January 1, 2012 Saint Mary's Given $10 Million for Science Hall (various media) Saint Mary's College has received a $9 million private contribution to fund a major renovation of the campus Science Hall. The gift, from philanthropists MaryAnn and Clayton Mathile, is the largest private gift in the college's history. In addition, Jennifer Mathile Prikkel, the Mathile's daughter and a 1995 Saint Marys graduate, has donated $1 million toward the project, resulting in a combined gift of $10 million. We received more than 50 media hits on this story. Below are links to some of the stories. January 1, 2012 Alumna Theresa Borchard '93 on "The Moment I First Knew I Was Depresse... Therese Johnson Borchard ’93 is associate editor of Psych Central, where she contributes regularly to the award-winning blog, “World of Psychology.” She also writes the daily blog, “Beyond Blue,” on Beliefnet.com, which is featured regularly on The Huffington Post and several other websites, and moderates the popular depression support, Beyond Blue, on Beliefnet’s community site. In this article she mentions Saint Mary's College, which she often does. Borchard was the 2011 Commencement Speaker at Saint Mary's. January 1, 2012 Environmental Studies Students "Investigate" Dining Hall (South Bend T... Caitlin Yonto '12 and Kathleen Lay '12, the first students to receive minors in Environmental Studies, conducted an "investigation" in the dining hall last semester. Their mission: Determine how much of the food served at the college is locally produced and comes from fair, ecologically sound, and humane food sources (aka “real food”). Barry Bowles, director of dining services, handed the students the keys to his office, the kitchen, the freezer, and the storage room. January 1, 2012 Broadway's Audra McDonald Coming to Saint Mary's (playbill.com) Playbill posted Broadway star Audra McDonald's January 28 visit to Saint Mary's College on its website. Five students are preparing to perform for her in a master class. What an opportunity! Alumna and Broadway producer Margaret Hill makes these annual visiting artist opportunities possible through her endowment. January 1, 2012 Saint Mary's College Announces $10 Million Combined Gift With gratitude, Saint Mary's College President, Carol Ann Mooney, announced today that Saint Mary’s received the largest single private gift in the College’s 167-year history. January 1, 2012 A Student's Best Friend (South Bend Tribune) Most college dormitory policies clearly state "no pets allowed," but that's no longer the case at Saint Mary's College. In an attempt to attract more seniors to live on campus, the college now allows seniors living in Regina South to keep dogs weighing less than 30 pounds and cats. Students Cassandra Jerkovic '13 and Mara Scott '13 are interviewed for this article, as is Janielle Tchakerian, assistant vice president for Student Affairs and director of Residence Life. January 1, 2012 Human Trafficking, More Common Than We Think (Ask an Expert, WNIT-PBS) She's appeared on The Today Show, MSNBC and several other television shows and Friday, Theresa Flores spoke at Saint Mary's. As a teen from an upper-middle class family in Michigan, Flores was forced into the sex trade and talked about her experience. Her story is an example of human trafficking. The College’s Justice Education Program and Congregation’s Justice Office coordinated the engagement, with support from Social Work students in the course Human Behavior and the Social Environment II. Flores, who is a licensed social worker, also spoke about what students can do to join the abolitionist movement. On this local PBS program, "Ask an Expert," Flores appears with Jan Pilarski, director of Justice Education at Saint Mary's; Amy Smessaert, director of communications for the Sisters of the Holy Cross; and Becky Callendar, with S-O-S of St. Joseph County. January 1, 2012 College Announces New Director of Gift Planning Saint Mary’s College is pleased to announce and welcome Jennifer Winnett Denniston ’98 as director of gift planning. Denniston began her position earlier this fall. In her new position Denniston serves as the primary representative for the Mother Pauline Society, the College’s gift planning society. Denniston works with alumnae and friends of the College as Saint Mary’s gift planning representative for the development and administration of a comprehensive gift-planning program. January 1, 2012 Old Issues Linger in This Election (South Bend Tribune) Political science professor Sean Savage is interviewed on what the issues are that voters care about. He says it boils down to how much people want the government to be involved in the economy. "Even though technically the recession ended in 2009, we still have a stagnant economy and slow economic growth," Savage said. "People are trying to figure out why we have a slow economy and what we can do about it."