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Spring 95

ol 12, No. 3

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A RECORD OF GROWTH
In sheer physical terms, Mercyhurst has grown substantially since its founding almost 70 years ago. A college which began as one building in southeast Erie now includes 46 buildings on 50 acres and another 84 acres and five buildings on the Mercyhurst-North East campus. A student body which began with 25 undergraduate women in 1926 has grown to 2,467 students, including 75 graduate students. A college once confined to the tri-state region has grown to include 1,430 women and 1,074 men from 32 states and 20 foreign countries. A college operating budget of $8.6 million just ten years ago has grown to $26 million today, with a payroll of close to $10 million for 310 full-time employees. Some indicators which measure Mercyhurst's progress include: Strong admission picture as demonstrated by the number of freshman applicants. 1,500 students applied to Mercyhurst for admission in 1994 compared to 700 applicants in 1984. Strong student academic credentials, such as those possessed by the 1994 freshman class which entered with a 3.2 class QPA, and which had an SAT mean of 991 compared to the national average of 902 and Pennsylvania average of 879. Strong financial support from a 3,000-person donor base that has tripled in size from ten years ago and which produced $1 million in 1993 and again in 1994, earning the college a national CASE award for overall fund-raising improvement. Strong alumni annual giving participation of 30.2% which compares well to the national average of 22.5% for private comprehensive colleges. Strong endowment growth which has increased to $4.5 million in 1994 from $234,000 ten years ago. Impressive plant facilities resulting in 60% of the entire Mercyhurst campus constructed in the last seven years. This extensive $20 million plant growth and renovation program has produced dramatic changes to the face of the campus All these measurements support the progress of an institution committed to continuing the dream of its founders to achieve greatness high on the hill overlooking Lake Erie.

Mercvhurst
M /\ Vol 12, No. 3 C. /\ Z I M L. Spring 95

Taylor Little Theatre Named

Mercyhurst Ranked Among Top Northern Liberal Arts Colleges

Chairman, Board of Trustees F. William Hirt President Dr. William P. Garvey Editor Mary Daly '66 Assistant Editor Yvonne Maher '93 Feature Writers Ed Hess '92 Don McQuaid Jerry Trambley Larie Pintea '92 Patrick Ponticel Photographers Ed Bernik John Fontecchio 77 Mercyhurst Archives Cover Photo Ed Bernik Design Tal,lnc

Mercyhurst's Indiana Jones

Final Curtain on Canterbury Feast

About the cover: 1994-95 was the most allaround successful year in Mercyhurst athletics since Laker sports were introduced in 1970. Three Laker teams claimed regional championship titles: men's hockey and the women's soccer and basketball teams. Leading their teams to victory as regional Players of the Year are 1-r: Lady Laker forward Teresa Szumigala, Erie, PA; Laker goaltender Scott Barber, Troy, NY; and Lady Laker midfielder Tracy Cross, Limerick, Ireland.
The Mercyhurst Magazine is published by the External Affairs Office of Mercyhurst College, Glenwood Hills, Erie, PA 16546. Telephone (814) 824-2285.

New Stations of the Cross at Mercyhurst-North East

Send change of address to William Smith, Computer Center, Mercyhurst College, Erie, PA 16546.

CONTINUING THE DREAM

or a while at least, it looked like "the impossible dream." As the result of unprecedented growth in recent years, Mercyhurst was in immediate need of $6 million worth of additions and improvements to the main campus. But because of fund-raising guidelines established in the greater Erie community, the college could not launch a public capital campaign until 1999. It was then that Mercyhurst President Dr. William P. Garvey recalled, in its entirety, the quote from Horace from which the college's motto, Carpe Diem, is taken: "Even now whilst we are talking, grudging time pursues his flight. Seize the day, and trust as little as thou mayest to tomorrow's light." Dr. Garvey explained, "In the wake of the two most successful fund-raising years in the history of the college, with over a million dollars raised both years, we felt our momentum was so strong that we couldn't afford to wait another four years to launch a campaign.

alumni and supporters to achieve the ambitious goals identified in the college's long-range plans. He said that the campaign had received a tremendous boost through the generosity of the college board of trustees, who had pledged $4 million during the quiet phase of the campaign; and from members of the college community who had pledged $205,732. He outlined the goals of the Continuing the Dream campaign as: An enlarged concert hall, projected at $3,200,000. An addition to the college library, estimated at $2 million. Equipment for Zurn Hall and a remodeled facility for human ecology, projected at $500,000. An endowment for a School of Business, $500,000.

Sisters of Mercy circa 1930

"We felt there was sufficient support to raise the needed funds from the extended Mercyhurst family and close friends to conduct a private campaign," he explained. The Continuing the Dream campaign was launched Sept. 14,1994 at a gala party for the college community. Dr. Garvey announced at the gathering that college officials wished to raise $6,250,000 among members of the Mercyhurst family,

According to Dr. Garvey, "Mercyhurst's past accomplishments were achieved by persons who understood tomorrow's possibilities. Our future accomplishments must be achieved by those who possess the same sort of vision to continue the dream of the Sisters of Mercy, who founded Mercyhurst 68 years ago, to create a great college on the hill."

e are bombarded with images of all kindson large screens and small, in the print media, on billboards and, now, on the Information Super Highway. They hold our attention for a few moments or hours and then recede, an endless succession that ultimately neither enlightens nor sustains us. The theme of the Campaign for Mercyhurst is Continuing the Dream "dream" as defined by Webster's is "a visionary creation of the imagination"... "a strongly desired goal or purpose"... "an ideal." How different are the images that now come to mindimages that are not manufactured or manipulated by man, images that do not assail us but arise quietly in the mind's eye, of a Mother Superior journeying by car to Erie from Titusville, no small task in 1922, with a dream of establishing a college for women. Images of Sisters of Mercy 1994 Mercyhurst's visionary but no-nonsense founder, Mother Borgia Egan, as she stands on an undeveloped tract of land on a lonely hill overlooking Lake Erie and dares to believe that a great college will someday stand there. Images of the Sisters of Mercy scurrying through the halls of Old Main as they attempt to put the finishing touches on the building so it can open in time for its firstever academic year, 1926-1927. (The workmen had gone on strike; the Sisters completed the work on time). Images of Mercyhurst students, in class and at play, as they appeared in the distinctive clothing of the eight decades during which the college has existed, from the Roaring Twenties to the Contented Fifties to theso far at leastGroping Nineties. Indeed, all of us who have been affiliated with the college, in whatever capacity, have our own little set images that somehow capture for us the specialness of our experience in a place called Mercyhurst College. And while these images differ from decade to decade and from person to

