Scenes from the 2015 Chemistry Demonstrations

On Tuesday, March 22, at 7:00 p.m. in the Hurd Science Center Auditorium, the Natural Science Department Chemistry faculty and students will present the 15th Annual Chemistry Demonstrations Program. This is a family event and all ages are welcome.

This event is free and open to the DeSales community and the general public, however, seating is limited and reservations are strongly encouraged.  Please email NaturalScience@desales.edu to reserve your seat(s) and you will receive an email confirming your reservation.  

The Chemistry Demonstrations Program is directed by Dr. Rodger Berg, Associate Professor of Chemistry and he is assisted by Natural Science Department Faculty, including Assistant Professors Dr. Sara Hayik, Dr. Julie Himmelberger, and Dr. Steven Sweeney; Associate Professor Dr. Francis Mayville; and Chemistry Laboratory Manager Patricia Hartman. 

Led by Nicole Carpenter, student members of the Chemistry Demonstration Program include Kayla Alderfer, Ashley Baxter, Dylan Bortz, Brianna Dalesandro, Ryan Fisher, Matt Kanaskie, Michael Ott, Erin Sauschuck, Gabrielle Scott, Bryce Swanson, Jen Yannaccone, and Tim Yannaccone.

The DeSales faculty, staff and students who participate in the Chemistry Demonstrations Program seek to instill in elementary, middle, and high school students a love of science and to enrich their understanding of chemistry.  

The demonstrations are a treat for all the senses and include over a dozen highly visual and entertaining experiments such as Fire Ice, The Solvent is Right, Freezing Fish, Invincible Snowballs, and Making Ice Cream with the Minions.  The colorful and explosive presentations are designed to be visually interesting and exciting, as well as illustrative of important but easily understood chemical concepts.

This year, the Natural Science Department will entertain over 1,500 students from area middle and high schools who attend performances during the school day.

On Tuesday, April 5, 2016, at 7:00 p.m., Leah Darrow, Catholic speaker and former America's Next Top Model, will speak at the annual St. John Paul II Arts and Culture Series event hosted by The Salesian Center for Faith and Culture at DeSales University. This event, which will be held in the DeSales University Center, is free and open to the public. 

Darrow first gained international attention with her debut on the reality television show, America’s Next Top Model. As one of the 14 finalists, Leah’s foray into the world of modeling aired in late September of 2004.

Following her time on the reality show, Leah continued to work in the world of modeling making appearances in many national and international publications. As she neared completion on what was to be her last photo shoot, Leah had an experience that set her life on a different course.

Realizing her profession placed her in situations in which she was not truly comfortable, Leah left the modeling industry and has devoted herself to speaking about Gospel of Jesus Christ and helping people find their love, acceptance and beauty in Him. She is especially inspired to share her message on modesty, dignity, mercy, chastity, and conversion. 

The St. John Paul II Memorial Arts & Culture series is a celebration of the life and legacy of Blessed John Paul II (1920-2005), the Salesian Center sponsors this annual event focusing on the beauty of the arts (music, drama, poetry, literature, etc.). The event is held annually, on or around the April 2nd date of the pontiff's death. All performances are free and open to the public. For more information call the Salesian Center at 610-282-1100, ext. 1244, email us at scfc@desales.edu or visit the website at www.desales.edu/salesian. 

Established in 2000, the Salesian Center for Faith and Culture’s mission is to promote the interaction of faith and culture, in a mutually beneficial engagement, through academic initiatives that focus on the authentic integration of social concerns and gospel values.

DeSales University will hold a traditional Tenebrae service on Tuesday, March 22, at Connelly Chapel at 7:00 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

The service is designed as a segue from Lent into the Paschal Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, and serves to help in spiritual preparation for Easter.

“Tenebrae is a wonderful opportunity to enter into the mystery, yet the reality, of Holy Week and to contemplate the consequences of Christ’s victory over darkness,” said University Chaplain Fr. Tim McIntire, OSFS

The University’s Schola Cantorum will provide music for the service, which incorporates the extinguishing of candles and reverent silence to embody the sorrow of Good Friday.

