June 2026

The University will celebrate Reunion Weekend 2026 from June 5-7. Register for this year's celebration here. Online registration will close Thursday, June 4, at noon EST.

Friday, June 5

7 p.m. The Frank J. O'Hara Awards Dinner-The DeNaples Center, McIlhenny Ballroom, 4th floor
All alumni and guests are invited to join us for this complimentary signature event to start the weekend. The Frank J. O’Hara Distinguished Alumni Award, presented annually to alumni who have exhibited sustained achievement in a particular field or endeavor, is the highest award bestowed jointly by the University and The Alumni Society. This year's event will honor Christine Blazynski, Ph. D. '76, Justin Murphy '76, Dcn. James Knipper '81, Lawrence R. Lynch '81, H'22, Patricia Byrnes Clarke '86, P'17, '19, James M. Slattery '86, H'23, Elizabeth Madden '96, and Thomas J. Gibbons '96, G'99 in memoriam. Register for this year's dinner or leave a congratulatory note for an honoree here. 

9 - 11 p.m. All-Class Welcome Reception
Kick off Reunion Weekend by reconnecting with classmates and friends at the All-Class Welcome Reception, featuring music, food, drinks and a festive atmosphere. Flagpole Terrace.

Saturday, June 6

9 - 10:30 a.m. Class of 1976 Breakfast and Campus Tour Weiss Hall -1st floor

10 a.m. Goat Yoga: A fun yoga session where goats will interact while you stretch, breathe and unwind.  Founder's Green

10 a.m. Campus Tour: Departs from the 2nd floor of the DeNaples Center.

11 a.m. - noon Pints with Professors: Enjoy your favorite beverage(s) while sharing stories with faculty, staff and friends. The DeNaples Center, 2nd Floor

11 a.m. - noon Bands and Singers Hanging out in Houlihan with Boga

Noon - Blessing and Dedication of the Rev. J. A. Panuska, S.J. Commons, Linden and Monroe

12:30 - 3 p.m. Reunion Block Party: Enjoy live music, games. food, beer/wine/soda and more. Dionne Green

3 p.m. Campus Tour: Departs from the 2nd floor of the DeNaples Center.

6 - 10:30 p.m. Saturday Evening Celebration: The perfect opportunity to connect with your class! Enjoy cocktails and dinner together, then cap off the evening with everyone at the after-party.

Sunday, June 7

9:30 a.m. Reunion Weekend Mass in Madonna della Strada Chapel

9:30 a.m. - noon Brunch on the 3rd floor of The DeNaples Center

The University of Scranton is proud to announce that it will honor Rev. Bernard R. McIlhenny, S.J. H'98, Dean of Admissions Emeritus, with the Peter A. Carlesimo Award on Monday, June 15, at the 2026 Carlesimo Golf Tournament & Award Dinner at Canoe Brook Country Club. 

We are once again partnering with the Quandel Construction Group as the title sponsor for this event. Register for this year's event here. 

About "Father Mac"

Rev. Bernard R. McIlhenny, S.J. H'98 arrived in Scranton in 1958 to serve as the fourth headmaster of Scranton Preparatory School, which at the time was owned by the University. While at Prep, he oversaw the school’s relocation to its present site. Fr. McIlhenny was appointed dean of admissions at the University in 1966. Known to many as “Father Mac,” his tenure as dean of admissions spanned 31 years, during which time he is credited with admitting more than two-thirds of the University’s living alumni.

In 1966, the University was all male and mainly comprised of commuting students with a small number of residential students. The campus was just beginning to develop. A special summer program that he attended at Harvard University in 1967  introduced Father Mac to the changing dynamic and future competition of higher education admissions to a “buyer’s market.” In his approach to promoting the University beyond the academic programs to prospective students, Father Mac emphasized the University's family-like atmosphere where students could receive personal attention and make friends for life, a fact that he witnesses presently during class reunions. His impact upon the University and its Athletics program cannot be overstated. He retired from admissions in 1997 and continued to serve the University as minister of the Scranton Jesuit Community. 

