Advent 2006

Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord!
Amid the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, may we all find time to prepare our hearts in peace and stillness for the coming of the Lord. Blessings to all of you!

Thomas H. Powell
University President

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UNIVERSITY NEWS >

 Advent Season at the Mount
The Mount's annual Advent concert will take place Sunday, Dec. 10, at 3:30 p.m. in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception. The service of Lessons and Carols will feature the Mount's Chamber Choir and Women's Ensemble, along with a guest appearance by the Flute Choir. Among the pieces are motets by Johann Eberling, Michael Praetorius and Johann Neukomm, as well as carol/hymn settings by J.S. Bach and John Rutter. The audience will be invited to sing along with several carols, and the program will close with a special setting of Adeste Fideles. The concert is open to the public with a free-will donation accepted.

Mount Hosts Leadership Lecture Series
The Honorable Anthony Williams, Mayor of Washington, D.C. (pictured here) kicked off the Mount's Presidential Lecture Leadership Series at the University Club in Washington, D.C. This series, part of the planning for the upcoming bicentennial, will include such prestigious speakers as His Excellency, Archbishop Wuerl, the new archbishop for the Washington Archdiocese, Ms. Diane Rehm, radio talk show host and producer of The Diane Rehm Show, Mr. Matt McKenna, vice president of PepsiCo, and the seminary's own Monsignor Stuart Swetland.

If you would like to receive more information about the lecture series, please contact Corie Matijevic, office of the president.

301-447-5600 or matijevic@msmary.edu

Mount Team Takes on Fed Challenge
A six-member team of Mount St. Mary's University economics students competed in the 2006 Fed Challenge District Competition held November 15-17. Team members from the Mount included seniors Katherine Herzog, Catherine Muething and Philip Bauchan; and juniors Brian Ogle and Matt Sanicola and Brendan Tewey. The Mount's team won Baltimore's preliminary round, with Salisbury University and Lafayette College as finalists. Virginia Commonwealth University, representing the Richmond, VA district, edged out the Mount by one point to win the District title. The Mount is the only school to have participated in all ten College Fed Challenge competitions. The Mount finished third in the national competition in 2005, won once (1999), and has placed second twice (1997 and 2001).The College Fed Challenge is intended to help students become more knowledgeable about the Federal Reserve and the decision-making process of the Federal Open Market Committee, the Federal Reserve's monetary policy-setting group.

Education Deparment Receives Grant
The Mount's Department of Education was among the Maryland higher education institutions that recently received state grants to support professional development schools. PDS are partnerships for the preparation of teaching interns and the professional development of both school system and university faculty. The grant of $108,402 will enhance and expand PDS activities in areas such as strategic planning, portfolio review, coordination, mentoring, professional development and data collection. Another exciting announcement was the news this fall that the department has been accepted as a formal candidate for accreditation by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).

Celebrate the Mount's Bicentennial  in the World's Greatest City
Oct. 20, 2007
New York City will honor 200 years of Mount St. Mary's University with Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral, concelebrated by Mount alumni priests. A Gala Dinner Dance at the New York Athletic Club, overlooking Central Park, will follow the Mass. The Alan Quinn Orchestra will provide the gala's music, including a jazz trio for the cocktail hour and a nine piece orchestra throughout the event. Plan to visit the Big Apple and take part in this once-in-a-lifetime celebration. All alumni and members of the Mount community are invited. Mark your calendar today! Invitations will be sent in the near future.

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ALUMNI NEWS >

Show Your Mount Spirit!
For a chance to get your picture on the Mount's alumni website, attend any Mount St. Mary's basketball game (men's or women's) this season and take your picture at the game. The more Mount gear you're wearing, the better!

Email your photo to alumni@msmary.edu or drop it in the mail to Mount St. Mary's University, Office of Alumni Relations, 16300 Old Emmitsburg Road, Emmitsburg, MD 21727. At the end of the season a random drawing from all photo submissions will take place for an autographed Mount basketball.

To view the schedule for the 2006-07 season visit www.mountathletics.com.

Alumni Survey Reminder
Please do not forget to fill out and return your Alumni Survey-your opinion counts and we want to hear from you! If you did not receive a survey, please click here for the online version or call the Office of Alumni Relations at 301-447-5362 for a print version.

All Souls Thank You
We would like to express our most sincere gratitude to all of those who submitted the names of deceased loved ones for our November All Souls intentions. We are so glad that so many of you took advantage of this opportunity to bring our community closer through prayer and remembrance. You and your loved ones remain in our prayers.

