The Seton Hall Sesquicentennial Campaign has much in common with a must-win game: an aggressive goal, a strategy for success and inspired leadership - the willingness to take the first, and sometimes biggest, steps to spur others into action.

When the Ever Forward campaign quietly began four years ago, individuals who have long championed, and embodied, Seton Hall’s commitment to servant leadership immediately filled the Campaign Leadership Committee’s ranks: chair – Thomas J. Sharkey ’54; co-chairs – Robert E. Baldini ’53, Kurt T. Borowsky ’61, Gerald P. Buccino ’63 and Philip Shannon; and vice chairs – Charles Alberto ’55, Lawrence E. Bathgate, Patrick Murray ’64, Bruce Tomason ’69, Robert Wussler ’57, Joseph LaSala, J.D. ’72, David Gerstein ’59 and Richard Mahmarian, M.B.A. ’68.

Together the committee chairpersons have contributed a hefty $17 million-plus -more than 11 percent of the campaign’s $150 million goal. But their individual contribution to the overall team effort is priceless.

“My heart-felt appreciation goes out to our campaign leaders who give so much of themselves. They encourage others to support the dreams of our students and the vision of our great institution in its mission to educate and train the next generation of servant leaders,” says Monsignor Robert Sheeran ’67, University president. “Their tireless efforts will help to keep Seton Hall strong and vibrant for the future.”

As for the campaign’s success thus far, co-chair Buccino put it best: “I think it’s very positive, even though the goal in front of us is still quite large.

I know we’re at approximately $100 million, with about $50 million to go and we’ve got a couple of years to do that.”

In the following short stories, five campaign leaders reflect on their success as a team, the importance of the campaign and alumni support.

The Coach: Thomas J. Sharkey, Chair

“They needed a chair,” replied Sharkey when asked why he accepted this key role at the time of the Ever Forward campaign inaugural.

That simple statement didn’t convey what Sharkey -president and chief executive officer of Banc of America Corporate Insurance Agency LLC, one of the nation’s leading insurance and benefits brokerage firms that handles more than $1 billion of premiums annually -was prepared to do to ensure the success of Seton Hall’s campaign.

Sharkey personally interviewed Seton Hall deans to learn their priorities and says that “they were very focused on what was necessary financially to bring their school up to the next level.

“Their enthusiasm, focus and intensity say to me that they believe in the mission and believe in the administration,” Sharkey says. “That has prompted me to work as hard as I can. It has made me aware of our significant potential if we’re successful with the campaign.”

Taking the lead, Sharkey and his wife Ruth contributed $3.6 million to the campaign to establish a Professorship, Honors Program, Visiting Diplomat, a Center for Sports Polling, Endowed Scholarships for Arts and Science Undergraduates, and the Richie and Sue Regan Endowed Fund for Athletics.

Immersed these days in meetings with Monsignor Sheeran; members of the Board of Regents, University Advisory Council and President’s Advisory Council; and major potential contributors, Sharkey says the enthusiastic response he has encountered is a source of “significant satisfaction.”

In addition to their immediate support, Sharkey points out that members of the various boards and councils have made gifts from their estates and have devoted a “tremendous amount of personal time to the campaign.” Their efforts have been valuable in helping Seton Hall to not only reconnect with alumni, but also to establish new alliances, he says.

Sharkey, who also serves as vice chair of the Board of Regents, says that Seton Hall has made significant progress over the last 20 years, “despite problems and heartache, for example, the [Boland] fire and death of a chancellor.” (Father Thomas R. Peterson, O.P. passed away in 2000.)

Alumni involvement has also been a crucial component of that progress. “There are a lot of institutions receiving financial aid that can go to the state and get money whenever it’s needed,” he says. “We can’t do that. Seton Hall is a tuition-driven school.

“One of the most important things that every alumnus and alumna must understand is that most of the foundations that grant funds take into consideration not so much the amount contributed by the alumni, but they focus very strongly on the percentage of alumni giving. So while alumni might not feel that their gift is critically important, their gift is absolutely important because it improves our percentage, and this is critical for us to get foundation and corporate gifts,” Sharkey says.

The Recruiter: Kurt T. Borowsky, Co-Chair

Recruiting new Seton Hall supporters comes easy to Borowsky because he genuinely enjoys meeting people.  It’s a trait that serves him well as co-chair of the campaign.

