Summer 2020 issue of Universitas: the magazine of Saint Louis University. This is a special issue on SLU's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
SLU Responds to COVID-19 Editor’s Note Most of the content in this issue of Universitas was written and designed in May and early June 2020. It went to press on June 29. All attempts were made to ensure the content was accurate and as up-to-date as possible at the time of publication. However, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the status of certain projects and initiatives may have changed by the time the magazine arrives in readers’ homes. For the latest Saint Louis University news, please visit slu.edu. VOLUME 46, ISSUE 2 EDITOR Laura Geiser {A&S ’90, Grad ’92} ASSOCIATE EDITOR Amy Garland {A&S ’97} ART DIRECTOR Matt Krob CONTRIBUTORS Jeff Ackels {A&S ’17, Grad A&S ’20} Carrie Bebermeyer {Grad A&S ’06} Marie Dilg {Grad SW ’94} Amelia Flood {Grad A&S ’18} Jeff Fowler Sarah Hilgendorf Maggie Rotermund Michael Rozier, S.J. {A&S ’03} Nancy Solomon ON CAMPUS NEWS STORIES University Public Relations Billiken Media Relations ON THE COVER St. Francis Xavier College Church and DuBourg Hall in the foreground with Griesedieck Hall’s windows lit in a cross pattern in support of health care providers and frontline workers Photo by Justin Barr Universitas is published by Saint Louis University. Opinions expressed in Universitas are those of the individual authors and not necessarily those of the University administration. Unsolicited manuscripts and photographs are welcome but will be returned only if accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Letters to the editor must be signed, and letters not intended for publication should indicate that fact. The editor reserves the right to edit all items. Address all mail to: Universitas DuBourg Hall 39 1 N. Grand Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63103 We accept email at: universitas@slu.edu Website: slu.edu/universitas Universitas is printed by Breese Printing and Publishing Worldwide circulation: 123,557 © 2020, Saint Louis University All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Newspapers pile up in the lobby of San Ignacio Hall at the Madrid Campus during the COVID-19 pandemic. PHOTO BY ÁNGEL GARCÍA LÓPEZ Features Departments 6 HISTORY IN THE MAKING SLU’s president discusses the University’s response to the pandemic. — By Laura Geiser 10 VACCINE VISIONARIES Two top SLU scientists are investigating vaccines for COVID-19. — By Marie Dilg 14 FROM A DISTANCE SLU students and faculty adjust to distance learning. — By Amy Garland 18 HEALTH CARE FROM HOME SLU physicians and nurses treat patients via telemedicine. — By Maggie Rotermund 20 A GLOBAL RESPONSE SLU-Madrid faces unique challenges due to the pandemic. — By Laura Geiser 22 MISSION ACCEPTED SLU steps up to help others affected by the COVID-19 crisis. — By Staff Writers 26 THE BEST QUESTIONS A public health professor invites readers to think more deeply. — By Michael Rozier, S.J. 2 ON CAMPUS Rankings /// Core curriculum /// New interim provost /// Mary Bruemmer’s 100th /// Test-optional decision /// Campaign news /// Faculty Fulbright fellow /// Prospect Yards update 28 CLASS NOTES 31 IN MEMORIAM 33 THE LAST LOOK When we first laid out this issue, I planned to talk to you about the transformative development we are seeing in every direction we look. Every plot of land adjacent to campus is either being developed, about to be developed, or eyed by developers for future opportunities. While some of the most important projects are proceeding, the new SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital and our new Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building first among them, much of the Midtown devel-opment paused in mid-March, just as we decided to send most of our residential students and the majority of our employees home and we pivoted to remote learning, remote working and telemedicine. At that point I planned to talk to you about the COVID-19 pandemic, the health and financial pain it has caused, how it has impacted our operations, and our plans to move forward on both the academic and medical sides. As we were getting ready to go to press for the second time, George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis. Once again, we pulled the issue back. In an instant, his name has become a rallying cry for justice and equality. The horrific scene of his death was livestreamed into the palms of people throughout the world. The cruelty and heartlessness we witnessed sparked global outrage. As I write, protests are taking place in every single state in our nation and in many cities through-out the world. The crushing pain felt by African Americans is once again on display. I have spoken to many who are part of our SLU community or our partners in the region. Our fam-ily members are hurting. They are angry, they are exhausted, they are fearful for themselves and those they love, and they want meaning-ful, structural change. We, non-African American members of SLU, are again called to stand with them as men and women for and with others. Like you, I have spent countless hours reading, watching, talking, ref lecting, and praying, looking for reasons to believe there is hope, that finally, this time will be dif-ferent. I believe that it will be if we do not lose the momentum of the moment. The momentum we wit-ness daily as neighbors across our nation come together in peaceful protest and advocate for long-over-due change. The momentum in which our Catholic, Jesuit univer-sity must play its role. As I look back over the past six months, we have whipsawed from celebrating the accelerating growth and momentum of Midtown and SLU to a hard stop to development and routine operations as a worldwide pandemic took hold. Then from the distancing and isolation of the lockdown to mass protests on an unprecedented scale in response to a crime documented on a ubiq-uitous video of the slow extinguishing of the life of a man pleading for relief and using his last breaths to call out to his deceased mother. I have repeatedly asked myself, “What are we called to do in the midst of these troubled times.” I keep coming back to one answer: We can make a difference. We must make a difference. The injus-tices and atrocities must end. Let us join together as OneSLU and do God’s work. It is the Jesuit way. It is the only way. Our next issue will report on what we are doing at SLU and what some of you, our justice-focused alumni, have done to be part of the solution. May God bless you and Saint Louis University. Dr. Fred P. Pestello President The publication of this alumni magazine has been delayed. Like my opening message to you, it has gone through three substantial changes in direction. These shifts reflect the painful times and unprecedented conditions under which we are currently living. PHOTO BY JAY FRAM PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE 2
THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSIT Y SUMMER 2020
3 U.S. News Ranks Graduate Programs at SLU Among the Best for 2021 More than 30 programs at Saint Louis University have been ranked in the U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools for 2021, including a No. 1 ranking for SLU’s health law program for the 16th year. The rankings were released March 17. The Center for Health Law Studies in the School of Law has been listed as a top program since the rankings were first published. Three graduate programs in the Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business — entrepreneurship, international business and supply chain management — were ranked in the top 15. Among SLU’s medical and health professions programs, occupational therapy and physical therapy were ranked in the top 50, while medical primary care and medical research ranked in the top 75. In rankings for best education programs, SLU’s School of Education ranked No. 162 on a national list of 393 schools. Below are SLU’s Top 50 U.S. News graduate rankings for 2021. RANKINGS Wall Street Journal Ranks SLU on Top Midwestern College List Saint Louis University ranks No. 8 on the 2020 Wall Street Journal’s list of the top 10 colleges in big Midwestern cities. Once again, the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education list also ranked SLU No. 7 among the top 10 Catholic universities in the country in the annual ranking. The assessments were based on student outcomes, which include debt burdens and graduate salaries
and diversity. SLU Named Best Value College, Best Impact School by Princeton Review Saint Louis University was recognized by the Princeton Review as a 2020 Best Value College in its top 200 list announced Feb. 4. The Princeton Review chose the 200 schools based on its surveys of administrators at 656 colleges in 2018–19. Survey topics covered academics, cost, financial aid, career services, graduation rates, student debt and alumni support. SLU was also ranked No. 4 on this year’s “Top 25 Best Schools for Making an Impact” list. The ranking is based on student ratings and responses to survey questions covering community service opportunities at their school, student government, sustainability efforts and on-campus student engagement. LAW 1 HEALTH LAW 37 PART-TIME LAW HEALTH 34 PHYSICAL THERAPY 42 OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY BUSINESS 10 ENTREPRENEURSHIP 11 INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS 13 SUPPLY CHAIN 39 PART-TIME MBA 40 ACCOUNTING Undergrad Core Curriculum Approved In March, faculty approved the first University-wide core cur r iculum for undergraduate programs. Rolling out to students starting fall 2022, the core will offer a common intellectual experience for undergraduates and faculty, regardless of college, school or campus. SLU’s University Undergraduate Core Committee is working to implement the new approach to the undergraduate experience. Chief among the goals is to prepare “all students to be intellectually flexible, creative and reflective critical thinkers in the spirit of the Catholic, Jesuit tradition.” The committee says the new curriculum also will “nourish students’ minds, hearts, souls and well-being, and guides them in discerning how to use their talents for the good of others and find God in all things.” “We are not doing core reform, but core inven-tion,” Dr. Ellen Crowell, director of the University Core, said. “We worked together to build something from scratch. [The fact that] we all came together and adopted a shared structure is a testament to how much the SLU community cares about undergradu-ate education and the SLU student experience.” Look for more details on the new core curriculum in a future issue of Universitas. Standardized Testing Now Optional Saint Louis University has moved to a stan-dardized test-optional admission process for all undergraduate and most graduate programs beginning with students applying for the 2021-22 academic year. Test-optional means that prospective students may submit standardized test scores, but those who choose not to will not be disadvantaged in any way in the admission process. For students applying for the fall 2021 term, SLU will not require ACT or SAT scores for freshman or transfer applicants, and will not require the GRE or GMAT for most graduate programs. Due to accreditation requirements, a few graduate and professional programs, including law and medicine, will still require pre-admission tests. English profi-ciency tests will still be required for international students. Though the test-optional admissions option is spurred by COVID-19 forcing many test date cancel-lations, University leaders believe the decision will serve as a catalyst to make a SLU education more accessible and bolster diversity among students. “Studies show that a prospective student’s high school grade point average is a much better predictor of college success than standardized test scores,” said Kathleen Davis, vice president for enrollment and retention management. “We also know that stan-dardized tests have historically disadvantaged those students with lower family incomes and less access to expensive test preparations services.” LEWIS NAMED INTERIM PROVOST Dr. Michael Lewis is the new interim provost for Saint Louis University. His term began July 1. It is a role Lewis is familiar with, having served as SLU’s acting provost at the end of 2018. Previously he was associate provost for faculty affairs and development, and an associate professor of chemistry. He has been at the University since 2004. During the 2019-20 academic year, Lewis was interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. He replaces Dr. Chet Gillis, interim provost since January 2019. INTERIM DEAN FOR A&S Dr. Donna J. LaVoie, associate dean and professor of psychology, is the new interim dean for the College of Arts and Sciences. She has been with the University for more than 20 years. Spanish Professor Awarded Fulbright Fellowship Dr. Julia R. Lieberman, a professor of Spanish in SLU’s Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, has been named a 2020-21 Fulbright scholar. She will spend the first few months of 2021 in Portugal. Her project is a book-length work, Few Wealthy and Many Poor: London’s Spanish-Portuguese Jewish Community in the Eighteenth Century. Lieberman, who has been at SLU since 1995, teaches courses in Spanish language, and Renaissance and Baroque Spanish literature, as well as courses about London Spanish-Portuguese (Sephardic) Jewish life. The Fulbright fellowship runs from January to July 2021. Lieberman will be in residence at the University of Lisbon Department of History from February to the end of April. SLU Celebrates Bruemmer’s 100th Birthday Well-wishers including University leaders, stu-dents, faculty and staff members, trustees, alumni and family packed the St. Louis Room in Busch Student Center on Feb. 26 to help Dame Mary Bruemmer celebrate her centennial birthday. Among those who came to celebrate Bruemmer were the “Marguerite Girls,” guided by Bruemmer during her years as SLU’s dean of women
members of Oriflamme, the group of student leaders she advised for many years
and University President Dr. Fred P. Pestello. “Mary, wherever you are in the world, you will always reside within the hearts of those bold enough to don the fleur de lis, share the gratitude of Oriflamme and proudly proclaim, while winking, that they are a Billiken,” Pestello said in his toast. Bruemmer (A&S ’42, Grad Ed ’60), an administra-tor and unmatched University supporter for decades, received birthday wishes, exchanged stories with friends, students and colleagues, and thanked those gathered for their birthday wishes. Just 18 months into the public phase, the University’s comprehensive fundraising campaign, Accelerating Excellence: The Campaign for Saint Louis University, is almost 80% to the $500 million goal. The campaign aims to propel SLU to national prominence as a world-class research university through strategic investment, focusing on academic excellence, scholarships, health sciences, athletics and business education as the top priorities. However, for the foreseeable future, the campaign is pivoting to focus on scholarships and student emergency relief efforts in response to COVID-19. The pandemic has created many financial hardships for SLU students and their families, and the Saint Louis University community is called to help. Returning to SLU this coming fall will be a challenge for many of our students. National trends indicate students could need an average financial aid increase of 5% to 7%. To bridge this unforeseen $22 million demand on the University’s resources, donors are encouraged to support SLU’s Accelerating Access Fund, which provides scholarship aid to the students most in need, or the Student Emergency Relief Fund, which provides support to students experiencing unexpected financial need beyond tuition costs. To support funds like these, please visit giving.slu.edu/oneslu. PHOTO BY LUKE YAMNITZ 4
