Spalding University and the Sullivan University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences have signed a Pathway Agreement partnership that will allow Spalding students to complete Sullivan’s pharmacy program at an accelerated pace while completing their Bachelor of Science degree at Spalding.

The agreement, signed Monday, July 8, 2019, by top administrators of both schools, establishes a pathway in which Spalding University students who are studying natural sciences and are on a pre-pharmacy track can transfer to Sullivan University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences after three years at Spalding. Upon completing the first year of Sullivan’s accelerated Pharm.D. program, the students can transfer those credit hours back to Spalding for completion of their Bachelor of Science degree.

“Students that may be interested in attending the Doctor of Pharmacy, or Pharm.D., degree program at Sullivan University can take all of their pre-requisite coursework at Spalding University,” said Sullivan University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Associate Dean of Student Affairs Dr. Dale English. “This coursework allows them to work towards a Bachelor of Science degree at Spalding University as well as set themselves up for application to and matriculation into the Pharm.D. program.

“While this program does not currently guarantee admission into the Sullivan Pharm. D. program, we have found the students that attend Spalding University are highly competitive candidates for admission into our program,” Dr. English said.

This agreement specifically applies to natural science students who leave Spalding before they earn their bachelor’s degree, typically after three years. Admission to Sullivan is not guaranteed, but Spalding students who complete the requirements will be guaranteed to receive an admissions interview.

“The agreement would create a convenient ‘3+3’ pathway for students to complete both a bachelor’s degree from Spalding and a doctor of pharmacy degree from Sullivan in six total years, which is a year faster – and thus more affordable – than would normally be the case if they sought both degrees,” said Spalding University Provost Dr. John Burden.

“The Pathway Agreement creates a clearly defined option for Spalding pre-pharmacy students to attend a local pharmacy school and complete their bachelor’s degree, even if they leave Spalding after three years,” Dr. Burden said. “This partnership helps solidify Spalding as a strong option for pre-pharmacy students to reach their professional goals.”

A major benefit to students is the ability to complete a Pharm.D. degree up to two years faster than a more traditional academic path.

“Most Pharm.D. degree programs take as many as seven to eight years to complete,” Dr. English said. “The six years to complete their Pharm.D. degree is the shortest amount of time to complete this process. In addition to completing one’s Pharm.D. degree in this time, the student also obtains both a B.S. degree as well as their Pharm.D. degree.”

The schools are looking forward to working together on the Pathway Agreement.

“The smaller overall size of both of these institutions provides a greater faculty to student ratio as well as an intimate family atmosphere,” Dr. English said. “Faculty at both institutions pride themselves on being incredibly student-centered and know their students beyond the classroom. Actively engaging with students to assist them in their future career aspirations and endeavors is a key component of faculty engagement at both universities.”

Spalding University’s Trager Park is still brand new, but one corner of it already has a lasting touch, thanks to the Kentucky Derby Festival and the Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation.

The Kentucky Derby Festival, whose offices are across the street from Trager Park on the south end of campus, made the first bench dedication at the new park on Wednesday, honoring 1999 KDF Board Chairwoman Penny McTighe, who passed away in 2016.

KDF President and CEO Mike Berry wore McTighe’s 1999 KDF Pegasus Pin on Wednesday as he led a group of about 25 staff and board members in a ceremony to celebrate her legacy as well as KDF’s relationship with Spalding.

Berry said KDF employees are grateful for the new park, which opened last November at the corner of South Second and West Kentucky streets as a student recreational area and community green space.

The 2.2-acre park site had been an unused asphalt lot before it was transformed by Spalding, in partnership with the Trager Family Foundation and Louisville Gas and Electric Company.

Berry said his staff looks forward to walking to the park to take a break and “just sit down and enjoy a beautiful afternoon like this.”

“It’s so great to have green space here,” Berry said. “A lot of meetings that we have are think tanks to try to think about how to fix an event or create a new one, so to have a space to go to and actually sit outside and think, it’s like a huge, great break room. And because the Festival’s events tend to be outdoors, tend to be in green spaces … it just made sense to honor one of our past chairwomen in that way. We’ve taken the dollars that people gave in Penny’s memory (to the KDF Foundation) to be able to do this and hopefully provide a place for people to sit and enjoy the space.”

