2015 03 quarterly update

presi dent ’ s quarterly u pdate carlow university

• office of the president • march 2015

The Board of Trustees voted to approve the revised Mission Statement and Values, as well as the new Philosophy Statement. The next steps for the Mission Statement is to have it approved by the Conference for Mercy Higher Education (CMHE). I would like to thank the groups who oversaw their creation and extend my gratitude to the campus community for their feedback during the process.

PHILOSOPHY STATEMENT The philosophy of Carlow University is guided by a commitment to the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, a belief in the transformative

MISSION STATEMENT

power of the liberal arts, and a dedication to undergraduate and graduate education that

(Approved by the Board of Trustees, March 2015) Carlow University, rooted in its Catholic identity and embodying the heritage and values of the Sisters of Mercy, offers transformational educational opportunities for a diverse community of learners and empowers them to excel in their chosen work as compassionate, responsible leaders in the creation of a just and merciful world.

instills social responsibility and a desire to work for the good of all humankind. These ideals are touchstones of a Carlow education, informing the institution’s mission and values so that students can realize their full potential and become ethical leaders in their personal and

VALUES MERCY The identifying value of Carlow University is Mercy, encompassing all that we are and do as a University. Inspired by our God of Mercy, this value urges us to open our hearts to our students, our colleagues, and our world. In the tradition of action and contemplation, we seek practical ways of addressing need and we engage in reflection in order to understand and integrate our experiences. Education offers us the tools to address unjust structures and dehumanizing situations. Each discipline provides a lens through which we can envision our place in our own personal transformation and that of the global community. The values of Service, Discovery, Hospitality, and the Sacredness of Creation further expand our understanding of the power of Mercy to change our world.

HOSPITALITY In Hospitality we welcome the wholeness of each person, creating a space in our campus community for all individuals with their varied beliefs, cultures, orientations and abilities.

Openness to the gifts and perspectives of all creates a community rich in diversity and committed to inclusion.

SERVICE The value of Service calls us beyond ourselves to prioritize the needs of others over our own self-interest. Our efforts to identify and respond to the needs we see around us lead us to interact with persons and institutions in ways which are transformational. Our spirit of compassion leads us to practical action on behalf of those in need.

DISCOVERY Through Discovery we open ourselves to the totality of our human experience, to the educational enterprise, to our relationship with the Divine, and to the wonders of the world in which we find ourselves. Discovery energizes our intellectual curiosity and desire for learning. It leads us ever deeper in the engagement with our chosen discipline and engenders a spirit of awe at the complexity and variety of creation.

SACREDNESS OF CREATION This value leads us to a respect for each person and for all of creation. In gratitude for the beauty and variety of our world and its inhabitants, we commit to a culture of sustainability and to the preservation of a world where all are reverenced and all may thrive.

SAVE the DATE The dedication of the University Commons and celebration of the successful conclusion of the Comprehensive Campaign will be held Tuesday, September 15, beginning at 3:30 p.m.

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professional lives who are committed to a just and merciful world.

Rooted in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, Carlow University recognizes the dignity of all human persons and the value of all creation, and understands that genuine wisdom and knowledge yield imperatives for justice. As a result, the institution seeks to graduate individuals who become engaged citizens of the world, capable of establishing transformative relationships of compassion and empathy.

The love of learning and the desire for God are understood to manifest themselves in the relationship between reason and faith. Catholic Intellectual Tradition posits that truth is not divided, that truth in science is not at odds with truth in religion, thus at Carlow truth is explored through a “both/and” (analogical) rather than an “either/or” (dialectical) approach.

Understanding that no one academic discipline contains all truth, Carlow University promotes an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach to research and scholarship, believing that creative, imaginative attentiveness to the world requires acknowledging the complexity required to interpret it.

This attentiveness to the world is also evident in the University’s belief in the transformative power of the liberal arts. Derived from the Latin word liber for “free,” the liberal arts have

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carlow university

• president’s quarterly update • march 2015

PHILOSOPHY STATEMENT CONT. been the foundation of higher education for centuries because they free individuals to think clearly and creatively about themselves and the world in which they live. Carlow is committed to the liberal arts as part of its undertaking to educate the whole person: body, mind, and spirit. Fundamentally, the liberal arts focus on what it means to be human in all its complexity.

