Newman University Honors Provost, Alumni at Annual Cardinal Newman Banquet
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February 25, 2008
Tom and Colleen Dondlinger, Gino Salerno Among Award Recipients
Newman University Honors Provost, Alumni at Annual Cardinal Newman Banquet
Wichita, Kan. – Newman University recognized the institution’s retiring provost and several distinguished alumni at the annual Cardinal Newman Banquet, held Feb. 23 at the Dugan-Gorges Conference Center on the Newman campus. The event is part of the university’s annual Cardinal Newman Week activities, a celebration of the life and teachings of 19th century Catholic theologian and educator John Henry Cardinal Newman, for whom Newman University is named.
“Tonight is the first time we will honor Cardinal Newman medal recipients and Alumni Award recipients in the same ceremony,” said Newman President Noreen M. Carrocci, Ph.D. at the banquet. “I believe this is a good merger. Our Cardinal Newman Medal recipients have made Newman better by their relationships with us, and their contributions that have advanced our mission. Our Alumni Award recipients are making our world brighter by their career successes and service accomplishments.”
Newman Medal Recipients
At the ceremony, Tom and Colleen Dondlinger, and Newman Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs B. Lee Cooper, Ph.D. received the university’s highest honor, the Newman Medal. The medal is conferred upon those who demonstrate in their daily lives an appreciation of the spirit and ideals of John Henry Cardinal Newman and who have been instrumental in the growth and development of the university.
The Dondlingers were recognized for their long association with and many contributions to Newman University. Tom Dondlinger, president of Dondlinger & Sons Construction Co., Inc., earned a degree in business administration in 1972 from Sacred Heart College, a predecessor institution of Newman University. |
Newman Medal Recipients, B. Lee Cooper, Ph.D., and Colleen and Tom Dondlinger. Also pictured are Newman Board of Trustees Chair J.V. Johnston, left, and Newman President Noreen M. Carrocci, Ph.D.
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In addition to constructing many of Wichita’s landmark buildings, the company has made major contributions to the Newman campus as general contractor for Eck Hall, which houses much of the university’s nursing and health care-related programs, and the recently completed Dugan Library and Campus Center.
Both Tom and Colleen are strong, consistent supporters of Newman and Catholic education. Tom served on the Newman Board of Directors from 1982 to 1989, including a term as chair from 1988 to 1989. Over the years he and Colleen have played very active roles in support of the Newman Jet Open Charity Golf Tournament, and have enthusiastically served on committees, hosted receptions and participated in other events in support of the university and its alumni. The Dondlingers are also very involved in civic, arts and business organizations in the Wichita community.
Cooper is widely admired by Newman University faculty, staff and students. Since coming to Newman in 2002 as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, he has implemented many changes in processes, curricula and budget support to promote academic excellence among both faculty and students. From 2006 to 2007, Cooper also served as university president pro-tem. During that time he directed efforts that led to reaccreditation of the university by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Cooper also played a major role in the search for and appointment of Carrocci, the 11th president of Newman University. He also championed the successful completion of the capital campaign for and construction of the Dugan Library and Campus Center.
Cooper is also a professor of history and American culture, and is considered a model of scholarship who has enriched the academic lives of countless Newman students. He is a noted scholar of American popular music, with more than 200 published articles and reviews as well as 15 books on the use of popular music as an aid in teaching history. In recent years he has been included in Who’s Who in American Education; Who’s Who in America; Who’s Who in the World; International Who’s Who in Music, and Contemporary Authors. Cooper will resign from Newman on March 28, 2008, and resettle with his wife Jill near Asheville, S.C.
Alumni Award Recipients
The Alumni Awards bestowed on former students of Newman included the Leon A. McNeill Alumni Award. The award is named for the first president of Sacred Heart Junior College, which became Newman University, and honors alumni who have achieved outstanding success in their personal or professional lives through civic, intellectual or cultural pursuits that bring credit to them and, in turn, to Newman University. The award was given this year in two categories, Science and Allied Health, and Arts and Humanities.
