From a student who found her sense of belonging while helping others find theirs; to a parent who lost her son to suicide and has dedicated her life to suicide prevention; to the insights of Pace’s Chief Wellness Officer and her vision for the future. Check out these perspectives on the growing epidemic of mental health concerns in college students.
Gen-Z has led the charge towards heightened awareness and advocacy for mental health. Despite this activation, college students are actually reporting even increased mental health concerns, with “almost three quarters of students reported moderate or severe psychological distress” in 2021, according to the National College Health Assessment (PDF).
There are many factors that could contribute to this increase, from the shared trauma of a global pandemic to anxiety over climate change and societal instability, to increased reporting because of mental health awareness. As multi-faceted as the reasons may be, so must be the response.
Stephanie Spruck ’25 has a unique perspective on student mental health. She’s pursuing a bachelor’s in applied psychology and human relations, but her passion for mental health was ignited through the RADical Health program at Pace.
The program, founded and facilitated by the RADical Hope Foundation, is a four-week, peer-led discussion group that discusses and builds on concepts like emotional intelligence, resiliency, self-awareness, stress management, and more. “One of the main goals of the group is to foster self-awareness and growth, both personally and interpersonally with others. Building connection and meaningful relationships starts with the relationship with yourself,” Spruck explains. “We identify the building blocks of who we are - our values, interests, strengths, and goals - and create a plan for how we can deal with the stresses of life. From there, we learn how to foster meaningful relationships with others."
Spruck’s first year at Pace was online due to the pandemic and it was because of her desire to connect with fellow students that she signed up for RADical Health. The experience spoke deeply to her so when the opportunity to volunteer for RADical Health was presented to her by Sue Maxam, EdD, who had led her group, she jumped at it.
For college students there is this intense pressure to know what you want to do and have life all figured out, and I think there’s a lot of identity crisis.
She served first as a co-guide and is now a full-fledged guide, leading groups of students through the program that so inspired her. And it’s given her a unique perspective into the particulars of mental health among college students.
“I learned that the main thing that us students really need, especially coming from quarantine and even still really feeling the residual effects of the pandemic, is connection,” Spruck reveals. While of course she’s facilitated conversations surrounding anxiety and depression, there’s a common theme throughout her groups that seems to reoccur—loneliness.
She believes this is because for many college students, this time period is often when they begin to first tackle the existential questions of self, values, and purpose, and that their usual support systems might not be in the same place they were. That’s where RADical Health comes in.
“For college students there is this intense pressure to know what you want to do and have life all figured out, and I think there’s a lot of identity crisis,” Spruck says. “There’s that sense of ‘who are we? Are we what really what our parents taught us all of our lives? Are we what our friends say we are?’”
Spruck found that RADical Health helped her realize she was not the only person feeling this way, and each program reveals more and more that connecting with students going through the same issues is a huge step in accepting these struggles. “RADical Health taught that I don't need to have life all figured out. I don't need to have this blueprint of where I'm going to go in life. I just need to figure out first who I am,” says Spruck. Instead, the holistic approach focuses on care-plans, understanding values, physical and mental health practices, and mindful connection building. “I just need to take the first step to figure out first who I am—my interests, passions, and values—and that will be my compass on the journey.”
You don't really need to do grand gestures, just asking someone how they are and checking in on your student really goes far.
The concept of their students changing can be an alarming concept for parents and families who are already dealing with their own pain of letting their child out of the nest into their own world, but Spruck has advice for them as well. “I think that sometimes family might not see how we are changing, or realize that our interests and dreams might change. No matter what, we're still who we are inside, and we want nothing more than to be understood, seen, heard, and loved.”
Further, she adds, “And I think that they [parents and families] should know that really asking someone if they are okay or do they want support or do they need anything goes a long way. You don't really need to do grand gestures, just asking someone how they are and checking in on your student really goes far.”
Jolina Halloran ‘89, ‘93 has been spreading this very message to parents for the last few years.
Halloran and her husband ‘90 have strong roots at Pace, where they met as undergraduates After receiving her MBA in International Business and working 13 years in the corporate world, she left to be a stay-at-home mom, but eventually returned to Pace and is now the Assistant Director of Academic Advising.
But her experience with student mental health is not from her professional experience. It’s personal.
On January 23, 2018, she and a coworker found themselves in a discussion about life, jobs, and children. They remarked that the loss of a child seemed like an event that could not be survived. She left the conversation and thought to text her son Brian, but she knew he’d likely be in class, where he was in his second semester at the University of South Carolina. The moment passed, and her day went on.
If you see someone struggling, ask them straight out.
Seven hours later there was a knock on the door. Halloran and her husband Brian received the worst news parents could receive. Their son had lost his life to suicide.
Halloran recounts the story as especially traumatic. The officer who reached out to them had no information, not even the name of her son. With two sons in college, this meant they had to ask the right questions to get a full understanding. Now, it’s common practice to send a social worker to help families, but the Hallorans were left in the wake of this horrible news to fend for themselves.
To say that day changed their lives forever would be an understatement.
But now the Hallorans are changing their lives and the lives of others for the better.
“That same year, in July of 2018, New York State mandated that all New York State schools had to have some type of mental health education, somehow,” Halloran explains. “But they never provided any resources, meaning they didn't provide any extra funding, any clinicians, and they didn't provide any curriculum.” So, some schools could add a one-hour unit into their health classes and have fulfilled their requirement, without actually bringing anything of lasting value to the students.
“We did not feel like that was enough,” Halloran says.
She and her husband founded the Break The Hold Foundation, in honor of their son. Break The Hold is a play on words, a football-inspired homage for their son, who loved football. And the acronym is also his initials—Brian Thomas Halloran.
The Hallorans formed the BTH Foundation under the Mental Health Association of Westchester. Within six months, the nonprofit had already organized its first Into the Light walk—which has now been an annual tradition for five years—and they were able to raise around $50,000 to pay for a mental health clinician in their school district. In addition to fundraising, the BTH Foundation has been awarded two grants from Westchester County, totaling $170,000.
He didn’t have the verbiage to express how he was feeling.
