Journey Begins: CSE New Students Move In; Unpack Belongings and Dreams

“Chart your course,” “map your route,” “embark on your journey,” “see new horizons,” - these and more are the phrases that the College of Saint Elizabeth “Explorientation” were made of...On Wednesday, August 24, 2011, a new adventure - College - began for approximately 200 first-year and transfer CSE students. The College is located at 2 Convent Road, Morristown, N.J.

Armed with an orientation schedule literally presented as a map outlining a three-day excursion, students began a journey filled with moving in, creating time capsules representing their dreams and goals to be opened 100 days before graduation; “New Beginnings Family Blessing;” a Spirit of New Jersey Boat Cruise; a Community Service Project session, and workshops – all designed to get the incoming students to know each other and the College.

CSE President Sr. Francis Raftery notes, “Orientation is informational, enjoyable, and naturally helps students get to know each other, create memories, and have a profound influence on each other as we move forward.”

On Wednesday, students from nearly all the counties in the state, from out of state, and even from other countries including Russia, China, Burma, Tanzania, and more, pulled up to CSE dorms and unpacked not only their belongings, but their dreams. CSE Orientation Staff and Student Leaders were on hand to support and guide students.

Amid the hectic and nervous anticipation, students seemed happy to explore new surroundings, friends, and possibilities. Samantha Weirback, of West Deptford, N.J., ’15, Special and Elementary Education major, and her roommate, Jenae Goodson, of South Plainfield, N.J., ’15, Elementary Education/Early Childhood major, got to know each other. Weirback says she will always be an Eagle, since CSE and her high school both have an eagle as its mascot. While Goodson noted, “I love it at CSE. Everyone is SO welcoming.”

Near the end of the first day, the Family Blessing, in Holy Family Chapel on campus, featured a symbolic lighting of three candles, one representing remembering the past, lit by Jane Bourhill, CSE Assistant Dean of the Women’s College; another giving thanks for the present, lit by Diana Mora, ’12, of Elizabeth, N.J., Communication, Global Studies major; and the third, looking forward to the future, lit by Julie Rodriguez, ’15, Criminal Justice major, from Hoboken, N.J.

During the blessing, Carol Pisani, CSE Special Assistant to the President for Mission, spoke to the new students and their families about dreams about to come true (the future) and dreams that have already become a reality (the CSE College journey). According to Pisani, the journey encompasses vulnerability, trepidation; but also deep anticipation and hope for new life ahead.

Sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, Convent Station, New Jersey, the College of Saint Elizabeth enrolls more than 2,100 full- and part-time students in more than 25 undergraduate, 10 graduate and one doctoral degree programs. For information on other activities or programs, visit the College of Saint Elizabeth web site at www.cse.edu.

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College of Saint Elizabeth Appoints Deborah M. McCreery Vice President of Institutional Advancement

Sister Francis Raftery, president of the College of Saint Elizabeth, 2 Convent Road, Morristown, N.J., announced today that Deborah M. McCreery, Esq., has been named vice president for Institutional Advancement, effective August 29, 2011. As the vice president for Institutional Advancement, Ms. McCreery will be a member of the President’s Cabinet and the chief advisor to the president on matters of development, communications, and external relations.

Before joining the College of Saint Elizabeth, Ms. McCreery held many leadership positions at Widener University School of Law, which has campuses in Harrisburg, Pa., and Wilmington, Del. She has been in educational administration since 1983 and joined Widener in 1991. At Widener, she has served as assistant dean of financial aid, associate dean for business and administration, and assistant dean for Development and Alumni Relations. She was most recently the assistant vice president for Law School Development and Alumni Relations and served as an adjunct faculty member for the Law School.

Ms. McCreery received a Bachelor of Arts from Temple University in 1983 and a Juris Doctor, also from Temple, in 1991. She is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania.

Ms. McCreery has been active in a number of professional and civic organizations, including the Colonial School District Action Planning committee, the Paralegal Board of Advisors, the American Association of Law Schools, the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, the American Council on Education – National Identification Program for the Advancement of Women in Higher Education Administration, and an executive board member of the Delaware-District of Columbia-Maryland Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.

Sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, Convent Station, New Jersey, the College of Saint Elizabeth enrolls more than 2,100 full- and part-time students in more than 25 undergraduate, 10 graduate and one doctoral degree programs. For information on other activities or programs, visit the College of Saint Elizabeth web site at www.cse.edu.

