Institutional History Project: Bellarmine University

BELLARMINE UNIVERSITY

Petrik's Legacy

Looking Towards the Future

BEGINNINGS

As Bellarmine continued to expand as a residential college, the Siena Complex, consisting of four separate residential halls were built starting in 2007 and completed in 2011. Between the four halls, there is a total number of 518 beds, a dining hall, a fire pit, and a small amphitheater (Bellarmine University, 2011).

Throughout his 17-year administration, five new campus buildings were built, including the start of the residence hall which was later named after him. Also under his administration, enrollment numbers doubled to 2,600 students, endowment grew to $7 million, and numerous academic programs were added to the curriculum including five graduate programs.

Third President: Dr. Joseph McGowan

A New President

"The Pioneer Class"

Before McGowan's sudden death in 2016, he helped secure the starting funds for Bellarmine's most ambitious project to date, Centro. Serving as a one-stop shop for student services, Centro is an expansion of the original Bellarmine building, Horrigan Hall.

The first graduation took place in 1954, granting degrees to 42 students nicknamed, "The Pioneer Class" (Bellarmine University, n.d.a.).

Our Lady of the Woods Chapel

In 1990, Bellarmine's Board of Trustees appointed the institution's third president, Dr. Joseph McGowan. McGowan established many Bellarmine traditions that are still held today including the lyrics to the Alma Mater song.

Merging with Ursuline

Following Msgr. Horrigan's resignation from his presidency in 1972, the Board of Trustees appointed their first president, Dr. Eugene Petrik in 1973.

Mother Teresa Visit

With the sponsorship of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville, Bellarmine College was opened as an all-male institution in the fall of 1950. It was also one of the first institutions in the Louisville area to accept all races.

In 1968, Bellarmine College merged with Ursuline College, a private, women's institution created by the Ursuline Sisters, making Bellarmine College co-educational. Bellarmine also became independent of the Archdiocese during this time and gained its first Board of Trustees.

Construction of the chapel started in the summer of 1998 and completed in 2001. The chapel received its name because of the past presidents' devotion to Mother Mary of the Catholic Church and the location of the chapel amongst the woods located on campus. Although Bellarmine is Catholic-affiliated, the chapel is open to all Bellarmine community members of all religions who need a space for prayer or meditation.

In the summer of 1982, Mother Teresa of Calcutta brought in over 4,000 people to Knights Hall to listen to her speak about her mission and travels.

1960

2000

2010-Present

1990

1980

1970

Women in Sports

The Bellarmine Knight

1950

In 1997, Bob Lockhart, a Bellarmine art professor, was selected by McGowan to create a sculpture of a knight, the school's mascot to be displayed in the quad. The sculpture was funded by former Board of Trustee member, Owsley Brown Frazier.

Continuing to Expand

In 1956, Bellarmine College received their accreditation

Name Change

Bellarmine Today

Women's basketball and volleyball were added in the 70s, but more opportunities for women to participate in collegiate sports grew in the 80s with the additions of "softball, track, cross country, tennis, and field hockey" (Bellarmine University, 2010).

Another Year of Growth

As soon as his presidency began, Petrik was tasked to create new initiatives to increase enrollment. In 1973, Bellarmine started using recruitment tactics like the comic pictured below. Petrik also created the first graduate program in 1975, the Master of Business Administration.

MONSIGNOR ALFRED F. HORRIGAN

At age 35, Monsignor Alfred F. Horrigan was selected to be Bellarmine College's first president.

During the 1960s, Bellarmine College continued to grow exceeding over 2,000 students and adding five campus buildings including its gymnasium, Knights Hall (Bellarmine University, 2010). In 1961, Bellarmine added its first fraternity, Alpha Delta Gamma XI Chapter.

During this decade, Bellarmine College continued to build academic buildings and added specialized schools such as the Donna and Allan Lansing School of Nursing and Health Sciences and the W. Fielding Rubel School of Business.

On the year of the institution's 50th anniversary, Bellarmine College officially changed its name to Bellarmine University. With the expansion of the university and its curriculum, McGowan presented the idea to the Board of Trustees thinking the title was a better fit.

Number of students: 3,971

Number of Bachelor's programs: 56

Number of Master's programs: 11

Number of Doctoral programs: 5

Number of buildings: 32

Student-Faculty Ratio: 12:1

F/T Undergraduates Living on Campus: 42%

(Bellarmine University, 2016a.).

