I hope readers of this blog will excuse me going “off topic” about something with no direct connection to campus life, but I didn’t want the week to end without a reflection or comment on Veteran’s Day which was this past Tuesday, November 11. 

While never having been in the service myself, the day is important to me because members of my family have and one in particular - my older brother - still does.  He is a Lt. Colonel and Battalion Commander of an infantry “Stryker” battalion based out of Fairbanks, Alaska, and currently serving in Iraq.  This is his second tour of duty in the Iraq War.  He was a Major and operations officer in the 4th Infantry Division during the early phase of the war, and it usually raises a few eyebrows when I mention that he was a member of the brigade that captured Saddam Hussein.  (Google “saddam hussein + brian reed”.)  The war has been going on for so many years now that he returned to the U.S. after his first tour, began and completed his Ph.D., welcomed a third child, relocated twice, took command of a battalion, prepared for redeployment, and is now in Iraq again for what we hope is only a year.

I’ll stop here, and I know that I am bragging about my brother.  But’s only because his family and our family love him so much and pray everyday for his safety and that of the soldiers he leads and works with.  I’m just a proud little brother.

Regards and thanks to all our Veterans - past, present, and future.

As visitors and the campus community know, Fairfield’s campus is filled with sights of interesting and varied wildlife.  Canadian geese, turkeys, coyotes, the Japanese carp in Bellarmine Pond, a few stray cats, a rat or two in the streams that run through campus, and plenty of deer are among the animals that make their home on Fairfield’s campus.  Despite the number of deer, however, a sighting of an actual Stag - a male deer - is sometimes rare.  The other day I was with our VP for Marketing & Communications and Fr. von Arx in the enclosed porch off his office overlooking Bellarmine Lawn.  Fr. von Arx saw it first and we watched a Stag run across the lawn, stop and stand proud, before heading off into the woods.  While admittedly corny, the Stag sighting gave me a short boost of Fairfield pride!

On a related theme, good luck tomorrow to the Stag’s men’s and women’s soccer teams as the men compete in the MAAC soccer tournament and the women take on Oklahoma State in the first round of the NCAA soccer tournament!

Today was a great day for the Stags!  It started with the women’s soccer team’s convincing 3-0 win over Loyola College in the championship game of the 2008 MAAC women’s soccer tournament. 

The lead-up to today’s championship win and other impressive wins for Stags’ teams began Friday afternoon when I was working in my office getting periodic updates from our Sr. Associate AD who had a live web stream going in her office.  It was a nail-biter - a win on penalty kicks (the fifth and final kick for each team) over Siena to advance to play Loyola who was the top-seed.  Friday night, the men’s soccer team, needing two victories this weekend to guarantee a spot in next weekend’s MAAC men’s soccer tournament, beat Marist College.  Yesterday afternoon, the women’s volleyball team beat Marist to remain in a tie for first place with Siena who they faced this afternoon.

It was a great fall day on campus.  The sun was shining, the air was crisp, the leaves were falling, and the temperature was conducsive to watching sports outside.  Alternating between watching the men’s soccer team beat Siena and advance to the MAAC tournament and watching the women’s volleyball team beat Siena to gain sole possession of first place in the MAAC standings with one weekend to go, regular updates about the women’s soccer championship game were coming in.  At both venues, the crowds cheered when the 3-0 championship victory was announced!

The stories beneath the surface are often quite interesting and in the case of women’s soccer, the story involves senior Ahna Johnson who has been an offensive force on the field for the Stags all-season.  She scored all three goals in the win over Loyola.  But it’s Ahna performance in the classroom which is even better than her skills on the soccer field.  A 3.95 GPA, double-majoring in Physics and Information Systems, Ahna embodies the best of both terms in “student-athlete”.  Congratulations to you, Ahna, and your teammates and coaches, and good luck in the NCAA tournament!

A couple of hours ago we had the blessing and dedication of the recently renovated outdoor residential quad.  Interestingly, the Quad has had five residence halls for over 30 years and we’re currently designing and seeking approvals for the sixth hall.  But it will always be the Quad to students, alumni, and the campus community.  For those who haven’t seen it, it’s spectacular.  New walkways, lighting, benches, gathering spaced, trees, plantings, and more make for an inviting place to be, with pathways laid out in a manner that facilities direct movement of people from point to point but also fosters community and intersection points for casual conversation and extended socializing, recreation, and “seeing and being seen”.

