Inside Parmer Hall: The Academic Impact - Dominican University

M A G A Z I N E Spring
2008
Inside Parmer Hall: The Academic Impact
Building Distinction Brechtel Scholarships: Introducing
Chemistry Catalyst Neuroscience
A Special Approach
to Special Ed
The Christopher Nutrition
Sciences Center
The New Pre-Med

Dear Alumnae/i and Special Friends:
Over the last two years, as part of every
campus tour, in multiple magazines and
newsletters, you have experienced the
birth of Parmer Hall—from design, through
construction, to dedication. It is an extraordinary building, steeped
in tradition and yet state-of-the-art. Now it is my privilege to take
you inside Parmer, to show you what makes this building so much
more than just a pretty face.
Speaking of faces—yes, that is me dressed as Mother Emily Power,
OP for the 2007 Founders’ Day Town Square. In just its first few
months, Parmer Hall has hosted a number of such memorable
events! The Shaffer Silveri Atrium is the ideal venue for university
gatherings—often after a program in Bluhm Lecture Hall, with
the crowd spilling out into Founders’ Court in good weather. I
encourage you to flip to page 18 for some terrific pictures of
the Parmer Hall and Founders’ Court dedication ceremonies.
We have only begun to realize the impact of Parmer Hall on
the academic programs of the university—the sciences,
psychology and education, in particular. The quality of
the teaching space is outstanding, with instructional
amenities a plenty. Students’ learning benefits as
faculty utilize research spaces and incorporate
observation and assistive-technology labs into already
rigorous curricula. The new major in neuroscience is
just one example of the power of Parmer.
Ultimately, it is all about student learning—and so
is this magazine. You can read about our Brechtel
Scholars on page six to get a sense of the ability
and interests of today’s science students. While
more students are entering Dominican intending to
study the sciences, others join us after graduation
for a concentrated pre-med curriculum. That postbaccalaureate
program is profiled on page 14.
Parmer Hall provides more than just excellent
classrooms and programs, however. When a
student seeks academic support or wants help with
a résumé or needs a comfortable place to sit and
talk with friends, Parmer Hall is the destination of
choice. Student commons areas near faculty offices
encourage collaborative study. There are meeting
rooms for student organizations, gallery spaces
for student shows—and lots of computers.
That said, Parmer Hall exists, and students benefit, because
of the extraordinary generosity of alumnae/i and friends of
Dominican University. Please know how much I appreciate
your support. As we approach the homestretch of the Amazing
Possibilities campaign, I am delighted to announce the naming
of the Jay W. and Doris K. Christopher Nutrition Sciences
Center. (See page 12.) We are deeply grateful to the
ON ThE COvEr
Christophers for their confidence and friendship.
How blessed we are—and how privileged I am to be
your president. Happy spring.
Sincerely,
Donna M. Carroll
President
President Carroll and
Sr. Joan O’Shea, OP
presented a history
of the university’s
presidents as part of
autumn’s Founders’
Day celebration in
Parmer hall; here she
is dressed as Mother
Emily Power, OP.
Top: John C. and Carolyn J. Parmer hall glows with
activity during the evening
Bottom Left: Students study the skeletal system in a biology class
held in one of Parmer hall’s new laboratories
Bottom Center: Sr. Mary Woods, OP and richard Calabrese, faculty marshal,
participate in the Parmer hall dedication ceremony
Bottom right: Class activity centers around a state-of-the-art ventilation
system in one of Parmer hall’s chemistry laboratories

page 6
page 18
page 2
page 12
On Thursday, August 30, 2007, hundreds of members
of the Dominican University community gathered
for the dedication of Parmer hall as his Eminence
Francis Cardinal George, OMI led a ceremony
rich in symbolic echoes of the university’s
annual Candle and rose Ceremony.
ON ThIS PAGE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Inside Parmer hall
Building Distinction ...........................................................2
Access to Excellence—By Design ........................................5
The Ida Brechtel Scholarships: Chemisty Catalyst .............. 6
Introducing Neuroscience ..................................................7
A Special Approach to Special Ed ...................................... 8
New Powers of Observation ..............................................11
What’s Fresh? The Christopher Nutrition Sciences Center .. 12
The New Pre-Med: Support for Success ............................. 14
Inside the Chemical Stockroom ........................................ 15
The Vibrant Art of Parmer Hall .......................................... 16
Parmer Hall Dedication .................................................... 18
Founders’ Court Dedication .............................................. 19
Five Stories of Parmer Hall Supporters ..............................20
Stars Shine in Fall ...............................................................22
DUPAC: recent Successes ...................................................22
Dominican Bestows 2008 Bravo Award ................................23
A Decade of Great results ...................................................23
Steven L. herb—Follett Chair ...............................................23
President Carroll honored As Business Leader .....................24
New: The Center for Global Peace Through Commerce ..........24
Siena Center: Exploring Common Good, Sustainability ........24
DU Sets the Pace, Prairie Style ............................................24
DU hosts Nation’s First Blues and Gospel Symposium ......... 25
New Partnership With Trinity high School ............................ 25
Introducing a New Type of residence hall ............................ 25
Faculty Briefs ......................................................................26
Class News .........................................................................28
In Sympathy .......................................................................39
Calendar of Events ..............................................................40
reflections on Parmer hall ..............................inside back cover
President
Donna M. Carroll
Chief Marketing and
Communications Officer
Jeff Kraft
Editor
Jeff Arena
Editorial Advisors
Sr. Jeanne Crapo, OP ’46
Sr. Clemente Davlin, OP ’50
Contributing Writers
Martha Kelly Bates
Tom Blackwell, class of 2008
Denise Boneau
Donna M. Carroll
Garry Cooper
Laura Jackson
Mary McVicker
Elaine Oldberg
Tracy Samantha Schmidt ’05
Dominican University
Magazine is published
semiannually by the
Office of Marketing
and Communications.
Laura Stuart
Ken Trendel
Graphic Designer
Pam Norpell
Photography
Ballogg Photography,
balloggphoto.com
Jason Brown
Andrew Campbell
Peter Coons
Dominican University
Archives
Sarah Duesterbeck
Stefan Falke
FJ Gaylor Photography
Richard Gricius, class
of 2009
Rob Hart
Josh Hawkins
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Image Group
Dominican University
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(708) 366-2490
www.dom.edu
magazine@dom.edu
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Production Support
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Richard Gricius, class
of 2009
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of 2009
Ellen Liebner
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Jessica Mackinnon
Steve Narkis, MIS candidate
Ellen Plourde ’03, MSOL ’06
Gwen Tonino
Sandra Vega, class of 2008
Jeanne Veneklaus
© 2008 Dominican University
Reproduction in whole or
part is prohibited without
written permission.

2 www.dom.edu
INSIDE PARMER HALL
Scenes from the first months of activity in Parmer Hall.

Building
Distinction
John C. and Carolyn J. Parmer Hall, Dominican University’s $38 million science and
academic building, is the most popular freshman on campus. It’s also the capstone
of Dominican’s decade-long transformation into a premier Catholic university. After
years of planning, fundraising, construction, upgrading infrastructure, welcoming
new faculty, expanding student enrollment, and spreading the news about
Dominican’s amazing transformation, Parmer Hall marks the home stretch of
the university’s 10-year growth plan.
With Parmer Hall, Dominican has now leaped ahead of a trend that once threatened
to leave the university behind: a growing interest in careers that apply science and
technology to daily life. “Ten years of data,” says Pamela Johnson, vice president for
enrollment management, “shows that by far the largest number of high school seniors
say they’re headed for health-related careers. In the last five years, the number of
college degrees Dominican has awarded in biology alone has doubled. In the last
decade, occupations in nursing, physical and occupational therapy, biological
engineering and computer software and systems analysis have shown the largest
growth. The entire economy has been heading in these directions.”
With the new building open for classes and research,
Dominican’s science and math curriculum has moved from the
“Hogwarts” of the half-century-old Albertus Magnus Science
Building into the high-tech 21st century of Parmer Hall. Every
room is wired for electronic and audio-video presentations,
with control consoles so easy to understand that hazards like
upside-down slides are a thing of the past. Students and faculty
members now have enough lab space to conduct much of their
own research on campus, and 24-hour access to state-of-the-art
equipment makes intensive research finally possible. “Research,”
says David Craig, chair of the biology department, “takes an
incredible amount of time.” The specialization and complexities of modern science, he
points out, require the kind of research that no longer fits into narrowly scheduled day/
time slots.“Now our students can do more creative work, take more ownership of their
learning, and gain a much deeper understanding,” says J. Brent Friesen, associate
SPRING 2008 DOMINICAN UNIvErSITY 3

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INSIDE PARMER HALL
Building Distinction
“ Parmer symbolizes the lengths
to which Dominican will go to
make sure students can
be successful.”
— Robert Greenwald,
director of learning resources
professor of chemistry. Senior Mike Bubik is
growing brine shrimp, putting them under
microscopes and noting their reactions to various
herbal supplements; Friesen hopes to grow an
entire drug development program from Bubik’s
project. Friesen has also amassed a big pile of
coffee grounds and is looking for a student to
research commercial applications for recycling the
thousands of chemicals they contain. Aiding in the
work: a chromatograph so advanced that it’s one
of only a few in North America.
Meanwhile, under the supervision of Robert
Faltynek, associate professor of chemistry, senior
Victoria Correa is analyzing the properties of blood
plasma, research that may lead to innovation in
its preservation and manufacture. Just by moving
the infrared spectrophotometer from Magnus Hall
(with its frequent changes in temperature and
humidity) to Parmer, Faltynek has already noticed
dramatic improvements in the quality of the data.
“Housing modern analytical equipment in an upto-date
facility,” he says, “also gives us credibility in
the eyes of funding agencies. I know at least one
source of funding for undergraduate programs that
conducts site visits before awarding grants. Imagine
what an impression the old building would have
made on these folks!” In addition to generating
more money and prestige for the university, the
new facilities will significantly improve new
student and faculty recruitment. Parmer will
reinforce the university’s ongoing commitment
to quality teaching. Tucked just behind the provost’s
office on the first floor is the new Center for Teaching
and Learning Excellence (CTLE), which brings to life
its mission of enhancing pedagogy at Dominican
University. “Good teachers are always going to look
for ways to improve their teaching,” says Ken Black,
acting director of the CTLE. The center’s faculty
library contains current pedagogical journals, books
and articles, as well as other video and online
teaching resources. Its lounge provides a comfortable
gathering place
for faculty
from across the
disciplines (in
Rosary College
and the graduate
schools) to
gather and
discuss best
practices
in higher
education, research on learning styles, and different
teaching methods, strategies and philosophies. This
cross-pollination allows faculty members to use their
own subjects to help faculty in other disciplines
teach more effectively. For example, Ric Calabrese,
professor of managerial communications, delivered
a demonstration to other faculty on effective
presentation skills. Associate Professors Kate Marek,
from the Graduate School of Library and Information
Science, and Ellen McManus, from the Department
of English, jointly presented on how to use online
resources to teach and learn in the Dominican way.
Most formal presentations are followed a few weeks
later by informal sessions where faculty members
discuss how they’ve implemented the new ideas.
In addition to the labs, classrooms and the CTLE,
Parmer Hall also houses the Academic Enrichment
Center (AEC). In its learning resources section,
students can stop by for tutoring in specific subjects

