SXU celebrates grand re-opening of Robert and Mary Rita Murphy Stump Library

Area elected officials attended ribbon-cutting ceremony at state-of-the-art facility

(L to R) State Sen. Edward Maloney (D-18th), Mary Rita Stump, Robert Stump, President Christine M. Wiseman, J.D., State Rep. Kelly Burke (D-36th), and Chicago Ald. Matt O'Shea (19th) at the grand re-opening of SXU's Robert and Mary Rita Murphy Stump Library.

Chicago (Oct. 10, 2011) Saint Xavier University celebrated the grand re-opening of its newly renovated Robert and Mary Rita Murphy Stump Library on Mon., Oct. 3 at its Chicago campus, 3700 W. 103rd St.

Library staff and student workers offered guided tours of the new state-of-the art learning facility. Renovations include a remodeled reading room with new furniture, lighting, millwork, improved wireless connectivity, windows to the group study rooms, a raised ADA-compatible floor with power outlets every ten feet and additional computers. The lobby has a new help desk, lighting and millwork. Other renovations include a new entranceway to the group study rooms, new touchscreen scanners, copiers and printers, and enhanced lighting in the compact shelving area.

The Robert and Mary Rita Murphy Stump Library is dedicated to providing access to information resources, facilitating their use in the learning process, and reinforcing the University values of academic integrity and lifelong learning. It was named in honor of Robert and Mary Rita Stump, whose philanthropic spirit and affection for Saint Xavier University include real estate for the Orland Park campus and financial gifts. Robert and Mary Rita Stump also were honored with Doctor of Public Service degrees, honoris causa, during the 2009 undergraduate commencement ceremony. They exemplify the mission and core values of Saint Xavier University, and the University is honored by their historic support.

For more information about The Robert and Mary Rita Murphy Stump Library, contact Library Director Mark Vargas at vargas@sxu.edu or (773) 298-3350.


-SXU-

Media Contact:
Karla Thomas, Executive Director of Media Relations
(773) 298-3937 or kthomas@sxu.edu

Prospective students: Learn about SXU at Fall Campus Visit Day

Get info about programs, campus life, scholarships, financial aid and more on Oct. 16

Chicago (Oct. 6, 2011) Are you considering attending college? If so, join us at the Fall Campus Visit Day to learn more about Saint Xavier University (SXU). Prospective students can learn about academic programs, campus life, scholarship opportunities, financial aid options and much more. SXU’s Fall Campus Visit Day will be held on Sunday, Oct. 16 from 9 a.m. to noon. Register online here.

Visitors will have the opportunity to speak with faculty, staff, and students to discover the many reasons why U.S. News and World Report ranks Saint Xavier University in the top 25 percent of Midwestern universities in its category. The day begins with a check-in and breakfast from 9 to 9:30 a.m. at the Shannon Center, and welcome remarks will follow from 9:30 to 10 a.m. Afterwards, visitors can enjoy several information sessions from 10 a.m. to noon, including:

• Foundations of Excellence: Quality Academic Programs
• Teaching and Learning: A Student-Centered Approach
• Getting Involved: Life Outside the Classroom
• Affordability and SXU: Understanding the Financial Aid Process

Please R.S.V.P. here by Tues., Oct. 11. For more information, contact the Office of Admission at (800) 462-9288 or admission@sxu.edu.

-SXU-

Media Contact:
Karla Thomas, Executive Director of Media Relations
(773) 298-3937 or kthomas@sxu.edu

Tickets still available for Obama adviser Robert Gibbs’ lecture at SXU

Former White House press secretary will speak on Thurs., Oct. 20

Chicago (Oct. 6, 2011) Tickets are still available to see longtime adviser to President Barack Obama and former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs at Saint Xavier University. Gibbs will speak at 7 p.m. on Thurs., Oct. 20 in the Shannon Center at the University’s Chicago campus, 3700 W. 103rd St., as part of SXU's Voices and Visions Speaker Series.

General admission tickets are $20 plus service charge. A limited number of $200 priority tickets are available, which include priority seating and admission to an exclusive post-lecture wine and cheese reception with Gibbs. Tickets may be purchased online at www.sxu.edu,, keyword: voices or by calling (866) 468-3401.

Gibbs has been an adviser and strategist to the President since the early days of Obama's 2004 Senate race and most recently served as White House press secretary. Gibbs is one of Obama's masterminds and he can speak with great authority and accuracy from a White House insider's perspective on many issues that have crossed the President's desk. His leadership of Obama's campaigns makes him a valuable commentator on the upcoming 2012 elections.

Gibbs joined Obama's 2004 U.S. Senate campaign as communications director in 2004 and held the same title at the onset of the 2008 presidential campaign until becoming Senior Strategist for Communications and Message during the general election. During the four years of intense campaigning and close contact, Gibbs became an integral part of Obama's team. According to The New York Times, Gibbs advised Obama on politics, strategy and messaging, and spent more time with him than any other adviser. Gibbs assumed the role of the Obama administration’s press secretary on January 20, 2009.

Gibbs also served as press secretary of John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign and previously specialized in Senate campaigns, having served as communications director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and for four individual Senate campaigns. Gibbs also was the press secretary of Representative Bob Etheridge.

Prior to his lecture, Gibbs will participate in an exclusive classroom discussion with select SXU students.

