Dear Bellarmine University Students, Faculty and Staff,

I am delighted to share the news that Bellarmine University has appointed Dr. Robert B. Cooter, Jr. as the Ursuline Endowed Chair of Teacher Education. This appointment is effective this fall and signifies the first endowed chair in education. It is named in honor of the Ursuline Sisters because it is the merger with Ursuline College in 1968 that brought teacher education to Bellarmine’s campus.

Dr. Cooter is an internationally known expert on literacy, especially in the area of increasing literacy among poverty-stricken, urban schoolchildren. He is also renowned as editor of The Reading Teacher, the largest education journal in the world. We are quite proud that this distinguished scholarly journal now will be housed at Bellarmine University!

I am also pleased to announce that Dr. Kathleen Spencer Cooter will be joining the education faculty as professor this coming fall. She will teach special education courses and serve as founding director of the new center in the School of Education that will provide outreach to the local schools and community as well as provide funding opportunities.

Currently, both Dr. Robert Cooter and Dr. Kathleen Cooter are on the faculty at the University of Memphis, where they have each earned a number of honors and have published extensively. Among their published works are more than a dozen books, 60 refereed journal articles, and several book reviews. Combined, they have attracted more than $35 million in grants.

Thanks and kudos to Dean Cindy Gnadinger and Vice President Doris Tegart for successfully recruiting these prominent educators to Bellarmine’s Annsley Frazier Thornton School of Education.

Bellarmine awards degrees at December commencement

Bellarmine awarded 274 undergraduate and graduate degrees at its annual December commencement exercises on Wednesday, Dec. 19. Honorary degrees were awarded to USA Harvest founder Stan Curtis and philanthropist Joan Cralle Day. Curtis also delivered the commencement address. Read more on our web site.

Bellarmine named one of “Best Places to Work in Kentucky”

I'm delighted and not one bit surprised to report that the Kentucky Society of Human Resource Management, in conjunction with the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, has announced that Bellarmine University is among the winners of its 4th Annual “Best Places to Work in Kentucky” competition.

The program is a multiyear initiative designed to motivate the state’s companies to focus, measure and move their workplace environments toward excellence. It is based on Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work for in America.”

Summer Stipend Recipients

I am pleased to announce the 2008 recipients of the Faculty Summer Stipend:

• Akhtar Mahmood – Search for New Subatomic Particles at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
• Michael Luthy – Global Marketing Outposts?The Role of Foreign Embassies in Fostering Commerce, Trade, and Tourism
• Don Osborn – Historico-Cultural Factors in Beauty Judgments: 16th Century Courtesans Judged Against 21st Century Media Ideals
• Frederick Smock – The Appalachian Achievement of Poet James Still

The Faculty Summer Stipend program provides support to full-time teaching faculty to pursue two consecutive months of study or research. We look forward to hearing the results of their research at a Faculty Forum in the 2008-09 academic year. Please join me in congratulating our colleagues on this opportunity to enhance their scholarship and further the academic mission of Bellarmine University.

Lecture on Merton and Racial reconciliation

The Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University will sponsor a lecture by Princeton University professor Albert Raboteau. The lecture, titled “Thomas Merton and Racial Reconciliation,” will be held on Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. in Frazier Hall. Raboteau will also be a guest on State of Affairs which will be broadcast from campus.

Raboteau specializes in American religious history with a focus on American Catholic history and African American religious movements. He is the author of the book A Fire in the Bones, which includes a chapter on Merton and Martin Luther King, Jr. Other titles by Raboteau include Slave Religion: The “Invisible Institution” in the Antebellum South, Canaan Land: A Religious History of African Americans, African-American Religion, and A Sorrowful Jay.

Lansing School achievements

Dr. Karen Golemboski and Professor Michelle Draper have had their work, “Emergency Preparedness Instruction: Use of a Global Bioterror Scenario in a CLS Curriculum” accepted as a poster session at the Clinical lab Educators Conference in February 2008 in Savannah, Georgia

Dr. Kathy Hager's article, “Pilot Project: the Chronic Pain Diary” appeared in the Journal of Gerontological Nursing, Vol. 33, No. 9, September, 2007, pp. 14-19.

