+ ENDURING GIFT An Alumna’s Take on UD + A NEW MILESTONE Consecrating Campus to Our Lady + CAMPUS AS ART Professor Novinski’s Legacy SUMMER 2022
FIRST WORD MAZUR.ANTHONYBY:PHOTOCOVERARCHIVES.UDOFCOURTESYPHOTOMCWHORTER.JEFFBY:PHOTOS
CONTRIBUTORS
Kris Muñoz Vetter
VICE PRESIDENT FOR DEVELOPMENT & UNIVERSITY RELATIONS
Peter Burleigh, BA ’21 MA ’22
Mary-Catherine Scarlett, BA ’21 Justin Schwartz, BA ’16
Callie Ewing, BA ’03 MH ’22
DESIGNER Sarah Oates
Anthony Mazur, BA ’20
Jonathan J. Sanford, Ph.D. President, Professor of Philosophy
Kim Leeson
The university does not discriminate on the basis of sex in its programs and activities. Any person alleging to have been discriminated against in violation of Title IX may present a complaint to the Title IX coordinator. The coordinator assists in an informal resolution of the complaint or guides the complainant to the appropriate individual or process for resolving the complaint. The university has designated Luciana Hampilos, J.D., as director of the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX. She can be reached at 972-721-5056. The Human Resources Office is located on the first floor of Cardinal Farrell Hall, and the phone number is ©University972-721-5382.ofDallas 2022. All rights reserved.
Kate Friend, BA ’07
The original seven liberal arts are, first, the Trivium, consisting of grammar, logic and rhetoric, and second, the Quadrivium, consisting of arithmetic, astronomy, music and geometry. We do not find histo ry, literature, philosophy or theology on this list of seven, but we do find two mathematical disciplines, that part of physics called astronomy, and even a fine art, which in its original medieval framework was also seen as a part of mathematics-music.
Alyssa Coe, BA ’19
BeLynn Hollers, BA ’21
Father Joseph Paul Albin, O.P. Jason ZannahAndersonBuck
Jeff DanielMcWhorterMilligan, BA ’91
TOWER Tower magazine is published twice annually by the Office of Marketing and Communica tions for the University of Dallas community. Opinions in Tower magazine are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the university. Your feedback is welcome. Letters to the editor can be sent to University of Dallas, Office of Marketing and Communications, 1845 E. Northgate Dr., Irving, TX 75062; towermagazine@udallas.edu.
iven the state of debate within and around the academy today, it can be easy to forget that the sciences and math ematics have a greater claim to being liberal arts than do the humanities. At the University of Dallas, we make sure our students appreciate the relationship between each of the disciplines in cultivating a comprehensive understanding of the unity of knowledge.
Julie Abell, MBA ’91
PRESIDENT Jonathan J. Sanford, Ph.D. VICE PRESIDENT FOR MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS&
Stay in touch!
We have expanded what we mean by a liberal arts education to make room for a robust engagement with the humanities, and, of course, the studies comprising the Trivium under gird each of them, but so, too, do the “three ways,” the Trivium, undergird the sciences and mathematics. In turn, the “four ways” also undergird our studies in the humanities, for the methodologies of the Quadrivium train the mind to make sense of the world as it presents itself to our senses so that we can, over time and with study, make better sense of those realities behind appearances.
Clare Venegas
Ken SerenaStarzer(White) Sigillito, BA ’11
The Liberal Nature of the Sciences and Mathematics
There is another training to be had by attentiveness to the sciences and mathematics when they are rightly treated as liberal arts: We learn to be attentive to, to ask questions about and to begin to make progress toward understanding observable objects for their own sake. Those matters that are near at hand, that can be pulled apart and physically analyzed, or placed under a microscope, or significantly magnified through a telescope, are objects about which the human person is naturally deeply curious. Learning to ask good questions about observable phenomena, and learning how to pursue answers to those questions through the application of the scientific and mathematical methodologies, is first and foremost a good in and of itself. We humans, as Aristotle noted so long ago in the opening lines of his Metaphysics, desire to know, and paying tribute to the goodness of that desire by seeking to know things themselves because they are worthy of knowing is itself a great good that we promote through our science and mathematics courses at the University of Dallas. This is why the natural and mathematical disciplines are part of our Core. And the majors in the sciences and mathematics continue to build on this same mode; we want our students to be able to understand and demonstrate the great discoveries of the past, and we also want them to learn how to expand the body of knowledge through their own research undertaken in collaboration with our outstanding faculty.
Arthur Sweeney Megan Wagner, MH ’16 Austin Westervelt-Lutz
SENIOR EDITOR
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Aaron Claycomb
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The generosity of these donors and foundations enriches our pursuit of wisdom, truth and virtue.
ultimately meant
Art
Professor
06 Grateful for Philanthropy
10 Leaping Light Years
22 A
For the past 15 years, UD has quietly and steadfastly been developing a sophisticated astronomy/astrophysics program under the direction of Professor Richard Olenick. A Spool Around Which To Wind the Threads
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Serena Sigillito contemplates the enduring gift of a UD education. A New Milestone
beauty
RECURRING 02 UD360° 05 Heard Around Campus 08 Senior Stories 20 Diversions 28 Class Notes 32 Last Word Inside ON THE COVER Photo
FEATURES
Mazur
SUMMER 2022 1
Hundreds gathered on May 6 for a historic celebration and consecration of the university to Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas and now patroness of UD. Legacy of and Beauty Lyle Novinski taught his students “to read campus like a big piece of art.” taken by Anthony Mazur, BA ’20, just oustide of Park City, Utah. said: “The immense scale of the shows us the grandeur and of ‘Paradiso’ and what we were for.”
universe
An ‘All-American’ Success Story
“Education includes the body and the soul and the mind, and the team has really been able to fill that need, in a way that I don't know how anything else could have really,” explained Wilgenbusch. Read more at udallas.edu/body-soul-mind
“I went through a period of questioning whether run ning at the D3 level was really the experience I wanted, but ultimately, I have found so much more in the college experience than just running,” Wilgenbusch said.
ENDLESS SUMMER.
UD expanded its Summer Rome Program to include two 6-week sessions for the university’s currently enrolled students. Additionally, the university enhanced the summer experience on the Irving campus. Read more on p. 26 and at udallas. edu/endless-summer
THE RETURN OF TENNIS.
Of the 40 slots available, she snagged 34th—the only student-athlete from the state of Texas to make “AllAmerican,” finishing with her best time ever.
n Louisville, Kentucky, the ground shook as she left the starting line—Anna Wilgenbusch, BA ’22, with 300 other female students running alongside her in the NCAA’s 2021 Division III Cross-Country Championships.
Organized by Associate Professor of Marketing Scott Wysong, Ph.D., the Satish & Yasmin Gupta College of Business’ first student business pitch competition, sponsored by Oncor, saw undergraduates, master’s and doctor al students all vying for the prize. The winning team’s captain, Paiten Baesa, BA ’23, said, “We worked extremely hard, and it most certainly paid off in the end!” Read more at udallas.edu/ perfecting-the-pitch
BODY, SOUL, MIND
OUR DAILY, SMALL EFFORTS.
By BeLynn Hollers, BA ’21
PERFECTING THE PITCH.
That race made Wilgenbusch a two-time cross-country All-American and the only two-time All-American in UD’s history. Wilgenbusch isn’t just an accomplished runner, though—she’s also a writer and published author whose time at UD can be seen in her focus on her own body, soul and“Choosingmind. a college based off of athletics just was not the college experience I was looking for,” Wilgenbusch says of her UD origin story, though the lack of resources at the Division III level brought its own challenges.
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UD is launching a men’s and women’s tennis program this fall as part of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference at the NCAA Division III level. Athletics Director Jarred Samples, BA ’01, noted that tennis enjoyed a long life at the university from 1974-2005.
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NEWSFEED
Associate Professor of English Kathryn “Katie” Davis, MA ’08 PhD ’13, was recognized as the 2022 Haggar Fellow. Meanwhile, Professor of English Scott Crider, Ph.D., was honored as the 2022 King Fellow. “As we reflect on the achievements of our faculty,” said Interim Provost Tammy Leonard, Ph.D., “it’s helpful to remind ourselves of the good we are committed to the deeper implications that our daily, small efforts hold for the work we do.”
Why is this important? As alumni, our support matters. Our annual gifts—at any level—figure into college rankings and strongly endorse the value of a UD education as perceived by foundations and investors. Most importantly, making a gift now is an investment in students as they pursue the true, the beautiful and the good.
We also hope you’ll take advantage of other opportunities to stay connected with the University of Dallas, including a reimagined Alumni and Family Weekend coming this fall, participating in alumni lectures and events, mentoring current students or even becoming a formal Class Agent or Regional Representative.
One of the most important ways we can stay connected is through the Forging Our Future initiative, which aims to rally our alumni community in support of this great university and achieve 25% alumni giving by 2025.
I encourage you to invite a classmate to reconnect with UD. Whether via email or social media, help spread the word. I know there are many who treasure their own UDforged memories and friendships—they just need a friendly invitation to come home.
Daniel Milligan is president of the National Alumni Board. He and his wife, Kathy (Uhl), BA ’91 MBA ’99, have generously supported UD and, in particular, the Rome Program (see p. 27).
WANTED Class Agents and Regional Representatives to connect with fellow alumni. Class Agents serve as both glue and grapevine for their classes, holding everyone together and disseminating information among them, while Regional Reps cultivate the UD community in particular areas. Email udalum@udallas.edu to learn more! RECORDS SET TOP CLASSES PARTICIPATIONFOR 1,500 Donors 42 % increase over 2021 Class of 1985 36.0 % HIGHSHISTORIC By The Numbers Class of 2012 28.9 %2 Class of 2016 28.7 %3 Class of 1999 28.0 %4 Learn more at udallas.edu/ alumni
ince graduating from the University of Dallas in 1991, much has changed, but much has stayed the same. New buildings have risen; beloved profes sors have retired. What endures is the lasting sense of community that transcends and connects generations of alumni.
By Daniel Milligan, BA ’91
SUMMER 2022 3
THAT WHICH ENDURES thatConnectionsTranscend
By Kate Friend, BA '07
Hwang’s future plans might include more app development, but not until after medical school. However, she says building the app helped her grow as a person. “Working on this project has been very humbling and rewarding,” she said.
According to Director of Computer Science (C.S.) Robert Hochberg, Ph.D., the Mathematics Department started the C.S. program about 20 years ago, but it fizzled out due to lack of enrollment. In 2012, after two years of development by David Andrews, Ph.D., BS '90, now associate dean of Constantin College of Liberal Arts, Hochberg joined the Mathematics Department faculty, and the new program began. The first class of computer science majors, taught jointly by Hochberg and Andrews, graduated in 2014.
iochemistry major Jisoo (Suzie) Hwang, BA ’23, saw the need for a student portal to provide a single easy-to-access source for important campus information and events. Her solution?
COMP COMPLEMENTSSCILIBERALARTS
AN APP FOR THAT Problem-Solving Across Disciplines
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In February 2021, the Computer Club ran a “hackathon” to lay the app’s groundwork. Anthony Hanson, BA ’21, Therese Relucio, BA ’23, and Samantha Matz, BA ’22, provided most of the coding, while Hwang was responsible for the design.
Read more about UD’s computer science program at udallas.edu/ a-perfect-marriage
A PERFECT MARRIAGE
Although the computer science major may stand out as more modern than other degrees UD offers, Hochberg believes that it complements the other disciplines rather than distracts from them.
An app called The Mall UD, where users can find campus facility hours, upcoming events, a Cap Bar menu and a UDPD contact button. Club, office or department organizers register as entities on the app to post events and update information. “Suzie has been dogged about getting buy-in from campus entities—urging them to designate ‘content uploaders’ so the app remains useful and up to date,” said Associate Professor of Computer Science Robert Hochberg, Ph.D., the app’s faculty adviser.
By Mary-Catherine Scarlett, BA ’21
“It gave me a solid foundation for rigor in my thought; it forces you to be grounded and consistent,” said Michael Booton, BS ’21, now a software engineer for Microsoft. “I think C.S. is a perfect marriage of technical and intellectual skills.”
“Our students come out more well-rounded, less one-dimensional than computer science students from other, more technical schools,” Hochberg said. “Our students interview well, speak in complete sentences, make eye contact with their interviewers and are good problem solvers.”
