bellarmine basketball 2011-12 meDia GUiDe - Bellarmine University ...

Bellarmine LeadershipDr. Joseph J. McGowan,PresidentDr. Joseph J. McGowan was appointedBellarmine University’s third president in 1990.He came to the position uniquely qualified,having served for twenty-one years at FordhamUniversity in New York as vice presidentand dean. Before that he was an admissionsand financial aid officer at the University ofNotre Dame. He received his doctorate inhigher education from Columbia Universityin New York and earned his bachelor’s andmaster’s degrees from the University of Notre Dame. He also is a graduateof Harvard University’s Institute for Educational Management.Dr. McGowan led the transformation of Bellarmine College to BellarmineUniversity, which has been named as one of the region’s bestcomprehensive schools by U.S. News and World Report for 17 consecutiveyears. Bellarmine University is included in the Princeton Review’s “BestColleges,” and the Kiplinger Report names Bellarmine one of the nation’stop 100 best values for the dollar in private higher education.With the creation of five new schools and centers, and more than 30new academic programs, Bellarmine has experienced dramatic, sustainedenrollment increases, including an 85 percent increase in the number offirst-time full-time students in the past 10 years -- while maintaining the12-1 teacher student ratio that is the hallmark of Bellarmine’s liberal artsexperience.Student life has been enriched by the establishment of Campus Ministry,a Student Counseling Center, Health Center, and Commuter StudentCenter. Since 2005, the number of students in residence has grown from476 to 1,066.Under Dr. McGowan’s leadership, providing resources for Bellarminehas been very successful as efforts have resulted in an increase of over21% in the University’s operating budget revenue over a 3-year period.The beautiful 143-acre campus has seen an increase in the number ofbuildings from 15 in 1990 to 43 buildings today, providing 840,000 squarefeet of teaching and living space, including a new residence hall in eachof the past four years.In addition to his leadership on the Bellarmine campus, Dr. McGowanis active in the civic and service life of the community, Commonwealthand nation. He has served on the boards of the National Association ofIndependent Colleges and Universities of which he is a past chair, theAmerican Council on Higher Education, the Council of Independent Colleges,the Executive Committee of Greater Louisville Inc., the Associationof Independent Kentucky Colleges and Universities, Kentuckiana Metroversity,the Frazier International History Museum, Norton Healthcare andthe J. B. Speed Art Museum.In Vision 2020, Dr. McGowan has envisioned Bellarmine Universityas the premier independent Catholic university in the South and therebythe leading private university in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and thesurrounding region.Dr. Fred Rhodes,Vice President for studentAffairsDr. Fred W. Rhodes was appointed Vice Presidentfor Student Affairs and Dean of Students at BellarmineUniversity in 1991 and currently serves as Vice Presidentfor Student Affairs.Under Dr. Rhodes’ leadership, Student Affairs is thriving in its mission ofproviding services to students in the areas of career services, counseling, internships,student activities, residence life, campus ministry, service learning andvolunteerism, disability services, international and minority student services,intramural sports, wellness and health services, food services and athletics. Heis also involved in service learning and volunteerism in the Louisville area andhas created volunteer experiences for students and faculty in India, Central andSouth America and the Caribbean. Dr. Rhodes has taught at the University ofSouth Florida, University of Tennessee, University of Louisville and BellarmineUniversity. He has served on student affairs faculty programs at the Universityof South Carolina, University of Arizona, Emory University, Tulane University,Clemson University and the University of Georgia. Dr. Rhodes was named aFulbright Scholar in 2007.Before joining Bellarmine, Dr. Rhodes served as Dean of Students at theUniversity of Louisville and the University of Central Arkansas. He receivedhis doctorate in education from Mississippi State University; his M.S. from theUniversity of Tennessee; and his bachelor’s at Maryville College. Dr. Rhodeshas also done post-graduate study at Harvard University.Dr. Rhodes is a member of numerous professional organizations and hasserved in leadership positions in organizations such as the Southern Associationof College Student Affairs (SACSA), the National Association of Student PersonnelAdministrators (NASPA), and the College Personnel Associations of Arkansas andKentucky. Dr. Rhodes has served on numerous Southern Association of Collegesand Schools (SACS) accreditation committees. Dr. Rhodes is the recipient ofNASPA’s John Jones Award for Outstanding Service as Dean in the Southeastand the Melveen D. Hardy Award for outstanding contributions in research andservice to the profession of Student Affairs administrators.Scott Wiegandt,Director of AthleticsScott Wiegandt is in his seventh year as Bellarmine’s directorof athletics after serving the previous two years as assistantAD. During his tenure, the Bellarmine athletics programhas grown to national prominence among NCAA Division IIinstitutions--known both for its prowess in competition and asa national leader in game management and administration.Last acdemic year, Bellarmine hosted six NCAA Div. II national championshipsfor fall sports, and the NCAA was so impressed that they awarded six more nationalchampionships to Bellarmine and the City of Louisville for the spring of 2012.Under Wiegandt’s guidance, Bellarmine sports teams have seen improvementacross the board and regularly contend for the All Sports Trophy in the Great LakesValley Conference. In 2010-11, Bellarmine brought home the national championshipin men’s basketball--the first national championship in Bellarmine’s sports history.Wiegandt also has overseen a dramatic upgrade in facilities. Among the additionsand improvements are the construction of Owsley B. Frazier Stadium andthe Eddie Weber Tennis Complex as well as renovations to Knights Hall and thebaseball and softball facilities.In addition to the strides being made on campus, Wiegandt also has representedBellarmine at a national level serving in leadership positions in organizations suchas the Division II Athletics Directors Association, the Association of CollegiateDirectors of Athletics, and the National Association of Athletic DevelopmentDirectors. He also serves on the Greater Louisville Sports Commission’s boardof directors.Wiegandt holds an undergraduate biology degree from Bellarmine and earnedAll-America status as a senior pitcher for the Knights basetball team. He wasselected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1989 draft, and played 10 years ofprofessional baseball: eight seasons in the Phillies organization and one eachwith the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates. He posted a 2.97 career ERAin over 400 appearances, including five seasons at AAA.After teaching and coaching at Holy Cross High School, Wiegandt returned toBellarmine to coach the baseball team and earn his master’s degree. He servedas head coach for four seasons before moving into his administrative duties.Wiegandt is married to the former Danielle Atzinger, who holds two graduateeducation degrees (and is pursuing a doctorate) from Bellarmine. She is currentlyprincipal at Holy Cross High School. They have three children: Caleb, Callie, and Cole.30