Rockhurst University President Sandra Cassady, Ph.D., has been named one of Kansas City’s 2025 Women of Influence by the Kansas City Business Journal.

As the fall semester ended, so too did senior Molly Morris’ competitive cross country career.

More than 800 students will earn their degrees from Rockhurst University in front of loved ones during the annual commencement ceremony scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 10, at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri.

Summary

Hoping to offer another unique opportunity for students and further enhance the gameday experience for spectators, Rockhurst University athletics today announced the addition of pep band to its slate of offerings starting in fall 2026.

Rockhurst University and Spring Hill College, located in Mobile, Alabama, are launching a strategic alliance that will create academic opportunities for students on both campuses.

Yu Liu, Ph.D., associate professor of chemistry, knows that organic chemistry has a bit of a reputation. It’s an innately difficult subject; a crucible for generations of science majors at Rockhurst. Despite being the face of what many consider Rockhurst’s most difficult class, Liu was named Faculty of the Year by students at the Festival of Student Achievement in April. How does he do it?

Each spring, a handful of students in the University’s criminal justice program are invited to be part of the Innocence Project course. This small group spends their semester reviewing a case where an incarcerated person has raised questions of innocence. Their goal is to review the case and report to the Kansas City-based Midwest Innocence Project whether they believe a case for innocence exists.

Recommitting itself to its students, staff, faculty and alumni, and redefining its place in higher education, Rockhurst University has unveiled updated branding and messaging including its new tagline, “Lead with Courage. Live with Purpose.”

Students, faculty, staff and community members alike are invited to take part in a recognition Friday, Jan. 24, of the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

This week Missouri Gov. Mike Parson announced $5 million in grant funding for 13 Missouri colleges and universities, providing additional resources for nursing education programs statewide. On the list is Rockhurst University, which will receive $630,000, the second-highest grant award for this round.

“Holiday Touchdown: a Chiefs Love Story” is an all-new Hallmark Channel feature film that, as the title implies, is set in and around Kansas City and revolves around the Kansas City Chiefs. It’s set to premiere Nov. 30, complete with a red-carpet premiere, and features familiar locations in the city. Among them is an antique store on the Independence, Missouri, Square called The Keeping Room that has a connection to Rockhurst.

The Best Colleges 2025 list from U.S. News and World Report is out today, and in it, Rockhurst University has entered the top 10 on the list of best universities in the Midwest.

Music Sacra Chorus and Orchestra, the ensemble-in-residence Rockhurst University, is a unique musical entity.

What was on your summer to-do list? Beach time? Internship? Visiting friends? For an unprecedented number of Hawks in Rockhurst University’s graduate programs, the answer was “get started on my future.” A total of 1,023 students were enrolled in graduate programs at the University during the summer term.

The votes are in. On Monday, Kansas City Favorites, a magazine published by the Kansas City Star that ranks the best in everything from restaurants to law firms in the area, named Rockhurst University the top higher educational institution in the Kansas City metro.

Rockhurst University Leadership Series guest Kevin Roose said AI is changing the landscape of the workforce, but gave three pieces of advice to those in the audience who felt uneasy about this technology

As part of the Rockhurst University Leadership Series event Tuesday night, the University honored Dave Harrison, ’81, founder and president of VanTrust Real Estate, with this year’s award. In more than 40 years in commercial real estate, Harrison company has left a recognizable mark on Kansas City and beyond.

A premier Kansas City educational institution with deep roots in whole-person learning, leadership and service and a local business are announcing an exciting new partnership to elevate their brand, tell their story and welcome more students.

Seniors Chidera Okafor and Reggie Jeffrey didn’t necessarily have history in mind when they decided to run as a ticket in last year’s Student Senate elections.

“’Can I do the job well?’” was the first consideration that Okafor said came to mind.

But as perhaps the first Black Student Senate president and vice president in the University’s history, that’s just what they did.

