A Tribute to Late Siena Heights Faculty Member Dr. Martha Carroll

Editor’s Note: The following edited tribute to late SHU faculty member Dr. Martha Carroll was given by SHU Vice President of Academic Affairs Sister Sharon Weber at Martha’s funeral on July 15, 2012.

Martha asked me to say something about her that would make you laugh. On the other hand, she used to tell me that she had to explain my sense of humor to others—so I am not sure that there is much hope that I can fulfill her wishes.

But let me begin by telling you the story of the little first or second grader that reported on his Bible school class. They had been told the story of Jesus visiting Lazarus and Martha and Mary. Martha as you will recall complained that Mary was not helping her with the hostess work. The youngster reported that Jesus replied, “Martha, Martha, you’re too fussy.”

Now I think most of us would agree that we don’t normally think of Martha Carroll as “Fussy.” For example, we would hardly think of her as especially “fussy” about the professional football team she chose to support.

However, when it came to the causes about which she was passionate, she could be very “fussy.” And she was passionate about helping individuals with special needs. When she agreed to develop a special education program for Siena Heights in 2006, she worked to provide the best courses and experiences the potential teachers could have to serve the needs of their future students, including the collaboration skills to work with administrators, faculty, and families. She undertook this project after retiring from the University of Toledo. So she put an enormous amount of energy into planning curriculum and writing course syllabi as well as learning the requirements of a different state Department of Education. She traveled to Lansing; she met with state officials; she listened carefully; she explained tirelessly; she got it done four times for the program at Siena Heights, for both the graduate and the undergraduate programs in learning disabilities and cognitive impairment.

Class Notes—Fall 2012

From The Sites

SHU—Online

Jimmy Blacker ’09 is employed as a patrol officer at St. Clair County Community College. He resides in Port Huron, Mich.

Andrew Zaleski ’12 (Lansing) & Laurie Kipp ’12 have both accepted positions as flight medical crew members for Beaumont One, Beaumont Health System’s new air medical transportation program.

SHU—Battle Creek

Niki Cummings ’04, ’08/MA recently opened a unique transitional home in Battle Creek, Mich., for homeless women veterans. The house has five bedrooms, which is enough to house eight women. It also has a medication office, case management and counseling office, a community porch, a dining room and full kitchen.

SHU—Benton Harbor

Timothy Vanderslik ’10 joined the Educational Community Credit Union in July as a network administrator. His new responsibilities include the installation, configuration, maintenance and support of ECCU’s internal and external hardware systems, in addition to performing all phases of server and desktop software installation and maintenance. He is also a certified Microsoft professional.

Tom Bevington ’12 is employed as an assistant textbook manager at the University Bookstore DeVos Center at Grand Valley State University.

SHU—Lansing

Richard Bushong ’01 was promoted to lieutenant in June by the Eaton County Sheriff’s Office in Charlotte, Mich. He is a 23-year veteran with the office.

SHU—Monroe

Paula Gyorkos ’05, ’07/MA joined the staff of Caring Alternatives Counseling Center in Monroe, Mich. She is a limited licensed professional counselor and has an enhanced certification as an alcohol and drug counselor from the Michigan Certification Board of Addiction Professionals. She also provides treatment in the areas of domestic violence accountability, anger management, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression. She resides in Onsted, Mich.

Todd Eberline ’08 is employed as the sales and service manager for Fedco-USA in the East Asia Oceania region. Fedco is a company based in Monroe that manufactures high pressure pumps and energy recovery devices for the reverse osmosis desalination market. He recently relocated to Singapore to start an office there. He has traveled to more than 20 countries since starting his position.

Laura Pressotto ’12 received the President’s Award from her employer, Pioneer Metal Finishing in Monroe, Mich. Pressotto is employed as an account manager.

From the Alumni Office:

Jennifer Hamlin Church
Associate VP for Advancement &
Director of Alumni Relations

Why We Do What We Do. And Why It Matters.

At Fall Convocation, Religious Studies Professor Ian Bell spoke to a standing-room only crowd in St. Dominic Chapel. Convocation is the official kick-off of each new academic year and the speech by each year’s Eileen Rice Teaching Award winner is always a highlight.

In an address titled “Why We Do the Things We Do,” Professor Bell talked about why he is so deeply committed to Siena Heights—and what makes this place so special.

It all comes down to mission and identity.

Siena Heights is a Catholic university where “faith and reason walk hand in hand,” he said: Unlike many colleges, where education is considered strictly intellectual, Siena Heights actively encourages students “to ask questions about faith and religion,” without judging or forcing the answers. “The encounter with one’s faith—be it Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim or other—is not only tolerated but encouraged.”

We want you to become more competent, purposeful and ethical, Dr. Bell told the students; and to do so in an environment that respects the dignity of all. Why? Because “we desire good things for you”—a good life and the kind of success that is defined not by wealth or possessions but by whether the human community is “better off because of the choices you make and the actions you take.”

He ended with a plea: “Take your identity and mission seriously. Embrace questions of meaning. Explore the arts. Examine the workings of the world. Become a better thinker. If you do this, you will be able to define yourself not in terms of what you do, but in terms of who you are.” And, he added, “You will know why you do the things you do.”