Fall 2012

the

WORD

UIW opens Saidoff Center

Annual Report and Honor Roll of Donors

Dear Friends:

I’m pleased to welcome you to the 2012 donor’s issue of The Word, our way of saying “Thank You” to the many special people from around the world that contribute to the continued betterment of the University of the Incarnate Word. The past year has been one of the busiest in our long history, particularly the last few months. The biggest news is that our bid to join the Division I Southland Conference was accepted in August. The move to Division 1, which will officially take place in July, is one of the most impor-tant events in our 131-year history, up there with our transition from Incarnate Word College to University of the Incarnate Word in 1996. The decision to leave Division II for Division I was made for several reasons. Primarily it’s to increase our overall brand recognition by extending awareness of UIW beyond our South Texas home base. Let me give you an example. The Southland story was carried by more than 70 print, broadcast and online news outlets across the United States, from Connecticut to Hawaii and many points in between. It reached four of the Top 10 media markets and nine of the Top 21. While the story was extensively covered in San Antonio, it was also carried by national media such as ESPN, USA Today, Yahoo Sports, the Chicago Tribune, and Sports Illustrated. Plus, it was picked up by several TV stations in the Dallas/Fort Worth market and other farther away locales such as Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota and the D.C.-metro area. We conservatively estimate that a comparable ad buy covering all of the markets that carried the story would’ve cost us at least $1 million, and probably closer to $2 million. In other words, the move is already paying dividends for us, and more importantly, our students. They stand to benefit the most because the increased visibility of UIW will allow them to continue building equity in their degrees as the university becomes better known outside of South Texas. By the way, you may have already noticed an increased usage of the “UIW” acronym in our pro-motional materials. That was the first recommendation we implemented from a communications agency we contracted to help us extend UIW’s brand statewide, nationally and internationally. We reached another important milestone this fall by topping the 9,000-mark in enrollment for the first time (9,188 students). This makes UIW one of just four private universities in Texas with enrollments of at least 9,000 students. Based on past enrollment trends, it’s likely that next year UIW will become the third largest private university in Texas. A closer look at the numbers shows UIW has the greatest number of Hispanic students of any private university in Texas, a figure that’s higher than the combined total of the next two schools. We’re also No.1 nationally among faith-based universities in the conferring of bachelor’s degrees to Hispanics, and No.3 among all private, not-for-profit universities. These are important figures because they illustrate we’re meeting our Mission of providing academic opportunities to groups historically underserved by higher education (sadly, college attainment by Hispanics remains low statewide and nationally). In August we broke ground on the East Side Clinic, a project that will allow us to extend our ministry into one of the most impoverished areas of San Antonio. The $8 million clinic, which will be completed next spring, will offer several health-care services such as optometry and nursing. Unlike many of our projects, this was accomplished without corporate support. Instead, it’s an ini-tiative between UIW, foundations, and the public sector. I encourage you to read the rest of The Word for additional details on the many exciting things that are happening at UIW. As you do, please remember the momentum generated by your gener-ous support - whether for the East Clinic, the new school of physical therapy or our move to Division I - is what allows us to continue fulfilling our goal of offering students top-notch educa-tional opportunities within a context of faith. Your steadfast support is also what allows UIW to continue having a positive impact on San Antonio and South Texas. Special blessings on you and your loved ones for the remainder of 2012.

Best Wishes,

Louis J. Agnese Jr., Ph.D.President

“Based on past

enrollment trends, it’s likely that next year UIW will

become the third largest

private university

in Texas. ”

Managing EditorDebra Del Toro

CoordinatorBrance Arnold ’10 MA

Art DirectorMichael Hood

Graphic DesignerMarisol Martinezcr

edits The Word is published by the

Public Relations Office of the University of the Incarnate Word for the alumni, parents, benefactors and friends of the Incarnate Word community.

Board of TrusteesDr. Louis J. Agnese Jr. Charlie AmatoScott BeckendorfMichael BelzDoyle BenebyGayle BensonMike BeuclerDavid CibrianFully ClingmanDr. Annette CravenCatherine DulleSr. Martha Estela Perez CurielAlan Dreeban

John FeikSr. Marinela FloresJohn GuajardoGary HenrySr. Mary C. HenryWinell HerronBetty KelsoNancy KudlaJack LewisCharles LutzSr. Teresa Yolanda MayaJohn MillerWilliam Moll

Carmen NavaEnzo PellegrinoJohn PevetoSr. Annette PezoldMarky PontiusJoseph A. ReyesRichard SchlosbergSr. Yolanda TarangoSr. Gloria Ortiz Villalon

Contributing WritersBrance Arnold ’10 MAAlex Castañeda ’83 BAFr. Tom Dymowski Rebecca Esparza ’99 BBA, ’04 MBARosie Garcia ’04 BASteve Hemphill Crystale LopezShane MelingDeyanira Romo Rossell

Dr. Louis J. Agnese Jr.President

Sr. Kathleen Coughlin ’67 BSN Vice President for Institutional Advancement

Vincent RodriguezAssistant to the President/Communications

Lisa Schultz ’91 BA,’95 MADirector of Alumni Relations

Debra Del ToroDirector of Public Relations

contents2 Campus News

6 University Collective

8 Debbie and Naty Saidoff Center celebrates grand opening

11 Annual report and honor roll of donors

19 UIW welcomes new administrators

22 Mathematical equation sums it up for local arts organization

24 Setting the Stage

26 UIW accepts invitation to Division I

28 “Forever First” seniors bid farewell

30 For UIW student, several apples a day pay for study abroad

31 A Project in Motion

32 Class Notes

35 Alumni Events

36 Meet the Board

36 MomentforReflection

This publication is available in alternate format by request. To request an alternate format, please contact the UIW Office of Public Relations at (210) 829-6001.

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Freshman move-in day and annual pinning

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The University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) welcomed approximately 1,000 freshmen for the 2012-2013 school year and 500 of these students to UIW residence halls for Freshman Move-in Day on Aug. 16. Members of the UIW community including faculty and staff met and greeted new students as they arrived at UIW to assist with the move in process. Campus Life treated students and their families to a picnic lunch on Dubuis Lawn with music provided by

KUIW, the university radio station. In the evening, the students attended the 2012 UIW Pinning Ceremony in the McDermott Convocation Center where they received a special welcome from university administrators, faculty and students leaders. Following the Pinning Ceremony, UIW’s Student Government Association hosted a luau in Marian Hall; the new students enjoyed the tropical themed reception with free food and drinks. Students new to the university attended the

annual UIW Pinning Ceremony to celebrate their new beginnings at UIW.

Students learned about the various student organizations at the Activities Fair held on campus Aug. 28.

For the first time in the University of the Incarnate Word’s (UIW) history, enrollment has surpassed the 9,000-mark. The university’s global enrollment in the fall of 2012 reached a record-breaking 9,188 students. The enrollment figure includes more than 1,000 freshman students and over 700 students at UIW’s academic sites in Guangzhou, China and Mexico City, Mexico. “This is a historic achievement for us,” said UIW President Dr. Louis J. Agnese, Jr. “We continue to be one of the fastest growing universities in the state by offering innovative academ-ic programs. It also shows the UIW brand is becoming better known each year, not just in South Texas but throughout the

country and internationally.” In 1985, enrollment at UIW was 1,298 students and in-creased to 3,702 by 2000. The 733 students the university has added this year would have been equal to about 60 percent of UIW’s total enrollment in 1985. UIW offers 80 undergraduate, graduate and professional programs, an increase from the 56 that were offered in 1985. The top 10 UIW programs based on headcount include nurs-ing, pharmacy, biology, business administration, optometry, international studies, business management, psychology, or-ganizational development-MMA, and organizational develop-ment-BA.

UIW reaches record breaking enrollment of over 9,000 studentsUIW reaches record breaking enrollment of over 9,000 students

campus news

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campus news

UIW alumni will be pleased to know that all on-campus library resources are available for them to utilize. Mabee Library welcomes alumni to check out books and other source materials with their Alumni Association Membership Card; to access the many library databases by using the on-site, guest computer terminals; take ad-vantage of copying services at student rates; attend the many courses and workshops presented by the library; and participate in the many services offered at the library. UIW’s library offers many classes and workshops to students, faculty and alumni. The library’s “Ticket to Knowledge,” a series of open classes and webinars on available databases and resources, occurs

during the academic year. Remote access to the library databases is limited. However, through the Title V grant, Mabee subscribes to RefWorks, a bibliographic citation management tool. RefWorks is accessible to students after they graduate if they attended UIW in the last two years. The tool is especially beneficial to graduate students that have conducted research at UIW and have accu-mulated citations because they will always have access to those archives. The library is open most evenings until midnight. Research librarians are on-staff to help alumni identify which local libraries have the resources they need as a service in lieu of Interlibrary Loan. Further,

the TexShare card program, a service that allows students to check out materials from any library in Texas, extends to the public libraries and alumni may acquire the card at their nearest public library. “Any type of service the library has is open to alums,” said Dell Davis, Mabee Library’s director of public services. “All the services, everything, the classes, the research 101 consultations, and materials are all available.” To see hours of operations, learn more about library resources, and to view a schedule of upcoming classes and work-shops, please visit Mabee Library’s webpage at http://library.uiwtx.edu.

UIW Mabee Library offers its resources to alumni

UIW breaks ground on Eye Care and Health Institute

The University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) has broken ground and extended its philanthropic reach into the Eastside of San Antonio, an area critically in need of an institution provid-ing optometric care. On Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012, UIW commemorated the begin-ning of construction on the UIW Eye Care and Health Institute located at 2527 E. Commerce St. (corner of Walters and Com-merce, two blocks north of St. Phillip’s College) with a ground-breaking ceremony. The $8 million, 30,000 square-foot modern public health care facility will provide vision care to residents in this area of San Antonio. Because there exists only one private optometry office available to a community of over 143,500 residents, UIW’s new institute will serve a quintessential role in offering access to eye care for vulnerable populations, specifically children, the elderly and the uninsured. Patients will be accepted regardless of their ability to pay. The institute will diagnose and treat diseases such as diabetes and glaucoma; these vision-damaging conditions remain overrepre-sented in the populations forming the majority of the Eastside and its neighboring communities. Licensed eye care doctors and interns from UIW’s Rosenberg School of Optometry will render care at the institute. “The uniqueness of this futuristic Eye Institute is that it will be founded on the same values that serve as the foundation for all University of the Incarnate Word projects. It will be a com-

munity partnership committed to excellence in patient care and education within a context of faith, human dignity and social justice,” said Dr. Andrew Buzzelli, dean of the Rosenberg School of Optometry. In addition to UIW’s funding of the institute, the City of San Antonio invested $1.2 million under Tax Increment Reinvest-ment Zone #11 (TIRZ 11) and $1.6 million through the Com-munity Development Block Grant (CDBG), Section 108 Funds.

Pictured (L-R) Adena Williams Loston, president of St. Phillip’s Col-lege; Ivy R. Taylor, city councilwoman, district 2; Dr. Andrew Buzzelli, dean of the Rosenberg School of Optometry; and Dr. Louis J. Agnese, president of UIW; break ground at UIW’s new Eye Care and Health Institute.

