Carlow University Honors Four Alumnae as Carlow Laureates
on May 13, 2011
Distinguished Alumnae Awarded the University’s Highest Honor

Carlow University will award four of its most distinguished alumnae the University’s highest honor, the Carlow Laureate Award, at a luncheon on Friday, May 13, 2011, beginning at 11:30 a.m. at the Twentieth Century
Club in Oakland.

Carlow Laureates are recognized for their outstanding academic achievements and professional contributions. This is the third year Carlow University has honored its alumnae/i in this manner. The luncheon will take place the day before Carlow University’s spring commencement ceremony, which will be held at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum on Saturday, May 14, 2011, at 7:30 p.m.

The four 2011 Carlow Laureates are:

Mary Ann Sestili, PhD	M. Monica O'Keefe
The Honorable Margaret A. Mangan	Stella L. Smetanka, JD

Mary Ann Sestili, PhD, president of Health Sciences Associates, Inc., a Potomac, Md.,-based consulting firm, earned her bachelor’s degree in biology, chemistry, and French, in 1961.

M. Monica O’Keefe is a senior inspector in the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. State Department. She earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology from Carlow in 1969.

The Honorable Margaret A. Mangan, an administrative law judge in the District of Columbia Office of Administrative Hearings, earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Carlow in 1970.

Stella L. Smetanka, JD, a clinical professor of law at the University of Pittsburgh, earned her bachelor’s degree in history from Carlow in 1970.

This year’s Laureates will also be recognized at Carlow’s commencement ceremony on May 14.

Core Value: Leadership

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Carlow to Implement The Mathematics Fluency Data Collaborative

Carlow University is one of the implementation partners for The Mathematics Fluency Data Collaborative, a project to improve performance in developmental math courses by building games to help students develop the fluency and number sense required to succeed in mathematical problem solving.

The project is led by Carnegie Learning, Inc., a leading publisher of innovative, research-based math curricula for middle school, high school, and post-secondary students aligned with the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. It was funded by a $750,000 grant from Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC), a new initiative focused on identifying and scaling technology-enabled approaches to improve college readiness and completion, especially for low-income young adults, in the United States.

According to Margaret McLaughlin, provost of Carlow University, "Participating in the The Mathematics Fluency Data Collaborative positions Carlow to take the lead in promoting proficiency in math and science through gaming. It also opens doors to more collaboration with other schools and universities while giving us the opportunity to make significant research contributions. Carlow is privileged to be a partner in Carnegie Learning’s transformative education initiative.”

The collaborative includes: Games for Learning Institute (G4LI), New York University; Game2Learn at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte; the Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center at Carnegie Mellon University; Pellissippi State Community College in Tennessee; and the Playpower Project.

In addition to Carlow, implementation partners include: the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, Pellissippi State Community College, and Boise State University.

For more information, please visit: www.carnegielearning.com.

Core Value: Intellectual Integrity

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Carlow Students Join AICUP Lobbying Efforts in Harrisburg

Carlow University students Tracey Massengill, Na’Toshia Wilson, and Joanna Kemp, and Allyson Lowe, PhD, chair of the political science department at Carlow, joined voices with more than 200 students across the Commonwealth for the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania’s (AICUP) Student Lobby Day in Harrisburg on Tuesday, April 12. The focus of the day was preserving student and institutional grants that enhance access to higher education.

The Carlow delegation meets with Rep. Dan Frankel. Pictured (left to right) are: Dr. Allyson Lowe, sophomore Tracey Massengill, Rep. Frankel, sophomore Na’Toshia Wilson, and first-year student Joanna Kemp.

The Carlow delegation met with State Representative Dan Frankel (D-23rd District, Squirrel Hill);
State Senators Jim Ferlo (D-38th Senatorial District, Lawrenceville); and James R. Brewster (D-45th Senatorial District, Monroeville, Mon Valley, and parts of Westmoreland County); and
the office staffs of State Representatives Jake Wheatley
(D-19th District, Hill District) and Chelsa Wagner (D-22nd
District, Brookline).

