University News

Through Apr. 11     Art Exhibit: “The Lackawanna River and Watershed: Art and Interpretation.” Hope Horn Gallery, Hyland Hall. Free during gallery hours. Call 570-941-4214 or email darlene.miller-lanning@scranton.edu.

Through Apr. 20    Art Exhibit: “Gems of Flourishing from The Zaner-Bloser Penmanship Collection.” Charles Kratz Scranton Heritage Room, Weinberg Memorial Library. Free during library hours. Call 570-941-6341 or email michael.knies@scranton.edu.

Apr. 3      5 p.m. 28^th Annual ACHE Healthcare Symposium: “Leading Through Mergers and Acquisitions.” McIlhenny Ballroom, DeNaples Center. Registration required. Includes dinner, presentation and panel discussion. Fees vary. Call 570-941-4527 or email spencer.owens@scranton.edu. 

Apr. 4      7:30 p.m. Performance Music: Rhapsody in Blue at 100 featuring Dr. Frederick Hohman premiering the first full organ transcription of Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.” Houlihan-McLean Center. Free. Call 570-941-7624 or email music@scranton.edu.

Apr. 5      9 a.m. Accepted Students Day for students and their families of The University of Scranton’s class of 2029. Meet representatives from academic departments, student activities/services, financial aid, athletics and tour campus. Various locations on campus. Call 570-941-7540 or email admissions@scranton.edu.

Apr. 7-17   Environmental Art Show: “Engaging with the Natural World.” Charles Kratz Scranton Heritage Room, Weinberg Memorial Library. Free during library hours. Call 570-941-4740 or email marleen.cloutier@scranton.edu.

Apr. 9     5:30 p.m. Graduate Open House. DeNaples Center, 4^th floor. Registration required. Free. Call 888-SCRANTON or email gradadmissions@scranton.edu.

Apr. 10    8:30 a.m. Hayes Family Competition in physics and engineering for high school students. Byron Complex. Registration required. Call 570-941-7509 or email salisa.brown@scranton.edu.

Apr. 10    4 p.m. Spring Henry George Seminar "Platforms, Giants, and the Neo-Brandeisian Turn in Antitrust" presented by Michael C. Munger, Ph.D., Director, Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Program, Duke University.  McIlhenny Ballroom, DeNaples Center. Free. Call 570-941-4048 or email janice.mecadon@scranton.edu.

Apr. 10    6 p.m. Schemel Forum with the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine Collaborative Program: “Schumann: Music, Mood Swings and Madness” presented by Richard Kogan, M.D., professor of psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medical College, and artistic director, Weill Cornell Music and Medicine Program. Performance, lecture and reception. Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, 525 Pine Street, Scranton. Registration required. Fees vary. Call 570-941-4740 or email rose.merritt@scranton.edu.

Apr. 10-12     8 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday. Performance: “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” presented by The University of Scranton Liva Arts Company. McDade Center for Literary and Performing Arts. Ticket prices vary. Visit https://livaartscompany.ludus.com for tickets or email livartscompany@gmail.com.

Apr. 12-13     8 a.m. National History Day State Competition for qualifying students from Pennsylvania. Pre-registration required. Call 570-941-4549 or email nhdparegion2@gmail.com.

Apr. 12    7:30 p.m. Performance Music: “42^nd Annual World Premiere Composition Series Concert” featuring The University of Scranton Concert Band and Concert Choir premiering two new works by Dr. Wycliffe Gordon (H. ’06) and Jennifer Krupa, with the composers conducting. Houlihan-McLean Center. Free. Call 570-941-7624 or email music@scranton.edu.

Apr. 15    11 a.m. Earth Day Fair with interactive games, presentations and information related to the environment and sustainable practices. Atrium, Loyola Science Center. Free. Call 570-941-6267 or email mark.murphy@scranton.edu.

Apr. 23     3:45 p.m. Math Integration Bee. Calculus-based high school math competition. McIlhenny Ballroom, DeNaples Center. Registration required. See https://www.scranton.edu/academics/cas/math/bee.shtml for more details or email stacey.muir@scranton.edu.  

Apr. 24            noon Talk: “Next Generation HamSCI Receive System – Advancing Space Weather Monitoring” by HamSCI collaborator Rob Robinett as part of The University of Scranton’s participation in the national Amateur Radio Open House day. Moskovitz Theater, DeNaples Center. Free. Call 570-941-7509 or email w3usr@scranton.edu.

Apr. 24            3 p.m. to 9 p.m.  Amateur Radio Open House at W3USR, The University of Scranton’s state-of-the-art student ham radio studio. Fifth Floor, Loyola Science Center. Free. Call 570-941-7509 or email w3usr@scranton.edu.

Apr. 24   5:30 p.m. Earth Day “Evening of Environmental Science” and Essay Award Presentation. University student-run interactive science experiments and exhibit of University of Scranton Earth Day Essay Contest submissions. Essay contest awards will be announced at the event. Atrium, Loyola Science Center. Free. Call 570-941-6267 or email susan.falbo@scranton.edu.

Apr. 24    7:30 p.m. Judaic Studies Institute Lecture: “Jewish Ethical Perspectives on Civilian Casualties in War: A Tale of Two Sieges” presented by Rabbi Shlomo Brody, Ph.D., executive director of Ematai and columnist for the Jerusalem Post, with a response focusing on Catholic perspectives by Patrick Clark, Ph.D., professor of theology/religious studies at Scranton. Pearn Auditorium, Brennan Hall.  Free. 570-941-7956 or marc.shapiro@scranton.edu.

Apr. 24    5 p.m. Campus Take Back the Night. Dionne Green. Free. Call 570-941-6194 or email brandice.ricciardi@scranton.edu.

Apr. 25    7:30 p.m. Performance Music: “In Concert” featuring The University of Scranton String Orchestra and guest soloist TBA. Houlihan-McLean Center. Free. Call 570-941-7624 or email music@scranton.edu.

Apr. 26-27     9 a.m. Saturday; Noon Sunday. Friends of the Library Book Sale. Charles Kratz Scranton Heritage Room, Weinberg Memorial Library. Call 570-941-6195 or e-mail melisa.gallo@scranton.edu.

Apr. 28 through May 9     Hope Horn Gallery Art Exhibit: “The University of Scranton Student Show Online.” Visit https://www.scranton.edu/academics/hope-horn-gallery/index.shtml or email darlene.miller-lanning@scranton.edu. 

Apr. 30     11:30 a.m. Schemel Forum’s World Affairs Luncheon Seminar: “Allergic: Our Irritated Bodies in a Changing World” presented by Theresa MacPhail, Ph.D., medical anthropologist, writer, and associate professor of science and technology studies at Steven Institute of Technology. Rose Room, Brennan Hall. Registration required. Fees vary. Call 570-941-4740 or email rose.merritt@scranton.edu.

Apr. 30     noon. Celebration of Student Scholars. Displays and presentations of undergraduate and graduate student research and scholarly projects. Loyola Science Center. Free. Call 570-941-7653 or email brooke.leonard@scranton.edu.

Those considering graduate school and current undergraduate students can learn about the career advancement opportunities offered through The University of Scranton’s 40-plus advanced-degree programs at its Graduate Open House on Wednesday, April 9. Participants will meet with Scranton alumni, faculty, admissions representatives and current graduate students and learn about flexible on-campus and online program formats offered by the nationally recognized Jesuit university.

Scranton provides the highest-quality graduate education, with programs meeting the most rigorous state or national accreditations available within their professional fields. Graduate programs include physical therapy, occupational therapy, nurse anesthesia, health care management, clinical rehabilitation counseling, business analytics and MBAs in several concentrations and other business disciplines. In recent years, Scranton has added graduate programs in high in-demand fields, such as an online master’s degree program in cybercrime investigation and cybersecurity, and a synchronous remote master’s degree in speech-language pathology. Scranton also offers a synchronous and asynchronous graduate program in psychiatric mental health nursing. Scranton’s graduate programs are offered in formats that include on-campus and online options.

 

The Graduate Open House begins on April 9 with registration at 5:30 p.m. on the fourth floor of the DeNaples Center, followed by an alumni panel presentation at 6 p.m. Program-specific information sessions will run from 6:45 p.m. to 8 p.m. Optional campus tours are available from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.

The event is offered free of charge.

For more information or to make reservations, visit the Graduate Open House webpage or email gradadmissions@scranton.edu.

Nearly 120 area students from Valley View, Riverside, Western Wayne, Wallenpaupack, West Scranton and Scranton high schools were introduced to eight languages and cultures in rapid-fire lessons at a World Languages Day event at The University of Scranton. Italian, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, German, French, Arabic and American Sign Language were taught in 15-minute interactive lessons led by University faculty and Fulbright teaching assistants.

“If you thought high school students would never sit through 15-minute lessons of eight different languages, just check out our event. It’s absolutely amazing and that’s a testament to our instructors and our mission to bring the world to people,” said Amy Kuiken, The University of Scranton Language Learning Center coordinator in the World Languages and Culture Department.

View the Fox 56 news story about the World Languages Day event at The University of Scranton reported by Samantha Durante, a 2024 graduate of the University.

