On October 19 Institutional Advancement hosted a reception for our faculty and staff emeriti in the Nettie M. Stevens Science and Innovation Center. Following conversation and light refreshments, President Torrecilha welcomed and thanked the group for its support, then introduced Dr. Richard Feller ’72, a guest of professor emeriti Dr. William Duval.
Dr. Torrecilha noted that Dr. Feller was so influenced as young man by Professor Duval that he wanted to find a way to honor him at the University. Dr. Feller worked with Institutional Advancement to establish the Dr. William F. Duval Academic Excellence Award in Psychology. The first award was received by Kristin Cianciolo ’18, a current WSU graduate student, at the Academic Excellence Awards Ceremony last spring.
Dr. Jennifer Hixon, founding program director of the Westfield State Physician Assistant Program, and Marcia Scanlon, DNP, chair of the Nursing and Allied Health department, also spoke, each providing exciting information and statistics about their departments.
Guests were then treated to a tour of the facility beginning with Dr. Jennifer Hanselman, dean of the College of Mathematics & Science, showing off the state of the art biology labs. Demonstrations were added to the tour as physician assistant students Dana McPherson, PA-S, Heather Kirby, PA-S, and Charity Trempe, PA-S, provided a glimpse of the PA facilities, while nursing students Kendall Neidig, Jade Correa, and Shelby Houle showcased the simulation labs they use as part of their training.
These tours provided many of the emeriti present with a first look at our newest academic building. “It is impressive,” was the phrase often heard from the emeriti as they left with a sense of pride.