All three Carlow students are recipients of grants from the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA). Massengill and Wilson are sophomores majoring in political science. Kemp is a first year art history major.

“My parents will have to pay a lot of money in a concentrated amount of time,” says Kemp, who is the middle daughter of three in her family. Next year, she will have a sister in graduate school and a younger sister beginning college. “PHEAA helps students keep from having to limit their options based on finances. We can pursue what we want to pursue in our education.”

While the state budget is still being debated, the students are hopeful that their visit had an impact.

Lowe, an academic advisor to about 45 students, talked to legislators about the impact she sees on her students when PHEAA grants change.

“We talked about financial aid packages being like a Jenga game,” she says, referencing the game where players start with a towering stack of blocks that they must re-stack without toppling. Removing one block—or piece of aid—can bring down the whole stack. “When they pull on the PHEAA piece of aid, it has a dramatic impact on their ability to stay on their educational course.” For example, students may delay graduation, start and stop degree completion plans, or move between full- and part-time status, further complicating their aid.

Kemp had another reason for going to Harrisburg—the opportunity to explore another major. “I’ve been thinking about switching to public policy or sociology as a major,” she says. “So it was a good experience to see what happens in Harrisburg.”

And what did she notice about Harrisburg?

“On this particular day [April 12], the capitol was crazy,” she says, adding that among those vying for the lawmakers’ ears with the college students were a motorcycle group, a nurses’ association, and many elementary school children, who were there to share their opinion on the governor’s school voucher program. “It was interesting to see all the people who have issues to present on a random day at the capitol.”

Core Values: Leadership and Service

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Carlow University students, faculty, and staff, along with parents and friends, gathered on Thursday, April 14, to celebrate learning, research, and academic achievement at the 11th annual Scholarship Day and
Honors Convocation.

The day began with Scholarship Day presentations in the A.J. Palumbo Hall of Science and Technology. More than 160 undergraduate students participated in 43 individual or group presentations and 39 poster presentations. A group of 34 students who participated in Alternative Spring Break shared their reflections in a panel session, “Reflecting on Service: Alternative Spring Breaks to Battle Creek, Mich., and Immokalee, Fla.”

Presentations by Michelle Leibach and Merrit Kramer were selected for the plenary session, a one-hour period when all Scholarship Day attendees are encouraged to experience the presentations Carlow faculty considers to be the best. Leibach’s presentation was entitled “Developing a Global Perspective: An Exploration of Global Service Abroad” and Kramer’s presentation was “Peregrine Falcon Restoration and Monitoring.”

Emily Kolek, a senior communication major, received Carlow University’s highest academic honor, the Joseph G. Smith Award, from the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Karyn Z. Sproles, PhD.

At Honors Convocation later that day, senior corporate communication major Emily Kolek received the Joseph G. Smith Award for Academic Excellence and Distinguished Service, the highest academic honor
at Carlow.

Selected by a faculty committee, Kolek was chosen for her academic achievement, service to the Carlow community, and service to the community at large. “Emily believes in the power of one,” said president
Dr. Mary Hines, who cited Kolek’s involvement in the Fashions for Kids’ Sake fashion show fundraiser and the TOMS Shoes events (Style Your Sole and One Day Without Shoes), and her active participation as a student voice in the tuition debates, among her many other activities.

Janice Nash, MSN, assistant professor of nursing and last year’s winner of the Max and Esther Sestili Award for Excellence in Teaching, gave a keynote speech on living a life of honor. She used Sisters of Mercy founder Catherine McAuley as an example of one who lived an honorable life. Nash also talked about two people who are living examples of people who are living a life of honor: Bruno Serato, an Italian immigrant chef who spends time and $2,000 of his own money each month to prepare pasta dinners for almost-homeless, "motel" kids and Dr. Jim Withers, a UPMC Mercy street physician who started Operation Safety Net.

