Dear Bellarmine Students, Faculty and Staff,

In the past month we have seen the beginnings of an ambitious project that will expand our main dining hall and add new space for the School of Communication, while also making our campus more environmentally friendly.

A crew is presently constructing a geothermal system, a series of pipes, under the Frazier Hall parking lot.

Workers will drill 88 wells 500 feet into the bedrock and back up. The system will provide heating and cooling throughout the Brown Activities Center, Wyatt Hall, Norton Fine Arts and Alumni Hall. We also will tie the expanded dining hall and School of Communication space onto this system.

In addition, a rainwater collection system will gather rainwater off the roofs and store it in six tanks inside the Brown Activities Center. We will use the rainwater to operate toilets in the restrooms in that building.

While this work has meant the temporary loss of some parking near Frazier, the long-term gains will be well worth the short-term inconvenience. This project will give us a much more attractive and functional dining hall as well as more classroom and office space, and the addition of the geothermal system is directly in line with our goal to seek opportunities to create a globally sustainable future.

New tennis complex dedicated

On Sept. 12, the beautiful new Eddie Weber Tennis Complex was dedicated at a ceremony attended by Eddie Weber’s three sons and by a number of generous alumni and friends, including Mr. John J. Flynn Jr. ’70 and Mr. G. Jesse Flynn ’71, who led the fundraising effort and contributed the signs and the landscaping. Mr. Weber earned 17 varsity letters from the University of Louisville during his own playing career. He joined Bellarmine in 1952 and served in several capacities until his retirement in 1971, including athletic director, professor, intramural director and head coach for tennis, basketball, baseball, cross country, golf and track. As a Bellarmine coach, Mr. Weber was one of the first in Kentucky to integrate basketball. Read more about the complex and Mr. Weber here.

Financial Aid Welcomes New Assistant Director

The Office of Financial Aid welcomes a new assistant director, Ms. Sandy McShane. Ms. McShane comes to us from Indiana University Southeast, where she served as a financial aid counselor for the past four years. Ms. McShane has a bachelor of arts in biological sciences from Southern Illinois University and is a December 2009 candidate for a master of liberal studies with a concentration in gender studies from IUS.

Faculty and Staff News and Achievements

Dr. Hank Rothgerber has assumed the role of Honors Director. Dr. Rothgerber is a member of the Psychology Department and is beginning his 10th year at the university. Having been involved previously in the Honors Council, thesis-directing, and the Bellarmine Scholars competition, he brings key experience to this new position, as well as great passion for the work.

On Sept. 11, Dr. Melanie-Préjean Sullivan, director of campus ministry, presented a break-out session at the East Regional Meeting of the Association of Clinical Pastoral Educators based upon her doctoral research on theologies and models of discernment. The following day, she presented a Plenary with Sr. Helen Préjean, CSJ (Dead Man Walking) entitled, “Shaping Prophetic Ministry; Educating for Social Justice.”Dr. Sullivan also recently led a retreat for vocation directors as part of the National Religious Vocations Conference at Loretto.

Teaching Abroad

The following faculty who developed proposals for the Center for Cooperative Study Abroad will teach abroad in summer 2010:

Dr. Tom Wilson of the Psychology Department will teach “History of Psychology in Britain” in England.

Dr. Anne and the Rev. Dean Bucalos of the School of Education will teach “Learn to Live Together: Irish Democratic Education and Its Roots in History and Culture” in Ireland.

Mr. Carlos Chavarría of the English/Theater Department will teach “Multicultural Theater” in England.

Dr. Frank Hutchins of the Sociology Department will teach “Physical Reality, Geographic Imaginary and Profound Bonds between People and Place” in Ireland.

Dr. Kathy Hager of the Nursing Department will teach “Aging across Cultures” in Australia.

Ms. Winnie Spitza of the School of Communication will teach “Multicultural Look into Interpersonal Relationships” in Australia.

Dr. Lara Hayes Needham of the School of Communication will teach “Speaker’s Corner and the Art of Persuasion” in England.

