Summer 2011
Reunion Weekend 2011 draws more than 1,200
A rainy weekend on June 11-12 did not deter the more than 1,200 alumni from the classes of 1966, 1971, 1976, 1981, 1986, 1991, 1996, 2001, and 2006, along with their families and friends, who returned to campus to celebrate Reunion Weekend 2011.
Alumni reminisced with old friends while making new memories "back home" on campus, and enjoyed a number of new Reunion activities, such as a Fairfield Activities Fair, a special ceremony to renew marriage vows, and a Meet-and-Greet with the new Head Men's Basketball Coach, Sydney Johnson. Of course, there was the traditional barbeque, with entertainment for the kids and music from alumni band "St. Hubbins: Mach II," featuring Chris Parker '90, George Ramirez '91, Bill Conroy '91, Peter Grennan '89, and Gene Tiernan '89.
Later on Saturday afternoon, Mass was con-celebrated by University President Rev. Jeffrey von Arx, S.J., and Alumni Chaplain Rev. Charles Allen, S.J., at Egan Chapel. Alumni gathered in the evening for class cocktail receptions. The Class of 1986 celebrated their milestone 25th Reunion with a special gathering at the president's home; Classes of 1966 and 1971 enjoyed dinner with the president at Alumni House, followed by dancing and good times under the tent at Bellarmine Lawn.
View the Reunion slideshow.
Classes of 1967, 1972, 1977, 1982, 1987, 1992, 1997, 2002, and 2007: It's not too early to start making plans for your Reunion! Mark your calendars for June 9-10, 2012.
Men's Basketball bound for Italy
After gaining national recognition over the last two years, the Fairfield men's basketball team will head out to the international basketball community this summer as the Stags visit Italy for a 10-day tour. The trip will include a four-game schedule that will send the Stags to Pisa, Florence, Venice, and Milan. The team will leave on August 15, and return on August 25.
"We are very pleased to have the opportunity for Fairfield Basketball to travel to Italy this summer," said Head Coach Sydney Johnson. "Personally, I enjoyed my years as a professional player in Italy immensely, and I am thrilled that our players will experience the culture, history, and passion of the Italian people firsthand. As much as bringing home a few wins will be nice, I expect the time we share together as a team to have the greater value long term."
After arriving in Italy, the team will get right to work with workouts before playing their first game on August 20 in Pisa. Fairfield will head to Venice following the game, where they will play on August 21. The tour provides a day off in Venice on August 22 before heading to Lake Como, where the third game will take place on August 23. The team will stay overnight before heading to Milan for an August 25 departure back to the United States. This preliminary schedule is subject to change and will be updated and confirmed later in the summer.
The fans' tour, which will include Florence, Pisa, Venice, and Lake Como, will depart on August 18, and return on the 25th. The package includes round-trip coach airfare, charter bus service for all European ground transportation, first-class hotel accommodations for eight nights, tickets to all games, sightseeing tours, a tour escort from Basketball Travelers, Inc., and breakfast at the hotel each morning.
Fans who are interested in making the trip to Italy with the Stags can contact Basketball Travelers, Inc. at (425) 776-2775, or visit the tour website.
NEW Alumni Career Services website
The new Alumni Career Services website is here! The new site, launched in June, is user-friendly and full of the latest career advice, including:
- New resources, links to job boards, advice from career experts, and easy access to our career webinar series
- Access to Experience Alumni, our exclusive career management tool, to serach for or post jobs
- Learn networking skills and search for alumni in your field
- Offer a job-shadow experience for a student in your own home town
- Mentoring students through FAN (Fairfield Alumni Network)
- Join the LinkedIn Alumni Group, and begin networking today
- Find out about upcoming alumni events
Please contact Julie Tuozzoli '85, director of Alumni Career Services, with any questions.
Promoting philanthropy: A clever video for the Senior Class Gift
Graduating senior Kristina Ravanis '11, with help from Alison Goldberg '11, created a clever video to encourage seniors-turning-alumni to give back to the University. In Kristina's words:
"The idea was that the video would include various seniors stating something they did at Fairfield University for the first time. It was my job to brainstorm ideas that would involve boys and girls from different clubs on campus. By doing this, more students would be inclined to donate after seeing someone they knew in the video. Ali Goldberg and I developed ideas and discussed who we thought would be a good fit for each part. Everyone we contacted was excited about being a part of the video. After we finished filming, I tied together all the 'firsts' with upbeat music in order to produce the final product. The video has been put online, and will ideally promote campus awareness of the Senior Gift Committee, along with giving back to Fairfield."
Creating this video has been a great experience because it has allowed me to get more hands-on experience with video production, a field I want to pursue. Filming and editing this video has reassured me that this is what I want to do as a job for the rest of my life."
This year, donor participation to the Senior Class Gift doubled - thank you! Funds are being used to establish a Senior Class Commemorative walkway, as well as a scholarship fund for a rising senior with financial need. Casey Timmeny and Jason Kapell from the Media Center came up with the original concept and assisted Kristina in the project.
