FALL 2019 • Volume 35 Issue 3

Taking Form in Phoenix Form Taking Digging In and Rising Up Creighton HealthCreighton Sciences Campus Message from the President

Expanding Our Horizons

Follow me: n September, we celebrated a ceremonial groundbreaking for the new Creighton University Health Sciences – Phoenix Campus. @CreightonPres A wonderful complement to our outstanding health sciences CreightonPresident programs in Omaha, this campus, scheduled to open in fall 2021, will eventually serve as an educational hub for nearly 900 Creighton health professions students in Phoenix. Nearly 200 students are currently engaged in our established nursing and medical programs in the city. National data shows a critical shortage of health care professionals in the ISouthwest, and in Arizona and Phoenix, particularly. It is our hope and belief that a new generation of Creighton health professionals — educated in both Omaha and Phoenix — will help address this increasing demand, and do so in Creighton’s Jesuit, Catholic tradition of excellence in academics, clinical care, and service. I join with our Phoenix health care partners, community and government leaders, and organizations and individuals who offer their philanthropic support in expressing my excitement for this new campus and its possibilities. Closer to home, I am also pleased that our enrollment numbers remain robust, in light of an increasingly competitive national enrollment environment. We welcomed the third-largest freshman class this fall, with 1,076 students, to record our second-largest total enrollment of 8,821. Of note, our new physician assistant program is well subscribed, with 24 students. This fall, we also hosted our inaugural Mission Week on campus. The celebration — titled “Imagine Our Magis” — provided an ideal opportunity to reflect upon our Jesuit, Catholic mission, and how each of us can participate in it. I was delighted to welcome the Rev. Greg Boyle, SJ, HON’09, founder of Homeboy Industries and author of Tattoos on the Heart and Barking to the Choir, to talk about his work with gang members in Los Angeles and the importance of standing with those on society’s margins. His keynote address was one of several significant lectures on campus this fall. Nobel Peace Prize recipient Nadia Murad spoke on the plight of Iraq’s Yazidi minority as the inaugural Creighton Global Scholars Lecture Series speaker; Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Blight, PhD, shared insights from his new biography on Frederick Douglass at an event co-sponsored by our Kingfisher Institute; and Bob Kerrey, HON’93, a former U.S. senator, Nebraska governor, and university president, engaged a range of topics as the featured guest in our Presidential Lecture Series. On Sept. 28, I stood in solidarity with campus colleagues, local government officials, community Former U.S. Sen. and leaders, and a crowd of several hundred outside the Douglas County Courthouse in downtown Nebraska Gov. Bob Kerrey, HON’93, stressed the Omaha, as we remembered the 100th anniversary of a mob lynching of a black man, Will Brown, at importance of democracy the site. The ceremony served as a powerful reminder of the evils of racial violence and its reality in during a 90-minute conversation as part of our world, and an inspiration for racial dialogue, justice, and equality. the Presidential Lecture In closing, I wish you and your families a blessed holiday season, a merry Christmas, and a happy Series. “It’s not easy to make it work, especially new year. May peace, love, and joy resound in our homes, our nation, and our world. in such a large and diverse country,” Kerrey said. “But if we give up on democracy, it’s a far worse Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD world than what we’ve got now.” President DAVE WEAVER DAVE

1 CREIGHTON FALL 2019 Volume 35 Issue 3 Voices PUBLISHER “You have to just come back “I am excited to move a fridge. Creighton magazine is published in the spring, summer and to the fact that (Frederick) My calves are going to be fall by Creighton University, Douglass’ core beliefs, core mooing for sure.” 2500 California Plaza, Omaha, NE 68178-0001. values were essentially rooted Sophomore JOE THIBODEAU volunteered to help with freshman class move-in in August. PRESIDENT in the natural rights tradition. Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD This idea that the rights of “I hope that we can mobilize DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS humanity come if not from Rick Davis good against evil.” God, then nature, and that ASSOC. DIRECTORS OF COMMUNICATIONS Nobel Peace Prize recipient NADIA MURAD Cindy Murphy McMahon somehow, in the end, those addressed the plight of the Yazidi minority in Iraq, Contents Sheila Swanson rights for all people will get as the inaugural speaker in Creighton’s Global Scholars Lecture Series. WRITERS secured.” Amanda Brandt Eugene Curtin Author and professor DAVID BLIGHT, PHD, whose “(This) is another opportunity Micah Mertes latest biography Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom earned him a Pulitzer Prize for History, spoke at for every member of this Emily Rust Creighton on Sept. 19. Blake Ursch complex University to thoughtfully consider how ILLUSTRATION “The measure of our Stephanie Dalton Cowan we might more perfectly co- Traci Daberko compassion lies not in our labor with God, as Ignatius Gary Neill service to those on the Jing Jing Tsong imagines us doing, to enable margins, but only in our 26 32 CONTACT every human and the whole TREASURE TALES INNOVATING HEALTH CARE Address all mail to University willingness to see ourselves in Communications and Marketing, created order to flourish as Rare finds — Creighton-related and Health care teamwork from a variety Attn: Creighton Magazine, 780480 kinship with them.” California Plaza, Omaha, NE 68178-0480. God intends it.” THE REV. GREG BOYLE, SJ, HON’09, founder and not, such as a receipt signed by Abe of disciplines — nursing, medicine, Postmaster: Send change of address executive director of Homeboy Industries and EILEEN BURKE-SULLIVAN, STD, MChrSp’84, Lincoln — make their way to the pharmacy, OT, PT, dentistry and more to Creighton Magazine, P.O. Box 3266, vice provost for Mission and Ministry and Omaha, NE 68103-0078. author of Tattoos on the Heart and Barking to the University, where they are treasured — improves health and lowers cost, Choir, gave the keynote address during Creighton’s the Barbara Reardon Heaney Endowed Chair and protected. and Creighton is at the forefront. Send alumni news (births, weddings, inaugural Mission Week. in Pastoral Liturgical Theology, in kicking off promotions, etc.) to alumninews@ Creighton’s inaugural Mission Week. creighton.edu. on the cover FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA DIGGING IN AND RISING UP Twitter — @Creighton 22 Facebook — Creighton University The new health sciences campus in midtown Phoenix is Instagram — @Creighton1878 @jfershee: Guess who’s ranked in CREIGHTON MAGAZINE’S PURPOSE the Tax Law Prof Twitter Top 25? taking shape, as Creighton plays a major role in addressing Creighton magazine, like the University the need for more health care professionals in Arizona and itself, is committed to excellence and @CreightonLaw’s @TaxLawProf dedicated to the pursuit of truth in the Southwest. all its forms. The magazine will be (aka Prof. Victoria Haneman), comprehensive in nature. It will support that’s who. It’s a list of some the University’s mission of education through thoughtful and compelling fine scholars and good people, feature articles on a variety of topics. 36 40 It will feature the brightest, the most so this makes a lot of sense. DIVERSITY, VOICES, INCLUSION THE 12 ANCHORS 4 Creighton 44 Impact stimulating, the most inspirational thinking that Creighton offers. The Congratulations! AND THE WORKFORCE The Heaney Pedestrian A Creighton nursing graduate Connections magazine also will promote Creighton, Businesses and organizations of all was one of the Navy nurse POWs Bridge, connecting and its Jesuit, Catholic identity, to @larkscience: sizes are beginning to understand captured in the Philippines during Creighton’s campus and the a broad public and serve as a vital 9 Jesuit Gardens link between the University and its neighborhoods across the #MyProfessorOnceSaid to go the great value that diversity and World War II. The women are the School of Dentistry associate constituents. The magazine will be inclusion bring to the workplace, and subject of a new book. North Freeway, honors two guided by the core values of Creighton: forth and set the world on fire professor emeritus James brothers whose lives were the inalienable worth of each individual, Creighton experts are leading the respect for all of God’s creation, a special @Creighton #StIgnatius #Jesuit Howard, DDS, is spreading shaped by the University. conversation. the word about the difference concern for the poor and the promotion of justice. #goJays a Jesuit education makes, 45 Alumni Notes NONDISCRIMINATION STATEMENT even long after graduation. Creighton University is committed to @erobinson08: Everyone should @DrB_CreightonU: Friday providing a safe and nondiscriminatory afternoon fun building the new 18 In the Classroom 56 Creighton educational and employment get a flu shot and today I got mine environment. To view the University’s @Creighton wind turbines with A chemistry professor is Conversations nondiscrimination statement, please courtesy of the pharmacy students making his subject matter A Creighton department visit creighton.edu/nds. within the Creighton University my friends in the @Creighton_ more accessible to students dedicated to promoting School of Pharmacy and Health CCAS Energy Tech program! and alumni alike through a diversity, especially in the Copyright © 2019 by Professions. @CreightonSPAHP Coming to a campus near you!! class on the chemistry of health sciences, has been Creighton University beer. nationally cited for inspiring @Creighton (…if you live in Omaha…) Thanks young people to consider creighton.edu @OPPDCares for sponsoring this careers in STEM. project!

2 Creighton FALL 2019 COVER ILLUSTRATION BY TRACI DABERKO 3 Creighton Connections UNIVERSITY

NEWS orthopedic surgery, abdominal can- Patients reduced their pain esti- cers, colorectal surgery, hysterectomies, mates to two and three, down from cardiothoracic and breast surgeries seven and eight, on a scale of 1 to 10. and even cesarean sections report sat- Morphine consumption fell from 30 isfactory pain control from the appli- morphine equivalents to just one, and cation every few hours of non-opioid antiemetics used to control nausea fell WELCOME BACK painkillers such as Tylenol and Advil. from 67% to zero. Other non-opioids used are gabapentin, According to this fall’s “Patients had less nausea, the pain enrollment figures, lidocaine, ketorolac and ketamine, all 90% of last year’s was a lot better and we weren’t giving prescription painkillers. freshmen returned them a whole lot of intravenous opi- to Creighton for oids,” Reisbig says. their sophomore year. The national Thus encouraged, the anesthesiolo- average retention gists some two years later brought on rate for freshman to board Brian Loggie, MD, chief of surgical sophomore year for We’re trying to treat all four-year private oncology at the Bergan Mercy campus. acute pain better. schools in 75.3%, Loggie, Reisbig says, performs major according to the ACT surgeries on patients with advanced and We’re doing better National Collegiate Retention data. even terminal abdominal cancers. medicine, and using “Obviously, these are big surgeries fewer opioids is a that involve very large incisions and the result of that. We’re insertion of tubes for hot chemotherapy addressing pain on after the abdomen is closed up,” Reisbig says. “So, there’s a lot of post-surgery multiple modalities pain management.” versus just one, and The result, Reisbig says, was an so we’re using fewer almost 50% reduction in the number and fewer opioids. If of patients receiving opioids and the we can avoid them application of just 250 micrograms of morphine down from the 30, 40 or 50 altogether, then all milligrams applied during a typical hos- the better. NATIONALLY RANKED pital stay. Creighton was Nevertheless, Reisbig says, opioids recognized among remain available and will be used if GARY NEILL GARY the top third of national colleges necessary. and universities by “We’re giving what is indicated,” he U.S. News & World Report in its 2020 says. “If people are experiencing a lot of hen the National Institute manage their pain,” says Mark Reisbig, acetaminophen and ibuprofen admin- Reisbig refers to this mix of prescrip- “Best Colleges” pain, that’s what we’re going to use. But on Drug Abuse reports that PhD’03, MD’08, associate professor in istered consistently throughout the day. tion and nonprescription painkillers, edition. After 16 we’re not just giving it out.” consecutive years as Reducing more than 130 Americans the School of Medicine’s Department Charles Youngblood, MD’02, MBA’15, W together with significantly reduced No. 1 in the Midwest, The gathering of data continues die every day from opioid overdose, and of Anesthesiology. chairman of the Department of use of opioids such as morphine, as a the University was as the Creighton team continues to more than 1,000 are rushed to emer- “It used to be that we gave all these Anesthesiology, says de-emphasizing “multimodal” approach under which elevated this year build the case that non-opioid pain to the prestigious Opioid Use gency rooms after opioid misuse, it’s big-time opioid drugs that certainly opioids is part of a wider effort to a patient’s pain is monitored before, management is effective. Data is National Universities BY EUGENE CURTIN easy to see the devastating impact these took care of patient pain but also reimagine pain management. during and after surgery. Morphine is category, ranking the key to changing minds, Reisbig addictive painkillers can have. knocked them out and had a lot of bad “We’re trying to treat acute pain used during surgery, which grants about No. 104. Creighton says, and the more non-opioid pain also was listed among For the anesthesiology group at CHI side effects. We have now set up new better,” he says. “We’re doing better 24 hours of pain relief, followed thereaf- the top colleges and management is practiced, the more data Creighton health Health Creighton University Medical protocols and are trying to move them medicine, and using fewer opioids is a ter by the application every few hours universities for 2019 there will be. Center–Bergan Mercy, however, it’s out to other hospitals across the CHI result of that. We’re addressing pain on of non-opioids. and 2020 by the Wall “It’s amazing to see these patients care professionals are Street Journal/Times a relatively old story about a war on system.” multiple modalities versus just one, and It began with Tom Connolly, MD’90, Higher Education, afterward,” he says. “They’re more alert, pioneering new hospital addiction that its member physicians The protocols de-emphasize com- so we’re using fewer and fewer opioids. Reisbig says, a Creighton orthopedic Kiplinger, The Princeton more awake, they don’t look like they’ve have waged for seven years. mon opioid painkillers such as mor- “If we can avoid them altogether, surgeon who embraced the anesthe- Review, the Center just had surgery where you had to wake protocols that rely less on for World University “Around 2012 to 2013, our anesthesi- phine, fentanyl, hydromorphone and then all the better.” siologists’ desire to deploy alternative Rankings and Forbes. them up. Now they’re sitting up, alert, addictive opioid drugs ology group decided to start changing oxycodone and replace them with The results, Reisbig says, have been pain relief medications. The results, he eating. It’s exciting.” how we take care of patients and how we non-opioid pain relievers such as encouraging as patients admitted for says, were encouraging.

4 Creighton FALL 2019 5 CREIGHTON CONNECTIONS University News

want to ensure that the ISIS goal does 500 women were captured and con- is a step toward strengthening our Campus Welcomes not get accomplished. We want to make demned to slavery and sexual abuse. future workforce and creating a diverse, Averett Helps Lead Nobel Peace Prize Winner sure that we are able to maintain our Three months later, Nadia escaped equitable and inclusive community.” Archaeological Project homeland, our culture, our religion.” and made her way to a refugee camp To qualify for the Union Pacific in Cyprus Nadia Murad is not giving up. The 2018 Murad addressed the Creighton and from there to Germany, where she Diversity Scholars Program, high school Nobel Peace Prize recipient spoke at gathering as part of her ongoing effort now resides.” students must hold a 3.5 GPA or above On the island of Cyprus, tucked WHITE COATS FOR away near the eastern edge of the Creighton in September during a cam- to build global awareness about the PA STUDENTS The Yazidi people of northern Iraq, in a college preparatory curriculum. pus visit sponsored by Creighton’s plight of the Yazidis in the wake of ISIS Mediterranean Sea, a Creighton Surrounded by an ethno-religious minority that prac- Students must apply to Creighton’s Global Scholars Program. terror and to encourage the world to family and friends, tice a religion distinct from both Islam College of Arts and Sciences or Heider University educator is guiding new It might seem sensible, she said, for assist those who wish to return home the inaugural class and Christianity, have been scattered College of Business by Jan. 5, 2020. generations of archaeologists as they the Yazidi people of northern Iraq to and rebuild their society. in Creighton’s new unearth ancient treasures. physician assistant around their region and the world in The first eight members of the pro- accept their fate as victims of the Islamic Creighton President the Rev. Daniel master’s degree light of ISIS persecution, Murad said, gram will arrive on campus for the Erin Averett, PhD, associate profes- State of Iraq and Syria who, beginning in S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD, in introducing program recited a and she urged the nations of the world 2020-2021 academic year. During their CREIGHTON sor of archaeology in the Department of 2014, visited genocidal violence against Murad, told part of her story, a story student oath and Fine and Performing Arts at Creighton, received their white to help them reclaim their rural, farm- freshman year, students will be paired Creighton’s freshman class her people and their ancient faith. that has captured the attention of world coats, a symbol of ing culture. with Union Pacific mentors. As the serves as assistant director of the People might say the best option, leaders, including Pope Francis. Her cre- medical clinicians and “I hope that we can mobilize good scholars advance, they will engage in topped 1,000 students for Athienou Archaeological Project (AAP), after seeing brothers and fathers mur- ation of Nadia’s Initiative, which advo- researchers, during an the sixth consecutive year, an archaeological field school that induction ceremony against evil,” she said. peer-to-peer mentoring and connect dered and mothers and sisters captured cates for victims of sexual violence and in August. The 24 with community partners to grow their with this fall’s enrollment explores the rich history of the Malloura into slavery, would be to begin life anew seeks to draw attention to the plight of students enrolled networks. Junior and senior students of 1,076 making it the third- Valley in central Cyprus, with a recent elsewhere, she said. the Yazidis, earned her the Nobel Prize. in the program can focus on excavating an ancient reli- complete their degrees Creighton, Union Pacific will apply to Union Pacific’s intern- largest freshman class in the But that, Murad said, would grant “On August 15 of 2014, at the age in 28 months. Partner to Build Diverse ship program for a chance to explore gious sanctuary. At the school, Averett ISIS a victory. of 19, Nadia was captured by ISIS Workforce career opportunities at the railroad. University’s history. Here are and her colleagues teach undergradu- “When ISIS came, they came to eradi- troops during a raid on her village,” Fr. Union Pacific employs more than 250 eight interesting facts about ate students the basics of archaeological survey and excavation, training them in cate Yazidis from that region, they came Hendrickson said. Creighton University and Union Pacific Creighton graduates. the class. the field as they uncover artifacts that to dehumanize us and to say that ‘you “More than 600 Yazidi men were Railroad are teaming up to enhance Throughout their academic careers, will not be able to exist here,’” she said. murdered, including six of Nadia’s illuminate the island’s long history. diversity and build Omaha’s future scholars will enrich their education 66% ranked in the top 25% of their “That’s why we are fighting, because we brothers and stepbrothers. Some “We work with undergraduate stu- workforce. through inclusive excellence and cul- high school class; 35% ranked in the 1 dents rather than hired excavators, and The Union Pacific Diversity Scholars tural competency themes in their top 10% it goes more slowly because our main Program at Creighton will create access coursework, led by Christopher Whitt, 2018 Nobel Peace mission is education rather than speed,” Prize recipient to academic merit scholarships and pro- PhD, Creighton’s vice provost for 25% had ACT scores of 30-36 — Nadia Murad’s visit Averett says. fessional development opportunities Institutional Diversity and Inclusion. placing them among the top 7% of to Creighton was 2 Run by director Michael Toumazou, sponsored by the for minority students over a four-year “Creighton and Union Pacific have scorers nationally Global Scholars a shared vision for Omaha to be a more PhD, at Davidson College in North Program. period. Creighton and Union Pacific’s 80% were involved in service during Carolina, AAP has been active on Cyprus Community Ties Giving Program will inclusive place,” Whitt said. “Our Jesuit, high school since 1990. Averett joined the project each invest more than $1 million to fund Catholic mission — paired with Union 3 in 1997 and has been assistant director the program. Pacific’s commitment to building a 32 states are represented by the since 2003. “Creighton recruits diverse and workforce that represents the commu- class — with Nebraska, Minnesota and 4 Excavation takes place in a fertile high-performing students, and Union nities it serves — offers a framework to Colorado being the top three (California, agricultural plain in the center of the Pacific seeks the same in its workforce,” help make this vision a reality.” Hawaii, Arizona, Texas and Oregon also island. The project selected this site, said Creighton President the Rev. Daniel The Union Pacific Diversity Scholars are among the top 15) Averett says, because it was far removed S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD. “Together, we Program supports the high-priority ini- from the coastal urban centers where will reach out to students from minority tiatives identified in a recently published 62% live more than 200 miles away; scholars had traditionally focused much groups, welcome them to Creighton and report by Blueprint Nebraska, a group 5 40% more than 400 miles away; 18% of their attention. Omaha, invest in their strengths, and of business and civic leaders working more than 1,000 miles away The main focus of the excavation for provide them with the tools to succeed to enhance economic advantages for all More than 560 high schools are the past 15 years has been a large reli- and lead.” Nebraskans. represented: 40% attended Catholic gious sanctuary that was in use from “At Union Pacific, we believe diverse “We are focused on promoting diver- 6 high schools; 52% public schools about 800 B.C. to 400-500 A.D. The perspectives drive stronger idea genera- sity and inclusion in Nebraska, not only sanctuary, Averett says, was an open-air tion and spark creativity that, ultimately, to attract and retain top talent, but 14% are the first in their family to enclosure where, for centuries, worship- fosters innovative solutions in today’s because it’s the right thing to do,” Fritz attend college 7 pers performed animal sacrifices and rapidly changing world,” said Union said. “Working together, we can help other rituals and left offerings to various Pacific Chairman, President andCEO make Nebraska the most welcoming 25% had a relative graduate from state in the Midwest.” Creighton gods and goddesses. AJ OLNES Lance Fritz. “This scholarship program 8