Leading Salsa Expert Jose Obando Performs at the College of Saint Elizabeth, Tuesday, September 20, 2011

The sounds of salsa will fill Dolan Performance Hall, Annunciation Center, at the College of Saint Elizabeth, 2 Convent Road, Morristown, when Jose Obando and his band of musicians take to the stage, Tuesday, September 20, 2011. As the nation’s only musicologist dedicated to salsa, Obando will begin the program at 7 p.m. with a brief lecture about the more than 350-year evolution of this uniquely New World music. He will follow with a musical performance. Tickets are $10 for adults; $5 for senior citizens, 65 years old or older; and $5 for students with valid student identification. Tickets may be purchased by calling 973-290-4378 or emailing events@cse.edu.

Obando’s lecture includes geography, history, anthropology, ethnomusicology, religions, African studies, music, and dance history. Immediately following, , he will give a musical performance accompanied by five musicians that includes dance. The instruments that will be used in the performance are the clave (two wooden sticks used to keep the African rhythms), maracas, and the Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Dominican guiro. The salsa, cha-cha-cha, and bolero dances will be demonstrated, and the meringue will be taught. Dancing is strongly encouraged for those so inclined!

Origins of Salsa Explained

Through its music, salsa tells the story of the New World. Its origins are in west and central Africa, where singing, dancing, and drumming were means of communicating with the deities. The music was brought to the Caribbean by African slaves, where it combined with new elements from the native population called Taino as well as with Catholic and Spanish traditions. The music continued to evolve as the people from the Caribbean emigrated north. These musicians began to collaborate with their African-American colleagues. The result is a distinctively American music that the College of Saint Elizabeth is proud to present.

The program is presented by the CSE music and art departments, CSE multi-cultural studies program,CSE Office of International and Multicultural Affairs, and the College’s Lectures and Concerts series.

Sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, Convent Station, New Jersey, the College of Saint Elizabeth enrolls more than 2,100 full- and part-time students in more than 25 undergraduate, 10 graduate and one doctoral degree programs. For information on other activities or programs, visit the College of Saint Elizabeth web site at www.cse.edu.

College of Saint Elizabeth Hosts Poetry Reading Related to Water, Water, Anywhere Art Exhibition

The floor-to-ceiling windows in the upper lobby of the Annunciation Center formed the perfect backdrop for the first CSE poetry salon, July 14, 2011, organized by Lynne McEniry, CSE academic affairs division coordinator. As the summer sun set over the hills beyond, nine poets read their water-themed works to a crowd of approximately 65 people.

The event was part of a cultural program coinciding with the College’s current art exhibition, Water, Water, Anywhere, which opened June 23 and closes September 10. The exhibition, curated by Dr. Virginia Butera, chair of the CSE art and music departments, looks at H2O in all its states through a variety of paintings, sculptures, photographs, conceptual pieces, and mixed media art works. It is located in the CSE Therese A. Maloney Art Gallery, also in the Annunciation Center. The gallery is open Tuesday-Sunday, 4:30 to 8 p.m. and is closed Mondays and major holidays. For more information, contact CSE at 973-290-4315; www.maloneyartgallery.org.

In her welcoming remarks, Dr. Butera affirmed the College’s continuing commitment to the arts. Throughout the year, the College brings to the campus artists, musicians, dance troupes, poets, and writers for events often open to the public.

The connection between art and poetry was further illustrated through the works of one artist and two poets. Art faculty member Raul Villarreal, of Verona, N.J., was inspired in part to create his oil on canvas, Memories of a Voyage Never Taken, by a poem entitled it was written by McEniry, who recently was awarded Honorary Mention in the 2011 Allen Ginsberg Poetry Awards. Consequently, Villarreal’s painting inspired the poem The Pilar written by New York poet Yesenia Montilla, one of the co-founders of Poets for Ayiti, (Haiti), a collective of poets from diverse backgrounds committed to the power of poetry to transform and to educate. (See below for more details about Three Artists, One Inspiration.)