person, there is a core of images that will never change. Old Main will forever stand where it has from the time of its building, facing the magnificent, unpredictable lake. The autumns will continue to be especially beautiful and the winters harsh. And all the students to come will struggle, and grow, and complain and maybe fall in love in much the same way as those who have come before. And beneath these imagesat the heart of them, reallyis the dream that began with Mother Borgia and was taken up by her successors, a dream that has given rise to a certain way of looking at life, a deep respect for the vocation of teaching, a sincere belief in the education of the whole person, and a tradition of service to the greater community. Plus that indefinable something more, something deeper than the obvious, more subtle than the factual, that has been felt by so many who have spent time at the collegethe "Mercyhurst Mystique." But in order for the dream to continue, in order for it to be passed on to the students of the next generation and beyond, we must provide those tangible things the buildings, the state-of-the-art equipment, the scholarships and the increased endowmentthat will enable Mercyhurst to remain vibrant and competitive as it enters the threshold of the 21st century. So our mission is clear. Yes, it will be a challenge, for, as we have noted, the times are not kindly to dreams. But thanks to our founder and to the Mercy Sisters of the past, we know what to do: get busy, keep working, andmost importantly pull together so that the Mercyhurst of tomorrow may open on time.

FROM VISION TO BRICKS

by Don McQuaid

CAMPAIGN'S FIRST $1 M I L L I O N GIFT

ercyhurst received its first $1 million gift to the Continuing the Dream campaign from college trustee Dr. Barrett C. Walker and his wife, Catherine, of Erie. The gift will be used to establish the Walker School of Business and the Catherine McDonough Walker Research Center. The Walker gift was announced by Dr. William P. Garvey, college president, who said, "We are extremely gratified by the generosity of Dr. and Mrs. Walker. We have long dreamt of establishing an endowed School of Business at Mercyhurst and the Walker gift will make this dream a reality." Garvey explained the college business division currently enrolls more than 400 students, the largest number of any major at the college. "It will be equally gratifying for us to name our planned library addition the Catherine McDonough Walker Research Center," Dr. Garvey said. He explained that the 11,000 sq. ft. addition will give the college badly needed space for developing a library to meet the needs of the 21st century. Groundbreaking for the new addition is projected for May 1996 to coincide with the current library's 25th anniversary. Dr. Walker, a native of Pittsburgh, has been a member of the Mercyhurst board

Academy. "I have always felt a special bond with the Sisters of Mercy," Mrs. Walker explained. "They were excellent teachers, health care professionals, and social justice advocates. On a personal level, I am fond of their heritage, which traces back to Ireland, my parent's homeland." She continued, "I can think of no finer group of religious, academic and staff leaders to be affiliated with and I am tremendously proud and honored to lend my name to Mercyhurst's proposed new information center." Catherine added, "Barrett and I feel enriched by our association with the college and the Sisters of Mercy and we are proud to be a part of continuing their dream."

$2 Million Anonymous Gifts

Catherine and Barrett Walker

wo other $1 million dollar gifts from two college trustees were given to the college with the stipulation that the donors remain anonymous. Their gifts totaling $2 million will be used toward the construction of the planned Concert Hall on the Mercyhurst campus. Dr. Garvey noted that these million dollar gifts also came from two Erieites. "It's a fine example of the kind of civic generosity that Erie needs if it is to develop outstanding institutions," Dr. Garvey said. Gary L. Bukowski, vice president of institutional advancement, who is

library addition

of trustees for 12 years. He attended Washington and Jefferson College and the University of Pittsburgh School of Dentistry. Following a tour of duty with the U.S. Air Force, he moved to Erie in 1956, where he practiced dentistry for 20 years and became an investment entrepreneur. His wife's ties to the Sisters of Mercy date back to her elementary and high school days in Pittsburgh, where she graduated from the former Mt. Mercy

Artist's rendering of Mercyhurst's Concert Hall deft), which will adjoin the D'Angelo School of Music shown at the right

directing the campaign, said that these latest million dollar anonymous gifts will ensure the construction of the enlarged Concert Hall, projected to cost $3.2 million, including equipment. The college will begin construction in mid-May, and hopes to have the building completed by February 1996. Mercyhurst has long dreamt of a new Concert Hall to enhance the cultural activities of the college, particularly in the performing arts. Currently, Mercyhurst uses the Zum Recital Hall, built in 1968, and the Taylor Little Theatre, built in 1953, for its music, dance and theatre productions. Those facilities seat only 250 people each and were built for a school of 500. Enrollment at Mercyhurst today is 2,467 students, and this space limitation forces the college to go off-campus when it sponsors major productions. Plans for Mercyhurst's new Concert Hall call for converting the present Zum Recital Hall into a 900-seat auditorium, with 640 seats on the main level and 250 seats in the balcony, including six private boxes. It will be located on Mercyhurst's back campus and will connect with two existing facilities, Zurn Hall to its north and the DAngelo School of Music to its east. "With these latest two gifts, we are over the $5 million mark in the campaign to raise $6 million by June 30, 1995," Bukowski explained. He added, "The support from friends and supporters of the college has been absolutely gratifying."

