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William J. Lennox Jr

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A Message to the World
“If you had one story to share with the world, what would you say?” That is the premise behind the powerful Dear World interactive portrait project that came to Saint Leo University for two days in September. Faculty and staff were invited to join students in the photography project “that unites people through pictures in their distinct message-on-skin style.”

Participants wrote messages in black marker on their arms, hands, faces, or other body parts to tell their individual stories. “The words you wrote on your skin are a window into your story,” Katie Greenman, storyteller, photographer, and facilitator for the project, told the participants.

A Message to the World  A Message to the World (2)  A Message to the World (3)

The goal for the project was to find understanding and common ground among the Saint Leo community members. The event was sponsored by the Student Government Union; Campus Activities Board; Student Activities; Multicultural and International Services Office; Residence Life; and Counseling Services.

See more photos at spirit.saintleo.edu/dearworld.


Feeding Those in Need
Last fall, staff members in the Center for Online Learning Student Support Center collected four barrels of food for Metropolitan Ministries, based in Tampa, FL. That was nearly 600 pounds of food!


Lending a Faithful Hand
Lending a Faithful Hand“Little things can make a big difference to people.” That is an observation from Barry Doupnik, a sociology major at University Campus, who offers his time to Faith Tampa Bay.

Volunteering with this nonprofit organization founded in Tampa, FL, in 2007, Doupnik works with schools, churches, and other organizations to promote positive change. He and fellow volunteers organize teacher breakfasts, provide home rehab services, do yardwork for those in need, and even serve as a table host for annual celebrations. “We have no agenda,” he said. “We just do what we can to help.”

A Tampa native, Doupnik first got involved with Faith Tampa Bay as a Wharton High School student. He was also active in Young Life, helping adolescents learn about Christianity. In addition, he has volunteered for Habitat for Humanity, the Salvation Army, Metropolitan Ministries, and other worthy causes.

Doupnik recognizes that many people want to lend a hand to those in
need but cannot afford to give financially. “There are other ways to give,” he explains. “I always love seeing a completed project. I step back and say, ‘We accomplished this. We did this to help someone.’ It’s a great feeling.”

Learn more at www.faithtampabay.com.


Offering Inspiration
Lending a Faithful Hand (2)
Lions Serve is exactly what it sounds like. It is a group of Saint Leo Adult Education Center students who study at the Pasco-Hernando State College (PHSC) locations—primarily at the Spring Hill, FL campus—and who are called to help others.

“We hope to inspire and help the community as a whole, said Sativa Fisher, president of Lions Serve.

Most of the members are pursuing degrees in social work, like Fisher, who is a senior and will graduate April 28. And a few members are majoring in psychology. “We all want to give back,” Fisher said. “We have a mind-set to help.”

Lions Serve is open to all students enrolled at Saint Leo through the Adult Education Center. Members meet to discuss ways they can help the community. Last year, they participated in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life at Nature Coast Technical High School in Brooksville, FL, and will do so again this year.

The students recently embraced the hot trend of painting rocks with messages of hope and encouragement and leaving them for others to enjoy. Before final exams for Fall 2 Semester, the Lions Serve members gathered to paint rocks with inspirational messages to help students make it through their tests and papers. “We wanted to boost morale because exams can be so stressful,” Fisher said.

One of the members saw a post on Facebook along with a photograph of one of the rocks. Whoever found the rock said, “At the most random time, you find inspiration.”

“It warms my heart that we made an impact,” Fisher said.



Helping Pasco County Veterans
Helping Pasco County VeteransSaint Leo University was one of the sponsors of One Community Now Stand Down for Pasco County (FL) veterans, which took place from September 29 to October 1 at Veterans Memorial Park in Hudson, FL.

University President William J. Lennox Jr., his wife, Anne, and Pamela Martis, director of Military Affairs and Services, joined other volunteers in filling plates and serving steak dinners to the veterans in attendance on Friday evening. The Military Resource Center also collected new socks for the veterans.

Saint Leo social work students and faculty provided a “coffeehouse” atmosphere in a tent at the Stand Down so veterans in transition could relax and talk.

Veterans who attended the One Community Now Stand Down were able to take showers, get haircuts, receive clothing, share meals, obtain career counseling and medical care, and receive referrals for housing and mental health counseling.

Helping Pasco County Veterans (2)   


Shoes for Shelter and SustenanceShoes for Shelter and Sustenance
In December 2016, Frances Volking, senior academic advisor at the Fort Eustis (VA) Education Office, led students and staff in hosting a shoe drive that collected 71 pairs for THRIVE Peninsula’s Walk a Mile in Their Shoes Mission. This effort assisted in raising funds to help feed, shelter, educate, and encourage families in crisis in the local community. The footwear contributions also supported a vital cause by helping create and/or sustain micro-business opportunities for low-income families in developing nations, where 1.3 billion people—400 million of them children—walk barefoot.


Comforting-the-Youngest-VictimsComforting the Youngest Victims
Sometimes, when victims of domestic violence flee their homes, they do so without clothing or a comforting blanket or stuffed animal for their children.

With this concern in mind Dr. Joanne Crossman, professor of education, suggested to members of the Lions women’s lacrosse team that they make baby blankets for Sunrise of Pasco County Inc. Domestic and Sexual Violence Center. Sunrise helps women and their children escape abusive situations.

