February 2007 President's Update
Dear Bellarmine Community Members,
One of the many things I enjoy about doing this update
is having the opportunity to share with you a presidential perspective
of the University in all of its many aspects.
As I share this good news about our wonderful
Bellarmine faculty, students, staff, alumni, and guests, I hope that
it engenders in you as it does in me a tremendous sense of pride in the
great people of Bellarmine and in their great achievements and
progress, as well as a sense of amazement at all that we are
accomplishing.
Dr. Tegart Acting VP for Academic Affairs
It is my pleasure to announce that Dr. Doris Tegart
has been appointed Acting Vice President for Academic Affairs. Dr.
Tegart will serve in this position until the completion of a national
search for a permanent Vice President for Academic Affairs.
In the meantime, we are all very fortunate indeed to
be able to rely on Dr. Tegart with enthusiasm and confidence. Dr.
Tegart was a public school teacher and then a professor at four public
and private colleges and universities before coming to Bellarmine as an
assistant professor in Education and the Liberal Arts Core in 1994. A
tenured professor, she was the founding Dean of the School of
Education from 1995-1999, and was acting Vice President for Academic
Affairs in 1999. She has also served the university as Vice President
for Special Projects, founding Vice President for Enrollment
Management, and Vice President and Associate Provost. For the past four
years Dr. Tegart has been Vice President for Bellarmine University and
Executive Assistant to the President.
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Tegart on this
appointment and in thanking her for everything she has done, and will
do, for Bellarmine University as we embrace and pursue our Vision
2020, becoming the premier independent Catholic university in the
South.
New VP Enrollment – Sean Ryan
Please join me in welcoming Sean J. Ryan to the
Bellarmine community in the position of Vice President for Enrollment
Management. Mr. Ryan will oversee all aspects of student recruitment
and financial aid. He comes to Bellarmine from Daniel Webster College,
where he served as their chief enrollment officer. Under his guidance,
the Nashua, N.H., school experienced a 40 percent increase in new
student enrollment. Ryan holds a bachelor’s degree in business
administration from St. Anselm and a master’s degree in professional
and organizational communication from Regis College. In addition to his
Daniel Webster admission experience, Ryan also served in St. Anselm’s
admissions office for four years and worked in the investments
industry for three years. We're delighted to welcome him to the BU
family.
"War and Peacebuilding"
The theology department will host a lecture by Lisa
Sowle Cahill, Ph.D., titled "War and Peacebuilding: Global Challenges
for Christian Ethics" on Thursday, Feb. 15 at 7:30 p.m. in the Cralle
Theatre. The lecture is free and open to the public. Cahill holds the J.
Donald Monan, S.J. Chair in Theology at Boston College, where she has
taught since 1976. A past president of the Catholic Theological
Society of America and of the Society of Christian Ethics, Cahill is
the author or editor of 11 books and of 150 essays in books and
journals in the areas of war and peace, the ethics of sex and gender,
and bioethics. She is working on a follow-up to her 1994 book titled
'Love Your Enemies: Discipleship, Pacifism, and Just War'. She is a
Catholic moral theologian who enjoys an international reputation. The
lecture is supported by a bequest from Rev. Vernon Robertson.
Merton and the Tragedy and the Hope of America
On February 22 at 7 p.m. in Frazier Hall, Dr. Vincent
Harding, a friend and associate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., will
deliver a lecture entitled “Thomas Merton and the Tragedy and the Hope
of America.”
Woodward to Deliver Wyatt Lecture
Mark your calendars: journalist and author Bob
Woodward will deliver the Wyatt Lecture
in March. He will deliver an evening lecture on Tuesday, March 20, at
7 p.m., in Knights Hall.
Student Achievements
Dean's List
Congratulations to all the Bellarmine Students who made
the Dean's List for the fall semester. For the complete list of
students, please visit the Bellarmine News site.
