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Celebrating Father Biondi's Anniversary - Saint Louis University

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<strong>Celebrating</strong><br />

<strong>Father</strong><br />

Biondi’s<br />

<strong>Anniversary</strong><br />

{ page 8 }<br />

InsIde<br />

A DuBourg<br />

Hall Makeover<br />

{ page 14 }<br />

Library Treasures<br />

{ page 16 }<br />

Student on a Mission<br />

{ page 20 }


Volume 34, Issue 1<br />

Editor<br />

Laura Geiser (A&S ’90, Grad ’92)<br />

Contributors<br />

Allison Babka<br />

Marie Dilg (SW ’94)<br />

Lauren Olson (Intern)<br />

Nick Sargent<br />

“on Campus” nEws storiEs<br />

<strong>University</strong> Communications<br />

Medical Center Communications<br />

Billiken Media Relations<br />

dEsign<br />

Art Direction: Matthew Krob<br />

Universitas is published by <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong>. Opinions<br />

expressed in Universitas are those of the individual<br />

authors and not necessarily those of the <strong>University</strong> administration.<br />

Unsolicited manuscripts and photographs<br />

are welcome but will be returned only if accompanied<br />

by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Letters to the<br />

editor must be signed, and letters not intended for publication<br />

should indicate that fact. The editor reserves the<br />

right to edit all items. Address all mail to Universitas,<br />

DuBourg Hall 39, 221 N. Grand, St. <strong>Louis</strong>, Mo. 63103.<br />

We accept e-mail at utas@slu.edu and fax submissions<br />

at (314) 977-2249. Address fax submissions to Editor,<br />

Universitas.<br />

Postmaster: Send address changes to<br />

Universitas, <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong>,<br />

221 N. Grand Blvd., St. <strong>Louis</strong>, MO 63103.<br />

World Wide Web address:<br />

www.slu.edu/pr/universitas.html<br />

Universitas is printed by Universal Printing Co.<br />

and mailed by Specialty Mailing.<br />

Worldwide circulation: 121,408<br />

© 2007, <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong><br />

All rights reserved.<br />

Cover photo by James Visser<br />

EDITOR’S MESSAgE FEATURES<br />

Because <strong>University</strong> President<br />

Lawrence Biondi, S.J., is<br />

sharing his thoughts in a<br />

Q&A that appears on pages<br />

8-13 of this issue, he begged<br />

off his usual president’s<br />

message and asked me to write<br />

an editor’s message instead.<br />

From 1900-1908 <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong><br />

was led by William Banks Rogers, S.J., a<br />

visionary who is said to have transformed<br />

SLU. In just eight years as president, he Americanized<br />

and modernized SLU’s academic structure,<br />

re-established the School of Medicine, expanded<br />

the campus, rebuilt the athletic program<br />

and made plans to open a School of Law.<br />

Rogers had a brief but groundbreaking tenure<br />

marked by his prophetic grasp of future<br />

trends, including his early understanding of<br />

the importance of public relations, his emphasis<br />

on alumni development<br />

and his commitment to the St.<br />

<strong>Louis</strong> community.<br />

In Better the Dream, a history<br />

of <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong> by<br />

William Barnaby Faherty, S.J.,<br />

Rogers is dubbed the “Second<br />

Founder of <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong>.”<br />

Clearly he was a fascinating,<br />

driven man.<br />

I have been intrigued by<br />

Rogers’ story since stumbling<br />

across his achievements many<br />

years ago. But there are probably<br />

very few other people on campus (except<br />

maybe our archivists) who even know his name.<br />

You see, his legacy is not widely known at SLU<br />

today. Yes, SLU once had a Rogers Hall, but<br />

that building is now known as Jesuit Hall. And,<br />

yes, Rogers’ portrait does hang on the second<br />

floor of DuBourg Hall, but it is just one of 30<br />

paintings of past SLU presidents that adorns<br />

the long hallway.<br />

Someday a portrait of our current president,<br />

Lawrence Biondi, S.J., will hang there, too<br />

— his legacy for time and history to decide.<br />

Perhaps one day, Biondi will be known as the<br />

“Founder of the Modern <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong>.”<br />

It’s certainly possible.<br />

Like Rogers before him, Biondi has done his<br />

share of transforming <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong><br />

during his 20 years here. Of course, his efforts<br />

to improve SLU’s physical campus come<br />

to mind first. But there’s more to his tenure<br />

than that. Just as Rogers did, Biondi has em-<br />

WiLLiAM bAnkS rOgerS, S.J.<br />

phasized academics, established new schools,<br />

re-energized the athletic program and made<br />

SLU a force in the community. (Read about<br />

his reflections on his years at SLU beginning<br />

on page 8.)<br />

Of course, Biondi would be quick to tell you<br />

that he didn’t do it alone. And as I speculate<br />

Rogers would agree, Biondi knows his legacy<br />

is not about him — it is about leaving an outstanding<br />

university for his successor to lead.<br />

The concept of “legacies” brings to mind a<br />

story I heard from <strong>Father</strong> Biondi’s former assistant,<br />

Mike Isaacson (A&S ’86, Grad Cook<br />

’96), a Broadway producer whom I interviewed<br />

for the summer issue of Universitas.<br />

“You know, the interesting thing about working<br />

for a university is that universities are living<br />

in a weird world,” Isaacson said. “They’re<br />

about today, and they’re about 200 years from<br />

today at the same time. And, when you think<br />

about the legions of people who have worked<br />

for <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> U., and you<br />

walk through those halls, you<br />

can kind of feel history.<br />

“I remember once, early on<br />

with Biondi, we were leaving a<br />

meeting, and it had gone horribly.<br />

He was so frustrated.<br />

“We were quietly walking<br />

in DuBourg Hall through the<br />

second-floor hallway that has<br />

all the paintings of past SLU<br />

presidents. We get two-thirds<br />

down the hall, and Biondi just<br />

stops, and he points at one of<br />

them and says, ‘Who’s that?’<br />

And I say, ‘I don’t know.’ And he says, ‘My<br />

point exactly, so let’s just keep going.’<br />

“It was that sense of even though you may<br />

be heading an institution, the institution is far<br />

bigger than you will ever be, and time leaves<br />

your name in the dust. Your obligation to here<br />

and now is to leave the lights on when your<br />

time is through.”<br />

Maybe that portrait they stopped at was of<br />

<strong>Father</strong> Rogers; maybe it wasn’t. In any case, I<br />

do know the lights are on at <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong><br />

— both literally and figuratively — illuminating<br />

the good works, scholarly achievements<br />

and personal successes of our 12,309<br />

students, our 5,436 faculty and staff members<br />

and our 108,110 alumni around the world. For<br />

that light, we can thank Biondi, Rogers and 29<br />

other Jesuits who have served as SLU presidents<br />

and understood the real meaning of legacy.<br />

– Laura Geiser, Editor<br />

Fall leaves frame O’Donnell Hall, home of the <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong> Museum of Art.<br />

UNIVERSITAS www.slu.edu UNIVERSITAS FALL 2007 1<br />

Photo by Kevin Lowder<br />

Photo by James Visser<br />

14<br />

Grand onCe more<br />

DuBourg Hall’s fourth<br />

floor is restored to its<br />

turn-of-the-century glory.<br />

By Allison Babka<br />

16<br />

Treasures To Behold<br />

… and To Be held<br />

A look inside the<br />

<strong>University</strong>’s rare book and<br />

manuscript collection.<br />

By Marie Dilg<br />

20 Years and<br />

Counting<br />

A Q&A with <strong>University</strong><br />

President Lawrence<br />

Biondi, S.J., as he<br />

marks a milestone<br />

anniversary at SLU.<br />

By Laura Geiser<br />

20<br />

a Woman for oThers<br />

Student Rachel<br />

McCullagh is living<br />

SLU’s Jesuit mission.<br />

By Lauren Olson<br />

DEPARTMENTS<br />

2 on Campus<br />

Sword of Loyola honors artist Grant explores<br />

children’s health New blogs offer inside<br />

view of SLU New mall at Medical Center<br />

Portrait of DuBourg Kranz back on campus<br />

6 billiken news<br />

Billiken broadcasts online Basketball<br />

schedules Billiken mascot ranked No. 1<br />

7 Campaign update<br />

A conversation with David Nolda,<br />

director of annual giving programs<br />

22 off the shelf<br />

Eight books from the SLU community<br />

23 Class notes<br />

Catch up with classmates<br />

29 in memoriam<br />

Remembering those members of the SLU<br />

community who recently died<br />

3 0 alumni Events<br />

Find SLU alumni activities wherever you live<br />

32 perspective<br />

A SLU soccer player learns a lot<br />

from those she is teaching<br />

33 The Last word<br />

Letters to the editor


SLU makeS<br />

two nationaL<br />

rankingS<br />

<strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong> is one of the<br />

top schools in the country for undergraduate<br />

education, say two of the<br />

nation’s leading college guides. In August,<br />

SLU received honors from both U.S.News &<br />

World Report and The Princeton Review.<br />

The 2008 edition of U.S. News’ “America’s<br />

Best Colleges” ranked SLU No. 82 among<br />

262 national universities. According to the<br />

magazine, SLU is ranked as one of the top<br />

five Jesuit universities in the United States.<br />

U.S. News ranked SLU’s undergraduate<br />

engineering programs No. 31 and undergraduate<br />

business programs in the top 100.<br />

The undergraduate entrepreneurship program<br />

ranked No. 21.<br />

In addition, SLU was listed in the 2008<br />

edition of The Princeton Review’s “Best 366<br />

Colleges” guidebook, published by Random<br />

House. Only about 15 percent of the fouryear<br />

colleges in America and two Canadian<br />

colleges were chosen for the book. SLU also<br />

was named to The Princeton Review’s “Best<br />

in the Midwest” list.<br />

SLU ALert SySteM in pLAce<br />

<strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong> now has a new<br />

emergency communication tool<br />

designed to quickly alert the entire<br />

SLU community about an imminent public<br />

danger, campus disaster or other major crisis.<br />

SLU recently signed an agreement with St.<br />

<strong>Louis</strong>-based GroupCast to provide a message<br />

broadcast system that can notify all<br />

students, faculty and staff by office, home<br />

and cell phones within minutes of an emergency<br />

situation. It also sends text messages.<br />

Co-founded by a SLU alumnus and located<br />

in Fenton, Mo., GroupCast provides similar<br />

services to other colleges and universities.<br />

Of <strong>Father</strong> Biondi’s 20<br />

years as SLU president<br />

MAjor grAnt wiLL iMprove chiLdren’S heALth<br />

The National Institutes of Health selected the city of St. <strong>Louis</strong> and Macoupin County, Ill.,<br />

as sites for the National Children’s Study, the largest study of child and human health ever<br />

conducted in the United States. The extensive population-based study looks at the health<br />

and development of children by following them from before birth to adulthood.<br />

<strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong> School of Public Health is partnering<br />

on the project with <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong> School<br />

of Medicine, Southern Illinois <strong>University</strong> Edwardsville<br />

School of Nursing, Southern Illinois <strong>University</strong><br />

School of Medicine in Springfield, Washington<br />

<strong>University</strong> School of Medicine in St. <strong>Louis</strong><br />

and St. <strong>Louis</strong> Battelle Memorial Institute.<br />

As the lead institution, SLU School of<br />

Public Health has received a $26 million,<br />

five-year contract from the National Institute<br />

of Child Health and Human Development<br />

and a consortium of federal agencies including<br />

the National Institute of Environmental<br />

Health Sciences, the Centers for Disease<br />

Control and Prevention and the U.S. Environmental<br />

Protection Agency.<br />

<strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong> is one of 22<br />

new study centers added to the National<br />

Children’s Study, which will<br />

follow a representative sample of<br />

100,000 children from before birth<br />

to age 21. The study seeks information<br />

to prevent and treat some of<br />

the nation’s most pressing health<br />

problems, including autism, birth<br />

defects, diabetes, heart disease and<br />

obesity.<br />

Sword of Ignatius awarded<br />

to Project Compassion artist<br />

<strong>Saint</strong> LouiS univerSity preSented its highest honor – the<br />

Sword of ignatius Loyola – to Kaziah Hancock, founding artist and<br />

president of project Compassion, at the duBourg Society dinner,<br />

nov. 3. during the last four years, Hancock has painted hundreds<br />

of portraits of american servicemen and servicewomen who have<br />

been killed in the wars in iraq and afghanistan. the paintings<br />

are given to the families of the fallen soldiers free of charge. to<br />

date, Hancock and four other project Compassion artists have<br />

completed more than 750 paintings.<br />

the Sword of ignatius Loyola is named for the founder of<br />

the Society of Jesus, inigo Lopez de Loyola. Symbolic of<br />

the ignatian vision of service, the sword is awarded to<br />

those who have given themselves to humankind for the<br />

greater glory of God.<br />

past recipients include Harry truman,<br />

Jacques Cousteau and Jackie Joyner-<br />

Kersee.<br />

SLU ScientiStS condUct<br />

groUndBreAking<br />

reSeArch — LiterALLy<br />

This summer, a <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong><br />

team was part of a group of scientists<br />

drilling deep into the San Andreas<br />

Fault in California to better understand<br />

what causes earthquakes. It’s research that<br />

could have implications back at SLU, which<br />

is near the New Madrid Fault.<br />

As part of the project known as San Andreas<br />

Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD), a team<br />

of scientists has drilled a 3-kilometer, or nearly<br />

2-mile, hole directly into the fault midway between<br />

San Francisco and Los Angeles.<br />

SLU geology professor Dr. David Kirschner,<br />

senior Tim Keenan and recent graduate<br />

Eric Sandusky (Pub Ser, A&S ’07) were part<br />

of a scientific team that studied the unearthed<br />

rock material as part of the SAFOD project.<br />

Kirschner has been involved in the massive<br />

undertaking for several years and has received<br />

three grants from the National Science Foundation<br />

for research related to the project.<br />

coLLege of pUBLic Service reconfigUred, renAMed<br />

During the summer, the College of<br />

Public Service was restructured in<br />

an effort to lead to new efficiencies<br />

and synergies. Educational studies, educational<br />

leadership and higher education, social<br />

work, counseling and family therapy,<br />

and public policy studies have joined to create<br />

a new academic unit: the College of Education<br />

and Public Service.<br />

Formerly independent units, RegionWise,<br />

the Stupp Geographic Information Systems<br />

Laboratory and Center for Organizational<br />

Leadership and Renewal are now part of the<br />

public policy studies department and remain<br />

in the college. The Counseling and Family<br />

Therapy Clinic also remains with the college,<br />

and <strong>University</strong> officials hope to create more<br />

Portrait of<br />

DuBourg<br />

returns home<br />

in June, <strong>Saint</strong> LouiS<br />

univerSity welcomed<br />

William page dame iii<br />

and his wife, Beverly,<br />

to campus to mark<br />

the dames’ gift of<br />

a portrait of Bishop<br />

<strong>Louis</strong>-Guilliamevalentine<br />

duBourg,<br />

founder of SLu.<br />

the portrait was<br />

painted not long after duBourg was consecrated a<br />

bishop. the oil painting is thought to date to 1815<br />

and is believed to have been painted in rome,<br />

where duBourg had journeyed to be consecrated<br />

by pope pius vii as the Bishop of <strong>Louis</strong>iana and<br />

the Floridas.<br />

in 1817, Bishop duBourg moved to St. <strong>Louis</strong>. He<br />

established the St. <strong>Louis</strong> Latin academy (now<br />

<strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> university) in 1818, initially run by<br />

the diocese. in 1826, duBourg invited the Jesuits<br />

who resided in Florissant, Mo., to take over the<br />

administration of the college. in 1829, peter<br />

verhaegen, S.J., became the first Jesuit president<br />

of St. <strong>Louis</strong> College. in 1832, the college received<br />

its charter from the state of Missouri.<br />

the portrait has been installed in the père<br />

Marquette Gallery of duBourg Hall.<br />

collaborations between the clinic’s researchers<br />

and social work faculty.<br />

Dr. Marla Berg-Weger, senior associate<br />

provost for academic affairs, continues to<br />

serve as interim dean of the college as a national<br />

search is conducted for a permanent<br />

replacement.<br />

The communication sciences and disorders<br />

department and its associated clinics<br />

have moved into the College of Arts and Sciences.<br />

Research methodology is now part of<br />

the Graduate School.<br />

The School for Professional Studies, which<br />

joined the college in 2004, has again become<br />

a separate unit under the leadership of Berg-<br />

Weger. She will continue to direct the school<br />

long term.<br />

CheCk oUt ‘trUe SLU’<br />

via new bLogS<br />

wAnt the trUe Story about <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong><br />

<strong>University</strong>? read the true SLU blogs.<br />

Blogger Alyssa, a sophomore studying<br />

abroad at SLU’s Madrid campus, will tell you<br />

her story. So will jennifer, a nutrition and dietetics<br />

instructor who bikes 6 miles to work<br />

every day, and jared, a member of Legion<br />

1818 who paints his face and puts on a kilt<br />

to support the men’s soccer team (when<br />

he’s not reading history books or playing<br />

trumpet in the pep band).<br />

the blogs are just one part of the <strong>University</strong>’s<br />

comprehensive student recruitment<br />

effort. Aimed at prospective undergraduates<br />

and their parents, the true SLU blogs give an<br />

accurate, authentic depiction of what life is<br />

like for <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong> students, faculty<br />

and staff.<br />

each blogger posts at least once a week,<br />

and new bloggers will join them during the<br />

year. to read the blogs, visit www.slu.edu<br />

and click the “true SLU Blogs” box in the<br />

lower left-hand corner.<br />

62 SLU-owned buildings in 1987; 127 in 2007 0 Annual full scholarships awarded in 1987; 30 in 2007 113 SLU-owned acres in Midtown St. <strong>Louis</strong> in 1987; 234 in 2007 »<br />

2 UNIVERSITAS www.slu.edu UNIVERSITAS FALL 2007 3


gass receives<br />

Literary Award<br />

The <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong> Library Associates presented the<br />

2007 <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> Literary Award to noted writer, critic and<br />

philosophy professor William H. Gass on Oct. 24.<br />

Gass joined an impressive list of writers who have been recognized<br />

for their legendary contributions as novelists, essayists, poets and<br />

playwrights. Recipients of the <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> Literary Award include<br />

Saul Bellow, Eudora Welty, John Updike and Joan Didion.<br />

During a writing career that spans nearly five decades, Gass has<br />

been recognized for his works of fiction and nonfiction as well as stories<br />

and essays. He has received many awards and honors, including<br />

the American Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award<br />

for Criticism and the Mark Twain Award for Distinguished Contributions<br />

to Literature in the Midwest. As the David May Distinguished<br />

Professor in Humanities at Washington <strong>University</strong> in St. <strong>Louis</strong>, he<br />

taught philosophy for more than 30 years and founded the university’s<br />

International Writers Center.<br />

ForMer naSa MiSSion ControL commander<br />

Gene Kranz (parks ’54) returned to SLu for a special<br />

ribbon-cutting ceremony at Mcdonnell douglas<br />

Hall during Homecoming Weekend in September.<br />

Kranz was on hand as officials unveiled a wall<br />

display honoring the 80th anniversary of SLu’s parks<br />

College of engineering, aviation and technology.<br />

Photo by Steve Dolan<br />

Kranz helps unveil parks timeline<br />

Of <strong>Father</strong> Biondi’s 20<br />

years as SLU president<br />

4 UNIVERSITAS www.slu.edu<br />

divided into three sections, the colorful, threedimensional,<br />

illustrated timeline of parks’ history<br />

runs the full length of Mcdonnell douglas Hall’s<br />

main corridor. Stretching 370 feet wide and<br />

towering 11 feet high, the display features a<br />

stainless steel timeline that connects all three<br />

sections.<br />

kranz The Parks TImelIne<br />

Photo by Kevin Lowder<br />

Photo by Kevin Lowder<br />

new MALL enhAnceS MedicAL center<br />

<strong>Saint</strong> LouiS univerSity has increased the beauty, safety and accessibility of<br />

the Medical Center with a new pedestrian mall.<br />

the area along vista avenue between Grand Boulevard and Carr Lane avenue<br />

has been transformed into an urban oasis that mimics green space near the<br />

doisy College of Health Sciences building as well as parts of campus north of<br />

i-64/Hwy. 40. the section is bordered by the School of Medicine complex on<br />

the north and the building that now houses the department of neurology and<br />

psychiatry on the south.<br />

pedestrians are welcomed to the mall by one of SLu’s signature red<br />

brick monuments, and landscaping, trees and flowers provide a parklike<br />

atmosphere. Safety also has been enhanced, as city streetlights were replaced<br />

by upgraded lighting that shines brightly on the mall.<br />

Black and white photographs and other images<br />

representing the key people, news and technology<br />

from parks’ history are displayed above the timeline.<br />

Below, aerial shots fade into each other, illustrating<br />

the changes to parks’ former campus in Cahokia,<br />

leading to the SLu campus, where parks has been<br />

located since 1997.<br />

Photo by Sara Savat<br />

Photo by Kevin Lowder<br />

Body donors<br />

remembered at service<br />

The deputy surgeon general of the U.S.<br />

Air Force hosted guests from England’s<br />

Royal Air Force at <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong>’s<br />

Center for Sustainment of Trauma and<br />

Readiness Skills (C-STARS) on Oct. 6.<br />

During the visit, dignitaries had the opportunity<br />

to observe a simulation, in which students<br />

treated an artificial, computerized patient in a<br />

lab designed to look like a real field hospital.<br />

More tHan 1,000 StudentS, faculty, family and friends<br />

gathered at the Medical Center on oct. 12 to remember and<br />

give thanks to the several hundred individuals who donated their<br />

bodies this year to <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> university School of Medicine’s Gift<br />

