The Good Life
W
hat's the secret to sustaining balance in a fastmoving society? What defines a "good life" and
how do we get it?
The Annual Society of Fellows Weekend Retreat in 2011
explored the answers to these questions with an engaging
discussion on "The Good Life: Interdisciplinary Perspectives"
that was followed by a course of the same title in spring
2012. It culminated in a March panel discussion, "The Good
Life: Your Guide to Living a Life You Love," the first event
in the Pleasantville spring lecture series. Led by faculty
member Ross Robak, PhD, chair of Psychology and Mental
Health Counseling and director of the Master of Counseling
program, the panel included psychology professors Anthony
Mancini, PhD, and Paul Griffin, PhD; Susan L. Maxam, EdD,
university director for Student Success from the Center for
Academic Excellence at Pace; and financial expert Rosario
Girasa, JD, of Pace's Lubin School of Business. The panel
explored society's tendency toward increasingly busy lives
made more complex by relationships, career ambitions,
financial obligations, and technology.
A Continuing Commitment to the Environment
N
ine years ago, Angelo Spillo, director of the
Environmental Center, started Earth Month as a
way for the Pace Community to extend Earth Day
and learn to fully appreciate the environment. This year, that
tradition continued with a variety of lectures, courses, volunteer
opportunities, and nature events offered throughout the month.
Highlights included: a celebration of green poetry, a panel on
hydrofracking, special exhibits at the environmental center, nature
walks, recycling projects, a lecture on Hudson River painters and
their influence, and the opening of Pace's first solar classroom.
"It's very rewarding because now it has evolved into an
interdisciplinary event that involves all components of Pace,
including faculty, staff, and students from all of our schools
and departments," says Spillo. "The Pace Community, I believe,
has a responsibility as an institution of higher education to do
everything it can to promote environmental awareness."
Select Earth Month lectures and events are available from
Pace on iTunes U: www.pace.edu/itunes.
Year in Review 2011-2012 | 13