Soccer Players Earn Academic Honors
Bellarmine women’s soccer players Jamie Halas, Lindsay
Scheer, Jessica Neiser, and Megan O’Brien were named to the National
Soccer Coaches Association of America Scholar All-East Region Team. The
Bellarmine women’s soccer team also earned an NSCAA Team Academic
Award for the 2005-06 academic year, as the squad posted a team grade
point average of over 3.0. Bellarmine men’s soccer players Steve
Slough and Milos Maldonado were named to the National Soccer Coaches
Association of America Scholar All-East Region Team. The NSCAA
All-Scholar teams include student-athletes from all three NCAA
divisions, plus NAIA schools. Congratulations to these student athletes
for their academic and athletic accomplishments.
Mattingly Wins Music Composition Award
Senior Music Major Bart Mattingly has been selected as
the winner of the Kentucky Music Educator's Association Collegiate
Composition Competition. His winning composition is a 5-part Choral
Composition on the text O Magnum Mysterium. The prize includes a $250
award, a certificate and an invitation to have his work performed at
the 2007 KMEA In-service Conference. The competition is held every
year and is open to all students of music at all Kentucky Colleges and
Universities. This is the first year a Bellarmine Music Student
submitted a composition. Congratulations to Bart and his fine work!
Literary Success
Congratulations to English major and Honors student Ben
Lesousky, whose book of poems, "As It Was," was accepted for
publication by Finishing Line Press. Recent graduate David Harrity (now
at the Spalding MFA program) has also had a book, “Morning, and What
Came After,” accepted by the same press. Their books will be released
in the fall.
Video Winner
Congratulations to BU student Shawn Kelly, winner of
the "Day in the Life @ Bellarmine" video award sponsored by the Office
of Communications and Public Affairs. For his video, Shawn won a
digital camcorder. You can view his prizewinning video on the Undergraduate
Admission page or on the Bellarmine MySpace.
Bellarmine Inducts Five New Hall of Famers
The Bellarmine athletics department inducted five new members into
its Hall of Fame on February 9. Cathy (Brawner) Todd, John Nichwitz,
Molly (Niehaus) Schurfranz, Bob Pfaadt, and Brian Zoeller formed the
class of 2007. History professor Pfaadt played baseball for the
Knights in the 1960’s, and was the basketball public address announcer
for over 25 years. For more information on all of these Hall of
Famers, please visit the athletics web
site.
Faculty/Staff Achievements
Lancaster Pens Professional Development article
Congratulations to Dr. Susan Lancaster for the
acceptance of her article in Distance Learning. “Time, Support and
Follow-up: The Keys to Successful Professional Development," will be
published in Volume 4 Issue 2 of Distance Learning, scheduled for
mailing in June 2007.
Mican Earns Kentucky USTA Coach of the Year Award
Bellarmine head women’s tennis coach John Mican was
named Kentucky Co-Coach of the Year by the United States Tennis
Association. Mican has helped resurrect the Bellarmine women’s tennis
program in just three seasons at the helm. In 2004-05, during his first
season as coach, he coached the Knights to a school-record 14 wins.
Last year, playing a much tougher schedule, Bellarmine finished with a
record of 13-9 under Mican. For more information, please visit the
athletics site. Congratulations to Coach Mican on this accomplishment.
"Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing"
Congratulations to Professor Carol Smith and Professor
Nancy York (now of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas) on the
publication of "A Blueprint for Developing an Undergraduate Critical
Care Nursing Course" in Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing. The
article is scheduled for publication in May/June 2007.
Cronin Appraises Excellence in Nursing
Congratulations to Dr. Sherill Cronin on her
performance as an Appraiser for the Magnet Recognition Program of the
American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Magnet Recognition is
awarded to outstanding acute care facilities that demonstrate exemplar
nursing practice and performance. Dr. Cronin's talent, dedication and
commitment to quality care and patient outcomes is shown in this
recognition from ANCC.
