which plays to call the next game. Tony sent back a hand drawn map of downtown Erie telling the mayor how to route traffic at Sixth and Peach streets. That ended advice from the Mayor for about a month! DeMeo stayed for seven years and racked up a coaching record of 41-21-2.

Twenty years later, the DeMeo name is still alive at Mercyhurst. Tony's daughter Annie is a senior and Mary Kate is a freshman. Obviously, once you get Mercyhurst in your blood, it stays there forever. Coach Joe Kimball took over football in 1993, and has taken the athletes to scholarship football big, tough, demanding football that reflects where Mercyhurst is in sports today. During the first 10 years after coeducation, some effort "token" as the women would tell you back then had been made with women's sports. But the emphasis, without a doubt in those early years, was on the male students. The world was changing, however, and Mercyhurst quickly changed with it. College women started to see the importance of athletics. The Lady Lakers soon became as serious about athletics as their male counterparts and they quickly established the same championship qualities as the men. Janet Price became "super" coach in 1970. She coached the women's first basketball and volleyball teams. When softball was started in 1974, Price was named coach once again. But in 1972, when women's tennis was added, Hurst alum Dave Williamson became the first man to coach a women's sport at Mercyhurst. Women's volleyball was started in 1970, rowing in 1976, and cross country in 1980. Andy Roth, admissions guru, fielded the women's first soccer team in 1987. Roth's team went to the national Final Four in 1988, only their second year of competition. When the sports programs seemed to be settling down, Bob Cisek started club hockey, promising Dr. Garvey "it won't cost much" words the president never lets him forget years later. One year after the program became a varsity sport (1987),

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newly hired Rick Gotkin started building the hockey team into a regional powerhouse. Today Mercyhurst's men's hockey plays such high-profile colleges as Army Holy Cross, Bowling Green, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University of Connecticut. Coach Gotkin's teams made the ECAC playoffs 10 years in a row, made the NCAA playoffs three times, and made the playoffs last season in the team's first year in the Division I Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Hockey League. The Laker hockey team, much like the early basketball and football teams, practiced wherever they could find ice. In 1991, a new $1.4 million ice center was built on campus to give the program serious status. Hockey inaugurated a new level of sports excellence at Mercyhurst and today is the college's only Division I sport. Last year women's ice hockey debuted and founding coach Mike Sisti's team won 24 of 30 games. This year, the Lady Laker hockey team has a demanding Division I schedule that includes contests against a number of Ivy League schools including Princeton, Yale, Boston College and Providence. Teams from these schools add prestige to the name "Mercyhurst College" on the sports pages in all parts of the U.S. Perhaps there was a touch of nostalgia when women's field hockey returned in 1997, after a 46-year hiatus. It was the premier sport at Mercyhurst in the 30s and 40s, although a little less boisterous than the game played today. That same year men's and women's lacrosse played their first matches. In 31 years, the Lakers have grown from a handful of athletes to 700, from one team to 12 men's teams (wrestling will be added in the fall of 2001), 11 teams for women, and a budget approaching $2.1 million on the Erie campus. Another quarter million dollars is spent at the branch campus, Mercyhurst-North East, to fund three men's sports and four women's sports. Things are more organized than they were 30 years ago, the facilities are first rate, the equipment is the best, and the coaches

are the finest we can find. So what does all this sports activity mean, some pre-70s alumni have asked? Is all this necessary and what good does it do the students and the college? Is this money well spent? Pete Russo, athletic director at Mercyhurst, pitched right in without hesitation. "First and this is important for alums to know our athletes, men and women, are held to a higher standard in every area of college life, than the non-athlete." Pete leaned against an athletic center wall and pointed a finger at a group of women athletes working out. "Athletes at Mercyhurst get no breaks, no special favors. Sports is an addition to an already full plate of academic studies, and students take on an enormous amount of pressure to be athletes. They give a great amount of time to their sport, but they get a lot out of it. "They learn to be organized, to be a part of a group, and, in the process, learn social skills." Pete waves a hand at the reporter's notebook. "Give me a lot of time and I would name you hundreds of our graduates who credit their involvement in intercollegiate sports with making the difference in their lives." Coach Joe Kimball agreed. "I'm not talking about the thrill of victory," Kimball said as he erased plays from the blackboard. "I'm talking about succeeding, about achieving, about what happens to a young person when he or she leaves Mercyhurst College for the big, tough world of making a living, of raising a family." Coach Kimball has a desk drawer full of letters from former athletes. They aren't pro football players. They're teachers, hotel managers, federal agents, doctors and lawyers, who tell him what being an athlete did for them after they graduated, the focus it gave them, and, most importantly, the desire to succeed that was instilled in them at Mercyhurst. Veronika Platzer, one of the newest additions this year to the Lakers' coaching staff, brings a fresh approach to the subject. Her smile is a wrap-around influence on what she has to say. "I watch them come to Mercyhurst, filled with dreams, wanting to find their place in the drama unfolding on their new campus. They will all be different people when they leave four years later, having found a way to work together, to

play together, to live together," said the woman who is the men's assistant rowing coach. "They will go out the front gates with values that will sustain them for a lifetime. You can't put a monetary value on that!" Once it was just a handful a small, unique group who wore the Mercyhurst M with a special pride. Today, a host of them in every comer of our land remembers the special qualities learned on the athletic fields at the Hurst, instilled by coaches given some simple instructions by Mercyhurst President William Garvey. He tells them: "Work them hard, men and women. Yes, we want them to win, but coach them from the heart. They deserve that... and you will see them respond. For young people are just waiting for a leader to draw from them those qualities Americans cherish: a need to succeed, a will to win, a chance to play the game with the best, and the opportunity to leave their mark on Mercyhurst history." Dr. Garvey adds, "We will always remember their involvement in sports at Mercyhurst, how they came to learn of their love for their college, for each other and the people who showed them how. That's what good competitive sports is all about, winning, sure, but finding out what you are all about!" Across America in thousands of closets, in hundreds of dresser drawers, tucked away are countless worn, sometimes
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frayed, shirts with the logo of Mercyhurst College, still treasured by those who wore them representing their school. They remember what it meant to them ... so do we remember what they meant to us.
Larie Pintea, one of thefirstLaker coaches, is a regular contributor to Mercyhurst Magazine.

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A MARK OF DISTINCTION

A LINK TO MERCYHURSTS PAST; THE STRENGTH OF ITS FUTURE

By Deborah Morton

.hree men. Three friends. Three pillars of the community. As individuals, their accomplishments are remarkable. As a trio, their collaborative efforts have been nothing short of outstanding. They are Erie residents Albert F. Duval, 80; Charles H. Bracken, 79; and E William Hirt, 75; the three trustees emeriti at Mercyhurst College, upon whose guidance and support the college counted for some three decades. Duval served Mercyhurst for a total of 30 years, while Hirt and Bracken each gave about 15. All three retired from their posts in the mid-to-late 1990s and each was subsequently honored with the trustee emeritus title. Duval was singularly honored in 1993, when Mercyhurst named new residence halls the Duval Apartments. Besides being business and community leaders with impeccable reputations, Duval, Hirt and Bracken are close friends. Now, as they savor the autumn of their years and veer off in varying directions of retirement, each man is clear that the thread binding them is their love of the Erie community. "I think the three of us are linked by our feelings of responsibility to the community," said Bracken, past chairman of the former Marine Bank and retired vice chair-

man of PNC Bank. "We've served on many boards together, including Mercyhurst's, and I think we are a good fit." Bill Hirt, chairman of the board and retired CEO of Erie Insurance Group, describes his friend, "Bud" Bracken, as a blend of himself and Al Duval; Hirt being the contemplative one, Duval being the extemporaneous one. "We are a very compatible trio," Hirt noted. "It was particularly easy sitting on a board with Al. There I'd be, thinking over the problem put before us and there would be Al all ready with the solution/' Whatever boards they sat on together, be it the United Way, the Erie Community Foundation or the Mercyhurst College board of trustees, there was a healthy exchange of ideas among them but, ultimately, their decisions came in consensus. Their respect for each other has always been abundantly apparent, as has the respect they have elicited from others. There are those college insiders who revere the threesome in symbolic terms as "once the brain trust" of the institution. In more explicit language, however, it is their practical vision that has brought quality results to Mercyhurst. As the college embarks on its 75th

anniversary celebration, the three men, who are not only a link to its past but the strength of its future, agreed to reflect on prior accomplishments and the mission to move forward and enhance the quality of education provided by Mercyhurst. Duval, retired chairman and CEO of the former Hammermill Paper Co., now International Paper, was the first of the threesome to apply his knowledge and expertise as an adviser at Mercyhurst. Since the mid-1960s, when he came on board at the invitation of then-president Sister Carolyn Herrmann, Mercyhurst has provided a vibrant academic environment for students eager to meet the challenges of a liberal arts education. "In the 60s," said Duval, "Mercyhurst was an all-girls school and it was trying to find ways to exist and keep on growing. Sister Carolyn had a lot of wonderful ideas. She was a very dynamic leader. She was the one who thought of going coed, which was the single event I remember to really change the school. It had been considered 'a ladies' place.' It changed into a school that became a little bit of everything." The 1970s brought the advent of athletics to the campus in a big way, Duval noted. "Tennis was the first major sport and

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Mercyhurst had a lot of success in those early days," he said. Today Mercyhurst offers a full menu of collegiate sports, from football to hockey to soccer, and the Lakers' facilities are top drawer. But the singular accomplishment of which he is most proud, Duval said, is serving as chairman of the committee responsible for selecting Dr. William P. Garvey as the successor to Marion L. Shane, the first lay president of the college. "I am proud of that selection because Dr. Garvey has been so unique and so successful," Duval said. Bracken, meanwhile, declined Sister Carolyn's first invitation to sit on the Mercyhurst board because of other pressing obligations, but he couldn't escape her persistence. "Sister Carolyn kept after me," said Bracken, who eventually joined the board in the late 1970s. "It was very important to her to have lay people on the board and to reach out to the community." As admiring of Sister Carolyn's legacy as he is, Bracken heralded Garvey, now in his 21st year as president of Mercyhurst, as "the spark plug" for driving the college to higher ground in terms of academic reputation, aesthetic presence and continued growth and prosperity. The growth and expansion of the college, now ranked as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the North, is evidence of Garvey's inspiring leadership. In the past two decades, he has overseen the development of more than 70 percent of the Mercyhurst campus. Garvey is unparalleled in his ability to sustain loyalty, Duval noted, and the continuity of his administrative staff, a core group that has been with him some 20 years, has led to accomplishments that might not otherwise have been reached. The physical plant, for instance, is something of an artistic progression, painstakingly undertaken to achieve that quintessential college setting. The campus is nestled on a picturesque hillside with Tudor Gothic educational buildings and a commanding view of the city of Erie and Lake Erie. "To me," said Hirt, "the campus is such an important part of college life and, at Mercyhurst, it has become even more beautiful over the years with the new construction and landscaping." Not surprisingly said Hirt, who served as a chairman of the board of trustees under Garvey, one of the greatest future chal-

lenges facing Mercyhurst will be to one day find Garvey's successor. "It's almost impossible to think of someone who could outdo him," Hirt said. "But I am sure every effort will be made to continue down the path Mercyhurst has found so successful under Dr. Garvey's leadership." To that end, Hirt credited the current administration with the inauguration of a capital campaign to raise $20 million for a new academic building, renovations at Zum Hall and Old Main, and to enhance an endowment that has grown from $80,000 in 1980 to more than $12 million in 2000. "Every school is a product of its time," Duval said. In a rapidly changing information society, the pressures on administration and faculty to keep current and retool skills is formidable and investing in those changes will be of paramount importance in the future. In retrospect, one of the more ambitious goals achieved under the collective watchful eye of Duval, Hirt and Bracken was the movement to North East 10 years ago. The establishment of a branch campus there, though it may have been considered risky at the time, was undertaken in accordance with a prudent financial plan and with the support of the North East community, acknowledged Bracken, who served on the board's finance and audit committees. "I've probably been the more conservative one," he said. "Being in the banking business, I was always concerned that the changes were sound and that financially the college could afford to make them. And I'm proud to say they have a very healthy financial situation today and I expect that will continue." Indeed, the college celebrated the "burning"of the North East mortgage in 1999 by paying off the facility 18 months ahead of schedule. The branch campus functions as a junior college featuring one- and two-year degree programs, said Duval, who served as vice chairman of the board of trustees during the planning phase. While Mercyhurst-North East is meeting the educational needs of students interested in associate degrees, it also has resulted in a number of students transferring to the main campus in pursuit of four-year programs, he added. Besides its challenging liberal arts curriculum, its capable and committed faculty, its superior facilities, beautiful campuses, dedicated students and generous alumni,

Mercyhurst has the reputation of being responsive to the civic, economic, intellectual and cultural growth of the Erie community. "It's unusual to have a college of Mercyhurst's size do so much for its community," said Bracken. For instance, the Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center provides a broad variety of cultural opportunities for the community while the Mercyhurst Civic Institute plays a valuable role in community revitalization. As men who have rigorously stirred the community pot for decades, how difficult is it now to sit back and let it simmer? "I never look back," said Duval, who retired gradually from his professional and civic commitments, relinquishing one board position at a time; Mercyhurst being one of the last. "I feel there is a time to get out and give young people the chance to take over." Bracken couldn't agree more. "When I made the decision to retire, that was it," he said. What made it easier was knowing the younger people waiting in the wings had been part of a successful team and would, no doubt, continue to achieve. "To be successful, I think you have to have vision," he said. "But you have to be humble enough to not think you can do it all on your own. You have to be willing to give the authority to others and believe in their ability." And could the third of this threesome possibly disagree? Not a chance. Although Hirt remains chairman of Erie Insurance, he said when he retired as CEO he left knowing the management team he had helped cultivate was "the finest." He left Mercyhurst with similar sentiments. "People know they are valued at Mercyhurst, and I believe the team of people working together there will be successful in meeting the school's future goals," Hirt said. "And that's not just rhetoric. I* think the school is in great shape and it has a great future." Ditto: Bracken. Ditto: Duval.

Deborah Morton, a free-lance writer, was an awardwinning journalist with the Erie Daily Times for 25 years. Her next trustee spotlight will cover the tenures of senior lay trustees Charles Dailey, Jane Theuerkauf Atty. William Sennett and James Zum.

