Saint Mary's College Installs 12th President
President Jan Cervelli has been in office since June 1, but the formal Inaugural Ceremony on November 12 and the social gatherings surrounding it offered a time to celebrate and reflect on this notable moment in the College’s history. Also, click on the links below for some additional features related to Saint Mary's history and the College's new president.
“New” and Improved Science Hall is Dedicated
Do you wish you could have been at the Science Hall dedication ceremony in October? No worries. Just browse the photo gallery to see the renovated space. If you are a science alumna, the building is not as you remember. For one, the once-unfinished basement — with partitioned classrooms, an exposed pipe ceiling, and the cement floor covered in carpet remnants — is now state-of-the-art classroom and laboratory space. Take a look around, and read the moving speech by Jennifer Mathile Prikkel ’95, who attended the dedication as a representative of the Mathile and Prikkel families who invested in the extensive improvements.
Exciting Research Taking Place in Science Hall
Biology major Makayla Schmitt ’17 who is interested in a career in public health, is busy in the new Science Hall researching Crohn’s Disease. Schmitt, who suffers from Crohn’s, decided to conduct the research at the suggestion of her advisor, assistant professor of biology Calli Davison Versagli ’09. “Without her my research wouldn't be possible,” Schmitt said. “Dr. Versagli has been an amazing mentor and has taught me so much about research.” Read Makayla's story here.
Sisters and Trustees Meet on Volleyball Court
What happens when the Sisters of the Holy Cross goes toe to toe with the Saint Mary's College Board of Trustees? A bunch of money is raised for the congregation's missions, that’s what. In all, the Board raised $27,000 for the congregation, which has missions in eight countries. The event celebrated the 175th anniversary of the Women of Holy Cross.
Wooden Life by Meg Brownley '18
As featured on the back cover of Courier, Meg Brownley's work was inspired by a new course at Saint Mary’s College, Ecopoetics in the Age of the Anthropocene. Professor Aaron Moe taught the English Literature class in the fall, engaging both the Internet and the environment. Eco-poetics is the study and creation of poetry with a strong ecological emphasis or message. Anthropocene is a geological age in which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment. Read student work and more about the class here.