Established in 2011, URSA was created to expand opportunities for undergraduates to lead or collaborate on research projects alongside faculty mentors. Now in its fifteenth year, the event has grown into a cornerstone of BenU’s academic calendar, and the 2026 symposium proved to be one of the most vibrant yet.

From noon-4:30 p.m., Goodwin Hall hosted a packed schedule of oral presentations across three rooms (211, 212, and 213), with three concurrent time blocks running from noon until the late afternoon. Topics ranged from police perceptions of community-oriented policing and the role of music in Native American identity to existentialist analyses of eating disorders, echo chambers on social media, CAR-T cell therapy for solid tumors, and the racialized lens of medical illustration. The presentations reminded all in attendance that URSA interprets “scholarship” in the broadest possible sense.

Meanwhile, the first-floor lobby transformed into a bustling gallery of discovery during the poster session, held from 12:30-2:30 p.m. Poster topics ranged from Wolbachia bacteria in arthropods and the neurotoxic effects of microplastics on the brain to AI-driven goose deterrent systems for Lake St. Benedict, the relationship between personality traits and social deduction games, and a winter clothing drive supporting survivors of domestic violence.

Students from the natural sciences presented research findings on large-format posters, while peers from the humanities and arts displayed original creative work, including visual art installations and descriptions of original musical compositions.

Faculty, staff, and students filled the hallways and session rooms, offering thoughtful questions and enthusiastic support. For many presenters, URSA served as a vital “dry-run” for larger regional conferences later this spring. But for all involved, the event was a celebration of what happens when BenU students are given a stage to share their curiosity.

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The Benedictine University Senior Awards annually recognize outstanding students who are earning a bachelor’s degree from Benedictine University. This year we had a particularly strong pool of applicants! We are tremendously proud that so many remarkable students attend our school and we wish them all the best in their future endeavors.

The Awards and the Recipients are as follows.

Benedictine Hallmark Award: Awarded to a student whose life, activities, and achievements while at Benedictine University exemplify one or more of the 10 Benedictine Hallmarks. This has been awarded to Victoria Alvarado.

Resilience Award (former Overcoming Adversity Award): Awarded to a student who demonstrated substantial achievements during their time at Benedictine University despite a personal or financial hardship, which is so significant that in most cases it would have prevented a student from attending and succeeding at Benedictine University. This has been awarded to Michael Wulffe.

Community Service Award:  Awarded to a student for outstanding community service; for example, religious, educational, social, or political activities.  The student must have worked effectively with others and commanded the respect of the organization or activity with which they worked.  This has been awarded to Hiba Siddiqui.

Benedictine University Service Award:  Awarded to a student for outstanding service to the University in general and to fellow students in particular.  The student must have worked effectively with others and commanded the respect of the University community.  This has been awarded to Zohaib Farooq.

The Bishop Daniel Kucera Award: Awarded to a non-traditional student in recognition of their contribution in external service, leadership in their home community, and/or academic achievement while working full-time or running a home, etc. This has been awarded to Lisa O’Brien.

Thomas J. Dyba Leadership Award:  Awarded to a student for outstanding ability to initiate and organize worthwhile activities, to encourage and direct the cooperative efforts of others and to command respect as a campus leader.  This has been awarded to Ali Ebraheemi.

Awards in Academic Honors:  The awards in academic honors are conferred on students from across the University who have distinguished themselves by positive achievements in the realm of their major field of study.  It is recommended that candidates for these honors should have earned a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.5.  Students should have completed research or a scientific procedure of some consequence, conducted an experiment or investigation of positive value to their field of study, published in the field or won an election on the basis of competence in their field.

College of Science and Health:  Jacob Pipowski

College of Liberal Arts:  Samiha Syed

School of Education: Alexis Langford

Procopian Award:  The highest honor that can be bestowed on a student is the Procopian Award.  This award is given for consistently outstanding curricular and extra-curricular activities while at Benedictine University.  The award signifies that scholarship, leadership, and service are exemplified by the student.  This has been awarded to Ayesha Moosani.

The Honors Committee is composed of: Dr. Darya Aleinikava (Chair), Dr. Catherine Arnold, Dr. Christopher Birks, Dr. Namhoon August Lee, Dr. Elaine Davies, Director of Academic Accommodations and Accessibility, and Marco Masini, Dean of Students.