McTighe’s nephew, Chad McTighe, who is a member of the KDF Foundation board, said the park bench is a fitting way to honor his aunt, who always enjoyed being outdoors and sitting in her backyard garden.

“The way she was, this is perfect,” Chad McTighe said. “She would absolutely love this type of spot.”

The black metal bench honoring McTighe, who was also a former KDF Foundation board chair, bears a plaque with her name and KDF affiliation. It is located in the southwest corner of the park that is closest to the KDF office.

Trager Park will be showcased Oct. 5-6 when Spalding hosts its inaugural Founders’ Weekend Fall Festival, with food, vendors and games in the park.

To help support Trager Park and Spalding’s ongoing greening initiative, contact Loren Carlson at lcarlson@spalding.edu or 502-873-4317.

Flower sit on black metal bench with a plaque that reads "Penny McTighe, 1999 Kentucky Derby Festival Chair, Donated by the KDF Foundation" — This bench, donated by the Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation in honor of Penny McTighe, 1999, KDF board chair, was the first to be dedicated at Trager Park.

Spalding University announced Wednesday, Sept. 5, that it has reached a milestone in its ongoing, largest-ever capital fundraising campaign: surpassing $30 million in total contributions since 2014. They have supported new construction projects, facility improvements and academic and scholarship programs that broadly impact campus and student life.

The $30.4 million raised to date is a record for a Spalding campaign, and it far outpaces the original fundraising goals – $20 million by 2020 – set by the university’s board of trustees when it voted to launch the campaign four years ago. The goal was officially upped to $30 million in 2016.

“We are extremely grateful for the individuals and organizations who have stepped forward in support of our campaign and the mission and progress of Spalding,” Chief Advancement Officer Bert Griffin said. “We’ve made improvements all over campus and have not used any tuition dollars to make it happen.”

Spalding President Tori Murden McClure added: “Through this campaign, we have provided our students and the community with more resources and services while making our campus greener and more beautiful. We are grateful to our many partners who are helping us meet the needs of the times and change our community for the better.”

Some highlights of the $30 million capital campaign:

● Nearly $11 million in student scholarships and fieldwork stipends have been or will be distributed by way of the campaign, including more than $4 million in federal grants for clinical psychology and social work students from the Health Resources and Services Administration.

● More than $7 million has been donated or pledged in support of a greening initiative that has beautified the 23-acre downtown campus. Completed projects include the Mother Catherine Spalding Square green space on West Breckenridge Street between South Third and South Fourth and 2.2-acre Trager Park, which, in partnership with Louisville Gas and Electric Company and the Trager Family Foundation, opened last fall at the corner of South Second and West Kentucky. The Trager Park site was formerly an unused asphalt lot.

Ongoing outdoor projects are the seven-acre athletic fields complex between South Eighth and South Ninth streets that will be the home of Spalding’s NCAA Division III softball and soccer teams, and the Contemplative Garden at Spalding University, which will be a meditation space at 828 S. Fourth St. that is designed to honor Trappist Monk Thomas Merton and His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Thanks to a recent anonymous $500,000 challenge grant, installation of the playing surfaces at the fields complex is expected to begin this fall, and it could be ready for competition by late spring 2019.

FROM WHAS: Spalding works to build Ninth Street ‘Field of Dreams’

● Kosair Charities has contributed more than $1.2 million to Spalding in support of the Kosair Charities Enabling Technologies of Kentuckiana (enTECH) assistive-technology resource center, the Auerbach School of Occupational Therapy and the Spalding School of Nursing.

● A $500,000 challenge grant from the James Graham Brown Foundation has helped raise $1 million to develop programs focused on restorative justice and restorative practices as well as Spalding’s Center for Behavioral Health.

● Nearly $1 million was raised to renovate the lower level of the Columbia Gym into a student fitness center and lounge.

● Other facilities that have undergone major improvements and modern updates are the Republic Bank Academic Center, which is the home of Spalding’s nursing and social work programs; the Spalding Library; the historic Tompkins-Buchanan-Rankin Mansion; and the Egan Leadership Center Lectorium.

