Dear Bellarmine Students, Faculty and Staff,
As the semester, and then the year, draws to a close, I want to thank everyone in the Bellarmine community for your scholarship, your friendship, your warmth and your goodwill. I truly appreciate the spirit in which you have collaborated with me on addressing our budget issues, and I look forward with enthusiasm to the ideas that we will generate together in our strategic planning process to move Bellarmine to the next level. I give you my personal wishes for a very Merry Christmas, and I look forward to an excellent New Year with you. The President’s Update will return in February.
Join me for Commencement on Dec. 20
It is with great pleasure that I anticipate presiding over my first Bellarmine University Commencement ceremony on Wednesday, Dec. 20, at 6 p.m. in Knights Hall.
The Most Rev. Charles C. Thompson, who was named the Archbishop of Indianapolis by Pope Francis in June, will deliver our Commencement address and receive an honorary doctoral degree. Bishop Thompson earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Bellarmine in 1983.
As the seventh Archbishop of Indianapolis, Thompson leads a Catholic community of 223,815 parishioners across 39 counties in central and southern Indiana. A Louisville native, he earned his master of divinity degree from Saint Meinrad Seminary & School of Theology in Indiana and a graduate degree in canon law from Saint Paul University in Ottawa.
He was ordained as a priest in Louisville in 1987 and served at several local parishes, including a decade at Holy Trinity, before being appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Evansville, Ind., in 2011.
Faculty and Staff News and Achievements
The Office of Communications & Public Affairs won three awards at the 2017 CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) Kentucky Conference, held Dec. 7-8 in Lexington:
Ms. Carla Carlton won the Grand Award for Feature Writing for “Walking the Walk,” her Bellarmine Magazine cover profile about Dr. Susan M. Donovan.
Bellarmine Magazine (Ms. Carlton, Mr. Brad Craig, Ms. Samantha O’Brien and Ms. Maria González) won a Special Merit Award for Print and Digital Publications/Magazine A.
Ms. Katie Kelty (with Ms. Lauren Keeling of Admissions) won a Special Merit Award for Print and Digital Publications/Low Budget Publication for their Summer School Campaign.
Ms. Emily Werner, associate director of Campus Wellness, attended a two-day training session sponsored by the Intercollegiate Substance Abuse Partnership and passed the certification test with a 98%. She is now an officially certified TIPS (Training for Intervention Procedures) trainer.
Dr. Mary Pike, assistant professor of Nursing and coordinator of the RN-BSN Program, received the Msgr. Horrigan Distinguished Service Award from the Bellarmine University Alumni Association.
Mr. Jim Vargo, director of men’s cross country/track and field, was named to the Scarlet and Silver Society by the Bellarmine University Alumni Association.
Ms. Jenni Grzebin, head volleyball coach, was named Great Lakes Valley Conference Coach of the Year.
Ms. Angela Musk, head women’s cross country coach, was named Great Lakes Valley Conference Coach of the Year.
Ms. Pam Stackhouse, associate director of Athletics/senior woman administrator, was named to Business First of Louisville’s “20 People to Know” list.
Bellarmine College of Arts and Sciences
Ms. Laura Hartford, associate professor of Art and associate dean of Bellarmine College, is one of five artists featured in the exhibit Photography in Its Birthplace at the William Henry Fox Talbot Museum in Lacock, England. The show includes work by artists-in-residence at Fox Talbot's home, Lacock Abbey. She also participated in the photography exhibit Shadows with Memories at the University of Oslo, Norway, as part of the 3rd biennial meeting of the International Calotype Society.
Dr. Tom Wilson, associate professor of Psychology and SAIL Office Liaison for Social Sciences, served as a delegate in October to the International Student Exchange Program (ISEP) annual conference. In July, he chaired a symposium at the annual IAFOR European Conference for Psychology in Brighton, UK, where he presented a peer-reviewed talk titled “Implicit Cognitions in Awareness: Three Empirical Examples and Implications for Conscious Identity.” Dr. Wilson recently published three peer-reviewed research articles: “Implicit Environmental Attitudes: Critique and Technique to Promote Awareness” (with co-author Hunter Smith ’17) in July in the Journal of Psychology and the Behavioral Sciences; “The Influence of Presentation Order on Probability Judgments in a Representative Market Setting”; and “Toward an Integrated Coronary Risk Personality: Emotional Correlates of Type A.” As a peer reviewer, Dr. Wilson has reviewed 13 conference abstracts and four research articles for journals since last spring.
Professor Frederick Smock, English professor, has had three essays, On Joy, On Synesthesia and On Wisdom, accepted for publication by the Talking River Review. As Kentucky’s Poet Laureate, he was invited to his alma mater, Georgetown College, in November for a public reading of some of his works.
