Universitas: the magazine of Saint Louis University

Spring 2011 issue of Universitas: the magazine of Saint Louis Universitys pr ing 2 011 Behind the scenes of SLU Theatre’s latest production Page 8 Undergr aduate R esearch Page 12 SLU Madrid’ s Leader Page 17 Alumni Pediatricians Page 2 0 also inside: 2010 President’s Report depa r tment s 2 | On Campus Two vice presidents named • Buffett welcomes students • Malaria research • National Children’s Study • Campus construction updates • Arts at SLU 6 | Billiken News Billiken Hall of Fame • Soccer alumnus joins national team 7 | Advancement News A conversation with Sheila Manion, associate vice president for development 25 | Class No tes Catch up with classmates • Alumni Spotlight 28 | In Memoriam Remembering those members of the SLU community who recently died 30 | Alumni Events Attend SLU alumni activities where you live. 32 | Perspective An alumnus offers his views on teaching English in China. 33 | the last word Letters to the editor 8 2 U NI V ERSITAS w w w. s lu . e d u Volume 3 7, Issue 2 Edi tor Laura Geiser (A&S ’90, Grad ’92) Contributors Marie Dilg (Grad SW ’94) Elizabeth Harris Krasnoff “On Campus” news storie s University Communications Medical Center Communications Billiken Media Relations Cov er Photo Chad Williams (A&S ’11) De sign Art Direction: Matt Krob Universitas is published by Saint Louis University. Opinions expressed in Universitas are those of the individual authors and not necessarily those of the University administration. Unsolicited manuscripts and photographs are welcome but will be returned only if accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Letters to the editor must be signed, and letters not intended for publication should indicate that fact. The editor reserves the right to edit all items. Address all mail to Universitas, DuBourg Hall 39, One Grand Blvd., St. Louis, Mo. 63103. We accept e-mail at utas@ slu.edu and fax submissions at (314) 977-2249. Address fax submissions to Editor, Universitas. Postmaster: Send address changes to Universitas, Saint Louis University, One Grand Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63103. World Wide Web address: www.slu.edu/pr/universitas.html Universitas is printed by Universal Printing Co. Worldwide circulation: 112,000 © 2011, Saint Louis University All rights reserved. FA L L 2 0 0 4 WINT E R 2 0 0 5 S a i n t L ou i s U n i v e r s i t y mi s s ion s tat em e n t The mission of Saint Louis University is the pursuit of truth for the greater glory of God and for the service of humanity. The University seeks excellence in the fulfillment of its corporate purposes of teaching, research, health care and service to the community. It is dedicated to leadership in the continuing quest for understanding of God’s creation and for the discovery, dissemination and integration of the values, knowledge and skills required to transform society in the spirit of the Gospels. As a Catholic, Jesuit university, this pursuit is motivated by the inspiration and values of the Judeo-Christian tradition and is guided by the spiritual and intellectual ideals of the Society of Jesus. { contents } Also in this issue: The 2010 President’s Report + + + + + To read a message from University President Lawrence Biondi, S.J., please see the President’s Report insert at the center of this issue of Universitas. features 8 Much Ado Abo ut So mething Follow the process as Saint Louis University brings a Shakespearean classic to life. — By Laura Geiser, Photos by Chad Williams 12 Research and Development Six stories that illustrate how undergraduate research enriches student and faculty experiences. — By Elizabeth Harris Krasnoff 17 Reale Madrid A conversation with Frank Reale, S.J., vice president and rector of SLU’s Madrid Campus. — By Laura Geiser 20 Doctor, Doc tor Meet father-son alumni, Drs. William and James Sears, who are focused on children’s health. — By Marie Dilg 20 17 12 2 U NI V ERSITAS w w w. s l u . e d u s p r i n g ’ 1 1 U N I V E R S I T A S 3 { on campus } t h e A R T S a t S L U Investor Warren Buffett hosts SLU students For the third year in a row, students from the John Cook School of Business MBA programs had the opportunity to spend a day with Warren Buffett, the renowned investor, industrialist and philanthropist. Twenty graduate students and a program coordinator took a bus trip from St. Louis to Omaha, Neb., for the Nov. 19 visit. They toured two Buffett subsidiary companies, participated in a two-hour question-and-answer session with Buffett and lunched with him at his favorite Omaha restaurant, Piccolo Pete’s. SLUMA shows work of Tom Huck The Saint Louis University Museum of Art is presenting “Tom Huck: Brutal Truths” through April 17. The exhibition features the woodcuts of the nationally renowned art-ist. “Brutal Truths” includes more than 45 of Huck’s large-scale, intricate woodcuts. In many of his prints, Huck finds his inspiration in bizarre but true occurrences that happened in his boyhood home of Potosi, Mo. He uses his printmaking skills to exaggerate the details and embellish the facts in his woodcuts. SLUMA’s hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. For more information, visit sluma. slu.edu. ‘Miserere et Guerre’ exhibit at MOCRA Saint Louis University’s Museum of Contemporary Religious Art is presenting the complete series of 58 etchings that comprise French artist Georges Rouault’s “Miserere et Guerre” through July 31. The series was last shown at MOCRA in 2003. Art critic John Canaday describes Rouault as “one of the great printmakers of the age,” and the “Miserere” as “landmarks in the development of print techniques.” The themes of the series include war and economic injustice, as well as mercy, compassion and forgive-ness. MOCRA’s hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. For more information, visit mocra. slu.edu. Georges Rouault. Miserere et Guerre: No. 55, L’aveugle parfois a consolé le voyant. 