McEniry is one of three participating poets from the CSE community: Dr. Laura Winters teaches literature, writing and film at CSE; and Tyefah Byers-Smith, ’12, a CSE justice studies student, has been writing poetry for 10 years. The other five poets came with well established backgrounds. Alexis De Veaux, Buffalo, New York, is an internationally known poet and the author of a biography of the poet Audre Lorde. She is on the faculty of the University of Buffalo. Kathy Engel, Sagaponack, New York, is the founder of the international women’s human rights group, MADRE, and co-founder of Riptide Communications. She is the author of Ruth’s Skirts and co-editor of We Begin Here: Poems for Palestine and Lebanon. She is on the faculty of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

The works of Union, N.J., poet Roberto Garcia have appeared in the Istanbul Literary Review, Poets & Artists Magazine, and Fictionaut.com. Monica Hand, a New York City resident, is a book artist as well as a poet. Her work has appeared in numerous literary publications and her manuscript me and Nina received a 2010 Kinereth Gensler Award from Alice James Books. She is also a co-founder of Poets for Ayiti.
Heidi Sheridan, Toms River, N.J., is a published poet whose work has appeared in several literary publications. She teaches creative writing at Ocean County College in New Jersey. Marta Lucia Vargas, a resident of South Orange, N.J., is a poet, essayist and writing teacher.

The story of three artists, one inspiration

Poems can come from out-of-the-way places, which was the origin of one of McEniry’s works. As a cruise passenger, she witnessed 10 Cuban men being taken onboard during an effort to flee their country and who would be returned to their homeland once the ship docked in Miami. It inspired her to write it was, excerpted below:
it was

nothing

they said the grinding engines
the trembling chandeliers

it was nothing to disturb
Lobster Extravaganza
On the first night of this funship voyage

it was
A ten-foot wooden rowboat
Oar-less and bearing a hole

it was
ten men skin burnt
close to being swallowed by the sea


That poem provided some of the inspiration for Villarreal, the son of a Cuban immigrant, while he painted, Memories of a Voyage Never Taken. The artist is also the author of Hemingway’s Cuban Son, a memoir of his father’s relationship with the writer. In turn, Montilla wrote The Pilar, For Raul, excerpted here:

I know of a man whose father knew
Hemingway and I know that this man
Painted a boat, a row boat, simple
Like the strong back of man or the curve
Of his pipe, simple like Hemingway’s boat.

The story is an example of the power of the arts to touch lives and to inspire and to encourage creative expression. As the sun set in the surrounding hills, the audience sat intently listening to the words spoken from the podium in the Upper Lobby of Annunciation Center. They sat so silent and motionless, as if not wanting to miss a word, further testament to the power of the arts.

College of Saint Elizabeth Hosts An Evening with Mitch Albom Wednesday, September 14, 2011

The College of Saint Elizabeth will host An Evening with Mitch Albom when the best-selling author returns to the stage of the Dolan Performance Hall, on campus in the Annunciation Center, Wednesday, September 14, 2011, at 7:30 p.m. His presentation Have a Little Faith is also the title of his latest best-selling book. The College is located at 2 Convent Road, Morristown, N.J. Tickets are priced at $25 each for the general public; $15 for students with valid identification and for senior citizens, 65 years old and older. For ticket information, call 973-290-4378 or email events@cse.edu.

Have a Little Faith documents Albom’s eight-year journey of how community and faith pull people together and how the potential is in all of us for a giving, meaningful life. His first claim to fame is as the author of the bestseller Tuesdays with Morrie, which was made into a television movie starring Jack Lemmon and Hank Azaria. That movie won three Emmys, two Golden Globes, and one Screen Actors’ Guild Award.

Albom followed with two more best-sellers The Five People You Meet in Heaven and For One More Day. His books have sold more than 28 million copies worldwide and have been published in 42 languages.

In addition to being the author of several, thought-provoking books, Albom is a highly respected sports writer. He is the lead sports columnist for the Detroit Free Press, where he writes a second column that appears in the “Comment” section on Sunday, dealing with American life and values. That column was eventually syndicated across the country. Albom was named best sports columnist in the nation a record 13 times by the Associated Press Sports Editors and won best feature writing honors from that same organization a record seven times. No other writer has received the award more than once. He has won more than 200 other writing honors from organizations including the National Headliner Awards, the American Society of Newspaper Editors, and the National
Sportscasters and Sportswriting Association, and National Association of Black Journalists. In June 2010, Albom was awarded the Associated Press Sports Editors’ Red Smith Award for lifetime achievement, presented at the annual APSE convention in Salt Lake City, Utah.

