Sister Vivian is pleased with an increase in the school’s scholarship endowment. She says, “I’ve also enjoyed seeing our scholarship endowment grow significantly so that we can provide much better financial aid to our students. Over 95 percent of Brescia students receive some type of financial aid, if you include tuition reimbursement by employers.
Sister Vivian with secretary Sally Halbig.
Sister Vivian’s interests aren’t limited to Brescia University. She has been a member of the Diocesan Marriage Tribunal at the Pastoral Center since 1983, the year Bishop John McRaith activated the tribunal. Father Joe Mills invited Sister Vivian to join, its first woman member. A marriage and family therapist, Sister Vivian brought many talents to the tribunal. She now serves as a “perita” on the tribunal, an expert who looks at the psychological dispositions of parties involved at the time of marriage.
She is a member of the Owensboro-Daviess County Airport Board, the U.S. Bank Regional Board of Directors, and the Diocesan Sexual Abuse Review Board. She is a former member of the Owensboro Municipal Planning Commission.
Is Sister Vivian optimist about future of Brescia University? “I am optimistic, “ she says with no hesitation. “I think there’s a good cabinet in place to help. I think we have a dedicated and well-educated faculty. We have a super support staff. I think working together we can attract the kind of student we want at Brescia. We still educate a lot of first generation college students who need special attention. We have a very strong Student Support Services program, which allows us to work with students who need extra support with all the free services we can offer, and they graduate and are so successful. So I think our success record makes me optimistic.
“I’m also optimistic because of our alumni. We have an outstanding alumni. You see them in leadership not just in Owensboro and Daviess County, not just in Kentucky, but also in many places, and I think they believe in Brescia enough to send us students. There are many employers who call and want Brescia graduates because they know Brescia has academic excellence in the Ursuline tradition, and I think the employers appreciate that and also recognize the ethics, morals and values that our graduates bring to a position.”