Dave Harrison, founder and president of VanTrust Real Estate and a 1981 graduate of Rockhurst University, will receive the Rashford-Lyon Award for Leadership and Ethics from the University. The award will be presented as part of the 2024 Rockhurst University Leadership Series event, with presenting sponsor Tria Health, featuring renowned AI expert Kevin Roose on Tuesday, March 26, at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City.

Rockhurst University has announced the dean’s list for the fall 2023 semester. This honor recognizes students who have achieved a grade-point average of 3.5 or above.

The following students have been named to the list:

Omar Abla

Dati Abuladze

Haylee Ace

Ben Adams

Courtney Adams

Nate Adamson

Oscar Ahumada

Jessica Aldana

Sara Alghsein

Safiya Ali

Gage Allen

Michael Allen

Denim Allen

Drew Altic

Ahmad Aly

Tasnime Amellal

Zoe Amstutz

Morgan Andersen

Rockhurst University’s business school will be renamed the College of Business and Technology, representing a renewed focus on the premiere AASCB-accredited Jesuit business programs the school has built its name on and growth opportunities in its burgeoning tech and analytics programs to serve the growing need in tech, health and analytics-focused sectors.

For more than three decades, the Rockhurst University community has rung in the Christmas season with a combination of stirring choral music, familiar Christmas carols and Biblical readings.

Photos courtesy Kyle Rivas/Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce

Every year, the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce recognizes two outstanding female leaders with the ATHENA Award, one of its highest honors.

The list of past honorees is a who’s who of Kansas City’s foremost female leaders, including philanthropist and civic leader Adele Hall and former Urban Neighborhood Initiative president and CEO Dianne Cleaver.

On a number of critical measures related to their college experience, students at Rockhurst University are more satisfied than their peers at other private four-year institutions.

It was a great weekend to be a Hawk — the annual Family and Alumni Weekend festivities brought hundreds of Rockhurst University alumni and families back to “the nest” for the biggest party on campus.

More than 1,000 visitors registered to attend one of the events on campus happening over three days. Activities included class reunions, including the 1973 Golden Hawks, the Hopkins Skip and Run 5k, the Ellen Spake Lecture Series featuring University President Sandra Cassady, Ph.D., as the guest speaker, and campus tours and events for families.

Rockhurst University earned a number of accolades for individual programs and for the University as a whole — including a best-in-area ranking — in the 2024 U.S. News and World Report Colleges list, released today.

Do you feel that?

Yeah, us too. Move-in and orientation weekend means Rockhurst welcomes about 350 new freshmen to campus. It’s always a team effort, with staff, faculty and current students pitching in to help get those students moved in and the amazing orientation team taking it from there with a weekend of activities to integrate the newest Hawks into college life and this place so many have called home.

So who are they? Let’s meet the class of 2027:

The next time you pass through Van Ackeren Hall, look up.

On the ceiling of what was formerly a mostly white entry way is a burst of blues and greens in the form of a new mural celebrating different faith traditions and the connections between them.

The new campus art is the result of a Faithfully Forward grant from the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, awarded to institutions in the hopes of celebrating religious diversity on the campuses of Catholic colleges.

Sue Willcox, Ph.D., Rockhurst University’s new provost, brings a unique perspective to the job of higher education administration.

While many higher ed administrators start as faculty before joining the administration, Willcox began her career with younger students as a public school special education teacher.

Rockhurst University has announced the dean’s list for the spring 2023 semester. This honor recognizes students who have achieved a grade-point average of 3.5 or above.

The following students have been named to the list:

Dati Abuladze

Lauren Ada

Courtney Adams

Nate Adamson

Mia Adkins

Peyton Aerni

Oscar Ahumada

Le'Bonet Alfaro

Sara Alghsein

Safiya Ali

Michael Allen

Drew Altic

Litzy Alvarado Islas

Omar Alvarez

Ahmad Aly

Zoe Amstutz

Morgan Andersen

There’s an ease with which incoming Vice President of Enrollment Management Mark Steinlage talks about Rockhurst University’s campus, mission, faculty, staff and student experience.

That makes sense.

“I lived it for nearly 11 years,” he said.

