February 2020
Alumni Events
REUNION 2020
Saturday, April 25

All alumni are invited to Reunion 2020 to celebrate the 2020 Reunion Classes (classes ending in "0" and "5"), the Golden Alumni Society (Classes of 1958-1969), the Class of 2019 and the 2020 Alumni Achievement Award Winners.

Reunion 2020 includes :
*Golden Alumni Society Reception
*Alumni Memorial Mass
*le diner en bleu
*Alumni Achievement Awards
and more!

See the full schedule and register online at: holyfamily.edu/alumnireunion .
ALUMNI AXE THROWING
Thursday, March 19

Grab a friend or two, and join us for our first ever Axe Throwing Night at Mazhu Axes, the premiere axe throwing facility in NE Philadelphia!

Guests will have the opportunity to enjoy the other activities available at Mazhu Axes, including Shuffleboard, Foosball, Bubble Hockey, and Pool Tables. Guests can bring their own food and drinks and Moss Mill Brewery will be on site selling their delicious beer.

Tickets going fast! Save $$ and reserve your spot today at: holyfamily.edu/AlumniAxeThrowing
NIGHT AT THE PHILLIES
Tuesday, April 7

The entire community is invited to join us at Citizens Bank Park for the 7:05 PM game against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Holy Family Alumni are invited to Pass and Stow (inside Citizens Bank Park) before the game to reconnect with classmates, faculty, staff and friends.

Still need a reason to go? It will be Hatfield Dollar Dog Night and a portion of all ticket sales will benefit Holy Family University!

Get your tickets at: holyfamily.edu/phillies
TIGERS ON THE LOOSE ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIP CELEBRATION
Thursday, May 7, 2020
 
Join us at The Mütter Museum of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, America's finest museum of medical history, for a scholarship celebration to raise critical funds for student financial aid.
Special discount available for recent Holy Family graduates.

The evening will begin in the National Historic Landmark building with a reception featuring food stations, hors d’oeuvres, and an open bar. Following a short program, the reception will continue and guests will have exclusive access to the Mütter Museum’s galleries. Highlights include the “Soap Lady,” slides from Albert Einstein’s brain, the tallest skeleton on display in North America, and a new exhibition on the Influenza Pandemic of 1918-19 in Philadelphia. Weather permitting, the Benjamin Rush Medicinal Plant Garden will be open.

Your support of Tigers on the Loose will provide scholarships to Holy Family students, who just like you, are pursuing a higher education to realize their dreams of being a teacher, scientist, entrepreneur, nurse, artist, doctor or attorney.

For more information, please visit holyfamily.edu/tigersloose or contact Joshua Liss, Assistant Vice President for Development, at 267-341-3100 or jliss@holyfamily.edu .
HFU Distinguished Writers Series presents
"An Evening with R.O. Kwon"
R.O. Kwon, a bestselling American author, will be the 2nd speaker in Holy Family's Distinguished Writers Series on Wednesday, March 25 in the ETC Auditorium, beginning at 6:30 PM.

An American author who was born in South Korea, R.O. Kwon’s was called one of “four writers to watch” by the New York Times, even before the 2018 release of her nationally bestselling first novel,  The Incendiaries . 

Great Day to be a Tiger 2020 a Success!
On Tuesday, February 11th, the entire campus community celebrated Great Day to be a Tiger 2020, the University's 66th birthday and the anniversary of our charter. The day included Anniversary Mass, Tiger Tacos, "Tiger Talks" (similar to TED talks, some given by alumni!) and a birthday party featuring Mini Melts, TastyKakes, and a delicious birthday cake from Stock's Bakery.

Great Day to Be a Tiger was also our second annual Day of Giving in support of student success and the Blue White Fund. Thanks to the generosity of our HFU family, we exceeded our goal of 200 donors to reach 225! That's 38 more than last year.
Campus News
  • 2020 Taylor Awards to Fund Key Research and Publication Initiatives Twelve Holy Family University professors are recipients of the 2020 Ray and Mildred Taylor Awards to fund seven important research and publication initiatives, according to Michael Markowitz, PhD, Vice President of Academic Affairs. This year’s honorees will pursue research initiatives in the areas of cancer, women’s mental health related to pregnancy loss, emotional changes over a lifespan, and radiologic examination advances, among others. Read more here.