Last Thursday evening, the First-Year Experience (FYE) program sponsored the second “Students’ Forum” lecture with support from the very popular and successful Open VISIONS Forum at the University.  Fareed Zakaria, journalist and author, regular contributor to Newsweek magazine, editor of Newsweek International, and host of his own show on CNN, was the speaker.

Prior to the public lecture which drew approx. 650+ in the Quick Center’s Kelley Theatre, I had the pleasure of attending a private dinner for Mr. Zakaria.  About a dozen or so freshmen in Dr. Patton’s Intro. to Comparative Politics class were invited and came to the dinner.  They had read Mr. Zakaria’s latest book, The Post-American World, in class and were prepared (well, some more than others!) for a discussion on some of the themes.  Two juniors and a senior - who were selected to ask questions of Mr. Zakaria during a portion of the formal event - were also at the dinner.  I sat next to a junior who is an RA and also involved with the student newspaper.  He was doing the introduction of Mr. Zakaria.

What a great event!  Mr. Zakaria was engaging, open to any question the students wanted to ask, and asked a couple of questions back to the students.  I had read his book in the past couple of weeks and unlike some authors who tend to repeat points or phrases from their recent book they are promoting, Mr. Zakaria didn’t even mention his book that I can recall.  Instead, he talked about what the students were interested in.  After dinner, he sat for a brief interview by the student-run HAM television channel.

All in all, the “Students’ Forum” lived up to its billing.  It was designed for students, saw them involved in a variety of ways, and drew a large student crowd.  Given the historic presidential election taking place and the current world situation, what a special treat it was for Fairfield to welcome back (he spoke on campus in 2002 as well) a man of Mr. Zakaria’s stature, experience, perspective, and intellect.

It’s been awhile since the last post.  I keep a running list in my top desk drawer of things that come to mind that I might want to write about on this blog or things I observe on campus that I might want to share.  The topics are not particularly deep as evidenced by the following…

The Super Duper Weenie truck comes to campus every Wednesday when the weather permits.  They do a great business.  The Fairfield Prep students, in particular, seem to have a sixth sense about whenever the truck arrives.  Groups ranging from sizes of 3-5 to a dozen or more descend from Prep’s buildings to the truck’s location outside of the campus center.  We are living through difficult financial times as a country and world, but nothing is a more certain money maker than a mobile food truck serving hot dogs and french fries coming to a residential University campus that happens to also be home to 900+ teenage boys in high school.

A colleague recently shared with me that two of our students, one is the Sports Director for the campus radio station WVOF 88.5 FM (www.wvof.org) and the other is a sports broadcaster for the station, traveled to Fenway Park recently with media credentials in hand and interviewed the great Johnny Pesky on the occasion of the Red Sox retiring his number.  (I am not a Bostonian or native New Englander, but most baseball fans know what/where Pesky Pole is in Fenway Park and why it’s called that.)  What a great experience for these two students.  There is a picture of it on the station’s website listed above, and the interview itself is available for listening at http://staff.fairfield.edu/dgrazynski/podcasts/pesky.mp3.

Over 1,300 students attended this year’s Presidential Ball held under a tent on Bellarmine Lawn.  This marked the 5th consecutive year for the event which started originally as part of Fr. von Arx’s inauguration celebration in 2004.  Despite what was a cold and rainy day overall, this year’s event had the highest attendance of them all to date.  When you’re wrong, you’re wrong.  I had originally advised against the event when it was first conceived.  I thought four smaller class events to introduce the new President to students was the way to go.  While I did not go to this year’s event, I have in the past, and I know that Fr. von Arx greets each student who comes.  They enter the main entrance of Bellarmine Hall, proceed through the Great Hall, and head to the tent via the back Terrance.  Fr. von Arx greets them there and poses for what must be several hundred photos.  The relatively high number of freshmen who attend is not surprising, but it’s wonderful to see that the next largest class representation is the seniors.

Finally, I am a Philadelphia native and a die-hard Philly sports fan (actually, just a Philly fan overall).  Please let this be the year of the Phillies.

Last week, it seemed there were a lot of first days of school - literally.  Two people whose offices are in the same suite as mine had children start second grade, kindergarten, and pre-school.  This week, another person’s child starts pre-school.

