Under the Arch

DR. GARIBALDI TO AWARD 655 DEGREES AT SATURDAY’S COMMENCEMENT

Gannon University President Antoine M. Garibaldi, Ph.D., will award some 655 degrees when the university hosts its Spring Commencement on Saturday, May 10.

The ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. at Tullio Arena.

The graduates include 24 students who will be receiving doctor of physical therapy degrees, two receiving doctorates in counseling psychology, 247 receiving master’s degrees, 358 receiving bachelor’s degrees, and 24 receiving associate’s degrees.

Some 48 students will graduate summa cum laude, 80 magna cum laude, and 49 cum laude. In addition, 18 students will graduate with academic honors.

Including the 317 degrees that were conferred at Gannon’s Winter Commencement, the university has a total graduating class of 982 for the 2007-08 academic year.

His Eminence Theodore McCarrick, Ph.D., D.D., Archbishop Emeritus of Washington, will be the ceremony’s keynote speaker. Cardinal McCarrick will receive two honors during the ceremony: the Ut Diligatis Invicem award and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.

The Ut Diligatis Invicem award is named in memory of the university’s founder, Archbishop John Mark Gannon, and his motto: “That you may love one another.” The award is presented to individuals who demonstrate a strong commitment to their faith, who exemplify the Judeo-Christian ideals of unconditional love and respect for human dignity, and whose life’s work enriches mankind.

Gannon’s ROTC will hold its Commissioning ceremony at 8:30 a.m. on May 10 in the university’s Schuster Theatre, 620 Sassafras Street. The traditional Baccalaureate Mass will be held at 10 a.m. at St. Peter Cathedral.

More about His Eminence Theodore McCarrick, Ph.D., D.D.

Cardinal McCarrick’s dedication to his priestly ministry, his commitment to international human rights and religious freedom, his distinguished service to Catholic higher education and to the Church worldwide reflect the core values of integrity and public service that Gannon University strives to inculcate in its students.

Raised in New York City, Cardinal McCarrick entered St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, New York, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 1954 and a master’s degree in history in 1958. Francis Cardinal Spellman ordained him to the priesthood on May 31, 1958 in New York City. Father McCarrick earned a second master’s degree in social sciences, and a doctorate in sociology from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Father McCarrick’s first assignment was as assistant chaplain of The Catholic University, where he later served as dean of students and as director of development. In 1965, he was named president of the Catholic University of Puerto Rico in Ponce, and he received the title of monsignor from Pope Paul VI. In 1969, Terence Cardinal Cooke recalled Monsignor McCarrick to New York to serve as associate secretary for education and as an assistant priest at Blessed Sacrament parish from 1969-71, and then as the Cardinal’s Secretary from 1971-77.

In 1977, Pope Paul VI named Monsignor McCarrick an auxiliary bishop of New York. While auxiliary bishop, he served as Vicar of East Manhattan and the Harlems. In 1981, Pope John Paul II appointed him to be the first Bishop of Metuchen, a newly-established diocese in New Jersey. From 1986 until his appointment to the Archdiocese of Washington, he served as the fourth Archbishop of Newark. In 1986 and again in 1992, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) elected then-Archbishop McCarrick to head its Committee on Migration.

In 1992, he also was named to head the Committee for Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe; in 1996, as chair of the Committee on International Policy; and in 2001, as Chairman of the Domestic Policy Committee. Other USCCB committees on which Cardinal McCarrick has served are Administrative, Doctrine, Laity, Latin America and the Missions. He was elected one of 15 U.S. bishops to serve as a member of the Synod for America, held in 1997. At the conclusion of that Synod, the bishops elected him to serve on the Post Synodal Council.

On Jan. 2, 2001, he was installed as Archbishop of Washington, a position he held until May 16, 2006. Just seven weeks after his installation, on Feb. 21, 2001, he was elevated to the College of Cardinals by Pope John Paul II. He took possession of his titular church, Saints Nereus and Achilleus, on June 28, 2001.

As Archbishop of Washington, Cardinal McCarrick served as chancellor of The Catholic University of America and president of the Board of Trustees of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Cardinal McCarrick placed an emphasis on education, vocations and meeting the needs of new immigrants, particularly in the Latino community. Cardinal McCarrick currently serves as the president of the board of Catholic Relief Services.

