Category Archives: The University of Scranton

“Scranton? Where The Office takes place?”

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

If there’s one question you’ll be continuously asked from the moment you are accepted to the University it’s, “Scranton? Where The Office takes place?” Scranton, PA is famous for many things, but well known to most is that this is where one of the best comedy TV shows of all time is set! During your time here, I highly recommend you re-watch the series. You’ll find yourself yelling at the TV, “Hey I know where that is!” and “Pam has a University of Scranton flag behind her desk!” The creators of The Office did a fantastic job of filling the TV show with actual places and objects from the real Scranton, down to Froggy 101 radio station stickers and the McCarthy Cab cars! Family and friends will ask to visit you here and take a tour of Scranton to see places and memorabilia from the show! My cousins asked to do just this, so here are some famous places to go visit in Scranton if you’re a fan of the show!

1.  The “Scranton Welcomes You” Sign

Everyone and anyone who has seen The Office knows this sign! It’s shown right in the opening credits! It can now be found inside the Steamtown Mall and is a fantastic photo-op for any fan of the show! The Steamtown Mall is also featured in the show as well!

2. The Dunder Mifflin Building (kind of)

Another famous building featured in the opening credits of the show is home to an actual paper company! The building is owned by the Pennsylvania Paper & Supply Company and features the Dunder Mifflin Logo on the tower.

3. Poor Richard’s Pub

An establishment frequented by all employees of Dunder Mifflin is Poor Richard’s Pub! The pub is located inside of South Side Bowl (a bowling alley), a great place to spend the evening bowling and having a drink where actual members of the office have been! The pub sells memorabilia perfect for any fan!

4. Lake Scranton and Lake Wallenpaupak

The Lake Scranton featured in the show is very different than the one in real life but is still a beautiful place to take a walk on a sunny day! You won’t find any sandy beaches at Lake Scranton or a booze cruise on Lake Wallenpaupak, but they are both gorgeous places to visit!

5. Cooper’s Seafood House

If there is one place on this list that has the most Office memorabilia, it is Cooper’s! The restaurant has lots of artifacts, photos and history of the Scranton area, and also features a large gift shop where you can get all The Office gear you could imagine, plus more! What a great restaurant to have dinner, get some mementos and take a few photos!

6. The Electric City Sign

Scranton, what? The Electric City! Scranton is famously known as The Electric City for having the first street cars in the U.S. to be powered by only electricity! There is an amazing sign found in downtown Scranton at the corner of N. Washington Ave and Linden Street that makes a perfect place to recreate Michael and Dwight’s music video!

7. Alfredo’s Pizza Café

Famously mentioned in The Office is Alfredo’s Pizza Café, which is definitely not Pizza by Alfredo’s! Alfredo’s Pizza Café is a real restaurant located on S. Washington Street in Scranton! Stop by for a great photo and head inside to grab some pizza!

8. The University of Scranton!

When you re-watch the show, you’ll notice just how many times our university is featured! From t-shirts to office decorations, our school is represented! A fun fact you may not know is that The University of Scranton actually hosted the wrap party for The Office! All the cast members were here on campus to say one final goodbye to the series. They even hosted a panel session in our gym! When you step on campus, you are standing where each one of the cast members of the show has as well!

Although Scranton might not be home to its own Chili’s, there are so many places you can visit both on and off campus that were important to the series! If you stick around here in Scranton long enough, you might even get to meet a cast member from the show! A few are very well known for coming back into town regularly and hitting up our favorite local establishments.

Staying Active on Campus!

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

Getting movement into your day can be beneficial to you in so many ways! Exercise can help improve your mood, boost your energy, and promote better sleep! These are all great for college students; especially graduate students! The University of Scranton has so many opportunities and facilities for students to get active. There is something for everyone!

1. The Fitness Center

One of the most popular fitness activities and locations on campus is the fitness center itself! A membership for graduate students is only $70 per semester and includes access to the Byron Recreation Center. This membership includes access to this 14,000 square foot facility, which holds 50 pieces of cardio equipment, 22 weight machines, and a state of the art free weight area. Our beautiful fitness center is a great place to relax and get in a great workout.

2. Intramural Sports

Some of the most popular activities on campus are intramural sports! For their efforts, winners of each league take home a t-shirt, which is one of the most coveted items given away on campus! Each season and semester host different sports leagues. Intramural sports leagues include: badminton, basketball, kan-jam, kickball, soccer, softball, ultimate frisbee, bean bag toss, dodgeball, volleyball, whiffle ball, pickleball, and flag football! This is a great way to get your friends together once a week for some exercise!

3. Swimming

The Byron Recreation Center is home to a six-lane, Olympic-size, competitive swimming pool! Open swim and lap swim are available if swimming is your go-to fitness activity! In addition, locker rooms, saunas, and steam rooms are available nearby.

 

4. Fitness Classes

Spin, yoga, Irish dance, Zumba, HIIT, and many more fitness classes are held in the Byron Recreation Center and outside campus, including the beautiful rooftop garden in Leahy Hall! There are options for everyone, from relaxing yoga to intense spin classes! The new spin classroom has been a very popular addition to the Byron Recreation Center!

5. Racquetball

Inside the Byron Recreation Complex, you’ll find so many fitness activities and locations! One of which, are multiple racquetball courts! All the gear you would need to play can be borrowed from the main desk inside the front door of the building. Racquetball is a great wintertime sport and gets pretty competitive between friends here on campus!

