Spalding University held its annual Commencement ceremonies June 3-5, 2021, with President Tori Murden McClure delivering an address to the graduates. Her speech also included her annual list of maxims titled, “10 Things That I Think I Know.” Here are her full remarks:

What a strange time this has been. People talk about the return to normal. Normal is a fantasy. There is only change. Resistance to change, and, later, more change. There is a saying, “The only creature who welcomes change is an infant with a dirty diaper.” Nonetheless, change is constant. And at this moment in time, change is necessary.

The world we are giving to our graduates is broken. Look around at people with gray hair … we broke it. When I finished college, we talked about polarized sunglasses not polarized positions, polarized news outlets, or polarized people. Life at the polar extremes is cold, desolate, and best avoided.

Thirty years ago, I skied 750-miles across Antarctica to the geographic South Pole. The average temperature was minus-25 degrees. It was a land of ice, wind, and hardship, but I submit to you that it was warmer and more welcoming than some of the polar extremes of our modern discourse.

Demonizing those with whom we disagree demonstrates a failure of imagination and a stunting of our empathy. Abraham Joshua Heschel observed: “To be or not to be is not the question. The vital question is how to be and how not to be … .”

When I am asked to speak to groups of elementary age children, I love to say, “Raise your hand if something bad ever happened to you.” Then, to all the children who raise their hands I say, “Good for you!” Those children respond with confusion, “WHAT?!” I go on to explain that what we learn from hardship, from failure, and from tragedy informs our character. I tell children, the bad things that happen to you are not your story. What you do with the bad things that happen that is your story. When we use our experience with “bad things” to assist others when they are in distress, we are making good out of bad.

COMMENCEMENT | Hundreds of photos on Spalding’s Facebook page | Links to individual school celebrations, replays, programs | Graduate features

In the past eighteen months, we have endured some measure of a shared global crisis. We must ask ourselves whether we will allow the experience to alter are characters for good or for ill. The ill effects are plain. It seems as if our ears have become fragile, our tempers are on a hair trigger, and that our favorite pastime has become passing judgment on other people.

“How shall we be, and how shall we not be?”

To answer this question, I bring to mind people whom I admire. People I consider my mentors. The teachers, coaches, and friends who stood at the forks in the road of my life. Graduates, perhaps some of the people sitting nearby stood at the forks in the road of your lives.

While I was in Divinity School at Harvard, I worked with homeless people. One afternoon, in a particularly rough part of Boston, one homeless man stabbed another. I was the first to respond. I will spare you the gory details, but when I left that chaotic scene, I was not aware of the blood-soaked towel that I had thrown over my shoulder. When got on the subway to make the journey back to Harvard I was fuming with anger. No one looked in my direction.

It was as if I was invisible. Before long, I noticed the towel and I assumed that it was the bloody towel that had made me invisible. I my fury grew. I got off the train at Harvard Square. Harvard … one of the most privileged places on the planet. I remained invisible. Fury turned to rage, and I crossed Harvard Yard like a bowling ball. Students and faculty got out – of – my – way. As I approached Memorial Church on the far side of Harvard Yard, the Reverend Doctor Peter J. Gomes was coming down the stairs.

Peter knew me. This was not the first time Peter Gomes witnessed my brokenness. He placed himself directly in my path. Peter saw me. He was black. He was gay. He was an ordained minister. He was a Republican. In short, he was not like other faculty at Harvard University. Peter asked, “What’s up with the towel?”

Growling with rage, I sputtered the details of what had happened. I ended with, “The towel makes me invisible.” Peter smiled. His was a smile filled with sadness and with empathy. Then, he told me, “It is your anger that makes you invisible.” Each time I find it difficult to navigate the rage, I am reminded of Peter Gomes, “It is your anger that makes you invisible.”

It is OK, even admirable, to have a fire in your belly. I have had one there most of my life. Take care how you put that fire to use. Fire as a tool is neutral. We can use it to warm the chill of a cold world, we can use it to cauterize a wound, or we can use it to torch our world to cinders. If you use your fire in the spirit of the Spalding University Mission “to meet the needs of the time,” you will be using your fire for good.

