FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Aug. 9, 2016
Chambersburg, Pa. — A gift from Wilson College graduate, businesswoman and philanthropist Susan Breakefield Fulton will pave the way for a new campus veterinary medical center planned for completion in 2019.
Fulton, one of Wilson’s generous, longtime supporters, recently pledged a lead gift of $500,000 for a new veterinary building to replace the Helen M. Beach ’24 Veterinary Medical Center. The facility houses surgery suites, skill labs, dog kennels, a cat room, offices and other spaces, and is a hub for students in Wilson’s four-year veterinary medical technology (VMT) program—one of the college’s most popular majors.
College officials saw a need to upgrade the 18-year-old, 5,400-square-foot Beach veterinary medical center after the most recent American Veterinary Medical Association’s reaccreditation process identified the need for improvements to the modular facility—including the replacement of the (HVAC) system, Vice President for Finance and Administration Brian Ecker said.
“We knew before the next reaccreditation (in 2020) that either the existing structure was going to need significant upgrades or we would need a new building,” said Ecker.
Fulton, a 1961 Wilson graduate whose interests include environmental sustainability and the welfare of animals, heard of the need and stepped forward. “I’m always looking for ways I can enhance the strength of the college,” said Fulton, a Washington, D.C., resident who is president of the SEC-registered investment company, FBB Capital Partners.
Fulton has made several large gifts to her alma mater, including a $1 million endowment in 1999 to create Wilson’s Richard Alsina Fulton Center for Sustainable Living, named for her late husband. A former college trustee and regular contributor to the college’s annual fund, Fulton last year made a gift to the John Stewart Memorial Library project to name the outdoor plaza in honor of some of the professors who positively impacted her while she studied for a bachelor’s degree in religion. She has also provided funding for sustainability conferences, as well as contributing funds to renovate the college farm’s farmhouse and barn.
“The entire Wilson College community is grateful for Susan’s steadfast support over the years, and we thank her for this latest gift,” said Wilson President Barbara K. Mistick. “It will have a great impact because it affects students in our most popular major and ensures that the college’s VMT facilities remain state of the art.”
The new veterinary center has tentatively been dubbed the Breakefield Veterinary Medical Center, in recognition of Fulton and her two sisters—Xandra Breakefield and Beverly Breakefield—who also graduated from Wilson.
Details about the new veterinary center, including its size, are still being considered, but preliminary cost estimates are more than $1 million, according to Ecker. Officials said the colleges plan to fund the remaining cost from its capital budget.
The site of the new VMC would most likely be near the tennis courts on the north side of the Brooks Science Center, Ecker said.
“We’re planning to study the programming needs through this academic year, and whatever we do would happen in following year, with the goal to complete in 2019,” he said.
MEDIA CONTACT: Cathy Mentzer, Manager of Media Relations Phone: 717-262-2604 Email: cathy.mentzer@wilson.edu
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Founded in 1869, Wilson College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college offering bachelor’s degrees in 31 majors and master’s degrees in education, the humanities, accountancy, management, nursing, fine arts and healthcare management for sustainability. Wilson is committed to providing an affordable education that offers value to its students beyond graduation.
Located in Chambersburg, Pa., the college had a fall 2015 enrollment of 923, which included students from 23 states and 14 countries. Visit www.wilson.edu for more information.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Aug. 29, 2016
Chambersburg, Pa. — Two free exhibitions of abstract paintings will open Wednesday, Sept. 7, at Wilson College, featuring the work of Lancaster artist Daniel Burns in Lortz Hall’s Bogigian Gallery and Chambersburg artist Peter Mazzone in the John Stewart Memorial Library’s Cooley Gallery.
Receptions to mark the openings will be held at the artists’ respective venues from 5 to 7 p.m. Burns will give an artist’s talk at 6 p.m. in Bogigian Gallery.
The Burns exhibition, Recent Work, is a collection of paintings from 2014-15 created in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. “Each [painting] is an invention representing a moment in time, a fleeting time spent in a studio, a new beginning,” said Burns, who describes painting for him as a “desire” “calling,” and a “privilege.” He works to document experiences, relying on instinct and atmosphere. For him, these works reflect a sense of place, which is deeply rooted in American painting.
Burns teaches at Elizabethtown College and is a supervisor of art, world languages and music at Conestoga Valley School District. He holds an M.F.A. from Catholic University and has exhibited across the and abroad in Taiwan and Hungary.
Daniel Burns, Recent Work will continue through Oct.14. The Bogigian Gallery is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays or by appointment.
Mazzone’s Progressions is a collection of new paintings inspired by the artist’s desire to “remedy the world around them by and through art.” He says he is interested in the “purity of intuition” and “the consciousness of seeing.”
Mazzone has a bachelor’s degree in studio art and art history from Principia College, a small liberal arts college similar to Wilson. Mazzone does not actively pursue exhibition venues, but his work is held in many private collections throughout North America.