While Parmer Hall hosts classes in many subject areas,
its 17 laboratories make it a bustling center for science.
or in general academic skills, from
faculty, student tutors or self-help
modules. The career development
section of AEC offers educational or
career counseling, where students
learn how to write résumés, practice
job interviews, research career
opportunities, or bring their educational
plans more into line with their strengths
and interests. By moving the AEC so
centrally into what
has become the
main academic hub
of the campus, and
by adding more
computers and
other resources,
the AEC has created
a dramatic increase
in the number of
students who use
its services. “Being housed in the AEC
and partnering with several other
student services unifies us and funnels
students seeking services into one area,”
says Robert Greenwald, director of
learning resources.
Parmer Hall encapsulates what’s always
been special about Dominican: a
rigorous education that, by supporting
the whole person, models how the world
should be. “The academic environment
in Parmer shows the seriousness and
rigor of a Dominican education while
demonstrating the willingness of the
Dominican community to provide
support,” says Greenwald. “Parmer
symbolizes the lengths to which
Dominican will go to make sure that
students can be successful.” n
ACCESS TO EXCELLENCE—BY DESIGN
Three of the people
who led the progress
on Parmer hall (from left):
Dawn Morse, project
manager; Donna M.
Carroll, president;
and Amy McCormack,
senior vice president
for administration.
Before any detailed interior blueprints were drawn for Parmer Hall, the
planning team—through focus groups and surveys—solicited detailed
input from students and faculty. The goal: an academic building that
emphasizes and enhances not just teaching and learning but Dominican
University’s traditional faculty-student collaborative relationships.
Shaffer Silveri Atrium is the ground-floor hub of the building, with its perfect
chairs—yes, the planning team solicited feedback about even the design
and upholstery of the chairs—providing a natural meeting place for students.
Because faculty members both teach and have their offices in Parmer, the
atrium provides plenty of opportunities for frequent casual meetings between
students and faculty.
“We wanted to provide numerous places for both formal and informal contact,”
says Dawn Morse, project manager for Parmer Hall’s design and construction.
To that end, alcoves with chairs, counters and small tables are sprinkled
throughout the building. Several even have whiteboards where students can
sketch problems for discussion with professors. Already you can see groups
clustered around some particularly interesting problem. After all, Dominicanstyle
learning is often spontaneous and doesn’t take place just during
prescribed hours and in prescribed places.
Even the research labs are designed for collaboration. In today’s world of
physical and social sciences, areas like chemistry, physics, psychology,
biology and sociology no longer have clearly separate boundaries, and so labs
are grouped with similar disciplines adjacent to each other. Psychology and
biology students, for example, can open a door and step into each others’
labs to collaborate or simply check out a “neurobiopsych” project. Most labs
have large windows right into hallways, bringing research out of its traditional
cloisters and into the community. You never know when learning sparks.
Parmer’s planners even ensured contact between undergraduates and
graduate students. “We think a graduate/undergraduate mix works much
better,” says Amy McCormack, senior vice president for administration, who’s
been involved in the creation of Parmer from its inception. To that end, Parmer
houses the School of Education. Many science majors are going to teach some
day, she points out, and the design of the new building allows science majors
to learn about education and education majors to learn more about science.
That’s also why McCormack reminds everyone not to call it the Parmer science
building. Education, Dominican-style, knows no boundaries. n
SPRING 2008 DOMINICAN UNIvErSITY 5

INSIDE PARMER HALL
The Ida Brechtel
Scholarships:
Ida Brechtel ’43 had an affinity for science—and
a long memory. She financed her Rosary College
education by working as a nurse anesthetist. After
earning her degree in chemistry, she became a
physician. Fifty-seven years after she graduated, she
bequeathed to Dominican University a gift to support
students majoring in chemistry or biology-chemistry.
Eighteen students received Ida Brechtel Scholarships
this year: Melanie Bonifacio, Catherine Joy Calixto,
Victoria Correa, Dana Dalrymple, Eric Florance, Ryan
Forrest, Ashley Gans, Rebecca Hamaker, Patrick
Hughes, Bartosz Leszczynski, Andreana Letzter, Joseph
Merkel, Karl Rickert, Raquel Robles, Ricardo Rodriguez,
Pedro Vallejo, Brett Wassink and Megan Wasz.
6 www.dom.edu
Chemistry
Catalyst
A few of this year’s Ida Brechtel Scholarship recipients
(left to right): Brett Wassink, Karl Rickert, Dana Dalrymple,
Raquel Robles, Melanie Bonifacio, Catherine Joy Calixto,
Eric Florance and Pedro Vallejo.
“I was very happy when I read the letter stating
I had received this scholarship,” says sophomore
Melanie Bonifacio, who plans on becoming a
pharmacist. “Not only does it help me financially,
but to be recognized for something I am passionate
about, and to have the support to continue doing it,
is a great motivation.”
Freshman Dana Dalrymple says, “It was very
rewarding to get this as a woman, and to realize
that my efforts and my potential were recognized.”
Dalrymple’s earliest memories include performing
“experiments” in the kitchen when she was five
years old. Now she’s intent on being a forensic
scientist. “So many areas are opening up in
forensics,” she says. “The field continues to change.”
For sophomore Joe Merkel the scholarship meant
he did not have to worry about money for his
undergraduate education, and it lessened the burden
on his family. He’s the first in his family to attend
college. Now, the money that was set aside for
his college education can be put to his graduate
education. For Merkel the future is dental school:

“I’ve decided to be a dentist because
I believe this is where my goal of
helping others can best be fulfilled.”
“The scholarship makes a big
difference to me,” says freshman
Pedro Vallejo. “Now I won’t have
to take out a loan.” In high school,
Vallejo gravitated toward healthcarerelated
courses and a statewide
association that held science
competitions. Limiting debt is
particularly important to him because
he plans on going to medical school;
he wants to be a surgeon.
“To be recognized for
something that I am
passionate about is a
great motivation.”
— Melanie Bonifacio,
sophomore
Ida Brechtel Scholarships have
helped Dominican University
attract these hard-working students,
but the support is only part of what
makes the school a priority with
science students. Dalrymple says,
“I was attracted by the campus and
by the soccer, but especially by the
dedication to science. Parmer Hall
was a big factor. I went to De La
Salle Institute (in Chicago), and Mr.
Parmer graduated from there. He
was on the board of directors. I
don’t know if I would have come
here if it weren’t for Parmer Hall.”
Parmer Hall has given the sciences
an alluring new home at Dominican
University, but it is the continuing
legacy of Ida Brechtel that fills the
labs with talent. n
INTRODUCING NEUROSCIENCE
Bob Calin-Jageman (top) and Gina
Zainelli (above) are leading Dominican
University’s new neuroscience team.
Cavernous lecture halls. Overstuffed
labs. Competition for access
to teachers. Those have been the
hallmarks of most neuroscience
programs because, until recently, only
the largest universities have been
able to support this complex area of
study. That’s changing. With its stateof-the-art
neuroscience labs and a new
interdisciplinary major, Dominican
University is at the forefront of a new
approach to neuroscience.
“In fact,” says Bob Calin-Jageman,
the assisant professor of psychology
who developed the program with
Gina Zainelli, assistant professor of
biology, and help from David Craig,
chair of biology, Dan Beach, chair of
psychology, and Lou Tenzis, chair of
philosophy, “with its facilities and
program, Dominican is leading, not
following, a trend for neuroscience
majors at smaller, liberal-arts schools.”
Neuroscientists study the structure,
development, function, chemistry, pharmacology and pathology of the
nervous system. As neuroscience begins to unravel the complexities of the
brain, it touches on central issues of the human experience: the nature of
identity, knowledge, aging and consciousness, so a neuroscience major
engages the great topics of a liberal-arts education. The field is distinctly
interdisciplinary, pulling together facets of chemistry, biology, psychology,
mathematics, physics, philosophy and more.
Dominican’s new major prepares students with broad-based core
classes requiring extensive hands-on lab work, followed by a choice of
specialization. Students can follow two tracks: one with a stronger focus on
behavioral neuroscience (psychology) and one with a stronger focus on the
biology of the nervous system.
Each offers significant research opportunities. Calin-Jageman’s work uses
sea slugs to explore the neural mechanisms of learning and memory,
examining how new memories are stored permanently in the nervous
system. Zainelli is investigating how one enzyme—transglutaminase,
which is added to processed beef as a binding agent, especially in fast
food—may be contributing to recent increases in Alzheimer’s and other
neurodegenerative diseases, such as Huntington’s and Parkinson’s.
Neuroscience majors will be able to assist in the work of both scientists.
Students are jumping at this new opportunity. “The neuroscience program
is an exciting dimension for Dominican,” says Calin-Jageman. “The brain is
the most important remaining science frontier—and the most personal.” n
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INSIDE PARMER HALL
Therese Hogan ’78, associate professor and director of
graduate programs in special education, believes that
educators need to be armed with diverse tools to assist
students with disabilities—from modified computers to
an understanding of the students’ perspective.