The following faculty who developed proposals for the Kentucky Institute of International Studies will teach abroad in summer 2010:

Mrs. Theresa Koester Mills of the Art Department will teach “Michelangelo, the Artist and his Patron” in Italy.

Mr. Richard Burchard of the Music Department will teach “Digital Music Production” and “Experiencing Non-Western Cultures through Music and Film” in Salzburg, Austria.

Dr. Nelson López of the Global Languages and Cultures Department will teach “Intermediate Spanish Language and Culture” and “Advanced Spanish Conversation” in Spain.

The following School of Business faculty will teach in the Bellarmine Faculty-Led Business Program in Italy, Austria and France in summer 2010:

Mrs. Pat Carver will teach “The International Business Experience.”

Dr. Patricia Selvy will teach “New Business Ventures.”

College of Arts and Sciences

The National Endowment for the Humanities awarded $165,000 to fund a proposal by Dr. Eric Roorda, professor of history, for a Summer Institute for college faculty. “The American Maritime People” will be held next year at Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut as part of the NEH “We the People” initiative, with Dr. Roorda as the director. Dr. Roorda was also invited by the World Affairs Council of Kentucky and Indiana to give a well-attended talk on Cuba, based on his book Cuba, America and the Sea, on Sept. 8 at Havana Rumba restaurant. In addition to his academic accomplishments, Dr. Roorda ran the U.S. Air Force marathon at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton on Sept. 19, completing the race in less than four hours.

Dr. Lisa Willner, adjunct faculty in psychology, is the new executive director of the Kentucky Psychological Association.

Mr. Barry Padgett, associate professor of philosophy, and Drs. Mike Luthy and Julie Toner, business professors, have an article published in the most recent Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues, Ethical Perspectives of Business and Non-business Majors among College Freshmen.

Dr. David Mosley, associate professor of philosophy, is editor of Word and Music Studies Forum, http://wordmusicstudies.org/index.htm, 2009 (an online journal published annually). He made presentations at two international conferences in 2009: “Listening to Kierkegaard’s Don Giovanni” at the University of London, and “Milan Kundera’s Contrapuntal Prose and the Poetics of Divestment” at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna, Austria.

Mr. Mark Kaelin, instructor of biology, had chapters published in two books over the summer: “Strength Training Strategies for Individuals with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease” (Resistance Training for Special Populations) and “Resistance Training Strategies for Individuals with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease” (Resistance Training for Special Populations Quick Reference Guide).

Dr. Anthony Lentz, assistant professor of biology, was the principal author of a scientific research article published in the Florida Entomologist: Effect of male accessory gland extracts on female oviposition and sexual receptivity of the Caribbean fruit fly (Diptera: Tephritidae).

As part of his contribution to Imagining America, Dr. Nelson López, chair of the Global Languages and Cultures Department, was the featured speaker on Sept. 19 at the Literary Salon at Iroquois Library. Dr. López is Bellarmine University’s campus representative for Imagining America: Artists and Scholars in Public Life, a national consortium of colleges and universities committed to public scholarship in the arts, humanities, and design.

Mr. Carlos Chavarria, assistant professor of theater, made presentations to MEChA: Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan’s Multicultural Series, 2008-09, at the University of Oregon, and the XVI International Mexican Association of Theatre Researchers, Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City; presented “Vaqueeros: An Ethnodrama” in Mexico City; served as producer and program coordinator for ImPACT—Staged Reading for 2009 Latina/o TFYA New Work Winning Play, The Real Adventures of Jimmy de las Rosas by Ricardo Gamboa, in New York City; and presented the paper “Innovative Approaches to Commissioning and Developing Plays for and with Youth” in New York City.

Dr. Melody Boyd Carriere, instructor of French, Italian and interdisciplinary studies in the Department of Global Languages & Cultures, had an article, The Sound of Silence: How Memory Becomes Text in Tina De Rosa’s Paper Fish, published in the Spring edition of Forum Italicum.

