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Alumni Profiles

Thousands of students have benefited from the unique learning community that evolved into Part-Time Studies. In recognition of our past, present and future, we are pleased to highlight alumni who have made outstanding contributions to the University and the community.

Diana Penna '88

Diana Penna '88

Emmy Award Winner
A 1988 graduate of Villanova’s Part-Time Studies program, Emmy Award-winning Diana Penna joined CBS13/CW31 in April, 1997 as the only full-time health reporter in the Sacramento area. read more...

In 2006, she also became Director of Special Community Projects for CBS 13/CW 31.  Station projects she organizes include the Salvation Army's Angel Tree helping thousands of kids in need get toys; Stuff the Bus helping thousands of children in need get new school supplies; The Annual Pet Telethon, raising thousands of dollars for abused animals just to name a few.  As a result of the stations and website's commitment to the community, CBS 13/CW 31 won a station Emmy from the Northern California Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for Outstanding Achievement in Community Service, helping area charities raise more than $3 million.

Aside from her busy reporting schedule, Diana also is out and about speaking frequently at a number of community events. She is involved with a number of community organizations.  A former longtime board member for the American Heart Association, she also served as emcee of their annual Gala for the past 10 years. The Huntington's Disease Society of America Northern California chapter recently honored her with their Humanitarian Award.  Diana has also been honored each year for her dedicated work with the Delta Blood Bank. She also has co-authored an academic research paper that was presented in the fall of 2002 at the National Association of Blood Banks, which addresses the power of television to get people motivated to give the gift of life.  Diana has also been a featured speaker at the American Medical Association's Science Writers' Conference. Diana's topic: "Taking Your Health Franchise out to the Community!" Diana also spearheads our "Drive Thru Beat the Flu Campaign" held at various locations each fall. With the help of the Sutter Visiting Nurses Association, viewers can drive up and receive their flu shot conveniently. Diana has also been honored for her community work and reporting by the Northern California Psychological Association, the CA Mental Health Association and the Child Abuse Prevention Council. An Emmy-nominated reporter for several years, Diana took home a statute for a special series she produced for CBS13 in 2001. American Women in Radio and Television honored her for Outstanding Achievement as a health reporter. The California Association of Health Facilities also named Diana "California Medical Reporter of the Year" in 2002.

Diana tackles important issues about health care and makes sense of complicated medical issues. She started the health franchise in 1997 and it quickly became one of the most popular segments in the region, helping viewers make healthy lifestyle choices for themselves and their families. Diana's compassionate style of reporting has earned her a reputation as the area's leading medical reporter.

Diana came to CBS13 from Pennsylvania where she became one of the most respected health reporters in the country. Her work has been seen nationwide on CNBC's "Steals and Deals" and her stories were seen weekly on 200 NBC affiliate stations across the nation. She has received numerous public service and journalism awards throughout her career, including the prestigious National Headliner Award for Investigative Journalism; a first place Associated Press award for Breaking News and Feature Reporting; and an Emmy nomination for her role as host of an award-winning medical show in Pennsylvania. She graduated from Villanova University with a double major in English and Communication Arts.  She started her career in broadcasting producing for Shadow Traffic in Philadelphia during her last two years in college. She also finished her last semester in college at night to take her first full time position as a researcher for the investigative Unit at WCAU-TV (now NBC 10) in Philadelphia. After that she went in front of the camera to become an anchor/reporter at WUTR-TV in Utica, NY and WBRE-TV in Wilkes Barre and Scranton, PA before moving to Sacramento.

 

Fred Springer '66

Fred Springer '66

Loyal Alumnus and Philanthropist
“It was wonderful, tough and exciting, but well worth it.” This is how Fred J. Springer, a 1963 University College graduate, characterizes his college experience. read more...

