First Year Focus November 2009
Click on the above image to see the latest in our First Year Focus video series about what your freshman is dealing with this year, or click here to watch the video.
Click here to check out and subscribe to the Academic Resource Center's youtube channel.
For more about what's going on at BU, check out the Parent's Facebook Page, the Bellarmine photos page, or Bellarmine news releases.
Bellarmine Gets Bigger: Updates
As BU's student population grows, so do the facilities and services offered for students. This growth has brought many exciting changes to the Bellarmine campus, not the least of which is the remodel of the Bellarmine Activities Center and Kosters Dining Hall, which began just a few weeks ago. To read more from Tom Fisher, Assistant Vice President of Facilities Management, about the remodel of Kosters, the addition of more environmentally sound systems, and other construction, click here.
Online Registration for Undergraduates
All degree-seeking Bellarmine undergraduates will register themselves for spring classes online this November, beginning November 2 with Seniors. Freshman online registration will open November 10, and open registration online will continue through January 1. In order to gain access to the computer system, students must first meet with an advisor who gives them electronic permission to register. Their advisors will also receive a copy of their schedules and a notification of any changes students make to that schedule before the beginning of next semester. To read more about registration from Registrar, Ann Olsen, click here.
To read student registration procedures and policies, click here.
Getting Ready for Registration
Though it may seem like the fall semester has only just begun, soon the time will come for freshmen to begin picking out classes for the spring semester. For any freshmen, this process may seem a bit daunting, but academic advisors are here to help. To read information from Erica Osborne, Developmental Advisor, about some topics that might be addressed in your student's advising session, and how advising for freshmen works, click here.
Asking for Advice: How Your Student Benefits from Academic Advising
For all undergraduates, one integral step in the registration process is obtaining approval from an advisor (see the "registration policies and procedures" link above). Many students view this visit as a cursory item on their registration checklists, and in doing so fail to take advantage of all the helpful opportunities an advising session can offer. Advisors are meant to guide and support students through all elements of college survival, from internship and career strategies, to job and family concerns, your student's advisor is there to listen and help. To read more about how to help your student make the most of his or her advising appointment, click here.
To read "Your Kid is Fine," the BU Academic Advising blog, click here. This week's topic is "The Tragic Syndrome of Neglected Advisors."
Bellarmine Emergency Response Team
BU now has its own on-campus emergency response team, known as BERT (Bellarmine Emergency Response Team). This ambitious student group of EMTs, CPR instructors, and volunteers has worked for two years, with the help of Team Director, Evan Kuhl, former professor & advisor Dr. Joan Combs Durso, and faculty advisor Dr. David Porta, to make this project—originally an idea sprung from a senior seminar class—a reality. To read the inspiring story of how a handful of students aspired to improve disaster-preparedness campus-wide, click here.
To see local media coverage of BERT, check out this link: 89.3 WFPL News
The "High Stakes" Course: Philosophy 160
When freshmen enter college, philosophy is not generally a subject area with which they've had a lot of experience. For some, the course material can be heady and overwhelming; for others, the investigation of philosophy can challenge them to new levels of critical thinking, self-awareness, and understanding. Either way, the course requires devotion and studiousness. To read our e-interview with Dr. Barry Padgett, long-term member of the Philosophy Department, about the freshmen experience with Philosophy 160 and his advice for doing well, click here.
Sustainable Schooling
Growth has been a major theme of the Bellarmine Community in recent years and months: the campus is growing, the student body is growing, and the tremendous programs and opportunities offered here at BU are growing. So, it seems only fitting that growth would appear in a more literal sense: the Bellarmine Farm. To read about the Farm, and the Dean and Director of the Center for Regional Environmental Studies, Dr. Robert Kingsolver, cick here.
A Mid-semester Message from Campus Ministry
Just as the leaves begin to change colors and fall to the ground, we notice a little increase in anxiety around campus. Most students have taken their first assessments (tests) and are either overjoyed at their grades or beginning to show signs of stress because they didn't do as well as they'd hoped. They've made new friends and are asking themselves identity questions such as what and why they believe what they do about God and their respective place in creation. To read more about faith-based groups open to your student, click here.
