Under the Arch

DR. GARIBALDI TO AWARD 226 DEGREES AT WINTER COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY

Gannon President Antoine M. Garibaldi, Ph.D., on Sunday, Dec. 10 will confer some 225 degrees at the University’s Winter Commencement ceremony, scheduled for 2 p.m. in the Hammermill Center.

The graduates include 10 associate degree recipients, 73 bachelor’s, 142 master’s, and one doctoral degree recipient. In addition, five students are graduating summa cum laude, eight magna cum laude, one cum laude, and three with academic honors.

During the ceremony, the University will award an honorary doctor of humane letters degree to Joseph C.P. Wang, a member of the University’s class of 1952. A native of Peking, China, Wang came to Erie as a student in 1949. He graduated from Gannon with a bachelor’s degree in English literature and later completed graduate work in English literature from New York University. He also studied linguistics at American University in Washington, D.C., and is a former chief and senior adviser of the Chinese branch of external affairs of the United States Information Agency (USIA).

In 1964, he began his career as a translator and announcer at Voice of America (VOA), an international, multi-media broadcasting service, and in 1965 became producer of the Chinese Branch of VOA. Voice of America is a branch of the United States Information Agency (USIA) and broadcasts over 1,000 hours of informational, educational, and cultural programs weekly to approximately 94 million listeners worldwide in 53 languages, through radio, satellite, television, and the Internet.

In 1972, Wang was promoted to Deputy Chief of the Chinese Branch and later became Interim Chief in 1980. From 1981-88, he served as Chief of Chinese Branch News, current affairs and features, before becoming Chief of the Chinese branch of external affairs of the USIA in 1998.

In 1991, Wang became a lecturer in Chinese with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Within two years, he became senior adviser for Chinese affairs at the USDA’s graduate school. From 1994 to 2004, he served as an associate professorial lecturer in Chinese in the department of East Asian Languages at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Wang also began the Chinese Studies programs at both American University and George Washington University. His colleagues credit him with exposing students to the ideas of freedom and democracy and for helping to create a greater openness between the Communist regime and the United States.

Wang has received several outstanding service awards, including the USIA Director’s Award for Superior Achievement in 1989.

He developed a unique method for teaching the writing of Chinese characters and has demonstrated how the characters evolved from pictographs that reflected the meaning of the words. In 2004, he authored The Origin and Development of 500 Chinese Characters: Volume I and is currently working on Volume II.

Wang also has published numerous papers in professional journals in the United States, Germany, China, and Taiwan. In December 2002, he and his brother, George Wang, established the Dr. and Mrs. Hwa-Lung Wang Scholarship Fund at Gannon University in honor of their late parents.

George Wang will give the keynote address to the graduates and their families on Joseph C.P. Wang’s behalf.

RECENT NEWS AND HIGHLIGHTS

News of interest on and around campus...

Special thanks to Gannon colleagues for their assistance with external media requests. Rev. Joseph Gregorek, professor, biology department, did an interview with channel 12-WICU on the passing of Monsignor Yehl.
Mark your calendar: The Teaching, Learning, and Technology Roundtable (TLTR) is hosting the annual Technology Buffet on Friday, Jan. 5, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Palumbo 1050 (CETL). More information will be forthcoming.
Did you attend the Gannon Christmas Dinner and Dance? If so, please let us know what you thought of the party. Follow this link (http://www.gannon.edu/depts/hr/SpecialEvents) to access the survey, which will be active through Friday, Dec. 8.
Corporate brand identity guide: Gannon faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to visit the web site for Gannon’s Office of Public Affairs and Communications. On the site, you can access the university’s new corporate brand identity guide. This comprehensive guide details the Believe marketing and branding initiative and also has important information on use of Gannon University logos. The web site also includes an editorial Style Guide that has some of the most frequently asked questions regarding grammar and punctuation. It serves as a quick reference for those producing memos, letters, brochures, fliers, publications and other documents. Please take a moment to visit the site. If you have any questions, contact the Office of Public Affairs at ext. 7470 or 7471.

CAMPUS EVENTS

Thursday-Saturday, December 7-9 – Gannon University’s Schuster Theatre: “The Dead.” Schuster Theatre will present a holiday musical adapted from James Joyce’s literary masterpiece. Set in 1904, the last and best known of the short stories collected in the Dubliners, this intimate musical portrays a homespun Yuletide party with Irish music, dancing, food, drink, and good fellowship. Directed by Shawn Clerkin, assistant professor, theatre, and director of the theatre program. All shows are at 8 p.m., except for Sunday matinees at 3 p.m.
Sunday, December 10 – Winter Commencement: The ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. in Hammermill Center. See above for more information on the honorary degree recipient.
Sunday, December 10 – Mid-Knight Pancake Breakfast: Scheduled for 9:30 p.m. to 12 a.m. in the Hammermill Cafeteria. Volunteers are welcome, as are fun door prizes for the students. To volunteer or donate a prize, contact Angela Jones in the president’s office at ext. 5800.
“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

Tuesday, December 5 – Erie Regional Chamber meeting. Wednesday, December 6 – Erie Regional Campaign event. Thursday, December 7 – Downtown Improvement District meeting; Gathering in Praise; student hour; Student Government Association Winter Banquet. Friday, December 8 – Gannon women’s basketball, Avalon Classic. Saturday, December 9 – United Way Project Blueprint Power Breakfast/panel discussion; Gannon women’s basketball, Avalon Classic. Sunday, December 10 – Baccalaureate Mass; commencement brunch; Commencement Ceremony; Mid-Knight Pancake Breakfast.

PRAYER CONCERNS

Please remember all in your prayers as regretfully we announce the death of:

Elaine Veith, mother of Mary Sibley, distribution clerk, and grandmother of Gannon students Jason and Alexander Veith.

CURRENT BIRTHDAYS

Christopher Lawrence. Patrick Pontzer. Stephanie Williams. Denise Alexander. James Thompson. Sherry Komorek. Marilyn Moore. Annmarie George. Shuko Fujisaki. Lauren Foltz. Cheryl McIntosh. Vincent Fetzner. Paula Barrett. Heather Turner. Gary Garnic. Karen Weston. Barry Brinkman. Ronald Lombard. Joseph Nelson. Donna Green. Michael Alexander. Cheryl Rink. Richard Zack. Jon Glass. Carole Galletta. Chris Viscuso. Mary Crane. Julie Hartmann. Scott Stevens. Lisa Wenner. Stan Zagorski. Britt Daehnke. Kevin Hart. Mary Sibley. Tony Fulgenzio. Michael O’Neill. Beth Shick. Jennifer Mailey. Susan Kerner. Sandra Driscoll. Christine Thompson.

FROM THE EDITOR

Gannon University faculty, staff, and administrators: As an employee newsletter, Under the Arch is your publication. The goal is for Under the Arch to be a complete resource for you: a place where you can stay up to date on everything happening on campus: events, news related to the university and its employees, important announcements, etc. Your help is needed to make Under the Arch as effective as possible. Please notify us of any news, specific to you or your department, that would be of interest to the Gannon Community. For example, if you attend a conference, present a paper, complete work on an advanced degree, or have any other news to share with your colleagues, please send it to Nick Pronko, media relations officer. Submissions can be e-mailed to pronko001@gannon.edu. To be included in a forthcoming Monday edition, information should be submitted by the preceding Thursday. Look forward to hearing from you!