There was something for everyone at this year’s tailgate. The Alumni Tent offered free food and drinks, along with Benedictine University gear for those who stopped by. Families with children headed to the Kid Zone for bounce houses and free Kona Ice. Excel Barber Studio was also on hand offering free haircuts and lineups.

Additionally, multiple departments within the University collaborated in providing something fun for all. Admissions led campus tours and gave away prizes, and Campus Ministry was available for anyone who wanted to reconnect with that part of campus life. The Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum opened their doors for visitors, and the Komechak Art Gallery in Kindlon Hall featured works by artist William Blake.

One of the most anticipated moments of the day was the traditional Eagle Walk in front of Kindlon Hall. Fans lined the path to cheer on the football team as it made its way toward the stadium before the Eagles took on Eureka College at 6 p.m.

This Homecoming was especially meaningful for two groups of alumni. The class of 1976 returned to campus for its 50th reunion as Golden Eagles, and the class of 2001 celebrated its 25th reunion as Silver Eagles. Both groups were recognized throughout the weekend, and their presence served as a reminder of the lifelong connection that begins at Benedictine.

Beyond the tailgate, the day was packed with activities. Soccer, rugby, and lacrosse were all part of the schedule.

Whether they were faculty, staff, students, or alumni returning after many years away, the tailgate gave everyone a place to gather with friends, bring the family, and spend part of their Saturday celebrating the Benedictine community.

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The evening began at 5 p.m. with “Dialogue with Bishop Spies,” an open conversation with Bishop Spies, Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Joliet. Mass followed at 6 p.m., celebrated by Bishop Spies, and a reception rounded out the evening at 7 p.m.

This long-standing tradition rotates each year among Benedictine University, Lewis University, and the University of St. Francis, and this year it was BenU’s turn to host. The Mass brings together college students from across the Diocese to celebrate the many gifts they bring to the Church.

BenU was honored to welcome students from the Diocese and looks forward to continuing this meaningful tradition for years to come.

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Benedictine University (BenU) welcomed new students to campus for Ben Beginnings with a series of events to start the fall semester. Designed to help new students explore campus and build connections, these events ensure a smooth transition to BenU. Students enjoyed activities like Casino Night, Venardos Circus, games on the Quad, and much more.

The University also hosted Opening Convocation and the Eagle Expo, where students learned about BenU’s traditions, received rosaries, and connected with student organizations.

New students also took part in Be Impactful, a service initiative that sends them out to the four corners, including Benet Academy, Villa St. Benedict, St. Procopius Abbey, and the Benedictine Sisters, as well as the surrounding community. This hands-on experience is a great way for students to give back while building a deeper connection to BenU’s Benedictine values. It’s a meaningful and rewarding opportunity that not only enriches the students’ experience but also provides real help to the community.

Together, these events support new students and provide them with the resources to thrive as they begin their exciting new chapter 黄色视频.

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Academically, Fatani is pursuing double majors in Accounting and Management & Organizational Behavior, with concentrations in Human Resource Management and Operations Management.

Beyond academics, Fatani has held numerous leadership roles, including Vice President of Student Senate, President of the Global Justice Club, Vice President of the Accounting Club, Orientation Leader, Peer Mentor, and Accounting Peer Tutor. These positions have refined her communication, advocacy, and problem-solving abilities while allowing her to contribute meaningfully to campus life.

A Defining Experience

Fatani identifies her service in Student Senate as the most transformative opportunity of her undergraduate career. Through this role, she learned to lead with empathy, build consensus among diverse stakeholders, and advocate effectively for student interests. One of her proudest achievements was creating new channels for student feedback, ensuring that voices from across campus were included in university decision-making.

This experience taught her that leadership is fundamentally about service. By listening carefully and prioritizing the common good, she developed skills that have proven valuable in both academic and professional settings.

Hands-On Preparation for the Future

Fatani has engaged in a range of practical experiences that have prepared her for life after Benedictine University. Through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, she prepared tax returns for community members, strengthening her technical accounting skills and reinforcing her commitment to ethical service.