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For the fourth consecutive year, the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) was chosen as one of the Great Colleges to Work For in the country, according to a survey by the “Chronicle of Higher Education,” the nation’s most impor-tant source of news about colleges and universities. In addition, for the third consecutive year, UIW is one of only 10 universities to attain the prestigious Honor Roll designation in its size cat-egory. On August 6, The Chronicle’s fifth an-nual report on The Academic Workplace released its results, which were based on a survey of more than 46,000 employees at 294 colleges and universities.

Only 103 of the total 294 institutions achieved Great Colleges to Work For recognition for specific practices and policies. Results were reported for small, medium and large institutions. UIW

is one of two four-year universities in Texas to attain the Top 10 Honor Roll designation in the medium-size category (universities with enrollment between 3,000 and 9,999 students). “This is terrific recognition for UIW,” said President Dr. Lou Agnese. “It’s a prestigious honor that continues to speak volumes of the positive environment we strive to create at Incarnate Word.” UIW won honors in the categories of Collaborative Governance; Professional/Career Development Programs; Teaching Environment (faculty only); Job Satis-faction; Respect and Appreciation; and Tenure Clarity & Process (faculty only/4-year only).

campus news

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UIW named a 2012 Great College to Work For for fourth consecutive year

Project Africa, a student organization that raised $32,000 to build a school in Kessana, Mali, Africa, received an exciting report from their partner BuildOn, a nonprofit organization that builds schools in developing countries, that they officially broke ground on the school March 9, 2012. Now construction is finished and children are attending the school. Completed in June 2012, the school consists of three class-

rooms built with cinderblocks, metal roofing and a poured concrete foundation. The first BuildOn school block in Kes-sana was built in 2007 and some of the older dilapidated mud rooms were still in use due to the need for accommodating facilities. The new school helps make it possible for all 203 stu-dents enrolled in grades one through six in Kessana to attend classes in a safe, dry classroom.

Project Africa school opens

Children of Kessana, Africa hold a plaque in front of their newly built school that reads: “The school was built by Project Africa, an organization formed by the joint efforts of faculty, staff, and students of the University of the Incarnate Word, located in San Antonio, TX, USA.”

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Student Danielle Flores and Dr. Harold Rodinsky bag beans at Inner City Development during the 7th annual Meet the Mission event.

Meet the Mission celebrates seven years of serving On Friday, Sept. 21, more than 200 students and faculty from the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) partici-pated in the university’s 7th annual Meet the Mission event.Meet the Mission is a university-wide day of community service and collaboration between faculty and students who reach out to the community at large by providing necessary services to the underserved and the needy. The program is a continuation of the Mission of service that brought the first Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word to San Antonio in 1881. Community service is an integral part of each student’s educational experience at UIW. “With nearly 20 local agencies participating in the day of service, it is truly a community-wide effort, and we are very grateful to our community partners for once again making the event possible,” said Dr. Chris Edelman, UIW assistant professor of philosophy. UIW students and faculty visited organizations through-out San Antonio including the Guadalupe Community Center, Inner City Development, Methodist Mission House, The Village at Incarnate Word, Family Violence Prevention Services, the Family Service Association and the Animal Defense League.

The University of the Incarnate Word has won the silver award for Best Colleges/Universities in the 2012 San Antonio Express-News Readers’ Choice Awards. UIW was awarded silver in 2010 and bronze in 2009. Readers and critics of the San An-tonio Express-News voted in 85 categories for San Antonio’s best.

UIW voted into San Antonio Express-News Readers’ Choice Award

On Sunday, October 21, the San Antonio Express-News published “The San Antonio Express-News Top Workplaces” and UIW was named to the list of the best places to work in the San Antonio metro area. UIW was selected No. 6 in the large companies category of 2012 Top Workplaces in the San Antonio metro area, which is reserved for companies with a minimum of 500 employees. The evaluation for the Top Workplaces program was based upon feedback from an employee survey. 126 companies participated in the program and 80 were selected for the award.

UIW named to the list of The San Antonio Express-News Top Workplaces

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Dr. Jo LeCoeur, professor of English, had three poems published in the June 2012

issue of “Shabdagucha, An International Bilingual Poetry Journal.”

Dr. Jeanette McNeill, nursing profes-sor at the Ila Faye Miller School of

Nursing & Health Professions, is among distinguished nurse educators who will join the National League for Nursing’s Academy of Nursing Educa-tion when she will be inducted as fellow at the 2012 NLN Education Summit this fall in Anaheim, California. The 2012 fellows and honorary fellows together bring the academy’s total to 154 leaders in nurs-ing education from nursing programs across the higher education spectrum and from other organizations committed to health care.

Dr. Philip Aitse-baoma, associate profes-sor of the Rosenberg School of Optom-

etry, was honored with the NOSA Mentor of the Year Award. This award is presented to National Optometric Associ-ation Optometrists who display the most interest in helping students across the different

schools of optometry as voted by the NOA executive council and National Optometric Stu-dent Association members.

Dr. Roger Barnes, sociology professor, had his “Writing Myth: Explor-ing the

Personal” published in my-thopeotry.com, a leading journal of Jungian analysis. His op-ed column “Death Penalty Undermines Justice” appeared July 12, 2012 in the San Antonio Express-News. He served as the keynote speaker at the Bexar County Task Force Against Elder Domes-tic Violence in September on “Generational Diversity in U.S. Society.”

Mike Gil-liam, San Antonio Light-house for the Blind, an-nounced that Dr.

Andrew Buzzelli, dean of the Rosenberg School of Optom-etry, was unanimously sup-ported in his nomination as a member of the SA Lighthouse for the Blind’s Leadership Ad-visory Council.

Dr. Judith Beauford, director of doctoral stud-ies, and Suzanne Meche, doctoral

student, presented “Does Lan-guage Influence Mathematical

Abilities in Number Sense?” at the International Congress of Mathematics Education in Seoul, Korea in July 2012.

In May, Dr. David Campos, professor of educa-tion in the Dreeben School of Education,

finished writing a book titled, “Educating Latino Boys: Look-ing Positive, Looking Forward.” The release date is scheduled for December. The publisher is Corwin, a SAGE company. He also co-authored (lead author) on a book titled, “Reaching Out to Latino Families of Eng-lish Language Learners,” which received an award on June 4, 2012 from the Association of Educational Publishers. The book was published by ASCD.

Cynthia S. Esca-milla, general counsel, was a con-ference presenter for two

sessions at the 52nd Annual Conference of the National Association of College and University Attorneys held in Chicago, June 27-30, 2012, with more than 1,400 NACUA members attending. For the first conference session, Esca-milla presented: “Navigating the Federal Regulations High-way: a Review and Preview of New Laws and Regulations Affecting Higher Education in 2011-2012.” For the second session, Escamilla led the discussion group: “Minors on Campus: Institutional Policies and Practices.”

Dr. James Chapman, assistant professor of optometry and direc-tor of externship programs, will be involved in a unique, public-private partnership which is working to develop a new state-of-the-art eye and vision clinic that will deliver expert care by faculty and externs from the University of Houston College of Optometry and the UIW Rosenberg School of Optometry. The proposed clinic will be housed at the historic First Christian Church of Fort Worth and the part-ners hope to have it open by January 2013. According to a program spokesperson, in its first five years, the Fort Worth clinic could provide top-flight care through more than 28,000 patient encoun-ters and a world-class educational experience for 116 optometry externs. University partners will invest $400,000 in diagnostic testing and treatment equipment and nearly two million dollars of unreimbursed care per year. Eye care companies such as Alcon will provide medications, solutions and low-cost glasses for patients.

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Dr. Jesús Cuéllar-Fuentes, associate profes-sor of the School of Math-ematics,

Science, and Engineering, has announced that the National Institute of Food and Agri-culture (NIFA), USDA has issued a grant for $295,000 to the project entitled “Preparing Hispanics for Leadership in the Applied Statistics Field”; the project is a statistical consult-ing laboratory and that started Sept. 1, 2012 and will end on Aug. 31, 2015.

Dr. Mary Ruth Moore and Dr. Susan Hall, professors in the Dreeben School of Education, recently published “Listening and Reading Comprehension at Story Time: How to Build Habits of the Mind” in Dimen-sions of Early Childhood.

Following a thorough vetting process, Dr. Sandra Forten-berry, assistant professor at the Rosenberg School of Optometry (RSO), has been announced as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Texas Optometric Association. This significant achievement reflects great credit upon the univer-sity, RSO and the entire faculty. She moves forward in the great tradition of service of UIW by being in a position to affect the health care of the millions of citizens of the State of Texas.

Dr. Kevin Salfen, professor of music, attended the Noh Training Project 2012 in

Bloomsburg, Pa. The project culminated in two full perfor-mances of the classic Japanese noh play “Atsumori.” For one performance, Salfen played the role of the tsure and for another he sang in the chorus. Salfen also played the noh-kan (Japanese noh flute) for a performance of an excerpt from the noh “Takasago.” Salfen served as editor and wrote two articles for “In the Noh: The Newsletter of Theatre Nohgaku.” His review of the film “A Surprise in Texas: The Thirteenth Van Cliburn Inter-national Piano Competition,” was published in “Notes,” the quarterly journal of the Music Library Association.

Maria Gillespie, nursing instruc-tor, has received the South Texas Nurse

Image Maker award for the Ila Faye Miller School of Nursing from the Texas Nurses Asso-ciation and Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society. She also received an Ed.D in Higher Education and Adult Learning from Walden University.

In the spring of 2012, Dr. Stephanie Grote-Garcia chaired the annual conference of the Texas Association for Literacy Education (TALE) on the UIW campus. She also co-authored a book titled, “Lit-eracy Trends and Issues” and is this year’s co-author of “What’s Hot, What’s Not,” an annual publication of the International Reading Association.

The exhibit “Iraqi Women of Three Generations: Education, Challenges, and Hopes for

Peace” offers images and stories from Sr. Martha Ann Kirk’s research in Iraq in the sum-mers of 2010, 2011 and 2012. The exhibit was generously funded by the Gülen Founda-tion, University of Houston. The exhibit was shown Oct. 11-31, 2012 in the Fine Arts Hall at UIW and will be on display in November at the Interna-tional School of the Americas and March 1-April 12, 2013 at Louis J. Blume Library at St. Mary’s University. The exhibit may be borrowed; for informa-tion, visit http://www.uiw.edu/compassionconference.

Faculty members, Dr. Philip Lampe, sociology professor, Dr. Julie Miller, associate pro-fessor of religious studies, and Dr. Roger Barnes, sociology professor, have been editing and publishing a yearly anthol-ogy, “Verbum Incarnatum: Social Justice and Econom-ics,” Volume 5, 2012, for the past five years. This anthology includes articles from scholars across the nation as well as UIW.

Dr. Jessica Kimmel, profes-sor in the Dreeben School of Educa-tion, is serving as

the Chair of Academic Presen-tations for the World Council for Curriculum and Instruc-tion (WCCI) International Conference in December in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. She spent a week with the Taiwanese hosts in San Diego planning the pro-gram. The WCCI Conference will take place from Dec. 27 - Jan. 3 and include a Taiwanese New Year celebration.

Dr. Ken Metz, pro-fessor of music, has developed a new method, Chord Tone

Analysis, for analyzing tonal harmony, which he hopes will be a useful pedagogical tool for giving students a deeper under-standing of voice leading and help to analyze their own part writing. He also has completed two new works, one for solo vibra-phone (Vibes 1, 2, and 4.1) and one for wind ensemble (Fanfare for Freedom).

