2008 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI LEADERSHIP AWARDS
DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI
Distinguished Alumna/us Leadership Award Nomination and Selection Process
The recipient of the Distinguished Alumna/us Leadership Award shall have demonstrated outstanding achievement and leadership in one or more of the following areas: education, business and professions, science and technology, arts, voluntary services and philanthropy.
Below is a list of the 2008 Distinguished Alumni Awardees, along with a brief bio highlighting some of their accomplishments.
FLORA GORIROSSI – BOURDEAU ’47
Flora Gorirossi-Bourdeau, an internationally recognized acarologist and teacher, has specialized in the study of ticks and mites. Following her graduation from Seton Hill with a degree in chemistry, she earned a Masters in Parasitology and Bacteriology at Catholic University. She accepted a position as a research assistant at the University of Texas Medical School where she examined the transmission of the tropical rat mite for the Office of Naval Research by day and, at night, conducted her own investigations into the feeding mechanism of the mite.
Following a year in research at Duke University, Flora received a Fulbright Grant to study at the Instituto Agraria in Florence, Italy, the home of the world’s largest collection of mesostigmata mites, assembled by Antonio Berlese. Upon her return, she married Philippe Bourdeau and received her PhD from Duke while Phillipe received his doctorate in biology.
After completing academic assignments at Duke, Yale, and in Africa and Milano, Flora and her family, including three daughters, relocated to Bruxelles where she taught and served as head of the Science Department at the American International School. Determined to return to the research that she loved, Flora began her association with the Royal Museum of Natural History in Bruxelles while traveling to Florence to reexamine the Berlese Mite collection. In 1995 she was awarded by the Museum the Prix Adolphe Crevecoeur for the best scientific paper published that year. To honor her, the Instituto Agraria is creating a Gorirossi-Bourdeau section to house Flora’s drawings, descriptions, and correspondence.
Flora and her husband reside in Bruxelles while continuing their commutes to Venice and the United States.
BECKY T. KERNS ’48
Becky Kerns, a pioneer in the field of electronics, has had an outstanding career with the Bell Telephone Laboratories that included four patents to her name. A chemistry major at Seton Hill, she taught as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry 101 at Geneva College, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania before earning her MS in Analytical Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh.
Becky accepted a position as a Research Information Specialist with Dow Corning for a year and then began her 32-year career with the Electronic Component Processes Department of Bell Telephone Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey. In 1961 she was a member of the technical team that demonstrated the first successful method to electroplate silver on the waveguides of Telstar, the first communication satellite. She developed a process for depositing metals from solutions on substrates for miniaturized devices and oversaw the assembly of experimental models of carbon surge protectors. Also to her credit were the visual inspection technology for binocular microscopes and the ISO certification of Bell’s first electronic device. Lloyds of London examined and approved the initial submission.
In 1985 Becky was named a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff, an honor reserved for employees with a track record of technological innovations at Bell Laboratories. Outside the science lab Becky has been involved in Affirmative Action and has encouraged young women to pursue careers in science. She has served in leadership roles for the American Association of University Women and continues her work to provide grants to women who complete graduate degrees in fields where females are underrepresented. She is a board member of the Manley-Winser Foundation that funds grants for community organizations and is a 25-year volunteer for Overlook Hospital in Summit, New Jersey, her home.
ELLEN FITZGERALD ‘53
Ellen Fitzgerald, Seton Hill’s pride and joy as a class news agent/reunion chair, exudes enthusiasm as she communicates numerous times each year to her classmates via newsletters and phone calls. She is the glue that holds her class together and closely bonded to their Alma Mater.
An English major at Seton Hill, Ellen earned an MA in English from Columbia University. For the next five years she taught English in East Meadow, Long Island and then departed for Aruba where she taught in the Lago Community High School. Several years later adventure summoned her again and she set off with a friend to tour the world by freighter.
Upon her return to the United States, she settled in Wilmington, Delaware and accepted a teaching position at Brandywine High School where she taught English, Creative Writing, and Journalism. She assisted the Delaware Department of Education in implementing behavioral objectives into their curriculum development and set up workshops, taught theories, and supervised model curricula in four disciplines. For her many efforts she was named Brandywine’s Teacher of the Year in 1985. Ellen retired in 1991 following 26 years of service.