6. Indoor Walking Track

Inside the Byron Recreation Complex, there is a 1/10-mile walking track surrounding three basketball courts! This is the perfect spot to get a walk in with a friend when the weather might not allow for a stroll outside! Bring some headphones and walk as many laps as you please!

7. The Dionne Green

On any nice day in Scranton, there is one place where you are guaranteed to find students getting some sun while playing frisbee, soccer, or any sport you can think of: the Dionne Green! Home to the University’s own amphitheater, this 22,000 square foot green space is always a popular spot on campus! Pick-up soccer games can be seen here throughout the week, and they are always great to watch on the sidelines or from this great view in the dining hall!

8. Open Gym

The Byron Recreation Complex’s three courts can be used for multiple sports: basketball, volleyball, badminton, table tennis, and more! Supplies can be borrowed from the main office of the building, inside the entrance. During open gym times, bring some friends and have a pick-up game!

9. Outdoor Sand Volleyball

Next to Condron Hall, the University has its very own sand volleyball court! On sunny days, you can usually find a pick-up game happening with some spectators watching! This is a perfect place to get a few friends together and enjoy the sunshine!

No matter the time of year, you’re sure to find great opportunities to stay fit and energized. Perhaps that’s why the University ranked among the nation’s “Healthiest Colleges in the U.S.” by Greatist.com just a few years ago.

Where to Study on Campus – Revealed!

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

During graduate school, it is important to have a space where you can study effectively. My study style continuously changed throughout my undergraduate and graduate time at Scranton. Where I choose to study each day depends upon the material I am learning and the weather outside. Luckily, Scranton offers a wide variety of indoor and outdoor study areas for students. Even after being at The University of Scranton for seven years, I still love all the study areas that our campus has to offer! Below are a few of my favorite spots to study on a cold Winter’s day:

The Library

  • The 1st floor of the library offers an active study environment. It includes PCs, duel screen MACs, comfy seating, and group study areas. Via the student portal, my friends and I reserve a group study room whenever we know a big test is approaching. The study rooms include flat screen TVs, as well as a chalkboard or white board wall. Sometimes my friends and I connect our laptop to the TV screen to project practice problems. Then, we race against each other to correctly write the answer on the wall. For me, this is a useful way to practice quick information recall, learn from classmates and have friendly competition! The TV screens can also be used to practice group presentations or to simply review notes with friends.
  • In contrast to the 1st floor, the 5th floor is used for quiet study sessions. The 5th floor is split into two areas. One area has beautiful mural panels painted around the perimeter. It features natural lighting with views of sunsets and a ceiling that creates a relaxing background noise on rainy days. Large study tables give students ample room to spread out notes, and comfortable couches give students a cozy spot to read. The other area of the 5th floor has books, cubicles, and Brody chairs. Brody chairs are giant comfy chairs with a tray table for work, outlets for laptops, and dividers between chairs for focus. My friends and I compare them to first-class airplane seats! Since the chairs can be reserved for two-hour time blocks, and the 5th floor library is one of the quietest spots on campus, this area provided the perfect environment for my online exams this past Fall!

    Picture of a student using a Brody chair in our University library!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edward Leahy Jr. Hall (Leahy)

  • In Leahy, there are PT/OT/Kinesiology practice labs, group study rooms and seating by Einstein Bros Bagels (referred to by students as simply “Einsteins”). As a physical therapy student, I often study in the labs; however, the seating by Einsteins has consistently been one of my favorite study spots on campus ever since Leahy was built (during my sophomore year)! Einsteins provides tables where I can spread out my work, as well as a space where I can chat with my friends during my study breaks. Plus, who doesn’t love studying by warm bagels and hot chocolate on a cold Winter day? Both the group study rooms and Einsteins are open to all students. In fact, many of my friends in other academic disciplines also study here with me!

    Picture of students studying near Einsteins!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loyola Science Center

  • Loyola Science Center (LSC) is where I spent most of my study time during my undergraduate years. LSC offers labs for a variety of majors within the College of Arts and Sciences, student study tables/chairs, group study rooms, and Bleeker Street Café. All the study rooms in LSC have a chalkboard and floor to ceiling windows. My favorite part about the study rooms is that the windows provide gorgeous views of campus, and students can write on the windows using dry erase markers! Studying always seems much easier when I am overlooking freshly fallen snow and have a warm croissant from Bleeker in hand.

    Picture of a student studying in an LSC study room!

  • LSC is also the home to the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (CTLE). The CTLE provides services to students who have disabilities and peer tutoring to any student who requests it. If students are interested, they may apply to be tutors in subject areas they excelled in. I personally tutored for Statistics, Nutrition, and Kinesiology! Currently, my roommate works as a tutor for the Writing Center, assisting both undergraduate and graduate students through various stages of the writing process. The CTLE is a great resource for students who need a little extra academic help or for those who want to gain experience in teaching others.

The University has such a wide variety of study spots that it was hard for me to just chose a few favorite ones!  The library has multiple other areas that my friends describe as “hidden gems” on the 2nd through 4th floors. Besides Leahy and LSC, all the other academic buildings have areas that I enjoy studying in. Even as a physical therapy major, one of my other favorite study spots is in Brennan Hall (the home to the Kania School of Management) on a couch outside the Pearn Auditorium!

Once you come to campus, you can explore and find which areas work best for you. Regardless of your studying preferences, you are sure to find a study spot that fits your needs!

P.S. Once the warm weather begins, stay tuned for a post about some my favorite outdoor study spaces!

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.