Vice Chairman - Victor J. Riley, Jr.
Chairman Emeritus of KeyCorp
Frank J. Aiello
Professor Emeritus of Voice, University of South Dakota
Dominic A. Aquila
Dean of Arts and Sciences, University of St. Thomas
John R. MortensenAssistant Professor of Theology and Philosophy, Wyoming Catholic College
Board Biographies
Most Rev. Paul D. Etienne
Bishop of Cheyenne
Bishop Etienne attended Bellarmine College in Louisville, Kentucky, and graduated from the University of St. Thomas/St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. In 1986-1987 he served with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) as Assistant Coordinator for Papal Visits for Pope John Paul II to the United States. From 1988-1992 he attended the North American College in Rome and received a STB (Bachelor of Sacred Theology) at the Pontifical Gregorian University. Bishop Etienne was ordained a priest on June 27, 1992 for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. His first appointment was as Associate Pastor at St. Barnabas in Indianapolis and Associate Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. From 1994-1995 he attended the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, receiving his STL (License in Spiritual Theology). Two of Bishop Etienne’s brothers, Bernard and Zachary, are priests for the Diocese of Evansville, Indiana and one of his two sisters, Nicolette, is a Benedictine Sister with Our Lady of Grace Monastery in Beech Grove, Indiana.
Frank J. AielloProfessor Emeritus of Voice, University of South Dakota
Volin, South Dakota
Frank J. Aiello earned both his Bachelor of Music Education and his Master of Music in voice from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, and also holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma. He has studied voice with numerous renowned voice instructors, including Grant Williams (Professor of voice at North Texas State University), Richard Hughes (New York City), Leila Edwards (coach-accompanist for the Metropolitan Opera), Hermanus Baer (former Chair of Voice at Northwestern University), Norman Tattersall (fellow of Royal Academy of Music, London, England), and Margaret Swain (accompanist for the late Eva Turner of the Royal Academy of Music). Dr. Aiello has also performed extensively in the Midwest and elsewhere, and continues to maintain a private voice studio in his home and an active regional adjudication schedule. He presents numerous clinics, festivals and master classes. His students have won many awards in music at the state, regional, and national levels. They have gone on to various successful musical careers as performers in opera and musical theater both domestically and internationally, or as educators in music at all levels. The Belbas Larson Award for outstanding teaching was given him in 1994. After 34 years as Professor of voice at the University of South Dakota, chairing the department of music for 3 years, he went on to chair the department of music at Mt. Marty College in Yankton, South Dakota for 3 more years. Dr. Aiello was appointed to the Board of Wyoming Catholic College by Bishop David Ricken.
Dominic A. Aquila
Dean of Arts and Sciences, University of St. Thomas
Houston, Texas
Dominic A. Aquila earned a Bachelor of Arts in music from The Julliard School, a Master of Arts from New York University, and his Doctorate in history jointly from the University of Rochester and the University of South Africa. Currently serving as Dean of Arts and Sciences at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Dr. Aquila has taught cultural and intellectual history and directed humanities and honors programs at The State University of New York, Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ave Maria College, Schoolcraft College, and the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne. Dr. Aquila is widely published in history and has a broad background in performing arts as a musician and arts administrator. He and his wife Diane reside in Houston with their eleven children.
Robert K. CarlsonAcademic Dean and Professor, Wyoming Catholic College
Lander, Wyoming
Dr. Robert K. Carlson taught philosophy and literature for 29 years at Casper College in Casper, Wyoming. In addition to his regular teaching duties, he founded, directed, and taught in Casper College’s Summer Humanities Program in Europe (Italy) for many years. He has lectured at the University of Notre Dame, the University of Kansas, Simpson College, Magdalen College, the University of Wyoming, and Notre Dame Seminary. Among his academic honors are memberships in Phi Theta Kappa and Phi Beta Kappa, nominations to Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, and invitations to speak at the International Humanists Congress in Montepulciano, Italy, and the First World Meeting of University Professors in Rome (in celebration of the Jubilee Year). He is one of the founders of Wyoming Catholic College and the Wyoming School of Catholic Thought, a summer academic and spiritual retreat sponsored by the Diocese of Cheyenne. He has been on the faculty of the latter and served as Director of Faculty since its inception. His articles have appeared in Homiletic and Pastoral Review, The Wanderer, Crisis, New Oxford Review, and The Shakespeherian Rag. His book Truth on Trial: Liberal Education Be Hanged (Crisis Books, 1995) chronicles the rise and fall of the Pearson Integrated Humanities Program at the University of Kansas.
Rev. Robert W. Cook
President, Wyoming Catholic College
Lander, Wyoming
Fr. Cook grew up in Rifle, Colorado, and attended Regis College, where he graduated magna cum laude with a Classical Bachelor of Arts degree in 1958. He then attended Stanford University Law School and, in 1962, received his LL.B., the equivalent of a doctor of jurisprudence. Thereafter, he practiced law in Denver and started Alternatives, Inc., an agency providing an alternative to abortion for women dealing with problem pregnancies. Concluding nearly twenty years of law practice, he attended the Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corners, Wisconsin, graduating in 2000, with a Master of Divinity degree. Earlier in his life, Fr. Cook was a Benedictine monk at the Monastery of Christ in the Desert, Abiquiu, New Mexico, and most recently served as an associate pastor at St. Anthony’s parish in Casper. He was designated the pastor of Our Lady of Fatima in Casper in 2001. Fr. Cook was appointed president of Wyoming Catholic College in December, 2005.
