Featured Testimonial About Creighton University
The shoutouts on social media by Dr. Zuegner on Giving Day make my heart so happy.
Giving Day is Wednesday, April 6, 2022!
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Every year on Giving Day, Carol Zuegner, PhD, associate professor of journalism and the Joella Cohen Endowed Chair, dedicates the day to capturing the attention of alumni and friends of the Department of Computer Science, Design and Journalism through social media.
“The shoutouts on social media by Dr. Zuegner on Giving Day make my heart so happy,” said 2014 graduate and donor Kassaundra Hartley Krupicka.
Creighton’s annual day of giving is a 24-hour online fundraising event that gives the Creighton community the chance to support areas of campus most meaningful to them.
Krupicka is among the nearly 2,900 alumni, faculty, students, and friends who came together to make 2021 Creighton’s biggest Giving Day to date. The University’s fifth annual Giving Day is coming up on April 6, and Hartley is marking her calendar.
“I wouldn’t be where I am today without the CSDJ department and the skills I developed, the mentoring I received, the resources I had access to…giving back and within my means, maybe even a little more, to that which has given me so much is something I need to do,” Krupicka said.
Last year, the CSDJ Department raised funds for the JMCAwesome Innovation Fund, which was established in 2018 by Professor Emerita of Journalism Dr. Eileen Wirth.
Thanks to donors like Krupicka, CSDJ can annually award a faculty member with funds to continue the department's renowned innovation. In 2020, Alex Myers, associate professor of interaction design, was named the inaugural recipient of the award.
The most recent recipient, assistant professor of computer science, Dr. Steven Fernandes, used his award to purchase Misty II. Misty II is an enhanced edition robot that interacts with students using artificial intelligence and natural language processing.
“With Misty II, students are receiving hands-on, real-world experiences that are made possible by the donors who enabled us to purchase the robot. For this I am thankful. With support from alumni and friends, we can do so many exciting things.”
Misty II will be used in CSDJ classes such as Intro to Programming, Media Literacy, and Artificial Intelligence as a platform for problem solving. Fernandes says the technology of Misty II has medical applications and he hopes to one day collaborate with the School of Medicine.
CSDJ faculty and staff say they are blown away by the generosity on Creighton’s day of giving. The department looks forward to 2022 Giving Day, when they will raise funds for the Charles Zuegner and Mary Carol Zuegner Endowed Scholarship. The scholarship is named for Zuegner and her father, who taught journalism at Creighton for 30 years.
Giving Day continues to be an emotional and fun day of responding to generous donors and reconnecting with alumni for Zuegner.
“With each gift, we can do good things and that’s so terrific,” Zuegner said. “But even more important is that loyalty and support. It’s amazing to know that the community we build during their time here continues. It’s that community and connection that make me love to keep checking those social media and liking, commenting on posts. And it's exciting to watch the totals!”
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Giving Day is Wednesday, April 6, 2022!
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Enjoy these images that highlight the innovation and student projects in CSDJ!
