Looking in the Rear View Mirror

The Fisher community has seen quite the transformation since this time last year. Looking back, it’s safe to say that great changes have taken place for the College.

Nearing the launch of the 2005-2006 academic year the St. John Fisher College Board of Trustees announced the School of Arts and Sciences to be the third school at Fisher, joining the Ronald L. Bittner School of Business and the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. School of Education. Dr. David Pate was appointed as the founding Dean of the School.

Two-hundred and twenty Fisher students were the first to reside in Keough Hall, the newest residential building, dedicated to Fisher’s former president, the late Dr. Katherine E. Keough. Upon walking into the residence hall, a photographic tribute to Dr. Keough takes up the entire length of a wall displaying momentous occasions during her years at the college.

The much anticipated $4.5 million dollar Campus Center was completed in the fall. The massive structure holds both faculty and club offices while offering a gathering place for students. The student area located on the first floor is complete with a small performance stage, flat screen TV’s, x-box’s and pool tables. The offices house clubs such as the Student Government Association (SGA), Student Activities Board (SAB), Resident Student Association (RSA), and Commuter Council. Also located on the first floor is the bookstore, which was moved from its former location in the Michaelhouse complex. The second floor accommodates the offices of the Dean of Students, Residential Life, Campus Life, and Campus Ministry.

Thanks to the $850,000 expansion of the Ward-Haffey dining hall, which added an additional 200 seats, finding a place to eat got much easier. With hopes to alleviate past parking problems an estimated 60 parking spots were added between Keough Hall’s surrounding location known as M Lot and U Lot behind Basil Hall.

Last January, the College announced that Robert B. Wegman had donated $5 million to fund the creation of the School of Pharmacy. On Sept. 12, 2005 Dr. Donald Bain, who was then serving as Interim President of the College, and members of the Wegman family broke ground with golden shovels marking the inception of the construction process. The three-story edifice containing classrooms, lab space, and administration and faculty offices is due to open this fall. A two-story atrium will connect the School of Pharmacy and the Skalny Science Center.

Singing sensation Gavin Degraw finally performed his latest hits in the Student Life Center (SLC) on Sept. 30, 2005. Concert goers had long awaited the event, which was initially scheduled in the spring. One dollar from each ticket sold contributed toward the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts at Fisher. 

After serving 14 months as Interim President, Dr. Donald Bain was declared St. the College’s sixth President on Nov. 18, 2005 at a press conference in the Wilson Rotunda. Bain, who has been a member of the Fisher community for over 30 years, was one of three final candidates for the position. The Vietnam veteran previously held the positions of assistant, associate, and full professor; chair of the Department of History; dean of Faculty; Provost and dean of the College; and acting President.

New to the campus is the Late-Night Haffey Café, which moved from the Fishbowl located in the Michaelhouse Complex. The new location compliments the Campus Center while offering supplementary cooking equipment such as grills and an oven for pizzas. Between the hours of 8 to 10 p.m. students can choose from an array of menu items using either their meal plan, dining dollars or cash. The Michaelhouse Complex location still serves lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday. through Friday.

President Bain announced in mid January that Robert B. Wegman presented the College with yet another generous offering, $8 million to fund a School of Nursing, the largest in Fisher’s history. The upcoming Wegmans School of Nursing will have its own dean, department chairs and faculty.

The 24th annual Teddi Dance for Love took place on Feb. 17 and 18 in the Napier Varsity Gym. The 24-hour dance marathon raised money to benefit terminally ill children at Camp Good Days and Special Times. The Dance for Love proceeds are used to help grant the last wishes of sick children. Last year, $20,360 was raised to help the Teddi Project, a program at the camp that makes dreams come true for families affected by youth related cancer.

As graduation time approached, the commencement ceremony was moved from Student Life Center (SLC) to the Blue Cross Arena, averting the prospect of dual ceremonies.

In sports news, Fisher athletes stepped it up even more than last year. Seniors Mike McGee and Kathy Baum of Fisher’s men’s and women’s basketball teams broke the single-season record for three-point field goals. McGee broke Fisher Hall of Famer Wakili Moore’s record of 74 with 77. Baum, who broke the former record of 79 with 86, is the 18th player in Division III to make more than 250 career three-pointers. In early March, the Cardinals excelled to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever. Two Fisher football team members, Noah Fehrenbach and Gene Lang, were named to the Don Hansen’s Football Gazette Division III All-American Team.

Not too long ago, Fisher Baseball went 1-3 against nationally-ranked Ithaca, beating the Bombers for the first time in the program’s history. The Hockey Club was forced to end its season due to a lack of funding.

In March, more than 150 students, faculty and staff volunteers from Fisher participated in Project Community Convergence, a service project seeking to revamp five schools in the Rochester City School District. Volunteers involved in the community service project painted, cleaned and organized classrooms at Benjamin Franklin Education Campus, Frederick Douglass Preparatory School, School No. 14, School No. 16, and School No. 23. They also planted trees, cleaned flowerbeds and picked up trash found around the outside area of the schools.

President Bain announced on March 24 that two doctoral programs were approved by the New York State Board of Regents to add to Fisher’s Master Degree plan. A Pharmacy Program leading to the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree and an Education Doctorate (Ed.D.) in Executive Leadership will now be offered.

Students finalized their housing plans for the 2006-2007 school year as April dawned. All housing applicants were eligible to participate in the housing selection process that took place on April 10 and 11, with all applicants guaranteed campus housing. Sixty-eight percent of current students submitted a housing application. A sum of 944 applicants, 933 residential and 11 commuter students, requested to live on campus.

On April 8, President Bain was officially inaugurated into office. The Chair of Fisher’s Board of Trustees Joseph R. Rulison awarded Dr. Bain with the presidential medallion, which represents the official seal of the College; and the mace, which is the symbol of the authority of the Office of the President.

Attendees of the ceremony were members of the Fisher community, as well as Bain’s colleagues from the Rochester area including The Honorable Francis A. Affronti, NYS Supreme Court Justice; The Honorable Jim Alesi, 55th District, NYS Senate; President of RIT Dr. Al Simone; Chair of the Faculty Assembly and Associate Professor of English at Fisher Dr. Deborah VanderBilt; Dr. Arthur Walton, Jr., Dean of the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. School of Education; President of the Alumni Board of Directors Victor Salerno; Mark Foti, President of the Student Government Association; and Dr. Mieczyslaw Biskupski, Professor of History at Central Connecticut State University.

By Claire Marren
cmm9031@sjfc.edu