Body program.<br />

First-year medical students planned the memorial service, which<br />

included reflections, prayers, songs and words of appreciation to<br />

the donors’ family members and friends in attendance.<br />

“the ceremony is a sign of our thanks for those who have donated<br />

their bodies so we could learn. it also provides an opportunity for<br />

their family and friends to understand why they made this decision,”<br />

said tom Heffner, a first-year medical student. “For me personally,<br />

the ceremony is an opportunity to give thanks to my first patient for<br />

the opportunity to work on him and learn from him.”<br />

★★ C-STARS pRogRAm ATTRACTS miliTARy leAdeRS ★★<br />

The two-week C-STARS program at <strong>Saint</strong><br />

<strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong> is one of only three of its kind<br />

in the country that provides Air Force medical<br />

personnel with real-life, hands-on trauma experience.<br />

Through clinical rotations with SLU<br />

trauma doctors and nurses and weekly simulation<br />

exercises, students have the opportunity<br />

to sharpen and refresh their trauma care skills<br />

prior to deployment.<br />

arena uPdaTe: Work continues on Chaifetz Arena, the <strong>University</strong>’s new multipurpose event facility.<br />

More than 75,000 cubic yards of earth and more than 1,000 tons of steel have been used to form the shell<br />

of Chaifetz Arena and the adjacent practice facility and office building. The project is on schedule to be<br />

watertight in november, allowing crews to finish the interior during the winter. There are about 200 people<br />

working on the site to reach the scheduled construction completion date by April 2008. Dedication of<br />

Chaifetz Arena is scheduled for Saturday, May 3, 2008.<br />

neWS brieFS<br />

dr. Boyd a. Bradshaw (grad ’05) was<br />

recently hired as SLU’s vice provost for<br />

enrollment management. He oversees<br />

undergraduate admission, student financial<br />

services, the registrar’s office, student<br />

academic services and the international<br />

center. From 1997 to 1999 bradshaw was<br />

program coordinator and assistant director<br />

of admissions at SLU. Most recently he was<br />

assistant university provost for enrollment<br />

management at the <strong>University</strong> of <strong>Louis</strong>ville.<br />

dr. raul artal, chairman of obstetrics,<br />

gynecology and women’s health at the<br />

School of Medicine, has received a<br />

“Preggie” award for his pioneering work that<br />

supports exercise for pregnant women. The<br />

award, given by FitPregnancy magazine,<br />

recognizes those who have improved the<br />

welfare of pregnant women, new mothers<br />

and young children.<br />

dr. Govindaswamy Chinnadurai, professor<br />

at SLU’s institute of Molecular Virology, has<br />

been as selected as a member of a study<br />

section of the Center for Scientific review,<br />

which reviews applications for grants from<br />

the national institutes of Health.<br />

in October, dr. Patricia monteleone (Med<br />

’61, Pub Hlth, grad Cook ’91), dean of the<br />

School of Medicine, received an award from<br />

the St. <strong>Louis</strong> Business Journal for her lifetime<br />

achievement as a “Health Care Hero.”<br />

in April, <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong>’s student-run<br />

relay for life event to raise money for the<br />

American Cancer Society saw more than<br />

1,700 members of the SLU community raise<br />

$193,000. it was the fourth-highest amount<br />

raised among universities in the nation, per<br />

capita. This year’s event raised $60,000<br />

more than the previous year.<br />

dr. donald stump is now associate provost<br />

for undergraduate affairs. Director of the<br />

nationally recognized Micah Program,<br />

Stump is focused on advising, retention,<br />

learning communities, early intervention for<br />

students having academic problems, and<br />

fostering connections between faculty and<br />

students outside the classroom.<br />

9 <strong>University</strong>-sponsored sports teams in 1987; 18 in 2007 0 faculty/staff mission-related programs in 1987; 24 in 2007 53 SLU public safety officers in 1987; 103 in 2007 94 doctorates awarded in 1987; 157 in 2007<br />

UNIVERSITAS FALL 2007<br />

5


iLLiken beAT<br />

<strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong> led all league schools with<br />

123 student-athletes named to the Atlantic<br />

10 Conference Commissioner’s Honor roll for<br />

the spring 2007 semester. Student-athletes<br />

named to the A-10 Commissioner’s Honor roll<br />

completed the spring semester with a 3.5<br />

grade point average or better. in all, 1,118<br />

student-athletes in the A-10 were named to the<br />

Commissioner’s Honor roll.<br />

VOUyOUkAS<br />

Photos by Bill Barrett<br />

MCiLWrAiTH<br />

Former <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong> men’s basketball<br />

center Ian Vouyoukas has signed a threeyear<br />

contract with Olympiakos bC in the A1<br />

greek basketball League. Olympiakos finished<br />

21-5 last season and reached the league’s<br />

championship game. And former SLU women’s<br />

basketball standout Tyler mcIlwraith has<br />

signed with AutoCAD Amazone in Holland for the<br />

2007-08 season.<br />

Senior associate director of athletics doug<br />

mcIlhagga is overseeing the operations of the<br />

department of athletics until a new athletic<br />

director is named. Former athletic director<br />

Cheryl L. Levick resigned this summer to take a<br />

position at the <strong>University</strong> of Maryland.<br />

The saint louis university women’s basketball<br />

team posted the 17th-best gPA among nCAA<br />

Division i programs in 2006-07, according to<br />

the Women’s basketball Coaches Association<br />

(WbCA). The billikens’ 3.336 gPA put them on<br />

the list.<br />

foLLow the BiLLikenS wherever yoU Live<br />

Billiken fans everywhere can now keep up with <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong>’s athletic teams<br />

online with the All-Access pass available at www.slubillikens.com through CSTV.<br />

The SLU All-Access pass costs $9.95 per month or $79.95 for the entire year.<br />

Billiken athletic events to be broadcast online include a minimum of 15 fall events in<br />

addition to select men’s and women’s basketball games. Programming also will include press<br />

conferences, men’s basketball features, video blogs from student-athletes and coaches as well<br />

as other special features.<br />

“The All-Access pass allows more of our student-athletes and coaches to showcase their<br />

talents and personalities across a broader spectrum,” said Kosha Irby, associate athletics<br />

director.<br />

The SLU All-Access pass is compatible with both PC and Macintosh platforms. However,<br />

Mac users must use the Safari Web browser to receive the feed. Pay-per-view programming<br />

will be available to annual subscribers for free, while monthly subscribers will be<br />

required to pay an additional fee.<br />

Season ticket holders and alumni may qualify for a discounted annual price. Call the<br />

Billiken ticket office at (314) 977-4758 for coupon information.<br />

BiLLiken nAMed BeSt MAScot in the ncAA<br />

The <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong> Billiken was selected as the No.<br />

1 college mascot by the Web site SPMsportspage.com.<br />

The site listed the Top 100 College Nicknames/Mascots<br />

among NCAA Division I schools. The column, written<br />

by Larry Nauss, stated: “A nickname or mascot must be<br />

fairly unique, captivating and somewhat imaginative, and/<br />

or have some particular significance to the geographic location<br />

of a school. He [the Billiken] was a rock star before there even were<br />

rock stars, in the early 1900s. The rest is history, and it’s still the<br />

premier nickname/mascot in all of college sports.”<br />

Billiken Men’s BasketBall 2007-2008 schedule Billiken woMen’s BasketBall 2007-2008 schedule<br />

Date OppOnent Site time<br />

Fri., nOv. 2 UMSL (exh) St. <strong>Louis</strong> 7:30 p.m.<br />

HiSpanic cOllege FunD cHallenge - univ. OF pittSBurgH<br />

Fri., Nov. 9 vs. North Carolina A&T Pittsburgh 3:30 p.m.<br />

Sat., Nov. 10 vs. Houston Baptist Pittsburgh 5:30 p.m.<br />

SuN., Nov. 11 at Pittsburgh Pittsburgh 5 p.m.<br />

WeD., nOv. 14 Detroit St. <strong>Louis</strong> 7 p.m.<br />

Sat., nOv. 17 Furman St. <strong>Louis</strong> 7 p.m.<br />

Wed., Nov. 21 at Missouri State Springfield, Mo. 7:05 p.m.<br />

Sat., nOv. 24 Pacific St. <strong>Louis</strong> 7 p.m.<br />

Wed., Nov. 28 at Kent State Kent, Ohio 6 p.m.<br />

Sat., Dec. 1 Long Beach State St. <strong>Louis</strong> 1 p.m.<br />

tueS., dec. 4 at Boston College Chestnut Hill, Mass. 6 p.m.<br />

Sat., Dec. 8 Sam houston State St. <strong>Louis</strong> 7 p.m.<br />

Sat., Dec. 15 Southern Illinois St. <strong>Louis</strong> 6:30 p.m.<br />

WeD., Dec. 19 Loyola (Chicago) St. <strong>Louis</strong> 7 p.m.<br />

Sat., Dec. 29 IUPUI St. <strong>Louis</strong> 7 p.m.<br />

thur., jaN. 10 at George Washington* Washington, D.C. 7 p.m.<br />

Sat., jan. 12 Dayton* St. <strong>Louis</strong> 7 p.m.<br />

tHur., jan. 17 Rhode Island* St. <strong>Louis</strong> 7 p.m.<br />

Sun., jan. 20 Temple* St. <strong>Louis</strong> 1 p.m.<br />

Sat., jaN. 26 at La Salle* Philadelphia 1 p.m.<br />

Wed., jaN. 30 at Dayton* Dayton, Ohio 6 p.m.<br />

Sat., FeB. 2 Massachusetts* St. <strong>Louis</strong> Noon<br />

tHur., FeB. 7 xavier* St. <strong>Louis</strong> 8 p.m.<br />

SuN., Feb. 10 at Richmond* Richmond, Va. 1 p.m.<br />

WeD., FeB. 13 George Washington* St. <strong>Louis</strong> 7 p.m.<br />

SuN., Feb. 17 at Massachusetts* Amherst, Mass. 1 p.m.<br />

WeD., FeB. 20 Fordham* St. <strong>Louis</strong> 7 p.m.<br />

Sat., Feb. 23 at Charlotte* Charlotte, N.C. 6 p.m.<br />

thur., Feb. 28 at <strong>Saint</strong> Joseph’s* Philadelphia 6 p.m.<br />

Sat., mar. 1 St. Bonaventure* St. <strong>Louis</strong> 1 p.m.<br />

Sat. mar. 8 at Duquesne* Pittsburgh 6 p.m.<br />

mar. 12-15 at A-10 Championship* Atlantic City, N.J. TBA<br />

Date OppOnent Site time<br />

Fri., nOv. 2 UMSL (exh at Scottrade) St. <strong>Louis</strong> 5 p.m.<br />

WeD., nOv. 7 Missouri-Baptist (exh) St. <strong>Louis</strong> 7 p.m.<br />

Sun., nOv. 11 hampton <strong>University</strong> St. <strong>Louis</strong> 2 p.m.<br />

Wed., Nov. 14 at Akron Akron, Ohio 6 p.m.<br />

Sun., nOv. 18 Wyoming St. <strong>Louis</strong> 2 p.m.<br />

tueS., Nov. 20 at Tennessee State Nashville, Tenn. 7 p.m.<br />

Sat., Nov. 24 Morehead State St. <strong>Louis</strong> 2 p.m.<br />

tueS., nOv. 27 at Tennessee – Martin Martin, Tenn. 6 p.m.<br />

tHurS., nOv. 29 at UMKC Kansas City, Mo. 7 p.m.<br />

SuN., dec. 2 at Kansas Lawrence, Kan. 4 p.m.<br />

Fri., dec. 7 at Missouri State Springfield, Mo. 7 p.m.<br />

Sat., dec. 15 at Arkansas Fayetteville, Ark. 2 p.m.<br />

WeD., Dec. 19 Canisius College St. <strong>Louis</strong> 7 p.m.<br />

Sat., dec. 22 at Florida Gainesville, Fla. Noon<br />

Battle at tHe BOrDer tOurnament - univ. OF tX-pan american<br />

Fri., dec. 28 Lafayette vs. UTPA edinburg, Texas 6 p.m.<br />

<strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> vs. Lamar 8 p.m.<br />

Sat., dec. 29 Consolation Game 5 p.m.<br />

Championship Game 7 p.m.<br />

Wed., jaN. 2 at Chicago State Chicago 7 p.m.<br />

Sat., jaN. 12 at Fordham* Bronx, N.Y. Noon<br />

WeD., jan. 16 Duquesne* St. <strong>Louis</strong> 7 p.m.<br />

Sat., jaN. 19 at Charlotte* Charlotte, N.C. 6 p.m.<br />

WeD., jan. 23 Rhode Island* St. <strong>Louis</strong> 7 p.m.<br />

Sat., jan. 26 Richmond* St. <strong>Louis</strong> 2 p.m.<br />

jaN., jaN. 30 at Xavier Cincinnati 11 a.m.<br />

Sat., FeB. 2 Charlotte* St. <strong>Louis</strong> 7 p.m.<br />

Wed., Feb. 6 at <strong>Saint</strong> Joseph’s* Philadelphia 6 p.m.<br />

Sun., FeB. 10 La Salle* St. <strong>Louis</strong> 2 p.m.<br />

Sat., FeB. 16 Massachusetts* St. <strong>Louis</strong> 2 p.m.<br />

Wed., Feb. 20 at George Washington* Washington, D.C. 6 p.m.<br />

SuN., Feb. 24 at St. Bonaventure* Olean, N.Y. Noon<br />

WeD., FeB. 27 Temple* St. <strong>Louis</strong> 7 p.m.<br />

Sat., mar. 1 at Dayton* Dayton, Ohio TBA<br />

mar. 7-10 at A-10 Championship* Philadelphia TBA<br />

Who are the student callers?<br />

it’s important to know that the students making<br />

the calls are current <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong><br />

students. We have 26 calling stations and hire<br />

approximately 80 federal work-study students to<br />

fill those spots. We have a diverse range of years,<br />

majors and states represented by our student<br />

callers. They work on campus for the convenience,<br />

but as they quickly find out, calling alumni to ask<br />

for support is not always easy. They have to want<br />

to work here. We’ve had many former callers tell<br />

us that their job as a student caller was a great<br />

résumé builder and that many potential employers<br />

focused on that experience during the interview<br />

process.<br />

Why do students make the best phoners?<br />

There is a natural relationship between current<br />

SLU students and our alumni. On any given<br />

night, i can walk around the call center and hear<br />

conversations with a 1947 School of Law alumnus<br />

or a 2006 graduate of the psychology department.<br />

Who knows the SLU experience better than the<br />

students currently living it? Sure, the campus and<br />

faculty may have changed, but the mission of SLU<br />

— to educate women and men for others — has<br />

remained constant since 1818. Our student callers<br />

also seem to possess an important quality that is<br />

you’ve probably received a phone call from a <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong> student eager to<br />

talk to you and to encourage you to make a gift to SLU. David Nolda (A&S ’95),<br />

director of annual giving programs, sheds some light on those callers and on the<br />

importance of giving.<br />

essential to this job: They have no fear. They are<br />

not afraid to have a genuine conversation, make<br />

the ask or face rejection. if 25 percent of their<br />

calls each night result in a gift, they are masters<br />

of their craft.<br />

does your office solicit anyone besides alumni?<br />

Obviously, alumni are our most natural prospective<br />

donors. We also contact parents of current<br />

and former students as well as faculty, staff<br />

and friends of the <strong>University</strong>. We even have a<br />

Student Class gift Program aimed at current SLU<br />

students, which educates our students about the<br />

importance of giving back. Without the generosity<br />

of our donors, our students would not be able to<br />

enjoy the SLU experience offered today.<br />

alumni received an e-mail solicitation from slu<br />

this summer. Is that something you’ll be doing<br />

more of?<br />

e-mail communication saves the <strong>University</strong> a<br />

great deal of money. it’s not only the easiest<br />

and most cost-effective way to ask for support,<br />

it also provides the easiest method for donors<br />

to make gifts. Those gifts go to work benefiting<br />

our students right away. in the past year,<br />

we’ve used more graphics and technology in<br />

our e-mails than ever before. We were able to<br />

convey a lot more in a 45-second video e-mail<br />

last December than any direct-mail piece. The<br />

commencement-themed video e-mail we sent<br />

in May elicited the most emotional responses<br />

that i’ve seen in my 13 years at <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong><br />

<strong>University</strong>. Obviously we hope that those e-mails<br />

result in gifts for our students and programs,<br />

but they’re also a way for us to keep our alumni<br />

connected to their alma mater. For so many<br />

of our alumni who do not live in St. <strong>Louis</strong>, it’s<br />

a great way for them to “see” the growth and<br />

changes to the campus.<br />

alumnus richard Chaifetz just gave slu $12<br />

million. how does a gift of $50 compare?<br />

Think about this: Last year, SLU received 15,608<br />

gifts of $100 or less totaling $760,125. Three<br />

quarters of a million dollars — that’s a huge<br />

sum of money from many people who probably<br />

asked themselves, “Does my $10, $25 or $50<br />

really make a difference?” To our students, it<br />

makes a world of difference. As for gifts such<br />

as Dr. Chaifetz’s, those donors didn’t just make<br />

million-dollar gifts out of the blue one day. Many<br />

of the five-, six- or seven-figure donors began with<br />

modest gifts of $25 or $100 in support of their<br />

school or team 25 or 30 years ago.<br />

Why is participation important?<br />

Participation at all levels is vital to the SLU<br />

experience. U.S.News & World Report measures<br />

alumni giving for national rankings, and<br />

corporations also evaluate alumni participation<br />

before deciding to make gifts to SLU. We need to<br />

be able to show that more of our alumni support<br />

SLU each year. not only is the funding necessary,<br />

but alumni giving helps boost SLU’s reputation in<br />

national rankings and, ultimately, enhances the<br />

value of our degrees.<br />

To make a gift online, visit<br />

giftform.slu.edu. Make a gift by<br />

phone by calling (314) 977-3781, or use<br />

the envelope enclosed in this issue of<br />

Universitas to make a gift via mail.<br />

6 UNIVERSITAS www.slu.edu UNIVERSITAS FALL 2007 7


Photo by James Visser<br />

biOnDi in HiS OFFiCe WiTH HiS DOgS gAnCiA (LeFT) AnD iggy.<br />

<strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong> President<br />

Lawrence Biondi, S.J., and I have<br />

just walked back into his office<br />

after a hurried lunchtime interview,<br />

and in no time at all, three<br />

members of his staff have gathered<br />

around his desk.<br />

I’m still trying to ask some questions for this story<br />

celebrating his 20-year anniversary as president,<br />

but there is immediate business that demands his<br />

attention — letters to sign, meeting agendas to adjust<br />

and a stack of phone messages to return. Still,<br />

I keep firing questions at him, hanging onto the<br />

few minutes I supposedly have left. But it’s hard<br />

to get a word in. He wants to answer me (I think).<br />

But he is back in his world now, busy and focused,<br />

and I know that the interview is over.<br />

It really comes as no surprise. Biondi is very<br />

much in demand. He routinely speaks to groups<br />

on and off campus, he travels to visit donors and<br />

alumni clubs across the country, and he averages<br />

25 meetings a week. Because most of his meals are<br />

really meetings spent discussing the <strong>University</strong>, it’s<br />

no exaggeration to say he eats and breathes SLU.<br />

This interview was no different. We met at a new<br />

Mexican restaurant on campus named for one of<br />

Biondi’s dogs, Iggy. We both ordered the “Biondi<br />

Burrito.” (How could he resist? And, frankly, how<br />

could I?) It didn’t take long before we were interrupted<br />

several times. First by students who wanted<br />

to know if he came up with the recipe for the burrito.<br />

(No.) Then by the restaurant owner. Then by<br />

some SLU staff members dining nearby. When we<br />

finally got up to head back to DuBourg Hall, Biondi<br />

noticed the owners of the nearby Coronado<br />

apartments across the room, so he promptly went<br />

over to say hello.<br />

Because he can’t talk to everyone personally<br />

(though he sure tries), here’s a candid conversation<br />

with Biondi about his 20 years at <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong><br />

