Read our latest edition of the Belmont Abbey College Magazine.
Crossroads
Belmont Abbey College Magazine 2026
Read our latest edition of the Belmont Abbey College Magazine.
Abbey Alum, Bill Ficke, Featured in Miami Herald
Former Belmont Abbey College basketball player, Bill Ficke, opened Big Bill’s New York Pizza in 1995. One week after the attacks on September 11th, the restaurant held its first fundraiser for a fireman’s fund in New York. Since that fundraiser, the restaurant has continued to hold fundraisers reaching up to $170,000 in donations in a single year!
The Gift of a Lifetime: Honoring Fr. Chris Kirchgessner
Allison Simmons ‘26, BAC Marketing Intern
Father Christopher, O.S.B. grew up in New Albany, Indiana, the second of six children. He was raised Catholic, and the Church and the parish school were very influential in the life of his family, but the thought of becoming a priest did not surface for him until high school, despite the fact that one of the nuns teaching at his primary school offered him a scholarship to a Franciscan minor seminary.
It was his parish priest who first inspired Fr. Chris even to consider the priesthood as a possibility. When his father’s work in the tobacco industry brought the family to Durham, NC, Fr. Chris stayed behind to complete his senior year of high school, and it was then that he started thinking more seriously about his vocation. As a way of discerning the priesthood, he attended Saint Meinrad College in Indiana, where the idea began to take on distinct shape.
Over the summers during college, Fr. Chris worked in parishes in the archdiocese. Despite how much he enjoyed this parish work, however, his experience at St. Meinrad drew him towards the monastic life. Nevertheless, he feared that if he entered St. Meinrad, he would not be able to see his family as much as he would like.
So when Fr. Chris became aware that there was a Benedictine monastery in North Carolina, he made plans to visit. “I think vocations are mysteries,” Father reflects today. He had fully intended to pursue parish life. Yet in 1975, he found himself writing a note to Fr. Keiran, the Abbey’s (then) vocations director. Here was a place not far from his family, where he could live out his priestly vocation, serve young people, and embrace a monastic community as he felt drawn to do. But this also wasn’t a calculation. It was a calling, which deepened as Fr. Chris took the next step as a monk of Belmont Abbey. Father entered the novitiate in July of 1975.
Life, service, family
Throughout his years at the Abbey, Fr. Chris has maintained close relationships with his family, joking that his four sisters are like extra mothers: they always know better than he does what’s best for him. Before making his vows, as he considered possible names, he remembers asking his mom and dad what they thought. His parents said that if they had ever had another son they would have named him Christopher. And without telling them, that is the name he chose.
After his ordination in 1980, Fr. Chris began teaching in the theology department, where he has impacted students for decades. During this time he also served for periods as Dean of Students, Prior, and Novice Master, but to this day, he most enjoys finding new ways to encourage each generation of students to consider theology and take their education seriously. “I like the subject, and I like the challenge,” says Fr. Chris. “I’ll teach for as long as I can.” The art of teaching has changed substantially since the beginning of his career, but throughout his years as a professor, Fr. Chris has offered each class his trademark compassion, directness, and humor. “One of the things I really, really like about Belmont Abbey,” he notes, “is the close relationship between the monks and the students. You don’t see that everywhere. It’s a gift that we’ve been given.”
Father stays in touch with many former students, catching up with some of them even weekly. “Mentoring students is just a gift,” he says, grateful when these relationships expand to friendships with alumni’s growing families. Over the years, he has officiated at many weddings, baptized many children, and even mentored students who have followed their parents to the Abbey, and he remains a cherished friend to many alumni.
In addition to his teaching, with the help of the Benedictine Volunteer Corps (BVC) at St. John’s Abbey, Fr. Chris started Belmont Abbey’s own BVC, which is now in its fifteenth year. Fr. Chris is still excited to discuss and plan it each summer, always ready to reimagine the program to ensure that it thrives. As students bring back their transformative stories, he recognizes a lasting legacy of service, which he hopes will continue for generations.
Reflecting on over fifty years at Belmont Abbey, Fr. Chris notes that monastic life, like other vocations, “is about relationships. Relationships take time, hard work, and prayer. It is about being a family.” And it is a gift.