In fall 2001, he opened a new seminary, Redemptoris Mater, to educate diocesan missionary priests. In 2004, he supported the creation of the DC Opportunity Scholarship program, a federal program that gives low-income families the ability to choose for their children a public or non-public school. In 2005, Cardinal McCarrick participated in the historic conclave that elected Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI.

Cardinal McCarrick speaks five languages: English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish.

RECENT NEWS AND HIGHLIGHTS

News of interest on and around campus...

A Community Meeting for the Middle States Periodic Review Report, Draft II Review and Discussion, will be held from 3-4:30 p.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, May 6, in the Yehl Room. More information is available on the portal.
Editor’s Note: Once the academic year officially concludes with May Commencement, Under the Arch will be published every other week during the summer months. Your submissions are always welcome; send to pronko001.
Updated summer library hours: Nash Library will have new hours starting Monday, May 12. They are: Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Fridays, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and Saturdays and Sundays, closed. These hours will remain in effect through Aug. 3.

CAMPUS EVENTS

Wednesday, May 7 – “Ways to Deal with Stress”: Presented by James Finegan, director of Career Services and Cooperative Education. The presentation is scheduled for 12:05-12:50 p.m. in the Stubler Room of the Waldron Center. Bring your lunch. If interested in attending, please call Cindy Mancini at ext. 5632.
Saturday, May 10 – Spring Commencement: The ROTC Commissioning will be held at 8:30 a.m. in Schuster Theatre, followed by the Baccalaureate Mass at 10 a.m. at Saint Peter Cathedral. A reception will begin at 11 a.m. in the Waldron Center. The main ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. at Tullio Arena.
Wednesday, May 21 – Faculty and Staff Community Meeting: 3 p.m. in the Yehl Room.
Friday, May 23 – Gannon University’s second annual Regional Symposium: The symposium, Better Learning Through Collaboration and Assessment, will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Stephen Ehrmann of the TLT Group. A number of concurrent tracks will be held, including Team Building and Virtual Collaboration; Electronic Tools in Education; Purposeful Discussion; and Web-based Assessment. Seating is limited; registration is encouraged by Friday, May 16. The cost of $50 per person includes a buffet lunch. For more information, or to register, contact Jamie Plaster at ext. 7451.
“Our Events” is intended to serve as a random sample of campus events. For a more complete listing, refer to Eventcal.

THE PRESIDENT’S SCHEDULE

Monday, May 5 – President’s Dinner with Honors Program graduates. Thursday, May 8 – SafeNet/Susan Hirt Hagen Award Luncheon; student hour. Friday, May 9 – Dinner for Commencement speaker. Saturday, May 10 – ROTC Commissioning Ceremony; Baccalaureate Mass; Commencement Brunch; Commencement Ceremony.

WISH HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO:

Kimberly Blount. Michael Panza. Kenneth Berlin. Michelle Healy. Michael Bucholtz. Sharon Krahe. James LaScola. Dorothy Wassel. Rev. Robert Susa. Fred Beil. Jan Warburton. Thomas Wager. Rebecca Curtis. Rachid Abouabid. Ned Lottie. Denise Winschel. Michelle Homan. Diane Hardner. Mary Grotkowski. Richard Altmire. Anita Hotchkiss. Kenneth Kendzior. Kimberle Janosky. Gretchen Fairley. Jeffrey Taylor. Denise Simon. David Marino. Cornell Petty. Daniel Kane. Carl Hultman. Bobbi Jo Fye. David States. Elizabeth Garloch.

RELAY FOR LIFE SUCCESSFUL

Some 200 Gannon faculty, staff, and students were expected to participate in the university’s annual Relay for Life, held Friday at the field outside the Carneval Athletic Pavilion. All proceeds from the event will go to the American Cancer Society. Shown walking here are Karen Arndt (left), accounts payable assistant, and Fr. George Strohmeyer, university chaplain. In addition, Dr. Garibaldi’s Basketball Shoot-Out Tournament, held in the Hammermill Center last week, raised about $100 for the Relay for Life effort.