5 ON CAMPUS As work continues in Prospect Yards near Saint Louis University, a few locations have new completion dates as well as updates about what to expect when construction is finished. A. THE ELEMENT BY WESTIN HOTEL The Element by Westin is set to open in September. This extended-stay facility, just a short walk from campus on Forest Park Avenue, will cater to travelers and families. It will feature a Motion Fitness Center, an all-natural saline pool, a bike borrowing program and a rooftop bar. Developed by Midas Hospitality, the six-story hotel will not only include some traditional hotel features, but also allow groups to spend time together in a private setting. The Element by Westin’s 153 suites offer spa-inspired bathrooms and the Westin’s signature Heavenly Beds. Each suite includes four guest rooms that share a fully equipped kitchen and a living room area. The hotel will begin taking reservations later this summer. B. THE NICHOLAS BUILDING At the corner of Park Avenue and Grand Boulevard, the Nicholas Building awaits consideration for a spot on the National Register of Historic Places. When the five-story building was constructed in 1913, it contained shops on the first floor and offices on the upper levels. The building also was home to the SLU Doisy College of Health Professions until 1998, when the new Allied Health Building opened. Although the Nicholas Building has undergone renovations over time, it has maintained historic plaster ceilings, sills, casings and window trim. The rehab will provide space for a variety of tenants, including restaurants, coffee shops, offices and even apartments. C. CITY FOUNDRY STL One of the most anticipated developments near SLU, the City Foundry STL will comprise a food hall and entertainment venues, such as Punch Bowl Social, as well as office space. The development is located at Forest Park and Vandeventer avenues. Office tenants are anticipating moving in this summer, with entertainment and food venues to follow. — By Jeff Ackels PROSPECT YARDS DEVELOPMENT CONTINUES A C B Rendering of the Element by Westin Hotel City Foundry STL The Nicholas Building SLU men’s basketball junior guard Jordan Goodwin was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District 4 first team, as selected and voted on by member coaches of the NABC in NCAA Division I. A first-team All-Conference and All-Defensive team selection by the Atlantic 10 Conference, Goodwin led SLU with 15.5 points per game. He also was one of the top rebounding guards in the country with 10.4 rebounds per game, which ranked in the top 25 nationally. Goodwin ranked 24th in the country in steals with 64. A total of 104 SLU student-athletes were recognized during the annual Straight-A Celebration, highlighting the Billikens who received straight A’s in the spring 2019 semester and/or fall 2019 semester. This year, the student-athletes recorded video messages expressing gratitude to faculty members who made an impact on their academic pursuits. Billiken Briefs SLU’s Argus-2 Satellite Launched The Saint Louis University-built Argus-2 satel-lite successfully launched into orbit from the International Space Station (ISS) on Feb. 19. The satel-lite was built by a team of faculty and students at Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology. The campus community joined students and fac-ulty in McDonnell Douglas Hall to watch the launch, which was also a milestone for NASA. With the deployment of satellites from the ISS, the agency celebrated 100 CubeSat launches through NASA’s Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) program. A CubeSat is a small satellite that plays a valuable role in NASA’s exploration, technology, educational, and science investigations. The Argus-2 was the 99th launch. The team behind the Argus-2: (FROM LEFT) Dr. Michael Swartwout, associate professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering, and Parks students Connor Highlander, Sergio Bernabeu Peñalba, Jeffrey Kelley and Andrew Wagner. PHOTO BY MAGGIE ROTERMUND SLUCare Facilities Update SLUCare physicians and staff will move into new and renovated facilities next to the new SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital, which opens on Sept. 1. These include a new state-of-the-art clinical practice facility and the renovated former Imagine School Building at Chouteau Avenue and Spring Street, which will house the academic offices of SLUCare physicians. The new clinical practice facility, named the SLUCare Center for Specialized Medicine, is located at 1225 S. Grand Blvd. The renovated building for physician academic offices is now the SLUCare Academic Pavilion. The address is 1008 S. Spring Ave. There have been extensive renovations to the building during the past year in preparation for the move and opening of the other facilities. 2020 Graduates ‘Honor the Day’ Though Saint Louis University’s May com-mencement ceremony was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, members of the class of 2020 marked the original date of graduation with an “Honor the Day” online event on May 16. As part of the digital celebration, graduates could add special frames to their social media profile images, dress up their social media posts and stories with SLU-themed stickers, participate in digital games, and share memories while tagging friends. In addition, more than 150 faculty and staff created congratulatory videos that were released on May 16. Both the May and December 2020 ceremonies will be post-poned until May 2021. Though the details about exact dates are still in the works, there will be separate ceremonies for the dif-ferent graduating classes. SLU Creates Addiction Medicine Fellowship Saint Louis University School of Medicine is tack-ling the country’s opioid abuse crisis by training community physicians to recognize and treat addic-tions. To that end, SLU has created Missouri’s first addiction medicine fellowship. The fellowship is also among the first in the coun-try, as the American College of Graduate Medical Education only certified addiction medicine fellowships in 2018. SLU’s first fellow, Dr. Kate Austman (A&S ’94), began work in January. Program director Dr. Fred Rottnek (Med ’95), a professor of family and commu-nity medicine at SLU, hopes to double the number of fellows by next year. A benefit to this fellowship, Rottnek said, is the chance to support early career physicians in smaller, more rural hospitals who see a high volume of opioid use disorder patients but haven’t had the opportunity to see the newest, best practices used in an academic medical setting. Rottnek (LEFT) and Austman SLU, Wash U Collaborate on Access to Imaging Center Saint Louis University and Washington University in St. Louis signed an agree-ment that will allow SLU researchers to use the Washington University Center of Cellular Imaging (WUCCI). As a part of the collaboration, SLU will contribute $2.5 million toward the purchase of a new $5 million cryo-electron microscope (cryo-EM). Launched in 2015, the WUCCI ranks among the best cellular imaging centers in the United States. Scientists use the powerful imaging equipment to study cells, bacteria, viruses and molecules at higher resolutions than ever before. Dr. Enrico Di Cera, SLU’s Alice A. Doisy Professor and chairman of SLU’s Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, said that biochemistry is mov-ing into a new era, thanks to cryo technology. “The people who introduced cryo technology received the Nobel Prize a few years ago,” he said. “We can finally elucidate the structure of big macromolecular assem-blies, like the ribosome.” (FROM LEFT) Michael Rau, research specialist at the WUCCI, and Dr. Enrico Di Cera, chairman of biochemistry and molecular biology at SLU, talk with Dr. James Fitzpatrick, director of the WUCCI. MATT MILLER / WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS PHOTO BY MAGGIE ROTERMUND 6
7 A FEW WEEKS INTO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT DR. FRED P. PESTELLO COINED THE TERM “OneSLU.” It was his way of describing the way members of the SLU community were sensitive to one another’s hardships and supportive of each other during the crisis that changed the way SLU — and every institution — operated. “I think that those who live through historical events are seldom aware of it in the moment,” he said in a message to campus in May. “It is only years after the fact upon further reflection that we realize we were part of a once-in-a-generation event. “When historians inquire how SLU responded to this pandemic, I hope that they will discover what I have witnessed in all of us — a community that, when faced with endless opportunities to turn inward and allow fear to consume us, chose a different path,” he con-tinued. “We chose the path of kinship, generosity and service. Upon hearing about the boundless uncertainty, suffering and moments of joy, they will see that we chose the path of responding with a resounding, ‘we feel that too.’ “Historians will not have to look long to understand the meaning of OneSLU.” In this interview with Universitas, Pestello offers insights on deci-sions he led and shares his thoughts on SLU’s future in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Can you discuss SLU’s general response to the health aspects of the crisis? Like most universities, we began sharing tips with the SLU commu-nity for avoiding all viruses back in January: wash your hands, don’t touch your face, disinfect surfaces and more. As our understanding of the virus spread and evolved, so did our messaging. We also shared CDC guidelines and travel alerts as they started to become prevalent. But one of the most important actions we took early on was talking and meeting with our Chinese students and scholars, mak-ing sure they had the support they needed as the virus was, at that point, wreaking havoc on their home country. Of course, we also stayed in close contact with the leadership of SLU-Madrid, monitoring the situation there. The widespread out-break in Spain meant our SLU-Madrid community was ahead of us in experiencing the impact of COVID-19. Their situation had its unique challenges due to their large number of students who are studying abroad from dozens of U.S.-based institutions, not just SLU. Their impressive response helped us as we faced the impend-ing crisis of community spread in the U.S. (For more about the Madrid campus’ response to COVID-19, see the story on page 20.) From the early days of this virus, it was clear to me how fortunate we are to have some of the world’s leading experts in infectious dis-ease, a highly-regarded College for Public Health and Social Justice, and one of the nation’s top vaccine centers. We relied heavily on the knowledge of our faculty in these units to inform our decision mak-ing from the start — and still to this day. That faith has paid off. In July, SLU’s National Institutes of Health-funded vaccine and treat-ment evaluation unit became one of the first sites in the country to begin phase 3 trials of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. (Read more about our COVID-19 research on page 10.) In the early days of the pandemic, the situation was evolving very rapidly. What guided SLU’s leadership team as key decisions were made? In all aspects of our work, we are led by our mission, which calls us to be in service of humanity. That meant caring first and foremost for the health and well-being of our students, faculty and staff. Our other guiding principles included a focus on minimizing disruption to students’ academic success as much as possible, providing treat-ment to COVID-19 patients and other seriously ill individuals, and making transparency a priority. Very early on, I invited leaders from our faculty, staff and student representative groups to be included in our decision making. Their voices were important as we charted a course of action. Keeping these principles at the forefront of our minds served us well as we were called to make many important decisions quickly, based on the best available information at that time. Within days, we went from extending spring break to give our faculty a week to plan for the possibility of online instruction, to suspending in-person instruction through the term. Mere days later, all non-emergency essential personnel started working from home — and they still are as we conduct this interview. Every solution for every problem that COVID-19 delivered to us was driven by care for our community. How did you approach the move to remote learning and the “closure” of campus? There was a point when it became clear that moving to remote learning was our only choice. Doing so before stay-at-home orders prevented families from traveling to pick up their Billiken was key. But the fact that the decision was obvious certainly didn’t make it any easier. It was heart-wrenching to know that we were choosing to be a “communitas ad dispersionem” — a community in dispersion. And though the choice was clear, the details were complex. With the support and hard work of our dedicated faculty and staff, we launched remote instruction in a matter of a single week, and moved toward telemedicine options so our SLUCare practice could con-tinue to serve patients from their homes. (Read more about our health care practice’s move to telemedicine on page 18.) Processes that typically take weeks were done in days, like the purchase and launch of Zoom for our entire campus. And our fac-ulty, many of whom had never taught an online course, adapted their syllabi and teaching methods to a digital environment in record time. (For more details about the move to distance learning, see the story on page 14.) Of course, our students had to adapt, too. Like all of us, their lives were turned upside down. Because we needed to close most of our residence halls, students who could move home were asked to do so. The burden that put on our Billiken families was great, but the patience and grace they showed us is something I will never forget. Whether they stayed on campus or went home, learning looked and felt different for our students. Some of them were navigating new challenges, trying to study in dynamic living situations with loved ones who were also working from home, and young siblings around after daycare was shuttered. SLU’s president reflects on the pandemic and what lies ahead. — by Laura Geiser Pestello in his backyard in April filming a video message for the SLU community. 8