As a recipient of the Arthur J. Schmitt Future Leaders Scholarship, she participated in leadership development workshops, service projects, and purposeful decision-making.

鈥淟eadership is about service rather than titles and about creating opportunities for others to succeed.鈥�

As Vice President of the Accounting Club, Fatani organized firm visits to International Motors LLC and Sassetti LLC, providing students with direct exposure to the accounting profession. She also coordinated events with business leaders to share career insights and industry trends.

Her most extensive project was serving as Committee Chair for the Goodwin College of Business and Liberal Arts Student Senate Committee, where she created and led Business Week each semester. This professional development series offered headshots, r茅sum茅 workshops, LinkedIn optimization, and employer networking. She expanded the series to include a Future Entrepreneurs event, celebrating student-owned businesses and fostering an entrepreneurial mindset across campus.

These experiences have equipped Fatani with project management, event planning, and relationship-building skills. More importantly, they have demonstrated her capacity to bring people together and create lasting value for her community.

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The award, earned by 203 NAIA member institutions nationwide, honors schools that demonstrate a strong commitment to character-driven athletics . Institutions earn points in five key areas: character training, conduct in competition, academic focus, character recognition, and character promotion . This Gold-level recognition highlights the University’s commitment to the core values of integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship, and servant leadership .

BenU Mesa’s achievement reflects the dedication of its student-athletes, coaches, and staff to excellence both on and off the field. Points are awarded based on factors such as outstanding student-athlete GPA achievements and maintaining high standards of sportsmanship with minimal or no ejections throughout the academic year.

Read more about this achievement on our athletics site:

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Before graduates crossed the stage, both campuses held separate Nights of Honor and Gratitude. On Friday, May 8, the Lisle community gathered in Goodwin Auditorium at 5 p.m. to recognize supporters and honor outstanding graduates with academic awards. The evening included an Interfaith Convocation and Awards Ceremony celebrating the diverse faiths on campus.

On Tuesday, May 12, the Mesa campus held its Night of Honor and Gratitude in Gillett Hall at 5 p.m., beginning with a Mass in the Catholic and Benedictine tradition.

Then came Commencement. On Saturday, May 9, the Class of 2026 walked across the stage at the Rice Center Arena in Lisle, leaving behind the offsite Rosemont Theater that had hosted previous graduations. The shift brought the celebration back to the heart of the University. Approximately 400 undergraduate students crossed the stage during the morning ceremony at 10 a.m., followed by 150 graduate students at the 1:30 p.m. ceremony.

In Mesa, graduates held their Commencement Ceremony on Wednesday, May 13, at the Mesa Arts Center. An additional 75 graduates were honored in a celebration distinct to their campus community.

After the final cheers, the new alumni stepped off the stage as graduates of a community they called home.

Relive the week through our official photo albums. View the Lisle Campus album and the Mesa Campus album using the links below.

Watch the recorded live streams. View the Lisle Commencement Livestream and the Mesa Commencement Livestream using the links below.

Congratulations to the Benedictine University Class of 2026. Welcome back. And welcome to your beginning.

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For 27 years, Professor Joel Ostrow, PhD, has led Benedictine University’s Model UN program. This year marked the University’s 59th year participating at NMUN-New York. Dr. Ostrow praised the team’s leadership and work ethic.

The recognition signals that the delegation successfully represented its assigned state, Georgia, delivered informed speeches, and passed detailed resolutions through collaboration with other delegates.

“This award demonstrates that we were able to work together as a team and collaborate with others to get our ideas across,” said third-year delegate Afrah Zahid.

For the students, the honor also represents something larger. Kaylee Ludwig, a second-year delegate, noted the program’s 60-year history 黄色视频.

“Any sort of recognition for our program does not only benefit us, but it is a key program that has stood within our University for over 60 years now,” Ludwig said. “It shows how Benedictine as an institution throughout challenge and development has maintained this pivotal program in enhancing students’ educational experience.”

