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Faculty/Staff / Health and Wellness

Clifford awarded NASPA’s outstanding new professional award for work around health and wellness

salvetoday Posted On February 23, 2021

Connelly Clifford, office and student wellness coordinator for the Center for Student Development, was recently awarded the 2020-2021 Wellness and Health Promotion of KC (Knowledge to the Community) Outstanding New Professional Award by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA).

This health and wellness award from NASPA recognizes individuals, programs and research that have made extraordinary contributions to the advancement of wellness and health education in higher education and student affairs. In order to qualify for this award, a person must be in the profession less than three years, they must be actively promoting health and wellness opportunities at their campus, and they must be a member of NASPA.

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“I’m so honored to be awarded this,” said Clifford. “While it’s always been important, I think that mental health and wellness is really up and coming within higher education. Universities today are really starting to be aware of the importance of these topics in their communities.”

Clifford, who recently became the region one NASPA wellness and health promotion KC representative, was surprised to learn she’d received the award — but her work on campus to promote health and wellness had been noted by other staff members at Salve Regina, who nominated her for the award.

“Connelly’s passion and advocacy for health and wellness has been apparent through all her actions since day one,” said one nomination letter. “She quickly became known as a staff member on campus who was knowledgeable in health and wellness and started to be contacted by students, staff and faculty on this. These actions and many more led to her promotion to Salve’s student wellness coordinator. Salve has never had a wellness coordinator before, and Connelly has set the bar high.”

Clifford joined Salve Regina’s staff at the Center for Student Development in 2018 because she wanted to get into student affairs while completing her master’s in holistic and clinical mental health counseling at the University. While working at Salve Regina, she noticed a gap in terms of educating the community on the topic of health and wellness.

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In 2020, Clifford built up the peer wellness educators initiative within student leadership positions on campus. She currently has 17 students who are peer wellness educators, and these students help bring about trainings and programs across campus to promote topics such as anxiety and depression, alcohol and drugs, time management and more. Throughout the year, they hope to bring about 30, student-run mental health and wellness initiatives to campus.

Additionally, Clifford helped start the Salve Wellness Instagram, which now has over 1,000 followers. The account helps educate the student population about health and wellness through social media, and students play an active role in making the content for it.

All in all, Clifford is excited about the work that will continue to be done at Salve Regina around health and wellness. “I’m truly honored and grateful that I have colleagues who recognize my work, and that I can step into a role to help assist students to speak out and also raise awareness of these topics,” she concluded.

Arts and Humanities / Faculty/Staff

Dr. Leeman publishes anthology on Theodore Roosevelt and his lifelong relationship with the navy

salvetoday Posted On February 23, 2021

Dr. William Leeman, associate professor of history at Salve Regina and director of the University’s Pell Honors Program, has published an anthology called “Forging the Trident: Theodore Roosevelt and the United States Navy,” which was co-edited with Dr. John Hattendorf of the United States Naval War College.

Within the pages of “Forging the Trident,” which was published by the Naval Institute Press, readers will encounter a side of Theodore Roosevelt’s life and legacy that is often neglected.

A history of Roosevelt’s passion for the navy

Dr. William Leeman

This collection of essays highlights various aspects of Theodore Roosevelt’s lifelong relationship with the U.S. Navy, with each essay written by a leading American naval historian.

“Roosevelt’s fascination with and interest in the navy spanned his entire life, beginning during his childhood,” described Dr. Leeman. “When he was a boy, he would listen to the exciting sea adventures of his maternal uncles, both of whom were Confederate naval officers during the Civil War.”

According to Dr. Leeman, Roosevelt first studied naval history as a student at Harvard University, where he produced a major research project on the naval operations of the War of 1812. That project soon after grew into Roosevelt’s first book, ‘The Naval War of 1812,’ which was published in 1882. Roosevelt was only 23 years old.

“What began as a childhood interest and undergraduate research project ultimately transformed into a pathbreaking leadership role in naval affairs,” said Dr. Leeman. “Roosevelt became assistant secretary of the navy from 1897-1898, and finally president from 1901-1909.”

Theodore Roosevelt played a crucial role in developing the U.S. Navy into a world power in the early 20^th century, according to Dr. Leeman. After all, it was Roosevelt who built the navy that would go on to victory during World War II and dominate the 20^th century.

Dr. Leeman’s new anthology, which he co-edited, offers a new look into Roosevelt through the lens of his passion for the U.S. Navy.

