Dear Bellarmine Students, Faculty and Staff,
Happy holiday season! I hope that each and every one of
you enjoyed a Thanksgiving filled with blessings. Now our focus turns
toward Christmas.
As you will recall, I asked earlier this year for your
suggestions on where we should plant a new Christmas tree after the
magnificent evergreen in front of Horrigan Hall that had served us so
faithfully and well for 19 years was felled by the Ice Storm of 2009.
The overwhelming choice was the Quad – the heart of our campus.
And so last week, a 25-foot Norway spruce grown on the
Carl Ray Landscape Nursery in eastern Jefferson County was lifted by
crane over the covered sidewalk and planted near the Franciscan
Circle. This type of spruce can grow one to two feet a year and reach
eventual heights near 50 feet. In order to give our new tree time to get
established, this year we have decorated a 20-foot blue spruce just
beyond it for our annual Christmas Tree Lighting Party.
I invite you to join me tomorrow, Dec. 1, for
festivities in the Campus Center in Horrigan Hall. Music, food and fun
will begin at 5 p.m. We’ll flip the switch to illuminate the tree at
6, and activities should conclude around 7. This party is always an
exceptionally enjoyable event, and I look forward to seeing you there
as we open a new chapter in a beloved Bellarmine tradition.
New Photos Online
We’ve added plenty of new photos to our website
recently, including shots of men’s basketball, Maroon 5, Novela,
the Blessing of the Animals, Family Weekend, and a collection of
photos by Mr. Mateo Wroblewski. Mateo is an exchange
student from Edinburgh Napier University in Edinburgh, Scotland. A
native of Poland, he moved to Scotland five years ago and came to
Bellarmine in August for a one-year stint, which he is thoroughly
enjoying. “Bellarmine exceeds my expectations in many aspects,” he
said. “I love the fact you are recognized wherever you go and that
everyone is very supportive.” A psychology major, Mateo is also studying
photojournalism and business and shared some of his favorite photos
of Bellarmine students and campus with us. Please take a moment to
enjoy all of the photo galleries here.
Bellarmine News
Celebrating the Year of Astronomy
The 2009 International Year of Astronomy marks the
400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei’s first telescopic view of the
heavens. Here at Bellarmine we have a direct connection to Galileo, of
course, through our namesake, St. Robert Bellarmine, who warned the
scientist against defending the Copernican Theory 17 years before the
Vatican sentenced Galileo to house arrest for continuing to teach it.
Our celebration of Galileo, Bellarmine and faith and reason will
continue into 2010 and was marked most recently by two well-attended
events:
Guarnaschelli Lecture. On Oct. 29, we
were delighted to welcome Ms. Dava Sobel, author of Galileo’s
Daughter, to Frazier Hall to present the 2009 Guarnaschelli
Lecture. Ms. Sobel, a former New York Times science reporter, also is
author of Longitude and The Planets and has
co-authored five books, including Is Anyone Out There? with
astronomer Frank Drake. In Galileo's Daughter, she explores the
life of the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei through letters he
exchanged with his eldest daughter, the cloistered nun Suor Maria
Celeste. In her lecture, The Struggle for the Soul of Science,
Ms. Sobel spoke of her belief that Galileo made all of his scientific
discoveries “as a good Catholic.” The invitation to speak, she said,
was “too good to pass up from a school named after Bellarmine.”
NASA Unveiling. On
Nov. 19, we joined with the University of Louisville at the Gheens
Science Hall and Rauch Planetarium to present an unveiling of
unprecedented NASA images of our galaxy. The unveiling included a
6-foot-by-3-foot image that presented a unique view of the galaxy in
near-infrared light observed by the Hubble Space Telescope, infrared
light observed by Spitzer Space Telescope and X-ray light observed by
Chandra X-ray Observatory. This combined image, carefully assembled
from mosaic photo surveys of the Milky Way’s core by each telescope,
provided the most wide-ranging view ever of our galaxy’s mysterious
hub.
In addition, a panel of scientific and religious
scholars discussed the history of faith and reason, Galileo’s
contribution to space science and the next generation of space
observation. The panelists included our own Dr. Katherine
Bulinski, assistant professor of geosciences, Dr.
Akhtar Mahmood, associate professor of physics, and Dr.
