By: Emily Compton
Bellarmine’s newest dean and department chairs represent the university’s fascinating faculty that cares about students’ needs above all else.
Alisha Harper, the chair of the combined accounting and business administration departments, is a self-proclaimed “biker chick” and an avid reader.
“I have a passion for reading,” Harper said. “I love to get lost in somebody else’s world because, to me, I get a picture in my head about what the characters look like and what the world looks like and what they’re doing.”
Her other passion is for her students. “If you haven’t figured out yet, my focus is student interaction,” Harper said. “So, the more I can interact with students—the more I can get other people to interact with students, I think the happier everyone is. The more comfortable a student feels walking into my office, I think the better that relationship.”
Dr. Mary Huff, the interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said she enjoys helping people. She has three children she loves to spend time with, the youngest of which is a high school senior. “I love having watched them grow up and be who they are,” Huff said.
Huff said she wants to bring the departments in the College of Arts and Sciences together. “I think one of the things I want to see is a little bit more interaction between our departments,” Huff said.
“So, we have over 24 different departments, and I think there’s a lot of collaboration between the departments, but to strengthen those ties across and to get students to see that all the different gen eds (general education courses) they take do contribute to their overall education here at Bellarmine,” Huff said.
Dr. Joshua Golding, the chair of the philosophy department, said he loves Jewish meditation, devotional prayer and recreational basketball, among other activities. Golding said besides looking for more philosophy majors, the department is also looking for more interaction with other departments and hoping the Ethics and Social Justice Center will have more events and lectures for students to attend.
Dr. Joy Jacobs-Lawson is the interim chair of psychology, sociology and criminal justice studies. She has two children, a 13-year-old and a 10-year-old, whom she loves to spend time with outside and with their Cub Scout and Girl Scout troops.
“My goal is to reach out and do what’s best for the students and for all of the area,” Jacobs-Lawson said.
According to Jacobs-Lawson, a goal for the department is to offer classes that may overlap and help students in other areas and majors achieve their goals. “We just…we’ve all kind of agreed to…see what we can do to continue to grow as a department and to continue to meet those students’ needs,” she said. “I don’t know of any departments here that are not stellar departments at Bellarmine.”
Congratulations to these individuals on accepting their new positions.