Glynis Earth Day of Service 2025



Students and employees don’t just study and work at Alvernia University. Bound together by Franciscan values, they’re part of a tight-knit community that reveres the dignity of each individual and fosters a sense of responsibility to others.


The lead story in this issue of Alvernia Magazine centers on family in the literal sense, spotlighting a brotherly bond that helped the university crown its first national champion. Matthew and Nathan Lackman were rivals on the wrestling mat for four years, even grappling in a championship match. But when an opportunity arose for Nathan to join his brother on Alvernia’s wrestling team for a year, he took it. Their story is one of love, sacrifice and achievement. Champions on the mat, the Lackman brothers are champions off it as well.


Our Franciscan values also include caring for the environment. We’ve recently amplified our push for sustainability with multiple solar-panel projects and the launch of a student ambassador program that allows students to implement sustainability projects on campus and in the community. Learn more in this issue.


Elsewhere, we highlight two programs at very different points in their history: Alvernia’s groundbreaking Criminal Justice Administration program, which marked 50 years last year, and the John R. Post School of Engineering, which celebrated its first graduating class at this year’s Commencement.


You’ll also read about how the university is modernizing its mission-moment collections, meet an adult student who is finding time to carve out an education while serving as chief of staff to Reading Mayor Eddie Moran, discover how Alvernia’s Achieve Personal Excellence program helped an undergraduate nursing major find a community, and learn how a longtime adjunct professor of photography has kept up with the times during a technological sea change in the industry.

 

Sincerely,

Glynis A. Fitzgerald, Ph.D.
President

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