Onyx Fall-Winter 2014

C A M P U S N E W S

92 ND ANNUAL RING DAY CEREMONY

“Her ring we take, of us a part, encircling fingers young ‘round her heart. I pledge to her, a ring to keep, like Woods is lovely, dark and deep. And I have promises and miles to go.” With these words, part of the Ring Song, the 92nd annual Ring Day ceremony at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) concluded. Echoes of the recipients’ collective voices beautifully fell on the hush of the audience in the Church of Immaculate Conception on Sat., March 22, 2014. A total of 81 traditional campus, Woods Online and graduate students received their Woods Ring in the emotionally moving ceremony. SMWC JOINS RURAL HEALTH INNOVATION COLLABORATIVE The Rural Health Innovation Collaborative (RHIC) welcomed SMWC as a primary member after the board of directors of the Terre Haute-based collaborative approved the membership application. “Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College is pleased to become an active member in this thriving organization to improve the quality of health care in rural communities,” said President Dottie King. “With the launch of our nursing program, we see this opportunity as a true collaboration. Our students will benefit from existing facilities and a dynamic community of health care professionals.” WESTERN TEAM IS REGION’S BEST On March 7, 2014, the team was crowned IHSA (Intercollegiate Horse Show Association) regional champions for Region 7, Zone 1. For the third consecutive year, the SMWC western team led the region for the entire season against some of the state’s big name schools such as Ball State University, Indiana University and Purdue University.

92nd Annual Ring Day

Western Team is Region’s Best

The team finished ahead of its competition by an impressive 68 points by the conclusion of the season. The team was undefeated in the fall semester and won all but two shows in the spring semester. CELEBRATING FACULTY EXCELLENCE To celebrate their commitment, three SMWC faculty members were recognized with the 25th annual Sister Mary Joseph Pomeroy Faculty Excellence Awards for their high ideals of teaching, scholarship and service. Recipients of this year’s awards are Michael Boswell, associate professor of music - for scholarship; Jamie McCracken ’99 , associate professor of business - for service; and Douglas Scheib, Ph.D., assistant professor of mathematics - for teaching. The Alumnae Faculty Leadership Award is given each year for outstanding faculty leadership resulting in added benefits to students. Sharon Boyle, associate

professor and coordinator of the undergraduate program in music therapy, is the 2014 recipient of the Alumnae Faculty Leadership Award. WOODS ONLINE ACCOUNTING PROGRAM RANKED TOP 20 SMWC is listed among the best online accounting programs for the 2014 academic year according to BestColleges. com. SMWC’s Woods Online accounting program is recognized as one of the 20 best colleges that offer online bachelor’s degrees in accounting. 175 TH COMMENCEMENT On Sat., May 3, 2014, seventy-six SMWC students walked across the stage of Cecilian Auditorium with pride in their success and achievement. Sharon Vergez Vercellotti, the president and founder of V-LABS, INC., delivered the commencement address to the 2014 graduates – 72 bachelor degrees and 4 master degrees – from 11 states. During the commencement ceremony, Vercellotti

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