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THE

GATES

An intriguing part of Mercyhurst history

By Gary Bukozvski

or half a century now, Mercyhurst students and alums have found a special magic as they enter the college through the famous gates. Twenty feet high, made of puddled iron and weighing 15 tons, the gates were designed in England and made in France in 1923 for the Harry K. Thaw estate in Pittsburgh. The gates were designed in the French Renaissance style and came with stone pillars on either side that supported two miniature iron pedestals with globes. When lighted these globes created a striking picture of elegance and dignity for those who approached Lyndhurst, the multimillion dollar Thaw estate. But the stately appearance of the gates belies their association with one of the most infamous crimes of the 20th century. Ever hear of Stanford White America's foremost architect at the turn of the century? How about Harry K. Thaw eccentric Pittsburgh millionaire who committed the "murder of the century77 in 1906? And, of course, there's Evelyn Nesbit the "Marilyn Monroe" of the early 1900s and the leading character in the movie, "The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing." The Thaws were one of Pittsburgh's most aristocratic families. William Thaw, Harry's father, had amassed a fortune in canals, railroads and related enterprises. When he died in 1889, Harry inherited a fortune of $3 million, plus valuable cokeproducing properties. Short, bespectacled and unimpressive in appearance, young Harry was an eccentric and a playboy He attended Harvard (although not graduating), made frequent European jaunts and gave elaborate and expensive dinner parties, including one in Paris where 100 actresses were invited. In 1901, Harry Thaw became infatuated with Evelyn Nesbit, a popular model and Gibson Girl living in New York City, but originally from Pittsburgh. She was strikingly beautiful, and at the young age of 16, long before she would meet Thaw, Evelyn had attracted the attention of Stanford White, a prominent New York City

Bishop John Mark Gannon officiates at the blessing of the Gates May 9,1950

architect, then in his 50s and at the pinnacle of his career. White was an exuberant, jovial, powerful, artistically gifted man from an elegant Boston background. He had become widely respected for his ornate style of architecture based on classical precedents. He was excessively fond of good food, good wine, good friends and good women. Years later, Harry Thaw became involved with Evelyn and later married her, but he became obsessed with her previous relationship with White. One hot summer's night, June 25,1906, Harry and Evelyn were watching a performance of "Ma'mzelle Champagne" at Madison Square Garden, which Stanford White had designed in 1891, while he was a partner in the influential architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White. The couple saw White sitting alone at a table on the roof garden. When the performance was over, Harry lagged behind, walked over to Stanford's table, and in a jealous rage, pulled a revolver from his coat pocket and fired three bullets into White's head, so close that the victim's face was blackened by the powder. He died instantly.

A sensational murder trial followed. Thaw's mother, a strong-willed dowager who was active in the church and philanthropic causes in Pittsburgh, dedicated herself and her checkbook to her son's defense. She had strenuously opposed his marriage to Evelyn, who had come from a poor family. Mrs. Thaw described her son as "an average young man having a chivalrous nature," who was being persecuted by a cabal of Stanford White's influential friends. The first trial ended in a hung jury. The second ended in Thaw being sent to a state hospital for the criminally insane. He was released in 1915. Harry Thaw divorced Evelyn but continued his eccentric and often sensational life. He died in 1947 and is buried in the Thaw family plot in Pittsburgh. In 1955, the White-Nesbit-Thaw story was made into a movie, "The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing." Valued at $150,000 some 30 years ago, the Mercyhurst gates were headed for the scrap heap in 1950 when a housing project doomed the elegant Thaw estate to demolition. Fortunately for Mercyhurst, Brandon Smith, the architect for the college' s Little Theatre and Weber Hall, became aware of the gates' availability and informed Mother Borgia who acted quickly and purchased them for a modest cost. The entrance to the college had been designed by the Rev. William Sullivan and the gates would be the perfect piece to augment the entrance. As the gates were being reconditioned by Erie's Althof's Iron Works, a message was found on one of the inside pieces. Scrawled in chalk were the words dated June 15,1923: "Bon jour aux Americans," a message apparently intended for the Thaws. Despite their association with a tempestuous past, the Mercyhurst gates today are the signature landmark of Mercyhurst College, providing a stately entrance to a thriving campus.
Gary Bukowski is vice president of institutional advancement at the college and a member of the first four-year class of men at Mercyhurst.

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Remember when ... " T h e C l l b e "

When I was working with Sister Carolyn on the college's award-winning golden-anniversary campaign, "Fifty Years of Class/' M e did I think I'd still be at Mercyhurst 25 years later and working on the 75th anniversary. But here I am. A quarter of a century older and a whole lot wiser, but once again faced with creating new signage for the entrance of the college during the anniversary year. For certain, I am not going to make the same mistake twice. If there is one thing I have learned working with Dr. Garvey for the past 21 years, it is that he is a dyed-in-the-wool traditionalist. For also being a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat, he is as conservative as they come. For anyone who knows him, he is a "meat-and-potato" man and a brick-andmortar president. He will go down in Mercyhurst history for a great many accomplishments. And history will also know him for his bricks that had their beginning in Garvey Park, then around the upper circle, more recently around the lampposts on the college boulevard, and just a few weeks ago around the flowering magnolia tree by the Queen's Chapel. We have to hand it to him, they are classy. Twenty-five years ago, bricks were out of our league, or at least an idea whose time had not yet come. We needed something to replace the eyesore middle-of-the-boulevard sign that certainly didn't befit Ferdinand Durang's architecture. When he was a young dean, the now president had a rather pedestrian-looking sign put there that did its job to welcome people to the college. Some 30 years later, you wouldn't find it within 10 feet of his campus. His tastes have changed greatly. Thaf s how I feel about the infamous 5 foot x 5 foot foursided illuminated sign, done in the college's new blue, green and white colors that replaced it in 1976. To my embarrassment, I have to admit I was behind its creation. It is not something that I would even consider today. My tastes have changed, too. It is the story of "the cube," as the faculty came to call it and the one thing they have never let me forget. It had sounded like a good idea (on paper), and it did attract atten__,'-'--"*"-

B M

y J y
I didn't have a lot of political savvy yet, but I was smart enough to know that my cube was headed for the scrap heap as soon as the guard changed at Mercyhurst. I was right. About a year ago, I mentioned to the president that I wanted to write a Remember When about "the cube." He told me, "That's not anything to be proud of, and in fact, I would think you would like to forget it. It was not one of your finest moments." Maybe not, but 25 years later, my cube is part of Mercyhurst history and every once in a while, when reminiscing about their early days at the college, veteran faculty like Igor Stalsky and Barry McAndrew will bring up "the cube" at morning coffee in the faculty dining room. While digging through the archives a few months ago, looking for old pictures to capture the early days of the college for the 75th anniversary, I came upon "the cube" picture with Bill Shelley's son posing with a football in his "I've got class" T-shirt. Earleen Glaser, the archivist, saw me looking at it and gasped, "What is that?" Sharon Sisco was with me and said, "The Cube! Irememberit. That was funny." I thought, "I bet a lot of people remember my cube, maybe not affectionately, but certainly they remember it." So I thought I'd write about it in this anniversary issue of the magazine, although I am sure the president will feel seeing it is like having the bad penny reappear. I don't mean to irritate him if s just my way of admitting to my less-than-perfect judgment while remembering the only part of the 50th anniversary that lacked a touch pi class. I'm sure the faculty will be relieved to know that the new front sign, which is the senior class gift this anniversary year, will not be made out of illuminated Plexiglas. It will be limestone or granite. With my luck in anniversary signs, however, the trick will be producing a sign that looks like it belongs at Mercyhurst and not at a cemetery! Mary Daly was director of public relations during "the cube" fiasco. After having her wings clipped, she decided to join the establishment and is now vice president of public affairs.

tion. The news media loved it at night as a backdrop for filming their 6 and 11 o'clock weather. Dean Garvey hated it, and I suspect, thought that the creator of the monster should be gone along with it. When he became president four years later, the cube was predictably the first thing to go. All things considered, not as predictable was my appointment to his cabinet. It was not, however, without mention of "the cube" and telling me that it would mark the last time I did anything without checking with him first. The cube was meant to go at the tip of the boulevard, where the MC hedges are today. When it was ready to be installed, much to our surprise, there was no electricity. I was young and hadn't thought about that key element. So after spending a tidy sum, we were stuck with finding a less-than-satisfactory place for it. The choices were slim to none, and the 50th anniversary video was to be shot the next day using the new sign as the closer. Harold George told us that the only place there was electricity on the front of the campus was midway up the boulevard, where Frank Shroeck used to light his 12foot-tall nativity scene each Christmas. And that is where "the cube" landed, without the help of any shrubbery the likes of which the current president is known for planting to soften or camouflage anything ugly like a gas well, grease trap, or, the latest being the 21-foot poles on either side of the gate houses. They are a sore thumb to be sure, but somehow they "will be hidden." Regardless, they are well worth the traffic signal in front of the gates. The cube didn't have a chance at Mercyhurst. It was contemporary and trendy, bright and bold, but it was beautiful at night. No one, however, thought it was "well worth it." Maybe I understood the cube, because like it, I look better at night. And most certainly, my colleagues will tell you, I do my best work at night. So did my cube. Its white squatty dimensions and metal edges disappeared at dusk. All you saw was the thennew MC logo in blue and green, which also has bitten the dust 30 years later. I used to think, "if only we could bring it out at night" ... because even those who hated it during the day, had to admit, it was striking at dark. All except "Garv," who was as passionate about his dislike of it as he was about his love of Erie ethnic politics.

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O S T OF A C O L L E G E

EDUCATION

1926, the year Mercyhurst was founded, the average income was $1,518; the typical home cost $4,850; and total expenses for a resident student at Mercyhurst were $770, with tuition costing only $150. In the intervening decades, the cost of a college education like virtually everything else has steadily increased. Alumni of the college who graduated as recently as 1990, when total expenses for a resident student were $10,370, are no doubt startled to learn that the cost of a Mercyhurst education today is $20,000 a year. The reasons for this "quantum leap" in the cost of a high-quality education at a private college are explored and explained in the insightful article that follows. Written by Dr. Andrew Roth, who has been affiliated with the college for almost three decades, the piece demonstrates why a Mercyhurst education is still one of the best bargains around.

7 5

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Why does a Mercyhurst College education cost $20,000?

By Andrew Roth, Ph.D.

- .Y JLercyhurst students and their families do not need the National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education to tell them that the cost of a college education is increasing at a rate greater than increases in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Nor do they need the College Board to tell them that each year the cost of a college education consumes a larger proportion of their household income. Like all other colleges and universities, Mercyhurst has been caught in a seemingly endless spiral of tuition, fees and room and board increases. Since the 1989-1990 school year, the price of tuition has increased 78.3 percent and the total cost of attendance 79.2 percent annual average increases of 7.8 percent and 7.9 percent respectively During the same period, the CPI grew at an annual rate of only 3.4 percent. Although such numbers are daunting, fully comprehending their implications requires understanding several important facts. First, compared to other colleges in its region, Mercyhurst is one of the least expensive and most affordable private Prices at Peer Institutions
College 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Susquehanna College Stonehill College Elizabethtown College St. Anselm College LeMoyne College Lebanon Valley College Regis College Grove City College Kings College Messiah College St. Vincent College Lycoming College Rosemont College Cedar Crest College Roger Williams College York College Merrimack College Colby-Sawyer College Marymount College Average Mercyhurst College Mercyhurst percent of average Tuition and Fees $19,670 16,336 18,150 17,800 14,980 17,260 16,680 7,126 15,910 15,096 14,8? S 17,030 14,795 17,110 17,220 6,580 15,710 18,318 14,555 15,534 13,479 86.8 percent

schools in the northeastern United States. Second, based on 1999-2000 school year data (the last for which complete data is available), of the 19 colleges ranked in the top tier of U.S. News & World Report's ratings of Northern Liberal Arts Colleges, Mercyhurst is the third least expensive. Third, the college's tuition, fees and room and board charges of $18,585 represent only 85.3 percent of the $21,799 average price of the top tier institutions. Although it might only represent 85 cents on the dollar students pay at other colleges, Mercyhurst's total cost of $18,585 per year is still a hefty sum. What benefits do Mercyhurst students and their families receive for their tuition, fees and room and board? Actually they receive quite a bit. It might be iUuminating to briefly review the benefits students receive for their payments. Economists divide the benefits of education into short-term consumption benefits the immediate benefits of college life and the long-term economic benefits of an education. In addition to all of the immediate ben-

Room and Board $5,550 7,852 5,380 6,520 6,320 5,490 7,870 4,048 6,620 5,580 4,998 4,770 7,030 6,215 7,770 5,050 7,500 6,890 7,585 6,265 5,106 81.5 percent

Total $25,220 24,188 23,530 24,320 21,300 22,750 24,550 11,174 22,530 20,676 19,823 21,800 21,825 23,325 24,990 11,630 23,210 25,208 22,140 21,799 18,585 85.3 percent

efits of college life friends, pleasant surroundings and an active social life resident students receive a furnished room with all utilities heat, water, gas, electricity and Internet access. They receive 20 meals per week in the college dining hall, access to medical care, including physician consultations and limited prescription drugs. Students have access to both academic and personal counselors, including psychological counseling from licensed practitioners. Recreationally students spend their days in an idyllic campus setting more akin to a park than a work environment. On campus, students have available a seemingly endless mix of cultural activities, spectator sports and movies. In addition, there are physical fitness facilities, including a new state-of-the-art student fitness facility that opened in December 2000. Last, and most importantly students have access to a college education, the region's most technologically sophisticated library and a highly qualified faculty working in up-to-date facilities. Economically, a college education still is the best investment a young person can make. According to the Center for Post-secondary Education Opportunity, in 1997 a college graduate with only a bachelor of arts degree earned $40,695 as compared to a high school graduate's $21,680 almost twice as much. The center's data also suggests that over the course of their working lives, 1997 college graduates will earn an average of $12.60 for every dollar they invested in their education. Not quite as spectacular as the recently burst dot.com investment bubble's rate of return, but still, a more certain and hard-to-beat return on investment. The indisputable benefits of a college education aside, students and their families still ask, "What is it about colleges that causes their costs to increase faster than the general rate of inflation?" "Why the difference?" "Why did the Consumer Price Index (CPI) only increase at an annual rate of 3.44 since 1989, but Mercyhurst College's costs increased at an average annual rate of 7.9 percent?"

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Broadly speaking, these questions have three interrelated answers. First, although the CPI is an interesting statistic, it has very little to do with the inflationary tendencies unique to higher education. Second, Mercyhurst College's costs, like those at all high-quality private institutions, are driven by a mandate for excellence. Finally, as a Mercy college, guided by the spirit of Mercy of its founders, the Sisters of Mercy, Mercyhurst remains exquisitely sensitive to the need to maintain access for all students, especially those with limited resources with which to pay for a quality, private education.

