BENEDICTINE COLLEGE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board Officers Team
- Vice Chair of the Board
Abbot James R. Albers, O.S.B., is the ninth abbot of St. Benedict's Abbey, serving in this role since December 2012. He hails originally from St. Joe (Ost), Kansas, west of Wichita, and grew up in Bendena, Kansas, attending St. Benedict's Parish, which was founded by the monks of St. Benedict's Abbey.
Abbot James attended Benedictine College as a fourth-generation legacy student, graduating in the spring of 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and theology. Following graduation he worked for PSI, Inc., as a communications editor in the company's marketing office at its Lawrence, Kansas, corporate headquarters.
He professed vows at St. Benedict's Abbey in December 1996 and began theology studies in the fall of 1997 at the Pontifical University of Sant'Anselmo, Rome, Italy. He earned his Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree from Sant'Anselmo and was ordained to the sacred priesthood in July 2000.
Upon completing his studies, Abbot James served at Benedictine College in the role of Director of Alumni Relations, and in 2002 was appointed as Prior of the Abbey. He served in that role until his election as abbot, serving also as Vocations Director from 2005-2012. Abbot James regularly serves in parishes throughout the Archdiocese on weekends, and shares in the responsibilities of ministering to the students at Benedictine College by helping with chaplain duties.
Job Titles:
- Executive Assistant to President
Job Titles:
- Member of the Emeritus Board
Job Titles:
- Chemistry and Biochemistry
Job Titles:
- Member of the Emeritus Board
Carol L. Rogers epitomizes the blend of business, financial and investment acumen plus the interpersonal skills of attentive listening and clear communication that are ideal for a wealth manager. Over her 30+ year career, these abilities have been recognized many times, and on a national scale. Ms. Rogers began her investment advisory career at E.F. Hutton in 1976. As one of E.F. Hutton's leading brokers, Carol became a Vice President and a member of the Chairman's Council. In 1986, she resigned from E. F. Hutton to form the predecessor of Rogers & Company, A Wealth Management Firm, Inc
The founder, and president of Rogers & Company, has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Independent Wealth Managers in the country. Barron's named Carol and the Rogers & Company Team as one of the Top 1000 Advisors in the US. They also recognized Carol as one of its Top 50 Independent Women Advisors. In April 1997, Carol was named Broker of the Year by Registered Representative magazine, a highly respected industry publication. She was also profiled in the October 2000 issue of Research Magazine and is quoted regularly in Registered Rep, Research Magazine and Horsesmouth.com, a nationally recognized internet resource for financial advisors.
Carol holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and an Executive MBA degree from Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri in conjunction with the University of Sofia, Tokyo.
Ms. Rogers recently continued her pioneering heritage as a member of the first class to receive her Certified Private Wealth Advisor certification (CPWA) along with firm partner, Omar R. Qureshi. The CPWA is an advanced designation through the University of Chicago, Booth Graduate School of Business. It was created specifically for financial advisors and consultants who work with high-net-worth clients on the life cycle of wealth: accumulation, preservation and distribution. She is a member of the Investment Management Consultants Association.*
Carol is a strong believer in "giving back." She serves on the Board of Benedictine College and is a member of the executive MBA Alumni Board for Washington University and the Women's Venture Forum at Washburn University. She was invited as a guest participant at the 1996 National Security Seminar for the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks in Pennsylvania. In addition, "L", as she is fondly called in the office, is a donor advisor for the Rogers & Company Charitable Foundation established in 2006 to provide inner city scholarships. Ms. Rogers has also served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Security Professionals in Washington, D.C.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Emeritus Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Emeritus Board
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of Annual Giving
Doug Longstaff is a 2007 graduate of the Benedictine Executive MBA program. He earned his BA from Franciscan University of Steubenville. Having previously worn a couple of hats in the Alumni and Advancement offices at Benedictine, Doug has been the Director of Annual Giving since 2017. His role is to engage alumni, parents and friends in the life of the college through annual support for all aspects of the student experience.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Emeritus Board
Job Titles:
- Journalism & Mass Communications
Job Titles:
- Member of the Emeritus Board