More than 450 Rockhurst University students joined the tens of thousands of Hawk alumni around the world as part of the spring commencement ceremony Saturday in Municipal Auditorium.

As always, the proceedings were highlighted by the perspective of two students nominated to speak on behalf of undergraduate and graduate students.

One of the Helzberg’s School of Management’s major graduate business degree programs has been recognized as one of the best in the nation, according to the 2024 Best Graduate Schools list from U.S. News and World Report.

While environmental sustainability is a global problem, many of its solutions are being developed locally.

Together, they have served Rockhurst University for 155 years, longer than Rockhurst has existed as an institution.

In recognition of that service, the University celebrated eight faculty and staff members who will be retiring this academic year in a ceremony Friday.

Sandra Cassady, Ph.D., University president, said all those retirees have made significant contributions to the University. But they also made an impact on their students and colleagues, evidenced by the heartfelt comments submitted for Cassady to read in honoring the retirees:

When Nilufer Guler, Ph.D., associate professor of education, started asking for proposals for her latest project, she wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of responses.

But the theme of her new book, titled “At School in the World: Developing Globally Engaged Teachers,” must have been pretty inspiring. Guler and her co-editor, Carine Ullom, Ed.D., received 58 chapter proposals around incorporating global citizenship and intercultural competency into the classroom.

David Brooks, New York Times columnist, bestselling author, and guest of the 11^th annual Rockhurst University Leadership Series event on Tuesday evening at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, knows how to work a Kansas City crowd. He started with a compliment for the new Kansas City International Airport, and then quoted a familiar source in his talk about what he’s learned in a career analyzing current events and the people behind them — Kansas City’s own Jason Sudeikis.

In November 2022, Rockhurst University etched a new chapter in its history, inaugurated its first lay, first female president, Sandra Cassady, Ph.D. In honor of Women’s History Month, we asked Cassady about her experience as a female leader and history maker in her own right.

Who have been some of the female leaders you looked up to in your career — either those you personally knew or who were examples from your own life?

Rockhurst University will begin enrolling students in certificate programs for diversity, equity and inclusion at both the graduate and undergraduate level in fall 2023, offering students a curriculum that will prepare them to lead confidently and compassionately in a multicultural world.

As part of the annual Rockhurst University Leadership Series event on Tuesday, March 28, Rockhurst University will honor Madeline Romious, a 1995 graduate of the school’s MBA program, with the Rashford-Lyon Award for Leadership and Ethics.

For the fall 2023 semester, the Helzberg School of Management at Rockhurst University is launching a new way to earn their signature MBA degree — one that lets students build it from the ground up.

The new Stackable MBA, the first of its kind in the region, lets students build a degree by earning three certificates — one of which being the business administration certificate. It’s the same makeup of the traditional MBA degree, with courses in management, marketing, business intelligence and economics in addition to a Jesuit core values course.

David Brooks, a New York Times columnist and bestselling author of “The Road to Character,” will bring his unique perspective on the American life and keen insights into present-day politics and foreign affairs to Kansas City as the keynote guest of the 11^thRockhurst University Leadership Series event at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, Missouri.

Rockhurst University awarded close to 300 degrees at its winter commencement ceremony, held Dec. 11, 2022, at Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland in downtown Kansas City.

The program featured two student speakers, with Nhukim Nguyen, a biochemistry major, representing undergraduate students, and Jessica Davis, a Doctor of Education degree recipient, representing graduate students.

Students who earned degrees are:

Erica Akins

Celeste Allen

Jennifer Amundson-Mullins

Erin Anderson

Annabel Avery

Ettore Ballestracci

Emily Bange

Rockhurst University student-athletes are at the top of their conference and in the top 10 nationally among all NCAA Division II schools in a new report measuring academic success.

Diego Gutierrez, DBA, assistant professor of management and marketing, is no stranger to the excitement of soccer on the big stage. The Rockhurst University graduate was a member of the Hawks soccer team during his time here, then had a long career in Major League Soccer with both the Chicago Fire and the Kansas City Wizards (now Sporting KC) and was part of the U.S. Men's National Team before becoming a soccer broadcaster with Fox Sports 1.

