502 research outputs found
Creighton University Window Fall 1996
No full textTHE ONLY CERTAIN RACE IS THE HUMAN RACE / BIOLOGY RECOGNIZES ONLY THE CONCEPT OF A HUMAN RACE
Biology Professor Theodore Burk weighs the concept of race. His discipline recognizes only one race —the human race. Society divides humankind into other "races." Page 4.
OPEN WIDE: DENTISTRY FROM FOOT-PEDAL DRILL TO LASER / DENTISTRY HAS COME FROM THE FOOT-PEDAL DRILL TO LASER
Writer Mary Heng probes dentistry at Creighton's Boyne School of Dental Science, where lasers can replace old-time foot-pedal drills. Page 10.
GURU SHUGRUE: THE MAN WITH THE ANSWERS / MEET GURU SHUGRUE: THE MAN WITH THE ANSWERS FOR THE PRESS
Eileen Wirth profiles the man the reporters turn to when they have a question about politics — national or local. The Law School's Dick Shugrue knows the parties (political) for whom we vote. Page 14.
THE OLD OBSERVATORY HOLDS BOTH OBSERVATIONS / PATHWAY TO THE STARS AND MEMORIES
Michelle Wirth finds an ancient, crumbling building that Creighton alums know and some remember fondly. They've been E-mailing their memories to us. Page 20.11
Daily Reflections (Meditations) on the Scriptures from the Roman Catholic Lectionary.
No full text"I will turn their mourning into joy. I will console and gladden them after their sorrows."||"Eileen," said the familiar voice of our friend Shekar. "If you and Ron want to see Dave alive, you'd better come with me to Methodist Hospital tomorrow."|| My heart sank. We had known for months that Dave's battle against leukemia had not been going well but we hadn't realized that death was imminent.||At the hospital, we entered Dave's room with trepidation. I didn't want to be there. For years, Dave has been good friend but not an intimate _ the zany guy at parties with a ready laugh and a heart of gold, the kind of guy who never needed to make new friends because his buddies were friends for life. That's how I wanted to remember him, not as this shell of a body with very little hair, doped up with morphine and gasping for breath. ||His devoted wife Karen was there, as always, and she was crying. "I'm not very strong these days," she apologized. We stood around in surgical masks not knowing what to say. Dave may have heard us when we told him we loved him but probably not. We hugged Karen.||"He's fought so hard. It can't be much longer," she said. "I'll keep you posted." ||Then I went home and read these readings. |I'm sure they are true and I pray they will be so for Karen and the millions now suffering from Hurricane Katrina and other more personal tragedies. It seems too pat for those of us who aren't consumed by tragedy to utter comforting platitudes to those who are.||At least I am confident that Karen will eventually work through her loss as the readings suggest. As we stood outside Dave's room, we started reminiscing about happier times. We told funny stories about Dave. We managed to laugh a bit, even Karen. Keep her in your prayers
Daily Reflections (Meditations) on the Scriptures from the Roman Catholic Lectionary.
No full text|There shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what I create;|For I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight;|Isaiah|"Don't worry, Dr. Wirth! I've got your back."|Josh, my always cheerful basketball playing student, beamed down on me (I'm 5'2"). I had just apologized because he was left holding the bag after his group project team had disintegrated. One member had simply gone AWOL. Most students would have fretted about the threat to their grades but Josh would make things work.|He had my back. |I recalled this incident as I meditated on today's passage from Isaiah where God rejoices in what he has created and finds his "people to be a delight." It's the way I felt about most of my students most of the time. Whenever I felt hassled, I could count on some special student like Josh to remind me of why I taught. With the right attitude, this can be true of life overall.|I think of what baseball great Bill Veeck once said. "I believe that life abounds in joy for those seek it. I've always reached out for my share with double handfuls." |Just as God rejoiced in what he had created, we need to open ourselves to small moments of delight in our own worlds like a hot night in August when my son was two.|We had set up a kiddie pool in the driveway and normally Raj would splash around in it under his dad's supervision while I threw dinner together. On this night, however, I noticed Raj, face filled with wonder, watching a butterfly. Captivated, I set down my grocery bags to watch him chase that butterfly. I was filled with joy at the miracle of my son. This was more important than dinner. We ordered pizza later. |Since today's news is often far from joyful, we may need to work at combatting negativity. Pope Francis offers guidance in a wonderful piece called "Do you want to fast this Lent?" I especially like his suggestions that we "fast from pessimism and be filled with hope" and "fast from worries and trust in God."|A friend in Seattle and I have embarked on a Lenten exercise along these lines. During our weekly "phone coffee" conversations, we start by sharing our latest good news. This has made us aware of small things we were overlooking like funny texts from our kids or a sunny day in February. We had been drowning in bad news because we weren't paying attention to the good news in our lives.|This is Laetare week. Rejoice in God's people and creation. And don't worry! God has our backs.
Daily Reflections (Meditations) on the Scriptures from the Roman Catholic Lectionary.