Mr. David Dominé, adjunct faculty in Global Languages and Cultures, signed a contract with Globe Pequot Press in August to write a comprehensive travel guide about Louisville. An Insider's Guide to Louisville will be released in spring 2010. His fourth book, Haunts of Old Louisville: Gilded Age Ghosts and Haunted Mansions in America's Spookiest Neighborhood, was published by McClanahan Publishing in mid-August and received a very good review in the Sept. 12 Courier-Journal. In September, Dominé signed a contract with Arcadia Publishing to author a pictorial history of Old Louisville, one of the nation's premier historic preservation districts. Images of America: Old Louisville will be released in summer 2010.

Mr. Curtis Bergstrand, associate professor of sociology and criminal justice, and Ms. Jennifer Sinski, instructor of English and IDC, co-authored the book Swinging in America: Love, Sex, and Marriage in the 21st Century, scheduled for release in November.

The article Teaching Permutations through Rhythm Patterns by Dr. Bill Fenton, professor of mathematics and interim dean of Bellarmine College, appeared in the September issue of the Journal of Mathematics & the Arts.

Mr. Fong Choo, adjunct faculty member in the Art Department, recently exhibited work at the American Craft Exposition in Evanston, Ill., where he was awarded the Artistic Expression Award by a panel of three judges. The American Craft Exposition is a showcase of work by about 150 of the country’s finest artists and craftspeople.

English Department

Mr. Frederick Smock’s new book of poems, The Blue Hour, has been accepted for publication in 2010, and new essays are to be published this fall in The Writer’s Chronicle and The Bloomsbury Review.

Dr. Chuck Hatten’s book, The End of Domesticity: Alienation from the Family in Dickens, Eliot and James, is to be published this fall.>

Dr. Kathryn West is co-writer and co-editor of Contemporary American Literature: 1970 to Present, to be published this fall.

Dr. Anthony O’Keeffe was a Fulbright Fellow in Romania this past spring.

Dr. David Overbey published the book Verifying Web-based Information: Detailed Accounts of Web Use in Real Time.

School of Education

Dr. John Russ, adjunct faculty member with the Bellarmine School of Education, appeared in the KET program Kentucky Principals: Leading by Example on Sept. 15. Dr. Russ teaches in the principal preparation program and serves as the Bellarmine liaison for JCPS in its leadership-mentoring program. The show featured a panel discussion with leading Kentucky Educators, with topics including student literacy, leadership and instruction. See the KET magazine article featuring Dr. Russ here.

An article written by Ms. Deborah Baker, Dr. Anne Bucalos, Dr. Cindy Gnadinger, Mr. Thomas Scott (adjunct instructor), Ms. Brenda Maynard (adjunct instructor) and Debbie Daniels (State Action Education Leadership Project Director, Division of Leadership & Instructional Support-Kentucky Department of Education) was published in the Spring 2009 ScholarlyPartnershipsEdu journal. The title of the article is Partnership for Preparing the Perfect Principal: A Collaboration of Hope or a Preposterous Proposition?

Dr. Christy McGee’s article Killing Three Birds with One Stone: An Innovative Tutoring Program Provides Effective Reading Intervention, Increases the Self-Perception of Struggling Readers, and Prepares New Teachers was published in the Summer 2009 issue of Kentucky Reading Journal. Dr. McGee has been named the chair-elect of the Parent and Community Network of the National Association for Gifted Children. She will serve as program-chair for the national meeting in 2010. Dr. McGee also presented a workshop for Chenoweth Elementary on Differentiated Instruction on Aug. 12.

Dr. Cindy Gnadinger, with former graduate students Ms. Nicole Costanzo and Ms. Shelby Wilson, had their manuscript, The Journey of a Reading Teacher, published in the Kentucky Reading Journal’s Summer 2009 issue.

Dr. Adam Renner was named the associate editor of the journal Critical Education. On Aug. 1 he offered a workshop at the Kentucky Social Forum, “Close the Debt Trap: Eradicating the predatory lending industry in Kentucky,” at Berea College.

Ms. Stephanie Sullivan, adjunct faculty member and Graves County Central Elementary School principal, was named Kentucky’s 2009 National Distinguished Principal.