The Legacy Award Gala and Silent/Live Auction, the William Paterson University Foundation’s annual event to raise scholarship funds for William Paterson students, will be held on Saturday, April 8 at The Villa at Mountain Lakes.
“Funds raised by the Legacy Award Gala provide vital scholarship support for the University’s most talented students, and are an investment in student success,” says Sandra S. Deller, vice president for institutional advancement and president of the William Paterson University Foundation. “The dividends on this investment are over the lifetime of our students.”
The Legacy Award is presented to individuals and corporations who, through their acts and deeds, epitomize the spirit of William Paterson, the University’s namesake and the New Jersey patriot and statesman whose visionary leadership was critical in the development of the state and the nation. Recipients of the 2006 Legacy Award are Joseph and Marcia Bograd of Pompton Lakes, owners of Bograd’s Fine Furniture located in Riverdale; The Reverend Louis J. Scurti, director of Catholic Campus Ministry, the Bishop Rodimer Catholic Campus Ministry Center, and the Jesus Christ Prince of Peace Chapel in Haledon; and The Pharmaceutical and Medical Technology Industry of New Jersey.
During a ceremony prior to the Legacy Gala, the Distinguished Alumni Award will be presented to Edna Cadmus ’76 of Rutherford, senior vice president of patient care services, Englewood Hospital and Medical Center; Marjorie Falck Heller ’62 of Little Silver, superintendent of schools, Little Silver, N.J.; Susan Lisovicz ’78 of Hoboken, correspondent for CNN and co-host of “In the Money;” Vincent Mazzola ’73 of Mendham, vice president, emerging markets, business development, Lucent Technologies; and Eileen Scott ’76 of Basking Ridge, prominent retail executive.
The Alumni Association Faculty Service Award is given to faculty members nominated by William Paterson alumni in recognition of demonstrated career achievement and commitment to the University. This year's recipient is Marion P. Turkish of Summit, professor of elementary and early childhood education.
Tickets for the gala are $350. The evening begins at 5:30 p.m. with presentation of the Distinguished Alumni Award and the Faculty Service Award. The event continues with cocktails at 7 p.m., dinner and dancing at 8 p.m., and presentation of the Legacy Awards, and includes a silent and live auction. For reservations, call Mary Pospisil, William Paterson University Office of Institutional Advancement, at 973-720-2934.
William Paterson University, one of the nine state colleges and universities in New Jersey, offers 32 undergraduate and 19 graduate programs through five colleges: Arts and Communication, the Christos M. Cotsakos College of Business, Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Science and Health. Located on 370 hilltop acres in Wayne, the University enrolls approximately nearly 11,000 students and provides housing for nearly 2,300 students. The institution’s 375 full-time faculty are highly distinguished and diverse scholars and teachers, many of whom are recipients of prestigious awards and grants from the Fulbright Program (28 scholars), the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the American Philosophical Society.
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The Reverend Louis J. Scurti, Ph.D.
Born in Jersey City, the Reverend Louis J. Scurti was ordained a Catholic priest in 1973. For twenty-five years, he has served William Paterson as director of the Catholic Campus Ministry, Bishop Rodimer Catholic Campus Ministry Center (CCMC), and Jesus Christ Prince of Peace Chapel. He is the host of “The Word: Alive and Well,” the ministry’s flagship television production, which airs on twenty-five cable networks in New York and New Jersey. An artist whose paintings hang on the walls of the chapel and ministry center, he has worked as an adjunct professor both at the University and St. Peter’s College. He is also a licensed marriage and family therapist, and works closely with the University’s Counseling, Health, and Wellness Center.
The volunteer programs Father Lou has initiated at the University include the annual Thanksgiving Awareness and Shelter the Homeless programs, which over the years have netted tens of thousands of dollars directly to county agencies that feed and house the poor. He also initiated outreach programs to Preakness Nursing home, the North Jersey Developmental Center, and Eva’s Kitchen.
A highlight of Father Lou’s mission at William Paterson was the construction of the chapel. After six years of fundraising, he was awarded a matching grant by the Diocese of Paterson through the “Prepare the Way” campaign and personal donations from Bishop Frank J. Rodimer, to construct the Jesus Christ Prince of Peace Chapel and the Bishop Frank J. Rodimer Catholic Campus Ministry Center. Dedicated in 1999, the chapel and center have become a gathering place and home away from home for University students, faculty, and staff, as well as members of the local community. Among the special events offered at the chapel are weddings, baptisms, and funerals, biannual healing Masses, the Annual Communion Breakfast and Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults Confirmations, the Universality Masses (celebrating the universal heritage of Catholicism, in various ethnic languages), memorials, concerts performed by the CCMC Music Ministry and University Music Department students and faculty, Annual Lenten Christian Art Exhibit, and all special events of the liturgical year.
Father Lou holds the following academic degrees: B.A. in philosophy from Seton Hall University; a master of divinity from St. Mary’s Seminary and University; a master’s in liberal arts from Johns Hopkins University; a master of fine arts from Montclair State University; and an educational specialist degree in marriage and family therapy from the School of Psychology and Human Services of Seton Hall University. In May 2000, Father Lou was awarded his Ph.D. in family mediation from La Salle University and received his New Jersey license as a marriage and family therapist.
Most recently, Father Lou was honored with the Haledon Rotary Club’s 2005 Community Service Award.
