Mirror - Vol. 30, No. 29 - May 12, 2005

              WEEK OF MAY 12,2005
Vol. 30, Iss. 29 - 20 pages
Annual Senior Issue
vk sm The MIRROR WWW.FAIRFIELDMIRROR.COM
The independent student newspaper
of Fairfield University
Jim Scholl/The Mirror
Fr. von Arx to address graduates at commencement
PRESS RELEASE
Fairfield University president Rev. Jeffrey P. von Arx,
S.J. did not go far in his search for this year's commence-ment
speaker. In fact, he chose himself.
In an effort to make sure this year's commencement
stays true to Jesuit ideals and Fairfield's tradition, von Arx
will give the keynote speech at Fairfield 55lh commencement
on Sunday, May 22.
Past commencement speakers have included musician
Billy Joel, political commentator Cookie Roberts and politi-cian
Strobe Talbolt.
In addition to the commencement speech, four honor-ary
degrees will be presented to four Connecticut residents
whose lives have been marked by service to others who will
all receive honorary doctor of laws degrees.
Msgr. John Sanders was a jazz musician-trombonist
and a regular in the Duke Ellington band during the 1950s,
who left an established career in the entertainment industry
to enter the Holy Apostles Seminary in 1965. He was or-dained
in 1973, becoming the first African-American priest
in Connecticut. He was named a monsignor by Pope John
Paul II in 1988, the first African-American priest to receive
that honor in the Diocese of Bridgeport.
An engagement at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem led
to his joining the Duke Ellington orchestra in 1954 where
he played both the slide and valve trombones. He also
undertook the immense task of documenting and preserv-ing
some of Ellington's original music manuscripts. While
following a vocation to the priesthood, he continued his love
of music and particularly jazz, maintaining his friendship
with the Duke who died in 1974. Msgr. Sanders was one
of 15 musicians interviewed by Ken Burns for his 2000
Mirror file photo
Hats off: Seniors enjoy the commencement ceremonies
at last year's graduation, the last class to graduate under
th eleadership of Fr. Kelley.
film, "Jazz."
As director of the Thomas Merton Center, Mary Ann
Furlong oversees a program that provides 250 warm meals
each day, a food pantry that supports 600 families, and
medical care and family support services, prayer groups-and
literacy volunteers for people in need in the Bridgeport
region.
Appointed assistant director of the Thomas Merton
House of Hospitality in 1987, she was named director of
the expanded facility in 1993. She has been an associate
of the Sisters of Mercy for. 17. years and a lay -ministerAn ■
the Archdiocese of Hartford since 1985.
Arthur C. Laske, Jr., a business major in Fairfield
University's first graduating class, has used his talent and
career in support of his alma mater and in service to area
community endeavors. He is a long-time member of the
board of the St. Vincent's Medical Center Foundation, where
he now serves as chairman. He is vice president and director
of the William T. Morris Foundation, which supports major
charitable institutions such as hospitals, colleges and muse-ums,
and a director of the Somir Petroleum Foundation.
Florence Schorske Wald had been dean of Nursing at
Yale University for ten years when she resigned in 1968
to study the British approach to care for the terminally ill.
While she continued as a research associate and member of
the clinical nursing faculty and was promoted to professor
in 1980, her interest in providing more humane care for the
dying would revolutionize such care in the United States.
Among the many awards Prof. Wald has received are
induction into the American Nurses Association's Hall of
Fame and The National Women's Hall of Fame. In April,
2004, then-Lt. Governor Jodi Rell presented her with The
Connecticut Treasure Award. An earlier Connecticut Gov-ernor,
Ella Grasso, named her a Distinguished Woman of
Connecticut.
ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
Look for photographs and coverage of
Fairfield 55th commencement ceremony
once graduation is completed online at
www.fairfieldmirror.com.