Reunion Weekend 2017: PEL alumna honored by Women's Resource Center; Event photos, and more!

(L-r) Eckerd College President Dr. Donald R. Eastman III,
Maureen Donovan-Dobiesz '02, and Professor Catherine Griggs at the
Awards Breakfast during Alumni Weekend in March 2017.
Photo courtesy of Eckerd College

Reunion Weekend 2017 was filled with activities, and PEL people participated in many of them. To view photos from each of the events, click on the link above, choose an event album, and scroll through the images. Click here for PEL Alumni Reception photos.

PEL Alumna Honored

Maureen Donovan-Dobiesz '02 was presented with a Women's Resource Center Professional Achievement Award at the Awards Breakfast during Alumni Weekend last month.  Donovan-Dobiesz graduated with a B.A. in American Studies from Eckerd College’s Program for Experienced Learners.  After graduation, she began working at Healthcare IQ, a data analytics company empowering hospitals across the country by providing advanced analytics to create efficiencies and innovative solutions. As the EVP of administration, her critical thinking, management skills and leadership have guided the company through a period of exponential growth.

Donovan-Dobiesz also is the director of Phoenix Venture Philanthropy Foundation, which invests in and supports nonprofit organizations that deliver significant social impact, environmental awareness and education. Phoenix provides business mentoring and leadership insights.

In awarding Maureen Donovan-Dobiesz the Women’s Resource Center Professional Achievement Award, the College recognizes her commitment to women’s professional advancement by hiring qualified women. She is an early supporter of Emily’s List, which works to elect women to positions in local and federal government. Donovan-Dobiesz also supports Eckerd’s Environmental Film Festival, an annual week-long program that has greatly enhanced environmental awareness within the community.

PEL Alumni Reception  

 

(l-r) Donna Littell '75 and Dana Cozad '69

PEL people filled the Lewis House atrium and porch on Saturday, March 10, at the PEL Alumni Reception. Organizers Angie Jones '12 and Donna Littell '75 greeted guests as the sounds of live piano and guitar background music drifted through the area and a slide show played pictures culled from recent and not-so-recent PEL events.

After a time of catching up with friends and colleagues -- and of enjoying the plentiful hors d'oeuvres -- PEL Executive Director Amanda Hagood welcomed the group and thanked the alumni gathered for the many ways they enrich the campus community, the local Tampa Bay area, and the world at large. Hagood recognized a number of PEL people people present for their years of service to the program: Dana Cozad '69, who worked in PEL in many administrative and teaching positions from PEL's beginning in 1978 and continuing to teach until just recently; Margret Skaftadottir, PEL's associate dean of faculty, who has been with PEL since 1992; Patti Cooksey '97, who has worked in various positions in PEL since 1997; Alaina Tackitt '08; and long-time faculty members Professors Catherine Griggs, Naveen Malhotra, and Tom Krzesinski.

Connie Murphy '08 shared how PEL reshaped her life.

"Everyone has a PEL story to share," Hagood noted before inviting Margret Skaftadottir to introduce the evening's speaker, Connie Murphy '08, who currently works as a program manager for the Veterans Health Administration.

Murphy shared how her PEL experience radically reshaped her life, causing her to consider a career in government rather than the private sector where she had been working. Murphy went on to earn a Master of Public Health degree from Emory University in Atlanta and worked for the Center for Disease Control for a time until returning to the St. Petersburg area.

PEL people filled the tables in the atrium at Lewis House
and in the porch area.

 Following a short time of remembering, many in the gathering moved over to the James Center for dinner.

To see images from the 2017 PEL Alumni Reception, click HERE:

To see the slide show of archive images, click HERE.

Other Events

Jake Halterman '09 attended the Dean's Luncheon on the Arts
on Saturday afternoon . . .

. . . and the PEL reception and evening dinner, with his wife, Paula.

Donna and Clint Day '07 enjoyed both the PEL reception
and the dinner . . .

. . . as did Diahan and Bernard "Roc" LiLavois '10.

Professors Naveen Malhotra and Patti Cooksey '97
with Bernard "Roc" LiLavois '10

Alumni Weekend photos are courtesy of the College and were taken by local freelance photographer Lisa Presnail.

Cheers -- and see you all next year!

Food, Music, and Fun Coming to the PEL Alumni Reception

Waterfront, patio, and inside gatherings with friends / Cal Brown 2015

Join us for the 2017 PEL Alumni Reception!

Saturday, March 11
6:00 - 7:30 p.m.  

in Lewis House

Reconnect, reminisce, and network with PEL classmates and professors at the PEL Alumni Reception on Saturday, March 11, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Lewis House on the main campus (see map ).

Organizers have planned an evening of food, music, and conversation. PEL Alumni Coordinator Donna Littell '75 and Angie Jones '12 (P '14), a PEL alumna and Eckerd College's associate director of communications and the College editor, have worked with Megan McCoy '16, assistant director of alumni engagement, and Tish Burke, assistant director of major gifts, to prepare this PEL event. 

"Lewis House, with its waterfront patio and balmy setting, is the perfect place to reminisce about PEL and share stories about where you are now," Jones said. 

Classmates, colleagues, and professors reconnect / Anne Anderson, 2016

Littell noted that other PEL alumni have been working to get the word out about the PEL Alumni Reception.

"We are very grateful to PEL alumni Bob Albury '09, Patricia Brown '94, Deb Piner '03, and Steve Powell '16 who have helped us promote the event," Littell said.

Following the PEL gathering, PEL people are welcome to join other Eckerd alumni and guests at the James Center for Molecular and Life Sciences from 7:30 to 11 p.m. for dinner, dancing, lawn games, a photo booth, and more.

Register here for the PEL Alumni Reception (cost is $10 per person) and for other Reunion Weekend events.

