Dear Bellarmine Students, Faculty and Staff,
Congratulations on a successful year of scholarship and service. It is a year that will always hold special significance for me as my first full year as president of this wonderfully welcoming community. I have so enjoyed getting to know you, the campus and the city, and I look forward to continuing our fulfilling work on behalf of our students and the greater community that we serve. The President’s Update will return in September.
Remember those Bellie Award nominations
One of the ways we build and nurture our sense of community at Bellarmine each year is to recognize the achievements of faculty and staff members who are living Bellarmine’s core values in exceptional ways. We do this with the Bellie Awards, reproductions of the Bellarmine Jug, a salt-glazed stoneware bottle made in Germany that was said to bear the image of St. Robert Bellarmine. Nominations are now open for the 2017-18 Bellie Awards. Visit secure.bellarmine.edu/EmployeeAwards, to review each of the core-value award categories and to nominate the faculty or staff member of your choice. We will announce the recipients at our Faculty and Staff Welcome Back event in August.
Faculty and Staff News and Achievements
Dr. Paul Pearson, director and archivist of the Thomas Merton Center, gave two presentations at the 12th general meeting of the Thomas Merton Society of Great Britain and Ireland at Oakham School, Rutland, from April 6-8: “Contemplation in a World of Violence: Thomas Merton’s Monastic Approach to the Life-and-Death Issues” and “Research Resources at the Thomas Merton Center: An Introduction.”
Ms. Dana Hummel, director of Employee Rewards, was elected secretary on the Board of Directors of KY CUPA-HR. Bellarmine University is the only private university represented on this state board.
Dr. Sara Pettingill, dean of Graduate Admission, was selected to join the NAGAP Board of Directors as the Membership Chair for a two-year term. NAGAP is the leader in graduate enrollment management. Dr. Pettingill will also serve on the local arrangements committee for the 2019 NACAC conference in Louisville as the College Tours co-chair.
Dr. Jim Breslin, dean of Student Success, Dr. Kristen Wallitsch, associate dean of Student Success for Academic Support, Ms. Elizabeth Cassady, assistant dean of Students, and Mr. Drew Thiemann, director of Institutional Research and Effectiveness, accepted the 2018 Innovative Academic Support Initiative Award from the American College Personnel Association’s Commission for Academic Support. This award recognizes the creative, collaborative work this team has undertaken in developing and piloting the Bellarmine First-Year Predictive Model.
Mr. Thiemann, Dr. Wallitsch and Dr. Breslin presented an invited webinar: “Incorporating Predictive Analytics into a Student Success Strategy.”
Dr. Breslin and co-authors at two other institutions had a peer-reviewed article, “When Leadership Fails: Navigating Bullying in the Workplace by Crafting Communities of Support,” published in Briefs on Academic Support in Higher Education. He also presented three sessions at the 2018 American College Personnel Association annual convention, including “The Process of Distilling Authentic Relationships in Student Affairs” and “Through the Eyes of a College President.”
Dr. Wallitsch and Ms. Lindsey Peetz, director of the Pioneer Scholars Program presented “Supporting First-Generation Transition: Increasing Matriculation and Retention” at the 2018 American College Personnel Association’s annual convention in Houston, Texas.
Fr. John Pozhathuparambil was elected to leadership of Conventual Franciscan Province of Our Lady of Consolation at Mount St. Francis. He is one of six friars nominated and elected by fellow friars to help lead the Southern Indiana province for a four-year term.
Mr. Cody Jennings, assistant director of Intramural & Club Sports, and Ms. Gina Patrick, who until recently worked at Bellarmine as a Student Affairs administrative assistant, will be married this month.
Ms. Emily Werner, associate director of Wellness, and Ms. Pam Stackhouse, associate director of Athletics & Senior Woman Administrator, applied for and received the three-year, $30,000 NCAA Choices Grant. The project title is “The Knights Wellness Network,” and the main goal is to enhance awareness, education and training around key health and wellness issues on our campus such as alcohol and substance use, stress and mental well-being, healthy relationships and sexual assault prevention. Another goal is to empower student athletes and student leaders to promote a positive, healthy environment and culture on campus.