J. Milburn Thompson, chair of the Theology Department, as
well as James Lauroesch, assistant professor of physics and astronomy
at U of L, and Rachel Connolly, director of the planetarium.
For more information and to view the images, click here.
Physics Department Helps NASA
Search for Earth-like Planets
In other intergalactic news, NASA, via the Kentucky
Space Grant Consortium, has awarded Dr. Akhtar Mahmood
and two of his students in the Physics Department, Mr. Ben
Draper and Mr. Richard Jelsma, a $25,000 grant
to assist scientists from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena,
Calif., on a new space-based mission that will search nearby stars for
Earth-sized planets. Read more about Dr. Mahmood’s project here.
Ms. Barbara Kingsolver Visits
Campus
On Nov. 22, about 500 people packed Frazier Hall to
hear Ms. Barbara Kingsolver, noted Kentucky author
and sister of our own Dr. Robert Kingsolver, read
from and discuss her new novel, The Lacuna, in an event in
which Bellarmine partnered with Carmichael’s Bookstore. Ms. Kingsolver
was funny and charming and a passionate advocate for literature. “The
world needs more empathy” right now, she said, and novels provide a
way to put aside your own life and live someone else’s for a while.
Student News and Achievements
Science Students Make Strong
Showing
Eight of our physics and biology students finished
strong in competition at the annual Kentucky Academy of Science
meeting, Nov. 13-14 at Northern Kentucky University:
Mr. Ben Draper won first place in the
undergraduate research oral competition in physics and astronomy for
his presentation, Mass Predictions of Charmed and Beauty Baryons.
Mr. Richard Jelsma won first place in
the undergraduate research poster competition in physics and astronomy
for his poster, Measurement of Muon Flux and Lifetime Using a
Cosmic Ray Muon Detector. Dr. Akhtar Mahmood mentored
the research by both Ben and Richard.
Ms. Stephanie Kortyka won second place
in the undergraduate research competition in agricultural sciences
for her oral presentation, An evaluation of the chemopreventative
properties of different pawpaw varieties. Dr. Dave
Robinson and Dr. Joann Lau, both from
Bellarmine, served as mentors, along with Dr. Kirk Pomper of Kentucky
State University.
Mr. Shakeeb Ahmad won second place in
the undergraduate research competition in health sciences for his oral
presentation, Can two different forms of breast cancer therapy be
combined to reduce cell proliferation of both female and male lung
cancer cells? Dr. Joann Lau served as faculty
mentor.
Ms. Sarah Roebker won first place in
the undergraduate poster competition in botany for her poster, A
clinostat for evaluating plant response to microgravity. Dr.
Joann Lau and Dr. Dave Robinson served as
her mentors.
Ms. Catherine Brumm won second place
in the undergraduate poster competition in botany for her poster, Bioinformatics
analysis of a thaumatin-like protein from Giant Ragweed. Dr.
Dave Robinson and Dr. Joann Lau were
mentors.
Mr. Daniel Eschenbach and Ms.
Jillian Goines won first place in the undergraduate poster
competition in health sciences for their poster, An evaluation of
the chemopreventative properties from Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula
Ellis). Dr. Joann Lau was mentor.
In addition, two students gave oral presentations in
the Cellular and Molecular Biology section on research conducted at
the University of Louisville Health Science Center during summer
internships funded by the National Institutes of Health. Ms.
Cristin Samuels’ topic was Characterization
of the protein pheromones of the salamander Plethodon cinereus,
and Ms. Christy Read’s presentation was Development
of stable HeLa cell lines expressing FLAG-tagged Syntaxin-6. Dr.
Steven Wilt was mentor for both students.
Senior to Coach at 2010
Special Olympics USA National Games
Ms. Robyn Ballinger, a Bellarmine
senior education major and longtime Special Olympics volunteer, has
been selected to Team Kentucky coaching staff for the 2010 Special
Olympics USA National Games, which are set for July 18-23 in Lincoln,
Neb. Robyn, 20, will serve as the assistant track and field coach. A
Louisville resident, she has been helping coach Special Olympics
athletes for eight years. This will be her first national competition.