Chancellor, Dr. Denise Doyle, was recognized by the Associa-tion of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO) for her extraordinary efforts in the creation and advancement of UIW’s new optometric educa-tion program – the Rosenberg School of Optometry (RSO). The ASCO resolution stated “Dr. Doyle has brought a level of leadership and professional expertise to the establishment of the RSO that has resulted in its profile as a well-defined, excellence-oriented health pro-fessions institution guided by a mission of preparing future leaders in optometry through excellence in education, patient care and vision research in an environment committed to personal growth in a context of faith, human dignity and social justice.” In addition, in a statement released by ASCO, its Board of Directors formally lauds the work of Doyle in the establishment of the Rosenberg School of Optometry, “which has brought great credit to the School, the university and the optometric profession.”

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he University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) officially opened the Debbie and Naty Saidoff Center with a celebra-

tion held on Aug. 30, 2012. The $7.5-million state-of-the-art facility serves as home to the university’s new School of Physi-cal Therapy and its newest Adult Degree Completion Program (ADCaP) location. The 75,000 square foot Center is named after benefactors Debbie and Naty Saidoff, a Los Angeles couple who donated the building, a former Albertsons grocery store, to UIW. “We are grateful to the Saidoff family for this wonderful gift,” said UIW President Dr. Louis Agnese. “The new School of Physical Therapy compliments our health-care mission and allows us to offer an academic program needed in our city.” “As an Israeli immigrant to the United States, my family is proud to support UIW’s faith-based Mission that aims to edu-cate populations historically underserved by higher education,”

said Naty Saidoff. “UIW has an excellent academic reputation, and we’re excited to be affiliated with a university that is a leader in the health-care field.” The Saidoff ’s, who were previously unfamiliar with the university, were inspired to give to UIW after hearing of the gift made to the university’s optometry school by Sandra and Stanley Rosenberg. Located on San Antonio’s northwest side, at the corner of Tezel and Guilbeau Roads, the Saidoff Center includes a 7,000 square foot therapy clinic to serve the community as well as a research lab, classrooms and office space for the School of Physi-cal Therapy and ADCaP program. In addition, UIW has partnered with CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System Rehabilitation Services to offer outpatient rehabilitation services to the public. The clinic is one-of-a-kind, designed to incorporate the high quality patient care delivered

cover story President Dr. Louis Agnese and benefactors Naty and Debbie Saidoff share a photo following the dedication ceremony on Aug. 30, 2012.

T

Debbie and Naty Saidoff Center celebrates grand opening

By Brance Arnold ’10 MA

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by CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Rehabilitation Services Associ-ates with top tier teaching and research provided by UIW. The clinic blends direct patient care delivery with real time student learning and serves the surrounding community with physical, occupational and speech therapies, and in collaboration with the new Children’s Hospital of San An-tonio, provides therapy services for pediatric patients. “By working together to provide education and health care services to the community, UIW and CHRISTUS Santa Rosa are addressing identified community needs - the shortage of physical therapists and the need for access to convenient outpatient rehabilitation services,” said Cary Fox, regional vice president/chief administrative officer for CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System. “This unique partnership will leverage the outpatient management ex-pertise of CHRISTUS Santa Rosa, as well as the skills of the faculty, which together will provide a more robust training experience for the students.” Fox indicated that though the university has worked closely together to provide residency options for its nursing and health care training programs, the Saidoff Center is a first for both ministries of the Sisters of Charity of the In-carnate Word (CCVI) to partner in a single UIW location to provide training for students coupled with health care service to the community. For the School of Physical Therapy, the 54 students of the inaugural class began classes on August 20 and are studying for a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree. The curriculum for physical therapy includes entry-level and post-professional programs. “The Doctor of Physical Therapy curriculum uses a problem-based learning (PBL) methodology which places students in a position of active responsibility for learning and mastering content,” said Dr. Caroline Goulet, founding dean of the School of Physical Therapy. And now that the Saidoff Center is open and students are settled into the program, Goulet feels the students are

One of two atriums in the Saidoff Center during construction (left) and completed (right).

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cover story

adjusting to their new roles and a more predictable weekly routine. She said the Saidoff Center is a place that positively facilitates learning and instruction. “I am blessed with a wonderful teaching and learn-ing environment and feel privileged to be working with an outstanding faculty and staff,” said Goulet. “It is fascinating to observe students transition to problem-based learning and to observe growth just a few weeks into the program.” The ADCaP portion of the Saidoff Center includes classrooms, a computer lab, advising offices and a reception area. The current configuration accommo-dates 175 undergraduate students per week, providing the students take two classes per term, and master’s courses add another 50 to that total. It is staffed from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Undergraduate classes are held Tuesday and Thursday evenings with graduate courses offered on Wednesday evenings. The location offers several undergraduate degrees ranging from a Bachelor of Applied Arts & Sciences to a Bachelor of Human Resources as well as a Masters of Business Administra-tion. Vincent Porter, dean of UIW’s School of Extended Studies, believes the facility and the program show the paramount growth of UIW’s accessibility to students throughout the San Antonio community, particularly providing much needed educational opportunities to the northwest area of San Antonio. “The Saidoff Center will give the communities of the far northwest part of San Antonio access to achieve a bachelor or master’s degree without stressing their personal lives,” explained Porter. “I think UIW hit a home run! The building is an exceptional example of an off campus learning center for the adult student.” “It is also profound that we opened in Fall I with 77

students in attendance,” continued Porter. “This is the largest opening for an ADCaP site to date.” McChesney/Bianco Architecture, the firm that has designed many of UIW’s facilities, designed the Saidoff Center. The Center includes energy-saving features commonplace in UIW buildings. The replacement of the existing stone façade with new brick and cast stone masonry link the building to architecture found on UIW’s main campus. A unique challenge the architects initially faced, yet overcame, was to make use of natu-ral light in the building’s design. “We were able to accomplish this design goal by incorporating two large atriums into the existing roof that allow natural light into the building,” said architect Joseph Bianco. “The introduction of natural light into spaces that would otherwise be dependent totally on artificial light allows the university to save on energy.” According to Bianco, the introduction of natural light has been proven to increase productivity and learning in classrooms and office spaces. Overall, the greatest achievement for the architects perhaps lies in the conversion of the building itself. “One of the highlights was the opportunity to be able to reuse and transform an existing, vacant build-ing structure into a totally different building type, i.e. a grocery store to a building of higher education,” Bianco said. UIW’s Saidoff Center is indicative of the high level of educational and professional service and accessibil-ity the university provides students and the greater community. And by strengthening relationships with prominent service-based institutions in San Antonio such as fellow CCVI ministry CHRISTUS Santa Rosa, UIW continues to live and perpetuate the very Mission in which it is so firmly rooted.

A rendering of the Debbie and Naty Saidoff Center.

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Dr. Denise Doyle, former UIW provost, serves as the new chancel-lor. Doyle came to UIW in 1988. She holds a J.C.D. from St. Paul University in Canada; a Ph.D. in canon law from the University of Ottawa in Canada; a J.D.L. (licens-ing degree) and an MA and BA in Canon Law from St. Paul Univer-sity; and a BA in English literature from the University of Victoria in Canada. Doyle has been instru-

mental in the creation and advancement of several programs at UIW. In addition to her recent work with the Rosenberg School of Optometry, she helped to create the Adult Degree Comple-tion Program (ADCaP) in the 1990s as its founding director, rallying faculty support and wearing many hats to establish the fledgling program which is now one of the most successful programs in the school’s history.

Former Dean of the Ila Faye Miller School of Nursing and Health Pro-fessions Dr. Kathi Light became provost on June 1, 2012. Light has received a number of nursing leadership awards. While at UIW she has been the Moody Professor and a CCVI Spirit Award recipient. She was introduced into the San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame in 2008. Light graduated from Incar-nate Word College in 1970, served

in the Army Nurse Corp and was a nursing administrator at Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital. She earned a master’s degree

from UT Health Science Center at San Antonio in parent-child health and returned to Incarnate Word as a member of the nursing faculty in 1981. She directed the RN-BSN program and helped develop the university wellness program. After receiv-ing a doctorate in adult education from Texas A&M University, she directed and taught in the nursing program. In 1998, she became director of UIW’s nursing school and assumed the role of dean in 1999. Light is married to Dr. Bob Connelly, UIW’s assistant director of assessment. They have 4 children and 5 grandchildren.

“Many things have changed at UIW since the 1960s,” said Light. “What has never changed is the commit-ment to students and to their success. I am able to visit hospitals today and find former students who today are nurse leaders making a difference in our commu-nity. That’s why I love my job.”

Dr. Marshall Eidson, who came to UIW in August 2010 as the chief information officer, has moved into the position of vice president for information resources as of June 2012. Born in Austin and raised in Georgetown, Texas, he earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from Trinity University. He received a master’s degree in justice and peace studies and the history of Christianity from The Iliff School

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UIW WELCoMES NEW ADMINISTRAToRS

By Brance Arnold ’10 MA

long with a new and exciting 2012-13 academic year at the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW), several administrative changes have occurred. UIW is proud to welcome the administrators to their respective positions

and introduce them to our alumni and the community.

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of Theology in Denver, Colo. He holds a master’s degree from the University of Denver in library and information science and recently earned a Doctor of Education degree in higher educa-tion administration from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, where he served as the associate vice president of technology. Eidson spent five years with Ellucian (formerly SunGard Higher Education) where, in addition to serving as chief information officer at Sul Ross State University, he supported the company’s technology management and academic technology assessment efforts at private and public universities throughout the U.S. and in Mexico. In addition, he has taught courses in research methods and religious studies and published articles in the areas of theology librarianship and technology management.

Dr. Glenn James, former dean of UIW’s School of Mathematics, Science, and Engineering, recently assumed the role of associate provost. He holds a Ph.D. and MS in applied mathematics from the Georgia Institute of Technol-ogy; a BS in mathematical sciences from the U.S. Air Force Academy; and an MA in national security & strate-gic studies from the College of Naval Command and Staff.

Prior to UIW, James spent twenty years in the Air Force as a math researcher where he said he worked among the smartest people in government service. In the Air Force, he learned to make an explosive blast wave have a very specific shape; to run a rocket on frozen ozone; to build an all-plastic rocket; to deliver helpful leaflets from dangerous airspaces without placing pilots or civilians on the ground at risk; and to use information chan-nels to keep U.S. forces safe. Coming to UIW in 2005, James served as the dean of the School of Mathematics, Science, and Engineering for seven years.

“There’s nothing more motivating than serving at a university with such a deep Mission and heritage of service to others,” said James.

Dr. Jeannie Scott, former UIW MBA director, internship director, and pro-fessor in the management discipline, is the new interim dean of the H-E-B School of Business and Administra-tion. She has served at UIW for ten years. Before coming to the university, Scott held management positions with several industries, including bank-ing, finance and health maintenance organizations. In addition to her Ph.D.

from Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU), she has earned an MBA from OLLU and a BBA from the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), both with a concentration in manage-ment. While holding the position of director with an HMO, she began teaching statistics courses as an adjunct professor and “fell in love” with helping students in the classroom.