Download the free Mall UD app in the Apple App Store or Google Play. Hwang would like to raise enough money in donations to cover the annual costs to develop and host the app, which she hopes will still be in use long after she graduates. Read more at udallas.edu/an-app-for-that
Since its founding, UD has rooted its identity in the liberal arts, but in recent years has adapted to the evolving educational and technological landscape.
looked“Iand did not come across any commencement addresses that began with a frank and honest acknowledgment that a college graduation has a strong component of sadness … [but t]his Commencement propels you into the future and the wider world that is always in need of conversion.”
andChancellorBishop of the Dio cese of Dallas Edward Burns, in his Prayer of Guadalupe.OurcrationConsetoLadyof , VP for
SUMMER 2022 5
COMMENDING EXCELLENCE.
Susan Rhame, Ph.D., associate pro fessor of accounting, became interim dean of the Satish & Yasmin Gupta College of Business in July, succeed ing Dean Brett J. L. Landry, Ph.D., who has returned to his full-time faculty position in cybersecurity. Read more at udallas.edu/leading-in-transition
2022 Gupta Hall of Fame inductees included 2017 Distinguished Alumnus Ray Khirallah, BA ’72 MBA ’76, of counsel at Holland & Knight, and John South, MBA ’97, former chief security officer at Heartland Payment Systems and adjunct professor of cybersecurity. Read more at edu/commending-excellenceudallas.
NEWSFEED
“‘[A]s long as [UD] lies behind, safe and comfortable, I shall find wandering more bearable: I shall know that somewhere there is a firm foothold, even if my feet cannot stand there again.’”
COMMUNITY PARTNERING.
andtolightnityjoy,needsworld“OurdeeplymoreofUD’sthatsenseofcommu-thatdiscoverstheDivineineachother.Asweseekcultivatevirtue,truth,justicebeautythroughmoreacadem-icpursuits,wealsoneedsimplergatheringsinthespiritoffriendshiptoremindusofourhumanityandofthetypeofcommunitywehopetohelpcreatewherev-erwego.”
LEADING IN TRANSITION.
newsletter.theRelations,UniversityopmentDevelandinCommunitas
“Reign over us, O Beloved Mother, O Mysti cal Rose, / so that we may be yours both in prosperity and in adversity, / in joy and in sorrow, in health and in sickness, in life and in death. / From this moment, you are the Queen and Mother / of the University of Dallas, and those that belong to her.”
Catherine Schwenk, in her valedictory address, said of our faculty: “[T]heir spirit of love for their disciplines infected us and made us love them too.” We want to especially recognize those faculty who retired at the end of this past academic year; you can find a full list at udallas.edu/spirit-of-love.
UD360 o
SPIRIT OF LOVE
UD recently launched partnerships be tween the Gupta College of Business and American Airlines, Catholic Chari ties and Financial Executives Interna tional. Such corporate and community partnerships provide organizations and their employees with benefits such as special tuition rates, access to consulting and research projects, and internship and recruitment opportu nities. Learn more at community-partneringudallas.edu/
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SECURING CYBER.
VetterMuñozKris
We always come back to the family UD creates. 2022 valedic torian Catherine Schwenk, quoted below, in turn quoted J.R.R. Tolkien; this quote and the others shared here seem particularly apt in describing the sense of home inherent in UD.
HEARD AROUND CAMPUS
J.R.R. Tolkien, as quoted by Cather ine Schwenk.
Catherine Schwenk, BA ’22, in her valedictory address to the Class of 2022.
MeaneyJoseph, Ph.D., BA ’93, in his mentCommence2022address.
This past spring, the Gupta College of Business was redesignated by the National Security Agency as a Center of Academic Excellence, a designation UD has held for the past 20 years, following a review by an external peer review team of cybersecurity practi tioners, government representatives and academics, and is valid through the 2027 academic year. Read more at udallas.edu/securing-cyber
“I know you well enough to say that you will make the right choices. You will choose your family over the world and prize your conscience and your soul over wealth and honor.”
WhatBy WeGive
Anna Haine
It Goes GenerationsPast
For the Greater Good
When Trustee Jean (Daudelin) and Marty White, both BA ’86, considered how the resources of their classmates and them selves might best be put to use at UD, they approached the problem as parents. Jean White said, “As parents, you want your chil dren to have resources. With COVID, much had to be focused on physical health, but now we need to look at how to also enrich spiritual and mental health.” With this need in mind, the Whites began collaborating with the university's 10th president, Jonathan J. Sanford, shortly after he assumed the presi dency in 2021. As they worked together, the idea of the One Body, One Spirit Endowment was born, with the ultimate goal of providing more resources to assist students with both physical and mental health needs. Read more at udallas.edu/mind-body-and-spirit
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Mind, Body and Spirit
The first recipient of the Class of 1981 Endowed Scholarship, an English major, was honored to meet his benefactors in person, expressing his gratitude for their generosity and support.
The father of seven children, Illinois State Senator William Haine led a career in public service marked by a heartfelt concern for the greater good and significant contri butions to his communities both local and statewide. He along with his wife, Anna instilled in their children the love of truth and justice that was foundational to his work and to their family life. Six of his children would go on to further cultivate this love at UD. Anna Haine said of her late husband, “He always had an acute sense of responsibility for the well-being of his community.” This sense of responsibility persisted throughout Haine’s life and career, and it is what led his former law partner, Randall Bono, to establish the Senator William R. Haine Leadership Scholarship in Haine’s honor. Read more at udallas.edu/ for-the-greater-good
"It’s the relationships you build, the sense of community, and it goes past generations it’s so powerful, that sense of community. It’s also an environment where learning is not just required, it’s encouraged you’re going to have to actively participate, which is not always the case at other colleges. It makes you a better employee, citizen and friend, and enriches you in all sorts of ways,” said Susan Frear, BA ’81, when discussing the reasons she and her classmates Mikail McIntosh-Doty, BA ’81, and John Donnelly, BA ’81, banded together to create the Class of 1981 Endowed Scholarship and inspire their friends to contribute. The scholarship was awarded to its first recipient during the class’s 40th reunion celebration on Alumni and Family Weekend in October 2021. Read more at udallas.edu/past-generations
Essential to Irving
landscaped acres that he would rent out to students. And he ended up renting it out year after year to married students. And I think through doing that, he came to see what a special challenge it is to be working on a Ph.D. while being married and the special financial challenges,” said Joshua Parens, Ph.D., dean of Braniff Graduate College of Liberal Arts and director of the IPS. Read more at udallas.edu/a-special-challenge.
A Special Place in My Heart
Marty Sheridan, BA ’77, originally worked with her brother and sister-in-law to create a scholarship in memory of their nephew, Timothy Sheridan, after Tim’s death at age 38 in July 2020 due to COVID-19. She re cently moved forward to endow the Timothy Andrew Sheridan Memorial Scholarship Fund in University Theater. Marty has no children of her own and always shared a unique bond with Tim, her youngest nephew, who loved all aspects of theater and had a degree in drama from the University of Southern Maine. He lived in Astoria Queens, New York, and worked for the city, but spent most of his free time working and volunteer ing at Gallery Players Theater in Brooklyn. Therefore, the scholarship is specifically for students who are involved in drama at UD in some way. “Tim always held a special place in my heart,” said Marty. “I think he would be pleased that we’re helping drama students.” Read more at udallas.edu/a-special-placein-my-heart
Al Zapanta
UD Trustee and City of Irving Councilman Al Zapanta and his wife, Rochelle, have been parishioners of UD’s Church of the Incarnation for many years, which helped to cultivate their love of the university as an es sential part of the Irving community. Along with his family, Zapanta now has endowed the Honorable Albert C. Zapanta and Family Scholarship for City of Irving Residents to further strengthen the connection between the university and the city. According to Irving City Manager Chris Hillman, “It really is all about the students it’s about helping them succeed, and specifically for Irving residents, Irving students, to succeed, and that really does show the love and the com passion and the care that Al and his entire family have for the City of Irving.” Read more at udallas.edu/essential-to-irving
GENEROSITY
Created by John D. Alvis, Ph.D., BA ’95 MA ’97, his wife, Megan (Healy) Alvis, BA ’97, and his sisters, Sarah R. (Alvis) Godinez, BA ’99, and Catherine F. Alvis, BA ’05, in memory of Catherine, Sarah and John's father, the Dr. John E. Alvis Memorial IPS Fellowship Fund will, like Wood’s scholarship, support Ph.D. candidates enrolled in the Braniff Graduate School’s Institute of Philosophic Studies. John E. Alvis, BA ’66 MA ’69 PhD ’73, passed away on Dec. 23, 2019, at age 75, less than two weeks after the passing of his wife, Sara Kathleen, MA ’71, to whom he was married for more than 50 years. The late Alvises left behind John D., Megan, Sarah and her hus band, Catherine, and eight grandchildren as well as a powerful legacy at UD, where John E. Alvis taught for 50 years. “We have lost the treasure of John's mind,” said Professor of English Scott Crider, Ph.D., upon John E.’s passing. “Our disorientation at the loss is matched only by our gratitude at the gift of the mind he made, then gave us.” Read more at udallas.edu/a-remarkable-mind
A prolific writer, beloved teacher and world-renowned philosopher, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Philosophy Robert E. Wood “Bob” to his colleagues has gifted the university not only with more than 40 years of teaching, but also with an endowed scholarship in his name and a contribu tion from his personal library. The Robert E. Wood Institute of Philosophic Studies Scholarship benefits married philosophy stu dents in the Braniff Graduate School of Lib eral Arts Institute of Philosophical Studies (IPS), UD’s doctorate of liberal arts program, by providing student stipends beyond tui tion. Wood’s creation of the scholar ship was no doubt influenced by his own experience of being a nontradi tional graduate student at Marquette University in the 1960s, as well as his sympathy for married graduate students at UD. “Dr. Wood had a very small house on two
A Remarkable Mind
A Special Challenge
Bob Wood’s passion for teaching extended beyond the classroom; he was consistently the most requested professor for doctoral advising, by students interested in every branch of philosophy.
Major: Politics
Pursuing the Political Life
Notable UD Memories/Achievements: “I am most proud of my fellow students’ ability to preserve and reinvigorate UD traditions and spirit the past few years in spite of the challenges our world has faced.”
Hometown: Irving, TX
Future Plans: This summer, interning with COR Expeditions in Wyoming as an assistant guide; in September, moving to Washington, D.C., to join a political PR and consulting firm.
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Hometown: Croton-on-Hudson, NY
Major: Philosophy
Major: Politics
Name: Joseph Galasso
The son of Department Chair and Associate Professor of Philosophy Matthew Walz, Ph.D., MBA ’20, Damien Walz, BA ’22, grew up around UD and fell in love with its liberal arts curriculum. The deci sion to come to UD was a relatively straightforward one, but which major to pursue was not: Walz changed his mind approximately seven times before settling on politics. His favorite class was Politics and the Family, taught by Associate Professor Daniel Burns, Ph.D. “UD taught me how to think in an incredibly adaptive and Christian manner,” said Walz, who served as Student Government president his senior year. “I am able to explore different perspectives, examine cultural issues, and pose realistic questions and solutions.”
Name: Damien Walz
Capturingexist.”Curiosity
Joseph Galasso, BS ’22, initially considered other science majors at UD but ultimately decided on biology; the program allowed him to pursue his interests beyond the classroom. His favorite classes were molecular biology with Associate Professor of Biology William Cody, Ph.D., and Western Civilization II with Associate Professor of History Charles Sullivan, Ph.D. He explained, “The latter helped me build a more cohesive picture of how scientific, po litical, economic and cultural forces have shaped the world we live in today.” He emphasized, “I would encourage students to explore career pathways that will ultimately move the world forward.”
Moving the World Forward
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Notable UD Memories/Achievements: Receiving the Cardinal Spellman Award; representing UD as a 2021 Goldwater Scholar and a 2022 Marshall Scholarship Finalist.
Future Plans: Pursuing a Ph.D. in philosophy at Baylor University in Waco.
Future Plans: Pursuing a Ph.D. in bioinformatics at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Notable UD Achievements:Memories/ Being chosen as the Class of 2022 valedictorian; singing “Red Is the Rose” at the Senior TGIT, arm-in-arm with her class.