The SXU Voices and Visions Speaker Series is sponsored by University Relations and in part by the Student Government Association. For more information about the event, please contact the Office of Special Events at (773) 298-3748 or specialevents@sxu.edu.

Media interested in interviewing Gibbs should contact Executive Director of Media Relations Karla Thomas at (773) 298-3937 or kthomas@sxu.edu.

-SXU-

Media Contact:
Karla Thomas, Executive Director of Media Relations
(773) 298-3937 or kthomas@sxu.edu

Learn about the Daley family's rise to power at 6:30 p.m. on Thurs., Oct. 13 at SXU

"The Daleys of Chicago: An American Family" with Columbia College Professor Dominic Pacyga, Ph.D.


Chicago (Oct. 5, 2011) Learn more about the Daley family's rise to political power and their role in shaping Chicago from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Thurs., Oct.13 at Saint Xavier University. Dominic Pacyga, Ph.D., of Columbia College will present "The Daleys of Chicago: An American Family" in the Bishop Quarter Room, located in the Warde Academic Center at SXU's Chicago campus, 3700 W. 103rd St. This event is free and open to the public.

During the past 50 years, no other family has influenced an American city like the Daleys have in Chicago. Rising out of Chicago's intensely working-class, multi-ethnic Bridgeport neighborhood, the Daley’s came to national prominence. With the possible exceptions of the Kennedy, Clinton and Bush families, no other family has had as great an influence on the national political stage. Pacyga's presentation will examine the rise of the Daley family and explore how their Catholic working-class culture influenced them, as well as the four Daley brothers' roles as inheritors of the family's political fortunes.

Pacyga is a professor of history in the Department of Humanities, History, and Social Sciences at Columbia College in Chicago. He has worked on five books about Chicago's history and lectured widely on a variety of topics, including urban development, labor history, immigration, and racial and ethnic relations. He has worked with the Chicago History Museum, the Museum of Science and Industry, and the Field Museum in Chicago on a variety of public history projects and has appeared in both local and national media. Pacyga has also consulted with numerous neighborhood organizations, student groups, and ethnic, labor, and fraternal groups to preserve and exhibit their histories.


-SXU-

Media Contact:
Karla Thomas, Executive Director of Media Relations
(773) 298-3937 or kthomas@sxu.edu

Classical guitarist Peter Fletcher to play at SXU on Thurs., Oct. 6

Carnegie Hall performer will play works by Bach, Ravel and more

Chicago (Oct. 4, 2011) Classical guitarist Peter Fletcher will play a free concert from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thurs., Oct. 6 at Saint Xavier University's McGuire Hall, located in the Warde Academic Center at the Chicago campus, 3700 W. 103rd St.

Fletcher has played Carnegie Hall four times and will display his astounding repertoire, which includes works by Pretorius, Ravel, Bach and Tarrega. Fletcher will give his fifth performance at Carnegie Hall later this season, where he will premiere a major work by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco titled “Divan of Moses-ibn-Ezra” with acclaimed tenor David Michael Schuster. In addition, Fletcher and Schuster will give the world premiere of a work they commissioned from New York-based composer Clarice Assad.

Fletcher began studying guitar when he was seven. He made his formal debut at age 15 with The Brasstown Concert Association in North Carolina in 1983. As a performer in the Christopher Parkening master class, Fletcher was chosen to play in the student recital for two consecutive years. The class was broadcast on National Public Radio in 1988. The Music Teacher’s National Association awarded Fletcher a prize at its National Level Competition in 1990. He earned a Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music under Nicholas Goluses in 1995 and has received the Eastman Graduate Award twice.

This event is sponsored by SXU's Robert and Mary Rita Murphy Stump Library.



-SXU-

Media Contact:
Karla Thomas, Executive Director of Media Relations
(773) 298-3937 or kthomas@sxu.edu

SXU to host "Stop the Killing of Women in Juarez!" on Oct. 6

Marisela Ortiz Rivera of Bring Our Daughters Back Home will speak about the nearly 400 young women who were kidnapped and murdered

Chicago (Oct. 4, 2011) In response to the kidnapping and murder of hundreds of young women in Mexico, Saint Xavier University will host “Stop the Killing of Women in Juarez!” on Thurs., Oct. 6 at its Chicago campus, 3700 W. 103rd St. The event is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the Fourth Floor Board Room, located in the Warde Academic Center. It is free and open to the public.

Marisela Ortiz Rivera, co-founder of the human rights group Bring Our Daughters Back Home/Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa, will give a presentation about the nearly 400 young women who have been kidnapped, tortured and murdered in the border city of Juarez, Mexico during the past 20 years.

Ortiz Rivera co-founded the group after one of her students, 17-year-old Lilia Alejandra, joined the list of victims. Ortiz Rivera and Norma Andrade, Alejandra's mother, united to bring the world's attention to these murders and their grievous toll on the community. Ortiz Rivera has received numerous death threats for her work and her son-in-law Jesus Alfredo Portillo Santos, who also was a partner in the advocacy work, was murdered. Faced with what her group considers the indifference of local police, Ortiz Rivera is now seeking political asylum in the United States.

This event is sponsored by the Latino/Latin American Studies program.


-SXU-

Media Contact:
Karla Thomas, Executive Director of Media Relations
(773) 298-3937 or kthomas@sxu.edu