One of BTH’s main goals is to set up school districts with trained mental health clinicians who provide Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) STEPS-A training to students. DBT STEPS-A is a unique social emotional learning curriculum that offers a universal approach for teaching emotional regulation skills and coping strategies specifically designed for middle and high school students. It has four main modules: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. All clinicians hired by the BTH Foundation are trained in DBT STEPS-A at the CBC in White Plains, NY before they are assigned to a school.
To date, they’ve established clinicians in three middle and two high schools in the Westchester area. “We pay for the first year to deliver the program, to roll it out, and then usually after that the schools are able to build it into the budget so that they can continue it.” Though, when they can’t, the BTH Foundation continues to fund the clinicians’ salary so that school has access to mental health care.
Halloran also organizes programming for parenting classes that the foundation offers, so that work that their clinicians are doing in schools carry over in the home. In her own experience, students often struggle to put their feelings into words, which can make it difficult for parents to spot the warning signs. “After Brian passed, a lot of his friends came to us and they said he was already talking about ‘feeling funny,’” Halloran says. “He didn’t have the verbiage to express how he was feeling.”
Say the words, be honest, and then tell students where to get help.
A way to give students that verbiage is by allowing them more opportunities to practice speaking for themselves. “One of the things that I learned, and I wish that I did more for my children when they were growing up, is not to solve all their problems,” she says. “I feel like these days as parents, we jump in so quick.” She’s learned in the program to listen without judgement, ask them to describe their feelings, and guide them to find their own solutions. It builds trust, confidence, and emotional resilience, while safely allowing students to practice putting their feelings into words, solving conflict, and managing stress.
The other advice she has for parents, or for anyone who is worried about someone, is to not be coy about offering help. “If you see someone struggling, ask them straight out,” she says. “Do not be afraid. Ask ‘Do you feel suicidal or like taking your own life? Do you feel like hurting yourself?’” There is a common misconception that asking someone if they are suicidal may plant the idea in their head or increase risk, but it’s actually the opposite. Openness about suicide reduces risk.
Halloran’s suggestion for colleges trying to improve the mental health of their students is much along the same line. “One thing I feel that colleges need to change, they just need to be more open. Say the words, be honest, and then tell students where to get help,” she says. “I feel like we tiptoe around the topic, and I hope that changes.”
Harriet R. Feldman, PhD, RN, FAAN, understands wellness. She is a nurse herself and has been at Pace for 30 years, seventeen as Dean of the Lienhard School of Nursing and College of Health Professions, and for the past two years she’s served as Pace’s inaugural Chief Wellness Officer.
The position was one of the recommendations from an internal study on mental health at Pace, though the position itself is focused on wellness in all its forms: emotional, physical, spiritual, intellectual, occupational, financial, social, and environmental. Since she’s taken on the role, Pace has created a wellness website and a Wellness Strategic Plan, hosted a Wellbeing fair, and introduced new programming across all campuses.
It’s a far cry from where it all began. “We had nothing essentially,” Feldman says. “In the first six months of the position I did what I called a listening tour.” She spoke with students, faculty, and staff, one-on-one, in small and large groups, with the hopes of uncovering two things: what did they see as the main issues, and what was Pace already doing to support wellness. “I was surprised to hear how much was actually going on,” she says. “But unfortunately, a lot consists of separate small initiatives; nothing really that pulls everything together or provides support it in a specific way. So, when we worked on a strategic plan, we tried to address the gaps by looking at how we can help faculty, students, and staff to attain or maintain wellness.”
We want to promote belonging as a sense of belonging is key to mental health and student retention.
She and her team have worked to expand programming aimed at improved mental health. Programming has included book discussions, rock painting, kindness boards, and more. “We’ve worked closely with the Kindness Foundation that Lady Gaga and her mother founded. We’ve taken a number of their programs and students really to seem to resonate with it.” The Wellbeing Fair brought together resources from within Pace and the surrounding communities in Westchester and NYC, with nearly 650 people attending and 100 tables of resources and opportunities across the 3 campuses.
Despite the massive increase in programming and great support from our Psychological Counseling centers, Feldman believes there’s still a need for more. “A lot of this programming needs to be expanded. I think we need to pull many more students in, involving them in developing the kinds of programs they want and participating in the various wellness committees we have. We want to promote belonging as a sense of belonging is key to mental health and student retention.”
The other recommendations are mostly logistical. One challenge is understanding which programs and initiatives are the most effective, which requires the infrastructure to gather and understand metrics. “Besides program surveys, we really don't have data to measure improvement. . And that is something that some of the universities do; they are able to show health improvement through actual metrics on different health measures,” Feldman says. “I would love to see us build to that level. It's going take a number of years to do so, but from what I can see the University has a strong commitment to seeing this happen.”
We want to help people be in touch with who they are and how they handle issues.
And of course, with programming comes costs. “I would love to see donors to help fund this initiative. I think that would be extremely helpful, whether it's a board member, alumni, or others. It would be really terrific if we could get an endowment, or something specifically designated for wellness initiatives.”
Feldman’s observations on student’s mental health reflect the observations of RADical Health peer leader Stephanie Spruck—students want to feel connected. “I think the whole sense of belonging ties into mental health. The self-sense of belonging, the confidence that people have in themself and their abilities are certainly a piece of it. We want to help people be in touch with who they are and how they handle issues.”
These mental health programs and initiatives not only bring necessary resources, but also remind students that they aren’t alone, and connect them with people who may understand.
Mental health is a nebulous term, one thrown around often as a hot button issue without real clarity on either the main issues nor solutions. Despite the uncertainty, there is one resounding truth.
Mental health care should be a right for everyone. And while we may not be able to do everything help, we should be willing to do anything.
“What I found out with my son,” Halloran says, “is that people who struggle with suicidal thoughts are the strongest people. They fight every day to get up, to be normal or seem normal, and to get through the day.”
Spruck has a simpler message for students: “Your mental health matters and you deserve to be taken care of.”
Take action with the Break the Hold Foundation.
Learn more about RADical Health by emailing smaxam@pace.edu or check out Pace’s Wellness website for wellness resources for students, staff, and faculty.
