Rockhurst News

The next full-scale Rockhurst University Leaders Series event, with national speakers, will have to wait for another time as the world continues to recover from the pandemic.

This fall, students will notice some changes to the Thomas More Dining Room in Massman Hall. Emphasis on the “More.”

The campus dining hall is getting a complete remodel this summer, aimed not only at expanding the space to accommodate more diners during peak times, but to expand the available options for students, faculty and staff.

"In our time, when day by day humanity is being drawn closer together, and the ties between different peoples are becoming stronger the Church examines more closely her relationship to non-Christian religions.

Diego Gutierrez, Assistant Professor of Management and Marketing, credits his time as a student at Rockhurst for much of the success he's had in his life and career. With his son about to begin his freshman year as a Hawk, we caught up with Diego to reflect on his time at Rockhurst as the next RU journey is his family is about to being.

Rockhurst University has announced the dean’s list for the spring 2021 semester. This honor recognizes students who have achieved a grade-point average of 3.5 or above.

The following students earned a spot on the list:

Ashley Abbott

Macee Adams

Peyton Aerni

Erica Akins

Shereen Al-Saoudi

Balem Alamerew

Le'Bonet Alfaro

Alexandra Allen

Michael Allen

Heba Alsousi

Litzy Alvarado Islas

Joseph Alvey

David Anderson

Kathleen Anderson

Madelyn Anderson

Marianna Anderson

The small gesture, moving the tassel from left to right, officially marks the passage from student to graduate.

It’s a moment that Niki Sanchez waited a long time for. Not just because she, like so many others, had worked very hard to complete her college coursework. But because she had to wait, withstand a pandemic, and travel nearly 2,500 miles to take part in it.

Sanchez has been at home in Belize City, Belize, since campus was shut down in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, completing the work for her accounting degree from afar.

Capping an academic year unlike any other, Rockhurst University graduates were able to walk across the stage in person to receive their degrees in a commencement ceremony Friday afternoon at Children’s Mercy Park.

Last year’s ceremony was held virtually because of the pandemic, and as the masks and spaces between families at the ceremony could attest, concerns about COVID-19 haven’t disappeared completely. But the fact that there was an in-person ceremony at all is a testament to where these graduates have been and how far they’ve come.

While Commencement marks the finish line for many students, others have miles and miles to go.

For pre-med students at Rockhurst, they have exhausted the University’s opportunities and resources, earned a bachelor’s degree, and are off to medical school as official RU alumni.

These graduates have made their mark on RU. Now they make their mark on the world.

It’s been quite a year for all health care professionals, and certainly in the nursing profession.

That makes this past week’s Nursing Appreciation Week, which concludes today with International Nurses Day, especially important as a way to look back and thank those who have sacrificed so much to take care of others over the past 12 months.