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Five alumni received special recognition awards during the University’s recent Reunion Weekend celebration. Alumni Achievement Award recipients include Stephanie Barry ’98, Marian Mathison Desrosiers ’68, Carol Sarganis ’68 and Audrain Triplett ’78. Shannon Sacharko-Theobald ’98 received the Exceptional Volunteer Award.

Stephanie Barry ’98

Barry is a senior tactical intelligence research specialist at the Drug Enforcement Administration’s San Antonio District Office, and has distinguished herself with numerous outstanding performance awards for her work in multiple high profile investigations. Her most recent investigation into drug trafficking will be featured as a segment on television’s 20/20 series.

She has been awarded a Distinguished Service Commendation by the director of the Defense Contract Audit Agency, an honor only awarded to those individuals who demonstrate a high level of proficiency, dedication and professionalism. She was also awarded the Global War on Terrorism Civilian Medal.

Just last month, Barry was awarded the Pat Roberts Intelligence Scholars Program award.  Always focused on helping others, she has elected to use her scholarship award for Spanish language training which will benefit those she works with in the San Antonio area.

Marian Mathison Desrosiers ’68

Having taught for two decades in the Massachusetts public school system, Desrosiers is a former executive board member of the National Council for Social Studies (NCSS), a Fulbright Scholar to India and to Russia, and an adjunct professor of history and humanities at Salve Regina.

She has published works on women in positions of leadership during World War II and in the Rhode Island judiciary, as well as 19th century Irish immigration and colonial Newport. Her most recent book is “John Banister of Newport: The Life and Accounts of a Colonial Merchant.” For this work, written in 2017, she was awarded a $2,000 Rhode Island Council on the Humanities Scholar Grant. This fall, NCSS will post online several classroom lessons based on her research.

Her professional activities include serving on the Erik Barnouw Award Committee (Organization of American Historians, 2017-2020), serving on the executive boards of the Massachusetts Humanities, National Endowment for the Humanities (1994-2000), the aforementioned National Council for the Social Studies (2009-2012), and the Massachusetts Council for Social Studies (2008-2013).

Carol Sarganis ’68

A member of Salve’s 50th reunion class, Sarganis flourished as a student and graduate, overcoming Limb-girdle Muscular Dystrophy, with which she was diagnosed shortly after birth.

While doctors predicted that Sarganis would probably not survive 13 years and her school guidance counselors advised that it would be unwise for her to attend college, Sarganis – supported by her parents – enrolled as a freshman at Salve in 1964, determined to earn her bachelor’s degree in education. She arrived at Ochre Court using crutches and a manual wheelchair and was assisted by RN‘s who were also students themselves.

Four years later and almost fully dependent on her wheelchair at this point, Sarganis earned her degree and began her career as a remedial reading specialist in Newport Public Schools, where she worked until retiring in 1996. During her tenure in Newport, she was recognized as teacher of the year.

Audrain Triplett ’78

A retired U.S. Navy commander, Triplett is a Newport native and Rogers High School graduate who earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Salve while on active military service with the Navy Nurse Corps, graduating magna cum laude.

Her 24 years of military service included eight duty stations with a tour in Yokosuka, Japan during the Vietnam War, as well as the National Navy Medical Center. While stationed in Japan and caring for American soldiers airlifted from Vietnam, Audrain used her leave time traveling to India, Taipei and Malaysia. After three years, she decided to make the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps her career.  She retired from the Navy in 1989, having received the Navy Commendation Medal and the National Defense Service Award.

Audrain is a former board member of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, and is currently a member of the Newport Hospital Foundation Board of Governors and board member of the New England Navy Nurse Corps Association. She is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta.

Shannon Sacharko-Theobald ’98

After graduating with her biology degree from Salve in 1998, Sacharko-Theobald went into the dental field, most recently working for Dr. Stephen Tabori as a surgical implant coordinator along with managing the practice. Sacharko-Theobald has been instrumental in serving on numerous alumni committees for Salve, including the Governor’s Ball and the Dunes Club summer social committee, which she served as co-chair in 2016.

