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The Gordon Research Conferences, which provide an international forum for the presentation and discussion of frontier research in the biological, chemical and physical sciences and their related technologies, will once again be held at Salve Regina throughout the summer.

During the conferences, scientists with common professional interests come together for intense discussions and examination of the most advanced aspects of their field. To encourage open communication, participants agree that any information presented during the conference is not for public use, and guests are not permitted to attend lectures and discussion sessions.

Conferences taking place at Salve Regina this summer include:

• Physics Research and Education – June 5-10
• Seminar: Biology of Host-Parasitic Interactions – June 11-12
• Biology of Host-Parasitic Interactions – June 12-17
• Heterocyclic Compounds – June 19-24
• Seminar: Bioanalytical Sensors – June 25-26
• Bioanalytical Sensors – June 26 to July 1
• Seminar: Organometallic Chemistry – July 9-10
• Organometallic Chemistry – July 10-15
• Chemistry and Biology of Tetrapyrroles – July 17-22
• Stereochemistry – July 24-29
• Seminar: Neural Development – July 30-31
• Neural Development – July 31 to Aug. 5
• Seminar: Electron Donor-Acceptor Interactions – Aug. 6-7
• Electron Donor-Acceptor Interactions – Aug. 7-12

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Salve Regina alumni, along with their families and friends, will return to the University and Newport June 3-5 for Reunion Weekend. Alumni from the classes of 1951-1966, 1971, 1976, 1981, 1986, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006 and 2011 are invited to come back to the University and be part of the celebration.

Unless otherwise specified, all events are free. The weekend’s events include:

Friday, June 3

• Welcome reception – 5-9 p.m., Ochre Court
• Night at the Landing – 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., downtown Newport

Saturday, June 4

• Power vinyasa yoga – 9 a.m., Rodgers Recreation Center
• Tour of O’Hare Academic Center – 10 a.m.
• Campus tours – 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Wakehurst
• Remembrance and reflection – 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Our Lady of Mercy Chapel prayer room
• 50th Anniversary Society Mass – 11 a.m., Our Lady of Mercy Chapel
• 50th Anniversary Society reception and ceremony – noon, Ochre Court
• Taste of Salve food festival – noon to 3 p.m., Wakehurst lawn
• 50th Anniversary Society luncheon – 12:30 p.m., Ochre Court, $15
• Class of 1966 50th reunion luncheon – 12:30 p.m., Ochre Court
• Class of 1991 25th reunion barbecue – 1 p.m., Founders Hall, $50
• “Salve by Sky” helicopter tour – 2-5 p.m., Wakehurst, $40
• All-class New England clam boil and movie on the lawn – 6-10 p.m., Ochre Court, $60

Sunday, June 5

• Reunion Mass – 11 a.m., Our Lady of Mercy Chapel
• Reunion brunch – Noon, Ochre Court, $25
• Sunday Funday – 1-4 p.m., Castle Hill Inn

Click here for full details on Reunion Weekend 2016. For more information, contact the Office of Alumni/Parent Programs at (800) 821-2343 or alumni@salve.edu.

The following alumni will receive achievement awards during Sunday’s brunch:

Vanessa Barneschi ’91: Alumni Achievement Award

Barneschi received her B.A. in elementary and special education and earned a master’s degree in art from Central Connecticut State University. She has been employed by the New Britain Board of Education since 1992 and for the past several years has taught a self-contained class of externalizing emotionally disturbed youth. Barneschi is also the assistant coach for the New Britain High School girls’ track and field team and works each summer as the arts and crafts director at Camp Courant.

In 2010, an event occurred that changed the course of her life. “While on my morning run before heading to work, this particular run became the media’s breaking news story that day,” Barneschi said. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t because of my record-breaking athletic ability, but rather because I was brutally attacked and raped while running through a neighborhood.”