Peter Mazzone, Progressions will continue through Jan. 27, 2017. The Sue Davison Cooley Gallery is open from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; and 1 to 11 p.m. Sunday.
For additional information or an appointment, contact Professor of Fine Arts Philip Lindsey at 717-264-4141, Ext. 3305, or philip.lindsey@wilson.edu.
MEDIA CONTACT: Philip Lindsey, Professor of Fine Arts Phone: 717-264-4141, Ext. 3305 Email: philip.lindsey@wilson.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Aug. 25, 2016
Chambersburg, Pa. — Wilson College opens its 2016-17 Performing Arts Series with a free concert by acclaimed pianist Efi Hackmey at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9, in Thomson Hall’s Alumnae Chapel. A reception will be held immediately following the performance.
Hackmey, who has appeared at Wilson a number of times, performs widely as a soloist and chamber musician. In 2013, he released an album on the prestigious Naxos label, and his recent performances have included solo recitals at Lincoln Center’s Rose Studio and the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage; Chopin’s F minor concerto with the Haifa Symphony Orchestra in Israel; and a chamber music recital as the gala concert of the Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles, Calif.
Hackmey has also performed at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Mozarteum Salzburg in Austria, and many prominent venues in his native Israel, including the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Jerusalem Music Center, and in special concerts presented by the Arthur Rubinstein International Music Society.
The free concert is being underwritten by Wilson College alumna Denise Foreman and her husband, Bruce Foreman, of Chambersburg.
For more information on Wilson’s Performing Arts Series events, visit www.wilson.edu/events.
MEDIA CONTACT: Joel Pagliaro, Director of Conferences and Special Events, Sage Dining Services Phone: 717-262-2003 Email: conferences@wilson.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | July 20, 2016
Chambersburg, Pa. — The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded Wilson College a $100,000 grant to strengthen writing instruction for students, especially those in their first year. Wilson plans to use the funding to establish the Wilson Writing Academy, a comprehensive system of instruction that will shape students’ writing skills and analytical reasoning capacities – central components of a liberal arts education.
The Mellon Foundation award, which will be distributed over two years, will provide funding for four main initiatives conducted under an umbrella group that will integrate writing instruction across the curriculum:
These actions will strengthen Wilson’s first-year writing instruction program and bridge the gap between writing foundations courses taken by students in their first months in college and writing-intensive courses in students’ majors.
“Strong writing skills are what distinguish students going into graduate school or the workforce,” said Wilson Vice President for Academic Affairs Elissa Heil. “By ensuring that our students encounter a comprehensive system of instruction that shapes writing skills and analytical reasoning capacities central to the liberal arts, the grant will help them not only become better scholars, but will also provide them with skills that give them a career edge.”
Wilson College has a writing-intensive curriculum and students enrolling out of high school are typically not prepared for the type and length of writing assignments they encounter in their first year. In February, the college sought the grant to help students make a successful transition from high school writing to Wilson.
In addition, Wilson faculty – including full-time professors and part-time instructors – would “benefit from an integrated, cross-disciplinary program that improves writing instruction …” according to Wilson’s grant proposal.
Heil, who is also Wilson dean of the faculty, will serve as the writing project director. English professor Larry Shillock has been named the writing academy administrator.
Plans call for an organizational blueprint to be developed in fall 2016, followed by professional development conducted in spring and summer of 2017. Full implementation of the writing program will happen in the 2018-19 academic year, according to the college.
MEDIA CONTACT: Elissa Heil, Vice President for Academic Affairs Phone: 717-262-2018 Email: elissa.heil@wilson.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | July 26, 2016
Chambersburg, Pa. — Wilson College’s Fulton Center for Sustainable Living will host herbalist Lori Wroten, who will discuss “The Art of Herbalism” at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, August 10, in Sarah’s Coffeehouse. The event is free and open to the public.
To help choose from among the overwhelming number of herbs that can help improve health, Wroten will explain “energetics,” a framework used by natural health practitioners for centuries. During this session, she will discuss how to determine the energetics of both people and plants in order to choose herbs wisely and achieve better results for optimal health benefits.
Wroten is a clinical herbalist practicing in the Chambersburg area. She holds a master of science degree in therapeutic herbalism from Maryland University of Integrative Health (MUIH), a certificate in herbal studies from MUIH, and a certificate in medical herbalism from the North American Institute of Medical Herbalism (NAIMH). She is also a member of the American Herbalists Guild.
For more information, contact FCSL Director Chris Mayer at 717-264-4141, Ext. 3247, or christine.mayer@wilson.edu.
MEDIA CONTACT: Chris Mayer, Fulton Center for Sustainable Living Director Phone: 717-264-4141, Ext. 3247 Email: christine.mayer@wilson.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Aug. 12, 2016
Chambersburg, Pa. — Wilson College will host an educational meeting for produce growers and handlers on the impact of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s new Food Safety and Modernization Act on their operations. The meeting will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 18, at Wilson’s Fulton Farm.