6 Creighton FALL 2019 7 CREIGHTON CONNECTIONS University News

JESUIT GARDENS

Creighton student damaging ancient walls or artifacts, Grace Bryant, an art history and while also mastering modern tech- cultural anthropology niques, such as digital imaging and Finding major, participated in the Athienou other new technologies. Archaeological Though the project is open to stu- Project’s 2019 field dents nationally, several of Averett’s stu- God in school in Cyprus. Bryant plans to dents at Creighton have been accepted pursue a career in archaeology. over the years. “It was the coolest thing ever. It’s All Things honestly exactly what you see in mov- ies,” says Grace Bryant, a junior art his- tory and cultural anthropology major After the caps are tossed, who spent last summer in Cyprus par- the degree is framed and ticipating in AAP’s field school. “There was so much going on all the time, and the end of a college career it was really cool to actually see how is upon you, where do you archaeologists do things.” take your Jesuit education? What are its lasting effects? School of Pharmacy and Health Professions James Howard, DDS, associate professor Beneficiary of Historic Gift emeritus of general dentistry in the School of Dentistry, who now serves as a contributed DAVE WEAVER DAVE The success of Nelly Nigro’s life is best services faculty member, graduated from measured not in money nor influence a Jesuit university five decades ago, but still but mileage. uses the lessons learned in both his life and Over her 92 years, the Omaha native profession. He shared how to find God in head and your heart. You’ll be able to work with “ When you get up traveled the world many times over, everyone and a path for a life well-lived with people a lot more effectively.” making it to all seven continents and fellow alumni of Wheeling University in Howard stresses that as a dentist he uses in the morning, NELLY NIGRO scores of countries. West Virginia (a former Jesuit institution). this mindset to find the inherent dignity Nelly Nigro, BSPha’45, Nigro trekked across Soviet Russia; He presented “Give and Take in Jesuit in every patient. To follow the words of St. whoever your bequeathed more than became a lifelong Bible scholar after a Ignatius’ Prayer for Generosity, “Lord Jesus, $1 million to the School Education” during his 50-year class reunion God is, whatever of Pharmacy and trip to the Holy Land; researched log this summer. teach me to be generous, teach me to serve as Health Professions. houses in Finland; studied honey pos- “When you look at Jesuit education, you you deserve, to give and not count the cost.” your personal sums in Australia; and, in San Miguel learn to think critically,” says Howard, who Howard says that as an educator he has de Allende, Mexico, hunted for dinosaur served as associate dean for clinical services the privilege not only to teach students but to introspection is, bones. and director of clinics for more than a decade. mentor and counsel them. One thing he shares ask, ‘Help me today.’ But in all her travels and all her “You’re continually immersed in the values that with them is the importance of serving others. experiences, this restless and fiercely the Jesuits espouse in your education system.” In a world in which many think it’s Continually try to independent woman never cut the Values such as finding God in all people, paramount to be “better than” others, Howard tether to the place she called home — something Howard teaches students in the encourages his students to think about bring that up in your Omaha. And she never forgot about dental school. how, through service, they can benefit their head and your heart. “We’ve found the altar with the universities nationwide. The students Creighton. It can be frustrating, Howard says, when community and their profession, as well as burnt animal bones on and around it,” live in Cyprus for six weeks, gaining Before she died in the summer of you don’t see eye-to-eye with someone with themselves. You’ll be able to work Averett says. “We’ve also excavated excavation and survey experience at the 2017, Nigro, BSPha’45, bequeathed an whom you interact. In that instance, “what you It’s a philosophy that has served him well votives that depict the types of activi- site, while also learning about the entire estate gift of more than $1 million to need to do is develop a time to ask God to give throughout his career, serving as a dentist in the with people a lot ties that happened in the sanctuary, the process of archaeology (from recording Creighton’s School of Pharmacy and you the wisdom, the patience, the understand- Air Force and as a faculty member at Creighton. more effectively.” worshippers, and the deities venerated to processing to conservation at the lab). Health Professions. It is the largest gift ing, the insight to know how to work with this “As you grow older and you’re exposed to here. So archaeology really illuminates They also explore the history of Cyprus in the school’s 114-year history. person,” Howard says. many different aspects of life, you realize how JAMES HOWARD, DDS our image of the past.” in lectures and weekly site tours all over The gift establishes a research fund “When you get up in the morning, important the things that you learned really As a field school, the program the island. to help patients get the most benefit whoever your God is, whatever your personal are,” Howard says. accepts 10-18 undergraduate stu- Students study the basics, such as from their medications. Research was introspection is, ask, ‘Help me today,’” Howard And, he adds, the difference a Jesuit dents each summer from colleges and how to walk around the site without always close to Nigro’s heart. She says. “Continually try to bring that up in your education can make. — BY EMILY RUST

8 Creighton FALL 2019 9 CREIGHTON CONNECTIONS University News WAIT...WHAT? Creighton is known for an spent her final working years in hospi- the pharmacy school in 1945. Before figurative. She was a runner. Her track- condition that inflames the gray mat- extraordinary commitment to tal pharmacy practice, researching the then, she earned the Creighton phar- and-field specialty was the 400- and 800- ter in the spinal cord and short-circuits undergraduate research. Here’s a Lest We Forget: Omaha, impact of what she called, “social sup- maceutical society’s award for being meter races — “the ones that everyone the brain’s messaging to the body. The snapshot of one student’s research Creighton Remember Lynching of Will Brown port interventions on patient health.” the student with the highest scholastic hates,” she says. Her speed won her a muscles forget how to move. project, which was inspired by the The Nigro fund’s research will be fac- rating. She was the first woman to do so. few state championships in high school, Hospital bed-bound for months, most shameful event in Omaha’s ulty-driven but will also offer many great Nigro entered the profession at a which scored her an athletic scholar- Weisbeck took off what was supposed Creighton President the Rev. Daniel NEW CHAIRHOLDER IN history, the mob lynching of a S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD, joined other opportunities for students, said Michael CANCER RESEARCH time when there were very few female ship to South Dakota State University, to be her final semester at South Dakota Creighton representatives, govern- S. Monaghan, PharmD’89, chair of the Saying he is “humbled pharmacists. After graduation, she where she studied construction man- State University. Her mother, Necole black man, Will Brown, in 1919. Department of Pharmacy Practice. and tremendously worked at hospitals in Omaha and agement. Her post-college plan: take a Weisbeck, came to live with her — first ment officials, community leaders and “Nelly had a passion for research honored,” Robin Lincoln, then Cleveland and Long Beach job in Hawaii. in the hospital, then back at Lexi’s home a crowd of several hundred people out- Farias-Eisner, MD, side the Douglas County Courthouse in throughout her career,” said Joe Nigro, PhD, who joined the and, eventually, Los Angeles, where she In all aspects of her life, Weisbeck in Brookings. Nelly’s nephew and estate executor. “But School of Medicine helped open the UCLA Medical Center in couldn’t stop moving. Then she lost the Day by day, step by step, Lexi built Omaha on Sept. 28 to mark the 100th the gift also speaks to her fondness of in July as director of 1955. She remained with UCLA for the ability to move at all. up her body again. anniversary of the horrific lynching of the Hereditary Cancer William “Will” Brown in the courthouse growing up in Omaha and the excep- Center and chair better part of the next 40 years — though It started in September 2018 with “It was like teaching a baby how to do tional education she got at Creighton. of the Department she rarely stayed still. a head cold. No irregular symptoms everything again,” she says. “My lowest square. She never forgot the opportunities she of Obstetrics and at first. Then one morning Weisbeck point was when it took me 45 minutes The murder of Brown occurred Gynecology, has during nationwide race riots that got at pharmacy school.” been named the new couldn’t lift her book bag. She thought to put on my shirt.” swept across the United States in the Creighton’s pharmacy school has holder of the Charles Rare Illness Doesn’t it was just a pinched nerve. Then her By January 2019, Weisbeck could get changed a bit in the 74 years since Nigro F. and Mary C. Heider Slow This First-Year body really started to malfunction. She around in a wheelchair. She decided to spring, summer and fall of 1919 as white Endowed Chair in Americans attacked black citizens who graduated. Cancer Research. Law Student’s Drive fell down the stairs. Twice. From there go back to school to finish and gradu- Today, the pharmacy school has it got worse. Within a few days, she was ate. By May commencement, she was sought employment and equal status in more than 1,000 students enrolled. In Creighton law student Lexi Weisbeck in the hospital, unable to move anything able to walk with a walker across the the wake of their participation in World 1944 — Nigro’s second year in her three- Lexi Weisbeck, has always charged ahead — at every but a few fingers and toes. stage. It was the first time her friends War I. year accelerated program — the war had who is overcoming opportunity, over every obstacle, “It was kind of weird, obviously,” a and family had seen her walk in nearly The lynching of Brown, one of more the effects of the cut down enrollment to just 35 students. rare condition acute onward, upward, smile on her face, joke deadpan Weisbeck says now. nine months. than 150 that occurred across the United Nigro was one of just five students flaccid myelitis, is a at the ready. She was soon diagnosed with acute Weisbeck has made more progress TITLE OF RESEARCH States in 1919, is considered among the first-year law student most brutal. (three of them women) to graduate from at Creighton. Weisbeck’s go-go-go isn’t strictly flaccid myelitis, an extremely rare since. She can drive again, and shortly “Life Since Will Brown: before moving to Omaha this fall she “During the middle months of 1919, walked 50 feet without holding on to Unearthing a Century of dozens of race riots shocked the United anything. States,” Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert Her career plans altered, Weisbeck Nebraskan Hate Crimes” said. “Much to our shame, one of the decided to pursue a degree in construc- worst was right here in Omaha.” tion law. She was already considering STUDENT RESEARCHER Fr. Hendrickson, in his invocation, Creighton, but it was her physical and Saige Jager; junior, majoring in political science, asked for divine forgiveness and that occupational therapy sessions that con- with a minor in history; McHenry, Illinois society be freed of “the evil of racism vinced her: Five of her six therapists and inequality.” FACULTY MENTOR were Creighton-educated, and they “Aid us, we pray, in overcoming the Simon Appleford, PhD, assistant professor of sin of racism, grant us your grace in all had nothing but good things to say history about the University. That (and schol- eliminating this blight from our hearts, our communities, our social and civic arship aid) sealed the deal; she started WHAT IT MEANS The lynching of Will Brown is at Creighton in August. remembered as a shameful stain in Omaha’s institutions,” he prayed. Studying construction law is an history. Brown’s violent murder revealed the “Wake us up so that the evil of rac- extension of what Weisbeck has wanted prejudice and racism that lurked beneath the ism finds no home within us.” to do since she was a little kid playing city’s surface in the early 20th century. Yet its At the end of the ceremony, soil from around the sites of her father’s general horrific nature has overshadowed the fact that the Douglas County Courthouse was dis- this incident is just one of many hate crimes contracting company. And Creighton, tributed into several jars, one of which that have been committed over the last century in a lot of ways, was an ideal fit, says will be displayed at The Legacy Museum, against Nebraska’s marginalized populations. a project of the Equal Justice Initiative Weisbeck’s mother. To better understand Nebraska’s continuing in Montgomery, Alabama. The others “As a parent, you like to see that your struggle with racial and social equality, this daughter’s school cares about her. I feel project uses Brown’s murder as a starting point will be displayed at various historical like I’m leaving Lexi with family.” for the creation of a database of hate crimes locations throughout Omaha. committed in the state of Nebraska between The event was sponsored by the City 1919 and 2019. of Omaha, Douglas County and the DAVE WEAVER DAVE

10 Creighton FALL 2019 11 CREIGHTON CONNECTIONS University News O’Keefe Named First

Omaha Community Council for Racial in science, technology, engineering or Justice and Reconciliation. Kingfisher Honoree math at Creighton. In addition to this community com- Both Huerta and Westphal won honors for their completed projects at memoration, Creighton’s Kingfisher n accepting Creighton’s inaugural Kingfisher Award at a campus Institute for the Liberal Arts and Omaha’s 2019 Metropolitan Science and Professions hosted events this fall town hall in September, theology professor and documentary Engineering Fair. related to its inaugural theme of Race filmmaker John O’Keefe, PhD, expressed his deep gratitude — Huerta, a graduate of Omaha South in America: 1919-2019. not only for being selected for the award, but for having a job High School, studied qubits — the quan- David Blight, the Pulitzer Prize- that’s been so interesting and fulfilling. tum version of the classical computer winning author of Frederick Douglass: “Where else does (a theologian) learn about the beauty of “bit.” Westphal, a graduate of Omaha Central High School, focused her Prophet of Freedom, delivered a public chemistry from a chemist ... in the back of a microbus ... in the lecture on campus on Sept. 19. And on research on butterflies as important Sept. 5, Creighton alumnus and author Dominican Republic ... while sipping rum ... purchased on the streets of pollinators. Theodore Wheeler, MA’08, MFA’15, read IDajabon just hours before?” O’Keefe said. Westphal’s advisor was Theodore from his historical novel Kings of Broken The Kingfisher Award recognizes outstanding faculty and staff who Burk, DPhil, professor of animal behav- Things, followed by a panel discussion have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to the enduring values, ior, entomology and behavioral ecology on the history of racial violence. principles and practices of the humanities. This presidential award is in the Department of Biology. Huerta was guided by Thomas Wong, PhD, Kings of Broken Things is set in given in partnership with the University’s Kingfisher Institute for the Omaha and takes place against the assistant professor of physics in the backdrop of the 1919 race riots and the Liberal Arts and Professions. Department of Physics. lynching of Brown. O’Keefe is a scholar of patristic theology whose commitment to Westphal said the Haddix STEM pro- JIM FACKLER “Many people thought that things environmental justice has inspired his research in the area of ecotheology. gram was “eye-opening.” like this only happened in Alabama or He has expanded the impact of his research through the medium of “It was such an amazing experience Georgia, never Nebraska,” Wheeler said. documentary film, in partnership with colleagues and students across it made me want to come to Creighton,” “This happened in Omaha, too, and we she said. now an associate professor in the Jill Brown, PhD, extended family by economic necessity, departments. associate professor of have to face that.” Department of Psychological Science, psychological science, military duty, incarceration, migration the life direction she had sought — set- is a contributing or persecution. writer and co-editor Brown Contributes to ting her on a decades-long path of inves- of the award-winning From Filipino domestic workers Local Students Benefit from Award-Winning Book tigating various forms of parenting, in book Parenting making a lonely living in Singapore, to From Afar and the Haddix STEM Program on Parenting from Afar Africa and beyond. Reconfiguration traditionalist Poles adjusting to the gen- Her latest contribution to under- of Family Across der equalities of Scandinavia, to Brown’s Distance. A recent $10 million gift to Creighton Jill Brown, a young woman from small- standing the evolving nature of par- Namibian family for whom informal University’s College of Arts and town Nebraska, sat beneath a tree in the enting in light of an emerging global “child fostering” is a cultural norm, Sciences, described by University offi- dusty heat of Owamboland, Namibia, economy — parenting often conducted the book investigates the ways people cials as “transformational,” helped and watched her future take shape. at great distance — is the book Parenting across the globe maintain — and some- transform the lives of two Omaha high Six-year-old Timo had just reclaimed From Afar and the Reconfiguration of times create — family ties in the face of school students this year. his spot on the mat where he and Jill, Family Across Distance. lengthy separations. Vincent Huerta and Sydney Westphal then a 23-year-old Peace Corps volun- Published by Oxford University participated in the inaugural Haddix teer, were reading with two other chil- Press, Parenting From Afar has been 24th Street STEM Corridor Program, dren. He had left to pay his respects to a awarded the 2019 Ursula Gielen Global Standing on the Margins completing award-winning research woman Jill had not seen before, despite Psychology Book Award, which is con- Fr. Boyle headlines inaugural projects with Creighton STEM faculty living almost two years in the same ferred annually by the International Mission Week with a call for kinship over the summer. Both also enrolled as home as the boy. Psychology Division of the American freshmen at Creighton this fall. Who was that? Jill asked. Psychological Association. The Rev. Greg Boyle, SJ, HON’09, stood in The Haddix 24th Street STEM Timo’s mother, she was told. The book consists of 16 chapters, front of a packed audience at St. John’s Corridor Program is one of four initia- Brown recounts her surprise in a each written by different academics Church and told the story of a young tives funded by the gift from George new book to which she is a contributor based on their experiences in the field. man who had faced unimaginable Haddix, PhD, MA’66, and his wife, and one of three co-editors. The chapters, taken as a whole, describe abuse. Susan, a member of Creighton’s Board “I had lived with this family for the yearning for the support, security, As a child, the young man had worn of Trustees. almost two years and had missed a encouragement and friendship that can three T-shirts to school; three, because The program introduces top high crucial piece of information,” she writes. be found in family relationships. They two weren’t enough to sop up the blood school students in Omaha to the advan- “Timo was not their biological child.” recount the experiences of people sep- from the wounds inflicted by his mother. tages of pursuing undergraduate studies That moment in 1996 gave Brown, arated from their spouses, children and Kids made fun of him, and even when JIM FACKLER