9 Those challenges were also present for our faculty, staff and med-ical providers. Suddenly, we are not just seeing our colleagues and patients during our virtual meetings. Rather, we get cameos from their children, partners and pets. It was, and in many ways contin-ues to be, a time when we needed to lean on the grace, flexibility and goodness of every member of the SLU family What refunds and financial assistance did SLU offer students? When we sent our students home in March, we announced a 50% refund for housing, dining and parking charges for the spring term. Sensitive to the financial hardships many families were facing, we processed those refunds in a matter of weeks. We compensated student workers who couldn’t continue working on campus during the pandemic, offering grants and, when possible, opportunities to work remotely. To this day, I am struck by the generosity we heard from families during that time. Remarkably, some students and parents asked if they could direct their refunds to those most in need. Those guiding questions led us to shift our fundraising focus and elevate our efforts to support students and employees in need. (For more, see page 2.) SLU also received aid through the federal stimulus package to benefit our students and their families. Through the CARES Act, we received $5.14 million. Half of that amount went directly to our students who need it the most based on unexpected changes and expenses. The other half helped SLU recover the nearly $10 million that we refunded for room and board. Ultimately, we were able to connect more than 5,000 SLU students in need with about $2.8 million in aid. That includes the CARES Act funding we received and aid from our emergency relief fund. Students received an average of $600 each. Through the funding request process, we heard from roughly 2,300 students who reported that either they or their parents have lost their job. This devastating statistic reminds us of how important it is for SLU to continue to make decisions quickly and thoughtfully. I want to add that we also did what we could to assist our SLUCare patients. Those efforts included launching a Neighborhood Virtual Visit program, which allows those without smartphones or home internet to hold SLUCare telehealth appointments at area churches. This program opens access to health care. SLU has made some academic changes during the pandemic, like a test-optional admissions pilot and temporary changes to the grading system. Why were these modifications made? Both of these were the right choices. Our test-optional admission process for all undergraduate stu-dents was under consideration for some time, and the pandemic pushed us to move forward faster as tests like the ACT and SAT were on hold across the country. We are committed to a three-year pilot program that allows our undergraduate applicants and many graduate applicants to decide whether to submit standardized test scores. Students will be evaluated equally, and we believe this will increase access to a SLU education. (For more, see page 2.) Our grading policy change is a little different, and was temporary only for this most recent term. We gave our students the option of choosing a “pass/low pass/no pass” grading system for certain individual undergraduate courses. This gave them flexibility as they were adjusting to remote learning, and became a common practice media, livestreaming and the web to share reflections, Masses and spiritual resources. They even held a virtual “Java with the Jesuits!” Of course, our support extended off campus, too. Many Billikens stepped up to help others during these challenging times. Our Campus Kitchen kept preparing meals, our faculty educated nurses on COVID-19, and our psychologists launched a hotline for front-line health care workers. (Read more about all these initiatives and more in the story that begins on page 22.) We also made empty residence halls and apartments available to SLUCare and SSM Health staff and to essential members of our SLU community who had contracted COVID-19 or had been exposed to the virus and needed to self-quarantine away from their families. So many people went above and beyond their routine work during the pandemic. What is your message to them? As I have said several times in the daily messages I sent to the SLU community early in the crisis, we owe enormous thanks to the dedicated health care workers who compose our SLUCare practice, SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital, our Student Health and Employee Health teams, and numerous others throughout our region for all the sacrifices they continue to make to serve those they treat. These sacrifices include putting their own well-being on the line. If you speak to frontline health care workers, they will humbly say they are just doing their jobs. I continue to be in awe of their relentless spirit and tireless service. I am deeply grateful to the essential staff who continue to serve on campus while most of us work from home. These include members of our housing staff, our public safety officers, our facilities, grounds and cleaning crews, our information technology professionals and more. I appreciate them and everyone who continues to pull together to get us through the significant disruptions we have faced. As you noted, early on you were sending daily, sometimes even twice daily, communications to the SLU community. Why was that important? Transparency has been a hallmark of our frequent communications with the SLU community. We did not have all of the answers, but it was our responsibility to share what we could with our community. The situation was evolving rapidly, and it made sense to try to calm fears and reduce uncertainty by sharing facts and decisions. Sometimes our communications were logistically driven, for example about the move-out process
other times they were more thoughtful and reflective
and occasionally, they were just down-right humorous to provide some much-needed levity. In every case, we did our best to respond to the needs of our community. Can you look forward to the fall semester and discuss why face-to-face instruction is so important? Since mid-March I have been virtually meeting with a representative group of approximately 45 University leaders, including faculty, staff, students and administrators. Over a series of thoughtful discussions, this group clearly agreed that our mission and vision are best advanced through the power of face-to-face instruction and the strong interper-sonal bonds found at the center of our residential campus. This grows directly out of our faith and the charism of the Jesuit Order. Our work takes place in community, and the richest form of community is built on relationships created and sustained through face-to-face interactions. across higher education during the spring semester. Feedback from the SLU community led to these decisions, and I am confident both initiatives helped relieve some anxiety during these challenging times. Commencement has been postponed until next May. What are your thoughts on moving the ceremony back a whole year? No one loves commencement more than I do. I am heartbroken to have to postpone the opportunity to witness one of the most joyous days for our graduates and their families. But with so many uncertainties about how we can safely gather in the months ahead, we felt that our wisest choice was to reschedule the cere-mony for spring 2021 to give us ample time to prepare for an event that can more closely follow the format of our traditional commencements. The fallout of COVID-19 has affected the financial health of all types of institutions, including higher education. And SLU is no exception. What are the implications of the pandemic on SLU’s budget? I do not wish to sugarcoat how difficult the financial hit of COVID- 19 has been for SLU, but I also feel compelled to address that the ultimate impact is unknown and will be for some time. Before the pandemic, we were expecting to end the current fiscal year with a slight surplus thanks primarily to the turnaround of our SLUCare practice, the cost controls we have established, the success of our enrollment, and our fundraising efforts. Now, we’re facing a projected deficit due to the impact of COVID-19. The outlook for the next fiscal year is unclear and will be for some months. Unfortunately, we have had to implement several fiscal mitigations to offset the deficits. Despite these challenges, we are committed to doing everything possible to provide a high-quality education for our students, offer first-rate patient care, keep our people employed, and minimize the financial impact on our staff and faculty in the lowest income brackets. Although this is without a doubt a difficult moment, we have faced other substantial challenges over the course of our long his-tory. In each of those times, our community pulled together and rose to the occasion. Because of the determination and dedication of our faculty, clinicians and staff, I am confident we will position SLU for a strong recovery and a bright future. What efforts did the University make to continue supporting the SLU community despite distance learning, telemedicine and remote working? We ensured that our students, faculty, clinicians and staff had access to helpful services as they adjusted to the “new normal” brought on by the pandemic. For example, our University Counseling Center used virtual appointments to support our students who were having trouble coping with the stresses brought on by the pandemic. Our Reinert Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning offered web resources for instructional continuity to support our faculty as they transitioned to online teaching. And our human resources division developed tools and online resources for staff members who were adjusting to working from home while also balancing the needs of their families. In addition, our campus ministers and mission and identity staff found new ways to reach our community. They employed social We recognize this decision comes with tremendous responsibility on our part to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Several planning groups are working through all of the details on how to minimize its spread. Details are being worked out now, but we are starting most classes nine days earlier than planned and will end face-to-face instruction prior to Thanksgiving. This revised calendar will both reduce the risk of virus spread by not having students go home and return to campus during the term, and it will allow more in-person instruction before another potential wave of the virus hits. Undoubtedly, this coming semester will look and feel different than any before it. There will be many changes, and there will be limits that will require us to remember that our care for one another means that we must accept these changes. How will the pandemic change higher education? I have never seen a transformation as profound or as rapid as what universities and health care practices have been going through since March. The impact and consequences on both the educational and the medical sides of institutions like ours are enormous. No one yet knows what fall enrollment will look like at institu-tions like ours or when patient volumes will return to pre-COVID levels. No one yet knows if there will be a second wave of the virus, when it will appear and how severe it will be. And no one yet knows when a virus-ending vaccine will be readily available. What has this time been like for you personally? Where have you been working? I am working at home, and I must say that what was unfamiliar just a few short months ago is now familiar. I accept the reality of how we must now function. I am so grateful for the internet and the software that facilitates remote meetings, teaching and patient care. I do not want to imagine how much more difficult it would be to run our large and complex university with-out such technology. Despite all that we can now do virtually, however, we lack that which is most important for us as humans, especially those of us who work and study at a Jesuit university — face-to-face interaction that creates the relationships that enable and facilitate our work. We are formed and nourished by these personal connections. They have always been at the center of the joy that comes from being a part of a university community. And the most essential of these relationships is that between the scholar and the pupil. I am reminded of a morning back in January when we began our weekly cabinet leadership meeting a half-hour late so that I could meet with the students who were returning to work in our Department of Housing and Residence Life. My time with the students in the packed Sinquefield Stateroom was rejuvenating. I always draw energy from our students. I remember staying a bit long with them and arriving late to meet with my leadership team, telling my colleagues, “No offense, but I would rather have stayed with the students than have had to come here to meet with you.” And we laughed together. I dearly miss the richness and warmth of the daily face-to-face interaction — particularly with our students. I am certain all of us do. I am eager to be back together on campus in the fall. UTAS “I think that those who live through historical events are seldom aware of it in the moment. It is only years after the fact upon further reflection that we realize we were part of a once-in-a-generation event.” When Dr. Daniel Hoft, professor of internal medicine and director of the Division of Infectious Diseases, Allergy and Immunology, learned in early January that a novel corona-virus was working its way through China, the pathogen hadn’t been identified yet. It wasn’t until a few weeks later that COVID-19 had its name and his team had its mission. Hoft directs the Saint Louis University Center for Vaccine Development and the Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit (VTEU) — one of only nine centers in the country approved by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct clini-cal trials of novel vaccines to protect against pandemic challenges. Hoft, who was appointed in June to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Vaccine Advisory Committee, said many collaborative groups, including the VTEUs, mobilized quickly to decipher the pathogen’s genome and rapidly roll out vaccine trials. In July, SLU’s VTEU became one of the first sites in the country to begin phase 3 trials of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. SLU also was among the 75 sites chosen worldwide by the NIH to evaluate the antivi-ral drug, remdesivir, in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. This spring, SLU’s primary investigator Dr. Sarah George, associate professor of infectious diseases, allergy and immunology, led clinical trials conducted at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital. This trial and those at other sites showed remdesivir shortened the recovery process for patients with advanced COVID-19. In addi-tion, the NIH asked SLU scientists in May to develop a COVID-19 natural history study to explore immune responses in mild, moderate and severe cases of the infection, which will better inform vaccine development efforts. Both George and Hoft have suspended much of their research on other infectious diseases — including inf luenza, tuberculo-sis, Zika, yellow fever and dengue fever — to focus almost exclusively on advancing a vac-cine for COVID-19. They have been working overtime, not only on their research, but also to educate the SLU community and the wider public about COVID-19. In this article, they discuss their work and the lessons the world is learning. Vaccine Development GEORGE: Under normal circumstances, a potential vaccine is initially tested in animal models. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) usually requires two animal models. If the vaccine proves safe, we move to Phase 1 human trials. We begin testing in healthy adults to make sure there are no safety concerns and the vaccine causes an immune response to develop. Then we go to Phase 2 human studies where we expand the number of healthy adults to look at more people, including sometimes children, ado-lescents and older adults. If it looks as though the vaccine is safe and immunogenic, we move to Phase 3 human trials, which is field testing. This typically involves vac-cinating thousands of people and monitoring them for several years to determine whether the vaccine protects them against the disease being investigated. Under ordinary circumstances, getting a vaccine to market can take 10 to 15 years, but these are not ordinary circumstances. We’re doing everything we can to fast-track development of a vaccine by expediting the timeline for each phase. HOFT: Under an Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA (which allows the use of unapproved medical products to be used in emergency situations to diagnose, treat or prevent life-threatening diseases), no new animal studies were required before beginning Phase 1 of the COVID-19 vaccine trials. The animal studies and human studies were conducted in parallel. In one month, scientists compressed years of work. We’re also working with vaccine candidates that we’ve had previous experience with — vaccines that were developed to fight other types of coronavi-ruses in the past, such as SARS-coV 1. That bypassed a lot of time. GEORGE: The Ebola vaccine was expedited in the same way when we had the horrible outbreak in West Africa in 2014. Scientists did very quick Phase 1 human studies with vaccine candidates they already had. They pulled them off the shelf, so to speak, and then they went straight into Phase 3 studies. The vaccine proved to be protec-tive, and we now have a vaccine against Ebola. HOFT: In addition, the type of COVID-19 vaccine delivery system we’re using is novel and is allowing us to expedite trials. The system uses RNA [ribonucleic acid, a nucleic acid present in all living cells] as the actual vaccine. Most vaccines are made from anti-gens — either a protein coming from the pathogen or an entire pathogen that has been weakened in some way and injected into the body to trigger an immune response. The smallpox vaccine and most HIV vaccines are examples of this. Protein-based vaccines can take years to develop because there are more stumbling blocks. Protein-based vaccines require mass production of viral proteins and, in some cases, this can take decades. With the RNA-delivery vaccine, all you need is the sequence of the pathogen’s genome, which the Chinese government shared with the world in January. Instead of viral-based vaccines, an RNA vaccine provides a synthetic RNA encoding a key antigen expressed by the virus, which the body then uses to produce the viral proteins itself. This type of vaccine approach can save months or years. Contact Tracing GEORGE: Part of the challenge with contact tracing is that this was a new virus unknown to humanity until December. We had to create diagnostic tests from the ground up. That said, there were high-level missteps. We didn’t implement testing soon enough. The World Health Organization had a test available, but the leadership of the United States declined to use it. The Centers for Disease Control had a test that we later learned was defective. It was made in a lab that didn’t meet appropriate standards, so we were weeks and weeks behind. The disease was already here before we could detect it. We have since learned that people were dying in California before we even had the ability to test for the disease. Testing is get-ting better. HOFT: We’re learning how important our public health systems are in contact tracing. They need to be functioning optimally and have enough person-nel to be able to follow the contact spread as far as it goes. They need to identify infected people, quaran-tine them and do contact investigation to see where the infection is spreading so we can stop it. These are key to mitigating a pandemic before we have countermeasures, such as vaccines. By Marie Dilg Under ordinary circumstances, getting a vaccine to market can take 10 to 15 years, but these are not ordinary circumstances. 10
11 x DR. SARAH GEORGE ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES, ALLERGY AND IMMUNOLOGY SLU’S RENOWNED SCIENTISTS ARE AT THE FOREFRONT OF COVID-19 VACCINE DEVELOPMENT GEORGE IN HER LAB HOFT (LEFT) WITH RESEARCHERS IN HIS LAB PHOTO BY ELLEN HUTTI PHOTO BY ELLEN HUTTI 12
13 Past Pandemics GEORGE: I’ve been an infectious disease specialist for more than 20 years, and this is at least the fourth pandemic I’ve seen in the last decade. We had the flu pandemic in 2009. We get a new flu pandemic every 10 to 15 years so that was expected, and we’re due for another. Then we had the Ebola pandemic in 2014, which caused a global health scare because there were cases spreading to all parts of the world. Fortunately, we never had sustained transmission in the United States for a variety of reasons. In 2015, we had the Zika outbreak — the mosquito-borne virus that caused birth defects in babies. We’ve also had other outbreaks that haven’t hit the shores of the United States but have caused problems globally, such as yellow fever and chikungunya virus. Now we have the COVID-19 outbreak. I have to say this wasn’t a surprise. Certainly, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he was concerned something like this might happen, and it came to pass. This is the largest pandemic I’ve seen because of its sustained transmission. HOFT: We’ve had three events caused by coronaviruses in the last 20 years or so: SARS-coV 1 in 2002, MERS-coV in 2012 and now SARS-coV 2 – what we’re call-ing COVID-19. It’s made its way throughout the world, while the other two were completely or mostly contained. COVID-19 appears to be more infectious than the others, and it likely will be seasonal. Many other coronaviruses do circulate season-ally and cause the common cold. COVID-19 is not common, and it’s more dangerous. COVID-19 Antibodies HOFT: We don’t have sufficient information to know whether people who have con-tracted COVID-19 are immune from contracting the virus again. Most researchers, however, believe that infection itself will induce a protective immune response in most people. Otherwise, you wouldn’t clear it. Already we’ve seen in multiple places throughout the world where there have been COVID-19 outbreaks that it seems to slow down at some point. In China, infection has returned to low levels, so now they are focused on people coming into their country with the infection and reintroduc-ing it to the population. There is circumstantial evidence that suggests infection creates an immune response. How good that immune response is, we don’t know. Most middle-aged people who have a healthy immune response likely will develop a strong immune response to an infection. Immunity should last several months to a year perhaps. We don’t know whether people who don’t have a strong immune response will be as well protected. There’s likely a gradation of immunity. Role of the Environment GEORGE: We need to have some very real, global-level discussion about how we’re interacting with the environment. A lot of what we’re seeing is a side effect of envi-ronmental damage. How did we get the Ebola virus? Where did it come from? It came from the jungles of Africa. We still don’t know exactly what its natural reservoir is, but people are going into the jungles and destroying them. They are killing the native wildlife and eating it. That’s how an outbreak can start. It’s human destruction of an ecological system. The same with the COVID-19. How did we get it? It may have jumped from bats to endangered pangolins that were sold for meat in Chinese mar-kets. If we don’t stop these behaviors, this is going to continue to happen. Perspective on Pathogens HOFT: This is the worst acute pandemic in my life-time. You think about diseases such as HIV, which is a huge problem worldwide, though not as bad in the United States. It has caused about 30 million deaths since it was identified in the 1980s. COVID-19 is the only virus I’ve seen spread throughout the world so quickly and, without countermeasures, has wreaked massive morbidity and mortality. In three months, we went from a virus no one had heard of to an acute pandemic. It’s mind-boggling and definitely is robbing me of sleep. Another huge problem is tuber-culosis. It doesn’t spread as rapidly, but it kills more people than any other infectious disease and it’s one of the top 10 causes of death in the world. GEORGE: The NIH has a list of infectious diseases that would keep you up all night, but right now, this is the one keeping me up. We’re all working very long hours. It’s all-hands-on-deck. Fact vs. Fiction GEORGE: A lot of nonsense exists on the internet. People are hyping treatments that we now know don’t work and may be harmful. I feel a strong responsibility to the general public, my colleagues and my patients to provide good, fact-based infor-mation. I advise everyone to stick to fact-based information sources. I also tell people we’re in this for the long haul. Life is hard right now. Life is dif-ferent. Realistically, we won’t have a vaccine for maybe a year, maybe sooner if we get lucky. Until that happens and the case numbers start to decline, we’re going to have to continue the social distancing as much as possible. Long term, I tell people to try to be optimistic. We should be able to make a vaccine for this, and we will get ahead of this eventually. It’s just not going to be overnight. HOFT: Every day we’re f looded with more information and new recommendations. It’s a challenge to keep up and to separate fact from fiction. I think it’s wonderful, however, to see how people care about others and are doing everything they can to help, whether it be by following social distancing recom-mendations or putting themselves on the front lines of caring for patients. Everyone is a hero. It fills me with optimism that the world citizenry is coming together, and we can beat this thing. UTAS ALUMNI GIFT ACCELERATES VACCINE EFFORTS As researchers at Saint Louis University’s Center for Vaccine Development work overtime to find a vaccine to combat COVID-19, they received a generous gift from alumni to fight infectious diseases. Dr. Stephen C. Peiper (Med ’77) and Dr. Zi-Xuan “Zoe” Wang, his wife, gave $750,000 to SLU to support research aimed at developing new vaccines for COVID-19 and other illnesses. This gift will establish a center of excellence in vaccine research and will be called the Stephen C. Peiper and Zi-Xuan Wang Institute for Vaccine Science and Policy. SLU President Dr. Fred P. Pestello lauded the couple’s contribution, which supports Saint Louis University’s Accelerating Excellence Campaign. “I am inspired by Drs. Peiper and Wang’s generosity and investment in the work of leading scientists at Saint Louis University,” Pestello said. “They realize that our infectious disease and vaccine research is second to none. It is gratifying to have successful health care experts in their own right acknowledge the substantial impact science at SLU has on the world.” Peiper is the Peter A. Herbut Professor and Chair of the Department of Pathology, Anatomy and Cell Biology at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, and senior vice president for the enterprise pathology and laboratory medicine service line of Jefferson Health System. Wang is the scientific director of the molecular and genomic pathway laboratory for the Jefferson Health System. Peiper’s scientific work contributed to the discovery of a receptor that allows HIV to be transmitted into cells. A clinical laboratory scientist, Wang is leading COVID-19 testing programs, and her laboratory has provided testing for the 14 hospitals in the Jefferson Health System. In addition to research on COVID-19, the gift will advance work at SLU to develop new vaccines for other diseases, support a new computational biology team and infrastructure, and assist in recruiting new physician scientists. For more information or to support SLU’s efforts in vaccine development, contact Jane Baum at jane.baum@slu.edu. I think it’s wonderful, however, to see how people care about others and are doing everything they can to help, whether it be by following social distancing recommendations or putting themselves on the front lines of caring for patients. Everyone is a hero. x DR. DANIEL HOFT PROFESSOR OF INTERNAL MEDICINE AND DIRECTOR OF THE DIVISION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES, ALLERGY AND IMMUNOLOGY 14
15 They were busy wrapping up and heading separate ways before their week away. They didn’t anticipate that their accounting midterm would be the last time they’d sit with those classmates in that particular classroom. Or that they had swiped their student ID for the last time to get into Pius XII Memorial Library. Or that they’d pulled an all-nighter with their sophomore roommate in Grand Hall for the last time. They were busy students at this point in the semes-ter. Most of them heard that a novel coronavirus was making its way around the world, ending many of their friends’ study abroad programs. But few could have anticipated the impact it would have for them at Saint Louis University. On Tuesday, Ma rch 10, University President Dr. Fred P. Pestel lo not if ied the community that SLU was suspending in-person courses temporar i ly. As spr ing brea k cont inued, Pestello reached out, over and over, with the latest news from campus as plans quickly changed. First, spring break was extended a week, to March 23. Then, the plan was to teach remotely until at least April 30. Then, remotely through the end of the spring semester. By Friday, March 13 — the Friday of SLU’s original spring break — Missouri’s governor had declared a state of emergency, as had the president of the United States. As information spread around the globe about the new coronavirus and the disease it causes — COVID-19 — SLU’s administration acted swiftly to keep students, faculty and staff safe. “We pivoted very quickly when we realized how seri-ous this condition was,” Interim Provost Dr. Chester Gillis said. “Fortunately, our decision coincided with spring break initially, so that gave us a little time. And then we extended that another week after spring break, to make sure that the faculty were fully equipped for this, and so that students could move out of the residence halls at the same time.” Students made plans to be on campus for one last time during the spring semester to collect their things. And professors quickly adapted to new technologies and ped-agogies, rethinking courses, lessons and requirements. “They responded exceptionally well. Faculty who were already in a good position stepped up and mentored other faculty, which was wonderful,” Gillis said. “And the Reinert Center was instrumental in helping.” The Reinert Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning had been preparing for the pandemic for some time, said Dr. Gina Merys (Grad A&S ’06), the center’s act-ing director. “When we started the semester in January, there was already talk about COVID-19. By February, we started talking about the possibility of gathering materials, just in case. Maybe two weeks later, a few deans contacted us, saying, ‘This seems to be something we need to prepare for,’” Merys said. “It unfurled quickly after that.” She said this kind of work — anticipating the needs of the faculty, and planning for how best to support them — is what the Reinert Center does as a matter of course. “As our mission for the center, we feel beholden to the faculty, to look ahead and see trends,” Merys said. “Not that we ever thought a virus would be a trend.” By the beginning of March, the center had added to their website a section for instructional continuity, a compilation of resources for faculty members who had little experience with teaching online. It touched on everything, from how to move an in-progress course online, to how to write an open exam. It even linked to a handout professors could share with students about setting up their remote learning workspaces. The novel coronavirus pandemic changed everything — including academic life at Saint Louis University. – By Amy Garland The first week of March, the students of Saint Louis University had a lot on their minds. Midterm tests, papers and projects. Travel plans for spring break the following week. Maybe even anticipation for the home stretch of the semester, commencement, summer. A COMMUNITY IN DISPERSION REINERT CENTER READIES THE FACULTY Joseph Reznikov works from his off-campus apartment in May. SUBMITTED PHOTO 16