Fr. Jay Kythe, OSB, is a monk at St. Benedict's Abbey. He currently serves as the Abbey Novice Master and Postulant Director, Retreat Master, and Master of Ceremonies for liturgies. He also serves as Sacramental Minister at Maur Hill - Mount Academy in Atchison, KS. He was born in New Orleans, LA to immigrants from India. He converted to the Catholic faith from Hinduism in 1990, while studying computer science and mathematics at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. His new-found faith encouraged him to study for a Master's Degree in Philosophy at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Steubenville, OH, where he discerned a deeper call to priesthood and religious life. Heeding an invitation from a friend, he studied for the priesthood for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and for the Companions of Christ, a diocesan priestly fraternity. Ordained in 2002, he served as associate pastor and pastor for four different parishes over a period of 11 years, during which time he discerned a deeper calling to monastic life. He joined St. Benedict's Abbey in 2013 and professed his solemn vows in 2017. He is a very happy priest-monk, and looks forward to serving the Lord in Atchison, KS for the rest of his life.
Fr. Jeremy Heppler, OSB, is a monk of St. Benedict's Abbey in Atchison, Kansas. He graduated from Benedictine College in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts degree with majors in Philosophy, Religious Studies, and Spanish. In 2010, he completed studies at St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, earning a Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree and a Master of Arts degree in Systematic Theology. That same year Fr. Jeremy was ordained to the priesthood.
Before entering the monastery in 2002, he served as the Director of Religious Education for St. Paul's Parish in Olathe, Kansas, and as a teacher at Bishop Carroll Catholic High School in Wichita, Kansas. After professing triennial vows, he served as the Director of Campus Ministry for Benedictine College from 2004-2006. From 2010-2012, Fr. Jeremy served as Chaplain and Religion teacher at Maur Hill-Mount Academy in Atchison.
In 2013 he was named the both the Prior and the Oblate Director of St. Benedict's Abbey, and was named Co-Chaplain of Maur Hill-Mount Academy. He also serves a member of the board of directors for both Saint Benedict's College and Achievement Services for Northeast Kansas.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Emeritus Board
Job Titles:
- Chemistry and Biochemistry
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- Marketing & Communications
Job Titles:
- Member of the Emeritus Board
Job Titles:
- Gift Processing Specialist
James Kew is a 1986 Benedictine College graduate who has worked in advancement services at the College since 1989. His work is centered around gift recording, receipting and record keeping. He has a long family association with the college. His father, Lewis (deceased), was Class of 1946; his brother, Craig, is Class of 1988; and his mother, Margaret (deceased), didn't attend Benedictine but taught music at the college from 1964-2012.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Emeritus Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Emeritus Board
Job Titles:
- Director of Career Services
Jennifer Dittemore earned a bachelors, a masters, and a specialist degrees from Northwest Missouri State University. She was a principal for 24 years and an active participant at the state level serving on the executive board of the Missouri Association of Elementary School Principals prior to becoming the new Director of Career Services at Benedictine College in July 2021. She is excited to continue building relationships with Benedictine students and alumni as they become members of The Raven Walk, explore majors, and seek job shadowing, internship, and employment opportunities. She provides a variety of career and graduate opportunities on campus as well as resources for those ready for employment and those in transition.
Job Titles:
- Director of Alumni Relations
Joanne Huey, a 1988 Benedictine College graduate, started as the new Director of Alumni Relations in Sept. 2018. Huey is both an alumna and a parent of a Benedictine graduate, plus has two sisters and a brother-in-law who are also Ravens, so she brings a lot of direct experience to the job. Her professional background as a manager within the finance and investment industry has prepared her for the detail work and interaction required of her new position. She has always remained active within the alumni community and is excited to return to her alma mater and work with other alumni in an official capacity.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Advisory Board Member of the Western Energy Alliance
- Founder and President of Mercator Energy LLC
John has been married for 26 years to Lisa Harpole. They have 3 children: Emily, 22 years old just graduated from Benedictine College with honors; Mary, 20 years old is a junior at Benedictine College and Jack, 17 years old is a senior at Regis Jesuit High School in Denver, CO.