Higher education and inflation

During the period 1989-1990 to 1999-2000, the total cost of a Mercyhurst education increased from $10,370 to $18,585, or 79.2 percent over the 10-year interval an average annual increase of 7.92 percent. Most of these increases occurred in the early 1990s. Like all colleges and universities, Mercyhurst has struggled to contain price increases and has lately begun to meet with success. From 1994-1995 to 1999-2000, costs increased from $14,513 to $18,585, or 28.1 percent an average annual increase of 5.6 percent. During this time, the rate of increases decreased by almost 30 percent. Still, even a 5.6 percent annual increase is greater than the CPI's 3.4 percent annual rate of increase. Why? Tuition, Fees, Room and Board Charges
Item 1989/90 1994/95 1999/00

household goods and sendees. It implicitly assumes that the general rate of inflation is represented by the equation Changes in Price Changes in Wages minus Changes in Productivity. Increases in productivity compensate for the increased price (costs) of all other factors (raw materials, facilities, finance charges, etc.). Typically, and somewhat simplistically, then, this equation says that if wages increase 5 percent and productivity increases 2.5 percent, then prices will only increase 2.5 percent. Something very similar happened in the American economy throughout the middle and late 1990s. Although nonacademic wage increases were in the 5,6, and 7 percent range, technology-driven increases in productivity in the 3 to 5 percent range enabled the economy as a whole to limit inflation (the net impact of changes in wages minus changes in productivity) to 3.5 percent, plus or minus a fractional point or two. It is often said that education at all levels is a labor-intense industry. Everyone understands that the lower the student-tofaculty ratio, the higher the quality of educational services the institution provides. One of the key measures of institutional quality used by U.S. News & World Report in its widely consulted ratings of colleges and universities is the student-to-faculty ratio. The lower that ratio, the higher an institution's rating. As a result, Mercyhurst College, in particular, and higher education,

On the one hand, the college could A) increase prices at a greater rate than it currently does. It could then invest the surplus income in more faculty and technology. The resultant lower student-to-faculty ratio will increase the college's ratings and raise the perceived quality of its educational services. The higher prices, however, might cause students and their families to enroll elsewhere.

% change 89 to 94 38.2 % 47.3% 35.0 % 65.3 % 40.0 %

% change 94 to 99 29.1 % 26.1 % 26.1 % 25.4 % 28.1 %

% change 89 to 99 78.3 % 85.7% 70.2 % 107.3 % 79.2 %

10-year average 7.8 % 8.6 % 7.0 % 10.7 % 7.9 %

Tuition Room Board Required Fees Total Consumer Price Index*

$7,100 $1,375 $1,500 $395 $10,370

$9,810 $2,025 $2,025 $653 $14,513

$12,660 $2,553 $2,553 $819 $18,585

124

166.6

34.4 %

3.44'

*(Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)

As Cornell University economist Ronald Ehrenberg notes in 'Tuition Rising: Why College Costs So Much" (Harvard University Press, 2000), and Charles Clotfelter describes in "Buying the Best: Cost Escalation in Elite Higher Education" (Princeton University Press, 1996), the CPI is an inadequate measure of higher education inflation. The CPI tracks the changes in prices for a hypothetical shopping basket of typical

in general, has been caught in a wages versus technology whammy. The college's massive investment in technology has not been able to offset the increases in wages and the cost of other supplies. As suggested by the formula discussed above, the result has been an increase in prices (costs) because the increase in wages and technology investments has not been offset by an increase in productivity. It is a classic dilemma.

On the other hand, Mercyhurst could B) increase productivity by increasing student-to-faculty ratios and driving down costs and prices. One positive would result. Prices would be lower. Two negatives, however, quickly follow. Increased student-to-faculty ratios would result in lower ratings and a perception of decreased institutional quality. The perceived decrease in quality would result in decreased demand for a Mercyhurst education and a subsequent decrease in enrollment revenue. If the college does A, then enrollment decreases; if it does B, then enrollment decreases. What's Mercyhurst to do?

Mandate for excellence

Each year, during the budget planning process, the college wrestles with the costversus-quality dilemma. The finance department, the president's cabinet, the president and the board of trustees

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examine multiple variables. Internally the finance office estimates the cost of the college's supplies everything from natural gas and electricity to mousepads and dorm furniture. These projections are scrutinized within the context of the college's various components' budget assumptions about projected enrollment and revenue. Externally the two most important variables are a family's ability to pay and the prices charged by other colleges and universities. It is critical that any price increases neither outstrip the students' and their families' ability to pay as determined by the financial aid office, nor damage Mercyhurst's position as one of the most affordable private colleges in the northeastem United States. The mandate for excellence undergirds all of these considerations. Guided by its mission statement and the Strategic Vision (2001-2005) planning document, Mercyhurst College is committed to excellence. In addition to this philosophical commitment to excellence, there are very practical reasons why Mercyhurst cannot compromise on excellence. It is impossible to cut the college's prices back to the levels charged by many public institutions. Since Mercyhurst lacks these institutions' public subsidies, to match their prices, it would have to reduce the quality of its academic offerings. As Elizabeth Duffy and Margaret Goldberg point out in "Crafting a Class: College Admissions and Financial Aid, 1955-1994" (Princeton University Press, 1998), such a strategy invariably starts a college on the path to decline. During the period they studied, those institutions that either built or maintained a reputation for excellence, flourished; those that cut quality and prices in hopes of short-term gains faltered, and, in some cases, closed. Mercyhurst, then, must provide the best possible education it can in order to justify the charges the economics of higher education impose upon it. The price of that excellence can be found in examining how the college spends the tuition and fees it collects. From 1997 to 1999, instructional expenses and academic support accounted for 30.75 percent of the college's budget, followed closely by 20.1 percent of the budget expended on student financial assistance. More than 50 percent of the college's budget is accounted for by these two categories.

Institutional Expenditures
Item Instruction/Academic Support Financial Aid Auxiliary Services Institutional Support Maintenance Debt Service Student Services Athletics Other Percentage of Budget 30.7 % 20.1 % 11.5 % 9.5 % 9.9 % 6.3 % 6.4 % 4.3 % 1.3 %

Institutional support (general administration and facilities) and maintenance accounted for 9.5 percent and 9.9 percent respectively These three areas instruction and academic support, institutional/facilities support and facilities maintenance are the major cost engines of the mandate for excellence. Any college is only as good as its faculty and students. Since 1989, Mercyhurst's enrollment has increased from 2,145 to approximately 3,225 in the fall of 2000 a 50.3 percent growth rate. The size of its entering first-year class has grown from 409 in 1989 to 586 in 2000 an increase of 43.3 percent. In the same period, retention (the percentage of students who return to the college year-after-year) has increased from approximately 75 percent to 85 percent. Most significantly not only is the college's enrollment bigger, it is much better. The average SAT of the entering students has increased from 975 in 1989 to almost 1060 in 2000, and the college has a stated goal of reaching SAT scores of 1100 by 2005. Similarly, the size of the faculty increased from 85 full-time faculty in 1989 to 101 in 1999 to 118 in 2000-2001. This growth, in addition to significant annual Faculty Salary Comparison
Item 89/90

raises beyond inflation, has resulted in total faculty wages increasing from $2,873,041 (including fringe benefits) in 1989 to $5,257,275 (including fringe benefits) in 1999, almost doubling the college's investment in instruction. A bit less than a third of this increase is accounted for by the 18.8 percent increase in the number of full-time faculty during the period, but the bulk results from Mercyhurst's explicit policy to recruit better and better faculty to meet the needs of better and better students. The increasing proportion of individual faculty members with the Ph.D. (a total of 58 this year) in their discipline attests to the overall faculty's increased quality, as does the caliber of institutions from which they have earned their degrees. Faculty members have recently joined Mercyhurst from the University of Chicago, England's Cambridge University Arizona State University and the University of Toronto. The average faculty salary (including fringe benefits) has dramatically increased from $33,800 in 1989 to $52,052 in 1999, a 54 percent increase, or an annual average increase of 5.4 percent. Moreover, Mercyhurst faculty salaries have historically been low, but in the late 1980s and early 1990s the board of trustees set out to raise the average faculty salary to the 60th percentile of AAUP Baccalaureate II institutions. In the late 1990s, the goal was raised to increase faculty salaries between the 75th and 80th percentile of AAUP Baccalaureate II institutions. The reason was simple high-quality faculty command better wages. High-quality students demand high-quality faculty. Hence, if Mercyhurst is to attract faculty of the caliber required by high-quali-

99/00

Percentage Change

10-year Average

Salaries without fringe benefits Fringe benefits Salaries with fringe benefits Number of Faculty Average Faculty Salary with Fringe Benefits Average Faculty Salary without Fringe Benefits

$2,338,262

$4,313,830 $943,445

84.5 % 76.4 %

8.4 %

$534,779

7.6 %

$2,873,041
85

$5,257,275 101

83.0 %

8.3 %

18.8 %

1.9 %

$33,800

$52,052

54.0 %

5.4 %

$27,509

$42,711

55.3 %

5.5 %

24

ty students, it must raise faculty wages to competitive levels of highly ranked institutions. High-quality students not only demand high-quality faculty, they also demand high-quality facilities. Mercyhurst's physical expansion since 1985 is breathtaking not only in the new, state-of-the-art facilities now available to Mercyhurst students and their families, but also in the price tag associated with those facilities. In major facility expansions alone, a partial listing (since 1989) of college improvements includes the Briggs Annex (1989), the Sister Carolyn Herrmann Student Union (1990), the Ice Center (1991), Mercyhurst-North East (1991), Asbury Park Nature Center (1992), the parking ramp (1993), Duval and Warde apartments (1993), Catherine McAuley Adult Education Center (1994), Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center (1996), Tullio Field (1996), additions to the Campus Center (1996 and 2000), the remodeled Hammermill Library (1997), DanceSpace (1997) and the purchase of 16 of the former Baldwin Gardens Apartment buildings, all of which have added 20 acres to the campus and extended the college's eastern boundary to Wayne Street. New improvements to campus facilities are continuous (e.g., the new $1.2 million addition to the recreation center), causing an Erie Times-News columnist to recently remark, "Construction never seems to end on the Mercyhurst campus."All of these acquisitions, additions, renovations, and new construction have cost in excess of $40 million. Several of the projects were funded through the generosity of the college's benefactors; e.g., die Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center ($4 million) and the renovated library's addition ($4 million) were built debt-free. Most of the progress on campus, however, has been paid for from the college's budget. In 1998, 6.3 percent and, in 1999, 6 percent of the college's budget was consumed by debt service to cover the almost $29 million of long-term debt the college incurred to build the facilities demanded by the mandate for excellence. Similarly, in the age of cyberspace, a college of distinction must be technologically first rate. In 1980, outside of the science and math departments, there were exactly zero computers on the Mercyhurst campus. In 1999, Mercyhurst is a fully networked campus, with Internet access in all of its buildings, including residence halls and student apartments. That network cost approx-

imately $700,000 to build. In addition, the college invested another $600,000 in a new relational database administrative system, which costs approximately $100,000 annually to maintain. The college also budgets over a quarter million dollars per year to support its technological infrastructure. Including annual upgrades to science laboratories, other academic facilities and equipment, and computer hardware and software in departmental budgets, the college's total investment in technology since the late 1980s now approaches $10 million. The result is a technologically state-ofthe-art library, computers in all faculty and administrative offices (more than 250) and an increasing interest in online education. In fall 2000, 76 courses on campus were being taught by a combination of traditional classroom and online instruction. In September 2000, WMCE, the college's FM radio station, went global via the college's Web site.

Cost of access
While driven by market forces to pursue excellence, Mercyhurst College has not forgotten its roots. Founded by the Sisters of Mercy, whose spirit and values infuse all that the college is and ought to be, Mercyhurst seeks to serve all who need education, not just the "best and the brightest." In recognition of that mission, the college spent $1.5 million in 1991 to buy St. Mary's Seminary in North East, Pa., to found an opportunity college. In addition to the start-up costs associated with Mercyhurst-North East, the college has since spent $5 million to upgrade and expand that campus and its facilities. In fall 2000, new science laboratories, a new bookstore and a completely remodeled rear entrance costing a total of $1 million were constructed. In the past several years, townhouses were added, a softball, baseball and a soccer complex was built Financial Aid Comparison
1989/90 1994/95 1999/00

and a new maintenance building was constructed at the cost of another $1 million. Besides excellent programs in law enforcement, culinary arts and nursing, Mercyhurst-North East's mission is to serve those students who cannot afford or who might not qualify for admission to Mercyhurst College. For these reasons, it charges a highly subsidized tuition of approximately $7,800, or 40 percent less than the tuition at the Erie campus of Mercyhurst College. Opportunity, however, is not limited to Mercyhurst-North East. In order to ensure that a Mercyhurst College education remains accessible to all potential students, the college awarded $8.8 million of its own funds in financial aid in 1999-2000. That amount has increased to approximately $10,650,000 in academic 2000-2001, more than quadrupling that of 1989, when the college's financial aid budget was a mere
$ 2 , 0 7 8 , 0 0 0 .

% change 89 to 94

% change 94 to 99

% change 89 to 99

10-year Average

Financial Aid Budget Number of Recipients Average Award

$2,078,000

$4,299,564

$8,800,000

106.9 %

104.7 %

323.5 %

32.3 %

1,021

1,219

1,527

19.4 %

25.3 %

49.6 %

5%

$2,035

$3,527

$5,764

73.3%

63.4 %

183.2 %

18.3 %

Note: Number of recipients and average award are for institutional financial aid only. Data does not include loans or federal or state assistance.

25

Since the college's enrollment has also grown during the same period, a large portion of the financial aid budget's growth has resulted from the need to serve more students. Nonetheless, individual students have benefited from the college's overall success and the increased size of its financial aid budget. In 1989, the average financial aid award from institutional sources was approximately $2,035. In 1999, the size of the average award was $5,764, or a 183 percent increase over the period, which is an average annual increase of approximately 18 percent. During the same period, it will be recalled that tuition increased 7.83 percent, total costs increased 7.92 percent and the CPI increased only 3.4 percent. The average Mercyhurst financial aid award, however, increased at a rate slightly greater than twice the rate of tuition increase. One might well ask, "How can that be?" Two factors make that possible. One, tuition is greater than financial aid, which results in comparative ratios with unequal denominators; i.e., apples are being compared to oranges. Seven percent of $7,100 (the tuition in 1989) is still greater than 18 percent of $2,035 (the average financial aid award in 1989). Or, to put it another way, while tuition increased approximately $497 per year, financial aid awards only increased $372 per year. The other factor is volume. More students paying a greater tuition rate have enabled the college to help more and more students afford a Mercyhurst education.