Dr. Jon Blandford, associate professor of English and director of the Honors Program, published a chapter entitled “Home and Away: Reinvestigating Domestic Detective Fiction” in A History of American Crime Fiction (Cambridge University Press, December 2017).
Dr. John Gatton, professor of English, was elected to the Board of Directors of the Byron Society of America.
Dr. David Mosley, professor of Philosophy, presented a paper titled “Maurice Ravel's Great War” at the World Phenomenology Institute, held at Harvard University. As president of the Society for the Philosophical Study of Education, he organized its annual meeting at Columbia University of Chicago. At the meeting's conclusion he was re-elected for another two-year term. He was also invited to present another version of the Ravel paper at the inaugural conference of Progressive Connections in Vienna in December.
Dr. Justin Klassen, assistant professor of Theology, was an invited speaker at Kentucky Interfaith Power and Light’s 10th anniversary “Hope in Action” Awards Dinner on Oct. 24, where he spoke about “Christianity’s Call to Care for Creation.” He also just had an article published: “The Philosophers’ Paul for Earthlings: Stanislas Breton and the Ecological Significance of the Way of the Cross” in EcoTheo Review (Fall 2017).
Dr. Akhtar Mahmood, professor of Physics, served as a grant reviewer for five research proposals submitted to NASA's KSGC Program.
Dr. Christy Wolfe, associate professor of Psychology, and colleagues recently had a journal article, “Executive attention at eight years: Concurrent and longitudinal predictors and individual differences,” published in Infant and Child Development.
College of Health Professions
Dr. Thomas Wójcicki (assistant professor, Exercise Science) and colleagues published “The interpretation of physical activity, exercise and sedentary behaviors by persons with multiple sclerosis” in the November issue of Disability and Rehabilitation.
Drs. Beth Quinn (assistant professor, Physical Therapy) and Patty Gillette (professor emeritus, Physical Therapy) were quoted in an article by Mr. Mark Kaelin (instructor, Biology) called “Watch Your Step” in the Fall 2017 issue of Today’s Transitions, a digital publishing platform, on Sept. 11.
Dr. Christopher Wingard (professor, Physical Therapy) published “Disposition of Intravenously of Orally Administered Silver Nanoparticles in Female Rats and the Effect on the Biochemical Profile in Urine” in the Journal of Applied Toxicology in May 2017, Vol. 37 Issue 5, and “Ultrafine Particulate Matter Increases Cardiac Iscemia/Reperfusion Injury via Mitochondrial Permeability Transition Pore” in Cardiovascular Toxicology in October 2017, Vol. 17, Issue 4. He also served on the national-level scientific review panel of the American Heart Association’s AIREA grant awards on Dec. 12.
Ms. Carol Scherbak (assistant professor and chair, Radiation Therapy) had her presentation, “Integrating the VERT into the Professional Curriculum,” accepted at the Annual Radiation Therapy Conference in San Diego, Calif., for October 2017. Due to a family emergency, she was unable to travel to the conference; however, she was able to present as a WebEx to radiation therapy educators.
Ms. Shelley McGuire (instructor, Radiation Therapy) presented “A Cancer Survivor’s Story” at Kings Daughter Hospital in Madison, Ind., on Dec. 6, 2017.
Dr. Mary Pike (assistant professor, Nursing) presented a paper entitled “The Image of Nurses and Nursing in the First Hospital-Based Radio Drama, The Woman in White” at the American Association for the History of Nursing Annual Nursing and Healthcare History Conference in Rochester, N.Y., Sept. 7-10. Dr. Pike also received the Monsignor Alfred F. Horrigan Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes an individual who, as a member of the university faculty, staff or administration, has made a significant contribution to Bellarmine University, at the Alumni Association’s 57th annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 2.
Dr. Sonja Bareiss (associate professor, Physical Therapy) and colleagues had their article “Physical Training and Activity in People with Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy: Paradigm Shift” featured as an Editor’s Choice in Physical Therapy, Vol. 97, Issue 12, December 2017.
Dr. Kathy Hager (associate professor, Nursing), as the president of the Kentucky Nurses Association (KNA), hosted an education summit on substance use disorder on Nov. 2, 2017, that was coordinated by Dr. Teena Darnell (assistant professor, Nursing) in the Louisville area.
Dr. Keith Knapp (associate professor, Health Services and Senior Living) was recertified through Oct. 1, 2021, as a Certified Nursing Home Administrator by the American College of Health Care Administrators.
Dr. Paul Lonnemann (assistant professor, Physical Therapy) received the 2017 Floyd County Readers’ Choice vote for Best Physical Therapist.
