
Alumni Network at The China Club in NYC
The happy group pictured is just a few of the more than 40 alumni who enjoyed a reception at The China Club in New York City on October 5. Now all New Yorkers, Saint Leo College Prep alumni socialized with alumni from Saint Leo College and more recent grads of Saint Leo University. View more photos


Prep and Holy Name Alumni Reunion
The annual Saint Leo Prep and Holy Name Academy Reunion took place October 16-18. The members of the Golden Classes of 1949 (our 60th year reunion class), 1954 (our 55th year reunion class) and 1959 (our 50th reunion class) were recognized at the Saturday luncheon among 130 alumni and friends who attended.
Each year, the Saint Leo Alumni Association honors graduates for their outstanding achievements. Two members of the Saint Leo Prep and Holy Name community received their 2008-2009 Alumni Association Award at the luncheon... Read More


First Lady Speaks at Florida Campus
Compact Awards Gala
A group of faculty and staff members attended the Florida Campus Compact Gala in Miami on October 15, where the First Lady Michelle Obama gave the keynote address. The Florida Campus Compact is a coalition of more than 50 colleges and universities committed to promoting community service, service-learning and civic engagement. Many member universities of the Florida Campus Compact were invited to receive awards for their school’s service learning programs. Mrs. Obama stressed the importance of service learning in helping young people become service-minded and modeling service as way of life for others.


Tampa Alumni Cheer On Rays, Yankees
Alumni gathered at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, to cheer on the Tampa Bay Rays—or the New York Yankees—on October 3. Rays fans were delighted when their team beat the Yankees 13-4, but everyone had a great time socializing with fellow alumni and their families.
View Photos from Rays vs. Yankees Event.


In Memoriam: Chad L. Michael ’01
Our late alumnus Chad L. Michael ’01, special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration, was one of 10 Americans killed on Monday, October 26, when a U.S. military helicopter carrying seven U.S. Army soldiers, Chad, and two other DEA agents, crashed in western Afghanistan. They were on a joint mission combating narcotics trafficking in support of the U.S. military efforts to secure Afghanistan. Twenty-six other people were injured.
Chad had volunteered for service in Afghanistan. He previously lived in Miami, where he was working for the DEA. Chad began his law enforcement career in 2001 as a deputy with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the same year he earned his bachelor’s degree in criminology from Saint Leo. He stayed with the Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office until 2004, when he achieved his dream of becoming a federal agent. He was 30 years old when he died.
Memorial contributions may be directed toward the DEA Survivors Benefit Fund, 2020 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Postal Mailbox 659, Washington, D.C. 20006. The fund’s website is: www.deamemorial.org.
University Ministry held a Memorial Mass on campus Sunday, November 1, for Chad, in conjunction with the Mass for All Saints Day. The service was heartfelt and well-attended by many of Chad’s college friends in the area, members of the criminal justice faculty, some colleagues from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, as well as President Arthur F. Kirk, Jr., and other university staff members.


Visiting Fellow Speaks About Global
Water Right Issues
Visiting Woodrow Wilson Fellow and former New York Times reporter Joseph Treaster told a Saint Leo University audience that a lack of clean drinking water and adequate sanitation systems are serious worldwide health problems. The dearth of clean drinking water afflicts more than 1 billion people on the planet, and the lack of basic sanitary facilities affects more than twice that number. The problems can be fixed, Treaster said, but so far, governments and most media outlets have failed to turn enough attention and money to these basic human needs.
"This is one of the most under-reported issues of social justice," Treaster said... Read More


Alumni Panel Coaches Students on
Career Networking
The 2009 Fall Professional Networking Event took place Tuesday, October 6, at the main campus. This student-driven initiative managed by the collaboration of the Career Services Department, Alumni Relations Office, and the Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce, provided an opportunity for students to network with alumni and community professionals from a variety of industries. Students gained first-hand knowledge on how to market themselves effectively in a competitive job market and learned tips on transitioning from college student to working professional.
Special thanks to Derek Lloyd ’84, president of the Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce, for serving a second year as master of ceremonies for this program.


Former Faculty Member Receives
Benedictine Spirit Award
The Florida Benedictine Spirit Award was presented to former faculty member Walter Plazewski at the Saint Leo Prep and Holy Name Academy Reunion in October. The award honors individuals with longstanding connections to one or more of Florida’s Benedictine communities.
Walter Plazewski was appointed to the Saint Leo College Preparatory School faculty by headmaster Father Raphael Schooff in the fall of 1950. Serving under Fr. Raphael and his two successors, Fathers Stephen Herrmann and Robert Velten, Plazewski taught English literature to the high school freshmen and sophomores until 1963. With the merging of some of the Prep and Holy Name Academy classes beginning in the fall of 1955, he taught on the Holy Name Academy faculty for most of his academic career... Read More


Florida Teacher of the Year Visits Saint Leo
The university’s new Florida members of Kappa Delta Pi, the international honor society in education, got an extra dose of inspiration at their initiation ceremony on the main campus .
Megan Allen, Florida’s current Teacher of the Year, delivered an upbeat and animated presentation to the 48 new members of the Saint Leo Chapter of Kappa Delta Pi, Alpha Delta Alpha. The student-members, who attended the ceremony along with family members, are completing their degrees at several locations in Florida: the main campus, Gainesville, Lake City, Madison, Ocala, and Palatka. The initiation was the first time Allen had visited the Saint Leo campus... Read More