Regardless of how it's analyzed, however, the reality is that since 1989 financial aid has increased and increased dramatically. Increased financial aid not only results from the college's commitment to remaining affordable. The combined pressure of a buyer's market, the college's desire for better students and an entitlement culture have combined to force Mercyhurst to spend more and more precious financial aid dollars on merit awards. Parents, some of whom can well afford to pay for their children's education, feel entitled to financial aid and now bargain with the financial aid office for the best possible deal. In the short term, it's good for the family and, to a lesser extent, the college. Fair enough, you might say: the family gets a good deal and the college gets a quality student. In the long term, however, it's not good for anyone, because it drives costs higher and higher in a spiral that hurts everyone. Mercyhurst will continue to try to help everyone as much as possible, but families could help themselves, other students and the college by seeking only their fair share of financial aid.

Mercyhurst will continue to deliver an outstanding education at the least possible price. Not the cheapest price, but the lowest possible price, the most frugal price, in order to remain both one of the highest rated and most affordable private colleges in its region and in the country. It is no small challenge, but one we must and will overcome, for failure is not an option.

Dr. Andrew Roth has been affiliated with Mercyhurst College for 27 years as a tenured faculty member and senior administrator. A recognized expert in higher education enrollment management and financial analysis, he holds a Ph.D. in higher education finance and public policy. Dr. Roth is a research fellow at the University of Houston Institute for Higher Education Law and Governance and the author of many articles in higher education journals. His recent book, "College Savings & the Tax Code: A New Spin on the "Who Pays for Higher Education?' Debate" was published by Garland Publishing. He is the vice president of enrollment and information systems at the college.

Bottom line
Like all quality private institutions, Mercyhurst's costs are driven by a mandate for excellence: excellent faculty, leading-edge computer technology, first-rate physical facilities and a beautiful campus setting. Mercyhurst prices are 10 percent less than average costs at the 14 private colleges it most frequently competes with for students. Mercyhurst prices are 15 percent below the average cost of attending one of the other 19 colleges in the top tier of northern liberal arts colleges as ranked by U.S. News & World Report. Mercyhurst board of trustees voted Dec. 6 to increase combined tuition, room & board by 5 percent ($980), the lowest percentage in 10 years. Fees not increased. 2001-2002 cost to attend Mercyhurst will be: Tuition Room & board Fees Total cost: $13,940 $ 5,694 $ 1,050 $20,684 for resident students

Concluding observations
The answer to the title's question, then, is that a Mercyhurst education costs $20,000 per year because the college, like all colleges and universities, is not immune to the laws of economics. As a labor-intensive industry immune to the productivity gains of technology, the college's costs will always increase at a rate greater than the rate of general inflation. In an almost perverse irony, in fact, the mandate for excellence's need for ever greater investments in technology without any (or only minimal) increases in productivity, will continue to result inrisingcosts far in excess of the rate of increase in the CPI. Since Mercyhurst, like all high-quality private institutions, has no choice but to continue to pursue excellence while at the same time adhering to the Sisters of Mercy's call to serve all students, it will continue to be characterized by operating budgets increasingly driven by the need for more and better facilities, faculty and financial aid. What Mercyhurst students and their parents can depend upon, however, is that the college will continue to battle vigorously these harsh economic realities. As it has done for over 75 years,

~wW

26

LECTION 2000

n today's world, most people over 40 can only shake their heads at the widespread lack of interest among young people in anything having to do with politics. People in their 40s and 50s look back with nostalgia at the unprecedented political activism of students in the 1960s and 1970s, and those old enough to remember the Great Depression and the Second World War recall a time when voting was practically a matter of survival. When three Mercyhurst students attended the 2000 Democratic Convention and a 24-year-old alum took part in the Republican Convention, they realized they were bucking a trend. What they did not realize, of course, was that this year the conventions would set the stage for the most bitterly contested election in over 100 years. Be that as it may, what these four young people experienced at the boisterous quadrennial gatherings as recounted in the two articles that follow bodes well for the Republic.
7 5
H N N I R D I T I O N

27

E LECTION 2000 GOP Convention

"Mr. Republican ...

Emilio
the age of 24, Emilio Colaiacovo is content to advance others' political careers while putting his own ambitions on hold. T d love to run for office/' admits the 1998 Mercyhurst graduate. "Ideally everybody wants to be the front-runner. But for now, I'm having a lot of fun doing the mechanics, the behind-the-scenes work that has to be done." This summer, that commitment took Colaiacovo to the Republican National Convention at Philadelphia's Spectrum, where he served as a page to the New York delegation and witnessed the nomination of George W. Bush. The Clarence Center, N.Y., resident said his involvement in local political campaigns earned him the plum assignment. While working with Republican chairman Bob Davis, Erie County, N.Y., Colaiacovo met state GOP boss Bill Powers, who offered him the page job. Powers didn't have to wait long for an answer. "It was cheaper than going as a visitor, plus I had access to the floor," said the State University of New York at Buffalo law student. "I had the unique opportunity to be a fly on the wall when much of the party policy was being developed." A page's duties are myriad: He picked up dignitaries at the airport, painted signs to be used during the convention ("I don't believe my signs made the cut") and delivered reports to delegates on the floor of the Spectrum. And a page's opportunities are diverse: Colaiacovo attended the "Political Fest," which he said "was like the NFL experience for political junkies." He met many of the movers and shakers in the Republican Party and had his picture taken with former Sen. Bob Dole, former Sec. of State Henry Kissinger, Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Sen. Allen Simpson. "Most of the pages were quite young and very idealistic/' Colaiacovo said. "I've become a little jaundiced in the 'trenches' and it was refreshing to work with younger people. "They talked about the importance of a moral code and less government," he added. "For me, it was like a retreat." Colaiacovo said the Bush campaign reached out to youth and it was nice to see so many young people at the convention. "The sooner we get involved in public service the better," said the former recipient of Mercyhurst's Carpe Diem Award. Colaiacovo traces his own political roots to a Democratic uncle who served as sheriff of Erie County, N.Y. "I expressed an interest at an early age I remember going with him to see Lech Walesa but to my uncle's disappointment, I decided to become a Republican," he said. Colaiacovo doesn't regret the decision. Republicans are a minority in the Buffalo area. He said the party is quick to embrace young volunteers who want to get involved in grassroots organizing. "A candidate doesn't walk down the street without five people ahead of him and two there the day before," he added. "It leaves you with a lot of satisfaction if it goes off well." This fall, Colaiacovo managed the campaign of Brett Sommer, a Republican who challenged 13-term Democratic incumbent John LaFalce in New York's 19th Congressional District. He felt some of the people he met in Philadelphia inspired his efforts in the Sommer campaign and his future political endeavors. Colaiacovo didn't talk to George W. Bush at the convention, but had worked with him in the past: "He's one of the nicest people you'll ever want to meet." He did, however, spend time with New York Gov. George Pataki: "I never

n
By Paul Reichart

thought he knew my name, but he put his arm around me and said, 'Well, Emilio, what do you think?'" and of New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani he said: "The mainstream press casts him as the devil, but he's really down to earth, a great guy." He met media celebrities like Wolf Blitzer, Judy Woodruff and Robert Novak and a host of political stars, including Trent Lott, Dick Armey, Ben KnighthorseCampbell and Henry Kissinger. Even though Bush's nomination was clinched during the primary season, Colaiacovo said the convention was useful because "it helped put a lot of things in perspective." He points to stirring speeches by Gen. Colin Powell and Sen. John McCain as moments that gave the GOP direction and energy for the fall campaign. "People say we don't need conventions, but we do need a gathering place to discuss issues and prepare for what lies ahead," he said. "Without these conventions every four years I wonder about the existence of political parties. "I feel we had the right candidate," Colaiacovo added. "It will be interesting to see if the convention's message resonates with the majority of the American people. "If not, we'll just have to retool and start again," he added. Personally, the Republican convention increased Colaiacovo's determination to pursue a political career. "Dad was an immigrant. He's done well in America and I've benefited. I consider it my duty to give something back." He said the convention was exhausting ("I averaged 45 minutes to two hours sleep a night"), but exhilarating. "It was worth it, and I'd do it again!" he said. "And it looks like I will in four years." Next time, though, he'd rather be a delegate.

28

ELECTION 2000
* M a ; i i H : f e ' a s i

S-r-

Democratic Convention Students experience ...

CC

ase
> >

By Paul Reichart

T
JLhree Mercyhurst College students rubbed elbows with America's political elite in August on the floor of the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles. Senior Perry Wood of Franklin and sophomores Casey Kilroy of Irwin and Kristen Brown of Erie were among 200 students from 132 colleges and universities invited to serve as DNC interns by the Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars. They made the trip to California with the help of Mercyhurst, which chipped in about $1,500 each to defray expenses. "There's no way any of us could have afforded to go without that help," Kilroy said. She explained that the Washington Center charged $2,500 for the experience, and that didn't include air fare or living expenses. The students went west a week before the convention for a battery of lectures and seminars at the University of Southern California. "They told us 'We will teach you to play the convention game,'" Kilroy said. The Mercyhurst trio and a pair of students from Gannon University were joined in L.A. by Dr. David Kozak, a Gannon professor who served as a campaign director for the Washington Center's Campaign 2000 program. When the convention began, each student was assigned a job. Kilroy and Wood worked as talent escorts. They led featured performers through the Staples Center maze from the VIP entrance to the dressing rooms to the rehearsal stage. "We were their baby sitters," Wood said. The night Al Gore "surprised" his daughter after her speech, Wood was escorting Stevie Wonder out of the Staples Center when he literally bumped into a Secret Service agent, who was blocking the way.

->

He asked if he could get Wonder through to his car and the agent said, "Son, the vice president is standing right behind me." Wood looked up and, sure enough, Gore was an arm's length away. Wood, a registered Republican who attended the Democratic Convention and waited for the presidential debates to decide who he was going to vote for in November, also saw George W. Bush during his stopover at Erie International Airport. "I can honestly say that I was within two feet of both men during the campaign," he said. Brown worked for the DNC's news service, answering phones and doing a variety of other chores. Like Kilroy and Wood, she had broad access to the convention floor. "About the only place we couldn't go was the podium," she said. Their jobs excluded them from many convention activities, but they usually were at the Staples Center from 7:30 a.m. to 11 at night and managed to see a lot, too. "It was a pretty exciting place to be," Wood said. Outside the center "there were mobs of protestors everywhere," he added. The picketers were devoted to a kaleidoscope of issues, from the critics of campaign spending who carried signs billing themselves as "Billionaires for Bush (or Gore)" to a group opposed to breastfeeding. Inside, the center was a "little bubble world," orchestrated to provide an "infomercial" for the Democratic Party, Brown said. "It was a political Disneyland," Kilroy added. She said one of her best memories is of the night President Clinton spoke. "To listen to the man speak live is different than watching him on TV," she said. "I cried." Wood said Clinton's "WWF-like entrance" helped stir up the crowd. He added that vice presidential nomi-

nee Joe Lieberman, relaxed and sporting a broad grin, looked "totally out of place" when compared to more dour convention participants like Sen. Edward Kennedy. Brown said she stood on the convention floor next to Erie congressional candidate Marc Flitter during Lieberman's speech. She was also there for the last night's festivities. "It was better than TV," she added. The three students, all officers of the Mercyhurst chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honor society, said attending the convention is related to their determination to participate in the political process. Kilroy has been active in Democratic Party affairs and Brown worked for the underdog Flitter in his unsuccessful race against incumbent Congressman Phil English. Wood campaigned for a local judge when he was still in high school and has been supportive of Gov. Tom Ridge (Pa.). Despite their diverse political perspectives, they all worked to advance awareness on campus. Wood noted that neither major party mounted a grassroots effort to get young people involved in the political process, so Pi Sigma Alpha played a major role on campus. "We wanted to help people make responsible decisions," he said. As the campaign developed, the students drew on their DNC experience to encourage others to get involved in the election. "(The convention) was a segue into politics," Wood explained. Kilroy agreed. "It was the best political experience we've ever had." What a year to have been
t h e r e !

Paul Reichart, a 30-year journalist, is now a freelance writer from Edinboro, Pa.

ii

29

URST A R C H A E O L O G I S T S

DIG INTO

CRIME

DETECTIVE

WORK

OF

A DIFFERENT

KIND

By Don McQuaid

"World class" is the term Time magazine uses to describe Mercyhurst's archaeology/ anthropology program in its first-ever guide to colleges, "The Best College For You," released in August. "Mercyhurst's campus may look typically collegiate a lot of brick, a lot of trees but its programs are not," the guide states. "This private liberal arts college in Erie, Pa., is best known for its world-class archaeology/anthropology program. Best of all, even firstyear students get involved with the archaeological field research Mercyhurst conducts all over the globe." Since its inception in 1990, the Mercyhurst program is widely regarded as the best undergraduate archaeology program in the nation, regularly earning recognition in such publications as Time, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report and National Geographic, as well as a host of scientific journals. While the program is internationally known for its archaeological excavations, it has also been achieving distinction in another, lesser-known area of scientific investigation forensic anthropology, or the use of archaeological methods to apprehend and convict criminals. The two profiles that follow are intended to give an overview of the contributions to this intriguing endeavor.