“Make a positive impact on the lives of others and your life will be a life of honor,” said Nash.

Event emcee and University provost Margaret McLaughlin, PhD, recognized the dean’s list recipients and faculty who had been promoted or offered tenure during the 2010–2011 academic year before introducing Karyn Sproles, PhD, and Cindy Rothenberger, EdD, who presented more than 75 department awards to undergraduate students.

Nicole Beyer, Marie Guisbert, Michelle Leibach, Jessica Orlidge, and Dawn Winkler Pembridge received the Rose Marie Beard Honors Scholar Capstone Award. Jessica Orlidge received the McShea Scholarship Award.

Adjunct faculty members William Seeman, MEd; Danielle Ficco, PhD; Linda Van Keuren, MLS; Kristie Wagner, RN, BSN; and Cindy Karaffa, MS, MPA, received undergraduate faculty awards at the convocation. Graduate adjunct faculty members, Richard Volpatti, MS; Arthur Molitor, MEd; Peggy McGarry, MS; Kathleen Brown, DNP, Sharon Sutton, MA; and Becky Flaherty, MS, received their honors at the Graduate Colloquium on April 6, 2011.

Campus minister, Sister Cathy Solan, RSM, ended the daylong celebration of academic success with a reading from Corinthians and the blessing: “Gracious God, let us never forget that all we are and will be is because of you.”

Core Value: Student Progress

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Shade Trees Add Beauty and Safety to AJP Thanks to Sister Mary
Joy Haywood

Fifteen shade trees now line the sidewalks around A.J. Palumbo Hall of Science and Technology thanks to Sister Mary Joy Haywood, RSM.

Carlow’s facilities staff Daniel Hall, George Doose, Thomas Dynoske, and Jon Vagnier, planted five Sycamore, Linden, and Hackberry trees on Forbes, Fifth, and Craft Avenues, respectively, early Friday morning on April 8, 2011.

Ever the consummate conservationist, Sister Mary Joy is always looking for ways to green the urban landscape. So, she applied for the free trees through the TreeVitalize Pittsburgh Planting Program, a joint project of Allegheny County, the City of Pittsburgh, Tree Pittsburgh, PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.

Her goal was twofold: to replace the grates in the side walk as they were an eyesore and a safety concern, and to beautify Carlow.

Sister Mary Joy Haywood

“I wanted to add beauty and safety to AJP—to restore the original vision of the building,” says Sister Mary Joy, professor emerita, who was chair of the committee that worked to make Carlow’s newest building a reality. “When AJP was built, Bradford pears were planted along the sidewalks. But those trees died and were never replaced due to lack of funding; instead grates were installed in the sidewalks.”

“We put all of this planning and care to build AJP, and the trees were part of that vision,” she says. “For four years, I’ve wanted to do something about the
empty street.”

When Sister Mary Joy, a member of the Western PA Conservancy, learned that the sidewalks were considered city property, and not owned by Carlow, she knew they qualified for the TreeVitalize program. This program supplies trees, park, and riverfront plantings and limited services within the City of Pittsburgh, in City and Allegheny County parks, and along riverfront trails.

After her application was accepted all Sister Mary Joy had to do was attend a dinner at the conservancy to learn more about the program’s requirements.

As long as the trees are free, Sister Mary Joy plans to add as many as she can to surround Carlow’s campus. She has already applied for more trees to grace the sidewalks on Terrace Street. These will be planted in
the fall.

For more information or to add more trees to your neighborhood or park, please visit: www.paconserve.org/216/gardens-and-greenspace/greenspace-initiatives/treevitalize

Core Value: Sacredness of Creation

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The Pittsburgh Technology Council (PTC) and the Greater Pittsburgh CIO Group has named Carlow’s 2011 MBA Executive-in-Residence Howard A. Stern, PhD, Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Year.