Art shows, receptions, free waterfront picnic, boat rides, and more!

The PEL reception is only one of many exciting events planned as part of  Eckerd's Reunion Weekend 2017 (March 10th-11th).

The Alumni Art Show Reception on Friday evening (7-8 p.m.) in Cobb Gallery features work from alumni as well as from Eckerd professor Brian Ransom.  Saturday events include the Alumni Awards Breakfast, the Women's Resources Center Alumnae Awards Reception, various talks, and the culminating event, Saturday night's Reunion Celebration Dinner and Party. Sunday events include a snorkeling/sampling study trip on the Rainbow River, a worship service in Wireman Chapel, and farewell brunch.

Live music adds ambience / Anne Anderson, 2016

Free events include guided campus walking tours throughout the day on Saturday and a picnic/cookout and free waterfront boat tours from 12 to 3 p.m. Family members are welcome.

Special note to members of the Classes of 1987, 1992, and 1997

If you are a member of the Class of 1987, celebrating the 30th anniversary of your graduation (yes, really!), or of the Classes of 1992 (25th anniversary) or 1997 (20th anniversary), you might also be interested in attending one of these off-campus, cash-bar gatherings for both PEL and residential alumni on Saturday FRIDAY [corrected 03/10/17] evening:

• Class of 1987 Reunion Group Party / 6 to 7:30 p.m., private cabana on the beach at Caddy’s On The Beach, 9000 W Gulf Blvd, Treasure Island, FL 33706.   
• Class of 1992 Reunion Group Party / 6 to 7:30 p.m., reserved area on third floor at The Hurricane, 809 Gulf Way, St Pete Beach, FL 33706. 
• Class of 1997 Reunion Group Party / 6 to 7:30 p.m., reserved table and area at Queens Head Bar and Restaurant, 2501 Central Avenue, St. Petersburg, FL 33713.

To read more about the weekend’s events or to register / RSVP for the PEL Alumni Reception and other events, visit Eckerd's Reunion Weekend website. Never been to Lewis House? Use this handy campus map for reference, or just ask at the front gate. Please call (727)-864-8222 or email alumni@eckerd.edu for more information or assistance.

Good food, good friends, good times -- what could be better?! / Cal Brown, 2015

A new PEL baby; Mark your calendars; Kudos!

A New PEL Baby!!!

The PEL community welcomed a new baby recently! PEL Reception Coordinator Janice Writt and her husband, Jeremy, are the parents of Jaxson Billy, born October 25th. Baby Jaxson weighed in at 9 lbs. 10 oz. and is joined at home by their Dalmatian, Dallas. Congratulations!

Mark your calendars

January 14, 2017 is the opening day of the Writers in Paradise week-long workshop. All evening readings are FREE and open to the public. Readings begin at 8 p.m. in Miller Auditorium; refreshments are available beginning at 7:30 p.m. and book signings follow each speaking event.   Scheduled to speak are:

• Saturday, January 14: Keynote Speaker is poet Richard Blanco
• Sunday, January 15: David Yoo and Laura Lippman
• Monday, January 16: Fabienne Josaphat and Andre Dubus III
• Tuesday, January 17: Denise Duhamel, Stewart O'Nan and Helen Wallace
• Wednesday, January, 18: (free day, no reading scheduled)
• Thursday, January 19: Les Standiford and Ann Hood
• Friday, January 20: Sterling Watson, Major Jackson and Peter Meinke
• Saturday, January 21: Closing speaker, Lan Samantha Chang

January 14, 2017: PEL people are invited to a Writers in Paradise Pre-Conference PEL Reception  from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in Cobb Gallery. This year's theme is Celebrating PEL Authors. Read more about this event here.

March 11, 2017: PEL Reception at Alumni Weekend. More details will be coming soon!

Kudos!

PEL Students contributed 2000+ hours of community service through various service learning projects -- including helping to promote the artwork of senior citizens, working with homeless projects, helping teens learn financial literacy skills, and volunteering at nature parks -- during the 2015-2016 academic year.

Most of these hours were part of Reflective Service Learning projects in Quest for Meaning and many were part of the Enactus/SIFE course taught by Professor Malhotra. And many others were completed as part of other PEL courses. Way to go PEL people!

At right: PEL student Yolanda Carter helps install a community garden at CASA. 

Faculty News

 Professor James Welch presented "Developing Ethical Leadership in the Post-Enron World: An Analysis of Business Ethics Education in National Liberal Arts Colleges in the United States" at the European Group for Organizational Studies 32nd Annual Colloquium in Naples, Italy, in July. Professor Welch oversees the Organizational Studies program in PEL.

Professor Naveen Malhotra  presented his paper, "Case Study: The Teaching Tool in Capstone Business Courses," at the International Academy of Business and Economics Conference in Las Vegas in October. Malhotra is the Tom and Mary James Professor of Finance at Eckerd College.

 Staff News

PEL Director of Blended and Online Learning Anne Anderson recently contributed to Toward a Spiritual Research Paradigm: Exploring New Ways of Knowing, Researching, and Being, a book that is part of Information Age Publishing's Transforming Education for the Future series. Anderson's chapter is titled "'Out of the Everywhere into Here': Rhetoricity and Transcendence as Common Ground for Spiritual Research."

The publisher's site describes the book thus: "Spirituality and spiritual experiences have been the bedrock of every civilization and together form one of the highest mechanisms for making sense of the world for billions of people. Current research paradigms, due to their limitation to empirical, sensory, psychologically, or culturally constructed realities, fail to provide a framework for exploring this essential area of human experience. The development of a spiritual research paradigm will provide researchers from the social sciences and education the tools and abilities to systematically explore fundamental questions regarding human spiritual experiences and spiritual growth."