>> Hi, and welcome to Inside Louisville, where we introduce you to the people, places and things that make up Kentucky's largest city.

This week, we take you inside Bellarmine University, the independent Catholic university celebrates 75 years in Louisville this year.

When Bellarmine was originally founded in Louisville's Highlands neighborhood in 1950, it was originally a men's college.

In 1968 is when it became coed, when it merged with Ursuline College.

In 2000, Bellarmine College became Bellarmine University, and in 2020 the university achieved NCAA Division one status in athletics with an invitation to the Atlantic Sun Conference.

Well, today, Bellarmine is a nationally recognized university offering more than 50 undergraduate majors and 30 graduate and second degree programs for its 3000 students.

Well, we welcome Doctor Susan Donovan to our Louisville studio.

Thank you so much for being here.

The fourth president of Bellarmine University, you came on board in 2017.

And this year, Bellarmine turns 75.

Give us a little bit of a history of of this university where it started as a men's college.

>> It was a men's college started by archbishop in in Louisville.

And who was really an activist in his time.

And we're in the Highlands, a beautiful campus.

And really our mission has has stayed the same over the 75 years.

We're educating whole persons, body, mind and spirit to lead meaningful lives, rewarding careers and be ethical leaders.

>> That's pretty amazing that the mission has remained through all of the changes, and the university now a university, right, obviously has has changed quite a bit, but it is an independent Catholic university.

And so how how have you maintained those Catholic values in a in a time where times are changing?

>> They are.

Well, it's a very inclusive mission, really influenced by Thomas Merton.

And, you know, for all faiths, we do that while we have Catholic Mass on campus.

And that's very important to us.

Being welcoming to all students is really important to us as well.

>> As far as just the landscape of higher education right now and scrutiny at times of higher education, how has Bellarmine managed to stay true to those values for 75 years?

>> Yeah, I think, you know, these are disruptive times, but you try to protect the experience for our students on campus.

You know, having caring faculty, having a warm, engaging community and welcoming them.

We have, you know, over half of our incoming class are first generation college students.

So really getting them off to a good start is incredibly important to us.

>> And a lot of your population, student population is now not Catholic, is that right?

>> No, that's true, but many have faced themselves.

And even if they don't have faith, we're really exploring sort of ultimate questions with them in the courses that our faculty teach.

And, you know, when you want them to have lives of meaning and purpose, it's it's really important that they have a variety of perspectives on campus.

So we're open to that.

>> Let's talk about the campus itself.

You mentioned it's a gorgeous campus right there in the middle of the Highlands neighborhood.

How how has that I mean, the footprint is the same, but the campus itself has changed over the years.

>> Yeah.

So you you come in the gate off of Newburgh Road up on the hill, and McGowan Hall is there, which is a beautiful building, really.

I call it sort of our living room of the campus because it's it's set up.

It has a lot of light in it, and it's set up for students to interact both in beautiful classrooms but also around the classrooms there.

There are places for them to sit and study and congregate and eat.

Then you go on to the quad, which is a beautiful place, and the dining hall is beautiful as well.

So it's really a hilly terrain, but one that is very, very conducive to building community.

>> Do you have a favorite place on campus?

>> Well, the chapel is beautiful and it's up, up in the hills.

But yeah, I mean, I love the dining hall, very high ceilings.

Students feel very wanted and welcomed, but yet McGowan Hall, which is where my office is, it's a delight to walk in there every morning and see the students.

>> Yeah.

One of the things I think that troubles a lot of people is the cost of higher education these days.

And how what are you all doing to address that as it just continues to.

>> It is really important to us, as I said, you know, obviously having so many first generation students, I think it's sort of a misconception that Bellarmine may not be affordable.

One of the things we offer is a public price promise, which is to match any public flagship in any state for our students.

It's important to us that they don't take on a lot of debt.

And also the federal aid currently and Kentucky aid matched with that forms a Hope scholarship for our students.

So I think they've found that we are very affordable.

I mean, 80% of our first year students are actually from Kentucky.

>> Interesting.

And I do feel like Bellarmine is almost Kentucky's best kept secret.

>> It is a secret, you know, one of.

>> The people don't know about it.

>> One of my first experiences, you know, when you come to a new town and this is our ninth year, you you set up cables so that you can watch TV and the the person putting the cable in our house said, Bellarmine, is such a gem.

And I thought, well, that's great.

If the contractor coming into your house is is saying, wow, what a gem it is.

But it is a best kept secret, which is partly why we went to Division one was to become better.

Better known.

>> Okay.

Yeah, let's talk about that.

That was the talk of the town in 2020 here and 2021 2022.

Right.

When Bellarmine did you move from Division two to Division one NCAA athletics?

This was a huge deal.

And what was the strategy behind that?

Just to get the.

>> Well, that was a big part of it.