His comment can be easily understood considering he attended classes 4 nights a week year round, worked 7 days a week for more than a year during this time, and was married with a family of 5 children. Mr. Springer first arrived as a full-time student at Villanova as a pre-law major, leaving in his sophomore year to enter the Air Force. He initially came back as a full-time student, however he decided to complete his degree through Villanova’s University College since he was working a full-time job at Blue Cross. As a student, Mr. Springer says that Villanova impressed upon him the true value of sharing time, talent and treasure. He has been and still is an incurable volunteer – parish, CYO, Little League, civic organizations, condo association and Villanova. After graduation, his career progressed with positions at IBM in three different locations. His work involved the dramatic technology changes that took place with IBM, a corporation at the forefront of these changes.

Mr. Springer is an extremely loyal alumnus with contributions in a number of very important areas, specifically in the endowment of the Fred J. Springer Endowed Chair in Business Leadership in the School of Business. Not only has he provided financial support over the years, he has served in a variety of alumni leadership positions, and Villanova has recognized Mr. Springer with several awards throughout the years as a result of his contributions to the University.

Mr. Springer has been married since 1956 and has 7 children of whom he is very proud. Since his retirement in 1986, Mr. Springer has continued to volunteer with and lead various service organizations and has been active in his parish.

 

Patrick Caufield '83

Patrick Caufield '83

Wall Street Executive
Villanova has been a part of Patrick Caufield’s life since he was a child. A business graduate through University College in 1983, Patrick is a fellow Villanovan alumnus with his father (James Caufield, '50) and four of his eleven siblings. read more...

His family continues to expose their children to Villanova yearly as an annual Thanksgiving dinner is held on campus in the Connelly Center. This gathering consists of 130 family members and has been taking place for over fifty years, the last ten of which have been here at Villanova.

“Because of my family history with the school, I took great pride in my years at Villanova. The experience was like no other, and I am the individual I am today because of the values that were instilled in me during those years. The faculty was tremendous and committed to the students. They stressed excellence both in and out of the classroom.”

After graduating Villanova, Mr. Caufield began his career on Wall Street. He has been on the “Street” for 20+ years, with the last 11 years at Morgan Stanley. He is an Executive Director at Morgan Stanley in the Institutional Equity Division. It is his responsibility to manage relationships with some of the Morgan Stanley's largest clients. He notes, “I have been an integral part of the undergraduate recruiting process between Villanova and Morgan Stanley, and I am happy to say that Villanova has become a target school for our Firm. I also worked with fellow Wildcat and colleague, Ray Tierney, on establishing the trading lab within the Business School.”

Patrick currently lives in Chatham, New Jersey with his wife Julie Maguire Caufield, a graduate of Rosemont College. Together they have five children, Colleen, Katherine, Grace, Kerry and Patrick, Jr.

 

John C. Fuhr '70

John C. Fuhr '70

Successful Business and Community Leader
"It's been said that everything one does or experiences in life has value, whether recognized then or later on. The older I get, more and more of the value of the Villanova experience continues to become clear." read more...

These are the thoughts of John Fuhr, who graduated from Villanova’s University College in 1970 with a B.S. in Marketing. While at Villanova, John founded the NightLine newsletter, held student council office, and even played on the evening division's basketball team! He is also the 1998 recipient of the Frank H. Eby award for alumni who are successful in business in the Villanova area.

Throughout the years, John has held a variety of engineering, marketing and management positions before going on to found Paratherm Corporation, a manufacturing company, in 1988. In addition to serving as president of Paratherm Corporation, John also founded Jemwch LLC, a real estate holding company in 2003.

John currently holds the rank of Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve (Ret.) and has served on a number of local community boards of directors including the Chester County Intermediate Unit, Chester Valley Little League, Great Valley Nature Center, and Great Valley School District. John also chairs two music festivals each year for the Philadelphia Folksong Society as well as performing at several others.

 

Doreen Heath '78

Doreen Heath '78

A Leader in Technology and Education
“I often tell people considering part-time studies that education is a gift you give yourself. My degree from Villanova University continues to be one of my most treasured accomplishments.” read more...

