Category Archives: Graduate Education

Top 8 Favorite Places & Activities in Scranton

Written by: Rachel Kosty Exsc/Kines ’18, DPT ’21

“So, what’s there to do in Scranton?” is one of the first questions I get asked by anyone who hears where I go to school. I can tell you in my six years here, I have never had a day where I couldn’t find something to do. In fact, I started making a bucket list of the places I still need to see before I graduate! Scranton and the surrounding area are full of hidden gems if you look around! Here are my top eight favorite places to go and things to do in Scranton.

1. Lackawanna River Heritage Trail

If you like to run or go for walks, Lackawanna County has some beautiful trails, but my favorite one is right in Scranton! The trail follows the Lackawanna River and, when it’s complete, will connect to be over 70 miles! The section located in Scranton is beautiful, paved, and perfect for exercising! My dog and I spend hours here most weeks. My favorite place to start is right at the University’s new “Kevin P. Quinn, S.J. Athletics Campus” where the trail follows past the baseball field for a little over two miles. You can also walk in the other direction past the softball fields for a bonus few miles!

                                            2. Hiking

There are so many hiking trails around Scranton that I have a list saved on my phone of some I still need to try out before I graduate! The state parks near here have some excellent trails, and there are many others! My favorites are Rickett Glen State Park, the Delaware Water Gap, and Campbell’s Ledge. There is also a beautiful walking trail around Lake Scranton that stretches for about three miles!

3. Coal Mine Tour

Locals to Scranton will tell you about this one, and I wish I’d found out about it when I first came to Scranton, but I didn’t until I was here for three years! So, I’m going to pass this secret onto you. One Saturday, a friend and I went to the coal mine tour not knowing what to expect and had the best time! If you didn’t know, Scranton is a historic coal mining city. If you talk to the locals, I can guarantee you either someone in their family or someone they know used to work down in the mines. This tour takes you down 300 feet below the earth on a mining vehicle to see a coal mine that opened in Scranton in 1860! The tour guide will take you through the entire history of coal mining and how it played such a huge role in Scranton’s history. This tour will far exceed any expectation you have for it. I guarantee it!

4. Jitty Joe’s and Mannings

I never knew how amazing ice cream could be until I came to Scranton! There are a few ice cream shops here that actually make their own ice cream. It’s so much better than anything you can find in the store! My top two favorites are Jitty Joe’s and Manning Farm Dairy. Be sure to try the edible cookie dough at Jitty Joe’s! Mannings even lets you come tour their dairy farm so you can see right where the ice cream comes from!

5. Susquehanna Brewing Company

For students 21+, Susquehanna Brewing Company is the place to be! Also known as SBC, they craft all of their own beer on site! The beer here is different than any other you’ve tried, I promise! They have so many different kinds, but their fruit beer is one of a kind! They also host free events every week like trivia, bingo, and during the summer they have food trucks visit!

                                           6. Kayaking

There are so many parks and lakes around the Scranton area to explore! One fun activity is renting kayaks to get out on the water! Kayaks can be rented at Lackawanna State Park, on the Susquehanna River in Falls, PA, and on Lake Wallenpaupack! Scranton has beautiful weather into the fall, in the spring, and especially in the summer. Take advantage of every sunny day you get! The Poconos are famous for their beauty and can be found right in Scranton’s backyard!

7. Montage Mountain

If winter sports are more of your thing, the area has its very own Ski Resort! Montage Mountain is located just 15 minutes from campus! They have skiing, snowboarding, and tubing! During the summer, they also have a water park! Concerts are held often during the warmer months at the Pavilion. Recent past performers include: Blink 182, Jason Aldean, and Fall Out Boy!

8. Eating

I still, to this day, have yet to find an area with as many restaurants as the Scranton area! Within walking distance of campus, there are 20+ alone! Some of my personal favorites are: Ale Mary’s, Backyard Ale House, and the famous Cooper’s Seafood House that was featured in The Office! Just a short drive away from campus is a town called Old Forge that is actually the pizza capital of the world! There are endless places to eat around Scranton, so make a bucket list of places to try as soon as you get into the city!