<strong>University</strong>.<br />

– By Laura Geiser<br />

8 UNIVERSITAS www.slu.edu UNIVERSITAS FALL 2007 9


UtaS: Did you ever imagine you’d be doing<br />

this for 20 years?<br />

bionDi: No, the years have flown by since<br />

1987. This may sound bad, but I never<br />

thought that I’d be here this long because,<br />

frankly, I’m usually only good for seven or<br />

eight years before I get antsy. But there’s<br />

such variety to this job — every day is a<br />

new experience, and I don’t think any day<br />

has been the same. So I’ve never been bored.<br />

So much of what I have to do every day<br />

is actually exciting and, most of the time,<br />

rewarding.<br />

Sure there are days when it feels like<br />

two decades, but most days it does not.<br />

There is still more that needs to be done,<br />

contributions that I can make before<br />

moving on.<br />

U: Has the job changed much in 20 years?<br />

b: The issues are different, but the problems<br />

are often similar.<br />

I really like the book Good to Great [by<br />

Jim Collins]. In it there is an analogy of<br />

an organization being like a bus, and the<br />

president is the bus driver. It’s the driver’s<br />

job to get the right person in the right seat<br />

so everybody can do his or her job and get<br />

the bus moving in the right direction. You<br />

may not know the direction for the first few<br />

miles, but eventually you’ll figure it out as<br />

everybody starts to collaborate, contribute<br />

and determine the direction. SLU’s like<br />

that. The bus hasn’t changed. My job of<br />

getting the right passengers hasn’t changed.<br />

But sometimes our routes do vary.<br />

U: How have you personally changed?<br />

b: Well, my physical changes are evident —<br />

I’ve got less hair, more wrinkles and a few<br />

extra pounds. I have less energy, and I can’t<br />

work 15-hour days without having some<br />

time on some weekends to relax, reflect and<br />

recoup.<br />

But that’s just surface stuff. How I’ve<br />

really changed is that — believe it or not —<br />

I’ve grown more patient with people. I don’t<br />

get excited about small problems anymore. I<br />

like to have them solved, of course, but in the<br />

past I would disproportionately spend a lot<br />

time on them. Now I’m trying to concentrate<br />

on bigger issues — the bigger picture for<br />

SLU to become the best. I can’t say honestly<br />

that the small things don’t bother me, but<br />

I’m less focused on them. I think I’ve learned<br />

that only through experience.<br />

Biondi at his inauguration on sept. 30, 1987.<br />

U: How has SLU changed?<br />

b: There’s a greater openness to creativity,<br />

to new ideas and to thinking outside the<br />

box. I also think the quality of our faculty<br />

and their commitment to teaching and<br />

research has improved and that the quality<br />

of our students is fantastic. They’re much<br />

more giving, invested and competitive than<br />

ever before, which is a hallmark of a Jesuit<br />

education. In fact our whole <strong>University</strong><br />

community is more dedicated to service,<br />

volunteering 780,000 hours last year — and<br />

that wasn’t always the case.<br />

I think the changes here are due to a<br />

combination of several things, including<br />

a greater awareness of SLU’s mission<br />

and vision, plus a greater articulation of<br />

what we expect from faculty, staff and<br />

students. I think that expectations have<br />

been articulated in a way that good-hearted<br />

people want to collaborate and to help reach<br />

our goal of becoming the finest Catholic<br />

university in our country.<br />

U: How has the mission and the vision that<br />

SLU become the finest Catholic university<br />

in the nation changed this place?<br />

b: When the North Central evaluation team<br />

[a national educational accrediting group]<br />

came here in 2002, they said the vision of<br />

the <strong>University</strong> is not only articulated well,<br />

but embraced by the students, staff and<br />

faculty. More importantly, the evaluators<br />

were surprised to find that our faculty and<br />

staff know our mission and our vision by<br />

heart and talk about it. They hadn’t seen<br />

that anywhere else.<br />

Here our mission and our vision have<br />

vibrancy — they’re not just words. And the<br />

vision is becoming a reality.<br />

In fact, I know our vision is ingrained<br />

because when students want something<br />

significant — for example, when they<br />

wanted the expansion of the Simon<br />

Recreation Center — they say to me, “In<br />

order to be the best Catholic university,<br />

you’ve got to do this.” They said the<br />

same thing about the renovation of<br />

Busch Student Center. So they have<br />

adopted our vision, they’re aware of it,<br />

and they’re pushing the staff, faculty and<br />

administrators to get there too.<br />

I certainly hope our alums and supporters<br />

agree that <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong> has<br />

changed for the better. Of course, the<br />

physical campus has seen the most visible<br />

changes. I inherited a weak infrastructure,<br />

but the financial resources have improved<br />

significantly. I’ll always be grateful to<br />

[former SLU president] <strong>Father</strong> Tom<br />

Fitzgerald, S.J., for making the hard<br />

decisions that left SLU financially sound<br />

and positioned us to move forward<br />

positively and definitively.<br />

But, as I’ve said before, I am most proud<br />

of what is not as visible: the quality of our<br />

academic programs, the quality and depth<br />

of the research being conducted, the care<br />

that we offer our patients, the quality and<br />

contributions of our students and alumni,<br />

the loyalty and commitment of our faculty<br />

and staff, and especially the fact that our<br />

Jesuit, Catholic mission continues to be our<br />

guiding and driving force.<br />

SLU has undergone a remarkable<br />

transformation, moving ever closer to that<br />

vision of being the country’s finest Catholic<br />

university. I am very proud of this, but I<br />

know that it took many, many <strong>University</strong><br />

people working together for years to build<br />

the SLU of 2007.<br />

U: What have been your biggest successes?<br />

b: I’m proud of many things. In particular,<br />

I’m pleased with our higher academic<br />

standards and reputation, our $970 million<br />

endowment as well as the impressive<br />

credentials of our faculty and staff. Our<br />

Madrid campus is one of the premier<br />

programs in Europe. And overall campus<br />

beautification — though I hesitate to focus<br />

on it — has really transformed our campus<br />

life for our students.<br />

I think the Edward A. Doisy Research<br />

Center and the growth in our funded<br />

research efforts are setting an excellent<br />

standard for even greater success. And the<br />

sale of the hospital to secure the future of<br />

our School of Medicine is something I look<br />

back on and view as a success story.<br />

Of course, I’m proud of our great<br />

leadership teams over the years — the vice<br />

presidents, provosts and deans — who<br />

helped me achieve my goals for SLU.<br />

Also I’m pleased that in the business<br />

community locally, and to a certain<br />

extent nationally, we’ve enhanced our<br />

image. Business leaders have recognized<br />

and acknowledged SLU’s growth and<br />

accomplishments. We also have a<br />

cooperative, strong relationship with the<br />

civic leaders in St. <strong>Louis</strong>. One of the biggest<br />

tests that we’ve passed is a credibility gap<br />

for the <strong>University</strong> at all levels. In terms of<br />

financing, Standard and Poor’s, Moody’s and<br />

others have acknowledged that we have a<br />

very good debt ratio to our endowment.<br />

We set goals, and we accomplish them. For<br />

example, we said we were going to raise the<br />

funds we needed for the Doisy Research<br />

Center and Chaifetz Arena, and we did.<br />

We’re very credible.<br />

U: What, if anything, do you wish you<br />

could redo?<br />

b: I don’t think in those terms. You take<br />

10 steps forward and fall back three, but<br />

you’re still ahead. I make decisions with<br />

information and counsel and advice from<br />

others. If 80 percent are good decisions,<br />

then I believe that I have succeeded.<br />

Although not a redo, I am disappointed<br />

that being president prevents me from<br />

having more contact with students. I miss<br />

those relationships. But there are only<br />

so many hours in a day, and I have to<br />

devote my time to what will bring about<br />

the greatest change. I simply have to<br />

make choices. It’s hard for our students to<br />

understand this.<br />

Students come and go in four years.<br />

What I try to do is invest in their future, in<br />

the long-term strategic plan, so that when<br />

I leave and when they leave, something is<br />

left that will continue to attract quality<br />

students. I look at this as an investment.<br />

All this building we’re going through<br />

right now — that’s an investment for the<br />

year 2010 and beyond. You can’t think<br />

about just the here and now. It’s a strategic<br />

investment in the <strong>University</strong> to maintain it<br />

and to strengthen it for the future.<br />

So growing the endowment also is very<br />

important. Building up our SLU tradition<br />

and culture of values and ethical behavior<br />

is also important, as is continuing to attract<br />

highly qualified and committed people to<br />

teach and learn — and transforming the<br />

right kind of leaders to become dynamic<br />

champions for social justice.<br />

U: When you took this job 20 years ago,<br />

were you apprehensive? If so, how did you<br />

overcome that fear?<br />

b: In a way, I was intimidated by the<br />

knowledge that I had full responsibility for<br />

SLU and was accountable for it to the trustees,<br />

the Jesuits, almost 100,000 living alumni,<br />

Lawrence Biondi,<br />

S.J., has been<br />

president of <strong>Saint</strong><br />

<strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong><br />

longer than SLU’s<br />

current freshmen<br />

have been alive.<br />

While he’s been at SLU, four<br />

U.S. presidents have served<br />

the nation, five governors<br />

have served Missouri and four<br />

mayors have served St. <strong>Louis</strong>.<br />

During those 20 years, <strong>Saint</strong><br />

<strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong> has undergone<br />

many changes. Most obviously,<br />

the physical campus has grown<br />

and greened. But it’s the<br />

improvements you can’t show<br />

on a map that really show the<br />

impact of Biondi’s presidency.<br />

1987 2007<br />

Average ACT<br />

score of<br />

entering<br />

freshmen 22.7 26.4<br />

Student-to-<br />

teacher ratio 16-1 13-1<br />

endowed<br />

chairs and<br />

professorships 16 51<br />

Full-time<br />

ranked faculty 718 1,297<br />

Total student<br />

enrollment 9,869 12,309<br />

number of<br />

freshmen 1,077 1,604<br />

residence hall<br />

occupancy 1,992 3,446<br />

Annual<br />

donations<br />

to SLU $15.6 million $66 million<br />

grant, contract<br />

and research<br />

revenue $8.96 million $65.8 million<br />

<strong>University</strong><br />

endowment $93 million $970 million<br />

net assets $504.3 million $1.4 billion<br />

10 UNIVERSITAS www.slu.edu UNIVERSITAS FALL 2007 11


We didn’t ask his favorite color, but we did<br />

want to know what makes <strong>University</strong> President<br />

Lawrence Biondi, S.J., tick. So here’s a revealing<br />

glimpse of the man behind the collar.<br />

For one day I’d like to trade places with: Pope Benedict XVI If I couldn’t have my present job, I’d love to be the: Owner of a Tuscan, Lucchese cuisine restaurant in Midtown St. <strong>Louis</strong><br />

My dream vacation: Three weeks on a deserted island in the Bahamas I’d like to meet: The Dalai Lama The best advice my mother ever gave me: Don’t talk so much, and eat your food!<br />

My proudest moments: Training my dog Iggy not to do his business in the house. Seriously, making people happy whenever I can do so reasonably. Guilty pleasure: Cigars (occasionally!)<br />

Pet peeves: People who drive slowly in the left lane and talk on their cell phones Favorite food: Maryland steamed crabs A book I’d recommend: Good to Great by Jim Collins<br />

Favorite TV show: The Sopranos A quote to live by: “Holding resentment in is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. It doesn’t work.”<br />

4,000 or so faculty and staff and more than<br />

10,000 students. I had been a SLU trustee<br />

for three years, so I knew there were some<br />

significant challenges, but I also believed that<br />

there was great potential for SLU.<br />

But, I was never trained to be a president<br />

of a major university. And I had to start<br />

somewhere. I jumped right into this job<br />

from being the dean of the large College<br />

of Arts and Sciences at Loyola Chicago,<br />

where we had more than 400 faculty.<br />

Traditionally, a person is at least an<br />

academic vice president before becoming a<br />

president, but I skipped that step.<br />

Also, there was a definite learning curve<br />

to understand SLU’s culture because I was<br />

not from St. <strong>Louis</strong> or a graduate of <strong>Saint</strong><br />

<strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong>. I had only been a SLU<br />

trustee for three years, which really gave<br />

me a limited amount of knowledge and<br />

experience — attending quarterly board<br />

meetings did not amount to a lot of time<br />

spent on SLU’s campus.<br />

Eventually I got over my apprehension<br />

by listening: I listened to a wide variety of<br />

people and their problems. At that time,<br />

there were some people who were jockeying<br />

for me to confide in them. I needed to<br />

listen, to distinguish facts from fiction,<br />

so I decided to give myself more time to<br />

understand what motivated them. I listened<br />

to distinguish an individual’s legitimate<br />

concern for SLU from a self-serving one.<br />

Taking on the presidency at SLU was a<br />

big challenge. But I had good mentors and<br />

role models: <strong>Father</strong> Tom Fitzgerald, Dan<br />

Schlafly, Bucky Bush, Joe Adorjan, Mike<br />

Shanahan, Barry Beracha and other SLU<br />

trustees and friends whom I learned to trust<br />

and in whom I confided.<br />

U: After 20 years in St. <strong>Louis</strong>, you’re now<br />

something of a celebrity here — a very<br />

recognizable face. How does that affect you?<br />

b: I don’t consider myself a celebrity, but I<br />

know some people watch carefully what I<br />

do and say. So I’m more careful.<br />

Of course, I try to be as natural as<br />

possible. But I think I’m much more<br />

on guard with the business community<br />

and with people I meet for the first time<br />

because they’re evaluating me on what<br />

they’ve heard about me as a person or<br />

about my role as president of SLU.<br />

But I’m more like myself with students.<br />

I like to joke around with them, which<br />

sometimes surprises them.<br />

U: What are the differences between your<br />

public persona and the “real” you?<br />

b: I have a reputation for being direct,<br />

tough and outspoken with a “take no<br />

prisoners” approach to business situations.<br />

But those who know me well would<br />

probably describe me as quiet, somewhat<br />

introverted. I really enjoy time alone with<br />

my two golden retrievers [Gancia and<br />

Iggy], especially at the end of the day. So<br />

believe it or not, I’m actually a bit shy; I<br />

have to work at making small talk.<br />

And it would probably surprise people<br />

to know that I am very casual and prefer<br />

informal to formal. At home, I am most<br />

comfortable in a T-shirt, walking shorts and<br />

Birkenstocks. I’d rather eat dinner with my<br />

Jesuit brothers at Jesuit Hall than in a fivestar<br />

restaurant.<br />

Oh, and, yes, I’m told I have a weird<br />

sense of humor.<br />

U: What in your childhood indicated that<br />

this is what you’d be doing?<br />

b: Nothing. I flunked first grade because<br />

I grew up speaking Italian and wasn’t as<br />

fluent in English as I needed to be as a<br />

first-grade school kid growing up in the<br />

northwest side of Chicago. I was one of<br />

those kids in the shadows.<br />

My leadership qualities really came about<br />

when I became chairman of the department<br />

of modern languages at Loyola Chicago.<br />

Prior to that, I just had my values, of<br />

course, and the honesty and directness that<br />

have gotten me into trouble my whole life.<br />

U: How did your parents prepare you for this<br />

job? And what did they think when you got it?<br />

b: My parents certainly didn’t cut me any<br />

slack. They certainly kept me in my place.<br />

Once I got this job, my mother would<br />

often say, “You’re the president of the<br />

university. You can do what you want<br />

because you are not teaching anymore.<br />

So you can come up to Chicago and visit<br />

me more often. You have no teaching<br />

commitments.” She was happy for my<br />

success, but I don’t know if she ever<br />

fully understood my obligations and the<br />

challenges of the job.<br />

I know that both of my parents were very<br />

proud of me for my commitment to my<br />

priestly life. And I’m sure that if my mother<br />

were still alive today, she would continue to<br />

chastise me and say that it’s inappropriate<br />

for a Jesuit priest to go around without<br />

wearing socks during the summer!<br />

U: Is it possible to separate yourself from<br />

your work? Do you even try?<br />

b: It is difficult to separate myself from<br />

work because I am, for many in the external<br />

community, the face of SLU. And since<br />

I live on campus, students, alumni and<br />

faculty, all of whom expect different things,<br />

often stop me when I walk on campus.<br />

And I notice everything — so when I’m<br />

out, even walking my dogs or driving them<br />

around campus in my golf cart, I make<br />

Clockwise from top left:<br />

SLu men’s basketball<br />

coach rick Majerus<br />

with Biondi in april<br />

2007; nasrallah Peter<br />

Cardinal sfeir, patriarch<br />

of antioch and all the<br />

east, with Biondi in June<br />

2006; biondi with his<br />

late mother, Albertina, at<br />

the ceremony recognizing<br />

biondi as St. <strong>Louis</strong>’ Citizen<br />

of the year in April 2006;<br />

Women’s basketball<br />

coach shimmy Graymiller<br />

and Biondi at<br />

the groundbreaking of<br />

Chaifetz arena in august<br />

2006; biondi talking with<br />

students at sophomore<br />

dinner in September<br />

2005; honorory degree<br />

recipient Yogi Berra<br />

with Biondi at the<br />

2007 commencement;<br />

biondi greeting a family<br />

following the 2007<br />

baccalaureate Mass.<br />

mental notes of things around campus that<br />

need attention.<br />

U: What do alumni mean to SLU? What<br />

can they still do for SLU?<br />

b: I hope our alumni are proud of their<br />

alma mater and rely upon their <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong><br />

<strong>University</strong> education in their personal and<br />

professional lives. I hope they value the<br />

relationships, the friendships, that helped<br />

them become informed and transformed<br />

into better individuals.<br />

I also want them to remember that there<br />

is still more to be done and that SLU needs<br />

their support and involvement.<br />

U: You’ve had a successful career. Do you<br />

have any personal goals left?<br />

b: I am always trying to find ways to have<br />

balance in my life so I can continue to<br />

direct my energies to my work. I want to<br />

renew and strengthen my own spirituality,<br />

which will help me discern my future. I also<br />

need to exercise more and eat less.<br />

When I am tired I fantasize about<br />

traveling to places I’ve only seen and read<br />

about in National Geographic. But, honestly,<br />

traveling to distant places would only<br />

give me two or three weeks of enjoyment,<br />

because then I’d get antsy.<br />

U: You are SLU’s second-longest tenured<br />

president: to what do you attribute your<br />

longevity? What’s the secret?<br />

b: Italian, Tuscan genetic DNA.<br />

Seriously, I was 48 years old when I<br />

became president, a bit younger than many<br />

of my recent predecessors — so youthful<br />

energy may have something to do with my<br />

longevity. God has given me good health,<br />

abundant energy and a good team of<br />

administrators and deans to help me.<br />

U: Do you have a timeline for retirement or<br />

perhaps a career change?<br />

b: Retirement is not in my vocabulary! I<br />

guess a career change is always a possibility.<br />

As I remind my staff, Charles de Gaulle<br />

once said: “Cemeteries are filled with<br />

indispensable people.”<br />

Sure, I think about the future. There<br />

certainly are days when being a parish priest<br />

or teaching high school Spanish are very<br />

appealing. But, frankly, I don’t have much<br />

time to ponder my personal future while I<br />

am still so focused on SLU’s future.<br />

U: When you finally do retire or change<br />

careers, what do you hope is your legacy?<br />

b: That I leave my successor with a<br />

university that is recognized across the<br />

nation as the finest Catholic university in<br />

the United States. That is my vision for<br />

SLU and, I hope, my legacy.<br />

12 UNIVERSITAS www.slu.edu UNIVERSITAS FALL 2007 13


Photo by Steve Dolan<br />

Left: The unIVersITY museum, CIrCa The 1890s.<br />

Above: The resTored Grand hall TodaY.<br />

Grand<br />

Once More<br />

DuBourg Hall’s long-Dormant fourtH floor<br />

Has unDergone a transformation.<br />

Covered in boxes and dust for years, one of the oldest and grandest<br />

locations on the <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong> campus was restored to its<br />

former luster this fall.<br />

Used as storage for many decades, the fourth floor of Dubourg Hall, which<br />

was the entire <strong>University</strong> when the building opened in 1888, received a<br />

multimillion-dollar makeover this year. SLU’s growth and demand for office<br />

space caused the administration to take the space out of moth balls. And<br />

the results are stunning.<br />

Since fall 2006, SLU’s design and construction team has been renovating<br />

the uninhabited space into offices and hallways resembling — and even<br />

improving on — their glory days. Though replaced and updated, the tall,<br />

arched windows remain, and new plaster and wood improve the structure<br />

and safety of the space.<br />

The biggest change, though, can be seen in the grand Hall. Located at the<br />

southern end of the grand wing, the cavernous hall is filled with the solid<br />

craftsmanship of the 1800s. Architectural detailing abounds throughout<br />

the windows and floor, and the wooden vaulted ceiling gives the illusion of<br />

being in a cathedral. During the storage years, the hall grew dim with grime.<br />

now, though, wood that’s more than 100 years old is taking center stage as<br />

the room hosts important events and meetings.<br />

The hall was once home to SLU’s museum, which contained oil paintings<br />

brought from europe, native American relics, geological specimens and<br />

mementos from the history of the <strong>University</strong>, among other items. At its<br />

peak in the late 1800s, the museum was considered a must-see for anyone<br />

visiting St. <strong>Louis</strong>. it closed in the 1930s, and the space then housed<br />

physics labs. Later it was was used for storage, its majesty long forgotten.<br />

“We’re going back to the natural wood look, rehabbing the existing<br />

conditions to match what was originally intact in the 1800s,” said project<br />

manager Dave Florek. “everyone is excited about what’s going on up there.”<br />

Florek also said that as crews continued renovating Dubourg Hall, they<br />

realized that they were witnessing something special.<br />

“The renovation consisted of a vast uncovering of incredibly detailed<br />

architecture that would not be economical today,” Florek said. “The<br />

materials that were uncovered would be considered high-end materials,<br />

even in this age of construction.”<br />

now that the craftsmanship on the fourth floor is shining through, the new<br />

occupants are appreciating the beauty of wood from a bygone era.<br />

“The grand Hall is magnificent! The amount of work that went into redoing<br />

the wood is hard to imagine,” said Mary Ann Fox, staff assistant in the<br />

provost’s office.<br />

in addition to the grand Hall and new offices, the fourth floor now boasts<br />

men’s and women’s restrooms, conference rooms and a kitchen prep area.<br />

A new elevator on the western end of the Lindell wing allows easy access.<br />

— Allison Babka<br />

14 UNIVERSITAS www.slu.edu UNIVERSITAS FALL 2007 15


Photos by James Visser<br />

TreASUreS TO BeHOLD AnD TO Be HeLD<br />

– By Marie Dilg<br />

Those who believe you cannot judge<br />

a book by its cover could learn a little<br />

something from Dr. Gregory A. Pass.<br />

He is in the basement vault of Pius XII Memorial Library carefully holding a small book with a<br />

well-worn cover. The volume, a New Testament in Syriac bound together with a lexicon of Syriac<br />

and critical notes, is a rare and important early printed edition in the history of the Bible.<br />

“These books were printed between 1664 and 1667, and bound together in 1686, as indicated<br />

by the date stamped in gold on the cover. The top, bottom and front edges of the pages<br />

have been elaborately gilded, and the entire volume is bound in vellum. Vellum generally is<br />

less expensive than leather, but the gold-stamped designs on the cover and the elegant details<br />

suggest this volume did not belong to a starving Syriac scholar. The gauffered (tooled) edges of<br />

the pages also indicate that someone with considerable means would have owned this.”<br />

Pass slides the book back onto a shelf in the vault that is filled with thousands of ancient<br />

volumes. To Pass, however, these are not just old books. They are artifacts. His mission as head<br />

of Special Collections is not only to preserve these artifacts and their texts but also to make<br />

them accessible to SLU students and to scholars worldwide who are interested in exploring how<br />

the written word was produced, consumed and understood over the centuries.<br />

Page Turner<br />

Evidence indicates SLU began a separate collection for its rare books around the time of the<br />

