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Emmanuel Appoints Vice President of Academic Affairs

Dr. Frank E. Scully, Jr. will join Emmanuel College as the Vice President of Academic Affairs on July 1, 2007. He was selected for this position following a national search, and extensive research and work by the College's search committee, composed of administrators, faculty and students and chaired by Professor of Philosophy Dr. Thomas Wall and Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Patricia Rissmeyer.

Prior to his appointment, Dr. Scully was the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Loyola University in New Orleans, LA where he was for the last nine years. He also served as Interim Dean of the College of Sciences and Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Old Dominion University.

"Dr. Scully has achieved a distinguished record as a scholar, a teacher and an academic leader. He has the experience, vision and skills to move Emmanuel forward. Dr. Scully brings a wonderful energy and passion to Emmanuel's educational mission as a liberal arts and sciences college with a strong Catholic intellectual tradition," said Emmanuel College President Sister Janet Eisner, SND.

Dr. Scully and his wife, Mary, visited Sr. Janet and the Emmanuel campus last March, taking the opportunity to meet a number of students, faculty and staff members during a reception in the Jean Yawkey Center. Later that month he also met with the group of students who traveled to New Orleans to provide aid over Spring Break as well.

"I experienced first-hand the College's mission in action during a visit with Emmanuel students volunteering in New Orleans for Alternative Spring Break," he said. "I was moved by their commitment to social justice, and their passion for the hurricane Katrina relief efforts. I look forward to building more of these relationships with the Emmanuel community."

As Vice President of Academic Affairs and Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Scully will assume the leadership of all academic programs, planning and educational policies for the College. Emmanuel has achieved remarkable growth over the past five years. Enrollment of traditional students has tripled to over 1600 and total enrollment is over 2300. The College has also invested in new academic and student facilities, appointed many new faculty members, and created an innovative partnership with Merck Research Laboratories-Boston located on the Emmanuel campus.

"The opportunity to lead the academic programs for such a vibrant institution is thrilling," said Dr. Scully. "I look forward to joining this dynamic college community and working with faculty, students and administrators to build on the strong academic tradition that has long been the hallmark of this College."

Dr. Scully has published extensively in scholarly journals, reports and books. Not only has he engaged in his own scholarship, but his work is broad in terms of faculty development and curriculum development. He earned a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Spring Hill College and a doctorate in organic chemistry from Purdue University. He also completed post-doctoral studies at Yale University.

Emmanuel College Holds 85th Commencement Ceremony

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More than 540 degrees were awarded to graduates on Saturday, May 12th when members of the Emmanuel College community came together to celebrate the achievements of the Class of 2007 during the College's 85th Commencement ceremony.

Emmanuel College President Sister Janet Eisner, SND welcomed family, friends and distinguished guests to the Boston campus, congratulating the graduates from the Graduate and Professional Program and the full-time liberal arts and science programs on their numerous accomplishments.

"You, Class of 2007, have made this a vibrant campus with your engagement in theatre, student government, speakers bureau, college search committees, and many of the 625 events hosted on campus this year alone," she said. "Your service to and compassion for the local and global community has been remarkable… I want to thank you for your many contributions to Emmanuel with your talent and your amazing commitment."

Jon Meacham, editor of Newsweek magazine, provided the event's keynote address. He was also one of three recipients of honorary degrees.

As the editor of Newsweek, Meacham supervises the magazine's coverage of politics, international affairs, and breaking news, and has written cover stories on politics, religion, race, guns in America, and the death of Ronald Reagan. Under his leadership, Newsweek has twice (2001, 2003) won the National Magazine Award for General Excellence - the industry's highest honor. An accomplished author, Meacham's American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation, released in April of 2006, as well as Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship (2003), were New York Times bestsellers.

During his address, Meacham, who received an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the College, reminded the graduates that the values cultivated at Emmanuel were ones they would carry with them throughout the rest of their lives.

"Emmanuel has taught you that life is best lived and is most worth living when men and women of goodwill live together, as a song has said, in unity," he said. "Every time you go to Mass, or save a tree, or feed the hungry, or clothe the poor, or swallow your pride, you do so because of the families that raised you, the school that formed you, the friends who sustain you, and the people who taught you how to think and write, and paint, and live in charity with one another."

The other recipients of honorary degrees were Dr. Jim O'Connell, the President and Street Physician of Boston Health Care for Homeless, and Sister Sylvia Thibodeaux, SSF, New Orleans community leader and former Congregational Leader of the Sisters of the Holy Family. Dr. O'Connell and Sister Sylvia were awarded honorary Doctors of Humane Letters.