You have graduated. A few of you might be just a little bit proud. I am okay with that. Pride is not a bad thing. I had a Buddhism Professor who taught that “If you must have an ego, have an ego as big as the Himalaya Mountains.” I thought my professor was wrong, and I thought he was wrong because he was a man. Women are not allowed to show ego. We display too much pride, people knock us down. (To be fair, it is usually other women who knock us down.) Nevertheless, I learned the truth of my professor’s words when I went to work for Muhammad Ali. Muhammad Ali had an ego as big as the Himalaya Mountains.

In 1954, a twelve-year-old Cassius Clay rode his red Schwinn bicycle to this building, which is now Spalding’s Columbia Gym. He was upstairs eating hotdogs and popcorn when someone stole his red bicycle. He said, “I’m gonna wump somebody up.” Bystanders sent young Cassius Clay to report the crime to a police officer in the basement. “I’m gonna wump somebody up. He stole my bicycle.” Joe Martin, the police officer, was a boxing coach. Officer Martin explained to this young man that if he wanted to beat someone up he should learn to box.

White policeman. Black boy. Happy ending. Too many encounters between white police officers and black boys are more ending than happy, but these are not stories for today.

“How to be, and how not to be.”

Muhammad Ali had an ego as big as the Himalaya Mountains. He also had a special kind of humility. He was the greatest, and wherever he went, he lifted others up. Muhammad was not perfect. No one is perfect. Muhammad could be cruel. In his younger years, he occasionally used the fire in his belly to scorch others. But in his later years, when I knew him, he was magnificent.

I went to work for him shortly after I had failed to row a boat alone across the Atlantic Ocean. I had rowed 3,000 miles when I got hit by a hurricane. There is nothing special in this, all of us face storms. All of us tangle with waves. The point is, when I went to work for Muhammad Ali, I believed myself to be a monumental failure.

Muhammad Ali lifted up. He reminded me that a failure is not someone who falls. A failure is a person who does not get back up. When he judged I was ready, he told me, “You don’t want to go through life as the woman who almost rowed across the ocean.” He was right, I went back and I completed that journey.

Graduates, you have completed your Spalding journey. You have earned your degree. I will not begrudge you the power and privilege that come with this achievement. I challenge you to use these gifts to imagine a better world and to work toward achieving it. I challenge you to close the gap between the promise of humanity and the performance of human beings.

Extend your empathy and your grace to others. Share your passion and knowledge in ways that include rather than exclude. Exclusion breeds resentment, bitterness, and self-doubt among those we leave out. Inclusion creates hope and it opens opportunity, and it builds the bridges of friendship and love.

One of the greatest gifts an educated person brings to a community is the ability to imagine a better world, a kinder reality, a more perfect union. You cannot build what you cannot imagine. Imagination allows us to empathize with people whose experiences we do not share. Imagination helps us to learn and to understand by projecting ourselves into the place of another. It does not take an education to see the pain on our streets, but I hope that as Spalding graduates you will use your education to do something about that pain.

You have worked hard to reach this milestone. You have won this honor for yourselves. Hellaire Belloc wrote, “Nothing is worth the wear of winning but laughter and the love of friends.” I hope you will take time to enjoy laughter and the love of friends.

I am proud of you. And you look GOOD today!

TOP 1O LIST

As I wind this up, it is my job to fill your head with platitudes one or two of which you might actually remember. Socrates said, “All I know is that I know nothing.” I will freely admit don’t know anything for sure, but, I will end with ten things that I think I know:

1. Silence is golden and if silence fails you, remember that duct tape is silver. I wish real life came with a mute button.

2. If the carrot is big enough you can use it as a stick.

3. Road blocks only block the road … they do not block the grass, the path, the water, or the way less traveled … road blocks just block the road.

4. This one of for those of you who identify as male. Gentlemen, a recent study found that women who carry a little extra weight live much longer than the men who … mention … it.

5. It is never too late to have a happy childhood … I have had several … I have many more planned. Or the corollary, I may grow old, but I will never be old enough to know better.

6. Learn from the mistakes of others; you cannot live long enough to make them all yourselves.
a) Or the corollary, it is difficult to become old and wise if you are not first young and stupid.

b) There are gradations of stupid: stupid, level one gets you heart, stupid level two gets others hurt, stupid level three involves police and lawyers and you might never own your own home.

c) Avoid all levels of stupid that begin with the phrase, “Hey hold my beer ‘nd watch ‘his.”

