With Spalding University approaching the 100-year anniversary of the creation of its downtown campus, members of the university community will have an opportunity on Nov. 8 to learn more about the history of Spalding and its continued focus on compassion and social justice.

President Tori Murden McClure will host the “Changing Our World through Courage and Compassion: Historical and Current Realities” presentation and community conversation from 2-4:15 p.m. Nov. 8 in the College Street Cafe. The event is sponsored by the Center for Peace and Spiritual Renewal and the Office of the Graduate Dean.

Sister Frances Krumpelman, the historian for the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, which is Spalding’s founding body, will begin the program with a presentation about the university’s history.

Then McClure will lead a talk about present-day issues and challenges and opportunities to change the world through courage and compassion and the lessons we can learn from the Sisters’ example.

Chandra Irvin, Director of the Center for Peace and Spiritual Renewal, said Sister Frances “tells a captivating and compelling story of the courage and compassion which led to Spalding’s founding despite difficulty times. ”

Center for Peace and Spiritual Renewal Program Coordinator Liz Anderson said that attendees can expect Sister Frances to share stories about the compassion that inspired Mother Catherine Spalding to found Spalding University and the courage it took to make that a reality in 1814.

“It is so important, especially as Spalding approaches it’s 100-year downtown anniversary, for us to remember the vision and mission of Mother Catherine, know that we are standing on the shoulders of giants and be inspired to continue the work that she and her fellow Sisters of Charity of Nazareth began all those years ago,” Anderson said.

Anderson said that after Sister Frances’ presentation, the community will participate in talking circles that will consist of structured reflection and sharing around the importance of the courage and compassion we can (or maybe can’t) find in our own lives. The discussion, Anderson said, will challenge the group to continue carrying out the mission to meet the needs of the times that began with Mother Catherine.

“As we approach our 100-year anniversary in Louisville, it is important to reflect on how we are writing our own chapter in Spalding’s history,” Irvin said. “… As President McClure has said, the degree to which we embody both courage and compassion in our time will determine how our chapter will be read the future.”

NAZARETH, Kentucky – As Spalding University celebrates its founding body – the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth – and all Spalding alumni the next two days during Founders’ Weekend, the university will welcome the new leaders of that founding body to campus, and, appropriately, they’re all Spalding alumni.

The new SCN Central Leadership Team was installed on Aug. 25 with three Spalding alumnae at the helm: Sister Sangeeta Ayithamattam as president and Sisters Jackulin Jesu and Adeline Fehribach as vice presidents. Sisters Sangeeta and Jackulin are both from India, and it’s the first time that two India natives are on the Central Leadership Team.

All three are expected to attend the Spalding Founders’ Weekend reunion dinner on Saturday evening.

They’ll serve a five-year term leading an SCN congregation that includes hundreds of sisters participating in ministries in five countries: the United States, India, Nepal, Botswana and Belize.

“We keep searching for ways to reach out in compassion and justice and to speak our truth in the spirit of the gospel,” Sister Sangeeta said. “I believe Spalding is following in that path and tradition.”

As a 26-year-old, Sister Sangeeta came to Nazareth and Spalding in 1985, her first time ever in the United States. She majored in business administration with a minor in biology. The business program was a small one at the time, and she was its only international student. She knew that when she came to Spalding that she would eventually be headed back to India to pursue SCN ministries and to work in hospitals, and she said her college education prepared her well.

“There was such a friendly atmosphere, a welcoming atmosphere, which helped me a lot to get adjusted,” she said. “That time really stretched my world view about things, and I found the education system as very broadening. It really prepared me.”

Sister Sangeeta graduated in 1988 and went on to earn a master’s in hospital administration at Xavier University. She worked in administration at three hospitals in India and has served in various SCN leadership roles, including the term that just ended as vice president alongside President Susan Gatz, SCN, who’s also a Spalding alumna.

Sister Adeline, who is a Louisville native and alumna of Angela Marici High School, graduated from Spalding in 1974. She also served on the Spalding faculty from 1996 to 2007 as a religious studies professor.

“It was a good time for me,” she said of her undergraduate years. “I had some really good teachers, many of whom were our own sisters. My time there (as a student and a faculty member), especially my early days, were quite fulfilling. I thoroughly enjoyed working with the people in what was then the College of Arts and Sciences. We had a great group.”

Sister Adeline, who was the provincial of the SCN Western Province from 2012-17 and vice provincial from 2007-12, also holds a master’s in theological studies from Catholic Theological Union and a doctorate in scripture from Vanderbilt.

“I was the first college graduate in my family,” she said, “and I know many of the students at Spalding are first-generation college students. It’s important that Spalding continues to be that niche in Louisville.”

Sister Jackulin, whose work has also primarily been in hospital administration, studied nursing at Spalding from 1990 to ’94. Known as “Jackie from India” because she had three classmates and a dean who were also named Jackie, she was, like Sister Sangeeta, the only international student in her program.

“It was a great experience,” Sister Jackulin said. “My classmates were so good to me.”

She fondly recalls her commencement ceremony in which she won the nursing class’ humanitarian award as voted on by faculty and students.

Sister Jackulin passed her nursing boards and did a brief stint as a nurse in Lexington before returning to India to work in nursing, then administration at various hospitals.

By doing her clinical work in hospitals all around Louisville, “nursing at Spalding gave me a good foundation” for her work in India, she said.