We have eight different languages going on in the background today, and we wanted people to come with a sense that all of those languages can be really powerful,” said Kuiken in a WBRE News story about the event. WVIA News also covered the event.

Language lessons were led by Marzia Caporale, Ph.D., chair of the Department of World Languages and Cultures, for Italian; Professor Chih-Yi Wu, Taiwanese Government Chinese Language Instructor, for Mandarin Chinese; Professor Fabián Bizcocho, Spanish Language Fulbright Teaching Assistant from Spain, for Spanish; Professor Erii Unuma, ALLEX Foundation Japanese Language Instructor, for Japanese; Professor Oliwia Doroszko, German Language Fulbright Teaching Assistant from Germany, for German; Professor Emma Leclercq, French Language Fulbright Teaching Assistant from France, for French; Professor Rym Ben Rehouma, Arabic Language Fulbright Teaching Assistant from Tunisia, for Arabic; and Professor MaryAnn Stefko, University of Scranton ASL adjunct professor, for American Sign Language.

View Language Learning Center Coordinator Amy Kuiken, in a WBRE News story about the about the World Languages Day event at The University of Scranton

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The high school students also learned about these cultures through interactive activities.

The 2^nd Annual World Language Day at Scranton was hosted by the Department of World Languages and Cultures with assistance from the Office of Admissions. This event was on March 4 in the Rose Room in Brennan Hall.

View photos and read more about The University of Scranton World Languages Day event at WVIA News. (Photo courtesy Aimee Dilger/WVIA News) 

The University of Scranton’s Weinberg Memorial Library is seeking donations and volunteers for its annual book sale. The library will accept donations of clean, properly stored books and unscratched CDs and DVDs. A library staff member can assist with donation drop-offs, by appointment. For details, contact Melisa Gallo at 570-941-6195. Donations will be accepted until Friday, April 18.

All proceeds from the book sale will benefit the Friends of the Weinberg Memorial Library Endowment, which supports library collections and services. The event is organized by The Friends of the Weinberg Memorial Library, library staff and volunteers.

The book sale is scheduled for Saturday, April. 26, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday, April 27, from noon to 4 p.m. for the general public. A special preview sale for current members of the Friends of the Library will be held on Friday, April 25, from 4 to 9 p.m. The sale will occur in the fifth-floor Heritage Room of the Weinberg Memorial Library.

For additional information or to volunteer, please contact Melisa Gallo, chair of the library book sale committee, at 570-941-6195. To check your Friends Membership status, please contact Kym Fetsko at 570-941-7816.

Jordan Levin, who attends Council Rock High School in Holland, came in first place in The University of Scranton’s 24th annual Northeast PA Brain Bee competition, held on campus in February. Rishi Shah, who attends Livingston High School in Livingston, New Jersey, came in second place, and Vaishnavi Kakani, who attends Chantilly High School in Herndon, Virginia, came in third place.

The academic competition for high school students in grades nine through 12 was offered free of charge. The event was sponsored by the Neuroscience Program at the University and the Scranton Neuroscience Society.

For more information about next year’s Northeast PA Brain Bee competition, contact Robert Waldeck, Ph.D., neuroscience program director and associate professor of biology, at 570-941-4324 or robert.waldeck@scranton.edu.

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On Saturday, March 8, Performance Music at The University of Scranton will present a recital by critically and popularly acclaimed pianist, Jeremy Ajani Jordan. Presented by Performance Music at The University of Scranton, the concert begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Houlihan-McLean Center, Mulberry Street and Jefferson Avenue. Admission is free and the concert is open to the public. Seating is on a first-come, first-seated basis.

This will be Jordan’s second time at Scranton as a solo pianist, and he has appeared on two other occasions in trio and quartet performances. According to Cheryl Y. Boga, conductor and director of Performance Music at the University, “Jeremy possesses the rare combination of startling technical prowess and stunning musicality that is riveting for audiences. It is no surprise that his career has taken him to concert venues throughout the world performing music from across genres, ranging from classical and jazz to experimental.”

“A clear technical virtuoso,” “a rare talent,” and “a true Wunderkind,” Chicago-born Jordan burst onto the music scene at age nine playing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in a live televised performance. Jordan was born into a musical family where his mother and father were his first instructors. They ensured that his burgeoning talent was nurtured by providing a strong foundation in classical training and also encouraged his study of improvised music and composition. Jordan went on to appear on the acclaimed radio program “From The Top” and “From The Top: Live from Carnegie Hall” performing Liszt. Since then, Jordan has made his solo Carnegie Hall debut performing Chopin, Liszt, Schubert, and Wagner.

After winning the 2006 Steinway Concerto Competition playing the Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 1, Jordan delivered acclaimed performances with the Ars Viva Symphony Orchestra and concerto performances and recordings with the Chicago Sinfonietta and the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. Following studies at The Juilliard School, Jordan received his undergraduate and graduate degrees on the Van Cliburn and Irene Diamond scholarships there. Acclaimed for his virtuosic deliveries of his Liszt/Horowitz, Wagner, and Saint-Saëns transcriptions, Jordan has also performed to thunderous applause in appearances at the United Nations Arts Council, the American Liszt Society, Concertgebouw, Tokyo Opera City, Prague’s Rudolfinum and Chicago’s Ravinia Festival. He has appeared as a chamber musician in tours throughout North America, Europe, and Japan.

Jordan continues to compose solo piano music, chamber music, orchestral music and electronic music. His compositions have debuted on National Public Radio and have received world premieres at Seattle’s Emerald City Music Festival, New York’s National Sawdust and Ireland’s Sounds From a Safe Harbour. His most recent album For Flint featured several original jazz compositions and raised money to purchase clean water for families affected by the Flint Water Crisis.

For further information on the recital, call 570-941-7624, email music@scranton.edu or visit scranton.edu/music. For more info on Jordan, visit jeremyajanijordan.com. 

Bernard Schanzer, M.D., and Henry Schanzer, J.D., will present “A Twin Tale of Survival in the Holocaust” for The University of Scranton’s Judaic Studies Institute Lecture on Wednesday, March 26, at 7:30 p.m. in the Pearn Auditorium of Brennan Hall. The Schanzers will tell their story of survival, which was made possible through the help of a righteous non-Jew.

Twin brothers, the Schanzers were born in 1935 in Belgium. Their family was forced to flee from the German invasion in 1940, eventually settling in St. Etienne, France. However, by 1942, the French government began participating in the arrest and transportation of Jews, and for their safety, their parents sent the twins to live with a Christian acquaintance and sent their older sister, Anna, to a boarding school in Lyon. Shortly after, their apartment in St. Etienne was seized, and their father, Bruno, was sent to a French detention camp and ultimately died in Auschwitz.

The twins shuffled from place to place until their mother found them an arrangement at the farm of Adolphine Dorel in St. Pal de Mons, whom they came to love. They remained there until the end of the war, after which they reunited with their mother and sister. Finally, in 1946, the family moved across an ocean to New York City. Bernard eventually became a neurologist, and Henry, a patent lawyer.

The Schanzers have lectured nationwide, sharing their story. They have spoken at Baylor College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, the New Jersey Holocaust Commemoration (Yom HaShoah) Program, Torah Links of Middlesex County and The University of Scranton.

The Weinberg Judaic Studies Institute was created in 1979 through an endowment funded by the local Jewish community. The Institute fosters a better understanding and appreciation of Judaism, Israel and their histories. It supports visits to the University by Jewish scholars and writers and supports library acquisitions, publications, faculty research, travel and other scholarly endeavors. The work of the Institute was further enhanced by a $1 million gift from Harry Weinberg in 1990.

For further information, contact Marc Shapiro, Ph.D., professor of theology/religious studies and the Weinberg Chair of Judaic Studies at The University of Scranton, at 570-941-7956 or marc.shapiro@scranton.edu.

On Wednesday, March 5, at 7:30 p.m., Performance Music at The University of Scranton will present a General Recital featuring vocal and instrumental small ensembles, including the Steel Drum Ensemble, Saxophone Ensemble, String Quartet, Sax Quintet, clarinet duo, tuba trio, and more, featuring students from the large ensembles of Performance Music. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Houlihan-McLean Center, Mulberry Street and Jefferson Avenue. The concert is open to the public, and admission is free. Seating is on a first-come, first-seated basis.

The concert will feature a variety of songs in a wide array of small instrumentations. Small ensembles are made up of members from within the large ensembles, such as the Concert/Symphonic Band, Concert Choir/Singers, String Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble (big band format), and Steel Drum Ensemble. The small ensemble performing opportunities offered by Performance Music vary by semester, and often include groups such as String Quartets, Flute Ensemble, Saxophone Ensemble, Low Brass Sextet, Trumpet Choir, Clarinet Ensemble, Jazz Combo, Percussion Ensemble, and small vocal groups in various formats.

The primary focus of Performance Music at The University of Scranton is its student choral and instrumental performing ensembles. There is no music major at the University, and all enrolled Scranton students (undergraduate and graduate) from every major are eligible for membership in the University bands, choirs and string ensembles, with neither an audition nor enrollment fee required for membership. Hundreds of students participate in the ensembles each year.