“Why me, oh Lord?”

It’s a question Alvin Brooks said he has asked himself at different points throughout his life — in trying times and in moments of triumph. And it was one, he said, that he found himself asking again on Friday as Rockhurst University broke ground on a faith-justice center named in his honor. It was only recently that Brooks said he got an answer to the question, coming down the escalator after receiving the 2022 Henry W. Bloch Human Relations Award with his close friend, U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II.

“Go Hawks.”

Sandra Cassady, Ph.D., closed her inaugural speech Friday with a cheer, marking her official appointment into the 15^th president of Rockhurst University.

Cassady — who assumed duties of the presidency in June following the departure of the Rev. Thomas B. Curran, S.J. — was officially installed Friday, Nov. 11, in a series of afternoon events on campus.

Andrews McMeel Universal (AMU) will launch a new award for students at Rockhurst University to execute multimedia creative projects centered around diversity, equity and inclusion in honor of John P. McMeel, co-founder of AMU.

It's Inauguration Week!

Nothing says Halloween like a double-feature of scary movies, right?

The red carpet (obviously the spookiest carpet color) will be rolled out at Arrupe Hall Saturday for the premiere of two short films with a cast and crew made up of mostly students in the Rockhurst Department of Film Arts, part of the Center for Arts and Letters’ ArtOberfest calendar. “Harper’s Tapes” and “Can You See It?” scratch that spooky itch, with creepy vibes and mystery at their core.

Over the next two years, Rockhurst University will expand its athletics program with the addition of seven teams. Men’s and women’s swimming and diving, and men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field will join the Hawks lineup as varsity sports for the 2023-24 academic year.

Men’s volleyball will also be added as a varsity sport beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. The addition of the seven programs will increase the university’s total number of varsity sports to 22. The teams will compete at the NCAA Division II level and in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

Rockhurst University’s civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering programs are now fully accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET, the global accreditor of college and university programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology.

ABET accreditation assures that programs meet standards to produce graduates ready to enter critical technical fields that are leading the way in innovation and emerging technologies and anticipating the welfare and safety needs of the public.

In the middle of Kansas City’s bustling Crossroads Arts District is an unexpected patch of prairie. And in the middle of that, you’ll often find junior Gavin Schaefer.

“It’s really serene, but it’s in the middle of the city,” he said. “A lot of people don’t know that this place exists — I grew up here and walked by it so many times on First Friday without knowing it.”

Once a year, Rockhurst University alumni are invited back to the classroom, this time as teachers.

The annual Leadership and Ethics Day has become a tradition in the College of Business, Influence and Information Analysis at Rockhurst — a one-day marathon of guest lectures from alumni, who bring their own experience into the classroom on everything from statistics to leadership, with many touching on the difficult ethical challenges they have been faced with and how they’ve navigated them.

Remember the first time you set foot on a college campus?

Hopefully, that experience was a positive one. Maybe it was at Rockhurst at tulip time in the spring, or perhaps the fall, when the leaves turn color. You might have had an interaction with a faculty, staff member or student that really made the difference in your college decision.

Rockhurst University and William Jewell College, located just 21 miles from each other, have enjoyed a healthy rivalry since the 1900s, and since 2011 have been Great Lakes Valley Conference opponents, as well.

This year, the two insitutions have a new prize to play for, as the two schools have agreed to create the Kansas City Crown, presented by Mammoth Sports Construction, with the inaugural competition set for the 2022-23 season across a dozen sports.

The Greenlease Gallery, Rockhurst’s on-campus art gallery since 2000, was temporarily closed during the two-year renovation of the adjacent Sedgwick Hall. This fall, it comes back with a new mission, a slightly new look and a new temporary exhibition that in part showcases the city Rockhurst calls home.

Rockhurst University earned the highest ranking among institutions in the Kansas City region and the second highest ranking in the state of Missouri on Money magazine’s 2022 Best Colleges in America list.