Get meaningful holiday gifts and support the students of your favorite university at the same time?! What a deal.

It can be a reality tonight (Monday, Dec. 4) from 6 to 8 p.m. at during the Community Shopping Night at Just Creations, 2722 Frankfort Avenue. A portion of all sales will go toward the Spalding Study Abroad in Ireland program.

Global education is an appropriate cause to be associated with Just Creations, which is a Fair Trade nonprofit organization that provides marketing assistance to low-income artisans and farmers throughout the developing world. Your purchase of gifts, household items, clothing, jewelry, and food helps to provide a fair wage for the artisans and enables them to pay for food, education, health care and housing.

It’s loaded with cool, one-of-kind items, and you can feel good about yourself when you buy it, knowing you’re making a difference.

We’ll see you there.

Spalding University unveiled a major component of its greening initiative on Nov. 3 with the dedication ceremony of 2.2-acre Trager Park, a grassy recreational space at the corner of South Second and West Kentucky streets that has been repurposed from an unused pad of asphalt.

A product of the philanthropy of Louisville Gas and Electric Company and the Trager Family Foundation, Trager Park will offer students and neighbors space for intramural sports and recreation while beautifying the South of Broadway (SoBro) neighborhood and providing a signature entrance for the southeast corner of Spalding’s campus. The park will also help diminish the urban heat island effect in the area.

“Through partnerships with community stewards like LG&E and the Trager Family Foundation, Spalding is able to expand its campus and opportunities for students while improving the quality of life of our neighbors and helping the environment,” Spalding President Tori Murden McClure said. “The new park will also become, literally, a cornerstone of the university, providing a lovely, usable green space that welcomes the community to our campus.”

Construction, which began in early summer, included the removal of about 150 asphalt parking spaces. Approximately 100 trees will be planted at Trager Park next spring.

“The beauty of what’s been created here is the positive impact and forward momentum it represents for multiple efforts within our community,” LG&E President and Chief Operating Officer Paul W. Thompson said. “Partnering on projects like this, that benefit the community in so many ways, is important to our company, which is what made this an ideal collaboration for us from the very beginning.”

The park is named in honor of Bernard Trager, the founder of Republic Bank, and his wife, Jean, thanks to a gift from their family in support of Spalding’s greening efforts.

“Trager Park meets all the criteria of what the Trager Family Foundation’s core mission is,” said Steve Trager, Bernard and Jean’s son who is Republic Bank’s chairman and chief executive officer. “It allows us to be associated with a great organization like Spalding, helps beautify our community and provides functional outdoor space not only for the students of the university but for all residents who live in and around the SoBro neighborhood. Involvement in this project was an absolute no-brainer.”

The creation of Trager Park has multiple environmental benefits, according to the Louisville Metro Office of Sustainability. By decreasing some of the 9 million square feet of impervious surface in SoBro taken up by parking lots and other infrastructure, the park will contribute to reducing surface temperatures and the amount of water that enters the stormwater system. After the trees are planted and mature, the park will increase the tree canopy of a neighborhood that currently has only a 9 percent canopy (about 21 acres), which is below the 15 percent recommended for central business districts by American Forests.

“We are grateful for Spalding’s leadership in converting an impervious surface to green space, especially in the SoBro neighborhood,” Louisville Metro Director of Sustainability Maria Koetter said. “Replacing concrete with grass and trees also lowers air and surface temperatures and creates a healthier environment and healthier citizens. In addition to beautifying the block, this investment will reduce the amount of water entering the stormwater system during rain events. We look forward to more residents, businesses and nonprofits following Spalding’s lead.”

Trager Park is the latest piece in Spalding’s ongoing greening initiative. In 2013, the university dedicated the Mother Catherine Spalding Square green space on West Breckinridge Street between South Third and South Fourth. Spalding also plans to construct an athletic fields complex, which will be the home of its softball and soccer teams, by repurposing a tract of more than seven acres between South Eighth and South Ninth. Fundraising for the fields project is ongoing.