Extra! Extra! Another Way to Support Your BU Student
A new service is being provided to parents wishing to go the extra mile to stay involved with their students. Parents may now take out an advertisement in the Concord, Bellarmine's newspaper, wishing their students good luck on finals, the upcoming semester, congratulating them on making Dean's List, and more. Click here for more info.
Meet Your RAs: Jackie Toth
This month's star RA is Jackie Toth, a junior who originally hails from Cincinnati, but currently resides on the first floor of Kennedy Hall. Jackie is a double major in both Nursing and Foreign Language/International Studies (FLIS). Jackie is also a tutor for the Academic Resource Center (who helps her residents study Spanish) and a member of the BU Women's Golf Team and the Bellarmine Association of Nursing (BANS). Click here to read about Jackie's devotion to her residents, and why she views herself as a role model.
Rhodes' Reads: The Last Lecture
This month, Dr. Fred Rhodes, Vice President for Academic and Student Life, has selected a book that is touching and personal to anyone involved in higher education, and has a few words to share about his selection:
I have selected "The Last Lecture" a moving and insightful book by Randy Pausch. I read this book about a year ago and have kept several of the principles in mind as I approach my role at Bellarmine each day. I have also thought about what I would say, what words of encouragement and words of wisdom I would want to share with the wonderful students at Bellarmine if I were giving my last lecture. Dr. Pausch's last lecture is filled with witty and inspirational stories of his life and journey as a Professor.
There is a message and story in all of us. The challenge is often when, where and how will I leave my story, my legacy.
Enjoy the read and discussion with family and friends.
UPCOMING EVENTS
November 2:
Registration Begins for Upperclassmen
November 3:
Hillside Concert—Maroon 5
November 10:
Registration Begins for Freshmen
November 16-20
BAC Heritage Week
November 20:
Pioneer Dance
November 25-29:
Thanksgiving Break
December 3:
Study Day
December 4-10
Final Exams
December 16:
Fall Commencement Exercises
Do you or your student have a question about?
Living in the residence halls?
Leslie Maxie-Ashford, Director, Residence Life; 502-473-3000, lmaxie-ashford@bellarmine.edu
Trouble with a class or an assignment, or making a change in class schedules?
Dr. Catherine Sutton, Dean of Advising and Director of Academic Resource Center; 502-452-8071, csutton@bellarmine.edu
How to find something fun to do on campus?
Sarah Fromm, Assistant Director of Student Activities; 502-452-8433, sfromm@bellarmine.edu
Financial Aid?
Alie Spahiu, Fianancial Aid Assistant 502-452-8124, aspaihu@bellarmine.edu
Workstudy?
Jennifer Likes, Financial Aid Counselor, 202, 502-452-8134, jlikes@bellarmine.edu
Getting a terrific summer job or internship?
Ann Zeman, Director of Career Development and Counseling, 502-452-8151, azeman@bellarmine.edu
Todd Reale, Assistant Dean, Career Services and Experiental Learning; 502-452-8242, treale@bellarmine.edu
Joining an intramural sports team?
Chuck Vogt, Director of Intramural sports; 502-452-8348, cvogt@bellarmine.edu
What to do when sick or injured?
Alice Kimble, Director, Campus Recreation and Health Services; 502-452-8493, makimble@bellarmine.edu
Who to talk to about personal problems?
Dr. Gary Petiprin, Director of Counseling Center; 502-452-8480, gpetiprin@bellarmine.edu
Studying abroad?
Hannah Holler Egea, Study Abroad Advisor; 502-452-8423, hholler@bellarmine.edu
Spiritual programs, service, or faith-based networks?
Dr. Melanie Prejean-Sullivan, Director of Campus Ministry and Service; 502-452-8051, mpsullivan@bellarmine.edu
Disability Accommodations?
Ronda Purdy, Coordinator of Disability Services; 502-452-8480, rpurdy@bellarmine.edu
A more general question about life on campus?
Helen Grace Ryan, Dean of Students; 502-452-8426, hryan@bellarmine.edu