Nationally recognized as one of the pre-eminent experts on homelessness and health care and highly regarded for his decades of service to Boston's homeless, Dr. O'Connell is the founder of the Barbara McInnis House, a 90-bed medical respite program for homeless men and women. Over the years, his work with the facility has received national acclaim, with the program having been emulated by many cities across the nation.

Furthermore, O'Connell's book Healthcare of Homeless Persons serves as a guide for Emmanuel's nursing students in their clinical work around the city. Professor Joan Riley, Chair of the Nursing Department, praised O'Connell as someone who "lives the challenge posed to all Emmanuel graduates, to act, to lead, and to give generously to others."

During his speech, Dr. O'Connell took the opportunity to applaud many of the graduates for their unwavering service to the Boston community during their time at Emmanuel.

"What you may not know is that your presence in our community…has really given us inspiration," he said. "I wanted to say thank you for that because I think the ideals that emanate here at Emmanuel are exactly the ideals that we need to embrace in society."

Sister Sylvia Thibodeaux, SSF, recognized in New Orleans and beyond for leading the Sisters of the Holy Family through a time of profound crisis following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, completed two terms as Congregational Leader of the Sisters of the Holy Family in August of 2006. During her career, Sister Sylvia taught in Boston and for 18 years served in Nigeria establishing a diocesan order of sisters in the Archdiocese of Benin City. She is a founding member of the Black Sisters' Conference of the United States and is a member of the board of directors of the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (Cara) at Georgetown University.

Described by Senior Associate of Academic Advising Carolyn Caveny as a "trail-blazing educator," Sister Sylvia was quick to offer back her appreciation to the College community for the immediate support they provided to New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

"In a special way, Emmanuel College students were the first respondents to Hurricane Katrina," she said. "They reached out to our Congregation in a very special way, and I am so happy to be able to say thank you in the name of our community."

Student representatives Linda Picard and Karis Yusavitz, members of the Graduate and Professional Program and the Liberal Arts and Sciences Program, respectively, were selected to speak on behalf of the graduating class. Each offered some words of advice to their fellow graduates.

"In being here today, we all show that we have what it takes to make a commitment to education and learning, regardless of what else is happening in our lives," said Picard. "Life should be about continuous learning. Always thinking about what's next. As the great Mahatma Gandhi once said, 'Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever'"… Celebrate your accomplishments today. But tomorrow, it's time to start thinking about what's next."

"Emmanuel, as an institution, has fostered an environment founded on the words of St. Julie: 'To have hearts as wide as the world,'" said Yusavitz. "We are called to ask the questions that no one else is asking. To think critically about the injustices in our global society… Our Emmanuel education has taught us the importance of community and has modeled for us ways in which we have questioned and developed our values… Now, as we join the one percent of the population as college educated women and men, we take on the responsibility. We, as Emmanuel graduates, are held accountable for the rest of our lives to live the questions, to live our questions for this world."

Sergei Khrushchev Speaks at Wyant Lecture

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Dr. Sergei Khrushchev was the featured speaker for the second installment of the Wyant Lecture Series on March 20th. A senior fellow at Brown University's Watson Institute for International Studies and son of former Soviet Prime Minister Nikita Khrushchev, Dr. Khrushchev discussed "Putin's Russia: A Look at the Current Political Climate and Implications for the Future" with an audience in the Janet M. Daley Library Lecture Hall.

Introduced by Louise Doherty Wyant Professor Dr. Patricia Herlihy as a colleague and friend who is "interested in complicated things," Dr. Khrushchev provided his thoughts on Russia's current political state under President Vladimir Putin, as the country attempts to transition into a democratic nation. Relating the situation to previous efforts by other European countries, Dr. Khrushchev also clarified the conceptual differences between the idea of "democracy" in Russia compared to the United States.

"What's happening in Russia I don't think is easy to understand," he said. "It's not just a different country, it's a different civilization…the transition into democracy is very complicated. It takes a long time."

According to Dr. Khrushchev, one of the bigger issues impeding the process is the lack of development concerning an opposing political party in the current government. Believing there must be separate groups of people within the government that challenge each other, emphasizing the opposing roles of the Democratic and Republican parties in America, Dr. Khrushchev feels the Russian government lacks a fundamental principle that allows a democracy to come to life.

"In Russia, we have a unified people, there is no big group that challenges, and we're slow in this transition," he said. "If there is no such group, it's easy to control the people if they agree with the goodwill of the leader."