Ms. Laura Kline, assistant director of Campus Ministry, was named the director of Music for Mass of the Air for the Archdiocese, a televised broadcast of the celebration of weekly mass for the sick, elderly and homebound.
Dr. Melanie-Prejean Sullivan, director of Campus Ministry, was a guest lecturer for the Easter Term (April 23-May 18) at the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology, which is part of the Cambridge Theological Federation (England). Her course was entitled, “Thomas Merton: Discernment, Pastoral Presence & Social Justice.” It was offered as a practical theology course in the anniversary year of Merton’s death (50th) and Louisville Epiphany (60th). Ms. Sullivan will be retiring from Bellarmine on May 31.
Ms. Katie Kelty and Ms. Samantha O’Brien of the Office of Communications & Public Affairs won two Communicator Awards, in the categories of Collateral-Invitation (Inauguration of Susan M. Donovan) and Collateral-Other (In Veritatis Amore Library Display Case). The Communicator Awards are sanctioned by the International Academy of the Visual Arts, an invitation-only body consisting of top-tier professionals from a “Who’s Who” of acclaimed media, communications, advertising, creative and marketing firms.
Bellarmine College of Arts and Sciences
Dr. Joshua Golding, professor of Philosophy, was interviewed in March about Jewish ethics on the program “Ethics Forward” on 106.5 FM.
Dr. Gregory Hillis, associate professor of Theology, wrote an article titled “Quit Trying to ‘Fix’ Baseball” that was featured in Commonweal Magazine. In April he published “Is ‘Dialogue’ Just an Empty Buzzword for Christians?” in America Magazine. He was also quoted in The Irish Catholic in Greg Daly’s April 5 article “The story is more about what Pope did not say.”
Dr. Justin Klassen, assistant professor of Theology, was interviewed by WFPL-FM on public education and societal priorities. His comments were included in a report on Kentucky teacher protests in April. In March, Dr. Klassen gave a lecture titled, “The Word Made Musical: Theology beyond Prose,” at the invitation of the 1892 Club, a gathering of Ph.D. students at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. In February he gave the lecture, “Intrinsic Dignity in an Unjust World: Why We Need to Talk about Social Justice,” for the Brown Learning Community at Bellarmine.
Dr. Joseph Flipper, associate professor of Theology, published a book chapter, “The Time of Encounter in the Political Theology of Pope Francis” in Pope Francis and the Event of Encounter. He also presented a paper, “World in the Debate over African Theology” at the Catholic Theological Society of America’s Annual Convention in Indianapolis.
Dr. Deborah Prince, associate professor of Theology, published the article, “Seeing Visions: The Persuasive Power of Sight in the Acts of the Apostles," in the Journal for the Study of the New Testament, March 2018.
Dr. Jennifer Barker lectured on “Diving In: Filming the Empire at Sea” at Kwansei Gakuin University, in Osaka, and on “American Identity in Golden Age Hollywood Film” at Nanzan University, Nagoya, Japan. In January she presented a program of animated shorts at the Orion cinema in Helskini, Finland, called “The Animated Fuzzy Avant-Garde.” The program was originally featured as a master class at the Midnight Sun Film Festival in Sodankylä, Finland in June. Dr. Barker lectured on “Antifascist Aesthetics” at the International Conference on Fascism and Antifascism in Our Time, at the Hamburg Institute for Social Research, in Hamburg, Germany.
Kentucky Poet Laureate Frederick Smock had two poems printed by Larkspur Press as broadsides: “Poetry Ought to be Able to Comprehend the World” and “From Book of Earthly Delights.”
Ms. Casey Clark and Ms. Kathi E.B. Ellis, Theatre Program adjunct faculty members, presented “A Balancing Act: Our Profession in the Classroom” at the Adjunct Faculty Scholars Conference at IUS in April.
Ms. Karole Spangler, adjunct faculty for the Theatre Department, will welcome audiences to Central Park this summer as the front of house manager for the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival.
Ms. Jaime Corum, adjunct faculty in Art, is a co-exhibitor in an equine art exhibit at The Gallery at The Brown Hotel through June 1.