Dr. Mary Hoke joined UIW as dean of the Ila Faye Miller School of Nurs-ing and Health Professions in June 2012. Hoke earned a Ph.D. from New Mexico State University; a BSN from Illinois Wesleyan University; and an MSN in community health and nurs-ing administration at the University of Texas Health Science Center. After completion of a 20 plus year military career as an Army Nurse Corps, Hoke

retired in the rank of Lieutenant Colonel following tours in Texas, Massachusetts, New York, Germany and Panama. Her academic career has included positions at El Paso Community College, the University of Texas at El Paso, New Mexico State University and positions ranging from undergraduate faculty to nursing academic administrator. She has received over $4 million dollars in federal funding from Health Resources Ser-vices Administration and the National Institutes of Health. Her education projects have focused on increasing access to nursing education, increasing diversity within the nursing profession, and addressing mental health. Her funded research focus is on health disparities with a specific interest in weight management for Hispanic women. An accomplished author, Hoke has written extensively on nursing education and health disparities. Her accomplishments in nursing education were recognized in 2011 when she was inducted as a Fellow in the Academy of Nursing Education.

The new Dean of the School of Math-ematics, Science, and Engineering Dr. Carlos Garcia came to the university on June 1, 2012. Garcia has earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry and an MS in physiological optics/vision science from the University of Houston. He holds an MS in biology/microbiol-ogy and a BS in biology from the University of Texas at El Paso. Before coming to UIW, Garcia served as associate professor, visiting profes-

sor and research scientist at Texas A&M University Kingsville in the department of biological and health sciences; president and CEO of Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas; aca-demic dean and chief officer at Houston Community College-Northwest; adjunct faculty at the University of Houston in the

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department of pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences; and instructor and research associate at the University of Houston in the College of Optometry and Department of Biochemical and Biographical Sciences.

“I am an advocate of service leadership and believe faculty can best lead by serving the students and the rest of the staff. I believe this philosophy can permeate the classroom resulting in a safe, secure campus envi-ronment where students have multiple opportunities to learn,” said Garcia.

Dr. John Healy comes to UIW as the new dean of the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sci-ences. He is formerly associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Central Methodist University where he had served as dean since 2009. He is currently working toward an LL.M. in dispute resolution from the University of Missouri School of Law. He has earned a Ph.D. and MA in English from the University

of Kansas and a BA in English from Creighton University. Healy has also taught at Baker University in Fayette, Mo. and the Uni-versity of Kansas in Lawrence. He and his wife Kathy of 30 years are originally from Omaha, Neb.

Dr. Robert Connelly, who has taught philosophy at UIW for over 30 years, is the university’s new as-sistant director of assessment. For the last 10 years, Connelly has served as the dean of Math, Science, and Engineering for three years, director of assessment for three years, and the dean of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences for four years. Connelly holds a Ph.D. and A.M. from St. Louis University and an A.B. degree from Regis College.

As a special note, Sr. Helena Monahan CCVI, former UIW chancellor, now serves as president of Incarnate Word Acad-emy in St. Louis, Missouri. Monahan was installed as president during an evening vespers service on Sept. 29, 2012. She is a graduate of Incarnate Word College. After 31 years of service, she was awarded Chancellor Emerita as she retired from UIW in May 2012.

We extend our congratulations to UIW’s newest administrators and wish them great success in their

new administrative roles.

Molly Grumich, principal of Incarnate Word Academy (left), and Sr. Helena Monahan, CCVI (second from right), share a photo with Incarnate Word Academy students on the day of Monahan’s installation as president.

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anica Martinez and Mario Perez, both senior math majors at the University of the Incarnate Word, took a fraction of their summer to help a non-profit organiza-

tion plan for their future, and in doing so, the duo made history. Martinez and Perez completed their internship with ARTS SA, a non-profit organization that has been producing and pre-paring shows and activities in the visual and performing arts in the San Antonio area for more than 20 years. Although making profits is not the main focus of ARTS SA, their greater goal was to stay financially independent while promoting arts and culture in San Antonio. Martinez and Perez analyzed ARTS SA perfor-mance data dating back to 1992 and constructed mathematical models to be used as a tool to plan for future artistic perfor-mances and improve the financial success of the presentations. “ARTS SA already had a general goal in mind,” Martinez said. “They wanted to increase the profitability and sustainability of their organization, and we collaborated in deciding that using a predictive model would increase their cost effectiveness.” Martinez, Perez, and Dr. Jesús Cuéllar Fuentes, associate professor in the UIW School of Mathematics, Science and Engi-neering (SMSE), and faculty mentor for the project, had several meetings with ARTS SA about what could be used and what they wanted to use to measure as far as predictable variables. They had many years of figures on different types of shows and their performances, including ticket sales and revenue.

“We decided on using Ticketmaster reports to record certain variables and the number of attendants as our reliable sources,” Martinez explained. In completing the analysis, she and Perez ended up with three models rather than one. The students felt the varied models more accurately predicted the response of three different types of performances: music, dance, and theatre. The models will be used to predict the number of attendees in the future. “We hope the models will help ARTS SA be more cost productive since they will now have a better idea of how much particular variables, such as the venue a performance takes place in, the day and time of week, and artistic fee, to name a few, influence the number of attendees,” Perez said. “What our students were able to accomplish was the creation of the first quantitative mathematical models for ARTS SA and, as far as we know, no one else has done this in the country either,” said Dr. Zhanbo Yang, chair of the UIW mathematics department, principal investigator and project director for the Mathematics Scholars Program (MSP). “It will take some time to validate and calibrate these models, but having a reasonable one to start out with is historic.” John Toohey, president and executive director of ARTS SA said they look forward to learning how to use these planning models when deciding on who, what, when, where, and how to present performances with the highest likelihood for success.

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Danica Martinez and Mario Perez review the formula they applied to the ARTS SA project.

Mathematical equation sums it up for local arts organizationBy Crystale Lopez

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Success in this context means a predictable attendance. “Both Danica and Mario seemed well prepared to take this on and were coached by Dr. Cuéllar Fuentes,” Toohey said. “They were consistently professional in their attitude and were hard working. Their open-minded and quantitative approach was refreshing, prompting us to already reconsider a number of planning variables.” Toohey said he and the ARTS SA team were also impressed that Martinez and Perez are participants in the MSP funded by the National Science Foundation’s Scholars in Sciences, Technol-ogy, Engineering and Mathematics (S-STEM) program at UIW. Yang and Cuéllar Fuentes explained that the UIW mathemat-ics department applied for and received funding of $600,000 to provide scholarships and supporting services for 15 academi-cally talented UIW students with financial need majoring in mathematics. “I transferred from Texas A&M to UIW to take advantage of the education and the scholarship program at the university,” Perez said. The scholarship provided $8,750 per student per year ($35,000 over eight semesters) toward tuition and fees. The scholarship funds supported a wide array of activities, such as invited external professional speakers, trips to conferences, targeted tutoring and other support services. The scholarship program also has other enhanced supporting structures such as mentoring sections, weekly mentor meetings, resume critiques and mock interviews, etc. “Through the activities of the MSP, students are better sup-ported in their studies, are more aware of career options and what they need to do to prepare for them,” Yang said. “The scholarship program encourages students to go out and explore internship opportunities – in fact, one of the assignments for MSP scholars was to investigate specific companies for their intern programs and share the information with the rest of the students.”

Yang and Cuéllar Fuentes added that the UIW Mathematics Department also offers courses directly applicable to real work problem solving processes including a variety of statistics, pro-gramming and mathematics modeling courses to get students ready to take part in internships out in the community. “Dr. Cuéllar asked Mario and me if we would be interested in working on a project that would provide real life experience and give us a chance to apply what we learned in our classes,” Martinez said. “In completing the internship, we gained valuable experience and were happy to find there are real world examples of math and statistics being applied to things unrelated in areas such as the arts.” Toohey said he thinks real-world applications and challenges are a necessary part of the education process and help develop critical thinking skills and confidence in students. Yang and Cuéllar Fuentes agreed that internships, such as this one, allow UIW students to have opportunities to practice what they have learned in the classroom and have actual experi-ence in the problem solving process and improve their problem solving skills, which is one of the important factors companies consider when they recruit new employees. “We really enjoyed working with Danica and Mario and we are optimistic that the models will be helpful in improving the financial success of our presentations,” Toohey said. “They helped us to better understand what we do at ARTS SA and represented UIW extremely well.”

For more information on the UIW mathematics department or the Mathematics Scholars Program, visit www.uiw.edu/math.

Mario Perez and Danica Martinez created a new mathematical model.

DanicaMartinezandMarioPerezmadetheirfinalpresentationtoARTSSA Monday, Aug. 8, 2012. Pictured (L-R) John Toohey, president and ex-ecutive director of ARTS SA; Susan Campbell, vice president and director of American Funds Service Company, and member of the ARTS SA Board of Directors; Martinez; Perez; and Dr. Jesús Cuéllar Fuentes, faculty men-tor for the students’ internship project.

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or the lucky, a passion can become a profession. For Asia Ciaravino ’98, the new CEO of San Pedro Playhouse, her work and her passion for the theatre are one in the

same. A professional actor and accomplished business woman, Ciaravino has devoted her life to the theatre and holds almost 15 years of experience working in the non-profit arena. Born in Ann Arbor, Mich., Ciaravino lived throughout the Midwest. The daughter of photographer Larry Hales, who worked with renowned photographer Richard Avedon of Vogue and Life fame, she grew up surrounded by the arts. Early in her childhood, she held an inherent and unwavering love for the art and craft of theatre. “It was something innate in me that drove me to want to perform,” said Ciaravino. “I knew I wanted to write, sing, act and dance. And I think that I was always inspired by the world around me.” She was so taken by theatre during her childhood that by the age of four she was producing plays in her neighborhood and at school. “I decided I wanted to produce theatre because it didn’t exist, so I would get my friends together and we would write a play on Monday and by Friday that show would be produced,” said Ciaravino. After high school, she entered a conservatory program for acting at Lansing Community College in Michigan. Following the program, she visited San Antonio and decided to pursue a bachelor’s degree. In pursuit of an institution with a reputable theatre program, she found exactly what she was looking for at UIW. Ciaravino says the theatre program at UIW was thriving and producing many great and exciting shows. Though originally

not a theatre major but a minor, she wanted to be a part of the program after working and performing with students and fac-ulty. A seemingly serendipitous occurrence eventually led her to opt for a major in theatre. “I got looped into the group. One of the women in the production of ‘Latina’ broke her leg two days before the show went up,” said Ciaravino. “I wasn’t even the understudy. They asked me to come in. I said ‘yeah! I’ll do it!’ I came in and did the part and that is when I really started getting into the theatre program.” During her time at UIW, Ciaravino said she worked with many great actors, such as Ricardo Chavira, Shelly Chance and Jack Lozano to name a few. Many of her peers from her UIW days are still actively working in the industry and they remain a close community of theatre professionals. A number of her former classmates still direct and act in productions at the San Pedro Playhouse. Ciaravino further cites her training at UIW as key to many of her achievements in the industry and maintains contact with many of the faculty members who she studied under, such as George Burnette and Sr. Germaine Corbin, CCVI. “The training we had at Incarnate Word was incredible,” said Ciaravino. “These are all people that impacted our lives on a pretty profound level” After graduating, Ciaravino and her husband, Anthony Ciaravino ’92, whom she met at UIW, moved to Minneapolis to pursue acting opportunities. They eventually returned to San Antonio and in 2008 Ciaravino founded and served as executive director of The Classic Theatre of San Antonio, a theatre com-pany presenting productions of popular classics and master-pieces for residents of and visitors to San Antonio. Now in its 5th

