As Fontbonne University graduates ended one journey and began another, Dr. Dennis Golden, president of the university for 19 years, did the same. The class of 2014 was officially welcomed into the Alumni Association during Commencement on May 17. Dr. Dennis Golden served as the commencement speaker, as this was his last official graduation ceremony before he retires at the end of June.

The last couple of months have brought a number of opportunities for students, alumni, faculty & staff to come together to honor Dr. Golden. The Tribute to Leadership & Legacy gala honoring Dr. Golden was a tremendous success. We raised over $435,000 for student scholarships and academic initiatives that support our mission, vision and values.

Among the many tributes that were shared over the course of the evening was the announcement of the naming of "Golden Meadow." Because this green space between Madaille and Ryan Halls has been the social hub for our students and many of our community functions, the committee determined that naming this area "Golden Meadow" was a very fitting tribute to Dr. and Mrs. Golden. "Golden Meadow" will  be marked by a  bronze plaque set in granite and the meadow will continue to serve as a gathering space for social functions. The plaque should be in place within the next 3 weeks.

Fontbonne's "Sending Ceremony" an interfaith prayer service held on the Friday before Commencement has been recognized in the St. Louis Review for diversity and inclusiveness. In fact those were the main themes of the service, which featured three Catholics, two christians and a Lutheran along with a Muslim student speaker, Kaniz Abbas. "As a Muslim attending Fontbonne, I am truly blessed," Abbas said. "Fontbonne is known for its Catholic identity, but I respect this place because of the constant acceptance of everyone."

The ceremony sends graduates into the real world with the values put forth by the Sisters of St. Joseph in excellence, integrity, respect, diversity, community, justice, faith and its Catholic identity. Graduates are called upon to "share the fire," which is representative of the sisters' ministry over the years -- first in France, then St. Louis and now outposts throughout the world. Read the full article.

Latoya Thompson has a feather in her hair. And it's super-cute. That's a good thing because Thompson dresses other people for a living.

Thompson, a 2011 graduate of Fontbonne, is the founder of LaToya Elnora - a personal shopping, styling and wardrobe consultation service -located in the new Techartista at 4818 W. Washington Boulevard in the Central West End. She was recently featured in a Saint Louis Business Journal article on People on the Move. Read the article here.

And although she opened Latoya Elnora in the spring of 2014, she says her passion for freelance styling began in college, in early 2008. At the time, she was pursuing a career in Social Work because of her desire to help people. Of course fashion was always something that inspired her, but she wasn’t sure she could make a career out of it. When she finally chose to make the switch over to work toward a degree in Fashion Merchandising, there was no looking back.

“Gail Schafers encouraged me to study abroad. I went to London in the fall of 2009, and being in Europe gave me the real exposure to the industry,” Thompson remembers. She says that had it not been for Schafers – Director of ESL & Study Abroad at Fontbonne – she would never have taken that kind of trip.

Along with Schafers, Thompson credits Rogene Nelsen (Asst. Professor, Business Administration) and Janine Duncan (Asst. Professor and Director of Graduate Programs, Family and Consumer Sciences) with giving her guidance and pushing her to do her best while pursuing her degree.

Aside from challenging academics, Thompson notes that Fontbonne has a lively campus. “There was always stuff on campus to get involved in,” she recalls. Thus, Thompson was an active member of the Student Alumni Association (SAA) and Student Human Environmental Sciences Association. Of SAA, Thompson asserts, “The activities and outings we did gave me the opportunity to meet the ‘real life’ example of what I was learning to be.”  

Thompson’s experiences being involved with SAA are a telling example of what Fontbonne is good at offering, an up-close view into the real working world. Visit her online at latoyaelnora.com

Johnson Named Dean for College of Business

Fontbonne University has named Jay Johnson dean of the Eckelkamp College of Global Business and Professional Studies, effective June 16. Johnson will oversee the university’s undergraduate and graduate business programs, including those in the evening and online division. He will replace Linda Magrath, dean since 2004, who is retiring from the position to teach full time.  Read more.

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If you’re the owner or manager of a small business or nonprofit, or maybe an independent school administrator, you may not have the resources of larger companies, but preserving the integrity of your data — and that of your customers — still needs to be a priority. Fontbonne can help!

Please share with others that may also benefit from Cyber Security Day.

Registration deadline is June 2, 2014.  Learn more at www.fontbonne.edu/cyberday

Learning code is an increasingly important component to literacy in the 21st century. Teach your students to code in Scratch, and give them the tools to play video games they created, and download apps that they coded. You can help them make this powerful connection ... and have fun, too! Teachers of all ages, grades and subjects are welcome!

Registration deadline is June 13, 2014. Learn more at www.fontbonne.edu/scratch

Kelly Herbst, MS'10 announces her engagement to Ryan P. Mullherin. They plan to marry in Sept. She is a speech-language pathologist in early childhood with the Hazelwood School Dist.

Elaine Belovich '68, retired after nearly 20 years from Mineral Area College (MAC). She lives in Ste. Genevieve, Mo.

Lara Vonnahmen '11 is logistics petty officer in the US Navy. She is in San Diego and works in the mailroom aboard the USS Regan.

Don Gillespie '79, retired after 35 years from Northwest High School in Dittmer, Mo. He will be long be remembered for his work with students at risk.

Chelsea Hejnal '12 and Justin Jones were married in May. She works in occupational therapy at NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital in Jonesboro, Ark.

In memory of:
Jean Meier, CSJ '69
Judith Ann Reinhart Dreyer '60

Share Your News
New Move? New Job? New Marriage? We welcome your news and photos. Please stay in contact so that we can share your success with fellow alumni. Email your news and photos to alumnievents@fontbonne.edu Your information may be featured in our twice yearly Tableaux magazine.