Digital Commons Network^™

The Jeanne Clery Disclosure Report, Sacred Heart University

News, Magazines and Reports

"2026 Sacred Heart University Department of Public Safety Annual Campus Crime & Fire Report."

2026-10-01 Caudill Connection, Morehead State University. Caudill College Of Arts, Humanities And Social Sciences.

Caudill Connection

Caudill Connection newsletter for October of 2026.

Grit, Mindset, And Academic Outcomes Among Nontraditional Online College Students, David W. Franklin, Heidi L. Andrade, Jason Bryer, Angela M. Lui

Journal of Research Initiatives

Grit and mindset have gained prominence in educational discourse; however, empirical evidence suggests they predict student success only minimally. Existing research on grit and mindset has several gaps, including insufficient focus on retention, online learners, and nontraditional student populations. The present study examines the relationships between grit, mindset, and academic outcomes among two samples of nontraditional students enrolled in online colleges. Utilizing survey data from the Diagnostic Assessment and Achievement of College Skills (DAACS) project, the study analyzes responses from 9,276 predominantly nontraditional undergraduate students at two online institutions in the United States. Findings reveal that although grit, its two …

Digital Learning And Digital Literacy: Conceptual Distinctions, Theoretical Frameworks, And Educational Implications Across The Educational Continuum, Simone Elias, Linda Wilson-Jones, Richard Brutti

Journal of Research Initiatives

The terms digital learning and digital literacy recur frequently in educational policy and institutional discourse. Yet peer-reviewed scholarship shows they are conceptually distinct constructs operating at fundamentally different levels of analysis. This article examines the theoretical foundations, definitional genealogies, empirical interdependencies, and grade-band and postsecondary manifestations of both constructs across the full educational continuum, from kindergarten through Grade 12 and into undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral education. Drawing on literature across leading educational technology journals, the article argues that digital learning constitutes a pedagogical modality, the structured, technology-mediated environment through which instruction is delivered.

In contrast, digital literacy is a multidimensional …

From Silos To Systems In Higher Education: Doctoral Students’ Conceptualizations Of Faculty And Staff Collaboration In Academic Planning, Linda Wilson-Jones, Simone Elias

Journal of Research Initiatives

Collaboration is increasingly recognized as central to student success and institutional effectiveness in higher education. This qualitative study investigates doctoral students’ conceptualizations of faculty and staff collaboration in academic planning. Data were collected from 22 written responses in a doctoral-level program course. Through reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006, 2021), five interrelated themes emerged: (1) holistic student support, (2) shared institutional vision and goal alignment, (3) complementary expertise and role interdependence, (4) communication as quality assurance, and (5) collaborative culture as an institutional asset. The findings indicate that collaboration functions as organizational infrastructure that aligns academic and administrative systems …

Removing Barringer: University Renaming Governance, Campus Racial Climate, And The Limits Of Symbolic Reform, Charletta H. Barringer-Brown, Daniel N. Brown

Journal of Research Initiatives

University renaming is often seen as either a necessary moral correction or a less significant symbolic reform. This article examines renaming as a matter of higher education governance. It analyzes the removal of Paul Brandon Barringer’s name from honorific spaces at the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech through a qualitative documentary comparative case study. A contextual policy scan of the University of Richmond, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Oregon State University situates the two primary cases within a wider field of naming-governance design. Guided by critical toponymy, institutional theory, policy-decoupling scholarship, organizational-routines theory, and campus-racial-climate …

The Revolving Door: A Content Analysis Of Presidential Transitions At North Carolina’S Historically Black Colleges And Universities, 1865-2026, Tara Shollenberger, Romaine Boyd

Journal of Research on the College President

National reporting has framed presidential turnover at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) as a leadership crisis, yet few studies examine transition patterns systematically within a defined system of institutions over time. This study presents a quantitative content analysis of 206 presidencies across all 11 North Carolina HBCUs from 1865 to 2026, constructed from institutional histories, archival records, and contemporary news sources. Using descriptive analysis and Kaplan-Meier survival estimation, we examine tenure length, the rise of interim appointments, differences by institutional control (public versus private governance), and gender patterns in modern appointments. Findings indicate that median completed tenure has collapsed …

“Playing Mental Gymnastics”: Exploring Black Women College Athletes' Mental Health Experiences At Historically White Division I Universities, Ezinne D. Ofoegbu

Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics

Between 2002 and 2022, over 125 college athletes died by suicide, and Division I athletes represented 45% of these deaths. In 2023, Black women college athletes at Division I universities identified racism as a mental health stressor at a higher rate than their non-Black peers. The intersectional nature of social identities and athlete status may create gendered and racialized stressors that are uniquely experienced by Black women athletes. Given the underrepresentation of Black students (i.e., athletes and nonathletes), coaches, faculty, and staff at historically white institutions (HWIs), Black women athletes are likely navigating campus relationships and environments that are shaped …

