Medaille College News

On Friday, May 7, 2010, ten of the world‘s best leaders will speak about the leadership principles that matter most at the Be the One Leadercast.  Medaille will host this full-day leadership event at each of its campuses in Buffalo, Amherst and Rochester.

The video conference event features Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, Ed Bastian, president of Delta Air Lines,  Tony Dungy, retired head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, and other corporate and industry leaders.

Limited ticket quantities are available; please register early to guarantee a ticket at your preferred location. Tickets are on sale until March 31, 2010 at an early-bird rate of $50. Tickets purchased after March 31 are $60. All registrations include lunch, snack breaks, and a post-event networking reception.

Medaille College has announced six finalists for the Father Medaille Awards for Citizenship and Service. The winners in the three categories will be revealed on Thursday, April 15, 2010 at the Founders’ Day Celebration, presented by Medaille College and Phillips Lytle LLP at Medaille’s Buffalo Campus.

In late February, the Founders’ Day Selection Committee met to evaluate dozens of nominations for organizations, individuals, and Medaille alumni who contribute to the advancement of their communities. Committee members include: Eileen Buckley, news producer at WBFO and a Medaille graduate; Jack Connors, president of Business First of Buffalo; Sharon Hanson, manager of public and governmental affairs at Time Warner Cable; Dr. Richard T. Jurasek, president of Medaille College; Kenneth Manning, partner at Phillips Lytle LLP; Timm J. Otterson, DVM, associate veterinarian at Summer Street Cat Clinic; and, Earl V. Wells III, president of e3communications.

Adoption STAR and Harvest House of Buffalo were selected as the organization finalists, and the winner will receive a $5,000 award for use in their work in the community.

Winners in the individual and alumni categories will receive a $1,000 award to continue their work. Individual finalists are Robert F. Moss, for his work with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Erie County, and Dr. Michael Cropp, for his efforts at the Olmsted Center for Sight. Medaille graduates Henri L. Muhammad and John Trojanowsky are finalists in the alumni category. Muhammad’s nomination focused on his work in establishing and building the Muhammad School of Music, and Trojanowsky was nominated for his role with the Lancaster Youth Bureau.

A full list of nominated organizations, individuals and alumni is available on the Medaille College Founders’ Day Celebration web site.

Dorthea King-Simpson, the director of family child care at the Rochester Childfirst Network, made the choice to advance her education at Medaille College in Rochester. “When I moved from Utica, NY to Rochester in 2004, Rochester’s unemployment pool was saturated with highly-educated individuals,” she says. “I knew that I needed to go back to school to remain competitive.”

Two years after graduating from Medaille College with a master’s in organizational leadership, King-Simpson offers that her choice was the right one. “My organizational leadership degree is paying me back exponentially. Every day, on the job, I work to show the staff at Rochester Childfirst Network that they, and their contributions to the agency, are valued – that they are paramount to our success,” she explains. “Medaille taught me how to build trust with, invest in, and to earnestly praise those with whom I work.”

For King-Simpson, the design of Medaille’s Accelerated Learning Program was a major factor in her selection of a Rochester-area business program. “Without Medaille’s accelerated program, flexible schedule, and convenient location to where I live and work, I would not have been able to make the necessary commitments for my personal development,” she says. “My Medaille degree has without a doubt, increased my value as a member of the leadership team in our organization.”

Medaille College’s 14th annual Reindeer Run will take place on Saturday, December 6 at the Buffalo Campus. The event is sanctioned USAT&F Certified, and all proceeds will benefit Medaille College Athletics. The race begins at 10 a.m., with more information available at the Reindeer Run web site.

Five individuals received awards from Medaille College at the Amherst Accelerated Learning Program Reunion, held at Salvatore’s Italian Gardens on Friday, April 25: Darius Pridgen ‘07 MOL, Dale Stephens ‘99 BA, ‘06 MOL, Barbara Yendall, Stephen Lelinski and Paul Hoffman.

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Two alumni and one faculty member received awards at the Accelerated Learning Program Reunion in Rochester on Friday, April 11. Over 90 alumni, guests, faculty and staff turned out for the event, which was held at Mario’s via Abruzzi in Rochester.

Ron Buckman ‘06 MBA received a Community Service Award for his outstanding service to the community. In addition to serving as chair of the Rochester Alumni Board, Buckman is a Secretary & Executive Board Member for the Hickok Center for Brain Injury, an active member of the St. John the Evangelist Church, and gives of his time and talent to Our Lady of Mercy High School and the Catholic Youth Organization within the Rochester Diocese.

Thomas Burns ‘06 MBA received a Distinguished Career Award in recognition of his professional achievements. Following a career in the Marine Corps, Burns moved on to progressively more high-profile positions with Frontier Cellular and Verizon Wireless. He currently works in Verizon Wireless’ Internal Audit Department, with responsibility for all departmental major projects, financial analysis, and peer development initiatives.

Andrew Wyner received a Faculty Award for displaying outstanding accomplishments in teaching. As an adjunct faculty member in the Accelerated Learning Program, Wyner came to Medaille with 28 years of experience in the corporate world after having retired from Kodak in 2002.

The Write Thing Reading Series at Medaille College will present poet Rebecca Maslen ‘00 on Thursday, April 17 at 7 p.m. in the Huber Hall Library on Medaille’s Main Campus. This event is free and open to the public; refreshments are occasionally served.