A Program Open to Everyone

Students emphasized that BUMUN is a high impact practice open to all majors, not just political science or international relations students. Simal Mansoor, the team’s head delegate, is a Health Science student who will be attending medical school. She said BUMUN is the thing she will remember most from her college years, and she credits the program with helping her develop public speaking, leadership, and advocacy skills.

Samuel McNamara, a three-year participant, reinforced that message.

“Model UN is a very unique class that offers students the opportunity to push themselves both academically and socially, which is really only possible while in college,” McNamara said. “In many ways, people who are outside of the world of politics gain more from the experience as they have to try to understand and communicate a policy or opinion that they may not understand or agree with. When they go into their respective fields, it will seem easy to advocate and understand concepts they are familiar with.”

Ludwig echoed that the program benefits students from any background.

“The class helped me build my confidence, and in doing so I have become not only a better public speaker and collaborator, but a better student able to conduct myself in a manner that I hadn’t before,” she wrote.

Building Skills and Community

Students described how BUMUN transformed their public speaking, research, and collaboration abilities.

Zahid recalled the difficulty of public speaking at first.

“Every single class, I would be praying that I wouldn’t be called up to give a speech. Public speaking on a whim was never my thing,” said Zahid. “Looking back, I don’t think any other class taught me to condense information and research the way BUMUN did.”

Es Ronquillo described a similar breakthrough.

“I was honestly never a good public speaker, and if I was asked before this class to speak in front of hundreds of people, I would’ve refused,” Ronquillo said. “However, when I got to the conference, I spoke in a large committee of at least 300 people at a time. Without this class, I definitely would’ve never gained, or taken much longer to gain, the confidence to speak in front of that many people.”

Rahman Svoboda noted how the program built practical career skills.

“It also helped me improve skills like negotiation, teamwork, leadership, and critical thinking in a way that feels much more real than a normal classroom environment,” Svoboda said.

Beyond skills, students spoke of the deep community BUMUN creates on campus. For some, it was their first real sense of belonging in college.

“I’ve personally been in three different universities so far and never have I thought I’d have so much camaraderie with people,” Ronquillo wrote. “I never really stayed after class to talk to people, never did fun things outside of class with anyone I went to school with, but that changed with this class.”

Svoboda agreed.

“One of the best parts of BUMUN has been the people. Preparing for the conference together, traveling together, and supporting each other throughout the week created a really strong sense of community within our delegation,” said Svoboda.

Exposure to the World

The conference in New York also gave students exposure to peers from across the country and around the world. Umang Jain, an international student, described the experience as transformative.

“New York City has an energy unlike anywhere else, and being there as a delegate, walking into that conference, representing Benedictine University on a national stage was something I could not have imagined when I first started this journey,” Jain said. “It was intense, it was exciting, and honestly it was one of the best weeks of my college experience.”

Svoboda noted the value of meeting other dedicated students.

“One of the most impactful parts of BUMUN was meeting students from universities across the world and seeing the level of passion and professionalism they brought into the committee. It was motivating and, honestly, a bit eye-opening at times,” Svoboda said. “The conference pushed all of us to improve not only academically, but personally as well.”

Why BUMUN Matters

Students hope the Benedictine University community understands the lasting value of the program.

“BUMUN isn’t simply a class or a club, but it consists of every hallmark that Benedictine University offers and hopes to reflect upon students,” said Ludwig. “Its value is that it ensures exactly what most should be hoping for within an institution which is new, exciting, scary, and rewarding experiences that you will remember when you reflect upon your overall college experience.”

Jain addressed alumni and supporters directly.

“To the alumni and supporters, BUMUN is one of those experiences that is hard to fully explain but easy to feel the impact of. It shapes students in ways that go far beyond a resume line. It builds character, and I think that is what makes it so special.”

Sebastian Delatorre put it simply.

“Being a part of multiple different clubs and playing a sport, Model UN is THE event that I look forward to the most,” Delatorre said. “Meeting new people whether they’re in my class or from another country in conference has been an eye-opening experience. These are students that I will never forget because of the bond we had during class and conference.”

Zahid offered a final thought.

“BUMUN will definitely be a core memory,” she wrote. “I want everyone to know that it truly is an experience of a lifetime.”

