MERCY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Executive Assistant, Office of the President / Liaison
Job Titles:
- Vice President and General Counsel of C.a. Curtze Co
- Vice President and General Counsel, C.a. Curtze Co.
Term Trustee Scott Kern is the Vice President and General Counsel of C.A. Curtze Co., Inc. He has been a member of the �������ϲʿ������� Board of Trustees since 2016 and has been a Vice Chair of the Board since 2023. Trustee Kern currently serves on the Budget & Finance, Executive, and Governance Committees and is Chair of the Compensation and Enrollment & Revenue Committees.
Job Titles:
- Global Head of Operations and Services, Principal Asset Management
- Term Trustee
Term Trustee Barbara Wenig is a 1995 �������ϲʿ������� graduate and the Global Head of Operations and Services for Principal Asset Management. She has been a member of the �������ϲʿ������� Board of Trustees since 2022 and Secretary of the Board since 2023. Trustee Wenig currently serves on the Audit, Budget & Finance, and Enrollment & Revenue Committees.
Job Titles:
- President of Trocaire College
Term Trustee Dr. Bassam Deeb is the President of Trocaire College. He has been a member of the �������ϲʿ������� Board of Trustees since 2023. Dr. Deeb currently serves on the Academic Affairs, Audit, and Mission Committees.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Theatre Program Director
Dr. Johnson also serves as artistic director of the �������ϲʿ������� Institute for Arts & Culture (MIAC), which oversees all artistic and cultural programming on campus. In recent years, the Institute has brought world-class artists such as Kristin Chenoweth, David Sedaris, and Audra McDonald to campus as part of its popular MIAC Live series.
Job Titles:
- CEO of SpadaforClay Group
Term Trustee Christine Spadafor is the CEO of SpadaforClay Group. She has been a member of the �������ϲʿ������� Board of Trustees since 2022 and was named Treasurer of the Board in 2023. Trustee Spadafor currently serves on the Budget & Finance and Executive Committees and is Chair of the Governance Committee.
Job Titles:
- Professor Emeritus
- Professor of Art
Daniel Burke, Professor of Art, was born and raised in Erie, Pennsylvania, began his formal study of art at Erie Technical High School. He attended the Columbus College of Art and Design for several years and served in the U.S. Army for three years. With the aid of the GI Bill, he received his Bachelor's degree from �������ϲʿ������� University and his Master's from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. He has served as both Art Department Director and Art Department Chair at �������ϲʿ������� University. Mr. Burke teaches courses in Drawing, Painting and Two-Dimensional Design.
In addition to being an artist-in-residence at the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire on two occasions, Mr. Burke has won prizes and honors in over 60 juried competitions; winning awards in 28 national and international shows. He was awarded a Mid-Atlantic Arts Council grant for works on paper and was four times a recipient of a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Visual Arts Fellowship, most recently in 2008. In 2001 Edinboro University of Pennsylvania named him a Distinguished Alumnus in Art. To date, Mr. Burke has had twenty-six one-person shows. He has been listed in Who's Who in American Art since 1973; Who's Who in the East; Dictionary of International Biography; International Directory of the Arts; Outstanding Young Men of America; International Who's Who in Art and Antiques; Biographical Directory of American Artists; Who's Who in Society and other publications. The artist's paintings, drawings, and installations are in numerous permanent, corporate and private collections.
Education
Ph.D., Marquette University, Religion and Ethics
Post Grad., Durham University, Religion, Politics, and Ethics
M. Div., Duke University, Religion and Ethics
B.A., Bowling Green State University, History and Classical Greek
Job Titles:
- Retired, Partner
- Term Trustee
Term Trustee Dario Cipriani is a 1974 �������ϲʿ������� graduate. Now retired, he was a longtime partner at the Historic Square Insurance Agency. He has been a member of the �������ϲʿ������� Board of Trustees since 2020. Trustee Cipriani currently serves on the Advancement, Audit, and Student Life & Athletics Committees.
Job Titles:
- Physician at OBGYN Associates of Erie
Term Trustee Dr. Andrea Jeffress is a physician at OBGYN Associates of Erie. She has been a member of the �������ϲʿ������� Board of Trustees since 2013. Dr. Jeffress currently serves on the Academic Affairs and Compensation Committees.
Job Titles:
- Vice President for Mission
Job Titles:
- Retired, Provost and Chief Academic Officer
Term Trustee Dr. James G. Breckenridge, now retired, was the Provost and Chief Academic Officer for the U.S. Army War College. He has been a member of the �������ϲʿ������� Board of Trustees since 2022. Dr. Breckenridge currently serves on the Academic Affairs, Advancement, and Enrollment & Revenue Committees.
Job Titles:
- Term Trustee
- Vice President, Executive Support
Term Trustee Jamie Martin-Stewart is a 2011 �������ϲʿ������� graduate and Vice President, Executive Support at Erie Insurance. She has been a member of the �������ϲʿ������� Board of Trustees since 2023. Trustee Martin-Stewart currently serves on the Compensation, Mission, and Student Life & Athletics Committees.
Job Titles:
- President, H. Jack 's Plumbing & Heating
- Term Trustee
Term Trustee John Langer is a 1994 �������ϲʿ������� graduate and President of H. Jack's Plumbing & Heating in Wickliffe, Ohio. He has been a member of the �������ϲʿ������� Board of Trustees since 2014. Trustee Langer currently serves on the Advancement and Budget & Finance Committees.
Term Trustee John Saxon is a 1989 �������ϲʿ������� graduate and the former President and CEO of dlhBOWLES. He has been a member of the �������ϲʿ������� Board of Trustees since 2016. Trustee Saxon currently serves on the Budget & Finance and Executive Committees and is the Chair of the Audit Committee.
