presi dent ’ s quarterly u pdate carlow university
• office of the president • march 2015
The Board of Trustees voted to approve the revised Mission Statement and Values, as well as the new Philosophy Statement. The next steps for the Mission Statement is to have it approved by the Conference for Mercy Higher Education (CMHE). I would like to thank the groups who oversaw their creation and extend my gratitude to the campus community for their feedback during the process.
PHILOSOPHY STATEMENT The philosophy of Carlow University is guided by a commitment to the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, a belief in the transformative
MISSION STATEMENT
power of the liberal arts, and a dedication to undergraduate and graduate education that
(Approved by the Board of Trustees, March 2015) Carlow University, rooted in its Catholic identity and embodying the heritage and values of the Sisters of Mercy, offers transformational educational opportunities for a diverse community of learners and empowers them to excel in their chosen work as compassionate, responsible leaders in the creation of a just and merciful world.
instills social responsibility and a desire to work for the good of all humankind. These ideals are touchstones of a Carlow education, informing the institution’s mission and values so that students can realize their full potential and become ethical leaders in their personal and
VALUES MERCY The identifying value of Carlow University is Mercy, encompassing all that we are and do as a University. Inspired by our God of Mercy, this value urges us to open our hearts to our students, our colleagues, and our world. In the tradition of action and contemplation, we seek practical ways of addressing need and we engage in reflection in order to understand and integrate our experiences. Education offers us the tools to address unjust structures and dehumanizing situations. Each discipline provides a lens through which we can envision our place in our own personal transformation and that of the global community. The values of Service, Discovery, Hospitality, and the Sacredness of Creation further expand our understanding of the power of Mercy to change our world. HOSPITALITY In Hospitality we welcome the wholeness of each person, creating a space in our campus community for all individuals with their varied beliefs, cultures, orientations and abilities. Openness to the gifts and perspectives of all creates a community rich in diversity and committed to inclusion.
SERVICE The value of Service calls us beyond ourselves to prioritize the needs of others over our own self-interest. Our efforts to identify and respond to the needs we see around us lead us to interact with persons and institutions in ways which are transformational. Our spirit of compassion leads us to practical action on behalf of those in need. DISCOVERY Through Discovery we open ourselves to the totality of our human experience, to the educational enterprise, to our relationship with the Divine, and to the wonders of the world in which we find ourselves. Discovery energizes our intellectual curiosity and desire for learning. It leads us ever deeper in the engagement with our chosen discipline and engenders a spirit of awe at the complexity and variety of creation. SACREDNESS OF CREATION This value leads us to a respect for each person and for all of creation. In gratitude for the beauty and variety of our world and its inhabitants, we commit to a culture of sustainability and to the preservation of a world where all are reverenced and all may thrive.
SAVE the DATE The dedication of the University Commons and celebration of the successful conclusion of the Comprehensive Campaign will be held Tuesday, September 15, beginning at 3:30 p.m.
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professional lives who are committed to a just and merciful world. Rooted in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, Carlow University recognizes the dignity of all human persons and the value of all creation, and understands that genuine wisdom and knowledge yield imperatives for justice. As a result, the institution seeks to graduate individuals who become engaged citizens of the world, capable of establishing transformative relationships of compassion and empathy. The love of learning and the desire for God are understood to manifest themselves in the relationship between reason and faith. Catholic Intellectual Tradition posits that truth is not divided, that truth in science is not at odds with truth in religion, thus at Carlow truth is explored through a “both/and” (analogical) rather than an “either/or” (dialectical) approach. Understanding that no one academic discipline contains all truth, Carlow University promotes an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach to research and scholarship, believing that creative, imaginative attentiveness to the world requires acknowledging the complexity required to interpret it. This attentiveness to the world is also evident in the University’s belief in the transformative power of the liberal arts. Derived from the Latin word liber for “free,” the liberal arts have
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carlow university
• president’s quarterly update • march 2015
PHILOSOPHY STATEMENT CONT. been the foundation of higher education for centuries because they free individuals to think clearly and creatively about themselves and the world in which they live. Carlow is committed to the liberal arts as part of its undertaking to educate the whole person: body, mind, and spirit. Fundamentally, the liberal arts focus on what it means to be human in all its complexity. Rather than approaching human experience from a finite perspective or insisting on rigid viewpoints that inhibit knowledge or limit thinking, the liberal arts encourage intellectual exploration and often pose problems that have no easy solutions. When students engage with the essential issues explored in the liberal arts, their lives are transformed, and they leave
to challenge or affirm existing or prevailing
formats in development for Fall 2016 and
values in the workplace and the world.