30

HURST

ARCHAEOLOGISTS

INTO

CRIME

Getting the dirt on the looters

in Utah in 1985, a near-mythic felon named
Earl Shumway attempted to sell a collection of Native American baskets to prospective buyers for $20,000 in cash, a pickup truck, a rifle and a pound of cocaine. As Shumway soon discovered, the prospective buyers were undercover law enforcement officers, and he was eventually arrested for looting artifacts from an archaeological site under the Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA). The evidence that led to Shumway's conviction was an incredibly detailed analysis of soil particles taken from several of the baskets in his possession. The analysis was conducted by means of a new process called forensic sedimentology. Forensic sedimentology is an application of cutting-edge excavation methodology that was developed at the world-famous Meadowcroft Rockshelter archaeological site, 37 miles southwest of Pittsburgh, Pa. The excavation, conducted by Dr. James Adovasio while he was director of the anthropology department of the University of Pittsburgh, yielded evidence of human habitation dating to 16,000 years ago and played a major role in overthrowing the prevailing theory of when the first Americans arrived in the New World. When the history of forensic archaeology is written, it will record that the Shumway case was the first time forensic sedimentology was used to convict someone of looting artifacts and that the man who oversaw the process from beginning to end was Mercyhurst's Adovasio, who now heads the college's archaeology/anthropology department. "In effect, we invented the field of forensic sedimentology the use of microsedimentology to catch criminals by fingerprinting sediment," Adovasio said. "In the Shumway case, the federal agents were 90 percent sure the baskets came from an archaeological site on federal land. They asked the Utah state geologist whether he knew anyone who could take sediment from the baskets and link them to the suspected sites of despoliation, and he referred them to us." Although Shumway had carefully cleaned the baskets, Adovasio found enough soil under the stitches to extract and analyze. The soil from the baskets matched the soil at the crime site with such precision that Shumway was forced to plead guilty and was sent to federal prison. In 1992, the Mercyhurst Archaeological Institute was asked by the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct forensic sedimentology tests on artifacts suspected of being looted from Polar Mesa Cave in the La Sal Mountains of eastern Utah. archaeology to its application in modem crime cases," Adovasio said. "To this day, if incidents involving artifacts and sediment occur anywhere in the country, they call Mercyhurst. Special Agent Michael Hochrein, a forensic specialist for the FBI, says Mercyhurst has the finest capability in the United States for this kind of analysis."
J

"It is now widely known that no one documents crime scenes as well as Mercyhurst/'
Dr. James Adovasio

Tests conducted by Mercyhurst revealed that 12 of 18 soil samples found adhering to artifacts could unequivocally be attributed to soils and bedrock samples from Polar Cave, and as a result 10 individuals were convicted of 18 felonies, the largest successful ARPA prosecution to date. "The technology in question has gone from its original application in prehistoric

According to Adovasio, most people who call themselves forensic scholars simply don't document crime scenes the way Mercyhurst does. "In addition to the use of forensic sedimentology, we were among the first archaeology programs in the country to use subsurface conductivity variations to locate archaeological sites, and the first to employ an automated mapping instrument called a laser Theodolite," Adovasio said. "We reasoned that if the conductivity meter could be used to locate underground archaeological sites, it could also be used to find buried bodies and it can," he said. "When we assisted in the identification and recovery of remains in the crash of USAir Flight 427, we employed a laser Theodolite, which marked the first time this instrument was used to document the crash site of a large airliner." Adovasio said the reason a forensic anthropology short course conducted each spring at the college by Dr. Dennis Dirkmaat is attracting crime scene specialists from all over the world is because it is now widely known that no one documents crime scenes as well as Mercyhurst. "I not only see Dr. Dirkmaat's seminars becoming bigger, but I see him carrying the seminars to other places," Adovasio said. "I envision specialized courses for FBI agents because not even the Bureau can provide this training. I also see the potential for a major graduate program in forensic archaeology." Asked if he sees any limits to the level of proficiency and credibility Mercyhurst's forensic anthropology program can attain, Adovasio said, "If we had documented the O.J. Simpson crime scene, I seriously doubt whether any of the issues that came up in court could ever have been raised because they all revolved around mishandled, misrecorded and misdocumented evidence. No, I don't see any limits."

31

HURST ARCHAEOLOGISTS

DIG INTO

CRIME

Dead men do tell tales

Ti three highly unusual he
situations that follow are factual and occurred within the past five years: When a small airplane crashed in a rural part of Pennsylvania, the three people on board were killed and their remains scattered. For insurance purposes, it was essential to know who was piloting the craft. But how could that be determined? In the situation where family members thought they saw bones in what was supposed to be a freshly dug grave, Dirkmaat said, "We theorized that someone later had probably dug up the bones that the family had seen before the interment and that it was, in fact, a previously used grave. We couldn't, however, make an iron-clad case for that without the bones."

He explained, "We suspect the removal was As a casket was being done by shovel thereby lowered into the altering the flat floor of grave, a relative of the the plot. The new casket, deceased noticed what therefore, was not appeared to be human anchored on a level surbones in the bottom of face that caused it to turn the freshly dug grave. on its side and be Had someone else been crushed." buried there previously? In the third case, it was Merle Wood, coroner A coroner had doubts for Erie County for 40 about the identity of a years, who brought an person who was creurn of ashes and bone mated and whose fragments to Dirkmaat. remains were placed in The um had been recovan urn. Could anything ered from a locker at Erie be determined about International Airport. He the person by examinasked if Dirkmaat could ing the ashes? Dr. Dennis Dirkmaat tell him anything about the person in question. All three situations "From teeth and bone In the nine years he has been at Mercyhurst, Dirkmaat has are typical of the chalfragments, I concluded lenges that confront pracbuilt the largest forensic anthropology program in that it was an older male titioners of one of the and that he had not been rarest of professions Pennsylvania and one of the fastest growing in the nation. the victim of a criminal forensic anthropology, act," Dirkmaat said. and which Dr. Dennis Dirkmaat entered the University of Dirkmaat was called in to anthropology. He explained why. "Some Pittsburgh as an anthropology major in solve. Since coming to Mercyhurst in 1991, experts said the son, who was not licensed, 1974. It was in his junior year, after taking a Dirkmaat has been involved in approxiwas flying the plane. Our investigation course in primate anatomy and human mately 150 such cases. proved otherwise," Dirkmaat said. "If you're skeletal anatomy, that his interests came the person flying the plane, your foot is on "In the case of the plane crash, there into sharper focus. the rudder and it would be smashed in the was a father, his son and a friend of the son on board," Dirkmaat explained. "Their remains were recovered at night and put into separate bags, or so we had been told." This piece of information led to disagreement among experts in forensic crash. Our investigation showed that the remains had been commingled the father's foot had been put in the bag with the son's remains and that the father had in fact been piloting the plane." "Dr. Adovasio needed someone to analyze animal and human remains from archaeology sites, and I gladly volunteered," said Dirkmaat, who earned his bachelor's degree in anthropology from

32

Pittsburgh in 1978 and his Ph.D. from there in 1989. He began working as a full-time researcher with Adovasio in 1988, at the same time conducting forensic investigations for the Allegheny County Coroner's Office. In the nine years he has been at Mercyhurst, Dirkmaat has built the largest forensic anthropology program in Pennsylvania and one of the fastest growing in the nation. "It wasn't until I came to Mercyhurst that I really started to develop the concept of forensic anthropology," Dirkmaat said. "With a background in both anthropology and archaeology I began to think it would be valuable to determine the context in which remains were found because it could help reveal how they got there. Very few forensic anthropologists go to the actual location where remains are found, and still fewer utilize archaeological methods in the documentation and recovery of physical evidence." One of the most daunting aspects of the forensic anthropologist's work is taking part in the recovery and identification of remains following the crash of a large airliner. Dirkmaat's first exposure to such catastrophies came with the crash of USAir flight 427 north of Pittsburgh in September 1994. "We let the officials in charge know that, in addition to helping with the identification of remains, we could document the scene with the use of a Total Station, an electronic instrument used in the mapping of archaeology sites," Dirkmaat said. "Pathologists alone usually handle the identification of victims, but in this case the remains were so fragmentary and spread over so large an area that the process was extremely difficult, and the forensic anthropologist's unique skills in the identification of bone fragments were essential. Ultimately, we were able to identify 128 of the 132 victims." Similarly, when Korean Air Flight 801 went down on the Pacific island of Guam in August of 1997, Dirkmaat assisted with the identification of remains. "The plane burned on crashing, so many remains were incinerated," he explained. "I was there for two weeks, and the work was hampered by the fact that it was the wettest August on record."

Then in November 1999, EgyptAir Flight 990 crashed in the Atlantic Ocean off Rhode Island. "I was in charge of the forensic anthropology station," Dirkmaat said. "I went back in February to oversee the final identification of remains." "I realized I had an aptitude for this profession at an early age," Dirkmaat said. "When I was 4 years old, I could put together jigsaw puzzles almost as well as an adult. Then when I was 10 or 11,1 became fascinated with the skeletal remains of animals we would find in the fields, and I even tried to assemble some of them. I also loved reading the adventures of Sherlock Holmes." In 1992 Dirkmaat inaugurated an event that would prove one of the most effective means of gaining national and even international attention for Mercyhurst's forensic program an intensive six-day short course in forensic anthropology, the only short course in the world devoted exclusively to the recovery of human remains from outdoor contexts. "The seminar was originally intended for coroners, but it evolved to include personnel from law enforcement and medical examiners' offices, as well as graduate anthropology students," Dirkmaat said. "This year we had an investigator from the Los Angeles County coroner's office, eight FBI agents and two constables from South Africa. "We're getting students now from schools all over the globe, including American colleges with the biggest anthropology programs in the country, such as the University of Tennessee and University of Arizona. These students are very impressed with our entire archaeology/anthropology program and carry back the word about Mercyhurst to institutions around the world," Dirkmaat added. "This is one of our biggest attractions for potential students," Adovasio said of Dirkmaat's work. "Everything we do here involves the direct, continuous involvement of students. Mercyhurst is known for its teaching mission. That doesn't just mean teaching out of a book it means teaching out of a lab, teaching out of experience."
Don McQuaid is a regular contributor to Mercyhurst Magazine and is editor of the college's ication, Monday Morning.

FAST FACTS
Mercyhurst Archaeological Institute Program
Begun in 1990. Headed by Dr. James Adovasio, worldrenowned archaeologist. Forensic anthropology program directed by Dr. Dennis Dirkmaat Coverage in Time, Newsweek, National Geographic, the New York Times, the London Times, PBS, BBC Television, and Japanese and German public television networks. Involved in archaeological research in five states and Israel, South America, Ukraine and the Czech Republic. Uncovered the post holes for the American fort in Erie, Pa., from which the city sprang, and the first Erie Indian dwelling ever unearthed. Participates in annual field school at Buckaloons, a 300-acre site in the Allegheny National Forest in Pennsylvania, with one of the greatest densities of Native American artifacts in the Northeast. Recovered and identified victims of three major airliner crashes. First to use an archaeological tool to document a major airplane crash site. Annual forensic anthropology seminar draws coroners, law enforcement officials and students from around the world. Dr. Adovasio is the federal government's expert witness in cases involving the theft of artifacts from archaeological sites.

ii

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YEARS

ON

ACRES

f any one thing can be said with certainty about the 20th century it is that the rate of change in all things human underwent a remarkable acceleration. Mercyhurst was no exception. Throughout the past 75 years of change at the college, however, one characteristic never changed Mercyhurst retained its sense of dignity, its commitment to the liberal arts and its faith that it should seek to become one of the nation's great colleges. It is a proud heritage and a mission unaltered: To graduate students marked by an mquiring mind, a strong heart, a sensitive spirit and a graceful elegance. Today these students are men and women professionally prepared, personally responsible and who leave The Gates with a sense of morality, civility, ethics and a relationship with a higher being. In this 75th anniversary issue of Mercyhurst Magazine, care was taken to revere the past, take pride in the even better days of the present and carve out the first steps of our future.

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Alumni
Class Notes

l e Fifties l e Thirties
Pauline O'Laughlin Hergenrother '38, Smethport, Pa., delivered the commencement address at the Smethport Area High School's graduation June 9, 2000. She retired from the faculty at Smethport in 1980. Mary Turner '52, Erie, retired as the librarian at Strong Vincent High School. (Mary) Lou Dwyer Kaufman '53, Albuquerque, N. M., recently retired as a vice president for AK Industrial Electric Products Inc., and is a juried member of the Arizona Designer Craftsmen. Marjorie Williams Laughlin, M.D. '55, Simi Valley, Calif., has been recertified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine for 1999. She is a life fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians. She has 11 grandchildren. Barbara Coole Ayres '56, Strykersville, N.Y., retired from Children's Hospital of Buffalo, where she was a clinical dietitian. Dr. Judith Roseberry Kohl '56, Lewiston, N.Y., retired as curriculum director from St. Mary School for the Deaf. Delphine Dwyer Kucera '58, Wading River, N.Y., retired as planner of the Town of Southampton, Long Island. Kathleen Kurucz Simonyi '59, Lyndhurst, Ohio, retired Dec. 31, 1998, as a medical technologist from the Cleveland Clinic after 25 years of service. Barbara DeSantis Bates '59, Arnold, Md., retired from teaching at Ann Arundel County School.

The Sixties
Janet Kuss Martin '60, Pensacola, Fla., retired as a professor at Pensacola Junior College. Maureen Schedlin Nickel '61, Port St. Lucie, Fla., retired as an elementary school teacher of 32 years in 1996. She was president of the Port St. Lucie, Fla., Newcomer's Club in 1998-1999. Her current interests include doing theme and gourmet parties, travel and volunteer police work. Cecilia Petrini Slat '62, Allison Park, Pa., retired as head of the English department at the Greater Works Academy. Nancy Nesta Mistro '64, Mount Lebanon, Pa., retired from teaching in the Carlynton School District. Joan Pletnik McArdle '64, Houston, Texas, is celebrating the 10th anniversary of her company, Bytes 'n Grins, the product of a unique way to use the art and creativity that she learned at Mercyhurst, and developed as a niche in the booming computer industry. She travels coast-tocoast attending computer and edtech conferences promoting "outrageously funny geek gifts." Maureen Fiedler, SL '65, Hyattsville, Md., is the host of "Faith Matters: Inter-faith Talk Radio," broadcasting since November 1999. She is also coeditor of "Rome Has Spoken" (N.Y.: Crossroad, 1998). Maryce Jaeger Cunningham '65, Westport, Conn., was promoted to corporate director, access programming for Cablevision, responsible for all access programming in Connecticut, New York, Long Island and New Jersey. Mary Berloffa Temple '66, Erie, achieved her CFRE (Certified Fund-raising Executive) designation in November 1999.

Genevieve Mastrian Wiesen '66, Mineral Ridge, Ohio, is a firstgrade teacher at Weathersfield Local School, where she is a certified mentor for entry-year teachers, and has elementary education certification with computer science and gifted/talented. Genevieve has also been named a Giant Eagle Outstanding Teacher. Margaret Clay Scott '66, Oil City, Pa., has retired from teaching at the Seventh Street Elementary School. Rosalie Barsotti '67, McKees Rocks, Pa., is vice president of human resources for Childrens Hospital in Pittsburgh. Lorraine Condino Walley '68, Aliquippa, Pa., was recently honored in the Catholic Schools Golden Apple Awards for Teachers in Pittsburgh. She has been teaching for 30 years; 28 of those at Quigley Catholic High School, where she is the English Department Chair.

