Dr. Onur Nacakgedigi, a visiting scholar from northern Iraq at King’s College, will discuss his research on public health and public health dentistry during a free public lecture at 3 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 7, in the Burke Auditorium, located in the William G. McGowan School of Business on North River Street. Dr. Nacakgedigi’s wife, Esma, will present information about Ishik University in Ebril, Iraq.

Dr. Nacakgedigi works as a dentist in the Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Prosthodontics of Ishik University. The faculty of the university conducts oral examination of approximately 1,300 primary school children.

Since becoming a dentist, Nacakgedigi worked in many countries and cities, implementing fluoride application, varnish and Atraumatic Restorative Treatment to children and disabled adults.

He is enrolled in a master’s degree program in public health at Walden University in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

During his time at King’s, Dr. Nacakgedigi is working on research with Dr. Fevzi Akinci, Director of the Graduate Health Care Administration program. Their research focuses on a number of medical topics, including how to reduce medical malpractice in Turkey, a comparison of dental malpractice law, and emergency department management practices in the United States.

For more information, contact De Martin, Director of International Student Recruitment at King’s, at deloriesmartin@kings.edu, or call (570) 208-5834.

King’s College is a Catholic College Sponsored by the Congregation of Holy Cross.

Dr. Onur Nacakgedigi, a dentist in the Faculty of Dentistry at Ishik University in northern Iraq, was among the university’s faculty who conducted oral examination of approximately 1,300 primary school children.

Dr. Onur Nacakgedigi will discuss his research on public health and public health dentistry during a free public lecture at 3 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 7, at King’s College

Vincent Pecora has been named assistant director of sports information at King’s College.

Pecora earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from King’s in 2005. He returned to campus as an assistant in the Athletic Department and assistant coach for the Cross Country team in 2010. He also worked in the College’s Sports Information Office, where he helped compile game statistics.

Pecora previously served as an intern in the Athletic Department at Hunter College in New York, where he wrote news releases, compiled sports statistics, was responsible for photography and video of athletic teams and events, and assisted in maintaining the Hunter athletics website. He was also a marketing intern for American Collegiate Intramural Sports, where he was responsible for executing ACIS sponsored events and promotions on campus.

Pecora recently accepted a position as an assistant coach for the women’s basketball team, where he helps coordinate practice and player workouts, edits and reviews film, and recruits prospective athletes.

King's College is a Catholic College sponsored by the Congregation of Holy Cross.

Vince Pecora

Tyler Tynes was recently awarded the “2014 Philly Multimedia Challenge” scholarship presented by The Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists (PABJ). He is a senior majoring in mass communication with a minor in marketing at King’s College.

The purpose of the Philly Multimedia Challenge Scholarship is to offer digital equipment, training and mentoring to college students who are pursuing careers as journalists. The challenge awards a $1,000 scholarship to support an area college student as he generates content for PABJ's “PRISM Magazine” during the academic year.

Tynes produced content for numerous publications including “Huffington Post,” “ESPN True Hoop,” and “Dime Magazine.” He works as a correspondent for the “Citizens’ Voice” and a college basketball writer for “SB Nation.” He also completed internships in the sports departments at the “Philadelphia Inquirer” and the “Philadelphia Daily News.”

He has also written stories for several King’s College media outlets, including serving as a staff writer on “The Crown” student newspaper; an on-air personality, contributor for KCTV, the College’s student television station; and sports director and color-commentator for WRKC 88.5 FM radio station. Tynes recently won first place for Best News Feature in Region 1 and was a finalist for Best Campus News Coverage and Best Sports Talk Show nationally in the prestigious Society for Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence and Intercollegiate Broadcast System awards.

Tynes has served a counselor for the Achievement Plus Program at King’s and as a youth ambassador in the Philadelphia Youth Network. In high school, he was among a group of students who volunteered to cleanup the streets of Bayou La Batre, Ala., following the BP oil spill. He also helped organize and participated in the College’s first mini-THON, a dance marathon fundraiser to benefit the Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital.

He is the son of Richard Tynes and Sarah Hinton.

King’s College is a Catholic College sponsored by the Congregation of Holy Cross.

Tyler Tynes

Ten King's College students will study in foreign countries for academic credit during the fall semester.

Erin Dempsey will study at the University of Limerick in Limerick, Ireland. She is a junior majoring in environmental studies.