Howard A. Stern, PhD

One of four finalists, Stern, who is the director and CIO for the City of Pittsburgh, was selected because of his success in implementing key mayoral technology initiatives that improve neighborhood safety and enable employees to deliver services more efficiently and effectively.

The PTC noted Stern’s role in the implementation of the mayor’s surveillance camera project as a top accomplishment. In addition, the council recognized the City’s reduction of computer-related energy costs through innovative server virtualization technology.

“Dr. Stern is a committed educator that brings real-world experience to the classroom,” says Enrique Mu, PhD, associate professor and co-director of Carlow’s MBA Program. “Our relationship has created an alliance between academia and the real world that benefits both the students and the community.”

After the successful surveillance camera launch, Enrique Mu, PhD, associate professor and co-director of Carlow’s MBA Program, suggested that Stern submit the case to the Journal of Information Technology and Politics. The article is getting ready for the second round of revisions by the journal.

Stern and Mu are also collaborating on a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution for the City of Pittsburgh. A multi-million dollar project, the city has many possible vendors and needed a decision-making mechanism that would be accurate, transparent, and equitable, while capturing the views of all the project’s stakeholders.

Stern and Mu proposed using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), which Mu teaches in his MBA class, “Decision-making for Leaders.” The city accepted, and after months working with the city as they implemented the AHP, a decision should be made soon.

With Stern providing the real-world perspective and Mu providing the academic framework, the two have successfully collaborated on several projects in the past three years. “He is a very likable person,” says Mu. “He is concerned about his students and is highly experienced and professional. The CIO of the Year award is well deserved, and we are fortunate to have Dr. Stern as part of the Carlow community.”

Stern, who also an adjunct instructor at Carlow, teaches “Introduction to Political Science” and “Politics and Technology,” an interdisciplinary course developed in conjunction with the School of Management; and will teach “Advances in IT and IT Management” this summer.

Core Value: Intellectual Integrity

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Carlow University Student Artwork on Human Dignity Part of Gallery Crawl
Carlow Student Artists’ Work Explores the Meaning of Human Dignity

Carlow University junior and senior honors colloquium students will exhibit their artwork as part of the Gallery Crawl in the Cultural District on Friday, April 29, 2011. Their exhibit, titled “Homo Dignitas, Reviving a Departed Essence,” will be on the third floor of the Trust Arts Education Center, at 803 Liberty Avenue, downtown, from 5:30 p.m. until 9 p.m.

Stephanie Wirtz and Josh Panza plan how to organize the “Homo Dignitas” exhibit for the Cultural District’s Gallery Crawl on April 29.

“Human dignity is often thought of as an abstract idea,” says senior nursing major, Amber Blumling. “Our honors colloquium got us to think beyond the abstract ideas.”

The class, led by Carlow faculty Michael Balmert, PhD; April Chaney, DNP, RN; and Jessica Friedrichs, MSW, MPA, and comprising students from a number of academic disciplines, focused on discussions designed to define, describe, and discover human dignity in the world around us.

“I was so skeptical in the beginning, but this turned into my favorite class,” says Brianne Sullivan, a senior nursing major, who added that the honors class and its lively discussions was such a contrast from the usual class format of lectures and listening. “It brought a voice to the students, and together we came up with the idea of the exhibit. It was so exhilarating to see what you can accomplish as a group.”

The students hope to continue the discussion with visitors at the exhibit. It is free and open to the public.
For more information, please E-mail arblumling@live.carlow.edu or bksullivan@live.carlow.edu.

Core Value: Sacredness of Creation

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Carlow University to Host Techno Teens GO! Summer Camp in July

The Techno Teens GO! Summer Gaming Camp for female students from Allegheny County middle and high schools will hold its first girls-only session this July 5 through 22, 2011, at Carlow University. The three-week program offers participants an opportunity to design and create their own video game while exploring careers in technology.