Local running store Fleet Feet initiated a candlelight neighborhood vigil while the search for her attacker went on. “Fleet Feet was also the connection for me to a sexual assault organization, Jane Doe No More, of which I have been a very active member since,” Barneschi said. “Through them I have been a speaker at various Escape Alive self-defense workshops.”

Barneschi has also been part of the organization’s annual fundraising dinner/auction and served as co-captain to their team in the Harford Marathon. In addition, she has been a guest speaker at a number of other colleges, sharing her experience and recovery with students.

Jean Havens Cook ’66: Exceptional Volunteer Award

Cook received her B.A. in French and education, earned a graduate degree in exceptional education from the University of Georgia and completed pre-doctoral coursework at the University of South Florida.

In Florida, Cook worked on many community projects for the New Port Richey Woman’s Club. She organized and supervised the tutoring center at the Salvation Army in Clearwater and, as an educational diagnostician, became a member of the Tarpon Springs Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, Cook volunteered at the children’s art center at the annual Tarpon Springs art festival, was a member of the Tarpon Springs Film Festival, and initiated the local teen original film contest. She has worked with Salve Regina’s Office of Alumni/Parent Programs to organize numerous alumni events in Florida along with class representatives Nancy Phelan Flynn and Liz Costello Burke.

Cook has been a distinguished educator for 42 years. As an educational diagnostician for the Pinellas County Public School System, she evaluated K-12 students for learning problems, working with a team of reading specialists, guidance counselors, psychologists, speech therapists and social workers. Cook has also taught English as a second language and presented at state and international conferences.

Cook received the Florida Top Educator Award in the early 1990s. With the stipend she received, she created Pinellas Educators Teaming for Student Services, which scheduled after-hours networking with educational specialists in social settings. In 2001, Cook was named one of the top 20 teachers of Pinellas County Public School System.

Richard Dalen Jr. ’96: Alumni Achievement Award

Since earning his B.A. in administration of justice, Dalen has dedicated his professional career to service. From 1997-2005, he worked for Child & Family, serving children and their families who were involved with the Department of Children, Youth and Families. Dalen was a house mentor, house manager and eventually program manager, responsible for providing leadership and advocacy in all areas of Child & Family’s residential programs.

Since 2005, Dalen has been a child support agent for the state of Rhode Island. In this role, he is responsible for the establishment and enforcement of child support orders. Dalen works closely with the parents of children that are navigating the state social service system in hopes of securing financial resources to support their families. He brings the foundational teachings of mercy to this role, something his former supervisor, Maureen Philbin ’86, witnessed regularly.

“Rick had a talent for reaching the most difficult youth,” Philbin said. “He never, ever gave up on a child. He was a self-starter and was always willing to take on new tasks, opportunities or challenges. Rick’s high level of energy, enthusiasm and commitment to Child & Family made him a strong leader and mentor, traits unquestionably instilled in him during his years at Salve Regina and the educational values of Mercy and social justice that he learned there.”

Nancy Phelan Flynn ’66: Exceptional Volunteer Award

Flynn received her B.A. in English. While raising two daughters on Long Island, she was the office manager for the family business, Bill’s Fuel Oil and HVAC Company. In 2000 the Flynns sold the business and moved back to Newport, where she worked as a substitute teacher at Rogers High School until 2015.

While on Long Island, Flynn taught religious education classes to children, was a Brownie and Girl Scout leader and served on several Parent-Teacher Organization boards. When she moved back to Newport, she maintained active involvement with her Salve Regina classmates, helping with numerous alumni and class activities. As a member of St. Augustin’s Church in Newport, Flynn worked at the soup kitchen and Christmas bazaar and chaired St. Agustin’s Centennial Anniversary Gala. In Stuart, Florida, where she spends her summers, she volunteers for the Treasure Coast Hospice consignment store.

Flynn remembers well the high level of respect that was practiced during her college years, both among students and the faculty, who taught her to incorporate the values of mercy in her life. “In working with others, you need to show them respect,” she said. “If they feel you respect them they will not only respect you but will learn to respect themselves.”

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