Tenebrae, which translates to “shadows” in Latin, began in medieval monasteries, and regained popularity in the 1900’s, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. This is the third year the University has hosted the event.

Bulldog Bash 2016 

Amanda Becker and Gabriella Bruno, two incoming DeSales University freshmen, have received leadership scholarships, a full-tuition award given to students who have displayed exceptional leadership over the course of their secondary schooling. 

This is the second year DeSales has awarded the scholarship, which was created as a way to recognize students for distinctions not academic. To be eligible, prospective students were asked to submit a maximum 500 word essay describing their leadership experience through one of six traits: courage, humanity, justice, temperance, wisdom and transcendence. Twenty-five finalists were then selected from the pool of over 400 applicants. 

Finalists were then interviewed individually primarily during the University’s scholarship day on January 30 by a faculty panel of Vice President of Student Life Dr. Gerry Joyce, Dean of Students Linda Zerbe, Associate Dean of Students Dr. Gregg Amore, and Director of the DeSales Experience Chad Serfass.

“The students we chose hold leadership roles in a variety of capacities, and some of those leadership roles they’ve been appointed to by staff and administration who saw leadership potential, and some of those roles they’ve been elected to by classmates,” Amore said. “And DeSales is a place where those students can come and find themselves and grow into leaders and citizens of character.”

Becker wrote her essay on Humanity and its application in everyday life. Currently a senior at Trinity High School in her hometown of Camp Hill, Pa., Becker cited in her essay both her experience founding a Squire Roses club—a service-oriented, Knights of Columbus-affiliated fraternity for young women, which, in Becker’s chapter, has so far worked with St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and made rosaries for the military—and her time serving as a committee member for her high school’s dance-a-THON to raise money for pediatric cancer patients as perfect examples of humanity in action.

“It was an unexpected blessing,” Becker, who is also a member of Trinity’s track team, said about winning the scholarship. “It was something you put a lot of work into and you just hope for the best and pray for the best, and thankfully those prayers were answered.”

Becker will enroll in the five-year physician assistant (MSPAS) program.

Bruno, who will come to DeSales from Kingsway Regional High School in Swedesboro, NJ, centered her essay around transcendence. The Woolwich, NJ, resident is currently class president, a three-sport athlete and a Student Ambassador at Kingsway. She is also involved in programs like TopSoccer and iCanRide Bikes, both of which help young people with disabilities, and she is a member of Kingsway’s student council executive board.

“I chose to write about transcendence because I find myself regularly looking to pass expectations,” she said. “The very first time I visited DeSales University, I knew I was standing in a community that I could call home for the next four years. I was impressed both academically and athletically with the facilities, and I knew it was a place where I could leave my mark. And, now I can!”

Bruno plans to major in sport and exercise science upon her arrival in August.

All students who entered the competition were honored at a brunch at the 2016 Bulldog Bash, the University’s Accepted Students Day.

Michelle Malkin, senior editor at Conservative Review, will deliver the 31st Annual Frank L. Marcon Lecture at DeSales University at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 6, in Billera Hall. The public event will be followed by an audience Q&A.

The event is open to the public free of charge, but tickets are required. For tickets, call 610.282.1100, ext. 1364.

Malkin is a conservative force in the written world, on television, and in the blogosphere. She is the #1 New York Times best-selling author of Culture of Corruption and has written five other books. She worked as an editorial writer and columnist for the Los Angeles Daily News and Seattle Times before starting a nationally syndicated column with Creators Syndicate in 1999 carried by more than 100 newspapers and other media outlets.

Malkin was a longtime Fox News contributor and founded three top conservative blogs, Hot Air, Twitchy, and MichelleMalkin.com. She has been married for more than twenty years and is the mother of two.

Michelle and her family reside in Colorado Springs, where she is an avid hiker and Manitou Incline addict.

The Marcon Lecture series is in memory of Frank L. Marcon, a prominent area business who served as a DeSales University trustee from 1966 until his death in 1982. Previous speakers have included Charlie Rose, Tim Russert. Mark Shields, Paul Gigot, Helen Thomas, Bob Arnot, Peggy Noonan, Tucker Carlson, William Kristol, Frank Deford, Larry Kane, Lisa Myers, Billy Packer, Jonathan Alter, Ann Compton, Katty Kay, and Stephen Hayes.