In the community Ellen was instrumental in founding the Delaware Scholastic Press Association and chaired the organization for two years. An active member of the Delaware Institute for the Arts, she sat on its board and served as treasurer for five years.
Ellen continues to reside in Wilmington where she is active in her parish, St. Helena’s, delivers Meals on Wheels, and tapes newspaper articles for the blind.
LYNN CONROY ‘58
Lynn Conroy, dynamic instructor, poet, and life-long learner, has taught for most of her life since her graduation as an English major from Seton Hill. She was a Teaching Assistant at both Duquesne and Indiana Universities and an Instructor at Immaculata Junior College before she returned to Seton Hill to teach in all areas of the English curriculum. Her specialties included 19th and 20th English and American literature as well as workshops in creative writing and poetry.
Recipient of an MA from Duquesne University, Lynn studied post graduate courses at Georgetown and the University of Pittsburgh before earning her PhD at Indiana University.
At Seton Hill she was active in the revitalization of the Core Curriculum and taught one of the first experimental Freshman Seminars as well a Senior Seminar. Lynn’s sabbaticals involved reaching out to other cultures as she traveled to China, Korea, Japan, Puerto Rico, and Ecuador to teach and to lecture. She inaugurated the Seton Hill academic exchanges with Nanjing University in China and Nanzan Junior College in Japan. A very important era in Lynn’s life was her membership in the Sisters of Charity community for seventeen years. During her tenure at Seton Hill Lynn was President of the Faculty Association, a member of the Academic Senate, and was named English Department Chair and Chair of the Humanities Division. Honored as Professor of the Year, she has had poetry published in Living Inland and other campus journals.
Lynn and husband Bernard Brown, both retired, spend part of each year in Florida where she teaches writing workshops and short fiction in a Seniors program.
FRANCES PELLICANO DEPAUL ‘58
Frances Pellicano DePaul, innovative teacher and administrator par excellence, followed her two older sisters, Pauline Territo, and Marie Hinchliffe, to Seton Hill where she earned a degree in Home Economics. Following her graduation she received a Master of Retailing from the University of Pittsburgh and then completed her doctorate.
At Wheeler School, a private business school in Pittsburgh, she developed a merchandising and retail program, the first coeducational program of its kind in the United States. In the nine years that she served as director, Wheeler School grew from four to 500 full time students.
A move to the Westmoreland County Community College provided Fran with the opportunity to create and administer a Retailing Program with options in Retail Management and Fashion Merchandising. To enhance the program and provide experience for her students she produced and directed fifteen annual fashion show events which were covered by all local media.
In response to a changing market Fran replaced these programs with a highly successful Marketing Program that incorporated distance learning techniques and enabled students to complete their Associate Degrees on line, in the classroom, or a combination of both.
Off campus, as Director of the Pittsburgh Fashion Mart, she oversaw three-day tradeshow events which drew approximately 1000 retailers from ten states. She has served as Director of Pittsburgh Chapter of Fashion Group International and as advisor to the Costume Society of America as well as an active fundraiser for Westmoreland Museum of American Art. To enable Westmoreland County Community College’s “best and brightest” students to attend Seton Hill and finish their degrees, Fran has created an estate plan to assist them.
She and husband John, who live in Jeannette, are parents of two children and have two grandchildren.
SANDRA DAVIS ‘69
Sandra Davis, the first woman attorney to become a partner in a Westmoreland County law firm that was not family-based, shares her time and legal expertise generously in the community. Following her graduation from Seton Hill she taught both elementary and junior high school for the Greater Latrobe School District. A certified Reading Specialist and Reading Supervisor, Sandra also earned her Masters of Education at the University of Pittsburgh and pursued doctoral studies. When her career focus shifted to law she completed her Juris Doctorate at Duquesne University School of Law’s night school. While Sandra was a law student she worked for two summers as a law clerk in a Greensburg firm that offered her a full time position after she received her law degree. Her next position, a Custody Conciliation Master for the Westmoreland County Judges, was a part time one and she began her association with her current firm, DeBernardo, Antoniono, McCabe, Davis, and DeDiana, PC. Sandra was the first woman attorney in Westmoreland County to receive an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, a peer review based on ethical standards and legal ability.