Rather than approaching human experience from a finite perspective or insisting on rigid viewpoints that inhibit knowledge or limit thinking, the liberal arts encourage intellectual exploration and often pose problems that have no easy solutions. When students engage with the essential issues explored in the liberal arts, their lives are transformed, and they leave

to challenge or affirm existing or prevailing

formats in development for Fall 2016 and

values in the workplace and the world.

four new programs and/or formats for Fall

Through coursework, research, internships,

2015, including:

and residencies, Carlow students embody the integrative Mercy approach to rigorous scholarship, creative thinking, and problem solving. Through the innovative liberal arts core experience, undergraduate students develop

This is in advance of the new Respiratory

situation. The original vision of the founders

Care program that will begin admitting

uniquely positions Carlow University today to

students in Fall 2015.

offer an educational experience in which its graduates seek integrity in their lives and have the skills and conviction to create a more just and merciful world.

STRATEGIC PLAN UPDATE

As a reminder, for 2014-2015 nine of the 20 objectives in the strategic plan have been

• Enhance Brand • Expand Enrollment • Increase Fundraising • Foster Distinctive Learning • Elevate Experiential Learning

combining scholarship in the liberal arts with

• Grow Partnerships

career development in the professions, thus

• Realign Master Plan

providing young women in the Pittsburgh area

S T R AT E G I C P L A N 2014-2019

equal educational opportunities with men. The

II, it was clear that an educational approach that

more than 30 Carlow programs.

• Diversify Programs and Formats

were pioneers for women’s higher education by

began to admit male veterans after World War

seamless transition to a bachelor’s degree in

• Plan Enrollment

launched Mount Mercy College in 1929, they

self-directing and self-sustaining. As Carlow

College of Allegheny County will offer a

TR ANSFORMI NG LIVES . TR ANSFORMI NG OUR WORLD.

Carlow University. When the Sisters of Mercy

inherent dignity and by helping women become

• A new partnership with the Community

identified as priority objectives:

flows from the values of the founders of

attitudes toward women by recognizing their

o Room 220 in AJP is being converted from a biology lab into a respiratory care lab.

A commitment to transforming the world

Catherine McAuley’s efforts to reform societal

concentration for Fall 2015

to any professional, vocational, or personal

through their ability to comprehend and address

Sisters of Mercy were inspired by their founder

o MBA with a Fraud and Forensics

creative and critical reasoning skills essential

the institution ready to help transform society the complex challenges of the world.

o Online RN to BSN for Fall 2015

The next issue of the Strategic Effectiveness This week you will receive a copy of the

Team Newsletter will be sent to faculty and

strategic plan booklet in campus mail.

staff via email next week. The newsletter

This booklet outlines the five institutional

archive can be found on myPortal.

imperatives through 2019 and underpins our commitment to our students, the campus community, region, and beyond, to

BUDGET UPDATE

provide distinctive and exceptional learning

Budget Managers are hard at work preparing

experiences to all those who walk through our

submissions for both the Operating and Capital

worth of all voices and creates a pedagogical

doors.

Budget requests for Fiscal Year 2016. Final

and scholarly environment that includes those

The Strategic Effectiveness Team continues

budget approval by the Board of Trustees will

who have been historically excluded. The Mercy

to provide high-level oversight for the

take place in June 2015.

approach to teaching and scholarship creates

implementation of our strategic plan and

a campus culture where men and women

recent updates include:

values women is beneficial to male and female students because it champions the inherent

experience empathy and mutual respect, while valuing inclusion, flexibility, and collaboration.

In practice, the University’s philosophy leads to undergraduate and graduate pedagogy and curricula that are rooted in social justice and require Carlow students and graduates

• As of March 1, 80% of milestones with end dates on or before March 1 have been completed.

• As of the end of February, overall admits for Fall 2015 are 13% above goal and 29% over where we were last year at this time.

CARLOW FAST FACTS •9 7% of all 2013-14 students graduating with a bachelor’s degree were employed, accepted into a graduate program or formal volunteer program.

• 73% of all Carlow 2013-2014 graduates (undergraduate and graduate) completed at least one internship.