Grace Dowe presented “Community-based Healthcare: Management of cholesterol and glucose values in an Underserved population” as her final project in the MSLA program. Ms. Dowe is the last student to graduate from the MSLA program

Dawn Ginter and Robert Holland, BSN majors, have had their article, “Medication Errors in a Rural Hospital Setting” selected for publication in the next issue of the Kentucky Nurse.

Dr. Beverley Holland has published a chapter, “The Aging Client” in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing: An Introduction to Theory and Practice by P G O’Brien, W. Z. Kennedy and K. A. Ballard. The text is a 1st Edition published by Jones and Bartlett, 2008.

Dr. Joan Masters has published a chapter, “Mental Disorders due to General Medical Conditions” in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing: an Introduction to Theory and Practice.

Dr. Connie Cooper has had a paper presentation accepted by the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education International Conference in March 2008. The paper is titled “A Study of Faculty Attitudes, Perceptions, Resistance and Expectations Toward Teaching Web-Based Learning Courses in Higher Education”.

Dr. Gina Pariser has published an article, “Physical Activity: A Cornerstone for Managing Type 2 Diabetes”, in Kentuckian Healthy Woman, November/December 2007.

Lansing School Student Accomplishments

Hilda Ortega, a 2007 Cytotechnology graduate, passed the national board exam attaining an overall score of 787 and perfect scores of 999 in two subspecialties. These are the highest scores ever achieved by any graduate dating back to the 1960s.

Respiratory Therapy students were featured in the American Association of Respiratory Care newsletter, "In the News." The students’ efforts on campus on smoking cessation and other lung diseases were noted. The students’ activities of pulse oximetries and peak flow measurement, and general information were highlighted.

Welcome to Michael Jude Hoskins-Harris

Congratulations to Megan Hoskins, MSN, RN, Clinical Coordinator for the Nursing Department on the birth of a health and happy baby boy. Master Michael Jude arrived at 7:53am on December 31, 2007. He weighed 7 lbs and 10 0z and was 20 in long.

Pearson articles

Please congratulate Dr. Paul M. Pearson, Thomas Merton Center Director and Archivist, on the publication of his articles “A Wide Open Lens: The Photography of Thomas Merton” in Dialogue Australasia 18 (October 2007) and “A Meeting of Angels: Thomas Merton and the Shakers.” American Communal Societies Quarterly 1.4 (October 2007): 150-169.

Who's Who Students

Congratulations to these Bellarmine students upon being named 2007-08 Who’s Who Among American Colleges and Universities.

Graduate Students
Claude Allen Berry
Crystal Lee Early
Elizabeth Ann Ulanowski

Undergraduate Students
Amanda Danielle Alvey
Valeria Aramburu
Beth Ann BecVar
Sarah Lynn Bell
Rachel Rena Best
Pamela Bronner
Amber Rose Brown
Amberly Kristine Burris
Colin Michael Carroll
Kelly Marie Casey
Andrew Joseph Coverstone
Patrick Ryan Crush
Michael Todd Daniel
Danielle Lucille D’Aniello
Rita Helen Dixon
Joseph J. Esch
Franklyn Paul Fenton
Tiffany Kathleen Florence
Kristen Netter Harrison
Kathryn Caroline Hickey
Maria Genevieve Hornung
Jourdan N. Hubbuch
Andrea Sloan Hubbuch
Jolene Nicole Hughes
Alexander Joseph Kuebbing
Jason Eugene Lally
Kara Noelle Lauterbach
Tracy Lynne Law
Tumaini C. Malenga
Suzanne Elise McGee
Rebecca J. Meade
Christopher Todd Mozier
Sara Jane Musk
Jessica Dianne Neiser
Cassandra Ashley Patterson
Riayn McKenna Porter
Jessica Dee Poteet
Michelle Kathleen Quill
Thomas Stephen Reynolds
Jeanna Marie Romani
Angelica Sanchez-Vega
Katherine Grace Schaffer
Megan Lynne Schlarman
Sabrina E. Sebastian
Tiffany Ellen Simpson
Whitney Rachel Talbott
Wesley Mark Thomas
Patricia Suzanne Todd
Sara L. Triftshouser
Rachel Lee Walz
Samuel Jovian Weigel

