Faculty and staff at Seton Hall were honored earlier this month with the Bishop Bernard J. McQuaid Medal for Distinguished Service and the President’s Award for Student Service.
The Bishop Bernard J. McQuaid Medal for Distinguished Service is awarded to “long-serving employees for their commitment to Seton Hall's mission and for providing outstanding service by doing exceptional work in their own position and in the larger University community,” according to an email from University President Msgr. Joseph Reilly, announcing the recipients. Matthew Borowick, vice president of University Relations, and Melinda Papaccio, lecturer in the English department, were this year’s recipients.
Borowick told The Setonian that receiving the award was a “tremendous honor” and “incredibly touching,” especially knowing that it was voted on by his colleagues.
Borowick said he has long believed in SHU's mission and what it represents. Following the 2000 Boland Hall fire, he worked in education legislatures to advocate for stronger campus safety measures, ultimately leading to $90 million being allocated across universities to enhance fire safety.
“Out of tragedy came an opportunity to make sure something like this would never happen again,” Borowick said.
Pappacio said she was humbled to receive the award and views it as recognition of the many aspects of SHU she has been involved in throughout her career.
The most gratifying experience related to service leadership for Pappacio came when she developed a curriculum for her Journey of Transformation class addressing addiction and working to reduce the stigma surrounding it.
“It creates opportunities for understanding, healing, and reducing stigma,” she said.
Pappacio said she hopes part of her legacy at SHU will be raising greater awareness about addiction. Her advocacy has extended to campus events, including helping bring the traveling Black Poster Project memorial to SHU, which honors individuals who have died from addiction and aims to humanize the opioid crisis.
“I hope students learn to be their authentic selves and think critically toward the common good,” she said.
Faculty and staff were also recognized with the President's Award for Student Service, which is given to employees nominated by students for demonstrating dedication to student success. This year, the award was presented to Jay Wolferman, assistant to the director of the Institute of Judaeo-Christian Studies; Christopher Aurilio, director of production and facilities in the College of Human Development, Culture and Media, and Lisa Deluca, assistant dean for public services and associate professor.
Wolferman said receiving the award was especially meaningful because he was nominated by students.
Wolferman noted that his program includes many international students and said he enjoys helping them get adjusted to life in the U.S. When asked what motivates him to continue this work, he said simply, “I just want to help them.”
While Wolferman works closely with international students through academic programming, Aurilio supports students behind the scenes in theatre production.
Aurilio said receiving the award is a tremendous honor, particularly because he already enjoys his work so much. Aurillo said he takes pride in handling the administrative and logistical tasks behind theatre production so students can focus on having fun.
“I’ll handle all the administrative stuff so students can focus on the fun and creative work,” he said. “Everything from [the] Office of Fieldwork and Career Center, I want to provide them with resources that can prepare them for the real world.”
Like Aurilio, Deluca said the award reflects the collaborative nature of the work done across campus.
Deluca, who formerly served as the social sciences librarian at SHU, said the award was “a big honor and a surprise, and really a reflection of the collaborative work of all our librarians.”
For DeLuca, student service means creating both physical and intellectual spaces where students can learn, collaborate and thrive. She provides academic support by helping students navigate research databases, access resources through interlibrary loan and utilize study spaces such as the University’s Information Commons. She also highlighted initiatives like “Love Data Week,” an international program that promotes data literacy in research and has been hosted by SHU for several years.
Together, this year’s award recipients reflect the heart of SHU’s mission: a commitment to service, community and the development of the whole person.
Wania Shabee is a writer for The Setonian’s News section. She can be reached at wania.shabee@student.shu.edu.