Other programs within the department, including guest artist concerts, World Premiere Composition Series, Nelhybel Collection, and Scranton Brass Orchestra, closely coordinate programming with the student ensembles and offer unique opportunities for student musicians in the ensembles to hear, observe, interact and perform with numerous world-class musicians and artist-teachers. High school juniors and seniors who are considering applying to Scranton are encouraged to contact Performance Music to arrange to sit in on a rehearsal, meet the staff, attend a concert or tour the building.   

For further information on the concert, call 570-941-7624, email music@scranton.edu or visit scranton.edu/music.

On Friday, Feb. 28, Performance Music at The University of Scranton will host trumpeter Peter Evans with Ron Stabinsky (piano) in recital as part Performance Music’s spring 2025 schedule. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Houlihan-McLean Center, Mulberry Street and Jefferson Avenue. Admission is free and the concert is open to the public. Seating is on a first-come, first-seated basis.

According to Cheryl Y. Boga, conductor and director of Performance Music at the University, “When my son tells me that Peter is not only a virtuoso but is without question the most creative trumpeter alive, I listen. And, of course, pair him with our Houlihan McLean hero, Ron Stabinsky, and we are all in.”

Evans is a composer, trumpet player, bandleader and educator based in New York City. For 20 years, he has been pushing the boundaries of creative music in formats as divergent as solo trumpet improvisation, symphony orchestras, jazz ensembles, noise/electronic music and through-composed works. He has received awards and commissions worldwide, including the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship in 2022. Additionally, he has released 20 albums of original music, including the critically acclaimed Ghosts, Lifeblood and Being and Becoming.

A prolific composer and performer, Evans tours regularly with his groups Being and Becoming, SYMPHONY, and Forever 21, and as a soloist and collaborator with some of the leading lights of modern music. As an educator, Evans has given masterclasses and conducted workshops on improvisation, composition, instrumental practice, and creativity at The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, New School for Social Research, Cleveland Institute of Music, Oberlin Conservatory and many more.

Stabinsky is probably best known nationally as a member of the band “Mostly Other People Do The Killing,” the reunited rock band “Meat Puppets,” Relache Ensemble and The Peter Evans Ensemble. He has the distinction of performing as a classical solo and orchestral pianist, a straight-ahead jazz musician, occasionally a rock musician, and regularly as an accomplished free improviser. In addition to solo piano improvisation, he enjoys working on music in stylistically diverse situations throughout the United States and Europe with a variety of other musicians and ensembles. His first solo album Free for One received four stars in DownBeat and tied for number one debut of the year in the 2016 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll. His festival appearances include Newport Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival (Netherlands), Moers Festival (Germany), Jazzfestival Saalfelden (Austria), Outreach Festival (Austria) and Jazz and More Festival Sibiu (Romania).

For information on educational offerings related to this event for musicians ranging from students aged 16 and older through to professionals, contact music@scranton.edu or call (570) 941-7624. School groups are welcome.

For further information on the performance, call 570-941-7624, email music@scranton.edu or visit scranton.edu/music. For more on Evans, visit peterevanstrumpet.com.

Area students in grades five to 12 can participate in The University of Scranton’s Earth Day Essay Contest 2025. The contest is free of charge. This year’s essay theme is “Students for a Sustainable World.”

When considering the theme, Mark Murphy, the director of sustainability and energy management at the University, collaborated with work-study students in the University’s Office of Sustainability Amelia Farry, a senior from South Abington Township, and Samantha Kosmark, a junior from Old Tappan, New Jersey.

Farry said that through working at the Office of Sustainability and attending the annual essay contest events, she has seen “how vital it is to involve students in creating a sustainable world.”  

“By emphasizing that they are future leaders, we are empowering them to shape a world that values long-term ecological health, economic prosperity, and a better world for all,” said Farry about selecting this year’s essay contest theme. 

Topics students can address in their essays include conservation, recycling, access to healthy eating, factory farming, renewable energy, single use containers, public transportation, vertical planting, plant-based meals, composting, LEDs, gardening, biking and walking among other topics.  

Essays for students in grades five and six must be between 200 and 400 words. Essays for students in grades seven, eight and nine must be between 300 and 500 words. Essays for students in grades 10 and 12 must be between 500 and 700 words. Electronic submissions must be sent to susan.falbo@scranton.edu on or before April 4. Mail-in entries must be postmarked on or by April 3 to be considered and can be sent to: The University of Scranton, Office of Sustainability, Smurfit Arts Center, 445 Madison Avenue, Scranton, Pennsylvania 18510, Attn: Earth Day Essay Contest.  

Visit the University’s Facilities Management webpage for the 2025 Earth Day Essay Contest Guidelines. 

Winners of the Earth Day Essay Contest will be announced by the University’s Evening of Environmental Science event for participants and their families and teachers on Thursday, April 24. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Atrium of the Loyola Science Center on campus, and includes a display of the essays received.

The University of Scranton Jazz Band will take the stage Saturday, Feb. 22, with acclaimed saxophonist Ted Nash joining them as the evening’s featured guest. Presented by Performance Music at The University of Scranton, the concert begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Houlihan-McLean Center, Mulberry Street and Jefferson Avenue. Admission is free and the concert is open to the public. Seating is on a first-come, first-seated basis.

Nash will also offer a free masterclass for participants ranging from students (ages 16 and older) to professionals the same day, beginning at 4:30 p.m. in the Houlihan McLean Center. Those wishing to attend the masterclass should email music@scranton.edu or call 570-941-7624 for more information. (Younger students may attend accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.)

At the concert, the University’s student jazz ensemble will perform works featuring Nash. According to Performance Music Conductor and Co-Director Janelle Decker, “the program will showcase Ted’s versatility and outstanding mastery as a multi-instrumentalist through a variety of works performed by his own duo as well as together with the university’s jazz band.”

Nash is a two-time Grammy Award winner known for his uncanny ability to mix freedom with substance, blues with intellect, and risk-taking with clarity. His father, Dick Nash, and uncle, the late Ted Nash, were both well-known jazz and studio musicians. Nash recently retired from a long-standing career as a member of Wynton Marsalis’s Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. He has become one of the most significant jazz composers of the 21st century, and his recordings have received wide critical acclaim, appearing on the “best-of” lists in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Village Voice and The Boston Globe. Portrait in Seven Shades, his first big band recording, garnered two Grammy nominations, and the JLCO recording of his composition Presidential Suite; Eight Variations on Freedom won a Grammy for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album.

Nash is co-founder of the New York-based Jazz Composers Collective, a musician-run, non-profit innovative entity dedicated to presenting the original works of composers pushing the boundaries of self-expression.

The University of Scranton Jazz Band is a 24-member ensemble of big band style instrumentation, made up of University of Scranton student musicians from majors spanning the curriculum. They perform five or more times per year, and the majority of their performances are open to the public, free of admission charge, and often feature a nationally or internationally renowned guest soloist.

For further information on the concert, call 570-941-7624, email music@scranton.edu or visit scranton.edu/music. For more info on Nash, visit tednash.com.

Adam Gregerman, Ph.D., an accomplished professor, author and scholar of Jewish-Christian studies, will present a Weinberg Judaic Studies Institute Lecture titled “How the State of Israel Became ‘the Jew’ Writ Large.”  The lecture will take place on Tuesday, March 4 at 7:30 p.m. in the Pearn Auditorium of Brennan Hall and is free and open to the public.

Dr. Gregerman is a professor of Jewish Studies in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies and associate director of the Institute for Jewish-Catholic Relations at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.

He studies and teaches courses on Jewish-Christian Relations and focuses on Christian theologies of Judaism in diverse settings, from antiquity to the present. He is the author of Building on the Ruins of the Temple: Apologetics and Polemics in Early Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism. His published works include recent chapters in the Encyclopedia of Jewish-Christian Relations and The Cambridge Companion to Law and the Hebrew Bible and articles in Modern Theology, Journal of Ecumenical Studies, Theological Studies and Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations.

Dr. Gregerman has also written on topics such as mission and conversion, theodicy, biblical interpretation and theologies of the land of Israel. He serves as chair of the Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations and is on the board of the National Council of Synagogues and the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultation. 

The Weinberg Judaic Studies Institute was created in 1979 through an endowment funded by the local Jewish community. The Institute fosters a better understanding and appreciation of Judaism, Israel and their histories. It supports visits to the University by Jewish scholars and writers and supports library acquisitions, publications, faculty research, travel and other scholarly endeavors. The work of the Institute was further enhanced by a $1 million gift from Harry Weinberg in 1990.

For further information, contact Marc Shapiro, Ph.D., professor of theology/religious studies and the Weinberg Chair of Judaic Studies at The University of Scranton, at 570-941-7956 or marc.shapiro@scranton.edu.

The University of Scranton’s Black History Month events included a lecture by Shannen Dee Williams, Ph.D., associate professor of history at the University of Dayton, who discussed “In the Shadow of the Cross: Excavating the Hidden History of Black Catholic Nuns in the United States.” Presented by the University’s Jesuit Center, the lecture explored the rich archival and visual history of Black Catholic Nuns in the United States. The lecture took place on Feb. 5.

