Medaille College News

With her master’s degree in business from Medaille’s Accelerated Learning Program, Yvonne Thorne started to apply what she learned in her evening classes to what she worked on during the day. She highlights three concepts that had an impact: “Analytical concepts, for use in writing proposals and business plans showing financial benefits and outcomes; research concepts, in learning how to research and when to use the data; and, renewed confidence in providing my employer with quality reports.”

“I chose Medaille because it offered an MBA,” she says. “Other academic institutions offered master’s degrees in management, and my research showed me that employers have a greater respect for applicants with MBA degrees.”

“When I first started taking classes at Medaille College in Rochester a few years ago, I had to constantly explain to people what ‘Medaille’ was,” Thorne continues. “No one had heard about the school. Now, people I talk with know exactly what Medaille is – I think it is viewed positively in Rochester’s business community. I know Rochester employers view a business degree as a valuable asset. It is very hard to get a job in this economic environment. Having a college degree along with work experience may make getting a job a little easier.”

Thorne’s response to the question of the most surprising thing about earning her master’s degree is typical to that of other graduates. “I was able to complete all coursework while juggling a full-time job and raising a family,” she offers. “The students with whom I took classes possessed a wide range of skills and had diverse occupations, and these were a great benefit in the classroom because we learned from one another.”

As a contract manager for the New York State Department of Health Tobacco Control Program, Thorne works on a statewide initiative to reduce the rate of tobacco use and smoking. As a 2004 graduate of Medaille, Thorne now gives back to the College by volunteering and serving as an Alumni Board member. “The support I received from Rochester Campus staff was encouraging,” she explains. “I wanted to give back to show my appreciation for the College offering an MBA program in Rochester – I am grateful to Medaille and hope that others who have attended the College are grateful too.”

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.

Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams saw their dreams of the “sweet sixteen” end, as the Mavs were overtaken by SUNY-IT, and the Lady Mavs fell to Marymount University in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.  More »

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.

The Rochester Campus has been closed on Friday, February 26 due to severe weather conditions. The campus and library will be open on Saturday, February 27, and classes are expected to resume on Monday. Please check back on Medaille’s web sites for continuing information, and remember to keep your contact information updated through Medaille’s emergency notification system [ID number and official Medaille email address required].

Throughout March 2010, Medaille will hold a series of presentations on Chinese geography, history and culture by Dr. Xuehong Lu, coordinator of the Chinese Language and Culture Program at the University of Buffalo.

As the College prepares for the arrival of students from Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China by fall 2010, Medaille’s Faculty Development Committee, Office of Human Resources, and the International Student Campus Readiness Team are jointly sponsoring this series on historic and contemporary China.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010: Introduction to China’s Provinces and People
12:30-2 p.m., Main Building Lecture Hall

Friday, March 12, 2010: Introduction to Chinese Culture and Philosophy
12:30-2 p.m., Main Building Lecture Hall

Tuesday, March 16, 2010: Introduction to China’s Provinces and People
3:30-5 p.m., Main 104

Thursday, March 18, 2010:  Introduction to Chinese Culture and Philosophy
3:30-5 p.m., Main 104

Tuesday, March 23, 2010: Cultural Integration and Daily Life
3:30-5 p.m, Main Building Lecture Hall

Thursday, March 25, 2010: Family, Occupations and Society
3:30-5 p.m, Main Building Lecture Hall

Medaille College has announced that The John R. Oishei Foundation will provide $400,000 in grant funding over three years to support Project EQUIP, a comprehensive program focused on community-based learning for undergraduate students at Medaille’s Buffalo Campus.

In the 2006–07 academic year, Medaille implemented a pilot learning community program for provisionally admitted students, who make up 35% of incoming classes on average. Within just two years of implementation, the freshman-to-sophomore retention rate of this group increased from 56% to 69%, with measured levels of academic engagement rising to surpass selected peer institutions, based on the National Survey of Student Engagement.

“One of the major purposes of the learning communities is to offer students an opportunity to interact with the Western New York community,” says Alan Bigelow, Ph.D., professor of humanities. “In my classes, students wrote a series of research papers on topics including Attica prison, Love Canal, Wegmans, the Zebra mussel problem in Lake Erie, the Buffalo Zoo, the Mayoral race, and the Science Museum. They are venturing out into the community, a community which some of them were born in, and others are seeing for the first time.”