If you or someone you love is struggling with suicidal ideation, please utilize the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
With the impending opening of our new modern, sustainable, and welcoming campus building at 15 Beekman and the soon-to-start renovations of One Pace Plaza East, Pace has big plans for downtown. Simply put: Pace is building.
For 42 years, Ellen Sowchek has been sharing her infectious enthusiasm for Pace University history. Take a look at five of her favorite finds from the University archives.
Lubin student Sadie Lorence spent her senior year researching the intricacies of a notable legal dispute around the ’90s hit song, “Bittersweet Symphony”–and in doing so, has found her professional calling.
For 42 years, Ellen Sowchek has been sharing her infectious enthusiasm for Pace University history. Take a look at five of her favorite finds from the University archives.
Did you know Fred Kelley, brother to Gene, taught dance at Pace? Or that the public speaking requirement was a passionate value of founder Homer Pace? Or that Pace used to have a championship fencing team?
If there’s a niche fact about Pace history, chances are Ellen Sowchek knows it.
For 42 years, Ellen Sowchek has been keeper of Pace University’s archives. “I have a number of responsibilities, but to give a very glib answer, it’s my job to care about Pace history and make other people care about Pace history,” she explains.
It’s my job to care about Pace history and make other people care about Pace history.
When she started in April 1981, Pace did not have an archive. Boxes of items related to Pace history were awaiting an enthusiastic custodian to rescue them from basement storage in 41 Park Row, and Sowchek was thrilled for the challenge. “I knew nothing about Pace before I started here,” she said. “It was the ideal situation for me because everything I learned came from reading through documents and processing the collections.”
On a day-to-day basis, Sowchek is managing curiosity—from the curiosities within the archives, to the curious inquiries of those reaching out to solve a mystery. She gets requests from everything to alumni looking to confirm a course they took decades earlier, to tourists who want to know the history behind a statue on campus.
After 42 years of being the person charged with being curious about Pace’s history, she’s naturally discovered some favorites over the years. Here are five interesting points in Pace’s history:
Capturing an oral history of Pace has been an ongoing project, so you can find recordings in just about every format in the Pace archives, from reel-to-reel tape to digital files. The first phase of the oral history project resulted in 26 lengthy interviews recorded between 1982-1986, capturing the recollections of figures such as Robert Pace, Charles Dyson, Joseph Lubin, Gustav Lienhard and more. The current phase of the project, Pace Voices Past and Present: An Oral History of Pace University, expands the number of interviewees and seeks to document life at Pace from a wide range of perspectives, representing members from the entire Pace Community.
One of Sowchek’s favorite recordings is of Edward J. Mortola, PhD, on his first day of work as a new Assistant Dean at Pace College. Sowchek has a soft spot for Mortola. Not only does she believe that “after Homer Pace, he was probably the second most important person to Pace history,” but he was the one who hired her to set up an archive for Pace’s 75th Anniversary.
In the tapes, Mortola describes his first day on the job. “It's kind of a cute story. I reported at Pace in the building at 225 Broadway, where Pace existed at that time, on the morning of August 15, 1947 and sat outside Dean Alice Ottun's office for a while. I was joining Pace then as Assistant Dean. When she finished interviewing a student who was at her desk, she looked up and said, ‘Oh, you're here.’ She said, ‘I forgot all about the fact that you were coming and I don't have an office or a desk for you.’ I said, ‘Well, in that case, I'll be happy to go home and come back tomorrow.’ She said, ‘A great idea.’ So, my first day on the payroll of Pace I went swimming at Jones Beach.” The fact that Mortola gave this interview on the anniversary of his first official working day at Pace brings the story full circle.
After the events of September 11, Pace University closed for two weeks. In the wake of that day, several memorials were erected honoring those lost and memorializing the feelings of a shaken community. Sowchek explains how soon after the return to campus, The Center for Community Outreach distributed quilt squares and fabric pens to the community. The squares were then sewn together into a nearly ten-by-ten-foot quilt immortalizing the feelings of the Pace community in the wake of the attacks.
Another memorial came in the form of the blue and yellow “Setting the Pace” dog statue located on the Frankfurt Street side of One Pace Plaza. The “Setting the Pace” statue of a German Shepard dog by artist Mike Neville was commissioned by the American Kennel Club’s DOGNY public art project developed in collaboration with the City of New York. The project honors the canine heroes of September 11 who served as search-and-rescue dogs. All statues were auctioned off and the proceeds were donated to a fund supporting the training of first responder dogs.
Finally, each Pace Campus has The Open Book memorial, dedicated to those from the Pace community who lost their lives on September 11. A university-wide competition was held and the book design was chosen. The open pages bear the names of members of the Pace community lost on that day. By listing the names in random, rather than alphabetical order, we are encouraged to read through and remember all of them.
While the Pace archives are dedicated to Pace history, there are some items that fit outside the scope of the institution’s history, such as Pace’s Virginia Woolf special collection.
The collection arrived at Pace in 2015, with the help of Mark Hussey, PhD, a retired professor from Pace’s English department and a Virginia Woolf expert. He knew the collector Linda Langham, a Woolf fanatic, who wanted to ensure that her collection went to an institution who would not sell off the books individually, but rather keep the collection intact. The Pace University Library agreed to her request and happily accepted the items. Together with a Birnbaum Library colleague, Sowchek cataloged and documented the collection, which has been of special interest in the niche world of Virginia Woolf collectors. “Smith College has a Virginia Woolf collection as well. Ours is just as good, if not better,” according to Sowchek (with a just a touch of Pace pride).
Sometimes, Sowchek finds herself becoming a player in Pace history.
One day, in 1981, Mr. Gordon Dodge, Director of Buildings and Grounds at the time, reached out to her with a strange request. When the building of One Pace Plaza was underway, a cornerstone ceremony took place in 1967, commemorating an important milestone in the building’s construction. Part of the ceremony entails cutting part of the cornerstone out, placing a time capsule in the opening, and then sealing it inside with cement before the stone is put in place in the building’s foundation. Dodge said he had a special addition to the archives–the time capsule itself, which failed to make it into the cornerstone! He begged for her discretion as he explained that the box had somehow been set aside, to be cemented in at the end of the ceremony, and never made it back in. For 14 years, he had kept the capsule in his office, hoping to find a home for this sealed box.
