Six Mustangs competed at a rain-soaked course at the NAIA Cross Country National Championships in November. On the women’s side, all-Midwest Collegiate Conference standouts Liz Mosbach, Anne Bruno and Dana Ewan represented Mount Mercy. Three more all-conference performers raced for the Mustang men, including TJ Mosbach, Bryant Rader and Tyler Hartley.

In volleyball, Brittney Thomas capped off an amazing career by earning first-team all-conference honors for the fourth year in a row. She had the best season in school history, breaking her own record with and NAIA-leading 691 kills. Thomas had a school record 39 kills in her final match and finished her career as the all-time leader in kills (2,156) and digs (1,915).

The men’s soccer team produced double-digit wins for the third season in a row and fourth time in five years. The second-seeded Mustangs (12-7-2) also reached the championship game of the MCC Tournament for the third consecutive season, where they lost to top-seeded Grand View, 3-1.

In women’s soccer, Mount Mercy finished fourth in the MCC and hosted a postseason match for the first time in school history. The Mustangs defeated Clarke on a Golden Goal in double-overtime in the quarterfinals before top-seeded Viterbo (Wis.) beat them, 2-0, in a hard-fought semifinal.

Mount Mercy men’s golf had one of the best fall seasons in school history, winning a pair of tournaments and finishing in the top three at three others. The Mustangs were ranked 15th in the NAIA heading into the spring season which got underway in late-March.

Bowling is the youngest sport at Mount Mercy, but that didn’t stop the Mustangs from making history in just their second season of intercollegiate bowling. The women’s team brought home its first MCC title with a four-pin victory over St. Ambrose in the match play finals at Cherry Lanes in Dubuque.

The men’s and women’s teams qualified for the sectional round of the Intercollegiate Team Championships sponsored by the United States Bowling Congress (USBC). There were four sectional sites throughout the country, each with 20 men’s and 20 women’s teams competing on site.

The Mustang men’s and women’s teams traveled to Las Vegas in March. And that’s where history was made, this time by the men’s squad. Mount Mercy jumped four spots on the final day of sectionals to earn a berth in the 16-team national championship event April 18-20 in Lincoln, Neb.

Last year it was the women’s basketball team that ended a long national tournament drought. This season, it was the Mustang men who had an historic season. Mount Mercy spent most of the season ranked in the top 10 in the NAIA Division II poll and earned an at-large berth in the national tournament for the first time since 1996.

After a runner-up finish in the MCC during the regular season and conference tournament, the Mustangs received the No. 12 seed at the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championship in Point Lookout, Mo. They faced a stiff test in their opener and fell to 21st-ranked St. Thomas (Fla.), 85-72.

For the first time in school history, teammates were named to NAIA all-America teams. Chad Underwood landed on the third-team, while Lamar Wall received honorable mention. Underwood ended his career as the second-leading scorer in school history with 1,780 points. The Mustangs finished the season at 27-6 overall, the second-most single season victories all-time.

Amanda Frost, who lead the conference in scoring (18.9 ppg) and was eighth in rebounding (6.5 rpg), became the 22nd women’s basketball all-American in school history. The honorable mention all-American also joined the 1,000-point club earlier in the season and ended her junior year in 20th place on the career scoring chart with 1,131 points.

Mount Mercy’s Larissa Wilden and Mwale Kapande came home from the NAIA Indoor Track & Field Championships as repeat all-Americans and Jenna Higgins and Andre Moodie posted top-10 finishes, too.

Wilden was fifth and earned all-American status in the pentathlon with 3,209 points. She hit 5’-7” in the high jump for a fourth-place finish, garnering all-American honors in the event for the second year in a row. Wilden was sixth at the 2012 indoor meet and second at the outdoor national championships last spring and is now a four-time all-American.

Kapande, who was eighth and an all-American at last year’s indoor meet, improved to third this time around after a leap of 19’-3 ¼”. A third-place finisher at the 2012 outdoor meet, she is now a three-time all-American for the Mustangs.

Higgins, already a four-time all-American herself, qualified for the indoor national meet in the 60 meter dash for the third straight year. This time, she narrowly missed the finals by :00.01, placing ninth in :07.65. In his debut at the indoor national championships, Moodie broke the school record in the 800 meter run, finishing 10th in 1:55.85.