7. Do not burn bridges. Just loosen the bolts a little each day.

8. If you have to keep something that you are doing a secret … then perhaps you should not be doing it.

9. Is an important one for and university presidents, don’t take yourself too seriously … no one else does

10. Do not believe everything you think. Or as Socrates said, all I know is that I know nothing.

I have tremendous confidence that when you leave Spalding as alumni you will go out. You will teach, heal, feed, and build. You will inform, advocate, comfort, and guide. You will criticize, organize, contribute and in a hundred other ways you will serve people and causes.  When this commencement service ends let your service to the world begin anew. I know you will make Spalding proud. You will make your friends and families proud.

In the words of Seneca: “As is a tale so is life, it is not how long it is, but rather how good it is that matters.” Your lives need to matter.

Spalding President Tori Murden McClure sent the following message to the campus community on Tuesday, May 20, 2021:

Dear Spalding Community,

You have likely seen that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revised its COVID-19 guidance last week, declaring that it is now safe for fully vaccinated individuals to stop wearing masks indoors and outdoors. Governor Beshear has also amended the Kentucky mask mandate, which now no longer requires fully vaccinated people to wear a mask.

While it is extremely encouraging to see the decline in COVID-19 cases and the increase in people who have received vaccines, we have decided that Spalding University will maintain its mask policy as-is through the remainder of the 2020-21 academic year. That means that through June 30, 2021, all students, employees and visitors must continue to wear a mask at all times while indoors on campus, except for when they are in individual offices or residential rooms, or when seated and eating at the College Street Café’. As of May 18, 2021, about 36 percent of Kentuckians are fully vaccinated. That is good progress, but it also means that nearly two-thirds of our population is not yet vaccinated. With this in mind, it feels appropriate and responsible that we continue our masking policy, especially during Commencement, which will be, by far, our largest set of indoor gatherings of the year.

Masks and social distancing will be required for all attendees at our upcoming Commencement ceremonies, June 3-5. Graduates, please remind your guests that they will need to wear a mask before they go inside a campus building, regardless of their vaccination status. Free “Spalding Graduate” masks will be distributed to the graduates, and other free masks will be available for guests.

Continuing our consistent, standard policy with everyone in masks will be the safest, easiest way to hold class and interact on campus. Further, maintaining the status quo on our masking policy will eliminate the burden – and any anxieties – on our faculty and staff in having to check every day who is or is not truly vaccinated and who is or is not allowed to go without a mask.

Spalding has been successful in having a low number of COVID-19 cases this year, and we believe that the 100 percent compliance that we have achieved in our masking policy is a big reason why. We can’t thank our students, faculty and staff enough for their cooperation in wearing masks without complaint. It’s been an amazing group effort.

We are, of course, all eager to get back to a more normal way of life, and we are excited to return to holding a majority of our classes in person next fall. Spalding will review our masking policy this summer. It is my sincere hope that the vast majority of the campus community will be vaccinated and that we will be able to set aside our masks in the coming year. We encourage you and your loved ones to get vaccinated for COVID-19. The vaccines are free and easily accessible and have been proven to be safe and highly effective. Anyone 12 and older is now eligible for a vaccine in Kentucky.

Thanks again for your cooperation and willingness to work together.

All the best,

Tori

Tori Murden McClure
Spalding University President

Dear Spalding Community,

I am excited to share the schedule for our in-person Commencement ceremonies, to be held on campus June 3-5, 2021. We will hold ten ceremonies over three days, with the events divided up by academic program. A few academic programs will have a combined ceremony with other programs, and a couple larger academic programs will hold two ceremonies in order to ensure social distancing. Provost Burden and I will attend every event to confer degrees.

Remember that our 2020 graduates are also invited back to walk in this year’s Commencement with the Class of 2021. Academic leaders, please remember to share all updates and instructions about your program’s Commencement ceremony with last year’s grads as well.

Note: Two academic schools – the Auerbach School of Occupational Therapy and the School of Creative and Professional Writing – are having virtual Commencement ceremonies this year.

Here is the 2021 Spalding Commencement schedule:

Thursday, June 3, 2021
11 a.m. – Combined: School of Liberal Studies, School of Natural Science and Bachelor of Science in Health Science, College Street Ballroom, 812 S. Second St.
2 p.m. – Creative Arts Department, College Street Ballroom, 812 S. Second St.
5 p.m. – College of Education, Columbia Gym Auditorium, 824 S. Fourth St.

