Journal Home Page Fall 2018 All Web Exclusives

On the Commons Extras

Navigate to the full versions of many On the Commons news items here.

The blessing of the news Rev. Kevin P. Quinn, S.J., Athletics Campus.
The blessing of the news Rev. Kevin P. Quinn, S.J., Athletics Campus.

You can find longer versions of our On the Commons news items at news.scranton.edu. However, we have compiled a selection of extended On the Commons news items here for you.

Athletics Fields Dedicated

The University of Scranton dedicated its new $14 million athletics campus in honor of Kevin P. Quinn, S.J., who served as of the 25th president of the Jesuit university from July 2011 through May 2017.

“Today is the culmination of much dreaming, planning and building. Today is the beginning of a new chapter in the history of The University of Scranton,” said Rev. Herbert B. Keller, S.J., interim president of the University. “It was Father Quinn’s strong unshaken resolve to build this campus that has led us to this day. It is so appropriate that this athletics campus bears his name – for it was he who envisioned this field of dreams, and he knew – if we build it, they would come.”

The 11-acre Rev. Kevin P. Quinn, S.J., Athletics Campus, located along Broadway Street in Scranton, will be home for the University’s soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, baseball and softball Division III NCAA teams. The campus includes NCAA regulation baseball and softball fields and a multipurpose field that meets NCAA standards for soccer, lacrosse and field hockey. The campus also includes bleacher seating at each field, a field house with team locker rooms and a training room, parking, a community basketball court and a children’s play area.

“In my opinion, athletics brings a vitality and energy to a college campus that benefits the entire university community. It is important that we invest in this experience not only for our current students but for future generations of Royals,” said Father Quinn at the dedication. “My friends, we have fulfilled our long-held dream of developing this place into an athletic campus appropriate and worthy for our University.”

The speakers, which included Robert W. Davis Jr., Ed.D., chief of staff, and David Martin, director of athletics, thanked the many University benefactors, former and current trustees, government officials and community leaders, staff and faculty members for their support of the project.

Martin referred to the new facilities, which he called “second to none,” as a “game changer” for athletics and the University, as well as “a game changer for the entire community of Scranton. We are so blessed and so fortunate to have it here.”

Scranton Mayor Bill Courtright agreed.

“For me I think about the fact that not only will the University (student-athletes) get to play their games right here in the city of Scranton, but I think of all the people who will come in from the outlying areas and from out of town. They get to play here and they also get to see all that Scranton has to offer, and I am very grateful for that. This facility is second to none,” said Mayor Courtright.

Read on, here.

See video from the dedication, below.

YouTube thumbnail

Welcome, New Members of the Board of Trustees

Jacquelyn Rasieleski Dionne, Liz Murphy and Vincent R. Reilly, Esq., were named to The University of Scranton’s Board of Trustees.
Jacquelyn Rasieleski Dionne, Liz Murphy and Vincent R. Reilly, Esq., were named to The University of Scranton’s Board of Trustees.

The University of Scranton has named three individuals to its Board of Trustees: Jacquelyn Rasieleski Dionne ’89, Westport, Connecticut; Liz Murphy '83, Southport, North Carolina; and Vincent R. Reilly, Esq., ’80, P’05, ’08, ’11, ’14, Philadelphia.

A native of Scranton and University of Scranton alumna, Dionne became a registered nurse upon graduating from Community Medical Center in 1986. She received a bachelor’s degree in health administration from the University in 1989. She began her career as a trauma intensive care nurse in Scranton and continued as a cardiothoracic nurse in Boston and the New Hampshire Heart Institute. She recently returned to a medical setting, working as an RN with elderly and Alzheimer’s patients.

She is active in numerous charitable organizations, including having served as a vice president for the National Charity League, Westport Chapter, as well as Horizons Organization of Bridgeport Connecticut, Meals on Wheels and several other nonprofit organizations. Dionne previously served on the University’s board from 2011 through 2017. During that time, she chaired the advancement committee, served on the executive committee, and on both the presidential and provost search committees. In 2015, she was instrumental in the creation of the Kania School of Management’s Business Wall of Fame. In 2013, she and her husband, John D. Dionne ’86, were co-recipients of the University’s President’s Medal, an honor presented by the President’s Business Council. In 2008, the University named its newly created green at the heart of its campus in honor of her and her husband.

Murphy, who graduated in 1983, is chair of the board and chief evangelist for CampusWorks, Inc., a higher education professional services company. She has more than 35 years of experience in higher education, having first served as an institutional fundraiser for both a university and a community college foundation. For more than 21 years she worked at Datatel, an enterprise software provider to higher education, serving in marketing and professional services leadership roles, before advancing to the position of chief client officer there. She then served as chief executive officer of CampusWorks for more than six years.

