Commencement 2007 - Villanova University

approaches providing care to them as aministry. She is grateful for the College’shaving instilled in her “an inquiringmind…to ask why we do what we do,”which was the germination for herresearch into hearing and vision impairmentin the elderly.Dr. Beverly LeBar Welhan ’83 M.S.N.Medallion for DistinguishedContributions to Nursing EducationThis medallion honors Dr. Beverly LeBarWelhan ’83 M.S.N. for her leadership,mentorship and knowledge of sound educationalprinciples, which in tandem withher creative approaches to program developmentmake her stand apart from herpeers. She has a highly successful career inpreparing new generations of nurses forpatient care and motivating them tocontinue their education.Early on, Dr. Welhan identified her owntalent for teaching and her profession’sneed for mentors. In 1998, she was nameddirector and professor of nursing at MontgomeryCounty Community College(MCCC) in Blue Bell, Pa. She currently isserving as interim dean of health and physicaleducation. She has developed MCCC’sassociate’s degree in nursing into a premierprogram and is one of its key spokespersons.At MCCC, Welhan provides innovativecurriculum leadership. Her creativecommunity service projects involve herstudents and she maintains high standardsof performance for students and faculty.Welhan serves on the governing boardof the Montco-Mercy Nursing & CommunityPartnership, which provides servicesin Montgomery County. She also hasserved on accreditation-related committeesand boards and presents frequently toprofessional groups.The nursing professor credits the College’sM.S.N. program in nursing educationfor her professional development. “Itmade me a reflective thinker,” Welhansays, adding that she also values her “outstandingfaculty mentors.” She describedusing the lessons learned at Villanova toguide other educators. Noting that theCollege’s reach extends well beyond Philadelphiato a national and internationallevel, Welhan mentioned that 50 percentof her nursing education colleagues atMCCC earned an M.S.N. from Villanova.Ann Barrow McKenzie ’86 Nur., ’91 M.S.N.is coordinator of college relations for the Collegeof Nursing.Abstract Artist Infuses Gallery with Bursts of ColorBY ANTHONY MAALOUF ’08 G.S.Villanovans and friends from the artcommunity filled the Villanova ArtGallery in the Connelly Center for theApril 27 opening reception honoring Dr.Burton Wasserman and his work. Asrefreshments were served and a jazz quartetcharmed visitors with its smoothsounds, many marveled at his colorful collection,titled “Recent Paintings, Reliefsand Original Digital Graphic Prints.”Wasserman’s paintings are mostlyabstract and metaphorical. He welcomedthe crowd, which included some of hisformer students at Rowan University, andspoke about his artwork.“If you ask me what the piece means, Ireally couldn’t tell you,” Wasserman said.“It is all in the eye of the beholder. SometimesI am amazed that someone else’sinterpretation of a piece is completelydifferent from my own.”Wasserman is a professor emeritus ofart, having retired in 2004 after 44 years atRowan in Glassboro, N.J. He taughtcourses in printmaking, painting, design,art education, modern art and art appreciation.He graduated with honors fromBrooklyn College in 1950, then served inGermany with the U.S. Army. He earneda master’s degree (1954) and doctorate(1957), both from Teachers College,Columbia University.As he pursued his academic career asan art professor, writer and critic, Wassermanremained active in the field bypainting abstracts. His work has beenexhibited at the Philadelphia Museum ofArt; the Allentown (Pa.) Art Museum;the Delaware Art Center for the ContemporaryArts in Wilmington; theMunson-Williams-Proctor Museum ofArt in Utica, N.Y.; the New Jersey StateMuseum in Trenton; and on campusesand at other venues. His exhibits inEurope and Canada have included showsat the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam;the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart in Germany;the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts; andLuxembourg’s Musées de l’Etat.Among the guests was Willo Carey,executive director of WHYY Wider Horizons,an initiative focusing on the secondhalf of life. It was developed by WHYY,the public broadcasting service for GreaterPhiladelphia.Wasserman’s exhibit, which was on displaythrough June 10, was supported in partby the Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts.Dr. Burton Wasserman welcomes guests tohis exhibit of paintings, reliefs and digitalprints at the Villanova Art Gallery.Villanovans admire Wasserman’s brightabstracts, which were on exhibit this spring.JOHN WELSH (BOTH)62 Villanova Magazine