During February, the University will host lectures, panel discussions, social events, film screenings and other events to celebrate Black History Month.

For more information about the University’s Black History Month events and lectures, contact the Multicultural Center at 570-941-5904 or mulicultural@scranton.edu.

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A $10,000 grant from the Frankford Radio Club will support the development of a contest dashboard by University of Scranton students and physics faculty members that will be used by students and amateur radio operators including some who have served as citizen scientists for space research projects led by Scranton physics professor Nathaniel Frissell, Ph.D. Through the project, Dr. Frissell hopes the University’s W3USR Amateur Radio Club members, present and future, will become active radio contesters.

“The amateur radio contesters are one of the most enthusiastic subset of ham radio operators, and participants span a range of ages from teenagers to over 90,” said Ray Sokola, past president of the 100-plus-year-old Frankford Radio Club, which is centered near the Borough of Alburtis in Lehigh County and covers a radius that includes parts of Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and other adjacent states. In addition to expanding interest in ham radio and radio contesting, Sokola hopes the grant will continue the tradition of scientific contributions made by amateur radio operators over the past century.

A lifelong ham radio operator now in his 70s, Sokola was among the first engineers to work on cellphone technology during his career at Motorola. He said ham radio operators have made numerous contributions to technology and science as they tried to understand and improve radio frequency communications, which is often relied on for crisis communications during natural disasters.

“Ham radio competitions actually grew out of ham radio operators trying to improve emergency communication and keep their skills sharp during non-emergency time periods,” said Sokola, who explained contests for amateur radio operators include challenges to contact as many stations as possible during a set period of time, as well as ‘DXing,’ or challenges to make contact with distant ham radio stations, or a combination of both.

Dr. Frissell sees radio contesting as a way of engaging more students on campus and people in the region - especially the next generation of amateur radio enthusiasts.

“There is a community educational component to this project, in addition to the academic research and development components,” said Dr. Frissell, principal researcher for this grant, who noted the University’s new state-of-the-art ham radio station in the Loyola Science Center is already open to Scranton area community members each Thursday, from 7 to 9 p.m. The grant will allow for further outreach with the Scranton-area community.

Sokola echoes that hope to expand interest in amateur radio and radio contesting, noting that the skillset developed through computer gaming transfers well to radio competitions.

Through the grant, a team of University students, faculty and Frankford Radio Club members, along HamSCI community members, will collaborate to develop a real-time Contesting/DXing Dashboard for the HamSCI Personal Space Weather Station (PSWS). The PSWS is a modular, ground-based system that measures space weather impacts on the Earth’s ionosphere. The system was distributed to a network of ham radio operators developed by Dr. Frissell through a 2019 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant and support from NASA, Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) and others. The Frankford Radio Club grant will fund a University student researcher, Owen Ruzanski of Shohola, a first-year computer engineering major, for the summer and fall 2025 semesters to help develop the contest dashboard.

“While the HamSCI PSWS network has and continues to enjoy great scientific success and support, relatively little work has been done to make this a valuable tool for real-time amateur radio applications, such as contesting, DXing and public service,” said Dr. Frissell. “Ideally, the PSWS network should equally benefit both the amateur radio and professional scientific communities, as this is a core objective of the HamSCI initiative.”

Dr. Frissell said the Contesting and DXing Dashboard would also aid amateur ham radio operators in understanding the high-frequency propagation happening at their local stations in real-time.

In addition to grant support, members of the Frankford Radio Club will meet with students in Dr. Frissell's advanced, 400-level Communications Systems course and with members of the University’s W3USR Amateur Radio Club to introduce them to contests and DXing.

The project will begin in the spring 2025 semester and is expected to conclude in the spring semester of 2026.

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The University of Scranton’s Schemel Forum will feature informative and energizing discussions on pressing global and cultural topics during the spring semester World Affairs Luncheon Seminars.

The series will feature six seminars in total. All will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will be held on the University’s campus. In addition, a Zoom link will be provided for those who wish to attend remotely. The luncheon series is sponsored by Munley Law.

The series opens Thursday, Feb. 13, with “Gaza, Sudan, and Ukraine: Humanitarian Responses and Challenges” presented by Richard Greene, former senior advisor and counselor to UNICEF Executive Director. The luncheon seminar will be held in Brennan Hall, Rose Room.

With a decades-long career in government and nonprofit service, Greene most recently worked supporting UNICEF’s emergency humanitarian response efforts worldwide, particularly in the Middle East, Africa and Central America. Greene will highlight realities in key places of conflict and crisis and discuss the challenges facing humanitarian responses today.

On Wednesday, Feb. 26, Steven D. Hales, Ph.D., professor of philosophy, Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania, will present “Values and Choices in Art Restoration.” The luncheon seminar will be held in the DeNaples Center, McIlhenny Ballroom.

Dr. Hales has published 13 books and several dozen articles, and was recently visiting senior professor at the University of Cambridge in England. A professional-level hand bookbinder and restorer, Dr. Hales developed an interest in the restoration of books while in graduate studies at Brown University. There, he met a rare book binder who taught him the age-old skill of hand-binding books from his private studio. That experience, said Dr. Hales, “got me thinking about issues in restoration of books … and the interplay among different values that restorers have to consider.”

During the luncheon presentation, Dr. Hales will engage the audience in discussion about three salient types of value to consider in the restoration of any type of art or artifacts: relic, aesthetic and practical. While these are all legitimate values, a restorer can’t maximize them all, said Dr. Hales. Typically, as you maximize one value, you devalue the others.

The restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral following its tragic fire demonstrates the careful balancing of restoration values, said Dr. Hales. The Cathedral has been restored back to the period in which it was built using construction techniques of that time, yet its restoration gives a nod to modern concerns such as fire prevention in building elements.

The spring luncheon series continues Wednesday, March 12, with the seminar “How Dogs Save Our Lives.” The seminar will be presented by Cynthia M. Otto, DVM, Ph.D., director, Penn Vet Working Dog Center and professor of Working Dog Sciences and Sports Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and will be held in Brennan Hall, Rose Room.

In her work as a veterinarian, Dr. Otto began working in emergency and critical care. This led to an interest in search and rescue dogs, which ultimately placed her at the site of the World Trade Center following 9/11 and “impacted my view of what dogs can do,” she said.

During the presentation, Dr. Otto will discuss how dogs use their sense of smell, how they communicate that to us, and how it helps us in a wide range of situations, from search and rescue to cancer diagnosis and conservation, among other areas.

“There are so many ways to partner with dogs to use their noses to give insight into a world we cannot see,” she said.

Dr. Otto will also discuss what dog owners can do to help with mental stimulation, fitness and health of pets to enhance their quality of life and longevity.

You don’t need to be a dog owner, or even a dog lover, to appreciate this seminar, said Dr. Otto. “If you’re curious about life and things around you, it’s going to be of interest to you.”

On Friday, March 28, Lauren Baillie, J.D., senior program officer, Atrocity Prevention, U.S. Institute of Peace, will present “The United States Institute of Peace: Strengthening U.S. Capacity to Prevent, Mitigate, and Resolve Violent Conflict.” The luncheon seminar will be held in Brennan Hall, Rose Room.

The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is a national, nonpartisan, independent institute, founded by Congress and dedicated to the proposition that a world without violent conflict is possible, practical and essential for U.S. and global security. This lecture will introduce USIP’s efforts to prevent and respond to mass atrocities.

On Wednesday, April 30, the luncheon series will explore the topic “Allergic: Our Irritated Bodies in a Changing World,” presented by Theresa MacPhail, Ph.D., medical anthropologist, writer and associate professor of Science and Technology Studies at Stevens Institute of Technology. The luncheon seminar will be held in Brennan Hall, Rose Room.

In her new book, Dr. MacPhail sets out to unravel the mystery of why the number of people diagnosed with allergies has been steadily increasing over the last half-century, placing a growing medical burden on individuals, communities, families and our healthcare system. Through a holistic and historical examination of allergies, Dr. MacPhail will discuss allergies from their first medical description in 1819 to recent innovations. She will present surprising discoveries and connections among climate change, pollution and biologists, underscoring how interconnected our bodies are to our environments.

“I hope that attendees will take away a better understanding of the relationship between their immune cells and the invisible worlds around them, and marvel at how ancient and intricate our immune systems really are,” Dr. MacPhail said.

The spring luncheon series wraps up on Friday, May 9, with Jill Dougherty, Russia expert, former CNN Moscow Bureau Chief, and adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s Center for Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies. Dougherty will discuss “My Russia: What I Saw in the Kremlin” at the luncheon, which will be held in the DeNaples Center, McIlhenny Ballroom.

At the height of the Cold War, Dougherty and her twin sister began studying the Russian language. It launched her on a journalistic career that would span half a century, reporting on Russia for CNN from the White House, the U.S. State Department and Moscow. In her new book, My Russia: What I Saw in the Kremlin, Dougherty recounts her experiences in Russia, her reporting on Russia’s leaders, and her encounters with Vladimir Putin. During the luncheon, she will present her book and predictions for where Russia is headed.

