Gloria Flach Gives the Keynote Address at the Rededication of the Donnelly Science Center at Loyola University Maryland
Gloria Flach
Corporate Vice President and President,
Northrop Grumman Enterprise Share Services
On Friday, September 30, 2011, Gloria Flach, Corporate Vice President and President of Northrop Grumman Enterprise Shared Services, gave the keynote address at the rededication ceremony of the Donnelly Science Center at Loyola University Maryland. Below are her remarks.
Keynote Address
I am truly honored to join my fellow science alumni and other friends of Loyola for this rededication ceremony.
Let me begin with a quote from one of my favorite poets, Maya Angelou. "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."
This renovated facility takes my breath away.
Remarkable changes have come to Loyola since I was a student nearly 30 years ago. But one thing has not changed: Loyola’s dedication to educating "the whole person"; shaping men and women of vision; growing leaders; and instilling intellectual curiosity, agility and spiritual strength.
Currently, Northrop Grumman employs more than 400 Loyola graduates. We have more than 100 employees who are the parents of Loyola students.
In addition, Northrop Grumman has senior technical leaders as members on the Advisory Board, Natural Sciences Board, the Engineering Board and the Information Sciences & Operations Management Board.
Why are industry technical leaders attracted to this University? Because Loyola’s strategic focus includes the enhancement and enrichment of its programs in the natural sciences.
The renovation of the Donnelly Science Center celebrated through this rededication is a real and wonderful reflection of Loyola’s commitment to that focus.
This is truly a milestone in the history of Loyola.
Looking back 30 years since I was student – for those students in the audience – the dreaded, “When I was your age…”
Father Joseph Sellinger was president of Loyola, and the Donnelly Science Center was new. At that time, we were excited just to have elevators.
My introduction to Computer Science came with punch cards and FORTRAN. My program assignments were an adventure. I would first write the program by hand in pencil in a black copybook, then I would copy the instructions onto punched cards through a large machine called a keypunch.
I would submit the program through the computer center in Donnelly in the form of a deck of punched cards. Then I would wait for a few hours for the program to be read in, compiled and executed. A printout of my results would often be a number of error messages, requiring yet another pencil-punch-compile-run cycle – until the wee hours of the morning when I would finally get a clean run.
What a difference today, where software engineers develop their code within advanced object-oriented development environments – from virtual connections on their mobile device of choice.
The world of science, technology, engineering and math has literally exploded within my lifetime. Looking even farther back, the top engineering accomplishments of the 20th century, according to the National Academy of Engineering, include:
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The automobile;
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The airplane;
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Electronics;
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Radio and Television;
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Computers;
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The telephone;
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Spacecraft;
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The Internet;
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Imaging;
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Laser and Fiber Optics; and
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Nuclear Technologies.
It’s hard to imagine what life was like at the beginning of the last century, and it’s exciting to imagine what advances await us in the 21st century.
This Donnelly Science Center is a facility that will inspire minds to innovate and to contribute in ways we have yet to imagine. Think about the endless possibilities for the students who use these beautiful classrooms, robotics facilities, and labs.
The role of the new facility is clear. The Donnelly Science Center is a place for all students to experience directly the leading edge within their disciplines or to appreciate the impact of scientific and technical knowledge in all fields.
As so, let me end with an equation: Take the power of one facility and multiply it by the many minds that will experience its offerings, and it will equal the extraordinary.
Congratulations to the University for this Outstanding Facility.
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