MERCYHURST HONORS 6 AS DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI Mercyhurst University honored six outstanding graduates as Distinguished Alumni during Reunion Weekend 2017, held June 9-11 on the Erie campus. also later studied nursing and developed Wellsprings, a program for the older sisters residing at the motherhouse. She worked in both ministries until retiring in 2013. president to sit on the college’s Board of Trustees and served on the search committee that named President Tom Gamble.
Sister Patricia Whalen joined the Mercyhurst education faculty in 1970, developing and teaching courses in elementary curriculum and methods. She also oversaw the Cadet Teaching Program and pre-teaching internship experiences, even after she gave up her regular teaching load to join the Sisters of Mercy leadership team. Returning to campus in 1997, she served as assistant academic dean and later as registrar, retiring in 2016. The Outstanding Young Alumnus Award went to Simon Arias ’05. Arias joined the sales force with American Income Life right after graduation. Today, at just 33, he’s an agency owner with 12 locations in fve states and sits on the company’s executive council. In 2011 and 2012 he was named AIL’s agency owner of the year internationally. He is also active in community service, helping establish a branch of “Inspiring Minds” in his hometown of Youngstown, Ohio, to inspire at-risk youth to reach their full potential. His video blog—called The GRIND, for Get Ready It’s a New Day—ofers daily motivational and educational messages. A Laker football player, Arias has led groups of alumni to develop the Alumni Hill area and the new video scoreboard at Tullio Field.
The Award for Outstanding Achievement in a Chosen Field went to John Saxon ’89, chief executive ofcer and director of dlhBOWLES, the leading supplier of air and fuid management products to the automotive industry. Saxon had been President and CEO of DLH Industries since 2004, leading the company to record growth. When DLH merged with Bowles Fluidics Corporation in 2015, he was chosen to lead the new company, which employs more than 2,200 people at manufacturing and distribution locations in Ohio, Maryland, Texas, Mexico and Italy. A certifed public accountant, he earned an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh. He serves on Mercyhurst’s Board of Trustees. Awards for Outstanding Service to the Community went to Sister Catherine Edward Delaney, RSM ’66 and Maureen Aleci Gray ’65. Sister Catherine Edward Delaney taught piano and choral music in diocesan schools, and earned a master’s degree in music education from Duquesne. Early in her teaching career, she and Patricia Daley developed a preschool curriculum to encourage creativity and learning through art and music. Forty-seven years later, the Mercy Center of the Arts is still going strong with the addition of science and dramatic movement to the curriculum. Sister
Gray taught English and French for 21 years, and then retrained for a second career as an investment counselor, but she is best known for her work to better her community. Gray has served on the boards of many organizations, including Girls, Inc., Worcester Junior League, Seven Hills Foundation and the Women’s Initiative of United Way of Central Massachusetts. United Way gave her its Lois B. Green Leadership Award, recognizing in particular her work promoting teen fnancial literacy. The Bancroft School gave her its Robert W. Stoddard Award for Outstanding Community Service, calling her “someone who works behind the scenes connecting people to organizations to help make our community thrive.” Awards for Outstanding Service to Mercyhurst were presented to Michael Malpiedi ’81 and Sister Patricia Whalen, RSM ’63. Malpiedi joined the sales force for Rocket 101 radio in Erie in 1991 and today is general manager for Connoisseur Media’s cluster of six stations in Erie. He joined the Mercyhurst Alumni Board in the 1990s, serving for 16 years while the board’s role expanded to serving as a voice for alumni with the college administration. The board’s president from 2002 to 2010, he was the frst alumni board
’ LEFT: Seated, Sister Catherine Edward Delaney, RSM ’66 and Sister Patricia Whalen, RSM ’63; standing, Michael Malpiedi ’81, Simon Arias ’05 and John Saxon ’89. RIGHT: Maureen Aleci Gray ’65 with President Michael T. Victor and Melanie Titzel, Ph.D. ’80, president of Mercyhurst s National Alumni Association.
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