More than 130 scholarship donors and recipients gathered in the Robert R. Jones Board of Trustees Room in Doyle Hall on Friday, April 15, for the 2011 Barbara Carr McKee Scholarship Luncheon.
The annual event honors the University’s scholarship recipients and recognizes the thoughtfulness and generosity of its benefactors. It also features the Academic Excellence Showcase, which highlights the superb work of select students.
Keynote speaker Lee Coppola, dean of the Russell J. Jandoli School of Journalism and Mass Communication, unveiled the newest panel for the Scholarship Wall of Recognition: a tribute to Dr. Russell J. and Catherine Jandoli. Dr. Jandoli founded the journalism program in 1949. He and his wife, Catherine, devoted themselves to the success of thousands of students throughout Dr. Jandoli’s St. Bonaventure career, which spanned more than four decades. The legacy of Dr. and Mrs. Jandoli will endure through a scholarship in their names, the largest gift ever received by the journalism program.
In noting the power of scholarships, Dean Coppola recalled that support from the friars enabled him to remain at St. Bonaventure when his parents were unable to pay tuition beginning the second half of his freshman year. Today, as dean, he continues to witness the impact scholarships have on the lives of students and their families.
Representing the more than 375 students who received endowed or annual 
scholarships this academic year was Kristy Kibler, ’11, of Varysburg, NY, a JM/C major and the recipient of two scholarships. Kibler shared that she planned her future at the age of 13 — the day she fell in love with St. Bonaventure University. She said the reason she was able to realize her dream and attend St. Bonaventure was because of the generosity of others.
If you are interested in setting up an endowed scholarship or establishing an annual award, please contact Kathleen Ryan, director of scholarships and endowments at (716) 375-2308 or kryan@sbu.edu.
The 2011 Academic Excellence Showcase featured the work of more than a dozen students.
Pictured below: Kevin Cilano, '11, a recipient of the Worden Research Fe
llowship, learned that research is in fact "re-search," as he worked under the direction of Dr. Xia-Ning Zhang of the Department of Biology on "the identification and characterization of the hap 1-2 mutant that lacks the functional MAGO NASHI Ortholog in Arabidopsis," a project funded by the National Science Foundation.
Pictured at right: Art major Karen Vester is curator of "Triangle Fire: 100 Years," an exhibit currently on display at The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. The exhibit honors the victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911.