Mount Alumni Authors
If you or a fellow Mount alum has published a book recently, please let us know! We'd like to recognize our published authors in the spring issue of Mount Magazine . Please email alumni@msmary.edu with your information by January 4.

Alumni Events
Mount Alumni Chapters will be busy spreading holiday spirit throughout the Christmas season.

Visit our alumni event page to see what is happening in your area.

Save the Date!
Winter Homecoming 2007
February 10
Women's basketball v. St. Francis, 3 p.m.
Men's basketball v. Robert Morris, 7 p.m.

SEMINARY NEWS >

Deacon Jesse Bolger Receives Seminary Scholarship from the Jenkins Family Trust
Deacon Jesse Bolger of Libertytown, Md, has received a scholarship from the B. Larry and Catherine Jenkins Family Trust, established for the benefit of seminarian education with the Catholic Family Association in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

Click here to learn more about Bolger.

Admission to Candidacy Held at Seminary
The Most Rev . Michael O. Jackels, S'81, bishop of Wichita, celebrated Mass with Admission to Candidacy on November 17. Twenty-five seminarians of the third theology class were admitted to candidacy.

Learn more here.

Remember the Seminary in Your End of Year Giving Plans

It's not too late to include the seminary in your annual giving. Click here for giving opportunities, or make a gift now.

ATHLETICS >

New Athletic Scholarship
The Mount is pleased to announce a new endowed scholarship to support our student athletes. Dr. Margaret M. Wheltle has established the Albert F. Wheltle Sr. Memorial Athletic Scholarship to honor her father, class of 1916. Mr. Wheltle received his bachelor's degree from the Mount in 1916 and his law degree from the University of Maryland in 1920. A devoted sports enthusiast, he served as associate counsel to the United States Olympic Committee from 1950 to 1968. He was awarded the prestigious DuBois Medal from the Mount in 1971. The scholarship will be awarded to athletes based on academic merit and financial need. For more information, please contact the Office of Admissions at 800-448-4347.

Women's Swimming Hosted First-Ever Home Meet on November 18
The Mount St. Mary's women's swim meet hosted its first-ever home meet on November 18.  Maggie O'Connell (Hagerstown, Md.) won two events to lead the Mount St. Mary's women's swimming team in the competition against Loyola and Sacred Heart on Saturday.

For more information click here

Track Team Opens Season
The men's and women's indoor track and field teams opened the 2006-07 season with the Navy Lidlifter in December.  The men's meet took place Friday, December 1st, while the women were in action on Tuesday, December 5th.

Learn more.

Women's Lacrosse Coach Earns Diane Geppi-Aikens Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement
Denise Wescott, the Mount St. Mary's women's lacrosse head coach, earned of the Diane Geppi-Aikens Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement, announced by the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches' Association (IWLCA) recently. The award was presented in conjunction with the IWLCA annual convention at the Hilton Clearwater Beach Resort in Clearwater, Florida at the IWLCA Awards banquet presented by STX.

Learn more about Wescott.

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DEVELOPMENT >

Bicentennial Pioneers
There's still time to become a Bicentennial Pioneer and have your name forever memorialized in the Founder's Plaza! A gift a $2,008 ($502 over four years) will help to support the grand projects for the Mount's bicentennial. Contact Executive Director of Development Pamela M. Zusi, 301-447-5361 or email zusi@msmary.edu.

Go Mount!
It is a source of tremendous pride to all Mounties that, because of the generosity of alumni, parents and friends like you, the Mount Annual Fund has exceeded the $1 million mark in each of the past five years.

That's family. That's loyalty.

If you've never made a gift to the university, or if it's been awhile since your last gift, please do so today. It's not the amount that's so important, it's the spirit. Even small gifts add up to much-needed funds to support scholarships, library services, campus beautification, athletic facilities and more. Help us reach our 40% participation goal for alumni. GO MOUNT! Please click here now to make your gift.

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GROTTO NEWS >

Refresh Yourself at Mary's Mountain Grotto
For a schedule of services, visit www.msmary.edu/grotto, call the grotto office at 301-447-5318 or email grotto@msmary.edu.

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Around the Mount is the monthly electronic newsletter for alumni and friends of Mount St. Mary's University. We need your feedback! Let us know what you think of this newsletter and/or suggestions for improving it. Please send your comments and suggestions to the office of communications via email at communications@msmary.edu or by telephone at 301-447-5366.