Kayla Havens, and Christina and Francesca Varvaglione will all study at John Cabot University in Rome, Italy. Havens, a junior majoring in psychology and sociology, has been awarded the James Le Baron Boyle Study Abroad Scholarship through King’s College to apply toward her program of study in Italy. Christina is a senior majoring in international business, and Francesca is a senior majoring in marketing.

Elizabeth Hoover, Amanda Kotch, and Alison Schug will study at the University of Manchester in England. A junior majoring in biology and mathematics, Hoover also has been awarded the James Le Baron Boyle Study Abroad Scholarship through King’s College. Kotch is a junior majoring in biology and international business. Schug is a junior majoring in neuroscience and technical theatre.

Alexandria Jamilowski will study at the Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain, through Academic Programs International. A junior majoring in business management and marketing, Jamilowski has been awarded the API Affiliate Scholarship to apply toward her program of study.

John Reilly and Keith Wanamaker will study at University College Dublin in Ireland. Reilly is a junior majoring in business management. Wanamaker is a junior majoring in business management and finance.

To learn more about King’s students study abroad experiences, visit the Study Abroad Blog at http://kingsstudyabroad.wordpress.com/. For more information on the Study Abroad Program, contact Megan Borsuk, interim director, at 208-5986.

King’s College is a Catholic College sponsored by the Congregation of Holy Cross.

King’s students studying under the King’s College Study Abroad program are, seated from left: Amanda Kotch, Kayla Havens, Alexandria Jamilowski, and Christina and Francesca Varvaglione. Standing: John Reilly, Elizabeth Hoover, Alison Schug, Erin Dempsey, Keith Wanamaker, and Mollie Farmer, past director of the study abroad program.

Dr. Margarita Rose, professor and chair of the economics department at King’s College, led a team of 12 educators and college students this summer to study models of education in Uganda, Africa.

The four-week trip, funded in part by a grant by the Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad Program, is titled “Learning from Uganda.”

“Each of our group members processed in his or her own way what this month-long experience in Uganda had meant, how it had impacted our lives, and how it would impact our students and our communities in the future,” Dr. Rose said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that each group member has been ‘changed for good.’”

A blog written by trip participants while they were in Uganda is available at http://www.kings.edu/news_and_events/uganda_blog.

The group will display photographs from their trip from Aug. 25, through Sept. 26 in the Widmann Gallery at King’s College.

King’s College is a Catholic College Sponsored by the Congregation of Holy Cross.

Pictured seated, from left, is Dr. Noreen O’Connor and Megan Borsuk; King’s College faculty members; Katie Brunwasser, King’s student, and Katie Frain Shippensburg University student.

Pictured standing, from left, is Brother Stephen LaMendola, C.S.C., King’s College administrator; Paula Longo and Brian Dugas, teachers from Bear Creek Community Charter School; Erin McDonough, teacher in Blue Ball Elementary School; Andita Parker Lloyd, teacher at Meyers High School; and Dr. Margarita Rose, King’s faculty member and project director for trip.

Absent from photo is Maria Zangari, University of Scranton student; and Katherine Cryan, King’s student.

King’s College will begin offering classes this fall in two new graduate education programs, a master’s of education degree in special education and an endorsement program in Instructional Coaching.

The master’s degree program in Special Education will require 10 three-credit courses for completion and is designed to compliment a Pennsylvania Department of Education approved Autism Spectrum Disorder Endorsement Program which began two years ago.

The master’s program course offering in the fall semester will be a course in Special Education Law taught by Lee Evans, assistant technical professor at King’s College and a former Director of Special Education for the Luzerne Intermediate Unit.

“My conversations with local special education directors have indicated the retention rate of special education teachers is low,” said Deborah Carr, director of the curriculum and instruction master’s degree programs at King’s. “This fact reinforces the need for greater expertise in this specialized area in order to create longevity in position and efficacy of learning.  This situation mirrors a national shortage.  A recent US Department of Education report indicated that 44 states reported teacher shortages in special education.”

The Instructional Coaching program is a Pennsylvania Department of Education Endorsement. This endorsement builds off courses in the King’s Reading Specialist’s Certification Program, although participants do not have to have a reading specialist certification to enroll in the program.  Completion of the endorsement requires four courses with a 45-hour field practicum.

The program is designed to provide support for the new Pennsylvania teacher evaluations and to build teacher leadership skills.