As a homeschooled student, Elizabeth Regnerus, BA ’22, chose to skip her last year of high school, starting her freshman year at UD instead, a decision for which she is eternally grateful. “When I saw the quality of friendship, intellectual curiosity and vibrancy of faith students so clearly displayed, I was immediately confident that UD was where God wanted me,” she explained. She entered as a politics major with plans for the public policy field, but in her Core classes, she “discovered that the sort of things I desired to study were the most fundamental ones: who is man, what is his mission, why is there something rather than nothing? Philosophy emerged as the field through which I could sink into these wonderings and give a rational account for who I am and why I
Catherine Schwenk, BA ’22, intended to double major in psychol ogy and philosophy. However, after taking Principles of American Politics in the fall of her freshman year, she knew that politics was what she really was meant to study. “I currently work in a completely different field,” she said. “Yet, I couldn’t do what I do now without my degree. The ability to be curious, to see the gaps in my knowl edge and know where to go to fill them, to reason and evaluate well, to have the strength to act morally are skills the UD education has given me. I think UD shapes you into a certain kind of intellectual and moral person, and the challenge after graduation is to keep being that person.”
Major: Biology
Future Plans: Working as a business analyst at Grant Street Group, pursuing her M.A. in politics at UD and getting married next May.
Notable UD Memories/Achievements: Playing in the Division II nationals championship game for rugby his senior year; attending the consecration of UD’s Irving campus to Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Name: Elizabeth Regnerus
Name: Catherine Schwenk
SENIOR STORIES
Hometown: Austin, TX
Sinking into Philosophy
Hometown: Tucson, AZ
Entering into UD, Faith Starnes, BA ’22, planned to be a biology major, on a pre-physical therapy track. As a sophomore, she added a theology concentration, which opened her eyes to the beauty of theology and made her realize her deep love for the discipline. After Rome, she changed her major to theology, acknowledging an attraction and excitement for those classes that she did not have in the same way for biology. One of her favorite classes, however, was bioethics with Adjunct Instructor William Stigall, M.D., MA ’09. “This class opened my eyes to the integration of mind and body in a new way,” she said. “It is arguably one of the most important classes at UD—offering answers to ethical issues the medical field faces every day.”
Thomas Thompson, BA ’22, had planned to go to the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, where one of the professors astounded him “with his piercing intellect and charismatic lecture.” However, this professor was a UD alumnus who persuaded Thomp son to look more closely at UD. “I realized that UD provided a better opportunity for me to truly learn and grow,” said Thompson. “At UD, I discovered that the pursuit of truth is not a collection of answers to be held like trophies, but rather, an endless path of questions and mystery.” Thompson hopes “to establish the power of poetry as a profound way of seeing and experiencing the world. Wherever I end up, I will use my degree to keep thinking and reading! Becoming a rockstar drummer is plan B. Becoming a hobo poet is plan C.”
Name: Faith Starnes
Name: Jeanine Dorrough
Notable UD Memories/Achievements: Receiving the Sorensen Award for Excellence in the Study of the Novel; playing drums at Groundhog, but even more, the countless nights of singing, conversations and laughter.
Future Plans: Serving as a Seton Teaching Fellow in the Bronx, New York, bringing the Catholic faith to children and families in underserved communities.
TowardTeachingTruth
Hometown: Helotes, TX
Notable UD Memories/Achievements: Receiving the Helen Corbitt Award; passing senior comps with distinction; planning and executing, as co-chair, a record-breaking Charity Week during COVID.
Major: English
Building Community
Hometown: Bandura, TX
First-generation college graduate Jeanine Dorrough, BA ’22, hadn’t even planned on going to college—then she received a postcard from UD in the mail and felt pulled to apply. Dorrough is particularly grateful to Director of Academic Success and Seven Arts of Language Matthew Spring, PhD ’15: “Soon after meeting Dr. Spring, he became one of my biggest role models. He is kind, gener ous, and shows genuine care to anyone he meets. He presented me with numerous opportunities to build and develop my small group program. It is thanks to Dr. Spring that I was able to embrace the UD community as well as contribute to it.” She added, “I will always be grateful for the way that UD cultivated my mind. It taught me how to think independently and presented me with numerous opportunities to guide and help others in the UD community.”
Promoting the Power of Poetry
Name: Thomas Thompson Hometown: Brainerd, MN
Major: Theology
Notable UD Achievements:Memories/ Receiving the Ann Heller Maberry Award; creating and coordinating the First-Generation College Student Small Group Program and seeing its positive impact; meeting her best friend at freshman orientation and rooming with her for three years.
Future Plans: This summer, fishing for Dungeness crab in Sitka, Alaska, then canoeing a 30-day loop through the Canadian Wilderness with his dad; afterward, teaching while pursuing graduate school.
Major: Business & English
CLASS OF 2022 Read more udallas.edu/senior-atstories-2022
Future Plans: Serving as project coordinator for IN2 Innovation in Addison, Texas, then building a career in novel publishing as an editor or a literary agent.
he University of Dallas has, for the past 15 years, quietly and with steadfast determination been developing a astronomy/astrophysicssophisticatedprogram under the direction of Professor of Physics Richard Olenick, Ph.D. During this period, UD developed a working relationship with the University of North Texas that led to a partnership in the sharing of teaching resources and hardware instrumentation and, most recently, to the creation of the Swenson Observatory for Astronomical Research (SOFAR). With the construction of this observatory, UD students have a resource that very few undergraduate institutions possess.
The SOFAR site is not only readily accessible but has a very dark sky, one level up from the darkest spot in the U.S. This photo of the night sky taken at the site exemplifies the clarity with which one can observe the stars.
The primary focus of the UD astronomy and astrophysics program has been in analysis of cataclysmic variable stars and exoplanet searches, which use similar observational techniques. A cataclysmic variable is a “vampire star” consisting of a close binary system in which a white dwarf accretes—feeds on—matter from a normal star. Typical separations between the white dwarf and companion stars are equivalent to the diameter of the sun, and the resulting orbital periods range from one to six hours. Exoplanets are planets orbiting other stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way. Recently NASA announced that more than 5,000 exoplanets have been confirmed.
UD students and faculty have carried on a comprehensive campaign to search for new exoplanets at various observatories and with various instruments. UD also monitors existing exoplanets because they need to be watched for changes in their circum stances, and profession al astronomers do not have the time to do this.
At an observatory in Colorado, UD students carried on search activi ties for a number of years during the summer in the beginning years of the program.
A major hurdle to successful research is obtaining enough observing time. Research success is strongly tied to how much data you can obtain. In the early years of the UD program, students would have to travel to places like the top of a mountain in the summer and sit out in the cold all night to get data. And they would have to haul the equipment to and from the observing site. Or they would have to network with other universities and try to arrange for time and equipment access to observe.
We are entering what some call the third industrial revolution—and it is robotics. Nowhere is this phenomenon more apparent than in the field of astrophysics and astronomy.
Top right: an artist's impression of exoplanets, or planets orbiting a distant star. Bottom left: "Star Queen," an image captured by the SOFAR observatory. Bottom right: an astronomy class at UD in the Observatory.Haggerty
11
Currently, the Physics Department is conducting summer research with students from three high schools in the Dallas area: The Highlands School, Cistercian College Preparatory School and Great Hearts Academy of Irving.
Very soon, astron omers will never stare into an eyepiece or sit at a telescope. Advances in robotically controlled telescopes and digital instrumentation systems have made the “remote observatory” not just a possibility, but from now on, a necessity. Finding a very “dark sky” site for observing is a difficult job these days. Light pollution has spread over the United States to the extent that there are very few good spots from which to observe.
The University of Dallas Department of Phys ics and Astronomy also has a long history of research and reaching out to young people, including those from low-income families and special-needs children in K-12. One such program was a summer science class for un derprivileged kids from the Promise House in Dallas. The six-week STEM class was held in Dallas, during which the kids worked and performed laboratory experiments. Afterward the kids were taken to Colorado, where they hiked, panned for gold, rode on ski lifts and went on long sightseeing trips.
Far right: Students (left to right) in front of TESS data they analyzed:
In 2017, UD researchers convinced the Swenson Cattle Company owners to build a remote observatory in the middle of their 40,000-acre ranch; the dark skies there are only exceeded by those in far West Texas, even though it is a three-hour drive from DFW, northwest of Throckmorton. Subsequently, SOFAR was created for the purpose of furthering education and research in astronomy/astrophysics at all educational levels.
Not shown: Shelly Nguyen and Alex Tam of The Highlands School.
Background image: "Mukund First," an image captured by the SOFAR observatory. Top left: students in the Haggerty Observatory. Bottom left: the SOFAR observa tory site; it has a roll-off roof. Top right: "Pillars of Creation," an image captured by the SOFAR observatory. Bottom right: "Trifid" (left) and "Thor's Helmet" (right), images captured by the SOFAR observatory.
Additionally, UD has installed a wideangle survey telescope and a 16-inch telescope for the research programs they pursue. This observatory, funded by the Swenson family, is totally robotic and con trolled via the internet from any location.
Alessandra Bergkamp, The Highlands School; Mariah Houser and James Latour, both UD physics majors; John Paul Hays, Cistercian Prep; Brendan Villanue va, Founders Academy.
Kepler and STExTS Observations and Analysis of the Algol Variable KIC 201325107, John Paul Jones, 2018.
Peter Hedlesky, BS ’21, spent this summer interning with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albu querque, New Mexico. The physics alumnus was selected to participate in the Space Scholars Program with mentors Robert Rockmore, Ph.D., and Sean Krzyzewski, Ph.D. The 12-week, onsite internship was part of the Department of Defense (DOD) SMART Fellowship program.
Arthur Sweeney is the physics laboratory manager at UD. He is a senior computer systems and electrical engineer who has a passion for astronomy and extensive experience in the aerospace industry.
Development of An Eclipse Mapping Routine Using Python for Analysis of Kepler Data, Nathan Oliver Smith, 2019.
“Our group at the Space Force was seeking to replace conventional atom ic clocks, like the one for NASA’s deep space atomic clock, with integrated photonics chips (PICS) so basically, we were developing better clocks for our satellites,” explained Hedlesky, who has been pursuing his doctorate in applied physics, with a focus in photonics, at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) since graduating from UD last year. “The issue facing GPS is that atomic clocks are expensive, and about the size of a suitcase. The size may seem trivial, but it costs a lot per kilogram to put a satellite in orbit. Meanwhile PICS are small, a bit bigger than a grain of rice, require little pow er, and are cheap to manufacture.”
The students meet with Olenick for three hours twice a week and are using SOFAR telescope data and NASA Transiting Exoplanets Survey Satellite (TESS) data to analyze and search for new exoplanets. At this time, there is a significant chance that these students have found several new multiple exoplanets orbiting perhaps some binary star systems.
Kepler 212700993 (HS Vir): A Cataclysmic Variable in Superoutburst in the Kepler Campaign 17 Field, William Morris, 2019.
SUMMER 2022 13
UD Astronomy is supported by the Donald A. Cowan Institute of Physics and The Joe Neuhoff Fund For Astronomy Research. The Physics Department has supervised 21 undergraduate theses in astronomy since 2011; the following are the most recent:
Transit Evolution of HD 189733b, Philip D. Lenzen, 2018.
APPLYING PHYSICS
By Callie Ewing, BA ’03 MH ’22
Read more about Hedlesky's work at udallas.edu/applying-physics
PHYSICS RECEIVESALUMNUS SMART FELLOWSHIP
HD 90352/TIC 464340013 Exoplanet Candidate Analysis, Cecilia Hassan, 2021.
14 TOWER MAGAZINE
BA ’11 Illustration
Gianna Say, BA '25
A SPOOL AROUND WHICH TO WIND THE THREADS
By Serena Sigillito, by TheGiftEnduringofaUDEducation
How am I to live?
Thanks to my UD education, these questions are not new to me. I’ve been grappling with them since I was a starry-eyed freshman. Back then, I felt such urgency to figure out all the answers. Even though the books we read in our Core courses were thousands of years old, the dilemmas they addressed felt immediate and pressing. My classmates and I stayed up late into the night, talking about Aristotle’s vision of friendship, Plato’s tripartite psychology, and how these ideas connected to our own lives, our relationships with each other, and our struggles to figure out who we were and what we should do with our lives.
That’s the beauty and the enduring gift of a UD education.