The meeting, being held in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association, Penn State Extension and Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, is intended for growers whose buyers require third-party certification – “produce audits” – to allow them to market wholesale produce, according to Chris Mayer, director of Wilson’s Fulton Center for Sustainable Living.
Mayer said a state Department of Agriculture produce auditor will be on hand to walk growers through mock produce audit of Fulton Farm, reviewing the farm’s food safety plan and answering such questions as “Would your farm pass a food safety audit?” and “How much paperwork is involved?”
The meeting is free, but registration is requested and can be made by visiting http://extension.psu.edu/food/safety and clicking on “Produce Mock Audit Twilight Meeting” under “Upcoming Events, or by contacting Penn State Extension Farm Food Safety Educator Jeff Stoltzfus at 717-394-6851.
“Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and Good Handling Practices (GHP) are voluntary audits that verify that fruits and vegetables are produced, packed, handled, and stored as safely as possible to minimize risks of microbial food safety hazards,” according to the state Dept. of Agriculture website. “GAP and GHP audits verify adherence to the recommendations made in the (FDA’s) Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables and industry-recognized food safety practices.”
According to the FDA website, “The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), the most sweeping reform of our food safety laws in more than 70 years, was signed into law by President Obama on January 4, 2011. It aims to ensure the U.S. food supply is safe by shifting the focus from responding to contamination to preventing it.”
For more information, contact FCSL Director Chris Mayer at 717-264-4141, Ext. 3247, or at christine.mayer@wilson.edu.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | June 30, 2016
Chambersburg, Pa. — Women farmers are still a minority in the world of agriculture – and they face unique challenges and opportunities. On Monday, July 18, Wilson College will host a day-long workshop – “Women Farmers: It’s Never Too Late or Too Early to Face the Risks of Farming” – aimed at increasing awareness and providing information and networking opportunities for women who hope to get involved or are already engaged in farming.
The workshop will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Brooks Science Center, Room 229. Admission is $25, which can be paid at 9:30 the morning of the workshop. Registration is required and can be done online at http://www.cvent.com/events/women-farmers-the-risk-of-farming/event-summary-1ddd1e6945b945029739373f9441976b.aspx.
The workshop is sponsored by Wilson’s Fulton Center for Sustainable Living, the Pennsylvania Women’s Agricultural Network (PA-WAgN) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Katie College of Stoney Creek Valley Farm in Dauphin, Pa., will share her experiences as a woman farmer who entered farming later in life. PA-WAgN’s Patty Neiner will share resources available through USDA’s Farm Service Agency’s risk management plans that will help women farmers mitigate various types of risk.
A discussion of the needs of women farmers will be held over lunch. In addition, workshop participants will tour Wilson’s Fulton Farm and watch a demonstration of the farm’s solar-powered tractor.
For more information, contact Neiner at 814-865-7031 or prn103@psu.edu.
Founded in 1869, Wilson College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college offering bachelor’s degrees in 29 majors and seven master’s degrees. Wilson is committed to providing an affordable education that offers value to its students beyond graduation.
Located in Chambersburg, Pa., the college had a fall 2015 enrollment of 923, which includes students from 22 states and 16 countries. Visit www.wilson.edu for more information.
Chambersburg, Pa. — Wilson College will host an information session about its master’s degree program in the humanities at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 21, in Norland Hall. The session will cover how to apply and provide an overview of the program, including new courses and concentrations now available; financial aid; career opportunities; graduate assistantships and more. Lunch will be provided.
Registration may be completed at www.wilson.edu/humanities. For more information, visit the website or contact Master of Humanities Program Director Michael Cornelius at michael.cornelius@wilson.edu or 717-262-2712.
MEDIA CONTACT: Michael Cornelius, Chair, Department of English and Communications Phone: 717-262-2712 Email: michael.cornelius@wilson.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | June 20, 2016
Chambersburg, Pa. — Wilson College will host a film called The Dark Side of Chocolate, followed by a discussion featuring local chocolate maker Nathan Miller of Nathan Miller Chocolate and a chocolate tasting beginning at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 23, in the college’s Sarah’s Coffeehouse.
The documentary film explores the impact of the chocolate trade on children in Africa. Miller, whose business is located 140 N. Third St. in Chambersburg, will talk about his company’s sustainable, fair trade cacao sourcing practices.
Admission is free and open to the public.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | June 7, 2016
Chambersburg, Pa. — Wilson College will host an information session about its master’s degree program in the humanities at noon on Thursday, June 16, in Norland Hall. The session will cover how to apply and provide an overview of the program, including new courses and concentrations now available; financial aid; career opportunities; graduate assistantships and more. Lunch will be provided.