The Forties
Loretta Crowley Bauer '45, Hobe Sound, Fla., a retired teacher, also retired as a broker from Bauer Real Estate Inc. Margaret Sullivan Polito '45, Cleveland, Ohio, retired as a pharmacy technician from Fairview General Hospital. Mary Margaret McLaughlin Craig '48, Indiana, Pa., retired from teaching at Apollo Ridge High School.

It's news to us
Class notes will be accepted through Feb. 16 for the Alumni in the News section of "Mercyhurst Today." Publication date: March 2001. Submit news and photos to: Tammy Roche Gandolfo '76 Mercyhurst College 501 E 38th SL Erie, Pa. 16546

Nancy Prenatt '59, Centerville, Pa., retired from teaching at Union City area schools after a 39-year career. Mary Anne Koss Flynn '60, Albuquerque, N.M., received the Crystal Apple Educator award for 1988, and has since retired as a teacher from the Career Enrichment Center.

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Helen Cozma Deneselya '68, Uniontown, Ohio, now works for One Step Incorporated. Linda (Moof) Salem Burtis '68, Delmar, N.Y., received her master's degree in social work in 1971 from Rutgers University, then went on for 10 years as a master level tennis professional and nationally ranked player. The mother of two daughters who graduated from college in spring 2000, she has just been appointed director of New York Shines, a public education program that teaches homeowners the value of solar energy. Mary Anne Zeitler Hannibal '68, Indiana, Pa., received her Ph.D. from SUNY Buffalo. She is now assistant professor of education at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Mary Ann Bosco Pomerleau '69, Santa Monica, Calif., received a doctorate in educational technology from Pepperdine University in June 2000. Carolyn Funari Radkowski '69, Greensburg, Pa., is a department specialist for Jo-Ann Fabrics. Karen Schreckengost Leahy '69, Harrisburg, Pa., is a statistician and coordinator for the workforce information center for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Labor and Industry.

Dennis Kuhn '74, Port Orange, Fla., received his master's degree in classical studies from the University of Florida in 1998. He continues to teach Latin and coach tennis at Atlantic High School. Peter Quell '74, Manassas, Va., is a police officer for Fairfax County, Va. Joseph Salamon '74, Lakeview, N.Y., is in business development for the Mayfair Sales Company. Elizabeth Hicks Riley '75, Rochester, N.Y., is director of human resources for Monroe County, N.Y. Michael Diaco '76, Erie, is human resource and quality assurance manager of manufacturing operations for Babcock Borsig Power. John Gaughan, Esq. '76, Pittsburgh, Pa., joined the law firm of Rothman Gordon Foreman & Groudine, PC. He practices in the areas of litigation and workers' compensation. William Glinka '76, Colchester, Vt., is the assistant regional director, intelligence, with the U.S. Immigration Service. Elisa Guida '76, Erie, owner and jewelry designer for La Petite Jewelers, launched a company Web site: <acustomjeweler.com> in January 2000. Edward Inscho, Ph.D. '76, New Orleans, La., is an associate professor of physiology at the Tulane University School of Medicine. His areas of expertise are the mechanisms controlling renal hemodynamic function and videomicroscopic analysis of the juxtamedullary nephron microvasculaure. Dr. Inscho recently received an ASH/Monarch Pharmaceuticals 2000 Young Scholars Award from the American Society of Hypertension at the organization's 15th annual meeting in New York, N.Y. The Young Scholars Award carries a personal award of $3,500 and a $10,000 award designated for his laboratory. Kathleen McHale Pfister '76, Erie, is the office manager for Sawmill Enterprises. Lynn Niederlander Weiss '76, Clarence, N.Y, is self-employed, consulting as LN Tourism Marketing Services. Valerie Sherrange Crofoot '76, North East, Pa., has been operating her own home-based Pennsylvania licensed and registered preschool for the past six years. Salvator Timpani '76, Henrietta, N.Y, has a new position with the Xerox Corporation as an inventory analyst.

Dianna Vacco '76, Boynton Beach, Fla., is a ninth-grade teacher at Spanish River High School. Cathryn Bern '77, Albany, N.Y, is the legislative analyst to the minority leader of the New York State Senate. Ken Link '77, Erie, is a child case counselor for Harborcreek Youth Services. Jodyda Sanchez Swaim '77, West Olive, Mich., has been promoted to director of food safety, compliance, auditing and implementation for Sara Lee Meat Manufacturing North, with responsibility for nine manufacturing plants, 20 co-packer plants and all suppliers. Michael Schweingruber '77, Erie, is a residential life instructor for the Gertrude A. Barber Center. Darlene Keith Weber '78, Galloway, Ohio, is the e-mail administrator and test coordinator for Grange Insurance. Joseph Pacinelli '78, Erie, has been promoted to director of human resources at Johnson Controls Inc. Robert Dell '79, Honolulu, Hawaii, is a credit union examiner for the National Credit Administration. Nancy Knobloch Heller '79, Erie, earned an associate degree in computer networking from TriState Business Institute in March 2000. She is working for Rentway Corporate Headquarters in Erie in corporate technical support. Rosemarie Konkol Foessett '79, Erie, is the manager of technical support, operational services for GTE. Mary Kilmer '79, Erie, is a teacher at Asbury Elementary School.

The Law Office of Michael John Phillips '80, Everett, Wash., was appointed to the Western Conference of Teamsters Legal Services Panel in October 1999. Specializing in helping working families throushout Washington state, the firm also extends the AFL-CIO's "Union Privilege" program to all union members and its families. Jeanine Baas Stark '81, West Milford, N.J., is the school nurse for Macopin Middle School. Kevin Downey '81, Corry, Pa., is pursuing his Ph.D. at SUNY Buffalo. Christine Palota Bowler '81, Erie, received her master's degree from Edinboro University in December 1999. Ernest Zmyslinski '81, Westerly, R.L, is finance director for the City of Warwick, a position he took in August 1999. Vicki Culmer Lavrinc '82, Erie, is a first-grade teacher at Jefferson Elementary School. Ruth Gabreski '82, Littleton, Colo., attended graduate school in landscape design at Radcliffe College, and is the nursery manager at The Gardens in Highlands Ranch. David Kist '82, Hudson, Ohio, is a national account executive for Campbell's Soup Inc. Valerie Kaminski Laufenberg '82, North East, Pa., is the educator programs manager for Americans for the Competitive Enterprise System (ACES). Laurie Mahnken-John '82, Jacksonville, Fla., earned a nursing degree in 1995 and is currently the director of nursing at Health South Medical Partners Surgery Center. Mary Cay Marchione Ricci '82, Olney, Md., was a presenter at the National Curriculum Network Conference 2000 at the College of William and Mary, speaking on "Instructional Planning for Gifted/Highly Able Students." Rose Marie Forget Zmyslinski '82, Westerly, R.L, is a clinical nurse specialist and advanced practice registered nurse at Backus Hospital in Norwich, Conn. She recently received her clinical specialist certification from the American Nurses Association in adult psychiatric mental health nursing and gerontological nursing. Debra Conley Brown '83, Lake City, Pa., is a private psychotherapist with Lake Erie Counseling Association in Erie.

The Seventies
Susan Gardner DeCarlo '70, West Orange, N.J., is an account executive for Beverage Data Network. Dennis Andres '72, Granger, Ind., has been named executive director of the Morris Performing Arts Center in South Bend, Ind. Susan Dieteman Schmitt '72, Erie, earned her master's degree in May 1999. She is a family and consumer sciences teacher at Central High School in Erie. Cheryl Courtney Bates '73, Erie, earned her master's degree in counseling psychology in 1998. Joan Page Moore '73, Erie, received the Celebrate Literacy Award from the Erie Reading Council in March 2000.

Mary Wegman Link '80, Erie, is a customer service representative for Northwest Savings Bank, and also a part-time preschool teacher.

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Nancy Mantell '83, Geneva, N.Y, is the office manager for the Ontario City Probation Department. Mark Sutkoff '83, Tampa, Fla., was recently promoted to the rank of police detective with the Tampa Police Department, where he has been employed for nearly 14 years. He is assigned to the criminal investigation division, major crimes bureau. Patricia Clark Lightner '84, Erie, is the director of the Pennsylvania Board of Parole. Michael Hetrick '85, Macomb, 111., was recently accepted into the MBA program at Western Illinois University, concentrating in finance and marketing. Patricia Leuschen '85, Erie, is director of marketing for Life Services Development Corporation. Grace Ricci '85, Rochester, N.Y., was named Recognized Young Dietitian of the Year in New York state in 1998. She joined Novartis Nutrition in 1999 as an account specialist. Steve Seymour '85, North East, Pa., is manager of human resources for Country Fair Inc. in

William A. Nesdore '87, Columbus, Ohio, has opened his own CPA firm in Columbus. Christopher Renouf '87, Venice, Fla., received his Ed.D. degree in educational leadership and is now the principal of Ashton Elementary School in Sarasota, Fla. Naomi Romanchok '87, Annandale, Va., is a certified meeting professional for the Food Allergy Network in Fairfax, Va. Capt. Matthew J. Shim, USAF, BSC '87, Hickam AFB, Hawaii, is public health flight deputy commander for the U.S. Air Force in Hawaii, assigned to the 15th Aeromedical-Dental Squadron. Christopher Cuzzola '88, Erie, received his master's degree in secondary school administration from Edinboro University in December 1999. Richard Dyer, CPA '88, Akron, Ohio, has been promoted to president and chief executive officer of Telantis Group Corporation. Renee Hamilton Finnecy '88, Erie, received her master's degree from Penn State in the spring of 1999, and was recently promoted to territory sales manager for Mead Johnson Nutritionals, a BristolMyers Squibb Company. Tom Parilla '88, Erie, is a stock broker with NatCity Investments Inc. He has achieved the "Circle of Excellence," NatCity's top tier, as well as the "All American Team" for American Funds, and the "Golden Scale Council" for Putnam Funds. Paul Mocho '89, Cleveland, Ohio, was promoted to director of corporate sales at the CAVS/Gund Arena Company.

Bradley Fairfield '90, Erie, is director of development for the Diocese of Erie - Catholic Charities. David Ridgeway '90, Erie, is sales manager for Western-Southern Life Insurance Company in Erie. Kelly Booth Koster '91, Dallas, Texas, is in senior sales at the Westin Stonebriar. Ken Floss '91, Maineville, Ohio, is a sales force automation specialist for Nextel Communications. Shelly VanAlstine O'Hara '91, St. Marys, Pa., is the Elk County victim witness coordinator through CAPSEA Inc. Wendy Smith Wood '91, Lakewood, Colo., is assistant general manager and director of sales at The Golden Hotel where her husband, Derek Wood '92, is the general manager. Michelle Calvert '92, Hermitage, Pa., completed her master's degree in early childhood education in December 1999 at Slippery Rock University. She is currently working for the Hermitage School District teaching seventh- and eighthgrade gifted, seventh-grade language arts and eighth-grade earth science. Michelle has also been accepted at Westminster College to pursue another master's degree/certificate for administration/secondary principal in the summer of 2000. Angela Cardillo '92, Mars, Pa., teaches second grade for the Seneca Valley School District and is currently working on her master's degree in elementary math/science. Jill Horvath Crable '92, Erie, is a teacher at Wayne Middle School. Kristin Graff Graham '92, Berea, Ohio, is assistant administrator of a 250-bed skilled nursing and rehabilitation center in Cleveland. She recently received the New Professional Award, given to individuals who have made a significant contribution to not-forprofit services for the aging and have been practicing in the field for fewer than five years.

Mark Mattis '92, Erie, has been awarded the designation of Chartered Retirement Plan Specialist by the College for Financial Planning. He serves as director of pension services for Evans Capital Management. Tammy Wasko Moletz '92, Pittsburgh, Pa., has advanced to associate status with Burt Hill Kosar Rittleman Associates. She is an interior designer specializing in project management. Timothy Pratt '92, Chicago, 111., is a member of the Chicago Board of Trade and an independent floor trader in the Dow Jones Stock Index Futures pit. His wife, Kara Krista Pratt '93, is an oncology nurse at the new Northwestern Memorial Hospital facility. Ann Salandra Boyd '92, Amherst, N.Y, completed her graduate studies, receiving an MBA in marketing from SUNY Buffalo in 1997. Julie Theiss '92, Erie, is the library media specialist at East High School in Erie. Clifford Clark '93, Emporium, Pa., is director of industrial authority for the County of Cameron. Thomas Craig '93, Boynton Beach, Fla., is manager and owner of Gulfstream Pharmacy where his wife, Erin Strucker Craig '93, is a pharmacist as well as an owner. Lisa Joy Finch '93, Pittsburgh, Pa., is a reading specialist for the reading clinic at Duquesne University School of Education. Mark Korcinsky '93, Beaver, Pa., teaches biology and physics at Beaver Area High School. He also received a direct commission in the U.S. Army Reserve as a second lieutenant in the Medical Service Corps. Amy Byrne Kovacs '93, Ashburn, Va., is a technical recruiter for Emerald Solutions in Vienna, Va. Husband Stephen Kovacs Jr. '93, is director of product integrations for TPN Register Inc. in Rockville, Md. Michael Dukovich '93, Bowie, Md., is a special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration. Mary Medure '93, Pittsburgh, Pa., is a field event manager for Marconi Communications. Alesia Miller Kotek '93, Erie, works inside sales at Niagara Plastics. Her husband, Patrick Kotek '94, is the office supervisor for H. Jack Langer Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning.

Erie.
Denise Charles Brumale '86, Baldwinsville, N.Y, teaches sixth-grade English at Emerson J. Dillon Middle School in Phoenix, N.Y Laura DeCarolis Caldwell '86, Waterford, Pa., has begun a new position in the Fort LeBoeuf School District as the confidential secretary for the district's school psychologist. Maureen Casey Renouf '86, Venice, Fla., recently received her degree in children's literature and is now involved in writing short stories for children. Cynthia Ferraro Smithtro '86, Brockway, Pa., is a computer graphic artist for Courier Express Publishing. Lisa DeMichele Decker '87, Coventry, Conn., received her master's degree in educational psychology in May 1997. Narda Gatgen-Smigel '87, Jamestown, N.Y, has been promoted to director of clinical services for New Directions. David Hewett '87, Erie, is a partner with McGill, Power, Bell & Associates, LLP, certified public accountants and business consultants. Jeffrey Lorei '87, Erie, is a senior market development representative for the Liofol Company.

l e Nineties
Ronald Blum Jr. '90, Seekonk, Mass., is a sales manager for Olive Garden Restaurants. Karen Cascio Chow '90, Harrisburg, N.C., is a recovery room nurse at NorthEast Medical Center in Concord, N.C., and is serving as secretary for the regional branch of the American Society of Peri-Anesthesia Nurses.