“We had many of our professionals in King’s reading specialist master’s program wanting to take more courses and the department felt that the instructional coaching is a natural progression,” said Jill Yurko, director of the graduate reading programs at King’s.  “The certificate courses will refine collaboration skills and observations skills and the coursework will develop critical eyes for the implementation of theory in the classroom and its impact on the instructional delivery as well as student achievement.

Additional information can be obtained at http://www.kings.edu/academics/graduate_majors#specialed and by contacting the King’s College Graduate Office at 570-208-5991 or gradprograms@kings.edu.

King’s College is a Catholic College Sponsored by the Congregation of Holy Cross.

Tyler Tynes was recently awarded the “2014 Philly Multimedia Challenge” scholarship presented by The Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists (PABJ). He is a senior majoring in mass communication with a minor in marketing at King’s College.

The purpose of the Philly Multimedia Challenge Scholarship is to offer digital equipment, training and mentoring to college students who are pursuing careers as journalists. The challenge awards a $1,000 scholarship to support an area college student as he generates content for PABJ's “PRISM Magazine” during the academic year.

Tynes produced content for numerous publications including “Huffington Post,” “ESPN True Hoop,” and “Dime Magazine.” He works as a correspondent for the “Citizens’ Voice” and a college basketball writer for “SB Nation.” He also completed internships in the sports departments at the “Philadelphia Inquirer” and the “Philadelphia Daily News.”

He has also written stories for several King’s College media outlets, including serving as a staff writer on “The Crown” student newspaper; an on-air personality, contributor for KCTV, the College’s student television station; and sports director and color-commentator for WRKC 88.5 FM radio station. Tynes recently won first place for Best News Feature in Region 1 and was a finalist for Best Campus News Coverage and Best Sports Talk Show nationally in the prestigious Society for Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence and Intercollegiate Broadcast System awards.

Tynes has served a counselor for the Achievement Plus Program at King’s and as a youth ambassador in the Philadelphia Youth Network. In high school, he was among a group of students who volunteered to cleanup the streets of Bayou La Batre, Ala., following the BP oil spill. He also helped organize and participated in the College’s first mini-THON, a dance marathon fundraiser to benefit the Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital.

He is the son of Richard Tynes and Sarah Hinton.

King’s College is a Catholic College sponsored by the Congregation of Holy Cross.

Tyler Tynes

Dr. Margarita Rose, professor and chair of the economics department at King’s College, led a team of 12 educators and college students this summer to study models of education in Uganda, Africa. A collection of photographs by the program’s participants will be on display from Aug. 25, through Sept. 26 in the Widmann Gallery at King’s College.

The four-week trip, funded in part by a grant by the Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad Program, is titled “Learning from Uganda.”

“Each of our group members processed in his or her own way what this month-long experience in Uganda had meant, how it had impacted our lives, and how it would impact our students and our communities in the future,” Dr. Rose said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that each group member has been ‘changed for good.’”

Participants were Megan Borsuk, King’s College faculty; Katie Brunwasser, King’s College ’16; Katherine Cryan, King’s College ’16; Brian Dugas, teacher, Bear Creek Community Charter School; Katie Frain, Shippensburg University ’15; Brother Stephen LaMendola, C.S.C.; King’s College administrator; Paula Longo, teacher, Bear Creek Community Charter School; Andita Parker Lloyd, teacher, Meyers High School; Erin McDonough, teacher, Blue Ball Elementary School; Dr. Noreen O’Connor, King’s College faculty; Dr. Margarita Rose, project director for trip; and Maria Zangari, University of Scranton ’15.

The program’s participants will discuss their photos during a Meet-the-Artists reception from 6-8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 19, in the Widmann Gallery, Sheehy-Farmer Campus Center, located between North Franklin and North Main streets.

Gallery hours: Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, as arranged. The Gallery is closed on national holidays.

For more information on the trip, visit learnfromuganda.org. For more information about the upcoming exhibition at King’s, contact Michelle Leonard, Widmann Gallery coordinator, at (570) 208-5900, ext. 5328.

King’s College is a Catholic College sponsored by the Congregation of Holy Cross.

School Girl, photograph taken at St. Andrew Primary in Jinha by Dr. Noreen O’ Connor, associate professor of English, King’s College.

Economist Dr. Teresa Ghilarducci will deliver the 2014 King’s College Labor Day Lecture at 4 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 3, in the Burke Auditorium at King’s College.

