Dear Bellarmine Students, Faculty and Staff,

As the 2008-2009 academic year comes to a close, and we celebrate our May 2009 Commencement, we wish our undergraduate and graduate students earning degrees the very best as they begin exciting new chapters in their lives and thank them for the opportunity to teach and learn together.

Thomas Merton Center Receives Gift of Letters

A former editor of Monastic Studies has donated letters and calligraphies appraised at more than $50,000 to the Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University. The gift from Brendan Collins includes 34 original pieces of correspondence and 10 copies of originals that will be donated at a later time. All were written from 1962-67.

"In many ways, these letters are typical of the way Merton talked to his fellow monks -- smart, funny, passionate, with an unmistakable love of God underneath everything," Collins wrote in a letter accompanying his donation.

The donation includes handwritten and typed letters, poems, essays and drawings. Be sure to stop by the Merton Center to see this wonderful addition to Bellarmine’s collection.

Student and Alumni Achievements

Bellarmine’s men’s basketball team made it all the way to the sweet sixteen this year, but those who were unable to attend in person were able to tune into the BU radio staff – Donnie Kornick, Nick Mattingly, Reed Peterson, Alex Koch, and Justin Stafford, that broadcast the games. People listened in Germany, Ireland, Canada, Mexico, and all over the USA.

Bellarmine Mock Trial has wrapped up another strong season, bringing national acclaim to the university. After decisively beating the competition in the initial regional tournament, and qualifying two teams for the opening round of the national championship, Bellarmine's season ended in Memphis.

The more experienced of Bellarmine's two teams, team 852, effectively ended its chance to advance with a third round loss to hometown Rhodes College. The younger team, team 853, saw its opportunity to be one of the top six qualifying teams vanish in the fourth round against the University of New Hampshire.

Team 852 finished the year with 45 wins, 10 losses and five ties, won the most prestigious fall invitational -- the University of Virginia Great American Mock Trial Invitational -- and went undefeated at the Illinois Invitational and at the regional tournament in Louisville.

Team 853 – made up entirely of underclassmen – finished the year with 24 wins, 21 losses and 3 ties, including an excellent third place finish at the Downtown Invitational hosted by New York University.

Congratulations to all Mock Trial team members and coaches for a job well done. Read more about Mock Trial here.

The Kentucky Intercollegiate Press Association recently held its state competition on Feb. 27 and 28. The Concord staff received many awards:

Danielle White
First Place
Sports Photo

Megan Carpenter
First Place
Advertising Design

Kristian White
First Place
News Headline

Nick Welsh
Second Place
News Story

The Concord
Second Place
Overall Layout

Zach Braman
Third Place
Sports Game Story

Steve Witt
Honorable Mention
Feature Photo

Rita Dixon
Honorable Mention
Feature Photo

Congratulations to The Concord staff on these achievements!

The 2009 Annual Student Art Exhibition boasted one hundred and twenty-two works of art by 83 students this year. These works were displayed in the McGrath Art Gallery, several of which received awards from Dean Kingsolver.

Jack L. Terhune Memorial Scholarships
Shohei Katayama
Nathan Hendrickson

Norton Art Endowed Scholarships

Sarah Beveridge

Heather Drury

Best of Show
Sponsored by Dr. John Gatton / Carolyn Payne
Waterlilly / Acrylic

Best 2-D
Sponsored by Preston Arts / Sarah Beveridge
Tam, Shadows in Blue / Acrylic

Best Photo
Sponsored by Dr. Doris Tegart / Leanne Cape
Untitled / b/w Photography

Best New Media
Sponsored by Dr. Doris Tegart / Natalie Fisher
Image / Video

Most Outside the Box
Sponsored by Artist and Craftsman Supplies / Maria Tatman
Aegina de Anna / Acrylic on Wood

Best 3-D
Sponsored by Bob and Dotti Lockhart / Christopher Mozier
The Awkwardness of the 'Just' Worker / Ceramic and Acrylic

Honorable Mentions included: Nathan Hendrickson, Katie Pauly, Rachel Banks, Mark Becker, Nick Flood, Bethany Steinmetz, Heather Drury, Alicia Hildebrand, Mara Piechowski, Justin Applegate, Amanda Cooper, Angela Ress, Blake Bass, Liz Dugan, Shohei Katayama, Rachael Patterson, Simone Potts, Rachael Patterson, and Theresa Hawkins.