The Mount Mercy Athletic Hall of Fame inducted four new members (left to right): Jason Drewelow '04, Jess Mueller Dean '05, Justin Pegump '04 and Jeremy Schlotterbeck '04.

The Mount Mercy Athletic Hall of Fame added four new members when Jess Mueller Dean ’05, Justin Pegump ’04, Jason Drewelow ’04 and Jeremy Schlotterbeck ’04 were inducted on Oct. 6 as part of the University’s Alumni Games activities.

Dean, from Elkader, was a rare, three-sport athlete, competing in volleyball, softball and track & field. In volleyball, she holds career records in all blocking categories and was a four-time all-conference selection. On the softball diamond, Dean is sixth in career home runs and was a three-time all-conference pick. In track & field, she was an NAIA national meet qualifier who excelled in the shot put, discus and high jump. Dean was academic all-conference multiple times in all three sports.

Pegump, from Walford, holds career records for strikeouts (278) and shutouts (5) and ranks second all-time in wins (28) and innings pitched (298). Pegump also has the top two single-season strikeout totals (82, 76), and in 2004 picked up 11 wins, which is second all-time. His 14 strikeouts in a game are also a school record. Pegump was an all-conference performer, two-time NAIA Scholar-Athlete and three-time academic all-conference honoree.

Drewelow, from Cedar Rapids, is the school record holder in the indoor 200 meters, 60 meters, 55 meters, 200 meter hurdles and 55 meter hurdles, as well as the outdoor 200 meters, 100 meters and 110 meter hurdles. Drewelow was part of the school-record indoor 4×200 meter relay team and the outdoor 4×200 and 4×100 meter relay squads. He was a three-time NAIA national meet qualifier, the Most Outstanding Performer at the 2004 MCC Outdoor Track & Field Championships and a two-time academic all-conference award winner.

Schlotterbeck, from Cedar Rapids, played in more baseball games (240) and had more hits (258) than anyone in school history. He is also the career record holder in at-bats (739), runs scored (210) and doubles (52), and ranks third in RBIs (164) and total bases (395) and fourth in home runs (25) and walks (101). During his career with the Mustangs, Schlotterbeck was a three-time all-conference selection.

The graduate center was made possible thanks to a grant through the U.S. Department of Education and a $2.1 million dollar gift given to the university by Dyan and John Smith on behalf of CRST International. The Smiths’ generous gift marks the largest single outright gift in Mount Mercy’s 85-year history.

“My husband and I believe that further education and training are one of the most important ingredients necessary for the future of our community,” Dyan Smith said. “We choose to support the graduate programs at Mount Mercy University to further not only the individuals, but the community as a whole. Our hope is that others will choose to support Mount Mercy University in this way.”

Located just a mile away from the main campus, the renovated 34,494 square-foot building will include a 3,324 square-foot auditorium that will seat up to 200 people, a marriage and family therapy clinic, computer lab, coffee shop, lobby, common area and faculty conference room. The building will house 14 classrooms, 17 faculty offices, 10 therapy rooms and two observation rooms. Naming opportunities within the Mount Mercy University CRST International Graduate Center remain available.

“We are tremendously thankful to Dyan and John Smith for their generosity as well as to CRST International for this new partnership,” said Mount Mercy President Christopher Blake, Ph.D. “Mount Mercy University is celebrating this as yet another milestone in its commitment to lifelong learning and opportunities available at the graduate level to our students and our community for professional leadership.”

Students will receive real-time supervision from faculty within the marriage and family therapy graduate program and further enhance their skills and knowledge to be highly qualified and trained marriage and family therapists. The services provided will also fill a void in the mental health care system in the region.

Research has clearly demonstrated that all types of mental health concerns respond better to treatment if that treatment includes the couple or the entire family. Mount Mercy is the only educational institution that is able to provide specialized treatment that includes families and couples. The Mount Mercy clinic will also fill this void and be able to offer low cost, high quality mental health services, family therapy and marital/couples counseling.

Casey Gaul

Jarod Heims

Taylor Foster

Three Mount Mercy University students were nominated to compete for The Irene Ryan Scholarship Award at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) Region V Festival in January. Junior Taylor Foster of Cedar Rapids, senior Casey Gaul of Dyersville, Iowa, and junior Jarod Heims of Monticello, Iowa, were selected by KCACTF responders and Mount Mercy’s Drama Coordinator Nich Radcliffe. The students were chosen based on their performance in the university’s fall production The Crucible.