Civil War. Some of the books were purchased. Some were donated. Many came to the <strong>University</strong><br />

from monasteries and mission houses when they closed. In all, the <strong>University</strong> has collected<br />

approximately 12,000 volumes printed before 1820 and 15,000 after 1820.<br />

Librarians use 1820 as the dividing line because books were printed on hand presses until<br />

around 1820 and then increasingly on steam-driven presses at a higher volume and with<br />

greater uniformity after 1820.<br />

SLU’s rare book collection is strong in Catholic theology, history and philosophy, including<br />

various editions of works by St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine. It contains numerous<br />

titles by members of the Society of Jesus, including Ignatius Loyola, Francis Xavier and<br />

Francisco Suárez. Nearly half of the collection is in Latin. The collection also has strengths in<br />

American history, the Civil War, St. <strong>Louis</strong> area history, American Catholic Church history and<br />

Jesuit missionary activities in the Americas.<br />

Books not kept in the vault are in closed<br />

stacks like those in the St. <strong>Louis</strong> Room on<br />

the third floor of Pius, where Pass is displaying<br />

several of the collection’s treasures. He<br />

places them on soft gray book rests to protect<br />

their bindings.<br />

From the shelf he has pulled:<br />

Several volumes by Athanasius Kircher, a<br />

17th-century German Jesuit scholar who<br />

published broadly, most notably on China,<br />

Egypt, geology, science and medicine.<br />

SLU has a rare 1667 copy of Kircher’s<br />

China Monumentis — complete with foldout<br />

maps and rich illustrations of Chinese<br />

dress. This book provided the West with<br />

some of its earliest images of China. Also<br />

in SLU’s collection is Kircher’s Sphinx<br />

Mystigoga, an early attempt at deciphering<br />

hieroglyphics that remained the standard<br />

work on the subject until the 19th century.<br />

Five manuscript leaves from the famous<br />

15th-century Llangattock Breviary (a liturgical<br />

book of prayers and hymns) illuminated<br />

in Italy. SLU has one of the largest concentrations<br />

of leaves from this book.<br />

A second edition of Oliver Twist printed in<br />

1839 in three volumes (known as a triple<br />

decker) with original illustrations.<br />

First edition copies of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry<br />

Finn and Life on the Mississippi with<br />

original illustrations and publishers’ decorative<br />

bindings.<br />

Pass believes these books are important to<br />

preserve in their original form, not only for<br />

the texts they contain but also because of the<br />

physical attributes of the objects themselves —<br />

the binding, paper, typography and illustrations.<br />

Together these elements influence how<br />

the texts originally were read and circulated.<br />

“You can go into any bookstore and buy a<br />

copy of Huckleberry Finn,” Pass said. “It’s a<br />

very common text. But if you’re an English<br />

professor trying to help your students understand<br />

how the novel was read and how it fit<br />

into society, it’s much more effective to show<br />

them a first edition copy with original illustrations<br />

and binding.<br />

“You’re holding history.”<br />

Dr. Phillip R. Gavitt, associate professor<br />

of history, agrees that the artifacts have<br />

educational impact. Gavitt joined SLU 15<br />

years ago in part because of the holdings in<br />

Special Collections. Access to them greatly<br />

benefits his research into medieval and early<br />

modern Italian history.<br />

16 UNIVERSITAS www.slu.edu UNIVERSITAS FALL 2007 17<br />

Dr. gregOry PASS


MiCrOFiLM reADerS in SLU’S VATiCAn FiLM LibrAry<br />

SCHolARly SCRAmble<br />

When the Vatican Library in rome<br />

announced during the summer that it<br />

was closing for a three-year renovation,<br />

scholars panicked at the prospect of being cut<br />

off from their crucial research sources.<br />

The Vatican apologized for the short notice, but<br />

it said the decision was unavoidable. The wing<br />

of the 16th-century building where the library<br />

and reading rooms are located is sagging due<br />

to age and the sheer weight of the books and<br />

manuscripts.<br />

Luckily for scholars and for <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong><br />

<strong>University</strong>, about half of the Vatican Library’s<br />

collection is on microfilm in the <strong>University</strong>’s<br />

Vatican Film Library (VFL). Ambrogio Piazzoni,<br />

vice prefect of the Vatican Library in rome, said<br />

he is referring scholars to <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong><br />

to pursue their research during the shutdown.<br />

“A lot of people plan their research agenda<br />

several years in advance,” said Dr. Thomas<br />

Madden, director of SLU’s Center for Medieval<br />

and renaissance Studies. “if they’re applying<br />

for grants or students are writing dissertations<br />

that require documents found in rome and the<br />

materials are no longer available to them, the<br />

only other place in the world where they are<br />

available is here at SLU.”<br />

Dr. gregory Pass, director of the VFL, said he<br />

already has had a number of inquiries from<br />

researchers who had planned to study at the<br />

Vatican and needed to rearrange their plans.<br />

He said applications for VFL fellowships are<br />

up noticeably, and efforts are under way to<br />

increase the number of fellowships offered to<br />

accommodate additional scholars. Pass and the<br />

staff of the VFL are preparing for the anticipated<br />

influx of scholars by making the collection more<br />

accessible and by expanding its Web site.<br />

“This is a wonderful opportunity for us to draw<br />

greater attention to our collection and to seek<br />

outside funding that could help us add to our<br />

already significant holdings,” Pass said.<br />

{captions}<br />

Gavitt said he soon realized that Special Collections could be a wonderful teaching tool as<br />

well. He regularly brings his students to the library for tours and lectures to help them appreciate<br />

the importance of using primary sources in research.<br />

“It amazes students to have these books at their fingertips,” he said. “When they touch a<br />

piece of animal skin that someone wrote on more than 600 years ago, there’s a sense of awe. It<br />

awakens them from their dogmatic slumber and inspires fresh thought.<br />

“I also believe that it’s one thing for students to read what historians have said about a<br />

particular work, but to see that original work and to interpret it for themselves teaches critical<br />

thinking in a way nothing else can.”<br />

Treasures in Microfilm<br />

Rare books and manuscripts are only one part of Special Collections. The department also<br />

includes the <strong>University</strong> Archives, which serves as SLU’s memory — documenting its history<br />

from before its founding in 1818 to the present with a wide variety of materials including official<br />

records, photographs, publications and personal papers (notably the archives of the late<br />

<strong>University</strong> Professor Walter J. Ong, S.J.).<br />

Also under the Special Collections umbrella is the Knights of Columbus Vatican Film Library<br />

(VFL), an unparalleled resource for scholars in the United States.<br />

The roots of the VFL go back to the early 1950s, when Lowrie J. Daly, S.J., then a 37-yearold<br />

associate professor of medieval history, proposed the <strong>University</strong> seek permission to make<br />

microfilm copies of rare and ancient manuscripts in the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (Vatican<br />

Library) in Rome to facilitate research by scholars in the Western hemisphere.<br />

The Vatican Library possesses one of the most important collections of Medieval and Renaissance<br />

manuscripts in the world — containing some 75,000 codices representing just about<br />

every aspect of the Western European intellectual and artistic experience.<br />

Pope Pius XII granted permission for the project. And, with generous financial support from<br />

the Knights of Columbus, Daly headed to Rome. He oversaw a team of Italian technicians as<br />

they captured thousands of high-quality images of the manuscripts.<br />

Nearly every month from 1951 to 1957, the team sent back to SLU microfilm reels containing<br />

roughly 1,000 manuscripts.<br />

“It was a remarkable project,” Pass said. “Before this time, microfilm was limited largely to<br />

military or industrial purposes. The impact of using microfilm on such a large scale for this<br />

project, capturing 12 million manuscript pages, was in some ways comparable to the application<br />

of computing technology to the humanities over the past 10 to 15 years.”<br />

Big Draw<br />

{on page 16} Llangattock Breviary (Ferrara, 1441–48), St. <strong>Louis</strong>, <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong><br />

<strong>University</strong> Library, MS 2e<br />

{a} {B} {C}<br />

When the VFL opened in 1953 in DuBourg Hall, scholars traveled from throughout the world<br />

to see the microfilmed treasures. They still do.<br />

“We often have European scholars visiting, even some from Italy, who find it easier to work<br />

with our resources than with the originals in the Vatican Library. This is partly because of the<br />

high demand on the Vatican Library’s limited reading space, but also because of the limited<br />

{a} Aegidius gutbier, Novum domini nostri Jesu Christi Testamentum Syriacè<br />

(Hamburg, 1664), bound with Lexicon Syriacum (Hamburg, 1667) and<br />

Notae criticae in Novum Testamentum (Hamburg, 1667)<br />

number of manuscripts that scholars are allowed to consult in a single day,” Pass said. “We’re<br />

preparing for an even greater influx of scholars with the temporary closing of the Vatican Library<br />

in Rome.” (See sidebar on page 18.)<br />

The VFL is unique to SLU and was the catalyst for construction of Pius XII Memorial Library.<br />

Although the initial microfilming project ended in 1957, the VFL did not stop acquiring<br />

material. It continues to assemble a comprehensive reference collection of books, serials, microforms,<br />

electronic materials and other media in all areas of manuscript studies — illumination,<br />

paleography, codicology, book production, library history, etc. It now has more than 37,000<br />

manuscripts on microfilm — slightly better than half of the Vatican’s collection.<br />

Among the most significant holdings are:<br />

Codex Vaticanus, one of the oldest surviving manuscripts of the Bible written in Greek sometime<br />

during the middle of the 4th century.<br />

Vergilius Romanus (The Roman Virgil), produced between the 5th and 6th centuries. It is<br />

one of the oldest surviving copies of the works of Virgil and one of few surviving examples<br />

of Roman miniature painting.<br />

Commentaries written in the hand of St. Thomas Aquinas.<br />

Poetry written in the hand of Petrarch, the famous Italian scholar, poet and Renaissance<br />

humanist.<br />

Sunspot observations by Galileo.<br />

Greater Access<br />

The VFL hosts a fellowship program (another is offered by SLU’s Center for Medieval and Renaissance<br />

Studies) and an annual manuscripts conference to help achieve its mission of making<br />

its abundant resources available to scholars. For the past 50 years, it has edited and published<br />

Manuscripta, a scholarly journal devoted to research on medieval and Renaissance manuscripts.<br />

It is the only journal of its kind in North America.<br />

Two years ago, Special Collections hired its first rare book cataloguer to make the collections<br />

more accessible through rare book records input as part of the <strong>University</strong> libraries’ online catalogue.<br />

As a result, the number of rare book queries from researchers worldwide has increased<br />

substantially. The recent addition of a rare books librarian will further expand knowledge of<br />

the collections and the ability to assist patrons.<br />

All of this activity fits with the <strong>University</strong> libraries’ ambitious five-year strategic plan,<br />

which includes for Special Collections expanding its reading room, creating climate-controlled<br />

storage areas, increasing acquisitions budgets and providing digital access to its<br />

materials. But while digitization allows wider access, <strong>University</strong> Archivist John Waide believes<br />

that nothing beats the real thing.<br />

“Vision is just one of our senses,” said Waide, as he holds a journal handwritten in the 1850s<br />

by Pierre-Jean DeSmet, S.J. “We also have touch and smell. Holding this book is a total sensory<br />

experience. I’m not the first reader. I’m sharing it with someone who lived 100 years before me.<br />

You can’t fully appreciate that unless you hold the book in your hands. These are true treasures<br />

on our campus.”<br />

meSSAge fRom HiS HolineSS pope piuS Xii<br />

January 2, 1953<br />

To Our beloved Son<br />

Paul C. reinert, S. J.<br />

President of <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong><br />

it is with sincere pleasure that We reply to<br />

your letter, beloved son, thanking Us for the<br />

extraordinary permission granted to <strong>Saint</strong><br />

<strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong>, of which you are the worthy<br />

President, to make microfilm copies of extensive<br />

portions of the Vatican Library. With pleasure,<br />

We say, because We are gratified to learn<br />

from your letter of your further plan that these<br />

priceless treasures, the wealth of centuries of<br />

scholarship and learning, are to find a fitting<br />

home in a new and ample university library,<br />

which will thus become a center for scholars<br />

throughout your vast land. Such a plan strikes<br />

a sympathetic chord in Our own heart, intent as<br />

We are, and as the Church has always been, on<br />

fostering knowledge and wisdom.<br />

Heartily then do We approve your plan,<br />

beloved son, with the hope that you and<br />

your colleagues will find many who are ready<br />

and eager to co-operate in an enterprise<br />

so advantageous to the cause of Catholic<br />

culture in America. We are happy to note that<br />

Our beloved sons, the knights of Columbus,<br />

have generously made possible an important<br />

step towards the realization of your plan, by<br />

defraying the expenses of the microfilming. May<br />

this be a bright omen of the final and happy<br />

consummation of your dream, a university<br />

library which will be a spacious temple of<br />

learning, a storehouse of the good, the true, the<br />

beautiful. Willingly then do We accede to your<br />

filial request that this new library be designated<br />

the “Pius Xii Memorial Library.”<br />

As an earnest of abundant heavenly blessings<br />

on this important work, We impart to you,<br />

beloved son, to your benefactors, your faculty<br />

and your students, the Apostolic benediction.<br />

{B} Athanasius kircher, China Monumentis (Antwerp, 1667), frontispiece {C} Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (new york: Charles L. Webster<br />

and Company, 1885)<br />

18 UNIVERSITAS www.slu.edu UNIVERSITAS FALL 2007 19


SLU student Rachel McCullagh<br />

plans to change the world.<br />

– By Lauren Olson<br />

20 UNIVERSITAS www.slu.edu<br />

Photo by Steve Dolan<br />

As Rachel McCullagh<br />

watched a group of<br />

children rummage<br />

through mounds of trash<br />

filling a city dump in<br />

Nicaragua, she came to an<br />

eye-opening realization:<br />

These kids weren’t just<br />

looking for used toys, they<br />

were living in this landfill.<br />

Standing in that Nicaraguan dump, Mc-<br />

Cullagh vowed to change things for the<br />

homeless boys and girls in front of her.<br />

“No one deserves to live like this,” Mc-<br />

Cullagh said. “No one.”<br />

Wandering through garbage in Nicaragua<br />

on a <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong> theology summer<br />

immersion program is just one way McCullagh<br />

has opened her eyes to the importance<br />

of social justice and diversity. Growing up<br />

with a father of Irish descent and a mother<br />

from the Philippines, McCullagh’s childhood<br />

overflowed with cultural distinction. To add<br />

to her worldliness, she was born in Malaysia<br />

and has lived in seven different countries —<br />

mostly Third World — before her family<br />

settled in the United States when she was 12.<br />

McCullagh, a senior from Sugar Land,<br />

Texas, is putting her diverse upbringing to<br />

work with her three majors: international<br />

business, international studies and Spanish,<br />

plus a minor in theology.<br />

“My friends always make fun of me because<br />

I’m so all over the place,” McCullagh said.<br />

“I’m just so passionate about so many things!”<br />

Another passion of McCullagh’s can be<br />

found outside of the classroom, between the<br />

lines of the tennis court. As a member of the<br />

Billiken tennis team, she ranks 13th on the<br />

SLU singles career win list and 16th on the<br />

doubles win list.<br />

Still, it’s service, not serves, that gets Mc-<br />

Cullagh most excited.<br />

As a theology minor, McCullagh stumbled<br />

upon an opportunity that transformed her<br />

life: the Mev Puleo Scholarship. Puleo (A&S<br />

’85) brought awareness to the dignity of the<br />

poor by living in solidarity among the people<br />

of Latin America. At the age of 32, Puleo’s<br />

voice for the underprivileged was silenced by<br />

a malignant brain tumor. In her honor, Puleo’s<br />

parents established a scholarship that<br />

would send SLU students to Nicaragua in<br />

hopes that recipients would become advocates for social justice.<br />

With the scholarship and her acquired classroom knowledge about<br />

what it means to be a woman for others, McCullagh was prepared to<br />

fulfill the hopes of the Puleo family.<br />

Summer in Nicaragua<br />

Voluntarily leaving behind the comforts of the United States, Mc-<br />

Cullagh immersed herself in the Nicaraguan culture for two months<br />

this summer. She lived with a family of eight in a small house that<br />

had no air conditioning or running water. Every morning she woke<br />

up, sweat dripping down her back and bugs crawling on the floor.<br />

Every day she ate a bowl of rice and beans for breakfast, lunch and<br />

dinner.<br />

“You learn the most by living someone else’s life — by putting<br />

yourself in someone else’s shoes,” McCullagh said.<br />

Lacing up a pair of her own shoes every morning at 5:30 a.m., McCullagh<br />

began her daily routine with a jog along a dirt path through the city.<br />

By 7:30 a.m. she was taking a 15-cent bus ride to work in one of the most<br />

dangerous neighborhoods outside of Managua, the capital of Nicaragua.<br />

McCullagh spent her mornings working with a group of children,<br />

ages 2 through 10, at a tutoring program. In addition to teaching<br />

basic letters and numbers, she was in charge of feeding the children,<br />

most of whom were malnourished. She was often handed a 10-pound<br />

bag of rice with the task of removing anything that moved.<br />

“I picked out animals, anything from small mice to one-inch ants,”<br />

McCullagh said. “I thought, ‘I can’t cook this food for these kids.’ But<br />

they don’t have anything else. They have to eat it.”<br />

McCullagh was experiencing everything a Third World country<br />

had to offer, both the good and bad, when her Nicaraguan routine<br />

was drastically interrupted.<br />

After treating her host family to dinner at a restaurant with a $20<br />

bill, which would have been enough to feed that family for a week, a<br />

queasiness came over McCullagh. Things took a turn for the worse<br />

the following morning, as she passed out at church and awoke in<br />

the hospital. Diagnosed with an intestinal and urinary tract infection<br />

caused by parasites in the food or water, she was given antibiotics and<br />

sent back to her host family.<br />

“I realized how lucky I was that I had enough money to go to the<br />

hospital,” she said. “If I were a Nicaraguan, I couldn’t have done that.”<br />

Through her illness, McCullagh learned the true meaning of dependence.<br />

“I’ve never been in a state where I couldn’t take care of myself,” Mc-<br />

Cullagh recalled. “I would sit up in bed and get sick all over the floor,<br />

MCCULLAgH’S PHOTOS FrOM Her SUMMer in niCArAgUA.<br />

and my host mother would clean it up. This lady had nothing. She<br />

stood over me, held me and fanned me with a piece of paper just to<br />

make me feel a little bit better.<br />

“They don’t have much to give, but everything they have, they’re<br />

just so happy to give to you.”<br />

Out of concern, McCullagh’s father flew to Nicaragua with the<br />

intent of returning to America with his only daughter. With three<br />

weeks of the trip left, McCullagh was faced with a difficult decision:<br />

return to the States for a proper recovery or struggle through her illness<br />

and complete her mission to help Nicaraguans in need.<br />

“I really wanted to finish my experience. My parents really wanted<br />

me to come home,” McCullagh said.<br />

“I decided to stay.”<br />

A New Perspective<br />

In the end, McCullagh’s decision to finish what she started gave her<br />

a new perspective.<br />

After two months in a Third World country, McCullagh still describes<br />

herself as passionate, but now, she said, with a healthy dose of<br />

practicality. Some advocates of social justice strive to make a difference<br />

through protests, grassroots organizations or the Peace Corps.<br />

McCullagh has a different path in mind. She hopes to use her SLU<br />

John Cook School of Business degree to initiate economic change<br />

across the globe.<br />

“The problem with Nicaragua is that they have no way to make<br />

money, except sweatshops,” she said. “They have no oil, poor leadership<br />

and few exports.”<br />

Inspired by her SLU education and her summer abroad, McCullagh<br />

feels a newfound obligation to solve that problem.<br />

“If you want to actually make change, you need a profession,” she<br />

said. “Volunteering is great, but having the tools to make a difference<br />

is key.”<br />

By working to support initiatives such as NAFTA (North American<br />

Free Trade Agreement) or CAFTA (Central American Free Trade<br />

Agreement), McCullagh believes she can pioneer policy change and<br />

improve the standard of living in Third World countries.<br />

Walking along the dirt roads and through the city dump of Nicaragua,<br />

McCullagh made a promise to herself and to humanity that just<br />

might change the future:<br />

“No one should live without running water or electricity,” she said.<br />

“That should be a standard.<br />

“No one should live in a trash dump. That should be a standard.”<br />

If McCullagh has anything to say about it, it will.<br />

UNIVERSITAS FALL 2007<br />

21


Holy Paws<br />

By Jeannine C. Fox (Cook ’64) | Royal Works<br />

Publishing<br />

Avictim of childhood abuse, Fox writes how her<br />

dog, baby, who was abused as a puppy, gave<br />

her the courage to face her past. Fox presents<br />

her own story while hoping to inspire the reader<br />

to discover a personal account of god’s love and<br />

healing presence in his or her own life.<br />

The New York Postcard<br />

Sonnets<br />

By Philip Dacey (A&S ’61) | Rain Mountain Press<br />

in his series of sonnets, Dacey relates his<br />

experiences as a man from the Midwest living<br />

in new york. Making his way through the city, he<br />

notes bits of dialogue and integrates these with<br />

his own interpretations and thoughts to create<br />

poetry.<br />

Wretched Sisters<br />

By Mary Welek Atwell (Grad ’69, ’74) | Peter Lang<br />

Publishing<br />

in offering analysis of the circumstances that<br />

determine why a small number of women are<br />

sentenced to the death penalty, Atwell focuses<br />

on 11 women who have been put to death for<br />

murder. She takes up each case individually,<br />

involving their personal stories and unique<br />

elements.<br />

Diamond Quality<br />

Leadership<br />

By Mark Hinderliter (Cook ’81) | iUniverse<br />

This book tells the story of a manager who has<br />

trouble leading effectively and balancing his<br />

work and home life. As he works with an executive<br />

coach, he learns six qualities of leadership that<br />

help him improve his work performance and<br />

reclaim his life.<br />

Book of Beginnings<br />

By David A. Stuckey (Grad ’95) | Robertson<br />

Publishing<br />

in this autobiographical collection of essays,<br />

Stuckey gives us a portrait of himself as<br />

a young man coming into adulthood. in the<br />

wide-ranging stories, he describes his childhood<br />

adventures and misadventures, triumphs,<br />

failures, first loves and most painful losses.<br />

Spelling Love with an X<br />

By Clare Dunsford (A&S ’74) | Beacon Press<br />

Dunsford chronicles her experience as a<br />

carrier of the fragile X permutation and as<br />

mother to her 21-year-old son, J.P., whose full<br />

mutation of fragile X has resulted in his mental<br />

retardation. Throughout her story, she draws<br />

from classic poetry to reflect on love, parenting,<br />

disappointment and persistence.<br />

How Big Is Your God?<br />

By Paul Coutinho, S.J. (Grad ’90, ’96) | Loyola Press<br />

in this collection of short essays, Coutinho<br />

challenges readers to grow deeper and stronger<br />

in faith by embracing a god whose love knows<br />

no bounds. His writings are drawn from his own<br />

Catholic faith blended with the eastern religious<br />

traditions he learned while living in india.<br />

In a Fly’s Eye<br />

By C.S. Callahan (Grad ’73) | Bezalel Books<br />

Jay C.’s last wish is to know what people really<br />

think about his life, so he hires barney, a<br />

lackluster writer, to delve into his past. Along the<br />

way, they discover their own truths in a story that<br />

will make the reader ask, “Who do people say<br />

that i am?”<br />

This summary of books is meant for informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement of any work. Following this issue, Universitas will no longer include self-published books.<br />

