SXU science program hosts lab for at-risk high school students

Students to observe, perform DNA experiments
Chicago (July 30, 2008) Saint Xavier University’s science program will host a laboratory with hands-on experiments for Chicago high school students from economically disadvantaged areas from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 1 at SXU’s Chicago campus, 3700 W. 103rd St.

SXU Biology Professor Tatiana Tatum and Assistant Biology Professor Rick Monzon said the program will give about 30 students a chance to experience a typical college laboratory environment.

Tatum said students also will observe and partake in several experiments, including observing DNA they will remove from strawberries by themselves.

“They’re going to grind up the strawberries, add the chemicals and extract the DNA so they can actually see it,” she said.

Tatum said students also will examine their own DNA by extracting it from cheek cells.
The event is a joint effort between SXU and Umoja Student Development Corporation.

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SXU signs 2+2 Teacher Articulation Agreement with Prairie State College

Agreement allows PSC education majors to more easily transfer to SXU

Chicago (July 30, 2008) The presidents of Saint Xavier University and Prairie State College signed an agreement that allows education majors from Prairie State to more easily transfer to Saint Xavier to earn an undergraduate degree and teacher certification.

SXU President Judith A. Dwyer, Ph.D., and Prairie State College Interim President J.R. Dempsey signed the new 2+2 Teacher Education Articulation Agreement, which will enhance transfers of early childhood and elementary education majors, at Saint Xavier’s Orland Park campus on Tuesday, July 29.

For more information about the agreement, please visit http://www.sxu.edu/relations/news_story.asp?iNewsID=815&strBack=%2Frelations%2Fnews%2Easp.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Contact: Rick Ducat
773-298-3325 or ducat@sxu.edu

Former Chicago Bears players to attend SXU’s 12th Annual Golf Classic

Bruce Herron and other Bears to golf with guests

Chicago (July 29, 2008) A group of former Chicago Bears players will be spending a day on the links at Saint Xavier University’s 12th Annual Golf Classic on Aug. 5 at Silver Lake Country Club in Orland Park.

Former Bear Bruce Herron will join guests’ foursomes as a fifth player, as will Bears alums Dan Hampton, Otis Wilson, Robin Earl, Wendell Davis, Mickey Pruitt, Bob Parsons, Brian Glasgow and former Atlanta Falcon Tim Tyrrell.

Foursomes are still available and include green fees and cart, continental breakfast, lunch, dinner and golfer gifts.

The event also will include a silent auction and raffle. Gifts include: a 42-inch plasma TV; a party at Balmoral Park for you and twenty friends; premium seats at a Sox or Cubs baseball game; brunch at the Four Seasons in Chicago; and airline travel for two in the contiguous United States. Raffle winners need not be present.

All proceeds from the event will support student scholarships.

To reserve a foursome, please contact Wendy Doherty at (773) 298-3940. For more information about the outing, please contact Special Events at (773) 298-3311.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Contact: Rick Ducat
773-298-3325 or ducat@sxu.edu

SXU Nursing students and faculty tour Ireland

Students were studying hospice and health care in Ireland

Chicago (July 28, 2008) Nine Saint Xavier School of Nursing Students and faculty recently traveled to Ireland to study the country’s hospice and the health care system.

The group stopped in Shannon, Galway, and Dublin where they toured various hospice and medical facilities as well as historical sites such as the Cliffs of Mohr and Baggot Street.

While in Galway the students toured Galway Clinic, a new hospital facility. After the tour, the students shadowed nurses at the hospital in several units, gaining hands-on experience. They also toured Galway Hospice, which exists solely through donations.

The group also toured Mater Hospital in Dublin.

“The Mater Hospital is run by the Sisters of Mercy,” said trip organizer and SXU nursing professor Monica Ryan, MS, RN, APN, CNP. “It has a public facility and a private facility.”

Students listened to a presentation about the hospital and Ireland’s health care system. The SXU students then spoke with Irish students, comparing educational systems. Afterwards, students shadowed nurses throughout the hospital.

“Students wrote journals and reflections about their experiences every day, and this was a rewarding experience for all of them,” said Ryan.

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For more information:
Contact: Rick Ducat
ducat@sxu.edu or 773-298-3325

Saint Xavier University first in Illinois to grant new Teacher Leader Endorsement

Currently only Program to offer Illinois State Board of Education Teacher Leader Endorsement

Chicago (July 24, 2008) Saint Xavier University is the first institution in the state of Illinois to receive approval from the Illinois State Board of Education to offer a new endorsement for certified teachers. Saint Xavier is currently the only school in the state to offer the Teacher Leader Endorsement, which will be valuable for teachers who wish to take leadership roles in their schools.

