In what might be best described as a thankful return to some normalcy, several hundred staff and faculty gathered Tuesday in person, and many more virtually, for the annual fall semester town hall and Kingfisher Award presentation to kick off Mission Week, and the start of the 2021-2022 academic year. In a keynote address that spanned a variety of topics, Creighton President the Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD, wasted no time expressing just what it meant to be together.
“This is quite a special time for Creighton, in so many ways. I have made no secret of how proud I am of what we did – that is, what you did – and continue to do, together, to navigate this pandemic,” he said. “Never say never, but it is difficult to imagine another time in my life where such determination and resolve are so enduring and innovative, and for that you have my gratitude.”
The remarkable embrace of vaccinations across the University community remains, as Fr. Hendrickson described, our single greatest defense against COVID-19, and a source of optimism for the health and safety of everyone on campus. He reinforced again the remarkable statistic that nearly 100% of staff and faculty, and 93% of students have been fully vaccinated.
“These results are the reason we can be here, together, today. It is the reason we were able to ease some of the restrictions we have on campus,” Fr. Hendrickson said.
Such results also allowed Creighton to safely welcome the second-largest freshman class in its history, which remains, among other factors, a sure sign of Creighton’s financial strength, which the University’s president also reflected on.
“As we begin a new academic year, I am proud to say that we are doing so from a position of stability,” he said.
The truth, as Fr. Hendrickson described, was that in early 2020, Creighton faced a reality that was comprehensively disruptive and unpredictable. Circumstances put the financial health of the entire institution into question, and a plan was needed quickly. Almost overnight, concerns about enrollment trends were cast aside, and brought into focus were more pressing concerns about students delaying tuition deposits for fear there wouldn’t be in-person classes.
Following the “engagement of a spending emergency brake” at the time, which included some difficult decisions and collective sacrifice, the University was able to navigate the storm.
“I am appreciative of our foresight and shared ability to implement risk mitigation strategies early in the pandemic. More personally, I remain humbled and completely inspired by this University’s ability to transform challenges into opportunities, and so many potential stumbling blocks into steppingstones. When many colleges and universities around the nation have faced bleak circumstances and uncertain futures, you have been unshakable for Creighton, and for our students,” said Fr. Hendrickson.
Still, the enrollment challenges that existed for higher learning before the pandemic remain as much of a challenge today, perhaps even amplified. Creighton’s strategy, as Fr. Hendrickson outlined, remains on strengthening our core mission, as well as investing in the infrastructure and technology that supports a rapidly changing higher educational landscape.
We are already making progress. Just this month we launched the Creighton app, targeted to students initially, with the intention to add a host of features that appeal to faculty, staff, alumni and guests visiting our campus. We also continue to make great strides in the infrastructure work that will provide the framework for a robust Creighton intranet.
We also plan to continue looking closely at academic programming, both for-credit and non-credit engagements, to ensure that new programs both showcase our sense of mission while also attracting new learners. Provost Mardell Wilson, EdD, introduced this renewed focus at the finance roadshows last spring, and over time more will be shared about how the impact of programs going forward will be validated.
Campus growth was also an important topic at the town hall. Highlights included the opening of our health sciences campus in Phoenix, the construction of the CL Werner Center for Health Sciences in Omaha, and the construction of our first new residence hall on campus since 2006.
Fr. Hendrickson also spoke of doubling our efforts to do more in the global community. Under the direction of René Padilla, PhD, vice provost for Global Engagement, we are entering a new phase in our partnership with Jesuit Worldwide Learning this fall. Creighton stands to become the North-American credit granting institution for JWL’s Pre-STEM Certificate for students around the world who live in refugee camps, or who have been displaced within their home countries. Creighton and JWL have also formalized an agreement for our Intensive English Language Institute to provide training to JWL students worldwide who will teach English in their communities. The goal of the program is to help people who live in refugee camps, or who have been displaced within their home countries, strengthen their English language skills in preparation for resettlement, employment or education.
“Know this, I remain thankful for the work of our students and our colleagues, here and around the world, who are making meaningful contributions that reflect our Jesuit identity to help transform the world for the better,” Fr. Hendrickson said.
To close the town hall, Creighton’s annual Kingfisher Award was conferred upon Nicole Piemonte, PhD, who currently serves as assistant dean for student affairs and a faculty member in the Department of Medical Humanities in our School of Medicine’s Phoenix campus. She also holds the Peekie Nash Carpenter Endowed Chair in Medicine.
Piemonte created and implemented medical humanities curricula for two campuses, including the new master’s program in Medical Humanities. The award honored her for being instrumental in making humanities principles and practices part of Creighton medical student formation. According to her nominator, Piemonte’s work aligns with the University’s mission of “stimulating critical and creative thinking and providing ethical perspectives for dealing with an increasingly complex world.” Her pioneering work in both scholarly performance and teaching has had transformative impacts on education in the health humanities, not only for our Creighton students, but for students at other universities as well.
“Dr. Piemonte, you too are a healer, a critical thinker, and a compassionate presence,” said Fr. Hendrickson.
Watch a replay of the Presidential Town Hall and Kingfisher Award Presentation.