howard schlossman<br />

(Med) teaches medical<br />

’39dr.<br />

students and residents in<br />

psychiatry at Hackensack <strong>University</strong>.<br />

He lives in Englewood, N.J., and has a<br />

part-time practice.<br />

Gunther (A&S) has<br />

been inducted into the<br />

’40keith<br />

St. <strong>Louis</strong> Media Hall of<br />

Fame for his contributions to St. <strong>Louis</strong><br />

television.<br />

(Baumler) Janitell<br />

(Nurs) is retired and lives<br />

’45leona<br />

in Littleton, Colo.<br />

harold haley (Med)<br />

and his wife live in Roa-<br />

’46dr.<br />

noke, Va. They have five<br />

children.<br />

dr. elias neuren (Dent) is retired from an<br />

oral surgery specialty practice in Columbus,<br />

Ga., and lives in Boca Raton, Fla.<br />

keck (Parks) is retired<br />

in Coarsegold, Calif.<br />

’51George<br />

He previously worked in<br />

McDonnell Ram Jet lab testing, Boeing<br />

Flight Test Center Operations,<br />

Pacific Plastics marine division management,<br />

the U.S. Air Force and spent<br />

28 years in Lockheed’s marine and<br />

aerospace program management.<br />

richard rapp (IT) lives in Lakeside, Calif.,<br />

and has eight children.<br />

lawrence Blazina (Med)<br />

got remarried in May<br />

’52dr.<br />

2005 and lives in Merced,<br />

Calif.<br />

Boyd fellows (A&S) won the Olympus<br />

“Capture It All” photo contest. He<br />

lives in Sturgeon Bay, Wis.<br />

John simanella (A&S) was elected to the<br />

Ohio State Bowling Hall of Fame and<br />

bowled in the U.S. Bowling Congress<br />

Tournament. He lives in Cleveland.<br />

mark zimmer (IT) lives in Miami and<br />

is retired from the National Hurricane<br />

Center. He is now involved in hurricane<br />

and tropical storm consulting for<br />

national corporations.<br />

saunders (IT) retired<br />

as the associate di-<br />

’53Barry<br />

rector of the Utah Division<br />

of Water Resources and lives in<br />

Salt Lake City.<br />

roland Wegmann (Law) marked the<br />

43rd year of his general practice, the<br />

Wegmann Law Firm in Hillsboro, Mo.<br />

(sullivan) Cambria<br />

(Doisy) lives in Staten<br />

’54anne<br />

Island, N.Y., and works<br />

part time as a gerontology nurse.<br />

hubert miller (Grad Pub Ser) recently<br />

toured Peru and visited Inca sites in<br />

Lima, Cusco and Machu Picchu. He<br />

lives in Austin, Texas.<br />

sanders (Cook) is<br />

retired from a manage-<br />

’55Joseph<br />

ment position with AstraZeneca<br />

Pharmaceuticals and owns<br />

a general insurance agency with his<br />

son. He lives in Elgin, Ill., and has five<br />

children and 21 grandchildren.<br />

William G. schneider Jr. (Parks) retired<br />

in 1990 as a senior base manager for<br />

Boeing at Edwards Air Force Base. He<br />

spent 35 years in their flight test organization.<br />

He enjoys golf, travel and<br />

working with his Rancho Bernardo<br />

(Calif.) homeowner’s association.<br />

hummel (Parks) retired<br />

from the Kennedy<br />

’56Gene<br />

Space Center in Florida<br />

after 42 years. He lives in Murphy,<br />

N.C., with his wife, Jean.<br />

fox (Parks) lives in<br />

Williamsburg, Va., and<br />

’57david<br />

is a retired marine piping<br />

designer from the Coast Guard’s English<br />

headquarters.<br />

dr. William s. sly (Med) received an<br />

honorary degree from Washington<br />

<strong>University</strong> in St. <strong>Louis</strong>. He is the Alice<br />

A. Doisy Professor, chairman of the<br />

Edward A. Doisy Department of Biochemistry<br />

and Molecular Biology and<br />

a professor of pediatrics at SLU.<br />

rev. leo f. stelten (Pub Ser ’57, Grad<br />

’70) is a volunteer in the library at Cardinal<br />

Muench Seminary in Fargo, N.D.<br />

The Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin,<br />

which he edited, is in its seventh printing,<br />

and his translation of the Epitoma<br />

Rei Militaris of Flavius Vegetius Renatus<br />

was dedicated to Dr. Chauncey E.<br />

Finch, a former SLU professor.<br />

m. “Jack” rielley (IT)<br />

retired from Smurfit-<br />

’58John<br />

Stone after 48 years in<br />

the corrugated packaging industry.<br />

He lives in St. <strong>Louis</strong>.<br />

leo V. ryan, C.s.V. (Grad Cook) received<br />

a Medal of Merit from the Polish<br />

government for his civic and educational<br />

contribution to greater Poland.<br />

Also, Adam Mickiewicz <strong>University</strong><br />

in Poznan, Poland, declared May 12<br />

“Professor Brother Leo V. Ryan Day”<br />

to honor his 80th birthday.<br />

dr. kate (deClue) schejbal (Nurs ’58,<br />

Grad ’70, ’81) teaches BSN programs<br />

at Maryville <strong>University</strong> and lives in<br />

Ballwin, Mo.<br />

Braun, o.m.I.<br />

(Grad) has been a priest<br />

’59robert<br />

for 56 years. He is the<br />

chaplain and spiritual adviser to the<br />

Poor Clare Nuns in Belleville, Ill.<br />

david spitznagel (Cook ’59, Law ’65) obtained<br />

his alligator trappers license and<br />

caught two alligators on Lake Hipochee,<br />

Fla. He lives in Key Largo, Fla.<br />

hickey (Parks)<br />

retired from Wright-Pat-<br />

’60herbert<br />

terson Air Force Base in<br />

1999 and is now an aerospace consultant.<br />

He lives in Dayton, Ohio.<br />

mary ann (Connors) larkin (Grad Pub<br />

Ser) has published two chapter books<br />

of poetry, most recently Gods and<br />

Flesh. She lives in Washington, D.C.<br />

Charles Turner (IT ’60, ’64) is the girls’ soccer<br />

coach at Waterloo (Ill.) High School.<br />

arndt (Parks) is<br />

president of PEI Midwest.<br />

’61donald<br />

He lives in St. Charles,<br />

Ill., is married and has five children<br />

and 12 grandchildren.<br />

albert hoffman (Grad Cook) lives in<br />

Chicago.<br />

merle Gibson (Med)<br />

is a physician in fam-<br />

’62dr.<br />

ily practice in Vandalia,<br />

Ohio. His grandson, Jonathan Gibson,<br />

attends SLU’s School of Medicine and<br />

plans to take over his solo practice.<br />

Barbara (martin) matte (A&S) has had<br />

her work published in a college literary<br />

magazine and is writing a novel on the<br />

Vietnam era. She lives in Paso Robles,<br />

Calif.<br />

richard range (Cook) lives in Chesterfield,<br />

Mo., and retired after 38 years in<br />

the insurance business. He winters in<br />

Naples, Fla., and enjoys golfing, singing<br />

in the church choir and spending<br />

time with his four grandchildren.<br />

dr. Gerald schiffhorst (A&S ’62, Grad<br />

’63), professor emeritus of English at<br />

the <strong>University</strong> of Central Florida, coauthored<br />

the textbook, Grammar, Etc.:<br />

The Handbook For Writers, which can<br />

be downloaded free from freeloadpress.<br />

com. He lives in Winter Park, Fla.<br />

mal Brewer (Med) is<br />

retired from ophthal-<br />

’64dr.<br />

mology practice. He and<br />

his wife, Peggy, live in Portland, Ore.<br />

John Corkery (A&S) is dean of the<br />

John Marshall Law School in Chicago,<br />

which is Illinois’ largest law school.<br />

Biondo (IT)<br />

lives in Rockford, Ill.,<br />

’65Theodore<br />

and is chairman of the<br />

board of trustees of Rock Valley College.<br />

He and his wife, Pat, have been<br />

married for 43 years and have two<br />

children and five grandchildren.<br />

dr. George m. Bohigian (Med), professor<br />

of clinical ophthalmology at Washington<br />

<strong>University</strong> School of Medicine in<br />

St. <strong>Louis</strong>, spoke at the second International<br />

Medical Congress in Armenia in<br />

June. His lectures were part of an eye<br />

medical/surgical mission to Armenia.<br />

michael hudyma (Parks) is a flight engineer<br />

for Federal Express. He is retired<br />

from the U.S. Air Force and lives in<br />

Rocky Mount, N.C.<br />

William C. Gaylord<br />

(Grad) served in the<br />

’66dr.<br />

U.S. Air Force Dental<br />

Corps, attaining the rank of captain.<br />

He is president of the American Association<br />

of Orthodontists and has a<br />

private orthodontic practice in Flagstaff,<br />

Ariz.<br />

John Jordan moore (A&S) is a columnist<br />

for the Grand Prairie Union News and<br />

has published a collection of essays,<br />

Millennial Outrages To the Tender Sensibilities<br />

of Decent, Right-Thinking People.<br />

He and his wife, Linda, live in Bloomington,<br />

Ill., and have a grandson.<br />

kenneth Weindel (A&S ’66, Grad ’71)<br />

is a reference librarian at the St. <strong>Louis</strong><br />

Public Library and is president of the<br />

Greater St. <strong>Louis</strong> Chapter of the Catholic<br />

Library Association.<br />

Bill Wuest (IT) retired from AT&T in<br />

1998. He and his wife, Peggy, live on<br />

a golf course in San Antonio, where<br />

they enjoy golfing, traveling and visiting<br />

with their children and grandson.<br />

lynn Beckwith (Grad<br />

’67, ’83) serves on the<br />

’67dr.<br />

board of directors of the<br />

St. <strong>Louis</strong> County Library.<br />

Joseph P. Conran (A&S, Law ’70) is a<br />

commercial litigation attorney with<br />

Husch & Eppenberger in St. <strong>Louis</strong>.<br />

He was named in the 2008 edition of<br />

The Best Lawyers in America.<br />

Jim Godsil (A&S, Grad ’69) has written a<br />

booklet of poetry titled My Milwaukee.<br />

sarwar a. kashmeri (Parks, IT ’71)<br />

wrote the book America & Europe<br />

after 9/11 and Iraq: The Great Divide.<br />

He is the host of “Road to the White<br />

House,” a series of conversations with<br />

the 2008 New Hampshire presidential<br />

primary candidates for the Eagle<br />

Times of Claremont, N.H. He also is<br />

a fellow of the Foreign Policy Association<br />

and lives with his wife, Deborah<br />

Ellis, on a farm in Reading, Vt.<br />

22 UNIVERSITAS www.slu.edu UNIVERSITAS FALL 2007 23


classnotes<br />

Photos by Steve Dolan<br />

John schweitzer (A&S) is the CEO of<br />

SkyDev Technologies in St. <strong>Louis</strong>.<br />

martin (Parks) is<br />

a chief test pilot for<br />

’68marvin<br />

Northrop Gumman Integrated<br />

Systems, west region, in Palmdale,<br />

Calif.<br />

robb scoular (Law) was listed in the Los<br />

Angeles Business Journal’s “Who’s Who in<br />

L.A. Law.” He was named one of Southern<br />

California’s “Super Lawyers” by Los<br />

Angeles Magazine and Law & Politics<br />

Management and is a member of the “Billionaire’s<br />

Club,” according to California<br />

Law Business. He is the founding managing<br />

partner of the Los Angeles office of<br />

Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal. He<br />

also is president and chair of the board of<br />

directors of the Los Angeles Area Council<br />

of the Boy Scouts of America.<br />

robert Telfer (A&S) is a partner in a law<br />

firm Cianfrogna, Telfer, Reda, Faherty,<br />

and Anderson in Titusville, Fla.<br />

Joe robustelli (A&S),<br />

director of the educa-<br />

’69dr.<br />

tional opportunity program<br />

at SUNY-Cobleskill, received<br />

the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence<br />

in Professional Service in May. He has<br />

worked there since 1984.<br />

Chaplin (A&S) is<br />

the president of the North<br />

’70kenneth<br />

Jefferson County Catholic<br />

Credit Union, a Quickbooks pro adviser<br />

and a certified management accountant.<br />

He lives in Arnold, Mo.<br />

Janet folkl, C.d.P. (A&S, Grad ’75) is<br />

general superior of the Sisters of Divine<br />

Providence, an international congregation<br />

of women religious. She lives<br />

in St. <strong>Louis</strong>.<br />

William hall (Cook) and his wife of 37<br />

years, rose (failoni) hall (A&S), live in<br />

Fort Worth, Texas. They have three sons<br />

and four grandchildren. William previously<br />

was the director of accounting at<br />

Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth.<br />

mary (higgins) klein (SW) practices<br />

psychotherapy in Costa Mesa, Calif.<br />

She is married to dr. david klein (Med<br />

’71), who practices oncology and hematology<br />

in Newport Beach, Calif.<br />

dr. richard koesterer (A&S ’70, Grad<br />

’75) retired from the biology department<br />

at Coastal Carolina <strong>University</strong> after 28<br />

years of service. He lives in Conway, S.C.,<br />

but plans to move to Trinidad.<br />

dr. Theresa (nangle) obermeyer (Grad ’70,<br />

’76) and her husband, Thomas s. obermeyer<br />

(Grad Cook ’76), live in Anchorage,<br />

Alaska. They have four children: Thomas<br />

Jr. and Jimmy are pursuing careers as<br />

medical doctors, and twins Margaret<br />

and Matt are at Rockhurst <strong>University</strong>.<br />

Warren sazama, s.J. (A&S ’70, Grad<br />

’73) has completed his first year as president<br />

of Marquette <strong>University</strong> High<br />

School in Milwaukee.<br />

sharen selleck rice (Nurs) is a clinical<br />

nurse specialist at the VA outpatient clinic<br />

in Columbus, Ohio, where she works<br />

with veterans who have post-traumatic<br />

stress disorder. She and her husband have<br />

four children and two grandchildren.<br />

ron simmons (A&S) is retired after<br />

36 years in the information technology<br />

field, the last 25 with TTX Co. in<br />

Chicago. He and his wife, Mary Ellyn,<br />

spend their time hiking, biking, traveling<br />

and seeing their four children and<br />

six grandchildren.<br />

forgue (Grad) retired<br />

this year after 12<br />

’71Joseph<br />

years as a chaplain at the<br />

federal correctional institution in El<br />

Reno, Okla.<br />

michael W. forster (A&S ’71, Law ’74)<br />

is the managing partner of the firm<br />

Sandberg, Phoenix & von Gontard in<br />

St. <strong>Louis</strong>.<br />

2007 hoMecoMing highLightS<br />

G. Tracy mehan III (A&S ’71, Law ’74), a<br />

principal of the Cadmus Group Inc. and<br />

former assistant administrator for water<br />

at the U.S. Environmental Protection<br />

Agency, has been appointed to the Water<br />

Science and Technology Board of the<br />

National Academies’ National Research<br />

Council in Washington, D.C.<br />

dr. daysi mejia (Grad SW) is chair of<br />

the Catholic Charities board of directors<br />

in the Diocese of Venice, Fla. She<br />

is on the faculty of Florida Gulf Coast<br />

<strong>University</strong>.<br />

Cheatham (Pub<br />

Ser) wrote a book titled<br />

’72Gwendolyn<br />

Give Your Teacher This<br />

Note – Parents Say the Funniest Things.<br />

She lives in Fayetteville, Ga.<br />

ruth (onsum) kraushaar (Nurs) was<br />

a nursing educator and developer of<br />

new community programs. She lives<br />

in Springfield, Ore., near her two children<br />

and two grandchildren.<br />

lou mcCabe, s.J. (Grad) is the assistant<br />

to the provincial for vocations for the<br />

Jesuits of the Missouri Province. He is<br />

happy to be back in St. <strong>Louis</strong>.<br />

otis miller (Grad) has been retired for<br />

nine years and works part time. He<br />

lives in Belleville, Ill.<br />

dr. Janet I. Pisaneschi (Grad) is the provost<br />

and vice president for academic<br />

affairs at Western Michigan <strong>University</strong><br />

and received the 2007 Distinguished<br />

Woman in Higher Education Leadership<br />

Award. She was dean of WMU’s<br />

College of Health and Human Services<br />

for 17 years prior to her current<br />

position.<br />

david Podeschi (A&S) is Blockbuster’s<br />

senior vice president for merchandising,<br />

distribution and logistics. He lives<br />

in Dallas.<br />

Ted r. anderson (Grad)<br />

wrote Biology of the Ubi-<br />

’73dr.<br />

quitous House Sparrow:<br />

From Genes to Populations. He is emeritus<br />

professor of biology at McKendree<br />

<strong>University</strong> and lives in Kingston, Wash.<br />

Bob Johnson (A&S) retired from the<br />

EEOC in St. <strong>Louis</strong> this spring after 28<br />

years. He is now of counsel to Sedey-<br />

Harper. In April, SLU’s School of Law<br />

gave him the Clarence Darrow Public Interest<br />

Advocate Award. He also is a fellow<br />

of the College of Labor and Employment<br />

Lawyers. He and his wife, sandy Johnson<br />

(A&S), are enjoying being grandparents.<br />

elbert luh (Cook ’73, Law ’88) lives in<br />

De Soto, Mo., and works with church<br />

youth groups.<br />

raymond f. Wacker (A&S), the Emerson<br />

Electric/Charles Groennert Teaching<br />

Excellence Professor at Southern Illinois<br />

<strong>University</strong> Carbondale, received<br />

the 2007 Outstanding Educator Award<br />

from the Illinois CPA Society in May.<br />

stephen h. daniel (A&S<br />

’74, Grad ’78) has been<br />

’74dr.<br />

appointed to the Murray<br />

and Celeste Fasken Chair in Distinguished<br />

Teaching in the Liberal Arts.<br />

He is a professor of philosophy at Texas<br />

A&M <strong>University</strong> and a scholar in the<br />

field of modern philosophy.<br />

dr. david f. dinges (Grad) is the chief of<br />

the division of sleep and chronobiology<br />