The lecture, titled "Bread, Roses, and Rest: Securing Meaningful Retirement for All,” is free and open to the public. The program is co-sponsored by the McGowan Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility at King’s and the Peace and Justice Center of Wilkes-Barre. The lecture also serves as this year’s Peace and Justice Center’s Barbara Sabol Memorial Lecture.

Ghilarducci will discuss the idea that working persons are entitled to a dignified retirement and consider how this idea can become more realistic for larger populations through reform of public policy, including worker pension, Social Security expansion, and individual retirement plans, such as the 401 (k).  Ghilarducci is the author of “When I’m Sixty-Four: The Plot against Pensions and the Plan to Save Them.”

President Clinton appointed Ghilarducci to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Advisory Board, which is charged with protecting the pensions of workers in the public sector. She served on the board of trustees of the Indiana Public Employees’ Retirement Fund and has represented the International Brotherhood of Teamsters as director of YRC Worldwide Inc., since 2010.

Ghilarducci has worked in higher education for several decades, first as a professor at the University of Notre Dame, where she taught for 25 years, and now as the Bernard L. and Irene Schwartz Chair in Economic Policy Analysis and the director of the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis at The New School.

The Barbara Sabol Memorial Lecture is named for a founding member of the Peace and Justice Center who died in 1997. The Peace and Justice Center is NEPA’s interfaith resource center for issues of peace and justice.

The Burke Auditorium is located in the William G. McGowan School of Business on North River Street. Parking will be available in on-campus lots. For more information, please contact Dr. Bernard Prusak, director, McGowan Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility, at 208-5900, ext. 5689.

King’s College is a Catholic College sponsored by the Congregation of Holy Cross.

Dr. Teresa Ghilarducci

Forty one students recently completed the physician assistant studies master’s degree program at King’s College and received their degrees at the College’s annual summer commencement ceremonies.

The Class of 2014 is the 37^th graduating class of the King’s Physician Assistant Program, the longest established program in Luzerne or Lackawanna County.  At the summer commencement ceremony, the 1000^th degree in the history of the Physician Assistant Studies major was awarded.

A physician assistant is a dependent mid-level health professional licensed by the state to practice medicine as delegated by and under the supervision of a physician.  Upon successful completion of the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam graduates can practice in almost any field of medicine, including family practice, surgery, pediatrics, psychiatry and orthopedics.  King’s PA graduates have achieved placements throughout the country, many of whom are working in medically underserved areas.

King’s College is a Catholic College Sponsored by the Congregation of Holy Cross.

Pictured in front row, from left, is Amanda Gummo, Shelby Munson, Kaitlen Jones, Alyssa Bozzett, Emily Buchman, Kristin Henchenski, Ashley Bahlatzis, Cornelia Roberts, Anne Marie Coar, Tammy Frost, and Olga Herman.

Pictured in second row, from left, is Joyce Carson, Lindsey Evans, Amanda Waligun, Tara Banville, Audra Gould, Rebecca Rittle, Lynnae Imdorf, Lauren Reese, Dana Zovko, Munazza Khan, Julia Zafia, and Ashtyn Stang.

Pictured in third row, from left, is Eric Hummel, Justine Lisella, Douglas Krysan, Michael Prentice, Celeste Mazzoni, Christopher Tobias, Melanie Call, Elyse Laneski, and Enoma Evbuomwan.

Pictured in top row, from left, is Elizabeth Perhacs, Andrew McMaster, Heather Bowman, Christina Gugliotti, Jonathan Beekman, Stephen Macioch, Nicholas Orlowsky, Lauren Pristash, and Kirsten Wetzel.

Alyssa Conner of Swoyersville was recently awarded a $1,500 “Commonwealth Good Citizen” scholarship presented by The Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania (AICUP). She is a sophomore majoring in accounting and business management at King’s College.

The Commonwealth Good Citizen Scholarship is awarded to students who demonstrate an extraordinary commitment to community service. The scholarship is awarded to full-time students enrolled in an undergraduate program at one of AICUP’s 88 member institutions with a GPA of at least 3.0.

Conner is vice president of the College’s chapter of Circle-K, the world’s largest collegiate service organization; co-president of the Commuter Life Association; Campus Activities Leader; and member of the Finance Association.

Conner recently participated in the Learning Works Program tutoring local low-income students in an after-school program administered by King’s College. She served as a counselor for the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s summer camp in Hardwick, N.J. She is also a Sunday School teacher at Holy Family Parish.

She is the daughter of Tom and Kelley Conner.