In her community she is an ardent supporter of the Westmoreland County Epilepsy Sports Dinner and has assisted in raising more than $750,000 for the organization. She is an “angel” to the Stage Right Theater Company and volunteers for the Bethlehem Project at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral to alleviate homelessness in the community.
Sandra served as Bishop Anthony Bosco’s personal representative to the Administrative Board of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, the watchdog organization for all state legislation of interest to the Catholic Church. She was appointed the first alumna to serve on the Greensburg Central Catholic School Council and was a two-term member of the Seton Hill Alumni Corporation Board of Directors.
A Jeannette resident, Sandra is the mother of a son who is a Philadelphia attorney, and two grandchildren.
JANICE FLOOD NICHOLS ‘69
Janice Flood Murphy, author of Twin Voices: A Memoir of Polio, the Forgotten Killer, has devoted the last five years to research and writing of her own personal tragedy with polio. Her twin brother, Frankie, died of polio on All Saints Day, 1953. Jan was admitted to the hospital with the disease the night of Frankie’s funeral. Fortunately, through intensive physical therapy, Jan recovered and regained strength.
Following her graduation from Seton Hill with a degree in psychology, Jan earned a Masters in Education from the University of Pittsburgh. She worked in the social service department at Community General Hospital in Syracuse before accepting a position as an instructor in the Graduate School of Social Work at Syracuse University.
After the birth of her son, Kevin, Jan retreated from the working world to raise him and to volunteer for his school, CCD, and Scout activities. She also became very involved with Zonta International of Lockport, an organization dedicated to the advancement of women worldwide. Other activities include membership in the Lockport College’s Women’s Club and the March of Dimes. In addition, Jan assumed the responsibility of administrative work for her husband’s medical practice in orthopedic surgery, while continuing to pursue her writing. She has written extensively through the years including a text for medical social workers, a history of Dubois, and numerous articles for newspapers for newspapers and magazines. Her most recent and most poignant is Twin Voices: A Memoir of Polio, the Forgotten Killer. Published last year, this very moving account received honorable mention in both nonfiction and biography at the 2007 London Book Festival for its combination of personal experience and scientific fact.
DONNA DURNO ‘71
Donna Durno, outstanding educational administrator, is currently the Executive Director of the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, an educational support organization that employs 2,000 individuals in 130 programs and services to school districts and communities in Allegheny County. Donna attended Seton Hill as a married mother with three young children. A home economics major, she spent the first ten years following her graduation working for the Norwin School District teaching, establishing a Career Office in the high school, and as Director of Federal Programs. During this time she received her Masters in Education in Secondary Guidance and Counseling from Indiana University and a PhD in Educational Administration from the University of Pittsburgh. She was named Assistant Superintendent for Instruction and Pupil Services in York County and then returned to western Pennsylvania as Superintendent of Mars Area School District. A tenure as Superintendent of the Susquehanna Township preceded her appointment as Pennsylvania’s Commissioner of Basic Education by Governor Casey in 1987.
Two years later Donna resigned her state position and spent the next year traveling the country and teaching in 46 schools in 19 states. She remained in San Francisco where she was named Senior Vice President of Education for Heald Colleges, a consortium of 17 junior colleges in three states. Donna’s volunteer activities include Board memberships on the Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board and their Youth Policy Council, the United Way of Allegheny County, and Junior Achievement of Western Pennsylvania. She serves as Chair of the Commission on Secondary Schools of the Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges and was recently named Renaissance Communicator of the Year by the Public Relations Society of America’s Pittsburgh Chapter.
Donna and husband Dan Torisky have seven children including Seton Hill graduates, Danielle Torisky ’80, Rebecca Torisky ’81, and Kristen Wall Chou ’86. They also have ten grandchildren.
JONNIE G. GUERRA ‘73
Jonnie Guerra, distinguished educator who currently serves as Vice President for Academic Affairs at Cabrini College in Radnor, Pennsylvania, has spent her entire career in higher education. Following her graduation from Seton Hill as an English major, Jonnie earned her MA and PhD from Purdue University. She began her career as a faculty member at Mount. Vernon College in Washington, DC where she earned tenure and was appointed Director of the First-Year Program. Her next move was to Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio where, as Associate Academic Dean and Dean for Undergraduate Studies, she was the first woman to hold a senior leadership position. Randolph-Macon’s Woman’s College, now Randolph College, named her Dean of the College prior to her current appointment at Cabrini.
