Moments: Groundhog's Day, 1968, Did Anyone See This Coming?

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On February 2, 1968 a meeting took place in Louisville, Kentucky. A lot of historical things happened on this 33rd day of the year. In 1653, New Amsterdam was renamed New York. In 1901, Queen Victoria's funeral was held. In 1922, James Joyce published Ulysses. In 1925, delivery of a life-saving serum for diptheria to Nome, Alaska inspired the Iditarod Race. In 1946, the Hungarian Republic is proclaimed. But how do we remember it? Groundhog's Day.

Groundhog's Day was not in the minds of the individuals who met in Louisville to discuss the fate of Bellarmine and Ursuline colleges. The next day it was announced that the two institutions would merge and become, Bellarmine-Ursuline College, a coeducational venture, on June 1st of that year. It may not rank up there with other momentous events of that day but it marks the eventual movement of BU, as we called it, to what it is today [2021], Bellarmine University.

Did anyone see this coming? Certainly not us students, lay or religious. Did the Passionists see this coming? I suspect so, even though their initial intent was to partner with all-male institution. We seminarians greeted it with open arms, as a opportunity for healthy interaction with the opposite sex. Some professed members didn't see it that way. Some even expressed their displeasure to Rome. Our immediate superiors expressed little concern. I guess they understood our psyches better.

Bellarmine-Ursuline met its predictions for the future. Today Bellarmine University flourishes with an undergraduate and graduate base of 3,300 students. Granted, tuition cost have gone from about $900 for a full semester load to over $22,000.