King’s College is a Catholic College sponsored by the Congregation of Holy Cross.

Alyssa Conner

“Washington Monthly” magazine again has named Wilkes-Barre’s King’s College as one of the nation’s best master’s degree-granting institutions. King’s was the only college or university in northeastern Pennsylvania to rank among the top 200 in the survey and placed fifth among all Pennsylvania colleges and universities.

The rankings appear in the September/October issue of “Washington Monthly” magazine. King’s placed 103^rd nationally among the nearly 700 colleges and universities in the final rankings, which were based on three evenly weighted selection criteria: social mobility, service, and research.

“For me, this survey is especially gratifying because it demonstrates just how effective our emphasis on values and community is with our students,” said Fr. John Ryan, C.S.C., King’s College president.

The “Washington Monthly” rankings recognize higher learning institutions for service to the community and social mobility of the student body. The magazine evaluates colleges on their effectiveness in recruiting and graduating low-income students, encouraging students to give something back to their country, and producing cutting-edge scholarship and PhDs. “These rankings are based on actual student outcomes, which for us is the most important measure of success,” said Ryan.

King’s ranked 13^th nationally from among 671 institutions in the master’s degree category for community service participation and hours served. King’s is the only Wyoming Valley institution of higher learning to be named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll each year since it was established in 2006.

King’s also ranked 108th of master’s universities nationwide in the “Best Bang for the Buck” category.  The list was based on the percentage of students receiving Pell Grants, the graduation rate, and the rate of students defaulting on their student loans.  King’s was again the highest rated college or university in northeastern Pennsylvania.

King’s College is a Catholic College Sponsored by the Congregation of Holy Cross.

Dr. Gregory Bassham, professor of philosophy at King’s College, will deliver the Constitution Day Lecture at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 17, in the Burke Auditorium at King’s College.

In the free public lecture titled “A Living Constitution,” Bassham will explore the long-simmering debate over the role of original intent in constitutional interpretation, and defend a moderate form of living constitutionalism.

Following Bassham’s lecture, the King’s College community will commemorate Constitution Day, the anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution, with a public reading of the “Philadelphia” documents and the Bill of Rights. A question and answer session will follow. The Constitution Day ceremony is sponsored by the History and the Political Science departments at King’s College.

Conservatives and progressives often disagree about the role of original intent in constitutional interpretation. Many conservatives argue that judges should stick closely to the original understanding or meaning of constitutional language; most progressives favor treating the Constitution as a “living” document—its genius resting, as former Supreme Court Justice William Brennan said, “not in any static meaning it might have had in a world that is dead and gone, but in the adaptability of its great principles to cope with current problems and current needs."

Bassham has penned articles and edited volumes for the critically acclaimed pop culture and philosophy series, and is also the author of “Original Intent and the Constitution,” and several articles and reviews in law journals.

A member of King’s faculty since 1992, Bassham earned his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma. He earned his doctorate in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame.

The Burke Auditorium is located in the William G. McGowan School of Business on North River Street. Parking will be available in on-campus lots. For more information, please contact Dr. Bernard Prusak, director, McGowan Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility, at 208-5900, ext. 5689.

King’s College is a Catholic College sponsored by the Congregation of Holy Cross.

Dr. Gregory Bassham

The King’s College Theatre Department’s upcoming theatre season features new productions of award-winning plays for local and regional audiences, including a classic rock opera, two award-winning comedies, and a capstone presentation of one of Shakespeare’s most celebrated historical plays.

The season kicks-off with a performance of 60s rock opera, “Tommy,” The Who’s Pete Townshend’s electrifying tale of a suffering, catatonic adolescent’s journey into a pinball wizard. Performances will be held at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 1-4 and Oct. 6 and at 2 p.m. on Oct. 4 and 5.

The riveting Pulitzer Prize-finalist searing comedy “Other Desert Cities” by Jon Robert Baitz will be performed at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 20-21 and Nov. 23-24 and at 2 p.m. on Nov. 22. Named Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play by the Outer Critics Circle and winner of the Drama League Award for Distinguished Play, the story follows Brooke Wyeth’s return to Palm Springs to celebrate the Christmas holiday with family, only to announce her plans to publish a memoir, exposing a family tragedy.

“Moon over Buffalo,” a madcap comedy of playwright Ken Ludwig centers on George and Charlotte Hay, fading 1950s stars with one last shot at stardom. The play will be performed at 7:30 p.m.  on Feb. 19-21 and Feb. 23 and at 2 p.m. on Feb. 21 and 22. 