Friday, June 4, 2021
11 a.m. – Master of Science in Athletic Training, Troutman Lectorium, Egan Leadership Center, 901 S. Fourth St.
2 p.m. – Master of Science in Nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice, Troutman Lectorium, Egan Leadership Center, 901 S. Fourth St.
5 p.m. – Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Columbia Gym Auditorium, 824 S. Fourth St.

Saturday, June 5, 2021
10 a.m. – Combined: School of Business and School of Communication, Columbia Gym Auditorium, 824 S. Fourth St.
Noon – Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Master of Arts in Psychology, College Street Ballroom, 812 S. Second St.
2 p.m. – Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology, College Street Ballroom, 812 S. Second St.
5 p.m. – School of Social Work, Columbia Gym Auditorium, 824 S. Fourth St.

Regalia

Graduates, please take the time in the next week to order graduation regalia through our vendor, Jostens. The link to order your cap, gown and other items is:

https://www.jostens.com/apps/store/customer/1069465/Spalding-University/

The Spalding Campus Store is handling regalia orders from Jostens. Students may either have their orders shipped to the Campus Store (“ship to school” option) for pickup or shipped to their homes. The deadline for “ship to school” is April 26, and the deadline for home shipping is April 29.

The Campus Store, which is located in the south end of the Egan Leadership Center at 901 S. Fourth St., can be reached at [email protected] .

Note about regalia: The graduation “stole” is optional.

Guest tickets

In order to reduce capacity and ensure social distancing, each graduate is allowed a maximum of two guests. We are finalizing a ticketing system and will share information about distributing tickets soon.

Safety protocols

Everyone attending Commencement must be symptom-free and will be required to wear a mask and practice social distancing outside of their family unit. To help ensure Commencement is as safe and successful as possible, we encourage all our students, faculty and staff, and their loved ones to get a COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccines are now available for anyone 16 and older.

Commencement webpage

Information and updates about this year’s Commencement can be found at www.spalding.edu/commencement.

We are excited to celebrate our graduates soon!

All the best,

Tori Murden McClure

Spalding University President

Spalding University President Tori Murden McClure sent the following message to the campus community on Monday, March, 29, 2021:

Dear Spalding Community,

What a year it has been. I am extremely grateful for your dedication, cooperation, and fortitude as we endured the past twelve months. Last week, we announced that we will have a series of in-person Commencement ceremonies in June. I know many of you are wondering what our classes and campus operations will look like in Fall 2021.

Thanks to the increasing availability of highly effective vaccines, I am pleased to say that Spalding University plans to have the majority of its classes in-person next fall. By early August, I expect that most of the faculty and staff will return to our offices for the majority of the work week. The year has taught me, that Spalding University is not housed in buildings. It exists in the minds and the hearts of our students, staff, and faculty. Nonetheless, the University thrives when we are together. Kindness blooms. Friendships grow. We cultivate gratitude and respect toward one another. We challenge one other to live with courage and with integrity in our ever changing world.

As we reimagine how we work and study together, I hope we will consciously rearrange our spaces to foster collaboration, innovation, and healthy human interaction. I attribute much of our success in the last twelve months to our having built a strong and supportive mission-driven culture prior to the start of the pandemic. In recent weeks, I have noticed a diminution of our cohesion. When we lose touch with one another, it is more difficult to live and breathe the mission of Spalding. In our mostly virtual year, there has been less spontaneity, less humanity, and less fun. There is a great deal of learning, coaching, and mentoring that happens in all directions when we are together.

Many of us will benefit from increasing our work-life or school-life separation. This year, we have not been working from home so much as living at work. Without the natural boundaries of space and time, it has been difficult to turn-off, to relax, to spend time with family or friends without unfinished work intruding on our thoughts and leaving us with a breathless hunted feeling.

I am excited. I have missed the brainstorming and raucous good cheer that happens over lunch in the Spalding Café. I look forward to quicker communication and fewer misunderstandings as we return to being able to speak to one another in person. New and continuing students will begin class registration on April 12. All students are encouraged to speak with their advisors about their classroom needs and to make the course selections that best meet their goals and academic program requirements.

To ensure that next school year is as safe and successful as possible, we strongly encourage each of you to get a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as you are eligible. Governor Beshear announced last week that he expects all Kentuckians 16 years and older to be able to sign up for vaccines starting April 12. Let’s continue to work together to finish this year safely. Please get vaccinated when you can. Greater days are ahead.