The new Teacher Leader Endorsement can be granted to graduates of the SXU field-based Master of Arts in Teaching and Leadership Program who have a standard or master certificate, at least two years of leadership experience at their school, and coursework in a certified, endorsed, or highly qualified content area. Experience as a leader of a curriculum committee, participation in a school improvement team, and other leadership roles can be documented with a letter from the school principal.

SXU has provided the MATL Program at locations across Illinois since 1991. More than 6,000 graduates from more than 300 school districts have earned this degree.

“SXU has brought this cohort program to more than 55 locations across northern Illinois, including the suburbs of Chicago as well as towns as far-flung as Rockford, Rock Falls, Rock Island, Galesburg, Peoria and Bloomington, among others,” said Tim Halloran, MATL Program Director. “We are very pleased that this respected program is the first in the state approved to
offer this new endorsement for teachers with a standard or master certificate.”

In May, Saint Xavier conferred 379 MATL degrees. There are currently 550 students enrolled with more sites starting in August. Information about the MATL Program is found at http://www.sxu.edu/soe/gr_teaching.asp.

For more information about the application process for this new endorsement, contact Larry Sondler, Director of Teacher Certification at Sondler@sxu.edu or Tim Halloran, Director of the MATL Program Halloran@sxu.edu.

Below find Illinois communities where Saint Xavier student groups are currently studying or have already graduated from the MATL Program:

Arlington Heights
639 graduates in the AH area since 1995. 33 of them received their degrees in May 2008.
Current students in the MATL Program: 51

Galesburg
47 graduates in the Galesburg area since 1995. 15 of them received their degrees in May 2008.

Geneseo
Current students in the MATL Program: 20. Eleven of them will graduate in May 2009.

Grayslake
599 graduates in the area since 1995. 37 of them received their degrees in May 2008.

Current students in the MATL Program: 55
LaSalle
109 graduates in the area since 2000. 12 of them received their degrees in May 2008.
Current students in the MATL Program: 12

Melrose Park
Hundreds of graduates in the area since 1995. Current students in the MATL Program in Melrose Park: 12

Orland Park
656 graduates in the Orland Park/Tinley Park area since 1993. 37 of them received their degrees in May 2008.
Current students in the MATL Program: 42

Peoria
517 graduates in the area since 1995. 38 of them received their degrees in May 2008.
Current students in the MATL Program: 49

Rock Falls
78 graduates in the area since 2002. 13 of them received their degrees in May 2008.
Current students in the MATL Program: 15

Rockford
557 graduates in the area since 1992. 41 of them received their degrees in May 2008.
Current students in the MATL Program: 84

Playing ball with TV outweighs performance on the field for Cubs’ popularity; Saint Xavier Professor writes book about television’s 70-year impact

Chicago (July 22, 2008) They’re both in first place, but the fans voted seven Chicago Cubs players to the All-Star Game this summer and only two from the White Sox.

The Cubs haven’t won a World Series in a record 100 years and haven’t taken the National League Pennant since World War II. The White Sox won their third World Series Championship only three years ago.

Yet year after year, the Northside’s lovable losers wallop the Sox in national popularity. Averaged over the past five years, the Cubs were the fourth most popular team in the country while their Southside rivals ranked 19th, according to the Harris poll.

Why? Sox fans ask. How?

A major reason is which club decided to play ball more effectively with television, according to Saint Xavier University Professor James R. Walker, Ph.D., who co-authored the just released book “Center Field Shot: A History of Baseball on Television.”

“Although the White Sox televised more games than most major league teams in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, the Cubs were baseball’s most aggressive TV advocate, televising all of their home games and, after 1967, most of their road games. The team’s home and day games were an after school TV ritual for many of today’s Cubs fans. In the 1980s, the Cubs used cable superstation WGN and superstar announcer Harry Caray to expand their national fan base.”

“Center Field Shot” traces the sometimes-contentious relationship between television and baseball from the first televised game in 1939 to the new era of Internet broadcasts, satellite radio and high-definition TV. Walker and his co-author, Duquesne Professor Rob Bellamy examine how baseball helped grow the new medium of television and how television in turn changed baseball, motivating MLB owners to create more teams, increase the number of post season games, and move the World Series and All-Star Game to prime time.

“In the past, the owners saw television as equal parts threat and savior. The TV game threatened to keep fans from the park, but when free agency forced salaries dramatically higher, the medium provided more revenue to meet the game’s expanding payroll. In the modern era, Major League Baseball embraced the promotional power of television and aggressively used the Internet to expand its distribution of the televised game.”

