FAIRFIELD—Deacon Patrick Toole, Chancellor of the Diocese of Bridgeport and Secretary for the Curia, will be among six individuals honored for their commitment to Fairfield University and its students at the Fairfield Awards Dinner, to be held on April 12.
The dinner will be held at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City, with proceeds directed to the University’s Alumni Multicultural Scholarship Fund and other endowment scholarships, helping students realize their full potential, regardless of economic or social barriers. This fall, $559,000 in scholarships was awarded from the Alumni Multicultural Scholarship Fund, with the average student receiving nearly $31,000.
“Not only have these honorees made tremendous contributions to the university, ensuring our students are positioned to thrive in all aspects of their lives, they have each also shown, by example, the Jesuit value of being men and women for others. This value is at the root of our institution and guides all we do,” said Wally Halas, Vice President for University Advancement.
Awards will also be presented to the following recipients: Alumni Professional Achievement Award , Andrew J. McMahon ’89, P’19,’13 Chief Executive Officer and President,Guardian Life Insurance; Alumni Service Award , Shannon Siwinski ’92, P’16, Director, Senior Trader, BofA Securities, Inc.; Distinguished Faculty/Staff Administrator Awardl Philip J. Lane, PhD, P’10, Former Associate Professor and Chair,Economics Department; Parent Leadership Award, Monica and John Thompson III, P’23 Vice President, Player Development and Engagement, Monumental Sports and Entertainment; and Co-Founder and Executive Director, John Thompson III Foundation; Honorary Alumnus
Deacon Toole currently serves communities as the chancellor and secretary of the Curia for the Diocese of Bridgeport. In that role, he has been instrumental in helping to create Fairfield Bellarmine, a new academic initiative offering a two-year associate’s degree serving students from the Bridgeport region. In 2014, Father Jim Bowler, S.J., collaborated with Deacon Toole to form the Murphy Center for Ignatian Spirituality Advisory Board and appointed him chair, a position Toole has held since. The two worked together to define and launch the Center which officially opened in 2015. Deacon Toole also sits on the School of Engineering Advisory Board. A retired IBM executive, he was ordained to the permanent diaconate in June 2011 and now serves at St. Catherine of Siena Parish in the Nichols section of Trumbull. Deacon Toole and his wife, Lyndy, are the parents of five grown children.
(For additional information about the Fairfield Awards Dinner, including ways to support student scholarships, please visit fairfield.edu/ awardsdinner, or contact Jennifer Kane at 203.254.4000.)