Greetings from the President
In the sum of a few specific attributes, Bellarmine is a university like no
other.
We are an independent university unequivocally committed to academic freedom,
and to the search for truth, wherever that search may lead.
We are a university in the catholic educational tradition, the oldest and
best in the western world. Our Catholic identity is in the spirit of Thomas
Merton, the trappistmonk, a highly educated, sophisticated intellectual, whose
manuscripts and art works are a valuable legacy, and a resource housed on this
campus.
Merton’s life and work exemplified values that Bellarmine holds dear: the
pursuit of excellence in all things; a multi-cultural, international
sensibility; hospitality in the broadest sense; recognition of the dignity of
each individual person; a commitment to social justice; and a deep, abiding
respect for the global environment, in all its beauty, complexity and
interdependence.
It is in this spirit that students, faculty and staff at Bellarmine
University strive for academic excellence and ethical awareness in everything we
do. We believe that “the smartest person in the room” can also be a good person.
From these reflections and considerations, we work to develop for you an
education that prepares you for the future – to create a very meaningful and
successful personal life, a good society, an enriching culture and an economy
that makes sense and helps make the world a better place.
In the pages that follow, we present our current best thinking about the
wisdom, knowledge and information we believe is most important for you to know
as you prepare to make your way as an educated, ethical person in an
international, interconnected, interdependent world.
You will read descriptions of our curricula, programs and courses that will
help you make intelligent and creative course selections in the educational area
of your choice.
This letter welcomes you – to Bellarmine University, to this valuable
academic resource, and also to the most exciting and challenging educational
experience of your lifetime.
By engaging your imagination and scholarly responsibility in the careful
selection of curricula, programs and courses described in this document, you
will, among other things, enhance your ability to discern the great common
ground, interconnection and interdependence that we share with our sisters and
brothers throughout the world.
It is my personal hope for you that as an essential and enduring consequence
of your Bellarmine learning through the courses described herein, you will
become an ever better and more loving person, an ever more fully human being,
and an ever more responsible, caring and effective citizen of the world. Choose
well and bon voyage!
Dr. Joseph J. McGowan