|
Happy New Year!
It’s hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone. I hope that everyone enjoyed the break and
is ready to go full steam ahead in 2003!
I want to share some of what has happened since our last publication. The orchestra and chorus of the Benjamin T. Rome School of
Music, under the direction of Professor Leo Nestor, joined the choir of the
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, under the
direction of Peter Latona, in performing an exceptional Christmas concert in
the basilica on Friday evening, Dec. 6.
This annual charity concert before a packed audience raised over
$14,000 for CUA’s neighbors, the Little Sisters of the Poor, and their work
with the elderly at the Blessed Jeanne Jugan Nursing Home on Harewood Road. On Dec. 9-10, our Board of Trustees met. At that meeting, as you know by now,
Cardinal Bernard Law stepped down as chairman of the board after 12 years of
dedicated service in the position and 15 years as a member of the board. The board will meet later this month to
elect his replacement as chairman. The board approved the proposed reorganization of the
School of Religious Studies, agreed to by the Academic Senate earlier in the
fall. The primary effect of this
change is administrative, with “departments” being eliminated and replaced by
“programs” similar to the model of some European universities and American
professional schools. The same degree
programs will be offered as previously and students in those programs will
not be affected. A balanced university budget for fiscal year 2004 was
approved, under the leadership of Ralph Beaudoin and Michelene Sheehy. The vice presidents of the university have
been meeting with them weekly since the summer and I am most grateful for
their hard work and collaboration on this monumental project and for the
guidance of the board’s Finance Committee and its chairman, Van Smith. The Development Committee and its chairman, Bob Craves,
worked with Richard Collins on strategies for a major fund-raising campaign
to be launched for CUA in the not too distant future. The issue of the purchase of 49 acres of property from the
Armed Forces Retirement Home was discussed and the board authorized its
Executive Committee to make any necessary decisions pertaining to the
property. Carl Petchik presented anticipated cost overruns for The
Edward J. Pryzbyla University Center to the Finance Committee and full board
for approval. Carl informed us all
that “the Pryz” construction will be completed on schedule on Feb. 6 and
occupancy will begin shortly thereafter.
That is good news! On Monday evening, Dec. 9, at the recommendation of law
school Dean Douglas Kmiec and the Board of Visitors, an honorary degree was presented
at a Board of Trustees dinner to trustee emeritus, law school alumnus and
loyal friend of CUA, T. Murray Toomey.
Murray was in the hospital at the time and his family was on hand to
accept the degree. The occasion was
videotaped and later that week I visited Murray with Monsignor Michael
Bransfield, a CUA trustee, to show Murray the tape and present the
diploma. Sadly, Murray passed away on
Jan. 19 after a brief bout with cancer and I ask that you remember him and
his family in your prayers. On Dec. 12, I was privileged to join the President and
Mrs. Bush at the White House for a Christmas reception along with two other
CUA trustees, Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua and Monsignor Bransfield.
Provost John Convey has announced the appointment of Professor Christopher Wheatley as vice provost and dean for undergraduate studies. He replaces Dr. Ingrid Merkel in that position. Ingrid will continue in her roles as director of the Honors Program and faculty member. Congratulations to Chris and heartfelt thanks to Ingrid for a job well done. Father Kurt Pritzl is back in Washington and recovering
from successful heart surgery. He
will return to CUA after a period of recuperation. Our prayers are with Kurt. This month the university launched a customer service
development program for university staff.
This follows a yearlong series of meetings of the Customer Service
Task Force, chaired by Michelene Sheehy.
Al Sullivan and Jeannetta Clayton from the Office of Human Resources
are directing the program. The
Administrative Council of the university (president, vice presidents, deans
and directors) took part in the first presentation of this program on Dec.
12. This will be a very positive
initiative for CUA, helping us all to focus on the institution’s service
orientation. I have also formed a Task Force on Institutional Marketing,
directed by Frank Persico, to coordinate university efforts at presenting a
strong and consistent image to our various publics. I expect to receive the task force’s recommendations by July 1.
At a luncheon on Dec. 17, I accepted the initial
installment (over $800,000) of a $1 million gift given to CUA by the late
Lois Schmitt, B.A. 1955. The
principal trustee of her estate, Mary Giunta, Ph.D. 1980, shared with me some
wonderful stories about their friendship and unswerving commitment to the
university. The funds will create
Schmitt Scholars and provide scholarship assistance to needy undergraduate
and graduate students. I am grateful
to Paul Brooks and Patty Carocci from the Office of Institutional Advancement
for their work on this. The university Christmas
party was a tremendous success this year, with over 475 members of the
university community in attendance.
Suzanne McCarthy, Joan Vorrasi and Bernard Lane created a wonderful
afternoon of food and fun for everyone in attendance in Caldwell Auditorium. The music school provided Christmas carols
throughout the party and Frank Persico brought down the house once again as
he used his auctioneering skills to give away a number of Christmas presents. It was a great way to begin the Christmas
break. Coach Mike Lonergan continues to lead the men’s basketball
team through another winning season, with 14 wins and only two losses as of
Jan. 23. Go Cardinals! I was fortunate to catch the last performance of Batboy:
The Musical at the Studio Theatre on Dec. 29. One of our students, Patrick O’Neill, had the lead role and
another student and an alumnus were cast members. We can be very proud of them and the excellent work of our
music school and drama department in preparing students. The first month of 2003 has been a busy one. The university played host to record
numbers of student visitors from all over the country for the annual March
for Life on Jan. 22. Later that same
day, EWTN (Eternal World Television Network) broadcast an exciting live forum
from CUA’s Caldwell Auditorium that provided our students with an opportunity
to hear from pro-life experts and pose questions to them. I will be heading west at the end of the month to meet
with the steering committee for this year’s American Cardinals Dinner in San
Francisco. I also hope to use that
time to visit some alumni/ae and potential benefactors to the university. These are the things that come to mind as we end one year
and begin another. My gratitude to all
at CUA for the excellent work that is done here and, especially, for the
effort to improve the quality of our service and outreach to all. God bless you! The
Very Rev. David M. O’Connell, C.M. President |
