With more than 200 years of service between them, the eight retiring members of the Rockhurst University faculty have earned a round of applause.
Normally recognized at the April faculty awards dinner, because of the campus shutdown as a result of COVID-19 these longtime members of the University community were instead congratulated for their decades of service virtually in a video and an email sent by Doug Dunham, Ph.D., provost and senior vice president for academic affairs.
The world’s experience fighting the COVID-19 pandemic offers a host of lessons.
But for Myles Gartland, Ph.D., dean of the College of Business, Influence and Information Analysis at Rockhurst University, the pandemic also illustrates the importance of data literacy, and why it’s so important to understand where data comes from, what it means, and how it’s shaping our understanding of the world around us.
“I think for years, a lot of us have conflated data literacy and math,” he said. “Any time we say a number, we say ‘that’s math, and I’m not good at math.’”
From the moment the academic year began, it was bound to be unique. The commencement ceremony in the year 2020 will be Rockhurst University’s 100th, a milestone worth celebrating.
While 2020 will likely be remembered for the global pandemic that forced the closure of college campuses across the U.S., including Rockhurst, this year’s seniors have earned their moment to shine. Congratulations to all members of the Class of 2020. Here are a few of their stories.
“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.
One group of Rockhurst students were asked to do something similar in the wake of COVID-19, using objects found in their home to create a sculpture for an art course taught by Elaine Buss, adjunct instructor of fine arts.
Rockhurst University is mourning the death of former University president the Rev. Peter Ely, S.J., on Saturday, April 11.
He earned a Ph.D. in theology from Fordham University and master’s and bachelor’s degrees in philosophy from Gonzaga. He was ordained as a member of the Society of Jesus in 1969.
For most health care providers, staying at home during the COVID-19 pandemic is simply not an option.
Staying healthy while they care for the sick means having personal protective equipment up to the task — gloves, masks, and face shields.
Unfortunately, the widespread nature of the disease means that equipment is in short supply nationwide. But locally, Rockhurst University faculty have been working to pitch in where they can.
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.