A Special
Approach
Special Ed to
Arevolution in education took place during 1975: landmark federal legislation
extended the promise of a free and appropriate public education to children with
disabilities. Dominican University swiftly stepped to the forefront, training special
education teachers to carry out the mandate. This year, the School of Education
celebrates the 30th anniversary of its state-approved learning disability (LD) certification
program, which now offers students additional certification opportunities and, thanks to
its recent move into Parmer Hall, opportunities to work with groundbreaking technology.
“Individuals with disabilities are still somewhat misunderstood, still sometimes
misrepresented in the media, still underserved as a population,” says Therese Hogan ’78,
associate professor and director of graduate programs in special education. “Attention to
students with disabilities—preparing teachers for those students—speaks to the mission
of Dominican, to a commitment to social justice and making a difference in the world.”
The School of Education’s move to the fourth floor of Parmer Hall opens a host of
possibilities for preparing special education teachers, notes Hogan. Ben Freville,
assistant professor of education, suggests that sharing the building with the sciences,
and neuroscientists in particular, provides “tremendous opportunity for collaboration.”
A central location for education offices and classrooms, spread over separate buildings
in the past, encourages informal collaboration within the department, too. “Special
education and general education teachers are together,” Hogan says, “mirroring what is
happening in the schools: Special education students are no longer segregated.”
Inclusion—the belief that students with disabilities should be educated with other
students in general education classrooms—has become a guiding principle in education,
Hogan reports. Support services are brought to the child with special needs, instead
of moving the child out of the classroom for those services. In addition, the federal No
Child Left Behind Act, passed in 2002, includes students with disabilities in state- and
district-wide assessments and aims, essentially, to hold them to the same proficiency
standards as students without disabilities.
The move to inclusion has affected the way special education teachers are prepared.
When Dominican’s LD certification program was first approved by the state, it was
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INSIDE PARMER HALL
A Special Approach to Special Ed
“ Technology is the wave of
the future for children
with disailities.”
— Deborah Mercer MSSpEd ’07
designed for undergraduates earning a degree in
psychology. In 1978, the university began its graduatelevel
program, offering students a Master of Science
in special education along with a choice of certificates
tied to specific types of disabilities. In 2002 the state
moved to cross-categorical certification, reflecting a
belief that, to support inclusion properly, teachers
must be prepared for students with a wide variety
of disabilities. Graduate special education students
now earn a Learning Behavior Specialist I certificate,
qualifying them to teach students in preschool/
kindergarten through grade 12 with emotional
disturbances, learning disabilities, orthopedic
impairments, other health impairments, intellectual
disabilities (formerly referred to as mental retardation),
autism and traumatic brain injury—the full population
of students eligible for special education services
under the federal Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act.
Hogan believes that today’s teacher candidates,
who experienced inclusion in their own elementary
and secondary classrooms, have increased interest
in special education programs. Denice Acosta-
Gamero, in her fifth year of a combined bachelor’s/
master’s in special education program, reflects that
trend. Formerly a peer mentor for special education
students at Glenbrook South High School, Acosta-
Gamero’s moment of definition arrived during her
sophomore year at Dominican. She says, “I knew I
wanted to work in a school setting to help children
with special needs help themselves.”
Acosta-Gamero is glad to be among the first students
benefiting from Parmer Hall. Not only are the
classrooms beautiful, she says, but there are plenty
of larger rooms. “We do a lot of group work. It was
hard to find a place for that before.”
Unlike Acosta-Gamero, the vast majority of special
education students enter the School of Education
holding undergraduate degrees. About half of the
approximately 80 graduate students are certified
elementary or secondary teachers who seek
additional certification in special education. The
other half are non-education professionals seeking
first-time certification.
Recent graduate Deborah Mercer MSSpEd ’07,
launched a new career as a teacher this year, at
age 55. After earning a college degree, working in
publishing and as a stay-at-home mom, she became
involved with special education when her son was
diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome (an autism
spectrum disorder). As he entered public school
in Oak Park, she volunteered; then she worked as
a special education teaching assistant. It was a
natural next step to earn a master’s degree in
special education and become a certified teacher.
Mercer’s eight sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade
students at Berwyn’s Heritage Middle School have
moderate to severe disabilities such as Down’s
syndrome and autism. Giving children with such
diverse needs the individual attention they require
is difficult, she admits, but she credits Dominican’s
“outstanding, inspiring” teachers with providing
the tools she needs. It was Freville who introduced
Mercer to the assistive technology available for
students with special needs. “Technology is the wave
of the future for children with disabilities,” she says.
Freville, a self-confessed “geek” with a background
in the uses of technology in the classroom, helped
equip the School of Education’s new assistive
technology lab, located on Parmer Hall’s fourth floor.

Ben Freville, assistant professor of education,
helped plan the new assistive technology lab
in Parmer Hall, designed to introduce educators
to the growing wealth of tools that can aid special-
education students.
“Our hope is by having this model
lab available to our students, they will
learn to use software and hardware
that makes learning accessible for
all students,” says Freville. Computer
access, he adds, is virtually universal
in schools now, and although some
of the technology is very expensive,
some is available free or at low cost.
The lab will function as both a
classroom and hands-on training
center. Sixteen computers, equipped
with larger-than-normal screens,
headsets with microphones, switches,
wands and other assistive devices, ring
the walls in ADA-compliant stations,
leaving the center of the room for
demonstration. The computers are
loaded with up-to-date software
that, for example, can magnify text,
turn speech into text, or speak text
out loud. In the past, Freville was
limited to pointing students toward
descriptions of available hardware
and software. “There’s a tremendous
difference between showing assistive
technology on a website and allowing
students to use it first-hand,” he says.
Hogan says the program focuses
on both the science and art of
teaching. “Teachers need a good
set of tools, knowledge of researchbased,
evidence-based strategies,”
she explains. Yet a special education
teacher first must empathize with
each student. “We need to view the
school day from the perspective of
the student with disabilities. We must
listen to the child,” she says. n
NEW POWERS OF OBSERVATION
Dan Beach, chair
of the psychology
department and
professor in rosary
College of Arts and
Sciences, offered
extensive input
during the design
and construction
of new observation
rooms in Parmer
hall, like the suite
shown through
one-way glass
behind him.
Nestled on the second floor of Parmer Hall’s north wing, three sets of stateof-the-art
observation rooms create exhilarating opportunities not possible
in traditional classrooms. Shared by the psychology department and the
graduate schools of social work and education, the rooms are designed for both
clinical training and observational research. “For an undergraduate program,
facilities like these are almost unprecedented,” says Dan Beach, chair of the
psychology department, who took a lead in planning the spaces.
There are three separate observation suites. The centerpiece suite consists of
a main room separated by one-way mirrors from two viewing rooms. A nearby
storage room supplies adult- or child-size furniture that can be swapped in or
out to create an “office” or other clinical setting. The floor is covered with 12-by-
12-inch carpet squares of alternating color to allow observers to gauge distance;
a child’s hyperactivity, for example, could be measured by how many squares he
crosses in the course of an interview. The larger of the two viewing rooms holds
video and audio equipment that can broadcast in real time on a flat-screen
television, or videotape for later playback. Seating here can accommodate an
entire class. The smaller viewing room is suited for parents, able to watch their
child being interviewed but not influence the clinical observers.
A smaller suite of two rooms has a one-way mirror and audio capacity. It is
an ideal setting to conduct a research project, suggests Beach. A third suite
consists of a large psychology lab and a mini-lab, separated by a one-way
mirror hidden behind sliding dry-erase boards on both sides.
For the Graduate School of Social Work, the observation rooms fill a basic need.
In both foundational and advance-practice classes, the opportunity to use roleplaying
to learn interviewing and other practical techniques is crucial. “We can
sort of get people going in front of a classroom, but there is a different dynamic
when the class is not in the room,” explains Mark Rodgers, the school’s dean.
“We are creating a greater opportunity to deepen skills at a quicker pace.”
The capacity to videotape and review is key to analyzing social work’s “very
specific skills,” adds Jan Rodgers, the visiting assistant professor who chairs
the practice subcommittee.
These elements of Parmer Hall were designed for maximum flexibility, explains
Beach. The psychology department already uses the main suite to teach
interviewing techniques. For the future, the facilities “exponentially increase
the capacity for students and faculty to conduct research on campus,” he says.
“We’ll find more and more uses for the space as time goes on.” n
SPRING 2008 DOMINICAN UNIvErSITY 11

INSIDE PARMER HALL
What’s Fresh?
Ask Judy Beto ’73, professor of nutrition sciences, if
she has encountered anything unexpected in the
new Jay W. and Doris K. Christopher Nutrition
Sciences Center in Parmer Hall, and she responds
by telling you about the careful design of the facility.
“This has been a five-year planning process, so we
hoped not to encounter any surprises!” she says.
The center, to be dedicated on Wednesday, April
30, 2008, is named in honor of the founder of The
Pampered Chef and her husband; the couple lived just
blocks away from the university when they launched
their business selling kitchen essentials. To create the
12 www.dom.edu
The Christopher
Nutrition Sciences
Center
Above and at left on the next page: students prepare and serve dessert
for Recipe Box Café diners; at center on the opposite page, Judy Beto ’73,
professor of nutrition sciences, in the Christopher Nutrition Sciences
Center, Parmer Hall’s new state-of-the-art food lab.
center, Beto thought through every detail, drawing
upon the expertise of the department’s nearly 700
alumnae/i and working closely with the architects.
As a result, Dominican University now has a stateof-the-art
demonstration kitchen that she likes to
think “rivals Food Network,” with slim “lipstick”
cameras “that focus down on what’s being done in
the demonstration area, so each student can clearly
see—on mounted video screens—what’s going on
while they’re at their own workstation replicating
the task.”
The demonstration area, with its technological
sophistication, is the part of the center that Angela
Douge, adjunct professor of nutrition sciences,
favors most. Having taught in the old facility,
stepping into the new lab’s reincarnation “is like
Christmas, tenfold!” for Douge, with its abundance
of space, equipment, technology and quality.
The complexity of what can be accomplished in
the nutrition lab has also increased. Rita Treynker,
a junior who transferred to Dominican this fall,