12 Creighton FALL 2019 13 CREIGHTON CONNECTIONS University News

especially true during Mission Week: doesn’t fail nearly as easily as iron.” Creighton President the Rev. Stand with the people at the margins. Recker says this initial study will Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD, said “You want to imagine a community involve Caucasian women, who experi- the foundation’s latest investment in of kinship such that God in fact might ence osteoporosis at much higher levels the University will establish one of the recognize it,” Fr. Boyle said. “No kin- than other people. nation’s most respected business edu- ship, no peace. No kinship, no justice. “Other races — and men — will have cation scholarships. No kinship, no equality, no matter how different findings, which will confound “Like Walter, I believe in this pro- TEN-HUT: ROTC singularly focused we may well be on NUMBERS UP the data,” he says. “If we conclude a gram and the Heider College of Business’ those worthy goals.” It’s been a decade study on white women, then we can ability to deliver on our goals,” Fr. Service, he said, is a start: “Service since the Creighton do a study on nonwhite women. One Hendrickson said. “This complements is the hallway that gets you to the ball- University Black step at a time.” Walter’s long service to and vision for Wolves saw more than room. And the ballroom is a place of a few good freshmen Diabetic women interested in partic- the University and expresses his confi- kinship and exquisite mutuality where sign up for the Army ipating should call 402.280.2663. dence in the impact we have on Omaha.” there is no us, and there is no them.” ROTC program, Walter Scott Jr. served on Creighton’s but that changed Only then, he said, can we truly this year when 25 Board of Trustees from 1980 to 2001 and embrace the things Jesus himself took cadets accepted Scott Foundation Gift was named an emeritus trustee. Walter seriously: “Inclusion. Nonviolence. the challenge. With and his late wife, Suzanne, also received the addition of four to Assist Future Heider Unconditional loving kindness. And sophomores joining Business Students the Manresa Medal from Creighton in compassionate acceptance,” Fr. Boyle the ranks, the new $14.6 million scholarship program 1998. Creighton’s Manresa Medal is pre- said. “That’s not so much what we do class numbers 29 sented to those individuals who, like St. cadets. The number aims to recruit more future business at the margins, that’s who we are at of cadets over all four leaders to Omaha and Nebraska Ignatius of Loyola, demonstrate inspi- the margins. And then we look under years of the program rational leadership while overcoming our feet, and we notice (the margins) now totals 69. A $14.6 million scholarship program obstacles to enduring achievement. are getting erased. Because we chose established this fall by the Suzanne & “My intention for this gift is to to stand there.” Walter Scott Foundation will recruit empower Creighton to keep bringing talented students to Creighton’s Heider new young minds to the city and state. College of Business and, ultimately, ben- I trust them to do that,” said Walter DAVE WEAVER DAVE Recker Receives efit the Omaha and Nebraska business Scott, former chairman and CEO of Peter $1.5 Million NIH Grant communities with outstanding future Kiewit Sons’ Inc. to Study Osteoporosis business leaders. While nearly 80% of Heider College in Diabetic Women The gift reaffirms the Scott family’s of Business students come from outside he was grown, the man felt ashamed of The Rev. Greg Heart and Barking to the Choir, spoke Founded by Fr. Boyle in East Los commitment to the Heider College of Nebraska, about 53% begin their full- Boyle, SJ, HON’09, his scars. spoke at St. John’s Sept. 9 at St. John’s to kick off Creighton’s Angeles in the late 1980s, Homeboy Longtime Creighton researcher Robert Business and its students, and will allow time employment in the state directly But years later, as he spoke in front Church during inaugural Mission Week. Industries offers job training and other Recker, MD’63, has received a $1.5 mil- the college’s most generous scholarship after graduation. Creighton’s inaugural of an audience of social workers at Fr. Mission Week in Beginning this year, the University services to former gang members and lion grant from the National Institutes of — the Scott Scholars program — to reach Matt McNary, BSBA’15, is an Boyle’s behest, the man said he no lon- September. Fr. Boyle selects one week during the fall semes- people who have been incarcerated. The Health (NIH) to investigate the relation- even more students. example of how a Suzanne & Walter is founder and ger felt ashamed: “I rub my fingers over executive director of ter for the campus community to reflect organization employs its clients in social ship between diabetes and osteoporosis. The Scott Scholarship is a full- Scott Foundation scholarship adds my scars. My wounds are my friends. Homeboy Industries on Creighton’s Ignatian heritage and enterprises — including a bakery, cater- Diabetics experience osteoporosis at tuition, renewable award given to top to Omaha’s brain gain. He came to in Los Angeles. ROBERT RECKER How can I help the wounded if I don’t spirituality. During this year’s Mission ing service and diner — that teach essen- higher rates than the general popula- candidates in the Heider College of Creighton from eastern Kansas as part welcome my own wounds?” Week, Sept. 9-13, the University and tial career development skills while also tion, says Recker, a principal investigator Robert Recker, Business. Five students from Nebraska of the program, passing up full-ride MD’63, is the director The man, Fr. Boyle told the crowd at Omaha community partners came offering an alternative to gang life. with Creighton’s Osteoporosis Research of Creighton’s and 10 from outside the state will be scholarships from two state schools. St. John’s, spoke the key truth of spir- together at several events to listen, Fr. Boyle told several stories — some Center. The five-year study will involve Osteoporosis selected annually for the award, over a Now a certified public accountant itual mission work: “The measure of learn, reflect and explore themes which tragic, some hilarious — about the peo- 40 diabetic women and 40 nondiabetic Research Center and nine-year commitment. in Omaha, McNary is active in a host is an internationally our compassion lies not in our service emerge from Creighton’s Jesuit, Catholic ple he’s encountered in his work. One women. recognized expert in “The Scott Foundation gift will assist of nonprofit organizations. He’s aware to those on the margins, but only in our mission. anecdote involved a parolee named Recker’s approach reflects an earlier the field of metabolic us in continuing to attract the best and of the difference Walter Scott, whom willingness to see ourselves in kinship After opening remarks from Eileen Glenda, working as a waitress in one of study in which 60 people suffering from bone disease. brightest from around the globe, add- he met while at Creighton, makes with them,” Fr. Boyle said. “For the Burke-Sullivan, STD, MChrSp’84, vice Homeboy Industries’ programs, who, low-trauma bone fractures were found ing to the diversity of our student body, on recruiting students and retaining truth of the matter is this: If we don’t provost for Mission and Ministry, and upon meeting actress Diane Keaton, to have abnormalities in the mechanical as well as allowing us to showcase the Creighton alumni. welcome our own wounds, we may well Creighton President the Rev. Daniel told the actress she recognized her from quality of their bone. Recker compares outstanding Omaha business environ- “Omaha feels like home,” McNary be tempted to despise the wounded.” S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD, Fr. Boyle pre- their time together in lockup. the difference to iron and steel. ment and opportunities that exist here said. “I’ve invested my career here, and Fr. Boyle, founder and executive sented on his experiences working with But Fr. Boyle bookended his pre- “Iron, if you put enough load on in our own community,” said Anthony I don’t plan to leave. I love it here.” director of Los Angeles-based Homeboy former gang members at his nonprofit, sentation with a challenge for the it, breaks,” he says. “Steel, if you put Hendrickson, PhD, dean of the Heider Industries and author of Tattoos on the Homeboy Industries. University community, one that rang the same load, will bend a little, but it College of Business.

14 Creighton FALL 2019 15 CREIGHTON CONNECTIONS University News

HEALTH BRIEFS

OT Alumna Play Important for Children Let children play. That was the message delivered by Peter Gray, PhD, a research professor of psychology Helps Develop at Boston College, at the inaugural Ware-Johnk Lecture this fall. The lecture series, established by a Hydrotherapy gift from former faculty member Mark Ware, PhD, and his wife, Connie Johnk, BA’82, is intended to promote interest in psychological scholarship and for Preemies how it relates to everyday life. “We are in the midst of an experiment in which Makenna Brown Tucker, BS’15, OTD’19, we are in some ways for the first time in human his- tory raising children without real free play,” says Gray, wanted to be a pediatric occupational author of Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to therapist when she graduated, but never Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, imagined working with the tiniest of and Better Students for Life. patients. Time spent playing, he says, serves a critical role in enabling children to develop reasoning skills, learn the When she began the research portion art of compromise and hone problem-solving skills that of her doctorate in occupational therapy can include mathematical and spatial awareness. JING TSONG at CHI Health Creighton University

Medical Center–Bergan Mercy, she “fell is involved in the expansion of cancer cells at the researchers worldwide who have dedicated ourselves in love” with premature infants and Diabetes Care in expense of their less-fit neighbors. The findings show systematically to a long-term research program “how occupational therapy (OT) can Rural Communities that a human protein (called Flower) plays a role in looking at LPA’s actions in the mouth,” she says. impact their lives.” determining cell fitness, and the development and Creighton has been awarded two grants to improve progression of cancer. She focused her research on medical outcomes for families of children diagnosed “These findings enhance our understanding of hydrotherapy — performing therapy in with Type 1 diabetes in rural areas of Nebraska and the factors that make some tumors more aggressive Addressing Physician Burnout Iowa, where access to pediatric endocrinologists is than others, and our understanding of the factors that warm water — with preemies and, at the A new Creighton study aimed at reducing physician challenging. allow tumors to metastasize to specific locations,” request of Lisa Bader, BSOT’96, Bergan’s burnout is looking at whether increasing time spent “There are significant differences in the health says Rajan Gogna, PhD, the lead investigator of the NICU occupational therapist, helped with patients and cultivating deeper connections outcomes for those who live closer to areas where study, and a former Creighton faculty member now with them can boost the well-being of health care develop a program for the neonatal specialized care is available,” says Vanessa Jewell, with the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown in professionals. PhD, assistant professor of occupational therapy in Lisbon, Portugal. intensive care unit at the hospital. Bader Creighton’s study is one of 33 selected this year the School of Pharmacy and Health Professions, who had seen a presentation on neonatal from among 200 proposals through an initiative is leading the project to identify treatment barriers in of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical hydrotherapy at a conference two years rural communities and develop solutions to overcome Education, the group that sets educational standards earlier and was keenly interested. service gaps. Study Looks at Gum Disease for preparing physicians. “But the time involved to start some- School of Dentistry associate professor D. Roselyn The study is being led by Prasanna Tadi, MD, an thing like that is intensive,” Bader says. Cerutis, PhD, has received a grant from the National assistant professor in the School of Medicine and “I knew Makenna would be with us ‘Fitness Fingerprints’ Institutes of Health (NIH) to study a potential therapy neurologist with CHI Health, and includes a team of for 16 weeks, and I knew she could get and Cancer Growth that may reduce inflammation and bone loss in peri- Creighton residents. odontal (gum) disease. According to the National Academy of Medicine, the project done. She did a literature Scientists have a better understanding of the bully- Cerutis is investigating the role of a receptor, more than half of U.S. physicians experience burnout, review, wrote the protocol, passed like behavior of cancer cells that allows them to LPA1, in regulating the production of lysophosphatidic a syndrome characterized by a high degree of it through the doctors and nurse aggressively grow, overtake neighboring cells and acid (LPA), and whether blocking or reducing LPA emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and a low practitioners, and implemented it.” spread in humans. According to Creighton cancer production in the mouth helps control the inflamma- sense of personal accomplishment at work. Bader says her NICU has been having researcher Laura Hansen, PhD, key findings of a study tion and bone loss of periodontal disease. She says A unique aspect of the Creighton study is its published in the journal Nature provide new clues for the LPA system has been extensively researched wide reach. In addition to residents and physicians, excellent results giving hydrotherapy to how to intervene for therapy. in cancer and heart disease, but not in periodontal medical students, pharmacists, physical therapists, two or three babies per week, sending Hansen, a co-author of the paper “Fitness finger- disease. occupational therapists, dentists and nurses will them home sooner and stronger. prints of human cells promote competitive growth in According to the Centers for Disease Control, participate in the study. JIM FACKLER Tucker, now an occupational cancer,” says the results are likely to promote intense half of American adults age 30 and older have “Our hope is that with this study we will be able study of the “fitness fingerprints” on the surface of periodontal disease, which also has been linked to to show improvement in multiple areas of well-being Makenna Brown Tucker, therapist at CHI Health St. Elizabeth in BS’15, OTD’19, gives cells that play a determining role in their life and chronic illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes and and relieve the pressures physicians are facing,” Tadi hydrotherapy treatment to Lincoln, Nebraska, started OT in the death. rheumatoid arthritis. says. “We are trying to change the culture of patient Eloise Beller at CHI Health NICU there and hopes to implement Hansen, associate dean for research in the School Cerutis has been studying the role of LPA in care locally, but it has the potential to make a big Creighton University of Medicine, and her colleagues demonstrated for periodontal disease with collaborators in the dental impact across multiple disciplines nationally.” Medical Center–Bergan hydrotherapy as well. Mercy. the first time in human cells that cell competition school for the past 20 years. “We are the only

16 Creighton FALL 2019 17 IN THE CLASSROOM

On Tap at Creighton: Beer Chemistry BY MICAH MERTES

ome learn about chemistry. About will receive a grade of zero for any activities missed as a result.” the fundamental scientific principles For the final project, students design their underlying everyday life. About own beer and host an end-of-year open house, where guests vote on the best brew. For the past solubility, concentration, extraction, two years, a Russian imperial stout has emerged the victor. metabolism, biomolecules, ions and Students get creative with it. Reedy and enzymes ... Come learn about beer. his partner brewed a grapefruit India pale ale. Dillon Nerland and Kaylee Schwasinger, How to brew it. How to study it. How both BS’19, made a vanilla bourbon porter. Ben to, if you so choose, infuse the flavors of peanut butter Kruse and Hana O’Hagan, both BSChm’19, used ingredients with nutty and fruity tones to create Cand jelly into it. Class is 21 and older to enter. Please a peanut butter and jelly ale. “This class was great,” O’Hagan says. experiment responsibly. “Chemistry majors learn a lot of theory, and I love theory, but it’s exciting to be in a class Creighton’s Chemistry of Brewing course, For the first few experiments, the class where we’re applying that theory to something first offered through the Honors Program in tinkers with a specific variable. In the water like beer.” 2018, picks up again this spring. The class’ experiment, for instance, each pair of students Given the novelty of the syllabus, it’s humble beginnings, says chemistry professor uses the same recipe but varies the type of water surprising that none of the Chemistry of James Fletcher, PhD, first fermented in — using tap water, distilled water or different Brewing classes so far have reached capacity. Creighton’s Chemistry Club. kinds of filtered water. The type of water alters “That’s because of that word ‘chemistry’ “We started brewing beer for fun,” he says. the properties of the beer, which the class then in the title,” O’Hagan says. “As a chemistry “Then it evolved to the point where I felt there measures for color, flavor, alcohol content, etc. major, that breaks my heart, but it’s true. But was enough material to teach a class on it. I The class then alters the experiment for that shouldn’t scare people. The class is really had to teach myself quite a bit of homebrewing the next few batches, varying the barley, hops accessible because Dr. Fletcher is such a good technique beforehand. I’m an organic chemist or yeast, each amended ingredient making or teacher.” first and an amateur brewer second.” breaking the brew, the scientific method as Fletcher has since taken his course on the Chemistry of Brewing isn’t just for science applied to an especially sudsy diversion. road, giving Science of Beer presentations to students. Fletcher designed the class to work “I’d never had a class like this before,” says Creighton alumni and friends at breweries in for Honors Program science and nonscience chemistry major Colin Reedy, BS’19. “It was Omaha, Kansas City, Missouri, and, just this fall, majors alike. great because it was a new way of approaching Chicago. Each event has sold out. “The class starts simple,” Fletcher says. “But concepts I was familiar with, but in a different, “The public talks have been a fun, by the end of the semester, all the students feel more practical way. Also, you know, I like beer.” approachable way to teach people science,” like expert brewers.” Once each batch comes to fruition, students Fletcher says. “I’m trying to do my small part In class, students learn about the history do a tasting and catalog their findings. to promote science for the general public, of brewing and the scientific principles of the Fletcher’s class syllabus demands moderation: to show people how science works and how craft. But the brewing itself starts right away. “No individual student will be permitted to scientists think and how knowledge of science They partner up to conduct experiments in consume greater than 12 ounces of beer per is important to being an informed citizen.” extract brewing, using brewing kits to turn tasting session. Students who overindulge will And how science curriculum, if properly water, barley, hops and yeast into beer. be asked to leave the classroom for the day and brewed, has a nice, crisp aftertaste.

18 Creighton FALL 2019 JIM FACKLER 19 REFLECTIONS A Wide View This expansive view to the east from I-480 shows the symbiotic relationship between Creighton, on the left side of the photo, and the surrounding city. Creighton has long been a partner in Omaha’s growth and development, drawing students from other locales who stay after they graduate. The data shows 73% of Creighton students come from outside Nebraska and more than half of the students who find employment immediately after graduation stay in the Omaha area.

