Clarke University

Clarke University's 2023-2026 Strategic Plan outlines four key goals: 1) Live Our Mission and Values: Reinvigorate Clarke's mission, educational legacy, and BVM Catholic heritage by enriching student engagement in academics and co-curricular activities, providing holistic advising and career preparation, and modernizing facilities and technology. 2) Empower Student Success: Enhance a culture of inclusion, belonging, and wellness through holistic initiatives that support students' minds, bodies, and spirits. 3) Sustain Institutional Vitality: Refine academic offerings, increase student enrollment, invest in employees, and ensure responsible stewardship of resources. 4) Cultivate a Lasting Legacy: Impact the community through engagement and leadership, foster alumni engagement, and empower the Clarke community to carry forward its values and heritage. The plan aims to create a vibrant campus community, enhance student success, ensure institutional sustainability, and uphold Clarke's legacy.

The meeting segment served to honor a retiring Alumni Association Board member, Sheila Doyle Hawking, who is an alumna of the classes of 1978 and whose mother graduated in 1949. The discussion highlighted her instrumental role as past board president (2016-2020) in navigating change, establishing goals, and mentoring members. The current board president and the university president expressed gratitude for her service and positive influence on the Clark community and region.

The Clarke Compass is Clark University's personalized plan designed to track student progress through college, ensuring they are career and life-ready upon graduation. It focuses on fostering six key outcomes: communication, global awareness and social responsibility, knowledge, professional preparedness, spirituality, and critical thinking.

The presentation covered the awarding of the 2020 Distinguished Alumni Awards, specifically focusing on the Humanitarian Service Award recipient, Molly Junk Anderson Shriver (Class of 1999). The discussion detailed her background as an educator, the personal challenges she overcame, and the founding of 'Challenge to Change Inc.' in 2014 to implement yoga and mindfulness skills in children's education. Mention was made of her subsequent Challenge to Change yoga studio and in-school curriculum that reached 32 schools in the Dubuque tri-state region. The recipient discussed how COVID-19 impacted her organization, necessitating a pivot to online programming, which allowed expansion to over 100 schools virtually, utilizing regional mental health resources. Both the presenter and recipient acknowledged the importance of mindfulness and social-emotional learning in education.