SALEM — Salem State University’s Center for Civic Engagement inducted six members into its Civic Engagement Hall of Fame on Monday.
The inductees are undergraduate student Kimberly Barboza, graduate student Fillette Lovaincy, professor of biology Joseph Buttner, marketing and creative services graphic designer Susan McCarthy, alumna Debra Lee Surface, and alumna Edna Mauriello. Mauriello was a longtime faculty member and administrator at Salem State, who was posthumously honored.
The induction ceremony, at Bambolina on Derby Street in Salem, is an annual event that recognizes individuals’ commitment to improving their communities.
Surface serves on a number of boards and committees throughout the North Shore, including the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, the Development Committee, and the organization A Bed for Every Child Program. Surface received a bachelor’s degree from Salem State in 2005 and is receiving a Master of Business Administration from the university next month. She is the vice president of administration within Salem State’s Alumni Board of Directors.
Mauriello, Ph.D., of Swampscott, taught illiterate soldiers how to read during World War II and was a research assistant for the neurosurgeon who developed methods of treating aphasia, loss of ability to understand or express speech, caused by brain damage, in soldiers returning from the battlefield. After graduating from Salem State, Mauriello became professor of education at the university and also served as dean of students. At Salem State, she founded the Counseling Center and co-founded Project Cope, a community outreach program that supported the rehabilitation of people struggling with addiction.
McCarthy, of Nahant, began her career at Salem State as a graphic designer in 1986 and now works within the university’s marketing and creative services. She became a member of the Board of Directors of the Lynn Cancer Association in 2008 and has helped the association transform into the Boston North Cancer Association by redesigning the organization’s logo and executing rebranding efforts. McCarthy has served as the organization’s vice president and is now president.
Buttner, Ph.D., Salem State biology professor, has been involved in the aquatic science field for nearly four decades as a faculty member and researcher focusing on sustainable aquaculture. Buttner is an outreach specialist for the Cat Cove Marine Laboratory and coordinator for the Northeastern Massachusetts Aquaculture Center at Salem State. As a lifetime member of the American Fisheries Society and a charter member of the East Coast Shellfish Growers Association, Buttner has authored and co-authored more than 90 peer-reviewed articles and has secured more than $200 million in funding used to support students and research.
Barboza is graduating next month with a degree in political science. Barboza is a member of the Commonwealth Honors Program and president of both the Florence Luscomb Women’s Center and Admissions Ambassadors Program. During her academic career at Salem State, she has developed programming around gender equity, reproductive justice, racial justice, and disability advocacy. Barboza has been an intern for MASSPIRG and worked as an intern for U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren assisting staff in research, publications, and servicing Massachusetts residents.
Lovaincy studies higher education in the Student Affairs graduate program at Salem State and is graduating next month. Lovaincy participates on campus in many organizations including the Leadership, Engagement, Advocacy and Diversity (LEAD) office, the Charlotte Forten Committee, where she helps keep Forten’s legacy alive, and the Bold Educated Empowered Sisters (BEES) program where she serves as coordinator. Lovaincy’s Civic Engagement Hall of Fame community partner is Girls Inc. of Lynn.