four new programs and/or formats for Fall
Through coursework, research, internships,
2015, including:
and residencies, Carlow students embody the integrative Mercy approach to rigorous scholarship, creative thinking, and problem solving. Through the innovative liberal arts core experience, undergraduate students develop
This is in advance of the new Respiratory
situation. The original vision of the founders
Care program that will begin admitting
uniquely positions Carlow University today to
students in Fall 2015.
offer an educational experience in which its graduates seek integrity in their lives and have the skills and conviction to create a more just and merciful world.
STRATEGIC PLAN UPDATE
As a reminder, for 2014-2015 nine of the 20 objectives in the strategic plan have been
• Enhance Brand • Expand Enrollment • Increase Fundraising • Foster Distinctive Learning • Elevate Experiential Learning
combining scholarship in the liberal arts with
• Grow Partnerships
career development in the professions, thus
• Realign Master Plan
providing young women in the Pittsburgh area
S T R AT E G I C P L A N 2014-2019
equal educational opportunities with men. The
II, it was clear that an educational approach that
more than 30 Carlow programs.
• Diversify Programs and Formats
were pioneers for women’s higher education by
began to admit male veterans after World War
seamless transition to a bachelor’s degree in
• Plan Enrollment
launched Mount Mercy College in 1929, they
self-directing and self-sustaining. As Carlow
College of Allegheny County will offer a
TR ANSFORMI NG LIVES . TR ANSFORMI NG OUR WORLD.
Carlow University. When the Sisters of Mercy
inherent dignity and by helping women become
• A new partnership with the Community
identified as priority objectives:
flows from the values of the founders of
attitudes toward women by recognizing their
o Room 220 in AJP is being converted from a biology lab into a respiratory care lab.
A commitment to transforming the world
Catherine McAuley’s efforts to reform societal
concentration for Fall 2015
to any professional, vocational, or personal
through their ability to comprehend and address
Sisters of Mercy were inspired by their founder
o MBA with a Fraud and Forensics
creative and critical reasoning skills essential
the institution ready to help transform society the complex challenges of the world.
o Online RN to BSN for Fall 2015
The next issue of the Strategic Effectiveness This week you will receive a copy of the
Team Newsletter will be sent to faculty and
strategic plan booklet in campus mail.
staff via email next week. The newsletter
This booklet outlines the five institutional
archive can be found on myPortal.
imperatives through 2019 and underpins our commitment to our students, the campus community, region, and beyond, to
BUDGET UPDATE
provide distinctive and exceptional learning
Budget Managers are hard at work preparing
experiences to all those who walk through our
submissions for both the Operating and Capital
worth of all voices and creates a pedagogical
doors.
Budget requests for Fiscal Year 2016. Final
and scholarly environment that includes those
The Strategic Effectiveness Team continues
budget approval by the Board of Trustees will
who have been historically excluded. The Mercy
to provide high-level oversight for the
take place in June 2015.
approach to teaching and scholarship creates
implementation of our strategic plan and
a campus culture where men and women
recent updates include:
values women is beneficial to male and female students because it champions the inherent
experience empathy and mutual respect, while valuing inclusion, flexibility, and collaboration. In practice, the University’s philosophy leads to undergraduate and graduate pedagogy and curricula that are rooted in social justice and require Carlow students and graduates
• As of March 1, 80% of milestones with end dates on or before March 1 have been completed. • As of the end of February, overall admits for Fall 2015 are 13% above goal and 29% over where we were last year at this time.
CARLOW FAST FACTS •9 7% of all 2013-14 students graduating with a bachelor’s degree were employed, accepted into a graduate program or formal volunteer program. • 73% of all Carlow 2013-2014 graduates (undergraduate and graduate) completed at least one internship.
