Marywood University to Observe National School Psychology Week During the week of November 7-11, 2022, schools throughout the country are celebrating National School Psychology Week (NSPW) to highlight the important work school psychologists do to help students thrive. Every year in November, school psychologists, professors, and graduate students gear up to bring awareness to the field of school psychology and highlight the work that school psychologists do to help students thrive. The theme for our 2022 National School Psychology Week is “Together We Shine”. This theme encourages us to see hope after a series of challenging years. It’s about offering hope as students move forward from the difficult COVID-19 pandemic. We have all faced difficulties created by the pandemic, social injustice and inequity, economic stress, and challenges to mental and physical health. For some, it has been a time of real challenge, and finding light is critical to building resilience and hope. Though each of us has our own inner light, when we bring together our ideas and actions to uplift each other, we shine even brighter, both as individuals and as a community. During the week, school psychologists will connect with students and staff to highlight how each person’s contributions can move us forward. Just as we continue developing our own skills individually and with support from others, we in turn can help others foster resilience and support those who need it as well. School psychologists are particularly skilled at assisting students and staff in thriving and working together, whatever the challenge. With expertise in both education and mental health, school psychologists are uniquely qualified to help address the needs of students and schools. This means addressing challenges such as poverty, academic underachievement, mental and behavioral health issues, bullying, homelessness, increasing cultural and linguistic diversity, record high student enrollment—to name just a few. All argue for the critical importance of the services provided by school psychologists. School psychologists throughout the country are empowering students to deal with mental and behavioral health challenges, to connect with others, and to discover endless possibilities for academic success, as well as social and emotional well-being. Unfortunately, research suggests that longstanding shortages of school psychologists continue to threaten students’ access to needed school psychological services. Although this shortage continues to be a national problem, Marywood University officials are to be acknowledged and congratulated as they sought to address this critical issue shortage by recently reinstating its Ed.S. program in School Psychology. The program is directed by Dr. Stuart Badner. Under his direction and leadership, the School Psychology program at Marywood has been recruiting cadres of new school psychology students since Fall 2020 and are expecting to graduate its first class of entry-level school psychology professionals in May 2023. Moreover, the leaders of Marywood University are committed to developing a truly exceptional and much-needed program, aligned with National Association of School Psychology practice standards.
Marywood University’s Students and Faculty Engage in Service Students and faculty in Marywood University’s communication sciences and disorders (CSD) department have been engaged in several community service projects and events during the fall semester. Hearing Screenings at Scranton Treasure House: Dr. Sheri Skrutski, assistant professor of practice, supervised students who completed hearing screenings at the Scranton Treasure House. All preschool students were screened at the center. If you are interested in information regarding screening opportunities, contact Dr. Skrutski at the Marywood University Speech-Language and Audiology Clinics by phone at 570-348-6299 or email at sskrutski@marywood.edu. Alzheimer’s Walk: Members of the National Student Speech-Language-Hearing Association (NSSLHA)-Marywood Chapter participated in the 2.5 mile Walk to End Alzheimer’s held on Saturday, October 15. Team members walked throughout Marywood’s campus for the event. Locally, the walk raised $64,230. Marywood’s NSSLHA Chapter, composed of 19 members, raised $1,025 for the event. Money raised is providing funds for Alzheimer’s care, support, and research. Trunk or Treat Event: NSSLHA-Marywood Chapter members also held a Trunk or Treat event for clients, siblings, and friends of the Marywood University Speech and Language Clinic. Students in the CSD department, from undergraduate to graduate level, along with faculty, participated in the event. The event included decorated cars, treats, and costumes.
