SAINT LEO UNIVERSITY

MAY 2008

COL graduation reception

A highlight of commencement weekend each year is the graduation reception for SLU’s Center for Online Learning degree candidates. On May 2, nearly 100 COL students traveled from across the United States and from as far away as Korea and Saudi Arabia to meet their advisors, instructors, and fellow students face-to-face for the very first time.

Click here for more photos.

Lonestar concert photo highlights

Country music band Lonestar played a private concert for students at University Campus April 14. Click here to see photos of the show.

Call for Alumni Board nominations

The Association and Board Development Committee is now accepting nominations for the Saint Leo Alumni Association for the Board of Directors for its 2009-2012 term.

Alumni Association call for 2009 Award nominations

The Alumni Association Awards and Recognitions Committee is now accepting nominations for the 2009 Alumni Awards. Click here to nominate alumni.

Mark your calendar for HC 2009 Homecoming 2009 is already on the books for March 27-29, 2009. If you missed Homecoming 2008, start making plans for 2009. If you attended Homecoming 2008, you know how much fun is in the works!

Class of 1958 Reunion, June 6-8 Saint Leo Prep and Holy Name Academy will celebrate 50 years since their graduation from their respective schools. Weekend events will take place at university campus and Saddlebrook Resort.

Greater Virginia Alumni event, June 29 Whether you graduated 30 years ago, three years ago, or three days ago, gather with alumni from South Hampton Roads and the Virginia Peninsula for a barbeque lunch at Nauticus.

Greater Tampa Bay Young Alumni event, July 19 Saint Leo young alumni will gather in mid-July to network and socialize on the beach. If your class year falls between 1998 and 2008 you are considered young alumni. Check out the alumni website for more details.

Florida alumni late summer receptions Eight picnics and receptions are planned between July 31 and August 10 from Tallahassee to Key West. Whether you attended the main campus, a regional center, or the Center for Online Learning, plan to connect with Saint Leo and other Florida alumni in your area.

Batter up! SLU alumni events at MLB Saint Leo alumni will be gathering at baseball parks across the U.S. this summer to network and socialize with fellow alumni. Check your mail and visit the Alumni Web site frequently to find out when we’re coming to your city! Click here to see pictures from our event at Wrigley Field.

Saint Leo College Prep and Holy Name Academy Reunion, October 2008 Join fellow Prep and HNA alumni for this annual fall event. In October, the classes of 1953 and 1948 will be celebrating 55th and 60th year reunions. For more information about any of these events, please visit http://alumni.saintleo.edu/166.php. To ensure that you are receiving mailings and e-mails about these events please send an e-mail to the Office of Alumni Relations at alumni.relations@saintleo.edu or call (352) 588-8667.

SLU receives SACS approval for MBA program in Hong Kong

Saint Leo University has received official approval from the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)* to offer its Master of Business Administration program in Hong Kong, China.

A partnership between Saint Leo University and the Open Institute of International Education (OIIE) will ensure that the program is a success. “We are very excited with the partnership and look forward to an increased presence in this fast growing region,” says MBA Program Director Dr. Robert Robertson.

Classes are scheduled to begin in the fall of 2008. The program consists of twelve business management courses.

“The MBA is a very important credential in the Far East. OIIE is delighted to be able to work with Saint Leo University,” says Eddy Lau, director of OIIE.

*SACS is located at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033; 404-679-4501)

Sport business students help kick-off Olympic qualifiers

Assistant V.P. for marketing Ed Austin (center) and sport business majors Meaghan Miller and Robbie Vogel

Last month Assistant V.P. for marketing Ed Austin and sport business majors Meaghan Miller and Robbie Vogel staffed the Olympic soccer qualifying games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

As a member of the local organizing committee, Austin invited students as volunteers to experience first-hand the practical side of sport business.  Participating teams included Panama, Cuba, Honduras, and the United States.  The event was internationally televised.

“It is rare that sport business students get to participate in an international event,” said Austin. “We were very pleased to offer our students such a unique learning opportunity.”

