Dear Bellarmine Community Members,
Bellarmine University will award 89 master’s and 354
bachelor's degrees during its 54th annual commencement exercises on
Saturday, May 12. The commencement speaker will be Wendell Berry,
celebrated American writer, farmer and conservationist. Ceremonies
will begin at noon in Knights Hall on Bellarmine’s campus.
Berry, a Kentucky native, has taught English and
written more than 30 books of poetry, essays and novels. Berry
continues to farm land along the Kentucky River that his family has
worked for over two centuries.
In addition to the conferral of the traditional
degrees, honorary doctorates will be awarded to Berry; Archbishop
Thomas Kelly, the third and current Archbishop of Louisville; and
William P. (Billy) Bradford, teacher and theater director at Trinity
High School and the Youth Performing Arts School (YPAS).
Other highlights of the commencement exercises will be
awarding the Archbishop's Medal of Scholastic Excellence, the Wilson
W. Wyatt Fellowships and the In Veritatis Amore award. The Archbishop's
Medal is awarded to the graduate having the highest cumulative grade
point average; the Wyatt Fellowship is presented to a student who has
accomplished a high academic standing, is an outstanding student
leader, and has completed a competitive interview and nomination
process. The In Veritatis Amore award is named after Bellarmine
University’s Latin motto, which translated means in love of truth, and
it is given to the best all around male and female.
Confidence, Pride and Hope at Bellarmine
This month I delivered my State of the University
address to the faculty assembly and also at the President’s
Breakfast.
Just to highlight the highlights here, we made
tremendous progress on Vision 2020 as we become the Premier
Independent Catholic University in the South and thereby the leading
private institution in the commonwealth and one of the very best in
the nation. Future updates and publications about the Vision will state
explicitly how this important, exciting work is rooted in our mission
of teaching and learning, and how it will support our excellent
faculty and promote growth in our existing schools and programs in
addition to adding new ones. The infrastructure for great progress
was established this year, including a very detailed strategic plan to
help our broadly representative steering committee engage us all in
implementing the vision; major fund-raising plans and successes to
help us finance the vision the beginning of researched-based
marketing, for the first time ever in our history, to make sure more
excellent prospective students, faculty and staff know who we are, how
good we are, and what a great value we are; and a Master Plan for
developing the campus in a way that will accommodate the growth we
envision beautifully, intelligently, greenly and well on our existing
135-acre park-like campus.
We are also making progress on our SACS reaccreditation
work, and this self-examination will make us better as we move
forward.
We will be hiring 16 more full-time faculty in the
coming year, investing more in faculty development and working to
reduce faculty teaching loads and to streamline other work in order to
provide more time for research and service.
We made great progress in campus life – we added
Crossroads, we performed 21,000 hours of service work, our student
athletes have a cumulative GPA of 3.1, our attendance at athletic
events was up about 45 percent -- and we will continue to enrich our
campus life experience in the coming year. The new Frazier Stadium,
for example, will be a whole new venue for excellence and fun.
And finally, our unique community spirit -- expressing
our Catholic identity in the inclusive, hospitable, respectful and
caring spirit of Thomas Merton – will be nurtured, enriched, and
deepened as our days increase.
Bellarmine University is on an exhilarating trajectory.
There is every reason for all of us to have great confidence, great
pride and great hope in our future together.
Bellarmine students earn Metroversity writing awards
Four BU students earned Kentuckiana Metroversity
Writing Award for 2007. Senior English major and honors student
Janelle Oliver earned first place in the Creative Nonfiction category.
This is Oliver’s fourth consecutive year receiving an award. She was
first in poetry in 2005 and second in the category in 2004 and 2006.
Senior English major and honors student Ben Lesousky took first place
for research. Lesousky, a past winner, took first in poetry in 2006.
Two first-time winners cleaned up the Poetry category. Junior
communications and English major Danielle Fleming took first place
while senior English major Jacob Banser took second. Congratulations
to these fine writers.
BU Welcomes Dr. Hannah Clayborne
Please join me in welcoming Dr. Hannah Clayborne as the
new Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Director of
Multicultural Programs. She comes to us from the University of Iowa
where she received her doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy
Studies. Dr. Clayborne holds a Master of Arts in Student Affairs in
Higher Education from Wright State University and a Bachelor’s
degree from Miami University of Ohio. The Assistant Vice President will
be responsible for the Career Center, Internships and Experiential
Learning, Minority and International Student Services, Student
Engagement, Assessment, and Service Learning.
Congratulations to John Stemmer
Congratulations to John Stemmer (now Dr. Stemmer),
Director of Library Services, on the successful defense of his
dissertation, "The Perception of Effectiveness in Merged Information
Services Organizations: Combining Library and Information Technology
Services at Liberal Arts Institutions." This completes his PhD in
Higher Education from Ohio University. Please join me in
congratulating John on this outstanding achievement.
Smock Finalist in Poetry Award
Congratulations to Fred Smock, finalist in the Kentucky
Literary Awards' poetry category. He was recognized for his book
Sonnets. The Kentucky Literary Awards for excellence in fiction,
nonfiction and poetry were announced on Friday, April 20 at Western
Kentucky University.
BU Landscape Vision Earns Merit Award
J.P. Shadley & Associates and Bellarmine
University received a Merit Award for the work on Bellarmine
University: Landscape Vision and Wayfinding Report. The award was
presented by the Kentucky Chapter of American Society of Landscape
Architects (KYASLA) at their 2007 Awards Program on March 31 at the
Yew Dell Gardens in Crestwood, Kentucky. Wayfinding is the
comprehensive landscape plan for Vision 2020. Wayfinding was a
recipient of the Merit Award in the planning category. The American
Society of Landscape Architects was founded in 1899 as the national
professional association representing landscape architects. The KYASLA
is one of 48 chapters representing all 50 states, US territories and
42 countries around the world.
Bellarmine P.T. Students to Host Run on May 26
BU’s physical therapy department will sponsor a “Fun
Run” at the Louisville Zoo on May 26. Proceeds will benefit the
Jefferson County Public Schools’ physical therapy fund, which provides
needed equipment and services to children with physical
challenges.The early registration deadline is May 4. Registration the
day of the race will take place from 7:15 a.m. to 7:45 a.m. The event
begins at 8:30 a.m. For more information about the Fun Run email Liz Ulanowski, president of
the P.T. student group, or call 502-272-8356.
Landon Armstrong-Binnix
Congratulations to Jon and Julie Armstrong-Binnix on the
birth of their son. Jon "Landon" Armstrong-Binnix was born at 8:03am
April 26, 2007. Landon weighed 8 lbs. and 5 oz. and 20 in. long. Jon,
Julie, Big Sister Emelia and Baby Landon are all doing well.
Critical Care Nursing Article
Congratulations to Dr. Nancy York (now Asst. Professor
of nursing at the University of Nevada Las Vegas School of Nursing) and
Professor Carol Smith on the publication of their most recent article,
A Blueprint for Developing an Undergraduate Critical Care Nursing
Course, in the referred journal, Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing,
Vol. 26, No. 3, May/June 2007.