The Dominican University men’s volleyball program is used to achieving accolades—and the Stars’ 2022 campaign is already one for the record books.  

The Stars are currently No. 1 in the national rankings in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III National Poll. Dominican’s top rank is the first in program history.  

Dominican University has received a nearly $1.5 million grant from the Lilly Endowment to build a network of Catholic colleges and universities dedicated to culturally responsive campus ministry.

“Culturally responsive” campus ministry means understanding and incorporating the ways students engage with their faith, said John DeCostanza, Dominican’s assistant vice president for university ministry.

Dominican University professor Elvira Kizilova joined ABC57 News to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine hours after it began. Dr. Kizilova lived and worked in Ukraine for decades, including during Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.

“The last 48 hours became a nightmare for me,” she said. “It brings all those memories from 2014 back and I’m very nervous about my friends and family who live in Ukraine.”

Dr. Kizilova is an assistant professor of marketing and international business at the Brennan School of Business at Dominican. 

In speeches and essays, Russian President Vladimir Putin has long sought to undercut Ukraine’s legitimacy as a sovereign nation. In an address just days before his invasion of Russia’s neighbor, Putin made numerous false claims, including that Ukraine has perpetrated atrocities against the country’s Russian-speaking minority.

Dominican University professor Elvira Kizilova, who lived and worked in Ukraine for three decades, upended that and other myths in a Feb. 23 presentation on campus. Here is a summary of her presentation: 

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Dominican University President Glena Temple was featured in the Daily Herald Business Ledger's Coffee Break column. She discussed Dominican's biggest challenges for the coming year, hot trends in higher education, and what keeps her up at night, among other topics.

When asked about her business mantra, she advised, "I strive to model servant leadership, focusing on serving those with whom I work and the communities of which we are part."

First-generation-to-college students often have challenges not faced by students whose families have a history of college attendance. They often struggle with navigating college applications, financial aid and registration--in some cases while learning English. Many of these students have additional concerns about disappointing parents who have sacrificed so much to help them go to college. 

Through its federally funded TRIO grant program, Dominican University offers first-generation and low-income students resources to help them persist and graduate on time. 

HBS Dealer, a trade publication for the hardware and building supply industry, included an article about the Brennan School of Business' partnership with Rust-Oleum. Through the partnership, MBA students were tasked with developing a marketing strategy designed to boost brand awareness of Rust-Oleum's Krud Kutter product. 

"The student presentations were top notch," said Frank Glowacki, Rust-Oleum's brand director. "They came up with ideas we never considered. They were really buttoned up."

Live theater and live audiences will return to Dominican this weekend, with the production of "Mamma Mia." Director Krista Hansen, chair of the theater arts and music department, said in an article in the Chicago Tribune/Oak Leaves that there were a number of reasons why she chose to present "Mamma Mia" as the first live show since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.