Today at the University is the first day of classes for undergraduates.  Freshmen moved into residence halls on Sunday, and upperclassmen moved in yesterday.  If you work on a college campus and don’t enjoy move-in day, you probably chose the wrong profession.  One of the most enjoyable things I get to do each year is walk through the residence halls with Fr. von Arx while freshmen move in.  This year, Dean of Students Tom Pellegrino and new chief facilities officer David Frassinelli, joined us.  We hit two floors in each of the four residence halls where freshmen are assigned.  Everyone (for the most part) seemed quite happy to be moving in.  The whole thing is quite impressive to watch if you are into logisitics.  Residence life staff hand out the room keys.  Orientation leaders hand out the folders with all of the information.  IRHA (residence hall association) volunteers give out free t-shirts (the second of several dozen students will acquire over their four years - they already received the first free t-shirt at orientation sessions in June).  Orientation committee members help students and families carry what seems to be an endless stream of boxes and personal belongings into the halls.  University administrators and staff help to direct traffic and politely remind parents to move their cars after unloading everything onto the curb or sidewalk.  Dining Services distribute hundreds of free hot dogs, sodas, and water outside of the campus center.  IT staff, representatives from local banks and the Chamber of Commerce, and student life staff are gathered in the campus center to answer questions and assist.  The bookstore distributes pre-orders in an orderly and efficient fashion.  (The image of standing in line at the bookstore for hours waiting to buy books is meaningless on today’s college campus.)  The chapel overflows for Sunday Mass in the early afternoon.  Finally, around 4 p.m., parents and family members still on campus and politely “encouraged” to leave.

Walking around with Fr. von Arx is always fun.  We run into people we know somehow through a connection.  Most parents and students appreciate the president stopping by to welcome them.  There is also a healthy dose of humility thrown in when we stop at a room and people barely look up to acknowledge the president, as making the bed or connecting to the Internet for the first time takes absolute precedent!  We met a lot of interesting people from a variety of places and backgrounds.

For any prospective students and parents who may be reading this blog and are considering some of Fairfield’s competitor schools such as Loyola, Villanova, or Marist, we met a mom who was moving her 6th (of 7) child into college.  She said that she’s been to all of those other schools and we rank at the top in her book when it comes to orientation and move-in!

Yesterday, as upperclassmen moved in, I watched from afar, but at one point, the Dean of Students and I decided to take a ride to the beach and see what move-in was like for seniors living off-campus down there.  Unfortunately, we were a bit too early to see the mass move-in in the afternoon, but we saw a number of students and parents and were able to talk to some.  As we recounted the names of some of the houses, a senior who had no idea who we were helped us with some of the names we couldn’t remember and then innocently asked, “did you go here”?  As administrators, our identities and roles at the University are unknown to most students - and that’s just fine.

The parking lots are filled.  People are running on the cinder track around Lessing Field.  The sidewalks fill up every 50 to 75 minutes as classes begin and end.  The first day of school is a great thing to witness.  It was always my father’s favorite day of the year, and I suspect it is becoming one of my favorites as well.

May 9th.  Over two months ago.  76 days, if my math is correct.  So much for an “active” blog to which I and others would post regularly.  It is at this point that I am reminded of the popular expression, “if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it…”.  This blog might follow that same logic!

There has been so much that has been happening on and around campus since the “Dean’s” May 9th post.  I recently had someone say to me innocently (and sincerely) in an e-mail that s/he hoped I was enjoying the downtime of the summer months and have gotten some time off (not yet, coming next week).  It is a myth that college campuses go into a period of hibernation once the full-time undergraduates depart in May.  Instead, the campus shifts to other activities, some academic and many extra-curricular.  One of the more fun things to observe on campus during the summer is the stream of kids that come to campus for camps and other programs.  This leads me to the group behind the the title of this blog post… the students (and teachers) from Brooklyn Jesuit Prep.

Brooklyn Jesuit Prep brings a slew of middle school students to campus for about a month.  This is the third year that they have been on campus.  I recognize the Jesuit priest who appears to be in charge, but there are other teachers present as well.  BJP is a member of the “Nativity” model of schools that have been established in urban centers and typically educate students from poor and underprivileged backgrounds.  BJP students stand out.  They are poised, diverse, polite, spirited, grateful, and normal tweens and early teen-agers.  They huddle in small groups.  Boys and girls gather together and whisper.  And like any good Catholic school, these students form the straightest lines on order that I have seen in a long time!