In my case, the way I use my UD education is clear. But not all UD alumni are quite as into philosophy as I am. My husband, Anthony, for example, was happy to leave his Core classes behind and move on to his physics coursework. Still, that doesn’t mean that the answers to the three core questions I listed at the beginning of this essay don’t affect his life and his work.
More than a decade later, my existential angst has faded, calmed by the accumula tion of personal and professional choices that now give shape to my life. The world is not quite so wide open as it was back then. I have responsibilities as a wife and mother, and I have made career choices that opened some doors and closed others. Yet I still find myself drawn back to these fundamental philosophical questions not primarily for myself, this time, but in an attempt to under stand the deeply different beliefs that men and women hold about what it means to be human and how to live well. I want to be able to navigate deep disagreements with my friends and neighbors with both charity and clarity. And I am called to fulfill my role as my children’s first teacher, forming them well and giving them the tools to seek truth.
As Dr. Sue Hanssen might say, channeling Henry Adams, our answers to the three questions listed above give us a spool around which to wind the disparate threads of our knowledge and experience. Like Adams, we live in a time in which rapid tech nological advances and disorienting social changes can make us question inherited truths. This is particularly apparent in the context of sex and gender, which is the topic of much of my current research and writing.
SUMMER 2022 15
How are we to live together?
contemporary academy from relationships with administrators to compliance with new policies on diversity, equity and inclusion with the very high stakes of tenure on the line. And he has to draw on his writing skills to put together multimillion-dollar grant proposals to fund his research. Whether consciously or not, in all of these pursuits, Anthony is guided by the core set of ethical principles instilled by his parents and refined by his education at UD.
I want to be able to navigate deep disagreements with my friends and neighbors with both charity and clarity.
In the meantime, however, Anthony also has to act as a mentor and leader to his group of graduate students and postdocs. He needs to use practical wisdom to discern how best to help each of them learn and grow as researchers and as people. He has to negotiate the complicated politics of the
Today, he is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, leading a quantum comput ing research group. He spends a good part of his days designing and fabricating tiny
In the seminar I attended this summer, which was hosted by the Wollstonecraft Project and taught by both Dr. Angela Franks and legal scholar and pro-life feminist Erika Bachiochi, we traced the evolution of views about men and women from the classical period (Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas), the modern (Locke, Hobbes, Rousseau), all the way up to the present (Margaret Sanger, the National Organization for Women, Judith Butler, Andrea Long Chu). There were several other UD alumnae and students in the class. We spoke often of the ways our education prepared us to encounter these texts. In some cases, such as John Locke, the readings presented by our seminar leaders were in tension with the narrative we had been taught at UD. Yet the skills we acquired from our alma mater allowed us to critically evaluate both interpretations and decide for ourselves which came closest to the truth.
Who am I?
In my work as a writer, I try to connect new ethical dilemmas and complex contempo rary questions back to the core philosophical assumptions that lie beneath. How should we respond to the popularization of post modern gender theory, which tells us that our identity as men or women is determined by our internal sense of self, not our physical bodies? If a friend or family member asks us to use pronouns that do not accord with his or her bodily sex, how should we respond? Should we support laws that seek to ban “gender-affirming” medical treatments for minors? These are difficult questions, and answering them demands both prudence and compassion. But they are much easier to work through if you have a clear sense of the core philosophical claims involved in each potential answer.
his June, I had the opportunity to participate in a weeklong seminar at Harvard University, examining the philosophical foundations and political implications of sex differences. In her opening lecture on the metaphysics of sex, theologian Angela Franks wrote these three questions on the board, identifying them as the core ques tions of the Western world:
I suspect the same is true of our fellow UD alumni in all lines of work, from homeschooling their children to working in finance, politics, education or STEM fields. They might not have reached all of the same conclusions that I have, particularly on prudential political questions UD is the Catholic school for independent thinkers, after all! but they have been given the tools to think deeply about assumptions and arguments that lie behind the questions that they face in their personal lives and in our shared familial, communal and political life.
Serena (White) Sigillito is editor-at-large of Public Discourse, the journal of the Witherspoon Institute. She recently completed a Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship and writes often on topics relating to work, motherhood, sex, gender and embodiment.
devices and then using liquid helium to cool them down to almost absolute zero, when the motion of even subatomic particles is slowed almost to stillness. This allows him to use electronic pulses to manipulate and measure the spins of individual electrons. The goal is to use the spin state of electrons as a replacement for zeros and ones that make up the binary code in traditional com puters, which would make computing many orders of magnitude faster and smaller.
What’s their key to success? “We meet students where they are,” says Associate Professor and Chair of Biology William Cody, Ph.D. “They can just walk into our offic es and talk to us.”
Dissecting Success at UD
Q: Why is biology so popular at UD?
Q: How can alumni get involved?
16 AYINALA.SHREENIDHIOF:COURTESYPHOTOMCWHORTER.JEFFBY:PHOTOS BIOLOGY 101
Tower sat down with Cody to discuss the popularity of biology among undergraduates and ways for alumni to get involved in students’ success.
Q: Do you have any changes planned for next year?
ver the past half-decade especially, biology has grown to one of the largest majors at UD (with remarkably fewer faculty than the university’s other 26 liberal arts disciplines), boasting one of the highest medical school acceptance rates for U.S. undergraduate institutions—88.7% compared to a national average of 53.7% for students with a 3.59 GPA and above.
A: If you’re looking for a way to support students in the early stages of their career, consider becoming an alumni mentor. It’s an amazing opportunity for you to share your knowledge and experience with the next generation of health care providers.
Thirty or so pre-health students are engaged in UD's Alumni Health Care
Making certain that students receive ample experiences beyond the classroom from day one is also a big part of that. “Every science major knows what DNA is and what a cell is, but when they show up freshman year, it's still this very nebulous concept,” Cody explains. “Small class sizes, professors with open-door policies, and tutoring help students better understand course concepts, while intern ships and research talks and opportunities help them see how they'll apply their learning in their chosen careers.”
byNetwork—launchedMentoringtheBiology
If not in his office or a classroom, you may find him down the hall conversing with colleagues or students, or perhaps conducting his own lab research on the opportu nistic bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a common cause of healthcare-acquired infections and the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in cystic fibrosis patients. (One student gifted him a small, handmade cross-stitch cushion—proudly displayed on his bookshelf—inscribed with the name of his research.)
Department and the offices of Personal Career Development and Alumni Relations in fall 2021 to help pair students firsthandalumni—receivingwithinsightinto their desired profes sions from those who walked before them.
By Aaron Claycomb
Q: How do you engage students beyond the classroom?
Become an alumni mentor at udallas. edu/mentor
A: Many students who are attracted to the University of Dallas are looking to impact their communities, so that’s why we get so many students who are interested in biol ogy and health care. They don't want to just get a job and show people they're smart. They want to have a positive impact on those around them and on their community, on society, for all the same reasons they are attracted to a great Catholic university.
There’s no mistaking Cody’s calm demeanor, which lends him grace in the classroom while he also manages the department’s summer programs, coordinates with stu dents and alumni in UD’s Alumni Health Care Mentorship program, advises students as they pursue internships in health care, and performs any number of other tasks re lated to helping students get the most of their education.
A: We’ve been sending five students each summer to par ticipate in UD’s Rome Research Experience at Università di Roma Tor Vergata. Now we’re looking into the potential of sending students to Sapienza Università di Roma, one of the oldest universities in the world, but that’s going to be dependent on getting some external funding.
A: Everything we do in the research lab is an extension of what we’re doing in the classroom. We want as many students as possible in research labs each summer; that’s what prepares them for those opportunities to go into graduate or medical school. And those medical schools are really looking for that research experience—they want to see that a student can do more than just consume knowledge and regurgitate information. But the reality is there are fewer and fewer of these undergraduate re search positions due to funding, and some of the students need to generate some income over the summer to help pay for school.
hreenidhi Ayinala had an interest in technology from a young age, exploring Scratch and basic coding in elementary school, and in eighth grade jumping into robotics, then studying computer science throughout high school.
DARING TO DBA
This past school year, as a senior at Heritage High School in the Frisco Indepen dent School District north of Dallas, for her second year in the district’s Independent Study and Mentorship program, Ayinala wanted to examine how technology affects people. She found UD’s Associate Professor of Cybersecurity Renita Murimi, Ph.D., CISSP, on LinkedIn and reached out to see if Murimi would consider being her mentor for the school year. Murimi gladly accepted.
Ayinala and Murimi presented their paper titled “On a Territorial Notion of a Smart Home” at ACM SIGSAC’s first International Workshop on Cybersecurity and Social Sciences, which was held virtually on May 30.
THE PAYOFF PERSISTENCEOF
The two focused on the nature of smart homes, first defining home as “an emotional investment, a retreat, a safe space.” Ayinala added, “A home is where an individual can find comfort, be themself and not worry. It provides privacy, one’s own space and familiarity.”
“Home is supposed to provide identity, security and stimulation,” explained Murimi. “Smart homes should give us these things. We ought to have the ability to choose what data to share.” Ayinala added, “However, if security is taken away from an individual, their expe rience of home is altered.” Boundaries are erased through a breach or hacking. The resident may struggle with their sense of security and identity.
Defining Home
MOTIVATED BY GOD
SUMMER 2022 17
defining-homeudallas.edu/at
Read more
By Megan Wagner, MH ’16
A smart home, then, is a home with smart devices that collect data and connect to the internet and often to other devices, including smart photo frames, lightbulbs, refrigerators, doorbells, thermostats, baby monitors and so on. Murimi pointed out that throughout histo ry, homes have had “technology and tools appropriate to the time. Computers, etc., are our tools. There are smart devices in so many categories of a home today—saltshakers and cat litter boxes, for example.”
Murimi explained, “Technology must work well with people. How do these devices help us—not replace us?”
People describe Misty Sabol, DBA ’21, as persistent. Once in a demand ing career as an oil and gas stock an alyst, a desire to strike a better work/ life balance led her to begin teaching at Lone Star College in Houston. Seeking a doctoral program that would complement her family and career life, she found UD’s Doctor of Business Administration program offered through the Gupta College of Business. After completing the program during the pandemic while she taught, parented and studied, her persistence has paid off: She is now a professor at the University of South Alabama. Read more at the-payoff-of-persistenceudallas.edu/
Murimi and Ayinala then contemplated, “What if this information is hacked?” They looked into the psychology of those impacted by hacks and breaches, which typically result in emotional distress. The theory of territoriality proposed by Douglas Porteous in 1976 provided the foundation for their research; Porteous proposed that “individuals exert juris diction over [their] personal space.” Murimi said, “A home is an extension of territoriality.”
After nine years in oil and gas, one night, Brad Winton, DBA ’21, and his wife decided their family needed a change. Winton had earned a bachelor’s degree in geology from Millsaps College in 2009, a master’s in geoscience from the University of Texas at Dallas in 2011, and a Master of Business Administra tion from Texas A&M University Texarkana in 2015. After a life-alter ing conversation with his wife, he enrolled in UD’s DBA program. “Just to be blunt, my motivating factor was God,” he emphasized. Winton is now a tenure-track assistant professor of management at the University of Southern Mississippi. Read more at udallas.edu/motivated-by-god
18 TOWER MAGAZINE
“Consecrating the University of Dallas in a public way, and welcoming the wider Dallas community to participate, is a powerful ex pression of who we are as a Catholic, liberal arts university,” Sanford said, adding that the university’s Catholic identity is attractive to Catholic students as well as students of all backgrounds and faiths.
By Clare Venegas
early 400 students, faculty, alumni, staff and friends of the University of Dallas gathered at the Irving campus on May 6 for a historic celebration and consecration of the university to Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas and of the Diocese of Dallas.
Read more at to-unite-as-oneudallas.edu/
(AT) helps peo ple with disabilities navigate the abled world. Heipp works to help school dis tricts, therapy centers and hospitals understand what AT is available and how it can support students and pa tients. He seeks to have AT become a natural part of classroom environ ments “so that it does not create an aura around anyone using it as having ‘something wrong with them.’”
SUMMER 2022 19
TO UNITE AS ONE
MCWHORTER.JEFFANGELO,ST.RONBY:PHOTOS
procession, attendees gathered in the Church of the Incarnation for the conclusion of Mass and a special prayer of consecration.