An Educational Trip of a Lifetime!

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Written by: Nicki Sanchirico Exsc/Kines ’18, DPT ’21

About one year ago, I woke up early during my intersession break to catch a flight to Guatemala.  No, I did not go there to simply escape the cold, although that certainly was a perk!  I traveled there with twelve second- and third-year University of Scranton Doctor of Physical Therapy graduate students, as well as two of our professors, for an educational trip of a lifetime!  Our professors organized a trip for us with a non-profit organization called Hearts in Motion (HIM). On our trip, we teamed up with four students and one professor from another Jesuit institution to provide physical therapy triage services to individuals who ordinarily do not have access to care.

Each day, we woke up with the call of a rooster who lived on the hotel grounds, ate a delicious Guatemalan breakfast, and traveled via bus from our hotel to various locations surrounding the town of Zacapa. At each site, patients lined up to receive our services before we even arrived. As students at a Jesuit school, we are taught to always strive for “magis” or the “greater”. To ensure each patient received the greatest quality of care, we split up into groups that included two to three student therapists and a translator. Our professors, along with two physical therapists from Guatemala, rotated around to each group as needed. This gave us the opportunity to collaborate with and learn from each other throughout the day.

Just as we are taught to strive for “magis”, we also aim for the Jesuit ideal of “cura personalis” or “care of the whole person”. Prior to going on the trip, I doubted how much we could help each person if we only saw them once; however, I was pleasantly surprised when my professors told me that the patients would be able to receive follow up care if needed. At the end of each day and at the end of our trip, we had guided prayers and reflections on our experiences. Out of the 250 patients seen, a pediatric patient marked one of the biggest imprints on my heart. The child had cerebral palsy and malnourishment. His mother reported that he often wanted to stand or walk, but it became too difficult for her to help him by herself. Through the triage services, our professor helped us to retrofit donated braces to his legs to make it easier for the mother to assist her child with ambulation. HIM then offered the child continued services to help address his neuromuscular and nutritional deficits. The look of pure joy that filled the mother’s face after she realized her son would finally be receiving the care that he needs is an image that I will remember throughout the rest of my academic and professional career.

In addition to the educational and emotionally moving physical therapy patient experiences, the cultural immersion experiences made the trip unforgettable. Throughout each treatment session, we gained new insight into the Guatemalan culture and the differences between each surrounding town. Our last couple of days in Guatemala was spent in the beautiful city of Antigua, exploring and enjoying many experiences that the country offers. I had the opportunity to tour a coffee plantation, ride a horse up a volcano, buy Guatemalan goods crafted by the locals, and indulge on authentic food. I am beyond grateful for the service immersion experience that allowed me to fine tune physical therapy skills and my Jesuit ideals of “magis” and “cura personalis”, while having fun along the way!

This trip was just one of the many volunteer opportunities that the University offers to students. Although this trip was specific to physical therapy students, service opportunities are also available to graduate students of other majors. During a typical year, graduate and undergraduate students can participate in both international and domestic service immersion experiences through The Center for Service and Social Justice. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, The Center for Service and Social Justice was still able to offer immersion experiences to students; however, it was in a virtual format! This winter, they offered a virtual domestic immersion chance to explore racial justice in Detroit, as well as a virtual international immersion opportunity with Christians for Peace in El Salvador.  The variety of service and immersion experiences offered by The University of Scranton allows students to enrich their life as graduate students and create unforgettable experiences!

DBA Student/Professor Articles Win National Awards

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Two articles co-authored by University of Scranton Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) candidates and professors of accounting were awarded prestigious Institute of Management Accountants’ Lybrand Silver and Bronze medals for 2020. Scranton’s accounting faculty have been awarded more Lybrand Medals in the past decade than any other institution in the nation, previously winning four Lybrand medals, including two gold medals.

The 2020 Lybrand Silver Medal was awarded for the article “SEC Whistleblower Program Continues to Expand,” co-authored by DBA candidate Daniel J. Gaydon and Douglas M. Boyle, D.B.A., chair of the Accounting Department at Scranton.