1927. Possum Promenade, 2003 edition 12/25, woodcut Bloody Bucket series, 38" x 52" Two vice presidents appointed Paul Stark, S.J., has been named vice president for mission and ministry. Stark entered the Society of Jesus in 1977 and has experience as an educator, administrator and pastor. He spent the first 15 years of his career teaching in Jesuit high schools. His first job at SLU was in campus ministry. In the mid 1990s, he served as SLU’s vice president for student development and most recently served as assistant vice president for alumni relations and annual giving. Stark succeeds Frank Reale, S.J., who now serves full-time as rector and vice president of SLU’s Madrid Campus. (Read a Q&A with Reale on page 17.) Jeff Fowler has been named Saint Louis Uni-versity’s vice president for University advance-ment. He had served as interim vice president since November 2009. Fowler, who joined SLU in 2000 and previously served as associate vice president of University marketing and communications, now oversees the advancement, alumni relations and marketing and communications activities of the University. As interim, he reorganized SLU’s development area, led efforts to launch a new annual giving campaign and restructured SLU’s giving society events. He also solicited a number of major gifts, and dur-ing his tenure overall giving to SLU increased. Construction continues on the Education Union at the Medical Center. The building — located next to the School of Nursing — is being renovated and expanded to include a student lounge, a study space, a 225-seat auditorium, a state-of-the-art patient simulation center and an area for food service. It is scheduled to be completed by this summer. WINTER’S TALE: Like most of the country, Saint Louis University was hit by this winter’s massive storms, which forced the closure of SLU for two consecutive days in early February. It was SLU’s first two-day closure since 1982. Photo by Chad Williams submitted Photos Photos by steve dolan Photo by Chad Williams 4 U NI V ERSITAS w w w. s l u . e d u s p r i n g ’ 1 1 U N I V E R S I T A S 5 ART IN THE PARK: The space at the intersection of Lindell and Grand boulevards has been designated as the Ellen Clark Sculpture Park. The park features sculptures by St. Louis artist Mel Meyer, S.M. National Children’s Study starts in St. Louis The National Children’s Study, the largest U.S. study ever conducted to learn about the health and development of children, is beginning in St. Louis. Led locally by Saint Louis University School of Public Health, the study will follow more than 100,000 children from diverse back-grounds and communities across the United States from before birth until age 21. It will examine the effects of the environment and genetics on the growth, development and health of children. Dr. Louise Flick, SLU professor of epidemiology, is the principal investigator for the National Children’s Study Gateway Study Center. Washington University in St. Louis, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and Battelle Center for Public Health Research and Evaluation, St. Louis Office, are collaborating partners on the research in the region. The National Children’s Study is funded by the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency. As the lead regional site, SLU’s School of Public Health was awarded $53.1 million to conduct the research. SLU scientists partner on malaria research Saint Louis University’s Center for World Health and Medicine and China’s Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health (GIBH) are forming a global research partnership that initially will focus on new treatments for malaria. The organizations are not only connected by a shared commitment to fight a devastating disease, but their key leaders are former Pfizer Inc. drug discovery scientists who formerly worked together in Chesterfield, Mo. GIBH is part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a premier government scientific re-search organization in China, which is similar to the U.S. National Science Foundation. Its chief technology officer and vice president of research, Micky Tortorella, has held the posi-tion for more than a year after leaving Pfizer. The Center for World Health and Medi-cine began with a dozen scientists at SLU in July, with a goal of turning basic science research into drugs that combat diseases and medical problems that largely afflict the developing world. “This is the first step in setting up an international network of collaboration fueled by scientists with expertise in drug discovery. This alliance gives us a global expertise and provides a real opportunity to succeed, in terms of developing safe, effective and afford-able new drugs,” said Peter Ruminski (A&S ’75), executive director of SLU’s center. “Malaria is becoming increasingly resistant to current treatments. We need new classes of drugs to attack this deadly disease, which kills between one and three