Mr. Richard Burchard, associate professor of Music, had his composition “The Seven Last Words of Christ” performed by the University of Southern Mississippi Orchestra and Department of Choral Activities and several local choral groups. The March 27 and 29 performances both received standing ovations. The Gulf Coast Civic Chorale joined the Southern Miss Music Department to premiere Mr. Burchard’s work in Carnegie Hall on April 9.
Dr. Mark Kano, assistant professor of Music and vocal area coordinator, was an Artist-In-Residence at West Virginia University School of Music in February. He was invited to perform with the National Chorale in New York City at Lincoln Center in April for the ensemble's 50th anniversary concert. Dr. Kano was also invited by his peers to participate in the highly competitive National Association of Teachers of Singing Intern Program at the University of Colorado at Boulder in June. Also in June, he will deliver a presentation on his research, the songs of Francesco Paolo Tosti, at the NATS National Conference in Las Vegas. Additionally, Dr. Kano was elected by his peers to serve a two-year appointment as governor for the Kentucky District of the National Association of Teachers of Singing.
Dr. Frank Hutchins, professor of Anthropology, co-authored an article titled “Intercultural Health in Ecuador: An Asymmetrical and Incomplete Project,” to be published in an upcoming issue of Anthropology & Medicine. Dr. Hutchins reviewed the book Huaorani Transformations in Twenty-First-Century Ecuador: Treks into the Future of Time, by Laura Rival, for the Journal of Latin American Geography. He also took over as president of the Kentucky Ecuador Partners of the Americas.
Dr. Heather Pruss, assistant professor of Criminal Justice Studies, received the Outstanding RSO Advisor Award for 2017-18. She is the faculty advisor for the Sociology/CJS/Anthropology Club.
Ms. Allison Truttmann, adjunct faculty in Psychology, is celebrating the 10th anniversary of her company, Wicked Sheets: Comfort Sleep Solutions, for which she is the founder and CEO.
Dr. Tom Wilson, associate professor of Psychology, had talks accepted for presentation this summer from two active programs of research. The first, “The Contribution of Adolescent Risk-taking to Learning Outcomes in First-time Traditional University Students,” is the result of international collaborative research and will be presented at the upcoming Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Conference, to be held by the Institute for Learning and Teaching Excellence in September at IU Southeast. The other is new research in collaboration with honors student Ryan Coleman ’18 titled “A Mentalistic Approach to Nonconscious Influence: The Case of Priming to Promote Self-Disclosure” that is to be presented in July at the 2018 Knowledge and Cognitive Science and Technologies conference. In addition, following on a record year of social science students learning, serving and interning abroad, Dr. Wilson’s proposal for an international experience course titled “Roll up! Roll up for the Psychology History Tour!” was accepted into the CCSA London Summer 2019 program.
Dr. Courtney Keim, associate professor of Psychology, presented two papers in April at the 33rd annual conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, in Chicago: “Organizational Justice as a Mediator between Job Insecurity and its Predictors” and “Active Student Responding: Student Perceptions and the Impact of Personality Traits.”
Dr. Lee Remington, associate professor of Political Science, was featured in WHAS-11’s “Inside Investigations” series for her instrumental efforts to reopen the investigation of the 1965 murder of Alberta Jones, the first female prosecutor in Louisville.
College of Health Professions
Dr. Linda Mefford (associate professor, Nursing) and colleagues presented “Childhood Experiences and Body/Mind/Spirit Health in Adults” at the 39th Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) in New Orleans, April 11-14, 2018.
Dr. Sara Mahoney (assistant professor and chair, Exercise Science) was recognized as the first woman in the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) mentorship program to be named a Fellow of ACSM during their annual meeting on May 31 in Minneapolis. She was also quoted in an article entitled “Can You Outrun a Bad Diet? Experts Share Their Nutrition Advice for Runners” in the April issue of Runners World.
Drs. Andrew Carnes (assistant professor, Exercise Science) and Sara Mahoney will present “Longitudinal Comparison of Polarized vs. High Intensity Multimodal Training in Recreational Runners” at the National American College of Sports Medicine conference in Minneapolis, May 29-June 2, 2018.