The archives became its new home. Though it is sealed with lead and so far, unopened, Sowchek’s deep dive into the archives revealed documents that explained the mysterious contents: a mini-skirt donated by Barbara Grossman ’71; original accounting textbook written by Homer Pace; April 18, 1968 issue of the New York Times; current issue of a Pace College Bulletin; list of past and current Pace presidents, administrators, and trustees; list of public officials considered friendly to Pace; a student directory; a Pace banner; The cornerstone Journal; list of students recently named to Who’s Who in American Universities; The Pace Report; $1.91; and the latest edition of The Pace College Press.
The archives over the years have inadvertently become not just a collection that tells the story of a university, but one that tells the story of a family. The story of the Paces.
Sowchek’s absolute favorite item is a letter from founder Homer Pace asking for permission to get married, “because at the time he was under 20 years of age, and in the state of Michigan, where he lived, he was not old enough to get married without parental consent.” It’s a personal touch that brings the University’s first president into living color.
Sowchek is especially interested in helping promote the impact women have had on Pace history, and Homer’s wife, Mabel, is a particular favorite figure for her to study. There are several items belonging to Mabel, such as images of her and her own report cards.
Lastly, Homer and Mabel’s son Robert Pace, became the second president in 1942, upon the death of his father. That same year he enlisted in the U.S. Army. An accomplished photographer, Robert captured his perspective on the Second World War. Many of those photos, donated by Robert Pace himself, have found their permanent home in the archives.
Ellen Sowchek is more than an archivist—she's the ultimate caretaker of Pace University's history. In addition to diligently preserving remnants of the past, Sowchek actively participates in Pace's ongoing story, often going beyond her role with Pace artifacts to bear witness to history as it unfolds. Thanks to her unwavering commitment and tireless effort, Pace's rich history remains vivid and alive. As the Pace Community continues to shape its future, Sowchek's work in the University archives ensures that its past is not just preserved, but also celebrated.
With the impending opening of our new modern, sustainable, and welcoming campus building at 15 Beekman and the soon-to-start renovations of One Pace Plaza East, Pace has big plans for downtown. Simply put: Pace is building.
This spring, Pace University joined a winning collaboration chosen by New York City Mayor Eric Adams and The Trust for Governors Island that will create a world-leading climate solutions center on the 172-acre island in the heart of New York Harbor.
National Championship? Check. A trip to the White House? Check. Read all about Pace women’s lacrosse’s dream season.
Pace is emerging as a leader in the undergraduate research community as evidenced by the ever-expanding opportunities spearheaded by the Center of Undergraduate Research Experiences.
At some universities, research is typically the domain of professors only—perhaps walled off from undergraduates in a lab or library and employing only graduate students as research assistants.
Pace operates differently. Our professors are constantly pushing the boundaries of scholarship, of course, but the strong research culture at Pace extends to our undergraduate student body. Through dedicated faculty mentoring, ever-expanding initiatives and inspired administrative vision, the University is positioning itself for leadership in the high-impact pedagogical practice of undergraduate research.
“Immediately, three words come to mind—visibility, access, and expansion,” says Maria Iacullo-Bird, PhD, when asked about how Pace’s undergraduate research programs have evolved over the past few years.
Iacullo-Bird, the assistant provost for research and clinical associate professor of history in Dyson College, was recently elected the 2024–2025 president of the Council on Undergraduate Research, a national organization with international reach comprised of 700 institutions and 13,000 individual members dedicated to promoting and supporting mentored undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative inquiry. As president of CUR, Iacullo-Bird will further advance Pace leadership in the global undergraduate research community.
Since taking the helm in university-wide undergraduate research, Iacullo-Bird has strengthened existing Pace initiatives such as the Provost’s Student-Faculty Undergraduate Research programs and expanded student access to research opportunities through Federal Work-Study Undergraduate Research Assistantships. She has guided the launch of both the Seidenberg School Summer Undergraduate Research Program and the Dyson College Amelia A. Gould Research Assistantships in the Creative Arts. Iacullo-Bird has increased student presentation options offering a combination of virtual, hybrid and in-person research showcases and has introduced the term “creative inquiry” at Pace to encourage students in the arts to participate in undergraduate research. She advocates for first-year research experiences, and the scaffolding of research within majors, while also raising awareness of existing programs and resources to ensure information is accessible to the Pace Community.
“Over the last several years in developing the Pace University Center for Undergraduate Research Experiences (CURE) website, we have created a central repository for undergraduate research activity. The website is designed to inform prospective and enrolled students, faculty, staff, and donors about the reach and depth of undergraduate research at the schools and colleges of Pace University,” says Iacullo-Bird
As part of its commitment to experiential learning, Pace offers the Classroom-based Research Awards program which encourages the development of new course-based undergraduate research experiences, a long-standing part of the Pace undergraduate curriculum. Classroom-based research award projects such as the practical application of Jupiter Robots, or exploring podcast creation as an occupational therapy teaching tool, have helped bring the ethos of scholarly research and creative inquiry further into everyday coursework.
Furthermore, funding for initiatives such as the Pace Student Academic Conference Travel Fund helps students gain valuable experience presenting research at prestigious discipline-based conferences not just in the New York metro area, but around the country and even abroad.
“I am especially proud of the expanding participation of Pace undergraduate students at national and international research conferences. To cite one example, in April 2023, eight students attended the Third World Congress on Undergraduate Research at the University of Warwick in Coventry, England. They were approved to present their individual research projects through a rigorous peer review process and several of them participated in international student research initiatives presented at the Congress,” notes Iacullo-Bird.
She adds, “Students have represented Pace at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) and continue to present at disciplinary-based conferences both within the US and abroad.”
In looking to the future, Iacullo-Bird anticipates advancing the institutionalization of undergraduate research at Pace—which includes completing a survey of course-based undergraduate research experiences to create an inventory of research courses across schools and colleges; building more student-focused structures that address the responsible conduct of research; commencing long-term funding initiatives to sustain and grow programs; and most notably, continuing to build the best possible undergraduate experience for Pace students.