17 The center also added sections of its “Introduction to Online Teaching” course, a digital seminar that for-mally prepares faculty in online pedagogy. The center will offer more of those going forward — both the typical four-week course as well as a new, intensive two-week option that includes all the same content. Merys acknowledged that even with the Reinert Center’s help, moving a course from in-person to online is a big challenge. “We have faculty who are top experts in their field, most of whom are already outstanding, award-winning teachers. But many of the things that we rely on face-to- face have to be done differently online,” she said. “But we have an extremely dedicated group of educators who did their best in a very, very short time frame to completely rethink the way that they think and teach.” How did they do it? “Unquestionably, the Jesuit tradition shaped how we’ve done this,” Gillis said. “President Pestello articulated across the board, down to the students, that because we are a Jesuit, Catholic institution, our priority is to support individuals. We are about your success. This is cura personalis in action.” Dr. Simone Bregni, associate professor of Italian, took this idea to heart. He started by assessing the new normal for his students. “When my students crossed the threshold of class on the first day, each of them also became my responsibility. It’s a commitment I feel is necessary in this country of great opportunities, but also of profound economic, social and cultural gaps — which, I imagined, this virus would make even more marked,” Bregni explained. “Only after I got confirmation that everyone was fine and that everyone had adequate access to the internet, could I focus on how to modify my teaching to respond to this crisis.” It was a common sentiment across the University. “I had multiple professors send a survey to better understand each student’s situ-ation and the barriers they may be facing during this time, from a lack of WiFi, to a lack of food, to a complicated home life, to everything in between,” said Joseph Reznikov, a rising senior and president of the Student Government Association. “I’ve found my professors to be extremely accommodating of each student’s individual situation.” After assessing their students’ basic needs, the faculty got to work transforming their courses. Some had little-to-no experience with online teaching and worked to not only understand the technologies available to them, but also how best to use them. Marcia McCormick is a professor and associate dean for academic affairs at the School of Law. She described the process of transitioning her upper-level employ-ment discrimination law course. “I’ve taught this course for about 10 years, and it’s an area that I specialize in. So I had a really good idea of how everything fit together and what my goals were for each class — and that actually helped a lot,” McCormick said. “But trying to figure out how to create the kind of community where students engage in active learning is really challenging when you’re not face-to-face.” McCormick decided to offer “a smorgasbord” of options for interaction, such as voiceover PowerPoint presentations summarizing each unit, opportunities for dis-cussion online, and quizzes that weren’t graded but provided immediate feedback. Then she got a bit creative. “I did something I call ‘treasure hunts,’ where the treasure is new knowledge — so I don’t know that students felt like what they got was treasure,” she laughed. “I had students find memes or news articles or cases that related to the topic we were look-ing at, and did a collection of blog posts on those and had the students contribute.” Dr. David Letscher, a professor of computer science, also got creative to foster community among his dispersed class. their own,” she said. “Lawyers need to fig-ure out how to move forward in situations that are unpredictable and challenging, and this was definitely a challenging, unpre-dictable situation.” Whatever the eventual outcome, the upheaval of the semester brought a sense of goodwill to the community. “I think both sides are giving a lot of grace to each other, knowing that we’re all doing our best,” Merys said. For their part, students described the tough transition of leaving cam-pus while continuing the semester. “At the beginning, it was very dif-ficult. I’m someone who likes to be in class, interacting with professors, walking down West Pine, grabbing lunch with friends. So this was hard at first,” said Jensen Vayalil, a biology major and member of the Medical Scholars pro-gram who will be a senior this fall. Zahva Naeem, a rising sophomore study-ing psychology and health care ethics, agreed. “I am so grateful for the privilege and ability to still attend class virtually, but it has not been an easy transition in any way.” Both Vayalil and Naeem did seem to appreciate the effort their professors put into making their classes harken back to the pre-pandemic academic experience. Naeem said, “My biology professor did an incredible job maintaining a similar format to our past exams, so it felt familiar and comfortable. Of course, the exam was not easy, but I felt at ease knowing that the expectations had not changed. My biology class was still just that: a biology class.” Vayalil liked that his pharmacology class continued to meet at their previously established time, albeit via Zoom. It felt like a touchtone in a new era of learning asynchronously out of necessity. And he said he defi-nitely could tell his professors were doing all they could to make the best of a hard situation. “I can tell that they’re prioritizing our mental health,” Vayalil said. When campus closed, Vayalil moved back to his parents’ house in a suburb of Chicago. He considered himself lucky. “I’m so blessed to live in a household where everyone is in college or working,” he said. “For some students, it’s not a level playing field now. Maybe they have a tense relationship with their parents, or noisy neigh-bors, or any number of other distractions.” Letscher teaches arti-ficial intelligence (AI). During the spring semes-ter, he had a mixed class of about 32 undergradu-ate and graduate students. Before the pandemic hit, he relied on short lec-tures and small-group activities during class. In the wake of the coronavi-rus, he shifted that model to Zoom, an online plat-form that allows video and audio conferencing, chatting and more. He created videos to teach ski l ls and tech-nique s , and then he polled his students to determine where they were “stuck ” in thei r lea rning. Nex t , he’ d separate the class into breakout rooms online based on who was stuck at a similar point. That helped, as did Letscher’s online game nights, which took com-muni t y-bu i l d ing t o another level. He invited the whole computer sci-ence department to join his students in playing games the AI class was working on. For their participa-tion, his students earned a few bonus points
about 40% of the class showed up. “We watched each other play, and there was a little bit of trash-talking,” he said. “It was a chance to learn and interact in a less formal way, which felt good.” Law and computer science are subjects that obvi-ously can be taught from a distance, though. What about courses that typically require hands-on work? Dr. Kim Levenhagen (DCHS ’88, Grad DCHS ’07), an associate professor of physical therapy, described a modified approach to a hands-on assignment, which had students submit videos of themselves teaching someone a home exercise program. “It was an assignment long before our move to online teaching. Before, students used their classmates out of convenience, but this year they used family members who were unaware of the assignment or physical ther-apy terms,” Levenhagen said. “It was the first time the assignment ended with a hug. There are a lot of proud parents out there.” Proud professors, too. McCormick and others said despite its awful impetus, this experience is bound to result in lasting lessons that could serve students well. “Law school is notorious for being demanding, throwing students in the deep end to quickly teach them critical thinking and how to figure things out on Acknowledging this unequal playing field, some professors reevaluated their class requirements. “Many people, including me, revamped policies on late work,” Letscher said. “I told my students, ‘Of course you can have a few more days. Just get it to me.’” Similarly, the administration determined widespread changes were necessary to address grading during this highly unusual time. Most courses ended up allowing for a pass/low pass/no pass grading option, should a student choose that path. Interim Provost Gillis explained the complicated decision. “On the one hand, we understood that students may not perform as well as they normally would in this environment. With compassion, we wanted to extend to students possibilities to put less pressure on them to perform without having to worry about the GPA,” Gillis said. “On the other hand, there are some programs that require grades for accreditation or other reasons. We didn’t want to disadvantage any students by ill-advising them because pass/low pass/no pass grading might not serve them well going forward. They needed to make a well-informed decision about what that would mean for their future.” The law school moved to a mandatory pass/no pass system, as most law schools did, McCormick said. “We wouldn’t know what we were grading, whether it was privilege and luck ver-sus work and understanding,” she said. “It was just the humane thing to do.” Although, as Gillis noted, “It’s true that anybody who looks at a transcript going forward and sees spring of 2020, well, that’s when the world stopped.” As the semester rapidly approached its end, the adminis-tration turned to the future — commencement, summer classes and so on — while the coronavirus ravaged on. None of the decisions were easy. A survey of seniors showed that the strong preference was to postpone, not cancel, commencement ceremonies. The University considered the safest way to do that. “We want to do something in-person for these students. They deserve it,” Gillis said. In May, Gillis announced that SLU’s 2020 graduates would be honored in May 2021. Though many scenarios were considered, it was clear that a fall commencement ceremony likely would include masks, social distancing among graduates (likely leading to more than one ceremony), limited audience capac-ity, and no handshakes or celebratory hugs. “A commencement without these critical, traditional components is not the com-mencement you deserve,” Gillis said in an email to graduates. “Granted, we cannot guarantee a May 2021 commencement won’t include some of those public health safeguards, too. Only time will tell. But we have hope in our hearts that an event in May 2021 will give us the time we need to make this joyous occasion one that our graduates deserve.” SLU’s summer classes are being delivered online. Though some summer camps went online, most were canceled. The University plans to hold fall semester classes on campus with a modified schedule. Classes will begin on Aug. 17, nine days earlier than originally planned. “Starting early will allow more in-person instruction before a potential resurgence in the number of COVID-19 cases,” Pestello said. In addition, fall break has been condensed to a single day in October, and in-per-son classes will be completed by Thanksgiving. At press time, a final exam schedule was still being determined. “Following the advice of the experts we are consulting, we want to avoid send-ing our students home to cities across the country and beyond, and then have them return back to campus,” Pestello said. Although it’s clear that life at SLU will be different going forward, Gillis, for one, tried to look optimistically at the future. “The improved competency of faculty to deliver education in this manner and the experience of students appropriating this will serve the academy and us well going for-ward,” he said. “It doesn’t mean that we’re not going to be a residential campus. But we’ll definitely be more resilient going forward. We’ll be more adept, which is good.” UTAS FACULTY CALL UPON JESUIT PRINCIPLES DURING CRISIS EVALUATION AND EXPECTATION INTO THE UNKNOWN (RIGHT) Jensen Vayalil studies at the dining room table in his family’s suburban Chicago home. (FAR RIGHT) Zoom provides a way to attend class synchronously. Here, Vayalil participates in his biochemical pharmacology class, taught by Dr. Yuqi Wang via Zoom in April. STUDENTS LEARN IN LIMBO PHOTO BY JENNIFER VAYALIL SUMMER 2020