When a company is acquired or two corporations merge, the policies and cultures of the two organizations may clash, particularly with social issues.

The acquisition of a company in a state with legalized marijuana use, either for medical or recreational use, can present challenges to an acquiring company from a state with stricter drug laws.

How this situation is handled is the subject of The Fleming Institute for Business Ethics competition at DeSales University to be held on Wednesday, March 30, in the DeSales University Center. The competition will begin at 8:30 a.m. and will conclude by announcing the winners at 4:00 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Seven colleges and universities in the Lehigh Valley will participate in this student competition that presents a business-related ethical dilemma and requires students to respond with a detailed and justifiable action plan.

This year students must assume the role of a vice president of human resources of a fictitious satellite and entertainment company about to acquire a technology start up located in a state that has legalized marijuana use. The acquiring company has a strict no-tolerance policy against drug use. New human resources policies must be created to balance this dichotomy.

Nine student teams will participate from Cedar Crest College, DeSales University, East Stroudsburg University, Marywood University, Muhlenberg College, Northampton County Community College, and the Penn State Lehigh Valley Campus.

The 2016 event judging committee includes:  

• Dennis Abruzzi, senior vice president, Safety & Enterprise Solutions, Penske Logistics;
• Jason Barnes, CPA, MBA, MST, Partner, Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP; 
• Jim Devine, director, HR Compliance & Chief Ethics Compliance Officer at Olympus Corporation of the Americas;
• Diane DiDonato, a banking professional;
• Ramona Hollie-Major, EdD, MBA, Director of Operations, National Institute for School Leadership; 
• Richard Jennings, Financial Advisor, Vice President-Investments, Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC; 
• Paul Leese, MBA, Marketing & Media Services Director, Keenan-Nagle Advertising Inc.; 
• Patrick Lincoln, General Manager, Connoisseur Media North; 
• Thomas Marnell, Senior Vice President Human Resources at Buzzi Unicem USA Inc.; 
• Rev. Dr. Sherrie Sneed, Chaplain and Director of Pastoral Care, Pocono Medical Center; 
• Kristin Sommer, Senior Digital Forensics Investigator, T-Mobile and President, Lehigh Valley Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners;
• Janet Whitehead, CEBS, PHR, Senior Vice President, Assistant Director of Human Resources, Univest Corporation.

Richard Fleming and his family foundation established The Fleming Institute for Business Ethics in 2009 with a goal to promote a culture of ethical awareness and action in business professions through the collaborative efforts of corporate and educational groups. Fleming passed away on December 24, 2015, and will be remembered at the competition.

The work of the institute is administered by the DeSales University Division of Business, in collaboration with the Salesian Center for Faith & Culture. Ultimately, the goal is to engage students and to enable them to become ethically and socially responsible business contributors through intellectual and professional development.

For more information, please contact Dr. Jeffrey Focht, assistant professor of business and chair of the planning team for the 2016 Ethics Bowl, at Jeffrey.Focht@desales.edu or click www.desales.edu/ethicsbowl.

Tim Cowart (left) receives the LVAIC Dance Consortium Award from Dawn Ketterman-Benner  (center) and John Bell (right). Photo by Amy Herzog '10

 On Friday, March 18, 2016, Tim Cowart, associate professor and chair of the department of dance at DeSales University, received the Lehigh Valley Association of Independent Colleges (LVAIC) Dance Consortium Distinguished Service Award.

The LVAIC Dance Consortium Distinguished Service Award is presented annually to a member of the Lehigh Valley dance community for outstanding contributions to the advancement of local dance. Cowart is the 25th recipient of the award.

“I am honored and touched that my colleagues, members of the LVAIC Dance Consortium have granted me this award,” said Cowart. “I consider it a great honor to be recognized among some very esteemed individuals who have been making dance happen here in the Lehigh Valley. We are a community that shares resources and supports one another.”