All the best,

Tori

Tori Murden McClure
President, Spalding University

Spalding President Tori Murden McClure sent the following message to the campus community on Monday, March 22, 2021:

Dear Spalding Community,

There is no more joyful and momentous occasion at Spalding University than Commencement. That’s why I am happy to announce that we will be safely returning to in-person Commencement activities this year, conducting a series of smaller graduation ceremonies on campus the first week of June that will be divided up by academic discipline. Provost Burden and I will attend each ceremony to confer degrees.

In addition to our 2021 graduates, 2020 graduates will also be invited back to participate in this year’s Commencement if they would like.

The individual ceremonies also will be streamed online for those who want or need to watch from home.

Here are additional Commencement details:

Dates and times
In order to avoid heavy crowds and traffic at any one time, the ceremonies will be held one at a time and scheduled throughout the day on Thursday, June 3; Friday, June 4; and Saturday, June 5. They likely will be held indoors at the Columbia Gym Auditorium, the College Street Ballroom or the Troutman Lectorium of the Egan Leadership Center.

Graduates should expect to receive more information soon from your school or academic program about the specific time, date and location that applies to you.

Masks required
The ceremonies will be conducted in accordance with local and state safety guidelines and by the standards we have set for our own university.

All attendees must be symptom-free and will be required to wear masks and practice social distancing outside of their immediate family/group.

To further ensure that our commencement activities are as safe as possible, we strongly encourage everyone to get a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as you are eligible. Gov. Beshear announced last week that he expects all Kentuckians 16 years and older to be able to sign up for vaccines starting April 12.

Two guests per graduate
In order to ensure safe distancing between attendees, each graduate will be limited to two guests.

Some programs will have a virtual Commencement
Two academic programs – the Auerbach School of Occupational Therapy and the School of Creative and Professional Writing – will be having virtual Commencement ceremonies instead of in person.

Plan to order regalia
Graduates should plan to order graduation regalia. Spalding’s Campus Store will be handling regalia orders through the vendor Jostens, and more information about purchasing will be sent soon. The Campus Store is located on the south end of the ELC, 901 S. Fourth St., and can be reached at (502) 585-7108 or at [email protected].

The Registrar will also send information with instructions and deadlines for applying for graduation. Be on the lookout for that in the coming weeks.

We are excited that these smaller ceremonies will safely provide our graduates with a memorable, meaningful day of recognition and celebration after all that they’ve accomplished.

Thank you and congratulations to both the Class of 2021 and Class of 2020. We can’t wait to see you walk across the stage in your cap and gown while sharing the experience with your loved ones and the classmates, faculty and staff you know best.

All the best,

Tori Murden McClure
President, Spalding University

Consistent with its mission of promoting peace and justice through education, Spalding University announced on Martin Luther King Jr. Day that it is launching an online training and professional development program in antiracism.

Available nationally to individuals and groups from public-sector, corporate and nonprofit organizations, the range of half- and full-day online courses – collectively titled Restorative Practices for the Antiracist Journey – will teach concepts of cultural humility and restorative practices as a means to bring about positive social change.

Enrollment is open now for Restorative Practices for the Antiracist Journey with live virtual sessions set to start in late January. It is the first featured offering of a reorganized interdisciplinary institute of social justice-themed training at Spalding – called The Well – that will be housed in the School of Social Work. Visit spalding.edu/thewell to register.

Spalding’s Restorative Practices for the Antiracist Journey is designed and facilitated by faculty and staff leaders of the university’s Center for Peace and Spiritual Renewal, School of Social Work, School of Professional Psychology and Collective Care Center, which is one of the nation’s only behavioral health clinics to specialize in treating race-based trauma and stress.

REGISTER | Restorative Practices for the Antiracist Journey courses now available on The Well

The faculty and staff serving as facilitators for the program are among Louisville’s leading scholars on matters of restorative practices and dialogue, conflict resolution, polarity management, cultural humility, institutional oppression and racial trauma.

“This program is designed for individuals and groups who are interested in meaningfully and constructively addressing and healing race relations in their professional and personal lives through self-exploration, truth-telling, difficult dialogue and action,” said Spalding Executive Director for Peace and Spiritual Renewal Chandra Irvin, who helped lead the Charleston (South Carolina) Illumination Project of community conversations and healing following the tragic shooting of nine Black parishioners at Emanuel AME Church in 2015. “The Spalding faculty and staff who have collaborated to create this program have a great deal of experience in these spaces and bring a diverse set of perspectives. Organizations that participate in this training at Spalding will be making a valuable investment that demonstrates a strong commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.”

