Recognition of alumni will highlight the 2011 Alumni Weekend at Wheeling Jesuit University set for June 24-26.

Five alumni will be recognized for their contributions to society, the University and their profession. Two alumni will be given the prestigious Magis Award for special service to the University during the past year and a half.

“We look forward to welcoming our alumni back to campus to continue their life-long connection with friends, faculty and their alma mater,” said Kelly Klubert ‘85, director of Alumni Relations. “The awards we present are just one way that we say thank you to our graduates who make a difference at our University and in their communities every day.”

This year, alumni from the class of 1961, 1966, 1971, 1976, 1981, 1986, 1991, 1996, 2001 and 2006 will mark reunions.

During the President’s Dinner Saturday, June 25, President Richard A. Beyer, will present two alumni with the 2011 Distinguished Alumni Awards.

The St. Ignatius Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes a graduate who exemplifies the Jesuit ideals of extraordinary competence and personal compassion in one's chosen profession. The University will present this award to Wheeling native Vera Barton-Caro ’82, a nurse practitioner/nurse manager for Richard F. Terry MD, Inc., a cardiology practice and heart failure clinic in Wheeling. Barton-Caro is the president of The American Association of Heart Failure Nurses. She has conducted research  in the field and is a speaker and presenter at conferences nationwide on heart failure prevention.

The Rev. Pedro Arrupe S.J. Distinguished Alumni Award will be given this year to New Jersey resident Patricia Ryan Casey ‘61 for her life long dedication to educating young children and to serving those in need. The Award, named in honor of the 28th Superior General of the Society of Jesus, is presented to a graduate who embodies the ideals of Ignatian spirituality and recognizes a graduate who is living a life committed to serving others and leads others to explore the link between peace and justice in the spirit of Fr. Arrupe.

Casey was an elementary school teacher who worked with children with special needs. Her love of books led Casey to volunteer in her community library. This work led Casey and her husband to expand their work on a larger scale to assist the Global Volunteers organization. She spends vacations in Jamaica building roads, bridges, walls, etc. She is the recipient of a 2011 honorary degree from WJU.

The Alumni Association will give the Rev. Clifford M. Lewis, S.J. Award, the highest honor presented by the Alumni Council, to Florida resident Ed Shahady, M.D. ‘60 on Saturday night. The Award recognizes extraordinary service, contribution and dedication to Wheeling Jesuit University in the spirit of Father Lewis, a true "person for others."

In the past year, Shahady helped his class organize and raise more than $45,000 for their 50th reunion. Out of their reunion a year ago, Shahady has helped launch the 50 Year Club, serving as the Club’s first president and leading advocate. He has been the driving force for the 50 Year Club, helping to garner interest from alumni and growing the club and its members into a well organized group of volunteers who will help with fundraising and student recruitment.

Ian and Toni (Moran) Wilson ‘04 of Pittsburgh will be given the Rev. James A. O’Brien Award which recognizes young alumni who manifest a growing competence and personal compassion and who exhibit strength and promise in areas reflecting WJU’s mission of educating men and women for life, leadership and service to others.

This couple said they wanted to help bring alumni together in the Pittsburgh area in 2009. Since that time, they have organized a monthly social at a neighborhood pizza shop that attracts between 15-35 alumni each “second Thursday” of the month. In their professional lives, they live out the Jesuit ideals of service—Ian works in social service world and Toni serves as a physical assistant at UPMC.

The final award to be given is the Magis Award. This year, Alumni Council will give the award to Mimie O’Hara Helm ’84 and V. Scott Gallagher ‘92. This award recognizes individuals who act in the Ignatian spirit of Magis, of doing more and giving more to others and of themselves. The Magis Award is given, when warranted, in light of an individual’s hidden, faithful service to the University and its people.

Helm, chair of the WJU Board of Directors, and Gallagher, past president of Alumni Council, were instrumental in providing positive leadership to alumni and the campus community during Wheeling Jesuit’s recent transition in leadership. Alumni Council noted Helm and Gallagher provided an example of communication, cooperation and leadership, sometimes at the expense of their own families. Their dedication and leadership to Wheeling Jesuit is a true instance of Magis.
 
Alumni Weekend is a time for alumni of all ages to return to Wheeling to reconnect with friends and faculty. The three-day event offers events for young and old. This year, the University will recognize just its third 50th anniversary class. Activities get under way on Friday, June 24 with the recognition and induction of the class of 1961 into the 50 Year Club. Saturday’s activities feature activities such as a presentation about Wheeling Jesuit Past and Present, a picnic, Mass and entertainment by the alumni band, the Ashcats.

To make reservations, please contact the WJU alumni office at 1-800-888-2586 or alumni@wju.edu.