The surprise award was presented to Cowart by John Bell, head of the performing arts division at DeSales University, and Dawn Ketterman-Benner, retired faculty member from Moravian College, at start of the DeSales University Act 1 Dance Ensemble Concert on Friday evening.

Cowart has performed nationally and internationally as a company member of the Lewitzky Dance Company, The Pittsburgh Dance Alloy, and with Impact Production's "Dayuma" and the "Masterpiece." He has also performed with Elizabeth Streb/ Ringside, The David Dorfman Dance Company, Minh Tran and Company, and The Dance Theatre of Oregon.  He continues to create work and perform for Co-Art Dance, a contemporary dance company he cofounded with his wife Corrie in 1997.

Cowart has been directing the DeSales University Dance Department since 2005. As Chair of the Department he has spearheaded an ongoing partnership with DanceNow/NYC that brings in more than 20 guest artists per year from New York City, Philadelphia, and beyond. He initiated the annual DeSales University Screendance Festival, and has fostered collaboration between the TV/Film, Theatre and Dance Departments.

Previously, Cowart taught at Western Oregon University, Lane Community College, and the University of Oregon. He has a BFA in dance and choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University, an MS in Arts Management from the University of Oregon, and an MFA in dance from the University of Oregon.

The LVAIC Dance Consortium was created so that the participating colleges and universities might collaborate with one another and pool their resources together to bring world-class performers and choreographers to the Lehigh Valley. These ambitious collaborative experiences benefit students at each institution and further enrich the local community.

This article was originally published in Issue 11, Fiftieth Year of The Minstrel (March 24, 2016). Click here to view the entire issue.

Fourteen students traveled to San Diego from March 13- 16 with chemistry professor Dr. Francis Mayville to present their research at the 251st American Chemical Society (ACS) National Meeting and Exposition.

In order to be eligible to attend the ACS exposition, students must be doing chemistry research for a three-credit chemistry class. Students attend the conference every spring, but it is always held in a different location, with next year being in San Francisco. In order to afford the trip, students helped run Basket Bingo and held a Yankee Candle fundraiser, where students gained 40 percent of the money they individually made. Additionally, each student received $200 from the chemistry department.

After arriving in San Diego on March 13, the students registered and explore the conference center. The next day, they spent the whole day at the conference presenting their own research and listening to others’ work.

Chemistry and biology double major Allison Myers and chemistry major Erin Sauschuck, both juniors, presented their research project, “Liquid-liquid extraction and analysis of the antioxidant, resveratrol, from various red and white wines.

“It involves quantifying and comparing the amount of resveratrol in different brands of wine,” said Myers. “I chose to do this research because it is centered on organic chemistry, and I enjoy the lab techniques involved in this subject such as distillation and liquid-liquid extraction techniques.”

Myers and Sauschuck experienced some difficulty when diluting samples; however, they successfully discovered how to equally dilute them without using too much of the dilution reagent and their results matched what they originally hypothesized.

At the exposition, research posters were arranged in rows, sorted by subject, including organic chemistry, biochemistry, analytical chemistry and physical chemistry. During the exposition, chemistry professors walked around and approached projects they were interested in hearing more about.

“My favorite memory was presenting at the conference because the people who came up to my research partner and I had some very interesting suggestions pertaining to furthering our research,” Myers said. “As a result of these suggestions, Erin and I have decided to continue research on this topic next year.”

“While presenting, I felt that I had accomplished something really great,” Myers added.

After a full day at the exposition, students had the next day free. They explored the streets near their hotel and visited the San Diego Zoo and Coronado Island, a resort city near San Diego Bay.

Although the ACS exposition was held until March 17, DeSales students headed home the day before. In just a few short days, those who participated gained a lot of valuable knowledge about chemistry research.

“I learned that there is so much research that can be done in an extremely large amount of chemistry-related fields,” said Myers. “I also learned that there are people who are interested in learning about my research, and how there is a support system of chemists all around the world who are willing to help others with their research.”