Faculty and Staff News and Achievements
Mr. Mark Meade has been named
assistant director of the Merton Center after serving as assistant
archivist for the past six years. Mr. Meade has immersed himself in
Merton studies and regularly attends conferences of the International
Thomas Merton Society. He has presented papers at the last three
conferences and published articles in The Merton Seasonal.
School of Arts and Sciences
Two compositions by Mr. Richard
Burchard, associate professor of music, had their world
premiere Nov. 22-23. Alone and A Dream, poems by Edgar
Allan Poe set for 8-part a cappella choir, were performed by Voces
Novae at Christ Church Cathedral. Mr. Burchard, selected as
composer-in-residence with Voces Novae for the 2009-10 concert season,
will ultimately compose eight new works for the choir.
Mr. Todd Hildreth, Music Department
instructor, and his band Squeeze-bot (which also
includes Mr. Mick Sullivan, a
Bellarmine graduate) will perform at this year’s Chicago Bluegrass and
Blues festival on Dec 12. This year’s festival is headlined by Bela
Fleck and Dr. Dog. Squeeze-bot is an accordion, banjo, tuba and tiny
drum ensemble that delves into the unlikely repertoire of Mingus,
Monk, Aerosmith, Culture Club, Chick Corea and more. The band secured a
slot at this year’s festival by winning the popular vote in last
year’s “Last Banjo Standing” contest.
Mrs. Gabriele Weber-Bosley, director
of the International Programs Office, had her chapter, “Beyond
Immersion: Global Engagement and Transformation Through Intervention
via Student Reflection in Long-Term Study Abroad,” published in Internationalisation
and the Student Voice, edited by Dr. Elspeth Jones for Routledge
Press. She conducted a half-day workshop in Zacatecas, Mexico, on
Nov. 4 on Intervention in the Study Abroad Experience: Combining
Theory, Research and Application to Develop Intercultural Competence
by invitation from the AMPEI Conference Committee. Mrs.
Weber-Bosley also was an invited reviewer for the Council on
International Educational Exchange of their Middle Eastern Study
Abroad site in Amman, Jordan, on Nov. 7-9 in connection with her
presentation at the 2009 CIEE conference. And she was a presenter and
session chair on Nov. 13 on Developing Global Perspectives through
“Local” Encounters: High-Impact Learning through Targeted
Intervention Abroadat the CIEE conference in
Istanbul, Turkey.
School of Communication
Faculty and students have continued working with students in the communications magnet program at
Breckenridge Franklin Elementary School. Their work will be showcased
in a Communication Fair to be held Friday, Dec. 4.
Faculty and staff: Dr. Kyle Barnett, Dr. Gail
Henson, Dr. Ruth Wagoner, Ms. Winnie Spitza, Mrs. Sue Mauldin
Newspaper: Ms. Shannon Siders, Ms. Casey
Mattingly, Ms. Shelly Deacon
Broadcast: Ms. Katie Beveridge, Mr. Nick
Mattingly
Public speaking: Ms. Loretta Sharp, Mr. Brian
Varner
Ms. Winnie Spitza
organized a collection of 216 blankets from Bellarmine’s students,
faculty and staff for Blanket Louisville, a nonprofit organization whose
mission is to warm the hearts and bodies of Louisville’s homeless and
for whom she serves on the board of directors. Ms. Spitza also
accompanied Bellarmine’s pre-law students to Indiana University for
its annual Law School Fair on Oct. 20. Representatives from more than
100 schools were present.
Dr. Kimberly Parker received an
acceptance for a paper presentation at the International Conference on
the Arts in Society, to be held July 22-25, 2010, in Sydney,
Australia. The paper, Cohesiveness as Ideoculture, is
co-authored with Bobi Ivanov and Cheryl Nicolas. Dr. Parker also
presented two research papers at the November National Communication
Association meeting: Can Inoculation Create Umbrella Protection
Spanning over Related, but Untreated, Attitudes? Applying Inoculation
as a Strategy to Protect Young People’s Attitudes from Pressure to
Engage in Risky Behaviors, co-authored with Bobi Ivanov, which
was selected as a top three paper by the Communication and Social
Cognition Division; and Effectiveness of Advertising and Public
Relations Message Sequencing in New Product Introductions: Corporate
Credibility and Image as Moderators of Message Sequencing Success,
co-authored with Bobi Ivanov and Jeanetta Sims and selected as a top
three paper by the Public Relations Division.
