The 2023 NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship team received their rings last evening.

Greetings and Happy New Year! I hope that each of you was able to welcome 2024 healthfully and happily.

Campus News 

There is always something to celebrate here at Clarke. For example, on Wednesday, January 10, following the Pride's home game, the members of the Women’s Basketball Team received their 2023 NAIA National Championship Rings. It was wonderful to participate in this formal celebration of the tremendous accomplishment of this dedicated team and its coaches.

We also celebrate Tim Conlon, who recently received the 2023 Telegraph Herald First Citizen Award. Tim is an avid supporter of many initiatives in Dubuque, and he serves on the Clarke Board of Trustees. We greatly appreciate his leadership, service and the key roles his company, Conlon Construction, has played in many construction projects around campus.

And, since we just finished the fall semester, we are happy to share that 211 students earned spots on the Dean’s List last semester. The list recognizes full-time undergraduate students who have earned a 3.65 grade-point average or above, on a 4.0 scale. Please join us in congratulating these students on their hard work!

Strategic Plan Update 

In Volume 9 of the Campus Update, I mentioned that, as part of our Strategic Plan, the Business & Finance Office and the Facilities Department would reimagine physical spaces to facilitate easy access to student services. As a result, the ground floor of the Nicholas J. Schrup Library has been redesigned to house integral student support services such as the Academic Advising Office, the Margaret Mann Academic Resource Center, the Writing Center and the Career Services Office.

This reimagining extends to our residence halls as well. For example, we are in the process of transforming the Mary Josita Hall Lounge into the Mary Jo Marketplace, which will open soon. In addition to including seating and study areas, the space will include a small, self-serve convenience store with groceries and other staples. This offers convenient access for resident and off-campus students alike to ensure they have fuel for their bodies, as well as their minds.

Living our Legacy Spotlight

Bill Kochendorfer, a Safety and Security Officer, is in this volume’s spotlight.

Living our legacy stems from our mission: 

Clarke University is a Catholic academic community that believes learning is lifelong and life changing. We inspire intellectual curiosity, cultural engagement, professional preparedness, spiritual exploration, and a commitment to contributing to the common good in a global society. 

Bill has been employed at Clarke for 15 years. He always has a smile on his face, a friendly greeting and a kind word for all with whom he interacts. In fact, people feel lucky if the day brings an opportunity to interact with Bill. In addition, he regularly attends mass in our chapel, which is just one of the ways Clarkies see Bill living his faith in his professional responsibilities and interpersonal relationships.

In 2016, he received the BVM Core Values Award—an award presented to a full-time member of the faculty, staff, or administration who strongly exemplifies the BVM Core Values of Freedom, Education, Charity, and Justice. We are grateful for the positive and wide-spread impact that Bill has had on our community, and we hold him in our hearts as he battles the cancer diagnosis that he received in 2023.

Thanks, Bill, for choosing to shine your light at Clarke!

Sincerely,

Fletch

Interim President

Visit our Newsroom webpage to learn more about all the great things happening on campus and in the wider community!

Clarke University

www.clarke.edu