“I look forward to the expansion of infrastructure to sustain and expand undergraduate research at Pace,” says Iacullo-Bird. “Undergraduate research and creative inquiry are an integral component of Pace experiential learning that will significantly contribute to the distinctive branding of Pace undergraduate education.”
With the impending opening of our new modern, sustainable, and welcoming campus building at 15 Beekman and the soon-to-start renovations of One Pace Plaza East, Pace has big plans for downtown. Simply put: Pace is building.
For 42 years, Ellen Sowchek has been sharing her infectious enthusiasm for Pace University history. Take a look at five of her favorite finds from the University archives.
National Championship? Check. A trip to the White House? Check. Read all about Pace women’s lacrosse’s dream season.
National Championship? Check. A trip to the White House? Check. Read all about Pace women’s lacrosse’s dream season.
All we kept saying all year long, was why not us? Why not Pace?”
These are the words of Pace women’s lacrosse head coach Tricia Molfetta, who, along with the entire squad, can now take their rightful place in the Pace Athletics and NCAA record books. While the season began with high expectations for this talented group of players, few expected them to finish the way they did—winners of the NCAA Division II National Championship, becoming the first NCAA collegiate team not just in Pace history, but in all of Westchester County, to win a national title.
“All season long, from the preseason in the fall, this is what we worked for," said midfielder Aleya Corretjer upon defeating top seeded West Chester University of Pennsylvania in the national championship. "We worked every day for it, and just to get to this end goal, it feels amazing. All the work paid off."
The season started off strong. The Setters made an early statement with a convincing 16-6 win against top-ranked East Stroudsburg, and a 19-8 victory over fourth-ranked University of Tampa. Led by standout players including Corretjer, Angelina Porcello, Sydney Juvelier, and Alexandra Quinn, alongside several other talented teammates, the Setters gained considerable momentum heading into NE-10 Conference play.
We worked every day for it, and just to get to this end goal, it feels amazing. All the work paid off.
Against NE-10 opponents, Pace didn’t let up. They racked up victory after victory, finishing conference play with a perfect 12-0 record, securing the NE-10 Conference regular season title over accomplished teams like Adelphi University and Le Moyne College in convincing fashion. Arguably their lone hiccup of the season came in the finals of the NE-10 Conference Championship, losing a nail-biter to Le Moyne by one goal.
Temporarily humbled, the team vowed to strike back, intent on affirming that they belonged with the nation’s best.
Due to their success during the regular season, Pace was awarded the top seed for their region in the NCAA Division II National Championship, a March Madness-style tournament featuring the 16 top teams in the nation. After first- and second-round victories against the University of New Haven and Adelphi, the Setters secured themselves in the Final Four, earning a trip to Indianapolis to compete for the top prize.
This time, the Setters made sure they were not going to go home empty-handed. After dominating Florida Southern 21-11 (other than the loss against Le Moyne, an early-season loss against Florida Southern were the lone defeats in their 21-2 season), the Setters set their sights on the national title. Their opponents, West Chester University, were the top-ranked team in the country and the favorites to take home the silverware. Pace, by proof of their performance, did not care.
In one their best games of the season, Pace defeated West Chester by a score of 19-9, essentially ending the contest after the first quarter with a truly dominant 10-0 display. The Setters’ 19 goals were the most ever scored in a national championship game, and the Pace women’s lacrosse team, a program that only began in 2015, were crowned national champions.
“What you saw today, we had been doing all season,” said Molfetta during the postgame press conference. “They’ve worked so hard for this. Even though we were beating teams by 10 goals all season, I think there were still people that doubted us.”
Although the games were over, the season had yet on more surprise in store. For their accomplishments, the team was invited by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden to the White House.
“Being invited to the White House was truly an unforgettable experience and I am so glad I was able to share it with my whole team,” said Angelina Porcello. Porcello, arguably the team’s best player all season, was named Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Player of the Year, and was a finalist for the nationwide DII Honda Athlete of the year.
“It was so incredibly special to be welcomed to the White House in celebration of our national championship win,” added Emma Rafferty. “Being able to share this moment with my teammates and administrators will be a memory I will never forget.”
The Setters joined 47 teams from schools across the country including University of Texas, Penn State, University of Virginia, Stanford University, and University of North Carolina, among others. The teams represented 19 sports from all three NCAA divisions—national championship winners—that were recognized on the South Lawn of the White House as part of "College Athlete Day."
“You made tremendous sacrifices—training through injuries, birthdays, vacations, and even a pandemic,” Vice President Kamala Harris told the crowd. “You know, all of you, what it means to commit and to persevere. And we know that so often, during the course of a long season, sports teams also become a family. You develop life-long relationships. You demonstrate teamwork and character. You make the people around you better in every way. You are leaders. You are role models. And, of course, you are champions.”
Pace’s baseball team ended the season on quite a high note, amassing some silverware alongside some impressive individual awards.
Lubin student Sadie Lorence spent her senior year researching the intricacies of a notable legal dispute around the ’90s hit song, “Bittersweet Symphony”–and in doing so, has found her professional calling.
We were thrilled to celebrate our graduates on Monday, May 15, 2023, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center with their friends and family! See who addressed the Class of 2023 and see photos from the big day.
Pace’s baseball team ended the season on quite a high note, amassing some silverware alongside some impressive individual awards.
It was a milestone season for Pace on the baseball diamond.
For the first time in program history, Pace University Baseball emerged victorious at the NE-10 Conference championship—providing head coach Hank Manning and his hardworking team of student-athletes some much deserved hardware in their trophy cabinet.
As a result of their conference championship win, the Setters earned a trip to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2013—where they performed admirably. Their tournament got off to a great start with a win over Franklin Piece University, but the Setters ultimately fell to top-seeded Southern New Hampshire. Although their NCAA title dreams were cut short, their end-of-season surge, NE-10 title, and a 34-21 record rendered this season a considerable success.
Outside of the dugout, Senior Pitcher Pat Gleason, the NE-10 Championship Most Outstanding Player, was awarded the ABCA/Rawlings East Region Pitcher of the year and All America third team honors, finishing the season with a 1.81 ERA, with an impressive 8-2 record with four complete games pitched. His teammate, outfielder Mitchell McCabe, was named to the 2023 ABCA/Rawlings Division II All-Region team alongside Gleason.
