Hot Off the Presses

St. Mary’s University faculty and students have been the subjects of several recent news stories. In case you missed them, here is a recap.

Do You Smell Something?

If you haven’t read the feature story, “The Nose Knows” in the summer issue of Gold & Blue magazine, you may be unaware that the doctoral work of Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences Thomas “Ted” Macrini, Ph.D., has created quite a stir. Macrini’s research became the basis for a groundbreaking paper published May 20 in the journal Science. In it, Macrini and his co-authors revealed new details about how mammals’ brains have evolved over the past 200 million years. The paper, written with Tim Rowe of the University of Texas and Zhe–Xi Luo of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, has made major news outlets from San Antonio to the United Kingdom. Stories about Macrini’s work have been covered by the San Antonio Express-News, BBC, NPR, Canadian Broadcasting Corp., Science Daily, The Washington Post, the Associated Press, Pittsburg Post-Gazette, Nature, and counting.

San Antonio Express News
Washington Post
BBC

From Abuse to Achievement: Law Grad Shares Amazing Story

The San Antonio Express-News reporter who wrote the story of recent School of Law graduate Melissa Anderson said that she received more reader feedback from this story than any in recent memory. Read about Melissa’s amazing, inspirational and touching story.

San Antonio Express News

Engineering Students Brush Up on City Services

One group of St. Mary’s engineering students has taken an unconventional route to improving our community. Read more about their efforts at improving city services and saving taxpayer money.

San Antonio Express News

St. Mary’s Showcases New Mentor Program at National College Board Conference

Not long ago, St. Mary’s launched a Faculty Academic Mentor Program (FAM) that has already shown positive results, with 63 of the 66 students involved in the program last fall—or 95 percent—returning for the spring semester. Rosalind Alderman, Ph.D., Assistant Vice President for Retention Management, and Assistant Professor of Philosophy Megan Mustain, Ph.D., had an opportunity to showcase the new program to their colleagues at the recent National College Board Conference held this spring.

As part of the program, St. Mary’s invites students to blog about their experiences. Below you can read about what one student had to say about Professor Mustain. The student’s comments illustrate the commitment and dedication of St. Mary’s faculty and their role as mentors.

The story of how I was totally negligent but still managed to make friends with a teacher

It was my freshman year, in my first college-level philosophy class that I met Dr. Mustain. She had a tall, slender figure and a little flapper hat that covered her super-short boy-cut. She had a mischievous look to her, and was known to say things in class that were pure gold, although probably best left unquoted. Needless to say, she was (is) an amazing teacher; one of those teachers you try to pressure your friends into taking even if they don’t need to.

Anyway, it was the third day of class and we were about to start reading one of the Socratic Dialogues, but, as usual, I had not bought the book yet. I’m a procrastinator, and a chronic one. Before starting the lesson, Dr. Mustain asked if anyone had trouble getting the book. From the back left corner, I raised my hand, then noticed that my hand was the only one in the air. Had I had trouble getting the book? Of course not, I just hadn’t done it yet. Did Dr. Mustain know that? Probably; if everyone else had managed to get it, then why on earth couldn’t I? She’s a smart lady, I’m sure she had me figured out.

“Talk to me after class.” Rarely good words to hear. During the lecture, I logged on to Amazon and rush-ordered the book and tried to find an electronic version somewhere online.

After class, I sheepishly approached the podium prepared to offer the biggest apology of my life and beg her not to fail me or request the university kick me out immediately (that was a little joke). However, instead of interrogating me, she simply smiled, asked me to remind her what my name was and invited me up to her office. On the way she asked me why I was at St. Mary’s and if I liked it and other professor-to-freshman questions.

Once there, she picked our text book off the shelf, then personally photocopied every single page of the chapter for me. It came out to around 20 pages.

Anyone who has used a copy machine knows that this is a great act of kindness, especially when it jams a few times.

Three semesters later, I still drop by her office every other week or so and we just talk about life or whatever we feel like talking about. Family life, friends, why Facebook is so friggin’ popular, etc. I consider her a friend of mine.

Moral of the story: small class size matters. Professor X at State University Z is not going to take the time to photocopy things for you because you’re negligent. He’s not going to know your name and might not even remember your face. It’s not that Professor X is a bad person, he just has 1,600 students to deal with, and keeping up with that many on a personal level is impossible.

All but a few of my professors know me by name; they stop to talk to me outside of class, and we have casual conversations. I’ve had lunch with professors before, and not just at the cafeteria. If you put forth minimal effort to get to know them, you will, and they will be greatly appreciative and very willing to go out of their way to help you.

Education was never meant to be done on a 200:1 ratio, and it’s not how St. Mary’s does things.

County Commissioners’ New Building Bears Alum’s Name

Bexar County government’s newest office building has been named after longtime public servant, Paul Elizondo (B.M.E. ’57). Bexar County Commissioners christened the 10-story building, which houses offices for commissioners and county departments, the Paul Elizondo Tower, honoring their colleague who spearheaded its construction.

Elizondo, commissioner for Precinct 2 since 1983, pressed almost a decade for construction of the energy-efficient building. Another alumnus, County Commissioner Kevin Wolff (B.B.A. ’91, M.B.A. ’03), pushed for naming the facility to honor Elizondo’s contributions to the community, the state and the nation.

During the dedication of Paul Elizondo Tower, his Bexar County Commission colleagues hailed Elizondo’s leadership on budget matters and praised his years of public involvement as a teacher, Marine, legislator and musician.

