| |  | | MEET OUR HONOREERS Deborah Norville
Born in Dalton, Georgia, Deborah Norville is an American television broadcaster and journalist. Since 1995, she has been host of the syndicated American television program, Inside Edition. She joined Inside Edition, from CBS News, where she anchored America Tonight and reported for 48 Hours, Street Stories and CBS Evening News. She was earlier the co-anchor for NBC's Today Show, having joined NBC as anchor of NBC News at Sunrise. Norville was awarded a Gracie Award from American Women in Radio and Television and an award from the National Women's Political Caucus. Norville was also recently the host of Deborah Norville Tonight on the MSNBC Cable network. She is a cum laude graduate of the University of Georgia with a BA in Journalism where her professional career began, as a reporter and anchor for WAGA-TV in Atlanta. Norville is the author of several books, Thank You Power: Making the Science of Gratitude Work for You; Back on Track: How To Straighten Out Your Life When It Throws You A Curve; I Don't Want To Sleep Tonight; and I Can Fly. She has served on the Board of Directors for the Girl Scout Council of Greater New York, Broadcasters Foundation, Steering Committee for the Rita Hayworth (Alzheimer's) Gala, Women's Committee for Central Park Conservancy and has been National Celebrity Spokesperson for the Mother's March of Dimes. She is married and the mother of two sons and a daughter. John Ratzenberger
A Bridgeport native, John Ratzenberger is one of television’s most successful and well-known stars. He is a screenwriter, director, producer and multi-Emmy nominated actor, who initially captured the attention of the general public when he played mail carrier Clifford Clavin on Cheers. His acting credits include 47 productions and an additional 22 notable television appearances. He earned outstanding supporting actor Emmy (1985-1986) nominations. He is the only actor to voice a role in all of the Pixar films. In addition to acting, he finds time to run his own production company, Fiddlers Bay Productions. Despite his Hollywood fame, Ratzenberger is still connected to his roots, actively participating in Bridgeport-area events. In recent years, he has filmed footage in Bridgeport and Stratford for his latest television show, John Ratzenberger's Made in America. In 2007 he led the Barnum Festival Great Street Parade in downtown Bridgeport as honorary grand marshal. He also performed at the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport with the touring production of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. Outside the entertainment industry, his love and respect for nature and the environment influenced his business interests. He founded Eco-pack Industries, Inc. to produce packaging alternatives to existing products that are toxic to our environment. As a humanitarian, he chairs the world's largest Internet venture connecting diabetes information and research. As National Walk Chairman, he has raised over $100 million for diabetes. He is a Trustee of his alma mater, Sacred Heart University, where he earned a Doctorate of Humane Letters in 1992 for his contribution to the American arts. Dr. Anthony J. Cernera
Anthony J. Cernera has led Sacred Heart University since 1988, helping to transform a small commuter college into the second-largest Catholic university in New England. Undergraduate enrollment has more than doubled during his tenure and the University has implemented more than a dozen academic initiatives and now offers 43 degrees. During his tenure, the University has achieved 19 straight years of balanced budgets, and the overall endowment is now more than $70 million. Dr. Cernera initiated residential life in 1990, leading to the construction of 10 residence halls. Infrastructure investment during his presidency has exceeded $130 million. At present, construction is well underway on a 500-seat Chapel at the center of the main campus. Dr. Cernera earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from Fordham University. He remains active in theology, in which he earned his Ph.D., and teaches courses in Religious Studies each semester as a tenured professor. He has edited a number of significant books in his discipline and has also written for such publications as America and Momentum magazines. Active at the state, national and global levels in higher education, he was elected in 2006 as only the second lay president in the history of the International Federation of Catholic Universities, after six years as a vice president. He is also a board member of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, and he is a past chairman of the Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges.
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