Also recognized are the recipients for the Awards for the Communication Arts program:
Courtney Croft Excellence in Communication Arts – Neha Mazhari
Print Media Excellence Award – Nick Schlagel
Electronic Media Excellence Award – Neha Mazhari
Research Excellence Award – Chloe Drozdz

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Veteran drummer Chris McHugh, one of Nashville’s most sought after studio drummers, percussionists, and music producers, will conduct a late afternoon drum clinic, and evening lecture at Benedictine University as part of its Journeys in Leadership series. Both events will take place on April 4 and are free and open to the public. Benedictine is located at 5700 College Road, Lisle, IL 60532.

During a remarkable career spanning more than three decades, McHugh has played with a virtual “Who’s Who” of musical artists, including Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood, Hunter Hayes, The Doobie Brothers, Lionel Richie, and Jordan Davis.

The clinic will take place from 4 – 5 p.m. at Benedictine’s Goodwin Hall of Business Auditorium. McHugh will play along with tracks of songs he’s recorded over his lengthy career, explain his technique for each song, and answer audience questions. While open to the public, high school music programs in the Lisle area are being encouraged to attend and participate.

McHugh’s Journeys in Leadership lecture will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. also at Benedictine’s Goodwin Hall of Business Auditorium. McHugh will tell stories and relate lessons learned from 40 years in the music industry. For those who are not able to attend in person, the live presentation can be seen via Zoom. To see it, please register here:

Journeys in Leadership is a nonpartisan, non-political speaker series generously supported by the Becker Endowment fund. The aim of this series is to bring much needed attention to the value of a liberal education and the myriad professional opportunities available to people with backgrounds in the liberal arts.

“It is rare any of us have the opportunity to listen to and interact with a legendary musical figure such as Chris McHugh,” said Phil Hardy, Journeys in Leadership director and Professor of Political Science at Benedictine University. “He’s not just played with some of the music industry’s best, he is one of the best, and we can’t wait to hear the stories and lessons he imparts.”

For additional information, contact Phil Hardy: phardy@ben.edu or (630) 829-6292.

Learn more about the Journeys in Leadership programs.

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That Benedictine welcomes people of diverse faiths and cultures is a cornerstone of our University. In the spirit of St. Benedict, we invite and encourage students of all faiths to converse and work together to discover their purpose, grow in their self-awareness, and contribute to the common good.

With that mission in mind, we hope you will watch this video featuring Benedictine Professor Rita George-Tvrtković, Ph.D., with two students discussing impactful interreligious encounters they have experienced at Benedictine. Both students, Adeena Ahmed, a junior who is majoring in biology, and Jenna Demas, a junior majoring in sport and exercise science, concisely and articulately relate stories we hope you will find interesting and inspirational.

Where this video will ultimately live in addition to Benedictine’s website is very special, but first some background. In 1964, Pope Paul VI established a special office for relations with followers of other religions. That would become the Vatican’s Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue (DID). In late 2020, Pope Francis announced his appointment of 19 Consultors to the DID. His Consultors included scholars and expert practitioners from around the world.

Of the 19 consultors, there are only 6 women and 2 Americans. Professor George-Tvrtković is among the 6 women and 2 Americans. Again…there are only 19 members of the Vatican’s DID worldwide. And we have one of them among our faculty!

Recently, the DID requested videos from all of its Consultors. This video will be part of a series called “Stories of interreligious dialogue” on the Vatican website. What an honor for Professor George-Tvrtković and Benedictine University! Find the series here: .

Professor George-Tvrtković’s experiences as a Consultor included participating in two in-person meetings in Rome, one ow  which included Pope Francis himself. The first meeting was a plenary assembly of the Consultors and Bishops, and the second was an all-women’s conference that brought together global women leaders of interreligious dialogue from 12 different religions.

Other activities include offering feedback on various DID document drafts, planning events, writing articles for Pro Dialogo (the Vatican’s academic journal on interreligious dialogue) and participating in monthly meetings with women leaders in the global interreligious network.

It is Professor Rita George-Tvrtković’s work with the global women’s network that got her thinking about how to encourage more female student leadership in interreligious dialogue on the Benedictine campus, hence the events Jenna and Adeena mentioned in this video.

