Aquinas-Landmark-Winter-2021

school’s endowment grew from $3 million to over $22 million. Mike was instrumental in creating a vision that would inspire donors to help transformAquinas’ historic building into a modern campus for 21st century learners. He oversaw the full renovation to the building and grounds. Mike’s business acumen and growth mindset led to the addition of the Aquinas middle school in 2008, and a partnership with the Sisters of Saint Joseph in 2010. Along with changes in administration and staffing, and revised curriculum standards, Mike’s leadership positioned Aquinas to be successful for years to come. He retired as president of Aquinas in 2020. THERESA A. CONROY ROSS, ESQ. Meritorious Service Terri is the proud mother of two Aquinas graduates – Ethan Ross (2009) and Caroline Ross (2016), and the proud aunt of Benjamin Conroy (2013) andThomas Conroy (2015). In 2006, Terri joined the Aquinas Institute Board of Trustees with the desire to utilize her professional expertise in service to Aquinas. Since then, she has served as a committee chair, Vice Chair of the Board, and Chair of the Board. Terri and her husband, Raymond Ross, created a scholarship fund in 2006, and are honored to help Aquinas students access the life-changing academic rigor, purpose, community, and enrichment Aquinas provides. Professionally, Terri began her legal career in Harter Secrest & Emery’s (HSE) Rochester office and has been an HSE partner for almost 20 years. In addition to practicing law in the areas of labor and employment and higher education, Terri leads HSE’s Higher Education Practice Group, and serves her firm in many additional roles. Terri has been selected by her peers for inclusion inThe Best Lawyers in America© (Labor Law - Management), named byThe Daily Record as one of Rochester’s Attorneys of the Year (2016), received the Top Women in Law Award fromThe Daily Record (2013), and has been named to the Upstate New York Super Lawyers list (Schools & Education, 2012-2021). Along with her service to Aquinas, Terri currently serves as Vice Chair of the SUNY Brockport Foundation Board of Directors and has served on the boards of Community Place of Greater Rochester, Family Services of Rochester, GevaTheatre Center, Greece Montessori School, and Rochester Civic Garden Center. THE O’DONNELL FAMILY Family Our journey to Aquinas began in 1955 when our parents Joseph and Mary Ann moved fromWilkes-Barre, PA to Rochester, NY where our father would begin a 36-year career with Eastman Kodak. We are a blessed family of seven children raised on Old Ivy Circle in the Town of Chili. Old Ivy was not just a street, but a place where 2021 INDUCTEES EDWARD J. FIORENTINO ’76 Distinguished Career Ed has dedicated his entire professional career to the healthcare industry and has founded three pharmaceutical companies. All three companies were built in partnership with GTCR, a leading Chicago based private equity firm. Previously, Ed was a senior executive and corporate officer at Abbott. Ed’s first startup and successful build of a company was Actient Pharmaceuticals, a urology specialty therapeutics company. Over a four-year period, Actient was built from startup with no assets to a significant, rapidly growing company, and subsequently sold to Auxilium Pharmaceuticals. Following this, Ed started Crealta Pharmaceuticals, a rheumatology-focused company which was sold to Horizon Pharmaceuticals in 2016. Ed currently serves as Chairman and CEO of TerSeraTherapeutics. TerSera researches and markets products in oncology and non- opioid pain. Ed also serves on the Board of Senseonics, a publicly traded diabetes technology company; Clearbrook, a leading provider of services for people with disabilities; and the Aquinas Institute. He has previously served on numerous other company, industry and not-for-profit Boards. He is a prior recipient of the iBIO Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, the University of Illinois at Chicago Entrepreneurship Lifetime Achievement Award, the Illinois Venture Capital Association Company of the Year award, the GTCR Leadership award, and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) Man of the Year award. Ed has thoroughly enjoyed his career in healthcare. He is greatly motivated by bringing important medicines to market which can change or save lives. His philanthropic interests include organizations which serve people with disabilities, especially autism, as well as Catholic educational and religious organizations. MICHAEL R. DALEY ’79 Meritorious Service After graduating in 1983 from the University of Dayton, Mike began a 15-year career at ACC Corp, a public telecommunications Company headquartered in Rochester. His role and responsibilities with ACC Corp grew quickly until ultimately he became Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. In 1997, Mike negotiated the sale of the company to Teleport Communications Group, Inc. for over $1 billion. FromNovember 1999 through May 2002, Mike was the Executive Vice President and CFO of Mpower Communications, Inc. During his tenure, Mike helped raise nearly $1 billion from equity, debt, and convertible securities to finance a national expansion plan. In May 2002, Mike joined the Aquinas Board of Trustees and soon after, left Mpower to return to his alma mater. In 2002 he officially became president of The Aquinas Institute. During his 17-year career as president, Mike worked closely with the school’s board, alumni, and leadership team to raise over $50 million for capital improvements, advancements in technology, and to strengthen the school’s financial position. Under his leadership, the 22 AQUINAS LANDMARK | WINTER 2021 A lumni N ews