ong-standing trustee, J. Robert Baldwin, one of Erie's most prominent citizens, and his wife, Ruth, have given the Baldwin family home at 3857 State St. to Mercyhurst College as their donation to the Continuing the Dream campaign. The Georgian colonial home, built in 1953, is valued in the mid-$300,000 range. College officials will sell the house and use the proceeds toward the construction of the Concert Hall. The home is one of the signature houses in the prestigious upper State Street residential area, where the Baldwins raised their six children. Situated on almost a one acre plot, the two-story brick house has 4,863 square feet of living space. "Bob Baldwin has been a friend of Mercyhurst College for more than four decades," said Dr. Garvey. "He first became involved with the college under the presidency of Sr. Carolyn Herrmann," he explained. "It is most appropriate that Bob and Ruth would deed their magnificent home on State to us as part of our capital campaign to 'continue the dream1 of the Sisters of Mercy, with whom the Baldwins' connection to the college began." Baldwin Residence Hall on the Mercyhurst campus, built in 1970, was named to honor the memory of J. Robert Baldwin's aunt, Mabel Baldwin, who raised him. The Baldwin gift is part of the $4 million in contributions made to the campaign by members of the college's board of trustees. One of the Baldwin's four sons, John, is a member of the college's President's Associates. He taught at the college for four years and is married to Mary Gail Ambron 74. His sisters, Beth and Regina, both attended Mercyhurst Prep, and Regina also studied at the college.

BALDWIN HOME GIVEN TO COLLEGE

J. Robert Baldwin

LITTLE THEATRE NAMED

ister M. Eustace Taylor was honored on Oct. 16, when the college's Little Theatre was renamed the Taylor Little Theatre. Sister has been affiliated with Mercyhurst for more than 60 years. At the dedication ceremony, Sister Eustace was described as a woman who has distinguished herself as a religious and educational leader and as the keystone of the liberal arts at Mercyhurst. She was honored for her fierce commitment to the liberal arts and for always insistingin her quiet but "steely" waythat the college keep the Mercy spirit of elegance on which its uniqueness has always been grounded. Carolyn Cairns Brabender *50, a former student of Sister Eustace, described her as "a scholar, a master teacher, a former superior of the Sisters of Mercy, past chair of the English department, a former president of the college, a lover of the arts, and a valued friend." Brabender may have earned one final "A" for her description of Sister's teaching, "She polished each of

us like fine silver. Her expressive eyes sometimes punctuated an important idea, concern or approval, and often they twinkled in amusement." Sister Eustace was elected superior of the Sisters of Mercy in 1954 and headed Mercyhurst College from 1954 until 1960 as its fifth president. During her presidency, she was responsible for the initiation of the cadet teaching program, which was

Taylor Little Theatre in Weber Memorial

classrooms of the Erie Diocesan schools following an intense accelerated academic honors program. Also while she was president of the college, Mercyhurst received its first grant from the Ford Foundation, which was used to improve faculty salaries, and its first federal funding which supported the construction of the McAuley Residence Hall in 1959. Barry McAndrew, who was hired at the college when Sister Eustace was chair of the English department, stated, "Thirtyone years ago, as a new, young, frightened teacher, it was nice to know that I had one of the best, one of the strongest, one of the most devoted leaders of the school as my mentor, and that this was a person I could learn a great deal from." He added, "Sister Eustace has given Mercyhurst a sense of beauty and dedication to the highest goalexcellence."

the first form of financial aid at the college. This educational program placed Mercyhurst student cadet teachers in the

ERCYHURST RANKED AMONG TOP NORTHERN LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES

he 1995 edition of U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges," ranks Mercyhurst among the top 20 regional liberal arts colleges in the North. "It's definitely a breakthrough for the college to be ranked in the top tier of liberal arts colleges in the Northern region," said Mercyhurst Dean of Enrollment Services Andrew Roth. "Ratings by no means convey the whole story, but when used in conjunction with other kinds of information, they can help provide a better overall picture of the institution," Roth explained. The rankings for the 1,400 colleges in the guide were partially based on a survey of 2,800 college officials who were asked to place each school in one of four quartiles or tiers based on the school's academic form and reputation. The educational data supplied by the college described graduation rates, applicant rejection levels, percentages of faculty with terminal degrees, alumni giving participation, and educational expenditures per student.

"This ranking is a reflection of the combined efforts of the entire Mercyhurst communityfaculty, students, administration, staff and alumniand fits well with our long-range plans for the school," Roth noted. He said it is difficult to make a clear comparison between this year's rating and last year's because until 1995, Mercyhurst was placed in another category, specifically, regional colleges and universities. Roth explained, "Last year we were ranked in the third tier of regional colleges and universities, but beginning this year, they changed the criteria for some categories and Mercyhurst is now evaluated as a regional liberal arts college, which certainly is a more accurate reflection of who we are and what others think of us." He attributed the ranking to increased academic standards, the geographic diversity of candidates for admission, the growing academic reputation of several of the school's key programs, and the college as a whole.

"This validates what we have been trying to accomplish in recent years and will certainly help as we continue to raise our academic standards," Roth said. "Our ranking in this year's guide is based in part on information for the 1993 freshman class. The 1994 class is even stronger, so I look for us to be able to at least sustain, if not improve, this position," he said. Colleges and universities listed in the 1995 guide are divided into five categories: national universities, national liberal arts colleges, regional colleges and universities, regional liberal arts colleges, and specialized institutions. In addition to Mercyhurst, other schools ranked in the top tier of Northern regional liberal arts colleges include Elizabethtown, Grove City College, Kings College, Lebanon Valley, LeMoyne, Lycoming, St. Anselm and Stonehill.

f all the gizmos that Dr. James Adovasio uses to learn what life was like thousands of years ago for America's early inhabitants, a $30,000 infrared surveying device may be his favorite. But what the head of the Mercyhurst Archaeological Institute really needs is a time machine. It would give this student of high-tech gadgetry a picture of the past that he's had to reconstruct through years of digging around in the dirt at Meadowcroft Rockshelter. As the name implies, the site is sheltered from the elements by natural overhanging rock formations. Located 30 miles southwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, near the town of Avella, Meadowcroft is widely regarded as the oldest archaeological site in the Western Hemisphere. The down side of the time-machine approach is that it would take all the fun out of archaeology. Painting a picture of early American life by finding bits of it buried deep in the ground, and then figuring out how that picture is relevant, is more fulfilling than painting by numbers. But there's a much less complex explanation why Adovasio keeps himself kneedeep in artifacts. "There clearly are things to be learned about the past that are applicable to the future," said the 50-year-old native of Youngstown, Ohio. "That's not why I do it. I do it simply because I like it." Far from being trapped in a onedimensional world, Adovasio has developed diverse interests along the way to becoming the world's foremost authority on prehistoric basketry. "I still do the same things I did in high school for recreation. I lift weights and I race motorcycles," said the salt-andpepper-haired muscle man who was a grappler on the University of Arizona wrestling team in the 1960s. "Everything I've ever done is done with the same kind of intensity and same devotion to preparation, execution and detail. It really is immaterial whether you're talking about something as simple as tuning a carburetor, or getting ready to bench press 500 pounds, or getting ready to go back to Meadowcroft."