The list, which focuses on college value, looks at 2,400 four-year colleges “with sufficient data and above-average graduation rates,” scoring each institution on 24 different measures in three areas — quality, affordability and outcomes — that are important to families making a choice about what college might be the best fit for them. In other words, it’s all about value.

There is a lot of buzz around soccer in the United States with the recent news that North America will host the 2026 World Cup, and for Tom Heinemann, ’09, even moreso.

He’s not just a lifelong soccer fan (who played for the Hawks during his time here), he’s also starting a new job at this moment in the sun for the sport he loves — in February he was named head coach of the of the U-15 Boys’ National Team, where he will be guiding the next generation of U.S. National Team stars. It’s a new challenge, but one Heinemann said he is very excited about.

Dominique Washington is a 2016 graduate of Rockhurst University, where he also played basketball for the Hawks. He is the new director of the MAC and intramural coordinator.

What’s it been like to be back on campus? Talk to us about your experience as a student here.

Rockhurst University’s campus is home to a new resource for those with disabilities, thanks to a partnership with the state of Missouri.

Inside Ignatius Science Center is the Missouri Assistive Technology lab, a place where the community can come and learn about available assistive technologies and how to use them. It’s a service provided by the state. The main facility for the region is located in nearby Blue Springs, but the University campus provided a prime location for a second site, according to Tammy Bruegger, OTD, assistant professor of occupational therapy.

Sometimes there are obvious clues left behind at a crime scene.

Broken glass can indicate a point of entry. Missing items point to a robbery, etc.

But there are less obvious clues, too — things left behind at the molecular level.

Meet the Expert

Patrick Mitchell, SHRM-SCP, ’05, ’09 MBA, is vice president for human resources, diversity, equity and inclusion at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research. He is an enthusiastic people and culture leader with a passion for helping others become the very best version of themselves.

From performing in a film for the first time to starting a podcast from scratch to jumping at leadership opportunities, freshman Chidera Okafor has embraced what Rockhurst University has to offer.

But it could have gone another way — Okafor said she came to Rockhurst to be a nursing student after being waitlisted for medical school at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She decided not to wait — instead choosing Rockhurst’s nursing program — but it has been anything but a backup plan.

Rockhurst University has announced the dean’s list for the spring 2022 semester. This honor recognizes students who have achieved a grade-point average of 3.5 or above.

The following students were named to the list:

Yasmeen Abutineh

Courtney Adams

Lauryn Adams

Nate Adamson

Peyton Aerni

Oscar Ahumada

Erica Akins

Mehdi Al-Amood

Shereen Al-Saoudi

Lucas Alaback

Balem Alamerew

Karen Alba

Le'Bonet Alfaro

Celeste Allen

Megan Allison

Drew Altic

Litzy Alvarado Islas

On Saturday, close to 750 students will participate in Rockhurst University’s commencement ceremony — returning to Municipal Auditorium for the first time since the pandemic forced the 100^th commencement ceremony to the virtual realm in 2020.

Four members of Kansas City’s unique entrepreneurial landscape took the stage Thursday in the third annual “Meet the Makers” event.

And though they represented different focuses — socks, whiskey, coffee and ice cream — they shared an appreciation for the hard work it takes to be a business owner and for those who supported them along the way.

In 2018, Rockhurst University began offering college courses, taught by its own faculty, to a small cohort of 20 incarcerated individuals and 10 staff at the Chillicothe Correctional Center. Progressing through disciplines and a pandemic, they’ve continued to learn.

Two MBA concentrations from the Helzberg School of Business in the College of Business, Influence and Information Analysis have earned top 20 national rankings in U.S. News & World Reports’ 2023 Best Graduate Schools rankings.

The greenery around campus makes every spring a wonderful time on the Rockhurst University campus.

But there’s more to the tree canopy at Rockhurst than aesthetics — all that foliage helps make the campus a more livable, sustainable place for faculty, staff, students, biodiversity and our communities. And in recognition of continuing efforts to keep the campus’s trees healthy and vibrant, Rockhurst University has been recognized as a Tree Campus by the Arbor Day Foundation — the first institution in the Kansas City area to earn that distinction.