and director of the unit for experimental<br />

psychiatry in the department of<br />

psychiatry at the <strong>University</strong> of Pennsylvania<br />

School of Medicine. He received<br />

the 2007 Distinguished Public Service<br />

Medal from NASA, the agency’s highest<br />

award for nongovernment personnel.<br />

Patricia (Turk) horvath (Nurs) is the<br />

director of health and wellness, health<br />

care solutions and analytics for UnitedHealthcare’s<br />

central region and lives<br />

in Kirtland, Ohio.<br />

don’t miss homecoming 2008, scheduled for Sept. 26-28.<br />

Mark your calendar now and make plans to be there.<br />

david reiser (Parks) is in diaconate formation<br />

for the diocese of Charlotte, N.C.<br />

Boenker (Parks)<br />

is an aerospace engineer<br />

’75matthew<br />

working for Avion Inc.<br />

as a support contractor to the U.S.<br />

Army. He lives in Huntsville, Ala.,<br />

and is trying to start his own vineyard<br />

and winery in St. <strong>Louis</strong>.<br />

dr. dorothy Corrigan (A&S ’75, Nurs ’03,<br />

Grad ’07) is a board-certified gerontological<br />

nurse practitioner and is a clinical<br />

researcher for the Alzheimer’s Disease<br />

Research Center of the Washington <strong>University</strong><br />

School of Medicine in St. <strong>Louis</strong>.<br />

Barbara feldman Geffen (Law) is<br />

the managing director of Campus-<br />

CURES, a division of the Agos Group<br />

dedicated to risk management strategies<br />

for higher education.<br />

Janet (newman) hodel (Doisy) moved<br />

from Oregon to Anchorage, Alaska,<br />

in 2005 with her husband, Ron, and<br />

daughter, Heather. She is a physical<br />

therapist at Alaska Regional Hospital.<br />

William schmidt (Cook ’75, Grad ’77)<br />

is executive vice president and regional<br />

director for Momentum and<br />

is responsible for the firm’s St. <strong>Louis</strong>,<br />

Chicago, Detroit and Milwaukee offices.<br />

He lives in St. <strong>Louis</strong>.<br />

harter (Parks) is a<br />

flight captain for Ameri-<br />

’76mark<br />

can Airlines and lives in<br />

Belleville, Ill.<br />

Cecilia stodd (A&S) is a financial specialist<br />

in the department of population<br />

health sciences at the <strong>University</strong><br />

of Wisconsin School of Medicine.<br />

(Beasley) Brown<br />

(SW ’77, ’78) earned her<br />

’77debra<br />

doctorate in ministry<br />

from the Assemblies of God Theological<br />

Seminary in Springfield, Mo. She<br />

lives in Kansas City, Mo.<br />

david eschmann (Cook) is an I.T. data<br />

warehouse specialist for Thermadyne<br />

Corp. in St. <strong>Louis</strong>.<br />

ann (angie) sellenriek (Grad) lives in<br />

Palm Harbor, Fla., and is a residential<br />

supervisor for a shelter that serves<br />

clients who are 10-17 years old. She<br />

plans to move to Memphis, Tenn.<br />

Pete stabnick (A&S) received the Exemplary<br />

Advocate Award from the<br />

Council for Exceptional Children Division<br />

on Visual Impairments for his<br />

support of teachers and professionals<br />

in the field of blindness. He has been<br />

involved in the printing and distribution<br />

of the Division on Visual Impairment<br />

Quarterly for 17 years. He lives<br />

in Little Rock, Ark.<br />

denise Wondolowski (Parks ’77, Grad<br />

Cook ’80) is a senior portfolio manager<br />

for U.S. Bank private asset management<br />

in St. <strong>Louis</strong>.<br />

Valene (Parks) lives<br />

outside of Memphis, Tenn.,<br />

’78larry<br />

and is an MD-11 captain<br />

with FedEx as a line check airman.<br />

Bobrowski (A&S)<br />

is a music specialist at<br />

’79leonard<br />

St. Charles Borromeo<br />

School in St. Charles, Mo., and director<br />

of music at Blessed Teresa of Calcutta<br />

Church in Ferguson, Mo. He<br />

will also have two choral pieces published<br />

by World Library Publications.<br />

When crisis struck the crew<br />

of Space Shuttle Atlantis on<br />

a mission to the international<br />

Space Station, it was kelly (bond) beck (Parks ’88)<br />

— feet planted firmly on the ground, as usual — who<br />

helped to bring order to the seven-person crew<br />

millions of miles away from home.<br />

When news broke that Atlantis had a torn heat-shield<br />

blanket, space observers could not help but think of<br />

the tragedy that struck Space Shuttle Columbia on<br />

re-entry four years earlier.<br />

it was on the mind of beck — the mission commander<br />

— and the rest of the nASA staff,<br />

as well. Since the Columbia<br />

tragedy, no one takes chances<br />

at Mission Control — every<br />

precaution is implemented,<br />

beck said. Whenever an<br />

anomaly arises, there is a team<br />

led by its own flight director<br />

that begins looking at solutions<br />

from every conceivable angle,<br />

and those possible solutions<br />

are then tested on the ground.<br />

The tests concluded that<br />

sewing the blanket with stainless-steel wire was the<br />

best option over other choices, such as duct tape<br />

that didn’t hold up to the vacuum of space. After a<br />

successful space walk under the guidance of beck,<br />

Atlantis returned safely to earth on June 22.<br />

even as the eyes of the world focused on Atlantis and<br />

Mission Control in Houston, beck and the crew kept<br />

their calm and resolve.<br />

“We’re so well trained we’re not under pressure or<br />

stress. it’s how our training programs have geared us<br />

to respond,” beck said in a telephone interview. “i think<br />

it’s similar to an air traffic controller: you just do it.”<br />

dr. George dolson (Med) is on the faculty<br />

of Baylor College of Medicine<br />

and is chief of the renal section of the<br />

VA Medical Center in Houston.<br />

dixon (Law) is a<br />

deputy district attorney<br />

’80ronnie<br />

in the Fulton County district<br />

attorney’s office and the head of the<br />

trial division. He lives in Lithonia, Ga.<br />

Joseph T. eckelkamp (Cook ’80, Grad<br />

Cook ’93), owner of Eckelkamp &<br />

Associates CPAs in St. <strong>Louis</strong>, has received<br />

the Personal Financial Specialist<br />

credential from the American Institute<br />

of Certified Public Accountants.<br />

He also has been interviewed several<br />

times on St. <strong>Louis</strong>’ KTVI-TV.<br />

KELLy BECK<br />

dr. nancy lindo-drusch (Med) has a<br />

two-person family practice and is the<br />

director of the ThedaCare Hospice.<br />

She lives in Appleton, Wis.<br />

marjorie soffer-Wood (PS) and her husband,<br />

Charles, are retired and live in<br />

St. <strong>Louis</strong>. Marjorie was an army journalist.<br />

She has one son, Charlee.<br />

mcGarrahan (A&S)<br />

and his wife, Holly, have<br />

’81kenneth<br />

two daughters and live in<br />

Fenton, Mo. Kenneth has worked at<br />

AT&T for 25 years.<br />

Charlann Winking (A&S) has retired<br />

after 20 years as a public defender in<br />

Minnesota and has moved to Victoria,<br />

B.C., Canada, with her husband.<br />

beck’s journey to nASA seemed<br />

destined to make a pit stop at<br />

<strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong>. When<br />

she was growing up in Cahokia, ill., her grandmother<br />

worked in the cafeteria at Parks College of<br />

engineering, Aviation and Technology, and beck was<br />

always drawn to the science and math classes she<br />

would eventually need to be a successful engineer.<br />

“i think it’s the purity of mathematics and being able<br />

to solve the problems and move to a higher level that<br />

i like about math,” beck said. “And a lot of my math<br />

and science teachers would get you interested. i also<br />

can think of my biology and physics teachers that<br />

made it interesting — same with<br />

my chemistry teachers.”<br />

in those classes, as in her<br />

career, beck was one of the<br />

few women in the room. but it’s<br />

something that’s never really<br />

mattered to her.<br />

“i never perceived it to be a<br />

problem or a hindrance,” she<br />

said. “i know i have to go do<br />

my job very well no matter what.<br />

Maybe it was just that i wasn’t<br />

paying attention to feel intimidated because i was<br />

woman.”<br />

Her recent work as mission commander is not the final<br />

frontier for beck. She sees her career continuing up<br />

the ladder at nASA. She already is the deputy chief of<br />

flight directors and thinks an opportunity for chief of<br />

flight directors might be in her future. but there is one<br />

goal she thinks is out of her reach.<br />

“i’d love to see a manned mission to Mars,” she said.<br />

“i really think that eventually we will be like Star Trek,<br />

with easy access to space. it’s just a matter of when,<br />

but probably not in my lifetime.” — Nick Sargent<br />

24 UNIVERSITAS www.slu.edu UNIVERSITAS FALL 2007 25<br />

photo courtesy of NASA


The freshmen and their alumni relatives.<br />

For almost 20 percent of the<br />

freshman class, <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong><br />

<strong>University</strong> is all in the family.<br />

That’s because 291 first-year students<br />

have a parent, grandparent, sibling,<br />

aunt or uncle who graduated from<br />

SLU. Each year the alumni relations<br />

office holds a luncheon in honor of<br />

these “legacy” students during Welcome<br />

Week. On Aug. 23, the students<br />

and their alumni family members<br />

met in the Shanahan Atrium of<br />

John and Lucy Cook Hall to take a<br />

break from move-in and meet their<br />

new SLU family.<br />

michelle hasan and her dad asif<br />

(grad Cook ’76) of Laguna Hills,<br />

Calif. “i got a really good scholarship<br />

here,” Michelle said. “i’m looking into<br />

studying psychology and premed.”<br />

daniel mcCulley (grad Cook ’86) and<br />

his daughter kathryn of Columbia,<br />

Tenn. “it’s great she came to SLU,”<br />

Daniel said. “We lived here for seven<br />

years, and i really enjoyed my time<br />

at SLU.”<br />

nick Boxdorfer and his dad Jim (Cook<br />

’80) of St. <strong>Louis</strong>. “i’m so proud of<br />

him,” Jim said. “And i told him when<br />

we were walking up here that i still<br />

marvel at the changes to campus.”<br />

fred sackbauer (Cook ’40) of St.<br />

<strong>Louis</strong> and his granddaughter amelia<br />

Blanton of Lubbock, Texas. “SLU is<br />

wonderful,” Amelia said. “Plus, it’s<br />

nice to know that he’s nearby in case i<br />

need anything.”<br />

megan Gibbons and her dad Patrick<br />

(Cook ’73) of St. <strong>Louis</strong>. “i have wanted<br />

to come to SLU since the eighth grade<br />

to study nursing,” Megan said. “Dad<br />

had nothing to do with it.”<br />

Photos by Steve Dolan<br />

dr. dan zabrowski (A&S) is the global<br />

head of Roche Pharma Partnering,<br />

overseeing Roche’s network of alliances<br />

with biotech companies and creating<br />

new alliances. He lives in Montclair,<br />

N.J.<br />

fox (Doisy) and<br />

her husband of 21 years,<br />

’82karen<br />

Don, have three boys.<br />

She is a home health physical therapist<br />

in the western suburbs of Chicago.<br />

stephen J. stapleton (Nurs) is an assistant<br />

professor of nursing at the West<br />

Suburban College of Nursing in Oak<br />

Park, Ill.<br />

sabio (a&s) is<br />

president of Sabio Fi-<br />

daniel<br />

’83J.<br />

nancial and Insurance<br />

Services and serves on the Midwest<br />

BankCentre South County Regional<br />

Board. He lives in St. <strong>Louis</strong>.<br />

d’agrosa (A&S ’84,<br />

Law ’89) was named<br />

’84Paul<br />

“Best Lawyer” by the Riverfront<br />

Times, was featured in St. <strong>Louis</strong><br />

Magazine and has been a legal expert<br />

for KMOV-TV. His office is in Clayton,<br />

Mo.<br />

Brian kinsey (Parks) is the airport assistant<br />

director for marketing and business<br />

development at Lambert-St. <strong>Louis</strong><br />

International Airport. He is in charge<br />

of expanding the number of air carriers<br />

and air service.<br />

margaret kitzmiller (Grad) is the relationship<br />

manager and principal of<br />

Commerce Bank of Oregon. She has<br />

been in financial services for more<br />

than 20 years. She enjoys volunteering<br />

her time tutoring students in reading<br />

and writing.<br />

fallon (Parks) is<br />

a regional manager for<br />

’85Patrick<br />

corporate real estate with<br />

U.S. Airways in Philadelphia.<br />

kathleen hardesty (Nurs ’85, Pub Hlth<br />

’97) is director of patient services for<br />

QHR Consulting Services. She lives in<br />

St. <strong>Louis</strong>.<br />

John harmon (Grad Cook) is the executive<br />

vice president and chief operating<br />

officer of Abraxis Pharmaceutical<br />

Products. He and his wife, Jean Ann,<br />

live in Barrington Hills, Ill., and have<br />

two children.<br />

dr. Wayne V. Polek (Med) was re-elected<br />

to the Illinois State Medical Society<br />

board of trustees. He is a boardcertified<br />

anesthesiologist affiliated<br />

with Kane Anesthesia Associates in<br />

Geneva, Ill.<br />

Thomas e. rutledge (A&S), an attorney<br />

with Stoll Keenon Ogden in<br />

<strong>Louis</strong>ville, Ky., received the National<br />

Association of Secretaries of State<br />

Medal in recognition for his work<br />

in modernizing Kentucky’s business<br />

entity laws.<br />

Teresa Tolle (Law) is a Dallas County<br />

criminal court judge.<br />

mark Wilhelm (Grad Cook) is presidentelect<br />

and chief underwriting officer at<br />

Safety National Casualty Corp. in St.<br />

<strong>Louis</strong>. He also is vice chairman of the<br />

board of trustees at <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong><br />

High School.<br />

Birsinger (A&S) is<br />

the president of M.A.<br />

’86mark<br />

Birsinger & Co., a small<br />

business consulting firm in Wildwood,<br />

Mo., where he and his wife,<br />

Lynn, live.<br />

Beckemeyer<br />

(Cook) earned a certifi-<br />

Colleen<br />

’87m.<br />

cate in retirement plan-<br />

ning from the Wharton School of the<br />

<strong>University</strong> of Pennsylvania. She is a<br />

retirement planning specialist at AXA<br />

Advisors in St. <strong>Louis</strong>.<br />

daniel davis (Cook) and his partners<br />

have formed Level One Bank<br />

in Farmington Hills, Mich. He and<br />

his wife, maureen (Blubaugh) davis<br />

(A&S ’88) live in Novi, Mich., with<br />

their three children, Rylie, Joe and<br />

Cameron.<br />

mary dorsey (Law) is a member of the<br />

firm Ahlheim & Dorsey and a chair of<br />

the St. <strong>Louis</strong> County Board of Equalization.<br />

karen kirk-schlorff (Cook) has been<br />

in health care since graduation and<br />

has worked in California and Kenya,<br />

among other places. She lives in Lock<br />

Haven, Pa.<br />

John novelli (Parks) is director of operations<br />

engineering at American Airlines<br />

in Fort Worth, Texas.<br />

a. Castellano<br />

(Grad Cook) is chief ex-<br />

’88michael<br />

ecutive officer of Esse<br />

Health, St. <strong>Louis</strong>’ largest independent<br />

physicians group.<br />

dr. Gregory oetting (Med) is a neurosurgeon<br />

in Augusta, Ga.<br />

Grisanti (Hosp) is<br />

an assistant clinical pro-<br />

’89michael<br />

fessor of medicine at SU-<br />

NY-Buffalo. He is also the president of<br />

Buffalo Rheumatology, chairman of<br />

the institutional review board of Mercy<br />

Hospital and medical director of the<br />

Buffalo Osteoporosis Center.<br />

kendra (Boll) lynn (Cook) is vice president<br />

and chief administrative officer at<br />

UTG Inc. in Springfield, Ill. She and<br />

her husband, Brian, have two daughters,<br />

Gabrielle and Isabelle.<br />

dr. Gregory saboeiro (Med) has been<br />

named one of New York City’s best<br />

doctors by New York Magazine. He is<br />

the chief of the division of interventional<br />

radiology and CT at the Hospital<br />

for Special Surgery.<br />

a. Bottini (A&S)<br />

formed his own law firm,<br />

’90frank<br />

Johnson Bottini, in February<br />

and married Nina Kramps of<br />

Dusseldorf, Germany, in May. They<br />

live in San Diego.<br />

elizabeth Campbell<br />

(Law, Pub Hlth) has relo-<br />

’91sarah<br />

cated to Dallas, where she<br />

is the director of policy management<br />

in the ethics and compliance department<br />

at Tenet Healthcare Corp.<br />

Tammy Gummersheimer (A&S) is an associate<br />

professor in the mathematics,<br />

science and technology department<br />

at Schenectady (N.Y.) County Community<br />

College and received the 2007<br />

Foundation Award for Excellence<br />

in Faculty Service. She also has been<br />

recognized by the American Chemical<br />

Society for her service to the college<br />

and to the field of chemistry.<br />

Jennifer Quinn Williams (A&S), owner<br />

and founder of <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> Closet Co.,<br />