Well educated and well spoken, Adovasio cuts an imposing intellectual figure.
His formal style of conversation at media gatherings belies his easy-going way among friends. "Archaeology isn't conducted the way it is by Indiana Jones in the movies," Adovasio said at a press conference. "It isn't a matter of wrenching an attractive artifact out of the ground and saying, This is neat.'" Ambiguous words like "neat" don't fit into the English with which Adovasio expresses himself at media gatherings. At a recent dig site press conference, one reporter asked what was the "neatest thing" ever excavated there. tu Really neat' takes a lot of shapes here," he said with one foot propped up on a boulder in the middle of the dig as excavators scratched away at the perimeter. "We found the remains of a dog that was killed in a rock fall or that was intentionally interred. At the time, we thought that was 'really neat."' Adovasio continued, "Joe Yedlowksi, who serves as the director of the Mercyhurst Archaeological Institute's satellite program in Dallas, Texas, found the oldest projectile point that had ever been excavated in North America. We thought that was a 'really neat' thing. Some of the basketry that came from the site is some of the earliest basketry ever found in the eastern United States. We thought that was a 'really neat' thing. "But to someone in the laboratory studying a soil sample from the rockshelter, the definition of 'neat' is much more esoteric," he said.

What Adovasio does not consider a neat thing is when the media focuses on the rockshelter's extremely old age to the exclusion of other important aspects of the dig and archaeology in general. No archaeological site in the western hemisphere has produced evidence reflecting continual use over such a long period about 16,000 years. He said most archaeological sites reflect much shorter periods. Adovasio said the techniques used at the Meadowcroft dig were so advanced during the initial excavations in the mid-1970s that they still are state-of-theart today. "We do archaeology as well as it can be done, and that is tremendously satisfying," he said. The idea of taking the how-to-doit part of the field and pushing it out further and further so you can learn more and more is what's intrinsically exciting, not the individual bits of data collected. "Some people ask me what's the most exciting thing about this place, and it's this place that's the most exciting thing, not any one item in it," he said. The bulk of the excavations at Meadowcroft were done in the 1970s. Adovasio and his crew returned this year to repair damage from water that penetrated the rockshelter's man-made enclosure and eroded parts of the dig. Adovasio was born shortly after his father died in World War II. He credits his mother, Lena, with steering him at a young age toward a career in archaeology. Adovasio earned his Ph.D. at the University of Utah in 1967 and worked as a professor at Youngstown State University until 1972. He was hired at the University of Pittsburgh in 1973 and at Mercyhurst College in 1990. But Adovasio isn't one to flaunt his credentials. Once the dig's doors close, he eschews archaeological discussion. It may consume himbut not 24 hours a day.

Patrick Ponticel is a reporter for the Obsemer-Reporter in Washington, PA.

11

OUT IN A BLAZE OF ART

AND

FINGER LICKIN' CHICKEN

by Jerry Trambley

ifteen years ago, Igor Stalsky had an idea that he thought "just might work in Erie/' a medieval dinner theater where the guests would eat with their fingers while enjoying a play. He called it a Canterbury Feast. "I thought its initial success might be a flash in the pan here, but I was wrong. Every year the crowds keep coming. But while we are at our peak, we are going to make this, our 15th summer, our last and most memorable Canterbury at Mercyhurst. "We want to go out in a blaze of glory," Stalsky chuckles. Certainly, his cast wants it to be their best. Although being the founder and director of the Canterbury Feast may be what Stalsky is best known for in the Erie

community, he has been a teacher at Mercyhurst for 30 years. His career on and around the stage has included writing plays, some acting in the early years, and directing plays each year as a member of the Theatre Department. Stalsky's association with Mercyhurst started back in his own college days when he

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was one of the first males allowed to take classes at the hilltop school, which was then all-female. The administrations of Gannon Universitythen a mostly male collegeand Mercyhurst had agreed to let men take classes at Mercyhurst if the classes weren't available at the downtown campus. Stalsky was studying French and Russian culture and literature at Gannon. He said the late Sister Brigid Gallagher, who was directing theater at the time, "...spotted people with pants on and said she could use them in the theater. She sweet-talked her way into putting my friends and me on the stage. We were pretty terrible. She flattered us all the way, so we came back until we got the bug," he said.

12

"My love of theater was born then, through flattery and deceit," he mused. But Stalsky's career as a thespian was short-lived. "As a favor to the audiences, I realized I should be in the background or behind stage," he said. Stalsky, 53, was born in Warsaw, Poland of Russian parents, and as the | Soviet armies moved west, so did his family. He spent his school years, from 6 to 17, in Paris, France. His family came to the United States and settled in Erie because they had a sponsor here. He went to East High School for his senior year before heading on to Gannon for a i bachelor's degree, and then a master's in Russian literature from Case Western Reserve in Cleveland. His travels and studies gave him the background for some-^ thing else Sister Brigid wantedtranslations of Russian and other plays. Stalsky translated Choke's "The Three Sisters" for her, which was produced by her successor Kathleen McManus Kraus '65. In 1964, Stalsky joined the 'Hurst faculty as a teacher in the French Department. But as French studies became less popular with students, he started teaching French literature in translation, then world literature, comparative literature and dramatic literature. "Somewhere through the years, the Theatre Department was created and I became the dramatic literature end of it. I did a lot of translating from French and Russian and wrote some plays." Years later, another member of the department, the late Paul Iddings, encouraged him to direct a show. "I did and it was a very good experience. I kept on coming back to do that," Stalsky said. He would produce and direct two or three plays a year. "I found it was quite enjoyable and then, in the midst of the whole thing, came the Canterbury