The 2020 Lybrand Bronze Medal was awarded for the article “Goodwill Accounting: The Matter of Serial Non-Impairment,” co-authored by DBA candidate Marcus Burke, Dr. Boyle, and Daniel P. Mahoney, Ph.D., professor of accounting at Scranton.

The Lybrand Competition considers for awards all manuscripts published during the year in the Institute of Management Accountants’ (IMA)Strategic Finance and Management Accounting Quarterly journals, both of which are rated among the top five refereed practitioner journals.

“As a longtime reader of Strategic Finance and Management Accounting Quarterly, I’m so honored to receive this recognition,” said Gaydon. “I’m grateful to work with Dr. Boyle on this article as well as a number of other articles over the last few years. The DBA program at The University of Scranton allows me the opportunity to work with top-notch faculty and global scholars through my dissertation committee.”

“Dr. Boyle and Dr. Mahoney provided a wealth of knowledge, which helped me to develop meaningful research ideas and greatly assisted in guiding me through the academic publishing process. That knowledge and willingness to collaborate is well reflected in the Lybrand award, and I look forward to future research endeavors,” said Burke.

Scranton’s DBA program received international recognition when the prestigious accrediting body, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), recognized the program in 2019 among the “Innovations and Best Practices in Canada, Latin America and the United States.” Scranton’s DBA was recognized for providing a non-traditional research DBA in accounting that “promotes diversity and practice relevance by providing a flexible path for experienced practitioners to gain the knowledge and credentials required to succeed in tenure-track positions at AACSB-accredited institutions.”

Dr. Boyle serves as director of Scranton’s DBA Program and as the founder and director of the University’s Nonprofit Leadership Certificate Program.

Gaydon, Plains, is a member of the University’s first cohort of DBA students. During his time at Scranton, he also published with Dr. Boyle “Managing Reputational and Financial Risks Through Internal Whistleblower Programs,” Management Accounting Quarterly (Spring 2020); “Occupational Fraud Trends and Implications,” Internal Auditing (May/June 2020); “SEC Enforcement: Doing More With Less,” Internal Auditing (January/February 2020); and “Penalizing Corruption,” Internal Auditor (December 2018). Gaydon is expected to graduate from the program in the fall of 2020.

Burke of Poughkeepsie, New York, is also a member of the University’s first cohort of DBA students. He is expected to graduate from the program in the fall of 2020.

A Certified Public Accountant as well as a Certified Management Accountant, Dr. Boyle has more than 25 years of industry executive experience. An award-winning teacher, Dr. Boyle was profiled in 2020 and 2019 as one of just six “Professors to Know in Business Programs Based in the Northeast” selected by Bschools.org, an online resource for entrepreneurs. He was awarded the Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award from the Faculty Senate at Scranton in 2019 and has won numerous other awards for teaching and research. Dr. Boyle earned a bachelor’s degree from The University of Scranton, an MBA from Columbia University and a doctorate from Kennesaw State University.

Dr. Boyle’s research has been published in numerous academic and practitioner journals, such as The Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Accounting Horizons, Issues in Accounting Education, Current Issues in Auditing, The Journal of Accounting Education, The Accounting Educators’ Journal, The Journal of Accountancy, Strategic Finance, Fraud Magazine, Internal Auditor, Management Accounting Quarterly, The CPA Journal, Internal Auditing, The Journal of Applied Business Research and The Journal of Business and Behavioral Sciences.

An award-winning teacher and scholar, Dr. Mahoney earned a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from The University of Scranton as well as a doctorate in accounting from Syracuse University. A Certified Public Accountant, he was named Kania School of Management’s Professor of the Year five times and has won numerous other awards for teaching.

Dr. Mahoney’s research has been published in numerous professional journals, such as The CPA Journal, Internal Auditor, Strategic Finance, Management Accounting Quarterly and Journal of Business and Economics Research, Accounting and Financial Management.

Testimonials from Rehabilitation Counseling Graduates

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Check out where these alumni are now – and how our program helped get them there!

