SHU Dedicates Learning & Health Centers to Sheila & Maureen Hamilton

FAIRFIELD, Conn.—In recognition of Brian Hamilton’s service and support, Sacred Heart University will be naming two facilities—its Student Success Center and Wellness Center—in memory of his mother, Sheila Hamilton, and his former wife, Maureen Hamilton (Sacred Heart University graduate, 1984), respectively. The dedications are taking place in a private ceremony on November 10 on the Sacred Heart University campus, beginning at 5 p.m. The ceremony is closed to the public.

Hamilton is a SHU graduate and a member of the University Board of Trustees. He is founder and chairman of Sageworks, a software and information company based in North Carolina. He and his co-founder are the original architects of an artificial intelligence technology platform used by thousands of financial institutions and accounting firms across North America, and he continues to lead product development at the company today. The original Sageworks technology converts financial statements into plain language narratives, reflecting Hamilton's professional mission—to demystify complex financial information for business owners, financial professionals, academics and the general public.

The Student Success Center focuses on enhancing student learning, testing and achievement. It includes the Center for Teaching and Learning, which provides students with tutoring for their academic programs and supports students who need specific help with learning. It also contains a literacy laboratory for tutoring children in the Bridgeport Public School system. Hamilton says he chose to name the Student Success Center after his mother, Sheila, a native of Stratford, in thanks for her commitment to his education and the role she played in his success. Hamilton was the first child in his family to attend college. He said his parents, the children of immigrants, embraced the immigrant mentality of pushing their children to have a better life than theirs and to appreciate the value of hard work and self-determination. He credits his mother for his entrepreneurial pursuits and drive.

Hamilton chose to name the Wellness center after his deceased wife, Maureen, also a Sacred Heart University graduate. Maureen, who grew up in Willingboro, N.J., was a social worker especially focused on the welfare of children, Hamilton said. She enjoyed helping families with adoption services and working with foster children. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business from SHU, a master’s degree in finance from Fairfield University and her MSW from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

“Brian Hamilton is a respected contributor to our University through his ongoing efforts, support and dedication,” said John J. Petillo, president, Sacred Heart University. “He is the perfect example of what we strive for in our graduates—someone who has embraced the SHU philosophies of service, community and caring, and who took the learning he received on our campus and applied it creatively, strategically and philosophically, with great integrity and purpose. We are delighted to see our new facilities bear the Hamilton name.”

Hamilton graduated summa cum laude from SHU’s School of Business in 1987 with a bachelor’s degree. A Milford native, he later attended Duke University, where he earned his MBA. While at Sacred Heart, Hamilton was student government president and a member of the debate team. He also served as an intern for Thomas Melady, then-president of SHU, who later moved to Washington, D.C., to become U.S. Ambassador to Burundi, to Uganda and then to The Holy See. Hamilton also is the founder of Inmates to Entrepreneurs, a community outreach organization focused on teaching ex-offenders to start low-capital businesses.

“I’m happy to be part of Sacred Heart University, which has never forgotten its mission of caring, service and academic excellence,” Hamilton said. “SHU opened up a world I didn’t know existed. I had fabulous professors in disciplines like philosophy, history and politics who taught me about respect, compassion and how to think in a more worldly and open-minded fashion. We really felt like we were building something special and that we were part of a growing, evolving entity that truly had a positive impact. That impact was felt by my peers and me and thousands of future students. I always felt personally aligned with the SHU mission, and it helped sow the seeds of my entrepreneurial successes.”

To download photos of Sheila and Maureen Hamilton and the buildings that are being named in their honor, visit:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/i5nhmp0pk4vbcc8/AADOi34skkizGtbEmPLNux2Sa?dl=0

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About Sacred Heart University

Sacred Heart University, the second-largest independent Catholic university in New England, offers more than 70 undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs on its main campus in Fairfield, Conn., and satellites in Connecticut, Luxembourg and Ireland. More than 8,500 students attend the University’s five colleges: Arts & Sciences; Health Professions; Nursing; the Jack Welch College of Business; and the Isabelle Farrington College of Education. The Princeton Review includes SHU in its guides, Best 382 Colleges–2018 Edition, “Best in the Northeast” and Best 294 Business Schools–2017 Edition. It also placed SHU on its lists for “Best College Theater” and “Most Engaged in Community Service,” each of which comprises only 20 U.S. schools. U.S.News & World Report ranks SHU in its Best Colleges 2018guidebook and ranks SHU the fourth “Most Innovative School” in the North. The Chronicle of Higher Education also names SHU one of the fastest-growing Roman Catholic universities in its 2016 almanac. Sacred Heart fields 32 Division I athletic teams and has an award-winning program of community service. www.sacredheart.edu