Antoinette Iadarola
President
Cabrini College
610 King of Prussia Road
Radnor, PA 19807

February 21, 2005

Dear Dr. Iadarola,

I am disheartened to be writing this letter regarding your unceremonious dismissal of men’s basketball coach John Dzik. I am a 1999 graduate of the College and had the distinct pleasure of spending my four-year tenure at Cabrini working for Coach Dzik as a manager of the men’s and women’s basketball teams. The relationship I had with Coach Dzik may not have been as personal as those he held with his athletes, but the impression he made on my life is everlasting.

During my time at Cabrini, I was given an opportunity to learn from a man who exemplified the core values that Cabrini claims to stand for: respect, community, vision, and dedication to excellence. John Dzik taught his athletes both respect for themselves as well as others. He was an integral part of the campus community, a man who organized a benefit for a former employee who was suffering from a terminal illness. His vision helped to bring about the construction of the state of the art sports building that you so proudly tout to prospective students. And his dedication to excellence is so well known that you yourself have written of his success in your responses to letters such as this. And those are only the successes he’s attained on the court. Let us not forget the successes of the athletes and students, myself included, who have become better people for having known this man.

Yet, your administration claims that John Dzik does not fit the school or the athletic department’s “agenda” for the future? If this is true, I shudder to think what kind of agenda is in store for both the College and its athletics department. Once a proud alumnus of Cabrini, I am ashamed to be associated with a college that would treat a loyal member of its staff in such a manner.

With this in mind, I would like to ask the College to remove my name from all mailings and solicitations immediately. And I wish you a better outcome than Coach Dzik has received when your contract comes to a close.

Sincerely,

Kelly A. Gallagher, M.Ed.

Class of 1999