SXU “Super Star” Monica Ryan honored for work in Health Center

Health Center director a finalist of VNA’s Super Star in Community Nursing Award

Chicago (Oct. 28, 2008) Saint Xavier University Health Center Director Monica Ryan DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, was named a finalist for the VNA Foundation’s 2008 Super Star in Community Nursing Award.

Ryan, an assistant nursing professor at SXU, received a $5,000 award and recognition for the establishment of and her dedication to the SXU Health Clinic.

The VNA Foundation, formerly the Visiting Nurse Association Foundation, gives financial support to nonprofit organizations offering home- and community-based care to the medically underserved. The Super Star Award was introduced in 2001 to acknowledge the service that public health/community health nurses provide, recognize the value of nursing in the community, help attract young people to the profession and contribute to efforts to decrease the nursing shortage.

Ryan ensures SXU’s Health Center offers high quality care for students while keeping the costs low. Unlike most university student health centers, Ryan designed SXU’s to also serve members of the surrounding community, including the underinsured and uninsured.

The center has established partnerships with a number of schools, healthcare providers, governmental bodies and community organizations. Ryan distributes an annual newsletter that outlines the services at the SXU Health Center and reaches more than 70 local schools. She also developed a relationship with Chicago 19th Ward Ald. Ginger Rugai’s office and recently provided dental services, skin cancer screenings and flu shots.

“I feel privileged to be in the company of the other VNA award winners,” Ryan said, “I am humbled by an award like this and grateful to the VNA Foundation for honoring nurses that dedicate their lives to helping others in their communities. My hope is that this will encourage more young people to pursue public health nursing and give back to their communities where support is so desperately needed.”

Ryan has received several grants from organizations to support community outreach initiatives through the SXU Health Center. These include funds from the AT&T Foundation to expand community outreach; the Agatha O’Brien Ministry Fund of the Sisters of Mercy Regional Community of Chicago to develop a specialist referral network for health center clients; and a grant from the VNA Foundation to establish a health clinic at St. Margaret of Scotland Elementary School in Chicago’s Washington Heights neighborhood.

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

SXU Guitar Ensemble & Jazz Combo Fall Concert

Performance on Nov. 7

Chicago (Oct. 28, 2008) Saint Xavier University’s Guitar Ensemble and Jazz Combo will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 7 at McGuire Hall in the Warde Academic Center at SXU’s Chicago campus, 3700 W. 103rd Street.

The SXU Guitar Ensemble will perform works by J.S. Bach, Enrique Granados, and George F. Handel. The SXU Jazz Combo will play music by Luiz Bonfa, John Coltrane, Benny Golson, Sam Jones, and Horace Silver.

Admission is $6 for students and $5 for seniors. For more information, please contact SXU’s Music Department at (773) 298-3421.

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

SXU 2008-09 film series continues with “Chinatown”

Noir classic being shown as part of “Film and the City” series

Chicago (October 27, 2008) Saint Xavier University will screen the Oscar-winning 1974 film “Chinatown” at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 11 in SXU’s McGuire Hall, Warde Academic Center, 3700 W. 103rd St., Chicago.

The screening is free and open to the public and is the third in SXU’s 2008-09 film series, “Film and the City.”

Directed by Roman Polanski, the noir film is set in Southern California. Hired to investigate a seemingly routine adultery case, Private Detective JJ “Jake” Gittes, played by Jack Nicholson, soon finds himself embroiled in a world of deceit, secrets, sex and political corruption.

Nicholson and Faye Dunaway both received Oscar Nominations for their roles. Robert Towne won an Oscar for Best Writing, Original Screen Play. Towne also received the 1975 Edgar award for Best Motion Picture at the Edgar Allan Poe Awards.

“Chinatown” is 131 minutes long and will be projected by DVD. This year’s film series is partially supported by a grant for the Illinois Arts Council, Saint Xavier’s College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Art and Design.

For more information, please contact Film Series Director Alison Fraunhar, Ph.D., at fraunhar@sxu.edu or (773)298-3083.

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

SXU student receives 2008 Student Laureate Award

(Left to right) Lincoln Academy of Illinois Chancellor John B. Simon, Saint Xavier University student and Lincoln Academy 2008 Student Laureate award recipient Alyson Kelley and Illinois Deputy Governor Louanner Peters at the Annual Student Laureate Ceremony on Oct. 18 in Springfield, Ill.

Chicago (Oct. 27, 2008) Saint Xavier University elementary education major Alyson Kelley, of Aurora, received The Lincoln Academy of Illinois 2008 Student Laureate Award on Oct. 18 in the Hall of Representatives of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill.

Kelley was recognized for her overall excellence in curricular and co-curricular activities. She maintains a 3.66 grade point average and student teaches social studies and reading for fifth and sixth grades at Chicago’s Mount Greenwood School as she works on her middle school endorsement. Kelley also served as team captain of the SXU softball team in 2007 and 2008 and worked as a resident assistant, Quest Retreat and FOCUS leader and worked with the Peer Ministry program.

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

USA Today features Saint Xavier Professor's examination of the relationship between televisiona and Major League Baseball

USA Today ran an extensive article on Monday, Oct. 27 about Saint Xavier University Communications Professor James Walker's new book, "Centerfield Shot: A History of Baseball on Television," written about the relationship between broadcast television and professional baseball. Read the USA Today article here. Walker co-wrote the book with Duquesne professor Rob Bellamy.

To learn more about "Centerfield Shot," visit http://centerfieldshot.com/.

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

Tickets going fast for James Carville and Mary Matalin at Saint Xavier University

America’s favorite political couple to give election primer 7 p.m., Oct. 30 at SXU Shannon Center

Chicago (Oct. 21, 2008)— There are still tickets left 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. SXU students may receive one free ticket by visiting Campus Life in room L-103. Faculty and staff should contact 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.

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.

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

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