Nine psychology students presented their major research papers as talks at the 20th Annual Mid-America Undergraduate Research Conference at Franklin College on April 18. Many of these received public praise from attendees from 18 colleges and universities in the region. Names and talk titles are given below. Abstracts are available by request.

Josh Anna
The Prevalence of Illegal Drugs in School and the Workplace

John Guinter
On the Relationships among Defense Mechanisms and Age when Parents Divorced

Jaime Kisselbaugh
Self-Monitoring and the Element of Social Stress as Defined as Academic Evaluation

Felicia Schultz
Stress and Rehearsal Prevention: Revealing Sensory Bias in Cognitive Resilience

Emily Whitledge, John Guinter, and Jensyn Kaplan
Sexual Motivators among College Students

Kim Williamson
A Survey of the Opinion and Prevalence of Psychopharmacology among College Students

Kim Williamson, Chelsea Turner, Jaime Kisselbaugh, and Blair Massey
The Influence of Authority on Self-Reported Comfort Levels

Congratulations to the winners and nominees of the 2009 Metroversity Adult Learner Awards. Winners included: Scott Farley, Accelerated Nursing; Monica Martinson, Master of Arts in Business Administration; Dr. Linda Cain, Nursing Faculty; and Gayle Ramirez, Nursing Staff.

Nominees included: Christopher Meyer, History; Sharon Raney, Accelerated Nursing; and Leanne Willen, Master of Arts in Teaching.

Faculty and Staff News

Bellarmine University's director of financial aid, Heather Boutell, has received the 2009 Herb Vescio Distinguished Service Award from the Kentucky Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (KASFAA). Association president Jennifer Cosens Priest presented the award during the group's spring conference last week in Erlanger, Ky.

The Vescio Award is the association's most prestigious honor for financial aid professionals, and recognizes an individual's contributions to the association or the profession. Please join me in congratulating her on this prestigious accomplishment. Learn more about Ms. Boutell’s award here.

Norton Healthcare Chief Development Officer Lynnie Meyer delivered the keynote address at the induction ceremony for the Bellarmine Lambda Psi Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau, International. Meyer, who earned both her undergraduate nursing degree and master's degree in nursing administration from Bellarmine, was honored as an inductee during the ceremony on April 19. Ms. Meyer also serves as executive director of the Kosair Children's Hospital and Norton Healthcare Foundations. The Bellarmine Lambda Psi chapter of Sigma Theta Tau began in 1990. The society honors people in the nursing profession who have shown a strong commitment to research, service and leadership. Read more about Ms. Meyer and her accomplishments here.

On April 3, Dr. Dottie Willis made a presentation, “Preparing Urban Teachers to Address Student Needs in a High-Demand Subject Area,” at the Great Teachers for Our City Schools National Summit in Denver, Colorado.

Dr. Robert Cooter delivered the 2009 presentation for The Dean’s Lecture Series at Murray State University on March 27. His presentation was titled, “Academic Literacy and Multicultural Education: Strategies for Helping Low Socioeconomic Students Succeed in Higher Education.” On April 2, Dr. Cooter delivered the keynote address at the 2009 National Association of Laboratory Schools Annual Conference in Memphis, Tennessee. His speech was titled, “Rousing Minds to Life: The Teacher Makes the Difference!”

Congratulations to Karen-Lord Powell and Brian Powell on the birth of their son of Dillon Christopher Powell, born 3:22am, April 24th. He is Nineteen inches, 7.2 lbs. Karen is instructor of violin and principal second violinist with the Louisville Orchestra and Brian is instructor of double bass.

Congratulations to Student Life Coordinator Melanie Evans and her husband Mark, who welcomed Eleanor Whitney Evans at 11:30am on Tuesday, April 28th. She was 7 pounds 11 oz and 21 inches long. Mom and daughter are doing happy and healthy.