Marywood University News Marywood Graphic Design Student Among Winners in Poster Competition Marywood University student Danaé Drews, a junior graphic design major, is a winner in the international poster design competition, Typography Day, hosted by the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India. Her work, selected from over 500 international entries, also will appear in a poster book. The winners are entitled to free participation during the online Typography Conference and Workshop, November 18-19, 2022, hosted by IDC School of Design (IDC), Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) with support from India Design Association (InDeAs ) and Aksharaya. The winning entries will be published and displayed in an exhibition during the event. To view all winning entries from the 2022 Typography Day poster design competition, visit https://typoday.in/poster_result-22.html. Marywood Associate Professor Publishes Research Patrick Seffrin, Ph.D., associate professor of social science, along with his graduate research assistant, Joseph Teeple, recently had an article, titled “Making Drug Use Dangerous for Black Men: Race, Drugs, Violence, and Criminal Justice,” accepted for publication in the journal, Race and Justice. Dr. Seffrin teaches courses in the areas of sociology, criminology, and criminal justice at Marywood University. This study examined links between drug use, violence, and criminal justice involvement among Black and White men. Differential treatment under the law has historically been the case for African Americans. According to the article abstract, “This study theorized that the War on Drugs, which was waged disproportionately in majority Black communities, had the unintended effect of making drug use riskier for Black men by limiting the supply of drugs to high-risk populations who commit far more serious and violent criminal offenses.” The study revealed that drug use was found to be less prevalent, overall, for Black men, but its association with violence was greater for Black men than White men. Differential legal treatment for violence and drugs was found to be greater for Black men than White men and had diminishing returns for deterring violence and negative returns for drugs by predicting greater use. Accounting for differential legal treatment did not significantly reduce predicted racial disparities in violence or drug use, and implications of these findings are discussed in the study.
Marywood University to Celebrate the Season by “Making Spirits Bright” “Making Spirits Bright,” Marywood’s annual celebration of the holiday season through festive programming, community service, and spiritual opportunities, will kick off on Wednesday, November 30, and continue through New Year’s Eve. FESTIVE PROGRAMMING The signature event, Marywood’s Annual Christmas Tree Lighting, will take place in the Rotunda of the Liberal Arts Center on Wednesday, November 30, at 4 p.m. Seasonal music from student musicians will be featured. The event is free and open to the public. The public also may view the Marywood Christmas tree during the normal operating hours of the Liberal Arts Center, Monday through Friday, December 1-22, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Marywood’s campus will feature its main outdoor Christmas display of the Nativity scene at the Memorial Arch on Adams Avenue, and tasteful seasonal lighting will adorn various sections of campus. Indoors, an office decorating contest, sponsored by the Student Government Association, will allow students to vote for their favorite décor. A $250 donation will be given to the winning office’s favorite charity, and the winner will be announced at the tree lighting ceremony Sounds of the season will be broadcast by Marywood’s award-winning, student-run radio station, VMFM 91.7, which once again becomes Christmas 91.7 and continues its traditional community gift of broadcasting commercial-free Christmas music, 24/7. Christmas programming starts on Friday, December 2, at 4 p.m., and continues through New Year’s Eve. Those outside of the station’s local broadcast range can stream it for free online or through the Tune-in app. Marywood will offer its traditional Breakfast with Santa event, hosted by the NEPA Marywood Alumni Chapter in conjunction with the Office of Alumni Engagement. The event is set for Sunday, December 4, from 9 a.m. – Noon, in the Latour Room, Nazareth Student Center. Seating is limited, and preference is given to Marywood alumni. Advanced registration is required; once the event capacity is reached, registration will be closed. For details, go to: https://alumni2.marywood.edu/breakfast-with-santa-2022. The Music, Theatre, and Dance department is presenting several seasonal concerts, all of which are free and open to the public, including: String Ensemble, Thursday, December 1, 7 p.m., at the Marian Chapel. The String Ensemble will be performing an arrangement of American composer George Walker’s Adagio from the 2nd String Quartet, Grieg’s Holberg Suite, and Divertimento in Bb, K.137 by Mozart.Chamber Singers Christmas Concert, Sunday, December 4, 4 p.m., at the Marian Chapel. The Marywood University Chamber Singers’ annual Christmas Concert will feature Francis Poulenc’s profound and highly expressive Mass in G, as well as settings of “O Magnum Mysterium” by composers from both the Renaissance and the present day. In addition to sacred choral