Dr. Susan Foster, chair of Saint Leo’s sport business department agrees. “It’s this real-world type of experience that benefits our students immensely, taking them to a higher level of personal growth in the field,” she said. We encourage them to take advantage of every opportunity that comes their way.  Working the event during spring break is a level of commitment many of our students possess.”

Austin assigned Miller to the broadcast area and Vogel to field operations.

Miller indicated that she learned what goes on in the press box operations booth and how events are scripted and timed to the minute. “It was an eye-opening experience, one I am going to carry with me into my future career.”

Vogel said that he learned more about the preparation and dedication it takes to work an international event of this magnitude.  “I could not have asked for a better experience, the organization was impressive.”

Austin said the event was a win-win.  “The United States won the group eventually advancing to Beijing, and our sport business students represented SLU in a positive and professional manner.”

Recent news in photos

Junior Shontal Hilaire with one of her paintings

Junior Shontal Hilaire exhibits one of her paintings at the student art show, just one of the happenings at SLU in April. Click here to see more recent news in photos.

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View highlights of 2008 University Campus Commencement Ceremonies.

Alumni gather for New Jersey-New York reception

Reginald Stanton ’88, his wife Eileen Smith, Frank O’Keefe ’74 & Dave Ostrander.

Alumni enjoyed the hospitality of Trustee Janet Denlinger and her husband Endre Balazs in Fort Lee, New Jersey, on April 16. Their home has a stunning view of the New York City skyline. Pictured at sunset are Reginald Stanton ’88, his wife Eileen Smith, Frank O’Keefe ’74, and Vice President of University Advancement Dave Ostrander. Click here for more photos.

SLCP and HNA Alumni meet in Old Town Alexandria.

Saint Leo College Prep and Holy Name Academy alumni

On April 26 and 27, Saint Leo College Prep and Holy Name Academy alumni gathered for a weekend in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. Highlights included a walking tour of the Lyceum Museum, a group dinner at Gadsby’s Tavern Restaurant, and Mass at Saint Mary Catholic Church.

Saint Leo alumni catch a Cubs game at Wrigley Field

Saint Leo alumni at Wrigley Field

A group of Saint Leo alumni from the Chicago area watched the Cubs beat the Houston Astros 9 to 7 at Wrigley Field on April 5. The group had to chance to reconnect at a reception at D’Agostino’s Pizza and Pub for before heading to the Friendly Confines for the exciting early-season Cubs win. Click here for more photos.

The good works of SERVE 2008

Noted environmentalist Jesús León Santos (front row, center) with SERVE volunteers.

Two events this spring gave the university community another chance to reflect on the good works accomplished by the students, faculty and staff who spend their spring breaks on service trips. In 2008, the growth of the SERVE program, which stands for Students Engaged in Rewarding Volunteer Experiences, was featured during one of the honors presentations on Academic Excellence Day, held April 17 on the university’s main campus. The presentation noted that 76 students participated in the volunteer trips in 2008, an increase of more than 50 percent from the previous year. And the vast majority of student-participants said they would recommend the experience to others, according to the presenters Alicia Ridley and Stephen Kubasek.

Ridley and Kubasek also created a manual that will help future leaders plan and organize trips. In 2008, SERVE participants devoted time to a homebuilding project in east Pasco County; volunteered at a youth project in Atlanta; assisted a food bank in New Jersey; performed conservation work in the Florida Keys, helped with post-Katrina restoration efforts in New Orleans; and pitched in at a variety of social-service and farming projects in the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Mexico.

The 10 volunteers who traveled to a sustainable-farming project in Mexico were able to work alongside a noted environmentalist, Jesús León Santos. Leon has worked with small farmers on practices that combat erosion and restore a strained ecosystem. In April, only a month after the trip participants returned to campus, León was named one of the 2008 recipients of The Goldman Environmental Prize, an honor given by a private foundation to draw national and international attention to the successes of activists around the world.
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SLU Grad starts innovative food roject in Haiti

Laude Saint-Preux ’03 promised himself he would work to alleviate the poverty in his native Haiti ever since he was given the opportunity by a Catholic educator to come to America and study at Saint Leo University. Saint-Preux started by organizing alternative spring breaks to the island to do service work, and then with the help of University Ministry, formally incorporated a non-profit organization, the Haitian Education Project Inc. HEP has provided continuing assistance with clothing, books, and food, often focusing its efforts on the Marie Porte Duciel Orphanage, run by the Sisters of the Holy Cross.