Sean Hennessy '92, Webster, N.Y, is a regional manager for Steadman and Garger in Rochester, N.Y. Andres Krahe '92, received his master's degree in education in secondary school administration from Edinboro University in December 1999.

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Andrew Moir '93, Ontario, Canada, recently graduated with an MBA from Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario and is working with the Bank of Montreal as a portfolio manager, commercial banking. Joseph Pasquerell '93, Pembroke Pines, Fla., accepted a position as senior systems analyst for the ordinary life division of Assurant Group in Miami. Liesl Cramer Valone '94, North East, Pa., is a learning support math teacher and department chair at Harborcreek High School. Heidi Hess-Winiecki '94, Erie, was recently honored at the annual Erie Drug & Alcohol Coalitions' luncheon for five years of service in the drug and alcohol field and five years at Community House Inc. She is a treatment specialist in the Halfway House Program. Amy Kindling-Basco '94, Painesville, Ohio, is an athletic trainer with Lake Hospital Systems. Grace Bruno '94, Devils Lake, N.D., graduated from Suffolk University in Boston in 1998 with a master's degree in higher education administration. She is director of continuing education/IVN for Lake Region State College. David McQuillen '94, Atlanta, Ga., is chief marketing officer for EInvest.com, an Internet investment services firm. He earned his MBA in information technology strategy from the City University Business School of London. Kimberly Rudolph Murphy '94, Willoughby, Ohio, is a financial planner for McDonald Investment. Jennifer Swik Morrison '94, Warren, Pa., received her master's degree in special education from Edinboro University, December 1999.

Kristine DeMarinis '95, Ashburn, Va., is a third-grade teacher for Dranesville Elementary School in Herndon, Va. Angela Deutsch-Plonski '95, Cranberry Township, Pa., is an interior designer for Foreman Architects Engineers. Christopher Fiely '95, Titusville, Pa., is a new age beverage consultant for McGregor Beverage. Mary Ann Francis '95, Erie, is a geology teacher at Mercyhurst Preparatory School. Thomas R. Gierszal '95, Westlake, Ohio, was recently appointed to the board of governors of the Propeller Club of the United States/Port of Cleveland, which serves to promote, further and support the American merchant marine and aids the development of river, Great Lakes and harbor improvements. He works as an agent engaged in international Great Lakes trade for the Columbus Shipping Agency. David Gourley '95, New Canton, Va., is a lead special education teacher at Gold Hill Elementary in the Buckingham School District. Mary Hockett '95, Erie, is a special education teacher with the Erie School District. Melissa Irwin Terhart '95, Cleveland, Ohio, is a business education teacher in the Richmond Heights School District. Toby Johnson '95, Titusville, Pa., is a patrolman with the Titusville Police Department and his wife, Norma Telega Johnson '95, is a first-grade teacher at Main Street Elementary School. Sooyoung Kang Smeltz '95, Greensboro, N.C., earned her master's degree in piano performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in May 2000. Karen Universal Schrader '95, Dunkirk, N.Y., received national board certification in the area of early adolescence mathematics in November 1999. Erin Cinderich '96, Monaca, Pa., earned a second bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. She is a quality engineer for the Valspar Corporation in Pittsburgh. Kristen Dahn '96, Waterford, Pa., is a teacher in the Fort LeBoeuf School District. Britt Hughson Schumacher '96, Erie, received her master's degree in counseling from Edinboro University in December 1999.

Brenda Moschel '96, Jefferson Hills, Pa., is an athletic trainer at the Spine and Sports Rehabilitation Center. Nina Napoleone Cantoni '96, Las Vegas, Nev., is a distributor representative for Desert Spine Inc., where she works in management and distribution of spinal and medical implants. David Perry '96, Washington, Pa. was ordained a deacon on July 9. 2000, at St. Elizabeth Church in Smethport, Pa. He will be ordained a priest in fall 2001. Mary Zelenka Dudenhoefer '96, Erie, is a music teacher for the Millcreek Township School District. Charles Andres '97, Pittsburgh, Pa., is pursuing his MFA in production, technology and management at Carnegie Mellon University. Michael Baldzicki '97, Dublin, Ohio, is territory business manager for Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical, specializing in the diabetes/cardiovascular area. Linda Bieber '97, Erie, has received her master's degree in library science from Clarion University. She is currently the librarian for Roosevelt Middle School in Erie. Ian Crockford '97, Bloomfield Hills, Mich., is a software sales representative for Compuware Corporation in Manhattan, N.Y. Celine DeBruyne Field '97, Oley, Pa., is a special education teacher sixth-grade learning support in the Reading Public Schools. Sondra Dorward '97, Harrisburg, Pa., is a full-time physician assistant graduate student at Lockhaven University. Joanne Fischer '97, Manassas, Va., was promoted to branch manager of Chevy Chase Bank in Manassas. Shannon Hagan Glennon '97, Edinboro, Pa., is a seventh-grade science teacher at Iroquois High School, Erie. Jason Kociban '97, Wheeling, W.Va., is a field chemist for Safety Kleen. Mindi McDowell '97, Pittsburgh, Pa., is pursuing a master's degree in professional writing at Carnegie Mellon University. She is employed as a writer/editor with the CERT Coordination Center at the Software Engineering Institute. Vanessa Pappalardo '97, Lakewood, Ohio, is the assistant nurse manager on HSO - Internal Medicine/Telemetry at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Jennifer Root '97, Rochester Hills, Mich., is an assistant athletic trainer for Merrimack College. Lynn Savidge '97, Germantown, Md., is benefits manager for the Grand Hyatt Washington. Gretchen Storm Mohney '97, Mattawan, Mich., graduated in May 1999 from Western Michigan University with her master's degree in athletic training. She is currently employed at K Valley Orthopedics Sports Medicine Clinic in Kalamazoo as aquatics director and athletic trainer, and has recently co-produced the video, "Golfing With Back Pain." Trade Warner '97, Titusville, Pa., is attending graduate school at Slipper}' Rock University. Corey Zieziula '97, Erie, has been named account manager for Dodsworth Trucking, a subsidiary of T. W.L. Sarah Allen '98, Fairview Park, Ohio, is the activities coordinator for the American Retirement Corporation. Holly Gettemy Kitchen '98, Erie, is a teacher at the Gertrude A. Barber Center, where her husband, Thomas Kitchen '97, is a behavioral therapist. Nikki Milano Crouch '98, Kittredge, 111., is the ballet mistress of the St. Paul's School Ballet Company, known as one of the most prestigious high schools in the nation. Tara Piekanski Maras '98, Erie, is a Web editor and communications specialist in the corporate communications department at Erie Insurance Group. Rebecca Revell '98, Dallas, Texas, is a quality/test engineer for Regency Systems Inc. in Addison, Texas, where she tests Internet banking applications and interactive voice recognition systems.

38

Jeffrey Scott '98, Medina, Ohio, is a physical therapist assistant in the sports department of Medina General Hospital. Carm Beardsley '99, North East, Pa., is a customer service representative for Ferrell Gas. Heather Bentley '99, Edinboro, Pa., is a teacher at Villa Maria Academy in Erie. Duane Churchill '99, Erie, is the materials manager for Carlisle Engineered Products. Denise Dombkowski Borsuk '99, St. Petersburg, Fla., is a financial services professional for Mass Mutual in Tampa. Natasha Edwards '99, Marshfield, Mass., has been promoted to a research scientist for Genome Therapeutic in Waltham, Mass. Elizabeth Jubeck '99, Pittsburgh, Pa., is a management associate for National City Bank. Brian Lanahan '99, North East, Pa., is the basketball manager for Family First Sports Park in Erie. Ryan Loveland '99, Chicago, 111., works for the sales department of the Hyatt Regency at O'Hare Airport. Robert Merski '99, Erie, is teaching theology at Cathedral Prep while working on a master's degree in special education at Mercyhurst. Robert Plutto, Jr. '99, Alexandria, Va., was promoted to front desk manager at the Crystal City Gateway Marriott in Washington, D.C. Kimberly Seaman Creese '99, Erie, is a substitute teacher in the Millcreek School District. Jessica Stout '99, Corfu, N.Y., has been hired as the public relations assistant at Six Flags Darien Lake Theme Park. Georges van den Eshof '99, The Hague, the Netherlands, is an intelligence analyst for Divisie Recherche.

Georgann Butterfield '00, Petersburg, W.Va., is employed as gifted diagnostician for Grant County Schools in Petersburg. Eric Clark '00, Lakewood, N.Y., has been appointed software developer for Libera Inc. in Jamestown, N.Y., where he previously did an internship. Jennifer Davidson '00, Erie, is the visual merchandiser for the John V. Schultz Co., where she is responsible for visually coordinating showrooms in two Erie locations and two Cleveland stores. Kelli Davis '00, Erie, is a pension analyst for Hubbard Bert Karle Weber Inc. Danielle DeMatteo '00, Reston, Va., is teaching third-grade emotional support at Fairfax County Public Schools. Kimberly Falvo '00, Pittsburgh, Pa., is a sales associate with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Health Plan. Amy Fridrich '00, Bay Village, Ohio, is an art teacher at Renwood Elementary School in Parma, Ohio. Danielle Greenburg '00, Hermitage, Pa., is attending graduate school at the University of Pittsburgh for library science. Jeremy Hartung '00, El Paso, Texas, is serving as a second lieutenant in a Patriot Missile battalion. Air Defense Artillery, at Ft. Bliss. Scott Koskoski '00, Moon Township, Pa., is the assistant director of sports information and marketing at Robert Morris College, Pittsburgh, where he is pursuing a master's degree in sports management. Michelle Moser '00, Alexandria, Va., is a clinical dietitian for The Washington House, a long-term care facility and retirement community. Cara Paglia '00, Rockville, Md., works in interior design with the architectural firm Maleady & Rosenburg in Montgomery Village, Md. Michelle Pcsolyar '00, Pittsburgh, Pa., is working toward her master's degree in sportsmedicine and has a graduate assistantship at the University of Pittsburgh. Gregory Snell '00, Camillus, N Y , is the assistant banquet manager for the Philadelphia Marriott West. Rebecca Spena '00, Erie, is a social worker with Lakeshope, counseling individuals with mental illness.

Christine Spikes '00, Painesville, Ohio, is pursuing her master's degree at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. Carrie Tappe '00, Glen Burnie, Md., is assistant manager at Farmers Bank of Maryland in Annapolis, Md. Alexandra T\irkas '00, Moon Township, Pa., is a family and consumer sciences teacher at Quaker Valley High School. Kathleen Wargo '00, WinstonSalem, N.C., is teaching fourth grade in Davie County, N.C. Fedor Zakusilo '00, Erie, is a regional manager (Eastern Europe) for Reed Manufacturing Co.

Denise Charles Brumale '86 and her husband, Richard, have two children: Jillian, born in 1997, and Anthony, born in 1999. Timothy Latimer '86 and his wife, Jody, a daughter, Ashley Mae, born March 20, 1998. Nina Serrins Krats '86 a daughter, Hannah Elyse, born July 26, 1999. Christie Marie Smith Henry '86 and her husband, Daniel, a son, Mark Joseph, born April 9, 2000. Lisa DeMichele Decker '87 and her husband, Frank, a daughter, Madison Nicole, born Oct. 17, 1997. She joins big brother Nathan Christopher, born Aug. 22, 1994. Kathleen McNamee '87 has two children: Brianna, born April 30, 1993, and Ricky, born Oct. 18, 1997. Christopher Renouf '87 and his wife, Maureen (Casey) '86, are the parents of 5-year-old Shawn and 3-year-old Haylee. Richard Dyer '88 and his wife, Patricia (Dunlavey), a son, Matthew Stephen, born July 6, 1996. Renee Hamilton Finnecy '88 and her husband, William, a son, Liam, born July 29, 1999. His 2year-old brother, Logan, also welcomes him. Catherine Wlodek Erickson '89 and her husband, Erick, a daughter, Catelynn Ashley, born April 7, 2000. Lisa Dumi Fahrenholz '89 and her husband, Thomas, a daughter, Allison Ella, born April 7, 2000. She joins big sister Victoria Anne, born April 13, 1998. Chris Mindach '89 and his wife, Kerry (Vietmeier) '90, a son, Mitchell Christopher, born April 5, 2000. Paul Mocho '89 and his wife, Kathleen, a daughter, Anna, born July 25, 2000. She joins big brother Peter, born Aug. 30, 1998. Ronald Blum Jr. '90 a daughter, Gabrielle, born Dec. 1, 1999. She joins big sister, Olivia, born Jan. 11, 1995. Karen Cascio Chow '90 and her husband, Henry, a son, Christopher, born Oct. 4, 1999. Christopher Adams, DO '91 and his wife, Wendy (Morrison) 491, a son, Cameron Michael, born Jan.2, 2000. He joins big sisters, Casey Meghan, born Oct. 3, 1996, and Caleigh Mckenzie, born Oct. 18, 1997. Colleen Coneglio Danko '91 and her husband, Mark, a daughter, Bridget Rose, born Dec. 14, 1999.
O N

Births
Lynn Niederlander Weiss '76, a daughter, Gretchen, born June 12, 1999. Bernadine Borinski Vojtko '80 and her husband, Lawrence, are the proud parents of Michael Lawrence, born June 8, 1989, and Jonathan Matthew, born May 29, 1993. Ernest Zmyslinski '81 and his wife, Rose Marie (Forget) '82, are the proud parents of Angela Rose, born April 30, 1993, and Michelle Marie, born Oct. 28, 1995. Jane Cassano Culmer '83 and her husband, Todd, a daughter, Halle, born April 5, 1999. She joins big brothers Garrett, 15, and Ben, 12. Debra Conley Brown '83 and her husband, Dean, are the proud parents of Garrett Dean, born June 2, 1993, and Gabriel Alan, born Nov. 13, 1997. Lisa Costello Heckman '83 and her husband, John, a son, John Ronald, born Aug. 28, 2000. Kristine Kowalski Kobella '83 and her husband, Douglas, a daughter, Danielle, born Jan. 26, 1996rShe joins older sisters Kara and Mariah. Elaine Zasada Flick '83 and her husband, Richard, a son, Adam, born June 14, 1996. He joins older sister Adrienne, born July 21, 1986. John Berchtold '84 and his wife, Patrice, are the proud parents of Logan, born March 18, 1992, and Amanda, born Sept. 15, 1993. Robert Nies '85 and his wife, Maureen (O'Hara) '85, are the proud parents of Lindsey, born Sept. 8, 1990, and Bob Jr., born June 26, 1992. Lynn Fisher Anderson '86 and her husband, Kirk, a daughter, Hanna Grace, born Sept. 26, 1999.