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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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President Scott has served as the 12th permanent president of Chicago State University since July 1, 2018, guiding the institution through a period of historic renewal and strategic growth. As the only four-year U.S. Department of Education-designated Predominantly Black Institution (PBI) in Illinois, CSU has flourished under her leadership, embracing a bold new direction as a regional public university powerhouse. A national voice for equity in higher education, President Scott co-founded the National Coalition of Predominantly Black Institutions of Higher Education and helped launch the first-ever Congressional PBI Caucus.

During her visit, President Scott shared insights from her own leadership journey, offering a candid look at the experiences that shaped her approach to guiding an institution through transformation and advocating for equity. Her distinguished legal career has earned her national recognition, and she has been named one of Crain鈥檚 Chicago Business鈥� . The discussion provided attendees with a unique opportunity to learn from a leader whose career spans law, public service, and higher education.

A central theme of the talk was practical advice for students looking to excel in their studies and achieve their goals. President Scott emphasized the importance of resilience, intentionality, and building strong support networks. She encouraged students to remain focused on their purpose, to embrace challenges as opportunities for growth, and to actively seek mentorship throughout their academic and professional careers.

The event underscored Benedictine University鈥檚 commitment to fostering leadership development and providing students with access to diverse perspectives. President Scott鈥檚 visit left a lasting impression on the audience, offering valuable takeaways for all who attended.

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The gathering began on Thursday, Nov. 13, with a the Gold Mass in St. Benedict Chapel. Celebrated by Fr. Eddie Haule, the Mass honored the vocations of scientists, researchers, and science students, blessing their pursuit of knowledge as a sacred calling. The Chapel, filled with a congregation of students, faculty, staff, and community members, provided a serene start to an evening dedicated to the harmony of belief and inquiry.

The celebration continued with a dinner and keynote lecture in the Kindlon Hall. The event featured Ilia Delio, OSF, PhD, a renowned theologian and scientist who holds the Connelly Chair in Theology at Villanova University. In her lecture, 鈥淐hristianity and Evolution,鈥� Sr. Delio wove together insights from her dual doctorates in Pharmacology and Theology. She presented a compelling vision of an evolving universe charged with divine presence, challenging the audience to see evolution not as a challenge to faith, but as the mechanism through which God continues to create.

The conversation deepened on Friday, Nov. 14, with the Faith and Reason Symposium, centered on the theme 鈥淔aith and Evolution鈥� – held in the Daniel L. Goodwin Hall of Business’s Sorensen Hall of Leaders.

The morning was packed with engaging panels featuring Benedictine University鈥檚 own experts. Panel I, moderated by Ellen Ziliak, PhD, featured insights from Preston Aldrich, PhD, Robert McCarthy, PhD, and Tim Marin, PhD, ’96.

“The Benedictine University Faith and Reason Symposium gives our academic community a rare chance to have honest, intellectually serious conversations about big questions, especially those at the often-avoided crossroads of science and religion,” said Dr. Marin. “It reminds us that genuine learning happens when we are willing to bring our diverse convictions, doubts, and disciplines into the same room and engage one another with openness, respect, and joyful curiosity.”

This was followed by Panel II, moderated by Joy Matteson, MLS, which included discussions by Blair Nelson, PhD, Peter Huff, PhD, and Phil Hardy, PhD.

A standout Interfaith Student Panel moderated by Jayashree Sarathy, PhD, gave voice to BenU students Katie Brill, Khushi Joshi, and Osman Khan, who shared their unique perspectives on navigating their faith in their academic and personal lives.

The symposium culminated in a capstone presentation by Alfred Martin, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Biological Sciences, titled 鈥淗ow Science and Religion Fit Together to Explain Reality.鈥� Dr. Martin鈥檚 talk served as a powerful synthesis of the two days, offering a coherent framework for understanding scientific and religious truths as complementary, rather than conflicting, ways of understanding our world.

These events underscored Benedictine University鈥檚 unique role as a place where the life of the mind and the life of the spirit are not only welcomed but are seen as essential partners in the pursuit of truth.

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