A true Renaissance man, Albom is also a screenwriter, playwright, radio and television broadcaster, and musician. He wrote the television screenplays for both For One More Day and The Five People You Meet in Heaven and has authored numerous pieces for the theater, including the off-Broadway version of Tuesdays With Morrie (co-written with Jeffrey Hatcher) that has seen more than 100 productions across the United States and Canada.

On The Mitch Albom Show, his daily radio talk show on WJR, he has interviewed such luminaries as Paul McCartney, Tony Bennett, Tom Cruise, Cameron Crowe, Stephen King, Jon Voight, and Betty White. He also appears regularly on two ESPN shows: The Sports Reporters and Sports Center. He is a member of the Rock Bottom Remainders, a rock band composed of well-known writers such as Dave Barry, Stephen King, Amy Tan, and Scott Turow.

Sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, Convent Station, New Jersey, the College of Saint Elizabeth enrolls more than 2,100 full- and part-time students in more than 25 undergraduate, 10 graduate and one doctoral degree programs. For information on other activities or programs, visit the College of Saint Elizabeth web site at www.cse.edu.

Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey Hosts Benefit Performance For the College of Saint Elizabeth Friday, July 15, 2011

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey and the College of Saint Elizabeth celebrate their 10-year collaboration with a benefit performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the College’s outdoor Greek Theatre, Friday, July 15, 2011, 8:15 p.m. All proceeds from the event will benefit CSE student scholarships. Tickets can be purchased by calling 973-290-4449. Prices are $33 for adults; $17 for teen agers; $10 for children under 12; and free for children five years old and younger. The play opens June 22 and closes July 31, 2011. The College is located at 2 Convent Road, Morristown, N.J.


CSE Outdoor Greek Theatre Provides a Unique Venue for Performances

Created in 1932, the CSE Greek Theatre was a labor of love. Constructed by College employees using stones gathered from the campus under the supervision of Sister Marie Victoire Corr of the Latin Department, it is modeled after the Theater of Dionysius in Athens. Throughout the following decades, the theatre has become a favorite destination on campus and the site of many plays and concerts.
Play is One of the Bard’s Most Popular Works

Boy loves girl … girl loves boy … boy doesn’t love girl … It is an old story, but when Shakespeare doses his characters with a love potion, and adds the antics of fairies, the story becomes magical. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays, filled with hilarious situations that will delight audiences of all ages. It is the perfect play to see under a summer moon.

Sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, Convent Station, New Jersey, the College of Saint Elizabeth enrolls more than 2,100 full- and part-time students in more than 25 undergraduate, 10 graduate and one doctoral degree programs. For information on other activities or programs, visit the College of Saint Elizabeth web site at www.cse.edu.

College of Saint Elizabeth Hosts Poetry Reading Related to Water, Water, Anywhere Art Exhibition, July 14, 2011

Several poets will travel to the College of Saint Elizabeth July 14, 2011, to read their water-themed works as part of cultural program coinciding with the College’s current art exhibition, Water, Water, Anywhere. The reading of water poems will take place from 7 to 8 p.m. in the Upper Lobby of Annunciation Center, on the CSE campus, 2 Convent Road, Morristown, N.J.

The exhibition, which opened June 23 and closes September 10, looks at H2O in all its states through a variety of paintings, sculptures, photographs, conceptual pieces, and mixed media art works. It is located in the CSE Therese A. Maloney Art Gallery, also in the Annunciation Center.

These events are free to the public. The gallery is open Tuesday-Sunday, 4:30 to 8 p.m. and is closed Mondays and major holidays. For more information, contact CSE at 973-290-4315; www.maloneyartgallery.org.

