By JP Pelzman
Jon Paparsenos understands why the proposed basketball practice facility and the renovation of the University Center will be important for Seton Hall.
As the school’s Vice President, University Advancement, Paparsenos knows all about the difference top-notch facilities can make, whether one is recruiting potential students, student-athletes or donors.
Paparsenos originally came to Seton Hall as an undergraduate, he said, through “a little bit of luck and a little serendipity” in the mid-1990s.
He grew up in Greece and was a competitive swimmer. He wanted to go to college in the New Jersey/New York area because his mother was originally from Red Bank, and he looked at all the swimming programs in the tri-state area.
Paparsenos applied to Seton Hall and was accepted. The school didn’t have any available scholarships in his sport, so he walked on during his freshman year, and then got a scholarship as a sophomore.
He came full circle 21 years after graduating in 1999 with a Bachelor of Arts, when he was hired by university President Dr. Joseph Nyre.
Paparsenos has embraced his role at his alma mater, and is excited that the school is embarking on the aforementioned projects, part of its strategic capital improvements plan called Harvest Our Treasures.
“It's game-changing,” he told PirateCrew. “That’s why the University Center is what it is--because Dr. Nyre and (Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff) Pat Lyons worked with the students to define exactly what they wanted in there, so they could do better academically and so they could get more connectivity with alums.”
Paparsenos indicated this is all part of “Dr. Nyre’s vision,” as Seton Hall continues to become even more of a globally and nationally renowned university.
Paparsenos noted that Nyre and the administration want more students to live on campus. “People will stay on campus if there is more stuff that can be done there,” Paparsenos said. “So how do you accomplish that? The University Center will do just that.”
As for the planned men’s basketball practice facility, Paparsenos said, “It not only helps with the program, but it also helps recruitment. And it will provide a little more space for other programs as well, including women’s basketball.”
Paparsenos also lauded the completion of such projects as Ora Manor and Turrell Manor, off-campus student apartment buildings run by the University.
“We want the neighborhood to thrive,” Paparsenos said, referring to South Orange, “but we’re also landlocked (within the campus gates). We can only go up.
“If we continue to do that, we’re going to need more and more space for our academics.”
Thus, the need to find off-campus solutions with the cooperation of South Orange.
“We need to be nimble like that,” he added. “We have to be adaptable.”
As for donations, he adds, “Last year was pretty good. And with Ida, a lot of donors have stepped up to support the families who have really been impacted by this, so students don’t have to drop out of their studies. More people are donating, which is great to see and we want to keep up that momentum.”
Again, for those who want to donate, Paparsenos recommends checking out the Seton Hall website at advancement.shu.edu/home and added that he and his team of approximately 40 people “would be happy at any time to have any conversation any alum would want to have about donating.”
Prior to coming home, Paparsenos held similar positions at Marquette, Cal Tech and New South Wales University in Australia.
“It gives you a lot of perspective,” he noted. “Basically, what I feel it has helped me do is give me an understanding that with difference places and different cultures, never assume anything (negative). Always assume good intent. … It gives you a lot of flexibility and adaptiveness and enables you to step back and think of the whole picture.”
He is happy to be back in New Jersey and at Seton Hall, where he and his wife Leslie, a physical therapist who also is a Seton Hall grad, first met.
Paparsenos said Leslie encountered what she thought was a mouse in her dorm room and asked him for some help. It turned out to be a hamster that had gotten loose.
Whatever the case, “I saved her from it,” he says now with a laugh.
Now he says, he has come “full circle” back to Seton Hall. And is making a difference once again.
Jon Paparsenos understands why the proposed basketball practice facility and the renovation of the University Center will be important for Seton Hall.
As the school’s Vice President, University Advancement, Paparsenos knows all about the difference top-notch facilities can make, whether one is recruiting potential students, student-athletes or donors.
Paparsenos originally came to Seton Hall as an undergraduate, he said, through “a little bit of luck and a little serendipity” in the mid-1990s.
He grew up in Greece and was a competitive swimmer. He wanted to go to college in the New Jersey/New York area because his mother was originally from Red Bank, and he looked at all the swimming programs in the tri-state area.
Paparsenos applied to Seton Hall and was accepted. The school didn’t have any available scholarships in his sport, so he walked on during his freshman year, and then got a scholarship as a sophomore.
He came full circle 21 years after graduating in 1999 with a Bachelor of Arts, when he was hired by university President Dr. Joseph Nyre.
Paparsenos has embraced his role at his alma mater, and is excited that the school is embarking on the aforementioned projects, part of its strategic capital improvements plan called Harvest Our Treasures.
“It's game-changing,” he told PirateCrew. “That’s why the University Center is what it is--because Dr. Nyre and (Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff) Pat Lyons worked with the students to define exactly what they wanted in there, so they could do better academically and so they could get more connectivity with alums.”
Paparsenos indicated this is all part of “Dr. Nyre’s vision,” as Seton Hall continues to become even more of a globally and nationally renowned university.
Paparsenos noted that Nyre and the administration want more students to live on campus. “People will stay on campus if there is more stuff that can be done there,” Paparsenos said. “So how do you accomplish that? The University Center will do just that.”
As for the planned men’s basketball practice facility, Paparsenos said, “It not only helps with the program, but it also helps recruitment. And it will provide a little more space for other programs as well, including women’s basketball.”
Paparsenos also lauded the completion of such projects as Ora Manor and Turrell Manor, off-campus student apartment buildings run by the University.
“We want the neighborhood to thrive,” Paparsenos said, referring to South Orange, “but we’re also landlocked (within the campus gates). We can only go up.
“If we continue to do that, we’re going to need more and more space for our academics.”
Thus, the need to find off-campus solutions with the cooperation of South Orange.
“We need to be nimble like that,” he added. “We have to be adaptable.”
As for donations, he adds, “Last year was pretty good. And with Ida, a lot of donors have stepped up to support the families who have really been impacted by this, so students don’t have to drop out of their studies. More people are donating, which is great to see and we want to keep up that momentum.”
Again, for those who want to donate, Paparsenos recommends checking out the Seton Hall website at advancement.shu.edu/home and added that he and his team of approximately 40 people “would be happy at any time to have any conversation any alum would want to have about donating.”
Prior to coming home, Paparsenos held similar positions at Marquette, Cal Tech and New South Wales University in Australia.
“It gives you a lot of perspective,” he noted. “Basically, what I feel it has helped me do is give me an understanding that with difference places and different cultures, never assume anything (negative). Always assume good intent. … It gives you a lot of flexibility and adaptiveness and enables you to step back and think of the whole picture.”
He is happy to be back in New Jersey and at Seton Hall, where he and his wife Leslie, a physical therapist who also is a Seton Hall grad, first met.
Paparsenos said Leslie encountered what she thought was a mouse in her dorm room and asked him for some help. It turned out to be a hamster that had gotten loose.
Whatever the case, “I saved her from it,” he says now with a laugh.
Now he says, he has come “full circle” back to Seton Hall. And is making a difference once again.