• We have several new programs and/or
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carlow university
• president’s quarterly update • march 2015
UNIVERSITY COMMONS
CMHE VISIT
MIDDLE STATES UPDATE
As a reminder, a team from the Conference for
Carlow is entering the final year of our
Mercy Higher Education (CMHE) will be visiting
Middle States Self-Study process. Last
Carlow April 7-9. Founded in part to assure
month, a first draft of the three main
the vitality of the Mercy heritage on the 16
sections of the document (Transforming
Mercy college and university campuses, CMHE
Learning, Transforming Our Environment,
is the Sisters of Mercy’s chosen manner of
and Transforming Ourselves) was compiled,
sponsoring their ministry of higher education.
building on the work that many Carlow faculty,
On April 9 from 10:45 -11:15 a.m., the Carlow
staff, and administrators have done serving on
community is invited to attend an exit meeting
or assisting one or more working groups over
in the Convent Arcade Room at which the
the past two and a half years. An accreditation
CMHE team will share with us their experience
consultant has reviewed that draft and provided
of Carlow as a Mercy/Catholic institution.
us with comments and suggestions for improving our Self-Study, and implementing
The University Commons project is progressing
BRAND CAMPAIGN
these suggestions is the work we will be focusing on for the rest of 2015. The Carlow
on time and on budget. Interior work has
Several brand campaign “themes” emerged
been succeeding at a steady pace and with the
as a result of the students, faculty and staff
weather beginning to break, the exterior of
forums. Those themes were shared with
the building will begin to transform with work
forum participants, as well as the Adult and
beginning on new windows and new entrances.
Graduate Council and prospective students,
Additionally, the selection of furniture for
who were then asked to rank the themes
public spaces and audio visual equipment has
in order of preference. As a result of the
been completed and ordered. Planning work
collective feedback, Carlow will be launching
on moving departments back into the building
its “Revolutionary By Degrees” campaign next
has started in anticipation of the August 15
month.
honorary degree and serve as commencement
the second floor of Frances Warde Hall
CAMPUS MASTER PLAN
Pittsburgh, Epperson is committed to improving
currently occupied by CDLI and CAA which
The Presidential Task Force on the Update of
opening. This planning includes a portion of
will be converted to residence hall rooms.
NEW FUNDING The Jack Buncher Foundation has provided a grant of $300,000 for construction and three years of programming for the Art Gallery in the University Commons. Aladdin Food Services has committed $400,000 for University Commons and for general support. Additionally, two corporate gifts have been
the Carlow University Campus Master Plan continues to meet on a regular basis with the goal of making recommendations to the
facilities maintenance.
finance correspondent and regular contributor on NBC’s "Today", "Nightly News", "MSNBC" and NBC affiliates nationwide, will receive an speaker at the May 9 event. A native of financial literacy, particularly in underserved communities.
CARLOW LAUREATES held on Friday, May 8, beginning at noon at
the University’s strategic plan. The Task Force
Rodef Shalom Temple. This year’s distinguished
will be scheduling focus group meetings in the
honorees are:
near future to get input from the community on the draft recommendations being crafted by the Task Force.
NEW LEADERSHIP President for Advancement effective May 4.
$35,000 for the University Commons and
Sharon Epperson, CNBC’s senior personal
The 2015 Carlow Laureates luncheon will be
Derek M. Wesley will join Carlow as Vice
stations and Scott Electric has provided
MAY COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER
construction and renewal projects guided by
funding for various areas and services in the to a $50,000 contribution to name the printing
on this first draft in the coming weeks.
President and the Board of Trustees on future
received from Carlow vendors to provide University Commons: ComDoc has committed
Community will be asked to read and comment
Effective July 1, leadership for Carlow’s three
• Barbara Capozzi Kirr: BA ’60—Sociology, Carlow University Trustee, 2006-2011 • Louise Reiber Malakoff, JD: BS ’67—Biology, Carlow University Trustee • Margaret Quinn Rosenzweig, PhD: BSN ’81— Nursing • Eleanor Buntag Wymard, PhD: BA ’58—
new colleges will be in place: Lynn George,
English, Director of Carlow University’s MFA
Dean of the College of Health and Wellness;
Program
Matthew E. Gordley, Dean of the College of Learning and Innovation; and Allyson Lowe,
In addition, the Francis Edward McGillick
Dean of the College of Leadership and Social
Foundation will be providing $135,000 for
Change.
• (Posthumous Award) Grace Ann Geibel, RSM, PhD: BA ’61—Piano and Music Education, President Emerita Carlow University
scholarship support.
