President's Update – September 25, 2017

Dear Bellarmine Students, Faculty and Staff,

Most of my summer was spent getting oriented to the Bellarmine campus, calling and meeting with alumni, friends, and trustees of Bellarmine. I had opportunities to meet with a number of people who have provided incredible support to Bellarmine and to hear their personal stories of the Bellarmine impact on their lives. One more senior alumnus was driving as we spoke, and he had to pull off the road as he was in tears as he described his love for Bellarmine.

The quiet time on campus came to an abrupt halt in mid-August, when the summer preparation gave way to students moving into the residence halls, the classrooms, labs and the library. It is one of the most exciting times on a university campus, the beginning of a new academic year with new first year, graduate and professional students learning their way around, purchasing books and getting to know one another.

As I move into this next phase of orientation to the Bellarmine presidency, I am mindful of the parents and family members who have loaned their children, spouses and partners to us with the hopes and dreams of their transition into adulthood (for some) and toward more complete and inspired lives (for all). It is a moment of privilege at a time when many challenge the cost of a college education and the liberal arts in particular. Needless to say, I do not share this skepticism. I know that the investment these families are making in a Bellarmine education will have a profound impact on their lives. I am confident that the long held philosophy of educating the whole person, body, mind and spirit, is a lived reality here, and one that is not easily replicated.

As John O’Regan from the Pioneer Class 1954 put it, “From the first day, there seemed to be a magical rapport between faculty and students. All the pieces seemed to fit.” I marvel at the opportunity I have to witness this magic on a daily basis.

State of the University Address

Please join me in Cralle Theater at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 26, for a State of the University Address. The meeting will include an update on news from the Sept. 19-20 Board of Trustees meeting and will last about an hour. In the spirit of collegiality and to further collaboration, I intend to share information with the campus community about board meetings and other important developments as a matter of course going forward.

Faculty and Staff News and Achievements

Mr. Eric Mackin, a 2017 Bellarmine graduate, has joined the Office of Service and Leadership for a year of service through the Americorp VISTA program. Serving as community engagement coordinator, he will focus on building engagement tracking systems and helping RSOs create long-term partnerships with local nonprofits.

Ms. Linh Nguyen, Student Life coordinator, began serving as the interim director of the Office of Identity and Inclusion on Aug. 21.

Dr. Melanie-Préjean Sullivan, director of Campus Ministry, shared her experiences as a Cardinal Hume Scholar at Cambridge University in England with the Sisters of the Eucharistic Covenant and Associates on July 8 in Jennings, La., and facilitated their annual assembly day of reflection with the theme, “Searching for the Fingerprints of God.” Later in July, she taught an intensive hybrid graduate course created for the Catholic Campus Ministry Association through the Saint Meinrad School of Theology, “An Introduction to Catholic Campus Ministry.”

Ms. Emily Werner, associate director of Campus Wellness, was elected as the BACCHUS State Coordinator for Kentucky and completed the BACCHUS Initiatives of NASPA course, becoming an official certified facilitator of Certified Peer Educator Training.

Bellarmine College of Arts and Sciences
Dr. Lee Remington Williams, associate professor of Political Science, and her quest to obtain justice for slain civil rights pioneer Alberta Jones were featured in a front-page story in The New York Times on Sept. 19. Dr. Williams was also quoted by Don Weber in a May 10 article in Spectrum News about student interest in the 2016 presidential election and the increase in the number of political science majors.

Dr. Timothy Glasscock, associate professor and chair of Music, directed Clarksville’s annual Independence Day concert.

Mr. Richard Burchard, associate professor of Music, was featured in the Spring 2017 issue of Trinite: The Magazine of the American Cathedral in Paris. Mr. Burchard served as the cathedral’s Composer-in-Residence, creating five new pieces including an offertory anthem.

Mr. David Clark, instructor of Music, was featured in a May 6 Insider Louisville piece on Louisville’s evolving jazz scene.

Dr. Jon Blandford, associate professor of English and director of the Honors Program, published a chapter entitled “Spectacular Judgments: Law and Disorder in the Nineteenth-Century Visual Imagination” in The Routledge Research Companion to Law and Humanities in Nineteenth-Century America (Routledge, April 2017). He also presented a paper entitled “Seriality and the Survey Course” at the 10th biennial conference of the Society of Early Americanists in Tulsa, Okla., in March 2017.