“The partnership between Carlow University and Techno Teens could not be a better fit,” says Rachel Furman, the lead Carlow faculty for the summer camp and director of the Dr. Tom Hopkins Communication Lab. “Techno Teens GO! seeks to educate and motivate young women to uncover, expand, and realize their potential, a mission that aligns perfectly with what Carlow is all about.”

Techno Teens, formerly the DigiPen Summer Gaming Camp, was created by the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh and Catalyst Connection as a way to educate Allegheny County students about future careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) under the guise of video game development. The summer camp is the first part of a year-long program, which offers workshops and activities during the school year. Since its inception in 2003, Techno Teens has served more than 250 students from Allegheny County middle and high schools with educational workshops on topics such as video game programming and design, robotics, and 3D animation.

The Urban League targets the program’s recruiting efforts towards females and underrepresented minorities in an attempt to address a “digital divide” in the information technology (IT) sector, a field predominantly occupied by Caucasian males.

Techno Teens GO! is designed for 20 girls and the program hopes that attendance will grow threefold in the coming years. Carlow has donated the use of its campus and computers as well as its professors. Techno Teens GO! will be taught entirely by Carlow faculty instead of local high school teachers.

STEM-related and IT jobs have become increasingly available and more lucrative since 2000, especially in the Greater Pittsburgh region. As of March 25, 2011, a search for “IT jobs” on www.imaginepittsburghjobs.com yields 3,195 openings in Pittsburgh alone, and 1,402 more within a 71-mile radius of the city. Beyond the IT sector, nearly 80% of Pennsylvania employers require at least basic competency in STEM skills and 35% of the projected job growth by 2016 will require a strong STEM background. In 2008, Pennsylvania STEM-related occupations earned a median hourly wage of $24.76, more than eight dollars higher than the state average for all fields. A college graduate with a STEM-related major can expect an average entry-level salary of $61,407, nearly twice the expected entry-level salary of liberal arts majors.

Despite the boom in the technology-related industry, universities across the country have seen a 40 percent drop in enrollment for computer science or IT related majors. Without adequate quality talent, the industry faces a workforce crisis in the next five to seven years. Programs like Techno Teens help guide talented and interested students towards these careers and protect against a possible employee shortage in what is rapidly becoming one of the Greater Pittsburgh region’s largest industries.

Techno Teens GO! Summer Gaming Camp is a nonprofit program that operates entirely on grants and donations. For more information on the camp or how to donate, contact Rachel Furman at rmfurman@carlow.edu or at 412.578.8781.

Core Value: Discovery/Quest

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Mercy Service Awards

(left photo) Kimberly Schneider received the 2011 Catherine Graham Servant Leadership Award at the Mercy Service Awards Luncheon on Tuesday, April 12. As a recipient of the Catherine Graham award, Schneider received $500 and also could award an additional $500 to a designated charity. Pictured left to right are: Kimberly Schneider, Sister Sheila Carney, RSM, special assistant to the President for Mercy Heritage and Service, Dr. Mary Hines, president of Carlow University, Ernest Darby, the son of Catherine Graham, Emma Lucas-Darby Lucas, PhD, Carlow social work professor and wife of Ernest, and the Rev. Dai Morgan, pastor of the Swissvale United Methodist Church, who accepted the $500 award from Schneider on behalf of his church.

(right photo) Jason Lucarelli received the Mercy Integrity Award from Sister Sheila Carney.

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For upcoming campus events, please visit MyPortal.

Women of Spirit Institute^® Summer Workshops 2011

This summer’s schedule is:
Prepare to Care—June 28–30
Summer Science Nation—July 12–14
Eco-Camp—July 19–21

To register online: www.carlow.edu/summerworkshop

Register by June 1 to receive a $25 discount. Financial aid and flexible payment plans are available.

For more information, please
contact Laurie Petty, Manager of Planning and Special Events, at 412.578.8851 or via E-mail at ljpetty@carlow.edu.