From an outsider’s perspective, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist probably appeared to have it all.

Even as a talented basketball player with a loving family and good group of friends growing up in New Jersey, he said he felt isolated for so much of his young life, in fear of being heard. All because of his stutter.

The Rockhurst University Board of Trustees has selected Sandra Cassady, Ph.D., to become the 15th president of Rockhurst University, effective July 1, 2022.

Cassady will make history as the first female and first lay president of Rockhurst, which is a Catholic, Jesuit university founded in 1910 by the Society of Jesus, a religious order of Roman Catholic priests known as the Jesuits.

Rockhurst University conferred degrees to approximately 200 students during its December commencement ceremony Dec. 11, 2021, in Mason-Halpin Fieldhouse. Students Berkley Hays and Nancy Miller delivered remarks on behalf of undergraduate and graduate students, respectively.

The following students received degrees:

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

The following students earned a place on the list:

Ashley Abbott

Yasmeen Abutineh

Aracely Acuna Trejo

Courtney Adams

Lauryn Adams

Nate Adamson

Peyton Aerni

Oscar Ahumada

Erica Akins

Mehdi Al-Amood

Shereen Al-Saoudi

Balem Alamerew

Karen Alba

Drew Altic

Litzy Alvarado Islas

Joseph Alvey

Bestselling author of “The World is Flat” and New York Times foreign affairs columnist Thomas Friedman will be the guest of the 2022 Rockhurst University Leadership Series, speaking on “Helping Today’s Leaders Understand Big Trends Shaping the World: Economics, Technology, and Geopolitics” at a talk followed by a reception, scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. Thursday, March 24, 2022, at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, Missouri.

Rockhurst University and Keypath Education will launch four new online and hybrid degree programs, including two online graduate programs, one online graduate certificate program and one hybrid undergraduate degree designed to further Rockhurst University’s goal to become a regional leader in healthcare education and to help fill the need for skilled, compassionate healthcare providers.

The new programs scheduled to launch in August 2022 are:

It’s the fulfillment of a dream that began close to 70 years ago.

In 1954, Rockhurst University students offered to raise funds for a statue of Mary on campus and an accompanying grotto for prayer. The statue was funded and Mary was placed on a stone cruciform for the time being, but the rest of the project proved difficult to fund.

A lot separates the Jesuit higher-learning institutions in the United States — size, location and degree programs, to name a few. But they also face many of the same questions.

That’s the reason senior student development officers from across the country were on the Rockhurst University campus this week as part of the Jesuit Association of Student Personnel Administrators’ annual Senior Student Affairs Officers meeting.

Taking the field at an NFL stadium has always been a dream of Jermal Perkins, ’21. On Sunday, it became a reality.

Perkins was invited onto GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium to be the “First Pass” honoree as part of pregame festivities honoring City Year, a national nonprofit agency dedicated to providing support and resources to schools. Perkins is currently serving at Central Middle School as part of a City Year team sponsored by the Hunt Family Foundation.

For 12 years, the memory of Nelson Hopkins Jr. has lived on at the Rockhurst University campus.

Oct. 27 is Sustainability Day, a recognition of efforts being made worldwide to combat the advance and effects of climate change.

On the Rockhurst University campus, green- and sustainability-focused policies can be seen at work in the Sedgwick Hall and other construction projects, from resources, being repurposed to practices and materials used.

Students affiliated with St. John’s College in Belize will be coming to Rockhurst University to complete doctoral studies in education, according to a new agreement between the institutions.

A memorandum of understanding was signed between the two institutions Sept. 21, the 40^th anniversary of Belizean independence. It will allow up to 10 students from St. John’s College to enroll in Rockhurst’s Ed.D. program. The first cohort will begin in June 2022.

For the hitters on Rockhurst University’s Hawks softball team, a can ‘o corn is usually something to be avoided.