John currently serves on the Board of Directors of Benedictine College. John and his wife, Lisa, served as Co-Chairs of the Seeds of Hope Charitable Trust, a trust formed by the Archdiocese of Denver to assist low-income families with the cost of Catholic grade school tuition. John also served on the Regis Jesuit High School Board of Trustees.
John Harpole is founder and president of Mercator Energy LLC, a natural gas services, brokerage and energy market analysis company. Mercator assists both producers and end users throughout the United States in selling and sourcing natural gas supplies. Mercator is the oldest (25 years) and considered one of the largest natural gas brokers in the U.S. Mercator trades approximately 1.5 percent of total U.S. natural gas production. Mercator also conducts specific research projects for client groups exploring the impact of industry trends on various regional markets. Mercator's analysis on "Poverty and Fracking" was featured in a Wall Street Journal editorial and on Fox News.
During his career, Harpole has provided strategic advice and counseling to independent oil and gas producers, power producers, major gas and electric utilities, hedge funds and energy traders, retail and wholesale energy marketers, equipment vendors and large energy users typically at the CEO level.
Harpole is an Advisory Board Member of the Western Energy Alliance (formerly IPAMS), the Leadership Program of the Rockies, University of Colorado's Global Energy Management Program (GEM) and Energy Outreach Colorado. Harpole served on Colorado's Governor Bill Owens's Ethics Committee for eight years. Harpole has also been named to the Denver Business Journal's Who's Who in Energy for years 2014-2017.
John's hobbies include reading, fly fishing, bass fishing and collecting antique maps.
Job Titles:
- Marketing & Communications
Job Titles:
- Member of the Emeritus Board
Job Titles:
- Class Notes Coordinator
- Secretary for the Public Relations and Sports Information Office
Kathy Garrison joined Benedictine College in May 1979 as secretary for the Public Relations and Sports Information Office. She has a sister that graduated from the college in 1987. Through the years, she has assisted other departments and offices with administrative assistant tasks including the Athletics, Communications, Alumni Relations, and within the Office of Advancement. Currently, Kathy is the Class Notes Coordinator, sharing stories of the alumni/alumnae through the class notes section of the Spirit of Giving alumni magazine, and in her weekly Constituent Notes email. She also handles tasks such as research projects, archival, and stewardship. Kathy counts Benedictine College as her second home.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Emeritus Board
Job Titles:
- Administrative Assistant to the VP of Advancement
Immediately following her graduation from Benedictine College in 1985 Kelly began working as an Admissions Counselor. In 1987 she took a job as a District Manager for the Kansas Lottery. In 2011, after 23 years at the Lottery, she returned to Benedictine College to work in the Alumni Office. Her parents, all of her aunts and uncles, a brother and three children have attended Benedictine. Her grandfather and father are former faculty members. She currently teaches the Benedictine College swim courses.
Job Titles:
- Vice President for Advancement
Kelly Boland Vowels '85, is the Vice President for Advancement, a position she has held since March 2005. She is responsible for cultivating revenue streams and avenues for fundraising and manages the operation of donor relations, development, alumni relations; and has led the college through two successful capital campaigns. Kelly's career at Benedictine College began in 1985 as an Admission Officer. Other positions she has held at her alma mater includes Director of Alumni Relations, Director of Admission, as well as the dual role of Dean of Enrollment Management and Vice President for Advancement. In the latter roles, Kelly was responsible for leading the admission, financial aid, development, alumni relations, and fundraising efforts, as well as overseeing the employees within the two departments.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Chief Financial Officer for Black & Veatch
Ken Williams is Chief Financial Officer for Black & Veatch. He is responsible for establishing corporate financial policies and for leading the company's global financial operations, including treasury, tax, accounting, financial reporting, budgeting and financial systems.