“He did all this by embracing modern technology, by enacting personnel reforms within the Navy, by improving naval officer education and training, and by educating the American public about the importance of naval power and being active in world affairs,” explained Dr. Leeman. “Roosevelt also demonstrated the importance of studying history as a way to learn lessons that can inform contemporary policy debates.”

Salve conference brings together book’s authors

From the beginning, this project was a joint effort between Salve Regina and the Naval War College.

“The publication of Forging the Trident was the result not only of Dr. Leeman’s expertise in U.S. military and presidential history but also a successful partnership with co-editor and leading naval historian John Hattendorf, institutional collaboration between Salve Regina and the Naval War College, and the generous support of the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy and the John E. McGinty Fund in History,” remarked Dr. Timothy Neary, professor and chairperson in the Department of History.

In January of 2019, Salve Regina hosted a conference at the Young Building related to the book called “Forging the Trident: Theodore Roosevelt and the United States Navy.” During the conference, each of the contributors to the book presented a paper that was a condensed version of the essay that would later be published in the book. The conference was attended by faculty and students from both Salve Regina and the Naval War College.

Dr. Leeman presents at the “Forging the Trident” conference in 2019, held at Salve Regina. This conference was the catalyst for the book.

In addition to co-editing the whole volume, Dr. Leeman wrote the essay entitled “From Knowledge, Sea Power: Theodore Roosevelt, Naval Education, and the New Navy.” He is also the author of “The Long Road to Annapolis: The Founding of the Naval Academy and the Emerging American Republic,” which was published in 2010. He earned his Ph.D. in history from Boston University and previously taught at the United States Military Academy at West Point.

“Salve students and the reputation of the University benefit from Bill’s excellence as a scholar and teacher,” concluded Dr. Neary.

News

A call for proposals for Salve Regina’s first Mercy Summit on Equity and Inclusion

salvetoday Posted On February 22, 2021

Salve Regina is re-establishing the creation of a Mercy Summit on Diversity and Inclusion for Friday, April 9, from 8:30 a.m. – 3 p. m. This event was supposed to happen in March 2020, but it was unfortunately cancelled due to the pandemic.

The theme for this inaugural diversity summit will be “An Examination of Best Practices to Enhance Diversity Dialogue on Campus,” and right now the University is asking for program proposals to be submitted for consideration for the summit.

Faculty and staff members are invited to propose lectures, presentations or panels. The summit will be completely virtual, although exact program formats will be determined by session proposals.

The committee for the summit is looking for program proposals that help achieve the theme and learning outcomes below.

Theme:
An Examination of Best Practices to Enhance Diversity Dialogue on Campus

Learning outcomes:

Each participant will be able to identify and understand the scope of issues related to diversity and inclusion on college campuses.
Each participant will have a heightened awareness of the issues of implicit bias.
Each participant will be able to identify ways to facilitate meaningful diversity dialogue based on best practices.

Proposals for the summit can be submitted here. Deadline to submit is Monday, March 15.

If anyone has questions regarding submitting the proposals or the summit itself, please contact Sami Nassim, assistant vice president for student success and director of the Office of Multicultural Programs and Retention, at sami.nassim@salve.edu.

Mercy Mission / News

Mercy Mondays: Salve invited to open session with CMHE peer visiting team

salvetoday Posted On February 22, 2021

Salve Regina is undergoing a mission accountability self-study and peer review process with the Conference for Mercy Higher Education (CMHE), and the visiting team will be “on campus” virtually this week, Feb. 22-24.

Throughout this process, the entire University is invited to consider how Salve Regina’s mission is realized in the classroom, campus and community, and the team will meet in sessions with faculty, staff, students, trustees and alumni to reflect on how the University is called to advance its Mercy, Catholic mission into the 21^st century.

The peer visiting team will conclude their virtual campus visit with an open session on Wednesday, Feb. 24, at noon to offer their public exit report. At this session, the visiting team will share their preliminary report –including mission commendations and recommendations — with the entire University community.

All are welcome to join this final session through this link. The event number is 160 749 4438, and event password is mercy.

The CMHE peer visit team will be chaired by Deanne D’Emilio, president of Gwynedd Mercy University. It will also include Dr. Greg Baker, vice president for mission at Mercyhurst University; Dr. Mary-Paula Cancienne, RSM, associate director for mission integration at the Conference for Mercy Higher Education; Dr. Moya Dittmeier, executive director of the Conference for Mercy Higher Education; and Sister Catherine (Kati) McMahon, RSM, member of the board of trustees at Gwynedd Mercy University.