music, the performance will include Will Todd’s jazz settings of popular Christmas carols.String Project Holiday Gala Concert, Monday, December 5, 6 p.m., Munley Theatre, Sette LaVerghetta Center for Performing Arts. This concert will feature string students, ages 4-18, performing a wide range of music and styles, including some holiday music, both in small ensembles and orchestra.Marywood Guitar Ensemble and Melinda Krokus, Music & Spirituality Holiday Concert, Tuesday, December 6, 7 p.m., at the Marian Chapel. The Marywood Guitar Ensemble presents its traditional Holiday Concert by performing a diverse repertoire, including songs, old carols, Blues, and French music. This year, however, brings two novelties, focused on Music & Spirituality. Melinda Krokus joins the concert, providing poetry readings and grounding sessions. In addition, a very special set of guests, who have been taking Professor Carvalho’s Music & Spirituality class, will present posters on their individual research! The topics are extremely varied, such as the Igbo spiritual and musical practices, the music of Ariana Grande, Paganism, Catholic Councils, and many more.Marywood Wind Ensemble, Christmas Variety Show, Wednesday, December 7, 7 p.m., Marywood Heights Commons.The Marywood Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. F. David Romines, will present a gift to the residents of Marywood Heights in the form of a Christmas variety show with instrumental musical numbers and a lot of singing. All of the traditional holiday favorites will be featured in the program. Special guests will include the Marywood acapella group, Nomadic Chromatics.Marywood University Orchestra, Saturday, December 10, 2 p.m., Munley Theatre, Sette LaVerghetta Center for Performing Arts. COMMUNITY SERVICE An on-campus Giving Tree service project will run from November 7-November 30. Gifts for the Giving Tree are due at the Tree Lighting ceremony on November 30, and drop off boxes will be available at the event as well as on campus. Beneficiaries of this service effort are Friends of the Poor, Marywood Heights, and the Community Intervention Center. Additionally, Marywood’s Campus Ministry Office will host a Christmas card writing social event for students, with cards being sent to Our Lady of Peace residents/staff, NativityMiguel Scranton students/staff, St. Joseph’s Center residents/staff, and veterans. SPIRITUAL OPPORTUNITIESMass for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, patronal feast of the IHM Sisters and the United States, will be celebrated on Thursday, December 8, at Noon in the Marian Chapel. For information on Marywood’s Christmas events and related resources, visit marywood.edu/makingspiritsbright.
Marywood University Chamber Singers Earn National Honorable Mention The Marywood University Chamber Singers have earned national recognition in a choral competition. The Chamber Singers were named semifinalists for the 2022 American Prize in Choral Music last February, and, in May, they were named one of the finalists. The Marywood University Chamber Singers are one of two collegiate choral ensembles in the small program division to receive an Honorable Mention for the 2022 American Prize in Choral Performance. Among the national finalists, only six choirs in the United States received the distinction of winning a prize or being given an Honorable Mention. Only one of the other schools is of a size comparable to Marywood University; the other universities are significantly larger. The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts is the nation’s most comprehensive series of contests in the performing arts. The American Prize is unique in scope and structure, designed to recognize and reward the best performing artists, directors, ensembles and composers in the United States at professional, college/university, community and high school levels, based on submitted recordings.
Marywood University Veterans Day Ceremony In commemoration of Veterans Day, Marywood University’s Office of Military and Veteran Services and its Student Veteran Alliance (SVA) will honor those who are serving and those who have served our country on at an 11 a.m. ceremony on Thursday, November 10, 2022, at the Marywood’s Veterans Resource Center, 2236 N. Washington Avenue, Scranton, Pa., on the University’s campus. Sister Mary Persico, IHM, Ed.D., Marywood University’s president, will offer remarks. Peter Howey, a recent Marywood alumnus and a Navy veteran, will serve as guest speaker. “Echo Taps” will be played by two student trumpeters from Marywood’s Music, Theatre, and Dance Department, Isiah Ortiz and Zachary Houston, while Marywood student vocalist Leanne Onofrio will sing “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The ceremony site will feature Flags for the Fallen, an outdoor display of thousands of U.S. flags that honor those who have fallen while serving our country. Raul E. Santana Nuñez, M. Ed., Marywood’s director of military and veteran services, is coordinating the event, which is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served following the ceremony at the Veterans Resource Center, Noon-3 p.m. “Veterans Day gives the Marywood community and the public the opportunity to pray, reflect, and honor those who have served or are serving, with special recognition of and respect for those service members who have made the ultimate sacrifice,” said Mr. Santana Nuñez.