An engineer and financial leader with deep business development, strategy and risk management expertise, Williams has experience from several roles with the global engineering and construction company Fluor, where he led Corporate Development and was CFO of its government services business unit.
Williams currently serves on the Board of the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, Benedictine College, the University of Kansas Edwards Advisory Board, as well as ESCA (Employee-owned S-Corporations of America) Board.
Williams earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in aerospace engineering from the University of Kansas and received an Executive MBA from the University of Tennessee.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- President - O'Malley Beverage of Kansas, Inc
Kevin O'Malley '79 is currently the president of O'Malley Beverage of Kansas, Inc., an Anheuser-Busch distributorship in Lawrence, Kansas. Kevin and his brother, Pat, purchased the distributorship in 2005, building it into a Gold Ambassador of Excellence Top Performer, one of only seven out of 450 Anheuser-Busch wholesalers to receive the award.
Kevin played football for Benedictine College, where his coach and good friend Daryl Jones nicknamed him "Too Tall" his freshman year. The name stuck, and many of his close friends still call him "Too Tall" to this day. One of his proudest moments was being named team captain his senior year. He graduated in 1979 with a degree in Health, Physical Education & Recreation, but he had already found a passion for the beer business during a summer internship with Anheuser-Busch the year before. After graduation, he worked at several Anheuser-Busch facilities around the country before moving into ownership when he and his brother, along with their father, Frank, purchased the St. Joseph Distributorship in 1985.
Since then, Kevin has earned an EMBA from Benedictine College and has become involved with the Anheuser-Busch Wholesale Advisory Panel, the National Beer Wholesaler Association, the beer wholesaler organizations in Kansas and Missouri, the Economic Development Corporation of Douglas County, the Lawrence (KS) Police Foundation, the Lawrence (KS) Chamber of Commerce, the St. Joseph (MO) Chamber of Commerce, and the Commerce Bank in Lawrence Advisory Board.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board Officers Team
- Vice President
Kimberly Shankman received her PhD in Political Science from Northern Illinois University. Subsequently she taught in the Politics and Government Department at Ripon College from 1985-2001, when she left to take her current position at Benedictine College.
Her research interests are American political thought and constitutional law. She is the author of Compromise and the Constitution: The Political Thought of Henry Clay. Additionally, she has published articles relating to the privileges or immunities clause of the 14th amendment and other aspects of constitutional law. She spoke recently on "Truth and Democracy" at the University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, Italy, and on "Human Capital in Caritas in Veritate" at Columbia University in New York.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Treasurer
- Member of the Board Officers Team
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Emeritus Board
- Registered Representative
- Senior Financial Services Executive
Larry Buessing is a 1960 graduate of Benedictine College and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics. He currently serves as Director of St. Benedict's Catholic School Endowment Association, as well as past Chairman of the Board of Governors of Benedictine College 1991-1993. Larry is a 1999 recipient of the Kansas Monk award.
He is a current member of Rotary International and Society of Financial Service Professionals. Larry was a past president of the Kansas NAIFA organization from 1993-1994 and a 2004 KAIFA (Kansas Association of Insurance of Financial Advisors) Hall of Fame member.
Larry holds the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) and Charted Financial Consultant (ChFC®) designations and began his financial services career as a life insurance agent in Nemaha County, Kansas. Larry moved to Atchison in 1973 and has continued his career in the financial services industry ever since.
Larry and his wife, Tresa, both active members of St. Benedict's parish in Atchison, were married in 1962. In 2004, Larry and Tresa received the Cross of the Order of St. Benedict. They are proud parents of five children, with two of their daughters married to Benedictine College graduates.