Admission to the seminars is free for University of Scranton and Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine students, faculty, staff and Schemel Forum members. For non-members, the seminars are $30 in-person (buffet lunch included) and $15 for remote access.

To register for the seminars, call 570-941-4740 or email schemelforum@scranton.edu. Or, to pay online, visit: www.scranton.edu/schemelforum.

Additional Schemel Forum events can be found on the Schemel Forum’s webpage.

The 2025 Black History Month theme, “African Americans and Labor,” highlights and celebrates the significant contributions of African Americans in all occupations and public service while acknowledging their past labor struggles.

The Association for the Study of African American Life and History wrote of this year’s theme: “Considering Black people’s work through the widest perspectives provides versatile and insightful platforms for examining Black life and culture through time and space. In this instance, the notion of work constitutes compensated labor in factories, the military, government agencies, office buildings, public service, and private homes. But it also includes the community building of social justice activists, voluntary workers serving others, and institution building in churches, community groups, and social clubs and organizations. In each of these instances, the work Black people do and have done has been instrumental in shaping the lives, cultures and histories of Black people and the societies in which they live.”

This year’s theme is reflected in many of the events that will take place throughout the month at The University of Scranton. Many of the events are open to the general public.

Events begin on Monday, Feb. 3, with a table sit titled “Black History Month 2025 Theme: African Americans and Labor” which will provide more information to faculty, staff, students and the public about this year’s theme. This event will be on the first floor of the DeNaples Center, near the Multicultural Center, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Shannen Dee Williams, Ph.D., associate professor of history of the University of Dayton will present “In the Shadow of the Cross: Excavating the Hidden History of Black Catholic Nuns in the United States.” The lecture is open to the community and will take place in the Moskovitz Theater, in the DeNaples Center on Feb. 5, beginning at 5 p.m.

The Black History Month Film Series begins on Feb. 10 with “The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster” directed by Bomani J. Story. The film screening will include an introduction by University of Scranton Associate Professor of History Melissa Anyiwo, Ph.D., director of the University’s Black Studies Concentration. On Feb. 24, the film “Beauty Shop,” directed by Billie Woodruff, will be screened with an introductory talk by Anthony Betancourt, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology at Scranton. Both movie events begin at 7 p.m. in Pearn Auditorium, Brennan Hall, and are open to the general public and the campus community.

Several events are also planned for University students, faculty and staff, including a Networking Social at 5 p.m. followed by an Alumni Panel Discussion at 6 p.m. on Feb. 19. The Louis Stanley Brown Black Student Union will host its annual Freedom Fest in February; the event aims to share and celebrate Black culture. The event will feature informational tables, dance performances, an open mic, food and raffle prizes. The Jane Kopas Women’s Center will host a “Black Women Built That” table sit to discuss the many contributions of Black women’s work both compensated and uncompensated to our society on Feb. 25. The Center will also host an event in collaboration with the Louis Stanley Brown Black Student Union titled “Who Built That? The Impact of Black Innovators,” with interactive games for students to learn about the contributions of African Americans that impact lives today. This game night is planned for Feb. 26.

The Cultural Center, the Louis Stanley Brown Black Student Union, the Black Studies Concentration, the Jesuit Center, the Weinberg Memorial Library, the Office of Alumni Relations, the Roche Family Center for Career Development and the Jane Kopas Women’s Center are among those planning the University's Black History Month events.

For more information about the events and lectures, contact the Multicultural Center at 570-941-5904 or mulicultural@scranton.edu.

Student volunteers, free performances and lectures, academic engagement through community-based learning courses and partnerships, in addition to the economic impact of expenditures and building construction, are among the numerous qualitative and quantitative ways in which The University of Scranton makes a positive economic and community impact on the City of Scranton and Northeastern Pennsylvania.

The 2024 Community and Economic Impact Report, produced by the University’s Office of Community Relations, highlights the University’s substantial contributions to the community through many initiatives and outcomes, from service, community engagement and cultural enrichment to a multitude of community partnerships and the impact of the University’s economic engine.

“Within this report, we see the good works of students, faculty and staff together with community partners in a shared effort to improve this place that we all call home,” said University President Rev. Joseph G. Marina, S.J.

Commitment to the Community

Inspired by the words of St. Oscar Romero, members of the University community “Aspire not to have more, but to be more.”

Key among the contributions are the ways in which the University collaborates with the community in pursuit of the common good.

Community-Based Learning

The Office of Community-Based Learning (CBL) supports faculty teaching academic courses and running academic programs that involve students working with individuals, groups or organizations in ways structured to meet community-defined needs.

In 2023-2024, 87 community-based learning classes were conducted. In total, 2,362 students engaged in community-based learning, through these classes or in activities related to their academic program, for a total of 31,373 hours. This includes 2,129 students from the Leahy College of Health Sciences, which requires 80 service hours for graduation.

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Student Volunteer Programs

In 2023-2024, University students provided tens of thousands of hours of service, much of it in Northeastern Pennsylvania, including 94 student clubs, as of 2024, required to complete three community service activities per year.

The University’s Center for Service and Social Justice works regularly with more than 120 Scranton area non-profit organizations to engage students in addressing community needs through special programs including: spring and fall break service trips; food, clothing, holiday gift and blood drives; mentoring and summer camp programs for area youth and other special events for area children. Program highlights include The We Care Program, first begun in 2020 during the pandemic, involves preparing and packaging 50-100 meals weekly for community members in need.

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The Edward R. Leahy Jr. Center Clinic for the Uninsured

In the spring of 2024, in a groundbreaking initiative, teams from The University of Scranton and the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) joined forces to reimagine and revitalize the Leahy Clinic for the Uninsured medical clinic.

Since reopening, the Leahy Clinic provided care to 202 patients across 474 visits in the spring of 2024 alone, demonstrating the critical need for its service and the pivotal role in the region’s healthcare safety net. Specialized services include the Physical Therapy Clinic, Counseling and Behavioral Health Clinic and Low-Vision Occupational Therapy Clinic. Each of these clinics is run by University faculty and students.

An Economic Engine

According to a study conducted by the Institute for Public Policy and Economic Development in 2024 based on data from the 2022-2023 academic year, The University of Scranton's overall economic impact on Northeastern Pennsylvania totals $ 277,019,748. The University of Scranton's direct expenditures in goods and services were $162,853,514, and its total value added of indirect and induced impact was $114,166,233. In addition, operations and spending generated over $21.3 million in federal taxes and over $7.1 million in state and local taxes.

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The following are key highlights of the University’s economic impact on the community.

• The University invested $7.1 million dollars in campus construction projects in 2022-2023 and paid $107,381 in construction related permits and fees. The total economic impact of construction totaled $11.4 million and tax impact of construction amounted to $1.2 million.
• As part of the University’s economic impact, student spending impact amounted to an estimated $1.9 million and visitor spending impact amounted to $214,432.
• The University awarded $103 million in institutional student aid in the form of scholarships and grants in 2023-2024.The University of Scranton is the seventh-largest employer in Lackawanna County, according to a 2024 report by Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor and Industry. Through the University’s direct employment and its indirect and induced impact, 2,860 jobs are supported in the region in a variety of sectors.

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In addition, the report highlights many other ways the University engages locally, such as cultural events offered free to the public; activities to engage K-12 youth; a periodic Living Wage study that highlights the region’s socio-economic status; programs that support small businesses; projects in solidarity with local refugee and immigrant populations; a prison education program that recently graduated its second cohort; and the Scranton Stories oral histories initiative that shares the stories of 33 local residents.

Looking ahead, President Father Marina said, “I look forward to the ways in which the University and Scranton will continue to work together, with the help of God’s grace, to help our community flourish.”

The full 2024 Community and Economic Impact Report can be seen online.

For additional information, contact the Office of Community Relations at 570-941-4419.

The University of Scranton’s Schemel Forum spring courses feature three evening series examining the origins of science fiction and speculative narratives, the evolution of justice across Western thought, and Italy’s cultural transformation after World War II.  

The courses begin on a rolling basis beginning Monday, Feb. 3, and will be presented in six weekly sessions in the Weinberg Memorial Library.

Literature enthusiasts and casual readers alike will delight in discussions surrounding the topic “Short Science Fiction, Utopia and Dystopia: Origins and Innovations,” taught by Madeline Gangnes, Ph.D., assistant professor of English and theatre at Scranton. Classes will be held Mondays, Feb. 3, 10, 17 and 24, and March 3 and 10 from 6 to 7:15 p.m.

The six-week course draws from an undergraduate literature class taught by Dr. Gangnes and explores what she describes as the “very broad” subject of science fiction.

Noting that science fiction is “not just about time travelers and aliens,” Dr. Gangnes said participants will be pleasantly surprised by a course that is both serious and fun as they explore wide-ranging themes that are applicable to our daily lives. A genre of literature that has been around since the 1800s science fiction intersects with themes of utopia, or ideal worlds, and dystopia, or tumultuous worlds. During the course, Dr. Gangnes will use a discussion-based format for participants to step a little bit out of their comfort zone to study the unrealistic nature of stories that can give rise to conversations about some of the most difficult topics in our society.

