HOFFMAN HONORED WITH ROMERO AWARD In a moving presentation after she
Hofman explained.
received Mercyhurst’s 27 th Archbishop Oscar Romero Award, retired educator Mary Hofman ’74 recalled how lessons learned from her mother have shaped “When I was at the beautiful age of around 6 or 7, while riding in the front seat of our 1957 Chevy station wagon, my mom pulled over and said, ‘Honey, you go over there and ask that lady her life. walking down the street if she needs a ride home.’ She gratefully got in the car and we took her home. As we drove away, my mom said, ‘you know honey, if you could, you should’ – and we did,“
An early graduate of
- continues to co coordinate a theatre program for adults with special needs Mercyhurst’s special education program, she retired after a 34-year career teaching students with special needs in the Millcreek School District, but She’s active throughout the Erie community, involved with Emmaus Ministries, the Erie County Mental Health/Intellectual Disabilities Board, and the overfow shelter for the homeless, among other agencies. called INSPIRE.
Mary Hofman, second from left, is congratulated by Erie Mayor Joseph Schember, Mercyhurst Provost Dr. Leanne Roberts, and Religious Studies Chair Dr. Rob von Thaden.
Provost Leanne Roberts surprises Dr. Ronald Brown with the 2018 Teaching Excellence award. BROWN EARNS TEACHING EXCELLENCE AWARD Chemistry Professor Dr. Ronald Brown is the 2018 recipient of Mercyhurst’s coveted Teaching Excellence Award. “He was born to be a teacher,” said department chair Dr. Clint Jones of his colleague. “After 19 years at Mercyhurst, he still goes into every teaching situation with the same enthusiasm you’d get from a beginning teacher.” Brown received his Bachelor of Science degree in chemical physics from Michigan State University and his doctorate from the University of Minnesota. In 1999, he began his career at Mercyhurst, where he teaches the General Chemistry sequence and Physical Chemistry, including thermodynamics, kinetics, quantum chemistry and statistical mechanics. Brown served as the chair of the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry and the Department of Physics at Mercyhurst from 2004 to 2012, a time of tremendous growth and change. He was promoted to associate professor in 2005. Brown’s research interests include the investigation of the properties of intriguing, relatively newly discovered materials such as carbon nanotubes and graphene.
The Romero Award is presented to individuals and organizations “living the call of faith and justice in an
extraordinary manner.”
DAVIS NAMED ATHLETIC DIRECTOR Bradley Davis joins
NEW MNE PROGRAM SEEKS TO EMPOWER SINGLE MOTHERS
Mercyhurst this fall as athletic director. A San Francisco Bay Area native, he has worked for the past 11 years at Merrimack College in North Andover,
The frst students enroll this fall in a new mission-driven project on the campus of Mercyhurst North East: the Women with Children Program, which is designed to empower economically challenged single mothers. One of only 10 such programs in the United States, the WWC program removes many of
Massachusetts, most recently as associate athletic director for external relations.
“Brad is a high-energy leader with a passion for collegiate athletics and we look forward to his
the roadblocks that may have stifed single mothers’ previous attempts at an education by providing on-campus housing, academic and fnancial support, family enrichment programming, career services, on-campus counseling and a safe and secure environment. Jackie Fink
collaboration with our great coaches and staf as they work together to positively afect the lives of our student athletes and to achieve new heights,” said Mercyhurst President Michael T. Victor. Davis replaces Joe Kimball, who retired last spring after nine years in the top post. In addition to managing the Lakers, Davis will also oversee the Saints athletics program at Mercyhurst North East. At Merrimack, which was awarded the Northeast-10 President’s Cup for all-around athletic excellence in 2018, Davis helped oversee 24 varsity programs and 18 club sports. Like Mercyhurst, Merrimack competes at the NCAA Division II level while its men’s and women’s hockey programs compete in Division I. He managed all aspects of external relations including marketing and promotions, corporate sponsorship, imaging, game operations, ticketing, the athletics website, social media, multimedia and athletic communications. Davis will be moving to Erie with his wife, Kristin, and their dog, Kipper, soon after the arrival of their frst child, a boy, who was due in August.
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Five townhouses at the far northwest end of the MNE campus have been retroftted to accommodate the families, with a common area to encourage social interaction and a fenced-in playground. Jackie Fink, director of administrative services at MNE, and Sister Joanne Courneen, RSM, organized the project, and Fink will continue to direct its operation. Fink was a foster mother for two children during the 1990s. “That experience awakened me to conditions existing in Erie County that I would never have known about personally, such as hunger and homelessness,” she said. “I understand the plight of the single mom and I see this new program as a chance – a chance to change a life – or, at least, begin to change a life.”
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