The Science of Lifelong Learning: Honoring Dr. Mike McLeod
Dr. Abigail Cousino, Asst. Professor of Biology and Biochemistry
Anyone who has stepped foot into the William Gaston Science Building in the last 50 or so odd years has probably heard the ringing baritone of Dr. Michael (Mike) McLeod lecturing on Cell Biology… and trembled at the knees. Known for banging his fist down on the desk to snap his students back to attention, Dr. McLeod has been the gauntlet every biology student must survive to prove his or her mettle.
Dr. McLeod graduated with his Bachelor of Science in biology in 1969. He then served in the military from 1970-1974, during which time he also completed his Master of Science in biology. He then continued his education, earning his Ph.D. in zoology from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio in 1977.
Belmont Abbey College hired Dr. McLoed to help rebuild the Biology Department in 1978. Along with two of his colleagues, Betty Baker and Eunice Cronin, the three built the department from the ground up.
A career begins
Prof. McLeod made his way through the ranks, earning full professorship in 1986. While continuing to teach at the Abbey, he also served as an American Council on Education Fellow and Assistant to the Vice President for Academic Affairs at Winthrop College in Rock Hill, SC from 1987-1988. From 1988-1991 he was the Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs at Belmont Abbey, and in the summers of 1990 and 1992 he served as the Acting and Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs, respectively. In the summer of 1993, he served as the Interim VP of Student Affairs, and from 1991-1995 he was the Director of the Adult Degree Program as well as the Director of the Weekend College, both programs focused on continuing education for non-traditional students.
Continuing the impressive overlap of duties and responsibilities, from 1991-2001 he served as Associate VP for Academic Affairs and from 1995-2000 as the VP for Student Life and Dean of Students. Exemplifying his dedication to both science and education, McLeod has published over 20 first author papers and coauthored several more, publications which have been cited over 600 times on ResearchGate. His papers cover topics spanning from the early evolution of chili peppers to education at a Liberal Arts College to Pearl Harbor; his impressive breadth of knowledge and curiosity speaks to his role as an academic and a life-long learner.
Local service
Dr. McLeod is committed to community outreach and growth, serving on the Gaston County Urban Water Quality Committee (1996-1998), the Voices and Choices Regional Environmental Planning Committee (1999-2001), the Centrolina Council of Governments Catawba River Corridor Study Steering Committee (1994), the Dropout Prevention Task Force, and much more.
In 2009 he served on a panel for the North Carolina Health Professions Advisors Association, advising pre-medicine students. He has also presented to the Gaston County Community many times, discussing topics such as water supply protection legislation, environmental issues, energy, and peak oil.
Department leadership
Dr. McLeod has been awarded several grants for the development of math and science programs. Under McLeod’s leadership, the biology department received over $600,000 in grants, with the latest Cannon grants allowing for the renovation of the general biology lab in 2017 and 2019.
From 2006-2018 Dr. McLeod served as the Chair of the Department of Biology, and from 2002 to the present he has been the Director of the Environmental Science Program. From 2017- 2018 he also served as Chair of the Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. He has earned many awards and honors, including the Adrian Faculty Excellence Award, which he received in both 2006 and 2021, and the Spirit of St. Benedict Award in 2008.
Joy of 50 years
Mike has been married to his wife Dianne for 53 years, and their daughter, Jessica, who earned her Ph.D. in anthropology, serves on the development staff at Westen Michigan University. He loves traveling and has been to all 7 continents and all 50 states. His latest adventure took him to Antarctica, where he got to practice his wildlife photography skills. He played the bagpipes for many years in Ceol na Gael Irish Pipe Band and acted in several Abbey Player performances, with his favorite role as Prince Escalus in Romeo and Juliet.
Dr. McLeod strives to offer rigorous courses to prepare students for graduate education or a job. He has been the soul of the department for many years, carrying on beloved traditions, such as Deck the Deer, Senior Night, Senior Brunch, and many more! He can often be found whistling or singing as he preps for labs, and he’s always ready to tell a story about past students or explain the citric acid cycle and the flow of blood through the heart. He cares deeply for the Abbey, the Biology Department, and most importantly, his students. The Abbey has been blessed to have such a great man and teacher dedicate 48 years of service to this community.
