Medaille College News

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.

After a career as an organizational development manager, Pat Seischab embarked on a new challenge: teaching adult students at Medaille’s Rochester Campus. “After 25 years of corporate work and consulting experiences, I developed insights in change management, process improvement, leadership and adult learning that I now bring to the classroom,” Seischab says.

From her organizational development background, Seischab offers, “I know you must accept people where they are and not where you would like them to be.” Bringing that concept into the courses she teaches in Rochester many evenings, she regularly customizes class activities to the learning needs of students, working to maintain academic standards and to meet individual learning needs.

In the past, prospective students have asked Seischab, “Why should I go back to school to get a degree?” Her answer is simple, and informed by her own experience. “To anyone considering going back to school, I say ‘do it!’ I was 39 when I went to graduate school, and I always tell students how much easier it is to return to school as an adult now than it was years ago.” Adult students who have looked at other colleges in the Rochester area may think there are no other options besides the traditional college experience of a campus with lots of buildings, daytime classes, and activities that are designed to appeal to the typical 18-year-old freshman.

According to Seischab, “Most students don’t realize the types of accommodations made by Medaille for non-traditional students returning for a degree.” The path to a degree begins with a personalized admissions and registration process, where student services staff assist with financial aid and course registration. From there, classes are held in a cohort structure, meaning that students travel with the same group of classmates for each class. With evening classes and coursework that can be immediately applied to one’s own work, students do not have to wait to complete the degree before seeing direct benefits to their professional career.

Bringing leadership insights to the classroom“Medaille students share a strong desire to make a better life, and that’s why our faculty works so well with our students,” Seischab says. “We are highly motivated to use our knowledge to help our students get ahead.”
She continues: “Medaille students leave with self-confidence in their ability to achieve, and that self-confidence fuels a positive attitude. A positive attitude, self-confidence and a degree in business are a powerful combination.”

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

Three local leaders will speak with Medaille College students about their experiences in working to enhance the quality of life in the Buffalo region on Wednesday, February 24 from 6-7:15 p.m. at Medaille’s Buffalo Campus.

Dr. Donna Fernandes, president of the Buffalo Zoo, Crystal Rodriguez, executive director of the Commission on Citizens’ Rights and Community Relations, and Justin Azzarella, executive director of the Elmwood Village Association, will share their first-hand experiences while promoting their organizations and goals for community improvement.

With the city of Buffalo used as an extension of the traditional classroom, students in Medaille’s first-year learning communities are engaged in a year-long study of themes that connect to local community issues, and are challenged to move those issues outside the classroom and to reach for “real-world” solutions.

Medaille’s basketball teams have demonstrated their power within the AMCC by winning conference titles. The men’s basketball team held off Frostburg State in a home game to win their second-straight regular season conference title. And the Lady Mavs basketball team also won a close game over Frostburg, clinching their fourth regular season title in the past five seasons. More coverage at medaillesports.com »

With two master’s degrees and multiple professional certifications, Fernan R. Cepero has clocked many hours seated in a desk as a student. As an instructor of business courses for Medaille’s Accelerated Learning Program in Rochester, Cepero takes his role as a teacher quite seriously.

“Learning is bridge building, where unfamiliar content is made more meaningful by bridging from what is known to what is unknown,” he explains. “Adult learners actively construct their own understanding – they are not passive recipients of information.”

“I guide learning [in my classroom] by helping students individually, at other times instructing an entire class, and still at other times by encouraging class participation,” continues Cepero. “Spontaneity is a valued part of teaching, and if the teaching appears memorized, not spoken with eye contact, and if there are no visual aids, learning will likely not take place. Students also learn better if they know the immediate results of their work; therefore, I evaluate work and return it by next class time.”

Many students enter the business degree programs at Medaille with clear goals: to advance to a new position, to finish a degree they may have started years ago, or for the sake of building their knowledge to work more effectively in their current career. Thinking of the goals that he has for his students, Cepero states, “I want my students to learn to think critically and to become skillful listeners. Students learn the skills required to manage people, plans and projects in my class by immediate application of theory to their real world of work scenarios.”

With his animated classroom manner, Cepero consistently encourages students to voice their ideas about subject matter and to ask questions. “This type of classroom climate melts icy inhibitions toward attentiveness and participation. Learning involves active thinking,” he says.

Currently working as vice president of human resources for the YMCA of Greater Rochester, Cepero held previous positions at The Perrier Group of America and Xerox. He is immediate past president of the Genesee Valley Chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management (GVCSHRM) and currently serves as treasurer of the New York State Society of Human Resource Management and treasurer of Monroe JSEC. He is a member of the boards of the Ibero-American Action League, the Eugenio Maria de Hostos Charter School, and the Center for Disability Rights and is an active member of the Senior Human Resource Executive Forum of the Rochester Business Alliance.

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.

Daniel J. Krzyzanowicz, head coach for Medaille’s men’s soccer team, has been selected as one of the Am-Pol Eagle’s Citizens of the Year.

Since 2002, “Coach K” has built Medaille’s men’s soccer program into a powerhouse team. In addition to leading the team to the NCAA Tournament in four of the past five years, he has been named the NEAC Coach of the Year for 2002, and the AMCC Coach of the Year in 2005 and 2009.

The Am-Pol Eagle annually honors members and organizations of the Polish-American community in Western New York, and this year’s honorees will be celebrated at a luncheon at Kloc’s Grove in West Seneca on Sunday, April 18.

Students in Medaille College’s True Blue and Gold and Emerging Leaders Programs are working to rehabilitate a structure on the West Side of Buffalo. Over twenty sophomore and senior students at Medaille spent a combined total of 300 hours rehabilitating a house throughout the fall.

Medaille initiated the project in spring 2009 through collaboration with Harvey Garrett of the West Side Community Collaborative. This spring, Medaille students will continue their work through fund raising projects and reconstruction within the home. With faculty and staff support, students are learning to work in a group setting for one common goal, time management and scheduling. More significantly, the group is playing a part in the broader revitalization efforts on the West Side of Buffalo, and collaborating with citizen-leaders to make positive changes for that community.

After purchasing a dilapidated property at 376 Rhode Island Street in Buffalo for $1,650, Buffalo resident Rob Stuhr has worked diligently to renovate and restore the house. “[Medaille students] have been wonderful,” says Stuhr. “The amount of man-hours has helped in moving the project forward, and they help keep the energy going to move the project along.”

Kaleidoscope Theatre Productions will stage performances of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde from January 29 – February 13 at Medaille College’s Buffalo Campus, Main Building Lecture Hall. After moving to its new home at Medaille, Kaleidoscope performed I Hate Hamlet in the fall to kick off its 2009-10. Its next show, Jake’s Women, is scheduled to run from June 11-16.

Kaleidoscope will perform a special show for Medaille students, faculty and staff on Monday, February 8 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are free with valid Medaille ID, and seating is first-come, first-serve. Immediately following the performance, the cast, crew and design team will be available for a talkback session about the production.

Tickets are free to all Medaille students, fac-ulty, and staff (w/valid ID).

From Kaleidoscope: A Tale of Depravity, Lust, Love, and Horror. A new and shocking version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale that takes place on the fog-bound streets of Victorian-era London. Henry Jekyll’s experiments with exotic “powders and tinctures” have brought forth his other self – Edward Hyde. Played by four separate actors, Hyde is a sensualist and villain free to commit the sins Jekyll is too civilized to comprehend.