Faculty

Craig Prentiss, Ph.D., professor of Religious Studies and Theology at Rockhurst, was recently granted a Fulbright Scholar Award to teach at the University of Bucharest in Romania in the Spring term of 2023. A product of the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Program, Fulbright Scholar Awards are prestigious and competitive fellowships that provide unique opportunities for scholars to teach and conduct research abroad.

Some students go to college undecided on a major, and that’s just fine. Others, like 2016 Rockhurst graduate Kaitlin Doyle, know exactly what they want to do.



Doyle’s mother grew up as a child of a deaf adult (CODA) and Kaitlin had an uncle who had cerebral palsy and spent a lot of time in therapy. She saw how her grandparents took care of him and guided him through everyday tasks.



That sparked her interest in the field of occupational therapy.

There’s a phrase used in Costa Rica that means pure life: “Pura Vida.” It can mean hello and good-bye, much like “Aloha” in Hawai’i, but it 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.



Every year Ling traveled to Costa Rica to live “Pura Vida,” but inevitably and understandably returned to her corporate job and reality in Kansas City. She was a Chief Financial Officer in her later days in the business world, so she’d cover up her Pura Vida tattoo with a Band-Aid so it wouldn’t be seen in the boardroom.