To interview Walker, please call (773) 298-3937 or (cell) (773) 203 6671.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Contact: Joe Moore

773-298-3937 or jmoore@sxu.edu

Saint Xavier University to sign Teacher Articulation Agreement with Prairie State College

Agreement will allow PSC education majors to more easily transfer to Saint Xavier

Chicago (July 22, 2008)–The presidents of Saint Xavier University and Prairie State College will sign an agreement that allows education majors from Prairie State to more easily transfer to Saint Xavier to earn an undergraduate degree and teacher certification.

In a 3 p.m. ceremony at Saint Xavier’s Orland Park Campus on Tuesday, July 29, SXU President Judith A. Dwyer, Ph.D., and Prairie State College Interim President J.R. Dempsey will sign the new 2+2 Teacher Education Articulation Agreement, which will enhance transfers of early childhood and elementary education majors.

“This cooperative relationship will help us better serve our public constituents, facilitate the transfer experience, minimize duplication of instruction and build on community college and University learning experiences,” said President Dwyer. “We look forward to a rewarding relationship with Prairie State College.”

Under the agreement, any student who completes a prescribed block of 63 to 65 credits with a GPA of 2.5 or better can transfer to the Saint Xavier University School of Education where they can complete 55 to 58 credits to earn a degree and teacher certification in elementary education or 57 to 58 hours for early childhood education.

“This is an excellent opportunity to enhance our relationship with Prairie State College,” said School of Education Dean Beverly Gulley. “This new articulation agreement will greatly improve the ability of students to complete their baccalaureate degree in education in four years.”

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Contact Joe Moore
(773) 298-3937 or jmoore@sxu.edu

Saint Xavier University professor's book on the effect of television

The Wall Street Journal and the Chicago Sun-Times have featured the new book co-authored by SXU Professor James R. Walker, Ph.D., Center Field Shot: A History of Baseball on Television. Published by the University of Nebraska Press, the book traces the sometimes-contentious relationship between television and baseball from the first televised game in 1939 to the new era of Internet broadcasts, satellite radio and high-definition TV.

Walker, and his co-author, Duquesne Professor Rob Bellamy examine how baseball helped grow the new medium of television and how television in turn changed baseball, motivating MLB owners to create more teams, increase the number of post-season games, and move the World Series and All-Star Game to prime time.

Read the Wall Street Journal story here. Read the Sun-Times Story here.

Tickets on sale now for James Carville and Mary Matalin at Saint Xavier University

America’s favorite political couple to speak 7 p.m., Oct. 30 at the SXU Shannon Center


Chicago (July 17, 2008)— Tickets are on sale now to see America’s favorite bipartisan couple, James Carville and Mary Matalin, showcase their razor political wit at the Saint Xavier University Shannon Center Thursday, Oct. 30, just days before the November presidential election.

Tickets are $20 each and are available by visiting www.sxu.edu/politics or by calling (866) 468-3401. A limited number of $75 priority main floor tickets are also available. Saint Xavier students, faculty and staff may receive one free ticket by contacting the Office of Special Events at specialevents@sxu.edu. A valid Cougar Card number must be presented to process your request.

Carville and Matalin, who are married, are two of the foremost Democratic and Republican political consultants in the country.

“This timely, fun event will provide Chicago a window into two of the finest political minds in the country on the eve of the presidential election,” said Vice-President for University Relations Robert Tenczar. “We look forward to their keen insight into America’s political landscape.”

Carville was lead strategist of Bill Clinton’s successful presidential bid in 1992 and was honored as Campaign Manager of the Year by the American Association of Political Consultants in 1993. Since then, he has served as a consultant to presidents and prime ministers around the world and is a regular CNN commentator and contributor.

Matalin formerly served as assistant to President George W. Bush and counselor to Vice President Dick Cheney, and was the first White House official to hold that double title. She held senior positions in the George H. W. Bush 1988 campaign and was appointed chief of staff for the Republican National Council. She hosted CNN’s critically acclaimed debate program Crossfire and other political shows.

Matalin now operates Threshold, a new conservative publishing imprint, and sits on the editorial board of Campaigns & Elections magazine. She is vice president of the Washington Humane Society and is a board member of the Cheney Cardiovascular Institute.
This event is sponsored by the Saint Xavier University Office for University Relations.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Contact: Rick Ducat
773-298-3325 or ducat@sxu.edu

SXU installs rooftop garden on new green residence hall for energy conservation

Plants to cut energy costs, manage storm water

(Photo) Workers install a “green roof” energy conservation garden atop Saint Xavier University’s new residence hall.

Chicago (July 17, 2008) Saint Xavier University recently installed a “green roof” energy conservation garden atop its new residence hall. Opening this fall, the cutting edge student living facility is the latest University effort to become climate neutral.

