Last Word

ALSO OF THE SPIRIT

A Legacy of Transformation

By Callie Ewing, BA '03 MH '22

rom undergraduates to benefactors with UD in their wills, Mike Perkins, BA ’78, and Sharon (Kapavik)

Perkins, BA ’79 MA ’89, have watched their relationship with the university evolve. Once, Sharon was a first-generation student at UD on a scholarship; Mike was a legacy student who nonetheless worked 54 hours a week to pay his way. As alumni with careers in ministry, Sharon was a graduate student at UD, teaching there briefly, and Mike ran a capital campaign as a university employee. With three children, money was tight. They became parents of a student — David, BA ’12 — then of an alumnus.

After years of hard work, they realized they would have the ability to make charitable contributions through their estate. Considering where this money would have a lasting impact, UD was an immediate choice. “You can make a gift that’s transformative at any level and leave a legacy that’s meaningful,” said Mike.

Sharon added, “Wealth is also of the spirit — to not only give from our modest material means, but in and from that spirit.” For the Perkins, UD has shaped their family, enriching both their and their children’s lives with the

UPCOMING EVENTS

Events are subject to change. Stay up to date on UD’s alumni social media channels.

COR CHALLENGE

Double your impact and earn your class some bragging rights! Stay tuned for exciting matching challenge opportunities. See p. 7 for more information.

UDallasAlumni UDallasAlumni UDAlumniOffice calendar.udallas.edu

MARCH 28 - APRIL 2

CAMPUS CONSECRATION TO MARY

The UD community is invited to this ceremony, performed by Diocese of Dallas Bishop and UD Chancellor Edward Burns, officially dedicating our Irving campus to the Blessed Mother.

MAY 6

COMMENCEMENT

Join the Class of 2022 (both undergraduate and graduate) as they walk the stage at the Irving Convention Center and celebrate the culmination of their hard work.

MAY 15

“Wealth is also of the spirit – to not only give from our modest material means, but in and from that spirit.”

education they received and the friendships they formed. It brings them great joy to bequeath this means of enriching and forming future lives and friendships. Read more at udallas.edu/legacy-of-transformation.

LIFELONG CONNECTION

THE GIFT OF A LIFETIME

Champions of the liberal arts and Catholic culture like yourself often ask: “Is there anything else I can do to help?” The answer is simple — leave a gift through your will or a beneficiary designation to the University of Dallas. An estate gift to UD costs you nothing now and gives you peace of mind knowing that you’re offering the world a bright future in which academic excellence thrives. It’s a great way to protect your loved ones and the institutions you care about most all at once. When you leave a gift to the University of Dallas, you join our Legacy Society, which provides recognition, tailored event access and a lifelong connection to UD. Thank you to our Legacy Society members for being an integral part of our UD family.

Learn more at plannedgiving.udallas.edu

Truth Unstoppable

By Philip Harold, Dean of the Constantin College of Liberal Arts

he students at UD are unique and refreshing, and teaching them is a joy for our faculty. Educating the young is not only a spiritual work of mercy; it renews and revitalizes the teacher. Students are in need of knowledge and understanding. Their lack of preconceptions, however, compels those who have long acquaintance with a subject matter to appreciate anew fundamental truths of an academic discipline.

Likewise, their lack of cynicism holds open the possibility for the impact truth can have, even when it seems impossible according to tired, worldly expectations. Just because something has not yet been done does not mean we cannot do it! That was the spirit animating the organizers of UD’s first “Big Event” in the fall, which resulted in over 300 students, alumni, faculty and staff participating in various outdoor volunteer projects around Irving. It is the spirit of the Crusaders for Life, one of the largest student organizations on campus, and the pro-life movement generally. The truth is an unstoppable force.

Because they learn to think for themselves, students from the University of Dallas can and do have an outside impact on the world, something needed more than ever with the proliferation of assaults on human dignity. This past November, our students attended a conference on human dignity sponsored by the De Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture, where they heard from a handful of UD faculty presenters and from other scholars from all over the country. The presentations ranged from “Augustine on the Meaning of Human Dignity” by Daniel Burns, Ph.D., “Shakespeare and the Transformation of Human Dignity” by Michael West, Ph.D., BA ’06, and “How to Read (and Write) Like a Catholic” by Jessica Hooten Wilson, Ph.D., MA ’06 (pictured above, center). Students heard keynote addresses from Mary Ann Glendon and Alasdair MacIntyre and had breakfast with the director of the De Nicola Center, O. Carter Snead, who shared his thoughts with them about the importance of a Catholic liberal arts education.

The education provided by the University of Dallas is more important than ever for the revitalization of culture. Just as teaching UD students reinvigorates our faculty, our graduates in turn rejuvenate the culture by serving as witnesses to the foundational truth of human dignity.

SERVICE TO THE CHURCH

HOMILETICS INSTITUTE TO STRENGTHEN PREACHING

The Institute for Homiletics at the University of Dallas is a collaboration of The Catholic Foundation and UD. In her role as founding executive director of the institute, Karla J. Bellinger, M.A., D.Min., works to strengthen the preaching of Catholic priests, deacons and seminarians so they flourish in their ministry. Beginning with the Diocese of Dallas and moving outward to the broader Church, the institute will build a vision of preaching whose purpose is to bring the people of God into an encounter with the living God. “Listeners hunger for inspiration,” said Bellinger. “People in the pews want to hear a message that gives them life. Clergy thirst for their congregation to encounter Jesus Christ and want to inspire them and see the fruit of a Christian life.

“So many people have given up on preaching as a tool of evangelization. We can’t give up. The value of the liturgy is that it’s not just the body of Christ that fuels us. It’s the music. It’s the community. It’s the preaching,” she added. “The purpose of the liturgy is to bring people together as a community and help them to go out and change the world for the better.” Discover more at udallas.edu/ homiletics-institute.

Office of Advancement 1845 E Northgate Drive Irving, TX 75062-4736

SAVE THE DATE MARCH 28 - APRIL 2 COR CHALLENGE

udallas.edu/corchallenge NOW&THEN

2022. Groundhog will forever be a place where memories are made, from which you head home smelling of bonfire smoke with your heart full of the warmth that comes from spending time with the people who get you. We were happy for alumni and students to celebrate together again this year after the hiatus of ’21! 1980. The world was possibly a little simpler, and Groundhog certainly wasn’t the organized event it is today, but the essentials were still the same: bonfires, beer, music, and good friends gathering. Back then, you were more likely to head home a little muddy but with your heart no less full and well-warmed.