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Dear Friends, It is Monday morning, and we are headed into a stretch of that fabulous Minnesota Indian Summer weather that lifts the spirit and stockpiles energy in anticipation of colder and darker days to come. Students are everywhere on campus. We're enjoying another all-time enrollment record this fall, with 5,338 students overall — including 415 first-year students and another 198 transfers. New deans and new faculty members have already added their expertise and energy to our important work. In September, I represented St. Catherine University at two significant events, both with an international emphasis. As we launched our academic year at St. Kate's — one in which we are celebrating the "Year of the Liberal Arts" — it was meaningful and exciting to share our values and core commitments with peers from around the world, including presidents and other leaders from internationally renowned women's colleges and Catholic universities.
Our conference ended at Cofton Park in Birmingham, near Cardinal Newman's final place of rest. Here Pope Benedict presided at liturgy for 70,000 people gathered to celebrate the beatification of a "native son," scholar and Catholic university president. Rain and a chilly wind did not dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd assembled on a hill in the beautiful Midlands of England. As the Pope entered the park, the sun broke through the clouds. Aside from the Pope's actual words conferring the designation of "Blessed," most moving was the proclamation of the Gospel by a deacon from the United States whose cure from a serious spinal ailment was certified as the miracle which led to Cardinal Newman's beatification. A week or so later, I participated in the celebration of Bryn Mawr College's 125th anniversary. To commemorate the event, this distinguished women's college hosted an international conference titled "Heritage and Hope: Women's Education in a Global Context." I had the privilege of introducing our mission and work at St. Catherine University to a distinguished audience. I spoke about the spirit of the Sisters of St. Joseph — and why we're so passionate about providing access to and ensuring excellence in the women we graduate. I spoke of our St. Kate's community as a place where students live and learn among and around successful women. And I spoke of St. Catherine herself, an African woman who lived in fourth-century Alexandria, and how students revere her intelligence, strength and courage in the face of some formidable male contemporaries. Today, I continue to see intelligence, strength and courage in the lives of our students, faculty and staff and, of course, in our accomplished alumnae. Thank you for your counsel, your wisdom, your generous support and, especially, for your daily work and commitment in so many professional and community settings. That is our vision alive and thriving! Our powerful St. Catherine community is stepping forward to forge a strong future, always calling to mind our founders and sponsors, and seeing the Sisters' dreams realized in the lives of our students, faculty and alumnae. |
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At the time of the Holy Father's visit to the United Kingdom for the Beatification of John Henry Cardinal Newman, I spoke at a conference sponsored by the International Federation of Catholic Universities and Liverpool Hope University, Europe's only ecumenical university. Presidents from Catholic universities on six continents, including two of us from the United States, joined with colleagues to discuss Cardinal Newman's The Idea of a University. In addition to hearing lectures from prominent Newman scholars at Oxford (notably Ian Kerr), speakers and participants discussed the contemporary relevance and application of Newman's ideas in various cultural settings around the world. The focus of my talk was on the application of some of Newman's ideas in Catholic universities within the United States. It is posted at the Association of Catholic Colleges and University's website: 