music. "It spelled out the medieval world for me and I wanted to put on something medieval," he explained. Stalsky says the success of the Canterbury Feast in the Erie area is due in part to the fact that he makes sure good food is served. But he admits part of the mystique is just the idea that the audience has to eat without forks and spoons. I "It wouldn't be the same if you handed out flatware," he said. Another part of the success is the I involvement of the actors with the I audience. The players don't just speak [ their lines, they also serve the food and, according to Stalsky, they really enjoy it. Stalsky has hopes for the Theatre Department at Mercyhurst that don't include the Canterbury Feast or even his directing the program. "Since Mercyhurst now has such strong music and dance contingents, I would like to see the department spearhead a major in musical theater. The person I would like to hire would be a specialist in musical theater who is conversant with dance, voice and directing," he said. T d like to nudge the Theatre Department in that direction. "As for me, I would like to go back to my first lovewriting."
For his lifelong achievement and for his outstanding accomplishments as the founder and director of Erie's longest running dinner theatre, the Erie Theater Arts Institute has inducted Stalsky into its Hall of Fame and presented him with the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award.

anterbury Feast

I
Feast," he said. His inspiration, he said, was a song called "Tiny Little Boy" that comes at the end of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night." Stalsky said the lines and the words weren't what caught his fancy, it was the tone, mood and the

The final season of Canterbury Feast at Mercyhurst will be on the weekends of June 2, 3, 4; 9, 10, 11; and 16, 17, 18. This year's production will be "The Merry Men of Sherwood," which Stalsky describes as a thinly disguised version of "Pirates of Penzance." Ticket cost per person: Fridays $29; Saturdays $30; Sundays $27. For reservations call (814) 824-2347. Seating at tables of eight. No children under 12.

13

GENESIS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT SCHOOL RECIPE FOR AN IDEA

Teaspoon of Musings, Tablespoon of Chili, and a Cup of Courage
by Larie Pintea

t was a rather nondescript dining table. Scarred by at least two generations of Mercyhurst people, ensconced in a corner of the main dining room, it was the place for people who wanted company while eating dinner, a place to complain or propose. If there was a single place on the Mercyhurst campus where ideas simmered and floated to the surface, this roundtable was it. Only a couple of tables at Herman's Cafe, a near-campus watering spot, could match it for collective vitality. Even some of the braver seniors of the college would plunk down a loaded food tray, settle quietly into a hardback chair, and tune big ears to the faculty shakers and movers. It was winter 1970-71 and ideas were popping up with an alacrity only coeducation could introduce. College Dean Dr. William Garvey was deftly downing a bowl of chili, while searching aloud for programs to be aimed at the new male students on campus.

Crew coach Larie Pintea, who only minutes before had returned his sweatsuited oarsmen from the bay, made a suggestion: why not a program to properly train police officers? He had listened to Erie Chief of Police Sam Gemelli complain for years about the lack of training for street officers and police administrators. Most new cops got a gun, a stick and a badge, and went immediately on the streets, to learn the hard way, often the wrong way, tutored by older officers who too often were ill-prepared themselves. Garvey, who was taken with the idea, mused, "Teach cops?" Then came the questions: Who needs this police training? People who are considering law enforcement as careers? Why not educate in-service police officers? And why not active duty officers who want to expand their law enforcement education by getting a college degree? The bowl of chili was finished that evening but not before the idea had been

expanded into a concept for a full law enforcement school. Only two days later, now outlined on paper in typical Garvey style, the concept was presented to President Sister Carolyn Herrmann. "Will it fly? Can we find the money to get it off the ground? Who would head such a new school?" President Herrmann wanted to know. "It must be someone with high professional stature in order to bring students here," she charged. In a matter of only a few days her questions were answered. Police departments in northwestern Pennsylvania were then queried by Pintea and Chief Gemelli. The Mercyhurst program would be unique. No such degree program geared for men and women with police badges existed in Pennsylvania. The big question facing the proposed school was where we would find $75,000 to get the new program off the ground. We contacted Pennsylvania's U.S. Senator Hugh Scott, in Washington. He not only

14

"I was deputy director of the Pennsylvania Governor's Justice Commission at the time. I got this urgent call from a newspaper editor (Pintea) who told me they had a major problem with the new law enforcement schoolthe senior senator from Pennsylvania had failed to send the money needed to start the school. "I knew right away Pintea was hanging me on the homs of their dilemma. 'We're counting on you, Karl, and we know you won't let us down/ he pressed. "I told Larie I would do my best, but getting tuition funding for a private school would be extremely difficult. 'We know you won't let us down, Karl/ Pintea repeated as we finished the telephone conversation." Boyes recalls, "I read and re-read the government directories and discovered that federal funds from the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA) could be used to pay faculty but If ever there were a dynamic duo at Mercyhurst, it was Dr. William P. Garvey as college dean and President Sister Carolyn Herrmann, shown here in an archival photo from the late 60s. not tuition. That was the break we needed. Maybe, just maybe, I wouldn't let them down, after all," I hoped. announcement to the media. Soon thought it was a "great idea," he said he would see that $55,000 would be provid afterward, some 75 men, including We oudined a new proposal, presented through federal discretionary funds. many in-service police officers, indicated it for funding and got the money ed a desire to enroll in the law With that assurance in our from LEAA funds! The James V. Kinnane enforcement program at pockets, so to speak, President Law Enforcement School opened its Mercyhurst. Herrmann was told that the major classrooms in September 1971. share of the funding was It was going to be a stunIt was a success from the first day. promised. All that was needed ning success. Then the log fell. Hundreds of in-service officers and hunwas a top flight law enforcement The long-awaited telegram dreds of younger students have graduatofficer to head the school. Or so arrived from Senator Scott. He ed from the school in the years since. we thought. was delighted to announce We have a great sense of satisfaction that Mercyhurst had been today knowing the impact Mercyhurst The program was given Sister awarded $5,000 for the new has had on the safety and well-being of Carolyn's tentative approval. "1 school. "Only $5,000," a the people from the communities where still have to sell it to the trustees, Karl Boyes shocked Dean Garvey quesour graduates work as police, parole and but let's move ahead," she tioned as he looked at the corrections officers. encouraged. "If everything falls telegram. "It must be a misinto place, we can start this year," Garvey would remember that the new take. We had counted on she said. school "really moved us into coeducation $55,000." Had Western and a whole new era for Mercyhurst Pintea remembered a personal Union improperly transmitted College." Boyes would remember a teleconversation he had with James the amount? phone call that neatly pinned him to the Kinnane, resident agent of the wall. Sister Carolyn would remember the Erie FBI office. The long-time No such luck. $5,000 it faith she had in people who said it could agent had talked about retirewas. We had announced a be done. Pintea would remember the fun ment. Pintea called him. Not only school and now had no funds James V. Kinnare we had creating a department out of a did an excited Kinnane approve to operate it. "Now what are policeman's musings. of the law enforcement school concept, we going to do?" Garvey asked Pintea. but, yes, absolutely, he would consider "You got us into this, you had better And to thinkit all began over two becoming its director. find the money." bowls of Jessie Woodson's chili. Everything had fallen into place "neatPennsylvania Assemblyman Karl Boyes tells what happened next. ly" and the college made the public

