Mackowski to Speak at Pitt-Bradford

 Dr. Chris Mackowski ’91, an author and Civil War historian, will present a program on the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse at 7 p.m. Feb. 23 at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford.

The talk, which is being sponsored by the Friends of Hanley Library, will take place in Rice Auditorium in Fisher Hall. It is free and open to the public.

The Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse took place in Virginia from May 8-21 in 1864 and was part of Lt. General Ulysses S. Grant’s Overland Campaign. The goal of the Overland Campaign was for the Union armies to come between the armies of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and the city of Richmond.

Although the battle ended with no conclusive winner, the number of casualties was staggering, with the two sides fighting in hand-to-hand combat inside Confederate entrenchments. The worst of the bloodshed occurred at an exposed portion of the line Confederates dubbed the “Mule Shoe” and a nearby curve that came to be known as the “Bloody Angle” where bodies piled up five deep in a driving rainstorm.

Mackowski’s talk is based on “A Season of Slaughter: The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, May 8-21, 1864,” a book he co-authored with Kristopher White.

Mackowski is a professor of journalism and mass communication at St. Bonaventure University. He is the editor-in-chief of Emerging Civil War and managing editor of the Emerging Civil War Series, for which he has co-authored eight books along with editing five more.

He is also historian-in-residence at Stevenson Ridge, a historic property on the Spotsylvania battlefield in central Virginia. He has also worked as a historian for the National Park Service at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, where he gives tours of four major battlefields as well as the building where Confederate general Stonewall Jackson died.

'Don't Write the Obituary Yet' Author to Give Presentation at Pitt-Bradford

Susan Evans will give a presentation on her newly released book, “Don’t Write The Obituary Yet” at 7 p.m. Monday, May 19, at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held at 7 p.m. in the Mukaiyama University Room in the Frame-Westerberg Commons. It is being sponsored by the Friends of Hanley Library.

In addition to the presentation, the evening will include a question-and-answer period with Evans, which will be moderated by John Schlimm, award-winning author of 15 books and nationally renowned artist, activist and inspirational speaker and television celebrity.

Evans, who is in remission from ovarian cancer, wrote the book with her doctor, Dr. Thomas C. Krivak, a noted gynecologist/oncologist in Pittsburgh with the Allegheny Health Network.

The work is an unusual account of Evans’ first day and all the days thereafter when she was told she had ovarian cancer and never had a sign or symptom, other than a swollen ankle. She describes her journey, using humor and compassion, and offers candid and insightful advice for those who may face the disease one day.

The book has earned significant endorsements. Dr. Larry Maxwell, retired U.S. Army colonel and chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Inova Fairfax Women’s Hospital, praised the book’s narrative. “It provides reflections on issues of fear, treatment, physician-patient relationships, and marriage that are all affected in women faced with this diagnosis.”

Jennifer Gangloff, a cancer survivor and research managing editor at the Mayo Clinic, said, “It is with wit, wisdom and candor that Evans explores both the little details and the larger picture of cancer, from an unexpected diagnosis through the unexpected recovering in this engaging page-turner.”

But there is more than the book itself. Susan and husband, George, have established the Evans-Krivak Gynecological Cancer Research and Education Fund under the auspices of The Pittsburgh Foundation. All proceeds from the book are donated to the fund. The fund’s mission is to improve the clinical treatment and personalized care of women with ovarian and gynecologic-related cancers and to support education for physicians who seek specialization in such cancer treatment and care. One aim is to provide the research findings with physicians everywhere, with an emphasis on aiding physicians in rural areas.

Evans is a retired English teacher at Bradford Area High School and a native of Pittsburgh. She holds a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Slippery Rock University and a master’s degree from St. Bonaventure University.

Krivak is a graduate of The Ohio State College of Medicine and interned at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Cancer Institute. He is an U.S. Air Force veteran.

Susan Evans was on WESB's LiveLine on Monday and you can here that by going to WESB.com, clicking on the "Listen" link and then the "Local Programs" tab. Scroll down to 05-12-14 Susan Evans Don't Write the Obituary Yet.

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Current, Former Pitt-Bradford Presidents to Sign New History Book During Event

A book chronicling the rich 50-year history of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford has been published, and current president Dr. Livingston Alexander and former president Dr. Richard E. McDowell will autograph copies at a book signing next week on campus.

The book-signing event, being held to mark the release of the book, “A History of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford,” will be held from 2 to 3 p.m. Friday, April 25, in the Frame-Westerberg Commons. The event will begin with brief remarks by Alexander and McDowell in the Commons’ first-floor lobby. Following the remarks, Alexander and McDowell will move to the Panther Shop, where they will sign books. The book is currently available for pre-order at the Panther Shop’s online store at http://thepanthershop.com. Anyone pre-ordering the book will receive a 10 percent discount. Books also will be available for purchase beginning April 25 at the Panther Shop.

The book signing, which is being co-sponsored by the Friends of Hanley Library, is free and open to the public.

