Sacred Heart University’s Scholarship Dinner to Honor Cindi Bigelow and Robert Dilenschneider

FAIRFIELD, Conn.—Sacred Heart University will host its 22nd Annual Discovery Awards and Scholarship Dinner on Wednesday, April 27th, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Old Greenwich, Connecticut.

The special night honors notable individuals while raising funds for SHU’s Discovery Scholar Grants program, which provides a tuition-free education to low-income students in Fairfield County. The Discovery Scholar Grants, established in 2008, allow Sacred Heart University to make financial assistance available to SHU students who live in Fairfield County and have an annual family income below $50,000. The plan provides each qualified student with 100 percent tuition coverage.

This year’s honorees include Cindi Bigelow, president of R.C. Bigelow, based in Fairfield, Connecticut, and Robert Dilenschneider, the chairman and founder of the Dilenschneider Group, of New York.

Cindi Bigelow joined Bigelow Tea, the national market leader of specialty teas, in 1984 and became president in 2004. Founded in 1945 by her grandmother, Ruth Campbell Bigelow, the company remains 100 percent family owned and operated.

Fulfilling one of the company’s missions to be a “good corporate citizen,” Ms. Bigelow’s dedication to community programs remains tireless.  

The Annual Bigelow Tea Community Challenge, which she founded, has raised $600,000 since 1988 for local charities. She spearheaded the building and development in 1996 of Sandcastle Playground, a large, wooden village playground at Jennings Beach in Fairfield that took 2,500 volunteers and $150,000 to build.

Cindi Bigelow sponsored a Habitat for Humanity home in Bridgeport, entirely managed and built by women and volunteers each year on local building projects. She and her executive team work annually on the Kennedy Center’s Adopt-a-Home project.  She has served on the Bridgeport and Fairfield YMCA boards for eight years, sits on the board of the Bridgeport Regional Council and serves on the Bank of America Neighborhood Excellence Initiative Committee, devoted to the economic and social health of the community.

She spends countless hours in area school systems speaking with high school students, and provides guidance and insight to students at Sacred Heart and Fairfield Universities.

Robert L. Dilenschneider, a public relations professional for more than 40 years, is frequently called upon by the media to provide commentary and strategic public relations insights on major news stories. He has counseled top corporations, professional groups, trade associations and educational institutions, and has assisted clients in dealing with regulatory agencies, labor unions and consumer groups, among others.

In October 1991, he founded the Dilenschneider Group, which provides communication services, counsel and support in fields ranging from mergers and acquisitions and crisis communications to marketing, government affairs and international media.

Mr. Dilenschneider is widely published and the author of more than a dozen books, including A Briefing for Leaders, Moses: C.E.O., 50 Plus!—Critical Career Decisions for the Rest of Your Life, and his latest, the AMA Handbook of Public Relations. He is currently writing a book about notable second-in-commands and the role they have played throughout history.

In 2010, Mr. Dilenschneider was honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award for “a lifetime of extraordinary accomplishments in the field of communications” from the Ohio State University School of Communication. In recognition of his contribution in promoting New York City, he received the City’s Big Apple Award. In 2001, he received an honorary Doctorate of Public Service degree from Muskingum College. 

SHU’s Discovery Dinner invites the community to recognize and celebrate the gifts of caring and accomplished people—those who embody the tradition of the University in their lives. They represent a wide diversity of professions but hold in common a passion for excellence and a devotion to their fellow citizens. Each is truly an educator showing by example the inestimable value of learning, leadership and service.

Dave Price, who was the weather anchor for the CBS' "The Early Show" for 8 years and covered major weather events for the "CBS Evening News" will be the master of ceremonies for the evening. Event cochairs are Sacred Heart University Trustees Linda McMahon and Bill Mitchell.

The event begins with a reception at 6:00 p.m. followed by the dinner program at 7:00 p.m.

Over the past two decades, the Discovery Dinner has raised millions of dollars for student financial aid.

Sponsorship opportunities are available. Individual tickets are $500. Proceeds will benefit Sacred Heart University’s Discovery Scholar Grants for eligible Fairfield County students.

For more information and reservations, visit www.sacredheart.edu/discoverydinner.cfm or call 203-396-8086.

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 About Sacred Heart University
Sacred Heart University, the second-largest Catholic university in New England, offers more than 40 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs on its main campus in Fairfield, Connecticut, and satellites in Connecticut, Luxembourg and Ireland. More than 6,000 students attend the University’s four colleges: Arts & Sciences; Education & Health Professions; University College; and the AACSB-accredited John F. (Jack) Welch College of Business. The Princeton Review includes SHU in its guides “Best 373 Colleges: 2011,” “Best in the Northeast” and “Best 300 Business Schools: 2011.” U.S. News & World Report ranks SHU among the best master’s universities in the North in its annual “America’s Best Colleges” publication. As one of just 23 institutions nationally, SHU is a member of the Association of American Colleges & Universities’ (AAC&U) Core Commitments Leadership Consortium, in recognition of its core, “The Human Journey.” SHU fields 31 division I athletic teams, and has an award-winning program of community service. www.sacredheart.edu
 
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