Certified in 2011 as the World’s First Compassionate University, Spalding is a historic, private institution that has been located for 100 years in downtown Louisville – which, as the hometown of Breonna Taylor, saw months of demonstrations last year in the name of racial justice, including several that took place on or near Spalding’s campus.

“Spalding’s mission states that we are a diverse community of learners dedicated to meeting the needs of the times by promoting peace and justice through education and service,” Spalding President Tori Murden McClure said. “As the past year has shown, pain and suffering from racial injustice and inequity remain prevalent in our society. Offering the Restorative Practices for the Antiracist Journey training program is an example of Spalding meeting the needs of the times by using the experience, wisdom and teaching skills of our faculty and staff to help promote a more equitable world.”

Upon completion, participants in Restorative Practices for the Antiracist Journey will be awarded three tiers of certification badges by Spalding – Bronze, Silver and Ebony (highest level) – based on the number of sessions completed, and these credentials will be appropriate to share on resumes and online professional profiles. Completed hours in the program can be applied to continuing education requirements for social workers, and Spalding plans to seek approval for continuing education credits from other professions’ governance boards in the future.

“Spalding’s School of Social Work has a rich tradition of providing quality continuing education for practitioners and community members throughout Kentucky,” School of Social Work Chair Dr. Shannon Cambron said. “The Well is the next chapter for us. It’s a reflection of our commitment to meet the needs of the times by co-creating an interdisciplinary space of training and engagement with a justice and equity lens – a space that equips people with the skills to begin the work of dismantling white supremacy and injustice. Restorative Practices for the Antiracist Journey is evidence of that commitment, and we are excited about this new chapter.”

For more information on participating in Restorative Practices for the Antiracist Journey, visit spalding.edu/thewell.

Spalding University has named School of Professional Psychology faculty member Dr. Steven Kniffley – an innovative therapist and researcher on matters of race and racial trauma – as the university’s Chief Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Officer.

Kniffley is a clinical psychologist who is distinguished as the leader of Spalding’s Collective Care Center – one of the nation’s only behavioral health clinics to specialize in treating race-based trauma and stress. Since 2018, he has served as Associate Director of Spalding’s Center for Behavioral Health training clinic, of which the Collective Care Center is a specialty division.

Beginning in January, in his new role as Chief Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Kniffley will be a member of President Tori Murden McClure’s senior leadership team – known as the Operational Council – and will take on a broad role across campus in promoting best practices and developing initiatives that advance diversity as a critical component of social, academic and intellectual life at Spalding.

Working out of the President’s Office, Kniffley will support Spalding’s mission to be a “diverse community of learners dedicated to meeting the needs of the times” while promoting peace and justice. He will actively engage students, faculty and staff to further behaviors, attitudes and policies that support diversity, equity and inclusion. In addition, he will also represent Spalding in the community on matters of diversity and inclusion and serve as a point person in developing partnerships related to those issues.

“Dr. Steven Kniffley is a rising star on the faculty at Spalding and is a perfect choice to become our Chief Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Officer,” McClure said. “Through his work in the Collective Care Center as well as through his teaching and scholarly work, he has demonstrated a deep understanding of issues of race and inequity in society. Moreover, through his public speaking and service work, he has demonstrated a passion and skill for raising awareness and turning conversations toward the need to promote justice, equity, diversity, inclusion and cultural competence. On a range of day-to-day and long-term issues at Spalding, our students, faculty and staff will be well-served by hearing his ideas and advice.

McClure continued: “For decades, Spalding has been committed to the promotion of social justice in downtown Louisville, and throughout my term as President, adding diverse voices to our university leadership and continuing to advance our diversity and inclusion efforts have been a priority of mine. Elevating Dr. Kniffley to this role is another step in showing that commitment while expanding Spalding’s history of promoting diversity and inclusion. During a year in which the attention of our city and our nation has focused sharply on justice and equity, there has never been a more important time to emphasize that commitment.”

Kniffley will remain on the Spalding faculty in the Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) in Clinical Psychology program and continue his role at the Collective Care Center.

“I am excited and grateful for the opportunity to lead Spalding University’s justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts,” Kniffley said. “As chief diversity officer, I will work to enhance Spalding’s impact as an anti-oppression institution through meaningful policy, results-oriented programming, and capacity building through the development of community partnerships.”

