For Church and Pope

ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSITY, June 17 — Daughter of Charity Sister Margaret John Kelly, executive director of the New York university's Vincentian Center for Church and Society, was recently chosen by Pope John Paul II to receive the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Medal, according to an announcement by St. John's.

“Through a range of projects with the clergy, religious, charities, education and health care personnel of this [Brooklyn, N.Y.] diocese, we at St. John's have discovered the great value of Church-university collaboration in the spirit of Ex Corde Ecclesiae,” said Sister Margaret John.

New Degrees

CHRONICLE.COM, July 15 — Mount St. Clare College in Clinton, Iowa, will offer three new bachelor's degrees beginning in the fall, according to the Web site of The Chronicle of Higher Education. They include psychology, computer graphic design and a degree that combines computer science and mathematics. The college is run by the Franciscan Sisters of Clinton.

Pastoral Ministry

ANNA MARIA COLLEGE, July 20 — The Massachusetts college has introduced a new graduate program in pastoral ministry “designed to prepare men and women for service to the Church and their parish communities,” said a university press release.

Centered in a commitment to adult faith formation, the pastoral ministry program integrates the academic, human and spiritual dimensions of faith formation in order to provide the theological and spiritual background that is essential for pastoral ministry.

Areas of concentration will include religious education, pastoral leadership and administration, pastoral counseling, spiritual direction, youth ministry and adult faith formation. Anna Maria is administered by the Sisters of St. Anne.

Capital Gift

JOHN CARROLL UNIVERSITY, July 19 — The Jesuits’ university in Cleveland recently announced a $2 million grant from Gerald and Helen McDonough as part of the kickoff of the public phase of the university's capital campaign.

The university's $125 million campaign includes the Dolan Center for Science and Technology, which is near completion.

Whiz Kid

THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION, July 19 — Jason Kauffman, a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering at the Marianists’ University of Dayton, has developed a new — and potentially unbreakable — encryption technology.

He came up with his idea while working on a science fair project that used mathematical equations to improve computer animation. The project was inspired by animated movies that assign apparently random numbers to body movements.

Kauffman's idea is to assign more numbers to more body parts and gestures. He believes he has devised a way to use random numbers in an equation to encrypt data, making it impossible for hackers to solve it. The university is working with the student to patent and market his ideas.

Scholarships

AQUINAS INSTITUTE OF THEOLOGY, June 27 — The Dominican graduate school in St. L o u i s has received a $150,000 grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundation for use as scholarships for its master of divinity students, said an institute press release. The scholarships are slated for “younger, full-time lay students,” said the announcement.