No full textWhen I was in first grade, my well-meaning teacher had us stand in line to recite, in order of class standing. Anyone walking into our classroom knew instantly who was first and who was last - who was smart and who wasn't. The ultimate mortification was for a smart kid to have to go to the end of the line for missing a day of school, then slowly and painfully work your way to the head again by passing classmates who missed questions. I mean, what if someone walked in and saw you standing by Pat O'Flarerty? Even at age six, I sensed how hurtful this must have made school for the kids clustered long term at the end of the line. They must have felt like I did on the playground when captains argued about who had to take me. Sadly, adult life has a lot in common with my grade school. Today's readings should make us question how we view life's winners and losers and how best to use our own gifts. "For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last," Jesus warns us in the Gospel. "Masters . . . stop bullying, knowing that both they and you have a Master in heaven and that with Him there is no partiality," says St. Paul in the first reading. Who are our heroes and why? Do we admire a multi-millionaire pro athlete who abuses women more than a Special Olympian who finishes a race with courage, dignity and joy? Were we figuratively born on third base and think we hit a triple, as former Texas Governor Ann Richards once jibed (perhaps unfairly) about the first President Bush. We academics don't get rich but we can easily fall into the trap of thinking we're responsible for being both smart and able to stay in school for years. We forget how many folks had to flip burgers, pick corn or work in a factory to enable many of us to call ourselves "doctor." I've even known some professors who look down on colleagues with degrees from less prestigious institutions than their own. How dare they have had to work their way through school or be unable to afford the Ivy League? We need to remember the source of our gifts and be filled with humble gratitude for them. Above all, we need to use them to help those clustered at the end of the line. Otherwise, we may find ourselves like me on that horrible grade school playground - chosen last when it really counts. Eileen wrote this reflection in 2002
Daily Reflections (Meditations) on the Scriptures from the Roman Catholic Lectionary.
No full text"Yet I consider life of no importance to me, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus to bear witness to the Gospel of God's grace." Acts of the Apostles Dear St. Paul:|How I wish you could explain how to apply this passage to my life. I meditated on it while pounding away on the elliptical machine and couldn't move beyond your saying that "I consider life of no importance to me." Huh? I'm struggling with this one.|It has been an intense couple of weeks. My very close friend was hurt in an accident and I'm also praying for a couple of other seriously ill friends. Graduating seniors need help finding jobs. My daughter-in-law is coping with work and kids while my son is at a lengthy Air Force training program 3,000 miles away. I'm involved in several issues at work and every morning NPR reminds me of the suffering people in places like Syria and Somalia.|I initially wanted to argue with the matter of fact way you told your readers that you would never see them again since that's not how most of us operate (or even should operate). But then I realized how difficult your departure must have been because your letters to your churches show your deep love for them.|In fact, the more I thought about it, dear St. Paul, I almost wished I could hug you and console you as you steel yourself to face a terrifying future. You must have been frightened, no matter how brave a front you display. Are you telling us to face up to our own fears about living the Gospel? Are you telling us to live out the mission God has for us even if we have to pay some price? Instead of telling us to detach from life because it is unimportant, might you be telling us to discover what is important and surrender the rest to the grace of God? Am I even asking the right questions?|Your Admirer,|Eileen Wirt
Daily Reflections (Meditations) on the Scriptures from the Roman Catholic Lectionary.
No full textPaul was aware that some were Sadducees and some Pharisees, so he called out before the Sanhedrin, "My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees; I am on trial for home in the resurrection of the dead."|Acts of the Apostles|Today's reading from Acts showcases St. Paul in a role that had never occurred to me: astute religious politician. He stood before the divided Sanhedrin accused of an essentially political crime. By shrewdly appealing to the members of one faction, he got the two groups arguing with each other instead of him and lived to take his battle to the bigger stage in Rome.|Would Christianity have developed as anything more than an obscure Jewish faction if Paul had been less astute? Could anyone else have persuaded Peter and the other apostles to excuse gentile converts to Christianity from observing Jewish laws that they objected to like circumcision?|It's NO insult to acknowledge Paul's political and communications skills. The important thing is to learn from him as we try to carry out St. Ignatius's command to change the world for the good.|There's nothing immoral about politics per se. Where would the U.S. be if Abraham Lincoln had not emancipated the slaves in a way that kept European countries from backing the Confederacy? Who but a brilliant politician with unequaled moral credentials like Nelson Mandela could have steered South Africa through its first years after apartheid?|While many politicians are indeed corrupt and venal, a few became saints like St. Thomas More. St. John Paul II who more than anyone brought about the fall of communism in Eastern Europe showed how sanctity and politics can go hand in hand.|I suspect God knocked St. Paul off his horse en route to Damascus because Paul was smart and driven as well as devout.|Ironically I read this passage immediately after finishing the new biography of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, "Eunice The Kennedy Who Changed the World" by Eileen McNamera. Eunice was driven by her deep Catholic faith to battle for decades to change society's treatment of people with disabilities, especially developmental disabilities. To her dying day, she was lobbying Congress from a hospital bed on behalf of people whom she led from being warehoused in institutions to the mainstream. Her better-known brothers left no legacy as remarkable as her Special Olympics.|Today's reading should teach us that not only is it okay to work politically, it's virtually a moral mandate. St. Paul and St. Ignatius would surely have agreed with Edmund Burke, a British parliamentary leader, when he said that "The only thing needed for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
Creighton University Magazine Spring 2016
No full textMAKING A DIFFERENCE: ONE SMILE AT A TIME
Through its numerous outreach and community-based programs, the Creighton University School of Dentistry provides much-needed care to underserved populations, treating nearly 27,000 patients annually. Page 16.
