ROCK REPORT

Dean and Team Look to Residents to Tell Desegregation Story

Helzberg School Ranked Among the Best

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he Helzberg School of Management continued to climb in the latest U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools list.

Jennifer Friend, Ph.D., dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, presents findings at a conference.

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he ability to tell one’s own story is an important part of coming to grips with sometimes difficult history. That’s why Jennifer Friend, Ph.D., dean of the Rockhurst University College of Arts and Sciences, embarked with a team from the University of MissouriKansas City on a project to preserve and amplify the voices of those who experienced the Kansas City school system’s long journey toward racial integration.

In the 2019 rankings, released in spring 2018, the Helzberg School’s parttime MBA is ranked among the top 100 programs in the country for the first time at No. 92, while the management MBA earned a No. 12 ranking and the MBA data analytics and business intelligence concentrations are ranked No. 13 nationally among peers in the information systems category. “Our goal is to continue to improve our offerings at every level, so to have core programs like our part-time MBA ranked alongside the cutting-edge data analytics program shows the success we’ve had in that effort,” said Cheryl McConnell, Ph.D., dean of the Helzberg School of Management. In the spring the Helzberg School also launched its first online degree program, the Master of Science in business intelligence and analytics, along with online analytics and insights and health care management certificates. These programs makes use of video streaming technology to give students flexibility to earn their degree on campus, from home, or both.

Hawks to Get New Place to Work Out

The heart of the multiyear project is a website, featuring video interviews of former students, teachers, parents and others who experienced racial segregation and desegregation; resources for educators; and a community yearbook, which seeks to collect even more stories and artifacts from those who experienced this period. Through the project, Friend said she and her colleagues on the research team hope to provide a fuller historical picture and lessons for the future. “People have studied the financial impact, the policy and the politics of desegregation here,” Friend said. “Nobody’s ever really listened to the people who went through it.” PROJECT

SITE

Visit the site at rockhur.st/kcdeseg.

Kermit J. Fendler, Pharm.D., ’68, outgoing board of trustees chair, University President the Rev. Thomas B. Curran, S.J., and board of trustees chair Thomas F. Hastings, M.D., FACP, ’81, break ground on the Health and Wellness Center.

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ockhurst University celebrated the ceremonial groundbreaking of the new Health and Wellness Center on May 31. The recreational facility will feature fitness spaces for cardio equipment, free weights, stretching and group exercise, which will be available for all Rockhurst students, faculty and staff. Additionally, the Health and Wellness Center will include locker rooms for the men’s and women’s soccer teams and an event space looking out toward the soccer field. Construction is anticipated to begin in fall 2018.

ROCKHURST.EDU

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