20 Creighton FALL 2019 PHOTO BY PQ DRONE SERVICES 21 distinctive Jesuit, Catholic mission of service. Creighton’s infusion of health care professionals comes at a cru- cial time for Arizona, which faces a health care workforce shortage. “We know in order to meet our growing demands — and the demands are great — Arizona needs to grow our supply of health care pro- AT THE CONTROLS OF AN EXCAVATOR, fessionals,” said Gov. Ducey, “and Creighton University President the that’s exactly what this new campus Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD, will help us do. smiled as he raised and lowered the “From medicine and occupa- machine’s front shovel, helping to tional therapy to nursing and so DIGGING IN usher in a new era of health care much more, the next generation of education and delivery in Phoenix. health sciences professionals will “Today marks a monumental be trained right here. And Arizona development in Creighton’s storied couldn’t be more excited for all that’s history of health sciences education,” yet to come.” AND said Fr. Hendrickson at the Sept. 25 Mayor Gallego praised the project ceremonial groundbreaking for for bringing “values-driven educa- Creighton’s new Health Sciences – tion” to the city in needed health care Phoenix Campus. professions. “We have a lot of oppor- He added that the $100 mil- tunity and need for your graduates,” lion, 180,000-square-foot campus she said. “I am thrilled to be talking RISING UP — scheduled to open in fall 2021 at about values-driven education and Park Central in midtown Phoenix — building a healthier Phoenix.” A new Creighton health represents a “shared step forward” Fr. Hendrickson acknowledged for Creighton and its Phoenix health the philanthropic support for the sciences campus begins care partners in addressing the criti- new campus and its students, high- cal need for more health service pro- lighting a $10 million gift from the to take form in Phoenix viders in Phoenix, Maricopa County Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust (for and all of Arizona. which the building will be named) “We are honored to be playing and a $5 million gift from Phoenix a major role in the dramatic trans- philanthropist Doris Norton. formation that is about to take Robert “Bo” Dunlay, MD’81, dean place on Arizona’s health care land- of the Creighton University School scape, and to be doing so on one of of Medicine, praised the collabora- Phoenix’s most iconic properties,” tive nature of the project, including Fr. Hendrickson said. Creighton’s long-standing relation- The event drew dignitaries from ship with its health care partners in throughout the Phoenix-metro Phoenix. area, including Arizona Gov. Doug For more than a decade, Creighton Ducey, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego has been sending medical students to and Phoenix Bishop Thomas Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital Olmstead, who offered his prayers and Medical Center for rotations, and blessings. and, in 2009, Creighton teamed with The campus will eventually serve St. Joseph’s to establish a School of nearly 900 students, invigorating Medicine in Phoenix. More recently, Arizona’s health infrastructure with Creighton and St. Joseph’s partnered physicians, nurses, pharmacists, with District Medical Group and physician assistants, physical ther- Valleywise Health (formerly MIHS) apists, occupational therapists and to form the Creighton University more — each educated in Creighton’s Arizona Health Education Alliance.

22 Creighton FALL 2019 ILLUSTRATION BY TRACI DABERKO 23 Linda Hunt, chief executive Creighton alumna Sharon Harper, “I chose Creighton University officer for Dignity Health Arizona, BA’69, who has played a pivotal role because I wanted a medical educa- Gift Illustrates Norton which includes St. Joseph’s and four as chief executive officer of locally tion that extended well beyond the other hospitals, said the new campus based Plaza Companies, which is medicine — to the whole person,” Family’s Commitment to fulfills a longtime dream for Dignity working with another developer to Lundberg said. “And I have not been Health leaders. redevelop Park Central, described disappointed. To me, a Creighton Health Education, Care “We had a dream years ago to the health sciences campus as physician cares for all aspects of find a Catholic partner that could “transformational.” patients’ lives, with excellence, and in Phoenix offer medical education training to In addition to addressing a most importantly, humility. A TIMELINE OF CARE IN OMAHA, PHOENIX students,” she said. “Today, we are demand for health care profession- “We, as students, receive that A $5 MILLION GIFT from local WHILE CREIGHTON IS GROWING ITS HEALTH SCIENCES presence in Phoenix, realizing that dream for Dignity als, Creighton’s expansion is pro- same type of personal care. The philanthropist Doris Norton to the home campus programs are as strong as ever. The Omaha campus offers Health and St. Joseph’s Hospital. This jected to create more than 250 jobs; support and mentorship we receive Dignity Health St. Joseph’s dentistry, emergency medical services, nursing, medicine, occupational therapy, physical therapy, pharmacy and physician assistant programs. Hospital and Medical Center creates a place where students can $124.5 million in personal income; from our professors is unparalleled Competition is fierce for Creighton health programs, with applications far be educated, with a strong spiritual $12 million in tax revenues and more to other programs.” and Creighton University exceeding available spots in most cases. For example, the School of Medicine had component.” than $300 million in total economic She cited a clerkship director, a follows a long-standing family 6,376 applicants for 167 openings this academic year. And students come from all Kote Chundu, president and output. mentor, who encouraged her and tradition of supporting health over — students in the School of Pharmacy and Health Professions this year came care and health sciences from 46 states and 44 countries. Creighton is predicted to become the largest CEO of District Medical Group; Randy Richardson, MD, dean of gave her “permission to be great.” education benefiting the Catholic health professions educator in the country by 2025. Michael White, BS’96, MD’01, MBA’19, the Creighton University School of She said when she was struggling to Phoenix community. Clinical opportunities for students abound — through CHI Health, Creighton’s Valleywise executive vice presi- Medicine – Phoenix, said the new decide on a medical specialty, he told Norton’s gift designates primary clinical partner in Nebraska and western Iowa — and now in Arizona with dent and chief medical officer; and campus is the “culmination of so her that even if you’re reaching for a partners in the Creighton University Arizona Health Education Alliance. Below are key $3 million to support dates in Creighton’s health professions history. Steve Purves, president and CEO of many people’s efforts, from the pro- star, if you reach a little higher, you construction of the new Valleywise Health, also expressed gram directors, clerkship directors, might discover a whole solar system. Creighton University Health MILESTONES their excitement with the partner- clinical professionals, faculty and, of “Today, I would like to pay that Sciences – Phoenix Campus, and allocates $2 million ship and the coming campus. course, students. I can’t overempha- message forward,” Lundberg said. in a scholarship endowment for students entering the 1892 Tracing its roots to St. Joseph’s Mercy Hospital, which opened in 1870, Creighton Fr. Hendrickson “Our innovative Creighton size the students.” “Creighton’s growing presence in nursing field. Memorial St. Joseph Hospital opens in Omaha, built by John Creighton in is joined by Phoenix memory of his late wife, Sarah Emily. Creighton launched medical education the community leaders, Alliance will ensure that this health One of those students, Jaclyn Phoenix is good. Let’s give our- “I’m delighted to support this expanding partnership same year, with the hospital the site for clinical training health care partners sciences campus and medical school Lundberg, a fourth-year Creighton selves permission to be great. … Let between St. Joseph’s and Creighton University,” Norton and students at the 1905 School of Dentistry and School of Pharmacy is established. The pharmacy school recent ceremonial provides exceptional student clinical medical student completing her this be the first step in reaching for said. “We’ve always believed St. Joseph’s is the leading would later become the School of Pharmacy and Health Professions and add groundbreaking for the training experiences, which are sec- education in Phoenix, spoke at the the stars, and maybe we will find an hospital in the Valley. Knowing that Creighton mirrors the new health sciences programs in occupational therapy, physical therapy and emergency medical same commitment to educating outstanding health care campus. ond to none,” Purves said. ceremony. entire galaxy.” services professionals makes this the perfect union. We’ve always felt blessed to be able to support St. Joseph’s and the education 1909 John A. Creighton Medical College becomes the Creighton College of Medicine of those advancing in the health care profession, and I hope 1958 Students are accepted into the new four-year baccalaureate nursing program others will join us in this effort.” 1975 Accelerated nursing program launches, one of the first in the nation “This very generous gift will support deserving students 1977 St. Joseph Hospital (which later becomes Creighton University Medical Center who have a passion and desire for nursing, and allow them to and then CHI Health Creighton University Medical Center) opens at fully pursue those dreams and earn a degree from Creighton 601 N. 30th St., the largest private construction project in Nebraska University,” said Catherine Todero, PhD, BSN’72, vice provost 1984 St. Joseph Hospital is purchased by American Medical International (AMI) of Health Sciences Campuses and dean of the Creighton College of Nursing. “However, the ultimate beneficiaries are 1995 AMI merges with another hospital operator to form Tenet Healthcare. At the same time, Creighton purchases 26% of the hospital and becomes part owner the patients and communities served by our graduates, many of whom will stay in Phoenix and the Southwest.” 2005 Creighton and Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center agree Doris and her husband, John, who died in 2016, to medical students spending one-month rotations in Phoenix generously funded campus renovations to support the 2012 Campus in Phoenix at St. Joseph’s opens, offering two full years of clinical initial partnership between St. Joseph’s and Creighton’s medical training School of Medicine, and they established the Doris Norton 2012 Alegent Health acquires Creighton University Medical Center, renames its Scholars program to endow scholarships for Creighton Omaha-area health system Alegent Creighton Health; Alegent Creighton Health medical students. In 2014, a $19 million gift by the Nortons merges with CHI Nebraska, eventually renamed CHI Health (2014). The new established the John and Doris Norton Cardiothoracic and system becomes Creighton’s primary clinical teaching partner in Omaha Transplantation Institute at St. Joseph’s. 2017 CHI Health and Creighton open a novel new academic health center with two The most recent gift adds to the previously announced campuses — CHI Health Creighton University Medical Center–University Campus $10 million investment from the Phoenix-based Virginia G. for ambulatory services and CHI Health Creighton University Medical Center– Bergan Mercy for inpatient services Piper Charitable Trust, which is dedicated to construction of the building in midtown Phoenix that will bear its name. 2017 Creighton University Arizona Health Education Alliance is formed 2018 College of Nursing admits students to new accelerated nursing program in Phoenix 2019 Physician assistant program is established in Omaha, and construction begins on the new campus in Phoenix BRAD ARMSTRONG

24 Creighton FALL 2019 25 Treasure Tales s University archivist, David many people, if they saw it, knew who she was.” liberation of Manila during World War II, a gift Crawford is responsible Crawford had the painting restored, with from alumnus Kenneth Conry, MD’59, from his for cataloging, preserving generous support from an alumni couple, father’s personal collection. and adding to Creighton’s Katie Wadas-Thalken, BA’04, EdD’18, and Mark Other pieces come by chance finds. A silver rich and varied historical Thalken, BA’12. Now, it hangs in the Rare Books serving set used by the Creightons was found collection. But, every once Room next to a similar painting of her husband in a staff member’s closet, wrapped in paper Ain a while, he also plays the roles of sleuth, that had been in storage — a lost love reunited. towels and plastic shopping bags. Also found discoverer and even finder of lost loves. “From the size and from the frames, I think were photos of Bob Gibson, ARTS’57, visiting The latter came a couple of years ago as they were done together,” Crawford says. Most campus after his 1967 World Series triumph Creighton University Medical Center was likely by the same artist. with the St. Louis Cardinals. preparing to close. Crawford, the University’s John and Sarah now keep watch at one end Crawford has more than 1,500 volumes archivist for 12 years, was tasked with going of the Rare Books Room, not far from paintings in the Rare Books Room and the Archives through the hospital in search of any items of fellow University founders Edward and collection. On one table is a book from the Rev. of historical significance he might add to Mary Lucretia Creighton. Not so obvious are Greg Carlson’s massive collection of fables; on the permanent collections of the University other historical treasures in the room — and another, also from Fr. Carlson’s collection, a Archives. elsewhere on campus. hand-carved Russian toy depicting the tale of In the hospital’s mechanical room, Crawford The pieces speak through the ages of the fox and the crow; and near that, a marble discovered a painting of one of the most transformational times both epic and obscure. piece from the Creighton Observatory, which influential figures in the University’s history Some of the items are head-shakingly old. Like once linked the observatory via telegraph to — Sarah Emily Creighton, a member of the cuneiform tablets in Creighton’s Klutznick Law other observatories nationwide, including the University’s founding family and wife of early Library that are from the Third Dynasty of Ur U.S. Naval Observatory. Omaha business leader and philanthropist John during the Neo-Sumerian Empire. They’re These pieces matter. Creighton. essentially purchase receipts. “I think that it’s important for us to be able to “It was sitting on a metal shelf and there “If we’re at Year 0, they’re already 2,000 look back and see our heritage, but also see how was kind of a box with a cover over it protecting years old at that point,” says Troy Johnson, we got to the point where we are,” Crawford the top of it, then stuff piled on that,” Crawford interim director of the law library and an says. “And sometimes, that can provide us recalls. “It had been damaged and it had some 18-year Creighton veteran. “It’s just crazy to some good insights about how we should move holes poked through the back.” have a document that traveled around the world forward. Sometimes, it’s a good reminder so SARAH EMILY How it came to such a sorry state isn’t clear. for 4,000 years and now is sitting here.” that we don’t stray away from our values.” CREIGHTON “It was on the wall over there at some point The collections grow with gifts from alumni Following is a look at some of the oldest, Found in the mechanical room at the former and got taken down, and by that point, nobody and others. Yearbooks are most commonly most unusual or least known items to be Creighton University knew,” Crawford says. “I’m wondering how offered. More recently, photos arrived of the discovered on Creighton’s campus. Medical Center, the portrait of Sarah Emily Creighton was restored and now hangs in the Rare Books Room in the Reinert-Alumni Memorial SWITCHBOARD Library. This marble switchboard from the Creighton Observatory was used to transmit and receive telegraph messages for synchronizing the observatory’s clocks with clocks elsewhere.

26 Creighton FALL 2019 27 SPIKED PUNCH Construction of the Transcontinental Railroad was such a monumental task for the time that you had to see it to believe it. Fortunately, visitors to Creighton can do just THE BLACKSTONE COMMENTARIES that, thanks to a book of photos taken by Andrew Russell that documents the ribbon Imagine a time when everything one needed to know about the law could fit into a single four- of steel built through what then was seen as wilderness. Few such books remain — volume set. That was the Blackstone Commentaries, several sets of which are in the law library. they were given as gifts to congressional representatives and others of influence. Troy Johnson calls them the most important pieces in his care. Edward Creighton likely received a copy because of his role building the telegraph “That was what you would read to get up to speed if you were going to be a lawyer,” line alongside the railroad. When Edward died, it went to his brother, John, who gave Johnson says. it to the University. “Just an amazing piece,” David Crawford says. “This is one of the Daniel Boorstin, the late American historian and librarian of Congress, in his book The earliest photo albums of the American West.” Mysterious Science of the Law, writes, “No other book except the Bible played a greater role in the history of American institutions.” The Blackstone Commentaries at Creighton include several printed in England, and an American edition that predates the Revolutionary War. The latter was sold to subscribers, listed inside the book. “It’s like a ‘who’s who’ of all the major people in the American colonies at the time,” Johnson says. “You had to be someone to subscribe to Blackstone, not just some Joe Blow. The first name is John Adams, barrister of law, Boston. Half the signers of the declaration are in the subscribers’ list.” It’s not clear how the American set came to Creighton. Johnson suspects the English Blackstones came when a Creighton librarian traveled to England in the early 1900s to buy books at estate sales. The library has about 600 pre-1900 British books among the 1,500 volumes in its rare books room. “A lot of the big estates in England were breaking up because of the (failing) economic model of those big houses,” Johnson says. “Those big houses had libraries in them. Americans came over to buy them up; they needed the cash.”

SIGNED, ABE … HONEST One graduate passed on to Creighton a keepsake that had been in his family for years — a receipt signed by a gentleman who would become the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. The receipt is for a paycheck Lincoln, just an attorney at the time, was asked to retrieve for an Illinois judge. The judge’s descendants kept it until the 1980s, when it made its way to Creighton.

28 Creighton FALL 2019 29 MAP QUEST What did the world look like 250-plus years ago? Take a gander at the world atlas Creighton has. Documentation authenticates it was created for UR CUNEIFORM TABLETS a friend of George Washington. The oldest piece tablet, a receipt for barley, And it was done well. It’s dates to 2,350 B.C. A scholar in Germany amazing, Troy Johnson says, “to heard of them and made translations for actually see these world maps Creighton, which made them available online. made in 1760 at a time when you know they didn’t have satellites and didn’t have that top-down view. But the details of the United States are largely there, and quite a few of the rivers are already accurately on there.”

THE LAW … 500+ YEARS AGO The Blackstones aren’t the oldest books of law in Creighton’s law library. That honor goes to the 1529 edition of Justinian’s Institutes. TOKYO TRIALS Although unique from the civil law systems of Among the more recent other European countries, England’s common law donations from a graduate system has a Roman influence. Roman law was are papers related to the taught and studied in the 12th century by English International Military lawmakers of the day. Justinian’s Institutes, written in IT’S SURREAL Tribunal for the Far East the year 533 A.D. during the reign of Emperor Flavius In Creighton’s Health Sciences Library are three pieces of 1947-1948. They were Anicius Justinian, is a text that would have been part by Salvador Dali. One is a silver sculpture depicting owned by alumnus Thomas of that study. Christ on the cross; the other two are lithographs, one Ronald Delaney, JD’30, an of the Last Supper, the other of Abraham Lincoln. attorney and part of the Tojo prosecution team.

30 Creighton FALL 2019 31 Creighton is leading the way in a new collaborative approach that has been shown to improve patient Collaborative care is a team effort. Clockwise, from left, with occupational therapists (Austin Nider, OTD’19); physical therapists; health and lower costs pharmacists and dentists; nurses; and physicians all working together for the good of the patient. BY Micah Mertes Innovating Health Care Austin Nider, OTD’19, remembers “In the span of about 30 minutes and one Also called interprofessional collabo- the aha! moment. It happened on his stu- patient visit, we had three or four different rative practice, it operates on a few core dent rotation at the University Campus family disciplines in the room taking care of this principles: Health care is a team effort; and practice clinic, when a woman came in with person,” says Nider, who is now an inpatient clinicians working together (closely, hon- hand pain. occupational therapist at CHI Health Creighton estly, efficiently) leads to better patient The physician ordered an X-ray, which University Medical Center–Bergan Mercy. “We care — lowering costs, improving outcomes, showed a tendon fracture, something an earlier asked our colleagues for help, and there they saving lives. The underlying idea is this: trip to the emergency room had missed. During were.” No. More. Silos. her X-ray, the patient said her injury was the Nider says he saw such teamwork play out Not in the clinic and not in the classroom. result of domestic violence. The clinic called on a daily basis at Creighton. But that moment Collaborative care brings together the whole in the behavioral health team to meet with her was the first time he really understood the team of health care professionals, drawing on about her options. The patient then needed a power of collaborative care — the health care all disciplines to treat the patient from every recovery timeline. Physical and occupational model used at CHI Health Creighton University angle. It represents, its advocates say, the future therapists were on hand to help. Medical Center–University Campus. of clinical care.