Natalie Davison ’18 is a Director of Learning Support and Disability Services at The College of Idaho.
“The mentorship and hands-on experiences offered in this program prepare counselors to work with a passionate competency.”

Kathleen Brown ’17 is a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor.
“The collaboration between the students and faculty is one that lasts a lifetime.”

Tracie Mallie ’12 is a District Administrator.
“The University of Scranton’s Rehabilitation Counseling program prepared me beyond words. I felt confident, knowledgeable, engaged, current, and most of all, filled with skills that I now got to apply in the “real” world.”

Danielle Frascella ’12 is a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor.
“The University of Scranton’s Rehabilitation Counseling Program offers an enriching academic experience.”

Joe Mancini ’11 is an Executive Director.
“The prestige that comes with obtaining a master’s degree from the University has set me apart from my peers when securing positions with organizations.”

Mindy Farley ’11 is a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor.
“The confidence I gained through the program and through mentoring is part of what helped me to enter school yet again this year so that I may add PhD to my name and expertise.”

Learn more about the Rehabilitation Counseling program.

The Leahy Clinic: An Opportunity Like No Other

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The University of Scranton’s Edward R. Leahy Jr. Center Clinic for the Uninsured earned a 2020 Gold Rating from the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics (NAFC) Quality Standards Program.

As a member of NAFC, the Leahy Clinic is required to quantify and qualify the care provided utilizing a formalized set of quality standards set forth by this national association. Voluntary submission of information to the NAFC on the various policies and procedures is required to attain their standards rating along with validation that they are successfully incorporated within the organization. NAFC quality standards elements included policies and procedures related to the following areas: administrative, enhanced access and continuity of care, identifying and managing patient population information, planning and managing care, providing self-care support and community resources, tracking and coordinating care and measuring and improving performance.

Procedures documented by the Leahy Clinic, Lackawanna County’s only free clinic, include reports of the diversity in its racial, ethnic and language composition within the patient population. Language services and multi-lingual staff of the clinic interpret for the patient utilizing culturally specific dialects that decrease the possibility for misdiagnosis due to lack of understanding in both directions of interpretation. The Leahy Clinic has also established relationships with medical and diagnostic specialists with the goal of improving overall health and decreasing inappropriate Emergency Department utilization due to lack of accessible care, by implementing a patient navigation system.

“We have been members of NAFC for the past 10 years, and along with University of Scranton students, have been able to develop resources and provide patient care based on best practices for delivery of outpatient care,” said Andrea Mantione, D.N.P., director of the University’s Leahy Community Health and Family Center, which includes the Leahy Clinic. Both Dr. Mantione and Maria Vital, Ph.D., operations manager at the Leahy Community Health and Family Center, have been featured as guest speakers to NAFC’s national audience.

“We continue to work with both the National and State Association of Free and Charitable Clinic as a model of high quality health care delivery to our most vulnerable populations,” said Dr. Mantione. “We are excited to have received this top rating highlighting our commitment to providing quality care for our patients.”

The Leahy Clinic, now in its 13th year of operation at the University’s Panuska College of Professional Studies, provides free non-emergency healthcare to uninsured Lackawanna County residents who may otherwise forego healthcare due to cost or seek care in hospital emergency rooms. Through the innovative collaboration of community health provider volunteers with undergraduate and graduate student volunteers and faculty members, as well as other University resources, the Leahy Clinic has been able to offer free care that includes medical, counseling, physical therapy and low vision services, along with exercise and nutrition classes. Since 2007, the clinic has served more than 7,000 individual patients through more than 16,000 visits.

Founded in 2001 and headquartered near Washington, D.C., the NAFC is working to ensure that the medically underserved have access to affordable quality health care and strives to be a national voice promoting quality health care for all. Both the NAFC and The Leahy Clinic for the Uninsured are dedicated to ensuring that patients receive quality health care.

The Leahy Clinic provides unparalleled academic experience and hands-on opportunities for our health care students.
Learn more about the Panuska College of Professional Studies.