A New Home for the Humanities
This summer, the Anselmian community gathered for the blessing and dedication of the new Gregory J. Grappone Humanities Institute. The event acknowledged the many people and organizations who came together to make the new building possible, celebrated the new building, and made the case for the value of the humanities, today more than ever.
“The humanities have been at the heart of Saint Anselm College since its founding in 1889,” said Dr. Joseph A. Favazza, president of Saint Anselm College. “At a time when some schools have chosen to de-emphasize these areas of study that celebrate and nourish the human spirit, our college has reasserted its fundamental commitment to the humanities and made that commitment visible through the Gregory J. Grappone Humanities Institute.”
The two-story facility, located in the Boiler House, is home to a large state-of-the-art classroom, a seminar instruction room, a flexible common meeting and exhibition space, a newly restored and landscaped courtyard, and administrative office space. It will serve as a living room on campus—where students, faculty, staff, and guests can gather to talk, learn, and reflect. The new home for the Grappone Humanities Institute serves as a visible reminder of the central place of the humanities in the life of Saint Anselm College.
“Last summer, when we broke ground on this project, I said I thought this building could be turned into a kind of poem,” said Dr. Gary Bouchard, executive director of the Humanities Institute. “But the building can only say so much. Now, we must fill it and its surroundings with the vibrant conversations and discourse and ideas that we have been cultivating for five years and the past 135 years.”
Robert and Beverly Grappone P ’04, H.D. ’21 have led the effort to create the Gregory J. Grappone Humanities Institute as a legacy to their son Gregory, who died in 2015 after a lifelong battle with cancer. Gregory was a Great Books major at Saint Anselm and a passionate supporter of the humanities. PBS filmmaker Ken Burns served as the honorary chair of the campaign.
“For my dad, books were a way of seeing the world in a new way— understanding someone else’s story. In a world as complicated as ours, understanding has never been more important. Studying great books at Saint A’s helped form my dad into the person he became—empathetic, curious, kind,” said Briar Grappone, Gregory’s daughter, age 10. “My dad would be proud to know that we are all here today with the goal of building something bigger than ourselves.”
During the dedication, Dr. Favazza announced the creation of two new humanities-focused scholarships—the John S. Whipple Scholarship for 18th Century Studies and the Grappone Fellowship. Jillian Dorazio ’24, a history major, was announced as the first Whipple Scholar at the annual Shakespeare Sonnet Reading. The first Grappone Fellow will be Jacob Akey ’24, an international relations and business major. He will receive a full tuition scholarship while serving the Institute in an ambassadorial and programming support role.
The evening before, donors and friends gathered for a preview of the new building and to dedicate three statues by Sylvia Nicolas, H.D. ’91. These statues are bronze castings of the concept sculptures that Nicolas did prior to creating the iconic campus statues of Saint Anselm, Saint Benedict, and Mary. The previous Friday, a small group had gathered to dedicate the Janet M. Withington Sunburst Seating Area and Garden.
This fall, students began taking classes in the new building, and the Humanities Institute has continued its two signature programs—the Come Friday Forums and Big Thought Series. Additional programming will take place throughout the year.
“The journey certainly doesn’t end,” said Bob Grappone. “Now our responsibility is to work on anchoring the goodness and grace that God gives us. Anchoring here so that it will spread elsewhere.”
Many people were involved in the construction of the new Grappone Humanities Institute: Jonathan Woodcock, director of physical plant; Kyle Davis, project manager; Kim Britton, superintendent of grounds, roads and fleet; the entire physical plant staff; Milestone Construction; Placework architectural studio; James Flanagan, senior vice president and chief advancement officer; the Office of College Advancement staff; Dr. Bouchard; the National Endowment for the Humanities; the Humanities Institute campaign steering committee; its honorary chair, filmmaker Ken Burns; and committee chairs Beth Kelly ’83, Susan Connelly ’92, Mike Riegel ’92, and Robert and Beverly Grappone P ’04, H.D. ’21, and committee members Riley Buchanan ’24, Kathy Kayros, Fr. Iain Maclellan, O.S.B. ’77, Dr. Gary Bouchard, Joseph A. Favazza, Ph.D., and James Flanagan.
“Many have put in significant time and effort to turn this project from a dream into a reality,” said James Flanagan, senior vice president and chief advancement officer. “I would like to express our heartfelt thanks to the board of trustees, the campaign steering committee, the Monastic community, our faculty, staff, and alumni.”
