Campus News

UIW Airs New Radio Station

Incarnate Word celebrated a milestone last spring when the radio station KUIW was launched. The internet station is run entirely by UIW students, who are involved in all aspects of the business including management, advertising, promotions, on-air talent and web design.

Unlike most radio stations, KUIW does not have a set genre of music. Instead, the students established a station that is representative of the UIW student body. KUIW will focus on genre blocks that will include music in the areas of rock, rap, latin, country and Christian Music.

The station was established through the Title V cooperative federal grant UIW received last October. The $3 million grant awarded to Hispanic-serving institutions was the largest in UIW history.

The students invite everyone to listen and experience the genres of Latin, Gospel, World, Hip-Hop and Rock throughout the day at www.kuiw.org.

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Connelly Honored for Outstanding Service

Dr. Robert Connelly, UIW Professor of Philosophy and former dean of the School of Mathematics, Science and Engineering, was honored in the spring for his outstanding service to the university.

UIW celebrated Incarnate Word Day with a special service on March 23 in Our Lady’s Chapel. At the service, Connelly was honored as the 2005 recipient of the CCVI Spirit Award. The CCVI Spirit Award is annually awarded to one permanent member of the university whose life embodies the spirit of service of the founding sisters.

Connelly has been at UIW since 1972. He has taught at the college level for 40 years and has received numerous awards and grants related to excellence in teaching and curriculum development. Connelly, who is a recognized scholar in the field of applied ethics, has authored several books and published numerous papers in professional journals. He has given presentations on a variety of topics including social ethics, business ethics, bioethics, medical and nursing ethics, ethics and science, technology, and death and dying.

Connelly is currently Assistant Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs.

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UIW Student Awarded First Kemper Foundation Scholarship

UIW celebrated another exceptional achievement by a student when freshman Saska Richards was named a Kemper Scholar recipient during the spring semester.

Sponsored by the James S. Kemper Foundation of Chicago, Ill., the Kemper Scholar Program focuses on preparing students for leadership and service positions, especially in the fields of administration and business.

Richards, who applied for the fellowship after speaking with a theatre professor, is the university’s first recipient since UIW formed a partnership with the Kemper Foundation. Twenty-five students applied to become the UIW Kemper Scholar. Out of the 25 applications that the committee received, 12 applicants were interviewed and three finalists were chosen for a further interview with the executive director of the Kemper foundation, Dr. Thomas Hellie.

As a recipient, Richards will receive up to an $8,000 scholarship during her sophomore, junior and senior years at UIW as long as she maintains a 3.0 GPA. She will also receive a stipend between $2,000 and $6,000 to work for a nonprofit organization in Chicago during the summer following her sophomore year. The summer after her junior year, Richards will have the opportunity to arrange an independent project that the Kemper Foundation will fund. “I know that there is a world of possibilities that will be open to me because of this program,” said Richards. “This will be one of the many tools that I will be able to use to tap into the different fields that interest me.”

The Kemper Foundation believes that a liberal arts education at the undergraduate level helps to prepare students for life and a career. Because of that belief, UIW was a perfect fit for the organization. Another aspect of the university that the foundation found unique was the various racial and ethnics groups represented on the UIW campus, as the program was looking to get a more diverse group of students than in the past.

“For them to choose us was an important opportunity for us,” said Dr. Denise Doyle, UIW vice president for academic and student affairs. “They wanted a student with a broad liberal arts background, open to issues and absorbing information and knowledge for its own sake.”

Currently, there are 15 schools recognized as Kemper Scholar institutions.

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Fashion Students Celebrate 25 Years in the Making

The UIW fashion department presented its 25th Annual Cutting Edge Fashion Show to a sold out audience on April 28 in the Sky Room.

The annual event is produced entirely by students and featured the work of 14 student designers. Each designer produced a collection of six to eight garments. The collection centered on an individual theme selected by the designer and ranged from a season to a color or even a market segment. Each piece or outfit was entirely designed and constructed by the student.

For the past 25 years, the students have coordinated every aspect of the event, a detail unique to the UIW show. Other universities with fashion programs hold small shows or participate in an annual agency-produced show in Dallas, but no other university presents a large scale event that is entirely produced by students. From sound to lighting to staging and contracting professional models, UIW students experience every angle of planning a large event.

Special guests included representatives from Elizabeth Arden, Neiman Marcus, Saks, Julian Gold, Tootsies, Foley’s and Macy’s. The designs of Cosette Reyes Varela took Best of Show honors as well as first place in construction, design and best collection.

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2004-2005 Commencement Ceremonies

UIW celebrated 2004-2005 Commencement on May 7 with two graduation ceremonies to accommodate a higher number of guests per ceremony, one in the morning and a second in the afternoon.

The morning celebration for the H.E.B. School of Business & Administration and the School of Nursing and Health Professions began with a Baccalaureate Mass at 9 a.m. in the Fine Arts Auditorium, followed by commencement at 11 a.m. in the Alice P. McDermott Convocation Center. Tom Benson gave the morning address and received an honorary degree.

Born in New Orleans, La., Benson attended Catholic Schools until he joined the U.S. Navy in 1945. After leaving the Navy with an accounting degree, he began his business career. In 1959, he acquired his first Chevrolet dealership and proceeded to become a leader in the industry. With some associates, he acquired ownership of the New Orleans Saints football team in 1984, emerging as an influential leader of the NFL. Today, Benson is not only a successful businessman, but an active philanthropist as well. He has served as a member of the UIW Board of Trustees and received the UIW Insigne Verbum award in 1993.

A second Baccalaureate Mass was held at 3 p.m. in the Fine Arts Auditorium for graduates from the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences; the Dreeben School of Education; the School of Interactive Media & Design; and the School of Mathematics, Science and Engineering. The afternoon commencement began at 5 p.m. and featured an address by honorary degree recipient Dr. Joe L. Frost.

An internationally acclaimed educator and author, Frost has collaborated with UIW’s Dreeben School of Education since 1996. The Arkansas native has written over 15 books and numerous articles on children, play and early education. Through a career, which included positions as a public school teacher, Iowa State University Assistant Professor and work with children in poverty and Operation Head Start, Frost became a leader in the field of early education.

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