million people a year. We think it is important for there to be mul-tiple therapeutic options for treating malaria, as there are for HIV or for bacterial infections, and this partnership will add significantly to efforts aimed at achieving that goal.” Department of internal medicine marks 100 years The department of internal medicine is celebrating its centennial anniversary. With about 130 full-time faculty, more than 300 staff members and about 150 residents and fellows, internal medicine is the largest department in the School of Medicine. It includes medical specialists from 11 divisions: cardiology; endocrinology; gastroenterology and hepatology; general internal medicine; geriatrics; hematology and medical oncol-ogy; immunobiology; infectious diseases and immunology; nephrology; pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine; and rheumatology. 12 Student clubs/organizations 206 Miles from Loyola, where St. Ignatius of Loyola (founder of the Society of Jesus) was born and found faith 19 Sports available to students BY THE NUMBERS: At SLU’s Madrid Campus 4,414 Miles from the St. Louis campus 44 Years since its founding Library launches digital catalog collection Pius XII Memorial Library’s newest digital collection, “Saint Louis University Catalogs 1829-1902,” is now online. The catalogs contain the names of students and faculty, course reading lists, commencement programs and other information on each academic year. Several of the catalogs (1829-1835, 1838, and 1847) no longer exist in their original format, but were preserved as typewritten transcripts. There is also no catalog for 1849, because the 1848-1849 academic year was cut short by a major cholera epidemic, which brought the entire city of St. Louis to a halt for several months. Visit the online collection at libraries.slu.edu. News Briefs Michael Wolff will step down from the Missouri Supreme Court to serve as professor of law at the School of Law beginning in the fall of 2011. In addition to his current duties on the court, Wolff has served as the school’s distinguished visiting professor of law since 2007. Wolff will teach civil procedure, among other courses. Dr. Bruce R. Bacon, professor of internal medicine in the division of gas-troenterology and hepatology, received the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases Distinguished Service Award last fall. He holds the James F. King, M.D., Endowed Chair in Gastroenterology at SLU. The Doisy College of Health Sciences will offer a new four-year bachelor’s degree program in magnetic resonance imaging this fall. The department of medical imaging and radiation therapeutics is launching the program to fill a nationwide gap in trained and certified MRI professionals. Dr. Phillip Ligrani is the new Oliver L. Parks Chair in Engineering. He joined the University this fall as the director of graduate programs at Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology and was for-mally invested as the endowed chair on Sept. 16. He also teaches as a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering within the college. Dr. Saleem Abdulrauf (Med ’91), professor of neurosurgery, is the au-thor of the first textbook on a type of brain bypass surgery. The book, Cerebral Revascularization: Techniques in Extracranial-to-Intracranial Bypass Surgery: Expert Consult, teaches neurosurgeons about the brain bypass technique that Abdulrauf himself helped develop. MBA students go global in Hong Kong More than 40 members of Saint Louis University’s full-time, one-year MBA program kicked off 2011 with a trip to Hong Kong to complete their study abroad course requirement. During the 10-day January trip, students spent weekday mornings in the classroom, where they analyzed case studies involving Hong Kong or China, listened to guest lecturers from Hong Kong businesses and participated in extensive question-and-answer sessions. The course also included seven out-of-classroom activities. Finance professor Dr. Neil Seitz, who teaches the classroom com-ponent of the study-abroad course, accompanied students on the trip. For Seitz, the trip is an invaluable experience for students pursuing a career in international business. “Globalization of business involves everyone selling their skills in an international marketplace,” he said. “Because of the growing importance of international business, overseas experience is an essential part of the management progression path at many companies.” ON TRACK: The Medical Center Recreation Stadium is taking shape. The complex, which consists of a soccer field, ringed by an NCAA-regulation, eight-lane running track, is located east of the Hickory Garages and west of Compton Avenue. Ruminski (left) and Tortorella Photo by Chad Williams Photo by Chad Williams Photo by Chad Williams submitted Photos 6 U NI V ERSITAS w w w. s l u . e d u s p r i n g ’ 1 1 U N I V E R S I T A S 7 How did the recession affect fundraising? There are still people who may have less. But they’re still philanthropic, and they still want to give. Those who give because they want to support a great mission will continue to do so. They may give a lower amount, but they’re not stopping. They just have to cut back a little. Donors or charitably minded people are go-ing to keep giving. Giving is not transactional. Donors don’t give to get something. They give because they believe in something. What would you like to tell alumni who are considering a gift but are worried