Off campus, Kniffley serves as a research consultant for the Louisville Metro Police Department’s Synergy Project, which aims to improve relations between residents and the police. He is also a member of the City of Louisville’s Citizens Commission on Police Accountability.

He was recently voted the President-Elect of the Kentucky Psychological Association.

In addition to publishing numerous scholarly articles and book chapters, Kniffley co-authored the book Out of K.O.S. (Knowledge of Self): Black Masculinity, Psychopathology, and Treatment, and he co-edited the book Black Males and the Criminal Justice System.

Kniffley has given dozens of public and professional seminars and presentations, including a 2019 lecture series for the Louisville Free Public Library titled Mental Health and the Black Community.

Earlier this year, Kniffley was named to Louisville Business First’s Forty Under 40, honoring outstanding and service-minded young professionals in Louisville, and this month he was honored by IGE Media and the Medical News as the recipient of the 2020 MediStar Healthcare Advocacy Award for advocating for increasing culturally competent care for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) individuals, and for more education, training and service provision for the experience of racial trauma.

In 2018, he received an award for multicultural professional development from the Kentucky Psychological Association.

Kniffley is a graduate of the Spalding PsyD program. He also holds a master’s degree in public administration with a concentration in nonprofit leadership from Wright State University and a bachelor’s in psychology from the University of Louisville.

Kniffley did a post-doctoral fellowship in child and adolescent acute services with Cambridge Health Alliance and Harvard Medical School in Massachusetts. Before joining Spalding’s faculty, he was on the faculty at Wright State from 2014-18.

Rachel Platt serves as the Director of Community Engagement for the Frazier History Museum. She is a former reporter and anchor for WHAS-11. This essay originally appeared in Frazier’s newsletter.

I have followed her story for more than 20 years, but I am still in awe of Tori Murden McClure.

I am too old to be a fan girl, really, but I never grow too old to appreciate strong women who teach and inspire me — and Tori does both.

Of course, Tori is now the President of Spalding University.

But it was back in 1999, while working for WHAS-TV, that photographer Doug Smith and I flew to Guadeloupe to cover Tori stepping ashore, becoming the first woman, and first American, to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean, completing a 3,300-mile trek.

VIDEOS | Frazier Museum — Tori Murden’s Solo Row Across the Atlantic Ocean, 1999 (1 of 2) | Frazier Museum — Tori Murden’s Solo Row Across the Atlantic Ocean, 1999 (2 of 2)

I had done other stories leading up to her 81 days at sea. I had even covered her “failed” attempt the year before, when Hurricane Danielle intervened and the ship Independent Spirit had to pick her up after her boat, The American Pearl, had capsized multiple times.

2019 20TH ANNIVERSARY COVERAGE OF TORI’S ROW | CNET MagazineWDRB  | WLKY | WAVE | WHAS

MUSICAL | Dawn Landes’ album ROW, with songs from the musical she co-wroteMusical ROW from Williamstown Theatre Festival will premiere on Audible

How ironic, huh, that a ship named Independent Spirit plucked Tori out of the water, since her independent spirit is what led her to try again.

As Tori tells it, we all have oceans to cross, and stories to tell. She just decided to literally cross an ocean and literally write a book about her story and journey in life.

She challenges us all to be the best we’re capable of being — that being is more important than doing.

The boat she built, The American Pearl, is now at the Frazier as part of our Cool Kentucky exhibit. It was, of course, Tori who helped do the calculations to get it inside the door, with about a half inch to spare on each side!

It is a full circle moment for me with The Pearl docking here, a daily dose of inspiration in our Great Hall to weather any storm on the horizon.

Rachel Platt 1999 Story No. 1

Rachel Platt 1999 Story No. 2

American Pearl arrives at the Frazier

Dawn Landes discusses her musical ROW, based on Tori’s life

Dear Spalding Community,

As we head toward the end of the academic session, I would like to continue to thank all of our students, faculty and staff for your resilience and dedication so far this year. I can’t commend our students enough for your cooperation, graciousness and flexibility in helping to keep our campus safe and healthy while staying on top of your academics.

The hard work of everyone is appreciated, and the upcoming session break and Thanksgiving holiday will be a welcomed chance to relax. I hope everyone has a truly restful holiday.

Sadly, however, as we begin the holidays, this pandemic persists, and our country has seen an alarming spike in COVID-19 cases.

