It was a mini-film festival of St. Francis College Communication Arts alumni October 21 and 22 as former students Terrisha Kearse and Fabian Baez returned to their alma mater to screen their films.

St. Francis College professors Ian Maloney (English) and Nickie Phillips (Sociology & Criminal Justice) have been sharing their expertise with both international and national audiences as featured speakers at two separate academic conferences this fall.

Past and present members of the nationally ranked St. Francis College Men's Water Polo team welcomed some high profile opposition into their home Brooklyn Heights pool in June when the Serbian Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning Oliver Dulic and Deputy Minister Bojan Djuric got in the water for a scrimmage with the team.

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 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 leveled the playing field for me in life," said Michael J. Gibbons '62, the recipient of an honorary doctorate from the College, one of the many people honored as part of the annual Charter Day celebration on Friday April 24 commemorating the day the College received its charter from New York State and officially became a degree granting institution.

The St. Francis College Health Promotions Course, Death, Loss & Grief has been selected by Assisted Living Today as a Top 20 College Course for Geriatrics and Senior Care.

As Pope Benedict XVI concluded his final day as worldwide leader of the Catholic Church, Bro. Geoffrey Clement appeared on WNBC Nonstop to talk about the pending conclave. He discussed the process for selecting the new Pope as well as significant past conclaves.

The scholarly research of two St. Francis professors can now be found in two new books that go on sale this summer. Fine Arts Professor Jennifer Wingate's book, Sculpting Doughboys: Memory, Gender, and Taste in America's World War I Memorials (Ashgate), examines the unique position memorials of WWI soldiers hold in the social, cultural and artistic history of the United States. Sociology and Criminal Justice Professor Nickie Phillips wrote Comic Book Crime: Truth, Justice, and the American Way (NYUPress), a look at how comic books reflect and provoke feelings on crime and punishment in modern day society.

The Staples Foundation is supporting St. Francis College and its goal of encouraging education and careers in science with a grant for $2,000 to support the College's Summer Science Academy.