Murphy serves on the boards of Oohlala, Quality Matters and the Alliance for Innovation and Transformation. She also served as director and chair of the board of the Lupus Foundation of America, D.C., Maryland and Virginia Chapter.

She is married to University of Scranton alumnus and former University Trustee Justin Murphy ’76.

Reilly, who graduated from The University of Scranton in 1980 and Villanova University School of Law in 1983, has been active in civil litigation in the state and federal courts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. On Jan. 1, 2000, along with Tracey McDevitt ’93, he founded the law firm of Reilly, McDevitt and Henrich, where he serves as managing partner of the firm with offices in Philadelphia, New Jersey and Delaware. Reilly serves on the advisory board of the Friends of St. Malachy Inc., a nonprofit corporation assisting St. Malachy Parish in North Philadelphia. He previously served as a University trustee from 2011 to 2017 He is married to Eileen O’Neil, who graduated from the University in 1982. Four of their five children, Brigid ’05, Peggy ’08, Brendan ’11 and Colin ’14, graduated from The University of Scranton. Their son Tim graduated from the University of Delaware in 2009.

Read the original press release, here.

University Holds Undergraduate Commencement

Jacquelyn Rasieleski Dionne, Liz Murphy and Vincent R. Reilly, Esq., were named to The University of Scranton’s Board of Trustees.

The University of Scranton conferred more than 890 bachelor’s and associate’s degrees at its undergraduate commencement on May 27 at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre. Very Reverend Timothy P. Kesicki, S.J., president of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States, read the remarks of the principal speaker Most Reverend George V. Murry, S.J., Bishop of the Diocese of Youngstown, who was unable to attend the ceremony in person because he is undergoing treatment for a form of acute leukemia. Both Father Kesicki and Bishop Murry, in absentia, received honorary degrees from the University. Honorary degrees were also presented to Sister Ann Walsh, I.H.M., former CEO and current assistant director of Friends of the Poor; William Whitaker, founding president of the Washington Jesuit Academy, Washington. D.C.; and Cecelia Lynett Haggerty, Times-Shamrock Communications and former University trustee.

Graduates receiving degrees at the ceremony include those who completed their program requirements in August and December of 2017, as well as January and May of 2018.

Reading the remarks of Bishop Murry, Father Kesicki advised graduates that “‘(y)oung people lead us. Young people change the world. You do it with your courage and you do it with your fresh eyes that envision new possibilities,’” said Father Kesicki. “‘We older folks have mostly accepted our divisions as fact. Too often we have distanced ourselves from one another by race, by political beliefs, by religion, by education, and more. Politicians and media operations prey on our separateness and sow discord, gathering support by appealing to one group over and against another. Do not believe in these divisions.’”

Bishop Murry concluded his remarks, as read by Father Kesicki, by saying “‘I see young people moving all of us toward a more blessed and diverse community. You have always sparked change and been leaders when we needed it. The task of ending racism and poverty is not over, and we need you. The struggle to protect the environment, the unborn and the immigrant continues, and we need you. We need you in order to make progress on these issues. Perhaps most importantly, we need you to see beyond what appears to separate us and hold onto what connects us – belonging together in one human family.’”

Members of the University’s class of 2018 represent 10 states including California, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia. The class includes the recipient of a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, the premier undergraduate scholarship for the fields of mathematics, natural sciences and engineering, and a Fulbright scholarship, which is the U.S. government’s premier scholarship program for overseas graduate study, research and teaching. Matthew Reynolds, Apalachin, New York, received the Goldwater Scholarship and Lauren Coggins, Clarks Summit, received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Mexico.

Undergraduate majors with the most graduates are nursing, exercise science, occupational therapy, biology and accounting.

Also at the ceremony, Interim President Rev. Herbert B. Keller, S.J., addressed the graduates and their guests.

In addition, Erin F. Alexander ’18, a psychology major from Linden, New Jersey, provided student remarks for her class. Also speaking at the ceremony were Joseph H. Dreisbach, Ph.D., interim provost and senior vice president for academic affairs; Teresa A. Grettano, Ph.D., assistant professor of English and theatre; Michael K. Short ’99, Alumni Society president; Debra A. Pellegrino, Ed.D., dean of the Panuska College of Professional Studies; Michael O. Mensah, Ph.D., dean of the Kania School of Management; and Brian P. Conniff, Ph.D., dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, D.D., J.C.L., Bishop of Scranton, provided the Invocation.

An archived recording of the ceremony can be seen at www.scranton.edu/eventslive.

Read about Graduate Commencement, here.

The original press release can be found, here.

Read the most recent press releases from The University of Scranton at news.scranton.edu.

Scroll to Top