On the strength of these early results and with the support of the undergraduate faculty, Medaille expanded and improved the learning community program to include all incoming undergraduate students in September 2009. By the end of the fall semester, over 300 first-year students had completed collaborative, community-based projects that ranged from documenting narratives of senior citizens at the Northwest Buffalo Community Center, to working with the Niagara/Buffalo Riverkeepers to examine the long-term consequences of Buffalo’s industrial heritage.

“As students connect to the story and the institutions of Buffalo, their creative energies and talents, as well as those of their teachers, are brought to bear on important local issues,” explains Brad Hollingshead, Ph.D., associate dean for foundational learning and assessment. “The first-year learning communities—with our unique twist of using them to integrate academic and civic learning—not only help students persist and succeed academically; they also lay a foundation for the kinds of collaborative, interdisciplinary work that our students will need to be able to do once they graduate.”

“The John R. Oishei Foundation is pleased to be a partner with Medaille College as it launches Project EQUIP. Medaille is to be commended for its work to build partnerships and engage students in problem solving that will benefit them and the wider community. Civic engagement will not only enhance their learning experience at Medaille, but will build the leaders of tomorrow for the Western New York region,” states Robert D. Gioia, president of The John R. Oishei Foundation.

Expansion of this program, under the title Project EQUIP, will combine co-curricular activities, academic courses, internships and senior capstones that challenge students to explore their community, to question their roles within the community, to understand their academic discipline in the context of community needs, to involve themselves, and to produce new knowledge, while completing a four-year degree.

With The Oishei Foundation’s generous funding, Medaille’s Project EQUIP connects college students to the city of Buffalo and helps to serve common goals between Medaille and The Oishei Foundation by enhancing the capacity of higher education to contribute to economic and social renewal in Buffalo and Western New York.

About The John R. Oishei Foundation
The John R. Oishei Foundation strives to be a catalyst for change to enhance economic vitality and the quality of life for the Buffalo Niagara region. The Foundation was established in 1940 by John R. Oishei, founder of Trico Products Corporation.

The Arts in Education Institute held its Annual Legislators’ Breakfast Meeting on Tuesday, February 16 at Medaille College’s Buffalo Campus.

Throughout its 28-year history, the Institute has grown from a grassroots organization into one that serves over 11,000 in Western New York. As part of this event, NYS Sen. William Stachowski, Erie County Legislator Christina Bove, and representatives from the offices of U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter, NYS Assemblyman Dennis Gabryszak, and Erie County Executive Chris Collins had the opportunity to meet and learn more about programs that have been a part of the Institute’s recent expansion and move to the Medaille campus. These include programs for afterschool students and senior citizens at the Northwest Buffalo Community Center, summer arts camps, programs for Cradle Beach campers and students at Hopevale, expanded programs for inner city schools, and art classes for veterans.

Please be advised that there was a misprint on the original Academic Calendar for the Full Semester Evening (FSE) Classes in regards to the dates of Spring Break.

The original calendar indicated the FSE Spring Break begins at 5pm on March 12, 2010 with classes resuming on March 22, 2010. Upon further review of the calendar, we have adjusted the dates to coincide with the Full Semester Day classes. In doing this, it also aligns the calendar to coincide with the break between Session 3 & Session 4 classes (which normally pertains to graduate students).

Therefore, the Spring Break for FSE classes will begin at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 5, 2010. Classes will resume at 8 a.m. on Monday, March 15, 2010.

To facilitate the distribution of this information, we have also asked that instructors reiterate this notification in class this week along with e-mail notifications college-wide. Please contact the Registrar’s Office at (716) 880-2365 for further information, questions, or concerns.

The Medaille Perspective published its first issue of the spring semester, featuring articles on:

• A country torn: Haiti’s earthquake, with comments from Haitian native Dr. Craig Centrie
• Raising his Voice: sophomore Doug Page is the “voice of Medaille”
• Men’s Basketball nationally ranked among D-3 teams

Additional opinion, lifestyle, news and sports articles are available at medailleperspective.com.