St. Louis Hall Renovation Project Underway

As we have been reporting for several years, St. Louis Hall is in need of a major renovation, and it is finally going to happen. Already the University’s signature building’s inhabitants are beginning to disperse across campus to temporary offices. The goal is to have everyone relocated by July, with renovation work beginning soon thereafter. The project will be completed within 12 months.

If you’re visiting campus during the next year, be sure to check the online map and employee directory for temporary office locations. Major services will continue with little or no interruption and the quality of services will be maintained. All offices will return to St. Louis Hall and to their previous locations once the project is completed.
A partial list of temporary locations for the next year include:

the Registrar’s Office and Business Office will be relocated to the first floor of the University Center, across from the Bookstore
Human Resources will move to Garni Hall
University Communications will be located on the third floor of the Louis J. Blume Academic Library
The President’s Office will move into the University Center, President’s Dining Room
resident rooms in Treadaway Hall are being converted to accommodate faculty offices

Pennsylvania Elects a Governor Who’s a Rattler

This past spring, The Rattler student newspaper staff captured four awards at the annual Texas Intercollegiate Press Association (TIPA) conference.

Features Editor Amanda Cano won two awards by placing second in two on-site competitions: public relations release writing and print advertising; and Copy Editor Azhmir Acosta placed third in the on-site Spanish news writing competition. In addition, Managing Editor Denice Hernandez was awarded the Frank W. Buckley Scholarship, named in honor of TIPA’s first executive director. This is the second consecutive year that a student from St. Mary’s received the award, with last year’s award going to Editor-in-Chief Sarah Mills.

According to its website, TIPA began in 1909 with its first meeting at Baylor University. Along with being the oldest collegiate press association in the nation, TIPA has grown into one of the largest and most respected collegiate groups in the country. This year, the annual convention and competition was held in Fort Worth, and included more than 500 participants from nearly 60 colleges and universities throughout the state.

At the end of the semester, Mills completed her tenure as editor-in-chief of The Rattler, a position she held since January 2009. Hernandez also concluded her term as managing editor, a position she’s filled since in August 2009. Under their leadership, The Rattler earned nine national, regional and state awards from Associated Collegiate

St. Mary’s Encourages Student Aid Support at State Capitol

A St. Mary’s delegation that included Chairman of the Board Robert Elizondo, Board Secretary Maj. Gen. Alfred Valenzuela, President Charles L. Cotrell, Ph.D., as well as administrators, faculty and numerous students, traveled to Austin in February to visit with elected officials and their staff members to address issues that impact the success of St. Mary’s and higher education in the State of Texas.

Dean of Students Timothy Bessler, Ed.D., took another group of students to Austin for Student Day at the Capitol. On both occasions, students played a key role in speaking with members of the Texas Legislature about higher education and the importance of the Texas Tuition Equalization Grant Program to the students’ goal of earning college degrees.

The Texas Legislature established the Texas Tuition Equalization Grant (TEG) program in 1971 to reduce taxpayer costs for higher education by providing limited financial assistance to needy Texas students attending Texas independent institutions of higher education. St. Mary’s students were able to share key messages with the legislators about productivity of the TEG as well as the program’s benefits to Texas taxpayers. For example, while roughly 10 percent of all college students in Texas are enrolled at one of the state’s 40 independent colleges and universities, those institutions award 23 percent of all bachelor’s degrees and 25 percent of all graduate and professional degrees.

The biennial trips to the Capitol—the Texas Legislature meets every other year—have long been an excellent civic engagement opportunity for students who are able to see government at work and participate in public discourse that may affect the students’ own aspirations.

Marianist Jubilarians Tally 500+ Years of Service

On May 7, at Our Lady of the Pillar Catholic Church in St. Louis, the Jubilarians of 2011 from the Marianist Province of the United States gathered with friends and family to celebrate the Eucharist, followed by a reception. Together, the 10 brothers and priests whose jubilees were celebrated have dedicated more than 500 years to the Society of Mary and its mission.

Jubilarians of 2011

Celebrating 70 years of religious life
Brother Charles Cummiskey, S.M.
Brother James McCaffrey, S.M.

Celebrating 60 years of religious life
Rev. Robert Hackel, S.M.
Bro. Norbert Karpfinger, S.M.

Celebrating 50 years of religious life
Rev. Gerald Hammel, S.M.
Brother Kenneth Straubinger, S.M.

Celebrating 25 years of religious life
Brother David Betz, S.M.
Brother A. Brian Zampier, S.M.

Golden Sacerdotal
Rev. J. Donald Cahill, S.M.
Rev. Joseph Uvietta, S.M.

Prominent Attorney, Feinberg, Visits Campus

Nationally prominent attorney Kenneth Feinberg, chair of BP’s $20 billion Deepwater Horizon Disaster Victim Fund, spoke with St. Mary’s University students in early May.

Feinberg is best known for working to resolve several of our nation’s most challenging and widely known disputes. He served as Special Master of the Federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001, reaching out to all who qualified to file a claim, evaluating applications, determining appropriate compensation, and disseminating awards. A few years later, he became Fund Administrator for the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund following the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech.

Feinberg founded Feinberg Rozen, LLP in 1992. In the commercial sector, Feinberg designed, implemented and administered a settlement program involving Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., Zurich N.A. Insurance Co. and Hurricane Katrina and other Gulf hurricane claimants. In his capacity as an arbitrator, Feinberg helped determine the fair market value of the original Zapruder film of the Kennedy assassination, and legal fees in Holocaust slave labor litigation.

Feinberg has been appointed to two presidential–level commissions and has had a distinguished teaching career as an adjunct professor of Law at Georgetown University, the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, New York University, and the University of Virginia.