Tobacco-free Campus

I am proud to inform you that Bellarmine is taking an important step toward making our community healthier for everyone. Based on information gathered during a campus-wide survey and year-long study, Bellarmine will become a tobacco-free campus on January 1, 2010.

We respect the freedom of Bellarmine community members who choose to smoke, but we also recognize the rights of community members to enjoy the campus free from secondhand smoke. Bellarmine will prohibit the use of tobacco on all university property, including vehicles and sports and recreation facilities. Smoking in personal vehicles will be allowed. This policy will be a self-enforcing community effort. We will depend upon members of the university community to comply and encourage others to observe this change to create a healthier place for us all to learn, live and work.

Creation of a tobacco-free campus will occur in two phases. The first phase is education. To support the health and well-being of everyone on campus, the university will sponsor smoking cessation programs free of charge to all participants. Information about the cessation programs will be distributed during the coming months. New signage also will be in place to inform campus visitors of the policy as we near the effective date. In the meantime, if you are interested in participating in a smoking cessation program, please contact Alice Kimble at 452-8493 or makimble@bellarmine.edu. In concert with educational efforts, the second phase will occur with implementation January 1, 2010.

We are exploring the best way to implement this commitment to a healthier campus. Through patience and a community spirit, we believe this policy will be successful and will benefit students, employees and visitors.

"The Bellarmines" nominations

The 2008-2009 faculty and staff awards are still open for nomination on our website. The awards recognize the distinguished achievements of faculty and staff in living the core values of the Bellarmine campus community. To nominate a faculty or staff member for one of these prestigious awards, please visit the nomination page. The page includes descriptions of the awards, along with a form you can use to make a nomination. Just enter the name of the nominee, your name (optional), choose the appropriate award, and include a brief description of why your nominee is deserves the nomination. Award winners will receive a beautiful stoneware "Bellarmine jug." Please note that the nomination deadline is May 9.

Bellarmine in the News

WDRB-TV highlighted the Academic Challenge at Bellarmine as part of its Derby festivities coverage. Preview clip.:

Bellarmine Education alum Beth Reiss was named an Excel Award Winner. See the WHAS-TV profile of Reiss here.

New York Times reporter Lisa Belkin interviewed director of financial aid Heather Boutell about the importance of work-study in this economy. See the full story here.

Bellarmine education professor Kathleen Cooter spoke with Baltimore Sun reporter Eileen Ambrose about what students have learned from the financial crisis. Dr. Cooter is co-director of the Bellarmine Center for Economic Education. See the story here. This story also re-ran in the Chicago Tribuneand The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.):.

Business school dean Dan Bauer spoke with the Courier-Journal about the state receiving loans to cover jobless benefits. See the story here.

The Courier-Journal April 16 featured an interview with PT professor Beth Ennis about her research with children who have autism. See the full story here.

Bellarmine University junior Craig Satterley was interviewed by the Courier-Journal regarding his participation in a Good Friday Walk for Justice. See the story here.

On Tuesday, April 7, Courier-Journal reporter Nancy Rodriguez explored the tight job market. She interviewed soon-to-be Bellarmine grads about their plans post-commencement. See the full story here.

WDRB-Fox, WHAS-ABC and WAVE-NBC all covered the Sweet 16 celebration picnic honoring the Bellarmine men’s basketball team. See the WHAS story here.

WDRB-Fox 41 noted the success of Bellarmine Basketball’s Hobbs during the 2008-09 season during Fox in the Morning show on Friday, April 3. See the full clip here, which focuses on local college basketball honors.

Media outlets extensively covered Bellarmine's plan to go tobacco-free in 2010. See the Courier-Journal story here and WHAS Radio coverage here. See clips of the television coverage on WLKY (CBS), on WHAS (ABC) and WDRB (Fox). The Associated Press picked up the story, which led to its posting on the USA Today Kentucky page, the Lexington Herald Leader, The State Journal in Frankfort, Fox-17 TV in Nashville, WBKO TV in Bowling Green, WFIE TV in Evansville, and CW Ch. 12 in Cincinnati. The Cincinnati Enquirer and the Web site http://www.universitybusiness.com re-ran the C-J story.

Spread the Word

Do you have news to share? Drop a line to lburns@bellarmine.edu.