Making an
University of St.Thomas Report to the Community
Ms. Michele Malloy, Chair Stewart & Wiley, PLLC Mr. David Harvey, Jr., Vice Chair D.E. Harvey Builders Dr. Robert Ivany, President University of St. Thomas Mrs. Cecilia T. Abbott Harden Healthcare Rev. Robert J. Barringer, CSB St. Augustine’s Seminary Rev. Patrick O. Braden, CSB University of St. Thomas Rev. Michael Buentello, CSB University of St. Thomas Rev. Brendan J. Cahill Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston Sr. Mary Roberta Connors, FSE Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist Rev. Robert W. Crooker, CSB University of St. Thomas Mrs. Lois E. Davis L D Design His Eminence Daniel Cardinal DiNardo Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston Dr. Herbert P. Edmundson, Jr. Memorial Neurological Association Mr. Daniel M. Elustondo Upstream Americas Mr. George R. Farris Investments Mr. Michael P. Fleming Fleming and Associates, PC
Rev. Anthony Giampietro, CSB University of St. Thomas
Mrs. Kim A. Ruth Bank of America
Mr. Joe M. Gutierrez National Energy and Trade, LP
Rev. Ronald G. Schwenzer, CSB Retired, St. Thomas High School
Mr. Curtis W. Huff Intervale Capital
Mr. Robert J. Signorelli Retired, Anheuser Busch, Inc.
Mr. Michael Jain Jain & Jain, CPA
Mr. Randy E. Velarde The Plaza Group
Mrs. Gloria Kalman Community Volunteer
Mr. Don J. Wang MetroBank-NA
Ms. Kelli Kickerillo Kickerillo Companies
Dr. Kenneth D. Wells Alken Health Resources
Mr. Andrius R. Kontrimas Fulbright and Jaworski, LP
Mrs. Raye G. White Fayez Sarofim & Co.
Mr. Paul Layne Howard Hughes Corporation
Mr. Fred S. Zeidman XRoads Solutions Group
Mr. Raymond A. LeBlanc Retired, Keystone International Dr. Sandra E. Lemming Village Family Practice Mrs. Phyllis Mandola Mandola Restaurants Mr. Stanley Paur Former Chairman, Pulse-EFT Association LP Rev. Joseph E. Pilsner, CSB University of St. Thomas Mr. Reynaldo Reza Fayez Sarofim & Co. Mrs. Mary Ricciardello Community Volunteer Mr. Gary L. Rosenthal The Sterling Group Rev. Thomas Rosica, CSB Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN CABINET CHAIR Mr. David Harvey VICE CHAIRS Mrs. Cora Sue Mach Mr. Harry Mach Mr. Stan Marek Mr. David McClanahan Mr. Patrick Moran Mrs. Raye G. White Mr. Fred S. Zeidman PRESIDENT Dr. Robert Ivany
an honor and a privilege to serve the University of “ ItSt.isThomas, a wonderful institution. UST helps its students
develop the values that are so important to the future of the Houston community and our country.
”
– MICHELE MALLOY
Chair, UST Board of Trustees
University of St. Thomas is a very special university, “ The known primarily for its liberal arts education coupled with Catholic and Basilian traditions.” – DAVID M. M CLANAHAN
C
President and CEO, CenterPoint Energy Chair, Greater Houston Partnership Former UST Board Chair Vice Chair, Faith in our Future
Table of Contents 2
Mission & Vision
3
President’s Letter
4
Impact: The Community
8
Impact: Health & Science
12 Impact: Leadership & Learning 16 Impact: The World 20 UST Highlights
value of an education in a liberal arts college “ The is not the learning of many facts but the training
of the mind to think something that cannot be learned from textbooks.
”
– ALBERT EINSTEIN (1921)
22 Faith in our Future 24 UST’s Impact on my Life: Barrett Sides
Making an IMPACT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
| UST Report to the Community
Making an IMPACT
Educating Leaders of Faith & Character
Producing Leaders Who Impact the World
I
n late fall 2012 for the annual Presidential Trip, Marianne and I traveled to the Holy Land for the first time, along with 34 pilgrims. Walking where Jesus walked was a powerful experience. Seeing that land as it is today – with its mix of modern and ancient, compassion and violence, wealth and poverty, hate and loyalty – was also a powerful experience, one I will never forget. You cannot spend time in Israel without being transformed. For our 3,700-plus students at the University of St. Thomas, we have a goal: transformation. Our driving passion, our mission, is educating leaders of faith and character. We are educating leaders like Joy Kennedy (’11), a 24-year-old who now employs 40 women rescued from modern-day slavery because she wants to give them – and their children – new lives, free of violence and abuse. Leaders like Elizabeth Glassman (MBA ’89), who recently won the French Medal of Honor for her transformational work with a global foundation that introduces American art to international audiences. Leaders like Pat Mulvey (’72), who led his team at MD Anderson to raise more than $1 billion to transform the institution into the No. 1 cancer center in the world… and up-and-coming leaders like Elizabeth Ciocco, first-generation college student studying for her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, with a goal to become a pediatric oncologist someday. At the University of St. Thomas, our mission challenges us to ensure we have excellent faculty, state-of-the-art facilities and technology, and creative learning experiences to prepare our students for the complexities of the global world that start right here at home. Whether we are packing meals for the hungry or educating the next generation of researchers who might cure cancer, UST is making an impact – by transforming one life at a time. With deep appreciation for your partnership,
Our
Mission & Vision We are the University of St. Thomas, the Catholic university in the heart of Houston. We are committed to the Catholic intellectual tradition and the dialogue between faith and reason. By pursuing excellence in teaching, scholarship and service, we embody and instill in our students the core values of our founders, the Basilian Fathers: goodness, discipline and knowledge. We foster engagement in a diverse, collaborative community. As a comprehensive university grounded in the liberal arts, we educate students to think critically, communicate effectively, succeed professionally and lead ethically.
Our vision is to become one of America’s great Catholic universities in the next 15 years.
Dr. Robert Ivany PRESIDENT
Making an IMPACT
Making an IMPACT
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I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, “ For a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared
for me, in prison and you visited me.’ …Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.
”
We are one human family. Our responsibilities to each other cross national, racial, economic and ideological differences. We are called to work globally for justice.
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Making an IMPACT
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– CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING
– MATTHEW 25:35-36, 40
The
Community For University of St. Thomas’
3,700 students, 19,500 alumni and hundreds of faculty and staff, their “community” extends across the city and around the world as they feed the hungry, work to end poverty, bring awareness to homelessness, raise money for orphans and fight human trafficking. In many ways, large and small, the UST family cares for the community around them and makes a tremendous impact on the lives of those neighbors who live just around the corner – and halfway across the globe.
Teen girl in Kolkata, India
Joy Kennedy (’11) visits Jordan to study the possibility of partnering with a nonprofit that serves refugees and widows whose husbands were killed in the region’s war.