explains, “It has high-tech equipment and a lot
of cool gadgets for the food science students. For
example, there are devices that let us measure the
density and color of a food.”
The nutrition lab also benefits by being on Parmer’s
first floor, opening onto Shaffer Silveri Atrium.
Enticing aromas waft out to passers-by, inviting
them to check out what’s cooking. “It’s so accessible,”
says Beto. “I wanted to be right where the action
was. People can stop by anytime and feel a sense
of ownership.” Says Douge, “I think it’s brought in a
lot of people to look, and some think, ‘I wonder if I
could take a class in this department.’”
“Here, students can really take
off with all their ideas.”
—Judy Beto ’73, professor of
nutrition sciences
As anticipated, the nutrition program is expanding
like a soufflé in its new setting. With the technological
advances, the number of students attracted to the
classes has also increased. “We’ve had so many new
majors, and so many transfers,” says Beto.
Treynker explains why she transferred: “I wanted
to major in nutrition and dietetics,” she says, “and
I wanted to go to a smaller school. I really enjoy
the personal attention that I get from the teachers.
I also talked to Dr. Beto, and she told me about the
Jay W. and Doris K. Christopher
new nutrition lab, and that sparked my interest.” The
facility is attracting non-majors as well. Basic nutrition
is one way to fulfill the natural science requirement
for liberal-arts majors, plus many students take it for
personal enrichment. To interest a broad range of
participants, Beto has added new classes, like one
on sports-related nutrition this spring.
The Recipe Box Café, a nearly 50-year tradition that
gives students hands-on experience in professional
food preparation and hospitality skills, is thriving.
Now set in Parmer’s showcase multi-story atrium, the
program has been upgraded so that students serve
their meals using fine tablecloths and silver charger
plates, new china and silverware. “Those are things
that really help the students feel a sense of pride,”
according to Beto. “Here, students can really take
off with all their ideas.”
But for Beto, none of this was unexpected. The
advance planning worked so well that during the
transition to Parmer Hall—with high-tech tools, an
increase in students, new opportunities—the biggest
obstacle turned out to be a simple, structural post in
the kitchen. During the design process, she says “we
tried and tried to work around this post in front of the
display area, until we finally gave up and incorporated
it.” The university mounted a videoscreen on the
post, which turned out to offer in-class benefits
and became one of Beto’s and Douge’s favorite
components. “Maybe that’s a lesson in life for all
of us. Don’t waste all your time moving around
something; just embrace it.” n
SPRING 2008 DOMINICAN UNIvErSITY 13

The
14 www.dom.edu
INSIDE PARMER HALL
New Pre-Med:
Support for Success
One of the most significant trends in higher
education is adult students returning to
campus to retool for a new career. Some
students seek careers that are collateral to
their original profession; others make a
more radical change—such as moving from law
or business into medicine. Dominican University’s
program for transitioning into the medical field has
the resources to serve a diverse student body with
widely ranging needs.
The university launched the program with just one
or two students during the fall semester of 1999.
Since then it has grown steadily. There are currently
32 students (many from out of state), ranging in age
from 22 to their late 30s, in the program.
From the first it was a non-traditional program with a
non-traditional orientation. There are several types of
Louis Scannicchio, MD, director of Dominican University’s
post-baccalaureate pre-medical science program, meets
with students just before a test in order to help them with
last-minute medical vocabulary questions.
post-baccalaureate programs, including programs
for students who need to fulfill general science
requirements in order to apply to a professional
school, degree-granting programs, programs
that are designed to assist those historically
underrepresented in the health profession, and
programs offered by non-degree-granting institutions
that provide only guidance to students. “Our
program is unique in that it combines the services
of all of these types of programs,” says Louis
Scannicchio, MD, clinical professor of biology and
director of the post-baccalaureate pre-medical
science program. “We provide students with
excellent academic support and counseling; this
is a certificate program, and students leave with
a recognizable credential—all within an equal-
opportunity academic community.”
Some students have never taken introductory
natural science courses. Others need to improve
their grades in general biology, general chemistry,
organic chemistry or general physics before
applying to a professional program. Their academic
background in the sciences varies widely.
Scannicchio says, “We have the flexibility to tailor

the program to what an individual
needs, though they have to make
a commitment of at least a year.
Students who need more background
might complete their program in a
year and a half; others may need two
years. We can accommodate their
needs until they’re ready for the
next step.” About 80 percent of the
students attend for two years. Last
year, 14 of the program’s graduates
moved on to doctoral-level
studies elsewhere.
“The resources here are
incredible, from the
building to the people.”
—Melissa Ewa, post-baccalaureate
pre-med student
In addition to his position at
Dominican, Scannicchio is on staff at
Rush Oak Park Hospital. As a result,
the program also offers opportunities
for internships in many disciplines
at the hospital; however, the
program isn’t just about becoming
a doctor. Students proceed to postgraduate
programs in a variety of
fields, including physical therapy,
physician assistant, pharmacy, and
research-oriented PhD programs.
Melissa Ewa, who entered the
program this fall, feels confident
that her time at Dominican is just
the preparation she needs. “The
resources here are incredible,”
she says, “from the building to
the people. When I first met Dr.
Scannicchio, he convinced me that
between Parmer Hall and this
program, Dominican University had
what I needed to get into medical
school. Every day I’m more certain
he was right.” n
INSIDE THE CHEMICAL STOCKROOM
Kathleen Schmidt-
Nebril, manager of
the chemical
stockroom, says the
security, safety and
environmental features
of the new facility set
industry standards.
Swipe-card security access. A “house line” for nitrogen that replaces
old-fashioned tanks. Rows of tall wooden cabinets with glass doors for
quick visual searches. A pharmacy-style dispensing window. “Dominican
University didn’t cut any corners on the chemical stockroom,” says Kathleen
Schmidt-Nebril, manager of the chemical stockroom located on the third
floor of Parmer Hall. “This is state of the art.”
Safety is a predominant concern with chemicals. Not only could these
resources be used to make hazardous or illegal compounds, but some
present national security issues that require Schmidt-Nebril to report
quantities to the US Department of Homeland Security. The inventory also
represents an investment, as some materials are costly (organo-metallic
compounds cost over $100 an ounce) and others are scarce. Schmidt-
Nebril keeps track of all chemicals via an inventory spreadsheet that allows
approved users to verify current supplies.
Chemicals are categorized by hazard class as determined by the National
Fire Prevention Association (identifying, for example, materials that
are toxic, highly reactive, corrosive or radioactive); each class must be
sequestered. Metal cabinets are used in special cases, such as with
flammable chemicals, so that in the event of a fire the cabinet will contain
the blaze completely. “What’s unique in the new stockroom is that every
cabinet is individually vented,” says Schmidt-Nebril. “And that’s not all;
each venting pipe is individually adjusted for calibration of just the right
air flow.”
The chemical stockroom manager doesn’t just store and dispense supplies.
Schmidt-Nebril, who has logged more than a decade as an industrial chemist
and undertaken OSHA and hazmat training, says “I dispose of everything
myself. Students typically have a hard time discerning what can go down a
drain. The only way to be safe is to say that everything you produce goes
into the waste jug. It’s important to show students that chemical waste
is serious.”
Eventually, the chemical waste leaves the stockroom in the care of an
environmental service, certified to meet or surpass all legal and safety
standards. From acquisition to final disposal, the university handles
chemicals with respect and sensitivity. n
SPRING 2008 DOMINICAN UNIvErSITY 15

Parmer Hall
John C. and Carolyn J. Parmer Hall features
more than just state-of-the-art classrooms and
laboratories. The new building also hosts a
wide variety of contemporary artwork, culled
from the store of pieces Dominican University
has acquired over the years. That collection is in the
midst of a lengthy cataloging process undertaken
by student interns under the supervision of
Kim Theriault, assistant professor of art history.
Students, staff members and art department faculty
participated on a committee to select the pieces for
Parrmer Hall. While several were donated to the
university by generous benefactors, others were
created by Dominican students and staff.
16 www.dom.edu
16 w w w . d o m . e d u
INSIDE PARMER HALL
by Thomas Blackwell, class of 2008
TheVibrant Art
of
In keeping with the university’s Catholic tradition,
a religious mosaic greets visitors to Parmer’s southwing
entrance. The work is built out of colorful
fragments of varying shapes, depicting Christ with
a group of followers. The mosaic was produced
by Sr. Guala O’Connor, OP (deceased professor of
art), with assistance from Sr. Milla Derby, OP ’49
(who also taught art). The foyer of Albertus Magnus
Hall, the old science
building, is adorned
with a wall-sized mosaic
of creation by the same
artist, so the placement
of this smaller piece
creates a historical echo,
connecting Parmer with
its predecessor.
On the lower level of Parmer Hall, a busy hallway
is embellished with art of a more abstract nature.
Evoking the expressionist works of the early 1960s,
a large blue, gray, white and black piece by Richard
Alexander bursts with
energy. The university
previously displayed the
piece in the Cyber Café
of the Rebecca Crown
Library. It was donated to
the university by Beatrice
“Buddy” Mayer, a longtime
friend of the school, in 1976
in memory of her husband,
Robert B. Mayer.
Student artwork also is
represented in the building, including scenes of the
botany department greenhouse (attached to the old
science building) painted by Emilia Gryc ’05. Now
located on the third floor of Parmer Hall next to the
general chemistry laboratory, the paintings—one
portraying a daylight view of the garden; the other,
a nighttime view—serve as subtle reminders of the
department’s history.