Our Lady, Our Patroness and Protector
Raymond Heipp, Ph.D., BA ’86, designs assistive technology and facilitates its use, crediting his UD classics major with providing role models who became lifelong inspira tions and “the opportunity to explore texts in their native languages [for] a better understanding of the whole ness of Assistivehumanity.”Technology
Heipp credits UD with giving him a vision of us all as “one human family,” with “the utmost faith that we will get through all pitfalls in this world to unite as one.”
Opening Mass was followed by a one-mile eucharistic procession around campus, with the first stop at the university’s unique Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine. At the end of the
By Kate Friend, BA ’07
A NEW MILESTONE
YOU CAN DO WHAT WITH A DEGREE?CLASSICS
The idea of consecrating the university to Our Lady originated with President Jonathan J. Sanford soon after he was appointed as the 10th president of the University of “EntrustingDallas.toOur Lady the important work that our students, faculty, and staff do seemed the right way to mark this new era in the life of our university," Sanford said. "Fundamental to reclaiming culture is being rightly oriented to the sacred.”
Dallas Bishop and University Chancellor the Most Rev. Edward J. Burns concele brated an afternoon Mass at the Church of the Incarnation with Bishop Greg Kelly, BA ’78 M.Div ’82, Abbot Peter Verhalen of Our Lady of Dallas Cistercian Abbey, UD Chaplain Father Joseph Paul Albin, O.P., and Father Fernando Carranza with Re demptoris Mater Seminary. Priests represent ing orders and seminaries through the dio cese, such as Redemptoris Mater Seminary, Opus Dei, Cistercians, Dominicans, were also in attendance, along with altar servers from Holy Trinity Seminary.
Normalizing AT means creating inclusive environments where people with disabilities are seen for what they bring to the table, not for their disability. Heipp uses the example of glasses assistive devices so common that people don’t even think of them as assistive, nor of glasses-wearers as disabled. Yet, take away someone’s glasses and they would be functionally disabled. Other, less-common forms of AT also simply support people to accomplish goals despite their disabilities.
The special event invited the wider Dallas community, from parish pastors to parish communities throughout the diocese.
20 TOWER MAGAZINE DIVERSIONS
The Author: Jason Baxter, Ph.D., BA ’05, is an associate professor of fine arts and humanities at Wyoming Catholic College. He writes on the relevance of medieval art, literature and thought, especially related to medieval mysticism, Dante and C.S. Lewis
STARZER.KENIMBRO,ANTONBY:PHOTOSHAYES.ISAIAHOF:COURTESYPHOTO
Living the Quest
Start Shopping: Visit instagram.com/iso_supply
The Entrepreneur: Growing up in a low-income, single-parent home, first-generation college graduate Isaiah Hayes, BA ’20, knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur and a role model for his younger siblings. A business major and former captain of UD’s basketball team, Hayes combined his love of shoes and art to launch ISO (“I Stand Out”). Honored by the Texas Business Hall of Fame with a Future Texas Business Legend Award in October 2021, Hayes plans to pursue an MBA soon while expanding and growing his business.
The Writer/Director: Shannon (Bralick) Valenzuela, Ph.D., BA '00, hosts discussions with prominent Christian voic es in this podcast inspired by UD’s EWTN series The Quest.
In a Nutshell: “Jason Baxter argues that Lewis was deeply formed not only by … Scripture and his love of ancient mythology, but also by medieval literature. For this undeniably modern Christian, authors like Dante and Boethius provided a worldview that was relevant to the challenges of the contemporary world.”
I Stand Out Supply
In a Nutshell: “In Spe Salvi, Pope Benedict XVI says that in order to reach Christ, the True Light, ‘we also need lights close by—people who shine with His light and so guide us along our way.’ The Living the Quest series explores more deep ly the themes of steadfast courage, hope and love through the personal stories of those who are on the journey with us right here, right now.”
Start Reading: Buy the book at ivpress.com/ the-medieval-mind-of-c-s-lewis
The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis
Start Listening: Visit udallas.edu/living-the-quest
In a Nutshell: ISO offers resto ration and customization services for vintage clothes and sneakers, creating one-of-a-kind attire and footwear. “I want to leave a legacy highlighting individuality—it’s OK to set yourself apart from the crowd and be different because that’s what makes each of us unique, what makes us human,” said Hayes.
As the son of an alumnus and as a professor at another liberal arts university, what was your perception of UD?
Harold and his wife, Rachel, have seven children, ranging in age from 3 to 20. Tower sat down with him to discuss his first year as dean.
orn in Irving and the son of a UD alumnus, Philip Harold returned to Irving last spring as the dean of the undergraduate Constantin College of Liberal Arts. Prior to UD, he most recently served at Robert Morris University in Pennsylvania as the associate dean for the School of Informatics, Humanities and Social Sciences, and as a professor of political science.
SUMMER 2022 21 A LIVING TRADITION
The University of Dallas is the best Catholic liberal arts school in the country. I had always known the reputation of UD and the strength of the curriculum. However, it is not until you come here and interact with the faculty that you see how special this place really is. It is one thing to have a strong mission and curriculum on paper, but it takes special professors to make the best of the Western tradition come alive. Our faculty are not only power house intellectuals, they are also incredibly dedicated to the truth and to the students. They want to teach well, but they also want to know the truth themselves, and the students become partners in this quest for truth. Our students do amazing things, and it is because of the culti vation they receive from our faculty.
Our students are hungry to learn, and they enjoy the intellectual life. As they go through the Core and their majors, they realize that the questions they pose about reality can be answered. They then experience the joy of making connections and new discoveries, whether it is doing research for a class, for their major or on their own, seeing the Western tradition come alive during the Rome semester, or attending conferences or lectures, or even hosting their own underground lecture series.
Why do you believe the liberal arts are important in today’s culture?
During Alumni & Family Weekend last October, Dean Harold moderated the popular debate between Associate Pro fessor of History Susan Hanssen, Ph.D., and Associate Professor of Politics Daniel Burns, Ph.D., “This House Con siders That Hobbits Are Vile Creatures.” Both playful and intellectual, the debate embodied that living tradition of which Harold speaks.
Our Core Curriculum is personalistic. The Core is not a matter of classes teaching what one thinker after another said, but rather is an engagement of students as persons in the big questions of human life. The Core is not just something students learn, it is the participation in a living tradition, as exemplified through the conversations they have with each other, their professors and their friends outside the classroom.
What makes UD’s Core Curriculum and approach to education distinct from others?
Only thinkers trained in the liberal arts can both provide us with the needed perspectives on our world and inte grate them into a comprehensive whole that accounts for what is good and true in each perspective. We are awash in information, but often poor in our ability to process it. The presence of an intellectual community of liberally educated thinkers, dedicated to seeking truth, is of ex traordinary benefit to the whole social and political order of any people.
Q&A with Dean Philip Harold
What have you learned in working with UD students over this past year?
“The biggest influence Professor Novinski had on me was teaching me how to read the campus like a big piece of art,” said art major Elisa (Choffel) Low, BA ’03. “For example, the chapel is an intersecting square and circle. The circle is the sanctuary, and the square is the narthex and patio. The patio’s roof was deliberately built the same height as the tree canopy, so you have a seamless transition from the outdoors to the patio to the indoors. The Art Village’s new buildings were built with copper, because copper fades and weathers to a particular shade of green that blends in with the trees that are back there. So for the first 20 years you could still see the copper, but now they finally blend into the landscape as the designer intended. There are stories and meanings behind almost every building on campus just like this, and Lyle knows them all.”
By Callie Ewing, BA ’03 MH ’22
rofessor Emeritus of Art Lyle Novinski and his wife, Sybil, moved to Texas from Chicago in 1960 when he was hired as an art professor at the fouryear-old University of Dallas. They did not believe it to be a long-term appointment—two years, at most. UD was still a fledgling enterprise, a handful of bland buildings on a barren hill; Irving was onetenth of its current size and Dallas not very bustling or intriguing either. Still, at UD, there were the Cistercians, the Sisters of St. Mary of Namur who had helped found the university, and Donald and Louise Cowan, among other notable faculty. There were already the seeds of what UD would become.
In 1965, when the second art building was completed, the Novinskis were still at UD and about to become even more firmly entrenched: Lyle Novinski began his nearly 40 years as chair of the Art Department after Cistercian monk Phillip Richard Szeitz, the department’s found er and first chair, resigned that spring. Through the years, Lyle nourished and built upon the department’s relation ship with Beatrice Menne Haggerty. “Both Midwest erners, they shared an interest in landscape and architec ture that encouraged [Lyle’s] long-standing involvement in design solution for the campus, including the Con stantin Memorial Garden and the redesign of the Haggar circle area when the Haggerty Art Village was completed in 2000,” wrote Sybil in her 2006 history of the university. “To Mrs. Haggerty he pledged that they would never cut a tree unnecessarily when adding to the art center.” Going further than simply not cutting trees, Lyle planted UD’s flowering peach trees, among others.
Over the years, Lyle led students in a multitude of projects to beautify the campus, including building the stairs around the gym to the pool and parking lot, land scaping the seminary side of Braniff Graduate Building, and creating a walk through the woods to the East Quad. He and students helped former Associate Vice President of Administration Patrick Daly, BA ’76 MBA ’82, design and build the first Cap Bar in fall 1981.
22 TOWER MAGAZINE STARZER.KENMCWHORTER,JEFFWESTERVELT-LUTZ,AUSTINBY:PHOTOSARCHIVES.UDOF:COURTESYPHOTOS
Before there was a church, Sybil recalled, “There are so many stories I can tell about all five of our children helping their dad set up for some ceremony such as the incredible Advent Masses in the gym—Lyle became the master of changing areas into sacred spaces.” When the Church of the Incarnation was constructed in 1985, Lyle was instrumental, serving as liturgical consultant and designing the liturgical appointments such as a baptismal font and an altar.
Under Lyle’s leadership, UD awarded the first 63-credit MFA degrees in 1970. Influence of UD M.A. and MFAs has been considerable in the region; many North Texas com munity college art faculty hail from UD’s art programs.
Top right: Chaplain Monsignor Don Fischer and Lyle lay out planks for the ceiling of the Lynch Auditorium porch, where Sunday liturgies were held until the church was completed in 1985.
A Legacy of Art and Beauty
Bottom left: Father Don had been an art major before going into the seminary and helped Lyle with various projects around campus.
CAMPUS ART
AS
7 - Novinski’s work “Nobility” is one of those featured in the “A World of Paper” exhibit.
1 - Novinski served as the artist for the UD Station of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit.
Wehrle, BA ’85, who has helped spearhead the engagement of alumni and current students in giving back to UD.
6 - Nearly 200 prints from Lyle’s private collection, collected main ly for teaching at UD, are on view at the Beatrice M. Haggerty Gal lery through the end of September in “A World of Paper: The Lyle Novinski Print Collection.” These represent many techniques and styles, spanning more than 400
5 - Novinski and Associate Provost John Norris, Ph.D., BA ’84, examine the Saint John’s Bible Ex hibit in the Beatrice M. Haggerty Gallery in 2018.
8 - Sybil Novinski retired from UD’s staff in 2017, having served in positions ranging from registrar to dean to universi ty historian since her arrival with Lyle in 1960. To commemorate the occasion, the couple drove their restored MG down the Mall.
2 - In Novinski’s spirit of campus beautification, this year’s Clash of the Classes kicked off with a Campus Cleanup Day. Dean of Students Greg Roper, Ph.D., BA ’84, said: “I had many stu dents ask me at the end of the day, ‘Why can’t we do this every Saturday?’ They LOVE getting
SUMMER 2022 ALBUM231 3 5 2 6 7 8 9 43
out, getting dirty, and contribut ing to the campus.”
3 - “The torch passes! Welcome to the wonders of building walls and walks, planting trees and flowers, providing precious memories of UD community efforts,” said Novinski at the Campus Cleanup Day.
years of printmaking history.
A Legacy of BeautifyingNovinski,Campuspicturedherewith
Lyle Novinski helped create a sense of intentional beauty at UD, always giving deep attention to the details that compose the art of the whole.
4 - “Bravo Mike Wehrle and his cohorts for reinvigorat ing this UD tradition,” added
9 - Novinski and his son Stefan Novinski, M.F.A., BA ’92, chair and director of University Theater and associate professor of drama, celebrate the Art Village's 50th anniversary in 2015.