“This is an inspiring story of how a fledgling, resource-starved regional campus of the University of Pittsburgh emerged as a significant player in Northwest Pennsylvania higher education,” said Dr. Livingston Alexander, president of Pitt-Bradford. “This is truly a story worth telling, and we’re delighted that this comprehensive and fascinating narrative now becomes the official history of our cherished institution.”

The book was written by Sherie R. Mershon, an independent scholar and freelance writer and editor from Pittsburgh. The book and its release are part of the university’s 50th anniversary celebration this year.

The 370-page book spans the entire history of the university. It begins with a brief history of the region followed by a detailed account of the efforts of many individuals in Bradford who recognized the need for an institution of higher education in north central Pennsylvania and mobilized to help make it happen.

The final chapter, “Going Beyond, 2003-2013,” highlights the university’s more recent advances and accomplishments, from the naming of Alexander as the third president to the addition of several new academic majors and extensive expansion and renovation of the campus.

In writing the book, Mershon assembled details from various documents and publications from Pitt-Bradford as well as the community, including The Bradford Era and the Olean (N.Y.) Times Herald; Portraits magazine, the university’s alumni magazine; The Source, Pitt-Bradford’s student newspaper; the Bradford Landmark Society; minutes from various administrative meetings; and official documents from other sources on campus. Mershon also gathered information from the University Archives of the University of Pittsburgh.

Mershon also conducted interviews with several members of the campus community, including McDowell, who was Pitt-Bradford’s president from 1973 to 2002; Dr. K. James Evans, vice president and dean of student affairs who has been at Pitt-Bradford since 1976; Bill Higie, a longtime Advisory Board member and former chairman for 22 years; Dr. Andy Dzirkalis, associate professor emeritus of political science who taught from 1976 to 2006; Tom Bromeley, a longtime Advisory Board member; and Isabelle Champlin, an alumna who taught anthropology for more than 40 years.

In addition to the written history, the book also features numerous photos from the 1960s up to 2013. Some of the historical photos include the ribbon-cutting ceremony on the first day of school on Sept. 3, 1963, featuring then-president Dr. Don Swarts and Bert Fisher, the first Advisory Board chairman; students peeking out of the windows of Emery Hall, which served as the university’s first residence hall; and a class in session in the Hamsher House. Recent photos include the inauguration of Alexander as Pitt-Bradford’s third president; Harriett B. Wick in front of the chapel on campus that bears her name; and then-student Tim Rooke using equipment in the Crime Scene Investigation House.

You can hear Dr. Alexander talk about the book on WESB's LiveLine by going to WESB.com/listen and clicking on the "Local Programs tab.

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Newbery-Winner Avi to Speak at Pitt-Bradford

Avi, the Newbery Award-winning author of more than 70 books for children and young adults, will visit the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford March 19.

The presentation, “A Conversation with Avi,” will take place at 6:30 p.m. in the Harriett B. Wick Chapel. Doors will open at 6 p.m., and the Pitt-Bradford Hospitality Management Program will provide refreshments.

The visit, sponsored by the Pitt-Bradford education program and the Education Club, is free and open to the public. To reserve a seat, contact Dr. Wayne Brinda, assistant professor of education, at wjb27@pitt.edu.

Most recognized for his Newbery-winning Crispin series, Avi will talk about how he gets his ideas and thoughts on using adolescent literature and will read excerpts from his most recent story, “Sophia’s War,” and other books. A book signing will follow the presentation, and books will be available for purchase.

Avi says that engaging his readers is one of the key reasons he keeps writing, and he has been fortunate enough to hear directly from readers about the impact his books have had. “I have been touched many times by readers who find some special connection between their lives and something I have written: the Danish girl who read something of mine in Danish, and struggled to communicate that in her halting English; the autistic boy who somehow found something meaningful about my books that reached his own inner life; the women who have told me how important ‘The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle’ was to them when growing up; the boy who felt a new sense of courage after reading ‘Crispin.’”

Beyond his fans’ questions about the characters he has created, the writer’s most commonly heard question may be about his own use of the single name “Avi.”

“As a young adult, I was a reader of French literature, which has that one name tradition: Moliere, Racine, Anouilh, Gide, and so forth,” he explains. “Then too, Avi (which is not my birth certificate name) was given to me by my twin sister when we were infants, and it stuck. Then my family was opposed to my becoming a writer because they considered my writing poor (which it was, then). By using my own name (Avi), I was having my revenge on family.”

Although he believes — and has the awards to show — that his writing skills have improved, writing still does not come easily to him, despite having more than 70 books to his credit. “I never studied writing in any formal sense. I taught myself to write by reading and by imitating what I was reading,” he says.

Avi earned the Newbery Award in 2003 for the first of his “Crispin” books, “Crispin: The Cross of Lead.” The Newbery is given annually by the American Library Association to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children for that year.

Avi also received Newbery honors for “True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle” and “Nothing but the Truth,” both of which also received Boston Globe Horn Book Awards, along with “Poppy.” He has earned the Scott O’Dell Historical Fiction Award for “The Fighting Ground” and the Christopher Award for “Encounter at Easton.”

In addition to his evening talk, Avi will also visit students at School Street and St. Bernard elementary schools, Fretz Middle School and Bradford Area High School during the day.