Well-known Chicago-area artists also are represented throughout Parmer Hall. An
avant-garde series by Chicago-born artist and peace activist Matt Lamb, whose work is
also featured in the Priory Auditorium, graces the walls of Parmer’s fourth floor. The
twelve matching panels feature an unorthodox combination of materials, including glue,
sand, paint and oil, to form unique, mustard-colored creations that bring to mind the
atmosphere of a gaseous planet.
Near the entrance to Parmer Hall is a whimsical
painting of six nearly identical waiters, the work
of the late Seymour Rosofsky, an Illinois artist who
exhibited at the Guggenheim Museum, the Whitney
Museum of American Art and the Art Institute of
Chicago. The piece depicts the waiters holding trays;
a great dining table is set behind them. Located, as it
is, near the Christopher Nutrition Sciences Center and
Shaffer Silveri Atrium, which hosts countless catered
university events, the painting seems to comment on
the circus-like energy of food service.
The walls of the atrium have already become an ad hoc gallery, featuring, for example, a touring
display of photography from Sicily. Exhibits of student work are scheduled for spring. Earlier this
year, the building also hosted a traveling exhibit of embroidered panels created by a collective of
women from villages outside Johannesburg, South Africa.
The art of Parmer Hall provides just a glimpse into Dominican’s collection. The works mark the
social spaces of the building and maintain an open-ended sense of artistic inquiry in a building
largely dedicated to science. They nurture culture and curiosity. They surprise. The artwork reflects
an ever-evolving Dominican University community, while underscoring its healthy embrace of
pieces from the past. n
SPRING 2008 DOMINICAN UNIvErSITY 17

On August 30, 2007, Dominican
University dedicated John C.
and Carolyn J. Parmer Hall.
Among the dignitaries attending were
His Eminence Francis Cardinal George,
OMI (who led the blessing ritual),
US Representative Danny K. Davis,
18 www.dom.edu
DEDICATION CEREMONIES
PARMER HALL
Village of River Forest Board of
Trustees President Frank M. Paris and
Dominican University Trustee Emerita
Carolyn Noonan Parmer ’52, for whom
(along with her late husband) the
new building is named.
On Rosary Sunday, October 7, 2007, the Dominican University
community gathered to dedicate Founders’ Court—Parmer Hall’s
tribute to the Dominican sisters who shaped the school. The
court, supplemented by a wall of remembrance in Shaffer Silveri
Atrium, demonstrates how the founders’ ideals and efforts remain
central to today’s institution. During the ceremony, Sr. Clemente
Davlin, OP ’50, delivered a memorial to the university’s “founding
mothers” and those who followed. Her speech is adapted here.
Today we celebrate the members of the Congregation of the Most
Holy Rosary, our sisters who loved this place into being. But
especially, as we dedicate Founders’ Court, we remember those
sisters who have worked and taught for Rosary and Dominican.
I think of Sr. Mary Aquinas Devlin, who became an internationally
respected scholar, a Guggenheim Fellow whose edition of the Latin
sermons of a fourteenth-century bishop, friend of Chaucer, was
published by the Royal Historical Society and is still the standard
edition. I think of Sr. Reparata Murray, founder of our library school,
called to Rome to help reorganize the cataloging of the Vatican
Library; of Sr. Alberic coming home from Yale to teach generations
of chemists (including women who succeeded in the then-rare
feat of entering medical school); of Sr. Greg, whose love of theater
still burns in her alums; of artist-faculty like Sr. Catherine Wall, Sr.
Guala, Sr. Felix, adorning the college with paintings, mosaics and
vestments. I remember Sr. Maristella convincing colleagues of the
need for a psychology department. When I was an undergraduate,
everyone, no matter what her major, took Sr. Thomasine’s first
economics class. She was a scholar, a consultant to the White
House, but what a teacher!
We know that in 1934 the faculty offered almost
1,000 people free courses in the depths of the
Depression, and that in the same decade, determined
to begin to create racial diversity, they invited black
sisters as students. We remember hearing about
Sr. Vincent Ferrer walking the picket line at the
stock yards for workers’ rights, and Sr. Mary Ellen
O’Hanlon, passionately attacking racial myths with
her biological expertise long before the civil rights
movement, and those of us who were here saw Sr.
Albertus Magnus become the target of vilification in
her last years because of her work for women. Most
of you remember Sr. Paul; I remember her in her
old age insisting on coming with me to the murder
trial of a student’s brother who in self-defense had
inadvertently killed his attacker. I pleaded with her
not to come, because she was frail and in pain, but
she said, “I’m coming, dear. You see, if you go alone, they will only
think he happens to have one friend who is a sister. If I go with you,
they will think a whole community stands behind him.”
They did all this—and much more—out of love: love for this place,
certainly; love for their students and their world; and most of all,
as Mary did, out of love for God. These founders have not gone
away from here, even the ones who have died. They are, as the
Eucharistic liturgy tells us, part of a great “cloud of witnesses” in the
communion of saints, of which you and I are part. They are present
in this place, watching us, praying for us, urging us on, helping us.

FOUNDERS’ COURT
SPRING 2008 DOMINICAN UNIvErSITY 19

Keeping Faith: Mary Ann Cronin and Siblings
When her mother’s 80th birthday approached, Mary Ann Cronin
wanted to do something extraordinary. Since she serves on the
university’s Buildings and Grounds Committee, she knew that
The University Seal and its sponsors, with Pat Cronin at right.
President Carroll hoped to embed the university seal—including the
motto Caritas et Veritas—into the floor of Parmer Hall’s atrium, but
lacked funding. Mary Ann recognized a perfect chance to honor her mother, Patricia Somers Cronin ’48, who had received
the university’s Caritas Veritas Award in 2003. She organized her eight siblings in underwriting the project, and the family
announced the gift at a mass in Rosary Chapel. “She was completely stunned,” recalls Mary Ann. “And the fact that it
was related to the Caritas Vertias Award made it even more meaningful to my mother.”
The gift is a lasting symbol of Pat Cronin’s admiration for the Sinsinawa Dominicans, Mary Ann explains. “My mother comes
from a line of very strong women, women who were very forward-thinking. I think she just naturally understood that way of
being and gravitated to them,” she says. “My mother also has a very strong faith and is particularly close to the Blessed
Virgin—just as the Dominicans are.”
The Noll Family Demonstration Kitchen; at right, its sponsors.
20 www.dom.edu
INSIDE PARMER HALL
Five Stories
of Parmer Hall Supporters
Behind every gift to Dominican University is a
story with themes of gratitude, connection and
faith. The many gifts that have made Parmer
Hall possible—support for the beauty and
technology that define every room—give physical form
to the dedication of the latest generations of alumnae/i
and friends of the university. Here are five of their
stories and the reasons they support Parmer Hall.
Building Community: Mary Lou and Marty Noll
Dominican University Trustee Marty Noll is a man deeply
connected to his community: president of Community Bank of Oak
Park River Forest; three-decade River Forest resident; and husband
to MaryLou—raised in Oak Park and known as one of the area’s
most accomplished cooks. It was President Carroll who suggested
they lend their name to the nutrition sciences’ demonstration kitchen. It was a perfect fit,
Noll recalls. “I wanted to recommend something to Mary Lou that she herself would actually
be interested in.”
The Noll Family Demonstration Kitchen is named for Mary Lou, Marty and their two adult
daughters. “We’ve seen Dominican prosper greatly over time,” he says. “The school brings
so much to the community, and it was the right time to return the favor.”

The Carol and Paul Kraus Conference Room;
at right, its sponsors.
The Provost’s Office; at right, its sponsors.
The Jill A. and Dennis J. Smith Neuroscience Student Research
Center; at right, its sponsors (with their dog, Mimi Lynne).
Offering Thanks: Carol J. Anderson ’56 and Paul Kraus
Carol Kraus grew up on a farm in Ohio, where both of
her college-graduate parents insisted their children
follow in their footsteps. Carol picked Rosary because
it was a Catholic women’s college and had a studyabroad
program. Then she arrived on campus and met
the Dominican sisters who would change her life. “For a small Catholic women’s
college at that time, the sisters had an amazing world view,” she says. “At
Rosary, I was always free to ask questions—even if they were questions
of doubt.”
After college, Kraus returned to Ohio, raised eight children with her husband
Paul, and volunteered for community programs. The couple wanted to
demonstrate their gratitude to Dominican, and Parmer Hall presented the
ideal opportunity. Their gift supports The Carol and Paul Kraus Conference
Room, a space busy with meetings, studying students, review sessions. The
sign outsides honors Harold and Margaret Anderson: Ohio parents who insisted
their daughter, now so very grateful, pursue an education.
Giving Honor: Kevin M. Killips ’79 and
Cynthia Gizzo-Killips ’82
Kevin Killips and Cindy Gizzo-Killips were married in
Rosary Chapel. That’s just one of the reasons their
families have shared an intense connection to Dominican
University. To honor that bond, the couple decided to
support Parmer Hall; the Office of Provost is dedicated to the memory of their late
parents: Lester A. Killips and Hazel and Carl Gizzo.
Kevin was the first in his family to attend college. “My father was happier than I
was on my graduation day,” recalls Killips, who is now a banker in Chicago and a
university trustee. “He saw my graduation as a step forward for the family.”
The Gizzo family lived near campus. While their daughter attended college, Mrs.
Gizzo delivered treats and Italian dinners to the Dominican sisters. “Rosary was a
big part of my life and my mother’s life—it meant a lot to both of us,” recalls Gizzo-
Killips, now a second grade teacher. “When my parents died, I wanted to honor
them and their connection to Rosary.” Now there’s a room that memorializes the
parents who helped their children succeed at college, and at the same time, to find
life partners who share their devotion to a special place.
Making an Impact: Jill A. Blanchette ’80
and Dennis J. Smith
Jill Smith studied political science as an undergraduate, but
neuroscience recently became one of her deepest interests.
In September 2007, her husband Dennis passed away from
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease),
a progressive neurodegenerative disease. Shortly before his death, the couple
decided to sponsor a much-needed neuroscience student research center in Parmer
Hall. “We thought that by participating we could allow students to learn more about
this neuromuscular disease,” says Smith. “It wasn’t necessarily so that they could
find a cure, but rather that they could enter the field. We wanted to do something that
was both permanent and could positively impact many lives.”
The couple previously donated to Dennis’ alma mater, Notre Dame University. That
gift supported Notre Dame’s athletic department. Smith is pleased that their gift to
Dominican University is different. “Larger institutions have many donors because of
the number of alumni they have,” she says. “At Dominican, your donation does go a
lot further. You have much more of an impact, and on many people.” n
SPRING 2008 DOMINICAN UNIvErSITY 21