David S. Kellogg
President, DACON Enterprises
Lander, Wyoming
David S. Kellogg resides in Lander with his wife, Carol, after having worked in several marketing and sales positions for computer technology companies IBM Corporation and Lexmark Corporation. He studied electrical engineering at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon, as well as electronics technology at Central Oregon College in Bend. He and his wife own and operate DACON Enterprises, a private firm owning and managing real estate property (both commercial and residential) and a log-home building franchise. He is President of LEADER Corporation, a private local economic development organization, and is a member of the local Lions Club and Elks Club. He is also involved in many civic affairs, including the Cornerstone Committee, formed out of the LEADER Corporation, for the purpose of working to locate Wyoming Catholic College in Lander.
John R. Mortensen
Assistant Professor of Theology and Philosophy, Wyoming Catholic College
Lander, Wyoming
John R. Mortensen grew up in Boise, Idaho, before attending Thomas Aquinas College in California. He spent the next ten years in Europe where he studied theology and philosophy in Austria, Oxford, and Rome. From 2002 to 2007 he was Assistant Professor at the International Theological Institute, an institute of papal right in Gaming, Austria, teaching courses in logic, natural philosophy, metaphysics, fundamental theology, and Trinitarian theology. During these years he also held the positions of Director of Finance and subsequently Vice President of Administration. He completed a doctorate in philosophy at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, and is currently working on his doctoral dissertation in theology. He specializes in the work of Aristotle and Aquinas, but his interests also include spiritual theology, music theory, Catholic literature, and computer programming.
Victor J. Riley, Jr.
Chairman Emeritus of KeyCorp
Cody, Wyoming
Victor J. Riley served 26 years as the Chairman of KeyCorp when it grew from $1.2 billion in assets and 89 offices to $67.7 billion in assets and more than 1,300 banking offices around the world. Mr. Riley is an immediate past Class A Director of the Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, past director of the Association of Bank Holding Companies, and a current member of the Interstate Banking Commission for the State of New York.
A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Mr. Riley is past president of the board for the College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York, a position he held for nine years. He served as a trustee of the Gilmour Academy in Gate Mills, Ohio, and, in 1989, became a member of the State University of New York at Albany Foundation, which also bestowed upon him its 1989 Citizen Laureate Award. Mr. Riley received an honorary Doctor of Law degree from Dowling College, a liberal arts institution located in Oakdale, New York, and in June, 1995, was Dowling’s Distinguished Citizen Award recipient. Mr. Riley contributed in noteworthy ways in fund-raising efforts for The March of Dimes, the Cerebral Palsy Center, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, the Morehouse School for Medicine, and others. He also served as chairman of the Pius XII Foundation, which provides essential life-saving services to young and old alike. Mr. Riley’s most illustrious recognition for his service came when he was invested in 1985 as a Knight of Malta in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. Mr. Riley is currently a member of the board of trustees of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody and is the past president of the Boys and Girls Club of Park County. He also serves as chairman of the board of the Victor J. Riley, Jr. Ice Arena and Community Events Center in Cody.
Richard W. St. Pierre
President (Ret.), Central Wyoming College
Riverton, Wyoming
Richard W. St. Pierre graduated from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in 1961, after which he taught at Watertown High School in Connecticut, where he also coached the basketball team. In 1962, he became the elementary school science coordinator for the Pittsfield, Massachusetts school system. He received two scholarships for masters-level studies and went on to earn two masters degrees, an MS in geology from Union College in Schenectady, New York, and the other in biology from St. Joseph’s College in West Hartford, Connecticut. After teaching biology and geology for 4 years at Berskshire Community College in Massachusetts, where he also served as Director of Admissions, Dr. St. Pierre became Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs at Bristol Community College in Massachusetts, becoming Dean 5 years later. During this time, Dr. St. Pierre completed his doctoral work in higher education management at Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida, after which he was Acting President of Quinsigamond Community College in Massachusetts, being commended by the state Board of Regional Community Colleges for “reestablishing a stimulating learning environment for both faculty and students.” In 1980, Dr. St. Pierre moved to Wyoming to be President of Central Wyoming College in Riverton, where he drew on his expertise in off-campus learning systems. He founded CWC Public Television, the first such license in the U.S. given to a college. He also was instrumental in acquiring the equestrian facility at CWC through the CWC Foundation, which Wyoming Catholic College currently uses for its freshman equestrian program.
Through a long and diverse career, Dr. St. Pierre has been appointed to the State Advisory Board for Vocational Technical Education by both Massachusetts and Wyoming, and has been involved in the planning, funding, development, and construction of three colleges. He also has served as President and member of the Board of Directors of several publically traded mineral exploration companies, overseeing mergers of smaller, private enterprises into larger publicly traded companies, both in the U.S. and abroad.
Recently, his championship basketball team at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts was honored by the state’s House of Representatives, for having been the only team from that college to win the New England Colleges Basketball Championship.