DeSales University MBA students Mike Manning and Diwaker Thakur were recently recognized as recipients of the Carl F. Zipf Memorial Scholarship Program by George Nisiotis, President of the Lehigh Valley Chapter of the Institute of Supply Management (ISM). In front of a packed room of their colleagues and peers, they each received a $2,500 scholarship to continue to pursue their MBA degrees with a concentration in Supply Chain Management at DeSales University. The scholarship is granted students who are pursuing a degree in supply chain management, material management, or in a business-related field, or work in the supply chain management field. Recipients must have been accepted into an accredited institution of higher education, either full time or part time, and have a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Recently, Dr. David Gilfoil, director of the DeSales University Masters of Business Administration (MBA) program, gave a presentation on supply chain ethics to a packed room at the Sands Event Center in Bethlehem, Pa. The keynote address, given to local members of the Institute of Supply Management (ISM), is part of the ongoing partnership between DeSales and ISM. DeSales University’s MBA Program began offering a supply chain concentration in fall of 2015.

Dr. Gilfoil challenged attendees, many of whom are responsible for global sourcing materials, shipments, imports and other logistics, to ask themselves who should be accountable for meeting or exceeding ethical standards around environmental stewardship, workplace conditions and illegal labor policies.

Listening to Dr. Jeff Focht speak about teaching, makes you want to run out and do it yourself. There’s a twinkle in his eye when speaks about what he calls his “dream job.”

Dr. Focht, Assistant Professor of Business and the Edward A. McCabe Chair of Business and Society at DeSales University, brings a unique perspective to teaching. Mentored by his favorite college professor, Focht has always heeded his advice-- “Just remember, Jeff, you don’t know (squat)!”

Cockney charmer Bill Snibson (Louis Jannuzzi III, left) and his fishmonger girlfriend, Sally Smith (Renee McFillin, right) celebrate his newfound royalty. (Photo by Chuck Gloman)

Hilarious Rags–to-riches story is directed and choreographed by Alumnus Stephen Casey ’89

Act 1 DeSales University Theatre closes its 46th season with the lavish British musical Me and My Girl. The production runs April 27 to May 8, 2016 on the Main Stage theatre of the Labuda Center for the Performing Arts, Center Valley, PA.

Called by the New York Post,“A honey. It has humor, music, dancing, charm, wit and a deft expertise and that takes your heart away,” Me and My Girl tells the story of Bill Snibson, a Cockney charmer who is amazed to learn he has inherited an earldom. To the horror of his newfound upper crust relatives, he and his fishmonger girlfriend Sally wrangle for his aristocratic family’s approval, but every attempt to groom Bill for nobility results in riotous chaos. This toe tapping, Tony award-winning musical includes such production numbers as “The Lambeth Walk,” “Leaning on a Lamppost,” and “Me and My Girl.”

“Me and My Girl started out on the British stage in the late 1930s,” says John Bell, head of the division of performing arts. “A few years later, as so often happens with successful stage musicals, it was made into a film. It was revived in London in 1952 and then received a lavish new production in London in 1985, which then took Broadway by storm winning three of its eleven Tony award nominations. No show can withstand such a test of time unless it’s a great show. Me and My Girl is a great show—a real rags-to-riches charmer with a great score. We’re delighted to offer it to the Lehigh Valley.”

Alumnus Stephen Casey ’89 directs and choreographs the production. The former artistic director of the Bucks County Playhouse, Casey previously choreographed this fall’s Once Upon a Mattress. Past choreography for Act 1 includes How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,The Music Man, Anything Goes, Guys and Dolls, Camelot, and Thoroughly Modern Millie. In addition, he also directed and choreographed Rodgers and Hart: A Celebration, as well as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. PSF choreography credits include Les Misérables, Fiddler on the Roof,Oklahoma!,South Pacific, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and 1776.

The production also features the talents of Nathan Diehl as musical director. A frequent musical director for Act 1 and The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Diehl previously musical directed more than a dozen musicals for Act 1 including How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Chicago. He has also conducted for PSF for five seasons, including the 2015 production of Les Misérables.

Me and My Girl features the design/technical talents of professor Will Neuert as scenic designer, guest costumer Linda Bee Stockton, Elizabeth Elliott as lighting designer, and Matthew Given and Mary Radziszewski as co-sound designers.