DU NEWS
Stars
T
Shine in Fall
he fall season drew to a close for the
department of athletics in mid-November with
the men’s soccer team earning its sixth straight
at-large bid to the NCAA Division
III Men’s Soccer Championships,
eventually falling to Washington
University (MO) in the second
round of the national tournament.
Dominican logged a first-place
finish in the Northern Athletics
Conference in men’s soccer, a
second-place finish in the women’s
soccer conference tournament,
a fourth-place finish in women’s
tennis, a sixth-place finish at
the women’s cross country
championship and ninth-place
finishes in women’s volleyball and
men’s cross country.
Some of the hardworking
Dominican
University athletes.
22 www.dom.edu
The Stars landed 16 athletes on
NAC All-Conference teams with
nine first-team selections. Junior
Matt Kochanowski was named the
NAC Men’s Soccer Player of the
Year and freshman Michael Kapusta
was named the NAC Men’s Soccer
Rookie of the Year.
Senior Elvin Perez was named
to the National Soccer Coaches
Association of America (NSCAA)
College Division Scholar All-
America Team. The association
considers both academic and
athletic success in awarding the
honor; just 11 other studentathletes
from non-NCAA Division
I institutions joined Perez on the
College Division First Team.
Throughout his four-year career, Perez has
anchored the Stars’ defense as senior defender for
the men’s soccer team. In the classroom, he has
maintained a 3.65 cumulative grade point average.
He will graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in
business administration. n
At DUPAC: Jazz/blues diva Catherine Russell (left) and bluegrassmaster
Jim Lauderdale (center) are just two of the artists exploring the
legacy of the Grateful Dead as part of The American Beauty Project.
DUPAC:
T
Recent Successes and a Hint of What’s To Come
his season at Dominican University Performing
Arts Center (DUPAC) has proved rich with
successes—from the DUPAC-arranged collaboration
between string quartet Ethel and Englewood-based
Kaotic Drumline, which received bountiful media
coverage, to the musical Working, so popular
that it played for an extra weekend and added
an American Sign Language interpreter for hearingimpaired
audience members. Though several
exciting events remain in the current season,
the center has already revealed a few of next
year’s performances.
The final show in this season’s Theatre Arts Lab
Series is Lillian Hellman’s searing drama Toys in the
Attic. The Traditions Series still holds in store The
American Beauty Project, a roster of musicians—
including recent Grammy-winner Jim Lauderdale
(Best Bluegrass Album), gospel-inspired vocalists
Ollabelle, jazz/blues vocalist Catherine Russell,
mandolinist Larry Campbell and singer Teresa
Williams—revitalizing classic songs of the Grateful
Dead, and closes with a rafter-raising concert by
the Windy City’s global ambassador for the soulblues
sound: Otis Clay. That concert, with Sharon
Lewis sharing the bill, is part of the Blues and the
Spirit Symposium (see page 25).
DUPAC has announced only a few events in its
2008-2009 season, but highlights include Turtle
Island Quartet performing its Grammy-wining
interpretation of John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme
in the Chamber Series, Abigail Washburn and the
Sparrow Quartet in the Traditions Series, and the
musical Chicago in the Theatre Arts Lab Series.
For information or tickets, call the box office at
(708) 488-5000 or visit www.dom.edu/pac. n

Dominican Bestows 2008 Bravo Award Upon the Welsh Sisters
At left: Marlene Welsh Phillips, Bravo Award recipient, addresses the
audience at the 28th Annual Trustee Benefit Concert on Sunday, March 9,
2008 in Lund Auditorium; center (from left): junior Nathaniel McInnis holds
the award (presented annually to recognize civil, cultural or philanthropic
contributions to the community and to the arts) for Phillips, Shirley Welsh
Ryan receives her award from junior Susan Walsh, and Raymond I. Skilling
FA Decade of Great Results
or the tenth year in a row,
US News & World Report has
ranked Dominican University
in the top tier of Midwest
master’s-level universities in its
prestigious annual publication
America’s Best Colleges.
Dominican is one of only four
Illinois institutions to rank in
the top 25.
Additionally, Dominican University is one of only
two master’s-level universities in Illinois to be
named a “Great School at a Great Price.” US News &
World Report relates each school’s academic quality
to the net cost of attending the school to determine
its ranking in the category.
America’s Best Colleges is an annual examination
of 1,400 accredited four-year American colleges
and universities. The rankings, based on categories
created by the Carnegie Foundation for the
Advancement of Teaching, supply hard data and
analysis to help college applicants compare schools
across the country.
In addition to the US News & World Report
recognition, Colleges of Distinction, an online
college guide, has included Dominican University
in its listing of selected national colleges that have
engaged students and offer great teaching, a vibrant
community and successful outcomes. The university
also has been recognized as a competitive college
by Peterson’s Guide and is highly ranked in the
National Survey of Student Engagement. n
receives from freshman Victoria Whooper the award for his late wife,
Alice Welsh Skilling—to whom the university dedicated the concert;
right (from left): Raymond J. Reid and Rosemarie Komen Reid ’65, event
co-chairs, baritone Thomas Hampson, the featured artist, and Jacqueline
Simon and R. Matthew Simon, event co-chairs, gather on the stage of
Lund Auditorium before joining the cocktail reception.
Steven L. Herb—Follett Chair
The Dominican University Graduate
School of Library and Information Science
(GSLIS) has appointed Steven L. Herb to
the Follett Chair in Library and Information
Science, endowed through a gift from the
Follett Corporation and one of only four
chairs in library science in the country.
Herb succeeds Edward J. Valauskas,
though Valauskas remains on faculty.
GSLIS selects the Follett Chair for outstanding
teaching ability and superior scholarly achievement,
two areas in which Herb excels. He is head of the
education and behavioral sciences library and an
affiliate professor at Penn State University. Co-author
of two children’s literature textbooks, Herb has a
special interest in storytelling. He was named Penn
State’s most-innovative faculty member in 2000 on
the basis of his seminar “Stories and Storytelling:
How Humans Become People.” His research
explores the relationships among multiple literacies:
oral language development in infants and toddlers,
print literacy in preschool and elementary school
students, and computer and information literacy
across all ages.
During his appointment at Dominican University,
which began on August 1, 2007, Herb is teaching
courses, pursuing research in youth services, and
developing strategic initiatives to benefit GSLIS.
Steven L. Herb,
Follett Chair
“I’m delighted to be joining the excellent faculty at
Dominican University,” Herb says. “I’ve been a very
fortunate person throughout my career, but to be
able to work in a strong library school that truly
cares about educating professionals to work with
children is indeed a blessing.” n
SPRING 2008 DOMINICAN UNIvErSITY 23

DU NEWS
President
O
Carroll Honored As Business Leader
n November 7, 2007, Dominican University
President Donna M. Carroll received the
2007 Athena Award from the Oak Park-River
Forest Chamber of Commerce. The
honor, which recognizes a local
businesswoman for her leadership,
professional excellence, community
service and support of other women,
is awarded only every other year.
The next month, Carroll was named
runner-up River Forest Villager of the
Year (second only to a village trustee)
by the Wednesday Journal. In an article announcing
the award, the newspaper stressed the excellent
relations between the university and its neighbors,
especially noteworthy at the end of two multi-year
construction projects. n
New: DThe Center for Global Peace Through Commerce
ominican University’s Brennan School of
Business has long been focused on providing
its students with a global perspective and a solid
grounding in ethics. Ethical international business—
by necessity—must value global peace. That idea
has inspired Brennan to establish a Center for
Global Peace Through Commerce with support
from The Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust.
The Center for Global Peace through Commerce
will be located in the Brennan School of Business
on Dominican’s Main Campus. A director, to be
named later this year, will work closely with the
Brennan faculty and administration to develop
new workshops, conferences, experiential
learning and other opportunities to create
global business connections.
“We recognize that business leaders are well
positioned to forge partnerships and make
global connections that impact far more than
a corporation’s bottom line,” says Molly Burke,
Brennan’s dean. “The Center for Global Peace
Through Commerce will expand opportunities
for students, faculty and business leaders in the
Chicago area, including our alumnae/i, to make
connections with businesses and business people
from around the world—and to focus on how those
connections can contribute to peace.” n
24 www.dom.edu
Siena Center: Exploring Common Good, Sustainability
The 2007-2008 season is drawing to a close
at Dominican University’s Siena Center, but
plans for next year are shaping up. The center,
established by the university to engage critical
issues of church and society in the light of faith
and scholarship, continues its spring series on the
common good with “Pursuing the Good We Share
in Common” by Kristin Heyer, author of Prophetic
and Public: The Social Witness of US Catholicism.
The series concludes with “The Common Good:
Will We Ever Hear About It in a Campaign?” by
E.J. Dionne Jr., columnist for the Washington
Post, senior fellow at The Brookings Institute, and
author of the recently released Souled Out: Faith
and Politics After the Religious Right.
The annual Catherine of Siena celebration will
center on the presentation “Gifted Women, Needful
Church” by Zeni Fox, a professor at Seton Hall
University and author of Called and Chosen:
Toward a Spirituality for Lay Leaders. Her lecture
will be preceded by evening prayer.
Siena Center’s 2008-2009 schedule will include
two series on sustainability. The fall series
considers sustainability’s relationship to Christian
tradition. The spring series explores the conflux of
sustainability and globalization.
For information, call (708) 714-91050 or visit
www.siena.dom.edu. n
DU Sets the Pace, Prairie Style
Zeni Fox, (left) a
leading US theologian
of lay ministry,
headlines the Catherine
of Siena celebration;
political commentator
E.J. Dionne Jr. (right)
will close out the
Siena Center’s series
on the common good.