Job Titles:
- Retired, Chief Financial Officer
- Term Trustee
Term Trustee Joseph Necastro is a 1978 �������ϲʿ������� graduate and the retired Chief Financial Officer of Scripps Networks. He has been a member of the �������ϲʿ������� Board of Trustees since 2011 and Chair of the Board since 2018. Chairperson NeCastro currently serves on the Academic Affairs, Advancement, Audit, Budget & Finance, Compensation, Enrollment & Revenue, Governance, Mission, and Student Life & Athletic Committees and is the Chair of the Executive Committee.
Job Titles:
- Term Trustee
- Vice President and Chief Security Officer, Pfizer, Inc
Term Trustee Lev Kubiak is a 1988 �������ϲʿ������� graduate, retired Senior Executive from the U.S. Dept of Homeland Security (2016), and currently Vice President and Chief Security Officer at Pfizer, Inc. He has been a member of the �������ϲʿ������� Board of Trustees since 2013 and is a previous member of the President's Associates. Trustee Kubiak currently serves on the Academic Affairs, Audit, Enrollment & Revenue, and Executive Committees and is Chair of the Student Life & Athletics Committee.
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President
- Term Trustee
Term Trustee Marc McAndrew is a 1988 �������ϲʿ������� graduate and the Executive Vice President for Small Business Banking for PNC. He has been a member of the �������ϲʿ������� Board of Trustees since 2020. Trustee McAndrew currently serves on the Budget & Finance, Enrollment & Revenue, and Executive Committees and is the Chair of the Advancement Committee.
Job Titles:
- Retired Educator
- Term Trustee
Term Trustee Margaret Pietraszek is a 1968 �������ϲʿ������� graduate and a retired educator. She has been a member of the �������ϲʿ������� Board of Trustees since 2015. Pietraszek currently serves on the Advancement, Mission, and Student Life & Athletics Committees.
Job Titles:
- Retired, Vice President
- Term Trustee
Term Trustee Mark Salvia is a 1982 �������ϲʿ������� graduate and retired Vice President of Hubbard International, Inc. He has been a member of the �������ϲʿ������� Board of Trustees since 2014. Trustee Salvia currently serves on the Audit and Compensation Committees.
Job Titles:
- Investment Advisor
- Term Trustee
Term Trustee Mary Schaaf is a 1968 �������ϲʿ������� graduate, a registered investment advisor, and former Erie County Controller. She has been a member of the �������ϲʿ������� Board of Trustees since 2019. Trustee Schaaf currently serves on the Academic Affairs, Budget & Finance, and Compensation Committees.
Job Titles:
- Partner, Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, Inc
- Term Trustee
Term Trustee Patrick Weschler is a 1978 �������ϲʿ������� graduate and Partner at Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, Inc. He has been a member of the �������ϲʿ������� Board of Trustees since 2010. Trustee Weschler currently serves on the Compensation, Executive, and Governance Committees and is Chair of the Academic Affairs Committee.
Job Titles:
- Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs, Professor
- Professor of Religious Studies
Dr. McCarty engages in ethical inquiry from the perspective of critical realism. This approach seeks to discern and name practical frameworks of morality for the sake of human flourishing-mindful of how critical theories can reveal deficiencies and injustices within existing moral, social, and religious systems. Dr. McCarty joined the faculty of �������ϲʿ������� University in 2008. He serves the wider community as an ecumenical clergyperson. Dr. McCarty is also the co-founder of two nonprofit and philanthropic organizations, which serve educational and funding needs in the area.
Job Titles:
- Shareholder, Stark & Stark Law Firm
- Term Trustee
Term Trustee Rosemary Durkin is a 1977 �������ϲʿ������� graduate and a shareholder at Stark & Stark, Attorneys at Law. She served as the Secretary of the �������ϲʿ������� Board of Trustees for seven years and has been a member of the Board since 1997. Trustee Durkin currently serves on the Audit, Governance, and Student Life & Athletics Committees.
Job Titles:
- President and Chief Investment Officer, Spartan Investment Group, LLC
- Term Trustee
Term Trustee Ryan Gibson is a 2005 �������ϲʿ������� graduate and is President and Chief Investment Officer of Spartan Investment Group, LLC. He has been a member of the �������ϲʿ������� Board of Trustees since 2020. Trustee Gibson currently serves on the Compensation and Student Life & Athletics Committees.
Term Trustee Sister JoAnne Courneen is a 1964 �������ϲʿ������� graduate and has been a member of the �������ϲʿ������� Board of Trustees since 2016. She has served on the Board as a representative of the Sisters of Mercy since 1989. Sister Courneen served as Vice Chair of the Board until 2023 and currently serves on the Budget & Finance, Executive, and Governance Committees and is the Chair of the Mission Committee.
Job Titles:
- Retired, Senior Vice President, Time Warner
- Term Trustee
Term Trustee Stephen Fiedler is a 1985 �������ϲʿ������� graduate and a retired Senior Vice President for Time Warner. He served as Board Treasurer for seven years and became a Vice Chair of the Board in 2023. Trustee Fiedler currently serves on the Academic Affairs, Enrollment & Revenue, Executive, and Governance Committees and is Chair of the Budget & Finance Committee.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director, Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation
- Term Trustee
Term Trustee Yvonne Maher is a 1993 �������ϲʿ������� graduate and the Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation. Currently on a leave of absence, she has been a member of the �������ϲʿ������� Board of Trustees since 2015 and served as Vice Chair of the Board until 2023. Trustee Maher has served on the Executive and Governance Committees and was Chair of the Advancement Committee.