The production runs April 27 to May 8, on the Main Stage Theatre of the Labuda Center for the Performing Arts, Center Valley, Pa. Performances are Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8:00 PM and Sundays at 2:00 PM. A talk back is scheduled for Sunday, May 1 after the 2:00 PM performance. There is an added matinee on Saturday, May 7 at 2:00 PM.

In an effort to improve accessibility for all patrons, the Saturday, May 7, 2:00 PM matinee performance will feature Audio Descriptions for patrons who are blind or visually impaired and Open Captions for patrons who are deaf or hearing impaired. During Audio Described performances, all action and physical appearances are described live through a headset. During Open Caption performances, all dialogue and sound effects are presented in real-time on an LED screen that is adjacent to the stage. Tickets are half price for patrons using these special services on this date. Please call box office manager Catherine Logan at 610-282-3654, ext. 1 for more information.

Regular ticket prices are $27 for adults and $25 for students and seniors on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and $29 for adults and $27 for students and seniors on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Group discounts are available for all performances. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Labuda Center box office at 610-282-3192 or by visiting the web site at www.desales.edu/act1.

The Labuda Center is fully accessible and equipped with a listening enhancement system. Special seating is available for our patrons using wheelchairs or requiring other assistance. Please inform the box office of your needs when ordering tickets.

This fall, DeSales University will offer its criminal justice and homeland security majors the opportunity to attend the Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission Basic Training Program (MPOETC) at the Allentown Police Academy in Allentown, Pa., as part of its degree program.

 If DeSales students are accepted into the MPOETC program, the cost of the training is included in the student’s undergraduate DeSales tuition.

The MPOETC course, as prescribed by Pennsylvania ACT 120, not only provides the skills necessary to become a police officer, it is also required training for all Pennsylvania municipal police officers.

"We're grateful to Chief Morris and the Allentown Police Academy staff for working with DeSales to give our students this opportunity,” said David Seip, instructor of criminal justice and ACT 120 coordinator at DeSales. “Graduating with a four year degree and ACT 120 certification will be a big benefit to our students. More departments are requiring their applicants to have their ACT 120 certification before applying for the openings in their departments.

“Even in departments that are not requiring their applicants to be certified, our students will still have the advantage,” Seip continued. “They will be able to begin work immediately, while an applicant without the certification would be required to attend an academy at the hiring department's expense before they would be able to begin working.” 

In addition to being a full-time criminal justice or homeland security major, students who wish to enroll in the ACT 120 training program must complete required criminal justice courses at DeSales, maintain a certain grade point average, have no DeSales University disciplinary or criminal violations, and pass a physical test administered by DeSales and a physical and mental test administered by the Allentown Police Academy.

Qualified students will spend the spring semester of their senior year attending the Allentown Police Academy for ACT 120 training, which will also satisfy the degree requirements for a bachelor’s degree from DeSales. 

“The Allentown Police Department and the Gerald M. Monahan Sr. Allentown Police Academy are proud to partner with DeSales University on this initiative, said Keith A. Morris, Allentown’s chief of police. “Criminal Justice programs that offer Act 120 trainings part of the curriculum give the student a distinct advantage in pursuing a law enforcement career as it makes them marketable to a larger group of police departments immediately upon graduation. This partnership is the first of its kind at the Allentown Police Academy and it is our hope that in the long run there will be a direct impact on hiring for the Allentown Police Department.”

The DeSales University Doctor of Physical Therapy Program hosted 40 students from Raub Middle School and from Allen High School’s Health Careers Club who are interested in working in healthcare. Through activity stations, the students learned first-hand about what a career as physical therapist is like on a day-to-day basis.

Students, faculty, staff and friends of DeSales University gathered together on this beautiful spring day to watch the installation of Jesus the Teacher, the fifth and final bronze statue in a campus series by sculptor Ben Fortunado Marcune. The statue stands over 18 ft tall and weighs approximately 5,000 lbs. The wind sweeping through his hair and robes symbolize the Holy Spirit.

DeSales University's Spring Fling: Concert For A Cure will feature ACM/CMA/CMT nominated country duo Love & Theft with special guests Mountain Road. The event presented in conjunction with Relay For Life. 