I think part of our board, which I think were very courageous at the time and this was obviously pre Covid, but felt like what else could you do to get your name better recognize than to invest in our athletics program, which is it's 20% of our students.

They're very good students.

They continue to be.

That was really important.

When we went Division one, they had a 3.37.

The graduation rate is 100% for our student athletes.

So all of that was great.

We're a mid-major in the A-Sun conference.

But you know, to have to continue to do the best that you can do.

We just felt like we've tried to achieve the highest, and we just felt like that was a good move for us.

>> And, you know, the city was all all on board with that.

And of course, with Scotty Davenport.

Right.

And his success in basketball there, that that was an exciting little run.

What talking about just the Louisville community.

And I know you guys really try to make that connection and partnership.

What are some of the things that you do to bring in Louisville lift up Louisville and vice versa?

>> It is very important to us.

I think it's important for students to come and touch with the gritty, gritty realities of a city of life.

You know, a lot of people want to say college is a bubble, but they need to be exposed while they're in the developmental stage of of choosing their professions and, and growing into adulthood.

So one of the things important to us was to become a community engaged campus and be recognized for that.

So we're the second private in Kentucky to receive the Carnegie recognition for Community Engaged Campus.

We continue to do ours.

Those are high impact practices for students to to get them out to internships, to service, to really develop themselves.

And they get a lot of mentors on campus with our our faculty and staff, but also to have that professional exposure, whether they're a nurse or an accountant or a teacher, all of those are incredibly important.

>> I know there's a lot of your teaching students who are out in Jefferson County public schools, and that's that's and other districts, I'm sure, too, and making those connections.

What do you hear from students about?

Being in the city of Louisville?

And are many of them from outside?

>> Yeah, they love Louisville.

Our students do.

72% of them stay in the Louisville region when they graduate, which people are always shocked when I when I mention that because I myself am very involved in the Louisville community, on the chamber and with impetus and business organizations such as that.

But yeah, our students love it.

Yes.

23 we represent in the in this year's class, we represent 23 different states and 12 other countries.

But Louisville is I call it like a small town city.

It has everything you want in this city, but not really the hassles of a city.

And they grow to love Louisville.

>> And for you personally, you came after a was it 32 years.

>> A long term president?

>> Loyola.

Yes.

Right.

And Maryland.

Yes.

What's been your experience here in Louisville?

And is this a forever home for you?

>> Well, this has been great.

My husband and I live within a mile of campus.

We always have.

We did when I was in Baltimore as well.

But having myself being a first generation college student, my my husband as well, I grew up in a small town.

He grew up on army bases.

It's been a wonderful experience.

And, you know, we have children out east, so I don't know the that it will be forever, but it'll be forever in our hearts.

Certainly.

And we will be back frequently if we ever leave.

But it's it's just so manageable and really a highlight of our, our time together.

Our daughters love Louisville as well.

>> That's great.

So speaking of highlights of your time, what's been your highlight as as president here in the time you've been here, your proudest accomplishment?

>> Yeah.

Well certainly this is the time of year where you're very excited to welcome all classes, the undergrads, as well as our second degree and and graduate students, but sort of shaking their hands, you know, when they come in on the first day, which is a tradition that we have.

And then shaking their hands at graduation, you see the you know, I sort of say I have a box seat into transformation that happens over the time of college experience, and that's incredibly rewarding.

>> What have been your biggest challenges since being here?

I would assume Covid was one of the.

>> Covid was Covid was tough.

I think, you know, we are we're a small college.

So it was those those times were very tough.

You're you're you fluctuate when students.

And we're such a high impact residential campus.

So when people are afraid to come to campus, that's tough.

However, I was really proud of our staff.

We did a lot of outside programing and that, you know, having also seeing what we do to impact healthcare and business.

And as we mentioned, education in the community.

You know, those were challenging times as well for for nurses going back.

And that dropped off a little bit.

But now coming back, I think we have something like 750 that are from from one point either at the undergraduate second degree or our graduate programs, 750 that are going into some part of the nursing profession.

Yeah.

>> That's incredible.

>> Yeah.

And you know that servicing a great demand and there to have really caring, compassionate a lot of people say to me in town you can recognize a Bellarmine alum, whether that's in a hospital or whether that's in a business.

And I do think they move into leadership in their roles and just very proud of our outcomes.

>> That's got to be a great compliment.

When you hear that.

>> It is, you know, one of the other things is just we were just named this isn't something you apply for, but Opportunity Campus.

And that was really for those highest access and highest yield, highest earnings really.

And so we're seeing those accolades come in daily.

You don't do things for the ratings.

But it's nice when you when you see it coming in multiple areas then you know you're doing right.

>> Sure.

What do you foresee as being some of the biggest challenges that still lie ahead for Bellarmine University?

I know a lot of higher education is worried about federal funding cuts, budgets.

What do you think is the biggest challenge for you?

>> Well, federal aid is incredibly important to all of our students.