was named one of the Top Influential<br />

Business Women in St. <strong>Louis</strong> for 2007<br />

by the St. <strong>Louis</strong> Business Journal. She<br />

also was featured in the August issue of<br />

CEO magazine for her next entrepreneurial<br />

venture, <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> Cellars.<br />

albrecht (Cook<br />

’92, Law ’96) is the di-<br />

’92michael<br />

rector of operations for<br />

HDS Group, a Beverly Hills, Calif.based<br />

real estate developer and homebuilder.<br />

He and wife, Lauren, have two<br />

children, Alexander and Maggie.<br />

Julian eckles (A&S) is a social studies<br />

teacher in the Riverside Ohio School<br />

District and was recently named<br />

Teacher of the Year. He also is a varsity<br />

football coach, and his team reached<br />

the Ohio state playoffs in 2006. He<br />

and his wife, katie (english) eckles<br />

(A&S) have three children, Emily, Sarah<br />

and Charles.<br />

stefan hussenoeder (A&S) has welcomed<br />

a new daughter, Megan Angela.<br />

He is the technical research lead at<br />

Exxon Mobil Upstream Research Co.<br />

in Houston.<br />

(Tillotson) evans<br />

(SW) is a coordinator<br />

’93dinah<br />

for Family Partnership<br />

Center Mental Health and provides<br />

services for kinship families. She lives<br />

in Hilmar, Calif.<br />

Brian ricardo (Parks) has been an American<br />

Airlines pilot for 10 years. He and<br />

his wife, Beth, live in Corinth, Texas,<br />

with their children, Jacob, Nicholas<br />

and Brianna.<br />

heidi scheuermann (Pub Ser) is a<br />

state representative in the Vermont<br />

House of Representatives. She is also<br />

the coordinator at the James M. Jeffords<br />

Institute at the <strong>University</strong> of<br />

Vermont.<br />

kevin spenner (A&S) was married in<br />

July. He has been teaching fifth grade<br />

for 13 years in Meridian, Idaho.<br />

Bowden (Parks) has<br />

been the chief engineer at<br />

’94Terry<br />

RAM Aircraft for three<br />

years. He has six children and lives<br />

in Moody, Texas. He enjoys flying his<br />

1946 Taylorcraft and researching early<br />

Parks College history.<br />

michael fell (A&S) lives in Colby,<br />

Kan., and is the vice president and<br />

director of operations for Rocking M<br />

Radio.<br />

John headrick (Law) is the inspector<br />

general for the office of the Illinois<br />

Auditor General. He lives in Springfield,<br />

Ill.<br />

Traci (halverson) nolan (A&S) and her<br />

husband Bruce nolan (Cook ’93) had<br />

their first child, Brennan Raymond, in<br />

April. They live in Maryville, Ill.<br />

david Piltz (Parks) is a managing partner<br />

with the Learning Key Inc. in<br />

Washington Crossing, Pa. He and his<br />

wife, Jessa, live in Bristol, Pa.<br />

franklin (Law) has<br />

joined the patent firm<br />

’95david<br />

Amin, Turocy & Calvin<br />

and works from Cincinnati with a focus<br />

on patents in the software, electrical<br />

and medical device arts.<br />

randy Gori (A&S ’95, Law ’98) is a<br />

partner in the law firm of Goldenberg,<br />

Heller, Antaguoli, Rowland, Short and<br />

Gori in Edwardsville, Ill.<br />

John h. lamming (Grad) is the corporate<br />

counsel for patents for E.I. du Pont de<br />

Nemours and Co. in Wilmington, Del.<br />

He lives in Hockessin, Del.<br />

dr. Chad Voges (A&S) has joined St.<br />

John’s Mercy Physician Group at the<br />

Piper Hill Family Medicine clinic in<br />

St. Peters, Mo.<br />

Craig Boyd (Grad) attended<br />

the first Open<br />

’96dr.<br />

Theology and Science<br />

Seminar hosted by Eastern Nazarene<br />

College in Quincy, Mass. He is a professor<br />

of philosophy and the director of<br />

faith integration at Azusa Pacific <strong>University</strong><br />

in Azusa, Calif.<br />

Cindy (diel) modrosic (Pub Ser) and<br />

her husband Bill modrosic (Cook ’97)<br />

welcomed a son, Liam Joseph, on May<br />

26. Bill is a captain with the Springdale<br />

Fire Protection District in Fenton,<br />

Mo., and Cindy is an audiologist<br />

at Metro Ear, Nose and Throat in St.<br />

<strong>Louis</strong>.<br />

david morera (Parks) and ana ruiz de<br />

apodaca (Cook) have a son, Daniel.<br />

David leads the IT services division<br />

of Siemens in Bilbao, Spain, and Ana<br />

is a bank trader at Barclays Bank in<br />

Bilbao.<br />

Blevins (Doisy<br />

’97, Law, Pub Hlth ’03)<br />

’97matthew<br />

is the director of business<br />

development for St. John’s Hospital in<br />

Springfield, Ill.<br />

elizabeth herbst-Collins (Doisy) is the<br />

director of the cardiovascular disease<br />

reversal program at Providence St. Joseph<br />

Medical Center in Burbank, Calif.<br />

anderson (Doisy)<br />

married Adrian De’Ath<br />

’98erin<br />

in May in Antigua, West<br />

Indies. She owns a pediatric therapy<br />

company in Chicago.<br />

Courtney Boettcher (SW ’98, Grad SW<br />

’99) is the field practicum associate at<br />

the School of Social Work at Wichita<br />

State <strong>University</strong>. She also practices<br />

medical social work.<br />

kevin G. daniel (A&S) and Cynthia T.<br />

Curry-daniel (A&S ’98, Grad Cook ’00)<br />

are relocating from St. <strong>Louis</strong> to Washington,<br />

D.C., where Cynthia will work<br />

with the board of governors of the Federal<br />

Reserve System.<br />

sean Goding (Parks) received the 2007<br />

Leadership Award from the National<br />

Business Advisory Council and is a<br />

property and licensing specialist with<br />

Drury Inns Inc., where he also is an<br />

apprentice to the president. He is also<br />

a member of the advisory board of<br />

Martin Aviation Group and president<br />

of Pangea Development, a real estate<br />

company. He lives with his wife of 10<br />

years, Lori, in Mascoutah, Ill.<br />

michelle (dover) hass (Pub Ser) and her<br />

husband, Aaron, welcomed their second<br />

child, Jenna Clare, in May. They<br />

live in Olathe, Kan., with their son,<br />

Drew. Michelle is a speech language<br />

pathologist in private practice working<br />

primarily with autistic children.<br />

26 UNIVERSITAS www.slu.edu UNIVERSITAS FALL 2007 27<br />

classnotes


Brett honerkamp (Cook), his wife, Maggie,<br />

and daughter, Isabel, welcomed<br />

son, Wyatt Robert, on Aug. 23. They<br />

live in Ballwin, Mo.<br />

roger mitch nasser (A&S) is director of<br />

residence life at McKendree <strong>University</strong>.<br />

He lives in O’Fallon, Ill.<br />

abilleira (Parks)<br />

and his wife, sarah hub-<br />

’99fernando<br />

bard abilleira (Doisy ’02,<br />

’04), welcomed son, Owen Michael, on<br />

May 14. Fernando is a mission engineer<br />

in the Mars Exploration Program<br />

Office at the NASA Jet Propulsion<br />

Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. Sarah is<br />

a physical therapist at Genesis PT in<br />

Simi Valley, Calif.<br />

Courtney Graf-Jones (Pub Ser) and her<br />

husband, Jason, welcomed a daughter,<br />

Emerson Ann Marie, in June. They<br />

also have a son, Jack, and live in Tremont,<br />

Ill. Courtney is a financial analyst<br />

for Caterpillar Inc.<br />

emily hathcoat (Grad Cook) and her<br />

husband, Carl, welcomed a son, Nicholas<br />

Robert, in June. The family lives<br />

in Chicago, where Emily is the marketing<br />

director for CNA Financial Corp.<br />

sarah Collins hill (Doisy) and her husband,<br />

Charlie, have welcomed a son,<br />

Owen Charles. Sarah is the assistant<br />

administrator of health information<br />

in the ENT department at Washington<br />

<strong>University</strong> School of Medicine in<br />

St. <strong>Louis</strong>.<br />

Making<br />

a good<br />

impression?<br />

dr. Tonya (Buckner) long (A&S) graduated<br />

from Southern Illinois <strong>University</strong><br />

Edwardsville School of Dental<br />

Medicine and practices in southeastern<br />

Missouri. She is married to Rev.<br />

Henry Long.<br />

michelle Pouso (Parks) is a dispatcher<br />

for Southwest Airlines in Dallas.<br />

Jason P. Vest (A&S) runs his own recording<br />

studio, Antelope Studios, and<br />

lives in Boulder, Colo.<br />

(steger) muller<br />

(A&S, Cook) married<br />

’00Carla<br />

Patrick Muller in St.<br />

<strong>Louis</strong> in July 2006. They live in Boston,<br />

where Carla works in benefits for<br />

Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.<br />

Cox (A&S)<br />

taught high school in<br />

’01katherine<br />

Oakland, Calif., for two<br />

years and received her master’s in theology<br />

in May. She is attending law school.<br />

Gregory halvachs (Cook) married<br />

Anne Siebe in 2006, and they live<br />

in Columbia, Ill. He is a derivatives<br />

trade analyst at NISA Investment<br />

Advisors and is pursuing an MBA at<br />

SLU.<br />

rodney kutz (Parks) earned his<br />

MBA from Washington <strong>University</strong><br />

and lives with his wife, Jacqueline<br />

ruhmann (Cook ’03), in Maryland<br />

Heights, Mo. He is an engineer at<br />

Boeing.<br />

Tell Class noTes<br />

UniVerSiTAS Class notes<br />

<strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong><br />

Dubourg Hall 39<br />

221 north grand blvd.<br />

St. <strong>Louis</strong>, MO 63103<br />

fax: (314) 977-2249<br />

e-mail: utas@slu.edu<br />

dr. Jason skyles (A&S ’01, Med ’05)<br />

married Kristin Payton at St. Francis<br />

Xavier College Church in July. They<br />

live in Winston-Salem, N.C., where<br />

Jason is a radiology resident.<br />

Bratcher (A&S) was<br />

named to the Alaska Jour-<br />

’02emily<br />

nal of Commerce’s 2006<br />

“Top 40 Under 40.” She works in real<br />

estate development and management<br />

for JL Properties Inc. in Fairbanks.<br />

dr. Bryan mcIntosh (Med) graduated from<br />

a general surgery residency at the Hospital<br />

of St. Raphael in New Haven, Conn.,<br />

in June. He is now in a three-year plastic<br />

surgery residency at Nassau <strong>University</strong><br />

Medical Center in East Meadow, N.Y.<br />

dr. Terrence Wandtke (Grad) is an associate<br />

professor of literature and film at Judson<br />

<strong>University</strong> and is also the founder and<br />

director of the Imago Film Festival. The<br />

Amazing Transforming Superhero! is his<br />

first book. He lives in Belvidere, Ill., with<br />

his wife, anna (Warning) Wandtke (Grad<br />

’00), and their children, Bella and Ripley.<br />

Castello (A&S) and<br />

her new husband, David<br />

’03kati<br />

Johnson, live in South St.<br />

<strong>Louis</strong> County. She is a personal banker<br />

for Arsenal Credit Union and is active<br />

in the theater community.<br />

Brenda rhoads herivel (Grad SW) has<br />

been an officer with The Salvation<br />

Army for 23 years and is serving a threeyear<br />

appointment to Eastern Europe as<br />

the divisional secretary for Russia. She<br />

and her husband, Rich, live in Moscow.<br />

dr. owaise m.Y. mansuri (A&S) graduated<br />

from Southern Illinois <strong>University</strong><br />

School of Medicine in Springfield and<br />

has a fellowship at Bascom Palmer Eye<br />

Institute in Miami.<br />

dr. lynn m. seidenstricker (A&S) graduated<br />

from Southern Illinois <strong>University</strong><br />

School of Medicine in Springfield and<br />

has a pediatrics residency at the <strong>University</strong><br />

of Tennessee College of Medicine<br />

in Memphis.<br />

Blume (Nurs)<br />

and her husband Chris<br />

’04stephanie<br />

Blume (Cook ’02) welcomed<br />

daughter Taryn in July. Chris<br />

works for Medtronic Spinal and Biologics<br />

in Huntsville, Ala. Stephanie<br />

is on maternity leave from her job as<br />

a recovery room nurse at the Surgery<br />

Center of Huntsville.<br />

david hoban (Parks) and his wife, Laura,<br />

live in Kiel, Wis. He is an engineer<br />

at Manitowoc Cranes.<br />

deborah meyer (Cook) is a financial<br />

consultant for Financial Management<br />

Partners in Clayton, Mo., and lives in<br />

St. <strong>Louis</strong> with her new husband, Bryan.<br />

michelle Vaughan (A&S) earned a master’s<br />

degree in media communications<br />

management and lives in Wentzville,<br />

Mo.<br />

amy Cathleen Wodarek-o’reilly (A&S)<br />

earned a master’s degree from Ohio<br />

State <strong>University</strong> in June. She works<br />

for Mathematica Policy Research<br />

Inc. in New Jersey. In June she married<br />

Joseph Michael O’Reilly in<br />

Clayton, Mo.<br />

Barrale (Grad) is<br />

the principal of Sullivan<br />

’05andrea<br />

(Mo.) Middle School.<br />

Tiffany Bentley (Cook) has joined Burns<br />

& McDonnell as a security consultant.<br />

She lives in St. <strong>Louis</strong>.<br />

lindsay Chapman (Law) is an associate<br />

in labor and employment law at<br />

Whyte, Hirschboeck, Dudek in Milwaukee.<br />

nicholas Gillies (A&S) and katherine<br />

novotny (Pub Ser) were married in<br />

July 2006 at St. Francis Xavier College<br />

Church and live in Chicago. Nick<br />

works in human resources for Deloitte<br />

Services, and Katie is a high school<br />

English teacher at Niles North in<br />

Skokie, Ill. She is beginning her graduate<br />

degree at the <strong>University</strong> of Illinois-<br />

Chicago.<br />

rose newport (A&S) is the director of<br />

selection and kristin kelley (A&S ’05,<br />

Grad ’07) is the director of marketing<br />

and communications, both with<br />

Northwestern Mutual Financial Network,<br />

the Hempstead Group, of Clayton,<br />

Mo.<br />

Burton st. John (Grad) is an assistant<br />

professor of communications at Old<br />

Dominion <strong>University</strong> in Norfolk, Va.<br />

In 2006, he was named a Page Legacy<br />

Scholar through the Arthur W.<br />

Page Center at Pennsylvania State<br />

<strong>University</strong>.<br />

John Van osch (Parks) is a flight systems<br />

test engineer (F-18) for Boeing<br />

at the U.S. Naval Base in Patuxent<br />

River, Md.<br />

eller (SW) is<br />

the development director<br />

’06Constance<br />

at Our Lady’s Inn and<br />

also is chair of Missouri Right to Life-<br />

Eastern Region. She lives in St. <strong>Louis</strong>.<br />

david hunt (A&S) has begun a five-year<br />

doctoral program in clinical psychology<br />

at the Chicago School of Professional<br />

Psychology.<br />

mcmahon (A&S)<br />

received a Fulbright U.S.<br />

’07michael<br />

Student scholarship to<br />

Spain to teach English as a foreign<br />

language.<br />

Mr. A. Hamilton Strong (Law ’31)<br />

Mr. Lawrence Schwartz (Cook ’32)<br />

Mr. John Hammet (Parks ’35)<br />

Mr. Clifford Karvinen (Parks ’36)<br />

Mr. August Griesedieck (Law ’37)<br />

Dr. Wilson West (Med ’37)<br />

Dr. Edward Hellwig (Med ’38)<br />

Mr. Bernard Winkeler (Cook ’38)<br />

Mr. Robert Mudd (A&S ’39)<br />

Dr. M. Cecelia (Reichert)<br />

Paszkiewicz (Doisy ’39)<br />

Dr. Gustaf Sweet (Med ’39)<br />

Mr. Adrian Callier (Cook ’40)<br />

Dr. Walker Turner (Med ’40)<br />

Mr. Walter Lerch (Cook ’41)<br />

Mr. Robert Manchesky (Parks ’41)<br />

Mr. Frank Cusumano (Cook ’42)<br />

Mr. Edward Godar (A&S ’42)<br />

Bro. Paul Prendergast (A&S ’42)<br />

Rev. Anthony Rochel (A&S ’42)<br />

Mrs. Catherine (Belyung)<br />

Depietto (Nurs ’43)<br />

Dr. Charles Walder (Dent ’43)<br />

Mr. Vernon Kofron (A&S ’44)<br />

Dr. Henry Mueller (Dent ’44)<br />

Dr. Norio Higano (Med ’45)<br />

Mr. Gerard Faust (Cook ’46)<br />

Dr. John Isaacs (Med ’46)<br />

Ms. Eileen Mathews (A&S ’46)<br />

Mrs. Marcella (Penzenstadler)<br />

Stapleton (Doisy ’46)<br />

Sr. Joyce Brandl (Doisy ’47)<br />

Mr. Francis Broeder (Cook ’47)<br />

Sr. Ann Devereux (A&S ’47)<br />

Mr. Randall Robertson (Law ’47)<br />

Rabbi Mordecai Simon (A&S ’47)<br />

Mr. Julian Young (Parks ’47)<br />

Hon. Charles Sheehan (A&S ’48)<br />

Mr. Dan Demmas (Cook ’49)<br />

Mr. James Dolan (A&S ’49)<br />

Mrs. Georgine (Wright) Eveld (Nurs ’49)<br />

Mr. Henry Krueger (Cook ’49)<br />

Mr. Edward Nestor (Cook ’49)<br />

Rev. Roger Andrus (A&S ’50)<br />

Mr. Robert Bierman (Cook ’50)<br />

Mr. Joseph Bredeck (A&S ’50)<br />

Mr. George Dolson (Parks ’50)<br />

Mr. Paul Graham (A&S ’50)<br />

Sr. Cecilia Hock (Nurs ’50)<br />

Miss Dorothy Koch (Nurs ’50)<br />

Dr. Carroll LaVielle (Med ’50)<br />

Mr. Aloysius Pero (Cook ’50)<br />

Miss Clara (McKinney)<br />

Williams (Nurs ’50)<br />

Mr. Gerard Hemkens (A&S ’51)<br />

Mr. Paul Henderson (Law ’51)<br />

Mr. Marvin Leibach (Cook ’51)<br />

Sr. Mary Mangan (A&S ’51)<br />

Bro. Victor Naegele (Pub Ser ’51)<br />

Dr. G. Edward Philips (A&S ’51)<br />

Mr. Edward Rohde (Cook ’51)<br />

Dr. William Sammis (Med ’51)<br />

Mr. Valentine Sobota (IT ’51)<br />

Rev. Gerald Borer (A&S ’52)<br />

Dr. Bernadette (Bocklage)<br />

Bourne (A&S ’52)<br />

Mr. Reynold Burkard (Cook ’52)<br />

Mr. Joseph Cilano (A&S ’52)<br />

Mr. Eugene Doerr (A&S ’52)<br />

Rev. Dr. James Ruddick (A&S ’52)<br />

Mr. Thomas Davin (A&S ’53)<br />

Mr. Donald Fraser (Law ’53)<br />

Sr. Cunegunda Mueller (Doisy ’53)<br />

Dr. Carl Pfeifer (A&S ’53)<br />

Mrs. Helen (Kelly) Pogorzelski<br />

(Pub Ser ’53)<br />

Bro. Leo Rothermich (Pub Ser ’53)<br />

Sr. Mary Schuster (A&S ’53)<br />

Dr. John Keller (A&S ’54)<br />

Sr. Mary Kostelnik, S.S.N.D. (A&S ’54)<br />

Mr. Paul Malloy (Cook ’54)<br />

Mrs. Clementine (Wiener)<br />

Smith (Pub Ser ’54)<br />

Mr. Marvin Weseman (Cook ’54)<br />

Mr. Joseph Wiskirchen (Parks ’54)<br />

Sr. Grace Davis (Doisy ’55)<br />

Sr. Timothy Flaherty (Pub Hlth ’55)<br />

Mr. Robert Hofmann (Pub Hlth ’55)<br />

Miss Margaret Horan (Pub Ser ’55)<br />

Dr. Hugo Pribor (Med ’55)<br />

Mr. Luis Recurt (Parks ’55)<br />

Dr. Glennon Schaefer (Med ’55)<br />

Dr. William Biven (A&S ’56)<br />

Dr. Robert Colarusso (Dent ’56)<br />

Mr. William Hannegan (Cook ’56)<br />

Mr. William O’Toole (Cook ’56)<br />

Dr. Peter Soto (Med ’56)<br />

Mr. Morton Titelbaum (IT ’56)<br />

Mr. Gene Arras (Law ’57)<br />

Mr. Marvin Hesterberg (Parks ’57)<br />

Mr. Rollin Moerschel (Law ’57)<br />

Ms. Martha Rini (Nurs ’57)<br />

Miss Lucina Ruiz (SW ’57)<br />

Mr. Robert Atkins (Parks ’58)<br />

Mr. Gerard Hoerr (Cook ’58)<br />

Mr. Edward Juenke (A&S ’58)<br />

Mr. John Motschall (Parks ’58)<br />

Dr. Francis Carey (Med ’59)<br />

Dr. Peter Diemer (Med ’59)<br />

Mr. James Meinert (IT ’59)<br />

Mrs. Mary (Bich) Pavinich (Nurs ’59)<br />

Mr. Virgil Pilliod (Cook ’59)<br />

Dr. Dagmar Brodt (Nurs ’60)<br />

Dr. Douglas Wood (Dent ’60)<br />

Mr. Donald Tielke (SW ’61)<br />

Mr. Alfred Langer (A&S ’62)<br />

Mr. Charles McLaughlin (SW ’62)<br />

Mr. Rodger Miller (Cook ’62)<br />

Mr. Ronald Ortyl (Cook ’62)<br />

Dr. James Broerman (A&S ’63)<br />

Mr. Robert Eagleton (IT ’63)<br />

Col. Charles Kaysing (Cook ’63)<br />

Rev. Merlin Mulvihill (A&S ’63)<br />

Mrs. Martha (Duncan)<br />

Biedenstein (Pub Ser ‘640<br />

Mr. Daniel Hurley (Cook ’64)<br />

Mr. Alwyn Lloyd (Parks ’64)<br />

Mr. Alan Greenberg (Cook ’66)<br />

Mr. Gerald Kleinberg (Parks ’66)<br />

Dr. Andrew Lonigro (Med ’66)<br />

Mr. Kenneth Raschke (A&S ’66)<br />

Mr. Michael Gallina (Cook ’67)<br />

Mr. Robert Gierer (Pub Ser ’67)<br />

Mrs. Eileen (Krings) Golden (A&S ’67)<br />

Sr. Mary Gust (Pub Hlth ’67)<br />

Sr. Mary Rohlfer (Pub Ser ’67)<br />

Mr. Thomas Agnew (A&S ’68)<br />

Mr. Dennis Aubuchon (A&S ’68)<br />

Mrs. Olga (Herrera) MacBryde (A&S ’68)<br />

Mrs. Patricia (Daniel) Recinella (A&S ’68)<br />

Mr. Edward Slawin (A&S ’68)<br />

Dr. John Vieth (A&S ’68)<br />

Dr. Melbourne Sheehan (Pub Ser ’69)<br />

Mrs. Alice (Epplin) Chase (A&S ’70)<br />

Sr. Ida Gaffney, S.S.N.D. (Pub Ser ’70)<br />

Dr. Janet (Bell) Nazeri (Pub Ser ’70)<br />

Rev. Michael Palmer (Pub Ser ’70)<br />

Dr. Warren Bell (Pub Ser ’71)<br />

Sr. John King S.S.N.D. (Pub Ser ’71)<br />

Sr. Margaret Kopish (A&S ’71)<br />

Mr. John Bahnak (Law ’72)<br />

Mr. Irven Karsten (Cook ’72)<br />

Dr. Paul Andereck (Pub Ser ’73)<br />

Mr. Robert Hellmann (Law ’73)<br />

Mr. Robert Kranz (Cook ’73)<br />

Mrs. Virginia Constantz (Law ’75)<br />

Dr. Robert Pepin (A&S ’75)<br />

Mr. Michael Schrappen (Cook ’75)<br />

Mr. Peter Robey (A&S ’76)<br />

Mr. Kelly Carbery (A&S ’79)<br />

Dr. Christine (Pashoff)<br />

Saigh (Pub Ser ’79)<br />

Mrs. Marilyn (Deck) Vocker (SW ’80)<br />

Mr. William Walker (Cook ’81)<br />

Mr. David McFall (Cook ’82)<br />

Mrs. Kathleen (Kickham)<br />

Hoover (A&S ’84)<br />

Sr. Susan Reeves (Pub Ser ’86)<br />

Mr. Douglas Stuckenschneider (A&S ’87)<br />

Mr. George Odman (Cook ’88)<br />

Mr. Ryan Clark (Parks ’89)<br />

Mr. Christopher Allgaier (Parks ’95)<br />

Mr. Jeffrey McGarry (SW ’98)<br />

Mr. Daniel Horkheimer (A&S ’01)<br />

Miss Michelle Traube (Pub Ser ’03)<br />

Dr. Bill Briggs, former chairman of the<br />

biomedical communications department at<br />

the School of Medicine, died June 4. He was<br />

82. Dr. Briggs was also a medical illustrator<br />

for the department of surgery. He retired from<br />

SLU in 1992 after 40 years at the <strong>University</strong>.<br />

Mr. Jerry Hurley, instructor of English<br />

as a second language and of English at the<br />

Madrid campus, died Sept. 17. He was<br />

54. He had been at SLU Madrid since<br />

1988 and taught hundreds of non-native<br />

English speakers to master the language.<br />

Dr. Kenneth C. Marshall, who founded<br />

what became the Center for Advanced Dental<br />

Education and helped build it into one of the<br />

most renowned graduate dental programs in<br />

the world, died Oct. 2. He was 90. He came<br />

to SLU in 1947 and retired as chairman of<br />

SLU’s graduate orthodontic program in 1976,<br />

but he continued as a professor for more than a decade, eventually<br />

retiring in 1988. Since 1998, CADE has been housed in state-ofthe-art<br />

Dreiling-Marshall Hall, named in part after Marshall.<br />

Dr. Theodore (Ted) Smorodin, former<br />

associate professor of education, died April<br />

26. He was 70. While at SLU from 1974 to<br />

1983, he headed a partnership with the St.<br />

<strong>Louis</strong> Public Schools to bring <strong>University</strong><br />

resources into the then-new magnet schools.<br />

Mr. Thomas N. Toner, artist and former<br />

chairman of the art and art history department,<br />

died May 23. He was 66. He joined the<br />

faculty in 1964 and taught at SLU until<br />

1995. His paintings have appeared at many<br />

universities and galleries as well as in the<br />

Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.<br />

THiS LiST OF DeCeASeD ALUMni WAS COMPiLeD by SLU’S OFFiCe OF reSeArCH AnD<br />

DeVeLOPMenT SerViCeS. iF yOU HAVe A qUeSTiOn Or WOULD Like MOre inFOrMATiOn<br />

AbOUT An “in MeMOriAM” LiSTing, PLeASe SenD An e-MAiL MeSSAge TO TVInCen2@slu.edu.<br />

28 UNIVERSITAS www.slu.edu UNIVERSITAS FALL 2007 29


Club City News<br />

BOSTON<br />

men’S baSketbaLL vS. boSton CoLLege<br />

Tuesday, Dec. 4; 7 p.m. tip-off; Conte Forum<br />

Cost is $25 per person and includes the<br />

pregame party and game ticket.<br />

CHICAgO<br />

The admissions committee of the Chicago<br />

Alumni Cub is looking for more volunteers to<br />

help recruit the next generation of Chicago<br />

Billikens. To learn more about how you can<br />

help, please contact president Joe Havel.<br />

wiCkeD<br />

Wednesday, Jan. 23; Oriental Theater<br />

Cost is $65 per person, including preshow reception.<br />

JerSeY boYS<br />

Thursday, Feb. 21; LaSalle Bank Theatre<br />

Cost is $85 per person, including preshow reception.<br />

CINCINNATI<br />

men’S baSketbaLL vS. DaYton<br />

Wednesday, Jan. 30; 7 p.m.<br />

tip-off; UD Arena<br />

Cost is $20 per person<br />

and includes the pregame<br />

party and game ticket.<br />

LOS ANgELES<br />

wiCkeD<br />

Sunday, Feb. 17; Pantages Theater<br />

Cost is $75 per person and<br />

includes a preshow reception.<br />

NEw yORK<br />

CYrano De bergeraC<br />

Wednesday, Dec. 5; 8 p.m. performance;<br />

Richard Rodgers Theatre<br />

Come see this hit revival starring Kevin Kline<br />

and Jennifer Garner. Cost is $80 per person.<br />

biLLiken baSketbaLL<br />

game-watChing partY<br />

thUrSDaY, Feb. 7 vs. Xavier<br />

DiSneY’S the LittLe mermaiD<br />

Sunday, Jan. 6; 2 p.m. matinee; Lunt-Fontanne Theatre<br />

Cost is $90 per person and includes a preshow<br />

lunch at Juniors and orchestra-level seats.<br />

PHILADELPHIA<br />

men’S baSketbaLL vS. LaSaLLe<br />

Saturday, Jan. 26; 2 p.m. tip-off; Tom Golla Arena<br />

Cost is $10 per person and includes the<br />

pregame party and game ticket.<br />

men’S baSketbaLL vS. <strong>Saint</strong> JoSeph’S<br />

Thursday, Feb. 28; 7 p.m. tip-off;<br />

Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse<br />

Cost is $10 per person and includes the<br />

pregame party and game ticket.<br />

springFieLD, iLL.<br />

hoLiDaY partY<br />

Sunday, Dec. 2; Tuscany<br />

Meet with fellow SLU alumni for dinner<br />

to usher in the holiday season.<br />

Cost is $35 per person.<br />

If the Billikens aren’t headed to<br />

your city, join the Billiken fun<br />

at a game-watching party.<br />

From the East to the West Coast,<br />

Billiken fans are gathering to<br />

root on their team. For details<br />

on cities and locations, visit<br />

www.slu.edu/alumni.<br />

taMpa, FLa.<br />

JerSeY boYS<br />

Wednesday, March 5; 6 p.m.<br />

dinner and show; Tampa Bay<br />

Performing Arts Center<br />

Cost is $95 per person and<br />

includes a preshow dinner.<br />

Washington, D.c.<br />

hoLiDaY partY<br />

Sunday, Dec. 9, 4 p.m.; Joe Theismann’s Restaurant<br />

Meet fellow SLU alumni for this annual dinner to<br />

usher in the holiday season. Cost is $40 per person.<br />

men’S baSketbaLL vS. george waShington<br />

Thursday, Jan. 10; 8 p.m. tip-off; Charles E. Smith Center<br />

Cost is $25 per person and includes the pregame<br />

party at McFadden’s and game ticket.<br />

foR moRe infoRmATion AbouT Any of THe Club CiTy oR loCAl evenTS, oR To RegiSTeR foR<br />