“We hope that the women who come to the Sunrise Pasco shelter will select a blanket for their baby or toddler and find comfort in the bright colors and soft fabrics,” Crossman said. “We hope this small gesture helps the women to know that our Saint Leo community supports them during a difficult time in their lives.”

On September 27, Coaches Lesley Graham and Marial Pierce along with 27 team members cut and knotted pieces of fleece, turning them into blankets sporting pink and blue hedgehogs, Lacoste-like alligators, puppies and dog bones, and other motifs.

“I sure hope the babies like it!” player Danica Leili said of the colorful blankets. “I think it is heartwarming, and it’s nice to know we’re helping somebody else.”

Coach Graham echoed that sentiment. “It is important for these young women to realize that life is bigger than themselves,” she said. “We are lucky. Most of us are healthy, happy, and play a sport we love. It is important to give back to someone in a completely different situation.”


Psychology in the Saddle
When children are scared or sad, sometimes there is nothing like a horse to improve their day. No one knows that better than Theresa Malky ’15. Since earning her bachelor’s degree in psychology through Saint Leo’s online program, she has continued to follow her calling of helping people in need. These days she is pursuing her master’s degree in counseling from Messiah College while managing Trinity Equine Ranch, a nonprofit based in Pennsylvania and devoted to equine-assisted therapy.

On this 25-acre farm, she and her husband, Brock, use horses to help children work out grief, depression, and other problems. Malky has completed the first level of Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (EAGALA) training and will continue to level two. To date, she has worked with hundreds, both as individuals and in groups. “To serve others is a calling, and I have to be true to that person,” she said.

Years ago, Malky was a successful commercial real estate agent. “Sometimes I really miss that when I have to clean out the stalls,” she explained with a laugh.

Psychology in the Saddle

Our alumni, students, faculty, and staff enjoy a variety of special events throughout the year. Take a few moments to experience Saint Leo in Pictures. Click on any photo below to learn more.

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Burke Tomaselli ’16 (left) and Zoe Mathieu ’16 facing off in the mock presidential debate. During fall semester, Saint Leo University students in a broad range of academic classes created a fictitious (but realistic) two-party American presidential campaign. Students assumed the roles of candidates, staff, press, security consultants, and other key players, culminating with a debate between the fictitious Republican and Democratic presidential nominees on November 13.

 

 

 

 

 

On February 6, 2015, Dr. William J. Lennox, Jr., the former superintendent of the United States Military Academy, was named the ninth president of Saint Leo University by the university’s Board of Trustees, effective summer 2015.

Since 2008, Dr. Lennox has been a member of the Saint Leo University Board of Trustees and has served as chair of the Academic Affairs Committee.

“We are so pleased that Dr. Lennox will assume the presidency of Saint Leo University,” said Cindy Brannen, chair of the Board of Trustees. “As a board member, he is already familiar with the university and understands its unique structure. We are confident that he will continue to accelerate the upward trajectory that outgoing president, Dr. Arthur F. Kirk, Jr., initiated and sustained for 18 years.”

A retired U.S. Army three-star lieutenant general, Dr. Lennox earned his bachelor’s degree in international affairs from the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY. He went on to earn a master’s degree and a PhD in literature from Princeton University, writing his dissertation on American war poetry. He was first in his class at Fort Leavenworth’s Command and General Officer’s School, and he completed the Senior Service College Fellowship at Harvard University.

General Lennox became the superintendent of the United States Military Academy in June 2001. As superintendent, a role that is essentially the equivalent of president at a civilian college, he managed 4,400 cadets, hundreds of staff, the academic programs, and a $250 million budget on the 16,000-acre campus, and remained in that role until 2006. During his tenure, he provided strategic direction for the academic, military, and athletic initiatives. He helped transform the athletic program and oversaw upgrades to the core liberal arts program while sustaining the fourth-ranked undergraduate engineering program in the country. He also implemented and improved opportunities for cultural exposure and expanded semesters abroad to countries including Chile, China, Russia, and Spain. While at West Point, General Lennox completed a $150 million fundraising campaign with more than $220 million, resulting in enhancements to the academic, athletic, and military programs.

After graduating from West Point, General Lennox served in a wide variety of assignments in the field artillery. Additionally, during the course of his distinguished 35-year career, he held a number of staff positions, including a White House Fellowship, as the special assistant to the Secretary of the Army, and as the executive officer for the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans.

From 2006 to 2012, Dr. Lennox served as senior vice president at Goodrich Corporation, a Fortune 500 aerospace firm, in Washington, DC. In that role, he was responsible for developing and executing strategy for the company’s Department of Defense programs and for interacting with Congress, the executive branch, state and local governments, and aerospace contractors.

“I know first-hand that Saint Leo is a special place,” Dr. Lennox commented. “In my role on the Board of Trustees, I have seen this institution undergo remarkable growth in the last several years. Art Kirk has led this university with grand vision, innovation, and execution, and we are all grateful for his tireless efforts. In the next few months, I look forward to getting to know our faculty, staff, and students, as I prepare to work with them to make Saint Leo even stronger than it is today. I am honored to take on the role of university president.”

Dr. Lennox and his wife, Anne, have three sons: Andrew, Matthew, and Jonathan.