“This role gives me the opportunity to meet many people, including alumni, who need to learn more about the exciting programs that exist today at Seton Hall and those that are planned for the future,” Borowsky says.

With the campaign’s goal in his sights, Borowsky is focusing on “potential donors’ objectives and sensitivities.”

“I like to find out what people could get excited about, and then, match them with the appropriate objective of the campaign,” says Borowsky, who serves as chair of the Board of Regents and has seen “many accomplishments for the benefit of Seton Hall students” during his 13 years on the board. He stresses: “More needs to be done.

“We have a very ambitious agenda going forward, however, we need the resources to accomplish these objectives,” says Borowsky. “I had to do my part to help generate the resources to accomplish these objectives.”

For their part, Kurt and Betsy Borowsky’s gift of $750,000 established the Pick Foundation Scholarship Fund for Undergraduate Students.  A fund that he says is “very special to our family.”

“I was the first member of my family to have the opportunity to achieve a college education,” he says. “When I established this scholarship fund, I wanted it to be available to similar first generation students.

“I fully appreciate the education that I received here at Seton Hall which has allowed me to achieve the various milestones in my life,” says Borowsky, who earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the Stillman School of Business and is chairman of Van Beuren Management Inc., a privately owned financial services firm.

“Today, we are providing educational opportunities to more than 10,000 students,” he says. “We need the help of Seton Hall alumni to provide additional scholarship support. Together, we can help make the road a little easier for these students as we move forward.”

The Playmaker: Gerald P. Buccino, Co-Chair

Buccino knows what it takes to facilitate success; not only his own, but also others’. As chairman and CEO of Buccino & Associates Inc., the firm that paved the way for the turnaround management profession, he has brought distressed companies back from the brink. While he is the ultimate playmaker, Buccino’s inspiration to serve as co-chair of the Ever Forward campaign isn’t based on his credentials. Like fellow members of the committee, his inspiration comes from the heart.

“Seton Hall is a very, very special place to us,” say Buccino. “We support Monsignor Sheeran, who has worked very hard as president for 10 years.

I think this campaign will be one of his lasting legacies here because of the things we are trying to do with this campaign, for not only the grounds, but for students.”

Buccino discovered a different playing field than he was accustomed to. “It’s always challenging to sit down and ask people for millions of dollars, and then see them sort of go blank for a while. It’s not something that I think we as regents, necessarily, have been trained to do.” In addition to his role as campaign co-chair, Buccino is also an Executive Committee member of the Board of Regents and chair of its Advancement Committee, and a member of the Board of Trustees.

While not trained as fundraisers, Buccino and the other campaign leaders were prepared and eager to take on the task. Buccino has been superbly effective in establishing relationships with corporations, foundations and individuals who have the potential to make sigificant gifts to Seton Hall.

Like many in his generation, Buccino came from a working class family. “I spent a good deal of my time in the evening division at Seton Hall University.”

Buccino refers to Seton Hall as “your first home, and then your second home if you move on.”  When he first arrived on campus as an undergraduate

in 1963, he was a veteran of the armed forces and married, with a two-year-old son. “I was not a 21-year-old kid coming out, and like many who did it my way, it was not easy,” he says.

Recalling the financial and other challenges, Buccino decided to do something to help gifted students through scholarship and mentoring.  His $1.5 million gift established the Buccino Endowed Scholarships for Undergraduate Students program.

“I am pleased to say that even those who have gone through our undergraduate program, have graduated, have gone on to law school, gone on for master’s degrees -I’m in touch with them still. I share family meals with them, I go to their weddings. So it’s a life-long relationship. That’s very gratifying.”

Naming and establishing a scholarship at Seton Hall was a very personal experience for Buccino on several levels.  “I feel strongly that my father gave me his name and this scholarship in many ways honors him.

“Seton Hall has helped me, and many, on the road to success that, frankly, I could have never ever envisioned 40 years ago, never.  And so I owe a great deal of the success I’ve had in life to all those things I learned at Seton Hall.  And I hope that everyone feels as strongly as I do about the importance of giving back to a place that gave us a start.”

The Goalkeeper: Robert E. Baldini, Co-Chair

“Catholicism was the center piece of our home when I was growing up. We didn’t have very much, but the one thing we always had was our faith,” says Baldini.

