Rockhurst News

Another year, another incoming class at Rockhurst University.

In the fall of 2017, Saint Luke’s College of Health Sciences opened its doors to a first cohort of 26 students attending the Pathways to Health and Science Education program. Pathways was conceived as a bridge program designed to introduce diverse students to careers in healthcare professions.

In 2020, the program transitioned with the College to Rockhurst University and was renamed the Early College Pathways Program.

The Rockhurst University School of Education got a report card of its own in May. And it’s one they’re going to want to hang up on the fridge.

While Commencement marks the finish line for many students, others have miles and miles to go.

For pre-med students at Rockhurst, they have exhausted the University’s opportunities and resources, earned a bachelor’s degree, and are off to medical school as official RU alumni.

These graduates have made their mark on RU. Now they make their mark on the world.

As the sun sets on the Rockhurst University campus’ tulips for the spring, some new plants are getting a chance to shine.

On Friday, members of the biology faculty and students planted an assortment of pollinator plants in a small plot north of the Ignatius Science Center.  

Around a central redbud tree are now rows of coneflower, butterfly flower and coreopsis, among others.

Kat Dolan, ’20, came to Rockhurst University having already had what some might consider a lifetime of experiences. And they’ve all played a part in a new piece in the latest issue of America, the national Jesuit magazine.

Last year, senior biomedical physics of medicine major Bella Salerno was looking forward to her summer vacation for reasons other than getting out of town.

Salerno had been accepted to the Purdy Summer Research Fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine’s department of radiation oncology and was looking forward to the experience of delving deeper into a subject she’s grown to love.

“One of the reasons for choosing my major has been my love for both math and science,” she said. “I found that physics really encompasses both the how and why aspect of science.”

The U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate School list for 2022 is out, and several programs within Rockhurst University’s College of Business, Influence and Information Analysis earned recognition among the best in the nation.

The management programs in the Helzberg School of Management, which is part of the University’s College of Business, Influence, and Information Analysis, were ranked No. 24 in the nation. The school’s graduate business analytics programs were ranked No. 39, the only such program ranked in the state of Missouri.

For 2020 senior men’s lacrosse players Jason Zabel (pictured) and Jake Bastien, life in early March 2020 was good. The seniors had helped the team to a No. 8 national ranking and they were two short months away from graduating.

Then the downward spiral began. Bastien tore his ACL in a game against Colorado Mesa, ending his season.

“Just the thought that I couldn’t finish my senior season with the guys that I have been playing with for the past four years was a hard pill to swallow,” Bastien said.