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SETTING THE STAGEBy Brance Arnold ’10 MA

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season, she said the theatre has increased its patron base by 100 percent every year. In addition to her work in theatre, Ciaravino holds extensive experience in the non-profit field. In 1998, she began as a temp for Inner-City Games, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s charitable initia-tive for urban children, and eventually achieved the position of director of public relations and marketing. She also served as director of production solutions at the CE Group, director of Dollars for Scholars, and director of alumni relations at Our Lady of the Lake University. Since accepting the CEO position at the San Pedro Playhouse on May 1, 2012, she has made many improvements and altera-tions to the playhouse and looks to set the bar even higher. “Right off the bat, I rebranded the theatre,” she said. “We changed the name. We redid the logo. We have a new website, a new ticketing system, and everything I am trying to do has a high attention to detail in terms of the consumer. I want people to know that there is true fundamental change here.” San Pedro Playhouse is the oldest municipally built theatre in the country. The theatre has its roots in a troupe began in 1912 by Sarah Barton Bindley and the facility which stands today opened to audiences in 1930. Ciaravino prides herself on establishing a work environment that is safe and creative. She wants to make sure that each mem-ber of her team knows they hold a voice, have a place and pur-pose, and are valued. And she believes that the positive energy created by such a working environment will emanate outward and be palpable to theatre audiences. Along with her efforts to revamp the playhouse, she expanded the theatre’s conservatory program, an education program that immerses children into the milieu of theatre. Basing it on her A.I.M. High program (Apprenticeship, Internship, and Mentor-ship) which she developed at Classic Theatre, the program with 35 students currently enrolled provides kids an experience in all different phases of engagement and interaction with people onstage and backstage. “That was a big lesson that George Burnette taught me,” she stressed. “To have that immense respect for your technical people and understand what they’re going through. I think my education at Incarnate Word gave me that appreciation for back-stage and design and props and costumes.” While at UIW, she worked in the costume shop and was the shop foreman for Burnette. She helped build and paint theatrical sets and gained an appreciation for all aspects of theatre produc-tion. “We built upon what they did before which was more perfor-mance based,” said Ciaravano. “This program that I designed at the Conservatory is the program I wished I had as a kid. It gives parents a safe place to bring their kids and know that we can help and be a resource. Our doors are always open.” San Pedro Playhouse has five Conservatory scholarships available to give 50 percent off for the program. The scholarships are based on need and talent. Students are required to write an essay on why they feel they deserve the scholarship and want to be a part of the Conservatory. The program has a beginner elementary school level, intermediate middle school level, and an advanced level with ages ranging from 5 to 18 years old. The theatre is predominantly funded by the Russell Rogers

Foundation and the City of San Antonio, but Ciaravino said the theatre is generating a lot more visibility in the community. The playhouse recently held its Centennial Celebration and received funding from local businesses such as H-E-B and Valero. The theatre also welcomes volunteers to help out no matter the level of commitment. There are opportunities for UIW students, alumni and the community to assist onstage and behind the scenes. Those interested can contact the theatre’s education director. “Our door is always open to volunteers and we always need them,” she said. “I would love to have fashion students, com-munications majors for PR, marketing and fundraising develop-ment.” Ciaravino is also the host of the new KLRN program ARTS, a weekly, 30-minute show that features segments set in and around San Antonio, and components produced by 29 other major public-broadcasting markets around the country. The show is set to air Thursday evenings at 8:30 p.m. Among all her endeavors, Ciaravino is also a devoted mother. Her children include Stella, 7; Sophia, 12; and her stepdaughter Anjel, 19. Burnette, still at UIW as technical director, has witnessed Ciaravino in her many roles as a professional and a person. He believes she will thrive and make a difference as the new CEO of San Pedro Playhouse. “I have worked with her at the Classic Theatre of San An-tonio, and I have seen her operate as a wife and mother,” said Burnette. “She is a remarkable, energetic, positive and effective person. She is definitely going to make a positive impact at the Playhouse.” “So much of our lives we focus on success,” she said. “What I tell my team and the kids in the program is to not be afraid to fail. If you fail, you are going to learn a lot from that experience and you can become even better.”

Asia Ciaravino and husband, Anthony Ciaravino, at San Pedro Playhouse’s Centennial Celebration.

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To learn more about the theatre and the season schedule of productions, please visit www.theplayhousesa.org or call (210) 733-7258.

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donor

ivision I—Here we come! Beginning in the fall of 2011, UIW actively pursued a transition from Lone Star Con-

ference (LSC) in NCAA’s Division II to Southland Conference (SLC) in Division I. And now it’s official! SLC’s Commissioner, Tom Burnett, formally invited UIW to the league during a press conference held Aug. 20, 2012. The transition becomes effective July 1, 2013 and will mark UIW’s four-year shift to Division I with SLC’s assistance and supervi-sion. For scheduling purposes, UIW will continue to compete in Division II’s LSC, but will be recognized as a Division I team in 2014-15. The Cardinals will be fully eligible for NCAA Champi-onship events in 2017-18. “We are truly blessed to be joining such an outstanding con-ference like Southland,” said UIW President Dr. Louis Agnese. “We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with SLC that will be equally rewarding to our students and the residents of San Antonio.” After announcing UIW’s invitation to the conference, South-land Board Chairman and president of Stephen F. Austin State University Dr. Baker Pattillo continued: “Further, we are hon-ored to learn of the institution’s acceptance of our offer, and we are gratified by the approval of the UIW Board of Trustees and the visionary leadership of the university’s administration. The

Southland presidents look forward to a beneficial partnership with UIW, its athletics, and the San Antonio community.” “As is the case with other membership additions, the board has only shown interest in institutions that clearly bring added value to the league,” said Burnett. “That includes strong aca-demic performance, athletic competitiveness and achievement, excellent playing facilities, geographic fit, media market size and presence in the market, and strong fan support. UIW is a historic and accomplished institution, and has the potential and resources to be a competitively successful member of the South-land Conference and NCAA Division I.” SLC participates in the NCAA’s Division I for all sports; for football, it participates in Division I’s Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). UIW will be the Southland’s 12th member and will participate in all of the 17 sponsored championships. In men’s sports they include basketball, baseball, cross country, football, golf, tennis, and indoor and outdoor track and field. In women’s sports, they are basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, vol-leyball, and indoor and outdoor track and field. “We want to give you a first-class competitive experience,” said Burnett, addressing student athletes at the press conference. “We want you to succeed academically. We compete in a great, tight geographic area. You are going to be able to get home and

UIW accepts InvItatIon to DIvIsIon I By Brance Arnold ’10 MA

Southland Conference Commissioner Tom Burnett welcomes President Dr. Louis J. Agnese to the Southland Conference.

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get to class.” The pursuit of Division I status has been a multi-faceted yet steadfast one. After presenting a formal proposal to South-land Conference representatives and its board of directors last January, a four-person delegation from Southland visited UIW in July. Led by Burnett, the committee met with UIW board members, administrators, coaches, athletic officials, faculty and student-athletes, and attended receptions held by UIW officials and local dignitaries. “We quickly, as a site visit team, acknowledged and saw for ourselves all the wonderful things happening on this campus,” Burnett expressed. To culminate SLC’s visit, a press conference was held where Burnett addressed the media and shared his impression of UIW. “I can’t remember when I have seen an institution so well em-braced by its city, government officials and the corporate shakers in the community,” said Burnett. Now begins the logistical tran-sition to NCAA Division I. And with the move comes the need to recruit more Division I athletic talent. “We have been recruiting Division I athletes, with Division I coaches and now we have a Division I to enter,” expressed Dr.

Agnese at the press conference officially inviting UIW to the conference. Leading The Cardinals’ charge to Division I in football is Head Coach Larry Kennan, former executive director of the NFL Coaches Association. Kennan has worked with all-pro quarterbacks, coached at all levels, and possesses a Super Bowl ring. He was named head coach of the UIW football program in December of 2011. Currently, UIW sponsors more sports than any other NCAA Division II school in Texas with a total of 21 teams in men’s and women’s sports. Since 2007-08, over 20 Cardinals’ squads have claimed league titles and advanced to national postseason play. Not only will athletics be enhanced, but the university and its student body as a whole will experience some remarkable improvements with the move to Division I status. Some of the most profound enhancements include the elevation of the equity of student degrees due to increased admission standards; an increase in state and federal funding for student financial aid; an increase and improvements in academic advising resources, academic facilities, such as study areas and computer labs; and improvements and renovations to UIW facilities. Division I status will further elevate academic standards. Burnett indicated at the press conference in August that the academic standards in the division are different and that coaches and institutions in the conference are aware of the need to re-cruit students of a high caliber. The move will also expand and elevate the brand of UIW in the region and nationally. “Overall, the move to Division I will make the school a household name across Texas and across the Division,” said Shane Meling, UIW’s sports information director. “You will see us on ESPN on the listing of scores and the name recognition will benefit the school.” Before officially shaking Agnese’s hand to formally welcome UIW to SLC, Burnett expressed: “We love this city. We have fallen in love with this university. And we think there is a great future here.”

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Dr. Agnese addresses the crowd at a press conference on Aug. 20.

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t may be hard to believe, but the University of the Incarnate Word football program has been playing games for four seasons now. The seniors of the “Forever First” group of recruits are entering the final days of their playing careers.

The program’s first official signing day came in February of 2008 when 27 players became the first members of the Cardinal football program. There are only 11 players left from that initial group plus six more who joined the squad prior to the start of the 2008 practice season. With only two of the players having eligibil-ity left for the 2013 season it is literally the end of the first era of Cardinal football. The last four years have been a time of many firsts; the first game, the first score, the first win, the first season and many oth-ers. The “Forever First” group officially began play on Aug. 29, 2009 against the Monterrey Tech Borregos Salvajes. Some 6,235 fans passed through the turnstiles and were treated to a thrilling game. Junior quarterback Thomas Specia scored the first touch-down on a 52-yard run to spark a 42-39 victory. The first year saw the Cardinals go 5-5 with three of the current remaining “Forever First” players; Chaz Pavliska, Alan Ford and Dakota Mawyer, earning D2football.com All-Independent honors. The following season the Cardinals joined the Lone Star Con-ference (LSC). The team finished with a 3-8 record, but all three wins came against top LSC competition and they nearly upset nationally ranked Midwestern State on the road before falling in overtime.