Owning The Mission: Reconciling The Past, While Implementing The Science Of Reading In An Education Preparation Program, Paula J. Adams

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

This reflective inquiry examines the first year of a two-year initiative to more explicitly align an established educator preparation program with the Science of Reading (SoR). Situated within a small private university in New York State, the article considers implementation as both curricular revision and institutional change. The process included faculty professional learning, curriculum mapping, alignment of student learning outcomes, revision of common course assessments, development of SoR-aligned models of candidate work, and consideration of clinical experiences. Particular attention is given to tensions that emerged around policy fatigue, academic freedom and responsibility, differing professional cultures, candidates’ prior experiences with literacy …

Listening To The Society Of Yeager Scholars: An Interpretive Companion For Institutional Memory And Strategic Reflection, Brian A. Hoey

Publications of the Honors College at Marshall University

Listening to the Society of Yeager Scholars is an interpretive companion for institutional memory and strategic reflection. Rather than offering a definitive history of the Society of Yeager Scholars or prescribing its future direction, the document reads the Society as an institution with a culture—one shaped over nearly four decades through educational purposes, relationships, traditions, expectations, and changing interpretations of what the Society is and should be.

Drawing on early oral histories, Alison Gerlach’s history of the Society’s first thirteen years, contemporary accounts, institutional records, strategic-planning materials, and sustained institutional experience, the document identifies recurring ways participants have understood the …

Spectrum, Volume 57, Issue 2, Sacred Heart University

Newspapers (Obelisk & Spectrum)

Highlights include:  Building the Future -- Pouring on Park Ave! --  The RD Is In -- College is More Than Classes -- Family Weekend Schedule -- Rowing Revamp from Bow to Stern

Hands-On Ransomware: An Experiential Wannacry Case Study For Undergraduate Cybersecurity Education, Eli Creek Richmond, Thomas R. Devine

Military Cyber Affairs

Ransomware represents one of the most disruptive threats in the cyber landscape, yet hands-on malware analysis remains rare in undergraduate cybersecurity curricula. This paper presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of an experiential learning module centered on the WannaCry ransomware case study, deployed in a senior-level course at West Virginia University. Students performed static and dynamic analysis using industry-standard tools. Pre- and post-module assessments demonstrated measurable gains in self-reported competency across seven technical dimensions. The module's competencies align directly with DoD Cyber Workforce Framework Work Role 212, Cyber Defense Forensics Analyst, supporting education-to-workforce pipeline development.

2026 - Faculty & Staff Research Symposium, Elizabeth Outka, Lidia Radi

Faculty and Staff Research Symposium Programs

[Excerpt from the "Welcome"]

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to the third Faculty & Staff Research Symposium!

The Symposium offers us the chance to come together as a community and learn about the inspiring work happening across our campus. Faculty and staff continue to push the boundaries of research, to design and maintain new learning and gathering spaces, to craft remarkable art and performances, and to develop innovative programs that enrich our collective experience. The event is meant to spark curiosity, build connections, inspire partnerships, and open new pathways for exploration. . . .

This symposium is your creation — it thrives …

The Title Of The Dissertation: How African American Males Overcame Challenges To Persist At A Predominantly White Institution In The South: A Phenomenological Study, Kattie Jones-Gore

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of African American males who graduate from a predominantly White institution (PWI) in the South. The theory guiding the study is Vincent Tinto’s dropout theory. The dropout theory suggests students will persist in graduation if they are academically and socially integrated in the college environment. The central research question in the study was: What were the lived experiences of African American males who persisted to graduation from a predominantly White institution in the South? Purposeful snowball sampling was utilized to obtain 10 African American male participants who …

2026-09-17 Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

Faculty Senate meeting minutes from September 17, 2026.

Interrupting The First Story: A Lonerganian Claim Audit For Visual Analytics, Ajaya K. Swain

San Jose - Lonergan Chair in Catholic Philosophy

Visualizations can create an impression of immediacy: a pattern appears, an explanation follows, and managerial action can seem warranted before the transitions among observation, interpretation, judgment, and decision have been examined. This conceptual and pedagogical paper develops a Lonerganian Claim Audit for visual analytics, a discipline-specific adaptation of Bernard Lonergan's account of experience, understanding, judgment, and decision. It conceptualizes visual inferential compression as diminished differentiation among these operations, such that confidence generated by a visible pattern transfers to an explanation, an evidential claim, and an action without the distinct warrant required at each transition. The Claim Audit interrupts that movement …

Beyond Thinking Like A Lawyer: Lonergan's Transcendental Method And The Formation Of Ethical Lawyers, Sigrid Vendrell-Polanco

San Jose - Lonergan Chair in Catholic Philosophy

Law schools have long promised to teach students to "think like lawyers."1 We teach students to read cases carefully, identify legally significant facts, extract rules from precedent, distinguish adverse authority, construct arguments, and predict how courts are likely to resolve disputes. These are indispensable skills. But they leave open a more fundamental question: What kind of lawyer are we teaching our students to become?2 Legal education is extraordinarily good at teaching students how to determine what the law is and what the law allows. We are perhaps less intentional about teaching them to ask what, as lawyers, they ought to …

2026-09-10 Message From The President, Morehead State University. Office Of The President.