Mr. Frederick Smock, professor of English, was interviewed twice in July about his recent appointment as Kentucky Poet Laureate. Bill Burton of WFPL featured him on July 20 and included two of his poems from The Bounteous World, published by Broadstone Books, and Insider Louisville spoke with him on July 23 about his quest as poet laureate to get more people to read and enjoy poetry.

Dr. Gregory Hillis, associate professor of Theology, wrote a column this summer on Thomas Merton and Christian nonviolence for Australian Broadcasting Corp. Dr. Hillis was also quoted in June in the National Catholic Reporter regarding the response to the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris agreement on climate change.

Dr. Justin Klassen, assistant professor of Theology, commented on religion and the environment in a May 22 article for USA Today and the Courier-Journal.

Dr. Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty, professor and chair of Theology, wrote an editorial on religion, education, and democratic vitality for Journey Films. She also wrote “Grounding Politeness, Duty, and Honor in Solidarity and Love” for the July 12 edition of Ecclesio.com.

Dr. Akhtar Mahmood, professor of Physics, was quoted in the Aug. 1 Courier-Journal on how to watch the solar eclipse safely.

Dr. Pam Cartor, associate professor and chair of Psychology, was quoted in an Aug. 11 Courier-Journal Watchdog Earth blog with a suggestion on how to cope with the threat of nuclear war.

Dr. Fedja Buric, assistant professor of History, wrote an essay for the Aug. 23 Balkan Insight on defending the anti-fascist legacy in the Balkans.

College of Health Professions
Dr. Elaine Lonnemann, associate professor of Physical Therapy, was elected as the new president of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Therapists (AAOMPT). She will begin her three-year term following the Oct. 21 AAOMPT meeting.

Dr. Catherine Crandell, associate professor of Physical Therapy, and colleagues provided an educational presentation session at the American Physical Therapy Association NEXT 2017 Conference and Exposition in Boston, Mass., on June 23: “Moving the Movement System to the Forefront of Physical Therapist Education.”

Drs. Linda Cain, associate professor of Graduate Nursing, Sherill Cronin, professor and chair of Graduate Nursing, and colleagues had a manuscript entitled “A Tool to Identify Key Behaviors and Attributes of High-Performing Nurses” published in the Journal of Nursing Administration in April.

Drs. Sara Mahoney, assistant professor and chair of Exercise Science, Thomas Wójicki, assistant professor of Exercise Science, and colleagues published “Sources of Nutrition Information and Knowledge in Ultra-runners (the SNIKR Study): A qualitative Analysis in Medicine & Science” in Sports & Exercise in May and presented on the topic at the National ACSM Conference in Denver, Colo., May 30-June 1.

Dr. Keith Knapp, associate professor and chair of Health Services, had an article entitled “Long Term Care Leadership Development: New Training for Luke and Yoda” accepted for publication in Public Health Open Access. He and a colleague had a second article, “Long Term Care Administrator Standards: Modernizing to Reflect Evolving Profession,” accepted for the same publication.

Dr. Christy Kane, associate professor and chair of Respiratory Therapy, earned two new certificates over the summer: Asthma Educator Certification (AE-C) for the National Asthma Educator Certification Board and Adult Critical Care Specialty Credentials (RRT-ACCS) from the National Board for Respiratory Care.

Dr. Nancy York, dean, the Donna and Allan Lansing School of Nursing and Clinical Sciences, attended the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Executive Leadership program this summer.

Dr. Heather Owens, assistant professor of Nursing, and colleagues had a publication entitled “Sleep behaviors in traditional-age college students: A state of the science review with implications for practice” accepted in the Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners on Aug. 10.

Dr. Linda Mefford, associate professor of Nursing, published a chapter, “Myra Estrin Levine: The Conservation Model,” in Nursing Theorists and Their Work (St. Louis: Elsevier).

Dr. Chelsey Franz, assistant professor of Athletic Training, received a $5,200 grant from the Louisville Rotary Life Line Committee to continue her work with the men at the Louisville Rescue Mission.