“These stories have a lot to offer if we just give them a chance,” she said, noting that science fiction isn’t just fun and fantasy. Rather, it is “inspired by circumstances in which the author is living” and is “more applicable to our lives than we might imagine.” Moving from the nineteenth century through to the present day, participants will examine how authors use speculative elements to express the conditions and concerns of their historical moments through a discussion-based class format.

Dr. Gangnes conducts research and teaches at the intersections of nineteenth-century British literature and culture, visual studies, digital humanities, and book history. She is the recipient of the Excellence in Integrating Sustainability into the Curriculum Award at Scranton and has introduced a new course in Climate Fiction.

In the next offering of the spring semester, George Aulisio, Ph.D., dean and professor of the Weinberg Memorial Library, will teach a Schemel Forum course for the first time since becoming director of the Schemel Forum.

Dean Aulisio will present “Defining Justice: Western Perspectives from Ancient Wisdom to Modern Thought” on Wednesdays, March 26 and April 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30 from 6 p.m. to 7:15 p.m.

Dean Aulisio, who has a Ph.D. in and teaches philosophy, said teaching a Schemel Forum course has been in the back of his mind for a while. During his first job at the University, he worked as an adjunct librarian and provided part-time clerical support to the Schemel Forum. Being able to attend evening Schemel courses allowed him to see firsthand “how fantastic these opportunities are for the community.” Today, Dean Aulisio oversees all aspects of the Weinberg Memorial Library and administers the Hope Horn Art Gallery and the Schemel Forum. He is an active scholar of philosophy and library and information science.

Dean Aulisio said justice is a timely topic for the Schemel Forum community because of its “practical interest to contemporary events and the Jesuit mission.

“The theme of justice is both timeless and timely,” he said. “It has interested people for millennia.”

During this course, participants will explore the concept of justice through foundational texts from ancient Greece and Rome to the modern period. Participants will examine justice through six key themes – order, harmony, virtue, responsibility, progress and love – to better understand the rich concept of justice and go beyond the idea that justice is defined only by the legal system. 

“We’ll explore what justice is and how it gets defined differently at different times,” said Dean Aulisio, noting that by the end of the course, participants will make informed decisions about which perspectives are most important to them.

The spring semester will wrap up with the course “Italy’s Dolce Vita in a Historical Framework” taught by Roy Domenico, Ph.D., professor of History at The University of Scranton. Classes will be held Tuesdays, April 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29 and May 6 from 6 p.m. to 7:15 p.m.

The Italian “dolce vita” is usually associated with Federico Fellini’s famous movie of the same name. While illustrating some of the peculiarly American connections, this series of talks will explore the “dolce vita” as part of a broad social and cultural transformation that overtook Italy in the decades after World War II.

A longtime faculty member at Scranton, Dr. Domenico’s research and teaching interests are in 19th- and 20th-century European politics and culture, with a focus on Italy. He has received the Distinguished Teaching Award from the American Catholic Historical Association and has been named executive secretary of the Society for Italian Historical Studies of the American Historical Association.

To register for the courses, or for more information on the Schemel Forum, call 570-941-4740 or email schemelforum@scranton.edu. Registration is free for University of Scranton and Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine students, faculty, staff and Schemel Forum members; and $100 per person and $175 per couple for non-members. To pay for courses online, visit: www.scranton.edu/schemelforum.

Additional Schemel Forum events can be found on the Schemel Forum’s webpage.

U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 “Best Online Graduate Programs” ranked The University of Scranton’s online master’s degree programs in business (excluding MBA) at No. 51 and its online MBA program at No. 128 in the nation.

In addition to an overall rank, U.S. News also ranked programs by the criteria categories used in its methodology. For online master’s degree programs in business, Scranton ranked No. 28 for the “student excellence” category, which looked at acceptance rates and the work experience and undergraduate GPA of students, and No. 33 for the “student engagement” category, which looked at graduation rates, class size, one-year retention rates and best practices such as accreditation by AACSB International, among other factors. For the MBA program, Scranton ranked No. 105 for “student excellence.”

This is the 14^th consecutive year that U.S. News ranked the University’s online programs among the best in the nation. The methodology used by U.S. News to determine the ranking has changed several times throughout the years.

For the 2025 Best Online Programs ranking, which published Jan. 21, U.S. News reviewed statistical information submitted by schools. The criteria used by U.S. News to rank online business and MBA programs included student engagement (30 percent); peer reputation score (25 percent); faculty credentials and training (15 percent); student excellence (15 percent); and student services and technology (15 percent).

Scranton offers online MBA degrees in accounting, business analytics, enterprise resource planning, finance, healthcare management, human resources management, international business and supply chain management; master’s degrees in accountancy, applied behavior analysis, business analytics, cybercrime investigation and cybersecurity, finance, health administration, health informatics, human resources management, dual MBA/MHA degree, nursing and speech-language pathology, in addition to graduate certificates.

In other U.S. News publications, Scranton has been ranked among the top 10 “Best Regional Universities in the North” for 31 consecutive years. U.S. News ranked Scranton No. 6 among regional universities in the north in its 2025 guidebook and No. 6 for “Best Undergraduate Teaching,” a selection of the top colleges in the nation that express a strong commitment to undergraduate teaching.

Lackawanna and Wayne County residents whose households earned $67,000 or less in 2024 can receive free assistance in completing and filing their federal, state and local tax returns from University of Scranton accounting students through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.

University students have assisted residents with low and moderate incomes who need help with their basic tax returns for more than 30 years.

Walk-in service in Brennan Hall on the University’s campus begins on Monday, Feb. 3. The VITA service is offered on a first-come, first-served basis during scheduled hours. Appointments are not available at the University.

Walk-in VITA service without an appointment is available in room 111 of Brennan Hall, Madison Avenue, on the University’s campus on Mondays, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Tuesdays, from noon to 5 p.m.; Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

VITA service begins on Monday, Feb. 3, and continues to Friday, Apr. 4, except for the week of Mar. 17 to Mar. 21, when the University is closed for Spring Break.

The VITA office may also close due to inclement weather.

The University reserves the right to cap the number of walk-in residents they can serve within a single day.

Residents can schedule appointments at other locations by contacting the United Way of Lackawanna and Wayne Counties by visiting www.uwlc.net or calling 570-602-3133, or 1-866-662-8887, 211. 

Residents who qualify for the free VITA service are asked to bring the following items: a valid photo ID; Social Security cards for all taxpayers and dependents; all W2 forms; last year’s tax returns; all 1099 forms (interest, dividends, pensions); unemployment paperwork; Form 8332 for non-custodial parents; information related to income and expenses (business, rental properties, sale of stocks); a personal banking account check if direct deposit is desired; documentation related to health insurance for themselves and anyone on the tax return, such as Form 1095-A, -B or –C; and real estate tax receipts if you qualify for the rent/tax rebate.

Residents with questions may call the University at 570-941-4045.

The University of Scranton’s University of Success, a four-year pre-college mentorship program, is now accepting applications for the upcoming 2025 academic year that begins this summer. Students who are currently in the eighth grade are eligible to apply.

The University of Success is an academic and enrichment program funded entirely by corporate and foundations grants, so there is no charge to students and their families. The program's goal is to assist first generation college-bound students to successfully complete high school and gain entrance into a college or university.

Accepted students will begin the program with a two-week residential summer academy which will be held on the campus of The University of Scranton from Sunday, July 6, to Friday, July 18. Upon completion of the summer program, the students will continue to meet for enrichment sessions during their high school career.

The deadline for submission of applications is Tuesday, April 1, 2025.

Applications may be obtained by emailing Margaret Loughney, University of Success program director, at margaret.loughney@scranton.edu. Applications may also be obtained online on the University of Success website.

The University of Scranton will offer the 24th annual Northeast PA Brain Bee open to high school students aged 13 to 19 on Saturday, Feb. 22. The competition begins at 12:30 p.m. in the PNC Auditorium of the Loyola Science Center on the University’s campus.

Sponsored by the Neuroscience Program at the University and the Scranton Neuroscience Society, the Brain Bee is offered free of charge. Registration is required to participate. The registration deadline is Friday, Feb. 21. The snow date for the competition is Sunday, Feb. 23.

The competition encourages high school students to study the brain and how it relates to intelligence, memory, emotions, sensations, movements, stress, aging, sleep and brain disorders. All questions for the competition will be drawn from “Brain Facts,” a book about the brain and nervous system published by the Society for Neuroscience.

The winner of the Northeast PA Brain Bee will be invited to compete in the 2025 National Brain Bee.

The Northeast PA Brain Bee competition is dedicated to the memory of J. Timothy Cannon, Ph.D., founder of the University’s Neuroscience Program, who was the coordinator for Brain Bee for 11 years and served as a Brain Bee judge for 20 years.

For more information or to register online, visit the 24^th Annual Northeast PA Brain Bee website, or contact Robert Waldeck, Ph.D., neuroscience program director and associate professor of biology at the University, at 570-941-4324 or robert.waldeck@scranton.edu.