Over Thanksgiving, I urge you to please take every precaution to keep yourselves and your loved ones safe and well. Carefully weigh the risks of travel, of going out to a mall or restaurant, of socializing with multiple households. Gov. Beshear on Wednesday issued new public health measures to slow the spread of the virus. Please take heed of those guidelines, and continue to follow the news to see what other actions government officials may take.

Remember also to abide by the tenets of the Spalding Promise that we all signed at the start of the year and which still applies during the break. We have all committed to:

  • Avoid large gatherings and parties.
  • Wear a mask at all times when indoors, or when in groups outdoors.
  • Practice social distancing at all times.

When classes resume on Nov. 30, we must be more diligent than ever to work together in keeping campus safe and healthy.

Students, keep in mind that every in-person class will be streamed, in case you want or need to participate online. This may be a wise option for many.

Additionally, students, employees and visitors must continue to complete the #CampusClear self-assessment before coming to campus.

The recent news about the development of vaccines is very promising. We have come this far, so let’s continue to work together to get through this, especially at this critical time.

I am thankful for all of you and for the privilege of serving this institution.

Have a great, safe and restful break, and Happy Thanksgiving. You deserve it.

 

All the best,

Tori Murden McClure

Spalding University President

 

Dear Spalding Community,

As you may have heard, the Kentucky Attorney General announced today that three charges of wanton endangerment will be brought against one Louisville Metro Police Department officer involved in the shooting death of Breonna Taylor. Two other officers in the case were not charged.

Individuals in our campus community may disagree with the findings of the grand jury. For some of you, particularly the Black members of our community, today’s news may be traumatic if you believe justice has not been served. For those who are hurting, who are sad, who are angry, who need a human connection to get through this trying time, please know that the community at Spalding is here to support you.

An Emotional and Support Response Team will be holding a series of in-person and online gatherings today and tomorrow (Thursday, Sept. 24) that were detailed in an email.

We anticipate that today’s decision from the grand jury will inspire protests against racial injustice. It would be no surprise if the protests are larger than the daily demonstrations that have occurred downtown this summer, and it is possible that they may extend to the streets of our campus.

As we announced earlier today, all remaining face-to-face classes today have been moved online as a precaution, due to the potential large crowds and impact on traffic downtown.

Classes to stay online-only Thursday and Friday
We have since made the decision to keep all face-to-face classes online-only the next two days – Thursday, Sept. 24, Friday, Sept. 25. Students in clinical or practicum placements should contact their program director or chair for guidance.

Employees who are not essential to the care and service of our residential students should plan to work from home for the remainder of the week.

If you are still on campus or heading downtown, please be aware of the situation as police have restricted vehicle access from Market to Broadway and Second Street to Roy Wilkins, north of our campus. It is important to note that the majority of protests this summer have been peaceful and lawful, and most often they have occurred about a mile from campus. However, if it makes you feel safer, avoid or leave campus.

Campus safety steps
At this time, we are not aware of any danger and are not fully closing campus, but we will take precautions to ensure the safety of our students and employees during what is likely to be a period of high emotion and unpredictability in our city.

  • Exterior doors to campus buildings may be locked and accessible only by a key or, where applicable, an Eagle Card ID. Please wear your Eagle Card ID as a badge, and if you don’t have a key to a particular building that may be locked, you should coordinate with someone inside to let you in when you arrive, or call Campus Safety at 502-873-4444.
  • Campus Safety officers will be present at both residence halls and stationed at key areas around campus.
  • Boxed meals will be delivered to students in the residence halls at 6 tonight, and food service to the halls will continue in the coming days.
  • Any member of the campus community may call Campus Safety at 502-873-4444 to report concerns, to have an officer assist you to your car or about campus, or to help you get in a building.

As a compassionate institution devoted to social justice, Spalding will continue to support calls for justice and peaceful and lawful protests. This is a moment in time that requires strong, courageous voices, and we will support any members of our community who wish to protest peacefully, lawfully and safely and have their voices heard.

For those who may wish to participate, we encourage you to return before dark. As a reminder, a county-wide curfew has been issued starting at 9 tonight.

Please continue to check your email as we will share any important information regarding conditions on campus. Also, if you have not already, make sure you sign up for Spalding’s E2Campus alerts to be sent to your phone or email.

Stay safe, stay strong. We support you.

All the best,

Tori Murden McClure

President, Spalding University