19 Dr. Matthew Zimmie came to Saint Louis University in January 2020, joining the staff as an assistant vice president in Information Technology Services and the chief medical information officer for SLUCare, SLU’s academic medical practice. Little did he know what he would face just mere months later. By March, Zimmie was pivoting SLUCare online as the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, forced the closure of SLUCare doctor’s offices and the cancellation of elective medical procedures at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital, SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital and SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital. In a matter of weeks, SLUCare transformed most areas of the practice, transitioning to telehealth appointments. “Medicine is a little bit behind the times on this,” Zimmie said. “There was always the question of reim-bursement from the CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services), which sets the federal rate. You add in very busy physicians, with very busy practices, and it wasn’t a priority before this to learn how to hold tele-health appointments.” Zimmie said the federal government moving to pay practitioners the same rate for in-person or virtual vis-its incentivized a move forward with telehealth. “People saw how serious this was,” Zimmie said. “With COVID-19, we now had the time to learn the technology, the need to keep patients and practitioners safe, and the government and insurance companies moving forward to make telehealth work.” Zimmie said while the health care industry ramped up to make telehealth work, patients were wondering why it hadn’t happened sooner. “If you pivot and look at this from a patient perspec-tive, you think why didn’t we do this sooner,” Zimmie said. “We do so much online anyway. You could already go online and schedule an appointment or communi-cate with your doctor. This was the natural next step.” SLUCare was aided in it s t ransit ion by the University’s move to online learning. SLU announced in March that students would finish the semester online. To accommodate classes and virtual meetings, the University contracted with cloud-based video con-ferencing service Zoom. home. People understand if you hear dogs barking or kids in the background. We are all working like this.” Health care providers working in their offices had access to iPads for the visits. Zimmie, who started his career as a family phy-sician, said virtual visits are more difficult for some specialties. “We can take care of chronic issues and check-ins fairly easily. A broken bone or an intricate eye exam cannot be done virtually,” he said. ADJUSTING TO THE NEW NORMAL Zimmie said several physicians expressed concern at the outset about how a virtual visit would change how they interacted with patients. “We doctors are creatures of habit, and we tend to like to be in control,” Zimmie said. “We had no control here, but we remained committed to taking good care of our patients. The pandemic offered us the unplanned opportunity to expose clinicians who wouldn’t have tried telehealth before.” “We’ve had incredible success stories,” he added. “Everyone has taken to it like a champion.” SLUCare doctors, medical personnel and office staff were trained on Zoom. “We used technology to teach technology,” Zimmie said. Once the technology was in place, SLUCare staff began the monumental task of working through post-poned appointments and upcoming visits to determine who could be seen virtually. As SLUCare offices and other medical facilities begin to reopen, Zimmie said that virtual doctor visits will stick around in some form or fashion. “From a patient perspective, the convenience factor for moving a regular provider appointment online where you don’t have to take off work or find some-one to watch your kids is fantastic,” he said. “These appointments are running really smoothly.” For the providers, holding a virtual visit means less work turning over exam rooms after each visit. “Maybe it won’t be at a level that it is now,” Zimmie said. “We hope the federal government and insurance payers are thoughtful about how we use telehealth going forward. But I see patient demand and satisfac-tion continuing.” TELEHEALTH HUBS On June 1, SLUCare opened the Neighborhood Virtual Visit program, which is designed to connect those without smartphones or home internet to SLUCare medical providers from participating area churches. The program aims to open access to health care, which has been limited due to the coronavirus pandemic. “When we think about the social determinants of health, access to health care services is one of the things we are looking at,” said Dr. Daniel Blash, chief diversity officer for the School of Medicine. “It is important that SLUCare is investing in going to people and removing one of the barriers between the sick person and health care.” UTAS AS COVID-19 TOOK HOLD, SLU’S PHYSICIAN PRACTICE FOUND A NEW WAY TO TREAT PATIENTS. – By Maggie Rotermund “To the credit of SLU’s CFO David Heimburger and President Dr. Fred Pestello, they recognized quickly that we were going to have to do things in a very dif-ferent way, and they invested the money in a system that would do what we needed it to do,” Zimmie said. “It has worked out so splendidly.” Zimmie said SLU’s priority, putting its people first, came through as leadership navigated the rapidly changing landscape. SLU’s information technology professionals readied the University to operate virtu-ally within a matter of days. “Since we knew we had to do something from the academic side, that gave us a head start for SLUCare,” Zimmie said. “We stood up Zoom for academics in a week. Something that normally might take a year to roll out, we did in five days.” After getting the campus ready to learn remotely, Zimmie and ITS moved to securing a HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) com-pliant version for the medical practice. “There were a lot of con-versations with legal and compl iance to make sure we had everything we needed. These are things that usually take a bit of time,” Zimmie said. “We were working on the f ly — it was like changing a tire on a car while still trying to drive down the road.” HOW IT WORKS SLUCare patients making a virtual visit access their care just like they normally would. Appointments are scheduled through the MyChart online system. “It is really integrated,” Zimmie said. “They schedule in MyChart, and patients receive an email notification. They log into the appointment the same way — there is no Zoom login information needed.” A patient will enter the virtual exam room a few minutes before the appointment is scheduled to start. A nurse or medical assistant will do an initial workup before the physician enters the virtual meeting. “The nurses and assistants have really taken on the troubleshooting because they are the first person to engage with the patient,” Zimmie said. “They have made sure the microphones and video are working.” Once the appointment starts, physicians have access to all their electronic health information through EPIC, so they can share X-rays or lab results with a patient as they talk. If other specialists are needed for a consult, they can join the appointment. Students in the School of Medicine can continue their rotations as well, sitting in on the appointments. “One of the most incredible pieces of this story is how patient and understanding everyone has been — from the students, faculty, providers, patients — all the way through,” Zimmie said. “People understand the mechanics of sheltering in place or working from ZIMMIE 18
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21 CARING FOR STUDENTS AND THE COMMUNITY In one month, everything had changed. People were craving information. In no time, SLU-Madrid’s online updates were reaching a worldwide audience, with more than 255,000 visits to the campus’ news webpage during March alone. For the tight-knit community, where hundreds of students each semester are an ocean away from family, campus staff focused on making sure students got home safely. “We were in close contact with the U.S. Embassy and with the students,” Vita said. While many of the flights back to the United States were delayed or re-routed, every student returned safely. On their return, the students were required to go into self-isolation for 14 days because clearly — both by the time some of them left Spain and en route back to the United States — they were at a high risk of being exposed to COVID-19. Classes weren’t the only thing to shift to a remote format. Counseling and advising support shifted, too. Students were dealing with anxi-ety and the stress of travel. Plus, the sudden change from the freedom of mobility — strolling through the streets of Europe — to quarantine in one’s bedroom back at home showed that students needed support. “Throughout this situation, SLU’s students impressed me,” Vita said. “They were responsible and mature and faced tough, real-life decisions. My sense is that the students studying abroad in spring 2020 learned more about themselves and their connec-tion to global issues than any other group could.” As staff worked to assist students and faculty adapted to online teach-ing, SLU-Madrid’s commitment to service shined through. After the campus began virtual instruction, Dr. Tania de la Fuente, program director for health sciences, spearheaded an effort to donate the gloves, goggles, antibacterial gel and disposable labo-ratory coats used in the SLU-Madrid laboratories for use at Cottolengo del Padre Alegre, an assisted living facility and nursing home for eco-nomically disadvantaged adults with disabilities located on the outskirts of Madrid. “Even the smallest gesture is import-ant. The equipment in storage on campus can help medical profession-als be safe as they care for others,” Vita said. “SLU-Madrid remains com-mitted to serving others, especially during these difficult times.” It was Feb. 26. European cities and countries —namely Italy — were starting to limit travel, close businesses and, effectively, shut down. Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department issued its first health alert for Spain, reminding U.S. citizens that the Spanish Ministry of Health was responding to suspected cases of COVID-19. Dr. Paul Vita, director and academic dean of Saint Louis University- Madrid, shared the alert with Madrid Campus students, faculty and staff. “We knew a lot of our study abroad students had their hearts set on spending Holy Week — our spring break — touring Italy,” Vita said. “They were heartbroken to hear that they’d have to change their plans.” Twelve days later, on March 9, the regional authorities of Madrid announced that all educational institutions — including private universities — must suspend face-to-face classes and on-campus activities within 24 hours. “By early March, we already knew we were dealing with a crisis and implemented a management plan,” Vita said. “We identified the best sources for accurate infor-mation, developed answers to frequently asked questions and communicated to very different audiences — parents, study abroad partners, students, faculty and staff.” It was a swift process for Vita and his team, who had to shift SLU-Madrid from in-person to remote teaching in just one day for all 997 spring semester students — a record-breaking enrollment. “Our faculty is already impressive — researchers and scholars deeply committed to teaching,” Vita said. “This disruption mid-semester really made clear the commit-ment to putting students’ learning first.” On March 9, the president of Spain declared a state of emergency. Classes met in person for the last time on March 10, with the hope that the suspension might last just 15 days. Nonetheless, Vita was recommending that students whose permanent residence was not in Spain should return to their home countries. “We weren’t shutting down,” Vita said. “But it was clear that Spain’s situation was going to get worse before it got bet-ter.” It did. Thus, students were widely dispersed when remote versions of SLU-Madrid courses began March 16. And SLU-Madrid became a virtual college campus one week before the University’s St. Louis campus did. “Very quickly, our students were ‘Zooming in’ for class from nearly every state in the U.S. and around the world,” Vita said. By March 27, Vita broke the news that SLU-Madrid did not plan to return to face-to-face teaching for the spring semester and that commencement was likely to be postponed. “Spain’s government took important measures to contain the spread of the virus through imposing very strict measures,” he said. – By Laura Geiser SUMMER AND BEYOND Campus leaders also remain committed to plotting the future, despite the uncertainty. In late April, it was announced that all of SLU-Madrid’s summer courses would be offered online. “All courses will be taught asynchronously (as opposed to livestreamed) to accommodate learners from all over the globe and in different time zones,” explained Katherine Smith, a SLU-Madrid English as a Second Language professor who is teaching this summer. “Students are able to interact with our inter-national community at their own pace and according to their local timetables.” Whi le SLU-Madrid ’s summer sessions normally serve visiting stu-dents whose academic programs or athletic commitments prevent them from studying abroad during the traditional academic year, this sum-mer’s programming also is meeting the needs of degree-seeking students catching up on needed credits. “Summer courses by SLU-Madrid faculty are interesting options for students who wish to continue to work toward their degree,” Vita said. “We will maintain the same rigor and quality in our online courses and ensure that our permanent students can earn the credits they need this summer.” As for the fall, the plan is to resume in-person classes on campus v ia an adjusted hybrid academic calen-dar, which will allow for in-person instruction of all students, including those who enter Spain on a 90-day tourist visa. To accommodate the shorter time students can spend in Spain, the semester will open and close with remote instruction periods. “Much is not up to SLU-Madrid, but to how every country in the world responds to contain the spread of this virus,” Vita said. “If it’s not safe to travel, students will need to recon-sider what and where they will study in the fall. We plan to offer a com-plete range of online and in-person courses to serve our students. In some ways, this is an opportunity for more students to be part of SLU-Madrid’s international community and benefit from our faculty’s expertise. “I wish I had a crystal ball,” Vita continued. “I do have a lot of opti-mism. SLU-Madrid is an incredible place. This global pandemic has really challenged how we deliver our inter-national education programs. And we’re finding out that we can do it under almost any condition.” UTAS Creativity in Crisis SLU-Madrid faculty explored their creativity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. T. Ryan Day (Grad A&S ’09), English literature professor, launched a city-wide initiative through his publishing house, Lemon Street Press, to collect creative works by quarantined artists across Madrid to publish in the Madrid Quarantine Anthology. Proceeds will benefit families affected by COVID-19 in Madrid and throughout Spain. Cary Barney, SLU-Madrid program director for fine and performing arts, wrote a poem for the effort inspired by the nightly, city-wide applause from Madrid residents who step out onto their balconies or lean through their windows at 8 p.m. to cheer for the health care workers who are fighting COVID-19. Applause – by Cary Barney The ravine walls of opposite blocks open to life: faces, hands of unknown neighbors spring from nests, homes made monastic cells, rooms we’ve been sent to for quiet time, and from each sealed-off existence unite in applause for doctors, nurses, orderlies, for ambulances racing up the avenue below, for med students pressed into service before an avalanche of suffering, the advancing wall of death we ask them to hold back from us. The whistles, shouts, ¡Bravos!, ¡Vivas!, rise into the deep blue auditorium of evening where Venus and a sliver of moon gaze bright and blank at us, transient inhabitants of their fellow planet. I want the applause to reach them, wake these dead worlds’ ears to what they miss by being stones, the desperate tragic beauty we’ve risen to, the hope that is our lifeblood, a small flame blazing audacious before the indifference of night. A GLOBAL RESPONSE Vita AS MEMBERS OF THE SLU-MADRID COMMUNITY FACED THE COVID-19 CRISIS, THEIR EFFORTS SHOWED THE SLU-Madrid’s San Ignacio POWER OF DISTANCE LEARNING. Hall with its entry gate closed during the COVID-19 pandemic PHOTO BY ÁNGEL GARCÍA LÓPEZ 22