32 Creighton FALL 2019 33 “It’s everyone under the same roof, everyone THE ORIGINS OF A YEAR OF COLLABORATIVE focuses on identifying cancers. truly integrated,” says Thomas Guck, PhD, “I tell dentists that they’re on the front psychologist and professor in family medicine COLLABORATIVE CARE CARE AT THE UNIVERSITY lines of discovering head and neck cancers,” at Creighton. “We’re bringing all our resources AT CREIGHTON CAMPUS CLINIC SHOWED: Dobleman says. “In the clinic, I show the stu- to bear to serve the patient in a seamless way. dents that by adding 15 seconds to their exams Creighton College of Nursing and In the end, it improves health outcomes and More than 16% (and knowing all the causes of head and neck CIPER were awarded a $50,000 fewer emergency room visits saves money for the patient.” grant for the collaborative care cancer), they can save lives.” He’s got proof. project from the National Center Nearly 18% He tells the students not only to look for Guck was the lead author of a study pub- for Interprofessional Practice and fewer hospitalizations cavities and cracked teeth but also check for lished this summer in The Annals of Family Education, in collaboration with the thyroid masses, melanomas and throat cancer Medicine. The study — conducted at the A near-50% reduction (the fastest-rising cancer in the U.S.). If a dentist, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, in patient charges University Campus outpatient clinic and led by The John A. Hartford Foundation, the or any health care professional, is too focused the College of Nursing, the School of Medicine Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation and the More than $4 million on their own specialty, they might just miss and the Center for Interprofessional Practice, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. in annual savings something vital. Education and Research (CIPER) — looked at Creighton and CHI Health also each “Sometimes it’s as simple as noticing some- patients receiving high-volume care and how contributed $25,000 for the project. thing and calling someone,” Dobleman says. their outcomes and costs changed during the “Hey, I’ve got this patient, and I want to hear first year they were treated with the team- what you think … .” based, collaborative approach. This might seem obvious, but these barri- The results were striking: More than 16% Psychiatric Association and the Academy of model, in which providers are reimbursed not “We know we have to do something about the different professions are talking. Sometimes ers are just now breaking down, he says. It’s fewer emergency room visits; nearly 18% Psychosomatic Medicine released a report call- for individual visits or services but a patient’s the cost of care,” she says. “We know we have to disagreeing. Sometimes having different, even not how he was trained. It’s not how most cli- fewer hospitalizations; a near-50% reduction ing for the advancement of the collaborative overall health outcomes. The model incentivizes look at new models. We love the collaborative competing goals for a patient. Figuring out how nicians were trained. Everyone’s catching up, in patient charges; and more than $4 million care model. providers: The healthier the patient, the more care model because it helps us be more efficient. to reconcile those goals and work through those and Creighton is catching up faster than most. in annual savings at the clinic. There are more studies to come, Guck says. a provider earns. It gives patients access to the right care at the disagreements, Todero says, that’s what a col- It makes sense that the University is taking The study used a three-tiered plan to build He and his partners will soon publish the find- There are examples of this already underway. right time.” laborative care education is all about — learning the lead in this health care model, Dobleman the model: staff and clinician training, patient ings of four years and multiple cohorts worth North Carolina is moving away from the how to talk to each other productively. says. Collaborative care speaks to one of care preparation and care conference plan- of data. They hope to show that the first study’s fee-for-service model to a system in which pro- he first step in all of this, of course, is giv- In this age of efficiency, optimized modes of Creighton’s core values. ning (i.e., different disciplines meeting to talk results can be replicated and sustained. viders are paid based on outcomes — managing ing students access to the right education work and communication are of course sought “The University prides itself on treating the about patients). Staff also trained in conflict The results, Guck says, address the triple a heart patient’s cholesterol, for instance, or T at the right time. after in every corner of the economy. But at a whole person,” he says. “But we’re seeing that resolution. aim associated with U.S. health care reform, a diabetes patient’s blood sugar. The effort is When it comes to training students in the clinic, the stakes are higher. When health care it often takes a team of people to treat a whole Research on the efficacy of collaborative care as outlined by the Institute for Healthcare supported by the state’s Department of Health collaborative care model, “Creighton is lead- professionals aren’t effectively communicating, person. We have to do this together.” dates back decades. More than 80 trials have Improvement: 1) Improve the patient experi- and Human Services, which oversees payments ing the way,” says Amy McGaha, MD, profes- the patient suffers. shown collaborative care to be more effective ence; 2) Improve the health of populations; and for Medicaid and Blue Cross Blue Shield, which sor and chair of family medicine at Creighton, “The quality of communication improves the n the surface, collaborative care isn’t than ordinary care, according to the University 3) Reduce the per capita cost of health care. together account for about two-thirds of the and director of the Interprofessional Clinical quality of care,” says School of Medicine Dean always as dramatic a shift as some of Washington’s AIMS Center. Many of the stud- To better achieve these aims at the University state’s insured population, reports The New Learning Environment in CIPER. Robert “Bo” Dunlay, MD’81. “Our students learn O patients might expect. ies centered on mental health. One paper found Campus clinic, Guck says, staff regularly repeat York Times. “Creighton and its health partners are lead- this over the full course of their training. It’s not “Patients will wonder, ‘Am I going into this that patients with depression who received a few mantras: “We are all learners. We are all Health insurers such as UnitedHealth ers in blending interprofessional collaborative just something taught here or there. It’s part of clinic where 20 people are waiting to take care collaborative care were much less likely to have teachers. We all assume positive intent.” Group, Cigna and Aetna, meanwhile, are shift- practice with interprofessional education,” who they become.” of me?’” says Meghan Walker Potthoff, PhD, a cardiovascular event. In 2016, the American ing more than half of their reimbursement to says McGaha, who also holds the Dr. Roland That’s true for Meredith Chaput, DPT’18. She BSN’01, an associate professor in the College he way it used to be, a patient might see value-based models. L. Kleeberger Endowed Chair in the School of worked a rotation at the University Campus of Nursing who co-wrote and helped secure a physician here and a physical therapist Advocates say the move to outcomes-based Medicine. “You’ll find a lot of institutions doing clinic as the collaborative care model was being funding for the study. “No. The difference is T there, and they often never talked or even pay will, in turn, save patients money and make one but not the other. We’re lucky to have a implemented. Now she’s doing a physical ther- taking place behind the scenes, where the team knew about each other, let alone the specifics them healthier, something that aligns ideally University and clinic partners who support this apy athletics residency at Vanderbilt University. is working together and looking at your health “ We’re lucky to have a of their shared patient’s care. with the whole person-focused practice of col- work and vision. It takes faith and courage to Fittingly enough, she uses a sports metaphor goals from every angle.” Collaborative care rejects that way of doing laborative care. do something this different.” to describe collaborative care. The model is, she And there’s another thing going on behind University and clinic things because it’s no longer feasible. The idea for savings is simple — collabora- And to be sure, the collaborative care model says, a group of solo athletes learning how to the scenes at a collaborative care clinic, a happy “As a country, we’re spending more money tive care offers a one-stop shop for all of your is quite different. At one point, health sciences be team players. side effect, if you will: Clinicians are feeling bet- partners who support for poorer patient outcomes,” Guck says. health care needs, reduces the number of visits education was just as siloed as clinical practice “Traditional medicine can get stuck in a ter, too. this work and vision. “Something’s got to give here.” and procedures, improves your overall health used to be. Students were secluded to their own hierarchy,” she says. “But in collaborative care, Out of 151 CHI Health clinics, the University Health care costs continue to grow, with and, ultimately, relieves the burden on your specialties, says Catherine Todero, PhD, BSN’72, everyone’s on a more equal footing.” Campus clinic’s staff used to rank in the bottom insurance fees rising at a faster rate than wages wallet. vice provost of Health Sciences Campuses and That requires humility and selflessness, she third for employee engagement and job satisfac- It takes faith and courage or inflation. Life expectancy, meanwhile, has Cost savings, as much as anything, are driv- dean of the College of Nursing. says. And that starts in the classroom. tion. Since collaborative care was adopted, the to do something this declined in the U.S. for the past three years in ing the need for new health care models, says Joy “We taught students how to be nurses and One example of collaborative care in the clinic ranks as one of the happiest to work at. a row, a trend not seen since the influenza pan- Doll, OTD’03, an occupational therapist, direc- doctors and pharmacists,” she says. “But we classroom is Creighton’s head and neck clinic Boosted morale means higher retention different.” demic of 1918. tor of Creighton’s Center for Interprofessional didn’t teach them how to work together in for dental and medical students. Taught by means stronger bonds, stronger teamwork, To face these crises, Guck says, health care Practice, Education and Research (CIPER), and teams for the good of the patient.” ear, nose and throat/head and neck cancer better care for all. AMY MCGAHA, MD must shift its pay system to a value-based one of the study’s authors. That’s changed at Creighton, she says. Now surgeon Thomas Dobleman, MD, the clinic All the pieces, working together.

34 Creighton FALL 2019 35 Diversity, Voices, Inclusion and the Workforce BY Ann Freestone, BA’89

he famous author of The Latino Center of the Midlands this fall on the Seven Habits of Highly inaugural Conference on Opportunity, Diversity “ Diversity is about Effective People, Stephen and Equity. Covey, said, “Strength Taylor likes an analogy to explain diversity being invited to lies in differences, not in and inclusion. “Diversity is about being invited similarities.” The educator to the party and then inclusion is about being the party and and businessman wrote invited to dance,” she says. “In the work his wildly popular book 30 environment, once you get hired, are you then inclusion years ago. Today, companies are using strategies accepted as a member of that organization and is about being Tand starting to understand the value of this fully integrated into the operation? You’re not idea in the workplace by focusing on diversity just a number fitting where needed. Are you — and inclusion — to bring forward the cross- fully integrated into the operations and allowed invited to dance.” pollination of ideas, richness to teams and more. to be your professional self?” REGINA TAYLOR, PH D Creighton’s Heider College of Business Walker adds that diversity is about and Graduate School and the Greater Omaha differences — each person’s status — and today Chamber developed a four-part lecture series goes beyond race to include gender, sexual for young professionals to explore emerging orientation, pregnancy, age, disability and topics in the fields of diversity, inclusion and even hairstyles and weight in certain states. “Diversity and inclusion must be rooted equity in the workplace. Two professors were Walker provides an example: “I’m a woman in aiming to continually push for cultural featured speakers: Regina Taylor, PhD, assistant and a person of color. Am I allowed to be my full growth across the institution with a focus on professor of management, who specializes in authentic self as a woman of color?” inclusivity that will ultimately lead to progress factors that support or inhibit ethical behavior Companies are now taking a closer look at in diversity,” Whitt says. from leaders and employees, and Sarah Walker, inclusion. “You can have diversity, but if you Walker says social media has an impact PhD, associate professor of management, who don’t have inclusion, people will not dance and on diversity and inclusion. “Hashtags have specializes in diversity, recruitment, selection, stay. There is a bigger focus on inclusion than popped up that have led to conversations within training, testing and measurement. Creighton’s just diversity,” Walker says. She explains that organizations, so there’s more of an awareness vice provost for Institutional Diversity and companies need to engage leadership in efforts of differences,” Walker says. “People have more Inclusion, Christopher Whitt, PhD, also spoke to create an inclusive organization and retain of a voice because of social media and can make as part of the series. top talent with structural and social support organizations move in ways they were not able The lecture series is an important part efforts such as creating affinity groups to to in the past.” She says companies are afraid of Creighton’s ongoing efforts to encourage increase engagement. of the backlash and provides an example of a diversity and inclusion, which included The same holds true for nonprofit video posted online of an Old Navy employee collaborating with the chamber, the Urban organizations and institutions of higher who falsely accused an African American of League of Nebraska, Assistology and the education, such as Creighton, says Whitt. shoplifting. Old Navy then fired the employee.

36 Creighton FALL 2019 ILLUSTRATION BY STEPHANIE DALTON COWAN 37 Other emerging topics include academic journals framing diversity as an ethical issue, “ Some people think you got the which stresses its importance within organi- zations; states such as California mandating job or the promotion because gender diversity on public company boards; and companies looking at diversity and inclusion as broader than human resources to include of diversity to check off a box. all leaders and employees. If you care about talent and ALL EARS you develop your talent, some THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY is all ears on the emerging issues and earned the 20th spot on the DiversityInc Top 50 Hall of Fame list out will be diverse.” of 1,800 submissions. DiversityInc looks at the SARAH WALKER, PH D talent pipeline, talent development, leadership accountability and supplier diversity. Disney’s website clearly states its values: “Inclusion is a critical part of telling the best sto- that person a manager,” Walker says. “Some how leaders create a psychologically safe ries, being relevant, and expanding audiences.” people think you got the job or the promotion environment where employees can ask Audiences see this vision in shows such as the because of diversity to check off a box. If you questions, make and admit mistakes and appear animated film Coco, which has an all-Latino care about talent and you develop your talent, imperfect. Taylor points to Harvard professor cast, to Marvel Studios’ Black Panther, to The some will be diverse.” Amy Edmondson’s research published in 2003 Good Doctor, which shows people with autism That pipeline expanded locally, Whitt that analyzed 16 operating teams learning to can do great things. says, with the recent establishment of the UP use a new technology for cardiac surgery and Having worked for Disney in human Diversity Scholars Program at Creighton, which focused on how comfortable team members resources, Taylor knows firsthand that the will provide academic merit scholarships and were with speaking up. “She found that teams company culture supports the idea that each professional development opportunities for that reported the most errors had better rates employee has her or his own story — and that minority students. (Read more on Page 6.) of successful outcomes than those teams JIM FACKLER makes for a better work environment as well as Taylor adds that a lot of systems and who reported the least. They were having products and customer experiences. “They were processes aren’t fair, so companies need to conversations and felt safe to say, ‘How is this good at making sure you felt welcome to dance have the right systems and processes so the right? Should we be doing something else? this way? If we could understand why, then classic riddle where a man dies in a car acci- Sarah Walker, PhD, left, and Regina Taylor, by fully integrating new employees into the cream rises. According to Taylor, research What should we do?’ This was better for the it’s so much more likely we can agree on what dent and his young son is rushed to the hospi- PhD, faculty members organization,” Taylor says. Disney is all about shows the following components create a fair patient in the long run.” needs to be done.” tal where the surgeon waiting for the patient in the Heider College of Business, helped develop the customer experience and making the cus- organization and if applied to promotions Creating a psychologically safe environment “I’m not asking you to be tolerant of each says, “I can’t operate on this boy! He’s my son.” a four-part lecture series tomer feel welcome, she says, so to do that the looks like this: Employees get to provide input applies to all types of organizations. “Take other. Tolerance is for cowards. Being toler- Who is the surgeon? Many adults get the answer for young professionals to explore emerging topics company first makes employees feel welcome. into the process and can put in an appeal this to a marketing meeting where outcomes ant requires nothing from you but to be quiet wrong and let their biases cloud their thinking. in the fields of diversity, “From a diversity standpoint, there’s diversity through an in-place mechanism. Processes are not life and death, but it’s still important and to not make waves, holding tightly to your The surgeon is the boy’s mother. inclusion and equity in the workplace. at the theme parks, diversity at the studios and must be consistent, neutral, unbiased, based for the organization,” Taylor says. “Do these views and judgment without being challenged. diversity at the networks,” Taylor says. on accurate information and consider the needs professionals feel safe to say, ‘This number Do not tolerate each other. Work hard, move Diversity starts with a talent pipeline. “If of all groups. doesn’t look right?’” To build this environment, into uncomfortable territory and understand BUSINESS SENSE Those efforts can be multiplied through you want a diverse organization, you have to be “After these components are in place, Taylor explains that leaders must focus on trust, each other.” THE BUSINESS CASE FOR DIVERSITY is compelling. a university experience, Whitt says, that able to attract people. You do the work on the organizations should make sure that they justice, engagement and motivation. If a company creates a psychologically safe McKinsey & Company’s January 2018 report embraces and engages diversity and inclusion. front end,” Walker says. She says companies incorporate and adhere to fair and just ways environment, dialogue will result. Walker says, “Delivering through Diversity” found that com- “We are producing students who will pop- need to broaden their sourcing and recruitment of interacting with and communicating “You can create a culture where if a person panies with the most ethnically diverse exec- ulate the workforce and lead into the future,” efforts by, for instance, making sure that the with employees about promotions — and CHALLENGES makes a mistake or says the wrong thing, it utive teams are 33% more likely to outperform Whitt says. “We want them to have an experi- technology used during the application pro- anything else really,” Taylor says. “Specifically, LEADERS ADMIT IT’S CHALLENGING to foster a dia- can be corrected and not problematic.” their peers on profitability. In addition, com- ence at Creighton that they will remember as cess is mobile compatible. To attract a diverse organizations should ask themselves if they logue on diversity. DiversityInc rated AT&T No. 1. Beyond these challenges, certain industries panies in the top quartile for gender diversity developing them to speak up for justice and pool, the company has to send the message that are treating their employees with respect and At an AT&T diversity event, AT&T Chairman and (such as technology) lack diversity. When look- on their executive teams were 21% more likely inclusion both in the workplace, as well as in your differences do not matter and that people refrain from using improper remarks.” CEO Randall Stephens talked about his closest ing at the tech industry, Walker says it’s partially to experience above-average profitability than their communities.” of all characteristics can work here, Walker friend, Chris, an African American physician, a pipeline issue because women don’t see them- companies in the fourth quartile. Organizations that act with respect, value explains. and how he only recently learned what formed selves represented in the field. This summer, for Walker agrees diversity and inclusion are each employee’s story and have leaders that “It’s important to create a pipeline of talent CREATING A SAFE ENVIRONMENT his closest friend’s worldview about race. example, her 9-year-old son attended coding good for the bottom line. She adds diverse teams understand the difference between simply overall and that you pick the best candidate for TO FOSTER INCLUSION, companies like Disney Stephens said the dialogue at AT&T had to camp and the class was all boys. perform better and come up with more solu- being diverse and being inclusive will create the job. If you promote people on merit and if create work environments where employees begin with him. “When we talk about race, let’s And, unfortunately, Walker says people still tions because they bring different ideas and workplaces where employees thrive and, ulti- the best candidate happens to be diverse, make feel they can thrive. Taylor specializes in begin with why. Why does my colleague feel fall victim to hidden biases and points to the perspectives with them to discussions. mately, those organizations as well.