McCabe was further honored with the NE-10 Man of the Year Award, a prestigious award bestowed upon a graduating student-athlete who has exhibited sustained excellence in competition, the classroom, and in their community service endeavors.
"Mitch was a man who did everything for us," said coach Manning. "In his absence next year, not only will we be missing a good baseball player, we are going to be missing an even better person. His legacy will hopefully continue on with the underclassmen who have watched him lead our team over the past several years."
Cables, coffee, curveballs, and now–curriculum. Read all about how George Chacko and Rich Miller, two Pace staff members, used their podcast to build out an audiovisual minor here at Pace that might just lead the charge to revolutionizing how AV professionals are trained.
For 42 years, Ellen Sowchek has been sharing her infectious enthusiasm for Pace University history. Take a look at five of her favorite finds from the University archives.
We were thrilled to celebrate our graduates on Monday, May 15, 2023, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center with their friends and family! See who addressed the Class of 2023 and see photos from the big day.
Dive into this captivating summer issue of Pace Magazine and embark on a journey through Pace University's rich history and promising future. Peek into Pace’s historical archives, get thrilled about the exciting transformations at One Pace Plaza and the innovative 15 Beekman facilities, cheer for our women's lacrosse champions, and explore diverse perspectives on mental health in college.
When the new semester starts just after Labor Day, we’ll be opening our new campus center at 15 Beekman, and you can read all about it in the Summer 2023 digital issue of Pace Magazine.
15 Beekman will include a brand-new residence hall (with envy-inducing views over the city and region), a new home for the Seidenberg School, and new common spaces and academic spaces, a new library, and state-of-the-art dining services. It’s all part of the ongoing transformation of our downtown home that will include the comprehensive renovation of the east side of One Pace Plaza that will get underway this fall, including the new Performing Arts Center and so much more—all covered in this issue of the magazine.
You’ll read about the ongoing celebrations for our national champion women’s lacrosse team, who brought the Division II trophy home to Pleasantville this spring, becoming Pace—and Westchester County’s—first-ever national championship squad. You’ll also read about triumphs achieved by our new esports team, more rankings successes for our Haub law school, and awards won by our faculty and students.
Elsewhere in the issue, we look back—just a few months to Commencement 2023, when we celebrated all our grads on a perfect day in May, and also across the decades, in a fun feature that pulls gems from the Pace archives.
Finally, this issue of Pace Magazine also looks at one of the most important issues facing campuses today—and a priority for both of us as leaders: supporting student mental health. This is a national issue, and Pace is committed to providing our students with the resources they need. “From Awareness to Action” looks at how we’re doing that.
The construction, the activities, the supports, it’s all part of what we do at Pace—create opportunities for our students to succeed.
Marvin Krislov
President
Rob Sands, JD ’84
Chair, Board of Trustees
With the impending opening of our new modern, sustainable, and welcoming campus building at 15 Beekman and the soon-to-start renovations of One Pace Plaza East, Pace has big plans for downtown. Simply put: Pace is building.
National Championship? Check. A trip to the White House? Check. Read all about Pace women’s lacrosse’s dream season.
For 42 years, Ellen Sowchek has been sharing her infectious enthusiasm for Pace University history. Take a look at five of her favorite finds from the University archives.
Do you have what it takes? Hours in the gym, personal trainers, a meticulously planned diet. All of it leading to a single moment. Your simple task is to lift hundreds of kilos of iron and steel. To push your body harder than you ever have before. Up for the challenge? This scenario is a reality for Pace alumni Delaney Wallace ’17, who took home Gold at the International Powerlifting Federation’s World Championships in South Africa on June 8.
Do you have what it takes? Hours in the gym, personal trainers, a meticulously planned diet. All of it leading to a single moment. Your simple task is to lift hundreds of kilos of iron and steel. To push your body harder than you ever have before. Up for the challenge? This scenario is a reality for Pace alumni Delaney Wallace ’17, who took home Gold at the International Powerlifting Federation’s World Championships in South Africa on June 8.
Raised in Maryland, Delaney played a litany of sports in his youth, including baseball, soccer, and football. From a young age, he become accustomed to training his body and mind for the rigorous lifestyle of an elite athlete. This led to Delaney coming to Pace by way of a football scholarship where Coach Andrew Rondeau was transforming the football team into a program that was crucial to the development of its students. Being a Setter meant Delaney had access to mentorship, opportunities for personal growth, and an excellent education. Delaney, who works as a Financial Services Representative at Barnum Financial Group, attributes much of his success to his experience on the gridiron. The first thing professional recruiters always talk to him about is his time as a football player. According to Delaney, it signals to them his capacity for hard work and consistency under pressure. While playing ball, Delaney earned a BBA in Business Management from the Lubin School of Business. Lubin was a bigger selling point for him than the football program. On top of the connections he made, and the internships he participated in, Delaney learned from professors who were still active in finance.
A year after graduating, Delaney needed a change. He was getting settled into his career, wasn’t playing football, and didn’t want to become complacent. He missed that feeling of invincibility he had while playing college ball. Through a friend, he got in touch with a trainer to try and gain back some muscle. At first, the trainer was skeptical of Delaney’s abilities; his body didn’t seem suited to powerlifting. During the first consultation, he squatted 200 lbs. with ease, surprising his trainer. After multiple sessions, Delaney’s trainer recommended he start powerlifting competitively.
Delaney’s powerlifting career started modestly. His first competition was SMG’s Westchester Rebellion in 2018. Delaney took home first place, in a very encouraging first outing. Delaney attributes his early success to his time as an athlete at Pace. Football is a short season compared to other sports. You train all year for a season that only lasts ten games. Powerlifting is a sport that you train all year for an event that only lasts a couple of minutes. Delaney learned this need for delayed gratification from his time in football that carried over nicely to powerlifting, a skill that many of his peers lack. From Westchester, Delaney competed around the country. Nevada, Florida, Texas, Ohio. Medaling against some of the strongest people in the US. The World Classic Powerlifting Championships was his first international competition, followed by Sheffield Powerlifting Championships in the United Kingdom.