• We have several new programs and/or

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carlow university

• president’s quarterly update • march 2015

UNIVERSITY COMMONS

CMHE VISIT

MIDDLE STATES UPDATE

As a reminder, a team from the Conference for

Carlow is entering the final year of our

Mercy Higher Education (CMHE) will be visiting

Middle States Self-Study process. Last

Carlow April 7-9. Founded in part to assure

month, a first draft of the three main

the vitality of the Mercy heritage on the 16

sections of the document (Transforming

Mercy college and university campuses, CMHE

Learning, Transforming Our Environment,

is the Sisters of Mercy’s chosen manner of

and Transforming Ourselves) was compiled,

sponsoring their ministry of higher education.

building on the work that many Carlow faculty,

On April 9 from 10:45 -11:15 a.m., the Carlow

staff, and administrators have done serving on

community is invited to attend an exit meeting

or assisting one or more working groups over

in the Convent Arcade Room at which the

the past two and a half years. An accreditation

CMHE team will share with us their experience

consultant has reviewed that draft and provided

of Carlow as a Mercy/Catholic institution.

us with comments and suggestions for improving our Self-Study, and implementing

The University Commons project is progressing

BRAND CAMPAIGN

these suggestions is the work we will be focusing on for the rest of 2015. The Carlow

on time and on budget. Interior work has

Several brand campaign “themes” emerged

been succeeding at a steady pace and with the

as a result of the students, faculty and staff

weather beginning to break, the exterior of

forums. Those themes were shared with

the building will begin to transform with work

forum participants, as well as the Adult and

beginning on new windows and new entrances.

Graduate Council and prospective students,

Additionally, the selection of furniture for

who were then asked to rank the themes

public spaces and audio visual equipment has

in order of preference. As a result of the

been completed and ordered. Planning work

collective feedback, Carlow will be launching

on moving departments back into the building

its “Revolutionary By Degrees” campaign next

has started in anticipation of the August 15

month.

honorary degree and serve as commencement

the second floor of Frances Warde Hall

CAMPUS MASTER PLAN

Pittsburgh, Epperson is committed to improving

currently occupied by CDLI and CAA which

The Presidential Task Force on the Update of

opening. This planning includes a portion of

will be converted to residence hall rooms.

NEW FUNDING The Jack Buncher Foundation has provided a grant of $300,000 for construction and three years of programming for the Art Gallery in the University Commons.

Aladdin Food Services has committed $400,000 for University Commons and for general support.

Additionally, two corporate gifts have been

the Carlow University Campus Master Plan continues to meet on a regular basis with the goal of making recommendations to the

facilities maintenance.

finance correspondent and regular contributor on NBC’s "Today", "Nightly News", "MSNBC" and NBC affiliates nationwide, will receive an speaker at the May 9 event. A native of financial literacy, particularly in underserved communities.

CARLOW LAUREATES held on Friday, May 8, beginning at noon at

the University’s strategic plan. The Task Force

Rodef Shalom Temple. This year’s distinguished

will be scheduling focus group meetings in the

honorees are:

near future to get input from the community on the draft recommendations being crafted by the Task Force.

NEW LEADERSHIP President for Advancement effective May 4.

$35,000 for the University Commons and

Sharon Epperson, CNBC’s senior personal

The 2015 Carlow Laureates luncheon will be

Derek M. Wesley will join Carlow as Vice

stations and Scott Electric has provided

MAY COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER

construction and renewal projects guided by

funding for various areas and services in the to a $50,000 contribution to name the printing

on this first draft in the coming weeks.

President and the Board of Trustees on future

received from Carlow vendors to provide University Commons: ComDoc has committed

Community will be asked to read and comment

Effective July 1, leadership for Carlow’s three

• Barbara Capozzi Kirr: BA ’60—Sociology, Carlow University Trustee, 2006-2011 • Louise Reiber Malakoff, JD: BS ’67—Biology, Carlow University Trustee • Margaret Quinn Rosenzweig, PhD: BSN ’81— Nursing • Eleanor Buntag Wymard, PhD: BA ’58—

new colleges will be in place: Lynn George,

English, Director of Carlow University’s MFA

Dean of the College of Health and Wellness;

Program

Matthew E. Gordley, Dean of the College of Learning and Innovation; and Allyson Lowe,

In addition, the Francis Edward McGillick

Dean of the College of Leadership and Social

Foundation will be providing $135,000 for

Change.

• (Posthumous Award) Grace Ann Geibel, RSM, PhD: BA ’61—Piano and Music Education, President Emerita Carlow University

scholarship support.