A native of Philadelphia, Father Mac is a graduate of St. Joseph’s Preparatory School and St. Joseph’s University. He entered the Society of Jesus at the age of 18 and celebrated his 70^th anniversary as a Jesuit in 2014. He remains an avid golfer and maintains close friendships with those alumni whom he knew during their student days. In 2009, the University dedicated the Rev. Bernard R. McIlhenny, S.J. Ballroom in The DeNaples Center in honor of Father Mac’s years of service to Scranton, and the University honored him with the President's Medal in 2016. Last fall, at the age of 99, he hit a hole-in-one, the second of his golfing career, and he celebrated his 100th birthday in March.

Founded in 1901, Canoe Brook Country Club offers 36 holes of championship golf. Recognized as a 5-Star Platinum Club of the World, the club has played host to a number of significant events, including U.S. Open and British Open qualifiers and the U.S. Women's Amateur.

Named in honor of the late Peter A. Carlesimo, former University of Scranton coach and athletics director, the Carlesimo Golf Tournament & Award Dinner celebrates athletics at The University of Scranton and honors a person who has made special contributions to athletics and Catholic education. The Golf Tournament and Award Dinner serves as a fundraising event to support and enhance the student-athlete experience at Scranton.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about the event or sponsorship opportunities, contact Eric Eckenrode at eric.eckenrode@scranton.edu.

The University of Scranton will present the President’s Medal to Robert S. ’68 and Marilyn A. Weiss at the President’s Medal Gala Thursday, Oct. 1, at Pier Sixty, Manhattan’s largest waterfront event venue. Watch a short video message featuring Rev. Joseph G. Marina, S.J., University president, announcing the University’s intent to honor Bob and Marilyn here.

The event is the premier annual fundraiser for the University, and proceeds from the dinner benefit the Presidential Scholarship Endowment Fund, which awards four-year, full-tuition scholarships to incoming first-year students with outstanding high school records and notable community involvement. The University presents the President’s Medal to individuals who have achieved excellence in their fields and who have demonstrated extraordinary compassion for others. All alumni, parents and friends of the University are welcome and encouraged to attend this year’s event.

Scranton has held a special place in the hearts of Bob and Marilyn ever since they met at a “U Dance” at the Gunster Memorial Student Center in 1966. Their 2015 gift of $1.25 million resulted in the creation of the Robert and Marilyn Weiss Pediatric Low Vision Research and Training Suite, and their 2016 gift of $1 million established Robert and Marilyn Weiss Field as a first-class home for Scranton’s soccer, lacrosse and field hockey teams. In 2024, their gift of $10.5 million, the largest single donation in the history of the University, blossomed into the four-story, 90,000 square-foot Robert S. and Marilyn A. Weiss Hall. The building houses the University’s Department of Criminal Justice, Cybersecurity and Sociology, the Department of Psychology, Student Health Services, the Center for Health, Education and Wellness, the Small Business Development Center, the University of Success, and the state-of-the-art IDEA Center, which features woodworking, 3D printing, laser engraving, sewing and audio recording capabilities.

A native of Lake Ariel, Bob became the first person in his family to attend college when he began studying accounting through the University’s ROTC program. As a U.S. Army Captain, he was awarded two Bronze Stars and the Army Commendation Medal for his service in Vietnam. He became a certified public accountant and began working as an assistant corporate controller in 1977 at Cooper Laboratories Inc., which would eventually become The Cooper Companies, Inc., a multinational manufacturer and marketer of specialty healthcare products with annual revenues exceeding $4 billion.

Over the next 41 years, Bob rose through the ranks at Cooper, serving as corporate controller, treasurer, chief financial officer, chief operating officer, president of Coopervision, and, ultimately, president and CEO. During Bob’s time at the company, Cooper had a number of industry-defining breakthroughs, including the development of intraocular lenses and Lasik surgery, two advancements that have helped millions see more clearly. Under Bob’s leadership, the company sought to address the approximately 50% of children and young adults aged 5-22 who are suffering from progressive myopia, a condition that often leads to eye diseases such as cataracts, glaucoma, retinal detachment and macular degeneration later in life, by developing MiSight, a soft contact lens that was ultimately approved by the FDA in 2019 for myopia management in children aged 8-12. Bob was named the “Most Admired CEO of 2012” by the San Francisco Business Times, and he was recognized with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award for 2017-2018. After retiring in 2018, he became the chair of Cooper’s board of directors through January of 2026, and he remains on its board today.