Larry Buessing is a registered representative of and offers securities through MML Investors Services, LLC. Member SIPC www.sipc.org. 10975 Benson Drive, Suite 350, Overland Park, KS 66210. 913-234-0300. CRN202204-260921
Job Titles:
- Member of the Emeritus Board
Lené Westerman graduated from Benedictine College in 1985. She holds several leadership roles in Dallas, Texas, institutions. On a business advisory board for St. Augustine Catholic School in Dallas, Texas, she has been instrumental in implementing business procedures and fundraising for the school. She is a leader in the Bishop of Dallas' initiative to assist Dallas area urban schools.
She established The H.G. Westerman/Evan D. Pecorari scholarship fund at Jesuit Dallas for Latino students and heads the Jesuit Dallas Diversity parent advisory board. She has held various leadership programs at Prince of Peace Christian School where she founded the high school's Student Success Center. Westerman is a member of the Philanthropy Roundtable, The Council on Southwest Foundations and The Association for Small Foundations. She is very involved as a community philanthropist and has completed YMSL, Young Men's Service League, with her sons, Andre and Evan.
She and her daughter, Sophia, are currently involved in NCL, National Charity League, where mothers and daughters give back to the community by completing service hours together. Westerman is currently a member of St. Francis Catholic Church in Frisco, Texas, where she has taught faith formation and Sacrament classes. In 2007, Lené was honored as a "Woman of Inspiration" by Bea's Kids, a Dallas organization that serves children from low income families.
She is former vice-president of The Westerman Foundation, which was established by her mother, Laura Jane Westerman, in support of Catholic education and organizations. Through her foundation she has funded scholarships and opportunities for numerous students to attend school, and has helped provide toys at Christmas to underprivileged children. Lené is the daughter of Laura Jane and the late Howard G. Westerman Sr., '50.
Job Titles:
- Chemistry and Biochemistry
Job Titles:
- Member of the Emeritus Board
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- Member of the Emeritus Board
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- Member of the Emeritus Board
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- Marketing & Communications
Job Titles:
- Member of the Emeritus Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- President - Business Management Drug Development and Manufacturing
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Board of Directors
Michael Boland, MD is a board certified neurosurgeon in private practice in St. Louis, MO. A graduate of Benedictine College with degrees in Philosophy and Chemistry, he attended medical school and completed a Pathology fellowship at the University of MO-Columbia. During his time at Mizzou, he helped establish a student chapter of the Christian Medical Society. He completed a neurosurgical residency at the University of Michigan where he met his wife Debra. After training, they moved to St. Louis and have established themselves in the ministry of their church Ascension Catholic. Together they have four children and one granddaughter. Dr. Boland is the Chief of Surgery at St. Luke's Hospital. He has been involved in multiple pediatric neurosurgery missions to Guatemala and actively supports Village of Hope, an orphanage just outside of Guatemala City, through his partnership with Lifesong for Orphans. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Benedictine College.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Emeritus Board
"The opportunity to come back to campus and serve the Benedictine community is a wonderful gift," said Michela Brooks. "My deep love and appreciation for the mission of Benedictine College has deepened already as I've been meeting so many incredible alumni, donors and friends."
Michela comes to Benedictine College from New Jersey, where she served the last seven years with Saint Paul's Outreach, first as a missionary and then as their Development Officer for the Northeast Region. Raised in California and Las Vegas, Michela is the oldest of nine children and the first to attend Benedictine College, followed by her sister, Gabrielle Brooks Nickerson '20, and current Raven, Annemarie Brooks. Michela graduated in 2014 with a degree in Psychology and a minor in Theology. She is a running enthusiast with a soft heart for national parks and east coast food, places, and history. But she's overjoyed to return to the Midwest and to the community of her alma mater.
Mike Gangel is a 1969 graduate of Benedictine College and holds his BA in Mathematics. Then, he graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1971 and holds his MA in Economics.
