FAIRFIELD, Conn.—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.
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 at www.sacredheart.edu/pioneergala.
About Sacred Heart University
As the second-largest Catholic university in New England, and one of the fastest-growing private doctoral institutions in the U.S., Sacred Heart University is a national leader in shaping higher education for the 21st century. SHU offers more than 100 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs on its Fairfield, Conn., campus. Sacred Heart also has a campus in Dingle, Ireland, and offers online programs. More than 10,000 students attend the University’s eight colleges and schools: College of Arts & Sciences; School of Communication, Media & the Arts; School of Social Work; School of Computer Science & Engineering; College of Health Professions; the Isabelle Farrington College of Education & Human Development; the Jack Welch College of Business & Technology and the Dr. Susan L. Davis, R.N., & Richard J. Henley College of Nursing. Sacred Heart, a Laudato Si’ campus, stands out from other Catholic institutions as it was established and led by laity. The contemporary Catholic university is rooted in the rich Catholic intellectual tradition and the liberal arts, and at the same time cultivates students to be forward thinkers who enact change—in their own lives, professions and in their communities. The Princeton Review includes SHU in its Best 390 Colleges: 2025 Edition, and Best Business Schools: 2024 Edition. Sacred Heart is home to the award-winning, NPR-affiliate station, WSHU Public Radio, a Division I athletics program and an impressive performing arts program that includes choir, band, dance and theatre. www.sacredheart.edu