  • Partnership with St. James School to Support Post-Secondary Student Success Holy Family and St. James School have launched a first-of-its-kind program in Philadelphia to ensure post-secondary education success for low-income African American students, who are often first-generation college students and under-represented on college campuses. Working together, the two schools have entered into an agreement to pave a strong educational path and provide support for St. James students to earn college degrees. Read more here.

  • "It's On Us" PA Grant from the Governor's Office For the third consecutive year, Holy Family University has been awarded the "It’s On Us PA" grant, aimed at funding education, training, and the prevention of sexual assault and sex- and gender-based discrimination, harassment, and misconduct on college campuses. The University is among 36 postsecondary institutions named by Governor Tom Wolf to receive this grant. Read more here.

  • How Special Is That? Laukaitis featured in KYW podcast Bernadette Laukaitis ’00, Holy Family’s Women's Basketball Head Coach, was featured in KYW Newsradio "1-on-1 with Matt Leon" podcast. She discussed her return to Holy Family and the Tigers’ amazing season, her career journey, and her time on the court as #12 as a student. Listen to this inspirational podcast episode here.

  • Leadership for New Center for Teaching and Learning Holy Family University, the recipient, this past fall, of a Title III Strengthening Institutions Grant from the U.S. Department of Education, has announced the appointment of Lisa A. Ratmansky to serve as executive director of the University’s new Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). The new position and the new Center are both the result of the $2-million grant award. Read more here.

  • Bonacquisti Published in Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology Alexa Bonacquisti, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Graduate Counseling Psychology Department, was recently published in the Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology. Her paper, titled Maternal depression, anxiety, stress, and maternal-infant attachment in the neonatal intensive care unit, describes a study of the psychological experiences of mothers with infants in the NICU. It was co-authored by Dr. Pamela A. Geller from Drexel University and Dr. Chavis A. Patterson from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Read more here.

  • Spotlight on Holy Family Alumni Couples In honor of Valentine's Day, a number of "Tiger Mates", Holy Family's Alumni Couples, were featured on February 14th on our social media channels. See the Facebook Album here.
Holy Family Magazine
The latest Holy Family University Magazine is now available online!

Read about how Holy Family is raising the bar for student success, a beautiful tribute to Father Al Smith, OSFS, a recap of our Fall 2019 events, and more alumni spotlights and class notes than ever! Let us know what you think by sending a  Letter to the Editor .

Check your mailboxes! All alumni should have received a copy of this issue mailed to their homes. Didn't receive it? Make sure the Alumni Office has your current address via the Alumni Update Form .
Alumni Benefits & Services
ALUMNI BENEFIT SPOTLIGHT: INSURANCE DISCOUNTS

Holy Family's Alumni Association is proud to sponsor an Alumni Insurance Program through Meyer and Associates. The program offers a variety of attractively-priced insurance products which are available to most alumni, students, faculty, and staff, as well as their spouses, domestic partners, children, parents, and siblings.

Products include Auto, Home & Renters Insurance, Life Insurance, Travel Insurance, Long Term Care Insurance, Pet Insurance, Advisory Services, Medicare Health Exchange, and more. A portion of all insurance plans purchased through this program benefit the Alumni Association.

See complete information at  HFU.meyerandassoc.com  or contact Meyer and Associates at  800-635-7801 .
Middle States Update
Many of you are aware that Holy Family University (HFU) is accredited by the regional accreditation agency, the Middle States Commission for Higher Education (MSCHE), generally referred to as Middle States. To maintain accreditation, the University must periodically apply for reaffirmation of accreditation. For HFU, this is occurring during the 2020-2021 academic year.

In preparation for this reaffirmation, under the direction of the MSCHE Steering Committee comprised of appointed faculty and staff members, Holy Family University has been engaged in an in-depth self-study, following MSCHE’s Requirements of Affiliation and the Standards of Accreditation.

We want you to be a part of the process. Over the next year, all alumni are encouraged to regularly visit holyfamily.edu/middlestates to read detailed information and updates, and to participate and contribute to our self-study process.

We thank you in advance for your feedback!
Dr. Bernice Purcell, DBA ’85 and John Andelfinger, Co-Chairs of the Middle States Steering Committee
Alumni Giving
The Blue & White Fund is the primary source of individual support for Holy Family University with unrestricted gifts providing immediate impact on student success.