Ajita, a young child, was kidnapped and trafficked to a brothel in Mumbai. Her devastated family was too poor to try to find her in a city of 20 million people, hours from their home in a bordering nation. She was raped, beaten and forced into prostitution, and after 20 years, she was finally rescued from that horrific life. With no money to return home, and unsure of her welcome there, she moved into a nonprofit home, Destiny, with other rescued women, gaining skills in sewing and craftmaking. Another five years passed; in 2012, a miracle occurred for Ajita: she was reunited with her family and finally able to return home. “Every day, trucks of thugs kidnap women, boys and girls for the brothels in Mumbai and Kolkata,” said Joy Kennedy, 2011 UST international studies graduate and founder of Priya. “Many of the women who work with Priya were kidnapped as children, endured violence for years, have multiple children to care for alone – and somehow still smile.” More than 27 million people are currently enslaved worldwide: brick layers in Nepal, miners in the Congo, cocoa harvesters in the Ivory Coast, child sex slaves in India, Vietnam, Cambodia, China… men, women and
children who work without pay under threat of violence and cannot walk away. Their greatest hope is rescue – if they have hope at all. Of the millions enslaved, fewer than 50,000 have been rescued, and these individuals face the challenge of building new lives. This tragic global issue has attracted the attention of University of St. Thomas students, faculty, staff and alumni, and they are taking action in a variety of ways.
Empowering Rescued Indian Women Before graduation from UST, Kennedy was inspired by a trip to India to do something to help women who had been rescued from slavery but did not have any way to support their families once they were free. Through her company, Priya (which means “beloved in Sanskrit), she partners with existing nonprofit organizations in third-world countries to hire local individuals to manufacture products that she designs, such as brightly colored purses, jewelry and scarves. In India, she employs about 40 people now – a group of women who are part of the nonprofit Destiny and deaf-mute men and women who are talented jewelry artisans.
She is currently exploring expansion to Nicaragua and potentially Jordan. Through Priya, the men and women in India are able to reach markets in the United States. “When the women get out of prostitution, they don’t have many options,” Kennedy said. “They are told they can’t get married, they’ve been robbed of their childhoods, and they have no skills. Priya offers them a chance for a dignified life, and they gain pride in their skills, they work in a responsible job to earn a living, they begin to learn English and they learn small-business skills.” These women touch Kennedy’s heart. “My biggest surprise is that these women can still be joyful and find peace and contentment.” “Sometimes I know students think the problems seem so large, so overwhelming, that nothing they do will help,” Kennedy said. “But even if you change one life, it’s worth it.” She has tried to grow in a measured way since she started Priya in 2011, just months after graduating from UST, but she may experience more rapid growth later this year after accepting an invitation to display her company’s handmade products at the upcoming Dallas market.
Making an IMPACT
UST Joins the Fight Against Human Trafficking
Priya founder Joy Kennedy (’11) visits the marketplace in Kolkata while on a trip to encourage her staff in India. Colorful, silk-wrapped bracelets are one of their specialties.
Joy Kennedy sits with children whose mothers live in House of Hope in Nicaragua.
While Kennedy is currently working with women and men rescued from slavery in thirdworld countries, she is well aware that human trafficking occurs much closer to home. “Houston has a ton of illegal prostitution and human trafficking because there is a demand for it and because people don’t want to believe it happens here,” Kennedy said. “I have met women here in Houston who are trapped, enslaved, in lives of prostitution. Many want to escape but don’t know how. We need
to help those around the world – but we also need to make sure that we don’t forget to help those close to home, too.”
Educating the Public About Trafficking Kennedy had the rare opportunity to see the challenges in India – and in Houston – for herself. However, many Houstonians and people across the United States do not grasp the dark reality of modern-day slavery. Through numerous events throughout the year, UST is trying to change that. For example, in cooperation with groups across campus and the region, UST’s
Rev. William J. Young Social Justice Institute coordinates student activities and public events to raise awareness and help people learn how they can join the fight. The Institute teamed up with the UST group Students Working Against Trafficking (SWAT), the Archdiocese of GalvestonHouston, Catholic Charities, and Houston Rescue and Restore to host an awareness and education program for the public in the fall. During the conference, One Body Village founder Rev. Martino Nguyen Ba-Thong spoke about the organization focused on liberating children from the sex trade in Vietnam and Cambodia, bringing the audience to tears. In addition, the Center for International Studies and SWAT hosted a panel discussion focused on “Human Trafficking: The Issue and Responses,” which featured speakers from across the country.
Student Writes Play to Raise Awareness of Houston Issues In an effort to raise awareness of sex trafficking occurring in Houston, Hannah Foshee – a UST senior communications major at the time – wrote a play, “Six Shots to Freedom.” It tells the story of a woman who attempts a dramatic escape from a life of forced prostitution. “We’re a visual people and we need to see these stories to appreciate what a dark situation this is,” Foshee said. As a communications specialist, she understands the power of both pen and sword.
She interned at Houston’s Fox 26 and plans a career in broadcast journalism but is also skilled in an Israeli selfdefense technique that emphasizes neutralizing Hannah Foshee, armed assailants. acting in “Six Shots While teaching to Freedom” self-defense at shelters for abused women, Foshee encountered harrowing stories of women who had been smuggled into the country to live as indentured servants. She said the women were intimidated and terrorized by the pimps who sold them as prostitutes to work in the city’s illegal brothels and seedy “massage parlors.” With help from volunteer actors and the SWAT group on campus, her play debuted in 2012 and was performed again and filmed in Houston’s Fox 26 studio. “Houstonians need to know about the sex trafficking and modern-day slavery happening in their midst,” Foshee said. The university teaches students that “we are one human family,” and UST’s goal is to inspire its students – and its surrounding community – to make an impact on this serious global challenge.
UST Students Address Poverty Issues Close to Home and Around the World Freshman Class Helps Feed the Hungry As part of a Freshman Orientation servicelearning project, more than 200 freshmen sorted, inspected and packed enough food to create 50,000 meals for seniors and young families across the region – making them the most productive volunteer group in the history of the Houston Food Bank. “This project provides students with a valuable hands-on learning experience that exemplifies the mission of the university,” said Theresa Heard, Service-Learning Program coordinator. Senior Grace Cheung, project organizer, said, “This project reminded us we are all part of a bigger community.” In addition to the freshman class, the women’s basketball team and the Orientation team participated as well.
Students Raise Awareness of Homelessness About 50 students, faculty, staff and community friends slept outdoors in the rain and cold to experience the challenges of “homelessness” for one night during the Second Annual National SleepOut last fall. The students also heard speakers who are currently homeless share the realities they face. Dr. Livia Bornigia, assistant professor of communication, said, “Those stories humbled me and made me even more committed to
Honors Student Raises Money, Supplies for Peruvian Orphanage
Students from UST pack enough food for 50,000 meals as a service-learning project for Houston Food Bank.
being aware of the horrible realities of the poor and the homeless,” Bornigia said. The SleepOut, part of the second annual Social Justice Weekend, lit a fire in the student attendees and members of the Social Justice Committee. The group is discussing ways to become more politically involved in related issues.