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carlow university

• president’s quarterly update • march 2015

HIGH IMPACT PRACTICE (H.I.P.) IN COMMUNICATION

ALTERNATIVE SPRING BREAK 2015 Three groups of students participated in alternative spring break trips. For the sixth time, a Carlow contingent of 23 students, accompanied by Chris Meaner and Rachel Blonski, traveled to Laredo, Texas, to work with Habitat for Humanity. Barbara Johnson organized a group of four students who devoted their break time to studying immigration issues in Pittsburgh. The Well of Mercy in Hamptonville, NC, was the destination for six students, Gabriel Suarez, and Sister Sheila Carney. Working on the grounds and indoor repairs was punctuated by a field trip to the Sisters of Mercy motherhouse in Belmont, North Carolina.

Carlow Sports Talk is a one-hour broadcast streamed live (audio and video) on MSA Sports Network featuring Carlow student-athletes/ interviewers Carly Bonk, Kelsey Bonk, and Amber Phillips. Under the supervision of Michael Balmert, PhD; George Sliman; and Drew Wilson, what was to be a marketing partnership between MSA and Carlow has turned into an independent study course titled

Webcast Sports Journalism. It is designed to give the student an immersion experience in webcast sports interviewing/journalism while enhancing the profile of Carlow University and our athletics program in the community.

The first broadcast was held January 19, with subsequent broadcasts on February 9 and March 16. Audio and video archives of the broadcasts can be found here. The final shows of the semester will air on April 20 and May 4 from 8:30-9:30 p.m.

SCHOLARSHIP

local populations of the invasive plant Japanese

Cynthia Karaffa, PhD, (Political Science and

knotweed in order to assess their degree of

Sociology) was asked to serve as the Midwest

Michael E. Balmert, PhD, (Communication)

clonality.

Political Science Association Section Head for

presented a 90-minute workshop on “Communicating Ethical Standards and Policies Effectively Across Multiple Constituencies” in December at the 36th Annual International Conference of the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws held in Pittsburgh.

Mary C. Burke, PhD, (Professional Counseling and PsyD) has been invited to serve as the keynote speaker for the Criminal Justice Convocation in September at California State University, Sacramento.

Social Work professors Marsha Frank, PhD, and Sheila Roth, PhD, co-presented “Using Trauma Informed Care During Times of Crisis” at the Crisis Intervention Association of Pennsylvania conference in November.

Patricia Jameson, PhD, (Psychology) has been named Chair, National Task Force for Research on Satir Methods and Approach by the Satir Global Network. She will be presenting a webinar on designing undergraduate, graduate and interdisciplinary courses utilizing Relational

Biology professors Michael Capp, PhD, and

Cultural Theory as part of a “RCT in Education”

Matthew Fagerburg, PhD, are working with two

series spearheaded by Harriet L. Schwartz,

undergraduate students, Taylor Bennett and

PhD, (Psychology and Education) and to be

Elizabeth Haney, on a research project using

hosted by the Jean Baker Miller Training

molecular genetics techniques to compare

Institute.

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Section 55 Political Anthropology and Sociology at the annual meeting in Chicago this April.

She will also serve as a MPSA Roundtable Participant for the Professional and Career Development Roundtable: Civic Engagement in the Classroom at the meeting.

Frances A. Kelley, PhD, (Professional Counseling and PsyD) was invited to submit an article, “The Therapy Relationship with Lesbian and Gay Clients,” for publication in the American Psychological Association journal Psychotherapy. As a result of the publication, she was contacted by the journal, Society of Psychotherapy, and asked to submit a second, related article which she will co-author with one of her students. Relatedly, PsyD student Rachel

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carlow university

• president’s quarterly update • march 2015

Cornelius was presented with the 2014

agency dedicated to helping troubled children

Comparing First-Generation and Non-First-

Patricia M. Bricklin Ethics Award by the Ethics

and families heal themselves. This project

Generation College Students on Post-

Committee of the Pennsylvania Psychological

was funded by the Grace Ann Geibel Institute.