38 Creighton FALL 2019 39 When Helen and the other nurses arrived at Early in their captivity, inmates presented On Jan. 2, 1942, Helen Gorzelanski, SJN’32, Santo Tomas, they saw a campus that no longer with ailments due to malnutrition and stress. was taken prisoner of war by the Empire of resembled a college. Empty classrooms were The Japanese military provided only two mea- crammed with inmate beds and armed guards ger meals and expected their captives to make Japan. Helen, then 34, had been a U.S. Navy stalked the perimeter. purchases at the camp’s “canteen.” Only the Santo Tomas was a world away from most fortunate were able to supplement their Nurse stationed at the Cavite Naval Base Creighton University and Helen’s former life in diets. The rest lived on rice and a scant sup- Nebraska. Helen was born in 1908 in Nebraska ply of vegetables. At the infirmary, the nurses outside Manila in the Philippines. When the to Polish immigrants. She was the third of four explained to inmates why their gums were Japanese military conquered Manila, they daughters and the first of the siblings to be bleeding or their hair was thinning. born in the U.S. She attended the Creighton The Navy nurses tried to remain hopeful for found 12 Navy women nursing wounded University-affiliated nursing program at St. their anxious patients. But as 1942 progressed, Joseph’s Hospital, living in the student nurse the U.S. military lost the Battle of Bataan and sailors in a makeshift hospital. residence on 10th Street. then Corregidor. Army nurses transferred into At Santo Tomas, Helen found herself in a the prison and whispered updates to their Navy The nurses had hoped their captors would prison camp with more than 3,100 civilian men, counterparts — the U.S. had been defeated and follow the Geneva Conventions and repatriate women and children. Along with the other Navy help wasn’t on the way. nurses, she reported daily to the infirmary to Comfort from communication also wasn’t the medical corps. But the corpsmen, provide comfort and care to other inmates. coming anytime soon. Helen’s family didn’t

surgeons and dentists were sent to a prison Above Left: Navy nurse Helen Gorzelanski before camp for military men. The women were the war. She graduated from Creighton’s affiliated nursing program with St. sent to a civilian concentration camp set up Joseph’s Hospital in 1932. at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. At Left: Upon arrival at Santo Tomas, the women were forced to pose for a Japanese propaganda BY EMILIE L. LUCCHESI, PHD photo. Front row, from left: Susie Pitcher, Helen Gorzelanski, Peg Nash, Eldene Paige, Laura Cobb, Edwina Todd. Back row, from left: Mary Rose Harrington, Goldia O’Haver, Bertha Evans, Dorothy Still. Not pictured: Mary Chapman and Basilia Torres.

40 Creighton FALL 2019 PHOTOS COURTESY OF BUREAU OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY 41 learn of her captivity until that summer. The the exhausting process of rebuilding. They were Navy sent telegrams in which they “exceed- creative and relied on the materials on hand to At Santo Tomas, ingly” regretted to inform the nurses’ fam- help the barren building resemble an infirmary. ilies that their daughters were missing in They used pipes to piece together bedframes. Helen found herself action. Later, a representative from the War They stuffed cotton-like fluff from bulak trees Department confirmed the women were in a into pillows and mattresses. They used bamboo in a prison camp civilian prison camp. to create drinking straws and tongue compres- In the camp, Helen’s life fell into a routine of sors. And they smeared tree sap onto bandages with more than 3,100 tolerating daily hardships. Each morning, the as adhesive. camp commanders used the overhead speaker Initially, the women were able to negotiate civilian men, women to play music and wake the camp. She waited in medicine and supplies from a hapless Japanese a lengthy line to use the toilet — there were only sergeant who was in charge of the garrison’s and children. Along about 30 commodes to service 3,100 inmates. health care but lacked a medical background. She then collected her meager rations from the The nurses traded for insulin and vitamins in with the other Navy kitchen and reported to duty in the infirmary. exchange for answering his many questions. In May 1943, the commander came onto the But as the war progressed, supplies and food nurses, she reported overhead speaker with an important announce- dwindled as punishment for the Allied Forces’ ment. He spoke in English and repeated his advancement in the war. By early 1945, the message twice. The Japanese military was build- inmates received just 500 calories a day from daily to the infirmary ing a countryside camp at a former agriculture the camp kitchen. Gardening or foraging for college near Los Baños. The commander sought vegetables was forbidden. Inmates were starv- to provide comfort and 800 able-bodied men to transfer to the camp ing, and all the nurses weighed less than 100 to build the housing and sanitation systems. pounds. Yet, they continued to work 12-hour care to other inmates. Few inmates wanted to transfer. Life in shifts at the infirmary. Santo Tomas was diseased, cramped and fre- Helen was on duty in January 1945 when she quently violent. But it was predictable. Interest heard a rifle blast. She had been hovering over further diminished after inmates learned the patient charts when she saw the camp’s sur- Once the all-clear was given, Helen reported new camp lacked running water, electricity and geon race through the lobby and burst through to the infirmary to help with the evacuation an ample supply of fresh water. the front door. An inmate had been shot near of ill inmates. Within hours, all the inmates A civilian physician was willing to go. He the perimeter of the camp. The injured man were safely behind Allied lines. The nurses soon approached Navy Chief Nurse Laura Cobb and had snuck out of the camp while the garrison learned the massacre had indeed been planned asked if the Navy nurses would be willing to was busy with their morning calisthenics. He for that afternoon. The camp commander had transfer. The Army’s chief nurse had already returned with a bag of fruit and a fresh chicken. been waiting for another unit of Japanese sol- turned down his request. If the Navy nurses did A guard in the watchtower took quick aim and diers to reach the camp and serve as backup. not transfer, there would be no other medical fired. Helen and the nurses watched helplessly Liberators, fortunately, got there first. care providers in the new camp. Cobb gathered from a distance as the man writhed in pain. Helen was able to write to her mother in the 12 Navy women. She knew it was a great The surgeon begged the commander to bring Omaha, but she was still on duty. After a week, risk, but she felt they were needed. She asked the man to the infirmary for treatment. The her chief nurse insisted the Navy women be the nurses if they were willing to transfer. Each commander ordered the inmate’s execution allowed to recuperate. By mid-March 1945, woman agreed, including Helen. instead. Within minutes, Helen helped the doc- Helen was back in Omaha with her family. But On the morning of their departure, Helen tor prepare for the autopsy. The report was later she did not remain in Nebraska long. Similar to and the Navy nurses waited in front of the build- used to convict the commander of war crimes. the other Navy nurse POWs, she was no longer ing as flatbed trucks sputtered to a stop. Other In the following weeks, more inmates died conditioned for the cold weather. She married inmates came to wish them well and thank from malnutrition, disease and violence. The and moved to California, near Napa. them for their tireless care. As the women inmates sensed the commander wanted more Helen died in 1972, killed by a drunken driver. Above: Adm. Thomas Kincaid welcomes the Navy nurses to Leyte, an island in the Philippines. Navy nurse Dorothy Still passed out during the climbed into the truck, they heard the familiar prisoners dead, and they were increasingly pet- Her legacy continues as one of the “12 anchors,” photograph and had to sit down during the greeting. Gorzelanski (wearing music of the U.S. Navy’s march song, Anchors rified by rumors of a massacre. On Feb. 22, 1945, the Navy nurse POWs who stopped hopeless sunglasses) stands directly behind Chief Nurse Laura Cobb (wearing head wrap, talking with Kincaid). Aweigh. Another inmate had used the PA system inmates watched with terror as guards placed inmates from drifting. to play the recording. The inmates cheered and machine guns around the perimeter of the camp Bottom Left: Men at Santo Tomas sleep in a gymnasium that is cramped and stressed. clapped as the Navy nurses pulled away. The and turned the barrels inward. 12 Navy women had indeed been the anchors The next morning, the guards locked up Bottom Right: Navy nurses give a reporter an interview about their About the author: Emilie Lucchesi is a journalist experiences. From left are Carrie “Edwina” Todd, Helen Gorzelanski, the of the camp. their rifles in a storage shed and began their and author in Chicago. She has written for The New reporter and Susie Pitcher. The new prison camp had an infirmary calisthenic routine. American and Filipino York Times, The Atlantic and Discover Magazine. She building the nurses were allowed to use. But forces attacked while the garrison was at its is the author of a new book about the Navy nurse it had been stripped bare. Even the cabinets most vulnerable. Helen hid in her barrack while POWs, This is Really War: The Incredible True Story of were pulled from the wall. The women began the liberators quickly eliminated the enemy. a Navy Nurse POW in the Occupied Philippines.

42 Creighton FALL 2019 43 IMPACT Pedestrian ALUMNI Bridge Now Carries NOTES Heaney Name

The airspace over Omaha’s North Send Us Your News Penned your long-awaited novel? Traveled around Freeway has been on C.E. “Carr” the world? Received that awesome promotion? Heaney Jr.’s mind for almost half Earned a prestigious honor? If so, we want to hear about it. Share your memories and milestones by a c e ntu r y. emailing us at [email protected]. In the mid ’70s, there was interest in building a bridge over the freeway to close the gap between Creighton’s campus and what Donald F. Kish, BA, Katy, efforts in furthering the public Nebraska, received the Helping Kansas Medical School and Health was then St. Joseph’s Hospital (later Creighton 61 Texas, recently celebrated his understanding of the legal Hands Award in May 2019 for her Care System. He has been a fellow University Medical Center and now the Atlas 25th anniversary as a deacon. He system, the administration of work as the faculty advisor for the of the American Heart Association, apartment complex). continues to serve as a deacon at justice and confidence of the Student Nursing Association at the American College of Heaney, BS’50, JD’57, was the attorney who his home parish of Epiphany of the legal profession. Atkins is vice Midland. Cardiology, the American College Lord Catholic Community in Katy. president and senior trust officer of Medicine and the American obtained the air rights for the prospective Patrick K. Costello, JD, PQ DRONE SERVICES PQ DRONE SERVICES PQ DRONE at Union Bank & Trust Company College of Chest Physicians. bridge, negotiating a 49-year lease with the Daniel D. Houlihan, BA, Lakefield, Minnesota, in Omaha. David G. Sabott, DDS, 77 Vacek previously received the Six Mile, South Carolina, was the recipient of the 2019 federal government. Rent was more than 68 Erie, Colorado, was installed Educator of the Year Award from recently returned from a six- Minnesota State Bar Association reasonable: $1 a year. as the 2019-2020 secretary/ the Department of Cardiovascular month vacation to Italy with his (MSBA) Lifetime Achievement treasurer of the American Board Medicine at the University of “We signed and sent them a check for $49,” I’m probably the only person still alive who is As did his brother. We thought the bridge wife and their Labrador Retriever, Award. The award is presented of Orthodontics in May 2019. Kansas and was the 2017 James Heaney says now. For nearly 50 years, the air aware of that fact.’” dedication would be a wonderful way to Jack Daniels, and published a to an experienced member of the Sabott practices orthodontics in Sullivan Visiting Professor at the was theirs. All of this is to say that the Heaney honor that affection and the many ways they book about their adventures. The state bar who has continually Brighton, Colorado, and is a past Creighton University School of But the project faltered. The bridge went Pedestrian Bridge, completed in 2018, is a connected the University to the city.” book, titled Jack Daniels’ Great displayed commitment and president of the Rocky Mountain Medicine. He has co-authored Italian Adventure, is available on contributions to the bar, the nowhere. wholly appropriate name for the 560-foot-long Carr’s brother, Bob, was a beloved figure Society of Orthodontists, the more than 200 published papers Amazon, and details the wild ride legal profession and the public Then, more than 30 years later, Heaney bridge spanning the freeway. on campus. He joined the Creighton faculty in Angle Southwest Component and more than 200 abstracts. of traveling with a pet in Italy. throughout his or her career. In and Sue Morris, president of the Omaha This fall, Creighton dedicated the bridge in 1957 and chaired the Department of Medicine of the Edward H. Angle Society, The book portrays the beauty addition to his many contributions Randy K. Newby, DDS, honor of Carr and his late brother, Robert P. through the ’60s, later serving as Creighton’s the Colorado State Orthodontic fundraising group Heritage Services, met and wonder of smaller Italian to the MSBA, Costello was cited Wichita, Kansas, was Society and the Boulder County 80 with then-Creighton President the Rev. John “Bob” Heaney, BS’47, MD’51. Heritage Services’ first vice president for health sciences and hilltop towns, recommends food for his national recognition in elected president elect of the Dental Society. Schlegel, SJ. board of directors, along with the Sunderland the inaugural holder of the John A. Creighton and wine and tourist activities, agricultural law and estate tax American Orthodontic Society “It wasn’t a meeting about the bridge,” Foundation and friends, made a significant gift University Professorship from 1984 to 2014. describes the maddening task Daniel E. Monnat, JD, matters. Mary Kay Green, BA’65, (AOS) by its members at the Heaney says. “But Fr. Schlegel mentioned it to ensure the Heaney name remains forever He worked at Creighton for nearly 60 years, of dealing with the Italian 76 Wichita, Kansas, of JD, Lee’s Summit, Missouri, wrote annual meeting in Washington, would be nice if they could connect campus connected to Creighton. leaving a body of work in osteoporosis and bureaucracy, and shares the Monnat & Spurrier, Chartered, is the screenplay Courageous Crystal D.C., in September 2019. Newby’s triumph of filling in missing again listed in the Best Lawyers Chambers, A New Rosa Parks. table clinic titled “Beware of the to the other side of the freeway. I told him, Each Heaney brother lived his life in vitamin D research that brought international ancestry holes with the help of a in America 2020 Edition list in The screenplay is based on the Dreaded Triangle When Treating service for others, transforming their city and recognition to the University. ‘We’ve got access to that airspace right now. kindhearted Italian. Houlihan is a four practice areas: criminal 2007 book she wrote, Women Orthodontic Cases” was chosen by University in the process. Getting a bridge in their name, Carr says, retired Army officer, a former CIO defense-general practice; criminal of Courage: The Rights of Single the AOS members as the best table Carr’s legal career spans more than six is an honor that would have meant a lot to for the state of Indiana, and served defense-white collar; bet-the- Mothers and Their Children, clinic presented at the meeting. decades. He wrote the articles of incorpora- his brother. as CEO of two subsidiaries of the company litigation; and appellate Inspired by Crystal Chambers, A H. Douglas Knust, BSBA, information technology company practice. Monnat also was named New Rosa Parks, about Green’s tion for Heritage Services and defined legal “My father would be very pleased,” said Chamberlain, South Dakota, NIC, Inc. to the Who’s Who Legal: Business federal lawsuit Crystal Chambers v. 82 parameters for the development of projects Bob’s daughter, Muirne Heaney, JD’83. “What’s was named 2019 South Dakota Crime Defense 2019, and earlier Omaha Girls Club. James L. Vacek, that changed the face of the city — including true of my uncle is true of my father. Their John B. Atkins, JD, Omaha, Franchised Dealer of the Year by this year, was named as a leading BSMth’73, MD, Olathe, Kansas, is the Durham and Joslyn Art museums, the dedication to service for Creighton and this was a co-recipient of the the South Dakota Automobile 73 attorney on the Who’s Who Legal: the recipient of the Kansas City Nebraska State Bar Association’s Dealers Association. Knust has Orpheum Theater, Holland Performing Arts community has been profound.” Government Investigations list. Medical Society’s Exemplary 2019 George H. Turner Award. a Chevrolet-Buick dealership in Center, TD Ameritrade Park and many more. Now, a monument to that dedication Jean Dickes Phelan, BSN, Omaha, Leadership Award for 2019. Vacek The award is presented to a Chamberlain and a Ford-Lincoln “Carr has been with us for all of it,” Morris stretches on, 50 feet above the freeway, a bridge an associate professor of nursing is professor of cardiovascular member of the bar association dealership in Winner, South at Midland University in Fremont, medicine at the University of C.E. Heaney Jr., BS’50, JD’57 Robert Heaney, BS’47, MD’51 says. “He has such an affection for Creighton. that spans a lifetime. — BY MICAH MERTES who has demonstrated unusual Dakota.