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D A R I N

N E W

I C O N S

C R E A T E D B Y P I Z Z A T
when the parish refurbished its church. The carillon from main campus was installed at St. Mary's when a new one was purchased for Erie. A sound system was added so Mass celebrants could be heard in the majestic chapel. A private sacristy was built and the hallway leading to it was rewired and re-tiled. The interior was repainted and the imposing pillars received golden crowns. The exterior stone walls were repointed and the entry steps were resurfaced.

olors that seize the imagination, combined with a centuries old religious theme, make up a wonderful work of art that was revealed for the first time this Easter at Mercyhurst-North East. Dr. Joseph Pizzat, professor of art at Mercyhurst since 1971, was given a major task last year when he was asked by the college president to create the Stations of the Cross for St. Mary's Chapel at Mercyhurst-North East.

St. Mary's Chapel, with its white marble interior and striking architecture, has always been the focal point of the complex and a landmark in the North Within the last East community, college has two years the improvements made significant A complete to the Chapel, was purset of pews St. John's chased from Erie Church in

16

But something was still missing: the Stations of the Cross. The original Stations went with the Redemptorist Fathers when they closed the seminary in 1986. "We could have purchased Stations through a religious store," explained James G. Lanahan, director of the Mercyhurst-North East campus, "but we were hoping that we could do something different. There is nothing ordinary about the former St. Mary's Seminary, which is now our Mercyhurst-North East campus. That's part of the character, the tradition, and way the Redemptorist Fathers created the structure. We felt our need for Stations of the Cross in the Chapel presented a unique opportunity to showcase Dr. Pizzat's nationally acclaimed art style," Lanahan added. Pizzat, himself a devout Catholic, raised at a time in church history when the Stations were an integral part of the Catholic tradition, accepted the challenge and brought to it his artistry, creativity, and his unorthodox style. 'The sketching began over the summer, followed by more serious renderings in the fall," Dr. Pizzat recalls. "The 14 Stations were installed in St. Mary's Chapel for the Lenten season," he said. Each Station is 18" by 24" and made of

1/8" white melamine-coated Masonite. The stained glass windows of the chapel are complemented by the black, white,

gold, silver, red, purple, blue and green in each Station. Like other modern artists in the country who approach religious themes with contemporary applications, Pizzat's broke from tradition with his Stations. He uses contemporary products such as pressuresensitive sheets, self-adhesive plastic tape, decorator rolls and vinyl film. "I want people viewing the words, symbols and

colors in these Stations to create their own visual images based on their life experiences," he explained. All of Pizzat's Stations use the Cross as the dominant figure; however, other images include the fish, lily, pelican, water, and the passion flower. Dr. Pizzat used contemporary traffic/travel signs as part of his works to recount the journey of Christ. Some of these are directional: arrows, one-way, rest stop, detour and no-exit signs. Pizzat has used the Roman numeral, usually found at the top of each Station, as a design element and has tucked it somewhere into his pieces. "This has been an exhilarating and challenging experienceone that has special meaning for me," Pizzat explained. "Religious themes and subject matter have been a recurring part of my art for the past 45 years," he continued. "To me, art is a spiritual discipline and life is a gift from God to be lived fully and with a purpose. I am grateful to be able to share my art with others in such a beautiful place as St. Mary's." Dr. Pizzat's efforts have produced not only unique pictures of Christ's walk of agony, but art in a rendering that is as masterful as it is creative. He has added an exciting new chapter to the traditionrich history of Mercyhurst-North East.

17

KINGS OF THE ICE

by Ed Hess

There are not many events at Mercyhurst where "sold out" signs are placed on the door before the action even begins, but that was the scene that faced the Laker ice hockey team in March. The Mercyhurst Ice Center was the site of the first national championship to ever take place on the hill and not a spare ticket could be found for the two day series. The tremendous response to the pre-sale of tickets resulted in a standing-room-only crowd and an atmosphere that will be difficult to match in future sporting events at Mercyhurst. Just prior to facing Bemidji State University for the Division II National Championship, the Mercyhurst ice

hockey team accomplished a few goals that had long been out of its reach. After finishing the season with a 20-1-2 record, the Lakers were chosen to host the ECAC championships for the first time in the school's history. Mercyhurst held off Elmira by a 54 score and then downed RIT by an easy 9-2 margin to claim its first ECAC title, and earn the local title, "Kings of the Ice." The national championship brought together the two best teams in the nation. All season long, Mercyhurst held the number-one ranking in every poll and Bemidji stalked behind in second place. At the two-day championship match, the Beavers started quickly in

front of the partisan Mercyhurst crowd and won the first contest by a 6-2 score. The Lakers were determined to have a better performance the following night and it showed. Mercyhurst led for much of the game before the raucous crowd. Bemidji then demonstrated why it had won the previous two national championships. The Minnesota school stormed back to down the Lakers by a 5-4 score and claim the Division II title. The 1994-95 hockey team handed head coach Rick Gotkin a season that he will not soon forget. The Lakers also gave the Mercyhurst and Erie community a weekend of hockey the likes of which it has never seen,

