ALUMNI NEWS

LOUDONVILLE, NY – The Rev. Kenneth P. Paulli, OFM, Ed.D., who graduated from John F. Kennedy Catholic High School in 1978, has been appointed executive assistant to the president of Siena College.

 

Fr. Paulli will assist the president on all matters within the upstate New York college, with special attention to the mission of advancing Siena’s Franciscan and Catholic traditions.

 

“As an alumnus, a tenured faculty member, and a former chair of the Education Department, Fr. Ken brings a wealth of talent and commitment to this new task,” said Rev. Kevin J. Mullen, OFM, president.

 

Fr. Paulli will continue to serve on the faculty of Siena’s nationally accredited teacher education program: whose quality participants are in great demand.  Two Siena alumni have received Teacher of the Year awards from the New York State Board of Regents: an honor unmatched by other institutions.

 

Originally from Westchester County (Bedford and South Salem, N.Y.), Paulli graduated from Siena College in 1982 with a bachelor’s of science degree in marketing and management.  His experience included an internship with CDPHP.  “I learned on-the-job skills,” said Paulli, “and the experience also underscored for me the importance of partnerships between businesses and schools.”

 

Siena was more than just business, or science or liberal arts.  “It was a very special place,” said Paulli, “for discovering the many ways people respond to St. Francis of Assisi.  The dean of the School of Business was Fr. Blaise Reinhart.  I had Kevin Mackin for a religious studies course, Evan Roche for ethics, and there were friars in residence and a vocation program.  That was my first contact with the Franciscans.”

 

After graduation, Paulli taught high school, then joined the Franciscan order, earned a master’s in theology from the Washington Theological Union, and was ordained a priest.

 

He served in parishes in Connecticut and New Jersey, and then received his doctoral degree from Columbia University’s Religion & Education program.  His dissertation, which examined religious rituals through an education lens, focused on the theory of multiple intelligences.  “Liturgies, religious rituals, are able to simultaneously engage multiple senses.  Words, whether spoken or written, are not the only means by which students become engaged in learning.  You can’t just lecture and hope that all the students will learn.”

 

Paulli joined the Siena College faculty in 1999, and has enjoyed teaching both introductory and senior level courses in the education department.

 

As chair of the department, he recently accepted an award of appreciation from the statewide association of “Advocacy for Gifted and Talented Education.”  On November 17, he received a TrustCo Bank Award for Excellence.

 

In addition to Fr. Paulli’s ministries of teaching, research, writing, and administrative leadership, he has given numerous parish missions in the United States and Canada, and retreats for religious communities.  He also shares his gifts as a presider and preacher on a regular basis with nearby parishes.