When asked how he felt getting gold in South Africa, Delaney had a mix of emotions. Despite finishing first, he knew that he was capable of so much more. Even though he was the best in the competition, he knew he was not at his personal best. But during the ceremony, when they presented him with his medal while the national anthem played in the background, he couldn’t hold back tears. He was proud to represent his country on the world stage.
Delaney says there’s no secret to what he does. He eats a banana and a protein shake for breakfast, elk for dinner, and spends 3 hours a day in the gym. Sometimes he treats himself to a salsa lesson in the Bronx on the weekend. His personal mantra is “recommit to your commitments, every day.” Every day, he wakes up and makes the conscious choice to be the best person that he can be, and to be as flexible as water in a stream. Delaney believes anything is possible given the right mindset, and he hopes to bring this message to his fellow alumni at Pace.
National Championship? Check. A trip to the White House? Check. Read all about Pace women’s lacrosse’s dream season.
The Pace Community mourns the loss of former University provost and former dean of the Lienhard School of Nursing, Marilyn Jaffe-Ruiz. Lean more about her life and legacy.
April Bartlett’s career as a theatrical designer has spanned from intimate off-Broadway productions to The Today Show. When the pandemic shut down production, she began refocusing her energies and found a new way to continue telling stories by supporting the next generation of designers, makers, and artists.
Career Services wrapped up the Spring 2023 semester with the first-person job and internship fair since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Best of all? There was record-breaking student turnout, making it the largest job fair in Pace’s history.
Career Services wrapped up the Spring 2023 semester with the first-person job and internship fair since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Best of all? There was record-breaking student turnout, making it the largest job fair in Pace’s history.
Hundreds of students turned out for the fair to meet and connect with representatives from more than 150 companies, including Barclays, Morgan Stanley, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, US Department of State, Internal Revenue Service, Con Edison, Deloitte, US Environmental Protection Agency, Montefiore, Northwell Health, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, among many others.
The fair was open to all majors and was sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which is among the Big Four accounting firms, offering clients various professional business services, including accounting, auditing, human resources consulting, and strategy management.
It’s important for employers to see us in-person so that you can showcase your personality, charisma, and communications skills.
“At Pace, we understand the importance of engaging students early, bringing them into our Career Communities designed to build pre-internship skills and experiences, and leveraging our relationships to help them get those internships and jobs,” said Phyllis Mooney, assistant vice president of Career Services at Pace University. “For Bachelor graduates in the Class of 2021, students were over 15% more likely to work in their field of study if they engaged with Career Services and had an internship than if they didn’t.”
Pace’s Career Services is a leader in the region for providing a range of career counseling and programming (both virtually and in-person) to ensure that the students they serve are career-ready and know how to articulate the skills employers are looking for in their entry-level candidates. In fact, Pace’s Class of 2021 exceeded national average in employment rates by 10+ percentage points, and the Class of 2022 data is trending to be just as positive.
Pace’s Career Services also offers their employer partners a tailored, successful recruiting experience that introduces recruiters to talented students that represent the very best of Westchester, the New York City region, and the world—resulting in extraordinary outcomes. Some top companies that employ Pace students include Deloitte, EY, KPMG, Montefiore, NewYork-Presbyterian, Northwell Health, NYU Langone Health, and PwC.
For Josiah Jones ‘24, the packed room provided ample opportunities to land a job or an internship.
“Having this in-person is important,” said Jones, noting that Pace’s Career Services is one of the University’s distinguishing advantages. “It’s important for employers to see us in-person so that you can showcase your personality, charisma, and communications skills.”
“As a transfer student, I’m really loving it,” Jones added. “I’m getting every opportunity out of my experience here and Pace is delivering.”
Save the date! Pace University is hosting its next Job and Internship Fair on Friday, October 13, 2023. Want to know how you can get involved as an employer, alumni, or student? Visit the Career Services website.
The launch of the new Sands College of Performing Arts, another year in the #1 slot for environmental law, a ton of awards and research, plus so much more. Here are your Summer 2023 top 10 Things to Inspire.
Do you have what it takes? Hours in the gym, personal trainers, a meticulously planned diet. All of it leading to a single moment. Your simple task is to lift hundreds of kilos of iron and steel. To push your body harder than you ever have before. Up for the challenge? This scenario is a reality for Pace alumni Delaney Wallace ’17, who took home Gold at the International Powerlifting Federation’s World Championships in South Africa on June 8.
With the impending opening of our new modern, sustainable, and welcoming campus building at 15 Beekman and the soon-to-start renovations of One Pace Plaza East, Pace has big plans for downtown. Simply put: Pace is building.
We were thrilled to celebrate our graduates on Monday, May 15, 2023, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center with their friends and family! See who addressed the Class of 2023 and see photos from the big day.
“The problems of tomorrow will not be solved by the thinking of the past,” President Krislov said during his Commencement address on Monday, May 15. “They will be solved by new people, with new ideas, and new ways of doing things. They will be solved by a new generation that is creative and resourceful and adaptive. Your generation was knocked down, and then you stood right back up. You know how to think on your feet, how to adjust on the fly, how to make the best of any situation. You know how to get to a goal like graduation, even through a once-in-a-century disruption.”
Students celebrating this exciting achievement were a mix of undergraduate, graduate, law, and doctoral students, spanning a variety of disciplines and future careers, such as nurses and physician assistants, cybersecurity experts, lawyers, accountants, teachers, performers, and much more.
“Be courageous. That means trust yourself. Don’t sell yourself short. Don’t settle for work that you don’t believe in. Don’t assume that you can’t make a difference." —US Senator Elizabeth Warren
Speaking to roughly 15,000 people including 3,700 graduates at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, alumnus Telfar Clemens ’08 spoke of his path from a student finding his way in lower Manhattan to a celebrated fashion designer and founder of the global label Telfar.
In addition, the Elisabeth Haub School of Law, which recently earned the No. 1 ranking for Environmental Law by U.S. News & World Report, graduated 241 students, its largest class in the past five years.
US Senator Elizabeth Warren and Harvard Law Professor and legal historian Bruce H. Mann both received honorary degrees during that ceremony. Senator Warren shared stories of her early years out of law school and threaded her speech with a simple yet powerful message.