THeSe evenTS online, pleASe viSiT WWW.slu.eDu/alumni THen CliCK on “CalenDar.”<br />

Alumni<br />

Associations<br />

College of Arts and Sciences<br />

night at SLU theatre:<br />

YoU’re a gooD man CharLie brown<br />

Saturday, March 1; 6 p.m. preshow<br />

dinner, Bannister House; performance,<br />

Xavier Hall Theatre<br />

Hear a faculty member discuss the show at<br />

dinner, then enjoy the performance. Tickets are<br />

$15 per person.<br />

Lenten retreat<br />

Thursday, March 6; 6 p.m.;<br />

DuBourg Hall, fourth floor<br />

The retreat (including dinner) is $10 per person.<br />

John Cook School<br />

of Business<br />

president: jamie jabouri (’99)<br />

trivia night<br />

Saturday, Jan. 19; 6 p.m.;<br />

Shanahan Atrium, Cook Hall<br />

Join alumni and friends for the annual trivia night.<br />

Doisy College of<br />

Health Sciences<br />

president: Scott huston (’05)<br />

wine taSting<br />

Friday, Jan. 18; 7-9 p.m.; Multipurpose<br />

Room, Allied Health Building<br />

Catch up with fellow alumni and enjoy some<br />

great wine for $30 per person.<br />

Parks College of Engineering,<br />

Aviation and Technology<br />

president: Andy thurmond (’75)<br />

7th annUaL Santa FLY-in<br />

Saturday, Dec. 1; 9 a.m. refreshments;<br />

11 a.m. Santa arrives; Parks College<br />

hangar, St. <strong>Louis</strong> Downtown Airport<br />

Santa will arrive by helicopter to listen to<br />

the wishes of the children. There will be<br />

refreshments, activities for the kids, and Santa<br />

will stay until noon. bring your own camera to<br />

capture the moment. This is a free event.<br />

School of Medicine<br />

president: dr. thomas j. olsen (’79)<br />

aLUmni reCeption: ameriCan<br />

aCaDemY oF DermatoLogY<br />

February 1-5; San Antonio<br />

aLUmni reCeption: ameriCan aCaDemY<br />

oF orthopaeDiC SUrgeonS<br />

March 5-9; San Francisco<br />

young Alumni Association<br />

president: Sarah kelce (cook ’04, grad cook ’06)<br />

Senior happY hoUr<br />

Thursday, Nov. 29; 6-8 p.m.; Schlafly<br />

Bottleworks, Crown Room<br />

Welcome the December grads at a beer tasting.<br />

avenUe Q<br />

Friday, Feb. 22; 8 p.m.; Fox Theatre<br />

See broadway’s hit 2004 Tony Award winner for<br />

best Musical, best Score and best book.<br />

Jan. 31- feB. 11 Panama Canal Cruise<br />

feB. 21-28 Alumni Campus<br />

Abroad: Peru<br />

aPrIl 7-19 Treasures of China<br />

and the yangtze<br />

river Cruise<br />

aPrIl 17-26 essence of india<br />

maY 4-12 Jewels of the Danube<br />

maY 16-29 Treasures of<br />

Southern Africa<br />

biLLiken traveL<br />

program 2008 toUrS<br />

Being a Billiken traveler puts the world at<br />

your feet. This is your chance to see it all.<br />

Here is the schedule of trips for 2008:<br />

June 22-JulY 1 Alumni Campus<br />

Abroad: Scotland<br />

JulY 7-19 Passage of Peter<br />

the great<br />

sePT. 12-20 Spectacular Swiss<br />

Alps and Salzburg<br />

sePT. 20-28 enchanting ireland<br />

oCT. 3-13 Alumni Campus<br />

Abroad: greece<br />

oCT. 4-12 best of Tuscany and<br />

the italian riviera<br />

oCT. 8-16 Alumni Campus<br />

Abroad: Tuscany<br />

For more details about these trips and how to reserve your space,<br />

visit the travel program Web site at www.slu.edu/alumni/travel<br />

or call (314) 977-2250 and ask to be placed on the travel mailing list.<br />

foX THeATRe evenTS in ST. louiS<br />

wiCkeD<br />

Sunday, Dec. 16; preshow reception at 5 p.m.;<br />

curtain time at 7:30 p.m.<br />

The sold-out hit returns to St. <strong>Louis</strong>, and there<br />

isn’t a better way to spend the holiday season.<br />

Start the evening by learning about the magic<br />

of theater with <strong>University</strong> Theatre professor Jim<br />

Burwinkle. Cost is $80 or $70 per person.<br />

DiSneY’S high SChooL mUSiCaL<br />

Saturday, Jan. 12; preshow reception at 6 p.m.;<br />

curtain time at 8 p.m.<br />

Calling all Wildcats! What time is it? Time for<br />

a high-energy Wildcat and Billiken pep rally<br />

where your children will be able to participate<br />

in their favorite High School Musical songs<br />

and dances. Cost is $50 per person.<br />

the weDDing Singer<br />

Sunday, March 16; preshow reception at 5:30 p.m.;<br />

curtain time at 7:30 p.m.<br />

It’s 1985 and you’re invited to The Wedding<br />

Singer, where every night is a totally rad reception<br />

for Robbie Hart and friends until he’s left at<br />

the altar. Celebrate with a wedding-receptionthemed<br />

preshow event. Cost is $70 per person.<br />

JerSeY boYS<br />

Sunday, May 4; preshow reception at 5:30 p.m.;<br />

curtain time at 7:30 p.m.<br />

Jersey Boys is the 2006 Tony Award-winning Best<br />

Musical about Rock and Roll Hall of Famers The<br />

Four Seasons. Start your special night with a<br />

lecture from the SLU theater department discussing<br />

this era in music. Cost is $80 per person.<br />

ST. louiS-AReA Alumni, don’T miSS …<br />

breakFaSt with Santa<br />

Sunday, Dec. 2; 9:30-11:30 a.m.; Busch Student Center<br />

There’s no place like SLU for the holidays! Come<br />

back and celebrate the holiday season with<br />

your family, friends and Santa while enjoying<br />

music, games, gifts and a fun breakfast for<br />

all ages. Cost: $13 for adults, $6 for children<br />

ages 5-12, free for children under 5<br />

mightY DUCkS oF anaheim vS. St. LoUiS bLUeS<br />

Friday, Feb. 1; 6:30 p.m.; Scottrade Center<br />

Cost is $40 for the pregame party and game ticket.<br />

foR moRe infoRmATion oR ReSeRvATionS foR Any of THeSe evenTS, ConTACT:<br />

offiCe of alumni relations<br />

(314) 977-2250 | Alumni@Slu.edu | www.Slu.edu/Alumni<br />

men’S baSketbaLL vS. Xavier<br />

Thursday, Feb. 7; 6 p.m. pregame party<br />

at Scottrade Center; 7 p.m. tip-off<br />

Join us for the biggest basketball party<br />

of the year. The cost is $20 per person<br />

for a game ticket and the reception.<br />

It is $10 per person for the reception only.<br />

aLL-aLUmni trivia night<br />

Saturday, Feb. 9<br />

Graduates of which school or college at SLU are<br />

the smartest? Here is your chance to find out. In<br />

addition to prizes for the top three teams, funds<br />

raised by the event will be donated to scholarships.<br />

The cost is $150 per 10-person table.<br />

ATLANTA<br />

alane Lintner (Cook ’94)<br />

(678) 461-3543<br />

alanelintner@hotmail.com<br />

BOSTON<br />

Chris Espelin (A&S ’91)<br />

(617) 484-3868 Espelin@mit.edu<br />

CHICAgO<br />

Joe Havel (Cook ’91)<br />

(312) 397-4141<br />

SLUchicago@earthlink.net<br />

CINCINNATI<br />

John Lange iV (Cook ’93)<br />

(859) 341-9603 lange4@lqplaw.com<br />

CLEvELAND<br />

mark Carrabine (Cook ’75)<br />

(404) 349-2925 mcarrab@ameritech.net<br />

DALLAS<br />

Jamar Johnson (Cook ’00)<br />

(214) 334-4904 jamarlj@yahoo.com<br />

DENvER<br />

david sapienza (A&S ’96)<br />

(303) 683-5730 dvsapienza@yahoo.com<br />

HOUSTON<br />

Josh Howard (Cook ’98)<br />

(281) 885-8677 josh.howard@dhl.com<br />

KANSAS CITy<br />

to be announced<br />

LOS ANgELES<br />

brian merriman (A&S ’95)<br />

(310) 244-6761<br />

Brian_Merriman@spe.sony.com<br />

<strong>Louis</strong>viLLe, KY.<br />

Lee Hyman (Pub Hlth ’95)<br />

(502) 459-4707 leeihyman@yahoo.com<br />

30 UNIVERSITAS www.slu.edu UNIVERSITAS FALL 2007 31<br />

MILwAUKEE<br />

to be announced<br />

MinneapoLis / st. pauL<br />

Justin Fletcher (Cook ’00)<br />

(952) 949-1120<br />

justin.fletcher@gmail.com<br />

NEw yORK<br />

John J. shanahan<br />

(Cook ’83, Law ’87, Grad Cook ’89)<br />

(212) 320-6985 jshanaha@lehman.com<br />

oMaha, neb.<br />

brad burwell (A&S ’72)<br />

(402) 896-1923<br />

Brburwell@mpsomaha.org<br />

PHILADELPHIA<br />

donald richardson (Grad ’76)<br />

(610) 539-9398<br />

Donald.Richardson@med.va.gov<br />

SAN FRANCISCO<br />

mark olson (A&S ’77)<br />

(925) 691-8628<br />

markaolson@mindspring.com<br />

seattLe / tacoMa, Wash.<br />

mark Flynn (A&S ’67, Grad ’72)<br />

(360) 439-7265<br />

markflynn45@comcast.net<br />

SPRINgFIELD /<br />

Decatur, iLL.<br />

Judy redick (A&S ’62)<br />

(217) 622-5621 j.redick@insightbb.com<br />

TAMPA / st.<br />

petersburg, FLa.<br />

to be announced<br />

Washington, D.c.<br />

to be announced<br />

TAIwAN<br />

Larry Chang (Pub Hlth ’88, Grad ’00)<br />

changslu@mail.ndmctsgh.edu.tw<br />

THAILAND<br />

praemrudee switachata (Grad ’75)<br />

praemrudee@bfit.co.th


“eLviS” anD oLSon<br />

It’s 7:30 a.m., and my<br />

alarm clock is blaring in<br />

my ear. I softly groan and<br />

hit the snooze button. I start<br />

to turn over for five more minutes<br />

of precious sleep, but then<br />

remember why I’m waking up<br />

so early on a Saturday morning:<br />

SPENSA. As I struggle<br />

to get out of bed after a long<br />

week of classes, practices and<br />

a late Friday night game, I<br />

think, “It will be worth it. It<br />

always is.”<br />

As a member of the <strong>Saint</strong><br />

<strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong> women’s soccer<br />

team, my teammates and I volunteer<br />

with the Special Needs<br />

Soccer Association (SPENSA).<br />

We spend our Saturday mornings<br />

giving back to the community<br />

by sharing our love for soccer with<br />

the physically challenged children<br />

who experience the benefits of teamwork<br />

and self-esteem that soccer brings.<br />

For me, SPENSA is more than a community-service project.<br />

As I teach the kids how to make a pass, dribble around a<br />

cone or shoot the ball into the back of the net, they teach me<br />

more important life lessons.<br />

i have LearneD the vaLUe oF DeDiCation.<br />

Kristin is a 22-year-old SPENSA veteran. Rain or shine, she<br />

is always on the field waiting to greet you with a warm smile,<br />

eager to learn all that she can. When Kristin began attending<br />

SPENSA, she struggled to transition her walk into a simple<br />

jog. Today, she is one of the most skilled participants in the<br />

advanced group. With her always positive attitude, Kristin’s<br />

soccer abilities improve with each practice.<br />

To me, Kristin brings new life to the tired old saying,<br />

“Never give up.” Although I may not excel at some endeavors,<br />

whether it be running sprints at soccer practice or writing a<br />

research paper, I am reminded that perseverance yields more<br />

success than initially envisioned.<br />

i have LearneD to Dream.<br />

Brad, a 26-year-old man who has been attending SPENSA<br />

for 10 years, insists that everyone call him “Elvis.” By imitating<br />

the smooth smile, swagger and sass of his favorite rock<br />

star, Brad is always the center of attention.<br />

Brad prompts me to ask myself: “Why not approach each<br />

new day as if we are someone different, with a new personality<br />

and new mindset?” As a college student, I have a tendency<br />

to see the future through the confines of my academic major.<br />

But as I think of Brad, I ask, “Why limit myself to journalism<br />

or a future law degree?” Who knows where my <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong><br />

<strong>University</strong> education will take me in life? I can be whomever<br />

I want to be. Imagine the possibilities. Brad reminds me to<br />

dream often and dream big.<br />

— By Lauren Olson<br />

i have LearneD to LaUgh.<br />

At SPENSA, Jack does not want to learn how to pass. Jack<br />

does not want to learn how to head a soccer ball. All Jack really<br />

wants to do is laugh — and for you to laugh with him. With<br />

the cutest giggle that can be heard from one end of the field to<br />

the other, Jack quickly became everyone’s favorite player.<br />

Maybe life is as simple as Jack sees it. As the stress from<br />

school and soccer starts to build, I think of Jack, and I remember<br />

to take time to see each new day as a gift and to<br />

enjoy the people around me. Life is too short not to laugh.<br />

i have LearneD to Love.<br />

One morning, another SPENSA veteran of six years named<br />

Matt unexpectedly ran up behind me, clutched my face and<br />

planted a friendly kiss on my cheek. At the time, it caught me<br />

off guard. Looking back, it was one of the most memorable<br />

wake-up calls I have had in years.<br />

If only we could all love as freely, openly and energetically<br />

as Matt does. Without realizing it, I am often blinded by my<br />

own busy routine and insignificant worries. As a result, I am<br />

unable to recognize when others around me need a helping<br />

hand, a listening ear or a compassionate heart. With his heartfelt,<br />

friendly kisses, Matt demonstrates what it means to love<br />

your neighbor, whether stranger or friend, as yourself.<br />

be DeDiCateD. Dream. LaUgh. Love.<br />

Although I cannot physically take Kristin, Brad, Jack, Matt<br />

and the other SPENSA participants with me as I venture beyond<br />

SLU into the future, I can, and will, take their inspiring<br />

life lessons.<br />

I volunteered with SPENSA expecting to teach the game of<br />

soccer. I had no idea how much I’d learn about the game of life.<br />

Lauren Olson is a junior majoring in communication from Plano, Texas.<br />

She is also a starting back on the Billiken women’s soccer team.<br />

Photo by kevin Lowder<br />

Photo by Kevin Lowder<br />

Plate Class<br />

in our last issue, we asked readers to send us<br />

photos of their <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> university-inspired<br />

license plates. Here is what we’ve received so far.<br />

we wAnt to heAr froM yoU<br />

1<br />

BY sTandard maIl:<br />

Universitas<br />

<strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong><br />

221 N. Grand Blvd.<br />

St. <strong>Louis</strong>, MO 63103<br />

The fall 1967 Issue of UniversitAs feaTured a sTorY<br />

on The fIrsT meeTInG of saInT louIs unIVersITY’s neWlY<br />

reorGanIzed Board of TrusTees. in 1967 SLU became the<br />

nation’s first Catholic institution to vest full legal authority in a<br />

board composed of both lay people and clergy.<br />

in addition, the issue announced the opening of busch Memorial<br />

Center, which at the time was the largest single addition to the<br />

campus east of grand boulevard. The student center included<br />

eight bowling alleys, a three-chair barbershop, the<br />

bookstore, a cafeteria and a chapel. busch<br />

Center was also home to numerous lounge areas, spacious<br />

meeting rooms, offices and comfortable study and music rooms.<br />

in other news, <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong> announced its installation of a chapter<br />

of Phi beta kappa, the oldest, most respected honorary society in the<br />

United States.<br />

The magazine also reported on the destructive Detroit and newark,<br />

n.J., riots of July 1967. During a span of two weeks, 66 lives were<br />

lost as violence, looting and fires raged. From the local perspective,<br />

Dr. Thomas neill, a SLU professor of history, addressed the<br />

causes of increasing violence in America during the ’60s,<br />

including poverty, unemployment, racism and police brutality.<br />

Quotable UTAS<br />

“while the past needn’t ‘come<br />

alive’ to be learned, it should<br />

at least be decently preserved.”<br />

— From the story “Author, Author,” which recognized William Faherty, S.J.,<br />

an associate professor of history, for the publication of his first novel, A<br />

Wall for San Sebastian. The novel also was made into a major motion picture.<br />

Please send us your letters, class notes and<br />

address changes. There are three easy ways<br />

to reach us.<br />

2<br />

BY fax:<br />

(314) 977-2249<br />

sign<br />

of the<br />

Times<br />

“If we continue to spend<br />

$66 million a day trying to<br />

‘save’ the 16 million people of<br />

South Vietnam, while leaving<br />

the plight of the 20 million<br />

urban poor in our own<br />

country unresolved, then I<br />

think we have our priorities<br />

terribly confused.”<br />

— Senator Charles Percy’s<br />

comments on the Vietnam<br />

War in the article, “The<br />

riots in Perspective.”<br />

3<br />

BY e-maIl:<br />

utas@slu.edu<br />

32 UNIVERSITAS www.slu.edu UNIVERSITAS FALL 2007 33<br />

floRidA<br />

Tommye Fleming (A&S ’69) and Patrick Arnall (A&S<br />

’66, Law ’69) winter in bonita Springs, Fla., but their<br />

plates can be seen around St. <strong>Louis</strong> every summer.<br />

illinoiS<br />

John J. Van Zeyl (A&S ’58) of river Forest, ill., has<br />

had his SLU plates since 1985.<br />

oHio<br />

Lissa Thier (Doisy ’03, ’05) of Cincinnati got the<br />

only spelling of billiken available. She writes: “no<br />

one here knows mine is spelled wrong!” She also<br />

got creative with her old SLU-themed license<br />

plates, making a birdhouse out of them.<br />

viRginiA<br />

Stephanie (Meyer) Heeran (A&S ’06) shows her<br />

SLU pride when driving around Ashburn, Va.<br />

miSSouRi<br />

Patti raymond Swope (Doisy ’60) of St. <strong>Louis</strong> was<br />

captain of SLU’s cheerleading squad for 1959-60<br />

and captures that experience on her license plate.<br />

We’d love to hear from even more alumni who share<br />

their SLu pride on their plates. if you have a SLuinspired<br />

license plate, please send us a photo at<br />

one of the addresses on this page.


neW TAX breAk:<br />

The irA Charitable rollover<br />

221 N. Grand Blvd.<br />

St. <strong>Louis</strong>, MO 63103<br />

ADDRESS SERVICE<br />

REQUESTED<br />

The Pension Protection Act of 2006 allows<br />

assets from an Individual Retirement<br />

Account to be directly transferred<br />

to a qualified charitable organization<br />

such as <strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong>. Some<br />

specifics and benefits of the legislation:<br />

irA charitable rollovers must be<br />

made by Dec. 31, 2007.<br />

Donors must be at least age 70½<br />

at the time of transfer.<br />

Up to $100,000 in 2007 may be excluded<br />

from taxable income by the donor.<br />

The rollover may be applied to the required<br />

minimum distribution from the retirement account.<br />

<strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong> does not render tax, legal, accounting, insurance or<br />

investment advice. Please consult with your own professional advisers in<br />

these matters.<br />

FOr MOre inFOrMATiOn<br />

On THe irA CHAriTAbLe<br />

rOLLOVer, PLeASe COnTACT:<br />

kent LeVan<br />

executive Director of<br />

Planned giving<br />

<strong>Saint</strong> <strong>Louis</strong> <strong>University</strong><br />

221 north grand blvd.,<br />

room 304<br />

St. <strong>Louis</strong>, MO 63103<br />

PHOne: (800) 758-3678 or<br />

(314) 977-2357<br />

e-mail: plannedgiving@slu.edu<br />

internet: plannedgiving.slu.edu<br />

Non-profit Org.<br />

U.S. Postage<br />

PAID<br />

St. <strong>Louis</strong>, MO<br />

Permit No. 134

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