Hundreds of Sedum plants cover 826 square-feet, or 10 percent, of the residence hall’s roof. The Sedum plants will insulate the roof to reduce energy costs, help manage storm water, absorb carbon dioxide, extend the lifetime of the roof and improve overall aesthetics.

SXU Lead Groundskeeper Scott Russo said the plants require no maintenance.
“They’re very hardy, almost like a desert plant,” he said.

Saint Xavier is building the residence hall to LEED Gold Environmental Standards as set forth by the U.S. Green Building Council. SXU’s Arthur Rubloff Hall, which last year became the first university building in the state to receive the coveted LEED Gold designation, also has green roof garden.

The new 36,664 square-foot residence hall has been designed to use both natural and mechanical ventilation and a 50-foot high circular glass stair tower will draw tempered air to assist in summer night pre-cooling and winter heating. This concept improves building energy efficiency and occupant comfort.

The building will use 100 percent “Green-e” Power from mixed renewable energy products to carbon offset all electrical energy consumed in the residence. The roof features a solar reflection system and the rain garden filters roof water runoff.

The indoor air quality in the student rooms will be significantly above American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers Inc. (ASHRAE) standards. All student rooms will have windows that can be opened to promote natural ventilation air patterns, harvest natural daylight and allow beautiful views of the Saint Xavier campus, providing all students with a closer connection to nature.

The architectural firm Solomon Cordwell Buenz and Associates provided designs for the building. The firm designed three previous residence halls for Saint Xavier, including Rubloff. The construction management firm is Henry Bros. Co. Civil engineering was conducted by Terra Civil Engineering. Environmental Systems Design, Inc. provide a mechanical engineering design.

Last spring, ASHRAE presented Saint Xavier University and Environmental Systems Design, Inc. with Chapter and Regional Engineering Technology Awards for Rubloff Hall. The awards recognized achievements in the design of new heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.

A leader in green practices, Saint Xavier is a member of the Illinois Sustainable University Compact, which has pledged to accomplish multiple environmentally sound goals by Dec. 31, 2010. These goals include energy purchases from renewable sources, reduced carbon emissions, and requiring green building practices for all new construction. More recently, SXU became the first Chicago university to sign the Presidents Climate Commitment, joining 557 other schools nationwide in a pledge to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Contact: Rick Ducat
773-298-3325 or ducat@sxu.edu

SXU hosts Bishop John R. Gorman Institute for Leadership in Catholic Education

Annual conference focuses on collaboration, networking

(Photo: Denise Spells, principal of St. Ethelreda School in Chicago, and Fr. Thomas McCarthy, O.S.A., president of St. Rita of Cascia High School in Chicago, during Saint Xavier University’s BGI conference.)

Chicago (July 9, 2008) Saint Xavier University hosted the fifth annual Bishop John R. Gorman Institute for Leadership in Catholic Education from June 23 to June 26 at its Orland Park campus.

Fifty-five teachers and administrators representing more than 30 schools participated in the event, which focuses on collaboration and networking among nationally recognized leaders in Catholic education, local school leaders and faculty members of SXU’s School of Education.

Presenters included: Former Associate General Secretary at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Sr. Lourdes Sheehan, R.S.M.; Superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of Chicago Sr. Mary Paul McCaughey, O.P., and former Superintendent Sr. Mary Brian Costello, R.S.M.; Associate Executive Director of the National Catholic Education Association’s Elementary School Department Bro. William Campbell, S.M.; and Associate Director of Schools for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis Kathy Mears.

The conference also included a panel discussion titled “The Role of Athletics in School Culture” moderated by Dan McGrath, Associate Editor for Sports at the Chicago Tribune.

Earl McKay, principal of St. Margaret of Scotland School said the quality of the presentations and the opportunity to network with others committed to Catholic education were “a breath of fresh air and an investment in excellence for the coming year.

The BGI was founded under the direction of SXU School of Education Dean Beverly Gulley to provide outstanding professional development for teachers, principals, and leadership teams of Catholic schools. It is part of the comprehensive relationship between SXU’s School of Education and partner schools in Chicago and other communities.

Scholarship support was provided by the Big Shoulders Fund, Dr. Richard A. Yanikoski, Phillip Corby Foundation, Harris Bank of Orland Park, Mulcahy, Pauritsch, Salvador & Co., Ltd., Gaelic Park, and Saint Xavier University.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Contact: Rick Ducat
773-298-3325 or ducat@sxu.edu

Anthony Luca Giovannelli is Baptized

On Sunday June 22, Anthony Luca Giovannelli, son of SXU Plant Ops. and Maintenance Manager Gerald Giovannelli and wife Rose was christened. Anthony was baptised at Immaculate Conception Church, in Elmhurst, Ill. The SXU family welcomes the new edition to the Giovannellis.