Dr. Megan Danzl, assistant professor and assistant chair of Physical Therapy, was an invited guest speaker at Mercy Academy on June 14. She presented “Becoming a Doctor of Physical Therapy” for the Mercy Academy Summer Camp, “The Living Body: An Adventure in Dissection and Medicine.”

Drs. Megan Danzl and Elizabeth Ulanowski, assistant professor of Physical Therapy, Ms. Callie Paydo, third-year Physical Therapy student, and a colleague published “A pilot study evaluating the association between physical activity and cognition among individuals with Parkinson’s disease” in Disability and Health Journal.

Drs. Danzl and Ulanowski and Ms. Paydo made several presentations at the World Confederation for Physical Therapy Congress, July 2-4 in Cape Town, South Africa: “The association of psychosocial and physical performance measures with physical activity patterns in individuals with Parkinson’s disease: A cross-sectional study” (platform presentation); “Investing in present and future physical therapy educators and researchers: a novel scholarship and mentorship program” (poster presentation); “The favorable association between physical activity behavior and cognitive function among adults with Parkinson’s disease” (poster presentation); and “Making the ‘MOST’ of a one day wellness retreat for individuals with Parkinson’s Disease: A qualitative case study” (poster presentation), with Ms. Jacquelyn Brockman, third-year PT student. At the same conference, Dr. Natalie Vance, adjunct professor of Physical Therapy, and Drs. Danzl and Ulanowski presented the poster “Yoga for individual with Essential Tremor.”

Drs. Ulanowski and Danzl and two Class of 2017 PT students, Victoria Schwartz and Chelsea Reed, published “A qualitative examination of physiotherapist led community-based yoga for individuals with Huntington’s disease” in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice.

Annsley Frazier Thornton School of Education
Dr. Kevin M. Thomas led an interactive lecture on “Crowd-Sourcing the Introductory Educational Computing Course” at the International Society for Technology in Education conference in San Antonio, Texas.

Dr. Belinda Harlow designed and implemented a study abroad program in South Africa during summer 2017. Eight students traveled to Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth, South Africa, for a 17-day comparative studies program, completing IDC 301 and IDC 401 while exploring the differences and similarities between American and South African schools. Dr. Harlow and the students learned a great deal about the history of South Africa and the long-reaching effects of Apartheid.

Dr. Todd Whitney and colleagues had an article, “Effects of Shared Story Reading in Mathematics for Students with Academic Difficulty and Challenging Behaviors,” published in Remedial and Special Education.

Dr. Kristin Cook and colleagues published “ STEM: Unearthing the Mathematics in Teaching Children Mathematics” and “From STEM to STEAM: Incorporating the Arts in Roller Coaster Engineering in Science and Children.” At the STEM Forum & Expo hosted by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) in Orlando, Fla., Dr. Cook and colleagues presented “Math Matters: A closer look at the ‘M’ in STEAM”; “Engineering Encounters: Roller Coasters”; and the invited presentation “Bringing STEM to the Elementary Classroom.” Dr. Cook also served as the Strand Coordinator for the Equity & Diversity Strand for the Association for Science Teacher Education (ASTE).

Dr. Theresa Magpuri-Lavell and her colleagues have registered approximately 300 new graduate students (teachers and school leaders from JCPS) in the fourth year of the Bellarmine Literacy Project.

Dr. Daniel Castner published a peer-reviewed article, “Negotiating Curriculum-based Teacher Leadership,” in the journal Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue. Additionally, he co-authored a commentary with two colleagues from the Critical Perspective in Early Childhood Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association. This peer-reviewed commentary was published in Teachers College Record and circulated to the membership of the SIG. With Ms. Ayesha Wahidi, an undergraduate student at Bellarmine, Dr. Castner presented a paper at the Currere Exchange Conference at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, entitled “Curreres in Dialogue: Elevating Voices and Intersecting Identities.”

W. Fielding Rubel School of Business
Dr. Sharon Kerrick, dean of the Rubel School, and co-authors had a peer-reviewed article, “Women’s community organizations: Exploring attitudes toward collaboration among board members,” published in the Community Development Journal. She was an invited presenter to the LEAD Kentucky organization and to Special Forces at Fort Bragg, N.C., and co-hosted an Entrepreneur Fair sponsored by the mayor’s office at the Main Library. On behalf of the Rubel School, she accepted the largest-ever accounting scholarship check from the E & Y accounting firm. Dr. Kerrick also led the VetStart selection committee, choosing five military veterans to train and assist in starting their own businesses. Since creating this program in 2012, she has helped to start more than 70 veteran-owned businesses so far. Dr. Kerrick was also named a “Business First 40 Under 40 Hall of Famer.”