While on campus, they have classes in the morning, in the afternoon, and even perhaps in the evening.  They run around outside on the expansive campus, swim in the pool (the Rec-Plex director tells me that the confidence of some in the water might exceed their ability but that he always gets into the pool when they are there because they are such an enjoyable group of kids to work with and help to learn how to swim), eat in the dining hall, and attend Sunday Mass at the chapel.  (Fr. Allen geared his homily last Sunday for the BJPers in the congregation.)  On several occasions when I have left my office in the campus center at the end of the day, I have seen the BJP group sitting on the first floor in the comfy chairs reading!  Admittedly, some are reading more seriously than others, but they sit there books in hand for some quiet time prior to dinner.  I suspect that reading time is as much for the teachers as it is for the kids, but what an example to make time for reading.  Most of all, what strikes me from afar is just how happy these kids appear.  Those on campus who work with and help to make the experience a positive one for BJP on campus tell me how appreciative and thankful the students are.  They head home at the end of this week, and they will be missed.  I hope they come back again next summer.

BJP is a shining example of the essential mission of Jesuit education.  A quick Google search turned up: http://www.nynativity.org/bjp/index.htm. 

By Tom Pellegrino

I begin with a disclaimer that this is meant in jest. Unless you think I’ve hit upon something profound (hopefully) and factually accurate (questionable), in which case, I claim full rights to this.

I am going to talk about temporal anomalies. Please note that science is not my strong suit. Candidly, I look to Star Trek for all my scientific information (shouldn’t everyone?). Whether Captain Kirk knew anything about black holes is unclear. He seemed more consumed with pressuring Scotty for “more power” or engaging some intergalactic runway model at every turn. But Kirk did know a thing or two about anomalies and that’s why I like Star Trek. To my mind, some of its best episodes (pick your series; they all did this) confronted some sort of anomaly in space, whether temporal, material, or otherwise.

Let us start (and finish) with the educational piece: A black hole is a celestial entity whose gravitational pull is so intense that nothing can escape it, even light. That is why is appears, at least in theory, as black.

I witnessed a black hole – an anomaly – right here on campus. It’s called the Reading day.

Reading days. These strange, surreal occurrences where the gravitational pull of classrooms, the campus center, the library (and in many instances, the bursar’s office for debts heretofore unpaid) becomes so intense that students are sucked in for the first and for many, only time. They come to the center of campus to engage in the bi-annual rite known as final exams. The light is also sucked in, at least from their weary eyes.

The black hole of reading day has its fair share of anomalous characteristics. For one thing, one does not always see a lot of actual “reading” on reading day. Or at least I don’t. But admittedly, my view may be jaded. Reading - studying - is not what I remember it to be. Books have been replaced with laptops, of course. But also, individual cramming sessions in darkened corners of remote rooms appear to have been replaced with the phenomena known as the “group project.” The genesis of this latter anomaly speaks to our Starbucks mentality. You can see a group project forming anywhere where there are big comfy chairs and access to caffeine. Students congregate to these comfortable chairs in small groups, situate themselves in a circle, and pull out their respective icy or brewed caffeine concoctions from Jazzmans. And then everyone looks at each other, attempting to identify the “prepared one” in the group - the one who will get the presentation started (and, I am told finished in many instances). And again, here I may be jealous. I like coffee and comfy seats and wish I could have done more group presentations for my finals. I would not have been the prepared one.

Speaking of anomalies, whatever happened to blue books? Does anyone give blue book exams anymore? You all remember these don’t you – the little square shaped, stapled note books that brought anonymity and carpal tunnel syndrome to millions of weary liberal arts majors? Where has it gone, this act of physically presenting oneself to the confines of a classroom on exam day, sitting down to a small desk with nothing more than a pen in hand (no one owns pencils anymore, by the way, they stopped making them) and filling out one, two or twenty-five blue books? Where did those days go? Every one seems to do things at home and turn things in. Blue books were all about physical pain. There’s learning to be had in pain. Where’s the pain in take-home exams?

Maybe the move away from blue books is a good thing. Now that I think about it, I recall a lot of fiction and stream of conscience (sort of like this blog) being expelled on the pages. Cerebral detritus, sucked into a black, or better yet, blue hole. The blue hole of the infamous blue book.

And then there is the anomalous thing called the “beach senior,” the one who wanders into the venue of the campus center often wide-eyed and mystified. The expression on the face reads, “where am I?” (the fourth query of the Ignatian Residential College’s pedagogical examen, by the way).