Maslen graduated from Medaille College with a bachelor of arts in humanities and a certificate in interactive multimedia in 2000. She earned a master of fine arts in creative writing from Rosemont College in Rosemont, Penn. Her work has been published in Parlor Journal and Flashquake, with her poem “rock me amadeus,” earning a Pushcart Prize nomination.

A native of Buffalo, she currently lives in Philadelphia, and travels with her husband, a professional wrestling promoter, to shows in Boston, Chicago and abroad. She teaches technology at a community center in south Philadelphia, and is currently writing a novel set in the independent wrestling scene.

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Commencement speakers for the graduate and undergraduate ceremonies, to be held on Friday, May 16 at Kleinhans Music Hall, have been announced.

Byron W. Brown, Mayor of Buffalo, will speak to graduating students in the master’s degree programs for mental health counseling, psychology, education, business administration and organizational leadership at 1 p.m. As the 58th Mayor of the City of Buffalo, he came into office emphasizing greater accountability and efficiency in City Hall, improving the quality of life for all city residents and a commitment to strengthening and expanding the city’s economic development activities. A surge of economic development activity has also followed Mayor Brown’s election, including over $4.5 billion in planned, ongoing or completed development projects occurring throughout the City since 2006. More »

Peter Giambrone ‘78, a graduate of the media/communication program, will speak at the undergraduate ceremony, scheduled for 7 p.m. With a career in the field of new media, he has over thirty years of practice in the art and science of emerging and transformational media. As a successful entrepreneur and executive manager, he has committed himself in the most recent fifteen years of his career to business development focusing on advanced visualization for total immersion, augmented and virtual reality media. More »

Robby Takac ‘86 has been named to the Medaille College board of trustees. Takac, best known as the bassist for the Goo Goo Dolls, is an alumnus of Medaille College. He holds a bachelor of arts degree in communication from Medaille. In 2005 Medaille awarded Takac with the Alumni Community Service Award.

“Robby is a valuable addition to Medaille’s board of trustees and we’re delighted he has agreed to join,” said Bill Collins, chairman of the board. “He speaks very fondly of Medaille and has fantastic memories of his time as a student and credits the college with having laid the foundation for his success in life. His passion for the college and for education will be an asset to the board of trustees.”

Takac is one of the founding members of the Goo Goo Dolls. The rock band has been together for over 20 years, and is recognized as one of the best alternative rock bands in existence. They scored their first big hit in 1995 with Name and have followed that with a string of over a dozen hits, including Iris, Black Balloon and Better Days.

In addition to his work in the Goo Goo Dolls, Takac has dedicated a great deal of time and effort into enhancing the Western New York community through his Music is Art Foundation. Music is Art promotes musicians and artists in Western New York by encouraging involvement through schools and community events. The foundation has initiated several music-based programs including music and event programming for not-for-profit organizations, a High School Awareness Tour, an Instrument Drive and its signature event, the Music is Art Festival.

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The third annual Media Internship Awards Ceremony honored 26 communications professionals across the fields of print, television and radio on Monday, March 10.

The award presentations followed a welcome by Lou Pozentides, Assistant Professor of Communication and Field Placement Coordinator, and remarks by Dr. Douglas Howard, Vice President of Academic Affairs, and Lisa Van Valkinburgh, Communication Department Chair.

Recipients included:

Television

Bill Ranson, WKBW-TV, President and General Manager of the Year
Don Postles, WIVB-TV, Male News Anchor of the Year
Kevin O’Connell, WGRZ-TV, Weather Anchor of the Year
Joanna Pasceri, WKBW-TV, Female News Anchor of the Year
Jody Johnston, Pete Gallivan, Chesley McNeil, WGRZ-TV, Morning News Show of the Year
John Disciullo, WKBW-TV, Program/Community Affairs Manager of the Year

Radio

Todd Broady, Entercom Communications, Production Director of the Year
Joe Chille, WJYE 96.1 FM, Operations Manager/Program Director of the Year
“Magic Man,” WBLK 93.7 FM, Radio Personality of the Year
Howard Simon, WGR Morning Show, Sports Broadcaster of the Year
Larry Norton and the Morning Show Crew, 97 Rock, Morning Radio Show of the Year
Tim Wenger, WBEN NEws Radio 930, Excellence in Programming Award

Public/Community Relations

Scott Berchtold, Buffalo Bills, Media Relations Director of the Year
Mike Gilbert, Buffalo Sabres, Public Relations Director of the Year
Mike Buckowski, VP and General Manager, Buffalo Bisons, General Manager of the Year in Sports Administration
Anne Schlifke ‘93 MC, Director of Public Relations, Sisters Hospital, Community Service Professional of the Year

Print

Alan Pergament, Buffalo News, Print Journalist of the Year

Lifetime Achievement Awards

John Zach, WBEN News Radio 930, Lifetime Achievement Award in Radio News
Sandy Beach, WBEN News Radio 930, Lifetime Achievement Award in Talk Radio
DJ Anthony, KISS 98.5, Lifetime Achievement Award in Radio/Community Service
Fran Murphy, Ed.D., Founding Dean of the School of Education, Medaille College, Lifetime Achievement Award in Education
Greg Florczak, Vice President for Enrollment Management and Undergraduate Admissions, Medaille College, Lifetime Achievement Award in Higher Education Admissions
Evange Conley, VA of WNY Health Care System, Lifetime Achievement Award in Public Affairs
Heidi Raphael ‘85 MC, Greater Media, Lifetime Achievement Award in Corporate Communications