Annsley Frazier Thornton School of Education
Dr. Kevin Thomas agreed to serve on the Archdiocese of Louisville’s 2018 Governor's Scholar Selection Committee.
Dr. Todd Whitney and a colleague presented “Using Multiple Measures for Educator Preparation Program Accountability and Continuous Improvement” at the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children in Savannah, Ga. He and a colleague presented “Using Reciprocal Peer Coaching to Provide Performance Feedback for Co-teachers” at the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children Annual Conference in Louisville. Dr. Whitney was also elected secretary for the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children’s Teacher Education Division.
Dr. Rosie Young organized and conducted the Annual Fall Institute of the Kentucky Association of Elementary School Principals in Louisville. Dr. Young also spoke to the Archdiocese of Louisville’s Merton Leadership participants on leadership needed in today's schools.
Dr. Donald “DJ” Mitchell Jr., professor of Higher Education Leadership, wrote a chapter, “Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Black Greek-Lettered Organizations in the ‘Post-Racial’ Era of Accountability,” in the edited volume Black Colleges Across the Diaspora: Global Perspectives on Race and Stratification in Postsecondary Education (Emerald Publishing, 2017). He also secured a contract with Peter Lang Publishing to produce the second edition of the edited volume Intersectionality & Higher Education: Theory, Research & Praxis (with Jakia Marie and Tiffany Steele, Associate Editors).
Dr. Mary Ann Cahill and a colleague presented a paper, “POGIL: Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning for teacher candidates,” at the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers Conference in St. Petersburg, Fla.
W. Fielding Rubel School of Business
Dr. Sharon Kerrick, dean of the Rubel School, co-hosted and presented awards at the annual Better Business Bureau Torch Ethics Awards luncheon. She concluded the first pilot MBA graduate mentorship program with glowing reviews from the participants and kicked off a new Financial Wellness student initiative. She orchestrated the first-ever National Association of Women Business Owners Business in the Bluegrass symposium in Kentucky with over 150 women business owners and leaders in attendance. Dr. Kerrick was a featured speaker at the annual Kentucky Society of CPA’s Women’s Leadership Conference. She has been nominated by the Small Business Institute as Vice President of Research and Project of the Year by the more than 500 national members and has three papers accepted for their national conference.
Dr. Patrick Lach was quoted by NBC News in the article “What’s With All the Bitcoin Hate?” In addition, he wrote an article for The Wall Street Journal titled “The Problem With the ‘105 Minus Age’ Allocation Rule.”
Dr. Hongwei Song presented her paper, “A country’s network position and aid effectiveness,” at the 87th Annual Conference of the Southern Economics Association, Tampa, Fla., Nov. 17-19.
Ms. Christy Burge and Dr. Patti Selvy invited CPA Andrea Yorgy, a Bellarmine MBA graduate, to speak to accounting students. She discussed the impact of being named one of Louisville Business First’s Forty Under 40. Ms. Burge also held a professional workshop on Creativity and Time Management.
School of Communication
Dr. Kyle Barnett co-chaired a panel, “Program Transcription Preservation and the Work of Collectors,” as part of the Radio Preservation Task Force meeting at the Library of Congress. The Radio Preservation Task Force is an ongoing national effort to preserve radio in its various forms, as part of the National Recording Preservation Board.
Drs. Shawn Apostel and Michael Strawser and colleagues published the article “The Communication Center as a Transcendent Physical and Virtual Space” in Communication Center Journal. Dr. Apostel also wrote the chapter “The Next Phase: New Media and the Inevitable Transition,” for New Media and Digital Pedagogy: Enhancing the Twenty-First-Century Classroom, a collection edited by Dr. Strawser and published by Lexington Books.
Dr. Rain Liu and colleagues had an article, “The sensory force of sticky messages: An application to the application of sunscreen,” published in the journal Communication Studies. Dr. Liu joined the Louisville Health Advisory Board, serving on the Committee for Communications, and is serving as a mentor for the Bellarmine University Mentor Program (BUMP), a new mentoring initiative launched by the Office of Identity and Inclusion. Dr. Liu presented and led the BU Dialogue on Nov. 16 focusing on the topic of micro-aggressions.
Professor Winnie Spitza and Ms. Sue Mauldin spearheaded the School of Communication’s participation in the annual Blanket Louisville campaign, collecting about 300 blankets from Bellarmine staff, faculty and students for the non-profit organization, which distributes the blankets to homeless shelters in November. Professor Spitza is a board member of this organization. Professor Spitza is also serving on the 2017-18 Board of Directors for the Louisville Theatrical Association, which oversees the PNC/Broadway Series program in Louisville.