Between her last two appointments Jonnie took leave for a year to volunteer at an Adult Reading Academy in Lafayette where she worked with individuals with disabilities and was honored as “Volunteer in the Spotlight” for service.
A specialist in American literature, Jonnie has always had deep admiration for Emily Dickinson and has established an international reputation as a Dickinson scholar. She has directed the Emily Dickinson Society’s international conference and served as president of the society’s Board of Directors while also editing their Poet to Poet series.
Professionally Jonnie has served as Chair of both the Chief Academic Officer Steering Committee for the Council of Independent Colleges and the Chief Academic Steering Committee of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Consortium for Higher Education. A resident of Wayne, Pennsylvania, Jonnie has also been a member of the Middle States Commission Committee on Substantive Change since its inception.
ALICE J. KAYLOR ’73
Alice Kaylor, distinguished Peace Corps volunteer, is trend-setter at St. Vincent College, formerly a men’s institution. Currently serving as Dean of Studies at St. Vincent, Alice acknowledges that her professional life has been deeply rooted in the college’s Benedictine tradition.
The second of four Kaylor sisters to attend Seton Hill, Alice was preceded by Wilda ’71 and followed by Bobbi ’74 and Mary Ann ’78. The summer following her graduation she remained on campus to teach English with Sister Lois Sculco as part of the Act 101/Opportunity Program. An English major at Seton Hill, she then departed for the State University College at Buffalo where she earned an MS in English Education, received permanent New York certification, and participated in training for the Peace Corps. She is working on her doctoral dissertation – her hobby. In addition to her coursework, Alice fulfilled a community service requirement by teaching English to Yemenite women whose husbands worked in the Buffalo mills. Alice then reported for her Peace Corps assignment where she spent two years in Afghanistan teaching English. Upon her return she married Timothy Thompson, a fellow Peace Corps volunteer, and taught at the Language Institute. Her career track at St.Vincent began with her appointment to the St. Vincent Opportunity Program, subsequently as Director. Next assignments included Dean of Coeducational Affairs where she assisted in the transition from a men’s institution, Associate Dean of Students, Associate Academic Dean, interim Vice President for Student Affairs, and Dean of Studies.
Extensively involved in local her community, Alice has been recognized by the United States Peace Corps for her continued involvement in efforts toward world peace and was named National Alpha Lambda Delta Outstanding Advisor. She and Tim, parents of a daughter, Miranda, reside in Greensburg.
MARY ANN NOROSKI SCULLY ‘73
Mary Ann Noroski Scully, President and Chief Executive Officer of Howard Bank, led the organizing team that conceived of the bank, raised capital, formed a Board of Directors, and secured regulatory approval for the newest bank in Howard County, Maryland in over 15 years. In less than four years the bank has grown assets of $200,000,000. A career banker of more than thirty years, Mary Ann entered banking as one of First National Bank of Maryland’s first female management trainees and was quickly promoted to vice president in a new cash management department. Her work with corporate clients took her all over the country and soon all over the world when she was named Senior Vice President and Head of International Banking Group. When Mary Ann was reassigned to the Strategic Planning/Merger and Acquisition Group, her only son was born. Anxious to resume her responsibilities with clients, she was named Executive Vice President of the Regional Banking Group/Community Banking Group now known as Allfirst. She managed $8 billion in deposits, $6 billion in retail and commercial loans, $500 million in revenue and a staff of 3,000. When Allfirst was sold, Mary Ann pursued the challenge of establishing her own bank.
Very active in her community, Mary Ann serves as Vice Chair of The Columbia Foundation and its Fund, the Women’s Giving Circle, as a Board Member of the United Way of Central Maryland, and as Howard County Commissioner and Commissioner on the Future Howard Community College. Her honors and recognitions include Daily Record Influential Marylander, Howard County Hall of Fame, Howard County Chamber of Commerce Entrepreneur of the Year, Ernst and Young Top 25 Entrepreneurs, and Daily Record Maryland’s Top 100 Women.
Mary Ann, her husband James, and son James Jr. reside in West Friendship, Maryland.