Bob was honored by the University with the Frank J. O’Hara Distinguished Alumni Award in 2008. As a University trustee, he became informally known as “the pizza guru” due to his unabashed love of and enthusiasm for the pizza of Northeastern Pennsylvania. He also sponsors the Pediatric Refractive Error Training Center, an eyecare clinic in Hanoi, Vietnam, that trains optometrists to fight the growing pandemic of myopia.

A native of South Scranton, Marilyn studied at the University through the Scranton State General Hospital School of Nursing. She served as the head nurse at the Edward S. Harkness Eye Institute at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York and as a pediatric nurse at Bayside Pediatrics in Pleasanton, California.

Bob and Marilyn are frequent sponsors of local charitable causes in the San Francisco East Bay area, including Goodness Village, which provides tiny homes and supportive services to the Tri-Valley’s formerly unhoused neighbors, Valley Humane Society, and the Bay Area Military Classic & The Joey Graves Memorial Golf Tournament, which supports Gold Star Families.

The couple are the proud parents of three children, Chris, Kim and Doug, and they are blessed with two grandchildren, Kylie and Jayden. They reside in Pleasanton, California.

An Ambitious Goal

At last year’s gala, Rev. Joseph G. Marina, S.J., University president, announced an ambitious University-wide effort to permanently endow the Presidential Scholarship Endowment Fund by raising an additional $7 million through the 2025 and 2026 President’s Medal Galas, which would bring its lifetime total up to $30 million.

“In 2002, The University of Scranton embarked upon a marathon endeavor when it held its first award dinner in support of the Presidential Scholarship Endowment Fund,” said Father Marina in a video announcing the initiative. “We are only $7 million away from securing the future of The Presidential Scholarship Endowment Fund and ensuring that our Presidential Scholars will continue to thrive at the University forever.

“Help us write the ending this 25-year marathon deserves.”

Visit this link to support Presidential Scholarships at The University of Scranton.

Registration and sponsorship information will be available soon. For more information on the President’s Medal Gala, contact Associate Vice President of Development Eric Eckenrode at eric.eckenrode@scranton.edu or Executive Director, Annual Giving & Campus Partnerships Brad Troy ’02 at bradley.troy@scranton.edu.

Alumni, parents and friends are invited to join us for an afternoon at the Jersey Shore on Saturday, June 27, from 3–6 p.m. at the Belmar Fishing Club in Belmar, New Jersey.

Hosted by Karen Golding ’91, this gathering is a great opportunity to reconnect with fellow alumni and enjoy time by the ocean.

Register here.

Join alumni from The University of Scranton, Fordham University, Loyola Marymount University and St. Joseph's University for a Summer JAM Happy Hour on Thursday, June 25, at 230 Fifth Rooftop Bar in New York City. Reconnect with fellow alumni, make new connections and celebrate the spirit of the #JesuitEducated community. Admission is $30 and includes two drinks and appetizers. Space is limited.

Register here.

On Commencement Weekend, the Legacy Families of the Class of 2026 gathered with Rev. Joseph G. Marina, S.J., University president, and Alumni Society Advisory Board Chair Chris Neumann, Esq. ’87, P’24, P’27, as they prepared to “go forth and set the world on fire.” 

With baseball season officially underway, it’s the perfect time to make plans to join fellow Royals at the ballpark.

We’re excited to invite you to a series of University of Scranton Alumni Baseball Outings planned over the coming months. These events are a great way to connect with alumni, enjoy America’s pastime and represent the Royal community in cities across the country.

Here’s what we have lined up:

Friday, July 31: Texas Rangers vs. Houston Astros at Daikin Park
Thursday, August 27: Houston Astros vs. New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium
Tuesday, September 1: Seattle Mariners vs. Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park
Wednesday, September 16: Baltimore Orioles vs. New York Mets at Citi Field
Thursday, September 24: Milwaukee Brewers vs. Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park

We hope to see you soon at a ballpark near you!