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carlow university
• president’s quarterly update • march 2015
HIGH IMPACT PRACTICE (H.I.P.) IN COMMUNICATION
ALTERNATIVE SPRING BREAK 2015 Three groups of students participated in alternative spring break trips. For the sixth time, a Carlow contingent of 23 students, accompanied by Chris Meaner and Rachel Blonski, traveled to Laredo, Texas, to work with Habitat for Humanity. Barbara Johnson organized a group of four students who devoted their break time to studying immigration issues in Pittsburgh. The Well of Mercy in Hamptonville, NC, was the destination for six students, Gabriel Suarez, and Sister Sheila Carney. Working on the grounds and indoor repairs was punctuated by a field trip to the Sisters of Mercy motherhouse in Belmont, North Carolina.
Carlow Sports Talk is a one-hour broadcast streamed live (audio and video) on MSA Sports Network featuring Carlow student-athletes/ interviewers Carly Bonk, Kelsey Bonk, and Amber Phillips. Under the supervision of Michael Balmert, PhD; George Sliman; and Drew Wilson, what was to be a marketing partnership between MSA and Carlow has turned into an independent study course titled
Webcast Sports Journalism. It is designed to give the student an immersion experience in webcast sports interviewing/journalism while enhancing the profile of Carlow University and our athletics program in the community. The first broadcast was held January 19, with subsequent broadcasts on February 9 and March 16. Audio and video archives of the broadcasts can be found here. The final shows of the semester will air on April 20 and May 4 from 8:30-9:30 p.m.
SCHOLARSHIP
local populations of the invasive plant Japanese
Cynthia Karaffa, PhD, (Political Science and
knotweed in order to assess their degree of
Sociology) was asked to serve as the Midwest
Michael E. Balmert, PhD, (Communication)
clonality.
Political Science Association Section Head for
presented a 90-minute workshop on “Communicating Ethical Standards and Policies Effectively Across Multiple Constituencies” in December at the 36th Annual International Conference of the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws held in Pittsburgh. Mary C. Burke, PhD, (Professional Counseling and PsyD) has been invited to serve as the keynote speaker for the Criminal Justice Convocation in September at California State University, Sacramento.
Social Work professors Marsha Frank, PhD, and Sheila Roth, PhD, co-presented “Using Trauma Informed Care During Times of Crisis” at the Crisis Intervention Association of Pennsylvania conference in November. Patricia Jameson, PhD, (Psychology) has been named Chair, National Task Force for Research on Satir Methods and Approach by the Satir Global Network. She will be presenting a webinar on designing undergraduate, graduate and interdisciplinary courses utilizing Relational
Biology professors Michael Capp, PhD, and
Cultural Theory as part of a “RCT in Education”
Matthew Fagerburg, PhD, are working with two
series spearheaded by Harriet L. Schwartz,
undergraduate students, Taylor Bennett and
PhD, (Psychology and Education) and to be
Elizabeth Haney, on a research project using
hosted by the Jean Baker Miller Training
molecular genetics techniques to compare
Institute.
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Section 55 Political Anthropology and Sociology at the annual meeting in Chicago this April. She will also serve as a MPSA Roundtable Participant for the Professional and Career Development Roundtable: Civic Engagement in the Classroom at the meeting. Frances A. Kelley, PhD, (Professional Counseling and PsyD) was invited to submit an article, “The Therapy Relationship with Lesbian and Gay Clients,” for publication in the American Psychological Association journal Psychotherapy. As a result of the publication, she was contacted by the journal, Society of Psychotherapy, and asked to submit a second, related article which she will co-author with one of her students. Relatedly, PsyD student Rachel
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carlow university
• president’s quarterly update • march 2015
Cornelius was presented with the 2014
agency dedicated to helping troubled children
Comparing First-Generation and Non-First-
Patricia M. Bricklin Ethics Award by the Ethics
and families heal themselves. This project
Generation College Students on Post-
Committee of the Pennsylvania Psychological
was funded by the Grace Ann Geibel Institute.