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Fall 2023 Writing Excellence Award Winners

Amina Ahmad, “Predator vs. Prey” (cultural analysis) – faculty sponsor: Prof. Gregory Ott

Fatima Akhoon, “Jewish Views on Abortion” (research paper) – faculty sponsor: Prof. Bernarr Newman

Fatima Akhoon, “Characterization of Phage Plattie: A lytic phage adopted from an apple tree soil sample” (lab report) – faculty sponsor: Dr. Tiara Perez Morales

Victoria Alvarado, “Vibrio cholerae and biofilm formation by BipA regulation at different temperatures” (lab report) – faculty sponsor: Dr. Tiara Perez Morales

Katie Brill, “Life and Worth” (argument proposal) – faculty sponsor: Prof. Beth Sitter

Kristen Cerney, “Healthy or Harmful? Romantic Relationships with Artificial Intelligence” (argumentative paper) – faculty sponsor: Dr. Jean-Marie Kauth

Huda Fatima, “Anselm and Descartes on the Ontological Argument for the Existence of God” (argument of existence) – faculty sponsor: Dr. Steven Burgess

Li Holley, “Sensory Machines” (analytical essay) – faculty sponsor: Prof. Gregory Ott

Danielle Holtz, “I Resent My K-12 Education, But Future Students Do Not Have To” (argument paper) – faculty sponsor: Dr. Jean-Marie Kauth

Sandra Labib, “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall” (research paper) – faculty sponsor: Dr. David Beran

Anna Lakomiak, “Double-Meaning and Dehumanization” (cultural analysis) – faculty sponsor: Prof. Gregory Ott

Hannah Loftus, “Stuck in the Dark” (narrative essay) – faculty sponsor: Dr. Wendy Ward

Anthony Pena, Advertising Analysis Essay – faculty sponsor: Prof. Beth Sitter

Vanessa Raketic, “Therese Lisieux on the Concept of Littleness” (close reading and commentary) – faculty sponsor: Dr. Rita George-Tvrtkovic

Isabel Rossi, “Investigating the ecological microclimates of Benedictine University Campus” (lab report) – faculty sponsor: Dr. Leigh Anne Harden

Madeline Russelburg, “Host Infection Cycle of Canine Parvovirus” (lab report) – faculty sponsor: Dr. Tiara Perez Morales

Delaney Schretter, “Descartes: Doubt, Deception, and Dualism” (philosophy reflection) – faculty sponsor: Dr. Steven Burgess

Karlee Stuiber¸ “The Crew” (autoethnographic essay) – faculty sponsor: Prof. Gregory Ott

Hajira Syeda, “Analysis of the Circulating Frequency of CD8+ Memory Stem Cells in Acquired Aplastic Anemia” (literature review) – faculty sponsor: Dr. Tiara Perez Morales

Langston Walton, “Gun Violence” (argument proposal) – faculty sponsor: Prof. Beth Sitter

Congratulations to all of the award recipients!

Learn more about the Writing Program.

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Learn more about our psychology program.

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It’s a time of celebration and pride at Benedictine University as we honor the exceptional achievements of our faculty. The Distinguished Faculty Awards for the 2022-23 academic year have been announced, and it’s with great honor and pleasure that we share the names of these outstanding educators who have made remarkable contributions in their respective fields.

Dr. LeeAnn Smith: Distinguished Faculty Award for Service
LeeAnn Smith has been recognized with the Benedictine University Distinguished Faculty Award for Service. This award is a testament to her unwavering commitment to serving the community and her dedication to fostering a spirit of service within the university. LeeAnn’s contributions have not only enriched the lives of her students but also made a significant impact on the broader community.

Dr. Tiara Perez Morales: Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching
The Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching has been awarded to Tiara Perez Morales. Tiara’s approach to teaching combines passion, creativity, and a deep understanding of her subject matter, making her classes not just a learning experience but a journey of discovery for her students. Her dedication to student success and her ability to inspire is truly commendable.

Dr. Rita George-Tvrtkovic: Judith Ann Whinfrey Distinguished Faculty Award for Leadership
Rita George-Tvrtkovic has been honored with the Judith Ann Whinfrey Distinguished Faculty Award for Leadership. This award recognizes her exceptional leadership qualities and her significant contributions to the academic community. Rita’s leadership style is characterized by her visionary approach, her ability to inspire her colleagues, and her commitment to fostering an inclusive and forward-thinking academic environment.

We invite the Benedictine University community and all who value excellence in academia to join us in congratulating Dr. Smith, Dr, Perez Morales, and Dr. George-Tvrtkovic. Their achievements are not just a source of pride for the university but also an inspiration for students, faculty, and the academic community at large.

Learn more about our programs in the College of Science and Health and College of Liberal Arts.

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