The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education Resident Appointed as AMA Delegate

Dr. Urvashi “Urvi” Pandit, a resident physician in The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education’s National Family Medicine Residency Program, was appointed to represent the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) as a delegate to the American Medical Association (AMA) Medical Resident Section.

Dr. Pandit, who is completing the third and final year of her residency at Unity Health Care in Washington, D.C., will serve in this role through Sept. 30, 2025. During that time, she will work with members of the AAFP staff and attend the AMA Interim Meeting in November in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, and the annual meeting of the AMA House of Delegates in June in Chicago, Illinois.

Dr. Pandit was inspired to apply for the position after attending the AMA Annual Meeting in June 2024 as a resident representative of the Medical Society of the District of Columbia, where she now also serves as co-chair of the Early Career Physicians Section. 

“I look forward to serving as the collective voice of family medicine residents and advocating for the specialty in this new role,” she said. “I am applying for a postgraduate fellowship in health policy and plan to use my training in a teaching health center and public health and research, and my experiences at the AMA to help inform any future work I may do in the graduate medical education space and, more broadly, in advocating for primary care.” 

Her appointment was recommended by the AAFP Commission on Education and confirmed by

the Board of Directors. AAFP’s mission is to improve the health of patients, families, and communities by serving members’ needs with professionalism and creativity.

“The faculty and I are very proud of Dr. Pandit for stepping into a national leadership role to represent family medicine and her resident colleagues at the American Medical Association,” said Dr. Lawrence LeBeau, program director of The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education’s National Family Medicine Residency Program. “It’s another great example of how our residents are fulfilling the mission of The Wright Center and our National Family Medicine Residency Program by being strong advocates for their profession and the communities they serve.”

The University of Scranton to Host Award-Winning Author Stephanie Saldaña

Author Stephanie Saldaña returns to Scranton to discuss “What We Remember Will Be Saved” at the Ignatian Values in Action Lecture Oct. 10.

“There are always hidden historians among the survivors of war. These are the people who carry the stories of what happened with them when they escape, so that the past can be remembered,” wrote author Stephanie Saldaña in the prologue to her award-winning book “What We Remember Will Be Saved.” “(T)hey carry these stories not in books but through little things. A sapling, a spoon, a scarf, a recipe for eggplants stuffed with walnuts, a prayer in a dying language.”

Saldaña will speak about her book at The University of at the 2024 Ignatian Values in Action Lecture on Thursday, Oct. 10. The event, which is offered free of charge and open to the public, will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Byron Recreation Complex on campus.

The book was selected for the University’s “Royal Reads” program for the incoming class of 2028. The program encourages all incoming students to read a designated book during the summer and to attend the lecture in order to create a shared experience among the students and expose them to the Ignatian values at the core of the University’s mission. Throughout their first-year students will encounter themes of the “Royals Read” selection repeated in classes, extracurricular opportunities and other special events.

Saldaña’s book, “What We Remember Will Be Saved: A Story of Refugees and the Things They Carry,” narrates the experiences of Syrian and Iraqi refugees through their stories and the belongings they carry.

 “I have met those who save the past simply by speaking it aloud, who write the dead into living by planting a tree. This book is about these historians and the stories they rescue. It is also a chronicle of war and migration told to me by those who managed to stay alive,” wrote Saldaña, who traveled to nine countries to learn the stories of Syrian and Iraqi refugees.

“In time, I began to hear stories: Of a young musician from Homs, Syria, who crossed the sea with his violin wrapped in cellophane. Of Syrian mothers teaching their children recipes for egg-plant jam in the refugee camps of Lebanon. … (T)he small things they salvaged not mere fragments but windows into the histories they were now entrusted with remembering and transmitting to future generations,” wrote Saldaña.

“What We Remember Will Be Saved” was the 2023 Christopher Award Winner and 2024 Excellence in Religion Reporting Award Winner for Nonfiction. A journalist and scholar, Saldaña discussed her book “The Bread of Angels: A Journey to Love and Faith,” at the University’s Ignatian Values in Action Lecture in 2019. The book was selected for the Royals Read program for Scranton’s class of 2023. She also wrote “A Country Between: Making a Home Where Both Sides of Jerusalem Collide,” which was published in 2017.

The Ignatian Values in Action Lecture series is meant to introduce students, and the larger community, to the mission and core values of the University. Since 2012, the annual event has invited individuals to speak on topics related to the tradition of meaningful service inspired by Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits. 

First Year Seminar students at the University are required to attend the Ignatian Values in Action lecture. Students will swipe their ID cards at entrance stations to be counted in attendance. 

For information about the event, call 570-941-7520.

Cooper’s Seafood House Hosts Celebration for Scranton Eagles

Come Celebrate the “Forgotten Dynasty” on Scranton Eagles Football Day at Cooper’s Seafood House in Scranton!

