Rockhurst News

“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.

Each April, students at Rockhurst University vote for the staff member and faculty member who have had an outsized impact that year on their campus and academic lives. As part of the Festival of Student Achievement, the Faculty of the Year and Staff Member of the Year are typically recognized before a full Arrupe Hall auditorium.

Because of COVID-19, this year’s winners won’t get that live round of applause (a virtual Festival of Student Achievement is currently being planned). But they did get some in-person appreciation last Friday (at a safe distance, of course).

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 most health care providers, staying at home during the COVID-19 pandemic is simply not an option.

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.

Spanning centuries, styles and places of origin, the Van Ackeren Collection of Religious Art at Rockhurst University is something of a treasure on campus.

Each piece in the collection has a story behind it, but unfortunately are currently unavailable for viewing both because of ongoing renovations to Sedgwick Hall (the pieces are currently being safely stored offsite) and a citywide stay at home order to combat the spread of covid-19.

On Thursday, October 17, 2019, first-semester Bachelor of Science in Nursing students participated in the White Coat Ceremony at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral in Kansas City, Missouri.

Across cultures, a door symbolizes the changing of life with opportunities that arise and disappear. Possibilities stacked on either side, waiting to be opened and entered. Saint Luke’s College of Health Sciences student Charity Arnold walked into such an opportunity after a friend told her about the College’s medical assisting program.

After working for nearly a decade as a cosmetologist learning about skin conditions, Arnold’s interest in health care continued to grow. Medical assisting was appealing because of the flexible hours that were more stable than cosmetology.