44 Creighton FALL 2019 45 Stephen A. Donato, JD, David J. Ceci, BA, Staten Performing Arts of the New York Conference in Dallas with many Andrea Bashara, left, a former Fayetteville, New York, Island, New York, State Bar Association. pro-life leaders including David assistant dean in the School of 83 85 Law, now an associate director was recognized as a super lawyer completed the book and lyrics for Bereit and Abby Johnson. Jennifer Enright-Ford, BSN, in the Creighton Business Office, in the 2019 Upstate New York his first full-length musical, Fur meets with Jamie Bell, JD’16, on Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, Gerard T. Forgét III, Super Lawyers in the bankruptcy- Pajamas (music by John Allman), 87 the set of the musical Hamilton at was awarded the Key Recognition BSChm’90, MBA, JD, the Orpheum Theater in Omaha. business practice area. In addition, which was then selected by the 93 Award by West Bend Mutual for Omaha, has been elected as a he was selected for inclusion in Seattle Playwrights Salon for its an exoskeleton project with a shareholder at Gross & Welch law 2020 Best Lawyers in America monthly public reading series. spinal cord injury patient. The firm in Omaha. Forgét’s practice in the field of bankruptcy and This first public reading of Fur award came with a charitable has been primarily focused on creditor debtor rights/insolvency Pajamas took place in July 2019 contribution, which was presented estate planning and probate, and reorganization law and at the Palace Theater & Art Bar in her alma mater as the show ran Sept. 10-29 at to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. corporate and business law, tax litigation-bankruptcy. Donato is Seattle. After 22 years in banking, Omaha’s Orpheum Theater. Enright-Ford chose the foundation law, and trust preparation and an attorney in the Syracuse, New Ceci retired from Northfield Bank “I fell in love with Creighton. I liked the pro- in honor of the patients she administration. York, office of Bond, Schoeneck in 2018 to focus on his writing. fessors. I liked the staff. I liked the vibe,” she worked with at the University of & King. Dr. Sheila McGuire Riggs, He has studied at the Dramatists Robyn Allyn Heiser, BSN, Nebraska Medical Center in the says. “And I loved law school. I learned a lot and ARTS, St. Paul, Minnesota, Guild Institute, the New York O’Neill, Nebraska, was 1980s who deeply impacted her 95 had a good time.” serves as the chair of the board Musicals Festival (NYMF) and promoted to assistant professor nursing career. But after interning at a law firm, she real- of directors of the Hennepin Primary Stages Einhorn School at Clarkson College in Omaha, Healthcare System in Minneapolis. of Performing Arts (ESPA). His Martin A. Cannon, BS’85, where she teaches in the graduate ized that she missed the friendships and unique Riggs is chair of the Department work has been performed in New 88 JD, Crescent, Iowa, has nursing program. Michael J. Seibel, atmosphere of the theater community. of Primary Dental Care at the York City at the Green Room 42 been leading legal efforts in the BSBA’91, JD, Albuquerque, New “I realized theater is a very social commu- University of Minnesota’s School as part of the NYMF; Jimmy’s No. pro-life community. Cannon, along Mexico, has been leading legal nity. The relationships you make in theater are of Dentistry. Brian G. Yonish, BA’80, 43 through ESPA’s “Detention” with Michael J. Seibel, BSBA’91, efforts in the pro-life community. quicker to form and more personal than maybe JD, Clifton, Virginia, recently series; and with The PlayGround JD’95, has served on the legal Seibel, along with Martin A. in a law firm,” Bell says. “I made the decision retired as acting general counsel, Experiment during its “Drop panel for the National Sidewalk Cannon, BS’85, JD’88, has served that I was going to go back to doing theater, and U.S. Department of Defense, Office & Give Me 10” series. Ceci is a Advocates for Life. Cannon and on the legal panel for the National of Inspector General. Yonish served member of the Dramatists Guild, Seibel recently spoke at the Pro Sidewalk Advocates for Life. that’s been a good choice for me. It’s worked out for nearly 38 years as a Navy judge the Playwrights’ Center, Theater Life Women’s Conference in New Seibel and Cannon recently well. I’ve never regretted it.” advocate and civilian attorney in Resources Unlimited (TRU), and Orleans. The two also spoke at spoke at the Pro Life Women’s For Bell, running the spotlight is its own the Department of Defense. the Committee on Theater and the National Sidewalk Advocates Conference in New Orleans. The kind of art form. Operating a light herself, she two also spoke at the National also directs two local stagehands running their Sidewalk Advocates Conference in own lights during each performance. On any Dallas with many pro-life leaders show, the job requires strength of leadership including David Bereit and Abby Johnson. and a keen focus. But that’s especially true for Hamilton. Tricia O’Hare Jedele, JD, “It requires the ability to feel music and how 98 Coventry, Rhode Island, was named chief of the environmental to give direction in a clear and concise way advocacy unit for the Rhode Island quickly and efficiently,” she says. “Especially Office of the Attorney General. on Hamilton, I have to be in the game all the Jedele served as a special assistant time. The show is very specific. It’s very quick. attorney general from 1999 Things get thrown at you on this show, and I through 2009 before becoming just have to be in the game.” the advocacy director for ALUMNI PROFILE The musical, written by composer Lin- Conservation Law Foundation’s Rhode Island office. She returned Manuel Miranda, follows the life of U.S. Treasury to the Rhode Island Attorney Secretary Alexander Hamilton during and after General’s Office in April 2019. On the Spot with Hamilton the American Revolution. The show has become a critical and popular smash hit, earning the Jess W. Hoeme, JD, JAMIE BELL, JD’16, thought she would give law school a shot. 02 Cheney, Kansas, was 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and 2016 Tony honored by 2020 Best Lawyers in “My dad was an attorney, and when I finished (undergrad), I Award for Best Musical. America in the area of criminal thought, ‘I’m going to go to law school when this theater thing Overall, Bell says she’s glad her career has defense-general practice and taken her back to the theater. The magic of the DUI/DWI defense. Hoeme is an stops working out,’” she says. stage, she says, is unique and timeless. attorney at Joseph, Hollander & That “theater thing” was her life’s work. As a child growing up in Iowa, she danced and sang. “There’s just something about being in a KRISTEN HOLMES KRISTEN Craft in the firm’s Wichita, Kansas, theater, watching a show with a group of peo- office. His practice is focused As an undergraduate at Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois, she studied technical theater. After in criminal litigation across the graduation, she worked on productions all over the country, including Chicago and Las Vegas. ple. It’s just an experience you can’t have in the state of Kansas and he represents Bell did eventually pursue a legal career, selecting a school in Omaha where her mother and same way at any other sort of event,” she says. ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME Kansas law enforcement sister lived. She graduated with a degree from the Creighton University School of Law in 2016. “There’s just nothing quite the same as sitting All-time greats Doug McDermott, BSBA’14, left, and Anthony Tolliver, BSBA’07, were officers and agencies in matters And though she enjoyed her time at Creighton — and honed valuable critical-thinking, ana- in a theater and experiencing a deeply moving inducted into the Creighton University Athletics Hall of Fame on Aug. 24. McDermott of professional affairs and lytic and problem-solving skills — the stage still beckoned. moment, or funny moment, or an amazing investigations. starred at Creighton from 2010-2014, and was the 2014 National Player of the Year. Tolliver Today, Bell is back in the theater, running the lead spotlight on the acclaimed Broadway well-sung song or well-danced number, with played from 2003-2007, and guided the Bluejays to two NCAA Tournament and two NIT musical Hamilton as it tours the country. She recently spent the better part of a month near an audience.” — BY BLAKE URSCH appearances.

46 Creighton FALL 2019 47 ALUMNI PROFILE Elizabeth J. McGee, DDS, 05 Las Vegas, was named president of the Nevada Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. McGee is a board-certified fellow of the SUPPORT CREIGHTON American Academy of Pediatric Austin Blazes Trail with Steel Inferno Dentistry, and has been practicing and Reduce Your 2019 Taxes by Year-End for more than 10 years at Pediatric on fire as far away as they could. HAILEY AUSTIN, BA’16, a 24-year-old PhD Dental Care Associates at Aliante student at the University of Dundee in Scotland, “No one really knows how the fire in North Las Vegas, Nevada. Kieth broke out, but for my story I thought T. McGovern, BSBA, Kansas City, Your planned gift to Creighton provides support for students, inked her name in international comic book ‘what if it wasn’t accidental?’ and had Missouri, was promoted to partner faculty and staff who are driven to change the world. history as the first American to write in the a Nazi spy sabotaging an ammunition at BKD CPAs & Advisors in Kansas City. United Kingdom’s legendary Commando delivery only to be foiled by these men. THREE WAYS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR IMPACT: “Luckily the editorial team at Kate DeCleene Huber, OTD, 1. Contribute Appreciated Securities comic, with her story Steel Inferno. Commando loved it, and I’m very 06 Indianapolis, was appointed Austin moved to Scotland with no experience writing comics, but excited to see it published. I didn’t associate dean of the College of 2. Make a qualified Charitable Distribution from your Health Sciences at the University Individual Retirement Account (IRA) or Roth IRA earned a master’s degree in comics and graphic novels at the University have any experience of writing com- of Indianapolis in October 2019. of Dundee. Steel Inferno tells a fictionalized version of a true World War II ics before I came to Dundee, but I have 3. Receive income for life through a story of bravery and sacrifice. learned so much in my time here. I love John F. Ferraro, BS’86, MA, Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA) Inspired by the daring efforts of a train crew that saved a doing it and want to do a lot more of it 07 Aurora, Colorado, was ordained a permanent deacon Cambridgeshire town from an ammunition train that caught fire, Austin in the future.” To learn more about meeting your personal and in the Archdiocese of Denver by was determined to share the story in the popular war comic. Austin graduated from Creighton with a bachelor’s degree in 2016, Auxiliary Bishop Jorge Rodriguez charitable goals through charitable gift planning, “I came across the rail disaster and was struck by the incredible bravery double-majoring in English and Spanish with a minor in history. Her in June 2019. Ferraro is a pastoral contact us at [email protected] of those who sacrificed themselves to prevent an even greater tragedy,” PhD research in comics attracted media attention last year after she assistant and theology teacher at or 402.280.1143. Austin says. “With 44 carriages packed full of ammunition, the damage discovered rare comics dating back to the 1800s in the University of Regis Jesuit High School in Aurora. creighton.giftplans.org and loss of life would have been colossal if they had not got the wagon Dundee’s archives. Joanna M. Gonzales, BA, 08 Brookeville, Maryland, was promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander in September 2019. Gonzalez is stationed in Busan, than 12 international territories, Kelsey E. Chemelewski, BS’11, Cody A. Wetzel and Erin Ming South Korea, working as the Navy’s and Chernin Entertainment has 15 MD, and Brent E. Smoots, MD, 12 Wetzel, BA’08, JD’12, Gretna, force judge advocate for Rear optioned the novel for television. June 29, 2019, living in Phoenix. Nebraska, twin daughters, Avery Admiral Michael Donnelly’s staff. Montag is an award-winning poet, Rose and Sutton Mary, May 31, Tayte J. Koussa, OTD, and and After the Flood is her first 2019. Justin Kingman, May 25, 2019, Dr. Joshua T. Steere, BS, novel. 18 09 Newtown, Pennsylvania, living in Loma Linda, California. Daniel Latus and Kimberly joined Bucks County Orthopedic Maggie T. Rudersdorf, BSN, 14 Utzig Latus, BSBA’12, JD, Specialists in Doylestown, 12 Denver, is the associate Fitchburg, Wisconsin, a daughter, Pennsylvania, in September 2019. clinical manager for the Center BIRTHS Aurora Kay, June 10, 2019. Steere is an orthopedic surgeon for Cancer and Blood Disorders and Dr. Josh Turek, BA, Brighid Alex C. Covalt, BA’11, MBA, who performs joint replacements at Children’s Hospital Colorado in Norfolk, 01 Walsh Turek, BA’06, and Katherine Larcom Covalt, and treats a wide variety of hip Denver. Nebraska, a daughter, Lucy Clare, 18 BSBA’11, Omaha, a daughter, and knee problems including Quinn R. Eaton, JD, Omaha, March 20, 2019. Parker Olivia, July 5, 2019. adult hip dysplasia, osteonecrosis, was named a 2019 Great inflammatory arthritis, infection 17 Jacob M. Steinkemper, Plains Super Lawyers Rising Star and and fractures. 02 JD, Molly Wickham in employment litigation-defense. Steinkemper, JD’03, Omaha, a son, DEATHS Ryan K. Bratcher, JD, Kansas Eaton is an attorney at Husch Sawyer Wolfgang, Aug. 28, 2018. Leo G. McManus, ARTS, 11 City, Missouri, has joined the Blackwell in Omaha. 39 Pittsburgh, Sept. 21, 2019. law firm of Cordell & Cordell in the Nicholas L. Milewski, and Emily Independence, Missouri, office as a 07 PharmD, Maurice J. Steier, BSPha, Milewski, Omaha, a daughter, Elin Omaha, July 10, 2019. litigation attorney. Liam A. Dawson, WEDDINGS 43 Rose, Feb. 25, 2019. BS, St. James, Minnesota, is Nancy I. Kelsey, BA, and Ruth Landholm Merritt, SJN, principal at Northside Elementary 04 Edward Carroll, June 8, Jonathan L. Schemmel and 45 Keene, New Hampshire, School in St. James. Kassandra E. 2019, living in Cleveland. 09 Angela Schroeder Schemmel, May 27, 2019. Montag, MA, Omaha, is the author OTD, BSHS, Granville, Iowa, a son, Kathleen M. Hart, BA, and Peter Ruth Clarkson Bollinger, of the novel After the Flood, which Leo Daniel, March 7, 2019. J. Freeze, BA’12, Aug. 17, 2019, BS, Fort Collins, Colorado, was released in September 2019 11 48 living in Kansas City, Missouri. Zachary T. Spelic, BS’09, SMJ, Jan. 1, 2019. Ellen Ristich Casaccio, by publisher William Morrow. The Michelle L. Trentman, DPT, BSHS, and Chassidy Kruger, Omaha, BS, Omaha, Sept. 28, 2019. Doris book explores a global narrative 10 and Nicholas Cobet, March 30, twin daughters, Elliana Joann and Martin Crunk, SCN, Nebraska City, of a changed natural environment 2019, living in St. Louis. Korina Lou, Sept. 13, 2017. Nebraska, Aug. 5, 2019. alongside an intensely personal story of one mother fighting to Amanda S. Brandt, BA, and protect her two daughters. The 14 Matthew C. Hoover, BA’15, COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY DUNDEE COURTESY book will be published in more Sept. 21, 2019, living in Omaha.

48 Creighton FALL 2019 49 Margaret Cherek Robinson, 22, 2019. Rosemary Pedersen Shald, ALUMNI PROFILE 49 SJN, South Bend, Indiana, SCN, Elkhorn, Nebraska, June 16, July 28, 2019. 2019.

Anna R. Hunt, SJN, Denver, Patricia Bauer Chleborad, 50 Oct. 1, 2019. Merle L. 54 SCN, Omaha, Aug. 21, 2019. OT Graduate Johnson, BSPha, Council Bluffs, Raymond J. Buman, BS, Harlan, Iowa, Aug. 19, 2019. E. Daniel Iowa, Oct. 6, 2019. Howard E. Reeder, BUSADM, Omaha, July 20, Hoenig, MD, Fort Worth, Texas, Finds Voice in 2019. Aug. 28, 2019. Virginia “Ginger” McCloskey, SCN, El Monte, Council Harold L. Edelman, BS, California, Sept. 16, 2019. Janice Bluffs, Iowa, Oct. 11, 2019. Broadcasting 51 Casey Monaghan, SJN’53, BSN, San Pedro, Joseph O. Foy, BSPha, Toronto, July 16, 2019. Edward California, July 19, 2019. Michael R. Nalty, BS, Houston, July 2019. Seattle, June F. Shanahan, MD, Richard F. Norris, BS’53, JD, Valley, The story of how an occupational 22, 2019. Stephen E. Wallace, MD, Nebraska, Aug. 10, 2019. Omaha, Aug. 14, 2019. Alyce Giever therapist wound up interviewing Walsh, SJN’44, BSN, Omaha, Aug. Rev. Michael A. Churchman, Zendaya on Radio Disney is a long 5, 2019. 55 MA, Council Bluffs, Iowa, June 26, 2019. Valerie Peter one, he admits. But for PETER

Leonard A. Buelt, BUSADM, Duffy-Crane, BSN, Laguna Woods, FERRERI, OTD’06, BSHS’07, the 52 Kasson, Minnesota, July California, May 24, 2019. Jack 13, 2019. Gwendolyn Merlin, L. Peterson, BSPha, Winnetka, experience has been a lesson in BSPha, Medford, Oregon, June 8, Illinois, Sept. 14, 2019. Robert growing and adapting. 2019. Maria Russell Parrish, BA, E. Rissi, BS’51, JD, Scottsdale, Silverthorne, Colorado, Sept. 28, Arizona, Sept. 13, 2019. Bernard J. “The most important term I’ve learned in life is some- 2019. Charles T. Swoboda, BS, Lake Stock, BS, Omaha, Sept. 28, 2019. thing called ‘transferable skills,’” says Ferreri, a Chicago- Bluff, Illinois, Sept. 5, 2019. N. Patrick Kenney, MD, based tech development specialist and broadcaster who Margaret Hobart Heese, SJN, 56 Omaha, Aug. 14, 2019. chose to pursue a career in radio and TV after earning his 53 Tampa, Florida, June 8, 2019. Dorie Lawrence, ARTS, Concord, Doctor of Occupational Therapy degree from Creighton. Mary G. Putnam, SCN, Omaha, July California, June 20, 2019. “What I learned from Creighton, what I learned from OT school is that everything in life is a network, and network-

ing gets you from one place to the next,” he says. TRAILER JEFFERY During his OT clinical rotations, Ferreri worked with patients with traumatic brain injuries and stroke survi- vors, many of whom needed to relearn basic skills. It was intense, he says, being with people in some of their most “I told my dad, ‘This is going to sound crazy, difficult moments. but I think I might go back to school and take “ T he most important term I’ve learned in RANKED TOP 20 So for his last rotation, he proposed to his professors some classes in broadcast journalism. Scratch life is something called ‘transferable skills.’ something a little different: He would go to the happiest the itch,’” Ferreri says. place on Earth. He started taking classes at the Illinois What I learned from Creighton, what I NATIONALLY Disney World. Center for Broadcasting (now the Illinois Media learned from OT school is that everything That summer, Ferreri interned in the Guest Services School) near Chicago. He scored an internship for Online Graduate Programs department, specifically focusing on the park’s offerings at NBC Chicago and later worked overnights at in life is a network, and networking gets in the 2019 U.S. News & World Report Best Online Programs for guests with disabilities. To pay the bills, he worked part a radio station in Montana. time as a greeter at Epcot. And eventually, he landed a job as an on-air you from one place to the next.” There, he noticed many of the tables weren’t compat- host at the company he’d initially set out to ible for children in wheelchairs and pointed this out to work for: Radio Disney. PETER FERRERI, OTD’06, BSHS’07 park management. Impressed, he says, the park promised In his spare time, he taught classes at the him a job when he graduated. But when the time finally Illinois school where he’d studied broadcast- came, park officials regretfully informed him they weren’t ing. When Radio Disney opted to cut back on BIG EAST Conference. Now, as a new father, In doing so, he found he was repurposing skills hiring. local DJs, Ferreri went to work for the school he’s decided to scale back his broadcast work he learned during his occupational therapy After a brief stint as a wellness counselor, Ferreri mulled full time. to part time. studies at Creighton. his options: He considered pediatrics; he considered work- In his broadcasting career, Ferreri has Looking back, he’s happy with the shift his “In OT, you have to sit and talk to parents ing in hospitals; he considered coaching and umpiring. served as the regional station manager for the career took. He’s had the opportunity to inter- and tell them, ‘Your child, we’re here to help Then he remembered something from years before: Illinois Media School, an executive producer view big names — country star Jason Aldean; them.’ That’s real-world stuff. You’re learning During his summer at Disney, he won a staff talent com- for the Windy City Bulls (the NBA G League actresses Zendaya and Bella Thorne; pro wres- right there how to communicate during the petition after performing a number from Phantom of the affiliate of the Chicago Bulls) and a play-by- tling hall-of-famers Mark Henry, “The Million best and worst of times,” Ferreri says. “You’re gradschool.creighton.edu Opera, and another staff member encouraged him to pur- play announcer for the University of Chicago, Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase and Diamond Dallas learning to be fearless when it comes to your sue a career in entertainment. the Illinois Institute of Technology and the Page; and singers Ben Folds and Ashanti. life situations.” — BY BLAKE URSCH