DU Hosts Nation’s First Blues and Gospel Symposium
This spring, Dominican University will host the
first academic symposium in the nation on the
legacy of blues and gospel music. Exploring the
social and economic environments in which both
musical genres evolved, the Blues and the Spirit
Symposium will feature distinguished scholars of
African-American culture, internationally revered
blues and gospel performers like Otis Clay, rare
photographs of legendary blues performers and
never-before-seen video of Chicago’s historic
Maxwell Street. Participants will also experience
a Chicago blues club crawl.
Historian Fannie Rushing will lead a tour of
Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood. Bob Koester,
founder of Chicago’s Delmark Records, will offer
an insider’s perspective on the music industry.
Preeminent blues harpist Billy Branch will head a
panel on blues education. Keynote speeches include
composer/ethnomusicologist Portia Maultsby on
issues of identity, aesthetics and meaning, and
theologian/musicologist James Abbington on
music’s role in the black religious experience.
Janice Monti, symposium director and chair of the
sociology department, is particularly interested in
participation by alumnae/i; she says the weekend
can serve as a practical introduction to two art
forms that were shaped by local communities.
“Blues and the Spirit is a first-of-its-kind opportunity
to analyze and celebrate the shared roots of blues
and gospel music—and their Chicago legacy,” she
says, “from ‘the devil’s music,’ as the blues has been
called, to church-based, rafter-raising gospel. Our
programming blends ‘street smarts’ and academic
knowledge—along with plenty of live music.”
The symposium runs from Thursday, May 22
through Saturday, May 24. For details, call (708)
524-6050 or visit www.dom.edu/bluesandthespirit. n
On Saturday, October 21, the Park District
of Oak Park hosted the 31st annual Frank
Lloyd Wright Races; Dominican University
once again served as the community event’s
only platinum sponsor. Approximately
2,200 runners traveled the USA Track &
Field-certified route past eight Frank Lloyd
Wright buildings. The university sponsored
16 student runners, some of whom are
pictured here.
Dominican Develops New Partnership
With TTrinity High School
rinity High School is a Catholic, collegepreparatory
school for young women, founded
in 1918 by the Sinsinawa Dominican order that
sponsors Dominican University and located on
Division Street halfway between the university’s
two River Forest campuses. This year the schools
announced a new educational collaboration that
opens the university’s new building, Parmer Hall,
to the students of Trinity High School.
The partnership allows Trinity seniors who rank
in the top quarter of their class to take a freshmanlevel
course at Dominican and earn college credit
free of charge. The high school students will be
able to benefit from Parmer Hall’s exceptional
laboratories. Other facets of the partnership include
granting Trinity students full access to resources at
the university’s Rebecca Crown Library, joint servicelearning
projects, early admission opportunities
for Trinity students applying to Dominican, and
Trinity-specific merit scholarships at the university.
Announcing the partnership at a Trinity open house,
Michelle Germanson, OP, president of the high
school, called the collaboration “a continuum of
learning opportunities that can touch more minds
and hearts.” n
Introducing
T
a New Type of Residence Hall
he number of students living in
Dominican University residence
halls has increased each year for the
past decade. Not only do students
require more rooms, but they want
more variety as well. This fall, the
university will launch a new program
allowing students to live off campus at the Bon
Villa apartments; placement in the residence will
be handled through the Office of Residence Life.
The Bon Villa apartments are located in a five-story
historic building on Wisconsin Avenue in Oak Park.
The building, a classic Chicago courtyard style,
originally served as an extended-stay hotel but
underwent a complete renovation last year. Although
modern amenities such as a microwave, internet
access and cable television are included, some retro
architectural features remain; many students will
encounter their first Murphy beds and tables. n
SPRING 2008 DOMINICAN UNIvErSITY 25

FACULTY BRIEFS
26 www.dom.edu
Peter Alonzi, professor of economics, Brennan School of
Business, co-authored the paper “Prisoner’s Dilemma Applied and
in the Classroom: The TV Game Show Friend or Foe” published
in Primus. He was also reappointed by the National Futures
Association to its education/testing advisory committee.
Judy Beto ’73, professor of nutrition sciences, Rosary College
of Arts and Sciences, presented a lecture, “Nutrition and Renal
Disease,” at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of
Medicine. At the American Society for Enteral and Parenteral
Nutrition’s annual meeting in Chicago, she presented “Morbid
Obesity in Chronic Kidney Disease: Is There a Role for Gastric
Bypass?” She currently serves as elected trustee for the American
Kidney Fund, a national charity that awards more than $100
million each year in direct aid to dialysis patients. She also serves
as an elected member of the certification commission for the
Research Chefs Association. She is a member of the American
Dietetic Association’s Nutrition Care Process/Standardized
Language Committee. Additionally, she received a 2007 Volunteer
Recognition Award from the Ray Graham Association for People
With Disabilities in recognition of two years of service as chair of
the Ray Graham Foundation Board of Directors.
Jean Bevier, instructor of graphic design, Rosary College of Arts
and Sciences, received the 2007 Gold Award from the University &
College Designers Association at the organization’s annual design
conference in Toronto. Additionally, she was granted emeritus
member status by the UCDA Board of Directors in recognition of
her contributions to promoting standards of excellence in visual
communications for educational institutions; fewer than two
dozen designers have received this honor.
Sr. Jeanne Crapo, OP, professor emerita of English, Rosary
College of Arts and Sciences and university archivist, presented
a paper titled “On the Road with Gerard Manley Hopkins” at the
International Hopkins Summer School in Monasterevin, Ireland.
Bill Crowley, professor, Graduate School of Library and
Information Science, presented a paper titled “Don’t Let Google
and the Pennypinchers Get You Down: Libraries and Librarianship
in the Age of Technology” at the British Columbia Library
Association’s Annual Conference in Burnaby, British Columbia.
Sr. Mary Clemente Davlin, OP, professor emerita of English,
Rosary College of Arts and Sciences, presented a paper titled “The
Hand and Touch of God in Piers Plowman and Medieval Art” at
the Christianity and Culture Conference in York, England.
Samina Hadi-Tabassum, associate professor, School of
Education, presented a paper titled “Fragmentation and Isolation
in a Postmodern World” at the University of Pennsylvania’s Urban
Ethnography Conference.
Krista Hansen, assistant professor of theatre arts, Rosary College of Arts
and Sciences, and artistic director for the Theatre Arts Lab Series, has
joined the cast for the touring production Erasing the Distance: People
I Know. The show, produced by Cheryl’s Dreaming Big, explores the
true stories of individuals and families coping with mental health issues
(such as depression, anxiety, eating and bipolar disorders). Erasing the
Distance tours to high schools, universities, churches and community
organizations in addition to holding public theatre performances.
Steve Harrington, associate professor of accounting, Brennan School
of Business, and Anne Drougas, professor of finance and quantitative
methods, wrote “Financial Statement Analysis, Value Investing and
Benjamin Graham: An Introductory Assignment for Undergraduate
Business Majors,” which was published in the fall 2007 edition of the
Journal of the Academy of Business Education.
Therese Hogan ’79, associate professor of special education and
director of special education programs, School of Education, has
completed three new videos in a series for the Infinitec Media
Production Service of United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Chicago. The
videos—Warm Them Up to Writing: Working With Reluctant Writers,
Learning While Laughing: Teaching Decoding Using Humorous
Reading and Learning While Laughing: Teaching Vocabulary and
Comprehension Using Humorous Readings—are designed to provide
professional and personal development for educators, paraprofessionals
and parents.
Martha Jacob, instructor, sociology and criminology, Rosary College of
Arts and Sciences, co-authored a study funded by the National Institute
on Aging and published in the Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences.
The study explored the relationship between state spending on home-
and community-based services and the risk of nursing home admissions
among childless seniors.
John Jenks, associate professor of journalism, Rosary College of Arts
and Sciences, was re-elected vice head of the small programs interest
group at the August convention of the Association for Education in
Journalism and Mass Communication in Washington, DC. At the
convention, he also moderated a panel titled “Stretching the Shoestring:
Journalism Education on a Budget.” In addition, Jenks presented a
lecture in November on war propaganda as part of the Oak Park/River
Forest/Forest Park Big Read program.
Tracy Jennings, assistant professor of fashion, Rosary College of Arts
and Sciences, won the Best Professional Design Award at the American
Association of Family and Consumer Sciences conference in Reno, NV
for her eco-friendly garment made of a new 100 percent-sustainable
and recyclable fiber manufactured from corn.
Bill Kerr, assistant professor of graphic design, Rosary College of Arts
and Sciences, had a project featured in the December issue of American
Patchwork and Quilting magazine. FunQuilts, a quilt-design firm he
co-owns, developed a kit for a contemporary take on a traditional crazy
quilt for the magazine. Additionally, during the summer, FunQuilts was
featured by an online quilting program, the quiltshow.com. Kerr also led
quilting workshops in Flagstaff, AZ and upstate New York.

Adrian Kok, assistant professor, Graduate School of Social Work,
presented a paper entitled “Best Practices in Teaching Older Adults
Computers” at the fourth International Conference on Technology,
Knowledge and Society in Boston, MA. Additionally, he was appointed to
a three-year position as a faculty mentor by the Council of Social Work
Education to supervise and provide guidance to faculty participating in
the curriculum-development institutes designed to infuse gerontology
content in the social work curriculum.
Nkuzi Michael Nnam, associate professor of African and African-
American studies, Rosary College of Arts and Sciences, published
Colonial Mentality in Africa. He also presented a paper titled “Igbo
Epistemology and the Family” at the 33rd Annual Third World
Conference in Chicago, and he read a paper titled “Igbo Epistemology:
An African Theory of Knowledge” at the 31st Annual National
Conference of the National Council for Black Studies in San Diego,
CA. He also presented a paper titled “Colonial Mentality in Africa” at
the 15th Annual Conference of the National Association of African-
American Studies at Baton Rouge, LA.
Christina Perez, assistant professor of sociology, Rosary College of Arts
and Sciences, recently published a book, Caring for Them From Birth
to Death: The Practice of Community-Based Cuban Medicine.
Chad Rohman, professor of English, Rosary College of Arts and
Sciences, published an article titled “A River ‘Ready for Business’:
Life Down the Mississippi as a Main Undercurrent in Mark Twain’s
Pudd’nhead Wilson” in the spring 2007 edition of American Literary
Realism. His review of Joe B. Fulton’s The Reverend Mark Twain:
Theological Burlesque, Form and Content appeared in the Mark
Twain Annual.
Susan Strawn, assistant professor of apparel design and
merchandising, Rosary College of Arts and Sciences, presented a
talk titled “Returning Navajo-Churro Sheep for Navajo Weaving”
to the Seattle Textile and Rug Society. In November, she presented
two papers—“Transitions in Traditional Religious Dress in a
Communalistic Society” and “Incorporating Ethical Dialogs into
Undergraduate Textile Science Studies”—at the International Textile
and Apparel Association. Strawn also lectured on fashions of World War
I as part of the Oak Park/River Forest/Forest Park Big Read program,
spotlighting her recently published book, Knitting America.
Mickey Sweeney, professor of English, Rosary College of Arts and
Sciences, gave a lecture in November on The Franklin’s Tale, one of
Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, as part of the River Forest Public
Library’s series of Fireside Chats.
Carol Tallarico, assistant professor, Brennan School of Business,
published an article titled “Does Simultaneity Matter? The Relationship
between Economic Growth, Income Inequality, Corruption, and
Political Instability” in the Journal of Academy of Business and
Economics. In October, she presented information from the article to
the International Academy of Business and Economics in Las Vegas,
NV. She also gave a presentation titled “The Chicago VOC Trading
Program 2000-2006: Hot Spots and Environmental Justice” to the
Illinois Economics Association in Chicago, as part of the environmental
economics session she organized.
FACULTY BRIEFS
Tonia Bernardi Triggiano, assistant professor of Italian, Rosary College
of Arts and Sciences, presented a paper titled “The Curriculum of
Battista da Montefeltro-Malatesta” at the 2007 Patristic, Medieval and
Renaissance Conference at Villanova University.
Edward J. Valauskas, instructor, Graduate School of Library and
Information Science, appeared on WTTW’s Chicago Tonight to discuss a
rare botanical book, Temple of Flora, acquired by the Garden Library of
the Chicago Botanic Garden.
Michelle Van Natta, assistant professor of sociology, Rosary College of
Arts and Sciences, helped organize a conference at DePaul University
as a member of the Community Accountability Planning Group. The
conference, entitled “Paving New Roads: Communities Engaged in
Resisting Violence,” highlighted innovative anti-violence work taking
place in the Chicago area.
Clodagh Weldon, associate professor of theology, Rosary College of
Arts and Sciences, published an article titled “Teaching Theology in a
Catholic University: Highlights from the Dominican Tradition” in the
spring 2007 issue of The Dominican Torch.
Regina Wolfe, Christopher Chair in Business Ethics, Brennan School
of Business, gave a presentation of research, titled “Alleviating Poverty
in a Globalized Economy,” at the International Association for Business
and Society in Florence, Italy. She took part in a panel presentation,
“The End of Foreign Aid as We Know It: The Profitable Alleviation of
Poverty in a Globalized Economy,” at the European Business Ethics
Network annual conference in Leuven, Belgium. She presented a paper,
“Advancing Women’s Roles in Business: Can the Calvert Women’s
Principles Help?,” at the 14th annual Vincentian Business Ethics
Conference in Chicago, IL. She also took part in a panel presentation,
“The Consistent Ethic of Life: 25 Years Later,” at the Society of Christian
Ethics annual meeting in Atlanta, GA.
Father Richard Woods, OP, professor of theology, Rosary College
of Arts and Sciences, presented a paper titled “The Spirituality of the
Early Irish Saints” at the Christian Heritage Conference on Irish Saints
and Celtic Spirituality in Armagh, Northern Ireland. In addition, he
presented “Varieties of Mystical Experience Today: A Common Context”
at the Mysticism and Monotheism Conference at Boston University. The
conference explored the possibilities of a new PBS series on the mystical
dimensions of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. He also presented a
series of lectures titled “Spirituality for a Possible Future” at a retreatworkshop
at the Graduate Theology Institute at St. Michael’s College in
Vermont; the series examined the consequences of globalization, climate
change and their implications for Christian spirituality in the decades
to come.
Noelle Allen Wright, assistant professor of sculpture, Rosary College of
Arts and Sciences, exhibited her work in the 12x12 New Artists/New Work
Series at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.
SPRING 2008 DOMINICAN UNIvErSITY 27