Inspired by his faith and his 56 years as a member of the Seton Hall University family, Baldini says his commitment to serve as co-chair of the Ever Forward campaign is a “labor of love.”

“Many of my fellow regents feel the same way,” says Baldini. “What we are doing is merely paying back to Seton Hall the wonderful opportunities it provided for us to achieve success.”

Focused on Seton Hall’s Catholic mission, Baldini and his wife Jean contributed $2.3 million to endow the Center for Catholic Studies, which will support related initiatives such as the Center for Vocation and Servant Leadership. 

Baldini made a significant commitment of his personal time more than 10 years ago when he became a member of the University’s Board of Regents.  “When you look around the campus and the progress we have made as a university over the past 10 years, it is very gratifying. Just look at our student body -the quality of our deans and faculty. There’s a lot to be proud of and it’s exciting to be part of it.

“The challenge has been in making the ‘right’ contacts with people (primarily decision makers) who can make a commitment to the campaign,” Baldini says. “I have focused on the pharmaceutical industry where I know devoted individuals who recognize the value in what Seton Hall offers.”

His goal is to spread the word and make numerous contacts within the pharmaceutical industry to “ensure they become aware of what Seton Hall is all about, particularly how our various schools, colleges and programs relate to the pharmaceutical industry.” Part of that includes sponsoring alumni meetings within each of the major companies, which

Baldini says is “having a tremendous impact.”

“There are hundreds of our alumni working in these pharmaceutical companies, and we are reaching out to both companies and alumni to be part of the Ever Forward campaign,” Baldini says.

Out of his personal goal to promote the University’s Catholic mission and his professional association with the pharmaceutical industry, Baldini facilitated a high-power, high-profile play for Seton Hall. On October 31, 2005, the Stillman School

of Business rang the closing bell at the NASDAQ Stock Market to commemorate the first anniversary of the School’s Center for Securities Trading and Analysis. As vice chairman for Kos Pharmaceuticals, Baldini urged the company to sponsor the event, which was broadcast on CNBC.

Whether it’s engaging the pharmaceutical industry and Wall Street or supporting Seton Hall’s mission, Baldini says, “Don’t leave it to the next guy! 

“It is vital that we get behind this campaign because it means so much to our students and the University’s future potential.  It’s amazing how many Seton Hall success stories there are out there: successful judges, lawyers, physicians, chemists, PhDs, CEOs and presidents of companies,” Baldini says. “We want to perpetuate these success stories, and provide the opportunities for all our students to achieve their dreams.” 

The Announcer: Philip Shannon, Co-Chair

From 1,000 miles away in Georgia, Shannon cheers on his Ever Forward campaign colleagues and the Seton Hall administration. While the distance limits his day-to-day involvement to a few times a year, a $3 million gift from Shannon and his wife Mary is attracting more people to the campus while shining a national and global spotlight on the University as the Ever Forward campaign unfolds.

“Vibrancy is a great word to describe the Seton Hall campus mood and climate,” Shannon notes. “Our students, faculty and administration all share in our common goals, some of which are represented in the expansion and renewal of our science building.”

The Shannons’ gift established the Philip and Mary Shannon Seton Hall Speaker Series and the Shannon Endowed Scholarships for Undergraduate Students from Southern States. The speaker series kicked off in 2002 with a lecture on “The Global Economy and Foreign Policy Since 9/11” by Thomas Friedman, foreign affairs columnist for The New York Times. In early 2004, the series’ election-year program featured four renowned presidential biographers and examined the role of values in shaping presidents and the presidency.

Shannon’s own belief system provides insights into how passionate he is about Seton Hall, the campaign and the series. A member of the University’s Board of Regents and founder and retired CEO of Online Financial Corporation in Dunwoody, Georgia, Shannon says, “Who I am and what I have accomplished can be traced to the education and moral direction I received from the Sisters of Saint Joseph, De La Salle Christian Brothers and Seton Hall priests.

“I could never equate my time and treasure ‘give backs’ with the value of the whole-person education and discipline inherent in a Seton Hall education.”

In calling on fellow alumni to consider Seton Hall their “higher education parentage,” Shannon notes,  “Alumni invested in my future by supporting Seton Hall during my years, thus its incumbent for me and all other alums to continue the tradition to assure our current and future students that Seton Hall will always be a shining light of higher Catholic education.”