Fall Sports Wrap-Up

Bellarmine student-athletes were among the nation’s best in several NCAA categories. In field hockey, junior goalkeeper Kristina Thomas finished third in the nation in save percentage at .824, and was sixth in the country in goals against average at 1.35. Meanwhile, her teammate, Sloane Hubbuch was seventh in the country in assists at 0.47 assists per game, which helped Bellarmine rank fifth nationally in that category. On the volleyball court, setter Caryn Schoeff, who was in her first year at that position this season, finished 46th in the country in assists per game at 11.8, while senior outside hitter Chelsea Bibelhauser was 58th in kills at 4.1 kills per game. In men’s soccer, goalie Justin Welply was 63rd nationally in saves per game with an average of 4.4, while women’s keeper Alison Von Hoene ranked 56th nationally in goals against average at 1.06. Congratulations to these fine athletes.

Cross Country Doles Out Awards

Recently, the Bellarmine cross country teams hosted their post-season awards banquet. At the event, several runners were recognized. On the women’s side, Katie Hickey was named team MVP and picked up her Great Lakes All-Region award. Junior Kristin Gieger was given the “Most Team Impact” award. For the men’s team, freshman Neal Masterson, who is coming off a sensational rookie campaign, was named MVP, while the “Most Team Impact” honor went to junior Greg Robinson.

Lewallen Pours in the Points

In the Knights’ recent game with SIU-Edwardsville, senior center Ashley Lewallen scored her 1,000th point. Lewallen became the 23rd player to join the 1,000-point club at Bellarmine. Two nights later, Lewallen scored a career-high 23 points in a game at Quincy.

Mondy Named State’s Top Track Star

Basketball player and track star Denasha Mondy was named USA Track and Field’s College Female Athlete of the Year in the state of Kentucky for 2007. Last spring, Mondy became just the third Bellarmine female track athlete to earn All-America honors by finishing fourth in the long jump at the NCAA national meet in Charlotte, N.C. She also earned a berth in the national meet in the 100 meter dash. Although she is now a senior, Mondy ran her first season of collegiate track last spring. She promptly set school records in the 100 meters, 200 meters, and long jump. She was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Newcomer of the Year after winning the 100 and long jump events in the GLVC meet, while finishing second in the 200.

Nault named Kentucky Official of the Year

Also recognized at the USATF ceremony was Bellarmine jumps coach Bill Nault who was named Kentucky Official of the Year and was selected to be a high jump referee for the 2008 USA Olympic Track and Field trials.

Soccer Teams Excel On and Off Field

The soccer teams posted some of the best team grade point averages in the nation during the fall semester this school year. The Knights were one of just 74 NCAA schools nationally to have both their men’s and women’s programs average a 3.0 team GPA. Bellarmine was one of just three schools in the GLVC to have both teams earn the honor, and joined the likes of NCAA powers Notre Dame, Duke, and Penn State in the double achievement. Junior goalkeeper Justin Welply was selected by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America to the Great Lakes Region Third Team for his work on the field, while Andrew Coverstone, Jessica Neiser, and Mackenzie Prather were all named to Academic All-Region teams by the NSCAA.

Coach Sullivan Becomes Dad

Congratulations to women’s basketball assistant coach Brian Sullivan and his wife Margaret, who became the parents of Catherine Elizabeth, who was born Jan. 11. The newest Knight checked in at 21 inches long and weighed 7 pounds, 14 ounces at birth.

Cornell Craig to be inducted in SIU’s Hall of Fame

Bellarmine University Director of Minority Programs Cornell Craig will be inducted in Southern Illinois University’s Hall of Fame in a ceremony on Friday, Feb. 29. Craig, who played wide receiver on the Salukis football team, also recently earned his master of business administration degree from Bellarmine. Congratulations, Cornell!

Bellarmine Basketball on the Air

Basketball fans can listen to radio broadcasts of all Bellarmine home games and selected road games by tuning into BU Radio on the internet. Students Benjamin Dowdy, Nick Mattingly, and Donnie Kornick will be calling the action live. Links to internet webcasts of basketball road games can be found in the upper right corner of the Bellarmine basketball webpage.