Career Webinars a big success
The three-part Alumni Career Webinar Series, presented by Kristin Kane Ford '04, director of Social Media and Recruiting at Kane Partners, LLC in Lansdale, Penn., and the Career Development Chairperson of the Philadelphia Alumni Chapter, was a huge success! Comments from the more than 80 viewers of the inaugural May 24 webinar – "LinkedIn: Networking with Fairfield University Alumni" – included "Helpful, informative and engaging" and "New information presented in a clear and concise format." Throughout the three webinars, participants learned about the challenges job seekers face today and how to overcome them, with tips and techniques on resume writing, searching and applying for jobs online, the do's and don'ts of an interview, expectations of the interviewer, how to handle the tough interview questions, and maximizing online professional presence.
If you missed one of our webinars, don't worry! All past and future broadcasts can be found and viewed within our new Alumni Career Web page.
Alumni volunteers needed for Winter Break Job Shadow Experience Day
As alumni, you can be a huge help to current Fairfield students by making your workday experience available to them. The new Winter Break Job Shadow Experience, a partnership between the Fairfield University Alumni Association, Alumni Career Services, and the Career Planning Center, is designed to give junior-year students a unique opportunity for an up-close look at a working day in your occupation and industry. With you as their guide, students can see firsthand how the skills learned in the classroom relate to the workplace, and build a network of alumni contacts in that field. Students will be matched with alumni in the industry of their career interest in their home towns.
Many alumni volunteers in a variety of industries are needed in order to make this a successful program. If you are interested in hosting a student for a day or half-day at your place of work during the week of January 9-13, 2012, please contact Julie Tuozzoli '85, director of Alumni Career Services. Applications will be accepted through mid-October, with matches made by the end of November.
NCAA recognizes programs for academic success
Fairfield University Athletics has always prided itself on maintaining a high-level of academic success and an emphasis on the student part of student-athlete. Three Stags athletics programs were recognized for outstanding academic success in May.
The men's cross country, golf, and softball teams received NCAA Public Recognition Awards, presented annually by the NCAA to those teams that have an NCAA Division I Academic Progress Report (APR) in the top 10 percent of all squads in their respective sports.
For the men's cross country team, the award marks the sixth time in as many years that the team has been honored by the NCAA. It is one of just 260 programs nationwide that has received a Public Recognition Award in each of the six years the program has been in existence. The Stags softball team is equally as impressive, having earned the accolade in each of the last five seasons, while the men's golf team earns the academic award for the first time.
The NCAA honored 909 teams with Public Recognition Awards this year, based on their most recent multi-year Academic Progress Rates. The 909 teams publicly recognized this year for high achievement represent 14 percent of the 6,385 eligible Division I teams. The list includes 525 women's teams and 384 men's or mixed squads. Last year, 841 teams were recognized.
Fairfield tied for third in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) for having the most recognized teams in the league. As a whole, the MAAC had 28 teams receive the award.
Through its innovative APR, which provides an annual scorecard of academic achievement, the NCAA tracks the classroom performance of student-athletes on every Division I sports team. By measuring eligibility and retention each semester or quarter, the APR provides a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport. Most recent APRs are multi-year rates based on scores from the 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 academic years.
Stags set to SWIM Across the Sound
Stags past and present will once again be out in full force on August 6, as five teams representing Fairfield University will take part in "SWIM Across the Sound" to raise money for the St. Vincent's Medical Center Foundation and its cancer prevention, support, and education programs.
Last year, three teams comprised of Fairfield University alumni and current swim team members participated in the event, raising approximately $19,600. Additionally, the Stags helped kick off the inaugural University Challenge section of the Marathon which featured groups from UConn, Dartmouth, and Springfield College, all of which raised more than $34,000.
Fairfield will have two alumni teams, two teams of current swimmers, and a mixed team of alumni and current student-athletes. The alumni teams will be comprised of: Sean McGowan '02, Kevin Young '02, Kimberly (Dolan) Matarese '03, Robyn Glaser '04, Frank Vitulli '04, Kate (Roche) Curtis '06, Lizzie Lawlor '08, Jay Power '84, Erin Carrather '08, Rob Devine '08, Rachel Waldstein '08, and Carolyn Sheppard '09. The two teams of current Stags will consist of Suzy Lawlor '14, Kevin Greener '14, Cody Parker '14, Emily Pedrick '14, Brianna Riley '14, Rich Straub '14, Paul Bimmler '13, Emily Kelly '12, Anthony Caserta '12, Cacky Keating '13, and Moe Osmulski '14. The combined team will consist of Tommy Peters '12, Boris Romanovsky '10, Taylor Stecko '10, Kenny Muti '12, Andrew Robinson '12, and Brendan Sarpu '12.
Read more on how you can help support the Stags and SWIM Across the Sound.