Discussing Putin's role in the development of Russia since taking office in 2000, Dr. Khrushchev credited him with bringing order to the country and improving the overall way of life. Putin's influence on the future, however, will depend greatly on the elections in 2008.

A regular commentator for the U.S. media and author of more than 250 books and articles on engineering, computer science, history and economics, Dr. Khrushchev was formerly a fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, and held positions at the Control Computer Institute in Moscow. He earned his Soviet doctoral degree from the Ukrainian Academy of Science, a Ph.D. from the Moscow Technical University, and an M.A. with distinction from the Moscow Electric Power Institute.

Emmanuel Appoints Judith Marley Dean of Graduate and Professional Programs

Emmanuel College will welcome Judith Cox Marley, Ed.D. to the community this summer as the newly appointed Dean of Graduate and Professional Programs (GPP). Dr. Marley will officially join the College on July 9th.

Dr. Marley comes to Emmanuel after serving as the Assistant Dean at Boston University's Metropolitan College, the continuing education unit of the university, since 2003. Prior to Boston University, she was the Vice President of Academic Affairs at New England College of Finance and has also served as a principal and teacher for 15 years in K-12 public schools. She holds an A.B. from Boston College, and an M.Ed. and an Ed.D from the University of Massachusetts.

In her new role at Emmanuel, Dr. Marley will provide strategic leadership for all GPP programs, conducting internal program assessment, leading the curricular review process, examining the marketplace, and developing a vision and framework for partnerships for new and innovative degree and certificate programs. Dr. Marley will also serve as an Associate Professor of Education.

"Dr. Marley's involvement in the community, and her connection to the Sisters of Notre Dame through schooling and the Notre Dame Education Center as a board member, gives her an appreciation of Emmanuel's mission. We are pleased to welcome her to our community," said Sister Janet Eisner, President of Emmanuel College.

Victoria Reggie Kennedy Addresses Gun Violence in Wake of Virginia Tech

Victoria Reggie Kennedy, attorney, author and wife of U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy, came to Emmanuel on April 30th to address "Gun Violence in the Wake of Virginia Tech." Kennedy spoke to a crowd of students, faculty and staff in the Janet M. Daley Library Lecture Hall.

The president and co-founder of Common Sense about Kids and Guns, a non-profit, non-partisan organization created to address the crisis of gun deaths and injuries to children, Kennedy has long been an advocate for stricter firearm laws and regulations in the United States. A member of the board of trustees of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence in which she chairs the board's Program and Strategic Planning Committee, Kennedy has also served on the board of Stop Handgun Violence in Boston, and as a member of the Advisory Committee for the Annual Day of National Concern about Young People and Gun Violence.

A regular lecturer on issues surrounding gun violence, Kennedy's discussions have taken on new meaning in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech massacre, which has further strengthened her belief that stricter regulations should be put in place to keep handguns out of the "wrong hands."

"We have an increasingly violent society and have increasing issues with mental health that haven't been addressed," said Kennedy. "It shouldn't be easier to get guns than it is to get mental health treatment. We need to address this problem and I wonder why we're not taking the steps we are."

During her speech, Kennedy asked the audience to take a moment of silence for the victims of the massacre, paying special tribute to Massachusetts resident Ross Abdallah Alameddine, one of the 32 people killed by gunman Cho Seung-Hui on April 16th on the Virginia Tech campus.

Although Kennedy hopes the incident continues to bring light to the importance of gun violence prevention, she admits there have already been significant strides made that suggest positive change is imminent.

"In the wake of Virginia Tech there's been a universal acceptance, I think for the first time, that there are certain people that shouldn't have firearms," she said. "That is an enormous step forward. If any good can come out of this enormously tragic event it's that no one with mental health issues should be able to purchase firearms."

Emmanuel College Hosts Spring Events for the Center for Mission & Spirituality

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Sister Camilla Burns, SND, Congregational Leader of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, was the featured speaker at Emmanuel College's Founders' Day event on February 22nd. She was present to mark the inauguration of the College's Center for Mission and Spirituality.

On March 15th the Center for Mission and Spirituality sponsored "Supper with the Sisters," a monthly dinner conversation allowing members of the Emmanuel community the opportunity to engage with Sisters of Notre Dame working on the local, national and international levels.

The Center also hosted a lecture by Sister Catherine Patten, R.S.H.M, Coordinator of the Catholic Initiative at the National Pastoral Life Center in New York, on April 11th in the Janet M. Daley Library Lecture Hall. Sister Catherine's lecture was entitled "Can We Talk?: What the Catholic Common Ground Initiative Has Learned About Dialogue in the Last Ten Years."