about the economy? I’d want alumni to know that whatever level of support they can give will help the institution. And if they have to give a smaller gift this year versus what they’ve done in the past, it’s fine. What’s important is participation, staying in the habit of supporting the institution. Alumni are giving to something that will be here for future leaders forever. So, any gift is a great investment. Just continue giving, and we will continue to be good stewards of everything you entrust to this institution. I also would want alumni to know about all of the progress that’s happening here. People want to give to winners. They want to give to institutions that are showing progress. You look around this campus, and everything’s moving forward. Building projects are under way, new majors are being developed; we’re not shutting the doors on anything. We’re just as vibrant and alive as ever. So what a great institution for people to support at whatever level they can. Why is alumni participation so important? The strongest case you can make for people to give to an institution is to show that those who are closest to it — in our case, our alumni — are supporting it. If the alumni are all giving to the institution, then when my de-velopment colleagues and I talk to possible donors, they will see that alumni support and say, “Well, if all of those alumni have invested and feel confident, we can invest, too.” The more alumni who participate at any level sends a very strong message to the region, to the community and to other alumni that this is something they should support, too. What current or upcoming University projects do you think might be of interest to donors? So many come to mind — the Center for Sustainability, the Center for World Health and Medicine and the Center for Global Citi-zenship, which will help us meet the needs of our international student population. At the Medical Center, the Education Union and the Recreation Stadium are much needed. These initiatives are really going to encourage interprofessional collaboration. Are there opportunities for donors at any level to these projects? Yes, any level. There’s a need for basic annual operating support of those building projects and centers. There are also major naming opportunities to recognize donors who give at significant levels. So ranging from smaller annual gifts to $10 million, there’s something for every level of support. Donors get excited about projects, but are there other opportunities for giving? Scholarships speak to almost everybody. Even if you didn’t receive a scholarship when you were in school, you still understand the meaning of that type of gift and what it can do. And depending on the level of gift, you can name a scholarship and interact with the student recipient. And if there’s a department, school or college that was especially important to you, directly influenced your future or helped shape your career, you can find something within that area to support. You left SLU about seven years ago. What are your impressions since you’ve been back? When I left, the Doisy Research Center wasn’t here; I was raising money for it. And now there’s this amazing building that is home to researchers who are going to change lives. But I think what amazes me most is Father Biondi’s continued vision for this institution. From the academic side of things to the capital projects, the evolution of Saint Louis University is so impressive. There’s something here for everyone to sup-port. I’m just very happy to be back. To make a gift to Saint Louis University, use the envelope enclosed in this issue of Universitas, visit giving.slu.edu or call (314) 977-2849. { billiken news } billiken beat The Saint Louis University department of athletics inducted 11 individuals, the Luechtefeld family and the 1999-2000 men’s basketball team into the Billiken Hall of Fame on Feb. 18 in a ceremony at Busch Student Center. The Billiken Hall of Fame welcomed its initial class in 1976. Since then, more than 250 student-athletes, teams and dignitaries have been selected for induction. This year’s honorees represent five categories. BILLIKEN GREAT: PIONEER / Prior to 1980 Kent Jackson (ice hockey, 1974-78): As a de-fenseman, Jackson led SLU to two Central Col-legiate Hockey Association regular-season titles (1975 and 1977) and two tournament champion-ships (1975 and 1976). He was an All-Confer-ence selection all four years during his career and was a first-team choice in 1977. BILLIKEN GREAT: CONTEMPORARY / 1980 to present Brett Bredensteiner (baseball, 1995-98): Bredensteiner started all 200 games during his SLU career. He is second in career hits (247), second in home runs (43), tied for second in RBIs (182) and still the all-time leader in runs scored (169), triples (16) and total bases (459). Nicole Bohnenstiehl Pinaire (softball, 2001- 03): When Pinaire graduated, she held virtually every SLU pitching record including wins (41), strikeouts (672), shutouts (20) and ERA (1.72). In addition, she held the marks for home runs, RBIs and slugging percentage and pitched the only perfect game in program history. Megan Capellupo Lehr (swimming, 2002-05): Lehr was the first SLU swimmer to achieve the NCAA “B” standard in any event (the 200 breaststroke). She also was the first Billiken Conference USA swimming champion in any event and still holds the school record in the 100 breaststroke and 200 breaststroke. Janet Darpel Leigh (volleyball,