18

WOMEN'S SOCCER: THE BEST IS YET TO BE

Determining the champion of women's Division II soccer in the NCAA playoffs has been fairly easy in four of the last seven seasons. Simply check the bracketing format. Find out which team is playing Mercyhurst, and voila\ you have the champion. The predictable formula held true once again last fall when the Lady Lakers fell to eventual national champion Franklin Pierce College in the first round of the Final Four by a 2-1 score. The fact that Mercyhurst women's soccer team has never won a national championship should hardly diminish its accomplishments over the past seven seasons. The Lady Lakers have easily been the most successful team in the college's athletic history. While most Mercyhurst teams strive to make the NCAA playoffs, the women's soccer team almost takes that goal for granted. In each of the past seven years, the Lady Lakers have been in contention for a national championship and have been recognized as one of the most outstanding programs in the nation.

Some hard facts might be in order to truly understand how good the women's soccer team is at Mercyhurst. In the past five seasons, the Lady Lakers have spent one week out of the top ten national rankings and that was during the first week of the 1989 season. Mercyhurst finished the past two seasons ranked second in the final national poll of the year and received consecutive first round byes into the Final Four. The above accomplishments have come from winning, and the Lady Lakers have done plenty of that in the past seven years. The women's soccer team sports a gaudy 101-21-5 ledger over that span of time and most of the wins weren't even close. The Lady Lakers have outscored their opponents by a 422-92 margin and that includes 75 shutouts. When you're

finished crunching the numbers, it translates into a whopping number of victories. Maybe the most amazing fact is that the women's soccer team has been a national force since it reached varsity status in 1987. "With all of the success that the women's soccer team has had, it's sometimes easy to take their accomplishments for granted," stated head coach Richard Hartis. "What I hope people would realize is that the players sacrifice an awful lot in order to be this good." The future looks to be even brighter than the storied past for the women's team. Coach Hartis adds, "We are just beginning to enter what I think will be the most productive years in the program's history. The best is yet to be." -E. H.

19

LADY L A K E R S : VICTORY ON THE COURT

The women's basketball team set so many standards this season that first-year head coach Jim Webb will probably spend much of his career trying to duplicate them. The Lady Lakers finished the season with a 24-6 record, which is the most victories ever recorded in the history of the program; achieved a number-one ranking in the region for the first time ever; and ranked 13th in the national poll, which was their highest national ranking to date. Being tops in the region holds certain privileges. The Lady Lakers hosted and won the East Regional Tournament for the first time. Mercyhurst posted a 73-68 win over Shippensburg University and then held off the College of St. Rose by a 55-53 score to claim the regional crown. The back-to-back wins advanced the Lakers to the Elite Eight which was played at North Dakota State University. Each of the regional champions from across the nation then clashed to determine the national champion. Mercyhurst faced a tough draw in Stonehill College, which had won the New England Region and owned a 29-1 record. After opening up a 13-point lead in the first half, the Lady Lakers eventually yielded to Stonehill and fell behind by as many as 14 points. Mercyhurst fought back to tie the score at 72-72 with just under two minutes left in the contest.

proved to be the difference down the stretch as the Lady Chieftains canned six straight freebies and downed the Lakers by a slim 80-78 margin. The loss at the Elite Eight should not diminish the fact that the women's basketball team truly advanced to the next level of play. Only eight teams played in North Dakota, while over 250 schools fielded teams at the Division II level. The Lady Lakers had a great run this season and gave future teams a mark at which to aim.
-E. H

20

President's Contract Renewed

For the fifth IU consecutive time, Dr. William V ')J P. Garvey, ninth and current president of Mercyhurst, was unanimously elected to continue as President of Mercyhurst College. His new contract will be in effect until June 30, 1999. The decision to renew his contract was made at the December 7th board of trustees meeting, based on the recommendation of the evaluation committee. "As one board member put it," said Senate President, Dr. Barbara Behan, "Dr. Garvey will take us to the threshold of the millennium." She continued, "The college committee is very committed to working with Dr. Garvey in continuing to strengthen the academic quality and value orientation that is Mercyhurst." The Presidents contract comes up for renewal every four years and Dr. Garvey has held the position of President since 1980. "I thank the board members for their support and confidence, and I appreciate all they have done over the years to assist the college in its development," stated Dr. Garvey. He said, "It is a pleasure to have worked with each of the board members and I look forward to more of the same in the future." Trustee Albert F. Duval said, "I have been on the board for as long as Dr. Garvey has been president and I have always enjoyed working with him. I feel he has done a great job and will continue to do so in advancing the college in the education world." His sentiments were echoed by Chairman of the Board F. William Hirt, who stated, "The evaluation was thorough and meaningful and I am very happy and excited that Dr. Garvey is continuing. He has done a great deal at Mercyhurst and he is someone I greatly admire."
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Sister Juliana Retires

Sister Juliana Stora, a fond favorite of the girls in Baldwin for more than two decades, retired this past year. From handing out rosaries to offering birthday wishes, Sister Juliana was always there Pictured visiting with Sister Juliana at for "her the Motherhouse during Homecoming is girls." She Patricia Schramm 72, remembers coming to Mercyhurst in 1932, and working in the kitchen for a year before she entered the convent. Her culinary skills moved her around to the convents in Titusville, Dubois, Pittsburgh and Franklin. Sister claims that her specialty in the kitchen was her dessert and when asked if she considered herself a good cook, Sister is quick to respond, "Well, I always liked it." Sister returned to Mercyhurst in 1973, where she was the Baldwin desk supervisor until her retirement. She currently resides at the Motherhouse.