MCWHORTER.JEFFBY:PHOTOSCONFERENCE.IMAGINATIONCATHOLICTHEGRANT,EMILYNEWS,UNIVERSITYTHEOF:COURTESYPHOTOS
Upon acquiescing to his sister’s badgering, Bush “couldn’t believe how interesting the people were. They talked seriously about serious things. They cared about things that I cared about but didn’t really get to talk about, like words and writing and beauty and truth. And they gave me Pearl Beer, which had little puzzles on the cap. I was in.”
Bush shared why he got into journalism and why he stayed, saying: “At first, I romanticized it … Over time, I’ve come to understand how this work is integral to who we are. In one sense, it’s very old work. We are telling human stories. We are marking our place in time and space.
Bush’s final comment to me was directed at UD: “Thanks for letting me come home to teach. Loved every minute, even the ones I didn’t.”
Bush’s mother, Beth Alvarez Bush, BA ’62, was a member of UD’s third class. His sister, Margaret, BA ’94, followed in her mother’s footsteps to the uneven Mall and dimly lit hallways of Braniff, bullying Bush into visiting with “endless cajoling and promises of beer.” I think that’s how we all end up here, isn’t it?
I have no desire to go into journalism, but that’s not what Bush really teaches anyway, not at the root.
t The University News, we pride ourselves on being a newspaper.student-ledDeveloped by students, written by students, edited by students, published by students and, most importantly, read by students.
The full version of this article was published in The University News on May 4, 2022. Read more at telling-human-storiesudallas.edu/
BA ’22
Bush joined UD as the director of the jour nalism program and adviser to the student paper in 2014. Currently, he serves as vice president and editorial page editor for the Dallas Morning News.
And in he was. Three degrees and an eight-year-long faculty position later, we [lost] Bush from the journalism program at the end of this [2021-22 academic] year. To emphasize the gravity of this loss to our community, we decided to share some of the ways in which Bush has supported and mentored through his years of service.
“In another sense, it’s much more recent. Journalism, for all of its faults, is woven into what American democracy is. We have a serious responsibility that we don’t always fulfill as well as we could. But people need fact-finders to fulfill their own role as citizens.”
Emily Grant graduated this May with a B.A. in business. She participated in The University News for the majority of college, serving as the sports editor for the ’21-’22 school year in addition to acting as a contributing writer for other sections. Currently, she works as a real estate paralegal in Dallas, discerning law school and spending time with her family and fiancé.
HUMANTELLING
Rosa Venditti, BA ’22, shared: “This year as editor-in-chief has been fraught with difficul ties … For anything that Rudy could help with, he was always a phone call away. Based on his willingness to put himself on the line, based on his willingness to take metaphori cal bullets for me, I bet he’d take a real bullet if need be.”
However, we are not without guidance on our endeavor. Tucked away in absolute plain sight on Sunday and Monday nights in the Braniff Graduate Building foyer was our journalism director, the constant and witty Rudy Bush, BA ’97 MA ’19 MBA ’21.
Me too, Rudy. Me too.
By Emily Grant,
BeLynn Hollers, BA ’21, who is currently a journalist at the Dallas Morning News, said: “Rudy Bush is in his best form a teacher, not just for the craft of journalism, but the craft of life. Through the years he’s taught me to stand up for those who need an advocate, listen to the most vulnerable earnestly, and rebuke my own self when necessary, of which he made a practice.”
Helen Sung, Guggenheim fellow and award-winning jazz pianist
The conference is cosponsored by the St. Thomas More Society of the Diocese of Dallas. To register or for more information, visit CatholicBar. org/CBA2022
Gloria Purvis, host of the Gloria Purvis Show for America Media
“The Biennial Catholic Imagination Conference is not primarily an academic gathering, though it is an intellectual one,” said Jessica Hooten Wilson, Ph.D., MA ’06, Louise Cowan Scholar in Residence for Humanities and Classical Education in the Braniff Graduate School of Liberal Arts. “Our desire is to encourage the faithful in their vocation to highlight the beautiful. We want to offer a place for Catholic readers and writers alike to celebrate one another's work, form friendships, and worship the One who Authors us all.”
More information about the Catholic Imagination Conference, which will be held at UD and the Marriott Las Colinas, can be found at udallas.edu/cic.
The University of Dallas will host the annual conference of the Catholic Bar Association Oct. 13-15. The theme, “Catholic Lawyers: Upholding the Rule of Law,” will feature a Red Mass celebrated by UD Chancellor the Most Rev. Edward J. Burns, bish op of the Diocese of Dallas, and a number of events and presentations both at UD and nearby hotels.
The Catholic Imagination
RULE OF LAW
UD President Jonathan J. Sanford, Ph.D., along with new UD Trustee Charles LiMandri, a constitutional rights and First Amendment attor ney, and longtime UD Professor of English Gerard Wegemer, Ph.D., will also present at the fall conference.
SUMMER 2022 25
Will Arbery, playwright, Heroes of the Fourth Turning
The conference will feature more than 50 writers, poets, journalists, editors, publishers, playwrights and critics. Questions about the future of the Catholic literary and artistic tradition, the state of faith-laced discourse in a broken world, and how Catholic thought and practice are particularly well-suited to address universal human needs will be among those explored by conference speakers.
Chris Beha, National Book Award finalist, The Index of Self-Destructive Acts
long with select national cosponsors, the University of Dallas’ Donald and Louise Cowan Center is hosting the Fourth Biennial Catholic Imagination Conference, Sept. 30 - Oct. 1, to explore a variety of questions surrounding the Catholic imagi nation in literature and the arts.
Dana Gioia, poet and critic
The gathering of Catholic lawyers, which describes itself as “a com munity of legal professionals that educates, organizes and inspires its members to faithfully uphold and bear witness to the Catholic faith in the study and practice of the law,” will feature keynote presentations by Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Thomas M. Hardiman, the Most Rev. Joseph F. Naumann, archbishop of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, Archbishop Borys Gudziak, Ph.D., who heads the Archeparchy of Philadelphia of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, and U.S. District Court Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk
Plenary speakers include (pictured above from top left to bottom right):
Uwem Akpan, author of Oprah Book Club selection Say You’re One of Them
LEADING LAWYERS
Elizabeth Bruenig, opinion writer and editor, The Atlantic
By Clare Venegas
Paul Mariani, poet and biographer
Additionally, in Irving, about 30 students enjoyed an enhanced Mayterm session that included free on-campus housing and expand ed writing lab and Cap Bar hours, as well as several “Discover Dallas” excursions—includ ing the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Aquarium and Dallas Museum of Art guided by Estelle Fonteneau, Ph.D.
“The ‘Discover Dallas’ excursions treated our Mayterm students to a few of the many world-class cultural offerings Dallas has to offer,” said Kyle Lemieux, BA ’98, associ ate professor of drama and director of the Summer Irving program. “Students’ feedback has been very positive, and we hope to expand the excursions moving forward to continue to enrich the experience for UD Summer.”
ROME
Summer Study ExpandOpportunities
HONORING MSGR. FUCINARO
Additionally, the salone on the Eugene Constantin Campus was named for Fougerousse, thanks to the generosity of the Mobuses along with that of Lisa (Pelletier), BA ’93, and Randy, BA ’86, Irlbeck, John Norris, Ph.D., BA ’84, Sarah (Fougerousse), BA ’91, and Michael, BA ’90, Tiller, and other alumni to memorialize Fougerousse’s legacy on the Rome campus, and in particular, the effortless way in which he gathered people together.
By Clare Venegas
“Expanding our signature Rome Program during the summer term gives our students a chance to experience what so many genera tions of our alumni have come to love—that is, the ability to learn about great works and the roots of Western civilization while living in and traveling to the places they learn about,” said Vice President, Dean and Director of the Rome Campus Peter Hatlie, Ph.D., professor of classics.
REMEMBERING
his past summer saw an expansion of several summer study programs, both abroad and in Irving.
“The program at the Catholic University of Avila is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for UD students,” said Jose Espericueta, associate professor of Spanish and chair of the Modern Languages Department. “This
‘FOUG FUND’ UPDATE
CHIRIAC.VASILEHENDERSON,STEPHENMAZUR,ANTHONYBY:PHOTOS IN IRVING AND ABROAD
In Europe, with the removal of many COVID-era restrictions, UD’s signature Summer Rome Program expanded to include two 6-week sessions while a record number of upper-level Spanish students traveled to the Catholic University of Avila in Spain to participate in the Institute for Span ish Language and Culture.
immersion experience helps students improve their language skills and gain valuable knowl edge about the history of the West. During their month in Spain, students tour Roman ruins, study the works of St. Teresa and St. John of the Cross, and travel through out parts of Spain. Family stays offer students an intimate acquaintance with Spanish life and culture, while long weekends offer great opportunities for travel and exploration.”
A group of grateful alumni came together to permanently honor Mon signor Thomas Fucinaro, longtime chaplain of UD’s Eugene Constantin Campus, by purchasing a beautiful statue of St. Joseph to be placed in Due Santi's vineyard. Fucinaro served as chaplain for 16 years and this year was reassigned by Pope Francis to serve as pastor of the Cathedral of the Risen Christ in his home diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska.
The Fougerousse Convivium Fund was established last year by Lisa (Fougerousse), BA ’90, and her husband, Jeff, BA ’86, Mobus to honor the spirit of James M. Fougerousse, BA ’67, one of the first directors of the University of Dallas’ Rome Program. Thanks to the generosity of the alumni community, the “Foug Fund” has raised over $50,000, reaching endowment status, in support of lec tures, tours and convivial gatherings throughout the semester. Contribute at udallas.edu/foug-fund
SUMMER 2022 27 BEAUTIFULLY BALANCED
UD’s Eugene Constantin Campus ferments an enriching experience for undergraduates during their Rome semester, and this year, Due Santi Wines (made from the campus vineyards) released a daring new red and new rosé. "The 2021 Due Santi Rosato is the rosato we long hoped we could produce. It is the most complete and beautifully balanced wine we have made from our merlot plantings," said Michael Housewright, BA ’96. However, the earthy Due Santi Rosso remains a house favorite among UD alumni.
By Callie Ewing, BA ’03 MH ’22
“Rome is truly flourishing these days, in no small part because of these seeds planted by our dear alumni and friends,” said Hatlie. “Over the past three to five years we’ve seen significant donor support for student scholarships, buildings and facilities, faculty research and development, religious life, and academic program enhancements.”
The fertile foothills offer an exquisite, tasteful palette, churning booming sales of UD’s Due Santi vintages at the alumnus-owned Lamberti’s Ristorante & Wine Bar in Las Colinas during Groundhog and commence ment. David Lamberti, BA ’01, purchased and opened Lamberti’s in 2017, employing several current UD students, who, like him, fondly recall their Rome experiences. If you're a North Texas resident, then there are many other restaurants and shops where you can find Due Santi Wines, including Eataly, Central Market, Jimmy’s Food Store and more.
hanks to donations from Kathy (Uhl), BA ’91 MBA ’99, Danny Milligan, BA ’91, and Vince R. Pawlowski, BA ’85, there will soon be additional faculty hous ing on UD’s Eugene Constantin Campus in Rome. One of the trademarks of UD’s lauded Rome Program is that students are taught by UD faculty. With some notable exceptions such as Dean, Director and Vice President of the Rome Campus Peter Hatlie, Ph.D., most Rome faculty start out in Irving, moving to Rome—often with their families—for two or more years at a time to teach. While undoubtedly a beneficial system for students—who sometimes get to experience classes taught by the same faculty both in Irving and in Rome—there has not to date been enough housing available to house all faculty on the Rome campus, with a particular shortage of apartments able to accommodate as many as six family members.
This has often resulted in those professors and their families having to reside off campus, which is contrary to the program’s communal nature and not the preferred solution. The university has traditionally believed that bringing as many faculty as possible to Rome for service is good for both them and for the students. “Also, our staff needs in Rome are to some extent met by employees coming from Irving, notably our Rome coordinators,” explained Hatlie.
WORD ON GRAPEVINETHE
Current apartment space for faculty and staff consists of the Villa Attic, Villa Manor, Villa Garden, Mensa Grande, Mensa Piccola, Dormitory Laundry, and Annex Apartment, each of which can accommodate at least two and some up to six members of a faculty family. The new apartment will be located in the lower level of the dormitory and able to house a family of six (or alternatively be divided into two separate apartments). It measures around 800 square feet internally and has nearly the same terrace space.