Earlier this year, Saint-Preux decided the orphanage needs more than intermittent shipments of food from America. The administrators need to be able to grow some of its own food - bananas, plaintains and eventually legumes - to supply the orphanage and the community, he concluded. “The key is self-sufficiency. We (the Haitian Education Project) would be glad to be out of business.”

Local government leaders are making land available, and a local agricultural school has promised technical assistance in seeding the crop, he reports. Saint-Preux now wants to follow up by raising the money on campus to purchase the seeds and plant stocks required for the first crop. He is calling it the One Million Pennies campaign. He has placed collection jars around campus to encourage people to donate pennies and other spare change – coins most people won’t miss having, but that collectively can hold real power. He plans to collect the money through early December, then travel to Haiti in January so that a crop can be planted in 2009. Saint-Preux says he is optimistic that this approach will help the orphanage overcome its ongoing food shortage – and serve as a model for other communities in Haiti.

Businesses, church groups, civic organizations, and other alumni interested in participating in the fundraising can contact the treasurer for HEP, Magda Robles, assistant director of University Ministry at (352) 588-8292 or magda.robles@saintleo.edu

Partnerships with industry leaders enhance School of Business programs

Instructor Peter Marian (left) and hotel management students tour Marriott Residence Inn with host General Manager Francesca Garmon.

The idea for a once-in-a-lifetime experience—aptly named the “IHT Aspirational Trip”—was the brainchild of the international hospitality and tourism (IHT) program’s Industry Liaison Council (ILC).

ILC member and trip planner Christine Pierce said, “We selected Atlanta as the destination point for this first trip, because of the diversity of companies and their willingness to meet with Saint Leo students. We are excited about our first trip and have plans to make future experiences even more meaningful and valuable for IHT students.”

	Brian Quinn and Christine Pierce present funds for the IHT Aspirational Trip to Dean Michael Nastanski.

Funding for the IHT Aspirational Trip was provided by the contributions of Chairman, Brian J. Quinn, and a matching corporate grant from his firm, InterContinental Hotels Group.

The School of Business “Professor for a Day” program is another initiative organized by the ILC. In this lecture series, business executives share first-hand experiences and practical advice with students in the classroom. The business leaders prepare a short program that is followed by a question and answer period. Frequently, speakers extend their visit to the university with a campus tour and lunch in the student dining hall. “Affording our students intimate access to business leaders of their stature is a key factor to the program’s success,” said Dr. Stan McGahey, IHT program director.

The program has been such a hit, it quickly expanded across the curriculum. The School of Business now regularly entertains visitors on campus in several majors, including communication management, marketing, entrepreneurship, sport business, and others.

Both the IHT Industry Liaison Council and the Sport Business Advisory Board provide additional benefits through field trip opportunities, internship placements, and curriculum reviews. Venues such as the Columbia Restaurant, Saddlebrook Resort, AAA Auto Club, Raymond James Stadium, and major hotel properties have welcomed our students for behind-the-scenes tours and meetings with site management. Host agencies including Busch Gardens, Tampa Convention Center, Tampa Bay Rays, and USF Athletic Department have extended internship placement opportunities for our student majors. Both councils provide valuable insight and commentary on our program offerings. The Sport Business Advisory Board was instrumental in the design of our graduate MBA with a concentration in sport business.

“Using their feedback and suggestions to strengthen our programs and offer rewarding student experiences, ultimately translating into creating great students, has been a perfect execution of what we had hoped to achieve in establishing these councils,” said Dean Nastanski. “Each group’s role is assisting to fulfill that mission.”