Leadership Series

Carly Fiorina

Former HP Leader, Presidential Candidate Carly Fiorina To Headline 2020 Leadership Series C arly Fiorina — the first woman to lead a Fortune 50 company as well as a former U.S. presidential candidate, philanthropist and bestselling author, will headline the 2020 Rockhurst University Leadership Series, scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Thursday, March 5, at the Marriott Muehlebach Tower in Kansas City, Missouri.

Fiorina’s presentation, titled “Leading for Good, Empowering People and Driving Innovation in the World Today,” will draw on her experience as president and CEO of Hewlett-Packard between 1999 and 2005 and her efforts since as chairwoman of Good360 and Opportunity International, aiming to help provide opportunity to millions around the globe.

“Through my work with these organizations, I’ve met incredible people and learned a lot by hearing their stories,” Fiorina said. “It’s amazing to see people take charge in their own communities to solve the problems they face.”

2020 Rashford-Lyon Award for Leadership and Ethics During the luncheon, the University will honor five outstanding women who represent different eras of history at Rockhurst with the Rashford-Lyon Award for Leadership and Ethics.

Though not a Rockhurst graduate herself (the University became coed in 1969), Jean Dunn represents the women whose hard work and support were the foundation of so many of Kansas City’s leaders.

Marny Sherman, ’75, is a steadfast leader not only at Rockhurst University, but also in the Kansas City philanthropic community alongside her husband, John.

Lisa Ginter, ’87, CEO of CommunityAmerica Credit Union, has regularly been listed among the most powerful and influential leaders in Kansas City. Wendy Doyle, ’94, president and CEO of Women’s Foundation, is a longtime nonprofit leader in the Kansas City area.

Ama Karikari, M.D., ’07, helped organize the first of what has become an annual medical mission trip to Kobonal, Haiti.

Bridgette Williams, ’16 EMBA, is the executive director of the Heavy Constructors Association of Greater Kansas City and former president of the Greater Kansas City AFL-CIO.

Kirsten Potter, DPT, professor of physical therapy, co-authored an article with a number of recent Rockhurst physical therapy graduates titled “Reliability, Validity, and Responsiveness of the Mini-Balance Evaluation Systems Test (Mini-BESTest) in Ambulatory Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis,” which was published in the peerreviewed journal Physiotherapy Canada. FACULTY KUDOS

Diego Gutierrez, DBA, assistant professor of marketing, was quoted in a story on KCUR FM about Kansas City tennis star Jack Sock choosing to pursue a singles career instead of doubles.

The latest addition to the campus landscape has Rockhurst University students breaking out in a sweat —in a good way. In October, the doors opened for the first time to the Magis Activity Center (MAC), a 16,200-square-foot donor-funded building, located directly south of Bourke Field. Designed with student input, the MAC features a large fitness area with weights, machines, and cardio equipment; a separate studio-style room for classes; locker rooms for the men’s and women’s soccer teams; glass panels designed both for views of campus and to reduce solar heat gain; and the Jim and Ellen Glynn Alumni Commons, a multipurpose space for events, also overlooking Bourke Field. Other features include a “magis” core reflection site outside the commons and an assessment room, providing future learning opportunities for students in health-related degree programs. It adds up to a cornerstone of campus for years to come, steeped in the Jesuit notion of “ad majorem Dei gloriam.” “In every building that has that AMDG, as you move through the portals of that building, what you do there is for the greater glory of God,” said the Rev. Thomas B. Curran, S.J., Rockhurst University president, in remarks during the MAC’s dedication. With Fitness Center, Campus Community Invited to Get MACtive

Glenn Young, Ph.D., associate professor of theology and religious studies, wrote an article titled “A Desire for Encounter with the Absolute: Néstor Paz and Revolutionary Mysticism,” which was published in “You Say You Want a Revolution?” 1968-2018 in Theological Perspective, the College Theology Society Annual Volume 64. Orbis Books, 2019.

NEWS For more faculty news, visit rockhurst.edu/facultykudos.

Senior Rosie Breheny, a member of the Rockhurst University women’s soccer team, joins Rock E. Hawk for a jog at the MAC.

Meet Rockhurst junior Mac Dumsky: president of Student Senate at Rockhurst, vice president of education in Beta Theta Pi, member of Phi Delta Epsilon and a student ambassador. If that weren’t enough, he still makes time to volunteer at Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City and, in the past, Truman Medical Center. Student Always Has Time for Those in Need Mac Dumsky, junior

At Saint Luke’s, Dumsky volunteers in the emergency room department, where he prepares rooms and escorts patients. It can be a hectic, high-stress environment, but it has given him some crucial skills as a future health care provider.

“I have learned to keep an open mind and to realize that there are people of all walks of life that you are going to meet on different days,” Dumsky said. “I’ve learned a lot about just being able to talk and communicate with people from all backgrounds.”

In the past, Dumsky’s volunteer work at Truman Medical Center involved playing games and talking with older patients needing long-term care. Across generations and experiences, he said he created many bonds with the patients, mentioning one woman in particular, with whom he related through a unique sense of humor that belied the difference in their ages.

“She was very blunt and she told jokes about all the other people around,” Dumsky said. “She was very funny, and always made me laugh.”

All of those opportunities and activities, on top of his school work, means Dumsky often stays very busy. “Some weeks I don’t have much extra time,” he said. But he wouldn’t change a thing — Dumsky said he is thankful for the experiences that Rockhurst, Saint Luke’s, and Truman Medical Center have provided him. He said they’ve changed his perspective and taught him valuable lessons that this biology major will take into the future.

“I have learned to keep an open mind and to

realize that there are people of all walks of life that you are going to meet on different days.”