Recently, one senior came up to me and asked where the Oak Room was. The name rang a bell - sort of. But he had not been in the campus center since sophomore year, so I had to refresh his recollection.

“Third floor, big room with all the oak paneling.” I paused, “directly below the dining hall.”

“The dining hall?” He looked puzzled.

“Never mind, I’ll walk you up there.”

“Thanks, dude” he said.

“No problem, dude” I dutifully responded.

Reading days are anomalies to be sure. And I know how difficult they are for students. But I have to selfishly admit how much I look forward to them. I like them because for those few days known as reading days, the campus really, really looks like a college. Whether you are in the library, the classroom, the RecPlex or quad, you see all our students, all four years, mulling about, exhausted but engaged, anxious but optimistic, exuding that amazing energy that can only be harnessed and expended by a college student.

I make a point to chat with students during reading day, to see how they are doing. I don’t stay too long. I know they have more work to do on this day than I do. I am reminded of how much enjoyment I derive from the simple act of being in the presence of our students, and indeed, how they will be missed when these days are over, even though it will mean less stress for many of us.

Anomalies abound.

TCP

Around Campus” is the regular blog of Fairfield University’s Vice President for Administrative and Student Affairs, Mark C. Reed. He is away this week, and asked me to pinch hit on the blog for him. Never one to shy away from expressing myself, I said I would be happy to do it. Here is what I have been thinking about.

I was watching Disney’s 1994 animated movie The Lion King with my five year old son, Chris the other night. Admittedly, my mind began wandering almost immediately, but I did happen to catch the lyrics from the Elton John song The Circle of Life. It was really the title itself that caught my attention: the circle of life. It’s a term we often use to describe the evolutionary process of our life, and how it is more cyclical and sometimes repetitive, than we are often aware of. I thought about the circular or cyclical nature of life, and indeed how life on a college campus is cyclical in nature.  

Things that are old are routinely borne anew on a college campus, albeit in different contexts, in different settings, and with different and fresh faces leading the charge. It could be the strategic plan, or our examination of governance, or even the recent objections students have raised to the off campus lottery (something I have become intimately familiar with this past week!). These are all new things, and yet ask anyone who is a student of Fairfield’s history and they will tell you that strategic planning, audits of our governance processes, and even student protests (I ran one myself when I was a student!) are nothing new to this great campus.

Some point out that the circle of life phenomena is a problematic one because it says something about our capacity (or lack thereof) to learn from past experiences. I think it is fair to say that we can all do a better job of learning from our past. However, I am also reminded that being in a constant state of flux is what makes institutions of higher education, and Fairfield University in particular, both unique and special. We are never far from having completed some initiative or another aimed at improving ourselves when the circle of life comes into play, and we begin the process of renewal all over again.  

When does a University stop reinventing itself? The answer is probably, never. It can be maddening, perhaps understandably, for those who have been at an institution for any length of time ,to see initiatives at change. It strikes at the core of what is comfortable and expected. It is particularly taxing when change is being advanced by those who are new to the institution. The response being, “what does someone new know anyway?” Well, we learn time and again that those who are new know a good deal, or at least bring different perspectives and a fresh way of looking at things to the table. The worst that any of us can do is to quell those perspectives, particularly if they come in the form of student voices. To be certain, those who are new can also learn a great deal from those who are not. And that is the circle of life here on our campus: a 360 degree continuum of communicating, listening and learning. If we can check our biases at the door, and focus on our listening rather than speaking skills, the circle of life will play itself out once again. And in that process, we all do the institution itself a great service. Change is a challenge. Being called to task is a challenge. Altering the way we do things is a challenge. But it is what makes us unique here at Fairfield. I did end up falling asleep half way through The Lion King. My son nudged me awake. He hates it when I fall asleep on him. Understandable. I am getting a little older, as is he, which means he can stay awake later and I cannot! But we are both desirous of carving time of our busy schedules for each other. As I get older, I realize that relationship-building more than other things is the one thing I tend to want to concentrate more and more of my energies on. It is a challenge, as is the circle of life. But being in the circle of life, and knowing you are there, is what makes for the most important of experiences – those that are transformative. They lead us towards continued states of improving ourselves, our school, and hopefully, our world.

Thomas C. Pellegrino
Associate Vice President and Dean of Students