The season will conclude with full-dressed productions of the Bard’s historic play, “Henry V.” Chronicling the life of young King Hal as he abandons a life of leisure to unite his English countrymen and become King. Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on April 15-17 and April 19 and 2 p.m. on April 18. 

King’s Theatre Department also features free, lunch-time, brown-bag performances, as well as a series of one-act plays. All theatre productions will be performed in the George P. Maffei II Theatre, located in the Administration Building on North River Street. 

Tickets are $12 for general admission, $7 for senior citizens, and $5 for King’s alumni and non-King’s students. For more information on upcoming performances or to reserve tickets, call the box office at (570) 208-5825 or e-mail boxoff@kings.edu.

King’s College is a Catholic College sponsored by the Congregation of Holy Cross.

Dr. Ray Gamache, center, an assistant professor of communications at King’s College before his recent retirement, and his wife, Jane, left, made a $5,000 donation to the College on the occasion of his retirement which enabled the Mass Communications department to purchase three high definition field cameras.

The funds have also been used to upgrade audio, lighting, and storage media in communications classrooms and labs and in the College’s full high definition television studio.

“We are proud that our Mass Communications students have access to the tools that will help prepare them for careers in broadcast television,” said Scott Weiland, Ph. D., pictured at far right, Mass Communications department chair. “Students are rolling up their sleeves and producing their own television shows through King’s College Television (KCTV) and our department team is very pleased to assist them in their efforts.”

Gamache joined the King’s faculty in 2011.  Prior to his arrival at King’s, he taught for more than 20 years at liberal arts colleges in Minnesota and New Hampshire.  He is the author of numerous books, including “Gareth Jones: Eyewitness to the Holodomor.” The book provides insight on Jones, now recognized as one of the first journalists to reveal the horror of the Holodomor, the Soviet government-induced famine in the early 1930s, which killed millions of Ukrainians.

King’s College is a Catholic College Sponsored by the Congregation of Holy Cross.

M. Sheileen Godwin, associate technical professor and chair of the Theatre Department at King’s College, recently served as a panelist for the Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA) Project Stream, which grants funds to support a variety of local and community arts activities. Godwin was part of a panel that reviewed grant applications for the Pocono Arts Council.

Project Stream is a funding opportunity of PPA, a regionalized funding program of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. The Project Stream provides grants of up to $2,500 to eligible organizations or individuals to conduct arts projects.

King’s College is a Catholic College sponsored by the Congregation of Holy Cross.

M. Sheileen Godwin

Seventeen King’s College students have begun a 14-week student teaching experience at area elementary, junior high, and high schools.  Supervised teaching student teaching is necessary to fulfill King’s degree requirements and to obtain a Pennsylvania Teacher Certificate.

King’s College is a Catholic College Sponsored by the Congregation of Holy Cross.

Pictured in first row, from left, is Susan Pointek, Brother Stephen LaMendola, C.S.C.,  and Frank Michael all supervisors of student teachers; Robert Richards, director of student teaching; and Dr. Denise Reboli, chair of the King’s education department.

Pictured in second row, from left, are student teachers Jennifer Harnischfeger, Wyoming Valley West School District; Maria Marchese, Hazleton Area School District; Emily Snyder, Wilkes-Barre Area School District; Sarah Prushinski, Crestwood School District; Katie Perlowski, Wilkes-Barre Area School District; Trudi Konopki, Wyoming Valley West School District; Katie Cibello, Wilkes-Barre Area School District; Meagan Boccio, Pittston Area School District; Amanda Frank, Hazleton Area School District; and Jean Marie Bertram, Wilkes-Barre Area School District.

Third row, from left, Samuel Hasman, Wilkes-Barre Area School District; David Brozena, Wyoming Valley West School District; Kyle Paul, Wilkes-Barre Area School Disctrict; Tyler Freas, Wyoming Valley West School District; David Piwowarczyk, Carbondale Area School District; Joe Hackett, Wilkes-Barre Area School District; and Nathaniel Thomas, Wilkes-Barre Area School District.

King’s College will honor four alumni at a special awards luncheon during Homecoming and Reunion Weekend, Sept. 27-28. This year’s recipients are Joseph W. Balz, the Robert J. Ell Alumni Award for Outstanding Service to Alma Mater; Jonathan Deroba, The Leo Award; Brendan Dougher, Outstanding Professional Achievement; and Frank J. Nemshick, Jr., Service to Society.

