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USF News

USF Announces 2023 Sister Clare Award Winner

Joliet, Ill. – The University of St. Francis (USF) Women’s History Month Committee annually solicits nominations for, selects and awards the Sister Clare Award. The award, presented during Women’s History Month every March, recognizes women of vision who have transformed the world in their time, is presented each year to a deserving recipient by USF in the spirit of our sister, Clare. USF congratulates Kathryn “Kathy” Giegerich on being selected as this year’s award recipient.

Giegerich is the sole owner/operator of Blackburn Giegerich Sonntag Funeral Home in Joliet. She started working at the family funeral home when women were starting in the business, and there were very few female funeral directors. She was mentored by her father, who instilled in her the philosophy that the funeral home is not just a business; it’s a service that provides help for people going through a difficult time. Giegerich accepted the award during a special ceremony at USF on March 22, 2023.

Giegerich is committed to serving the community. Her parents believed in giving back to the community and taught their children to do the same. She joined Childerguild at Silver Cross Hospital in the mid-1980s, volunteering as a sales clerk at the hospital gift shop. She was chairperson for several of the black-tie galas and has served as president of the organization. Additionally, Giegerich has held positions on the Guardian Angel Community Services and Our Lady of Angels Retirement Home boards. She is a member of the Rotary Club of Joliet, Lightways Hospice Guild, and most recently, The Visitation and Aid Society. Zonta International and the recognition of women’s rights have been and continue to be important to Kathy. She has served as president of the Joliet chapter of Zonta.

USF’s inaugural Sister Clare Award was presented in 2013 during Women’s History Month to the university’s founding congregation, the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate. Other honorees have included Diane Nilan (2014), Cleopatra Pendelton (2015), Bernice Sandler (2016), Mona Purdy (2017), Petra Jamie (2018), Nancy Economu (2019), Roxiana Fuqua (2020), Dr. Ngozi Ezike (2021), and Patricia Alvarez (2022).

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The University of St. Francis, in Joliet, Ill., serves close to 4,000 students nationwide and offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs in the arts and sciences, business, education, nursing and social work. There are over 53,000 USF alumni across the globe. For information, call 800-735-7500 or visit stfrancis.edu.

University of St. Francis: Bigger thinking. Brighter purpose.

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USF Awarded $100,000 IBHE Nursing School Grant

Joliet, Ill. – The University of St. Francis (USF) Leach College of Nursing (LCON) is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a $100,000 Nursing School Grant through the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE). The grant will be used to address equity gaps in enrollment and course completion for USF nursing students in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and BSN Completion programs, of which approximately half are African American, Latinx, low-income, first-generation, from rural communities, and/or working adults. With the grant funding, LCON will purchase equipment, including a medication dispensing system and simulation cart, and increase 24 additional hours per week of simulation labs for BSN students to accommodate working students and remediation on evenings and weekends to reinforce preparation our students for clinical practice; the LCON expects increasing the retention rate of students. As a result, highly competent and well-prepared students maximize their employment opportunities while benefitting patients in Illinois. The expected outcomes of the grant-funded objectives also align with the Leach College of Nursing’s goals for 2019-2024, which include strengthening communities of learning to provide all members a sense of belonging, and increasing completion and graduation rate in all programs. “We are very grateful for this IBHE Nursing School Grant, which will allow our nursing students to spend more time and build trust with faculty, have more engagement in their learning by attending additional SIM and skills labs, and optimize their use of available resources. In addition, achieving our proposed outcomes will help to address health equity in our community by fostering a more diverse nursing workforce,” said USF Leach College of Nursing Dean Yeijin Yeom, Ph.D., RN, CNE. : : The University of St. Francis, in Joliet, Ill., serves close to 4,000 students nationwide and offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs in the arts and sciences, business, education, nursing and social work. There are over 53,000 USF alumni across the globe. For information, call 800-735-7500 or visit stfrancis.edu. University of St. Francis: Bigger thinking. Brighter purpose. # # #
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USF Welcomes International Speaker Br. Michael Perry for Sustainability Presentation