Since joining the Lone Star Conference, the Cardinals have continued to earn the respect of their opponents even though the scores may not always be in their favor. Much of that respect is due to the hard work and perseverance of the “Forever First” class that remains with the program today. “We can look back and say we started all of this,” said lineback-er Mawyer. The Cardinals record book is filled with the names of players who began with the program in 2008 and are still with the team. Whether it has been running, catching, passing, blocking, tackling or kicking, the group has made an impact that will be felt for years to come. On the offensive side of the ball, running back Trent Rios should be the team’s leading rusher for a fourth consecutive year. It is an accomplishment that is very rare in college football. He will finish his career with numerous school records including rushing yards in a game, rushing yards in a season, rushing yards in a career, touchdowns in a game, touchdowns in a season, touch-downs in a career, all-purpose yards in a season and all-purpose yards in a career, just to name a few. While he has been outstand-ing on the playing field, Rios has been just as distinguished off the field earning a pair of First Team CoSIDA Academic All-District VI citations in his career. Rios reached a milestone on Sept. 14, 2012 when he surpassed 2,000 career rushing yards. Making the moment even more special is where he was when he surpassed 2,000 yards, Dallas

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“FoReveR FIRst” senIoRs bID

FaReWeLL By Shane Meling

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Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX. Playing at Cowboys Stadium is another first for the Cardinal football program. Getting a chance to play there is something that none of the UIW players will ever forget. While Rios has been the player to set numerous records, one of the big reasons has been the offensive line. The group of Jayson Hierholzer, Jake Roby, Charles Segura, Andy Seaman and Ty Warnasch started 21 straight games together on the offensive line covering the entire 2010 and 2011 seasons. All five players are a part of the “Forever First” class. Of the entire offensive line, Segura is the one who has gotten the most recognition in his career. He has been named to the Lone Star Conference All-Academic Team on two occasions and was a First Team Capital One Academic All-District VI selec-tion in 2011. The most impressive honor that he has earned was the 2010 UIW Student-Athlete of the Year which shows the exemplary person he is both on and off the field. On the defensive side of the ball, Dakota Mawyer and Chaz Pavliska have etched their names in the UIW Record Book. Both players are four-year starters who have been the heart-and-soul of the Cardinal defense from the moment they stepped on the field. They have each earned all-Lone Star Conference honors and in a nice twist of fate, each player recorded his 200th career tackle in the same game. While the “Forever First” class is coming to the end of their time on the field, they have laid the foundation for the future of

UIW football. This ending is just the beginning of bigger and better things to come in the future. The class has guided the program from its infancy stages and now it is time to turn over leadership to the next group of players. “When I look back on how far we have come in so little time, all I can do is praise God for allowing me to be a part of some-thing so special,” said the program’s first secondary coach Nick Debose. “The reason I came to UIW was to be a part of building a college football program. We have done much more than I ever could have imagined.” “Forever First” will long be remembered as the group of players that helped put the Incarnate Word athletic department in position to join NCAA Division I and the Southland Confer-ence. Future Cardinals will forever have a debt of gratitude to this class and the class in which they went about the business of starting a program. The names of this first class should never be forgotten: Devan Avery, Alan Ford, Dominic Hamilton, Jayson Hierholzer, Caleb Kocian, Eric Massoni, Dakota Mawyer, Saul Meza, Trent Rios, Jake Roby, Andy Seaman, Charles Segura, Alex Torres, Ty War-nasch, Robert Williams and Aaron Willis. They have prepared the way for a bright future.

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hamoy apples offer a little taste of Mexico to anyone who bites into these tamarind and chili-covered treats. Twenty-one-year- old Nepthtali Valdez got the recipe just right, adding a real

kick to his college experience at the University of the Incarnate Word. The UIW senior and his mom coated hundreds of the savory apples on a stick to fund study abroad trips to Greece and China. “We sold them everywhere for $2 each,” Valdez said, fondly remembering how his parents worked tirelessly to help him achieve his dream to visit another country through the UIW Study Abroad Program. While Nepthtali’s approach to funding travel and study in other countries is unique, his dream is shared by many students at UIW. Presently, 60 students a year and 20 per semester travel to other coun-tries through the UIW Study Abroad Program. “More students can take advantage of this life-changing opportunity,” said Alanna Taylor, the study abroad coordinator at UIW. “The most important thing is planning. I think planning makes it possible, including fundraising, applying for scholarships, working and saving money and keeping your grades up.” Taylor is a veteran of the study abroad experience, having spent a year in Venezuela, even teaching English there for seven months, then in Korea for a year and Japan for two years. “I really miss being abroad and traveling, so if I can’t do it, the next best thing is travel-ing vicariously through the students at UIW. It makes my job very rewarding,” said Taylor. Instead of looking at the price tag, Taylor wants more students to look at the possibilities as Valdez did when making the decision to take his first study abroad trip to Greece. “We’ve had students apply for scholarships and pursue other avenues to afford study abroad, some more aggressively than others. I don’t think we’ve ever had a student who has done fundraising, so Nephtali’s story is really amazing. Some students see a price tag and get discouraged. Nephtali looked at the price tag and said ‘okay, how can I do this?’” said Taylor. “In Neph’s case, his family was a key part by doing the fundraising with him,” she added. There were setbacks in his quest for raising money for his trip to

China, his second study abroad experience. Valdez held a barbecue plate fundraiser that broke even. He decided to cancel the trip, but Taylor and his parents convinced him to keep working toward his goal, teaching Valdez a very important lesson which he carries with him today. “My recommendation is to go for it and never give up. Anything is possible if you just set your mind to it,” he said with a big grin. While financial concerns are the biggest challenge to students who want to study abroad, there are other obstacles that Taylor works through with both students and parents, especially first-time flyers. “Many of our students are from Texas. Some have never been on a plane or even outside of Texas, so that is a source of a lot of apprehen-sion,” Taylor said. So for students and parents who are nervous, Valdez is the perfect study abroad ambassador. With his fun demeanor and adventurous spirit, he represents the UIW Study Abroad Program through public speaking and by talking to fellow students, allaying their nervousness. “I would do it again. It is totally worth it,” said Valdez. China and Greece are among the 39 countries with 120 sister schools that students at UIW can visit. During this fall 2012 semester, nine students are studying at John Cabot University in Rome, Italy. “Italy is our most popular study abroad destination,” said Taylor. Dr. Javier E. Lozano is director of Sister School Partnerships at UIW and a huge fan of the chamoy apple, certainly because of the sweet and spicy taste, but mainly because it is a symbol of how cre-ativity and ingenuity can truly bear fruit. “The apples were delicious. First and foremost Valdez had a really good attitude about making his trip and study abroad experience a reality. Even though his major challenge was financial he was able to overcome it by reaching out to other people and his family and by working hard to fund his trip,” said Lozano. “Everyone who has heard his story knows that anything is possible through determination and hard work.” Because of students like Valdez, Lozano is even more zealous in his pursuit of exciting study abroad opportunities for students at UIW. “When Nephtali first came into my office, he was like every other col-lege student, but when he came back from studying abroad, he was a lot more aware of world issues and also what is going on in the United States. It’s so rewarding to see how these experiences help them grow as students and overall in their career ambitions,” said Lozano, who also studied abroad in college. Valdez will savor the unique combination of chamoy apples for years to come, grateful that a little bit of his Mexican heritage was the ticket to explore other cultures.

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For UIW Student, Several Apples a Day Pay for Study Abroad

By Deyanira Romo Rossell

Considered a national treasure, seeing this panda in Weihai, Sha-dong was one of the highlights of Valdez’ trip.

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Valdez visited the Golden Beach in Huangdao, Shadong. The beach is known for sand which ap-pears to sparkle like gold.

students

For more information on the UIW Study Abroad Program, visit www.uiw.edu/studyabroad or call (210) 805-5709.

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ophia Suarez, ’12 BS, and Jacque Salame, ’11 BS, never dreamed a UIW class project for Dr. Neeta Singh’s Food Systems Man-agement course would not only become a reality, but also make

a tremendous difference in the lives of San Antonio’s underserved children. “Jacque and I were responsible for writing an in-depth business plan for a group project. While mostly everyone in our class chose for-profit business models, we decided to explore the concept of a not-for-profit,” said Suarez, who graduated with a degree in nutrition and dietetics. “I love to cook and have a family background in gardening,” explained Suarez. “When I proposed the idea of forming a nonprofit that teaches families how to grow and cultivate their own produce, while also teaching how to properly store and prepare the items, Jacque didn’t need much convincing.” But Suarez credits Salame with getting the ball rolling. “We want to help prevent diabetes and teach people how to live healthy with diabetes. Our business plan was so detailed, it seemed like it was actually doable. Plus, of course there is a great need. We’re both very proud of this project,” said Salame. The professor whose class sparked the idea for the nonprofit said she couldn’t be more proud of her former students. “Jacque and Sophia were mindfully engaged students. I’m excited about them using classroom knowledge to develop a nonprofit or-ganization for an underserved population - their efforts synchronize with the UIW Mission,” said Associate Professor Dr. Neeta Singh, chair of the nutrition program. Born in Oklahoma, but raised in San Antonio, Suarez graduated from Alamo Heights High School in 2004. Ultimately, it was UIW’s nutrition program that attracted her to the university. Salame was born and raised in San Antonio. She began dancing ballet with the Incarnate Word College Ballet School in 1984 at six years of age. She also earned a degree in nutrition. “I feel like I grew up with Incarnate Word,” Salame added. The dynamic duo’s new nonprofit, Centro Para la Semilla, (Center for the Seed) is focused on broadening a child’s concepts of food and how they treat and respect their bodies and minds. “We also build self-confidence through the arts. The battle to fight the epidemic of obesity and diabetes along with other nutrition related health conditions is a daunting fight but it is essential,” noted Suarez. “So often issues of this matter are cyclical with poverty and low education. We intend to bridge the gap of knowledge between the lower socio-economic demographic giving them the proper tools to make educated decisions concerning their life, health and happiness.”The organization’s mission statement is to “address the consequences of poverty by creating accessible education programs in the arts and nutrition for children living in the Southside of San Antonio empow-ering them to live sustainable lives and reach their full potential.” Centro Para la Semilla came to Salame one day and was inspired by her boyfriend at the time (now her husband, Eli Rios) and his pas-

sion for working with children. “I decided I would teach myself about what it takes to create a nonprofit organization the summer after I graduated,” Salame said. “When we tried to put the organization on paper, Sophia and I real-ized there were many similarities with Centro Para la Semilla to the business we created in Dr. Singh’s class.” With a few tweaks, their business plan was created, in addition to some help from Salame’s husband and Donald Ewers, a retired UIW professor of photography. Suarez says the two remained good friends even though Salame graduated from UIW one full year before she did. “I always had the feeling we were going to work together some-how,” said Suarez. Salame believed that adding visual and performance art to the project were essential to accomplishing their overall goals. “The arts component is necessary in making change. Children need confidence, high self-esteem and image. They need to feel proud of themselves. With an increase of visual and performance art in the community, the community image will also be better,” Salame added. “Having a positive image of oneself will give a student the determi-nation to make healthier choices which will hopefully spill over into the community ultimately, reducing obesity rates and all the diseases associated with it.” Although they are now closer than ever to seeing their dream be-come a reality, challenges remain. “Developing a nonprofit organization takes time and planning,” Salame said. “It’s a group effort. The beginning of our organization’s creation happened at UIW and a few years later, we’re still in the cre-ation process. But looking back at the evolution of this project from the beginning to now, it’s amazing to see the direction it is going.”Suarez and Salame have brought together an impassioned Board of Directors, all fully committed to seeing this project through to its fruition. Board President Peter Pfifer said his passion for the cause started as a child, with both parents encouraging his talents in the garden, arts, music and kitchen. Pfifer added that changes in food shortages also played a role in inspiring him to help the young organization. “It’s important for individuals to recall older methods of self-suffi-ciency, including gardening and food preparation. On my family farm now, I see this more clearly then when I was an urbanite,” he said. Although the two are still presenting the idea behind Centro Para la Semilla to the broader community, they are looking forward to the continued support of local residents and are currently in the process of contacting local school districts and other youth organizations to form long-term partnerships. “It will take time, but we intend on doing it right,” remarked Suarez. “It thrills me to see the leaps and bounds we have already ac-complished but know that there is still so much more to do.”