Dr. Ruth and Mr. Jim Wagoner directed
the summer high school mock trial camp in conjunction with the
Louisville Bar Association. They were honored earlier this spring by
the Bar Association for their pro bono involvement with this.
Dr. Kyle Barnett published a chapter,
“The Recording Industry’s Role in Media History,” in the book Convergence
Media History, edited by Janet Staiger and Sabine Hake
(Routledge Press 2009). He presented a paper, Going Hollywood with
Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer, at the “Popular Music in the
Age of Mercer” conference Nov. 13-14 at Georgia State University,
which holds the archives for songwriter Johnny Mercer. Dr. Barnett has
also just been informed that he has been selected to participate in
FACE’s French film grant program, The Tournées Festival, for the
2009-10 academic year. This is the third year in a row that he has
received this prestigious grant. Announcement of films to be shown on
campus will be forthcoming.
MetroTV, under the direction of Mr. Matthew
Schuster, received four regional awards for community
programming in the Philo T. Farnsworth Video Festival sponsored by the
Central States Region of the Alliance for Community Media. This
included First Place for Government Programming, recognizing MetroTV
as the best government channel in the four-state region. Mr. Schuster
also presented on recent regulatory and legislative developments
related to PEG Access and Community Media at the Central States
Regional Conference, Oct. 15-17.
Dr. Gail Henson has created and
delivered programs on
Difficult Conversations with Aging Parents
and
Eleventh Hour Communication with Actively Dying Patients through
recent work with Hosparus. Dr. Henson also hosted Mr. Ed Webb,
director of the Kentucky World Trade Center, as a speaker in her
graduate class in Intercultural Communication.
Dr. Lara Hayes Needham’s
award-winning children’s video series, BabyPro, was awarded
the “Parent Tested, Parent Approved” seal in Spring 2009. Needham’s
company joined the ranks of other notable PTPA winners including VTech,
Lego, Stride Rite and Rosetta Stone. The PTPA seal is presented to
companies whose products are deemed exceptional by a knowledgeable and
unbiased panel of experts, including parents.
School of Education
Dr. Anne Bucalos has
been appointed by the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board
to serve on the Revised Program Review Committee to consider new review
processes for accreditation.
Dr. Corrie Orthober and Mr.
Seth Pollitt, Iroquois High School Social Studies Department
chair and a student in Bellarmine’s principal prep program, presented
a professional development session for Iroquois High School Social
Studies Department to implement JCPS’ “Assessment for Learning”
initiative on Oct. 29.
Dr. Corrie Orthober made a conference
presentation titled Differentiated Classroom
Questioning Strategies at Specified Levels of Cognitive Complexity
at the annual conference of the National Council for the Social Studies
in Atlanta on Nov. 13.
On Oct. 19, Drs. Robert and Kathy
Cooter presented Improving How Reading is Taught to
the Veritas Society.
Dr. Robert Cooter made a presentation
of research entitled Using the Comprehensive Reading Inventory
(CRI) in Response to Intervention (RTI): Tier 2 at the 53rd
annual meeting of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers
(ALER) in Charlotte, N.C., on Nov. 6.
Dr. David Paige’s article “Adolescent
Literacy: Using Whole-Class Choral Reading to Improve Literacy
Outcomes in Struggling Readers” has been published in the current
issue of the Kentucky Reading Journal (volume 27-2, Fall
2009).
Dr. Mary Goral gave two presentations
at the Wisconsin Education Teacher’s Conference in Milwaukee on Oct.
30. The presentations, based on Dr. Goral’s recently published book,
were titled Transformational Teaching: Waldorf-inspired Methods in
the Public School.
On Nov. 13, Dr. Adam Renner delivered a
paper at the annual National Council for the Social Studies meeting
with colleagues Nancye McCrary (UK) and Doug Selwyn (Plattsburg
State), entitled To do democracy: Overcoming alienation and
forming more progressive mental conceptions that remake our world.
On Nov. 9, the Center for Teaching Excellence and
Leadership and the School of Education
hosted a presentation by Allan MacRae on Restorative Justice.
Approximately 60 people from the university and various community
agencies attended.