But recently, they couldn’t get enough of cans of corn, beans, and other nonperishables, as members of the team asked fans to contribute food items as the price of admission their game to benefit the St. Francis Xavier Parish food pantry.

U.S. News and World Report has ranked the undergraduate management program in the College of Business, Influence and Information Analysis as among the best such programs in the country, according to its 2022 Best Colleges rankings.

Rockhurst University President the Rev. Thomas B. Curran, S.J., announced today that he plans to step down from his role following the close of this academic year, June 30, 2022, after completing his 16th year as president.

Sedgwick Hall will not reopen for approximately another year.

But a very important piece of the renovated building was prepared on Wednesday, with a bit of a personal touch. The final structural beam for the project was made available for members of the Rockhurst University community — students, faculty, staff and construction crew — to sign their names.

For more than half a century, the statue of Mary has been a fixture of the northeastern portion of the Kinerk Commons.

Beneath a canopy of evergreens, flanked by Adirondacks, the statue has been a social as well as spiritual center of campus, hosting conversations and an annual May Crowning.

A groundbreaking is expected soon on a new home for the Mary statue designed to ensure this campus icon will continue to serve as a beacon for those looking for a moment of calm.

The Jewish Community Relations Bureau has announced it will honor Rockhurst University President the Rev. Thomas B. Curran, S.J., with its Henry W. Bloch Human Relations Award at its annual Human Relations Event on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021.

Fr. Curran will be the first member of the clergy to receive the prestigious award in recognition for his work pursuing equity on campus and throughout the Kansas City community, according to JCRB leaders.

More than 40 years ago, curators from the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art helped Rockhurst University choose pieces of significance for what was then a new collection of religious art to be housed on campus.

Now, some of the very pieces from that collection will grace the walls at Kansas City’s premier art museum for the next year.

Rockhurst University President the Rev. Thomas B. Curran, S.J., met virtually Wednesday with members of Missouri’s federal congressional delegation with a simple message — double the Pell.

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.

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.

The class of 2020 at Rockhurst University is noteworthy for so many reasons.

Kristy Bayer has been named the new director of athletics at Rockhurst University, effective July 6, 2021. Bayer comes to Rockhurst from Emporia State University where she has served as the deputy director of athletics and senior woman administrator since December 2017.

1989 was a turning point for Saint Luke’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences.

In April of that year, the Missouri Board of Nursing approved a plan for a four-year degree program for the college, establishing a Bachelor of Science in nursing degree that generations of nurses have since pursued as a rigorous foundation for their own career in health care.

For centuries, Montserrat in Spain has been a pilgrimage destination.

Located high in the mountains not far from Barcelona and known as a destination for its breathtaking sunrise views, the Benedictine monastery also holds a special place in the hearts of members of the Society of Jesus. It’s where the society’s founder, St. Ignatius Loyola, came after suffering a battlefield injury, courtesy a cannonball, and laid down his sword in front of the statue of Our Lady of Montserrat.

Rockhurst University Companions,

From the time we saw the images of George Floyd’s death, we wondered what would happen. Would he receive justice? We now know the jury’s verdict, but our questions do not end.

Sedgwick Hall has been a lot of things over the years. But it’s been a while since it’s been under construction.

Anyone who has been on campus since December (or looked at the University’s social media pages) will probably have seen what Sedgwick Hall now looks like from the outside, with construction having kicked off on a $23 million renovation that will see the 1914 building transformed into the home of the Saint Luke’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences, the centerpiece of the For the Greater campaign.

This week, Rockhurst University will celebrate the life and legacy of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in a whole new way.

Normally, the University schedules its MLK Day celebration in January to honor King’s birthday. However, COVID-19 means things look a little different this year as a result of the later start to the spring semester.

Instead of honoring King’s birth, the week’s activities will instead be in recognition of one of King’s most famous pieces of writing, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” written on April 16, 1963.

Rockhurst University has named Laura Horne-Popp as the next director of the Greenlease Library, effective June 1.

