Since our founding, Bellarmine has offered an education designed to fulfill its mission to prepare students for meaningful lives, rewarding careers, ethical leadership, and service to improve the human condition.
Bellarmine's first president, Msgr. Alfred F. Horrigan, declared that “the liberal education ideal must be interpreted and applied in terms of contemporary reality,” without losing focus on the liberal arts in that pursuit. In that spirit, Bellarmine added disciplines to meet the needs of a changing world, growing from 11 areas of concentration in our first decade to 35 today.
Few disciplines have seen a steadier rise than nursing, which today is Bellarmine's largest program with 270 undergraduates. A state-of-the-art facility enables premier learning opportunities, and graduates are in high demand.
“Graduates of the program assume various roles in professional nursing practice, with 100% employed upon graduation,” says Diane Chlebowy, chair of the undergraduate Nursing program. “Graduates are in high regard and respected by local, state, and national healthcare and community agencies.”
The program is about more than landing a job. Career training is enhanced by a holistic education that makes our graduates stand apart.
“Consistent with an inclusive Catholic university, we prepare nurse leaders with a global perspective, capable of improving practice through sound clinical judgment and scholarship,” Chlebowy says. “The liberal arts education model offers an educational experience that prepares them to be successful in life, their career, and as contributing members of our society.”
As the demands of the profession change, Bellarmine’s dynamic model continues to produce graduates who make a positive impact, wherever they may go.