Marywood University Art Exhibit An exhibit, On Entropy: Selections from The Maslow Collection on Creation and Loss, is on display at The Maslow Study Gallery for Contemporary Art, located in the Shields Center for Visual Arts on Marywood University’s campus, from now through December 13, 2022. This exhibition, spanning from autumn to winter, examines eleven works from The Maslow Collection through the concept of entropy. Entropy refers to the measure of the change of energy within a system, typically moving from order to disorder. Within an art context, the term has been applied more loosely, referring to various types of states of change, which have included deterioration and decay. The artworks in this exhibition point to these ideas, both overtly and subtly, and many also suggest that cycles and states of return are inevitably linked to the notion of entropy. Featured artists include: Robert Barry, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Robert Cumming, Ant Farm, Ellsworth Kelly, Denny Moers, Robert Motherwell, Ellen Phelan, Robert Rauschenberg, Susan Rothenberg, and Robert Smithson. Gallery hours for The Maslow Study Gallery are Monday through Wednesday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., and Saturday, 1-4 p.m. For additional information about Marywood art exhibits, please visit marywood.edu/galleries/exhibitions or call (570) 348-6278.
Marywood University’s “Dietitian for a Day” Program Marywood University is hosting a “Dietitian for a Day” program on Tuesday, November 15, from 9:15 a.m. – 1:15 p.m., in the O’Neill Center for Health Families on the University’s campus. The program is free and open to anyone considering a career in nutrition and dietetics. The program offers students an opportunity to learn what a dietitian is and about the different areas in which dietitians practice. Attendees will gain hands-on experience in several practice areas including sports, clinical and community nutrition, food science, and food service. The program also includes a session with admissions and financial aid counselors, a tour of Marywood’s campus, and lunch. Attendees will have the opportunity to interact with the nutrition and dietetics faculty as well as current students. Attendees will gain a clearer picture about the career opportunities for a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and the types of classes, course material, and supervised practice involved in being a nutrition and dietetics major. Marywood’s Nutrition and Dietetics department provides coursework that prepares students to provide nutrition care in a variety of settings. Register online by November 10 at https://admissions.marywood.edu/register/DietitianNov22 to attend “Dietitian for a Day.”
Marywood University Presents “The Magic Flute” Marywood University’s Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance is collaborating with the School of Architecture in creating a full-scale production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute. The production marks only the second time in Marywood’s history that its students will perform a complete opera with orchestra. The stage director for The Magic Flute is A. Scott Parry, who is on the faculties of Manhattan School of Music and New York University and has directed productions at professional opera companies across the country, including New York City Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Dallas Opera, Chicago Opera Theatre, Indianapolis Opera, and Pittsburgh Opera. The Music Director and Conductor is Rick Hoffenberg, D.M.A., co-chair of Marywood’s Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance. Marywood’s production of The Magic Flute is made possible in part by a grant from the Community Events Fund of the Scranton Area Community Foundation, which supports non-profit organizations hosting community events which add value to the overall community and enrich the lives of those in our area. Performances are free and open to the public and will be held in the Munley Theatre of the Sette LaVerghetta Center for Performing Arts on Saturday, November 12, at 7 p.m., and on Sunday, November 13, at 2 p.m. Additionally, there will be a compressed version of the opera performed for local middle school and high school students on Thursday, November 10, at 10 a.m.
Marywood University Ranks as Best Value Among Northeast PA Colleges Marywood University continues to offer the “Best Value” among Northeast Pennsylvania Universities, according to the 2022-2023 U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges ranking. Marywood also remains the highest ranked of only two local institutions included in U.S. News “Best Colleges for Veterans” category, along with repeating and advancing its strong showing in the “Top Performers in Social Media” category. Moving up two places from last year to #23 of the regional universities (North) ranked for “Best Value,” Marywood continues to demonstrate its affordability as the highest ranked of the three local four-year private colleges included in this category. According to U.S. News, the “Best Value” ranking considers a school’s academic quality. The higher the quality of the program and the lower the cost, the better the deal. Only schools ranked in or near the top half of their categories are included, because U.S. News considers the most significant values to be among colleges that are above average academically. At #44, Marywood was the highest ranked of only two local universities on the “Best Colleges for Veterans” (Regional Universities North). According to U.S. News, these are the top-ranked schools in the 2023 Best Colleges rankings that participate in federal initiatives helping veterans and active-duty service members pay for their degrees. Marywood University ranked #48 overall on the “Best Regional Universities North” list, which includes institutions from 11 states, and continued to exhibit its strong digital presence in the “Top Performers in Social Media” category, advancing to #59, up 13 places from last year’s rankings.