Drs. Linda Cain (adjunct faculty, Nursing) and Sherill Cronin (professor and chair, Graduate Nursing) and colleagues published “A Tool to Identify Key Behaviors and Attributes of High-Performing Nurses” in the Journal of Nursing Administration, Issue 48.
Drs. Nancy York (associate professor, Nursing and dean, Lansing School of Nursing and Clinical Sciences), Christy Kane (associate professor and chair, Respiratory Therapy), and Carol Smith (assistant professor, Nursing) published “Identification and Management of Acute Cardiac Tamponade” in Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing, 2018, Vol. 37.
Drs. Ronnita Usher (DNP graduate ’14), Sherill Cronin and Nancy York published “Evaluating the Impact of a Standardized Bedside Handoff Process on a Medical-Surgical Unit” in the Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, Vol. 49.
Dr. Karen Golemboski (professor and chair, Medical Laboratory Science) presented the following at the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science Clinical Laboratory Educators’ Conference in Houston, Feb. 22-24: “The Colorful Hats of a Program Director” (with colleagues); “Strategies for Successful Program Assessment” (with colleagues); and “Quality Improvement: Teaching Systems Science.”
Drs. Heather Pruss (assistant professor, Sociology), Chelsey Franz (assistant professor, Athletic Training), and Annette Powell (associate professor, English) presented “Turning Points of Men Battling Addiction” during the Dialogue on Diversity Conference at Bellarmine University on April 14.
Ms. Shelley McGuire (instructor, Radiation Therapy) presented “Brain Cancer Advancements from a Brain Cancer Survivor” at the Ohio Society of Radiologic Technologists conference on April 7 in Worthington, Ohio, and at the Kentucky Society of Radiologic Technologists meeting on April 28 in Prestonsburg, Ky.
Dr. Kathy Hager (associate professor, Nursing) represented Bellarmine and KNA at the Kentucky Center for Nursing meeting on April 26.
Dr. Sonja Bareiss (associate professor, Physical Therapy) presented “Alterations in the GSK-3/-catenate Signaling Play a Role in the Development of At-Level Spinal Cord Injury Pain” at the American Pain Society Scientific Summit in Anaheim, Calif., March 2018. This was also published in the Journal of Pain, Vol. 19, March 2018. Dr. Bareiss mentored Hailee Bray (Physical Therapy student), who presented results from her Biology/Honors Research and Craig H. Neilsen award (SKB) at the Society for Neuroscience, Louisville Chapter Research Day on April 13 and received second place for her poster presentation.
Dr. Christopher Wingard (professor, Physical Therapy) presented “Cardiovascular Mitochondrial Dynamics and Dysfunction by Exposure to Ultrafine or Nano Particulate Matter” and was chair for the session “Air Pollution: Biomass” at the Society of Toxicology Meeting in San Antonio, March 12-14; reviewed Pfizer/Sexual Medicine Society of North America Fellowship Grants in April; and was chair and grant reviewer for the American Heart Association’s National Innovative Project Award, Basic Science Vascular Biology section, in May. He and colleagues published “Cardiopulmonary consequences of gestational toxicant exposure: symposium overview at the 56th Annual SOT Meeting, Baltimore, MD” in Reproductive Toxicology, Vol. 79 (2018).
Dr. Ta’Neka Lindsay (assistant professor, Nursing) was a keynote speaker at the Frontier Nursing University Conference presented by National Black Nurses Association Collaborative Mentorship Program entitled “Mentorship Across the Profession: The Development of a Leader Over a Lifetime” on May 17. Dr. Lindsay’s portion of the event was entitled “Mentorship across the Profession: A Case Study Approach to Nurses Serving Nurses.”
Ms. Brooke Vaughn (Simulation Laboratory instructor) and a colleague made a one-hour podium presentation entitled “Developing Faculty in Simulation” during the University of Kentucky’s 14th Annual Nursing Faculty Development Workshop, “Establishing an Evidence-Based Teaching Culture,” on May 11.
Dr. Thomas Wójcicki (assistant professor, Exercise Science) graduated from the Louisville Leadership Center’s Focus Louisville Program in 2018.