Rome Faculty Housing Expands
Reap our harvest from UD’s vineyard through the alumni-owned Cellar Browser. Visit cellarbrowser.com for a complete list of wines, and don’t miss the fall season special for UD alumni with 15% off three or more bottles of Due Santi Wines with the promo code TOWERMAG
Federico Pier, MBA ’01, is the permanent chief executive officer for ViCapsys Life Sciences.
Janet Hendrickson, Ph.D., BA ’03, is now clinical assistant professor
1980s
Father John Mosimann, BA ’89, celebrated the 25-year jubilee of his ordination to the priesthood; he is pastor of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Church in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter recently announced the promotion of Trooper Philip Cooley, BA ’00, to the rank of sergeant.
Christina Villegas, MA ’06 PhD ’13, after adopting four foster children, has now published a book detail ing the foster care system, Foster Care in America: A Reference Hand book, which is available on Kindle or in hardcover on Amazon.
Thomas Feulmer, BA ’96, was featured in the June/July issue of Patron magazine. He is director of educational programming at The Warehouse in Dallas, which has housed the Rachofsky collection since 2012. Thomas majored in sculpture at UD and has always been fascinated by the intersec tion of language, text and sound, and how we are affected by these various elements. He told Patron that “curating, writing, organizing shows, making art, they’re all things I want to do because I want to have conversations with people about these ideas … what it means to be alive, what it means to have a body, what it means to exist.”
1990s
David Reed, MBA ’90, was appoint ed to the board of directors for Advanced Energy.
Miriem Bensalah Chaqroun, MBA '86, (above) was named on the recent Forbes list of the 50 most powerful women in the Middle East and North Africa.
Vincent de Paul Pharmacy, Study Time, the Mini Loan Program, and the St. Vincent Center.
Luis Gonzalez, MBA ’95, is now CEO of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul after 25 years at Allstate Insurance. He previously served as the vice president of service deliv ery at Hudson Advisors. Luis’ new responsibilities will include the St.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Michael (Mike) Lee, BA ’82, to the 256th Judicial District Court in Dallas County for a term set to expire on Dec. 31, 2022, or until his successor shall be duly elected and qualified.
Studies and director of the Center for the United States and Mexico at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, a position he has held since 2012. He is also a professor of social sciences at the Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez in Ciudad Juárez, Chihua hua, Mexico. An author of several books and articles about the U.S.-Mexico relationship, Tony’s research focuses primarily on bor der studies and the dynamics of the bilateral ties between the two nations. He has written extensively about the Mexican energy industry and rule of law, and is a member of the Greater Houston Partnership’s Immigration Task Force and the Mexico Energy Task Force.
for Prodigy, heading the Specialty Negotiation Solutions—Pharmacy and Medical Services division.
Luis Antonio (Tony) Payan, BA '92 MBA '94, is the Françoise and Edward Djerejian Fellow for Mexico
28 TOWER MAGAZINE
John Bloch, BA ’08, English major turned software developer, won a seat on the Irving City Council. John will represent District 1.
Martha Bujanda, BA '98 MBA '01, is director of new leader support and principal residency for Dallas Independent School District.
Stan Smith, MBA ’88, is senior vice president of specialty programs
Rudy Bush, BA '97 MA '19, is edito rial page editor and vice president of the Dallas Morning News. See p. 24 for more about Rudy.
Ragan Butler, BA ’02, is marketing director for The Skirvin Hilton in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
to our expanded Class Notes, a section dedicated to sharing your news with the UD community. Share your updates with us udallas.edu/alumni-portalvia for possible inclusion in the next issue of Tower.
Welcome
2000s
of liberal studies at NYU after three years as postdoctoral fellow of Spanish at UD. She is pictured below with ’03 classmates Callie (Bentley) Ewing, BA ’03 MH ’22, now an English teacher at Irving High School in Irving, Texas, after nine years as a writer and editor in UD’s Marketing and Communi cations Department, and Father Joseph (Matt) Van House, O.Cist., BA ’03 MT ’07, affiliate assistant professor of theology, at the recep tion held in May for the graduates of the Class of 2022.
Laura Tenner, M.D., BS ’03, received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Texas A&M University. She is a GI cancer oncologist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
“The Jesuit formation process is intentional,” he said. “Every step of the way, I have been given assignments where the Lord has pushed and stretched me, and
Class
Jonathon E. Polce, S.J., BA ’09, was ordained to the priesthood on June 11. Father Jonathon will serve at Jesuit High School of New Orleans. Initially daunted by the length of the Jesuit formation process, Father Jonathon has found it to be one of the greatest blessings in his vocation, for it has allowed him to focus on following God’s plan, one step at a time.
Michael Farrell, BA ’84, was named executive director of student services for Fort Smith Public Schools in Arkansas.
Notes RAMIREZ.EDGARANDDAVIDBURKLE,JAVIEREWING,CALLIEOF:COURTESYPHOTOSCLAYCOMB.AARONBY:PHOTO
The2022.Northwest Independent School District Board of Trustees voted unanimously to name David Hicks, Ph.D., BA ’88, the next superintendent of the district, located in Denton County in North Texas.
Mary (Hansen) Jensen, J.D., BA ’86, was appointed by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland as the acting U.S. trustee for the judicial districts established for the states of Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota, effective May 7,
2010s
“We are extremely proud of Anna for being named to NACVA’s 40 Under Forty,” stated Whitley Penn Forensic Litigation and Valuation Partner Emilia D’Mello. “Anna constantly goes above and beyond with her dedication to her work, the profession and community. We look forward to celebrating Anna’s recognition and watching her as her career continues to flourish.”
Ben Gibbs, BA '15 MBA '17, is now executive director for operations at UD after serving as special assistant to the president since July 2021, before which he had worked on UD’s Eugene Constantin Campus in Rome for three years. Ben was recently accepted into the National Association of College and University Business Officers' 2022-23 Emerging Leaders Program. Additionally, in April, a reflection piece that Ben wrote about study abroad programming in spring 2020 was published in Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad. Ben and his wife, Annie, BA ’15 MBA ’19, were working on the university’s Rome campus in March 2020 when the world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ben was the director of student affairs, so Ben’s reflection is based on
come out of each experience a better man, a better Catholic and a better Jesuit.”
Javier Burkle, BA ’11, (above) is the owner and principal designer of Burkle Creative in Dallas, which he founded in 2015. According to burklecreative.com, “Originally from Mexico City, Javier Burkle is well-known for his design talent, personal style, and creative vision. Javier is inspired by balance and beauty, and his gift for uniting the old with the new results in warm, chic spaces that exude sophis tication and timeless elegance.”
Chiara Daley, BA ’16, is SEO lead at PMG.
Maggie (Chavey) Rolwes, BA ’20, is a customer success agent at ClassDojo.
tion, racism, warfare, health care, abortion, climate justice, sexism and class are inextricably linked in creating an authentic culture of life." Read more at udallas.edu/ empowering-life
Anthony Mazur, BA ’20, married Kelly Stuckert, BA '21, in July 2021 at Mater Dei Catholic Church in Irving. Both theology majors, the two met through UD’s Theology Department. After the wedding, the Mazurs moved to Utah, where Anthony now works as the assis tant to the director of communica tions at St. Mary of the Assump tion Parish in Park City.
2020s
Alessandra Gutierrez, BS ’22, is attending UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas with the goal of practicing medicine in the Lone Star State. The TMAF Bayardo Minority Scholarship Fund, Dallas County Medical Society, and Charles B. Mullins, M.D., of Austin, are providing Alessandra’s scholarship.
Kaitlin (Casanova) Hampton, BS ’18, finished her doctorate in biomedical science at Texas A&M University; she is married to Joshua Hampton, BS ’18, who is also working on his Ph.D., and they have two children.
Anna (Jurhee) Hardy, CPA, ABV, BA '11 MS '13, forensic litigation and valuation managing director at Whitley Penn, was recently named to the National Associ ation of Certified Valuators and Analysts and Consultants’ Training Institute 40 Under Forty recog nition program. Anna has more than 10 years of public accounting experience in forensic, litigation and valuation services, focusing primarily on marital dissolution
Chad Evans, MCSL ’14, is president of John Paul II High School in Plano, Texas.
Katie Revia, BA ’17, began serving as a human trafficking prevention intern at Children at Risk in Hous ton in May; she left the Leukemia and Lymphona Society, where she had most recently served as campaign development manager for Students of the Year/Student Visionaries of the year, in June af ter working there for more than six years. She is currently pursuing a master's of social work at the University of Houston.
SUMMER 2022 29 CLASS NOTES
Javier was a featured designer at the 2021 Kips Bay Decorator Show House Dallas and is the recipi ent of numerous accolades and awards, including “Best Designer” by D Home magazine, and has made People Newspaper’s presti gious “20 Under 40” list, “evidence of his innate good taste, note worthy designs, and influencing presence within the community.” Javier’s work can also be found in House Beautiful, PaperCity and D Home, and on Veranda.com. He also integrates charitable com munity contributions, such as to Dwell with Dignity, into his firm.
Brothers David, BA ’13, and Edgar, BA ’17, Ramirez (right) were both ordained to the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter on May 27, in Lincoln, Nebraska. Read more at udallas. edu/fathers-ramirez
Mary Katherine (Johnson), BA ’20, and Will Rackers, BS ’20, welcomed their son, Joseph Francis, on July 2, 2021. Will is a doctoral candidate in chemistry
and fraud. She is a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and Financial Consulting Group.
at Washington University of St. Louis, and Mary Katherine is a joint doctoral student in philosophy and bioethics at Saint Louis University.
Gwendolyn Loop, BA ’21, received the Polking Family Fellowship for the newest Notre Dame Law School class. This fellowship supports the next generation of lawyers building a “sustainable culture of life.” This past year, Gwendolyn joined Houston Catho lic Worker, living in solidarity with migrants arriving directly from the border or detention and witnessing “firsthand that for many fami lies, choosing life is a horrifying struggle — when you can’t afford shoes or a sandwich, when insulin gets too expensive and you start to lose your sight, when the U.S. government confiscated your belongings in detention and you only have a handful of documents left. This is not a thought exercise, but rather a daily reality for many of our brothers and sisters. I believe that issues like immigra
his personal experience during that time. Finally, Ben is currently pursuing a doctor of education through the University of Texas at Austin.
grew up in Dallas, graduating from Highland Park High School in 1971 before continuing on to UD. Chris had a brilliant mind in general but was a visionary in business, with countless achievements. His tireless work on his many projects and creations were the passion of his life. Chris loved driving fast cars, playing golf, celebrating Christmas, listening to music, reading, and talking about philos ophy and politics, but most of all, he loved his children and family. “To his family he will forever be the ideal that we aspire to,” they wrote. “He was the sun of our world. He took care of everyone around him and carried the weight of the world on his shoulders.” Chris is survived by his wife Camille; son Zach, and Zach’s fiancée Savannah, and son Christopher; daughter Katie, Katie’s husband Billy, and their children River and Kirra; two sisters; and many other relatives and friends. Read the full obituary at udallas.edu/chris-bright
George Behringer, BA ’85, died in April on his 59th birthday. He married Amy Ryan in Houston in 2004 and had four daughters. His daughters were the light of his life, and he enjoyed every moment he spent with them. He had resided in Katy, Texas, since 2006, where he was a member of St. Bartholomew Catholic Church. He is survived by his loving wife; daughters, Mary, Sarah, Laura and Heather; and two sisters and brothers-in-law.
June. He received a B.A. in English from Georgetown University and an M.A. in English from UD, and worked for the Social Security Ad ministration for 31 years. A mem ber of St. Jude Catholic Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee, his interests included literature, sports and scriptural readings. He was preceded in death by his parents, four sisters and seven brothers. He is survived by his dear friend, Sandra Magin; son, Colin, Colin’s wife, Charlene, and their children, Connor Douglas and Alaina Eliza beth; Colin’s mother, Billie McCaffrey; four sisters, one brother, and a sprawling network of nieces and nephews.