Students Award Microloans Around Globe The Social Entrepreneurship Program (SEP), a volunteer service-learning opportunity, works to eradicate poverty by allocating microcredit loans to impoverished third-world countries. The program provides those suffering from poverty with financial capital through a microloan program, helping them launch small businesses. The students determine how the loans are allocated; the volunteer group made its first loan in 2008. Dr. Rogelio Garcia Contreras, program director, said the goal is to choose programs that are viable, stable and of interest to students.
For example, the SEP loaned money in the Yucatan for processing or production of honey, crafts, habanero peppers and salsa – and the women have now built their own processing plant for the salsa, with help from a local nonprofit and the Mexican government. They also have projects in Chili, Pakistan, Malawi and Tanzania. All the funding thus far has come from individual donors, and Contreras said more funding would allow the group to make a dramatic difference in these countries. “Ultimately, this program is about helping bring stable income into these homes so the children can finish school and break the cycle of poverty,” Contreras said. Last year, two UST freshmen, Elena Petre and Alison Solis, represented the SEP at the prestigious 13th annual Harvard Social Enterprise Conference in Boston, Mass., one of the world’s premiere social enterprise summits. Business major Elena Petre holds “Pennies for Poverty” jars, a fundraiser for UST’s microloan program.
Brittany Garza, a senior math major and pre-physician assistant student, traveled to small towns of Peru for a medical mission project. The trip was part of her Honors Program service project. While there, Garza and the team visited the El Arca Home for Children, an orphanage for 40 children run by Americans Laura and Bud Lenz. The Lenzes often make trips to the United States to purchase medical supplies that are not widely available in their area of Peru, and Garza decided to help. She collected medical supplies and clean linen for the orphanage and raised more than $800 through a bake sale. Garza said she hopes to return to Peru to visit the orphanage in the next couple of years. “I want to be able to send them supplies before I travel there again,” she said.
Making an IMPACT
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Scientific and technological discoveries … inescapably require the correspondingly necessary search for meaning in order to guarantee that the new discoveries be used for the authentic good of individuals and of human society as a whole. – Ex Corde Ecclesaia, 1990 (“From the Heart of the Church”)
Lyondell Basell Industries UST Science Advisory Council
UST Reopens School of Nursing to Address Nation’s Nursing Shortage
Health & Science UST’s modern, 19-block campus
is a close neighbor to the world’s largest medical complex, and the explosive growth in the sciences at St. Thomas parallels the burgeoning scientific, biotech and health industries across the greater Houston region. Exceptional academic programs and the promise of new high-tech facilities continue to attract bright minds to the university – bright minds who go on to become leaders of faith and character who save lives, make breakthroughs and raise millions of dollars to transform patient care.
Two UST nursing students practice their patient-care skills in the Nursing Simulation Lab.
America will need more than 1.2 million new nurses by 2020 to staff the growing healthcare sector and replace retiring nurses, and the growth in UST’s neighboring Texas Medical Center has contributed to the demand. The reopening of the University of St. Thomas’ School of Nursing in June 2012 placed UST in a competitive position to address this chronic national shortage of registered nurses. In May 2012, the first class of students started work toward their Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. As the only Catholic nursing program in Houston, the UST School of Nursing is a critical asset to the nursing workforce. Dr. Poldi Tschirch, experienced nurse, was named dean of the School of Nursing in 2012. She holds the Carol and Odis Peavy Endowed Chair in Nursing. “Dr. Tschirch supplied unrivaled leadership, intelligence and creativity at every stage in restarting UST’s Nursing Program,” said Dr. Dominic Aquila, vice president for Academic Affairs. Dr. Poldi Tschirch was named dean of the School of Nursing in 2012.
The university’s nursing curriculum emphasizes the care of the whole person. “Our professors teach us that we must consider our patients in body, mind and spirit,” said Elizabeth Ciocco, a first-generation college student who is working to complete her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree by 2014. “I plan to pursue a career in pediatric oncology.” Built on the historic traditions of Catholic nursing education and service, the curriculum focuses on healing and holistic care. UST nursing and pre-med students gain practical experience through community-based service learning and clinical training in Houston healthcare organizations. While the program has successfully restarted and garnered funds for five endowed chairs, the vital next step is to build the
Center for Science and Health Professions so the nursing program will have a fully equipped, permanent home.
Campus Leader Recognized for Excellence in Nursing Obtaining approval from the Texas Board of Nursing to offer a nursing degree was a dream 25 years in the making for UST. It took hard work and cooperation on the part of the team that worked to bring it back, among them Dr. Ann Coleman, who was recognized as a leader in the field of nursing for her work. Coleman, an assistant professor in nursing, earned a gold medal at the 2012 Excellence in Nursing Awards in the Nursing Administration and Leadership Category. In her nomination letter for Coleman, Dean Poldi Tschirch wrote, “In less than 15 months, she led a remarkable effort to develop a Nursing Success Center for specialized nursing student academic support, developed a Nursing Simulation Center and developed strategic plans for technology integration in nursing curriculum and faculty development.”
The Nursing Simulation Lab is “our foundational, hands-on classroom that creates a bridge between theory and clinical practice,” Coleman said.
Scholarships Support Nursing Students Every member of the first class of the UST School of Nursing received a scholarship, thanks to the generosity of many individual and foundation donors. Nearly $200,000 was awarded to 32 students, with most awards of $5,000 or more. Since that initial launch, UST nursing students have been blessed with a number of significant scholarship opportunities, Fr. Mike Buentello, CSB, including those funded by the blesses the new Nursing O’Quinn Foundation, Harriet and Simulation Center. That same Joe Foster, the Healthcare and week, nine UST students were awarded prestigious Nursing Education Foundation, and Healthcare and Nursing the Associated Nursing Alumni (ANA). Education Foundation “The students were amazed and Scholarships. inspired by the level of support and encouragement they received from both scholarship donors and the members of the ANA,” said Dean Tschirch.
| UST Report to the Community
must have the highest quality educators, students and facilities available “ We to continue to invent and advance. The University of St. Thomas can be an important part of this equation.” – JAMES GALLOGLY, CEO
Making an IMPACT
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Making Cancer History
$1 Billion Fundraising Leader Finds Meaning in Work That Affects Future Generations of Cancer Patients Pat Mulvey (’72) is not a cancer researcher or a oncologist, but for more than two decades, his work has made a dramatic impact on “making cancer history.” Mulvey and his team of 125 development professionals raised $1.215 billion for The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center – completing Houston’s first $1 billion-plus campaign and providing critical funding to the No. 1 cancer center in the world. When Mulvey studied the social sciences at UST, he never imagined becoming a fundraiser. He also never dreamed that in 2012, he would be awarded the prestigious Byron Welch Award for Lifetime Achievement in Fundraising from
the Association of Fundraising Professionals. He did dream, however, of working for organizations that made a difference, and working with people who were missiondriven. He was following a family tradition: his grandfather served as UST’s first board chair and his father also served in volunteer leadership roles for the university. Mulvey started his career journey at UST as an admissions counselor, then dean of student affairs, then was called to the bold vision of MD Anderson – to eradicate cancer in his lifetime. He deeply loves his work and the gifted, dedicated team that surrounds him at MD Anderson. “When you work for a nonprofit, you view yourself as a servant of mankind,”
he said. “For all 19,000 of us at MD Anderson, we know what we do makes life better for the patient today and for future generations.” Mulvey says that’s one of the legacies he carried forward from UST – be a good citizen of the world. And by serving as one of the great philanthropic leaders and thinkers in the nation, Mulvey is doing just that. Patrick B. Mulvey is vice president for development at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center. Other UST connections to MD Anderson include UST board chair Michele Malloy, patient advocate volunteer, and alumni Dr. Anna Franklin and Dr. Jack Fu, assistant professors at the center.
The Houston Business Journal reported in March 2012 that 48 percent of Houstonians who earned a bachelor’s degree did so in a science or health-related profession. In fact, Houston leads the nation in the growth of STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and is one the top five global regions for biotechnology. The region’s high demand for graduates in these fields is impacting the University of St. Thomas: in the past five years, the university has witnessed a 75 percent increase in STEM majors. In the past four years, St. Thomas has received more than $9 million in competitive grants from the U.S. Department of Education and the National Science Foundation to increase participation, success and completion rates among the university’s underrepresented and low-income STEM and nursing students. Given the increases in STEM and nursing enrollment at UST, the current facilities are beyond capacity and the demand for courses is greater than the current space will accommodate. Therefore, the university has launched a campaign to build a Center for Science and Health Professions (CSHP) – a state-of-the-art facility that will provide additional research lab space, numerous classrooms, student computer labs and a home for the School of Nursing. Despite the space challenges, UST alumni are becoming extremely successful upon graduation and are impacting the world’s largest medical center here in Houston. For example, Jack Fu, M.D. (’98) is an
assistant professor in the Department of Palliative Care and Rehabilitation Medicine, Division of Cancer Medicine, at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. After UST, he earned his medical degree in 2002 from UT Southwestern Medical School.
Women STEM faculty chosen for ADVANCE program Three women faculty from UST were selected to participate in the National Science Foundation ADVANCE project “Advancing the Careers of Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics at Predominantly Undergraduate Institutions through Professional Networks” (ASAP). The faculty were Dr. Maia Larios-Sanz, associate professor of biology; Dr. Birgit Mellis, assistant professor of physics; and Dr. Rosemarie Rosell, professor and chair of biology. This five-year, $600,000 project, involves the creation of a mentoring network comprised of 70 women faculty in STEM programs from undergraduate schools nationwide. Rosell said she and the others were honored to be accepted in the program.
Grants Support Increased STEM Enrollment The Department of Education has awarded UST and Houston Community College (HCC) a five-year, $5.9 million grant to support and encourage Hispanic and other low-income
transfer students who are interested in pursuing degrees in STEM degrees. Both institutions will implement a seamless transfer program, add a STEM transfer coordinator, and encourage mentoring and outreach conducted by faculty and peers. A scholarship endowment will be created at both institutions, and St. Thomas will add online tutoring services. In addition, HCC and UST were jointly awarded the Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program grant from the U.S. DOE. The grant will fund the Astra STEM Project, which provides a systematic year-round study of mathematics and science-focused academic programs and support activities to high-need students from sixth grade through their baccalaureate degrees. The goal of the project is to increase enrollment and persistence in STEM fields with a particular emphasis on female students. The three-year, $881,000 grant will serve 100 students in its initial year.
UST Presents STEM Research at ACS Representatives from the UST Chemistry and Physics Departments presented results from their STEM research projects at the 68th Southwest Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society. Seven undergraduate students had the opportunity to engage in a unique learning experience while attending the conference with UST faculty and staff.
“Undergraduates presented research work at a professional scientific meeting and were ambassadors for UST,” said Dr. Elmer Ledesma, assistant professor in chemistry.
Young Scholars D.R.E.M.E. @ UST Houston, we have a solution. UST, in collaboration with the Dr. Ronald E. McNair Educational Science Literacy Foundation, hosted the D.R.E.M.E. @ UST Summer Science Camp in the summer of 2012. Serving 42 high school students from the Greater Third Ward area, the camp strengthened UST efforts in K-12 education and completed the university’s requirement from the U.S. DOE to promote and support students, research and studies in the STEM fields. UST faculty and students were involved in the program.
Making an IMPACT
Educating Tomorrow’s Leaders in Science, Mathematics and Technology
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God has created me for some definite service; I have my mission… I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for nothing. – Cardinal John Henry Newman
Students, Alumni Demonstrate Leadership in Classroom, Around World Glassman Receives French Medal of Honor
Leadership & Learning The mission focus of the University
of St. Thomas is to educate leaders of faith and character – individuals who make moral decisions in their day-to-day lives, who use their gifts for God’s glory and who apply their knowledge to make the world a better place. Whether creating a foundation that sends art around the globe, designing classroom strategy for a diverse population or teaching in the inner city, UST faculty, students and alumni are leading the way – and lighting a path for those to come.
Elizabeth Glassman (MBA ‘89) receives French Medal of Honor during awarding ceremony in Paris. Photos by Stéphane Olivier
showing that historically, as well as today, American artists were active around the world and this sign of recognition is one that For her efforts to increase French appreciation speaks to how much the French value our for American art, Elizabeth Glassman (MBA efforts,” Glassman said. “We look at art as an ’89) was recently awarded the French Medal opportunity to create a dialogue.” of Honor and named Officier dans l’Ordre The foundation awarded about $45 des Arts et des Lettres, an million for roughly 450 honor bestowed by the exhibitions and scholarly French government in programs in more than recognition of “eminent 30 countries since she artists and writers, began working there in and people who have 2001. Glassman has led contributed significantly the foundation to become to furthering the arts in the largest grant-making Henri Loyrette, president and France and throughout organization for American director the Louvre in France, the world.” art in the world. Terra Foundation president and With this recognition, Her accomplishments CEO Elizabeth Glassman and U.S. Glassman, president and Ambassador Charles Rivken at in France include opening awards ceremony in France. CEO of Terra Foundation for the Terra Foundation’s Paris American Art in Chigago, Center, which contains joins distinguished company. Other American Europe’s only research library specifically recipients of the medal include jazz artist dedicated to visual arts of the United States. and composer Ornette Coleman, architect Glassman achieved her MBA with a Richard Meier, and actors Robert Redford concentration in marketing and finance in and Meryl Streep. 1989 while serving as a partner at Glassman Glassman uses art as a way to raise the & Lorenzo Cultural Planners. She chose to discussion about various aspects of other pursue her master’s at UST because she societies’ cultural traditions and practices. wanted to study in a diverse setting. “The Terra Foundation is dedicated to “I liked that St. Thomas had an
international student body and several of my colleagues in class were in the workforce,” she said. “The mix of people and disciplines was wonderful.” Glassman’s next significant project with the foundation is the launch of the exhibit, “American Encounters: Genre Painting and Everyday Life,” the second installment of a four-year collaboration between the Louvre and Terra Foundation; it opens at the museum Jan. 23, 2013.
service each year. “We want our students to be leaders not only in their careers but in their service to the community,” said Fr. Mike Buentello, CSB. In addition to establishing the Raye G. White Endowed Scholarship, White contributed $500,000 to UST’s Center for Faith and Culture.
Donor Supports Leadership, Excellence
Picture a class of 28 students, ages 19-47, who hail from 16 countries, speak six different languages and practice three different religions. Now imagine designing a leadership strategy for that class. Students experienced this intriguing scenario in Dr. Michele Simms’ UST Business Communication class when the students were challenged to elect one team of students to lead the class for a day. The class allows students to experience diversity, teamwork, professional communication and leadership. “This class creates healthy competition between teams and challenges students to think about what it means to be a leader,” Simms said. “Students grow as a result of this exercise, which is often a turning point in the class.”
Raye White is a faithful leader, a UST board member Raye White and UST’s and a woman deeply Fr. Donald Nesti committed to the development of the next generation of leaders. With a donation of $2.5 million, White has ensured that 11 students who demonstrate leadership skills, commitment to faith and academic excellence will earn $2,500 of educational funding annually. These students contribute their skills to the region, performing 15 hours of community
Business Students Experience Leadership
| UST Report to the Community
not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by “ Do the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.” – ROMANS 12:2
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UST is Transforming Learning, One Life at a Time Mendenhall Institute Leads Students to Unprecedented Success
Students participating in the Mendenhall Summer Institute help celebrate its fifth-year anniversary with founding donor Trini Mendenhall Sosa.
Participants in the prestigious Mendenhall Summer Institute of 2012 celebrate their academic achievements.
The Mendenhall Summer Institute has given students an academic advantage since 2008, when a $4.5 million gift from Trini Mendenhall Sosa ushered the first select group of 50 incoming freshmen into the five-week program. Since its inception, the institute has earned students grants for UST tuition, trained them in time management, introduced them to exciting educational paths and instilled a passion for community service. The students who have gone through the program credit it with helping them become leaders of faith and character. One student who completed the program, Zach Weik, said, “I just want to thank Mrs. Mendenhall Sosa and the university for providing this great program, and I hope we can help others in the future the way she has helped us.” Participants in this program retain at the university at higher levels than the general student population – as much as 10 percent higher – even while overall retention has been on the rise. The program offers two focuses: college transition and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). Most students in the program become peer mentors and become involved in numerous leadership activities including founding new campus
organizations, serving as student senators, presenting research projects and becoming Presidential Ambassadors. For example, Pete Karagozian, a 2009 participant from Cedar Park, Texas, served as a volunteer patient representative at the Seton Medical Center Williamson and, for his biology service project, worked at a farm that feeds homeless people.
Fifth Ward Teachers Earn Master’s in Leadership Esmeralda Padron and Enedith Silerio, both teachers in Houston’s Fifth Ward, graduated with Master of Education degrees in educational leadership from UST in 2012.
They teach at Houston Independent School District’s Sherman Elementary, in the community where they grew up in immigrant families. Both are also first-generation college graduates. Padron’s mother and father were from Mexico and had little education – first grade or less. Struggling with the language, Padron failed second grade, but she was inspired
to become a teacher because of Ms. Ortiz – a second grade teacher who never gave up on her. The Master of Education program is designed to develop master classroom teachers, instructional specialists and school leaders who demonstrate the ability to translate and apply educational research in instructional settings. Silerio said she is excited about completing her degree while working full-time. “It was very hard and at some points, one of us wanted to quit, but we pushed each other. I’m extremely happy we’re both graduating.”
UST Offers Off-Campus MEd at 14 Locations When educators in the Cypress-Fairbanks and Aldine areas learned they could earn a Master in Education degree from UST without facing rush-hour traffic, they applied in record numbers. UST’s off-campus master’s program, taught by university faculty, is now offered at 14 different sites in the Greater Houston area, serving about 900 students in the program in a variety of suburban school districts. The program offers six master’s degree concentrations including educational leadership, diagnostician, reading, bilingual/ dual language, exceptionality/special education, and curriculum and instruction. Students attend class one night per week and finish the program in about two years.
Compressed track classes are held for seven weeks each, enabling students to take two classes per semester, one class at a time. The first group of 139 participants in this program graduated in December 2012. UST plans to expand the off-campus master’s courses with new cohorts in Alvin/Texas City, Galena and Pasadena school districts in spring 2013.
GRACE Program Preps Leaders for Catholic Schools The pipeline for Catholic teachers and educational leaders grew stronger four years ago with the start of UST’s GRACE program – the Gulf Region Academy for Catholic Educators. Often described as the Catholic version of Teach for America, GRACE is a partnership between UST and the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. Students spend two years living in community, earning their Master of Education degree
and teaching at a Catholic school in the area. Leigh Sherman graduated from UST with a degree in communication in 2007, but said she always wanted to be a teacher. During the GRACE program, Sherman taught fifth grade at Holy Rosary Catholic School in Rosenberg and coached volleyball, basketball and track. She recently began teaching fourth-grade language arts at St. Vincent de Paul. “GRACE gave me the chance to do what I always wanted to do,” Sherman said. “Catholic educators can afford to focus on the whole development of the student, and not be solely focused on curriculum and tests.”
UST to Prepare More Special Education Leaders UST has been awarded a $1.25 million grant for The Preparation of Special Education Leaders Program, a partnership between UST and the Houston Independent School District. Over five years, UST will confront the shortage of special education leaders by developing a program of
study that will award 80 Master of Education degrees with emphasis on special education leadership. UST and HISD are working together to recruit candidates. “We are thrilled to partner with the University of St. Thomas on this initiative that will help Houston’s schools better serve students in our special education program,” HISD Superintendent Terry Grier said. “In HISD, we believe that all students deserve to attend schools that are run by highly effective campus leaders.”
Freshman Symposium Strengthens Freshman Class For the second consecutive year, incoming UST freshmen participated in the Freshman Symposium: Educating Leaders of Faith and Character, a program that introduces students to the university by focusing on St. Thomas’ mission to educate leaders who can think critically, communicate effectively, lead ethically and succeed professionally.
Dr. Dominic Aquila, vice president for Academic Affairs, speaks at Freshman Symposium.
Each freshman is placed in groups with students who share similar educational interests and goals, and each course section is led by a three-person mentor team, including a faculty, student and staff mentor. The groups meet throughout orientation and several times during the semester. In the second year, additional activities and workshops were added in partnership with the Mendenhall Achievement Center. A large-scale service-learning project enables the entire freshman class and the mentor teams to serve the greater Houston community.
GRACE students and Catholic school teachers Sonny Vo and Emily Feczko say their fellow students become like family as they study together for their M.Ed. degree.
Making an IMPACT
Making an IMPACT
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“ If you want peace, work for justice.” – POPE PAUL IV
World Day of Peace Message (1972)
Defending human life, building peace, combating poverty and despair, and protecting freedom and human rights are not only moral imperatives – they are wise national priorities that will make our nation and world safer. – Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States (2007)
The Holy Land
The
World While the University of St. Thomas
is deeply rooted in Houston, its faculty, students and alumni are actively engaged in important work around the globe and are learning about regions as diverse as the Middle East and China. Whether educating teachers for a school for traumatized children in the Holy Land, helping students understand the complexities of vastly different nations, or starting businesses that lift families out of poverty – UST is making a difference.
Sr. Paula Jean Miller, FSE, and Fr. Daniel Callam, CSB, in Nazareth
In fall 2012, UST President Robert Ivany and his wife Marianne led a group of 34 people on a memorable Holy Land pilgrimage to Tiberius, Galilee and Jerusalem, along with expert guide and Basilian priest Fr. Thomas Rosica of Salt+Light TV in Canada. A team from Salt+Light TV accompanied the pilgrims to film a documentary, which is due out this spring. For many in the group, including the president and his wife, it was their first opportunity to tour this sacred land and to experience its complexity first hand. “It was extremely meaningful to walk where Jesus walked… where he was born, preached, died. It’s a very important event in one’s life,” Dr. Ivany said. “Being there also helps you see and realize the challenges faced by the ‘living stones’ – the Christians who remain in the Holy Land and are having a difficult time economically, politically and religiously.” The tour group was in the region when violence escalated in Gaza, and the sounds of explosions were a backdrop for a portion
of their journey. Living in the shadow of this violence, and of the giant wall that has been built in an attempt to reduce it, causes all the people in the region great stress. “For Christians, who now make up such a tiny percentage of the population, it is certainly stressful,” Ivany said. “They have difficulty going into Jerusalem; a huge wall separates Bethlehem from the rest of Israel; they are under tremendous strain.”
Traumatized Children Receive Support For the children in the region, the stress is multiplied, and many of them become overwhelmed by the experiences. The Sisters of the Eucharist, who have a strong presence on the UST campus, opened the Holy Child Program to help these young people. “We have a program for traumatized three-year-olds through high school seniors near Bethlehem, in the town where the Shepherd’s Field is located,” said Sr. Paula Jean Miller, FSE, director of UST’s Catholic
Studies program, professor of theology and recently certified Spiritual Leader of Pilgrimages (by The Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land). Miller said the children in the program are not allowed to attend public schools because of behavioral problems caused by psychological trauma – seeing friends or close relatives shot before their eyes, sexual or physical abuse at home, bombings, the isolating wall. “All the children touch your heart,” she said. “Many do not speak; they all act out in various unacceptable ways. The program there offers them life-changing experiences.” The Holy Child Program allows the young people to attend school and also receive psychological counseling. Many of the students stay from preschool through graduation, although the goal is to only have them in the program two to three years then reinsert them into regular schools. The strength of the program is that the parents must be enrolled in the counseling program, too.
Making an IMPACT
UST Educating Teachers Who Help Tramatized Children, Sending Pilgrims to Encourage Christians
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Dr. Robert Ivany, UST President
Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB, CEO, Salt & Light Catholic Media Foundation
The Israeli West Bank Barrier between Israel and the Palestinian West Bank attracts graffiti.
UST First Lady Marianne Ivany studies art in a mosaic studio in Madaba, Jordan, during the 2012 President’s Tour to the Holy Land.
UST Study Abroad group at the Sea of Galilee
Photo courtesy of Salt and Light Catholic Television Network
UST students with participant in Holy Child Program
While Sr. Miller was serving as an expert at the 2012 Synod in Rome last October, she said, “There was a vocal plea from the bishops in the East and the Holy Father that the church really encourage Christians in the Holy Land by sending pilgrims. They can experience the reality Christians face there; doing this is the heart of the church.” When she took the students a few years ago, they visited the school for traumatized children, which celebrated 25 years in 2012. They also made the spiritual journey to
“If we change them in school, but their home environment is just the same, it doesn’t work,” she said. Thirty-one children are currently enrolled in the program – the maximum number they can take – and there is always a waiting list, she said.
UST Master’s Degree Strengthens School
UST students on Galilee boat ride
UST played an important role in strengthening the school and ensuring the students received the highest quality education. The university has offered teachers at Holy Child in BeitSahour both online courses and courses taught by visiting professors, allowing several faculty members to receive their Master of Education degrees. “Because of that M.Ed. program, which was piloted with these teachers, we now have qualified native staff who can run the program, and the Sisters have moved to a more consultative relationship,” Miller said. “That’s our philosophy with works we start in
other countries; we train the native population to take over the work and make it their own.” Ivany and Rosita visited the school during their trip in 2012, and Miller plans to take a group of students there to visit during their Study Abroad trip in May.
Students Experience the Holy Land
Fr. Robert Crooker and UST students at Shepherd’s Field
Sr. Paula Jean took a group of students to the Holy Land as a Study Abroad program in 2005-06, and the next trip is planned for May 2013. Helping young people understand what’s happening globally is important to Miller, to UST and to the Catholic Church.
explore all the sacred sites, such as the Sea of Galilee, the baptismal waters of the Jordan River and the Mount of Olives. Miller is extremely familiar with this region. She lived there from 1983-86 and has been back almost every year since. Last year,
she visited three times – the last in December 2012 with a group of Sisters who had never had the opportunity to travel there. “It’s something I never tire of; it’s an intense and deeply touching experience… to walk in the same places that Christ, the Blessed Mother and the apostles walked.” She is looking forward to taking UST students to the Holy Land in 2013. “You can only begin to grasp the richness of the church’s heritage by going to these lands and experiencing both the universality and the particularity of the Church. The Church is embodied in the uniqueness of each culture, even as it is universal to all cultures,” she said. “You can’t get it by just reading it on a page; the only way is to be there long enough to begin to experience the land, the people, and the multifaceted nature of that people.” She said students will learn more about the tensions between Israelis and Palestinians, “and why that postage stamp-size land has such intense religious meaning to Jews, Christians and Muslims. We have the same basic problem going on in virtually every corner of the globe. If students can begin to understand the religious-political conflicts in the Holy Land, they will have a greater insight into those conflicts in other parts of the world.” “Our pilgrimage made me realize more clearly and poignantly than ever how critical our mission is,” Ivany said. “Our world, and our nation, desperately need young people to take on serious challenges; it needs leaders of faith and character.”