Three award-winning writers who are in Newport as featured faculty in Salve Regina’s exclusive summer residency creative writing degree program, the Newport MFA, will host public readings and reflections from some of their best-selling works on June 23, 24 and 27.

All readings are free and open to the public, and will be presented in the Antone Academic Center. Presentations are as follows:

Saturday, June 23 at 7:30 p.m. – Shelia Weller

Weller is the author of seven books – three of which are New York Times best-sellers – and numerous magazine articles for Vanity Fair, where she is a regular contributor of major features. She also writes for Glamour, New York, the New York Times and virtually every major women’s magazine.

Seller has won nine major magazine awards for her feminist investigatives and real-life narratives on pressing social, emotional and legal/justice issues. Her best-loved book is the 2008 best-selling “Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon – and the Journey of a Generation,” which Billboard named No. 19 of the best music books of all time. Her most recent (2014) is, “The News Sorority: Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric, Christiane Amanpour – and the Triumph of Women in TV News.”

Weller is also the author of the 2003 memoir “Dancing At Ciro’s: A Family’s Love, Loss and Scandal on the Sunset Strip” and the 1995 best-seller on O.J. Simpson and Nicole Brown Simpson’s marriage, “Raging Heart.”

Sunday, June 24 at 2 p.m. – Tim Weed

Weed, co-founder of the Cuba Writers Program, will present “Writing in Havana, Cuba.” He is the winner of a Writer’s Digest popular fiction award and a Solas best travel writing award.

His first novel, “Will Poole’s Island,” was named one of Bank Street College of Education’s best books of the year. His short fiction collection, “A Field Guide to Murder & Fly Fishing,” was a finalist in the short story category of the International Book Awards and has been shortlisted for the New Rivers Press Many Voices Project, the Autumn House Press fiction prize and the Lewis-Clark Press Discovery Award.

Weed teaches a popular novel revision series at Grub Street in Boston, and occasionally works as a featured expert for National Geographic in Cuba, Spain and Patagonia.

Wednesday, June 27 at 7:30 p.m. – Andre Dubus III

Dubus III is the author of “The Cage Keeper and Other Stories,” “Bluesman” and the New York Times best-sellers “House of Sand and Fog,” “The Garden of Last Days” (soon to be a major motion picture) and his memoir “Townie,” a New York Times Editors Choice.

His work has been included in The Best American Essays and The Best Spiritual Writing anthologies, and “House of Sand and Fog,” a finalist for the National Book Award, was made into an Academy Award-nominated film starring Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly. His novella collection, “Dirty Love,” was published in 2013 and has been listed as a New York Times “Notable Book,” a New York Times Editors Choice, a 2013 “Notable Fiction” choice from the Washington Post and a Kirkus “Starred Best Book of 2013.” His new novel, “Gone So Long,” is forthcoming in October 2018.

Dubus has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, The National Magazine Award for Fiction, two Pushcart Prizes and an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature. His books are published in more than 25 languages, and he teaches full time at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

Deans and department chairs from the business programs of nine Sisters of Mercy institutions nationwide will be on campus this weekend for the annual Mercy Business Leadership Conference.

Presentations and discussions will focus on topics such as Catholic social teaching across the curriculum, sustainability and corporate social responsibility, connecting the mercy mission to community service and health care administration as an academic offering in a mercy institution.

In addition to Salve Regina, participating institutions include:

• College of Saint Mary
• Georgian Court University
• Gwynedd-Mercy University
• Mount Aloysius College
• Mount Mercy University
• Saint Xavier University
• University of Detroit Mercy
• University of Saint Joseph

“When many other business faculty assemble, they are discussing the bottom line and how to help students make money,” said associate professor Dr. Myra Edelstein, who is organizing this year’s meeting. “When mercy faculty assemble, we discuss not only the bottom line, but how we can help our students embrace the mercy mission by making a positive difference in the world – by creating a social venture, becoming active in a sustainable business, by helping reduce the negative impact on the environment, by working in the nonprofit sector or making a positive impact by some other socially beneficial approach.”