Teresa (Becker) Batto, BA ’64, died in January at age 80 after a battle with bone cancer. Teresa was the seventh of 10 children born to German immigrants in Dallas and was the first person in her family to graduate from college, with a degree in German from UD. She then earned her master’s in German at the University of Texas at Austin, where she met her husband, Bernie, to whom she was married for 54 years. They had five children and welcomed many others into their home. Teresa be lieved passionately in the power of education. Her house was stuffed full of books, and she helped many people discover the joys of read ing. A devout Catholic, Teresa also believed deeply in social justice. The garden was her happy place, and it was an apt metaphor for her life. Teresa just loved watching plants—and people—grow. Teresa is survived by her husband, five children, two granddaughters, four siblings, dozens of “adopted” family members and hundreds of others whose lives she enriched.
In Memoriam
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Barbara Conder, MTS ’00, died in April at age 69. Barbara’s faith and service to the Catholic Church were found in many forms: She was a social worker; worked at St Anthony’s Parish in Ely, Minne sota, as the director of religious education and faith formation; taught at Notre Dame High School in Green Bay; was both station manager and director of mission for Relevant Radio; was executive director of the Holy Name Retreat House on Chambers Island in Lake Michigan; and led pilgrimages to holy sites around the world through Mater Dei Tours. She enjoyed the outdoors, canoe and backpacking trips, knitting, reading and writing poetry, and cherished time with family. She was preced
Michael McCaffrey, MA ’68, died in
Mary Annette Stephens, MA ’86, died in June at age 75. She married Donald Ray Stephens in Dallas on July 10, 1970. Mary was a retired teacher, having taught in Dallas, Irving and Chico ISDs. She was known as a caring teacher who encouraged her students to reach their full potential, going above and beyond to provide for their needs. Mary had a servant’s heart, and through CASA, her church and volunteer/community service activities, she touched the lives of many people. According to her obituary, “Her beautiful smile and compassionate heart endeared her to everyone who met her. She loved deeply and was loved.” She was preceded in death by her parents and sister Donna Lancaster, and is survived by her husband of 51 years; her daughter, Alicia Loran, and Alicia's husband, Brian; her son, Matthew Stephens, and his fiancé, Kelsey Hayenga; two grandchildren, Chase Loran and Stuart Loran; her brother, Dar ryl Craze; her sister Janice Cline; her sister-in-law, Janis Hahn; nu merous extended family members;
MCWHORTER.JEFFANGELO,ST.RONBY:PHOTOS
ed in death by her parents and five children in infancy, and is survived by her husband, Daniel, whom she married on Oct. 4, 1975; son Jared; three siblings and their spouses; numerous nieces and nephews; extended family; and a host of friends.
Mary Patricia (Unis) Eubank, BA ’73, died in May at age 71. She graduated from Ursuline Academy and then from UD with honors, marrying Royal Cullen Eubank Jr. and living in Waxahachie, Texas, until 2012. Mary Pat was an avid reader, tennis player and civic volunteer, and loved to travel. She served in the Junior Service League of Waxahachie, TTCD Ten nis Club, Book Club and Heirloom Club, and she and her daughter sang in the choir at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. She was prede ceased by her husband and her son, Royal Cullen Eubank III, and is survived by her daughter, Angela Marie Eubank; granddaughter, Rook Nicole Robinson; sister and two brothers and their wives; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Former Trustee Christopher Bright, BA ’77, died in July. Chris
Father Don Dvorak, O.P., campus chaplain from 2010-17, died in May at age 85. After retiring as chaplain, he persisted in his priestly duties at the Church of the Incarnation until his death. Former chaplain Father Thomas More Barba, O.P., BA ’09 ’10, wrote, “He invited me into his life, and I am a rich man because of him. I hope that God blesses me with a long life, at the end of which I continue to be inspired by Father Don’s example. I hope, like Father Don, I can lift Our Savior in the host and chalice for the people to adore, hands shaking from having spent myself for God and His people.”
Deane Thomas Wallace, BA ’77, died in January at age 66 with his daughter, Jacquie, and sister, Susie, at his side. Deane was born, raised and lived his entire adult life in Little Rock, Arkansas, and remained a devout, faithful and practicing Catholic throughout his life, active in his parishes. After UD, Deane returned home to Little Rock and began a 40-year career at AFCO Steel and its successor, W&W/AFCO Steel, eventually ascending to senior vice president of bridge sales and estimating. His legacy lives on in significant bridges throughout the Midwest and South. Whatever Deane did, he did passionately, whether duck hunting, fishing, golfing, wine tasting, entertaining, tailgating, cooking, grilling, gardening or cheering on his three favorite teams: the Arkansas Razorbacks (any sport), Dallas Cowboys and St. Louis Cardinals. His laugh was memorable. In addition to his daughter, Jacqueline Wallace Montelongo, and her husband, Matt, Deane is survived by Jason Deane Knapp and Jason's wife, Nicole; his brother, sister-in-law, two sisters and brother-in-law; and numerous nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grand-nephews.
CLASS NOTES
Phillip Richard Szeitz, founder of UD’s Art Department, died in June at age 92. Having escaped from Budapest just ahead of the Com munist invasion, he and his fellow Cistercian monks first landed in Wisconsin before moving to Texas to help a fledgling Catholic univer sity that was setting up shop in the wilds of Irving. In his second year, he hired Professor Emeritus of Art Lyle Novinski, who had been a fellow graduate student at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Though Richard left UD three years later, the goals that he and Lyle set for the department guided its development and growth even up to the present day. Examples of Richard’s prints can be seen in “A World of Paper: The Lyle Novinski Print Collection” in the Beatrice M. Haggerty Gallery through September (see p. 23). Richard went on to teach at Minnesota State College Moorhead for 30 years and became known for monumental copper sculptures in public spaces.
a host of friends; and her beloved little dog Curly
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behind two children, Siena and Grady, and an extensive network of family and friends who love and will miss her dearly.
Mary (Moss) Teller, BA ’17, died July 20 after a fierce seven-month battle with stage 4 lymphoma. Her husband, Jack, BA ’17, wrote on July 17, “Her sense of humor hasn't faltered a bit, and she's still making me laugh every day.” In addition to Jack, Mary leaves
PAVING THE PATH FORWARD
32 TOWER MAGAZINE LEESON.KIMCOMMONS,WIKIMEDIACLAYCOMB,AARONANDERSON,JASON'24,BAWIEBERG,AUBREYMCWHORTER,JEFFPHOTOS:
She said, “I like to think that the way we spend our money is how our souls flow into the world—this is an expression of gratitude for all the blessings I’ve had but also a way for my money to act in alignment with my values and what’s important to me.”
UPCOMING EVENTS
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udallas.edu/pavers
About 10 years ago, she sat down with her financial adviser and wrote UD into her estate plan. As she explained, “I used this planned gift to be the best model I can for my children. I am a hard working mom, and I have raised hard working kids. This planning ensures that everything I worked so hard for will continue to have a long-lasting impact.”
Pavers come in 12” x 12” and 6” x 12” and are completely tax deductible. The text on the pavers is engraved and painted to ensure that it will en dure. Funds from this Paving the Path Forward initiative go toward University of Dallas student scholarships. more at
Words of gratitude to influential pro fessors, cherished quotes or proverbs, commemorations of legacy families, tributes to family members, and me morials to lost loved ones: You’ll find all of these types of inscriptions in the Pavers Gallery. You, too, can have your name and/or message permanently engraved on a paver to be installed on the Alumni and Friends Walkway, a prominent location on campus leading to J.M. Haggar Sr. University Center and the Mall from Lynch Circle off of Northgate Drive.
etired teacher Estelle (Tovar) Lara, BA ’67 MA ’74, watching the impact in her own children’s lives, feels that the only way to make a last ing difference is through education.
Events are subject to change. Stay up to date on UD’s alumni social media channels. ALUMNI & FAMILY WEEKEND Come home and see us! All classes and families are invited. Class years ending in 2 and 7 will celebrate their reunions. OCT. 21-23 THE BIG EVENT Join with students, faculty and others in the UD com munity to help our neigh bors in the City of Irving. NOV. 12
How Our Souls Flow
By Callie Ewing, BA '03 MH '22
SATISH & YASMIN GUPTA GRADUATIONCOLLEGE
Celebrate the most recent graduates of UD’s Gupta College of Business MBA, DBA and M.S. programs. DEC. 3 UDallasAlumni UDallasAlumni UDAlumniOffice calendar.udallas.edu LONG-LASTING IMPACT
Widowed at age 30, Joy (Davis) Kirsch, BA ’85, didn’t really know how to move for ward. After some time and discernment, she founded a nonprofit to help other widows. In deciding to include UD in her estate plan, she was motivated by the idea that she could help someone else live their best life.
SET IN STONE
Read more about these gifts and others at udallas.edu/how-our-souls-flow. Learn about making your own planned gift at plannedgiving.udallas.edu
SUMMER 2022 33
LAST WORD
Additionally, UD has welcomed four new members of the Board of Trustees in 2022: Bishop of Browns ville Daniel Flores, BA ’83 MDiv ’87 (below), Texas State Representative Tom Craddick, mother of four alumni Mary Rice Hasson, and father of four alumni and one current student Charles (Chuck) LiMandri. Read more about UD’s newest trustees at udallas.edu/the-gift-of-service
“I never ask for seconds when they’re serving humble pie.” I heard this phrase from an older woman while I lived in New Orleans, and it has stuck with me. We, as fallen human beings, seem to think that humility is something that we do not want—something that we do not need. And yet, in the two short years I have worked here at the University of Dallas, I have been offered humble pie again and again. If I only had the courage to actually eat that second slice.
LEADERSHIP
First, as a good Dominican aiming for a bit of humility, let’s look at the Franciscans. Blessed Giles of Assisi, one of the original companions of St. Francis, wisely stated, “No man can attain to the knowledge of God but by humility. The way to mount high is to descend.” To come to know God must begin with the humility of knowing how much we cannot know. If we can approach our studies, and yes, our Christian lives, with the aware ness of our own intellectual shortcomings—instead of the certainty the world would have us believe we need—we can come to know and love God with greater intimacy.
A native of Detmold, Germany, Vorwerk’s academic expertise is in ancient philosophy, the works of Plato and Plotinus, and the philosophy of human nature. Read more about Vorwerk at about-things-that-matterudallas.edu/
Second, as a good Dominican aiming to share the fruits of the Order, it’s always good to reference Aquinas, who reminds us, “It is contrary to humility to aim at greater things through confiding in one’s own powers: but to aim at greater things through confidence in God’s help, is not contrary to humility.” We are to aim high. We are to be saints, to be vir tuous and bright! This only works if we recognize that we are dependent on God. We have to recognize that we are creatures dependent on grace. My prayer is that our students may leave here bright and capable, and always willing to eat that second slice of humble pie. As their chaplain, I should take the first bite.
ILLUMINATING
ABOUT THINGS THAT MATTER
Cardinal Kevin Farrell and Mary Man ning, meanwhile, finished their terms on the board and are thanked deeply for their service to the university.
Matthias Vorwerk, Ph.D., began serv ing as UD’s provost on July 1. Previ ously, Vorwerk most recently served as associate dean of the Catholic University of America’s School of Philosophy and as an associate professor of philosophy.
“It is my pleasure to work with UD’s excellent faculty and dedicated staff to strengthen and enhance the uni versity’s mission, and I look forward to meeting the students for many good conversations about the things that matter,” said Vorwerk.
By Father Joseph Paul Albin, O.P.
Coming to serve at this university, where the students can correct your Latin and Greek, where wizened professors come to Mass, and where graduate students struggle to get through a conversation without a number of philosophical and theological distinctions, is quite intimidating. Working here at the University of Dallas makes you want to stretch your self intellectually, to learn all that you can. And this is good and holy, and it is something we should want for ourselves and our students. Yet, I think it is the job of those of us who work in ministry, and truly all who form young people, to lead by humbling ourselves.
Aiming High Through Humble Pie
THE GIFT OF SERVICE
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1956. Even John W. Carpenter Hall could sometimes look like a Norman Rockwell painting. There was no Rome Program yet, therefore no Cap Bar, so students had to content themselves with a Coke machine in a corner—but the adventure of being pioneers on an empty Irving hill probably helped make up for it.
NOW&THEN
2022. Since the early ’80s, the Cap Bar, Irving’s little taste of Rome, has been the favored meetup, hangout, crunch-time spot on campus— for students, alumni, faculty and staff alike! Come to Alumni and Family Weekend, Oct. 21-23, and see how your preferred places on campus have gotten even better since your time.
