Five Senior Gold Medalists !!!!!

Every year Rockhurst University awards the Senior Gold Medal to the student who has had the highest GPA for four years, including the graduating semester. This year was a first: we had five, yes FIVE students who tied for the Medal by earning a cumulative GPA of 4.0. The honorees are (pictured from left to right) Andrea Therese Essner, B.A., Megan Nickels Rogge, B.S., Liam Alexander Higgins, B.A., Amanda Allyn Ross, B.S. in Business Administration, and Nicholas Andrew Schneider, B.S. Totally awesome, guys!!!

I’m particularly proud of Andrea Essner and Liam Higgins who are both Theology and Religious Studies majors. Andrea will be spending the next two years in Nicaragua as a part of the Jesuit Volunteer International Program working with children and adults who have disabilities. Then she plans to go on for a Masters in Theology. Liam will be pursuing a Masters of Theological Studies at Harvard having been awarded a full scholarship. Kudos!

Not only does a Jesuit education set high standards for academic achievement and development of the whole person, the experience at Rockhurst University empowers people to be transformed and strive to reach their fullest potential. These five gold medalists are living proof that Rockhurst provides the environment in which students can excel. Not everyone can be a gold medalist, but every student at Rockhurst is given the opportunity to be the best that they can be. Kudos to all of our graduates for having attained their goals and now following the rest of their dreams!!!

And finally, even though we had ten Theology & Religious Studies majors in all—each outstanding in his or her own way--I have to mention another Theology Major: Christopher Shaver who was the class Valedictorian. Chris graduated with a triple major: B.A. in Theology, B.S. in Mathematics, and a B.S. in Business Administration. He will teach math and theology at Regis High School in Denver as part of the Alum Service Corps.

It was an awesome class of 2009; I’ll miss them. Check Rockhurst out and become part of the awesome class of 2014!

http://www.rockhurst.edu/

Rockhurst University Nationally Recognized

One of the goals of Rockhurst is Excellence in Education. Though not always appreciated, technology in its many forms is essential for education. Well our very own Rockhurst University Computer Services has been nationally recognized as a Laureate by the Computerworld Honors Program. For over twenty years Computerworld Honors has awarded people and institutions for using information technology to benefit society.

Well this year Rockhurst is being acknowledged for its implementation of the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure which is efficient, green, and cost effective. Computer Services will also receive this award for other green technology it has integrated. Rockhurst’s motto to “make God’s good world better,” inspired by our Jesuit ideals, can be lived out in all sectors of the university.

Kudos Computer Services for applying Jesuit social justice to technology in the classroom and campuswide! Your rock! Thanks for being part of the transformational experience and modeling our mission and vision.

For more on this Global Information Technology Award click here http://help.rockhurst.edu/node/139

On Your Honor

This past Wednesday night we inducted thirteen new members into TAK (Theta Alpha Kappa) Theology and Religious Studies Honor Society. To join you need 12 hours of TH/RS taken at Rockhurst, have a GPA of 3.5% in those classes, at least an overall Rockhurst GPA of 3.0%. Our local chapter is part of National Honor Society. Members received a certificate and red honor cords. Induction took place during our regular pizza party and departmental social.

Being part of an Honor Society looks good on your college resumé when you want to get a job or go onto grad school. There are thirteen Honor Societies here at Rockhurst University and you can join more than one.

Here’s a link to what Rockhurst has to offer regarding Honor Societies.
http://www.rockhurst.edu/registrar/catalog/images/RUCatalog0810.pdf SEARCH PAGE 44.

GREEK WEEK !

Well this is Greek week at the Rock. The sororities and fraternities are taking in new pledges. This morning there was a campus-wide hunt for the hidden flag. People received a set of clues in code to try to solve the mystery. Because I know a lot of languages one guy hit me up for help in deciphering. Some of it looked like it was in German, some in Danish, some in Spanish, but none of it made any readily discernible sense. I had to quick get some things done so I wasn’t much help. Of cpourse today is April Fools so there's no telling if the clue sheet was even a REAL clue sheet.