Join us on Friday, October 18th, from 5pm to 8pm as we honor the Scranton Eagles Football dynasty and celebrate the official proclamation of Scranton Eagles Football Day by the City of Scranton.

Meet former Scranton Eagles and Lackawanna County Eagles players and attend the unveiling of the official championship trophy and a new permanent display commemorating the storied history of the 11-time Empire Football League and 5-time national champions.

Enjoy a pint (or two!) of “Ale of Champions” – a limited-edition firkin brewed exclusively for WVIA’s upcoming full-length documentary, The Forgotten Dynasty: Scranton Eagles Football!

100% of the proceeds of the Ale of Champions and 25% of all Cooper’s delicious craft beers will benefit WVIA.

There will be raffles & giveaways, and even a photo booth!

To learn more about the upcoming documentary, The Forgotten Dynasty: Scranton Eagles Football, visit the official website.

LINK TO REGISTER FOR EVENT: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/scranton-eagles-football-day-at-coopers-seafood-house-tickets-1016686305107?aff=oddtdtcreator

Northeast Regional Cancer Institute Receives Donation from McDonald Foundation

The McDonald Foundation presented the Cancer Institute with a $5,000 donation to support the Cancer Institute’s Community-Based Cancer Screening Navigation Program. Nevin Gerber, a representative of the McDonald Foundation and Spirit of Hope Ambassador together with Leo Vergnetti, Chairman of the Spirit of Hope Board of Ambassadors, presented the check.

From left to right: Karen M. Saunders, President, Northeast Regional Cancer Institute, Nevin Gerber, McDonald Foundation and Leo Vergnetti, Board of Ambassadors Chairman.

The Spirit of Hope Board of Ambassadors is a group of community volunteers that hosts an annual Spirit of Hope Celebration in November at Mohegan Pennsylvania. Proceeds from the event benefit the Northeast Regional Cancer Institute’s Community-Based Cancer Screening Navigation Program. This program helps low income and un/underinsured individuals in northeast Pennsylvania get their recommended colorectal, breast, cervical, and lung cancer screenings.

For more information about the Spirit of Hope Celebration, visit, www.spiritofhopecelebration.org .

SAF Selected for CFLeads’ Economic Mobility Action Network

The Scranton Area Community Foundation is proud to announce it is only one of ten foundations nationwide selected by CFLeads to participate in the Economic Mobility Action Network’s advanced cohort, a network funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Economic Mobility Action Network is made up of twenty community foundations across the nation, chosen through a competitive process, for their work to advance economic mobility in the region they serve, with a focus on equity. The Scranton Area Community Foundation will work with the Rochester Area Community Foundation, North Texas Community Foundation, Cambridge Community Foundation, Foundation For The Carolinas, ACT for Alexandria, and other leading foundations nationwide.

In 2023, CFLeads was awarded a $4.8 million grant by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for its economic mobility work and will support the 20 community foundations in two cohorts with capacity-building support and innovative strategies beginning in September 2024. The goal will be to further strengthen and refine the community’s economic mobility plan with a focus on equity.

The cohort consists of Laura Ducceschi, Scranton Area Community Foundation President and CEO; Ellen Burkey, Scranton Area Community Foundation Board Chair; Vivian Williams, Scranton Area Community Foundation Director of Community Impact; and key partners from the City of Scranton and the Institute for Public Policy.

“This incredible opportunity will provide the Scranton Area Community Foundation with a new national network, allowing it to develop additional relationships with peers who are pioneering innovative approaches to community challenges as well as with funding partners nationwide,” stated Laura Ducceschi, Scranton Area Community Foundation President and CEO.

The Economic Mobility Action Network is led by CFLeads’ Economic Mobility team. More information is available on the EMAN webpage.

CFLeads’ mission is to help community foundations build strong communities by advancing effective practices, sharing knowledge, and galvanizing action on critical issues of our time.

“CFLeads is committed to empowering community foundations to lead change in their local place-based work. With the Economic Mobility Action Network, we’re fostering collaboration among 20 community foundations to advance equitable economic mobility. By aligning our shared focus on racial equity with a community leadership lens, we’re driving systemic change that truly reflects the needs and aspirations of our communities,” stated Mary L. Thomas, CFLeads’ President & CEO.

“I am thrilled to announce the selection of an outstanding group of community foundations to join our Economic Mobility Action Network. The competitive process highlighted the incredible commitment and innovative approaches of applicants across the country. In making our selections, we considered not only the strength of each application but also the scope, geographic diversity, institutional alignment, and deep community engagement demonstrated by these foundations. We are confident that this cohort will drive meaningful change and advance economic mobility in their communities,” stated Dr. Leonard Brock Vice President for Learning and Impact (Issues) at CFLeads.

To learn more about the Scranton Area Community Foundation, visit safdn.org or contact Mary Joyce, Communications Manager at the Scranton Area Community Foundation at 570-347-6203.