Medaille College News

The Student Government Association gave out its annual awards at the End of the Year Banquet, held at the Pearl Street Grill on Saturday, May 3. 2008.

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The Medaille College Reading Clinic will receive a $1,000 grant from the Junior League of Buffalo.

The funding will be applied towards books and hands-on materials that enhance reading acquisition and spelling skills. The clinic serves over 100 elementary school students each year, and is staffed by over 100 graduate students in the Literacy program.

Michelle Cefaratti, the Reading Clinic Director, offers, “It’s exciting because we know how important proper instructional materials are to student growth. This money affords us the opportunity to purchase new books that will directly impact our graduate students’ teaching as well as our elementary students’ learning.”

The American Scholastic Press Association has designated The Medaille Perspective as a First Place with Special Merit Award winner. The annual review looks at both and design and content.

Medaille College has earned its reaccreditation from the American Veterinarian Medical Association. With the reaccreditation, students graduating from Medaille with a degree in Veterinary Technology continue to be eligible to sit for the national licensing exam.Medaille originally earned its full accreditation in 1995, and was reconfirmed in 2001. This accreditation is granted for six years and is recognized throughout the United States.

Since its inception, Medaille’s Veterinary Technology degree has earned a strong reputation nationally and is one of the largest such programs in New York State. The Vet Tech program is a rigorous academic program that features a strong emphasis on practical application. Students work hand-in-hand with veterinarians and veterinary technicians by performing such tasks as lab testing, drawing blood, assisting in surgery, administering anesthesia, taking radiographs and caring for animals.

The text of Dr. Richard T. Jurasek’s Inauguration Address from April 5, 2008 is available, along with links to video clips and pictures from the event, at the Inauguration web site.

“A year ago, I was an aspirant for this job. A year ago in that chain of introductions and interviews and presentations, I was asked with laser insistence about my ideas, about what I was thinking, about my record, about my philosophy, my values, the facts. That is how it should be.

But there was little inquiry into how I was feeling. My sentiments at the moment. How I was processing things. How I was responding in my heart was surely not appropriate during a search when the employer is trying to objectively choose the best candidate for the job. That is how it should be.

But things are a bit different now one year later. I am allowed to have more contour, more complexity in that human sense. And these past few weeks, increasing numbers of well-meaning insiders (including my family) and outsiders have been asking how things are, how it feels to be so near the inauguration, what I feel about the College, about my experiences. What does it feel like, you are asking.

My response? I am experiencing, deeply, a wide range of complex emotions. Sometimes contradictory. I find that I am intellectually alive as never before. And I find that I am emotionally alive as never before.

Since you asked, I will talk about my work, your College, our College, about myself – all interrelated – in terms of four sentiments: gratitude, pride, humility, ambition. More »

Video clips from the Inauguration of Dr. Richard T. Jurasek, sixth president of Medaille College, on April 5, 2008, are available on Medaille’s Youtube page. Videos include:

Dr. Jurasek’s Inaugural Address
[Part One (~9 min); Part Two (~10 min); Part Three (~6 min)]
Welcome message from William Collins, Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Greetings from Robert Nesslin, Assistant Professor and Faculty Representative
Greetings from Amanda Rebelo ‘08, President of the Student Government Association
Greetings from John Barry ‘95, Alumni Board President

Medaille’s recycling program was featured in an article on BuffaloRising.com, which outlined the efforts Medaille students, faculty and staff have taken to “green” the campus.

Medaille is entered into the Recyclemania competition, a program that measures recycling on college campuses throughout the country. The final results for the semester will be announced on April 16.

On Saturday, April 5, Medaille College inaugurated Dr. Richard T. Jurasek as its sixth president in an hour-long ceremony in the Kevin I. Sullivan Campus Center on Medaille’s Main Campus.

Three members of the Medaille Music and Drama Club, Daniel Brawn, Tara Lacell and Melissa Bellanca, performed O Canada and The Star Spangled Banner, and William Collins, Chair of the Board of Trustees, gave a welcome message to the audience.

Greetings to the President followed, as Robert Nesslin, Assistant Professor, Amanda Rebelo ‘08, Student Government Association President, and John Barry ‘95, Alumni Board President, represented the faculty, students and alumni, respectively. William Collins, of the board of trustees, continued with his greeting, followed by Sister Denise Roche, GNSH, Ph.D., of D’Youville College and Chris Collins, Erie County Executive.

Following the Investiture of the President by William Collins, Dr. Jurasek delivered his inaugural address, which outlined four themes: gratitute, pride, humility and ambition.

A Benediction by the Rev. Joseph L. Levesque, C.M., president of Niagara University, concluded the ceremony. Following the event, attendees

The text of Dr. Jurasek’s speech, pictures and video clips from the event will be available online later this week.

Dr. Jurasek speaks with U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins (left) and Maxwell Ellis (center) at a pre-Inauguration event for Western New York leaders.

In recognition of National Student Employee Week, the Career Planning Office is pleased to announce that Lisa Stolfa ‘10 has been named Medaille’s 2007-08 Student Employee of the Year. Stolfa, a Biology major, was nominated by her supervisor, Lynn Kozinski, Laboratory Manager for the Math and Science Department.

Criteria for the award are based on contributions to the office in terms of initiative, reliability, diligence and professionalism. Kozinski states that in her five years as Laboratory Manager, “Stolfa ranks as the most outstanding student employee she has had the pleasure to work with.”

Along with a $100.00 Visa gift card, Stolfa will be recognized at the Western New York Student Employee of the Year luncheon on Tuesday, April 8 at Shanghai Red’s Restaurant.

The Medaille College Reading Clinic is accepting applications for its summer session. The clinic, staffed by graduate students pursuing master’s degrees in literacy, provides one-on-one assessment and instruction to K-6 students in the Buffalo area.

Parents of elementary students who may benefit from the Reading Clinic should submit an application to Michelle Cefaratti, reading clinic director, at 18 Agassiz Circle, Buffalo, NY 14214.

The Reading Clinic tutors students year-round, with the summer session beginning the first week of July and continuing for seven weeks. The Reading Clinic’s fall and spring sessions run for 12 weeks each.