off

Celebrate the Class of 2020

Virtual Commencement

Just because we can’t be with our graduates, doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate.

2020 Award Recipients

Hear from our award recipients as they find out about their honors.

2020 Graduates

See the list of names of our Class of 2020. Congratulations!

Spalding University Commencement tradition began when Henry Clay presented a diploma to the first graduate of Nazareth Academy, founded and operated by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. For years, the first Saturday of June has marked the day of celebration for our graduates. Even though the pandemic has forced us to break tradition and postpone our official Commencement ceremony, we celebrated the Class of 2020 virtually and invited them back for our 2021 in-person ceremonies.

Virtual Celebration: June 4-7, 2020

The accomplishments, perseverance and determination of our 2020 graduates are worth celebrating. Watch our virtual celebration.

2019 Spalding grad
Spalding graduate with family member at Commencement

Connect With Us on Social Media

Connect with us on social media. We’ll be honoring our award winners and graduates all week long. Make sure to use #SpaldingGrad when you post.

Spalding graduate in cap and gown blowing confetti towards camera.

Light it Up!

Take a drive down River Road and see The Big Four Bridge  lit up blue and gold for Commencement.

Big Four Bridge lit up red and blue
Shannon Cambron poses with graduate daughter Caroline
Spalding graduate in cap and gown
bucket of bronze-colored coins engraved with the Spalding mission statement

Spalding’s Director of Student Leadership and Service Learning, Anna Foshee, discusses the tradition of the Spalding mission coin and asks graduates to give a shout out to those who have inspired and supported them throughout their college career.

The Mother Rose Meagher Award is presented annually to a graduating senior who works diligently to achieve harmonious human relations and exhibits outstanding promise of becoming a worthy member of his or her chosen profession and a leader in the community. Congratulations to this year’s winner: Bachelor of Science in Health Science graduate Kasim Alsalman.

Kasim is a first-generation scholar whose academic focus is healthcare administration. He has on taken numerous leadership positions as a student and athlete at Spalding. Kasim is a captain and four-year member of the men’s soccer team and a St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference All-Sportsmanship honoree. He is also President of Spalding’s Student Athletic Advisory Council and has participated in the NCAA’s Leadership Seminar and Diversity and Inclusion Workshop. Kasim has been described as a “true citizen-leader and someone that represents the school in such a positive way everywhere he goes.” Congratulations again to Kasim on an outstanding and inspiring career at Spalding!

Spalding soccer player Kasim Alsalam, waving to crowd, wearing gold jersey and blue shorts
Sally Rother headshot

The Mother Catherine Spalding Service Learning Award is presented annually to a graduating senior who has distinguished themselves through outstanding service to the community, personal leadership, and witness to the dignity of human life as a person committed to meeting the needs of others. Congratulations to this year’s winner: Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing graduate Sally Rother!

Sally is a 4.0 honors graduate who is passionate about creative writing and environmental sustainability. She is the first-ever Spalding graduate to earn a minor in Environmental Studies, which exists in because Sally was a student visionary for its creation. Sally is the Founder and President of Spalding Local Urban Gardeners (SLUG) and has been a Writing Center student consultant. She has worked for Fons Vitae Publishing, the Louisville Story Program and the Passionate Earth and Spirit Center, where she researched, designed and implemented several parts of an urban “food forest” – a large-scale gardening project for the community. She also started a recycling program at Village 8 Theatres, ensuring that bins of waste from the movie theater were recycled instead going out with the garbage. Sally has been described as “considerate, kind, thoughtful, self-aware, a fantastic writer, a wonderful communicator, and someone who is all around a wonderful person to be around. She brings others up, inspires, and makes people better. The world is in great need of people like this.” Congratulations to Sally on an outstanding and inspiring career at Spalding!

Annually at Commencement, Spalding bestows its highest honor – the Caritas Medal – to a former graduate who has made a significant contribution in a particular field and who embodies the qualities and spirit of service encompassed in the philosophy, mission and tradition of Spalding.

The recipient of the 2020 Caritas Medal is the late Catholic education leader Dr. Perry Sangalli, Ed.D., 1998, the former President of Saint Xavier High School and longtime Spaldng trustee who is being honored posthumously.

Perry Sangalli headshot
Brenda Nash headshot

Every year at Commencement, the Spalding Board of Trustees bestows the Outstanding Faculty Award to a member of the Spalding faculty whose work embodies the mission of Spalding University. The recipient of the 2020 Spalding Outstanding Faculty Award is Brenda Nash, PhD, Full Professor in the School of Professional Psychology.

Dr. Nash serves as the Director of Clinical Training in Spalding’s prestigious Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology program, and on July 1, she will assume the role of Chair of the School of Professional Psychology. Dr. Nash has been on the full-time faculty at Spalding since 2006 and has served as Clinical Director since 2011, overseeing students’ practicum and internship placements.

In addition, this year, she became the first Spalding faculty member to serve on the state’s Board of Examiners of Psychology, as appointed by Gov. Beshear.

Moreover, Dr. Nash has co-authored two scholarly book chapters this year, and she is also collecting data on the effectiveness of mindfulness-based groups for correctional officers in rural Kentucky, a grant-funded contract that has also supported student training. For the past decade, she has led a Research Interest Group (RIG) organized around women’s issues.

Dr. Nash specializes in working with survivors of trauma, including sexual and physical abuse, childhood abuse, domestic violence, automobile accidents and catastrophic loss.

In a very recent example of her compassionate leadership, Dr. Nash and SOPP faculty organized Friday’s Show of Solidarity demonstration, during which students, faculty and staff lined S. Fourth St., standing silently in support of the Black community and against racial injustice.

Dr. Nash has been described as having “a clear passion for the field of psychology, and more specifically for the training and education of future psychologists. She models compassion, self-reflection, and commitment for her doctoral students and pushes her peers to be better supervisors, educators, and clinicians.”

Congratulations, Dr. Nash, and thank you for your service to our students, the field of psychology and the community at large!

Spalding’s Board of Trustees has bestowed the rank of Professor Emeritus and the title of Emeritus Professor of Psychology on Kenneth Linfield, PhD, a long-serving faculty member in the School of Professional Psychology.

Professor Emeritus Linfield has left a lasting mark on the University by displaying an intense love of learning and teaching, a powerful dedication to their students and a strong loyalty to Spalding that will be remembered and appreciated for years to come.

Following a career as a Methodist pastor, Dr. Linfield has served 21 years at Spalding. He is said to have always viewed his work as an extension of his ministry.

Dr. Linfield has spent the past 13 years as the Director of Graduate Training, taking on the major responsibilities of student advisement, admissions, tracking, and policy execution. He is an associate editor of the American Psychological Association journal Psychology of Religion and Spirituality. He wrote a graduate textbook on Program Evaluation, and he has coauthored a wide range of articles and chapters.

Dr. Linfield is said to have “left an indelible mark of quality on all of his professional activities, both within the School of Professional Psychology and across the broader Spalding community. He has embodied the concept of compassion across all his professional endeavors.”

Congratulations, Dr. Linfield, on being honored as Professor Emeritus, and thank you for your service to our students, our university and your field!

Ken Linfield headshot