On December 4, the Fairfield Bellarmine associate’s degree program received a leadership and economic development award at the 2024 Annual Awards Gala of the Bridgeport Regional Business Council (BRBC), held at the Waterview in Monroe, Conn.
Named for a BRBC president and CEO who retired in 2016 after leading the council for 28 years, the Paul S. Timpanelli Leadership Award recognizes the impact that Fairfield Bellarmine — located on Bellarmine Campus at 460 Mill Hill Ave. in Bridgeport — is having in the East End neighborhood and celebrates Fairfield University’s shared vision to strengthen community through sustained partnerships in the Greater Bridgeport region and create intergenerational prosperity through a transformative, values-based education.
The two-year Fairfield Bellarmine program features a core curriculum in the humanities and sciences and major tracks in business, computer science, health studies, and liberal arts. Upon graduation, many Bellarmine students plan to transition into bachelor’s degree programs while others will seek meaningful employment.
Rev. Kevin O’Brien, S.J., executive director and vice provost of Fairfield Bellarmine, accepted the Paul S. Timpanelli Leadership Award on behalf of Bellarmine’s faculty, staff, and students. In his remarks, Fr. O’Brien spoke of Fairfield University’s decision to open Bellarmine Campus in the East End of Bridgeport. He expressed his gratitude for the welcome he and his colleagues have received “from those on the East End and in the Mill Hill neighborhood.”
“We have revitalized, with the help of the Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport, the old St. Ambrose parish and we feel very much at home there,” said Fr. O’Brien. “We look forward to being in the neighborhood for a very, very long time.”