Rockhurst University Community Update – Fall 2020

Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Kansas City, Mo. Permit No. 782 1100 Rockhurst Road Kansas City, MO 64110

ROCKHURST UNIVERSITY

Community UPDATE FA L L 2 0 2 0

The interior of the Rockhurst University Community Center, set up with social distancing in mind and with signage to remind visitors of guidelines.

YES, THE COMMUNITY CENTER IS OPEN (AND HERE’S HOW TO VISIT) 5151 Troost Ave., Suite 200 HOURS: Monday – Friday | 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.

PHONE: 816-237-1616 and scheduled appointments available.

Walk-in All major Kansas City medical insurance accepted.

Affiliated with Research Medical Center.

5151 Troost Ave. HOURS: Tuesday - Friday | 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Saturday | 8 a.m. to noon PHONE: 816-501-4239

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the Rockhurst University Community Center, like many other similar facilities, to temporarily close our doors.

We are now back open to the public. Community members may use the computer lab and community organizations may make reservations.

Since March, University staff have worked to ensure safe reopening of our facilities. Here’s what to know if you plan to visit the Rockhurst University Community Center: • Different hours — the community center will be closed on Wednesdays and Sundays, but will be open on all other weekdays from 3:30-8 p.m. and from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. The Computer Lab is open these hours.

• All visitors will be required to fill out a contact tracing form and check in upon arrival.

• Anyone using the community center will be asked to follow campus guidelines for health — that means wearing masks or face coverings at all times inside, maintaining six feet of social distance, observing limits on the number of people allowed inside at a time, and practicing thorough and frequent hand washing/sanitizing.

• Visitors are also asked to clean any surfaces they touch with a disinfecting wipe.

• Please don’t visit the center if you are experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19.

Additional information is available at rockhurst.edu/communitycenter. If you have any questions regarding protocols or services at the community center, call 816-501-4306 or alicia.douglas@rockhurst.edu.

RU VOTING INITIATIVE AIMS TO CONNECT CAMPUS TO COMMUNITY Elections can mean changes to community and country. But an effort by Rockhurst University this fall to inspire young people to vote is aimed not only at making their voices heard at the ballot box, but afterward, as well.

issues facing the communities around campus and beyond. With events scheduled after the election bringing together community partners, organizers hope the efforts have an impact in the future.

The initiative, called RU Voting, is being led by faculty, staff and students, with a series of events to not only make sure students know how to register and vote, but to inspire them to take action through voting and civic engagement.

Read more about RU Voting, including resources and a calendar of upcoming events, at rockhurst.edu/community-outreach/ru-voting.

Through voter education, community partnerships and events such as debate watch parties, the hope is that students learn about the

Kansas City, Missouri, voters can check their registration status, their polling place, and see a sample ballot at kceb.org.

Have a Hawk (or aspiring Hawk) in your nest? Want to show your support for RU? Grab a selfie in front of our new mural at the Perch, outside Massman Hall.

Rockhurst students grab a selfie in front of the mural during Orientation week.

COMMUNITY PITCHES IN FOR PASEO STEPS The project to turn the Paseo Steps into a place for the community to exercise continues to take shape, with help from community members.

“The Paseo steps can become an effective bridge.

It just needs to get some more love and to get reimagined,” he said.

Chad Scholes, Ph.D., professor of biology, said Chris Goode, owner of Ruby Jean’s Juicery, had the vision of making those steps into a neighborly and city resource for exercising and being healthy in an outdoor space.

Goode, who has been championing the beautification effort, has a firsthand experience of using the stairs for most of his life, and continues using them as a means to remain healthy. He says he believes the site can be more than just a place to get active — he thinks it can be a place for community.

Volunteers helped clean the steps on Saturday, Oct. 24, and more opportunities will be announced in the future.

UNIVERSITY UNVEILS DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION PLAN The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Plan is designed to make the University a home for all students, faculty and staff.

This year has forced a widespread reckoning on the effects generations of racial and social injustice have on our communities.

Against this backdrop, Rockhurst University has unveiled its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Plan, considered the pathway to “making inclusion our way of proceeding” at the University.

But what does that all mean? The DEI plan aims to make equity the focus of everything from student recruitment to faculty and staff hiring, to education and support for people of color. It’s a long-term

GARDEN OF ATONEMENT AND RECONCILIATION Looking for an opportunity to grab some fresh air and eat outside? Enjoy a quiet lunch in the newly renovated Garden of Atonement and Reconciliation located at 52nd Street and Forest Avenue. Rockhurst planted three peach trees and two cherry trees and equipped the garden with a place to sit. The garden is a gesture of atonement and forgiveness for our original sin of racism that occurred in our gardens, on the soil of our nation.

This garden will be available to everyone in our community and neighborhood.

Chris Goode, center, helps direct a cleanup day in 2019 for the Paseo Steps project.

plan developed over several years, this first year focusing on institutional climate and intergroup relations, education, scholarship and institutional infrastructure, and it follows the campus climate survey conducted in 2017; the creation of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; and the hiring of Leslie Doyle, Ed.D., as chief inclusion officer.

“This plan will serve as a roadmap for Rockhurst University as we expand diversity, inclusion and equity for generations of faculty, staff and students,” Doyle said.

For more on the University’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, visit rockhurst.edu/odei.

LOVE IN ACTION HELPS CAMPUS COMMUNITY DURING TRYING TIME The Love in Action Fund at Rockhurst University was not launched with a global pandemic in mind, but in the midst of COVID-19 and the economic downturn that followed, the fund has seen increased demand for its support in the following areas:

• Academic mini grants, allowing students to purchase essential books and other academic resources needed.

• The food justice initiative, headlined by the Grandma’s Pantry free-will on-campus food pantry, aims to tackle food insecurity, offering a variety of food options: grab and go snacks, nonperishable foods, and frozen foods.

• Magdalena mini grants, provided to those experiencing hardships deemed outside of their control, including family emergencies, lack of access to academic materials, computers, medical emergencies, accidents, and travel.

• Donations of laptops, a particular need for students in this time of more remote learning.