Staff Congress Records

Message sent on September 10, 2026 by the President to the campus community regarding upcoming dates and events for the Fall Semester, personeele and academic, construction news, campus personnel recognitions and other updates, summary of the Board of Regents meeting, and honoring University Legacies.

Becoming: Adult Learners In Graduate Education And The Pursuit Of A Meaningful Life, Tara Shollenberger

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

Adult learners in graduate education represent a population defined by deliberate, purposeful choice. Unlike traditional-age students, these individuals advance within higher education while managing careers, families, and complex life responsibilities. This conceptual paper explores the espoused and enacted vision for a meaningful life held by adult learners in graduate education, with particular attention to doctoral students in professional education programs. Evidence is drawn from national enrollment and attrition data, relevant scholarship, and nearly two decades of direct practitioner observation. The paper argues that adult graduate learners are animated by a vision of becoming: a generational, relational, and deeply purposeful understanding …

Leadership To Strengthen Research Culture And Foster Responsible Conduct Of Research: A Case Study, Seán Lacey, Jean Ricken, Stephen Cassidy

Publications

Objective Research performing organizations (RPOs) are increasingly expected to strengthen research culture and support the responsible conduct of research (RCR). Institutional supports are central to advancing research culture across RPOs. To inform development and evaluation of these supports, surveys were conducted within an RPO.

Method Perceptions of research culture and RCR were examined using surveys conducted in 2022 and 2024. Between surveys, accessible training and supports on good research practices were developed and deployed.

Results Awareness of research impact, authorship, and collegial support remained high (p > 0.05), with significant improvements in access to resources and reporting pathways for inappropriate research …

Book Review: The History And Politics Of Star Wars: Death Stars And Democracy, Petra Hendrickson

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

Book Review: The History and Politics of Star Wars: Death Stars and Democracy

What Determines Free Speech On College Campuses?, Town Oh, Abbylin Sellers

School of Business and Leadership Working Papers

This paper asks two questions. Which institutional characteristics are associated with stronger or weaker campus speech climates? And do institutions take corrective action when they are publicly ranked near the bottom? A university faces two costs of restricting speech: a legal cost that binds only public institutions, and a reputational cost is paid when its climate is publicly observed and private institutions also bear this cost. The evidence comes from five waves of the FIRE College Free Speech Rankings, 1,112 institution-waves covering 257 colleges from 2022 to 2026, merged with IPEDS. On the first question, being a public institution is …

2026-09-03 Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

Faculty Senate meeting minutes from September 3, 2026.

2026-09-03 Faculty Senate Newsletter, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

Faculty Senate newsletter from September 3, 2026.

Impact And Utilization Of Asl Lab Spaces In University Settings, Nathan J. Dutra, Michele Vincent

Journal of Interpretation

American Sign Language (ASL) is a challenging yet rapidly growing language taught at both secondary and higher education levels. Despite its increasing popularity, there is limited literature on utilizing ASL labs as learning centers. This quantitative study examines the implementation of a new ASL lab at a large four-year university in California. It investigates the factors influencing participation, the motivations behind students' involvement, and their perceptions of the lab's effectiveness. Results indicate significant associations between course modality, instructor influence, and lab participation. The study suggests that ASL labs function as cultural and educational spaces that promote visibility of Deaf culture …

September 2026 Faculty Senate Packet, University Of Nebraska At Kearney Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Packets

No abstract provided.

2026-09-01 Rivisal To Uar 906.02, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

Proposed revisal to UAR 906.02 submitted to the Faculty Senate for review on September 1, 2026.

The Freedom To Learn: Student Stories Of Challenge, Aspiration, And Accomplishment, Marjan Noori, Ata Ullah, Elizaveta Vergel, Salma Rahman, Myo Myint Maung Maung, Sisila Zafari

GHEA21 Publications

Every year, students threatened or displaced by political repression, conflict, or crisis take more than 2,000 regular, credit-bearing courses offered by GHEA21. This collection of student work is a small selection of the perspectives on the freedom to learn that have emerged from these courses. It presents a range of work—academic papers, articles written for public audiences, and creative writing—from several countries. GHEA21 compiled this collection as an initiative of its Collaborative for Threatened and Exiled Universities.

2026 September, Morehead State University. Office Of Communications & Marketing.

Morehead State Press Release Archive, 1961 to the Present

Press releases for September of 2026.

Theology As The Queen Of The Sciences? Kuyper, Bavinck, And Dooyeweerd, Steve Bishop, Renato Coletto

Pro Rege

No abstract provided.