Two Thousand
Kevin Brubaker '00, Toledo, Ohio, is pursuing an MBA at the University of Toledo, and working as a staff accountant at Gilmore, Jasion & Mahler, LTD.

39

Anita Farak Jares '91 and her husband, John, a daughter, Sydney Elizabeth, born Jan. 20, 2000. Anthony Sartini '91 and his wife, Tracey, a son, Anthony Michael Jr., born Aug. 21, 1999. Wendy Smith Wood '91 and her husband, Derek Wood '92, a son, Wyatt Sterling, born Feb. 29, 2000. Maria Stahon Perkins '91 and her husband, Matthew, a daughter, Olivia Ann, born Jan. 16, 2000. Joseph Devoy '92 and his wife, Karen (Eckert) '93, a son, Eoin, born Oct. 15, 1998. Kristin Graff Graham '92 and her husband, Bryan, a son, Evan Patrick, born Aug. 23, 1999. He joins his sister, Megan Elizabeth, born Dec. 14, 1997. Robert VanderWoude '92 and his wife, Jennifer (Ochalek) '96, a son, Greyson Hunter, born April 21, 1999. Pamela Jonischek Chodubski '93 and her husband, Michael, a daughter, Emma Dawn, born Jan. 7, 2000. Kelly Koziarski Becker '93 and her husband, Brian, a son, Cameron Douglas, born May 10, 1999. He joins older brother, Austin Paul, born Oct. 29, 1996. Deborah Lang Redlin '93 and her husband, Keith, a son, Austin Taylor, born Aug. 23, 2000. Catherine Zicarelli DeVore '94 and her husband, Brian, a son, Gabriel Brian, born Sept. 16, 1999. Angela Deutsch-Plonski '95 and her husband, Stephen, a son, William Stephen, born Feb. 8, 2000. Amy Treadwell Weisensel '95 and her husband, Stephen, a daughter, Sarah Eileen, born Aug. 24, 1999. Greg Hischuck '96 and his wife, Karen (Weston) '96, a son, Blair William, born March 6, 1999. John Piatko '96 and his wife, Rebecca (Dubisz) '97, a daughter, Hannah Rose, born Feb. 19, 2000.

Sean Hennessy '92 married Leighanne Renninger. Michael Goodill '92 married Julie Buczynski on May 15, 1999Ann Salandra '92 married Donald Boyd on Oct. 3, 1998. Robert VanderWounde '92 married Jennifer Ochalek '96 in August, 1996. Amy M. Byrne '93 married Stephen D. Kovacs Jr. '93 on June 19, 1999. Fellow graduates Katie Byrne Kelley '95, Shelli Skehan Hunter '93, Kristen Kastelic Nelson '93, Gina Giachetti '93, and Patty Suk Hall '93 were part of the wedding party. Mark Korcinsky '93 married Nancy Reynolds on June 10, 2000. Classmates Doug Melvin '93 and Paul Reynolds '93 were members of the wedding party. Erin Strucker '93 married Thomas Craig '93 on July 24, 1999, in Delray Beach, Fla. Wedding party members included Elizabeth Strucker '94 and Kevin Schultz '93; and Virginia Fohiot Strucker '60 is mother of the bride. Liesl Cramer '94 married Robert Valone Jr. on June 10, 2000, at St. Patrick Church in Erie. Jodi Marie Dresel '94 married Jody David Sucharski on May 13, 2000, at St. Luke's Church in Erie. Members of the wedding party included Janell Dresel '96, Jennifer Kraus '94, David McQuillen '94 and Daniel McQuillen '95. Joy Girard '94 married Dr. Kevin Sullivan on Aug. 16, 1999. Amy Kindling '94 married Frank Basco'95 on May 1, 1999. Michelle Ryan '94 married Drew Norris on Sept. 25, 1999. Alums Denise Ryan '91, Heather Ryan '96 and Grace Bruno '94 were members of the wedding party. Ruth Thompson '94 married Bryan DeLio on March 18,2000. Classmates Erie Hauber '93 and Renee Upperman '94 were members of the wedding party. Marc Boeh '95 married Carmel Dougherty '97 on Aug. 26, 2000. Ann Buziewicz '95 married Chris BurfordonSept.19, 1998. Jacqueline Hinz '95 married Douglas Shaw on Dec. 27, 1997. Jeffrey Hutchinson '95 married Leslee Gromacki on July 10, 1999, at Mount Calvary Church in Erie. Melissa Irwin '95 married Michael Terhart on June 3, 2000, at St. Andrew Catholic Church in Erie.

Kathleen Kelley '95 married Edward Kelley Jr. "96 on Oct. 16, 1999, in Rochester, N.Y. Norma Telega '95 married Toby Johnson '95 on July 10, 1999, in Sharon, Pa. Karen Universal '95 married Philip Schrader on Aug. 21, 1999. Nina Napoleone '96 married Louis Cantoni on Aug. 16, 1997, at Our Lady of Fatima Church. Mary Zelenka '96 married Eric Dudenhoefer on July 10, 1999, at St. Marys Catholic Church in Berea, Ohio. Michael Baldzicki '97 married Leslie N. Dukes on April 29, 2000. Celine DeBruyne '97 married Brendon Field on June 26, 1999. Shannon Hagan '97 married Mark Glennon on June 17, 2000, at St. Luke Catholic Church in Erie. Thomas Kitchen '97 married Holly Gettemy '98 on June 26, 1998, in the Mercyhurst Grotto. Renee Masters '97 married Michael R. Doody on Oct. 2, 1999. in Webster, N.Y. Gretchen Storm '97 married Kenneth Mohoney in November 1999. Nikki Milano '98 married Dan Crouch on June 18,2000. Tara Piekanski '98 married Ronald Maras on Aug. 18, 2000, at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Erie. Jeffrey Scott '98 married Rebecca Sandleon June 12, 1999, in Christ the King Chapel at Mercyhurst College. Kimberly Seaman '99 married Matthew Creese on June 30, 2000, at Church of the Cross Presbyterian Church in Erie. Jamie Smith '00 married Brian Henretta on June 24, 2000. Jennifer Harwell '00 married Timothy Conway '99 on Sept. 16, 2000, in Christ the King Chapel at Mercyhurst College.

Students Brigitte Sauers Jennifer Fatica Husband of Giovina Musi Bradley '42 (Bernard O. Bradley) Margaret O'Connor Foster '45 (Ruel Foster) Marilyn Genck Newsham '56 (William G. Newsham) Christine Kaczmarek Beegan '69 Mother of Ann McGinnis Minnium '57 (Hazel McGinnis) Rita Cappello '64 (Angeline Cappello) Barbara Kosciolek '67 (Mary Kosciolek) Mary Sroka Kollin '69 (Ruth Sroka) Allan Belovarac '73 (Eleanor Belovarac) Patricia Jurewicz Flynn '73 (Rose Jurewicz) Karen Kolpien-Bugaj '92 (Mary Lou Kolpien) Marge Wheeler Dimperio '97, secretary of law enforcement training, (Hilma Ruth Wheeler) Beth Koskoski '98 (Helen B. Nagel) Thomas Billingsley, executive vice president at Mercyhurst College (Kathryn Billingsley) Karen Carpenedo, administrative assistant, D'Angelo School of Music (Thelma Backels) Kenneth Mattern, head of motorpool at Mercyhurst (Margaret Mattern) Father of Marilyn Fregelette Detzel '50 (Raymond F. Detzel) Eleanore Hertel Gamble '61 (John Hertel) Maureen Schedlin Nickel '61 (Leo J. Schedlin) Sister Mary Felice Duska '64 (Felix Duska) Patricia Jurewicz Flynn '73 (Matthew Jurewicz) Cynthia Belczyk '77 (Raymond Belczyk) Julie Theiss '93 (Jack Theiss) Janice Hill, assistant registrar (Edwin Kesselring) Kurt Rader c04 (Jeffrey Rader) Son of Frances Merry Preaux '74 (Robert Makrush) Sarah Kosack, secretary, institutional advancement at Mercyhurst (Richard Ott) Friends of the College Dr. Gertrude A. Barber Herta Kilpatrick, Carpe Diem Society Member Dr. Louis A. Mennini, founding director of the D'Angelo School of Music Howard Paul, former assistant professor of business-marketing

Weddings
Lynn Fisher '86 married Kirk G. Anderson on Sept. 26, 1998. Jeremy Benson '88 married Vanessa Schepis on Aug. 21, 1999. Robert Coneglio '90 married Beth Ward on June 12, 1999, at St. Barnabas Church in Sagamore Hills, Ohio. Colleen Coneglio '91 married Mark Danko on May 25, 1996, at St. Patrick's Church in Cleveland, Ohio. 40
M
H

Deaths
Alumni Marie M. Cieslinski Kowalik '32 Margaret Clark Filson '34 Helen M. Barry Heinlein '38 Mary A. Massello Pirrello '38 Janet Eichenlaub Woodward '40 Grace Tarno Neithamer '47 LoisWhelanTylka'58 Therese Taccone Wilson '62 Kathleen Bindrim Olon '68 Stanton Myers '78 Marvin A. Walker'83 Ann C. Boyle '88 John A. DeDad Jr. '99

MERCYHURST COLLEGE PROFILE

Founded: 1926 Type of college: Catholic liberal arts. Founded by the Sisters of Mercy. Coeducational since Feb. 3,1969. School colors: Blue/Green/White Motto: Carpe Diem - Seize the Opportunity Enrollment: 3,225; 40% males; 60% females. 90% of freshmen live on campus; 483 adults. Freshman Class of 2004: Main campus: 586 students from 26 states and four foreign Countries. Mercyhurst-North East: 325 first-year students from 11 states and one foreign country. Faculty: 115 full-time, of which 57% hold the highest degree possible in their fields. Student/Faculty ratio: 17:1 Campuses: 75-acre main campus with 33 buildings in Erie, Pa.; 84-acre branch campus with eight buildings in North East, Pa. Budget: $47 million Endowment: $12 million Cost main campus: (Academic year 20002001) Tuition $12,660, Fees $819, Room and Board $5,106. Yearly total for resident students $18,585 Number of 2000 graduates: 446 (Erie); 100 Mercyhurst-North East Number of Alumni: More than 11,000 Fund raising: July 1,1999, through June 30, 2000: $1.1 million Accreditation: Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. Undergraduate degrees: Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Music Graduate degrees: Master of Science in Special Education, Administration of Justice and Organizational Leadership Two-year degree programs: Associate of Arts, Associate of Science through Mercyhurst's McAuley Division Adult programs: Comprehensive degrees, post-baccalaureate certificates and graduate programs. Accelerated degree program. Teacher certification. Second largest of the Mercy colleges in the country. One of a select number of colleges and universities across the country to receive the prestigious Newcomen Society Award presented for being an educational leader in the Erie community. Recent Developments: 2000 Main campus Constructed 9,500square-foot fitness center and renovated the Rec Center. Cost $1.3 million. Built a sportsmedicine addition to the athletic center. Cost $175,000. Purchased four additional Baldwin Garden Apartments and signed agreement to buy the last four of the original apartments (Highland Square). Engineered the construction of a traffic signal at the front gates. North East campus Built two new stateof-the-art science labs and a new entrance Library holdings: 172,500. Online serials searching and public access catalog through Web-based system. Computer resources include 112 computers (Pentium and Macintosh) for student research; 90 can also be used for word processing. Athletics: Team name: The Lakers Sports: Basketball (M/W), Baseball (M), Cross Country (M/ W), Golf (M/W), Soccer (M/W), Softball (W), Tennis (M/W), Volleyball (M/W), Rowing (M/W), Field'Hockey (W), Ice Hockey (M/W), Lacrosse (M/W), Football (M), Wrestling (M) Conference affiliations: NCAA Division II. Division I in men's and women's ice hockey Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference, Eastern College Athletic Conference and the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association. Team name for North East campus: The Saints Sports: BasketbaU (M/W), Baseball (M), Softball (W), Soccer (M/W), Volleyball (W) Conference affiliations: Western New York Athletic Conference and the National Junior College Athletic Association. Special Recognition: Ranked among the top tier of liberal arts colleges in the North five consecutive years by U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Guide. to Miller Hall. Expanded and relocated the bookstore. Cost $1 million. Purchased the Scouller Pool on North Lake Street. Cost $25,000. Purchased the 10,000square-foot National City Bank building at 17 W. Main St. for the Municipal Police Training Academy. Cost: $75,000. 2999 Main campus Completed fourth floor of the Hammermill Library renovation program. Spent $125,000 in cafeteria improvements. Built a new soccer field west of the Tullio gridiron. Purchased new blue, green and white bleachers for the Athletic Center. Installed 600 additional seats on the home and visitors' sides of Tullio Field. Installed new geothermal space HVAC system in Taylor Little Theatre. Built two additional computer labs in Hammermill Library for teaching needs and student use. Replaced all outdoor campus signage. North East campus Spent nearly $1 million on improvements. Constructed eight three-bedroom townhouses and new offices. Renovated the cafeteria. Retired the debt on Mercyhurst-North East Nov. 5, 1999, completing the purchase of the $1.5 million sale from the Redemptorist Fathers 18 months ahead of schedule. 1998 Installed $900,000 Astroturf on Tullio Field. Spent $288,000 on the construction of a new Ice Center locker room for hockey and all field sport teams. Spent $70,000 to expand the Fitness Center and $45,000 to enhance its equipment. Added 110 parking spaces costing $140,000 at the McAuley Lot. 1997 Completed a $6.4 million program of building and renovation. Included an automated library, a fourth floor and a gabled roof to bring the lines of Hammermill Library into architectural harmony with the front campus. Renovated McAuley Hall, freshman male residence hall. Built two dance studios. Created a seamless campus with fiber optic connections to the computer network, giving every residence hall room two connections to the Internet. Purchased $60,000 Steinway concert grand for the Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center. Installed a $35,000 35-mm projector and three-way, full-range stereo speakers and surround sound in performing arts center. 2996 Opened the $3.7 million Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center (825 seats) to glowing reviews for its stunning design, superb acoustics and cosmopolitan ambiance.

501 East 38th Street Erie, PA 16546 www. mercyhurst. edu Address Service Requested