Strategic Plan Accepted

The Strategic Vision Plan, which will mold the college until 1999, was discussed and then approved at the January 16 meeting of the board of trustees. The board approval ends a three-year process, which began with the inception of the 21st Century Planning Committee in 1992. "This was an important day for the college," commented Dr. Garvey. "It ends a successful, inclusive planning process and we are grateful to members of the college community who participated in its formation," he continued. He further stated that it is the most broad-based planning document the college has developed in years and "it is an excellent blueprint for years to come to position the college in the 21st century." The Strategic Vision will begin to be implemented this spring, and further planning for its implementation will be made with next year's operating budget.

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Andrew Shibko, a 20-year-old pianist from Minsk, Belarus, was th inner of the $10,000 first prize at the 19th Annual Mercyhurst College D'Angelo Young Artist Competition, which was held at the Warner Theatre on April 22. Shibko, who does not speak English, was one of the two contestants who traveled from the former Soviet Union to participate in this year's piano competition. His performance of Listzt's Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Flat Major was described in the Erie Daily Times as "dazzling: marvelously clean and clear with every note articulated, regardless of the tempo." "If a competition can discover one unique talent, it is an overwhelming success," explained Sam Rotman, DK Geo ofthis An executive director of the D'Angelo yefr^ &io Co ^ Competition. "We accomplished that ***"*- ngn by giving Mr. Shibko the platform to share his powerful technique and musical talents," he noted.

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21

Awards of Excellence
The Mercyhurst Magazine and the Tenth Anniversary Report of the Association of Mercy Colleges (AMC) received the Award of Excellence in the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Keystone Awards Competition held in February. Judges for the competition were from Harrisburg, Delaware and Virginia. "We were delighted to receive a First Place for the magazine and to share this award with our readers who, through the past 12 years, have helped us develop the publication," said Mary Daly, vice president of external affairs. "We are also excited that the Tenth Anniversary Report for the AMC took top honors. That publication was produced while Dr. Garvey was the president of the Association of Mercy Colleges, whose members include the college and university presidents from the 19 Mercy colleges from Maine to Nebraska. "We felt honored to have been asked to produce that particular piece because it was the first time the Mercy colleges had been presented collectively. We are proud to have been the ones given the opportunity to tell the educational history of the Sisters of Mercy in this country," Daly said.

Meticulous to detail, peppery in spirit, pint-size in description, Sister graduated from Mercyhurst with a degree in history in 1941 and continued her studies at the University of Notre Dame in 1949 and '50. Before joining the college, she had been a teacher in the Erie and Pittsburgh Catholic Dioceses. "For me, the greatest reward of being an archivist came from working with the history of the people, places and things that make up a culture and society," Sister reflected. "1 loved being part of the historical operation which serves the inquiring mind, and that's been the hallmark of Mercyhurst College for almost 70 years," she said.

Two Mayors From Mercyhurst

It isn't often that a college can claim two of its graduates as mayors. But such is the case for Mercyhurst College. Erie Mayor Joyce Savocchio, a graduate of Mercyhurst in 1965, welcomed Iowa City Mayor Susan McCartney Horowitz '59 to Mercyhurst's Homecoming celebration this year. Horowitz received the Mercyhurst Distinguished Alumna of the Year Award for Service to Government in 1994, and Savocchio received the award from the college in 1990.

Pictured during Homecoming 1994 were Erie Mayor Joyce A. Savocchio on left and Iowa City Mayor, Susan McCarthy Horowitz-

What's in a Name
Was it an honest mistake or a perceptive reading of the future? That was the question that faced Mercyhurst College officials when Dan Cullen, manager of the bookstore, opened his fall shipment and found six dozen sweatshirts imprinted with "Mercyhurst University" instead of with Mercyhurst College. It certainly gave us something to talk about. And, yes, maybe something to even dream about. But for now, they made a great collector's item.

Wrapping up History
At the close of the calendar year, Mercyhurst honored Sister Mary Lawrence Franklin as she retired from her position as college archivist after 14 years. Her death, a short two months later of pneumonia, shocked the Mercy and college communities. At Mercyhurst's annual Christmas party, it was announced that the college's archives would be named the Franklin Archives in recognition of her work as the guardian of the college's and Sisters of Mercy's history for almost a decade and a half.

Grace Bruno '94

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INTRODUCING MERCYHURST TODAY

We've taken their requests to heart. Our alumni want to hear from their alma mater more often. Now they will. The Mercyhurst Magazine will continue to be published twice a year, but between times, our readers will receive a new publication called Mercyhurst Today. This publication will feature campus news, alumni stories and class notes in a reader-friendly tabloid format which will be published three times a year. While it will be of general readership interest, its contents will be geared heavily to the news interests of our graduates. Watch for Mercyhurst Today coming soon.

It's News To Us...

Help us fill the Class Notes pages of Mercyhurst Today. Just complete the form below with your newsworthy information. We also welcome professional photographs and 35mm one-subject close-up snapshots. Photographs will be returned if requested. Mail your news to Deann Bauschard, Alumni Office, Mercyhurst College, Erie, PA 16546. Name Address City. Check if this is a new address State
Class

Degree ).

Phone ( ZIP

News item

Name of spouse. Maiden Name

Mercyhurst Class/Degree _ . Mercyhurst Class/Degree.

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Vol 12, No. 3

Spring 95

Erie, PA 16546 FORWARD AND ADDRESS CORRECTION

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Erie, PA Permit No. 10

Mr David Pinto

YEAR OF THE BLUE AND GREEN

Not since 1976, when the Mercyhurst men's tennis team brought home the national title, has the gold been within the reach of a Laker team. But this year, three Laker teams tried to match those championship tennis players who were coached by Bob Sturm and trustee Chuck Dailey. And while tennis still holds the college's only national title, Mercyhurst held its breath over and over this season, as the Laker sports teams stretched their fans to the maximum in expectation. "So close" were words spoken not once, not twice, but three times this year, as men's hockey and the women's soccer and basketball teams surpassed all previously existing records, statistics and expectations by reaching the Division II National Playoffs. Along with these great teams came the proud and spirited Lakermaniacs, who cheered these college athletes on to victory. While the Lakers will have to wait another year for a chance at a national title, the blue and green spirit of their fans during 1994-95 goes unmatched in the history of the college.