CALENDAR OF EVENTS
March
Art Exhibit: Annual Juried Student Exhibition
Wednesday, March 26 through Friday, April 4, O’Connor Art Gallery
April
Siena Center Lecture: Kristin Heyer—“Pursuing the Good We
Share in Common”
Thursday, April 3, 7:30 p.m., Priory Auditorium
Student Fashion Show: The Future of Fashion
Saturday, April 5 at 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., Sunday, April 6 at
3:00 p.m., Lund Auditorium
BSB Lecture: Paul Schneider—“Understanding What Your
Career Is in Today’s Corporate Environment”
Monday, April 7, 7:00 p.m., Bluhm Lecture Hall
Lecture: Stephen Kinzer—“Iraq After Five Years of Occupation:
Did Intervention Work?”
Wednesday, April 9, 7:00 p.m., Springer Suite, Rebecca Crown Library
Theatre Arts Lab Series: Toys in the Attic
Friday, April 11 and Saturday, April 12 at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, April 13
at 3:00 p.m., Martin Recital Hall
Alumnae/i Remembrance Mass
Sunday, April 13, 11:00 a.m., Rosary Chapel
Art Exhibit: Senior Thesis Exhibit—Group One
Sunday, April 13 through Friday, April 18, O’Connor Art Gallery
24th Annual Latino Film Festival: El Sueño del Paraíso
(The Dream of Paradise)
Monday, April 14, 7:00 p.m., Martin Recital Hall
Siena Center Lecture: E.J. Dionne Jr.—“The Common Good:
Will We Ever Hear About It in a Campaign?”
Tuesday, April 15, 7:30 p.m., Lund Auditorium
Lazerow Lecture: Rosalind W. Picard—“From Tin Man to
Cyborg: Technology and Emotional Intelligence”
Wednesday, April 16, 6:00 p.m., Martin Recital Hall
Traditions Series Concert: The American Beauty Project, a
Tribute to the Grateful Dead
Saturday, April 19, 7:30 p.m., Lund Auditorium
Lecture: Steven Kinzer—“America’s Role in the 21st Century:
Suggestons for the New President”
Tuesday, April 22, 7:00 p.m., Springer Suite, Rebecca Crown Library
Follett Lecture: Steven L. Herb—“Life, Literacy and the Pursuit
of Happiness: The Importance of Libraries in the Lives of
Young Children”
Wednesday, April 23, 6:00 p.m., Martin Recital Hall
40 www.dom.edu
Otis Clay
Annual Business Forum on Corporate Governance
Friday, April 25, 7:30 a.m., University Club of Chicago
Poetry Now! Festival of Poetry
Saturday, April 26, 9:00 a.m., Parmer Hall
Art Exhibit: Senior Thesis Exhibit—Group Two
Sunday, April 27 through Friday, May 2, O’Connor Art Gallery
Siena Center St. Catherine of Siena Celebration: Zeni Fox—
“Gifted Women, Needful Church”
Tuesday, April 29, 7:00 p.m., Priory Chapel and Auditorium
May
Baccalaureate Mass
Friday, May 2, 5:30 p.m., Rosary Chapel
Candle and Rose Ceremony
Friday, May 2, dusk, Quad
Commencement
Saturday, May 3, undergraduate commencement at 11:00 a.m.,
graduate commencement at 3:00 p.m., Lund Auditorium
Blues and the Spirit Symposium
Thursday, May 22 through Saturday, May 24, Main Campus
Traditions Series Concert: Blues and the Spirit Symposium
Performance—Otis Clay with Sharon Lewis
Friday, May 23, 7:30 p.m., Lund Auditorium
June
Reunion
Friday, June 6 through Sunday, June 8
10th Annual Golf Outing
Monday, June 23, Ravisloe Country Club, Homewood, IL
July
Graduate Information Session
Thursday, July 17, 5:30 p.m., Parmer Hall
August
Academic Convocation
Monday, August 25, 4:00 p.m., Lund Auditorium
September
Traditions Series Concert: Abigail Washburn and the
Sparrow Quartet
Saturday, September 13, 7:30 p.m., Lund Auditorium
Siena Center Lecture: Alexia Kelley—“Creation, the
Ultimate Common Good”
Tuesday, September 16, 7:30 p.m., Priory Auditorium
Latino Film Festival Candle and Rose Ceremony

REFLECTIONS ON
PARMER HALL
SR. MARY WOODS, OP ’45
Current Position Professor emerita of chemistry; individual
tutor to the rising number of chemistry students
Dominican University Connections: Rosary College alumna
with degrees in chemistry and math; member of the Sinsinawa
Dominicans; 41 years of teaching; former university trustee;
Caritas Veritas Award recipient; member of the Rosarians;
class agent for class of 1945; volunteer for Project OPUS;
member of the Albertus Magnus Society for the Intersection
of Religion and Science; aunt of Rosalie Woods Bliss ’79
Notable Accomplishments: PhD in chemistry; approximately
30 published papers; more than 20 years as a research
associate with James C. Sullivan at Argonne National Laboratory,
investigating the kinetic reactions of the actinide series of
radioactive elements; member emerita of the American Chemical
Society; and namesake of The Sr. Mary C. Woods, OP Chemistry
Research Lab for student/faculty collaborative research—Parmer
Hall, Room 332—funded by friends and former students
Favorite Activities: Teaching chemistry—I still find it fulfilling
to ponder the richness of this science, especially alongside
our students. My other favorite activities are simply the result
of living on Dominican’s beautiful grounds, with access to
lectures, concerts, liturgies and colleagues.
Best Dominican Experience: The influence of Sr. Alberic Runde,
OP ’24—she inspired me with her all-encompassing curiosity.
She would sit in her office on the second floor of the science
building—an office that later became mine—in a student’s
wooden desk-chair surrounded by stacks of reading material
on the floor: Fortune, Commonweal, Time, poetry, a recent
theological study, and philosophy (her friend, Sr. Jocelyn,
taught the subject; they carried on a lifelong debate about
whether the atom was real). She was the most amazing woman
I’ve ever met, and she showed me the joys of a Dominican life.
Reflections on Parmer Hall: I find it exciting the way different
areas of study are brought together. The crossover between
biology, chemistry, neurology, psychology, nutrition: there’s
so much potential there. Our students want to be doctors,
chemists, pharmacists, veterinarians—and they will be better
prepared for their work thanks to these resources. We have
de-ionized water right out of the tap. We have space devoted
to student/faculty research. We have classrooms designed
with windows into the hallways, so when you walk through the
building, you see all of the students standing at the hoods
(the protective ventilation) performing their experiments,
usually with the help of some new instruments. That activity
changes the learning experience, just as observing it from the
hallway raises the sense of excitement, of discovery in every
room. And to have this all in such a beautiful building—we
have been entrusted with so much.

0804309
Senior Sandra Vega produced
Inspired minds.
Amazing possibilities.
Our Mission
As a Sinsinawa Dominican-sponsored institution,
Dominican University prepares students to pursue truth, to give compassionate service
and to participate in the creation of a more just and humane world.
7900 West Division Street
River Forest, IL 60305
www.dom.edu
Address Service Requested
Printed using soy inks.
this illustration of John C.
and Carolyn J. Parmer Hall as
part of the advanced graphic
design class annual project
to create the university’s
Christmas card. Vega is among
the first group of students to
be able to start the project
by using images of the newly
completed academic building.
SUSTAINABILITY IS A ShArED PrIOrITY.
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Visit www.dom.edu/dumag.
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