What's new with you? To submit a Class Note, visit the Class Notes Submission Page.

William L. Kovacs ’69, Great Falls, Virginia, published his most recent book, “Congress: An Irrelevant Institution or Guardian of the Republic,” completing his trilogy on reforming the federal government. The book warns that as Congress retreats from its constitutional responsibilities, the separation of powers erodes and executive overreach strengthens presidential power over the nation. His first book, “Reform the Kakistocracy,” received the 2021 Independent Press Award for Social/Political Change. His second book, “Devolution of Power: Rolling Back the Federal State to Preserve the Republic,” was a finalist in the 18th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards in the Government category.

Salvatore A. Luongo '86, Tampa, Florida, was named President and Chief Operating Officer at Red Rock Group Holdings. He also serves as Principal Consultant at Hamilton Grace.

Annmarie E. Andrejko '92, Hudson, was named regional president for Northeast PA and head of Corporate Banking for the region at PNC Bank.

Tina Gallagher ’95 and Cecelia Mecca ’96, G’98 are releasing the first book in their co-authored contemporary romance series, "The Brewhouse Book Society," on April 28. The two alumnae, who did not know each other while at Scranton, connected decades later through the romance writing community and developed both a friendship and a creative partnership. The series is set in a fictional small town in Pennsylvania and follows a group of women navigating love, life, and friendship through a local book club. In addition to writing, they also host masterminds for indie authors, bringing writers together to foster collaboration and community.

Talia Argondezzi ’03 has a new book coming out in August from University of Toronto Press titled "Bedtime Stories for Academics: Quibbles and Squabbles at Typical University." The book is a collection of linked short stories that takes a satirical look at higher education, highlighting both the day-to-day experiences of faculty and staff at universities and the broader social forces affecting higher education.

John R. Patro Jr., OTD, OTR/L, CPAM, FNAP '06, Aston, recently accepted the position of inaugural Associate Dean for Health Sciences at Molloy University Barbara H. Hagan School of Nursing and Health Sciences. In this role, Dr. Patro oversees a diverse portfolio of health sciences programs and is leading initiatives related to interdisciplinary education, program development, enrollment growth and global engagement. A proud graduate of The University of Scranton, Dr. Patro continues to advance his work in occupational therapy education, leadership and international collaboration. He was recently inducted as a Distinguished Fellow of the National Academies of Practice and is completing his Ph.D. in Educational Studies with a focus on adult learning and development. His dissertation explores faculty perspectives on cultivating cultural humility in entry-level health professions education. Dr. Patro remains passionate about mentoring future healthcare professionals and creating innovative opportunities.

Megan Thompson G'08, Minneapolis, Minnesota, was selected as iCivics' and the Bill of Rights Institute's Civic Star Challenge Gold Prize Winner.

MARRIAGES

Katie Leithauser '16 to Nick Cassidy

Chelsea Malota ’18 to Sarin Baldante ’21

Julie Weismiller '20 to Thomas Conlon '20

BIRTHS

Robbie and Patricia Cermignano Boushehri ’11 announce the birth of their son, Hugo Patrick, born on October 23, 2025, in London, UK

Colleen '12 and Anthony Cestaro had a baby boy, Anthony John (AJ), on January 24, 2025

Erin Knight Preno '14 and Russell Patrick Preno III '05 welcomed baby Russell Patrick Preno IV on May 19, 2026

DEATHS

John E. Swift, M.D. '58, Bonita Springs, Florida

Joseph R. Rinaggio '63, East Amherst, New York 

Edward J. Lynett Jr '65, Clarks Summit

Robert C. McGrath '68, Palm Springs, California

John R. Sebastianelli, M.D. '69, Dorchester, Massachusetts 

Bruce P. Ceccacci '73, Jessup

Alexander J. Marchel '76, Old Forge

William R. Cary III '80, Punta Gorda, Florida

Alexandra Lee Hughes Weckesser '10, Bayonne, New Jersey