50 Creighton FALL 2019 51 Vincent J. Kirby, JD, Norfolk, ALUMNI PROFILE 57 Nebraska, March 3, 2017. Harold J. Norman, BUSADM, Phoenix, Sept. 24, 2019. James J. Shea, MD, San Luis Obispo, California, July 31, 2019. The Lactation Ronald L. Bourke, BS, 58 Greybull, Wyoming, Sept. 11, 2019. Phyllis Erickson, MLN, Pharmacist Hastings, Nebraska, Aug. 22, 2019. Luella Joan Jedlicka Kocina, SCN, Lake Barrington, Illinois, Aug. 12, 2019. Claire M. “Tex” Oswald, BS, Omaha, Sept. 14, 2019. Creighton graduate Leo J. Boland, BS, Rapid City, turns personal search 60 South Dakota, September 2019. William J. Dowling, MD, Los into a quest to help Angeles, June 17, 2019. Sr. Mary Joyce Meyers, OSB, MA, Atchison, breastfeeding mothers Kansas, June 11, 2019. Samuel D. Porter, MD, West Des Moines, Iowa, Aug. 6, 2019. LESLIE SOUTHARD,

Albert Frietzsche, MD, San PHARMD’14, had questions. 61 Francisco, Sept. 12, 2019. John Months after giving birth to M. Kuhry Sr., ARTS, Omaha, July 4, 2019. her daughter, Carmen, in 2016, Southard developed shingles BACK TO SCHOOL Anthony E. Eggers, ARTS, 62 Vancouver, Washington, on her rib cage. The painful Des Moines surgeon returns to Creighton Aug. 21, 2019. John F. Hamlin, DDS, rash is an ordeal for anyone, to earn his undergraduate degree Forest Grove, Oregon, Sept. 26, 2019. Daniel J. Peterson, ARTS, but as a new mother, Southard As a Creighton undergrad, Dan McGuire, about 25 members of his extended family Omaha, Sept. 12, 2019. was especially concerned. MD’82, stands out; 62-year-old orthopedic have graduated from Creighton since 1960.) Joseph F. Burns, BS, spinal surgeons going back to school after The McGuire-Holden Family Scholarship 63 Menomonee Falls, “I was freaking out because I had no idea a near-40-year hiatus just don’t make up a Fund also bears the family names. Estab- Wisconsin, June 17, 2019. Thomas F. if I could breastfeed. I had no idea if the med- huge part of the student body these days. lished in honor of their respective parents, Dowd, BSBA’61, JD, Omaha, Aug. 7, ication I was taking was safe,” she says. “Here McGuire lives in Des Moines, Iowa, works the fund assists students in the College of 2019. William J. Dunn, JD, Omaha, I am, a pharmacist, and I can’t even tell if my in northwest Iowa and is pursuing a degree Arts and Sciences, with a preference given Sept. 29, 2019. medication is safe and whether it will affect my online in Healthy Lifestyle Management to rural Iowa natives pursuing a career in William J. Barnes, BSPha, milk supply.” through the College of Professional Studies. medicine. 64 Omaha, Sept. 30, 2019. Albin So she went looking for answers. And then When he walks the stage at “Every year we get letters from some of S. Bosn, MA, Hillman, Minnesota, some. commencement next spring, he’ll finally have the scholarship recipients, and many of them Sept. 13, 2019. Maria E. Gonzales, Today, the Omaha-based Southard has Though her experience in the School of consultant, through the International Board BA, Denver, Oct. 2, 2018. Benjamin something he’s sought for more than four have really cool stories,” McGuire said. “It’s a become a resource for breastfeeding mothers Pharmacy and Health Professions equipped of Lactation Consultant Examiners. She fields H. Phipps, BA, Omaha, Sept. decades — an undergraduate degree from wonderful feeling to know that you’re helping around the world as The Lactation Pharmacist. her well for a career in pharmacy, she says, questions from women dealing with a range Creighton. someone.” 22, 2019. Milton M. Rowley, MD, Lubbock, Texas, Sept. 12, 2019. On her website (thelactationpharmacist.com), her formal training touched only briefly on of medical issues, all wondering how various “I never received a degree,” he said. “I They’ve also given to the Magis Clinic, the Creighton graduate and certified lactation how certain medications can affect lactation. treatments will affect their ability to feed their did three years at Creighton before I got into the School of Medicine and the Athletics Joseph M. Goecke, BSBA’59, counselor reviews various medications for their Determined to learn all she could, Southard babies. medical school. I was just a few hours short Department. MBA, Omaha, Sept. 10, 2019. 65 effects on lactation and offers virtual consulta- began speaking to experts and seeking out the One common question she’s received is of an undergraduate degree, but I didn’t want “Creighton has done great things for our James J. Halbach, BS, Wheeling, tions to women with questions. latest research. She launched her website in to delay medical school.” family. Now we want to help make sure it Illinois, July 11, 2019. whether over-the-counter allergy medicine “There’s been a high demand for it all,” says January 2019 after realizing that many mothers will affect a woman’s ability to produce milk. After med school, McGuire and his wife, continues to do great things for others. It’s Eldon Ehlers, MBA, Bristow, Southard, who works full-time as a pharmacist — and many health professionals themselves Andrea “Andy” Holden McGuire, BS’78, just a wonderful place.” 67 Virginia, March 7, 2019. Rev. The answer: It won’t. MD’82, moved to St. Louis, and later Des Getting a Creighton education again after Eugene R. Koch, MSEdu, West Des at CVS. “I get questions from everywhere. From — had the same questions she had. Southard is hoping to broaden the reach Moines. Of their seven children, three are all these years is, he said, a daily reminder of Moines, Iowa, Sept. 29, 2019. just regular lactating individuals to doctors to It’s an area that’s particularly of interest of The Lactation Pharmacist through online dentists. They all say there’s a need for this. these days, as breastfeeding undergoes a revival courses for both lactating mothers and medical Creighton grads. (McGuire estimates that that. — BY MICAH MERTES Charles M. Falbo, BSPha, 68 Tucson, Arizona, Aug. 16, They’re thankful there’s someone out there following a marked decline in the practice professionals. Eventually, she hopes to become 2019. Sr. Madonna Fink, SCL, MA, trying to put out the right information.” after World War II, Southard says. As mothers a national expert in lactation and make life a bit Before the start of the fall 2019 semester, Des Moines, Iowa, area students and their families attended a Leavenworth, Kansas, July 20, Southard was initially drawn to pharmacy struggle with the usual day-to-day challenges easier for future moms. Creighton send-off. Pictured from left are Creighton 2019. Sr. M. Dorothy Heideman, as a way to help others. She chose Creighton, of lactation, they’re looking for a calm, knowl- “In an ideal world, when I retire, I would love students Kate Youngers, Dan McGuire, MD’82, Sara OSB, MSEdu, Atchison, Kansas, Mullenbach, Alessandro Stanco, Elizabeth Wunn, she says, because several family members edgeable voice to guide them through, she says. for people to know exactly where to go to get Aug. 29, 2019. Ronald K. Parsonage, Duncan Kyhl and Kiersten Bahr. attended and spoke highly of the University’s Southard has since become a lactation coun- information regarding lactation and medica- JD, Waterloo, Nebraska, Aug. 3, 2019. student-centered approach to education. selor, working toward becoming a full-fledged tion,” she says. — BY BLAKE URSCH

52 Creighton FALL 2019 53 Dennis Clark Jr., PHARM, Aug. 31, 2019. Charles W. Flynn, Mary Beth Kenkel Pileggi, 18, 2019. Anthony L. Hernandez, JD, 69 Council Bluffs, Iowa, Sept. BSPha, North Fort Myers, Florida, 84 BSPha, Lockport, Illinois, Hialeah, Florida, April 6, 2019. 22, 2019. J. Jack Gross, BA’65, JD, Sept. 25, 2019. Sept. 21, 2019. Theadora Bosscher Michael P. Nash, JD, Friday looking to learn organizational leadership Omaha, June 15, 2019. Dr. Peter A. Stroo, JD, Coppell, Texas, June 20, Randy S. Heimes, BA, Harbor, Washington, July skills and advanced business concepts. Neenan, BA, Council Bluffs, Iowa, 2019. 06 Omaha, July 12, 2019. 11, 2019. The program has a robust and credible Aug. 24, 2019. Sr. Mildred M. Rueff, 76 Stephen P. Vogel, BA, Bradenton, James R. McCoy, BA’80, JD, OSU, MSGuid, Louisville, Kentucky, Lori K. Gigliotti, MS’08, EdD, curriculum, designed around two of the most Florida, June 28, 2019. Madison, Wisconsin, Aug. July 20, 2019. Ray E. Weghorst, BA, 85 Papillion, Nebraska, Oct. 10, well-respected professional associations 24, 2019. 14 Roseville, Minnesota, Aug. 31, 2019. Sr. Patricia M. Will, CPPS, 2019. in the health care industry: the American MChrSp, Dayton, Ohio, Aug. Charles A. Domke, BS’71, Mary Russell Fleming, BSN, 78 Mary Tomlinson Kent, BS’11, College of Healthcare Executives and 2, 2019. BSPha, Vero Beach, Florida, Sioux City, Iowa, Jan. 11, 2019. 86 DDS, Omaha, Oct. 5, 2019. the American Association for Physician 71 May 26, 2019. Michael B. Wright, 15 Lynn Furlong Lamoureux, Leadership. Suh, who also teaches as a Francis W. “Mark” Mercer, BSBA, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, Kayla M. Jacobson, BSN, BSN, Omaha, Sept. 30, 2019. LAW, Omaha, Sept. 16, 2019. 80 Aug. 11, 2019. Hastings, Nebraska, May 24, clinical associate professor in Creighton’s 70 Jose L.M. Reynoso, MD, Scottsdale, 16 John C. Tonkin, BSBA, Juniata, 2019. School of Medicine, says he chose Creighton Arizona, Oct. 4, 2017. Hiroji Noguchi, BS’82, MS’83, Nebraska, Sept. 10, 2019. Josephine because he admires the culture of the MD, Columbus, Mississippi, Valasek, MSGuid, Spalding, Timothy E. Force, BSBA, 87 University and the work ethic of its students. Oct. 4, 2019. Nebraska, June 24, 2019. 79 Washington, D.C., July 22, IN REMEMBRANCE During the program, Suh and his 2019. Rev. Theodore Hottinger, Sr. Mary J. Gaspar, PBVM, David L. Armstrong, MD, We remember Creighton classmates heard from professors, as well SJ, MS, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, MChrSp, Sioux Falls, South Pomona, California, July 4, 88 University faculty and Jesuits as speakers from across the country, who 72 April 22, 2019. Gary B. Kline, DDS, Dakota, Sept. 23, 2019. 2019. Michael L. Schultz, BSBA’71, who have recently passed.* Bozeman, Montana, June 6, 2019. presented on what it means to be a “servant MBA, Yutan, Nebraska, Aug. 25, Ann A. Larson, JD, Fort Sr. Mary S. Wedig, RSM, MChrSp, Rev. James Fitzgerald, SJ, leader,” and how to embrace their own 2019. Dodge, Iowa, July 21, 2019. development office, 1968-1971 Chicago, July 7, 2019. Virginia Hearn 89 vulnerabilities, strengths and weaknesses to Karen Gall Uher, MS, Omaha, July and 1979-1983; Sept. 11, 2019 Thomas L. Ludwig, BS’69, Whiting, BSN, Fredericksburg, effectively manage a team. The students and 10, 2019. 74 DDS, Harlan, Iowa, June 12, Virginia, Dec. 13, 2018. Rev. Jonathan Haschka, SJ, the professors worked together throughout 2019. Lawrence H. Kurth, BS’68, Lyle A. Hiljus, MCSM, MFA, sculptor artist-in- Mary E. Cassidy, BA’78, JD, the program to encourage growth in each BSPha, Rochester, Minnesota, June Bellevue, Nebraska, Aug. 23, residence, 1977-1985; Oct. 3, West Des Moines, Iowa, 91 other. 14, 2019. 82 2019. 2019 June 5, 2019. “They focused on their core values of Rev. Martin P. Conley, MS, Marilynn Gorzelanski Bazer, *Faculty and Jesuits who are Creighton Richard J. Jizba, MS, alumni are listed in the Alumni heart, mind and soul,” Suh says. “They Omaha, Aug. 6, 2019. Donald BA, Ralston, Nebraska, June 75 Omaha, July 8, 2019. Keith E. 96 Deaths section of the magazine. wanted to make sure that I learned to be A. Dupler, JD, Frazer, Pennsylvania, 83 Petersen, BA, Omaha, Sept. 3, 2019. COLIN CONCES COLIN a good person and that I could truly turn GRADUATE SCHOOL PROFILE around and help other people. They wanted to make sure I could reach a person’s soul and mind, and provide hope. That was something very unique and for which I have tremendous MAY 28–31, 2020 Ophthalmologist Finds Vision respect.” Suh says the skills he cultivated in the for Leadership: ‘Love is the Key’ MBA program have influenced his day-to- day work. He’s learned he doesn’t have to be DONNY SUH, MD, MBA’19, made a promise to his mother. When perfect to be an effective leader. He’s learned he was a boy growing up in South Korea, Suh’s mother how to recognize his own weaknesses and blind spots and surround himself with people suffered from an eye condition that the family couldn’t afford who complement them. The experience, Get your blue on and celebrate! to treat. Suh told her that one day he would become a doctor he says, has helped him become a better This family-friendly weekend and help heal other patients with similar conditions. communicator and a better doctor. “There is a big difference between of Bluejay fun includes the Following what Suh considers to be years, and I’ve truly enjoyed taking care listening and hearing. Now I feel I truly President’s Dinner, campus several “miracles” and meeting “angels,” he of patients and teaching medical students listen to my patients and, because I know tours, class parties and more! fulfilled his promise. Today, Suh is a pediatric and residents, but as I was moving up in myself better, I can help people better,” he ophthalmologist and adult strabismologist the ranks, I realized I needed to sharpen says. “The one key ingredient that all leaders Milestone celebrations for the classes at Omaha’s Children’s Hospital & Medical my leadership skills,” says Suh, who is should have is to truly love the people you are of 1960, 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, Center and professor at the University of currently serving as interim surgeon-in- working for. Without love, you don’t have a 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010. Nebraska Medical Center. chief at Children’s. “I needed to learn how to chance. That’s what I learned. Love is the key Even though he achieved his childhood interact with patients, other colleagues and ingredient.” — BY BLAKE URSCH dream, he hasn’t stopped setting goals. leadership in the hospital, and I also needed In May, Suh graduated with an Executive to understand finance and how to resolve Healthcare MBA from Creighton’s Heider conflict.” Visit business.creighton.edu/healthcaremba for more Registration coming soon. College of Business. The Executive Healthcare MBA program information about the Executive Healthcare MBA creighton.edu/reunionweekend “I’ve been practicing medicine for 20 is designed for doctors like Suh, who are program in the Heider College of Business.

54 Creighton FALL 2019 55 CREIGHTON CONVERSATIONS Final Word Become Your

How did this award come to be conferred? We had an opportunity to apply, which required Best You us to meet stringent criteria regarding inclu- siveness. We had to demonstrate that the University maintains a lot of STEM programs — science, technology, engineering and math — to promote diversity in the field. The literature is very clear that, nationally, the United States does not have a lot of underrepresented minori- ties in the STEM field. Creighton University is now one of the very few institutions recognized as having a STEM program that actively attracts minorities.

What is the significance of the award? This is a very significant award. Creighton University has prided itself as being consis- tently recognized in national publications, such as U.S. News & World Report and more recently the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education. Creighton has now clearly demonstrated that not only is it good in academics, but it is also good at attracting minorities into the STEM field. This award sends a message to under- represented populations across the nation that JIM FACKLER Creighton University, which draws 80% of its students from outside Nebraska, welcomes minorities. The magazine states it clearly: “This award is presented to institutions whose pro- Inspiring STEM Initiatives Earn grams inspire a new generation of young people to consider STEM careers as well as support Creighton Diversity Award working professionals in the field.” Further, the award recognizes “colleges, universities Creighton’s Department of Health Sciences- HS-MACA is led by Sade Kosoko-Lasaki, MD, and organizations that are doing their part to “At Creighton, I found professional connections and Multicultural and Community Affairs associate vice provost of health sciences and improve access to STEM fields for students from civic volunteer opportunities that propelled my (HS-MACA), which will celebrate its 20th professor of surgery (ophthalmology). Creighton underrepresented groups.” anniversary in 2020, was named an inspiring magazine asked her to explain the mission of professional career and personal development in program in STEM by INSIGHT Into Diversity mag- her department and to explain the significance What does the award mean for Creighton azine, the largest and oldest diversity and inclu- of the award from INSIGHT Into Diversity. graduates? ways I could not have imagined. I am a better leader, sion publication in higher education. It means they will be noticed when employers The award honors colleges and universi- What is HS-MACA? search through numerous applicants for jobs. advisor and advocate because of the skills I learned ties that encourage and assist students from The Department of Health Sciences- When someone says, “I’m from Creighton, and at Creighton.” underrepresented groups to enter the fields of Multicultural and Community Affairs was I’ve gone through some of the STEM programs science, technology, engineering and mathe- created in 2000 to advance and promote diver- at Creighton,” the employer will recognize the matics (STEM). Creighton, along with 49 other sity in the health sciences schools and in the name, will know the caliber of our programs, —Kelsey Haswell, MBA’18 recipients, was featured in the September 2019 University. The department has developed and will give the Creighton applicant a second Interdisciplinary Leadership doctoral program student issue of the magazine. many relationships with the community, which look. Corporations and employers looking to Honorees were selected based on efforts have yielded a growing and positive relation- diversify their workforces — and they all are to inspire and encourage a new generation ship with North and South Omaha, and we have these days — are in close contact with INSIGHT of young people to consider careers in STEM been rewarded with significant grant money to Into Diversity magazine, so if they ask the mag- through mentoring, teaching, research and perform preventive work related to improving azine for recommendations, Creighton is now gradschool.creighton.edu/bestyou successful programs and initiatives. health outcomes among minority populations. in the mix.

56 Creighton FALL 2019 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Creighton University