WHAT MAKES TEACHING AT CREIGHTON SPECIAL?
Eileen Wirth, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Journalism, Media & Computing, who will be retiring at the end of the semester, reflects on the memorable connections formed between faculty members and students at Creighton. Page 24.
AN INSIDE LOOK AT EMOTIONS
What do our emotions tell us about ourselves — as individuals and cultures? Where do emotions come from? How do emotions affect the brain? Creighton faculty shed light on these questions and more while exploring the complex and mysterious world of our emotions. Page 28.
THE BUSINESS OF DOING GOOD
From teaching companies how to become more ethically responsible to planting 150-year-old corn seeds to help Native groups market food products to the general public, the Heider College of Business has created innovative ways of teaching business practices. Page 34.
STRESS!
Life can be stressful and chronic stress can be detrimental to our health — even deadly. How do our minds and bodies respond to stress, and how can we better manage that response? We turn to Creighton experts and an alumnus conducting cutting-edge research in this area for answers. Page 38.13
Creighton University Window Winter 1994-1995
No full textRECONCILING THE ONE AND THE MANY: JESUIT FORMATION IN THE NINETIES / THE FORMATION OF A JESUIT
What forms a Jesuit? How is this lengthy and elaborate educational and spiritual process accomplished? Writer Bob Reilly looks at change in the Nineties and contrasts today with the days of the cassock and biretta. Page 4.
BERNARD REZNICEK: ELECTRIC EXEC TAKES CHARGE OF BUSINESS COLLEGE / BUSINESS CEO REZNICEK TAKES HELM OF COLLEGE
A business CEO takes the helm of Creighton's College of Business Administration. Bernie Reznicek, whose last post was as head of Boston Edison, turns the electricity on in his new job. Page 14.
NURSING RESEARCH: A NEW RELEVANCY DAWNS / SCHOOL OF NURSING GAINS NEW RELEVANCY IN RESEARCH
The School of Nursing does world-class research and gains a new relevancy for today's challenges. Read about the new role for nursing. Page 18.
CURA PERSONALIS ... CLOSING THE OPEN DOOR FOR STUDENTS / WHEN IS A DOOR NOT A DOOR? WHEN IT'S AJAR
Writer and professor Eileen Wirth finds teaching at Creighton involves more than classroom savvy. Her door is always open, unless the student wants it closed. Page 24.21
Daily Reflections (Meditations) on the Scriptures from the Roman Catholic Lectionary.
No full textWhen I began meditating on today's passage from Matthew, I got depressed thinking about dreadful photos from Iraq, scandals in the Church, etc. If such things are the "fruit" by which we will be judged, we are in sad shape. What could I offer besides an additional, unnecessary dose of depression?|The answer came on my morning walk: Bob Reilly, my recently deceased friend and role model. Bob was an Omaha public relations professional and professor, the author of more than a dozen books, a World War II veteran, a proud Catholic with 10 children, and an expert on Ireland. His lifetime of kindness culminated in caring for his beloved wife, Jean, a victim of Alzheimer's Disease. While few of us are blessed with Bob's talents, we can all emulate his concern for others.|Bob's legacy is less in his wonderful writing than in the numerous people he touched. I marveled at the way this nationally distinguished author donated precious time to local writers who might never publish a word. He helped numerous struggling authors including me through the difficult process of publishing a first book. He always seemed to have all the time in the world for whoever was intruding on his overbooked life. |When I became a professor, I consciously tried to emulate Bob. Numerous students frequently spoke with something akin to reverence of the impact of his attention and advice. He was a teacher who modeled what he taught. He exemplified the service to others that we see in the best Christians _ not people who make headlines but those who teach first graders to read, empty bedpans with a smile, wipe noses, do tax returns for the elderly, serve dinner at soup kitchens etc.|I read one time that the answer to choking on bad news is to become "good news" to others. This is how we can counteract the headlines that make us ashamed. We can all try to produce "good fruit" as Bob did
Catholic Comments Podcast.
No full textDr. Eileen Wirth discusses the role of Journalism programs at Jesuit Catholic universities.
Dr. Wirth is chair of the Department of Journalism, Media and Computing
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