on campus - Article - Manhattan College

A6
North Carolina Alumni Gather for a
Special Reception
On a cool and pleasant October evening at the Prestonwood
Country Club in Cary, N.C., some 29 Manhattan College alumni
and guests gathered together. Eight alumni joined forces to co-host
and underwrite this gala reception: Dennis Burns ’67, Denis Gray
’70, Joseph McEvoy ’69, Kenneth ’88 and Christine ’89 Peeples,
John Skvarla ’70, Conrad Weiden ’80 and Robert Wertis ’54.
A diverse group, the alumni came from all over central North
Carolina, ranging from the class of 1948 to 1989 and representing
the schools of arts, business, engineering and science. Other alumni
in attendance included: Stephen Arella ’71, Anthony Concia ’67,
Raymond Davis ’66, Ronald Duffy ’69, Donald Lauria ’56,
William Leonard ’48, Kenneth Lewis ’72, Thomas Lindgren ’78,
Terence McNamara ’59, Donald Mooney ’58 and Charles Scott ’56.
Burns welcomed the attendees, stressed their common experience
as a special group of alumni and introduced the guests from
Manhattan College. He acknowledged Skvarla for making all the
reception arrangements and supplying the raffle prize, a membership
initiation fee for the Whispering Pines Country Club in Pinehurst.
He also emphasized how important these receptions are in learning
more about Manhattan, its mission, accomplishments and current
capital campaign. Burns added that this was the first reception and
indicated that the committee intends to make this an annual affair.
Dr. John Wilcox, vice president for mission, spoke about the
College’s Lasallian mission and Catholic identity. He underscored
the three focuses of the mission: concern for social justice, religious
education, and the dignity and value of the teaching profession.
The Lasallian mission is alive and vibrant at Manhattan College
and at Christian Brothers’ institutions throughout the world in
North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa
and Australia. He highlighted the challenges of providing religious
education for an increasingly diverse student body and how
Manhattan works to instill in its students ethical values. For more
information, interested parties may access the Christian Brothers
Web site at www.lasalle.org.
Dr. Stephen Laruccia, director of major gifts, reported on the
progress of the Sesquicentennial Capital Campaign, the most
ambitious and successful fund-raising campaign in the College’s
history. The campaign has raised in new gifts and pledges more
than $103 million (at press time, the total was $120 million)
toward its overall objective of $150 million. Fifty percent of
the campaign goal is earmarked for endowment, which includes
endowed chairs for each of the five schools and endowed student
scholarships. He attributed the success, thus far, to the alumni
who have been more generous than at any other time.
Advancing Manhattan
Reception co-hosts and guests, from left to right: Dennis Burns ’67,
Pamela Weiden, John Skvarla ’70, Christine Peeples ’89, Joseph
McEvoy ’69, Kenneth Peeples ’88, Conrad Weiden ’80, Dorothy Wertis,
Robert Wertis ’54 and Melanie Wilson.
In the course of the campaign, the College has received 22 gifts
of $1 million or more from individuals, groups, corporations and
foundations. Cash commitments and deferred gifts from alumni at
the reception and in the area total $207,000.
Volunteers play an active role in the campaign. Nearly 100
volunteers from the Campaign Committee, the Financial Services
Advisory Council, the Major Gifts Committee and numerous other
groups are currently identifying and soliciting fellow graduates.
The campaign is advancing Manhattan College’s strategic plan,
Manhattan 2025, which aims to establish the College as the premier
Catholic college in New York and complete the transformation of
Manhattan to a widely recognized and respected college, a regional
college with outreach to Boston, Washington, D.C., and the Great
Lakes, and a residential college, where currently about 75 percent
of its students reside on campus.
Dennis Burns ’67 Dr. John Wilcox,
vice president for mission