Breaking Ground for the Next Generation of Health Care Leaders
Members of the Saint Anselm College community came together this fall to celebrate breaking ground on Grappone Hall, a new building that will house the Jean School of Nursing and Health Sciences.
“With this new home, the School of Nursing and Health Sciences is going to propel the already excellent reputation of our nursing program to new heights, and will support the expansion of our health science programs as Saint Anselm College continues to respond to the healthcare crises our world faces,” said Joseph Loughrey, chairman of the college’s board of trustees.
The new building, estimated at 45,000 square feet, will provide nursing, public health, and health science students with the learning environment and experiences they need to become the next generation of healthcare leaders. It will include a 150-seat auditorium, a public health community space, an 11,000-square- foot, state-of-the art simulation center, collaborative learning spaces for kinesiology, anatomy, and physiology, and community spaces on two floors for students to meet and study.
“We have embarked on something that I am learning that Saint Anselm does best: honoring our Catholic and Benedictine tradition, building on our strong foundation of Saint Anselm nursing to create a next-gen nursing and health sciences school—that is constructed on our school’s history and a foundation of liberal arts—to prepare our learners to address our most pressing healthcare and societal needs upon graduation in the unique Anselmian way,” said Diane Uzarski, D.N.P., M.P.H., R.N., inaugural dean of the Jean School of Nursing and Health Sciences. Uzarski, coming from her previous position as a highly regarded health care leader at Duke University, brings her diverse nursing career and experiences in research and academic healthcare leadership to this important role.
Saint Anselm nursing has a strong reputation in New England, with students consistently outpacing the national average on the NCLEX licensure exam and finding placements in some of the top hospitals in the country. The Jean School of Nursing and Health Sciences, which launched July 1, 2023, will position the department for growth in graduate programs, community collaborations, and more. Saint Anselm’s new public health and health sciences majors also will be housed at the new school.
Plans for the School of Nursing and Health Sciences are already underway with a focus on new interprofessional opportunities for co-learning in both the classroom and local community, bi-directional collaborations with health system, public health, nonprofit and industry partners, building new majors and tracks within existing majors, and building experiences for all students to examine the intersectionality between health care, the liberal arts, and Catholic Benedictine tradition.
“Saint Anselm College exemplifies the fact that not only can excellent liberal arts and professional programs co-exist, but in truth, they complement and inform each other—it is, without a doubt, one of the features that makes us distinct,” said Dr. Joseph A. Favazza, president of Saint Anselm College.
During his remarks, Dr. Favazza announced two leadership gift commitments for this project, which both led to naming announcements. Students then unveiled a sign with a rendering of the building. Thanks to their transformational gift commitment of $10 million, the School of Nursing and Health Sciences will be named for Roger Jean ’70, H.D. ’06 and Francine Jean. Additionally, the new building will be named Grappone Hall after a generous $5 million commitment by Robert Grappone and Beverly Grappone P ’04, H.D. ’21 to the college.
“Both the Jeans and the Grappones have demonstrated, time and again, their incredible commitment to this college and its vital mission,” said Dr. Favazza. “I find it so fitting that in this historic moment for Saint Anselm College, it is Roger and Francine Jean, and Bev and Bob Grappone, who have stepped up to lead us forward. We are forever grateful for your unending support.”
As part of the congressionally directed spending bill from December 2022, Saint Anselm was awarded $2.2 million from the federal government toward the construction of the new facility. Members from N.H. Rep. Chris Pappas’ office were present at the event.
Many thanks to the members of the campaign steering committee: honorary chairs, Roger Jean ’70, H.D. ’06 and Francine Jean; co-chairs Beverly Grappone P ’04, H.D. ’21, Christine (Dixie) Douville ’86, and Margaret Emmons ’75; committee members President Joseph A. Favazza, Ph.D., James Flanagan, P ’23, Sheila Evjy ’74, H.D. ’19 and Jenn Parent ’89; members of the building committee: co-chairs, William Furlong, Sheila Liotta, Ph.D., Maureen O’Reilly, Ph.D., R.N., Anne Knight, M.B.A, B.S.N., R.N., Joann Condon, M.S.N., R.N., Theresa Dabruzzi, Ph.D., Tauna Sisco, Ph.D., Fr. Benet Phillips, O.S.B. ’87, and Jonathan Woodcock.