We offer our congratulations to Mercyhurst alum Dave Armstrong ’86, a loyal supporter of the ‘Hurst.
David Armstrong
It was recently announced that Dave will become the 14th president of Thomas More College, located in Crestview Hills, Ky.The Presidential Search Committee Chair states that “Dave possesses the experience and skill set to serve successfully as president of Thomas More College. He will bring enthusiasm, passion and energy to the position.” Read the full story here.
We are thrilled for Dave’s great accomplishment and wish him the best of luck on this endeavor. It is always exciting to hear that our alumni are so successful and reaching new achievements in their lives after Mercyhurst!
13 in ’13 Volunteer Series – Barbara Chambers ’60
This month’s 13 in ’13 volunteer series features Barbara Chambers ’60. Barbara was recommended by Patricia Liebel ’53 who wrote a great piece about Barbara’s time at Mercyhurst, and her dedication to the institution. Read on to learn more about Barbara!
Barbara Chambers came to Mercyhurst with a deep love for science. During the next four years she participated in several clubs and other activities on the campus and for several years worked on a funded chemistry research project guided by Sister M. Charles Weschler. As might be expected, she joined the Science Seminar, an organization which held her deep interest and in which she was an active participant serving as Vice President her junior year and assuming the Presidency her senior year. She has always been a strong supporter of women in the science world.
Barb’s major was chemistry and she received her Bachelor’s degree in 1960. After a stint in industrial chemistry with Eastman Kodak, she recognized a desire to teach and continued her studies at John Carroll University where she received a M.S. Degree. In 1979, she received her Ed.D from the University of Maryland in Secondary Science Education. Her many abilities and skills provided an opportunity for a long-time relationship with the Cleveland Public Schools from which she retired as Director of Gifted Education. In retirement she has served as a consultant to several Ohio school districts. Acknowledging her work in science and urban education, Mercyhurst recognized her as a Distinguished Alumna in 1971.
Barb’s love for Mercyhurst did not end with her graduation. Her present residence is in the suburbs of Cleveland and she continues to maintain the old family home in the Erie area where she lived when she attended the ‘Hurst. As she commutes back and forth between the cities, she continues to be involved with alumni activities and other University events in both Cleveland and Erie.
Barb continues to give back to Mercyhurst. Over the years she has been a strong supporter of the College (University) in various ways. Her biggest ‘give-back’ however, has been her establishment of an endowed scholarship which provides financial assistance to students. She is proud to be an alum and Mercyhurst is proud of her!
Social Work Students Meet Alum Hope Randall ’07
Recently twelve social work majors and Associate Professor Dr. Peggy Black traveled to Washington, DC in order to experience and learn about various advocacy efforts related to social justice efforts. The students had the opportunity to meet with Marianne Comfort, an education coordinator with the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. Ms. Comfort shared the lobbying and advocacy efforts currently being addressed through Congressional meetings and testimony provided by the Sisters of Mercy, specifically illegal immigration laws and gun violence issues.
MU students with Hope Randall ’07
We were excited to hear that the students visited PATH (Program for Appropriate Technology in Health) and met with Hope Randall ’07 who has been a Child Health Communications Associate with PATH for four years. Students learned about her work in maternal/child global health initiatives and potential NGO job opportunities in Washington DC. The students also enjoyed some sightseeing opportunities which included the Holocaust Museum, as well as Arlington Cemetery and the various monuments that are hallmark of Washington DC.We’re glad the students had such a great time and we are always grateful when our alumni share their talents and take the time to interact with our students!
Alumni World Tour – Ohio
We had a great couple of events with our alumni in Columbus and Cincinnati this week! Despite the rain we seemed to bring with us from Erie, we spent Wednesday and Thursday night updating alumni ranging from the class of 1958 to the class of 2012 on the many new and exciting things happening at Mercyhurst. We saw some familiar faces, as well as some new ones, and learned about some of the amazing things our alumni are doing from teaching, to competitive intelligence, to pharmacy.