But anyhow, Rockhurst University has an active Greek life and it’s a great way to connect with others and be involved in all sorts of service projects, outreaches, and just fun times. Check us out.

http://www.rockhurst.edu/studentlife/greeklife/index.asp
http://www.rockhurst.edu/studentlife/newstudents/faqs.asp

Scholarly Achievement

As a former recipient of the Daniel L Brenner Scholarly Achievement Award I’ve been asked to serve on this year’s committee to evaluate the scholarly works of my colleagues who have been nominated for this year’s award. The committee makes a recommendation to the President of the University and the recipient’s name is announced at the faculty dinner where s/he receives a $1,000 honorarium.

As a Jesuit institution of higher learning, Rockhurst University is dedicated to excellence in many fields. Every year faculty members must provide an Annual Update in which they list and reflect upon three areas vital to the transformative enterprise of Learning, Leadership, and Service in the Jesuit Tradition. Faculty report on their activities in Teaching, Scholarship, and Service. As a dynamic institution we always seek ways to improve, to strive for magis (more or the greater part) as the Jesuits say. Faculty, in turn, try to inspire in students this sense of magis, of always striving for excellence: what is good, what is wholesome, what is life-giving.

http://www.rockhurst.edu/about/jesuitmission/index.asp

Worth It!

My daughter is almost 6 yrs old and is at the stage where she asks what words mean when she doesn’t understand—which is great. Just recently she asked, “Daddy, what does ‘worth’ mean?” Good question! Sometimes it’s hard to explain concepts so I told her, “Let’s say you have $5 and want to buy ice cream” (no brainer there!). “One store sells a box for $2.50 and another has the same thing on sale for $1.00.” (She’s already good with math so she figured that one out quickly.) “I can get more for my money at the one store than at the other,” she replied. I said, “Well worth sometimes deals with quantity, how much you get.”

Then I said, but that’s not all worth deals with. “Okay, you still have $5 and you want to buy balloons.” Her eyes lit up. “With $5 you can get 5 balloons filled up with regular air, or get two Mylar balloons filled with helium. Which do you want?” “The two Mylar balloons,” she quipped. I asked, “Why?” “Because they last longer silly!” she replied. “Aha, so worth can also mean quality, how good a thing is, how long it lasts.”

Well, a college education is like that. In these hard economic times we all definitely want to stretch our dollar and get the most bang for our buck. But sometimes there’s more bang and noise than any real substantive fireworks that illuminate our mind’s eye. Some fireworks shows look great at first but then quickly fizzle away in our memory even though they had lots of smaller rockets going off with lots of bang. Yet some fireworks displays create a lasting impression because of the spectacular light show, even though overall they had less rockets and boom. Some shows even co-ordinate music with them, and of course, the setting plays a role as well.

Well a Jesuit education at Rockhurst University integrates a lot into the formative experience. Our location in Kansas City provides students with an excellent setting in which to put into practice what they learn whether through service projects or internships etc. There are a lot of local resources you can tap into. Furthermore, while a Jesuit education costs more than some other places, its enduring value and formative experience outweigh the flash and bang of state colleges. Jesuit education is time-tested and has endured for four centuries that have seen massive social changes. It’s hard to explain the worth of a Rockhurst education, but by comparing it to other "brands" you eventually see and appreciate its lasting value. At Rockhurst you get quantity as well as quality. Not only that, as the MasterCard add goes, some things are priceless. The transformative mission of Rockhurst University, forming men and women for others, is priceless. It provides meaning to education, rather than just an exercise in jumping through hoops to eventually land a job.

Check us out: http://www.rockhurst.edu/about/jesuitmission/index.asp

Tested and Approved

Sorry I’m a bit late. This week I’ve been grading students’ tests. I have three classes. The way I organize the semester, I break it down into four equal parts with four tests worth the same amount of points. This helps distribute the information into smaller blocks as well as gives students the opportunity to bounce back if they didn’t do as well as they wanted on a particular test. We also have a research paper due.

Anyhow, all of this got me to thinking. Here at Rockhurst University a lot of the instructors are quite willing to help you do well on the tests by answering questions you might have. I let people shoot me an e-mail and I respond back as quickly as I can. Some drop in my office when they want something clarified, or I even read over prep essays that they have written out. Here at the Rock we’re into personal attention and putting the student first. You’re unlikely to get such personalized attention and help on prepping for a test at a big state school, like you would at Rockhurst. This is all part of cura personalis –care for the whole person – that is part of Jesuit education.

We also have a great Learning Center that helps students. You can get free help with tutoring, study strategies, and writing. Check it out: http://www.rockhurst.edu/services/learning/index.asp