President of NCAA, Wells Fargo VP Take Center Stage at Gala

Premier fundraiser for student scholarships recognizes achievements of alum and SHU supporters

Sacred Heart University will honor Charlie Baker and John Vazquez MBA ’93 at this year’s Pioneer Scholarship Gala. The night of celebration will also serve as an opportunity to raise funds for student scholarships.

The event will take place April 26 at the University’s state-of-the-art Martire Family Arena.

Charlie Baker: leader on several fronts

Charlie Baker is the former governor of Massachusetts and current president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). During his time in office, Baker was consistently ranked as the most popular governor in America. He is credited with bringing bipartisan leadership to the state and successfully guiding Massachusetts through exceptionally turbulent periods.

In his time with the NCAA, Baker, an alum of Harvard and Northwestern universities, has set out to improve the student-athlete experience and make collegiate sports a more polished industry.

He views college sports as a uniquely American treasure, providing unmatched opportunities for young people to access higher education and serving as one of the greatest human development programs in the world. He is committed to ensuring that college sports become safer and more enriching.

John Vazquez: brilliant businessman

John Vazquez is the executive vice president and global head of real estate for Wells Fargo. He oversees a vast 60+ million-square-foot portfolio, including 5,000 branches and a 600-member real estate team. A natural-born leader, Vazquez ensures the success of all aspects of the corporate workplace and retail branch management, property operations, multi-billion-dollar project management services and portfolio strategy.

Vazquez earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Manhattan College and an MBA from Sacred Heart University. Since graduating, he has gone on to hold high-ranking positions in corporate real estate, occupying leadership posts at Paramount Pictures/CBS, Verizon, MetLife, JPMorgan Chase and IBM.

Outside of work, Vazquez is a dedicated community servant and frequently devotes time to helping others. He is deeply involved with Sacred Heart University as chairman of the board of trustees, and he actively supports youth and professional development programs, including Education Through Music and Special Olympics.

David Price will serve as the gala’s master of ceremonies. Price is currently the weather anchor on WNBC in New York. Prior to that, he co-anchored Fox 5’s Good Day New York and served as a weather anchor for CBS’s The Early Show. Price has covered major weather events, such as Hurricane Katrina, for the CBS Evening News.

To learn more about the event or to participate, visit the gala webpage.