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A Project in Motion

By Rebecca Esparza ’99 BBA & ’03 MBA

Pictured (L-R) Sohpia Suarez, co-founder of Centro Para La Semilla, and Dr. Neeta Singh, professor of nutrition.

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1970s

Dr. Carolina G. Huerta ’71 BSN was in-ducted as a Fellow of the American Acade-my of Nursing on Oct. 13, 2012 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Academy fellows are nursing’s most accomplished nursing leaders in education, management, practice, and research.

Velma Manuelito Shirley ’71 BS worked for the Indian Health Service and retired after 41 years. She is currently enjoying her retirement with her eight-year-old grand-daughter and loves to travel whenever pos-sible. She volunteers at St. Michael School where her granddaughter attends school.

Bonnie Rowe Clinbeard ’71 BA and husband Dale celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary in June. She enjoys latchhook needlework, listening to music, and being around family.

Sr. Josetta Eveler, CCVI ’72 MA is teach-ing at Immaculate Conception School in Jefferson City, Mo., for the 24th year. This is her 59th year in education. Dr. Michael Masser ’73 MA has been named the department head of the wildlife and fisheries sciences department at Texas A&M University at College Station.

Pete Padron ’75 BA ’80 MA is playing base-ball for the San Antonio Pirates, a team of baseball lovers, ages 56 to 83.

1980s

Leslie D. Noels ’81 MA retired from teach-ing after 31 years May 2011. Her daughter, Courtknee Noels was a Magna Cum Laude graduate from UIW May 2011, receiving her BA in communications.

Victoria Prosper Leland ’82 BSN retired from nursing in favor of grandmotherhood but has continued her national award win-ning photography. She is the proud grand-mother of year-old Mary Claire.

Rev. Mark Cannaday ’86 BA was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in Keller, Texas at Elizabeth Ann Seton parish on June 30, 2012. Bishop Vann was the celebrant, with Msgr. Jeffrey Steenson, the Ordinary of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter attending.

1990s

Toni Chapa ’90 MA received her Ph.D. in curriculum & instruction, literacy studies, from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, in May. She is employed with the Corpus Christi Independent School District.

Dr. Trip Puhl ’92 BS was recently inducted into the UIW Athletics Hall of Fame. Puhl is one of very few three-sport athletes in UIW history, competing in basketball, baseball and golf. He continues to hold three basketball records including career rebounds and free throws while plac-ing third on the all-time scoring list with 1,595 points.

Kevin Smisek ’93 BBA is in his 2nd year as the head boys basketball coach and director of students at St. Anthony Catholic High School. This is his 18th year in education.

David W. Snowden ’94 BA was recently appointed as vice president of public relations at Natixis Global Asset Management.

Class notes

The window of UIW’s success stories!Submissions: alumni@uiwtx.edu

Photos submitted for Class Notes may be included on the online alumni community site.

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Sr. Alberta Novosad, IWBS ’53 BA re-cently published a book, “Texas Footprints in the Sands of Time,” a history of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament in southern Texas.

1950s

Terri Guajardo-Jarzombek ’86 BM has completed 27 years of teaching music. She taught elementary music for 10 years, middle school band for 15 years and two years of high school band. She has now been assigned to the head posi-tion as Director of Bands at Highlands High School where she will be in charge of all bands (beginner, concert, sym-phonic, wind ensemble, and jazz) and all classes pertaining to music education at the high school level (midi lab, theory, woodwind and brass class). She is also the Youth Choir Director (Jammin’ for Jesus) at Holy Name Catholic Church and Life Teen Music Director at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church. She is married to Ralph Jarzombek ’94 BM, a UIW music alumnus.

“Most important to me is that I am a graduate from Highlands High School, which gives me the unique opportunity to return and give back to the community,” said Jarzombek. “I would like to express my appreciation to the faculty and staff at Incarnate Word. Their philosophy and love of teaching has helped to make me a strong and confident educator.”

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Jimbo Parks ’96 BBA was recently inducted into the UIW Athletics Hall of Fame. He helped lead the soccer team to a 62-20-6 record during his four years on the pitch. He was recognized as a NAIA All-American three times and was the university’s first player to be named all-region. Parks was a finalist for the Collegiate Player of the Year in 1993.

Cynthia osbourne ’96 BA is the lead singer for the hard rock/alternative band, When Words Attack. WWA has opened for several national and international acts including Kittie, Fates Warning, & In This Moment. Osbourne has also appeared in several independent films, commercials and music videos.

2000s

Celena Guerra Hernandez ’01 BA is work-ing as a kindergarten teacher at Floresville South Elementary.

Monica Velasquez McIlwain ’01 BA, was recently recognized as a NISD 2012 Pillar of Respect. McIlwain founded the Texas non-profit for single teen moms, TYME to em-Power (Teaching Young Mothers to Excel). She leads the board of directors of the Texas organization which encourages pregnant or new teen parents to finish high school, and serves as emotional and motivational sup-port for the teen parents and their families.

Jorge Reyes ’01 BA received his M.Ed. degree in education administration from Sul Ross University in August. Reyes teaches in El Paso.

Joshua Jimenez ’02 BA is working at KENS TV as a digital sales specialist.

Sarita Molinar Bertinato ’03 BA received her Ph.D. in sociology from Texas A&M

University, College Station on Aug. 10, 2012. She currently resides in the greater New York City area.

Jennifer Ann Balleza Gonzalez ’05 BA is the head trainer/communications manager at City Base Cinema. City Base Cinema is a brand new state-of-the-art theater located on the South side of San Antonio by Brooks City Base.

Mayra Carbajal ’06 BA is currently working as a family specialist with Pathways Youth & Family Services which helps children and families thrive by offering an array of social services including foster care, adoption, and counseling.

Joan Braune ’06 BA successfully defended her doctoral dissertation in philosophy (“Erich Fromm’s Prophetic Messianism: Towards a Critical Theory of Hope”), earning her Ph.D. in philosophy from the Univer-sity of Kentucky. She has been active at the campus Catholic Newman Center and was recently appointed to the Catholic Diocese of Lexington’s bishop’s advisory team on Peace and Justice Leadership.

Bryan ortiz ’08 BA recently directed “Monsters Are Real,” the second piece in an anthology movie titled “Sanitarium” that was filmed in San Antonio and will be released on DVD in the spring.

Pablo Pena ’07 BBA ’08 MAA is in the process of writing his dissertation for his Ph.D. and is hoping to propose his topic in November and move on to the next phase of writing.

Juan Acuna ’11 BS has signed as an on-air meteorologist in his hometown of Corpus Christi with KRIS Communications, the NBC affiliate.

Susan Cabrera ’11 BA recently returned from working in Hong Kong as a factory in-spector and translator to start her own busi-ness, Hong Kong Direct that offers custom clothing direct to customers.

Brittany Valadez ’11 BA was selected as the first official ALMA Awards Red Carpet Fash-ion Correspondent and was recently named Conexion’s “Hottest Latina”. She also won the award for “Reader’s Choice.”

Jorge Lafuente ’12 BA was recently featured on “Fresh Designer Spot,” a UK blog for U.S.

exclusive designers. Lafuente worked with fashion stylists American Rebel Chic and Indian Chic 2.

Tony Jackson ’12 BA is an organization and talent development manager at Whataburger.

In Memoriam

Bertye Dodic Wolfson ’32 BA Sr. Mary Aidan Handibode, CCVI ’40 IWHS, ’45 Santa Rosa School Maria Garcia Smith ’41 IWHS, ’45 BAMargarita Guerra Salinas ’51 BASr. Christine Murphy, CCVI ’38 IWHS, ’52 BSHerminia “Minnie” Salinas Villarreal ’50 IWHS, ’54 BA Gloria Boerger Boudeau former student, IWC class of 1959Esther Merle Martin ’60 BSMary H. Woodside ’62 BSNPamela Vanette Calk Plunkett ’67 BAPauline Thomas Gannt ’69 BS Sr. Lauren (Molly Ann) Moynahan, CCVI ’77 MA Sr. Aquilina Relihan, CCVI ’84 BAMaj. Arthur Anthony ’85 BA, Alumni Board Member Mary Lorraine Cunningham ’86 BSNVirginia Jackson ’91 BALarry Ray Wynn ’91 MAVincent J. Cleveland ’02 BBADianne Wetsel ’06 MBAMsgr. Thomas A. French, professor emeritus of religious studies ’94 HoNClement Hill Spalding, parent benefactorMary Margaret Rode, benefactorMarie Greathouse, benefactorDr. Frederick M. Bock, former faculty

Michael J. Farlow ’09 Ph.D. published a new book “Leaders are Made Not Born: 40 Simple Skills to Make You the Leader You Want to Be.” The book is designed with managers and executives in mind.

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Weddings and Engagements

Dr. Mari Guadalupe Falcon ’02 BS and Dr. Christopher Hester Cantrill were married Sept. 1, 2012

Benjamin Smyth ’03 BA was recently en-gaged to Colleen O’Connell.

Michael Ruiz DVM ’04 BS married Jennifer Maureen Moreno June 30, 2012 in San Fernando Cathedral.

Andrew Xavier Segura ’10 BBA, MS and Danae’ BreAnn Chavira were married June 8, 2012.

Peter John Holt ’11 BBA and Lauren Kate Caldwell were married July 28, 2012.

Austin Wayne Hodges ’12 BBA married Ashley Rae Nicole Pena Aug. 4, 2012 at First Presbyterian Church in San Antonio.

Erika Rodriguez Sauceda ’11 MBA and Ronnie Sauceda were married April 21, 2012.

Future Cardinals

Kevin Bucheck JD ’00 BA and Christie Buchek of St Louis welcomed Sieve Slattery (pictured above), on May 25, 2012. His first name is a place in Ireland and his middle name is in honor of Sr. Margaret Patrice Slattery.

Mary Jimenez Fischer ’01 BA welcomed Brody James on May 17, 2012.

Elvira Svraka Valdez ’02 BA ‘04 MBA and her husband Francisco Valdez welcomed a baby boy, Darian, on May 22, 2012.

Erika Pinner ’12 BBA welcomed her first baby, Isabelle Grace.

Dominique Rosales ’08 BA, Joe Rosales ’11 MBA and big brother Luis are pleased to announce the arrival of Madisyn Leigh, born April 3, 2012.

Marianne Rodriguez ’87 IWHS ’91 BA announces the arrival of John Paul Law-rence, born May 10.