Established in honor of the King’s College Golden Jubilee, 1996-1997, the awards are conferred periodically upon King’s College alumni by the president of the College. All alumni are invited to attend the Awards Lunch at noon on Sunday, Sept. 28, in the Sheehy-Farmer Campus Center.

“These awards highlight the lives and careers of our most exceptional alumni,” said Rev. John Ryan, C.S.C., president of King’s College. “Though each took very different paths following graduation, they all have demonstrated outstanding dedication and zeal in their work and community: the hallmark of a King’s graduate.”

A Wilkes-Barre native and Mountaintop resident, Balz was one of the first employees hired at King’s in 1946. Enrolled in the first class at the College, he graduated cum laude with a degree in accounting in 1950. He served the College in several senior financial administrative positions, including 35 years as Chief Business Officer. He continues to serve King’s as Assistant to the President for Special Projects.

Deroba, a member of the Class of 2002, earned doctorates in fisheries and wildlife and ecology and evolutionary biology from Michigan State University in 2009. He currently works for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as the lead biologist for the research and assessment of Atlantic herring and mackerel in the northeast United States. He has written 14 publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals and presents research findings at international scientific forums.

A 1984 King’s graduate, Dougher is the managing partner of the New York regional office of PricewaterhouseCoopers.  He currently serves as the senior relationship partner on a number of the firm's New York metro clients. He is a board member of the Foreign Policy Association, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, United Way of New York City and King’s College.

A 1956 graduate of King’s, Nemshick attended the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf in Philadelphia and graduated from Edwardsville High School. He served on the board of Pennsylvania Society for the Advancement of the Deaf. In 1986, serving as the Society’s legislative liaison, he helped to write and advocate for the law which established the Pennsylvania Office for Deaf and Hard of Hearing. He has served several committees, including the Pennsylvania Departments of Labor, Education, Public Welfare and the Governor’s office.

Tickets are $20. For more information or to register, contact Jessica Kush, Alumni Relations and Annual Giving, at (570) 208-5880 or email alumni@kings.edu.

King’s College is a Catholic College Sponsored by the Congregation of Holy Cross.

Joseph W. Balz

Jonathan Deroba

Brendan Dougher

Frank J. Nemshick, Jr.

Maura Modrovsky has been named community outreach coordinator at King’s College. She will be responsible for individual and group volunteer efforts at King’s, as well as managing the community-based work-study program and social justice education programs, such as Hunger for Justice Week.

Modrovsky previously worked for the Commission on Economic Opportunity (CEO), first as director for several social service programs and developing grants and later overseeing over 2,000 volunteers and managing multiple children’s programs as Coordinator of Children’s Programs and Volunteers Coordinator. While at CEO, She had extensive experience designing and implementing volunteer initiatives with King’s students and staff volunteers.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in human development and family study with an emphasis in children, youth and family services from Penn State University.

The Corporation for National and Community Service has named King's to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for seven consecutive years. The Community Service Honor Roll is the highest federal recognition a school can achieve for its commitment to community service and civic engagement.

King’s College is a Catholic College sponsored by the Congregation of Holy Cross.

Maura Modrovsky

Mollie Wilson O’Reilly, associate editor of “Commonweal” magazine, will deliver the 2014 Feast of Saint Francis Lecture at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 2, in the Burke Auditorium at King’s College.

In the free public lecture titled “A Poor Church for the Poor: Pope Francis and the Future of Catholicism,” O’Reilly will examine what Pope Francis has done to shift the Catholic church’s focus to the poor and marginalized, and how he is working to bring about the reforms called for in his apostolic exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium” (“The Joy of the Gospel”).

A native of Scranton, O’Reilly graduated from Yale University in 2003. Prior to joining the staff of “Commonweal” in 2008, O’Reilly served as an associate editor in the books department of Theatre Communications Group. Her writing has been published in “American Theatre” and the “Village Voice” and online at the “Guardian,” “Nextbook,” and TheBigJewel.com.

The Burke Auditorium is located in the William G. McGowan School of Business on North River Street. Parking will be available in on-campus lots. For more information, please contact Dr. Bernard Prusak, director, McGowan Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility, at 208-5900, ext. 5689.

King’s College is a Catholic College sponsored by the Congregation of Holy Cross.

Mollie Wilson O’Reilly