Annsley Frazier Thornton School of Education
Dr. Daniel Castner presented two co-authored papers at the annual meeting of American Association for the Advancement of Curriculum Studies (AAACS): “From Critical Awareness to Pragmatic Artistry: Non-Affirmative Subtexts” and “Pursuing Democratic Morality in Curriculum and Pedagogy: Ontological Projects at the Intersection of Dialogical Hermeneutics and Critical Pragmatism.” At the annual meeting of American Education Research Association (AERA), he presented two co-authored papers: “Capabilities, Curriculum and Developmentally Appropriate Practice” and “Realizing Opportunities: Cultivating a Deweyan Inspired Interpretation of Democratic Curriculum and Pedagogy in Two Schools.” He attended a “Meet Journal Editors” session of AERA while fulfilling his role as the North American book review editor of Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, an international peer-reviewed journal. He also co-edited and co-authored the introductory remarks of a special issue of the same journal, which will be published in June: “The Lived and Sometimes Clandestine ‘Professional’ Experience of Early Childhood Educators.” Dr. Castner represented Bellarmine while at AERA by participating in the annual meeting of the Professors of Curriculum Honorary Society, and he was appointed listserv coordinator of the Early Education and Child Development (EE/CD) SIG. Dr. Castner and co-authors also presented an invited book talk at the Kent State University Conference Center. Their book is titled Democratic Curriculum Leadership: From Critical Awareness to Pragmatic Artistry.
Dr. Kristin Cook and colleagues published “The giant problem: Using design thinking to explore thermal conductivity” in Science and Children and “A highly structured collaborative STEAM program: Enacting a professional development framework” in Journal of Research in STEM Education. At the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Research Conference, she and colleagues presented “Authentically and meaningfully integrating the ‘M’ in STEAM: The mathematics matters!" and “PrimeD: A Framework to Guide PD, Embed Evaluation, and Structure Research.” She and colleagues presented “Public evolution education and the rise of the creationist movement in Brazil” at the American Educational Research Association. Finally, Dr. Cook continued service on the Editorial Review Board for Innovations in Science Teacher Education.
Dr. Todd Whitney and undergraduate student Taylor Webb presented a poster, “Effects of a Token Economy on a Student with Autism Exhibiting Disruptive Behavior in a General Education Classroom,” at the KEEP Summit in Louisville.
Dr. Amy Lein and undergraduate student Sara Graviss presented a poster, “Curriculum Analysis of Math in Practice,” at the KEEP Summit in Louisville. At the same meeting, Dr. Lein and undergraduate student Emily Clark presented a poster entitled “Lesson Study: Teaching Multiplicative Comparisons.”
Dr. Mary Ann Cahill hosted the second annual Bullitt County-Bellarmine Literacy Project Laureate Ceremony on May 7, honoring the accomplishments of 25 teachers, five academic coaches and five principals for their achievements in the area of literacy. This project has improved literacy instruction for more than 1,100 Bullitt County students over the last two years.
Dr. Donald “DJ” Mitchell Jr., professor of Higher Education Leadership, served as lead author for a journal article titled “Intersectional Value? A Pilot Study Exploring Educational Outcomes for African American Women in Historically Black Sororities versus Non-Historically Black Sororities” in Oracle: The Research Journal of the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors, and co-authored a journal article titled “Black Male Persistence in Spite of Stereotypes in College: A Phenomenological Exploration” in The Qualitative Report. Dr. Mitchell also presented “Black Male Persistence in Spite of Facing Stereotypes in College” at the Ethnographic Qualitative Research Conference and “Exploring the Relationship Between Campus Climate and Minority Stress in African American Students: An Institutional Case Study” at the American Association of Behavioral and Social Sciences, both held in Las Vegas.
W. Fielding Rubel School of Business
Dr. Dan Bauer, professor of Accounting, was interviewed by WDRB for the March 18 story “Yum! and done? Decision on Louisville arena naming rights coming in 2018.” Dr. Bauer was named chair of Woodbury University’s AACSB Peer Review Team for its 2019 Continuous Improvement Review evaluation.
Ms. Christy Burge, instructor in the Rubel School, held a mock accounting class for incoming freshmen at Bellarmine Bound on April 14. She also participated in a panel discussion on understanding generational differences in motivating and retaining employees at Macmillan Group. With her support, the KyCPA Educational Foundation Scholarship recipients included 14 Bellarmine Accounting majors, who received scholarships totaling $14,500. These students were recognized at the KyCPA Spring Awards Banquet on April 27.