He is married to Susan (Conrow) Gangel who received a MA in Sociology from Mount St. Scholastica College in 1969. They live in Leawood, Kansas and have two married children, Dr. Mike Gangel and Bridget Lee, plus four grandchildren. Susan and Mike enjoy being long-time members of Church of the Nativity in Leawood, Kansas where Mike sings in the choir and is a past Chairman of the Finance Committee. They also cherish supporting many activities of the Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas.
After several years in marketing and sales positions, Mike acquired the Chad Company in 1986 - the leading equipment designer and manufacturer of Food Safety Products for the Meat Processing Industry. The Chad Company was honored with the Meat Industry Supplier of the Year Award by the National Meat Association in 1998. Mike sold his company in 2011, ran the company for five more years and semi-retired in 2016.
Mike continues as a consultant for his former company and as President of the Scholarship Foundation of the North American Meat Institute. The Scholarship Foundation raises donations and manages an endowment fund to sponsor scholarships for worthy students majoring in industry related studies.
Following his retirement, Mike was honored with the Industry Advancement Award from the North American Meat Institute for 2017. This annual award is given to an individual whose career has greatly contributed to the success of the meat and poultry industry.
Currently, Mike is the owner and operator of Brittany Homes, LLC - a real estate investment company. The company specializes in the ownership and management of residential and commercial rental properties and the participation in several real estate limited partnerships.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Emeritus Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- VP and Executive Director, Becket - Religious Liberty for All
Montse joined the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty in 2009 and was named VP & Executive Director in February 2017. With a background in public policy and campaigns, she has led initiatives at Becket in development, communications, strategy and operations that have helped secure religious liberty victories against the contraceptive mandate, protect the rights of churches to choose their leaders, and safeguard the free speech of crisis pregnancy centers and religious groups on campus. She was profiled by the Wall Street Journal's Weekend Edition with the following introduction: "A defender of all religion, on the front lines of America's culture wars."
Montse has a Masters from the George Washington University and a B.A. from Florida International University. She served on the Montgomery County Commission for Women in Maryland and is currently on the board of the Patients' Rights Action Fund, the leading advocate against the legalization of assisted suicide; a lay consultant to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Religious Liberty Committee; a member of the President's Advisory Counsel of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students; on the advisory council to the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious (CMSWR) and the GIVEN Institute; and on the Hispanic Affairs Advisory Board for the Philos Project. Although not an attorney, she "plays one on TV" advocating for Becket clients on major television and radio networks including Univision, CNN en Español, Telemundo, Fox Business, and EWTN. Born in Mexico City, she is fluent in Spanish and French and is a competitive jazz and classical vocalist.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Emeritus Board
Job Titles:
- Journalism & Mass Communications
Job Titles:
- Member of the Emeritus Board
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- Member of the Emeritus Board
Job Titles:
- Senior Donor Engagement Officer
Paul Bartow joined Benedictine College in May of 2022 and is responsible for cultivating strategic relationships and soliciting major donors primarily on the East Coast. Formerly, Paul was a major gifts fundraiser in the nonprofit sector focusing on free speech and academic freedom in higher education. He also worked as Lynne Cheney's research assistant at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI).
Paul earned his A.A. from Waubonsee Community College, B.A. from Wheaton College, and M.A. in Historic Preservation from the University of South Carolina where he is also a History Ph.D. candidate. His research focuses on colonial and revolutionary America and has been published in The South Carolina Historical Magazine, The Public Historian, The Southern Studies Journal, The Federalist, and The Washington Examiner.
In his free time, Paul enjoys classical music, historic tourism, traveling, hunting, backpacking, horseback riding, scuba diving, and playing any sport with a racket.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Emeritus Board
Job Titles:
- Dean of Enrollment Management
Job Titles:
- Marketing & Communications
Kathie Weishar came to Benedictine College in the 1970s as a young music student. She loved playing the piano, but she also enjoyed participating in the choir, which she says would not have happened at any other college. Her experience at Benedictine College and her connection with S. Joachim Holthaus, OSB, her favorite music professor, greatly enriched her love of music.