Ms. Heath goes on to say that Villanova captured her heart as the place she wanted to pursue her education because the university was on the leading edge of contemporary computing. She graduated Cum Laude from Villanova with a B.S. in Business Administration and went on to earn an M.A. in Organizational Design and Effectiveness from Fielding Graduate Institute.

With over 30 years experience in information technology, Ms. Heath’s work combines technology systems with human systems to achieve organizational results. She has extensive experience providing information technology solutions in the commercial sector, government and education. Currently Ms. Heath serves as Assistant Chief Information Officer in the Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland where she leads the Department of Technology Modernization and Support that focuses on providing technologies to address the teaching and learning dynamics of the 21st century. She has both academic and practical experience in distance learning and the dynamics of learning in a networked environment. Prior to joining the school system, Ms. Heath served as a consultant to major corporations, facilitating and training individuals, teams, and leaders to achieve extraordinary results from high value, high impact projects focused on strategy fulfillment.

Ms. Heath has a life-time appreciation of art and music, and has served as choir director in her parish community for 20 years. Ms. Heath’s current interests include staying in touch with family and friends across the country, leading the Newcomers Committee at her church, and studying leadership through books and seminars with world leaders.

 

Byron Peebles '80

Byron Peebles '80

Information Technology Specialist
Byron initially attended Villanova University as a full-time day student beginning in 1968, but left during his sophomore year. read more...

However, in the late 1970's, it was Villanova’s University College that made it possible for Byron to return to school. While pursuing his degree in Accountancy, Byron also took electives in computer science, a field that had become increasingly fascinating to him.

After graduation, Byron went to work for Bell of Pennsylvania where he progressed from programmer to analyst/designer to technical lead as an individual contributor and finally advancing through the management ranks until Bell Atlantic established the position of Senior Member Technical Staff, the highest ranking technical position in a company of 60,000 employees. At the time, he was one of only six people awarded this title. After leaving the "Bell System", he then joined the Vanguard Group in 1997 as a Principal in their Information Technology division and has since held a variety of positions in three different IT subdivisions. While at Vanguard, he has introduced advanced automated monitoring to the computing infrastructure, defined and executed multi-year plans for advanced investment trading platforms, and worked to improve the systems quality while reducing costs and delivery cycle-times.

When Byron reflects back to his first interest in computers, and his first "contact" that made this leg of his journey possible, he says that he has Villanova and the University College to thank for decades of personal growth and satisfaction. And Byron expects to come back to Villanova for that Computer Engineering degree when the kids get a little older .

 

Mary Gates Heatherly '83

Mary Gates Heatherly '83

Manager, Corporate Staffing
Mary Gates Heatherly has had a successful career in Human Resources, thanks to the broad range of courses provided by Villanova’s Part-Time Studies program. read more...

After graduating from high school, Mary attended Villanova for one year as a full-time student. Due to unfortunate family circumstances, Mary had to give-up her full-time course load to join the workforce and provide financial support to her family. She continued her education on a part-time basis, completing her degree in seven years while also working full-time.

Initially, Mary worked in the Accounting field after graduation. After relocating from the Philadelphia suburbs to Central Pennsylvania, Mary began her career in Human Resources with a smooth transition into the field of Compensation. Mary continued to move up the ranks into the role of manager. Again, her course work at Villanova facilitated her continued success as she transitioned to another manager position in the Corporate Staffing function.

Mary is now a twenty-one year employee of Highmark, Inc., one of the largest health insurers in Pennsylvania. Mary currently resides with her husband and son in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Harrisburg. She devotes much of her spare time to community organizations and her church. She also currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Human Resource Professionals of Central Pennsylvania (HRPCPA). Mary also enjoys cooking and spending time with her four dogs.