Friday, April 22, 2016 at 7 pm, outside McShea, rain or shine   (No worries, we have a tent to keep you dry if it rains!)

This is an all-ages show, so please bring out your friends and family! All ticket sales go to Relay For Life!

Cost:

• $10 for DeSales students. Sign up to join the relay & see the show:  www.relayforlife.org/padesalesuniversity (choose theDSU Live team if you do not have a Relay team)

• $15 for public at www.desalestickets.com

• $20 for all at the door. Public welcome!

For any questions, please contact Tracy Gallagher at tracy.gallagher@desales.edu

Seth Weber, adjunct faculty member in the division of social sciences and a former United States attorney, was interviewed by WFMZ about an aspect of a hearing for Eric Frein, who is accused of killing a Pennsylvania State Trooper and seriously wounding another. 

Three students from the Global Economic Issues class submitted research papers and all were accepted for presentation at the 13th Annual Social Research Social Justice (SRSJ) Conference at Muhlenburg College on April 8, 2016.

The following students were among the presenters: Brendan Illis (below, right) presented “How to Increase Access to Medicine in Less Developed Countries– Role of Pharmaceutical Industry”; Kellie Dietrich (below left) presented “China’s One Child Policy, Human Rights and Reform”; and Emily Stuart (above) presented “Economic Consequences of Lack of Upward Social Mobility.”

More than 25 faculty members from the Lehigh Valley Association of Independent Colleges (LVAIC) participated as moderators or attended to manage concurrent sessions at the conference. Forty three papers were presented and all sessions were well attended.

“Our students did a marvelous job with their presentation and answering questions raised by the attendees,” said Dr. Tahereh Hojatt, professor of business who taught the Global Economic Issues Class. “It was a great experience for them to listen to other presenters and to the key note speaker on “Project Imagine”. Hojjat was the faculty moderator for the session, “Economic Inequalities and Labor Histories.”

“I think it was important to share my topic of social injustices of China’s regarding one-child policy and also become aware of other social issues that was presented at the Conference” said Dietrich.  And Stuart said “At SRSJ Conference we had a great collaborative conversation about social mobility, inequality, and poverty and it was overall quite illuminating."

SRSJ began in 2003 as a collaboration between faculty and students in the Department of Media and Communication at Muhlenberg College, with the goal to create a forum outside of their classes to discuss issues of social justice in a democratic society.  The Conference continues to foster this initial vision, with a strong and consistent faculty, student and community representation from across the Lehigh Valley region.

“Presenting at SRSJ was a great experience for me academically and professionally. We had an excellent variety of topics in my panel, and myself ant the other panelists had a great exchange of ideas,” said Illis

DeSales EMS students (from left) Jack Alviggi, Phil Szalczinger, Dayna Galati, and Ryan Mathiesen show awards from the 2016 NCEMSF skills competition. 

Four DeSales University students who are members of the University’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) team placed second in a national skills competition at the 23rd Annual National Collegiate Emergency Medical Services Foundation (NCEMSF).

Jack Alviggi '19, Dayna Galati '16, Ryan Mathiesen '19, and Phil Szalczinger '16 participated in the Physio-Control EMS Skills Classic at the conference.

The DeSales EMS team placed second overall against other college EMS squads from across the country, including Cornell University, Yale University, Virginia Tech, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of California Los Angeles.

The Physio-Control EMS Skills Classic consists of a medical scenario, a trauma scenario, and a team-building scenario. Points are awarded for achieving specific objectives and performing specific skills appropriately, including history taking, physical exam (including vital signs), and patient care interventions. Leadership, teamwork, and an ability to expertly manage the case are also assessed. The scenarios are all timed. 

DeSales EMS is a student-run EMT organization that responds to all campus medical emergencies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week during the normal academic school year. In addition, DeSales EMS also offers CPR and other healthcare classes on campus. DeSales EMS is a certified Pennsylvania Department of Health Quick Response Service that operates as Station 74 in Lehigh County.