Artists from Several States Participate in Exhibition

The Water, Water, Anywhere art exhibition presents works from the following artists:

Rob Barth, Lafayette, N.J.
Shimmer Column, Aluminum ball chain, machined ceiling panel
One In Eight People Lacks Access To Clean Water, Glass pitcher, 8 oz. drinking glass, sand, pedestal, table cloth
Leak, Plexiglas
Bette Blank, Madison, N.J.
The Diver, Oil on canvas
Jean Burdick, Yardley, Pa.
Spanning, Acrylic on panel
Elaine Chong, Summit, N.J.
Description not available
Doug Depice, Secaucus, N.J.
The Water Front, Acrylic paint on paper
Train Car in the Rain, Acrylic paint on paper
Freight Yard, Acrylic paint on paper
Todd L. W. Doney, Gillette, N.J.
Trees, September 12, 2010, 6:41 PM, Oil on canvas
Trees, February 2, 4:55 PM, Oil on linen
Donna Faranda, Ossining, N.Y.
Northern Exposure, Digital ink-jet print
George Garbeck, Township of Washington, N.J.
Contrasts, Photograph
Adel Gorgy, Baldwin Harbor, N.Y.
January 31, 2001 7:25 am, (from the Portfolio "I and the Sun"), Archival Pigment Ink Print
Sister Anne Haarer, Morristown, N. J.
Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Charcoal, ink and gold leaf on paper
Barnegat Bay, Oil on Canvas
Valerie Huhn, New York, N.Y.
110223-2BK-f_K_2, C-print
Untitled, Running time: 2:05 minutes
Terral Jordan, Cockeysville, Md.
Doubtful Sound, photograph
Salk Institute, photograph
Stewart Island, New Zealand, photograph
Ranchos de Taos, photograph
Taj and Bike, photograph
Marietta Patricia Leis, Albuquerque, N.M.
Molten Reflections, 1-6, Oil on wood
Marla Lombard, Long Beach, Calif.
Untitled 7, Acrylic and ink on clay panel
Untitled (water, sepia), Acrylic and ink on clay panel
Maria Lupo, Roseland, N. J.
Book of Life, Topsoil and mixed media
So Yoon Lym, North Haledon, N. J.
Great Falls of Paterson, Acrylic on paper
Claire Marcus, Bethlehem, Pa.
East River, Digital photograph
Russ McIntosh, Vienna, Va.
Woman Reclining, Digital photo manipulation
Arlene Gale Milgram, Trenton, N. J.
Mist (from the “Energy Map” Series), Graphite, alcohol, acrylic on canvas
Storm (from the “Energy Map” Series), Graphite, alcohol, acrylic on canvas
River Rocks (from the “Energy Map” Series), Graphite, alcohol, acrylic on canvas
Stream Side (from the “Energy Map” Series), Graphite, alcohol, acrylic on canvas
Bascha Mon, Long Valley, N.J.
From the Ruins, Encaustic and collage on paper
Searching for Paradise (Lost?), Watercolor, graphite, collage and encaustic on paper
Maelstrom # 2, Encaustic and collage on paper
Disintegrating (Double Portrait), Encaustic on paper
Loss: Roadkil, Mixed Media Installation: wooden artist’s easel, acrylic on wall board
Found objects, paper, encaustic, plastic child’s chair, wood, metal
car parts, mirror, foam, lace telephone wire, feather, deer antler,
and plaster
Irmari Nacht, Englewood, N.J.
83Atlas1960, Recycled book, wetted, painted, distressed
Cade Pemberton, New York, N.Y.
Oil on Water, Acrylic on paper
Wave, Gouache on black paper
Frank Pietrucha, Basking Ridge, N.J.
The Frigate and the Wave, Watercolor
Ben Pinder, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Atlantean/Pirate War, Ink, inkwash, watercolor on paper, wooden and gold frames, Variable Dimensions
Lahary Pittman, Callicoon, N.Y.
Icefall, Gelatin silver print
The Undercast III, Gelatin Silver print
Lauren Rosenthal, Lambertville, N.J.
Middle Delaware - Musconetcong River Watershed, Hand-cut watercolor paper
Raúl Villarreal, Verona, N.J.
Memories of a Voyage Never Taken, Oil on canvas
Sue Zwick, Summit, N.J.
Dwelling, Chettinad, India, Archival Inkjet Print
Public Laundry, Mumbai, India, Archival Inkjet Print
Family Laundry, Chettinad, India, Archival Inkjet Print

Sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, Convent Station, New Jersey, the College of Saint Elizabeth enrolls more than 2,100 full- and part-time students in more than 25 undergraduate, 10 graduate and one doctoral degree programs. For information on other activities or programs, visit the College of Saint Elizabeth web site at www.cse.edu.