University of Scranton graduate U.S. Rep. Robert P. Bresnahan Jr. ’12 was sworn in as a member of the 119^th U.S. Congress, becoming the second Scranton alumnus to serve in the House of Representatives. He represents Pennsylvania’s 8^th Congressional District.

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Rep. Bresnahan, Dallas Township, earned a degree in business administration from Scranton and was a four-year member of Scranton’s golf team.

“The University of Scranton was instrumental in shaping who I am today. I am incredibly grateful to the people I met along the way and my experiences at school. As The University of Scranton’s second Member of Congress, I am honored to represent the University and all of NEPA in Washington, D.C.,” said Rep. Bresnahan.

A native of Kingston, Rep. Bresnahan was CEO of Kuharchik Construction, a third-generation family-owned electrical contracting company, and founder of RPB Ventures, both located in Luzerne County.

He is the second Scranton alumnus to serve as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. U.S. Rep. Patrick Joseph Boland, who attended St. Thomas College (now The University of Scranton), served six terms as a United States Representative for Pennsylvania’s 11th District. Rep. Boland was elected to the House of Representatives in 1930 and served until his death in 1942.

According to a Scranton Times-Tribune article about “150 people who made Scranton great” by Chris Kelly, “in 1935, after just four years in Congress, Rep. Boland became the first Pennsylvanian to be appointed House Minority Whip. It was his job to line up votes for (President) Roosevelt’s programs. Fewer than four months later, the House voted 372 to 33 to adopt the Social Security Act of 1935. Rep. Boland had a hand in every New Deal bill that became law. He died of a heart attack in 1942 at age 62. His second wife, Veronica Grace, won a special election to serve out the rest of his term, becoming Pennsylvania’s first congresswoman.”

The University of Scranton welcomed a new cohort of students into its Nonprofit Leadership Certificate Program. Classes for the 13-month program, which seeks to develop future executives to serve area nonprofit institutions. Classes began in January 2025.

The University’s Nonprofit Leadership Certificate Program, housed in the Kania School of Management, seeks to support and advance nonprofit organizations through a comprehensive and academically rigorous leadership program to develop future executives to serve at NEPA nonprofit institutions.

“The program was founded and has grown through a close collaboration between The University of Scranton’s faculty and community nonprofit leaders. This close connection to the community has resulted in significant and sustained positive outcomes,” said Douglas M. Boyle, D.B.A., professor and chair of the Accounting Department at Scranton and director of the Nonprofit Leadership Certificate Program and the University’s Ph.D. program.

Since the program’s inception in 2017, 68 nonprofit professionals from more than 50 regional organizations have graduated from the program.

“The program has created a network of high-performing individuals serving at nonprofit institutions, in addition to building an informal regional network of mentors and coaches for emerging nonprofit leaders,” said Kurt R. Bauman, co-director of the Nonprofit Leadership Certificate Program and executive director of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Nonprofit and Community Assistance Center.

“Courses for the program, taught in person by Kania School of Management faculty with significant expertise in practice and nonprofit organizations, include experiential learning, peer group work and coaching and mentorship components,” said Jesse J. Ergott, chief advancement officer for AllOne Foundation and Charities.

Members of the 2025 cohort of Scranton’s Nonprofit Leadership Certificate Program and the organizations they represent are:

Pam Anslinger, director of homeownership services, NeighborWorks NEPA;

Jessica Baab, philanthropic services coordinator, The Luzerne Foundation;

Jessica Freyne, executive director, Providence Pregnancy Center;

Rossanna Gabriel, executive director, Hazleton Integration Project, Inc.;

Heather Greene, business manager, Jewish Family Services;

Nicole Guzenski, director of programs, The Catherine McAuley Center;

Jennifer Hayes Housel, executive director, Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers;

Eileen Howells, designated institutional administrator, The Wright Center;

Tara B. Jones, executive director, Lackawanna River Conservation Association;

Alyse Kerr, executive director, Integrative Mind and Body;

Marianne Linko, deputy chief operating officer, The Wright Center for Community Health;

Amanda Masters, youth program manager, The Cooperage;

Christine S. Pirillo, DHA, senior director laboratory medicine, Geisinger Health System;

Dani Ruhf, chief executive officer and founder, Child Hunger Outreach Partners (CHOP);

Helen Schmid, president and chief executive officer, Telespond Senior Services;

Connor Simon, grants and outreach manager, Wayne County Community Foundation;

Rachael Stark, NEPA program coordinator, Pennsylvania Environmental Council;

Jill Avery Stoss, chief operating officer, The Institute;

Gina Suydam, executive director, Wyoming County Chamber of Commerce.

For additional information, visit the Nonprofit Leadership Certificate Program webpage or call 570-941-4047.

University of Scranton students, faculty and staff participated in annual Christmas gift-giving programs organized by the Center for Service and Social Justice. Toys donated through the Giving Tree from students, staff and faculty, as well as Scranton Baseball, the Psychology Club and Performance Music’s Empty Stocking Concert, were collected and sorted by the Center for Service and Social Justice. The toys will be donated to the Gifts for Kids giveaway, a program with the Catherine McAuley Center, Friends of the Poor, the Salvation Army and Catholic Social Services. The event will be hosted at the University’s Byron Recreation Complex on Dec. 15 and 16.

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Less than a week after its beloved Noel Night, Performance Music at The University of Scranton will continue in the holiday spirit at its 23rd Annual Empty Stocking Fund Benefit Concert, this year featuring the Scranton Brass Orchestra, on Wednesday, Dec. 11. 

This year’s concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the University’s Houlihan-McLean Center, Mulberry Street and Jefferson Avenue.

The event is open to the public, with attendees asked to bring either a new unwrapped toy, new piece of child’s clothing, new toiletry items (toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, comb/brush, etc.), or a cash donation. All donated items will directly benefit local families in need this holiday season.

Founded by Performance Music Conductor and Director Cheryl Y. Boga and University Professor Emeritus Hal Baillie, Ph.D., and now in its 12^th season, Scranton Brass Orchestra is a fully professional 28-member ensemble comprised of brass and percussion players/teachers from across the region. Since its founding in June 2011, the group’s performances have been free and open to the public, and have featured nationally and internationally acclaimed guests, among them some of the most acclaimed brass players of our time. Some of the goals of the group include to provide high-level, large brass ensemble performance and listening opportunities, serve as an aural and visual model to aid in the tonal and technical development of student brass players and as a professional development resource for brass performers and teachers in the region, and give participating regional brass musicians and teachers opportunities to work with and observe masters of the art of brass playing.

The Empty Stocking Fund concert traces its origins back to 1999, when Boga’s friend, Alan Drake, the former chairman of the music department at Georgia’s Augusta University, told her about a benefit Christmas concert held there. Boga was intrigued, and Drake gave his blessing for her to bring the concept back to Scranton for the following year.

For the inaugural year, she and Drake waged a friendly competition to see which concert could raise the most money. Scranton won, and an annual tradition was born.

The concert’s charitable mission makes it particularly special, and Decker and Boga and their students are always moved when they see the donated items out on display the night of the show. Meanwhile, the performance itself never fails to produce an abundance of yuletide cheer – by the end of it, “you can really see people starting to feel the Christmas spirit,” Decker said. Audience members are encouraged to wear their Santa hats, reindeer antlers and other accessories of the season.

For those who are unable to attend the concert but would still like to drop off a toy or other donation, they will be accepted at the Houlihan McLean Center from now up to and including the day of the concert from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (before the day of the concert, please use the Jefferson Ave. entrance. For additional daytime hours, please call first: 570-941–7624.

For more information on the Empty Stocking Fund Benefit Concert, call 570-941-7624, email music@scranton.edu or visit scranton.edu/music.

Continuing a beloved holiday season tradition, Performance Music at The University of Scranton will present its 57^th Annual Noel Night concert on Saturday, Dec. 7.  The concert will begin at 8 p.m. in the University’s Houlihan-McLean Center, Mulberry Street and Jefferson Avenue. Doors will open at 7 p.m. with a prelude beginning at 7:05 p.m. Admission is free, and seating is on a first-come, first-seated basis.

Considered the University’s Christmas gift to the community, Noel Night has been a must-attend event for many Scranton-area residents since its founding almost 60 years ago by the Rev. Edward Gannon, S.J.

Noel Night features The University of Scranton Singers, with preludes this year performed by the String Orchestra and organ. Outdoor instrumental caroling by members of the University Bands will greet audience members as they arrive.

According to Performance Music Conductor and Director Cheryl Y. Boga, the program will include a variety of sacred selections interspersed with readings of Nativity texts. Included in the program are musical works by John Leavitt, Felix Mendelssohn, Vaclav Nelhybel, Camille Saint-Saëns, Mark Sirett and others. Pianist for the evening is Ron Stabinsky, and Christopher Johnson is organist.

The primary focus of Performance Music at The University of Scranton is its student choral and instrumental performing ensembles. There is no music major at the University, and all enrolled University of Scranton students are eligible for membership in the bands, choirs, and string ensembles, with neither an audition nor enrollment fee required for membership. Hundreds of students participate in the ensembles each year.