Horne-Popp comes to Rockhurst from the University of Central Missouri, where she serves as assistant university librarian of the James C. Kirkpatrick Library. She brings to her new role extensive experience in all aspects of library operations and information services. Her instruction and research consultation experience have assisted students, faculty and nonprofits in increasing their information literacy.

On March 12, 2020, students, faculty and staff alike were notified that campus would be shut down for two weeks, a precautionary measure meant to prevent further spread of coronavirus/COVID-19. They would not be back for the remainder of the spring semester.

That announcement came shortly after the World Health Organization called the crisis a global pandemic and the same day Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas would issue his first state of emergency order related to the virus.

This Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills will face off in the AFC Championship game. And the presidents of the two Jesuit universities in those respective cities have decided to make it interesting.

Rockhurst University Companions,

January 6, 2021, was marked by the loss of life, the exposure of public servants to great harm, the destruction of property we considered “a temple of democracy,” and a rupture to principles we thought were cherished by all. Nonetheless, we can be consoled and encouraged with the psalmist who tells us that while the night might have left us in tears, the dawn brings the promise of joy. (30, 6)

Rockhurst University will begin the search for a new athletics director after the first of the year, allowing the current AD, Gary Burns, to focus on his role as head baseball coach and to assist the university’s advancement division with relationship building and fundraising. He will continue to serve as AD until June 30, 2021.

On Saturday, the Rockhurst University community celebrated those students who completed their coursework in December. It not only marked the return of an older tradition, as the last time the University hosted a December commencement was in 2005. But it did so in a very 2020 way — virtually.

Approximately 200 students were eligible for degrees at the first of what is expected to become an ongoing tradition for those students who complete their coursework at the close of the fall semester.

Rockhurst University is one of a few bucking the trend of many Missouri colleges and universities facing enrollment headwinds as a result of COVID-19 and demographic changes, according to a new report from the state coordinating board for higher education.

A fall enrollment report recently issued by that body indicated that most Missouri institutions of higher education, both public and private, saw drops in headcount enrollment in the fall of 2020 compared to the previous year, with an overall decline of 5.9%.

Some Rockhurst University offices will amend their hours during the coming holiday season. The following hours will be observed.

Rockhurst University

University offices will be closed Nov. 23-27 for Thanksgiving break.

University offices will be closed Dec. 24 through Jan. 1, 2021, for Christmas break.

Greenlease Library

Greenlease Library will be closed Nov. 21 through Nov. 29 for the Thanksgiving break.

Today, the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities issued a statement on the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Rockhurst University has announced the dean’s list for the spring 2020 semester. This honor recognizes students who have achieved a grade-point average of 3.5 or above.

The following students were included on the list:

Matthew Abeyta

Fanuel Achinda

Caroline Adams

Macee Adams

Mara Akers

Amber Akin

Shereen Al-Saoudi

Balem Alamerew

Jennifer Alonso

Anthony Altobella

Litzy Alvarado Islas

Ashley Anderson

Kathleen Anderson

Madelyn Anderson

Marianna Anderson

Michelle Anderson

“Human first.”

That’s what the Post-It note on the laptop of Jameelah Lang, Ph.D., assistant professor of English, has told her for years.

It’s a reminder that teaching should always be student-focused — that above all else, her instruction should be a partnership with students that emphasizes their shared humanity and individual experiences.

That has felt more pressing or real since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. After the sudden switch to remote learning, Lang said she looked to her students to help shape what the rest of the semester looked like.

From the stylized depictions of nature from the impressionists to the stark grandeur of Ansel Adams’ photographs, artists have long looked to their surroundings for inspiration.

Rockhurst University is mourning the death of former University president the Rev. Peter Ely, S.J., on Saturday, April 11.

For Kansas City area restaurants (make that restaurants across the U.S.), physical distancing and other precautions taken to stem the spread of COVID-19 has made business a lot harder.

That’s a cause of stress for Dan Walsh, ’96, ’01 MBA, owner of Spokes Café, but it’s also been an opportunity to rally a community behind the workers leading the fight against the virus every day.