From the President
Dear Alumnae/i and Special Friends:
I confess that I am an obsessively loyal fan of the Dominican Stars, and I deeply value the role that NCAA Division III (DIII) athletics plays in the development of young adults. So, join me in celebrating 30 years of varsity sports at Dominican University — and take a sneak peek at our new outdoor athletic facility!
As I mentioned in my annual letter to alumnae/i, athletics is thriving at Dominican, even though our compact campus presents some home field and court challenges. This past year, for instance, two of our teams were Northern Athletics Conference (NAC) champs and went to their respective DIII national tournaments; women’s basketball climbed all the way to the top of the NAC South Division and won their first NAC division championship in program history; three coaches were voted NAC Coach of the Year; two student-athletes were named NAC Players of the Year; and we had three All-Americans, including our first in softball. In addition, just recently, Dominican Director of Athletics Erick Baumann ’93 was ranked as the 15th-most successful soccer coach in the NCAA — across all divisions!
The fact that DU athletes also are high achievers academically is an important part of the story. This year there are more than three dozen Presidential and Dean’s Scholars on our varsity rosters. Sixty-eight Dominican Stars were named NAC Scholar-Athletes last year and the Athletics Department GPA has been over 3.0 for 10 semesters in a row! Oops, I hope that my pride does not jinx that one! These are fine young women and men, who represent the university with distinction.
Speaking of distinction, let me refer you to two other articles in this magazine that highlight additional reputation-building opportunities for our small, but aspiring, university. Last spring, with the leadership of Senior Vice President Amy McCormack, Dominican launched its campus sustainability plan, 4Rfuture. In August, Illinois Lieutenant Governor Sheila Simon joined me in front of Parmer Hall, to formally sign the Illinois Campus Sustainability Compact. For Dominican, sustainability is about more than the environment; it represents the promise of a decent life for future generations.
I like to think that, in some way, the scholarship of Dominican faculty is advancing that promise, which is why I am delighted to see faculty achieving recognition and external support for their good work. I refer you to the article about an NIH-funded research study underway at Dominican in neuroscience. Such funding also provides exceptional opportunities for students to work collaboratively with faculty on solutions to real-life problems.
A rigorous, relevant and well-rounded Dominican education — that is our goal, and that is the subtext of this magazine. Dominican University is committed to the development of the whole student — intellectually, socially, spiritually and physically — so that she or he can participate in the creation of a more just, humane and sustainable world.
I know that so many of our alums are already out there doing such transforming work. That makes me very proud.
Sincerely,
Donna M. Carroll, President
I confess that I am an obsessively loyal fan of the Dominican Stars, and I deeply value the role that NCAA Division III (DIII) athletics plays in the development of young adults. So, join me in celebrating 30 years of varsity sports at Dominican University — and take a sneak peek at our new outdoor athletic facility!
As I mentioned in my annual letter to alumnae/i, athletics is thriving at Dominican, even though our compact campus presents some home field and court challenges. This past year, for instance, two of our teams were Northern Athletics Conference (NAC) champs and went to their respective DIII national tournaments; women’s basketball climbed all the way to the top of the NAC South Division and won their first NAC division championship in program history; three coaches were voted NAC Coach of the Year; two student-athletes were named NAC Players of the Year; and we had three All-Americans, including our first in softball. In addition, just recently, Dominican Director of Athletics Erick Baumann ’93 was ranked as the 15th-most successful soccer coach in the NCAA — across all divisions!
The fact that DU athletes also are high achievers academically is an important part of the story. This year there are more than three dozen Presidential and Dean’s Scholars on our varsity rosters. Sixty-eight Dominican Stars were named NAC Scholar-Athletes last year and the Athletics Department GPA has been over 3.0 for 10 semesters in a row! Oops, I hope that my pride does not jinx that one! These are fine young women and men, who represent the university with distinction.
Speaking of distinction, let me refer you to two other articles in this magazine that highlight additional reputation-building opportunities for our small, but aspiring, university. Last spring, with the leadership of Senior Vice President Amy McCormack, Dominican launched its campus sustainability plan, 4Rfuture. In August, Illinois Lieutenant Governor Sheila Simon joined me in front of Parmer Hall, to formally sign the Illinois Campus Sustainability Compact. For Dominican, sustainability is about more than the environment; it represents the promise of a decent life for future generations.
I like to think that, in some way, the scholarship of Dominican faculty is advancing that promise, which is why I am delighted to see faculty achieving recognition and external support for their good work. I refer you to the article about an NIH-funded research study underway at Dominican in neuroscience. Such funding also provides exceptional opportunities for students to work collaboratively with faculty on solutions to real-life problems.
A rigorous, relevant and well-rounded Dominican education — that is our goal, and that is the subtext of this magazine. Dominican University is committed to the development of the whole student — intellectually, socially, spiritually and physically — so that she or he can participate in the creation of a more just, humane and sustainable world.
I know that so many of our alums are already out there doing such transforming work. That makes me very proud.
Sincerely,
Donna M. Carroll, President
The DU Stars soccer teams kicked off their 2011 season on a new synthetic turf
field.