Study Abroad Trip to China Enriches Students’ University Experience Ten UST students traveled to Shanghai and Beijing as part of a Study Abroad trip to the People’s Republic of China in 2012, led by Dr. Jon Taylor, chair of the Department of Political Science While there, Taylor spoke with government and university officials about the potential for future academic collaboration between UST and Chinese universities. “I have been privileged as a scholar to make numerous trips to the People’s Republic of China,” Taylor said. “But leading our students around China is definitely more fun, frenetic and satisfying than sitting around with colleagues at an academic conference.” While in Shanghai, the group experienced question-and-answer sessions with the faculty and students of a local university. They also visited various government ministries, cultural sites and museums in both Shanghai and Beijing, including the Memorial Hall of First National Congress of the Communist Party, the Hongkou Jewish Ghetto, Tiananmen Square,
the Forbidden City and the Great Hall of the People. David Williames, studying for his Master of Liberal Arts in political science degree, enjoyed the immersion into Chinese politics and history. “After studying abroad, you notice your perspectives become a bit more global, your attitudes become a bit more international and you will have memories that will last a lifetime,” Williames said.
Coffee Company Helps Eliminate Poverty A few years ago, Saint Basil Coffee was born from a collaboration between Houstonian and UST alumnus Jim Boyles Sr. and Fr. Vincent Thompson, who served at St. Anne’s Catholic Church and as a missionary in Colombia. Aside from supporting UST projects, revenues from the coffee benefit Catholic missions and help the Basilian Fathers provide care for impoverished communities in Latin America. Boyles and his family run Artisan Field, a marketing and design business that devised the plan to raise funds for the mission. Three members of the family are UST graduates: John Boyles (’88 and ’94), Mary Meyer Boyles (’59) and Mary Carr Boyles (’99). St. Basil’s fair trade coffee beans are purchased at higher than world market prices to help small farmers save their farms and provide for their families.
Making an IMPACT
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IMPACT ON EDUCATORS: MBA for Principals Combines Business and Education UST now offers a Master of Business Administration degree with a concentration in Education Administration, designed for aspiring principals in the Houston Independent School District – in collaboration with HISD. Dr. Nora Hutto, dean of the School of Education, said the program was designed at the request of HISD to better prepare their teachers for leadership positions in education. The first students began classes in January 2012. Graduates of this two-year program will have the business, education and management skills needed to run successful urban schools, and they will earn principal certification.
IMPACT ON ARTS: Houston Symphony Concert Leads UST Closer to Vision In January 2013, the world-renowned Houston Symphony performed a benefit concert to lend support to the UST drive to build a new Performing Arts Center. The event chairs were Jess and John Hagale, and the event honored
community volunteer and philanthropist Beth Madison. Thanks to an initial grant from The Alkek Williams Foundation, Studio Red Architects has completed a design for the exterior of the Performing Arts Center. Funds raised from this year’s concert will support the interior design of the Performing Arts Center.
IMPACT ON SCHOLARSHIPS: Mardi Gras Gala Raises “A Miller Million” UST’s 62nd Annual Mardi Gras Gala raised $1 million for scholarships on Fat Tuesday in 2012. The celebratory occasion was marked by a visit from former St. Thomas president, the Most Rev. J. Michael Miller, CSB, archbishop of Vancouver, who was honored for his passion for education and for molding the next generation of Christian disciples. Scholarships are vital for UST students; the university awarded approximately $11.5 million in institutional scholarships and financial aid to about 1,200 UST students in fall 2012. The event raised money for the Fr. Francis E. Monaghan Scholarship Fund to support current and future students.
IMPACT ON REPUTATION: UST Ranks Among Best Colleges for Quality, Catholic Identity
IMPACT ON ATHLETICS: RRAC Provides Exciting Competition for Student-Athletes
IMPACT ON THE CATHOLIC COMMUNITY: Fr. Jeffrey Steenson Leads Anglican Converts
UST’s high quality education was recently recognized by several national organizations. UST was acknowledged in the Newman Guide for Catholicity as one of 22 U.S. Catholic colleges and universities – and 28 worldwide – recommended by the Cardinal Newman Society. The university was noted for its strong Catholic identity influenced by the Basilian Fathers, the core curriculum focused on theology and philosophy, and Catholicism promoted through lecture series. For the 19th consecutive year, UST was named to the top tier of the U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” list of universities offering master’s degrees in the Western region of the United States. St. Thomas was recognized for its low student-to-faculty ratio, small class sizes and high percentage of freshmen who were ranked in the top quarter of their high school graduating class. In addition, The Princeton Review named UST a Best College in the West in its annual college rankings.
Despite the youth of the UST athletics program, student-athletes in six sports are having success competing in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC). In 2011, UST joined the 15-member RRAC with universities in Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana and Oklahoma. The students compete intercollegiately in volleyball, men’s soccer, men’s and women’s basketball, and men’s and women’s golf. “We now have a chance to build rivalries with the other National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) schools in our geographic region,” said UST Athletics Director and head men’s basketball coach Todd Smith. “The NAIA and the Champions of Character program are a perfect fit for our growing athletics department.” St. Thomas is one of the top five universities in the NAIA Five-Star Champions of Character.
UST School of Theology faculty member and former Episcopal Bishop Jeffrey Steenson was named by Pope Benedict to lead a national ordinariate for Anglicans who wish to become Catholic. The Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, similar to a diocese but national in scope, will be based in Houston, where Steenson has served as a professor and priest since 2009. Father Steenson will be installed as Ordinary on Feb. 19 in Houston.
In 2012, the UST volleyball team qualified for the NAIA Volleyball National Championship for the first time since the Celts joined the Red River Athletic Conference.
IMPACT ON THE CATHOLIC COMMUNITY: Pope Names Sr. Paula Jean Miller Synod Expert Sr. Paula Jean Miller, FSE, founder and director of Catholic Studies and professor of theology at UST, was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI, as a special expert for the XIII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the topic, “The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith.” Sr. Paula Jean, who was called to go to Rome in October, was recommended after careful review of her extensive background in theology, teaching, writing and collaboration on many Ecclesial events. Experts are proposed by one of the Vatican offices
involved in the topic being discussed at the Synod.
IMPACT ON THE CATHOLIC COMMUNITY: NAMED BISHOP OF NM DIOCESE The Most Rev. Oscar Cantú, STD, has been named bishop of Las Cruces, N.M., by Pope Benedict XVI. Bishop Cantú, the 46-year-old auxiliary bishop of San Antonio, is the youngest head of a U.S. diocese. Bishop Cantu will lead 120,000 members in the Diocese of Las Cruces. Bishop Cantú will replace the Most Rev. Ricardo Ramírez, CSB, D.D., who graduated from UST in 1959 and is the only Basilian bishop currently serving in the United States. “There is a deep sense of being sent – sent as the apostles were by Christ – to announce the Good News of the Gospel,” Bishop Cantú said. He can speak four languages and taught at both UST and St. Mary’s Seminary.
IMPACT ON THE MILITARY: UST Recognized as MilitaryFriendly School UST was recently recognized as a 2013 Military Friendly School by G.I. Jobs Magazine. The designation was awarded through a survey that assessed services and resources offered to veterans and their dependents. With 134 veterans on campus, UST offers many programs, benefits and workshops that cater to and support those who served in the
military. The university is a participant in the Yellow Ribbon program, which helps qualifying veterans pay tuition costs exceeding the Post-9/11 GI Bill’s usual cap for private schools. This means many veterans attend UST with no tuition cost. St. Thomas offers a full-time Director of Veterans Services, academic advising, transcript evaluation, federal financial aid and veteran support services.
contributions to the center’s mission of preserving Irish heritage and culture. About 430 people attended the event, which raised scholarships for UST students to study abroad in Ireland and Northern Ireland and helped fund the center’s interdisciplinary academic program.