“Be courageous,” Warren said. “That means trust yourself. Don’t sell yourself short. Don’t settle for work that you don’t believe in. Don’t assume that you can’t make a difference."
Pace Trustee and alumnus Ivan G. Seidenberg ’81, retired chairman and CEO of Verizon Communications, addressed graduates of Pace’s Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems to mark the school’s 40th anniversary. Pace also awarded Aldrin Enis, president of One Hundred Black Men of New York, with its Opportunitas in Action Award.
The day was highlighted by the conferral of over 4,000 degrees including 1,735 masters’, which is the largest number in over five years, and roughly 300 students receiving dual degrees.
Meet Christelle Scharff, PhD, a computer science expert focusing on the limitations and biases of AI systems. She and her team are tackling the intersection of AI and African fashion to explore the impact of diverse datasets.
This spring, Pace University joined a winning collaboration chosen by New York City Mayor Eric Adams and The Trust for Governors Island that will create a world-leading climate solutions center on the 172-acre island in the heart of New York Harbor.
National Championship? Check. A trip to the White House? Check. Read all about Pace women’s lacrosse’s dream season.
Cables, coffee, curveballs, and now–curriculum. Read all about how George Chacko and Rich Miller, two Pace staff members, used their podcast to build out an audiovisual minor here at Pace that might just lead the charge to revolutionizing how AV professionals are trained.
Audiovisual, better known as AV, is often mischaracterized as a nostalgic scene with student volunteers rolling in a television when the teacher was absent—but this falls short of encapsulating full scope of audiovisual work carried out by professionals every day. From television broadcasts and live concerts, to Twitch streams and Zoom meetings, AV is an industry with incredible reach. An industry that, according to the nonprofit AVIXA (the golden standard for all things A/V), is estimated add 100 billion in revenue over the next 5 years, reaching 400 billion by 2028.
What’s surprising then is that most AV tech professionals are completely self-taught.
George Chacko ’04 ’15 and Rich Miller ’06 ‘09 think it’s time to change that.
The AV industry has no formal training or education but relies primarily on certifications and job experience to validate skillsets. Both Chacko and Miller say their AV experience is similar to everyone they’ve met in the industry—they had to figure it out along the way with no formalized AV education and often by trial and error. With technology advancing rapidly and the increased reliance on it by the general population, there is a growing need for professionals well-versed in AV tech.
Chacko and Miller (who, incidentally, are also long-time friends) had been kicking around the idea of AV curriculum for some time. So when the pandemic lockdown grinded the world to a halt, they decided to use their AV skills and gift for gab to start a podcast, with the hope of hammering out the details of what an AV education could look like on air. The initial concept for the podcast, hosted by “the Bald AV Guys”, was to discuss the ins and outs of such a program at Pace, but it soon grew a life of its own. Cables, Coffee, and Curveballs is the podcast, named for the variety of topics listeners can expect to hear covered. “Coffee is coffee, we’re both obsessed. Cables is technology,” Chacko explains. “And while curveballs was supposed to be about sports, it's become tangents. You know, hypothetical curveballs.”
Those curveballs have included episodes on mental health, human resources, and military information tech. But these tangents never stray far from their shared passion for AV technology and their desire to create an AV program right at home, at Pace.
Though AV might seem synonymous with computer tech, Chacko and Miller decided to create their program under the banner of Pace’s Media, Communications, and Visual Arts (MCVA) department. Part of it had to do with the nature of AV. AV powers most media communications—there is no media besides printed media that exists without somebody who knows how to turn on the lights and make the sound play. But the other determining factor was how hands-on MCVA programs are. “All they do is experiential learning,” Miller explains. “And this AV program is a hands-on, experiential program.” When they bought it up the MCVA chair Paul Ziek, PhD, his enthusiasm solidified what would become an organic partnership between them and the MCVA department.
During the spring 2023 semester, they launched their inaugural class—Introduction to the Audio Visual Industry in the Media, a lab-focused crash-course in AV. And one of the favorite labs of their students?
The AV Olympics.
And what are the AV Olympics? Chacko and Miller split their class of twenty into teams, assigned them five tasks, and dumped a mess of AV equipment in the center of the room and said, “figure it out!” Each task either drew from or was a continuation of work from a previous lab, challenging them in all aspects of the work, even requiring some AV math (yes, that’s a thing!)
The Olympics were not only a culmination of everything they had learned, but served as their final exam, really putting the students’ knowledge and thirst to succeed to the test. “It was just amazing to see how dedicated and interested the students were,” Chacko says. “They stayed past nine o'clock to make sure their setup was completely perfect, the cables, everything. It was so great to see.”
At the end of the inaugural Intro to AV class, students received their AV Technologist Certification. By completing the AV minor that Chacko and Miller are developing, students will be fully prepared to take their Certified Technology Specialist certification and complete an internship that will help springboard them into their AV career.
Chacko and Miller’s overarching hope is to build an entire program, and hopefully a movement, towards AV education. “Obviously there's a lot more hurdles to making something a major, but that is our end goal,” Miller says. “But we're not ending it here, once the minor’s done. We're not stopping there.” They’ve even had other schools reach out asking to partner to develop their own programs. “They're actually sort of jealous,” Miller says, “that we've been able to get something off the ground.”
Chacko and Miller might have had to learn their craft along the way and on their own but, if all goes well, their program won’t be the last of its kind, even if it may be the first.
April Bartlett’s career as a theatrical designer has spanned from intimate off-Broadway productions to The Today Show. When the pandemic shut down production, she began refocusing her energies and found a new way to continue telling stories by supporting the next generation of designers, makers, and artists.
The Pace Community mourns the loss of former University provost and former dean of the Lienhard School of Nursing, Marilyn Jaffe-Ruiz. Lean more about her life and legacy.
Do you have what it takes? Hours in the gym, personal trainers, a meticulously planned diet. All of it leading to a single moment. Your simple task is to lift hundreds of kilos of iron and steel. To push your body harder than you ever have before. Up for the challenge? This scenario is a reality for Pace alumni Delaney Wallace ’17, who took home Gold at the International Powerlifting Federation’s World Championships in South Africa on June 8.