Calendar

September 19, 2012  *  Philadelphia, PA 
Networking Reception with Kania SOM Students

October 2, 2012  *  Scranton, PA
Kania SOM Business Recruiting Expo

October 4, 2012  *  New York, NY
Eleventh Annual Award Dinner

October 25, 2012  *  Washington, D.C.
Networking Reception with Kania SOM Students

Unless noted, dates are final and invitations will be mailed for each event.

PBC News

• The PBC Office completed the Annual Award Dinner-related events over the past month.  The Dinner Kickoff was held on May 30 at the New York Athletic Club.  "Meet the Honoree" Receptions followed on campus in Scranton on June 4 and in Philadelphia on June 6 at The Villanova Conference Center.  Mary Beth Farrell '79, Chair of the PBC, spoke about the focus and future of the PBC and offered welcoming comments to this year's Honorees.  Attendees also heard a University Update from Kevin P. Quinn, S.J., University President.  Tim Pryle '89, Executive Director of PBC, provided a PBC Dinner update and Honoree introduction.  All events were well attended and allowed local PBC members, alumni and friends to network and to meet members of the Lynett-Haggerty Family.
• Patricia A. Byrnes Clifford ’86, Global Chief Talent Officer for Arnoldworldwide, and Joseph M. Vaszily ’95, Vice President-Fixed Income Sales & Trading for Goldman, Sachs & Co., are the Dinner Co-Chairs for this year’s Eleventh Annual Award Dinner.  They will oversee the fundraising and logistical activities leading up to the October 4 gala.
• Thomas P. O'Brien '86, Managing Partner at SumRidge Partners LLC, has accepted the role of Chair of the PBC to begin after the October Annual Award Dinner. A founding member of the PBC Executive Committee, Tom has served as a Vice Chair of the PBC since 2008.  Tom will succeed Mary Beth Farrell ‘79, who has been dedicated to establishing a more formal Leadership Succession Plan, which will also include enhanced roles for the Vice Chairs.
• On April 26-27 the PBC conducted a Business Networking Trip to Boston with 12 students from the Kania SOM.  Upon our arrival Thursday evening, students, local PBC Members and alumni gathered at The University of Massachusetts Club for a Networking Reception.  Networking Receptions provide students with the opportunity to interact with alumni to further enhance the students' "soft skills" for professional development.  Friday following the reception, students visited with individual PBC Members in their places of business.
• This Fall the PBC has scheduled Business Networking Trips to Philadelphia (Sept. 19) and Washington, D.C., (Oct. 25-26) for students in the Kania SOM.  Each trip will consist of visits with individual PBC Members at their places of business throughout the day to learn about their career experiences, current roles and industries.  The trips will include a PBC Reception with students, local PBC Members and alumni.  If you are interested in hosting a group of students in your place of business, please contact the PBC office (570-941-5850 or PBC@scranton.edu).
• The new Assistant Dean of the Center for Practical Learning in the Kania SOM began on June 18.  Robert J. Sheridan is a native of Scranton who is returning to the area after living in New England for over 30 years.  His background includes leadership positions at The Beacon Companies, Raymond Properties, TILAF Industries, Alpha Flying and as Senior VP at Fidelity Investments.  In his role as Assistant Dean, Bob will be responsible for developing and supporting the Kania School's co-curricular initiatives, including the Kania Passport, internships and co-ops, student mentoring and executive-in-residence programs.

Member Highlights

Jim Brown '88, Senior Vice President of Digital Marketing for Merrill Edge and Preferred Banking Segment of Bank of America, hosted a group of Kania SOM students in his Boston-based Bank of America office during the recent Business Networking Trip.  In addition to explaining his current role and career progression, Jim spoke passionately about building your own personal brand.  He stressed to the students that they must be mindful of this brand early in their college careers.

Michael Fairbanks '79, Co-Founder of the SEVEN Fund and current Fellow in the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University, hosted Kania SOM students at the Weatherhead Center in Cambridge.  Michael arranged and presided over a panel of three other Fellows in the program that discussed characteristics of leadership as they viewed them from their diverse professional backgrounds.  Panelists included: Stephen J. Mariano, U.S. Army Colonel, who most recently served in Italy as the U.S. Army G5 Director of Strategic Plans, Policies and Assessments; Nancy Polutan, lawyer and humanitarian, who has spent the past decade working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; and, Mark Slocum, U.S. Air Force Colonel, who most recently served as Senior Advisor to the Iraqi Air Force.

Patrick Kane '89 has served as Chairman of the Wakefield Funds, and the Alternative Mutual Fund platform, since its founding in 2011.  Prior to co-founding Wakefield Funds, Pat spent 10 years at Oppenheimer Asset Management and was the Head of Alternative Investments prior to his departure.

Megan Morgan '95 was named the Senior Director for the Golf division at Wasserman Media Group in New York City.  Wasserman Media Group is a sports marketing, global media and consulting company.  The Golf division spans athlete management to sponsor investment support.  Megan joins Wasserman after 15 years with Titleist.

Jim Mullery '86 has joined BlackRock as the Managing Director and Head of Separately Managed Accounts.  He will be working out of both the Princeton, NJ, and New York City locations.

Dan Shea '83, Vice President of Storage Sales and Solutions at IBM, and Brian Scheld '78, Distinguished Engineer at IBM Global Business Services, hosted Kania SOM students on April 27 in the IBM Corporate Offices in Waltham, MA.  During this meeting Dan and Brian offered their personal journeys since Scranton and reiterated to the students how important it is to maintain your network, particularly your “Scranton” network.  They also discussed the strong and innovative corporate culture of an organization which has transformed considerably during their careers.

University News

• Commencement was held on May 26-27.  The University of Scranton conducted the Graduation ceremonies for the undergraduate and graduate degree programs.  Morey Myers, Esq., received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree and delivered the Keynote Remarks at the graduate ceremony during which the University conferred the largest class of Master's Degrees in its history.   Sister Patricia Eck, C.B.S., Congregation Leader of the Sisters of Bon Secours and Chairperson of Bon Secours, Inc./Bon Secours Ministries Board of Directors, delivered the Commencement address at the undergraduate ceremony.
• The Fulbright Scholarship tradition continues at the University.  This year, four students were awarded Fulbright U.S. Student Program Scholarships for the 2012-2013 academic year. Press Release
• A group of Kania SOM and College of Arts & Sciences students placed fourth in their district in the 2012 American Advertising Federation’s National Student Advertising Competition. Press Release
• The University of Scranton celebrated another successful Reunion Weekend on June 8-10.  During this weekend former classmates came together on campus to reconnect with one another and the University.  If you attended reunion this year you may find your photo here.
• On April 19 Kevin P. Quinn, S.J., President of The University of Scranton hosted a reception and demonstration of the Bloomberg Financial Education Project for 80 local business people, alumni and friends of the University in the Irwin E. Alperin Financial Center. This event marked the launch of a University effort to expand the functionality of the Alperin Financial Center.
• The University of Scranton and The Commonwealth Medical College completed their exploration phase and formally announced that there would be no merger between the two schools.  To read more about this announcement on May 21 you can view the Press Release.
• Final Dedication for Loyola Science Center has been scheduled for September 28.
• The University of Scranton was ranked as the 25th "Healthiest" College in the U.S. by Greatist.com. Press Release