The University of the Incarnate Word has three new programs available to those individuals seek-ing to take their skills to the next level: a Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Student Services in Higher Education; a Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Online Teaching and Training; and a Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA) pending SAC-SCOC approval. The M.Ed. in Student Services in Higher Edu-cation prepares students for employment or ad-vancement at the college or university level. This concentration will develop students that possess the knowledge, skills and leadership qualities nec-essary to facilitate the learning and development of students through campus support services. This program also offers a non-degree seeking plan for students who wish to obtain an 18-hour certificate in Student Services in Higher Education. The M.Ed. in Online Teaching and Training is designed the address the demand for more professionals in the area of online teaching and training serving institutional needs in corporate and educational settings. The program emphasizes

learning and leadership, preparing students to lead initiatives in technology in their own organi-zations. The Doctorate of Business Administration pro-gram is intended to create scholar-practitioners who are able to make original contributions to the advancement of business research and practice. Graduates of the program will develop innova-tive principles and practices in business opera-tions and management. They will employ ethical leadership to solve domestic and global social issues and communicate appropriately in diverse environments by aligning audience, medium and message. Individuals with master’s degrees in business or business-related fields are eligible for admission to the DBA program. The program prepares students for careers in higher education and business. All three programs are accepting applications for the fall 2013 semester. For more information on admission require-ments, contact the UIW Admissions office at (210) 829-6005.

New graduate and doctoral programs available at UIW

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Update your email with the alumni office! Have you missed a few alumni events recently and wish you had known about them? If so, please up-date your contact information on the Cardinal’s Nest at www.uiwalumni.org

International Day of Service Save the date, Sat., March 9 and take part in UIW’s First International Day of Service. No matter where you are in the world, the Alumni Association is calling all Incarnate Word alumni to block off this date and serve your community in an Incarnate Word shirt. Afterwards, send in pictures to the alumni website with a brief description of your service. Make sure to visit the alumni website at www.uiwalumni.org for more information.

1.Alumnienjoytheirfirstglass of wine at Winery on the Gruene. Over 50 alumni and friends gathered for the Alumni Wine Tasting on Aug. 18.2. More than 40 alumni joined the UIW Rock’ N Red Birds to kickoff training for the Rock and Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2.UIWlookstoregainfirstplace this year. 3. Over 50 alumni gathered at the UIW Alumni Red Zone to prepareforthefirstfootballgame of the season.4. The Dallas Alumni Network gathered at September’s Lounge at the Arlington Hilton on Sept. 13 to meet Football Coach Larry Kennan before the big game in Cowboy’s Stadium.

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Save the date for 3rd Annual CommunityEaster Egg Hunt! Save the date for Sat., March 23 and bring your kids and grandkids out to enjoy the UIW campus. Over 400 UIW alumni and friends joined us for the 2nd Annual UIW Community Eas-ter Egg Hunt that partnered with all the Brainpower Connection schools. Children through the age of 10 had the opportunity to hunt for Easter Eggs as well as participate in numerous fun activities such as face painting, coloring, cascaron paint-ing, making bunny ears and chalking. For those who missed out on the fun this year, make sure to join us on Sat., March 23, 2013. If you are interested in volunteering to help make this event an even bigger success, email Steve Hemphill at hemphill@uiwtx.edu

UIW Alumni Theatre series Join UIW alumni, parents, faculty and staff as we gather for “Broadway Across America,” a series of Broadway plays at the Majestic Theatre at special group prices. We plan a small mixer nearby before every show. Join us and meet new people for these exciting productions:

“Peter Pan” Dec. 4-8“Memphis” Feb. 19-23“Million Dollar Quartet” April 2-7“The Addams Family” May 7-11“Flashdance” June 18-23

All tickets will be available for pur-chase through the Cardinal’s Nest at www.uiwalumni.org

New graduate and doctoral programs available at UIW

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I’m beginning my fourth year of ministry at the University of the Incarnate Word as the chaplain, just long enough to see a few classes graduate and join the ranks of the UIW alumni. Of course, our most recent graduates are the alumni I know best, especially those who have been a part of Mission and Minis-try for two years and more as peer ministers. I’ve seen them grow in wisdom and maturity in the course of the generous service to the UIW faith community as musicians, choir members, community service volunteers, bible study leaders, and facilitators of men’s and women’s faith sharing support groups. But I also meet many UIW alumni who have graduated longer ago. Their affection for the school and their gratitude for the Catholic education they received illustrate the bond to one’s alma mater that I never experienced as a graduate of a secular university. My experi-ence there was not unpleasant, but I’ve never stepped foot on campus again after 37 years,

never feeling the need to. I heard a much dif-ferent story from an Incarnate Word graduate I met by chance in a store just the other day. She told me when she’s back on campus she feels like she is home. Despite the change the years have brought she feels Incarnate Word is still the same school she loved so much as she prepared herself for her teach-ing career. What she learned from the Sisters, professors, and everyone who played a sig-nificant part in her college education was the basis for a deeply incarnational spirituality she still lives today, decades later. She taught many years in a variety of settings, including a prison, but she said her approach to her stu-dents was always the same. She never failed to honor the human dignity of the person before her. When asked how her time at UIW affected her, she said she learned to treat others as she had been treated, with integrity and respect. As we parted ways, I mused to myself, “the Mission continues.”

Meet the Board

In this issue, meet Board of

Trustees memberJ. Scott Beckendorf

A member of the Board of Trustees since January of 2010, Scott Beckendorf previously served on UIW’s development board for 14 years. As a development board member, he served on various committees to include the Nominations committee, Communications committee, Swing-In Auction Party commit-tee, the Swing-In Golf Tournament commit-tee, and later served as the chairman of the development board. “During my time as a volunteer at UIW,” said Beckendorf. “I got to know most of the past and present Board of Trustee members and was honored when I was asked to join the Board of Trustees.” Proudly nominated by UIW, Beckendorf was chosen as the 2010 Outstanding Volun-teer Fundraiser honoree by the San Antonio Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. The honorary category rec-ognizes individuals who have demonstrated leadership in fundraising campaigns. He volunteers not only for UIW but for a number of other non-profit organizations including the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Antonio and the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. As a board member, Beckendorf seeks to help perpetuate the Mission and legacy of UIW. He believes the board’s long term goals have always been to offer the best faith-based education to meet the needs of San Antonio and communities of South Texas. “I have always been impressed with the his-

tory of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word and all the great things the organization has done for the city of San Antonio, such as Santa Rosa Hospital, Incarnate Word High School, UIW, the Chapel of the Incarnate Word and Retirement Village, and I feel it is important to help continue their well-estab-lished vision,” said Beckendorf. Beckendorf grew up in Fredericksburg, Texas where his parents Charles and Dawn Beckendorf raised five children. His late father was a renowned artist whose gallery in Fredericksburg is celebrating its 42nd year in business. He is CEO and president of his family owned Liquor, Beer and Wine Retail business, which operates in eight states and has been in business for 44 years. He has free standing stores in Texas named Western Beverages as well as three San Antonio Liquors at Costco stores around the city. All of his out-of-state stores are adjacent to Costco Wholesale loca-tions. Beckendorf and his wife, Karin, of 26 years, have two children, Charles, 22, and Sophie Rose, 19. Beckendorf said what he enjoys most about UIW is experiencing the growth of the uni-versity. Each year, Beckendorf said he looks forward to the lighting of the campus for the holidays, football and basketball season, and the Swing-In Auction Party and Golf Tourna-ment.

Moment for Reflection

By Fr. Tom Dymowski, O.SS.T.

Mozart

Megan Guerra (senior, finance major) knows what a difference a phone call can make. As a student caller with the Phonathon program, she often speaks with alumni to update contact information, thank them for their pre-vious support, talk about what’s new on campus and request donations to the Annual Fund. These donations are in turn used to support student scholar-ships and campus activities, enhance technology, recruit and retain faculty, and continue to provide current UIW students with a quality faith-based education. As a scholarship recipient herself, Guerra knows the difference financial assistance can make. She was interested in helping with Phonathon because she believes it is important to give current students a hand at success in col-lege. Guerra says, “When alumni support us financially it shows just how grateful they are for the education and opportunities they received, as well as their pride in their university. Being able to speak with them and receive any advice they might have for me as a current student is an added bonus.” Guerra’s role has given her greater insight into the importance of giving back. She knows that when her turn comes, she will be answering the call.

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Giving is easy! Make your gift online at www.uiw.edu/give or contact the

development office at 210-829-6013.

This summer UIW played host to the 2nd Annual Mozart Festi-val Texas (MFT) in Our Lady’s Chapel. Between July 20 and Aug. 4 six performances - three chamber music and three orchestral concerts - were presented to large and enthusiastic audiences. Fea-tured soloists included UIW music faculty members, local artists and internationally recognized stars. For many performers, as well as audience members, the MFT concerts marked their first visit to the UIW campus. The Festival, initially presented in the summer of 2011, is the brain-child of Terence Frazor, a member of the UIW music faculty who also serves as the event’s artistic director and conductor. “The Mozart Festival was organized with two main purposes in mind: first and most importantly, to present to our community a large body of the classical music repertoire which historically has been underperformed in our area,” said Frazor. “Secondly, to give local professional artists the opportunity to perform the repertoire which is near-and-dear to the heart of every classically-trained musician.” “Of course there are many wonderful musicians in the San Antonio Symphony; but we also have in our city many superbly trained non-Symphony musicians - including quite a few teachers in the public schools and universities throughout the area - who are dedicated performers,” said Frazor. Featured soloists in the 2012 Festival included a host of UIW’s

distinguished music professors, including pianists Meredith Ridgway and Zachary Ridgway, violinists Daniel Kobialka and Richard Kilmer, violist Gerald Schoelzel, and percussionist John Godoy. Festival audiences also heard two renowned violin-ists from the San Antonio Symphony, Stepha-nie Westney and Matthew Zerweck; oboist Ian Davidson (Austin Symphony); and nationally-recognized pianist Rick Rowley. The opening concert was given on Friday, July 20 by the Artisan Quartet, a Texas based string group which is rapidly gaining fame throughout the U.S. The Festival closed on Aug. 4 with an orches-tral concert featuring two soloists. Castroville native, soprano Michelle Lange sang arias from two of Mozart’s most famous operas, The Marriage of Figaro and Cosi fan tutte. Also included in the closing performance was the internationally recognized pianist Naoko Takao, who performed Mozart’s rarely heard Piano Concerto No. 25 in C, K.503. Takao received the Gold Medal in the 2000 San Antonio International Piano Competition. The organizing committee of the Mozart Festival Texas is cur-rently planning the 2013 Festival, to be held in June, 2013. If you would like to have your name placed on the MFT mailing list, please contact the UIW Department of Music at 210-829-3855.

2nd AnnualMozart Festival Texas

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The 26th Annual Light the Way™ scheduled for Sat. Nov. 17 at 7:30p.m. in the Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium will feature an evening of fun and entertainment for the entire family. Based on a classic Christ-mas theme, we invite you to join us for A Miracle on Broad-way, featuring a combination of musical entertainment from the Brainpower schools and a dynamic duet performance by Tejano Superstar Patsy Torres and Jazz Crooner Extraordi-naire Ken Slavin. Light the Way™ is spon-sored by our friends at H-E-B. Once again we will collect new, unwrapped toys for the Elf Louise Christmas Project on the evening of the event. If you miss the event on Nov. 17, we invite you to visit the campus and enjoy the lights through Jan. 6. For information, call 210-829-6001 or visit uiw.edu/lighttheway

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A MiracleBroadwayon

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