Kathie has shared her love of Benedictine with her husband, Rick Dalzell, former Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President of Amazon.com. The two met shortly after Kathie completed high school and they stayed in touch through the college years, Kathie at Benedictine and Rick at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Kathie graduated from Benedictine College in 1980 with a Bachelor of Music Degree. Rick was a year ahead in college and they were married shortly after Kathie finished her Master's Degree in Piano Performance from the Conservatory at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Kathie has a special place in her heart for the music program at Benedictine College. She and her husband funded the Dalzell Music Scholarship in 2006, giving students interested in music majors the opportunity to participate in something they truly love.
Later, the couple saw another need and quickly took action to fill it. When they realized the age of the pianos in the Music Department, the Dalzells became interested in the All-Steinway Program. Kathie and Rick even went to Steinway's New York City manufacturing facility with Dr. Ruth Krusemark to personally select some of the pianos. Their donation of nearly a million dollars made Benedictine's All-Steinway School designation possible.
Kathie and Rick are parents of four children, Eric (Jessica), Katie, Sara and Maggie and have one grandson, Dylan.
Job Titles:
- Marketing & Communications
Job Titles:
- Member of the Emeritus Board
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of Development
Rosemary Wilkerson currently serves as the Executive Director of Development at Benedictine College. Her responsibilities include cultivating alumni relationships, solicitation of major donors, and stewardship of planned gifts from Benedictine College alumni and friends to help secure the long-term financial strength of the College. She served as Director of Development at Benedictine during the Faithful to the Story Campaign in 2000. Mrs. Wilkerson earned a bachelor of arts degree in English education in 1990 from Washburn University; and holds a master of science degree in mass communications/public relations from the A.Q. Miller School of Journalism at Kansas State University.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder and COO of ShotTracker
- Student Success Center
Ross is co-founder and COO of ShotTracker, LLC, an Overland Park, Kansas, company which has developed a wearable tech device for basketball players.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board Officers Team
- Secretary of the Board
Job Titles:
- Director of Advancement Services
Sara Kramer is a 1998 Benedictine graduate who has been with the college for 20 years. She has been with the Advancement office since 2005. She is currently the Director of Advancement Services and Research.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- CEO - the Kincaid Group
Sean Doherty took advantage of Catholic education throughout his schooling, attending St. Joseph's Grade School and St. Joseph's High School in Shawnee, Kan., and then Benedictine College, graduating in 1982. He also earned an MBA at Rockhurst University.
Sean began working at United Missouri Bank while earning his MBA and continued there until 1995. That year, he stepped out and started his own company, Asset Management Group, Inc. (AMG), an interest rate risk reporting and consulting firm working with financial institutions in 23 states. In 1998, AMG was purchased by Country Club Bank and Sean became an executive vice president at Country Club, where he still serves as the head of the Asset Management Group
Sean has volunteered extensively within the Catholic community, serving on the Benedictine College Alumni Board, St. Benedict's Abbey Finance Committee, as Deputy Grand Knight of the Holy Trinity Council of Palms, and as a coach on numerous sports teams for his children.
He and his wife, Julie, have served together as co-chairs of the Benedictine College Scholarship Ball and St. Benedict's Abbey Abbot's Table.
Job Titles:
- Journalism & Mass Communications
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- Member of the Board Officers Team
- Treasurer
Job Titles:
- Member of the Emeritus Board
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- Member of the Emeritus Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board Officers Team
- President
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- Member of the Emeritus Board
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- Member of the Emeritus Board
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- Member of the Emeritus Board
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- Executive Director of Planned Giving
Tim Andrews is a 1988 Benedictine graduate who has been with the college for over 20 years, the last 15 years as Executive Director of Planned Giving. Tim advises members of the Benedictine College community interested in matching their personal values, life story, philanthropic goals with the college's vision to become one of the great Catholic colleges in America.
Job Titles:
- Journalism & Mass Communications
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- Vice President of College Relations
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- Student Life / Gregorian Fellows