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Terry Corbett, Gino Salerno, Shelly Klaus Steadman, Jeanne and Daniel Malone, and Greg Biltz
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Shelly Klaus Steadman, a 1995 Newman graduate, received the award in the Science and Allied Health category. Steadman works for the City Coroner’s Office. A summa cum laude student at Newman, she was recently recognized as one of Wichita’s top 40 executives under the age of 40 by the Wichita Business Journal. Steadman was recognized for having identified the means to “crack” the longstanding case of the BTK killer in Wichita through a creative and legal means of obtaining DNA evidence from a family member. She has been a part of numerous high-profile cases in the Wichita area.
Terry Corbett, a 1988 graduate, was recognized in the Arts and Humanities category for his significant contribution to public art in Wichita and the surrounding area. He participated in the mural at the MTA Bus Station in downtown Wichita and is currently working on projects related to the Waterwalk. His work can be seen in the Riverside Park Solar Calendar; the Botanical Gardens Fountains; Coutts Memorial Museum in El Dorado, and the Blue Sky Sculpture in Newton. His volunteer service in the arts includes participating in a project in which 5th grade students are introduced to sculpture in the classroom.
The Beata Netemeyer Service Award was presented to 1988 Newman graduate Gino Salerno. This award, named for the first provincial of the former Wichita Province of Newman’s sponsoring order, the Adorers of the Blood of Christ, honors alumni who display a deep loyalty to the mission and values of Newman University, and who have given outstanding service to humanity, exemplifying the mission and values of Newman University in their personal and professional lives.
Salerno earned bachelor’s degrees in biology and fine art from Newman, as well as a master of library science and a physician’s assistant degree from Wichita State University. He is known for and has received numerous awards for his wood sculptures throughout the city. He currently practices as a physician’s assistant for Hunter Health Clinic. In this work, he has become closely acquainted with Wichita’s homeless, and has written and produced two feature-length documentary films designed to give a voice to the homeless. The first film, “Addresslessness,” received the Laurel Award from the Orlando (Fla.) Film Festival. The second follows one homeless man’s year-long effort to find and sustain employment. Salerno has a third project underway about a program at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility, in which prison inmates care for animals.
The Spirit of Acuto Award, named for the driving spirit of the ASC, honors alumni or friends of Newman who, as a reflection of their association with the university, have been a driving force in their community, using their talent and training to move a vision to reality. The recipients were Jeanne (Roth) and Daniel Malone of Omaha, Neb.
Daniel is a 1968 Newman graduate, and his wife Jeanne, is a 1969 graduate. They initiated a program called the “VSP Club” (for Very Special Persons) after recognizing that special needs teenagers such as their youngest son Tim, who has Down’s Syndrome, had few outlets for social interaction. Now in its third year, the club has grown to 200 members in Omaha and sponsors a recreation center with a dance floor, movie theatre, game room and workout center for members and their friends to experience typical teenage fun. The Malones have also developed and are now seeking funding for a residential housing project for challenged young adults.
The St. Maria De Mattias Award, named for the foundress of the ASC, honors alumni who display a deep loyalty to Newman University and its mission to provide Catholic education. The award recipient has given meritorious and continuous support and stewardship to Newman University and Catholic life. The award was presented to 1968 alumnus Greg Biltz of Scottsdale, Ariz., for his role in coordinating the logistics of approximately 25 service trips by Newman students to Guaymas, Mexico. Newman offers trips to Guaymas twice each year, where students help build adobe houses and perform other services for impoverished families in the area. Biltz has helped coordinate the trips for 15 consecutive years, providing a service opportunity for nearly 200 Newman students.
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Posted on Monday, February 25, 2008 (Archive on Thursday, January 01, 2009)
Posted by admin_schneiderl Contributed by admin_schneiderl
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