Joliet, Ill. – The University of St. Francis (USF) welcomes international speaker Br. Michael Perry, OFM, for a special one-hour sustainability presentation to the community on Tuesday, April 25, beginning at 7 p.m. The presentation, Addressing Sustainability: Becoming Partners with Creation for the Sake of the Poor and the Planet, will take place in the Moes/Presidents Room in Tower Hall on USF’s main campus, which is located at 500 Wilcox Street in Joliet. Virtual access through Zoom will also be offered. “Pope Francis told me the only way forward for humanity is for people to abandon the temptation to exercise control over land and peoples and to pursue the path of holiness, the path of becoming saints. That path, said the Pope, that journey, is made by seeking sincere human friendship, fraternity and solidarity. I suggested this is what it [means] to becoming ‘Saints.’ The Pope told me this is a very good thing to do,” Perry said. The presentation is being made possible through the Catholic Franciscan Charism Council and Sustainability Committee efforts, free of charge. RSVP for the event (both in-person and virtual) no later than April 20th by contacting Arlene Finkle at 815-740-3398 or afinkle@stfrancis.edu. About Br. Michael Perry, OFM Brother Michael Anthony Perry, OFM, is a Midwestern American Franciscan friar who from 2013-21, served as General Minister of the Order of Friars Minor, the 120th successor of St. Francis of Assisi.  Currently, he is the Franciscan Scholar in Residence and Director of the Laudato Si’ Center for Integral Ecology at Siena College in New York. Perry also worked at the International Office of Justice and Peace at the United States Conference of Bishops and at Catholic Relief Services, and at Franciscans International, which works on human rights, poverty, peace, and integral ecology at the United Nations.  For ten years, Perry also worked in the manner of St. Francis as a missionary in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He also taught cultural theology and global Catholicism at Washington Theological Union in Washington. : : The University of St. Francis, in Joliet, Ill., serves close to 4,000 students nationwide and offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs in the arts and sciences, business, education, nursing and social work. There are over 53,000 USF alumni across the globe. For information, call 800-735-7500 or visit stfrancis.edu. University of St. Francis: Bigger thinking. Brighter purpose. # # #
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Faculty Members Present at Annual AACTE Meeting

75th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
Joliet, Ill. – University of St. Francis (USF) College of Education (COE) faculty members Karen Blaha, Ed.D., and Erin Evans, Ed.D., presented at the 75th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE). Their presentation, Supporting BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) Candidates in Undergraduate Teacher Education Programs at a Predominately White University, was part of the three-day event, which took place from February 24-26, 2023, in Indianapolis, Ind. The team’s presentation disseminated the findings of a research study conducted across three focus groups to qualitatively examine the perspectives of BIPOC teacher candidates at a predominantly white, private institution in the Midwest. The research focused on factors that BIPOC candidates consider when choosing a university, perceived challenges faced during their experience and the supports that participants believe are most helpful in boosting retention in teacher education programs. Additionally, the presentation was designed to allow attendees to analyze the perspectives of BIPOC teacher candidates, teacher education alumni, and in-service teachers regarding the challenges faced in pursuing teacher education at a predominantly white institution and the supports necessary to overcome those challenges, and then apply the recommendations from the presentation to their current teacher education programs for curricular and cultural improvement. “The USF COE is passionate about equity and inclusion, and being able to develop and implement a research project that allows us to improve our programs is one of the reasons I am most proud to be part of the COE. Sharing our findings on a national platform with 800+ other teacher preparation providers and engaging in collaborative discussion helps us all to move forward in best practices to recruit and retain a diverse group of teacher educators to inevitably make an impact on the field of education in the years to come.  Working with Dr. Blaha and the rest of our research team, including Dr. John Gambro, COE dean, and Ms. Amy Schroeder, COE instructor, to discuss supports for BIPOC candidates across all COE programs was an honor and I look forward to seeing where our research will continue to lead us in the future,” Evans offered. “We were truly blessed to be able to share our research with other educators who also feel inclusive and equitable learning environments are a priority.  We experienced some wonderful discussions with the participants, and were presented with possible extensions for future research,” Blaha added. About the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education According to the AACTE website, the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) is the leading voice on educator preparation. AACTE represents more than 800 postsecondary institutions with educator preparation programs dedicated to high-quality, evidence-based preparation that assures educators are ready to teach all learners. Visit aacte.org for more information. : : The University of St. Francis, in Joliet, Ill., serves close to 4,000 students nationwide and offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs in the arts and sciences, business, education, nursing and social work. There are over 53,000 USF alumni across the globe. For information, call 800-735-7500 or visit stfrancis.edu. University of St. Francis: Bigger thinking. Brighter purpose. # # #
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USF Inducts Newest Members of the Augustus Tolton Honor Society

