Rockhurst News

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 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.

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.