It was at last year's Spring Commencement when then St. Francis College Board of Trustees Chairman Brendan J. Dugan '68 surprised Frank J. '62 and Mary Macchiarola with the announcement that the College's new Academic Center would be adorned with their names in honor and appreciation of their commitment and contributions to the College. Now, as President of the College, Mr. Dugan formally dedicated the Frank and Mary Macchiarola Academic Center with a special celebration on Friday, September 25.

St. Francis College, proud to be on the leading edge for college student retention, will be sharing some of its successful programs at the National Symposium on Student Retention next week in Buffalo. Monica Michalski, Assistant Dean Freshman Studies & Academic Enhancement and Steven Catalano, Director of Institutional Research and Planning will present their paper, "Improving Student Persistence and Success: A Data-Driven Approach."

It was a celebration of the famous and not so famous men who debated and drafted the Constitution of the United States; presented by 10 members of the St. Thomas More Pre-Law Society at St. Francis College on Thursday, September 17, 2009. The event marks the 222nd anniversary of the signing in 1787.

In 1989, Charles Taylor began a campaign of terror and brutality that began a cycle of revenge and violence that ravaged the country of Liberia for almost 15 years. In 2003, something happened to finally help bring the civil war to an end. A group of civilian women banded together, across religious and economic lines, and began protesting for peace. Their efforts culminated at peace talks in neighboring Ghana, where the women blockaded the opposing sides inside the talks and successfully demanded a quick resolution. Two years later, the movement continued its fight and spearheaded the election of the first woman President on the entire African continent.

From nearly 40 submissions down to one, the jury for the first ever St. Francis College Literary Prize has selected Aleksandar Hemon for his book, Love and Obstacles (Riverhead Books) as the winner of the $50,000 award, one of the richest Literary Prizes in the United States. Hemon, raised in Sarajevo and now residing in Chicago wrote his first work in English in 1995. He was awarded the prize at the Gala Opening Night Party of the Brooklyn Book Festival on September 12. Hemon was selected over the other short list authors: Chris Abani, Song For Night (Akashic Books); Jim Krusoe, Girl Factory (Tin House Books) and Arthur Phillips, The Song Is You (Random House).

More than 570 members of the Fall 2009 incoming freshman class will be attending Terrier Monday, August 31, making this the second year in a row that St. Francis College has set a record for largest incoming class. In addition, more than 60 of those students have been admitted into the College's Honors Program, allowing them to attend small seminars on topics like; New York New York: From the Great Depression to the present Economic Downturn, Contemporary Islam: It's Socio-Economic Context and Understanding the Environment.

For the second straight year St. Francis College has been named by U.S.News & World Report as one of the top Baccalaureate Colleges in the North for 2010. This selection comes one week after Forbes.com recognized the College on its list of America's Best Colleges.

It is with much sadness that St. Francis College announces the passing of Brother George Larkin, O.S.F. this morning, August 17, 2009. Bro. George graduated from St. Francis College in 1960, returning in 1971 to spend more than 35 years in the admissions office, personally recruiting tens of thousands of young men and women who went on to attend the College.

St. Francis Women's Basketball Assistant Coach Sue Wicks spent her summer vacation on an amazing experience as an International Envoy for the NBA helping to conduct basketball clinics for hundreds of youths across the Philippines. Wicks was part of SportsUnited, a program run by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs with the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).

For the second year in a row, Forbes.com has named St. Francis College to its America's Best Colleges List, placing St. Francis as the sixth best school out of the 19 that made the list from New York City.