Evaluations of Service-Learning Courses,”
Association (PPA) in October. The PPA Ethics Committee presents this award annually to one Pennsylvania graduate student who submits the best work product on ethics. She won for her paper, “Child Abuse: An Ethical Dilemma,” which she wrote in Kelley’s doctoral course Ethics and Standards (CPY 816) and it will now be published in the
Pennsylvania Psychologist. This is the first time a student from Carlow has won this
Travis Schermer, PhD, (Psychology) presented “Supervision Training for Site Supervisors: Committing to Quality Education” at the September North Atlantic Region Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, in Providence, RI. Additionally, he co-presented “Flipped Learning as a Way to Promote Constructivist Teaching in Counselor Education” at the conference and
award.
co-presented “Body Image and Satisfaction
Enrique Mu, PhD, (Business Administration)
Counseling” at the Pennsylvania Counseling
received the “Friend of the Faculty of
Association Conference, State College, PA,
Informatics” award from the University of
in November.
Zagreb in December based on his academic work and his mentoring of faculty and students. For similar reasons, as well as for embodying Carlow’s mission and spirit, he was given a recognition award by Carlow’s
Before and After Marriage: Implications for
Harriet L. Schwartz, PhD, (Psychology and Education) has been named to the editorial board of the journal Mentoring and Tutoring:
Partnership in Learning. She was also
published in the peer-reviewed journal
PRISM: A Journal of Regional Engagement. This study, conducted at Carlow and is entirely comprised of Carlow students, is the first study with a reasonable sample size to compare first-generation college students and their peers (non first-generation) on service-learning outcomes. The major finding in the article is that first-generation college students benefitted from the highimpact practice of service-learning at least as much as their peers. In some areas, such as increased compassion for the population served, they grew more compared to their peers. This topic may be of particular interest to the Carlow community given our strategic plan’s emphasis on elevating experiential learning such as service-learning. It offers support for why this emphasis makes sense for our students.
Board of Trustees in January.
named the first Lead Scholar for Education
Susan O’Rourke, EdD, (Education) delivered
Miller Training Institute, The Stone Center at
professional development sessions in special
Wellesley College. JBMTI is the intellectual
The Technology Advisory Council has begun its
needs education for teachers, administrators,
home for Relational Cultural Theory. In
work to frame the technology strategic plan.
caregivers, government officials and parents
her role, she will continue building related
Based on campus needs and to align with
in Entebbe, Soroti, and Bukedea, Uganda. She
communities of scholarship and practice,
the University strategic plan, the Council has
also serves as an evaluator for curriculum
design and present a webinar series and
identified eight draft themes around which to
design of transition programs for young adults
assist in planning and delivering on-site
design the plan. These include 1) Access to
at the Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh.
trainings at Wellesley College.
technology for students, 2) Consistency of use,
Sylvia Rhor, PhD, (Art) is completing a
Margaret Slota, DNP, RN, FAAN, (Nursing)
comparative study of local university galleries
co-authored “The Use of Palliative Care to
and setting a long-range strategic plan for
Promote Autonomy in Decision Making” in the
the Carlow University Art Gallery. She also
Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 18(6),
created an innovative partnership with the
707-711.
Office of Public Art, Pittsburgh, to create public art tours in her Public Art in the United
as Relational Practice at the Jean Baker
Stephanie Wilsey, PhD, (Psychology)
TECHNOLOGY UPDATES
3) Standards and accountability, 4) Capacity and capability of systems, 5) Data accessibility, 6) Business process improvement, 7) Systems thinking, and 8) Self-image and perception about technology.
States course.
presented the paper “City House Project:
VISION STATEMENT
A Program Evaluation of an Urban Living-
Carlow University will be a preeminent,
Sheila Roth, PhD, (Social Work) presented
Learning Community,” and presented
innovative, Catholic university, renowned
“Critical Incident Stress Management is Not
“Promoting Community Engagement Through
for providing transformational learning
a Scavenger Hunt” at the November Crisis
Living-Learning Communities” at the Eastern
experiences in which students realize their
Intervention Association of Pennsylvania
Psychological Association Conference in
full potential and become career-ready
Conference.
March.
ethical leaders committed to a just and
Roth, Linda M. Burns, Marsha Frank, and
Wilsey, Chrystel Gabrich, PhD,
Patricia Jameson (all College of Leadership
(Communication) and Jessica Friedrichs,
The Carlow Commitment: Transforming
and Social Change faculty or emerita)
MSW/MPP, (Social Work) had their article, “A
lives. Transforming our world.
completed a two-year program review for
Privileged Pedagogy for Privileged Students?
Auberle, a regional, faith-based Catholic
A Preliminary Mixed-Methods Analysis
office of the president
merciful world.
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