IMPACT ON BUSINESS: New Master’s in Finance Offered in Fall 2013 In fall 2013, UST will begin offering a Master of Science in Finance degree in the Cameron School of Business, making it one of only two schools in Houston that offers an MSF program. The program is designed to accommodate working professionals in the field of finance. Dr. Joe Ueng, Cullen Endowed Chair of Finance and department chair, said the MSF will be attractive to working professionals because the area is so specialized.
IMPACT ON ACADEMICS: Irish Studies Center Raises $330K, Program in Top 10 UST’s William J. Flynn Center for Irish Studies, now in its 10th year, celebrated the contributions of well-known members of the Houston Irish and Irish American communities at its annual Irish Gala in fall 2012. The honorees were recognized for their
In April 2012, the editors of IrishCentral once again named the center among the top 10 exemplary Irish Studies programs in North America.
IMPACT ON ACADEMICS: Moran Donates Irish Collection UST board member Patrick J. Moran and the Moran family have donated a sizable collection of Irish primary source materials and historical newspapers to Doherty Library. President Emeritus and history professor Dr. Joseph McFadden lent his expertise in selecting the materials for the donation. The McFadden-Moran Collection presents a record of Irish politics, history and culture, primarily from the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Making an IMPACT
UST Highlights
Making an IMPACT
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Our vision is to become one of America’s great Catholic universities.
To achieve our bold vision, we are launching Faith in our Future: The Campaign for the University of St. Thomas. This important campaign is focused on these critical priorities.
Faith in our
FUTURE
UST plans a state-of-the-art Center for Science and Health Professions for students in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and nursing.
Health and Science
Creative Community
Access to Quality Education
Build on our unprecedented partnership with the community and a new model for connecting the Basilian Catholic liberal arts to science, technology, engineering and math education.
Strengthen the unique partnership with Houston’s arts community as well as our campus community to foster creativity across disciplines and provide an exceptional gathering space.
Enhance support for our excellent faculty and programs. Increase scholarships to ensure access to a diverse population and compete for leaders of faith and character.
This includes reopening the School of Nursing (including five Endowed Chairs) and building a Center for Science and Health Professionals.
This includes building a multidisciplinary Performing Arts Center as well as forging collaborative partnerships within the Houston arts community.
This includes much needed funds for scholarships and endowed faculty chairs as well as faculty and program/departmental support and strategic and property acquisition to complete the campus footprint.
The Campaign for the University of St. Thomas
is gone. “ Yesterday Tomorrow has
not yet come. We have only today Let us begin.
”
– MOTHER TERESA
As Houston’s Catholic university, with 3,700 talented, diverse
students, the nationally recognized University of St. Thomas is uniquely positioned to address today’s most pressing need: leaders of faith and character. We have faith in our mission, faith in our people, faith in our programs and faith our community. We have faith that St. Thomas – with its high academic quality, focus on students, distinctive purpose and rich Catholic intellectual tradition – can be a transformational force for good in our region and our world. We are on the path to becoming one of America’s great universities, and we will start by being a shining star in one of the finest cities in the world.
needs the “ Houston University of St. Thomas. We are educating our future.
”
– DAVID HARVEY
CEO and Chairman, D.E. Harvey Builders Chairman, Faith in our Future
As a premier Catholic university in the Basilian tradition, we focus on educating the whole person through the dialogue between faith and reason. Our 21st-century model of open discourse, collaborative learning and interdisciplinary studies meets the challenges of today’s world and equips the leaders of tomorrow.
To achieve our bold vision, we seek partners to join us as we boldly move forward with
Faith in our
FUTURE
shineatust.com
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decision to endow a scholarship is rooted in my desire to establish “ My a legacy that will benefit students for years to come.” – BARRETT SIDES (MIB ’00)
Making an IMPACT
Retired Portfolio Manager
UST Experience Inspires Alumnus to ‘Pay It Forward’
I
remember receiving my letter of acceptance to the Cameron School of Business. I still have it; it reads, “We are looking forward to you joining our energetic and diverse graduate student body.” I realized just how true that was when I attended classes that first semester and interacted with students whose backstories and interests and characters were unique to each of them. But we all aspired to capture that transformative potential that education offers, and we all chose the University of St. Thomas as the place to gain it. I find wonder and mystery in the major inflection points in life. I suppose my decision to pursue a Master of International Business degree at UST was more of an “inflection period” than “inflection point.” Months of consideration finally coalesced into an “I want to do this, I’m ready to do this” realization. At the time, I was in a great job and on a career track that I didn’t want to interrupt. My undergraduate degree in economics, with concentrations in math and Spanish set me up well for the analytical demands of a career in international equity investing. As an analyst focused on Asian and Latin American markets, I was fascinated by the regions and
often visited them; I observed and absorbed. But I realized I was ready to sharpen the point on my formal education. The curriculum of the MIB program offered me a chance to “major in my job,” in a sense. I could take classes that had direct relevance to my professional responsibilities. Among my favorites: “Business Practices and Culture,” “International Politics and Organizations” and “Regional Study of East Asia.” My master’s degree supported my ascension to a more senior role at work, and it had other tangible benefits. I found I was better prepared to make thoughtful investment decisions – decisions that now took into account other cultures and systems. My experiences at St. Thomas clarified my thinking, provided new frameworks through which to look at the world and challenged me to grow. I was fortunate that while I was a student at UST, I received generous financial support from my full-time employer AIM Management. Now, years on, and with the awareness that the education I received enriched my life
both professionally and personally, I feel compelled to “pay it forward” and offer that same incentive to an aspiring student in the Cameron School. My decision to endow a scholarship is rooted in my desire to establish a legacy that will benefit students for years to come. What I learned during my years at UST didn’t just provide answers; it made me more curious. The diversity of the student body provided an immersion into a global community right here in Houston. And it provided the chance to rise to the occasion and accept the challenge of balancing work and school. I am grateful for the imprint that UST left on me. As a graduate I received a letter of congratulations from then-president, Fr. J. Michael Miller, CSB. It stated, in part, “As a result of your studies at UST, you should be intellectually curious, recognizing the need to ask probing questions. Keep puzzling over what life and death, truth and freedom, family and friendship, and service are really about.” The UST experience leaves us doing just that.
Barrett Sides (MIB ’00) is a retired mutual fund portfolio manager who resides in Houston, Texas. The brick (shown above) was purchased by Sides as part of the University Seal Plaza brick campaign, supporting the Annual Fund. Photos by Frank White Photography
“ The future starts today, not tomorrow.” – POPE JOHN PAUL II
stthom.edu