The Mercy, Catholic mission of Salve Regina underwrites the present and future work of the institution. An ad hoc committee developed the CMHE mission review self-study for Salve Regina on Jan. 22, 2021, and it is available for community review here. If anyone is interested in a printed copy of this report, please email missionintegration@salve.edu.

This post is part of an ongoing series called Mercy Mondays that highlights Salve Regina’s dedication to its Mercy Mission. Search the tag Mercy Mission for more updates on the Mercy branches of Salve Regina.

Salve Success / Science and Technology / Student Life

Salve Success: Jaclyn Anderson ’22, political science major

salvetoday Posted On February 18, 2021

Jaclyn Anderson ’22 came to Salve Regina to pursue a major in political science with a desire to go to law school and get involved in government in the future. With these dreams comes a commitment to pursue leadership throughout her life, and her roles throughout campus have been a basis for garnering those needed leadership skills.

Developing Anderson’s leadership roles on campus

During her first year, Anderson has inspired by the First Year Transitions (FYT) Peer Mentor program at Salve Regina, which strives to help students transition into college life by letting sophomores, juniors and seniors mentor first year students. The mentorship was a big help for Anderson in her transition to being an undergraduate student.

The guidance Anderson received during her first year allowed her to be confident enough to find her own way at Salve Regina and to step into leadership roles moving forward. As an FYT Peer Mentor herself now, she loves being able to provide support and guidance for incoming freshmen, and she inspires them to become more active in the University’s community as well. She also is a senator of the Student Government Association, as well as a member of multiple committees.

Anderson, second from right on top row, with her other FYT Peer Mentors.

“It is really fun getting to work with different offices and really work on different initiatives to help Salve Regina grow and improve,” Anderson said. “I love being a part of something where I can help stimulate and enact change.”

Anderson is also currently the president of the Mad Batter Baking Club. Prior to COVID-19, the baking club used to meet in the Mercy Center for Spiritual Life, and she would organize meetings where members could bake, socialize and destress together. The club was paired with the Office of Community Service and Engagement, and through this partnership, the club worked with different outreach groups in the community to donate baked goods to people in need. While Anderson understands the importance of de-stressors in the midst of a heavy undergraduate schedule, she still loved to donate those baked goods and create a meaningful experience for both her peers and the community at large.

While things have changed since the pandemic, the Mad Batter Baking Club is still a great opportunity for students to have fun while participating as active community members, and the baking club still holds virtual meetings to stay in touch. In the fall of 2020, the club was able to hold an in-person meeting to decorate cupcakes, and they hope to be able to resume their community stewardship under the guidance of Anderson during the spring semester as well.

Anderson, far left, makes cupcakes with the Mad Batter Baking Club.

Anderson also has a work study with the Office of Alumni, Parent and Family Programs doing social media for the alumni and the family community at Salve Regina. These social media pages help alumni and family members of students stay active in the University community.

Leadership at Salve Regina, leadership post graduation

Being able to jump into Salve Regina’s community and make an impact by her junior year is a tremendous accomplishment that utilized so many of the University’s opportunities. Anderson has gone out of her way to be active politically, socially and educationally during her college experience. There is no doubt that she is leaving her mark on Salve Regina, and all the hard work is going to leave her ready for the life that awaits her post graduation.

Anderson is thankful for the opportunity to start small within the Salve Regina community and then grow after graduation into impactful governmental roles where she can enact social change.

“My leadership positions have helped me develop my own personal skills,” Anderson noted. “It’s really helped me become more confident and step out of my shell and really take on that role in leading a group of people and advocating for those who need advocating. That’s really the most important part of it for me.”

Article by student writer Anna Downes ’22

Salve Success is a series of student success stories periodically featured on SALVEtoday. Check out the tag Salve Success for more stories.

Event Coverage / News

Spring 2021’s all-virtual Multicultural Education Week offers engaging speakers and artistic performers

salvetoday Posted On February 17, 2021

Multicultural Education Week happens every semester at Salve Regina as a chance to wrestle with many difficult topics like anti-racism, diversity and inclusion and what it means for Salve Regina’s campus and the larger world.

For the spring 2021, Multicultural Education Week has an amazing lineup of speakers and events to help students, faculty and staff process these issues in an engaging and personal manner, so please check them out.

All events will be held virtually via WebEx to ensure that anyone can attend.

Multicultural and Multilingual Mass

Sunday, Feb. 21, 7-8 p.m.
Our Lady of Mercy Chapel, WebEx Meeting

Join the campus as it debuts this Multicultural Education Week with diverse prayers from around the world. The Mass consists of readings and songs in English, Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese.