Making the decision to move from the Council of Regents to the Board of Trustees of Felician University was an easy one for Marilyn Scalo. In fact, she got a good feeling about Felician the first time she came to an event on campus and had the chance to meet some students. “Their determination and pride in what they’re doing just hooked me right from the very first occasion and I became a fan.”

Marilyn was born and raised in Lodi where Felician has one of its two campuses, but she is not a Felician alumna. She was introduced to the Felician family by her husband Phil Scalo, who serves on the Advisory Board for the Institute for Gerontology at Felician. Phil is founder and CEO of Bartley Healthcare which operates an assisted living nursing home in Jackson Township. The Scalo Family has donated generously to Felician University in the establishment of two endowed scholarships including the Bartley Healthcare Nursing Scholarship and the Bartley Healthcare/Scalo family Nursing Scholarship.

Marilyn herself is a retired licensed speech pathologist who now sits on the board and volunteers her time as an instructor with Heeling Friends in Steamboat Springs Colorado where she evaluates and trains therapy dogs. The Scalos spilt their time and civic efforts between New Jersey and Colorado. The COVID-19 pandemic has taken quite a toll on the work of both Marilyn and her husband as nursing homes and assisted living facilities have been hard hit by the virus and many places are now in a holding pattern when it comes to the use of service animals. Marilyn looks forward to when therapy dogs will once again be able to do their magic and give much needed comfort and support. “It’s amazing to watch them work and what they do,” she says adding, “many of the dogs are intuitive and there’s all kinds of research showing that when someone pets an animal their heart rate and anxiety is reduced.”

As for her connection to Felician University she especially likes how the university works with first generation as well as returning students to help them achieve and thrive in the academic environment. “I’m learning more and more about Felician as I go along, and each time that I learn something, I sit back and say, yes, this is why I am here and why I am doing this- it speaks to my heart. I am not always involved with all the things that my husband gets involved in, but Felician was one of them and I really liked it. Moving forward I would love to continue to help Felician University in whatever capacity I can.”