Ms. Patricia Carver, instructor of Management, was the emcee for the 31st annual African American Catholic Leadership Awards Dinner held at the Crown Plaza Hotel on March 10. Ms. Carver also participated in the Ph.D. in Leadership in Higher Education Brown Bag Lunch Poster Presentation, “The Intersecting Worlds of Community Colleges and Four-Year Institutions – The Effect on Transfer Students.”
Dr. Sharon Kerrick, dean, was a judge for the National Association of Women Business Owners’ EPIC Awards. Her MBA team made it to the finals to compete in the IdeastateU Kentucky business plan competition. She was an invited VIP guest for the opening/expansion of LINAK. She arranged MBA class visits to GE First Build and Brown-Forman. Dr. Kerrick was an invited featured guest speaker for the Integrating Women Leaders (IWL) Conference, where she did a presentation on risk taking. She was a judge for the Global Marketplace event held in Louisville. She chaired the nomination committee for the Better Business Bureau Board as well as the Compensation Committee for the Louisville Water Company Board.
Dr. Patrick Lach, associate professor, was quoted in the Forbes article “Americans Still Missing the Boat on Retirement Savings.”
Dr. Michael Mattei, professor of Management Information Systems, presented two papers at the International Conference of the Midwest Business Administration Association: “A Comparison of Risk and Performance for Momentum Rebalancing Approaches on Two Different Portfolios” in the Finance track and “Arbitrary Coherence and Image Perception in a National Sample” in the Marketing track.
Dr. Elizabeth Payne, endowed chair of Accounting, presented at the Rubel School Career Exploration Day. In her continuing role as a board member for Financial Executives International, she assisted in bringing former Enron CFO Andy Fastow to Louisville for a special joint meeting of FEI and the CFA Society and attended a VIP lunch with Mr. Fastow. Also with FEI, Dr. Payne recently assumed the role of VP of Professional Development. As a regional representative on the KYCPA’s Board of Directors, Dr. Payne has been involved in the Society’s efforts to inform the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s legislature in regards to taxation and other issues affecting the accounting profession. Recently, the legislature passed several new bills that are beneficial to the profession. Also with the KYCPA, she recently completed the selection process for students and now begins fundraising efforts and final preparation for the 2018 Business and Accounting Summer Education camp at Bellarmine in June.
Dr. Keith Richardson, professor of Accounting, presented “Ethical Discussion 2018: It All Starts with Culture” at the Institute of Internal Auditors – Louisville Chapter meeting on April 24.
Dr. Julie Toner, professor of Marketing, and Dr. Mike Ryan, professor of Management, gave a refereed presentation, “Marketing Outer Space From Apollo to Space X,” at the International Academy of Business and Public Administration Disciplines (IABPAD) Conference in Dallas, April 19-20.
School of Communication
Dr. Wuyu (Rain) Liu received the inaugural Environmental Communication Division Dissertation Award from the International Communication Association. Dr. Liu will present two papers at the 68th International Communication Association Annual Meeting in Prague, Czech Republic, May 24-28, “Exploring the human dimensions of Asian carp management in Michigan: implications for wildlife related risk communication” and “Culture and social norms: Behavioral decisions about grassland conservation among ethnically-Tibetan pastoralists,” and will chair two panels, Exploring Business, Student, and Media Experiences: China-U.S./Germany/Chile Intercultural Contexts and Assessing Risk in Water and Air.
Dr. Michael Strawser received $3,447 in grant funding to research generational workplace satisfaction. He also had a column published in the Courier-Journal titled “Millennials will rule the world” and was featured on WHAS Radio to discuss millennials in the workplace.
Dr. Shawn Apostel was a guest judge at the CCO Invitational 2018 Speech and Debate Tournament on March 10.
Ms. Stacie Shain attended the International Association for Communication and Sport's 11th Summit on Communication and Sport at Indiana University on April 28. She also served as a reviewer for papers presented at the Summit and as a judge for the Hawaii Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists’ Excellence in Journalism contest.