Dr. Michael Luthy, professor of Marketing) and research colleagues at University of Nebraska and Holy Cross College had an article on the methods and perspectives of forensic economists accepted for publication in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Forensic Economists.

Mr. Joe Thornton and Dr. Luthy had a paper, “Select product mix decisions and personality: An exploratory study of situations faced in an entrepreneurial marketing situation,” accepted for the 2017 Society for Marketing Advances conference in Louisville.

Dr. Patrick Lach is a member of The Experts panel at The Wall Street Journal, serving as a Wealth Expert. This summer, he wrote two articles for The Journal: “Why a Fiduciary Rule Won't Squeeze Out Small Investors” and “What’s the ‘Long Term’ for Older Investors? The Answer May Surprise You.”

Dr. Elizabeth Payne made two presentations: to the Kentucky Society of CPAs Kentucky High School Educators Conference and to the Kentucky Association for Career and Technical Education’s 2017 Annual Summer Program. She also served as the director of the KYCPA BASE (Business and Accounting Summer Education) Camp and worked a great deal on the KYCPA’s tax committee research project on proposed sales tax changes in the commonwealth.

School of Communication
The School of Communication faculty and staff served lunch at the Franciscan Kitchen on Aug. 17. This annual back-to-school day of service offers a time for faculty to reconnect with each other and is an opportunity for the school to give back to the community. Those in attendance included Dr. Shawn Apostel, Dr. Kyle Barnett, Mr. Gary Fogle, Ms. Charisse Levine, Ms. Sue Mauldin, Dr. Lara Needham, Dr. Moira O’Keeffe, Ms. Stacie Shain and Dr. Michael Strawser.

Dr. Shawn Apostel wrote the chapter “The Next Phase: New Media and the Inevitable Transition,” published in New Media and Digital Pedagogy: Enhancing the Twenty-First-Century Classroom, a collection edited by Dr. Michael Strawser (Lexington Books, 2017). Dr. Apostel also wrote the chapter “The Flexible Center: Embracing Technology, Open Spaces, and Online Pedagogy” with Kristi Apostel, published in Writing Studio Pedagogy: Space, Place, and Rhetoric in Collaborative Environments (Rowman & Littlefield, 2017). Dr. Apostel participated in a roundtable discussion entitled “Designing Spaces of Wonder: Related Perspectives on Pedagogy, Multimodality, and Technology Across Institutions” at Computers and Writing in Findlay, Ohio, on June 2. And he designed a web banner for the Communication Center Journal’s website.

Dr. Michael Strawser published two book chapters: “Disability and communication in the virtual classroom” and “New media and the 21stcentury classroom: A research and instructional imperative.” He presented a session at the annual Career and Technical Education Summer Program on July 25 at the Galt House titled “Pedagogy and the Generation Gap: 21st Century Classroom Communication.” Dr. Strawser was also named a series editor for a book series titled Generational Differences in Higher Education and the Workplace: Leading and Teaching Millennials and Generation Z.

Ms. Stacie Shain was re-elected to the Louisville Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists for another two-year term.

Dr. Gail Henson will present “Project Go: How the Kentucky Community and Technical College System Proposes to Address Housing and Food Insecurity to Education and Lift Students” at the Association of Community College Trustees meeting on Sept. 24 in Las Vegas. Dr. Henson taught Intercultural Communication in Segovia, Spain, through Kentuckiana Institute for International Studies in May and in London through Cooperative Center for Study Abroad in July. Dr. Henson and Mr. Ed Henson launched their new radio station, WREF, an ESPN affiliate, in the Evansville market on Aug. 24.

Dr. Moira O'Keeffe was an invited panelist at Escape Velocity, a science fiction and STEAM education festival sponsored by the Museum of Science Fiction, Sept. 1-3 in Washington, D.C.

Susan M. Donovan, Ph.D.
President