Sister Jackulin said there are many Spalding SCN alumni serving outside the United States, spreading the spirit of service and compassion that Mother Catherine Spalding helped foster.

“But even if they have not studied at Spalding, the Spalding spirit is there – in ministries across India, Nepal, Botswana,” Sister Jackulin said. “Mother Catherine found that spirit, and we carry it everywhere we go. She responded to whatever the need was at that time, whether it be cholera, caring for orphans, whatever it was at that time, and her legacy is lived out today wherever the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth are.”

The Spalding community joins the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth in saying a loving goodbye to Sister Julia Clare Fontaine, a former Spalding biology professor and department chair who died on Feb. 22 at the age of 97. Here is a link to her obituary and video replay of her funeral.

Among Sister Julia Clare’s many contributions to Spalding and her religious community, she will be fondly remembered as the creator of one of the university’s proudest and most fun campus traditions: the annual Running of the Rodents. The first Spalding rat race, as its commonly called, took place in 1973, and the 46th edition will be held on April 12.

In honor of Sister Julia Clare, let’s look back at an interview with her about the history of the Running of the Rodents that was originally published in the Winter 2012 issue of the former Spalding Magazine:

When former biology professor Sister Julia Clare Fontaine overheard a student complain about the “rat race” of finals, she immediately had an idea for a stress reliever before spring session final exams—racing lab rats. Since 1973, the Running of the Rodents has been a fun-filled, annual Louisville tradition that serves as both a stress reducer and a unique method of teaching students about animal care as well as behavior modification techniques.

Since its inception, the Running of the Rodents has received much attention, and, according to Sister Julia Clare, it has made news on national syndicates as well as BBC London, BBC Mexico and BBC Canada. Trivial Pursuit® coined the race as “The Most Exciting Two Seconds in Sports” after 1987’s rat, Deep Throat, won the Rodent Derby in 1.8 seconds.

This year marked the 40th anniversary of the event. With the theme “Viva Rat Vegas,” the campus was alive with decorations and costumes representing everything Vegas from Elvis and Frank Sinatra to characters from movies such as “Vegas Vacation” and “The Hangover.” Racing rodents donned names such as Lady Luck, Roulette, Burlesque and LibeRATce.

Spalding University sat down with Running of the Rodents creator Sister Julia Clare after the event to talk about the event’s history.

SU: From your perspective, how did the rat race begin?

SJC: It was a biology senior seminar, and I was giving out assignments when one of the students said, “Oh, I’ll be so glad to get out of this rat race.” And I thought, “We have pet rats in the lab. Let’s go outside and race them.” We found boards about 10 feet long, and we assembled them in to four tracks. We put the rats in and let them run. And then, [over the years], it developed into a whole take on the Kentucky Derby.

SU: In what ways has the rat race developed?

SJC: Well, we had a student’s father who made us a round track, and then a few years later, [Spalding alumna and former Rat Queen] Madonna (Ebernez) Wilson, who was studying architecture at U of K, constructed a oval track with an infield, starting gate, a quarter pole, a three-quarter pole and a final. I think it’s the one they are still using today.

Two to three years after the first race, we got the students, regardless of their major, to train the rats prior to the race. We used FrootLoops® in those days. A rat would run so far. and then it would get rewarded with cereal. Then it would run a little farther, then farther, then farther. It took a long time to train them, but those students were very careful with training and taking care of the animals, and the rats would learn to know their trainers. It’s a whole thing on animal behavior.

Students also used to use what I call thoroughbred rats—the Norwegian lab rat—a black and white rat. They are a loving animal like a kitten, and they are not as big as the other rats. One student said her rat would watch television with her. They learn their trainers so that as soon as they hear the trainer’s voice they will come to him [or her]. I used to get them from the medical and dental research building.

SU: Tell us a little bit about the themes of rat race over the years.

SJC: The students picked the themes over the years, but my favorite was probably the year we used the theme of Dallas. Of course, we had a rat named JR. At the time on the show, there was a character named Kristin, and I don’t know if she had her eyes on JR or what, but she got pregnant. It just so happened that year, one of the rats was named Kristin, and don’t you know, she got so pregnant that she wouldn’t fit in the starting gate so we had to scratch her. CBS national news picked it up that year, and they started the news program with Cliff [from Dallas] saying, “I’m gonna get that dirty rat.”

SU: It must be satisfying knowing that something you created has grown from something so small to something that has lasted the past 40 years. How do you think the Running of the Rodents has changed over the years?

SJC: Well, we used to race outside in the [Mansion] parking lot and in those days I got four sets of bleachers from Metro Parks brought in to the lot. [The location now in the ballroom] is the biggest change, I think, but we also used to have betting. You’d put a quarter down on a winner, and you got 30 cents back. [Laughs.] There was one Courier-Journal reporter that said, “Now, how can you as a Catholic condone gambling?” And I said, “You’ve got to be kidding; it’s more of a gamble to walk across Fourth Street and get there safe then it is to put a quarter down on a rat.” [Giggles.]

I’d be interested to see the trainers get back in to using the “thoroughrats”—it would be more scientific. Honestly, I can’t think of anything more that Spalding could do for the Running of the Rodents that it isn’t doing now. When I was there, I was a full-time professor with a full load organizing the race. It’s nice that university has [Student Development and Campus Life] to organize things like the cereal eating contest and penny wars. It’s all right. … I am proud of them.