KCACTF’s national theater program involves 18,000 students from colleges and universities across the country with eight geographical regions in the United States recognizing talent among college theater programs while also providing insight for professional development.

“It’s a great honor and achievement for these three actors,” Radcliffe said. “Taylor, Casey and Jarod gave outstanding performances in our production of The Crucible, as did the rest of our cast,” Radcliffe said.

Shafer previously served as the facilities coordinator at the president’s house for University of Northern Iowa, in which she planned and managed events held at the president’s home. She also worked closely with the president and his wife to build relationships for the university. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Iowa.

Shafer can be reached at 319-286-4405 or cshafer@mtmercy.edu.

Mount Mercy received approval from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) for its Quality Initiative project, Pathways to Scholarship. The university is participating in the launch of a new HLC accreditation model that includes a campus-specific improvement project, the Quality Initiative. Mount Mercy’s two-year project placed special focus on energizing scholarship by encouraging faculty and student engagement in research and creative work, both individually and through collaborative teams.

“This is a significant step for Mount Mercy University and a moment to celebrate our collective efforts to strengthen and share the scholarly activity on campus,” said Provost Melody Graham.

As part of the Pathways to Scholarship initiative, the university appointed faculty member Dennis Dew, Ph.D., to serve as undergraduate research coordinator. Dew is also assistant professor of psychology at Mount Mercy. In his role as coordinator, he works closely with faculty and students interested or involved in scholarship projects. Students can apply through this program to work with faculty members as research/creative assistants, receiving funding while they learn about the research process in their fields of interest. Students and faculty from a broad range of majors have already participated in these opportunities.

To raise awareness of these activities and share the knowledge gained, the university hosts an undergraduate scholarship festival each spring. Presentations from more than 80 students mentored by over 30 faculty were shared at the 2012 event.

Topics included development and implementation of an EMR (Electronic Medical Records) System for the Department of Nursing, “Understanding the Molecular Mechanism of Glaucoma: Testing the Interaction Between Wild Type and Mutant of Lyst and Casien Kinase II Proteins,” and “The Effects of Common Herbicide and Fertilizer on Earthworm Burrowing Behavior.”

The 2013 Pathways to Scholarship festival was held this spring in the University Center. Although the formal Pathways to Scholarship project has concluded, its main components are continuing. This ongoing energy will bring more faculty and students into the dynamic scholarship process, building collaborative relationships fostering discovering and sharing of knowledge.

In Belize, Mount Mercy partnered with ProWorld, a social enterprise which uses a business model to generate public good and alleviate poverty. Associate Professor and Chair of the Business Department Bob Walker, Ph.D., and Adjunct Professor of the MBA Program, Celina Peerman, Ph.D., led students on the trip.

“This provided a unique opportunity for our MBA students to apply all of their knowledge, skills and talents to help increase the economic development of Punta Gorda,” Walker said. “The students had a direct impact on these small businesses, increasing revenues and sustainability, which will have a ripple effect through the community.”

During the week-long trip to Punta Gorda, students were tasked with applying effective problem solving, critical thinking skills, strategy, and effective communication while demonstrating teamwork behaviors and professional ethics.

One Mount Mercy team worked with master drummer Emmeth Young, known throughout Central America for his extraordinary musical talent, to help redevelop his Maroon Creole Drum School after relocation to Punta Gorda. Young is the recipient of a $20,000 grant awarded by the government, and is in the process of constructing a space that will allow for drum sales, musical performances, and storage. Mount Mercy MBA students worked with Young to create a floor plan and drum display in his business, leading to the sale of five drums in one week – which is what he was averaging in sales in one month.

As the founder of Drums Not Guns, Young is also known for his passion for troubled youth. Mount Mercy students worked with Young to re-establish this program and reach out to local schools to find students struggling to find peace in their lives.

“He asks for the worst students and helps them turn their lives around. He says ‘take your anger and frustration out on the drum,’” MBA student Debbie MacDonald shared.

Walker said the trip to Belize would be available again next year for MBA students as a service project and hopes to build upon the relationships established in Punta Gorda.