Founded in 1993, NCEMSF is committed to scholarship and research and to creating a safer, healthier environment on college and university campuses through the support, promotion, and advocacy of campus-based emergency medical services. It serves more than 250 constituent member colleges and universities who provide campus-based emergency medical services.

Please note: This opinion originally appeared in The Morning Call on April 30, 2016. 

Among those who have written recently on Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation, "Amoris Laetitia," are two extremes: those who claim (somewhat naively or insincerely) that Francis changed nothing, that the document is simply a much-needed meditation on the beauty of marriage and the difficulties facing it today; and those such as Pope Francis' fellow Jesuits at Georgetown, for whom everything has changed and who quite openly see Francis as a corrective to the dogmatic and heavy-handed magisteria of John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

In the middle are those who argue more soberly that "Amoris Laetitia" (The Joy of Love) needs to be seen in the context of the Church's tradition as expressed through previous magisterial declarations, for one or both of the following reasons: Either the document is vague or incomplete and must be interpreted in light of clearer statements; or the document is a "pastoral" document and not meant to be binding on Catholics — or at least as binding as other, more authoritative statements.

One prominent figure in this middle camp is Cardinal Raymond Burke. He believes that Francis does not understand his exhortation to be part of the infallible, binding magisterium, but rather is a personal reflection on the work of the 2014 and 2015 synods of bishops.

The document can be pastorally helpful, but the faithful must keep its pastoral nature in mind, lest they be led into confusion by certain sections or choices of words. Burke points to Francis' phrase, "the ideal of marriage," as an example of a potentially "misleading" manner of speaking: Christian marriage, Burke insists, is not an "ideal," but a reality that gives that couple the grace to live the life they promise to live together. This is an area of concern that I share.

Cardinal Burke is right to highlight the scale of degrees of authority with which popes speak at various times. I respectfully do not agree that "Amoris Laetitia" is a "personal reflection" on the part of Pope Francis. But like the cardinal, I would place myself in this middle camp, holding that other documents of the Church's teaching (e.g., John Paul II's encyclical letter "Veritatis splendor," his apostolic exhortation "Familiaris consortio" and the Catechism of the Catholic Church) are more authoritative and clearer where Francis is ambiguous or gives perhaps an incomplete picture.

One of the most ambiguous or even misleading elements in the document is Francis' treatment of "culpability" — the extent to which I am more or less guilty for doing something objectively wrong. Not all parties involved in a civil divorce, for instance, bear the same level of responsibility and guilt. This is tremendously important for the Church's pastoral response to wounded and broken families, and Pope Francis is right to highlight it.

But culpability for civilly ending a marriage is irrelevant for the no-less-crucial question of whether a couple is sacramentally and indissolubly married in the first place. However much there are degrees of culpability, there are no degrees of marriage: It is an objective bond that is either there or isn't.

The much-discussed issue of whether the divorced and civilly re-married may present themselves for the public action of receiving Communion cannot be separated from whether one is bound in the public covenant of marriage to someone other than one's legal spouse. The pope risks giving the impression that there is wiggle room when there is none.

Closely related is the completeness of the doctrine of conscience in "Amoris Laetitia." The pope rightfully stresses that conscience speaks directly from within one's heart, and that the Church must "form" but never "replace" the conscience. Yet nowhere does Francis mention that I can be guilty for following an erroneous conscience, if it is my fault that I believe something good that is in fact evil — a point without which the doctrine on conscience guarantees the salvation even of Hitler.

Finally, the pope speaks of the difficulty of applying principles to circumstances in a way that often seems to downplay the importance of the principles themselves. In this way Francis speaks of an "abstract and almost artificial theological ideal of marriage" and warns against a "cold bureaucratic morality," as if truth could be nothing more than artificial and coldly bureaucratic.

It was the merciful Jesus who said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life," and who promised, "You shall know the truth, and the truth will make you free." The truth is not an external condition imposed on God's mercy; it is mercy's form and an essential condition.

Such are the points of ambiguity or incompleteness in the pope's otherwise very beautiful exhortation. To clarify or complete these points requires the Church's established magisterium.

William R. Hamant is an assistant professor of theology at DeSales University.