Augustus Tolton Honor Society
Joliet, Ill. – The University of St. Francis (USF) recently inducted twenty student members of the Augustus Tolton Honor Society. The induction ceremony took place on February 24, 2023, in USF’s San Damiano Hall. The Augustus Tolton Honor Society (ATHS) is named after Fr. Augustus Tolton, the first recognized African American Catholic priest, and aims to nurture one’s intellectual ability, to promote leadership development, to foster knowledge of self, and to provide service to the community. The ATHS exemplifies the leadership and academic excellence of Black Scholars while upholding the values recognized by the University of St. Francis: Respect, Compassion, Service, and Integrity. This year’s student inductees, which included the 11th cohort of undergraduate students and the 4th cohort of graduate students, were: (undergraduate) Jalen Cooper, Le’lani Harris, Nyambi Marsh, Daniel McLaurin, Terrance Nicholson, Asia Owens, Bryanna Portis, CJ Reeves, Tia Scott, Darius Wright, (graduate/doctoral) Monique Bell, Nicole Bell-Woodfork, Lauren Bennett, Kelly Cook, Brenda Hammonds, Evera Ivy, Ryan King, Caprisha Neal, Carolyn Ross, and Tanesha Wheat. Dr. Billie Terrell, Professor Emeritus of Social Work, was recognized as an honorary inductee and was the event’s speaker. USF ATHS advisors include: Deborah Glenn, Ed.D. (Director of Institutional Diversity); Evera Ivy (Student Employment Coordinator); Leia Levy, Ed.D. (Associate Professor of Radiation Therapy), and; Alicia Watkins, Ph.D. (Professor of Social Work). : : The University of St. Francis, in Joliet, Ill., serves close to 4,000 students nationwide and offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs in the arts and sciences, business, education, nursing and social work. There are over 53,000 USF alumni across the globe. For information, call 800-735-7500 or visit stfrancis.edu.
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American Red Cross Blood Drive at USF on Tuesday, March 28

March 2023 American Red Cross blood drive
Joliet, Ill. – The University of St. Francis (USF) is hosting an American Red Cross blood drive on Tuesday, March 28, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Assembly Hall Gymnasium at USF’s St. Clare Campus, which is located at 1550 Plainfield Road in Joliet. For an appointment, call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit redcrossblood.org and enter “60435” in the red “Find a Blood Drive” box on the home page. You can save up to 15 minutes when you donate blood by using RapidPass. Visit redcrossblood.org/RapidPass for more information. If you are an eligible type O, B – or A – donor, consider making a Power Red donation. Red blood cells are the most commonly transfused blood component. For more information, please visit redcrossblood.org. : : The University of St. Francis, in Joliet, Ill., serves close to 4,000 students nationwide and offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs in the arts and sciences, business, education, nursing and social work. There are over 53,000 USF alumni across the globe. For information, call 800-735-7500 or visit stfrancis.edu. University of St. Francis: Bigger thinking. Brighter purpose. # # #
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