"Creature from the Hillbilly Lagoon"
Congratulations to Lee Smith upon the production of
"Creature from the Hillbilly Lagoon," a movie he wrote. And no, this
is not just a trick to see if you're still reading. Directed by Richard
Griffin, the movie tells the story of "A group of college students run
afoul of not only a passel of insane, inbred rednecks, but also a
humanoid fish monster bent on making chum of them all." The movie will
be released this spring. You can
view
the trailer here. Also, ST@B (Student Theatre at Bellarmine) is
producing one of Smith's short plays, "The Dancing Clown." Check out
the play in the Wyatt Blackbox, February 22, 23 & 24 and March 1
& 2.
Bosley Paper on Study Abroad
Gabriele Bosley chaired a session and presented her
research in a paper at the CIEE (Council on International Educational
Exchange) Conference in November in Seville, Spain on "Identifying Goals
and Measuring Success in Study Abroad through the Integration of
Curricula and Cultural Immersion Programs" .
International Activities
The International Programs Office completed
negotiations for bilateral exchanges with strategically selected
Premier Catholic Universities in Spain and Italy, resulting in the
Presidents of the Catholic University of Madrid and the Catholic
University of Milan signing a 5 year agreement with BU in December 06
and January 07. Also, the IPO is currently in negotiation with
universities in Britain, Australia, Finland, Mexico, and Morocco to
establish strategic, bilateral linkages for Bellarmine. And this May
will mark the second year for Bellarmine's new Business Program in
Tuscany near Roberto Bellarmino's birthplace. David Collins and Pat
Carver will lead this year's group. A search is under way in the FLIS
Department for a tenure track position in Francophone Studies and
Arabic for the 2007-08 academic year.
Roorda on CNN
Congratulations to Dr. Eric Roorda for his appearance
on CNN/International on December 26. He provided expert commentary for
a news segment on the slave trade on sugar plantations in the
Dominican Republic. The segment was broadcast throughout the world
on CNN/International. The transcript
is available here.
Promising New Music Talent
Congratulations to Leon Kirkpatrick, Co-Chair of the
Music Department, and his wife on the birth of their daughter,
Jennifer Noel. Jennifer was born on Jan. 26. Mother, father, and baby
are all doing well.
Discover Day
Thanks to all those who helped make Discover Day a
success, despite some very unfavorable weather. We rolled out the
claret carpet for 369 hardy guests on Sunday, January 21. Our presenters
and ambassadors made a much better showing than local meteorologists!
Successful Financial Aid Workshop
Thanks to our Financial Aid team on a successful and
well attended workshop held on campus on January 18. Over a hundred
people attended the workshop, up from 88 last year and 57 the previous
year. Thanks to the team and to those who helped promote this event.
These kind of efforts are critical to helping us reach our enrollment
goals!
O Magnum Mysterium
"Brave New World," a 90.5 FM WUOL program devoted to
new music and living composers, presented Richard Burchard's "O Magnum
Mysterium" on December 17.
Hinson-Hasty Book
The Theology department celebrated the publication of
Dr. Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty’s first book, "Beyond the Social Maze:
Exploring Vida Dutton Scudder’s Theological Ethics" (T&T Clark,
2006) on January 16.
Chemistry expert Ellis on WAVE-TV
WAVE 3 TV included a phone conversation with Chemistry
professor Graham Ellis in its reporting of the railcar explosion
January 16. Dr. Ellis served as an expert to explain the dangers of
the chemicals the train was carrying.
Communications Professors Present
In March, Kyle Barnett will present "Iggy Does Dinah:
The Politics of Musical Performance on TV Talk Shows" at the Society
of Cinema and Media Studies conference in Chicago (March 8-11, 2007).
He and Dr. Len Cooper will participate in the Southern States
Communication Association conference in Louisville (March 28-April 1,
2007) on a panel entitled "Spaces, Places, and Races: The Architecture
of Communities." Barnett's paper is titled "Race Records, Hillbilly
Music, and Authenticity in the U.S. Recording Industry: Race &
Authenticity in Popular Music."
Adams Named to Cytotechnology Committee
Congratulations to Professor Mary Beth Adams on her
appointment to the Cytotechnology Examination Committee of the
American Society for Clinical Pathology, Board of Registry. The work of
the committee is essential to ensuring competency of
cytotechnologists in the US and it's an honor to be selected.