 

Sister Dorothy Ann Busowski '70

Sister Dorothy Ann Busowski '70

Religious Educator and Administrator
Sister Dorothy Ann Busowski, a 1970 graduate of Villanova’s University College, attended Villanova University during evening and summer sessions along with members of other religious communities. read more...

She remembers enjoying the camaraderie and the various extracurricular activities that were especially planned for the sisters by the Augustinian Fathers.

Her education at Villanova had a strong impact on her personally and transferred over to all the positions that she has held by instilling in her a strong spiritual foundation and the ability to think critically and creatively. In both her undergraduate and graduate studies she was mentored along by caring and competent teachers who not only taught their discipline but assisted her in developing her ability to articulate her thoughts and ideas through both the written and spoken word. Beyond Villanova, Sister Dorothy Ann has pursued a program at Chestnut Hill College where she received certification in Holistic Spirituality, and she is a student of the writing of icons. After graduating from Villanova University, Sister Dorothy Ann first taught American History and Political Science at St. Basil Academy before becoming principal there in 1975, a position that she held for ten years. She then went on to serve as the Assistant Provincial Superior for the next five years.

After a one-year sabbatical in 1990, Sister Dorothy Ann served as a consultant to the Provincial Council of their Uniontown Province while concurrently organizing the Development Office in her own Province, and in 1995, she was elected as the Provincial Superior of her Province. Sister Dorothy Ann has recently stepped down as Provincial Superior and is taking a much deserved sabbatical.

 

Steve Signore, JD, MBA, SPHR

Steve Signore, JD, MBA, SPHR '01

Certificate in Professional Human Resource Management
After 25 years as a lawyer, Steve entered industry in the Human Resource area. He had obtained an MBA but felt that his human resource knowledge needed to be supplemented. read more...

Steve read about the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Learning System course offered through Villanova and decided that it would satisfy his needs. “Even as an experienced practitioner I learned so much from the course and the other attendees.”

Steve was able to organize a hodgepodge of human resource knowledge that he had accumulated over the years, and it was great preparation for the SPHR exam. Steve would recommend the Certificate in Professional Human Resource Management to everyone interested in human resources.

 

Gailynne M. Ferguson

Gailynne M. Ferguson '06

Paralegal Certificate
Gailynne M. Ferguson describes her time at Villanova University as extremely rewarding. She believes the practical education and experiences she obtained in her paralegal studies program has opened a world of opportunity to enhance, not only her new career, but also her writing. read more...

Gailynne graduated from Villanova’s Part-Time Evening Paralegal Program in June 2006. While attending Villanova, she served as the Area 1 Leader for the Montgomery County Democratic Party and served as president of the Delaware Valley Sisters in Crime mystery writer’s organization in Radnor.

While attending Villanova, Gailynne accepted a position with Collinson, Inc., Glenmoore, PA providing executive support as the Contract Administrator for highway specialty contracts throughout PA, MD, NJ, DE and VA.

Prior to attending Villanova, Gailynne spent over 20 years in emergency services. Her desire to help people led to five years in law enforcement, seven years in corporate security and emergency response training for ARCO Chemical World Headquarters in Newtown Square, PA, and four years in management where she oversaw the contract security services for schools and special events such as the Republican National Convention and the SEI Pennsylvania Classic.

In her spare time, Gailynne has worked as a stringer for The Mercury (Pottstown) and The Berks-Mont News (Boyertown), has written for The Patrol Car Magazine (Chester County FOP publication), The Forum (Philadelphia Association of Paralegals quarterly publication) and The Pipeline (Chester County Paralegal Association publication). Most recently, her education and love for writing has led to quarterly submissions to for The Paralegal Page of The Legal Intelligencer. She was a contributor for the Philadelphia Burn Foundation’s Guidelines for Early Care and Transfer of Burn Patients. In 1999, she wrote a brief history on the Charles E. Ellis School for Girls for publication in Early Beginnings of Newtown Square Self Guided Tour of Historic Sites and is currently working on a story to address the psychological effects of prisons on corrections officers and their families.