Jersey City, N.J. – March 2, 2017 – Saint Peter’s University announced plans to honor members of the University community at Hearts & Minds: The Saint Peter’s University Scholarship Celebration on May 5 at the Mac Mahon Student Center. Drew J. Bauman, Esq. will be presented with the Honorary Alumnus Award and Eileen L. Poiani, Ph.D. will be presented with the Honorary Alumna Award. Anthony O. Pergola, Esq. ’92 and Maureen Lemke Pergola ’94 will be presented with the Loyalty to Alma Mater Award. Hearts & Minds celebrates integrity, leadership and service to others. Proceeds from this annual event support the University’s General Scholarship Fund. This year’s theme is “Monte Carlo Night” and the evening will feature dining and gaming complete with a silent auction to benefit the deserving students of Saint Peter’s University.
“The Hearts & Minds celebration provides us with an excellent opportunity to recognize the individuals who have dedicated their time, talent and treasure to Saint Peter’s,” said Eugene J. Cornacchia, Ph.D., president of Saint Peter’s University. “We look forward to an enjoyable evening, which will support the education of future Saint Peter’s students.”
As a native of Jersey City with a passion for basketball and Catholic education, Bauman became engaged with Saint Peter’s nearly 50 years ago. He is a loyal donor and was inducted into the Saint Peter’s University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011 for Special Service Achievement. He holds several degrees from Seton Hall University as well as Iona College. He has a law office located in Maplewood, N.J., the town in which he has resided for more than 30 years with his wife, Georgette-Sullivan Bauman, and daughter, Moriah K. Bauman. He has served as a municipal prosecutor in South Orange, Irvington and presently Union Township, for more than 16 years. He is a longtime member of the Board of Trustees for Kenmare High School in Jersey City and has served as a court-appointed legal guardian for nearly 100 individuals who are physically and mentally incapacitated.
Anthony and Maureen Pergola have a long history with Saint Peter’s, which began when they both studied at the University in the 1990s. After graduating, Anthony continued his education at Harvard Law School and Maureen stayed at Saint Peter’s working as an admission officer. They married in 1996 and have since settled in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, where they live with their two teenage sons. Anthony is a partner, and vice chair of the Tech Group, in the New York City office of the law firm of Lowenstein Sandler LLP. Maureen has focused her efforts on raising their boys while volunteering her time at their schools and parish. They have stayed close to their Saint Peter’s family since graduation, attending many events each year. Both have served on boards at the University; Anthony is a current member of the Board of Trustees.
Dr. Poiani currently serves as special assistant to the president and professor of mathematics at Saint Peter’s University, having come to the University in 1967 as the first woman in the mathematics department. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Douglass Residential College and The Graduate School-New Brunswick at Rutgers University, she was assistant to four previous Saint Peter’s presidents and vice president for student affairs. Her honors include a New Jersey Woman of Achievement award; Nutley Hall of Fame inductee; George F. Johnson, S.J., Faculty Award for excellence in teaching; and Italian-American National Hall of Fame. Former trustee of Rutgers and Saint Peter’s Prep and member of the National Seminar on Jesuit Higher Education, she now serves on the Douglass Residential College board; Hoboken Catholic Academy board; and New Jersey State Board of Accountancy.
For more information or to register, please visit saintpeters.edu/2017hm or email heartsandminds@saintpeters.edu.
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