For additional information on the concert, call 570-941-7624, email music@scranton.edu or visit scranton.edu/music.

High school students from Carbondale Area, Mid Valley, Scranton Prep and Valley View participated in The University of Scranton’s inaugural Data Science Day Competition. Supported by a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant awarded to University mathematics professor Joseph Klobusicky, Ph.D., the interactive competition included a tutorial introduction to data science and the computer software that would be used during the competition. The day also included a luncheon keynote address by Melinda Kleczynski, Ph.D., a post-doctoral scholar at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and remarks from Carolyn Barry, Ph.D., dean of Scranton’s College of Arts and Sciences. University students majoring in mathematics and other fields assisted with the competition.

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University students majoring in mathematics and other fields assisted with the competition.

The high school students competed in an individual and a doubles division.

 In the individual division, Scranton Prep seniors Ethan Fenner from Forty Fort came in first place; Vincent You from Jessup placed second and Ryan Flaim from Wilkes-Barre placed third.

In the doubles division, sophomores from Mid Valley Secondary Center Giada Vagni, Olyphant, and Zackary Buza, Throop, came in first place. Seniors from Scranton Prep Logan Dixon, Factoryville, and Sam DeNaples, Moscow, placed second.

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Data Science is a growing, much-in-demand field. A knowledge of probability and statistics is crucial, as they are considered the “mathematical back bone” of data analysis, according to Dr. Klobusicky.

For graduates of Scranton’s class of 2023, those majoring in data analysis had one of the highest salaries reported ($70,800) in its post-graduate survey.

Additional information about undergraduate programs in mathematics at The University of Scranton can be found on the department’s webpage.

Pictured below, from left, are the winners of the doubles division of The University of Scranton’s Data Science Day Competition: placing second, from Scranton Preparatory School, seniors Logan Dixon and Sam DeNaples; and placing first from Mid Valley Secondary Center, sophomores Giada Vagni and Zackary Buza; and Dr. Klobusicky.

University of Scranton students volunteered to pack and deliver 150 food baskets to area families in need as part of its annual Thanksgiving Food Drive organized by the University’s Center for Service and Social Justice. The food baskets included turkeys as well as other food items needed to prepare a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

University students gathered at the Friends of the Poor warehouse in South Scranton on Nov. 24 to prepare the food baskets, which they later delivered to families at Hilltop Manor and Valley View Terrace in Scranton.

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Future entrepreneurs Maria Bonacci, Waverly; Geneen Brown, Scranton; Brigid Lawrence, Jermyn; Nesha Parker, Kunkletown; Cheyanne Peaten-Holder, Jessup; Claudette Polidoro, Clarks Summit; Megan Poremba, Dunmore; Melanie Van Ommeren, Cresco; and Jill White, Jefferson Township, completed The University of Scranton Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Women’s Entrepreneurship Center StartUP Fall Program sponsored by Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance Business Finance Corporation.

Facilitated by experienced business consultants from The University of Scranton Small Business Development Center (SBDC), this six-week certificate series is designed for women with lower incomes, women experiencing a life transition or women trying to make a better life for themselves and their families. The StartUP program offers women support and guidance in determining if entrepreneurship is an option for them. The program also encompasses teaching business startup basics, legal and insurance considerations, marketing and social media essentials, business plan development, accounting and budget skills, financing options and goal setting.

The fall StartUP series was sponsored by Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance Business Finance Corporation. Representatives from NEPA Alliance and University student interns of the SBDC’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Center also played a role in the program, sharing information and resources with participants.

Housed in the Kania School of Management, The University of Scranton Women’s Entrepreneurship Center (WEC) is a program of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC). WEC student interns and SBDC staff offer business startup information, guidance and encouragement. For more information, visit www.scrantonsbdc.com.

Scranton’s SBDC serves eight counties in Northeastern and Northern Tier Pennsylvania.

Author, historian and medical humanities scholar Brandy Schillace, Ph.D., received The University of Scranton’s Friends of the Weinberg Memorial Library 2024 Royden B. Davis, S.J., Distinguished Author Award. University of Scranton alumnus Christopher Banks ’86, president and chief executive officer of the Autism Society of America, served as Toastmaster at the event, which included a cocktail reception, dinner, award presentation and Distinguished Author keynote address.

Proceeds from the event benefit the Friends of the Library Endowment Fund, which supports special gifts for the Weinberg Memorial Library collections and services.

Dr. Schillace’s novels include “The Framed Women of Ardemore House” (Hanover Square Press), “Mr. Humble and Dr. Butcher” (Simon & Schuster), “Death’s Summer Coat” (Pegasus Books) and “Clockwork Futures” (Pegasus Books).

Named in honor of the late Rev. Royden B. Davis, S.J., who served in many roles at the University and as rector of the Jesuit Community, the Distinguished Author Award was established in 1997 as a way to honor notable fiction and non-fiction authors, and to give them the opportunity to share their literary pursuits and impressions with Northeastern Pennsylvanians.

Peoples Security Bank and Trust Company contributed $5,000 through the Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program to support The University of Scranton’s University of Success, a four-year, pre-college mentoring program.

An academic and enrichment program, the ultimate goal of the University of Success is to assist participating students to successfully complete high school and gain entrance into a college or university. Students enter the program after the eighth grade and continue through their high school years. Enrichment courses offered through the University of Success include study skills, SAT prep, public speaking, math, science, art and cultural activities, financial aid and wellness seminars.

The University of Success offered free of charge to participants, is funded almost entirely by corporate and foundation grants. Peoples Security Bank and Trust Company has provided continuous support of this program since 2013.

For additional information, visit the University of Success web site.

On Saturday, Nov. 23, Performance Music at The University of Scranton will present a concert featuring the University’s Symphonic Band. The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Houlihan-McLean Center, Mulberry Street and Jefferson Avenue. Admission is free and the concert is open to the public, with seating on a first-come, first-seated basis.

The program will include a variety of symphonic band works including pieces by contemporary composers like Eric Ewazen, arrangements and transcriptions of works by Malcolm Arnold and Dmitri Shostakovich, as well as a composition by Performance Music’s late composer in residence, Vaclav Nelhybel.

According to Performance Music Conductor and Co-Director Janelle Decker, “In programming this concert, Cheryl Boga and I selected works that showcase the ensemble while also challenging them both technically and musically. We have chosen repertoire for the symphonic band that ranges from original pieces to works that have been transcribed for band to provide what we hope will be an enriching musical experience for both our student musicians and our audience.”

The University of Scranton Symphonic Band is a 65-plus member ensemble comprised of members of the University community from majors and departments spanning the curriculum – the vast majority of them undergraduate students – joined by a few graduate students and members of the faculty, staff, alumni and Scranton Brass Orchestra, who are all brought together by their mutual love of music-making.

The primary focus of Performance Music at The University of Scranton is its student choral and instrumental performing ensembles, there is no major in music at the University, and all enrolled Scranton students (undergraduate and graduate) are eligible for membership in the University Bands, University Performance Choirs, University String Orchestra and Ensembles, and the Steel Drum Ensemble. A few members of the faculty and staff and alumni from the region also perform with the groups. Each year, hundreds of students participate in the ensembles.

For additional information on the concert, call 570-941-7624, email music@scranton.edu or visit scranton.edu/music.

“Did you know that your brain runs on only 25 watts of electricity – enough to power an LED light bulb? Or that there are nearly 10,000 different types of neurons in your brain?”

Well, high school students preparing for 24th annual Northeast PA Brain Bee know these facts and others contained in the book “Brain Facts,” which is published by the Society for Neuroscience. This book will be the source for the questions for the annual competition hosted at The University of Scranton on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. The competition begins at 12:30 p.m. in the PNC Auditorium of the Loyola Science Center.

Sponsored by the Neuroscience Program at the University and the Scranton Neuroscience Society, the Brain Bee is offered free of charge. Registration is required to participate. The registration deadline is Friday, Feb. 21. The snow date is Sunday, Feb. 23.

The competition, open to high school students aged 13 to 19, encourages the study of the brain and how it relates to intelligence, memory, emotions, sensations, movements, stress, aging, sleep and brain disorders.

The winner of the NEPA Brain Bee will be invited to compete in the 2025 National Brain Bee.

The NEPA Brain Bee competition is dedicated to the memory of J. Timothy Cannon, Ph.D., founder of the University’s Neuroscience Program, who coordinator for Brain Bee for 11 years and served as a Brain Bee judge for 20 years.

In previous years, students competing represented schools from throughout Northeast Pennsylvania, including: Abington Heights High School, Lackawanna Trail High School, MMI Preparatory School, Parkland High School, Pittston Area High School, Pocono Mountain East High School, Riverside Junior/Senior High School, Stroudsburg Area High School, Wallenpaupack Area High School, Western Wayne High School, Wyoming Area High School and Valley View High School, among others.

For more information or to register online, visit the 24^th Annual Northeast PA Brain Bee website, or contact Robert Waldeck, Ph.D., neuroscience program director and associate professor of biology at the University, at 570-941-4324 or robert.waldeck@scranton.edu.