Salve Regina has launched an online Ph.D. program in international relations that officials say is the first of its kind in the United States. Designed primarily for faculty at military institutions, military officers from both the U.S. and abroad, and those employed in the government services professions, the program is currently enrolling students for classes that will begin in the fall.

Candidates for the 48-credit program should already hold master’s degrees and have at least five years of related professional experience. Seasoned professionals whose busy careers do not allow them time to attend a traditional full-time terminal degree program are also prime candidates.

“Salve Regina is thrilled to be the first university in the United States to offer an online Ph.D. in international relations,” said Dr. Symeon Giannakos, program director. “The mission of the degree – which emphasizes justice with a primary focus on seeking wisdom – is to provide an innovative understanding of area studies through comparative analysis.”

Giannakos said Salve’s unique approach fills an important void by providing flexible learning options for career educators and other professionals working in military institutions and government services jobs. “Military officers who cannot logistically attend a traditional Ph.D. program find themselves in a disadvantage despite their tremendous practical and academic credentials,” Giannakos said. “Our program will give these professionals the opportunity to do so without taking time off from their work. They are dedicated, disciplined, intelligent and hard-working professionals who can handle the rigor of graduate work while maintaining their important jobs.”

To complete the program, students must complete 36 credit hours (12 required courses) focusing on area studies such as Europe, East Asia, South Asia, Africa, Latin America, North America, the Middle East, Russia and China, followed by the 12-credit dissertation writing phase.

Program faculty for upcoming fall courses are drawn from Salve Regina, the University of Rhode Island, the U.S. Naval War College and Roger Williams University, where each is a full-time teaching faculty, all holding Ph.D. degrees, and all known regionally, nationally and internationally for their scholarship and expertise in a specific area study.

This is Salve Regina’s third doctoral program and is accredited, along with its existing programs in humanities and nursing practice, by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

For more information or to register, call the Office of Graduate studies and Continuing Education at (800) 637-0002 or visit salve.edu/international-relations-phd.

Members of the University community are invited to join alumni, parents and friends for Salve Regina’s Night at the Newport Gulls on Friday, June 15. Opening ceremonies begin at 6:15 p.m. and the game starts at 6:35 p.m. as the Gulls take on the Keene Swamp Bats at historic Cardines Field.

Prior to the game, kick off the night at 1908 Public House, located next to Cardines Field. Complimentary appetizers will be served beginning at 5 p.m. and tickets to the game will be available. Pre-registration is not required.

Several members of the Salve Regina community will participate in the evening’s festivities. Mark Dupont ’05, representing the alumni-owned 1908 Public House, will throw out the first pitch. Also throwing out the first pitch will be members of the men’s ice hockey team and head coach Zech Klann.

Proceeds from the evening’s 50/50 raffle will benefit Salve Regina’s Aquidneck Island Multicultural Scholarship, which supports the educational advancement of multicultural students and students committed to diversity.

Chelsea McGuire, daughter of Jamie McGuire, digital production manager at Salve Regina, will deliver the game ball to the starting pitcher. Students from Saint Michael’s Country Day School will sing the national anthem. Additionally, Salve Regina’s Challenger Little League team will be appearing during the opening ceremonies as baseball buddies.

Tickets are complimentary, but members of the Salve Regina community are asked to take only as many as they need for their family to attend the game. Faculty, staff and summer work-study students can pick up tickets in the Office of Human Resources. Alumni, parents and friends are asked to contact the Office of Alumni/Parent Programs at (800) 821-2343 or alumni@salve.edu to reserve their tickets.

Parking is available in the municipal lot behind the Gateway Center for a reduced rate with a Newport Gulls ticket stub.