Evaluations of Service-Learning Courses,”

Association (PPA) in October. The PPA Ethics Committee presents this award annually to one Pennsylvania graduate student who submits the best work product on ethics. She won for her paper, “Child Abuse: An Ethical Dilemma,” which she wrote in Kelley’s doctoral course Ethics and Standards (CPY 816) and it will now be published in the

Pennsylvania Psychologist. This is the first time a student from Carlow has won this

Travis Schermer, PhD, (Psychology) presented “Supervision Training for Site Supervisors: Committing to Quality Education” at the September North Atlantic Region Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, in Providence, RI. Additionally, he co-presented “Flipped Learning as a Way to Promote Constructivist Teaching in Counselor Education” at the conference and

award.

co-presented “Body Image and Satisfaction

Enrique Mu, PhD, (Business Administration)

Counseling” at the Pennsylvania Counseling

received the “Friend of the Faculty of

Association Conference, State College, PA,

Informatics” award from the University of

in November.

Zagreb in December based on his academic work and his mentoring of faculty and students. For similar reasons, as well as for embodying Carlow’s mission and spirit, he was given a recognition award by Carlow’s

Before and After Marriage: Implications for

Harriet L. Schwartz, PhD, (Psychology and Education) has been named to the editorial board of the journal Mentoring and Tutoring:

Partnership in Learning. She was also

published in the peer-reviewed journal

PRISM: A Journal of Regional Engagement.

This study, conducted at Carlow and is entirely comprised of Carlow students, is the first study with a reasonable sample size to compare first-generation college students and their peers (non first-generation) on service-learning outcomes. The major finding in the article is that first-generation college students benefitted from the highimpact practice of service-learning at least as much as their peers. In some areas, such as increased compassion for the population served, they grew more compared to their peers. This topic may be of particular interest to the Carlow community given our strategic plan’s emphasis on elevating experiential learning such as service-learning. It offers support for why this emphasis makes sense for our students.

Board of Trustees in January.

named the first Lead Scholar for Education

Susan O’Rourke, EdD, (Education) delivered

Miller Training Institute, The Stone Center at

professional development sessions in special

Wellesley College. JBMTI is the intellectual

The Technology Advisory Council has begun its

needs education for teachers, administrators,

home for Relational Cultural Theory. In

work to frame the technology strategic plan.

caregivers, government officials and parents

her role, she will continue building related

Based on campus needs and to align with

in Entebbe, Soroti, and Bukedea, Uganda. She

communities of scholarship and practice,

the University strategic plan, the Council has

also serves as an evaluator for curriculum

design and present a webinar series and

identified eight draft themes around which to

design of transition programs for young adults

assist in planning and delivering on-site

design the plan. These include 1) Access to

at the Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh.

trainings at Wellesley College.

technology for students, 2) Consistency of use,

Sylvia Rhor, PhD, (Art) is completing a

Margaret Slota, DNP, RN, FAAN, (Nursing)

comparative study of local university galleries

co-authored “The Use of Palliative Care to

and setting a long-range strategic plan for

Promote Autonomy in Decision Making” in the

the Carlow University Art Gallery. She also

Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 18(6),

created an innovative partnership with the

707-711.

Office of Public Art, Pittsburgh, to create public art tours in her Public Art in the United

as Relational Practice at the Jean Baker

Stephanie Wilsey, PhD, (Psychology)

TECHNOLOGY UPDATES

3) Standards and accountability, 4) Capacity and capability of systems, 5) Data accessibility, 6) Business process improvement, 7) Systems thinking, and 8) Self-image and perception about technology.

States course.

presented the paper “City House Project:

VISION STATEMENT

A Program Evaluation of an Urban Living-

Carlow University will be a preeminent,

Sheila Roth, PhD, (Social Work) presented

Learning Community,” and presented

innovative, Catholic university, renowned

“Critical Incident Stress Management is Not

“Promoting Community Engagement Through

for providing transformational learning

a Scavenger Hunt” at the November Crisis

Living-Learning Communities” at the Eastern

experiences in which students realize their

Intervention Association of Pennsylvania

Psychological Association Conference in

full potential and become career-ready

Conference.

March.

ethical leaders committed to a just and

Roth, Linda M. Burns, Marsha Frank, and

Wilsey, Chrystel Gabrich, PhD,

Patricia Jameson (all College of Leadership

(Communication) and Jessica Friedrichs,

The Carlow Commitment: Transforming

and Social Change faculty or emerita)

MSW/MPP, (Social Work) had their article, “A

lives. Transforming our world.

completed a two-year program review for

Privileged Pedagogy for Privileged Students?

Auberle, a regional, faith-based Catholic

A Preliminary Mixed-Methods Analysis

office of the president

merciful world.

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