Campus Events
Intuition, Denial, and Survival
St. Clare and St. Francis Week
S E P T E M B E R 17
S E P T E M B E R 30– O C T O B E R 5
In celebration of the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi,
St. Francis College reaffirmed its belief in the ideals
and values of the College’s patron saint; respect for
others, service to the community, social justice and
care for the environment.
St. Clare and St. Francis Week recognized
the life and legacy of the two people who served as
living models to others and inspired a worldwide
movement for good that continues to thrive more
than 8 0 0 years later.
The College hosted a number of events during
the week, including an interdenominational prayer
service, a screening of An Inconvenient Truth, and
a Mass for the Feast of St. Francis.
In addition, students, faculty and staff collected
canned goods for a food drive to benefit the
C.H.I.P.S. Soup Kitchen in Park Slope.
Gavin de Becker,
a leading expert on
predicting and
managing violence
and author of The Gift
of Fear, spoke to a
standing room only
audience about the
importance of intuition,
the danger of denial,
and how the battle between these two impulses lies
at the root of our survival.
Constitution Day
Communication Arts Professor Scott Weiss with
Filmmaker Jim Finn.
S E P T E M B E R 19
Steven Dean, Professor
of Law at Brooklyn
Law School had an
open discussion with
St. Francis College
Accounting and
Business Law Professor
Miriam Salholz about
The Supreme Court
and Marriage Equality.
The event which featured an introduction by
Rafael Caban ’14, President of the St. Thomas
More Pre-Law Society celebrated the 226th
anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution.
Sahadi’s Kicks Off
Entrepreneurship Center Series
S E P T E M B E R 24
Christine Whelan, a third generation member
of the Sahadi family which runs the Brooklyn
landmark Sahadi’s store on Atlantic Avenue
helped kick off the opening of the St. Francis
Center for Entrepreneurship. Whelan spoke about
the challenges of growing a business across
generations and the importance of being part
of the community. (Read More about the Center
on the next page.)
St. Francis Executive in Residence Mary
Gelormino, Executive Director of the Atlantic
Avenue BID Josef Szende, Executive Chair of
the Center for Entrepreneurship Dennis
Anderson with Christine Whelan.
The Juche Idea
S E P T E M B E R 25
Avant garde filmmaker Jim Finn presented and
discussed his award winning film, The Juche Idea,
which is inspired by the real-life story of a South
Korean director kidnapped by North Korea in an
attempt to invigorate the film industry in the North.
Thomas J. Volpe Lecture Series Presents: Neil deGrasse Tyson
S E P T E M B E R 30
F
ounders Hall was bursting at the seams while dozens more people watched on closed circuit in
Callahan Center as Neil deGrasse Tyson, Director of the Hayden Planetarium delivered the 2013
Thomas J. Volpe Lecture. The astrophysicist spoke openly about the challenges and possibilities
we face as a society. He urged a rededication to science in the United States, seeing a turnaround in
attitudes and a more favorable opinion of science than in past years. DeGrasse Tyson pointed out that
The Big Bang Theory is the most popular show on TV, “and the equations on the board are always
correct.” He also pointed to the upcoming series Cosmos, which he will be hosting and will be on in
prime time on Fox. After the talk, deGrasse Tyson gamely signed books and posed for dozens of selfies
with students and members of the community.
The lecture series is funded through a generous gift from Thomas J. Volpe, Chairman Emeritus
of the St. Francis College Board of Trustees and a former Senior Vice President of Financial Operations
for The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc.
Honors Student Katherine Hickman ’16 with Neil deGrasse
Tyson. A B O V E : Thomas J. Volpe, Cyril D. Tyson ’53, President Brendan J.
Dugan ’68 with Neil deGrasse Tyson.
T O P - L E F T:
S T. FR A NC I S COL L EGE T ERR IER | W IN T ER 2013-2014 | 7