It's not just our undergraduate students, but our second degree students, our graduate students.

So that's that's really important to this.

If if that aid is is taken away, we're we're very strong advocates for that because this is how you transform lives and transform cities and states for that matter.

So hopefully that will stay.

But if also the Kentucky aid is incredibly important to us and just the partnerships we have in the city.

I mean, we have wonderful partnerships with Norton Healthcare, with our accounting firms, with JC.

So all of those are important.

I don't think those will change, but we may have to rely more on them.

>> What do you foresee as being the future of Bellarmine?

What are what are some of your goals that you still want to see realized during your time?

>> Well, I do think getting the word out there, you know, to continue to promote that this is this is affordable, this is accessible, but it's quality as well.

Students will advance and they'll be leaders in our community.

So that's, you know, people helping with that, spreading the word.

Sometimes it's easier to change your perceptions sort of regionally and nationally than it is locally.

So getting people onto campus is great.

I invite them to come.

We're back in Knights Hall.

If anybody wants to come to a ball game, or certainly we have great theater and music and wonderful opportunities.

>> You mentioned perception.

What do you think is the biggest, maybe misconception about Bellarmine?

>> Well, one that we're we're not affordable, but also that we're not diverse, that it's not a university experience.

You know, to have a small school that's intimate, but then to have the breadth of healthcare and business, we have Aacsb accreditation, which is the highest standard in business.

We have physical therapy doctorate, which is nationally renowned.

We have a nursing anesthesia doctorate program.

So it's a great.

The Thrive Center has just moved to our Watterson Medical Center, and they're working with our our graduate students.

So just really phenomenal experiences for our students.

And I think the people sort of think it's this small college on a hill, but the breadth and our, our study abroad experience is wonderful for our students as well.

>> What are some of the things you hear from students about their experience at Bellarmine, or maybe some things that they experience that surprise you?

>> Yeah, well, you know, one of them was we do do trips and our honors program is great.

So we do them with our honors program.

But others but we had students over to our house a year ago, and they were going to India right before the Christmas break.

And it's a trip we do every year.

Our campus, our director of campus ministry, takes them to his home in Kerala, India, and they have ten days of of wonderful experiences.

And one of the students said to me, Doctor Donovan, we've never been on a plane before.

Do you have any advice for.

For being on a plane to India?

And I was like, you know, and that struck home to me because I had a similar experience my senior year of high school, but I was only flying to Florida, not to India.

So, you know, just to open up the horizons is an incredible opportunity that we have and very grateful.

>> For that.

I would think something like just going to the university president's house would, said Bellarmine.

A, you know, set Bellarmine apart from some other larger universities.

And that's one of the things I think that people like about Bellarmine.

It is small.

It is accessible.

What do you think best sets Bellarmine apart from other universities?

>> I think our our faculty being present and our staff and, and getting to know students on that first day when I meet students, we hand them the McGowan medal.

And we we really encourage them to find a mentor.

And then actually in senior week, we ask them to give that medal to their mentor and that that is the kind of experience I had in college, but I'm not sure it's possible in every college anymore.

And that the faculty are there, they're in their offices, they come to events just to to notice that or even staff members that notice if someone's having a bad day.

That kind of intimacy is so important when young people are are developing into adulthood.

>> Yeah.

Getting a mentor, man, that is one of the best pieces of advice that I give people going to college or starting out in their young adult lives.

What what is your best advice for students who are starting out, no matter where they're going, when they start their journey?

>> I think getting engaged, being involved, being like a sponge and soaking it up you only this time goes by very quickly and you don't get it again.

So I'm always encouraging them to make the most of it, take some risks and get involved.

>> As you look back on 75 years of that tradition and legacy, what do you think is most important to take away from that?

>> I think this the 75 years, I think there were great triumphs and great successes, and I think there were great strives.

So the the next 75 years will have similar challenges.

But staying focused on our, our mission and, and and the city, I think it's it's really important that we be an anchor for the Highlands and that we be involved in Louisville, that because we want our students to be involved civically and.

As leaders in their futures, wherever they end up.

And as I said, hopefully Louisville.

But if not, they'll remember Bellarmine.

>> That's great.

How do you think Louisville or the community here can step up to help you achieve those goals?

And and that mission?

>> Well, many of the partners do with with internships and experiences such as that.

And if they if they know of opportunities that we haven't thought of, we're we're happy to be engaged in that.

We're going to continue to be engaged because, as I said, the real world is so important that students don't go into a job not having felt like they're prepared.

And those opportunities are are life changing.

>> There are several events happening all this month to celebrate Bellarmine's 75th anniversary on campus and beyond.

You can find some of those when you follow us on social media.

We're on Instagram at KET.

You can also see some of those cool then and now photos of that campus.

Thanks for spending a little time getting to know Louisville today.

I hope we'll see you here next time.

Until then, make it a great week!