23 But while the global pandemic has necessitated increased physical separation, these unprecedented circumstances have drawn many in the SLU com-munity closer than ever to the University’s mission. In a typical year, SLU students, faculty and staff spend more than a million hours serving others — just one of the reasons the University is consistently recognized as one of the nation’s top universities for making an impact. Although this year has proven far from typical, members of the SLU community con-tinue to embrace the Jesuit call to be men and women for and with others, relying on the versatility, com-mitment and compassion that are hallmarks of what it means to be a Billiken. For example, in early April, SLU made some unoc-cupied residence hall space available to SLUCare and SSM Health providers — as well as essential University employees. This gave those who had con-tracted COVID-19 or who were exposed to a patient an alternative to isolating at home with, potentially, at-risk family members. “I am proud that we are able to serve those who serve our community, selflessly, every day,” Dr. Fred P. Pestello, SLU president, said. “This pandemic reminds us how critical it is to serve however we can.” The stories on the following pages highlight just a few of the ways the SLU community recently has stepped up to help. BILLIKENS FIND NEW WAYS TO SERVE DURING COVID-19. Coursework has shifted from classrooms to remote instruction, students have returned to hometowns, and routine appointments and milestone events are postponed. – By Staff Writers PHOTO BY KELLY PALADIN 24
25 Caring for the Caregivers Hotline Supports Frontline Health Care Workers Saint Louis University clinical psychologists are helping those fighting to save lives endangered by COVID-19 by creating a new hotline for frontline health care workers at SSM Health hospitals. The hotline allows those on the front lines of the pandemic to care for their own psychological and mental health. The Psychological Support Hotline was established by the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience in SLU’s School of Medicine and the Department of Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences in partnership with St. Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute to offer support to nurses, faculty and resi-dent physicians and other health care workers at SSM Health Saint Louis University, SSM Health St. Mary’s and SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospitals. Dr. Lauren Schwarz (Grad A&S ’04, ’07), professor and clinical psychologist, explained that the free hotline is being staffed by clinical psychologists from the psychiatry and psychology departments, as well as a volunteer clinical psychologist from the wider St. Louis community. A licensed clinical social worker and nurse clinic manager also are facilitating hotline operations. The hotline’s 12 volunteer staffers are providing referrals to St. Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute for those callers who would benefit from more ongoing care. Staff chats associated with the hotline consistently have been attended by 20 to 30 people, and the line is avail-able for individual callers. “As mental health pro-fessionals, we are acutely aware of the mental health needs that may arise in a time of crisis,” Schwarz said. “We want to be able to provide support for individuals who have been and will be acutely affected by the COVID pandemic. In order to be able to provide care for others, we must truly care for ourselves as well. “This tele-support line exemplifies cura personalis – caring for the whole person,” Schwarz continued. “We want to aid the mind and spirit of our providers when needed. Care for oneself and supporting our colleagues is a core value.” — By Amelia Flood Students Help the Healers Saint Louis University first-year medical students are offering emergency child care, pet care and grocery delivery for medical faculty who are needed on the front line to fight COVID-19. “We wanted to use our time in a meaningful way to help the community,” said Rebecca Cunningham, a SLU medical student. The medical student volunteers soon were joined by SLU students from a variety of majors to assist with the effort. As of June 8, around 80 SLU students had signed up to help with child care, 65 for pet care and 82 for grocery delivery. In all, 28 families and individuals received some kind of assistance. Volunteers provided 557 hours of child care alone. “Students are volunteering and not accepting any compensation,” said SLU med-ical school student Joseph Rojo. “Some of us are encouraging those who insist on paying us to instead make a donation to SLU’s Helping Our Own fund.” — By Nancy Solomon Biosecurity Expert Prepares Nurses for COVID-19 Among many in the SLU community who are putting their expertise to work to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic is director of SLU’s Institute for Biosecurity, Dr. Terri Rebmann (Grad VSN ’06), who addressed more than 50,000 nurses via a webi-nar in March to answer questions about the virus. In addition to her doctorate, Rebmann is a registered nurse certified in infection prevention and control, and is a fellow of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. Mobilized to quickly educate health profession-als about best practices and to share evidence-based research about dealing with infectious diseases, Rebmann has been preparing for this work her entire career as a public health expert in biosecurity, emerging diseases and disaster preparedness. During the American Nurses Association National COVID-19 webi-nar, Rebmann addressed nurses across the United States af ter receiving more than 7,100 questions in advance of the session. “There’s a lot of worry and concern. Nur se s want to know what to do when they start to run out of personal protective equipment, if there’s risk to their family members and how to plan if they don’t have enough medical staff,” Rebmann said. Rebmann offered scientific, evidence-based knowledge to combat fears. “This is a novel coronavirus, and we are still learn-ing about how it spreads and the best methods to control it,” she said. “I’m sharing the most current, scientifically based advice we have about how health care personnel can protect themselves, their families and their patients during this pandemic, even as we know that CDC recommendations and guidelines are likely to be updated as we gain new information about the virus.” Along with her advice to nurses, Rebmann shared her gratitude: “Thank you for being willing to con-tinue providing the highest quality nursing care to patients during these unprecedented times.” — By Carrie Bebermeyer UTAS Caring for the Community Campus Kitchen Continues to Serve The Campus Kitchen at Saint Louis University (CKSLU) is still open and oper-ating, serving some of the University’s most vulnerable neighbors who do not have regular access to nutritious meals and who are even more food insecure during the public health crisis stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. The kitchen is also available for any student or SLU community member who is experiencing food insecurity. CKSLU offers a variety of fresh, frozen and shelf-sta-ble items to share. “We have amazing students within our organization, and they take directly to heart that we are called to be men and women for others,” Melissa Apprill (A&S ’91), Campus Kitchen coordinator, said. “At this point in time, perhaps more than any other in CKSLU’s 19-year history, we grapple with our deeper Jesuit calling … keenly mindful of our shared responsibility to keep both the vulnerable among us and our volunteers safe, while also recognizing the immediate food needs of our community partners.” To serve those in need, the kitchen has tweaked its routines, while still following stringent food and personal safety protocols. As the SLU and St. Louis commu-nities have implemented social distancing and sheltering-in-place to help flatten the curve, the kitchen and its volunteers have continued delivering meals to five partner sites and opened CKSLU’s food resources to clients of the St. Benedict Joseph Labre Ministry with the Homeless, another SLU-affiliated ministry. CKSLU served nearly 3,800 meals from early March through June 6. — By Amelia Flood Supplying Meals to St. Louis Families Four St. Louis organizations have partnered to help address hunger among fam-ilies in St. Louis neighborhoods with the highest need during the coronavirus pandemic. The Family Dinner Program was initiated by St. Louis entrepreneurship incu-bator Habitat for Neighborhood Business (HNB) in conjunction with Saint Louis University after learning of the growing stresses on area families, whose financial resources have, in many cases, been impacted by furloughs, layoffs or illness. In response, approximately 200 Saint Louis Public Schools (SLPS) families in need received free, nourishing meals through collaboration with the St. Louis Area Foodbank. “After we learned about the increasing stress on these families in underserved neighborhoods, the need to act was urgent,” said HNB Board Chairman Douglas Brown (CSB ’66). “We decided to act quickly using networking by HNB staff and board members to identify partners and funding.” The entire effort was off the ground in a matter of weeks. Saint Louis University is a founding partner of HNB. SLU officials say the pro-gram aligns with the University’s mission of supporting the community and those most in need. “The virtue or habit of solidarity is central to our way of proceeding as a Catholic and Jesuit university, and so this collaborative outreach from HNB, the St. Louis Area Foodbank and St. Louis Public Schools expresses most eloquently that mission of Saint Louis University,” said Christopher Collins, S.J. (Grad A&S ’01), SLU’s assistant to the president for mission and identity. Donations committed are funding up to 100,000 meals. — By Jeff Fowler Ministering to SLU’s Spiritual Needs While the Saint Louis University community looked for ways to be of service as the coronavirus pandemic took hold, SLU’s Office of Mission and Identity, the Eckelkamp Center for Campus Ministry and the Jesuit community found ways to continue to enrich the spiritual lives of those connected to the University. Primarily, this meant being creative with ministry while in-person services weren’t available. Many options for prayer and reflection moved online and were shared through social media, including daily Ignatian Examens, rosaries and Masses livestreamed from familiar locations across campus. The Office of Mission and Identity even created a digital prayer wall. The website allows the community to offer prayer intentions for loved ones, joys, hopes, griefs and anxieties during the pandemic. The first intention was for SLU’s medical practice, SLUCare: “Thank you for your selflessness and generosity, and may you remain safe and healthy. Prayers, too, for your loved ones.” Dozens of Billikens connected online to keep SLU’s beloved “Java with the Jesuits” coffee and conversation series going during social distancing. While they weren’t able to gather around the clock tower as usual, more than 25 people joined SLU’s Jesuits and Jesuit scholastics on Zoom and about 15 on Instagram for the first virtual Java coffee klatch. The online gatherings continued throughout the semester. “There are plenty of Zoom meetings for all sorts of events, but we wanted to make a meeting for people to just hang out, even when you don’t know the other people,” Daniel Mascarenhas, S.J., a Jesuit scholastic and organizer of Java with the Jesuits, said. “That’s what Java is about on campus — to bring people from different groups together, and as a space for students to encounter Jesuits outside of religious settings. If there is a need, we will serve it.” – Dr. Lauren Schwarz, professor and clinical psychologist 26
THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSIT MAGA ZINE LOUI S UNIVERS I T Y SUMMER 2020
27 Some teachers tell their students, “There’s no such thing as a bad question.” The statement is likely aimed at giving students permission to take risks in engaging the material. I don’t say it, though, because I don’t think it is true. Even those who claim all questions are good will certainly admit that there are better questions and worse ones. And in a strange way, this pandemic presents a chance to ask some very good questions. The Questions on Our Minds The questions early in the pandemic became part of nearly every conversation for months. How does it spread? What are the symptoms? Does wearing a mask protect me from it? These questions place the virus at the center of the story. They are nec-essary to answer, but it soon became clear that those kinds of questions could only take us so far. The questions soon became less about the virus itself and more about our reac-tions to it. Is it worth the risk to go out to a restaurant or travel on an airplane? How should political leaders safeguard our health and our economy? Can we protect those most vulnerable from the insecurities and dangers wrought by the disease? Like the previous set, these types of questions have rightly become part of daily conversations. Still, this particular moment invites us to something more. The best questions from this moment will relegate the virus to a secondary charac-ter. Instead, we will consider ourselves both individually and collectively, and we will ask how we want to live, whether we find ourselves in a pandemic or not. What are my highest priorities in life? How responsible do I feel for my neighbor? How can we best organize society to ensure everyone has a chance to flourish? These are not the kinds of questions that get asked early in a pandemic when there are more pressing inquiries, such as where to find toilet paper. Yet, questions about a life well lived have always been with us. Now we have an excuse to talk about them more openly. This pandemic has shown us how quickly we can collectively focus on a new set of ideas. It was not too long ago that terms such as social distancing, quarantine and flat-tening the curve would have held very little meaning for anyone outside of the world of public health
however, we now find ourselves using these phrases and many more as if it were second nature. Soon enough, I suspect we’ll all be talking about antibodies and contact tracing with the same ease. This occurs because we come to believe that these ideas are essential to survival. At the same time, what if we had the same collec-tive commitment to ideas that go beyond mere survival and tap into what it means to thrive? Imagine if we could as quickly become comfortable speaking about vocation and community as we have become about key concepts in public health. The Answers Aren’t Easy There have clearly been disagreements about how to respond to the virus. There is nothing inherently wrong with people deciding they have different pri-orities or preferences. That is the beauty of public discourse in a free society. Yet, this crisis has forced us to face the falsehood that all answers are equally acceptable. That wasn’t true before COVID-19 made its leap into humankind, but it was easier to ignore. A pandemic requires that we admit we are bound more closely than we have been led to believe. My answers matter to you, and your answers matter to me. My students already know that I believe there are bad questions, but they also know I believe good questions have the power to reshape our lives. The realities of this disease are going to last for a while. If we haven’t already, at some point we should find ourselves considering how this moment helps reveal who we are and who we want to be. I am not suggesting that practical questions aren’t important. We all need to know when it is safe to recon-nect with friends and family. What I am suggesting is that we cannot afford to stop there. We must allow our-selves and encourage each other to consider what deeper questions we now have the opportunity to ask. The best questions right now have little to do with the pandemic itself. As we ended this past semester, my students needed no convincing as to why the material we covered was important. They are living it. Instead, I ended the final class with a plea to consider why they — almost all majoring in public health, health management or social work — were important. What to study is a good question. What to do with the knowledge you gain is a better one. But the best is how what you do shapes who you are. It is the kind of meaning-making that naturally takes place on a college campus, but this virus has given us all the opportunity to ask the best questions we can. UTAS Michael Rozier, S.J. (A&S ’03) is an assistant professor of health management and policy and health care ethics at Saint Louis University, where he also was the founding director of the College for Public Health and Social Justice’s undergraduate degree in public health. In 2008, Rozier was an ethics fellow with the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, where his work focused on the ethics of drug-resistant tuberculosis control and the response to pandemic influenza. He has a master of health science from Johns Hopkins University, a master of divinity and a licen-tiate in sacred theology from Boston College, and a doctorate in health management and policy from the University of Michigan. He entered the Jesuits in 2003 and was ordained a priest in 2014. There’s something about a classroom that always makes me a little nervous. It’s the good kind of nervous — the kind that comes from appreciating the stakes of what you are about to do, even if you are prepared — but it’s there nonetheless. This semester, the stakes seemed higher than normal, and I suspect that was in part because I was teaching “Introduction to Global Health” when a new virus was turning our world inside out. The Best Questions –By Michael Rozier, S.J. Can one find meaning in a pandemic? A SLU public health professor offers his perspective on good questions and hard answers. PHOTO BY STEVE DOLAN 28
THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSIT Y CLASS NOTES 1977 George Lange {LAW} became a partner in Seed Funders Tampa Bay, which provides pre-seed and seed funding for startups across Florida. Additionally, he was appointed to the board of directors of Florida Humanities. 1978 Timothy F. Noelker {LAW} was appointed general counsel of the Peace Corps. 1980 Carol (Griffin) Murphy {A&S ’80, GRAD A&S ’85} was ordained a deacon in the Episcopal Church in 2002 and still actively serves. She retired from the Air Force in 1991. After losing her husband of 45 years in 2017, she remarried in November 2019. She lives in Satellite Beach, Florida. 1981 Dr. Ann Hayes {DCHS ’81, GRAD DCHS ’07}, an associate professor in SLU’s Department of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training, received a 2019 Emerson Excellence in Teaching Award as one of the top educators in the St. Louis area. 1982 William Buchholz {LAW} was appointed to the State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors. He lives in St. Louis. Dr. Jeannette (Batz) Cooperman {A&S ’82, GRAD A&S ’84, ’96} was honored as the 2019 Writer of the Year by the City and Regional Magazine Association. She lives in Waterloo, Illinois. 1983 Gregory Magee {PC} is a captain with Delta Air Lines. He served for 28 years in the U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard before retiring in 2011. He lives in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. 1984 Brian E. Birdnow {A&S ’84, GRAD A&S ’87, ’00} had his third book, The Subversive Screen, nominated for the Ellis Hawley Prize, an award given by the Organization of American Historians for the best new work of American history. He lives in St. Louis. Dr. Laura Kroupa {MED}, chief medical officer for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Electronic Health Record Modernization, was honored by FedHealthIT magazine at the “Leading for Impact: Women in Leadership” conference in Arlington, Virginia, in October. She lives in Clayton, Missouri. 1985 Rex Alexander {PC} is president and executive director of Five- Alpha LLC and infrastructure adviser to the Vertical Flight Society for all modes of vertical lift aviation, from helicopters to electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOLs). He works in partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Transportation, National Transportation Safety Board, International Civil Aviation Organization and NASA. He lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Anne Geraghty-Rathert {A&S ’85, LAW ’92} received both the 2019 Kemper Award for teaching excellence at Webster University in St. Louis and a 2019 Emerson Excellence in Teaching Award as one of the top educators in the St. Louis area. She is married to Joseph Rathert {A&S ’85}, a judge for the 23rd Judicial Circuit. They met as undergraduates at SLU. 1987 Philip Lamczyk {PC} took a job buyout with United Space Alliance at NASA Johnson Space Center. In 2012, after working 24 years in Mission Control Operations, he returned home to St. Louis and now works at Boeing. 1988 Dr. Alice (Chupp) Smith {GRAD CSB} wrote Women in Industrial and Systems Engineering, which was published this year. She lives in Auburn, Alabama. 1990 Ann Marie (Trebon) Henninger {VSN} serves as a hospital commissioner for Clallam County Public Hospital District 2 in northwest Washington state. She serves with six other commissioners to provide governance for the district, including the Olympic Medical Center and its satellite clinics. Henninger is a nurse sonographer, consultant and nurse manager for three employers. She and her husband, Ray, have seven children, whom they home-school. They have lived in Sequim, Washington, since 1996. Patrick Mehan {A&S ’90, LAW ’93} started his own law firm, the Law Office of Patrick N. Mehan, in January 2019. He lives in St. Louis. Frank Mortimer {A&S} released his first book, Bee People and the Bugs They Love, a nonfiction trade book that includes stories about beekeepers woven together with facts and everyday explanations. He lives in Ridgewood, New Jersey. 1991 Michael Moehn {CSB}, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Ameren Corp., and chairman and president of Ameren Services, was elected to the legal board of directors of Midwest BankCentre. Ned Randle {LAW} had two novels published recently. Down Cemetery Road came out in February, and St. Michael Poker and Drinking Club was released in March. He lives in Smithton, Illinois. Jennifer Quinn Williams {A&S}, founder and president of Saint Louis Closet Co., was featured in Authority Magazine about being a successful business leader and developing resilience. She lives in Kirkwood, Missouri. 1957 Dr. Donald Black {A&S} received his master’s and doctoral degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary. He is retired and writes a monthly column called “Black Mail,” in which he shares his experiences and spiritual thoughts. The articles are carried by some church newspapers and emailed around the country. He also rides his bicycle with the Road Scholars program in the summer. He lives in Bloomington, Illinois. 1960 Mary Ann (Connors) Cronin Larkin {GRAD A&S} retired from teaching writing at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and is working on her sixth book of poetry, What She Wants: New and Selected Poems. She divides her time between D.C. and North Truro, Massachusetts. 1962 Dr. Harry Owens {A&S ’62, MED ’66} did volunteer medical work with Project HOPE in the Bahamas at the Marsh Harbour Hospital Clinic and Emergency Room on Abaco Island, the island hardest hit by Hurricane Dorian. He lives in Blue River, Oregon. 1966 Dr. Thomas Farrell {A&S ’66, GRAD ED ’68, ’74} published his review essay, “Claude Pavur’s 2019 Book about Jesuit Education and Walter J. Ong’s Thought,” through the University of Minnesota’s digital conservancy as a part of his ongoing series about former SLU professor Walter Ong, S.J. Farrell lives in Duluth, Minnesota. 1967 Dr. Michael T. Duffy {DENT} received the 2018-19 Outstanding Faculty Award from the graduating residents in the oral and maxillofacial program at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. He has been associated with the program for the past 50 years. 1971 Terry Love {PC} has been retired from Northwest Airlines (now Delta Airlines) for 15 years. He still writes books
his 20th was titled U.S. Army Twin Beeches. He also writes magazine articles, including five about Parks Air College for the Journal of the American Aviation Historical Society. Love lives in Shawnee, Kansas. 1973 John “Ian” Dargin III {PC} received a U.S. patent in December for a spacecraft design to address the growing problem of space debris near Earth’s orbit. He also presented a paper at the first International Orbital Debris Conference in Sugar Land, Texas. He lives in Duxbury, Massachusetts. Edward Ritterbusch {GRAD ED} is in his 50th year of teaching high school mathematics. Thirty-five of those years were spent teaching math and computer science in a public high school in Wisconsin. He now works part time at a private school in Milwaukee, teaching advanced math and AP calculus. 1974 Wendell “Woody” Hall {DCHS} retired from the Veterans Administration after 35 years as a physician assistant hospitalist. Additionally, he completed 26 years in the U.S. Air Force (active and reservist) as a corpsman and physician assistant. He and his wife live in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. 1975 Edward J. Blake Jr. {CSB ’75, LAW ’78} is the managing partner of Blake Behme Gilbreth Links, a law firm principally located in Belleville, Illinois. Susan Block {LAW}, an attorney at Paule, Camazine and Blumenthal, was appointed to serve on the St. Louis County Children’s Service Fund board. Block formerly served as a circuit judge and administrative judge of the Family Court of St. Louis County. She is a member of the Missouri Supreme Court Commission on Racial and Ethnic Fairness. John Cullen {A&S} retired after a 35-year career in aerospace management, space and earth science, international diplomacy, and U.S. licensing and export reform. His career included work with the U.S. Congress, NASA, the Department of the Interior, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the National Reconnaissance Office, and the U.S. aerospace and consulting industries. He participated in a Congressional investigation of the Strategic Defense Initiative (“Star Wars”) and Senate leadership of the Columbia Accident Investigation
the Hubble Space Telescope first servicing mission
founding of the U.S. National Land Imaging program in 2007
drafting of the 2010 U.S. National Space Policy
and membership on the National Intelligence and National Security councils. Dr. Paul Martin Midden {GRAD ED ’75, ’79} wrote Riley, a psychological suspense novel. Midden is a retired psychologist who has published five previous novels. While in practice, he worked in multiple settings, including hospitals and residential care centers. In 1992, he founded an independent treatment center that provided broad-based treatment for many psychological and behavioral disorders. 1976 Mary Jo (Blazek) Jakab {GRAD SW} became a professor emerita of human services in September 2019 following her 32-year teaching career at the University of Maine at Augusta. During her tenure, she was instrumental in developing mental health and human service courses online and through statewide interactive television. She lives in South Portland, Maine. Dr. Suk Kim {GRAD CSB}, a professor of finance at University of Detroit Mercy, and his son, Dr. Kenneth Kim of SUNY at Buffalo, published Global Corporate Finance: A Focused Approach, 3rd Edition. VIRTUAL ALUMNI EVENTS The Office of Alumni Engagement is hosting a variety of events and programs to connect graduates and create a sense of community during this time. From virtual beer tastings to online spiritual reflections, to webinars featuring faculty experts, there are many opportunities to stay engaged with the University and SLU family. For more information, visit alumni.slu.edu. Homecoming and Family Weekend Sept. 25-27 slu.edu/hcfw SUMMER 2020
29 DO YOU RECEIVE EMAILS FROM SLU? If not, be sure to update your email address so you can find out about upcoming events, programs and services that are exclusive to SLU graduates. alumni.slu.edu/email Stay Connected to SLU Dargin with his wife, Betty 30
THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSIT Y CLASS NOTES SUMMER 2020
31 I N MEMORIAM Dr. Joseph Link {DENT ’40} Mr. Fred Sackbauer Jr. {CSB ’40} Mrs. Mary (O’Neil) Stewart {A&S ’40} Dr. Victor Reilly {A&S ’41} Mr. Joseph Muench {PC ’43} Mr. Dale Nicholls {PC ’43} Fr. Bernard J. Coughlin, S.J. {A&S ’44, GRAD A&S ’49, ’56}, first dean of SLU’s School of Social Work, died Jan. 28 at age 97. In 1961, Father Coughlin became an instructor at SLU’s School of Social Service, and in 1964, he became dean. In 1974, he left SLU for Gonzaga University, where he served as president from 1974 to 1996, and then chancellor until 2016. Mr. Nick Machos {CSB ’44} Dr. Ralph Onofrio {MED ’46} Mrs. Pat (Browne) Randolph {A&S ’46} Mrs. Charlotte (Davison) Reynolds {A&S ’46} Mrs. Bernadette (Costello) Bauman {DCHS ’47} Ms. Kathryn Monroe {VSN ’47} Dr. Milton Eilbaum {DENT ’48} Mr. Alfred Fowler {PC ’48} Mr. Robert Lingeman {CSB ’48} Mr. Granvil Sewell Jr. {CSB ’48} Mrs. Patricia (Gibbons) Budin {A&S ’49} Mr. William Deveikis {PC ’49} Miss Alice Attridge {SW ’50} Mr. Jack Burr {IT ’50} Dr. John Hawk {DENT ’50} Dr. Doris Phelan {A&S ’50} Dr. Gregory Sprafka {MED ’50} Mr. Maurice Bone {LAW ’51} Dr. James Criscione Sr. {MED ’51} Mr. Luis Davila-Aponte {PC ’51} Mr. Thomas Ebanues {A&S ’51} Mr. Lee Erb {PC ’51} Dr. James Lowry {MED ’51} Mrs. Mary (Thomson) Ries {ED ’51} Mrs. Rosalie (Kohl) Buckley {A&S ’52} Dr. Gerald Grawey {MED ’52} Ret. Col. Joseph Hillner Jr. {A&S ’52} Mr. Edward Higgins Jr. {A&S ’53} Sr. Dorothy Loeb, R.S.M. {VSN ’53} Sr. Lois Martin, O.S.F. {PH ’53} Mr. Hardy Tuegel {CSB ’53} Mr. Thomas Wolfanger {SW ’53} Dr. Edward Bajorek {MED ’54} Mr. William Cento {A&S ’54} Mr. Patrick Hogan {CSB ’54} Mr. James Kovarik Sr. {IT ’54} Dr. Gordon Muchow {A&S ’54} Mr. Richard Ogden {PC ’54} Dr. Ariel Rodriguez {MED ’54} Mr. Thomas Ruoff {A&S ’54} Mr. Harold Arnold {A&S ’55} Dr. Leo Biehl {DENT ’55} Dr. Peter Ivanovich {MED ’55} Mr. Thomas Keating {LAW ’55} Mrs. Kathleen (Beyers) McGovern {A&S ’55} Mr. William Slattery Jr. {CSB ’55} Mr. Rudolph Stippec {LAW ’55} Dr. Robert Hardin {A&S ’56} Sr. Patricia Kenoyer, S.L. {A&S ’56} Mr. Al Lawing Jr. {A&S ’56} Dr. John Redington {MED ’56} Mrs. Alice (McDonald) Smith Kells {A&S ’56} Mr. Rodney Cottrell {IT ’57} Mr. Maurice Doussard {A&S ’57} Mr. John Hackett {CSB ’57} Dr. Paul Meiners {MED ’57} Hon. Gerald Mossinghoff {IT ’57} Mr. George Bell {CSB ’58} Fr. Luke Byrne, S.J. {A&S ’58} Mr. Richard Collins {CSB ’58} Dr. Charles French {MED ’58} Mrs. Marilyn (Robertson) Gross {A&S ’58} Mr. Melvin Groth {CSB ’58} Mr. G. McLaren {A&S ’58} Dr. Thomas Noonan {MED ’58} Dr. Robert Sheon {MED ’58} Mr. Joseph Black {PC ’59} Sr. Carol Diederich, O.S.F. {ED ’59} Dr. Leo Fleckenstein {DENT ’59} Dr. Norman Freiberger {DENT ’59} Dr. Thomas King Jr. {DENT ’59} Mr. Theodore Marlotte {CSB ’59} Dr. John Pigott {MED ’59} Dr. Michael Pohlen {A&S ’59} Mr. William Prosser Jr. {A&S ’59} Mr. Charles Werner {LAW ’59} Sr. Theresa Braun, A.S.C. {A&S ’60} Dr. Charles Grewe Jr. {IT ’60} 1992 Jeffrey Kopis {LAW} is a new partner at the law firm of Jerome, Salmi and Kopis. Previously, he had been a successful solo practitioner representing injured individuals throughout Missouri and Illinois in state and federal courts. 1994 Timothy Curdt {A&S} was among 102 St. Louis-area educators to