We’re heading back to Erie bright and early tomorrow morning and will hit the road again next week with stops in Ann Arbor and Chicago. Be sure to check back on our blog for updates, and check hurstalumni.org/worldtour to see if we’re coming to a city near you!!
Carpe Diem!
- Liz and Shannon
World Tour Update: It’s Great to be a Mercyhurst Laker
As we head across the halfway point of the 2013 Alumni Relations World Tour, it seems worthwhile to take a look back at what we’ve seen the last few weeks. Our staff has logged thousands of miles on our cars, stayed in many hotels, and have eaten more fast food than we’d like to admit to. Just this week alone we’ve logged over 700 miles to host three events (Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland) in three nights.
But all that time and effort is most certainly worth it when you examine the results. As a Mercyhurst grad and current assistant vice president for advancement, I thought I was already pretty darn passionate about Mercyhurst. I’m happy to report that talking with a couple hundred alumni, prospective students, families and friends over the last month have only bolstered my affection for our school.
It is incredibly rewarding to talk with alumni who are quick to admit that they may not use their specific major on a daily basis, but feel that the Mercyhurst experience has certainly shaped them as a human being, both professionally and personally. We have heard so many great stories of alums who have continued to climb the ladder in their fields, whether as post-doc fellows, new managers in the corporate world, or some similar advancement. It is also rewarding to hear that so many are staying in close contact with the school and happy to see just what’s happening on the campus with university status, new doctoral program, athletic successes, and much more.
The last couple weeks have very much affirmed what I have believed for a long time – Mercyhurst University is a vibrant and welcoming campus that allows bright young minds to succeed in the classroom all while being well-prepared for life after graduation. Mercyhurst is a place where faith and reason flourish together – where you meet your lifelong best friends, some meet their future spouses (me included there), and where you are shaped for the rest of your life. Mercyhurst plays such a strong role for so many of our alumni that I can’t help but believe that at the end of four years we can look to our friends from other schools and say, with confidence, “You wish you were a Mercyhurst Laker!”
So, with nine events down and 11 to go, we just can wait to see what comes next.
– Ryan J. Palm ’07, assistant vice president for advancement
Mercy Month Women of Mercy: Sr. Carolyn Herrmann and Dolores Huerta
During March, which is both Mercy Month and Women’s History Month, the Women of Mercy series will profile Sisters of Mercy, prominent historical figures, and Mercyhurst graduates.
Sister Carolyn Herrmann
Sister Carolyn Herrmann, RSM, Ph.D., was the first full-time Sister-President of Mercyhurst (1963-72). Before that, sisters who were superiors of the congregation also served ex officio as presidents of Mercyhurst. Sr. Carolyn is fondly remembered by many for her incredible teaching in the classroom and her pioneering administration. Her legacies were reflected in college transitions: guiding the college from Sister-advisors to a lay Board of Trustees, creating the first public relations and development offices, and overseeing the monumental change of Mercyhurst from a women’s college to a coeducational institution in 1969. The student union on the Erie campus is named in her honor.
Dolores Huerta
Dolores Huerta (1930-living) has worked to improve social and economic conditions for farm workers and to fight discrimination.
To further her cause, she created the Agricultural Workers Association (AWA) in 1960 and co-founded what would become the United Farm Workers (UFW). Huerta stepped down from the UFW in 1999, but she continues her work to improve the lives of workers, immigrants and women.
“We can’t let people drive wedges between us…because there’s only one human race.”
Mercy Month Women of Mercy: Mother Borgia Egan and Rachel Carson
During March, which is both Mercy Month and Women’s History Month, the Women of Mercy series will profile Sisters of Mercy, prominent historical figures, and Mercyhurst graduates. Here are the most recent women:
Mother Borgia Egan
Catherine Egan, later known as Mother Borgia, was born in 1876 on the Feast of Saint Benedict, the patron saint of students. A leader in education, she insured that Catholic schools taught by the Sisters of Mercy were certified by the state; St. Catherine School, DuBois, Pa., was first in the commonwealth to receive PDE certification.An advocate for the higher education of women, she realized her dream of opening a college for women, which she did by enlisting her “pioneer” Sisters of Mercy in fundraising, seeking the aid of benefactors, purchasing 75 acres of land in southeastern Erie, and building Mercyhurst College and Seminary. Now two separate schools, Mercyhurst University and Mercyhurst Preparatory School opened in 1926. Mother Borgia led the college until 1959.
