Rockhurst News

They met through a mutual connection, hit it off, a first date on a hay ride on a crisp fall night.

Last Thursday, during a virtual panel discussion about Black-owned businesses in Kansas City, guests and members of the Black Student Union were subjected to racist hate speech and obscene images from individuals who hijacked the event.

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:

From the frenzy of the fans to the unpredictable weather to busted brackets, playoff football can be exhilarating.

Many in Kansas City now know the feeling well as fans. But as a member of the officiating crew for the recent College Football Playoff semifinal game between the University of Georgia and the University of Michigan on New Years Eve, Chris Tallent, ’01, can speak to the playoff atmosphere from a very different perspective.

“It was an incredible experience,” he said.

There’s a phrase used in Costa Rica that is translated literally to pure life: “Pura Vida.” In general, it can mean hello and good-bye, much like “Aloha” in Hawai’i, but also means being centered in mind, body and spirit.

The phrase meant so much to new Rockhurst University professor and frequent Costa Rica visitor Missy Ling that she had it tattooed on her inner wrist years ago.

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

As most student-athletes can tell you, teamwork is just that — work. But it’s also rewarding.

That’s been the case for members of Rockhurst University’s men’s basketball team this year as they’ve continued a yearslong effort to foster relationships with third through sixth grade students at nearby Troost Elementary School. From helping them with their schoolwork to having impromptu arm wrestling competitions, the players build positive bonds with these younger students and encourage them as they grow.

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 has received the NCAA Presidents’ Award for Academic Excellence for achieving four-year Academic Success Rates of 90 percent or higher among its student-athletes for the 11th consecutive year.

Forty-three Division II member schools are recipients of the Presidents’ Award for Academic Excellence. Rockhurst is one of 10 schools to have earned the recognition every year since the award was started in 2011.

Positive male role models have shaped the life of Rockhurst Master's of Education (M.Ed.) student Donnell Fletcher from a young age, and now the Raytown, Missouri, teacher is doing the same for future generations.

Before he started leading students at Raytown Middle School, Fletcher learned life lessons from influential figures in his family and through high school sports.