The Merton Spirit

(Pictured from the top left going clockwise: St. Robert Bellarmine, St. Angela Merici, and St. Francis of Assisi)

Although a Division II school under the NCAA, Bellarmine started offering Division I Men's Lacrosse in 2005 as a part of the athletic program. Shown below are the Owsley B. Frazier Stadium, Joseph A. and Janet P. Clayton Fields, which were also added to the campus during the mid 2000s.

W. L. Lyons Brown Library

Spiritual Leadership

Bellarmine's Catholic identity is guided by the "spiritual leadership" of St. Robert Bellarmine, St. Angelica Merici, the founder of the Ursuline Sisters; and the Franciscan fathers. Because of St. Bellarmine's dedication for truth, the institution's motto has and continues to be "In Veritatis Amore," meaning, "in the love of truth" (Bellarmine University, n.d.a).

The W. L. Lyons Brown Library was established in 1997. Seen as the center of learning and teaching, the library is also the home to the president's office, the student success center (formally known as the academic resource center), the technology support center, disability services, and the Thomas Merton Center.

Dr. Doris Tegart

Bellarmine opened up the Thomas Merton Center on campus in 1963 dedicated to the messages and teachings of Thomas Merton, the Trappist monk who studied at the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani located in the nearby town of Bardstown, KY. In 1968 after forming a close relationship to the current president, Mgsr. Horrigan, Merton decided to use Bellarmine's campus to keep his personal manuscripts, forming the institution's dedication to the Merton spirit (Bellarmine University, 2010).

Bellarmine's first basketball team was formed during the 1950s and was also one of the first "integrated" teams in Kentucky.

At the time of opening, Bellarmine College only had one building, Pasteur Hall (pictured above left). Its second building, Horrigan Hall (pictured above right) was built in the mid 1950s and named after the college president of the time. Both buildings still remain and serve as academic buildings.

The Board of Trustees appointed Dr. Doris Tegart as interim president when McGowan passed away (Bellarmine University, 2016b). Bellarmine is currently wrapping up the search process for its next president and hopes to have a new appointment by June 1st, 2017.

Campus Symbols

References

Bellarmine University. (n.d.a.) Our Catholic identity. Retrieved from http://www.bellarmine.edu/docs/default-source/about-docs/Our_Catholic_Identity.pdf?sfvrsn=2

Bellarmine University. (n.d.b.). The Bellarmine seal and coat of arms. Retrieved from http://www.bellarmine.edu/about/seal/

Bellarmine University. (2010) Bellarmine magazine fall 2010. Retrieved from http://www.bellarmine.edu/static-content/magazine/2010Fall/

[Bellarmine University]. (2015, November 16). Bellarmine University seal demystified. [Video File]. Retrieved from https:// www.youtube.com=watch?v=4z-_Z2LYPBU

[Bellarmine University]. (2015). Bellarmine University [digital image]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/bellarmineuniversity/albums/with/72157622816592526

Bellarmine University. (2013). Bellarmine entrance to feature 3 1/2-story St. Robert's Gate. Retrieved from http://www.bellarmine.edu/news/news-item/2013/ 05/01/bellarmine-

entrance-to-feature-3-1-2-story-st-robert's-gate/

Bellarmine University. (2016a). Bellarmine fast facts. Retrieved from http://www.bellarmine.edu/news/fac

Bellarmine University. (2016b). Board of trustees names Dr. Doris Tegart interim president of Bellarmine. Retrieved from http://www.bellarmine.edu/news/news-item/2016/03/15/

interim-president-doris-tegart/

[Bellarmine University]. (2016, October 7). Joseph J. McGowan, Jr. Hall. [Video File]. Retrieved from https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=USkWD1PExDI

Knights

Coat of Arms

St. Robert's Gate

Pictured above is one of the first renditions of the Bellarmine coat of arms alongside a video explaining the different elements that make up this campus symbol. Aspects about the coat of arms have been added since the black and white photograph, but the four quadrants, a pineapple, a torch, and the fleur de lis has always been a part of the shield (Bellarmine University, n.d.c.).

The first president, Msgr. Horrigan, chose a knight to be the official mascot for Bellarmine because of his interest in King Arthur. The current knight head is modeled after the knight statue that resides in the quad of campus. The plume on top of the knight's helmet is shaped like a dove to represent peace (Bellarmine University, n.d.b.)

Donated by a couple who met at Bellarmine as students, the St. Robert's Gate was built in 2013 and serves as an important threshold for the campus as it stands at the entrance of the university grounds (Bellarmine University, 2013).