Rachel Carson
Rachel Carson (1907-1964) conducted research into the effects of pesticides on the food chain, published in her most influential work, Silent Spring (1962), which condemned the indiscriminate use of pesticides, especially DDT (later banned). The book led to a presidential commission that largely endorsed her findings, and helped shape a growing environmental consciousness.”Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life.”
- Rachel Carson
Mercy Month Women of Mercy: Mother Frances Warde and Frances Perkins
During March, which is both Mercy Month and Women’s History Month, the Women of Mercy series will profile Sisters of Mercy, prominent historical figures, and Mercyhurst graduates. Here are the most recent women:
Frances Warde
Mother Frances Warde started her journey alongside Mother Catherine McAuley in Dublin, Ireland. In 1843, two years after Catherine McAuley’s death, Frances Warde led six young Sisters of Mercy to the United States and arrived in Pittsburgh, Pa. Warde’s efforts in the United States extended beyond the initial founding of the convent and Mercy Hospital (now UPMC-Mercy) there. The communities she established extended from Maine to California. Her biographer believes that Frances Warde personally founded more convents, schools, hospitals and places for social welfare than any other religious leader in the western world. Warde freshman residence hall and the Warde Townhouses are both named in honor of this Mercy pioneer.
Frances Perkins
Frances Perkins (1882-1965) was the first woman to hold a United States cabinet position. Appointed by Franklin Roosevelt, she served as Secretary of Labor and played a key role in writing New Deal legislation, including minimum wage laws. Her most important contribution came in 1934 when, as chairwoman of the President’s Committee on Economic Security, she was involved in all aspects of the reports and hearings that ultimately resulted in the Social Security Act of 1935.
“I came to Washington to work for God, FDR, and the millions of forgotten, plain common working people.” - Frances Perkins
Ambassador Club 20th Anniversary
1993 Original Ambassador Club
This past Sunday the Ambassador Club inducted its 20th group of pledges. Since its beginnings in 1993, the club has become known as a prestigious group of students who know and love Mercyhurst. Originally starting out with just 13 members, the club has grown to over 70 members! Working under the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, the Ambassadors sport the famous “green jacket” to tour prospective students and their families around campus and share the Mercyhurst story with them. The Ambassadors are an important part of helping prospective students to choose to attend Mercyhurst University!
2013 Ambassador Club
Many alumni look back at their time as students and fondly remember both pledging to become and being an Ambassador – and they of course treasure their green jacket! This year, 20 new Ambassadors were inducted and they are excited to carry on the green jacket tradition! Take a look at other groups of Ambassadors from the 20 years of the club via our Pinterest board titled “‘Hurst Traditions.”
Alumni World Tour 2013 – Syracuse
We had another great event tonight with our admissions department in Syracuse, N.Y.! A group of about 15 alumni ranging from the class of 1957 to the class of 2010 gathered with a few prospective students and their parents to share stories about Mercyhurst and enjoy delicious BBQ at Dinosaur Bar- B -Que. A member of our alumni board of directors Robert Dubik ’78 and his wife Teresa Dubik ’77 shared stories of their time at Mercyhurst and how they met by chance at a Halloween party (he was a commuter student and she was a resident at the time). Many alumni shared stories of their lives post ‘Hurst, and how excited they were to see all of the growth happening at the university.
We also had the opportunity to stop by Ale ‘n’ Angus Pub in Syracuse, a restaurant owned by alumnus Matthew Beach ’03. We were so happy to be able to catch up with Matt and learn a little bit about the home of one of New York State’s famous burgers.
Tomorrow we are hitting the road once more and making our way up to Boston for another event with alumni and prospective students at Back Bay Social Club. We can’t wait to meet up with alumni in the area.It has been a few years since our last visit, and we’re looking forward to hearing what is new in their lives.
Carpe Diem!
