Twice as many Terriers donated four times more money for Terrier Tuesday this year than last, raising more than $115,000 on a day when St. Francis College asks the community to give back.

An experienced CPA with an amazing ability to see the big picture and solve the small problems, June McGrisken '76 decided to put her skills to work helping her alma mater, St. Francis College, through a period of growth as well as economic challenges brought on by the recent recession.Now, after 15 years at St. Francis, McGrisken is retiring.

St. Francis College was founded in 1859 by Franciscan Brothers from Ireland to educate Irish immigrants and help them assimilate and succeed in New York City. The demographics of Brooklyn have changed over the years, but the mission has not. St. Francis still proudly educates immigrants, now from dozens of countries around the world, many the first in their family to attend college.

A diverse collection of six award winning authors has been named to the St. Francis College $50,000 Literary Prize Short List, one of the richest literary prizes in the country.

With a new president ready to begin the school year, St. Francis College heads into the Labor Day weekend with an honor from Washington Monthly magazine, named for a second year in a row as a Best Bang for the Buck among colleges in the northeast.

What began with a walk to bridge the tuition gap, continued on Giving Tuesday with a full day of appreciation for St. Francis College benefactors, and a major e-campaign and phone-a-thon. One week later, St. Francis College is proud to announce that the Giving Tuesday campaign raised more than $150,000 dollars from more than 500 donors, a new high water mark for a day meant to refocus the holiday season on helping others.

The evolution of art in human beings is the topic of a new book by St. Francis College English Professor Gregory F. Tague. Art and Adaptability: Consciousness and Cognitive Culture (Brill│Rodopi) is the third book in a trilogy that discusses the arts and humanities in light of evolution.

Teaming up with Dr. Gary Shapiro, founder and president of The Orang Utan Republik Foundation in Santa Monica, California, St. Francis College English Professor Gregory F. Tague and Fredericka Jacks are happy to announce they have fully funded an Orangutan Caring Scholarship that will send a deserving Indonesian student to college to study forestry or biology.

A new Honor Society comes to St. Francis College and with it, the opportunity for students to apply for research grants and present their work at national conventions.