January 1, 2013 Saint Mary’s College Announces 2013 Commencement News The College is proud to announce the 2013 Valedictorian is Allison Sherman, a computational mathematics major from Batavia, Illinois. The 2013 Commencement Speaker is social entrepreneur Kyle Zimmer, president and CEO of First Book, a non-profit that provides new books to children in need. She will receive an honorary doctor of humanities degree, as will Jennifer Mathile Prikkel ’95, a philanthropist, mentor, advocate, and entrepreneur whose list of priorities includes women’s access to quality education and fulfilling employment. January 1, 2013 Choirs to perform in Spring Choral Concert 2013, May 2 The Saint Mary’s College Department of Music will present the Spring Choral Concert with performances by the Saint Mary’s Women’s Choir and Collegiate Choir. The concert will take place on Thursday, May 2 at 7:30 p.m. in the Little Theater of the Moreau Center of the Arts. January 1, 2013 Political science professor on the impact of Sequestration (Fox 28) President Barack Obama signed the sequester order Friday night that triggered $85 billion in mandated budget cuts. The cuts will be gradual, for the most part, taking months for most Americans to feel. Maybe that’s why most Americans don’t seem to care about the issue. Political science professor Patrick Pierce told Fox 28, “This seems like the same old game played out again. There seems to be a fatigue on the part of the public…if there was great public outrage it would change the politics that’s there.” January 1, 2013 Zimmer to be Commencement Speaker (The Observer) Social entrepreneur Kyle Zimmer will be the Commencement speaker for the Saint Mary’s College Class of 2013. Zimmer is the president and CEO of First Book, a non-profit organization that provides books to children in need. She founded and became president of First Book in 1995, and the organization, under her leadership, has distributed over 100 million books to children nationwide, according to the press release. Senior Silvia Cuevas, senior class president, said she is looking forward to Zimmer’s address. January 1, 2013 Four New Members to the Board of Trustees Announced Saint Mary’s College welcomes four members to the Board of Trustees. Elected to the board are Sister Alma Mary Anderson, CSC ’65, Russell L. Blackwell, and Anne Meagher Northup ’70. Malea Schulte ’14 was appointed as the student trustee. The terms began in June. January 1, 2013 Professor Emerita of Business Named Fulbright Scholar Saint Mary’s College is proud to announce that the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board has selected Susan Vance, professor emerita of business law and accounting, as a Fulbright Scholar Grantee to Thailand. Beginning in November, Vance will spend four months as a Fulbright Scholar in Residence at the College of Management at Mahidol University (CMMU) in Bangkok. January 1, 2013 A Prayer for Our Brothers and Sisters in the Philippines The Office of Campus Ministry at Saint Mary's College shares this prayer for the people of the Philippines suffering the effects of Typhoon Haiyan. January 1, 2013 Belles Shut Out by Fightin' Quakers WILMINGTON, Ohio - The Saint Mary's soccer team suffered a 3-0 setback at the hands of Wilmington on Saturday afternoon. January 1, 2013 Saint Mary's Makes a Promise (South Bend Tribune) In this opinion piece, Saint Mary's College President Carol Ann Mooney addresses a subject in the news a lot lately: the high cost of higher education and its perceived value. "Statistics show that it takes the average student more than five years to attain a bachelor’s degree...Finishing college in eight semesters is a key way to make higher education more affordable...We are so confident that our students will graduate in four years that we recently announced our 'Four-Year Graduation Promise.'"