Happenings at the Hurst Spadafor gift to benefit music department
Erie native Christine Spadafor, an accomplished executive whose extensive career experience ranges from corporate board rooms to nonprofts, announced a generous gift this spring that will beneft Mercyhurst’s D’Angelo Department of Music. Spadafor, who also spoke at Mercyhurst’s 91st Commencement on May 12, chose to name the gift in honor of her late mother, Mary – a tribute to her mother’s lifelong love of music, as well as her commitment to community service. The Mary A. Spadafor Endowed Chair of Music will support the salary, professional development, expenses and other scholarly activities of the chair of the Mercyhurst Music Department, a position currently held by Nathan Hess. The Mary Pellegrino Spadafor Scholarship for Voice Performance is merit-based and will help with activities like internships, music festival study, and graduate school auditions. The inaugural scholarship recipient is senior Lydia Bolin of Orono, Maine. Both endowments will be administered by the Erie Community Foundation.
Although neither Spadafor nor members of her family are Mercyhurst alumni, Spadafor said they are well aware of Mercyhurst’s acclaimed music program as well as the university’s overarching commitment to arts and culture. “These gifts are endowments because we seek to make more than a momentary gesture,” she
said. “Rather, we desire that mom’s generosity and kindness to others be carried forward in perpetuity.” She made the same point when she addressed the Class of 2019. Spadafor challenged students to balance external success with the more internal rewards of purpose, meaning and giving back to others.
Christine Spadafor poses with several graduating seniors she interviewed while preparing her commencement speech. From left: Cole Prots, Christian Copper, Meghan Maker, Abby Miller, Christine Spadafor, Daisy Le, Maura West, Rachel Hull, Erin Jenkins and Vince Marrazzo. Marrazzo – this year’s Carpe Diem Award winner – also spoke at graduation. (Photo by GradImages)
Dance studio renamed to honor Tauna Hunter
Studio B in the Zurn Hall danceSpace has been renamed the Hunter Studio in honor of Tauna Hunter, who retired this spring after a 25-year career with Mercyhurst’s Dance Department. Mercyhurst Trustees approved the honor at their Feb. 16 meeting and the dedication took place May 9, after Hunter and husband Michael Gleason, also a Mercyhurst dance professor, returned from spending the fnal weeks of spring semester with dance students at Mercyhurst’s campus in Dungarvan, Ireland. During the dedication, President Michael T. Victor called the program Hunter developed “a signature Mercyhurst program of national acclaim.” He added, “If you look at the qualities inherent in a professional dancer, you realize that many of them are what we hope all our students
cultivate while in college: perseverance, stamina, motivation and discipline, creativity and resilience, and the ability to interpret and communicate stories. And Tauna represents the kind of teacher that Mercyhurst prides itself in: personal, creative, transformative.” Hunter chaired the dance department for 24 years before stepping down from the post last year in anticipation of her retirement. The May event capped a year full of tributes for Hunter. In November 2018, she accepted a Lifetime Achievement Award from Erie Arts & Culture. And in January, dozens of her former students from all over the country returned to Erie for a surprise retirement celebration, and “one last class” with their beloved mentor.
Past and present dance faculty in the Hunter Studio: Michael Gleason, Tauna Hunter, C. Noelle Partusch, Solveig Santillano, Mark Santillano, Leslie Bories-Scalise.
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